Chapter 28: Recharge
Timeline: 19:00, Thursday
Location: The Commons, GIG/Apex R&D Campus, Agonwood
We walked out of The Barn and into the cool evening air.
The silence of the campus was a sharp contrast to the crack of the capacitor discharge. My ears were still ringing slightly, and I felt the physical buzz of adrenaline that comes when a theory finally proves itself in the real world.
We built it. It didn't blow anything up!
"I'm buying," Alex announced, buttoning his jacket as we crossed the gravel lot. "And I'm not buying scallops. I'm buying grease. We need carbohydrates."
"Pizza?" Dave asked hopefully.
"Absolutely not," Alex said, looking at me with a playful seriousness. "I am under a strict contractual obligation regarding pizza. So... fried chicken."
I giggled and smiled.
"The best fried chicken in the county," Alex clarified. "I'll have Thomas pick it up. Buckets of it. Biscuits. Mac and cheese. The works."
"I have a bottle of Scotch in my desk," Julian said. "A 25-year-old Macallan. It seems appropriate."
"You keep a two-thousand-dollar bottle of scotch in a desk drawer?" Dave asked.
"I keep it for milestones," Julian corrected. He looked at me, his eyes dark and lively in the dim light of the security lamps. "And this is a milestone."
We reached the rowhouses. The lights were on in the Guest Suites across the commons.
"Are we inviting the civilians?" Julian asked.
"They're my friends," I said. "And they're probably wondering why we've been locked in a hangar for twelve hours."
"Invite them," Alex said easily. "But remember the NDA. We had a 'productive day.' We hit a 'milestone in the calibration.'
"Understood," Marcus said.
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Timeline: 20:30
Location: The Patio
The patio was loud and crowded.
Thomas had delivered a stack of boxes that smelled incredible—spices, fried batter, honey butter. The terracotta patio chimney was burning. Alex had opened the wine. Julian had brought the Scotch.
Dan and Ellie were sitting on the low wall, beers in hand, looking delighted to have company.
"So," Dan said, snagging a drumstick. "You guys look... alive. Everything worked out today?"
"It worked," I said, grabbing a biscuit. "It worked really well." I couldn't stop smiling. I tried to look professional, but the relief was overwhelming.
"We solved a big issue," Marcus added, clinking his beer against mine. "Lonna figured it out."
"She's a genius," Ellie said proudly. "I've been telling you guys that since we started being roomies."
"She is," Alex agreed. He was sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs, looking relaxed. "We're moving to the next phase tomorrow."
"Field testing," Julian corrected smoothly. He poured a measure of amber liquid into a glass and slid it across the table to me. "Drink this. You earned it."
Dan looked at me with concern. "You all know she's a lightweight drinker, right? I mean, we limit her to two beers. Otherwise, she's… friendly."
Friendly? What was that supposed to mean?
Then I thought about it for a moment. Ooooooh. 'Friendly'...
"I'm not that bad!" I said and picked up the glass. It smelled of peat and smoke. "To problem-solving," I toasted, keeping the cover story alive.
"To solutions," Julian corrected. But he didn't drink. He just watched me.
"You guys are weird tonight," Ellie observed, squinting at us. "You're all... intense."
"It's the success," Alex lied smoothly. "R&D is 90% failure. When you get a win, it's significant."
"Well, enjoy it," Dan said, raising his bottle. "Because tomorrow, we're stealing Lonna. It's Friday. You promised she would have the evening off if you thing worked."
"We did," Marcus said. "We wrap up early tomorrow. Scout's honor."
"We have a reservation at a club in the city," Ellie said. "We're going dancing. And Lonna is wearing the blazer, because Alex paid for it, but she's wearing it with glitter."
"Glitter?" Julian asked, looking horrified.
"It's a look," I said quickly. "Probably?" I shrugged.
"You should come," Ellie said, looking around the circle. "All of you. Celebrating is better with a crowd."
I froze. My worlds were colliding again.
"I don't dance," Julian stated flatly.
"I'm sure you dance with 'precision'," Dan teased.
"I don't flail," Julian corrected, sipping his scotch. "And I don't do nightclubs."
Of course, he doesn't. It wouldn't be 'manly.' But every girl knows the guys who dance have much better chances of getting the lady. Idiot.
"I think it sounds fun," Alex said. He looked at me. "If Lonna is going… Well, someone has to make sure the glitter remains within OSHA standards."
I giggled again.
"I'm in," Marcus said immediately. "I haven't been to a club since college."
They all looked at Julian. He swirled his scotch. He looked at the fire. He looked at Dan, then at me.
"I suppose I can supervise," Julian said.
Dan groaned. "Great. The chaperone is coming."
"I'm not a chaperone," Julian murmured, his eyes locking onto mine over the rim of his glass. "I'm security."
I shivered. The whiskey warmed my throat, but Julian's gaze warmed everything else.
"To dancing," I said weakly.
"To variables," Julian whispered.
We ate the chicken. We drank beer. We laughed at more shared stories. And tomorrow night, we were going to pretend we were normal people.
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Timeline: 11:00, Friday
Location: The Pool at The Commons, GIG/Apex R&D Campus, Agonwood
Friday morning was designated as a time of leisure. Since "The Barn" was officially closed for the day (Alex's orders), and the fog had burned off early, we had migrated to the communal pool behind the rowhouses.
It was an infinity pool that looked out over the tree line, heated to a perfect 82 degrees. I was floating on a large, inflatable Santa Cruz Banana Slug that Dan had mysteriously produced from his luggage. Ellie was lounging on a deck chair with a book.
"This is the life," Dan sighed, floating past me on a matching inflatable slice of pizza. "I don't know how you're going to go back to regular civilization after this, Lon."
"Certainly not after seeing your interesting choices for pool floaties," I said, trailing my hand in the water. "Where does one even find these?"
"You have your work mystery, I have my floatie mystery," Dan said with a big grin.
Ellie groaned, but I couldn't help laughing at how proud Dan looked on his inflatable pizza slice.
The gate to the pool area clicked open.
Marcus walked in, wearing swim trunks and carrying a cooler. Behind him came Alex, wearing a linen shirt unbuttoned over swim trunks and sunglasses that probably cost more than my student loan debt.
And trailing behind them, looking like he was attending a funeral for a distant relative, was Julian. He was fully dressed in black slacks and a black polo shirt. He did manage some deck shoes.
"The cavalry has arrived," Marcus announced, setting the cooler down. "And we brought hydration."
"Is that beer?" Dan asked, paddling his pizza slice toward the edge.
"Local craft," Alex said, taking a seat on the lounger next to Ellie. "And sparkling water for those who prefer it."
I paddled my slug over to the edge.
"You're not swimming?" I asked Julian, who had taken a seat in the shade, far away from the splash zone.
"I don't float," Julian said, eyeing my slug with disdain. "And chlorine is terrible for the skin."
"It's a saltwater pool," Alex corrected, removing his sunglasses. "And the pH is perfectly balanced."
"I'm observing," Julian said, pulling out a tablet. "Someone has to monitor the perimeter."
"He means he's checking his email," Marcus whispered to me as he cannonballed into the deep end, splashing a light spray over Julian and his shoes.
Julian slowly wiped a droplet of water off his screen with a look that promised retribution.
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Timeline: 14:00
Location: The Poolside Cabana
Lunch was tacos, ordered by Thomas. We sat around the low table in the cabana, shaded from the afternoon sun.
"So," Ellie said, wiping salsa from her lip. "Tonight. The club. Do we have a plan? Or are we just going to wing it?"
"We have a plan," Alex said. He wiped his hands on a napkin. "However, there is a logistical hurdle we had to address."
"Which is?" Dan asked.
"Anonymity," Alex said. "Or the lack thereof."
He gestured between himself and Julian.
"He and I are currently recognizable entities. And… well, Julian is Julian. If we walk into a public nightclub in San Francisco on a Friday night, we won't be dancing. We'll be managing a press conference."
I hadn't even thought of that.
Right. The paparazzi. The fans. And with us tagging along it wouldn't be difficult to guess Alex and Julian were working on a new secret project.
"So what do we do?" Dan asked. "Wear disguises? Fake mustaches?"
"I'm not wearing a mustache," Julian stated flatly.
"Please do. I need to see that," I said. Julian lowered his sunglasses to peer at me, but everyone else chuckled.
"We considered disguises," Alex said. "Social camouflage. Dressing down. Hoodies. Ballcaps."
"It works for celebrities at Starbucks," Marcus noted.
"It works for five minutes," Julian corrected. "Until someone spots the watch, or the shoes, or the posture. And then it becomes a spectacle. 'Billionaires trying to look poor' is a headline I prefer to avoid."
"So we're not going?" Ellie asked, looking disappointed.
"We are going," Alex said. He leaned forward, his blue eyes twinkling. "I just adjusted the variables."
He pulled a black card from his pocket—not a credit card, but an access key.
"The venue is The Vault," Alex explained. "It's an underground club in the Mission District. Strictly no photos. Phones are collected at the door. NDAs are part of the invites. And no entry without."
"I'm sorry. I have pretty much been here since I arrived. I sometimes forget that you do things outside of Agonwood and people know you differently," I said. "But what about the crowd? You'll still get swarmed."
"Not tonight," Alex smiled.
"You rented the club?" Dan asked, his jaw dropping. "Just for us?"
"No," Alex said. "An empty club is boring. Lonna and Ellie wanted to go dancing, not stand in an empty room."
He looked at me.
"So, I curated the crowd. I sent out an internal invite to the GIG and Apex staff—specifically the R&D, legal, and security divisions. The people who already work for us. The people who signed the NDAs. The people who see us every day aren't impressed anymore."
"You threw a company party?" Marcus asked, laughing.
"I threw a 'Pop-Up Rave'," Alex corrected. "Open bar. Top-tier DJ. But the guest list is strictly vetted. We will be surrounded by three hundred people, but they are our people. We can dance, we can drink, and we won't be bothered."
"That is… excessively rich," Dan muttered, shaking his head.
"It's safe," Julian added. "I approved the guest list. My security team are scanning IDs at the door. No influencers. No press. Just engineers and lawyers getting drunk."
"It sounds perfect," Ellie declared.
"It sounds like a trap," I said, looking at Alex. "You bought a crowd so I could go dancing?"
"I bought a crowd so we could go dancing," Alex corrected softly. "Safety first, Lonna."
"What time do we leave?" Marcus asked.
"Cars at 21:00," Alex said. "Dress code is… whatever makes you feel dangerous."
He looked at me. "Wear the glitter."
I laughed. "Ellie wouldn't let me go without it, at this point."
I looked at the group. Dan and Ellie were buzzing with excitement. Marcus was grinning. Even Julian looked mildly interested in the prospect of a controlled environment.
And Alex? Alex looked like he had just solved another structural engineering problem.
"Okay," I said. "Let's go dancing."
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Timeline: 19:00
Location: Unit 3
We retreated to our rooms to prep. Ellie came to my place to supervise my clothing choices.
"He bought a club, Lonna," Ellie yelled over the sound of the hair dryer. "He literally rented a population."
"I know," I said, sitting on my bed and staring at the clothes laid ou
"That's not a red flag," Ellie continued, popping her head out. "That's a power move. That is a man who clears the board so you can play."
I looked at the outfit I had chosen. The navy blazer and black chiffon flounce skirt Alex bought me as part of the separates. And underneath the blazer, a silver sequined camisole I had bought on a whim in college and never worn.
It was professional on the outside. Chaos on the inside.
It felt appropriate.
My phone buzzed.
[VANE]: Don't wear the Converse. - J
I stared at the screen, then I threw the phone on the bed and sighed. I dug into the back of my closet and pulled out a pair of black ankle boots with a chunky heel. Not practical for a hangar. Perfect for stomping.
"Ready?" Ellie asked, walking out in a slip dress and leather jacket.
Stunning, as always.
"Ready," I said.
I looked in the mirror. The blazer gave me shoulders. The glitter caught the light. The boots made me two inches taller.
I wasn't the girl above the noodle shop tonight. I was the girl who broke physics.
And tonight, I was going to see if the boys could keep up.