Dad pressed his thumb into the scanner on one of the heavy wooden doors, and it beeped once before swinging open.
“Here we are.” He gestured, and I entered the room before him. It was sleek and high-tech — totally the opposite of my dad’s messy personality. But if it was just for show, I guess it made sense. I picked up the nameplate on the desk. “Assistant Director William Kepler. Dad, did you get a promotion?”
He nodded. “Came through last month. I forgot to tell you about it.”
Hurt stabbed through me. “That’s great, Dad.” I dropped the heavy metal nameplate back on the desk and moved to look out the window. I hated that my own father forgot to tell me about things like a promotion. Then again, I didn’t know why I was surprised. He’d lied about bigger things than that.
“Nice view.” I looked out at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, covered in a swath of green from the forest below. Clouds raced across the blue sky of a perfect summer’s day.
Dad came to stand next to me, and he looked out in silence for a moment. “I don’t get to enjoy this view nearly enough. Usually too busy. But you’re right — I need to be better at noticing those things.” He frowned at me, and I knew he was thinking of our relationship. “That’s going to change. I promise. Now, let’s get you over to the med wing and start the clearance process.”
We made it to the other side of the building without running into anyone else. Dad led me through a heavy glass door marked Medical Offices and smiled at the receptionist. “Dr. Kepler and Alexa here for Dr. Rosen.”
She nodded and picked up the phone while Dad and I headed toward the back of the office. A door at the end of the hall opened, and a heavy-set man with messy hair stepped out to greet us.
My head spun, and I felt like someone had jolted me with electricity. I knew him.
“William, did we have an appointment? Who’s this?” His bushy eyebrows furrowed, and then his expression lightened. “Well, I’ll be… Is this Lexie? All grown up? I’m not sure if you remember me…”
I could only nod. He was the doctor I’d seen when I was five when I’d taken all those tests and started my supposed ADHD meds. I’d been bored and scared in the cold, stark doctor’s office, but he’d given me candy and talked to me while we waited.
I ignored the strange, metallic tang in my mouth and forced a smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Ten years, but it seems like just yesterday you were in my office.”
“Getting drugged. Yeah, I remember.”
His face darkened, the soft skin of his jowls moving as he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Lexie. Your dad said he was going to tell you about the medication today. Are you upset?” The skin around his dark eyes wrinkled with his frown.
“Wouldn’t you be?” I snapped.
My dad shook his head. “Lexie, watch your tone of voice.”
“It’s okay, Will. I’d be angry, too.” Dr. Rosen nodded and looked me directly in the eye. None of this shifty-glance thing my parents had tried with me lately. “I’m sorry for what happened. I don’t expect you to trust me, but I would like for us to be friends again someday.”
I didn’t know what to say. I guess he’d just been doing his job. It wasn’t Dr. Rosen’s fault Mom and Dad had lied to me. I shrugged. “It all happened a long time ago. Let’s just forget it.”
Relief lit his face, and he rubbed a hand against the sandpaper of his jaw. “Good. Now, let’s get the rest of the clearance process taken care of. Come on in.” He gestured to the door and I climbed onto the paper-covered exam table.
“Will, have a seat in the waiting room. We’ll be out in a minute.”
Dad nodded. “You going to be okay, Lex?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. I’m not five anymore.”
He smiled, almost sadly. “Right. Sometimes I forget.” Then he shut the door behind him.
Dr. Rosen pulled back the cloth covering a series of sharp needles and three vials of liquid. “Your dad’s really missed you.”
I’d missed him, too, but I was still too angry at all his lies to go down that road right now. I nodded toward the needles. “What are those for exactly?”
He picked up a vial of light green liquid. “This is filled with nanobots. Once implanted, they’ll register your DNA with our security system. They’ve been specially engineered to replicate the building structure and make you ‘invisible’ to the system. Anyone who doesn’t have these little guys or a guest badge will be immobilized as soon as they step foot into the building.”
I eyed the liquid with a frown. I didn’t exactly like the idea of millions of little robots floating around my blood stream.
Dr. Rosen caught my expression. “You won’t be stuck with them for life. They’ll be completely out of your system in twelve months. You get a new injection as part of your yearly review. And we’ve seen very few side effects. We’ve been using them safely here for over ten years.”
“Is it going to hurt?”
“Not at all. All you’ll feel is a small poke. The other two vials are vaccines. QT does some interesting experiments, and we want you to be safe if anything happens.” He saw my raised eyebrows and smiled. “Not that it ever has. We have an amazing safety record, Lexie. You’ll be just fine.”
Fine. That’s what they’d said the last time they’d pumped me full of drugs. And as soon as those nanobots were in my blood, I’d be officially a part of QT. Was I ready for that? I closed my eyes and tried to push away the panic that turned my fingers to ice. I didn’t exactly have any other options.
So I let him jab and prod me, take my temperature, record my blood pressure and vitals. I winced as the needle approached my arm. Shots freaked me out. Luckily, Dr. Rosen had done this a few times before, and I barely felt it. I didn’t even need a Band-Aid when he was through.
“And we’re done,” said Dr. Rosen. “Now, you need to register with the security office. The nanobots will take twenty-four hours to scan and register your DNA into the security system once they’re activated. You’ll be cleared in time for classes next week.”
He opened the door and led me out to the waiting room where Dad was in the middle of a conversation with…nobody.
“I’m not done here yet. Lexie has to finish up her clearance process…” He paused, nodded like he was listening to something. I looked for an earpiece to a cell phone or something, but there was nothing.