Grace

August 29, Thursday

Glass shattered and bright-blue liquid sprayed into the air. There was no time to duck or turn away. The blue arc landed, covering Grace Kimmel from her safety goggles to the bottom of her formerly white coat. She glared at her lab partner as the room went silent. The only sound was the slow dripping as the liquid ran off the table.

A few seconds stretched into an eternity.

“I am so sorry.” That was her lab partner.

“Everyone freeze.” That commanding voice was Special Agent David Ferris, the lab manager. Nervous chatter filled the room until he called for quiet.

“Kimmel! You okay?”

Afraid to open her mouth, Grace nodded. Forget the broken glass—she was more worried about finding out what the gunk tasted like. Someone handed her a towel, and she blotted her face and goggles until she could see clearly again.

“Lacy, you wanna tell me what happened?” Ferris sounded calm, but he was practically vibrating with tension.

“I, uh…” Steve Lacy looked like a stout Clark Kent but had none of the charm. His head swiveled back and forth as if he was seeing the mess for the first time. “Not sure.”

In any other circumstance, that would be Grace’s cue to go off on the man. She knew what had happened—he’d opted for speed over safety and brought the whole mixing container to their workstation rather than decant the portion they needed into a smaller vessel. With a coveted internship on the line, she held her temper in check.

“Excuse me, I’m going to see how much of this I can wash off.” Grace didn’t wait for permission. Not blowing her top because her lab partner made a careless mistake was one thing, but standing around covered in viscous goo while the error was discussed was above and beyond.

The fluorescent lights in the bathroom made everything look worse than she’d imagined. Patches of blue streaked her face and the front of her hair. She grabbed a fistful of paper towels, saturated them in the sink and set to work scrubbing the worst of it off her face.

The door burst open, and Daniela Castillo hurried into the room, her arms overflowing with towels.

“Holy shit, that was intense!” Daniela tossed a bottle of liquid soap and a washcloth onto the edge of the sink. “Ferris pointed me to the staff bathroom and the clean-up station. You look like a Smurf. Or maybe some Celtic warrior, which is much cooler.”

The soap helped, and Grace got most of the color off her face. She cursed herself for forgoing the optional hair cover. Teach me to do that again.

Multiple passes with a damp cloth left streaks that were now more green than blue. She scraped her hair back into a messy bun and secured it.

“The joys of being blonde, I guess. Yellow and blue make green. I hope this crap washes out, otherwise I don’t want to think what it’s going to cost to fix.”

She stripped off the ruined lab coat then swiped a wet cloth over the spots on her legs. The gray pants would never be the same. At least her shoes wiped right off.

“Ferris called lunch, so you’ve got time. How bad are your clothes?”

Grace straightened up and surveyed her reflection in the mirror. Not great, but not terrible.

“I can survive the day with a few spots,” she said. “Three cheers for lab coats. Let’s eat. I’m starved.”

Daniela led the way to the staff room, where they tossed the soiled linens into a hamper, then made their way to the lunchroom. They grabbed their box lunches and joined their fellow applicants at a long table on the far side of the room.

“Are you okay?”

“I thought Ferris was gonna blow a gasket.”

“How the fuck does that happen?”

Yesterday, thirty-six college seniors had trouped into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Laboratory to start the final selection process for six fall internship positions. Over five thousand students had applied, and six of the finalists had already been cut.

Grace felt lucky to have made it this far, and now she was worried she’d be kicked out because of someone else’s error. She looked around the table. Across from Grace, Daniela sat next to Eric Dietz. They had been flirting since they’d all arrived, and Grace would lay odds the two had hooked up when they got back to the hotel last night.

The rest of the applicants ringed the table, all talking about their morning. Steve Lacy was nowhere to be seen. All through lunch, Grace kept expecting to be called into the office and sent packing. Instead, back in the lab, Ferris handed her a clean lab coat.

“Good job not panicking. You’re going to have to do the rest of today without a partner. Had Lacy owned his mistake, he might still be here.”

She shrugged into the fresh coat. “What do you mean by that?”

None of what Ferris said gave her any confidence she wasn’t next on the chopping block.

“He threw you under the bus. Or tried to. We have cameras in the lab.”

“I should have caught it. Said something.” While she knew there hadn’t been time, she still felt responsible.

“You’re at a disadvantage without a partner, so do your best.”

That was a dismissal if she’d ever heard one. Grace buttoned her coat and took her seat. The station had been wiped clean, as if nothing had ever happened. Ferris moved to the front of the room and called everyone to silence.

“Accidents happen, but the mess this morning should not have.” His gaze swept the room, pausing on each of the assembled students. “All of you here should be better than this. Lacy should have been better than this. You are experienced in lab protocols, and there is no excuse for carelessness.”

The knot of tension in Grace’s stomach doubled.

“For the next segment, you and your partner will collect and process samples from five sources, then follow the instructions provided and make your conclusions. Let’s go to the chiller.”

Grace fell into step next to Daniela and Eric.

“You wanna work with us?” Eric kept his voice low and raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Daniela added, “join our team.”

It was tempting. Without a partner, Grace would have to do it all herself. She’d be slower than the two-person teams, plus she wouldn’t have anyone to brainstorm with.

“Ferris said I was on my own. So, I’m guessing he’d frown on it.”

Daniela looked stricken. Eric gave a muttered “Fuck” and shook his head. Ferris pushed open the door into a large room with two rows of tables. Tall, glass-front refrigerators and freezers lined one wall.

It’s like a convenience store meets an autopsy room. Grace clenched her fingers and dug her nails into her palms to keep from giggling at the image. Then she spotted the tall man leaning casually against one of the tables at the front.

Like most men she’d seen at the ATF offices, his hair was short and tidy. His shoulders strained the seams of his lab coat and his legs seemed to go on forever. Or maybe that was the fact that he was parked with his butt resting against the table and his crossed ankles blocked the aisle that ran the center of the room.

What stopped Grace in her tracks was the lopsided grin that lit up his boyishly handsome face. So far, every staff member she’d met wore a near-constant Very Serious Expression. Grace imagined a little ‘tm’ following the term. This guy looked like he was ready to hang out with his friends.

I wouldn’t mind hanging out with that. Damn.

She pulled her attention back to Ferris as he joined Mr. Smiley Face Holy Shit Hotness at the front.

“This is Special Agent Peter Adams,” Ferris said. “He’s here to supervise and get anything you need to complete your work. Your applicant numbers are already on the tables. Please find your places, and I’ll leave you in Adams’ capable hands.”

Ferris left and Tall and Buff pushed himself to a standing position. Grace quickly found her spot—right next to where Agent Holy Smokes stood.

“Welcome. Each workstation has the basic equipment you’ll need, as well as the list of tests you are to complete, and questions.” A hint of some accent tinted his voice—maybe a little southern, but the refined variety. “Please read everything before you come to the front to collect samples. If you need something, just ask. I’ll be happy to provide.”

Grace skimmed the sheet of instructions. Gunshot residue. Chemical analysis. Latent prints. All standard stuff with clear directions. Then she got to the last items. Blood and hair samples. Good thing I’m not squeamish.

She tuned out the excited chatter of the other teams discussing how they were going to divide the tasks. She was on her own, but she couldn’t afford to rush. Rushing led to mistakes, and that would not happen here.

The moment she stepped up to collect her samples, the rest of the world faded out. She had one goal—landing one of the six internship slots. Then Agent Oh So Hot said something to her and Grace nearly dropped the swab in her hand.

“Sorry, sir, I was focused on getting this sample. What was that?”

She shouldn’t have looked at him. Warm, brown eyes gazed back at her and his lips curled into a smile that she was sure could make a stone statue turn its head.

“You can skip the ‘sir’. It’s never been my favorite honorific.” His smile got even broader, making Grace wonder if there was some innuendo she was missing. “I asked how you were holding up after this morning. You good?”

She tore her gaze away from his. The last thing she wanted was special treatment because her lab partner had screwed up and people felt sorry for her. She tucked the swab into a baggie, then sealed and labeled it. Never mind that she was only carrying it three feet away and that no one else would touch it and there was no chain of custody to worry about. Protocol was protocol.

“Yeah, thanks. I’m okay. Just trying to get this done.”

She hurried back to her workstation and away from his unsettling presence. Or at least as away as she could get, considering her spot was the next table over.

Get a grip. Yeah, he’s hot. Since when does hot mean anything? Forget him and get to work.

She laid everything out, double checked the entire list, and outlined a plan of attack for maximum efficiency. First task, prepping samples for the centrifuge and spectrometer. That she could do in her sleep, thanks to several lab classes and two semesters spent as a lab assistant, including one at the medical examiner’s.

All the more reason I should have said something when Lacy started cutting corners.

Grace tried not to think about the other teams bustling around. With the luxury of two people, they could afford to make multiple trips to request materials. She needed to get through the base tests first. Then she’d go to Agent Too Damn Cute… His name is Peter Adams. Don’t get distracted.

She tucked her head and got to work. She had more vials to prep and slides to mount. Another task she could do without thinking. She kept her notebook handy and jotted observations, questions, and started a list of additional tests—yay, more slides—and supplies she’d need.

Grace labeled and packed the slides along with her notes, then headed to the front to consult with Agent Adams.

“You’re efficient.” He hooked his thumb toward the spinning machine on the other side of the room. “None of the other teams broke it down the same way. They’re all doing one source at a time. How’s your record keeping? Are you making sure you’re not cross contaminating?”

“Wanna check my notes and review the pile of gloves in my trash bin?” She flipped open her notebook and tore out the page where she’d listed what she would need. “Can I get these, please?”

His fingers brushed hers as he took the page and the jolt she felt at that brief touch was unexpected, and very real.

Oh, hello. Stop. Not going there. Eyes on the prize, Gracie Lynn.

“I’ll bring everything over.” Had he smiled like that at everyone else? She didn’t know. She’d had her head down trying to get through the work of two people.

“Thanks.” Grace didn’t see a reason to stand around and socialize. This was his job. She was trying to make it hers. Besides, she had test tubes to collect and slides to deal with.

She was on her last set of slides when a tray filled with everything she’d requested landed on her table with a soft thud and the chime of glass clinking together.

“You’re doing a full tox screen on the blood sample.” Agent Adams leaned against her workstation in a way she’d find annoying if he didn’t look so hot while doing it. He didn’t phrase it as a question, and Grace couldn’t tell whether he thought the full screen was a good thing or not.

“Based on the information given, and my initial review of the materials, it seemed like a good call.”

She knew better than to underestimate the value of going beyond the basics. Her brother had avoided a lot of trouble because someone had gone above and beyond when he’d been ordered to undergo a drug test.

Agent Adams nodded and returned to the front of the room.

“You’ve got an hour to finish.” A collective groan rose from the students. “When your time is up, you’ll label everything and store it appropriately, either in the evidence lockers or in the refrigerator. Leave nothing but equipment at your workstation—no notes, no samples, nothing.”

Grace’s fellow applicants exploded in a flurry of activity. She bent her head to the microscope and kept scribbling notes. She wouldn’t think about the passing time. Wouldn’t rush or get frantic. Smooth and methodical. Just keep going.

She labeled the last sample and put it in the tray for the refrigerator. Everything was done with seconds to spare, judging by the way Adams kept checking his watch.

“Good work!” He had his butt back on the front table and had unbuttoned his lab coat, revealing a slim-fitting dress shirt and pants so well-tailored they should be illegal.

“Clean up, then I’ll escort you back to the main lab and turn you back over to Ferris.”

Daniela grabbed her arm as they filed out the door.

“That was brutal. We didn’t finish everything because Mr. Man kept second guessing my choices and insisting he had it right.”

Grace clapped her hand over her mouth to stop the laughter. “I thought y’all were into each other.”

She got an elbow in the ribs for that comment.

“That’s the fun of being away from home,” Daniela whispered. “Bonus, you know it’s got an expiration date. This one may end a bit early.”

Unexpected. Not like Grace hadn’t been thinking similar things, just not about a fellow applicant. The idea of not seeing the handsome young agent again was mildly disappointing. Then again, as far as she was concerned, that was true of her interactions with men—fun to look at, even better to flirt with, but beyond that, she could take them or leave them.

Not like I’d fool around with a coworker, anyway. Or like he could date an intern.

She shoved those thoughts aside and followed his broad shoulders back down the hall.