Stealthy Steps (Nanostealth Book 1), Kestell Vikki

My name is Gemma Keyes. Other than my name, I am utterly forgettable-so those who never paid much attention to me in the first place havent exactly noticed that Ive disappeared. Vanished. Oh, its much more complicated than it sounds. And let me tell you, invisibility comes with its own set of problems.

I should tell you about Dr. Samuel Bickel, world-renowned nanophysicist. We used to work together, but Ill be candid with you: Hes supposed to be dead. Well, hes not. (Imagine my surprise.) Instead of the proverbial six feet under, hes subsisting in an abandoned devolution cavern beneath the old Manzano Weapons Storage Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base here in Albuquerque.

I need to show you what Im protecting here, Gemma, he insisted.

I stared into the clear glass case. I could hear . . . humming, clicking, buzzing. A faint haze inside the box shifted. Dissolved. Came back together. It reminded me of how mercury, when released on a plate, will flow and form new shapes. Only this, this thing was flowing and forming in midair.

Do you see them? Dr. Bickel asked.

Them? I was confused. My mouth opened to a stunned o as the silver haze resolved into blue letters.

H E L L O

Dr. Bickel hadnt pressed any buttons. Hadnt said anything to them. Hadnt gestured.

He grinned. Ah. Theyve noticed you. They know they havent seen you before.

Well, I wish they wouldnt notice me

And I need to warn you about General Cushing. The rank and name likely conjure images of a lean but muscled old soldier, posture rigid, face cemented in unyielding lines, iron-gray hair cut high and tight. Let me disabuse you of that impression. General Imogene Cushing is short and a tiny bit plump. She wears her silvered hair in an elegant braid knotted at the nape of her neck, and she knows how to smile sweetly. With the deadliest of sharks..

You wouldnt suspect a two-star general, an Air Force O-8, of being a traitor, would you?