by Susan Grant
“Don’t be too trusting,” she warned him under her breath. “If they ask if you want to see their puppy, run.”
Cavin gave her a funny look.
“Just be careful.”
He nodded. The men got out of the car to shake his hand. Despite his pronounced limp, Cavin greeted them with a proud, military stance. Jana walked over as the colonel opened a folder of photos to show them.
It was silent outside, no traffic noise. A dry wind stirred what little brush there was eking an existence from the hard-packed dirt. Three military men—one active, two former—and one politician huddled around classified photographs on an isolated stretch of highway. It could be a scene out of a Tom Clancy novel, or a 007 movie, but definitely nothing resembling her former life.
The colonel’s folder contained four black-and-white photos: close-ups of machinery, or aircraft parts. “If one of these was a photo taken of an alien ship, which do you think it would be?”
What was this—some kind of alien entrapment Captcha?
Cavin answered without hesitation. “I see two photos that fit your description, not one.”
The slightest movement of the colonel’s mouth told her Cavin had chosen the right answer. “Which two?”
Cavin pointed to the lower left image. “That’s the ship’s identification number.” He translated the blocky little hieroglyphics using his fingers. “And its name—Shakree.” He wrinkled his forehead. “It translates roughly to a type of seedpod that is distributed by the wind.” Then he pointed to the lower right photo. “And that is part of the forward instrument panel.”
“Wait a second?” Jana narrowed her eyes at the officers. “You just said there was no spacecraft hidden at Area 51.”
Connick’s expression didn’t change. “There isn’t. But I’m going to tell you where it is, and how to get there.”
Chapter Fourteen
Alone again, they sped along a road they’d taken from Highway 6 East. There were some ranches, but little else. A blue truck pulling a horse trailer had been behind them for some time. No one else was on the road.
First they were supposed to find a farmhouse. There, they were to meet up with someone Connick called the Gatekeeper, a name that was satisfyingly mysterious. He’d given no other directions except that they had to find exit 17 and take the unmarked road immediately following.
Jana veered into the right lane. The truck followed. If only it would pass them already. She was in no mood for tailgaters.
A small road marker came into view. “There it is,” Jana called out, her heart leaping. “Seventeen.”
“I confirm that,” Cavin said. He’d rolled his window partway open. The wind ruffled his hair and he seemed to welcome the air. His skin was pasty. Poor Cavin.
“Tell me if you need to stop,” she said.
He shook his head, and the movement seemed to cause him pain. He grimaced, sucking in some air. “Keep going. Not much time.”
Not much time for whom? For Cavin or for Earth? Or both? God. Her stomach hurt.
The turnoff came quicker than she expected. Worse, the truck towing the trailer was right on her butt. Were there horses in the trailer? So unsafe! She didn’t want to slam on the brakes and cause an accident, nor did she want to miss the turnoff. Letting off on the gas pedal, she jerked the wheel to the right. Tires skidding, she fought to stay on the road which was hard-baked dirt. The second the tires got traction, she sped up.
No time to waste.
Cavin’s expression didn’t change in reaction to her wild driving. Not did he joke about it. It told her how much pain he was in. All his concentration was on survival.
But as soon as she was headed straight again, the sound of scraping and skidding echoed behind them. “I don’t believe it. That truck just followed us off the road.”
Cavin was instantly alert. He turned in his seat, and his lips compressed. “It’s found us.”
She threw an alarmed glance at the rearview mirror. She couldn’t see who was behind the wheel, only the silhouette of a lone man, unmoving as he bore down on them. Her stomach sank with dread. It was the REEF. He’d rematerialized.
Why was he towing a horse trailer?
Maybe it was the only thing he could steal around here. It was the middle of nowhere.
No time to reason it out now. She shoved the gas pedal to the floor, but the assassin pulled up even with Beast. Side by side, they were road racing on what was little more than a dirt path.
The REEF rammed into the driver’s side. Wind whistled through broken glass as Jana fought wildly to keep the truck on the road. It was as if the assassin had injured a loved one.
Damnit, Beast was a loved one.
She ground her foot to the floor, trying to squeeze every last bit of speed from poor Beast, and pulled ahead. The horse trailer swung from side to side, causing the blue truck to fishtail, but the REEF gained on them. This time he hit her truck even harder. Her door caved in, shoving her sideways in the seat.
A boom deafened her. Cavin had fired his weapon. “Stay down, Jana.”
Stay down? She was driving! How the hell could she stay down?
She slid as low as she could in the seat. REEF returned fire. She smelled something burning. Beast’s hood sported patches of molten metal.
Perspiration ran into her eyes. Her legs quivered with adrenaline. But her only thoughts were the gas pedal under her foot and the road ahead. If she kept control of both, she kept Cavin alive. She kept Earth safe.
Suddenly, a geyser of water gushed out from under the hood and splattered all over the windshield, turning the dust to mud. “We’re going to have to ditch this baby!” she yelled. It sounded like something her fighter-pilot brother would say. For a woman who never had any desire to be in the military, she’d seen enough combat in one week to last a lifetime.
While she still had some speed to play with, she pulled off to the side of the road, pebbles and sand flying. The smell of dust and hot rubber burned her nose.
“Get out,” Cavin shouted hoarsely as he untangled himself from his seat belt.
She grabbed her tattered purse, threw the strap over her shoulder, and they took off running across the desert, abandoning her truck.
I’ll be back for you, Beast!
Leaning on her heavily, sometimes grunting in obvious agony, Cavin steered her to where the landscape was rockier. It afforded a few hiding places but it was at least a half mile away. She wasn’t sure Cavin could manage that far of a run, but his face reflected such raw determination, he’d die trying, no doubt about it.
Her heart wrenched. She loved him so much. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.
And Earth couldn’t afford to lose him.
The blue truck roared up behind them. Cavin caught her by the hand and almost jerked her off her feet in his rush to get to a dried river bed strewn with boulders. The REEF would not be able to drive between the rocks, not towing a trailer. She gasped, the dry air burning its way down her throat. Cavin was slowing, grunting as he pushed himself despite his failing body.
Smoke billowed out from under the blue truck’s hood. The REEF jumped out—and plunged to his knees before staggering back up. He was in bad shape too.
“Run, Jana,” Cavin demanded harshly.
A blazing stream of energy roared past them. A boulder splintered. Slivers of stone flew in all directions. Shrapnel. Another shot plowed harmlessly into the sand about six feet away.
The REEF kept missing because he was sick, she thought, her hopes rising. Then something whizzed by so close that she felt the heat cross her right ear.
Scratch what she’d thought about his condition; his aim was improving—and he had unlimited ammo.
With grudging respect, Jana acknowledged the single-minded, almost superhuman tenacity of their enemy.
The REEF fired again. The last shot made a deafening crack. Cavin stumbled, and she caught his arm. He was so heavy he took her down with him. “Where did he hit you? Where?”
she screamed, running her hands over his chest and stomach. Her heart felt ready to shatter. Please, please don’t die. Don’t die.
“I stumbled, that’s all.” Cavin’s voice was hoarser now. “He missed!”
She spun around to see the REEF closing on them. As he neared, she expected him to look as he did in the motel: a hard face and even harder eyes, blue and laser sharp. But he was sweating and pale, and sported a horrible grimace. Limping along, he resembled Quasimodo with a bad hangover.
Cavin gripped her upper arms. “If anything happens to me, you know what to do. You know where to go.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you. Stop talking that way.”
“Jana.” His eyes were intense. “You will go back to the road and continue in the same direction. They’ll come looking for us eventually. Once you are safe with the Gatekeeper, you’ll turn on the spaceship.”
“But what if I can’t? What if it’s been sitting cold for too long? What if—?”
“Then you’ll return to the ranch. Jared will power up my ship. I showed him how. A signal will go out, only one, but the fleet will see it. It will give them something to ponder.”
“For how long?”
His voice took on an edge. “A day. A month. I don’t know. It’s all we have, and we have no choice but to take it.”
Cavin said “we” with such ease. We as in Earth. He’d truly come over on their side, heart and soul. She twined her fingers with his.
His eyes were bright with emotion. “I’d rather have half a chance at saving you than none at all.”
Then he rose to his feet. After taking a few seconds to gain his balance, he stormed off, or rather limped off, his bad arm hugged to his ribs.
“Wait a second,” she screamed. “Where are you going?”
He didn’t answer. He was on his way to confront the REEF.
He was crazy. They both were crazy, she decided. As sick as they were, how could they fight? She blocked him. “You have bigger things to conquer than him, spaceman. You came here to save the world, not to fight that monster!”
He moved her out of the way.
Seething, the men glared at each other, teeth bared, like two champion gladiators in their final confrontation. Both looked as though they were dead on their feet the way they wobbled, hunched over and in pain. The REEF made the first move. Cavin blocked his kick, sending him sprawling. The assassin climbed to his feet. He hissed in rage, in pain, or maybe plain old frustration, and lunged at him.
Cavin went flying backward. He landed hard, skidding across the dirt. And got back up and dived for the REEF’s midsection. With none of their alien equipment functioning, it was an old-fashioned street fight. A barroom brawl. Punches flew. Grunts and muffled cries of pain had Jana fearing neither of them would come out alive. They rolled over the ground, leaving smears of blood.
Ugh! Woozy, Jana almost passed out.
Then, the assassin went down. At first she thought he was kicking to fight off Cavin, but soon saw that his legs jerked and twitched uncontrollably.
“Seizure,” Jana cried and ran to them. She pulled the killer’s head back and wedged a piece of his torn shirt in his mouth so he wouldn’t bite his tongue. A tongue in a mouth that looked completely human.
When the seizure finally passed, the REEF cracked open his eyes. At first he seemed unable to focus, then he moved his gaze from Jana to Cavin, where it remained. Cavin panted, swaying on his knees. He head hung low, and she didn’t know how much longer he’d stay conscious.
He snarled at the REEF, “If you agree to a truce, we’ll make sure you get to safety.”
The REEF seemed both shocked and repelled by his offer. He was weak, in far worse shape than Cavin. Tremors ran through his body, and palsy affected his hands. No wonder his shots had gone wild. “I rigged your internal computers to self-destruct, Caydinn. Just as I suspect someone has done to mine.”
“Who hired you?” Cavin demanded. “Who wanted me dead?”
The REEF’s jaw hardened and he shook his head. “I do not know who.” His lips pulled back in a grimace. “It’s too late for me. But not for you. The destruct signal is coming from me. Me, Caydinn. My damaged systems will not allow me to shut it off. As long as I am alive, you will continue to break down. Do you understand? If I die, you live.”
“Are you sure?” Jana asked. “Can’t we try to save you—and Cavin?”
“No.” He looked at Cavin. “Go, don’t be a fool. Make a new life now that you have the chance. My contract is void. Ended. I have ended it. I will not track you anymore. Or anyone…” Then, as if ashamed, he rolled his head to the side, self-loathing tightening his mouth. As he gazed at the horizon, his expression shifted from ashamed to pensive, and finally regret.
Jana wondered what he was seeing, or thinking. Then his pupils grew huge and black as his eyes rolled back. A shudder ran through him. Then he lay still.
Jana jumped forward to administer CPR, gasping as she pumped chest compressions. It seemed wrong somehow to let him die. It would make her no better than him. She wasn’t sure how long she fought to save the REEF, but Cavin stopped her.
“He’s gone,” he said.
She hugged Cavin, choking back tears. “It’s so sad. He was human and they turned him into a machine.” No one to hear his voice. No one. What a lonely wasted life. “We can’t leave him like this.”
But they couldn’t bring him, either. With Cavin’s halting help, she pulled the assassin’s heavy body closer to the blue truck. “But there’s no one out here to pick up the body.”
“We’ll inform the Gatekeeper when we get there.”
They stood, casting shadows over the body. In death, the assassin seemed somehow at peace. Jana shook her head. “It’s almost as if he just decided to stop living. I thought REEFs fought to the end.”
Cavin’s voice was gruff. “Not this one,” he said. “Not this one…”
They’d walked—staggered mostly—across five miles of desert on a narrow paved road with no signs. Cavin leaned on her like a drunk. It took all her strength to keep him upright. The effects of the malware was should have eased by now. The Coalition invasion force was on the way, and the one man who could save them was half-delirious.
He stopped, leaning over. “I think I am going to be sick.”
“Then be sick.”
“Can’t.”
“Why fight it? Maybe you’ll feel better after.”
“In boot camp the instructors pushed us hard. If we vomited, they made us carry it back with us. Hard to do after that.”
Pain and humor glinted in his eyes, and Jana couldn’t help laughing. “I promise, we’ll leave it behind”
Cavin took a faltering step then another. His grunt of pain tore at her heart. They went on for a while, then his boots crisscrossed, and he tripped, taking her down with him. This time he didn’t get up.
She touched trembling fingers to his lips, his eyelids, his bristly jaw. His cheeks were sunken. Black rings under his eyes stood out starkly against his pale skin. He looked like hell.
He looked as if he was dying.
Be brave. Your hero needs you now. He needs you to be strong.
If she let him down, she let the entire planet down.
With that realization, something seemed to change in her, deep down inside her. It was like when she’d found her voice, only this time she’d found something else: courage. And although she knew Cavin wouldn’t take credit for either, she gave him silent thanks for both.
She steadied his head with her hands pressed to the sides of his cool, damp face. My boy from the stars, my Peter Pan. My everything. “We’re almost there, spaceman. Stay with me. Stay with me. You have some world-saving to do.”
“Damn right,” he rasped.
Jana tugged on his good arm with every ounce of strength that she had and helped him stand. When they were sure he’d stay upright, she held on to his arm to guide him. Cavin seemed all at once embarrassed by the need for help and frust
rated by his failing body.
“Keep your eyes on the prize,” she said. “At the end of this, we’re going to jump back in bed. And stay there for a week.”
A shadow of grin curved his mouth. “Eyes are on the prize.”
With a tremendous and agonizing effort, he put one foot in front of the other, and they continued on.
Chapter Fifteen
Somewhere over the next hill was the farmhouse Connick had described. And the Gatekeeper.
Progress was slow, and their phones were still useless—no cell signal this far away from civilization. A Men In Black shuttle service would be just the ticket. When this was over, she was putting in a suggestion so the next people who had to save the world wouldn’t have to go through this much trouble.
They’d covered maybe another quarter mile when a distant roar broke the silence. A cloud of dust rose on the horizon ahead. The dust cloud coalesced into a car.
What if it was the REEF? Her stomach dropped and a chill washed over her. What if he’d come back to life to finish the job for the third time? She should have known he wouldn’t have let them go, no matter how damaged he was, no matter how changed he seemed to be.
No matter that he’d died and she felt his heart stop.
Cavin tightened his grip on her as if sensing her thoughts. Pebbles and grit popped under truck tires as the vehicle pulled alongside them. Inside was an old man with skin that looked like leather. He wore mirrored aviator Ray-Bans, which seemed somehow perfect on his seamed face. When he smiled, his lips were so thin they were nonexistent. “You took so long to get here that she sent me out to find you. Not supposed to pick anyone up, usually. Under the circumstances, thought we’d make an exception.”
Jana bit back a snarky response about battles with interstellar assassins, toasted cell phones, and shoes that weren’t meant for long hikes. “You must be the Gatekeeper.”
“No. I’m the Handyman.”
Who was next? The Hairdresser? The UPS guy?