Hunted by the Alien

by Dena Christy

  It was certainly more money than Rone had ever earned in a single job. It might be enough for him to quit hunting for good because it would be enough to pay for a cure for his brother, Tage. It was a temptation, but his honor was not soothed by the amount of money on offer.

  "There is no honor in hunting a female." That was the biggest sticking point for him. He could overlook the fact that the bounty was being offered by a corporation. He preferred not to deal with them, but government contracts to hunt fugitives of the law were not nearly as lucrative and time was running out for Tage.

  To hunt a woman went against all that he'd been taught. Females were meant to be protected, cherished and any warrior who preyed upon them was no warrior at all.

  "I know you have a code of honor that you live by but you are going to have to bend it for this job. It will be a quick job for you, and it's not like she is going to put up much of a fight compared to others you have hunted. All you have to do is pick her up and take her to Tusko M'Kedi. It will take you less than a week, and you'll have so much money you can wipe your ass with it for all I care."

  "Sometimes there are more important things than money. Females are not to be hunted." And he didn't know if he was going to be able to get past this sticking point in his honor, despite how much he needed the money for his brother. He had never been on a hunt where the target didn't offer at least some resistance at first. How was he suppose to subdue a woman? It was out of the realm of his experience, and he was well aware of what his size and strength could do to the more fragile bodies of the females on this planet.

  "Don't think of it as a hunt. Think of it as providing an escort for her." Angis sighed and his voice was resigned. "You have to do this. I know you have your honor code, and that is why I picked you for this. Out of all my hunters, you will not..."

  It appeared to be a struggle for Angis to say what he feared his other hunters might do to a vulnerable female. Perhaps he had been burned by this before.

  "I will not dishonor her."

  "Exactly. And you will not be swayed by a pretty face. This is going to be a simple job for you. It has only just come on over the wire, and she probably doesn't even know she's being hunted yet. You'll have the advantage of surprise."

  Rone pulled out the picture that he'd printed off after he'd accessed his work account at one of the exchange cafe's computers. The only information he had was the name Juno Moneta, a grainy surveillance photo and an address. The address wasn't that far from where he was, and he memorized it and tucked the paper back in his pocket.

  "What is she supposed to have done?"

  "She's an info courier."

  Which explained why she was wanted by a corporation. She was a cog in the wheel of information theft that ran rampant on this planet. It was not the most honest of livings, but then it was not Rone's place to make that assessment. He had been spending the last five years bending his honor for money and sometimes people did what they had to to survive. Or to save those they loved.

  "Is there anything else I should know?" As much as he didn't like it, he would be taking this job after all. And it would be his last job. Tage could be saved and he could go home to Thonax.

  "She's a killer. The picture was taken at the Kestral Hotel a little over an hour ago, and there was a dead man in the room she was booked into. He was stabbed to death. Between you and me, Juno is not her real name. That was the name she was registered at the hotel under, and that was the name on the bounty, but it's an alias."

  "And the address? Is it legitimate?"

  "Yes. I ran her picture through my face recognition app and got a hit. Her real name is Cheria Warders and unlike the address on the bounty, which was lifted off the hotel records, the one I sent you isn't fake."

  Angis' son had invented an application that ran on facial recognition software, and it combed, undetected, the records of various government and corporate databases and ferreted out information about people in a matter of moments. It was nothing like any of Angis' competitors had and it had given his hunters the edge over the competition.

  "Fine. I'll let you know when it is done." Rone tapped his earpiece, pulled it out of his ear and put it in his pocket.

  He headed down the street in the direction of the woman's address, happy in the knowledge that this would be his last hunt and he would be going home once it was done.

  Chapter 2

  Cheria gasped, taking in lungfuls of cool air as she stepped out of the closet. Her blouse clung to her sweaty skin, and her scalp itched under the blonde wig she wore. A quick glance at her watch told her that she had been in the closet for half an hour. At least she was still alive. The killer had not been able to see into her hiding spot after all.

  She stood near the closed door, trying to see out the open bedroom door. She only saw a portion of the room beyond the bedroom and it was not enough to tell her if the killer was still there.

  You can't stand here forever. You need to make a move.

  She went on silent feet to the door and her heart thumped loudly in her ears. All she could see was her client, whose blood was staining the carpet beneath him. His sightless eyes stared up at the ceiling.

  She trembled and put her hand up to her mouth. The urge to fall apart was so strong that she had to battle against it. Getting out of here, undetected, was her first priority. Her only priority.

  She went out of the bedroom. There was no sign of anyone in the room and she would have to take her chances on leaving. She couldn't stay in here with a dead body.

  There was no sign of anyone else so she took a chance by walking out of the bedroom on legs made wobbly by fear. It was just her and the body in the room, and soon it would be just him.

  She averted her eyes from his as she moved over to where she'd draped her coat over the back of the desk chair. Fortunately for her the killer hadn't seen the obvious femininity of the coat and realized that she was still in the suite somewhere.

  She felt like the corpse's dead eyes were on her and revulsion crawled under her skin like a parasite she could not be rid of. She glanced at him and quickly turned away.

  "It's your own fault. If you hadn't acted like the guiltiest person on this planet you wouldn't be where you are now. And you wouldn't have dragged me into this shit either."

  Her voice seemed so loud and she gave her head a shake. Talking to a dead man wouldn't get her out of here.

  She shrugged on her coat, tucked the key card for the room in her pocket and went to the bathroom for a face cloth.

  A quick glance in the mirror showed her flushed, frightened face. She could do nothing about it, there was no time. But she could at least change her hair so she didn't look as much like the woman who'd walked in this hotel only a short time ago.

  She pulled the wig off her head and stuffed it in her pocket. With quick, practiced fingers she smoothed her chin length black hair. It would have to do.

  She quickly took a face cloth and spent several precious minutes wiping down anything she might have touched. Her fingerprints could not be found in this room, because if they were, they could be traced back to her real name. Her tracks would be covered by her alias, which would lead the authorities to a dead end if they came looking for Juno Moneta. But her fingerprints would lead the authorities straight to who she really was, so they had to be eliminated. As long as her true identity was at risk, she had to take a few minutes to make sure proof of who she really was could not be found in this room.

  Once she was satisfied, she held the cloth in her hand and went to the door. She looked through the peep hole, and there was no one on the other side.

  She used the cloth to protect her hand as she pulled open the door. She darted out of the room. A quick glance down the hall showed a housekeeping cart and nothing out. Her room door clicked closed and she was halfway down the hall when it occurred to her that she should have put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door.

  Fuck. It was too late to turn back now. She continued down the hall, h
oping it would take the maid a while to get to her room and find her dead client. She wanted to be well away from the hotel before the alarm was raised.

  She came to the end of the hall, to the door leading to the stairwell. Going down the elevator and out the front door would be risky. The killer could be waiting to see if she came down and she had no idea what he knew about her. He could know what she looked like so walking out of here the front way was out of the question. Down the stairs she went, as fast as her still rubbery legs would take her.

  She got down to the underground parking garage, wishing for once that she'd been willing to part with the money to buy a hover vehicle. It could be waiting for her down here, sitting like a sanctuary along with all the other vehicles that were parked in their charging housing. It could take her away from here and she would be safe inside it.

  But it had seemed like a waste of precious krills, so now she had to rely on her feet. And if she was going to get away from the hotel before the body was discovered, she better start moving them.

  The hard, flat soles of her shoes echoed in the cavernous space of the garage as she hurried toward the exit that would take her out into the street. The feeling of being watched trickled between her shoulder blades, but a furtive glance around showed she was alone down here.

  Stop acting so suspicious. Your client acted this way and look where it got him.

  Cheria straightened her shoulders and approached the door to freedom, taking a deep breath as she pushed it open.

  More stairs and a final door led to the street, and nothing felt as good to her as the warm, fresh air that hit her when she got out of the belly of the hotel.

  There was no time to enjoy it. As long as she was out in the open, this close to the hotel, she was vulnerable. There would be plenty of time to enjoy the fact that she was still alive once she was safe and anonymous at home.

  She'd walked less than a block when she saw a man casually leaning against a wall. Her heart thumped heavily as a cold flash coursed through her. She observed the nondescript blonde hair, the not too tall not too short body and the perfect face. Hiewas speaking in a low voice and she couldn't hear what he was saying. And she didn't dare slow down to listen as those icy, dead eyes glanced at her.

  How she managed to keep moving without drawing his suspicion she didn't know. But as he receded behind her she didn't dare look back to see if he knew she was the courier he was looking for.

  One thing was certain. She couldn't take the direct route home. If he did know who she was and did intend to follow her, she couldn't risk taking him straight to her home. She would have to navigate the warren of side streets that made up this section of Tari A'Veloo.

  She turned down one side street, her senses on high alert as she walked down it. It was like her old friend and mentor, Remy, always said. Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean you're wrong.

  * * *

  "Do you need a ride, good citizen?"

  Rone turned his head to see a man standing beside a green hover vehicle. The color of the vehicle marked it as a taxi, and Rone was certain that this was the man's designated pick up spot. Based on the desperation in the man's eyes, Rone was also certain that it wasn't as lucrative a spot as others in the city.

  Most people in this neighborhood could afford their own vehicle, and would have little use for this man's services. This man must have angered the government agent who assigned him this spot.

  Rone shook his head and continued walking toward his destination. It was a tall building made entirely of mirrored glass, and whoever this Cheria Warders was, she must be a very good courier to be able to afford to live in a building like this, in one of Tari A'Veloo's more prestigious neighborhoods.

  Fortunately there was no doorman in the lobby but there was a bio-lock on the door into the building proper, and he went over to a chair along the edge of the lobby and waited. Someone would come along, unlock the door and hopefully he would be able to move fast enough to get in the door before it locked again.

  Or he could get lucky, and Cheria could walk in the front door and he wouldn't have to bother trying to get in to her home.

  He pulled the picture out of his pocket and looked it over again. Whoever she was, there was a certain pixie like prettiness in her face. She didn't look like a killer, but then it was not like someone capable of murder would be easy to spot. Some predators came in pretty packages to lull their prey into complacency.

  The door into the lobby opened, and he went on alert without making it look like he was waiting for someone to open the door. The man coming into the building looked at him with suspicion, and Rone went back to his piece of paper as if it was more interesting than what the man was doing.

  The man turned away and put his hand on the bio-lock. Rone sat in pretended nonchalance as the door buzzed and the man opened it and walked inside. The door slowly closed and with a swiftness that belied his size, Rone moved to catch hold of the handle to prevent it from closing all the way. He waited a few moments. The man was nowhere in sight, and the elevator doors had finished shutting, so Rone figured that the man had gone up to his home. He slipped inside the door and once it shut behind him the buzzing stopped.

  Rone slipped into the stairwell, and made his way up to the eighth floor where his quarry had her home. He would be less conspicuous traveling up this way, since in his experience most people took the elevator and eschewed the stairs unless forced to take them.

  He moved silently up the stairs and when he got to the eighth floor the exertions of going up that many flights barely raised his pulse. He had not grown soft during his time on this planet.

  He looked out the window in the door, and the hallway appeared to be clear. He moved out of the stairwell and walked down the hall, and when he got to her door a smile pulled up the corner of his mouth. Access to the building may be guarded by bio-locks, but all the doors had a card slot and a pin pad. He would have been stymied by bio-locks but this kind of lock he could bypass quite easily.

  He pulled his blank key card of his pocket along with the small lock bypass console that it was attached to. With a surreptitious look around, he inserted his card into the reader on the bottom. Possession of this type of equipment was highly illegal for most people, except those in certain professions. Fortunately his was one but he didn't want the fact that he was breaking in to Cheria's home to be broadcast and perhaps a warning given to her by one of her neighbors. An error message flashed along the screen of the lock, and he selected retrieve passcode on his handheld console.

  Numbers flashed across the screen until the number 1759 flashed blue. The error message disappeared from the door lock and four lines flashed on the screen. He put in the passcode and pulled out his card.

  The lock gave a double beep, clicked and he pushed open the apartment door. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

  He walked in, his eyes taking in a sumptuous, yet impersonal apartment. Stark white floors and walls caught the light coming in through the huge window and made the living area look extremely bright. The furnishings were all white as well, with the exception of a few accent tables that were made of glass.

  The apartment looked very clean and uninhabited. Had Angis made a mistake and sent him to the wrong address? Had he come to the showroom for the building instead?

  He went into the kitchen and opened a cupboard. There was some dry goods in there, not much, but enough to tell him that someone lived here.

  He turned away and focused on the task before him. He needed to imprint Cheria Warders into his brain, so that no matter where she went, he would be able to find her.

  He went down the hall and stepped inside her bedroom. In order for him to imprint, he needed to get her scent. The best place to do that was to smell her pillow and sheets. He hoped that she hadn't had them laundered before leaving her home.

  He went over to the bed and drew back the neatly made, white covers. He took hold of her pillow, buried his face in it and inhaled deeply. A
rumble emerged from his chest as he caught the scent of her on the pillow. It was a scent that was wholly female. And she smelled good, like the sweetest of fruit, warm sunshine and something that was unique to her. It was that part of her scent that felt like a warm caress down his skin. Imprinting on her scent was a pleasure and he stood there inhaling her scent a little longer than necessary for imprinting. He would now be able to follow her scent and it would be like a beacon to him.

  The strong sense of smell and focused hunting abilities is what made his species much sought after on this planet. Outsiders from other planets were usually not welcome to stay here long term. Tourism was encouraged but the influx of newcomers wanting to come here and take advantage of Arrann Prime's robust economy and make it their home was strictly controlled. Exceptions were made for Thonaxian males because they were suited for jobs that required tracking, like the one Rone currently possessed. Their size also made them sought after body guards for the wealthy and high profile citizens on the planet.

  Unfortunately for Cheria, he now had her scent in his head, and she would not be able to hide from him. He could find her wherever she went. He could follow her trail, even if it was as much as a day old. And because she could not change her basic scent, he would know her even if she was disguised.

  He put the pillow back on the bed, and pulled the covers back over it. He tilted his head to the side as he heard something. The double beep that had allowed him entrance into the apartment sounded again, and a satisfied smile spread across Rone's face.

  Perhaps this hunt was going to be much shorter than he anticipated, since it appeared that his target had come to him.

  Chapter 3

  Cheria sagged against her apartment door, and for the first time since leaving the hotel she felt safe.

  She moved away from the door and pulled the wig out of her pocket with a sigh. It looked like Juno Moneta was going to have to disappear in a puff of smoke. Which was too bad, since she'd like that alias and it would mean that she would have to think of a new one and get new papers made if she wanted to continue her work.