Hunted by the Alien

by Dena Christy

  Of course even if she had somewhere to flee to, he could use her scent to find her so perhaps he wasn't trusting her that much.

  She set about removing her make up. The sooner she got this done the sooner she would have some answers. She would plan accordingly once she knew more.

  People were being murdered around them, and while she wasn't sure why the killer would have gone after Rone's boss, it was undeniable that both their lives were now in danger. Surely he would realize that if he collected the bounty on her he would be putting his life at risk? Not to mention, she was certain that she would not survive long once the bounty holder got his hands on her.

  The information on her chip was the key to all this, but how the hell was she going to be able to access it without the password? She didn't know anyone who could hack in to it. Remy might. She was free of the cuff, but would she be able to elude Ronelong enough to make contact with Remy? Did she dare leave the shelter of his protection or was there a way to convince him to take her to her old mentor.

  She didn't know the answer as she pulled a comb through her hair. It took only moments to straighten her hair and she took her makeup case and wig and left the bathroom.

  "Do you feel better now?" Rone was sitting in a chair at the small table by the window. There was food on the table and the smell of it drifted to Cheria and her stomach rumbled. All she had eaten was the tasteless meal replacement bar earlier in the day.

  "Yes, much better. I hope I didn't take too long." She came over and sat in the chair across from him. He waved his hand to indicate she should help herself to the food and she took a plate and gave herself a serving of all the dishes on the table.

  He took his own plate and prepared it. They ate in silence for several moments, and once most of her hunger had passed, Cheria slowed down her eating and looked at him.

  "So what are we going to do?"

  "I have made contact with Landis, and he will meet with us at his home."

  "Does he know what happened to his father?"

  Rone's mouth tightened and he set his fork down. "He didn't say anything about his father, and it is something that he should be told in person if he is unaware of what happened. I told him that I was in the city and needed to talk to him about helping me with a private matter."

  Cheria looked at him, and ran through her head all the arguments she would use to convince him not to turn her in to the bounty holder. Surely he could see now that turning her in would mean a death sentence for her.

  "About the bounty—“ He held up his hand, cutting off what she'd been about to say.

  "The reason I took off your cuff is because I am not taking you to Tusko M'Kedi to collect your bounty."

  Relief poured through Cheria, but she wondered why he would change his mind about it, since he'd been determined on his course as early as this morning.

  "What changed your mind?"

  "Finding Angis' body was what made my decision. I have not felt right about this hunt from the beginning, but assumed it was because I was uncomfortable hunting a woman. I have thought about why Angis was killed and the only reason I can think of is that the killer is somehow associated with the bounty holder. And whoever they are, they do not want the bounty collected."

  His reasoning seemed plausible, the only association that Angis had with her was his involvement with the bounty. Something nagged at her though.

  "Why put the bounty on me in the first place if they have no intention of paying it?"

  Rone looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think perhaps the purpose of the bounty was to flush you out. What was the first thing you did when you learned that there was a bounty on your head?"

  "I ran from you and led the killer straight to Xander and Broge." Sadness and regret flooded her body at the thought that she'd led the killer to them just as surely as if she'd taken him by the hand and walked him to Xander's club herself.

  Something of what she was feeling must have shown on her face, because he reached out and grasped her hand. It looked tiny and disappeared in his much larger hand. She looked up at him.

  "You must not blame yourself for the death of your friends. You did not wield the blade that took their lives and their death is not your fault."

  She wasn't so sure, but she nodded her head anyway.

  "What are we going to do?"

  "We are going to find out who is behind the bounty. I remember the name of the corporation thatposted it. It will give us a place to start and will hopefully lead us to the identity of who has turned this killer loose on us."

  "And what will we do if we find out who the killer is?"

  "I kill him."

  Cheria shivered as she saw the deadly look in his eyes. Whoever was responsible for his boss' death was going to rue the day they turned their killer on him. They didn't know it but they had aroused the ire of a Thonaxian warrior, and Cheria could tell by the look in Rone's eyes, that he would do whatever it took to bring this whole mess to an end.

  Chapter 12

  As they traveled to see Landis, Rone felt like a burden had been lifted from him. He knew it was because of his decision to not take Cheria to Tusko M'Kedi and collect her bounty. It wasn't fear that he would lose his life if he took her there and made contact with the bounty holder that stopped him. It was because he feared that she would lose hers.

  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She stirred a protective instinct in him, and now there was nothing inside him to war with it. He would do whatever it took to hunt down those who were after her and eliminate them.

  In order to do that, he needed help because while he had the skills of a warrior, combat would not be what was needed to learn the identity of the one behind the murders. And Rone had a feeling that the man who'd done the killing was an instrument wielded by an unseen enemy.

  The vehicle drove them to the outskirts of Bano Iberi and turned down a quiet road. After traveling for another five minutes, it turned down a lane and stopped in front of an impressive metal gate that was too high for the over vehicle to go over. Rone put down the window and there was a metal box mounted on a post just outside it.

  "State your name." A red light flashed on the box as the voice came out of it.

  "Rone Tazo."

  The light flashed green and the gate slowly opened. They moved forward and travelled through the gate and down the lane until their vehicle pulled up in front of a large dome shaped home.

  They got out and walked up to the front door. A small panel in the wall next to the door slid open and a camera mounted on a robotic arm slid out of the opening and turned so it was pointed directly at Rone.

  He stood still, looking into the camera and a green light flashed on top of it. The arm retracted and the camera went back into its housing.

  The door opened, revealing the tall, imposing figure of a Thonaxian, called Cale, who was Landis' bodyguard..

  The warrior stepped back and Rone and Cheria entered the house.

  "Greetings brother." Cale greeted Rone in his own language. "I must ask that you surrender your blade."

  Had it been anyone else who asked, Rone would have been reluctant to hand it over. But he knew that his blade would be in safe keeping until it was returned to him when he left. He had been through this when he'd been here before.

  He pulled the blade out of its sheath and turned it so that the hilt was presented to Cale.

  "Landis is waiting for you in the atrium. Follow me."

  Cale turned and Rone and Cheria followed him into the center of the house. He led them up a flight of stairs and into a spacious room that was under the center of the dome. He motioned for them to go in, and once inside he closed the door behind them and stood in front of it with his arms clasped behind his back.

  There was a large pool of water in the center of the room that reflected the night sky that shone down through the glass dome that served as the room's ceiling.

  A lone figure sat in one of the chairs that had been placed by the pool and Ro
ne slowly approached with Cheria at his side. It was remarkable how much Landis looked like a much younger version of his father. And the tear tracks that marked the young man's face told Rone that Landis must have learned of Angis' death.

  "If you are here to tell me that my father is dead, you have arrived too late. The authorities in Tari A'Veloo informed me shortly after you called that my father was found murdered in his office."

  "Part of the reason we have come was to tell you the news about your father. But that is not the only reason that we are here. May we sit and speak with you?"

  Landis waved his hand to indicate the chairs that were facing where he sat and Rone and Cheria moved to sit in them.

  Landis looked at Rone for a moment before turning his gaze to Cheria. He looked at her for several moments, his eyes narrowing.

  "I know who he is, but who are you?"

  Rone looked over at Cheria, and nodded when she looked at him hesitantly. He was certain that she was reluctant to divulge her real name to someone she did not know, but Landis was the key to helping them out of the predicament they found themselves in. And in order to secure Landis' help, they needed to be completely honest with him.

  "My name is Cheria Warders and I'm an information courier."

  Suspicion remained on Landis' face and turned his gaze back to Rone. "And why have you brought an information courier to my home?"

  "We need your help. There is a bounty on Cheria's head. Your father took the bounty and we think that it is the reason he was killed."

  Landis' mouth tightened for a second. "That contradicts what the authorities have told me. They say my father was the victim of a killer who has murdered three other people, a woman by the name of Juno Moneta. It's funny, but with the exception of the dark hair, your friend here bears a striking resemblance to her. She could be your twin."

  "Juno Moneta is not responsible for your father's death. It was impossible for her to have killed him."

  "And how can you be sure about that?"

  Cheria reached out and put her hand on Rone's arm. She glanced at him for a moment before turning her attention to Landis.

  "Juno Moneta is the alias that I have used for my courier jobs for the past two years. I did not kill your father, and I know you don't know me at all and have no reason to trust my word. But you can trust Rone's and he will tell you that it is impossible for me to have killed your father because I was with him when your father was killed. We were together when we found his body."

  Landis turned to look to him for confirmation.

  "It is true what she says. She was with me when I received a call from your father and has been by my side since then. The person who murdered your father was not this woman. He is the murderer of all the people the authorities claim have been killed by Juno Moneta."

  "Do you know who this killer is?" There was anger in Landis' eyes and Rone was grateful that it appeared that his boss' son was prepared to trust his word that Cheria was not responsible for his father's murder.

  "No, I do not. Cheria saw him and hid from him when he murdered her client. She also saw him at the nightclub where two other murders took place. We assume that he is responsible for your father's murder because of the method used to kill him and the fact that it is the only plausible explanation for it. The reason we are here is to ask for your help."

  Landis sighed and sat back in his chair. "You better start at the beginning and tell me all of it."

  "It all started when I met with a client yesterday morning." Cheria spoke softly as she told Landis, in detail what had brought her to his home. Once she finished, Landis was quiet and looked thoughtful.

  "What is it you think I can do for you?"

  Rone knew that Landis was the creator of Angis' facial recognition application and he recalled that when Angis spoke about him, he claimed that he was a genius and extremely talented with anything related to computers.

  "We need to find out the issuer of the bounty. All that was listed was the corporation's name. I'm certain that the person who murdered your father was hired by the issuer to hunt Cheria. I suspect your father was killed to prevent him from collecting the bounty and perhaps to find out who he'd assigned the bounty hunt to."

  Cheria put her hand on Rone's arm.

  "I think the key to all this is the information on my chip." She turned her attention to Landis. "Do you have any way to hack into it?"

  Landis' brows drew together and he shook his head. "I might be able come up with something. How long do you intend to stay in the city?"

  "As long as we need to." As long as Cheria remained anonymous and safe in the city, Rone intended to stay put.

  "It shouldn't take me too long to come up with something. I set up the surveillance system in my father's office. A copy of the recordings are housed on a server I have here." Landis turned his attention to Cheria. "If I obtain a surveillance photo of the killer from the recordings, would you be able to confirm that it's the same man as the one you saw murdering your client?"

  "I'll never forget his face."

  "Good. If I have a photo of him I should be able to use the facial recognition software to trace who he is, and if he is associated with the bounty issuer." Landis stood up and Rone immediately got to his feet. "I will get to work on everything tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to grieve for my father. Cale will escort you out."

  And with that he turned away and walked to the opposite end of the room, opened the door and left.

  Rone reached down and pulled Cheria to her feet. Together they walked toward where Cale stood and followed him back through the route they'd followed to get to the atrium. Once at the front door, Rone's blade was returned to him and they left the house.

  "Do you think he will be able to help us?" Cheria spoke quietly beside him, and he could see a worried frown pull her brows together.

  "He is very smart and creative. If anyone is best equipped to help us, it is Landis."

  They walked away from the house from and got in to their vehicle. He instructed the vehicle to take them back to their hotel. She was quiet during the ride back and Rone looked over at her.

  "What is wrong?"

  "Are you absolutely certain that we did the right thing by telling him who I am?" She bit her lip and he knew that trusting was not something she did easily.

  "When I made the decision that I would not collect the bounty, I made a promise to myself that I would find out who murdered Angis. In order to do that we need to know who is responsible for the murders and who is the mastermind behind it. We have to trust someone, and Landis has just as much interest as we do in finding out who the killer is."

  She nodded her head and turned to look out the window. He didn't know what else he could say to reassure her that her secrets were safe with him, and by extension with Landis. And he wondered what had happened to her to make trusting so difficult.

  * * *

  Cheria walked into the hotel room with Rone following behind her. She wasn't sure how she felt after their meeting with Landis. The hardest thing she'd had to do in a long time was to reveal to Landis, who was a stranger to her, her true identity. It had been drummed into her head by Remy to use an alias for all her dealings with strangers, and to change that alias every few years.

  She'd spent the last ten years doing her job using one alias after another, so revealing to someone she didn't know what her real name was felt strange and uncomfortable. The only reason she'd done it was because Rone had encouraged her to.

  She didn't want to put all their hopes for a resolution to the horrible mess she was in to one person. If Landis failed to come up with anything to help them, then they needed to have an alternative in place, otherwise they would remain hunted. The longer they were on the run, the more chances there were that they would mess up somehow and leave themselves vulnerable to the murderer who hunted her.

  "We need to come up with an alternative plan to relying on Landis."

  She turned to face Rone and she could see the surpri
se on his face.

  "I know you have a hard time trusting, but we can trust Landis. He has the skills and resources to help us."

  "But what if it isn't enough? Don't you think it would be wise to have a backup plan in the event that Landis fails?" She didn't know Landis the way Rone did, and didn't know his capabilities. The smart thing to do would be to have an alternative plan in place as a contingency. "What do you have in mind?"

  She licked her lips, knowing that he may not like what she was going to suggest.

  "We could go see my old handler, Remy." She wasn't certain that he would have something to get the information off the chip, but he had a whole network of connections that could be tapped into. Surely he would be able to come up with something that could help them. And more importantly, she trusted him.

  "What is a handler?"

  "A handler is someone who arranges courier assignments and matches sellers with buyers. I've known him for years, and he was the one who showed me the ropes. I don't know what sort of life I would have had if I had not met Remy." She most likely would have been either still living in abject poverty or dead.

  "So he is the one that introduced you to your current profession?" His mouth tightened and he did not look at all impressed. It raised her defenses and she put her hands on her hips as she squared off against him.

  "I will admit that my profession is not exactly the most desirable, but sometimes we have to do whatever it takes to survive."

  He shook his head. "You misunderstand me. It is not you but him that I have an issue with. I don't know how you can trust your welfare to someone who introduced you to the life that has contributed to the situation that you find yourself in."

  "It wasn't like that. I begged Remy to show me the ropes. I was not coerced into anything. Please just listen to what I have to say before you say no."

  His face was neutral as he walked over to a chair and sat on it. He looked at her with a raised brow. "Go ahead and speak."