by Kelly Goode
The screen wobbled and Malone looked nervously over his shoulder.
‘There is also the possibility that I’ve failed; that you’re watching this up there in your spaceship trying to figure out when to strike. So if this has made its way into the wrong hands, I have a message for the Commander of the Fleet. SCREW YOU. Earth is not for sale. We’ll protect the jaktten like they protected us. You won’t win.’
The video ended abruptly.
‘This is seriously messed up,’ Viktor said. ‘What formula is he talking about?’
‘I’d need to watch all the videos and read the files before I could even make a guess.’
Blake finished copying the files and then removed the chip and handed it back to Viktor.
‘What do you think he means about protecting the jaktten, like they protected us?’ he asked.
‘My father didn’t speak much about what happened the day we crashed. He was weak, on the brink of death, and the council got us from the crumpled ship to safety. Maybe there were some humans that helped some of the other colony members acclimatise to Earth. I don’t know.’
‘Who would know?’
‘The council.’
Blake winced. ‘The same council that’s now dead.’
‘They’re not all dead.’
‘You’re not thinking of asking Erik, are you? He’s fucking crazy and he wants to kill you.’
‘I can be persuasive when I need to be.’
Blake was going to argue, but Viktor raised his hand to silence him.
‘The girls are on their way back. Are you sure you don’t want to tell Carson about what we saw on Malone’s video files?’
‘I’m sure. I’ll review the rest of the data tonight and remove any references I find that incriminates me. After that, I’ll tell you what to do with the original microchip.’
40
Helen lifted her hand to knock on the door, but Carson used her elbow to nudge her out of the way.
‘Don’t warn them we’re back, otherwise we won’t catch them mid-conversation.’
She opened the door and gestured Helen to walk ahead of her. As predicted, Viktor stopped talking and Blake slipped his phone into his jacket pocket.
‘We’ve wasted enough time here,’ Carson said, as she scowled at the men. ‘Hand over the microchip, so I can take it to HQ. Doc, you can ride up front with me. Blake you can walk for all I care.’
‘I never said you could take the chip,’ Viktor replied.
‘Not your decision. It’s the doc’s.’
Helen faltered as three sets of eyes stared at her – Blake’s and Carson’s were expectant, but Viktor’s were challenging. She knew whatever choice she made, someone was going to be disappointed.
‘I think I need to see what data is on the microchip before I hand it over,’ she said.
Carson put her hands on her hips. ‘The chief wants you to come back with us.’
‘I need a little more time before I face him.’
‘You’ll be safer at the ISCU.’
‘Tell that to Doctor Malone.’
‘Malone should have come to us for protection. He tried to go it alone and it didn’t work. You should-’
‘Make your decision tomorrow morning,’ Blake interrupted and Carson glared at him as if he’d suddenly sprouted an extra head.
‘The chief will have our arses if we return without Helen and the data,’ she said.
‘We can stall, we’ve done it before. That’ll give the doc a few hours to figure out what she wants to do next. Agreed?’
Helen looked at Viktor to gage his reaction.
I’ll drive Helen home and stay with her,’ Viktor replied. ‘We all have important decisions to make tonight.’
Carson’s fury was written across her face and she looked as if she wanted to pull out her gun and start shooting, so the ringing of a phone provided a timely distraction.
‘It’s mine,’ she said, and stalked out of the room to answer it.
‘I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid, like try to follow you and steal the microchip for herself,’ Blake said.
‘Would she do that?’ Helen asked.
He shrugged. ‘She’s done crazier things in the two years I’ve known her. See you tomorrow. Sleep well.’
Helen doubted she’d sleep a wink, but she smiled and nodded. The tension in the room seemed to increase after Carson and Blake left, and she fidgeted nervously with the collar of her shirt while she waited for Viktor to speak.
‘I found your phone in your coat too,’ he said, as he picked up her grubby white coat and held it out to her. ‘Is there someone else you’d rather call and ask to spend the night with you? I shouldn’t have assumed it would be me.’
‘Why wouldn’t it be you?’
He sighed. ‘We both know we’re delaying the inevitable, Helen. Tomorrow you’re going back to your world and I am going back to mine. It might be easier if we say goodbye now.’
‘Easier for you.’
‘Nothing is easy for me.’
‘It could be.’
Viktor shook his head. ‘Things are complicated, and always will be when it comes to us.’
‘I assure you I won’t complicate things further,’ she snapped, as she slipped on her white coat and headed for the door. She was keen not to say anything else she might regret, but Viktor didn’t let her get very far. He grabbed her around the waist and halted her escape.
‘You don’t understand.’
He spun her around so quickly, she felt giddy.
‘So tell me,’ she demanded.
‘You don’t know how hard it is to stay in this human form, knowing that I am betraying my people just by imagining us together.’
Helen’s heartrate increased as warmth blossomed in her chest.
‘But you have imagined it?’ she asked.
‘I’m an alien, not a monk.’
‘Was that a sarcastic comment?’
‘I think it was. You’re a bad influence on me, Doctor Peters.’
Viktor leaned forward so his forehead rested against hers. The urge to kiss him was so great, that she had to bite her lip to stop herself.
Stay out of his way and don’t complicate things.
The voice in her head didn’t sound convinced. Her life was never going to be the same. Fate had really shitty timing or a warped sense of humour, as the only man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with was an alien who didn’t want to be a man at all.
41
‘Watch where you’re going.’
Carson grunted from the impact of colliding with what felt like a solid wall, but was in fact Matt Sheridan’s chest.
‘Sorry, I didn’t see you when I opened the door,’ she said.
‘I’m over six foot,’ Sheridan replied, ‘which makes me pretty hard to miss, unless you permanently walk around with your head up your arse. Oh wait, that is what you do.’
Carson scowled. Sheridan was her least favourite person at the Invasive Species Control Unit. Although he was a fellow agent, he had a superiority complex as large as his oversized biceps and made no apologies for his lack of respect. As her home was still classed as a crime scene, she’d hoped to stealthily return to HQ and hide away in the medical bunk until morning, but it seemed as if fate had other plans.
‘Where’s Blake?’ Sheridan asked. ‘You two are normally joined at the hip.’
‘He’s running an errand.’
‘Is that your new code for waiting to have sex?’
‘Fuck off,’ she replied, and at the subsequent snigger behind her, she turned to see Adam approaching from the direction of the laboratory.
Adam Freeman was the newest recruit to the unit. He was good-looking and smart, with wide shoulders and a mop of thick hair. A few days ago, she’d been tempted by his bright blue eyes and killer dimples, but it seemed she preferred brooding, dishevelled types rather than charming, chemistry geeks.
‘Hey, Adam.’
‘Hi, Carson. Ch
ief Melman is looking for you. He said something about a microchip. Mean anything to you? Lydia is leaving me out of the loop as usual.’
Carson pushed her hands through her short hair, as she usually did whenever she was anxious. It was Blake’s fault she was returning to HQ empty-handed. If she’d had her way, she would have grabbed the doc and forced her to come back. Now her so-called partner had disappeared on a clandestine errand and left her to face Tom’s wrath. Maybe there was still time to make an excuse and escape, but no sooner had she thought that, Tom exited the lift, closely followed by Lydia.
‘I’m glad you’re back, Carson,’ Tom said, as he nodded an acknowledgement to Sheridan and Adam too. ‘Lydia has been waiting all day to study the data from Malone’s microchip. What kept you?’
Lydia seemed to have gained a promotion from Doctor Malone’s death as she was now running the forensic team. She was a strange woman with sallow skin from working long hours in the laboratory. She was thin with dark eyes; eyes that reminded Carson of a snake – cold and ruthless. She was her second least favourite person at ISCU, as just like Matt Sheridan, she’d taken an instant and unjustified dislike to Carson.
‘I don’t have the microchip, sir,’ she said.
‘What?’
‘Blake pulled ranked and held onto it.’
‘And where is he now?’
‘He said he was going to meet me here after he ran a quick errand,’ she lied.
Tom’s eyes narrowed. ‘That was very poor judgement on your part. Blake doesn’t have the clearance to access that data unsupervised. There could be sensitive information on there.’
‘I’m sorry, sir but as you know, Blake is my superior officer-’
‘And when has that ever stopped you?’ Tom cut in.
‘I’m sorry,’ she repeated.
Tom rubbed his chin. ‘Where’s Doctor Peters?’
‘She’ll be here tomorrow morning. She promised.’
‘Promises don’t mean shit, Carson. I’m disappointed in the choices you’ve made this week. You’re dismissed. I’ll deal with Blake later.’
Carson nodded, trying not to let her reaction to his reprimand show on her face.
‘Lydia, let’s go over those DNA samples again,’ Tom said, and Lydia smiled triumphantly when he steered her towards the laboratory and didn’t ask anyone else to join them.
‘Looks like I’ve just been dismissed too,’ Adam said. ‘If you’re free, do you want to grab a coffee or something?’
Sheridan snorted. ‘Wow, if I didn’t hate your guts so much, I might feel insulted that I seem to be the only man in this unit that you’re not fucking.’
His words hit their intended mark and Carson felt her fury explode like one of her grenade guns. She wanted to smack the smug look from his face, but it was Adam that stepped forward.
‘Don’t talk to her like that,’ he said, clenching his hands into fists. Although the two men were roughly the same height, Sheridan clearly had the advantage of added muscle mass.
‘You’re new here, lab-boy and I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you’re wasting your time with this one. She has a reputation for sleeping her way up the chain of command, so unless you can provide her with extra favours around the unit, I doubt you’ll be getting naked anytime soon.’
Adam made a move towards Sheridan, but Carson held him back.
‘He’s not worth it,’ she said, as Sheridan laughed and walked out of the door. ‘Besides, I can fight my own battles. I don’t need you charging in on your white horse, trying to save my virtue.’
‘He’s an arsehole.’
‘That he is, but he also lost his grandfather a few days ago, so I’m giving him a reprieve. Next time, I’ll knock him flat on his face.’
Adam slid his hands inside his pockets, but he still looked as if he wanted to chase Sheridan down and finish the conversation with his fists.
‘You shouldn’t let him talk about you like that,’ Adam said, his eyes darkening with resentment.
‘I don’t care.’
‘You should.’
‘Well I don’t, and neither should you. I’ve spent years dealing with guys like Sheridan. I’m not here to make friends.’
Adam’s lips thinned. ‘I should probably take that as a warning to back-off.’
‘I didn’t mean it like that.’
‘Yes, you did. It’s ok. I get it. Why would you be interested in a geek like me?’
‘I could give you the old “it’s not you, it’s me” speech, but that wouldn’t sound sincere and I am sincere. You’re too good for me. I’m damaged goods.’
‘If you’re talking about the scars, they don’t make you less attractive.’
Carson looked down at her forearms. The trail of purplish lines and puckered skin were ugly, but they also made her who she was.
‘Not all my scars are visible,’ she replied softly, allowing a moment of melancholy to settle before she quashed it. ‘Ok, let’s change the subject. Tell me what DNA Lydia and the chief are examining.’
Adam’s enthusiasm slowly returned as he recounted the samples he’d finally had time to process from the various crime scenes he’d been called to that week.
‘The most interesting match involves two blood samples taken from the woods at the back of your property,’ he said. ‘One sample we’re assuming belonged to the jaktten that kidnapped Doctor Peters and the other sample to the jaktten that Chief Melman shot.’
‘The chief told you about that?’
Adam nodded. ‘He said he did it to protect you.’
‘The jaktten wasn’t a threat,’ she replied. ‘It was there to help.’
‘I wouldn’t be so quick to class it as an ally either. That second DNA source matched another crime scene.’
‘Which one?’
‘Doctor Malone’s basement.’
‘Impossible.’
Adam shook his head. ‘I ran the results three times to be sure. Whichever alien you encountered in the forest was also in that basement. Be careful.’
42
Helen’s anxiety increased, as Viktor drove towards her apartment building. It was part of a new complex that had been built on the outskirts of town, to ease housing demands on the other London boroughs. Her building wasn’t big or flashy, only three stories high, and she worried that Viktor would compare it to his lavish penthouse and find it, and therefore her, severely lacking.
‘Have you lived here long?’ Viktor asked, as he parked the car in one of the visitor spaces and switched the engine off.
‘A few months; I’m only renting until I decide where I want to put down roots.’
Helen got out of the car and Viktor followed. She used her key to enter the communal lobby and directed him towards the door at the far end.
‘I’m surprised you chose the ground floor,’ he said. ‘Considering how much you appreciate a good view, I mean.’
‘Not all of us can afford the penthouse,’ she said, unlocking her front door and stepping inside. She shook off her dirty white coat and left it on the sideboard to remind her it needed cleaning, then she took her mobile phone out of the pocket. She checked the display for any messages, but it was dead.
‘Make yourself at home,’ she said. ‘I’m just going to charge my phone.’
Viktor stayed in the hallway: his huge frame casting an ominous shadow while she plugged her phone into a charger and quickly tidied away any obvious clutter in her small living room.
‘Do you want a coffee?’ she asked, once she returned to the hall.
‘No, I’m fine.’
Helen’s shoulders sagged, as the intensity of the last few days finally caught up with her.
‘I wish I was fine,’ she said.
‘I don’t know how to make things better for you,’ he replied.
‘Hold me?’
Viktor’s blue eyes widened before he closed the gap between them. His arms circled her waist and he rested his chin on the top of her head. Helen sighed as she fe
lt the warmth of his breath against her hair. The silence between them was charged with unspoken words, and whilst her head told her to give up, her heart wanted more.
‘Have you ever considered that maybe complicated suits us?’ she asked, as she pulled away slightly so she could look up into his eyes.
Viktor’s jaw clenched. ‘I promised I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.’
‘But what if you’re the one hurting me most of all?’
‘Don’t say that. I care about you, Helen.’
‘Then stay with me tonight, and not because you want to make sure I’m safe from those monsters and creatures, but because you want to be with me.’
‘I told you I can’t.’
His tone held a warning, but also a sense of frustration.
‘You’ve lived your entire life for your colony. Give us a chance.’
‘I can’t.’
This time he didn’t sound so sure, so she pulled together the last of her courage and reached up to cradle his face in her hands. She stood on tiptoes and kissed him. The softness of his lips against hers caused desire to zip through her body like an electric current.
‘You said no kissing,’ he said after she’d pulled away.
‘I know what I said, and even if there’s no future, I want one night. I can’t walk away from this without knowing if what I felt since meeting you is real. Give me one night. Please.’
43
Viktor felt his resolve slipping like sand through an hourglass, as Helen kissed his jaw and then his neck. He’d honoured her request for space, but with her small body pressed tightly against his, the last of his restraint crumbled.
‘Give me one night,’ she repeated and he shuddered as her breath caressed his skin.
‘Damn it, Helen. You’re pushing me too far.’
‘Or not far enough.’
She was playing with fire, goading his jaktten that wanted nothing more than to claim her and make her scream his name.