Zurach let go of his cart and walked back to the other one.
"Need help, Vadas?" asked Zurach.
"I'm fine," replied Vadas. “Even with the anti-gravity fields on this thing, it's still a heavy load carrying a six-hundred and fifty ton elf."
Vadas stopped and wiped his forehead. This gave Chloe a chance to get a good look at who was in the cart. The woman had a muscular bulk that easily matched, likely surpassed the orc's with glowing magenta eyes. Her short, brown, curly hair and pointed ears left no doubt in Chloe's mind who it was, and it took everything to hold back a gasp on the sight of Lieutenant-Commander Bridget Ebony laying still on her side toward her. Ebony's skin was between a pale brown and a pale green. Even though her eyes were open, she wasn't moving at all.
Bridget and the recruits were together earlier this morning. Were they in the area? Chloe recalled the rumbling from earlier, and that was when her heart sank. Bridget must have tried to transform, and something had gone very wrong.
Assuming that tremor they felt was Bridget. It should have been a full-blown disaster instead of just a minor incident. So, what happened?
"No one wants to be around if someone like her gets pissed,” said Zurach “I'm still shaking from being this close to doom, even if she can't move."
"You are forgetting she embarrassed us first," said Dayarus. "She is the reason why we are doing this."
Ebony could only manage a weak moan, and her eyes moved and locked on to Chloe's through the small gap in the door.
Chapter 6
Melinda's tail slithered behind her as notes of dirt, sweat, and blood rose into a stench. She kept her eyes on Chloe, who leaned against the door with only a crack open.
"What the heck is going on?" Melinda whispered.
Chloe placed a finger on her lips in response. Melinda leaned in closer to the opening and her ears barely picked up a deep moan. Chloe slowly set the door back and beckoned her toward the electric room. When they entered, Melinda had to lean forward and hunch down to keep from hitting her head on the low ceiling. Chloe pulled on the door and exhaled, then inhaled again. Her breathing picked up speed.
Melinda leaned in. "Chloe, sweetie, calm down, breathe. Slow. In, and out. In, and out."
Chloe nodded, closed her eyes and matched Melinda's breath tempo.
"Is she going to be okay?" asked Adam.
"Give her a minute," Melinda said. She knew Chloe well enough to recognize the symptoms of when she was going into a panic.
"You better now, Lil' Greenie?"
Chloe nodded.
"All right. Now, what did ya see out there?"
"It's bad, really bad," Chloe gasped. "The people in the carts were from onboarding. They were the new security recruits. But the people who kidnapped them were also in security uniforms."
Melinda's ears shifted.
"Bridget was in one of those carts." Chloe paced away from Melinda, head down, hand on her chin. "She's completely paralyzed."
"How do you know?"
“If she wasn't, do you think those kidnappers would be standing right now?”
“Mrrrr... good point.”
Chloe folded her arms and paced back. “She looked like she was in between her small and normal forms. She had pale skin, like a brown-green color."
"That's not how she looks when she's normal. She's full-out deep green."
"And that rumbling from earlier, remember that? I think that was her transformation. But, if it was, that tremor should have been much more powerful than that. They did something to her."
Melinda had no doubts of the scents she picked up. Some fight went down, and those security traitors were going to use the building as their hideout.
"Central, this is Adam Lyndon, please respond." Adam hovered by the window with a headset on. "Central, do you read me?"
Chloe paced behind Adam and leaned her head closer, trying to listen in. Adam's wings revved up and gave himself space away from her. It didn't help him much, as Chloe continued to follow. He hovered back and stood on top of one of the electrical boxes.
"All I'm getting is static," he said.
Chloe pulled out her cell phone. "No cell service either. Can they jam the signals?"
"Wouldn't be the first time," said Melinda. "Remember when we had a phone company shut down all towers while we were trying to warn the city about the attack on the market?"
"I remember. I also remembered what had to happen to warn the city and the wardrobe malfunction that came with it."
"At least it got people's attention quickly."
Chloe frowned, and her cheeks flushed a deep green. "Glad those criminals got put away for a very long time," she muttered.
Melinda grinned. That same idea popped in her head, but having Chloe go giant from the inside would destroy the building as well as all the hostages, except for Lieutenant-Commander Ebony, but it wasn't worth risking it.
"Chloe, we need to get in action right now,” said Melinda. “We need—"
"Stop," Chloe interrupted. "No, it's not the same as before. We're here as employees working for a company now."
"But can't we do something? There's gotta be some way to get the word out. We gotta give Central Command the heads up at least." She kneeled down and took a closer look at the network wires that crisscrossed along the network cabinet.
"Adam, you can turn into electricity and get out of here, can't ya?" said Melinda.
"She's right," said Chloe. "Do you think you can squeeze into the wires and get to Security from here?"
Adam looked at the wires again and placed a hand on one of them. A dust bunny or two fell onto him, and he coughed in a fit.
"Still can't believe we didn't upgrade the network in this building," he muttered.
"If you can get to Central, maybe y'all can come up with a surprise attack or something before they settle in," said Melinda.
"Not in these. I don't want to get stuck again."
"Please, Adam. You have to try," pleaded Chloe.
At this, Adam sighed and turned toward the transformers.
"I'm going to use the electrical system to get out instead of the computer network. It definitely has enough room, but I have to be careful not to cause an overload."
"I have faith in ol' reliable here. She'll take good care of ya." Melinda patted the electrical box.
"You should get out, too. Most of the security officers are trained, high-powered, and they use weapons."
Melinda smirked. "Is that all? Why worry? We're the Market Maidens. We've been in messier situations than this."
Adam nodded and his body glowed before he shifted into streams of electricity and injected himself into one of the electrical boxes.
"All right, job one done. Now we just have to figure out how to slow down these guys until the cavalry arrives."
"Lin, we need to get out of here. We don't even have a plan," said Chloe.
Melinda turned her head and eyed all the other electrical boxes. "How's this for a plan? We cycle the power off and on in the building to make it look like it's haunted. That'll spook 'em!"
"Would it? Do you even know if they have any spirit sensors? Curse detectors? Mages? That wouldn't even phase them. They still have hostages, remember? They won't just pack up and leave."
"We could have freaked them out if we rolled around enough in all this dust to make us look dead."
"They'd just fire on us anyway and then we'd really be dead."
Melinda yowled. She really hated to run away if they could do something, but sometimes you just have to live to fight another round. "All right, it doesn't look so good. We just have to keep 'em in a false sense of security, right?"
Chloe may have rolled her eyes at that, but the feeling of executing a well-placed pun made Melinda proud. Just as Chloe headed for the door, Melinda picked up a familiar scent that grew stronger and it was coming straight toward them. Her ears perked up and she could barely make out faint steps on stairs. Melinda grabbed Chloe's arm.
> "Someone's coming, hide!" Melinda whispered.
Chloe looked around and jogged behind an aisle of electrical boxes. Turning back to the door, only the sound of the electrical hum remained before Melinda heard a beep and a click that unlocked it. The door groaned and dragged itself against the floor while Melinda squatted down and let her tail wrap around her waist. She eyed the networking cabinet again and pretended to act like how Adam would; inspecting each and every connection to make sure everything was hooked up. That was what most computer people do, right?
One more groan, and the door popped open. A person with the GVU security uniform entered and upon seeing her, he pulled out his ray pistol and squared himself, pointing it right at Melinda's nose. He was a tall and burly orc, orange-skinned. He leaned in and hit his head on a light fixture. His uniform was soiled with dirt, but she could still make out the name of Vadas, and his shoulders had the insignia of an ensign.
"Well hi," Melinda welcomed. "Kinda need to watch your head, this place has really low ceilings."
“You're Melinda Calanke,” said Ensign Vadas. “I recognize you from the security bulletins.”
“Ain't it a fact my reputation precedes me?”
“What are you doing here?"
“I work here, Ensign.”
“I mean, why are you here in this basement? You're not causing trouble, are you?”
“No, seriously, I'm setting up a new department in the building. I found the internet download speed pretty bad, so I figured I'd come down and try to fix it myself. Can't depend on those guys in I.T. all the time. Know what I mean?"
Melinda kept a close eye on the orc. His brown eyes had a tint of red and were swollen. His chest moved rapidly with shallow and labored breaths. Melinda resisted a grin, confident that she could go one on one with that guy in his sorry state
"How come I've never seen this room?" said Vadas.
"Maybe it's just so easy to ignore. I didn't even know there was a basement in this building until I came in here and saw the steps going down." She flashed her confident smile at the officer. "Thanks for checking up on little 'ol me. Now if you can excuse me, I need to get back to work, the internet ain't gonna fix itself."
The orc didn't move from his spot. "You don't have to do that," he said. "Everyone can tether their corporate cell phones to use the internet. I can show you how to do it."
"My, a security and technology specialist? A rare combination. I appreciate that, but for what I'm doing, I want a tried-and-true way to get my data through."
"I understand. I run legacy coaxial cable through my house to power my cameras and smart appliances," said Vadas.
Melinda fought back a grimace as she pulled in as much as she could recall about computers and the tech do-dads from talks with her youngest daughter.
"Ol' dependable coaxial. Yessiree."
"Back in high school, cable over everything for gaming."
"Uh-huh. I can't stand losing in games like that."
"Slow pings, choppy gameplay, connections going dead. Hunting is nothing like that in real life." Vadas tapped the barrel of the pistol on his hip a couple times. Melinda shimmied slightly to her right and crouched a bit deeper while maintaining eye contact. Vadas pointed his pistol forward again with his finger on the trigger.
"You don't have to keep pointing that thing at me, right?" said Melinda.
Vadas glared and kept his pistol aimed at Melinda.
"Okay, I know what you're thinking. But I'm a tried-and-true person." Melinda pulled out her security card. "You can verify who I am. It's the only way I could have gotten in here in the first place and I'm director-level now. I'm supposed to run the place anyhow so you don't have to worry about me."
Melinda was running out of options and had little in terms of advantages. Trying to leap and grab his weapon within the little space was too tricky, and the dang ceiling was too low. She didn't hear a peep from Chloe either, only the hum of the electrical equipment. On the other hand, if he wanted to kill her, he'd had more than enough chances to do it. At least these people haven't crossed that line yet.
“Let's worry about you.” Melinda's voice softened. “You look tired. What's wrong?”
At the gesture, Ensign Vadas lowered his weapon slightly. The tip of his gun angled down, just a little.
“I can't tell you,” said Vadas.
“Didn't I say I ran this place with a pretty hefty budget? If there's anything I can help with, tell me and I can see if I can swing a deal for ya.”
“For me?”
“You tell me what your problem is and I'll solve it, guaranteed.”
Vadas just laughed. “You won't solve a problem like her.”
“Who and why not?”
“Commander Ebony. You can't stop her.”
Melinda's ears shifted back, and her throat tightened. “Maybe, but I know people who can.”
Vadas' mouth hung slightly at that and for a moment, didn't say anything. Darn it, if he'd only drop that ray pistol, she'd be on him and end this.
Melinda kept going. “Ebony did something to you, didn't she? She always gets in the way of what needs to be done, right?”
That was Melinda's gambit. Be empathetic and relate to the person you're negotiating with. The only thing that can get in the way of a Nyxazon's sense of pride is authority. She hoped that was the root of the problem.
“No,” Vadas said flatly. “None of this would have happened if Commander Ebony just followed orders. Just because she's that strong, doesn't mean she gets to decide things on her own.”
“If it was that bad, why not talk to her CO, maybe they'll start an investigation.”
“It's been done already. She didn't listen to Wats, and we paid the price while she got a promotion.”
Melinda could sense the air of revenge in their strategy. But to what end? At least now she had a motive and getting evidence wouldn’t be that hard. It's escaping a situation at gunpoint that was the problem. She looked at the ray pistol. Vadas' hand trembled. Melinda's ears drooped. She shifted back a bit more until she was in the aisle gap. Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out the edges of Chloe's shoes, which shifted forward and stretched larger. They were just starting to reach the aisle gap when they shifted back. She wondered how tightly bunched Chloe was in hiding herself. It was also an opportunity to take this guy down, as Chloe had the advantages of size, strength, and surprise.
Vadas advanced on Melinda. His gaze sharpened, and he snarled. "Lieutenant Gatti told me how slick you could be. And I think I told you too much as it is."
“Felina does think highly of me, I'm sure.” Melinda kept shifting back. Now she could make out Chloe, who sat with her head down, hugging her legs. She must have been at least eight feet tall now and looked more than strong enough to take on the Orc.
"Let me make you a deal. I know of a friend; her name is Ms. Money." Melinda paused, keeping her eyes on Vadas but also paying attention to her peripheral vision, where she didn't notice any reaction by Chloe. "Ms. Money and I go a long way back. We've done school together, made deals together and most of all, made money."
"You're offering me a bribe?" Vadas raised his voice.
"No, I just want to go home and be with my family. Think of it as a goodwill offer before the main one which includes my guarantee."
“I refuse. I trust my team more than you.”
Melinda growled. “All right, then in that case, how about I get Ms. Money to smack serious cash upside your head right now!"
Melinda braced herself for some pounding action. But it never came. She could hear nothing except some shivering and the hums of the electrical equipment. A few seconds passed before Vadas leaned in close.
"So, where is she? Where's Ms. Money?" asked Vadas.
Melinda clenched her jaw, unwrapped her tail from her waist, and it slapped against the wall hard. She slid back, her legs uncoiled, and they pressed against the bricks behind her. She hid her right hand behind her back and unsheathed her claws
. Ensign Vadas scanned over Melinda again before taking one more step. As he leaned forward, Melinda slashed at him; her claws struck and sunk in his arm's hide. He grunted and moved back, using his hand to catch Melinda's other arm as she tried to slash at his face.
Melinda's ears turned and flattened, and she hissed, baring sharp teeth in his face. She leaned back and rotated her legs, but before she kicked; with his free hand still on his pistol, he aimed and pushed the trigger.
Chapter 7
Chloe kept seated, head down, with her legs pulled into a ball. All she could do was focus on her breathing and the hum from the lights to quiet herself. She shuddered as heat surged through her body, the raw energy trying to push out and expand. She pulled her arms in tighter. Keeping everything contained was what mattered right now. Then her ears picked up a dull murmur. "Ms. Money….now!"
Chloe shifted her head, still resting on the top of her thighs. She had a lock on her energy, and her breathing was under control. She couldn't risk losing control now. But a noise like air leaking disrupted that hum before a zap shorted it out and the peaceful, gentle sound returned. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief as she closed her eyes...
Planet Silvan, 28 years ago.
“Hey are you even awake? Hello?”
A light-green skinned, green-blonde-haired girl leaned over and poked at Chloe's brow spikes.
Chloe blinked a few times and shook her head. She yawned and stretched, leaning her back against the school wall. She had been reading a book on problem solving in math, but must have fallen asleep for a moment.
“Oakley?” said Chloe.
“Yes, I'm Oakley, and what have you been reading? Probably something really boring if it made you sleep like that.”
Chloe shook her head and placed a bookmark.
“Come on, we're going to play a game and we need more people,” said Oakley.
“But our test is after recess, isn't it?” said Chloe.
Oakley took Chloe's hand and pulled her up. “It won't take long. Besides, you need a break and have some fun.”
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