by S. E. Smith
“Now, wait just a damn minute,” Colonel Baker, the human commander for the area interrupted. “I’m in charge of this district. I want to hear Councilman Razor’s observations on the matter.”
Razor watched as Badrick turned sharply and took a step threatening step toward the human. His eyes flickered to Cutter who nodded. They both knew how volatile the Usoleum male could be when he didn’t get his way.
“The human stays,” Razor stated with an underlying tone of warning. “Control yourself Badrick. The Alliance Council granted that it would cooperate with the human military. Colonel…” Razor’s eyes shifted briefly to the human male before turning back to Badrick who stood clenching his fisted hands at his side. “… Baker is within his rights to remain.”
*.*.*
Badrick drew in a hissing breath before his cold eyes turned back to Razor’s challenging stare. He forced himself to relax. Stepping back, he briefly bowed his head to show he recognized the quiet threat in Razor’s voice.
He shielded the hatred in his eyes even though he knew the Trivator could smell it. The cynical amusement in Razor’s eyes were like claws ripping through his gut. It perturbed him that he had not known the human male had an explosive on him. He would be having a conversation with his new security team as soon as he got rid of the two Trivator warriors.
“My apologies,” he said with a fake smile. “Of course the human may remain. Perhaps we should retire to the Colonel’s office while your second oversees the removal of the bodies?”
“Agreed,” Razor replied. “Cutter, see if you can discover where the explosives came from and review the documented images to determine which side of the city the men belonged to.”
“Documented images?” Badrick asked with a frown. “You have images of the men on each side?”
“I like to know who I am fighting against. It helps to know how they think and move to minimize the amount of threat to my men,” Razor briefly answered.
“Of course,” Badrick muttered, turning to walk through the doorway leading to a back corridor.
Razor paused when the human Colonel stopped next to him. He glanced at Cutter who raised his eyebrow in inquiry before turning slightly toward the human male. The man’s troubled eyes were not on him but on the back of Badrick. Suspicion darkened the already dark brown eyes until they looked almost black.
“He refused to let my men search them,” Baker muttered under his breath. “He also had them by-pass the security scanners. I don’t trust that bastard, neither should you.”
“I don’t trust anyone but my own men,” Razor replied.
Baker nodded in understanding. “I know what you mean,” he agreed. “Did you really order the destruction of Mexico City?”
“Of course. They refused to concede,” Razor replied as he turned toward the corridor to follow Badrick. “As I said before, I do not negotiate.”
Colonel Baker stared after the huge alien male as he walked confidently down the hallway. He swallowed as he ran his eyes over the thick muscles straining against the dark fabric of the alien’s black uniform. He had been in the military for almost thirty years and was looking forward to his retirement when the Trivator warriors first appeared six years ago. All military personnel had been called to active duty and all retirement suspended until the threat was over.
Unfortunately, they had been expecting the threat to come from the aliens, not the citizens. At least not to the magnitude it had. When rioters, government reformers and religious zealots poured out, they were split in half. He had quickly moved up the ranks from Staff Sergeant to Colonel due to the lack of resources and his experience as more men and women were called to action.
It soon became clear that while there were more humans, the Trivator out-powered them, had far superior technology and extremely well trained soldiers, or warriors, as he later learned they called themselves. When the United States Commander-in-Chief ordered a cease-fire, the military followed those orders; unfortunately, the civilians did not and so the fight continued. Only this time, it was citizen against citizen in a world gone crazy. In desperation, governments around the world met and agreed that if humanity was to survive, they would have to accept not only the aliens who came to Earth at their innocent invitation, but each other.
I just hope that bastard knows what he is doing, Baker thought as he followed Razor down the corridor. I sure as hell don’t want to be the one to stop him like I’ve been ordered to do if he tries to flatten the damn city.
Chapter 8
Kali breathed a sigh of relief as she escaped her brother’s office. He had questioned her for over two hours, pulling everything he could out of her before she convinced him it was better for them to review every inch of their defenses, weapons and evacuation routes for those living in the city just in case the Trivator did decide to attack. By the time they were done, she was more than ready to get out for a while.
“Hey Kali, wait up!” Jason called out from behind her.
Kali quietly groaned under her breath. She wanted to run. She needed to run. Right now, confusion and frustration were making her antsy and she needed to escape to a place where she could be alone to think about the discussion and strategies she and Destin had just gone over.
It still shocked her that her brother knew about her rescuing the alien. His question had thrown her off guard at first before she realized that a helicopter crash and three Trivator rescue ships hovering above the barrier dividing the city wasn’t something she could easily hide. An incident like that would immediately be brought to his attention, as he so eloquently pointed out to her.
The first hour he had grilled her about what had happened and why she felt like the Trivator might be taking a more definitive stance compared to their previous actions. He also wanted to know everything she could tell him about the warriors she had seen.
She told him what she could, without, she hoped, revealing how much her encounter with the male had shaken her or the fact that she had been on Colbert’s side of the city. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the alien male and it was beginning to piss her off. It was only when she was running that she able to lock him away for a short period of time. Even that wasn’t a guarantee anymore.
The last couple of days, the feeling that she was being watched – even followed - had grown worse, and the irritating male’s dark face kept sneaking back into her thoughts when she least expected it. She knew he was watching her. She could feel it. Tonight, that distraction had almost gotten her killed. She didn’t know what he wanted, but it was time she found out before the stupid lout ended up causing her to make a really dumb mistake.
“Kali, wait!” Jason called her again, this time a little more sharply.
Kali paused and turned to glare at Jason, a look of annoyance on her face. He flushed slightly at her raised eyebrow and tight lips. She wanted to make it obvious that she wasn’t happy that he was interrupting her.
“What do you want, Jason?” She asked coolly.
He flushed again and came to a stop a few feet from her. “Are you going out again?” He asked bluntly.
Kali stiffened at the disapproval and suspicion in his voice. She didn’t answer to anyone but Destin. From Jason’s tone, it sounded like he was about to try to take his interest to a new level. It was time she nipped that idea in the bud.
“What I do is no one’s business but my own and Destin’s,” she replied.
She watched as he shifted from one foot to the other before his jaw stiffened in determination. She knew she had made the right guess when his eyes flashed. It was time to set him straight.
“I heard about what happened earlier this evening. I can’t believe Destin would allow you to put yourself in danger like that. You shouldn’t be going out on patrol,” he bit out in a low voice. “It is too dangerous. I said as much to Destin. He agreed with me. I’ve also told him of my interest in you.”
Kali took a step forward, stopping when she was only a foot away from him. The tem
per that she had been fighting to control snapped like an overstretched rubber band. Hot fury poured through her. She was furious that not only did Jason think he had the right to talk to her brother about her behind her back, but that Destin had neglected to tell her about it.
“No one tells me what to do.” She pushed her finger into his chest hard enough to knock him back a step as she spoke. “You have no right to talk about me behind my back. I am the head of Destin’s security team. I am the one who decides what is and what isn’t too dangerous,” she snapped out coldly before dropping her voice lower in warning. “And I am the only one who decides who I shall or shall not be with.”
Kali cursed silently to herself when Jason grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward. She remained unmoving, impassive as he crushed his lips to hers. She knew she could fight him. She even had a good chance of beating him, but she also knew that remaining unresponsive to him would have a greater impact than arguing or fighting. She knew she had made the right decision when he tore his lips away and released her.
“I want you, Kali,” he muttered in a low, angry voice. “I plan to have you. We would make a good team.”
Kali remained rigid, a calm mask hiding the trembling inside. She hated confrontations. While she had learned to deal with them, deep down they always left her feeling uncomfortable and shaky.
“You’re a good man, Jason. I respect you, and we need you, but I’m not interested in a relationship with you or anyone else. There is too much uncertainty in the world right now,” she continued, softening her tone when she saw the brief flash of hurt cross his face. “I made a promise that I would protect my brother and the people under him for as long as it took to rebuild our world.”
Jason swore and reached out to cup her face between his hands. “We can do that together, Kali. Just give me a chance. Let me in,” he responded in a low desperate voice. “Don’t… don’t say no. Not yet. Think about it. I’ll give you time… just, think about it. Life is too short to live it alone.”
Kali lifted her hands and wrapped them around his wrists, pulling them down and letting them go before taking a step back. She shook her head when he started to take a step forward. She didn’t need time. She knew that the moment his lips touched hers. All she could think about was the feel of another man’s lips pressed against hers. A man who refused to leave her alone. A man who wasn’t human.
“I have some things to take care of,” she murmured, turning away. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”
Kali could feel Jason’s eyes on her back as she hurried away. A part of her wished she could feel something for him, even if it was just a small attraction. The frustration she had felt earlier grew even stronger the closer she got to the entrance to the former mall.
She pushed through the heavy doors, ignoring the four men standing guard on each side of the re-enforced barrier protecting the front entrance. She was already thinking of where she was going to go. She knew he would be there. She could feel it in her bones.
Kali broke into a run, heading away from the makeshift compound Destin had created and toward the place where she hoped she could lay to rest the feelings threatening to overwhelm her. She would go back to the place where they first started. She would lay to rest her foolish thoughts of an alien male once and for all.
Chapter 9
Razor landed the compact Skid gently down on the rooftop of the building. He climbed off the small bike-like transport that was perfect for moving quickly over congested areas. He scanned the surface of the rooftop as he did. The twisted remains of the rooftop crane bent awkwardly over the side of the building. The broken remnants of the sign that once proudly displayed the name of the building were mixed with pieces of brick, mortar and helicopter fragments.
“What were you doing up here that night?” He murmured quietly, looking up at the remains of the sign.
“Thinking… dreaming… wishing,” a soft voice responded from the darkness behind him. “I love staring up at the stars. On a calm night, I would stand up on the top of the sign, close my eyes and imagine I could fly out over the city.”
Razor turned sharply, inhaling deeply as Kali’s slender shape stepped from the shadows of a large section of the crane. He watched her as she warily approached him. His eyes swept over her figure, memorizing every inch of her now that he could think without his mind being hazed with pain and shock.
She stopped several feet from him. A soft, nervous laugh escaped her as she stepped to the left of him to circle around so she could see the Skid he had ridden. He watched her thoughtfully as she knelt down to look at the transport. She whistled under her breath in appreciation as she studied it.
“You can if you wish,” he replied as a sudden idea took hold in his mind. “I could take you over it, over the city, on the Skid.”
Amusement tugged at Razor when he saw her eyes widen in delight before suspicion darkened them again. She bit her bottom lip before she shook her head and stood. He twisted to follow her with his eyes as she put more distance between them.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” she replied in a husky voice. “Why have you been watching me?”
“Why did you save my life?” He responded instead.
He stepped closer to the Skid as she took another step away from him. It took a moment for him to appreciate that she had strategically placed his transport between them as a barrier while he was distracted. She was standing near the spot where the helicopter had been hanging from the crane two weeks before. While she didn’t turn her back to him completely, he could see she was looking at the remains of the helicopter far below.
“What happened to the pilot?” She murmured as she stared down at the twisted skeleton far below before she turned to look at him with sad, troubled eyes. “Did he have a family? A wife? Sister? Brother? Parents?... Children?” She asked in a strangled voice that faded on the last word.
“His body was returned to his people. I do not know if he had a family,” Razor admitted with a frown. “Why did your brother order an attack on me?”
He watched as her eyes jerked up to his in surprise before she frowned and shook her head. “Destin didn’t order an attack on you. We don’t have… it wasn’t us. The rocket came from Colbert’s side of the city,” she finished. “I want to know why you have been watching me. I want you to stop. It’s… I want you to stop.”
Razor stepped around the Skid, pausing when she moved back a step. “Be careful, that area is not stable,” he bit out sharply. “Why did you save my life? You could have left me to die, but instead you risked your own life. Why? Why does your brother continue to refuse to meet with me?”
*.*.*
Kali stepped to the side, keeping a wary eye on the huge male. He seemed even bigger tonight then he had the night of the accident. She had been laying on the roof of the fresh air intake near the bottom of the crane when she saw him approaching. She knew if she stayed perfectly still it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to see her since she was dressed all in black as well.
She hadn’t been able to stop herself from answering his softly spoken question. She didn’t know or understand why she had told him about her fantasy. It had just slipped out.
Drawing in a deep breath, she decided there was no harm in telling him the truth. Hell, she had never been a good liar anyway. Her mom and Destin always knew when she was telling a fib.
“I couldn’t leave you,” she finally admitted, glancing at him to see his reaction. “I mean, I didn’t know that you were in the helicopter. I thought it was a couple of human guys. It wasn’t until I was in it that I realized that you were a… you.”
“You still could have left me,” he commented, stepping to the side and walking toward the edge so he could look down at the wreckage. “When you realized that I was on board, you could have just left. Instead, you almost died.”
Kali gave a short laugh and reached up to grab one of the metal support beams above her head. She curled her legs up under her so she was hangi
ng from it before she put her feet back down on the roof and leaned back. She thought for a moment as she stared at his profile before she decided she was in too deep to stop now.
“I told you it wasn’t my night to die,” she teased quietly before she sobered and continued. “You might be an alien, but you are still a living being. I knew I couldn’t leave you and I knew the crane couldn’t hold that much weight for very long. Waiting for your people to show up wasn’t an option. Once I saw that you were injured, well, that just sealed it. I was the only one there and you needed help if you weren’t going to end up like yesterday’s road kill.”
“Why does your brother allow you to be in such danger? Tonight….” He drew in a deep breath and his eyes flashed a dark yellow-gold before he continued. “Tonight you were almost killed.”
“You saw what happened? I was right then. You have been watching me,” Kali breathed out, this time pulling herself up so that she was sitting on the narrow bar that she had hung from a moment ago. “I knew it. I could feel it. How long have you been watching me?”
“A week and a half,” he bit out, taking a step toward where she was sitting. “Answer me! Why would your brother allow you to be in such danger? Does he not care what happens to you?”
Kali’s eyes briefly flashed in outrage at the contemptuous tone in his voice when he said Destin’s name. He knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about Destin. If he did, he wouldn’t be siding with Colbert.
She hissed as she remembered what the other alien male had told her and Destin two years ago. The aliens were one of the reasons Colbert had increased his attacks. They were the ones supplying weapons, granted human weapons, but weapons all the same to Colbert in an effort to defeat Destin and take over the northern half of the city.
“You know nothing about my brother!” She hissed out angrily, standing up on the bar. “If you did, you would know he loves me more than life itself just as I love him. Why are you supporting Colbert? Don’t you know what he is like? Don’t you see how he doesn’t care about the people living in the southern half of the city? Every day we take in refugees seeking a safer way to live. He doesn’t care about anyone or anything.”