by Jay Cannon
Aundria then walked Adar’s half-conscious, slightly-built body into her small bedroom and lowered him onto her bed. Stripping him down to his shorts, she carefully examined his body for injuries.
“What are you doing?” cried Adar, coming to and finding Aundria hovering over him.
“I’m just checking you to make sure you’re okay. You have some very unusual markings.” Aundria gently pushed on Adar’s chest, until he again reclined on the bed.
“What did you do with my weapons?” Adar asked, looking around the bedroom.
“They’re in the living room on the couch. You in some sort of special forces?” Aundria asked, looking intently at Adar.
“Something like that. Now step aside, so I can get my clothes on and get out of here.” Adar sat up in the bed, staring blankly at the dresser in front of him. There were pictures of kids in colorful frames alongside some stuffed animals. He twisted his head sideways as he tried to figure them out. On the wall to the right of the dresser was a poster of the American Ninja Warrior TV show.
“You’re not well enough to go yet,” said Aundria, pushing him back onto the bed and pinning him by his wrists. “I’ll tell you what. If you can push me off of you then I’ll let you go.”
“You know I cannot because of all the alcohol I drank,” Adar complained.
“Really? So you can lift a person twice your size unless you’ve been drinking?” Aundria asked in disbelief.
“Something like that,” Adar said, wishing he had his UCD close by so he could have Wylyy extricate him from this uncomfortable situation.
“Why are you squinting?” Aundria asked, taking a closer look at his eyes.
“I should have my glasses on.” Adar spied his glasses on the end table next to the bed, but didn’t have the strength to move Aundria to get them. “Could you hand those to me?” Adar asked, reaching out towards the table.
“There, I turned the light off so you don’t need them. Do you have sensitive eyes?” Aundria asked, examining both sides of Adar’s face in the light coming from the living room.
“No, I had a few birth defects, resulting from my parent’s response to experimental radiation drugs.” This Earthling is asking way too many questions. I need to find a way to exit without killing her.
“How do you explain the markings all over your body and why your skin feels so rough and strange? Are they a result of the radiation drugs, too? Oh my goodness. I’m feeling faint.” Something is definitely not right with this guy. His skin, his eyes, his ears and fingernails. This isn’t normal and it can’t be the result of radiation. Aundria placed a hand on her forehead, hoping she wouldn’t pass out.
“Look—,” Adar paused, searching for the woman’s name.
“Aundria. My name is Aundria.”
“I’m Adar, Aundria. I should probably leave.” Adar pushed Aundria to the side and climbed out of the bed. He felt the matted, short pile carpet beneath his feet and noticed his socks were gone, exposing his thin toes with their pointed toenails.
“Why don’t you have any wounds on you anywhere? Any normal person who was hit by an SUV like that would be unable to walk. They would certainly be covered with bruises and abrasions,” Aundria said, starting to sound frantic.
Adar looked up from his feet, focusing on Aundria. “If I told you, I would have to kill you, and I would rather you live,” he said.
“Are you here to take over our planet?” Aundria asked, trying to calm the panicky feeling in her gut as she stood to face the alien.
“It is better that I leave,” said Adar, bracing himself on the edge of the bed.
“Lie down!” shouted Aundria, punching Adar in the chest and knocking him back onto the bed.
I can’t believe this is happening again, Adar thought. Is there some sort of cosmic karma thing that I triggered somehow coming to this planet? “Why did you hit me?” Adar growled.
“I can’t hurt you, can I? Are you like Superman?” Aundria continued to hurl questions at the alien. She thought back to how the large SUV plowed into Adar, who came out of the accident unscathed.
“I am just a guy who likes to work out.” Adar stood up from the bed and tried to step around Aundria, who kept blocking his way forward.
“It looks like you have an erection. Do you want me? Can you get me pregnant?” Aundria shoved Adar back onto the bed, climbed onto his chest and held him down.
Adar decided to drop the pretense, recognizing that this Aundria was too astute to believe his lies.
“I cannot hide the fact that you excite me. I like strong women. We are different species so I can’t get you pregnant, though I think it is better that we not have sex.” Adar wondered if he was trying to convince her or himself.
“You going to stop me? Looks like you’re all ready to go,” she observed.
“Can I take a look at it?” she asked, her breath coming in short gasps.
“At this point, I do not think I could stop you,” Adar quipped, his own breathing coming faster.
Aundria quickly slipped from the bed, stripped naked, and tried to climb back on top of Adar.
The alien pushed her off and headed for the door. But Aundria blocked his path and punched him hard in the chest. Her aggression whipped him into a sexual frenzy. Grabbing her upper arms, he flipped the woman onto the bed and mounted her eagerly. Excitement and trepidation warred inside Aundria. Adar rode her passionately, and as she climaxed, Aundria began to choke him.
Adar gave a hoarse shout and collapsed on top of her.
I guess it’s the same on every planet. First orgasm, then sleep, Aundria thought shrugging her shoulders.
She left the bed to take a shower. When she returned, Adar had gone.
Really? Now I’m an intergalactic one night stand?
***
The next morning, Toni held her meeting with all the family’s bosses in the refurbished offices that she’d commandeered after having Harry taken out. As everyone entered the conference room, they noticed the improvement in the décor that seemed to highlight the change in leadership. Toni scanned the faces of the men seated before her in new plush leather chairs, looking for Adar and Ahmed.
“Hello, everyone,” she said, smiling. “I appreciate you all showing up here on short notice.”
“Where the hell is Harry?!” asked Carl, a gruff, loud-talking chieftain.
“Harry fell victim to a sudden and serious medical condition and decided to retire. He subsequently put me in charge,” Toni replied smoothly, without so much as an eyelash flicker. She looked around the room to gauge their reaction to that explanation.
“I want to hear that from him. This is bullshit!” Carl groused, banging his fist on the table. A murmur started that slowly grew louder as many of the bosses stirred in their seats, their worry about the recent rash of deaths and disappearances plain on their faces.
“There have been several retirements over the past couple of days, which opens up opportunities for many of you,” Toni continued, ignoring the outburst.
“I’ve also entered into a new agreement that is going to bring a lot more money to our family,” Toni said, attempting to put an appealing spin on the news.
“That doesn’t mean you get to run things. I challenge your authority,” Carl said, shaking his finger at Toni. “I’m going to take this up with the Syndicate!”
“We’re meeting with them soon. You can voice your grievances with Mac then.” Toni leaned to one side and whispered to Ahmed, who had just sat down next to her, “Where the hell is Adar?”
“He’s here. Just point to someone you want out and say ‘you’re out’. He will do the rest,” Ahmed murmured, covering his mouth with his hand to hide his words from the lip readers in the room.
Toni was confused by Ahmed’s advice, but decided to give it a whirl anyway.
“Stop ignoring me, Toni! I’m not waiting. I want this resolved now!” shouted Carl.
“Sit down and shut up, Carl, or you’re out,” said Toni.
> “I will not sit down—,” the disgruntled mobster began.
“Then you’re out,” said Toni, cutting him off and pointing at him. Carl clutched his chest and fell to the floor dead.
“Oops, looks like some new territory just opened up. Anybody else want to challenge my authority?” Toni said, aiming a threatening look around the room before sliding a pair of reading glasses onto the bridge of her nose and shuffling papers on the table in front of her.
Gasps and muffled stutters could be heard around the table, but nothing more. Elders in the group gave each other nervous glances, but no one dared challenge Toni. At least not now.
“Good, now let’s get down to business. Ahmed, have that body taken away,” she added quietly, flicking the back of her hand in the direction of Carl’s body.
The onlookers around the room stilled, frozen in disbelief. While several of the attendees objected to Toni taking over Harry’s territory, no one else felt brave enough to protest. Toni had some disturbing new power that frightened them.
Maybe she has magical powers. But witch or not, she has to go, they thought.
Harry’s former lieutenants didn’t like the idea of working for a woman, especially one like Toni. They perceived correctly that she was the kind of woman who didn’t like to settle for what she had. She always wanted more.
***
Later that evening, on her way to work, Aundria passed an accident scene with an ambulance, fire truck, and police car surrounding a smoldering black SUV. The firemen endeavored to remove the driver’s head from the windshield. The man continued to hold on to life, but barely.
I wonder if that’s the crazy Bob character that ran over Adar yesterday? I hope I get to see Adar again. I found him interesting. She entered the tavern where she saw Adar sitting at the end of the bar, nursing a club soda.
“You came back,” said Aundria. “I didn’t think I would see you again.”
“I thought I should at least come by and say hello,” Adar said shyly.
“Why don’t you sit in a booth so I can take care of you?” Aundria suggested. “Steve, could you move his tab under me?”
“There you go, taking my tips again.” Steve laughed. “No problem, Aundria.”
Adar grabbed a booth away from the window. Aundria followed him over and leaned close to him as he sat down. “So was that your handiwork back there on the corner?” she asked.
“It’s hard to say. I can honestly say I do not feel bad about what happened,” said Adar, shrugging his shoulders and looking away.
“I need to punch in and make sure my section is taken care of. Promise you won’t disappear on me again.” Aundria smiled brightly.
“I will try to stay around, if I can,” Adar said, knowing that leaving was the furthest thing from his mind.
“Good. I’ll bring you something non-alcoholic that I think you will like.” Aundria kissed him on the cheek before walking off, and then gave him a quick look over her shoulder as she disappeared into the back room.
***
“Sonny, this boat is just exhilarating,” said Dholi. “I didn’t know they could go this fast.” Sonny had taken Dholi and her sister Daloi for a ride down the Hudson River on his new yacht, past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
“It’s a yacht, young lady. Everything I own is fast and powerful,” said the businessman, as he narrowed his eyelids against the brightness of the sun on the horizon. He rubbed his hand through his salt and pepper hair, fighting against the heavy breeze coming over the bow. “It’s big, too. Fifty feet long with two giant Volvo engines under the hood. A lot like me,” he bragged, grabbing his crotch.
“You are certainly powerful, Sonny. I love the way you overpower us in the bedroom,” Daloi cooed.
“Next weekend, I’ll take you somewhere in my jet. I’ll show you the power of being in the mile-high club. Now you two go get some sun. I have some calls to make.” Sonny took a seat near the railing, motioning for one of his crew to pilot his yacht.
“Let’s go, sister,” said Dholi. “We need to get our rest for later.” She smiled back at Sonny.
The sisters walked toward the bow in their matching thong bikinis. How did I get so lucky? Sonny thought, looking at the two statuesque beauties walking along the railing of his boat. Oh yeah, I made my luck along with my fortune. I’ll have my fun with them and then get two more who are even nicer. Oh, it’s great being me.
“Daloi, if we plan to stay on this planet, we have to go somewhere where we can be safe,” said Dholi. “I’m not that comfortable hanging out in New York.”
“It’s hard to think of leaving when we’re having so much fun. When we get back tomorrow, we can work on a plan to secure our safety. We should consider connecting with a mob boss the way we did in Chicago.”
“The plan will include getting rid of the Ossie, right?”
“Eventually. We need to find more allies first. I’m not sure if the police will be effective in this situation, but we should consider that option. Tomorrow we’ll plan this thing out. For now let’s take off our tops and give the old man a show. Come here and give me a kiss, sis.”
***
“Bye, Steve, see you tomorrow,” said Aundria, as she prepared to leave the Tavern for the evening.
“No, see you next Monday,” replied Steve. “I’m headed to the Finger Lakes to do some wine tasting with my honey, Mary. Daçia will be taking my place for the rest of the week.”
Daçia flashed her warm smile, waving from the other end of the bar.
“Monday it is, then. Enjoy your trip,” said Aundria, grabbing Adar by the arm and heading out the door. “You don’t talk much, do you?”
“I’m not much for chitchat,” Adar replied. “Especially in a crowded bar.”
“How long have you been on our planet?” Aundria asked, not sure she was ready to hear the response.
“Just a few weeks,” said Adar, still reluctant to talk about himself.
“You like it here?” She really wanted to know more about Adar and the possibility of other visitors to Earth, but she didn’t want to treat him like a specimen the way people did in science fiction movies.
“Not so much. It’s pretty primitive.” Adar looked at Aundria, wondering how much he should trust her.
“But you like me?” she asked, curious about how he viewed humans.
“I find your fighting abilities interesting,” Adar said, nodding in respect.
“I guess that’s a compliment. Why did you get so excited when I punched you last night?” she asked, hoping to get Adar to open up and stop being so reserved.
“That’s the way women on my planet show their interest. We are an aggressive society. We enjoy lovemaking that forces engagement of both parties,” Adar said, wondering how he could express his confusion about male-female relationships on Earth.
“Earthlings, specifically men, look to conquer the female, with little interest in fulfilling the female’s desires,” he observed. “Lovemaking should be more like tag team wrestling where both partners work together for mutual enjoyment.”
“So if I punched you now, you would want to take me right here against the wall?” Aundria asked, pointing to a nearby wall in the parking garage. Merely asking the question made her areolas swell. What should I do? I can’t believe I am getting this worked up over an alien. Is it hot in here or is it just me?
“Yes, but let’s not do that. I don’t want to attract attention,” Adar suggested, contorting his mouth.
Aundria took his advice and decided to not risk a sexual encounter in the garage. Instead, she drove him home, all the while in awe of the person sitting next to her. Aundria took the Manhattan Bridge to reach her apartment building in Brooklyn Heights. Adar looked out the window, examining the buildings and pedestrians they passed.
Upon entering her apartment, Aundria set out to get Adar to relax.
“I’m not going to steal your coat or fancy weapons,” she said, grabbing his lapels from behind. “Just
let me place them over here on the chair.”
Adar relented and sat on the couch where Aundria dropped to her knees and started taking off his boots.
“This is an interesting locking mechanism on your boots. It’s almost like miniature magnets or something,” Aundria said, rubbing the material between her fingers.
“It’s a pliable, breathable metal,” Adar explained, bragging about their design. “It’s a durable material that also protects my feet and ankles during battles.”
“You say we are a primitive people. What kind of technology do you have that might excite me?” the young woman asked, her eyes opening wide in anticipation of his response.
“This is my universal connection device,” said Adar, pulling out his UCD from his belt. “I can talk to anyone in the galaxy who has one of these just like I’m talking to you now, no matter what language they speak. I also can use it to see any spot on this planet. Let me expand this for you.”
“Wow, how did you do that?” Aundria asked, intrigued by what she saw.
“The device has the ability to expand by using free atoms in the air. Now here is a live image of New York. Go ahead and find a house or building you would like to look at. Just move your finger toward any point and the image will expand at that point as long as I am pressing the navigation button.”
“Okay, I’m going to find my sister’s place in Brooklyn. I assume I just swipe the screen to get there?” Adar nodded. “Now I move my finger toward her building and the image expands– Oh, my god. I can see inside the building. How are you doing that?”
“We have dimensional monitors that can move through space unimpeded,” Adar explained, pleased by her interest. “They are able to view anyplace on this planet and send the video to my UCD.
“Look, the Millers are having an argument. How do I control the focus of the image?” Aundria asked, biting her lip.