Warrior's Plight (Cadi Warriors Book 6)

by Stephanie West

  “As you can see, the subject from the local raid was recovered, however, we were unsuccessful containing the vessel and the two subjects which landed in the Miami area this morning. I was in the middle of finding out why.” The Secretary of Defense turned back to Frank. “General, how is it possible you lost the subjects in Miami? I hope it wasn’t because of some sentimental attachment to Brennan Murray’s wife. I know you are longtime friends. From the report I read, obtaining her seemed to be the prime reason the vessel landed this morning.”

  Vintor perked up hearing this news. Frank didn’t look pleased by the accusation as he stomped over to a display screen and flicked it on.

  “Let me show you what we’ve been dealing with. An armored species is responsible for the incident in Miami and yesterday’s raid on the detention facility. They are not the same ones we were hunting from Brennan Murray’s home.” Frank gestured to Vintor. “We’ve never seen anything like them. They’re skin is impenetrable even by the incendiaries we dropped on the detention center. So, tell me, what more do you expect me to do?”

  Vintor smiled as he watched the footage on the display screen. The two bony warriors running headlong toward a silver cruiser looked like Aculus but the one holding off the humans with a disrupter was too small to be Osivoire, and the other had a tail. Osivoire didn’t have tails, but Cadi did. Ashtoret had obviously reached Aculus and gotten help. Vintor smiled in relief as he shook his head. He was unbelievably glad to see his friend and who he assumed was Abby Murray as they escaped the humans.

  This tied up a lot of loose ends. When they escaped, he hadn’t seen the ships that raided the detention center, since he was busy holding off Frank in the tunnel. He’d been worried the humans attracted an unknown enemy with their dishonorable behavior, but that clearly wasn’t the case. That was one weight lifted off his shoulders.

  “So, we have two new species invading?” The vice president closed his eye and threw his hands in the air. “Why the hell did we bother aligning ourselves with the Miran Sona if they can’t get here in time to aid us with these kinds of SNAFUs?”

  “The Miran Sona did arrive in orbit in time to intercept the Miami vessel as it left the atmosphere. We’re awaiting word of their success. And I must remind you, sir, we specifically denied the Miran Sona’s request to remain stationed in orbit following the meteor incident two years ago.”

  That’s not good news.

  Vintor was suddenly worried again for his friends. The Miran Sona home world wasn’t familiar with his people. From what his Miran Sona friends relayed they didn’t have the means to send messages through the wormhole, so only those who ventured to his quadrant were familiar with the Cadi. That meant the Miran Sona vessel in orbit trusted the humans and viewed his people as a threat.

  “And yet the M’s collection vessel violated our agreement to stay clear of Air Force airspace last year when they took one of our airmen,” Frank growled. “I know their official response was that their vessel caused one of ours to fail as they were leaving our atmosphere but I’m not buying it.”

  “Well, it’s the truth,” Vintor mumbled under his breath. He knew the Miran Sona who’d piloted that particular vessel and they were honest people.

  “General, your concerns have been noted and taken seriously. You’re not the only one who believes the M’s were investigating their missing citizens. It’s one of the reasons we wanted that study terminated even though we could’ve learned a great deal more. And for your sake I hope we are no longer holding any of the Miran Sona.”

  “Mr. Vice President, I personally oversaw that program’s termination last year,” the Secretary of Defense assured the vice president.

  Vintor wanted to snarl at the callous way they talked about killing people like they were things.

  “I hope that’s true and we didn’t lose anyone else yesterday that we shouldn’t have. The doctors, the chameleon and this subject were enough.” The vice president gestured to Vintor.

  “Like the Secretary of Defense stated, those study cases have been terminated, however, it would’ve been nice if we could’ve questioned them when the Reds arrived.” General Frank paced in agitation.

  “Mr. Vice President, when we asked the Miran Sona about the Reds, they claimed to have no association,” the Secretary of Defense added.

  “But based on the interviews with the Murrays and what we gleaned from Doctor Roberts’ interaction with this one, the M’s are more than familiar with this species.”

  “Let’s cut to the chase, General, you reported that in these interrogations you learned of a threat from a reptilian race.”

  The vice president’s eyes widened. “Reptilian? As in the chameleon? Are you telling me the M’s misled us about that, too?” The male shook his head.

  “That is what the intel points to, and the implication is the chameleons plan to enslave and strip the planet of resources.” Frank nodded, looking grim.

  Vintor shook his head. The humans in their paranoia had jumped to conclusions and had their facts all twisted. It was the Jurou Biljana who were a threat, not Boaz’s people, the Anguis or chameleons as they called them. He could see how Boaz’s kind might be described as reptiles considering the texture of their skin, but when compared to the vile Jurou Biljana, Boaz looked far more human.

  This is a disaster.

  “Are you shaking your head at us?” the vice president asked Vintor. “Does the Red understand us?”

  Vintor cocked his brow at the male.

  “He does,” the Secretary of Defense replied. “Among his things we found several letters written by citizens we permitted the M’s to take to the colony, but we also acquired translator technology. Unfortunately, Doctor Roberts and the other woman we gave the implant to are still at large, so we don’t have anyone who can translate for him.”

  Vintor’s head popped up hearing that Maya was still free. He sighed in relief.

  “Well that’s just fucking great,” the vice president barked. “So, let me get this straight, we have this red species and the invincible bony ones who just showed up. The chameleon AKA reptiles are planning an invasion and one of them escaped detention. And the Miran Sona, who we invited into orbit, have been lying to us. This just gets better and better. So, what about the re-engineered virus I authorized? At this point that seems to be our only hope at getting the upper hand.”

  “I think I can help with some of this.” Emil stepped forward. “We retrieved Dr. Roberts’ computer when we searched her home. It seems Ms. Roberts has been hiding things from us. She has been making quite some progress in her free time with the virus. At least that’s the preliminary reports from the technicians combing through her computer. As far as having a translator for this subject, I can quickly remedy that problem, so you can ask him whatever you want.” The bastard looked pointedly at Gary.

  Vintor snarled at the medic. He disliked General Frank, but he passionately hated Emil for what he did to Maya. And although he knew the language implant wouldn’t hurt Gary, it was reprehensible they would force it on the male. However, that wasn’t the worst news. Just as Maya feared, they’d found her research.

  Vintor growled in frustration. When he started on this mission he was facing one enemy threat, a potential Jurou Biljana invasion, but things had become infinitely more complicated.

  “Then get on with it, doctor. Maybe we can get ahead of things before we find ourselves neck deep in another fucking invasion,” the vice president barked.

  “Please, Mr. Vice President, I don’t know what is going on here.” Gary struggled as the uniformed warriors hauled them out of the room. “I have rights dammit.”

  11 Back Home Again

  Maya

  “This feels very disrespectful. I’m not Muslim,” Maya fretted as she stepped out of the apartment wearing a Hijab that covered all but her eyes.

  “But you look good. Nobody will recognize you. I think God’ll be understanding,” Tony replied as he looked her over.

  G
od probably would forgive the outfit, but getting a kid involved in this deadly mess, not so much.

  “Tony, this isn’t a game. I shouldn’t have involved you.” Maya shook her head in remorse. She was having some serious regrets about the plan they discussed.

  “Don’t worry, Ms. Roberts, I didn’t tell my peeps anything. I told them some undercover cops were harassing a friend of mine. That’s all. They don’t really need an excuse to start some shit.”

  “Nice mouth. How do you even know kids like this? You know my brother wouldn’t approve.”

  “Not all my friends are like that. My girl, Kayla, the one I got those clothes from and is gonna help us later, has it together. She’s older. I like my girls older.” Tony cast her the boyish version of a lascivious grin.

  “Oh no you don’t. I’m way too old for you.” She shook her head.

  “Fine. Are you ready to do this?” Tony asked excitedly, and she felt like she’d just given a sugar addict the key to a candy store.

  “No, but let’s go anyway.” Maya headed for the Tony’s jalopy. “Don’t forget, no matter what, you wait a block away…”

  “I know, unless someone looks at me weird. I’ll wait a bit then take off,” Tony added before hopping into his car.

  Before she knew it, they were in her neighborhood. They pulled into the hospital parking lot and slowed down. Tony rolled down his window and waved at a car full of kids that pulled out and followed them down the block. They passed a black SUV and Tony casually patted his car door.

  “There might be more,” she commented.

  “We’ll go around the block.”

  Tony circled the block and there was another SUV on the parallel street. The Feds were in the perfect spot to watch anyone coming and going from her housing complex. Tony repeated his little hand gesture for the car behind them.

  “Let me out down there,” she instructed.

  Tony turned the corner then slowed down, and she got out at the far end of the block. She watched him drive on, paying attention to where he parked.

  Here we go.

  Maya walked as slowly as she could back toward the condos. She paused, seeing a couple kids approach one of the black SUVs. The one in a red t-shirt pulled out a can of spray paint and started tagging the SUV. Maya had to repress a snort when she saw what the pair wrote—PIGS. The second they were done one of them threw a rock, shattering the window and setting off the alarm.

  “Hey,” a guy yelled and headed toward the little punks who took off running.

  Maya heard another alarm go off at the other end of the complex and knew that was her cue. Instead of going for the front door, she quickly headed to the back of the building. It wasn’t like she could go in the front anyway since she didn’t have her keys. Maya glanced around nervously as she approached her sliding glass door. She jimmied it till the back opened just enough she could get her finger in to knock out the stick. It was a little trick she had instead of keeping a key under a flower pot. Maya crept in and went to work.

  She studied her living room, dinette and kitchen. Nothing was out of place but that didn’t mean they hadn’t searched her condo. Maya jogged to her office and froze in the doorway. They hadn’t been as careful here, although, someone from the outside, like the cops following up on a missing persons report, wouldn’t notice anything was missing. She expected her laptop and lab equipment to be missing, but it was still a blow. They’d also taken her entire filing cabinet. She closed her eyes, trying to stave off the panic. After taking a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes and shook off the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “You don’t have time for this.”

  Maya pulled herself away from her office and sprinted up the stairs to her bedroom. Her gaze instantly fell on the alarm clock by the bed and she nodded. She tugged the cord out of the wall and shoved the clock into a bag from the closet. The dresser captured her attention. It wouldn’t take long to grab a few clothes.

  “No, nothing frivolous.”

  But she did grab the frame holding a picture of her family before heading to the bathroom. Maya yanked open the cabinet and stuffed the hairdryer in her bag. Once back downstairs, she stopped in the living room. The TV remote wasn’t on the coffee table. Maya shoved her hand between the cushions on the couch. She hadn’t hidden it or anything, it’s just that more often than not the remote wound up there when she fell asleep watching TV.

  “Where is it?”

  Maya started to panic as she flipped over the cushions. Her foot kicked something, and it clattered across the hardwood floor. She got down on her knees and peered under the side table. There it was.

  “Thank you.”

  Maya grabbed the remote and added it to her cumbersome stash. Apparently, they hadn’t been so careful putting things back. She shook her head and headed to the kitchen. A grin split her face seeing the menagerie of unused appliances littering the counter. She hoarded most of them knowing this day would to come.

  “But now’s not the time to pat ourselves on the back. Vintor and Gary need you.” She grabbed the toaster and headed out.

  Carefully, she slid the door shut then panned the yard to see if the Feds babysitting her place had returned from their wild goose chase. The best she could tell it was clear. Maya held her breath and stepped off the brick patio. Now that she had what she came for, not making a break for it was the hardest thing she’d ever done. It seemed to take forever to get to Tony, one calm step at a time. A sigh burst free and her shoulders dropped when she finally got into the car.

  “Go. I’ve got everything.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Tony pulled out into traffic.

  “Don’t speed,” she warned.

  “Got it.”

  Maya pulled the TV remote out of the bag.

  “I thought you were looking for something important, not a bunch of junk.” Tony glanced over at her bag.

  “This stuff is important.”

  She popped the back off the remote and wanted to cry in relief. It was still there.

  “Is that a memory card?” Tony asked.

  “It is. You’ve heard the phrase, safety in numbers. Well, I broke my research up and hid it on several different cards, so the government wouldn’t get it. This way they would hopefully only ever find a few pieces.”

  “I hate to tell you this, but if the Man took your computer they have people who can pull information off the hard drive even if you think you deleted it after loading it on those memory cards.”

  “Thanks, Tony, I’m not a total moron.” Maya cocked one brow at him. “I planned for this. I buy super cheap laptops every other month then destroy the hard drive and recycle the machine. They only got about a month’s worth of research when they took my computer.” She didn’t like that fact, but it could be worse, so much worse. “They think they covered all their bases taking my microscope and filing cabinet. Boy are they going to be disappointed when they discover I only keep my taxes in that cabinet. I burn all my notes and any samples I bring home immediately after I’m done.”

  “That’s crazy,” Tony laughed. “But why’d you put the memory chips in the stuff? They’re small. You could’ve hidden them anywhere.”

  “True, but just like there’s drug and bomb sniffing dogs, they also have ones that sniff out electronics. That’s why I hid the chips in things with circuit boards. Do you have something I can use to pry this open?” Maya held up the hairdryer.

  “There’s a pocket knife in the glove box. So, what’s next?”

  “I make a phone call. Just keep driving, but don’t head back to your grandma’s apartment just yet and keep quiet.”

  “All right. FYI, my girl texted me and said her girlfriends are already there with the car.”

  “Good.” Maya pulled out the burner phone and dialed the number she hadn’t dared to use ever.

  “Hello?” the man answered.

  “Hello, Emil.”

  "Why, hello, Dr. Roberts. That lover of yours is
proving rather stubborn in showing us how his ship works. Your brother’s not the same leverage as you are but he’ll have to do, unless you called to tell me you’re turning yourself in,” the butcher taunted.

  Maya forced the horrific image of what Emil might be doing to them from her mind and instead concentrated on what that comment confirmed.

  "Enough with your threats. I have something you're looking for,” she replied before Emil could say anything else snide.

  “Oh, we found your extracurricular project,” Emil sneered.

  “No, you found a drop in the bucket when you raided my house. But you didn’t get the memory chips I hid. There’s roughly five megabytes of data on that computer, a month of information. But I’ve been working on your foolish project for years now. Make a call. Check it out for yourself. I’ll wait while you consult with your minions.”

  Emil must have covered the receiver because there was rustling. Maya smiled when she heard the muffled sound of Emil shouting.

  “So, what do you want, a trade?” His tone was saccharine sweet.

  “Good guess. I want my brother and Vintor. I’ll meet you at Kennedy Space Center in one hour. I want to see you, Gary and Vintor beneath the NASA emblem by the entrance or I walk. Oh, and make sure General Offutt is there, too, I want to know your bulldog isn’t behind some sniper rifle with his itchy trigger finger."

  “You want me to haul a red alien the size of Shaquille O’Neal into public?” Emil laughed incredulously.

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. When I see you and feel certain you’re not playing any games, I’ll call and tell you where I left the envelope. You will then send my brother and Vintor to the parking lot. Understood?”

  “You expect us to take your word and just release them?”

  “You or the general can go fetch the data, it won’t be far. Bring a laptop to confirm everything if you want.”

  “Agreed, but this doesn’t leave me a lot of time,” Emil groused.

  “I know. I don’t want any surprises. Oh, and Emil, don’t fuck with their heads or any other part of them.” She hung up and dropped the phone in her lap.