He tried to imagine that little three-way. Nope, couldn’t see that one at all. “Yeah, that would be messed up.”
Titus walked toward the door, then turned around. “No Billy Idol today?”
“Nah. Thought I’d change things up a bit. Metallica all the way today!”
Titus waved, then left.
A moment later, Blake’s phone rang, and he turned down the music.
“What’s up, Noah?”
“Get up here. You’re never going to believe this shit.”
He pointed the remote at the stereo, turning it off, then headed for elevator. “What’s going on?”
“Just get up here.”
Five minutes later, he walked into the War Room. Noah paced back and forth, reading a file with Phoenix hanging from his chest in a baby holder, sound asleep.
“What’s up, big daddy?”
Noah dropped the file to the table and glared at him. Deep, purple circles rimmed his glassy eyes. “I talked to Captain Harvey today. Remember him?”
Blake nodded. “Nice guy with the bad complexion, right?”
“Exactly. He asked me to look into a file for the Phoenix P.D. Actually, the Chief of Police asked him to ask me to look into it.”
“And?”
Noah pointed at the table. “Take a look.”
Blake went over and picked up the file. By the second paragraph, he’d read all he needed to know. “Well, this is a tricky situation.”
“I know. They’re asking me to take these notes and create a profile on the Colonist who killed all those people and took Macy and Alaina. I’ve always used the police to look for Colonist activity—they’ve never asked me to create a profile on one of the bastards.”
Blake shrugged. “So do the profile. We both know that they’ll never find the son of a bitch.”
Noah rubbed his eyes and nodded.
“You look tired, man. Why don’t you get some rest?”
“I can’t. Abby’s sleeping. I’ve found out that new dads don’t get any sleep … or sex.”
Blake looked the cute, little, sleeping baby who seemed so innocent and pure, yet had completely turned Noah and Abby’s lives upside down and inside out like an evil little parasitic monster.
Frankly, he was glad Sophia and he had decided having kids would be a really bad idea because of his Colonist genes. He loved Megan like his own, and felt completely content with his little family. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, well—”
Noah’s phone interrupted the conversation, and he pulled it from his pocket. “Hey, honey.”
Relief washed over Noah’s face as his shoulders sagged. “You sure about that?”
Blake could hear Abby’s voice, just not make out the words.
“Okay. I’ll be down in a few minutes.” Noah shoved the phone back in his pocket. “Abby says she’s up, and she’ll take baby duty now.”
“Why don’t you just put him down in a crib?”
“Because he wakes up and starts crying. He likes movement. Watch this.”
Noah slowly sank down into a chair, careful not to disturb Phoenix. A moment later, the baby opened his eyes and began to wail. Noah stood up, placed his hand on Phoenix’s head, walked around the room for a moment, and the kid went right back to sleep.
Blake shook his head. “How long have you been pacing around the silo today?”
“Since four this morning.”
He glanced at his phone—Noah had been at it for six hours.
“That’s some messed up shit, Noah. You need to change that.”
Noah nodded, headed for the door, then turned, his exhausted features deadly serious. “And don’t you fucking swear in front of my kid again, Blake.”
He smiled, wondering if Noah even knew what he’d just said in his sleep-deprived haze.
As Blake left the War Room, he ran into Jovan.
“Hey, Big J. How’s it hanging?”
“Straight down the middle, Blake. What’s up? You heading down for a workout?”
He wondered for a brief second how Jovan could have known, but then realized his shorts and tank top were a dead giveaway. “No. I was supposed to meet Roman, but he bailed on me. Have you seen him?”
“Nope.”
“Do you want to work out?”
Jovan wiggled his eyebrows. “Nope. I have a date with Liberty.”
As Blake watched him walk down the hall, he wondered how many people at any given time were having sex under this roof. Probably a lot, much more than he liked to consider.
He grimaced at the thought, but then pulled out his phone and dialed Sophia. If he couldn’t beat them, he’d damn well try to join them.
Chapter 11
When he heard a loud thump, Roman came to consciousness, but didn’t wake. As he lay in that blissful place, not quite awake, but not fully asleep, either, his unconscious mind tried to process what he heard. The door slamming, perhaps? Maybe Olivia had decided to be even more awesome and go get coffee and donuts.
Damn, that sounded good.
He rolled over as heavy footsteps registered in his mind. No, that definitely didn’t sound like his lithe, beautiful goddess. Those footfalls sounded like an ape on steroids.
Opening his eyes, they burned from the contacts he wore to mute the glow of his SR44 color.
“Who the hell are you?”
He sat up in bed at the sound of the deep, rumbling voice. A man stood in the doorway, and Roman quickly analyzed him. About five-foot-nine, bald with a beard, and as wide and solid as a brick wall. He wore a wife-beater, jeans, cowboy boots, and did indeed look like an ape on steroids.
“Get up and get out! You can’t be squatting in my apartment!”
The ape took a step toward the bed, and finally, Roman came to total consciousness. Squatting? What?
Trying to wake up and remain calm, he spoke. “This is Olivia’s apartment. I’m a friend of hers.”
The man narrowed his gaze. “There’s no one living here named Olivia.”
Confusion tore through him as he looked around. There was no sign of her—no clothing, no makeup … nothing.
“Get out of here before I beat you bloody.”
He gripped the sheet around his waist and once again scanned the room for anything feminine, but found nothing. Had he dreamt everything? Had someone slipped him drugs in his drink last night at the Black Cuff? If Olivia didn’t live here, how had he ended up in this apartment?
The ape took two more steps toward him, then wrapped his beefy hand around his arm and pulled him to his feet. “When I say move, you move!”
The fist connected with his jaw, the force snapping his head back and making him dizzy. He tried to talk, to tell this guy that there was a misunderstanding, but he couldn’t seem to make the words flow from his tongue.
He glanced at the man and saw three of him. On instinct, he took a swing and connected with one, which only seemed to enrage all three. He staggered backward into the living room trying to get away, but ran into a chair. As he caught his footing, the ape hit him in the jaw, then in the stomach.
For the love of his gods, what did this guy eat for breakfast?
Roman swung again and landed a couple of hits, but they didn’t stop his attacker.
The uppercut caught him right in the chin and completely stunned him, making it impossible for him to move. His trip to the floor seemed to be in slow motion. He glanced around again, looking for a brush, a bottle of perfume, a bra … anything.
When his head finally hit the floor, he tried to focus his eyes, but everything in front of him had blurred even more.
“I’ll have you arrested for trespassing, you no good piece of shit!”
As the ape’s boot connected with the side of his face, he had two thoughts. First, he wished he wasn’t naked. Kind of embarrassing to go down like this, but with his dick swinging, it was downright humiliating. Second, his contact lens had just popped out of his eye.
Then, his world went b
lack.
Chapter 12
Olivia didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, but when the Humvee came to a stop and the engine switched off, she opened her eyes and groggily glanced around.
Light brown sand peppered with red rocks and cacti stretched for miles all around her, the winter sun relentlessly beating down on the area. She had known they would be taking her somewhere secure, but she had no idea she’d find herself out in the middle of the desert with nothing around her for as far as the eye could see.
Her driver had gotten out and now opened the door for her. The air felt a little cooler than it had in Phoenix. “We’re here, ma’am.”
Stepping from the vehicle, she squinted as the sun reflected off the sand. She reached into her bag and pulled out her sunglasses, sighing with relief when she slipped them on. Although the desert had huge temperature swings, one thing that could be counted on was the high glare of the sun.
She looked up to see another man approaching her, also dressed in fatigues, and she quickly wiped her palms on her jeans, feeling a bit nervous.
“I’m Major Sherlock Holmes, Ms. Waterhouse. It’s a pleasure to have you join our team.”
She nodded as she took his hand. “Thank you, Major, but please call me Olivia.”
He smiled and nodded. “Very well. You can call me Major or Sherlock, whichever you prefer.”
He stood a couple inches shorter than her, his dark hair close-cropped to his head. She pegged him about forty or fifty years old, and she tried to hide the smirk as his name registered.
“It’s okay, go ahead and laugh. My parents thought they were pretty funny when they came up with the name. It’s brought me a lifetime of teasing, but at least I never have to repeat my name and everyone remembers me.”
She grinned, liking him already.
“Follow me, Olivia. I’ll show you around.”
As she fell into step with him, she glanced around again. In front of her stood a building that matched the color of the dirt, but it almost seemed as if it had been built into the ground instead of on top of it as the roof sat at eye level. They descended down ten stairs, and the Major input a code into the keypad. Her heart raced with anticipation and excitement as she followed him inside.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, and she slipped off her sunglasses. They stood in a large, white-tiled room that held no furniture except a metal desk. The solider behind it stood and saluted the Major. She glanced around and couldn’t see any hallways or doors leading from the room.
The Major waved his hand, as if motioning the soldier to sit. “At ease.”
Olivia followed him over to the desk where the man placed his palm on a device and waited for a second, then it beeped. The soldier behind the desk gave him two badges, and he handed one to Olivia. A noise from her right startled her, and she gasped as the wall began to slide open.
Major Holmes chuckled. “It’s pretty high-tech in here. Wait until you see the rest of the facility.”
She followed him through the open wall into an elevator. He pushed the button marked three, then the door shut and the carriage began to descend.
They rode for a moment in silence, then the doors opened again. How many feet underground had they traveled?
She trailed after the Major down a short, white-tiled hall that had two doors on each side, then one at the end. None of them had handles. When he reached the final door, he placed his hand on a pad on the wall next to the door, and then it popped open.
As they entered his office, he motioned for her to sit down in the guest chair in front of the metal desk.
He settled in and turned on his computer. “I just need to check my email first. I’m expecting a couple of important messages.”
Behind him sat empty metal bookshelves, and beside those stood two file cabinets. The stark-white tile on the floor and walls depressed her, despite how they gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lights above.
A few minutes later, he grinned and clasped his hands on the desk as he spoke. “Now, every now and then, the different branches of the government actually work together to accomplish something instead of trying to out-maneuver or out-smart each other. This is one of those times. The FBI and the military have decided to pair up in our little venture here.”
She swallowed back a lump in her throat and wiped her hands on her jeans again. Damn nerves. She couldn’t let on that she felt a bit freaked out about everything she’d seen so far. “What is this place?”
He sat back and laced his hands behind his head. “More on that in a moment. First, what we’re doing here is extremely classified, which I’m sure you were told.”
“Yes.”
“Good. You came very highly recommended by the brass at the FBI. ‘Smart and dedicated to your job’ was what your file read. You were chosen out of group of four profilers both in the military and the FBI, so congratulations.”
She smiled while her cheeks heated with pride. “Thank you.”
“So, you’re probably wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“Yes.”
“Let me explain why you’re here.”
She nodded.
“This facility was just built—everything is state of the art and high-tech. We don’t allow paper trails, so everything you’ll do will be recorded into your computer and stored on a secure government server.”
“Okay.”
“Now, I’m assuming you’ve heard of Area 51.”
“Of course. I think everyone knows about Area 51.”
“Explain to me what you think you know.”
She took a deep breath and wrung her hands together as she tried to recall what she’d learned about the facility. “Area 51 is a military base outside of Las Vegas. It has been rumored for years that they keep and study aliens there, as well as develop and test aircraft based on the alien designs. Anyone who comes close to the facility is arrested on sight.”
“Exactly. And that’s the biggest problem with it.”
She furrowed her brow, not following his train of thought. “Excuse me?”
“Everyone knows about it—that’s the issue. When the American people found out about Area 51, we needed to keep up the façade of it being a working base. However, it’s not. Sure, people go in and out, they patrol the perimeter and scare the ever-loving crap out of those who violate the space. However, nothing goes on there. The good stuff happens in places like this, far away from the public’s probing eyes.”
He grinned as he spread his arms, like he was revealing the magician behind the curtain. Then suddenly, he became serious, sat forward, and folded his hands on the desk.
“Now, we had a facility similar to this a few years ago, but it was compromised.”
“What happened?”
He waved his hand in front of his face as though the details weren’t important. “There was a break in. Some people died, but that won’t happen here.”
She shifted in her chair, feeling uneasy. “Major, what exactly is my role here?”
He stared at her a moment, then spoke. “The people who ran the facility like this before were … let’s just say they didn’t do it right. I think they approached everything in the wrong way, and the research blew up in their faces.”
She stared at him a beat and waited for him to continue.
“Aliens are walking around here on Earth as we speak, Olivia. We had some in custody a few years ago at the other facility, but they escaped. We haven’t been able to track any down since then, until now.”
She gasped as covered her mouth with her hand, unable to believe what she’d just heard, or hide her reaction to it. “Is this some type of joke?”
The Major shook his head and didn’t even crack a grin. “No. I’m dead serious.”
As she studied him for any indication that he kidded her, she found none. In the few moments she’d known him, she hadn’t seen his face as grave as it was now.
She took a deep breath and looked around the office once mo
re, trying to process what she’d heard. If only she could have a few minutes alone to compose herself. Right now, she felt as if her head would never stop spinning.
“W-What am I supposed to do here?”
“Our job is to interview these aliens, to learn their psyche, to understand why they are here, and to find out what they have in store for us in the future. If we deem them not a threat, then we move on to Step Two, which would be deciding whether or not they should continue to live among us.”
She would have burst out laughing if he didn’t seem so somber. Aliens? Interviewing aliens? Aliens here on Earth, right now?
She glanced around the room again and half-expected the door to fling open and a camera crew to enter, proclaiming she’d been the butt of a joke.
In a way, she almost wished it would happen. She had certainly jumped into the proverbial rabbit hole.
The Major continued. “Your job is to profile them, to develop relationships with them, to get to know them and understand them. You will then submit reports so we can pass it on to the brass on what exactly needs to be done with them.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that we need to know if they’re hostile. We need to get them to trust us, to realize that we aren’t the enemy. We have to find out if there are others like them, where they are, what their intentions are, and why they’re here. Where they came from. We need to know all about them.”
“And if they’re hostile?”
“I don’t know. That’s not up for me to decide, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
She nodded. “What if they have good intentions? What will happen then?”
He shrugged. “Maybe we can go so far as to say that we can integrate them into our society. I don’t know, Olivia, but for now, we need to take one step at a time, and the first order of business if for you to gain their trust so they talk to you, so you can find out all about them.”
Her head swam with questions and images of aliens she’d seen in the movies. “How … how do I talk to them? What do they look like?”
“Oddly enough, they’re very easy to talk to. The two we have in custody right now speak English and say they were born here.”
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