by Li Hill
"I'm gonna dump you off at BrightStart in Arizona, and I want you to confront Caleb. You've got history and I'll just be killed, so say anything to make him listen to you. Hell, even agree with him! But I need evidence so damn concrete that no amount of money will buy anyone over this."
"Who's bought though? The government? The FBI?"
"The FBI for fuckin' sure. I don't think Congress is in on this. It's a little below their paygrade right now."
"The government ordered the secrecy in the first place. How is that not suspicious? It's all in Iilo's journal."
Yzee then held up Iilo's journal, and Tom's mouth slammed shut. "Your government agreed to keep our secret to top-security clearences only in exchange for our help in technological advancement into spacetravel. We agreed to be kept seperated as much as possible until we could figure out a way to handle the biological differences or come up with some counteractive measures. Last I heard, we hadn't found a way to stop the corrosion."
"Caleb hinted that BrightStart has." Tom looked to his fingers. He couldn't figure out if it was even true. NASA had expanded its efforts in space travel. It was testing new rockets once a year. Iilo said he'd wanted to work with NASA, so it wasn't a stretch to believe there were other I'na there working alongside humans. I'na did absolutely keep to themselves and had heavy regulation on where they could go. Maybe it wasn't too farfetched. BrightStart had done unforgivible things, but if it found a way to allieviate or even control the corrosion, then I'na wouldn't feel like they had to separate themselves anymore. "I just feel like I've been lied to."
"If it's any consolation, you received your directives from your command to try to protect you. Right now, I really do believe the government is just trying to keep the peace until relationships between I'na and human calm down."
Tom breathed easier, knowing that his government wasn't the dark shadow that was behind each I'na's dissapearence. But avoiding the truth about I'na blood would only make it worse for relationships between their species when the truth finally came out. Further, it only left the I'na vulnerable. "So the government has no idea that someone is using I'na for weapons development?"
Parker shrugged. "That's also above my paygrade. We'll figure that out after we slam Polanski in a cell, okay?" He put his hand on Yzee's back to walk out.
Tom pressed himself to the bars and said, "Why're you even helping?"
Parker turned around, looking from Yzee to Tom. He dipped his sunglasses, showing off his heterochromatic eyes. He looked right at Yzee and said, "That's personal."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Parker snuck Tom onto a private jet. Tom had expected there to be secret disguises, a randomly pulled alarm, and some fight scenes, but nothing like that happened. He'd come in, given Tom clothes to change into, and they'd left, careful to avoid being seen. The jet's interior was sleek and new, the seats all smelled like fresh leather, and the aisle lights changed to every color of the rainbow.
"Where's Iilo?" Tom asked.
Parker plopped down in a cushy seat, barking orders into his phone about trying to secure a private landing for their jet.
Yzee sat beside him. He seemed to be the only one who realized Tom had even said anything. He pointed to the jet's door.
Tom turned around, eyes wide. He clamored through the skinny isle and pulled Iilo into a hug. Iilo smelled like rust and sweat. Neither of them had showered since being "arrested," but he was alive, his face clear of any bruises or signs of mistreatment.
"I'm going to punch Caleb Polanski," Iilo said with a scowl. "But I'm glad you're safe."
"I'm glad you're safe." He cupped Iilo's face. Iilo's skin was radiant blue and unblemished. He was solid and smiling up at Tom.
"Hey, can we call Sam and Carlos so they know we didn't die? You've got secure phones, right?" Tom asked.
"Alex?" Yzee looked to Parker for approval who just tossed up the okay signal. He then handed Tom his phone.
Tom had dialed Sam's number so many times that he knew it by heart. He waited for Sam to pick up, hearing her voice on the second ring.
"First Sergeant Samantha Shae," she said.
Tom switched it over to speaker phone. "It's Tom and Iilo. I just wanted to let you know that we're okay." He didn't have the heart to tell her about Caleb, at least not yet. And the less she knew the safer she was.
"I've been worried sick about you two. I've gotta tell you something, and Iilo, you're not gonna like it."
Iilo bit his lip and Tom's heart sank. So much had gone wrong; they needed something to go right.
"The Seward In'a are all missing. Every last one of them. Carlos and I went back to just check on them and they're all gone."
Tom's stomach dropped. "You're shitting me."
Iilo turned sheet white, staring ahead.
"Stay safe, Sam." He heard her distant "you too" but was far more concerned with the paleness of Iilo's skin.
"It makes sense." Iilo crumpled in his seat, head in his hands. "Caleb didn't need me convicted. He just needed the focus on me. I'm going to kill him." His muscles shook beneath skin, body slowly turning pink to red.
"Woah, hey now." Parker swiveled around in his seat. "Bad idea, kiddo."
"Don't you fucking call me a kiddo!" Iilo barred his fangs, bristling. "I've had enough with humans telling me how to feel, where to look, how I can look, where to live! I'm fucking sick of all of you."
Tom tensed. He'd never seen Iilo in a rage before. His skin was blood red. Iilo had bid enough time waiting, accommodating others. He'd relied on humans to help him, and in the end, his whole settlement still went missing. All because of humans.
"Iilo," Parker said. "We're on a plane. You need to calm down."
The cabin felt too small for Iilo's wrath. Everyone was alarmed with straight spines and wide eyes. Tom didn't want to think about the amount of guns in the cabin, but he knew each FBI agent had one. Yzee's wore his in plain sight.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do," Iilo growled.
"Iilo." Tom's voice broke. "I know. I know humans are terrible pieces of shit." He couldn't stand to see Iilo so red. His ID burned like fire beneath the skin. He moved closer, his hands up for Iilo to see. He felt like he was cornering a wild animal. "We're all here to help. That's why Parker brought us here. He needs us to help him."
Iilo clenched his jaw. "My sister is wherever Caleb is." Iilo's eyes filled with tears. "None of you know what I feel right now. And you just sit there like I'm some doll for you to pose in whatever way you want! I'm not a scapegoat and I'm not a toy!"
Tom recoiled. "No one is saying you're a toy, Iilo. I'm promising you. We'll save your sister."
Iilo took in a deep sigh, his skin pinking. "I need to know if she's okay." He wiped his eyes with a trembling hand. "There's only so much of this I can take before I just fucking lose it." He pushed his face into his arms. "Don't touch me."
Tom didn't. He sat with his heart full of ice, staring at a man he didn't know how to help.
Iilo cried into his hands, whispering in his language. They were stuck on a plane while racing an unknown clock. Tom couldn't say everything would be all right. There was a chance they'd arrive to find everyone dead and Iilo alone—tragedy that Tom wouldn't even wish on an enemy. Yet he'd made a promise that he wasn't sure he could keep.
Tom jumped when he felt chilly fingers curl into his. Iilo didn't look up at him, but he held Tom's hand.
Tom squeezed Iilo's hand, head pressed against his ID. He closed his eyes, humming the way Nenen had.
Iilo relaxed against Tom, humming back. Their vibrations matched in harmony. Humanity and I'na alike had a language spoken only by bodies. When words failed, Tom did the only thing he knew next. He held onto Iilo, eyes closed, letting that nonsensical tune vibrate his throat.
"I know this is hard to accept, Iilo," Parker said, "but let us handle this. Hostage situations are kind of the FBI's bread and butter."
Iilo sneered and looked out the window.
Tom
could feel heat wavering off him. He seethed beneath the skin. There'd be no holding him back once they got to Arizona. Tom trusted the FBI to do their job, but he didn't trust Iilo to sit idly by while his family was at risk.
"Hey," Tom whispered close to Iilo's ear. "Get some rest, okay? You need it."
Iilo scrunched up his button nose. "Don't tell me what to do." He leaned into the window.
Tom sat back, chewing on a fingernail. He couldn't fault Iilo for his mood. If Tom's sister was caught up in this, he'd tear the world down and not blink an eye. But it ached to be on the receiving end of Iilo's wrath. It put a fear in his belly that he hadn't considered before. What if Iilo didn't really want him? What if Caleb had been right?
Tom leaned forward, his fingers steepled. Losing Iilo now, just when Tom started to navigate this whole relationship, Tom wasn't ready. Fear plummeted him into darkness. Caleb's words rang out, over and over. Tom wasn't Caleb. He just didn't know how to bring up what Caleb had told him to Iilo.
When they landed, Tom took a glance out the window. Red, dusty sands and a spattering of brown foliage. No buildings, no cars. He couldn't even see a road. Once they were off the plane, it was easier to get an idea of where they were. Large red and brown rock formations dotted the area, sculptures made by gods and not man.
"I'm going with Tom." Iilo took a step forward, his face a clear foot under Parker's but that didn't stop him from getting close. "My people are there and they need me. I'm going too."
Parker looked from his group of agents and back to Iilo. He smiled, though the crow's feet around his eyes left him looking more regretful than positive. "Tom's gonna be wired. The whole reason we're here is because Polanski and Tom have history and I need irrefutable, concrete evidence or we're all gonna be disposed of. You march in there, you fuck that all up and then people die. We die."
"I'm not useless."
"You're not going. End of discussion." Parker pulled out a pair of cuffs. He grabbed Iilo's wrist, clapping part of the handcuffs on and wrangling Iilo to sit close enough to the little hook he cuffed the other side to.
Iilo growled, his body turning pink.
"Goddamn it, I don't have time for this." Parker motioned for Tom to follow him out of the plane.
Tom shot Iilo a defeated look. "I'm sorry."
"That's all you ever say." Iilo snapped. He pulled on the handcuffs.
"I'm trying to help your people!" But it was all Tom ever said. Automatic. A vicious habit.
Iilo tugged on the cuffs again, his wrist's coloring bluer. "You're trying to help yourself. Save the I'na that you so regret hurting. That's why you started this whole thing, right?"
Tom blinked, mouth ajar. "I, what?" he asked, but he didn't want to hear it. Iilo meant something to him now, and if everything they'd done together amounted to a grand lie, Tom would lose the part of himself he'd worked so hard to find again. "Listen, Caleb told me—"
"Raddoc! Let's go!" Parker shouted from the front of the jet.
Iilo sat there, face pink and fuming. "Just go save my family."
"I want you to be there," Tom said.
Iilo folded into himself, staring out the window.
Lungs filling with sand, Tom turned away. He was a ghost before Iilo, a shell of what he'd been. Finding Iilo breathed life back into his bones. He'd tried to be better for Iilo. Or he thought he had.
Tom raced to catch up with Parker and his agents. They walked like macho men in a classic action film, all swagger. An SUV was waiting for them at the end of the tarmac, and they piled in. Tom silent, picking at his cuticles. He couldn't stop replaying how red Iilo had gotten. He could burn the world with that ferocity.
Parker was on the phone, rambling out orders for a SWAT team to surround BrightStart at a far enough distance not to alarm anyone, while another, private team worked to find the missing I'na.
Tom was ready to put this behind him. And no matter what happened with Iilo, he knew Iilo was ready too. Tom entertained the idea of them moving on from this together. But he wasn't so sure. Caleb had put baseless doubts in his mind. Baseless because Iilo had never indicated he could do something like that. But it was hard to unlearn something when it was offered up. All he knew was that he had to believe Iilo, and not someone who believed in genocide.
They turned onto a dusty road with the sun blaring right into their eyes.
Parker shoved an earpiece painfully into Tom's ear. "Don't ever respond, but listen to me."
"Okay." Tom felt his heart lurch. "Will I be armed?"
"Nope." Parker flashed a white smile, his sunglasses reflecting Tom's pale face. "But I will." He indicated his holstered gun.
"Lovely."
BrightStart looked like a fancy sci-fi prison with windows lining the walls and ever-changing light colors cascading up and down the building. Tom stared, mystified. It looked more like a waterfall with the way the colors stretched and lazed down into the pond below. Beyond that though, were cement walls and cement logos.
"This nice agent will wire you up." Parker pointed to an older woman with graying hair. "Me and my team will be here listening the entire time. I've got someone stationed with Iilo and he'll be able to hear what's happening too. Once something incriminating is said, we can get a judge on stand-by to make the arrest warrant. Once that's signed, we're in and then I can start my investigation into bought FBI agents and maybe even some corrupt politicians.
"I need you to take off your shirt," the female agent said.
"Right." Tom pulled it over his head.
"Damn, boy, do you ever eat your greens." Parker whistled.
"I, uh, thanks." Tom had spent most of his life entirely self-conscious. He had been either too big or too small. He just wanted to focus on getting inside, finding Caleb and somehow living to tell the tale.
Yzee moved close to Parker, his hand resting on Parker's hip as he whispered something into his ear. The way they always stood together, how they spoke without words. Tom remembered Parker saying this was personal. Now he had a pretty good inkling on why.
Tom wasn't the only one who'd fallen for an I'na.
*~*~*
Inside, the smell hit Tom before anything else. The place was suffocating on potpourri. The windows let in the natural Arizona light, casting a red hue off the sleek white furniture. He didn't feel like he was on Earth anymore. Everything was too sharp with that red haze.
"Can I help you?" a lady behind the desk asked. She stood up, her brow raised high and a hand on her hip.
"Caleb Polanski's a friend. I'm here to see him. Tell him Tom Raddoc is here."
The woman sat back behind her desk, speaking into a headset.
Tom looked around, counting cameras in the entry. The place was wide enough to fit a tank in if necessary, though he really hoped it didn't come to that. The main exit was the front, but there had to be a fire escape in the stairway.
"Go up. He's in his office," the woman finally said.
Up was ten stories and an awkward elevator ride with a guy in a lab coat.
Tom walked the long hall, stopping when he saw a figure at the other end, lit up from behind like the Son of God. The irony didn't go unnoticed to Tom.
"Wanna see my office?" Caleb asked. "Who let you out of jail?"
Tom took a deep breath. Parker had said they didn't have to rush, but I'na were somewhere here and they were dying. It wasn't easy to pretend like every nerve was fine. Tom felt like he was being burned alive.
"Sure."
Caleb's office was grand, featuring a huge window along the back wall that showed off the Arizona landscape. He had little superhero figures on his desk, icons of heroism and goodness. Caleb had gotten that message quite wrong.
"Nice office."
"It's one of my favorites. I've actually got a few." Caleb smirked. "You could work with us, you know. Your immunity's invaluable."
"You mean I'd be a lab rat." So he knew about Tom. Somehow, that didn't take Tom by surprise.
"No!" Caleb frowne
d. "You'd be my partner."
Tom saw the flash of a gun on the inside of Caleb's blazer.
"Think your bosses would go for that?" Tom sat on the cushy leather sofa. He looked over at the bar, scanning the alcohol, all from different ends of the world. He'd once stared at Caleb in jealousy. Now he just looked at this grotesque display and saw it for what it was. A sham.
"I'm sorry for what happened to Iilo," Caleb said. He sat across from Tom, looking truly remorseful, which made the hairs on Tom's neck stand up. It was hard to tell what part of Caleb was real and what was a mask. He wore too many.
"Can you help get him out?" He figured it was best not to let Caleb know Iilo was on a private jet, courtesy of one Agent Alex Parker.
"He's safe there. Honestly, I can't believe you think I didn't know what I was doing. With Iilo in custody, he's safe from this." Caleb gestured his arms out. "Or at least for now. The rest depends on you."
"They're people, Caleb. People."
"You called them monsters before. Aliens. I watched you cut one's throat open."
Oori. Tom nodded, looking to his palms. Oori had had a life. He'd had parents. A mother. He'd been just as scared as Tom. Tom would live with that death on his hands until he went to his own grave, but he would honor Oori as a person, not a monster.
"You said you were scared," Tom said. "I can't believe you're just fine with this."
Caleb stood up. He walked over to his window, leaning back against it like death didn't scare him. "It's for the best. We won't wipe them out. We need them for their blood anyway. Once we find a way to simulate it, we won't even need their lives anymore. They won't go extinct, Tom."
"But you're still killing them. There are other ways!"
Caleb hunched his shoulders, fingers sprawling on the window. "At what cost? You drop smallpox, and then you have to regulate and quarantine the area. You toss nerve gas, and there're ways to combat it. Their blood neutralizes over time. Nuclear waste won't have to destroy the planet. This is the easiest, least destructive type of warfare. We don't have to worry about fallout. It's clean, it's effective, and it'll work! This is good, Tom! And yeah—I'na will die. But this isn't their planet. It's ours."