by Anna Argent
“Are you ready to tell me what was in that syringe you injected yourself with?”
“Nope,” he said. “Just let it go.” His jaw clenched in frustration, and his hands gripped the steering wheel like it was the only thing keeping him from spinning off of the planet.
As close to him as she felt, she wasn’t foolish enough to believe she really knew him. They’d only been together for a short time, and he’d already surprised her with the whole prisoner thing. Who knew what other surprises he had hidden away?
“Are you a drug addict?” she asked, her voice quiet.
He looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “What? No. Of course not.”
“Then what?”
His hands clenched tighter on the wheel. His knuckles turned white. A toxic mix of anger and frustration pulsed out of him in the form of searing heat.
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” he asked.
“After seeing you writhe in pain, then shrug it off like it was no big deal? After seeing how freaked you were when you found out that you’d lost a dose? Would you let it go if our roles were reversed?”
He pulled in a long breath, then let it out slowly. As his did, his chest expanded, drawing her attention back to just how finely built he was. Of all of the people ever made to go around shirtless, he was definitely in the top ten. Maybe higher.
“No,” he said. “I guess I wouldn’t.”
“Then will you tell me what that drug was? Please?”
He squirmed in discomfort. “It’s a prisoner thing.”
“What does that mean?”
“When a prisoner enters the penal system, he’s sterilized and then poisoned.”
She couldn’t even wrap her head around that concept enough to be able to ask if he was kidding. It was clear he wasn’t. “Poison?”
“That syringe was filled with blockers—a sort of antidote.”
“So you’re okay now? The poison is out of your system?”
“No. It doesn’t work like that. It’s the warden’s way of making sure that no one tries to run off. If they don’t get their blockers, the poison kicks in and kills them.”
There were no words. “That is… I don’t even…What the hell, Radek?”
“When I came here, I was given a steady stream of blockers to keep me alive, with the understanding that they would go away if I tried to run.”
“But you haven’t.”
“No.”
“Then where are the rest of your blockers? Are they sending them tonight? How long do you have before you need them again?” She was freaking out more by the second, her worry rolling into a nice snowball of panic.
Radek took her hand and held it from flapping around in the air with her upset. “Listen, Ava. Everything is going to be fine.”
“How many more doses do you have left?”
“It doesn’t matter. I have enough.”
“Give me a number, Radek.”
His mouth tightened, holding back words for several seconds. When he finally spoke, all he said was, “None.”
A queasy feeling of dread began rolling around in her gut. “How often do you need them?”
“Every Loriahan day.”
“And that is how long?”
When he saw that she wasn’t going to let him refuse to answer, he sighed. “Twenty-six hours.”
“Twenty-six…? And then what?”
He glanced at her, his bronze eyes solemn. “You know the answer to that.”
“You’re going to die?” she asked, aghast.
“We have much bigger problems than what happens to me tomorrow. We need to worry about tonight, and finding the Raide before daybreak. And once we find Dimas’s command station, we need to shut it down.”
She was so stunned, she didn’t know what to say. “You’re going to die, and you’re worried about Dimas? Are you kidding me?”
“Look, Ava. Our people have been at war almost my entire life. Our planet is in a shambles. People are dying every day, trying to turn back the invasion. We’ve lost millions of people to the Raide. Millions. Whether or not one single Soric prisoner survives or not is irrelevant. The only thing we can let matter is making sure that what happened on Loriah and who knows how many other worlds doesn’t happen here. Understand?”
She understood every word he said. She even agreed with some of them. But letting him die because of some stupid prison rule? Fuck that.
“I need one of your communicator doodads.” She flung off her seatbelt and turned in her seat to search the back seat for the gadget.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to call your planet and talk to the governor or whoever else is in charge of granting pardons. I’m going to get you the antidote you need to flush that shit out of your system. And I’m probably going to raise my voice and use bad words when I do it.”
She found the machine he’d used to communicate with Loriah, but it was in her hands for only a second before Radek snatched it away.
“First, only a general can pardon a prisoner, not a governor. Second, Warden Trathen has already made it very clear that there would be no more antidote for me because I didn’t return home when he ordered me to. And third, the people back home would probably not understand or appreciate your bad words, so you might as well keep them to yourself.”
She glared at him from her seat, but didn’t risk the car accident that might result from her trying to steal the device back.
“Besides,” he said, “it won’t work unless a window is open, and that’s not happening for a few more hours. So just sit tight and stick with our original plan. We free your family first, then we’ll worry about my little poison issue.”
“Little poison issue? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing. My priorities are straight, Ava. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
“You’re dying!”
He jerked the wheel, shoving the truck over onto the shoulder in a rough stop. The look of rage on his face was so unlike him, she flinched back in fear. “I’m not going to die in prison, Ava. Period. If I go home like a good little boy, they’re going to stick me back in a cage and leave me there to rot.” He reined in his anger and calmed his tone. “I’d rather die free than live caged, so that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
She sat there in shock, unsure of what to say. “I don’t want you to die at all,” were the only words she could find.
He cradled her face with his hand, giving her his warmth to ward off the chill coursing through her. “Our whole planet is at war and has been since I was a child. Everyone dies. I’m accustomed to death, and I’m not going to let it scare me. But I am going to miss you.”
He gave her a brief kiss that broke her heart.
“You’re serious,” she whispered. “You’re really going to let this happen.”
“I was never meant to be locked up. I never did anything to deserve it. If I go back and let them control me again, it will kill the part of me that really matters. My flesh might live, but my spirit will be destroyed. I’ve seen what that does to a man, and I refuse to simply hand myself over and let it happen to me.”
What could she say to that? How could she blame him?
“You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, haven’t you?” she asked.
He nodded. “From the moment I was given this assignment and came here, I knew I’d never go back. I’ve played along like a good dog, letting Warden Trathen think he was in control, but it was always an act.”
“There’s got to be another way. An antidote here on Earth, maybe?”
“I’ve looked. Nothing I’ve tried has worked. The formula is a closely-guarded secret for obvious reasons. For all I know, it’s more technological than chemical.”
“Then what do we do?”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “We keep going. We rescue your family and kill Dimas. And with any luck, we do it all in the next twenty-three hours.”
Chapter
Thirty
Emily curled into the smallest space possible, trying her best not to draw any attention.
The makeshift pen where the aliens were keeping her and Mom was made from a single loop of wire suspended from the ceiling. It wasn’t electrified, but it was definitely deadly. The missing section of Emily’s sleeve proved that. It had been cut off cleanly, as if by a hot blade, and she hadn’t even touched the wire. All she’d done was brush across the invisible barrier it created.
Since then, both she and Mom had stayed in the center of the space, holding each other and praying for their lives.
Mom was pale and shaking, though Emily couldn’t tell if it was more from her illness than fear.
“Ava will come,” said Emily, forcing a tone of confidence into her words.
“I know. That’s part of what worries me.”
“She’s smart and tough. If anyone can find a way out of this mess, it’s her.”
“I think that’s what these monsters are counting on.” Mom’s gaze slid sideways, as if she was hiding a secret behind her eyes.
“What aren’t you telling me?” asked Emily.
Mom gave a small shake of her head. “Not now.”
“There may not be a later. The time for secrets is over.”
“Secrets? You mean like the one you and your sister have been keeping from me?”
Emily blushed like she always did whenever Mom caught her in the act. “It’s not important.”
“Maybe not, but this floor is hard, our lives are in danger, and I could use a distraction right now. So spill. What have you two been hiding from me?”
Emily searched for a good lie. “Ava and I have been planning you a surprise party.”
“Bull. I know whatever you’re hiding isn’t good and you think I’m not well enough to handle it, but you’re wrong.”
Emily and Ava had agreed that Mom shouldn’t know about what Beau had done that night. They agreed she was too weak and needed to concentrate all her energy on getting better.
Mom cradled Emily’s cheeks in her hands. “I know that look, but I’m stronger than you think. And if something is wrong, I have a right to know what it is. I realize that you’re in college now and think you’re all grown up, but I’m still your mother.”
“It’s no big deal. Especially now.” Emily waved toward where several fleshy gray giants were standing guard. “We’re being invaded by aliens. Yesterday’s problems don’t seem quite so important. I think we should let it drop.”
“Not going to happen, young lady. Now stop stalling and start talking.”
There was color in Mom’s cheeks now. Fire in her eyes. She’d always been a fierce protector, and if Emily could use that to keep Mom strong and give her energy to get through this nightmare, then she really had no choice.
She pulled in a deep breath. “Remember the night I went out with Beau?”
Mom nodded. “I never liked him, but you’ve always had a bit of a crush, and I didn’t want to ruin your fun.”
“Well, turns out you were right. He…” She trailed off, trying to distance herself from the memories of that night, but even in the face of the danger they were in now, she could still remember the way he looked at her, the way he sounded and smelled.
Mom took Emily’s hand in a tight grip. “Tell me.”
After a few seconds, Emily gathered herself enough to put words to the events. “We had a nice dinner. He was charming and attentive. Afterwards, we went for a drive.” She swallowed hard, and tried to pretend that she was watching a movie, rather than reliving a memory. “We were in his car, making out. He was going too fast, but when I tried to slow things down, he got mad. Things… turned ugly.”
Mom whimpered in pain and held Emily’s hand tighter.
“He was so strong. I kept telling him I wasn’t joking, that he should stop, but that only seemed to fire him up more. I knew what was going to happen. I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it.”
“He raped you,” whispered Mom.
“No. But he would have if Ava hadn’t shown up and stopped him.”
Mom let out a shaky breath of relief. “What he did was still wrong. He’ll pay for what he did to you.”
“Ava went to his father, but it was clear the sheriff would cover for his son. And since there was no actual rape, he said we’d never be able to prove a thing.”
“Oh honey. You could have come to me. I would have found a way to go above the sheriff’s head.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Emily said. “We have far bigger problems.”
Mom hugged her tight. “When this is over, we’ll find a way to charge him with something. Attempted rape… assault. There’s got to be someone willing to believe your word over his.”
“This is why Ava and I didn’t want you to know. We knew you’d go into Mom mode and use precious energy you can’t afford to waste.”
“Protecting my daughters is never a waste of energy.”
Emily shook her head. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m not going to pursue it. We need you healthy. Nothing else matters, okay?”
Mom nodded, but the look on her face told Emily that her acquiescence was a lie. “Let’s get out of here first. We’ll talk more about what to do about Beau once we’re home safe.”
Rather than argue, Emily let the Beau matter drop. If they survived to make it home, she’d be more than happy to fight Mom then.
If they made it home.
“Ava will come,” Emily said. “Just like she always does.”
Mom’s voice dropped to a whisper. “In the meantime, it’s up to us to find a way to save ourselves.”
Emily scanned the room and the no less than a dozen alien guards. Even without the deadly wire cage, there was no way out of here alive.
But Mom needed hope, so Emily said, “Give me a few minutes. I’ve got an idea.”
Sometime in the next few minutes, she had to come up with a viable means of escape that wouldn’t get them both killed.
*****
It took two more uses of Zoe’s tracking gadget to find the main source of Raide communications. They were coming from the top floor of a twenty-story hotel being constructed in downtown Chicago.
Here, looters were everywhere, forcing police to come out in droves in an effort to control the damage. Several streets were barricaded, but with so many officers busy dealing with more pressing issues, Radek was able to find a way through the littered streets to reach their target building.
“I think I saw a dead body,” said Ava as she hugged herself.
“It won’t be the last. The sooner we stop Dimas, the fewer bodies there will be.”
The sun was rising, sparkling off of glass buildings and abandoned cars. The smell of smoke was in the air, and even though this was an upscale part of town, the streets were filled with broken windows puking the designer clothing and high-end electronics that looters couldn’t quite carry out.
As they got within three blocks, they saw a few Dregorgs milling about. Inside the shadows cast by doorways, Cyturs wearing red goggles waited to strike.
He came to a stop and turned off the engine.
“Where is the military?” she asked. “A gathering like this should at least have someone watching to see what they do.”
“There aren’t that many aliens here. And the human military doesn’t have Zoe’s tool for seeing Raide communication signals. They probably have no idea this is a hot spot.”
She looked around, frowning. “Why here? This place must have some kind of strategic value.”
“Does it matter?” he asked. “Value or not, we need to get in there. The Raide love traps, so every step is going to be slow and careful, or it could be our last.”
She craned her neck to look up at the roof. “Do you think Mom and Emily are in there?”
“Only one way to find out.”
He couldn’t let her go in there unarmed, so he grabbed a pair of Imonite daggers that Talan had left behind. He held out the matte b
lack blades. “Here. Take these. They won’t cut through Raide armor, but they will penetrate both Dregorg and Cytur hide.”
She swung the short weapons in a slow arc, testing the weight. “I’m not a fighter. You know that, right?”
“You are today. Let’s just hope that you don’t have to be an experienced one.”
She smirked at that and said, “What’s our plan?”
“We’re going to do our best to sneak in.”
“That’s not likely. We need one of the Dregorgs to let us pass. Like Orac.”
Contacting him was risky—their conversation could be overheard by the wrong creature who might report their location to Dimas. Still, Radek didn’t see many other options that got them inside without alerting the Raide.
He pulled the comm unit from his duffel bag and activated it. A few seconds later, a deep, rough voice came over the line. “Name yourself.”
“It’s Radek. We need a favor.”
When Orac said nothing, Radek took it as an invitation to continue. “We’re near Dimas. We need a way into the building. Can you tell one of your guys to let us in?”
“Dangerous. Traps.”
“I know. Believe me. But we have no choice. Ava’s family is inside.” At least he hoped they were. “Would you take any risk to free your people if they were inside?”
Silence hung heavy as the seconds passed.
“Mine will let you pass. South door. No Cyturs. Hurry.”
The connection closed as Orac ended the transmission.
Ava undid her seatbelt. “No need to tell me twice. Let’s go.”
Radek emptied everything he didn’t need from his duffel bag and put in only the essentials. A spare weapon, the med kit and Zoe’s weapon. “We can’t let this fall into the wrong hands. It needs to stay with us at all times.” He handed her the bag. “If things go badly, set it to kill the Cyturs. They’re more of a threat than the Dregorgs, and it might give your military a fighting chance.”
She nodded once and set the weapon to kill all Cyturs on the planet. “Got it. Operation Arachnogeddon is a go.”