by R T Green
‘Really?’ I slammed a hand onto the wall just above his head, leant over him. He was a few inches shorter than my five-ten, stank of booze and body odour, but I was determined to put the fear of god into him. ‘And why should I believe a slobbery little lowlife like you, huh?’
‘It’s true… on my mamma’s life… please don’t slice me… please…’
I straightened up, and remembered I was wearing the same leather jacket as the last time he saw me. Bonus. It must have brought him back fond memories. I shook my head slowly, reached into the jacket pocket deliberately.
As he sank to the floor, a pathetic heap of fat clad in ragged jeans and a cheap tweed jacket, the tears began to roll down his unshaven cheeks, and shaking hands moved to cover his face. It was obvious he was telling the truth; with the demise of his boss and the way he met his end scaring the crap out of him, Jonno had lost his nerve. A piece of filth though he was, he was hardly a threat to society anymore.
But he wasn’t going to meet his maker, not today anyway. He had a far more important role to play.
‘Give me your wallet.’
‘Huh?’
‘Give me your wallet… now!’
Hands he could hardly control fumbled inside his jacket. He handed me a brown leather fold-over. It was scruffy, but clearly very good quality. One of the spoils of a lost era. Inside was a single ten-pound note, his national insurance card, and a couple of old credit cards.
I turned sideways so he couldn’t see, although the floods of tears and the whiskey weren’t making it too easy for him to focus anyway. The main note pockets were padded and deep, just what I needed.
I slipped the tiny tracker down one side, right to the bottom. Given Jonno’s current lifestyle, I doubted he made much use of that particular part of his wallet.
He looked a pathetic sight as I threw the wallet back at him, stood with my legs apart and hands on hips, glaring the stare into his watery eyes. ‘You know what, Jonno? I really can’t be bothered with vermin like you right now. So that’s twice you’ve caught a break.’
I marched the few steps back to the car, slammed the door and leant my head back through the open window, gave him a warm smile. ‘But you know what… it might be third time lucky for me!’
Grim-faced, I floored the throttle and headed back to the main road. It wouldn’t be too long until Jonno felt the full wrath of an angry Tiri, when she discovered she’d been outwitted yet again. There was no telling what she’d do to him.
Whatever it was, he still deserved it.
But as I turned back onto the main road, a massive shudder wracked my whole body. Waves of sharp pins seemed to spear my skin, and my eyes watered up. I had to shake my head to clear my vision before I shortened the BMW yet again.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Not so long back I would have left the pathetic crumpled heap of humanity with a huge smile on my face, overjoyed that a mere woman could have instilled so much fear into a hardened criminal.
Now, shaking like a leaf, I just wanted the cocooning comfort of the bed in my apartment.
And that brought another wrack of stomach-churning fear. I’d tried to reassure Zana, told her she’d be safe alone in my pad. It wasn’t exactly true. I’d had no choice, I couldn’t have taken her with me. But it was a possibility Tiri was hovering overhead, knowing exactly what I was up to.
Zana couldn’t contact me, she had no mobile and I hadn’t installed a landline in the apartment.
I wouldn’t know if all was well until I got back.
I slipped the keycard into the lock, slowly pushed open the door. There was no sound. I called out quietly, ‘Zana…’
No reply. The table lamps were still on, the door to the bedroom ajar, light coming from inside the room. My heart thumping like a piston engine, I crept to the doorway, wary eyes everywhere. I eased the bedroom door open, looked inside.
No Zana.
‘No…’ I cried out, turned away, my head pounding with an awful dread, my legs turning to lead.
And then I saw her.
Stretched out on the sofa, its back had been hiding her from my view. She was wearing my gown, and dead to the world.
And suddenly, it all got too much. I dropped to my knees, exhaustion and shattered nerves finally defeating me. The tears came as I sobbed into my hands, racking my body with earthquakes of fear, desolation, remorse… a million emotions, all doing their best to force me to let go of the end of my rope.
Don’t wake Zana. She’s been through more than you. I dropped my hands, forced tear-fogged eyes to look at her, knowing the need to let her sleep had likely saved me right then from a total meltdown.
She looked so peaceful. So beautiful. I knew she was anything but peaceful, knew she’d tried to stay awake until I’d returned safely, but the desperation for sleep had proved too strong.
What have I done to you, Zana?
What have I done to us?
I dragged myself to my feet. The wine bottle wasn’t quite empty, I tipped it back and sank the last of it, shuffled wearily to the window and gazed down to the street below. It was just gone eleven, and the curfew London’s residents had imposed on themselves seemed to have come into force. Normally buzzing with life until well after midnight, the main street of Pimlico was deserted.
I drew in a deep breath, gave myself a mental slap in the face. Get your ass into gear, Madeline deWinter… you’re better than this.
Your country needs you.
And even though she may not entirely want to, so does the woman you love.
I fetched the duvet from the bedroom, laid it gently over Zana. She murmured quietly, but didn’t open her eyes. I wanted so much to kiss her, see her smile, kiss me back.
But I couldn’t risk waking her. And maybe what I wished for was a distant fantasy anyway.
I put my jacket and the car keys on the coffee table right in front of her, so if she woke in the night they would be the first things she’d see, and know I was home safe.
And then I just about made my bed, collapsed onto it fully-dressed.
I don’t remember anything else.
Chapter 149
The clunk of a mug on the bedside table jolted my still-shattered nerves into consciousness. Zana, still in my gown, sat down on the side of the bed.
‘I made you tea.’ She smiled, a wonderful sight I’d not seen for some time. ‘Thank you for letting me know you were home. I tried to stay awake for you, but…’
‘Hey, I’m glad you were able to sleep. Kind of freaked me out for a moment because I couldn’t see you when I first got back, but then I heard snoring from the sofa.’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘Do I snore?’
I took her hand, she didn’t object. ‘No, ’course you don’t. You just looked serene, and… beautiful.’
She lowered her eyes. ‘I assume the tracker is far away now?’
I grinned. ‘Let’s just say I had a little help from an old friend. Just wish I could see Tiri’s face when she realizes you’ve morphed into a fat, disgusting lowlife.’
She squeezed my hand for a second, stood up. ‘Thank you. We should see if there is something for breakfast. Time is short, and we have to meet with the others soon.’
I showered, the wonderful warm water cascading over my skin, helping to wash away the chills of yesterday and the imaginary and just as creepy dirt that seemed to cling to me after my altercation with Jonno.
Feeling more in tune with the new me, I wandered into the kitchen area. There wasn’t much food in the place, but Zana had found a box of cereal, and two bowls sat waiting on the breakfast bar. The wonderful aroma of freshly-brewed Columbian coffee filled the room.
Somehow, at least for a precious few minutes, it felt like real, normal life.
We dug spoons into the cereal bowls, sitting side by side on the tall stools. Outside, the sounds of Pimlico drifted through the window vents, and a bright sun sat low over the roofs of the buildings, bathing our space in a beautiful white winter ligh
t.
‘I could get used to this,’ I smiled.
‘If only,’ she whispered.
She sounded sad again. Please Zana, don’t put a downer on this… right now I’m feeling upbeat, and that’s too important to lose. She’d eaten a few mouthfuls, but then her spoon toyed with the strawberry crunch floating in the milk in the bowl.
I watched my positive mood fly out of the window and disappear into the blue, turned to look at her. The good vibes ripped cruelly away, I tried to keep the frustration out of my voice. I don’t think I quite managed it.
‘What can I do to make this better, Zana?’
Her hands clasped together, and then covered her mouth like she was trying to stop the words coming out. ‘You can’t do anything. You’ve already done enough.’
I turned away from her, walked to the other side of the kitchen, forcing the anger of frustration away. This time I managed it.
‘I can’t undo the past… but believe me I wish to god I could. But I have to do something…’
Finally she looked up, and the desolation and confusion in her eyes sent a lightning bolt of pain right through me. ‘I feel like I’m imploding, Madeline. I don’t even know what to do, or what to feel, so how can I tell you what to do?’
I buried my face in my hands, without even realizing it, the desperate need to scream almost overcoming me. But somehow I found the strength to back away from it, and say the only thing I could… an emotion-filled, whispered plea.
‘I love you, Zana.’
Her eyes lowered, and I watched her hands wringing together on the bar top. She shook her head slowly, spoke in monotones. ‘I love you too. But the more I learn of my own feelings, and discover how complicated and confusing human emotions are, the more I see that sometimes, love is simply not enough.’
‘What the hell is that supposed to m…’
The phone began to jiggle noisily on the granite top. For Christ’s sake, can a girl not have an important conversation without getting interrupted? I thrust it angrily to my ear.
‘Yeah?’
‘Wow Maddie, you get out of bed the wrong side?’
‘Sorry, Coop. Just in the middle of a… conversation.’
‘Everything ok?’ he asked cautiously.
‘Sure.’
‘Ok, I’ll leave that one for now. Just checking on you guys. As long as you’re safe. Scott wants us in council in an hour, says he’s got some news. Don’t be late kid, ok?’
‘We’ll be there, Coop.’
Zana had disappeared, last seen heading for the bathroom. Making her escape, I guess. Maybe it was understandable.
She’d spent her whole life brought up in a warrior culture, things like love and compassion at the bottom of the Calanduran bucket list. Nine months ago she’d been thrust into a human culture, forced to integrate, discover what humanity was. Two months ago she’d met me… which was when emotions she’d never experienced spiraled out of control… for us both.
Then she’d fallen, died in the arms of the woman she loved, but then risen like the Phoenix from the ashes of destruction. Only to discover the girl who meant everything was consoling her grief in the arms of someone else. And although it wasn’t the betrayal she believed it was, a violent dose of her fearless sister’s green-eyed jealousy must have felt like the last straw, and made everything worse.
How can I blame her for imploding now? In some ways I had betrayed her, even if I didn’t know I was. She does love me, that much is clear enough. But maybe she’s right.
Sometimes love just isn’t enough.
Chapter 150
Jane the detective was in Scott’s office when we arrived. Given how many of us there were, we transferred back to the now airtight conference room.
Scott handed the ball to Daniels. ‘Bring them up to speed, Jane,’ he said.
‘Every cop we have to spare is looking for the alien hideout, but given the thousands of potential places, it’s likely to take some time. And it seems every criminal mastermind is taking advantage of that obvious knowledge, making the most of us being stretched to the limit. They all know only too well they can get away with stuff they might not have done two months ago.’
Coop shook his head. ‘Guess that’s to be expected.’
‘For sure. To try and keep the panic down, we’ve thrown a blanket over anything to do with the missing girls, but that in itself has made some of the investigative journalists suspicious… already we’re reading speculative articles that the sudden appearance of an alien spaceship is connected. So far though, no one has unearthed any real evidence to prove it. But it won’t be too long.’
I could feel the frustration building again. Sitting around a table getting briefed on developments that I had no part of was nothing short of painful. The bit of the old me that got out there and took action was still alive and well, tapping me on the shoulder and reminding me I was action-girl, not sit-around-and-wait girl.
And the impulsive me was slapping me in the face with both hands, glaring manically and rasping out, ‘Are you listening to this?’
But Jane hadn’t finished with her briefing, and dragged me away from my imaginary companions.
‘Last night, another girl was reported missing. This time not in Soho, but another red light district a couple of miles away.’
Scott interceded. ‘They’ve moved the pick-up point. Not exactly unexpected, given that they’ve exhausted Soho… and what happened with the murdered girl.’
Miles looked as frustrated as I felt. ‘A couple of miles? That has to mean they’ve got some kind of transport. Which by definition means their hideout could be anywhere.’
Jane shook her head. ‘Maybe, but most sexual predators don’t go far from base. I doubt they’ll be far from a point between the two pick-ups.’
Scott took off his glasses, began to polish them. ‘You’re talking of human ones though, Jane.’
She just nodded.
I couldn’t stop it. Crazy me was rising to the challenge. I tried my best to bat it away, screw my eyes up tight like a little girl fighting off a bad dream, but it had got me by the metaphoric balls.
A stupid and potentially life-threatening idea was growing like a rampant tumour, triggered by Jane’s news of the bad guys switching location.
And then, Coop inadvertently added a bit more size to it.
I’d noticed he was carrying a canvas bag, hadn’t thought much of it. He handed it to Zana, with a grin. ‘Went and bought you a few things this morning,’ he said.
She pulled out a blonde wig, laughed. ‘Did you miss the human me, Coop?’ she said.
He laughed with her. ‘Chose one with a long fringe, to cover your forehead. But there’s more…’
Also in the bag was a scarf, gloves, and a pair of sunglasses. He explained. ‘It’s your disguise, Zana, just in case someone sees you in Madeline’s car. The wig will help, but keep the scarf around your neck so you can slip it over your mouth whenever you need. It’s as cold as hell out there, so you won’t be alone doing that. And for the next couple of days we’ve got clear skies, so covering your alien eyes with sunglasses won’t be that unusual either.’
She looked grateful for this thoughtfulness. ‘Thanks, Coop.’
I nodded my agreement, wishing I’d thought of it. It was a pretty obvious thing to do, if I’d not been so wrapped up in my own pathetic issues.
But seeing the wig had added fuel to my craziness.
Oh dear.
We talked a little more strategy with Jane, although that was largely fruitless. The entire Met was on high alert, DIAL’s techies helping by constantly scanning the streets for anything unusual. Scott was back and forth to Westminster, helping coordinate the state of emergency and the panic limitation.
It seemed like the four people at the centre of the alien threat had very little to do.
Until Tiri made her presence felt again.
Jane the detective left to do more practical things, and Scott asked Zana and Miles to sit
down with each other, so they could put together a full character profile of her fellow aliens, in the probably-futile possibility that would help.
I took the opportunity for a little me time, slunk off to the mess and grabbed a latte and a table, intending to work out if the crazy plan forming in my head was just pure insanity or had any chance of actually working.
I only got three minutes, before a familiar figure sat down in front of me and spooned four sugars into his coffee.
‘See you’re cutting back on the sweet stuff, Coop.’
‘Hey, I’m Jamaican!’ he grinned. ‘But talking of sweet stuff, how’s things with my two favourite lovebirds?’ He saw the look in my eyes. ‘Not so good then.’
‘I can’t reach her anymore, Coop. And I’m beginning to think I never will. You’re right about me being a moron… I’m no good with all the hearts and flowers stuff. I’ve fucked up, and there’s no way back.’
I guess he must have noticed the tear rolling down my cheek, put out a hand and wrapped it around mine. ‘It ain’t easy when your own sister wants the woman you’s got, and will stop at nothing to get her. She’ll need time, maybe a lot of it.’
‘There’s more to it than just Tiri.’
He frowned, narrowed his eyes. ‘Tell uncle Ryland all about it.’
‘You’d better put another four sugars in your coffee.’
‘That bad, huh?’
I sucked in a deep, faltering breath. ‘Just before I was taken, back in Tobago, I was with Lisa. In the palm trees at the back of the house. I didn’t know it, but Zana was hiding, watching us. She saw everything, Coop… watched us making out, and it was… graphic.’
‘Geez…’ He sat back, raised his eyebrows. ‘That’s more than a body should ever see.’
‘So now do you see why I’ve fucked it up, for good?’ The tears were flowing for real, my hands shaking so much I had to put the mug down. He was the first person other than Zana to know that one sordid fact. ‘I thought she was dead, Coop…’