by Sonia Nova
“I know,” he said. “But I’m here and you’re getting my help whether you need it or not.”
CHAPTER 18
KIRA
Just a few more seconds.
Kira relaxed into Xeegan’s strong embrace, taking comfort in the way his strong, muscular arms wrapped around her body. A feeling like she had never experienced before washed over her: she felt safe and warm. Her heart ached in her chest, but in the best way possible.
She didn’t know why she trusted the pirate, but the fact was that she did trust him. When he’d said he would be there for her, she knew it to be true.
This was not what she had expected when she first ran into Xeegan. Not when they had started working together. Not even when they had slept together, as amazing as that had been.
What she felt now was something else, something new, and it made her a little nervous. Her heart beat faster as she leaned into Xeegan’s chest and inhaled his musky scent into her nose. She wanted to lose herself in Xeegan’s arms and forget about the rest of the world.
But no matter how she felt, she couldn’t spend forever like this. She couldn’t let her feelings affect her investigation. Not when she had work to do.
Reluctantly, she pulled away from Xeegan’s embrace.
“When this is all over,” she said, looking Xeegan in the eyes. “I want to help you and Zorq.”
The Ezak-T had been pacing at the end of the alleyway, but when he heard his name mentioned, his ears perked and he loped over to Kira and Xeegan.
Xeegan tilted his head and looked at her in confusion. “Help us?”
“I know the Alliance failed in saving you in the beginning. They were wary of Zorq, and I’m sorry for that. But believe me, the Alliance is there to help people. And they can help you, too, if you let them.”
Xeegan’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
“I want to try to get any crimes you’re wanted for pardoned. Any of the senior agents and commanders I’ve worked with in the Alliance have the authority, and I can think of a couple right now who would pardon you just because of a good word from me. But not just that,” she continued. “Once your record is clean, you can live free in the Alliance. Get a job. Have a truly normal life.”
Xeegan and Zorq shared a look. Kira couldn’t read their expressions, but she hoped it was a positive look.
“Maybe you could move somewhere with more room for the both of you,” Kira said with a smile. “And a real view.”
Zorq made an approving sound, but Xeegan just twisted his mouth and said nothing. There was a glimmer in his eyes that struck her as almost hopeful, but she couldn’t be sure.
Okay… Well, she had tried. She could always bring it up again another time. A moment when there wasn’t a time-sensitive crisis happening where lives were at stake.
Speaking of time…
Kira looked up, her view of the sky framed by the towering brick walls of buildings on either side. The sliver of sky glowed purple as the Rialan sun started to rise and the day began.
“We should get going,” she said. “I want to report that the Krezlians are involved so we can start planning what to do as soon as possible.”
Xeegan and Zorq nodded. She lifted her wrist and hit a button to dial Agent Grimmor.
“Agent Medina reporting in,” she spoke into her wristband.
A few seconds later, Agent Grimmor’s familiar voice responded.
“Roger that. Go ahead, Agent Medina.”
“Undercover operation at the warehouse revealed Krezlian involvement. I repeat: the Krezlian race. I have audiovisual evidence of Krezlian operatives discussing the transport of kidnapped human females. Sending it now.” She accessed the file on her wristband and swiped to send it to the systems at headquarters.
“Roger. Reviewing the evidence now. Please maintain your location.”
A couple of silent minutes passed. Kira absentmindedly dug the toe of her boot into the gravel road, feeling impatient.
“Agent Medina, do you copy?”
“Copy. Still here.”
“Audiovisual evidence is substantial. Due to the time-sensitive nature of this revelation, please make immediate arrangements to identify the location where the Krezlians are transporting the human females.”
“Roger that,” Kira said, her heart rate quickening.
“Turn on your GPS tracker and update as soon as you have a location. I will put together a backup team and we will be standing by. And Agent Medina… be careful.”
“Roger that,” she repeated and ended the call.
Her heart was now beating a mile a minute. It was on. If she could uncover the location where the Krezlians were holding the human women, this would be it. The finale. Although she knew that Agent Grimmor’s team was on their way, she was suddenly exceedingly glad to have Xeegan by her side.
“Let’s get back to the warehouse,” Xeegan said, looking at the end of the alley. “I know the Krezlian vehicle is still there – we are close enough that I would’ve heard it leave. But we don’t want to miss them.”
Kira nodded. “We can plan on the way.”
She pulled her hood over her hair and followed Xeegan as he navigated back through the streets toward the warehouse. Zorq climbed up the fire escape of a nearby building and trailed them on the roofs of the warehouses and manufacturing plants beside them.
“Besides transporting the human woman, the pirates will probably start loading trucks and vans with the medical equipment they have in the warehouse,” Kira said, nearly jogging alongside Xeegan to keep up. “I have an idea. We could both easily fit in the back of one of those vans, or the storage compartment of one of the trucks. If we break in and hide, we’ll get a free ride to wherever the Krezlians have their lab set up.”
“Once we’re there, we go in, find the kidnapped females and Ezak-X, break them out, and leave without alerting the Krezlians or the off-planet pirates,” Xeegan added.
They both slowed down to look at each other, just for a moment.
“It’s a bad plan,” Kira said, breaking the short silence.
“I know,” he answered. “But the most important thing–”
“–is that we get in there at all and find the location of the prisoners,” Kira finished.
“Then you can notify whatever team the Alliance has ready and they’ll be able to send backup, no matter our situation.”
Kira nodded, confirming that she was on the same page as Xeegan. It was as if they barely needed to speak to confirm their plans. They were thinking the exact same thing. Kira didn’t know if some of her strategy and experience was rubbing off on Xeegan, or if his spontaneity and impulsiveness was rubbing off on her.
Either way, the plan was in motion and nothing was going to stop them now. They were going to find those women – and the Ezak-X – and the Krezlians weren’t going to get in their way.
Kira had always had a distant hate for the alien race. Everyone, Alliance-trained or not, knew about how the Krezlians had violated intergalactic law with their genetic experiments and plans to create an unstoppable army. They had wanted to take over the Alliance and rule the universe on their own.
Everyone knew that they were about as evil as it got. Even before they had been caught creating and mistreating the Ezak-X, the lizard race had popped up in bedtime stories all across the universe in an effort to scare little kids.
Now, it was personal.
Sure, Xeegan was a little rough around the edges. Still, she could barely believe that he was living the functional life he had now after what he had suffered growing up at the hands of the Krezlians. The small amount that Xeegan had opened up to her about his experiences only made her more determined to finish this mission successfully, and as quickly as possible.
If they were lucky, maybe their rescue of the human women and the Ezak-X would lead to further clues on how to shut down the Krezlian operation once and for all. Permanently. Because it almost seemed like no matter what the Alliance did, the race
just kept popping up again where they least expected it.
This had to be the end of it. There was no way they could get away with experimenting on innocent human women and Ezak-X –not if Kira had anything to say about it.
This was her chance to make her mark on history. She loved her job, but never before had a mission felt so personal and so momentous.
Too bad they didn’t have time to come up with a better plan.
But they would make it work. They were a smart, strong team. Ready for anything.
Hopefully.
CHAPTER 19
XEEGAN
Xeegan ripped open the back door of one of the nearest vehicles. It was a Magnocraft 1500, a state-of-the-art hovering van, known for its silent engine and ultra-high speeds.
Kira had been right: the back of the warehouse was filled with trucks and vans, and the off-planet pirates were busy loading lab equipment. The Krezlians had left the warehouse while Kira and Xeegan had been waiting for the right moment to sneak closer to the vehicles, but there was no doubt that the trucks were going where the lizards had gone.
The back of the Magnocraft was full of packages and boxes. The stuff didn’t seem like it belonged in a lab from the outside, but it could have been that the parcels all contained small amounts of chemicals or even classified results that the Krezlians didn’t want to transmit over a technological channel, in order to avoid being detected by the Alliance.
Whatever it was, the stuff was heavy. Xeegan pushed the packages to either side, clearing a thin aisle into the center of the trunk. Kira crawled in, easily crouching in the back of the open area he had made.
“Follow us, alright, buddy?” Xeegan confirmed with Zorq before climbing in the back of the hovering vehicle himself. The vehicle bounced a little as he settled in. The Ezak-T grunted in acknowledgement and moved into the shadows of a large truck where he wouldn’t be seen when a driver came to collect the vehicle.
Xeegan pulled the doors of the Magnocraft shut. He started trying to arrange the packages so they hid him and Kira from immediate view in case the doors were opened.
It was completely dark and quiet in the back. He could hear Kira’s breathing, feel the warmth of her small body beside him, but not much else. Even though he could see in the dark, if he as much as turned his head, he would knock a package down from its precarious place in the pile.
“We’re going to have to be completely still,” he whispered.
“And silent,” Kira responded pointedly, her voice just as quiet.
They didn’t talk after that. Anticipation built inside Xeegan as they waited for someone to come to the van. Minutes went by, and Xeegan could hear the off-planet pirates talking in the distance, closer to the entrance of the warehouse, but no one showed up at the van.
Xeegan was about to say that maybe the pirates weren’t going to take this vehicle anywhere that night, and that maybe they should leave and try more surveillance instead, when the sound of two voices chatting approached. He soon felt Kira tense beside him, and knew she had heard them as well.
As they got closer, Xeegan realized the two male voices were speaking in the Mehelian language. The scratchy, rustling language was unmistakable. If only he could understand them, they would have more of an advantage.
Maybe the pirates were talking about where they were taking the vehicle, or maybe they were talking about how they were looking for an Ezak-X, an Ezak-T, and a human female that they were supposed to find and kill on sight. There was no way of knowing.
The chatting pirates soon opened the doors to the cab of the vehicle on either side. Xeegan could hear Kira’s breath catch as the pirates climbed into the hovering vehicle. The thin Mehelians barely caused the van to shiver as they got in. When the pirates closed the doors, Xeegan let out a sigh of relief. At least they hadn’t checked the cargo before leaving.
The engines of the Magnocraft hummed to life a moment later, and soon, they were moving through the air.
Here we go.
The sensation of the vehicle speeding through the skies was so gentle that Xeegan wondered if Kira could tell they were even moving with her weaker human senses. He slowly reached toward her in the dark, being careful to only move his wrist and hand, and found where her hand was on her knee as she sat. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed.
She flipped her hand so their palms were touching, interlaced her fingers in his, and squeezed back.
It was a strange feeling that she aroused in him. Xeegan’s chest ached and he fought to dampen his senses. Again, he was in a small, enclosed space alone with her, and as her scent enveloped him, his level of concentration faded.
The drive to their destination went by quickly – maybe because of the speed of the Magnocraft, maybe just because they had never been far from the Krezlian laboratory in the first place, or maybe because Xeegan was so distracted by Kira’s nearness that he noticed nothing else. Either way, a short time later, the vehicle came to a barely perceptible stop and the Mehelians climbed out of the cab.
Xeegan held Kira’s hand firmly as they anxiously awaited what the Mehelians would do.
Don’t open the back. Don’t unload the cargo.
His hoping didn’t help. As they had expected, but hoped would not happen, the first thing the Mehelians did was open the doors to the trunk of the vehicle. Artificial light came streaming in through the cracks of the towers of boxes and packages in front of Xeegan.
Xeegan held his breath, hoping his head was ducked down far enough to hide the tips of his curled horns among the packages.
For a moment, it seemed as if they were going to get lucky. One of the Mehelians took out a couple of the loose packages by the door but didn’t touch the larger boxes in front of Xeegan and Kira. The pirates chatted by the vehicle, the doors to the trunk of the Magnocraft still open.
Are you done? Leave!
As if the universe wanted to answer Xeegan’s thoughts with the worst possible outcome, the Mehelians started to unload the larger boxes that hid Xeegan and Kira from their view.
Fuck… They were about to get caught.
Seeming to realize the same thing, Kira pulled her wrist away from Xeegan and repositioned herself. She pulled up the sleeve of her hoodie to reveal her wristband and was clearly just about to call the Alliance when the Mehelians pushed aside the final layer of boxes that hid the two of them from view.
Xeegan jumped at the pirates, hoping to buy Kira some time, but the heavy boxes still blocked his passage from waist to toe. He shoved them aside, but the pirates were faster. After a split second of shock in the Mehelians’ eyes, they acted.
One of them grabbed Kira, pulling her straight out of the back of the vehicle, and the other drew his gun and pointed it at Xeegan. He shouted for backup, while the other one roughly slapped a pair of handcuffs on Kira.
“Pretty female,” the pirate who had grabbed her said, leaning close to her ear. “Just what we’re looking for. Be a good girl for us, hm?”
Anger boiled in Xeegan’s veins at his words. Furious, he wanted to punch the Mehelian and reorganize his ugly bruised face, but Kira seemed to realize his train of thought.
“Don’t attack,” Kira mouthed at him while the Mehelian who had grabbed her locked the handcuffs.
What?
Xeegan stared at her incredulously. She was being captured and he was just supposed to let it happen? There was no way…
A couple more pirates, Ghelian and Mehelian, showed up by the van with their weapons drawn and every single one of them trained on Xeegan. He lifted his hands up in a universal sign of surrender and to show them he wasn’t armed.
“Step out of the vehicle,” the Mehelian nearest to him said.
Xeegan did as told, his eyes constantly watching Kira. What was she planning?
“Backup coming,” she mouthed when she thought the Mehelian holding her couldn’t see. “Do as they say.”
Do as they say?
Xeegan frowned. She wanted him to just follow their
orders and be captured? He noticed a little green light glowing from Kira’s wrist, right under the sleeve of her sweatshirt. She seemed to have managed to initiate the call to the Alliance, but even if backup was coming, there would be no way to share any intelligence with the team if they allowed themselves to be captured now.
Kira must have a plan, he realized. She wouldn’t have told him to stand by and do nothing if she hadn’t. So, slowly, he nodded to her.
The pirate holding Kira started to drag her away and the Mehelian closest to Xeegan moved behind him. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and tried to put them on Xeegan’s wrists while the rest of the pirates kept their weapons trained on him.
The Mehelian fumbled with the handcuffs – they were too small for Xeegan, and the pirate seemed to realize that. Instead of forcing them on, he started to wrap a length of rope around his wrists. Damn. These pirates were prepared.
By the time the Mehelian had him “secured”, Kira had already been taken out of view. Her scent still lingered, but the fact that he couldn’t see her anymore bothered Xeegan. Even with backup on the way, every instinct in his body told him to take out the pirates surrounding him and to run after Kira and protect her.
He could easily imagine what she would say to him in his head: “Take care of yourself. I’m trained for this.”
Xeegan huffed out a humorless laugh. He would go along with her plan, alright. So instead of worrying about Kira, he looked around and tried to take down any and all details about his surroundings that could prove useful in the future.
The Mehelian yanked him by his wrists, pulling him away from the hovering vehicle.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Xeegan tensed his muscles but refrained from breaking the ropes that the Mehelian thought were keeping him restrained.
He turned his head around and saw that they were in a brightly lit docking bay. The area was empty except for the few pirates who had come when the Mehelian had called for backup.
A couple of Magnocrafts were docked by a small garage door. On either side were a few small spacecrafts. They were in a variety of styles, all in varying states of wear and tear. Probably stolen, or at least bought from a pirate source who had originally stolen the ships.