Alien Attachments (8 page)

He pushed off the wall and gave a short laugh
. Unbelievable. I find a psi-mate and she’s human.
Frack.

After scrubbing herself raw in the shower, Dani put on another set of clothes. She opted for a black pullover and jeans this time. Not knowing what else to do, she left the putrid blood- and brain-splattered clothes in the shower. She washed her trembling hands for the fourth time and looked in the mirror. Her wet blond hair dripped down her shirt and framed her unnaturally pale face. Pulling her hair to the side, she leaned forward and squeezed excess water into the sink.
Have I lost it? Was I really attacked by aliens? Twice?
Not liking what she saw in the mirror, she left the bathroom and sat on the massive four-poster bed. She wished her parents were still alive so she could call them. The tears came without warning, and she let them fall.

A knock at the door made her jump. She grabbed a handful of tissues from the nightstand and blew her nose. “Come in.”

Ria entered carrying an awesome pair of boots. She took in the situation, closed the door, set the boots down, and sat next to Dani on the bed. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around Dani’s shoulders.

“Sorry,” Dani said, fighting back more tears. “Everything’s just…catching up with me.”

“Gee, I wonder why? Let’s see, within the last eight hours or so you’ve learned there are aliens protecting Earth. That they can travel back and forth from planet to planet and have all kinds of bizarre technology. You learned some of them are butt ugly, stink, and keep trying to kill you. Oh, and then there’s being covered with alien blood and brains. Yeah. Really can’t see what your problem is.”

Dani smiled through her tears.

“You big baby,” Ria said.

Dani reached for another tissue and wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “Speaking of blood and brains, I wasn’t sure what to do with the clothes, so I left them in the shower.”

“Ah, hence the lingering Eau De Torog,” Ria said. “Pretty disgusting don’t you think?”

“Those zomboids are rancid, even before you get to the brains. Not too smart are they?”

Ria gave one last squeeze and sat up. “Not the workers, no.” She put her feet on the lower bed rail with her elbows on her knees. “The Torog’s society is built on three classes: politicians, engineers and workers. The guys you’ve been seeing are all workers. They’re either soldiers or the laborers of their society. The workers are dumb as doornails but strong. The engineers are responsible for the Torog’s science, and the brains behind their advancing technology. They tend to stay on the ships or their home planet. The politicians are the only ones that communicate with other races. They’re relatively new to the GTO, which is why this is all so strange. They’re breaking all kinds of rules here.”

“Interesting,” Dani said. She mimicked Ria’s position. The smaller woman looked like a child next to her. “I’m amazed at how much you EPs resemble humans. I mean for being aliens and all.”

“Actually, we’re pretty much genetically identical, except for the psi. There’s lots of speculation about the similarities. No one knows why some planets don’t have psi. Most people think we all share a common seed somehow, but no one can agree on who or what seeded multiple planets with the same DNA.”

“Multiple planets?” Dani asked.

“Sure. There’s dozens of worlds with our genetics. Quite a few completely alien worlds too, of course, like the Torog’s, but the Sandarian Empire is ruled by beings that look like you, me, and the boys.”

“Wow.” Dani rubbed her temples.

“Is anything else bothering you? As if all this wasn’t enough.”

Dani dabbed the tissue to her eyes. “My Dad would’ve loved this. He was always reading science fiction and going on about how unlikely it is that humans are the only intelligent beings in the universe, let alone the most advanced.”

Ria touched Dani’s hand. “Would have loved?”

“My parents were killed in a plane crash when I was fifteen. My aunt took me in. That’s how I ended up on Cat Island. She never had any children though, and didn’t really know what to do with a teenager. Don’t get me wrong, she’s great, but not too affectionate.”

“I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine losing my parents. If you ever need an ear or just want some company, promise you’ll let me know, okay?”

“Thanks, Ria. Same goes for you, although I don’t think there’s much I could do to help you.”

“Are you kidding? Girl time! Gina’s wonderful, but she’s older, and from what I’ve seen so far, has a ton of friends and family around. Being close to my age, you give me a better perspective of Earth girls. Deal?”

“Now, that I can do. Deal.”

Ria slid off the bed. “Before I go, any boyfriends or anyone you need to call?”

“No. I prefer to keep my relationships uncomplicated.”

Ria paused a moment before continuing. “You want to go downstairs? I’ll get Battista to get rid of those clothes and air the place out for you.”

“Sure, sorry about freaking out earlier.” Dani stood. “I saw Ian come around the corner and there was no pause. No ‘taking in the situation.’ He just fired and hit the Torog millimeters from my head.”

Ria turned to face her. “Dani, we’re not like you. You do mixed fights and you’re good at it, right?”

Dani nodded.

“So you understand how important both accuracy and reflexes are. We are so much faster than humans. We assess the situation and move before you know what’s going on. Millimeters is a foot for us. Maybe two.”

“You don’t think he was careless?”

“No way. Ian is anything but careless. Besides”—Ria gave her a gentle nudge—“I think he likes you.”

The butterflies in her stomach stirred. “Ha, pretty sure I put an end to that.”

“He understands,” Ria said. “You’ve been through a lot. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll try, and thanks.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Right. So,” Dani said, eyeing the boots, “those for me?”

Ria grinned and reached down for the black leather boots. “They’re a little big for me. Not custom made, but they’re a size nine. Edwardo stretches out the leather before he makes his shoes so it’s like slipping into a pair of old favorites. Here, try them on.”

Dani took the boots and inspected them. Slightly pointed toe and a two-inch heel with a zipper up the side. The bottoms were rubber with some serious tread. They were calf height, with intricate designs stitched into the leather. She grabbed a pair of socks and slipped them on. “Wow,” she said, taking a stroll around the room. “These rock. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, friend. My pleasure.”

Dani was in a much better mood as they left the room.

Downstairs they found Battista and Gina serving drinks from the bar in the corner. The rest of the group were scattered around the room, some sitting, some standing. Ian paced in front of the windows and raised his glass to her when she entered. Dani accepted a wine from Gina and went over to him. He stopped his pacing and leaned against the windowsill, ankles crossed as she approached.

“I want to apologize for earlier.” Dani toyed with the stem of her wine glass. “I was out of line. You saved my life and I bit your head off. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes. Which are nice, by the way.” Ian glanced at her boots.

“These are amazing. What do I owe you for all of this?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Clearly the man wasn’t lacking for money so she was okay with that. “Thanks. I’ll try and keep my brain ahead of my mouth from now on.” Dani laughed. “Although I haven’t had much luck with that so far.”

Ian chuckled in a quiet, private manner. It warmed her insides. She liked the feeling of complicity with this man.

Apology complete, she stepped over and eased into her favorite chair.

Armond, who sat brooding across the room, broke the silence. “Anyone care to guess the odds of Torogs being in Bellagio by chance?”

“Zero,” Ria said. “Question is, are they following us somehow, or did they stake out the portal? And if so, are they lurking around all the portals? Do they even know where they all are?”

“Good questions,” Ian said. “I don’t see how they could know. But even if they do, why? Why are they pursuing us? All they’ve ever done is try to sneak in and out again. This will cost them their membership in the GTO for sure. What could possibly be worth that?”

“Maybe they’ve decided to change the game,” Marco said. “Instead of hunting humans, they’re hunting EPs.”

“Too high a price to pay for a little sport,” Armond said. “No, it must be something else.”

Marco mimicked Armond in a high-pitched voice. “Must be something else.”

“Easy, Marco,” Ian said in warning. He swirled the ice around his glass, brows drawn together. His hand stopped halfway to his mouth. “Hunting. That’s it. But not to kill. To capture.”

Ian stared at Dani, which as usual caused an array of interesting sensations.

“What?” she asked.

“I’m not sure.” Ian pushed off the windowsill. “You thanked me for saving you, but did I?” He nodded his head, talking faster now. “Something was off about the alley situation. I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

Dani snickered. “You mean besides me being covered in alien innards?”

“Yeah, besides that.” Ian grinned. “When I rounded the corner, the Torog wasn’t trying to kill you. You’d have been dead long before I got there. No, it was dragging you up the alley. Alive. They’re after you, Dani.”

Now everyone stared at her. “That’s crazy. What would they want with me?” she asked.

Ian shook his head. “No idea, but we’ve got to get the off-world portal working again. Everyone have their bases shielded?”

The EPs all nodded.

“Good, keep them up,” Ian said. “If I’d had them up on Cat Island, we wouldn’t be here now.”

Jared leaned forward on a plush chair. “You had no way to know, boss. They’ve never been to the island before.”

“Like Marco said, it’s a new game. Just wish we knew what we were playing.” Ian finished his drink. “It’s been a long day. We’ll prep tonight and head out first thing tomorrow.”

“Where to?” Marco asked.

“Obviously,” Armond said, as though Marco was a child, “Cat Island. That’s where the main portal is. That’s where the problem is.”

Marco glared at the albino.

“He’s right,” Ian said. “We need to get the portal open.”

Marco leaned back on the couch and took a long drink of his beer.

Wanting to diffuse the mood, Dani asked, “How do they work exactly? The portals.”

Marco livened up and sat his drink down. “Portal Masters make them. It’s pretty amazing stuff. They’re powered by psi. Anyone with psi can use the portals, but they can’t create them. There are limits too. Like the amount of mass that can be moved and the number of times in an hour they can be used.”

“If they’re broken,” Dani said, “then why did the one in the tunnel work? You said that was a portal.”

“It is, but the portals in the tunnels are terrestrial and independent. They stand alone and only go from one end to another. The off-world portals, however, are all tied together via the main one on Cat Island.”

“How many tunnels are there?”

“Enough,” Ian said, clearly not wanting to say more.

Dani pushed a little further. “So, you can travel around the world, but you can’t leave?”

“Pretty much,” Ian said.

“What if the Torogs destroyed the main portal?” Dani asked.

The EPs all shook their heads.

“You could bomb the place, burn it to the ground. Only Portal Masters can remove a portal,” Ian said.

Dani swung her feet around to drape over the arm of the chair so she faced the group. “If it’s so impervious, how did the Torogs break it?”

Armond scowled at her, which was the most emotion she’d seen from the guy yet. “They can’t break it.”

“But, you just said—”

“Only psi-abled Sandarians are Portal Masters.” Armond stood abruptly. “I don’t know what they’ve done, or how. All we know is that the main portal is down.”

If she didn’t know better, she’d swear Armond looked spooked.

“Is there anyway,” Ian asked, “for a non Portal Master to affect a portal?”

“Nothing in my training would lead me to believe so,” Armond replied.

Ian put his drink down. “Is anyone due back on Sandaria for any reason? Expecting or expected to make any calls?”

Ria, Armond and Marco shook their heads.

“Then it could be days,” Ian said, “before anyone realizes the portals are down. We’ll get into the villa through the caves.”

“What about Dani?” Ria asked.

“She comes with us. Everyone does. Until we know why they’re doing what they’re doing, we assume vulnerability across the board. Come on, we have some work to do tonight.” Ian walked behind the couch to a built-in cabinet on the far wall. He waived his palm near the surface. A large, floor-to-ceiling panel slid sideways into the wall. The others got up and gathered round.

Dani peered in and whistled. Along the back hung row after row of what she assumed were weapons. She recognized the small gun that Jared had in the alley. “Very
Men in Black
, guys,” she said.

Jared laughed. “Very. I call this one here the cricket,” he said, palming the small gun.

Ian reached in and retrieved another one of the crickets. He handed it to Jared and nodded at Dani. “Take her to the sim room and teach her how to use this.” He turned to Gina. “You good?”

“
Si
, Signor. I practice with Battista, many days.” The woman was all business now, and showed no sign of the easygoing grandmother figure from before.

Dani followed Jared back to the tunnel. He moved to open the door when she put a hand on his arm.

“Wait, you sure there aren’t any Torogs in there?” she asked.

“They can’t use the tunnel portals,” Jared answered.

“Why not?”

“First, because the shield is active. Second, because they don’t know where the access points are. That’s part of the whole ‘no X to mark the spot’ thing. Like the door to our garage back at the bar. You have to know where it is.”