Cold Mark (23 page)

I added, "We were able to do reconnaissance afterward during the daylight hours due to the Mians poor eyesight in the Sun. Most Mian were asleep during that time. We moved around the city of Vlymun easily and slept in the sewers at night to avoid detection." All of which, I had actually done. No lying needed.

The President steepled his hands on the table and peered down at his fingers, appearing to study his cuticles. "When you say you won thirty matches against a race far superior to ours in strength and speed, what do you mean exactly?"

My voice was cold, remembering the arrival ritual. "We killed them." I sneered ever so slightly, flexing my fingers on a jerk reaction as if I still gripped the blades in my hands, slippery from so much blood. "We killed them all."

Jax leaned back on his chair in a relaxed position when the room went silent.

The two of us said nothing else. We waited. Again.

The President eventually sighed, sounding weary. "There is still one piece to the puzzle I don't understand. So tell me, Mr. Waterston, how did you manage to steal the hov-craft? It appears, in order to operate it, a fingerprint was needed. A fingerprint approved by the..." he glanced at me, then back to Jax, "...
Plumas
of the east."

I didn't flinch at the question. I stayed perfectly calm. Though I had no clue how Jax would finagle a believable excuse.

Apparently, Jax didn't either. He faltered for the barest moment, glancing off to the side before his attention swung back to the President. "I'd rather not say."

The President only stared.

"It's of a personal nature."

Stony silence was all he was met with.

Jax rubbed his lips together and peered down at the table. "I became a
pet
to the Plumas." His voice was quiet, solemn. "They had watched me fight and became enamored with me."

The President blinked. "A pet?"

Jax cleared his throat and yanked his gaze to the opposite wall. He stared there for all he was worth as his cheeks flamed red, his voice choked. "I had sexual intercourse with them on many occasions. I gained their trust in that manner, and in return, they gave me special treatment. One of which included allowing me to fly their hov-craft on a weekend we spent together."

My eyes flew straight to my lap, holding my breath. Mother Joyal, this excuse might just work. And it had cost Jax to say it, his flaming cheeks proof positive. The way the President, or
any
Human on Joyal would view him, would never be the same as soon as word was released he'd had
sexual
relations with another person, had prostituted himself out. It was the lowest of the low for any Human, an inexcusable act—and
illegal
act on Joyal.

In the quiet, the President hummed softly. "I don't believe you."

My attention snapped straight on him. "
What
?" I waved a hand at Jax. "He just bared his soul to you, and you say that? What kind of shit—"

He held up a stopping hand, cutting me off. "Let me rephrase that." He cleared his throat and stood from his chair, his advisers and agents following suit. "Even if I did believe Mr. Waterston's recount, my decision wouldn't be any different. The Plumas of the east will want restitution for their stolen hov-craft. I plan to give it to them in the form of you two." He tipped his head to us, a respectful bow, his tone cautious but resolute. "Your corpses will arrive on Triaz within the week."

My words were quiet, having prepared for this. "You want to get the outcome you wish by handing over the thieves."

"But it is something, Ms. Valorn." He shook his head. "Mr. Waterston didn't jam the frequency when he left Triaz, as he should have. They know the hov-craft is here."

Even worse. "Trust me, Mr. President. Let us go back now. Alive. We can work this issue out with them."

His brows rose. "They trust you so much?"

Oops. "They trust Jax."

His head tilted back and forth in deep thought. "That much I do believe." He crossed his arms, peering between us. We sat silent for three minutes. The President ran a hand over his face, and then peered directly at Jax. "Do you truly believe you can right your folly and stop the Mian from retaliation with us? Is your bond with them so strong?"

Jax didn't bullshit this time. "I could try. But I can't do it if I'm dead." He paused and cleared his throat. "And I was never instructed to jam any frequencies. I wouldn't know how to do that even if I had been told. I barely managed to get the damned hov-craft here
with
its easy flying mode. All I received was a week's worth of training after the tsunami before I was shipped out. The folly, as you say, was the government's fault. Not mine. And if you want me to stop a war from happening, I would suggest you quit threatening to kill me."

The President's brows rose, and he smiled. A real one. "Those are the first true words I've heard you state thus far." He nodded then glanced at his advisors. "Allow Mr. Waterston to return alive and unharmed, to Triaz with Ms. Valorn's corpse. It will show we do take citizens of Triaz trespassing on Joyal seriously."

My jaw dropped. "You're going to use me as a pawn?"

The President didn't back away from my question. "Yes. In this situation, we need to show strength. Eliminating one to save many shouldn't be a new concept for you. You were trained with this and know our rules."

"Um ... I think that's a really bad choice." I chewed on my lower lip. I wasn't sure what I should say or what I shouldn't now. Death was beating down my door no matter which way I strategized. All I could say was the truth. "Yeah, I think it's a bad idea. You won't get the results you want with my death." War would come if they killed me, and in return, killed my Vaq.

His brows snapped together. "That is the second time you've said that. Why do you believe that, Ms. Valorn?"

If I said I was the Soul to the Plumas of the west, I would be locked in a jail cell for the rest of my life while this greedy son of a bitch squeezed the Plumas for all they were worth. "I actually don't think I like you very much, Mr. President."

Jax choked next to me his wide gaze meeting mine. "Just wait." His words held a different meaning. We did have weapons. I could escape, maybe even back to Triaz. "Maybe the President will see reason by the time I leave."

I sighed, glaring at the President. "Think. Hard."

Boom.

I grabbed the table as the ground shook. My eyes were wide as screams were heard.

Too late. A red blaring light erupted inside the room.

It was the warning of an attack.

The President's gaze slammed in our direction, altering between us. He barked, "Grab
both
of them. They need to come with us to the bunker." Smart. A definite asshole. But he was intelligent.

I jumped from my chair when another explosion rocked the floor, the red flickering glow of the alarm doing nothing to calm my nerves. As the room suddenly filled with agents leading the President away, Jax and I didn't argue when we were also ushered from the room. We quickly ran with the government officials to the safe location the President was mandated to hunker down in if an attack on Joyal ever occurred.

Our group came to a screaming halt as we exited the building. All attention was to the sky.

Hundreds of Mian space crafts dotted the dark sky, appearing like death clouds.

The protection of Plata was mediocre at best after the tsunami, the waves having taken down many of the missile ranges. Any being fired made no real impact on their ships, the blasts exploding and lighting the sky in brilliant reds and yellows, but that was all it was against the attack—a pretty show.

"Mother Joyal," an agent whispered in fear next to me.

"Keep praying," I muttered. "If they get
really
pissed, we're fucking screwed."

Her attention slammed over to me. "How do you know they're not already pissed?"

Stupid question. "Because we're not dead."

She actually whimpered. How the hell had she become an agent?

"Suck it up and do your damn job," I growled. "Get everyone moving. We should be in the bunker by now. Every minute we waste is another opportunity for—"

"Oh, shit," Jax mumbled, pointing to the far left.
Ground
level.

As one, everyone peered in that direction.

Half of our thirty-stack of agents began to run. Literally. They raced away as fast as they could.

Although a brave twenty stormed out of the building we had just exited, holding weapons aimed where our attention was honed. An entire flock of Mian were on the ground, a cloaked spacecraft having now come into view behind them. The entire mass wore black, hiding their bodies in the nightfall. Only the radiant shine of their glowing eyes indicated where they were. Or the sporadic glare from a sword by the explosions in the sky. They were the darkness descending from the pit of Hades.

I shoved the agent next to me. "Bunker." Another hard punch. "Hello! Bunker, idiot!"

She blinked out of her trance. I saw it in her eyes. She wanted to run.

I stated as calmly as I could manage, "They're faster than you.
Much
faster."

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, but she quickly went into motion, barking orders. "The agents who just came out, stay here and give us back up." She pushed forward and grabbed the President's arm. "The rest of you, with us." Now ... that was why she was an agent. Everyone took the lone orders given, doing exactly as the one sane person said in the stain of their own fear.

Jax and I were herded in a fast rush to the far building, an unassuming whitewashed crumbling structure. I had my doubts until we were led down—at least twenty flights of stairs. Deep underground, the area was lit by horrendous yellow lighting. Down two more halls, descending another round of stairs, and then it opened into a spacious concrete area.

I jerked when I heard the screams erupt from above. The Mian were getting closer.

A solid door made of silver stone, built directly into the wall was opened by four agents, pushing and shoving with all their strength. The President was quickly led inside, and the rest of us followed at a hurried pace, none trying to trample the other, but still moving rapidly as the echoes of battle drew closer. The Mian had undeniably made it to the stairs, the sound bouncing off the walls in a macabre of ghastly music.

The door was shut. Locked down tight.

I turned in a slow circle, evaluating the bunker.

If I were into the latest in technology, this would be a dream room.

Instead, it merely felt like a tomb with flashing screens.

Jax was staring at the door. "What do you think they'll do to us if they get through?"

"I don't know," I stated honestly. "They
actually
brought a war here."

Jax's lips thinned. "And it's personal. Those closest to them stole a valuable item of trade."

I blinked. "This escape for us has turned to shit."

"I was planning to go back to Triaz."

My gaze altered to him. "Really?"

He nodded. "I like Triaz better than Joyal. But I couldn't let Humans die because I failed to accomplish my mission."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and placed my head on his shoulder. "I'm not mad. I understand."

He kissed the top of my head gently, holding me as tightly as I was him. "Would you have come back?"

"Maybe," I answered. "I came here for freedom ... but in light of the President's actions, I'm not sure I ever really had it here either."

Jax grunted softly. "No shit." He tipped his head to the side, rubbing my back gently, even when he growled harshly, "Are you fucking deranged in the head, people? The Mian are nearly here, and yet all you can do is stare at two people consoling each other?"

One man grumbled, "You're
touching
. It's against the law."

"He kissed her," another whispered quietly to her neighbor.

I blinked and said with extreme slowness, "Morons, Mian are outside. What is the bigger issue here?"

The room reacted then, quickly jostling with activity made for a siege such as this. It was about damn time.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

I froze inside Jax's hold.

The Mian had made it to the door.