I’m going to be the negotiator in charge, because I’m determined that things are going to work out.
And if they don’t, I want Harlow, Aehako, and Haeden to get away.
The gun doesn’t have a trigger like regular human guns. It’s some sort of laser cannon that has a control panel that’s voice activated and reveals – no joke – a button. And here I thought a trigger was déclassé. I’d feel better with one.
“What’s the status of the alien ship?” I ask the computer as I practice aiming my laser cannon. “Is it still in the atmosphere?”
“Affirmative,” the computer tells me. “Would you like a visual?”
“Yes, please.”
The room’s screen lights up and shows me the mountains in the distance, the ones that look like purple ice. Hovering just over the peak of one is the flat disk of the alien’s ship, a black smudge on the gray skies. “Has it moved any in the last six hours?”
“Negative.”
The sight of it is making me antsy. “Can we call it toward us somehow? I don’t want it getting back to the others.”
“I can relay a communication signal. Would you like to do so?”
“Not just yet,” I tell it quickly, then look at Harlow. There’s a few things I have to get done before we can proceed with our plan. “Can you do me a favor?”
The redhead turns toward me, curious. “What’s up?”
“Can you go see how Haeden’s doing? Make sure he’s not going to get trigger happy?”
She nods and heads out of the room.
I immediately shut the door behind her and flip the lock. I turn around, resting my back against the door. “Computer? I need a fail safe.”
“Query: what is fail safe?”
“I need a secondary plan.” I lick my lips, thinking hard. “A weapon I can smuggle on board the alien ship with me if I’m taken captive.” After a moment, I add, “And I need a way to interface your computer to theirs.”
The computer screen flashes with a variety of options, and I listen intently.
If they take me back with them, I’m bringing them down. If I’m not getting out of this alive, neither are they.
? ? ?
It’s sometime later that I emerge from the locked room to find the others. I’ve got a secret packet wrapped in a thin polymer film tucked into my hand, and new determination in my step. Unfortunately, my determination falters when I run into Harlow in the hallway.
“They’re on the move,” Harlow tells me. “The guys are at the front. Come on!”
We race down the narrow halls of the ship, heading toward the entrance. I guess Haeden’s abandoned his post already, because when I arrive at the icy entrance, he’s kneeling there in the meltwater with Aehako. My mate has his ear pressed to the door, listening on the other side. I want to point out that he’s not going to be able to hear anything through the hull of the ship, but he gets to his feet the moment I arrive.
“Aehako,” I say. “What—“
“Their ship has arrived,” he tells me. He caresses my cheek and pulls me against him. “You and Harlow must stay here. Haeden and I will go out and speak to them.”
I push away from him. “No, this is something I need to do.”
“Kira,” he says, a warning tone in his voice. “Let me protect you. You are my mate to take care of.”
“That’s sweet, Aehako.” I reach up and pat his cheek. “But you are my mate, and I’m going to take care of you.” I flick off the switch that covers the trigger-button on my laser cannon. “Now, I’m going to go out and talk to those bastards.”
“Talk?” Harlow’s laugh is nervous. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.” I’m tired of running scared. My heart’s racing a mile a minute, but inwardly, I feel calm. This is it. For once and for all, I’m not going to be scared of these bastards anymore. Because if the worst case scenario happens, there’s no longer anything to fear.
“You are serious?” Aehako’s hand grips my arm. His voice is incredulous. “Kira, this is dangerous.”
“I know.” I look up at him. “So give me a kiss for luck, and make it a really good one.”
He makes a strangled noise in his throat. “I don’t want to kiss you right now. I want to throttle you for being foolish.”
I shake my head. “This isn’t foolishness. I’ve got everything under control. I promise.”
The look on Aehako’s face is pained and full of worry. I expect him to protest again, to tell me that I’m not the right girl for the job. Instead, he grabs me in a fierce bear hug and hauls me up to his face for a kiss. His lips brush against mine, surprisingly tender. His nose nuzzles mine. Then he closes his eyes and murmurs, “I will protect you with my life, you know that, yes?”
I’m overwhelmed by his sweet words. Hot tears threaten, and I fling my arms around his neck and kiss him like he should be kissed – wild and utterly abandoned. This might be the last kiss I have with him, and I let him know how much I love him. My tongue slicks against his ridged one, and I kiss him so passionately and so fervently that Harlow clears her throat behind us.
Right. I have a mission.
I give Aehako one last peck. “I love you,” I whisper to him.
“Be safe, Sad Eyes,” he tells me. “Do not make me come out there to protect you.”
“I won’t.” I force a smile to my face, like everything’s okay. Truth be told, I have a really bad feeling about this. I look at Harlow and the two hunters, both of whom are gripping their spears as if they’d do something against these aliens.
They’ll be slaughtered. I can’t let that happen.
I move toward Harlow and hug her. She seems surprised by my spontaneous gesture, and her arms go around me slowly. “Whatever you do, stay inside the ship,” I tell her in a low whisper. “If I don’t make it back, make sure Aehako and Haeden go back to the caves, all right? They can’t come after me.” I pull back and smile at her, pretending like nothing’s wrong.
Wide-eyed, she nods at me.
I shoulder my laser cannon again and approach the door. I take a deep breath, and then furtively slip the small packet into my mouth, fitting it between gums and teeth. No one will know it’s there, and I can barely feel it in my mouth. Perfect. “Computer, give me a visual on the aliens, please.”
A wall panel off to my side lights up and displays the snowy wasteland outside. Only, instead of being uninhabited, there are three figures off in the distance, heading in this direction. Two of them have rounded, burnt-orange heads that I remember has hard, pebbled skin. The one in the middle is smaller, rail-thin.
One of the Little Green Men, accompanied by his bodyguards.
I need to stop them before they come any closer.
“Open the door,” I say resolutely, then look behind me at the three. “Stay inside, whatever happens, all right?”
“This is madness,” Haeden growls, clutching his spear.
Aehako puts a hand on his chest. “Let her do it.”
The door slides open, and I take one last look back at Aehako’s broad, blue face before I step outside. The air is crisp, the winds high. It’s a beautiful day on Not-Hoth, ironically enough. There’s no snowstorms brewing and I can see far enough in the distance that I can see the expressions on the aliens’ faces as they see me.
I hoist my laser cannon, aim, and fire at their feet.
“Hold it right there,” I yell out in szzt. I can’t make the sounds of the birdlike Little Green Men, but I can speak the other language well enough. “We have guns trained on you and we’re prepared to shoot.”
A little bluffing never hurt anything. I just hope they buy it. If they don’t, well, I’m toast.
They pause, and I can see the slim green alien gesturing to the others.
“Guns down,” I command.
They don’t obey. But they do remain in place. They confer for a moment and then one of the basketball heads calls out, “Why do you shoot?”
“Because I know why you’re here,” I yell back. “You want your cargo back, and we’re not coming back.” I keep my laser cannon trained on them.