Mothership (Invasion Survivor Book 4)

by Hayley Lawson

  Paige took an extra second to memorize the shape of the passkey they needed to find to unlock Zero level, just in case.

  She pushed three buttons, one for Dave, another for AJ, and one for her. Dave got off first on the Ground Level.

  “Good luck,” Paige murmured, and he winked in return.

  The same scenario was repeated on AJ’s level.

  “Good luck, AJ.”

  “You, too,” AJ said, flashing a smile in return. He stepped out, and just like before, he disappeared around the corner.

  With a sigh, Paige gathered her courage and waited until the glass door slid shut again. She braced herself for the task ahead.

  She needed to control the Black Mass so she could access her superior intellect the way she could in the test room. Unfortunately, that time was an accident, and Paige prayed she could do it again on purpose.

  The elevator stopped at Level 4, where the computer control station was, and Paige stepped out.

  Who am I going to beg for my job back? she mused. The same job she lost before she’d even started it.

  Unexpectedly, that woman in Red who she met earlier and had kicked her out came towards her. She wasn’t glad to see her.

  Oh, give me a break, Paige thought, preparing for a fight.

  “You came back, good. I was just about to send someone to fetch you,” she said without preamble, catching Paige by surprise.

  What? Paige thought to herself.

  “As it turned out, your test is valid, and your age irrelevant,” she announced. Her face was all contorted as if she swallowed a bitter pill.

  Paige barely contained her excitement.

  “There’s a lot of work to be done, Green, so come here.” She continued to walk away, and Paige followed.

  This time, Paige didn’t correct her about her name because she needed to be here. They stopped in front of an empty computer station.

  “You’re not allowed to leave your station until you have finished your task,” the woman instructed. “Understand? You can’t go until your shift ends.”

  “Yes, I understand,” Paige was quick to agree, seeing this as a great fortune for her to do her true task.

  They may have overlooked her saving children from the Green Level, but apparently, they still hadn’t figured out she was the daughter of the madwoman from earlier.

  Paige really had a guardian angel, and she wouldn’t mess it up.

  “What exactly do you understand?” the woman asked as if to test if Paige was stupid or not.

  “That I must stay here and work until my shift ends,” Paige replied calmly, even though deep down she wanted to say something sarcastic.

  “Ok, so, this unit is broken, and it’s your first task to fix it.” With that instruction, she moved away, muttering something under her breath, and Paige didn’t even have time to reply.

  That suited her just fine. It was obvious from the moment they met they wouldn’t be BFF’s.

  Paige looked at the computer in front of her. The other people in the room completely ignored her, but she still put on her confident face and got down to work.

  She took the panel off and smiled as she suddenly remembered her computer teacher back at school. Paige owed him everything since he was the one responsible for her good knowledge of computer science.

  Not wasting any time, Paige fixed the computer as fast as she could. It didn’t take her much time or effort. As soon as Paige finished fixing it, she turned it on and worked on the cameras she needed to disable.

  That also wasn’t as difficult as she thought it would be, and no one watched what she was doing, aside from her supervisor who still eyed her suspiciously.

  Paige ignored her. This place was the eyes of the station. Ironically, no one looked at them. Paige made the videos for all the cameras and then set up a half-hour loop.

  Once she was satisfied with what she had done, Paige glanced around the room. When the coast was clear, she stood and tried to make a move for the elevator. Instead of walking out, Paige ran into the supervisor who had given her the task.

  Crap. Crap. Crap. Paige panicked.

  “Hey, Green, where do you think you’re going?” she snapped at Paige, stopping her in her tracks. She had a tablet in her hands and some papers.

  “I… um…” Paige stammered, looking around while trying to find an excuse.

  Everyone always said she was bad at lying. This was clear proof.

  “I just needed a bathroom break,” Paige blurted out, but the Red Coat woman wasn’t buying it.

  “I see. So, you’re trying to leave early,” she accused. “Not happening. You’re to stay here and work until you finish your shift!” She was furious now, and her eyes flashed with anger.

  The saying if looks could kill was dead on.

  “But I...”

  “No more talking! I told you to stay here, and that is final. Do not make me repeat myself again.”

  There was nothing Paige could do but comply.

  The woman stayed and waited until Paige returned to the computer station.

  She would need to fix the timer and make the loop start in the evening instead. She fumed as she pretended to work.

  When her supervisor finally left in a fuss, Paige changed the timer and hung around, pretending to work while waiting for her shift to be over.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Come on, think, think! AJ yelled at himself, walking along the corridors and trying to figure out how in God’s name he was supposed to go on the Blue Level and snatch those uniforms for him and Paige.

  You talking to me? Francis asked.

  No, just to myself.

  Oh, good.

  Yeah, he acted all confident in front of her, but now he was freaking out. He didn’t want to disappoint her, but he couldn’t waltz in there and say, “What’s up? Can I borrow some threads?”

  That would be marvelous if you could though, Francis joked.

  Not helping, Francis.

  I know, he countered.

  There has to be a way, AJ reminded himself. He just couldn’t see it for the moment.

  Maybe he should refocus on finding the passkey since he didn’t have much confidence in Dave. That too was important for them for it to go wrong.

  Without it, you wouldn’t be able to start a damn elevator, Francis stated the obvious.

  AJ didn’t report to duty coming to his level, believing that would only slow him down. He also couldn’t roam around aimlessly because someone would eventually take notice.

  “Hey, you, Green!” a familiar voice called out after him.

  Fuck me. Someone noticed.

  We can always kill whoever it is, Francis said.

  Please, stop helping, AJ snapped.

  AJ turned to see the face of one of his supervisors.

  Blue Coats are the worst though, Francis grumbled. Even though they’re not the most powerful on the mothership.

  AJ agreed with that statement.

  Only other Greens were ever nice to him, and that saddened him. They were all survivors for fuck’s sake, but apparently, some lives mattered more.

  “Yes?” he replied, knowing that formal greetings meant nothing to this crowd. AJ knew that as a Green, he was less than shit to them, and usually, he was fine with that if they left him alone. Unfortunately, he was on a tight schedule today. Any kind of delay felt like a tragedy of epic proportions to him.

  “I need you to go to Blue Level right now,” the Colonel growled.

  To say this dude was always in a foul mood would be the understatement of the fucking century.

  I never want to see him on a bad day, or worse, while having constipation, Francis said, and AJ had to bite on his own tongue so he wouldn’t laugh.

  I will kill you if you mess this up for me, AJ threatened his alien.

  As AJ watched the Blue Coat walk, he noticed the man walked around like he had chronic hemorrhoid pains.

  Maybe that’s the reason he is grumpy all the time, Francis said.<
br />
  Francis...

  Sorry, AJ, Francis said apologetically.

  Then AJ registered the Colonel’s words. What? AJ couldn’t believe his ears, and he knew they were clean.

  Your parents must be so proud, Francis jumped in.

  Stop with the heckling. This is serious.

  “What?” he stumbled, still too afraid that he might be hallucinating. AJ felt like pinching himself to make sure this was reality.

  “Drag Myles out of his bed. He’s probably passed out drunk, again,” he spat out.

  This just got better and better. He could barely keep a straight face. “What if I get caught?”

  His supervisor leaned in, invading his personal space.

  Do you want to kiss me, sunshine? Because I’m spoken for, he said inside his mind, knowing those thoughts would stay there.

  Good one, Francis complimented, laughing.

  “Well then, you better not get caught,” the boss replied. “And if you tell anyone about this, I will personally float you out,” he threatened.

  “I won’t,” AJ replied, sensing the reply was a must in this case.

  “Smart. I want him inside my office ASAP, Green. Now, move,” he ordered, pushing AJ slightly toward the elevator.

  AJ nodded in return, knowing the Blue Coat dickhead didn’t quite care. He’d already walked away.

  This turned out wonderful, Francis said conversationally.

  Yeah...

  AJ felt like whistling who walking to the Blue Level. Now he had a legitimate reason to be there, but the catch was he still couldn’t get caught.

  Well, that blows. But it was still better than nothing.

  Paige, I won’t fuck this up, I promise, he thought as the elevator stopped at the right level.

  That’s lovely, Francis teased. “And now that your competition is back, you really need to step up your game.”

  Like he needed a reminder. He liked Dave but still...

  The layout was identical to the Green Level, so he had no problems locating the sleeping quarters. More importantly, no Blue Coats loitered in the common room, so he snuck in without a problem.

  Just as that dickhead said, Myles was snoring in the bed, and the surrounding air reeked of alcohol.

  He could be used as a sanitizing pad, disgusting Francis complained.

  AJ heard that some Blue Coats had moonshine. They shared it around, but it looked like Myles wasn’t exactly a team player. That worked in AJ’s favor perfectly.

  Not wanting to take any chances, AJ moved toward the sleeping man and poked him twice, making sure he was down for the count.

  Are you sure he’s not dead? Francis asked.

  AJ rolled his eyes. Dead men don’t snore.

  Good point.

  Once AJ was satisfied the drunken idiot wouldn’t wake up, he moved to the wardrobe.

  Score! AJ cheered. There were several uniforms in there, and he was confident no one would notice a few missing.

  But how to take them out?

  He couldn’t just take them out and walk around with them as if that was the most natural thing in the world.

  Maybe you can, Francis said and shared his idea with AJ.

  He could if the uniforms were on him.

  AJ grinned, taking off his own jacket, shirt, and pants.

  It was going to be a tight squeeze considering he had to take one for Paige as well, but he would make it work.

  AJ felt like there was no air once he completed his task. With three pairs of uniforms on him, he could barely walk around.

  “It’s time to wake the sleeping beauty up,” AJ murmured.

  With a kiss? Francis teased.

  “Yo, my man,” AJ yelled to the man’s ear. “Time to wake up,” he added, shaking him fearlessly.

  “Leave me alone,” came the slurred answer.

  AJ ignored him. “Come on. Wake up; we need to go.”

  The man opened one eye to look at AJ but was taken aback by who was waking him.

  He scowled. “What the fuck are you doing here, Green,” he asked. At least, AJ thought that was what he said. It was clear the man was still drunk.

  It wasn’t my idea, trust me. Although, he was still grateful because it gave him an opportunity to snatch the uniforms.

  “I’m just doing what I’m told.” That was to drag your sorry ass back to work.

  “Get out of here before I report you, and they float your stowaway ass out of here.”

  Someone’s not a morning person, Francis snorted.

  “Colonel Brown sent me to come to get you,” AJ replied calmly, ignoring his previous statement.

  That woke Myles up instantly. “What? Fuck!” he yelled, practically jumping out of the bed.

  Magic words, AJ joked, and Francis laughed again.

  “What did he say exactly?” he asked while trying to put his boots on, but his hands refused to work properly so he took a few tries.

  “That you are to report to his office.”

  “Fuck.”

  Once he finished dressing, Myles rushed out of the sleeping quarters like his ass was on fire and ran down the corridor toward the elevator, completely forgetting about AJ. He followed the drunk man on the elevator, anyway.

  They rode in silence back to the second level while Myles fidgeted around, trying to smooth his wrinkled uniform and comb his hair with his hands.

  “What’s wrong with your uniform, Green?” Myles asked suddenly. AJ cursed the bastard for choosing that moment to wake up completely.

  Maybe he’s a fully functioning alcoholic. I heard that’s a thing. Francis tried to be helpful and failed as usual.

  “They didn’t have my number,” AJ lied, trying to make himself appear smaller like the thing wasn’t about to burst at its seams.

  Myles frowned, mumbling something about stowaways, but AJ was relieved he didn’t press the issue.

  They both stopped in front of the Colonel’s office. Myles knocked, but it was obvious he wanted to be anywhere else.

  “You can fuck off now,” Myles snapped at him, walking inside.

  Gladly, AJ thought, deciding to return to the Green Level immediately before someone who wasn’t dead drunk spotted him.

  I still think we should just kill him and be done with it, Francis grumbled.

  You think that a lot, AJ countered. We don’t do that.

  I know… Francis replied, a bit wistfully.

  * * *

  At last, Paige thought while stretching.

  Her shift finally ended. Paige checked the computer and the timer, saw everything was in its place and left the level without interacting with anyone.

  Fortunately, her supervisor was nowhere in sight since that witch would certainly keep her to do some additional work.

  Just because she could.

  Paige got down to the Green Level and once she stepped out of the elevator across the Green common room, she could see that AJ was already waiting for her.

  He smiled as Paige approached him.

  There were a few people in the room, so AJ dragged her to the sleeping quarters to have some privacy.

  Peter was sleeping in one of the beds, and Paige smiled. She approached him slowly and secured his blanket before refocusing on AJ.

  “Hi,” she greeted him. “Sorry for being so late, but I had to do my whole shift,” she complained.

  “Hi,” he replied. “You okay?”

  “Yes, you?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I’ve got the Blue Coats. They’re safe here in this bag,” he gestured with his hand.

  Paige felt like doing her happy dance. Not that she had one. But she felt like inventing one.

  “What about Dave?” Paige wanted to know.

  AJ shrugged. “He still hasn’t shown up.”

  She didn’t like that. Still, it was too early to worry about him.

  “Did you do your part?” he added.

  “Yes,” Paige nodded, then told him the rest. “I got the loop to run for half an hour, and i
t will start in about an hour.”

  Paige looked at the small clock on the wall. “That damn woman made me stay and work until the end of the shift. She didn’t even offer me anything to eat!”

  Yeah, she didn’t have to eat that much since she had the Black Mass inside her body, but she still liked to.

  “They’re like that on this spaceship, Paige. If everything goes as planned though, we won’t be here for much longer,” AJ tried to comfort her.

  And it kind of worked.

  “Now let’s go to ground level and have some food. We have much to do tonight.” AJ said.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Paige replied with a smile. “But speaking of, what are we going to do about the key if Dave’s doesn’t work?” Paige asked him, hoping he would have some idea.

  “I saw my boss, Colonel Brown, stash some in his desk drawer, so it’s worth a try to get them after his shift ends.”

  Paige nodded in agreement. They collided with Dave in the Green common room.

  “Dave,” Paige greeted him. “Does it work?” she asked instantly, although she should have guessed the answer by his expression.

  “Nope. There’s no Zero level in the VIP elevator.”

  “Figures,” AJ snorted. “Why would a bunch of snobs want to dirty their hands, anyway?”

  Paige turned toward AJ. “Can you try to steal it for us?”

  AJ thought about that for a second. “I will definitely try.”

  “We have another problem folks,” Dave said, making a face.

  Paige braced herself before asking. “What is it?”

  “For some reason, they placed guards everywhere. They’re monitoring the docking bay, the elevators, strolling the Ground level.”

  “Crap,” AJ cursed, and Paige felt like doing the same.

  “Why?” she wondered out loud. “Is it because of us?”

  Dave shrugged. “I have no clue.”

  That made them pause for a moment.

  “It doesn’t matter,” AJ said, the first to break the silence. “Our plan remains the same. We can check the situation out while eating,” he suggested.

  Paige looked at Dave, and he nodded slowly. “Okay,” she said eventually, seeing no other way.

  The three of them got into the elevator again and went to one of the diners located on the first floor on the Ground level for supper. They had one meal for free.