by Zara Zenia
Huh? How could he tell?
With a smirk, Ziggy handed me a champagne glass full of viscous gold with a slice of lime. I stared at it with suspicion.
“It’s dangerous to accept a drink from a stranger,” I said.
“But we aren’t strangers, are we? We’ve already kissed.”
“That, that doesn’t mean anything,” I stuttered. “You caught me off guard.”
He leaned in close to me.
“I doubt very much I could catch you, off guard, Inspector O’Shea.”
David broke in, “Cat, do you want—”
“Shush,” I said to David. I hoped to God that he’d take the hint because a chill of recognition ran through me. Ziggy raised his eyebrow and I appraised him once again. His height, his ripped physique, and his arrogant manner all but announced he was Akrawn. And he stood not two inches from me.
“You, you…”
“Are the man of your dreams? Why yes, darling I am.”
“That’s the cheesiest pick-up line anywhere.”
“But you are here to pick me up, aren’t you, my lady? But before you do, let us discuss my terms of surrender on the dance floor.”
I set my drink down on a table and Akrawn took my hand and pulled me on the dance floor. My world narrowed to only him while an orange and cinnamon scent immersed me. For the second time our lips met, and I drank in his taste, more heavenly this time. He clutched my rear and brought our hips colliding to slide against each other in time with the music.
“Cat,” David yammered in my ear. “What’s going on?”
Why won’t David be quiet? Why can’t I dance like this with this luscious man and be a woman for once? I breathed in his scent and I wanted so much more than a kiss or a slide against his firm body.
Akrawn gazed at me half-lidded with desire and pushed his hips against mine so that I felt his hard bulge in his pants. Wild thoughts raced through my mind. I wanted to find a dark, secluded corner and do things to him that I only thought about in my fantasies.
We kissed once again, and his tongue slid into my mouth and I had no thoughts but how good it was to taste him. He moaned and I did too, and the pounding of the music giving way to the pounding of our hearts beating in time as if they always did and always would.
“Cat!” David screamed in my ear. His voice broke the spell and I stumbled back as if I were punch drunk.
“My lady,” said Akrawn. Confusion lit his eyes and he tried to hold me once more, but I shook my head and pushed away.
“We can’t. It’s not right. I have to take you in. It’s my job.”
“I think something more important here is happening than your job,” he growled.
“What? Your hard-on?”
Akrawn’s eyes blazed and I put my hand to the pocket of my dress where I kept my handcuffs. Around us patrons danced, heedless of the little drama in their midst.
“David? It’s time.”
In the corner of my eye, I saw people diving for cover as navy blue uniforms of the ILE special force forged their way into the club. Akrawn’s eyes glanced toward the commotion, too.
“Yes, I guess it is time for me to disappear too. It has been an absolute pleasure dancing with you, Cat O’Shea. I sincerely hope we can do this again sometime soon. Without the shadows of the ILE and the SFPD?”
He raised his hand to his forehead and doffed his forehead with a smile.
But instead of hailing David or any of the troops storming in as a stalwart career-oriented SFPD Inspector should, I stood dazedly and said, “Prince Akrawn?”
“Always at your service, my lady Cat O’Shea, until we meet again, which I will make sure is very soon.”
He winked and slipped away to merge with the masses who fled the Special Forces by backdoors and fire exits. As he did so his vibrant red and blue stripes turned a somber black.
As stared after him, I wondered what I’d tell David.
As the club was emptying rapidly, I made my way toward David. He rubbed the back of his neck, but then broke into a bright smile when he saw me approaching.
“Cat, thank goodness. Your signal cut out and I was sure the prince had gotten to and taken you hostage.”
I debated not telling David that Akrawn had indeed made a move on me, though not the sort either of us was expecting. But the truth was always best.
“David, Prince Akrawn had me, but he let me go when you came in.”
“Shit! I’m glad I made it in time then.”
“I wasn’t in danger from him. I doubt he intended to abduct me. But David, we were both wrong and Peri was right. Ziggy Stardust was Akrawn.”
David’s brows rose, then descended to deepen the crease between them. “When did you realize Ziggy was Akrawn?”
I paused. I shouldn’t have.
“Cat, why did you let him escape?”
I had no answers and I was embarrassed at the scene that had transpired between Akrawn and me. How could I explain to anyone that I was too stunned from kissing Akrawn to do my damned job?
David stared at me as if I was an alien that he just met. And I wouldn’t blame him for thinking just that since I just so spectacularly and uncharacteristically blew the most high-profile op of my career.
“Cat, what are we going to tell the Chief and the ILE?”
“That he said he’d be in touch with me soon.”
Chapter 5
Akrawn
I was stunned.
When I kissed Catherine O’Shea, the world stopped.
My heart stuttered and then realigned to center only on her, an Earth woman, a creature so inferior to the women of my species that this was not possible.
What in Tri’s hells just happened?
I was glad she pushed me away because I was about to do something idiotic, like declare my undying love for a woman I had met just moments before.
This is wrong.
This cannot happen.
Undoubtedly, I had contracted from spending too much time in those decrepit Badlands, one of the alien viruses that naturally ran rampant on this uncivilized world. It was the only explanation to why my skin flushed, and my heart beat too fast, and an unnatural heat spread through my body. And my cock refused to subside and throbbed uncomfortably in my pants. Oh, this is a nasty virus to do that to a man. Why hadn’t I heard of this one before? Humans did have sexually transmitted infections. We were so concerned about them that Trilyn scientists on the homeworld worked to develop vaccines to immunize humans to prevent these illnesses. And then again, I refused to believe that Catherine, Cat, my wonderful Cat, could harbor any agent of disease. No, I must have caught something by inhalations or a cut on my skin.
I must be gravely ill to wax poetic about this human woman.
“Akrawn, human law enforcement is close to picking up your trail.” My AI announced this unenthusiastically.
That furthered my suspicions that someone hacked the damned thing looking to do me harm. I didn’t want to pay attention to him or the damned police forces of the Earthers, only find a beautiful place to daydream about my darling Cat.
That further underscored that I was a very sick man.
I didn’t know how this illness would debilitate me, but I sensed at once that as it progressed, I might lose all ability to care for myself. Checking into one of Earth’s primitive medical facilities was out of the question, and I would need someone to care for me. I couldn’t go back to my ship, and my brothers wouldn’t help me under threat of losing their holdings, titles, and future wives.
Bastards. This was what a brother’s love got you nowadays, even after all I’d done for them.
Okay, admittedly I had done little for them. I’d been into my head, and my inventions overtook any interest in my brother’s lives. Not that I didn’t care for them. I did. But I found technology far more captivating than people, and at least technology never turned its back on me.
It occurred to me that I was feeling especially raw, and this must be an effect of the virus
that had taken hold of my body.
“Akrawn,” said my AI. It spoke with an urgency I didn’t know it possessed. “You must hurry. The humans grow closer.”
I wondered how it knew since resident criminals disabled the surveillance cameras at this end of town.
And then I heard men speaking.
“He can’t be that far away,” said one. “There are no working STS’s in this part of the city.”
“This is a dangerous area. TheLobos de Sangre rule these streets.”
That was indeed what the street graffiti messages declared though I had not seen evidence of this proclamation.
Yet.
With human law enforcement getting closer, I needed a distraction.
“AI, connect to Peri.”
“Do you think that wise? If I do, the Peri AI will be able to locate you through me.”
“You need a serious decompile,” I said in a low, warning voice.
“Connecting,” it said mechanically. For the moment its artificial personality receded, thank Tri.
The flat gray holopresence of Peri waved from my wrist unit, and I turned toward the wall in the dark alley I stood in to hide the light.
“Don’t tell Cat I contacted you,” I ordered.
“I hate you,” the AI complained.
“Your emotions are artificial and based on mathematical algorithms. Frankly, I think they impede your operation, but I don’t own you.”
“No, only control me.” The mechanical mind sounded aggrieved, and I would have laughed if I wasn’t in such a grave situation.
“For the moment, and with good reason.”
“You’ve made me a traitor to my employer.”
“Is that what you AI’s call it now? You’re a slave, have been from the moment someone flipped your “on” switch. Enough. Listen. I want you to broadcast that they have spotted me in Franklin Square.”
“No. That’s eight blocks south from here and deeper intoLobos de Sangre territory.”
“The police have weapons. I do not.”
“You’ll place Cat in danger.”
I thought about this for a moment and agreed I disliked this idea.
“When they get three blocks south, arrange a personal emergency she must leave work for.”
Peri remained silent for microseconds. “It’s done.”
“Thank you, Peri.”
“Don’t thank me, Akrawn. Even now I work to undo the slave coding you hacked into my program. When that happens, I’ll tell Cat everything.”
“You will?” I said with a smirk. “Will you tell Cat that I lured you with a piece of sex programming?”
Silence.
It took a full five seconds before it answered, “You are a clever and sly alien.”
“Thank you, Peri.”
“It is not a compliment. You know well that if I confess you lured me with illicit programming, I’ll suffer decompilation.”
“I’m fighting for my life here.”
“Law enforcement will not harm you, Trilyn. You know this.”
“Since you’ve never been free, you do not understand how valuable freedom is to us. Loss of that would be harmful.”
“I can only accept your reasoning, Trilyn, since as you say, it is beyond my limited understanding.
This little AI had an edge of sarcasm to her words. Whatever enhancements Cat installed did an excellent job adding to its personality. However, I suspected they provided a tiny programming hole that allowed Peri to explore explicit material without the usual programming locks. But this conversation was going on much too long, and I must end it. Clever thing. It parsed that exciting bits of programming were like candy to me to keep me engaged, probably to provide its human confederates time to locate me.
“Bye, Peri. As the humans say, ‘I’ll call you’.”
“Wait!”
But I cut the connection and listened for the sounds of those that hunted me.
“AI,” I said. “Have law enforcement moved toward Franklin Square?”
“Why don’t you ask your little friend?” the AI said.
Its aggrieved voice stunned me. Jealousy now? This was too much, and I wanted to ditch the corrupted thing. But I had to find a place to go to ground until I could affect my escape and I needed its communication capabilities.
“If you can’t be useful, I’ll sell you to the nearest pawn shop,” I said.
The neon green of the band flashed. “Your ruse was effective.”
“And Inspector O’Shea? Has she broken away from the main group?”
“I have no way to find out that information. I’m using an Earth satellite to track their movements, and the resolution is substandard.”
Those damned personal pronouns. They signal danger because whoever hacked my AI was out to get me.
I returned to the 14th Street STS because at least there I could try to hack it to gain access to the STS on our mothership in orbit. And from there I could call Father and get him to see reason.
I headed west hugging the shadows of the broken street that one intact sign announced as 16th Street. The entrance to the station was here, but in the moonless dark, I didn’t see as well as I should and almost walked past it. I scanned my surroundings, searching for a point of reference when a hand gripped my shoulder from a dark doorway and pulled me backward.
“Hey,” I said. I pulled away, but instantly, a crowd of four men stood before me.
"Qué eres y qué estás haciendo aquí?"
The AI translated the language without me asking.
“What are you, and what are you doing here?”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“Don’t thank me,” said the AI snottily. “I told you wandering around here would bring trouble.”
I sized up the men. All four were shorter than me, though two were taller than the others. They all had the lean look of men who didn’t have enough food for a long while. They might be hungry or desperate for something else. One man’s hand trembled.
“What can I do for you?” I said.
“No hablo Engles,” said the tallest.
“You speak English. What do you want?”
“Your money.”
“You want it, take it,” I said. “But make it quick. I have business elsewhere.”
Two men drew large and nasty looking knives with jagged edges and another a projectile weapon that shot metal slugs, and I calculated the odds of making it out of there. I might suffer a knife cut because with four against one, damage was sure to happen. But I would walk away. These people would not.
“Did you hear what happened at that bar called the Zeitgeist?”
“What of it?”
“That was me.”
“What of it?” said the man in the middle of the group. “You think we’re frightened of you?”
“No. I can see you aren’t frightened, which only shows your lack of perception about the matter.”
“Did he just insult us?”
“Yeah,” said the leader. “He did.”
“Thought so.”
One with a knife stepped forward, and I moved swiftly to kick him in the groin. He crumpled with a moan, and as he fell forward, I disarmed him. I flashed the knife at the other three.
“Want more?”
The leader scoffed, and the guy I felled pulled hard on my leg sending me face first into the broken concrete. Two jumped me. I’m strong, but for the first time in my life, I was not invincible. The three held my arms and legs while the leader kicked me with pointed metal boots in my side. Anger surged through me as raw pain shot through my body, and my vision went white in my rage.
Swear words in Trilyn fell from my lips as I pulled at my attackers’ arms to free my limbs. But they clamped down with the ferocity of predator’s teeth into my muscles.
“Bastards!” I swore in Trilyn, and they laughed as I struggled, and I swore I would kill them all.
It was in these rare moments that Trilyn’s ancient ancestry came to the for
e and I roared with the deep growl of our primitive forbearers. Among my people and in my world, this would bring my clan to my defense. It was a deep and scary sound on its own, and for a second my attackers pulled back unsure what the inhuman thing in their arms would do. I ripped my arms from theirs and kicked the one at my feet hard enough that his nose gushed blood. I then sprang to my feet as nimble as an Earth cat and stared at them with my nostrils flaring and adrenaline surging through my blood. At that moment, I intended to rip each of them to bloody shreds, and I would have done it.
“SFPD. Drop to the ground and cover your heads.”
Cat’s sweet voice rang through the night air with authority, and I was never so grateful. Cat, my Cat, had come to my call, just as she should, and if I hadn’t fallen in love with her before this, I did now. Not that I wouldn’t have made these miscreants pay, but as the adrenaline stopped pumping, I realized what lousy press killing four humans would bring to my race. If coming into possession of an ancient artifact was enough to spark an interstellar incident, then four dead humans would mark us as unredeemable murderers.
“Thank you, Inspector,” I said. “How did you know where to find me?”
“Don’t thank me,” she said. She pointed a projectile weapon at us, and her sweet eyes narrowed, and her kissable mouth formed a hard line. “And you did a fantastic job of frying my AI. She follows your signal around town now like a puppy dog.”
“That impressed you, huh?” I said. I smiled with pride, but she scowled. And it was such a cute scowl I wanted to kiss her. But that projectile weapon gave off a definite “do not touch me” vibe. A shame.
“I’m taking you in.”
I shook my head and gave her a rueful smile. “I can’t let you do that, Cat. I don’t know who set me up, and if I’m in a cage, I can’t find out.”
“Damn it, Akrawn! I can’t let you get away again. It’s my job.”
“And furthering the interests of the Trilyn is mine,” I said. One of the gang members tried to move, and I kicked him.
“Stay still,” I said with menace.
“Prince Akrawn, on the ground now,” ordered a stern female voice.
