"Headquarters."
"Here?" Ten miles from downtown Phoenix? Why not, I'd lived next to an alien for four years without knowing it. Rubbing the goosebumps on my arms, I scanned the parking lots as the HHR slipped through the darkness. Except for the occasional weed and pot hole, the acres of space were deserted. Perhaps my CeeBee vision was on the fritz.
After we drove over a concrete bridge spanning a ravine, Tobias turned into the parking lot of a mud colored building. A hole graced the glowing sign on the wall dubbing the property as Outreach. He coasted to a stop near a closed wrought iron gate and stabbed the phone button on the rearview mirror. The sound of dialing filled the interior.
"Biscotti and pizza." The tinny male voice drifted on the air conditioning. "May I take your order?"
Food! Tobias had read my mine. Or heard my stomach. Ripping off my seatbelt, I rose out of my chair and spoke into the rearview mirror. "Everything, I want everything on a very large pizza and a two liter bottle of grape soda-Welch's not any other kind. Breadsticks too. With marinara sauce."
I caught a droplet of drool leaking from the corner of my mouth. "Double that order."
Tobias snorted before his chuckles escaped and clung like dung in the car's interior.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." The disembodied voice sputtered. "But—"
Tobias set his hand on my shoulder and tugged me back to my seat. "This is Werner. Tobias. Identification Alpha-Foxtrot-Tango-7-9-8-6-6-Omega."
Embarrassment heated my cheeks. Aw snap. He'd just said he was taking me to headquarters. Still… I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the closed gate. A little warning would have prevented me from making an ass of myself.
"Confirming identity. One moment please."
Tobias's thumb found a knot on my shoulder and gently rubbed it away. "I promise I will feed you soon."
I nodded once. Unfortunately, I wouldn't get another chance to make a good first impression with my new employers. They'd probably talk about my blunder around the water cooler tomorrow morning. I stared at the clock. One-thirty AM. This morning. Oh joy and I might be there to enjoy the snickers and snide remarks.
The phone clicked then another male voice drifted on the air currents. "Colonel Werner, it is nice to hear from you, sir."
"Kuma? Is that you?" Tobias smiled but white dotted the knuckles as he tried to strangle the steering wheel. "Open up. I'm coming home."
Kuma cleared his throat. A well-worn vintage of whine filled his voice when he spoke again. "Sir, we see an unauthorized passenger and—."
"Open the gate or I'll rip it open." Tobias raced the engine and while punching the radio button.
A faint humming surrounded me. That can't be good. I gabbed the 'oh snap' handle above the door.
"Opening the gate, sir."
The gate in front of the hood parted silently.
Tobias edged the nose of the car forward crowding the opening.
"They won't close it will they?" I'd hate to get chopped in half after I just came back from the dead.
"No."
I might have felt better if his face wasn't a stone mask of grim determination. When the car's grill reached the edge of the gate, an iridescent bubble oozed over the hood. Light sparked and danced toward me and the air grew thick and heavy.
I pressed against my seat back. "Is this going to hurt?"
My thighs trembled as I slid up the cushion. Maybe I should hop in the back seat.
"Relax." Tobias stroked my arm before lacing his fingers through mine. "We're the good guys and you're one of us."
That was a swampland pitch if ever I heard one. I wasn't one of them; I was their tool, a means to an end. I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. The shimmering bubble pushed through the windshield and brushed against my knees. Oh god, I was about to be engulfed in clammy snot. Squeezing my eyes closed, I turned my head and held my breath.
The pressure rolled over me, gentle, firm, cold and slightly sticky.
Once it passed, I ran my fingers through my hair, seeking any stray loogies.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Releasing my hand, Tobias drove into the well-lit parking lot.
"No." I tried to think positive. I could have been covered in slime. I scratched at the itchy dried blood on my legs and arms. "Too bad it couldn't have washed me up a bit."
Running my hands down my stiff tank top, one finger became snagged in a hole. I lifted the fabric away from me and stared at the bloody slit. Maybe my appearance would override the whole pizza order impression.
"You can clean up inside." Tobias eased into a spot between two minivan-sized silver bubbles.
"After I eat?" God, I was pathetic.
"After you eat or while you're eating." He switched off the engine.
I reached for the door handle.
"Wait until I come and collect you before getting out. I don't want you accidentally incinerated." He pointed to the black cameras mounted on the light poles. "High energy particle weapons are automatically designed to get rid of any unauthorized personnel."
"Great." It would be most helpful if their weapons looked like weapons.
With a wink, Tobias slid out from behind the wheel and loped to my side.
No sooner had he opened my door, than I stepped out and stood up. My knees trembled from my weight and my teeth chattered. The world dipped and spun. I braced myself on the car just as my legs gave out. "What is happening?"
He scooped me up in his arms and strode toward the double glass doors at the back of the building. "You've overdosed on the energy patches. The CeeBees should eliminate the toxins but you definitely need food."
"I'm starving." My head lolled against his shoulder. Darn I felt weak again. Maybe I should just go to sleep for a bit.
"Wake up, Rae." Tobias shook me as the doors whooshed open. You must not fall asleep before you get food in your stomach."
Food! I loved food. My eyes closed from the weight of my lids. Surely a cat nap wouldn't be too bad.
"Damn it, Rae." He dropped my feet and slapped me across the cheek with his free hand.
Pain pushed the lethargy at bay. I rubbed the sting from my cheek. "That hurt."
"Then stay awake." He shook me again before storming forward.
My feet dragged behind me. How humiliating. But no matter what I did I couldn't make my legs walk.
A muscular man in a blue uniform met us in the empty hallway. He clutched a flashlight in his hands. "Colonel Werner, I must protest this…" His eyes flicked over me. "By the Creator, what happened to her?"
"Ulla Torunn." Tobias hefted me higher up his torso.
The guard paled and activated the radio perched on his shoulder. "Code blue! Prep medical bay. How long was she dead?"
Really, I was standing right here. And the death thing had happened to me. He could at least talk to me.
"Hello." I tried to wave but ended up smacking myself on the side of my head.
"Fifteen minutes." Tobias turned into the next corridor. "I gave her six energy patches."
"Six?" While jogging beside us, the guard patted his pockets. After a moment, he pulled out a packet of peanut butter crackers. His fingers felt cold as they pinched my jaw, opened my mouth then set half a cracker on my tongue. "Don't try to chew just let it dissolve naturally."
I nodded as the sweetness flooded my mouth. I was too tired to chew, but my stomach tried to jump up my throat to get to the food.
Tobias turned down another corridor and suddenly a handful of people raced out of the rooms.
A tall, thin man in a black apron blew to our side. "She has the information?"
A woman pushed a gurney my way. Plastic bottles of clear liquid slapped the IV holder as she raced toward me.
The guard grabbed my feet and lifted me onto the sheet covered gurney "She has six energy patches on her."
"Six?" The woman near my foot shot daggers at Tobias. "Three is more than enough."
"She was dead for more than fifteen minutes." Tobias l
ifted my shirt and ripped one of the patches off my stomach.
Ouch. I've had bikini waxes that hurt less. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
The guard placed the rest of the cracker on my tongue.
I shut my mouth. I could live with the pain so long as someone fed me.
"Fifteen… How is this possible?" She elbowed aside the guard and stared at my stomach. She raised her hand and a green light radiated from her palm. The bandages lifted painlessly from my stomach. "The longest recorded hibernation is six point four minutes and there was significant brain deterioration afterwards."
I swallowed the paste in my mouth. "The CeeBees talked to me before bringing me back."
Sadness pinched the corners of the older woman's eyes. "Brain deterioration. Bring her in the infirmary, we'll feed her and check her vitals."
"No." I grabbed the plastic from the guard's hand and emptied the cracker crumbs into my mouth. "I'll eat while you take off my tattoo. Ulla and the APres Guarda must be stopped, even if it kills me."
The older woman frowned. "In your condition, it just might."
Chapter Sixteen
I dropped the pizza crust on the pile of five others and reached for my first taste of grape soda. Inhaling the sweet, fizzy goodness, I closed my eyes and relaxed into the firm mattress at my back. Beeps and blips created a symphony around the high-tech hospital room.
Tobias adjusted the pillow supporting my head. "Sorry the bed doesn't sit up properly."
"Don't worry about it." Opening my eyes, I smiled at him. No hospital bed did, but that's okay. This medical facility hadn't heard of restricted diet or… horror of horrors bland food. It also smelled clean and fresh, not that nasty blend of pungent disinfectants laced with death and decay.
On my right, Senior Medical Officer Layla Cereus conferred with her electronic tablet. Fine lines radiated from the corners of her eyes as muttered to herself about something on the display.
I didn't bother trying to decipher her murmurs. I was the topic of her self-conversation, just as I had been these last twenty minutes. Gulping a mouthful of soda, I rolled the syrup over my tongue and held still while the bubbles burst against my palate. Mmm.
"Not too quickly now." Layla's boots clicked against the laminate floor just before her cool fingers brushed the inside of my wrist.
I swallowed the soda and smiled. It said something that even with the UED's amazing technology the doctor still touched her patients to take their pulse. With a sigh, I set the frosty glass of soda on the table by my bed and reached for a bite of veal parmesan. "I know the routine. A bite of food, a drink of water then repeat until full."
But would I ever get full? Scraping the piece of food off my fork, I quickly chewed it before it dissolved. The CeeBees had better be doing their job and not building extra organs—like four stomachs.
In the doorway, Electronic Specialist Second Class Sterling Minor leaned against the jamb. Sighing, he twisted a purple cylinder in his hand. Restraint tempered the excitement sparkling in his brown eyes and his short black hair quivered as he tossed his weight from foot to foot.
Right. I wasn't on holiday. I had a job to do.
I washed down the veal with another swig of soda. "When can we start with the data extraction?"
Layla tucked the blanket under my hip then adjusted the cuffs of her green uniform. "Soon."
I speared another morsel on my fork. "You said that ten minutes ago."
"My first concern is for your health."
Right. Got that the first hundred times she said it. I glanced over my shoulder. A holographic projector rained a mixture of hieroglyphs, Chinese characters and Arabic letters next to a series of numbers. God only knew what it said, but none of the information flashed red or yellow. Surely that meant I was well on my way to being recovered. "And mine is for my family and friends."
Before Layla could argue, I raised my hand.
"They live on this planet, you know. I can't let Ulla win. She said the APres Guarda was close to implementing its final plan." I wiggled into the mattress. No aches, pains or twinges registered. I moved my toes and fingers. All present and accounted for. Death seemed to have made me healthier. Yeah, I wasn't about to try to shrink-wrap that thought. It was hardly a precedent I wanted to set. "We need that data out of me. Now."
Yesterday would have been better. I scooped up the rest of the sauce off my plate and sucked it off my fork.
Layla pressed her lips together and remained silent.
What would it take to convince the obstinate woman? I fisted the blankets and stopped myself from throttling her. "Ulla said if Rudd hadn't messed up, they might already have control of Earth."
Tobias stacked my empty plates on the side table. "Did she say anything else?"
I grabbed my soda and cradled it close to my chest. Condensation softened my stiff tank top and the coolness felt good against my skin. "No, but she's up to something and that can't be good."
Layla ran her fingers through the hologram above my head but her hazel eyes remained fixed on my face. "Are you still hearing the CeeBees?"
I blew my bangs out of my eyes. Why had I ever admitted to hearing the stupid Spam dots? Since I'd mentioned it, Layla had regarded me with a mix of compassion and sympathy.
I imagine inmates in an asylum received a similar look from their doctors.
"I only heard them once and haven't heard them again." After setting my drink on the tray table, I crossed my arms over my chest.
Layla nodded and consulted the electronic tablet in her hand. "And do you still believe they are studying you?"
I closed my eyes and counted to ten. How many more times did we have to go over this? Twenty? Thirty? I'd already told her seventeen times and my story hadn't changed.
"First, they said they were studying me." I merely repeated it and look what trouble I'd gotten in. I held up my index finger, maybe the coarse method of ticking off my points would get my message through. "Second, when I asked why they were studying me, they stopped communicating—saying something about my awareness corrupting the study."
Layla's gray eyebrows rose on her pale forehead and her thin lips parted.
Uh-oh. Guess I hadn't mentioned that before. Oh well. It was the truth. It had happened. I wasn't delusional and I should be allowed to get the stupid light tattoo off my forearm. While scratching the blue design, another possibility occurred to me.
"Don't you think it's possible that the CeeBee's original purpose was to study alien life and return information to the Archa?" Pieces clicked in my head, just like when a detective summed up the villain's activities in a murder mystery. "Maybe inserting your programming inside them activated some latent subroutine and that became their study." I pointed to the screen floating at the head of my bed. "Aren't you using the CeeBees to report my vitals to these machines all around me? Wouldn't a medical study do the same thing?"
Layla set her two fingers against her pursed lips. "I suppose that makes sense, but to talk to you…"
Tobias took the glass from my hand. "That's never been recorded before."
Gee I wonder why? I licked my lips as he poured more grape soda into my cup. "Maybe if you didn't treat people like freaks who reported the CeeBees talking to them, you’d get more stories about it." I held out my hands as Tobias approached with my soda. "Of course, letting them do their jobs wouldn't hurt either."
I nodded toward Technician Minor who might have started growing into the door jamb while waiting for approval to remove the data tattoo.
"Hmm." Layla's white bun wobbled on her head when she bent over her electronic tablet.
That wasn't much of an answer. Wrapping my hands around my glass, I inhaled the fizz on my grape soda. The bubbles tickled my nose and my mouth watered. God, I loved that smell.
After another spurt of humming, Layla rushed forward and cleared the plates off the table. She hustled forward to a platform that could only be a scale. Sure enough, she set the dishes and food r
emains on it then consulted her electronic tablet.
"And I thought I watched what I ate." Embarrassment licked my face and neck. Yeah, I'd eaten a lot. But Layla kept pushing food at me and… Well, I was starving. Still starving and I'd already eaten two meals. My stomach rumbled and I set my hand on my belly. For pity's sake, be quiet.
"It's her job to make certain you have the correct nutrients so you're in top form." Tobias smiled and set his hand over mine.
Right. I was training for an epic battle over planet Earth. Except shouldn't that involve exercise or weapons training not a fork, knife and glasses of grape soda? As for Tobias going all touchy-feely on me… For a moment, I turned my hand over and laced my fingers though his. Don't read too much into it, Rae. After a near death experience, lots of people reaffirmed life through touch. "I just don't like sitting here while Ulla is out there doing God only knows what."
Freeing his hand from mine, Tobias stroked my arm. Dried blood flaked onto my white blanket. "You've been through a lot."
I tried not to lunge for his hand and hold it in mine. Maybe I was the one needing reassurance the most. "And this is only the beginning if the APres Guarda gets its way." I shivered despite the heat coming off the blanket and leaned toward Tobias. "Can't you do something? Surely, Mr. Minor can remove the tattoo while I'm fed enough food for a small country. I feel fine. Really."
Tobias shook his head. Fear flashed in his green eyes before he patted my arm. "If your CeeBees malfunction, they could erase or corrupt the data."
"Then it would all have been for nothing." Pascel and Rudd's death, my CeeBee infection and my heart's close encounter with Ulla's knife. I pushed the thoughts aside. I had to focus on what I could do. Now. Not the mistakes I'd made. Or the odds stacked against me.
Tobias winked. "Exactly."
I forced a smile. I wasn't alone and with Tobias on my side, the chances I'd succeed went up dramatically. He was a trained soldier. He had lots of nifty James Bond gadgets to get us out of all sorts of trouble. I hoped. No, I needed to think positive. We would triumph.
"You need more protein to repair the muscle damage." Layla set a slab of red meat on the side table. A t-bone cut the marbleized steak in half. "I would suggest rare but you may pick."
Blue Maneuver-Urban SciFi/Fantasy (Extraterrestrial security program) Page 19
