by C. F. Harris
“Anything? Anything at all?”
The shots weren’t coming anymore, but I knew if we didn’t find somewhere to go to ground for a little while that it would only be a matter of time before they tracked us down again.
“I think I’ve got a place. Follow me!”
And she turned and sprinted off down a side street. I kept my weapon out and followed her. We went through a few twists and turns.
“What is this place? We can’t go to the local authorities. They probably have pictures of me doing things,” I said.
“What sort of things?”
“I might have robbed one of your local cash dispensing machines when we arrived on this world.”
“Well we’re not going anywhere close to the authorities. Don’t worry about that,” she said.
We dashed out from a side street and skidded to a halt. I found myself staring at a building where people were coming in and out. It looked dilapidated and run down by even the standards of what I’d seen since coming to this world. Paint was peeling along the row of doors, and the sign advertising “vacancy” was flickering in and out.
“What is this place?”
“A motel. The sort of motel where they don’t ask too many questions,” Melissa said. “Now come on.”
I stared at the people going in and out and it suddenly dawned on me exactly what sort of place this was. If that club with the dancers had teased people with the temptations of the flesh then this was the sort of place where there was a full buffet on offer. As we walked up a couple of women dressed in practically nothing eyed me, but they looked away as Melissa glared at them.
Interesting. I’d been to this sort of place on other worlds. It was amazing how things could be the same across the light years.
“Well this place doesn’t look the greatest, but if it’s a place to hide I’ll take it,” I said.
“I thought you’d feel that way. Now how about you hand me some of that money you stole from the ATM. I’m going to go in and get us a room for a few hours.”
“They only give you a room by the hour?”
“Are you being picky about the place where we hide out from the dangerous crazy alien who seems to hold a personal grudge against you?”
“Not at all,” I said. I pulled out a pile of the cash and handed it to Melissa. She grimaced and looked around. Too late I realized that flashing that amount of money in this part of town might be a bad idea. We’d evolved beyond the primitive concept of money in my civilization, but my time traveling the galaxy had made me very cognizant of the fact that there were still many worlds where people were more than willing to kill over a bit of money.
Of course I usually had the advantage of a disintegrator ray on those worlds while the local criminals were less technologically advanced.
“I’m going to be quick about this,” Melissa said. “Probably better if I go in on my own. That way the guy taking the money won’t remember two of us if someone comes around asking questions.”
“Good idea,” I said.
And so I leaned against the wall and tried not to look too out of place. As if that was possible. People were still eying me, but they decided not to make trouble.
12
Melissa
I tapped my fingers against the counter as I waited for whatever idiot ran this place to show up and take my money. Probably out back having a little fun with one of the regular clients at this place. This motel is the last place I ever would’ve thought I’d be by the end of the evening, but here we were.
Then again I never thought I’d run into a man from another world before the night was over. I never thought my friends would be kidnapped and I’d be the only hope for restoring them to freedom. I never thought restoring that freedom would hinge on staying near a man who was as frustrating as he was alluring.
“Can I help you?”
A guy who was just a little too skinny stepped through a door in the back. He wiped at his nose and it occurred to me that he might’ve been in the back room having a little fun with the magic pixie dust rather than having fun with his regular clientele. Perfect.
“Yeah you can help me asshole. What took you so long?”
“Fuck you lady. You want a room or what? You look a little nice for pulling a trick.”
I decided to ignore that. It was probably the single greatest backhanded compliment I’d ever received, and it came from a tweaker running a no-tell motel in the middle of the city. Yeah, life had taken me in some twisted and fucked up directions this fine evening.
He looked me up and down for a moment, but there was no interest there. No, I felt a tingling on the back of my neck. It felt like he was sizing me up. Maybe trying to decide if it would be worth it to try and rob me. That would be the perfect cap to this evening. Avoiding death at the hand of raygun wielding aliens only to be killed by some drug addicted asshole trying to rob me.
I glanced over my shoulder. I couldn’t see Flin anywhere out there. Maybe if I screamed he’d be able to make it in here in time. Maybe.
“For you? A hundred bucks,” he said.
I turned back to him, my eyes wide. “Are you kidding me? A hundred bucks for a couple of hours in this shithole?”
“For some reason I think you need that couple of hours in this shithole just as much as I need a hundred bucks,” he said with an oily smile that never quite reached his eyes. A smile that was decidedly unpleasant given all the missing teeth.
“Fine. Take the stupid money,” I said. I peeled off a hundred from the pile of cash. The guy’s eyes went wide and my worries about getting robbed came back, but he just took the money and handed over a key.
I stepped out and took a deep breath. Let it out. I couldn’t believe I’d been so confrontational with that asshole. I kind of liked it. I chalked it up to still being so pumped with adrenaline from everything that happened this evening. I looked over to Flin and felt a thrill run through me. I shivered as I stared at him.
I still had that feeling of being alive. More alive than I’d felt in a good long while, and it had everything to do with constantly running for my life, but I was suddenly very turned on. I needed some sort of release.
Sure this Flin guy could be infuriating, but he was also so damn hot. And we were in a no-tell motel. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to blow off a little steam. After all, what was the point of having a dashing captain from another world if he didn’t have a little fun with the native population.
Wasn’t that how it was supposed to work?
I suddenly felt a hunger, a desire, an all consuming urgency that had me thinking impossible things. The sort of things that a nice girl from the country who moved to the city and met a nice man from another planet probably shouldn’t be thinking on the first date.
My friends abducted. Nearly getting killed twice over. Yeah, it had been one hell of a first date! The kind of first date that had my blood pumping and had me wanting so much more.
“Did you get the key?” Flin asked.
“Yes. Come with me,” I said.
I was almost monosyllabic. That’s how powerful this overwhelming need for this man from another planet suddenly was. I had to have him. I had to have him now. I had to have him so badly that I didn’t care that I’d be having him in a seedy room of some crappy motel in the middle of the city while there were very likely bad guys out there somewhere trying to track us down.
“Whoa there,” Flin said. “What’s the hurry?”
“Shut up. Let’s get to the room,” I said.
Only it seemed that once more the universe wanted to step forward and throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings. A group of gentlemen who looked less than savory, I’m talking the kind of person who made the guy back in the hotel lobby look like the frickin’ mayor, stepped in front of us and gave us a once over.
“My friend here tells me you were flashing some cash,” a guy in the front said. He looked in either direction, but he didn’t have to worry. It’s not like there were
going to be cops around in this part of town. Sometimes it amazed me how quickly you could go from a hopping entertainment center where everything was relatively safe to the sort of place where people would shoot you for your shoes and not bat an eyelash about it.
“Sure I did,” Flin said. He nodded to me. “Melissa? Do you want to give them the cash? I don’t really need it.”
I took out the rest of the cash Flin had given me and tossed it at the guy. One of his buddies stepped forward and grabbed it, but the guy never took his eyes off of us. More particularly he never took his eyes off of me. That wasn’t a look I’d seen before this evening, but it was a look that I more than recognized now. It was the same hungry look that guy who’d tried to take me captive back in the pawn shop had tried to pull.
It wasn’t a pleasant look, and there were four of them and just two of us. Not to mention I wouldn’t be any good in a fight.
“Maybe we should get going to our room Flin,” I said, taking his arm and pulling him along.
“Now hold on a second,” the ringleader of this criminal group said. “I wouldn’t want you to be leaving too soon. You’ll miss all the fun.”
“We don’t want any fun. Flin?”
He looked down at me and grinned and I wanted to scream out in frustration. This guy could recognize danger from some sort of interstellar villain twirling his mustache but he couldn’t tell when we were in danger from people on this planet? Talk about one hell of a frustrating blind spot!
“What did you have in mind?” Flin asked in a quiet voice that was different from anything I’d heard this evening. I stopped and stared. There was something about his voice that was disquieting. Unsettling. A couple of the guys backing up the guy doing the talking seemed to recognize that danger in Flin’s voice, but it didn’t stop the ringleader. He took a step forward and reached for me.
“I was thinking maybe you could let us have a little fun with your friend. She’s definitely choice for this place. Almost makes me think she’s not one of the girls who works this place.”
I moved to pull my arm away from the guy before he could touch me, but I needn’t have bothered. No, Flin’s hand shot out fast as lightning and held the guy’s wrist in a firm grip. A couple of his friends stepped forward, but Flin held up his weapon with his free hand and they stopped and held their hands up. It seemed a little ridiculous since his gun looked more like a toy than an actual weapon, but there was just something about Flin and the way he carried himself that told them to back the fuck off.
I realized I was seeing the intrepid captain in his full glory. He might be outnumbered four to one, but it was obvious from the way he held himself that they were the ones in trouble, not him.
“I’m afraid I’ve put entirely too much effort into keeping this lady safe tonight to have some amateur hour punk like you come in and ruin my night,” Flin said.
“What are you guys waiting for? Kick his ass!” ringleader said.
A couple of them took a step forward, but Flin did a little wiggling motion with his gun. Sure it sort of looked like a toy, but there was one big difference between his weapon and a toy. There was a little glowing bit of arcing electricity dancing at the tip. Almost like a stun gun, but the effect was far more impressive and dangerous looking on his weapon.
And why not? I’d seen what the things could do. These guys had no idea what they were up against!
“I think it might be a good idea for all of you to leave. Now,” he said.
“Like hell we are,” the ringleader said.
Ringleader pulled a hand back and with a start I realized he had a knife. I suppose that was better than a gun which is about what I would’ve expected considering how this night had already been going, but a knife could do just as much damage.
Only it didn’t. He brought his knife hand up and Flin casually chopped at the guy’s wrist with his hand that still held his gun sending the knife clattering to the ground. He did some sort of twist with the hand holding the guy’s wrist and there was a snap and then the guy started screaming. Flin threw him to the ground where he writhed and screamed for his friends to help him. They looked at Flin and then to their leader.
“Anyone else wants to have some bones broken I’m more than happy to help,” Flin said.
The seriousness was gone. He was glib again with a smile on his face. Because he knew the danger was passed, I realized. The other three guys standing there didn’t look like they had any intention of causing any more trouble. One of them might’ve even peed his pants, though it was difficult to tell in the darkness.
“No way are we going up against some special forces asshole,” one of them muttered.
And just like that they reached down and grabbed the guy who’d been their leader until Flin so masterfully put the asshole in his place. They dragged him along and the guy screamed out even louder. I guess getting dragged along a shitty parking lot after having your wrist broken wasn’t a very good time, but it was the least the asshole deserved considering what he’d just tried.
That altercation had another effect, though. I’d already been in the mood to pull Flin back to the room and make what could possibly be one hell of an interstellar mistake considering the kind of man I was usually attracted to. Now that I’d seen him step forward and take out that guy like it was nothing?
He might be a man from the future come down to earth, but he was tapping into some hellaciously primal parts of my brain. Parts of my brain that had to have him, now. And so I grabbed his arm once more and practically dragged him back towards our room which was, thankfully, on the back end of the motel where there weren’t as many people making various highly illegal business deals.
“What’s gotten into you Melissa?” he said.
I turned and fixed him with what I hoped was a smoldering stare. It must’ve gotten the point across, because he looked surprised for a moment and then that surprise was replaced with a knowing smile. The sort of smile that said he’d done this sort off thing before.
“Oh, I see,” he said. “Lead on, in that case.”
I growled. I’m not sure if the growl was because of how turned on I was or because of how frustrated I was that he took it for granted I’d want to jump his bones. I didn’t care. The need was overwhelming. I had to have him, even if I probably was making yet another in a long line of ridiculous mistakes.
I fumbled with the key to the room. It was actually an old fashioned key and not a card reader like I’d expect to find at pretty much any hotel ever. Then again, considering the business model for this place I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Finally I got it opened and I practically kicked the door open.
I felt a touch of guilt as I pulled Flin in, slammed the door shut behind him, and then pressed him against the wall and jumped into his arms. Pressed my hungry lips against his waiting lips. I should’ve spared a thought for my friends who were being held captive somewhere while I was off canoodling with an alien from another planet.
Okay, a man from another planet, if what he told me was to be believed.
I was going to do everything in my power to rescue them. Later.
Because all rational thought had left me. I was a woman possessed. Possessed by the incredible creature that was Captain Flin. By his rippling muscles. By the way he seemed to be in command of every situation. By the way he’d pulled my bacon out of the fire on three separate occasions tonight.
I pulled back from the kiss and smiled up at him. “I never thought I’d be the love interest in a scifi story about a man from another planet!”
He grinned right back at me, and I felt a bulge down between my legs. Holy shit was I going to be a very happy girl very soon!
“Glad I could help you bring the fantasy to life,” he said.
Yeah, I needed him in the worst way. I sighed as he wrapped his arms around me and carried me across the room to a bed that wasn’t particularly comfortable, but it’s not like I really gave a fuck about comfort as he fell on top of me.
It was time to improve interstellar relations.
13
Flin
I bounced on the bed a couple of times to get a feel for it. It was strange seeing an actual physical bed.
I mean I’d seen this sort of thing before in museums, who hadn't, but it was odd to see something like this actually being used by a civilization.
Of course it was a heck of a lot better than the sticks and branches they used on the last planet I'd visited. I shuddered thinking about them. They still wiggled and reached for you even after they were cut which the locals loved but it had creeped me out.
I looked up and shivered again when I realized Melissa was drawing closer.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing's wrong," she said. "I've just been thinking.”
I arched my eyebrow at the sudden change in her tone. It had been my experience that all the varying branches of humanity in its multitude of evolutionary paths since the ancient civilization collapse had mostly held onto the same body language and the same visual cues. Particularly when it came time for getting frisky.
That was something I was very well-versed in. You might even say it was something of a specialty of mine. You might say that I’d traveled from world to world getting lots of first-hand experience.
You might even say I enjoyed traveling to a strange new worlds and making love to what I found there, if you wanted to be downright crude about it which I would never dream of doing.
"And what were you thinking?" I asked.
She moved up and sat down next to me. Looked at me and blinked a couple of times, then sighed. Let out a giggle.
"I'm sorry," she said. “I’m being ridiculous here."
Well then. She might be a little reluctant, but I knew an opening when I saw it. I looked down to the hand she'd laid next to me. Reached over and brushed it with my fingers.
