The Scientist's Price (Warriors Book 1)

by L P Peace

  Reaching back, he eased the gun out of Olivia’s hand and pointing, he fired.

  The force of the blast splintered the wood, and there was a grunt.

  They didn’t have time to retrieve the weapon. They had to get out and take one of the vehicles.

  Quickly, they moved to the front entrance. There was still only one Myardahl out there, standing next to one of the three zaki.

  ‘Stay close,’ he said before he kicked the door open. Kadian fired at the same time as the Myardahl agent. Kadian flinched to the side instinctively, his body blocking Olivia. The Myardahl didn’t seem to have the same instincts. He was hit in the chest, but he was wearing armour. Kadian fired again, even as the agent was still reorienting. With the second shot, he took his head.

  ‘We’re moving,’ Kadian called back. He moved forward, feeling Olivia follow in his path. Kadian fired the gun twice more, taking out a wheel of one zaki and the engine of the other.

  As he walked by the agent, he bent to retrieve the weapon and handed it to Olivia behind him. She unlocked it and thumbed it up to full power and Kadian filled with pride for his little human.

  Kadian opened the door. The zaki would have security measures that would lock it down and bring them back to law enforcement. Kadian grinned. That kind of thing would work on the average criminal, but Kadian and Olivia were radiant engineers. They knew how things worked.

  ‘Get in.’

  Olivia climbed inside and scooted over, leaving room for Kadian to join her. He got in and opened up a control panel on the machine. Deactivating the base controls was easy. Another moment passed, and the engine roared to life. Kadian set it for manual control and was pulling off as the agents ran outside.

  ‘Head down,’ Kadian barked.

  The agents flooded the street—seven of them, so less than Kadian had estimated. Two of them took a firing stance and aimed their weapons at them. Kadian sped the zaki up before pressing the thruster control. The zaki took off, gaining height and speed; he aimed it at the lowest rooftop. All he needed was to put buildings between him and the agents.

  A shot hit the zaki. Kadian let out a string of curses, but they maintained their height. As soon as he was over another street, Kadian turned, putting a tall office building between them and their pursuers.

  ‘You can get up,’ he said. ‘Olivia, I need you to go into the control panel. There will be a beacon. We must deactivate it.’

  ‘On it.’

  With slender, nimble fingers, Olivia began to feel inside the panel. ‘Got it.’ There was a sound of something being ripped from a tether, then Olivia held up a small chip.

  Kadian glanced at it. Taking it from her quickly, he took his eyes off their flight path long enough to confirm it was the chip. He could destroy it, or…

  Looking out of the window, he saw something that looked like public transport below.

  Grinning, he opened the door slightly and, as they were above it, dropped it onto the roof. He had no way of knowing whether or not it stuck or fell to the ground. But it was away from them. Turning the stolen zaki in a random direction away from the transport, Kadian worked on putting distance between them, the chip and the agents.

  ‘What now?’

  Olivia leaned against the seat heavily. After the adrenaline rush of their escape, the adrenaline had all burned away, leaving her feeling spent behind.

  ‘Now we keep moving. When I think we’re a sufficient distance from our pursuers, we’ll find somewhere to bunk down until tonight. Then we’ll find a place where I can purchase a communicator so that when Tanir arrives, I can arrange for him to pick us up.’

  Kadian flashed a smile at her. ‘We will be okay, Olivia. I will get you out of here. I promise.’

  ‘I know you will.’ Olivia smiled back at him.

  They drove for a couple of hacri. Olivia’s thoughts kept turning back to her friends in the sewers beneath the streets. She wanted to go down there. It was the only place on this planet she’d ever been safe. But there were police after them now and that Inadiine guy. She couldn’t bring them back to them, or her friends would lose their freedom, however scant, however hard it was.

  Turning her thoughts away, they fell, naturally, on her crew, on Endurance.

  ‘Do you know what happened to the ship?

  Kadian glanced at her, then back to their path. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t think. Of course you want to know.’ Kadian let out a sigh. ‘There is a lot to tell.’

  ‘We have time,’ she pointed out.

  ‘Very well.’

  Over several minutes, Kadian filled her in on everything that had happened in the last month. Endurance had been found. Sophia was carrying the data packet and had made it to the IGC. Earth’s application had been submitted, and then it all went wrong.

  Everything had been for nothing. Now, things were worse than ever.

  ‘They have a plan, Olivia,’ Kadian said. ‘Do not worry. The Tessans will fix this.’

  ‘I don’t know how anyone can fix any of this,’ Olivia sighed. ‘This is a clusterfuck!’

  Kadian did a double-take, his eyes wide before he threw back his head and laughed.

  ‘What are you laughing at? This isn’t funny!’

  ‘I’ve never heard you swear before,’ Kadian managed through his guffaws. ‘It is shocking.’

  Despite the news and the worries it brought, Olivia smiled. It took a lot to make her swear. ‘It’s appropriate,’ she said, rolling her eyes. Still, she felt pleased. She’d never seen Kadian laugh like that before. Of course, she’d never seen him kill either.

  Even with the disadvantage of his leg, he’d been like a machine, smooth, ruthless and precise, not words she would ever have used to describe her Kadian before.

  The vehicle moved towards an old area of the city. There were buildings here that had obviously been abandoned a long time before.

  Kadian flew to the roof of a tall building. He landed the flyer on one of the rooftops. As Olivia looked out, she realised why. In front of her was a squat building that looked like a garage.

  ‘Wait here.’

  Kadian got out of the flyer and walked over to the garage. The roller door was shut, but when he pulled on the handle, it opened easily. There were tables and a bit of rubbish inside. Otherwise, it was abandoned and there was enough space for the flyer. Kadian moved inside, then disappeared.

  Panicking, Olivia moved into Kadian’s seat. From his vantage point, she could see there was a door that led down into the actual building they’d landed on.

  Staring at the door, Olivia waited. She was scared and feeling impatient. A part of her wanted to follow him, but if she did and it turned out he was in danger, she could make the situation much worse just by being there. Or better? She wondered, looking down at the weapon Kadian had given her.

  No! Don’t be stupid, Olivia.

  Letting out a deep breath, Olivia forced herself to wait.

  Her patience was rewarded a minute later when Kadian emerged. He ran to the car, his gait off due to his limp. He climbed inside the flyer and drove it into the garage.

  ‘I found us a safe place to lie low for the night,’ he grinned. ‘Come.’ With that, Kadian disappeared through the door.

  When she got out to join him, he was closing the garage behind them.

  He rounded the flyer and joined her. ‘This way,’ he said, taking her hand.

  He led her down some stairs. Below, there was a door that had been broken from its hinges.

  ‘Did you do that?’

  ‘Yes. It’s an older style door, with a manual lock. I had no choice but to break it to gain entry.’

  Kadian pulled her through the door eagerly and into the apartment beyond.

  Diffused light filled the space. When Olivia looked at the windows, she realised it was because they were dirty from neglect. Here and there, clean patches allowed streams of weak light into the room. As they walked, they kicked up dust that danced in the light as dust motes. It was almost beautiful.


  While covered in dust from long years of neglect, the room itself had an entire home’s worth of furniture present, all preserved under large transparent sheets. She could see tables covered in ornaments, chairs, and a large sofa. If it hadn’t been for the size of the furniture and the alien qualities, Olivia might have thought she was back on Earth.

  While some of the furniture was perfectly preserved, most of it had fallen apart due to disuse. The smell of mildew tickled Olivia’s nose.

  ‘We’ll have to stay here for the rote,’ Kadian said. ‘I’ll go out for food later, but we should be safe, at least for a while.’

  ‘I don’t mind going without food today. We can eat later.’ As soon as the words left Olivia’s mouth, she felt her anxiety rise. She’d never experienced true hunger before coming here. She’d skipped meals before and been hungry, and it had never been a big deal. But now? Food had become a precious resource. Going without it made her weak, unable to think properly, unable to strategize or plan beyond where she’d find her next meal. She saw that same drive and fear in the eyes and faces of the homeless escaped slave community hiding in the sewers.

  ‘I will go out for food,’ Kadian said, a pinched look to his brow.

  Olivia’s eyes swept over him. Most of the time, when Olivia looked at him, she simply saw Kadian. The male who’d been her friend and colleague for so long. But every now and then, she’d note the greyish-brown skin, the small, subtle ridges on his wedge-shaped, hairless head. She’d note the upturn of his eyes and the black sclera that made his golden iris stand out. He had a strong nose and his beautiful lips that she had kissed before. She’d take in his height, around seven feet, and his build and realise precisely how alien Kadian was to her.

  ‘It’s better if you don’t.’ She smiled. ‘I can go without for a few hours. It wouldn’t be the first time.’

  ‘And that is why I will go.’

  ‘It would be safer if you didn’t,’ she pointed out. ‘They’ll be looking for the car, flyer, thingy.’

  Kadian smiled. ‘The Myardahl call it a zaki.’

  ‘Well, that’s a stupid name.’

  ‘Not stupid. Simply alien.’

  Kadian was being indulgent with her, and it was setting Olivia on edge.

  ‘But you are right. They will be looking for it. I will go now. Get some food, dump the vehicle and steal another one.’

  ‘What about me?’

  ‘You will be safe here, Olivia.’ He walked over to her, taking her hands and pressing her fingers into the weapon she was holding. ‘You know how to shoot. Unless it’s me, use it.’ With that, he walked towards the door.

  ‘Kadian.’ Olivia spun around. She was scared he was leaving. She knew he’d come back, but it was hard, watching him go.

  There was a look on her face; she could feel it but couldn’t seem to reach for something braver. Something that would make it easier for him to go. When Kadian saw her, his face softened. He crossed the space between them and pulled her into her arms.

  ‘I will not be gone long,’ he whispered. ‘You will be safer here.’

  ‘I know,’ she said, and she did. After a month of surviving on this planet and having to be strong as she got progressively weaker and hungrier, Olivia wanted nothing more than for Kadian to take care of her.

  But she’d always wanted that!

  He withdrew from her, keeping his hands on her arms.

  Kadian’s demands were ridiculous, his price too high. From the first moment she had seen him in the video while sitting in Director Teller’s office, Olivia was attracted to him. When she stumbled over her words that day, all she could think about was Kadian’s lips and his strong hands and long fingers holding her, touching her.

  Even now, Olivia wanted Kadian to kiss her. So it stung when he turned and walked away, disappearing up the stairs and leaving her behind.

  Vrok! Kadian wanted to kiss her!

  As he stood there, holding her, her lips had slightly parted as though she was inviting him to explore her again, the way he had that rote in the lab.

  Kadian knew hunger well. During his last mission, he’d experienced cycles of hunger when he and his team crashed onto a world where barely anything grew. After their rations ran out, they’d been forced to hike for madith in search of food. The planet had strange rock formations in which large hand-sized insects hid from the roasting sun. They’d waited till night for the insects to come out and eat them alive. He shuddered to think of it now, but hunger drove creatures to extremes. That was before the others had come—the other Todaal. Soldiers who had taken payment from the Enhari government to deliver the Radiant Kadian and his team had recovered.

  Kadian backed the zaki out onto the roof as he felt his anger towards this place, these people, grow. He didn’t know if it was anger about his memories or what Olivia had suffered while she was alone.

  Closing the shutter after him, Kadian got back into the zaki and took off in the opposite direction from the hotel and the port.

  Kadian flew for several madith over the abandoned city until he found a traffic stream and joined it.

  Time had passed and the rote had begun. Zaki flew through the air all around him, allowing Kadian to get lost in the rush. Above, clouds had gathered and were turning dark grey.

  Kadian looked around for a place where he could dump the zaki. As he did so, his mind began to wander, his thoughts running back to that night at Frixx-eon.

  It was Olivia’s birthday, and everyone was going out. Olivia had invited Kadian, and though he hated the idea, he found he couldn’t say no to her.

  The music inside the club was too loud for Todaal ears. It pumped hard until he couldn’t actually hear music, just the thumping of the beat melding into a seamless repetition of noise.

  Kadian decided he hated this music. Classical was fine. Some older music had nice melodious beats and the words meant something, but this music was just noise.

  Across the booth, Olivia, Dr. Edgar Schuster, Dr. Amarie Carter, and several other research team members were drinking and laughing, their shoulders bopping to the beat.

  Olivia looked at him, humour and something more in her eyes.

  The only reason Kadian had stayed this long was because of the looks Olivia gave him. They seemed to be promising, longing, heated. Kadian had considered going home with a book, researching his temporary home, or cooking a meal, or even just calling it an early night. But every time, Olivia’s hazel eyes landed on him and he felt like he was made of glue, stuck to the seat and waiting for another.

  One horrendous noise ended and another began.

  Olivia’s eyes lit up and she gasped.

  ‘I love this song,’ she yelled before getting up.

  ‘This is a song?’ Kadian frowned as he watched her go.

  She moved onto the dance floor, followed by a couple of the other females, leaving Kadian alone with the rest of their group, who watched him nervously.

  Ignoring them, Kadian turned to watch Olivia.

  She moved around in a small circle with the other females, and though they all danced, Kadian could only see her.

  The movement of her body, the sway of her hips, her eyes closed as she rose her arms over her head in an elegant, shifting pattern. A shiver passed over Kadian. She was beautiful. Like an ethereal creature from the mythos of this world. Soft, stunning and smiling to some internal thought. Her eyes suddenly opened and she was staring at Kadian. He was embarrassed that she’d caught him, but he couldn’t look away and, it seemed, neither could she.

  ‘What the fuck are you?’ The male was obviously drunk, eyes struggling to focus as he slurred. He stepped forward, his hip banging into the table and knocked over several glasses, three of them with drinks still in them. One of which was Olivia’s.

  ‘You’re a fuckin’ freak!’ He leaned against the table, his eyes barely staying open. ‘You don’t fuckin’ b’long here. Fuck off back to whatever ditch you crawled out of! We don’t want you… We don’t need you!�
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  The male stopped, then stared at Kadian like he was waiting for a response.

  Kadian moved forward, and the male’s eyes widened, a smirk appearing on his face.

  ‘Go home. You’re unfit to be seen in public.’

  Whatever response the male had wanted, that wasn’t it.

  ‘You go home! You’re not fit to be seen. Ever!’ He swiped out then, throwing a punch that was slow and wide, one that knocked him off balance.

  Instinct kicked in and Kadian stood, grabbing the male and steadying him on his feet.

  ‘Hey! What are you doing, freak? Leave him alone.’

  Kadian removed his hands from the male, who immediately began to fall. He grabbed him once again and held him up.

  ‘I said get your fuckin’ hands off him.’

  The male who appeared this time was soberer than the drunk Kadian was holding up.

  ‘You may have him,’ Kadian said. ‘I was simply trying to keep him from harming himself.’

  ‘Nah, I saw. You were hurting him.’

  Kadian let out a deep breath. He glanced at his colleagues, who were looking anywhere but at him. He knew they wouldn’t want to get involved, least of all to defend an alien to whom they’d made it abundantly clear they didn’t like or want. Touching the man had been a mistake, but the alternative was allowing him to hurt himself through inaction and he was sure the man would have come over to blame him for that as well.

  ‘What’s going on here?’

  Kadian turned to see a doorman approaching.

  ‘This fucking alien was beating up on this guy,’ the male said, pointing to the now unconscious male in Kadian’s arms. ‘Look at the state of him.’

  Kadian turned, waiting for the doorman to start. Instead, he laughed.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Olivia appeared at Kadian’s elbow. ‘He didn’t do anything; Kadian isn’t like that.’

  ‘I know, miss. This guy,’ he grabbed the unconscious drunk from Kadian, ‘has to be kicked out every night in this condition. Management won’t let me ban him.’ He looked at the male. ‘Don’t cause any trouble, or you’ll be next.’