by Kelly Goode
‘Mating with humans has never been considered wise by the council,’ he said.
‘Neither is being shot by one, but here we both are.’
The sound of an engine starting caused both men to temporarily seek cover behind a cluster of trees. Blake felt some of his tension ease as Carson drove away.
‘I don’t see the appeal of them,’ Viktor said, after a few seconds of silence. ‘Human women seem so small and fragile.’
Blake shook his head. ‘I pity the day you cross paths with a human woman, because then you’ll see they’re anything but fragile. A pain in the arse sometimes, intoxicating as hell, but certainly not fragile.’
‘I don’t intend on ever mixing with the humans.’
‘If you’re still declaring yourself as Alpha of the Jaktten then you may not have a choice. Once our species is fully exposed, we’ll need an intermediary.’
‘I’ll send one of the council. Humans repulse me. Their race survives by keeping other species controlled. They’ve hunted most of their natural predators to the brink of extinction. I have no time for them.’
‘Don’t underestimate them.’
‘It sounds to me like your undercover position within the Invasive Species Control Unit is compromised. Does the council need to replace you?’
‘No,’ Blake replied firmly.
‘You’re in love with one of the agents. How can you remain objective?’
Viktor’s voice was tight with disgust and Blake found himself once again justifying his actions.
‘I’m jaktten not human; my loyalty is to my kind. The council asked me to infiltrate the Invasive Species Control Unit and report back on their dealings with the desquamaters. How I feel for Carson has nothing to do with my ability to do my job.’
‘So she knows who you are?’
Blake’s jaw clenched. ‘Not yet.’
‘Why not?’
‘I have a debt to repay first.’
‘To whom?’
‘To Jonah.’
Viktor raised a dark eyebrow in surprise.
‘Another great warrior that disappeared after the crash, I heard you were best friends on Jakttera.’
Blake shook his head. ‘As I told you early, we’re not on Jakttera anymore and Jonah is definitely not my friend.’
‘Friend or not, the desquamaters are growing in number and we’re going to need to unite if we have any hope of surviving the next invasion. Until then you need to keep your human woman away from my scent.’
‘Easier said than done.’
32
‘I’m back.’
Tom Melman looked up from his laptop to find Carson standing at the end of his desk. She was dressed in grey combat trousers and a long sleeve black top. Her short hair was slicked wet against her head and she looked flushed.
‘You’ve changed your clothes.’
It was a statement not a question, and she looked down at her hands rather than meet his stare.
‘I got mucky from sneaking through the forest, so I went home to shower. Did Finch fill you in on the victims?’
‘He did. One adult, one child. Any identification?’
‘No, but I made contact with the lead detective. He seemed keen to share information so I’m hoping he’ll call me with an update soon. Where is Finch?’
‘I sent him to work on Malcolm Plummer’s background check, leaving you and Blake free to follow up on Doctor Malone. That ok?’
‘Of course.’
She smiled at him and turned to leave.
‘Wait, Carson. You have a fresh cut on your forehead.’
Tom watched as she reached up and touched the small bump. She looked surprised to see blood on her fingers.
‘It’s probably from yesterday, but you’ve only just noticed.’
He narrowed his eyes as she shifted guiltily from foot to foot, avoiding eye contact like she used to do when she was a kid.
‘What are you keeping from me, Carson?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Come on, I can always tell when you’re hiding something.’
She looked like she was debating how much to tell him, but she eventually sighed and met his stare.
‘You’re such a fusspot, Tom.’
Tom smiled and absently smoothed his moustache.
‘I’m allowed to be where you’re concerned. I’m your guardian, and your boss. Tell me.’
‘Ok, fine,’ she said. ‘Just promise me you’re not going to freak out or send me home again.’
He remained silent, as he couldn’t promise that.
‘I had a little accident,’ she said.
‘What kind of accident? Knowing your definition of “little”, the spectrum could swing from burning toast, to killing someone.
‘Just a little car accident, no big deal.’
Tom got to his feet and leaned over the desk.
‘Bloody hell, woman. Can you do nothing carefully anymore? If your mother could see the mess I’m making of looking after you, she’d turn in her grave.’
‘I’m ok, really I am.’
‘But you hit your head.’
Again he watched her subconsciously touch her forehead.
‘I don’t remember for sure. I might have hit it against the steering wheel or against the side window when I slammed on the breaks. It all happened so fast.
Tom stepped away from his side of the desk and moved closer to Carson.
‘Are you seeing black spots?’
‘No.’
‘Do you feel dizzy?’
‘No.’
‘Nauseous?’
‘No.’
‘So what happened?’
‘Damn deer ran out on me.’
‘Is the deer ok.’
She grinned. ‘I think so. It didn’t exactly hang around to swap insurance details.’
Tom resisted the urge to gather her into his arms like he had so many times when she had been young and settled for squeezing her hand.
‘Look at me please, Carson.’
He waited until her blue eyes met his.
‘You’re pushing yourself too hard again and it’s my fault. Sometimes I expect more from you than the other agents. I can’t help it. You’re the best, but if you’re not careful you’re going to end up in the place the fear the most.’
‘The morgue,’ she supplied dryly.
‘No, the hospital.’
Her face split into a wide smile. ‘You know me too well.’
‘And I also know there are only so many times a person can be hit, cut, shot at, burned or blown up in the space of a week before their body starts to shut down. You’ve bumped your head one too many times for my liking; I think you should have a scan.’
Carson pulled away from him.
‘No way, no way.’
‘You could have a brain bleed or-’
‘No.’
She said the word with such conviction that Tom felt his frustration intensify.
‘I’m in charge here, Carson and I can order any agent to partake in a scan at any time.’
She glared at him, almost pouting in obstinacy like her mother had done whenever he’d told her to leave that good-for-nothing husband of hers. His anger mellowed, as he experienced a swell of love for his adopted ward. She’d always been a handful and age didn’t seem to be altering her stubbornness in the slightest.
‘Are you going to give that order, chief?’
She’d tacked his rank on the end of her question to goad him, but he didn’t rise to the bait.
‘I could,’ he threatened. ‘Would you agree?’
‘I won’t question your authority, just whether you’d use it against me twice in the same twenty four hours.’
Tom sighed. ‘Of course not, I don’t even have a doctor to do the damn scan seeing as you caused Doctor Peters to storm out in a huff.’
Carson took his hand again and squeezed gently.
‘I think you caused her storm out in a huff, but thank you for trusting me.’
‘
Don’t thank me when you fall down dead.’
‘I won’t. I’m honestly ok.’
Tom was about to tell her that was a matter of opinion, but was stopped by a knock on his door.
33
‘Not interrupting anything, am I?’
Carson felt Tom release her hand as if it was made of fire. He straightened his tie and put a respectable distance between the two of them, which only made the situation look more suspicious than it was.
‘Of course not, Blake. Come in. I was just about to give Carson her next assignment.’
Blake’s astute green eyes swept over Carson, causing her cheeks to flush. He’d definitely noticed the weird vibe and she prayed that he wouldn’t question her relationship with Tom as no one within the team could find out he was her guardian.
‘What’s the assignment, sir?’ she asked, trying to make her voice sound breezy.
‘Finch and Sheridan are following up on Malcolm Plummer’s history, so I want you and Blake to go to Malone’s house. There’s a tracker in his laptop which flags on our central database whenever he goes online. About an hour ago, some of Malone’s files were accessed remotely. The signal came from an approximate location near his home.’
‘Address?’ Blake asked.
‘Ongar Road, Brentwood. From memory, that’s near your place, isn’t it?’
‘Not far, sir.’
‘Any special orders once we’re there?’ Carson asked.
Tom shook his head. ‘I’m not expecting you to find anything untoward, but he may have left some indicator as to why he hasn’t shown up for work.’
‘No problem.’
‘I’m hoping the second lot of lab results will be ready tomorrow.’
Blake nodded and indicated that Carson should leave ahead of him. She walked out of the office but it wasn’t until she was near the main exit that she realised he hadn’t followed. She turned back to see Blake and Tom talking. Or rather, Blake was talking while Tom stood with his arms folded across his chest. Tom shook his head and Blake walked away.
‘What was that all about?’ she asked, once Blake had caught her up again.
‘Nothing.’
‘Didn’t look like nothing to me.’
‘Well neither does holding hands with the chief of the unit, but I’m not questioning you about that.’
Carson’s eyes widened. ‘I wasn’t holding his hand.’
Blake snorted as if he didn’t believe her and held open the door for her to walk through.
‘I’ll drive,’ he said.
‘Whatever.’
Carson settled into the passenger seat of Blake’s black jeep. It was an older model, but he kept it clean and polished. It took around twenty minutes to get from Romford to Malone’s address, which was easy to find once they’d left the main road and managed to traverse a narrow country lane safely.
‘So you live near here, right?’ Carson asked, as Blake manoeuvred the jeep across the bumpy driveway leading towards a large detached property.
‘A few miles away,’ he said evasively, but as she remembered his address from the envelope in her car, she already knew they’d driven past a private road a few miles back that led to it.
‘Did you know Malone was practically your neighbour?’
‘No, we weren’t exactly friends.’
‘I suppose not. I just thought he would’ve mentioned it in conversation or something.’
‘Malone wasn’t one for small talk.’
That was true. The doctor lived and breathed for his research. He patched up the agents when needed and ensured that the wounds the aliens inflicted didn’t include any venom or other toxins. Carson opened her mouth to question Blake further about his home and maybe coax an invite, but he suddenly slammed his foot on the brake causing her to jerk forward in the seat.
‘What the hell are you doing,’ she said, as the seat belt cut painfully across her chest.
‘Sorry, I saw a cat. Are you ok?’
‘I’ll live, but that was my second close call today. I nearly drove into a deer earlier. That’s what I was talking to the chief about when you walked in. He wanted me to go for a scan.’
‘That’s not a bad idea. The grenades we use are heavy-duty weaponry. No one knows the side-effects from close range contact.’
She sighed. ‘Don’t you start too. I thought you’d be on my side.’
‘I am, but I’ve always said you need a brain transplant, so maybe a scan will determine just how much of it is actually functional.’
Blake smiled for the first time that day and she returned it. She unbuckled her seatbelt and looked out of the window at the ginger fur-ball who sat on the path in front of them. It didn’t look in a hurry to move, so she opened the door and got out.
‘Shoo, come on, get out of the way.’
It stared at her with genuine malice in its green eyes before getting to its feet and slinking away. Carson got back into the jeep and Blake continued the short journey towards the house. He parked beside a rusted tractor that had obviously been out of commission for a while as several more cats lounged on the roof. They seemed untroubled by their arrival, content to sleep in the sunshine and ignore the visitors.
‘I wouldn’t have pegged Malone as a cat person,’ Carson said. ‘I’ve seen six so far.’
‘Me neither, but as I said before, we weren’t really friends,’ Blake replied.
The ginger cat from earlier joined the others on top of the tractor. He still looked angry at being forced to relinquish its spot and hissed loudly. Blake bared his teeth and growled, and it curled into a ball and tucked its head in.
‘I prefer dogs,’ he continued. ‘Cats always look as if they are plotting your demise.’
Carson nodded her agreement, as several pairs of feline eyes followed her movement towards the front door, but apart from the odd meow from the ginger one, the other animals remained impassive. She knocked on the solid wood door, as there was no doorbell, and waited for Malone to answer. After a few seconds, she tried again.
‘There’s no one home,’ Blake said, joining her on her doorstep.
‘How do you know?’
‘I just do.’
Carson raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s not a good enough answer.’
‘Fine, the cats told me. Better?’
‘No.’
Blake reached out and twisted the door handle. It was unlocked and once opened, gave entry to a wide hallway. Coats, umbrellas, and shoes littered the floor, as if someone had taken the contents of the coat-stand and dumped them on the floor. Carson made a move to step inside, but Blake held her back. He had that strange look on his face as if he was somehow sensing more than she could.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
‘I smell blood.’
34
Blake stepped inside the house and Carson followed. They drew their guns and made an initial sweep of the hallway. The stench, no longer contained by the heavy wooden door, crept up Carson’s nostrils like an octopus’ tentacle. It invaded her senses and caused her to heave. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to hold onto the meagre contents of her stomach.
‘You look really pale. Is something wrong?’ Blake asked. ‘I already told you that no one is home. The guns are just a precaution.’
‘I’m ok, I just need a second. You go on ahead.’
Blake lowered his gun.
‘I’m not leaving you.’
‘Now is not the time to play protector. I’ll be fine, honestly. Just go and find the source of that damn smell. It’s making me feel sick.’
Blake reluctantly moved forward, leaving Carson free to slump against the wall. It wasn’t just the stench that made her feel woozy. Her head ached and she reluctantly shook out one of the painkillers from the bottle in her pocket. She swallowed the small tablet dry, which caused her throat to constrict, but after a few seconds, she was able to grit her teeth and follow Blake’s shadow. She was careful not to step on any of the scattered items, and joined
him in the living room, where he stood in the centre of yet more chaos.
The entire room had been trashed. The sofa cushions were slashed and the bureau emptied. Several pictures frames had been smashed and the faces now had deep gouges through them. Doctor Malone wasn’t married, so she guessed the people in them were his extended family. He was tall and long-limbed. She didn’t know his exact age but had always assumed he was in his early-fifties, as his fair hair just bordered on turning grey.
‘Someone was searching for something,’ Blake said, his green eyes taking in the destroyed contents of the room. ‘And they didn’t care if Malone knew they’d been here or not.’
‘Do you think they found it?’
‘No.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I bet whatever it is, Malone still has it. That’s why he went AWOL from the laboratory. We need to find him.’
Carson lowered her gun, clicked on the safety, and returned it to her belt.
‘Malone is the number one forensic source on the alien invasion,’ she said. ‘He knows more about the scouts and the desquamaters than the rest of our team combined. He’s invaluable.’
Blake nodded and holstered his gun too.
‘Maybe he’s invaluable to the aliens as well,’ he said solemnly and Carson felt her stomach lurch at the thought of the doctor being captured by the aliens.
‘We need to find him. You check the bedroom. I’ll check the kitchen.’
‘I already told you he’s not here.’
‘He could be hiding.’
Blake held her stare for a few seconds, before he sighed. ‘Fine, I’ll check upstairs, but I’m telling you he’s not here. No one is here.’
‘Don’t forget about the cats.’
Carson walked into the kitchen, which had been trashed like the rest of the house. Cupboard doors hung off their hinges and more gouges could be seen across the wooden worktops. The contents of the fridge lay splattered across the tiled floor. Broken eggs and sour milk contributed to some of the stench from earlier, but there was still a rotten meat odour that she couldn’t locate, and Blake had mentioned blood.
‘Looks like someone was scavenging for food,’ Blake said, and Carson flinched as she found him standing beside her. ‘Probably the cats.’
