by S. E. Smith
“Cosmos!” RITA called out frantically. “My scans state your respiration is elevated and your blood pressure is slightly high.”
“No shit, RITA,” Cosmos yelled over the alarm. “You didn’t fucking tell me he had explosives on him.”
“Oh,” RITA muttered defensively. “Well, nothing in his records indicated he was suicidal! I mean, my calculations showed only a twenty-five percent chance that he would use them in close proximity,” she said puzzled. “Oh shit! I know what I didn’t calculate.”
Cosmos wearily lowered his head to the floor. “What is that, RITA?” He asked tiredly.
“He was in a close relationship with the other man you killed,” RITA replied in a tone filled with self-recrimination. “A more thorough scan of my files indicates they actually married two years ago, poor dears. They were a modern day Bonnie and Clyde without the Bonnie,” she mused. “I’ll need to review my programming to check for this type of information more thoroughly next time.”
Cosmos groaned as he tried to lift the weight set lying across his lower back. He collapsed back down onto the floor. He was seriously thinking about just lying there for a while. He was so damn tired. The only thing stopping him was the fact there were others still in the warehouse that he needed to make sure were taken care of, both aliens and humans.
“RITA, give me a status report on the others,” Cosmos said straining to push up again.
He was able to shift the equipment far enough so he could roll over onto his back. Using his upper body, he slowly walked the weight equipment back far enough that he was able to get his legs out from under it. Once free, he laid back and stared up at the ceiling until he could do an assessment of the damage. His back was bruised along the lower lumbar, he had a bullet wound to the back of his left thigh that felt like it had almost stopped bleeding, and cuts to his hands and face. Overall, he wasn’t in too bad of a shape. Hell, he was in better shape than the other two guys and his gym.
“RITA, when this is over send for a cleanup crew. Warn them that it is a bad one,” he muttered as he sat up. “How are the others doing?”
“Teriff’s team has neutralized the eight men. I’m afraid none made it out alive if my readings are accurate. Core and Rav have managed to capture one of the men from upstairs. The other two did not fare well – they’re dead. I never knew they could use their teeth that way. I really need to ask Terra a few more questions about those Prime hunks. I swear watching them in action practically melts my circuit boards. They are a lot of hot, hunky male muscles. No wonder Tink, Hannah, and Tansy have it bad! I swear if I can figure out a way to create a hologram of myself, I’m kidnapping one of those bad boys and having my wicked way with them,” RITA purred.
The sudden vision of a holographic Tilly molesting a bunch of Prime warriors was more than Cosmos wanted to picture at the moment. Hell, it was right up there with picturing Angus nude. A shudder went through Cosmos.
I really need to think about reprogramming my damn computer, he thought as he rose stiffly to his feet and threaded his way back to the hidden door behind the shattered two-way mirror.
“Are there any more threats we should be concerned about?” Cosmos asked as he opened the door leading back up to his room. He would replenish his clips before heading up to the upper level. “I need to know if we can expect additional company any time soon.”
“I intercepted a communication from one of the men upstairs before he was killed. He warned someone that the mission was compromised and they were to pull out. Of course, that was before Core, or was it Rav – mmm – yes, it was Core, killed him. A vehicle left shortly after the transmission. I was able to follow it until it passed out of the city limits. No other threats are currently being picked up by my scanners,” RITA replied. “Core and Rav are in the process of bringing the bad guy down to your living quarters. I hope they keep him off the furniture. He is bleeding worse than you are.”
Cosmos rolled his eyes as he reached the top of the stairs. “Thanks for that information,” he responded dryly.
“No problem, sweetheart. What are you going to do about Teriff? I swear he looked like he was about to lay an egg when Terra kissed you. His vital signs went through the ceiling. You should warn him that isn’t good for him. Why…..” RITA continued until Cosmos silenced her.
“Not now, RITA. Let’s deal with one crisis at a time,” Cosmos muttered not wanting to get into the effects of a raised blood pressure as his thoughts drifted to Terra again.
Chapter 5
Cosmos walked down the hallway to the living room after hearing the loud shrieks of fright coming from the room. It looks like the aliens are terrorizing the human, Cosmos thought tiredly. Cosmos just hoped the aliens checked the man for explosives as he rubbed his lower back which was throbbing from where a bar from the exercise equipment had dug into his flesh.
“Teriff, have you learned anything?” Cosmos asked as he stopped to look down at the man who was rocking back and forth on the floor.
Teriff turned to look at Cosmos with cold eyes. Cosmos fought back a curse of his own when he saw the flaming silver eyes, long sharp teeth and savage expression on the Prime leader’s face. Cosmos could almost sympathize with the man cowering on the floor. If this is what Teriff looked like pissed about some intruders, he was going to hate to see the man when he found out Cosmos planned to claim his daughter.
Talk about dancing with the devil, Cosmos thought in resignation. I’ll be doing the damn Cha Cha!
“We have no translator devices with us and he does not understand what I say,” Teriff growled out menacingly. “He almost soiled himself when I asked him a question,” he added in disgust looking back down at the man who was doing everything he could to appear like he was a part of the floor.
“Yeah well, not everyone can handle meeting an alien,” Cosmos muttered before he turned to look down on the man who was bleeding all over his floor. He squatted down until he was at eye level with the male. “Where is Avilov?”
“I don’t know,” the man replied as his eyes darted from Cosmos’ face to the five huge males standing around him. “What the fuck are they?” He asked hoarsely.
“What is your name?” Cosmos asked, resting his hands on his knees as he studied the guy in front of him.
The shaggy-headed male looked to be about twenty-one. He didn’t have the hard edge that the two men in the gym had but that could be deceptive. Cosmos suddenly felt much older than his twenty-seven years. It was one thing to kill someone from a distance or even up close when they were trying to kill you but it was something totally different when they were sitting huddled defenseless in front of you. His stomach twisted as he stared into the frightened eyes of the male sitting in front of him.
“An…. Andriy,” the thickly accented voice replied. “You called them aliens,” he whispered as a low growl emitted from the chest of the huge creature that had grabbed him.
Cosmos’ lips curved up at the corner as he gave a swift warning glance to the Prime warrior called Core. “Yes, they are aliens from another world. You and the men you were with made the mistake of targeting the wrong person. My friends here don’t take kindly to having their friends, family or mates threatened. I don’t either,” Cosmos added as he shifted to pull a small knife out from behind his back. With a flick, it opened to reveal a long, sharp blade. “Now Andriy, I’ll ask you one more time before I do you the favor of slitting your throat before these guys get you…. Where is Avilov?”
Andriy’s eyes filled and he shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t know what was going on here. I was only told that we were to break in and get information back that had been stolen. I know computers – not how to fight. A few weeks ago I was taken from my apartment. I worked for a software company in Belgium. Four men broke into my apartment and took me. I was told I was to hack into a computer system if I wanted to live,” he said as tears ran down his face. “I swear I didn’t know what was going on. I just did what they told me. They said onc
e I got the information for them that they would let me go.”
Cosmos stared for several long minutes, unsure whether to believe him or not. “RITA, voice analysis. Is he telling the truth?” Cosmos called out as he stood up and looked down at the shivering, bleeding mass on his living room floor.
“All scans come back showing that he is telling the truth,” RITA replied. “I did a search of the Internet and found a brief newspaper article stating that a Ukrainian national was reported missing in Brussels. Andriy Shevchenk disappeared after being seen taken from his apartment. He is a programmer for one of Avilov’s corporations. He was hired four months ago straight out of college.”
“Wow,” Andriy said in awe looking around him now for where RITA’s voice was coming from instead of at the men surrounding him. “You have developed an interface programming that responds using an AI format,” he said excitedly, forgetting for a moment that his life was about to end. “What code did you use? Is it totally self-learning? Oh, you probably won’t tell me,” he added in disappointment. “I bet I could figure it out if given a chance. What does RITA stand for? Is this a government prototype? You will probably not be able to tell me that either, will you?” He groaned in regret.
Teriff looked at Cosmos in frustration. “He knows nothing! Core, kill him. Cosmos, what information do you have on Merrick and the other two warriors?” He snarled out.
“Wait!” Cosmos demanded putting his hand out to stop Core who had taken a step forward and grabbed Andriy by the back of his neck. “You heard what he said. He is an innocent pawn in this mess. I’ll turn him over to one of my teams. He is as good as dead now anyway. One of Avilov’s men would have executed him the minute they realized he couldn’t hack into RITA and retrieve the information Avilov wanted.”
Andriy dangled from the powerful warrior’s hand that was holding him up by the back of his jacket. “Ask him if he knows anything about Merrick!” Core demanded shaking the smaller male back and forth like he was a child’s toy.
Cosmos rolled his eyes knowing what the answer was going to be but deciding he better ask if for no other reason than to keep the peace. “Do you know where Merrick is?”
Andriy tried to shrink into his jacket as he felt the heated anger rolling off the male holding him. “I don’t know anything about a Merrick but if he shows up on a computer grid anywhere in the world I could find him,” he choked out in fear.
“He was at the top of his class, Cosmos,” RITA responded. “I’ve been looking at some of the programs he has developed. They aren’t too shabby. With a little training, he might be an asset to the corporation.”
“You’ve hacked into my programs?” Andriy asked in awe. “How? I have….” His voice faded as the huge male shook him again.
Cosmos groaned and ran his hand over the back of his neck, wincing when he found another bruise. “Core, set him down. He isn’t a threat. RITA, contact Avery. Let her know I need a medic and a cleanup team.”
“She will be here any minute, sweetheart,” RITA replied. “I notified her as soon as the men came into town. She and her team were already in route and arrived in Bangor a little over an hour ago. They should be here within the next few minutes.”
*.*.*
Cosmos leaned back against the window and watched as Avery gave additional instructions to one of her crew. The tall brunette was cool and composed as she directed the cleanup crew that specialized in erasing evidence of situations like this, no matter how bad. Cosmos couldn’t help but sympathize with the crew cleaning up in the gym. Even his stomach couldn’t handle dealing with the splatter of body parts. He shook his head as one of the men joked about trying to put the remains together like Frankenstein over a beer. He guessed anyone who could do a job like that had to have a strange sense of humor.
Talk about a sense of humor, he thought as he watched Core trying to get closer to Avery. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I’d love to see how the big warrior thinks he is going to handle his Chief of Damage Control. Avery was known for freezing a guy’s balls off with a single glance.
Cosmos’ lips curved into a tired grin as Avery turned away from the warrior with a dismissive shrug. He watched as Core’s eyes flared at the obvious dismissal. Yes, right now the idea of inventing a time machine was looking pretty damn good. It looked like the aliens were discovering there was a lot more to Earth women than they were expecting. His gaze moved down to the intricate circles on his own left palm. Hell, who was he kidding. He was just as affected by a certain alien female.
“I will never let her accept you,” Teriff said, coming to stand in front of Cosmos. His eyes moved down to where Cosmos was staring. He frowned darkly when Cosmos curled his fingers into a fist to cover the mark. “Human males are weak. You could never protect her,” he continued before looking at where the medic was joking with Andriy. “I do not trust human males either. You do not treat your females’ right,” he added looking back at Cosmos.
Cosmos stared back into the cold, determined eyes challenging him. “I don’t think you will have any more of a choice about accepting it than I do. Your daughter is mine. What I feel inside is something that cannot be ignored. If she feels half of what I feel, she will need me just as badly,” he responded in a voice devoid of emotion. “I won’t let you keep her from me, Teriff. I’ll fight you if you try.”
Teriff chuckled darkly. “You would lose, human. I don’t care if you are friends with Tilly and Angus. My daughter needs a strong male who can protect her. I made a mistake listening to her mother when she suggested sending her here. She was in more danger here than at the palace. You have not claimed her yet. I will send her away where no one can harm her,” he vowed before turning to call out to the other four warriors.
“She is mine,” Cosmos snapped out, pushing up to stand up straight. “Don’t fuck with me, Teriff. I’m not as weak as you think.”
Teriff turned back around and glowered at Cosmos. With a lightning move, he had Cosmos by the throat. A deep growl escaped the huge warrior as he held the human male who challenged him.
“I could snap your neck right now and you couldn’t stop me,” Teriff growled out in a low voice.
“Yes, you could,” Cosmos choked out. “But, not only would you and your men be dead so would your daughter and your mate.”
Teriff looked down at the gun Cosmos had pressed against his chest. He turned his head when he heard the low growls of Rav and Lal. Derik stood to one side, frozen in place with his hands on his swords. He was surrounded by two females pressing a gun to each side of his temple. His eyes darted to Core. The tall brunette that had been coordinating everything had a pistol pressed to the center of his chest, her eyes narrowed and focused. Rav and Lal had at least half a dozen guns aimed at them as well. Teriff slowly turned back to focus his gaze on Cosmos. He reluctantly released his grip and dropped his hand to his side.
“Stay away from Terra,” Teriff ordered before he barked out a command. Within seconds, a shimmering doorway appeared. Teriff looked one last time at Cosmos before he strode through the Gateway. “And find my men. If I have to return for them, there will be war!”
Cosmos’ breath released harshly as the doorway disappeared. He looked warily at Avery as she walked over to where he was standing. She raised her eyebrow at him for several long moments before she shook her head in resignation.
“Next time you think about inventing shit, make sure it doesn’t come with aliens from other worlds,” she commented dryly. “I would have appreciated a better debriefing than RITA saying ‘BTW Avery, there are aliens in the warehouse so please don’t kill them’. What the fuck were you thinking?” She asked placing her hands on her slender hips.
Cosmos reached up and rubbed his throat. He was seriously thinking about wearing a spiked collar so the bastards wouldn’t keep thinking it was their personal squeeze toy. Between Mak, Tansy’s mate, and Teriff, it was amazing he could even breathe normally much less talk.
“My calculations were a littl
e off,” he admitted reluctantly. “I need to pull you for another task, Avery.”
“Do you need containment?” She asked snapping her fingers at one of the medics to come take care of Cosmos. “Let Jenny take care of you while you give me the specifics.”
Cosmos nodded as he leaned back feeling suddenly drained. He rubbed his chest as he felt the empty void growing. He needed to get to Terra. He didn’t know why but something told him Teriff was going to do something he was not going to like. He would be damned if he would let that hard-headed son-of-a-bitch keep him from his woman. He’d declare a one-man war on the whole damn Prime if he had to. He grimaced as Jenny cut his pant leg open to take a look at the wound to the back of his thigh.
“Talk, Cosmos,” Avery said, handing him a bottle of water.
Cosmos took a deep drag of the cool liquid, almost groaning as it flowed down his bruised throat. “I need you to find a missing Prime warrior named Merrick. Garrett and Rico are helping two others, Brock and Lan, find the two Russian sisters that were kidnapped last night. RITA can debrief you on what happened last night and any information she has been able to gather. This needs to be contained. No one can know about them. You can imagine what would happen if the general population discovered there really were aliens running around,” he said huskily.
Avery’s lips curved into a half smile. “I know if I’m feeling a little freaked the rest of the world would go ballistic. My team has already been debriefed,” she said looking at the crew she would trust with her life. She had handpicked every single one of them with Cosmos’ blessings. “I’ll have RITA give me the information and get Rose and Trudy on it. Those two were born blood hounds and can sniff out a lizard’s turd in a desert.”
Cosmos grimaced. “Nice analogy, Avery. Very visual,” he replied dryly.
