Rexx: Alien Adoption Agency #6

by Tasha Black

  “Hello, innocent bystanders,” he said in a slow twang. “I’m the man who can save your lives.”

  He paused, letting his words land on them.

  “Were those really explosives?” Dr. Twinnly muttered to Duke King, who was standing beside him.

  “Quiet,” King said, elbowing him, intent on the screen.

  “We know you think you’re safe,” the man on the screen continued. “You have a Lachesian marshal, and an Invicta dragon onboard the most advanced transport on this moon.”

  He smiled. It was a horrible, sneering smile.

  “I’m here to tell you that none of that matters,” he said. “Look here.”

  He pointed for the camera man to swing the lens around.

  “The Iron Peregrine is flying toward Devil’s Canyon,” he told them, as the camera showed the terracotta-colored cliffs. “You’ll be here before I finish talking to you. It’s a narrow passage, just big enough for the train.”

  The camera showed the slender serpentine path of the tracks through the red sand, the jagged walls of the canyon forming a tight border on either side.

  “Up above you, on the cliffs, we’ve set up a special surprise,” the man said.

  The camera panned up, showing row after row of stacked explosive charges. Abigail didn’t have any experience with that kind of thing, but it looked like there was enough to bring the whole canyon down on them.

  “When we activate those little sparklers, it’s going to cause a landslide,” he said. “Those rocks above will shatter, and your pretty little train will be crushed.”

  There were gasps of horror in the dining car as the passengers realized what was happening.

  The camerawork might be semi-bumbling. But these criminals obviously meant business.

  “Right about now, I’ll bet you all are wondering, What do we have to do to get this nice man not to activate the explosives?” He smiled his awful smile again. “I’m a reasonable man. I don’t want to kill anyone. If you’ll stop the train politely and release the prisoner, we’ll allow you to go on your way.”

  Abigail glanced over at the marshal. His jaw was tight.

  “If not,” the man continued, “well…” He made funny little exploding noises, his eyes dancing with a rapture that bordered on madness.

  “Welcome to Devil’s Canyon,” he said sharply. “You have five minutes to release the prisoner.”

  The screens of the compartment went blank.

  Abigail’s mind began to race, looking for solutions. Maybe they could speed up and get past the men before they had the chance to trigger the explosives. No. That was too risky. Maybe they could throw the whole thing into reverse and take the prisoner back to one of the earlier stations.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but before she got a single word out, there was a jolt, then the rumble of the train’s engine died, and the lights flickered out.

  27

  Rexx

  Rexx’s eyes went instantly to Abigail and Rio. He allowed the dragon to surface just slightly, enough for his night vision to read the fierce expression on his mate’s face.

  If he had thought he would find her cowering in fear, he was wrong. Her slender arms were wrapped protectively around her son. And her chin was set at an angle that told him it would be a cold day in hell before she would let that cravat-wearing maniac crush her spirit.

  Relief flooded his veins, even as the sounds of panic grew in the crowded car.

  “Why aren’t the emergency lights coming on?” Lanny worried out loud.

  “That was an electromagnetic pulse,” Rexx said. “We use them in the military to disable electronics.”

  “We’re sitting ducks,” Harla moaned.

  “The ventilation system has stopped,” Lanny murmured.

  “We don’t have to worry about running out of air,” Dyrk said. “We’re about to be crushed to death. Why is no one releasing the prisoner?”

  “We’re not going to release the prisoner,” Sanders said firmly.

  “What the hell?” Duke King yelled. “I’m not dying so you can get a gold star.”

  “We do not negotiate with terrorists,” Sanders said calmly.

  “They’re not terrorists,” Earl King retorted. “They’re just a bunch of farmers, and they think that guy’s a hero.”

  “I don’t think it matters what they are,” Dr. Twinnly said. “This is a matter of life and death. There are women and children onboard.”

  Abigail was suddenly in the spotlight. She scowled.

  “They’re bluffing,” she said. “If they want to save Muncy Reeves, they’re not going to crush him in a landslide.”

  “He probably has information on all the Sons of Sirius,” Dyrk pointed out. “They’d rather see him dead than imprisoned.”

  “Sure, if he dies, he’ll be a martyr,” Harla agreed. “It’ll be great for recruitment.”

  “Shouldn’t we consider that perspective?” Dr. Twinnly asked Sanders. “For the greater good, we should release him. I’m sure you can track him down again.”

  “That’s not the point,” Tilden said, standing up from her place in the back of the car. “If we give these men what they want, we’re encouraging them to do this again. This time it’s for the freedom of a prisoner. Next time it could be for something far worse. The marshal is right. We have to stand tall. We cannot negotiate with these terrible men.”

  “Excuse me,” said the mom of the teenager. “But can’t the dragon warrior just deal with them?”

  Rexx had been waiting for someone to make just that suggestion.

  “Yeah,” Dyrk agreed. “Can’t you just go out there and blast them with your fire?”

  There was a murmur of agreement, and everyone turned to Rexx.

  “You saw how narrow that canyon was,” he said. “I wouldn’t even be able to spread my wings. They would explode everything before I could even get close to them. And for the record, I breathe lightning, not fire. But still, throwing lightning bolts around all those explosives is probably not a good plan.”

  “He’s right,” Harla said. “We should just let the prisoner go.”

  “That’s not what I’m saying,” Rexx began, trying to keep his cool and remember that civilians weren’t used to acting under this kind of pressure.

  But before he had a chance to explain, they were all talking at once again.

  “If we let him go, they’ll probably kill us anyway,” Verat said from her spot in the corner.

  “If we don’t let him go, they’ll definitely kill us,” Dyrk shot back at her. “Unless you can think of a way to get this train moving again.”

  From behind him, Abigail gasped.

  Rexx turned to face her and recognized the look on her face instantly.

  She had an idea. An idea that just might save them all.

  28

  Abigail

  The train was still, but Abigail’s thoughts were racing.

  The Peregrine ran on a Bhimani drive, and the drive was shielded. It shouldn’t have been impacted by an electromagnetic pulse.

  The Bhimani drive should still be powered. The EMP had probably just knocked out the auxiliary power and triggered the emergency circuit protectors.

  If they could just reset the circuit from the drive to the propulsion unit, they should be able to get the train going and escape.

  “I have an idea,” she said, grabbing the conductor. “Come on.”

  “What?” he asked, looking annoyed.

  “There’s a shield on the Bhimani drive,” she told him. “It would have survived the pulse. We just have to reset the power from the drive to get the train going again, I’m sure it will work.”

  “Do you need me for this?” Marshal Sanders asked, eying the agitated crowd.

  “I’ll go with them,” Rexx told him. “It looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you here.”

  Abigail led the way, with Rexx and the conductor close behind. When they reached the engine room, she glanced around to get her
bearings. It took her a moment to realize what was wrong with the picture in front of her.

  The lights were on in the engine room.

  An electromagnetic pulse would have disabled them, too.

  Which meant there was no EMP. Someone had cut off the circuits on the rest of the train, and they had timed it to coincide with the end of the video feed to make it look like the work of the criminals outside.

  They had all been so distracted that they had forgotten about the criminals inside.

  There was a click and a hiss as the door to the engine room sealed shut behind them.

  Abigail spun around to find the conductor holding a small blaster. She clutched Rio closer to her chest, cursing herself for not taking a second to leave him with Tilden and Verat before running off into danger. If anything happened to him…

  “You were too smart for your own good,” the conductor said. “You couldn’t just let it go and release the prisoner like everyone wanted. You had to try to figure it out.”

  “Y-you,” Abigail stammered. “You’re not a real conductor.”

  “Yes, me,” he chuckled. “You didn’t wonder why I always let that dingbat porter speak for me?”

  “You’re Hyndryx Gee,” Rexx said. “The missing passenger.”

  “Look at that, someone award the big Invicta a little prize,” the pseudo-conductor said sarcastically. “Yeah, I took out the real conductor and took his place before we even started moving.”

  “How did Lanny not notice?” Abigail asked.

  “She scanned his chip,” he scoffed, holding up the real conductor’s ID bracelet. “Just like she does for the rest of you.”

  “Lanny is a droid?” Abigail breathed in awe.

  “Good AI, but yeah,” he said. “Only the best for the Iron Peregrine.”

  Abigail thought back to the way the porter tipped her cap. It had reminded her of the bot at the station for a reason. Lanny had been programmed to be the perfect porter.

  “Okay, that’s enough, put the gun down,” Rexx said. “You’ve made your point, but I know you’re not going to actually hurt anyone.”

  “Sure I am,” the conductor said lightly.

  “That prisoner doesn’t really mean anything to you,” Rexx said. “Are you really going to go to jail for an idea?”

  “Are you going to shoot me?” Abigail asked. “Are you going to shoot a baby?”

  “Yes,” the conductor said simply.

  The world seemed to slide into slow motion as he leveled the blaster at her.

  Abigail curled her body around Rio, hoping to shield him as much as she could.

  She closed her eyes as the shot rang out.

  29

  Rexx

  Rexx threw himself in front of his mate and child with all the speed the dragon contained.

  There was no time to shift, even partially. No sapphire scales would protect him this time.

  He was in the air when the shot rang out and he steeled himself against the coming pain.

  He had no regrets. His life was a fair trade if he could save the only two people in the world he’d ever loved.

  In this last moment, Rexx found that he didn’t care at all about the Invicta, to whom he had dedicated his life. The only things that mattered were the woman and child he was shielding with his body.

  There was no pain. The universe had spared him that.

  He spun toward the fake conductor, intending to use his final breath to make sure the man never harmed anyone again. But the man’s confused expression stopped Rexx short. He looked down to see a crimson stain blossoming on the front of the ill-fitting conductor’s uniform.

  Rexx watched as the light drained from the man’s eyes and his lifeless body slumped to the ground, revealing Marshal Sanders standing in the doorway, smoke issuing from his regulation blaster.

  Rexx took a quick inventory. He didn’t have a scratch on him, and Abigail and Rio were untouched as well. The marshal had stopped the man before he’d done any damage.

  “Rexx,” Abigail moaned.

  “I’m fine,” he said, encircling her and Rio in his arms.

  “How did you know?” she asked Sanders.

  “After the cars were uncoupled, the broken glass was on the wrong side of the engine room door,” Sanders said. “And his uniform didn’t fit right.”

  “You knew?” Abigail breathed.

  “Was pretty sure,” Sanders allowed. “That’s why I followed you here.”

  “We’ll sort this out later,” Rexx said, remembering that they weren’t out of trouble yet. “Can you get the train moving, Abigail?”

  “On it,” she said, handing over baby Rio so she could get to work.

  Rexx watched as she bit her lip and fussed with the controls, while Rio snuggled into his chest and proceeded to go to sleep.

  “Okay, circuits are all back on,” she told them. “Hold onto your hats.”

  There was a groan and a rumble and then the sound of cheers from the passengers out in the dining car as the train began to sail along the tracks.

  “We’re through the narrow part of the pass,” Abigail said. “And we’re out.”

  Sanders let out a whoop.

  “So, there’s absolutely no danger of us getting hit by that landslide?” Rexx asked her.

  “Not anymore,” she said with a smile.

  “I’ll be back,” he told her, handing Rio back to her.

  It was his turn to go to work.

  He yanked down the hatch at the top of the engine room and pulled himself up.

  “Rexx?” Abigail called after him worriedly.

  But he was already on top of the car, shifting, allowing the dragon to take over fully.

  The men on top of the canyon were about to seriously regret putting his loved ones in danger.

  30

  Abigail

  Abigail walked arm in arm with Rexx, baby Rio asleep on her shoulder, as the pink twilight faded over the lake. It felt good to be back on solid ground after so long on the train.

  They were nearly home. Home in this case being the collection of lake cottages granted to Abigail when she adopted Rio. She was excited to finally see them.

  Tilden and Verat sauntered along beside them, chattering continually about their good fortune.

  “I can’t believe it never occurred to us to ask you exactly where you would be living,” Tilden said to Abigail.

  “Or what you would be doing for a living,” Verat added, her eyes twinkling.

  “You know, we’ve stayed at Buttermilk Falls every lake season for decades,” Tilden said for the third time.

  “We were very happy for the old owners that they won the sector lotto,” Verat said sternly, as if she could convince herself to be happy for them through fierce discipline. “But it was disconcerting, to say the least, to think that this year the place would be under new management.”

  “Well, I’m just glad we’ll have you around to help us understand how things normally run,” Abigail said. “I’ve never worked in the hotel industry before.”

  “Oh, the cottages practically run themselves,” Tilden told her. “There’s a housekeeper and a groundskeeper and of course the kitchen staff. You’ll just oversee things.”

  Abigail had never been much of a management type, but she supposed now was as good a time as any to learn. If that wild train ride had taught her anything it was that she was tougher than she had ever given herself credit for.

  “Maybe you’ll even change the policy on fireworks,” Verat said hopefully.

  “What’s the policy on fireworks?” Abigail asked.

  “None are permitted,” Tilden said. “And lucky for you, that’s a municipal rule for hotels and resorts, nothing you can do about it.”

  “Sorry, Verat,” Abigail said, feeling relieved.

  Verat shrugged. “I’ll still get to do some fishing and reading. Maybe you’ll bring back the ballroom dance teacher.”

  “That sounds nice,” Abigail said. “I love dancing.”<
br />
  “You do?” Rexx asked, smiling down at her.

  She would honestly love anything that involved being in his arms, but she wasn’t going to get cheesy in front of their friends if she could help it.

  “Do you like to dance?” she asked him.

  “I’ve never tried it,” he told her. “But I have a feeling I’ll be good at it, with the right partner.”

  “You’re certainly athletic enough,” Verat said admiringly.

  “Thank you,” he replied with a twinkly-eyed smile.

  Abigail couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so happy. The night air was cool and refreshing, and she had her son on her shoulder, her mate on her arm, and new friends by her side.

  “Oh, look, there they are,” Tilden called out, pointing into the trees up ahead.

  Sure enough, Abigail could just see the moss-roofed cottages through the trees. Warm yellow light poured from some of the windows.

  “The staff must be preparing for our arrival,” Tilden said excitedly.

  They approached the first cottage, which had a sign outside that said Buttermilk Falls Cottages.

  “Abigail Shaw,” a hover-bot cried, sailing out the front door to greet them. “Welcome to your new home.”

  “Thank you,” Abigail said. “This is baby Rio, and this is Rexx. And these two ladies are our guests.”

  “I recognize them, madam,” the bot said politely. “Welcome, Madam Tilden and Madam Verat.”

  “Hello, Clover,” Tilden said.

  “Good evening,” Verat added.

  “Your cottages have been prepared,” Clover told them. “You need only swipe your thumbprints at the door.”

  “Thank you,” Tilden told the bot.

  “The same for you, your honor and madam,” Clover said, turning to Abigail and Rexx. “I’m happy to give you a tour of your establishment at any time. But I am led to believe the late hour causes you to wish to retire.”