Trent emerged through the white tunnel and Whitney gave him a hug. They were both wearing their Kevlar and neoprene form fitting suits. The amazing material could stretch to hug the contours of their bodies.
The golden suits with silver stripes down the sides allowed the fit couple to show off their beautiful bodies. They sat down in another plush cabin and looked through the long viewport at a blue planet, similar to earth. This planet was substantially bigger, but it appeared to be mainly ocean or water covered.
Whitney overheard a crew member messaging the Captain. The green being pressed a button on the wall and said, “We’re all aboard. Proceed when ready.”
The ship turned around and built up speed to break through the atmosphere of Centimore.
4
The shuttle hovered about ten meters above ground before making a soft landing at a spaceport. Ozzie had informed them that they would need to take a plane to Marigold to find the conspirators. Whitney grabbed her case. She and Trent waited behind some alien beings.
They made it to the front of the exit and the door slammed shut. A silver intercom on the right side of the door spoke.
“Planet of origin please?”
Whitney leaned in closer to the small device. “Earth 43.”
A small dispenser dropped a white pill into a small red cup. Whitney scooped out the pill and threw it into her mouth. She forced down the nasty tasting white oval and tried not to gag. The door slid open and Whitney stepped onto a spongy surface.
Trent jumped out of the spacecraft a few moments later and the couple headed for the terminal. Aerodynamic cars and hovercrafts zipped toward the futuristic clear terminal. The long building appeared to be made of glass with silver braces and supports around the frame.
She punched Trent in the shoulder. “Obi Wan Kenobi.”
Trent rubbed his shoulder, “What the hell? You want to watch Star Wars now?”
“I was trying to figure out who Ozzie looked like. Am I right?”
Trent scrunched his face. “The old one or the young one?”
Whitney shook her head. “I mean the one who looks like Ozzie right now. Forget it.”
They walked through the open sliding door and into a large crowd of aliens scurrying around. Beings of different colors, shapes and sizes filled the open room. Shiny silver walls stung her eyes as she walked around aimlessly on a red carpet.
Whitney got excited, trying not to stare at all the interesting creatures. She almost lost her mind when she saw a weretiger wearing a three-piece suit and dragging a rolling suitcase. She tried to focus on the job at hand and ignore her curiosity for now.
A wall covered with large monitors highlighting flight schedules caught Whitney’s eye. She and Trent headed in that direction.
“Alright, we need to go to Marigold.” Whitney pointed at the black screen with red lettering. She found the next flight to Marigold.
She and Trent walked down a long narrow walkway to get to Gate 13. Whitney noticed a lot of silver walls, chairs and counters offset by the bright red carpeting.
They boarded a jet similar to a 737 with DVC189 written on the wing of the plane. The black aircraft had golden wings and a long cabin with comfortable seating. The cabin was only half-full of aliens, who were staring at them. They arrived at Marigold in about an hour.
“Ozzie told us we need to go to Ridmore by way of the HyperLoop and then we need to check out that list of bars on our armScreens,” Whitney told Trent as she tried to figure out where they were going.
“Alright, there’s the sign right over there.” Trent pointed as they moved through the AirPort.
They took an elevator to a small building where the couple used their respective armPads to purchase tickets on the Loop.
The HyperLoop sat on a 40-meter high, raised concrete track. The next ride to Ridmore pulled up. The cars looked like four connected red train cars. The door to the ticket office opened and they got into the third car and sat down on a silver bench.
Advertisements for whiskey and scotch played on wallPads hanging from the roof. The HyperLoop started slowly and built up speed. The verdant landscape 40 meters below whipped by as Whitney gazed out the window.
They arrived at Ridmore and entered a city with skyscrapers and buildings that would rival the biggest cities on earth. Whitney stood on the sidewalk and pulled the dead flesh over her armScreen aside. She still hadn’t gotten used to the leathery skin.
She brought up the list of bars. “Alcohol Invasion, The Buzzed Being, Glint’s Glare, Space Shots or The Wet Road?”
“Huh? Which one is closest?” Trent asked with his head cocked to the side.
Whitney quickly checked out the distances on her armScreen. “The Buzzed Being. I have to give them credit on some pretty good bar names.”
Trent nodded as they waited to cross a street. “They are pretty good. How far is that bar from here?”
“Just a couple streets away it says on here. Let me just do some conversion real quick.” She tapped away on the armScreen as they crossed the street. “Only about eight hundred-feet away.”
They waited for a neon green hovercraft to cruise by and the couple crossed the black street. The door below the sign marked The Buzzed Being automatically opened as they approached. Trent had to duck under the small doorframe to get in.
A huge pale blue being guarded the door. He had closely shaved black hair and a nose with wide nostrils like a pig. He stared at the couple as they entered. The bouncer followed them with his suspicious eyes as they walked toward the long silver bar on the right-hand side.
Pool tables and high-top tables for eating and drinking were set up on the left. Whitney sat on a black seat cushion over a three-legged stool and noticed a small robot with the body shape of R2D2 gliding on a track. The droid slid over to a bright orange being with long white hair.
She counted four beings at the bar and about a dozen in the poolroom. Whitney had to catch herself from staring at the unique beings around the open room. Trent pressed the red button on the bar and Whitney looked up some popular drinks on her armScreen.
“Most of the drinks are whiskey, vodka or rum based so I assume you want something with whiskey?”
“That would probably be best.” Trent tried to get comfortable on the backless stool.
Whitney leafed through an expansive list of drinks. “Alright, how about a Twisted Craft. It’s whiskey, cinnamon soda and a squeeze of vanilla.”
“Order it up. It says we’re next in the queue, here,” Trent pointed at the button for ordering drinks.
The droid bartender glided down the track and stopped in front of Trent and Whitney.
A computerized voice said, “Can I please take your drink order?”
Whitney answered, “Yes, can we have a Twisted Craft and a Star Seeker please?”
Red lights flashed on the front of the silver droid. It said, “Calculating. That will be 4.91 trolodytes please.”
Whitney pulled the patch of skin to the side to expose her armScreen. She held it in front of the droid and said, “Scan it.”
The droid emitted a red laser that bounced around Whitney’s armScreen until it found the spot it was looking for. The beam turned green and the droid said, “Thank you. Your drinks will be right out.” The droid bartender zipped down to the other end of the bar.
About a minute later, a turquoise skinned female with bowling ball sized breasts and golden hair came through a side door and walked behind the bar. She wore a shimmering silver dress that could barely contain her voluptuous curves. She stared at Trent as she set the two drinks down.
“Is that the Star Seeker?” Whitney asked, pointing at the drink in front of her.
The female being with a soothing voice said, “No honeybunny, that’s the Twisted Craft.”
She lingered for a few moments, waiting for a tip. Tipping hadn’t crossed Whitney ‘s mind and she didn’t even know how to do it. She didn’t have any hard currency to just hand out. Everything was being
run out of the computer device in her arm.
The server shook her ass as she went to get more drinks.
Whitney turned to Trent. “She seems to like you. Did you hear her call me honeybunny? Like she had just watched Pulp Fiction or something.”
Trent agreed. “That was strange. Ozzie did say they get all their pop culture and sayings from earth, so it kind of makes sense.”
The barstools proved to be uncomfortable and Whitney and Trent ended up standing at the end of the bar near the entrance. A few more people trickled in but the bar was still empty. The half-breeds of animals caught Whitney’s eye. She had read books about were-creatures that walked upright like humans, but none of the literature had prepared her for the real thing.
They had a few drinks and Whitney’s head started to buzz. She hadn’t been drinking much since her son’s birth.
She took another sip of her raspberry flavored drink. “Come here. Let’s have a little space smooch.”
Trent framed Whitney’s face with his powerful hand and planted a soft kiss on Whitney’s silky lips.
“So it’s still pretty early in the day here. I guess this place will start to fill up later. I don’t see anyone here that fits the profile of anyone involved in the heist. Except for that weird looking guy that keeps coming out of that side door and staring at us. Have you noticed him?” Whitney indicated the side door with her eyes.
Trent smiled. “Don’t go cross-eyed now. I did notice that dude. He’s done it four times already. He comes out, walks over by the pool tables and pretends he’s doing something. Then he stares us down the entire walk back.”
Whitney nodded in agreement. “Exactly. I wish I had got to studying the descriptions of her partners. Are you getting hungry?”
“I was just going to ask you about that. I’m starving.” Trent set his empty cup back on the bar.
Whitney reached into her rectangular black case and pulled out the small cylindrical case. She took out two pills. She handed one to Trent and put the other one on her tongue.
She took a small sip of the drink to get the pill down. On realizing that Trent didn’t have a drink, she handed him the red liquid. Trent took a small sip and swallowed the pill. Whitney finished the Star Seeker and hit the red button to summon the bartender again.
The droid came over and took the same drink order. Whitney held up her screen. “Scan it.”
The droid responded, “This round of drinks is on the owner. No need for payment.”
“Should we tip?” Whitney had figured out that you could tip when you paid for the drink.
The droid’s red lights flashed. “No need to tip. Tip has been accounted for.”
She became suspicious and turned to Trent. “Why is the owner paying for our drinks?”
Trent shrugged his shoulders. “Better question. Who the hell is the owner?”
Whitney scanned the bar, trying to figure out who was the owner. “Let’s just watch our drinking for a while. Let’s slow it down so we don’t end up being probed on an examination table later. Ozzie said that we could be targets to some of the sick criminals on this planet. Apparently, this is where the worst of the worst hang out.”
Trent went to use the bathroom and Whitney gripped the handles of both of their suitcases. She was already buzzed and didn’t want to risk losing their possessions. She faced the bar and watched the droid bartender taking orders about ten meters away.
A strong scent of nasty cologne filled her nostrils. A rough hand landed on her hip and slid up to her stomach. She spun around. A weretiger in silver spandex was encroaching on her personal space.
He thrust his crotch forward and smiled sleazily, exposing several missing teeth. His entire head looked like it had been removed from a tiger and planted onto the body of a human. His hands were a mix between paws and normal human hands, but they were covered in orangish-brown fur streaked in white and black.
He lowered his head and peered at her through a set of dark eyes. He spoke in a deep voice. “Have you ever been with a lover that could kill you with his hands? Makes it dangerous, if you know what I mean.” He purred and licked his lips.
Whitney stepped to her left to get away from the sleazy tiger. “Flirtation by death threat. That’s a new one for me, but I’m already spoken for, so thank you.”
He shook his head slowly and said, “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I think I’ll take my chances, thanks.” Whitney took another step to her left.
The weretiger slumped his shoulders and said, “I’ll be back when you’ve had a few drinks to loosen you up.”
He turned and walked away. Whitney was surprised to notice that he didn’t have a tail. She would have spotted the appendage if it had been tucked into the spandex suit.
Trent rushed over. “You alright? What’s going on here?”
Whitney smiled. “Just getting hit on by a weretiger. NBD.”
Trent’s facial features twisted in a questioning manner. “What the hell does that mean?”
“No big deal. I guess I could have said no biggie, but I thought I’d be cool.”
Trent laughed. “Oh, you are cool, baby. I can’t even go to the bathroom for a few minutes without you getting hit on.”
Whitney handed him a fresh drink. “What can I say, I am universally irresistible apparently.”
The shady man who kept coming out of the side door awkwardly approached Trent and Whitney. He kept trying to make it seem like he wasn’t looking in their direction when he obviously was. The man had ivory skin with a strange uneven golden glaze over it. The long black hair, tied in a ponytail, hung to the small of his back and he had a long beard and a mustachio of equal length.
He looked like a strange alien wizard as he extended his hand toward Trent. “Glint Chesswell. Owner of this establishment. I hope you enjoyed the free drinks.”
He didn’t shake Whitney’s hand and she took it as a slight.
Trent said, “Thank you. That was very kind of you, but it does make me a little suspicious of ulterior motive.”
Glint let out an awkward laugh that did little to comfort Whitney. The man said, “No. Not at all. I’m a business man. If I buy patrons a few drinks, they keep coming back. It’s just business, nothing else. How did you two make it here? You look like Earth 43 humans.”
Whitney had been rehearsing the story in her head. “We were abducted.”
“By whom?” The tall man asked as he curled his mustachio in his left hand.
He made Whitney nervous but she took a deep breath. “We don’t know. They took us and probed us for what seemed like months.”
The owner looked Whitney up and down. “I can’t blame them. I would have done the same thing myself. Do you still have your memories of earth?”
Whitney had trouble fighting off the urge to shoot him a dirty look. “They told us we were from Earth 43, but I don’t remember anything from home. It was all so strange. They put these touchScreens in our arms and dropped us off here. We don’t really know what we are doing.”
A twinkle in Glint’s eyes made Whitney feel more confident. The owner said, “Great, they swabbed your minds. I mean, I have a way that I might be able to get you two home. If that’s what you want?” He let the last word linger.
Whitney responded. “Yes, that would be great, but how are you going to do that?”
The huge-breasted server dropped off another round of drinks. Glint licked the rim and took a drink of his gold-tinted beverage. “Let’s just say that I might need some help on a project of mine right now. Very simple job. You two would just act as a lookout. Once the job is over, I’ll make sure you make enough to get you back home, no questions asked.”
“What’s the job?” Whitney asked bluntly.
The man used his hand to comb through his beard. “Very easy. As I said, you will just be looking out for, how should I say this, unexpected guests. You would serve to alert us if something should arise. All you will have to do is sound an alarm
so there isn’t even any danger involved.”
“We are very interested.” Whitney didn’t know why she said that. She presumptuously assumed this man was connected to Roxelle.
“This is all preliminary right now so nothing is etched in stone, so to speak. I need to talk to my associates to find out if you two will be the correct fit for our plan, but I am rather certain this will happen.” Glint winked at Whitney and she felt the urge to throw up.
The owner tried to keep awkward small talk going for a while until he slid back into the side door.
Trent turned to her. “Why did you agree to that? We don’t even know what this plan is and who is involved.”
Whitney smiled. “I’m pretty sure I know who he is. I checked my Screen while you were in the bathroom before the weretiger groped me. The owner of the bar is in cahoots with Roxelle.” She whispered the last sentence to her man.
Trent’s eyes opened wide. “Alright, now we’re talking.”
Even though she was positive it was he, doubt forced her to make sure. She held her forearm under the bar so nobody else could see. She checked first and a warm rush flowed over her heart. She showed Trent a picture of the owner with his name and physical description.
“I would say that this was a spot of luck, but that would be the understatement of the millennia.”
“Now we just need to stay alive. Simple enough, right?”
Trent laughed. “We’ve somehow managed up to this point.”
The owner came back out and got Whitney’s Screen number so he could call her with the answer. Glint had asked if they needed a place to stay, but Whitney told him they had already set up accommodations.
Whitney texted a hoverCab service to pick them up and take them to their lodgings. The fluorescent yellow hovercraft looked like a flying car. It had the appearance of a slightly bigger, more aerodynamic sports car from earth.
The hoverCab zipped in between tall buildings and flew over the smaller ones. They made it to the rental space in about five minutes. Whitney paid the fare and Trent carried their bags up to a free standing small house. The place looked like a small, futuristic cottage. Most of the building was made from a smooth, white stone with huge clear windows on either side of the front door.
Cosmic Diamonds (Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventures Book 4) Page 4
