by J. Judkins
Kim smiled and restarted the car, relieved she had averted disaster.
Chapter Four
Kim’s procrastination worked in her favor. By the time she decided on a plan, the day was nearly over and it was far too late to try anything else. Her choices were effectively narrowed down to one, which ultimately made the decision easy to make.
Her plan was partially based upon the examples of others. People often quit their jobs with little or no notice. Kim would emulate this, weaving a work of fiction as vague as possible. The less people who knew about her new job searching for aliens, the more believable the job would sound. Details and specifics could only screw her up.
After stewing over it all day, Kim had decided to wait until after everyone else had gone home. GDI Industries didn’t have a second shift, but her boss, Jack Morrison, was a known workaholic. By coming in after-hours, Kim would only have to explain her heavily edited version of the truth once. It would be difficult burning her bridges behind her, but she didn’t see a viable alternative. Anything was better than Angel’s alternate story.
Kim strode through the main work area and paused at Jack’s open door. Her boss took no notice, didn’t even lift his head.
“Excuse me?” she called.
Jack glanced up from behind his desk.
Kim avoided meeting his eyes, primarily due to the uncomfortable nature of her purpose here, but this was not the only reason. Everyone at work knew that Jack suffered from a degenerative eye problem. He’d once described it as the image from his right eye drifting downward in relation to the left, which remained constant. If he looked down, however, nothing changed, which was why his computer monitor was set at a lower angle.
Kim’s second reason to avoid eye contact was related to the first. The monitor light shining into Jack’s face also had the disconcerting side effect of making him look evil.
“Glad you could make it,” Jack said. “You’re eight hours late.”
“Yeah, about that.” Kim stepped inside and stood behind an open chair. Her legs felt jumpy, as if they’d like nothing better than to run from the office.
“I’ve noticed you’ve been missing a lot of work,” he said.
“Yes, but there’s a reason for it.” Kim took a breath, then let it out slowly. “I’ve made a decision. I’m sorry I didn’t call in this morning, but I’ve decided to quit.”
Jack stiffened in his seat. “Just like that?”
“Uh, yes. Just like that.”
“May I ask why?”
Kim ran her hands down her sides, smoothing out her clothing. “I had a job interview today.”
“For which company?” Jack asked.
“What?”
“I’m assuming this job interview was successful.” Jack pursed his lips. “Which company? Who’s hiring you?”
Kim blinked. That sort of information would have been useful, but it was now too late to do anything about it.
“I can’t recall,” she stammered, “but the job is real.”
“What will you be doing?”
“It involves investigation,” Kim said, wincing even as she said it. Her plan to use vague answers had sounded better in the car.
“Investigating what?”
“I’m not supposed to say.”
Jack kept up the pressure. “You’re not sure?”
“Why wouldn’t I be sure? I didn’t say I wasn’t sure. I’m just not supposed to say. It’s complicated.” Wow, that sounded stupid.
Jack’s fingertips drummed his desk as his eyes narrowed. “This isn’t like you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve never missed a day for years. But lately, you’ve been calling in sick, missing work without calling in . . .”
“If this is about Angel—”
“No one’s even mentioned her,” he interrupted. “Are you saying this is about her?”
“I’m going to be working with her,” Kim said, which was more or less true.
Jack sighed and pushed his keyboard away. “Listen, Kim. We’ve known each other for years. You can tell me the truth.”
Kim grimaced and ran a hand through her hair. The truth? Telling the truth was the last thing she wanted to do. She should have phoned it in. Coming in person had been a mistake. If she’d phoned in her excuse, she could have avoided any sort of personal confrontation. Even using Angel’s idea would have given her the entire weekend to find a different solution.
Okay, maybe not Angel’s plan. Angel’s would have been a temporary solution at best. Her quest to find aliens for the purpose of rejecting them was only the beginning.
It all came down to trust.
Their relationship in the bedroom thus far had been decidedly one-sided on Angel’s part. Angel had seduced her on that special night, less than a week ago. At the time, Kim had yet to confront Angel regarding her suspicious “memory loss” story, or to demand answers about her extraordinary nature. That lack of trust made it easy for Kim to resist loving Angel in return. She simply hadn’t been sure. What were Angel’s true intentions? Did Angel genuinely care about her? Was she using her for her own nefarious ends, thinking she had Kim fooled?
Their relationship had improved since then. Angel made no secret she wanted Kim to return her love. To counter further resistance, Angel had taken it upon herself to solve Kim’s “lack of trust” issues directly by making herself appear more trustworthy. Not the way anyone else would do it, though. In typical Angel fashion, she’d done things backward.
A normal person might spend years cultivating a reputation for honesty. But that would have taken too long. Instead, Angel had started searching for physical proof to back up her claims, to prove she hadn’t been lying all along.
Given Angel’s faulty memory, it had been an uphill battle. Angel had done her best to reassure Kim that her love would endure, even should her memories return; Kim still had her doubts. How could Angel know for certain her current life was better than her previous life, when she couldn’t even remember it?
Kim wanted it to be true, but she also feared to know the truth for certain. Why take a chance, and potentially ruin a good thing? She was happy with the way things were.
As for the physical act itself, Kim considered it to be the single most intimate thing she could ever imagine doing. Giving in would signify a long-term commitment that she wasn’t prepared to embrace. The implications were clear: taking that final step, reciprocating Angel’s affections in the bedroom, would mean she truly loved Angel.
And then there was the marriage thing.
Oh, yes. Let’s not forget the marriage thing.
Angel wasn’t content to have sex with her every night and twice on Sundays. She wanted to get married. Until meeting Angel, Kim hadn’t even entertained the prospect of marriage. Now, it was all she could do to discourage Angel from picking out the wedding date and somehow tricking her into marital bliss. Kim knew she wasn’t an expert in romance by any stretch of the imagination, but she knew an established pattern when she saw one. How could people be in a committed relationship if they didn’t actually commit?
“Are you all right?” Jack asked.
Kim looked to the heavens and wrung her hands, not noticing Jack staring at her as if she were insane. Was this her future? Was she destined to marry Angel, a woman who may be a highly advanced, walking, talking, state-of-the-art piece of technology—assuming she didn’t turn out to be a designed (rather than born) alien life-form from another planet?
It wasn’t as if she doubted Angel’s devotion, but getting married? Lifetime commitments? That was taking things too far! Her private life was supposed to be private. Marrying someone wasn’t something she could keep hidden from friends and family. Everyone would know. And it was permanent.
“Kim?”
“What?”
“You were daydreaming.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Jack closed his eyes. A fingernail tapped the desk. “If something’s troubling you . .
.”
“You wouldn’t understand,” Kim insisted.
“Try me.”
Kim snorted. Yeah, right. There was no way in hell she would ever tell him.
“Angel wants to marry me,” she blurted. Her eyes widened in horror and she stomped her foot. “Dammit, I didn’t mean to say that!”
“Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“No, you don’t understand. She wants to get married to me.”
Jack’s brow furrowed. “And you’d rather she didn’t?”
“Ha! Why would I? Do you know what Angel wanted me to tell you? Do you? She wanted me to walk into your office and inform you that we’re eloping this weekend, and then tell you I’m quitting because we’re spending the rest of our lives together wherever we end up on our honeymoon.”
“And you don’t want to.”
“Of course not. I don’t want to elope. Or have a big wedding. Or anything!”
“Okay.”
“Look, just because I like her a lot and think about her all the damned time and . . . and things, it doesn’t mean I’m in love with her.”
“Okay.”
Kim put her hands on her hips. “What exactly are you accusing me of?”
Jack gave Kim a diplomatic, neutral look that suggested, without actually saying it, that it was possible she might be in a state of denial.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Kim snapped with an indignant huff. “Even if I was zoning out thinking of her, that doesn’t prove anything.”
“Then why are you so upset?”
“I’m not upset, dammit!”
“Kim, you don’t have to rush into anything. Take your time.”
Kim barked another laugh. “I haven’t even asked her to marry me, and she thinks I’ve asked her twice.”
“Were you planning on it?”
“Apparently, I just haven’t mustered up the courage to do it yet.” Kim leaned her full weight against the chair and glared out at nothing. “It doesn’t matter. It’s a foregone conclusion. Angel and I are going to get married, and I’m going to ask her sometime in the not-too-distant future, whether I want to or not.”
“I think you really—”
“This is all her fault. She planned this somehow! I’m stuck in a relationship that’s about to escalate into marriage, and the best I can hope for is to hold her off for a week or two, if I’m lucky, or this freaking weekend if I’m not!”
“If you’re not prepared for this—”
Kim rubbed the back of her neck. “I only told Angel I loved her one time. One time. Being coerced doesn’t count.”
“Kim.” Jack rose to his feet. “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready.”
The tactic worked. Kim felt herself calming down. “What’s wrong with me?” she moaned. “I never meant to say any of that.”
“Are you quitting your job because of her?”
“Not . . . directly.”
“Take a vacation,” he said.
“What?”
“Take a vacation,” Jack repeated. “I believe you have around two weeks available. Tomorrow is Friday. Why not take next week off to think about it? Your job will still be here, waiting for you if you want it.”
“But I’ve already accepted the other job.”
He blinked. “The job is real?”
Kim winced anew. “I don’t have the details—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jack cut her off. “Take the vacation. Don’t rush into anything you might regret.”
Chapter Five
Kim followed Angel through the rainy city streets, her hands stuffed deep into her pockets. Of the two, only Angel seemed not to care about the dismal weather. Winter was coming, but it wasn’t here yet.
She pulled out her cell phone and activated it for the second time that hour. The text message from her father that morning hadn’t changed. Not that she’d expected it to.
Dad: Dinner tonight?
It had taken Kim over an hour before she could muster the courage to agree, and she’d been second-guessing her decision ever since. The implications had been enough to throw Kim’s entire morning into turmoil.
As far as she knew, her relationship with her parents wasn’t anything unusual. Kim would occasionally drag one or both of them out to a movie they normally wouldn’t see, or visit them to enjoy a taste of homemade cooking. Other times, one or the other would make the journey to meet her at her condominium. They rarely offered a reason for doing so, but that was nothing new.
Nightfall was fast approaching, and she still hadn’t told Angel. Kim had yet to settle on a reason why.
A meeting between Angel and her parents would certainly mark a turning point in their relationship. Dad would have questions, and Kim wasn’t looking forward to answering them. She’d never been one to share private information. If it were up to her, her parents would only find out about Angel after Kim brought her home for Thanksgiving dinner. Perhaps not even then.
And yet, wasn’t the meeting inevitable? Angel was a part of her life now.
Kim missed a step.
Angel’s hand snapped out and pulled her upright, saving her from a painful fall. “Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes filled with concern.
“I’m fine.” Kim picked up the pace as if nothing had happened. Internally, though, she was shaken. I can’t imagine life without her? When did I start thinking like that?
Kim put the matter from her mind. All this marriage talk must be getting to me.
They walked toward Brookings Pharmaceutical. Kim had seen a few advertisements for their prescription medicines and over-the-counter drugs here and there, but had never had personal dealings with them. This particular office was for managers and their support staff—wage-slave commoners like herself. Manufacturing was handled elsewhere.
Their destination came into sight. “What exactly are we doing here, Angel?”
Angel’s expression became curt with a hint of exasperation. “I told you before. Mr. Friedman works at Brookings Pharmaceutical as an operations manager. He vanished three and a half weeks ago and reappeared three days later. He fits the pattern.”
Kim was familiar with Angel’s theory, based upon the example of her own memory loss. In an effort to uncover more about herself, Angel had compiled a list of scientists, doctors, and prominent businessmen who’d theoretically been taken, altered, and quietly returned to their homes days later with no one the wiser.
Even more bizarre than the outlandish theory, however, was knowing that there seemed to be something to it. Angel had hacked into their new employer’s computers during her rescue mission. As it turned out, they’d had their own list of suspects—a list which closely matched Angel’s.
“At present, Blackgate hasn’t devoted any of its resources toward monitoring their activities.”
“Blackgate?” Kim frowned in puzzlement. “What’s that?”
Angel gave Kim a look that seemed to suggest she wasn’t at all sure if Kim was an idiot or not, but had decided to err on the side of caution and assume she was. “You remember a scientist named Dr. Harrison, do you not? Fairly tall? Brown hair? He wore a lab coat and worked in a large black building. His men took you captive. Shortly after being rescued, you asked him for a job to find aliens in order to ‘steal their toys,’ and—”
“Of course I remember that,” Kim snapped. “Pardon me for not noticing the ‘Welcome to Blackgate’ sign on the way in. I was being kidnapped at the time.”
“Mr. Friedman appears on both Blackgate’s list and mine as a person of interest,” Angel said. “I believe that if we’re able to determine the specific reason why each individual was taken, it might provide clues as to the aliens’ plan or ultimate objective.”
“Unless they were snapping up people at random, hoping to throw investigators off their trail.”
Angel’s expression turned sour. “Your theory is less than helpful.”
“I try.”
The entryway stretched up into a multileve
l atrium. Numerous offices could be seen on every floor. A long information desk extended from one end of the lobby to the other. Six interlocked chairs and a directory broke the pattern of office suites situated on the opposite side.
They passed a man in a dark business suit; he simply stood there, reading a newspaper. The unusual sight made Kim frown. Do they even make newspapers anymore?
“What’s special about Friedman?” Kim asked.
“I believe he was taken, his memory was altered, and he was put back.”
“I mean, any idea why anyone would want him specifically?”
“He’s an operations manager.”
“You said that already.”
Angel sighed. “That’s all the information I have. We’re here to uncover more and hopefully form a workable theory.”
Kim started for the directory, but Angel stopped her with a hand on her arm. “He works on the sixteenth floor,” she said.
“Do we have a plan?”
“We should interview him.”
“If you’ve already researched enough to know which floor he’s on, don’t you already know the questions the media asked about his disappearance?”
“I’m familiar with all of those questions, yes, but seeing him in person could reveal additional information.”
“We can’t just walk up unannounced and demand an interview.”
“That wasn’t my intention. We’ll take the elevator.”
Angel walked away before Kim could thump her.
While they waited at the elevator doors, Kim took a closer look around. A bored security guard stood at the main desk, eyes vacant, not even glancing at the occasional foot traffic. Another stood with his arms crossed, his back against the stairway door. Both were armed with handguns, but the man at the stairway also carried a smaller orange device on his belt that Kim didn’t recognize.
Kim gave him a half-hearted wave. The man’s expression didn’t change.
“Is there something wrong with the stairs?” she asked.
Angel answered instead, apparently assuming Kim’s question had been meant for her. “It would be inefficient to use the stairs.”
“No, I meant this guy is guarding the stairs.” Kim deliberately spoke loud enough for the man to hear. His unfriendly attitude was getting on her nerves.
