A Touch of Frost

by S. E. Smith

  He jerked back to the present when he heard the screen door suddenly open. Lacey’s frantic call and the fear in her voice drove him out of the room and down the hallway. He had reached the front door at the same time as one of the men in black grabbed Lacey roughly by the arms.

  Fury drove him through the doorway and out onto the front porch. His eyes swept to where she was looking just in time to see Little Bit flash from the barn in defense of Lacey and the other male draw a weapon. His hands rose without thinking. Icy bursts flashed across the yard encasing the man’s hand and the weapon in it. At the same time, he turned and sent another burst toward the man trying to dislodge the puppy whose head had suddenly grown in size along with his teeth.

  “Shoot him,” Redman yelled, turning toward Frost. “Shoot them both.”

  Frost shot a burst of ice at Redman, who dove to the side. The side of the black SUV sizzled as the icy burst hit the warm metal. His eyes followed Redman as he rolled and came up on one knee.

  “I’ll order my man to kill her if you so much as move a hair,” Redman threatened as he rose to his feet. “Grip the post of the porch. Do it or I’ll have him put a bullet in her.”

  Frost briefly glared at the man before his eyes moved to where another man stood over Lacey’s unconscious form lying in the dirt. His gaze flickered back and forth several times before he reluctantly stepped forward and gripped the white post.

  “Now call off that creature or it can join its mother,” Redman demanded, not looking at where his agent still fought with Little Bit. “Now!”

  Frost’s lip curled back in a sneer, but he called out to Little Bit. The puppy immediately released the man’s pant leg taking almost half the material from below the knee with her. She released a brief, sharp yelp before she sank down into the dirt when the man used his ice covered fist against the side of her head.

  “I knew she was hiding something,” Redman gloated as he took a step closer. “What are you?”

  Frost ignored the male. His eyes were glued on Lacey. He would kill every one of the bastards if they hurt her. His hands tightened around the wooden post when he saw another male approach where she was lying.

  “She is innocent,” Frost replied instead. “Leave her.”

  Redman glanced at another one of his men that stood at the far end of the porch, an air rifle held snugly to his shoulder. A calculating look entered his eyes as he studied the large man standing on the porch. The piercing blue eyes, glowing brightly with barely contained rage, told him that there was no way the male would cooperate… without a little persuasion.

  “Restrain her and load her up,” Redman ordered loudly.

  Frost’s eyes turned at his words. The promise of death glittered from them as he stared into Redman’s one good eye. He could feel the primitive rage building inside him. He was programmed genetically to fight and protect those that he loved. He was a warrior first.

  “She is human,” he snarled. “Release her and I will go with you.”

  “You’ll go with me anyway,” Redman replied with a sneer. “Shoot him.”

  Frost jerked as several darts embedded in his neck, back, and thigh. His vision blurred. He fought to stay conscious, but his mind grew cloudy from the drug inside the darts. He slowly slid down the post as another dart struck him. His knees struck the hard wooden surface of the porch. He dimly watched as Lacey was placed inside the second SUV before he rolled off the porch, landing on the hard ground below. His mind rebelled for a moment before darkness descended around him as the drug finally took effect.

  Redman walked over to the large body lying in the red dirt. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and flicked it open. He nodded to the men to restrain the unusual male and place him into the first SUV.

  It was time to cash in on his retirement policy. The government might like to know about this, but there were wealthier, more powerful, men in the world that would actually pay him something for this. After three decades with the government, he would’ve been lucky if he could afford to live in a mobile home in Florida with the retirement savings he had earned. With the two of them and the strange pup, he would probably be able to buy Florida if he wanted.

  His eyes shifted to the house. He wondered what other unusual treasures he might discover. He waited as the phone rang on the other end. The moment the voice on the other end picked up, he grinned.

  “I have something you might be interested in,” he said shortly. “The price has gone up considerably, though. Fifty million dollars.”

  There was a short pause on the other end. “Where?”

  “I’ll bring it to you,” Redman replied. “Send a private jet. This isn’t something you want others to know about.”

  “It will be there at nine o’clock tonight,” Alice replied before the line went dead.

  “Search the house,” he ordered to the man who had tranquilized the male. “Bring me anything that is unusual or out of the ordinary.”

  “Sir, Team Four said the local law enforcement just turned onto the road leading here,” one of the men called out.

  Redman’s eyes followed the four men as they carried the male and placed him in the back of the lead SUV. That could be a problem if not taken care of immediately. His lips tightened into a hard line. He was not about to lose this opportunity.

  “Tell them to take him out,” Redman replied, slipping his gun back into the harness under his jacket. “I want no witnesses. Make it look like an accident.”

  “Yes, sir,” the man replied. “Take him out. No witnesses.”

  Redman climbed into the front seat of the first SUV. He glanced over his shoulder as one of his men set up a drip line containing a powerful sedative. He turned in his seat, ignoring the sweat sliding down from his hairline and making a wet track along his back.

  “Gentlemen, we are about to become very, very wealthy,” he said, turning up the air conditioning as two out of the three vehicles pulled away. His eye focused on the unconscious figure for a brief moment in the passenger mirror before he reached into his pocket and withdrew his sunglasses and slid them on. “Very, very wealthy,” he murmured again, stretching his legs out in front of him.

  He was unaware of the tiny mouse that had jumped into the vehicle with him when he opened the door to the SUV or the fact that it hid silently under his seat.

  Chapter 15

  Frost gritted his teeth to keep from groaning as he slowly regained consciousness. His head was pounding and his stomach churned with nausea. It wasn’t the first time he had been in a bad situation, but it was up there with the ones that sucked the most. His eyes popped open and he strained to free his arms as he remembered what happened.

  “Lacey,” he yelled.

  “That is the name of the woman that was delivered along with him,” a voice commented.

  Frost turned his head to glare at the woman standing next to two men. The woman was wearing a long white cover while the two men were dressed in clothing similar to the male back at Lacey’s home. She held a small electronic device in her hand that she lowered as she stared back at him with a frown.

  “His eyes are glowing,” she observed. “I will need to determine the makeup of them to see if this enhances his vision. Perhaps for darkness or if he uses thermal temperature to gauge shapes, sizes, and location of objects.”

  Frost turned his head until he was staring up at the ceiling. Multiple series of silver conduits ran along it. He drew in several deep breaths to calm the burning rage and fear flowing through him as he wondered what they had done with Lacey. He needed to know before he killed them.

  “Where is Lacey?” He demanded in a cold voice.

  He caught the woman’s movement out of his peripheral vision. The two men next to her started to protest, but their voices faded when she waved her hand. He turned his head slightly when she stopped next to the table he was strapped to.

  “Mrs. Adams is currently secured in another observation room,” the
woman said, staring down at him with a curious gaze. “If you cooperate with me, she will remain safe. If you try to fight or escape, I’ve given orders to hurt her without prejudice to keep you under control. Do you understand what that means?”

  “I will kill you or anyone else who harms her,” Frost replied steadily. “She is human. She has no value to you.”

  “Yes, well, she has value to you which makes her valuable to us,” the woman replied. “You obviously are intelligent, can organize thought, and have mastered at least one language. How many other languages can you speak?”

  Frost flashed the woman a nasty smile. “One thousand and forty-three, including yours,” he replied. “Some of which would shatter your eardrums if I were to speak them. Would you like to hear one?”

  The woman gave him a nervous smile and stepped back with a shake of her head. She raised her hand and waved her fingers. A technician wearing a dark green outfit stepped closer, pushing a small, silver tray.

  Frost jerked when he saw the clear container holding Taar. The Learian was growling and clawing at the sides. The woman nodded to the technician who quickly slid on a pair of long, rubber gloves.

  “My backers want additional proof that aliens exist. This specimen is somewhat, questionable, as to how impressed they would be compared to the cost of their investment. I’ve decided that a… sample might be in order. As I really only need one of you intact for future research, I thought I would start with him,” the woman explained. “Your friend is a nasty little thing, but very vocal… and quite willing to give me some very useful information, Star Ranger Frost. He expressed his desire to see you and the female, Lacey Adams, eliminated.”

  “I told you, Ranger,” Taar called out in a loud voice. “You are going to die! I hoped to be the one to do it, but watching will be just as enjoyable. Especially, when it is time to kill the woman.”

  Dread burned in Frost’s chest as the woman nodded to the technician. The technician picked up a small syringe and inserted it into the top of the plastic container. Several tiny drops of liquid fell from the end of the needle. Immediately, a smoky fog rose to fill the container.

  Frost watched as Taar began to cough. The Learian fell to one knee, grabbing at his throat. Within seconds, Taar fell over onto his side where he kicked and clawed several times before he lay still. The woman and the technician waited a few extra seconds before the man in green unscrewed the lid.

  The technician used a pair of tongs to gently pick up Taar’s unconscious body. The woman slid a small flat piece of foam board beneath his body as the technician carefully lowered him onto it. Alice quickly slid on a pair of matching black gloves that were lying on the tray.

  She gently rolled Taar onto his back and spread his arms and legs. Once she was satisfied with the way she had arranged the Learian’s body, she picked up a long, straight pin with a small loop on the end of it.

  Frost watched in horror as the woman stabbed it through the center of Taar’s hand. She quickly did the same to his other hand and both of his feet. Once she had staked Taar out, she picked up a small pair of sharp pointed scissors and cut the pink flowered dress from his body.

  Acid burned in his throat as he watched Taar’s head begin to move. He had thought they had killed the bastard, but they had only knocked him unconscious. As much as he hated the assassin, watching him being tortured was not a death that Frost condoned. He believed in killing fast.

  Taar’s hoarse screams pierced the air as he woke. Panic swept over the scarred face as he struggled fruitlessly against the pins impaled through his hands and feet. He snarled and hissed at the woman as she picked up a sharp scalpel.

  “You see, he is really too small to be of much use and showed no other signs of being different than a common lizard except for his ability to speak. Interesting,… even though his voice was deep, I assumed from his attire that he was a female. From the shape of his genitals, I believe the creature is a male,” the woman noted casually.

  Frost grimaced when she efficiently sliced through Taar’s balls and cock. Screams resonated through the air. The woman leaned over and picked up the sliced tissue with a pair of tweezers. Turning, she placed it in a round dish next to Taar’s writhing body.

  “Hold him,” the woman ordered sharply to the technician.

  Frost watched as the technician reached for Taar. His only wish was that it had been the woman instead. He saw the Learian’s deadly tail rise and swing out at the technician’s gloved finger.

  He knew the sharp spikes would puncture the thin covering. No matter how small the Learian was, he carried a deadly poison in the spikes. A drop was enough to kill a large mammal within seconds at his normal size. At this size, it would take minutes and it would be an excruciating death.

  The male yelled out as the three prongs embedded in his finger. Out of reflex, the male jerked his finger back and tore off the glove. Frost heard the woman yell a warning as the male placed his finger in his mouth to suck on it.

  “It’s too late,” Frost informed them both calmly. “Your man is already dead.”

  The technician’s eyes widened in fear and panic even as blood began to drip from his nose. The man’s eyes darted to Taar before moving to the woman who stood watching as he grabbed his stomach, pain exploded in him as his internal organs began to dissolve.

  “Help me,” the man begged as he sank to his knees, his eyes locking on Frost.

  Frost returned the man’s stare. “It is already too late,” he replied before he let his head drop back to stare up at the ceiling. “Nothing can save you now.”

  The technician reached out for the tray, but the woman quickly pulled it toward her. Frost heard the man as he hit the floor. Hoarse screams, much louder and longer than Taar’s, tore through the narrow room. Soon, the screams turned to gurgles then silence.

  “Extraordinary,” the woman finally remarked. “It will be fascinating to analyze the poison.”

  “Are you sure it is safe?” One of the men in the dark suits finally asked.

  They had been silent until now, just observing from a distance. Frost turned his head and studied each male. One was tall, thin about fifty years of age with no hair on top and cut very short at the sides. His gaze moved to the other male who was at least a foot shorter and weighed three times as much as the first man. His rounded face was drenched in sweat and his face flushed with a red tint to it. The male had a long white scar on his chin and stunk of fear and perspiration. Both of the men would die along with the woman.

  He focused on the ceiling again as the woman called for two other technician’s to remove the dead body of their companion while another one dressed like her took the technician’s place. He ignored Taar’s screams as the woman slowly cut the fugitive apart and placed his remains in multiple dishes. It was no more or no less than the bastard deserved.

  He continued to look upward, even blocking out the woman’s face when she leaned over him. His hands remained clenched as she touched his face with the tips of her gloved fingers. It took every ounce of his restraint not to snap out when she ran her fingers along his lower lip. The small smile on her face showed that he couldn’t quite conceal his true feelings.

  “I wonder if you will be as interesting as your friend was when I start cutting you up,” she said, tilting her head to the side as she observed his tight features. Her hand moved over his chest and down to the front of his pants where she caressed him. “Perhaps I should see how well you can use this first before I cut them off.”

  “Never,” Frost said through gritted teeth. “I would never mate with you.”

  “Perhaps not with me, but what about your Lacey? Would you fuck her?” The woman whispered in his ear. “For the sake of science, of course.”

  “I will not use Lacey,” Frost snarled.

  “Not even to keep her alive?” The woman asked. “Perhaps, she is like you. Perhaps, she is the female version. Many females are not as striking as the males. Perhaps,
I should see if one of the guards would be interested in fucking her to see if she is capable of sexual reproduction.”

  “She is human!” Frost roared, struggling against the straps holding him. “She is not from my world.”

  Satisfaction softened the woman’s features as a triumphant smile crossed her face. She had found a weakness she could use against the man and the acknowledgement that he was an alien. She turned and nodded to the technician who had helped her finish dissecting Taar. Frost stiffened as the male stepped closer and pressed a syringe against his neck.

  “I knew it,” the woman’s voice resounded through his brain. “Take him to the containment unit. I want to see the woman next.”

  Frost roared out in rage as he battled against the sedative. All he could think of was that the woman would do to Lacey what she did to Taar. He tried to force his limp limbs to obey him, but it was useless. He called out weakly as the bed he was on began to move.

  “Lacey,” he whispered hoarsely. “My beautiful ice maiden.”

  Chapter 16

  Lacey sat on the edge of the bed with her chin in her hand and her elbow resting on her knee. She had woken almost an hour before to find herself in a sterile white room. It was brightly lit to the point that she felt like she was a bug under a microscope. That feeling might also come from the four cameras mounted in each corner of the room.

  The only furniture in the room was the metal bed she was sitting on. It was bolted to the floor. There was a thin mattress on the bed covered by a single, hospital white sheet. Three of the walls were solid while the fourth was a set of bars. It wasn’t that different from the jail cells in Theo’s office back in Magic.

  “Not very original,” she muttered as she sent another wave of healing magic to the back of her head. Tears blurred her vision when she noticed the red stain of Ginger’s blood still on her fingers. “Oh God. Frost, where are you?”