Hack

by Annie Nicholas

  He strode up the beach, nodding at the staring women that he passed. So many. This body was causing him problems and drawing too much attention.

  Alien life was real. Jeannie viewed her video of the sawtooth sharks without really looking at them. Instead, her attention was on the image in her head of Hack with gills at the depth of a hundred feet.

  The boat couldn’t go fast enough to her satisfaction. She wanted to be at the resort now. Where did Hack come from? Why was he here? How had he gotten here? Her head was so filled with questions it felt ready to explode.

  Ben sat next to her and offered her a bottle of water. “I thought you would take more videos than that.”

  She guzzled half the bottle. Diving made her crazy thirsty. “I just needed evidence of their presence. I’ll return with the film crew if my boss approves the budget.” Normally, she would have taken more shots. Hack’s revelation had distracted her too much to care.

  Ben nodded. “You let me know either way?”

  “Definitely.” She tapped her bottle against his and focused on the videos for real. In the distance, the blurred figure of a man swam close to the ocean floor. Hack had followed her and for some reason that made her warm all over. He’d watched her back, wanting to keep her safe.

  She couldn’t recall the last time someone had looked out for her, protected her. The feeling was unfamiliar and surprisingly pleasant. She watched the clip again.

  “Land ho,” shouted the captain.

  Jeannie placed her camera in the equipment bag. Standing, she instinctively balanced on the balls of her feet while the deck rocked. The resort was in sight. They were coming into the harbor, past the cruise ship that had brought them here. She narrowed her gaze and stared. It seemed different than she recalled. Hadn’t the windows been round? That was weird. Must be her memory. It wasn’t like they had switched boats on the journey. She would have remembered that.

  Hack appeared on the dock, chatting with what looked like a couple of crew members.

  She waved but he didn’t see her. Dammit. Her boat continued to the dive shop and docked there. By then Hack was out of sight. With a sigh, she dragged her equipment off the boat. She couldn’t resist a glance at the cruise ship. Still no sign of Hack.

  Well, she’d take the opportunity to wash the salt water off her body and collect her thoughts before sitting down with him for a heart-to-heart. Hands on hips, she stared at her BCP. Screw it. “Ben, can you have someone carry my equipment to my room? I saw someone I need to speak with.”

  “Sure, ma cher.”

  She didn’t hesitate and walked at a fast clip toward where she’d last seen Hack.

  “Hey, what about your wetsuit?” Ben called out.

  “I’ll wear it.” Wetsuits were second nature to her after all these years. She had unzipped hers so she wasn’t too hot.

  The gangplank of the cruise ship came into view and she spotted Hack climbing on board with the crewmembers. They laughed at something he said.

  She quickened her pace. Why was he here? He should be waiting for her at their rooms to discuss the bomb he’d dropped on her underwater. She boarded the ship.

  The deck looked empty. Foreboding hung heavy in the air. Jeannie clung to the shadows of the entrance and listened. Silence. She didn’t recall the ship ever being quiet. Her head began to ache and she rubbed her temples. She could only remember parties and music and drinking, which was weird because she’d never liked that scene. She had wanted to cut loose on this vacation but the excess had been really out of character.

  Shaking her head clear, Jeannie leaned against the sun-warmed metal of the ship. The weird dizziness accompanying those memories faded. It was like she’d been inebriated the whole trip here.

  A clang of metal striking metal made her jump. It was followed by a grunt of pain. She pushed off the wall and tracked the sound. It had come from deeper within the boat. Padding softly on bare feet, she snuck along the empty halls. Hadn’t the walls been a warm cream color instead of this wood siding? Maybe they had stayed in the harbor to redecorate. Her mind grasped at the excuse with tight desperation.

  Sweat beaded on Jeannie’s upper lip. Why was she having this reaction to an empty ship? Hell, she’d just discovered the existence of aliens without a hiccup.

  She paused mid-step. Yeah, like that wasn’t weird. What the hell was going on with her? Sure, Hack had told her he was an alien last night, but she’d thought he was stark raving mad. Once faced with proof, the truth had clicked into place with a comfortable snick. It was as if in the back of her mind she’d always known aliens were on earth.

  She pressed a hand to her forehead. This was too much. It was something in her head. A...memory. She just couldn’t grasp it.

  Another grunt down the hall and a hallway door smashed open. “Don’t let him get away,” a male voice shouted.

  Chapter Ten

  Hack hated when he made a mistake. This one might cost him his life. Ducking, he dodged a metal pipe aimed at his head.

  “Watch what you’re doing.” The leader of the smugglers, introduced to him as Grem, smacked the pipe out of the assailant’s hands. “We need him unmarked if we want to be paid.”

  Apparently, these idiots thought Hack was human and couldn’t understand their language. When he had approached the smugglers asking about the ship’s schedule, they had invited him on board with big grins. That should have been Hack’s first clue something was wrong. He’d been so focused on preventing them from taking another human that it hadn’t occurred to him that he was that human. Not until they’d led him deep within the ship and one of them commented in intergalactic speech that this was the easiest abduction they’d ever had. That Hack had come to them.

  It would be ages before Trace or Crypto would stop laughing about this blunder. If Hack survived. Without hesitation, Hack spun around and tossed the punch. Nanobots made IIA agents faster and stronger than their opponents. This time Hack had no extras. He fought on equal ground with the smugglers. Knuckles crunched against bone and Hack grimaced at the pain in his fist. The loss of his nanos was a lesson in humility.

  Three more smugglers poured into the conference room where they had cornered him. One held a pipe wrench and the other a pipe. Must’ve been repairing plumbing when he’d arrived. The thought skipped across Hack’s mind as he reassessed his situation.

  The odds of being taken captive had increased, especially since he wasn’t at full strength. They would bring him to the other abducted humans though. Freeing them had been his original goal and now it was within his grasp.

  Jeannie...

  What would she think of his sudden disappearance? Last she’d known, he’d been a hundred feet underwater. She might think he’d been injured and drowned. Or that he’d tricked her. She would be so angry and have to forgive him when he returned. No matter where she went, he’d find her. He dashed for the door across from him and between the smugglers. They scattered at the unexpected move and he crashed through into a hallway. He had to make this look good. Allow them to continue to believe he was human.

  Pain exploded from his shoulder and blinded him for a second. His arm hung limp. Crap, he’d dislocated it. Scrambling to his feet, he used the wall for balance and managed to reach the end of the hall before being tackled. When he hit the floor, the impact slammed his shoulder back into the socket. He groaned and watched as stars filled his vision.

  “I said undamaged,” roared Grem.

  “He did it to himself.” They pinned Hack to the floor before tying his wrists behind his back. Nausea rolled over him from the agony of his abused shoulder. He couldn’t afford to black out, however his consciousness slipped through his fingers like sand.

  Jeannie sucked in her gut, back pressed against the wall in the alcove she hid in. Hack lay facedown on the floor fifteen feet from her. The ship’s crew was focused on him and didn’t notice the small puddle of water collecting at her feet from the wetsuit.

  Hack moaned and she dared a glanc
e.

  Oh shit. What should she do? She didn’t think nine-one-one existed on this remote island. Had the crew discovered he was alien and were going to sell him to Area 51? Or was this more in line to why Hack was visiting Earth?

  They hadn’t had a chance to discuss anything, but she could assume he had a mission and hadn’t been on vacation on a non-spaceflight planet like hers. People, alien or not, didn’t knock others unconscious and restrain them for no reason.

  Maybe Hack was a criminal and they were bounty hunters? The only way she’d find out was to ask.

  The crew grunted as his body went lax and they were forced to carry him. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were gone. Now what? Call the local law enforcement and explain her alien boyfriend had been abducted? Sure, then she could watch them throw away the key after they locked her in the mental ward.

  She glanced around the alcove corner. Not the way Hack had been carried, but toward the exit. Chewing on her bottom lip, she crept to the disembarking plank, but it was gone. The floor vibrated softly as engines came on. They were leaving the resort. She wasn’t trapped yet. She could jump into the water and swim.

  What did that make her though?

  A coward. That was what she’d see in the mirror for the rest of her life while asking what if she had stayed and rescued Hack?

  Retreating from the exit before being spotted, Jeannie tried every door she came across until she found one unlocked. Once inside, she locked it and pressed her forehead to the cool surface. Okay, she was officially losing her mind. Rescue attempts on TV shows and movies looked easier than in real life. They omitted the urge to vomit, a racing heart, and accompanying dizziness.

  She couldn’t walk straight, let alone think clearly. “Calm the fuck down.” She’d be hyperventilating next. Slowing her breath, she listened for any sounds outside her room. Nada.

  To help Hack escape, she had to find him first. If he was locked in a cell and handcuffed, she’d need keys. Her stomach flipped. Both required her to leave the safety of this room.

  Funny, she could swim with great white sharks and not flinch. Yet, here she was ready to pee her pants at having to quietly sneak around a boat. The thing with sharks was they killed to eat. She understood this natural instinct—she didn’t understand what motivated these people.

  Taking a deep breath, she pushed away from the door before cracking it open. Nobody in the hall. On tiptoe, she crept over the carpeted floor in the direction they had carried Hack. The heavy silence helped her stay calm since she’d hear a pin drop. Only the slight sway told her the ship was moving. Her breathing sounded loud in her own ears so she took shallower breaths until black spots danced in her vision. Okay, she was practically holding her breath by then.

  Leaning against the wall, she filled her lungs with air. Ninja, she was not, so why was she trying to act like one? If she wanted to help Hack, she had to hurry. Maybe she should just ask the next person she came across.

  The sarcasm of the thought faded. That might work.

  Every deck had a floor map and she hurried to the closest one to orient herself. Whoa, it was bigger than she remembered and had a jogging track. How had she missed a track on the main deck when she’d explored it on day one of travel? Was something wrong with her after the dive? This could be signs of decompression sickness.

  She needed fresh air bad and the outside deck was three floors up. Her dive computer calculated how much decompression time she needed prior to surfacing. She had followed it like always. She climbed the stairs—no shortness of breath or signs of stroke. Just some anxiety. She and her alien boyfriend were both trapped on a cruise ship heading out to sea away from help after all.

  Yeah, she didn’t have the bends. She’d developed a weird life. Hadn’t that been one of her goals for this trip? To get a life. Sure, but not to place said life at risk. She paused in her climb.

  Taking risks was part of her job. When had she become a scaredy-cat?

  This wasn’t the time to have a midlife crisis. She shoved the revelation to the back of her head and pulled up her coward pants. She would rescue her man, listen to his story with an open mind, then tear off his clothes. Preferably in that order.

  “Who’s there?” someone asked with a strange accent.

  Jeannie resisted the urge to raise her arms over her head. That would mean she knew their secret. This was her best chance at either finding Hack or convincing the crew to turn the boat around. “Thank goodness.” She emphasized her relief by clutching her hand to her chest. “I was beginning to think I was on a runaway ship.” Taking two steps at a time, she closed the distance between them. Please don’t be a mistake. She sensed she’d only have one chance of being successful.

  “Lady, what are you doing on this ship?” The crewman’s eyes grew wide at the sight of her. His gaze slid down to her bikini top and back to her face. If she failed, her fate would be worse than Hack’s, she imagined.

  “I lost my passport and I thought maybe I’d left it in my room. A few minutes after I boarded, the ship started moving. Can we go back to let me off?”

  He blinked, a slow smile crossing his lips. “Let’s speak with the captain.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Keeping a calm while in the company of the crewman proved to be one of the most difficult things Jeannie had ever done.

  His gaze kept wandering over her exposed skin where she had undone the zipper to her wetsuit. It took a lot of willpower to keep from zipping the suit closed. She didn’t want to make him suspicious. He’d brought her to the control room and spoken in a language she didn’t recognize. Four men turned their attention on her. None wore uniforms but they did have matching amulets hanging around their necks.

  “Sorry, I hate to be an inconvenience but I was on board when you pulled away from the resort and I was wondering if you could bring me back.”

  The largest of the men crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Who can we contact at the resort that might be worried by your absence?” He had a silver pen behind his ear. It reminded her of her dad as he’d built furniture in his workshop. Except his version had been a pencil.

  Well, wasn’t that a loaded question. Did she give them a name so they worried about the authorities being called or tell them the truth? Nobody would notice her disappearance except their prisoner. How had she and Hack bonded so quickly over a few days?

  She had friends who dated the same guy for years and still wouldn’t risk their lives for their boyfriends like she was doing. Some of those men didn’t deserve it either but Hack did. He’d treated her as if the universe orbited around her, he’d gone out of his way to spend time with her, and made her feel beautiful. There was a bond between them. Something she couldn’t explain and it wouldn’t let her abandon him.

  He wouldn’t if their roles were reversed. Hell, he’d followed her into the ocean just to prove he was telling her the truth.

  “Management will worry about me if I don’t check in soon. I went on a diving trip and they don’t realize I’ve returned.” It was all a lie. The resort didn’t care, but she had to buy them time.

  The captain pressed his lips together before speaking in that other language to the crew. Then to her, he said, “They will bring you to a room to wait until we return to the resort.”

  She beamed, knowing he was lying right back to her. The gleam in the other three men’s eyes told her they had no intention of turning the ship around. “As for my lost passport?” She had to make this realistic and keep up the act.

  “No passports have been found.”

  “Can I search my old room?”

  He sighed and signaled the crewman who had found her.

  “Follow me,” the crewman took her upper arm and guided her out of the control room. “The captain is not pleased by your presence.”

  “I’m not happy about my presence either.” She tugged free of his hold. “I shouldn’t have been able to get on board the ship so easily. It’s not my fault.”

 
“We were distracted.” He prodded her back with what felt like a gun barrel. “This way.”

  She stiffened, not needing to act. The weapon shouldn’t have been a shock but she’d never been held at gunpoint. Their act to treat her as a guest hadn’t lasted long. On shows and movies, victims held up their hands so she followed suit.

  “Put them down.” His voice took on an annoyed growl. “That is such a weird custom.” He shoved her forward. “At the end of the hall, make a left.”

  Jeannie followed his directions, noting another crew member guarding a door. She almost sagged in relief. It only made sense to put their prisoners together and conserve their manpower.

  In other words, they’d brought her straight to Hack, which was exactly what she’d wanted.

  As he unlocked the door, the crewman spoke. She didn’t understand them and was too focused on what was on the other side.

  Hack startled at the sound of the keycard sliding into the lock. He returned his hand to his restraints before the door swung open. He blinked, not believing his eyes. Before he could say her name, one of the crew pushed Jeannie to the floor.

  “Hey, the captain said to keep them undamaged,” said Hack’s guard in intergalactic.

  The other one shook his head. “No, he said to keep that one undamaged.” He pointed at Hack. “We can keep this one to play with.” He ran his fingers through Jeannie’s hair. “I’ve never been with a real human. You?”

  The guard spoke quietly. “Are you sure? I don’t want to get on Grem’s bad side.”

  “If you’re worried, close the door and stand guard while I enjoy myself.” The smuggler grabbed at Jeannie’s bathing suit top but she scrambled out of his reach.

  “Hack.” She clung to his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  He blinked again, his brain still not believing what he was seeing. “Jeannie, what are you doing here?” Among human sex slave traffickers of all things. He rose to his feet before she could answer and blocked the smuggler with grubby hands.