by Christy,Dena
“Why did you change back?”
He let go of her hand and put his palm on the small of her back. She moved a little closer to him, hoping no one had seen him change. They didn’t need to draw further attention to themselves.
“I am bigger then the men in this world. It would be best if we could avoid a confrontation with the men in this neighborhood, and that is more easily done if they have to seriously consider the consequences of taking on someone bigger and stronger than they are.”
“That works if it’s just one, what will happen if more than one confronts you?” They walked down the street and turned the corner. There were a few more people hanging about, and they all paused in what they were doing to stare at them. Miranda suspected that she was the draw. While her clothes were casual and what she would consider suitable for lounging around at home, their quality was very apparent to anyone who would notice such a thing.
“Do not worry, I will let nothing happen to you. Part of my education on my planet involved both armed and unarmed combat. I can handle any difficulty that might arise although I would prefer not to. The people I’ve seen here seem miserable and desperate, and I would hate to add to their woes by hurting them.”
They continued along in silence. Taking another look at the surrounding people, she could see that they weren’t the monsters who deserved every hardship they received as she’d been raised to believe. The message that she was never to go into this neighborhood had been hammered into her head from a young age, and she’d never questioned it. Her acquaintances had been told the same thing, and like the good sheep they were they’d never questioned the truth of what they’d been told.
The people she saw here had the hungry look of despair, and she could see defeat in the dingy buildings that surrounded them, and in the air of neglect that clung to this place. Her heart went out to these people. If she felt trapped by the circumstances of her life, how must these people feel? There was truly no escape for them. The circumstances of their birth dictated that they would never escape the poverty that was the lot they’d drawn. Their children would be born into the same trap, and the misery she sensed here would only set them on the path their parents had walked before them.
Their feet took them out of the worst of it, and Miranda could see the gradual transition into a working class neighborhood. These people were only marginally better off than the people in the slum area, and their choice of vocation was just as limited as everyone else’s on this planet, but their work was such that it at least afforded them more breathing room between solvency and destitution.
“Can we sit for a minute?” Miranda slowed her steps and Synn led her over to a park bench. She sat down gratefully and blew out her breath. She looked at the tablet and was relieved to see that they would soon come to the pawnbrokers.
“Are you going to be able to walk to the shop?” He picked up her hand and stroked his finger over her thumb. His touch soothed her, and she settled back against the bench with a sigh. It would be heavenly to take off her shoes, but they still had a few more miles to walk before she could indulge in that luxury.
“Yes. I’m not used to walking this much. I’ll be fine in a few minutes.” Sweat trickled from her nape and down under her collar. She opened her purse and rummaged around inside it. She must have something to mop up the sweat. She usually kept tissue in the zippered side pocket of her purse.
She undid the zipper, and her exploring hand came to a small, hard plastic box. What is that?
She pulled it out and her brows drew together as she turned it over in her hand. It had a blinking red light on it, which told her nothing. How did this get in there?
“What’s that?” Synn asked as he took it from her.
“I have no idea,.” She looked at the steady blink of the red light, and like a flash she knew how it had gotten in her purse. Last night, before she’d left work for the day, she’d spilled the contents of her purse on the floor. Dr. Avery had been so helpful to her, a little too helpful. No wonder he’d known that she could be found at Collette’s apartment.
“We need to get rid of it.” She snatched the box back from Synn and she looked around to see where she could toss it. The rumble of a street sweeper lumber toward them to the right drew her attention, and she turned her head. There was no operator in this vehicle and it would travel all over the city. It would be perfect to use to dispose of the thing in her hand, especially if it was a tracking device as she suspected it was.
As the sweeper slowly rolled toward them, she walked up to the curb and waited for it to come abreast to her. The top of the sweeper was low, and flat on the top with only about an inch high lip of metal running around the perimeter. It would be enough to keep the tiny box from falling off and she dropped it on the top of the sweeper.
“What was it?” Synn came to stand beside her and his hand rested against the small of her back.
“I think I figured out how Dr. Avery found us so fast this morning. I think that was some kind of tracker that he put in my purse when I knocked it over last night. It would take a lot longer than a few hours for him to dig up my connection with Collette, so there was no way he could know to look for me there unless he already knew I was there.” The sun had surpassed its mid point in the sky, and the afternoon was progressing too quickly for her liking. They needed to get moving. “We need to get to the pawnbroker soon, and then we must find a place to stay for the night. We don’t want to be out after curfew.”
Miranda wanted to be well settled somewhere before eleven when the curfew came into affect. They’d got away and it would be horrible if they were caught because of something that was easily avoidable by getting off the street.
Chapter Fifteen
Dr. Avery paced the confines of his office. What the hell was taking them so long? He shouldn’t have left the soldiers on their own, despite what Commander Clancy said. His future with Miranda hinged on getting her back, and he should not have farmed that task out to men he didn’t know. He should have insisted that he stay with them. No one but him knew how important Miranda was, and he was the only one he could trust to carry the burden of getting her out from the alien’s clutches.
The walls of his office pressed in on him, and the tremors in his hands increased. A sheen of sweat covered his face, and the bottle in his desk drawer called to him. He’d resisted it so far, but its presence grew more insistent. His will would only last so long, but until it broke, he would focus on what he needed to. Getting Miranda back was what he needed most, and he couldn’t afford to dull his wits.
He blew out a breath and left his office to go wait in the lobby of the lab. The open space around him gave him room to breathe, and he couldn't hear the bottle from there.
No one was here, not even a guard at the security desk. The less that was known about today’s escapade the better.
The black military truck the soldiers had taken pulled up in front of the lab, and two of the soldiers got out. The leader wasn’t with them, and he waited for the car the leader had driven to pull up, but after several moments it didn’t. John’s stomach sank when they made no move to go to the back of the truck to bring anyone out.
Where the hell is Miranda? Where is the alien?
The soldiers walked into the lab and Dr. Avery went out to the foyer to greet them.
“Well, where are the targets?” One of the soldier’s jaw tightened, and the other wouldn't make eye contact. John’s brows drew together. Where was the third one, and where was his vehicle?
“We ran into a problem, sir.” The one who would look at him had a grim expression on his face as he relayed his message. “The targets escaped and stole one of our vehicles.”
They had to be joking. These were the best men that Commander Clancy had?
“How could a woman, and her companion get away from you? I thought you were supposed to be the best.”
“They ran up to the roof top, and our leader went up to catch them. He came on the radio, saying he had
the woman, but that the guy got away and he gave us the direction he headed. Said he was going to bring her back here.”
“Well she’s not here.” John closed his eyes for a second. He knew exactly what had happened. That fucking alien had morphed into their leader and walked away with Miranda in tow. Goddamnit. He knew he should have stayed with them. He would have been wise to any trick the alien pulled. He would have stood a better chance of getting Miranda away from him.
“We know that now, sir. Our search for him turned up nothing, so we went back to regroup. After making one more sweep of the building, we went up to the roof and found our squad leader. The guy jumped him, knocked him out and stole his clothes. You should have told us that he could mimic people’s voices. We would have been better prepared.”
“I think that the only way you ignoramuses would have caught him would be if he put himself in the back of your truck for you.” John turned his back on them. He buzzed himself into the lab proper and threw a glance over his shoulder as he pulled the glass door open. “I will tell Commander Clancy that next time I want him to send his best, I expect him to do just that.”
He stomped back to his office, and as he passed Miranda’s desk, it mocked him. Once he caught up with her, she would pay for making a fool of him.
He went into his office and the wall shook when he slammed the door. He went around to his desk and plugged his tablet into his computer. He side loaded the tracking program onto it. Finding them would have to be his job, and his alone. The alien was too slippery for anyone who didn’t know what he was capable of, but John knew what to expect from him.
He pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the middle drawer of his desk. Inside was a laser pistol, and he tucked it into his pocket. No more fooling around. The alien would die and Miranda would come to him, willing or not.
He opened the tracking program on his tablet and he could see the signal coming from the rougher part of town, and it was moving slowly. They must be on foot. Something was finally going his way. It wouldn't take long to find them if he left now in his car.
The soldiers were gone by the time he left the lab with the pistol in his pocket and his tablet in hand. He curled his lips when he looked at the spot their vehicle had been parked in. Good riddance.
He’d get her back himself, and once he enjoyed her social stature, he’d be sure he ruined Commander Clancy. He’d probably sent him his worst soldiers just so John would fall flat on his face.
He told his car to take him to the address closest to where the tracker said she was, and he closed his eyes. Once the alien was dead, his influence over Miranda would be at an end, and she’d see what he’d done for her. She’d be so grateful to him. John would have to punish her for what she’d done. It was because of her that he’d been humiliated in front of his juniors, and his boss.
He needed to focus on catching her first. Once she was back with him, then he could think of something suitable to make her repent what she’d done to him.
He paid no attention to the scenery as the car brought him to his destination. It was a part of town he’d once been intimately familiar with, and he’d grown up in these slums. Everyone thought he’d end up like his father and drink himself to death. Even at a young age he’d known he was smarter than the people around him.
Thank God the standardized testing had shown he had potential, and he’d been given the opportunity to lift himself out of poverty. And he’d done it. He’d become a respected scientist in his field, but there was a limit to how far his intelligence would take him. Miranda was crucial to his going any further.
He consulted the tablet, and instructed his car to go to the next street over, where the blinking beacon on his map said she was. She was so close now, and he pulled the pistol from his pocket and rested it in his lap. He needed to be ready to take the alien down immediately. He wouldn’t get another chance.
His car pulled around the corner, and he couldn’t see them. He scanned the street, and what few pedestrians there were lacked the shiny beacon of red hair. His car went around the street sweeper inching its way down the street, and he looked down at the tablet. She should be right here.
He scanned the area and looked back down at the tablet again. Now it said she was behind him. He ordered his car to slow, and as it did so the street sweeper drove past and Dr. Avery closed his eyes for a moment as he realized why his tablet said she was here but there was no sign of her. She’d found the tracker and had thrown it into the back of the sweeper.
“Fuck.”
He instructed his car to go home. He needed to think of what to do next. There had to be something he was missing, some clue he hadn’t thought of. He was a smart man, and he would figure this out.
* * *
The tablet in Miranda’s purse gave a soft beep and when she looked at the screen, she saw they had arrived at their destination. Her feet ached, and will power was the only thing keeping her up at this point. The adrenaline that had rushed through her system when she and Synn had escaped from the soldiers had long since left her, and now all she wanted to do was find something to eat, somewhere to shower and sleep.
“We’re here.” Relief made her sag and Synn put his arm around her.
“Let’s get this done so we can find someplace to rest.”
Miranda glanced up at the sign above the door to make sure they were at the right place, and the name Vinnie’s Pawnshop was there in bright red letters. She had no idea how Collette, in her luxury apartment, in one of the best neighborhoods in the city had found a place like this, but her friend’s occupation forced her to be resourceful.
They walked in to the shop, the merchandise on display was a cluttered jumble, and she wonder how many items Vinnie sold. She skirted around a display of outdated electronic devices, and walked toward the counter where a lone man sat on a stool, writing on a piece of paper. He looked up, his eyes traveling up and down, taking in every inch of her appearance. She could see the calculating gleam in his eyes, and he hopped off the stool, a toothsome grin stretched over his face. One of his incisors looked to be pure gold, and it winked at her in the light of the shop.
“Welcome to Vinnie’s Pawn shop.” His voice a hearty boom that echoed against the walls of the store. “What can I do for such a lovely lady? I’m sure I have plenty of merchandise to tempt a discerning woman such as yourself.”
His eyes darted down to Miranda’s breast, and she folded her arms over her chest. Synn must have seen where his eyes traveled because he stepped beside her, and his shadow loomed over the man behind the counter. The proprietor’s grin faltered when he took in Synn’s size, and when he looked back to Miranda his eyes trained on her face, and they strayed no further than that.
“I’m not interested in making a purchase at the moment.” She reached into her purse, being careful not to let him see all the jewelry she had in there. She fumbled around until she felt the small box that contained a pair of earrings, the least valuable item she owned. This shop didn’t look like it could afford to pay her the true value of all her jewels so she’d start small and get enough to carry her and Synn through at least for a few days. She squeezed her hand around the box and pulled it out, setting it on top of the counter. “I have a pair of earrings I’d like to sell. I got your name from a friend, and she said that you could help me with this.”
The grin fell off his face, and she could see that despite the mean surroundings, there was a shrewdness to him. He opened the box and looked at the earrings. His eyes widened slightly when he took in the sight of the pair of emerald cut rubies surrounded by fourteen brilliant cut diamonds. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a loop and placed it over his right eye.
“May I?” He indicated with his hands that he wanted to remove one earring from the box.
“Please do?” Miranda reached out and took Synn’s hand. Nerves danced in her stomach. Once she parted with even one piece of her mother’s jewelry it was like shutting the door on her old life. She kne
w that by freeing Synn she would have to walk away from the life she’d known, but the step of pawning her mother’s jewelry made it seem more real.
The pawnbroker put the earring back in the box, and he removed the loop from his eye. He hesitated for a second as if he didn’t want to tell her something. The bottom fell out of Miranda’s stomach.
“They’re fake aren’t they?” Fear lanced through her and a small tide of panic rose inside her. If she couldn’t get chips for the jewelry, what were they going to do?
“Oh no, those earrings are very real, and worth far more than I could give you for them. Am I correct in assuming you want chips for them?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have enough chips on hand to give you what the earrings are worth,” he said, as he closed the box. Miranda felt desperation claw at her insides. “My reputation keeps me in business, and I can’t give you far less than what those earrings are worth. If word got out about than no one would deal with me.”
“No one would know, I promise I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“I would know. I can act as a broker for you and sell the earrings on to one of my contacts. You would get more from the sale.”
“And what would you charge me for this service,” Miranda asked. She didn’t know how long she and Synn would have to stay in hiding, or how long it would take him to find his friends. The more chips they had, the longer they could move about the city undetected.
“Fifteen percent of the proceeds.” He smiled at her and the gold tooth winked. By doing it this way he stood to make a lot more money than if he bought the earrings outright and tried to sell them through his shop. The profits from the sale motivated him, not his reputation. She didn’t care, as long as she got as much as she could, as quickly as she could.
“How quickly could you sell them?”
“My turn around time is very quick, and I could have the chips for you as early as tomorrow afternoon. Do we have a bargain?”
