"There's nothing here," Rafe shook his head.
He was right. He, Val and I studied the now-empty Nevada facility-it was merely a hollow shell, now. Every piece of equipment, every bit of trash, even, had been removed, leaving a squeaky-clean building behind.
Auggie, I sent, were you aware that the Nevada facility had been wiped clean of evidence?
My cell phone rang almost immediately. "When?" Auggie barked.
"In my estimation, according to the amount of dust that has settled upon surfaces," Val said, "approximately three months."
"Did you hear that?" I asked Auggie.
"I heard. Damn. Fuck and damn. Nobody was supposed to touch that place. By my orders."
"Somebody did," I sighed.
"I'll call Matt. See if he knows anything," Auggie said and hung up.
"I doubt Matt Michaels had anything to do with this," Val said.
"Why?" I turned to him.
"Look up."
I looked up, as directed. On the ceiling, scrawled in Alliance Common, were the words fuck Earth.
* * *
Ilya
"Who?" I asked, after Valegar translated the words for me.
"I imagine it may have been part of the same team of Lyristolyi that appeared to wreak havoc more than an Earth year ago," Val said. "I fear the reason Rinnelar and I can't get a better lock on the information is because that team has likely captured a Sirenali who survived the drug. That means all their doings will be hidden, even from the powerful."
"Are you saying that there may have been more of the fuckers than those at the meeting?" Rinnelar asked.
"I fear it may be true, Lara'Kayan."
"What does Lara'Kayan mean?" I asked.
"It means forever love, in the Neaborian language," Val replied.
For a moment, that troubled me before the thought slipped away.
Rinnelar appeared quite troubled that there could be more Lyristolyi than previously thought. She is troubled by many things, Val inserted into my mind. Your obsession is one of them.
I snorted my reply.
"The only thing left to do at this point," Rinnelar said, "is to question the asshole Rafe captured in Vancouver. Maybe we can get something from him that the humans couldn't."
"Ah-good choice," Val agreed. "Are you willing to travel with us?" he turned to me and asked.
"Most certainly."
"Good."
* * *
Notes-Colonel Hunter
They came for me first-Cori, Val and Rafe, before going to the holding cell, which contained the only living captive from the Vancouver assassination crew. So far, nobody else had gotten anything from him, including a squeak when he was threatened with the death penalty.
Val and Cori could have gotten in without my help, but it was always wise to go through channels whenever possible. "Yes, they have permission to question the prisoner," I informed the Warden.
He nodded without questioning-I was grateful. I'd included myself in the visitation; I wished to hear first-hand what, if anything, Cori and Val might discover. Rafe-if he were left alone with our prisoner-might employ problematic methods to obtain information.
I wasn't willing to allow that to be recorded by prison cameras. Under normal circumstances, I would discourage such actions. Perhaps Cori and Val's concern had ramped up my own. They'd suggested that more Lyristolyi (yes, I'd had to ask how to spell it) had been here, perhaps all along, and we were only now learning of it. After the debacle at the meeting and the deaths of too many world leaders, I shuddered to think what more of the same creatures might do.
To add to that worry, I'd learned that they could appear human. That meant they could blend into the population and we'd have an impossible task before us-of identifying and capturing them. Especially if they'd captured a cloned Sirenali.
It made me wish for simpler days, when everyone imagined clear-cut foes from outer space-or at least one foe at a time. Soon, I wanted to speak privately with Cori and Val, just to ask them about all the aliens that could be on our world and what their ultimate goals might be.
The Warden stopped outside the holding cell and motioned for the door to be unlocked. In this case, rather than having him brought to us, we'd come to him.
* * *
Corinne
He sat in a corner, rather than on his bed, on cold concrete.
The temperature of the floor is forty-seven degrees Fahrenheit, Val informed me. Much too cold for any normal human to withstand for long unless forced.
"His internal body temperature is ninety-three degrees-and dropping," I informed Auggie. The man sitting in the corner blinked and focused on me immediately. "Something is worrying him," I added.
"I surmise it is the temperature-sensitive explosive planted in his abdomen, which the weapon detectors failed to locate," Val said. "Once activated remotely, I imagine it will detonate to destroy the victim and everything surrounding him, once it reaches his core temperature of ninety-eight-point-six Fahrenheit."
"What the fuck?" Auggie cursed.
"Do not fear-you are fortunate that Larentii are with you," Val said while holding out his hands.
The prisoner almost collapsed upon himself when Val reduced the explosive inside him to harmless sparks, which then flew from his startled, O-shaped mouth.
"I'll bet he weighs a lot less, now," I quipped.
* * *
"The explosive was not created by humans," Val explained later. "My hypothesis is that it was imported from elsewhere-built by those with less than lawful leanings."
"Do you think he'll talk, once the doctors are finished looking at him?" Auggie pointed his question at me.
"He doesn't know much," I said. "He was lured in with the promise of big money if he made Rafe dead. They grabbed him, drugged him and planted the explosive, telling him that if things went wrong, he'd go boom," I said. "Things obviously went wrong. At least he was smart enough to lower his body temp after those who booby-trapped him found out."
"Can he describe his captors?" Rafe asked.
"He doesn't have to," I said. "I saw all that in him. He was commanded by a Mary clone and the real Merle Askins."
"Why didn't you see this before? When you arrived in Vancouver?" Rafe asked.
"That's a great question," I turned to Rafe. "Where are the bodies of the others who died-besides good old Merle?"
"If there was Sirenali interference at the moment, it may have obstructed her abilities to see such things," Val observed.
"Then how did she know to help me?" Rafe demanded.
"I knew you were in danger," I blurted. I almost said it was because he was mated to a Larentii, but I didn't. Still, it was a close thing. "I only recognized Merle, because, well," I hung my head.
"What she hasn't admitted is that she tagged Mr. Askins before," Val said, his voice dry and humor shining in his eyes. "So she would recognize him in the future, no matter what he looked like or what obsession was placed upon him."
I had tagged him-in his office when I'd accosted him there. I wanted to make sure I'd know the asshole the next time-if there were a next time. It was a trick devised by Karathians, not by Larentii. My current race would consider it interference and didn't do it as a rule.
It had helped me greatly in this instance, however. Merle was tagged-his clones wouldn't be.
"I'll hear this story later," Auggie held up a hand. "I'll call to see if we can take a look at bodies-they're at a CIA-run facility."
"Fitting," Rafe gritted, "That Askins would end up there without anyone the wiser."
* * *
In death, bodies are so empty. Without the life force that filled them, they are merely a shell. I studied Merle Askins-the fine, dark scales covering his face and hands-larger scales covering his limbs and torso. All I could see in him now was the fog of obsession.
"He probably saw himself as a monster after surviving the drug," Val said. He, Auggie and Rafe stood beside me as we studied the remains on the table.
"Be
cause he had limited knowledge of other races?" I asked, looking up at Val's set expression.
"Very limited knowledge."
I realized then that Madam President's unfortunate remark still rankled with him. "Honey, they just don't know any better," I threaded my fingers with his.
"Larentii were made first of all races," Val said.
"How can you know that?" Auggie turned sharply to stare at Val.
"If you had met the ones responsible for creating all races, you'd know it, too," Val pointed out.
"Surely not," Auggie began.
"Do not question what you cannot comprehend," Val said.
"I've seen enough of Merle," I said, breaking the tension. "Let's look at the others."
Drawers were pulled out for the next two; one had been shot by Rafe, the other showed no physical signs as to why he died. "How did you do this?" I asked Val. I'd have separated his particles. Somehow, Val had avoided doing that, leaving our intended attacker just as dead.
"He was threatening you," Val said. "A Larentii is always allowed to protect his mate. I merely separated his life force from his body, so your esteemed Colonel and our compatriot, here, could examine the body at their leisure." He'd nodded toward Rafe when he'd said compatriot. He'd almost said co-mate-I understood that quickly.
Val was already considering Rafe/Ilya a member of our family.
Wow.
"Can you see anything in either of these?" Rafe asked me. I stopped still for a moment. It was a question he'd have asked-well-Corinne.
"Not a clone," I said of the first one-the one Rafe had killed. "Had an obsession," I sighed. "No idea what it was, as usual. No ID from fingerprints?" I turned to Auggie.
"Nothing in the database."
"Could be a drug survivor-in fact, that is most likely," Val agreed. "Since Rinnelar cannot find his identity any other way."
"What about the other one, then?"
I turned to the other one-the man Val had killed to protect me. Now I could see much in him.
Unfortunately.
"Denton Kemp," I sighed. "Former Black Ops. More recently of the CIA. He and Merle were like this," I held up two crossed fingers. "Also, recent visitor to Ireland. Need I go on?"
"I'll get Matt on the phone," Auggie said and hauled his cell from a pocket.
* * *
Cori, Matt greeted me in mindspeech when we walked into his office.
Matt, I nodded in return.
"Please sit," Matt said aloud. "So, Denton Kemp, eh. He's been undercover-according to the CIA-for a very long time."
"He's under a sheet in the morgue, now," I pointed out. "He and Merle, both."
"I imagine Askins led him astray," Matt blew out a breath. "He was a decorated officer in the military."
I felt the same way and offered Matt a slight nod of agreement. Askins had too much blood on his hands, and a rather large percentage of it was innocent blood, or nearly so.
"I'm glad you wanted to come by," Matt sighed. "I heard from Opal about an hour ago. Those in the Dublin photographs, according to latest reports, are headed this way and bringing some of their less than sympathetic goons with them."
"Why?" Auggie asked.
"Because Matt and Opal just emptied Dublin of the underground, and now the hounds are on the scent," I said.
"Better to fight them on familiar terrain-to us, anyway," Matt said. "I'm hoping that if we capture the right ones, we may be able to get to those behind this new movement and bring it down before it has a chance to develop into a new world-domination scheme."
"Fucking hell, Michaels," Auggie snapped. "You could have warned us ahead of time."
* * *
"Where do you suppose they are?" Rafe asked. He, Val and I were back at the beach house in Port Aransas. I felt weary after Matt's bombshell. We sat on the back deck of the house, in full sunlight; Val was nearly naked while I wore a tank top and shorts in order to soak up as much sunlight as possible.
Rafe wore Ray-Bans, jeans, boots and a light jacket-the temps were in the high fifties on the south Texas beach. Val had chosen to cover up his sweet spot with a Speedo. Yes, some people can wear Speedos. All Larentii can wear them.
"You wanted to see us?" Sergei and Katya joined us on the deck.
"Yes," Rafe nodded. "It seems that Director Michaels has arranged for your friends from Dublin to come to the U.S." he began.
"That's wonderful," Katya said.
"He's using them as bait, to draw the enemy in," Rafe concluded.
"And that's not so wonderful," I said.
"I beg you to protect them-as you did me," Sergei pleaded.
"Honey, I'll do my best, but with Sirenali involvement, that may be too little too late," I said.
"Do they know when and where they will arrive?" Katya asked. She pulled Sergei toward the love seat so they could sit together.
"He only gave them a time and place to show up at the Canadian border-plus enough cash to get there," I said. I anticipated having another conversation with Matt Michaels-when I was calm enough not to call him a half-meddling cactus molester.
"That is quite humorous, my love," Val said aloud.
"What?" Rafe turned toward Val.
"She called Director Michaels a half-meddling cactus molester."
"Not out loud," I defended myself. "I just thought it. I can't help if Val reads my thoughts."
"I love your thoughts," Val chuckled.
"Sure. Good thing I don't have to use the bathroom, then. You'd back away quick. What can we do to help Katya and Sergei's friends?"
"I go get them," Bekzi offered.
"I'll go with you," Rafe nodded.
"Daddy, they don't know you," Katya began.
"Would it be better to take Katya or Sergei with us?" I asked.
"You're going?" Val lifted a blond eyebrow.
"I think we're all going," I said.
"What's this? Where are you going?" Leo walked onto the deck, a cup of coffee in his hands. "We have a session planned for the afternoon," he reminded Katya and Sergei.
"We need to grab their friends before the bad guys do," I said. "Then you can talk all you want."
"Then I'm not staying here by myself," Leo grated.
"Fine."
"I believe they are currently caught in a snowstorm," Val announced. He'd gone Looking for them, evidently.
"What?" Katya turned concerned eyes to Val.
"I understand that it was their plan to pose as hikers. A heavy snowstorm is falling where they are and they only have tents to protect them from the elements."
"How does he know that?" Leo whispered.
"I'll explain later," I offered. "For now, we really ought to get them out of there. Val, are they armed?"
"Yes," he nodded.
"Damn," Rafe muttered.
"I'll make sure nobody freezes if you'll disarm them," I suggested to Val.
"Done," he agreed. "We will return shortly," he said, and leaving a shouting crowd behind us, transported just the two of us to a forest in Quebec.
Snow fell heavily about us and in the distance, I could see the top halves of two, bright-blue tents. Winds whipped and moaned about them; if they hadn't been half-buried by snow, they'd have toppled over with the force of the storm.
"Honey, what's that sound?" I turned to Val when the mechanical growl reached my ears.
"My love, the vision of those in the tents has just been cut off," Val said.
"Sirenali," we said at the same moment.
"Well, well, fancy meeting you two here," Opal landed in the snow beside us. She was capable of folding space, just as Val, Matt and I could.
"There is a Sirenali nearby," Val said. "My vision of those inside the tents has been negated."
"Mine, too," Opal agreed. "I figure whoever is driving that Snowcat has a Sirenali with them."
"They believe there will be no opposition when they take those inside the tents?" Val asked.
"Yes," Opal confirmed.
"Then
I suggest we remove those inside the tents and send them to Katya and Sergei," Val offered.
"Want to replace them with us?" Opal wagged a finger between herself and Val.
"You want a full, frontal assault?" I asked.
"Suits me." Opal pulled a pistol from a jacket pocket and checked the charge. She still carried the weapon I'd given her last time. A ranos pistol would make short work of any attackers-and destroy their Snowcat, too.
"So you can't bring one in, but if somebody gives you one," I grinned at her.
"Yep. You don't know how many times I've thanked you for this." She held the pistol up.
"We have movement," Val whispered.
We did. Someone was using a camp shovel to dig his way out of a tent. He'd heard the Snowcat, just as we had. Once he had enough room to move his head and shoulders out of the entrance, someone in the tent handed a rifle through.
Brave man, Opal sent.
Yeah. Val, I'll move them, I began.
The ground exploded in a half-mile radius around us.
Chapter 6
Corinne
I wanted to curse. Val and Opal remained grimly silent nearby, so I kept my mouth closed. Leo was busy in the media room, checking Sergei and Katya's friends for injuries and hearing damage.
At least they'd settled down and stopped shouting when they landed at the beach house next to Katya and Sergei. I imagined Leo was swamped with questions, not least among them how they'd arrived in Texas before getting blown up in Canada.
"Matt's got people searching for those responsible," Opal grumbled before searching for a chair. "It's obvious we can't get a handle on them because of Sirenali involvement."
"I figure the Canadian government will have something to say if they find out who sent these folks in their direction," I pointed out.
"He's doing damage control," Opal said. "Neither of us imagined they'd get attacked like that. I went anyway, just to make sure they were safe in the snowstorm."
"Anything left of the Snowcat?" I asked.
"I can check on that," Opal nodded. "Be back in a few."
"I love her," I said after she disappeared.
"She is most competent," Val agreed. "She added her shields to mine to protect the tents and their inhabitants," he added.
* * *
Notes-Colonel Hunter
"These are the satellite photographs," James said, handing his tablet to me so I could look at the huge crater in Quebec, where pristine wilderness used to be. The dark pit was made more prominent by the heavy layer of snow that surrounded it.
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