by Lisa Lace
“You’re welcome. Our estimated flight time to Kwakzulu is four hours.”
Relaxing against the back of the pilot seat, I dipped a hand between my legs and felt the damp crotch of my leggings. Immediately, I shot out of my chair and sped toward my closet to change out of my workout clothes. I was glad there wasn’t anyone around to see me. I was a little shaken. I had never had a dream that vivid before. I pulled on a clean shirt and slipped into the kitchen to fix myself a cup of tea.
“Desiree, has anyone from the Urwanian Department of Justice called us back yet?”
“Unfortunately, no. Would you like for me to contact them again?”
“No, that’s fine.” I sighed, carrying my tea back to the pilot’s chair. Calling again wouldn’t be any help at all. I had been on hold for hours and only moved up a few spots in line. “I guess it’s too much to hope for a response from any of the consuls.”
“None of them have benn in touch with us yet.”
I sipped on my tea tentatively. I had spent the better part of my day making too many calls to different branches of the Urwanian government. I could only leave vague messages that didn’t mention the pillar.
My paranoia prevented me from saying too much. The Makroid might be tapping Urwanian lines of communication. I was already trying to avoid one group of aliens. The last thing I needed was for a deadlier band to start chasing me.
I had reluctantly decided that I had no choice but to visit one of the consuls in person. I was going to take my chances with the consul in Kwakzulu. Face to face, I could gauge the official’s sincerity, and hopefully, pass the pillar to the appropriate hands.
I reached over and clicked into the message alert. “Whoa.” When the message opened, bursts of digital confetti, along with bundles of red and gold balloons, flooded the screen.
The top of the letter had a giant ‘Congratulations’ printed across it, with the logo of an intergalactic matchmaking service tacked onto the top left corner. I skimmed through the rest of the message, reading it out loud as if hearing the words would make them less real.
“Ms. Christine Blackwood, everyone at TerraMates would like to congratulate you on your successful match. We understand from your partner’s call yesterday that you would like a spot reserved as soon as possible. We are pleased to inform you that we have an opening in tomorrow’s schedule. We can fit you in for a beautiful ceremony in the morning and will provide a complimentary photographer and two tickets to an all-you-can-eat buffet. Please contact us to confirm your reservation.”
“I’m not going to confirm shit.” I minimized the message and punched in the number for the support line.
“Hello, this is Trina from TerraMates. How may I direct your call?”
“Hi, Trina. Maybe you can help me. My name is Christine Blackwood, and I just received a message from your company congratulating me about a wedding. My wedding. Unfortunately, there must have been some mistake. I never signed up for the service.”
“Let me check that for you. Black like the color, wood like a forest, correct?”
“Yes.” I took another drink of my tea, tapping my fingers on the armrest.
“One moment, please. I’ve located your file in the system. You are correct. It says we’ve moved your wedding up to tomorrow.”
I spat out my tea, the brown liquid splattering all over the yoke and dashboard. “There must be another Christine Blackwood in your system.”
“Ma’am, we don’t make mistakes at TerraMates, but I’ll be happy to take another look. Is your permanent address still 2031 White Grove Drive?”
“Yes.” I shook my head. “Sorry, Trina, I realize this isn’t your fault, but I’m going to need you to go ahead and cancel it. Everything. Burn all the papers.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Blackwood, but there is nothing I can do for you right now. We have already processed the paperwork. You will need to settle the matter at the original place of issue on Earth.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing you can do for me? I’m a little preoccupied right now.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Blackwood.”
I terminated the call, cursing left and right. Did I need to do anything? They wanted me to confirm the reservation. Couldn’t I just cancel it?
I had no idea how they had any of my information. If I didn’t show up, maybe I would be married and have three kids in a couple of months. I needed to clean this mess up right away.
“Change of plans, Desiree. We’re going home. Again.”
“Can you hold it open for me?” I sprinted toward the heavy glass door, waving wildly at the doorman.
“I’m sorry, Miss.” The face of the heavy doorman frowned in mild annoyance. “We’re closed. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
“You don’t understand.” I held onto my chest, wheezing from the unexpected run. “This is urgent to me. We’re talking about a life-or-death situation. If you’ll just talk to someone, I’m sure they will understand.”
“Ms. Blackwood?” I recognized the voice. A woman with blonde ringlets appeared on the other end of the door. “Let her in, Herbert.”
I nodded at Trina gratefully and slipped into the lobby. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bother you after office hours, but I was halfway across the galaxy. I came here as quickly as I could.”
“I understand, Ms. Blackwood. Today must be your lucky day. One of my superiors is working late tonight. I’m sure she’ll be happy to assist you.” I followed Trina to the back and ended up in a dimly-lit office.
“Ms. Perkins – Ms. Blackwood is here to see you.”
The older woman in a grape pantsuit looked up from behind her desk, beckoning me closer. “We were expecting you.”
When Trina left the room, I sat in the chair across her. “Thank you so much for seeing me. Now, let’s get to the bottom of this insanity.” I reached into my backpack and started pulling out documentation. “What do you need from me to shut this thing down? I’ve only got my license on me, but I have copies of other things that I think might help.”
“Oh dear. Ms. Blackwood, I’m afraid there has been a terrible misunderstanding. It is too late to back out of anything now. The transaction has already cleared.”
I felt my voice raising against my will. “No, the only ones who don’t understand things are you and TerraMates.” My face was starting to become hot. “How is this even possible? I have never consented to anything!”
“Please use your inside voice, Ms. Blackwood.” Ms. Perkins pulled out a thick folder from her drawer and laid out the files in front of me. “Here are all the consent forms and contracts. As you can see, they are all signed and notarized.”
I could do nothing but gape as I leafed through the files. There were three copies of all my identification, a dozen headshots, and a sappy four-page bio of myself printed on pink stationery. The signatures on the contracts were almost identical to mine. In fact, they were so close that I would have believed them to be legitimate if I didn’t know that I had never signed them.
What made my blood freeze over was the power of attorney form stapled to the front of the contracts. The signatures were penned in the same flowery cursive and read ‘Meredith Mae Blackwood.’
“Ms. Blackwood? Is there a problem?”
“Yes, to put it mildly.” The door behind me swung open.
“Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Blackwood, but your husband-to-be is here to see you.”
Before I could react, Axl strutted into the room.
Chapter Fourteen
AXL
The pouring rain hit the top of my head like bullets. My hair was quickly getting wet and falling limp over my forehead. I pulled up the hood of my coat and raced after her. She bolted across the street, narrowly missing two honking cars, and slipped into an empty alley. I leaped over the hood of a passing vehicle and kept pursuing her. I couldn’t look away from her black leather jacket.
“Ms. Blackwood. Christine. Wait!”
The closed walls of the winding alleyw
ay amplified my voice. To my relief, Christine finally slowed down. I stopped a few feet away from her, resisting the urge to bend over and hold my sides.
“You are fast. I’ll give you that.”
She looked at me slowly. My head started racing, but I could tell that it wasn’t from the thrill of the chase. The raindrops ran in small rivers down her forehead and pouting scarlet lips. Wet hair was gathered around one side of her neck, framing her glowing face. For a moment I was lost for words. Even now, she looked stunning.
“Now that I have your attention,” I began. “I have something to discuss with you.”
Christine lunged at me with both hands and pinned me to the wall.
“Listen, you need to get a hold of yourself.”
In a swift motion, Christine drew her weapon and jammed the triple-headed barrel of a plasma pistol against my chest.
“Okay, maybe you have a hold of yourself already.” I raised my hands carefully. I should have seen this coming. “I understand. You are upset.”
“Are you kidding me?” Christine screeched and dug the pistol into my ribs. “Upset doesn’t begin to cover it. I’m livid. I’m appalled. Give me one good reason not to blast a hole through these stupid pecs right now.”
“I hear you.” I glanced at her unsteady finger looped around the trigger. “I have a proposition for you, and I think we’ll both be happy with it. If you can just lower your weapon, I’ll share the details.”
Christine glared up at me, clenched teeth visible behind a curled upper lip. Her eyes darted from side to side as she contemplated her next move. Finally she lowered her weapon and slid it back into a concealed holster.
“Thank you.” I smoothed out the puckers on my coat. “This was the last thing I wanted to do, but you left me with no other options.”
“How could this even happen?” Christine ran a hand through dripping hair, tugging at the ends. “Everything happened too quickly. Walk me through the process.”
“You signed up for the Quick Mate service, didn’t you?” I frowned, studying the perplexed look on her face. “You had the Ready to Wed tag, and you were open for auction. We had a merry bidding war among my team, but I won. I requested TerraMates to keep my identity a secret until the wedding day.”
“Can you stop calling it that?” Christine moved under the shelter of the emergency stairwell above us and began to pace back and forth erratically. “Where is everyone else, anyway?”
“They’re back at the starship. I’m here alone. I just want to talk.”
“Go ahead. No one’s stopping you.”
“You know what I want. Hand over the pillar. We can return to the office tomorrow morning and stop everything.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Christine snorted, leaning over and wringing water out of her hair. “Why would you want me to do that? So you can hand the pillar over to the Makroid? How much are they paying you? If you think this is all it will take for me to give it to you, I’ve got news for you, pal. I could marry a hundred ugly aliens and still keep everything I own.”
“The Makroid?” I pressed my lips into a tight frown. “Why would you think I am working for the enemy?”
She tapped the Magnum crest on my chest. “You’re not part of the Urwanian military. I did some research of my own. There are several articles about Magnum and their clashes with the imperial government. In particular, between you, the founder and chief of operations, and Empress Angkora. Judging by your financial profile, you’re clearly a for-profit enterprise. It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.”
Christine appeared winded from saying all that in a single breath, but she looked at me defiantly.
“Those are some shrewd observations, but I’m sorry to say that your conclusion is mistaken.” I folded my arms but didn’t break eye contact. “We are not part of an insurgency. The Empress currently employs Magnum. While it is true that we do not see eye-to-eye most times, unusual things are happening. Urwan is in danger and we are on the same side, for once. We have set aside our differences to track down the pillar.”
Christine tugged at the skin on her elbows, visibly deflating.
“A likely story.” Her voice began to tremble. “This could be a ruse. I won’t be thrown off that easily. I need to see proof.”
I pulled out the contract from inside my jacket, showing her signatures and an unforgeable Imperial seal. “Is this enough for you?”
“Mm.” Christine gulped, her face falling. She still fought stubbornly. “Why would the Empress choose Magnum out of all the other acquiring companies on Urwan?”
“That’s easy to answer. Because we’re the best.”
“Apparently you’re not.” Christine stuck out her tongue at me. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure I was the one who found a lost artifact.”
“Terrific! I didn’t bring confetti with me, so we’ll have to postpone the celebration. The pillar, if you please?”
“Not so fast.” Christine took a step back as a sly smile crept across her lips. “I refuse to believe you accepted the mission out of the kindness of your heart. You never answered my question. How much are you getting paid for this?”
“That’s beside the point, don’t you think?”
“No.”
I sighed. “One and a half million.”
“You’re talking about full credits, not microcredits, right?” Christine gasped, eyes going round with avaricious glee.
“Yes. Will you listen to me now?”
“I propose a change of plans.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m going back to the palace with you. We’ll split the pot ninety to ten.”
“Are you mad?” I laughed darkly. “There is no way in hell am I giving you ten percent of anything.”
“Great, because I’m not the one taking ten percent.”
“That settles things. You are certifiably insane.”
Christine cut me off, shaking a finger in my face. “Think carefully about what you’re going to say next. I might end up calling the cops, and you’ll never find the pillar that way. Better yet, I could head to the palace by myself and take one hundred percent.”
I paused. “I am willing to give you fifteen percent.”
“Not even close, pal.”
I exhaled roughly, reluctantly adjusting the amount in my head. Magnum wasn’t going to like this. “We’ll go fifty-fifty. Don’t push your luck.”
Christine paused, drumming her fingers along her cheek as she did the calculations. “Very well. You drive a hard bargain.”
The slash in profits stung, but I would figure out how to sell it to my crew. I extended my hand once more. “Hand me the pillar. I will transfer you the credits when the Empress pays me.”
“Do I look stupid to you?” Christine didn’t move a muscle. “This isn’t my first rodeo. I’m not going to let you accidentally lose my contact information. I’m going to the palace with you. As much as it pains me to say this, I’m going to need some leverage. We’ll have to stay married for a while.”
I began to protest, but she cut me off.
“Look at it from my point of view. I’m going to need a way to make sure that you don’t ditch me in the middle of our agreement. I guess this stunt you pulled has its merits, after all. Once I get my cut, we can come back here and get this thing annulled.”
“You are bloody insatiable,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Fine. We will do it your way. Do you have any other requests?”
“Nope.” Christine beamed and shook my hand energetically. “I’ll meet you in front for our wedding ceremony.”
“Right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Christine grabbed a piece of wood and held it over her head, running out into the rain.
“I’m heading back to my ship. Don’t follow me!”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I hollered back. “I have better things to do!”
Chapter Fifteen
CHRISTINE
“Welcome aboard. Don�
��t make yourself at home. You won’t be here for long.”
I pulled off the plastic tiara and veil set from my head and tossed it straight into the trash. Axl strolled up the ramp and entered the ship, holding his hands behind his back as he looked around him. Suddenly, I felt shy and reluctant to start a conversation. I kicked off my pumps and smashed the square red button next to me. The ramp slowly lifted off the ground, humming softly.
I shrugged off my jacket, peeking at Axl in the floor-length mirror next to the bathroom. He didn’t know I could see him, but I noticed him rummage through the garbage. He picked out the wedding garments from the trash and stuffed them into a pocket. After he was sure I hadn’t seen him, Axl leaned his head back to check out the upper deck of my ship, scratching at his freshly manicured beard. He wore a smooth cream coat perfectly tailored to fit his broad shoulders. Under the jacket, he had tucked a pressed dress shirt into his pants.
Damn it. I loathed how good-looking Axl was. All the same, my eyes could not keep themselves from lingering on the promising bulge between his legs.
“Do you live on your ship?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. Is that a problem?”
“It was just a casual observation,” said Axl coolly. “You have a nice place. I especially like the kitchen. Is the counter made of spirewood?”
“I wish. It’s an imitation.” I grabbed a clip and started fixing my hair up in a bun. “Remember to put your copy of the marriage contract somewhere safe. I don’t want any problems with the annulment.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t lose it.”
“You can get yourself something to drink from the refrigerator if you must.” I headed into the cockpit and started preparing the ship for takeoff. “But don’t snoop around. If I see anything an inch out of place, you’ll have to answer to me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good afternoon, Christine. I sense an unauthorized alpha male presence on the ship. Please proceed with extreme caution. Shall I alert the authorities?”
“Alpha male. Thank you.” Axl chuckled.
