It’s infuriating.
Frustrating.
Incredible.
Annoying.
When I saw a Kurian driving around, heading eastbound, I couldn’t believe it. I managed to pull up alongside him.
Tox.
Had he found me? Was he going after me? How did he know to head east?
So I followed him to the gas station but parked in the back and risked turning on my cell phone to see a bunch of missed calls from a strange number.
Then, I shut off that phone, got out my burner phone, and called the number.
A risk, yes, but then Tox answered.
And now, he’s in my car telling me what exactly?
“What do you mean you don’t know his name?” I grumble.
“All I know is that he has silver hair.”
The guy with Ali Khan. He’s the one who wants me dead.
Of course. I should’ve suspected that all along.
I nod slowly. “All right. We can find out who he is.”
“How? Hair color is unusual, right? But still, just knowing he has silver hair isn’t going to make finding him easy.”
I give him a smirk. “Come on, now, Tox. I thought that going after him was your idea in the first place. Seems like you’re having second thoughts.”
“I had hoped that just telling you he had silver hair would mean that you would know his name.”
His honesty and his sincerity have me wavering. There’s just something about Tox. There’s something mesmerizing about the alien mercenary.
There have been how many stories about mercenaries with hearts of gold that it’s almost a cliché, but that’s what Tox is,
Although how he had been in the bedroom hadn’t fit the whole heart of gold thing. More like a man willing to do whatever he needs to for money and for love but with morals.
For love. Where did that come from? It’s far too early for that.
“I know of him,” I offer. “I know what he looks like. I’ve seen him, and I know why he wants me dead. His buddy? He committed suicide by using my hand.”
Tox furrows his brow.
“You used my hand to cross out words, right?” I remind him. “Well, I had a blade to his throat, and he… Silver Hair was his friend, Business associate. Something. They were together when I moved against the target. If I hadn’t… Silver Hair might still be after me anyhow.”
"So, what's our next step?"
“We head on back,” I muse.
“Eat first,” Tox suggests.
I laugh. “Fine. We’ll eat and then drive back. I guess you can follow me.”
“Where are we going to go?” he asks.
“I have to see a friend.”
I keep my disguise on as I stroll past the tents to the one I saw the general in before.
Tox is right on my heels, and I hate that I enjoy his presence so much. I’m not relying on him, but it still feels right to have him around, like he helps to make me more me. It’s strange, and I don’t understand it. He’s not a huge extrovert like Ines, so it’s not that he adopted me. If anything, I think I might’ve adopted him, and it’s beyond weird.
But it still feels right.
It’s not something for me to worry about right now, and I try to slow the swift beating of my heart. Everything has been happening at warp speed, and now, things are slowing down again, but I have the feeling I can’t assume that will always be the case.
Silver Hair might have other bounty hunters waiting to take me out if given a chance, and I can think of at least three bounty hunters off the top of my head who would be all too willing to be paid to off me. Hell, they might not even do it for pay. If word spreads about the hit, they'll just use that as an excuse to knock me off in order to get rid of their competition.
General Janius Jackson eyes me as I enter the tent. Her gaze shifts over my shoulder and up much higher. Despite our massive difference in height, Tox and I managed just fine, and why I’m thinking about that right now, I don’t know. I hope I’m not blushing, that my thoughts aren’t plain. Normally, I have the best of poker faces, and I don’t have many tells.
“Sophia,” the general says slowly.
I grin.
“You do a good job passing off as someone else,” she adds after a moment. “If I hadn’t known you were going to be stopping by, I might not have realized you were, well, you.”
“That’s the point.”
“You didn’t say what the meeting was about.”
I appreciate that the general doesn’t waste time with a lot of small talk.
Before I can answer, though, she’s holding her hand out to Tox. “I’m General Janius Jackson.”
“Tox.”
The general’s eyebrows raise. “Son of Captain Stox and Colonel Lara? I’ve heard a bit about you.”
“You have?” Tox asks.
“Yes. I never would’ve thought that the son of two military-minded people would come to Earth and set up shop as a mercenary.”
“About that—”
“A mercenary who never took on a job that intended harm on another until it came to Sophia here.” The general eyes me. “You do know that he—”
“Yes, I know that he agreed to kill me. You can tell, clearly, that he didn’t.”
“Yes,” the general says idly. “That’s somewhat apparent.”
“Clearly, you know about the hit out on me,” I say. “Do you know if there’s any other? More than one? A bounty? Dead or alive?”
“I heard whispers about the hit, but I don’t know the particulars yet. I’ve been trying to, but we just had the meeting with Madelaine Downing and Saad Ahmad, so things have been a bit tied up with that.”
“How did the meeting go?” I ask.
“It was as smooth as it could have possibly have been. Thank you for your help in setting that up.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what got the guy on me.”
The general furrows her brow. “I don’t follow.”
“When I went after Ali Khan, he was with a silver-haired man,” I explain.
“He’s the one who hired me,” Tox says.
"Do you know if any associates of Ali Khan look like that?" I ask.
General Janius Jackson bares her teeth. “Yes, I do have a feeling I know who that is.”
“Well?” I demand eagerly.
“He’s not a man you want to trifle with, and the people he wants dead end up dead. They swim with the fishes, they end up in pieces, they…” She grits her teeth. He’s someone we’ve sent a few agents after. We’ve had bounties on him from time to time, but he never manages to stay in one spot long enough for us to grab him, and frankly, we’ve lost too many lives trying to bring him down for us to continue to send more.” She eyes Tox. “How were you to notify him that the deed was done?”
“He told me he would know.”
“Of course he did.” The general clucks her tongue. “His name is John Smith.”
I snort. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s his real name.”
“An alias, no doubt, but we’ve never been able to track down his real name, his history, where he lives… He moves from place to place, operating in countries all over the world.”
“Let me guess, he’s involved in whichever country doesn’t seem to be happy with Global Countries of Earth.”
The general nods. “For the most part, we have had peace, but that doesn’t mean that every single day, everyone is happy. He tries to fuel that unhappiness, to further his agenda.”
“He wants to take down the Global Countries?” I assume.
“Or does he want the chaos to grow to the point that he wants to try to sweep in and take control himself?” Tox asks.
The general grimaces. “I’m not certain, but whatever he wants, we don’t. I know that much.”
“You can’t point us in any direction?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, no. I am will to have a small task force assigned to you to keep you safe—”
“No.”
>
“Sophia, I know you’re quite skilled, but—”
“No. I won’t allow them to risk their lives to protect me.”
“Fine. Then they can go after—”
“No.”
“Sophia, it’s not up to debate. Right now, we’ve secured peace. Saad Ahmad was the last holdout to obscure that peace. John Doe will not stand for this. He wants you dead, but he won’t stop there.”
“No, if anyone needs to have additional backup, it’s the leader.”
“You think…”
“I would feel more comfortable if Madelaine Downing had extra protection right now,” I say firmly.
“No one has ever attempted to make a move against the leader of the Global Countries of Earth before,” the general says, her tone heated as if she’s appalled by the very idea.
“That doesn’t mean it can’t happen,” I say softly.
“Yes, but—”
“And who knows what John Doe is capable of,” I continue. “He has killed many others before, hasn’t he?”
“We think he’s the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Saad Ahmad’s son as well as other events that caused certain issues through the past decade, yes.”
“Has he killed before?”
“It’s possible the bomb was orchestrated because of him,” she says softly.
I wince.
Tox coughs into his hand. “I’m a little lost,” he admits.
“There was a massive bomb that blew up a building that was supposed to house a lot of the officers and the leader of Global Countries of Earth,” I say. I eye the general suspiciously. “That building had been empty, though, and the meeting had been held elsewhere.”
The general just looks at me without a hint of emotion on her face, but I’m willing to bet the military is why the meeting hadn’t occurred where it was said to be conducted.
“It was shortly after that that the first leader stepped down,” I muse.
“Yes.”
“Because he feared for his life.”
“Yes,” the general repeats.
“Because it’s a dangerous job,” I say pointedly.
“I don’t like the idea of you going up against John Doe alone,” the general says. “We have some new members to our—”
“She won’t be alone,” Tox says firmly.
“I appreciate that sentiment,” the general says, eyeing the Kurian, “but I was thinking that you could team up with—”
“No,” I say firmly.
“Sophia,” she starts.
“I thank you for giving us his name.”
“It’s not even his real name. Give me a week. I’ll have my best men on this—”
“You’ve had your best men on him already, haven’t you?” I ask softly.
She says nothing, but that’s confirmation enough.
“They never found him, not his real name, not any locations either? No bases of operations? Because he’s bound to have more than one.”
“He’s dangerous, and that’s all the more reason—”
"That's the exact reason why it will be just Tox and me to handle things."
General Janius Jackson eyes me. “You’re a stubborn woman.”
“A very stubborn woman.” I grin at her. “One who knows how to survive. I’ll be fine.”
She grunts. “You could just join the military, keep that wig, and go into hiding. We can protect you—”
“What about protecting the rest of the world?”
“You are one of the strangest bounty hunters I’ve ever met.”
“Yes, well, you don’t work with many of the others, do you?”
“No. I wasn’t sure when I was first told about using your services. I’ll admit it, but since Saad Ahmad, I’ve looked into your track record. It’s impressive, and I can see why John Doe views you as a threat.”
“He’s going to see how threatening I can be,” I assure her.
The general nods and looks up at Tox. “The two of you, so very strange,” she murmurs to herself. “If there’s anything you need, you let me know. Please.”
I nod. “We might be in touch.”
15
Tox
Walking away from the general with so very little to go on makes me very frustrated, to the point that I want to scream.
“What are we going to do now?” I ask Sophia.
“Don’t worry,” she says brightly. “I have an idea. You go on ahead to the car. I’ll be right back.”
“But—”
She’s already turning right back around and entering the tent. I debate trying to listen but opt to head to the car like she asked. She’ll tell me the plan.
Won’t she?
I think so. She knows she can’t do this alone. The two of us are in this together.
Together. I love the sound of that.
Sophia doesn’t make me wait long for her. She goes to open her door but pauses to brush back the blond strands, and I grimace.
“You don’t like?” she asks, striking a pose.
“Not really, no.” I lift my chin. “What did you talk to the general about?”
She climbs in, sitting behind the steering wheel. I took a chance by sitting in her car instead of my centuricar. I have a feeling we'll only be using one vehicle for whatever it is she has planned.
“I asked her if she knew the name of a poison to do what I want,” Sophia asks as if that’s a normal, everyday question.
Even though it’s perfectly insane, but what do I know?
"And what is it you want?" I ask, careful not to sound too judgmental. It's not that I'm judging her for wanting a poison. I just have a feeling she doesn't want to use the poison on John Doe, and that makes me nervous, very nervous.
“Have you ever heard of the story of Romeo and Juliet?” she asks.
I blink a few times. “I think my mom might’ve mentioned it once, but I honestly don’t remember any specifics.”
“William Shakespeare?” When I shake my head, she grins. “Romeo and Juliet’s families hated each other.”
“Why?”
“Good question.” Her laughter confuses me, even though I do love the sound. “The why is never explained in the play.”
“This is a play.”
“A play, a movie… Many movies. The story has been retold in so many different ways, even with vampires and werewolves, and I’m sure there have been some versions when Romeo’s an alien.”
“Is that so?” I’m amused. “Why can’t Juliet be the alien?”
“Well, I suppose if one is an alien, they would actually consider each other aliens. Anyhow, the point is that Romeo and Juliet fell in love, but because of the war between their families, they couldn’t be together, not publicly. They came up with a plan to run away and be together forever.”
“They would never see their parents again.”
“No, but it was a small price to pay for their three-day love affair.”
“They fell in love after three days.”
Sophia’s face turns a slight shade of pink. “Yes. I know. Completely unbelievable.”
“If you say so,” I murmur, not agreeing at all, having a feeling that her discomfort is from her feeling the same way but questioning it because she’s been led to believe that love should take a long time to develop.
Not always.
Not with Novans.
Not with Kurians.
When we fall in love, we fall in love hard.
“Juliet went to a friar—”
“A friar?”
“A friend,” she says, but I have a feeling that’s a simplification. “Juliet got a sleeping potion from him that would make it seem as if she were dead.”
“Ah! Yes! You want to fake your death!” I burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“I actually thought about that. I thought that we could fake your death and…” I trail off, thinking about the rest—buying a house, filling it with babies…
I barely convin
ced her to let me help her to team up against John Doe. I’m not about to press my luck by asking her about moving in already.
"What happened with Romeo and Juliet?" I ask so that she won't ask any questions about my plan. Although I could just say that I didn't have any specifics because that's not exactly a lie. Between everything with us having sex and then her running off, I never got around to suggesting to her the idea of our faking her death. She bought me off all right, bought me with her strength, her ferocity, her drive, her determination, her beauty…
It takes me a moment to realize that Sophia hasn’t answered my question yet.
“I take it things didn’t go so well for Romeo and Juliet then,” I say dryly. It’s not really a question anymore.
“No. Word was supposed to reach Romeo about Juliet’s death not being real, but he never got the message, so he thought she was truly dead. He bought poison, took it beside her body, and died.”
“He killed himself?”
"Yes. Then, she woke from the potion, saw he was dead, kissed him to see if the poison would kill her too, but there wasn't enough, so she killed herself with his dagger."
“That’s… depressing.”
She laughs. “It’s a tragedy, not a romance.”
I blink a few times. “You said it was made into movies and lots of adaptations, right? Why would people want to see or think about such a terrible story?”
“It’s not terrible.”
“Romeo should’ve made certain she was dead, but even then, wouldn’t Juliet have wanted him to continue to live on without her?”
“They were in their teens, so they were very young.”
“Are they certain that it was true love? Because true love isn’t selfish. I almost feel like their killing each other wasn’t an act of love. It was more desperation or obsession or…That’s not what love is.”
"Then, I'm not even going to tell you about Rosaline."
“Who was she?”
"At the beginning of the play, Romeo is infatuated with her."
“And then, what? He meets Juliet, and he’s instantly in love with her?”
“Pretty much, yes. There’s the whole theory that Romeo being in love with Rosaline is supposed to be immature love, and it does contrast heavily with his feelings for Juliet, which is supposed to be his mature love. I mean, yes, it’s a stretch to believe that a thirteen-year-old—”
Mesmerized by the Alien Mercenary Page 9
