Raging at the Stars

by Lesley Davis

  Sofia laughed but hissed as the movement pained her. Emory hugged her closer.

  “Keep still, Major, please.”

  “It’s Captain.”

  “You know I don’t do well with authority, so you might as well get used to it.” Emory looked around them. The alley was unrecognizable from what they’d first entered. Emory was unsure whether to be claustrophobic from the enclosed space or thankful for its shelter.

  “Captain Martinez?”

  Emory’s heart nearly shot out of her chest in fright. A soldier, gun drawn, appeared almost over her shoulder to peer down at Sofia. Sofia laughed then winced again.

  “You confound me. You run into danger trying to get abducted, but you scream like a little girl at the cavalry arriving.”

  Emory was silent, still shaking, as she watched the soldier holster his gun and kneel beside Sofia.

  “What are you doing this far north, Captain?” he asked, reaching to help Sofia to her feet.

  Emory immediately missed the warmth of Sofia’s body from her own.

  “Let’s get you both somewhere safe.” He slung an arm around Sofia’s waist.

  Is there such a place? Emory fell into step behind them, her eyes constantly darting to the sky above.

  *

  The vehicles blocking the alleyway were moved aside with little preamble by the military so that Emory could reverse the van back out and onto the road. Sofia was bundled off into a military truck, and Emory was given instructions to take a place in the convoy. Sofia didn’t seem all too happy to leave Emory to her own devices, especially as Emory had introduced herself as CIA Agent Ellen Mays. She’d flashed her false credentials too and hadn’t missed the furious scowl Sofia had directed at her. Emory had dared her to reveal her true identity. Instead, Sofia had glared at her, threatening silent retribution, then had been escorted to the medical truck.

  Emory’s head wound had been given more than just a cursory glance, but she’d argued she was more than capable to drive her own vehicle. The soldiers had given her some strange looks about the VW Bus, but Emory had muttered something about ending up with an undercover car and they’d just shrugged it off with comments under their breath about how odd the CIA was.

  Emory was relieved to see how many huge armaments this force had brought with them to chase away the saucers. Large anti-aircraft guns were mounted on the back of trucks, soldiers carried handheld rocket launchers, and there were some weapons Emory had never seen before. And then there were the tanks. Huge behemoths with their turrets aimed at the sky.

  The saucers had vanished, leaving behind them a swath of destruction through the buildings. Now was the time for the military to make a strategic retreat back to base to fill up on more ammunition before heading out again. Emory realized that having the tanks roll in meant that this time the saucers didn’t get a chance to land or to start their abductions.

  “Emory, this Euphoria they’re taking you to isn’t a listed base on any of my records,” Dink said in her ear. “I also have a feeling you are going to have to go in blind because Sofia knows about me and the fact I’ve got you kitted out so I can see all.”

  “If I have to hand over the phone I will. I’m not taking chances in there arguing and ending up behind bars because I piss off people other than Sofia. If I can keep it all though, for God’s sake, make sure you keep an eye on where I am in case I disappear.”

  “I’ll do my best. If it helps I have gotten some new keys for padlocked doors that usually keep me out on the net. That laptop you got me into is opening up some new areas for me to investigate. I’m using it to check out Euphoria.”

  “Sofia isn’t going to let it drop about the laptop. She knows it’s not mine.”

  “You can give it back to her. I’ve gotten off all that I need thanks to you patching me in before she found you. Just get the USB off it without her seeing and she can have it back and it will look untouched. Thanks to it I have passwords for top secret clearances and enough files to peruse for a long time. Also, its owner, Lt. Commander Garner, very kindly revealed a new word for me to look into.” He paused dramatically. “Dionysius. Sound familiar?”

  Emory’s memory began sparking. “That sounds a lot like the name our source was getting ready to furnish us with before the site got shut down and prosecution was threatened.”

  “That’s what I thought, so I’ll check into this a bit more now that I have more than my foot in the door.”

  “Talking of being let in, there’s a part of me worried we’ll reach this base and they won’t let me through the door for some reason.”

  “Like the fact you’re not who your credentials purport you to be?”

  “Sofia can verify that. Man, it’s hard sneaking around the military when there’s so many of them to get past.”

  “I can’t see them leaving you outside in the van while they all traipse inside. For one thing, Sofia is going to want to keep you where she can see you.” Dink chuckled. “Speaking of which, Casanova…”

  Emory had wondered how long it would take for Dink to mention her kissing Sofia. She knew all too well he had had a front row seat—literally, thanks to the glasses—to what she had done.

  “It was sooooo romantic,” he warbled. “And seeing it all up close and personal that I could almost taste the captain’s lipstick myself was almost a religious experience.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Emory said, not enjoying having her chain yanked over something that had felt so right. “I thought we were going to die. And can you honestly blame me? She’s all kinds of beautiful.” Emory couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped her. “But she’s so far out of my league she might as well be in orbit.”

  “Along with the little matter of her being military and working at the base you were trying to investigate.”

  “Montagues and Capulets, Dink.” She looked over the landscape they were driving in. “I have no idea where the hell I am.”

  “Off the grid as of five minutes ago. So far off the grid you’re no longer on Google maps.”

  “Are you sure you’ve never come across Euphoria base, Dink? I’ve looked into so many, but this name doesn’t ring a bell with me.”

  “Same here, but for every Edwards Air Force base that gets found out, there has to be some that remain secret. This is a golden opportunity. I really want this to be more than just a military base.”

  “I just want it to have the weapons to bring those goddamn saucers down.” Emory followed the truck ahead of her, mindful not to stray out of line.

  Chapter Twelve

  Euphoria was a nondescript air force base that didn’t exactly scream out it was anything special. Emory was seriously disappointed as they drove into its compound. Before she could even get her bearings, Emory was directed to the medical center to have her head wound looked over a little more closely. She could hear Sofia being dealt with behind the curtain drawn between them. Emory sat still and relatively silent except for sharp intakes of breath when the prodding hurt. The laceration on her scalp was cleansed but left uncovered, and she was dismissed with some pills for the headache that was lurking behind her eyes.

  Much to her delight, Emory was handed a clean pair of fatigues to change into and was left alone to get undressed. She was happy enough to get out of her debris-covered clothing and into something clean. Especially fatigues that would serve to make her look like everyone else on the base. She quickly washed her face in the small sink and eyed herself in the mirror, knowing Dink could see her as she deliberately smoothed the collar down on her jacket. She listened as Sofia answered something the doctor had asked her. Spying an opportunity, Emory drew back the curtain as soundlessly as possible and checked that no one was in the room except for those behind her. The coast was clear so Emory snuck out as quietly as possible.

  “I need you to get out of this building and head across the base to the third hangar,” Dink said urgently after being silent for so long.

  “How so specific?” Emory muttered under
her breath as she nodded at the soldiers that roamed the base.

  “Because the roof cam of the van is showing me the hangars and there’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing going on in that specific hangar.”

  Emory frowned. “So you think there’s something in there? It could just be a mess hall.”

  “You’re on a base that isn’t in the public domain of known bases. It’s got an air of secrecy that is making my Spidey senses tingle. And there’s a whole load of military gathered there too, with the big guns. I’m not seeing people coming out of there with bags of chips, Em. Something is happening in that hangar.”

  “I’m a die-hard conspiracy nut, Dink, and even that’s a stretch for me.”

  “Yes, and you didn’t believe in aliens either, and now you’re down three candy bars that you still have to furnish me with. Anyway, from what I saw as you drove in and then very kindly stood to give me a three hundred and sixty degree angle of the area, I have made some calculations.”

  “I love it when you break out your nerd genes.”

  “I believe the building you need to concentrate on is Hangar Three. If I’m wrong then it’s up to you to just look around and not get caught.”

  Emory spotted a young officer. “I’d better get a decent cover story in case a certain captain realizes I’m AWOL.” She took out her credentials and held them up to him. She read his name tag. “Airman Rowe, can you direct me to a private line, please? Aliens or not, if I don’t check in with my superiors I’m going to be begging for little green men to abduct me.”

  The airman gave her an all too understanding look and led her to an office.

  “Thank you.” Emory stepped inside and walked toward the desk.

  “Can’t promise you a clear signal,” he said.

  “That’s all right, I can at least try. Can you close the door so I don’t get disturbed? Even with what’s happening out there some things are still classified.”

  He nodded and closed the door behind him. Emory could see his shadow move a little to the left of the door as he guarded it against intrusions. She flipped the lock and then hastened over to the window.

  “This way, if Sofia comes after me I’m supposedly locked in here.”

  “She’s going to kick your ass.”

  “Then let’s hope my field trip here is worth the wrath I’m going to have rained down upon me by the little Latina.”

  “You like her though.”

  Emory eased the window open enough to make an exit. She checked quickly that no one was in sight.

  “Yes, I do. But that’s not going to stop me from investigating a base that has an exclusion zone above it. Or carries such badass weaponry that can chase flying saucers off.”

  “Just don’t get caught,” Dink said. “I can’t exactly come and break you out from a base that doesn’t exist.”

  “Sneaky as a ninja,” Emory promised as she slid out the window without a sound. “God, it’s like being sixteen all over again and sneaking out to go make out with Dana Benson.” She closed the window behind her and scanned the area.

  “Now walk across that base as if you own it, soldier,” Dink said.

  Emory tugged her fatigues down and set off determinedly. She hoped that Sofia was being delayed enough to not wonder what Emory was getting up to. Emory knew she was living on borrowed time where the captain was concerned.

  She got to the hangar without being stopped and found a very out of place set of elevator doors.

  “Ooh, lookie what we have here.” Emory quickly looked around her and then hastened toward the doors. There was no button to press to call the elevators. Instead there was a swipe box.

  “Damn it.” Emory’s mood plummeted. Then she brightened. Please let this work, please let this work. She opened a pocket on her fatigues and pulled out Jessica Sanders’s swipe card she’d found. She ran her fingers over the smooth plastic, took a deep breath, and with a decisive swipe, ran it through the machine.

  The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Emory stepped inside and stared at the long list of floors. Just numbers, no descriptions.

  She tugged her sleeve over her hand so she wouldn’t touch the button directly. She didn’t need to leave fingerprints behind unnecessarily. The elevator began to descend. Emory couldn’t help but feel that with that one press she had sealed her fate.

  “Where are all the secrets hiding at Euphoria base?” Dink asked in an announcer’s voice. Emory played along.

  “I’ll take Level Forty for one hundred, Alex.”

  *

  Sofia was incensed. She’d already chewed out the medical staff and was now storming the corridors in search of Emory Hawkes. Or more erroneously, one Agent Ellen Mays as everyone here recognized her as. She couldn’t believe Emory had walked out of the medical center and disappeared.

  “I’m going to kill her,” she growled under her breath. She barely registered the man who snapped to attention as she passed him. Sofia stopped abruptly and turned around.

  “Why aren’t you at the briefing, Airman?”

  Airman Rowe gestured back toward the office. “I’m waiting to clear the room. There’s a CIA agent in there making a call.” He frowned a little. “I think she’s calling every active agent going because she’s been in there a very long time.”

  Sofia tried to open the door. It didn’t budge.

  “She said she needed privacy for classified talks.” He shrugged as if that explained it all. “CIA.”

  “I bet she did,” Sofia fumed. “Open this door now.”

  “I don’t have the key, ma’am.”

  “Then kick the damn thing in,” Sofia ordered and stood back as he hurried to do as she requested.

  The room was empty.

  “But I haven’t moved from out here.” Airman Rowe entered the room and looked around.

  Sofia went directly to the window and noticed that it wasn’t locked down. “Direct me to the security tower.”

  Big Brother indeed had eyes everywhere, including every inch of a secret base that had need-to-know things to hide from far too inquisitive investigative journalists whose theories were too close to the truth.

  Sofia’s anger fueled her footsteps. She was berating herself for thinking Emory wouldn’t abuse the freedom Sofia had allowed her by not chaining her to her side.

  I should have smashed those damned glasses of hers when I had the chance.

  “Ma’am? Captain? Is there a problem?” Airman Rowe was favoring her with a very apprehensive eye.

  “Fucking CIA,” she said.

  He smiled. “Understood, ma’am, loud and clear.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The journey down in the elevator was broken up by people stepping on and off at various floors. It probably would have looked like any other day in the building if not for the grim looks of strain and distress on everyone’s faces. Emory couldn’t fault that. She knew that even being this far underground was no deterrent for the power the aliens had. She hoped the weapons the military had brought into play earlier were available here. She had no desire to have escaped Area 51’s destruction only to die in an undisclosed base.

  There were forty levels listed, but the elevator only went as far as floor thirty-seven. The last three could only be accessed by stairs and a card swipe. Emory wished Jessica Sanders hadn’t been abducted, but she was grateful she had left her card behind so that Emory could have use of it. She had it hanging round her neck on its lanyard, forever grateful it wasn’t the sort that required a photo ID.

  Emory quickly pinpointed where the stairwell she needed was as she followed everyone else off the elevator. She walked past a vast array of laboratories. The lab rat in front of her was carrying a stack of files tucked under his arm, so Emory, making sure no one was behind her to catch her, swiped a few out. She figured he’d never miss them until they were needed, and by then she would be well out of range. She halted by a window and pretended to be reading through the file, all the time keeping her head up so that her glasse
s caught everything she was seeing. She hoped Dink was getting it all. She tried desperately to spot something she could use. Anything that she could have as a leverage toward getting her family back. She had no idea what but just knew she had to do something more than hide out and hope the aliens would eventually leave. There had to be something, anything, in the base that she could use to her advantage.

  And if I have to search every damn saucer I will until I find those girls.

  She flipped through the file she was using as cover as if it would tell her something. It was mostly schematics of a strange symbol. It had the shape of a mandala. Concentric circles winding into infinity in their intricate patterning. It was a highly stylized design that sparked something in Emory’s memory, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. She stared at it for a moment longer then shoved the file under her arm. One way or another she was taking its contents with her. She spied a sign for restrooms and hurried inside.

  After locking herself in a toilet cubicle, Emory took out the pages she wanted and folded them. She then started stuffing them in her bra and down her boxer shorts. She positioned them as best she could for comfort’s sake. She’d learned long ago that people were more likely to pat your clothes and make you toss your pockets. Very rarely did anyone ask you to drop your shorts or undo your bra so they could check for stolen paperwork. She just had to live with any paper cuts she incurred.

  She stepped out of the cubicle and checked her appearance in the mirror to make sure there was nothing showing. Then, still clutching the files that were a little less full, she slipped back onto the laboratory floor and started to wander around. She was curious what was being researched here. She peered through one of the glass partitions and mourned the fact she’d spent her chemistry lessons at school mooning over Kate Moore more than she had paid actual attention to the subject. There were too many people around for her to be brazen enough to walk in and look through the microscopes. The areas were filled with test tubes, vials, and equipment she had never seen before. Huge fridges housed multitudes of samples of whatever was being tested there.