10 Alliance

 

Ashtoret de Origa

“Jesus, Ash, you ran here in like twenty minutes. The zoo’s just up this way.”

Ashtoret grinned feeling a sense of pride hearing how impressed Abby was. He grunted and patted her clasped hands at his throat to acknowledge he heard. They slowed to a walk as they entered a tarmac filled with the boxy metal vehicles, and he set Abby down. He was instantly on guard, scanning all the humans moving toward the squat building flanked by gates. Instead of males in black uniforms there were multitudes of families. He couldn’t help smiling at all the excited young. Some ran and jumped up and down, unable to contain themselves. Others were too small to walk, being pushed around in curious little carts. They were all incredibly sweet looking. It reminded him of the new park built in the center of Sargon back home.

“Um, guys, I don’t know how we’re all going to get in. I have enough cash for a few of us, but not everyone,” Abby commented as she looked at the line of humans in front of the main building.

“I’ve got my credit card.” Hope pulled her communicator and a plastic card from her pocket.

“No,” Abby blurted, capturing the attention of a passing family. She pointed to some trees and led them out of earshot of the public. “That’s how we were found in the club. You shouldn’t even have your phone. Crap.” Abby ran a nervous hand through her curly red hair.

“Do you mean this thing?” Aculus snatched the communicator from Hope’s hand.

“Yeah.” Abby nodded. “Shit, shit, shit.”

Ashtoret took another look around, studying the crowd a second time. The human warriors could easily change clothes, so he critically eyed any male who appeared to be alone. Except there weren’t any lone males. They either were toting young or escorting females.

“Dammit, bonehead, give that back,” Hope demanded.

“Sorry, Nadzia, this is compromising our mission.” Aculus crushed the communicator, then for good measure dropped it and ground it under his boot.

“Son of a bitch.” Hope punched Aculus in the chest. “Ow. Dammit!” She recoiled and held her fist.

“Now, ivory beauty, you went and injured yourself,” Aculus tsked as he grabbed Hope’s fist and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

“How was I supposed to know? It’s not like I run from Feds every day,” Hope growled and pulled her hand away. “If I’ve botched everything, we might as well use my credit card to get in.”

“We don’t know for sure that they’re following your phone,” Abby countered.

“I give up. How are we getting in?” Hope threw her hands up in defeat.

“Let’s go over the fence,” Terentius suggested as he surveyed the slat wall.

“Good idea,” Faktil agreed.

“Not here. There’s cameras.” Abby pointed to the surveillance unit mounted atop the squat building.

They followed the fence into the trees, then one by one scaled the wall. Ashtoret balanced at the top of the fence and Aculus tossed Hope up. He caught her and passed her down to Terentius, who stood on a bin of rubbish. Next was Abby. Then he and Aculus joined the others on solid ground.

“Ew. We certainly picked a spot,” Hope commented with a scrunched-up nose as she looked at the collection of trash bins.

Besides the rank trash there were a host of other unusual scents. Some of the smells came from sweet and fried foods, others came from the odd assortment of beasts housed in the park. He paused, seeing a pair of brown boots outside the gate concealing their group and the garbage bins. He held up his hand, motioning for silence till the human passed.

“We spread out. I’ll escort Abby and Hope,” he instructed everyone.

“I’ll be with you,” Aculus insisted with a keen eye on Hope.

There was no point arguing with the smitten bony warrior, and Aculus was more than capable. It would be good to have him close by.

“I assume you have a way to contact Frank to arrange where we’ll meet, since you obliterated my phone.” Hope’s brow rose as she eyed the armored warrior.

“Of course.” Aculus tapped the handheld strapped to his bony forearm.

“Here’s a map.” Abby picked a stained scrap of paper off the ground. “So, where should we meet Frank?” She unfolded the colorful map.

“This area looks like it has several ways in and out. What are these long-necked beasts?” He studied the drawing of the curious speckled creature.

“Giraffes. They’re from the African continent,” Abby replied.

“Sounds good, let’s contact Frank.” Hope nodded.

He listened as Aculus contacted Frank and the sisters arranged the meeting. Once it was clear outside, he eased open the gate and they emerged from their smelly hideout. The group spread out, so they didn’t draw attention while heading to the long-necked beast’s enclosure.

“I want a snow cone,” Abby declared when they passed a café stand.

“Seriously? We just ate.” Hope quirked a brow at her.

“Humor me. We have time.” Abby sidled up to her sister. “And this will make us look normal.” Abby glanced from him to Aculus.

Even in disguise they still stood out in the human crowd, with the way they towered over everyone. Though he wasn’t sure how grabbing a snack would help that.

“Fine, get me a cherry flavored one. Ooh and some popcorn.”

“Oh no, we just ate,” Abby mocked her sister, making him chuckle.

He kept one eye on the humans moving about while Abby fetched the food. She returned with two red conical-shaped items and a bag of yellow bits he assumed was the popcorn.

“Here, have a taste.” Abby handed him one cone while passing the other snacks to Hope.

He took the red snow cone and noticed it was cold. It looked like shredded ice covered in some sort of syrup. He took a bite and smiled. It was sweet.

“Not too bad, huh?” She took the icy sweet and nibbled on it. “Reminds me of when we were kids.” She smiled wide.

He wanted to laugh at the way her lips and tongue instantly turned bright red, but kept quiet so he didn’t attract attention.

“Hope’s not the badass she thinks she is.” Abby pointed toward her sister. “She’s got a mean sweet tooth, but look at how she’s sharing with Aculus.”

He nodded in amusement and they continued on. They passed a large habitat and he halted in his tracks, his eyes going wide seeing the hairy creatures within.

They’ve imprisoned Toufik.

Ashtoret took two steps toward the tall fence. The black-haired male turned, and he noticed its arms were a little too long, its body overly rotund. As he studied the creature he saw the face wasn’t to a Toufik at all, except for all the hair. This distant cousin’s nose was much too broad and flat, the forehead sloped. Ashtoret relaxed. For a moment he’d worried they had a far larger problem than he expected to find when coming to Earth. This beast was intelligent enough, but it was content to gamble about, munch leaves, and eye its female companion.

“This way, Ash.” Abby tugged his arm.

He surreptitiously captured an image of the creature with his handheld then let Abby lead the way. They reached the tawny long-necked beasts with the giant brown spots and he couldn’t help gape at them. It was curious how they could even hold their heads up with such a spindly neck. He felt like one of the human young with the way he stared in awe at the creatures. There was nothing like this zoo on Cadi.

“Should we just sit and wait?” Hope asked.

“I guess so,” Abby replied with a shrug. “I suppose you better go so you don’t spook Frank.”

Ashtoret nodded and kissed Abby on top of her head. He glanced around, noting where the others sat or stood attempting to blend in while keeping watch for human warriors who might try to hide amidst the families. He chose a spot where he could easily watch over Abby and Hope as they waited.

The young humans didn’t pay him any attention as they jostled around him to get a better look at the long-necked creatures inside the enclosure. An older male approached Abby and Hope, and Ashtoret was instantly on alert. He took a step forward then stopped when Abby stood wearing an easy smile as she gave the male a hug.

This must be Frank.

He eased into his original position against the tree and pretended to watch the tall spotted creatures, while observing the trio in his periphery. The crowd grew loud and chaotic as several dozen lively youth arrived, inundating the path. They all wore matching uniforms and appeared to be part of an academy. The adults in the group struggled to corral the young while discussing the animals. He shifted out of their way, attempting to get a better view of Abby, Hope and Frank, then froze.

Abby! They were gone.

Overwhelming panic gripped him as he looked both ways. He pushed through the crowd as fast as he could without knocking any of the young down.

“Abby!” he yelled, not caring about the frightened looks directed his way.

 

Abby

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Abby exclaimed as Frank hustled her and Hope toward the staff entrance of the giraffe exhibit.

“You’ve got a tail,” Frank replied brusquely.

She hadn’t see anything odd, unless Spec-ops was recruiting school children now.

Maybe he saw the guys.

“No. Wait. We had a couple friends bring us.” She tried to pull away, but Frank held her tight.

Her eyes widened when half a dozen soldiers greeted them upon entering the animal care building. Her gaze swung toward Frank, eyes narrowing.

“You called the Feds,” Hope leveled the accusation before Abby could get the words out.

“The vehicle is waiting out back on the access road,” one of the soldiers in fatigues reported.

“What the fuck, Frank?!” Abby screeched and started struggling harder to get away.

“We’ve got five incoming,” another grim-faced asshole announced.

“Good! Ash. Ash!” she screamed.

“Shut up.” One of the Spec-ops grabbed her arm and started running through the building.

She tried to resist but the guy was wrenching her arm, forcing her to keep up.

“Ow, dammit, asshole!” Hope yelled at another soldier giving her the same treatment.

Abby was shocked the prick didn’t use her to shove open the back door. There was a feral snarl unlike anything she’d ever heard. It sounded like one of the lions had gotten loose. Her head swung to see two hooded figures jump over the twenty-foot fence.

“Ash!” she screamed again as the soldier shoved her into a black SUV.

Ash let out another enraged roar while he raced toward her. The car door slammed, locking her and Hope inside, just as the soldiers started firing at Ash and Aculus.

“No!” she cried in horror, pounding on the window as the nightmare unfolded.

“Oh my god. Oh, fucking god,” Hope screamed.

Before the SUV peeled out, spraying gravel in its wake, she watched Aculus and Ash dive to avoid gunfire.

“Please be okay. Please be okay,” Abby chanted with her hand on the glass, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“What is your problem, Frank? We trusted you!” Hope bellowed.

“You girls have no idea what you’ve gotten yourselves involved in,” Frank retorted from the passenger seat.

Immense anger filled her. She never expected this kind of betrayal.

“What have you done? Dad is your friend,” she snarled.

“Dad better be all right.” Hope glared at Frank.

“I was told you two were abducted, but I have a feeling that wasn’t the case,” Frank barked. “Do you have any idea what these things are capable of?”

“People, not things,” she countered, undaunted by Frank’s surly attitude.

“Are you trying to start a war Earth can’t possibly deal with?” Hope pointed out.

“You have no understanding of what’s going on.” Frank then clamped his mouth shut and didn’t say another word as they drove.

Hope took her hand and held it tight. It was probably a good thing, since she was entertaining thoughts of strangling the people in the front seat. It was a futile notion. They’d wreck, then another blacked-out SUV would scoop them up and they’d be back at square one. Still the violent impulse was riding her hard, making her tremble all over.

Ash, please be okay.

She stared out the window to distract herself, and recognized they were heading back to the Air Force base.

“Why did I assume we’d be going to some lone building in the middle of nowhere?” Hope snarked.

Abby snorted at the flippant comment and squeezed Hope’s hand tighter. Despite the wit, she could tell her sister was scared shitless. The feeling was mutual.

The SUV pulled in front of a nondescript building on base and a pair of soldiers unceremoniously pulled them out of the car. She tried to catch a glimpse of who was in the other SUV pulling up but they were swiftly ushered inside. The soldiers marched them past a bevy of stiff sober-faced guards and into an elevator. She could feel it descending into the bowels of God only knew what kind of hell.

“Are you taking us to see Dad?” she asked but Frank didn’t reply as they exited the cubicle.

The warren of halls beneath the base was daunting, but she tried to hold it together. They reached a long hall with several ominous doors and her tremors got worse, making it hard to walk.

“No!” Abby struggled as they tugged her one direction while Hope was taken another.

“Abby!” Hope cried.

“Frank, please,” she begged, but he just gave a stern shake of his head as he turned his back.

The soldier shoved her into a small room and slammed the metal door with a clang.

“Let me out. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

She tugged the knob and pounded on the door, but it was pointless. She turned slowly and eyed the room. It was a scene straight out of every horrible action movie; pale bland walls with a wide one-way mirror, bright lights, and a lone metal chair sitting in the center.

“Sit down, Miss Murray,” the voice barked through the speaker.

“I can hear you just fine,” she countered a bit more bravely than she honestly felt.

Abby knew it was wiser to cooperate, but all the emotions coursing through her were making it hard to think straight. Bile rose in her throat as she pictured Ash laying bloody on the ground or captured and dragged to another non-descript room. The notion of never seeing him again was crippling. Thoughts of her dad and sister made the nausea worse. The least of her fears was being forgotten in a place like this, but it flirted at the edge of her mind, taunting her. There was no way she could sit. Abby paced, otherwise she’d collapse and curl into a ball.

“Tell us everything from the beginning,” the voice demanded.

She glanced toward the speaker and tried to focus.

Pull your shit together.

She had to be smart and figure out what to do here. She could say nothing and not implicate herself any further in whatever they suspected.

I think this is a bit past that. They obviously saw you escape in a damn spaceship.

That was the trick; how much did they know? She didn’t want to risk Ash’s safety or the rest of her family. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to figure this out.

I’m not cutout for this shit. Oh, God. She repressed the threatening tears.

Her eyes opened slowly as something dawned on her. She was being very selfish. Her family never asked for any of this bullshit, but there was so much more at risk. Ash came to Earth to help protect her people. He risked his life for them. She had to stop fearing for herself, her family and even Ash.

“You are the Department of Defense, Advance Aerospace Threat Identification Division, aren’t you?” Abby squared her shoulders as she stared at the mirror.

“We will ask the questions."

She smiled wanly at whoever was on the other side of the mirror. This was how they did things. Their fear made them insist on controlling the situation no matter how deplorable the means. She had to work around that if anything was going to be accomplished here.

“I’ll assume that’s a yes considering everything that’s happened, Frank and my father’s connections,” she countered. “Well, every conversation begins somewhere, though you really take the cake with initiating these discussions,” she huffed, gathering her thoughts. “Unexpectedly, I find myself an ambassador.” Abby paused, thinking she heard the subtle release of air by whoever was on the other side of the microphone. “I’ve been made aware of a threat to our people and planet. Although that threat isn’t coming from the people you are currently hounding.”

“I fail to believe this. Several people have been injured in an attempt to make contact with these individuals.”

“Ha!” she barked out. “Please. I’m not an idiot and neither are you. You trashed my house, took my father by force as well as one of the Cadi, and so on. Your first response was offense, rash and stupid. Did you expect the Cadi to just let you attack them?”

“Conceded. But you, little girl, are too quick to trust. Do you think the devil plays nice when he comes knocking on your door?” the voice scoffed.

“True.” She nodded. “Regardless, you incited a negative response with your behavior. And since I’ve spent time with the Cadi, where I wasn’t threatening them, I’ve learned a few things you probably haven’t.” She thought about poor Vintor and what they might be doing to him to get information. “So, if you want to stop insulting me, I’ll share what I know, since I don’t want any of us to come to harm.”

“Very well, we’re listening.”

“The people I met are here to hide our planet from a race of reptilian people who are basically slaving space pirates.”

“Reptiles.” The voice was even rather than mocking.

“Yes, they’re called Juru Bilja something. Sorry I can’t really recall the name.”

“And why would these Cadi bother to help us? If that is indeed the case.”

“Suspicious as ever. If you’re not going to trust my perceptions and what I tell you, we can stop right now.”

“Continue,” the voice demanded in agitation.

“Well, my sister, who went missing a year ago, was rescued by them, and is now happily living among the Cadi.”

“So, these Cadi plucked your sister out of the sky?”

“No. She was rescued by the Cadi from the reptiles. The point is, I’ve spoken with the Cadi and Providence, so I know and trust what I’ve learned. The Cadi are enemies of these reptiles. From what I’ve learned, the reptiles are bad news. And because the Cadi are decent people, they don’t want Earth to be raped and pillaged. They want to protect us and needed our help to hide our planet, but you shot first rather than hearing what they had to say.”

“If your sister was supposedly rescued from these reptiles, then it would seem the reptiles already know where Earth is. Hiding it seems pointless.”

“I never said the reptiles took Providence. There’s a different race of people doing that.”

“Another race?” The voice sounded intrigued but not surprised.

This was getting convoluted. Telling them about the people harvesting humans to start a doomsday colony wasn’t going to help Ash. It would probably hurt him, since the Feds weren’t inclined to trust.

“Yes, MS something. I can’t tell you much about them, except the Cadi didn’t seem threatened by them, not like the reptiles.” That was the best she could offer.

Abby did her best to speak truthfully without causing more strife, as they asked her questions, often repeating the same ones. It was maddening, but she tried to remain patient. Eventually the questions ceased, then a guard entered and led her down the hall.

“You don’t have to hold my arm so tight. Where am I really going to go?” she groused at the guy, who merely grunted and kept walking.

She held down her trepidation as they approached another stark metal door. It opened to reveal Hope and her father.

“Oh my god.”

Abby shrugged off the soldier’s grasp and raced into the room. She hugged her father tight. He looked haggard, like he hadn’t slept in days. But besides a fading bruise on his cheek, he appeared uninjured.

“Oh, Peanut, I’m so sorry about all of this.” Brennan caressed her cheek.

“It’s hardly your fault.” She sat beside her dad on the bench.

“I say we blame Pro,” Hope snorted morosely from his other side.

“Angel,” Brennan husked wistfully as he was reminded of Providence.

“We got to see and talk to her, Dad,” Abby encouraged.

“And she looks good.” Hope grinned as she squeezed Brennan’s hand.

“Happy, too,” she added.

“Really?” Brennan looked from one daughter to the other, hope sparking in his eyes. It made her smile.

“Yeah, Dad. The Cadi are legit, and good people.” She nodded and leaned into him.

It was such a relief to see him.

“What did you tell them?” Brennan asked.

“Nothing,” Hope sighed. “I’m still not sure this isn’t some crazy dream.”

“I told them they’ve got their panties in a bunch over the wrong people,” she huffed. “I figured we were way past denying their existence.”

“True. I may have made some progress. We might be able to get some people who don’t have their heads up their asses to listen to the Cadi’s plan, but it’s still a long shot,” Brennan spoke soberly.

“Do you really think they’re just going to let us waltz out of here with the other guy they took once this is over?” She worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

“I’m working on it, girls,” Brennan encouraged, while hugging them close.

“What about the trackers?” Hope asked.

Abby perked up at the thought, then her shoulders dropped.

“That’s assuming the guys aren’t trapped in here somewhere.”