Chapter 17

MARISSA HAD GONE past terror to full-out panic.

She’d fought back her nausea and was now fighting the overwhelming dread that threatened her sanity. She was thankful that she’d been drugged the last time she’d been kidnapped. She had no recall of this nail-biting anxiety of waiting to see what horrible thing would happen.

She wasn’t certain if what Firbin had told her about being able to communicate with each other was true. Just in case, she’d been sending him wave after wave of messages to let him know where she had been taken. They had gone through Creech Air Force Base and continued past. They’d driven several miles away from the base up into the mountains until they reached a plateau. You could see for miles from this location. Strategically, it would be impossible for someone to reach it without being seen.

There were outdoor structures that looked like large sheds, and they’d been moved inside one of these. They’d passed through several locked doors until they’d reached an elevator. They went down two floors and entered an underground facility. No one would be able to reach them here, least of all Firbin. That was when her panic had jumped into full gear.

“I told you these weren’t normal people.” Marissa’s voice was barely audible.

“I arranged everything with my CO and the authorities.” Jack’s voice was calm. “This is a mistake. They were to take you into their headquarters in Las Vegas and question you there.”

“Instead, we’re outside of Creech Air Force Base in some lower level that took at least an hour of driving to reach. We’ll never see the light of day again.” Marissa raised an eyebrow. “When will you accept that this is not legal?”

“I trust the system. It’s all I’ve known.” Jack clenched his hand on the table. “This is no ordinary scenario, though. You’d better tell me what you’ve got yourself involved in, sis.”

“Finally, you believe me.” Marissa shook her head. “I don’t blame you for thinking you had to go along with the police. Until yesterday, I was pretty naïve about these things.”

Her brother winced and rubbed one of his temples with his fingers. “Start at the beginning.”

“I was at work and I made the mistake of handing my boss an invitation.” Marissa shrugged. “I went out for a report, took a sip of my coffee and the next thing I know I’m waking up on an examination table with these strange-looking creatures poking me.”

“Strange in what way?”

“They were very pale with large eyes, a slit for a mouth and no lips.” Marissa shuddered as she forced herself to recall the alien faces. “They were hairless. Nothing on their head, face or eyelids.”

“You realize that except for the skin color, that sounds like what a supposed extra-terrestrial looks like.”

Marissa nodded. “They were aliens.”

Jack took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “You’re asking me to believe that everything that happened to you is connected with aliens? You realize they don’t exist?”

“At first I thought it was a nightmare.”

Marissa continued as if her brother hadn’t spoken. She wasn’t going to waste breath trying to convince him that she spoke the truth. Who knew how much time they had left before they were dragged away? She needed Jack to understand what he was up against so he’d have a fighting chance of survival.

“It sounds as if you were drugged and you were experiencing side effects.” Jack’s voice was calm. “Do you remember what happened to the FBI agent?”

“Rebecca?” Marissa shook her head. “I didn’t know she was an agent until this morning when we confronted Douglas about drugging me.”

“So you were both kidnapped at the same time.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “That should absolve you from any criminal charges. We’ll tell these men where to look. Where in Vegas were you?”

“Nellis.”

“Impossible.” A muscle in Jack’s jaw clenched tight.

Marissa heard a noise outside and gripped her brother’s arm. “You have to believe me. This isn’t legal or sanctioned by our government. These people have secret weapons and agendas that have nothing to do with our country.”

Before she could say anything else, the lock in the door released and two men walked in. Her brother went tense beside her. She glanced at him. He was frowning. Marissa didn’t trust these men, despite the military uniforms they were wearing.

Jack leaned close. “These guys don’t belong to any unit I’m aware of.”

“I told you they were above the law.” Marissa’s voice was a low hiss. “Maybe now you’ll believe me.”

Jack snorted and then leaned back so that the back legs of his chair were teetering away from the table. Marissa moved her chair a couple of inches away from the table. It would make it easier to move out of reach of these guys.

After they entered the room, one of the men swiped his access card through an interior door lock. The unmistakable thud of the mechanism snapping into place reverberated around the small room.

These guys weren’t fooling around about security.

No one was getting in or out without their permission.

The senior officer threw some papers on the table and scowled at her. “You’ve been causing a lot of trouble.”

“Who are you?” Marissa didn’t expect an honest answer, but it was worth a try.

“Colonel Marks.” The man put his fists on the table and leaned toward her. “Where is Douglas Norcott?”

Marissa had expect a lot of questions, but not this one.

It meant that Vadim had been successful in covering up Norcott’s disappearance.

“The last time I saw him, he was at his residence.”

“So you admit to being there this morning?” the second officer asked. He had the nametag of Thompson sewn onto his uniform and his rank badge was for a lieutenant.

“I didn’t know it was a secret.” Marissa tried to keep her voice nonchalant. “I am his assistant. That means I have to see him from time to time.”

“You were clocked in at six am this morning. Is that usual?”

Marissa shrugged. “It depends on how important the work is.”

“What about today?” Thompson’s voice was harsh. “Was your visit business or personal?”

Revulsion filled Marissa. “How dare you insinuate we were sleeping together? If you must know, I went there to find out why I was abducted by aliens.”

Jack cleared his throat. “I thought we were here to discuss the missing FBI agent.”

“We already know everything about Rebecca Johnson.” Colonel Marks crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s obvious your abduction wasn’t successful. Who helped you escape?”

Jack shifted in his seat.

Marissa pursed her lips. There was no way she was going to let these guy know about the Hunters. She might be a coward when it came to pain, and slow to understand things such as aliens, but she wasn’t a snitch. Firbin and his team were certain that they were on a mission to save the planet and she wasn’t going to do anything that might prevent that.

“You tell me.” Marissa lifted her chin.

Marks and Thompson exchanged a look and then Marks pulled out a seat and sat. “We have all the time in the world. I need to know where those men are now.”

Thompson paced behind the Colonel. “We have innumerable methods of making people talk.”

“My sister is not going to say anything further until she speaks to her lawyer.”

Marks started laughing. “Do we look like we care about lawyers? You both lost that right long ago. You’re in our custody now, and no one can save you.”

Jack clenched his hand into a fist. “Who do you take orders from?”

“No one.” Marks’s voice was harsh. “We are the people behind governments. We control everything, including world economy, and wars.”

“You work for aliens.” Marissa threw the taunt out like a challenge.

Marks only shrugged. “They give us things that we need.”

“Like that weapon I saw at Nellis?” Marissa knew that she should probably stop talking, but she couldn’t help herself. “Do you realize the damage that thing could do?”

“It serves our purposes.” Thompson leaned against the wall of the tiny interrogation room. “If it had been effective, then you would be dead and no longer our problem.”

Jack slammed his fist on the table. “Enough. I won’t have you talking to my sister like that.”

“There’s nothing to stop us.” Thompson took a step toward Jack. Marks put out a hand to stop him. Thompson took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall.

“Tell me about the weapon.” The colonel’s tone was casual and conversational.

Marissa crossed her arms and jutted out her chin. “Do you have any more?”

“So you can tell the men who helped you escape?” Marks chuckled. “That would make me pretty stupid if I gave you that information.”

“You believe that the Albireons are going to help you,” Marissa said. “All they want is to destroy the planet and us. They have no intention of letting any humans live.”

“You read too much science fiction. They’re our allies.”

Marissa shook her head. “Nope. They are the scourge of the universe. This isn’t the first planet they’ve taken control of and destroyed for its genes.”

Silence followed her words.

Her brother looked at her and frowned.

Marissa knew she had probably given too much away, but she had to keep these guys talking if there was going to be any chance of escaping. She knew that Jack probably thought she had lost her mind, but she had to push forward. No one was coming to save them. They had to do this on their own.

The colonel cleared his throat. “How do you know about what others in the universe think?”

“Do you honestly believe that Albireons are the only aliens on this planet?” Marissa shook her head. “If they have found us, so have others. It only makes sense.”

“So you’re speculating.”

Marissa shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe I’ve spoken with others who know about the Albireons and their true purpose for wanting human genetics.”

Thompson and Marks exchanged a quick glance.

“Tell me more about their true purpose,” Thompson insisted.

“They want to synthesize our hormones because they can be used as a drug on other alien species.”

Marks tapped a pen on the table. “That sounds ludicrous.”

“Not as crazy as the fact that they’ve been on this planet for over seventy years and you guys have let them take control. You’re wrong if you think you and your families’ lives will be spared.”

Jack dropped his chair legs back onto the floor. “I think you’ve said enough, sis.”

Marissa had to agree.

Their interrogators paled.

“You need to let us go.” Jack’s voice was low. “My CO is going to be searching for me. He won’t stop until I’m found.”

“He’s been advised.” Marks’s voice was nonchalant. “You won’t be the first military personnel that’s gone missing.”

“You have no intention of setting us free.”

Thompson shook his head. “That wouldn’t be in our best interests. If you don’t want to tell us about who you’re working with, then we have no use for you.”

“We’ll let the Albireons use you for their experiments,” Marks added.

Marissa clenched her hands to stop them from shaking.

Horror filled her.

Nausea churned in her stomach.

This couldn’t be happening. Not again. She’d already escaped once and now this. Her eyes flew around the room looking for some way to escape, but nothing jumped out at her. It was a windowless, gray room with a table and four chairs. The lock on the door made it impossible for her to do anything but sit there and let these monsters destroy her.

She struggled to take a breath.

Her thoughts raced until the image of one person came into focus. Firbin. She might have denied her feeling for him, but that didn’t make them less real. He’d said there was a connection between them and he was right.

If only she’d stayed with Firbin.

He’d vowed to protect her no matter what happened. He’d also said that they were bonded and could feel each other’s emotions and hear their thoughts. If that were true, then he must know she was afraid. She would never see him again. She would never have a chance to explore her feelings for him either.

She owed him her life. He’d rescued her from the Albireons at Nellis and for that she was grateful. She sent him a wave of gratitude and then forced her breathing to return to normal.

Whatever the outcome of this interrogation she wouldn’t give these men the information they sought. She would rather die than betray Firbin and his mission. Instead, she smiled. She might die, but they would never win.

“I’m ready.”

“What if she tells you everything?” Jack’s eyes narrowed. “What guarantee do we have that you’ll let us go free?”

“None.” Marissa reached over and clasped her brother’s hand. “I’m sorry I got you involved in this. These men never had any intention of letting either of us live.”

A muscle in Jack’s jaw clenched. “Death is not an option.”

“I’m afraid it is the only choice.” Colonel Marks pushed his chair back. “If you won’t tell us what we need, then you are of no use to us.”

“Your time is limited.” Marissa couldn’t resist throwing out a taunt. “Your secret tunnels and bases are being infiltrated and destroyed as we speak. You don’t need any information from me. You never did.”

“Enough.” Colonel Marks stood. “You’ve proven to be unhelpful. The Albireons will at least have a use for you.”

Before Marks could turn away, there was a knock at the door.

“Sir, you’re needed immediately.”