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“Jesus Christ, kid, you’re alive! There was footage of you dangling from the arms of some fox alien thing like a dead doll. You looked?—”
“That was the captain. He’s been really good to me,” I said defensively.
“Great. Whatever. You need to get back on camera so people know you’re not dead.” He looked around the room that was bustling with suited people. “Someone find me Givens!”
John Givens was a photographer, so I had to assume Brett wanted me to pose right now.
Before I could protest, Brett asked, “Where’s the fox now?”
“Um, on the bridge I think.”
“Well, go get him. We need him in the shot to counter the other one.”
“I can’t leave this room.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because my father is a terrorist who just killed a bunch of people?” I said that a lot louder than I’d meant to, and all of the people in the room behind Brett stopped to stare.
“You listen to me,” Brett said in a dangerous tone, “Governor Devin was not responsible for his actions. We’re still investigating, but there’s evidence that he was being manipulated by outside forces and they’re the ones who triggered the bomb.”
My gumption fizzled under the weight of his conviction in what he was saying. He couldn’t even be honest with me and was instead treating me like the opposition. It reminded me of what Py had just said about me never knowing about the plan because my father had known I’d try to stop him.
“Bob and Eric are dead,” I told Brett since I wasn’t sure if he knew.
He nodded and wiped a hand down his face, looking exhausted now. I almost felt bad for him.
“The news crew up here is asking for permission to keep broadcasting the recovery. I’m guessing they’ll want to talk to me at some point.”
“Oh, fuck no,” he said with sudden venom. “Don’t you dare speak to anyone. I’m not going to let you tarnish your father’s good works. You might’ve hated him, Owen, but the rest of us didn’t and we’re not going to let you ruin everything.”
I was so shocked, I blurted out, “Ruin everything? He was an ultra-conservative so filled with hatred that he detonated a bomb on an educational mission, Brett. That’s literally all he’ll ever be remembered for.”
He actually snarled at me. “Musted is taking office later today and he will continue our mission.” The screen went black as he hung up on me.
To think I’d once had a crush on him. He’d always been charming and cool, in control and respected. Now he was some idiot trying to tell the world a murderer was just misunderstood. And with my father’s lieutenant governor taking his place, absolutely nothing would change for the good people of Ohio who weren’t consumed by hatred.
I’d accomplished exactly nothing by making that call. Well, I was on Brett’s enemies list, but I was pretty sure I’d already been there.
Kazelle suddenly reappeared on the screen. “Would you like to speak to one of our therapists, Owen?”
The sympathy in her eyes nearly broken me, but I shook my head. “Not right now. I think I’ll, um, just get cleaned up and stuff.”
“Okay. If you need anything else, just tap the blue icon.”
I nodded and the screen went black again. I’d never gone through any therapy, having managed to rise above the awful, ultra-conservative things my father had preached throughout my childhood all on my own. I’d gravitated toward artists and scientists all through school and had even gotten degrees in Art History and Biology before going pre-law with the intention to work for somewhere like The Southern Poverty Law Center someday.
While my relationship with my father had been shaky forever because he’d discovered I was nothing like him, I’d honestly thought we’d been making progress recently on him accepting me. He’d talked a good game, but now I had to wonder if he’d been making nice just to lure me to my death.
My god, I was lucky. And I really did need to thank the captain for his part in keeping me alive.
Since he’d said I could use the facilities, I found the bathroom and was glad to see dials and knobs familiar enough that I could get a shower going. It was kind of comforting to do something so normal, and the hot water and spicy-smelling soap chilled me out a little more.
That it was his soap, his scent, turned me on.
I had to remind myself that was allowed—that I didn’t need to be ashamed to find an alien attractive. Sure, people like my father thought it was horrific, but after just the little bit of time I’d spent with the captain, I didn’t see as many of our differences as I first had back on Earth. He was competent, brave, compassionate, and he was seriously sexy. If the captain liked me, too, well, maybe we could offer each other a distraction.
After my shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and realized I absolutely did not want to put back on what had once been one of my favorite charcoal twill suits. The wool had that acrid smokey scent lingering on it and wearing it would make me stick out like something foreign if I was ever allowed out with other people. Since I had no idea how I might get my clothes cleaned or maybe borrow something temporary, I went back over to the monitor.
