“Yes.”
“Why? Your goons claimed I was some kind of national security threat, which is absurd. I run a matchmaking service. And as I told them, while we’ve been scouting Russia as a possible location for expansion, it’s more because it’s a huge dating market and not for any nefarious reason. I will add that I love my country and would never do anything to harm it.”
“This isn’t about Russia. If you’ll follow me, let’s go somewhere we can speak privately.” The stocky general set a brisk pace that Colette easily matched. She noticed the underground installation they’d entered appeared to be a massive open space, if one ignored the towering concrete supporting pillars. Desks abounded, topped with computer monitors and keyboards, manned by people in uniform. Huge screens hung on the wall, depicting everything from satellite images of various spots on Earth to ever-changing images of space. The one screen that gave her pause appeared to be an aerial view of her office building. Why would the military be spying on her?
The general led Colette to an office made out of smoked glass that, once entered, cut off the hum of machinery and people. A long table flanked by chairs waited inside, along with a man in uniform, bald and with crabby features set in a scowl, as well as a woman in a lab coat, her gray hair pulled back in a tight bun that accentuated her angular features and the glasses perched on the end of her nose.
“If you’ll have a seat.” The general indicated a chair at the far end of the table.
Colette kept her spine rigid as she seated herself, projecting an outward calmness she didn’t feel inside.
The general waved to the pair sitting and introduced them. “If you don’t mind, Colonel Pratchett and Dr. Ouellet will be sitting in on this meeting.”
“Do I have a choice?” Colette’s sour reply.
“No,” snapped the colonel.
This would be a pleasant meeting. She crossed her legs and kept her tone firm—despite the butterflies in her belly. “Care to explain why I’ve been unlawfully abducted?”
“Seven days ago, NASA detected a UAP, which stands for an Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon, entering our solar system. Three days ago, the UAP settled into orbit around Earth and cloaked its presence.”
Colette arched a brow. “Still not seeing how this concerns me.” Although she had an inkling. Guess she might not have dreamed the blue hunks after all.
“Last night, at twenty-one-thirty-two, an energy pulse was detected emitting from orbit and centering on the building owned by your company. That same pulse occurred again in that same vicinity at twenty-one-thirty-five, twenty-one-fifty-nine, and twenty-two-eleven. At twenty-three oh nine, it then repeated, but in a different location. Care to guess the address?”
Colette’s heart stopped. Well, shit. She had met aliens. She whispered, “My condo.”
“Exactly. A final pulse emitted from your home address at twenty-three-thirty-seven.” The general stared right at Colette. “Care to explain?”
Explain she’d met aliens who wanted to date human women using Colette as their matchmaker? It sounded crazy, so Colette chose her words carefully. “Surely if you’re monitoring these energy pulses, you know the cause.”
“We do know, but we’d like you to confirm.”
“Confirm what exactly?”
The calm general never had a chance to reply because the colonel slapped his hands on the table. “Enough pussyfooting. We know you met with extraterrestrials.”
Colette’s lips pinched. “If you know, then why ask?”
“What do they want? Why are they here?” The man stood and yelled, spittle flying and his cheeks turning a ruddy color.
“Calm yourself, Colonel,” the general rebuked.
“I will not. If the aliens are here to scout in advance of an attack, then we need to know.”
“They’re not here to cause trouble,” Colette muttered, which led to three sets of eyes fixing on her.
“So you do admit to meeting with beings not from Earth?” The general cocked her head.
“Yes, although I initially thought it was a joke.” Colette couldn’t help a wry twist of her lips. “I mean, a blue guy shows up out of nowhere claiming he’s an alien? I assumed my staff were pranking me.”
“Blue?” The woman in the white coat jotted on her notepad. “What else can you tell us about them?”
Colette hesitated. While she and the blue hunks had discussed them having to out themselves to the world, she wasn’t sure how much she should reveal.
The general helped by holding up a remote and clicking it while saying, “Did they happen to look like this?”
A screen illuminated on a wall and showed an image of a guy, thickly built, dressed in regular clothes, with blue-hued flesh.
