“No.” Colette’s cheeks burned as she realized the doctor had tattled on her tryst. Not surprising, but still a shock to hear it mentioned so bluntly.
“Hmm. Dr. Ouellet will be disappointed.”
“Why did she plan to have us perform while she watched, taking notes?” A sarcastic reply that got met with a serious one.
“She wouldn’t have been in the same room.”
“Ah, because spying via video feed is so much better,” Colette drawled.
The general stiffened. “While unsavory, everything we do and propose is for the safety of Americans.”
“I’m American.”
“One person doesn’t rank above the millions of others, though.” The general swiveled her head and barked, “Corporal Johnson, you will escort Ms. Wilson. Everyone else, grab gear and move out.”
Colette stiffened as the female soldier she’d met before approached with a plastic strip in hand. Despite not being a criminal, or a traitor to her country, she ended up cuffed and marched to the elevator, brought down to the parking garage, and placed inside an armored truck. She got a seat on the bench running along one side of the vehicle, while Cade got placed on the floor, still wrapped in his Faraday blanket, with four soldiers watching him, weapons trained.
Colette kept her eyes on him too, expecting Beta to teleport him out, but the shielding must have worked, because Cade remained a lump on the floor, even when the truck stopped and the rear doors opened.
Soldiers with pointed guns waited outside, while those in the truck grabbed Cade and carried him out.
“Please exit the vehicle,” ordered Johnson, who’d sat by Colette for the ride.
Colette teetered on the tailgate, wondering how she was supposed to jump and land without breaking her ankle. She still wore her two-inch-high pumps.
“I can help you get down, ma’am.” Johnson saw her dilemma and jerked her head at a burly soldier and then pointed.
The big guy had no difficulty plucking and plopping her onto the concrete floor.” Thanks,” she muttered as she glanced around. Colette didn’t recognize the location but suspected it was either above or below the place she’d visited only that morning. To think she’d been stupid enough to believe the general actually released her. Her dumb ass never imagined the military would be spying and lying in wait.
They used me as bait. The realization irked. Especially since she would have done her best to make a meeting happen.
“This way, ma’am.” Johnson swept a hand to indicate she should follow, and they set off at a brisk march.
“How many floors does this place have?” she asked.
“Fourteen. Actually, technically thirteen, but they skipped that number when labelling.” Johnson flashed her a grin. “Funny to think folks who study aliens would be superstitious.”
“Is this place another Area 51?”
Johnson snorted. “Area 51 hasn’t handled UAPs in decades.”
“Are there that many?”
“Let’s just say, if people knew, they’d freak.”
The soldiers carrying Cade veered from where the female corporal led Colette. “Where are they taking him?” she asked.
“To a secure holding cell for processing.”
“They’re not going to slice him open, are they?” She couldn’t help but remember a supposed documentary she’d seen about aliens crashing to Earth that included gruesome scenes of scientists conducting autopsies.
“I wouldn’t know, ma’am.”
“The general promised they wouldn’t hurt him.”
“Then you know more than me.” Johnson appeared headed for the far side of the vast space, where Colette could see a series of closed doors painted a flat gray.
“Where are you taking me?”
