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Seeing Mia’s response in the stormy expression gathering on her face, Jessie gave her a pleading look. “Please, Mia, I know you’re mad at me, but I really think they can help you. Just hear them out, okay? Jason said they can give you some good tips on how to handle this situation – that’s why they’re here.”
Mia sighed heavily and bit out, “Fine.” Apparently, her relaxing afternoon at home was not to be.
“When does he want to see you again?” John asked quietly.
Mia blinked in surprise. “Uh – tonight at seven.”
“Okay,” he said, “that gives us enough time to bring you up to speed. Tell me – have you been shined?”
“Shined?”
“Did he use any kind of alien device on you that shined a reddish light on any part of your body where the skin was broken?”
Mia stared at him in shock. “How do you know about that?”
Taking that as an affirmative, he said, “You can’t leave the apartment then. Jason – why don’t you take your cousin to see a movie while Miss Stalis and I talk here?”
Jason nodded and left with Jessie in tow, although Mia could see that her roommate was just dying with curiosity.
When they were alone, Mia asked angrily, “What do you mean, I can’t leave the apartment?”
“You have been shined. He basically branded you – you now have little nano machines embedded in whatever part of your body has been shined on. They transmit your location to him at all times. If you were to do something he doesn’t expect, such as leaving your apartment when he thinks you should be home, he would know immediately – and it could make him suspicious.”
Mia looked at her palms in horror. “You mean, when he healed my scrapes, he was really putting a tracking device inside me? Why would he do this?” She raised her head with suspicion. “And how do you know all this?”
“Miss Stalis –” he said wearily.
“Please call me Mia,” she interrupted.
“– okay, Mia,” he agreeably repeated, “we have been fighting the Krinar for a very long time. Don’t you think we would’ve learned a lot about our enemy in the process?”
“Okay,” Mia said slowly, “let’s say I believe you. Why would he do this? Brand me like that?”
“To know your whereabouts at all times, of course. It’s standard operating procedure for them.”
Mia stared at him with shock. “Well then, what can you do to help me?”
“We can’t help you, Mia,” John said bluntly. “But you can help us.”
Mia inhaled sharply. She was afraid it might be something like this. “I think you’ve been misinformed. I don’t want to get involved with your cause in any way, shape, or form. You can’t win, and the last thing we need is to return to the days of the Great Panic. I just want to be left alone – by Korum, by you, and by everyone else – and if you can’t help me with that, then you should just get out.” She pointed at the door.
“You are already involved, Mia, whether you like it or not. Do you know who your K lover is?”
“He’s not my lover!” Mia said sharply.
“You haven’t slept with him?” Seeing the color flooding her face, he said, “That’s what I thought. I’m sure he wasted no time taking exactly what he wanted from you, just like they took our planet.”
Mia fought her embarrassment. “What do you mean, do I know who he is?”
“Did he tell you anything about himself? Do you know why he’s here, in New York? How the Ks ended up coming to Earth in general?”
Mia nodded slowly. “He said that he’s an engineer, that the company he works for made the ships that brought them here to Earth.”
“An e
ngineer? That’s rich.” John let out a humorless chuckle. “He’s one of the most powerful Ks on this planet, Mia. He owns the ships that brought them here – his company, in fact, has been the driving force behind them settling on Earth.”
Seeing the look of sheer disbelief on her face, he added, “He’s part of their ruling council – some even say he runs the council. His company provides everything for their Centers. Without him, there would be no K Centers and no Krinar on Earth.”
