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The note she’d propped up against the bottle stared at her. She couldn’t avoid Zirkov much longer. For now, she needed sleep. The wine would wait until another day when she had something to celebrate and someone to drink it with, someone who would appreciate the fine wine… and her.
CHAPTERNINE
ZIRKOV
Zirkov kept his back to the wall as he scrutinized the humans entering and leaving the courthouse. It was nothing more than an old school in which to hold proceedings while the humans built a new courthouse. Security personnel failed to board up the dozens of windows in each courtroom, leaving officials and witnesses vulnerable. Furthermore, the humans still would not allow aliens in courtrooms during hearings. He had to rely on courthouse security to protect his witness when she testified against the Brotherhood. Zirkov preferred to be on Dal, where they didn’t have inane rules regarding aliens observing the proceedings.
When his comm vibrated, he glanced at the screen. Stenikov’s code accompanied a single word. Trilla.
Drekk, what now?
Zirkov clicked the audio on his comm. “Stenikov, why are you apologizing?”
“Because of me,” Maggie said behind him.
How she snuck up on him, he didn’t know, but he restrained his surprise. She wore a rumpled denim jacket and jeans, and that pixie hairstyle he loved on her looked more tussled than usual. Otherwise, she appeared well. For the first time in days, his body relaxed. Even breathing became easier. He hadn’t realized how much her absence had affected him.
“He’s apologizing because I spotted him. Two days ago. I shook him this morning, to make a point.”
Zirkov immediately spotted tall horns moving through the crowd of people in the courthouse lobby.
“You need to teach your marshals how to blend in better, especially if they’re stalking another marshal,” Maggie said once Stenikov was in earshot.
Stenikov’s horns rose high on his head. “I wasn’t stalking you.”
The warrior wore the same button-down shirt and tight-fitting jeans as the humans, but he still stood out. Maggie was right. Zirkov hadn’t guided his newest marshal on what it meant to be one of so few aliens on Earth.
“You’ve been here ten days, Warrior.” Zirkov addressed him. “Your ability to remain discreet is sub-par.”
“I can’t help that I’m tall, or that my horns are long.”
“Never heard of camouflage, stilts?” Maggie’s mouth curled at the ends in that cute way it did when she was planning something.
“My name is Stenikov, not Stilts.”
Maggie pointed to his new marshal. “This one’s not as fun as Skaggs.”
Zirkov’s hands tightened into fists as his horns shot up. “Fun? What precisely did you and Skaggs do at the warrior training center on Zyan while I escorted Nala off planet?”
Maggie slapped the back of her hand against Stenikov’s chest. “There you have it, stilts. That’s how easily you marshals lose control of your horns, which is why you’re easy to spot, even from a distance.”
Annoyed at how easily she’d played him, Zirkov forced his horns to curve back. Meanwhile, Stenikov stood straighter, towering over her. For a moment, Zirkov worried the marshal had lost his patience with Maggie.
“I did not lose control of my horns. I’m tall,” Stenikov stated.
“Which means you should have forced them back on your head and kept them there so I couldn’t spot you when I turned around. You have that ability, don’t you?”
“Our horns move instinctively. Forcing them into any position requires great focus.”
“Which, as a warrior, you should have mastered by now,” Zirkov scolded. “All warriors learn to control their horns for situations such as these.”
“What made you turn around?” Stenikov’s willingness to learn from his mistakes pleased Zirkov, but this was not the time nor the place to analyze his errors.
“Enough, Stenikov. She’s a marshal, the same as you. Checking behind us is second nature, which you should have factored into your approach. Find Konnitch. You’re his problem until I speak with you later about your future here.”
Stenikov nodded, eyeing Maggie, then at him. The new marshal suspected something, though he had the common sense not to speak his mind in front of her.
“You were rather harsh on him,” Maggie said the moment Stenikov left the courthouse.
