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The exit ramp on the bottom of the ship hissed open once we landed, and I took a deep, shuddering breath to try to calm myself. It was wholly unsuccessful, but then again there probably wasn’t much that would help in this situation.
Safeties clicked off by the dozens as we stepped down the ramp. One soldier in a fancy uniform loaded with awards and medals took charge, shouting orders at the other soldiers—and at us. Hands on your head, get on your knees,et cetera. I nodded to Hunir, and we complied. Best not to aggravate the general.
Not if we wanted to free Q’on.
Chapter 24
Amber
It hadn’t been my goal when I woke up in the cave yesterday to find myself staring down the barrel of a large automatic rifle today, but I think I handled it well. I didn’t piss myself, and I didn’t start crying.
The many-times-decorated soldier stood behind the first ring of armed men and scowled at us. “What brings you here? What’s your mission? Why did you take this woman hostage?”
I wanted to answer, but I had to let Hunir speak. He wasn’t going to have a willing human friend to be his social buffer every time he dealt with my species, so I couldn’t let myself become a crutch for him. To his credit, he kept calm and answered carefully.
“I came to rescue my fellow Xalanite, who was captured by your authorities after he crashed here some Earth days ago. My mission is to secure his release, as well as my other friends who were subsequently captured with him. The woman is not my hostage, but my friend’s mate. She told me that your leader—your President—lived in the large white building here, and that he might be able to negotiate the release of my friends.”
I had to give it to the general; he had a good poker face. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking about Hunir’s answer, but to my relief he gave no orders to open fire—yet.
“I have above-top-secret clearance, and I haven’t heard anything about aliens being held in any military base.”
Carefully clearing my throat, I waited for his gaze to shift to me before I spoke. “If I may, sir, they’re not in an official military installation. It’s a place in upstate New York, in the Adirondacks, and I think it’s run by the AARO. They’ve got some soldiers as guards, but I’d wager they’ve been borrowed. Other than that, I mostly only saw agents in suits and scientists in lab coats there. Not an upper rank in sight.” His eyes narrowed, and I added a respectful “Sir” to my speech.
“The AARO doesn’t have that kind of authority,” he said, his voice gruff.
“Well, sir, with all due respect, I don’t know how much of what they were doing there was on the up-and-up. I was brought there with Q’on after they broke into my house. Lots of blood draws for tests, prison-like facilities, no phone calls allowed … They even took my ex-husband and his friend hostage as well, and Q’on and the other Xalanites were captured trying to get them out of there.” I held my tongue about me holding Ryan and Evan hostage first. The less negative information I gave him about me and Q’on, the better.
Without taking his eyes off us, the general pulled out a phone, tapped the screen, and held it to his ear. Even just a few yards away from him, I couldn’t hear what he muttered into the device. Well, “muttered” wasn’t quite the word for it. “Growled” might be better. His whole attitude was growly, like we’d ruined his day by making him work. I caught snippets of words, like “Adirondacks” and “fucking find out,” but not enough to know what he was doing.
The general’s eyes flicked to the ship and back to where we knelt. “How many others are on board?”
Hunir answered. “No one. Four of us came to rescue Q’on. He and the other three are captives of your AARO now.”
“And she’s this Q’on’s girlfriend, you say?”
I nodded, and after a brief pause, so did Hunir. I think the nanites took a second to translate “girlfriend” for him.
Seconds ticked by as the general contemplated what we told him. I had no idea what he was thinking, and it unnerved me that he hadn’t told his men to stand down yet. Dozens of guns aimed at me tended to cause moderate to severe anxiety. The whole time, he listened to that phone, waiting for whoever sat at the other end to tell him something.
Finally, after an eternity and a half, the general nodded, lowered the phone, and gave a command for the soldiers to lower their weapons. Not quite the same as standing down, as I understood it anyway, but I decided to take what I could get. I heaved a sigh of relief but otherwise made no movements. I didn’t want to activate any itchy trigger fingers. My hands stayed linked behind my head, and I kept on my knees.
Our interrogator took a few steps forward, stepping between his men to stand in front of us, and came to a stop in front of Hunir. He kept his hands clasped behind his back in a seemingly relaxed pose, still holding the phone, but I suspected he would give the command to attack if anything startled him.
“Let me get this straight: This Q’on of yours crashed here, he started dating the young lady, then the AARO kidnapped the two of them. They escaped and called you, and then Q’on and your friends were captured again when they tried to rescue her ex-husband.” He shook his head. “Am I leaving anything out in this crazy story?”
That seemed to be oversimplifying things, but I shook my head in response. Better not to argue semantics when lives were on the line.
The general eyed me for a second, then turned his gaze back to Hunir. “Well?”
What the actual fuck? Was he seriously ignoring me?
Hunir followed my lead, shaking his head as well. “Though some details have been left out, your account of things is more or less correct.”
“More or less?”
The hemming and hawing and back and forth drove me nuts. The AARO could be conducting who knows what kinds of gruesome tests on Q’on and his friends. Couldn’t the general see that? Tears streamed down my face, and I hiccupped as I tried to hold back the sobs that threatened.
Thatgot the general’s attention. He stopped ignoring me and knelt next to me, creating wrinkles in his sharply pressed suit. “Are you all right, miss? Have the aliens done anything to hurt you?”
