Chapter Twenty-Two

I walked all night, picking my way through the woods where bushes, fallen branches, and roots threatened to trip me in the dark. The foliage succeeded twice. Once, I did a full face-plant in the mud. Although the storm had passed, taking the rain with it, everything remained wet, and soon, I was soaked to the skin and shivering.

Forward progress was slow and halting, the fallen timber and brush forcing a circuitous path. I could see neither the road nor the city lights through the trees, so, every so often, I’d have to dart into the open to check my location.

The city lights never seemed to get any closer.

After hiking for several hours, I finally caught sight of actual buildings and recognized the domes of Jericho. I was headed in the right direction! With a burst of energy and hopefulness, my pace quickened. It was too soon for Stadler to be in the office—if she intended to be there at all—but Kari would be. I would convince her to wake the president and let her know I needed to meet with her on a matter of planetary security.

As the city loomed, the woods thinned and then disappeared, leaving me exposed by land and air. Few people were awake yet, but the few hovercars zooming overhead caused me to flinch. However, it wasn’t the vehicles I could see I needed to fear; it was the one I wouldn’t be able to see until it was too late. I rushed toward the city, feeling like Maxx was hot on my heels.

I avoided the main thoroughfare for the less-trafficked arterials. If I’d been abducted in broad daylight from a parking garage, I could be nabbed off the street just as easily. I had to assume my good boss had been warned. I figured he and Maxx would be less likely to look for me on an offshoot than the main promenade.

Finally, I reached the sprawling Jericho complex. The main entrance wasn’t open yet, but I wouldn’t have used the public rotunda anyway. Instead, I wove around to the rear staff entrance of the executive wing.

Out of sight of the guards, I stashed the stunner in the bushes. I hated to let it go, but I’d never be allowed inside with any kind of weapon. Flexing my cold, cramping fingers, shivering, soaked, and muddy, I approached security, relieved to see a familiar face. The guard widened his eyes. “What happened to you?”

His graveyard shift lasted until morning light, so I often encountered him on the days when I came in extra early. “It’s a long story, Joe. One that involves losing my ID badge.”

He motioned to a reader. “Scan in with a thumbprint.”

I pressed my thumb to the screen.

CANNOT READ.

My heart thudded. Did Garrison deactivate me?

“Um, I think maybe your thumb is too dirty to get a good read,” he suggested.

I wiped my hand on my pajama pants and only succeeded in getting muddier.

“Here.” He produced a handful of wet wipes.

“Thanks.” I scrubbed my thumb and then wiped both hands. I tossed the dirty paper cloths in the basket Joe held out. Then I took a breath and pressed my thumb to the reader.

ID CONFIRMED. ACCESS PERMITTED.

My knees wobbled from relief—or maybe the five-hour hike through the woods.

As I passed into the building, Joe shoved another handful of wipes at me. “Here. Your face.”

That bad, huh? But I didn’t doubt it. “Thank you.”

My wet, squeaking footfalls echoed in the vacant building as I hurried to the elevator. Again, I used my thumb to activate it. In the reflective door, I could see mud smudged my face and caked my wet, limp hair. The filthy, sodden pajamas clung to my body. Using Joe’s wipes, I gave a cursory swipe at my dirty face; I had more important matters to worry about than my appearance. As soon as the elevator let me off at the president’s floor, I sprinted to her office.

I burst in. “Kari—”

She wasn’t in yet.

“Who’s that?” President Erika Stadler emerged from her office and blinked at the sight of me. “Jessie, my word, what happened to you?”

“Thank goodness you’re here.” My voice shook with relief. “I have to talk to you. It’s an emergency.” Because of the retreat, I half expected her not to come into the office at all. Her presence spoke to her dedication.

“Of course, of course. Come on in.” She stepped aside so I could enter. She shut the office door. “Have a seat. I was going to have some coffee. Can I get you a cup? You look like you could use one.” She moved to the coffee dispenser inside an open cabinet.

No…yes…I don’t know. Even a simple decision like whether to have coffee seemed beyond my capability at the moment. My brain had gone fuzzy. Hypothermia seemed a distinct possibility. I was chilled to the bone, wet, shivering.

Coffee is hot.Hot is good. “Thank you, black,” I finally answered and collapsed into a chair in front of her massive desk. Don’t fall apart now.Pull it together. I clutched Maxx’s handheld on my lap. My brain wasn’t so foggy that I didn’t recognize the incongruity of thepresident getting me coffee.

But that was Erika Stadler: down-to-earth, approachable, kind, unruffled. She’d had her vocal political detractors, but she’d won reelection by a landslide. And, since then, she’d won over her remaining critics, too. She never drew criticism anymore, which was unheard of for a politician. People recognized her authenticity, her genuine concern for their welfare.

“Here you go.” She set the coffee on the desk within my reach. I cupped the mug bearing the presidential seal in my freezing hands and took a grateful sip.

“You’re not having any?” I asked.

“I will. Tell me about the emergency first,” she said calmly and leaned against her desk. She wore her standard uniform: navy pantsuit, dark-blue flats, and the broach.

“I was abducted by an alien again, a member of the cartel I told you about. The crown princess of the kingdom of Copa on planet Nomoru is the leader of the cartel. A ship is on New Terra now. They are going to kidnap a huge number of humans today.” I sounded as crazy as I looked. The only item needed to complete the picture of a raving lunatic would have been a metal colander on my head.

“Do you have proof of this? I’m not saying I doubt your story, but any corroborating evidence you can provide will be very helpful.”

“I have this. Maxx’s communication device.” I proffered the handheld, but she didn’t take it. “Sorry, it fell in the mud.” I grimaced. I’d forgotten the president was a germaphobe. Of course she wouldn’t touch it. She’d throw out the chair I was sitting in and have her office fumigated after I left. I set it on the desk.

She gingerly picked it up. “This looks like the other one you had.”

“It will contain much more information—if someone can access it.”

“Who is this Maxx you mentioned?”

“The alien who kidnapped me. I don’t know if that’s his real name or not.”

“Just one alien kidnapped you?”

“Yes, but I was abducted by a couple of humans in the hovercraft garage and locked up in a cell. Then Maxx came and took me to a house, but I couldn’t get out until the doors unlocked when the power went out.” A couple of months ago, if anyone had told me this story, I would have had them locked up—in an insane asylum.

“It sounds preposterous—” I looked at her pleadingly. She was New Terra’s best hope right now. The LOP had been ineffective. Maxx was with the traffickers. If she didn’t believe me…

“No, no. I don’t doubt you,” she reassured. “I’m trying to get as much information as I can.”

Until this discussion, surprisingly, I’d forgotten about the two men, Asshole A and Asshole B, who’d drugged me. If Maxx worked for the Copan-Cerulean Cartel, who were they with? If they’d been with the cartel, he wouldn’t have broken in and taken me away. Did they belong to another cartel trying to horn in on the business? On top of everything else, would there be a trafficker turf war on New Terra? Or maybe Maxx was the interloper, a freelance scumbag?

“You said the trafficker’s ship had landed. Did your kidnapper give you an idea where it might be?”

“No.” I shook my head and drank some of my cooling coffee.

“Tell me more about this…Maxx.”

My heart panged, his betrayal still a fresh wound. “He’s Copan. He claimed to be half human.”

“An alien-human half-breed? Really?” An expression almost like distaste flashed across her face. It was the first time I’d ever seen Stadler less than gracious.

“He said his mother was abducted years ago and sold into slavery. His father bought her and freed her, but because of the LOP embargo, she couldn’t return home. He also said his maternal grandmother is here on New Terra. But, of course, I don’t know if any of this is true.”

The president had been leaning against the desk during the whole conversation. She straightened. “Did he give a name? Say where the grandmother lived?”

“No, but I’m sure his story could be a bunch of baloney to win my sympathy. Maybe he’s not half human at all.” At this point, I doubted everything he’d told me.

“But he also claimed to be with the LOP—that’s the League of Planets you mentioned the last time we spoke.”

“Yes. The league is trying—not very successfully—to stop trafficking. Maxx claimed to be undercover and—oh! How could I forget? Garrison is working with him!”

Her eyes widened. “My secretary of state?”

“Yes. I overheard their conversation. Garrison’s been helping him. I mean, it makes sense aliens would have someone inside the government covering for them, steering people away.”

Stadler nodded. “It certainly sounds plausible. When you first told me about the abductions, and how Garrison refused to take action, I assumed he just didn’t believe you. I believed you, but you know how it sounds…”

I nodded. “We laugh at people who claim to have been beamed aboard a spaceship and probed.”

“You’re levelheaded and grounded, not the kind of person who manufactures crazy stories. In hindsight, I realize Garrison, who knows you far better than I do, should have at least kept an open mind. That he didn’t seems suspicious now.”

I nodded. “Exactly what I thought.” I felt sad. I’d liked and respected my boss, and to find out he betrayed our people hurt as much as finding out Maxx was a scumbag.

Stadler strolled to the other side of her desk and tapped a touch screen.

“Yes, Madame President?” a voice boomed into the office.

“Locate and take Mr. Garrison Keller into custody for questioning. He may not be in the Jericho building yet. He may be en route or still at home.”

“We’ll get him. We can track him through his badge.”

“Excellent. Thank you.”

We could be tracked through our badges? During my entire tenure, I could have been under surveillance.I felt violated, like my government had been spying on me. When the president had taken office, everyone working for her had been given a special badge distinct from other employees in the Jericho complex.

From across the desk, the president sought my gaze. “We must not rush to judgment. It could be Garrison is merely closed-minded, but his conduct must be investigated to ensure the safety of New Terra—and your safety. You were kidnapped twice. Your apartment was burglarized. I’m going to assign you a protective detail.”

“I won’t refuse.” Some of my tension eased. I hadn’t realized until now how scared I’d been.

She smiled reassuringly and said, “And send a bodyguard for Jessie Sayles to my office. She’ll require round-the-clock protection.”

“Right away, Madame President,” the disembodied voice said. I hadn’t realized the comm line was still open. I’d assumed she’d closed out the communication after ordering Garrison’s arrest. You know what they say about assuming.

“That will be all,” she replied, and this time I heard a click.

Stadler rounded her desk again. “Who besides Garrison and myself have you shared your information with?”

“Nobody. Only you two. I figured the matter needed to be handled at the top. I came straight to your office after escaping from Maxx. I walked all night.”

“Good. We don’t want to panic people.”

“Do you think there’s a chance you’ll be able to locate the ship?” I set my empty coffee mug on the desk. Nobody was more capable than Erika Stadler with the full resources of the government at her disposal, but locating the ship had to be akin to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

“I’m certain we’ll find it,” she said emphatically.

Certain? Wasn’t that a tad overconfident? “The ship may be invisible—” I’d started to explain about shimmer technology when her office door opened.

A muscle-man in a dark suit with a sidearm on his hip marched in.

That didn’t take long. As I rose to my feet, I noticed his lapel pin. It reminded me of Stadler’s broach. I glanced at her.

How did the president know my apartment had been burglarized? I never mentioned it. I’d meant to, but I’d forgotten.

My gaze shifted to the guard’s sidearm. The hilt stuck out of the holster. My antique revolver aside, I knew very little about weapons, but I recognized that grip. The blaster I’d tossed into the bushes had had one just like it.

Why does a presidential bodyguard carry an alien weapon?

I felt the blood drain from my face. “Oh no…no…”

A confirming smile teased the corner of Stadler’s lips. “I always like to know who I’m dealing with. Perhaps you’re the same.” She unpinned her broach and dropped it onto the desk. It had no sooner left her hand than her entire being morphed.

A furred, horned Copan female stood in front of me. “I believe you’ve heard of me. I’m Crown Princess Imana.”