Pakka pauses. “As many guards as they will spare.”
“Hold it!” I shout. “You are really skipping the part where you just accept the fact that I’m Kila’s mate?”
“What did you think was happening?” Mori asks, like I’m an idiot. “Did you think that we lied about our planet’s history? This is why we are who we are. Without the suppressor, Kila will stop at nothing to be with you. If you had a human mate, they may as well find another. That is what we are telling you. He is a Deviant now, and you’re his breeding mate.”
“Mori!” Kiva hisses. “You are scaring her.”
“Just send her home now,” Vala suggests. He tilts his head at me. “Go ahead, go home, and hope we have solved this by Monday.”
“That is a fine idea,” Pakka agrees. “Go and rest, Ella.”
“Right,” I manage to say. “I’ll see you on Monday. Just… tell Kila I hope he feels better.”
They react to this statement as though I’ve grown five heads, and simply mumble their goodbyes as I pack up my bag and leave.
Leaving before the commuter rush means I have to face the crowd of protesters in the parking lot alone. On the bright side, they are pretty low energy in the face of one person exiting the building. As I pass their signs, one particular message jumps out at me like its written in flashing neon letters. It says, “ALIEN FUCKERS”. I bow my head and walk as quickly as I can across the parking lot to the transport wait station. I am about to make it when I hear someone calling to me: “Ella! Ella, is that you?”
I whip around and squint at the eager face in the crowd. “Vic?”
There among the crazy conspiracy theorists and desperate alien-haters is Vic Williams, a guy who went to my high school and used to be friends with my brother. It’s strange to see him with a mustache and beard. He’s holding a sign that says, “Government Subsidized Dissection.”
“Hey Ella, how’s it going? You work at this dump?”
Well, that’s aggressive. I anxiously glance over my shoulder to make sure the next bus hasn’t arrived. “It’s not a dump,” I say. “And yeah, I do.”
The rest of the crowd runs back to the entrance when three more workers emerge, but Vic stays to subject me to more awkward small talk. “What do you do in there?” he asks. “You wouldn’t be willing to be interviewed, would you? Anything freaky going on?”
I want to say, Why, yes! In fact, I’ve just been selected by a mysterious planet spirit as bride-to-be for a virgin Spock from a warrior race who’s about to Hulk out from his spiking hormone levels! Instead I just shrug and say, “Not really, Vic… I just help some alien species navigate Earth situations. You know, grocery stores and ordering equipment on the Internet. Real eyebrow-raising shit.”
He doesn’t hide his disappointment. “If you ever encounter something suspicious, you should contact me. You need to keep your eyes open in there, Ella. You might think it’s innocent but you have no idea the stories I’ve heard. There are women working there that have started sexual relationships with these freaks. And there’s the disappearances. They claim they left for another planet… but where did they really go?”
“I’m sure it’s not like that—”
“Ah, you’ve always been too nice. But I know these guys, they called themselves the Exile Squad, and they’ve been collecting loads of information on the secret goings on around here. They’d be real interested to talk with you. They do exposé interviews.”
“Exile Squad? Sounds like a bad 80’s action film,” I mutter.
He shrugs. “You know, you look really great. Did I say that before? I still see your brother around but how come he’s never mentioned you? Because he’s hiding you from me?”
I don’t say anything because I know where he’s going with this and I don’t want to encourage it.
“Why don’t we, uh, get together sometime?”
“Sorry, Vic, I gotta catch a bus,” I say when I hear the hissing sounds of the transport. I’ve never been so thankful for the smell of a waste-powered metal box full of un-washed bodies. I rush on and grab a seat. I peer at the security center and the guards that pace up and down the perimeter of the research facility. They all look calm, chatting in pairs like normal. At least Kila is safely contained in the complex. If what they told me about him is true, I hope to God he won’t hurt himself doing something crazy.
With the bus only a quarter of the way full, I find that I’m the only one to exit at my stop. By the time I get off and make it a couple blocks towards my apartment building, I realize just how exhausting this week has been. An entirely new team, a wild situation, and a handsome alien that thinks I’m his hormonal soul mate. I sigh, knowing there’s no easy way to explain this one to the girls over drinks tomorrow. I am so deep in my thoughts that when a dark figure emerges from the bushes, I don’t even think to grab my pepper spray— I just freeze and scream.
One large gray hand claps over my mouth, and suddenly Kila’s warmth is pressed against me. “Calm yourself, Ella. It is Kila.”
I punch his arm without hesitation, but find it’s like punching a brick wall. I cringe. “Jesus Christ! Kila, you scared the fucking shit out of me.”
He laughs, actually laughs, at me. I’m so dumbfounded by the sight of his amused face that I lose all sense of the anger I felt a second ago.
“Scared shit out of you? What an absurd phrase,” he comments.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hiss, looking around me as though the research facility guards will descend from the trees and tackle him. “How did you get out of there? This is stalking, you know. Your friends think you’ve gone crazy and now I’m wondering if they were right.”
“I had to see you, Ella. Will you give me the chance to speak with you?”
“Answer my questions,” I say.
He waves his hand dismissively. “That building is like a child’s first play-fort. I simply exited through the window, crawled the roof to the opposite end where they did not expect me to emerge, and then scaled the wall. They are not staffed to pen a warrior. From there it was made easy by the vehicles in the lot, which provide cover. I waited beneath one such vehicle, and watched you get on the bus. Before it departed, I was able to slide underneath and ride on the undercarriage.”
“Okay, Mission: Impossible,” I mutter, picturing him belly-crawling through the parking lot.
He lets out another laugh. Have I ever seen him smile before this moment? God, it’s sexy when he does. The happy crinkling of his eyes transforms his face. “Impossible mission? No, no, this was likely the easiest mission I have encountered. If only Azza bases were so poorly manned.”
“What exactly are you trying to accomplish?” I ask. “How long do you think you are going to be out here on the run? Because Pakka knows you’re coming to find me.”
“Pakka will be afraid to send any of the Kar’Kali out into the human world now that he knows our chips are compromised. You see, I have clarity now. Clarity that I did not have when I last spoke with you. I want to win your attentions, Ella. Grant me your time and I will do whatever it takes to convince you to be mine. They do not have your personal address, and the facility is closing. Once they close the comm line with Kar’Kal, they will be forced to wait until Monday to take action.”
Here he goes again with the seductive romance talk. His fellow Kar’Kali were very serious about how dangerous this new Kila would be, but I was not expecting him to be so damn persuasive. Well, or I’m just easy. Yeah, that’s probably it.