Captivate (Alien Cadets Book 2) Read online

  Basher was already there. He leaned against one wall of the corridor, seemingly relaxed, but his eyes snapped open the moment she turned the corner into view. He remained against the wall, but she could feel the taut energy flowing through him. A bulky bag sat at his feet, which she eyed warily.

  Claire stopped ten feet away from him.

  “Uh. Hi,” she said awkwardly. For all her planning, she hadn’t considered how to start this conversation. Akemi had shown her videos of Basher and his fiancé, which suddenly seemed too personal a thing to know about him. And since he’d been involved with her glasses situation, he knew too much about her as well.

  Despite all that knowledge, the only interaction they’d had was decidedly negative.

  He nodded. “I don’t feel like we really met before. I should introduce myself.” He stood up straight and took a step forward, like he would come shake her hand.

  Perfect.

  Claire cautiously approached him, as if she didn’t want to be near him.

  She tentatively put her hand in his, and he gripped it firmly. “My name is Basher Kapur. It’s nice to meet you.” His hand was warm and rough and his grip was different than the Rik.

  Claire chuckled nervously. “I’m Claire Kindler. Nice to meet you, too.”

  Claire pulled her hand away and leaned against the wall next to him. She tried to look casual, but felt like she was standing way too close.

  Basher waited. He rocked back on his heels. “Well. I understand you wanted to talk to me and I’ve wanted to talk to you, too. Would you like to start?”

  Claire felt more uncomfortable than she expected.

  “Well then, I’ll start,” Basher said. He leaned back against the wall, putting them side by side, rather than him towering over her. It was still close enough for the tablet to work, Claire thought.

  “I’m not going to apologize for the blood test. I had to follow protocol to discover if you were a Rik. It was just bad luck that you were already gone before I could tell you that the illness was a test.” His words were plain, but his tone was apologetic. “I do want to apologize for threatening to turn you over to Faal. I understand that you were scared, and my words played a big part in causing you to go with the Rik. I never should have threatened you that day.”

  He paused.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Claire nodded. “I can understand that... and, for what it’s worth, I forgive you. So, I guess it’s my turn to talk.” She idly kicked the wall with one foot, hoping to disguise any slight vibration he might feel from his token. “I gather you know that Faal found me in Lower Selta. Sage, um – one of the Rik – thinks he’s started a personal vendetta against me. Which means he won’t stop hunting me.”

  “At the embassy –”

  Claire interrupted him. “I just saw on the news that Faal is visiting the embassy, helping with your investigation or something. That doesn’t make me terribly inclined to go there.”

  “It’s true, he is coming there tomorrow as we talk to the Rik director. But he isn’t living there. He comes to the negotiation room, he leaves. That’s it.”

  “When does he get there? What time does he leave?”

  “I can’t tell you exactly, it depends on the Rik director. Faal will arrive around nine, leave at noon, or earlier if the talks go quickly. It depends. If you don’t mind my asking, how did you get away from him in Lower Selta? Akemi and I were afraid he wouldn’t let you get to the Chunnel.”

  “Faal didn’t even try for us. We were surprised as well.”

  Basher shook his head. “But he could have. All you have to do is come back to the Spo embassy with me. We’re prepared to protect you, and if necessary, send you back to Earth on the official representative’s ship.” Basher laughed. “His name is Senator Fontley and he’s kind of a pain, but you would be safe with him.”

  Claire bit her lip. “Well. That would only solve half my problem. The Rik I escaped with have become my friends. They protected me from Faal, and I want to help them too. I owe it to them.” She’d decided to play up that aspect of her argument, because Basher seemed like the kind of guy who would appreciate a debt of honor.

  He made a wry face. “I guess I can understand that. What do you want to do for them?”

  Claire hesitated. She hadn’t wanted to state it quite so boldly, but this was the opening she’d been hoping for, and he’d taken it better than she expected. If there was any way to avoid the violence Sage was planning...

  “I want the ink,” Claire blurted out. “I want to get them the tattoo ink so that they can be safe.” She knew it was madness to divulge what she was really after, but maybe he would understand. It would be so much better than the danger of breaking in and out of the embassy.

  Basher’s eyes got wide and he laughed in surprise. “You’re kidding. There’s no way that will happen. It would be a lie – the worst kind of lie.”

  “Is it? They are human... now. They certainly aren’t Rik anymore.”

  “No. They’re not.”

  “So you would do what? Execute any Rik in a human body?”

  “No... But I don’t agree with giving them a free pass either.”

  “Well, how are they supposed to be safe otherwise?”

  “There’s a base on the moon, and the Spo have organized –”

  “The Spo? Are you kidding me? The Spo aren’t any more incorruptible than anyone else. One bribe in the right place and my friends would be dead.”

  “One bribe...” Basher said, “I suspected as much.”

  Claire bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to let that slip. “Never mind. If we just left, would you stop tracking my friends?”

  As they’d talked, Basher had stepped away from the wall to look in her face. At this, he grabbed her wrist in one hand. “You can’t go with them. They’re Rik! They destroyed half our planet. They kidnap and kill and... you want to help them? No.”

  His hand moved, still restraining her, but more gently. “I know you’ve been through a lot, and I treated you like trash, but you can trust me now. You belong with us, not with them.”

  Claire’s throat was getting heavy. How much she’d longed for a moment like this, before Sage and the Rik. Not Basher, specifically, but just to have any human sincerely offering to help... and she had to disappoint him.

  “I do trust you, but I want to help them. They’re not as bad as you think, at least these ones aren’t.”

  “They are that bad. They’ve manipulated you. They gave you real work and were the first people to treat you kindly in years, so you think they’re alright, but they aren’t. If you help them get to Earth, how do you know what they’ll do?”

  Claire pulled against his hold. “I know exactly what they’ll do. They’ll sing and tell stories and learn sports and generally pretend to be human. Because they want to be human. Is that so horrible?” Claire stopped pulling. “I know some of the Rik have done terrible things, but every species has. Do they all deserve to be punished?”

  Basher’s jaw flexed. “Your friends killed those five people, Claire. I don’t think you understand.”

  “So we should ship them off and let them languish in prison for the rest of their lives? I don’t think so.”

  His hand got tight again. “Do you realize that if you help them get to Earth, you’ll be betraying your species? It’s my job to keep them off Earth. If you assist them, I’ll have to arrest you right along with them.”

  Claire smiled sadly. “You have to do what you have to do... It’s cliché, but there it is. I hope you won’t, however.”

  Claire finally felt the buzz she’d been waiting for, her tablet had finished getting the code. Now it was time to get away. She knew her faint hope of talking Basher to her side was bust. Basher would never help the Rik voluntarily. If she got away herself, it would be amazing.

  Basher looked beyond frustrated, his hand still tight on her arm. “Akemi kept trying to tell me how you felt, but I couldn’t really believe it. I still don�
�t understand. How can you think of them as normal people? Do you know what they’ll do on Earth? They’ll deceive people. They’ll study them like rats, or worse, marry and have children...”

  Claire thought of how Sage had kissed her and felt her face heating. But it wasn’t the way Basher described it. Sage was human, why shouldn’t he... have someone? He wasn’t deceiving her.

  “Are you blushing?”

  Basher suddenly looked furious and Claire was embarrassed.

  “I – no...it’s none of your business–”

  Suddenly he was shaking her, his hands hurting her shoulders. “He’s an alien! A killer! If you –”

  Claire used the movement to slip free of him and dash back a few steps.

  He started to come after her, but she had a small torch in her hand.

  “Stop!” Claire said. "Not another step." She held the torch toward a flat, gray panel on the wall. The flame licked against it, melting the edge of the plastic. “I don’t want the gate to hurt you.”

  “What gate?” Basher said. He looked up just in time to see a security gate slam to the ground inches in front of him.

  Claire turned and ran, knowing it would only take seconds for him to realize what she’d done and either go around to another tunnel or wait for the door to open. Since the flame was only on the panel for a moment, she wasn't sure exactly how long the door would stay shut.

  Sage had shown her several ways to get away quickly, so she headed toward the nearest small spinner – the ones people used to go down a level without waiting for one of the slow escalators. She dashed to the left and ran less than a hundred yards to the spinner. She’d guessed that Basher wouldn’t expect her to be well practiced at them, so she’d planned to use one quickly, in case he did manage to follow.

  The large curving poles looked like something from a gigantic playground, Claire thought, as she slid down. She still hadn’t mastered the knack of standing on one pole and holding onto the next (though she’d tried several times), so she went down on her tummy, feet first. It was embarrassing, but no one was here to watch. The poles got rougher at the bottom, and the friction slowed her. Claire wiped a hand over her sweaty face as she got off on the next level.

  This level was more populated, and she tried to blend into the crowd while she quickly walked to a different spinner. She hopped on the next one, again holding on with legs and arms, trying not to imagine what the aliens might think of her. When she hit the friction, she glanced upward and saw only a Merith using the spinner above her.

  In case Basher did decide to follow her right now, she didn’t want it to be easy. She hopped off at that level and followed the flow of pedestrians four spinners to the west and then began to make her way back to the flat.

  ***

  Basher stared at the safety gate in consternation. He hadn’t expected that. Where on Earth had Claire gotten that torch from? She must have planned that get away from the beginning!

  He had no idea how long it would take for the heat system to reset and the door to open, so he immediately backtracked. It took him ten minutes to get to an alternate tunnel and back around to that level, and he wasn’t even bothering to run by that point. If she’d planned to use a torch to set off the safety system, she surely had planned several escape routes as well.

  He looked around, just to be thorough... but nothing popped up. Basher kicked the wall. Why had he gotten so emotional with her? A sleepless night at the train station and a long session with Faal and Senator Fontley had left him edgy and tense, but he knew how she felt about the Rik. She was in complete denial and he should have kept his cool.

  Basher headed back to the embassy wondering what to do next. Claire wouldn’t be contacting him again any time soon. Maybe Akemi could get something.

  The closest entrance to the embassy was the main door on the top level, the one under the arch with the guard out front. Basher’s face must have been a sight; the guard opened the door for him with a business-like nod, and Basher waved a hand absently. “Thanks, man.”

  Basher sat heavily at his computer as soon as he got back to his office. His partner was already gone for the night.

  What happened? What happened? WHAT HAPPENED!?

  I don't appreciate being kept in the dark. Literally and figuratively.

  Akemi’s messages on his computer were fierce.

  "I blew it," Basher told her, shifting tiredly in front of the screen to where Akemi could see him better. "She came to plead for the Rik, as I should have expected, and I got angry..."

  But why didn't you bring her back?

  "She had a torch with her. She'd planned the spot perfectly so that she could trip one of the safety gates and get away."

  Wow.

  "I know. I underestimated her. And I didn't understand how committed she was to the Rik."

  I told you so. I knew when we talked that she was lying to me.

  "Thanks," Basher said wryly. "That's really gracious of you."

  I know. :-) Well. Now Claire has two problems. She wants to help the Rik and she wants to avoid Faal. I think she'll have to contact you again. I mean, who else does she know on this planet?

  "I hope you're right. She won't be able to take me by surprise again, anyway."

  Oh, I don't know. Don't underestimate her. I think she's got a lot more skills than she gives herself credit for.

  CHAPTER 38

  Claire was nearly to the flat when she realized she was being followed. A quick glance behind was enough. The Merith who’d been above her on the spinner was now about ten feet behind her.

  She broke into a sprint, and was frankly shocked when the alien didn’t catch up to her in a few strides. The Merith was taller and surely faster than she was, but Claire refused to look back as she ran through the low arch. Her flat was at the end of this small courtyard.

  She could hear heavy footsteps behind her, but somehow she was still free when she made it to the door. She flung it open and slammed it behind her.

  “There’s a Merith behind me,” she began to say... but there was no point in finishing. There were Merith already here. Faal was here.

  Juliet and Sage sat very erect on two stools, each with a serviceable pellet gun pointed at their heads by Faal’s equally serviceable thugs. Athlete was sitting on the floor against the wall, also with a gun pointed at him. Dried blood discolored his face and shirt.

  Faal stood calmly in the center of the room, leaning slightly on an ornate cane.

  “Back from your errand so soon, Claire? Excellent.” He waited while the remaining two Merith came through the door behind her. “Yes, very well, let’s lock that for now.”

  Claire felt panic singing in her blood, but refused to give into it yet. She stared at Faal until she could see even the tiny vestigial feathers that lined his beak.

  “This is it then? You followed us from Lower Selta?”

  Faal waved his clawed hand. “Of course I had you followed from Lower Selta. The question you should be asking is why I neglected to acquire you then. Or why I have yet to kill these three for the violence they offered me a few days ago.”

  Claire waited, and Faal prompted her. “Come, Claire. Ask me why I’ve restrained myself.”

  She answered obediently, “Why have you restrained yourself?” She used to refuse these prompts out of principle, but she’d learned long ago that that was a waste of effort. She could only withstand him so long, it was better to choose her moments.

  “I have restrained myself because your friends impressed me. Yes, I do not say that lightly, but they overcame me and that deserves respect. True, I had not anticipated resistance of any kind and was thus ill-prepared, but losing a game on preparedness is still a loss. As I am now one game in their debt, I felt it behooved me as a Merith of impeccable honor to offer them another game.”

  Claire closed her eyes in resignation. She didn’t even wait for the prompt. “What game do you offer?”

  “Oh, it is not for you, Claire. I owe you nothing.
It is for your friends.” He turned to Sage. “Since you have already shown your willingness to risk yourselves for this human, I’ll offer you a chance to barter for her safety. There is a human artifact on Selta that I wish to acquire nearly as much as I wish to reclaim Claire. If you obtain this artifact for me, this computer, I will return Claire to you unharmed. I will then leave you completely alone and unmolested for one month. You may go as far as your wits and wealth will take you and I will pledge to only resume my search at the conclusion of the month.”

  Sage nodded politely to Faal. “May I know if this is the computer we have recently learned of at the Spo embassy?”

  “That is precisely the one. And as my agents have gathered that you seek to – what is the phrase? – break and enter this facility already, I merely offer you another target.”

  “Still,” Sage said. “Stealing ink, as I’m sure you’re aware is our goal, is not nearly as serious as stealing a sentient computer that we believe is highly valued by the humans at the embassy. A one month head-start is not an equable return for the risk we would take. Make it a year and I begin to see my way.”

  Faal inclined his head. “And yet, I have at least four other ways of obtaining this computer than use of your services. I offer this merely out of respect for our previous encounter. I need offer nothing.”

  “Perhaps you need not, but I believe you would not offer this unless you saw us as the best option available to you. I will revise my offer. Six months of freedom in return for the computer.”

  “Stop!” Claire said. She couldn’t let this go any further. “Sage, the computer is a person. Her name is Akemi. She’s sixteen years old, she’s from Tokyo, she... she has a sister! She is not an artifact to be traded. We can’t make this deal at all.”

  Faal ignored her. “I will give you six months. Will you accept these terms?”