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I gotta thank my three patrons, Toby, Luke, and Tonya for believing in me and my writing! Their support means so much! And, of course, the support of you readers. Your reviews and favorites and follows always brighten my day. I wouldn't keep doing it if you all didn't like my story so much! You guys drive me to be better.

This chapter has been updated as of 4/30/2018.

~ Crayola

Chapter Ten

Always Something

Prefer hot and humid conditions, possibly cold-blooded.

That couldn't be. Wolf had been so warm. How did they figure that? The first two documented cases had been in the middle of the rainforest and then again in Los Angeles during a record-breaking heat wave in the middle of summer, so I could see the correlation—maybe they were like reptiles and couldn't produce their own heat.

But what about in Antarctica? Late-fall Colorado?

Though, Colorado hadn't been their first choice if I thought about it. They'd crashed into my mountain, that was it.

The captured predator had been found in southern Africa, drawn by local armed conflict, so it was probably warm there, too. That had been what drew the first documented predator attack as well: armed conflict. In Los Angeles, there had been a violent gang war, so everyone had been shooting at everyone. They were drawn to places where there was fighting.

And worthy opponents.

Worthy trophies.

I had the file open on my lap, reading through choice bits of information as the bus trudged onward. To avoid prying eyes, I sat in the back of the bus hunched over the papers like a vulture guarding a kill. Though I hadn't seen anyone so much as glance in my general direction, I couldn't be too sure.

There were only four—now five—documented encounters with the predators, but it was under the assumption they had been visiting for longer.

Each recognized visit shared a common denominator: one survivor. A member of Delta Force, LAPD's finest, an environmental technician, one high school soccer player, and finally the FBI alien-hunting veteran Morgan.

One of those things was not like the others.

At least now I was an alien-hunting veteran, but I wasn't sure how I managed back in the day.

I was unable to dwell further on my blind, dumb luck—gthe bus jerked to a halt. A quick glance outside told me it was where I needed to get off and I flipped the file shut, tucked it under my arm, and started walking the short distance from the stop to headquarters.

Devon was waiting by the first floor elevators. When he caught sight of me, he pushed the call button behind him and nodded his head in greeting. I acknowledged him with a wave.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked him.

"You," he said with a grin. "You're my guide, buddy!"

With a heavy sigh, I said, "You came in the other day to pick up the file. You should already know where to go."

The elevator doors opened and we stepped inside. Devon said, "Nah, that Joseph guy was waiting down here for me. Introduced himself, told me to read this fucking novel over the weekend and sent me away right after. Dunno why he didn't just email me instead of making me drive all the way out here for it."

"Just likes killing trees and the ozone layer, I guess," I muttered with a shrug.

Both of us scanned our IDs to grant access to our division. My finger hovered over the button for old floor before I corrected myself and set a course for Hassan's instead. I hoped I remembered it right.

"I'll say," Devon scoffed. "It was like reading the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy all wrapped up in one big package. Except way more boring. Glad I came over yesterday, it was much more bearable with us going over it together."

I grunted in response. I didn't do any casual reading so I took his word for it. "It was nice having the company for a while." He'd gone home around midnight.

Didn't leave much time for sleep, but I was used to it.

It seemed like he slept pretty well, though.

"Think he'll give us a pop quiz or something? I don't think I'd pass," he teased.

Sometimes I didn't think Devon was real. He didn't seem perturbed by anything and was always happy as a clam. Meanwhile, I was trying not to crawl out of my skin or split apart at the seams as the elevator ascended, bringing me closer to Hassan and the promise of seeing our guest again.

"I doubt it, but maybe we should trivia-check with each other just in case," came my sarcastic remark.

"That's what I'm saying!" He flipped open his file and started to thumb through the leaflets. "I should have made some flash cards or something."

The fact that he didn't hear my eyes roll surprised me.

Thankfully, the door to the elevator opened before he could start drilling me for his hypothetical pop quiz. He groaned in disappointment but I hurried off, letting him trail behind me.

"You saw which floor I pushed?" I asked him over my shoulder.

"Yup, sure did."

Good. I won't have to explain.

"The floor is laid out just like our old one. Our desks are over there somewhere, I'll show you later."

"Woah there cowgirl, why you in such a hurry?" His footsteps hastened so he could catch up to me. "Oh wait, scratch that: I already know the answer. But I mean, shit, can't I go get a cup of coffee before we barrel into this?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was being serious, and the big dumb grin on his face told me no, so I pursed my lips. "Haven't you already had five cups this morning?"

He shrugged. "Well, I mean, yeah, but I want at least two more cups to help me prepare."

"Don't you know coffee stunts your growth?"

It made me lurch when he pushed me, and I shot him a glare. He said, "Well that explains why you're so short!"

Half of me wanted to slug him, but I settled for an indignant huff. "I am not that short," I muttered. Maybe shorter than him, but I was the same size as most women my age!

We reached Hassan's office, but the doors were closed and the inside was dark. Dixon seemed to live in the building, so finding our new boss' office devoid of life was strange.

I turned to Devon and said, "Besides, I only have one cup a day, jackass. Maybe. Only if I've been awake all night."

"That just means you must not have as high a tolerance for it like me. Shorty."

This time I did slug him, right in the deltoid. He leaned away and grabbed the arm with a hiss in mock pain. "Ow! My old football injury!"

"Shut the hell up. You played baseball."

Someone cleared their throat next to us and I started, whirling around and raising my hands. When I realized it was Hassan, I dropped my arms. Heat rose to my cheeks and next to me, Devon turned and smiled.

"Joseph! Good to see you again."

Hassan offered us that uncanny smile and nodded. "It's good to see you both, as well. Glad you two seem to get along so well. That kind of camaraderie is always good to see. And how punctual you both are!"

He unlocked the doors to his office and flicked on the lights. He barely took as many as three steps into his office, then turned toward us and seemed to realize that we were still there.

"Was there something you two needed?" he asked, straightening back up.

I made a face and opened my mouth to speak, but remembered that I had to stop acting like this was the single most important thing in my life. So, I clamped my mouth shut and shrugged instead.

Devon glanced between the two of us and opened his mouth to speak, but Hassan interjected.

"Oh yes, right. The interrogation. Well, I have to check on the paperwork real quick, so why don't you two go gather your things from Dixon's department and set up your desks? You remember which ones are yours, right Nichole?"

"Yeah, I remember."

Nodding, Hassan stepped inside his office. "Good, good. I should be done by the time you make your way back up here. Did you manage to read much of the files?"

"Kinda," Devon said, thumbing the papers. "Lotta information in here."

Hassan chuckled. "Yes, we've been studying them for some time. They're only going to get thicker now that we have one in custody. There's so much to learn from him."

Custody was better than possession but it still made me grimace. I just hoped no one noticed.

After a quick dismissal, we left Hassan to fetch our things. Devon and I headed back to the elevators and I succeeded in not glancing over my shoulder. It was a good thing, too—I managed to avoid bumping into a man walking in the direction we had left.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said, nodding.

"We're good," I muttered with an errant hand-wave.

I watched him make his way toward Hassan's office and as the doors slid closed in front of me, I realized he was wearing a much nicer suit than any agent I ever saw.

Turning to Devon I asked, "Who was that guy?"

He shrugged. "Didn't get a good look at him."

A curious hum vibrated in my chest, but I brushed thoughts of the man aside. Hassan was an important guy, I assumed. He had people to see and shit to do.

The elevator descended at a snail's pace. Devon glanced at me several times but never spoke. There were a few instances I thought for sure he was going to speak up, but every time he sucked in a breath, he held it for a few seconds before letting it out quietly and resuming his silent sentry next to me.

Though I was aware he had something to say, I didn't press the matter and made a bee-line for our desks. There wasn't much there and I was glad the office was barren except for a few early-birds like me and Devon. I avoided conversation with them until I could gather my meager belongings—a sidearm I kept in my drawer because it seemed like a hassle to take home, a couple pictures of my family that I decorated my desk with so people didn't think I was weird, and some pens.

Devon didn't have much at his desk either; pencils and an armful of figurines, mostly. I didn't know what the little plastic figures were—I think he'd told me they were from some game he used to play. Unlike me, he took his handgun home with him so he already had it on his hip.

"Ready?" I asked him, quirking my eyebrow.

"Were you guys going to sneak away without saying goodbye?"

Dixon's sudden appearance made me start once again and I cast him an irritated look. He suffered it in silence and smirked. "A little jumpy there, Shain. Got a guilty conscience?"

I held my breath for an extra heartbeat before letting it out in a gust. "No, I've always been jumpy."

"Mm-hmm."

He knows how easily startled I am, I thought. That only cemented the belief that he knew.

"We weren't sneaking," Devon said, oblivious to the stare-down Dixon and I was hosting. "Besides, we're just moving upstairs, not leaving forever. We can visit whenever."

"True!" Dixon barked, clapping Devon on the back with enough force to make him stumble and cough. "Make sure you do. That is, if you're not too busy running around consorting with extraterrestrials and the like."

My eyes narrowed and I nudged Devon. "Let's go. Hassan's probably waiting."

He glanced at me and nodded, rubbing the spot Dixon had slapped him. "Ah, yeah, sure. See you around, sir."

"I'll hold you to it," he said, pointing at my partner. His other hand was shoved deep into his pants pocket. Before I turned away, his expression darkened and he put both hands in his pockets. I quickly left, my cheeks burning.

Before the elevator closed us in, Dixon had one more thing to say to us.

To me.

"Hope you're not too disappointed, Shain."

A tremor shot its way up my spine and I held my box of desk shit tighter to my chest, willing my hands to stop trembling. What did he mean by that? My jaw clenched and I fought the urge to open the doors and confront him.

When I didn't move to push the floor button, Devon leaned over and did it instead.

"Guy must be torn up about us leaving, he's acting kinda funny," Devon observed, glancing at me from the corner of his eyes.

I huffed. "Just a little bit."

If only he knew how funny.

In the time it took to speak with Dixon and ride the elevator back up, more people from the predator taskforce had arrived. There still weren't many, and they were all clustered around Hassan's closed office door whispering to one another. We approached, and I was glad to recognize one person in the group.

"What are you doing here, Morgan?" I asked her, shifting the bundle in my arms.

She glanced at me and her eyes widened a few centimeters. She was still leaning on her crutch. "Oh! Shain, hey. Um, well, I was just coming in to see the shrink. You get all transferred and shit?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Moving my stuff up here." I lifted my arms holding my box of goodies.

Devon raised his brow and looked at the two of us. "You guys know each other?"

Chagrin washed through me for two reasons—not only was I was being horribly rude, but I also hadn't yet told Devon I came in without him. Maybe I could get away with not telling him anything about it.

"Sorry. Devon, this is K.B. Morgan. She caught the predator. This is Devon Hart, my partner."

They exchanged handshakes and Devon said, "Damn, I'm gonna need to work hard to keep up with you two, aren't I? Here you are, hunting aliens and taking names and I haven't done a damn thing."

"You have to work ten times harder to keep up with anyone," I snorted.

"Ow, my feelings!"

Morgan chuckled. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

He jerked his head toward the door and the other three men ignoring us. "So what's going on here? Some sort of pow-wow?"

She shrugged with the shoulder not supporting herself on a crutch. "I dunno. We all want to talk to Joseph but he's in there with some guy we've never seen before. He looks pretty irritated with him, too. We're trying to listen in but they're both being real quiet."

I peered around the shades blocking the door window, but I could only make out a few non-descript silhouettes. "How can you tell?" I asked, brow furrowed.

One of the men—a pasty, mouse of a guy—glanced at me. "I saw him go in there."

"Okay, so, why not just knock on the door?" Devon asked.

Everyone turned and gave him a look. "You don't interrupt Joseph when he's in a meeting with someone," the pasty guy said.

I heaved a sigh and left to find my desk. "Okay, sure."

Devon followed after me and I added under my breath, but loud enough for him to hear, "What a bunch of pansies."

He snickered but made no response.

"These are our desks," I muttered, dropping my box on top of the one that belonged to me. I'd organize my stuff later if I had the chance. However, I didn't think it would matter when I could possibly no longer be planet-side by the end of the day.

Whatever.

Devon, however, settled into his chair to put his stuff exactly how he liked it. I sighed and rummaged through my box, placing a few of the pictures.

My old dog, Atlas. A family photo we'd taken one Easter when I was nineteen. One of them was a stupid picture Devon had taken when I wasn't ready. He'd framed the dumb thing—he'd suddenly put his arm around my shoulder and shouted "New partners!" before snapping it—and gave it to me.

I knew it had just been a giant joke, but I didn't want to throw it away and be rude, so I'd just kept it on my desk. I was giving him the weirdest look, so it wasn't the most flattering picture of me, but whatever.

It was goofy and very Devon.

Before I knew it, he'd plucked the picture off my desk. "Hey!" I squeaked indignantly.

"I remember this! I didn't think you'd actually keep it," he teased, studying it for a moment before placing it back where I had put it.

"Why? I wasn't going to throw it away. You bought a frame and everything."

He chuckled and readjusted some of his knick-knacks. "Ah, it was just a cheap dollar store frame. I guess I never really noticed you had it."

"Sounds like a you problem," I said.

"Just didn't think you were so sentimental," he teased.

"I'm going to go see what's going on," I announced, standing up abruptly.

Devon frowned and said, "I was only teasing."

"Huh? Oh, no. Sorry, you're fine. I'm just impatient," I assured him, smiling.

With a snort, he said, "Yeah, you kinda are."

"Oh, hush."

Leaving him to his desk organizing, I headed to Hassan's office. The others had somewhat dispersed, giving the door a wide berth to make it look like they weren't eavesdropping. Maybe they were too scared to do something about it, but I wasn't.

I had spent all night after Devon left coming up with a half-baked plan. I wasn't going to let some stranger in a nice suit ruin it all for me.

Before I could make a scene, though, the door opened and everyone turned in unison. Hassan poked his head out and looked around, his gaze falling on me. I froze like a deer in headlights, ready to fight or flee. However, it was a fleeting glance and he opened the door wider to step onto the floor.

"Ah, I apologize. I didn't know I was keeping so many of you waiting," he said. Hassan lifted his arm and stepped aside to allow the sharp-looking suited man to make an appearance.

The same man I had almost run into earlier.

"This is Luis Barrera of Weyland Industries."

My heart skipped a beat, plummeting into my stomach at the same time.

Weyland.

"Here pretty soon, that might change to Weyland-Yutani," the Barrera guy said.

Hassan's smile was terse and his nod curt. "Yes, well, Mr. Berrera has just taken jurisdiction over our guest and will be moving him to the Weyland facility in California. He'll want to talk to each of you—"

"What the fuck do you mean he's moving him?" I shouted, unable to contain my outrage.

All eyes turned to me but I didn't waver or flinch. I continued my tirade, "Jurisdiction? What jurisdiction? He works for a fucking technology company! I can see him trying to fucking snag his gadgets but he doesn't have any say over who gets the alien!"

Another voice rose up with mine. "Yeah! We caught it! Our friends died catching that thing and Morgan was injured."

"How'd he even know it was here?" someone else called.

Berrera raised his hands and made a calming motion with them. "Now, now, please calm down. I'm not here to muscle in on your collar. Anyone who wishes to transfer and continue working with the specimen is more than welcome to fill out the request form. Just ask Joseph and we'll get it emailed to you."

Murmurs broke out but I was too furious to discern what anyone was saying. A cold fire was blazing in Hassan's eyes and it was directed at me, but I met it with my own raging inferno.

"I will be sending a few of our own associates to speak with you all in turn to get your opinions and statements. We aren't going to steal your research notes, just get copies. We're not here to tell you to stop investigating any further interactions with this species, but—"

"Then what are you here for? Last I heard you were coming for the xenomorphs in the near future, but what interest do you have with this species?" I snapped.

Devon put a hand on my shoulder but I ignored him, glaring instead into the calm face of Luis Barrera. His smile was hidden behind embarrassment, but I was certain it was false humility. "I don't think I'm allowed to talk about those with our present company?"

Hassan shook his head. "It's fine, we all have a general idea about the xenomorphs since they were seen in relation to the predators, twice now."

"In that case, I'm sure you're well aware of the incident in Antarctica."

I leaned back and took a deep breath. "The expedition, yes. Your company was involved."

"Precisely. We lost Mr. Weyland himself in that incident. It was through a combined effort of both xenomorph and the—predators, was it?"

"Correct," Hassan nodded.

"Well, as we've established, both of the species were there. We'd like to learn more about them and use what they used against us to better humanity. I know we're not a big government agency, but we are quite wealthy and have an impressive team of lawyers who worked on this," he explained. "Anything else I'm afraid I can't tell you unless you meet the requirements for the transfer."

Devon leaned in toward me and whispered, "Well this is weird. Usually, we're the people throwing around our weight. Never had it happen to us like this before."

It was an attempt at humor, but I didn't find it funny.

"Then what about the Xenos? You gonna come back in a month and run off with them, too?"

Barrera turned and laughed, shaking his head. "No, that would be a waste of time and resources. They will also be on their way to California in. . . ," he looked down at his wristwatch, "well, the next ten minutes or so."