Chapter 5
"Please, Detective, have a seat," Sampson offered as they entered the office, gesturing towards a chair. "Wilkes, get the tape."
Wilkes frowned at him for a long moment before nodding sharply and leaving. It was no skin off of his nose, after all, if Sampson wanted to commit professional suicide by bringing a civilian into the matter. His own objections were a matter of record.
Maria looked up at Sampson with a sigh. "Look, you strike me as being a little smarter than your amigo. Or, at least, a little more desperate," she amended. "So let's be straight with each other."
"I have been. Hard as it is to believe, we are facing a threat like nothing the human race has ever seen before."
She shook her head, irritated. "Whatever. Vic's a smart man. He's going to know something's up with me."
"Not from you, he won't," Sampson countered quietly. "Not if you value his freedom."
"You aren't Bureau. Who do you really work for?"
"Department of Defense," he said, shrugging.
"Yeah?" she asked, nodding faintly. It was more believable than their assertions to be FBI, certainly, even if she remained dubious about their claims. Aliens indeed... "Patriot Act?"
"Not directly, but it is helping our investigation."
"I'll bet it is," she agreed, absently scratching the back of her hand. "You can violate an awful lot of the provisions of the Bill of Rights in the name of National Security."
"Yes, we can," he agreed easily.
"Like keeping me here."
He nodded.
Maria smiled and shook her head. "You're good," she repeated. "So, this videotape I'll be watching?" she asked.
"Footage of the apprehension of an extraterrestrial biological entity."
"I see," she murmured, smiling sardonically at the turn of phrase.
Now he was even starting to use the same parlance as an episode of the X-Files. And it tripped off of his tongue quite easily, too, she noted. Most DOD functionaries probably would have stumbled over the term. It was obviously one Sampson used a lot, though.
"We were expecting it to be a lot cleaner than it was," he added with a slight frown.
"Cleaner?" she repeated. "Witnesses?"
"One or two. Along with a lot of casualties."
"Is there anything you haven't shared with her yet?" Wilkes asked irritably, returning to the office with a tape in hand.
"Well, he hasn't shown me pictures of his kids yet," Maria provided, smiling up at him. "Can we get this over with? I'm meeting someone this evening."
"Just watch the tape," Wilkes suggested brusquely, plugging it in.
Maria nearly choked as the woman ran into the frame. Lana... She would have recognized that tiny form anywhere. God, she even jogged with a swagger. Maria had borne witness firsthand to the fact that she had some decidedly inhuman abilities, and that language she had been speaking to Cole bore no resemblance to any of the human tongues Maria had studied.
Could Sampson have meant it? Could Zin's people really be other than human? It would certainly have explained a hell of a lot.
'Superhuman strength' was a phrase that had been applied to a lot of suspects just lately. 'Faster than should have been humanly possible' had been her own assessment of William Brandon. Miguel had once told her 'no weapon known to man could have done this' and, another time, 'it's not like any drug we've ever seen'. And literally hundreds of unexplained deaths on top of all that.
She covered her stunned reaction with a feigned coughing-fit, leaning forward in her chair and lifting both hands to her face. Her mind was screaming at her, her head spinning with the implications. She was peripherally aware that someone was offering her a glass of water and she accepted it, badly wishing that it was something far stronger.
"Are you okay?" Wilkes asked quietly after she had taken several sips and composed herself.
"Yeah, sorry. Getting over a cold," she lied. "Let's get on with it."
He shrugged and turned the tape on again.
On guard against betraying emotion again, Maria watched the video expressionlessly. Lana, jogging through some suburban park somewhere. Obviously she was familiar with the area, because she did not even slow down as the terrain turned uneven.
At first Maria thought she had stumbled over something on her path, but when Lana jumped to her feet, pulling a small dart out of her arm and glancing around defensively, Maria realized that she had been shot. More colored tufts appeared on her chest as more darts found their mark. Tranquilizer darts, she supposed, but Lana did not show any sign of being slowed down by them.
As several armed men, dressed in black and wearing ski-masks, converged on her, it was obvious that she had no intention of be taken without a fight. The first one to reach her was probably the lucky one, Maria decided, as she threw him effortlessly aside. He flew several dozen feet before hitting a tree and slumping to the ground, unmoving. Others went flying as well, in spite of the fact that Lana was on the ground struggling with two of the men.
Maria noted with obscure approval that Lana did not restrain herself to hitting and kicking her assailants. The girl bit and head-butted as well, struggling like a wild woman and, as far as Maria could tell, causing far more damage than she was sustaining.
"Oh, my God, is that a cattle prod?" Maria asked in disgust as she watched it applied several times to Lana's back until the girl finally stilled.
"The Tazer and tranquilizer darts were ineffective," Sampson answered simply.
"May I go now?" Maria whispered as, on the film, the uninjured men carried Lana and the bulk of their own numbers off.
"Do you believe us now?" Sampson asked, ignoring her question.
Maria closed her eyes and nodded once. "No human could have taken that kind of abuse or fought off that many men for so long," she answered quietly. "Not even drugs could explain how she managed to shake off the tranquilizers that easily."
Wilkes nodded faintly, moving in front of her. "If that child is any example of what the others are capable of, these things are an enormous threat to all of us, Detective Cruz."
"I'll buy that," she agreed, giving a shaky nod.
"We told you, this goes well beyond law enforcement or homeland security. Professional loyalties don't mean a thing in the face of this kind of a threat. Will you help us?"
"How many of them are there?"
"Best estimate to date is at least a hundred."
"Damn," she whispered, closing her eyes. "And you think Vic is mixed up in it all somehow as well?"
Wilkes nodded. "And I think it's fair to say that he's probably in more danger from these... things than he could ever be from us. They're criminals and they've proved their willingness to kill."
Maria nodded slowly. "I'll see what I can find out," she promised, rising. "Please excuse me." Not looking back at them, she fled the office and hurried into the nearest restroom, gratefully emptying her roiling stomach.
She drove straight home, then, not trusting herself to go back to the Watchfire. She locked the door behind her and walked into the kitchen, opening a cabinet and surveying its contents for a moment before selecting a bottle of cheap vodka and carrying it into the living room along with a water glass. She had no illusions about how much she was going to drink tonight and saw no reason to pretend.
Aliens...
She had never had a problem accepting that there probably was life on other planets but, at the same time, she did not for one moment believe that it was possible that this life had managed to bridge the distance between stars to find its way to Earth. Except that now it seemed very likely that they had. Unexplained deaths, bizarre behavior, seemingly superhuman feats of strength and agility... Lana was an alien. Zin was an alien. Gregory James, William Brandon: aliens. Too many other suspects and dead bodies to count: all aliens.
And Vic knew. That was the only possible explanation for his abrupt turnaround. He knew and he was involved. Cole had involved him because, somehow, Cole was involved himself. How, though? Did he work for Zin or against him? And if he worked against Zin, did that make him one of the good guys? Not necessarily, no matter what Vic thought about Cole. Criminals actively worked against the interest of other criminals all the time and there was no reason why that should be any different with aliens. Cole could easily be using Vic to that end, lying to him about his good intentions. She had to believe that Vic believed in Cole's good intent, but she was not sure if she had that same faith in him herself.
Because Cole was involved. Vic had first met him lying in a chalk outline at a crime-scene. That crime-scene had, not coincidentally, been part of the first case they had worked involving strange happenings in Chicago. After that, Vic had run into Cole repeatedly while investigating other unusual cases. Maria knew all of this because Vic had told her before he had gone silent on the issue of Cole Hauser.
Literally overnight, after getting pummeled by Gregory James, Vic had changed his tune about Cole, Vic who had been beaten within an inch of his life and gone to the Watchfire before the hospital. Something had happened that day, something had been revealed, she was sure. Vic got talkative when he got drunk and he had given her an earful about it. Little of it had made any sense at the time, but now she was starting to wonder.
Gregory James has been dead for six months, he had told her less than a day after he had put Maria and Vic both in the hospital. That and, my life's turning into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
She drained and refilled her glass, considering. If Gregory James had been dead for six months, that meant that someone else had attacked them, someone who had only looked like Gregory James.
"So it's invasion of the damned body snatchers," she muttered in disgust, picking up her phone. "That explains everything..." Sighing, she shook her head and dialed.
"Yeah, Detective Bruno."
"Hey, Vicky. It's Maria."
"Mar, hey. You still at the morgue?"
"Nah, I went home."
"I thought you were going to meet me at the Watchfire..."
"I was, but I'm not feeling too great. Figured I'd sack out early."
"You want company?" he offered.
"I don't think I'd be very good company right now. You know how bitchy I get when I'm under the weather."
"If you're sick, you shouldn't be alone," Vic protested.
"I'm not sick. Just tired."
"I'm still coming over," he informed her. "I'll stop on the way and get some chicken soup and Nyquil for you."
Maria could not help but smile at the offer. Vic was nothing if not attentive. "No Nyquil, Vic, but if you could get some Alka-Seltzer, I'd love you even more than I do now."
"Your stomach bothering you again?" he asked, and she could hear the frown in his voice.
"That's what happens when you have a partner like Johansen."
"Huh," he answered dubiously. "Maybe you should see a Doctor?"
"I have a routine checkup in a few weeks. I'll mention it to her then."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Want me to rent some movies, too? We can have a night in."
"You sure? Seemed to me like Mel and Cole had a lot going on."
"Mel and Cole can take care of themselves."
"So can I," she pointed out.
"Yeah, but you're more fun to curl up on the couch with, babe."
She rolled her eyes. "Curling up on the couch all you had in mind?" she teased.
He chuckled. "Depends on how much better you feel after I administer a little TLC."
"Mmm," she murmured, smiling. "That a challenge, Vicky?"
"Hey, not my fault you could never resist a challenge."
"Oh, challenges I'm good at resisting. It's you I have a problem saying no to." Her smile widened as she heard him chuckling nervously over the line. "I love you, Vic Bruno."
"And I love you, Maria Cruz. I'll be there soon," he promised.
***
Vic returned to the war-room after he hung up the phone. Cole and Zin were bent over a computer together and Mel was hovering at the door regarding Zin with a combination of wariness and disgust. She jumped slightly at Vic's approach, but looked almost grateful for the interruption.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, Maria's not feeling well, so I thought I'd go over there, make sure she's okay."
Mel nodded, frowning. "She has seemed a little off lately," she noted. "Let us know if there's anything we can do."
"Will do, Mel. Thanks." He smiled down at her. "And you guys call if I can be of any help on this end."
"We will," Mel told him, giving him a hug. "Tell Maria I hope she feels better."
"Okay, Mel." He nodded. "You take care of yourself."
"I will," she promised, smiling reassuringly at him as she watched him go. Sighing to herself, she returned her attention to Cole and Zin. "What's the plan?"
Zin glanced up at her, his expression startled.
"Mel has a provisional commission to the Tracker Corps," Cole told him. "I do not keep the details of my work from her."
Zin gave a short nod and told Mel, "Lana is being held in a small, heavily guarded military testing facility outside of the city. We'll be lucky to get in undetected and luckier to get Lana out without bloodshed." He sighed and shook his head. "I'd rather avoid that if possible, but I'm not sure if it will be possible or not."
"There will be no bloodshed," Cole told him firmly. "We will get in and out without being detected or we will abort."
Zin frowned faintly, but gave a defeated shrug. "Fine, fine. I'll grant you that a Cirronian can get in undetected, but a Vardian? Hmm? How is Mara meant to avoid detection?"
"She has her training," Cole told him, rising and pulling down a small metallic sphere from a shelf. "And she will have this..."
"The artificial Hyperspeed field prototype?" Zin whispered, staring at it with wide eyes. "We thought it lost with Kres..."
"We could never have escaped without it," Cole told him. "And now we will use it for the same purpose."
"Symmetry. Charming," Zin murmured, reaching for it.
Cole pulled his hand out of Zin's reach. "I will give it to Mara before we enter the facility. And I will get it back when we have recovered Lana..."
Zin smiled faintly, shaking his head. "Fair enough, I suppose. You've learned caution," he noted. "About time." His smile fading, he returned his attention to the schematic. "We have likely points of entry here, here, and here," he said, pointing.
"Ventilation and utility accesses," Cole murmured.
"These are traditional weak points in any instillation," a new voice contributed.
Mel yelped and jumped, spinning to face the newcomer. Mara regarded her with a faintly contemptuous expression for a moment before stepping around her and leaning over Zin's shoulder to examine the schematic.
"We'll need more information on troop disposition," she announced.
Cole nodded and moved to one of his computers, typing rapidly. "Here. These dots represent humans," he told Mara, pointing.
"And this one?" Mara asked, pointing.
"That is an alien life-force." Cole frowned faintly at it. It really was incredibly weak.
"Lana," Zin breathed, touching the screen, his expression stricken.
"She lives, Zin," Cole murmured, touching his shoulder. "She lives."
He gave a shaky nod. "Yes, but for how long? Why is it flickering like that?" he demanded abruptly.
"She is very weak."
Zin's expression hardened. "I will kill every last--"
"There will be no bloodshed," Cole reminded him.
"Those monsters deserve death!" he snapped. "She's a child! Just a child..."
"Be calm, sir," Mara whispered in his ear. "We will recover her. I promise you this."
"Is Neko standing by to receive her?" Zin asked, drawing a deep breath and struggling to compose himself.
He could not lose Lana. That girl was more than a subordinate or even just a protégé to him. She was daughter, sister, best friend, sympathetic ear, defender, advocate... His most valuable and loyal Lieutenant and his little princess besides.
"He is assembling his finest medical team as we speak," Mara assured him, squeezing his shoulder. "His familiarity with Lana's unique state of health will be a great advantage."
"What's so unique about Lana's health?" Mel asked, frowning.
Zin scowled at her. "That is not your concern, woman!" he informed her sharply.
"Zin!" Cole snapped, fixing him with a scowl as imposing as his own. "You will treat my Taushi with the respect she is due or you will leave her home! Even on Varda a female is afforded some respect."
Zin regarded Cole with momentary surprise before nodding faintly. "Mara, go," he ordered. "Wait outside."
"Yes, sir," she murmured, inclining her head and leaving the war-room.
Zin sighed and turned his attention to Mel. "You must forgive me, Miss Porter," he said softly. "In such extremity, one forgets the bounds of good behavior. It is only my concern for Lana that makes me forget myself so. I repeat that her health history is our concern alone, but I do apologize for my tone and manner. I had no right."
To Mel's surprise, he actually sounded genuinely contrite. "It's okay," she found herself saying, startled to find herself meaning it, too. "You're under a lot of stress."
"Thank you," he murmured, bowing his head. Looking up, he added, "Under other circumstances, we could have been friends."
Mel's eyes widened and she regarded him dubiously for a moment before remembering that, once upon a time, he and Cole had been close friends.
"It is to my regret that it may not now be so," he informed her. "You must be a truly remarkable creature." Inclining his head again, he called, "Mara!"
"Sir," she answered, returning to the war-room.
"Examine our schematics and familiarize yourself with the movement of personnel within this base. Bear in mind always that Lana's time may well be short. I will be downstairs if I am required." Patting her cheek, nodding to Cole, and bowing to Mel, he left the room.
Mel stared uncertainly after him. He was not what she had expected him to be, not by a long shot...
***
Lana struggled against the oblivion trying to keep its hold on her, mentally cursing her captors. Zin would not be long now, she comforted herself. He could not be.
"You're shaking," a low voice noted and she felt another blanket draped over her.
"Too many drugs," she answered, her voice shaking worse than her tiny frame. "You're killing me."
"You strike me as a hard woman to kill."
"Not a woman," she muttered thickly, shaking her head. "Haven't reached majority yet..."
"Is that so?" Now the woman sounded interested. "You're still a child?"
"Adolescent," Lana answered. "Still have a few years." Her eyes shot open as she realized how readily she was answering this woman's questions. Truth serum... She fought its influence.
"Fascinating," the woman purred. "And are adults of your race even more powerful than you?"
"My race?" she repeated, redoubling her efforts against the sodium pentothal. Even the most powerful truth drugs could be fought, she reminded herself firmly, and, weakened or not, she intended to do just that. So far, it was working.
"Oh, please. Even if there had been any doubt before, your little telekinetic tantrum would have capped it. Parker badly wants to know how many more of you there are."
"No tantrum," she protested. People did not usually survive telekinetic temper-tantrums. What she had done had been nothing more than a desperate attempt at escape. "Let me go..." she pled.
"Mmm, not even if I was ordered to," she purred.
"Taghan," Lana muttered, closing her eyes again.
"What?" Kelley asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I said that you were the illegitimate mongrel brat of a half-breed whore," Lana told her, smiling bitterly.
"You little," Kelley began, frowning and raising her hand. "I will vivisect you if that's what it--"
"Kelley!" Parker snapped, entering the room. "Is there a problem?"
"Several. I'll prep more pentothal."
"No!" Lana protested, shaking her head violently. "Are you trying to kill me?" she demanded, struggling weakly against her restraints. She could hear her own heartbeat on the monitor, quick and erratic.
"If you start cooperating, we can cut back on the drugs," Parker murmured when Kelley was gone.
"I haven't done anything wrong," she whispered, turning her head to look at him. "Let me go."
"Tell me what you're doing on this planet."
"I don't know what you mean. I live here..." The pentothal had her head swimming, but she retained the presence of mind not to give in to its influence. "My name is Veronica Li, I was born in Gary, Indiana in 1984..."
"Not according to our records. Of course the first thing we did when we apprehended you was to check your ID. There is no Veronica Li. She may have a social security number and a bank account, but she doesn't have a birth certificate. Now why don't you tell me about Zin."
Lana stared at him with wide eyes. "What is Zin?" she asked in what she hoped was a steady voice.
"Zin is the man you called on to help you when you couldn't help yourself," he informed her in a low voice, shaking his head. "Is he like you? More powerful? What is he to you?"
Lana closed her eyes and remained silent.
"We'll get the answers we want from you."
"You underestimate me," she informed him. "I will drink of your blood before this is over. Ayjata thera ayjata..."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Again, Lana remained silent, smiling to herself as he started cursing and threatening her. Zin would come, he would free her, and she would take this impudent human's life as recompense for all that she had been forced to suffer.
Her smile grew as she reflected on that. He would come. He would...
