Commander Bethel leaned his lanky frame into his ergonomic chair and studied the report he'd just received with a frown. The younger subordinate unconsciously backed up slightly in a habituary gesture of caution. His boss always got that look when he was about to lose his temper. Cdr. Bethel spoke in a deceptively calm, low voice.
"So," he said as he took his shiny-shoed feet off the desk and leaned forward predatorily. "Where is she? I thought you guys had it covered."
"We had a lock on her, Sir. But we lost it."
His superior's voice rose suddenly as he yelled at him. "GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!" The younger guy wasted no time. Cdr. Bethel muttered curses about imcompetent underlings as he tore the report into shreds. The confetti fell all over a cheap, badly made Roswell crash sculpture on his desk. Bethel pounded the wall and would have put a hole through it if it hadn't been made of inpenetrable steel. Where the hell could that bitch BE? She was essential to their operation. Besides, they had a deal with their Friends Upstairs. He fumed even more as he wondered if the aliens had turned against them. Maybe they had even helped her escape. His only desire was to find Adara and the aliens and kick BOTH their sorry asses.
He calls up David (I think that's the name you gave him? Shayda's liaison on Earth?),
whom he doesn't trust any further than he can throw. Starts reading him the riot act about "you said this stuff would find her wherever she went! Why can't it find her now?". On phone, Davis is calm, cool, and collected, and says they're aware of the problem, that his "employer" is trying to fix it, and that he shouldn't worry; since they're both after the same thing, its in David's best interest to find Adara, as well. A.H. hangs up and decides to go out and take his aggressions on some helpless targets on the range.
With a growl, Bethel swiped the cell phone out of his pocket and called David. He always dreaded these confrontations, because David was the aliens' human liason. The aliens' planetary leader's liason to be exact, and he made sure everyone knew it in that cool but pompous way of his. Bethel didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. David was smart, David was secretive, David was necessary.
David was a dick.
Bethel's hate for him was magnified knowing David's office was on the same base.
Bethel could almost see the thick cigarrette smoke curling like serpentine tendrils through the receiver. Camels were David's favorite. Just another thing that made Bethel hate his alien-loving guts.
The phone rang four times before a smooth male voice answered calmly, "Yes, Commander Bethel?" The mere calm of David's voice made Bethel struggle for control.
"We lost her. My men just went on a wild goose chase looking for our most valuable asset with an apparently INFALLIBLE tracking device! You assured me it would never malfunction. We had a deal!"
The voice on the other end never wavered.
"Just calm down, Mr. Bethel." David nearly purred, the slightest trace of sarcasm in his voice. "My...employer and I are aware of the situation and are pursuing it at this moment. We wouldn't let OUR most valuable asset slip through our fingers, now would we? I'll keep you informed."
Before Bethel could answer, the phone went dead at the other end.
* * *
A now nervous David took an extra long drag on his cigarette and made his own call. Only he didn't use a cell phone. He pushed a button concealed under his desk, and a featureless, bald slender white ghostly form appeared in the room across from him.
"You summoned me?"
"Yes, Xadar." David bowed his head. His voice now showed more nervousness than it had with the Commander. "The situation is getting out of control. We've lost the female implant. Commander Bethel is threatening my life. We need your help."
Slight ripples of light and shadow seemed to flow across the alien energy form, and he tilted his head as he answered. "I expected this." he said enigmatically. "I know where she is. She is in Xavier's Institute for Mutants, which will put us in a better position to carry out our plans without the interference of the militant powers. Everything is going according to plan. We have merely...corralled her into our corner."
"But how do I keep stringing along the Black Ops and making them buy this 'atmospheric interference' story?" protested David. "How do I convince them that capturing Adara is in both our best interests? I'm afriad they're catching on to the fact that we're using them as much as they're using HER."
"Leave that to me." was all the Xadar said. His projection disappeared before David could say another word.
"So," he said as he took his shiny-shoed feet off the desk and leaned forward predatorily. "Where is she? I thought you guys had it covered."
"We had a lock on her, Sir. But we lost it."
His superior's voice rose suddenly as he yelled at him. "GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!" The younger guy wasted no time. Cdr. Bethel muttered curses about imcompetent underlings as he tore the report into shreds. The confetti fell all over a cheap, badly made Roswell crash sculpture on his desk. Bethel pounded the wall and would have put a hole through it if it hadn't been made of inpenetrable steel. Where the hell could that bitch BE? She was essential to their operation. Besides, they had a deal with their Friends Upstairs. He fumed even more as he wondered if the aliens had turned against them. Maybe they had even helped her escape. His only desire was to find Adara and the aliens and kick BOTH their sorry asses.
He calls up David (I think that's the name you gave him? Shayda's liaison on Earth?),
whom he doesn't trust any further than he can throw. Starts reading him the riot act about "you said this stuff would find her wherever she went! Why can't it find her now?". On phone, Davis is calm, cool, and collected, and says they're aware of the problem, that his "employer" is trying to fix it, and that he shouldn't worry; since they're both after the same thing, its in David's best interest to find Adara, as well. A.H. hangs up and decides to go out and take his aggressions on some helpless targets on the range.
With a growl, Bethel swiped the cell phone out of his pocket and called David. He always dreaded these confrontations, because David was the aliens' human liason. The aliens' planetary leader's liason to be exact, and he made sure everyone knew it in that cool but pompous way of his. Bethel didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. David was smart, David was secretive, David was necessary.
David was a dick.
Bethel's hate for him was magnified knowing David's office was on the same base.
Bethel could almost see the thick cigarrette smoke curling like serpentine tendrils through the receiver. Camels were David's favorite. Just another thing that made Bethel hate his alien-loving guts.
The phone rang four times before a smooth male voice answered calmly, "Yes, Commander Bethel?" The mere calm of David's voice made Bethel struggle for control.
"We lost her. My men just went on a wild goose chase looking for our most valuable asset with an apparently INFALLIBLE tracking device! You assured me it would never malfunction. We had a deal!"
The voice on the other end never wavered.
"Just calm down, Mr. Bethel." David nearly purred, the slightest trace of sarcasm in his voice. "My...employer and I are aware of the situation and are pursuing it at this moment. We wouldn't let OUR most valuable asset slip through our fingers, now would we? I'll keep you informed."
Before Bethel could answer, the phone went dead at the other end.
* * *
A now nervous David took an extra long drag on his cigarette and made his own call. Only he didn't use a cell phone. He pushed a button concealed under his desk, and a featureless, bald slender white ghostly form appeared in the room across from him.
"You summoned me?"
"Yes, Xadar." David bowed his head. His voice now showed more nervousness than it had with the Commander. "The situation is getting out of control. We've lost the female implant. Commander Bethel is threatening my life. We need your help."
Slight ripples of light and shadow seemed to flow across the alien energy form, and he tilted his head as he answered. "I expected this." he said enigmatically. "I know where she is. She is in Xavier's Institute for Mutants, which will put us in a better position to carry out our plans without the interference of the militant powers. Everything is going according to plan. We have merely...corralled her into our corner."
"But how do I keep stringing along the Black Ops and making them buy this 'atmospheric interference' story?" protested David. "How do I convince them that capturing Adara is in both our best interests? I'm afriad they're catching on to the fact that we're using them as much as they're using HER."
"Leave that to me." was all the Xadar said. His projection disappeared before David could say another word.