Lex saw the planet Earth with her human eyes. She was of a handful that would be given the privilege of seeing this. If only the moment weren't ruined by the clanking sound of Yautja warriors testing out their blades, and the hum of their lasers. As she saw her human hands once more, she felt like she should stop all this. She looked over at the controls and considered ramming the ship straight into the ground killing everyone on-board. The Prince seemed to notice her suicidal thoughts and moved a step towards the controls cutting her off.
A hologram then appeared showing an abandoned construction yard in Los Angeles. The ship's pilots aimed for the construction yard and then hit the ground hard. If not for the gravity controls, Lex would have been flung across the bridge. The ship tore through the ground and ended up in a cavern underground. A force field from the ship kept the ground from falling on the ship.
The Prince then handed Lex a purse filled with $10,000 in cash, a 45 Cal. pistol, a false ID and passport, a set of keys, infrared binoculars, a cloaking device, and a GPS with an already set address. The Prince and his warriors then exited the ship and opened a cargo compartment. Urikia took a Ducati motorcycle and handed it over to her. Lex placed the keys in the bank and activated the engine.
"Where do I go with this?" Lex asked.
"There is a pathway to the surface from here," the Prince said in robotic English from his mask.
The Prince then led the way through the tunnels towards the surface. As they approached the exit, the Yautja activated their cloaking device. Lex pulled out of the tunnels while walking her motorcycle and then looked at her GPS. It was programmed to a certain address in Los Angeles. Following the GPS, Lex drove through LA towards her destination.
Once she got there, she discovered it to be an unremarkable apartment in downtown LA. She used one of her keys and entered the dwelling. The apartment was filled with kitchen supplies, coaches, televisions, and a king-size bed. There was some dust from non-use but otherwise an impressive apartment. Lex locked the door and went to sleep not wanting to think about her task.
The next morning, Lex took her purse ventured outside. She hadn't gone shopping for several months, but now the opportunity presented itself. She took her motorcycle and went to the nearest mall. With her cash, she bought new jeans and clothes for every occasion. She didn't mind spending the Prince's money, not just because he was an ass, but she didn't think he would need it. She then bought a new laptop, a pre-paid phone, a watch, and hiking boots.
Walking around with shopping bags and eating a pizza for lunch made her feel alive again. It was as if the whole alien thing was just a bad dream. She looked at her hand wondering if her nails would turn into claws. After lunch, she took the opportunity to get her hair and nails done. While watching a movie in a theater, she wondered what she was going to do. She considered the idea of going to the hospital and getting a doctor that would stop the inevitable changes. She also considered going to the military and telling them everything she knew. Once the movie was finished, she was still uncertain about what she wanted to do.
At the apartment, she turned on the TV and saw a number of violent killings take place throughout the city. The police were desperately trying to stop the rival gangs, but it was becoming a losing battle. "Who's in charge down here? The cops? No, they're outmanned and outgunned. Mr. Mayor, come back from your vacation home in Lake Tahoe and declare martial law!"
Lex frowned as she saw how worse things had become in LA. She then considered the news castor who seemed to be present at every gun battle between police and gangs. She took her motorcycle down to the station and saw Tony Pope enter his van. She recognized the news castor man from the television program. As he left the parking lot, Lex followed him thinking he would lead her to a crime scene.
Sure enough, within ten minutes Pope was scouting around a fairly shady neighborhood. Lex watched from afar with her binoculars which detected his infrared signature. He was talking to a black man who had a sawed-off shotgun in his hand. The two went inside the building and disappeared.
Lex activated her cloaking device and found the door leading into the building. With a Yautja blade, she sliced through the door unlocking it. She then quickly went inside to avoid being detected.
"Shut the fucking door," someone said in a heavy Jamaican accent.
"Is this place secure?" Pope asked alarmed.
"You worry too much man," the Jamaican leader said amused. One of his men shut the door and came back to the circle.
"So, do we have an understanding?" Pope asked.
The Jamaican leader hesitated to respond making Pope uneasy. "Yeah, we have an understanding. You report crimes that lead the cops to us and then we ambushed them. You get your story and we get the cops."
"Now where's my money?" the Jamaican leader demanded.
Pope nervously placed a large block of cash on the table. The Jamaican leader cast it off to one of his men to count. Lex watched in fascination as the conversation continued. "Pleasure doing business with you," the Jamaican leader said once the count was over.
The Jamaican leader then took out a city map. "We will have a fake drug lab positioned here. You report this to the police and then we can surround them inside the building. There will also be explosives inside the building."
"I see," Pope said looking at the map and writing down the address.
"You better not double-cross us," the Jamaican leader said holding a large knife in his hand.
"Of course not," Pope said fearfully.
"Now get out," the Jamaican leader said rudely.
Lex had to move. If she didn't stop this plan, a dozen cops could be killed. She took out her 45 Cal pistol and prepared to shoot. Pope stood up and moved towards the door. If she didn't act now, she would lose him. Lex pointed the weapon at the Jamaican leader and cocked the pistol as silently as she could. He was too busy snorting cocaine to notice her. The pressure was starting to mount as Lex considered her humanity and the fate of the cops.
Finally, she squeezed a bullet off blasting the Jamaican leader in the head. His face fell into a hill of cocaine; the guards immediately starting to fire widely. Lex turned off the lights allowing her to see the guards in infrared. Unable to see their faces, Lex felt more comfortable. She aimed and fired another bullet off blasting a guard to the head. She then moved out of the way as bullets sprayed around her. Taking another position, she fired into the back of a guard's head. This became too easy for Lex as she hit another guard to the head. She then looked around and saw two figures huddled towards the back of the room. They appeared female and were not armed. She then remembered Pope and ran out of the room.
Pope was starting to run from the building towards his van. Lex deactivated her cloaking device and sped towards him on her motorcycle. Pope scrambled to get the keys to his van but was suddenly slammed into the van. Pope fell to the ground stunned. Lex pulled him up to his feet and pointed her pistol in his face.
"In the van," she ordered.
"Don't kill me," he pleaded.
"Shut up and move," Lex ordered.
Pope opened the van filled with monitoring equipment. Lex looked around briefly and then closed the door. Putting on her binoculars, she could easily see Pope in the darkness. "I want to know everything you know about crime in LA," Lex said.
"Like what?" Pope asked.
"Something weird or unusual; something similar to what happened here eight years ago in 1997," Lex said.
Pope stared at her and nodded in understanding. "They say the Jamaican Voodo gang is under the control of a man no one has ever seen."
"How do you know he exists?" Lex asked.
"I have monitored his voice. It's inhuman," he said.
"Play it," Lex ordered.
Pope went to his computer and played the sound bite. "Do as I say, little man. I want the weapons and drugs shipped tonight," the recording said.
Lex listened intently and noticed the familiar tone. It was the voice of a Yautja struggling to speak English. "Where did you get this?" Lex asked.
"I have my ways," Pope said sheepishly.
Lex put the muzzle of the pistol on his head. "Okay, I got it from an undercover prostitute," Pope fessed up.
"Why are you paying these Jamaican gangs to kill cops," Lex demanded.
"I'm just trying to make a living," Pope said.
"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you," Lex threatened.
"Okay, you want to find this Jamaican drug lord right? I can help you find him if you let me live," Pope offered.
Lex could hear police sirens in the distance. "We'll talk later," she said and then backed out of the van. Lex got on her motorcycle and drove back to the crime scene. Once she got there, the police had the place surrounded and then went inside.
Lex watched intently in cloak as the cops searched around. "This really isn't the place for you Chief," Leona commented.
"Don't call me that. I could say the same thing for you. Don't you have a kid to look after," Harrigan shot back.
Leona simply shrugged and looked around. "Single bullet wound to the head," one of the investigators noticed.
"Looks like they were caught off guard; there are some bullet wounds to the back of the head here," Leona said.
"How many players were here?" Harrigan asked.
"Looks like one. We found only four 45 Cal bullet casings. The only bullet casings are consistent with AK-47 rounds," investigator Carl said.
"So what we know is that a single shooter surprised these men and killed them all with four bullets. How is that possible?" Harrigan wondered.
"We'll take the bodies to ballistics later so we can find out who was shot first and at what range. From the looks of this gun powder residue, I would say that it was a very close range," Carl said.
"So, someone just walked up to him and popped him?" Leona doubted.
"He was probably high out of his mind with cocaine," Carl speculated.
"We'll find out for sure," Harrigan said resolved.
Lex watched the police with some interest; it was like watching a CSI show. Harrigan seemed anxious in the room shifting his eyes around the building. Lex wondered if the chief were able to detect her; she decided not to move.
"What of other witnesses?" Harrigan asked.
"We haven't found any," Carl reported.
"Anything wrong?" Leona asked upon seeing the chief look around.
"No, nothing," Harrigan said after looking around. "Okay, clear the area. Form a perimeter and wait for forensics to arrive," Harrigan ordered.
Lex watched as the cops exited the building and then wondered what to do. "Impressive for a human," a robotic voice said from behind her. Lex jumped nearly falling to the ground. She fearfully looked behind her and saw a disturbance in the air. She pointed the weapon at the disturbance.
"Identify yourself," she ordered.
The male Yautja deactivated his cloak revealing himself. Lex quickly realized it was the Duke. Sighing with relief, the Duke examined the bodies. The Duke picked up the drug lord by the neck with one hand and lifted him up off the floor. There was cocaine all over his face and in his nose. The Duke examined the skull with his masked eyes and then dropped the body.
"We don't have much time," Lex told him.
"Then we should take this to a more appropriate venue," the Duke said with a robotic voice.
He took out a device from his belt and shot through a window to the top of another building. The gas-powered device hooked onto the edge of the building. The Duke then attached the rope to the drug lord's body and then rushed the body up the rope to the top of the building.
"What about the other bodies?" Lex asked.
"They can stay," the Duke said uninterested. "Grab my belt," he ordered.
Lex complied and then the two were flung out of the building and onto the top of the building. The Duke picked up the dead drug lord and dragged him across the roof. With clear cover, he started taking out his tools.
The Duke seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Kashina has terminated the two female witnesses," he reported.
Lex simply gave him a blank stare. "They weren't involved," she protested.
"Involved in?" the Duke asked.
"The drug dealing and cop killing; they were just prostitutes," Lex explained.
"So, that is why you killed this human?" the Duke asked curiously. "We do not hunt to extract justice. We hunt those humans that are the best game. Coincidentally, this human served both purposes."
"So, you would kill a cop if he were the best game?" Lex asked disgustedly.
"I have this impression you disapprove," the Duke said amused.
Lex considered shooting her last two bullets into her future brother-in-law. "Your weapon?" the Duke requested.
Lex reluctantly gave up her weapon. The Duke carefully loaded the magazine with bullets and then handed the weapon back to her. "There can be no witnesses to our hunts or the entire human race is threatened. Remember that next time," the Duke warned her.
"Why did you follow me?" Lex asked.
"The Prince has requested that I assist you."
The Duke and Lex journeyed back to the ship underground. The Prince was waiting for them in his throne room. There were two new human skulls on his armrests. The Duke came forward first detaching a human skull from his outfit. He then gave his mask over to the Prince who then placed it on his face. The Prince stayed silent for a moment as he viewed the Duke's memories.
"Good," he said after viewing the videos.
Lex then contributed her skull and mask. The Prince examined the skull, from his anthropology lessons, he knew it to be a male one. He placed his finger inside the bullet hole wound of the skull and then put it aside. He then placed Lex's mask over his face to see what she had done. He waited a little longer as he viewed Lex's memories and then finally gave it back.
"It is acceptable," he said neither praising nor scorning her. He then opened a compartment on his arm revealing a blue vial. He threw it at her perhaps hoping Lex would fumble it and break it. Lex caught it and placed it safely in her pack.
"By killing that man you will save human lives," the Prince said to her.
"Who did you kill then?" Lex accused.
The Duke gave her a curious look as the Prince said nothing. "My kills are reviewed only by the King," he said.
Lex was not satisfied with that answer and her expression showed it. "Your human body will not last long in the ship. You may take your leave now," the Prince ordered.
Lex turned to exit the ship. She noticed as she left that the Duke and Prince were conversing but she couldn't understand what they were saying.
The next day, Lex gave Pope a visit at his house. She searched through the internet for his address and too many people were willing to give it up. Lex drove up into the hills and found Pope's gated community. Once she reached the gate a security guard blocked her path. She pointed her Yautja plasma canon blasting him. He fell to the ground stunned. Lex then used a laser pointer to slice through the lock on the gate. With the gate wide open, Lex drove through.
Once she reached the residence, she placed on her Yautja glasses specially designed for her. She could see some of Pope's guards crawling around the residence. Activating her cloak device, she carefully navigated through them to the door. She then knocked on the door. A woman opened the door and looked around. Lex went through the door and walked towards Pope. The bewildered woman then closed the door.
Pope was in the living room having a drink with another woman Lex suspected to be a prostitute. Lex waited for the second prostitute to join Pope and then deactivated her cloak. "Get out," she ordered the two women.
Lex aimed her pistol at the two of them until they ran out of the house. Lex then aimed for Pope. "Get on the phone and tell your men they can leave early," she ordered.
Pope hesitated with Lex still aiming for his head. "Now!" she said more forcefully.
Pope nodded and then made the call. After he was done, Lex blasted the phone with her laser pointer. "Hand over your cell phone," she ordered.
Pope did as he was told handing it over. "Now turn off the lights," Lex ordered.
Pope complied dimming the lights. Lex could still see Pope with her infrared glasses. "So, now you know that I can easily get through your security. My friends can easily do the same and they aren't as merciful as I am."
"What do you want?" Pope asked fearfully.
"I want access to all of your documents and videos. I am hunting for this Jamaican drug lord," Lex said.
"They're not here. They're in my office," Pope said.
"We're going for a ride. Get up and do as I say," Lex ordered.
Pope drove Lex to his news station. Lex recognized the location and then ordered Pope to let her inside. The two then accessed a room filled with videos. They were placed in categories, some of which contained information on corrupt cops. "I'll be taking these," Lex said to him.
Pope sighed as he gave them over. He was hoping to use them in case he needed to blackmail the police. Pope then handed over the videos concerning the Jamaican drug lord. Satisfied for the time being, Lex ordered Pope back to his neighborhood.
"We'll be in contact," Lex said to him.
Pope nodded fearfully and then quickly ran through the open gates. Lex drove off back to her apartment knowing it would be a long night.
The next day, Lex woke up late. She has just watched a few hours of videos, some of which were relevant to her investigation. She then turned on the TV to watch the local news. There was a shark killing off the coast of Long Beach, but the killing of the Jamaicans wasn't talked about.
With her evidence in hand, she drove to the police department. "I want to see Chief Harrigan," Lex asked the receptionist.
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.
"I am his niece," Lex lied.
The receptionist gave her a look over. "Okay, he's on the top floor. You can't miss it."
Lex headed up to the top floor and found Harrigan's office easily enough. It was a fairly normal office with papers all over his desk. There was an 18th-century pistol place on his wall. He was shouting through his phone with occasional obscenities. Lex ventured into his office and waited for his phone call to end. "Can I help you?" Harrigan asked pleasantly once he was off the phone.
"I want to work with you on busting the Jamaican drug cartel," she said.
Harrigan smiled at Lex. "I don't have any money to hire a private investigator."
"I am not asking for any money.
"What's your angle then?" Harrigan asked.
"My father was killed by a drug dealer. I have a score to settle," Lex lied.
"Now, you see, I can't have that. I need someone who has their head in the game; not going on their own personal crusade," Harrigan rebuked.
"Like you did when your partner died in 97?" Lex asked.
Harrigan gave her a blank stare. "That was different," he said softly.
"And so is this. Let's make this easier for you. I have in my possession tapes detailing corruption in your department. These tapes show a number of your cops giving drug dealers protection," Lex revealed.
Harrigan stared at the tapes. "I have copies back at my apartment," Lex said.
"You trying to blackmail the LAPD?" Harrigan asked.
"Call it what you want. I'll give you a tape a weak and in return, you give me copies of all the evidence you have on the Jamaican drug lords," Lex said.
"How did you get these tapes?" Harrigan wondered.
Lex simply smirked. "I have more. If you help me I can help you get some payback. Recognize this," Lex said displaying a plasma cannon. The device couldn't be detected by the police metal detectors.
Harrigan stared at the device as he quickly recognized it. "How do you have this?" he asked.
"What's important is that they are here in your city. They also want this drug lord dead. We could work together to kill them both," Lex offered.
"How can I trust you?" Harrigan asked.
"Take a chance," Lex said. "I'll give you the first tape for free," she said leaving the tape on the desk. Harrigan was considering getting some back up to arrest her as she was about to leave. Lex activated her cloak and vanished in his sight.
That night, Harrigan viewed the tape thoroughly and was disgusted by what he had seen. He immediately suspended the officers involved. This immediately put him in a bad situation as he didn't have enough officers for the shifts. Lex pulled strings on Pope to keep him from reporting the corruption investigation.
A few days later, Lex and Harrigan met again. "After reviewing the tapes, I am willing to work with you. These are the files we have on the Jamaican drug gangs," Harrigan said as he handed over the file.
"Some of them feed by hijacking meat trucks coming into Los Angeles. Their next attack is scheduled for tonight at 10 pm. They will attack here," Lex said showing Harrigan a map.
"How many?"
"Usually groups of three."
"How well-armed are they?"
"Twin plasma cannons, thermonuclear detonator, cloaking device, infrared scanners, blades, discs, and armor," Lex recalled.
"Damn," Harrigan considered.
"You've killed one before," Lex reminded him.
"That was seven years ago and it took out an entire FBI squad. Is there a way to detect them?" Harrigan asked.
"Water will cause the cloaking device to fail for a few minutes," Lex said.
"That's right," Harrigan recalled.
"We could also set up a trap for them. They want the strongest prey they can find here. Arrest one of the Jamaican drug lords and then make it public. They will go after it," Lex said.
"As will the Colombians," Harrigan muttered. "Can you help us on the field?"
"They know what I look like. They will know I betrayed them," Lex declined.
"Not sure who I should send though," Harrigan said.
"Send in the suspended cops. Whoever loses you win," Lex suggested.
"I'll take it under advisement," Harrigan agreed.
The night of the attack, the suspended officers along with a SWAT team chased after a meat truck headed towards Los Angeles. The truck then took an exit and went past a rest stop town into an abandoned area on a dirt road. The cops stopped their cars and formed a circular perimeter around the truck out of sight in the woods.
The drivers, two LAPD officers stayed tight and waited. After a thirty-minute wait, they heard a thud on the truck. They immediately signaled the other cops to intervene. Suddenly, the doors were ripped open and the two cops were thrown out of the vehicle. An invisible force aimed three red dots at their heads and fired.
"Move out!" Harrigan ordered his men.
Two fire trucks moved into position and started raining water down on the truck. The three Yautja were hit with the water and their cloaks became inactive. The cops then took their positions using the fire trucks as cover. The Yautja attempted to escape but were surrounded on all sides. The cops immediately opened fire hitting the three Yautja several times. A sniper on top of a fire truck aimed and fired into the neck of one of them. The Yautja fell to the ground with a thud as he started bleeding out. As they received damage, their cloaking device became permanently damaged. The two remaining Yautja fired on the cops creating sparks and fires throughout the woods. The two fire trucks received holes that went right through the truck. The sniper on the fire truck was hit knocking him off the truck.
The bleeding Yautja on the ground worked the controls on his wrist to self-destruct. Harrigan realized what he was doing and called for a retreat. The cops quickly withdrew from the area as the dying Yautja's countdown continued. The remaining two Yautja also ran as far as they could from the blast radius. The rest top town watched in confusion as cops and firefighters ran as fast as they could away from the woods. There was a sudden flash of light and a shockwave that knocked everyone down the ground. When the explosion settled, Harrigan was covered in ash.
Lex was not summoned to the ship in response to the firefight between the LAPD and the Yaujta. She wasn't sure whether this was a good or bad thing. Was she suspected of tipping the LAPD off resulting in the death of a Yautja guard? Or was she simply being ignored? Two police officers had been killed in the firefight. She wondered if Chief Harrigan would stop working with her or even try to arrest her now. She decided to wait a few days and then attended the public funeral of the two officers.
"They were good cops," Harrigan said sadly as she came up to him.
"This is a war. There will be casualties," she reminded him.
"I know," he muttered. "Now I have Feds all over me," he said wearily.
Men in suits approached Harrigan from the side. One of which was thin but tall with sunglasses on. "I'm sure you remember me, Harrigan. I am taking over your investigation. I hope I can depend on your cooperation," he said.
"Yeah, I remember you, Garber. With Keyes dead, I guess that gave you a promotion," Harrigan said crossly.
"Yes, it did. No thanks to you we have very little information on how these creatures operate. Now, you've managed to get two of your men killed," Garber shot back.
"What do you want?" Harrigan asked impatiently.
"We want to know how you knew where to strike at those creatures. You must have a good source," Garber surmised.
"A good hunch," Harrigan lied.
Garber stared at Lex briefly wondering who she was. "We have already searched your office thoroughly. The Chief gave us his full cooperation," Garber smirked.
"You did what?"
"It looks like you were holding out on us. That pistol you have on your wall has the creature's alien DNA on it and other synthetic elements not found on Earth," Garber revealed.
Harrigan kept his mouth shut. "And who is she?" Garber demanded.
"A consultant on this case," Harrigan said vaguely.
"I can help you," Lex blurted out.
"How? What do you know?" Garber asked seriously.
"We should take this conversation somewhere else," Lex said. She felt like she was being watched and the tombstones around her weren't helping.
"Fine, we will meet at this address at twenty hundred. Don't be late," Garber said.
"Asshole," Harrigan cursed as Garber left with his men.
"We have to work with him. Only together do you have a chance," Lex said.
That night, Harrigan and Lex drove up to an abandoned warehouse. Garber and his men were already there setting up equipment. The warehouse was filled with motion detectors, cameras that detected different types of light, and traps. One of Garber's men carefully led the two inside the warehouse and then closed the door.
Lex noticed the trained German Shepherds in the room. Looking at all the equipment the Feds had prepared, she was actually impressed. "What do you got?" Garber asked impatiently.
"I'm one of them, so ask anything you want," Lex said.
Garber stared at Lex not sure if he should believe her. He was on the verge of arresting her when she stopped him. "If you try to arrest me I will activate a homing beacon on my wrist band which will alert the creatures that I am in trouble. We will all be dead," she warned.
Garber eyed the alien piece of equipment. "Okay, let's talk," he allowed.
"I was human but I was turned into one of them as part of an experiment. I am able to stay human as long as I take a special medicine. This device is a cloaking device, this is a gas-powered blade wrist band, this is a plasma cannon, and this a medical kit," she said putting the equipment on the table.
"We need to test all of this," Garber said excitedly.
"That's not part of the deal. You can look but not touch," Lex said forcefully.
Garber settled himself and continued the questioning. "What are they here for?"
"They're here to hunt you. They're only interested in hunting the most challenging prey. In this case, it is the criminals and you," she said.
"What are their vulnerabilities?"
"They're not that different from us. They have greater tolerance to traumatic injuries but they can be killed. They're hard to kill because their blood clots quickly and they have organs inside them that hold excess blood. They could lose a few pints and still be fine," Lex detailed.
"Do they regrow limbs? Are they reptiles or mammals?"
"They don't regrow limbs, but they have very good prosthetics. Despite their appearance, they are more like us than reptiles."
"What about their senses? Their sight, hearing, and smell?"
"Their sight is poor in our atmosphere, their hearing is very good, and their smell is also very good but only when they take off their masks."
"Can they live without their masks here?"
"For a short period of time, they can breathe, and then they'll eventually pass out."
"How many of them are here?"
"There are two dozen that came down on my ship. There could be others I don't know of."
"How long will they be here?"
Lex hesitated to answer that question. "They're looking for members of their own kind. There were some humans that were transformed as well, but these guys were psychopaths. And now these psychopaths could expose them. So, they're here to hunt down these creatures and kill them before that happens."
"These different ones are here?"
"We know there is at least one in the Los Angeles area. We think that he could be manipulating the Jamaican drug lords."
"How many total are there?"
"We think there are a dozen of them in the western hemisphere."
"Do they have the same weapons as the others?"
"No, they just have blades, a mask, and a cloak."
Garber looked at his notes and wondered what to think of this. "I suppose it's only right to tell us what we know. A high-tech microwave emitter was stolen from a ship at a port in LA. It is used to vaporize water into a vapor. It was invented to purify saltwater for Third World missions. Does any of this make sense to you?"
Lex gave a blank stare. "We found a new drug on the streets that can enter the bloodstream merely by breathing it in. It's very potent and very addictive. It's naturally produced as a liquid," Harrigan said.
"They're going to poison the water supply," Lex realized.
"If they can vaporize the water in the pipes they could intoxicate whole city blocks. You could create tens of thousands of potential customers," Harrigan said.
"Are there any incidences of the water supply being broken into?" Garber asked.
"I think I recall a case," Harrigan considered.
Garber turned a laptop to Harrigan. "Your password, we can look through all LAPD case files."
Harrigan eyed Garber with an antagonistic expression but then gave him the password. Garber's men then went to work looking through crime files. "We found one incident of vandalism and stolen property at a water treatment plant. The suspects were profiles as African American with braids."
"Looks like the theory fits," Garber said pleased.
"Hey, that's racial profiling," Harrigan objected.
Garber rolled his eyes. "We will need to plan on making a trap for these Jamaicans at a water treatment plant."
"How will we know when they're going to strike?" Harrigan asked.
"I have a source inside the Jamaican drug cartel," Lex volunteered.
"You're full of surprises," Garber smirked. "You will need some protection. Wesley will be assigned to guard you."
Wesley came forward; he was African American, muscular, and had a military haircut. "I don't think that will be necessary," Lex protested.
"I can't afford to lose you and I want to keep an eye on you," Garber said.
Lex wondered if coming to this meeting was such a good idea. Wesley gave her a grin as if enjoying the prospect. "He will escort you out," Garber said.
Lex left the table with Wesley following behind. As soon as she left the warehouse, Wesley grabbed her firmly and then escorted her to his car. "What about my car?" Lex protested.
"We will have it towed to your address in the morning," he said in a deep voice.
He took the passenger seat of the car. "Drive," he ordered.
Lex did as she was told, bringing the car to her apartment. Wesley looked around using his flashlight to examine the outside. "Go inside," he ordered.
Once she was inside, Wesley barged in and began exploring the apartment. "This will work," he approved.
"Work for what?" Lex questioned.
"I will be residing here until the end of this assignment," he said.
"That wasn't part of the deal," Lex said angrily.
"We are altering the deal," he said simply. "And don't try anything," he said revealing a jacket filled with small explosive tubes.
"You're crazy," she said giving him a stupefied look.
"You're the human that claims to be an alien," he replied back.
"You can sleep on the couch then," Lex said defeated.
The next day, Lex wondered how she would ditch a highly trained federal agent. As she went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, the agent was already waiting for her. "You usually wake up at 8 pm?" he asked as if disgusted.
"Sorry, I am just a civilian," she said defensively.
He watched her intently as she made oatmeal. "Have you had anything to eat?" she asked him.
"I already ate," he said simply.
"Well, I need to get out for a coffee. You coming?" she asked.
"I am assigned to follow you wherever you go," he said.
"Well, I prefer it if you follow me where I can see you."
The two walked a few blocks and found a Starbucks. After she ordered a coffee, Wesley sat at a table waiting for her. "Sure, you don't want one?" she asked politely.
"I don't drink coffee. Never developed a taste for it," he said.
"So, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do?" Lex asked.
"My work comes first. I manage many people under me. I suppose my hobby is hunting," he said.
"What kind of game?" Lex asked curiously.
"Criminals."
Lex frowned at her lack of success in getting him to open up. "Where are you from?"
"Pasadena," he replied.
"What got you interested in the DEA?"
"My peers in school took drugs and ruined their lives. Now, many of them are dead or imprisoned. I decided to take the opposite path. My best friend was gunned down by drug dealers," he said.
"Sorry," Lex muttered.
"It was a long time ago," he downplayed.
"So, you probably think I am a monster right?"
"I don't have an opinion. I was assigned to watch you and to protect you," he said.
"You married?" Lex asked.
"I was but I am divorced," he said.
Lex nodded as weird thoughts went through her head. He was impressively built, an intimidating voice, and looked very cool with his black shades. He was dressed in black pants, a black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. His shoes were black and shined.
"You ready for the raid," he asked.
"I think I can manage it," Lex said although she was not entirely sure.
"We should begin your training," he advised.
"What do you have in mind?" Lex wondered.
Wesley took out a piece of paper. "Shooting range, wall climbing, martial arts training, and arrest techniques," he said.
"Is that really necessary with the technology I have?" Lex asked.
"You always should be prepared in case it fails," he said.
"Alright then, let's begin."