We're baaaaacckkkk!
Chapter 35
Lines drawn
At the breakfast table, Adrien cradled his head with one hand as he picked at his food. Had he been too hard on her?
She'd needed to hear it all, but he had lost his temper. He was willing to admit that. Still, at this point, an apology might make her think he was taking back what he'd said.
Not to mention, he was still angry.
Much more than he should have been.
Now, Petrov, that didn't surprise him. Guy had been wanting this opportunity for years. Probably thought or hoped he could convince Katja to feel the same way about him as he did for her. Then persuade her to move to some crappy farm – or whatever friggin' fairytale he planned to do when he left the army – and piss her life away.
But Katja? She didn't get carried away; not that Adrien had noticed. She had common sense. Everything she did was planned and accounted for. He just… he thought she knew better than that.
Blue growled softly as he picked up one of the pancake things.
Adrien was feeling much the same way. Probably for different reasons with what he secretly knew about Blue, however. Kind of odd since it sounded like Blue took on multiple partners in the name of duty. Why was he getting all righteous about Katja?
Alexei, around a mouthful of food, spoke up.
"Dimwit, if you didn't notice, there's no one around to translate for you," Adrien said. "Katja and Petrov already… already ate. So, there's no point in talking. Can it."
" 'Why are you two so mad?' " Blue's voice recorder piped up. Adrien couldn't believe the alien was willing to help Alexei communicate, but maybe he just figured that if he didn't, Alexei would keep jabbering away.
"I'm not mad," Adrien snapped. "My back hurts. Just shut up and eat your pancakes."
"Touchy, touchy," Alexei scolded in English, wagging his fork at Adrien.
It was a good thing Adrien no longer had access to Blue's blade. He would have happily killed the kid, right there, and let him fall facedown into his breakfast.
"Welp, I'm full," Adrien announced before his more murderous tendencies won out. He noticed Blue, clearly still moping, and invited, "Hey, man. Want to go play pool? Think I saw a table in the lounge."
"Do not know game," Blue grumbled. How he figured out it was a game was an interesting mystery.
"Then I'll show you."
Katja took a swift shower, trying to decide what to do next. Clearly, her actions, which were supposed to be private, had nonetheless caused a rift in the team. Which was bad. When a unit lost cohesiveness, people died.
She sighed deeply. She needed to talk to Maksim.
The last thing she wanted was for things to be uncomfortable between them. Would it be? Was he ashamed, or regretful after Adrien's lecture?
Alexander had always been ashamed of her, scolding her for using the wrong fork or drinking the wrong wine with the wrong food or wearing the wrong clothes… making him 'look bad' in general.
And she'd been her own father's regret from the moment she was born.
Dressing, she looked around the suite for Petrov, eventually finding him on the sofa in front of the blank tv.
When he saw her, he smiled and held out his arms. "You okay, my baby?"
Well, at least he wasn't mad at her. Yet.
As much as she secretly might have wanted to be held and comforted at that moment, her duty, again, would come first.
"I'm all right," she told him, giving a warm smile in return. He wasn't mad. He wasn't uncomfortable. Maybe she'd catch a break. She sat next to him, not quite close enough for him to hug her, and she could sense his disappointment.
"Hey, don't let anything Adrien said upset you," he told her. "He's… had a rough few days, while you were out. We all have."
"He didn't upset me," she said. "But he did make a good point. We…" Catching herself, Katja thought of Petrov's dogtag in her vest. Maksim already thought he wasn't making it out of here alive; giving him reason to reinforce that belief would be disastrous. "I just think we should cool things off and wait on our next date until we're home. That's all."
"Okay," he agreed readily after searching her face. As she leaned against his shoulder, he added, "What do you want to do on our next date?"
"Oh, I have to plan it?"
"I planned this one," he pointed out.
"Breakfast with that sunrise view of the mountains will be hard to beat," Katja admitted. She closed her eyes, thinking ahead to a future life she probably wouldn't get to live. "Animal shelter. I want to volunteer at an animal shelter for a day. And maybe adopt another cat."
Petrov chucked in surprise. "Okay. I'm there. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's clean up animal poop."
For some reason, that made her burst out laughing. Such a farm boy.
Her mind drifted ahead to her next task. She had to go patch things up with Adrien. Soon.
Maybe she'd just rest here a little longer first.
Vai'dqouulth joined his human companion in the lounge, as it was called. In front of him was a table; made of wood and covered with a green fabric of some kind. He wasn't in the mood for games, but perhaps it would clear his mind of… foreign thoughts.
Adrien set some alcoholic drinks down nearby for them and grabbed some sort of wooden stick from a rack on the wall. Were they going to spar? Were these training combisticks?
The human stood there for a moment before he suddenly snapped the stick in half. It looked unintentional. "Part of the game?" Vai'dqouulth asked.
"No, I– no." Adrien spoke, seemingly broken from his thoughts. "Accident."
"Combistick?" Vai'dqouulth pointed.
"I don't know what that is," Adrien answered. Vai'dqouulth unclipped his and extended the telescoping spear to its full length.
"No, no, it's called a cue," Adrien chuckled. He then began producing balls of different colors with English numbers. Half were solid in color, and half were stripped. Finally, he came up from his crouch with a triangle-shaped item. It was about time humans used the pyramid shape for something. Even if they would be using it with yet another giant rectangle.
Using the triangle, Adrien arranged the balls within the barrier – numerically, it seemed. Pulling another 'cue', as it was called, from the wall, Adrien handed it to him.
"Would you like to be solids or stripes?" Adrien asked, resting his chin on a new cue. It took Vai'dqouulth a moment to realize he meant the balls.
"Stripes," Vai'dqouulth answered.
"Guess that should've been obvious to me," Adrien laughed again. "In pool, you don't want to be first. So, I'll go."
Suspicious, but Vai'dqouulth trusted he wasn't being lied to. Adrien contested with honor.
"This is the cue ball. It is the only ball you can hit with your cue. The idea of the game is to sink all your balls using the cue ball, into the pockets lining the pool table," Adrien explained.
He watched Adrien closely as the human bent over the table, observing the technique. The cue aimed at the cue ball; the cue ball aimed at the group of balls on the other end of the table.
Adrien smacked the cue ball and it hit the batch, scattering them around, but none going into the pockets.
"I did not sink any, so it is your turn now," Adrien gestured.
Vai'dqouulth did his best to get into position and handle the cue like the human had.
"Not bad. Let me see if I can help you," Adrien said as he set up Vai'dqouulth how he saw fit. Using only the cue, no less. Reminded him of his training days. His instructor had used a combistick to position him then, as well.
"You should not take Adrien's teaching. He's not as smart as me," Alexei spoke in Russian as he waltzed in arrogantly. "This is a game of angles and math. I doubt the American can count past his fingers."
Vai'dqouulth chuffed.
"Alexei, I don't know what you said, but I'm still in no mood. Leave, before I start chucking balls at you," Adrien threatened. Defiantly idiotic as always, the runt sat down despite the threat. But he did stop speaking.
"Good, now shoot," Adrien said to Vai'dqouulth. He did, but he could tell he had put too much strength behind it. The ball danced around the hole before bouncing off.
"Your technique was great. But buddy, this isn't a test of muscle. It's a test of precision, which is also patience," Adrien explained. He would make an excellent instructor for warriors. Idly, he wondered if the human had trained warriors. If not, he should. Future hunts would be that more rewarding.
"Try again," Adrien said.
"Not my turn," Vai'dqouulth argued.
"Yes, but we are practicing, not playing. It's no fun to beat a novice," Adrien said.
So even humans could prefer to have worthy opponents, rather than taking advantage of weaker targets.
Calming himself, he shot the ball. This time, he sank two of the striped ones. Wriggling his mandibles with excitement, he turned to Adrien for praise, which he got.
"Damn man, that's some beginner's luck you have," Adrien complemented. The next shot he missed, and this time, the marine took his turn.
Back and forth they went until Adrien was down to the eight ball. Apparently, that one couldn't be sunk until all other balls had been cleared of the table for the player. Vai'dqouulth suspected he had lost, as he still had two to put in the pocket.
Adrien missed, and the cue ball went in instead. He could hear cursing from the human now.
"Shit. Good game, buddy; you won."
"Explain," Vai'dqouulth demanded. He wasn't following how he won. He knew 'scratching' as it was called, resulted in the loss of a turn; but not a loss of the game.
"If a player scratches on the eight ball, it's an automatic loss," Adrien shrugged. Winning on a technicality didn't feel like much of a win.
"Lying?" Vai'dqouulth asked.
"I'm sure Alexei will more than gleefully tell you I lost," Adrien gestured.
"It's true! The idiot American scratched like a fool on the eight ball!" Alexei laughed uproariously. It sounded forced and faked to him.
"Again," Vai'dqouulth demanded. He wanted to win by winning. Not because of an accident. Though he supposed that was what the Yautja did – they won because their opponent made a mistake.
"Let's have a beer break, and we can go again," Adrien suggested. They sat on an adjoining pool table, watching Alexei take shots.
"I assume you could hear everything earlier. Was I too hard on her?" Adrien finally asked.
The question surprised Vai'dqouulth. Adrien was rarely ever self-doubting. It was also a very difficult question to answer.
He had heard Adrien say (more like roaring) that the behavior had serious repercussions in their militaries, which he found interesting. Yautja warriors on duty, meanwhile, were brought females to ensure they had a chance to pass on their warrior genes to offspring. Perhaps there was an aspect of this he was missing.
"Pups need correction. No different," Vai'dqouulth answered finally, trying to understand the cultural barrier at present. It did bother him that Katja could be beginning a pregnancy out here. High human population or not. That was why Yautja females often stayed out of danger. The risk of killing an unborn was too high with their own species numbers always being in peril.
"Well, they aren't kids, either. Though I don't feel this was an impulsive choice for Petrov. I'm certain it was for Katja," Adrien said as he took a drink of his alcohol. "God, I hope he didn't just ruin that poor girl's life."
"What choice?" Alexei called out. "What happened?"
"Petrov not a good mate?" Vai'dqouulth ventured, ignoring the weakling, too curious to see what Adrien thought of Petrov.
"I don't know. Much as I hate to admit it right now, I know he's not a bad person. They seem to genuinely like one another, even if the degree of 'liking' is a bit lopsided against Petrov – he's way more into her than the reverse. He's good to her, if not for her; can't see him ever being abusive or anything like that. But compatibility only gets you so far. The problems as I see them are, the guy has no education and minimal skills, and his family debt could probably reach to your home planet. Katja would probably have to be the primary provider – and I'm not sure how it works in the Russian army, but sometimes careers can be an uphill battle for… females on Earth. Their theoretical family unit would never thrive, not when they're starting from five hundred feet underground. But they'd get by. Hard times would certainly strain their relationship a lot more. And Russia is the center of hard times," Adrien answered.
That was an interesting interpretation. Adrien believed Petrov had more affection for Katja than Katja had for Petrov. He shouldn't be surprised, really. Yautja females were definitely more aloof. She seemed cordial enough, but maybe it was just because his baseline comparison was worse.
"Seriously, what did I miss?" asked Alexei, who was now helping himself to another kind of intoxicant. "Did Petrov propose to Jekaterina or something?"
"Oh, what does he want?" demanded Adrien irritably.
After a moment's hesitation to verify he was translating the word 'propose' correctly, Vai'dqouulth explained.
"Dear lord, I hope not. Just what we'd need. A war zone wedding and nobody's ordained." Adrien then twisted his face. "But I bet he's the type to propose after sex."
"You mean they… well, I didn't need to know that," Alexei said, grabbing a few more bottles from the bar. "Gonna need more of these. But why do you care, anyway? You practically pushed them together when we reunited after the train."
Vai'dqouulth translated for the runt, somewhat interested in Adrien's answer.
"I don't care, but I also didn't expect them to be stupid enough to get busy in the middle of this mess. What happens if Katja has a kid out here? What happens if one of them dies? Every scenario slows us down or results in lost morale. That kills more effectively than any weapon will," Adrien answered.
Adrien was right. Vai'dqouulth hadn't cared about their displays of affection at the time, but now it was bothering him and in turn, jeopardizing his focus. Making him competitive, perhaps.
Vai'dqouulth's mind then wandered back to what Adrien had said before Alexei interjected. The marine's thoughts mimicked his own. In his own society, he had to prove that he could be the sole provider to a female and the offspring. The males didn't actually do that, but they still had to prove that they could.
This was treading the conversation into dangerous territory, but Vai'dqouulth had to ask. "How do humans court?"
"Court? Heh, I'll let you know when I figure it out," Adrien said as he sipped his drink. Surely this was humor. He had a mate and offspring.
It seemed the human picked up on his frustration, and began to explain. "There's no one way to do it. One gender doesn't have to initiate, either. You start with finding out facts about your target, so to speak. Generally, through conversation. And then you use that information to… court… I guess. You know; food, recreation, entertainment, whatever she likes most. 'Course, you have to find out what she does like the most. And there, you refer back to the conversations to figure it out."
Talking. His most hated pastime. But, this sounded like hunting with different prey and different prizes. Find a quarry, discover its weakness, attack and defeat. Claim prize.
Still, maybe this was why the human population wasn't completely spiraling out of control, like the hard meats. Their courting rituals sounded… complicated, to say the least. Far more time and resources spent.
"If you're gonna use your recordings as a lure, think again. You'll never trick someone into believing they found a prospect in the middle of, say, a jungle," Adrien stated.
He hadn't been, but the human was right. Voice mimicry only worked to a certain point and their sense of smell was too weak to pick up pheromones from a distance.
No; instead of mourning Katja ignoring his advances, he was going to learn human rituals and hybridize them with Yautja ones. According to Adrien, she hadn't become life-bonded to Petrov; at least, not yet. He could win her over. She was far more pleasant to deal with compared to some Yautja females, and he was confident he had more to offer than her favored drone.
"How do you guys do it?" Adrien asked. "Datin– courting, I mean."
A fair question, he supposed. "Males have to initiate. Show skill and strength. Trophy used to show prowess. The more valuable trophy, the less likely to be turned down," Vai'dqouulth explained.
"Wait, wait… back up, you use our skulls to get… laid?" Adrien demanded.
He didn't understand the phrase; but he could guess. So, he simply nodded in agreement.
"Oh, my god!" Adrien stated as he began laughing. Vai'dqouulth felt uncomfortable. This was peculiar behavior. He knew Adrien did not approve of the Yautja way of taking trophies.
"You should've said something! The human males would've probably just told you it was for a good cause and handed their skull over!" Adrien spoke between laughs. He did not understand the humor in this. And a human surrendering their skull would mean a plummet in value.
"I'm sorry. I needed that. Thanks," Adrien said as he calmed down. Gratitude now? Sometimes, he just did not understand these creatures.
"Ehhh, and here I thought I was the only one who dragged their problems out here. Seems we all have. What are you not telling us?" Adrien asked.
It was true. Ever since he arrived, the dishonorable kill replayed in his head again and again. He knew it was affecting his skill. "Dishonorably killed a human last hunt here," Vai'dqouulth admitted. Adrien had told him about his 'wife' in confidence, he felt the need to repay.
"Didn't even realize your kind believed in such a thing," Adrien said between sips. "What happened?"
"Was hunting criminal, female human pup appeared, accidental kill," Vai'dqouulth explained.
"What did you do?" Adrien asked. It was interesting there was no immediate scolding or judgment.
"Killed criminal. Reported back to clan. Submitted to punishment. Was not given any," Vai'dqouulth elaborated.
"Do you think you deserve punishment?" Adrien posed.
"Yes. Perhaps gods punish now," Vai'dqouulth answered without hesitation.
"I can appreciate a God-fearing man, but I don't think you were guilty either."
"How can you know?" Vai'dqouulth asked.
"War gives you tough decisions. You did what you had to do. It doesn't make you a bad person. Had that 'criminal' escaped, who knows what collateral damage could've resulted? It might've been a whole bunch of human children that got killed later."
Vai'dqouulth had never thought of it that way before. The criminal had killed this human female pup by his betrayal, and his not submitting to honorable death. Had he done this, Vai'dqouulth would've never had to hunt him down in the first place. He wasn't abstaining from his actions, merely putting them in new understanding.
"Humor me once more, and then we can play again," Adrien requested. Vai'dqouulth dipped his head in approval.
"Why do you listen to orders from what you obviously consider to be lesser beings?"
"Do not listen. Thoughts and ideology align with my own. Simply do not disagree with choices and ideas. Humans smart," Vai'dqouulth answered. He himself was surprised about the lack of hesitancy in the answer, but it was the truth.
"Fair enough. Makes sense to me, and it's important for a 'superior' to be humble enough to accept good ideas, even if they're not your own. Let's get back to the game, pal."
Though Adrien had calmed somewhat after the game and talking to Blue, the sight that greeted him in the suite agitated him all over again.
Barbie and Ken were on the sofa, Katja sleeping with her head on Petrov's lap as he smoothed her hair affectionately.
Katja's face was extremely pale, reminding Adrien that she still wasn't fully recovered. So, he wouldn't wake her up. Besides, he had yelled at her enough already.
Instead, he shot a scowl at Petrov and motioned for him to get up and follow him. Looking pointedly down at Katja, Petrov shook his head.
Kat had been right, back at the apartment complex. He was an insubordinate jackass. If Petrov was one of his marines, his ass would be swiftly kicked. Adrien's age and back be damned.
"Come. Here," Adrien mouthed, and Petrov's mouth tightened irritably as he shifted carefully, grabbing a throw pillow to place under Katja's head.
Eventually, the Lieutenant somehow managed to extract himself and meet Adrien without disturbing Katja. Jabbing his thumb over his shoulder, Adrien hissed, "Hallway. Now."
Without a word, Petrov followed him. They passed a confused Alexei and Blue, who watched the procession with curiosity, but did not follow.
Once in the hallway, Adrien whirled on Petrov and stabbed a finger near his face. "I thought I told you to keep out of my sight, asshat."
Petrov narrowed his eyes, just enough to convey what he was thinking. "Where, exactly, do you want me to go?" he challenged. "Look, Pierce, I'm trying to be an adult and move past this. I know you've been under stress since she got sick, but come on. You've said your piece, just let it go. This is between me and Katja."
Adrien didn't know if Petrov was being condescending, or he was just perceiving it that way; but either way it enraged him. "Shut. Up. Little. Boy. Do you have any idea what the repercussions of this might be? Did you even think to control your goddamn impulses? Think with your brain and not your head? Or, at the very least, even try to look for a condom?"
At last, uncertainty seemed to catch him, and Petrov wavered. "Obviously. But I didn't think to look in Alexander's suite; and even if it did occur to me, it's not like I was going to bring Katja up there."
Growling, Adrien turned and hit his fist against the wall. He took a few seconds to breathe, then faced Petrov again. "I hope you realize she used this morning as a distraction. Nothing more. At least, that's what she told me. Hell, she might've even faked it." Maybe he was stretching the truth, but Katja had inferred it. Somewhat. Maybe. The distraction, not the faking. That part was his own personal attack. "She's not in love with you, she's not going to marry you."
"I'm not expecting her –"
"What if she gets pregnant, Petrov? Stuck out here? You really ready to deal with that?"
"Pierce–"
"And what if you do get back to Moscow? If the two of you get caught by the brass, it'll be her ass in the fire, not yours. She is the higher-ranking officer. She'll lose everything she's worked for, her whole life. You still think you're gonna live happily ever after? Assuming she doesn't dump you first like your other flings? You both are going to struggle because both of you are unemployable."
Petrov's jaw clenched, hard.
"Yeah, Zaitsev told me about your previous girlfriends. Sounds like your track record isn't great. So no, I'm not gonna let it go. Your actions were stupid as hell, and I don't care whose idea it was. You two are acting like children; therefore, you are being treated like children."
Color was rising in Petrov's face, and while he spoke quietly, his voice was shaking with anger. "You know what I think, American? I think you're so bitter over your own marital problems, you can't stand to see anyone else less than miserable."
"Really," Adrien snorted. "You're a psychologist now. Great."
"And," continued Petrov, "I think you're lying about why you're angry, too."
"Do tell," Adrien invited mockingly.
"You're acting like you're angry over whether or not she could be pregnant and in a combat situation. But you said a while ago, before we were even completely sure she'd recover, that you and I and Blue could take the nest alone. By that logic, even if she did get pregnant – and we don't even know that – we could and would handle the serpents ourselves. Maybe you forgot you said that? Forgivable; y'know, with all the time you've been spending staring at her ass. No, there's only one other reason you'd be reacting like this. You're jealous."
Adrien laughed, short and disgusted. "Hardly. As for the nest, well, I'm down a man because you clearly cannot be trusted. So, it's now just Blue and me. I told Katja that earlier," Adrien retorted.
There went his color again; asshat wasn't expecting that. "Hold on. Don't do that. Let me go with you. I have to be there; those things have to be destroyed. If Katja–"
"And just because I looked at Katja's ass, it doesn't mean I'm interested. I am a marine who enjoys a view – and being in the military yourself, I'm willing to bet you know exactly what I mean," Adrien continued in his sudden silence.
He was about to add, "You knew she was feeling low, and clearly doesn't have a lot of experience with guys, and you went after her anyway. What does that make you?" But instead, he went for the jugular. "You know what made me lose all respect for you Petrov? It's the fact I care more about the fate of your child than you do. What does that say about you as a future father or husband?" Adrien sniped.
He knew what was coming when he said that, and he was prepared. Even if his back was still killing him from yesterday.
Petrov was strong, tall, and fast, certainly; in a way that had resulted from his upbringing of manual labor. But his attack had all the finesse of a biker in a bar: dangerous if landed, but far too telegraphed.
Adrien caught Petrov's fist, turning with it to redirect the hit rather than absorb it, and gave him a returning blow to the face. And he didn't pull the punch either, following it up with a gut-punch. The lieutenant hit the floor, but it wasn't enough for Adrien. "What exactly made you mad about that statement? Cuz it can't be me saying I care. It must be more that I'm right," he taunted.
"You don't know that she's–" Petrov began, and Adrien gave him a swift kick.
"I don't want to hear that out of anyone again. Murphy's law dictates she is pregnant," Adrien ordered with no uncertainty.
Petrov reached out and grabbed Adrien's ankle with both hands, about to upend him. Adrien gritted his teeth, because there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it short of shooting the man. Not with his back preventing him from bending over.
But Petrov froze. "No," he gasped, still recovering from the kick. "Forget it. I told Zaitsev we couldn't focus on fighting each other instead of our enemies, and I meant it. I'm done." He let go of Adrien's leg and pushed himself to his feet. "Just let me help with the nest assault, and keep Katja out of it."
The main door to the suite opened, and Katja walked out, looking furious. She looked from the red welt on Petrov's face to Adrien, glaring. "What the actual hell is happening out here?"
"Nothing," Petrov said. "We were only talking."
"Nah, we were fighting," Adrien said belligerently.
With another baleful glance at Adrien, Katja took Petrov's chin and looked closer at the hit, asking something in Russian.
Petrov answered her soothingly, obviously trying to calm her.
Katja gave a brisk retort, and Adrien heard his name included. Finally, with a shake of her head, she said something else to Petrov and gave him a push toward the suite door.
After Petrov had gone inside, Katja put her hands on her hips and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "Adrien, what am I going to do with you? You finally stop fighting with Blue, now you have to fight with Maksim?"
Adrien felt the need to defend himself. "Hey, he threw the first punch, Miss Sexsnaz."
"Uh-huh. And I'm sure you did nothing to provoke it."
"Oh, I provoked him, all right. But he deserved it."
Katja her eye, sighing. "Adrien, I am sorry for the disruption and upset I caused. If we had come back just five minutes earlier, none of this would have happened."
Adrien almost pointed out that she also could have just not slept with the guy in the first place, but decided to let her keep going.
"But," she added, "it's done, and we have to find a way to continue with our duty. Together. We can't tear the team apart now; not with the Queen getting bolder and smarter. So, what do you suggest? Where do we go from here? I already told Maksim he and I are putting things on hold until the mission here is through. I'm also planning on making an apology to the team. What else works for you?"
Adrien looked at her fully for the first time that morning. And suddenly it struck him that just days ago, she'd been pretty much dead. Maybe she was entitled to a bad decision or two. Still, he wasn't going to alter his stance. "Do what you will, the damage is already done," Adrien stated. No nicknames, this time.
Katja gave him a small nod, as though that was what she was expecting. "Your end, though? No more fights with Maksim. Even if you don't like him, you have to work with him, and as a team. He's been as much a part of this as anyone else."
That… was less easy to accept. But at the moment, numbers were not their greatest strength. "I will work alongside you both, but that is all I'll be doing, Miss Mikhailov. My loyalty is to what you originally started. Getting the team home safe, and saving the world."
When Petrov stepped back inside the suite, Vai'dqouulth saw, to his very great delight, that Adrien had attacked and injured him.
The ideal solution, obviously, would be to take Petrov's skull; but Katja would no doubt start tearing up again, and he disliked seeing that. Then, she would become his enemy. So, alive the drone would stay, regardless of Yautja honor customs.
That didn't mean Vai'dqouulth couldn't growl at Petrov as he passed by.
The human glanced at him curiously as he went to the food preparation area and collected some ice shards in a cloth. "What's wrong, Blue?" he asked as he pressed the ice to his face.
Vai'dqouulth did not give him the satisfaction of an answer.
"Maybe you shouldn't have bragged about bagging Jekaterina," Alexei advised, chuckling. "You're pissing everyone off, and that's supposed to be my job."
"I didn't brag!" Petrov said, exasperated. "Where did you get that? Better yet, how do you even know?"
A noise outside drew his attention away from the humans, and Vai'dqouulth cloaked and went out on the balcony.
Down in the snow, on a compact, arrowhead-shaped vehicle, Jade of clan Weyland was making her way towards their structure, a calm smile on her face. The only weapon Vai'dqouulth could detect was a kinetic human weapon strapped across her back.
Oh good, someone he could kill and channel this frustration.
She made the engine of her vehicle roar, as if she desired to be heard. Well, he would oblige her.
Behind him, just inside the balcony, he heard Petrov say, "Jade. What does she want?" He did not move to join Vai'dqouulth, perhaps not wanting to give their position away. At least the man had some sense.
"Will find out," Vai'dqouulth snarled, and swung over the rail, sinking his claws into the side of the building. Then, he began his invisible descent.
"Don't kill her. I'll alert the others," he heard Petrov saying before he was too far away to hear.
Katja took point as the group left the lodge to confront Jade. Even Alexei had joined them, probably to get a good look at his dream babe.
Blue, de-cloaked, was already holding her prisoner, his shoulder weapon trained steadily on the back of her head.
"Hello, my lovelies!" Jade called merrily when she saw her fellow humans, climbing off her snowmobile and raising her arms. "Not here to fight."
"You'd be stupid to try," Adrien called back. "Did you bring any friends?"
"Heavens, no. The other mercenaries are not my friends. I wouldn't even want to be friends with benefits," she said, sashaying her way towards the team. "And I like benefits."
"Jade, halt where you are," Katja ordered firmly. Using hand signals, she directed her men to cover her while she searched the woman.
"Hi, pocket-size," Jade greeted in a friendly manner as Katja began patting her down. "Your boys were telling me you're sick. How are you feeling?"
Katja didn't bother responding to the other woman as she finished her search. Other than the gun on her back, Jade carried no weapons.
"Don't move," Katja instructed. "I'm taking your rifle."
"Fine by me, as long as I can have it back before I go. I don't have a beefy set of backup hunks like you do."
Katja tried to lift the rifle strap over Jade's head, but the mercenary was so tall, she couldn't quite remove it without stretching – and she refused to lift on her tiptoes. Damn the woman and her Amazonian stature.
Jade smiled a little as Katja resorted to unclipping the strap. "You're better at that, than most guys are at getting my bra off, if it makes you feel better."
"Does that include my fiancé?" Katja thought sourly, attaching the clip again and throwing the gun over her own shoulders. Still, the thought came with a lot less bitterness than it would have yesterday. "Move, if you'd please. That way," she said, herding Jade towards her men.
Jade pranced forward, giving the rest of the group a cheeky salute. "Hi, Adrien. Didn't know if you'd made it. Glad to see that handsome face didn't get an acid bath." To Katja's surprise, she sounded somewhat serious.
Adrien grunted. "You and me both, sister."
"I hope the little present I gave you is also still in one piece. Slater is starting to pester me about it, and it's getting a little difficult to explain why I don't have it."
What on earth were they talking about?
"It's safe and sound by my bed."
"Is that an invitation?" she teased.
"Let me see how things shake out with my wife first," Adrien winked.
Katja knew what he was doing. He was trying to make a point about the potential dangers and distractions of this type of behavior. He was also being petty and trying to get under her skin.
Problem was, it was sort of working. She was sufficiently irritated by the nonsense.
"Really?" Jade complained. Her gaze drifted to Blue, then Petrov. "That's okay, you can take your time. I'll keep my options open.
Flirting must have been like breathing to this woman.
Blue clicked a few times, and Katja wondered what it meant. It shouldn't bother her as much as it did, but not knowing what he said had never made her more anxious. Like, her friendships were being cast aside over one mistake.
Petrov shook his head quickly. "I'm, uh, not an option, Miss."
Well, at least she could count on Maksim's loyalty. Not that she'd ever truly doubted that.
Squinting at him, Jade pursed her lips. "What happened to your pretty blue eye, gorgeous? Looks like that'll turn into a shiner."
"He walked into something," Adrien quipped. "Fast."
"Pierce!" Katja said sharply. Just his name, but she hoped it would be enough. He had already agreed to put the matter aside; couldn't he at least pretend to be united in front of the enemy?
Jade's eyebrows raised, and she looked from Adrien to Petrov to Katja, and back again. Before she could say anything, Katja smiled at her, hoping to put her at ease. It seemed like an American thing to do.
"Jade, why don't you come inside, and we can get… whatever it is you were looking for. All right?"
"Sure, sure," Jade agreed.
Alexei suddenly darted forward and offered his arm. He looked more than a little ludicrous. "I am an option, just so you know," he said.
"Oh, what a gentleman," Jade commented, clearly not knowing a word of the Russian. She took his bony elbow anyway.
Alexei. What a fool. Opening himself to becoming a hostage again, or an attack.
Thankfully Jade did neither, and the group trained their weapons on the scientist and the mercenary as they went for the shelter of the lodge.
It took some time, with Alexei fawning over Jade every step of the way, but eventually they made it back to the suite.
Adrien chased Alexei out of the way, then instructed Jade to sit at the small table in the kitchenette. Pointing Blue over to a corner to stand guard in case she did bring backup, but still present, Adrien seated himself across from Jade, then gestured to Katja to join them.
He didn't acknowledge Petrov's presence whatsoever, and after a moment, the man stationed himself near the table, blocking Jade's exit.
"All right, Jade," Katja said easily. "What do you want? Why did you come here?"
Jade traced circles with her finger on the tabletop. "That's easy, honey. I wanted to get my sensor back, and check in on you."
Adrien could see how much this startled Katja. "What? Me?"
"Of course, you silly. I said 'you', didn't I?"
"We don't even know each other," Katja said neutrally. "Forgive me for being blunt, but I'm not sure why you would care."
"Maybe I feel bad for you," Jade said with a shrug. "You've lost a lot, haven't you? And you didn't have much to start with. Maybe you just remind me of someone. Either way, I think you should accept a friendly face and helping hand. Aren't too many of them out here."
Adrien found it interesting that Jade didn't bring up the sister aspect. Maybe she thought Katja wouldn't buy it.
She didn't seem to be. "How did you know we were here?" asked Katja.
"I knew about this place," Jade said casually, and Adrien could see Katja repressing her disgust. Adrien knew what she was thinking.
I know how you know about this place.
Jade went on, oblivious. "And I knew where I had last seen Adrien and that magnificently chiseled saurian. I figured this was the most logical place to start looking."
"And if we let you go, how can we be sure you won't turn around and lead Slater and the rest right back here?" asked Katja, not bothering to correct her that Blue, was in fact, mammalian. At least, most likely. Maybe she was just respecting how secretive Blue was about his species.
"Because I could've done that already," Jade said, yawning. "Any other questions?"
Adrien studied her. "Did Slater find out you helped us?"
"No, but he might if I don't get that sensor back," Jade replied, fluttering her eyes at him.
Blue played some voice clips. "How did you explain being the only survivor of your camp?"
"He talks!" Jade cried delightedly. Then she giggled. "I told Slater I was having 'lady problems' and had been away from the camp, out in the forest, tending to it, when I heard the gunshots. He didn't ask a single follow up question."
That, Adrien noticed, almost cracked Katja's façade. She looked like she wanted to laugh.
"Fair enough," she told Jade. Blue cocked his head, possibly in confusion at Jade's explanation. Adrien didn't want to explain, but was probably going to be forced to later.
"But," Katja continued, "I'm still not convinced I can just trust you. I have to think of my men's safety. You could have brought a team here, who are getting into position for an assault while you distract us."
Jade's eyes darkened, but not with anger. More like sadness. "I understand that, Red. But remember, if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have helped Adrien get you medicine. In fact, I've deliberately steered Slater away from this place. I like you and your guys. I'd prefer you escaped alive."
Personally, Adrien thought she was telling the truth. She had no real reason to draw this out; Weyland had numbers on their side. They didn't need to play games. Besides, if she'd brought other mercs, they probably would have attacked by now. Or at the very least, Blue would have detected them.
Adrien could see Katja processing, perhaps these very same thoughts. "Adrien, get her the… whatever she loaned you, please. We will send her on her way, unless you have any more questions for her. Then Petrov is going to give her an escort to her snowmobile."
Katja stood, and nodded to Adrien.
It was an interesting choice, Adrien reflected, that Katja had made. To trust Jade, Alexander's side piece. Could he make the same one, if this was Chloe's boyfriend? He didn't really know.
"I actually have some questions of my own, if you don't mind?" Adrien cut in. Everyone took their positions once more.
"Katja and Petrov can leave," Adrien offered. It was not cutting them out. It was the subject matter. He could tell the Russian woman thought the opposite.
"I'll stay," she shot back.
"So be it. Jade, you were here some time ago with one Alexander Vidovic of Seegson. I know it was business, not pleasure. Why? What were you after?" Adrien glossed over Katja's defiance and went straight for the prize.
"Hm? And how do you know this?" Jade mused, unashamed.
"He had cameras all over his suite," Adrien answered matter-of-factly. He could tell both Petrov and Katja wished they had taken him up on the offer of leaving now.
"I knew it. After an incident in Antarctica, but before I joined up, Weyland Industries - now Weyland-Yutani after the merger - was desperate for more extraterrestrials. The only lead they had was the original Tunguska event. Russia captured these things and has kept them out here in secret since the early nineteen-hundreds," Jade began.
"They rode in on the meteor? Both meteors? Seems a bit too much to be coincidental," Petrov observed.
"Coincidental? Nope, not in a long shot. Now, aimed? Maybe," Jade answered cryptically. That seemed to resonate with Blue, too, as he stiffened somewhat. Baby steps; they needed to start somewhere with this conspiracy.
"Back on track, please," Adrien requested.
"Weyland had the rumors. They didn't have any path to confirm them. But, they caught a stroke of luck with corporate espionage in Seegson. One of their high-level executives, Alexander Vidovic, was engaged to a woman whose father allegedly ran the whole weapons project," Jade continued.
Looking over, he noticed Katja was uncomfortable. Tough; she'd wanted to be present, after all. "So, they sent you in?" Adrien guessed.
"I was doing work in Cambodia. Hot and humid jungle," she stopped and turned back to Blue. "You'd like it there," she added with a smile. It clicked at that point that Jade knew about the hunters long before coming here. "Anyway, Weyland made an offer… I couldn't refuse," Jade finished, the final sentence sounding shaky.
"What kind of work?" the marine probed; not wanting to get off track, but too curious not to ask what work an American woman was doing in Cambodia.
Jade just smiled and shrugged. Shady shit for sure, then. "Continue," he prompted.
"There isn't much to tell, from that point. Vidovic was an easier mark than I expected for a soon-to-be-married man. His ego and love of himself made it simple to interrogate without being overt," Jade answered.
"So, you never found anything out?" Katja finally found her voice.
"No. His fiancée was oblivious to any of this, and her old man never talked. Vidovic was just as lost as Weyland," Jade sniffed.
"Until the CIA fed them the intel on the second meteor," Adrien rubbed his chin.
"No corruption like United States government corruption," Jade spread her arms.
"But there is a lab, or facility, out here," Petrov reiterated.
"Roscosmos, with KGB help, allegedly had one. However, there were rumors of a breakout, and the facility being abandoned. It's possible nothing has been there for some time – and that's if it exists at all. Either way, it's irrelevant now, because they are everywhere – and the queen has clearly made her throne room in the Forward Operating Base," Jade hypothesized.
Adrien tapped a finger on the table. Well, he had some answered questions, anyway. Plenty that were not, too. But he felt Jade had divulged all she could.
"Thanks for the information. You can be on your merry way," Adrien finally said.
"Wait. Red, before I go, can we have a chat? Some girl talk?" Jade chirped hopefully.
Katja looked a little frightened. "…Girl talk?"
"Yes; you know, when… boys, go away," Jade said, making shooing motions at the men.
"Have at her," Adrien waved dismissively as the men made to leave.
"Come on, Red. Let's go to the room over there."