Page 112 of Alien Haven

“I won’t mind if you do. My plans were to check out the bakery, then spend the rest of the day escorting you around town…unlessI’dbe smotheringyou.” Anxiety touched his features.

Pleasure filled her. She’d hoped their afternoon together would extend to the evening. “Great. Let’s have our coffee, go shop, pick up Sara’s order, eat dinner, and have drinks at Bar, Bowl, and Barrel. As for the Nobek, would you be interested in an introduction if he shows up? I think Detodev’s around our age.”

Ilid considered. The sense of past hurt had returned, and Charity wondered if it came from a former relationship gone bad. Maybe her urge to draw out Detodev and find his fun side would have to go unanswered.

“I suppose it would be all right. I should introduce myself to the locals for the bakery’s sake, if nothing else. What’s this Detodev like?”

She shrugged. “He’s a bit standoffish. It makes him interesting…to me, anyway. People who try to keep themselves under wraps present too much of a mystery for me to resist trying to get under their skin.”

“Ah. You enjoy a challenge.” A shadow passed over his features.

“You already know me so well. Detodev’s on his own now, but he was originally among Clan Amgar’s teen rescues…willingly, he says. I think he came here to escape a crime syndicate. I suspect he and the boss’ wife had a torrid affair.”

“As a teen?” Ilid snorted.

“Coming up with worst-case scenarios is among my favorite games. You try.”

“Okay.” He considered. “He’s an undercover agent for the farming collective, searching for genetically altered seeds. If they’re grown, the resulting crops will turn those who eat them into mindless super soldiers, capable of taking over the universe on the behalf of the mastermind behind the plot.”

“Wow. Nice one. You should write vid dramas.” Charity grinned in delight.

“Your turn.”

“I’m done. I can’t top your soldier seed apocalypse. What happens when the mastermind discovers Detodev’s a spy? You know it’ll come out in the end. Weave me the tale and leave me gasping.”

She lost herself in Ilid’s laughter, delighted to have met such a wonderful man in the most unremarkable of places.

* * * *

Assistant Chief Wilkes sauntered past the bakery where an unfamiliar Kalquorian clan was taking measurements of the walls and counter spaces. They held little interest for him, but his gaze nonetheless lingered on the Kalquorian woman. The alien females were so rare as to be remarkable. This particular Matara had impressive muscle, similar to the men of her species, but she was curvy tending toward plumpness. Her face was pleasant as she spoke to the men.

The Nobek, scarred as his breed tended to be, turned in Wilkes’ direction. The enforcement officer nodded acknowledgment when their gazes met and moved on.

He waited until he was past the bakery’s big glass windows to aim his gaze across the shuttle lane at the woman he was interested in. She sat next to the large window in the coffee shop, accompanied by a young Kalquorian male. He was someone else Wilkes didn’t recognize. Jennifer Seng laughed hard at something her companion said. In spite of her mouth being stretched wide open, she was pretty in a vivacious fashion.

Wilkes paused to take a longer look when he’d ensured no one witnessed him watching his subject. Again, he couldn’t verify she might be Charity Nath, though he’d examined every picture and vid of the vanished woman he’d been able to unearth. They weren’t helpful. Most had been taken when she’d been in her childhood and early teens, before Armageddon.

He moved on. After checking his surroundings again, he pulled his com unit from a pocket and told it to connect to Devin’s Building Supply.

“Is it her?” a voice asked by way of greeting. The man who’d answered and spoke in Wilke’s earpiece wasn’t named Devin, and he owned no supply company.

“I can’t tell. I’ll have to get a voice recording and do an analysis. A DNA sample would be better to be absolutely certain. It could take time.”

“Time is what I don’t have. I had to sleep overnight in the bunker again, thanks to these asshole rebels. The sooner you find out if she’s the traitor’s daughter, the sooner we can get some answers about her father’s and Browning Copeland’s supposed death.”

“I’m working on it, but I have to move carefully. She’s lodging at the home of Haven’s Kalquorian head of security, which complicates the situation.”

He could practically see Governor John McCarthy of Mercy seething despite it being an audio-only connection. “You want to talk complicated situations? Come out here, and I’ll show you complicated. Half the damn planet’s sick from Dark Death, and the other half is trying to stage a coup against my government. I need proof the Holy Leader lives and the Kalquorian Empire is holding him illegally to bring these assholes in line!”

“You’ll have it once I can get close to the girl and verify she’s our target. If my agenda is exposed, we get nothing. I have to go.” He clicked off and smiled at the woman pushing a hover stroller in his direction. “Good morning, Anna! How are the twins?”

He pretended to admire the hybrid children the cheerful brunette paused to show off. Wilkes could admit McCarthy had it bad on virus- and insurgent-plagued Mercy, but much of it had been his own damned fault. His ruse to undermine those who opposed him had set his constituents against him and threatened his hold on the government.

Deadly pandemic and unrest aside, at least the stupid bastard wasn’t surrounded by ungodly whores, degeneratealiens, and their unnatural offspring. Wilkes was up to his neck in Haven’s mire, reporting on its sins to support the traditional-leaning Earther governments of Mercy and New Bethlehem. He couldn’t indulge in the solace of hauling in the smugly beaming Anna of Clan Wyto before a jury of her peers to answer for her sins. All he could do was allow her to walk off while cooing to her foul progeny. His sole function over the years had been to catalog the travesties he lived alongside of and hope his superiors found a way to capitalize on the endless reports he sent.

If Jennifer Seng was Charity Nath, he’d score a greater victory. The Galactic Council, now firmly set against Kalquor, could recover the Holy Leader once it was proven he lived. If Copeland was restored to the true believers of old Earth, if it were proved God’s will couldn’t be denied in the end, Wilkes’ people would have direction again.

“Let me be the instrument of our salvation,” he breathed as he continued through the Sodom and Gomorrah known as Haven.

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