Page 44 of Alien Mine

A grim faced young man dressed in a collared purple shirt and dress slacks patted them down, then escorted them into the house and down a short, carpeted hallway lined by unadorned white walls. He opened a thick wooden door and waited for Dyuvad and Fate to enter, then shut it behind them without uttering a single word.

Ramirez was sitting behind a massive wooden desk on the far side of the room, at the edge of the sunlight streaming through two gauze-covered windows. He glanced up at Dyuvad and Fate and dropped the paper he was holding onto a stack in front of him, his expression smug. “I’d ask you to sit, but I don’t want you to stay that long.”

Fate crossed his arms over his lean chest, his mouth a thin slash across his narrow face. “Your men tried to kill Rachel, you sorry son of a bitch.”

Ramirez’ grin widened. “Says who, amigo?”

“Says my sister.”

“I heard she had a little trouble, couple days back.” Ramirez leaned back in his chair, hands loose on the arms. “Nothing to do with me.”

“Nothing—” Fate barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Yeah, right.”

Dyuvad eased slightly in front of him, on the slim hope of deterring the violence coiled in the lighter man’s tense frame. They were outnumbered by a large margin and on Ramirez’ home ground as well. Nothing would be gained by inciting anger. That wasn’t why he and Fate had traveled there.

“We are not here to discuss Rachel’s troubles,” Dyuvad said flatly.

“Then you came a long way for nothing,” Ramirez said, his tone as flat as Dyuvad’s. “She wants to avoid trouble, all she has to do is come work for me.”

Fate cursed under his breath, long and low, and Dyuvad had to agree, even if he didn’t understand the exact wording. Rachel would never debase herself by working for Ramirez, nor would he allow her to. Fate might not have the ability to get her out of this situation, but Dyuvad did.

He deliberately relaxed and smiled, not a friendly gesture, but the smile his mother had cultivated specifically for her enemies. Stiff lips, teeth bared, and eyes as cold as a winter’s night.

Ramirez blanched, then scowled. “That’s the deal.”

“No deal,” Dyuvad said. The softly spoken words dropped into the thin tension stretching between them, cracking it. “You will never bother her again.”

“Ever,” Fate added.

Ramirez sneered and his hands tightened around the arms of his chair. “Or what? You threatening me now?”

Fate snorted. “Man must be stupid if he can’t recognize the difference between a threat and a promise.”

“A promise, yes,” Dyuvad agreed. He tapped his wrist against his ribs under the cover of his still-crossed arms, activating an attack sequence pre-programmed into his ship. A boom sounded on the far side of the house. The lights flickered and a siren blared, wailing above shouting voices and rapid footsteps.

Ramirez vaulted from his chair, his dark eyes wide. “What the fuck?”

“That,” Fate said, his tone underscored by satisfied laughter, “is what it sounds like when we keep a promise.”

Dyuvad eyed Fate out of the corners of his eyes, surprised at his unruffled rejoinder. How had the other man known what Dyuvad had been planning?

The door opened behind them, and the man who’d escorted Dyuvad and Fate through the house burst through. “Hijo!”

Ramirez jabbed a shaky finger at Fate. “Keep them here.”

He was around the desk and out the door in a controlled burst of frantic energy.

As soon as Ramirez was gone, Dyuvad elbowed Fate. “Ready?”

“Oh, yeah,” Fate said, and leapt at the escort, one hand outstretched, the other drawn back in a fist.

Dyuvad leapt after him to the side, catching the escort’s hand before he could defend himself. Fate’s fist popped the escort’s jaw, the man’s head snapped around, and down he went, landing in a limp heap at their feet.

Fate shook his hand out as he stepped around the man toward the door. “The more I learn about that watch of yours, the better I like it. You reckon you can get me one of those?”

Dyuvad laughed, amused in spite of the situation. “Not anywhere near here.”

“Figures.” Fate poked his head out the door, looked up and down the hallway, then turned to Dyuvad. “If we hurry, they won’t notice we’re gone ‘til it’s too late for ‘em to do anything about it.”

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