Page 47 of Heart’s Prisoner

And right now it was clear he was using it to tell the men that they should be running for their lives.

"Let's just get this over with," General Williams said, wiping his face with a shaky hand.

The door behind them opened and Cole entered the room.

"Sorry I am late, gentlemen." He didn't so much as glance at Lana as he passed her and Lana could see there was still something off about him even in the red light. Following behind him were two other lab techs whose names Lana couldn't remember. The boy and girl duo looked over at her with blank expressions though the boy had more fear in his eyes than the girl.

Cole nodded to the boy who went over to the wall controls and lifted the screen. He backed away quickly as it disappeared, revealing Xerus standing before them.

"Holy fuck," Lana heard someone whisper close by. A few others cursed and subconsciously took a step back.

"No need to be afraid, gentlemen," Cole tried to assure them. "It can't harm you." He knocked on the glass and a little smirk tugged on his lips as he glanced at Xerus. "The window and room itself have electrical defenses and are thicker than your fists."

"Damn thing assaults me just looking at it," said General Vearez in a low voice.

Slack-jawed and wide-eyed, General Holk took a cautious step towards the glass. "My god...it looks..."

"Like a damn demon," General Vearez said.

"I would be careful what you say, General," Lana piped up, moving closer to the glass. "Hecanunderstand you."

The generals frowned, shifting uncomfortably. Lana turned to face Xerus who stared back at the generals with narrowed, hellfire eyes. His eyes shifted around the room to each of the men, his eyes falling last to Cole. His mouth tightened, revealing the tips of his fangs and his eyes darkened. Lana had an odd feeling she'd seen that look on him somewhere before but couldn't place where. It made her heart race.

Cole didn't seem too concerned by the look Xerus was giving him. He turned his back and gave the generals a brief understanding of how the QS translator worked.

"Xerus," Lana whispered, wanting him to look at her. To say something. When his eyes peeled away from the doctor to finally look down at her, Lana felt an icy cold drip down her spine. For the first time in weeks, she felt fear.

He didn't see her. It was like looking at a stranger.

"Now that you have some understanding, why don't we say hello," Cole said in his calm manner. "Hello Asset X. How are you today?"

Xerus' eyes flicked back to Dr. Kingsley. His tail curled but he remained silent.

"Oh, come now, Asset X, I know you aren't shy," Cole said. A few laughed nervously. "Come on, introduce yourself."

Xerus didn't move or speak. His eyes only focused on the doctor.

"I–I think he's just a little overwhelmed right now. He's not used to so many people," Lana said, hoping the excuse was enough.

"Well, we have plenty of recordings of the asset speaking that I will gladly have sent to you each," Cole said with disappointment. "For now let's begin the test." He nodded to the girl who brought up her own ISpad and began tapping and sliding her finger. " Yevonne here has been running tests on various animals also housed in the facility and using them to gauge responsiveness to extraterrestrial stimuli. We thought this might make the perfect opportunity to engage both sides."

As Yevonne worked the controls on her workpad, a small hole–not large enough for Xerus to fit through in the slightest–opened up from the ceiling above his cell and a glass container dropped down slowly. Inside was a chimpanzee.

The container opened and the chimp, likely through training, exited the container and shut its lid. Yevonne acknowledged the chimp as Max. Gesturing in sign language for him to do as she said.

When the chimp entered the cell, Xerus' head shot over to it and his nostrils flared. His pupils narrowed and he shifted his body towards it.

Lana watched with growing fear. Anxiety twisting her insides.

"Let us see how well Asset X interacts with Max," Cole said. "Though Max isn't human, he is our closest choice in order to gather information in the safest way possible."

The chimp reluctantly moved closer to Xerus per Yevonne's orders. Xerus, however, did not move a step to approach it, only looked at it with intense curiosity.

"Xerus, it's okay," Lana said quietly, placing her hand on the glass.

As the chimp got only a few feet away, it stopped abruptly, looking to Yevonne for reassurance. It didn't move despite Yevonne signing at it to move closer. Xerus this time stepped closer, his head raised, his eyes rolling back and shutting as he sniffed the air. He remained that way for some time as if he were searching for something, some scent they couldn't detect. When he lowered his head and opened his eyes he shot his gaze towards Cole and there was such hatred there in his expression Lana felt the heat.

Before she could shout for them to get the chimp out, Xerus bared his fangs in a snarl and narrowed his eyes into red slits. His mouth widened and a low, feral growl ripped from his throat. Lana knew where she'd seen the expression before. From the video feed that Torrence had shown her from the night of Xerus' capture.

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