Page 68 of All You Need is Alien Love
Mom, Agent Catengi, Mal, and I sprint toward the transporter room.
A dozen more intruders await us and a melee ensues.
In the narrow hallway, our assailants quickly realize it’s too risky to use their phasers without potentially killing each other in the process.
Those at the front launch a hand-to-hand combat attack against us while their rear unit disappears deeper into the back offices, no doubt heading for our command center and the med lab where Adeline conducted her mysterious research.
“You’ve got hostiles heading your way, River,” I relay through my earpiece.
“On it. Just focus on what you need to do there,” he reassures me.
My mother, who’s been needing to work off some of her anger and frustration for months, is in her element right now. There’s a reason she’s never been ousted as our Head of Security. No one’s ever wanted to challenge her for the position. She’s almost a blur of movement as she takes on multiple opponents at once. In battle, she could give a Vroknu warrior a run for their money.
My dad told me her battle prowess was one of the things that made him smitten with her early on in their relationship. He wanted a life mate who could kick ass. Literally.
Agent Catengi manages to take down two attackers with his upgraded taser-net weapon, while Mal and I use our extendable staffs to disarm and render several more invaders immobile. We duck and bob around our attackers with the greatest of ease, taking them down swiftly as we move like dancers who know all the moves in advance.Teamwork makes the dream work, as River likes to say. We’re downright spectacular. Perhaps watching some of those action movies with River has rubbed off on me?
When we have the situation contained, I turn back to Mom. She’s grinning from ear to ear as she pummels one remaining attacker with her fists and chokes out another with her tentacles.
“I love the smell of victory in the morning!” she crows, her tentacles tossing aside her now unconscious opponent.
Internally, I’m fretting a little over losing precious minutes incapacitating part of the second attack squad. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on with those who disappeared in the direction of the med lab. Once we have these invaders secured and being hauled off by our staff, we fan out as planned to search for the others. I head straight for the med lab.
Phaser out and set to stun, I sneak toward the entrance of the facility, staying as silent as possible. From my vantage point around the corner, I spy a figure moving around inside the room with obvious familiarity.
Rushing forward, I train my weapon on the intruder while they’re in the process of accessing the computer system.
“Put your hands where I can see them,” I order.
When she looks up, our gazes lock.
“Son of a phaser fucking bitch,” I mutter.
Even though her overall appearance has done a total one-eighty, her eyes tell me it’s Adeline.
Gone is the older, seemingly harmless person with gray hair pleated in a braid, and in her place is a much younger, dangerous-looking woman clad in a tight-fitting jumpsuit. Her dark hair is cut in a sleek, layered bob to her chin, and she’s sporting a dark red lipstick and smoky eye makeup.
She flashes me a creepy grin. “Why, if it isn’t my favorite test subject. Hello, Kai. How have you been?”
I narrow my eyes but keep my aim steady. “Step away from the computer, Adeline. I will take you down if I have to.”
With a put-upon sigh, she steps back, hands in the air.
As I move forward to restrain her, I detect an unexpected flash of motion out of the corner of my eye, too fast for me to outmaneuver.
A tentacle comes flying toward me and knocks the phaser from my hand while another sends me reeling to the floor in quick succession.
My head hits the tile floor hard, and I lie there stunned for a moment, unable to respond.
When Fabian appears in my line of sight, hovering over my prone form, I gape at him.
My ex-friend-with-benefits looks even worse than the last time I saw him.
The Fabian I knew was always clean-cut. This one has greasy and tangled hair, and sports a raggedy beard that makes it clear he hasn’t groomed himself in some considerable time. His lips are chapped and there are dark shadows under eyes that possess a feverish gleam.
“I knew you’d come,” he declares triumphantly.
My head’s still spinning, but the sight of Fabian right now is setting off alarm bells.
