Page 42 of My Alien Angel
“Can you hear me?”
The figure sits up on the bed. “A human?”
As Null saunters over to the force field, my breath catches. His head, slightly larger than would be proportionate to the rest of his body, is bald, his gray skin gleaming in the light from the corridor. His eyes are large and completely black, no white rims, making it difficult to pinpoint where he’s looking. Except in this case, I’m fairly certain he’s looking at me. He’s tall, possibly even taller than Omni, which makes him a giant in my book, and while he’s lean, the way he moves hints at him being physically strong.
All in all, he reminds me of those Roswell aliens, except gray instead of green, and bigger. So much bigger.
“Are you lost, human?” he asks, his tone oddly flat with just a hint of emotion.
Squaring my shoulders, I look straight into his creepy eyes, hating how far back I have to tilt my head to do so. Still, I won’t let this man intimidate me. I’m the one holding the key to his freedom. “Are you Null?” I ask, just to avoid further miscommunication.
“That’s the name I’ve been given. What do you want, little human?”
“I am not little,” I grumble like a defensive toddler. “It’s not my fault this stupid galaxy is filled with giants.” Not that I’m particularly tall by Earth standards but, still. It's the principle.
Well, at least he understands me. The device in my ear translates what I hear but does nothing to translate what I say which, ironically, is exactly the same problem Omni faced on Earth. Only I doubt I’d be able to learn whatever language these guys are speaking in a week. “Anyway, I want to make a deal with you.”
It’s odd to watch him cock a brow without actually having eyebrows, but that’s essentially what he’s doing. “A deal?”
“Yes. I need you to take me to a ship called Supernova. They should be docked at…Schlappe station? Something like that. You will bring me there and keep me safe until I find the crew. Keep me alive. Don’t betray me or sell me into slavery.” I cringe at having to stress such a basic expectation in our deal but better safe than sorry.
“Hmm. What’s in it for me?”
“What do you mean?” I show him Eldri’s card. “You get out of here. You get to steal your ship back. You’ll be free. Is that not enough?”
Null’s expression doesn’t change as he considers my offer. “What’s stopping me from stealing that card once I’m free and leaving you behind?”
Truly nothing. “I-I’ve been told you keep your word.” That sounds naïve even to my ears, but what else can I say? Even if I had a gun, I doubt it would do me much good once he’s free. “Come on. We can help each other.”
“Interesting,” he says in a particularly uninterested tone. “Very well, then. I agree with your terms. Now, open the cell.”
Chapter 32
Fin
Quicklyreiteratingthetermsof the deal for a third time, I try to think of something else to add to protect myself but can’t come up with anything. I’ll just have to go along with Eldri’s plan and hope the admiral hasn’t led me astray. “Okay. Um, how do I—”
“Just swipe it in front of the reader,” Null says, proper emotion finally bleeding into his voice, even if it is one of impatience. I swear he just rolled his eyes, even if it’s really not visible with his all-black eyeballs.
“Right. Of course.”
The force field shimmers before simply vanishing, leaving me facing Null without the barrier between us. Squeezing the card tightly, I’m holding my breath, half expecting him to lunge at me, but he just stares me down with those unnerving eyes. “Give me that,” he says, pointing at my hands.
Assuming he means the security swipe card, I tighten my grip on it. “No,” I say decisively. “I’m keeping the key for insurance.”
Null grunts. “The datapad,” he specifies, pointing at the device in my other hand. “I need to find out where my ship is and how to get there. I don’t know how you managed to sneak in here unnoticed, but I doubt that luck will last long. How did you even get that card? I was under the impression that only high level—”
“Here,” I shove the datapad at him, abruptly ending question time. I’m not about to tell him about Eldri. The admiral helped me while doing his best not to implicate himself, and I won’t repay that kindness by outing him in front of a mercenary who would, no doubt, be happy to sell that information to the highest bidder. “Your ship is in hangar 3. Lead the way,” I order with all of the authority I can muster, which isn’t much.
Null’s mouth twists into something resembling a grimace, but he doesn’t protest. A few taps on the datapad and he sets off down the corridor, leaving me practically jogging to match his long strides.
The corridors of the prison section are still mostly abandoned, though we do have to avoid a couple of guards by ducking into the occasional empty cell and crouching in a darkened corner. Null moves silently but with a lethal grace that gives me goosebumps. It would probably take him point zero one of a second to kill me and take the access card. Yet, he doesn’t give any indication he’s about to break his promise, even going so far as to steady me when I expertly trip over thin air. Some graceful criminal I am.
Our luck runs out at the entrance to the prison. The door I’d passed through fifteen minutes ago, previously abandoned, is now protected by two armed guards.
“Can we go around?” I whisper as we stop just around the corner.
“No,” Null replies flatly. “I don’t suppose you brought a weapon?”
