“Indeed.”
“That isTerminatorlevel scary.” She glanced back at one of the Atlans who had insisted on carrying an extremely large ion rifle. The biggest one I’d ever seen.
He grinned. “We are the only terminators here, my lady.”
I shook my head.
Rebecca chuckled. “Terminatoris a movie about a robot that travels back in time to kill the leader of a human revolution.”
The Atlan shifted his rifle to his opposite side. “I do not travel through time, but I am very skilled at killing.”
Rebecca paused, stared at the huge grin on the Atlan’s face. “Good to know.”
No doubt she believed the Atlan jested. I knew the opposite to be true. And if the Siren scum were here to retrieve the AI engram for their ship—a fact we’d figured out in Florida as well—we might need that ridiculous rifle. And all six Atlans.
Fuck. Why had I agreed to allow Rebecca to come with us. This was too dangerous.
Because she insisted and I couldn’t tell her no.
The leader of the Atlans, an exceptionally oversized monster named Velik moved to stand in the small space separating the two pilot seats. He blocked my view of Rebecca and I nearly growled at him.
Who was the beast now?
“Have you tracked down the signal?”
“No.” I checked the scanners again. “I am picking up a weak, short-range distress signal breaking through, but the frequency varies moment to moment. The signal is not consistent. Nor can I pin down an exact location.”
The Atlan grunted. “The AI must be testing frequencies, trying to reach its ship.” He looked down over his shoulder at my mate. “Did you place the device in a shielded location?”
“I—no. I mean, it put it in the fireproof box that’s inside the safe.”
“What is this safe made of?”
“I have no idea. Steel, maybe?”
“With thermal insulation?”
“It’s supposed to be fireproof, and so is the box inside the safe. So, yes? Steel box inside a steel safe, lined with something so it won’t burn if the center were to catch on fire.”
Velik grunted. “Stroke of luck. The AI signal wouldn’t be strong enough to break through. It would need to test frequencies, search for one able to penetrate your mate’s safe.”
“So, it’s still there?” Rebecca asked.
“I believe so.” Velik slapped the back of my seat. “Get us down there, Hunter. We’ll take care of this. You remain here and keep your mate safe.” He turned away and moved into the tiny corridor now bursting with Atlans. And weapons.
If I didn’t know the Atlan beasts were giants in every possible way, I would look at those rifles and wonder what they were compensating for. In this case, no compensation was needed. These warlords simply loved to blow shit up.
Cloaking device still on, I landed the ship in the parking lot of Rebecca’s youth center. The sky was dark, but this was a city. The stars were obscured by the glow of millions of artificial lights. Streetlamps illuminated most of the center’s front entrance. Shadows lingered around the trees and bushes, here and there, near a doorway.
I didn’t like it.
Of course, I didn’t like even the idea of my mate being here.
The shudder of touchdown rocked the ship and the Atlans had the door open and were outside before I’d had a chance to turn off the propulsion system.
Next to me, Rebecca unbuckled and scooted closer to the images on the screen in front of her. The Atlans moved like liquid, flowing toward the entrance. Seconds later they had disappeared inside. Her knee bobbed up and down in a rapid movement that distracted me from my ongoing scans.
“I hope they remember the combination. He didn’t write it down. Why didn’t he write it down?” Rebecca’s leg moved even faster. She added rocking her torso forward and back to her repertoire, one hand rubbing the spot on her lower ribs where she’d been shot, as if the site pained her. I doubted she was even aware of the action.
