Kat looked down at herself. “What? Do I smell bad?”
He laughed as he pulled her horrified form into his arms. “Stop asking that. You smell exotic, unusual, nice. I like it. I love you.”
Ugh.“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He lifted her chin to look up at him. His eyes hollow and hopeful. “Will you stay with me? Here, on this ship, and we’ll raise our child together. I’ll take the webbing down, take only the easy missions, I'll take care of us.”
Kat gnawed on her lip. “That’s just it, Dommik, I came to tell you I quit.”
Chapter Twenty-Three:
---
Kat watched as the hatch opened up to a dozen armed men and women. She had expected this, having seen it from the outside. She knew at this moment hundreds of people were watching the Monster Hunter unload his monsters and they’ll be watching her too.
It was different when those guns were pointed in her direction.
Dommik stood beside her with his hand on her back. A man in a black suit approached them with Mia by his side. A triumphant look on her face.
“Dommik,” the man nodded. “Katalina.” He took her hand and shook it. “It’s nice to finally meet you, although the circumstances could be better. My name is Mason.”
His hand was sweaty in her palm. “Nice to meet you too, Mason.” She wanted to wipe her hands over her pants but couldn’t without being rude. She turned to Mia who graced her with an irritated glance, tablet in her face. Mia led her off the ship, bag in hand.
Dommik left her side as he turned to the off-boarding of the animals and plants; ground vehicles backed up to transport them to the port’s quarantine facility.
Mia grumbled and waved her screen. “If I knew you were this easy to get rid of, I wouldn’t have put so much effort in sending you to the Trentians.” She turned and walked toward an aircraft, ushering her along. “We can finally put someone appropriate in the job. You have no idea how much more difficult you made things for me.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Kat smiled and took shotgun, her bag on her lap. They drove through the landing zone and into a concrete tunnel. She twisted the key-chip between her fingers.
“There’s nothing nice about this. Not only do I have to file all of your closing paperwork, I have to give you a fucking exit interview and for what? A month of mediocre work? Waste of my goddamned time.”
Kat shrugged, “Make something up. I’ll be out of your hair faster.”
Mia humphed as the vehicle came to a stop. “Fine. Get out and go through that door,” she pointed to a glass chamber where a series of guards stood by. “And fill these out.” Mia handed her thumb drive. “When you’re done hand it to Carl inside. Have a nice life, civilian.”
Kat got out just in time for the craft to speed away. She entered the chamber and sat down as the computer scanned her body for pathogens and any other volatile things she may have picked up.
Dommik had run them down prior to his ship entering Earth’s atmosphere. This second quarantine was to prevent the EPED to be liable for anything in between. Her foot tapped as the minutes passed.
“You’re pregnant!” A man called out from the other side.
“I know,” she yelled back.
“You get knocked up in space? Is that why you quit?”
Her foot tapped faster. “Yeah!”
“Sorry to hear that. You can come through now.” The second door opened to a man on the other side, a set of earbuds dangled from his ears. The music was loud enough she could hear from across the room. New-age rap.
“Carl?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s me. I’ll set you up over here.”
Kat stretched her fingers and filled out the forms. She handed the drive over. “Done.”
“Is it an alien’s?”
“Is what an alien?”
