While the five moderators set up their mics and sat down at the table in front of everyone, I nudged N’kal’s arm.
“You should get out of here,” I muttered, trying to keep my voice low.
“Why?” he asked a little too loudly. Clearly,o he didn’t pick up on my hint.
I leaned close to his ear and pretended to nuzzle and kiss his neck. I had to get him to leave, so I could figure out a way to stop those guys with minimal casualties. My every instinct as a cop screamed at me that they planned to gun down every geek in this room, fake alien or not, and seeing as how I was the only law enforcement officer in here, it was my duty to do whatever I could to protect them.
“Their guns aren’t toys. I need you to get out of here.”
N’kal’s eyes narrowed then widened, and I could almost see his train of thought as he inspected the weapons and came to the same realization I had. “You are right,” he whispered back, “we should leave.”
I kept up the pretense of making out with him to avoid suspicion from the front of the room. “Not ‘we.’ ‘You.’Ihave to stop them.”
“I may not have served in the military yet, Timber, but every Xalanite male is taught from a young age how to fight. I can help.”
Crap. I can’t be distracted by him while I’m trying to do my job. “N’kal …”
He cupped my breast with his hand, and for a moment I thought he was playing up the making out bit, too—until I heard the softsnapof him unlatching the strap on my holster.
“Get ready, Timber. We will fight them.Together.”
That was about all the warning I had before he disappeared into the purple-painted crowd.
Chapter 12
N’kal
I did not like separating myself from Timber in such a dangerous situation, but I had to trust in her abilities. She had kept me safe when her partner attacked—aside from the piercing damage from when we landed in the trash bin, and I did not blame her for that—and from what she had told me in our time together, she had many years of experience in police matters. If there was anyone I could leave to their own devices in this, it was Timber.
The other humans, though … They were at risk. I had to figure out a way to get them out of the room without sparking suspicion from the armed men at the front. I knew Timber would want the civilians protected, and if they were gone, she and I could act without hesitation.
A small, red box on the wall caught my attention, and I saw the words “FIRE ALARM” in bold letters on it. While I hid among the other humans, I let my nanites tell me what the box did. It might be risky, but activating the device might empty theroom sufficiently. It would cause panic, but better the humans panic over a false alarm than over live gunfire. I would try it.
I made my way to the box amid the crowd, who still mingled and moved around despite the abundance of chairs for them to sit in. The panel was not due to start for several minutes, and it was my hope that the armed humans would not shut or lock the doors until such time. Shutting the doors would be bad enough, making the audience into seated waterfowl, as the human saying goes, but if they locked the doors …
I made it to the box before the doors shut. While more costumed humans filed in, I pulled the lever and ducked back into the crowd as a shrill siren started blaring.
The armed men did not like this. They shouted at the other humans to remain in the room, that it was a false alarm, but the humans all rushed to the doors, emptying the room of potential victims before the armed men could stop them.
The only ones left in the room were the five armed men, Timber, and myself.
Good. Timber was smart; she knew the alarm was not real. Perhaps she even saw me pull it. I would rather she had left, but if anyone was going to be fighting at my side, I much preferred her over one of the costumed civilians.
From the expressions on the faces of the armed men, they did not like that I had cleared out the room. Timber had been right; they had planned on attacking.
“What the fuck did you do, you fucking alien-loving asshole?”
The largest of the armed men, possibly their leader, shouted at me across the now-vacant auditorium. Timber skirted the edge of the room, making her way to the door and locking it while I took the brunt of their attention. A small woman would not raise much alarm yet, but I was a large male; I may not have been armed, but to their eyes, I likely posed the greater threat.
Stupid humans.
To keep their attention, I puffed up my chest and roared, hoping to confuse them. Certainly they had believed me to be a human in costume, like so many others at this convention. If I acted more alien, perhaps it would distract them enough to allow Timber time to act. Perhaps she would be able to vacate the area.
A sharpclicksounded from Timber’s side of the room, and the men turned to her. Damn.
“Freeze! You’re all under arrest.” She held her weapon in one hand and her badge in the other. I knew her to be out of her jurisdiction in this city, but it was unlikely that the men on stage realized this.
The leader sneered and raised his own weapon. “Nice try, lady, but we know everyone here’s just a geek in costume. Put away your toy badge and gun, and we might not hurt you.”
