The hospital visit took several hours, during which time the replacement AARO agents appeared. Agents Brock and Mullins, both female agents this time, were more personable than our previous escorts, and the ride from the hospital to the intake center was much more comfortable and relaxed. The duo brought us fresh changes of clothes, along with a new phone for Timber. Agent Brock mentioned pending commendationsfrom both the Earth authorities and from my home planet as well, for my supposed bravery after the accident. I did not fully understand why I would receive recognition when it was Timber who had led my actions, and I pointed this out.
Agent Brock smiled into the mirror mounted on the windshield. “Don’t worry, sir. I’m sure she’ll get awarded as well. We’re all extremely grateful for what you both did today. You didn’t have to help, and we know Agent Hall and Agent Weinstein’s families are grateful, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if the media frenzy surrounding your arrival takes a turn for the better after this.”
“The media views heroics favorably?” This surprised me, as the sensationalism surrounding our arrest of the AXL members had not gone over well. “I do not understand the difference between this event and yesterday’s.”
“Yesterday, they viewed our fight with the AXL guys as an attack. Today, you rescued people. Yeah, we sort of rescued the audience at the con, but nobody saw it that way. We initiated the action then. Here, you were responding to a need, and you did so selflessly.” Timber rested her head on my shoulder and yawned. “It’s complicated.”
“Indeed.”
Agent Mullins chuckled. “You’ll learn eventually not to associate logic with human thoughts and actions. Things will be less confusing if you just assume chaos.”
“Yeah,” Agent Brock affirmed. “Most Xalanites we’ve met in our line of work blend in better when they throw logic out the window. The sooner you do that, the sooner you’ll find your place on Earth.”
I knew that a place at Timber’s side meant a place on Earth, so I resigned myself to tossing logic out the nearest opening.
Chapter 18
Timber
My hands trembled as the SUV pulled through the gates leading into the Xalanite intake center. I’d never been so nervous about meeting anyone, not even my old chief when I started at the CPD as a young Police Academy recruit. Meeting the other Xalanites on Earth, though, gave me intense indigestion as I fretted about what they might think of me.
I’d endangered their prince three times in less than a week.
I tried to remind myself that Xalanites were new to having royalty, that they might not view N’kal the same way human subjects would. I also tried to remind myself that I was, until recently, a professional law enforcement officer in a large metropolitan area. I’d escorted plenty of celebrities and officials in my day, so why was this any different?
Of course, I had never been dating one of those celebrities. I’d never crossed that line before, so maybe that’s what had my nerves in knots.
N’kal held my hand as we parked then helped me out of the car. My hips had severe bruising from my seatbelt in the accident, and while nothing on the X-rays showed a break, the pain kept me from maneuvering like normal.
While the AARO agents that milled about the parking lot kept the curious Xalanites from crowding us, N’kal and I followed Agents Brock and Mullins to the office building at the forefront of the compound. N’kal kept my hand firmly in his, squeezing my fingers as I took a shuddering breath to steady myself.
“I am here,” he murmured. “I will not leave you.”
His reassurances helped, especially when I remembered that he could probably hear my heart trying to beat itself out of my chest.
Then again, that meant the other Xalanites could hear it, too …
Purple-scaled necks craned to see better as we walked by. Low voiced muttered and whispered in a foreign tongue, and from the glares N’kal shot at some of his people, I suspected their words weren’t all that flattering.
“What are they saying?” I whispered, keeping my shoulders back and my head straight. Anxious as I was, I didn’t want to give the impression that I was weak or frightened.
“Nothing nice,” he growled in response. “Don’t worry. I will speak to the offending individuals later. I will not tolerate them speaking like this about you. You have done nothing to earn unkind words.”
I let out a sigh of relief once the doors closed behind us. Alone,finally.
Well, not quite alone yet. We still had a lot of bureaucratic muck to wade through before they’d even consider assigning us to one of the cabins spread throughout the compound. No, firstwe’d have to face the music from the higher-ranking government and Xalanite officials before we could retire for the night.
From the looks of things, the AARO had taken over an old campground. Wood cabins dotted the landscape amid trees and firepits, enough to house our current contingent of visitors and then some. With the popularity Earth visits seemed to have on Xalan, though, they might need to expand sooner rather than later. I was sure N’kal couldn’t be the first to leave Xalan without permission, and he likely wouldn’t be the last.
To my surprise, a woman in military dress met us in the office. She gave my hand a firm shake before nodding at N’kal and gesturing for us to sit.
“Hello, Detective Millwood. Prince N’kal. I’m Director Ann Hall. Since the AARO is part of the DoD, it—and the two of you by association—fall within my jurisdiction.”
My eyes widened as she gave her name. “Hall … Are you related to the agent injured in the crash with us?”
She shook her head. “No. That’s a coincidence. Tragic, though, what happened to you on the way here. I’m grateful you and N’kal were there to help our agents. Thank you both for that.” She smiled. “You might like to know that I received news while you were on your way from the hospital that both of them are out of surgery and in recovery now. It will be a long healing process, but they’ll both survive, thanks to the two of you.”
“That’s a relief,” I said, and N’kal nodded.
