Chapter 37
"Listen here, corporal, you will show me proper respect." The major was only a few cells away. Relief flooded her, but it seemed preconceived.
The Hareema's eyes narrowed as his hand moved to the back of his sarong. He had to have had a weapon of sorts.
“Look out!” she called out as loudly as her injured throat would allow.
The Hareema whipped his arm around, holding some kind of blaster. He had it pointed at the major in mere seconds, but it wasn't fast enough.
Quicker than Sylvie had witnessed before then, the major was charged up with energy. He threw himself at the Hareema agent, pressing his hand against its chest and sending a huge burst of electricity through the creature.
There was a low moan, and then the Zantharian disguise fell away, leaving the towering rectangle of jelly. The Hareema's real form.Incredible.
Additional waves of electricity flowed over the major's skin as he seemed to be charging up for another blast. He clearly meant to kill his enemy, and Sylvie couldn’t blame him. But if the Hareema was taken out, they wouldn't be able to question it.
“Wait!” she croaked, but it was too late.
The major let loose another blast of electric energy right into the gelatinous creature. There was a popping sound and then the jelly became liquid, turned brown, and slid into a puddle on the floor. Dead.
“An infiltrator,” the major whispered in awe. “Right here on Zanthar.”
“And this isn't the only one,” Sylvie mumbled painfully. “We have to go back to the lab and get the regent. He's in danger.”
The major picked up the blaster and tucked it into his sarong before turning toward her. “How did you get out of the lab? I could have sworn you were still inside.”
“I was taken. They must have drugged us, because we both fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in another laboratory, one almost identical to the one we were working in. I woke up next to what I thought was your Supreme Regent, but it didn't take me too long to figure out he was an enemy agent.”
The major's eyes narrowed. “How can I trust you? I just caught you with a Hareema infiltrator. You could just as easily be one of those things, trying to trick me into betraying my government.”
Sylvie sighed. That was the problem with a shape-shifter invasion. No one ever knew who to trust. She honestly didn’t either.
“You can shock me. Fill me full of volts and watch. I won't change shape.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “It’ll hurt like hell.”
“I know, but it's the only way to tell for sure, and I need an ally badly. Make it quick. I’m worried about your regent.”
The major nodded, and Sylvie steeled herself as she watched the familiar waves cover his skin. He put a hand against her arm and sent a powerful pulse through it.
She fell to the ground, twitching as her teeth pressed tightly together. The shock was painful, but not nearly as bad as the ones she had experienced from X. Maybe she was building up a tolerance to it. Was this what it was like for a patient in electroshock therapy? Best not to think about it.
The major grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet.
“So you aren't a shape shifter, but you could still be working with them. This could all be part of an elaborate plan--”
“Look,” she cut him off. “They've definitely got an elaborate plan, and I was probably part of it. Mostly a distraction, I think, one that has paid off. But I promise you that I've not once taken any action on their behalf deliberately.”
She chafed against the bindings, but didn't bother to ask him to remove them. He didn't trust her yet. She had to try and make him understand, because if he didn't help her, she wouldn’t be able to engineer X's rescue alone.
“I've done nothing since I've landed here to indicate that I'm working with the enemy, or that I'm disloyal to your regent. I took out two Hareema agents on my own and saved the regent from a kidnapping attempt. I stopped my ship from self-destructing and killing the regent. And now I'm begging you to help me rescue him once more.
“I believe now that there must be Hareema on Earth, although I don't know to what extent or what their plans there are. I think they must have known about this mission, and timed it to coincide with their actions on Zanthar. I don't believe my ship was responsible for taking down the planetary defense shield, but I think someone on the inside here made the shield malfunction at the precise moment that I entered the atmosphere, making it look like it was my fault.”
The major eyed her, but nodded. “I've heard that they haven't been able to figure out anything on your ship that could have caused the malfunction. You could be right.”
Sylvie let out a breath of relief. She might be able to convince him. “The Hareema must have taken the place of at least one high official within your government. That's the only way they could have masterminded the entire set-up.”
“You still haven't told me how you got out of that lab.” He lifted an eyebrow at her.
