Chapter 3
Kat'Chinna pretended to ignore the male at her side, all the while watching him out of the corner of her eye. He was making a strange noise by somehow pushing air through his pursed lips. It could have been entertaining, perhaps, under the right circumstances, but at the moment it was making her nerves stand on end.
Not that I'll ever let him know that he unnerves me.
The first rule when interrogating a prisoner was to never seem rattled. She would project calm assurance. Even if his nearness was causing a curious reaction in her body.
She'd felt attraction to many males in her lifetime. Her current crush on Major Ontarii had existed since she'd first laid eyes on the handsome major. But this, this was something else entirely.
It's almost like I can't catch my breath around him. And when he challenged her command, she was annoyed sure, but also a strange thrill that had caught her off guard.
Kat'Chinna arrived at the entrance to the interrogation room and slid her finger up the membrane to open the chamber. She gestured for the prisoner to precede her and with a lopsided grin and a short bow, he walked into the room.
As the membrane closed behind her, Kat'Chinna took a deep breath. She knew the interrogation before her would be a challenge, and the pressure was on not to disappoint her commander.
Just get the information, she told herself,and get back into Major Ontarii's good graces. Her nerves steady, she walked to the seat on one side of the small table and motioned for the human to claim the lone seat across from her.
"Now," she started, interlocking her fingers tightly and placing her hands on the table's smooth surface, "let's begin."
The standard opening tactic, according to the Zantharian handbook on prisoner interrogation, was to start with the facts. Sometimes when confronted with a rational argument of the evidence against him, a prisoner would cave and confess.
"Your ship was found in a zone marked for interplanetary commercial shipping, patrolled by the Zantharian fleet. As we do with every ship who enters this zone, you were scanned for signs of Hareema DNA. We detected traces of that DNA on your vessel."
The human male leaned back in his chair and stared at her. She paused, leaving the room at the mercy of a near-deafening silence. Oftentimes a criminal would become anxious at the yawning silence and would begin volunteering information.
The human, unfortunately, was not subject to such anxiety. He gave a shrug and continued to stare at her.
Kat'Chinna wanted to frown, but kept her expression carefully schooled.I don't know why I thought the rational approach would work. Humans are clearly irrational creatures.
Time to try out Zantharian interrogation tactic number two.
"My commander is a man of little patience," she said with a soft sigh. "He trusts his crew and his equipment. The scan was checked and double-checked. There is Hareema DNA on your vessel."
Kat'Chinna loosened her fingers and set her hands down flat on the table. "I know this situation must be difficult for you and your crew to accept. However, your captain did ask that you cooperate with us. Just tell me what you know, and I'll see what I can do to help you."
The lieutenant cocked an eyebrow at her. Despite the insolent expression, Kat'Chinna couldn't help but appreciate the fine details of his face.
His skin was smooth and pleasing, it's color the lightest brown. Unlike the ever-changing skin of her fellow Zantharians, the human's skin had a consistency that was somehow pleasing in its exoticness. Combined with the contrast of his clear and clever blue eyes, she didn't think he could be called anything other than handsome, bordering on beautiful.
His nose was straight, its slight rounding an excellent complement to the sharpness of his cheekbones. The angles of his face were strong, more than a match for the strength of his well-muscled physique.
One could get lost in those eyes, she thought as she continued her appraisal. Their light lured her in, like the trapfish of her planet who displayed a light right above a mouth of razor-sharp teeth. Before its hapless prey realized the danger, they were ripped apart.
A lesson to remember.
Kat'Chinna brought her mind back to the task, continuing her tactic at drawing out information.
"I'm afraid Major Ontarii won't be pleased if I don't return with the information he wants. He's not a man one likes to upset. I want to help you and your crew. And the only way I can do that is if you talk."
Still no response from the human. Painting a sympathetic expression on her face, she continued. "If you don't talk, I can't ensure your safety or the safety of your crew. So please, help me to help you."
Suddenly there was a burst of noise from the prisoner. It almost startled Kat'Chinna into jumping up from her seat. Then she realized what the noise was.
Laughter.
"You find something amusing in this?" she said, unable to still her emotions properly so that little striations of yellow found their way into her pale green skin.
The human continued laughing. "Yes," he said after swallowing a gulp of air. "It's good to know that Good Cop/Bad Cop is literally universal."
