“Good idea. I’m concerned that the guards we met so far are letting any and everyone come and go as they please. I don’t want to dally too long though. If that injured human is getting treatment, we will need to move quickly enough to catch him without alerting the resistance.”
“The subcar will leave in about twenty minutes. It shouldn’t take that long to just take a quick look around.”
Nix let Corey lead her through the subway tunnel until it opened into the new underground market being constructed. She was impressed with how fast things were progressing. “These apartments will be ready for people to move in pretty soon. It looks great.”
“It does. The workers appear to be getting along. I think I see someone I recognize. Will you be okay if I leave you here for a few minutes?”
“I’m going to take a walk around the construction site, but I’ll keep my head down.” She watched Corey stride confidently toward a pretty young woman sitting on a bench seat watching the construction. The woman looked up at Corey and smiled wide at him with recognition and…affection. Nix felt a stabbing sensation of jealousy. Why was he so easy with other women, but with her, he acted like they had nothing? Well, that wasn’t fair, he was trying to reach out to her, but just as a friend. She couldn’t help but want more.
Forget about this! She had to concentrate on her job right now. Maybe once this mission was over, she and Corey could have a long talk. She walked around the construction site looking for anything unusual, but found nothing. At least the rebels weren’t sabotaging everything. One of the warriors she had been familiar with on the command ship spotted her. By the stars! She would have to think quick about what to do with the situation. She motioned for the warrior to be quiet but to follow her out of sight.
“Lieutenant Saber, I was not told you would be visiting this area.”
She had to be careful in what she said to him. She had helped train him and she thought he was a good male, but was he trustworthy? “Warrior Vendy, I ask that you forget that you saw me here today.”
He stilled, looking her over carefully, taking in her Earth clothing. “You’re on a mission?”
“Yes, a covert one. So, I need you to forget you saw me.”
“Are you on your own?” he sounded concerned.
Nix put a reassuring hand on his arm. “I’m not alone.”
Warrior Vendy looked relieved. She wasn’t sure if she should be grateful for his concern or insulted. Maybe all males acted this way toward females, overprotective. It was a pain in the ass. Looking at his genuine concern, she found she couldn’t really be angry with him for caring. It was kind of nice, in a way, to know that there were people who were concerned for her.
“I’m fine as long as you don’t tell anyone, even your fellow warriors, that I’m here.”
“I will do as you say, but please be careful.”
She smiled tightly, about to leave, but then decided she might as well question him. “Have there been any problems to arise among either the warriors or the humans?”
“A few small disagreements among the humans, but nothing that was not settled peacefully.”
“What was it about?”
“Living arrangements. A couple of humans wanted to have better living quarters than others, but all the apartments are being built the same except for the size. There were plenty of spaces to switch out, so they were easily resolved.”
“How are your interactions with the humans who are supposed to be helping with security?”
He sighed. “They do not feel that Drastans should be responsible for securing their own area. I have good relations with the humans, but some of the other warriors do not speak to the human guards if they show attitude.”
“Anything else?”
“A few pieces of equipment from the construction site went missing and we had to order replacements. It hasn’t been a real issue, though, just a setback.
Leaving him, she made her way back to where she had left Corey, only to find that he was watching her. He didn’t look happy about seeing her talking to Warrior Vendy.
“What was that about?” Corey demanded.
“Warrior Vendy recognized me. He’s a warrior that I personally trained. I asked him to not say anything about me being here.”
“Do you trust him?”
She took a deep breath. “I do.”
Corey paused, but then just nodded. “I found out that some equipment has gone missing.”
“That’s what Warrior Vendy told me as well, but he doesn’t consider it a real problem.”
