Within the hour, a knock came at her door. Leila whirled her chair and stared at it. No one ever visited her lab. Asterion remained in the other room and, last time she checked, was showing the alien a picture book as if it were a toddler.
Could it be Grayson? She rose and answered the door, only to have her sudden excitement deflate at the sight of Aquarius. “What do you want?” Rude, but then again, she didn’t want or need people showing up interrupting her work. Although she would have made an exception for Grayson.
“I have questions about the fish thing and the alien.”
“And you couldn’t send your queries in a text?” Meet the guy once at a less-than-stellar moment and he seemed to think he had an open invitation to visit her in person.
Aquarius didn’t seem to notice her irritation and strode in. “You said the alien avoided anything aquatic.”
“Yes.”
“And that drenching it with omega-3 caused a temporary paralysis.”
“Yes.”
“Would dousing a full-sized version have the same effect?”
Her brows rose. “I haven’t the slightest idea. Keep in mind the sample I tested was the size of a pea and lacked any of the characteristics present in the fully formed versions.”
“So it wouldn’t work?” he pressed.
“Again, I don’t know. I mean, theoretically, it should, but”—she interjected, seeing his mouth open to interrupt—“the amount of omega-3 needed in liquid format would be much greater than a single capsule. Not to mention, I’m not sure if its exterior skin would prevent the absorption.”
“Can we test it on the mini version?”
“We could,” she stated slowly. “But there’s a chance it could kill it.”
“Seems like that would be good.”
“Not if we want to further our understanding.”
“Which is important, I get it, but here’s the thing. While Aries and the crew managed to quell the problem in Toronto, especially once they began incinerating them, the boss thinks we didn’t so much eradicate as send them underground, likely to regroup and plan a new attack. Usually that wouldn’t be a big deal, except we don’t have time to hunt the stragglers because the ones we didn’t burn in those other places are back. As a result, Aries has my brothers out in the field eliminating the active ones.”
“Sounds to me like things are more or less under control.”
“We’re trying to stay ahead of the problem but are having to avoid being sighted by the military and local law enforcement. Unfortunately, they haven’t had much success fighting the aliens. I mean, they’re trying, but these things are quick, and some of them are utilizing energy weapons. If we could maybe release an anonymous tip on how to slow them down, say by spraying a zone with omega-3, it would give the citizens fighting a chance.”
A mouthful, but what he said made sense. “Their speed and regenerative ability are an issue,” she murmured. “But still, convincing anyone that an anonymous tip is valid won’t be easy. You might be better off sliding a hint to one of the scientists currently studying the aliens.”
“I like that idea,” he murmured. “I know the Russians kept one of the bodies and likely know by now that they can heal and grow clones from pieces.”
“Assuming they fed it the right protein,” she pointed out. “I only discovered it could grow by accident. If they brought in the specimen and are keeping it in a sterile room, then it won’t have what it needs to repair itself. That is, assuming the grown versions need nutrition. Could be those of a certain mass can deplete their inner store to repair themselves.”
“I’m thinking they don’t always need food, since the aliens we killed all came back. Even the ones Leo dumped in a swamp. It’s inconvenient we can’t beam them into the void. This second round, the warriors are going in with fuel and matches with orders to burn everything, even the blood.”
“The blood doesn’t seem to be an issue, just the tissue. Something within the interlaced matrix of the cells retains enough… I don’t even know what to call it, instinct, I guess, to know what it needs to rebuild and seek it out.”
“Which is fucking wild.”
Asterion chose that moment to emerge from the chamber. “Thus far, Blue has shown no interest in speaking or learning, nor any in playing. It scrapes its claws across the bars of the cage and hisses at me. It’s tried, as well, to poke a claw through to mess with the lock.”
“Definitely smarter than the average animal, even though it’s still technically a baby,” she muttered. “Do you think it can break the metal bars or somehow pick the lock?”
Asterion shrugged. “Not yet, but it’s definitely not stupid. If it can find a way, it will escape. I added a secondary clasp for extra security.”
“Obviously they’re not dumb,” Aquarius snorted. “The scouts they sent were some really advanced nanobot technology. Then there’s those energy weapons they used in Toronto.”
The reminder had Leila’s brow furrowing even harder. “I’m having a hard time seeing those creatures building that kind of fine tech.”
