“Thanks, Pete,” Cam said. He casually put his hand on his Defender out of Pete’s view. Diesel opened the office door, ushering both men inside and gesturing for Pete to sit on the chair across from his desk. It would be easier when Cam fired the Defender and Pete passed out. They wouldn’t have to pull his dead weight off the office floor.
Diesel sat behind his desk and Cam positioned himself at the door, just behind Pete and out of his view. Pete seated himself across from Diesel and said, “I sent someone here a while back to possibly get the scoop on a rumor I’d heard about a creature roaming the streets of Alienn.”
“Oh? Where did you hear that story?” Diesel leaned forward, elbows on his desk, hands folded together, trying to look casual.
Pete crossed one ankle over his knee and craned his neck sideways to look at Cam before turning back to Diesel. “Actually, I was in a bar in Doraydo about a month ago. This old guy came stumbling in. He was already pretty well oiled, if you know what I mean.”
“You mean he was already drunk?” Cam asked, always wanting complete clarity.
Pete nodded. “Yep. So this old guy plops himself down at the only seat available at the bar. It just happened to be next to me. Anyway, he orders his first drink and once he downed it and asked for a second, he suddenly said he knew a bunch of secrets about the town of Alienn and did I want to pay himscadsof cashfor the lowdown for an insider’s view of the goings on there.”
Diesel and Cam shared a look. “Anddidyou pay him scads of cash?” Diesel asked. He and his brother both knew a guy in Alienn who always wanted someone to pay himscads of cashfor something. It was one of Aunt Dixie’s friends from the old folks’ home. Norman was as unique a person as their aunt, only he was usually inebriated by noon every day.
“Nah. Told him I didn’t have any money.” Pete shrugged. “But then he started telling his crazy story anyway.”
“If you thought it was crazy, why did you listen?” Cam asked.
“Well, he was sitting right next to me at the bar. The place was packed and there wasn’t any other place to go.”
Cam’s face was a mask of fury when he asked, “So this old guy was spouting this story to an entire crowd?”
Pete shook his head. “No one else was listening to him. Or they couldn’t hear him. Either way, after the first story, he started yelling that he needed scads of cash so he could pay for more drinks. The bartender hauled him out after his second shot of whiskey because he could only pay for one. Later, I got to thinking. What if the old guy was talking about something that really happened but it was covered up?”
“The old man said it was covered up?” Cam’s frown grew more pronounced and his hand twitched on the handle grip of his Defender.
“Not exactly. He said something like, ‘When the Defender didn’t work, they all talked about using a bomb,’ but then the old guy said that the powers in charge decided against it because theirbombwasn’t guaranteed to work and also harder to cover up and explain. That really got my attention, know what I mean?”
Cam’s lips mashed together for a moment. “What did this guy look like? He sounds like maybe he escaped from his caregivers, know whatImean?”
Pete looked down at his notebook and shoved it into his inner jacket pocket. “To tell you the truth, I thought the same thing at first. The old guy was probably crazy or off his meds. So that’s why I handed it off to someone else to investigate. In case it was all bogus. I didn’t want to waste my valuable time, know what I mean?”
“Got it, but who was it that you turned it over to?” Diesel asked as if he didn’t care one way or the other.
He shrugged. “Some young thing I felt sorry for. I used to be one of her instructors when she went to college in Doraydo. We ran into each other, got to talking and she said she was looking for some quick cash to take a trip and research her orphan past or some such foolishness. Anyway, I told her if she found any scrap of information or even any innuendo regarding aliens in this town that I’d pay her big bucks for an article in the next Finder’s book.”
Diesel pushed out a quiet breath. “So that’s why you’re here in Alienn? Checking up on her work?”
Pete nodded. “Sort of.”
“Sort of? What does that mean?” Diesel asked. Cam had soundlessly moved closer behind Pete. He pulled his Defender off his belt and lifted the weapon, aiming at Pete’s back.
Pete said, “Well, the story she turned in wasn’t about aliens, it was about bank robbers from over eighty years ago. Likethatwould sell anything in a Finder’s book.” He shook his head like he pitied her.
Diesel kept his composure, even though he was stunned. Juliana hadn’t turned in an article about aliens. She hadn’t told the secrets she knew. She’d written the article, but hadn’t turned it in. He looked at Cam, who seemed calm. A warm spot started growing from Diesel’s heart outward to his chest. Juliana hadn’t betrayed him or Alienn. She’d done so at her own expense.
Pete said, “So I came here myself to check it out in case she missed something about the alien story I really wanted.”
Cam put his Defender back on his belt and quietly resumed his position by the door. The brothers shared an amused look.
Diesel asked, “What was wrong with the bank robber article she turned in?”
Pete shrugged. “There wasn’t anything wrong with it, exactly. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a good enough writer and all, but the subject matter for the next special edition Finder’s book is supposed to be unusual findings in unusual places, know what I mean?” His exasperated expression said it all.
“Bank robbers didn’t qualify, huh?”
“I guess it will do if there’s nothing else, but I really had my heart set on aliens, know what I mean?” Pete flashed a grin. “Don’t suppose the two of you could help me out with that creepy alien story? I could pay you the big bucks instead.”
Cam shook his head. “Sorry. I heard it was a wounded dog and the whole alien story was made up from the beginning.”
