Looking at Wyatt, Diesel said, “Luckily, Wyatt here figured that out before we made a foolish mistake.”
“What’s in that metal box that Indigo wanted?” Wyatt asked. “And where did you get it?”
Diesel held out the box, which upon closer inspection Wyatt saw had a button slide opening. Inside was a complicated-looking device.
“Wow. That’s colorful. What does it do?”
“It is a remote control that opens up pre-programmed outer doors beneath certain cryo-doors on the prisoner ship. Axel found it when they did a thorough search on board the gulag ship earlier.”
“The ingots,” Wyatt said.
Diesel nodded. “Yep. As near as we can figure, he planned to jettison the five special pods that carried the ingots onto the ground and hide in the nearby forest as the ship took off for the gulag. Originally, his was the only pod that was set to open. The solar flares that opened all the rest of the pods ruined his carefully laid plans.”
“Amazing.”
Diesel shook his head. “It’s ingenious. He had a complex plan to escape, hang around in town until the ship left and jettison the five pods of gold ingots into the safety of the woods. That gold is pure, too, and way more valuable here on Earth than on Alpha-Prime.”
“How did he plan to transport the ingots? Five cryo-pods full sounds heavy.”
“We don’t know yet. We’ll have to interrogate him.”
Valene perked up. “I think I know.”
“What do you know?” Diesel asked.
“Daphne Charlene gave him a key. It was an old rusty one, like an oversized skeleton key.”
“What does it unlock?”
“Get this. Daphne Charlene has a secret tunnel beneath Critter’s Café that leads out into the woods. She said the tunnel was built during Prohibition for customers to escape the old speakeasy in the basement if the police raided them.”
“Interesting.”
“I believe he planned to store the gold there until he could get a large enough vehicle to transport the ingots out of Arkansas. He was right. With his ability to change form, it would have been very difficult for even the Royal Magistrate Guard to track him down here on Earth.”
“Amazing. I’ll bet you’re absolutely right. Let’s head back to the basement conference room for a full debrief. We’ll get Indigo back into his cryo-pod and take extra care to keep him subdued before the gulag ship takes off tomorrow morning.”
“Great idea.” Valene looked at the convict stretching out one of her favorite outfits. “Also, burn those clothes he’s got on. Since I already saw him morph into someone else, complete with clothes, the only reason he wanted mine was to have some fun with me.” She looked down at what she was wearing. Instead of one of Daphne Charlene’s outfits, Indigo had insisted she wear his.
“I want to get back to the truck stop and change out of these prisoner clothes, okay?”
“No problem. But for the record, you look great in anything you wear.”
“Spoken like a true fiancé,” Diesel said with a smile. Wyatt’s heart lifted. He hoped Diesel’s words meant he wasn’t bound for a permanent memory erasure. Maybe he could be trusted to keep their secret, and his relationship with Valene. He’d discuss it with Diesel once they got back to the truck stop.
Valene put her hand in his and they linked fingers as they walked toward the assembled group surrounding a purple-splattered, very subdued Indigo. Wyatt’s heart flipped over the simple gesture of holding hands with his girl. He never wanted to be without her ever again. He planned to propose for a third time as soon as possible.
Daphne Charlene, still held in check by Bubba, gave them a scornful look as they passed by. Valene stopped and turned into him, kissing his mouth like they were alone in his bedroom.
Beside them, Daphne Charlene made an evil hissing noise and elbowed Bubba hard enough to make him grunt. Valene pulled away and stared into Wyatt’s eyes with what looked like equal parts wonder and regret, but didn’t acknowledge Bubba or Daphne Charlene’s subsequent struggle in the wake of the wondrous kiss.
Wyatt only had eyes for Valene. Bubba could fend for himself. And if he had to leave Earth, Wyatt couldn’t wait to tell her about his decision to move to her planet so they could spend the rest of their lives together.
Chapter Sixteen
Valene changed clothes and took a quick refreshing shower in one of the basement guest rooms set aside for traveling dignitaries or VIPs who didn’t want to remain aboard whatever ship brought them to Earth.
