The only rogue variable in Luca’s plan had been that his style might not be appropriate for downtown Alienn, Arkansas, or the tourists who frequented the community. Thankfully, that did not seem to be the case.
The town’s bylaws meant he would need Dutch’s approval and recommendations from several other local business ownersto complete the purchase of Dark Matter Metal & Leather and run it as a legitimate business for at least the next six months, perhaps longer. He also needed that business to be quiet and require minimal attention so he was free to do what he was here to do.
His mission was to find whoever was selling classified information to the highest bidder—specifically, proof that aliens were living in plain sight on Earth. That had to stop.
No humans could ever learn that the picturesque Arkansas town was a major waystation on the galactic shipping and pleasure travel lanes for the citizens of Alpha-Prime and other planets.
With Dutch’s approval of Luca’s skill, all that remained was to negotiate the price of the business, file the appropriate paperwork and get himself situated as Alienn’s newest resident, if only a temporary one.
Luca’s Earther contact—one of the Alpha-Prime settlers in town—had told him the specific number Dutch was looking for to start his retirement in comfort. Luca didn’t have time for a lengthy bargaining session. He planned to offer just a bit over that number at the outset to ensure that the human felt like he was getting a good deal.
Though Luca’s duty meant he’d never had the chance to make a living from his artistic talent, he could imagine it would be difficult to ponder selling a business one had built over decades. If he could, Luca planned to find a craftsman skilled enough to continue Dutch’s legacy in the community before the next mission demanded his attention.
When Luca told Dutch the offer he had in mind, the old man’s eyes widened in surprise. Quickly, he schooled his expression and waited for several long seconds before saying calmly, “Actually, that sounds like a very reasonable offer, Jake.”
“I appreciate that, Dutch. I don’t want you to feel like I’m low-balling you. I wanted to offer a fair price for this place. I’ve looked around here and there trying to find an established shop that I thought I could feel at home in, and Dark Matter Metal & Leather is the best place I’ve found. I’m anxious to get started here in Alienn, Arkansas, as soon as possible.”
Dutch nodded, his expression remote as his mind loudly—as far as Luca was concerned—weighed all the pros and cons of the offer. It was longer before he thought,I’ll never find a better offer and Jake is the first and only craftsman with a similar level of skill as me.
Abruptly, he reached out his hand and said, “Well, then, you have just bought yourself metal and leather goods store, my friend. I hope it brings you as much joy and satisfaction as it has me all these years.”
Luca grinned and they shook on the deal. “Thank you, Dutch. I’m certain I’ll be very happy here.”
Whew,Luca thought. One hurdle down, a thousand more to conquer before the real reason he was here presented itself and he could take care of his secret business once and for all.
The next thing on his list was to hire a full-time store manager. A person he trusted who could handle all the necessary things to keep the day-to-day store functions running smoothly. It was vital to Luca’s plan to free himself to spend as much time as possible “alone and creative” in the workroom at the back of the store—at least as far as anyone else knew.
He would have to make sure that the door to his workroom could always remain locked and that he had another exit besides the one at the front of the store or he’d have to remodel before he reopened Dark Matter Metal & Leather under its new ownership.
After taking a quick tour with Dutch, he was pleased to find the back room was perfect for his needs, no remodeling required.
This picture-perfect setup would allow him to hunt for the secret-seller at night while he casually let it be known that the new craftsman preferred to toil away in his workshop without distractions. Once he located that person or persons in Alienn, Arkansas, he could take them into custody and remove them, if it were deemed warranted by the folks across the galaxy who were way above his paygrade.
After his mission was resolved, Jake Jones would have to disappear and Earth would most likely be off-limits for Luca Radbourne’s future career options. At least this area of the planet, which was one of only a very few where Alphas from Alpha-Prime could visit or live.
For the next six months, he would be just a regular human craftsman working in a metal and leather shop in a small town in southern Arkansas. Not even the local Alphas in charge at the Big Bang Truck Stop had been informed that he would be working undercover here. It wasn’t how he typically operated, but that decision was also way above his paygrade. Not his call to make.
Luca planned to enjoy his deep-cover mission as Jake Jones, human artisan, for as long as it lasted before Alpha-Prime Command Secret Services sent him on his next clandestine op.
Chapter One
Six months later…
Supernova Supermarket, Alienn, Arkansas, 7 a.m.
“But that’s not fair! Whatever happened to the customer is always right?”
Beryl Ashcraft sized up the woman in front of her who was complaining about what she considered to be a trivial matter and wondered how she’d gotten to this place in her life—cornered like a rat in the cookie aisle.
She didn’t have a ready answer for the woman’s question on customers always being right, nor how it had wound up being Beryl’s problem to solve. She briefly contemplated what would happen if she ran out of the grocery store screaming to escape this unpleasant conversation. Likely someone in her family would drag her back inside by her big toe and force her to take care of business.
Shewaspart-owner of the Supernova Supermarket and the new general manager. If one wanted to be entirely accurate about it, dealing with difficult customers was part of her job.
Sometimes being in charge really sucked.
Not that it mattered. The customer didn’t wait for an answer to her own question before blustering on in the kind of high-pitched voice that could grate cheese, let alone nerves. “I truly don’t understand how you can stay in business when you won’t take a coupon that’s only expired by one day,” railed the irate elderly woman, who was so slight in stature, she’d likelybe blown to the floor if the overhead ceiling fans came on, even if theywereset to the lowest speed. Beryl thought the woman might fall down without a breeze if it weren’t for the iron grip she had on her shopping cart.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I don’t make the rules regarding coupons and their expiration dates. The manufacturers who issue the coupons are rather strict about how they are used. They don’t allow us to take them even one day late. I’m sorry,” Beryl said once more, trying to be civil to this woman who had been ranting for an hour. At least, that’s what it felt like.
