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The chill in the room rolled back. Looked like Mr. Wizard got his control back.
“You have only seen a minuscule example of our abilities.” Raiden gestured between him and Ben. “I trust you are intelligent enough to discern we can make your life very uncomfortable if you betray us.”
Uncomfortable? Claude doubted being uncomfortable was all he’d experience. He could respect that. It’s something he’d do if he had that kind of leverage.
He rubbed his hands together, more to get the circulation going after the chill in the air than to look like an old-time villain joining the team. “Great. Where do we start?”
Raiden cocked his head. “It might be best to determine where the CIA is in their efforts to stop the Akurns. It would be prudent to avoid duplicating all of our efforts.” He put his hand up.
Claude’s satellite phone appeared.
“Call your director and get an update.”
Claude bit the inside of his cheek to keep his expression bland. He took the phone from Raiden’s open palm. The man’s telekinetic ability was unnerving. “I confess the last time the director and I talked, we weren’t on good terms.” He hoped his sheepish grin didn’t make him look like an idiot. “In fact, I’m supposed to be on vacation. I doubt he’ll tell me much.”
Ben grunted.
Raiden gave a slight shrug. “That doesn’t matter. Once you’ve connected with him, I’ll access his memories and discern what they’ve accomplished.”
Claude couldn’t stop the quick lift at the side of his mouth. Damn, the younger-looking man talked worse than an old college professor he once had. With the phone already powered on, he pressed the speed dial straight to his director. The phone connected after the first ring.
“Agent Stygian? Where are you? All hell is breaking loose here!”
Claude opened his mouth to respond.
The metallic tone disguising the director’s voice interrupted. “All senior agents are to report to conference room B-2.”
Claude winced. The tinny sound grated on his nerves.
“Where you will be debriefed.”
The line disconnected.
Raiden’s alien eyes focused on the phone clutched in Claude’s hand. “I could not read him as well. Therefore, I believe that’s our invitation to join forces with the CIA.”
Without him changing expression, the phone in Claude’s hand disappeared.
Chapter Eleven
~Jelena~
What in the known galaxy made her think this was a good idea? Jelena trampled through the woods surrounding Esharra, following Shther, who insisted in his own way Zamush was at the starship Nergal. Damn lizard better know where he was going. Maybe she should have brought BoD, but she’d decided at the last minute to leave him behind.
Who knew what would happen between her and Zamush? The last thing she needed was a know-it-all who’d either talk her out of considering Zamush in a different light or take the I-told-you-so route and warn her to stay away from him. After the crazy conversation she had with her sister (her sister!), she didn’t know what to think. Part of her believed she’d hallucinated meeting a supposed sibling, but another part of her didn’t doubt it was real.
Trying to sleep on it didn’t help. All she did was lie in bed and stare at the dark ceiling. When tossing and turning lost its appeal, she rolled out of bed a groggy mess. There weren’t enough hours in a day to sort through her jumbled feelings about everything that had happened to her lately. Especially about Zamush. The best thing to do was to confront him face-to-face.
Tromping to the ship, she shoved away an overhanging tree branch that would have slapped her in the face. She had to be getting close to the ship. She bit her lip. How would she react when she saw him? Did she have enough courage to admit she might’ve been wrong about him all this time?
Shther’s six-double jointed legs latched onto a smooth silver tree trunk and he blinked his four pink eyes at her. His body changed from his normal apple red to match the tree’s color to blend in. If it weren’t for his unusual eyes. It would be hard to pinpoint where he was. His split tongue flicked in her direction.
Up ahead, the metallic ship sparkled in the low light of Akurn.
Her heart thundered. Zamush’s black-clad back faced her as he spoke to Qhasheik. She was about to speak up when Zamush’s words became clear. She stopped.
“Now that Sychar is safe and sound, I’d like to go to Azadi to join my family. You up to taking me back?”
He was leaving? Now? Her other foster father, Abiditan, rushed into the clearing opposite where she stood.
