Andie rocked back and forth, crunching gravel, wishing it was Talia crunching beneath her feet instead.
"What are you doing here?" Andie yelled. Maybe Oliver would hear her distress through the microchip he had so obligingly implanted in Andie's skull.
"He is not here," said Talia.
"What do you mean?" Andie asked. Her face heated as it sunk in that Oliver had not sent the text. Even worse, was the fact that she wanted it to be true so much that she hadn't even questioned it.
"I see you have figured it out. I am still monitoring Oliver's electronic communicators."
"Communications," Andie corrected. "Pilot. Is Pilot okay?" She could no longer hear him barking.
"What pilot?"
"My dog," said Andie.
"I know nothing of this creature. I am here for you, Andie. I am here as your friend."
This woman ... alien ... whatever, was clearly insane. "Define 'friend.'"
"I thought you might want to know about Sterling."
"What do you mean?" Andie narrowed her eyes. What the hell was this lunatic talking about, and why did Andie's hackles raise as if she were a dog?
"Only that I made a few 'improvements' to her jet's engine."
"If you're going to do the whole malevolent villain thing, you should get to the point. Are you going to start your maniacal laughing now?"
"You are remarkably calm considering your friend's plane is going to crash. Very sad. And Cyra wanted her so desperately."
Andie trembled. Her heart ached as if someone had taken it out of her chest and kept squeezing it like one of those stress balls. She could not lose Sterling-her best friend, her confidante, her sister. "Please don't hurt her," Andie begged.
"That is better," said Talia. "I was worrying that you would not provide me a decent beseeching." Talia's eyes gleamed like a sadistic, insane alien.
"What do you want?"
"You, of course. You out of my way."
"Why don't you just shoot me and get it over with?"
"Nice try, but killing you would not be nearly as much fun as torturing you first." Definite sadist.
"What's to stop you, Talia? Why not just take me? What are you waiting for?"
"Your permission, of course."
"Huh?" This was the last thing she'd expected Talia to say.
"Because, legally, if you go with me of your own free will, I have done nothing wrong. Amu laws are very strict. If you agree, then Oliver will soon forgive my earlier indiscretion with the Cannon. Once I get him into bed with me, he will not be able to resist my charms. I have been specifically trained for years to please him sexually. I know exactly what he wants. The way he wants my mouth to enclose his ..."
"Shut up," said Andie. Thank god Bad Andie wasn't here providing visual aids. The coward.
"Oh, I'm here," said Bad Andie. "Just watching to see how you're going to get out of this one."
"If you're not helping, then shut up."
"Why are your eyes twitching? You look crazy, human," said Talia. "All I am saying is that Oliver will never have the pleasure from anyone else that he will have from me. Especially from a human. He thinks he desires you, but once I have him, he will never again desire another. I will possess him. He will be my slave. He will exist moment to moment, waiting for me to take him to my bed. If I withhold sex from him for more than a day, he will sink into a depression so profound, he will wish he were dead. And I promise a live feed into your jail cell so you can watch every time I take him to paradise. It is going to be so much fun."
"I'd rather die," she said bravely.
"Do I get a vote here?" said Bad Andie.
Maybe Bad Andie had a point.
"Good idea, Andromeda. But not an option for me at the moment. Also, if you want to save your friend Sterling, you will cooperate and come with me quietly. The brig awaits. You will take my place. It is solitary confinement, and no one will know it is you and not me inside the cell."
"How do you know Oliver hasn't heard everything you've just said?" said Andie pointing to her temple.
"I have run a simultaneous program and interrupted the microchip's signal. He thinks you are having a quiet evening at home reading a romance novel. I got the idea of a fake feed from a movie called Ocean's 11—so informative. It is amazing what one can accomplish when one has connections in high places. And we will arrange for your surprise resignation."
"Cyra?"
Talia's expression remained fixed, but Andie knew Cyra must be her highly placed friend. "What is your answer?"
"You promise you won't hurt Sterling?"
"I promise her plane will land safely. After that, who knows? Life on your barbaric planet is so ... I don't know ... barbaric."
The irony of a potential airplane terrorist calling earthlings barbaric was not lost on Andie. She let out a resigned breath. She needed time to figure out what to do. As long as Andie and Sterling were both alive, there was a chance they could get rid of Talia and be safe. It Sterling died, they might as well kill Andie. She could never live with herself.
"I'll do what you want. Just don't hurt Sterling."
"Not a hair on her head. She is, after all, a valuable commodity."
"What is that supposed to mean? She's a person," Andie railed. Her cheeks burned as if they'd been stung by a swarm of yellow jackets. "And if you think she's so valuable a 'commodity,' why are you blowing up her plane?"
"It seems I have said too much, and now I am bored."
Andie thought she saw a flash of fear on Talia's perfect face. But why would Talia be afraid? And who was she afraid of?
"You must hold my hand," said Talia. "It is difficult business Wormholing another. Do not let go. We will make one stop at the office and catch a Priority One to the ship. You did say you wanted to know what was in the secret room. As soon as we get there, I will activate the remote signal to correct the little problem on Sterling's jet."
"What's a Priority One," Andie said as she held out her hand. Talia collapsed in a flash of light.
***
"No," Andie roared. She sent out a desperate mental cry for help to Pilot. Maybe he was clairvoyant. But more likely, with his superior sense of smell, he might sense her fear and come to the rescue. Why had she tied him to that tree? Why hadn't she heeded his warning? Many powerful hands pulled her away from Talia and held her tight. "Let me go," Andie demanded. She tried to thrash her arms and legs, but they were secured to her body. Andie's eyes flooded with tears. "Please," she begged.
"It is all right, Andie. We are here to help you," said a familiar musical voice.
The hands she thought were there to restrain her were there to embrace her. They belonged to the Zuts. They crushed her inside a group bear hug. Andie sobbed with relief. "It's you." She kissed Rosalie. Rosalie touched the spot on her cheek where Andie's kiss lingered and smiled. "Thank god. I need your help. Sterling ..."
"We were following you, said Ernest.
"Until Frank had a panic attack," Cash admonished. "He is all bravado but full of fear."
"I am sorry, Miss Andie. "Your world is so ... vast," said Frank, staring at his feet, pale cheeks flushed green.
"No matter, Frank. We would not have let Talia harm Andie," Rosalie said.
"But Sterling. My friend. She's in danger! Please help me."
Pilot yipped hysterically around the circle. He practically jumped the seven-foot wall of Zuts trying to get to Andie. When that didn't work, he bit Cash.
"Pilot, no! You are the most amazing dog. No biting though," said Andie. "They're friends. Pilot paced around, willing to settle but still wary. "Come here, pup. I'm so happy you're okay. Andie squatted to pet his soft fur. For once, he accepted the comfort. He had gnawed his way through the leash. Andie stood and backed away a couple of steps from her staff. They definitely had a different idea of the delineation of personal space. "Wait. How is it you are all outside?"
"We had to," said Rosalie, her cheeks tinged green. "We could not allow our favorite boss to die. And we like your planet. It is very beautiful."
"Yes," agreed Frank. "Your ocean is cool and full of the promise of bouillabaisse, neither is it aflame and smelling of death."
Andie recalled the paintings in the office of oceans of fire. They must be depictions of Amu. What had happened to their planet? She had always assumed the pictures were of the planet's primordial era. But perhaps they showed the end. Maybe the Amu had no home. A lump formed in her throat. No. Don't feel sorry for them, she reminded herself. One of them put her beloved friend in peril. Speaking of which, how much time did she have to find the timer?
Right after she found it, she must figure out how to get the aliens to leave earth. What kind of self-respecting aliens choose tabloidism as their mission? Shouldn't they stand back and observe the indigenous beings, and when the time is right, share their advanced knowledge of technology, medicine, and philosophy? Aliens are supposed to be noble. Had the Amu never heard of the Prime Directive?
"With crusty bread," added Frank, bringing Andie back to earth. Crusty bread. Right. To go with the bouillabaisse.
"Your air smells like happiness and excitement and coconut cream pie."
"You have given us a gift, Andie. You have given us the outside."
Andie's stomach grumbled. "I am overjoyed. But we have to save ..."
"You are hungry, Andie. We will take you home and make you risotto with tomatoes and pesto and a field greens salad with caramelized pear, Point Reyes Blue, and candied pecans."
"And garlic bread," said Frank.
Andie's stomach ground out the loudest complaint she had ever heard, but Sterling was still in danger. "I can't worry about my stomach right now," said Andie. "Please, Talia mentioned she had a remote that would shut down a bomb about to go off on Sterling's plane. We have to wake her up."
"I set the Cannon on maximum stun," said Cash. "I am a very good shot."
"You should be," grumbled Ernest. "You have destroyed enough computers practicing."
"She will not awaken for twelve hours," said Cash.
"No. She has to wake up now," said Andie.
"Why?"
"That's what I'm trying to explain. Talia has to send a signal to my friend's airplane. If she doesn't send it before landing, it will crash."