Megalodon City, Tundra, Standard Year 404

  Friday

  It was evening, and still there was no news of James. Of course, it might come later in the night, Samantha Hawk reminded herself. But there was no denying the ugly reality. James, was running late. Something on Saraya, had delayed him. Quite decisively, Samantha got up off the couch where she had been sitting, staring blankly out the two story window at the city below, and walked out of her office, towards the parking garage. It was time to pay her dear old friend Robert, a visit.

  Samantha drove directly towards the entrance to the parking garage dedicated to the Tundran Secret Service, smiling slightly as a pair of guards stopped her car.

  “Good evening.” She said politely. “I’m here to see Robert Nagar. Would you like to let me pass or will I need to shoot you? It is of course, entirely your choice.”

  The two guards exchanged a brief glance as they frantically considered the standard protocol of requiring credentials for entry versus the reality that was the first lady.

  “You can let him know I’m here.” Samantha said generously.

  But both of the guards were already turning towards the entrance, clearly prepared to waive her through. She was Samantha Hawk. Security checks were something that happened to other people.

  Samantha drove into the parking garage, taking one of the reserved spots closest to the entrance and scanning her surroundings automatically as soon as she stepped out. The glint of a rifle scope in one of the air vents over the garage caught her eye immediately. This was the Tundran Secret Service headquarters. The air vents, should have been secured. Of course, perhaps it was an exercise of some sort. Sam smiled slightly. Even if it was, she had a reputation to maintain. In one smooth movement, she took out her gun and shot eight rounds in quick succession.

  “Check on whoever’s in there, will you?” She said calmly to the group of secret service agents running towards her. “And if it’s not a planned exercise, you may want to secure him in an interrogation room for further questioning. Good evening to you all.” Without further delay, she turned towards the elevator and headed down. The elevator was also secured. Technically, when she pressed the button for Robert’s floor, nothing should have happened until her currently nonexistent credentials were scanned. Samantha pressed the button and waited, smiling only slightly when the elevator moved immediately. Clearly, the TSS was staying on top of things. Robert trained his people well.

  Sam walked the familiar halls towards Robert’s familiar office. It was a long time ago, but she had been there so many times, it all came back to her. The layout was the same. The furniture was perhaps slightly different, the color scheme had been updated. But underneath it all, it was all the same. As it would be for as long as Robert was there. She found she could not imagine this place without Robert. Robert was the Tundran Secret Service. He had built this place. Of course, he could not remain there forever, but she found she could not imagine this place without Robert at the helm.

  “Good evening.” She said as she stepped into Robert’s office. Robert was sitting at his desk. Not similar but exactly the same, as the one she had seen when she reported to him all those years ago. Robert did not like change. And clearly, he was expecting her.

  “Good evening.” Robert replied. His eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance, as the buzz of a message came in over his wrist comm.

  Samantha raised an eyebrow. It was customary to program in a slightly different buzz tone for certain individuals, and this was a pattern she was not familiar with.

  “Could it be about James?” She asked, irrational hope bubbling up although on some level she knew that if it had been about James, Robert would have checked immediately, rather than looking annoyed at the untimely interruption. If it had been about James, he would have already told her the news, rather than sitting at his desk staring at her silently. There was no news.

  “I doubt it.” Robert replied. “What can I do for you, Sam?”

  “Is there any news from James?” Samantha asked, although she already knew the answer.

  “You know the answer to that.” Robert said patiently. “The minute I hear, I will let you know. You have my word.”

  “But you have not heard.” Samantha said.

  “No, not yet.”

  “You do understand Robert, that if you do not hear from him, if anything happens to him, I will hold you personally responsible.”

  “Samantha, that is not...”

  “Rational?” Samantha interrupted. “How very compelling Robert, I will be sure to keep that in mind, when I hold you, wholly and personally responsible for letting my son get involved in this. One more brilliant Robert Nagar plan for vengeance, where the Hawks pay the price.”

  “Samantha I…”

  “Yes, I know what you did, Robert. I know exactly what you did. Secure is it, your office?”

  “It is secure.” Robert acknowledged with some trepidation.

  “I know exactly what you did. Did you know I ran a DNA test? I wanted to know if my son was truly mine. It made no sense you see, any of it. Do you know the results?”

  “No.” Robert said with perfect honesty. James Hawk was Samantha Hawk’s son… with a few modifications. As to how that would show up on a human paternity test, he had no idea.

  “It was a match. And then do you know, I received a follow-up email. From the lab. They wondered if the embryo may have been exposed to some radiation. They said they saw some… unexpected modifications that they couldn’t quite explain. Odd, isn’t it?”

  Wisely, Robert remained silent.

  “Tell me Robert, what were these modifications? What exactly was it that you did, to my son?”

  They sat in silence, looking across each other as the same ancient desk sat between them in Robert’s plain and austere office deep underground. Samantha was accustomed to the silence. Sometimes, Robert took a while to respond to a question. In time, the answer would come.

  “We made him better.” Robert said finally.

  “Did you now.” Samantha said sharply, eyeing Robert from her side of the desk. “And what will you do when all your effort is wasted, because my son ends up dead?”

  “Sam, the absolute last thing I want is for James to die. If I could have thought of a way to prevent him from going on this mission, I would have. It is dangerous. But one thing we must all learn, is that none of us can stop James from doing what James wants to do. Not even me.”

  “You orchestrated the entire operation!”

  “It was not my intent for James to lead this operation, Sam. Truly.”

  “You should have lied Robert! You know how close they all came to getting caught after the operation on Saraya’s moon station. Surely after that you could have lied, told everyone they were under suspicion. It was too dangerous for James, Clara, and Henry to go back. You should have lied! If you had, James would have listened. James wants to live.” She whispered.

  “I do not lie.” Robert said flatly. And then he froze.

  “Robert?” Samantha asked somewhat hesitantly. She had never seen him this way. He simply sat, frozen and unmoving. Not breathing, not blinking. “Robert?” She repeated, leaning forward to touch his arm. Robert remained seated, frozen and completely unmoving.

  There was no one Samantha could think of, to call for help. She was quite certain that a human doctor would not be able to provide any assistance. “Robert, I am here if you need me.” She said instead, and waited.

  An interminable time later, Robert stirred slightly.

  “Robert?” Samantha asked again, deep concern in her eyes. “Tell me what I can do. What do you need?”

  “Something is wrong.” Robert said.

  Samantha waited.

  Robert knew something was wrong. But he wasn’t sure how he knew. It felt as if something was wrong with his bond. Which was, of course, impossible. Olivia was already dead. It could not be any more wrong than that. And yet it felt as if… perhaps something was wrong with the medical device that he had been implanted with, the one intended to simulate the continued existence of a bond that was no longer there. But something was wrong. He felt it. Something was wrong… but not yet irreparably so. He glanced down at his wrist comm, remembering the messages he had received earlier. With painful slowness, Robert read through the eighteen frantic messages he received from Daren. The feeling that something was wrong solidified into knowledge. “There was… a report.” Robert said slowly, trying to focus. “You shot an assassin. On your way in.”

  “Yes. I thought it might be part of some sort of exercise to test your people’s readiness.”

  “It was not.” Robert said, still speaking painfully slowly. Stiffly, he got up from his chair. “He is in an interrogation room now. We will speak with him shortly.” He paused. “Sam, will you help me?”

  “And will you help James?” Samantha asked.

  “Sam, I am not sure what I can do but...”

  “But you will do everything, everything in your power, to help James. Will you not, Robert?”

  “Yes.” Robert agreed.

  “Then I will do the same to help you.”

  ---

  Once the feelings returned to her fingers and toes following her exciting expedition to the frozen hell the Tundrans called a livable planet, Alanna stepped back out of the car and went to check on the stunned assassin in the air vent. The air vent was quite high up, but she managed to maneuver the car until it was directly underneath before scrambling up awkwardly and pulling the unconscious body unceremoniously down to the concrete floor of the garage below. The fall would not kill him, that was the important thing. Someone would want to ask this man some questions, Alanna thought. And then she jumped back as what appeared to be a glass box enclosed his prone and unconscious body.

  “Oh now you’ve decided to work?” Alanna said with a roll of her eyes. Apparently, Grant’s amazing and fool proof security system was finally activated. Why didn’t it work before, she wondered, looking up at the air vent where the prone body had been earlier. Of course, the plasma screen that looked somewhat like glass could not be generated out of nothing. An underground infrastructure was needed to transfer the energy for the plasma walls. And the air vents were quite high up above the floor. Could it be that the security system simply did not reach that high up?

  She circled the glass box wearily. It was quite small, and the trapped assassin’s movements would be greatly restricted. Grant has said that if she touched the plasma walls, it would hurt. But when she walked up to his lab and reached out to knock on what she thought at the time was a simple glass wall, the wall had disappeared before her hand touched it. It did not hurt. And there were a few things she wanted to check on, in regard to the mysterious assassin. Very hesitantly, she used the tip of her pinky finger to reach out towards one of the plasma walls. Her reasoning was that the pinky was the most useless of the fingers, just in case she ended up losing it. The side of the box she had touched with her pinky finger disappeared. She felt nothing.

  “Well I’m glad we’re still friends.” Alanna murmured as, with a great deal of trepidation, she knelt down next to the passed out assassin. If the sides of the box extended just a little bit, she would be trapped in there with him. But at least she still had her knives and her gun. So Alanna was going to risk it. The assassin looked normal enough. A nondescript human male dressed in varying shades of gray that faded in well with the concrete and metal building materials the Tundrans loved so much. Not a giant. But then, there was apparently a way to be certain. She took out her knife and pricked the man’s finger, watching the red blood spill out. And then, just to be sure, she peeled off his shirt and pricked him on the shoulder. Unlike Grant’s yellowish green blood, the blood that spilled out of the assassin was a deep and familiar red. Two reasons to believe the man was human. But still potentially inconclusive, Alanna thought cautiously. Very carefully, she stepped back and away from the man. And watched as the wall of the box closed back up. Right then. It would appear he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.

  As a precaution against the uncertainty of her future, Alanna went back downstairs and collected several containers of water and a large pile of ration bars. Sooner or later, the man would wake up. The bathroom facility situation within the glass box would be especially unfortunate over time, but there wasn’t a whole lot she could do about that. She left the supplies within the box, relieved to see the security system expanding the space slightly to allow space for the supplies. And then, with great reluctance, she steeled herself to go back outside to get Grant. That wasn’t going to be much fun.

  The second trip was worse. It was colder by then, and the ice forming in front of her eyes made it nearly impossible to see, as she frantically searched for the location where she left the antigrav platform with Grant’s disturbingly still form. The shivering was getting worse and Alanna was close to running back in to warm up before she returned, potentially after finding some sort of cold weather gear, when she finally saw the blur she thought was the platform. Grabbing it with frozen hands that barely functioned, she used the weight of her body to push it forward. Following the wall of the garage as her blurry point of reference, she frantically pushed her way back in as the frozen cold air burned her lungs. Breathing had never hurt so much. She was nearly completely blind by the time she felt the warmer air against her skin.

  Turning the antigrav platform around sharply, Alanna headed for the blissfully warmer air that escaped from the underground garage as her presence activated the insulating doors to let them back in. She left the antigrav platform with Grant’s body by the car and jumped back in, soaking in the warmth as her body shivered uncontrollably. This time, the tips of her fingers burned with the sort of pain she would have expected if someone decided to poke them with a thousand hot needles. After a brief online search, she rubbed her fingers frantically. She was in no position to seek medical attention at the moment. What Alanna really wanted, was to soak in the water of the infamously giant tub James had in his apartment. But first she had to somehow get Grant into a bed. Maybe. Grant had said one to two hours outside, followed by bedrest. Followed by calling someone named Robert, whatever the fuck that meant. “First things first.” Alanna said out loud.

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  Fitting Grant and the antigrav platform inside James’s car would in fact violate the laws of physics. That was obvious immediately. It would not fit, and it wasn’t even close. Alanna considered the situation glumly. There were only about a thousand things that could go wrong here. But what was the best way to minimize the number of things that could go wrong? She stepped closer to Grant’s still and now seemingly frozen form. The blood loss had indeed stopped. Which was a good thing, because it wasn’t as if he could go get an alien blood transfusion at the nearest hospital. Either being exposed to the cold was working, or he was dead. But Grant had said it would work, so the logical thing to do was take his word for it. For Grant, at the moment, cold was good. And the fact that he did not appear to be breathing at all, for the moment… well. Cold slowed down the biological process that was life. So that… that was fine. Alanna was vaguely familiar with the process of hibernation. Bears on old earth did it and looking at Grant’s giant and still form, she instinctively felt that this would apply here. Grant wasn’t dead. He was hibernating, Alanna told herself reassuring.

  A few minutes later, she returned with a light tarp that had been used to cover up old equipment in the lab and used it to drape Grant’s still perfectly still form. She carefully turned his head to the side, leaving room for air circulation while arranging the tarp to cover him so he would not be easily visible. Grant did not stir. She strapped down the tarp as securely as she could.

  “I’m going to try loading you on top of the car and take you home.” Alanna said out loud.

  Grant remained perfectly still.

  Right then. Using additional straps to tie the antigrav platform to the top of the car, Alanna sent out a brief prayer to whoever might be listening and very slowly and carefully drove out of the parking garage. It was a short and blissfully uneventful twenty minute drive home. And her still frozen hands were mostly working. And the antigrav platform stayed on. All in all, it still wasn’t one of her more pleasant commutes.

  With a deep sigh of relief, Alanna pulled into the parking garage of her building, pausing only momentarily to breathe before stepping out the door.

  “What’s on top of the car?” A dry and familiar voice called out.

  Alanna started, forcing her hand away from her holster. “Sicaro.” She said with a frown, turning to see Tony Sicaro walking towards her. Dev, Ashley and Danil followed, all staring up at the top of her car.

  “None of your business.” She said flatly. “And what’s in the bag?” She added, gesturing to the bag Tony carried.

  “None of your business.” Tony responded predictably enough.

  “Why are you here?”

  “I invited him.” Dev said, the slightest edge of uncertainty in his voice. “He just got back and called to check up on Danil, and I mentioned you wanted to put the porch swing together and he said he was a pro at it so…” Dev paused. “But seriously, what is on top of the car?”

  “None of your damn business!” Alanna said in exasperation. It had been an exceptionally long week. And of course it was her own damn fault for forgetting that she offered to host a Friday night dinner party. But it really was not a good time. And Dev made a habit of bringing uninvited guests.

  “I’m hungry.” Tony announced.

  “Ok.” Alanna breathed. “Ok. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to unload what’s on top of the car. Just… just step back, everyone.

  “I can help.” Tony offered.

  “No.” Alanna shook her head, holding out her hands to stop him. “No help. I got it. You will wait here for just one minute, while I bring up the… the thing on top of the car.” She added somewhat lamely.

  “The secret thing that’s on top of the car.” Tony said helpfully. “It kind of looks like a dead body. A very large dead body.”

  “You will all wait.” Alanna said firmly, once again forcing her hand away from the tempting grip of her favorite gun. “You will all wait while I unload what I need to unload. And then you can come up for dinner.” She added reluctantly. She would have loved to send them all away. But there was no way Tony was leaving without dinner. She had only known him a short time, but even she knew that.

  Gritting her teeth, Alanna unstrapped the antigrav platform and scrambled awkwardly over the hood of the car, to get the right leverage to push it off the roof. In a dress. It worked better when she was alone in the garage. Well, there was the assassin but he was unconscious, and in no position to judge.

  Tony crossed his arms and leaned back, watching.

  Scrambling even more awkwardly back down off the hood of the car, Alanna stood between her guests and the antigrav platform. “I’ll just… I’ll just take this upstairs and um… I’ll be right back.” She said, trying to add a note of authority to her voice.

  One side of Tony’s mouth quirked slightly, as if he were trying very, very hard to contain laughter. He nodded.

  Alanna pushed the antigrav platform further away from Tony’s suspicious stare and towards the elevator. And then she tried to push it in. That was when the other problem came up. It didn’t fit. And it wasn’t even close. With even greater reluctance, she returned.

  “Sooo.” She hesitated. “Any advice?”

  “Yeah, here’s a thought. Tell us what the fuck is on that thing.”

  “Tony.” Alanna said firmly. “You are a guest. And an uninvited guest, at that. Be helpful or leave. I mean it.”

  “You’ll make dinner?”

  “Yes.” Alanna hissed.

  “And you definitely won’t tell us…”

  “No!” Alanna interrupted.

  Tony gave one of his deep, long suffering sighs. “There’s a service elevator.” He said finally. “And it’s bigger.” Ashley and Dev nodded immediately, which pissed Alanna off to no end. Clearly, they both knew about the service elevator. They were just letting Tony take the lead.

  “Fine. Great. Where is it exactly?”

  “I’ll show you.” Tony said after another long pause. He led the way.

  A few long minutes later, Alanna leaned her back against the wall of the service elevator, as much for support as for anything else. It had not been a good day. She’d still had worse. But this one was really climbing up in the rankings. She pushed the antigrav platform out of the elevator, through the garden and onwards into the apartment. James Hawk’s apartment was amazing. It was luxurious, comfortable, and stocked with every amenity. But it was not big. Alanna understood why. James was away most of the time. He didn’t need a bigger place. But at the moment, that left her with very limited places to hide an antigrav platform with the body of an unconscious but hopefully not dead giant alien on it. With a great big yellowish green blood stain on his chest. And Tony, made her promise to make dinner.

  “Hi sweetheart.” Alanna said with a tired laugh as Benji the puppy launched himself at her. On top of everything else, she was late to come home and Benji was clearly worried. After expressing his joy at seeing her, he jumped up to see past the edge of the antigrav platform. His ears flew back and he began crying softly, clearly concerned by what he saw.

  “I know buddy.” Alanna said, scratching behind his ears. “I know. But we’re going to have to think of something.” The bedroom was really her only option. There was no good reason for anyone to go into the bedroom. But there was a problem. The antigrav platform was too big to fit through the door. And there was no way Alanna could carry, or even drag, Grant’s prone body all the way to the bedroom. Plus, he had said cold followed by bedrest, which implied he did not want to be left on the floor. Taking a deep breath, Alanna put all her strength into angling the platform so that it fit through the door. It wasn’t easy, the antigrav platform had built in stabilizers. They could be overcome with enough force but that was difficult to do, and it wasn’t really a one person job.

  That was when she got very, very lucky. On the other side of the platform, Benji jumped up and added his weight, pulling in just the right direction. Finally, the antigrav mechanism recognized what she was trying to do and tipped. The platform went through the door as the heavy and unconscious body on it moved precariously but did not quite fall off. Letting the momentum carry them through, Alanna pushed the platform until it was aligned to what was, fortunately, a very large bed. Finally removing the tarp, she eased Grant onto the bed and carefully covered him with the comforter. That wasn’t a particularly good look either, especially if Tony found him. But at least the yellowish green bloodstain was no longer visible.

  “Grant?” Alanna whispered uncertainly. There was no response. She took another long moment to stare at a very large body on the bed, which was not breathing. And then, to her intense relief, Grant took a breath. There was still a slight gurgle but the sound was far softer than before. And he was still breathing. Slightly dizzy with relief, Alanna pulled Benji away and closed the bedroom door behind both of them. And then she went back downstairs to get Tony and friends. Because apparently, she had dinner to make.

  ---

  She really was very tired. Otherwise, Alanna would have foreseen what happened next. The instant Tony walked into the apartment, a deep growl rumbled through the garden as Benji the puppy launched himself at Tony. It took both her and Dev holding on to Benji with all their strength to hold him back.

  “Not to worry.” Tony said, a certain degree of tension in his voice. “I saw this coming.” He opened up the bag Alanna noticed earlier and took out an assortment of dog biscuits, placing them carefully in a pile in front of him. Finally, he took out a cheeseburger and took a demonstrative bite before placing it at the very top of the pile. “Delicious.” He said, looking at Benji. “Goddamn cold.” He added, shooting Alanna a less friendly look. “But delicious.” He added.

  Benji cocked his head thoughtfully, looking from the man to the pile of treats. Tony and Benji had a complicated history. Benji approached the bounty of dog treats with a cheeseburger on top cautiously, slinking in from the side. Tony stepped back. Benji grabbed the cheeseburger and made a run for it.

  “Oh hell.” Alanna muttered as Benji slammed against the bedroom door. Benji could open that door, handle and all. “I’ll uh… I’ll just go let him in. Be right back. Stay here!” She added to everyone.

  “That’s not suspicious at all.” Tony observed.

  “Antigrav platform’s not out.” Dev noted, watching Alanna as she very carefully shut the bedroom door behind her, leaving Benji and the cheeseburger inside.

  “Dinner.” Tony reminded her.

  “Did you seriously just try to bribe the dog?” Alanna asked, arms crossed as she leaned against the now closed bedroom door.

  “I didn’t try, Alanna. I succeeded. Since you’ve decided to bring that goddamn monster into my best friend’s apartment, you’ve left me no choice. Sometimes I think you’re intentionally trying to make my life difficult, and then I realize for you, it just comes naturally.”

  “He’s a very nice dog. He likes nearly everyone.” Alanna said defensively. Benji had an excellent reason not to like Tony Sicaro. But that was all in the past, she reminded herself. “Anyway” she added, deciding it was time to change the subject “how about frozen pizza?”

  “Hell no.” Tony said immediately. “You said you would make dinner. Operative word make. That means not frozen pizza.”

  “How does that mean not frozen pizza? I’m going to put it in the oven, and it will be made. How is that not making dinner?”

  “Look, maybe we should go.” Dev said with a slight wince. “This seems like a bad time. Clearly. I’m sorry, I just brought Sicaro along because I knew he was back and you said you wanted to put that porch swing together. He said he could help. But again, clearly, not a great time. We’ll come back…”

  “Wait.” Alanna held out her hands. “I’m sorry, I really am. There was just a lot… a lot of unexpected things happened today. But it’s fine. Really. It’s all under control. Completely, totally under control. And I promised Tony I would make dinner.” Alanna added, knowingly perfectly well Tony would never let her get away with doing anything less than what she promised. “Please, come into the kitchen. I’ll get some wine for everyone. And I’ll make the pizza. From scratch, Tony. All right? I’ll make it from scratch. Does that count as making dinner?”

  “You can’t make pizza from scratch.” Dev pointed out as he followed her into the kitchen.

  Ashley didn’t say anything, but she moved to help Alanna put out the glasses and took out the wine opener, handing it to Dev to do the honors. Alanna poured herself a glass of juice and took a big gulp, deeply regretting that it was not wine.

  “Why can’t I make pizza from scratch?” Alanna asked as she set out the ingredients on the counter.

  “Well, I suppose theoretically you could but it’s kind of late. And it will take hours for the dough to rise.” Dev pointed out.

  Alanna frowned. “Why would I need the dough to rise?” She asked.

  Dev and Ashely exchanged a look. “So that it’s, you know, Ashley honey help me out here.”

  Ashley shot Dev a not entirely friendly look. “Traditionally” she said carefully “the dough would need to rise for at least a few hours somewhere warm so that it’s well, so that it’s a proper pizza crust.”

  “This is true.” Tony nodded in agreement.

  Danil, who was the only other Sarayan in the room and had no idea why a pizza crust would need to rise, remained silent.

  “Pizza dough, does not need to rise.” Alanna said firmly. She was willing to indulge everyone on refusing frozen pizza but this was just too much. “It can be thin. In fact, it should be thin. It’s fine.”

  Ashley took a sip of her wine and remained silent.

  “You can have frozen pizza or you can have, apparently, Sarayan style pizza. Tony, it’s your call since you’re the one who objected to frozen pizza to begin with.”

  “I will try Sarayan style pizza.” Tony offered, his eyes straying back to the bedroom, where the mysterious antigrav platform with its mysterious load, had presumably disappeared.

  “Uhhh.” Dev said uncertainly.

  “I’ll put the frozen pizza in the oven while I make the Sarayan pizza.” Alanna offered.

  Dev nodded in some relief.

  “I will have Sarayan style pizza.” Danil offered, uttering his first words for the evening. While he didn’t say it out loud, Danil was also very curious to know what the hell was beneath the tarp laying on top of the antigrav platform, that looked very much like a giant dead body.

  “I know you will, Danil.” Alanna said with a sigh. “I know you will.”

  “Why are you slicing tomatoes?” Tony asked a few minutes later.

  Alanna spun the knife she was using to slice the tomatoes in several fast moving circles, listening to the sound the blade made as it sliced through the air. “Because the tomatoes go on the Sarayan style pizza.” She said firmly. “How was your mission, Tony?” She asked, changing the subject as she took another sip of her juice.

  “A hell of a lot smoother than our last mission.” Tony replied truthfully, taking a sip of his wine. “And are you really not going to tell us what you dumped in James’s bedroom just now?”

  That was when inspiration struck. “It’s classified.” Alanna said. “Highly classified.”

  Tony nodded as he mulled that one over. It had been an odd evening but the smell of pizza cooking in the oven, the soft crackle of the fire in the kitchen fireplace, and the howl of the wind outside were having their effect. At least the kitchen was warm and familiar, even if the people in it were basically strangers. James should be here, Tony thought. It would all go smoother if James were here with them. And James would damn well make Alanna tell him what was on that bloody antigrav platform.

  “How was your first week?” Ashley asked politely, turning towards Alanna.

  “It was… eventful.” Alanna responded. “Good, but eventful.”

  “I heard you were officially made the head of the Tundran planetary shields project.” Ashley said. “Is that true? It’s really impressive.”

  Automatically, Alanna looked to Tony. Their history was complicated but when it came to the important things, Alanna trusted Tony.

  “The existence of the project is not classified.” Tony said, understanding the question Alanna hesitated to ask. “We all know we have shields. It’s a dead giveaway every time a tsunami doesn’t wipe out one of our cities. The details of how the shields work, that’s classified. That and apparently, whatever you dumped in the bedroom. It’s a distinction the head of the planetary shields project should be familiar with.” He added.

  “It’s my first week.” Alanna said, kneading the dough somewhat thoughtfully. “I know I don’t deserve the title and I’m honestly not sure why Grant decided to give it to me but it just… it is what it is.”

  “I never said you didn’t deserve the title.” Tony said somewhat unexpectedly. “They could do worse. You’re a good leader. Don’t get me wrong, you have other problems. A lot of other problems. But not that.”

  “Thanks Tony.” Alanna said with a slight smile. “I think. So how long have you been back?” She asked suddenly.

  “A few days.”

  Alanna nodded, staring down at the countertop somewhat blankly. “You left after James.” She said quietly.

  “Yeah.” Tony agreed, his voice softening slightly.

  He left after James, and he’s been back for days, Alanna thought. “Do you think they’ll tell me?” She asked, her voice quieter still. “If they hear back? That is” she swallowed “when they hear back from James. Do you think they’ll tell me?”

  “I’m not sure.” Tony said with a shake of his head.

  Alanna looked up at the sound of scratching against the bedroom door. With a slight sigh, she went to let Benji back out of the bedroom. Benji ran back into the kitchen, sniffing around with excitement. He gave Dev and Ashley enthusiastic licks of greeting and shot Tony the side eye as he passed him by, but otherwise chose to ignore rather than attack. Apparently, the bribes really were working.

  “Here.” Alanna handed Tony Benji’s favorite treats. “Keep feeding him. James is your best friend and Benji will be his dog. You will both need to make friends.” She said firmly, looking down at Benji.

  A little while later, both the Sarayan style and the frozen pizza were long gone along with several bottles of wine, and everyone was in a much better mood.

  “You still want us to help put together the porch swing?” Tony offered.

  Alanna stifled a yawn. “It can wait.” She offered. “And thank you all, for coming.”

  “All right.” Tony shrugged. “James always wanted one of these things.”

  “Wait.” Alanna forced herself to sit up straighter in her chair. “Did he really?”

  “Yeah.” Tony nodded.

  “It’s not that late, is it? We can still do it.”

  “I’ll help.” Danil offered.

  “We’ll all help.” Dev nodded in agreement.

  Taking a glass of red berry juice with her into the garden, Alanna helped lay out all the pieces that would, perhaps someday, become a porch swing. It was late but the mood had turned somewhat mellow and the newly planted garden Alanna had been working so hard on made for a nice setting. Benji had returned, laying with the generous pile of dog treats in front of him and surveying the scene.

  “It’s looking good.” Tony nodded at the plants growing all around them. “James always wanted to fix the place up, but there wasn’t time. Surprised you had any energy left, after all your misadventures.” He grinned.

  “Friday was the big day for misadventures.” Alanna said with a somewhat tired smile back. “I’m not sure I could handle five full days of this.” She handed Tony the screwdriver to tighten the newly assembled frame of the swing.

  “Try it out.” Dev offered a bit later as they put the cream cushions onto the newly assembled swing and took a step back. “You do the honors.”

  “You guys put it together.” Alanna said with a laugh. “One of you go first.”

  “No, you first.” Everyone agreed.

  “You made dinner.” Tony said generously.

  Alanna sat on the swing in the newly planted garden, looking over at Benji sitting over his pile of treats and all her new friends. And Grant, who was maybe a friend, was breathing. All in all, she’d definitely had worse weeks. If only she heard back from James… she started at the sound of a buzz from her wrist comm. Automatically, Alanna looked down to read the message she received. It took her eyes a minute to focus, to make sense of the words she was seeing. The glass of red berry juice fell from her hands, spilling onto the cream cushions of the newly assembled porch swing, the red stain unheeded.

  “Call the president.” She said as her eyes met Tony’s. “I know you can reach him Tony. Do it now. His son’s life depends on it.”