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Lewis let out a breath, trying to figure out how to best throw her off her line of questioning. If she dared, she could find the information on Lewis on her own. His name was on every blacklist. Lewis guessed that she hadn’t had a chance to look—or that she did know, but wanted him to divulge the secrets on his own.

  “No,” he finally answered. “Melanie wasn’t my partner. Well, she was, but it was different.”

  “Like you two were romantic?” Bailey asked coyly, batting her eyelashes.

  Lewis shook his head. “No…I mean, yes. But more different than that. I was training her.”

  “And then she messed with you? How?”

  Lewis pointed to a set of buildings in the distance, grateful for the timing. “Hey, those are the headquarters we’re looking for.”

  “I see it,” Bailey stated, slowing the ship. “How did she mess with you? What happened?”

  “Nothing,” Lewis quipped.

  Even if Bailey had read the reports, she wouldn’t know. Only Lewis knew that.

  Bailey pursed her lips and looked at him. “You know, you can pretend that you quit because you wanted to, but detective work is your passion. One doesn’t run away from their passion unless they have a good reason.”

  Lewis turned to face her directly. The best way to escape the truth was to offer a different one. He didn’t have to lie, he only had to create a smoke screen around the information he was hiding. She would fill in the details.

  “Look, when I finished school, I quit my internship, which was promising to lead to a lucrative position. I went to a bakery that I often frequented. It was owned by a sweet couple who always had flour on their faces and messy hair. I begged them for a job. They sympathized, and gave me the early shift making the daily pastries and serving espressos. I did it all at that small shop. Made pastries, cut the bread, served the customers. Do you know why I did that when I had been trained as a management consultant?”

  Bailey shrugged, landing the ship while listening intently.

  “Because I needed a change. I thought that running a bakery would be romantic and inspirational,” Lewis stated, the smell of fresh baked sourdough bread hitting his olfactory senses as he recalled the long-ago memory.

  “And was it? Did it inspire you?” Bailey asked.

  Lewis laughed suddenly. “Hell no. It was back-breaking work. But it took me out of the boredom of project management, which was stealing my soul.”

  She nodded slowly, her eyes off in the distance, like she was relating with a memory of her own.

  Lewis knew he didn’t have to say anymore. Bailey would be thinking that he had done the same with the ranch job. This was how the human mind worked. The way he saw it, he didn’t have to lie if someone invited him to do something he didn’t want to do; instead, he could say, ‘I have a meeting’. The meeting could be at a completely different time, it didn’t matter. Semantics were a waste of time for Lewis.

  “So, here’s a thought,” Bailey began. “If you spent time working in a bakery, why can’t you cook worth shit, forcing us to rely on DJ to keep us fed?”

  Lewis laughed. “Well, cooking and baking are very different. Cooking is an artform, whereas baking is chemistry. I didn’t finish my story; the nice couple fired me after two months because my scones were always too tough and my brioche too dry.”

  “How come you can say ‘brioche’ but you can’t say DJ’s name?” Bailey asked.

  Lewis was about to answer when he felt something tickle the back of his ankles. He pulled up his feet and looked down.

  Under the console, he spotted two beady eyes.

  “What is it?” Bailey asked, having noticed his sudden movements.

  He reached down and picked up the small ferret, holding Sebastian in the air. “Looks like we have a stowaway.”

  Chapter Eight

  Government Center, Planet Tueti, Cacama System

  “You’re insane,” Bailey spat, looking at the rodent-thing that Lewis was dangling in front of her face.

  “Yes, obviously, but back to the matter at hand.” He laughed, holding Sebastian up higher. “Literally, the matter at hand.”

  Pip laughed overhead. “He’s a master of puns.”

  Bailey, unimpressed, shook her head. “Don’t encourage him.”

  “Come on, Bay,” Lewis coaxed. “It’s a good idea.”

  A cold shiver ran down her back, and she froze, realizing she was now giving him a punishing look.

  She couldn’t help it. That nickname…that’s what her family called her. Only them.

  “Call me ‘Bailey’ or ‘Lee’ or ‘Lieutenant’. Don’t ever call me ‘Bay’.”

  Lewis paused, a question written on his face before he nodded. “Okay. I still think we should take the ferret with us.”

  “You’ve provided zero valid reasons for this,” Bailey stated.

  “He helps Liesel,” Lewis reasoned. “Maybe he can help us collect intel.”

  “We aren’t Liesel, and neither of us speak Ferret, or whatever she does to communicate with that thing.” She regarded the squirming, long, rat-like animal with hesitation as it fought in Lewis’s hand.

  “Yes, but Sebastian is obviously intelligent,” Lewis noted, cuddling the creature to his chest. “We know that much. He might come in handy. We don’t know what we’ll find, we only know that the Tuetians are a bit hostile.”

  Bailey shook her head, rising out of her seat. “Cool. You bring a ferret to deal with the hostile natives. Meanwhile, I’ll bring a few guns.”

  “We need them to talk to us. How are they going to do that if they feel threatened?” Lewis questioned, putting the ferret in the inside pocket of his wool jacket.

  The lieutenant paused, as if an idea was occurring to her. “Good point. I’ll leave the rifle, and bring concealed weapons.”

  Lewis sighed. “Fine. You use your guns; I prefer stealth.”

  Bailey turned, looking at him incredulously. “ ‘Stealth’? You’ve got a ferret in your pocket.”

  “He’s a secret agent ferret.”

  Finally she laughed. She didn’t fully trust Lewis yet—mostly because she knew he was hiding something—but there was something inherently likable about the guy.

  She picked up the cloaking belts and handed one to Lewis before strapping her own around her waist. Peering out the bow windows, she squinted. “Finding a way into this government area will be tough.”

  The large area was gated off by a tall, electric fence, and inside the perimeter were several buildings. Strolling the grounds were several insectile Tuetians.

  “There has to be a way in there,” Lewis stated, putting on his belt.

  Bailey shot him an annoyed glance. “Obviously, detective.”

  He activated the belt and disappeared. “I’m only saying they get in there somehow. You don’t have to be mean about it.”

  She offered the cloaked figure one last smile before disappearing herself. “You know I get feisty before a mission.”

  “I do,” he agreed. “It’s kind of fun.”

  Bailey opened the hatch for the ship, and bright sunlight spilled into the space. “Hold onto your ferret. We’re entering alien territory.”

  “How can there be no gates into the headquarters?” Bailey asked after they had walked the perimeter three times.

  The grounds were too small, otherwise they would have considered landing the Q-Ship inside the space and not dealing with the fence at all.

  “Maybe the gates are hidden,” Lewis pondered.

  “Well, let’s wait until someone tries to enter. Then we will know.”

  They parked by the landing field, where several dozen dragonfly ships were lined up in rows. Hopefully soon one would land, and the occupant would enter the facility, showing them the trickery.

  “Seems like you two could use some entertainment while you wait,” Pip said over the comms.

  “I actually like the silence,” Bailey teased, her form invisible beside Lewis.

  “How many blondes does
it take to change a light bulb?” Pip asked.

  “Hey…” Bailey said, a warning tone in her tone.

  “Only one, but she’ll break ten bulbs before figuring out that they can’t be shoved in,” the AI said with a laugh.

  “I’m a blonde, Pip,” Bailey whispered.

  “Noted, you want more blonde jokes,” he replied. “I’ll take care of it, but right now, I’m on a light bulb kick.”

  “Awesome,” Bailey said flatly. “We have a ferret, an AI who wants to be a stand-up comedian and no way to get into this facility.”

  “Stand-up! I wish!” Pip crowed.

  Lewis couldn’t help but laugh at the eccentric AI. “All right, give us another light bulb joke.”

  Pip made a sound like he was clearing his throat. “Okay, how many stock brokers does it take to change a light bulb?”

  “Oh, be careful,” Lewis said, tensing. “My dad was a stock broker.”

  “Two!” Pip exclaimed. “One to take out the bulb and drop it, and the other to try and sell it before it crashes.”

  Lewis shook his head. “I totally take offense to that joke. My father was an honest man.”

  “And just like that, I’ve offended the entire audience.” Pip sounded dejected. “I’ve got to work on my material.”

  “Did you say that your dad ‘was’ a stock broker?” Bailey asked. “Like he changed professions?”

  Lewis shook his head again, but, realizing that Bailey couldn’t see him, he said, “No, it’s only that—”

  He was cut off by the arrival of a speeding ship, lowering to the ground, and it was the second time in recent memory that Lewis was grateful for a timely interruption. He didn’t like to talk about his dad. There were no secrets there, but it might lead back to why he’d quit his detective work…well, had been pushed out of it.

  “A ship,” Bailey whispered.

  “Okay, let’s see how this witchcraft works.” Lewis looked to the fence, which was seamless.

  A Tuetian exited the ship, pulled off its helmet, and placed it back in the cockpit before moving away from the craft. The alien walked fluidly, thanks to the several joints in its legs. At its back, the insect’s wings beat rhythmically. The blue, green, and gold creature was making strange chirping noises as it stared absentmindedly at a pad in its gloved hands.

  When the Tuetian was close to the fence, its wings beat rhythmically and carried it off the ground, allowing it to fly up and over the fence, landing on the other side.

  Lewis looked in Bailey’s direction, not seeing her. “Well, we should have figured that one out way before now.”

  “Dammit,” Bailey spat. “How are we going to get in there? I can’t fly.”

  “I can’t either.”

  “Oh no, really? How about your magic ferret? I thought he would come in handy for something. Can he fly?” Bailey teased.

  Lewis ran his hand over his cheeks, thinking. They needed to get into that facility if they were going to find answers. But based on what he knew, these Tuetians were protective, and took security seriously.

  He lowered his hands, an idea dawning on him. “Hey, Lieutenant.”

  “Hey, Harlowe.”

  “Don’t be mad at me for doing this.”

  “Doing what?” she asked nervously.

  Lewis deactivated his cloaking belt.

  “What are you doing?” Bailey hissed.

  “You can go back to the ship if you want to,” he told her, just as alarms went off all over the grounds. As he had expected, this area was being monitored, and he’d been spotted immediately.

  “Are you crazy?” she asked, as soldiers holding guns strode out of the building, many of them taking off and flying up to clear the fence that stood between them and the intruder.

  “We can’t get in there as is.”

  “So you’re going to get yourself caught?” she whisper-yelled.

  “Well, we need information. I figure the best way to get it is to ask,” Lewis stated.

  Bailey was shaking her head when she materialized. “Says the freaking detective.”

  Chapter Nine

  Government Center, Planet Tueti, Cacama System

  Vitos Rigar had returned from his patrol of the asteroid belt, when two figures materialized out of nowhere beside the border fence. They were strange aliens with pale, smooth skin, small eyes and no wings, and they were both quite hairy on their heads.

  Are these humans? Vitos wondered to himself. He’d heard about these aliens, especially lately, with all the activity on the asteroid belt. But during all his patrols, he’d never seen a human, or any other activity of significance. There was the regular mining shuttle, and the black mass that now moved around their planet, but the Tuetians didn’t think those were anything to be concerned about. His patrol job existed only to ensure that the humans stayed away from Tueti, and it appeared he’d failed at that.

  Vitos had hesitated to alert the general upon seeing the trespassers suddenly materialize; he had to be sure of what he’d seen. He flew to the other side of the border, and saw them out of the corner of his eyes, but it wasn’t good enough. He took a step forward, curious and interested in the aliens, but the security guards raised the alarm, rushing by him and interrupting his moment to study them.

  “Apprehend them,” General Fisk commanded, striding for the fence as his guards flanked him.

  He withdrew the contrivance emblazed with his crest. It controlled everything in the Lagoon. General Fisk ran his thumb over the roller ball on the device, a thin object that also featured two buttons. The border fence made a loud buzzing sound as the electricity was turned off, and then it creaked before parting at a joint and folding back in on itself several times.

  There, in the clear open space, stood the humans, blinking back at the general. Vitos didn’t understand why they weren’t running. The female’s hand hovered by her hip, her eyes sharp and searching. The male, however, didn’t appear as tense.

  Vitos followed behind the guards, curious as to who these humans were. They didn’t fit the description for the hostile ones who had recently made contact with the general.

  Bailey lifted her hands into the air as the fence, which had appeared seamless, parted in front of her and Lewis, folding back in on itself. Guards holding bulky guns flew over the fence and landed on either side of them, while four more Tuetians strode through the new opening.

  “You do remember that these aliens shot at us before?” she asked Lewis.

  He had his hands up, too. “Yes, and I’m intent on figuring out why they saw us as a threat.”

  “By turning ourselves in?”

  “Trust me on this, Lieutenant.”

  Those were sore words, considering she knew he was hiding some deep, dark secret.

  The guards moved in closer, crowding them into a circle, and Bailey noticed how strangely beautiful the Tuetians were. Their armor was sleek, their body resembled the thorax of a dragonfly, and their three-jointed feet made them appear ready to take flight at any moment. Each was covered in bright, iridescent colors: blues, greens, reds, yellows and oranges.

  “Search them for weapons!” the Tuetian in front of the group approaching on foot yelled.

  Suddenly surrounded by flapping wings, Bailey backed up until she was back-to-back with Lewis. She felt something brush up against her leg, and dared to look down.

  Sebastian was poking his head out of Lewis’s pocket, then spilling over the top of it to disappear through the shuffle of feet.

  Dammit, we’d better get that ferret back, or Liesel will be devastated.

  When a gun was suddenly pointed straight at her head, Bailey forgot her concern for the ferret; she’d worry about him later. Lifting her hands higher, she allowed a towering Tuetian to pat her down. He found the guns on her hip, waistband and leg.

  “Put those guns someplace safe,” Bailey said to the alien. “I’m rather fond of them.”

  The Tuetian pretended he didn’t hear her as he turned and strode away with
her weapons. Maybe he didn’t have the same translator chip as she did, as well as everyone in the Federation.

  “Well, that went well,” Lewis joked, as two guards grabbed him by either arm and tugged him toward the large building in the center of the fenced area.

  Two more guards grabbed Bailey, pushing her forward beside Lewis. She knew she could have kept her cloak active, but she couldn’t allow him to be captured alone. She had to admit that, although turning themselves in was a huge risk, the plan was valid.

  As they neared, she noticed a moat flowing around the structure, and observed some other buildings nestled at the back. The stone structures themselves were remarkably plain, though rectangular windows stretched from the ground to the roof in long, thin stripes, almost resembling the abdomen of a bee.

  “I have a blonde joke for you,” Pip said over the comms.

  Bailey’s eyes widened. She’d forgotten that Pip was there.

  “Not right now,” she said in a hush.

  “Oh, what, are you busy getting abducted?” Pip asked, a laugh in his tone. “You’ll find imprisonment to be quite boring. Then you’ll be begging for some jokes.”

  Not wanting to bring any attention to the fact that she was wearing a comm, Bailey didn’t say anything. The guards, who apparently didn’t understand personal space, were crowding her on either side, pushing her into the strange building.

  The humidity doubled when she entered the space. The sound of trickling water could be heard like music throughout the large, brightly lit atrium, and she felt like they were outside, by a body of water, though the stone floor under her feet told her otherwise.

  She noticed that Lewis was also busy taking in every single detail as they were led through the large area to a set of rooms. With a bit more force than Bailey thought was necessary, the guards shoved them into a small room with a table and a couple of chairs, nothing more. She thought it strange that, even in a distant galaxy, an interrogation room looked like an interrogation room.

  Lewis eagerly rubbed his hands together when the guards shut the door. “Now we’re in business.”