A Small Degree of Hope. Lyndi Alexander

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СКАЧАТЬ girl,” he said, genuine fondness on his face.

      They seemed to expect her to say something, so she channeled her inner Sanderson. “Thanks, guys. Just glad we got him. Let’s move on.” She turned to Jaco. “Can I interrogate him? Dr. Astrid and I—”

      An uncomfortable silence fell. She glanced at the men, finding a mix of loathing and fascination in their eyes. What now? Had they killed him on the way in? “Well?”

      “The situation’s changed, Sanderson. We’ve got it locked up, and we’re waiting for a doctor to come perform a full examination.”

      Qilamen snickered. “Yeah, a vet.”

      The floor shifted under her. “What do you mean, ‘it’?”

      “I’ll show you.” Jaco’s grin was too broad. He knew something. Something she wouldn’t like.

      They walked down to the holding facility. She shoved her hands in her pockets, to keep them from “accidentally” reaching out to connect with Jaco’s smug face. She hadn’t entirely discounted the possibility that Griff had truly come to ask for her help, as he claimed. Back at her apartment, she’d been too freaked out by his sudden appearance to listen.

      But he’d had the opportunity to come forward and provide the information SIRT needed and he’d refused. Instead he wanted to play Mr. Creepy Guy and stalk her. Okay then, this is what he got.

      In the observation room in the holding facility, a group of guards, easily twice the usual number, and several SIRT team members stared at the computer monitors. “What’s going on?” Kylie asked.

      “They’re all checking out your boyfriend.” Jaco chuckled and gestured for her to look.

      The crowd parted as she came through. Focused on Griff’s cell, the camera showed a two-meter tall reptilian on the narrow bed, its skin mostly gray, particularly through the thick chest and neck, but toward the extremities it took on a beaded appearance similar to the lizard-like skin they’d seen on the women. His was a dark desert red and black, just like the flicker she’d seen at her apartment. The face was a strong one, but decidedly that of a lizard. Griff wasn’t human at all.

      She hesitantly approached the screens, almost as if she could change the truth if she didn’t look. But the closer she came, reality sharpened until it stabbed at her. “He’s still out?”

      She’d tagged him a couple of times, for sure, but those zaps would have only lasted long enough to get to the Cendiary. Half an hour later, he remained unconscious.

      One of the men in the gray security uniforms nodded at the screen. “When he woke up in the wagon, he resisted arrest. The boys had to subdue him.”

      Despite the oddity of the alien’s large, strong form, her gut and danger meter didn’t register a threat. His explanation, his pleas confused her. She didn’t like the uncertainty. When he woke up, she’d find out the truth.

      Jaco drew her away from the crowd. “What was so important he had to tell you right away?”

      “He sounded desperate, Jaco. According to Griff, some lizard named X plans to include our women in his breeding program.”

      Jaco snorted. “X. That’s good. Mystery man. Alter ego. Someone without a name. Very spooky.”

      She shrugged. “And he said women were in danger right now in a warehouse. He offered to take me there.”

      “No kidding?” Jaco opened the door to the stairwell and held it for her before he took the steps down. They headed toward the detention facility.

      “No kidding.” In hindsight, she began to second-guess herself. Maybe Griff had been serious. Maybe he’d have taken her there and she could have done something to release these trapped women and take down their abductor. Maybe by tagging him, she’d ruined any chance of helping this man.

      This reptile.

      Who had concealed his true nature and sneaked around and probably lied about half of what he’d said. He had something to hide.

      She steeled herself as they came out onto the detention floor, its stark gray walls unadorned with even the framed awards and morale boosters the facility displayed on the floors above. The most dangerous criminals came here. The rule was to give them nothing that might become a weapon. “Has anyone interrogated him yet?”

      “Nope. He’s been comatose.” Jaco smirked. “Resisting arrest, like.”

      “Uh-huh.” Her brethren weren’t always entirely professional. It might be hours before Griff woke. Their footsteps echoed against the empty corridor like the ragged heartbeat of a man without hope. “What do you want me to do?”

      “I’d say, wait here until he wakes up.” Completely deadpan, he said, “Then we find out if he wants to eat you or not.”

      Maybe she’d ticked him off more than she’d thought by losing the perp in the first place. Better play along. “Right.”

      At the door to the detention section, he paused, his expression softening. “Kylie, he’s obviously forged some attachment with you. I thought we could use that, you know. To wrap this thing up. But I’m the first to admit we’re not sure what we’re dealing with here. I’d understand if you weren’t up to it.”

      He offered her the job, and the door out. She took a deep breath, let the air out slowly. “You’re right, we have some connection. I’ll give it a shot, Jaco. Let’s see what we can get.”

      He patted her shoulder again. “We’ll be watching.”

      Both a comforting thought and a sort of warning, wasn’t it? Great. She straightened her shoulders and went inside.

      The maximum detention center held five cells, each four solid walls with a metal sliding door, all set behind a glassed-in wall. She and Jaco walked down to stand behind the long, narrow plaz desk where two mismatched security guards sat watching the inmates on a row of monitors. Griff was the only prisoner shown on the screens.

      “Sleeping like a baby,” the taller of the two guards said, with a nod to Jaco. He switched his monitor to a close-up of Griff’s face. The odd-shaped head, broad snout, lack of ears or hair on mottled red/gray skin repulsed and fascinated her at the same time.

      “Never seen anything like it. Jaco, do we have info on similar species? Are they registered in the planetary database?”

      “Got Peterson working on it. Haven’t come up with much yet.” Hands on hips, he waited, fidgeting, as if he expected a special holiday gift to arrive.

      Wondering what tack to take with the lizard man, she stared into the screen. His eyes suddenly opened. Her breath caught and she pulled back as if he’d been right in front of her.

      Jaco chuckled. “Ooo. A ‘gotcha’ what gotcha. Sweet.”

      She gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs, gratified at his grunt of pain. Then she focused on Griff, still staring at the camera, hand-shaped paws at his side. His scaly chest expanded and contracted with his breath, muscles across his midsection as tight as any man’s six-pack. No obvious genitalia, but perhaps that was handled in the reptilian way, hidden inside until needed. His legs, shaped like СКАЧАТЬ