11
“That is truly terrifying but there is still one more hitch in that plan. I have no idea why they chose me. My memory was wiped after the meeting just like every other applicant. That’s how the game works. Everyone gets their memory erased. Even the winner. This guarantees they can use it again when my time is over. The game goes back to square one for everyone. So I couldn’t tell you if I wanted to.”
More silence ensued. Then fierce whispering.
Jack was getting nervous. They were beginning to sound desperate.
There was another loud gunshot and Jack jumped. That shot was from within the room. The cold voice came back.
“So… there was no way to win from the start. It was a fixed game.”
“Well, you were trying to cheat and the game doesn’t allow for that.” Jack said cautiously.
“Then maybe it won’t be such a loss to reset the game.” The voice was so very cold and Jack’s mouth went dry.
“Is- is that a butterfly?”
Brilliant blue wings flapped erratically until it landed on Jack’s forehead. He looked up in confusion.
A second one landed on his shoulder followed by a third on his chest.
“What the hell- URK!” There was a thump of someone falling. Jack felt like he was going to throw up, his stomach was so tied up in knots.
Then the spot lights turned off one by one and Jack was staring at Gee standing over two bodies. The kerchief man was dead from a bullet wound to the chest. Another man lay unconscious on the ground behind a fallen chair. Gee was tying him up so Jack assumed this was the cold voiced man and he was still alive.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
Bal entered from the door behind the lights and gestured to Gee. Gee pointed to their prisoner then walked over to Jack. She pushed her hand back down into his pants and retrieved a small metal disk she’d hid between his cock and balls. A tracker. She moved on to removing the straps. Once he was free she swished the butterflies away from his head. She bleated then froze when she saw the injury.
Jack was surprised by her sudden outburst and raised his hands to feel the injury. She quickly stopped his hands and shook her head. She opened up a pocket on her belt and fastened a bandage over the spot with tape. Then she looked at his other temple, paused, and fastened a bandage on that side too. Her dark eyes were troubled and Jack was worried.
“Did they injure me when I was drugged?” he asked.
“Please do not remove the bandages until we get home to see a doctor about your… injuries,” Gee said looking into his eyes. She held his hands as she said it and he nodded.
“Butterflies?” he asked.
“A most dangerous creature. Excellent diversionary skills,” Bal said walking up to them. “The Earth Council Security Forces will be here shortly.”
Jack’s adrenalin was quickly depleting so he sank back against the chair. The butterflies returned to their perch. He didn’t have the energy to swish them away.
Two hours later he was sitting in another conference room but this time they didn’t close the door and several members of the Earth Council and their Security Force were in the room with them.
“Once more we would like to offer our sincerest apologies to you for this most egregious attack upon your person,” the Secretary of Something Something said to him in earnest.
“It’s OK. I just want someone on your Security team to follow through and track down any other participants in their little scheme. Start with Director Goodson and those Security Goons. It had to be far reaching considering the scope of their plan. Treaties between some Humans and some Sanosians at the very least. Find out and smoke them out. Okay? We’re going to be watching from our end, right?” he said looking at Gee who nodded with her eyes fixed on the security chief.
“Now, I want to go back to Altaria. I’m done here for now. I will be taking a short break, probably a few days, just to settle my nerves, then we can get back to business as usual. Sound good?” Jack said with a smile which was immediately and gratefully returned by the Earth Council members who had expected some retaliation or petty demands. That wasn’t Jack’s style.
He stood and his stomach cramped again. He felt flushed and swayed a little before he got his bearings. They looked at him. “Sorry, my nerves must be a little more frayed that I thought. I’m ok.”
Bal and Gee hustled Jack back to the sidewalk where a Security Forces armoured carrier picked them up and took them back to the Gate Terminal. They walked straight in and up to the customs and security agent. A lovely woman with raven hair and captivating emerald eyes stood behind the counter. She smiled at Jack and he felt more than a little dazzled. She was as tall as he was so he was able to look straight at her. He smiled back and realized he was a little out of practice with speaking with Human women.
“Uh, hi, I’m Jack Danner. The Altarian Trade Representative for Earth and the Altarian Ambassador. These lovely ladies are my security escort and we are going back to Altaria,” he ended with a smile of his own and felt his face getting a very warm. The agent had the most amazing eyes.
The woman’s smile grew and she bit her lower lip as she glanced at him while she tapped at her screen.
Jack caught Gee and Bal frantically gesturing at each other. Each was striking their nose filters against their palms as something seemed to be wrong with them. He turned back to the woman… the beautiful woman who had undone the top two buttons on her blouse. My, that was a lot of skin being exposed. Round, soft, waiting to be touched, kissed…
“I’m Diana,” she held out her hand and he took it in his and marveled at its softness. He raised it to his lips and Diana began to tremble. As he caressed the skin of her knuckles with his lips a flush appeared on her cheeks and ran down her neck to color that lovely expanse of skin her open blouse was exposing. She squeaked in surprise and disappointment when Gee and Bal each took one of Jack’s arms and dragged him away.
“Call me!” Diana called out to Jack as his escorts fast walked him into the terminal. Gee and Bal were desperately holding their breath as they tugged the dazed and supremely lustful man towards his gate. He pulled the two back against him and squeezed their bodies to his. They couldn’t hold their breath any longer and gasped. Then they frantically renewed their efforts to get Jack through the gate. He looked at the mirror surface and his mind came back to him for a second. There was something weird about those two bandages. Then they were through.
Gee immediately made a call then grabbed Jack and kissed him hard. Her tongue frantically danced against his and he clung to her more fiercely. Bal was clutched against his other side and was rubbing against his leg.