Paranormals (Book 2): We Are Not Alone (51 page)

Steve kept a straight face and said nothing.

“Uh-huh. Anyway, now that the threat of the Noctoponm is past, the President has returned to bending over backward for the Taalu. He’ll be making a formal announcement soon, but even with our private circle keeping their mouths shut, there’s some concern about the Taalu getting blamed for the White Flash. You remember how Lincoln reacted even
before
Callin admitted the connection with his grandfather—”

Steve cut in. “The
possible
connection with his grandfather.”

Michael gave him a skeptical look, but allowed, “The ‘possible’ connection. The Internet was already full of ‘aliens did this to us’ conspiracy theorists. I hear that the current plan is to introduce the Taalu as having come here to save
us
from the evil Noctoponm, who wanted to take over Earth. And the Taalu will be asked to keep their mouths shut about the White Flash until further notice.”

“How’d you get all this?”

“Captain Brunn, mostly.”

They fell silent for a moment, then Steve thought to ask, “So, are you ‘Lieutenant Commander Takayasu’ now? The last time we had one of these big shindigs, you got promoted.”

Takayasu half-grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Last time we’d lost the entire regional headquarters. Besides, I think I pissed off a few too many people this time around.”

“Oh. Sorry. Are you in trouble?”

Michael waved that away. “Don’t worry about it. I’d do it all again. My next assignment is already in my Inbox; I’m supposed to figure out where the hell Asimov sneaked off to. But I’ll be waiting for Mark to get back on his feet for that. You know, just in case the robot-man makes a big stink. He’s not the most personable fellow.”

“If you need any help ... you know.”

“I know. I’m supposed to shine some ridiculous Vortex-signal into the clouds, right?”

“Or just call me on the Vortex-phone.”

As they chuckled together, a knock sounded from the door. Michael started to rise from his chair, but by then it was already opening to reveal Callin Lan. Someone had found him nondescript human clothing, and to Steve’s surprise, it really did downplay his physical differences ... or maybe he was just getting used to his Taalu friend? Steve thought it might be the latter.

Callin smiled, flashing those all-molar teeth.

Yeah, probably the latter.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake,” Callin said as he closed the door behind him. “On behalf of the Taalu people, I want to thank—”

Steve waved him down. “Hey, hey, I thought we’d agreed to cut out the thanking games. Am I right?”

Callin bowed his head. When he lifted it again, he smiled once more. “We both rock?”

Steve laughed hard enough to make his ribs complain, then nodded his approval. “I hear Della and Charl are going to be all right? That’s great news.”

“And Della will be pleased to hear that you are recovering as well.”

Steve’s heart fluttered at that, and it had nothing to do with his cybernetic eyes. He felt his cheeks warm, and so was grateful when Michael spoke up.

“Since you guys are both here, and since you bring up how much you both ‘rock,’ I suppose now’s as good a time as any.” He reached into his coat pocket and produced a pair of PCA badges. Not the temporary kind, but real metal ones, like Takayasu himself wore. Except while the standard issue badges were gold, these were split — one was gold, the other was silver.

“Shining Star has already been introduced to the public, and considering how you both went above and beyond the call of duty in stopping the Noctoponm and preventing the bounty hunter from escaping, Captain Brunn and I were able to convince Admiral Dunham and Defense Secretary McDermott that the two of you represent a positive influence on our nation’s paranormals and are indispensable resources for the PCA to reply upon. So ...” He stood from his chair and handed the gold badge to Steve and the silver badge to Callin. “Vortex and Shining Star are hereby granted the status of ‘independent consultants’ for the Paranormal Control Agency.”

Steve wasn’t sure how to feel about this, with excitement and dread warring for first place. He opened his mouth to remind Michael of his reluctance to join the PCA.

Michael raised a hand. “As I said, your official classification will be ‘
independent
consultants.’ So long as you don’t cross any lines, don’t trample any laws, and first and foremost, do
not
 make the PCA look bad, Vortex is free to continue operating as he has for the past year. Some day, when we finally get a firm handle on how to deal with the paranormals, we might have to tighten your leash. But for now, the PCA would rather have Vortex on our side.” He pointed at the badge. “Given the fabric of your uniform, I’d recommend wearing it on your belt. That’s what Mark’s been doing. Callin, you could do the same.”

Callin had been staring at the silver badge in his hand the entire time. Now he looked up and said, “I would be honored to carry your badge.” To Steve he said, “If your offer of learning to be a ‘superhero’ still stands ...?”

“Absolutely!” To Michael, he said, “I can’t believe you were able to pull this off.”

“It helped to remind the Admiral and company of the Grand Lord’s position regarding the PCA and Vortex. Plus, they were all treated to a satellite view of our last big fight, and a ton of eye-witnesses at the pit saw you stop that ship from leaving. The way the gossip’s rolling, everyone’s convinced we’re an invincible team. The higher-ups aren’t in a hurry to rock that boat.” To Callin, he said, “Grand Lord, I hope you like the silver. It seemed appropriate.”

Callin eyed the silver badge. “Yes, thank you.”

“Great. Okay, gentlemen, I’ll take my leave of you, then. Steve, I’m glad I was here when you woke up. I’ll give Alan and Ardette a call, let them know.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m off to check on Mark and Lincoln and take a real nap, and, uh ... then I’ll be visiting Christine White at the pit.”

Steve blinked. “Wow. Didn’t think I’d hear you ever say
that
without a grimace on your face.”

Michael shrugged. “I’m trying to take into consideration that she’s just an ordinary, weak human being who gave in to temptation and made a terrible, terrible mistake, which she seems to sincerely regret.  I can’t imagine I’ll ever truly forgive what she did, but ... I suppose she could use a friend.  And maybe I can stop being so damned hard on myself about the whole thing.” He shrugged again. “I don’t know. Maybe ...”

Once Michael was gone, Callin sat in the vacant chair. “I’m very glad to see you’re recovering, Steve.”

“The feeling’s mutual. Your neck looks a lot better.”

“It feels better, thanks to your friend, Jeremy Walker. If it weren’t for him, I might have died in Cheyenne, and all of this would’ve ended very differently.”

Steve nodded, pausing for a moment before saying, “Callin ... a lot has happened in a short time, and I’m pleased that we’ll be working together. But I do still have a lot of questions — about your journey to Earth, the Verauns, the Cargaun ...”

Callin nodded. “I understand. We have an idiom: ‘First goes first.’ The best analogy would be your saying, ‘Begin at the beginning.’ The problem is, the ‘beginning’ started before I was born, before my father
was born.” He stared off into space for a moment, his silver eyes heavy and contemplative, and more than a little sad. “When we have time, once things have settled, I’ll tell you the whole story as I know it. I promise.”

“I get the feeling something is bothering you, and it’s not the headache of getting things settled.”

“Yes,” Callin admitted. “I’ve been considering some of the things the bounty hunter told us. The Cargaun, offering an entire
planet
as a bounty on our heads ... I can’t believe the Verauns would honor such an obsessive surfeit, but ...”

“But what if they would?”

“Yes. And the hunter was right about something else: Stranding the Cargaun is not the same thing as killing him. He
might
still be alive out there, somewhere. The odds are impossibly long, but ...” He shook his head, Taalu-style. “I don’t want to see the people of Earth hurt because of
my
people’s tribulations. That possibility ... troubles me.”

“Look at it this way, Callin,” Steve told him. “If the Shining Star is teaming up with Vortex, that means you’ll be helping us with our own ‘Noctoponms’ — the Class One rogues who have plagued
my
people for six years and counting. You’re going to be sticking your neck out for us, just like you did this time — let’s face it, the second I spotted that UV beacon, your people could’ve gotten the hell out of here, leaving us on our own.
Maybe
the bounty hunter and the Noctoponm would have just kept following you without hurting us, but maybe they
wouldn’t
have — the bounty hunter mentioned their love of ‘diversions’ to keep themselves entertained. Am I right?”

Callin hesitated, then admitted, “That is true.”

“All right, then. You will be helping us — dealing with rogues, sharing your technology, teaching us things about the universe ... and if other bounty hunters, or the Verauns, or the Cargaun himself show up,
we
will help
you
. It’s as simple as that. Problem solved.”

Callin considered this, and a smile crept across his narrow face.

Steve smiled back. “Besides, what’s to worry about? You heard Michael, right?”

Callin cocked an eyebrow in confusion, a very human expression.

Steve snapped his fingers. “We’re the invincible team.”

And Vortex of Earth and the Shining Star of Taal-ceky laughed together.

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

C
HRISTOPHER
A
NDREWS
lives in California with his wife, Yvonne Isaak-Andrews, their beautiful daughter, Arianna, and their Pug, PJ. In addition to his duties as stay-at-home Dad, he is working on his next novels, and continues to work as an actor and screenwriter.

Excerpts from all of Christopher’s novels can be found at
www.ChristopherAndrews.com
.

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Table of Contents

Dedication