Page 42 of My Tiny Giant
“I’m Professor’s Voltuds’s Research Assistant—”
“How lovely.” Emma cooed. “Has anyone ever told you, you have the most amazing eyes? Back on Earth, we call this color ‘taupe,’ the color of dirt.”
“Thanks.” The assistant’s voice was rather flat. “Listen... You shouldn’t be here.”
“I know, I know. I feel so lost.” She clicked the purse open. Bright light rushed in, nearly blinding Agan for a moment. “You see I’ve been looking for a bathroom.” She wrapped her arm around the Voranian’s waist, leaning into him as if about to share something confidential. “The professor’s AI proved to be extremely unhelpful with that, by the way. I strongly suggest you update its software. There appears to be a huge gap in its knowledge on human female biology, which would hinder the professor greatly if he were to take a human wife...”
She pressed the open purse to the male’s back, and Agan promptly climbed out and to the side. Grabbing onto the richly embroidered pocket of the assistant’s navy dress coat, he held tight as the Voranian moved away from Emma.
“The AI will take you back to the main hall now, madam.” He gestured at the drone hovering in the air further down the corridor.
“But where are you going?” she called after him. “Aren’t you joining the party?”
“Yes. In a minute.” The male waved her off.
“Please, don’t be long.” Emma murmured flirtatiously, wiggling her fingers at him. “I’ll be missing you there.” She shot a quick glance at Agan, as if meaning the last two sentences for him, not for the assistant.
“A human wife?” the professor’s assistant muttered under his breath, his hooves stomping down the wide hallway decorated with ornate rugs and bright flower garlands. “Why would any man want to have such a nuisance in their house?” He shook his head, folding his hands behind his back. Agan had to swing out of the way of his arm to avoid the gesture.
“What happened over there? I heard voices.” Another male stood by the glass door that appeared to lead out to an outdoor patio. The dark, starry sky was visible through the glass. Agan shifted along the pocket edge, getting out of the Voranian’s sight.
“Just a female guest, Professor. She got lost in search of a bathroom.”
Professor?
This must be Professor Voltuds, then. Well, Emma had saved him a lot of time and effort by taking him right to their target.
As the assistant stepped closer to the wall by the door, Agan quickly leaped from his coat onto a wall-climbing vine.
“Make sure I have absolute privacy for the next fifteen minutes,” the professor ordered, opening the door.
Quickly climbing down to the Voranian’s knee level, Agan jumped from the vine onto the floor behind the door.
The frigid outside air rushed into his lungs with his next breath. This was an open patio without the usual glass dome over it. Instead of grass, the floor had been laid with mosaic tiles, dusted with a thin layer of snow that Agan had only ever seen through the glass before. He stepped on it carefully, trying not to slip.
The professor stomped out onto the patio confidently, his hooves pressing down the snow with a slight crunch. The glass door slid closed behind him. The light from the corridor cast a skewed rectangle onto the patio floor, illuminating some of the outdoor space. Agan pressed his back to the wall, keeping to the shadows.
“I have fifteen minutes, make it quick,” the professor barked out toward a lone figure standing by the glass railing at the edge.
Agan hadn’t noticed this person earlier. Draped in a dark, heavy cloak, the figure appeared nothing but a shadow to his eyes used to the brightly lit corridor.
“The sooner you answer my questions, the sooner I’ll leave,” a familiar voice sounded from under the hood of the cloak.
The man standing by the railing shoved his hood back, revealing his face. As Agan’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he couldn’t believe he was staring at the leader of the Ravil Army, General Trulgadi.
Shocked, he nearly forgot to start recording their conversation.
“It’s been extremely difficult to meet you, Professor,” the general said, and Agan hurriedly clicked the device on. “You left Tragul too quickly. I ended up chasing you all the way to Neron. And even then, I had to petition the Voranian government for an invitation to tonight’s event. If I didn’t know you needed Ravils’ money and silence, I would think you’re avoiding me.”
So, the general hadn’t left Tragul simply to accompany him. Agan had been feeling guilty about becoming a hassle for the leader of the Ravil Party. Now, it appeared he’d created a convenient excuse for the general to visit Neron and his shady partner in crime.
The Voranian huffed a breath, folding his hands over his chest.
“General, as I’ve explained at the very beginning of our, um...partnership, we need to be extremely careful about being seen together. If anyone in Voran finds out about my research, the consequences won’t be pretty for either of us. You know I’ve lost my lab and my funding in this country.”
“Yes.” The general leaned back against the railing. The wind caught the ends of his homespun, dark-brown cloak, flipping them in the cold night air. “I believe it happened because your research methods were found unethical, and now I can see how that would’ve happened. After what you did to one of my people—”
“That was the result of a successfully conducted experiment, General,” the professor interrupted him, stomping his hoof. “I did exactly what you’ve hired me to do.”