Page 49 of Alien in the Depths
“Ahem,” came a voice.
Sofia turned around and realized the cop who had accompanied her away from the reporters was still lingering there. “I’ll need to ask you both a few questions.”
“And we’ll need to keep cuddling while you ask them,” Sofia quipped before Zaraq could answer.
She saw the Rikuan cop stifle a smile as he cleared his throat again. “Fine. Now you.” He pointed at Zaraq. “Start from the beginning.”
As Zaraq took a deep breath and began to recount the story, Sofia took a moment to breathe. She could hardly believe what had happened over the last few days and she finally felt how tired she was. The warm morning sun was creeping over her, and the comforting warmth of it made her want to curl up in bed with Zaraq and sleep for days and days.
“And that’s when you fled Rikuus?” the cop asked, typing something in his comm as he spoke.”
“Right,” Zaraq answered, before continuing his tale.
Sofia sat beside him on the edge of the medic-pod, letting her mind wander again. The fatigue had her in a state of calm, even while all around her was chaos. Police and what she assumed were forensics officers were filing past the tall tree that rose from Vexis’s front yard, and through the two black doors just barely visible from the street. Reporters, cam-operators, and affluentneighbors had formed a crowd. Many of them, Sofia noted, were still in their pajamas, gossiping among themselves.
Vaguely, she wondered how many were criminals themselves and if any of them were tied up in Vexis’s schemes. Or even Slikrim’s.
Her thoughts reeled back in when she heard her name being called.
“And that’s when you came in, Ms. Flores?”
“Yes, but what about Slikrim?” she asked suddenly.
“I just need to hear your story for now.” The officer looked at her expectantly, his fingers hovering above the wrist comm as he waited for her to continue the plot where Zaraq had left off.
But Sofia frowned and shook her head. “Look, Slikrim is really behind all this, Vexis was just second-in-command. Aren’t you doing anything to get the guy at the top?”
The officer faltered, his dark eyes flickering slightly as if he didn’t have the answer to that. Sofia took the opportunity to keep talking.
“Look, he owns the biggest casino in Rikuus. Doesn’t he? He has the money and the connections to flee the second he hears about what’s going down here.” She gestured to Vexis’s house, her gaze firm.
“She’s right,” Zaraq chimed in, taking her hand and giving it a supportive squeeze. “If you don’t already have someone picking him up, I suggest you do it now.”
The cop glanced between them again, the fingers that hovered over his comm twitching ever so slightly. Finally, he nodded, pressing a button on the device.
“I need all available units covering the Constellation Casino. You’re looking to apprehend Slikrim Kachor. Consider him armed and dangerous.”
Affirmative chatter came back over the comm, and the officer gave them another nod.
“You can go for now,” he told them, suddenly distracted. “We’ll follow up for an official interview in the next day or two.”
With that, he left them and Sofia breathed a sigh of relief, folding herself into Zaraq.
“This might actually be over,” she told him, letting her hand rest gently against his chest.
The comfort of his arm around her almost put her to sleep, and the moment the paramedics cleared them both to leave, they did.
“Arccoo!” Sofia cried as a police escort took her and Zaraq to a black pod that was parked across the street. The prince wasleaning against it, and when he heard his name he looked up, shooting them a relieved smile.
“I wondered where you’d gone,” he told them, embracing Sofia and giving Zaraq a shortened version of the greeting of solidarity. “The second the police realized I was a prince, they whisked me away from all this.”
He waved a hand at the crowds and when Sofia looked, she realized a swarm of cops had created something of a buffer between Arccoo and the general public.
“I guess they figure an intergalactic faux pas would be bad for the press.” Sofia winked. “Now let’s go home, please.”
Arccoo nodded. “Oh, definitely. Carmen’s going to kill me if we don’t get back soon. Get in the back, both of you. I can play royal poddy.”
Sofia shot him a grateful smile before sliding in the back. When Zaraq slid in next to her, she nestled up in his arms. It felt like only a second later the pod was rolling to a halt.