soft, a faint wind on a warm day. “But I would hardly diminish my life on Parasus to being called an incident.”
“Agent CALLOWAY,” her father corrected. “Forgive her, Agent Calloway, we say things a little differently on Mesa. Surnames are treated much as middle names are on Earth. They are important on documents, but not in our conversations. We prefer things to be personal here, not formal.”
“Well,” Calloway replied, scratching his brown hair. “Then just call me Nathan. That seems informal enough. Also, I don’t mean to underplay what you went through. Just trying to remain professional. ”
Elzana smiled, her narrow face looking up to the Agent for the first time. He could see the father’s eyes in her, the same brown and black engulfing the white. A darker side of him knew why Elsmere had taken the four, knowing that the three younger sisters would eventually blossom to the creature before him.
“That’s terrific,” Zena said. “Now that we’re all comfy with each other, perhaps we could get back to that MA that’s heading this way?”
“I don’t understand,” Elzana stammered, still gawking at Calloway. “What is this MA you speak of?”
“Military Advisor,” Zena replied. “You see, the kind people on Earth seem to think they still have jurisdiction over the whole galaxy. In fact, they’re so kind that they send not one, but two investigators every time there’s a problem that goes off the world. Since they can’t seem to agree who has authority over what, they send someone from the government AND from the military, just to make sure they cover all the bases.”
Elzana looked horrified as she listened to the woman’s explanation. Her wondering eyes shifted back and forth between her two guests, uncertain which one would speak next.
“As I recall,” Nathan started. “YOU were an Agent once. You didn’t seem to mind dumping problems on the military when it suited you then, so why is it such a big deal now?”
The mocking smile faded from Zena’s face, her plump cheeks shoving her lips forward into a scowl. She took a step forward, putting herself within inches of the taller Agent Calloway.
“You know damn well why,” she spat, her blue eyes burning through his face. “You got some nerve even questioning me like that.”
Nathan paid her little attention, his larger frame pushing past her as he made for the man watching the window. Harper diverted his stare from the window, his hand preparing to reach for the pistol hidden beneath his jacket. Before Calloway could cross the room, a shiny, heavy firearm was aimed at his face. It seems legends were sometimes true.
“Speaking of nerve,” Nathan started, taking a step back from the enormous cannon pointed at him. “I remember where I’d seen this one before though it was a different name back then. The Rattler, that’s what they used to call you. How many bodies did he leave us back then, CAPTAIN?”
Zena hadn’t bothered to turn towards the question, her body still facing the empty wall before her. Her pale skin was turning pink, her heart rate soaring to an uncomfortable level. Part of her wanted to order Harper to pull the trigger.
“Plenty,” she snapped, turning towards the Agent.
“Then why choose him for company?” he asked, still staring at the gun.
“Because those bodies deserved to be bodies,” she snapped. “Not one of them were decent people, you know that. Same reason why I left you in that alley, Calloway. Don’t act like you forgot.”
He ignored the gun. He ignored the other three people in the room. At the moment, the room only consisted of himself, and a ghost from the past. It’d been seven years, best to his recollection since he’d seen her ass end tailing away from him. Seven years since she’d left him in that alley to die.
“The hell with you,” he hissed, pushing through her once more and making for the stairs. “Good luck with the MA. Hope you know how to deal with a
“Agent CALLOWAY,” her father corrected. “Forgive her, Agent Calloway, we say things a little differently on Mesa. Surnames are treated much as middle names are on Earth. They are important on documents, but not in our conversations. We prefer things to be personal here, not formal.”
“Well,” Calloway replied, scratching his brown hair. “Then just call me Nathan. That seems informal enough. Also, I don’t mean to underplay what you went through. Just trying to remain professional. ”
Elzana smiled, her narrow face looking up to the Agent for the first time. He could see the father’s eyes in her, the same brown and black engulfing the white. A darker side of him knew why Elsmere had taken the four, knowing that the three younger sisters would eventually blossom to the creature before him.
“That’s terrific,” Zena said. “Now that we’re all comfy with each other, perhaps we could get back to that MA that’s heading this way?”
“I don’t understand,” Elzana stammered, still gawking at Calloway. “What is this MA you speak of?”
“Military Advisor,” Zena replied. “You see, the kind people on Earth seem to think they still have jurisdiction over the whole galaxy. In fact, they’re so kind that they send not one, but two investigators every time there’s a problem that goes off the world. Since they can’t seem to agree who has authority over what, they send someone from the government AND from the military, just to make sure they cover all the bases.”
Elzana looked horrified as she listened to the woman’s explanation. Her wondering eyes shifted back and forth between her two guests, uncertain which one would speak next.
“As I recall,” Nathan started. “YOU were an Agent once. You didn’t seem to mind dumping problems on the military when it suited you then, so why is it such a big deal now?”
The mocking smile faded from Zena’s face, her plump cheeks shoving her lips forward into a scowl. She took a step forward, putting herself within inches of the taller Agent Calloway.
“You know damn well why,” she spat, her blue eyes burning through his face. “You got some nerve even questioning me like that.”
Nathan paid her little attention, his larger frame pushing past her as he made for the man watching the window. Harper diverted his stare from the window, his hand preparing to reach for the pistol hidden beneath his jacket. Before Calloway could cross the room, a shiny, heavy firearm was aimed at his face. It seems legends were sometimes true.
“Speaking of nerve,” Nathan started, taking a step back from the enormous cannon pointed at him. “I remember where I’d seen this one before though it was a different name back then. The Rattler, that’s what they used to call you. How many bodies did he leave us back then, CAPTAIN?”
Zena hadn’t bothered to turn towards the question, her body still facing the empty wall before her. Her pale skin was turning pink, her heart rate soaring to an uncomfortable level. Part of her wanted to order Harper to pull the trigger.
“Plenty,” she snapped, turning towards the Agent.
“Then why choose him for company?” he asked, still staring at the gun.
“Because those bodies deserved to be bodies,” she snapped. “Not one of them were decent people, you know that. Same reason why I left you in that alley, Calloway. Don’t act like you forgot.”
He ignored the gun. He ignored the other three people in the room. At the moment, the room only consisted of himself, and a ghost from the past. It’d been seven years, best to his recollection since he’d seen her ass end tailing away from him. Seven years since she’d left him in that alley to die.
“The hell with you,” he hissed, pushing through her once more and making for the stairs. “Good luck with the MA. Hope you know how to deal with a
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