Sold (Alien Space Pirates 2) (SciFi Romance) Read online

  I ignore her comment and walk us to the waiting guards. They stand at ready and fully covered from head to toe in gear as I loom over them.

  “Dakhar for Chiran’x. I have his merchandise,” I say.

  They don’t respond as one of the guards silently inputs command codes into the console. A laser scanner then quickly sweeps across me to confirm my identity. The female jumps with a start, but remains quiet as the beaming light scans her.

  Once the scan is complete, the guards step to the side and the fortified doors open.

  “Come,” I say lowly, urging her to move forward. She complies, but I can see how unsure she is of everything. She eyes the faceless and silent guards critically as she walks past them and they return her gaze. It’s likely they’ve never seen a human before and they’re probably just as fascinated with her as she is in everything that she’s seen.

  “They’re creepy,” she mumbles under breath once we cross the compound’s entrance and steps into the building. I don’t say anything. I don’t know this “creepy” word exactly, but I know several others would probably agree with her. I’ve seen those “men” a few times in my line of work. They’re hired out to do just about anything you would need – soldiers, mercenaries, assassins, guards...

  No one has ever seen their face, no one has ever heard them so much as speak. Some say they come from an elite order of killers where their identity is stripped of them, including their ability to talk and have physical identifiers. Just unrecognizable killers.

  Honestly, this doesn’t bother me. I prefer a quiet and faceless enemy over the talkative kind anyway. It makes killing them less annoying.

  “So what’s next, Big Blue?” she asks, taking a deep breath in.

  I ignore the apparent moniker she’s given me and reply, “I take you to my contact.”

  She nods silently. “This Chex mix guy?”

  I cock an eyebrow down at her. “Chiran’x, ” I reply.

  She waves her hand, clearly not interested in the correct pronunciation.

  “Yeah, whatever. He’s your buyer, right? You’re going to sell me to him and then you’re going to get your precious money and be done with me?”

  “He is my contact and who I will do the trade with.”

  “Okay, great. Wonderful.”

  I’m beginning to pick up on her ways of communication and despite the fact that she says positive indicators like “great” and “wonderful”, I’m beginning to realize that she means the opposite. She does not find this information to be great nor wonderful. So I remain silent and continue to guide us to Chiran’x.

  We continue to walk through Chiran’x’s little palace of squalor until we reach his door. I can already smell the ridiculous perfumes that he insists on drowning himself in through the thick reinforced door. The little rodent seems to think he can hide his lack of honor and integrity with perfumes and fancy clothing. That alone almost makes me want to turn around and not deal with him.

  “Ah!! Dakhar! My favorite Truvian!! I see you have my prize! Come in come in!” a bodiless voice says excitedly. I only look up at the visual transmitter, silently waiting.

  As the doors open, I feel the little human step closer to me. I fight the urge to place an arm around her. I know it was unintentional on her part. I know that she would sooner stab me with a million of her “sporks” than actually be physically close to me right now – she’s just frightened. As she should be.

  We step into the lavish suite and my eyes immediately fall on Chiran’x.

  She shouldn’t be afraid of Chiran’x though. He’s like a small rodent. The top of his absurdly coifed hair barely reaches her waist and he’s wearing so many robes that it’s a struggle for him to even walk straight.

  Which makes what I’m about to do even more enjoyable.

  “Dakhar!” he says giddily as he walks towards us.

  “Chiran’x.”

  And I’m guessing the last thing Chiran’x sees is my satisfied smile - right before I punch him right in the middle of his bulbous face.

  Chapter 2

  Dani

  I stare blankly at the little ridiculous man on the floor, cradling his pug nose – which is bleeding blue blood I think - and then I look up at the man who just punched him.

  “What the fuck?!” I whisper, more out of surprise than anything else. To say Big Blue punching the little weird alien was unexpected is an understatement. Not to mention the fact that it may affect me in a negative way. The little man might blame me for the punch just based on association.

  It might even discourage him from being mildly decent to me. It might be the difference between me ending up with someone who wants Dani sushi versus Dani human sex slave.

  “Why did you do that?” I ask in hushed tones.

  “Yes, why deh’ doo’ do dat’!!” the little man echoes with a heavy accent and a pudgy hand over his nose and mouth.

  The giant blue man apparently has tunnel vision for the man he just punched though. He doesn’t look up at me or even acknowledge me, he just looks down at the little man with bored disinterest.

  “You know exactly why I did that, Chiran’x. You set me up on that Lavarthon job. Did you honestly think I wasn’t going to find out that it was you? You double-crossed me,” Big Blue says lowly, towering over the cowering fat alien.

  And then as if out of thin air, the freaky guards from outside appear and come to the little alien’s defense. Big Blue eyes them defensively, clearly preparing to engage in whatever was about to happen. Without realizing it, I hold my breath, silently trying to do the same…but only as a spectator…hopefully.

  “No! No! Down, boys! It’s fine, it’s fine!” the fat man says as he struggles to rise from the floor. I fight the odd urge to help him up. He just looks so ridiculous and…unbalanced. It’s like watching an old overweight dog trying to right itself after getting stuck on its back.

  The little man wiggles his nose, making sure that it’s still on his face, and then waves the creepy faceless men away. I take this opportunity to get a good look at the man called, Chiran’x, and I’m instantly struck by how he’s the most humanoid looking being I’ve seen so far. Granted, he’s very short and round…and an unnatural color of pink…and he has the most incredibly big hair, but he’s still generally human-ish looking.

  “I might have deserved that,” Chiran’x huffs, still trying to maintain some pride and dignity.

  “You know damn well that you deserved that,” Big Blue replies lowly. “You knew that the damn Reapers were going to be there waiting for me. You hired them to jump me.”

  “Oh, I had confidence that you would make it out alive though. Come now, don’t be silly, Dakhar, I knew you could handle yourself against a few dozen petty thieves.”

  “Petty thieves that had me cornered. And yes, I made it out just fine,” he counters. Despite the evenness of his tone, it’s still pretty clear he’s doing his best to keep his anger in check. He then adds, “But not before they relieved me of the merchandise that I worked hard on attaining.”

  “You know I’m a business man, Dakhar, and when I found an opportunity to cut expenses and make more money, I took it,” Chiran’x replies, his eyes wide with surprise, as if he was shocked that anyone would do anything else.

  “And that’s why I took the opportunity to punch you in your unsightly face the second that I saw it,” he growls. “Don’t be on the wrong side of a deal with me again, little man. It will be your last.”

  Sensing the hard truth in his threat, Chiran’x’s little beady eyes go wide and his absurdly pink face becomes a bright shade of red. I just sit there quietly and watch in uncomfortable fascination, wondering if the Blue Terminator was just going to be done with the conniving businessman right then and there.

  Chiran’x might have been wondering the same thing for a second or two, but it was an incredibly fleeting thought. He then waves his little pudgy hands around wildly as if trying to swat the past away like an annoying bug.

&nbs
p; “Yes, yes! Let us now focus on the present and the future, yes?” he says with a big smile. His little eyes then fall on me eagerly. I shift a bit, uncomfortable with the sudden attention.

  “Is this the human female that you have for me? How is she? What is she like?” he asks giddily while clapping his hands.

  I swallow deeply and fight the urge to step back and hide. I need to stay my ground. I can’t show weakness, I need to stop acting terrified. I won’t make it out alive if I crumble in front of them so easily. Although, it does help knowing that I could easily take the little shrimp on and win with both hands tied.

  Before Big Blue has a chance to respond, I answer for him.

  “Yes, this is the human woman that you commissioned for, the one that Papa-Smurf-on-steroids kidnapped,” I say, and then add, “And she can speak for herself.”

  The little alien man’s eyes widen with surprise as he appraises me again, but this time with new eyes. He claps his hands giddily and smiles.

  “Oh! I like her! This one has spirit, doesn’t she?” he exclaims happily with his strange little accent.

  “Perhaps a little too much,” Big Blue mumbles under his breath as he looks down at me, perhaps trying to silently tell me to shut up.

  Nope.

  “If by ‘spirit’ you mean a need to exercise her free will and a desire to not be imprisoned or bartered for, then yes, I have spirit to spare.” I shoot an angry gaze right back at the big blue man, who looks to be now boiling with rage.

  Chiran’x stays silent and only moves his head back and forth between me and my alien captor, a bit confused by our little back and forth. I can even see his little bobbled head and ridiculous white hair bouncing around from the corner of my eye.

  “Uhh…yes, indeed,” he says uneasily. He cautiously steps in between us and gently grabs my hand and leads me a few steps away from Big Blue as if trying to break up a fight before it has a chance to start. I allow it because…well, what choice do I have?

  Once he thinks we’re at a safe distance from Big Blue, he takes a step back to look at me. He’s silent for a moment and puts a finger on his chin, as if deep in thought. I look around uncomfortably, feeling awkward under the little alien’s scrutinizing gaze. I steal a glance at Big Blue and he rolls his eyes and looks away, annoyed by the whole thing.

  A few more seconds pass and Chiran’x breaks his silence with a large grin plastered on his face.

  “She’s quite unexpected, isn’t she? I mean, I’ve seen the records on humans, but there’s nothing quite like seeing one in the flesh!”

  “Trust me, I’m sure the records offer no help when it comes to dealing with these creatures.”

  I snap my head around as I try to shoot daggers at him with my eyes. He ignores me as usual and continues.

  “She’s been nothing but a handful.”

  Chiran’x begins to walk around me, looking me up and done. I stiffen and stand up a little straighter. What? I’m a natural sloucher and apparently my instinct to look good is strong.

  “Ah, but that’s what I mean! Yes, she’s pleasant enough to look at…nothing like an Elemental, but nice enough…but it’s her fire that I like, Dakhar. Now, that is a rare thing from such a tiny creature in this universe.”

  Big Blue smirks. “I would call it stupidity.”

  I look at him again, ready to shoot another one of my “lethal dagger” gazes at him, but I’m immediately thrown when I see him looking at me. This time he’s not looking at me with the usual spite or frustration in his eyes, instead I see something that borders on almost…admiration…or respect? And something else that I can’t quite identify…

  It shuts me up immediately and I look away, my cheeks feeling unexpectedly warm.

  “No,” the little alien man replies, his voice suddenly even and serious, no longer excited and giddy. “No, Dakhar, it’s the stuff that life is made of. It’s the stuff that lights the fire of a star. It’s evolution. Nothing is more exciting than seeing a civilization on the brink, on the very precipice of progress. She has the fire and wonder of a people not yet jaded by a million millennia of existence. She still has the birth of the universe in her eyes.”

  Chiran’x looks up at me with appreciation and smiles reassuringly and reaches for my hands and squeezes them.

  I stare silently at the little man, eyes wide with wonder and surprise. Well, maybe he isn’t as awful as I thought…?

  “And that’s exactly why she’s going to make me so much money! Do you know how much some will pay for such purity? For a female from the uncharted territories? So so so much!” he exclaims as he turns away and claps his hands again.

  And never mind. It’s my turn to look up at the ceiling and roll my eyes. Here I thought I might have had the fortune of being bought by a somewhat decent, if slightly poetic, little weird alien man, but no dice.

  Big Blue, clearly unmoved, walks to Chiran’x and towers over him.

  “You have the girl. Where’s my money?”

  “Yes, I-oh my.“

  Chiran’x pats the giant alien man on the arm to reassure him, but then instantly becomes distracted by the sheer hardness and size of his cannon arms. “Oh my,” he murmurs to himself again as he pats and squeezes at his bicep inquisitively. Big Blue is not amused.

  I stifle a giggle as I catch the look on his blue face. It’s a look that rests somewhere between annoyance, surprise and maybe boredom. Big Blue is surprisingly good at all those looks individually and combined apparently.

  Fed up with Chiran’x impromptu examination, a grumbling growl sounds from his throat. The little alien looks up and jumps with a start when he sees Big Blue’s annoyed gaze burning into him. Chiran’x immediately snatches his hand away, as if he was burned.

  He clears his throat awkwardly and takes a step back, ensuring a safe distance between them.

  “Uhh…yes! Yes, your money! We mustn’t forget about your money!”

  He then half-waddles half-trips across the room to collect something from his desk. I see an opportunity and decide to take advantage of the little man’s brief absence.

  “So you finally get your precious money, huh?” I whisper vehemently at the giant alien. He doesn’t respond. He doesn’t even look in my direction. Asshole. I’m not going to let him off that easily though.

  “You are a complete a –“

  Before I have a chance to finish my very important thought, Chiran’x interrupts me, holding some sort of handheld device.

  “Here we are! I believe it was 25,000 Q’itars, wasn’t it?”

  “40,000 Q’itars.”

  “30,000 Q’itars?” Chiran’x counters.

  “40,000,” he replies drily.

  “35,000 and I compensate you for fuel?”

  “I’m good on fuel. 40,000 and I don’t make you permanently shorter than you already are.”

  Chiran’x is caught off guard for only a split second, but recovers quickly.

  “Ahem. Yes, 40,000 Q’itars as agreed.”

  The giant blue man grabs his own device from inside his cloak and they quickly link their devices together, apparently transferring funds. I watch silently, slightly intrigued by it all. It’s actually a pretty seamless process. No one has to carry a boatload of money around. It makes sense.

  “40,000 Q’itars,” Chiran’x says smugly.

  Big Blue reviews his device, ensuring the funds are now in his possession, and then nods once to confirm.

  “As always, it’s a pleasure doing business with you, Dakhar. I meant it when I said you are by far my favorite Truvian, you know,” he says with a happy smile on his face. My former captor doesn’t say anything. He just spares a quick cynical glance at Chiran’x and then turns for the door.

  And then suddenly panic. A cold panic suddenly sweeps through me. He’s leaving? He’s leaving me? Holy moly he’s leaving me now? No! No! He can’t do that.

  “So that’s it?” I shout out at after him, feeling desperate, scared and for some reason hurt - really hurt.
“You’re just going to leave me!”

  He stops right before reaching the door and turns to me. He cocks his head to the side slightly. “What else would I do? Was there ever a question that I would do anything else?”

  He turns, walks out the room and the door loudly shuts behind him. And I flinch as if I was just slapped in the face.

  And that’s it, kids. That’s how you get kidnapped and sold in space.

  Crap.

  ***

  Dakhar

  I storm out of the room.

  And I don’t slow down. I don’t slow down when I hear the human female screaming at me as the door slams behind me. I don’t slow down when Chiran’x’s hired freaks try to stop me at the check point. And I definitely don’t slow down as I weave through the crowded market.

  In fact, I walk even faster through the crowd, slamming into people without any care. And whenever a person seemed to care that I just slammed into them, the look on my face must have convinced them not to care anymore. Which was unfortunate. I would have liked for them to do something about it.

  I should be relieved that I’ve finally rid myself of that human. I made my payday and now I can move on to more pleasant pursuits – like jobs that involve less humans, specifically less argumentative human females. Either way, I’m sure Kaveth is probably already at our meet up location. The female he was in charge of seemed much more...manageable and pleasant.

  My mind strays momentarily as I walk through the thick crowd and make my way back to the shuttle. Thoughts of the human female’s fiery spirit and soft round face flash through my mind. So much fire in such a small and vulnerable body – a very appealing vulnerable body. A small smirk touches my lips as I think about her running around the table and wielding a “spork” as I tried to capture her on her vessel.

  “Did you hear there is a human on the block today?” I hear an excited hissing voice say in passing.

  “Yes! There’s going to be a bidding war like we haven’t seen in a long time! No one ever brings humans anymore! Maybe this will open up trade and humans will no longer be off limits,” another responds eagerly.