Addicted In Cold Blood (54 page)

She was silent, and he didn’t expect a different response. After all, he was an assassin—what was there not to love about his little announcement?

“Don’t worry, it won’t be like it was.”

Her sigh of relief bounced off the windows, and out the corner of his eye, he saw her readjust herself in her seat.

“You do realize what I am though, you understand me... I have to protect and serve, just like you...”

“Yes. I fully understood that when I agreed to marry you.” She continued to look straight ahead. He sensed from her tone that she was preparing to hear the worst.

“Well.” He reached over and grabbed her hand, holding it as their son cooed in the back of the car. “There is a planet that has some inhabitants that are attacking less able entities, pillaging and killing, then taking over. Zarkstormians have been underestimated over the years, because of our evolution. Before that, we were some of the most feared. However, there are still enough of us warriors left, to do some good. We’ve created our own task force and will be wiping these creatures out...”

He glanced at her and didn’t miss the intrigued expression on her face. He’d pulled her in, and was hopeful she’d like the next bit of news as well.

“Creatures? I’ve never heard you call other extraterrestrials, creatures.” She looked at him as if he’d said a racial slur.

“I respect
most
other beings, but these are
definitely
creatures, Jayme...and that is a nice way to describe them.” He sighed. “They don’t look like anything you’ve ever seen nor do they act properly, in a way that would deserve respect. They are ten times worse than the damn dragons.”

“Dragons?!” She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, we call them Crocloglators, though.”

“We need to sit down,” she said softly, “and discuss
all
of this. I am fascinated...I want to understand your world, but right now, I want you to tell me as much as you can about the...” If he didn’t know any better, he’d suspect she wanted in on the action...

“And I will, as much as I can. Jayme, they are treacherous...vile. They kill for greed and sheer enjoyment, not for survival. We used to kill thousands of them and we’d be all dead if we didn’t now have a protective shield over our planet. Anyway, they are coming for Earth soon.” He approached a red light.

“What?” Jayme screamed, shot a glance back at their son, her eyes large and her face etched with worry.

“Now, normally, my people wouldn’t care. We have a history of that, as you know.” He turned the corner. “But in lieu of recent events, we are going to get involved. This isn’t the first time this has happened, Jayme. Your planet has been under attack before. It just would get hidden or swept under the rug. Your government keeps a lot of secrets about alien life forms. They’ve known since the Mayflower that we’ve existed.” He shot her a glance; now he was sure...he’d married the wrong woman if he thought she was going to just sit back and let him ‘go off to war’ solo. He’d have to talk her down later. He couldn’t have his wife and the mother of his child going against these damned things...

“Many of those stories about alien abductions and visits are true. The Loch Ness monster, for instance, that so many of you argue about being real or not, is actually an alien from the planet Pulsartune. They are harmless, though, and enjoy Earthly water domains.”

“Next you’re going to tell me that Big Foot is an alien, too.” She guffawed.

“No, he isn’t. He is a human hybrid. He is a modern-day caveman, if you will. We have no interest in him or his clan.” He could see her cross her arms out the corner of his eye.

“And ghosts? Many of them are actually aliens and not dead relatives at all. They are called Morphitians. They turn into things and people you recognize, and study people. Some are bad, some are good...Morphitians are like the magicians of the universe. More times than not, they cannot be trusted. There is so much you all don’t know, don’t understand.”   “This is unbelievable! And what do you plan to do about these,
creatures
?”

“Well, they’ve made some attempts already by trying to destroy you all, by messing with your atmosphere, which results in bad crops, and influenced hurricanes and tidal waves. Your ozone layer isn’t just fucked up due to your pollution, they are poking holes in it...” His eyes narrowed while he watched her facial expression switch from confusion to anger.

“What you all see as natural disasters are many times actually alien invasions, tampering with Earth’s atmosphere in order to wipe you out, and take over your planet. I think your father would be surprised to know that demonic possessions are actually alien possessions, playing with humans simply for fun, and ruining families in the process. I hate to tell you this, but so many see you all as toys. Anyway, this latest plan is very serious. That’s where I step in.”

He shrugged and made another turn at the light.

“What will you be doing, Xzion?” She glared at him.

“I think you know.” He laughed.

“You said it wasn’t the same.” She tried to sound angry, but he knew she wasn’t actually surprised. She had to expect this. Xzion had been antsy, itching for a fight. Not with her—but his aggression was raging. He could only work out so much; the gym wasn’t helping, nor was boxing.  Things were getting out of hand. Sex helped, but he had to be careful with her. She was his delicate flower after all, at least that was what he told himself. Science didn’t give him the same edge inside his heart. He needed to pulverize shit or he simply didn’t feel alive.
Something
needed to be destroyed, and if he could justify it, then it was so tasty going down...

“It’s not. I’m protecting your people this time. I’m defending my wife...my son. I’m on
your
side.”

“You are so nonchalant about all of this. It is scary, creepy and beyond disturbing. So when is all of this going down?” She rubbed her hands together.

“Uh, Jayme.” He leaned further back in his seat and traced his chin with his free hand. “Don’t get any ideas. I know how you think.”

“What?” she asked, smiling.

“Don’t make me have to lock you away during this...” he half-joked. He was met with a ‘sista-girl’ facial expression as she put her hand on her hip.  He’d seen it a few times before. He stifled a laugh. “Look, some things I can’t tell you. It would be too upsetting for you, baby.” He reached for her hand again, clutched it tight. “But, just know that I and others are on the case. Some of the other warriors are coming down as well, but they still can’t live here. The atmosphere is not conducive—nothing will ever change that. Even though their brains no longer overheat, it is still too uncomfortable for long durations of time.” He looked in the rear-view mirror appreciatively at their son.

“I’m still the only one like me, and until that changes, I will be the only one living here permanently.”

“So, you’re just going to keep me in the dark, huh? You know I’m not having that, Xzion. I need to know what the hell is going on. No one, after all the hell I’ve been through, is just going to lead me here and there anymore and make me do as I’m told, make me walk right into a snake pit...”

“But I didn’t bite you.” He winked at her. “Until you asked me to...”

She grinned, rolled her eyes and turned away, obviously trying to suppress laughter.

“Now, you know I see you as an equal, baby. It’s not like that.” He patted her hand. “I have to keep you safe, sweetheart. Some stuff will still have to be...”

“Classified.”

“Yes, I’m a Zarkstormian warrior, baby.” He leaned over and kissed her as they waited by a red light that paled in comparison to his innate cutting beam. “This is what we do...we fuck shit up, with a purpose.” He grinned as she punched his shoulder, then kissed him lovingly on his cheek...

*
***

Several weeks later...

Xzion balled up the paper in his palm. He’d read it a time or two more before it became pulp in his hand.

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.I WILL GIVE FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS TO BE PAID FOR MY SILENCE.

He grinded his teeth as he walked over to the steel double doors, punched in the code, removed the lock and took out his favorite M4-carbine rifle. Walking carefully, his black combat boots being heavy, he didn’t want to disturb his slumbering family. Xzion crept down the hall and opened his son’s bedroom door, checking in on the sleeping boy who’d been battling a nasty cold. He placed his hand over the child’s head, relieved his fever had broken, and carefully exited, quietly closing the door behind him.

He entered his bedroom. Jayme had worked second shift that evening, and was so exhausted she hadn’t even eaten dinner before drifting fast asleep.  Her holster lay on the nightstand, her uniform slung haphazardly over a chair near the bed, the same one she attempted to use to escape during their first months together. Ahhh, memories...

He sunk his teeth into his bottom lip, feeling the sting as he watched her slowly turn, her smooth, brown leg exposed. Her eyes fluttered, but soon, she fell back into a world of dreams. He wanted to be next to her, her skin against his, or better yet, inside of her, but instead, the fucker that sent the nasty-gram would have to be dealt with immediately. He didn’t take kindly to being threatened, especially blackmail. His motto was simple. If you threaten to fuck up his life, you better do it or he’d make sure you didn’t do
anything
, to anyone, ever again. He closed the door back, and left the house, amazed at how utterly stupid some people were.

Who the fuck sends an email like this, supposedly knowing what I’m capable of? You must think I’m a joke or afraid now. I found your fucking I.P. address, and now I know where you live. I wish I spoke Idiot so I could tell you the fuck off in your own language. Dumb ass!

After the two hour drive, he pulled up to a large white house. The lawn was perfectly manicured, the grass moist from an obvious good landscape sprinkling and the United States flag up on its pole for the entire state of Maryland to see. He quickly surveyed the home, figuring out immediately where the security system was. He couldn’t have asked for a better set up.

“Piece of cake.”

He clipped the controls and back up battery, and was soon inside, ascending the steps, taking his sweet time. He perused the boring dog hunting paintings in expensive gold frames that hung on the wall and bit into a shiny granny smith apple he’d taken from the opulent dining room table centerpiece. Thirty-four seconds later, he was staring at a screaming middle-aged woman in a light pink satin gown, her large diamond ring glowing on her knobby fingers, while Xzion held her husband up the wall. The man’s blue and white pin-stripe pajamas bunched as the thick, fleshy folds around his freckled neck and face swelled due to Xzion’s death grip around it.

While the poor guy kicked his legs back and forth in vain, Xzion smiled like the wolf after bagging Red Riding Hood. “You know who I am, huh?” He took another bite of his apple with his free hand and smacked the fruit noisily.

“Agent Jordan...that’s good to know. I know who
you
are now, too. You know, I figured Stephenson had someone else in his team, trying to track me down. Your note said that you know what I did. I suppose he told you and you thought you’d hit the jackpot when you put two and two together, figured out where I lived, huh? You didn’t even have the balls to come by...you sent a damn email to an address that my wife and I set up for a fucking wedding registry, addressed to
me
.” Xzion grinned as the man continued to struggle. He moved him around like a puppet as the gears beneath the dark veneer began to slowly grind and churn...

Meanwhile, the woman sustained her ear-piercing screams. Xzion shot her a menacing glance.

“Shut the fuck up!”

Her shrieks immediately changed to puppy-like whimpers as she clutched the sheets.

“I thought I was finished with FBI agents, and you’re just a rookie. It really is a shame. He only told you half the story. Well, that is just too bad now, isn’t it? The rest of the tale doesn’t end happily ever after...
the end
.”

“So, you found the ‘XXX’ Killer...Agent Stephenson briefed you. He told you everything, right? Hmmmm, not quite. He told you
who
I was, Agent Jordan... But, he didn’t tell you
what
I
am
...and now, you’re going to find out...”

The screws and gears in his right eye began to move. The man’s face glowed, and soon, the entire room was enveloped in bright red light...

*
***

He looked at her lying against the blades of kelly-green grass. She finally had a day off, and he’d made sure his schedule was clear. The babysitter had Zachery, and they had some much needed alone time. Leaning down over her sweet-smelling body, he pushed their picnic basket aside and nibbled on the side of her neck, making her grin and laugh. She wrapped her arms around him. The place was pretty isolated, so he took his chance. Reaching between their bodies, he glided his hand over his swelling cock, then unzipped his pants. The front of his white boxers opened, he grinded on her while kissing her deeply. His dick inched a bit out of the slit in his underwear, waiting to be fed.