Page 39 of Claimed by the Alien Warrior Triad

“Very well. Be back on Monday, and you’dbetterhave something incredible.”

“I will,” I reply, and close the door behind him.

I almost slam my palm against the wall in anger, but I refrain, knowing John could hear. I better have something on Monday, though, because I’m in no state to go back to work right now – and I’ll need the resources of the firm if I ever want a chance to get back to the jungle planet and forget this empty, loveless existence I’d condemned myself to for the past twelve years.

“The energy. Ithasto be the energy source…” I mutter to myself, already putting John and the firm out of my mind and focusing on what’s most important.

I walk to the kitchen, pouring over the documents I have piled up there.

“The Aurelians had a simple, tribal society. Primitive, but with elements of higher technology, because of those orbs that powered their weapons. If this technology existed in their world, itcouldexist on Earth,” I think out loud, vocalizing my thoughts as I scan yet another page on energy. The instant I judge one worthless, I crumple it up and throw it into the growing pile near the garbage can.

Then one finally catches my eye.

A comment on a new report, about a meteor that landed in Arkansas in 2003.

“I saw it before the government took it. Had these glowing rocks in it – really beautiful.”It was a comment from an unnamed eyewitness.

“Could be orbs... That makes sense. But don’t be too certain. It could be diamonds, or gold, or anything glittering and worthless.”

Imagine – me considering diamonds and goldworthless.

“Itcouldbe orbs, though,” I repeat, taking the printed news story and bringing it to the living room, where I place it in the stack of promising articles.

My phone rings. I glance at it and see Jed on the call display. I pick up immediately.

“Jed. What do you have for me?”

“Plenty. Check your email.”

I check my inbox and scan through the useless work stuff. Then, my eyes lock on a new email from Jed. I click it and speed read.

Section one is dedicated to kidnappings. None involve albinos. Two involve tattooed men, but they both happened near the southern border, where the rare kidnappings that occur are most-often drug-related. Jed also included the Reddit thread, showing me that he’s taking this seriously.

“You’ve got the kidnappings detailed in the first section. Most are cartel. One was a jealous husband who grabbed his ex-wife with his two friends. I haven’t found any links between the kidnappings, so if there’s a trend, I’m not seeing it. I also included a report on social media. We have one interesting comment on a Reddit thread about three albinos with tattoos taking a woman from New York – but, again, I only included that because of the specificity. There’s no way to contact the guy who posted it. I tried messaging him to no avail.”

“Good. And the energy report?”

I scan through the next section, which is a word document with one hundred and twenty pages of information.

“That’s where things get interesting. You wanted me to look up energy related to orbs, circles, or anything like that. I didn’t find it, but I do have a wealth of information on new government projects. One isveryinteresting. It’s based on nuclear power. Let me know if you have any questions.”

“Thank you, Jed.”

I hang up and stare through the Word document, speed-reading it. The nuclear power project started in 2003, and my heart beats quicker as I piece it together. The project is highly secret, without much information available, and the dates line up with the meteor that crashed in Arkansas.

Think, think! If the meteor had orbs in it, and the government found them… Then they’d have to put up a front, to pretend it was something normal…

I swallow hard. I know this is going to be a tough sell, but I’ll call a partners meeting on Monday and tell them we’re going into the energy sector. It could take decades to work up an extensive-enough portfolio to work with a project related to this government one; but I’ve already wasted twelve years. What is another decade or more, compared to that?

Besides, all I need is to get close enough to this project that I can gain access to their lab and see the project with my own eyes.

Then I’ll know for sure – one way or another.

I walk to the bathroom and splash cold water onto my face, looking at myself in the mirror. I can see the whites of my eyes about my irises, and I know how insane I look.

But my skin is smooth. Whatever is pulling the Aurelians and I closer together isslowingthe aging process. It might take me twenty, thirty, or forty years, but Iwillhave the time. I’ll work my way into the legal department of the alternative energy section of the government, and I’ll see for myself if it trulyisan orb – no, anOrb, a proper noun, as the Aurelians described them – that powers their project.

The hint of a smile forms on my face. My adrenaline flows like never before.

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