aHunter4Rescue (aHunter4Hire) (5 page)

A
saviour.

Somehow
he’d known she needed help.

“Who
are you?” Marshall’s voice held a hint of speculation. “I knew Fiona couldn’t
be the goody two shoes she pretended to be.”

Ardal
stopped a foot away from Marshal and lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Clyde
snorted. “She acts like she’s better than us, but I can see it just took the
right kind of man to make her human.”

Fiona’s
stomach tightened with revulsion. “He’s a friend.” Her voice shook with
indignation.

Ardal
glanced at her and then back at the men. “You have upset Fiona.”

Marshall
shrugged. “Look, between us men I’m glad for you. I’ve never seen a better
looking woman. If you can get it on with her, hey I’m all for it.”

Ardal’s
eyes narrowed. “Explain.”

Clyde
moved his hips in a crude imitation of the sexual act. Before he could repeat
it, Ardal picked him up by his shirt and threw him on the ground. “Your
suggestion is wrong.”

Marshall
put up his hands and backed away. “Hey man, we just assumed because you were
here,” his words petered out under the steely glare of Ardal’s eyes.

“Only
stupid men make assumptions.” Ardal moved toward the second man.

Fiona
put her hand on his arm to stop him. Again that strange sensation of
electricity rushed through her body, causing her breath to catch in her throat.
Was this the way it was with all aliens? Did they have an energy field around
them that affected humans? Fiona shook off the thought and focused on the
problem before her.

“These
men want to check out the back field.” Fiona forced a smile. “They think they
saw something fall from the sky last night.”

He
turned back to the men. “Which field?”

Marshall
pointed to the one furthest away and closest to the forest. Ardal nodded and
walked toward it. Clyde stood and followed, motioning Marshal to come too. Was
the man insane? Fiona ran to catch up with the men. If there was going to be a
scene, she was damn sure she’d be part of it.

Reaching
the field was anticlimactic.

Instead
of a wrecked spacecraft, there was newly tilled soil. All evidence was gone.
Fiona glanced at Ardal, but his stony face gave nothing away. His men must have
worked miracles to have the crash debris and bodies cleared up this fast.

“So
this is why you needed a man around.” Clyde spoke in a subdued voice. “I didn’t
know you were interested in farming.”

Fiona
shrugged. “I just want to maintain the land. The bush was starting to encroach.
Before long it would have reverted back to nature.”

“Most
of these fields do.” Marshall bent down and picked up a handful of dirt. “The
soil’s too poor to support much but trees. Still, it’s a shame to think of all
the work it took to clear it going for naught.”

“I
want to look into the bush.” Clyde started walking toward the trees. “If it
isn’t in the open, then the forest is a good place for it to be.”

Ardal
nodded. “How far do you intend to search?

“Just
a few feet,” Clyde said with a raised eyebrow. “I’m trying to satisfy my
curiosity.”

“You
know what they say about curiosity.” Fiona’s tone was teasing. “I’d hate that
to happen to you gentlemen.”

“That
sounded like a warning.” Marshall was suddenly too close.

Fiona
stepped back, but bumped into Ardal. He pushed her behind him. She found
herself staring at the back of his shirt. The man was huge. She tried to look
around him, but his hands prevented her.

“I
never make threats.” Ardal crossed his arms over his chest. “Take your look and
then leave Fiona’s property.”

“Come
on Marshall.” Clyde was already at the edge of the bush. “We don’t have all
day.”

Marshall
gave Ardal an uncertain look and then followed his friend. When they were out
of earshot, Fiona stepped from around Ardal.

“Will
they find anything?”

Ardal
shrugged. “If they go too far my men will kill them.”

“No.”
Fiona’s voice rose. She clapped her hand over her mouth when she saw Marshall
look back at her. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“My
men have their orders.”

“You
can’t go around killing people.” Fiona forced her voice to stay low. “We have
laws in this country.”

“I
will not risk my men’s lives.” Ardal’s voice was firm. “There is less than a
unit of Hunters left in the universe. It is my responsibility that they live.”

Fiona
frowned. “Are you saying that you and your men are all that’s left?”

“Yes.”

Fiona
swallowed. Ardal’s expression had not changed, but a flicker of intensity
flashed into his black eyes before he hid it. Despite his appearance of control
and dispassion, this man felt deeply about his responsibility. She’d been wrong
to think him a computer on steroids. He cared about his men. You just had to
dig deep to find it.

Before
she could think of something to say, Marshall shouted at them. “It looks as if
some of these trees have been cut down.”

“I
have a right to heat my house.” Fiona didn’t try to hide her exasperation. How
dare these men come onto her land and interrogate her. For a second, she forgot
that all she wanted was to lie low and avoid conflict. “Do I come onto your
property and question what you do?

“Whoa.”
Clyde held up his hands. The men were walking back now. “We’re just asking.”

“I’ll
bet,” Fiona hissed under her breath. Louder she said, “Do you want to see my
woodpile? I could use help stacking it.”

“You
have a fine strong man to do that.” Marshall glanced at Ardal and then cleared
his throat. “I mean, we’ll be happy to help, but it looks like you have
everything under control.”

“I
do.” Fiona straightened her shoulders. “I hope that you’re satisfied that
nothing fell on my land.”

“We’re
just doing our civic duty.” Clyde smirked. “I wouldn’t want to have little
green men roaming freely around these hills.”

Fiona
snorted. “You have a vivid imagination.”

They
walked back to the driveway. Once the men were on their way, Fiona turned to
Ardal.

“We
have to talk.”

“I
am at your service.”

At
the house Firbin was still standing guard, but a nod from Ardal and he was
gone. The living room was full of men. The only private space was Fiona’s
bedroom. It wasn’t ideal for a discussion, but what other choice was there?
Taking a deep breath, Fiona went to her room and waited for Ardal to follow her
in before closing the door.

She
leaned her back against the door. It was time she knew exactly who her guests
were. “Where are you and your men from?”

“Our
planet is Cygnus. It is in what we call the Zonar galaxy.”

“How
far is it from Earth?”

“What
is earth?”

“That’s
the planet that you’re on, Earth.” Fiona let out a sigh. “It seems that we’re
talking different languages.”

“We
are.”

Ardal
put his hand on her arm and led her to the bed. Again the jolt of electricity
ran through her body. Fiona looked into Ardal’s eyes, but he seemed unaware of
the sensation. Instead he pressed her onto the bed and then stood in front of
her, arms crossed and legs apart.

“I
do not know the distance we traveled before reaching your planet. We were on
the spacecraft for several months.”

“I
can’t think with you looming over me.” Fiona motioned to the chair in the
corner of the room. “Sit. I need to understand who you are.”

Ardal
made a grunting noise and took the seat. “What questions do you have?”

“Are
you a criminal?”

“Do
you mean did I break the Sacred Code?” Ardal lips tightened. “Yes.”

Now
she was harboring criminals. Judging by his behavior, they were probably
murderers. She glanced at the closed door. Perhaps a private meeting wasn’t her
most brilliant idea.

“We
did not harm anyone.” Ardal’s words forced Fiona to look at him. “We refused to
obey the order that would have executed us.”

Fiona
bit her lip. “Usually you do something bad before you get executed. What did
you and your men do?”

“We
followed our orders.”

Fiona
pursed her lips and bit back her exasperation. The man couldn’t answer a simple
question. “You said you didn’t follow orders.”

“We
followed the orders of the Kaladin.”

Fiona
shut her eyes for a second. This was going nowhere. She glanced up at the
peeling paint of her ceiling and decided to try a different direction. “The
Captain called you traitors.”

“The
Captain is an instrument of the Holman. He believes Hunters should no longer
exist.” Ardal leaned forward, his eyes intent on Fiona. “The Holman won the civil
war on my planet. They defeated the Kaladin and now control all of Cygnus and
its territories.

“So
you lost the war?”

The
muscles in Ardal’s jaw tightened. “A Hunter does not lose. We were forced to
obey a dishonorable order.”

Fiona
sighed. It was like talking in circles. “What exactly does a Hunter do?”

“We
are a race of our own, the elite of the warriors.”

“So
you are soldiers.” She’d been right about their military look.

“We
are more than that.” Ardal’s voice held pride. “A Hunter lives and dies by
honor. We search and we destroy. We obey only the orders of the Kaladin and we
defend to the death.”

Fiona
frowned. It sounded like something out of the middle ages. It had to be a
matter of the language barrier because their technology was way beyond the
middle ages. Weren’t advance races supposed to be peaceful? At least that’s
what all the science fiction shows portrayed.

“So
you lost the war and were ordered executed. That seems an extreme action. Why
wouldn’t the new leaders just use you to help them?”

“They
knew we would never give them our loyalty. We have been bred to obey the
Kaladin. We would die to keep them safe.”

“But
the Kaladin are gone now, so where does that leave you.”

Ardal
hesitated for a fraction of a second. “The Kaladin high council survives.”

Fiona
looked at Ardal’s closed face and instantly knew. “You and your men saved
them.”

“It
was our last order.”

“And
that order led you to be executed.”

Ardal
shook his head. “No. All other Hunters were executed. I chose to fight.”

“So
that was what the Captain meant when he said you had caused the ship to crash.”

“The
Captain fired a weapon at the guidance computers and that caused our crash.”

Fiona
rolled her eyes. She had only met this guy last night, but she knew enough to
believe he’d provoked it. “You had something to do with that, though.”

“I
asked him to drop his weapon.”

“I’m
sure you were polite about it.”

“There
was no need for politeness. It was a battle.”

“I
was being sarcastic. Don’t they have sarcasm on your planet?”

“We
speak only what we mean.”

“Nice
to know,” Fiona said under her breath. In a louder tone she asked. “What
happens now?”

“We
cannot stay. The spacecraft was destroyed, so we will have to build another.”

Fiona
stood. “People would notice that. You don’t want to be hunted down by the
authorities. I know what that feels like.”

“You
are hunted?”

Fiona
picked up the brush from her dresser and began to tap it against her palm. How
much information was it safe to give this guy? What difference did it make,
though? They would be gone soon and she’d be safe again.

“A
man is stalking me.” Fiona motioned to the window. “That’s why I’m hiding in
the middle of nowhere.”

Ardal
gave her a steady look. “Is it not wrong for him to do this?”

“If
a man wants to kill you, he will. There’s nothing the law can do to stop it.”
Fiona let out an exasperated breath. “I’d fallen completely off the grid and
then this happens. We’ll be lucky if the military aren’t all over this thing.”

“They
are already searching.”

“You
can’t know that for certain.” She looked at Ardal to see if he’d been trying to
scare her, but his face was serious. That meant her cover was blown. Clyde and
Marshall were just the start. She dropped onto the bed.

“Your
technology is advanced enough to know that we crashed.” Ardal shifted in the
chair.

“That’s
doesn’t mean they’re looking for you.”

“The
scanners suggest otherwise.”

Fiona
frowned. “I don’t have the internet much less a radio scanner.”