Integrity

Devon dropped me off at home. I stood in the entryway, staring at my empty apartment with a dead expression. The overhead fan droned in the background.

I opened the blinds in the living room to let some sun in and then headed to my room in the back, numb and tired.

After some hesitation, I dug the beacon out of my underwear drawer and let it sit in my palm.

What else was there for me to do? Jailbreak was gone. The xenomorphs were gone. Well, not gone, but out of reach.

Beyond my influence.

I'd failed.

Sure, one queen was dead, but that didn't matter. One of the drones would metamorphose or whatever into a new one and it would begin again.

Was Weyland prepared to keep them contained? If they were unleashed upon the world it would be an extinction-level threat. They'd barely been contained in Estes Park thanks to their ship nest.

I sat at the edge of my bed and rubbed the beacon absently with my thumb.

I was so tired.

Maybe it was time I let it be someone else's problem.

Or, maybe having Wolf come would help. I could explain the situation and we could come up with a solution together. Maybe all this time I just needed one other person in my corner.

Maybe all this time I just needed to not be alone.

No one else could help me. Would want to help me. Devon was great, but I didn't think he'd want to be a part of my mutiny.

But would Wolf come? If he didn't, would I be able to live with that rejection?

I still had a chance to stay. To make a real life. I wouldn't need to worry about Wolf and whether or not to go with him. It wasn't too late to rekindle the relationship with my family.

To make friends. I already had Devon.

If I called him and he came, that meant he was serious. It meant he still wanted me, and we could save my planet together.

Again.

The scar he'd left on my wrist—and a great many others I'd sustained in that horrendous ordeal—meant that I was worthy of something.

That I was more than just . . . Nichole. The girl, the woman, the human.

Call him. Don't call him. Stay. Leave.

Nothing settled well in my stomach. No matter what I chose, I was going to be filled with regret. Haunted by what could have been.

In my heart of hearts, though, I knew what I was going to regret the most. Deep down, I knew there was only one choice I could make that would bring me any sort of satisfaction.

The end game. The culmination of all my blood, sweat, and tears.

/What if it doesn't work out?/

Eyes closed, I pursed my lips and tried to still the nervous fluttering of my heart, calm the churning uncertainty in my stomach.

So what if it didn't work out? It would be one hell of an adventure finding out.

There was always the possibility that something could go wrong. If it was my choice, if I needed to, I could come back. I wasn't going to be his prisoner, I was going to be his companion.

It had to be done. I couldn't not call him. I knew already, deep down. This is what I wanted. I was just scared, nervous. But I was better than that.

Before I could talk myself out of it again, I pushed in the button. I waited on baited breath until a silent light started to blink and the beacon was activated.

It was done.

I closed my fist around around the device and shut my eyes. It was just a matter of when, now. Hours? Days? Weeks? How long would I wait before giving up?

Well . . . the hard part was over. It was just a matter of time.

The harsh tone of my cell phone ringing jolted me up. I wasn't sure when I'd passed the fuck out, but a quick glance at the time told me I'd been asleep for a couple hours.

Suppose the combination of staying up late, getting up early, murdering an alien and a person, and then being drugged and assaulted had tuckered me out.

"What is it, Devon?" I muttered into the reciever as i rolled over onto my back.

The beacon was still in my hand, softly blinking.

His tone was subdued. "There's been an accident."

"Where? Who's involved?" I sat up and frowned.

He paused and I snapped at him. "Spit it out, man!"

"The group in charge of transporting the xenos and predator haven't checked in since they left here," Devon finally said.

My heart skipped a beat.

"They were supposed to stop at a private airport along the way as a checkpoint, where a team would meet them to transfer and re-administer sedatives, but there's been nothing," he finished.

All at the once, the rug was out from under me. Head spinning and throat tight, I ran through the implications of what it could mean. What it probably meant.

They were loose. Somewhere in the country, those abominations were loose.

"You're sure?" My voice was nothing but a whisper. I wasn't sure I'd even spoken.

Devon hummed in the affirmative. "There's no official report, we're waiting on some more information, but it's likely something happened to them."

"I'm coming back to work," I declared, jumping out of bed.

I hadn't even changed my clothes or taken off my shoes, so I was ready to go except for a quick fix of my bed head.

"I thought you might say that."

Before I could even try to figure out what he meant by that, I was out of my apartment. Immediately, I spotted his car waiting on the curb.

Smiling, I hung up the phone and climbed in.

"Do I know my partner or what?" he said with a cheesy grin.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to go with 'or what'."

"You wound me."

"Just drive. Was that everything you knew?" I asked, only remembering to buckle my seat belt when his car beeped at me.

"Yup. Hopefully when we get there they'll know more."

"Did they let you leave to get me?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nope, I kinda just slipped out. Not that anyone was paying attention. You have a good break?"

"I guess. I took a nap."

"Good, good."

The inane conversation wasn't doing anything to distract me from the nagging feeling I had. I couldn't shake the fact that something bad was going on.

Devon drove fast and we made it back to the building in record time. Everyone on our floor was buzzing about this news. My partner and I made a beeline for Hassan's office, avoiding everyone else.

Dixon was still absent, which I was glad for. He would have interfered, but Hassan was in charge right now.

"Nichole, what are you doing back so soon?" Hassan demanded as soon as we walked through his door.

Ignoring his question, I dove right into it. "Do we know where they went down?"

Devon shrank away from Hassan's razor-sharp glare, but the man said nothing about my partner's indiscretion.

"You need not concern yourself, Nichole. You've had a long day and deserve some rest," he said, looking back down at his paperwork.

"I don't want to rest, I want to work," I hissed through clenched teeth, meeting his eyes without flinching. "Where did they go down?"

Hassan took his reading glasses off, sighed, and looked at me. "If you are absolutely sure you don't need to take time off—"

"I do not."

"—then I won't force you. However, a few people have expressed interest in investigating. Why should I choose you?"

That I had to laugh at. "Are you actually asking me that?"

He kept his gaze level and I huffed. "Fine, if you want me to pitch myself, I'll pitch myself."

Devon stepped up and whispered, "You need me to be a hype man?"

I gave him a wry look. "Do whatever."

Hassan cleared his throat. "I'm waiting."

Shooing Devon away, I turned my full attention upon Hassan. There was no way he couldn't let me handle this mission.

"I'm sure all our operatives are capable of handling a single, inured, and unarmed predator," I began, "but I'm the only one here who knows what those the xenos are like in person."

Hassan waited patiently for me to continue. I was going to have to try a little harder.

"It's been a few years, but I know what to expect. I know how they'll act and where they'll go. I don't need to be briefed on their threat level and behavior. I'm already prepared," I added.

"Those are good points," Hassan admitted.

Devon took up his position by my shoulder and made good on his 'hype man' offer. "She's been pouring over the documents already, been visiting them and everything."

All he did was bring attention to himself. "And what of you, Devon? She's your partner, so would you go with her?"

"Without hesitation."

I shot him a grateful smile.

Sighing, Hassan put his reading glasses back on and said, "Alright, fine. I'll let you investigate."

It was hard keeping myself from fist-pumping in victory. I managed to nod and thank him politely.

"So, where we going?" Devon asked, clapping his hands loudly.

"There are reports of a radio tower near Gunnison, Colorado receiving a distress signal from a private craft," Hassan said.

I made a face. "Why Colorado?"

"They were stopping in . . ." Hassan consulted his notes. "Colorado Springs as a checkpoint. They never made it."

Colorado. My home state. It was right back around full circle. I was going to end it back where it all started.

"The folks who picked up three distress call say that there was a lot of interference, so they couldn't make out any ID numbers," Hassan continued.

"But there's no doubt it was our plane, right? Or Weyland's, rather," Devon said.

Hassan nodded. "They also reported strange noises before the transmission cut out. Screaming. Screeching. Things like that."

"We'll have to assume they're alive," I said, more to Devon than Hassan.

"What makes you think they would survive the crash?" Hassan asked skeptically.

"If one of them survived a spaceship crashing to Earth, do you really think it so far fetched that they could survive a plane crash?" I pointed out.

Hassan sighed. "I suppose you have a point. We'll proceed under the assumption that they're alive, then. How long before we have a full infestation on our hands?"

"That . . ." I tried to rack my brain for what Mindy had said about the queen before, but I couldn't recall. "However long it takes for a queen to appear, I suppose."

Devon came to the rescue. "You'd have to ask the specs. Mindy said something about the drones having a limited number of fetuses to implant, and then a queen was chosen via battle royale."

I nodded. "I don't remember if she said how long it took for a drone to become a queen."

"I don't know, either." Devon shrugged.

After giving that some thought, Hassan said, "We'll play it by ear, then. What of the predator? Would he have survived?"

My expression fell. "I'm not sure. Only a small handful from the clan I interacted with survived their ship crashing, and he was already in bad shape. There's a chance he did, though."

I wanted to be positive, but I was having trouble.

"Protocol says to involve the military if there is a threat of an outbreak. We need to find where they crashed and quarantine to make sure they're all dead," Hassan said after a few more seconds of deliberation.

Before I could say anything, he cut me off.

"Your job will be to get there and find out if they are loose. When you do, call back immediately and we'll send backup for containment."

Devon spoke up. "Sure thing, boss. We'll find the crash and talk to locals. We can be there in a few hours and decide whether anyone survived the crash."

"We'll call as soon as we find anything," I assured him.

Hassan looked between the two of us. "Weyland will be sending people to retrieve what they think belongs to them, so be ready to butt heads."

"We're the FBI," Devon said with a grand gesture. "Throwing our weight around is what we do best."

"Fine. Though, Nichole, I really shouldn't be sending you," Hassan huffed.

"What? Why!"

"IA wants to talk to you about the incident."

"When I come back they can have me," I said with a grimace.

Of course Internal Affairs would try to ruin this.

"Well, they haven't made a formal request yet and haven't shown up in person so we'll let it slide," Hassan said, standing up.

I relaxed somewhat. "You won't regret this."

Well, maybe.

"Alright. I'll call ahead and get you plane tickets," Hassan said. "Remember,  do. Not. Wait. If you find evidence that the specimens are alive and a threat, call me immediately."

Devon and I nodded in understanding.

"If you mess up, the fate of that town and quite possibly the entire world is in your hands," he reminded us with a grave expression.

Though Devon stiffened next to me, I was unperturbed by the threat. I already knew all of that.

"Fine, go. Head to the airport in an hour."

I turned on my heel, Devon at my flank, and we headed downstairs. We stopped first at our desks; Devon grabbed his coat and badge, and I strapped on my holster and sidearm.

"What do you think happened?" he asked me as we were leaving.

"Sedatives probably wore off faster than expected," I said, remembering the few things I'd caught Melvin and Emma talking about.

"That's what I was thinking, too. Could they have been faking it?" he wondered.

"I dunno, maybe. They did seem smart but I'm not sure how smart."

We stepped out at the ground floor and were on our way. I had my phone out, trying to decide if I should download the .

If we could avoid it, the bureau made us fly commercial. Coach. Sometimes business, if we were lucky. I expected that on such short notice we'd be flying coach.

The sliding automatic doors opened as we approached and Devon pulled me aside.

"What is it?" I asked, not unkindly.

"There's something I've been wondering."

"Okay?"

He pointed at my hand. "What are you holding? You've had it since I picked you up, been clutching it like your life depended on it."

I blinked at him, then looked at what he was talking about.

It was Wolf's beacon.

My face burned hot and I shoved it in my pocket. I must have brought it along without thinking about it. Actually, I'd completely forgotten about it.

Forgotten I'd used it.

"It's nothing," I muttered.

Devon took in my expression and behavior, then completely misunderstood. I already didn't like the wolfish grin he was suddenly sporting.

"Was that what you were doing before I picked you up? Playing with your 'toys'?" he taunted with a suggestive lilt to his voice.

The blush on my face deepened and I sputtered. "No! It's nothing like that you absolute perv!"

"Uh-huh. You don't gotta be embarrassed, it's nothing to be ashamed about," he said, expertly dodging my attempts to grab him.

I harrumphed and gave him a shove. "Stop! I mean it," I growled, glaring at him.

He never lost that stupid smile but he did put his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Sorry. That was out of line. It's none of my business."

"You're damn right it's not," I huffed still flustered.

"Sorry, sorry. I apologize."

"Apology accepted."

He motioned for me to follow him. "Alright let's get in the car and go."

I hesitated, then said, "You don't have to come."

Devon raised an eyebrow. "The hell you talking about? Don't get all anxious on me. C'mon."

With a sigh, I trudged after him. "Stop at my house first. I gotta get changed," I requested.