We have to find them.
Nina leads the way back to her place. She actually hitchhikes and gets us a ride back along the way. She talks easily to Isabella and me, about her ordeal, about her hopes for the future, all of it.
“I kicked Frankie in the nuts so hard I thought they were going to come out of his mouth. He coughed so hard and was rolling on the floor.” She laughs. “I really hope he can’t have kids, that he’s infertile because assholes like him shouldn’t get pregnant.”
The driver, an older gentleman, keeps looking at us as if we’re crazy, and maybe we are, but he doesn’t say anything.
“You’re amazing,” Isabella says.
“No, you two are. I’m sure my parents must’ve contacted the authorities, but they didn’t find me. You two did. And you rescued me! I owe you two my life.”
“We had help,” Isabella says. “One of your friends, her neighbor, gave us a huge hint as to how to find you.”
“Ah, let me guess, Kiara Jacobson? She’s awesome. I want to be like her when I grow up.”
Finally, we arrive close enough, and the gentleman speeds away as if we have some kind of disease he doesn't want to contract.
We walk the rest of the way, but as soon as we reach her block, we're bombarded with people, friends and family of Nina, news reporters from their TV shows and radio stations, and even the government and police.
It takes forever for things to calm down. It’s a madhouse, really, and even when the government and military try to spearhead things, to get the mob to go back and leave them to do their job, the people don’t listen.
A good hour and a half later, Isabella and I are inside Nina’s home. Nina has recounted the story so many times now that I think I could tell it for her and not leave out any details.
Finally, General Janius Jackson turns to Isabella and me. For the most part, we’ve been ignored up until now.
“Isabella Rivera,” the general says in a tone that suggests she knows Isabella already.
“General,” Isabella says evenly.
Donnell Wallace, a representative from the Global Countries of Earth, leans forward from his perch on a chair. “I would like to personally congratulate you both and express my sincere appreciation and gratitude in your efforts of recovering Nina Tristin to her family.”
"You're welcome," I say. I'm sitting next to Isabella on a love seat, and my leg is bouncing up and down. I can't sit still for much longer. We need to nail that fucker Frankie and sooner rather than later.
“What is your name again?” Donnell asks me.
I grit my teeth. So far, I haven’t mentioned my name, and Nina is as astute as they come. Despite everything that happened to her, she noticed when I decline to give my name earlier, when I had first been asked, and when she recounted how I helped to rescue her, she just refers to me as her alien hero, which suits me just fine.
Donnell lifts his eyebrows, and I grit my teeth.
The general turns her hawkish gaze on me, and I wince. Now they know something's up.
“You’re the elusive Strol, aren’t you?” the general asks.
“I might be,” I murmur.
“You were supposed to check in with us once you arrived,” Donnell says. “We have been looking for you.”
“Not very hard,” I claim. “I wasn’t exactly hiding.”
“No, you were running around with a known daredevil,” the general says.
“That daredevil saved my life,” Nina says loudly. She’s sitting on a couch with her parents. They keep trying to whisper to her, trying to convince her to lie down, but she won’t have it. She also refused to go to the hospital, although she did allow a doctor to come to the house and check her over here.
“As Donnell said, thank you for your efforts in retrieving Nina, but we will handle the capture of those responsible,” the general says firmly.
I laugh. It’s precisely the response needed to get the general to gape at me, and Donnell is a bit peeved.
“Do you think we’re incapable of apprehending this Frankie character?” the general asks.
“You didn’t even know Frankie was responsible, did you?” Isabella asks hotly. “We figured that out and where he was.”
“You used a complete disregard for public safety—”
“Why? Because we used a plane that I pieced together from a scrapyard?” I ask. “That shows ingenuity. That shows gumption.”
“Gumption?” Isabella stares at me as if I have three heads. “Look. We can be an asset—”
“I think we both know that’s not the case,” the general says dryly. “You don’t follow the rules.”
“Fuck the rules,” I say.
Nina’s mom gasps, but Nina herself just winks and laughs.
“I think you should let them have another crack at Frankie,” Nina says.
“The choice isn’t yours,” the general says.
“You have to do what’s necessary to keep your people safe,” I say. “I understand and respect that, but I refuse to turn this case over. It’s important to the Earthlings, yes, of course, but it’s also important to the Kurians and Novans. We have to show a strong, united front against prejudice. For the most part, I haven’t experienced any myself, but I’ve also kept a low profile.”
“Because you wanted to remain under our radar,” Donnell cuts in. “Your father told us about you.”
“And just what did he say?” I snap. Knowing my father, he wouldn’t have had anything nice to say about me, which is why I avoided this whole trap in the beginning.
The general and the representative glance at each other.
“Look.” I lean forward. “If you don’t think that having a Kurian on this case is a good idea, I don’t know how to say this, but you’re wrong. You need to have a unified front on this. Frankie targeted Nina because she wants to go to Kuria. If that continues to happen, women won’t want to go there. The Kurians will go the way of
