Caught Between Two Blue Aliens - Celia Kyle Page 0,76
spread across Sevith’s face.
“Secretary Richard Wells,” Hiren bellowed, eyes flitting to the man in question, who looked like he’d just witnessed a shadow charge from the pits of fire. “On behalf of the Drokten Council, I demand a word with you.”
Wells sat at the head of a large, glassy black conference table that nearly a dozen other older humans sat at, all of them equally shocked at the triad’s sudden appearance. On the screen behind the table appeared to be some kind of presentation displaying various numbers and charts, and it was unclear what the exact purpose of this meeting was. Hiren didn’t care. Whatever it was had just come to a screeching halt, and it was less important than what Hiren had in mind, as far as he was concerned.
Wells’ jaw dropped, and everyone else in the room looked more or less as shocked. After a moment, Wells pushed his glasses up his nose, cleared his throat, and stood from his chair. “What an unexpected surprise,” the male said, barely restraining himself as he tried to keep his cool. “Ambassador Hiren, Commander Sevith, and I see you’ve arrived with Jenna Perry… Thank you for dropping in so unexpectedly. Just give me a moment to call this meeting to a recess, and I can—”
“That will not be necessary.” Hiren strode to the front of the room, silencing Wells with a wave. Wells blinked a few times, staring in disbelief as Hiren made his way up to him and set a simple Drokten data tablet, which contained the seal of the council, on the table before him. Hiren stood so close to Wells that he could almost smell the man’s fear. Hiren turned and spoke to the other humans. “I am here to inform you and all other humans on this planet that the Drokten fleet no longer agrees to carry out any negotiations or agreements with respect to human-Drokten relations as long as Mr. Wells is orchestrating these affairs.”
“Ambassador Hiren,” a human woman with iron-gray hair said, leaning forward with a look of utter confusion on her face. “Rest assured, the human authorities from all of Earth’s governments will be happy to take this issue concerning Mr. Wells seriously, but this is a shocking interruption to an unrelated meeting. If you would—”
“What I find shocking,” Hiren said to the female politician, whom he knew well. In fact, he knew all of these humans. And he also knew that none of them were in on the conspiracy, which was why he and Sevith and the Drokten fleet were still here, willing to negotiate in good faith. Richard Wells was the single operative who needed to be eliminated for peace to continue between their species.
Hiren took a step toward Secretary Wells. The man took one back on reflex, flinching away. Hiren never tore his eyes from the weaker male. “The evidence you need is on this tablet, which is right now being remotely uploaded to all of your data services. You will see I have compiled a long list of correspondences and financial exchanges that prove Secretary Wells’ direct involvement in hostile actions against the Drokten people.”
There was a collective gasp from the humans in the room. They all began picking up their own tablets to check the evidence.
“This is a baseless accusation,” Wells spat.
An uneasy murmur went up around the crowd of human authorities. They looked at their screens and then between each other before looking back at the triad while whispering under their breaths in alarm.
Wells turned to the humans, smoothing his hair out and attempting a feeble smile. “Ladies and gentlemen, please accept my apologies for this outburst. The Drokten are not always understanding of human customs.”
“We understand perfectly well, Mr. Wells,” Hiren said, advancing on the male and making him back up steadily. “I, for instance, understand what a poorly hidden spy looks like on payroll, and how the females on your guest list for the mating accords gathering was riddled with enough agents to staff a small battleship!”
“This is a misunderstanding,” Wells croaked, wide eyes looking desperately at the other officials at the table. “That woman over there infiltrated the gathering I organized last week,” he snapped, pointing to their Oso. “She has been misleading our Drokten guests with these unfounded accusations.”
A growl rumbled in Hiren’s throat. His arm shot out and he pushed Wells back against the thick glass window of the Drokten Main tower overlooking the city below. Instincts boiling up in Hiren’s body made