Read Online Decay by J. F. Jenkins - Free Book Online

was best to go in as much like himself as he could. Then he'd be the most comfortable. If Tuliy was planning to sit in on the meeting, that would help matters as well. The young man had a way of making everyone calm as well as more willing to listen.
    Together, they made their way through the ship hallways. They passed by several of their peers, young, fellow twenty-something-year-old soldiers, who watched Alan and Tuliy with awe and admiration. Alan had never been on the receiving end of such a gaze before. For the most part, everyone on the ship liked to pretend he didn't exist. A small murmur could be heard amongst the soldiers as he and Tuliy opened the door to their superior's office.
    â€œGo ahead and sit,” Sir Oriol said. He was the commanding officer of the ship.
    Not surprisingly, he was alone in the room. While Alan had been expecting the meeting to be private, he'd been hoping to state his case in front of more than just Sir Oriol. It seemed his commander still didn't think Alan had earned the privilege to work anywhere except under the radar. No wonder his shipmates treated him like he was worthless. I wouldn't be surprised if they think my new job is to be Sir Tuliy's maid, he thought with a scowl.
    Alan made sure the door was shut tight before taking a seat in front of Sir Oriol's desk. “You wished to see me sir?” He said it as more of a formality than anything else.
    â€œAs you know, most of our work has been done in a different city for the past month or so. I'm sure you and your charges have grown tired with the lack of field assignments, yes?” Sir Oriol asked.
    â€œYes, I've noticed a bit of a lag in the action, so to speak.”
    â€œYou aren't the only one who has not been getting assignments,” Sir Tuliy said. “Most of this is due in part to The Doctor being quieter about his experiments. My double agent told me he has essentially 'dropped off the face of the planet' which is an Earth phrase for disappearing. The disturbance at the warehouse on our last mission has rattled his confidence. He must be regrouping and reorganizing. I'm sure he has a new base of operations as well.”
    â€œI'm sure,” Sir Oriol mused.
    Alan scratched his chin for a moment, while he weighed his options. Did he dare make a suggestion? “We know who Bean and Sprout are.”
    â€œAnd we've been watching them. Around every other week they sneak out of the house to meet with your betrothed, but we don't dare get closer because of the one they call Sensor. His gifts would make it obvious we were spying, since he can read our DNA from a great distance now. Since we're Alturans, we can't genetically blend in with humans even though we do physically,” Tuliy explained. “Unfortunately my agent isn't able to get in on these meetings, but he's working on gaining their trust. Naturally, they're slow to trust given everything that happened.”
    â€œMakes sense logically. So they meet in places where they can't be interrupted. What I am saying, however, is that since we know their identities, perhaps we should get more aggressive.” Alan glanced between his superior officer, and the man who was fast becoming his best friend. “We might be able to extract a great deal of information from them.”
    Sir Oriol's eyes narrowed. “You want to capture these two teens? Surely such a thing would be noticed. I doubt we'd be holding them for only a handful of hours.” He paused and ran a hand over his face. “If you would like to take this on as one of your side projects, Alanmendiquixanimackle, you may. Just know the repercussions of such an action will be solely on your head.”
    Alan nodded. “Yes sir. I understand.” And it wasn't a task he felt ready to volunteer for. He'd re-propose the idea at a later date. Instead he asked about his other private project in an effort to show his desire to be involved. If he could show his personal investment in