Parker snuck Tom onto a private jet. Tom had expected there to be secret disguises, a randomly pulled alarm, and some fight scenes, but nothing like that happened. He'd come in, given Tom clothes to change into, and they'd left, careful to avoid being seen. The jet's interior was sleek and new, the seats all smelled like fresh leather, and the aisle lights changed to every color of the rainbow.
"Where's Iilo?" Tom asked.
Parker plopped down in a cushy seat, barking orders into his phone about trying to secure a private landing for their jet.
Yzee sat beside him. He seemed to be the only one who realized Tom had even said anything. He pointed to the jet's door.
Tom turned around, eyes wide. He clamored through the skinny isle and pulled Iilo into a hug. Iilo smelled like rust and sweat. Neither of them had showered since being "arrested," but he was alive, his face clear of any bruises or signs of mistreatment.
"I'm going to punch Caleb Polanski," Iilo said with a scowl. "But I'm glad you're safe."
"I'm glad you're safe." He cupped Iilo's face. Iilo's skin was radiant blue and unblemished. He was solid and smiling up at Tom.
"Hey, can we call Sam and Carlos so they know we didn't die? You've got secure phones, right?" Tom asked.
"Alex?" Yzee looked to Parker for approval who just tossed up the okay signal. He then handed Tom his phone.
Tom had dialed Sam's number so many times that he knew it by heart. He waited for Sam to pick up, hearing her voice on the second ring.
"First Sergeant Samantha Shae," she said.
Tom switched it over to speaker phone. "It's Tom and Iilo. I just wanted to let you know that we're okay." He didn't have the heart to tell her about Caleb, at least not yet. And the less she knew the safer she was.
"I've been worried sick about you two. I've gotta tell you something, and Iilo, you're not gonna like it."
Iilo bit his lip and Tom's heart sank. So much had gone wrong; they needed something to go right.
"The Seward In'a are all missing. Every last one of them. Carlos and I went back to just check on them and they're all gone."
Tom's stomach dropped. "You're shitting me."
Iilo turned sheet white, staring ahead.
"Stay safe, Sam." He heard her distant "you too" but was far more concerned with the paleness of Iilo's skin.
"It makes sense." Iilo crumpled in his seat, head in his hands. "Caleb didn't need me convicted. He just needed the focus on me. I'm going to kill him." His muscles shook beneath skin, body slowly turning pink to red.
"Woah, hey now." Parker swiveled around in his seat. "Bad idea, kiddo."
"Don't you fucking call me a kiddo!" Iilo barred his fangs, bristling. "I've had enough with humans telling me how to feel, where to look, how I can look, where to live! I'm fucking sick of all of you."
Tom tensed. He'd never seen Iilo in a rage before. His skin was blood red. Iilo had bid enough time waiting, accommodating others. He'd relied on humans to help him, and in the end, his whole settlement still went missing. All because of humans.
"Iilo," Parker said. "We're on a plane. You need to calm down."
The cabin felt too small for Iilo's wrath. Everyone was alarmed with straight spines and wide eyes. Tom didn't want to think about the amount of guns in the cabin, but he knew each FBI agent had one. Yzee's wore his in plain sight.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do," Iilo growled.
"Iilo." Tom's voice broke. "I know. I know humans are terrible pieces of shit." He couldn't stand to see Iilo so red. His ID burned like fire beneath the skin. He moved closer, his hands up for Iilo to see. He felt like he was cornering a wild animal. "We're all here to help. That's why Parker brought us here. He needs us to help him."
Iilo clenched his jaw. "My sister is wherever Caleb is." Iilo's eyes filled with tears. "None of you know what I feel right now. And you just sit there like I'm some doll for you to pose in whatever way you want! I'm not a scapegoat and I'm not a toy!"
Tom recoiled. "No one is saying you're a toy, Iilo. I'm promising you. We'll save your sister."
Iilo took in a deep sigh, his skin pinking. "I need to know if she's okay." He wiped his eyes with a trembling hand. "There's only so much of this I can take before I just fucking lose it." He pushed his face into his arms. "Don't touch me."
Tom didn't. He sat with his heart full of ice, staring at a man he didn't know how to help.
Iilo cried into his hands, whispering in his language. They were stuck on a plane while racing an unknown clock. Tom couldn't say everything would be all right. There was a chance they'd arrive to find everyone dead and Iilo alone—tragedy that Tom wouldn't even wish on an enemy. Yet he'd made a promise that he wasn't sure he could keep.
Tom jumped when he felt chilly fingers curl into his. Iilo didn't look up at him, but he held Tom's hand.
Tom squeezed Iilo's hand, head pressed against his ID. He closed his eyes, humming the way Nenen had.
Iilo relaxed against Tom, humming back. Their vibrations matched in harmony. Humanity and I'na alike had a language spoken only by bodies. When words failed, Tom did the only thing he knew next. He held onto Iilo, eyes closed, letting that nonsensical tune vibrate his throat.
"I know this is hard to accept, Iilo," Parker said, "but let us handle this. Hostage situations are kind of the FBI's bread and butter."
Iilo sneered and looked out the window.
Tom could feel heat wavering off him. He seethed beneath the skin. There'd be no holding him back once they got to Arizona. Tom trusted the FBI to do their job, but he didn't trust Iilo to sit idly by while his family was at risk.
"Hey," Tom whispered close to Iilo's ear. "Get some rest, okay? You need it."
Iilo scrunched up his button nose. "Don't tell me what to do." He leaned into the window.
Tom sat back, chewing on a fingernail. He couldn't fault Iilo for his mood. If Tom's sister was caught up in this, he'd tear the world down and not blink an eye. But it ached to be on the receiving end of Iilo's wrath. It put a fear in his belly that he hadn't considered before. What if Iilo didn't really want him? What if Caleb had been right?
Tom leaned forward, his fingers steepled. Losing Iilo now, just when Tom started to navigate this whole relationship, Tom wasn't ready. Fear plummeted him into darkness. Caleb's words rang out, over and over. Tom wasn't Caleb. He just didn't know how to bring up what Caleb had told him to Iilo.
When they landed, Tom took a glance out the window. Red, dusty sands and a spattering of brown foliage. No buildings, no cars. He couldn't even see a road. Once they were off the plane, it was easier to get an idea of where they were. Large red and brown rock formations dotted the area, sculptures made by gods and not man.
"I'm going with Tom." Iilo took a step forward, his face a clear foot under Parker's but that didn't stop him from getting close. "My people are there and they need me. I'm going too."
Parker looked from his group of agents and back to Iilo. He smiled, though the crow's feet around his eyes left him looking more regretful than positive. "Tom's gonna be wired. The whole reason we're here is because Polanski and Tom have history and I need irrefutable, concrete evidence or we're all gonna be disposed of. You march in there, you fuck that all up and then people die. We die."
"I'm not useless."
"You're not going. End of discussion." Parker pulled out a pair of cuffs. He grabbed Iilo's wrist, clapping part of the handcuffs on and wrangling Iilo to sit close enough to the little hook he cuffed the other side to.
Iilo growled, his body turning pink.
"Goddamn it, I don't have time for this." Parker motioned for Tom to follow him out of the plane.
Tom shot Iilo a defeated look. "I'm sorry."
"That's all you ever say." Iilo snapped. He pulled on the handcuffs.
"I'm trying to help your people!" But it was all Tom ever said. Automatic. A vicious habit.
Iilo tugged on the cuffs again, his wrist's coloring bluer. "You're trying to help yourself. Save the I'na that you so regret hurting. That's why you started this whole thing, right?"
Tom blinked, mouth ajar. "I, what?" he asked, but he didn't want to hear it. Iilo meant something to him now, and if everything they'd done together amounted to a grand lie, Tom would lose the part of himself he'd worked so hard to find again. "Listen, Caleb told me—"
"Raddoc! Let's go!" Parker shouted from the front of the jet.
Iilo sat there, face pink and fuming. "Just go save my family."
"I want you to be there," Tom said.
Iilo folded into himself, staring out the window.
Lungs filling with sand, Tom turned away. He was a ghost before Iilo, a shell of what he'd been. Finding Iilo breathed life back into his bones. He'd tried to be better for Iilo. Or he thought he had.
Tom raced to catch up with Parker and his agents. They walked like macho men in a classic action film, all swagger. An SUV was waiting for them at the end of the tarmac, and they piled in. Tom silent, picking at his cuticles. He couldn't stop replaying how red Iilo had gotten. He could burn the world with that ferocity.
Parker was on the phone, rambling out orders for a SWAT team to surround BrightStart at a far enough distance not to alarm anyone, while another, private team worked to find the missing I'na.
Tom was ready to put this behind him. And no matter what happened with Iilo, he knew Iilo was ready too. Tom entertained the idea of them moving on from this together. But he wasn't so sure. Caleb had put baseless doubts in his mind. Baseless because Iilo had never indicated he could do something like that. But it was hard to unlearn something when it was offered up. All he knew was that he had to believe Iilo, and not someone who believed in genocide.
They turned onto a dusty road with the sun blaring right into their eyes.
Parker shoved an earpiece painfully into Tom's ear. "Don't ever respond, but listen to me."
"Okay." Tom felt his heart lurch. "Will I be armed?"
"Nope." Parker flashed a white smile, his sunglasses reflecting Tom's pale face. "But I will." He indicated his holstered gun.
"Lovely."
BrightStart looked like a fancy sci-fi prison with windows lining the walls and ever-changing light colors cascading up and down the building. Tom stared, mystified. It looked more like a waterfall with the way the colors stretched and lazed down into the pond below. Beyond that though, were cement walls and cement logos.
"This nice agent will wire you up." Parker pointed to an older woman with graying hair. "Me and my team will be here listening the entire time. I've got someone stationed with Iilo and he'll be able to hear what's happening too. Once something incriminating is said, we can get a judge on stand-by to make the arrest warrant. Once that's signed, we're in and then I can start my investigation into bought FBI agents and maybe even some corrupt politicians.
"I need you to take off your shirt," the female agent said.
"Right." Tom pulled it over his head.
"Damn, boy, do you ever eat your greens." Parker whistled.
"I, uh, thanks." Tom had spent most of his life entirely self-conscious. He had been either too big or too small. He just wanted to focus on getting inside, finding Caleb and somehow living to tell the tale.
Yzee moved close to Parker, his hand resting on Parker's hip as he whispered something into his ear. The way they always stood together, how they spoke without words. Tom remembered Parker saying this was personal. Now he had a pretty good inkling on why.
Tom wasn't the only one who'd fallen for an I'na.
*~*~*
Inside, the smell hit Tom before anything else. The place was suffocating on potpourri. The windows let in the natural Arizona light, casting a red hue off the sleek white furniture. He didn't feel like he was on Earth anymore. Everything was too sharp with that red haze.
"Can I help you?" a lady behind the desk asked. She stood up, her brow raised high and a hand on her hip.
"Caleb Polanski's a friend. I'm here to see him. Tell him Tom Raddoc is here."
The woman sat back behind her desk, speaking into a headset.
Tom looked around, counting cameras in the entry. The place was wide enough to fit a tank in if necessary, though he really hoped it didn't come to that. The main exit was the front, but there had to be a fire escape in the stairway.
"Go up. He's in his office," the woman finally said.
Up was ten stories and an awkward elevator ride with a guy in a lab coat.
Tom walked the long hall, stopping when he saw a figure at the other end, lit up from behind like the Son of God. The irony didn't go unnoticed to Tom.
"Wanna see my office?" Caleb asked. "Who let you out of jail?"
Tom took a deep breath. Parker had said they didn't have to rush, but I'na were somewhere here and they were dying. It wasn't easy to pretend like every nerve was fine. Tom felt like he was being burned alive.
"Sure."
Caleb's office was grand, featuring a huge window along the back wall that showed off the Arizona landscape. He had little superhero figures on his desk, icons of heroism and goodness. Caleb had gotten that message quite wrong.
"Nice office."
"It's one of my favorites. I've actually got a few." Caleb smirked. "You could work with us, you know. Your immunity's invaluable."
"You mean I'd be a lab rat." So he knew about Tom. Somehow, that didn't take Tom by surprise.
"No!" Caleb frowned. "You'd be my partner."
Tom saw the flash of a gun on the inside of Caleb's blazer.
"Think your bosses would go for that?" Tom sat on the cushy leather sofa. He looked over at the bar, scanning the alcohol, all from different ends of the world. He'd once stared at Caleb in jealousy. Now he just looked at this grotesque display and saw it for what it was. A sham.
"I'm sorry for what happened to Iilo," Caleb said. He sat across from Tom, looking truly remorseful, which made the hairs on Tom's neck stand up. It was hard to tell what part of Caleb was real and what was a mask. He wore too many.
"Can you help get him out?" He figured it was best not to let Caleb know Iilo was on a private jet, courtesy of one Agent Alex Parker.
"He's safe there. Honestly, I can't believe you think I didn't know what I was doing. With Iilo in custody, he's safe from this." Caleb gestured his arms out. "Or at least for now. The rest depends on you."
"They're people, Caleb. People."
"You called them monsters before. Aliens. I watched you cut one's throat open."
Oori. Tom nodded, looking to his palms. Oori had had a life. He'd had parents. A mother. He'd been just as scared as Tom. Tom would live with that death on his hands until he went to his own grave, but he would honor Oori as a person, not a monster.
"You said you were scared," Tom said. "I can't believe you're just fine with this."
Caleb stood up. He walked over to his window, leaning back against it like death didn't scare him. "It's for the best. We won't wipe them out. We need them for their blood anyway. Once we find a way to simulate it, we won't even need their lives anymore. They won't go extinct, Tom."
"But you're still killing them. There are other ways!"
Caleb hunched his shoulders, fingers sprawling on the window. "At what cost? You drop smallpox, and then you have to regulate and quarantine the area. You toss nerve gas, and there're ways to combat it. Their blood neutralizes over time. Nuclear waste won't have to destroy the planet. This is the easiest, least destructive type of warfare. We don't have to worry about fallout. It's clean, it's effective, and it'll work! This is good, Tom! And yeah—I'na will die. But this isn't their planet. It's ours."
"Iilo never saw Inaan. This is the only planet he knows."
Caleb pulled himself from the window, face twisted in anger. "For a second, I thought you'd actually changed your mind."
"And for a second, I thought I could change yours," Tom said.
"They're not people!" Caleb's face flushed red, but then he slicked his hair back, chuckling. "I know what I'm doing. I don't need you to be my dad."
Tom shrugged, taking a shot in the dark. "Would your dad approve?"
Caleb's lips parted, eyes round. For a moment, he was a child, lost and confused. He blinked and then fashioned a perfectly calm expression. "I'm doing this for my dad. Who let you out of jail?"
"Revenge is the world's greatest motivator," Tom said, shrugging. He would pointedly ignore the other question. "Fine. Show me what I can do to help."
"You're doing good," Parker's voice came into the earpiece. "Minor snag though. My guy informed me that Iilo got out of his cuffs and he can't find him. Just keep an eye out."
Tom didn't say anything, because he was told not to. It was hard not to even nod. He didn't put it past Parker to have a spying drone just out of sight. He did hope Iilo was okay though. It'd been easy for Tom to walk into BrightStart, but Iilo was I'na.
"The labs are great. State-of-the-art shit. We've got scientists from all over the world employed here. Name a country. Seriously, name one."
"Uh." Tom really didn't want to play this game. "France."
"Ha! Too easy. We've got like five of those. This way."
Out of part curiosity and part doing his job, Tom followed.
"I got out on bail," Tom said. "My arraignment is on Monday."
"Hm. I guess I don't really know how all that works. You're the expert." Caleb hit the elevator button. "Oh. My custom watch just came in. I got an email it's at the house." Caleb took his Rolex off, handing it over to Tom. "I said you could have it, right?"
Tom furrowed his brow. Even in the face of genocide, Caleb still did kind things for the people he'd cared for. It sat wrong in Tom's stomach. Caleb didn't get to play God. Didn't get to decide who lived or died.
"Thank you," Tom said, looking at the watch. He'd sell it later.
The elevator dinged, and time speed up far too quickly for Tom to breathe.
Iilo stood there, pure pink and glaring at Caleb. Beside him was a guard. He held onto Iilo's wrists with an ironclad grip.
"Iilo!" His name ripped from Tom's body before he could even think about it.
"Found a stray, sir. His ID marker isn't logged in our system yet."
Caleb looked at Tom and then at Iilo. "Put him on his knees."
Iilo growled. He tried to worm his way out of the security guard's hands, but eventually he was shoved to the floor.
Tom looked to the end of the hall, eyes wide. The sun still blazed on, igniting everything it saw in the hall. Tom prayed Parker had a drone out there and he could see this. Tom was unarmed, he couldn't fight off Caleb and this guard.
"You've been a pest," Caleb said, hovering before Iilo. "Cuff him and leave us."
The guard didn't just use metal, he used a black, tar-like substance that grew around Iilo's ankles and wrists. Tom stood there, face screwed up in horror.
"We developed it to restrain the I'na," Caleb said with an air of pride. "Their blood can eat through regular handcuffs."
So that would explain how Iilo had gotten out in the first place. But now he was here, trapped by a substance he couldn't get himself out of, and Tom had to protect both of them. He looked to the end of the hallway again and then at Caleb. With the guard gone, Tom stood a chance in hand-to-hand. He'd always been the stronger of the two. He should've won the fight back at the cabin if he hadn't gotten himself knocked out. But he'd need to deal with that damn gun.
"Don't hurt Iilo, please, Caleb," Tom said mainly so Parker could hear their situation.
"I'll send in some guys, just buy yourselves some time and don't die," Parker said into the mic.
Caleb pulled out the gun from inside his blazer, inspecting it like an interested buyer. He flicked his gaze from Iilo to Tom, a devil's smirk on his face. "You know, I don't think I forgive you for taking Iilo from me."
"He didn't take me away, you piece of shit!" Iilo struggled on the ground. He stood up, but the restraints around his ankles were bulky and restrictive. He leaned on the wall for support, his fingers sprawled and ready to scratch.
Tom just stood there, watching helplessly, acutely aware of the gun. He took a step toward Caleb, but Caleb pointed the gun toward Iilo. "Don't do this."
"Why not? You'll go to prison for the murder of the I'na, I'll be richer than half of Congress, and the big, bad terrorist Iilo will be dead."
"You're an idiot," Iilo said, voice heated with vitrol.
"You've outstayed your welcome." Caleb charged at Iilo, the gun cocked and ready. Iilo bared his teeth, his hands up in front of his face.
"Caleb!" Tom's nerves burned, adrenaline coursing through him faster than light. He got in front of Caleb, out of breath. "If you're gonna shoot anyone, then shoot me!" Iilo wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be safe! This wasn't the plan.
The gun pressed into his stomach. Tom's body broke out in pins and needles.
Caleb paused. "You'd die for him?" His face twisted up in disgust.
"I don't want to. But if I have to." No, Tom didn't want to die. He didn't want anyone to die. Not even Caleb. He didn't deserve to get out of his crimes so easily, and Iilo deserved a life that didn't include a shoebox he kept close to his chest. Tom licked at his lips, wondering how long it'd take for Parker's men to get up here. It wasn't easy being brave. He remembered the foxholes and how he'd shook with Carlos pressed into his side. Their tears. Tom didn't want to be a brave man.
"Tom," Iilo managed to whisper. "I can do this."
Caleb pistol whipped Tom in the face, sending him spiraling to the floor "You betrayed your own people!" He aimed at Tom.
Tom raised his hands in front of his swelling face. Iilo was hobbling behind Caleb, teeth still sharp and ready. Tom held out a hand to stop Iilo. It went unnoticed by Caleb, but Iilo paused, his shoulders still raised.
"Don't cross that line, buddy. We served together! I would've died for you too." Tom didn't know what else to say. Time wasn't on their side, and Caleb was growing impatient. Tom wasn't sure who Caleb was anymore. The goofy guy that cracked the worst jokes was long dead; this Caleb, Tom didn't know how deep his connection was with the people he'd served with anymore. But Tom had to try, even if it only gave them mere seconds.
Caleb inhaled sharply, trembling. "You're giving me no choice!"
Tom stood up slow, palms out. The side of his face burned, and his fingers shook. He wasn't doing this just for himself. Iilo had been right on the plane; it had started that way. Tom had wanted some way to swallow his guilt and move on with his meager life. But his world had changed. His heart had grown. This wasn't just about him anymore. Iilo meant more to him than he cared to admit aloud. The I'na were part of their own story, and they deserved to keep going.
Iilo crouched, ready to pounce.
"Don't move, Iilo," Tom said. "Let's all just think about this."
Iilo snarled.
Caleb looked behind him and shoved himself against the wall.
Tom was never more aware of his heartbeat than he was now. A tiny whisper over and over, you're alive you're alive you're alive. He took a step toward Caleb.
Caleb, eyes wide and afraid, pointed the gun at Iilo and then back at Tom again. "I already crossed that line. There's no going back." A shot rang out.
"No!" Iilo screamed. He lunged, jumping on Caleb, the gun, and both of them tumbled to the floor. His wrists and ankles were restrained, but his teeth were not. Tom saw the way Iilo's face dug into Caleb's shoulder, how he used the restraints to smack Caleb in the face until he was shoved off.
Tom fell back, body seizing. He sucked in air, sharp little gasps that refused to fill his lungs. He heard pattering feet, felt the swampy Louisiana heat suffocate around his body like a coffin.
Tom rolled, gasping for air that refused him. He looked down, body wet and red. He let out a soft whimper before turning his attention to the noises around him.
Caleb was down, an I'na on top of him. Sam and Carlos were nowhere to be seen. They wrestled, the I'na going for the gun, but something kept his hands from reaching. Tom tried to get the gun to Caleb, standing and falling over his feet before crashing against the wall.
He cried out, his stomach on fire, bile in the back of his throat.
"Tom!" someone in his ear shouted. "Tom, what's happening? We're inbound! What is happening?!"
Tom closed his eyes. That didn't sound like Carlos. He looked up, not seeing stars but smooth ceiling. Around him, fancy paintings lined the walls.
Another gunshot.
"Tom!" someone screamed.
He looked at the tumbled mess of limbs and struggling fingers. Caleb was on top of the I'na. His hands wrapped around its throat.
Tom looked to his body again, pulse in his ear. He touched the blood, hands discovering it was his own. He pressed his face to the wall, sucking back as much as his body would let him. A wall. Not the rough bark of a tree. Not under the stars. Not Louisiana.
Tom looked over at Caleb and the I'na. Skin like a galaxy, eyes orange and familiar. This wasn't First Contact. And the I'na was Iilo. That person was Iilo. Tom gurgled, body too weak to laugh from the elation filling him.
"You piece of shit," Caleb snarled, kicking Iilo to the floor before reaching for the gun.
Tom rolled forward and yanked Caleb back.
Caleb had the gun, his fingers slick with Tom's blood. "This could've been easier, Raddoc." He pointed it at Tom's face.
Iilo jumped onto Caleb's back, poised and calculated. He got the restraints around Caleb's neck and squeezed.
Caleb's face flushed red, gurgles escaping his throat.
"Don't you fucking touch him," Iilo growled. He rolled off Caleb, eyes glowing red. "You afraid of me now? I'm bleeding, you son of a bitch." He took a step forward, offering out his shoulder to Caleb.
Caleb scampered back.
"Iilo!" Tom rasped, coughing. He was cold. "N-no more. No more." He checked his wound again. Superficial. A graze. His body still was in shock.
Iilo managed to pick up the gun and held it facing Caleb. "You heard him. No more." He did his best to scuttle closer to Caleb, shoving the restraints in his face. "Take these off or I'll shoot."
Caleb pressed something on the restraints, and they molded up into a tiny black rectangle on the floor. He did the same for the ones around Iilo's ankles.
Iilo stepped back, gun still aimed.
Tom's head fell forward, sweat too cold on his skin. He heard people in heavy armor run into the hallway. Several swooping down on Caleb. The elevator dinged again and people with SWAT on their chests fanned out.
"I said don't die, Raddoc," Parker said when he crossed the hall. "Someone look at his wound!"
Iilo surrendered the gun to Parker and dropped to Tom's side. "It's just a graze," he said.
Tom only offered a weak smile. "I took a bullet for you."
Iilo rolled his eyes. "You'll never let me live that down, will you?"
"Not a chance."
They pressed the sides of their heads together, Iilo humming softly in Tom's ear. "What Caleb said, I can explain. About me and him."
"You don't have to." Some stories were better left untold.
"Christ, someone! Medic up here, please!" Parker called into his walkie-talkie. "Gotta do the arresting thing, and we've got a dumbass attorney bleeding out on the floor. Or he'll die any minute!" Sarcasm dripped from each syllable.
Tom let out a wet laugh. Iilo squeezed his hands, humming softly.
"Caleb Polanski," Parker said, "you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit treason, disturbing the peace, wasting my fucking time, murder, kidnapping, and attempted kidnapping. You have the right to remain silent—"
Tom closed his eyes, tuning out the Miranda rights. They'd gotten Caleb. Tom had been shot. But they'd finally put an end to the I'na disappearances. The FBI would conduct their own investigation into who had ordered Parker to frame Tom. The I'na would have justice.
"Wait," Tom said, grabbing Iilo's arm. "Your family."
Iilo cupped Tom's face. "They're safe. I already found them."
"Yeah, he melted through our cuffs and decided to go galivanting into a high-security facility and get himself caught in the process," Parker said when he shoved Caleb into Yzee's arms. "Take him."
"My pleasure," Yzee said.
Caleb hung his head. He glared at Tom and Iilo. He looked small, surrounded by SWAT, handcuffed and escorted to the elevator. He'd thought himself a god and now he was reminded he was only a mortal.
"Just so you know, I only got caught because I wanted to make sure everyone got out," Iilo said, applying pressure to Tom's wound. It stung, but only enough to earn a hiss from his lips.
The hallway was too cramped for this many people. Parker's team carefully pulled out computers from the offices, checked behind the fancy paintings and they'd eventually sweep down and down and down until the whole building was seized of evidence. There'd be no hiding this, BrightStart was over.
Tom leaned his head on Iilo's, tracing his fingers up and down purple veins in Iilo's skin while they waited for a medic. "I thought—I almost didn't—"
"Blood pact. Remember?" Iilo's nuzzled into Tom's shoulder. "You'd never run from me."
"I could've hurt you."
"But you didn't." A crooked smile played on Iilo's blue lips. "I'll always bring you back."
Tom choked out a laugh, surprised by the confidence Iilo showed. He gave Iilo's nose a little flick before kissing the tip.
"Human affection," Iilo whispered. He flicked Tom's nose back.
A medic finally came to take Tom out on a stretcher despite Tom's loud protests. It was a graze, and yet everyone treated him like he'd been shot right in the lungs. Iilo never left his side.
Outside under a setting sun, the medic worked quickly on Tom's graze. He lay there, arm up to keep it out of her way.
"You're alive!" Inaraa covered her mouth with her hand, eyes sparkling. Her braids were barely out of place atop her head, dancing around the curves of her shoulders.
Letic stood beside her, a smirk on his ordinarily unamused face. He nodded.
"Okay, you're good. Just be easy on it," the medic said, patting Tom on the shoulder. "And take painkillers."
"It's a graze. I'll be fine." Tom groaned and leaned up. His muscles ached more than anything from when his body went into shock, eyes tired and heavy.
"Look at that," Letic said. "It lives."
Tom narrowed his eyes. The two stared at each other before knowing little smirks spread on their faces. Friends. They were friends.
"I'm sorry you got shot," Iilo said, voice morose. "It's my fault."
"It's not your fault." Tom reached out and squeezed Iilo on his good shoulder. "Your shoulder gonna be okay?"
"I didn't get shot."
"We should give them space," Inaraa whispered, pulling Letic along.
Iilo pulled Tom into a hug, his arms tight around Tom's neck. Tom closed his eyes, taking in the powdery scent of Iilo's skin. His heart filled two sizes. Never could he have imagined the way he felt for Iilo now even a few months ago.
"I fucking love you," Tom whispered into Iilo's hair.
"I love you too," Iilo whispered, kissing Tom's cheek.
Iilo glowed, soft and comforting beneath the night sky. Tom looked up, watching gray clouds pass under shining stars. It was chilly in the desert without the sun.
"Think you can walk?" Iilo asked.
"How many times do I have to say it's a graze and I'm fine?" Tom slid off the stretcher. He offered out his hand, warmth spreading from his fingers where Iilo touched.
Iilo slotted his lips with Tom's. His fingers threading up into Tom's hair.
All Tom could feel was the racing beats of Iilo's heart when they breathed each other in. He pulled Iilo against his body, arms wrapped tight.
Tom didn't know what happened next, but he knew there was a chance the world would learn the I'na's secrets. The government could only hide it for so long. And maybe it was time to be honest. The government would figure out a way to ease it into the public sphere. That was their damn job anyway. But there were more Calebs in the world, and then there were those who were worse.
"I'll protect you," Tom said against Iilo's lips. "I swear."
Iilo nodded into a kiss. "And I'll protect you."
Tom pulled back, eyes narrowing. "I'm gonna bury any asshole who tries to touch you in so much paperwork. All the lawsuits."
Iilo laughed, rolling his eyes.
Nothing on Earth would prevent Tom from spending every waking moment he could with Iilo. Tom had been wary. Now he trusted Iilo as much as he trusted Sam or Carlos. His world—his universe—had gotten bigger the moment Iilo stepped into it.
"I can't believe I fell in love with a human." Iilo touched Tom's face, tracing his fingers over cheekbones. He pressed a kiss to Tom's lips.
"C'mon," Tom stood up, offering out his hand. "I've always wanted to watch the stars out in the middle of a desert."