Free Your Planet or Mine? by Susan Grant Page A

Chevy’s door locks popped up. Jana slid behind a steering wheel molded to look like a thick, linked chain. The interior smelled like cigarettes. A statue of Mary sat on a square of red velvet on the dash. Save me . Jana crossed herself as Cavin started the motor. The Chevy roared to life with a deep rumbling that echoed down the quiet street. In seconds, shouting patrons swarmed out of the bar like angry bees.
    All Jana saw was a blur of tattoos and black leather before she jammed her foot to the gas pedal so fast that Cavin had to grab hold of the dash to keep his balance. Up the entry ramp she raced, and onto the highway headed back to where they’d started.
    “Left,” Cavin directed. As she veered onto the far left lane to go around a slower car, Jana thought of the Safeway near Evie’s house. Her Jeep waited for her there. Her little brown Jeep. The memory spurred a yearning so sharp that she almost burst into tears. But she needed to keep her wits about her. No crying. No falling apart. She was a respected politician, a state senator.
    A state senator who had stolen three cars in one night.
    Two involuntarily. One eagerly.
    Heaven help her.
    “No making headlines for anything but the bills you pass.”
    Jana winced at the promises she’d given her grandfather. If this ended badly, how could she face him tomorrow? Or her father and brother for that matter?
    She felt Cavin’s gaze on her. “You’re thinking,” he said.
    “About my family. About my father fighting charges that he misreported the funds used to finance an election campaign. A lie, Cavin, a horrible lie. And I’m supposed to be helping by staying out of trouble. How am I doing, huh?”
    He acted unhappy at the news. “I’ve seen your entire record of public accomplishments. You have achieved much. I am not surprised at all.”
    “How do you know so much about me? My real name, my job?”
    “The Coalition has collected data on Earth’s leadership. We know the identity of all leaders, and where to find them.”
    The back of her neck prickled. “Even a state senator? A minor player in the grand scheme of things?”
    “From tribal leaders to kings.”
    Something told Jana the information wasn’t being gathered to put together a guest list for a tea party. The whole thing was starting to sound too much like War of the Worlds . Obviously, plans had been a long time in the making.
    Maybe as long as twenty-three years ago. “You said your father was a scientist, that he brought you to Earth. What was he studying that he had to come all the way here?”
    Cavin shifted in the seat. “His job was to investigate the suitability of your world for Coalition use,” he said a little awkwardly.
    “Use,” she sneered. “Call it what it is—an invasion!”
    “For what it’s worth, that’s the same thing I told my father.”
    “How could you keep it from me? We played, we laughed together, and all the time you knew your people planned to invade Earth. Why did you let me believe you were magic?”
    “Because I didn’t know a word of your language, Jana, and you didn’t know a word of mine. Why do you think I called you Squee?”
    The soft and special way he said the word gave her a heart sensation she hadn’t felt since she was nine. “Where was your mother? Why didn’t she come?”
    “She was dead.”
    “Oh.” Jana slid lower in the seat. “I’m sorry.”
    “I don’t remember her. My father felt her absence more than I ever did. He buried himself in his work to compensate for her loss. I grew up independent, perhaps a little wild. I hated being cooped up so much on the long voyages that when we finally arrived at the next planet I’d stay outside as much as the conditions would allow. Then we came to one world populated by humans, and I saw an alien girl. She fascinated me.”
    “Why?” she almost whispered.
    “Because she was so full of life. She was so silent most of the time, then, when no one was around, she’d laugh. Laugh