Free Alien Eyes by Lynn Hightower Page A

her side. They took her to protect her.”
    â€œWhat do we know about this group?” Roger said.
    David shrugged.
    â€œMaybe we better find out.”
    â€œI think it’s time I met Angel Eyes,” David said. “Maybe I’ll stop in for a lecture.”
    Pete pushed his chair back. “Are we wrapped here? ’Cause if we are, I haven’t had my lunch.”
    â€œYou bring that garlic salami again?” Mel asked. “You did, we’re moving your desk downstairs.”
    â€œPastrami, today. Pastrami and cheese. And …” He faltered and looked at Delia. “A tangerine.”

THIRTEEN
    The receptionist at the school of Diplomacy was human, and the waiting room had comfortable chairs, people, and no elusive scent of lime. Edmund University had Elaki faculty members, but not very many.
    The boy behind the desk was young. Most likely, David decided, a student on a work/study scholarship. He wore blue jeans, and squinted over a book on physical anthropology when he wasn’t answering the phone or admitting ignorance to people’s questions. He had a trace of acne, innocent blue eyes, and a tendency to push the wrong button and disconnect people when the phone rang.
    Every time the kid screwed up, David felt a twinge of satisfaction. He was beginning to cherish human incompetence.
    Mel was humming. David could not quite recognize the tune. String was quiet in the corner, and no one stared at him. Elaki were part of the fabric of the university. As were humans. String had that stillness about him, that look of waiting, of patience, the Elaki ability to go inside himself. Becoming one, they called it.
    Mel always said one what.
    David cleared his throat. He glanced back at the coffee table. His choices were Package Gourmet , the December issue, and the latest Saigo City !, the smarmy local glossy.
    He leaned forward and took the Saigo City !. Nothing about the cho crimes, this was strictly a chamber of commerce effort. Their ideas of Saigo After Dark bore no relation to his own experiences. He flipped the pages, yawning, wondering how a local horoscope was different from a regular one, but not interested enough to find out. One of the pictures caught his eye, and he turned back.
    He did not expect to find a shot of Little Saigo, no matter how cleaned up and airbrushed. The usual garbage was gone, and except for an overly relaxed man sprawled next to a bush, there were no obvious derelicts. A grey-haired woman in a baggy, forest-green sweater grinned at the camera. Her face was slightly out of focus, but it was obvious that she was missing teeth. She held up a necklace that caught the sun, sending a sword of reflected light across the page. The headline said “JEWELRY FOR SCALE.”
    David skimmed the article, then glanced up at String. Was that why Della was saving his scales? To make jewelry from?
    David stood up, tossed the magazine in the chair behind him. He glanced at his watch, then frowned at the boy behind the desk.
    â€œIt’s been twenty minutes. You sure she didn’t have an appointment or something after lunch?”
    The boy opened his mouth and closed it. “I don’t think so.” He turned to a computer terminal and typed in a command. He shook his head. “Nope. No appointments.”
    â€œShe prone to taking long lunches?”
    â€œUmmm. I don’t know. I’ve only been here a couple weeks.” The boy swallowed and smiled. “I’m sorry. She should be back real soon.” His voice was hopeful.
    David nodded curtly. He moved from the desk and bent down to Mel. “I’m going to head out a minute. I’ll check and see if there’s a back door she can come in and out of. I’m not in the mood to sit pat while she plays games with us.”
    â€œUm,” Mel said. He didn’t look up from his magazine. David bent down and looked at the cover. Aquarium Fish ?
    David let the door ease shut behind