“Look, bitch, I don’t know who the fuck you are, or what the fuck you are doing in my mother’s room, and frankly I don’t give a shit. This isn’t your room, this isn’t your friend’s room or your aunt’s room, this is my mother’s room, and I have been staying in it since my boyfriend was killed in an accident in India a few months ago.”

Lana instinctively stepped back from the suddenly enraged woman. Lana was born a princess and she was not used to being spoken to this way. As she began to consider how good it would feel to punish the human for her tone, she suddenly registered a message coming in from the AI. Apparently Shahim had reestablished contact. He was OK, he had been forced to hide when an internal alarm sensor had registered his presence, but he had managed to disable it. Lana was being ordered to stand down and return to her post in Georgia per the stipulations of the Council. Shahim had completed a thorough search of Neal’s affairs and confirmed that it was a false alarm and there was no need for further investigation.

Lana stared back at the furious human in front of her and cursed her impotence. You’ll get yours, she thought, keeping her face passive, soon you will all be dealt with. It’s coming, you peasants, and when it does I’ll be there to ensure the thunderbolt hits you the hardest.

Outwardly though, Lana remained calm, and Madeline wondered whether she had gone too far. But she was enjoying herself too damn much so she decided to go for broke. Stepping right up to the Agent, she grabbed the woman’s shirt and said into her face, “Now I suggest you go back to reception and check that room number. But that is really up to you. You can go fucking swim for all I care. All I know is that you need to get the fuck out of my room, and you need to do it right fucking now.”

Madeline didn’t know if she was about to die, and at this point she didn’t really care. That had just felt so deliciously good.

But Lana had her orders, and the rules of the Treaty that governed the advanced party were extremely clear. Very well, the princess would stand down, for now. It appeared that these two humans were, indeed, innocent. But she would not forget the words of this lumpen commoner. No one manhandled Princess Lamati and lived.

Madeline sensed Lana’s hands coming up with more than a little trepidation, and she felt them wrap around her own. She felt them squeeze with smooth force and was reminded that the woman she was manhandling could easily crush every bone in her body. Now that her pent-up rage was released, the initial fear came flooding back.