Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
There was none that she could find and she was starting to panic when she put her hand flat on the door and it slid to one side smoothly, revealing a high-tech interior like nothing she had ever seen before. If she’d had any doubts left that Vic was telling her the truth about having a spaceship, one look inside this “car” put them to rest.
It looks like the cockpit of a plane—only more complicated, Torri thought, eyeing all the weird-looking instruments. She was careful not to touch anything as she slid into the luxurious seat which was much too large for her and felt like it was covered in some kind of ultra-soft suede.
“Hey, get back here!” the cop shouted at her but the ship’s door was already closing smoothly and silently behind her.
“Now, don’t get all excited, officer,” she heard Vic say genially. Looking through the smoked glass window of the sleek alien vehicle she saw that he had both his hands up in a “don’t shoot” gesture. “I think she just went to get some kind of personal items if you know what I mean,” he added and winked meaningfully.
The officer apparently decided to concentrate on Vic and leave Torri alone for the moment.
“Are you Michael O’Toole?” he demanded.
“That’s what it says on my license—wanna see it?” Vic asked amiably.
“Yes, I do. License and registration right now and no funny business,” the officer snapped. He was a big guy—though not as big as Vic in his true form, Torri saw. And he still hadn’t taken his hand off the butt of his gun.
Vic hunted around and managed to produce the truck’s registration, but of course he didn’t have O’Toole’s driver’s license.
“Well, shit,” he said, sounding genuinely disgusted with himself when he failed to produce it. “Must’ve left my wallet in my other pants. I’m sorry, officer.”
“You will be sorry,” the officer growled, glaring at him.
“Can I ask why you stopped me?” Vic asked, still apparently trying to look harmless.
“There was a murder and an abduction at St. Elizabeth’s Mental Hospital last night,” the officer snarled, frowning at him. “Know anything about that?”
“Afraid not.” Vic shrugged. “I mean, I work there, but I left in the middle of my shift last night to come visit my grandma. She has a cabin not far from here—she was real sick and needed me.”
From the confines of the sleek silver ship, Torri could see the angry bafflement on the cop’s face. It was clear he wasn’t sure if he ought to believe anything Vic was saying or not. On one hand, the person he was speaking to looked like the murder victim, but on the other hand, he had been seen leaving by Gus, the security guard last night. The only way any of this was possible was if O’Toole had an identical twin, which she was pretty sure he didn’t. She didn’t blame the officer for being confused—she just hoped he wouldn’t start shooting.
“Get out of the truck right now and keep your hands where I can see them,” he said to Vic.
Vic opened the driver’s door of the truck and stepped down with his hands in the air.
“Now what?” he asked innocently.
“Now you’re coming with me. And so is your lady friend—whoever she is,” the officer snapped. “Turn around slowly and put your hands behind your back.”
Vic started to turn, then whipped back around. In a motion so fast it was almost a blur, he grabbed something from the officer. Torri saw it glint silver in his hand—the gun!—and then Vic threw it over the side of the mountain. It went sailing into the blue as though he had pitched a fast-ball, winking in the sunlight, and fell much further than anyone human could have thrown it.
“I’m sorry, officer, but I’m in a hurry and I can’t let you stop me.”
As he spoke, Vic turned back into himself again. The instant transformation made the officer stop and stare at him, his eyes wide with shock.
“Hey—” he started.
But Vic had already walked around the truck and was climbing into the sleek silver ship beside Torri.
“Buckle up,” he advised her. “We need to get out of here quickly.”
Looking down, she saw there was a five-point harness attached to the passenger seat she was sitting in. As she worked to get all the straps clicked into place, Vic was rapidly manipulating the complicated-looking array of instruments. After just a moment, the ship began to rise straight up into the air.
“Hey! Hey!” The officer down on the ground seemed to have recovered from the shock of seeing Vic change. He was glaring up angrily at them. After a moment, he darted back to his car and returned with a shotgun.
“Hurry!” Torri begged fearfully. She knew that Vic had promised her that his ship could deflect bullets but she really didn’t want to put it to the test.