Forever Until Tomorrow (War Eternal Book 5) by M. R. Forbes Page B

control me. If you're right about something bad happening, we need to try to stop it."
    "If I could hug you through the stream, I would," Katherine said.
    "You can owe me one. Mitchell. I'll start digging. What are you going to do in the meantime?"
    "Go shopping," she replied.
    "Shopping?"
    "Yes. Let me know if you get anywhere. Thank you isn't enough to tell you how grateful I am to have you as a friend."
    "You're welcome. The street runs both ways. You were always there for me. I'm glad I can do something useful to help you for once."
    "Me too. Thanks, Michael."
    "Any time."
    Katherine dropped the connection and pulled the AR glasses from her face. She made her way to the kitchen, where her pay card was sitting. The UEA had given her two years severance for the trouble.  
    She knew exactly what she was going to do with it.

16

    Reggie sat in an interrogation room of the St. Louis police station. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit - the only thing the police had for him that was dry. They had promised they would get him something more suitable as soon as they had the time. He wasn't a prisoner, after all.
    The officer sitting across from him was named Detective Carson Lyle. He was a large man, with dark skin and big eyes. He wore his plain gray suit well. It was crisp and neat, everything in its proper place. Reggie was certain the man had been in the military, though he had yet to ask.
    "So, you checked out of St. Mary's about six hours ago?" Lyle said.
    "Yes."
    "You walked about half a mile, and then you were waiting in an alley for someone to rob?"
    "No. I was waiting for a car. The other guy jumped in front of me, so I shoved him. We got into a fight inside."
    "He said you were trying to rob him."
    "That would be stupid. You can't rob people nowadays."
    Detective Lyle raised his left eyebrow. Reggie didn't care if the man believed him or not. He would have to prove he was lying.
    "You know that the man you got into the... altercation with is an attorney? Paul Blevins. He's got a reputation in this city."
    "As an asshole?"
    Lyle lowered his head and covered his mouth to hide his grin. "No. As a philanthropist. He said he didn't want to press charges. But then, you didn't try to rob him, right?"
    "Right."
    "Whatever happened in the car with Mr. Blevins is ancient history," Lyle said. "I don't give a shit what you were trying to do, especially since he doesn't want any complications in the matter. He wasn't hurt, and after what happened with the car you were in, I think he's feeling pretty grateful about that."
    "He was lucky he got out when he did."
    "And you weren't. I guess you stayed in the car even though the officers were trying to coax you out because you didn't do anything wrong?"
    "I thought you just said that was ancient history?"  
    He didn't hide his smile that time. "Yeah. Bad habit of mine. Anyway, I've been trying to figure out how an autocab winds up going haywire and driving itself, and its passenger, into the Mississippi River."
    "I almost died."
    "Almost. According to the divers, you put up a pretty good fight first. They've never seen so much damage done from inside a car."
    "I didn't want to drown. Anyway, it didn't help much, did it? I couldn't get out."
    "I went ahead and pulled your file from St. Mary's," Lyle said, switching topics. "According to your record there, you were found on the same night the XENO-1 crashed, with second and third-degree burns on both arms, and no memory of who you are or where you came from."
    "Yes."
    "Are you an alien?" Lyle asked.
    "That's stupid."
    He shrugged. "I figured I'd throw it out there. Not that you'd tell me if you were."
    "Are you going somewhere with all of this?"
    "I have a problem, Reggie, and I'm hoping you can help me solve it."
    "I probably can't."
    "I think you're wrong. Detective work is all about putting together puzzles. Finding the pieces and getting them in the right places. Do you know what I mean?"
    "Yes."
    "So I have these pieces. A guy leaves