Page 9 of Legend of Scorpio
She shook her head. “I’ll give you credit for creating an elaborate story, but sorry, I’m not sure I believe it.”
“Very well then, explain my presence.” He leaned back and crossed his arms.
Her lips pursed. Pretty lips, the kind with a full bottom and a lovely indent on the upper—the kind that had already lured him into trouble. She’d removed her hood, hat, and goggles, revealing smooth features, cheeks pink from being outside but skin pale of hue. Paler than him, with his golden sun-kissed tan. She’d unzipped her coat, the bulk of it hiding her shape, but her breasts did push against her sweater nicely.
“I don’t know how you got here, and naked at that. I do remember seeing a flash of light?—”
“That was me being beamed back to Earth from my constellation.”
“—and then you were suddenly just there, wrestling a leopard seal. That wasn’t too smart. They have killed people.”
He snorted. “I’m a warrior. I’ve battled much worse.”
“Let’s say you’re telling the truth… I still don’t see how I’m supposed to help. Surely you have some clue as to what you’re supposed to find.”
“The boss didn’t offer much in the way of details. Basically: go there, find the doctor, retrieve the object. It should be noted that prophecies often work like that. We get the bare minimum to start us on a quest, and things kind of happen along the way, revealing what we need to know.”
“A quest.” She snorted. “Do you know how odd that term sounds to a scientist who deals in facts?”
“Fact is you are going to intentionally or inadvertently help me locate an artifact.”
“Let’s say I do. Why would I let you take it?”
“Because it’s needed to save the world.” For a scientist, she didn’t listen very well.
“But here’s the thing. I’m here on a grant, which means anything I find doesn’t belong to me, but to Cetus.”
“Who is this Cetus?”
“The Cetus Environmental Research Corporation is who sent me here to study the glaciers in the area. I signed a contract. All samples, all discoveries, everything I do here is their property, and that would include any object I happen to find in the ice.”
“Only if they know about it.”
She stared at him. “I am not lying to my employers.”
“Not lie, just not mention.”
“It’s the same thing,” she huffed. “And how do I even know you’re a good guy? For all I know, this supposedspecialartifact”—she did finger quotations—“is actually what will cause trouble in the world and you’re a villain trying to use me to get it.”
“You think I’m the bad guy?” Flattering because, after all, he did appear quite ferocious. However, it was also insulting. “I’ve been saving humanity for over a century.”
Laughter erupted from the doctor that went on for some time before it devolved into choked giggles. “Oh, now I know you’re messing with me. You are not a hundred years old.”
“A hundred and seventeen, to be exact. And, yes, I am. I told you becoming a warrior enhances our attributes and abilities. Longevity is one of those perks. I’m not even the oldest. That would be Leo. He’s hitting the big three-oh-oh later this year.”
She stared into the bottom of her empty cup. “There is not enough whiskey in the world for this conversation. I need to go lie down.”
“But it’s daylight.”
His remark arched her brow. “It’s nine o’clock at night. And the reason it’s still bright is because, in Antarctica, during the months of December, January, and February, the sun doesn’t set. So, it is technically night.”
“You go to sleep then. I’m not tired.”
“Wasn’t an invitation,” she muttered.
“Mind if I poke around?”
“Yes. Keep your hands off my stuff.”