Grumpy Alien King by Celeste King
Xxuric
After roughly a quarter billion intergalactic dollars' worth of damage to my lovely home, I made it to where the scumbags would likely hold up. My personal office.
I made sure my blaster was loaded mentally prepared myself for a rough fight. The last dozen or so guys were grunts, mostly just cannon fodder. If the leader of this suicide mission was as serious as his order, his personal guards would be a cut above the rest. Still, all men die.
The door broke off the hinges when my foot went through it. As the splinters still fell, I had my gun at the ready, leaning up against the door frame.
“You know you could’ve just knocked,” a friendly voice said.
“Not in my own goddamned house!” I shouted back.
Thankfully when the man spoke, he gave me a good idea where in the room he was. I ducked into the room and had my sights on the smug prick, when I saw Dahrial’s face next to his.
“Hey, daddy,” Zarthaan said with a broad grin.
“Fuck you!” I yelled.
“If you don’t mind dropping that gun, I think your son would greatly appreciate it,” he said, pushing the barrel of the gun to my boy’s head.
Zarthaan was going die. He was my height if not a hair taller and needless to say he towered over my son. The man’s calloused fingers were wrapped around my boy’s throat and if not for the kid’s toes touching the floor, he’d have been holding him clean off the ground.
There were three other men in the room. Each was well armed and had raptor sharp eyes. They were well trained and disciplined. One of the men had his gun trained on me while the second kept his on the doorway behind me. The third’s gun was raised at Dahrial’s head.
I kept my gun aimed right between his eyes. “Why are you doing this? You received everything you ordered and the price was fair.”
I wanted to keep him talking. I needed an opening and he seemed like the type to drone on endlessly.
“Oh no, your deals were more than fair, and your product was second to none,” Zarthaan said with a shrug and nodded towards his weapon.
“Trust me, we’ve put them through a lot today,” he said with a smirk.
“But as good as your prices were,” he continued, “you just can’t beat free.”
“Really? You’re here to steal my weapons? Then why keep us alive?”
“Don’t forget about the money. That’s a nice bonus too,” Zarthaan said, his smile widening.
This piece of shit broke into my compound, raided my home, and he thought he was going to scare me into giving up my money?
“Do you think I’m dumb enough to have my fortune on me in cash?” I asked, probing the situation for a weakness. The only one I saw was my boy’s panic ridden face that was turning darker as the man’s grip seemed to tighten.
“Nah, you didn’t really strike me as the dumb type, but you did strike me as a softy. You’re a good ole family man who’d never want something to happen to his little chip off the old block.”
Zarthaan’s gun clicked against Dahrial’s horns.
“So, what you’re going to do is transfer all of your money into a little account I’ve been hiding just for a day such as this.”
“Come on, daddy. Make me a rich man.” He growled into my son’s ear.
I stood still, unable to move. I knew the likelihood of these men letting us live, even if I complied, was pretty low. Still, this man doesn’t seem like he’s bluffing. He’s seen so much shit, I don’t think killing an innocent boy would even stop him from raiding our fridge on the way out.
“Daddy, we’re waiting.” Zarthaan said, showing the first hints of rage since I broke down the door. The muscles in his arms flexed and Dahrial’s lips turned blue.
The boy choked and started pulling desperately at the pants hands.
His yell came out as a desperate gasp. “No please! I just found my true love; I don’t want to die!”
“What?” Me and the men asked in unison.
My eyes went to my son who somehow loosened the man's grip just enough to take a breath. Had he fallen in love with Heather? I knew I was locked away in my office for a while but there was nothing between them when I went in. The two of them were so platonic she could’ve been confused for being his sister.
My son looked back at me with pleading eyes. “I’m sorry, Dad. It’s Rulora.”
“Your tutor?” I gawked.
This triggered a round of laughter from the men.
“Aww, to be young and rich,” the man laughed.
“Wait, was she the Florian we found hiding in one of the rooms?”
For the first time in the kid’s life, I saw a fire in his eyes.
“I swear if you fucking hurt her, I’ll...” he was cut off by a round of laughter from the men.
“The kid’s fucking a fish!” The man whose job was to keep his gun on me laughed.
And there was my opening.
First, I shot at the man who was holding my son. I tried not to hit Dahrial but overcompensated and only winged him. Still, it was enough for the kids to fight loose.
The men’s laughing fit left them on the back foot, and I landed all three shots with only the last one getting a shot off a shot of his own.
I went to get my son away from the wounded leader but my boy was startling the man, bringing down hit after hit on the man’s face.
“Where is she?” he screamed down at Zarthaan who’d already lost consciousness.
I grabbed my son by the shoulder, getting his attention. He looked back at me with fury in his eyes. I smiled down at him proudly.
“I think I know where they’d keep her. Let’s go get your girl.”
