Page 46 of Badass Alien Boss

“Can you describe him?”

“He was behind me most of the time, and I couldn’t see his face. He wore something like a black ski mask.”

“Skeemask?”

“Sorry. Skiing is a sport on Earth. A ski mask covers the entire head with cutouts for the eyes, nose, and sometimes mouth. His mask covered his mouth.”

“Eyes?”

“Dark,” she said, then added, “Two—that I could see.”

“Height, clothing?”

“He was taller than me, but shorter than Ruyn. My head bumped his chin.”

The inspector nodded, and his partner recorded her report in his tech tab. The device would take what she said and produce a transcript.

“Besides the pullover mask, he wore a black jacket and a dark-gray shirt and pants. AHyton 600was tucked into the waistband.”

“How do you know it was a Hyton 600?” Nsia said.

“I know something about weapons. I was in the Earth military,” she replied.

“But he didn’t draw his weapon?”

“He went for it, but I got to mine first, and he reconsidered,” she said, and then regretted her cockiness. She was the victim here, and she hadn’t used undue force against her assailant, but it would be better to not raise any suspicions about herself. She needed to stay on the good side of local law enforcement.

“You’re carrying?” Nsia narrowed his eyes. “What do you have?”

“I have the appropriate permits,” she said, and named her two legal weapons, omitting the technically illegal one under her skirt, the one she’d used. Ruyn handed over her tech tab, and she opened the permit stamped by the Luturnan government and presented it Nsia.

The inspector scanned it, nodded, and returned the device. “Did he say anything?”

“He swore at me after I kicked him.” She frowned. A wisp of significance lurked beyond mental grasp.

“What is it?” the inspector asked.

She shook her head. “It’s gone.”

“Did you notice if anything is missing from the apartment?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t want to touch anything, so I did a quick look to verify no one else was in the apartment.”

“You shouldn’t have done that. You should have left and called for help elsewhere.”

Well, I was armed,she thought, but didn’t say it, preferring the focus not to be on her and her weaponry. “Seeing how the intruder ran away, and I was inside, it seemed safer to be inside,” she fabricated.

“Any idea how he got in?”

She shook her head. “My unit requires a palm scan to enter. Only me, Ruyn, and, I suppose, the superintendent, have access. The apartment was locked when I got home. There are cameras in the corridor.”

“What time did you arrive home?”

“Sixish. A little after.” She glanced at her tech tab. It was 7:10 now.

“The intruder was in the apartment with you how long?”

“A couple of minutes at most.”