Oh No, Aliens

Brandon... or Brand. Whatever he liked to call himself. Jack always hated that name. He had never met a Brandon he liked. He wasn't sure if he had met a Brandon in general, but he definitely didn't like this one. The guy was really throwing off his vibe.

The entire drive to Houston, he tried talking up Hadley. Eventually her brother gave up on saying anything and just ignored it, and Brand was free to sneak glances at her through the rearview and flash her that stupid white smile. It wasn't Jack's fault that he couldn't afford braces while he was growing up.

He wasn't even sure if he was allowed to be so defensive over Hadley. They had some moments, but they weren't exactly together. At least, they hadn't talked about it yet. He may have been in over his head in feelings for her, but he didn't expect the same from her. She didn't owe him anything. And if handsome cowboys who shoot aliens was her type, then he wouldn't get in the way. It didn't stop him from pouting, though.

They finally got to Houston and pulled up to a warehouse that had turned into a small headquarters for the group of people trying to take on the aliens. It seemed like an operation that had been put together before the public even knew about the aliens. Jack must have looked dazed and a bit caught off guard, because Brand whacked him on the shoulder with a laugh.

"Look at this guy," he grinned. "Like he's at Disneyland. Come on, kid. Keep it moving."

Jack glared at him. There it was again. He hated being called a kid. He was pretty sure he was taller than Brand, anyways. Tommy and Hadley walked a little further ahead of them and chatted, leaving Brand and Jack walking together. That didn't mean they had to talk, but Brand did so anyways.

"You know, Tommy never mentioned anything about little bird over there having a boyfriend," he said.

"She doesn't," Jack mumbled.

"Oh, so I won't be stepping on any toes here," he said. "Good to know. I thought you two were... you know..."

"We're friends," Jack said reluctantly.

"Great," Brand grinned. "Because she's really something, isn't she?"

"She is."

"She's a firecracker," Brand continued, making Jack's stomach do a backflip again. "Girl like her needs action. Adventure. So I guess it makes sense, right? I mean no offense, you just seem like the sort of guy who likes to read a book in his free time."

Jack turned to face Brand, feeling years of built up rage rising up.

"You know nothing about what kind of a person I am," he said simply.

For a moment, Brand seemed cautious. Then he got that stupid grin back on his face again.

"Aw, tough guy," he chuckled. "She and I would be good together. I think I'm gonna shoot my shot."

"I think I'm going to shoot you."

"What's that?"

"I said that I think that would be up to her."

Brand shrugged and jogged slightly to catch up to Tommy and Hadley. Jack was about to follow them, but a young blonde woman tapped him on the shoulder. She gave him a polite smile.

"You must be Jack Enright," she said. "My name is Katherine."

"Hi there."

"Tom said you might know a thing or two about these aliens," she said. "Something about a chip? I'm with the engineering team, and we were wondering if we could have a chat with you about what you saw and the chip you have."

Jack cast a glance towards Hadley, who was lightly laughing at something Brand had said. He hated to leave them alone without knowing what they were talking about, but he supposed there were bigger issues at hand. He nodded, following Katherine to a table a little ways over, where a group of people were gathered. They seemed eager to see Jack.

"If you don't mind, one of our medics would like to see that wound on your arm and take some blood samples from you," she said. "Olive is really good with needles. You won't feel a thing."

The medic in question gestured for him to sit down at the table, holding a small medical kit to take blood. Jack sat down and rolled up his sleeve to let her do that, then took out the napkin in his pocket that the chip was wrapped in. One of the engineers took it and unwrapped it, staring at it in wonder.

"Where did you manage to get your hands on this?" he asked.

"It was in my car," Jack said, wincing as the needle slid into his arm. "Well, not my car. It was a company car. I used to work for LeonAir."

"Porter," Katherine nodded. "Our team has had our eye on him for a while. You're the first person with proof that he has involvement. Jerry has been doing some research on that."

"He has involvement with a lot of major politicians," Jerry nodded. "There's no telling how far this thing goes."

"The chip was manufactured by the aliens," Jack told them. "When I got the bite, it absorbed the poison. I'm not an expert in any of this, but I have a theory that it's manufactured from the same-"

"The same technology that created the prowlers," Jerry finished with a grin. "That's exactly it, Jack."

"We could use a mind like yours on our team," Katherine remarked. "You catch on to this sort of thing quick. Unless you want to work with the big guns but... you could do well here."

Jack glanced over at Hadley again, who was listening as Brand showed her some weaponry.

"He could do both," Jerry suggested.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Having this in our hand can help us complete some research we already have," he explained. "This one chip absorbed whatever was poisoning you. If it's the same stuff that powers the ships, who knows what else it can absorb?"

"You mean the power from the ships?" Katherine suggested.

"Bingo."

"That sounds risky," Katherine sighed. "If we lose this chip, then who knows when we can get another one? LeonAir has gotten rid of all their supply by now."

"What's risky?" Brand suddenly interrupted with a grin. "Whatever it is, let's do it."

"Brandon, it's not-"

"Kathy, there's American lives on the line here," he said. "If there is an opportunity to protect my country, then I want to take it."

Katherine looked at him for a long time with a hard stare, then sighed.

"Katherine," she said. "It's not Kathy. Katherine. And fine."

"That's the spirit," he said.

"But whatever we build, we're giving it to Jack."

Brand's face fell slightly and Hadley looked like she wanted to laugh, looking down at her feet instead. Jack would have been smug if the idea didn't terrify him. That was a whole lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He rolled down his sleeve and stood up with a nod to the rest of the team. As they walked away, Brand spoke to him with hushed words.

"Where'd you learn to shoot a gun?" he questioned. "Call of Duty?"

"Nope," Jack said simply. "Gang war."

He wished he could have gotten a picture of the look on Brand's face, but smugly brushing past him would have to do for now.