Lucy refused to let out the sigh that had steadily built since she`d walked into the agency`s lower office section.

　　Her governmental badge hanging on her belt beeped as she passed the scanner, and she smiled as Greg, the security guard, waved her through without looking up. His eyes stayed firmly stuck on a university textbook detailing math she`d never understood.

　　"Morning," she said, smiling, as she walked by his small office.

　　Greg gave a non-committal grunt, but that was fine. It was far better than the snide remarks and the looks that she received from her colleagues upstairs. Not that she entirely escaped them here, either.

　　"Hey Barbie!"

　　Her smile turned brittle as she turned to see Jeff waiting for her, clutching a folder stuffed to the brim with papers. Everyone who worked in her section of the Australian government knew it was all for show. They would be blank. Even with the fantastical subjects they dealt with in her department, Jeff was allergic to work.

　　When she`d first started, she`d heard others talk about how he bounced from projects to projects, always getting credit but never finishing the work. It didn`t surprise her. The man had his charms, and Bob, who ran their ten-man department, spoke highly of him. Lucy had believed the same during her first week. By the end of the month, she`d known better.

　　Without acknowledging his roaming eyes, she coughed to recapture his focus.

　　"What does Bob want, Jeff?"

　　She`d learned early on not to ask what he wanted specifically. Not after the crude remark about taking a blonde out to dinner. After she`d turned him down, the nickname started.

　　"Some crackpot sent fifty emails in the last day. Reckons he has something big. As the new hire, guess whose problem it is?"

　　A shudder filled her as she nodded. This would mean long hours scouring doctored pictures and having to deal with another alien probe story. Fantastic.

　　"Did Bob want to brief me first or?"

　　"Ha!" Jeff laughed as he waved her off. "You wish. Nope, straight to the interrogation room. He`s already got the link set up for you."

　　Lucy hid her grimace as she started down the hall toward the elevator once again. "Thanks Jeff."

　　"No problem, Barbie."

　　With her head held high, she hit the door-close button. Jeff`s stare never left her chest until the metal doors closed with a soft thump. A sigh escaped her, and she hit the button for the lowest floor before she used the small mirror near the ceiling to check her appearance. The white business shirt and long gray pants were spotless. Her tie was tight, as was the small black hair band that pulled her blonde hair into a ponytail.

　　She tried to scowl, narrowing her blue eyes as she tried her best to look fierce. The expression didn`t quite match her rounded face. Once satisfied that she looked professional, Lucy wiped away the scowl and reinstated her pleasant smile. No need to let their caller see her irritation. This might be a waste of time, but as a government representative, she`d signed on to serve the public. Even the crazy ones.

　　"McCloud," the deep voice greeted her as she stepped off the elevator, and she almost jumped.

　　The wrinkled man standing there was balding, his remaining hair white as snow. His gray eyes matched the crumpled suit he wore. Exhaustion wafted off him like a physical thing, and she fought the yawn it generated. He moved forward, his thin limbs trembling as though the weight of the world pressed into them. She didn`t offer him a stick; she knew better.

　　"Jerry? I thought you were on vacation."

　　"I was." The rasp in his voice appeared worse than usual. "Bob called me back in. I`m going to be your aide in this case. While it`s probably nothing, you`re too fresh to be abandoned with this."

　　A kernel of excitement filled her, and she worked frantically to school her expression. From the crooked smile, he noticed her slip even as he waved her to join him.

　　"I`m only going to be an aide. Bob`s worried, but it`s more than likely an elaborate hoax. You know what he`s like. Anything might be The One. His white whale. Crazy. The ex-wife was glad to see the back of me, though, even if the grandkids weren`t."

　　"Sorry to hear that," Lucy said, unsure of what else to say.

　　Jerry snorted, even as she made a quick note to call her own grandparents. Their excitement about her new job had delayed her telling them exactly what she did. All they knew, like most, was that she did government work. Though she`d been able to avoid answering why her location was in Sydney instead of Canberra.

　　"Don`t be. Life happens. Now, someones briefed you on leading the interviewing process, right? As I said, I`m here to aid, not run. As far as you`re concerned, you`re on your own. I don`t care what Bob says; you`re a competent girl. Unlike Jeff. Waste of space."

　　Lucy didn`t hide her smile as she nodded. "Yes sir! And yes, sir."

　　"Thatta lass. Remember. You get the facts best you can. Any evidence we can run today, we will. Do you need anything? Tea? Coffee?"

　　She could hear the air quotes around the word facts, but she still couldn`t help but laugh. Lucy hated her laugh. It made her naturally higher voice sound even more girlish.

　　"You aren`t my secretary, Jerry."

　　"That I`m not. But I`m not going to sit in those uncomfortable chairs without a stimulant. Now, tea or coffee?"Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

　　"Coffee."

　　"Good lass. Get your side of the setup ready, and we`ll start when I get back. He`s already on the line."

　　Lucy thanked him before ducking into the small room with the streaming setup. Well, what Bob called a streaming setup. The computer was the only modern piece inside; everything else was older due to budget constraints.

　　Or, as Jerry would put it, "the best rubbish the bastards in suits would let us buy."

　　She sat in the chair that creaked and quickly adjusted the webcam. The best bit about the bulky sphere was that the video quality on her end would be poor, which meant she needed less time to fiddle with the masking software. They couldn`t let people know her identity, or so Bob claimed. Though the man was a nutter of the highest order, he took security seriously.

　　By the time she`d booted up Zoom, Jerry was placing a pink mug on the desk filled with steaming coffee—black. When she looked at him, he shrugged, holding up his own pink mug.

　　"Jeff?"

　　"Probably."

　　With a shake of her head, she sipped her coffee, savoring the heat traveling down her throat. "What do we know about this guy?"

　　"Names Arnold Threy, late thirties. Guy reckons aliens visited the aboriginals and left them cryptic messages. He spends his time getting kicked out of tours for arguing with native guides about their own history when he`s not shilling crap on his podcast. Swears blind he has proof now. Says if we don`t talk to him, he`ll air it publicly."

　　"And we don`t want that?" Lucy asked.

　　Jerry shrugged, the action making her wince as though he might break. "Guys not massive, but Bob doesn`t want to risk it."

　　"Fair. Alright, we`ve kept him waiting long enough. You want to be on camera?"

　　"Nope."

　　"Do I have to be?"

　　Jerry grinned, and she sighed before shooing him away. It was show time.

　　***

　　"And that`s when it charged at me! Some kind of alien dog!"

　　Lucy nodded, typing away as the man talked. He`d told her the entire story twice now, but she still needed to check on the facts.

　　"This was the creature with the lizards and the yellow frog being?"

　　"You don`t believe me."

　　His voice was petulant, and he reached up to scratch at his red beard. Uncharitable it might be, but she couldn`t help but think he had to be the most stereotypical alien hunter she`d ever met. Overweight, nasally, with unruly red hair and a T-shirt bearing the slogan Among Us Always`. If it wasn`t for Jerry vetting his file, she`d have thought Jeff hired him to mess with her. Again.

　　"I`m simply getting the facts, sir. You don`t want any of this left off the report, right?" She asked, continuing to type.

　　"Well. No. But you`ll do something, right? With the photos I sent you, you can`t hide this anymore. All my followers are going to know the truth!"

　　She made a non-committal grunt of reassurance as she eyed the printouts of the images Arnold emailed earlier. They were extraordinary, and Jerry was currently processing them next door for potential matches. It wouldn`t be the first time someone tried to stick a different light source on a movie prop and call it real.

　　"We take all evidence, such as yours, seriously. Now you said it attacked you?"

　　"Exactly! The terror tried to ram my bike to pieces. I only got away from it because it got too close to the exhaust."

　　"I see."

　　Truthfully, she didn`t. Her attention flicked to a different image, this time of the so-called alien dog. It took effort for her heart not to melt at the sight of it. Long pink fur covered the so-called monster. The alien had large brown eyes that, even angry, made her desire nothing more than to cuddle it. Her mind went to the plush toys she`d had as a child. All she wanted was to hug it, brush it, and play with it.

　　Lucy resisted the urge to scream in delight at the miniature paws that emerged from the fur. She didn`t, though. That would come later, when she was alone. Official guidelines stated Lucy shouldn`t take work pictures home, but she bet she could convince Jerry. The old man would likely help. His granddaughter was in the princess and pony stage.

　　"So this, um, alien dog? It attacked you, and you fled. What happened after?" It took more effort than she wanted to keep her tone professional.

　　Arnold adjusted in his seat, looking frightened. "It ran around barking and howling. Even on the bike, I could hear it trying to call its savage owners to kill me. They might still be out there."

　　Once again, she didn`t see it as her gaze moved to a second picture. It displayed a trio of the alleged aliens: two lizards and a frog. Yes, the tall, muscular lizard appeared to be a genuine threat. A real-life movie monster who`d crawled from an alien swamp and robbed a science fiction set. The other two? Not so much.

　　The female, at least Lucy guessed she was female by her white blouse and leather skirt, appeared scared as she reached out for something. The frog looked beyond terrified, though its frog-like form made it hard to tell. Either way, neither, if real, looked like the type to stick around.

　　"Alright, Mr. Threy. We`ll run the photos and get in touch. Thank you for calling."

　　With that, she quickly disconnected and moved to find Jerry. She expected to find him snoozing on the couch installed for that specific purpose. It`s not like they needed to watch the machine; it would tell them when it was done. Instead, she discovered him at a rickety desk, fresh coffee in hand, as he examined the photographs.

　　"Problem?" Lucy asked, stopping next to him.

　　He jumped and started coughing. Unsure what else to do, she rubbed his back until he stopped.

　　"Maybe. I don`t think these are doctored."

　　"How can you tell?" She asked as she leaned down. "Also, can I keep—"

　　"Yes, you can have a copy of the dog. Don`t tell Bob." Jerry smiled.

　　"Thanks. But how can you tell?"

　　"Gut feeling. It all looks too natural, you know? Like, they looked surprised, not the typical stoic murder machines. I`m thinking paid actors he surprised on a set or something. Either way, it might be worth checking out."

　　"And no matches?"

　　"None. We`ll let the machine run overnight, of course. But you know what it`s like. A lot of waiting to find out it`s some Korean drama. Though from the fluff ball, I`m betting on Japan."

　　She nodded, even as her stomach growled. That interview had taken hours, thanks to all the repeats and Arnold`s annoying asides.

　　"Knock off for your break, lass. I`ll stay and do the paperwork."

　　"Nah, I`ll stay and—"

　　The computer dinged. Together, they went quiet before Jerry quickly flicked over his screen. A still image appeared there, showing a pink creature with soaked fur running for its life. The thing looked terrified now, not angry. Protective instincts flared up in Lucy as she looked at its massive eyes and pinned-back ears.

　　"An actual match," Jerry said. "I`ll be damned."

　　Lucy adjusted her tie, her hands shaking. "What do we do?"

　　"Do? We send it up the chain. Congratulations, lass, you`re going to visit the outback for your first ever alien hunt." Jerry`s eyes sparkled as he spoke, even as he reached over to pick up the phone.

　　She could hear Bob on the other end, his excitement palpable. From the old receiver, she heard the mention of team leads and expense-paid trips. A single sentence dropped from her lips as she realized that this was happening.

　　"You have to be fucking kidding me."