by Gini Koch
“That’s a very interesting question.” My mind whirred. “And they’re near Doreen and Irving . . . how close are those rooms, Gladys?”
“The Weismanns are across the hall from Captain Crawford, the Valentinos are next to them.”
Before I could say anything else, there was a knock at the door and Denise Lewis stuck her head in. She was a gorgeous blonde with great teeth and bags of charisma. I liked her a lot.
“Kitty, I know everyone’s doing some baby shower thing, but I figured you could use this right now. I brought it with us when they said we were going into lockdown.” She grinned. Geez, beyond awesome teeth.
“Thanks, Denise. What is it?”
She came into the room and handed me a gift bag. “Open it now.”
I could feel the rest of the room not wanting me to, but I wasn’t coming up with what was going on with Tim yet, and figured the one minute might not hurt. Pulled out a yellow backpack-like thing. “Uh . . . pretty.”
Denise laughed. “It’s a baby carrier. Here, let me show you.” She stood me up and hooked it around me, went to Jeff, took Jamie, gave her a kiss, and then slid her into the frontal backpack. Jamie nestled right in between the torpedoes and seemed quite happy there. “It’s great for the mom, or dad, on the go.”
“Denise, you’re the best.” I had to give her a side hug so as not to crush the baby. “This is great. Thanks for not waiting to give it to us.”
She laughed again. “I’ve had it for three months, just waiting for a baby shower. But since the baby came first, the heck with waiting, right? What’s a little rule break in the greater scheme of things?”
I stared at her. “I love you.”
CHAPTER 32
DENISE LOOKED SHOCKED. “Um, love you, too.”
“Can you ask Kevin to race over here? I think we need him.”
“Sure.” Denise looked around. “I guess the high-level meetings take place in the hospital wing when you’ve just delivered. You want Angela, too?”
“No, just Kevin. My mom can continue to do whatever they’re doing in the library.”
“Gotcha. Okay, see you later.” She flashed everyone a killer smile and trotted off.
“Are you playing for the other side and didn’t want to tell me?” Jeff sounded only mildly worried. “I mean, it’s great, and lord knows having hands free will be nice, but I was worried you were going to kiss her with tongue there for a minute, baby.”
I shook my head. “So sweet, really. No, she just explained what the hell’s going on.”
“And that would be?” Chuckie asked, with only a lot of impatience.
I moved around a bit. Just felt good to be walking normally, and I could tell it was nice for Jamie. “Here’s the deal. Where’s Alicia’s luggage?”
“What?” Jeff and Chuckie asked that in unison. Oh, not the unison thing again. I’d had enough of that around our wedding.
“Her luggage is at Saguaro International. Waiting to be claimed.” I looked around. No reactions, listened for the freaking crickets again. I heaved a sigh. “Okay, Tim was being a naughty boy.”
“Crawford is the mole?” Chuckie sounded like he was ready to retire.
“No. Geez, you guys, think about it. His girl’s in Long Island with her parents. All her stuff is in Arizona. Nothing is happening here. What would you do?” They all looked at me blankly. “Oh, for God’s sake, Jeff. You did something similar with me within the first three hours we’d known each other.”
The light dawned for Jeff, finally. “He snuck out to get her stuff. Do we hire idiots?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. We hire mavericks. At least, every human agent is someone who’s incredibly capable, right, or we wouldn’t be agents.”
“So what was he warning you about, then, with the message on your Poof tree thing?” Chuckie didn’t sound convinced of anything but the impending migraine.
“He wasn’t warning me at all. He was asking me to cover for him.” Blank looks all around. “He was asking for my ‘help’ and telling me he was going to New York.” More blank looks. “As in, ‘Kitty, I’m being bad, please help me, no sleep ’til Brooklyn, I’ll be in New York, with my girl and her family, look for me at East Base. You gotta fight for your right to party, and I want to ring in the New Year with my woman.’ Geez, why is this a shocker?”
“We’re under lockdown.” Jeff said it as if it were the definitive answer.
“Yeah, we are. And nothing’s happening. We’ve been locked down for days. Tim’s girl is not in lockdown, everyone else’s girl or guy is, and he’s kind of not happy about that. Plus, he was there when I did the extra special labor move. I’m sure he wanted to be with her after that. All the excitement happened on Christmas day, when he couldn’t get to his girl anyway. The next days have been deathly dull. So he snuck out.”
“Why the elaborate musical clue?” Reader didn’t sound as if he were buying this theory, either.
“Because it’s easier to leave a CD than a baseball program.” Crickets abounded. “Tim and I freaking bonded over the witty banter about baseball and music. It’s our ‘thing.’ He wasn’t scared when he left the Science Center, he was being a bad boy breaking curfew, and he let his boss know it in a fun way.”
“Okay,” Chuckie said slowly. “So then what? How’d he get out?”
“How the hell did Kevin get out when he went to save Sheila and her family? He freaking went to the launch area, said, ‘I need a gate to this bathroom stall,’ and walked through. Tim’s on Alpha, for God’s sake. And, let’s see . . . Commander White is in isolation and we are all afraid for him, Commander Katt-Martini just had a scary delivery and we’re all trying not to stress her out, Commander Martini almost lost his wife, has a new baby, and now has his cousin in solitary. I could be a good little A-C and call Captain Reader to verify if I can let Captain Crawford out and get my ass reamed, or I can just calibrate the freaking gate to where my superior officer says he wants to go. Why do I have to explain this?”
“They don’t break the rules like you do, girlfriend.”
“Ha! Jeff breaks them all the time. All of Alpha and Airborne do. That’s why no one questioned Tim’s leaving or alerted any of us that he’d done so. For us, this is routine.” Another thought occurred. “Gladys, is there a way to check on the status of the house where Mister and Missus Young live? Like, are there people in it?”
“What are you thinking?” Jeff asked quietly.
“Depends on who’s home at the Youngs’.”
Gladys came back. “Have dispatched a team from East Base.”
I didn’t like the time we were wasting, but I still didn’t have a clear idea of where Tim was, or whom he was with. Needed to know where your guy was in order to perform even the lousiest rescue.
“Commander, no one home at the Young home. Place was ransacked. Agents were briefed to check the fridge. There was a CD in it—Madman Across the Water by Elton John. CD inside was Traffic and Weather by Fountains of Wayne. Is that a real band?”
“Yeah, they’re great. Okay, geez, he’s good. Gladys, please contact Martini Manor for me and see if the Young family has been checked in recently, like between the time you checked and now. Oh, and tell me what the weather is in New York, D.C., and Florida right now.”
“Normally Security doesn’t do the weather, Commander.”
“I know. Isn’t it cool to branch out?”
“I’m thrilled with the opportunity. Snowing in New York, raining in D.C., weather is fine in Florida.” There was a pause. “Confirmation from the Martini compound—a family of three humans was delivered by two of our missing agent teams five minutes ago.” Gladys sounded somewhat relieved. “Team assigned to Saguaro International and one of the teams assigned to D.C.”
“Great.”
“Do you want to talk to any of them?”
“Not right now.”
Kevin Lewis came in. He was tall, dark, and totally handsome, dark skin like Gower’s, great smile and teeth like
his wife, bags and bags of charisma. “What’s up?”
“We’re not sure. Kitty seems to know something but hates to get to the point.” Chuckie was rubbing his forehead.
“I know where Tim and the other agents are.”
CHAPTER 33
“YOU GOING TO SHARE?” Jeff snapped. “Or will we just find his dead body later?”
Reader pulled Kevin aside and started talking in a low voice. I assumed he was doing the fast catch-up work. I would have been envious for the close proximity to Kevin, but I was willing to share. Besides, Jeff got so jealous when I drooled in Kevin’s direction. No idea of why—wasn’t like Kevin had eyes for anyone but Denise, and having seen her, who the hell could blame him?
“Okay, so the first musical clue was to get me to cover for him in a way you, Jeff, wouldn’t figure out. I note also that Gladys had to tell the A-C agents to search the fridge, but Chuckie didn’t have to tell his human guys to do it. I have a variety of guesses as to why, but it boils down to the fact that for the A-Cs, a fridge is where you go to get what you want, not store or hide things the way it is for humans. So Tim is being followed by A-Cs, not humans.”
“Huh? How do you get that?” Jeff asked.
“No, makes sense. Go on.” I could see Chuckie’s conspiracy wheels starting to turn again. Hopefully they’d knock out the migraine.
“My guess is that he went to the closest gate to Alicia’s apartment. From where I remember she lives, that’s my parents’ house. No worries, my family and pets are here. But between leaving his room and getting there, something occurred to him. I’m guessing it’s something he heard or saw while he was still here. My CD collection is at my parents’ house, and every CD we’ve seen so far is one I own—other than the two left with the Poofs, which I know are Tim’s.”
“You don’t have them?” Jeff sounded shocked.
“No, I do. But I recognize this case; it’s his, not mine, and the Beastie Boys CD is newer than mine—he bought it after Operation Fugly.”
“Amazing attention to detail. We are where in the Science Center?”
“Oh, hush, Jeff. Tim tried to call me, but we were already here doing blood tests, and my phone was nowhere near me. He’s broken the rules; he wants to talk to me, because as the head of Airborne, I can cover for him. So, spitballing on this one, but he grabs a bag and flings all the CDs in it he can, figuring, rightly, that he’ll be able to give me a message somewhere along the way that only I will be able to understand.”
“I can’t believe you two use this kind of code.” Chuckie seemed to be wavering between disgusted and impressed.
“You didn’t figure it out. And no A-C would have a chance.”
“We still don’t know if you’ve got it. Please, go on.”
“In order to claim Alicia’s luggage, Tim would need some proof that he was authorized to get it. Presumably, an ID or something of hers that was at her place. So he goes there. He tries to call me again, I don’t answer. I’m guessing that her place was not ransacked before he got there, but by the time he’s there, he’s feeling sure that they’re going to be after her, and he’s pretty sure he knows who ‘they’ are. So he takes the Friend or Foe case and sticks in our wedding CD. It’s someone we know, and they were at or around our wedding. Meaning that Amy’s out as the mole, Chuckie.”
“Prove it definitively.”
Kevin nodded. “Your mother and I aren’t convinced either, Kitty.”
“Working on it, guys. Tim heads for the airport. Two reasons, now. Get backup; get to Alicia, the hell with her luggage. We had two agents there. Because they were assigned by Christopher, they weren’t called off. So they’re dutiful A-Cs, they’re waiting. Tim knows the bathrooms of choice, he finds them, or calls them, or something, but they connect.”
“How do you know?”
“They’re in Florida. Geez, pay attention, Chuckie. They take a gate and head to New York. I’d assume they go to MacArthur, since it’s the airport on Long Island. They hyperspeed over to Alicia’s family’s house. Thank God, everyone’s alive and well.Tim bundles them into a car—remember, Alicia doesn’t know there are aliens on the planet. He knows that the enemy will be aware he’s out of lockdown and after Alicia, so he’s got to leave me a clue at her parents’ house. So he makes sure I know this is about the Al Dejahl situation and then tells me where he’s going.”
“I get the Al Dejahl connection—Madman Across the Water. But the directions?” Jeff wasn’t arguing, just asking.
“Fountains of Wayne are a New York-based band, and their songs are really East Coast focused. The advantage of that particular CD is that the titles of the songs are clues for what’s going on. I’m not going to list every damn song, just trust me that Tim was telling me that the weather sucked, so they would be on the road, and that he was heading to Florida, because it was safer.”
“No way they had time to drive from Long Island to Florida,” Reader said.
“I’m sure they didn’t. I’m also sure the agents called for a floater gate calibrated to Martini Manor. Gladys?”
“Yes, Commander, I’ve confirmed with Alfred.”
“So Tim went for the gate because it was expose the truth or risk Alicia and her parents being killed. His cell phone took a bullet; my guess is it was while he was driving, meaning they were being pursued. He has Alicia’s phone because she doesn’t need it. But she was in Paris and delayed several days, didn’t charge it or didn’t have the right adapter to be able to charge it, and it’s dead now, too.”
“What about the other agents, who we can’t raise on the phones?” Chuckie’s eyes were narrowed.
“When Reid was pursuing me, he was tracking me based on my cell. I know Tim remembers that event. Figure they got rid of their phones or turned them off, for whatever reason.”
“Commander, Alfred confirms that the Young family was pursued. They don’t know by whom, they’re still dealing with the gate transference.”
“Don’t let the agent teams with them do anything to alter what they’re seeing. We need them to remember whatever they can.”
“Alfred agrees, Commander.”
“Please have him ask Alicia if she knows whether Tim was heading to East Base or to D.C.”
There was a pause. “How did Tim get the D.C. team to him?” Chuckie’s eyes were closed.
“Phone. Probably had one of the agents at Saguaro International contact the other teams. I mean, we do it all the time. Nothing Tim’s doing is out of the ordinary for us. He’s just doing it alone.”
“At the worst possible time,” Jeff muttered.
“Really? Alicia and her parents are alive, I’d guess just barely. I’m with Tim on this one.”
“And he knew you would be, which is why you got the original clue in the first place.” Reader looked thoughtful. “I wonder what he heard or saw that clicked for him. And when it clicked.”
“It clicked by the time he got to the Katts’ house.” Chuckie looked at me. “You’re sure he went there?”
“Pretty darned.” Considered Reader’s point. It was the key one.
Gladys came back on the com. “Commander, Alfred says that Alicia feels Tim and the other agents are trying to get to D.C. Confirmed with the four agents now in Florida as well. They are unsure of operation’s status or Captain Crawford’s plan past getting the Young family to safety.”
“Yep, D.C., that’s what I thought.” I’d also figured Tim hadn’t shared the overall plan with the agents going to Florida for a variety of reasons, the mole one being the biggest. “Thanks, Gladys, figured he wouldn’t have told them much, especially with Alicia and her family right there. Make sure Alfred keeps his eyes peeled and phones are charged and such.” I looked at Jeff. “How trustworthy are your brothers-in-law? And do any of them work with the Diplomatic Corps in any way?”
Jeff looked taken aback. “What?”
Chuckie rolled his eyes. “They hate you, and White, with a passion. They’ve been jealous of you two sinc
e, as near as I can tell, you were born.”
“Why?” Jeff always sounded shocked by this. I found it kind of endearing.
Chuckie sighed. “I got to hear about it, for two hours straight, at your engagement party. They resent how much attention you got as a baby. Same with White. They resent that the two of you got to live at the Embassy when you were young. They resent that you and White are the ones in charge and were put in charge so young. They resent that they can’t drive a wedge between the two of you, so they can’t play one against the other. They resent that you’ve never hired any of them as agents, ignoring the fact that none of them have A-C talents. They seem to feel they should be in positions of importance merely because they married your sisters. Do I need to go on?”
“No, the rest of us know it. Jeff, how strong are your blocks against your family?”
He sighed. “Extremely strong. Okay, fine. But that doesn’t make one of them a traitor.”
“People have betrayed their country or race for a lot less than jealousy and hatred.” Chuckie sighed. “Kitty, you think it’s the Diplomatic Corps, right?”
“Well, Tim does, because he’s heading for D.C.” I dialed, she answered on the second ring. “Doreen, how’re you doing?”
“Hi, Kitty, okay.” I heard a sniffle. “What’s going on?”
“I’m going to ask you something, need the truth.”
“Okay.”
“Did you and the Valentinos get into an argument earlier today about your being married to Irving and having a baby on the way?”
“Yes, God, does everyone know?”
“I don’t think so. Look, was Tim Crawford around when you had that fight?”
“Yeah, he came out to tell Clarence to shut up, and got told he was a human and had no right to give any A-C orders for his trouble. Sylvia was so embarrassed, it wasn’t her, just Clarence.”
“Clarence like your parents?”
“Yeah, I guess. They told me they thought he was a social climber, but I don’t know how they can think that, since he’s married to a Martini. Then again, maybe that’s why.”