Alien Separation

by Gini Koch

  Claudia nodded. “Ronald Yates or no Ronald Yates, he was our religious leader, not a scientist.” She was a willowy brunette, and like Lorraine, was sitting next to her husband, Randy Muir, who had their son Sean on his lap. “I’m sure he was more advanced than some Earth scientists, but not like an Ancient would be. They’re advanced far beyond any of us in either this solar system or our original one.”

  “But she’s a shapeshifter, then,” Serene Dwyer pointed out. Like the other two gals, she was next to her husband, Brian, but their son Patrick was crawling all over Matt Hughes, Chip Walker, and Jerry Tucker.

  Nice to have all my main Dazzlers on Duty and my five flyboys back within arm’s reach. And it was nice to have the sane version of Brian here, too. Decided I’d keep his bizarre fascination with me and flipped-out hatred for Chuckie in the other universe to myself. It was probably better for all concerned.

  “So does that mean she could be anyone in this room?” Brian asked nervously. He was an astronaut in this world, and frankly pretty unflappable. But the news I was sharing was bizarre even by our standards, so I could understand where his concern was coming from.

  “No. For whatever reason she seems really attached to the shape we’re familiar with. Possibly because she’s in deep cover and there are empaths around who might pick up her emotions about shifting.”

  “Makes sense, but you mentioned a death ray,” Buchanan said, showing an impressive ability to focus on the key issues. Not that this came as a surprise.

  “Yes. They had one. It was scary impressive. Created little piles of dust of whatever thing it zapped. And a gigantic crater when it exploded due to some, ah, malfunctions my team and I caused.”

  “Is that world safe?” Jeff asked. Wasn’t surprised—he was a protector, after all, and even if he wasn’t there, his father was, and our daughter was, at least in a sense. And Other Me was, too, and I was willing to bet he’d gotten at least somewhat attached to her.

  “Yes, we destroyed Cliff, LaRue, the death ray, and all the other bad guys. At least the ones we knew about. They’re set up better than ever now, because Alfred’s with them. They’ll all be okay. We, however, cannot say the same.”

  “We have no proof,” Richard White pointed out. He was Christopher’s father, the former Supreme Pontifex of the A-Cs, and my partner on the rare occasions when I got to kick butt these days. He was also a younger, hotter version of Timothy Dalton. Realized I’d obviously missed all the gorgeousness I’d become accustomed to these past few weeks. “And we’re going to need it, just in case.”

  Jeff nodded. “The President needs to be warned, if no one else.”

  “Vander, too,” Serene pointed out. “And a host of other politicians near to us like Senator McMillan.”

  Tim, who was sitting between Jerry and Reader, shook his head. “Reynolds is right—if we don’t have proof we’re just accusing a high ranking public official who everyone in the world thinks is our friend of treason. That’s going to backfire on us.”

  “Not everyone thinks he’s our friend.” This earned me everyone’s attention again. “Oh, right. Most of you don’t know. Gideon Cleary contacted us this morning, or whatever time it was over here when he called. Stephanie’s taken off and he thinks she’s hiding from her Secret Boyfriend. Who also just happens to be Cliff Goodman.”

  Most of the room groaned. “Does it get any better than this?” Reader asked.

  The intercom came to life. “Excuse me, Ambassador,” Walter said politely. “But Governor Cleary is calling for you. He suggested I patch him through via speakerphone.”

  “Well, James, we’re about to find out how much better. Put him through, Walter.”

  CHAPTER 9

  “AMBASSADOR, thank you for taking my call.” Cleary sounded a little nervous, but nothing like he’d sounded when we’d spoken before.

  “What can I do for you, Governor?” I knew he was calling in this way because Jeff had told him to. Assumed he had a bunch of people in the room with him just as I did, because this was the Public Show Call. Hoped Cleary had come up with a good excuse to get us down to Florida, because otherwise he was going to crash and burn in front of a whole lot of people. Mine wouldn’t care, but his might.

  “I have a problem I’m hoping you and the Vice President will be able and willing to help me solve.”

  So far so very good. Of course, his answer to my next question was going to determine if we continued to play nicely. “What problem is that, Governor?”

  “I’d like to pass a bill that requires our colleges and universities to have better programs in place to ensure the safety of all students, our female ones in particular. My first efforts haven’t been met with, shall we say, enthusiasm. I’d like to ensure that my next attempt goes through, and I believe we need to bring in outside help. I understand that you have someone on staff who initiated a similar program in Southern California with considerable success.”

  “We do indeed.” Kyle Constantine, who, along with Len Parker, was one of my permanently assigned C.I.A. bodyguards, had started a variety of programs at USC after we’d met. He and Len had both been on USC’s football team—Len as quarterback and Kyle on the line—and they’d both given up promising NFL careers to work with us.

  Kyle looked shocked, but Len grinned and punched him gently in the arm, and Adriana, who was a close friend with both of them, patted his hand.

  “I was wondering if you and, perhaps, the Vice President would come down with your resident expert and whoever else you think could provide meaningful input, to help me draft a nonpartisan bill. I feel that it will have a better chance of passing if it has the Vice President’s and your approval. And since you, as the wife of the Vice President, need to pick a cause to support, I’m hoping to inspire you to take this one up as yours, not just for my state but for the entire country.”

  I managed not to ask why I had to have a cause. Even I knew that both the First Lady and the Second Lady, or whatever my ridiculous title really was, had to find something to focus good deeds and such on. Had to hand it to Cleary—he’d chosen something that I actually cared about. And it was a non-alien cause, meaning that it would show that we cared about everyone in the country, not just those with two hearts and amazing good looks. I hated it when my enemies seemed less enemy-like and more like reasonable, potentially decent, people. It made hating them close to impossible.

  “Governor, that sounds like a very strong possibility, both the cause and our coming down to assist you. I’m sure that the Vice President will need to ensure that the President can spare him. Let me get back to you, but, in the spirit of partisanship and showing that our administration and yours are able to work for the public good despite the election’s outcome, I’ll do my best to get us down to you as soon as we possibly can.”

  “Thank you. I truly appreciate this. Please stay in touch, and we’ll be ready for you whenever you can spare the time.”

  We exchanged the usual call-ending pleasantries, then he hung up. “Caller is offline, Ambassador,” Walter shared. “Just the com to Security opened.”

  “Well,” Mom said, “I have to hand it to him—there’s almost no way you can say no, and yet it’s clear he’s asking you for help. It’s a win-win for everyone. So, what’s the full story behind this?”

  Buchanan did the honors and brought everyone else up to speed on our early-in-Australia’s-morning call. While he did so, I made a list of who I figured we wanted down in Florida so that we could come up with the reasons why we were bringing them along. Why Chuckie had to come was going to take some explanations, let alone a few others, like the princesses, Rahmi and Rhee.

  I wanted them with us for a simple reason: they were the best warriors out of the Alpha Centauri solar system and we might be fighting Cliff, Stephanie, the Death Ray, or God alone knew who or what else.

  The princesses had been sent here from their home plan
et of Beta Twelve right before Jamie turned one, and due to whatever was going on in that solar system they had been left here ever since. I was fairly sure they’d been sent to both help us and protect themselves, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. I was sure their mother expected me to train them in how to deal with men without killing them on sight, as well as how to deal diplomatically when possible. On Beta Twelve, I was considered incredibly diplomatic, apparently.

  The women of Beta Twelve were Amazonian shapeshifters, meaning they had Ancient DNA in them. Also meaning that, realistically, Rahmi and Rhee would be people LaRue would want to get her hands on. Tried to remember if Cliff knew they were from another planet and couldn’t. Had to figure he knew by now. One way or another, keeping tabs on the princesses was, if not Job One, certainly in the Job Top Five.

  Because they were Queen Renata’s daughters, they resembled her—Rahmi was the eldest, tall and brunette to Rhee’s shorter blonde. When they’d first come they’d looked like every other woman from Beta Twelve I’d ever seen—very muscular in an attractive way, short, spiky hair, with slightly elongated limbs that looked out of proportion compared to a human or anyone from Alpha Four and larger and more elongated dark purple eyes.

  However, I’d had them ensure they looked human while they were here. Over time, they’d altered themselves so that while they still resembled Renata they also—per everyone else, and my own eyes, now that I hadn’t seen them for a few weeks—resembled me. It was flattering, really. In a kind of weird way, but that was pretty much par for our particular course.

  Realized that while I could maybe say the princesses were attachés of some kind, or even babysitters for Jamie, they weren’t going to be able to pass as part of our team of female protection specialists. They were probably the best at female protection, so to speak, but while they’d learned a lot since coming here, they weren’t really able to pull off the diplomacy required not to ask why the women of Earth didn’t just get rid of all the men attacking them, permanently.

  Looked at the rest of my list. Sure Cleary wanted us down there and he’d be just fine with me bringing all of Alpha Team, supported by Airborne, along with at least half of the rest of those in the room, but we weren’t sneaking down to Florida. We were going in a very obvious and photographable way. Meaning that anyone with half a brain would know something more was going on. And Cliff definitely had a whole, highly functioning brain.

  Frankly, to make this work and not alert Cliff that something was going on, anyone past me, Jeff, Kyle, Len, and, possibly Tito was going to be suspect. We could sneak Tito in because he was both our Embassy doctor and a former UFC cage fighter, meaning he’d have professional input. Cliff would expect Buchanan to be with us, and of course Raj would be going to keep me from making my usual faux pas. Beyond that, though, what possible reasons would we have for bringing along everyone else?

  Kevin came back in the room, interrupting my fretting. He was a human who gave the A-Cs a run for their money in the looks department. Tall, handsome, dark skinned, and with the best smile going, Kevin also had bags of charisma. He’d been a football player before my mom had recruited him, and still had the athletic build going strong.

  He nodded to his wife and seated himself back by her. Denise matched him well—also tall, blonde, and gorgeous, with a matching killer smile and her own bags of charisma. I was only half joking any time I mentioned that if I had to go to Beta Twelve to live forever, Denise would be the mate I’d choose.

  Yep, I’d missed all the hotness. And here I’d found all the beauty almost boring as much as a whole month ago. Wondered how Other Me was handling her return to the land of normal-looking people. Then again, she had Reader there, and Alfred, too, along with Buchanan. And Chuckie wasn’t a slouch in the looks department, either. Presumed she’d find the will to go on with her concentrated number of close, personal hunks and decided to turn my ever-wandering mind back to the current relative conundrums.

  I tried to, but the Lewis kids, Raymond and Rachel, were playing with Jamie, my dad, and Gower now. They were gorgeous, too, a beautiful blend of their parents, and also two of the sweetest kids in the world.

  And in the world Other Me was in they were all dead. I couldn’t get rid of Cliff Goodman and all his cronies in this world fast enough. Perhaps a frontal “kill ’em all” attack was the way to go.

  “Calm down, baby,” Jeff said softly. “They’re fine here, and we’re not going to let anyone take any of our friends from us.”

  “We’ve said that before. And been wrong. Dead wrong.” We’d hit the Mastermind hard during Operation Infiltration but it had cost us. A lot.

  “Wars are filled with casualties,” Chuckie said quietly. “And we may be fighting in the shadows, but it’s a war, Kitty. You know that.”

  “True enough.” I’d been thinking the same only a few minutes earlier, after all.

  “I think the first order of business,” White said, “is to share our concerns with the President. Proof or no proof, he’s an ally and needs to be on his guard, because if the Mastermind is after us, he’s also after the President. Jeffrey, I’m sure Vincent would like you to advise him that you’re back in the country, as well.”

  Jeff sighed. “True enough, Uncle Richard.” He kissed my cheek. “Don’t start the next offensive without me, baby. I’ll be right back.” He got up and, like Kevin before him, headed out of the room to make his call.

  “Kitty, I know you want to take a big team down there,” Serene said, “but I don’t see how we can do that without giving away that we know something’s up.” She sounded like the sweetest airhead in the world saying this. I’d come to realize that Serene was the poster girl for the whole “still waters run deep” maxim. She was an accomplished imageer—so much so that she’d taken over as Head of Imageering when Christopher had come into the Embassy with us. But she was also a troubadour, a fact she kept secret from all but a few people.

  Troubadours weren’t considered impressive to the average A-C, because they were actors. But, of course, what actors did was lie believably and with conviction. Raj was a troubadour too, and Serene’s right-hand man in the clandestine team she’d formed—the A-C version of the C.I.A.

  So I recognized now when she was throwing me a leading question. “You’re right, Serene. I’ve been thinking that, too. I guess a few of us should go down openly while the rest of the team goes in covertly. Wouldn’t you agree, James?”

  Reader been promoted to Head of Field for Centaurion Division at the same time as Serene, replacing Jeff. Jeff had been the Head of Field when I’d first met the gang, but supposedly wiser heads had shoved us into political and public-facing jobs. I still wondered what the hell was wrong with those people, but I’d long since given up complaining that I wanted to go back to my old job.

  “I think that’s going to be best, yeah,” Reader replied. “Frankly, I’d like more information about what was really going on in Florida before we commit a lot of manpower to searching for a traitor who may or may not be having a crisis of conscience or a change of heart. Especially because she could be doing this as part of an elaborate trap.”

  “She very well might be,” a familiar voice said. The entire room jumped, because we hadn’t seen him and no one thought he was in the room. Well, everyone other than Buchanan jumped. And every guy who wasn’t Buchanan and packed heat had a gun out and pointed at the man who’d spoken.

  Benjamin Siler pushed off the wall he’d apparently been leaning against. “But there’s a real possibility she’s having reactions to having been ordered to murder eight people. And you can’t afford to bet a hundred percent either way.”

  “Nightcrawler, good to see you. Why did you go all chameleon on us?”

  He grinned. “Sometimes I like to make an entrance.”

  CHAPTER 10

  EVERYONE PUT THEIR guns away, though not without a lot of glaring. Siler seemed completely unfa
zed, not that this shocked me.

  “Martini let me in,” Siler said with a laugh as Jeff returned to the ballroom.

  “Yeah, I went to my office to talk to Vince and saw him at the side entrance. Why is everyone so damn tense?”

  “Siler slipped in without our knowing,” Christopher snapped.

  “I knew he was here,” Buchanan said calmly, as Christopher shot Patented Glare #3 at him and I enjoyed the comfort of truly being home. No one in Other Me’s world was close to matching Christopher in the glaring department.

  Jeff shook his head. “He’s not our enemy. But he has insight into how some of our enemies think.”

  “No argument,” Reader said. “So, Siler, what’s your recommendation on how we handle the Stephanie situation?”

  Everyone sat down, though Siler and Buchanan both remained standing. “You need to have a small group that goes down and just deals with the governor and his supposed issue. You need another group that goes down and openly searches. Then you need several small commando teams to do the actual reconnaissance.”

  “We’re not at war,” Amy said. Others in the room nodded their heads.

  “Wrong,” I replied before anyone else could. “We are.” As I said this, I felt something heavy on my feet. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel like fur, feathers, or Jamie. And I could see Jamie, who’d moved from Mom and Dad over to Gower, who was bouncing her on his knee.

  While Siler and others started explaining the war situation to Amy and the others who somehow had a rosy outlook, I risked a look under the table. My purse was on my feet, and since I’d left it in our rooms when we’d gotten back to the Embassy this was likely to mean one thing and one thing only—Algar had deigned to take an interest. But if he was doing so now, that meant something was about to happen. That this something was going to be bad was a given.