Alien Collective (43 page)

F
ORTUNATELY,
Tito was there, and down next to her in an instant.

“Did you just kill her with terror?” Christopher asked.

“She’s fainted, that’s all.” Tito looked up at me. “Apparently you’ve found her weakness, Kitty.”

“Go me. No snack right now, Poofies. Back into Kitty’s purse and Chuckie’s pocket, please and thank you.”

Got five booming purrs, then the Poofs went small. Harlie and Poofikins hopped back into my purse. Checked. They were curled up with a bunch of other Poofs. Well and good. Fluffy and Cutie-Pie jumped onto Chuckie’s shoulders, rubbed against him, and then went into his pocket.

Mous-Mous, however, was still out. While Tito brought Chernobog around using smelling salts and much more gentle slaps to her face than I would have managed, I tried to see what the Poof was doing. Looking around, as near as I could tell.

There were some shimmers, off in the near distance. Could be floater gates, could be dust devils forming, could be Sandy being a dust devil. Wasn’t sure. But the Poof was definitely looking where these shimmerings were.

But, right when I was about to ask the Poof what was going on, it gave a satisfied snort, jumped up onto my shoulder, gave me a nuzzle and a purr, and joined the others in my purse.

I still might have inquired about this—because there was more than one shimmering I’d seen, and if Sandy manifested using the stuff around him, then the likelihood of others like him doing the same was high. But Tito’s ministrations were working and Chernobog’s eyes opened. I’d table my shimmering questions for later, especially since there was nothing to see now and I didn’t relish being told I was crazy.

Tito helped Chernobog sit up. “What . . . what were those things?”

“Alien animals who don’t like you or the people you’re working with. Answers. Now.” While the Poofs and Peregrines were “outed” as aliens, we’d kept the fact that the Poofs had their Extra Large With A Side of Giant Teeth side hidden. So I knew Chernobog wasn’t faking her reactions, because the only people who weren’t on our side who’d seen the Poofs large were all dead.

“Yes,” she said shakily. “I can retrieve the data taken, and no, your enemies don’t know where it is. I didn’t give it to them. I kept it in a safe place.”

“Why?” Chuckie asked.

She shrugged. “Leverage.” This checked out with my assumption, so that was good. “As for what was released into your main research facility, that was alien in nature.”

“From Alpha Centauri?” Jeff asked.

She shook her head as Tito helped her stand up. “No. I don’t know where it came from or how it was created, but my impression was that it’s from far away. My guess is it was created by the invaders.”

“How did you release it?” Serene asked. She and Christopher both looked angry and upset, not that I could blame them.

“Cloaked, time-released aerial bombs.”

Serene went pale. “They used my designs.”

Christopher put his arm around her. “This wasn’t your fault. At all.”

“Can it be reversed?” Jeff asked, Commander Voice on Full.

“Not that I know of. I didn’t create these. I didn’t set them, either. Your own people did that.”

“No way—” Christopher started.

“They were mind controlled,” I interrupted. “And I know which person set them, too. Gladys. She was the only one who would know exactly where to put them so that no one would detect them.” No wonder she’d killed herself once she knew Ronaldo Al Dejahl was dead. Living with the knowledge of what she’d done, unwillingly or not, would have killed her, only much more slowly and with so much more emotional pain.

“Why didn’t she tell us?” White asked. “If she was the one who set them.”

“Maybe she didn’t remember right away, or even at all. She said things were fuzzy when she was mind controlled.” Not that this made anything better.

“I’ve told you what you want to know,” Chernobog said. “Now let me go.”

“Oh, it is to laugh. Look at us, do we look to be in laughing moods? No, you owe us all the information on the people who hired you to hit us, and you need to actually give back what you stole. And then there are those two other things I mentioned. You do those, and then we may have an accord.”

“What are the other things?” she asked suspiciously.

“They’re dependent upon returning the data and giving us the intel on who hired you. They’re irrelevant if we don’t get that, because you’ll be dead and then these other parameters won’t matter.”

She cocked her head at me. “You are of Russian descent?”

“Maybe, back there somewhere.”

She chuckled. “You have a Russian viewpoint. You would have done well in the KGB.” She looked at Adriana. “And you, you are KGB, aren’t you? Raised in the old ways.”

Adriana shrugged. “My training isn’t the same as yours. I’m not on the side of people like you. But I do know what to
do
with people like you.”

“And I know you already know what my people do with people like you when you’re not considered worth enough to trade,” Chuckie said. “I’m sure you think you’re going to get traded. But I mentioned that leeway I have? You aren’t going to be registered as our prisoner until we have everything we want. That means if you die, no one will actually know.”

“And if they do trade you, let me mention those assassins after you again.”

Chernobog sighed. “Fine. I am your prisoner. It would be helpful to have my laptop.”

“We took it.” Of course, it was with the Dingo, but still, sort of in our possession.

Tito opened his medical bag. “Yeah, we have it.” Managed not to ask him how he’d gotten it. Obviously the Dingo had given it to him. Why, was the question.

“I asked that we hold the laptop while the agents helping us went to investigate the base,” White said. “So, yes, we do have the laptop.” Managed not to tell White he was the greatest, but it took effort.

“Good. Then, you will take me somewhere and we will start in with your demands.”

“I want her in the Embassy.”

“What?” Jeff shouted. “Why?”

“Because the hackers she’s going to be verifying every single keystroke with are there. Why else?”

Jeff shook his head. “I know where this leads.”

Rolled my eyes. “I’m not moving her in permanently or something.”

Christopher sighed and made a call. “Hey, yeah. Situation under some form of control. Kitty wants the prisoner at the Embassy. Because it’s Kitty, why ask why? Yes, of course under heavy guard. Yes, because she wants our hackers watching closely. Yes. Yes.” He eyed Chernobog. “She looks harmless. Figure that means we need triple the number you just suggested. Yes, around the clock. Yeah, we’ll transport her there. Thanks.” He hung up.

“How many agents are you going to be having watching Everyone’s Grandma here?”

Chernobog snorted and Christopher shook his head. “At least a dozen, at all times. We’ll have some of our more computer-minded science staff there, too. That should pretty much fill up the fourth floor of the Zoo, by the way.”

“The more the merrier. Who’s taking her back?”

“I will,” Christopher said. “Home Base is safe and we can use the gates there.”

“I’m going, too,” Serene said.

Adriana stepped next to Chernobog. “I as well.”

“Jeremy and Jennifer, you go, too,” Jeff said. “Walter as well. We need you back at your post.” He gave me the hairy eyeball. “Too many people have been sneaking in and out without someone paying attention.”

“I’ll go too, in case she faints again.” Tito looked at Chernobog. “But in case you’re not sure, if they want to rough you up, I’m going to let them. So don’t give them any incentive. My friends died, too.”

“When will you be coming?” Chernobog asked me.

“In a while. Why? You’re not exactly safer if I’m there.”

“You have honor. You tried to save the colonel when everyone else ran, and not for his information, but for him. I’d have run sooner than you had the others go, if I’d been able. But you tried to save him. I would like to think that, if things work out right, you would also try to save me.”

Stepped closer to her. “Perhaps. There are a lot of marks against you in my book. If you do everything we want without trying to screw or double-cross us? Then yeah, I’ll save you from the certain death hunting you.”

“You said assassins. Many have tried.” She shrugged. “None have succeeded.”

“Got two words for you: the Dingo.”

Thought she was going to faint again. “But . . . they promised . . .”

“That they’d never send the top assassin in the world after you? Well, guess what? They lied. He’s coming for you and I’m the only one who can stop him. And you have a lot to do in order for me to have a prayer of stopping him. So, my recommendation is for you to get busy, because time’s a’wastin’.”

She nodded. “If what you say is true, if . . . he . . . is after me, then I’ll need your help. And I’ll do as you ask.”

Chuckie handcuffed her, gave Christopher the key, and then the team escorting Chernobog back left.

“Now,” Chuckie said nicely to Oliver, Len, and Kyle, “why don’t you three tell us just what’s really going on with Colonel Hamlin?”

“H
OW DID YOU FIND OUT
about that?” I asked Chuckie before the others could respond.

“Your mother tends to share important information with me. A lot sooner than you do.”

“So bitter. So, MJO, can I guess and you tell me where I’m wrong?”

“If it makes you happy.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will. You’ve been hunting for Colonel Hamlin and you found him. You’ve helped him set up his carrier pigeon network, and you’re his eyes and ears, and he’s also yours. He trusts you because he’s had to. But on days like today that trust is quite valuable. He told you what was going on with the bombs, you got the note to Colonel Franklin, leaked the information to the media, and then he sent you after Chernobog, or maybe even to check out Butler.”

“I didn’t leak anything. I filed a report that was instantly picked up by all the other news outlets.”

“Go you Mister Joel In The Know. Nice to have some respect?”

“It’s pleasant but sometimes complicated things. However, Hammy sent us to investigate issues at Home Base. That Colonel Butler was an android and his secretary was Chernobog weren’t told to us. His information was more along the lines of something has to be wrong at the top there, and you need to figure out what.”

“Adriana was the one who suspected that Missus Darnell was Chernobog,” Len said.

“I’d like to know how you found Hamlin,” Chuckie said.

Oliver shook his head. “He has my trust and I have his. I won’t tell you and, since I’m not a war criminal and am a journalist, I’m going to hold with protecting my sources.”

Chuckie sighed. “I don’t want to hurt him. We want to protect him.”

“He’s doing better on his own,” Oliver said. “That’s not an insult. However, he’s aware that Mister Buchanan was attacked shortly after they parted, and Hammy’s not willing to risk it, or put someone else in danger.” Oliver shot me a quick look. Had a feeling there was more to why Hamlin didn’t want us knowing where he was, but I’d have to get it from Oliver later, when we were alone.

“Well, we still don’t know for sure that Malcolm was attacked because of being with Colonel Hamlin. But anyway, when you talk to him next, say hi for me, and thank him for letting us know there’s a Mastermind.”

“Now what?” White asked.

Jeff’s phone rang before any of us could reply. “Yeah, James? Oh. Good. Really? Yeah, she’ll be glad. Keep him under guard. Yeah, I agree. Glad we can sleep at home then. Yes, I’m sure we’ll be back in D.C. soon. Oh, really? Maybe we’ll have lunch out here, then.” He laughed. “Yeah, actually, you were all this big a pain when I was Head of Field. It’s your turn now, enjoy it.” He hung up.

“What’s up with James?”

“Colonel Butler is stable. Still in stasis, but the team feels confident they can safely keep him from self-destructing until we get our data back and can then figure out how to keep him from exploding, permanently. But because he’s explosive, he’s being kept in one of the prisoner cells on the fifteenth floor of the Science Center.”

“Well then, I’m happy we’ll be in the Embassy tonight, too. You want to get lunch somewhere? We could gate it over to Pueblo Caliente and hit one of our old faves.”

“Jeffrey really can’t be seen to have been making a presidential announcement in Washington at eleven eastern and then appear in Arizona at eleven pacific,” White pointed out. “I think that would create issues we’d all rather avoid.”

“Wise man takes all the excitement out of life.”

“It’s my gift, Missus Martini.”

“Seriously, it’s not even noon here yet?” Jeff asked. “I feel like we’ve already been up for twenty-four hours today.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Chuckie rubbed the back of his neck. “What else can possibly happen today?”

Right on cue, we found out. My phone rang.

Sighed and pulled it out of my purse. Recognized the number. Clearly I should put him into my address book. “Bruce Jenkins, how goes it?”

All the men with me groaned. Yeah, that was my reaction, too, but I showed off my diplomatic skills by not groaning out loud. But I was groaning in my head, big time.

“Ambassador, impressive announcements from you and your husband this morning.”

“Glad you enjoyed them. Why are you calling?”

“I’d like to do that interview now, more than ever.”

“Dude, what part of ‘call my people and set it up’ did you just not comprehend? I don’t take meetings with gossip columnists whenever. I take them when they’re scheduled on my calendar. Protocol, it exists for a reason.” Per Mom and Jeff, anyway.

Was about to hang up on him, but the next thing he said caused me to pause. “Do you know Cameron Maurer?”

“Not personally, so I’m not in a position to set up an interview for you with him, either.” Waited for him to ask to talk to Mrs. Maurer.

“There’s something wrong with him.” Well, that was unexpected.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Ah, because I think I need help.”

“Excuse me?”

“Help. I think I need it.” He sounded frustrated and a little freaked out. “I don’t know who else to go to who will believe me.”

“Why do you think coming to me is the right answer for all your help needs?”

“Because you have a reputation.”

“Yeah, as to that, I’m not having an affair with anyone, other than my husband. Our affair it quite torrid, but since we’re married, I hear that’s okay these days.”

“I don’t mean that! Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot.”

“You think?”

“But I need help. I’ve discovered something terrifying, and I think it’s the same thing Nancy Maurer discovered and that’s why she’s hiding with your diplomatic mission. Please . . . if I’m crazy or ask you inappropriate questions, kick me out. But I need to talk to someone.”

Great. I had the reputation for being the go-to girl for anyone with a scary issue. Go me. However, if what Jenkins had discovered was that Maurer was an android, then that was indeed why Mrs. Maurer was hiding with us. If Jenkins was acting as a spy we’d find out fast. And if he was using this as an excuse to ask me interview questions, then we’d kick his butt onto the street.

“Fine. Understand and accept that you’ll be strip-searched because I just don’t trust you.”

“That’s fine. I have nothing to hide. Well, I do, but it’s what I’m coming to you about. So I don’t have to hide that.”

I’d talked to this man before. He wasn’t this scattered normally. Meaning he was either acting or really stressed out.

“Okay, come to my Embassy. We’ll be waiting for you.”

“I’ll be there in less than ten minutes. If I’m longer than that, do me a favor and call me back.”

“Why should I do that?”

“Because if I’m later than ten minutes, it probably means I’m kidnapped. Or dead.”

“Gotcha. Will do.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

We hung up. “Time to go,” I shared with the menfolk. “Either Bruce Jenkins is playing me, or he’s discovered that Cameron Maurer isn’t human any more. He’s meeting us at the Embassy in ten minutes. If he’s longer he thinks he might be dead.”

“Wonderful. You had to ask?” Jeff said to Chuckie.

Who shrugged. “This could be good for us. Or we have an enemy trying to infiltrate. Kitty already told him he’d be strip-searched, I think we’re okay.”

Sent a text to Raj, who replied quickly. “Okay, Embassy staff is prepared to receive Jenkins, strip-search him, and scan and search anything he’s bringing with him. We need to get back. And I’m starving, so I hope this guy doesn’t mind if I eat while he shares his tale of woe.” Those brownies had been far too long ago.

“I’d like to be there, when you sit down with Bruce,” Oliver said.

“Oh, MJO, as if I’d let you miss this? Yeah, we want you there. Frankly, Bruce is going to have quite an audience.” Sent Pierre a text telling him we’d probably have to have the meeting in the dining room and to get the Elves busy making some food. “You know, should Nancy be a part of the meeting, too?”

Oliver nodded. “I think so, unless you’ve learned all the reasons why she called you in the first place.”

“Uh, I haven’t. Guys?” The rest of the men shook their heads.

“Too much else going on,” Chuckie said ruefully.

“Then, yeah, we’ll have her participate, too.” Sent Raj another text.

As Jeff reached for my hand my phone rang again. We all sighed this time. Embassy number this time. “Eddy, what’s up?” Heard a lot of background noise.

“Chernobog is here,” Stryker said, as if this explained everything.

“Yes? I know. I sent her there.”

“Yeah, well did you remember that Olga was with us?”

“I did indeed.” Realized the sounds were people shouting in a foreign language.

“Did you also realize they hate, and I do mean
hate
, each other’s guts?”

“I knew they were no longer close, yeah.”

“Well, they’re close right now. And I’m not sure the computer lab is going to survive the meeting.”