Camp Alien (20 page)

“I
'M MISSING ALL
the good stuff. I was just there and chose to come here when I could have stayed longer and met our newest surprise guests. I'm bitter.”

Jeff sighed. “Yes, I realize being in the White House is a letdown.”

Felt bad. “Well, no. But my particular style isn't suited to our new gig.”

“You said that when we took over the Embassy, and everything worked out,” Jeff said.

“So to speak,” Chuckie added.

“Et tu, Brute?”

“You know that she's right and that all our enemies are going to exploit this weakness, too,” Reader said. “Kitty's every evildoer's Enemy Number One.”

“Et tu, Brute Two?”

“What do you suggest?” Jeff asked, sarcasm knob heading for eleven. “That I explain that my wife isn't going to be around a lot because she's off leading the armed forces?”

“That could work,” Franklin said with a laugh. “But you can all relax. Frankly, the Vata were very pleasant, apologetic, and cooperative. I didn't get the impression they were here to cause trouble. They're here because they've been searching for their missing prince for two years. Your Concierge Majordomo said to tell you that all is being handled.”

“Sounds about right for the timeline, and Pierre's a national treasure. So, what did you find at Drax Industrial's Sentient Headquarters?”

“Pretty much what he said we'd find,” Buchanan replied.
“But we left everything there. The building's secure and it doesn't appear to attract a lot of attention.”

“Far less like a lair than his home,” Siler added. “Reminiscent of any factory you've ever seen, albeit extremely high tech. It's clear he's a tinkerer.”

“As long as no one's shooting at us from the catwalks, I'm good. So, Iron Man here has the skills, at least as far as we can tell?”

Siler chuckled. “I liked Booster Gold better.”

“Well, the jury's still out on which one he gets to keep. Maybe both. I like to mix it up and keep everyone guessing.”

Buchanan rolled his eyes. “Yes, you do. And it appears that Drax does have the Iron Man skills, so to speak. He now also has official babysitters. They said they weren't leaving unless or until he was leaving.”

“Do they look any different from Drax?”

“They aren't relatives, if that's what you mean,” Franklin said.

“No, she means can they pass for humans or not,” Siler said. “And yes, they can. Their hair is long just like his is. Hides the plates.”

“Did you have time to do the robot and android tests?”

“No,” Drax answered. “I was quite willing and still am, but my family interfered. Just as they always do.” He sounded as bitter and teenaged as I'd ever heard Stephanie or Lizzie sound. Interesting. Figured I should find out how Vata aged sooner as opposed to later.

“Parents worry about their children. Oh, speaking of which, Nightcrawler, Lizzie's been moved into the White House. Apparently the Elves feel that she needs the stuffy yet stable environment the White House will provide. And she's enrolled at the Sidwell Friends School. If you have any issues, take it up with Vance and Pierre and good luck complaining to the Elves.”

He looked surprised but not displeased. “That's good, I guess. I kind of thought that we'd be staying in family quarters together, though, at the Embassy. Like we have been for the last few days.”

“As did we all. However, wiser heads and all that. Apparently she's now my ward. Don't ask me, I don't make these decisions. I apparently have people to do that.”

“And yet she's unhappy,” Jeff muttered to Chuckie.

“She's adaptable, but sometimes it takes her a while,” Chuckie replied. “You know how she is about wealth, she gets it from her father.”

“I'm in the room and I'll be offended for me and Dad both later on. So, here's my question—are there any other Vata ships on our horizon?”

“I asked,” Franklin said. “Multiple times and in various ways. The reply was a consistent no. They've found Prince Gustav, he's safe and happy on Earth, that information has been relayed home, and they're staying to guard him and help him with whatever it is they think he's doing here.”

“Does this happen to other Presidents?” Jeff asked. “I mean that seriously.”

“Some have it worse, some have it better, but I can tell you that President Johnson definitely went through something like this,” Chuckie said. “When your emissaries first arrived.”

“Good point.” Jeff ran his hand through his hair. “So, do we announce this?”

“You don't have to,” Franklin said. “I'd talk to Mort and Hammy about it, but I'd imagine they'll both counsel that you keep this quiet. The Vata are in the Embassy. Keep them there for now and all should be well. Great choices, moving Mort and Hammy into the positions you did, by the way.”

“I'd have moved you in, too, but everyone insisted we needed you to stay at Andrews.”

“They were right. And I'm glad to be there—I find my job very rewarding, since I can confirm that I'm helping on a daily basis. Not everyone can say that.” He clapped Jeff on the shoulder. “You're doing a great job. I realize the weight of the world is on your shoulders, but you'll handle it and then some.”

Franklin said goodbye and that he'd be in touch and we should feel free to call him day or night. Then Serene escorted him to the Executive Washroom where he took a gate back to the base.

“Now what?” Tim asked.

“Now Alpha Team takes him to Dulce,” Jeff nodded at Drax. “Do the tests Kitty wants done.”

“Take the other Vata to do the tests, too.”

This earned me looks. “Why?” Reader asked.

“Five metal heads able to talk to electronics are better than one. Maybe one of them will catch what Drax doesn't.”

“That's a security risk,” Chuckie said. “Having Drax in Dulce is a huge risk in the first place. Four other Vata there is a potential breach of epic proportions. And before you mention the religious aspect, I heard it already, and while I respect the idea of their beliefs, we've seen too many wars fought in the name of religion on this planet for me to trust that these Vata aren't willing to do wrong against us if they feel it's right for them.”

“I'd argue this, but I conceded your point,” Drax said. “The only way for us to earn your trust, however, is for you to allow us to do so.”

“He hasn't launched the missiles,” I pointed out. “None of them have. I know you're not a trusting person, Chuckie, but there has to be a middle ground.”

“There is,” he said. “In the middle of Groom Lake.”

“That works,” Reader said. “You want us doing that tonight?”

“No, everyone needs some rest,” Jeff said. “Drax has been here two years and, as Kitty said, he hasn't blown us up. I'm willing to err on the side of trust, at least at this level. Take him to the Embassy and keep him with you,” he said to Siler.

“I'll go, too,” Wruck said.

“Please, and thank you. Can you handle all five of them if you have to?” Jeff sounded worried.

Wruck nodded. “I can. Shape-shifting has its advantages.”

“Where do you want me?” Buchanan asked.

“I'd say here, but I'll try to keep an eye on my wife tonight. So, the Embassy might be the better choice.”

“I agree.” Buchanan shot me a half-smile. “Try to stay out of trouble for a few hours, will you, Missus Executive Chief?”

“Everyone's a hater.”

“We'll stay at the Embassy, too,” Reader indicated himself and Tim. “Serene, here or Dulce?”

“I'll go to Dulce and get the Groom Lake test area set up for us.”

“I'm still living in the Embassy,” Chuckie pointed out.
“So I'll be there, too.” He sighed. “I need to find somewhere else to live now, though.” Jeff opened his mouth and Chuckie put up his hand. “The Director of the CIA cannot live at the American Centaurion Embassy, Jeff.”

“Or the White House, so don't suggest that either, Jeff. But it's fine, I know where you're going, Chuckie, never fear.” Sent a text to Pierre, who said he'd handle the request with the Elves immediately.

“And where is that?” Chuckie asked.

“The Cairo. With Nathalie and Elaine. We already have the building under guard, and you'll like it, it's very cool. The Operations Team will handle it, you'll just need to sign whatever lease. Oh, and make sure that they install gates in your apartment and in Nathalie's and Elaine's, too.”

“Oh, will do, Boss Lady.” He laughed. “But that's a good compromise, honestly. If they have a vacancy.”

My phone beeped. “They do, and you're in.”

“That fast?” Chuckie sounded shocked.

Jeff grinned. “We move fast, remember?”

I
T WASN'T ALL THAT LATE
but we were all that tired and more. So everyone headed off to either their rooms or their residences. The Planetary Council was briefed about the Vata at the Embassy, and they were all on board with the new arrivals and also about not sharing that said new arrivals were here with anybody else.

Raj was living in the White House along with the other A-C White House personnel, so he and Antoinette took care of getting everyone out and headed home. Not that we wouldn't see most if not all of them first thing in the morning, but we liked to pretend our lives were normal occasionally.

Since Dad and her grandchildren were there, and his wife and child were also, Mom and Christopher came upstairs with us. “So, what does Malcolm want me to have plausible deniability for?” she asked.

“Shouldn't we not mention that until we're in a room without bugs?”

Mom shot me a look. “What was bugged?”

“The Oval Office,” Jeff replied. “And Chuck said he swept it yesterday.”

“Plus Vance gave us the Walls Have Ears speech on the way down,” Christopher added.

“I'm so proud. That was a Kitty-ism at its finest.”

Mom and Christopher both grimaced—her at the state of things, him at me—and she pulled out her phone and made a call. “Kevin, have Security do a full sweep of the White House complex, the Embassy, and Dulce. Probably the Cairo, too. Yes. Yes, I know they were checked
yesterday. Today, the Oval Office had an infestation.” She barked a laugh. “Yeah, exactly, why would we expect that?” Laughed again. “Oh, good point. Yes, keep me posted.” She hung up and heaved a sigh.

“What would you expect?” Christopher asked.

“That no one coming in would be bringing bugs in with them. Kevin suggests Kitty's purse be thoroughly searched.”

“And he's probably not wrong. Mom, who could be bringing bugs in? This place is supposedly secure.”

“It's also gigantic, and any system can be gamed. You do it all the time.”

Christopher and I looked at each other. “Several times today, as a matter of fact,” he shared.

“Traitor.”

“I'm with Kitty, Angela, about the security, even though my wife and cousin are clearly stating that I'm an idiot to think we're safe. Who should I be firing?” Jeff sounded tired and worried, not that I could blame him. Put my arm around his waist. He was incredibly tense. Hugged him and he put his arm around my shoulders. Felt him relax a bit.

“Neither one of us thinks that, Jeff.”

“What Kitty said,” Christopher added. “We just both know that we got out easily enough, meaning someone else can get in. So, like Jeff asked, who should we be wary of, Angela?”

“Everyone. No one.” Her phone beeped. “God, I love hyperspeed and A-C efficiency. Per Kevin, there are no bugs anywhere in the complex. The Embassy is clean as well. Bugs were removed at the Cairo from, and I'm sure this will totally shock you, the apartments of Nathalie Brewer and Elaine Armstrong.” Mom was texting almost as fast as Tim usually did. “Kevin feels that the only reason there aren't bugs at the apartment Charles will be in is because no one knows he's moving in there yet.”

“Geez. Elaine was just moved in. By the Operations Team.”

“Yes, but then they left. I'd assume that every single Alphabet Agency had teams sneak in here to plant those bugs in the Oval Office. And of course your many enemies would have done so, as well. I'm having agents sent to the homes of every one of Jeff's new appointees and also to the homes of those few that are holdovers from Vince's regime.”

“How would they do that? We were all here, right here, today.”

Mom shot me a look I was quite familiar with—her “don't try to lie to
me
, missy” look. “Not everyone was ‘right here' all day, as Christopher and you
just
mentioned, and those who were here were busy. The staff is still reeling from Vince's death, so if they saw someone who looked like they should be here, they'd ignore it. The Secret Service is spending all its time trying to keep you and Jeff from being killed. They're focused far too internally right now.”

“Sorry.” I was. All the Secret Service agents we'd dealt with, save one, were awesome, and I didn't want to make their lives even harder and more dangerous than they already were.

“They'll adjust to how you are, I'm sure,” Mom said. “However, today, I'd think it was easy to get someone in here. My guess for when the bugs were planted is when you were fighting a robot on the South Lawn.”

“I have a hard time believing that Strauss was planning to overthrow the government in concert with every single protective agency we have.”

“No, but it's obvious we were being watched. An opportunity arose, and apparently everyone took advantage of it.”

“They could have done it when we were in the theater and Kitty and the others were in my old office, too,” Jeff said. “Frankly, we gave these people plenty of opportunities. Bottom line is that we need to make sure that we aren't breached that easily again. Bugs are bad, but they're nothing compared to bombs or poisons.”

“I'll have a talk with your Secret Service staff, all of them, not just the ones you know best. I plan to have Jeremy Barone with me while doing that briefing, too. I've requested that he leave the Embassy detail and move in here, and he's agreed.”

“That's great, but I have to ask—why would the Alphabet Agencies be spying on us? And I don't want derisive looks. I'm serious. Now that Cliff's gone, they're all on our side, aren't they?”

“Kitten, this is politics. That you're still somehow surprised by it is both sweet and worrying. However, look at it like friendly fire—they're listening to guard and to, you
know, catch something they can use for blackmail, what's called influence in this town.”

“Gotcha. Friends and enemies all want to listen in and take advantage of us. Wow, this is the best job in the world.”

“Tell me about it, baby,” Jeff said with a sigh. “I just want to see the kids and Sol and pretend we're a normal family for a few minutes.”

“Ask and ye shall receive.”

Of course, it wasn't quite as simple as that, mostly because no one was in Lizzie's room, Jamie's room, or Charlie's room. Christopher checked the supposedly unoccupied rooms—no one. Belayed panic even though no one was in the rooms on our side of the hall, Master Suite included.

Mom wasn't worried and headed us to the Family Dining Room where, happily, everyone we were searching for was waiting for us, Jamie and Charlie in their standard A-C-issue pajamas of blue bottoms and white tops. Mom also refrained from saying “duh” to me, but I could tell she wanted to.

Jamie and Charlie were thrilled to see their Daddy
and
their Nana Angela. They gave me perfunctory kisses but definitely wanted more of Jeff and Mom's time than mine. Again chose not to be bitter. After all, if King Benny had come upstairs with us, Mom and Jeff would be playing Second Bananas to him anyway.

“Jamie and Charlie have already had their baths and brushed their teeth,” Nadine said.

“Super. Where are you sleeping?” I asked her as I sat down next to her and Dad, who was now also not of interest to his grandchildren, at least for the moment. Christopher settled next to Amy and took Becky from her. She gave a happy baby gurgle and snuggled up to her father and Christopher got a look on his face I recognized well, since I saw it on Jeff's face all the time—the happy glow of loving on his child.

“Well, we've been discussing that.” Nadine nodded her head toward Amy and Lizzie. “I'm kind of surprised that you have Charlie in his own room already at only seven months.”

“Seriously, that wasn't my idea. The Elves set the room up and he really seems to like it.”

“Oh, he does, Mommy,” Jamie said. “Just like I like my room.”

“That's great, sweetie, but Charlie is still a baby. And babies need their mommies and daddies nearby.”

“But you are nearby,” Jamie said. “Aren't you?” She looked worried.

“Yes, we are. Just across the hall.” The ginormous hall, but still right across it. Didn't know what to say that wouldn't make Jamie nervous. “But, um . . .”

Jeff kissed Jamie's head. “You stayed in the nursery for a long time, Jamie-Kat. We just think that maybe Charlie should, too.”

Jamie shook her head. “Charlie will be fine.”

Looked at my son, who was grabbing Mom's nose. “Maybe. But Mom, what do you think?”

Mom kissed Charlie's forehead. “I think that whatever makes you and Jeff feel safe is the right choice, kitten. But, frankly, as Alfred and Lucinda have told your father and me more than once, with hyperspeed and a good baby monitor, it doesn't take long to reach your child.”

This was true. In fact, Alfred and Lucinda's bedroom at Martini Manor was quite far away from their children's rooms. Sure, the isolation chamber they'd had to install for Jeff was in their bedroom. Just as the isolation chamber here was now in our suite of rooms.

“And the pets are guarding us all the time, Mommy, you know that,” Jamie reminded me. She held up her Poof. “Mous-Mous is always on the case.”

“True, the Poofs are ever-vigilant.” I hoped and presumed. Felt a feathered nudge. “As are the Peregrines, dogs, cats, ocellars, and chochos.” Why risk hurting anyone's feelings? “Well, why don't we see how it goes? Charlie can always come into the nursery if he wants to, and if he's happy in his own room, you're right, we'll hear him if need be. Which brings me back to the question of where Nadine's sleeping.”

“I was thinking I should be in Charlie's room, honestly,” she said.

“I think you should be in Lizzie's room,” Jamie said. “That way, Lizzie will have a friend to talk to.”

Lizzie looked more than a little weirded out, not that I could blame her. Jamie was quite advanced to begin with, and her tendency to share things in a way that made it seem
like she was mind reading or seeing the future was freaky, even to me and Jeff. Maybe mostly to me and Jeff.

“Lizzie's a big girl,” Jeff said. “Bigger than you. That should mean she gets her own room and doesn't have to share.”

“But all the big girls and boys are sharing,” Jamie said. “Upstairs and here, too. You and Mommy share, too, Daddy.”

“It's fine,” Lizzie said. “There's room in my room 'cause it's totes big. Nadine can stay with me if you guys want.”

Christopher handed Becky to Amy. I blinked and he was gone. Blinked again and he was back. “There are two beds in Lizzie's room now. When we came upstairs there was only one. So, I guess that means the Operations Team got the message.”

“Okay, um, well, I guess that's settled then. Lizzie, are you sure you're okay with this? We have plenty of room and the other bed can go in Charlie's room just as easily as yours.”

“No, really, it's fine, Kitty. Promise.”

Had a feeling that something had happened while we were downstairs, but had no good way to ask in front of the kids. “Well, it's bedtime for the two who get to sleep in their rooms alone, then.”

Jeff handed Jamie to Lizzie. “Okay, Charlie first.” He took our son from Mom. “Back soon, Jamie-Kat. Enjoy your special time.”

With that we headed to Charlie's room. “Any guess for what's going on?” I asked him quietly.

“A little. Tell you once Charlie's in bed.”

“Oh good. More mystery. Just what today needed.”