Kitty Katt 11: Alien Separation (56 page)

“Are you sure it was her?” I asked as I sat down at the small conference table we had in this room.

“Fairly sure,” Chuckie said.

“Very sure,” Cleary said.

Looked to Buchanan. Who shrugged. “I didn't see any of it, Missus Chief. I was just near enough that when Reynolds called I could get to them the quickest.”

Wondered why Buchanan had been near to Chuckie, versus near to me, for this particular situation. Chose to table the question for later. “What happened?”

“The governor was finishing a meeting with several lobbyists,” Chuckie said. “I was . . . observing the meeting.”

“He was spying on us, he means,” Cleary said, without a lot of animosity. Chuckie just shrugged.

“What was the meeting about?”

“Whether or not to close NASA Base,” Cleary replied.

Well, that was new. And now it made a lot of sense that Chuckie had been “observing” this meeting. “Why would anyone want to close NASA Base?”

“I have no idea,” Cleary said. “I certainly have no desire to do so.”

“But you did, during your presidential campaign,” Chuckie pointed out. “And the people who you met with are still on that platform, even though you're shifting to have a better chance of success in the next election, or the one after.”

Cleary nodded. “That's very true. At any rate, we finished the meeting, and as we were leaving the restaurant, I saw Stephanie across the street. As soon as she saw me she disappeared. I thought she'd run away from me. But then someone took a shot at me.”

“Excuse me? No one's mentioned that Florida's governor was attacked on our streets.”

“The restaurant lets out into the back, where there's an alley and a small parking lot,” Chuckie explained. “So that people can leave without being seen together, if needed.”

“Gotcha. But still, shots tend to draw attention.”

“Not,” Chuckie said dryly, “when they're done with a bow and arrow.”

Gini Koch
lives in Hell's Orientation Area (aka Phoenix, Arizona), works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people. She lives with her awesome husband, three dogs (aka The Canine Death Squad), and two cats (aka The Killer Kitties). She has one very wonderful and spoiled daughter, who will still tell you she's not as spoiled as the pets (and she'd be right).

When she's not writing, Gini spends her time cracking wise, staring at pictures of good looking leading men for “inspiration,” teaching her pets to “bring it,” and driving her husband insane asking, “Have I told you about this story idea yet?” She listens to every kind of music 24/7 (from Lifehouse to Pitbull and everything in between, particularly Aerosmith and Smash Mouth) and is a proud comics geek-girl willing to discuss at any time why Wolverine is the best superhero ever (even if Deadpool does get all the best lines).

You can reach Gini via her website (www.ginikoch.com), email ([email protected]), Facebook (www.facebook.com/Gini.Koch), Facebook Fan Page: Hairspray and Rock ‘n' Roll (www.facebook.com/GiniKochAuthor), Pinterest page (www.pinterest.com/ginikoch), Twitter (@GiniKoch), or her Official Fan Site, the Alien Collective Virtual HQ (thealiencollectivevirtualhq.blogspot.com).

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