Alien in Chief (6 page)

CHAPTER 9

“S
HE'S SHOT A TIRE OUT!”
Kyle shared, as we spun. Heard another explosion. “Two!”

Because Len was a great driver, we didn't flip and somehow we also didn't hit anything and no one hit us. But we did come to a stop, after a few dizzying seconds.

The Harley was nearby, I could hear it. And that meant the four of us were sitting ducks.

I didn't really think about it. I was the only one with hyperspeed in this car, and if Huntress was on a motorcycle, then she wasn't an A-C. A-C's had reflexes that were so good they couldn't handle human machinery because they'd destroy it. So whoever Huntress was, she was a human. Or, based on Culver's recent revelations, an android. And I'd fought androids before and won.

I put my purse over my neck. “Protect Lillian and call for backup!” I shouted as I leaped out and slammed the door behind me.

We were actually on the off-ramp, which was probably why we hadn't been hit by anyone else. And the Harley was coming right for us, its rider's crossbow aimed right for me.

The chick was in black leather, so totally into the whole look. She was definitely blonde. And she was also definitely wearing a mask that covered the top half of her face. Always the way.

She shot and I readied myself to catch the arrow. But something went past me and caught it instead. She shot again, the arrow was grabbed again.

“Don't just stand there,” Christopher shouted at me. “Get her!”

Didn't have to tell me twice, especially since my own personal Flash was now on the scene. I went after the motorcycle on foot. And she gunned it and took off at top speed.

Christopher caught up to me, grabbed my hand, and then we took off at his Flash level. This would ensure that I threw up the moment we stopped, but I planned to throw up on our Huntress chick, so all was well.

We caught the Harley because A-Cs were fast enough to begin with, I'd been a sprinter and hurdler in high school and college and daily life ensured those skills remained sharp, and nothing was going to outrun Christopher, other than possibly a supersonic jet, but I'd still put money on Christopher, best two out of three.

As we reached her, I realized we had to stop the motorcycle on top of grabbing Huntress, because she was heading into a lot of traffic, and a bike this big and heavy going this fast would do serious damage to whatever it hit.

Jumped onto the back of the bike behind her. She hit at me, and I hit back. Neither one of us was landing anything that had any power. Android was starting to seem as unlikely as A-C.

Christopher leaped on behind me, meaning we had three people on a motorcycle built for two. Tried not to let the old song, “Daisy, Daisy” play in my mind, but without my iPod going, that particular earworm took hold. Oh well, it was a cheerful turn of the past century song my paternal grandparents had sung to me and there were worse songs to play on repeat in my head, after all.

I was revved up enough and we hadn't been at the Flash level for too long, so I was able to contain the nausea.
Which was good, because I wanted to barf on this chick's face as I ripped her freaking mask off.

However, what I wanted and what I was going to get were two different things. She was still hitting at me, but as she swerved us into the slow lane and we passed a clear area, she slammed her elbow into me, wrenched out of my hold, and jumped off the bike.

Reflexes took over and I grabbed the handlebars and slid forward. Managed to keep the throttle open, because if I hadn't, the bike would have gone down, with us under it.

“You weren't holding onto her?” Christopher shouted as he, too, slid forward.

“Jump off and go get her!”

“I don't know where she is now. Because you let her go.”

“Blame and chastise later. It's been a while. Lean if I lean, don't if I don't. Dig through my purse and get my sunglasses—a bug in my eye means we're dead. And hold onto me.”

On the plus side, I knew how to ride a motorcycle, mostly because of an ex-boyfriend in college, and also because Reader, Tim, the flyboys, and I had all gone riding several times. We normally rode crotch rockets when we indulged, but the principles were the same. And I'd had a ride on a supersonic cycle in Bizarro World, going so fast I could and did move around the insects. So I was good, bugs hitting me or not.

On the not plus side, this bike was going hella fast and even though I was easing up on the throttle, I had to slow us down, not come to a screeching halt, because Christopher and I weren't in gear, let alone helmets, and the last time I'd hit my head I'd ended up in Bizarro World. Going splat on the highway was not my preferred plan.

Thankfully, Christopher found my sunglasses in record time and put them on me, which was nice, and smart, since I wasn't ready to let go with one hand.

We had to maneuver through traffic until I could get the
bike slowed down enough that I felt safe trying to stop. To Christopher's credit, he leaned when he was supposed to.

“This is far too much like our first airplane ride,” he said as we got around a trash truck.

Decided I didn't want to stop anywhere near something that big and we rode on, looking for the next exit. “Yeah? I'm ignoring you. Besides, it's not relevant. This isn't my first time on a motorcycle.”

“Really? Based on how we're wobbling, you could have fooled me.”

Decided stopping wasn't going to happen here. It was called the Beltway for a reason, and I was shifting, breaking, and accelerating like a pro. Revved the bike and zipped us through traffic. It was time to get back to the Bentley.

“If I apologize will you slow down and let me off?” Christopher shouted.

“No.”

Other than my being slightly nervous that we weren't in gear, wishing there were no such things as flying insects, and being ever so thankful that Christopher had gotten my sunglasses onto my face, the ride was pretty fun.

We reached the Bentley and I was able to safely pull over next to it. Just in time to hear sirens.

As we got off the bike and I managed to get the kickstand down and not drop the bike to the ground, three police cars pulled up. Len, Kyle, and Culver all stood up—apparently they'd been hiding behind the Bentley which, since it was essentially off the highway, made some kind of sense. Not tons of sense, but some.

“Let me do the talking,” I said to Christopher. “And definitely keep your hands where they can see them.”

A squad car door opened, but no one got out. Well, no one human.

A giant German Shepherd bounded toward us, barking his head off. Then he jumped at me.

CHAPTER 10

I
CAUGHT THE DOG
and gave him a big hug while he licked my face. “Prince! Kitty's so glad to see you! How's my favorite officer of the law?”

Prince was great, thank you very much, and really happy to see me, too. He was also relieved I was okay. Prince was the greatest.

Two other dogs joined us for their lovies and praise. “Duke, Riley, good dogs! Where's Officers Moe, Larry, and Curly?” They were Larry's and Curly's dogs, respectively, so they should know where their handlers were.

Much barking ensued, to share that, naturally, their handlers were getting out of their squad cars.

When we'd first met the K-9 squad, during Operation Assassination, I'd nicknamed these dogs' owner-handlers after the Three Stooges. Moe's real name was Herman Melville, because he had literary parents who'd never been to a playground, apparently, and he didn't care for my calling him Moe. Since we'd become good friends, I'd stopped calling him that. To his face.

“I hate that nickname,” Officer Melville said as he joined us.

“Your buddies are good with being Officers Larry and Curly.”

“They like you better than I do.”

Possibly true. At any rate, I had no idea what Larry and Curly's real names were. Possibly really Larry and Curly. No one had ever said and I'd never asked. And I wasn't going to break that streak today, either.

“Did anyone catch the woman who tried to kill us?” I asked now.

“No.” Melville sounded pissed. “Your car chase and subsequent motorcycle joyride caused enough havoc that we lost her.” He went over to Culver and the boys. “You three alright?”

Culver nodded. “Our driver was very good.”

“And we were lucky,” Len said.

“We need to pull the arrows.” Kyle pointed to the tires that had arrows sticking out of what was left of them. “Just in case we can get evidence off of them.”

“She's human. No A-C could ride a motorcycle, and she didn't hit like an A-C or an android.”

“She's new,” Melville said. “What with the attack on two politicians already, we've contacted all international law enforcement, including Interpol. There's no criminal footprint like this out there.”

“She's making a hell of a splash,” Officer Larry added. “It's been sheer luck that no one's ended up dead.”

Christopher and I looked at each other. “I don't believe in luck like that,” I said slowly. “Especially because we're talking someone trained enough to have taken out a car going at top speed. And then she jumped off a motorcycle going at top speed and she's not dead.”

“We assume,” Christopher added.

“We have cars at every off-ramp,” Melville said. “And there's no body. Or any sign that anyone might have jumped off a motorcycle and landed somewhere.”

Christopher made a call. “Yeah. Yeah, we're all okay. No, she got away. Yeah. Please. Send teams to search all the off-ramps. No, I don't think Kitty really knows where she jumped off at either.”

I shook my head. Christopher nodded.

“Nope, she doesn't. It was just someplace she could land, versus fall. Yeah. Look for any trace evidence. Thanks, James.” He hung up and turned back to Melville. “Our people will do a thorough search. We can do it faster than your teams and we'll let you know if we find anything.”

Melville nodded. “I'd argue about procedure, but I know you're right. And we've found nothing, and I can't justify sending CSU to every off-ramp and area without a drop-off on the Beltway.”

“Lillian's car is totaled. Is someone coming to tow that and take us back to the Embassy?” Clearly lunch was out at this point. Couldn't speak for Culver or the boys, but I could have eaten. However, it didn't seem appropriate under the circumstances.

As I asked this, a big black Lincoln Navigator pulled up. Buchanan got out, and he looked seriously pissed. “Why didn't you wait for me?”

Len and I looked at each other. “You were behind us in a cab,” I said.

“No, I wasn't. I was, in fact, blocked from leaving the Embassy's garage by several cars.”

“The driver looked like you,” Len said. “I checked.”

“I did, too, Malcolm. I mean, he wasn't close enough for us to make out details, but it looked like the cab you use and he looked like you.”

“He wasn't, and that means this assassin isn't working alone.”

We brought Buchanan up to speed on what had transpired. “This was coordinated,” he said when we were done. “They knew to block me. Meaning they know how we work.”

“Can we go back to the Embassy to discuss this? I mean that seriously. Lillian's being a total champ, but we were just attacked and in a crash, and I'd like our Embassy doctor to take a look at all of us.”

I did want Tito to check us out. But I also wanted to discuss what Culver had told us, and I knew without asking she didn't want us sharing that with the D.C.P.D., even though Melville and his team were 100 percent on our side.

Melville nodded. “I'll escort you home. The others will stay with the vehicle. We know how to reach Miz Culver.”

She smiled weakly, not her usual wide smile that always reminded me of the Joker's. “Thank you, officers. But I'd really like to see the doctor, if it's acceptable for us to leave the scene.”

It was and we did. Prince insisted on riding in the car with us, which Melville allowed, mostly because I figured he didn't want to hear Prince whine for the entire trip back.

We brought Buchanan and Christopher up to speed as Buchanan drove home and I petted Prince, who was sitting in my lap.

“Think she's working with Drax?” Kyle asked when we were done. “I only ask that because she's new and he's new.”

“I think that's a very good possibility,” Buchanan said. “And I'll be checking out the options once we're home.”

Knew he'd be calling Team Assassination. “Give them my love when you call.”

“I will. Miz Culver, I think we need to keep you under protection. Do you want Centaurion Division personnel or D.C.P.D.?”

Culver managed a laugh. “A-Cs, please and thank you.” Kyle nodded and made the call.

“So, if the assassin was after Lillian, does that mean they wanted to prevent her from telling us about Drax, prevent her from telling us about Huntress, or are these attacks about something else entirely?”

“That, Missus Chief, is the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.”