Alien in the House (47 page)

“B
ECAUSE SHE SCREWED UP,”
Michael suggested. “She was in the running, her plan backfired.”

“Maybe.” Chuckie's eyes were closed. “Santiago Reyes is dead, yes. But Raul was there, and he was there with SWAT, meaning the plan was always expected to be exposed, police were always expected to be called, and Eugene was always expected to be arrested.”

“Meaning Raul was in place to cover as backup, in all cases,” Raj said. “Especially if we believe there are other aspiring Apprentices, at least one of them was likely at the dinner party, too. If it were me, I'd want to be sure I had someone I could trust to clean up if one or more of them blew it. And our intel shows that Raul has the strongest connection to someone we all feel was a Mastermind, so I say he's following the current Mastermind's orders.”

Chuckie nodded. “Logical. Everyone going for the ‘job' would have to be politically connected in some way. And that makes the most sense for his presence in town, too.”

“So Raul was there to kill Eugene before he could blab, and he's around to take care of whatever else is needed while Apprentice Tryouts are going on. Getting to have the chance to kill me and Jeff is probably just part of his Christmas bonus.”

“Right.” Chuckie closed his eyes again. “We agree that Brewer's ‘suicide' is Pia's M.O. But she was dead before it was carried out. So I ask again, why was she killed? She adapted and got her target. Why kill her before you see if she can get Brewer on the second try?”

“Well, there's always the possibility that she was in Cliff's car when he turned it on and just had bad timing,” Jeff said.

“It's possible, but why would you put the car bomb in so late?” Chuckie shook his head. “I can't buy that. Cliff had to park and go inside the Capitol building, for a specific event. There was no way to judge how long it would be before he left the event to return to his car. Thirty minutes would be your best guess for the fastest he'd be back, and you always work assuming worst-case scenario. So, you wouldn't wait to set up the bomb until the last moment. You'd set it and be far, far away, confirming your alibi.”

“And car bombs aren't the same as supposed suicides,” Christopher said.

White nodded. “Those are more of a terrorist's or an assassin's tool. At least in our experience.”

“The Dingo swears that Cliff's car wasn't set up by him. But Raul and Bernie used explosives, too, even more than the Dingo and Surly Vic do. So, Raul was told that Pia wasn't getting the job and he took her out and dumped her in Cliff's car when he rigged it to blow. Just think of the confusion when both Cliff and Pia were discovered to be together.”

“We'd spend a lot of time trying to figure out the connection,” Reader agreed.

“Well, Chuckie and I would, for sure.”

“And you're a pit bull,” Vance said.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don't mean it as an insult. You're just someone who gets her teeth on a bone and won't let go. Metaphorically speaking.”

“Metaphorically speaking, find a better metaphor next time.” I loved my pit bull, Duchess, but didn't really want to be compared to her if at all possible.

“Vance is right,” Chuckie said. “And that's it. That's why Pia was killed. She wasn't killed for failure. She was killed because her failure got you, and therefore the rest of us, investigating. The only reason you listened to Vance was because Santiago was dead and you'd questioned Eugene and he'd spilled his guts. That's the failure, and that's why she's dead.”

“I agree,” Mom said. “But we still haven't answered my question, which is why kill all those people?”

“I think the Dingo knows, or suspects. And now I have more to give him in return, or confirm for him in return. He's a lot like Olga.”

“They trained in the same arena,” Mom said. “So glad she's keeping you on your toes, because while you think you can trust the Dingo, I'm not nearly as convinced.”

“Mossad wants to know if you want them along when you go on your cemetery sleepover,” Tim said. “I haven't told them where you're going, by the way.”

“Tell them thank you but no and do
not
tell them where the meet is. We need whatever intel we can get out of the Dingo and he's sure as hell not going to show if Mossad is hanging around. I'm sure they want to take him and Surly Vic out as much as they want to take Raul out, too.”

“Gotcha. I'll give them another location if they seem like they're going to try to follow you anyway.”

“Good plan,” Mom said. “I think it's time for me to get going to question Esteban Cantu and see if he can shed any light on the subject. And I want Jeff and Christopher going with me.”

“Seriously, we'll behave,” Jeff said.

“Are you going to handcuff us, too?” Christopher snarked.

Mom rolled her eyes. “Really? I want the strongest empath and imageer in the world to help me question the only person we all think can tell us what's going on and who's behind it. I can take you there in handcuffs if you'd like, but I'd prefer to not have to explain why I'm bringing prisoners in and then right back out again, if it's all the same to you two.”

They both had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry,” Christopher muttered.

“Ready whenever you want to go, Angela,” Jeff said, giving her his best You're the Greatest Mother-In-Law in the WORLD smile.

Mom shook her head. “Sometimes I truly understand why Kitty's so enthusiastic about working with Richard.”

“You want me and Chuck along?” Kevin asked. “Or do you want us here?”

“Will Cantu talk more if they're along?” Jeff asked. “Or less?”

“He hates Chuckie. I say take Chuckie and Kevin, too, Mom. Keep Jeff and Christopher hidden, have Chuckie in there to bait Cantu. He may give something away while he's gloating about Chuckie needing his help.”

Mom shot me the “really?” look. “Thank goodness you're here, because none of that would have ever occurred to me.” Yes, Mom's sarcasm knob went well above eleven. “Yes, Kevin, to answer your question, I want both you and Charles along. I'd like Michael Gower along as well.”

Michael looked surprised. “I'm flattered. Why?”

“I want another A-C with us. One who I can trust not to try to run off to handle someone else's part of the operation.”

Michael grinned. “I'm your man.”

“Good. We'll be leaving within the hour, so all of you need to be ready.” Mom nodded to Kevin, then went out of the room, presumably to make high-security-level calls to secret underground strongholds.

“Uh oh,” Tim said as soon as Mom was out of range. “I think we have an issue with Mossad. They know you, Kitty, so they assume you're heading into danger. They also don't seem to understand why we're not hiding in the shadows to protect you, regardless of what the Dingo thinks.”

“In other words, if they go wherever you're telling them, and you're not there, Mossad's going to get suspicious, right?”

Tim nodded. “They're good. They'll find you.”

“And screw up the meet,” Amy said. “I think Kitty's crazy, too, but I'm also clear that you don't tell the nice assassin you're coming with people who aren't going to try to take him down, and then show up with people trying to take him down.”

“Maybe Mossad is right,” Abigail said. “They have more information on Raul than we do. They might have more on the Dingo, too.”

“Look, I know I'm right on this one.”

“Paul,” Naomi said. “What does ACE think?”

Every head swiveled toward Gower. And there were three of us who were really wondering what in the world he was going to say.

G
OWER GOT THE LOOK
on his face that I was familiar with, the one where he was listening to someone in his head.

He looked back at all of us. “ACE says Kitty thinks right.”

“That means ACE is all for my plans, both the one we know about and the one I'm about to tell you,” I said as quickly as possible.

“Okay,” Tim said doubtfully. “That's all ACE said?”

“Look, time's going to be of the essence for what we'll need to do with Mossad. I'm sure ACE, more than any of us, is aware of that.”

Gower nodded. “You need to tell the others what you're thinking, Kitty.”

“Right. Okay, if Mossad is going to shove in and try to be all protective, let's give them something to do.”

“Who needs protection?” Jeff asked. “Those of us with Angela? There's only so many she can take, right, Chuck?”

Chuckie nodded. “Right, so you can't use us to distract Mossad, Kitty.”

Clearly these two were as aware as I was that ACE hadn't suddenly returned. Also as clearly they didn't think I had an actual plan in place and was just bluffing until I came up with something. Chose to be offended later.

“We need a variety of people found. I'd love to send Mossad on the Hunt for Colonel Hamlin, but then we'd have to tell them what's going on with Malcolm and probably everything else and I think we'd rather not.”

“We'd definitely rather not,” Chuckie said emphatically.

“Okay, so before I roll my plan idea, where's Camilla? She showed up because we had a tip that something was going down, right?”

“Right,” Chuckie said. “And something did. Now I think we were tipped so that Eugene would absolutely be caught.”

“I agree. Okay, so, nice dodge and all, but what is Camilla working on? I need to know so I don't duplicate effort in the wrong way.”

He sighed. “She's inserting into Gaultier. Based on what happened with Buchanan, what was found there, and some other intel we have, it's the best place for her right now.”

“Super, so no one's going to be on her turf. Tim and James, you guys need to get Mossad looking for Clarence. He's more dangerous than the Dingo, by far, and we need him captured. Just like Raul can tell us who took over for Reid, Clarence likely can as well. Or else he's now Raul's BFF and that means he can tell us where Raul is. Bottom line, we need him found and neutralized, but not killed. Not yet, anyway.”

“What other intel, Chuck?” Amy asked. “And don't try lying to me.”

“No, I can tell you. Now. We think some of the former human employees for the former Diplomatic Corps got jobs with Gaultier. We know some went to work for Titan, but they've moved on since that company's been under investigation. Camilla's been tracking them for almost as long as Jamie's been alive. They're hiding well, which means they have help and protection.”

Amy nodded. “Once I take over, whatever you need, you let me know.”

“This is touching,” Christopher said. “But I haven't heard anyone say where they actually think Clarence is. I've been searching, and before someone insults my abilities again, I'm the fastest person here. And I've searched most of this damn town. He's nowhere, and there's no sign of him.”

“I'm worried that he's in the cemetery Kitty's going to,” Big George said. “That's where he ran when you chased him, right?”

“He ran in, yes, but if he kept on going, I think I have a guess as to where he went. Clarence was running all over the place when I was after him. He was trying to lose me. He gave that up finally and pretty much made a beeline for the cemetery. But while I think the Dingo's there because he has a sense of humor, Clarence would never have the American history background to find hiding out where a Civil War traitor is buried funny, and we've established that he also has no sense of humor anyone's aware of.”

“So, where is he, if he's not in the cemetery?” Christopher asked.

“I think he's somewhere he can sleep and get food without anyone paying much attention. I think he's at Georgetown University somewhere. He can go into a student's room and sleep—they're not monitored and they're on winter break. He can steal food easily, either on campus or at the Medical Center, which is there if he gets hurt.”

“That's brilliant,” Reader said.

“If he's there,” Christopher pointed out. “But before anyone asks, no, I didn't search the colleges, other than the grounds.”

“So, get Mossad over there on whatever pretext you like, then tell them why Clarence is a bigger danger than the Dingo.”

“We'll work it out.” Reader looked at Gower. “You're not coming along.”

Gower rolled his eyes. “I know. I get to be bored. You need Airborne, though. Because if Mossad says ‘screw you, we're after the Dingo,' you're going to need help.”

“Yep,” Reader said as Mom came back in.

“We're cleared to go, so my team, let's move. Say your good-byes, we leave in five.” Got a hug and kiss from Mom, then she went to say good-bye to Dad and Jamie. Kevin followed her to go say good-bye to Denise and their kids.

Jeff held me tightly then gave me his usual slow, sensuous, and great kiss. “Be careful, baby,” he said as we pulled apart.

“You too. Remember to keep your head low.”

“We're going to a prison facility. I'll be fine. You're having a romantic meeting with an assassin. It's you I'm worried about.”

“Unless I'm there with you and no one's trying to kill us, I don't find cemeteries to be romantic. So you can keep your jealousy in check.”

He grinned, gave me another quick kiss, and followed after my mother to say good-bye to Jamie. Christopher and Amy and Chuckie and Naomi were having similar good-byes. Michael looked kind of down.

“You okay?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “My girl's not here, and I don't want to call her because I'm sure I'm not supposed to be telling anyone where we're going.” Chose not to share that he probably couldn't reach her anyway. Wondered how long locked-door meetings went. Too long when I needed to talk to my Washington Insiders was my feeling.

“The player's missing his girl?” Put my hand to his forehead. “No fever.”

He looked embarrassed. “Caroline's just . . . special.”

“Yeah, she is. She likes you too, don't worry.”

“There's liking and then there's
liking
, you know? I'm not sure she's in the
liking
category.”

“Wow, are you feeling well? I've never seen you this unconfident about a woman.”

Abigail came over. “Someone's in lo-ove.”

Michael looked more embarrassed. “Wouldn't tell you if I was.”

Abigail snorted. “Because I can tell.” She sighed. “Well, not in the usual way. But I can tell by how you're acting.”

“Michael, we need to go,” Christopher said. “Angela doesn't like to be kept waiting.”

“Later,” Michael said as he trailed after Christopher and Chuckie.

“You think Caroline feels the same about Michael?” Abigail asked worriedly.

“I haven't talked to her about it.” Or anything else since the party. “But I do know that they've been going out exclusively for longer than she ever has with anyone else.”

“That's good then.”

Naomi, who had been at least somewhat alert and involved, seemed to lose all interest the moment Chuckie walked out. She was looking at her phone, but a quick glance told me she was looking at wedding cakes.

“Okay,” Tim said. “I have Mossad set up. They want to get into position early, because they're really anal.”

“Or just that good.”

“Yeah? Then why are we leading them on this wild goose chase? Oh, that's right. So you can meet up with assassins you think are your friends now.”

“They are. Anyway, how are you going to search if they stake out?”

“Now, see, that's where my special genius comes in. I told them you wouldn't tell us exactly where you were meeting the Dingo. So we're going to search the area first, which because most of us are human, will take a while. James, Airborne just landed in the Georgetown Student Center bathroom. We'd better get moving. Won't look good if Mossad beats us there because they don't get to use a gate.”

“Okay, girlfriend, if it goes bad, which I fully expect it to, don't play hero and call us right away. We'll use a floater and get to you.”

“Will do, James, I promise.”

Reader hugged and kissed Gower good-bye, then he and Tim took off. The room, which had seemed incredibly full just a few minutes ago, now felt empty, despite the fact that we still had a lot of people in here.

“What do the rest of us do?” Naomi asked, looking at her phone instead of any of us. “Sit here and wait around?” Abigail rolled her eyes and shot me a “sorry” look.

“No. Let's see if we can figure out who the mysterious L is and if there's a deeper reason for why all the reps have been killed.”

“But why?” Henry asked. “Everyone's said that there's no point.”

“There's still a point. We need to know if Santiago was killed only by accident or if he was on the hit list, too. Mimi, Abby, I want you two in charge of that.”

“Why us?” Naomi asked, still looking at her phone. “Abby and I don't have our powers working. And I have wedding things I need to focus on,” she added in a tone I could only think of as whiney and petulant.

Maybe it was because I was tired. Maybe it was because she was whining and I wasn't used to hearing any Gower whine, let alone Naomi. And maybe it was because I knew that she and Abigail felt they were handicapped now and I was tired of pretending that this was an okay attitude for them to have. Or maybe it was because she wanted to screw around with wedding stuff while everyone else tried to stop the bad guys.

I snapped.

“Oh, cry me a river.”

“What?” Naomi looked and sounded shocked. Well, at least she wasn't looking at her phone for the moment.

“That means stop whining and acting like your life is all suck and no happy. Look, I get it. You have no talents any more. I'm sure that's tough. But you still have all five senses, and you've still got your minds. Why are you refusing to use them?”

“We can't function like we used to,” Naomi said defensively.

“I know, believe me. Everyone knows. You've been having a humongous pity party for the past several months and I guess no one feels up to telling you the truth. But I will, because we have a lot of dead people and they'd all trade losing one sense over losing their lives, I can guarantee it. So here's the truth. You've taken the bravest, most important thing the two of you ever did and turned it into your excuse to never do anything ever again. And I personally think that sucks and you're both better than that.”

“Whoa,” Henry said quietly. “That's kind of harsh.”

“What Kitty means,” Amy said quickly, “is that we need your help, even if it's not all the help you could have given in the past.”

Naomi's eyes were narrowed. “No, that's not what she means at all.”

“True enough, but thanks for the attempted diplomatic save, Ames. Yes, it's harsh and yes, I mean it. I have two Cultural Attachés who haven't done squat for this Mission or their people since Operation Destruction. All you've done, Naomi, is plan a huge freaking wedding that your fiancé would rather die than attend. He'll attend it because he loves you, but he won't enjoy it.”

“What?” Naomi looked seriously pissed. “How dare you! You got the huge royal wedding. You're the only one who's good enough to get one, is that what you mean?”

I snorted. “Hardly. I didn't
want
the huge royal wedding. Jeff and I had no choice. And I'd like to remind you that we were fighting for our lives, and the lives of everyone on this planet, up to around ten minutes before we trotted down the aisle, around the ballroom, and through the woods.”

“I didn't want the big to-do, and neither did Christopher,” Amy said quickly. “It's not the end of the world to have a small wedding.”

“Chuck is
happy
to have this wedding,” Naomi insisted. And then she went for one of the Standard Girl Arguments. “You're just jealous he's marrying me.”

Amy cringed. Because she'd known me pretty much as long as Chuckie had, and she knew what was coming.

“Oh my God, really? Babe, let's be real. If I'd been more in love with Chuckie than I was with Jeff,
you
would not be in this picture. Happily for everyone, Chuckie's gotten over me and fallen in love with you, hurrah. But Chuckie's my best friend, and you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself and telling yourself that you ‘deserve' the big wedding to pay attention to the fact that he's dreading the whole thing. He wanted to get married by a freaking Elvis impersonator in Vegas way back when. Buy a clue.”