by Gini Koch
“So you and everyone else are going to be fiddling with our daughter’s brain? And this doesn’t sound like a bad idea to anyone?”
“It’s similar to the implants we use to manipulate the gases on this planet, and it’s not fiddling like a human would do it,” he said, patience clearly forced. “We’ve been doing this for centuries. It works. No one dies from the implants or the injections. We can and will die without them. You’ve never had an issue with any of this before.”
“No need to get testy. I just want to be sure we’re not doing something that would hurt the baby.”
Jeff made the snorting exasperation sound. I looked at him. I was getting a dirty look. “I’m not going to do anything to hurt our baby. The blocks will protect her. She won’t be able to feel any emotions, other than her own.”
“What about mine? Or yours?” Jeff said I broadcast my emotions, and when his blocks were down, I had to assume he broadcast his.
“As far as I can tell, she won’t feel either one of us. Unless she’s in life-threatening danger.”
“In general or from us?”
I got another dirty look. “She’d better not be in life-threatening danger from one of us. But if the person whose emotions she’s blocked from is a danger to her, she’ll feel their emotions.”
“How?”
“I can’t explain it to anyone who’s not an empath. It works, that’s all I can tell you.” Or at least all he was willing to. I decided I had another question that was more important. “And,” Jeff went on, “because I know you and know the next question you want to ask, when she has to go into isolation, I’m going with her, at least until she’s old enough to understand what it is.”
“Not that I mind that you want to, but if two empaths are in isolation together, doesn’t that mean neither one is actually isolated?”
“It would if I were a normal empath. Since I’m not . . .” Jeff looked upset, affronted, and a little hurt.
“I know, you’re Superempath. I just want to be sure that—”
“That we avoid having to give her the adrenaline shot,” he finished for me. “I know. I don’t want to do that to her if we don’t have to, either.” Jeff ran his hand through his hair. “Why are we fighting? I mean, really, why? And why right now?”
I considered this question. “Hormones?”
“I’ll take it. Look, can we just rest until the baby needs to eat again? I’m almost as exhausted from this conversation as I was when I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“I’m sorry.” I was. I hadn’t really meant to upset him.
Jeff heaved a sigh. “No more guilt. No more stress.” He hugged me. “Let’s just relax and enjoy that we’re all here together.”
“I can do that.” I snuggled closer to him, cuddled Jamie while Jeff wrapped around us again, closed my eyes, and went back to sleep.
I was glad Jeff had gotten me to shut up and rest because we were up again in a few hours, to do the feeding, burping, and diaper changing all over again. I dreaded when he was going to have to go back on duty.
Third time for the drill; now it was sometime in the afternoon. I had no idea any more. Heard a knock on the door. Jeff got it, and Amy was standing there. “Kitty, how are you?” She saw the baby and squealed. I didn’t remember Amy as a squealer, but then again, I didn’t remember Amy around babies, either.
She raced over and hugged me. “Christopher told me you’d had a horrible time. I’m so sorry I pulled Jeff away from you when you needed him.”
“It was okay. I’m fine.” I hugged her one-armed.
Amy stepped back and took a critical look at me and Jeff. “Right. Jeff, you want to go take a shower and I’ll guard Kitty?”
He looked like he was going to argue. He also looked like he was going to drop. “Jeff, go ahead. One of us should take the opportunity, and it’s not going to be me.”
He struggled with it, but finally he nodded. “Okay, baby. I’ll be back in a flash.” He kissed Jamie on her head, me full on the mouth, which reminded me that I wanted to ask Tito for the exact moment we’d be allowed to have sex again. Jeff pulled away with a grin. “Truly, I love how you think. Be right back, baby.”
“Take your time, it’ll be fine.”
Jeff left and Amy relaxed. I found this interesting and took a good look at her. She looked pretty much as she had when I’d seen her in Paris—taller than me, willowy, long auburn hair, green eyes, great skin. She looked the way you expected someone from money to look, honestly—poised, confident, happy. Well, she was happy looking at me and the baby. The moment she looked away, I saw fear and worry.
“You want to tell me what’s going on? Jeff said you were garbled last night. I don’t buy it. You didn’t want to tell him and Christopher what’s up.”
She nodded and pulled a chair over. “I am in so much trouble.”
“Twenty guys trying to kill you usually indicates trouble, yeah.” She nodded but didn’t speak. “Ames, you’re seeing me and the baby, really, before my parents.” I found Mom’s visit from earlier hard to count in the “seeing the baby” category, after all. “Make the whining I’ll hear for the rest of my life worth it and share the news, okay?”
“I discovered a government conspiracy.”
CHAPTER 17
I LET THAT ONE HANG on the air. “And you called me instead of Chuckie, why?”
“Why would I call Conspiracy Chuck?” Amy seemed genuinely shocked.
“Gladys said you called using a covert ops emergency number.”
“I have no idea what number I used. I met this guy; he was helping me get the information on the conspiracy. He gave me the number, said to use it if I was in life-threatening danger.”
“What happened to him?”
She started to cry. “They slit his throat in front of me.”
“Were you in love with him?”
I got the “are you crazy, is that your problem?” look. They must have taught it at our high school. Maybe it was a Pueblo Caliente specialty, since Mom was a pro at it, too. No matter, I now had the hat trick and could congratulate myself later. “He was like sixty years old, Kitty.”
“Was he really handsome, like Jeff and Christopher handsome?”
“What is with you? No, he was a normal guy for sixty. Not too much of a gut, since I guess he was an agent, but I thought he was just a businessman.”
A-C agent out. Well, it was worth checking. “So, what’s the conspiracy?”
She took a deep breath. “Elimination of some heads of some businesses. I’ve never heard of them. The P.T.C.U. and the ETD. I don’t know what the letters stand for.”
“I do. Com on!” I was bellowing. Jamie didn’t wake up. What a good baby.
“Yes, Commander Martini? And congratulations. Is this baby-related?”
“Thanks. No. I want Charles Reynolds and my parents, Kevin Lewis and his family, and any other key P.T.C.U. or ETD personnel taken into full protective custody, like yesterday. My mom and dad are at our house for sure, no idea where the others are. Bring them to Dulce. Be prepared to have to bring in a lot more human personnel as well, just don’t know yet. I need Chuckie here, with me, also like yesterday.”
“Handling, Commander. Anything else?”
“I want Alpha, including Richard, and whatever portion of Airborne can move, in here. Jeff’s taking a shower, so don’t panic him, but need him, too.”
“Done, Commander.”
“Thanks, Gladys.” I took a deep breath. “Amy? Why didn’t you contact me before now?”
“Uh, why should I have? I mean, you and Jeff told me you did something vague that sounded like you worked in some level of antiterrorism.”
“Ah. Well. Um.” She had a point. Then again, Jeff and Christopher appearing out of nowhere must have been a clue. “Why did you think Jeff and Christopher were able to get to you so fast?”
She looked at me blankly. “You know, I was so scared, I didn’t think about it. How did they?” She looked around
the room. “Where, exactly, are we?”
“Dulce Science Center. Otherwise known as the heart of the U.F.O. rumors. Hi, Amy, nice to see you.” Chuckie sauntered in. “Kitty, you look great for just giving birth.” He came over and kissed my forehead. “From the little I heard, we almost lost you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Good.” He kissed my forehead again, then looked at the baby. “She’s beautiful. Looks just like you.”
“That’s what Jeff said. I don’t see it.”
“Human genetics are dominant, but regardless, trust me, I see you.”
“Human? Why wouldn’t the baby look human?” Amy started to sound freaked.
Chuckie and I exchanged looks. “You handle it. I just popped out a kid. With, from what everyone tells me, complications.”
He nodded. “Amy, you know all those conspiracy theories of mine that you and everyone else in school other than Kitty teased me about?”
Amy blinked. “Chuck? You’re Conspiracy Chuck?”
Chuckie and I exchanged another look. “Dude, I’m telling you, you really matured well. Your timing sucked, but, trust me, you look great.”
“Thanks.” He turned back to Amy. “I’m Charles Reynolds, yeah. I’m also the head of the C.I.A.’s Extraterrestrial Division.”
“Or the ETD. Which means, according to Amy, you’ve been marked for death.”
“Oh? Interesting.” Only Chuckie would find this interesting as opposed to scary. “Who else?”
“My mother.”
“Kitty, why would your mother be marked for death?” Amy was bordering on hysteria. There was a lot of that going around. Maybe it was the room.
“My mother is the head of the Presidential Terrorism Control Unit, or the P.T.C.U. Welcome to my world. I only entered it less than two years ago, so you’re not that far behind. Oh, almost forgot. Jeff, Christopher, and most of the people you’re going to meet shortly are all space aliens from the Alpha Centauri system. We call them A-Cs. We have a lot of them living on Earth. Positive point? They’re all totally gorgeous.”
“Thanks. What the hell is going on?” Jeff was back, in the standard Armani fatigues. No tie—again, he was a new daddy, so going casual. Jeans. Was it too much to ask to see his butt in denim? I didn’t think so, but had only won that battle twice. In just under two years. “Why is he here?” The way he hissed the word “he” I knew he wasn’t emotionally able to block any jealousy.
“Marked for death, like my mom, Amy’s stumbled onto her own Pelican Brief and we’re at DEFCON Worse, without benefit of DEFCON One or anything. Oh, and, Chuckie, the baby’s name is Jamie Katherine.” Mom hadn’t seemed interested before, Amy hadn’t asked—I decided to offer so I could pretend one of my nearest and dearest cared about what I’d named my child.
“Nice. Reader must be flattered.”
“He is.” Jeff had the sarcasm knob up to full. “Note that your name is nowhere connected to my baby.”
“Boys.”
Chuckie gave him a look I could only think of as snide. “Yeah. Noted, Martini. Kitty had me brought in, wasn’t my idea to come this early after she delivered. Though she looks amazing. As always.”
“Boys, really.”
“I’m sure. I’m sort of surprised you weren’t here while she was in labor.”
“Guys. Boys. Menfolk.”
“I would have been if I’d known. But, unsurprisingly, no one advised me.”
“Boys, really, do I have to bring out the big guns again?”
“No one advised you because what happens with Kitty is none of your damn business.” Jeff was growling.
“They’re not in a bra this time, guys.”
“Oh, please. Everything Centaurion Division does is my business, including what the head of Airborne for Centaurion is doing. Especially when we almost lost said head of Airborne in labor.” Chuckie was right in Jeff’s face.
“About to lose her to disgust, boys.”
“She doesn’t need you to take care of her.” Jeff was growling and snarling.
“I’m okay with the taking care of. Not so much with the stag fighting.”
“True, she’s an independent woman. She’s now on official maternity leave, but some women manage to work while having babies. Kitty’s one of them. But, sorry, I keep on forgetting—you’re old-fashioned. Where’s her gingham dress, her stove and her washing machine?” Chuckie had a sarcasm knob, too. His was turned to eleven. I also thought I was about to watch him lose his cool, which was more rare than sighting Halley’s Comet.
“Boys, really. I don’t want to flash you. What example will that set for Jamie?”
“She’s also my wife and what she does or doesn’t do isn’t any of your business.”
They were nose-to-nose. Physical fighting was bound to be an issue.
“Kitty, go for it. All the guys are here, waiting to get a load of the maternity rack.” Reader was in the doorway, cover-boy grin on full. He wasn’t kidding—all the rest of Alpha and Airborne were behind him. All of them were watching my chest, not Jeff and Chuckie.
Amazingly, the two of them were still glaring and snarling at each other. I looked at Amy. Her mouth was hanging open. I caught her eye. “Sometimes they don’t fight and just glare at each other from across the room. Occasionally they work together. Chuckie was at our wedding, too. Helped pick out my dress. They still fought then, just not as much, in deference to the solemnity that wasn’t really our wedding.”
“I’m really confused.” Amy sounded confused. And scared.
My mother shoved into the room. “What the hell is going on here?” She sounded normal, and, as she looked around, I confirmed that she looked normal, too. Good. My world was no longer teetering more oddly than usual. “Hi, Amy, nice to see you. Charles, Jeff, is this the right time or place for this?”
They both ignored her. “Mom, could you take the baby?”
“Oooh, yes.” Mom hustled over. “Christopher told us her name. Love it.” I refrained from mentioning that I’d have been glad to tell her the baby’s name earlier. I got the feeling she wanted and possibly needed for us to not discuss our private mother and daughter moment. No worries, I didn’t like to show weakness in front of others if I could help it, either.
Mom picked up Jamie and rocked her. “She’s such an angel, sleeping while her daddy and Uncle Charles fight over her mommy.”
“He’s not her uncle anything,” Jeff snarled.
“That’s as much up to Kitty as you, Martini.” Chuckie wasn’t snarling, but he was close.
I sighed and got to the edge of the bed. Felt pretty good. Looked down. Wasn’t a hippo anymore. Wasn’t in great shape, but at least I only looked as if I had a watermelon in there now. Stood up. Moved. Felt fine. Turned my back to the door. Looked to make sure there were no mirrors or reflective surfaces about. Check.
“Jeff? I’m about to pull up my top. Either the two of you stop it, or Chuckie gets a good view of the torpedoes.”
They both spun toward me.
“Don’t even think about it,” Jeff hissed.
“Torpedoes?” Chuckie was now staring at my chest. “Oh. Wow. I honestly hadn’t looked. Damn.” A-C sleepwear T-shirts were white, after all. Thick, but not that thick.
“Take your eyes off my wife’s chest or I kill you.” Jeff sounded ready to follow through.
“I could just shoot them both,” Mom offered.
“True, but I kind of like them.”
“Why?” Reader asked this one. “I mean, it’s sort of flattering, I’m sure. But the timing is always so bad.”
“It’s only when they’re both frightened and don’t want to admit it.” Hit with that one. I got two big men staring at me with a mixture of hurt, guilt, and embarrassment on their faces. Decided to be nice. “But we do sort of have a situation here. It would be kind of nifty if we could, and I’m just spitballing here, get the full details out of Amy, before we lose her to Oh-My-God overload. Then, you know, you two can go back to the
manly posturing and grunting.”
They both had the grace to look sheepish. “Love you both. Touched by the display, as always. Tired, cranky, worried about my girlfriend, who’s sitting there in total freaking shock since we have just turned her world upside down, worried about my mother and, realistically, everyone else, too.”
“Why?” This was from Amy. “They’re after, I guess, Chuck and your mother. Who else would be in danger?”
I sighed. “Ames, in the world as I now know it, everything’s an elaborate ruse to gain power. And you’re sitting at the heart of much of that power everyone’s trying to get their grubby mitts on.”
“But we’re in a high-class medical center-hotel combo for pregnant celebrities.” She looked around. “That’s what they said.”
“Who said?” Jeff and Christopher couldn’t lie, and there was no way they’d come up with that one on their own.
Tim whistled softly while looking at the ceiling.
“Spill it.”
He looked at me and grinned. “You know, her room is right by mine and all. Not my fault I ran into her in the hallway. She was freaked out and confused. Seemed the best way to keep her calm.”
“Lying to me?” Amy sounded outraged.
“Tim’s a human. You can spot them, normally, because they will be average to good-looking but not quite as good-looking as the A-Cs. My boys are, needless to say, hotter than most humans. I hire based on looks.”
This earned me a lot of laughs and “we love you” looks from Tim and the flyboys. Tito, who had arrived now, just grinned and moved me back into bed. Funny thing was, I wasn’t lying. Tim was the most average of all our guys and he was pretty darned cute. For a human.
“Humans can also lie. A-Cs cannot. At least not believably. At all. It’s a great trait, believe me.”
Reader laughed. “Yeah, it’s great during fights, too.”
Amy looked more closely. “Oh, my God. I recognize you! You’re that guy who did the Calvin Klein ad a few years ago that had all that controversy over it. Kitty and I both had that spread up in our rooms for months.”
Didn’t look at Jeff for that reveal. Hey, Reader was gorgeous. Sue me for lusting after him in his Calvin’s. Me and every straight woman and gay man in America.
