Universal Alien

by Gini Koch

  The trip was scary and fun at the same time, racing through these underground tunnels faster than I’d ever gone before, other than when Christopher was pulling me along at his Super Flash Speed Level.

  We stopped after we’d been going about an hour. Alfred turned off his shields and dismounted, and Cox and I followed suit,. Alfred opened a door to what turned out to be another Future Vehicles Showroom and had us change speeders. “Always pays to have the freshest batteries when you’re about to tackle the hardest part of your journey,” he said cheerfully. Had the distinct impression that this was the most fun Alfred had had since well before he’d been banished here.

  The next leg of our journey was short. “We’re under Cape Canaveral,” Alfred told us when we stopped. “We’ll need to go up and go the rest of the way on the surface, because I have no idea where Kitty wants us to go.”

  “And I have less than no guess while we’re underground. But is it safe to just leave the speeders here?”

  “They work on the surface, too. Though I’ve only used them there at night.”

  “It’s early morning now,” Cox pointed out. “I’m worried that we’ll be seen on these, and that’s only going to fuel some bizarre rumors, dangerous speculation, or, worse, indicate to powers that be that Alfred has new toys they’re going to want.”

  “What Bill said, ad infinitum. While I’d love to use these aboveground, I’m really concerned about someone else, anyone else, getting their paws on them.” Thought about this. “But I think I can find Martini Manor on a map and show it to you. Maybe you can, I don’t know, figure out where in the tunnels they’d be?”

  “I could, but it doesn’t matter. There are only a few entrances and this is the only one in this part of Florida. Trust me—I’ve been here for decades—there isn’t a portion of this tunnel system I haven’t examined and searched. But we need to conserve our strength, and if where we’re headed is too far away, we’re going to be at a distinct disadvantage.”

  “Well, if we knew exactly where we were going, Alfred could just program our GPS systems,” Cox suggested.

  “What about things like people, cars, buildings, and wildlife?”

  “Oh, I can send avoidance directives within the GPS program,” Alfred said cheerily. “Kitty, can you truly show me where we’re going on a map?”

  “If someone pulls up Google Maps for me, yes, I can.”

  Alfred cocked his head at me. “Why can’t you do it yourself?”

  “It’s not really her phone and she’s locked out of it,” Cox explained.

  “May I?” Alfred put out his hand. Gave him the cell phone. His fingers worked at a blur and he handed it back to me. “There you go. Opened. The combination is zero-eight-zero-one.”

  Thought about this. Chuckie and I had gone to Vegas at the end of July the year he’d proposed and I hadn’t realized he wasn’t kidding. “Oh. I bet that’s their anniversary. I can remember that.” I hoped.

  We walked the speeders up the slope for this entrance and stopped when I had full bars. Pulled up the map and found Martini Manor on it. Per what I could see, it was pretty much the same—three gigantic houses—giant, supergiant, and colossal—sitting in the middle of a fenced estate. The look screamed Drug Lord, something I wisely chose not to mention to Alfred here and made a mental note to never mention to anyone in my own universe, either.

  Alfred loaded the maps into our GPS systems, which now displayed the path. “It’ll tell you when to turn, too, not that you’ll need to do anything, since you’ll be on autopilot. And it will match the speed you’re going, so you’re told in an appropriate manner.”

  “This you should share. Because current GPS needs some serious help.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind. Shall we?”

  “Once more into the breach and all that.”

  “Kitty, you lead, I’ll bring up the rear,” Cox said. “That way, we have Alfred protected.”

  “Works for me. Let’s make our own lane and roll.”

  “Wow, you sound so ‘street’ when you say that.”

  “Just keepin’ it gangsta throughout the multiverse, Bill.”

  CHAPTER 60

  MARTINI WALKED OUT of Jamie’s bedroom. “Except that Kitty and I are going to Australia, with Jamie, because we’re actually not suspects, and if you think you’re going to accuse my three-year-old daughter of being a murderer, I’m going to kill you with my bare hands.”

  If I hadn’t been married to a man I loved with all my heart, and if I hadn’t known that Martini loved my CA in the exact same way, I’d have literally told him I was his forever for this. He’d managed to ensure that we could get out of here and come up with an explanation for why he might be acting angry with Goodman at the same time. And I loved good looks and all that, but there was really nothing better than a brilliant mind. And Martini might not be up to Charles’ standards, but he was damned close.

  “In fact,” Martini went on, “Chuck, Buchanan, and Richard aren’t suspects, either. So the six of us are going to go to Australia. Today. We’re not going to fly. We’re going to take a gate and the world is just going to have to deal with that. The Operations Team has us packed, and I asked them to pack for the other three as well.”

  “You need protection,” Goodman said.

  Martini shrugged. “Per your well-made point, which, yes, I heard, every member of the Secret Service who was in the Embassy is also a suspect. Alpha Team, on the other hand, weren’t in the Embassy until, I imagine, you called them in, and yes, I’m certain Walter can prove that. So, Alpha Team will accompany us as well.” He looked at James. “Right, Commander Reader?”

  “Correct. Alpha Team is prepped and ready to accompany you, Mister Vice President.” Both men had their In Charge voices on.

  Goodman sighed. “You like to make it really difficult for anyone to protect you, don’t you?”

  “Frankly, it seems like we need to protect our protectors, not the other way around.”

  Everyone looked at me. “That’s true,” Amy said slowly. She looked at Len and Kyle. “You two need to be careful. Because you could be targets.”

  Figured they were, right after Malcolm. Meaning I wanted them with us, if I could manage it. Frankly, I wanted the entire Embassy staff with us if possible, even Amy, because they were all probably targets. “Seriously, Len, Kyle, Amy and Christopher were all here, in our apartment, babysitting Jamie while we were gone. Unless you’re going to accuse the four of them of collusion, I think they can alibi each other.”

  “That’s true,” Amy said. “We were all here, and no one left for any reason.”

  “Your words may not be good enough,” Goodman said, sounding worried.

  “Actually, Missus Vice President Chief,” Walter said over the com, “I can verify that no one other than the five of you used our Embassy gate for anything prior to the Secret Service agents requesting transfers to the various gates in Paris. And the five of you only used it once, to go to Paris.”

  Goodman shook his head. “That’s great, but I have to have proof.”

  “Isn’t this kind of data proof? Look at Walter’s records, that’s part of what law enforcement does, isn’t it?”

  “Records can be tampered with,” Goodman pointed out. “Who calibrated the gates for the Secret Service?”

  “I did, Mister Goodman,” Walter verified.

  “Suspect,” Goodman said without missing a beat.

  “So, you’re now accusing Walter of having killed those Secret Service agents? I’d love to hear what his motive could possibly be. Frankly, I’d like to have someone come up with a motive for any of us to kill any of those people.”

  “I as well,” Singh said. “Because right now, all I can come up with is a hate crime, or an attempted assassination of the Vice President and his wife that these brave agents managed to foil while losing their lives in the pr
ocess.”

  He was good. Realized he’d already formulated our most likely response. It was both a good one and probably far more accurate than anything else we’d come up with.

  “What do the Paris police say?” Martini asked. “Where do they think the agents were killed?”

  “I’m in contact with them,” James said. “And with Interpol. Both agencies feel the agents were murdered on French soil. Meaning no one who can be confirmed to have been inside the Embassy at the time of their murders can be considered a likely suspect.”

  “And now we have another international incident,” Goodman pointed out.

  “We do, but unless we want to get pissed off at France, it was our people who were murdered, not theirs. We should be helping the police and Interpol with their investigation, but I don’t see how locking down our Embassy personnel actually does that. If it were me, I’d be looking at our enemies, not our allies.”

  “Speaking of hate crimes, Club Fifty-One certainly has enough members that they could have done this,” Amy pointed out.

  “Same with the Al Dejahl Terrorists,” Lorraine said. “And the Church of Intolerance, as Kitty calls it, can’t be overlooked either.”

  “Bottom line, we have a lot of enemies,” Claudia pointed out.

  “And it’s relatively easy to spot which bathrooms have a gate in them, after all,” Amy added. “Once you know that little red mark at the very back of the stall indicates a gate, you can stake it out easily.”

  “How did they know you were in Paris?” Goodman asked.

  “No idea. Maybe someone spotted us. We weren’t trying to hide because we weren’t doing anything illegal. The only people we were trying to avoid were those same people who were murdered, and we didn’t want them with us only to prevent a media circus.”

  “Look, we’re going to Australia,” Martini said, voice filled with authority. “I want Len and Kyle with us, for their protection and ours. Alpha Team is coming to protect us, which is, newsflash, their job. You want to fight me on this one? I’ll call the President. I guarantee Vince wants Australia handled far more than he wants to lock us down so you can create another problem for his office to have to solve.”

  Goodman sighed. “You’re right, Jeff. I’m sorry. We’re on the same side. I just don’t want to do something that will cause even more problems down the road.”

  “Then help figure out who killed your men,” I suggested. Should be easy, since I knew he’d either done it or assigned someone to the task. “Head to Paris and help Interpol.” Or, in other words, get the hell out of my house. Hoped that didn’t show on my face, but under the circumstances, it wouldn’t matter—we were all mad at Goodman for an obvious reason.

  He shook his head. “They don’t want us doing that, I can guarantee it.”

  “True enough,” James said. He’d been texting the entire time, and he waved his phone at Goodman. “They’ve asked us to stand by but to remain out of it until they ask for assistance. I agree with Kitty—let them do their jobs. Jeff, I think I want Christopher and Amy going along with you and Kitty.”

  “No,” Christopher said. “Amy and I need to stay here. I want Raj with Kitty, not me.”

  Singh nodded and so did Martini. “I agree. We need our PR Minister with us, for obvious reasons, and we want someone who’s handled our military actions here in charge. That’s Christopher, helped by Kevin Lewis.” He looked at me. Had no idea why. “Baby, as the Ambassador you’re going to have to make that official.”

  “Oh, right. Make it so. Raj is with us, and while we’re gone, Christopher’s in charge and Kevin’s his right hand and you’re all to keep us posted at all times.”

  “Good enough.” Martini looked pointedly at Goodman. “Cliff, I’m sorry, but under the circumstances, you’ve just accused every one of us of murder. Take off and handle things from your offices. We’ll get over it, but right now, no one here likes you much. Trust me.”

  Goodman gave us all a rueful smile. “I understand. Part of my job, the cruddy part, but a part nonetheless. And it’s not meant personally toward any of you, believe me. I’ll go, but you have to take your Secret Service detail with you. Period.”

  “No problem,” I said quickly. “Glad to have them along, in part because hopefully we can ensure no one murders the rest of them.”

  “Escort him out,” Martini said to Len and Kyle. “And make sure he’s not hurt or attacked while you’re doing it.”

  They nodded and flanked Goodman, who grinned. “Thanks. I appreciate the care and protection.”

  “Oh, believe me,” Martini said with a smile, “we don’t want some crazed stranger or anti-alien lunatic killing you, Cliff.”

  “I’ll go, too,” Singh said, presumably to ensure that there was an A-C with Len and Kyle. I wholeheartedly agreed with this plan.

  “Thanks, Jeff. Kitty, everyone. Watch your backs.” With that, Goodman left, Singh leading the way, Len and Kyle bringing up the rear.

  “Walter, make sure that they’re all okay. I realize they’re just going downstairs, but it’s been a creepy day.”

  “Yes, ma’am, Missus Vice President Chief. I’ve called his office for a car to pick up Mister Goodman. It’s outside. Pierre has already verified that it’s the right person driving.”

  “Good man.”

  “Let us know when Goodman’s not on the premises anymore,” Christopher said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Why?” I asked him.

  “Because I know who the A-C is who murdered all those agents.”

  CHAPTER 61

  WE WERE ALL QUIET for a few long moments. “Mister Goodman is in his car and gone.”

  “Thanks, Walter. Wait for the others to get back,” Martini added quietly. Christopher nodded.

  The three were back quickly—assumed Singh had used hyperspeed. “Embassy is secure, Mister Vice President.”

  “Thanks, Walter.”

  Singh put up his hand, pulled out some small blinking object, and disappeared. He was back momentarily. “We swept for bugs on the way back,” Singh said. “Found none. And I just checked everywhere here, we’re clean. Nice change on Jamie’s room,” he said to me. “It’s about time.”

  “Whatever, as long as she likes it. I want to know who the traitor is.”

  “Me too,” Martini said. “Only, Christopher, I assume you think it’s who I think it is, right?”

  Christopher nodded. “Stephanie.”

  Looked around the room. Okay, no one here who didn’t know that I didn’t know. “Who’s Stephanie?”

  “Our niece,” Martini said sadly. “She turned traitor a while ago.”

  “Long story we need to fill Kitty in on immediately,” Serene said, and I noted that she had an In Charge voice, too. I hadn’t heard it before. “Leave that to me and Raj. The rest of you, get us prepped and get the Secret Service prepped. I want Richard and the others back here before we go to Australia, because I don’t trust that they’re not targets, too.”

  Crawford sent a text. “Sending agents from Euro Base to pick them up and bring them back here.”

  “Are we sure we don’t want to fly?” Singh asked.

  Having just flown from Australia to the U.S., I had the answer. “Not just no, but hell no. Those gates may make me sick, but we’re not going to die because of turbulence or get shot down or whatever.”

  The others nodded. “I agree with Kitty,” James said. “Regardless of how ‘alien’ that makes us appear. We’re officially under attack, again, and that means we need to minimize our exposure. Air travel is not on the list of options right now. Besides, based on the time differences, we can take our time and be ready and take a gate and still get there in Australia’s morning, versus losing an entire day on an airplane.”

  This settled it, Walter and the com turned off, and everyone scattered to ask the Operations Tea
m to pack for them. Nice setup. Of course, I had Peter to do that, but still, he actually had to take time, versus just snapping his fingers.

  Serene and Singh sat me down on the couch. “High-level is this,” she said without preamble. “Jeff has five older sisters. The eldest, Sylvia, was married to Clarence Valentino. Most of Jeff’s brothers-in-law are jealous of him and Christopher to the point of treason, and Clarence led the way. He was first working with our former Diplomatic Corps, who were discovered to be traitors. Then he joined up with LaRue Demorte Gaultier and Ronaldo Al Dejahl and left our part of the galaxy with them in tow. They came back with the Z’Porrah, an ancient alien race, to destroy us. We foiled the invasion, though not without help, and thought Clarence was dead. But the Mastermind found him and he joined that team, or, rather, he joined the head guy on the overall team, since we know they all are or were in league with the Mastermind. Kitty killed Clarence, but not before he turned his and Sylvia’s eldest, Stephanie, against us.”

  “She’s confirmed to be with the Mastermind,” Singh added. “So if we had an A-C attacking your agents, it’s pretty much a sure bet that it was her.”

  “Makes sense. The pertinent question is how they knew we were gone and where to find us.”

  “That’s easy,” Singh said. “The Secret Service checked in on you about an hour after you’d left. If you’d found what you needed quickly you might have been back.” He gave me a chiding look.

  “That whole romantic interlude thing was a ruse to fool the Mastermind. Jeff and I found the bodies, or at least we found three of them, which is why we put that ruse into action. So stop blaming us for this—this was going to happen regardless of how long we did or didn’t take in Paris.”

  They both looked shocked. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Because we could tell it was set up to frame us or Malcolm or both.”

  Serene stared at me for a few long seconds. “There’s only one logical reason for why you didn’t tell us that before now.” Her expression went to horrified. “No,” she whispered. “Really?”