Alien in Chief

by Gini Koch

  “But what about the train?” This was from Vance, representing in the rear. “And I’m not asking this because I want to ride in air conditioned luxury for the next several hundreds of miles. I’m asking because we can’t just leave it sitting at Rocky Mount.”

  Looked to Jeff, who shook his head. “Dulce doesn’t have the capability to transport a train. It’s never been necessary.”

  “Before we worry about that, I’d like to ask Doctor Hernandez a question,” Chuckie said.

  “I’m here.”

  “In your professional opinion, who in the car with you needs to get to medical and rest, as opposed to continuing any form of campaigning?”

  “The President, the Secretary of State, the Press Secretary, the Head of the P.T.C.U., and the First Lady.”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” Elaine said. Only she sniffled right after she said this.

  “Then that settles it,” Chuckie imitated Mom and went on as if Elaine hadn’t spoken. Would have given her a Solidarity Nudge if we’d been next to each other, but instead chose to enjoy that it happened to other people, too, for a moment. “I think it’s imperative to get those five people, and any others Doctor Hernandez feels need observation or rest or medicines, to NASA Base’s medical center.”

  “NASA Base has a medical center?” I asked Jeff in a very low voice.

  He nodded. “You’ve never had any reason to see it, but yeah, it’s good. Not as good as the Science Center or Walter Reed, but still top quality.”

  “Fine,” Mom said with a resigned sigh.

  “And I recommend that we use the gate at the train station,” Jeff added.

  This was new. I knew that the gates were in every airport in the world—and that included some of the tiniest, scariest airstrips around—and I knew there were gates in major train stations like the Metro in Paris, but that they were in smaller train stations like Rocky Mount was news to me.

  Christopher didn’t look away from his laptop and whatever he was doing on it, but he sighed. “Yes, Kitty, we have gates in all the train stations, too, not just the major ones. We put them in when Jeff became the Vice President, just in case. They’re now in every station around the world. We’re considering putting them in bus stations, too.”

  “No one tells me anything.”

  “It was sent out in a briefing packet.”

  “I read those!”

  Christopher snorted. “Sure you do.”

  Couldn’t help it—I had to ask. “Why bus stations?”

  Christopher now deigned to look at me over his shoulder. “Because we never know what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it, or where you’re going to be.” He shrugged and turned back to the laptop. “Just taking the necessary precautions to protect our high-ranking personnel.”

  “Anyway,” Mom said, “I believe Vance has a point. What are we doing with the train?”

  “I think the question is—what do we want our enemies to think we’re doing?”

  There was a lot of silence when I said this. Jeff broke it. “Ah, what do you mean?”

  Heaved a sigh. “Look, they attacked us, three times, really. We’re still alive and still chugging along. Sure, some of the cars are pretty wrecked, but we aren’t, in that sense. So, do we want our enemies to know that we’re taking the President and the others off the train?”

  “Why would that matter?” Strauss asked.

  “Because they’re trying to kill some or all of us. If they’re after the President, and if they know he’s not on the train, then they know to hit NASA Base.”

  “Maybe,” Chuckie agreed. “But there are far more protections for the President at the base than on this train.”

  “Ah, I wonder if I can break in,” Oliver said. The back of the train continued to represent. “The princesses and I have been . . . chatting with some of our prisoners.”

  Decided not to ask how much actual talking the princesses had done. They’d learned a lot over the time they’d been with us. Threatening and hurting, that I assumed had happened. Friendly chats, not so much.

  “And?” Chuckie said.

  “And I believe that subterfuge might be important. As we’ve agreed, there seem to have been two teams who attacked at roughly the same time—the Crazy Eights, as the Ambassador has named them—and the Invisible Commandos. Our new friends insist that the Invisible Commandos have no idea who the Crazy Eights are, or why they were here. The first assumption was that they were an additional team sent by the Commandos’ employer to test them. That theory has been discarded, and was discarded prior to their captures, when the Crazy Eights not only couldn’t see the Invisible Commandos but clearly had no idea they were here.”

  “Confirmation of Kitty’s theories is nice,” Tim said, “but is there something more?”

  “Yes, there is. First off, in case you’re wondering where your team is, the Invisible Commandos have an invisible helicarrier, and it was sent up specifically to capture the planes you scrambled to protect this train.”

  “Are they alright?” Tim, Lorraine, Claudia, and I all asked in unison. I’d worry about that once we had the flyboys back safely.

  “To my knowledge, yes, but assume they’re prisoners of war. Our new friends expect their employer to bargain for their release by offering us our captured pilots and planes.”

  “Is their employer named Gustav Drax by any chance?”

  “Why yes, Ambassador. Your megalomania skills are in top form.”

  “Always so nice to be right and all that. So, how many other attacks does Drax have planned?”

  “None. And the train tracks being blown up was not courtesy of Mister Drax. The Invisible Commandos were to hit the train, take prisoners, and then advise their employer, who would then reveal to the President and the other hostages that his tech made their capture easy.”

  “Oh my God. It’s all a freaking sales pitch? People have died because of this!”

  “Yes, Ambassador, it is a sales pitch. One that’s gone quite wrong. Our Invisible Commandos took tremendous damage, as we all know, and they were not expecting to. Their loyalty, shall we say, is a little tenuous at the moment.”

  Wasn’t sure I cared. I knew some of them from Bizarro World, after all. And in Bizarro World they’d been world-class jerks who’d had real issues with listening to women.

  Of course, while some people were the same in both worlds, enough were different that I had to admit that I probably needed to give the Invisible Commandos a chance. A very small chance during which I’d be watching them like a hawk, but a chance nonetheless.

  “Hang on,” Chuckie said. “Falk and I are going to go back to the dining car. Hooking Reader in first. I’m hanging up—I’ll rejoin after we confirm if the story from our set of prisoners concurs with the story Mister Joel Oliver got.”

  “I’m on,” Reader said a few moments later. “Reynolds and Falk are on with Tim, just in case. He’ll relay until they’re back or rejoin us on the group conference call.”

  “Okay, so do we think that the Crazy Eights blew up the tracks, then?”

  “No,” Raj said. “We do not. We actually have a group claiming responsibility. They’re claiming it on the national news right now, by the way.”

  “Claiming that they blew up the train tracks or claiming that they’ve derailed Rail Force One?”

  “The latter.” Could tell Raj was trying not to laugh.

  There was only one group who were this stupid and poorly run while also managing to be somewhat effective.

  “Oh, I have three guesses for who’s so claiming, then, and the first two don’t count. Club Fifty-One is revved up for action again, aren’t they?”

  CHAPTER 51

  “YES, AMBASSADOR,” Raj said. “Club Fifty-One is claiming that they’ve derailed the train and are blaming the A-Cs for their need to destroy.”

&
nbsp; “How can they not be aware that we survived intact? We did warn someone to stop other trains from going through just now, didn’t we?”

  “We did,” Tim confirmed. “Reynolds made the calls and I heard him do it. And as for how they’re unaware, he says that his assumption would be that they didn’t actually leave anyone behind to ensure that the bombs worked.”

  “That’s just moronic.”

  “Reynolds says that this shouldn’t really surprise you, all things considered. And I have to agree with him, Kitty. The Club Fifty-One grunts aren’t usually the brightest.”

  “I agree as well,” Oliver said. “As do the Invisible Commandos. There is no device they have or have ingested that causes the invisibility, by the way. They were irradiated.”

  “Holy crap, are you kidding me? Who willingly signs up for something like that? Are they all former Club Fifty-One people or something?”

  “Not that they’ve told me, no. The promise of a rich reward and increased commando skills seemed to be enough incentive.”

  “So, if I’ve got this right, we have the usual three different plans going against us. How nostalgic. It’s always nice to have some continuity from Bad Guy Land. So, we might as well stop at Rocky Mount because we now have to actually show that we are at Rocky Mount instead of dead in the Roanoke River, right?”

  “That seems to be the case,” Mom said. “But that also means that this could be a trap. The information given to the press could have been done in order to make us stop and put the President in another vulnerable situation.”

  “If I may,” White said, “I believe the simplest solution has been overlooked.”

  “Which is?” Mom asked.

  “Floater gates can calibrate to a moving object. Missus Martini and I have utilized such several times before. I recommend we remove all those Doctor Hernandez feels should be in medical, all civilians, and anyone else who just wants to get off this train, and the rest of us will disembark at Rocky Mount. By then, you’ll be able to tell us if we continue by train and have the Vice President make the planned stops, or if we merely use the gate at the station to get to NASA Base as well.”

  “He’s so good,” I said.

  “I suggested that earlier and was ignored,” Jeff said quietly to me.

  “Now you know how most women in the working world feel.”

  “I know how everyone feels, all the time, baby. And I still want to know what I have to do to get that kind of hero worship out of you.”

  “Tell you later. In bed.”

  Jeff grinned. “Richard’s right,” he said to the phone chain at large. “And before anyone suggests it, no, I’m not going to NASA Base via the floater gate. At least not yet. We can still make this excursion work if we need to, and that’s my job.”

  “We’ll need more than one floater,” Reader said. “One has to go into the War Room, two others for the two mid-cars, ours and the one Reynolds is in now, and one for the rear.”

  “That’s not a problem,” White said. “I’ve hooked William into our call—he’s getting it set up.”

  “Mister Reynolds joining group call,” William said, presumably through White’s phone.

  “Well, that was fast,” Chuckie said. “In addition to others, we have three unharmed empaths on guard duty in here. All reactions from prisoners confirm what we’ve already heard from the rear. They’re also offering to surrender, switch sides, or whatever in order to reduce sentences.”

  “Do you believe them?” Jeff asked.

  “Your empaths do.”

  “Works for me. Prisoners going to Dulce’s containment?” I asked.

  “No,” Chuckie said firmly. “Going to Gitmo.”

  “Oh, give my regards to Guantanamo and my Uncle Mort.”

  “What about my team?” Tim asked. “We can’t have these guys unavailable to us if we need them to get the flyboys back.”

  “They’ll be available if necessary,” Chuckie said in a tone that indicated that the Invisible Commandos might not be conscious, but they’d be around.

  “Our commando representatives would rather go to Gitmo than back to their employer,” Oliver shared. “They apparently trust us more than they trust Drax.”

  “Mine, too,” Chuckie said. “Empath approved.”

  “Are we sure they don’t have emotional overlays on?” Jeff asked.

  “Yes,” Reader said. “We strip searched all of them looking for what made them invisible. Unless the irradiation they underwent also made them able to alter or hide their emotions from empaths, they have nothing like that on them.”

  “Or they’re supposed to take over Guantanamo Bay. After all, they’re invisible unless you’re wearing the special goggles.” At this point, nothing was going to surprise me, and our enemies thinking ahead wasn’t unusual.

  “Floater gates ready to activate,” William said. “Suggest that a pair of goggles be sent through along with those going to NASA Base, so we can create duplicates quickly.”

  “We’ll also send some with the dead bodies going to Dulce,” Chuckie said. “Falk is going to escort said dead bodies.”

  “Lucky him.” And better him than me, but I managed not to say that aloud.

  “I think we should evacuate everyone in the War Room car,” Tito said. “But none of us have the goggles.”

  “I’ve got the extras,” Vance said. “And as much as I want to be the one to take them, we’re sending Caroline through instead.”

  “What about the rest of you?” Jeff asked.

  “Waiting for Guantanamo,” Oliver replied. “I believe that the princesses will be the most effective at controlling the Invisible Commandos, and the A-Cs with us, of course. Plus our Secret Service agents will be helpful at the Base as well.”

  “No argument. Vance, are you going to Guantanamo with Mister Joel Oliver?”

  “No, Kitty, I’m staying on the train with all of you.” He didn’t sound enthused.

  “Not that I mind, but why?”

  “Because I heard everything that Mister Joel Oliver, Rahmi, and Rhee got out of the commandos, just like Caroline did, so that means that each group will have someone with them who’s aware of the interactions.”

  “Can’t argue with the logic.”

  “And it makes sense,” Chuckie added. “Falk and I didn’t have the time to do in-depth interrogations. Stryker, what about you?”

  “I’m choosing the lesser of two evils and staying on the train, too, Chuck. I can’t tell you how much you owe me for this nightmare.”

  “He owes you absolutely nothing,” Jeff growled. “You and your cronies live in our facility rent-free. You have every need catered to. Whine about Chuck wanting your expertise with us again and I’ll send you to Guantanamo myself. But I’ll punch you through the gate.”

  “Geez, Jeff, way to kick a guy when he’s down.”

  “It’s okay, Jeff. Eddy just likes to whine, don’t you Eddy?”

  “You like getting into these situations, Kitty,” Stryker muttered. “I don’t, call me crazy.”

  “Oh, Eddy, I’ve called you crazy since the day we met.”

  “Pulling into the station in ten minutes,” Adriana called, interrupting our familiar bickering rhythms. I could feel the train slowing down. “If you want people off, they need to go now.”

  “Gate going live in the War Room, calibrated for multiples passing through. Live in three . . . two . . . one . . .” William said. “Please begin stepping through now. Raj, please go last to advise.”

  Heard a variety of grumbling that got progressively less so quickly. “I’m about to step through,” Raj said. “I’m the last one in the car, barring there being an Invisible Commando in here.”

  “Not that we know of,” Oliver said.

  “Singh out.” There were a few seconds of silence. “Am I still on?” Raj asked.r />
  “Man, am I impressed with A-C technology.”

  “I’ll take Kitty’s reaction as a yes. We’re all here and accounted for, and patients are being admitted.”

  “Gate in War Room is removed. Gate going to NASA Base going live in the rear car,” William said. “Calibrated for one, only.”

  “See some of you on the other side,” Caroline said.

  “She’s through,” Oliver said.

  “We have Caroline here,” Raj confirmed. “Goggles being taken to Science now.”

  “Floater gates prepping for the car where Mister Reynolds is. First gate is for Guantanamo prisoners only, prepped for multiples.”

  Heard Chuckie telling the prisoners to walk through. They seemed unable to see the gate, which wasn’t a surprise since floaters were just a blur to human eyes. However, it also confirmed that the irradiation hadn’t given them the ability to see like an A-C, which was, all things considered, a huge relief.

  “They’re through,” Chuckie said finally. “And they’re whiners, in case anyone needs to know. Worse than Stryker.”

  “I heard that, Chuck.”

  “Have advised Gitmo personnel, Mister Reynolds. Prisoners confirmed received. Gate for Guantanamo for the back car calibrated for multiples. Will be landing in a large containment cell where the other prisoners are already incarcerated. Mortimer Katt is on hand and will remove American Centaurion and United States personnel,” William said. “Gate going live . . . now.”

  Another few seconds of silence. “Everyone’s through but me,” Oliver said. “Neither Vance’s nor Stryker’s phones are hooked in, by the way.”

  “Vance and Stryker, I’m coming to get you,” Gower said. “Sit tight.”

  “I have no other choice,” Vance said.

  “What he said,” Stryker added.

  “Going through now,” Oliver said. Again with the silence. “I’m through. Nice cell. Glad the Major General is here and removing most of us. The princesses are remaining inside with the Invisible Commandos, by the way.”