by Gini Koch
Jeff ran his hand through his hair. “Which members of my family?” He sounded resigned. Couldn’t blame him.
“Your brother-in-law, Francis Carruthers,” Serene said. “And his three children. Your sister Constance is not a traitor, and she doesn’t appear to know what’s going on with her husband and kids.”
“All three of them?” Gower asked. “You’re sure?”
“Very.” Serene grimaced. “Jeff, I told you I was looking into your family and I also told you we had issues there. This shouldn’t be a total surprise.”
“We knew that all of them other than Jonathan were suspect,” I reminded him.
Shockingly, this didn’t appear to make Jeff feel any better. “What proof do you have?” he asked.
“Francis is working at Gaultier Enterprises. He’s an assistant to Ansom Somerall’s assistant.”
“Meaning Amy doesn’t see him if she’s in meetings but he can affect things,” Chuckie said, as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Camilla didn’t discover this when I had her in there.”
“Because he was hired on once she’d left. Whether that means her cover was blown or just that he’d finally gotten into the company we haven’t been able to determine. The kids are all interning at Gaultier as well. They’re out of high school and, as near as we can tell, following in Stephanie’s footsteps.”
“No one goes to college in the A-C community?” Hey, as per usual, I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to anything that didn’t immediately concern me. I’d have beaten myself up for this, but apparently it was working for me.
“No,” Claudia said. “By the time we’re out of our version of high school, we normally have the same education as if we’d gone on for an undergraduate degree. The rest we do hands-on.”
This begged a question. “So why are the Valentino and Price kids going to Sidwell, then? I’m not going to believe that they aren’t as smart as the rest of the clan. And neither Alfred nor Lucinda, let alone Sylvia and Marianne, gave us the heads-up on that. I got to find out a little while ago during an unpleasant phone call with the president of the school’s PTA.”
“Marianne and Jonathan’s children are the youngest,” White said. “They want them to assimilate in with humans and felt that this was a good way to do so. At least, that’s what my sister told me. I’m sorry, Jeffrey, but I thought she’d let you know.”
“No, my mother likes to tell me things last, Uncle Richard. You should be used to that by now.”
“Lucinda is correct,” Serene said, presumably forestalling any further discussions about my in-laws and their odd little ways. “Those two have chosen to support Jeff, and in order to do that, they have to support his children, too. So, they’re also there so that Marianne and Jonathan can cover for the two of you as needed.”
“See?” I said encouragingly. “One sister set is fully A-okay.”
“One out of five. Not great odds, baby.”
“More than that,” Serene said. “But not much more. Sylvia, as you know, is on your side. Her three youngest children are schooling at Sidwell for the same reason that the Price kids are there—to watch out for your kids.”
“Do we believe that? I don’t mean, is that Sylvia’s intention, because I’m sure it is. I’m asking if we believe that Stephanie hasn’t turned her brothers and sisters.”
“The Clarence Clone is fully on your side,” Serene said. “And believe me, that matters.”
We’d found the clone of Clarence Valentino on Beta Eight, during Operation Civil War. He wasn’t stupid, but he’d been made quickly and without a lot of strong memories implanted, making him rather simple. And also lonely. He’d ended up helping us, and we’d taken him home to his wife and children, who’d missed their husband and father.
The Clarence Clone, or TCC for short, was more like the man Sylvia had married, not like the one I’d gotten to know and loathe and, ultimately, kill. Despite being told the truth, all the Valentinos, other than Stephanie, had chosen to believe that it was their real father after a traumatic head injury and kidnapping, versus a clone. We’d decided it was kinder not to push it.
“Well, I would believe that more if their kids were younger.” It was hard to buy that Stephanie hadn’t told her siblings that we were responsible for their father’s death.
Serene shook her head. “Sibling rivalry is a fascinating thing. Louise, who is their second child and who is already out of school, was always jealous of Stephanie’s tight bond with Clarence. TCC has no bond like that with Stephanie. He knows she’s his daughter and therefore he loves her, but she’s not his special favorite—realistically, he barely knows her. So the other kids, Louise in particular, have gotten all his attention.”
“That’s good, but, I don’t see how that swings them back to our side.”
Claudia laughed. “Because you’re an only child. Lorraine and I luck out—we work with our moms all the time.”
“And sometimes that’s a pain,” Lorraine added with a grin. “But we do love it. But our brothers and sisters don’t get that time. Our parents drop everything to help us because of the positions we’re in, meaning we get more of their time. So there’s jealousies.”
“Every family has them,” Gower said.
“Are our siblings cleared?” Claudia asked Serene.
Who nodded empathically. “Other than Jeff’s family, all of Alpha Team’s extended families are cleared.”
Managed not to share that I’d had no idea that my two best A-C girlfriends had siblings. That was me, Ms. Totally Unaware, Uninterested, and, apparently, Self-Centered. Felt like crap, but shoved the emotion aside—needed to focus on the here and now. I’d have oodles of time to beat myself up later.
Both Lorraine and Claudia relaxed a bit. “Our parents go out of their ways to make sure everyone gets their attention,” Claudia went on. “But that’s because they’re focused on doing the right thing. Clarence was focused on moving up in the ranks and he sacrificed his daughter into that cause.”
“She went willingly. Trust me, it was willingly and probably eagerly.”
“True enough,” Serene agreed. “However, even if the idea of being traitors had sounded good to the others, they’re now getting more of their father’s attention—remember, TCC isn’t working unless you need him for something, due to ‘what he went through,’ so they have him all the time. They’re excited to be getting all his attention now, and as far as I know, they’ve cut ties with their eldest sister.”
“If you say so.” Wasn’t convinced, but chose not to push it. I’d undoubtedly have plenty of time to keep an eye on the Valentino kids, since they were officially My Responsibility per The President of the PTA From Hell.
“I do. Louise also has more sway with her younger siblings because she’s home and with them, and she’s going to be a teacher’s aide at Sidwell, for Early Kindergarten.” Opened my mouth to express worry. Serene put her hand up. Closed my mouth. “I have vetted her, Kitty. Believe me. My son will be in that class, too.”
Couldn’t really argue with that, so I didn’t. “So, what about the others?”
Serene grimaced. “Lauren and Elizabeth’s older kids are definitely following Stephanie’s path.”
“Which ones specifically?” Jeff asked, sounding ill.
“Patricia, Bonnie, and Darius Guerra, and Lloyd and Laura Fontana. The younger ones, like their mothers, seem unaffected. So far at least. However, Stephanie’s still considered part of the family, so if she shows up unexpectedly, literally none of your relatives are willing to let us know it until she’s gone. Lauren and Elizabeth in particular.”
Jeff groaned. “Does it get any worse?”
“It does,” Serene said. “Because their husbands both work for YatesCorp.”
CHAPTER 29
“JEFF, WHEN WILL YOU learn never to ask if it can get worse? Because it always can.” My turn to heave
a sigh. “So when did Nero Fontana and Oscar Guerra start at YatesCorp? Because Christopher hasn’t mentioned seeing them.”
Nero was married to Lauren and Oscar was married to Elizabeth, meaning that, as we’d been told years ago, Jeff’s only brother-in-law who wasn’t evil somewhere along the line was Jonathan. TCC didn’t count in this particular equation.
“They’ve been there since the first Diplomatic Corps disappeared,” Serene said grimly. “And Christopher wouldn’t see them—he’s barely been there long enough to know anyone, and they don’t actually work closely with Amos Tobin. Plus, they’ve been hidden—they both appear for all intents and purposes to be working for a benign company. But it’s a YatesCorp subsidiary and where they go daily is to YatesCorp HQ.”
Chuckie grunted. “This isn’t a surprise. I told you when you two were getting married—I’ve never met men more jealous of someone else’s success than your brothers-in-law.”
Jeff nodded. “Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” He sounded down, not that I could blame him.
White hugged him. “Jeffrey, my father is the reason they turned. We can only do our best. We can’t make others do their best, however. That’s up to them.”
Gower chuckled. “Once the Pontifex, always the Pontifex. But Uncle Richard is right—this isn’t your fault, Jeff.”
“Or Christopher’s,” Chuckie added. “They resent him almost as much.”
“What about the humans who were working for the Diplomatic Corps?” I asked Chuckie, in part to move us off of Jeff’s family for a moment or two. “I’d swear you were hunting them down.”
“Was and did. All are at Gaultier. Camilla traced them all there. They’re all still there, too, as far as we know.”
Camilla was that rarity of rarities in the A-C community—a natural-born Liar, with a capital L. She’d been assigned by Alfred to protect us once I’d gotten pregnant with Jamie, and she was a big part of the reason we were all still alive to talk about Operation Confusion.
If we needed someplace infiltrated, Camilla was the go-to girl, and these days she answered to Chuckie, Serene, Jeff, and Alfred. Probably my mom, too. And sometimes even me. But Alfred’s vote was the deciding one.
She’d been pulled from Gaultier to investigate Titan and then Drax Enterprises, which had worked out in a weird way. She’d also married Rhee when Tito and Rahmi had finally been allowed to tie the knot at the end of Operation Immigration. I rarely knew where she was assigned, but right now, I had a really good guess.
“What job is Camilla doing at the Sidwell Friends School?” I asked Chuckie. “Or, more to the point, are you aware that that’s where Alfred’s assigned her?”
He grinned. “I’m well aware. Your mother, Alfred, Serene, and I discussed this the moment Camilla and Rhee were back from their honeymoon. She’s not the only agent assigned to the school. There will be obvious security, stealth security, and Camilla. The kids will be safe.”
“We can but hope. They need to add Wasim onto their protection duty. Nothing bad can happen to that kid, or else we’re probably at war with the Middle East, lots of aliens hanging around or not.”
“Which is already handled, since your assessment is correct.” Chuckie rubbed the back of his neck. “Serene, how likely is it that those you’ve identified are taking action now?”
She shrugged. “We’re not sure. Frankly, Stephanie’s learned from others’ mistakes, as far as I can tell.”
“Lucky us. I think we need to get on our way to the Bot Interviews, though, because time’s flying by and I have to gather baked goods or some such for tomorrow because I’m just that kind of lucky, and Jeff and I are probably going to have to go to a party tomorrow night as well, and generally this week is really testing my ability to handle stress.”
“What party?” Jeff asked.
“A fundraiser for the Sidwell school. Invitations arrived just a little while ago. The event is being hosted by Zachary and Marcia Kramer and, to make it even better, all the Dealers of Death are invited. And a Doctor Rattoppare, meaning that either Stephanie or the Tinkerer, or both, or someone acting as their proxy, will be there. Just to keep it interesting. Vance is confirming that this is legit and not some sort of elaborate trap, by the way. And if it’s legit we have to go, at least as far as Vance is concerned.”
“Only if it’s legit,” Chuckie said. “I find it difficult to believe that they want the two of you at any kind of party for any good reasons.”
“The Kramers’ kids go to Sidwell, so, as much as I’m also hoping for the ‘trap’ idea to be the winner, I’m resigning myself to the likelihood that we’re going to have to go. Guy and Vance, Lillian and Abner, and Thomas have all been invited, too. Maybe we can pull in Camilla to go as Thomas’s date.”
“Maybe we all just won’t go and call it good,” Jeff said. “Presidential order or similar.”
“Let’s see what Vance finds out.” No sooner said than my phone beeped. Took a look. “Huh. Hang on.” Sent a reply text, then dialed. “Vance, you’re on speaker.”
“Thanks for letting me know who’s lurking in the stairwell with you. Okay, I spoke with Marcia. The party is legit but it wasn’t her idea. Apparently, Charmaine Cordell strong-armed Marcia into this party just like she did to you with tomorrow’s bake sale. Literally everyone who’s invited was invited today.”
“That’s potentially social death,” Doreen said. “It’s rude and seems so presumptuous—plus people have plans. The Kramers are well-placed politically, but even the President would have trouble getting people to an event with approximately a day and a half’s notice.”
“Vance, how was Marcia taking this?”
“About as well as you’re taking the bake sale. She knows Charmaine personally, since she has two sons and a stepson there. She loathes Charmaine as much as you do, and she’s afraid of her, too. She didn’t say that, but I know her and I can tell. Oh, and good call on the social death, Doreen. Marcia’s panicking that no one’s going to come and that it will be socially embarrassing for them.”
“Which it would be.” Heaved the biggest sigh yet. “I cannot believe I’m saying this, but Vance, please let Marcia know that the President and First Lady will absolutely be attending the party.”
Everyone stared at me. “Really?” Jeff asked. “I mean, these people are our enemies.”
“I know. I don’t like them. However, barring Marcia being the best phone actress in the world, she and I have a common enemy now.”
“She’s not a great actress and she’s not pretending,” Vance said. “Trust me, I know when Marcia Kramer is trying to fake me out. She’s not. She actually offered to trade with you and take the bake sale if you’d do the party. But while we were talking she forwarded that idea to Charmaine, who shot it down in a nasty way—Marcia sent me a screenshot of the text conversation. Charmaine has the vicious insult down to an art form.”
“Stop sounding impressed.”
“Didn’t say I liked her. But she’s good at what she does, it’s why she’s still the president of the PTA—no one wants to lose her effectiveness.”
“Good lord, how much power does this woman have?”
“At Sidwell? Per Marcia, Charmaine is the most powerful parent there. If you get on her bad side, your children will experience social death in a variety of ways. And the less said about how she’ll make the parents’ lives miserable the better.”
“And the teachers and administration don’t do anything about that, about this woman affecting how the children are treated?” Jeff asked, sounding appalled. The A-Cs all looked appalled, too.
Chuckie, Reader, Tim, Tito, and I all exchanged the “Aliens Are So Cute” look. “Yeah,” Chuckie said. “Half of it they don’t see. Half of it they have to allow, since this woman is the president of the most important association within the school. I’m sure the bullying is well hidden, but I’m als
o sure it’s there. Just like at every other school in existence. Other than, apparently, A-C schools. Where I wish I could have gone.”
“You’d have loved it there, I’m sure, but I’m glad you were with me.”
Chuckie grinned and Jeff grunted. “Let me get this straight. This woman is ordering around both a senator’s wife and the First Lady of the United States, otherwise known as my wife? Who else is on her list?”
“Every parent of every child attending the school,” Vance replied. “And, believe me, she’s going to be taking notes on how Kitty and Marcia do with their respective events. It is a competition, though not with each other. You’re going to be in competition with what Charmaine feels is the level of excellence she demands. And that’s pretty much a direct quote from that text conversation I read.”
“Um, I’m in competition for how well I run a bake sale?”
“Yep.” Vance sounded grim. “Think of it as a hazing ritual that you don’t want to fail.”
We all looked at each other. Couldn’t be positive the others felt that I had no chance of success, but since that was how I felt, figured they were with me on this one.
Chose to make the only suggestion that seemed logical. “Maybe I can send the Kitty-Bot in my place.”
CHAPTER 30
“SPEAKING OF THAT,” Vance said, “Ansom and Talia are also invited to this party.”
We all stared at each other again. “Ah, are they allowed to go?” Jeff asked finally.
“That’s not up to me,” Vance said. “However, I’m going to bet that they were seen entering the White House grounds. They came in on foot, remember?”
“Meaning that there will be questions we don’t want to answer if they don’t show,” Reader said. “I sense a trap.”
“You know, that’s exactly what Kitty and I thought,” Vance said, almost cheerfully. He and Reader didn’t get along all that well, so I wasn’t sure where he was going with it. “So I’d suggest that Alpha Team go with the President, First Lady, and their Robotic Entourage, just to make sure they’re safe and all that.” Ah, that was where he was going. Heaved an internal sigh.
