Vance shook his head at me as he took my arm. “Why does anyone do that?”
I didn’t answer, mostly because we’d taken all the time Vance had asked to have and more. We hurried back to the private room, Vance knocked, opened the door after Raheem had told us to enter, and handed me back off. “Please remember that the landing will be happening reasonably soon,” Vance said to both of us. “We will send people to collect you when it’s time.”
Vance left and Raheem helped me back into the comfy chair. “Is everything alright?” he asked politely.
“It is.” Well, in for a penny, in for the whole piggybank, right? “My team is, ah, fully aware of both of my missions.”
Raheem’s lips quirked. “And here you thought they were not. That saves time. Good.”
“Let’s see if you still think so after I go over what we need.”
More talking, more planning, lots of helping, done as fast as possible. This was good. Camilla was getting a workout in terms of running back and forth getting information and giving it in return.
Alpha Team coordinated the setup of Field agents and floater gates to get the various important personages to their assigned meeting spot as well as getting the religious bodies into the palace. By now the Themnir ship had been spotted by every country that was paying attention to space, and the world was waking up fast to what was coming.
Technically, these meetings were going to be my Big Moments as the First Lady. However, Raheem had agreed with my assessment, which was that aliens requesting permission to land was going to overshadow anything I might say and prove my point at the same time.
Raheem had given me access to any number of things he possessed, including speedboats, a yacht, a plane, and a whole lot of cars. He’d requested that we not try to destroy any of the things we were borrowing, but also shared that a wrecked car or even a sunken yacht was a small price to pay for saving the world. Clearly he’d read up on how we tended to roll.
Raheem also chose not to take offense when I checked my phone several times, though he did mention that he hadn’t bothered to plant any bugs, which either meant that Vance and I had been overheard or Raheem was just clearer on how things rolled than I was. Fifty-fifty for either or both.
Phone checking was proven to be a good thing near the end of our tête-à-tête, because Chuckie shared some important news, which I shared in turn. “The Themnir have just requested permission to land.”
“How close to us are they?”
“Near Mars.”
“They all seem to travel so much faster than we have yet achieved.”
“Well, Alpha Four has given us plans for ships. And we have other aliens on the planet who are also assisting.”
“Ah, yes, Prince Gustav.” So he’d met or heard of Drax. Not a surprise, since they’d done that whole Aliens Are Our Friends tour. “I was impressed with all the royalty that came from afar to visit us.”
“That was the goal.”
Raheem chuckled. “I’m sure it was. I will now go do my part of our work while you do yours. I wonder, though . . . is your double up to this level of subterfuge?”
Francine was a troubadour, so yes she was. But I considered the question as if she wasn’t. “Well, first off, Mona will be with her the entire time, and I feel confident she can steer Francine toward the right things to say. Also, per what we’ve discussed, Francine’s main job is going to be shaking hands with various royalty that you’re going to introduce her to, and then you’re going to do most of the talking.”
“Yes. However, if someone makes the mistake of being rude . . .”
“I’ll make sure she’s clear to really act like me in all ways.” Francine had a lot of sass, and we’d spent plenty of time together—I knew she could channel her Inner Kitty in all the ways necessary. Just hoped none of them would be necessary.
“Excellent. I’m relieved that you had the workaround for the necessary paperwork. Creating that for one is time-consuming enough. Creating what will be necessary for all of those going with you . . .”
The workaround was that King Raheem would provide us with all the official seals, inks, paper stock, and printing plates for us to create “real” Bahraini IDs, and Centaurion Division would get into the fake ID business, using his supplies to create legitimate papers and passports and all other forms of ID to show that everyone on Team Commando was actually carrying the right documentation to prove they were a legal Bahraini citizen, Adriana included. Myself, too. Myself especially.
“I appreciate you giving us all the items necessary for us to pull this off in a timely manner.” Hyperspeed was, as always, a good thing, and gates were a blessing, especially if I wasn’t the one going back and forth using them. And while printing couldn’t be sped up, having access to all the right materials meant that the A-Cs had created the necessary IDs in about five minutes.
He shook his head. “Your people are amazing.”
“But, ultimately, they’re still just people. Like the ones coming here. The good ones and the bad ones.”
“Yes. Good luck with your mission. I will not be able to do much if things go wrong.”
“I know. Like the State Department, you’ll have to disavow all knowledge of what we’re doing and who we are. I think the world is going to be focused on what’s coming, more than what I’m doing, though.”
“Let us both hope.”
CHAPTER 57
AROUND FIVE IN THE EVENING one of the many servants knocked, was allowed entry, then stuck his head in the door. “Your Majesty, the televised landing is beginning.”
Raheem nodded. “We will join everyone shortly. Please ensure that our visitors are seated immediately.” The servant nodded in return and left.
This information hadn’t come as a surprise, since I’d just heard from Chuckie again. Getting the nuclear nations of the world to back down from readying their launch codes had seemed like a near thing, despite Jeff, Uncle Mort, Mom, and Olga having been on the phones with most of those who we didn’t want pushing buttons down, but they got it done. Mostly.
Surprising absolutely no one, North Korea ignored everyone’s requests and warnings. Their nukes launched, fizzled, and fell right back down onto their own missile silos where they didn’t explode but did ensure that all North Korea would be doing was digging out for a little while. Sent up a mental thank you to ACE as I shoved one last tea sandwich in my mouth while I packed up my notebook and such.
Raheem chuckled. “I love to see a Western woman with an actual appetite.”
“Yeah, you had me at the tea service.”
He laughed, stood, and helped me up. I grabbed my purse and rolling bag, took his arm, and we headed out to join everyone else to watch the Themnir land and be greeted.