Alien in the House

Chapter 9



I GAPED AT RAYMOND. “Um, why?”

“Daddy says that he’s concerned about the security.” Raymond was dead serious, and he looked ready to go downstairs and join the other men in the verification of our Embassy’s safety set-up.

Of course, Kevin was my mother’s right-hand man, meaning he was second in command of the Presidential Terrorism Control Unit, or P.T.C.U. Until I’d run into the gang from Alpha Four, I hadn’t known this government agency existed, nor that my mother was the head of it. The past three years had been full of fun facts like this one.

Kevin and his family had taken up permanent positions at our Embassy, so Kevin had the “fun” of reporting in to two different bosses and doing two different jobs. He handled it smoothly, because, well, he was Kevin and smooth was his natural state of being. In the Embassy, he was our Defense Attaché. Denise was running the daycare and Embassy School because she was both qualified and didn’t want to be bored every day of her life.

Denise shook her head and laughed. “One stray comment and someone thinks he knows better than his father.”

“Is Kevin worried?”

She shrugged. “It’s his job to be worried, and to act on those worries. Don’t you worry, though, Kitty. Everything’s under control. And Gladys will be with us, babysitting.”

“Oh, good news.” It was. Gladys was the head of all Security operations for Centaurion Division, and that included the Embassy, Pontifex’s residences, Martini Manor, where Jeff’s parents lived, and any other big A-C owned or operated facility. I’d still never met Gladys. Because I was kind of afraid of her. She was considered one of the most formidable, if not the most formidable, of all A-C personnel, and she had sarcasm down to an art form.

“So, you get Jamie’s dinner taken care of, then let me know when she’s ready for fun times.” Denise tickled Jamie’s tummy, as Jamie squealed with laughter.

“You’re getting out of the uncomfortable formal affair again?” Was this woman’s luck truly never-ending?

Denise winked. “The perks of being the Daycare Mom. I have to do it because it’s my job.”

“You are so lucky.”

“I know. Believe me, I like going to fancy things as much as the next gal, but not these kinds of things. I’m much happier with the kids and Gladys is really fun to hang out with, and these are the only times I get to see her.”

Gladys was someone Denise wanted to hang out with? Never a day went by when I didn’t score new information like this. Decided it was in the interests of my longevity to not mention aloud that I found it hard to believe Gladys was a party animal. “Where will all of you be, here?”

Denise shook her head. “We’re going over to the Pontifex’s residence. That way, no one can sneak out to see their mommies or daddies.” She shot Raymond an amused but exasperated look.

“Just trying to help,” he said under his breath.

“And we appreciate your efforts.” Hey, I had no issues with Raymond questioning our safety. In most cases, he was probably wise to do so.

I considered my options. I could try to get all of our animal kingdom and my daughter back upstairs alone, or I could call for help. “Com on!”

“Yes, Chief?” Walter asked.

“I need Len and Kyle here to help me. Like now.”

“They’re advised and on their way, Chief.”

“You’re the best, Walt.”

Len and Kyle were human C.I.A. agents permanently assigned to be my driver and bodyguard, respectively. They were also young, cute, and former members of USC’s Trojan Football team who’d come into my orbit during the excitement surrounding my wedding. Instead of pursuing pro careers, they went straight from college to Chuckie’s side of things and, therefore, were swept right back up into my orbit.

Len had been the quarterback and Kyle had been on the line, which was why when it came to who got to handle what, Kyle got the four dogs and Len got the Feline Winnebago. I kept the cute little girl because I could.

“You boys ready for tonight?” I asked as we squished into the elevator. The dogs ensured that they took up a lot of room.

“Yes,” Len replied. “It’s supposed to be a fun night. And we’ll have friends attending.”

“I know. Olga doesn’t want to miss any hilarity that might ensue.”

Olga was the wife of the Romanian ambassador. The Romanian Embassy was across the street from ours, and through a variety of circumstances, we’d become close with Olga and her granddaughter and personal assistant, Adriana. That Olga was former KGB and training Adriana in all the skills was a secret we were all happy to keep.

Olga was suffering from multiple sclerosis, so she was mostly confined to a wheelchair. This didn’t stop her from somehow knowing everything that was going on in D.C. and many other places as well. My personal goal was to surprise or know something, anything, before her. It happened, but very rarely. Hoped that she wasn’t aware that the Dingo was in town, but I wasn’t willing to bet on it.

“Since Pierre’s been here, we haven’t had any really disastrous social events,” Len reminded me.

“True enough. I’m thankful for Pierre every day.” I chose not to mention that an interstellar invasion definitely counted as a disastrous event.

We reached our floor and entered our palatial suite. I was adjusting to living in a portion of a huge building that was larger than the house I’d grown up in, but I still wasn’t a hundred percent comfy with it, and I didn’t know if I ever would be. Had we not had the Elves, I’d have hated this place based solely on having to keep it clean.

But we had the Elves and they’d prepared Jamie’s dinner for me. Because the Elves wisely didn’t trust my food prep skills. I didn’t always make the smoke alarms go off, but I was close to batting a thousand.

The boys let the cats and Poofs out, and then I sent them to take the dogs for walkies. The Peregrines had their own areas, courtesy of the Elves, both in our rooms and at the Zoo, where they did their business, so to speak. They were really good at acting unlike every other bird out there and holding it until they were in their Dump Zone. I was grateful for this for a variety of reasons, Jeff’s reactions to the idea of casual bird poop dropped in his home being number one.

Jamie was midway through both her dinner and the recounting of her exciting day spent with the letters of the alphabet, the colors of the rainbow, and the numbers one through ten when the boys and dogs returned, bringing Jeff along with them.

“Daddy!” Jamie was still in her highchair. Or rather, she’d been in it. But I blinked and she was out of it and in Jeff’s arms. Her plate and cup hadn’t moved. At least not that I’d seen. Meaning she’d used hyperspeed.

Heaved a sigh. Had to determine if this was a battle worth fighting while Jeff gave Jamie tons of Daddy Kisses and she started telling him about her day—at hyperspeed.

When A-Cs talked at their normal speeds, it made the humans in attendance woozy. While I was enhanced, my hearing had yet to catch up and I got nauseous fast. I could tell the boys, cats, and dogs weren’t enjoying it either.

“Slow down, Jamie-Kat,” Jeff said soothingly. “We need to talk slowly so we don’t make everyone else here feel sick.”

“Too late,” Len said quietly. He sat down at the breakfast bar. Kyle followed suit. “You know, has anyone considered you guys just talking at what you’d call normal speeds as a viable weapon?”

Jeff and I looked at each other. “No,” he said slowly. “But it’s an interesting idea.”

“Bad idea if publicized,” Kyle said. “It makes you scarier than you already are. I mean, I’m not scared of you guys, but that’s because I’m on your side and you know it.”

Jamie looked at all of us, a worried expression on her little face. “Sorry.”

I got up, took her from Jeff, and gave her a snuggle. “It’s okay. But that’s why we have to practice being more like Mommy than Daddy sometimes. Okay?”

She hugged me. “Okay, Mommy. I’ll talk to the kitties and puppies more.”

“Um, the kitties and puppies don’t like it when you talk fast, either, Jamie-Kat.”

Jamie shot a look toward me I was becoming familiar with—her “oh, Mommy, you see but you do not observe” look. “I meant like you do, Mommy. In their minds.”