Alien in the House

Chapter 29



HAVING HELPED TO SAVE the world more than a couple times myself, this didn’t exactly impress me overmuch. I was also well aware that saving the world and being considered a hero did not necessarily go hand-in-hand.

“You need to come across with more factoids and less bluster. Because I don’t buy how killing your sorta romantic rival would save the world.”

“He’s not who you think he is, Kitty.” Eugene dropped his voice. “He’s a robot.”

My responses to this statement were limited, mostly because there was a fifty percent likelihood this was correct. After all, I’d seen more than my share of really excellent androids over the past year. Or more, depending on who might be still passing as human or A-C instead of identifying as an evil sleeper android.

Went with the safest reply. “Right.”

“He is,” Eugene said desperately. “Look, Kitty, I didn’t know what was in that packet. I was told that it was something deadly to a robotic but that wouldn’t hurt a human. Or an alien,” he added quickly.

“So, who gave you the packet and your marching orders?”

“I don’t know.”

“So, it was voices in your head?”

This earned me a dirty look. “No. I was contacted by mail. The situation was explained, and I was asked to help.”

“Who approached you?” Chose not to ask why Eugene thought anyone would approach him for hero work. Most people tended to think of themselves as willing to answer when the call came, after all.

“The C.I.A. The information came to me from Pia Ryan.”

“The late Jack Ryan’s wife?” Or, as I thought of him, one of the first casualties of Operation Assassination. Eugene nodded. “So, Pia’s who gave you all the stuff?”

“No, she gave me an envelope that had been delivered to her. But it was addressed to me. Pia said she figured someone had sent it to her because they knew she knew me.”

“And you believed her?”

“She seemed to be telling the truth. She gave it to me at a party, in front of everyone else.”

“You mean a party with all the people you used to despise?”

He glared at me. “Yes. Sorry, but I like having some friends.”

“You used me and lied to me. That ends friendships in my world.”

“Does it? You have a lot of liars around you, Kitty. Maybe more than you realize.”

“I’m sure. So, Pia gave you the packet and instructions?”

“No, she gave me an envelope that had another envelope inside it. This was also addressed to me and it was sealed. Inside was a full disclosure briefing about how we have a lot of robots masquerading as important politicians. They’re going to activate and take over, soon, unless they’re stopped.”

Interesting. This was, point of fact, basically true. But we’d found a lot of them during Operation Destruction. However, we all knew we hadn’t found every one.

Of course, the idea that some mysterious do-gooder had chosen Eugene to be his or her Instrument of Righteous Annihilation seemed more than a little farfetched. But it was a great way to get someone just gullible enough convinced to do your dirty work. And for sure we had people willing to do things like this prancing all over.

However, it was my turn to talk. Went, again, for noncommittal. “You’re high.”

“No, Kitty, I’m not. I saw the numbers, the information. I’m an actuary, this is what I do. There was a lot of information, and I read through all of it. Ran all the numbers. It all added up. Our people are in danger, mine and yours. I had to do something.”

“Going to the authorities wasn’t an option?”

“There’s no one I can trust there. The robots have a lot of control.”

It was actually bugging me that he was calling them robots instead of androids. Chose to not correct him and get over it. Presumably whoever was in charge had their reasons for telling Eugene he was dealing with a robot versus an android.

“I’m sure they do. So, you decided to cowboy it all on your own and kill someone accused of being a robot without, say, verifying first?”

“You can’t tell they’re a robot until they’re dead.”

“Really.” Did my best to get a lot of sarcasm into those two syllables.

“It’s true. All the data was in the briefing I got.”

“Okay, so where’s the information?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Look, Eugene, let’s pretend that I believe you and don’t still want to just kick your shin so hard that it’ll never stop hurting. If you really got instructions and information like this, they are the only thing that could have a prayer of clearing you of murder in the first. And I’m probably the only one willing to go find this evidence, since I don’t see Lydia hanging around telling you she’ll wait for your cheating ass even if you get life in prison.”

“Why should I trust you? You said you aren’t my friend anymore.”

“Because to the entire rest of the world, you appear to be a crazy, cheating, and above all, stupid murderer, who just killed a public official in a gruesome manner only because you missed your actual intended target, who you wanted to kill so you could have his wife and yours, too. To me, however, you appear to be someone who might be telling the truth. On a Truthfulness Scale of one to ten, I have you at a two right now, but I’m prepared to go into the negative numbers unless you come across with something concrete.”

The reality of this seemed to strike him for the first time. “But . . . I didn’t know what I put in the water was deadly to anyone but a robot. Killing anyone human was an accident.”

“And just who, exactly, do you think is going to believe that, versus calling this extremely premeditated murder? Anyone? Bueller? Right, I only hear the sound of crickets chirping, Eugene.”

“What’s going to happen to me?” He wasn’t really asking me, since he was looking off into space in the terrified manner of someone who just realized they aren’t asleep after all and they really are standing naked in front of a huge auditorium filled with everyone they’ve ever known in their entire life.

“Gas chamber? Firing squad? Lethal injection? I’m not clear on what they do to you around here for this kind of horrific act of violence. But I know what we’ll do to you, and I doubt that we’ve relinquished all authority to the D.C. police and local legal system. Tell me where the hefty briefing papers and so-called anonymous instructions are. I’ll get them, and if you’re telling the truth, I’ll make sure the proper authorities know about it.”

He nodded. “I kept them hidden. So Lydia wouldn’t find them. Just in case.”

“Hidden where?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Super. Where, exactly, is this safe place? Your office?” He shook his head. “Security deposit box?” Another head shake. “Bus locker?”

“No. Why would I go to the bus station, ever?”

“Pardon me for sullying your pristine reputation. So, where the hell did you hide these instructions from a mysterious person that you both believed and obeyed?” I’d worry about why he was so stupid later. Like once I’d found this information later. If it was real, we had the means to be able to have a hope of tracking where, and possibly who, it came from.

“I kept it at work.”

“Your office?”

“No, I’ve been free—” Eugene was interrupted by two things. The first was the shriek of a Peregrine that appeared between us and shoved me just a little to the right.

The second was the arrival of a bullet through his brain.