Alien in the House

Chapter 55



“DOWN!” I shouted as I flung myself on top of Jeff. His eyes were closed and he didn’t move.

Heard the boys hustle Brewer inside, heard Nathalie screaming and Len telling her and Brewer to stay down and stay quiet, as Chuckie and Reader got out, amidst the screams of passersby. Heard a bird’s scream. It wasn’t from pain—Bruno was going after the shooter.

A car peeled out somewhere nearby. But I wasn’t paying much attention to all of this. I was looking at Jeff. Specifically at his chest.

His coat was a mess—ripped up and shredded, with pieces of metal strewn all over. Brown and red flecks were slathered everywhere across his chest. “Oh my God, Jeff,” I whispered, as I put my hands over the hole to stop the bleeding.

Only there was no blood.

Jeff’s eyes opened, then he blinked. “What the hell?”

“Stay down,” Chuckie said, as he knelt next to us. He wasn’t looking at Jeff. His gun was drawn and he was scanning the area. “Don’t talk. Jerry’s got an ambulance coming and Doctor Hernandez will be here soon.”

“Why?” Jeff asked.

“You were shot.” Could tell my voice was shaking. “There’s metal and . . . stuff everywhere.”

“I don’t feel shot. I feel hit, but not shot. I want to get off the street.”

“No.” Chuckie looked at him. “What the . . . ?” He holstered his gun and ripped Jeff’s jacket and shirt open. There was a huge bruise forming over Jeff’s left pec, but no blood. “I’m willing to call this miraculous.”

Looked at my hands and realized what the miracle had been. “It’s the tea.”

“What?” Chuckie sounded confused and shaken. I could relate.

“The owners where we ate lunch gave us tins of tea as a gift. They were heavy and in stainless steel, and Jeff had them in the pocket over his hearts. I didn’t realize they could stop a bullet.”

Chuckie flipped Jeff’s clothes over and examined the damage. “It’s because the shooter used a hollow-point.”

“How can you tell?” Jeff asked. “And can I get up?”

“Not yet. Area’s not secure.”

“The limo would be,” Jeff pointed out.

“No,” Chuckie said sternly.

“How do you know it was a hollow-point?” I asked Chuckie. He hadn’t answered and I wanted this information.

“The pattern. Hollow-points are designed to cause more damage when they hit. They have less velocity than a non-hollow bullet, though. So the tins of tea were able to deflect the bullet, versus just be the first things it passed through.”

“A regular bullet might have gone through Jeff, or through you and Jeff,” Reader said, voice tight, as he knelt down next to us. “But if the hollow-point had gone in, it would have expanded and probably splintered, sending bits through the body, bouncing off bone, and so on.”

“So they specifically wanted to kill Jeff.”

“Want to explain that?” Chuckie asked. “The Peregrine knocked you out of the way, Kitty.”

Thought about it. “No, he knocked both of us, and if he hadn’t, then the bullet would have hit Jeff’s head.” Felt sick to my stomach, and a little dizzy. “They were aiming for Jeff. The bullet’s the proof. You can hit me with a regular bullet and I’m likely to die. But A-Cs heal fast, and Jeff’s survived worse than one bullet. However, it sounds like even an A-C would have trouble with a hollow-point.”

“Maybe,” Chuckie said. “I’m not convinced.”

“I’m not either,” Reader said. “Though I can agree that, based on the bullet, the shooter only wanted to hit one of you.”

“Or he wanted to hit them both and the bird knocked the second target out of the way,” Chuckie said tightly.

“Can the first target get the hell out of the street?” Jeff asked. “I’m not hurt. Well, I hit my head on the car or the concrete or something, and my chest hurts, but neither is life-threatening.”

“It’s clear,” Kyle said, coming over. “We can’t find anyone. Field teams are spreading out. Ambulance will be here in less than five minutes, Doctor Hernandez in less than one.”

“Cancel the ambulance,” Jeff said. “And tell Tito to stay home. We’re heading there right now anyway.”

Kyle nodded and stepped away to make the calls. Tim joined us. “I have another limo coming. We have too many people to get out of here.”

“Floater gate would work,” I suggested.

“Not in the middle of the street,” Chuckie said. “It’s bad enough that we have a crowd forming.”

Looked around. Sure enough, we had a lot of people in a ring around us. Len, Jerry, and Vance were officially keeping them back.

“I want up off the street or I’m going to bust some heads,” Jeff growled.

Chuckie sighed, but he nodded. He and Reader helped Jeff up, while I retrieved his fedora. Jeff bent down and helped me up. “It’s okay, baby,” he said softly.

That did it. I clutched the fedora and burst into tears. Jeff pulled me to him, held me, patted my back, and kissed the top of my head. To applause.

He wasn’t really hurt, the danger seemed past, and my face was nestled between his awesome pecs, rubbing against the hair on his chest. My libido helped me get over my crying jag relatively quickly.

Heard another car pull up and doors open. Hughes and Walker had arrived. I knew this because I could hear them politely giving orders to the crowd. Got the impression they were in their Navy uniforms, because people appeared to be obeying.

Decided I should take one for the team and pull my face out of Jeff’s chest. Did so unwillingly. “You okay now, baby?” Jeff asked.

“For the time being. I hope the Elves can whip up new clothes pronto.”

“I’m sure they can. Which car do you want us in?” he asked Chuckie.

“You go with the new one,” Chuckie said. “Reader, get in with the Pontifex and get him to the Embassy pronto.”

“Oh, yes, sir,” Reader said. “Sorry about this, Jeff.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jeff said. “It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just part of what’s going on. Let’s talk about it at home.”

“What’s going on?” Chuckie asked, eyes narrowed.

Reader sighed. “We were going to bring you up to speed after Jeff was sworn in. We’ll do it on the way.”

Chuckie looked at me. My turn to sigh. “Yes, yes, I know what’s going on and yes, I’ll tell you in the car. I just don’t want a lecture, and to ensure there won’t be one, trust me when I say that, right now, I can start crying again at the drop of a hat.”

“She did it once,” Jeff said with a laugh, as he took the crumpled fedora out of my hands. “So I believe she could do it again.”

Chuckie shook his head as he got us, Hughes, Walker, Len, and Kyle into the car, while Reader got Vance into his. “Everyone’s a comedian.”

“What about the police?” Jeff asked.

“What about them? I’d rather be home.”

Chuckie nodded. “Let’s get to the Embassy, and while we’re headed there, why don’t you two tell me exactly what’s going on?”