Alien in the House

Chapter 60



“I THINK HE’S RIGHT,” Tim said. “What does Megalomaniac Girl think?”

“I’m with you, Megalomaniac Lad. I don’t care how ‘natural’ those deaths look, we now have over twenty representatives dead in what seems like a very condensed time period and that cannot be considered normal. I also don’t think Vance would have brought this to my attention if he was trying to play me, and while he’s clearly smarter than he acts, I’m not feeling Mastermind potential.”

“I’m still not sold on the murder mystery theory, girlfriend,” Reader said. “As Reynolds says, there’s no point to it.”

The answer was there, at the edge of my mind. I could feel it tickling, but it wasn’t coming to me. In order to think well, running my mouth was my go-to move. So I went to it. “Okay, let’s take Jeff’s attack out of the equation for a minute, because it could be related to ‘us’ instead of the Mystery of Who is Killing the House of Representatives. So, let me ask this—is Eugene’s damage part of the plot, or is he part of something else?”

“You mean, if Eugene was telling you the truth, right?” Reader asked. “As in, if Eugene being told Brewer was a robot, was that part of the overall kill-the-representatives plan?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s assume he was,” Chuckie said. “Because he named the person who gave him the file and then was shot in the head. We all think that the shot was meant for Kitty, but the shooter wasn’t using a hollow-point so the bullet could have killed both of them.”

“The Dingo said it was Raul.”

“I say again that Raul could be here on a job instead of revenge,” Chuckie said patiently. “Or else he could be getting a double out of it. But let’s go with it and say that Eugene is part of this conspiracy to kill off the House. Why choose him?”

“Perfect patsy?” Jeff asked. “He was caught and killed already.”

“But that makes no sense, other than as a distraction from the real plot, because the only murder that can be pinned on Eugene is Santiago’s. Let’s say Eugene had succeeded and killed Brewer as he intended. We’d still have caught him red-handed. So, what would be the point of having him be a patsy? What would you gain?”

“I have an idea,” Christopher said, as he, White, and Raj joined us. “But first, did I see and hear correctly that we have Queen Renata’s daughters here?”

“Yes. Where’re Amy and Henry?”

“At the Zoo with the other hackers. We need to get over there, too.”

“I’m supposed to be at the Capitol,” Jeff said. As the words left his mouth, my phone rang.

Dug it out of my purse. My purse had far fewer Poofs in it than it had earlier, but still contained Reyes’ stuffed eagle. Belayed worry about the Poofs for the moment. History showed that the Poofs were pretty darned good at staying safe.

“Hello?”

“Kitty, it’s Ed. I spoke with the Speaker of the House, and he called the President.” He sounded annoyed. “I told them what had happened, and after reassuring them that Jeff’s alive and well and basically unhurt, asked if they could move the swearing-in to another day, perhaps January third, with the rest of the new appointees. I mentioned that you were both shaken and also had some very foreign dignitaries that just arrived for your daughter’s birthday celebration, which is an important cultural event in the Alpha Centauri system.”

“I’m guessing from your tone that they said not just no, but hell no?”

“Not in so many words, but yes. Under the circumstances, they said that they’re thankful Jeff and everyone else are okay, and for you two to take some time to pull yourselves together while the House does some other business, but then to please join everyone as planned. By which they mean you have probably about an hour, and then get over to the Capitol.”

“Do they want you over there now?”

“Yes, but we’re not voting on anything and I told them I wasn’t going over until I went with you and Jeff. I can’t believe they’re being so callous. Jeff could have died.”

“True, but the President, for sure, knows what we used to do for a living. And, much as I’d like to take the time to relax and hide, and much as Jeff would like to put this off as long as he can, we both know we can’t.”

“I suppose. They could have at least let it wait a couple of days.”

“Maybe, but since he was appointed last night and they want him sworn in today, it’s clearly a big deal.”

“That’s standard for any special election or appointment in Congress. You’re sworn in the day after you win.”

“As always, I learn something new every day. By the way, what did you mean, about the others who were appointed? I thought representatives were never appointed and Jeff was just stuck being special.”

“Technically, you’re right. However, there are a lot of bills going through the House right now. There’s talk that we’re going to end up filibustered or worse, since we have so many empty seats. Because the President and New Mexico’s governor have now set the precedent, the President felt okay about asking the other states’ governors to appoint replacement representatives as well. So, for any district that hasn’t held its special election, the governor is picking from either the candidates or the available political pool and making an appointment.”

“How many positions is that, do you know?”

“A couple dozen, give or take. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot of people, but when the votes come down to the wire, I’ve learned that two dozen votes can mean the difference between a bill’s passage or defeat. By the way, has anyone ever told you it’s strange to be on the phone with someone who’s just a few rooms away in the same house as you are?”

“Yeah, but you get used to it. So the other replacements are getting sworn in on the third along with the rest of Congress?”

“No, as it turns out. They’re getting sworn in the day after Christmas.”

“This is moving very fast.”

“Those bills are important, they need to be voted on pretty much as soon as we officially convene for next year, meaning the first week of January, and I don’t think the President wants any suggestions of unfairness or foul play. He’s taken a lot of heat for suspending elections—this allows him to bring in new blood and ensure that Congress is completely filled.”

There was a lot of foul play going on, regardless of the President’s desires, and things were hot and getting hotter, but now wasn’t the time to share all that with Brewer.

“Makes sense. We’ll be joining you guys soon. Need to let Jeff know the good news that we get to relax for a little bit.” I also had to tell everyone else the very interesting news.

“Not to worry, Pierre’s going to escort everyone out of the ballroom and get us settled in one of the salons downstairs while we wait for you. Still wish you could drink wine—I could use a glass by now.”

“Dude, I could use a whole bottle by now. But such is life in the big A-C city.”

Brewer laughed. “So I’m coming to learn.”

Hung up. “Boys, we have bad news and we have interesting news.” Shared what Brewer had told me. “So, we get to put off the swearing-in for a whole additional hour. But we don’t get to stop worrying during that time, because I think Edmund just told us what’s going on.”

“How so?” Gower asked. “It just sounds like the President wants to make sure that no one can complain that the bills that did or didn’t pass didn’t have a quorum.”

“I think Kitty’s right,” Christopher said. “We need to go over what we found at Gaultier, and we need to do it now.”