Alien in the House

Chapter 76



“HOW’D YOU KNOW?” Stryker asked.

“Our luck runs no other way, Eddy. So, do they think Pia was the one who set the bomb or do they think she was dead before the bomb went off?”

“They don’t have enough to be able to guess. They’re lucky they can identify the body at all. The blast was huge and burned hot. She had some weird dental work, which was all that was left of her.”

“Dental records can be faked,” Chuckie said.

“We’ve done her background check, Chuck. Unless someone altered all of it in advance of this, that was her in the car.”

“Now what?” Jeff asked.

“Now we all go back to bed,” Chuckie said. “Though I should probably ask why you two sound so wide awake.”

“There are five of us here, actually, and we’re all terribly alert because we’ve been working. I’m now convinced we have a Mastermind and I know why all the representatives have been killed.”

“Can I get this in a very high level right now?”

“Yes. We have a Sith Lord trying to control the Imperial Senate, and I think he, or she, is out their Apprentice. Meaning that there are others in line to be the next Sith and we need to figure they’ve been helping in anticipation of a move up the Sith Corporate Ladder.”

There was a pause while everyone in the room stared at me, each one giving me their version of the “you so crazy” look. I ignored them. The person I’d tailored my answer for wasn’t confused, I was sure. He was just processing.

“You think Pia was the Apprentice?” Chuckie asked finally.

“Yeah. I think she either blew something when she was supposed to kill Cliff, or she was tossed into his car already dead so she could blow up with him, probably being punished for failure, possibly for the fact that Eugene passed along her name to me and I’m still alive.”

“That theory would explain the long-running nature of the conspiracies,” Stryker said. “The Sith Lord who started it all could be dead and his Apprentice, or the Apprentice’s Apprentice, could be in charge now.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Chuckie agreed. “Especially since the indications were that the Mastermind had been around for decades.”

“What in God’s name are you all talking about?” Jeff asked. A-Cs avoided science fiction shows and movies, presumably because they looked at them as being inaccurate or boring documentaries about stuff they already knew.

“Star Wars movies.”

“Seriously?” Tito asked, clearly speaking for Jeff and my dad, too.

“Yeah. Lucas based a lot of that on how he saw politics working, or not working.”

“I agree,” Nurse Carter said. “Not that they’re going to show up with lightsabers or something, but that a setup like the Sith makes sense for a shadowy Mastermind situation.”

“Moriarty had a few lieutenants,” Dad said, coming around to my side of the explanation house. “But most didn’t know who he really was. And it took a lot of work for Sherlock Holmes to determine who he was and then to stop him.”

“Yep. So, Chuckie, that’s my theory. Our Professor Moriarty is a Sith Lord. So, go get ’em, Sherlock Skywalker.”

“I’m going to get a migraine. Thanks for the theory. I don’t know what’s worse, that you’ve offered up a Sith Lord Theory or that I’m actually considering it as a viable explanation. Stryker, I know you’ve bought in. What’s the vote from the rest of you in the Computer Lab, who I know are listening in?”

“We figured you’d want them in the loop,” Stryker said quickly. “Guys, show of hands, who’s in for the Sith? Yeah, it’s unanimous, Chuck.”

Chuckie sighed. “Oh, good. Okay, I’d like to get more sleep before I have to figure out how we find a Sith Lord in Washington.”

“No ideas here, but that would be a great title for a comic.”

“Good night, Kitty.”

“Mister Reynolds is off the com, Chief,” Walter said. “Would you like to remain on with Mister Dane?”

“Eddy, anything else for me?”

“Just that, under the circumstances, I’d like to suggest that you go for the Princess Leia in the bronze bikini look again sometime. You can still carry it off.”

“My husband is sitting right here, Eddy, and I think he’s going to go for killing you with his bare hands.”

“Oh, no,” Jeff said pleasantly. “I’m focused on the words ‘again’ and ‘still.’”

“She wore it at a few Halloween parties,” Stryker shared. “I’m sure I can find the pictures pretty easily. Stryker out.”

“Mister Dane’s com is off now, Chief.”

“Thanks, Walt. Go back to bed.”

“Yes, Chief.” The com turned off.

“I don’t want to witness the argument,” Dad said.

Jeff shrugged. “I’m not going to go into a jealous rage over the fact that Kitty wore a sexy costume when she was younger. And, let’s be honest—the squatters aren’t exactly people I need to worry about from a romantic perspective, are they?”

I snorted. “No. Not at all.”

Jeff grinned. “Then I’ll be sure to make the Head Squatter give me all the negatives.”