Alien Diplomacy

clue was great, but that’s not repayment for my husband saving your life and the life of your cousin there.”
    “You told him to.”
    “Yes, but he did it. He didn’t have to. Any more than you have to actually kill us. This operation is in shambles, none of which is your fault. You’re the best there is. No one who matters will care that you didn’t complete your assignment after the people who’d paid you were dead. You’ll still have more work than you can probably handle.”
    “There is such a thing as honor.”
    “Yeah, there is. And if you kill us, any of us, then you’ve lost your honor. We saved your lives after you’d tried to kill us multiple times. If that doesn’t say ‘you owe us,’ then let me mention that us letting you go is more than fair.”
    “We’re letting them go?” Christopher asked, sounding as shocked as the assassins in front of me looked.
    “Yes. Because we have honor, too. They were doing a job. It’s not a job I approve of, but compared to everything else that’s going on, at least the goals are clean and clear. They’re paid to kill someone; they kill them, no freaky androids or supermonsters hiding in their closets. So,” I said to Peter, “you let us live and go away, and we don’t tell the authorities that we’ve seen you or that we’ve letyou go.” Because I knew without asking that the authorities, who were Mom and Chuckie, would not be happy with this compromise.
    “We could kill you and complete our work, and no one else would know,” Surly Vic said.
    “You’d know. You’d owe a blood debt to us for the rest of your lives. And while you might take the three of us out, there are a lot more of us than there are of you. You’ll owe all of American Centaurion, and the ones left behind will find a way to make you pay, in blood, for the rest of your lives.”
    Peter’s eyes narrowed. “How do we know you won’t attack us the moment we put our guns away?”
    I looked right into his eyes. “Because I just gave you my word. You leave, you don’t kill anyone here, you don’t come back hunting us down, you get the hell out of Washington, and you leave Titan’s employment, and we let you go and tell no one that we’ve seen you or that you’ve made this bargain with us.”
    He said something to Surly Vic in their native tongue. Surly Vic replied in kind. It was clear they were arguing. I cleared my throat, and they both looked at me, midargument. “Antony Marling and Madeline Cartwright are dead. Titan’s about to be taken down by the federal government. Think of me as your friend when I say this: You need to put distance between yourself and that company right now.”
    Peter looked at me for a few seconds. Then he holstered his gun and barked something at Surly Vic, who holstered his as well. “As you say,” Peter said slowly. “This evens our debts. You have given me important information just as I gave you, and you have saved us and we have spared you.” His eyes flicked to Christopher.
    “He’s my husband’s cousin. They feel the same way about each other as you and Vic do. And you tried to kill my baby and my friends.”
    “Ah.” Peter nodded. “Then we will call it even in all ways.” He gave us a fleeting smile. “Until we have the misfortune to meet again, may you have pleasant days.” They spun on their heels, and took off at a trot I was fairly sure they could keep up for days.
    “You know Jeff and I could have killed them before they could pull their triggers,” Christopher mentioned.
    “Yeah, I figured you could.”
    “So, why let them go?” Jeff asked.
    I looked up at him. “Because, sometimes, it’s better to make a political compromise that leaves both sides feeling like they won.”
    Jeff bent down and kissed me. “Spoken like a true diplomat.”



CHAPTER 88
    W E MADE OUR WAY TO THE BALLROOM. Everyone was milling around and being ushered back inside by a lot of A-Cs. The Titan goons were nowhere to be seen.
    “What happened to the Titan Force of Doom?” I spotted Doreen, Irving, and Tito and headed to them.
    “Jeff, Paul, my dad, and I cleared them out,” Christopher said. “They were getting in the way of us actually being able to protect people and evacuate.”
    “How about the Cabal of Evil?”
    “No reason to hold them,” Jeff said. “But I’m sure Reynolds and your mother will find some incriminating evidence once they go through Titan’s files.”
    Amy spotted us and ran over, Caroline,