Alien Diplomacy

Christopher offered.
    “No way in the world.” This time I was the one snarling. “I’m officially sick and beyond tired of you and Jeff treating Chuckie like crap or like he’s our enemy. I’ll walk home alone, too, if I have to hear any more of it from you. Richard came with James and Tim, by the way. They also on your suspect list?”
    Christopher sighed. “Fine. I wasn’t actually accusing him. And I’m certainly not accusing James or Tim, either. I was pointing out that you haven’t been alone since you left the Embassy.”
    “Let’s get back to the Embassy,” White said soothingly. “We’ll worry about it then.”
    I looked around. My vision was also enhanced, and I could see a lot farther than I’d been able to before, as well as see well in the dark. And what I saw looked a lot like another Goon Squad on the ground and a helicopter in the air. I looked in the other direction. There were three taxis cruising by. Two of them had clearly been in a fender bender.
    “Okay, I’m not mad at you anymore, Christopher.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because they’re finding us somehow.” I pointed as the goons got closer and the taxis all pulled illegal U-turns. Unsurprisingly, there were no cops nearby.
    Christopher put his father’s arm over his shoulder again, grabbed White’s waist and my hand, and we were off, again at the fastest speeds ever.
    This time, we stopped on the steps of the Embassy. I gagged my way to the front door, preferring to toss the cookies inside, where it appeared to be somewhat safer.
    We got inside to find Tito waiting for us with a gurney. “I’ve had medical support brought over from Dulce,” he told us.
    “Why?” I asked as I helped White get onto the gurney. Unlike every other man I worked with, he didn’t whine about it. Meaning he was either really hurt or more mature about things. I voted for both.
    “No one wants our forces divided if at all possible.”
    “Well, we had a phalanx of bad guys after us, so we might want to be prepped for a siege.”
    Dazzlers appeared on the scene. Sadly, none of them were DazzlersI knew well, but Tito used these gals frequently. They started fussing around White immediately.
    “Pontifex White needs immediate attention,” one of them shared with Tito.
    “Former Pontifex,” White reminded gently. The girl blushed and nodded. “I’m sure it’s not as dire as all that.”
    Tito eyed him critically. “Christopher? I know you looked at him internally. Diagnosis?”
    “Muscle tear that’s already repairing, but he does need stitches. Heavy bruising, but nothing broken. I put his shoulder back in.”
    “Now you’ve gotten the former Pontifex all banged up.” Tito shook his head. “Wasn’t Paris enough fun for the two of you?”
    “No, we’ve been bored,” White replied. “Truly, I’d prefer my lectures after you patch me up.”
    Tito and his Dazzler assistants took White off to the medical portion of the Embassy. It wasn’t as snazzy as what the Science Center had, or even up to what the other bases had, but it was still impressive by human standards.
    “You going with your dad?”
    Christopher shook his head. “I can monitor him without being in the room.”
    “Your new talents never cease to amaze me. Or creep me out.”
    He managed a chuckle. “Nice to know. Let’s join the others and see how bad our situation is.”
    “It’s us. I figure we’ve been at DEFCON Worse for hours if not days.”
    Christopher sighed. “I hate it when I think you’re right. And I definitely think you’re right.”



CHAPTER 40
    W E HEADED FOR THE MAIN MEETING ROOM, which was on the second floor. The Embassy had two elevators, on opposite sides of the building. We took the one that didn’t have White and his medical entourage in it.
    It was nice to be in an elevator with Christopher and not feel we were being illicit. Enough time had passed and more than enough had happened that we didn’t have to act like opposing magnets.
    On the other hand, I could tell the adrenaline high that had kept me going was wearing off. I was about to crash, and potentially crash big time. My emotions felt jumbled beyond belief, and I realized that if one person so much as mildly snapped at me, I was going to lose it in a big, embarrassing way.
    The elevator doors opened, and before I could blink, someone had picked me up in his arms. Jeff had moved at the really fast hyperspeed, but if I were in sensory deprivation, I’d still know the feel of