Alien in the Family

were doubled around the holding cell and given orders to do whatever Chuckie said, and we took Queen Renata down to visit Moira. Wasn’t my preferred plan, but it had to be tried.
    “I don’t think Moira’s going to see the light.”
    “I’m sure she will not,” Queen Renata sighed. “However, I must try.”
    “Think Reynolds will get more out of the rest of them?” Martini asked me quietly as we headed down in the elevator.
    “Yes, and even if he doesn’t, I know he’s still studying the A-C system, so he’ll get something from that.”
    “Getting it memorized?”
    “He already has it memorized. He’s doing analysis now, I assume. While doing the interrogations.”
    “You think he walks on water, don’t you?”
    “Wow, that sounds so jealous. I’m going to pretend it wasn’t said with so much sarcasm. And, no. I know how smart he is. Jeff, he’s in an incredibly powerful position, very young. He’s not there because he has connections—my mother didn’t know aliens existed before I met you, remember?”
    “Yeah.” He sighed as we got out of the elevator and headed for Moira’s cell. “And, as much as I hate to admit it, I know he’s brilliant. He’s also a pain in the ass. But, and I really hate admitting this, he was right about being in charge. It’s been helpful.”
    “It’ll probably be more so. But that means he’s got a big target on him now, too.” The worry crashed over me like a tsunami.
    “Nice to know you care.”
    I stopped walking. The others continued on. “That wasn’t funny.”
    Martini sighed. “I know. And I know you’re worried about all of us, not just him. I’m trying with the jealousy, okay? It’s just . . . they all want you.” He looked lost and lonely.
    “Jeff, what’s wrong?”
    He pulled me into his arms. “I think we’re missing something, and it’s going to cost us. Like we missed what was going on and James almost died.”
    My brain kicked, hard. “Oh, my God. That’s it!”
    “What? What’s it?”
    I pulled out of his arms and ran to catch up to the rest of our crew. “Alexander, Renata, were any of you in Las Vegas, New York, or Los Angeles in the last day or so?”
    They looked at me as if I were insane. I was so used to that look by now that it didn’t even faze me. “No,” Alexander said slowly. “We only arrived a short while before you captured us.” Queen Renata nodded.
    “Renata, would you say Kyrellis has more restraint than Moira?”
    She gave a bitter chuckle. “Hardly. Kyrellis is the leader of the dissidents. She has no restraint whatsoever.”
    “So it would be hard for her to enter a room full of men, while pretending to be a man, and not hurt them?”
    “It would be impossible for her to be around a man and not kill him,” Queen Renata said dryly. “I wish it were otherwise. But she was the head of our armed forces before she believed God was guiding her.”
    “Alex, you set off the light show on your home world, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did you do the one here?”
    “No.” He sounded confused. “I assumed one of His Majesty’s retainers had done so.”
    “Jeff. My name is Jeff. You can call me Mister Martini, Martini, or Jeff. Even Jeffrey. If you call me or refer to me as Majesty, Highness, or Your Royal anything, I will kill you with my bare hands.”
    “I told you, he’s really not into the royalty thing. Okay, so no one from our Interstellar Dirty Dozen set off the light shows over the past year or impersonated Christopher. Kyrellis and Moira wouldn’t have been able to enter any A-C facility without going all Kill Bill, and I don’t credit either one of them with the stealth involved to impersonate the Catering department so they could drop off the bugged pineapple.”
    “Kyrellis is more . . . straightforward, yes,” Queen Renata confirmed.
    “So, who pretended to be me, then?” Christopher asked. “We can’t identify anyone out of our own people.”
    I thought back. “They’ve been here a year. A year of working as spies. And what do spies do in a foreign country?” I didn’t need Chuckie here to answer that question. “They do their best to blend in. They don’t wear the Armani Fatigues. They don’t act like A-Cs. They look and act like any other hot guy.” I felt stupid and somewhat offended.
    “Who are you talking about?” Martini asked.
    “Remember those two good-looking guys at THEhotel who were smiling at me? One held the door for us, probably because he’d just