Alien in the House

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