Alien in the House

Pontifex should be there, too. The others?” Brewer shrugged. “You can get away with a lot by claiming that it’s your alien ways.”
    Rahmi caught up to me. “We can guard from a distance,” she said in my ear. “So if we are not to be nearby, we can still assist.”
    “Awesome, thanks. Take the rear with Kyle right now, then, please, and thank you. Only attack if someone is pointing a gun or another projectile weapon at anyone in our group. And be sure it’s really a weapon.”
    The Capitol was a beautiful building, but as with so many beautiful buildings I got to visit, my focus wasn’t on getting to enjoy the architecture or the artwork—my focus was on keeping me and my team alive.
    “Chuckie, who goes down on the floor besides Jeff, me, and Paul?”
    “I think, under the circumstances, Representative Brewer and his wife should.”
    Looked at Chuckie’s expression. His poker face was on. Now wasn’t the time to ask if he wanted Brewer down there for a political reason or because I thought Brewer was a target and therefore would take a bullet intended for Jeff.
    Brewer looked incredibly pleased. “Only if you and Jeff think it’s appropriate.”
    “If Chuck says it’s alright, then it’s great with me,” Jeff said pleasantly.
    Managed not to swallow my tongue with the shock of Jeff being totally reasonable and not arguing with what Chuckie suggested. Figured Jeff was either picking up Chuckie’s emotions or didn’t want to have a fight with anyone right now. Or both.
    “Who else?” I managed to ask without sounding shocked out of my mind.
    “Reader is the Pontifex’s husband, so he makes sense. I don’t, so I’m going to stay with the others. We’ll be spread out. Vance will stay with us,” Chuckie added as Vance opened his mouth. “His husband isn’t a representative nor a religious leader.”
    “What about Doreen and Irving?”
    Doreen shook her head. “This isn’t a diplomatic thing. We’re here to witness and show support, but I think we should be with Chuck and the others.”
    Irving nodded. “We’ll have a better view of the room, too. Just in case.”
    “In case?”
    Doreen and Irving exchanged a look. “You are aware that we know that someone tried to kill Jeff earlier today, aren’t you?” Doreen asked carefully.
    “How did you know? I’m not asking because I wanted to hide the information, but how you found out might be key.”
    Doreen shrugged. “We saw it on the news. Thankfully the kids were in the other room, because I think Jamie would have comprehended what we saw.”
    “Huh. So, no one announced that Eugene murdered Santiago and then was shot to death inside a SWAT van, but an unsuccessful assassination attempt made the news. Interesting.”
    “There’s a lot more going on, isn’t there?” Irving asked quietly.
    “Yeah, there is. We just haven’t had time to fill you guys in.” Or time to determine if they were totally trustworthy.
    Doreen gave me a long look. She stepped close to me. “I don’t blame you for wondering,” she said in a very low voice.
    “Wondering?”
    “If you can trust me. They were my parents, I was an only child, I could resent what happened to them. But I don’t. Just like Amy doesn’t. We talk about it a lot, when she and I can get away and be alone, or when one of us wonders why we got stuck with such terrible parents. But when you see your parent for the evil being they truly are, it becomes hard to continue to love them.”
    “I know. I’m still sorry about it.” I wasn’t sorry we’d killed the Colemans. I was sorry that Doreen lost her parents.
    Doreen hugged me. “Don’t be. My parents made their choices. I made mine. I chose you, Kitty, and what you believe in and stand for. And I chose you a long time ago. If you don’t feel safe filling us in on what’s going on, I won’t be hurt. But if you want or need to, I promise you, you can trust us to do whatever you need.”
    “You’re the best, Doreen, thanks,” I said as I hugged her back.
    “We need to move,” Brewer said as Doreen and I broke apart. Len took our coats and Jeff’s fedora, then the others went up to the balcony area.
    “Onward?” Jeff asked. He sounded a little nervous.
    “Yes.” Brewer smiled as he opened the door. “It’s showtime, Representative Martini. Enjoy the moment.”



CHAPTER 67
    O UR MUCH SMALLER group of six entered the big auditorium that was the Floor of the House of Representatives. It reminded me a lot