Alien in the House

laughing, only I want to be able to run away should whatever’s in the plain brown wrapper go boom.”
    “Truly. This is . . . a favor.”
    “For whom?”
    “For you.”
    “Why?”
    “Because someone is being a . . . sore loser, I think you’d say. He was told to move on, but has chosen the path of revenge. Revenge is not a good choice for people in . . . my line of work.”
    Thought fast and furiously again. During Operation Assassination, there had been two assassination teams assigned to get us, me in particular. One had been Peter the Dingo Dog and his cousin. The other had been Bernie and her husband/partner Raul. Buchanan had taken care of Bernie, but Raul had been arrested. I’d never seen Raul in person. But I knew he’d seen me.
    Our enemies were released from prison all the time, because we had very powerful enemies. So Raul likely being out wasn’t much of a shock. And Buchanan had killed Raul’s wife to save me and Jamie, and that meant Raul had the best revenge reason in the world to disobey the Dingo’s cease and desist order.
    “Okay, so where’s Raul?”
    “You are so much smarter than you like to appear.” He sounded incredibly proud. The idea that the Dingo might actually be thinking of me as his niece, as someone to protect, crept up and waved quietly.
    “Thank you. Um . . . so, I appreciate you warning me. Should I dump the package into the river?”
    “You’re close to the Potomac? Again?”
    “Yes. Though like you and your cousin, I don’t want to go swimming in it again any time soon. How is he, by the way?”
    “Very well. He is also watching.”
    “To protect me or to finish the job? Or for a new job?”
    The Dingo sighed again. “Understand that there are . . . rules in our line of work. If there were no rules, then we would have anarchy, yes?”
    “Yes, right.”
    “When someone chooses to break the rules for personal reasons, those reasons must make sense.”
    “I hate to say it, but revenge makes sense.”
    “No, not for our line of work. The risks are high, but so are the rewards. Unprofessional behavior is for terrorists, for amateurs.” The way he said it, it was clear that the Dingo was only in favor of professional terrorists.
    “You’re worried that your business will dry up because if Raul offs me and potentially a lot of your customers, then word will get out that it wasn’t a paid hit but a revenge hit, and the Assassination Union will raise the rates or something.”
    “Something like that, yes. So, where are you?”
    “I ask again, why?”
    “I wish to find you and disarm the package.”
    Package, not bomb. “What’s in the package?”
    “Something very bad.”
    “I guessed. Tell me more.”
    “I don’t have to.” The voice wasn’t on the phone any more but behind me.
    Spun around to see the Dingo and his cousin, Surly Vic, standing there. They were both in dark suits and appeared unarmed, but I was positive they were both packing more heat than I could hope to count. Still had that Smooth Criminal Who Could Be From Anywhere look, but since I knew, I could spot the little bits of East Slavic in them both.
    Hung up my phone and shoved it back into my pocket. “Your GPS tracking is really good.” My phone started buzzing—someone was texting me. Decided that being rude right now would be the stupidest move of my life. Whoever it was could wait.
    The Dingo shrugged. “Yes.” He nodded to Surly Vic, who went and got the package.
    “Are you sure it’s safe for you to handle?” My phone rang. Ignored it.
    “We will exercise care and I appreciate your concern.” The Dingo smiled at me. “Please give my best to your sister, when it is appropriate. She was a lovely young lady, and I hope she’s doing well?”
    He meant Caroline Chase, my sorority roommate and bestie. The Dingo had been dating her, sort of, during Operation Assassination, though she’d had no idea he was an assassin. Our lives were just that kind of glamorous.
    “Um, will do, and yes, she’s doing great. I’m sure she’d tell me to say ‘hi’ for her. If, you know, she knew you were here and we were chatting.” Maybe. Anything was possible, after all. “So, what do I do now?”
    The Dingo shrugged. “Return home, have your party. We will deal with your problem.”
    Shook my head. “I don’t think it’s just Raul.” My phone continued to ring. I continued to ignore it and hope whoever was calling would take the hint.
    Both assassins looked