Alien in the House

the Elves had moved things around so the room now looked easily as nice as any fancy hotel ballroom. A-C agents, both male and female, were mingling with the guests, some in serving capacities, some functioning as our version of Booth Babes at a trade show, all focused on security. We had a complement of Security A-Cs around, too, but they were being very obvious. The agents were blending in nicely. So far, so very good.
    One of the agents who was on server duty came by with fruit juice cocktails. Pierre and the Elves had come up with a variety of drinks that were so good you didn’t really care that they didn’t have vodka or rum in them. “Tempt you to something completely nonalcoholic, Congressman?”
    “Santiago, please, Ambassador Katt-Martini. And yes, thank you. I don’t drink, either. It’s nice to be at a party where that’s celebrated.”
    Personally, I missed having a drink now and then, but I’d gotten over it. Kissing Jeff was so much better than any alcohol in the world.
    “Okay, Santiago,” I said, as we sipped our drinks. “And it’s Kitty.”
    He smiled. “I’d been told you weren’t the, ah, formal type.”
    We were being eyed by the Cabal. Tried not to feel like a zebra being appraised by a pride of lions, or a pride of perverts, which was probably a more accurate description. Failed.
    “Depends on the situation, Santiago.” And my level of nerves, which were, on the scale of ten, heading toward eleven. Prayed I wouldn’t spill anything on my dress—it would make Marcia far too happy. Apparently, though, nervous meant I was giving the short, politically correct answers. Score one for nerves.
    Reader and Tim, who were both in different parts of the room, came over as soon as they saw us. “Santiago, good to see you,” Reader said.
    “I second that,” Tim said as Reyes shook their hands.
    “Great to see you, James, Tim. Nice to get to visit how the other half lives.”
    Reyes, Tim, and Reader chuckled over this. I took it to mean they already had an inside joke. Did my best not to feel a tiny bit betrayed and more than a little left out. If I’d still been the Head of Airborne, I’d be in on the joke, too.
    It shouldn’t have surprised me that they all knew each other. Just because Reyes was newly elected didn’t mean he was new to dealing with Centaurion Division.
    “So, Ambassadors, what do you think is the most important thing we can focus on to make your people feel more at home on Earth?” Reyes asked.
    “Excuse me?” Jeff sounded confused.
    “They’ve been here since the nineteen-sixties,” I replied. “They feel at home on Earth. Most of them were born on Earth, my husband included.”
    “Ah, what Kitty means,” Jeff said, recovering quickly, “is that we just want to be accepted like any other residents of this planet.”
    Reyes grinned. “James told me that would get a rise out of you.” He, Reader, and Tim all had another group chuckle.
    “Yeah, thanks for that.”
    Senator McMillan joined us, as did Senator Armstrong. Their wives were together, being entertained by Michael and Caroline. “Ambassador Katt-Martini has a good sense of humor, Santiago,” Armstrong said. “But you can’t blame her for being a little touchy.”
    McMillan nodded. “We really need to get the latest alien issues settled, preferably once and for all.”
    The men all looked somber now. Took the leap. “What’s just happened that all of you know about but I don’t? And I’d better not hear that it’s above my security clearance.”
    “Never again on my watch,” Armstrong said seriously. Considering what had gone down during Operation Destruction, it wasn’t a total surprise that Armstrong was backing me on the clearance issue.
    “We have some legislation being proposed in the House,” Reyes said. “The wording’s such that it could lead to restricted freedoms for ‘illegal aliens.’”
    “Let me guess. The wording is also such that it puts into question whether or not the A-Cs on Earth are here legally, doesn’t it?”
    “I married the smartest girl in the galaxy. However, that bill’s a long way away from passing, at least from what I’ve been told.” Jeff looked at Reyes intently. “So, what haven’t I been told?”



CHAPTER 14
    I PREPPED MYSELF for words of doom and destruction.
    “Not much.” Reyes shrugged. “But anything can be sped through when the right incentives are given or applied.”
    Managed not to say that Reyes really had a way