Alien Proliferation

going with it. But if you’re going to bring down an influential businessman, and figure out where the hell he is, you have to have more than a logo.” My flyboys—great-looking and brilliant. Loved them all.
    I took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay. What is standard procedure for a known threat? Exactly what we did. Total lockdown, pull everyone, and I do mean everyone, in. Teams will inch out and about, but carefully. Only team likely to be out without a lot of permission is Alpha.”
    Just as I’d confirmed for the C.I.A. folks the other day. I wasn’t sure if they were involved, but I was willing to accept only one coincidence per Operation, and Alicia being in Paris when this all started was it. Not that I had a clue yet if they were actually involved, had shared this info, or had an alternate plan running we’d find out about along the way. The fun truly never stopped for us.
    “So it’s the usual destroy Alpha team ploy. Not seeing a connection. Or a motive.” Walker’s eyes weren’t closed, but I could tell he was willing to see if he could figure it out before Hughes. Healthy competition was never a problem. It was the unhealthy competition I was worried about.
    “No,” Joe said. He was standing behind Lorraine, rubbing her shoulders. “Because there are easier ways to get rid of them than having them in lockdown. Besides, look at Kitty. It’s the drug that’s the root of this plan, right?”
    “I’m pretty damn sure, yeah.”
    “But if they don’t want to destroy Alpha, what do they want to use the drug for?” Jerry sounded thoughtful.
    “Florida was a lot of plans, but they all led back to the same guy.” Brian was getting in on the act. Serene was on his lap. I stared at her.
    “What, Kitty?” She looked down. “Is there something on me?”
    “No, in you. In me, you, Jamie, Jeff, and Christopher.” I looked at my mother. “A superhuman, superalien drug. Mom, what would that be worth on the black market?”
    She snorted. “You wouldn’t have to black market it. Every government would pay billions to get their hands on it. The bidding war would be insane.” Mom looked at me, and her face drained of color.
    Hughes’ eyes opened. “Oh, shit. Well, there’s the motive.” He looked at me. “But why all the elaborate steps?”
    “Originally? To get us out of the way and set up the Diplomatic Corps to oust the Sovereign Pontifex or insist he demand the patent rights be turned over to Gaultier International or whoever the Corps thinks is in charge. Now? Well, now they have the hostages they need to force the patent-holders to give up those rights.”
    I looked around, everyone looked blank. “Okay, here’s what’s going on and why. The stuff with Amy was to get us all herded into place. The stuff with Sheila was to enforce our fears and pull in anyone else who might still be loose. This would have worked great if Tim’s girlfriend hadn’t been in Paris waiting for a standby flight.”
    “But Tim’s captured, and that’s why Alpha’s in trouble.” Lorraine sounded confused.
    “Tim being out is the only reason we know what’s going on.”
    Hughes nodded. “They were never after any of us originally, they just wanted us out of the way, right?”
    “Originally, I think so, yeah. See, the one thing no one ever asked during Operation Drug Addict was who, exactly, made the Club Fifty-One drug cocktail they gave to Serene and Jeff.”
    “It was based on drugs we were working on for NASA,” Serene said.
    “Based on. Movies based on books have an original book they look at. So, who put the drug together the first time, in the combination and strength to affect Serene and Jeff biologically?”
    “Wasn’t NASA,” Brian said.
    “I’m betting it was Gaultier International, or some subsidiary branch.”
    “Not sure, but Alfred said—” Brian stopped speaking and looked at me in horror. “Oh, my God.”

 
    CHAPTER 48
     
    “Y OU THINK ALFRED IS INVOLVED in this?” Mom sounded shocked.
    “No. Alfred holds the freaking patents on everything the A-Cs do out of NASA. Because the Martinis are royalty, right? But when they got here, they landed in Capitalism Unlimited. I’m sure it was an easy decision, since Alfred already had scientific aptitude, to send the patents through him—meant he would maintain wealth and, for this country, that would equal our version of royalty. Jeff said they use his family’s home as one of their showcases for humans. The Embassy