Alien Proliferation

had the grace to look sheepish. “Love you both. Touched by the display, as always. Tired, cranky, worried about my girlfriend, who’s sitting there in total freaking shock since we have just turned her world upside down, worried about my mother and, realistically, everyone else, too.”
    “Why?” This was from Amy. “They’re after, I guess, Chuck and your mother. Who else would be in danger?”
    I sighed. “Ames, in the world as I now know it, everything’s an elaborate ruse to gain power. And you’re sitting at the heart of much of that power everyone’s trying to get their grubby mitts on.”
    “But we’re in a high-class medical center-hotel combo for pregnant celebrities.” She looked around. “That’s what they said.”
    “Who said?” Jeff and Christopher couldn’t lie, and there was no way they’d come up with that one on their own.
    Tim whistled softly while looking at the ceiling.
    “Spill it.”
    He looked at me and grinned. “You know, her room is right by mine and all. Not my fault I ran into her in the hallway. She was freaked out and confused. Seemed the best way to keep her calm.”
    “Lying to me?” Amy sounded outraged.
    “Tim’s a human. You can spot them, normally, because they will be average to good-looking but not quite as good-looking as the A-Cs. My boys are, needless to say, hotter than most humans. I hire based on looks.”
    This earned me a lot of laughs and “we love you” looks from Tim and the flyboys. Tito, who had arrived now, just grinned and moved me back into bed. Funny thing was, I wasn’t lying. Tim was the most average of all our guys and he was pretty darned cute. For a human.
    “Humans can also lie. A-Cs cannot. At least not believably. At all. It’s a great trait, believe me.”
    Reader laughed. “Yeah, it’s great during fights, too.”
    Amy looked more closely. “Oh, my God. I recognize you! You’re that guy who did the Calvin Klein ad a few years ago that had all that controversy over it. Kitty and I both had that spread up in our rooms for months.”
    Didn’t look at Jeff for that reveal. Hey, Reader was gorgeous. Sue me for lusting after him in his Calvin’s. Me and every straight woman and gay man in America.
    Reader flashed the cover-boy smile. “Yep, that’s me.” He walked into the room and over to my mother. “My turn.” She laughed and passed him the baby. He cuddled her. “Where’s Sol?”
    “Getting the pets,” Mom said with a sigh. “He has a contingent of four agent teams with him,” she added to my mouth opening. “The Lewises are here, too, just getting settled in. Kevin’s pulling in the rest of our team. As always, threat to one is likely to mean threat to all.”
    “This sounds so much like Operation Fugly. I’m getting all nostalgic.”
    Reader laughed and moved next to me. He bent down and whispered in my ear. “Then place your bets for the love connection, girlfriend.”

 
    CHAPTER 18
     
    I LOOKED AROUND. Amy was our new girl. Had no guess as to whom she could potentially hook up with out of this group. Tim was spoken for and pretty darned happy with his girlfriend Alicia, who was a human. It was almost exotic for our group, two humans dating.
    Joe Billings and Randy Muir were married, to Lorraine and Claudia, respectively. They came into the room and insisted on baby holding. Jeff started to get antsy, but at least it took his attention off of Chuckie.
    The single guys started to make baby-holding noises, and Jeff lost it. “No, that’s enough. She’s not even a day old yet, enough with the handling.” He snatched her out of Randy’s hands.
    Mom laughed. “Jeff, the baby will be fine.”
    “Huh.” He was cuddling her and had a very possessive look on his face.
    “Jeff, come here.” I patted the bed. “Sit down so we can try to get the story out of Amy.” He did, making sure to sit on the side that blocked Chuckie from me. I just laughed and took Jamie from him. Reader sat down behind me, and I leaned against him. “Ames, really, try to give us all the details.”
    “Hang on,” Christopher said. “My father’s not here yet.”
    “I asked Gladys to call him.” Hated the funny feeling this gave me.
    “Com on!” Jeff was in Commander-mode.
    “Here, Commander Martini.”
    “Gladys, where is the Pontifex?”
    “He said he had a meeting he had to attend, Commander.”
    “At any of our Bases?”
    “No, Commander. Off-site.”
    “Why did you let him leave?”
    “Commander Katt