Alien Proliferation

cover for him. So, spitballing on this one, but he grabs a bag and flings all the CDs in it he can, figuring, rightly, that he’ll be able to give me a message somewhere along the way that only I will be able to understand.”
    “I can’t believe you two use this kind of code.” Chuckie seemed to be wavering between disgusted and impressed.
    “You didn’t figure it out. And no A-C would have a chance.”
    “We still don’t know if you’ve got it. Please, go on.”
    “In order to claim Alicia’s luggage, Tim would need some proof that he was authorized to get it. Presumably, an ID or something of hers that was at her place. So he goes there. He tries to call me again, I don’t answer. I’m guessing that her place was not ransacked before he got there, but by the time he’s there, he’s feeling sure that they’re going to be after her, and he’s pretty sure he knows who ‘they’ are. So he takes the Friend or Foe case and sticks in our wedding CD. It’s someone we know, and they were at or around our wedding. Meaning that Amy’s out as the mole, Chuckie.”
    “Prove it definitively.”
    Kevin nodded. “Your mother and I aren’t convinced either, Kitty.”
    “Working on it, guys. Tim heads for the airport. Two reasons, now. Get backup; get to Alicia, the hell with her luggage. We had two agents there. Because they were assigned by Christopher, they weren’t called off. So they’re dutiful A-Cs, they’re waiting. Tim knows the bathrooms of choice, he finds them, or calls them, or something, but they connect.”
    “How do you know?”
    “They’re in Florida. Geez, pay attention, Chuckie. They take a gate and head to New York. I’d assume they go to MacArthur, since it’s the airport on Long Island. They hyperspeed over to Alicia’s family’s house. Thank God, everyone’s alive and well.Tim bundles them into a car—remember, Alicia doesn’t know there are aliens on the planet. He knows that the enemy will be aware he’s out of lockdown and after Alicia, so he’s got to leave me a clue at her parents’ house. So he makes sure I know this is about the Al Dejahl situation and then tells me where he’s going.”
    “I get the Al Dejahl connection— Madman Across the Water . But the directions?” Jeff wasn’t arguing, just asking.
    “Fountains of Wayne are a New York-based band, and their songs are really East Coast focused. The advantage of that particular CD is that the titles of the songs are clues for what’s going on. I’m not going to list every damn song, just trust me that Tim was telling me that the weather sucked, so they would be on the road, and that he was heading to Florida, because it was safer.”
    “No way they had time to drive from Long Island to Florida,” Reader said.
    “I’m sure they didn’t. I’m also sure the agents called for a floater gate calibrated to Martini Manor. Gladys?”
    “Yes, Commander, I’ve confirmed with Alfred.”
    “So Tim went for the gate because it was expose the truth or risk Alicia and her parents being killed. His cell phone took a bullet; my guess is it was while he was driving, meaning they were being pursued. He has Alicia’s phone because she doesn’t need it. But she was in Paris and delayed several days, didn’t charge it or didn’t have the right adapter to be able to charge it, and it’s dead now, too.”
    “What about the other agents, who we can’t raise on the phones?” Chuckie’s eyes were narrowed.
    “When Reid was pursuing me, he was tracking me based on my cell. I know Tim remembers that event. Figure they got rid of their phones or turned them off, for whatever reason.”
    “Commander, Alfred confirms that the Young family was pursued. They don’t know by whom, they’re still dealing with the gate transference.”
    “Don’t let the agent teams with them do anything to alter what they’re seeing. We need them to remember whatever they can.”
    “Alfred agrees, Commander.”
    “Please have him ask Alicia if she knows whether Tim was heading to East Base or to D.C.”
    There was a pause. “How did Tim get the D.C. team to him?” Chuckie’s eyes were closed.
    “Phone. Probably had one of the agents at Saguaro International contact the other teams. I mean, we do it all the time. Nothing Tim’s doing is out of the ordinary for us. He’s just doing it alone.”
    “At the worst possible time,” Jeff muttered.
    “Really? Alicia and her parents are alive, I’d guess just barely. I’m with