Alien Tango

him to make you do what they want.”
    She was quiet again. “He’s asleep. He’s fine.”
    “Serene . . . look for Turco and Taft.”
    “They’re not nearby.”
    One small thing—they were presumably still under lock and key and far away. But that just meant people she didn’t know were close by. “Serene, do you have hyperspeed?”
    “Yes, but I can only run five miles.”
    “We’re fifty away,” Martini said softly. “If she’s where we all think she is.”
    “Okay . . . we’re coming to you. Me, Jeff, Christopher, and Brian, at least. Maybe more, maybe our whole team.”
    “But, you don’t know where I am.”
    “Lighthouse.” The three of us said it in unison.
    “Oh. Yeah.”
    I looked at Christopher. “Get the others awake and dressed, pronto.” He disappeared. “Jeff, put on a shirt and shoes. Serene, are you at the top?” I pulled on socks and my Converse. They were still gross, but I had a feeling they were going to get grosser soon.
    “Yes, so I can see better, both ways.”
    “Okay . . . is anyone there with you?”
    “No.” She sounded uncertain. “Well, I did hear something while I was waiting for you to call back. But I didn’t pay a lot of attention.” Because she was watching me and Martini do triple-X porn, but that was beside the point. “There might be someone at the base, but I can’t tell.”
    “Serene, I’m the head of all Field operations.” Martini’s Commander voice was activated. “This is now officially a Field situation, and I’m giving you a direct order. Do you understand?”
    “Yes.” She sounded scared. First sane thing she’d done all night.
    “You are not, I repeat not, to go with anyone other than those in Alpha or Airborne teams. If you don’t know them, don’t believe them. If you haven’t seen them with us, don’t trust them. Run, fight, scream, be very afraid if someone comes near you. You will come with us when we get there, but until then, your orders are to remain alive and unkidnapped.”
    “Yes, sir.” There was no irony in her voice.
    “Kitty, keep her on the phone and talking. Serene, I want you talking about Brian. No more discussions of your powers or the bombs. Start now.”
    “Okay . . . um . . . I really like Brian.”
    “No kidding. I’m taking you off speaker, it’s just going to be you and me.”
    “Okay. Am I in trouble?”
    “Girl, I’m scared to death for you, and you tried to kill me all day. You do the math.”
    “Oh, God.”
    “Prattle, okay? Talk to me as if I were Helen, like you’re telling me why you adore him, okay? Jeff wants you faking it in case they’re close to you. Don’t get so wrapped up that you stop paying attention.”
    “Okay.” She took a deep breath and started a litany of Brian’s virtues. I listened with one ear. The other was busy listening to Martini and Christopher move everyone out. Our whole team was going—we had no idea if we were safe or not, and we didn’t want our human operatives in danger. But we were going in shifts.
    Martini, Christopher, Brian, and I were going at top speed. Brian had both insisted, and it was logical—she would come to him, that was a given. A part of me wondered if we were rescuing a girl or a spooked Labrador; then I thought about it, and figured, in one sense, she was a combo. Gower, Michael, and the girls would bring everyone else. The girls had their med kits, the boys had some guns, I had my purse. Everyone was set.
    Martini grabbed my hand, Christopher grabbed Brian, and we were off, but at a speed Brian and I could handle. It was hard to hear Serene going this fast, but I could tell she was still relatively okay, because we were on to Brian’s advanced degrees and good-Catholic-boy nature.
    It was dark and I’d never been here before, so I had no idea what we were flashing past. Fifty miles for Martini and Christopher was nothing, but I was more on Serene’s level—five miles if it was a good day. Of course, if the situation called for quick bursts of speed or leaping over obstacles in the path, I was your girl.
    I kept my eyes closed in the hope that it would keep me from passing out. It allowed me to concentrate more on Serene.
    “So, um, I was wondering if you think Brian might ever like me. Or if, you know, I should go for a guy like Frank. Or even an older guy like Frank’s father.” Her voice was more urgent.
    “Oh, hell. Jeff, Howard Taft’s there!” We sped up to A-C warp speed.
    “Not right yet. But soon.”