Alien Tango

elaborate ruse thing? Or that the conspiracies were alive, well, and active?
    I couldn’t risk calling him or sending a text right now, so I tried to look at this situation as Chuckie would. He had a simple rule—find the person with the most to gain, and, as unlikely as he or she may be, that’s the head of the conspiracy.
    I didn’t have to look long or hard. Leventhal Reid was a politician, he knew the A-Cs were here, he was leading efforts to turn Centaurion Division into a military unit. Plus, he had Club 51 clearly in his pocket, and the son of the head of Club 51 working at Kennedy.
    I extracted my arm from Serene’s grasp and put it around her shoulders. “I have a feeling I’m going to be able to help. If, you know, we survive rescuing you.”
    No sooner said than I heard an exploding sound and a lot of male cursing. “Out of the car,” Reader shouted. “It’s dead.”
    Serene and I scrambled out, so did the others. “Lorraine, any speed available?”
    “No, I used it up getting to the stupid lighthouse.”
    Figured. “Serene, you have any hyperjuice left?”
    “Yes, but I can only do five miles.”
    “Good enough. Everyone, link arms, now!” I hooked with Serene, Lorraine with me, Gower, Reader, Christopher, and Martini. “Run, Serene, now.”
    She took off, and our terrified daisy chain went along with her. I looked back to see Alliflash just miss Martini’s foot. Then we were stopped, far away. Everyone collapsed. I dug out my phone and dialed. “Jerry?”
    “Where are you guys?”
    “I have no idea. On a paved road. The car is about five miles farther back, probably being eaten by alligators. Do something, anything, and pick us up.”
    “No problem. I contacted East Base, and we are now in an extended Hummer heading toward you. At least, I hope we’re heading toward you.”
    I looked down the road. “I see big headlights. Don’t go too fast—none of us can get out of the way right now.” The headlights didn’t slow. “Um, Jerry? Seriously, slow down.”
    “Uh, Kitty? Tim’s driving, and neither one of us sees any people yet.”
    Oh, hell. “Everyone up! Move, move, move! We have hostiles coming!” I got up, dragged Serene to her feet, ran to Martini and did the same to him. “Christopher, keep hold of Serene. They’re after her, trust me.”
    We took off, Lorraine and Reader both holding onto Gower. We were moving, but I realized I was actually the only one with any speed. My brain casually mentioned I was carrying something I could now use without any remorse.
    I pulled out of Martini’s grip, dug through my purse, and pulled out the Glock. “What are you doing?” he shouted at me.
    “Preparing to shoot. You all have guns. Now is really the time to use them.”
    “Actually, I don’t,” Martini said.
    “Me either,” Christopher admitted.
    “Then get behind me. That would be an order, by the way. And get ready to have to move, because if this goes right, the car’s going to be out of control.”
    Gower and Reader moved up next to me, guns out. “You know the problem with pistols is that they have to be really close for us to hit them.” Reader sounded very calm.
    “Who’s the more accurate of the two of you?”
    “Me,” Reader said.
    “Shoot out the tires. Paul, shoot the windshield.”
    “What are you aiming for, Kitty?” Gower asked.
    “The driver.”
    The car barreled toward us. Only, it wasn’t a car. It was a monster truck, with huge tires. Good and bad. “Changed my mind, take out the tires, everyone.”
    It got close enough, and we started firing. Reader and I were concentrating on the right front, Gower on the left. The right blew first, and the truck started to go wild. It skidded and flipped.
    I felt lucky, until I realized it wasn’t the only vehicle. There were two more, both sedans. They were side by side and coming right for us. We started firing again. Out of ammo, new clips in. Gower and Reader a bit faster than me since I had to find another clip in my purse.
    Got a tire on one car and the windshields on both. Out of ammo again before I could hit anyone. The car that had lost a tire slammed into the other one. Sadly, they both kept on coming toward us.
    As deaths went, this was potentially better than being eaten alive by alligators, but it was still not up there with death by orgasm. However, I didn’t see how any of us could get out of the way in time.
    Just before I screamed good-bye to everyone, the air shimmered, and Gower