Alien Tango

Florida. He took in five hours’ worth of the stuff.”
    “Oh, my God. That would explain it. And it’s replicating inside him.” She sounded out of breath.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Running at hyperspeed.”
    “Good plan. I’m going to get back to the Base.”
    “Okay, meet you there, somewhere.”
    We hung up, and I put my phone away as I turned back to Chuckie. So I didn’t see the gun he was holding at waist height until I looked up. “Interesting wrinkle.” I didn’t know what else to say.
    He wasn’t smiling and he looked deadly. “Kitty, it’s time.”

CHAPTER 67
    “TIME OR WHAT? I was too close to have a hope of getting out of the way if Chuckie pulled the trigger.
    He moved faster than I’d remembered him having the ability to do, grabbed me with his free hand, and flung me behind him as he fired. “Time to get out of here.” He spun and started running, dragging me along.
    I looked behind us. “Is that our waiter?”
    “Yes. He’s not looking for a better tip.” This was true. He was carrying a gun and firing back. Chuckie flung me around the side of a building, used it as a shield and fired again. “Do you have a car here?”
    “Yes. But my keys and valet stub are in my room.”
    He cursed. “Okay, Plan B.”
    “You don’t have a car?”
    “I assume my car’s rigged by now.”
    “You know, they could be after me.”
    “They are after you! But I’m not stupid enough to assume they’re not after me, too.”
    “Oh.” I ducked down and risked a look at our would-be killer. He was running toward us, and as he went under a lamppost, I gasped and flung myself back. “That’s Shannon the Toothless Weasel!”
    “Who?” Chuckie stopped firing, dropped the clip, put in another, fired once more, then grabbed me and started running again.
    “He’s a nobody in Club 51. One of the guys who was trying to blow us up when we were leaving from Saguaro International. But he was arrested by the Feds. I don’t know how he got out.”
    “I do. Reid.” We ran around another building and he cursed. “That wrong number you got earlier? I’ll bet it was one of them, confirming where you were and that you were with your phone.”
    “Come again?”
    “Satellite technology, you can track via cell phones.” He looked at me. “A-C technology at the core.” We were headed to the valet area. There was a convertible Porsche in front of us. “Get in.” He shoved me toward the passenger’s seat. “No, dammit, don’t. It’s a stick.”
    “ You get in,” I said, as I slid over the hood. “Unlike you, I’m a real driver.” Keys were in the ignition, great. I started it as he leaped in, and we peeled out, valets and Shannon running after us. “Okay, I’m now in for grand theft auto. What’s going on?”
    “You tell me. They’re after you.”
    “Why are you here?”
    Chuckie made a sound similar to the one Martini always did when I frustrated him. “I told you. I came to propose. I thought it would be romantic.”
    “It was. Seven months ago would have been better timing.” Bullets whizzed by, and I looked in the rearview mirror. “Oh, great. They have a humongous Escalade, and it seems to have something extra under the hood.” More bullets flew past, one of which hit the left side-view mirror. “We took a convertible why?”
    “It was there and it’s a damn sports car. I should think you could outrun an SUV in this.”
    “I can. It’s the several police cars I’m having a hard time with. Turn on the radio.”
    Chuckie cursed impressively. “You don’t have any identification on you, do you? I mean that lists you as a federal officer?”
    “Yes, in my purse.” He opened it.“That’s my handbag, however. Turn on the radio. Classic rock, KSLX or something.”
    “Well, we have cash for bribes. If they’re really cheap cops. The radio why?”
    “You want to survive? I need tunes.” He cursed again but turned it on. The owner was a kindred spirit, or God did love me. The deejay announced a twelve-song block, and Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” came on. “Turn it up.” He did.
    I downshifted. In for a dime, in for a dollar, right? “They aren’t going to be a problem.” I floored it, ran a red light, and skidded us onto the 101 Freeway. This was one of Pueblo Caliente’s newer freeways, and the joke was that the speed limit was the same as the name. I intended to break that limit.
    It wasn’t my car, but it was pretty good. We screamed down