Alien Tango

either.
    “I didn’t think intermarriages were allowed,” Mom said.
    “Under a variety of circumstances, the Office of the Pontifex has been reconsidering its position.” White took me out of Reader’s arms and hugged me. “Not tomorrow, but soon,” he whispered.
    I heard the unmistakable sound of big guns being cocked. I reached out and took Reader’s hand, just in case. White took my other hand in his. I saw Martini poised by my father and Christopher by my mother.
    “Police! Put your hands in the air!”
    We did, though White and Reader didn’t drop my hands, and I saw Christopher had Mom’s and Martini had Dad’s.
    A voice boomed out via loudspeaker. “Officers, you are interfering in a federal investigation. Put your weapons down.” Sounded like Kevin, really pissed.
    None of the guns moved.
    A different voice came out via a different loudspeaker. “Officers, this is Colonel Franklin of the United States Air Force. Put your weapons down or we will put them down for you.”
    “We’re pretty popular,” I said to White.
    “I’ve always told you to never complain about having extra backup.”
    “Yes, wise man. No argument. You just tend to roll with a lot more big guns than I ever get to.”
    “You’re impetuous. I’m not.” White sighed. “The police seem unwilling to cooperate.”
    Yet another voice boomed out. “This is Major General Mortimer Katt of the United States Marines. We suggest you listen to Colonel Franklin’s orders because you are surrounded and we are getting impatient with your stubbornness.”
    “Uncle Mort’s here?” I hissed to Dad.
    “What, you were being pursued by crazed murderers and you didn’t think I’d make the call?”
    The police still weren’t moving.
    A man got out of the expensive helicopter. I recognized his shape. He sauntered over to the policeman with the bullhorn and put a badge in his face. “Stand down! Federal officers!” Finally, the guns weren’t pointing at us.
    Chuckie took the bullhorn. “I want all police, highway patrol, sheriff, and news teams on the ground, by the Escalade, and I want them assembled in three minutes. Can the Marines please ensure that all requested parties comply?” There was a scramble, and a bunch of guys sort of appeared out of the landscape.
    “Where the hell were they when I needed them?”
    Reader laughed. “From what we could tell, you were breaking land speed records. They were probably just trying to catch up. Just be glad Kevin had the presence of mind to monitor the police bands—it’s the only way we had a clue of what was going on.”
    Chuckie came over to us. “Oh, put your hands down, please. Angela, good to see you.”
    “Always nice to get a visit from the only C.I.A. bigwig I can stand,” Mom said.
    “C.I.A.? You said you were in the ET Division!”
    Chuckie shrugged. “I am. It’s the ET Division of the C.I.A.” He grinned. “We don’t always see eye-to-eye with Centaurion or the P.T.C.U.”
    The realization that the “new head guy” at the C.I.A. Martini hadn’t wanted me to meet was the guy I’d known since ninth grade was irony I wasn’t emotionally up to handling just now.
    I almost mentioned that he’d lied to me but decided against it. It was going to be miserable enough explaining to Martini what was going on with Chuckie and me. I didn’t need to make it worse.
    “Mr. White,” Chuckie was addressing Christopher, not Richard. “If you wouldn’t mind altering all the footage?”
    “Giving us orders as usual?” Christopher snapped.
    Chuckie shrugged. “They have far more information on tape than I believe any of our organizations want made available to the public. Please ensure that you show Leventhal Reid to be acting recklessly while under the influence of methamphetamines and in the presence of a known drug dealer.” He pointed to Shannon’s body. “Since I’m sure the world knows of the high-speed chase by now, just make it good and lurid.”
    “Why?”
    “He’s a known user, and it’ll make the story fly better through the channels I’ll have to send it. Besides, politicians behaving badly goes over well with the media.”
    Christopher gave Chuckie a curt nod and then signaled toward a couple of the zillion and one helicopters. A bunch of A-Cs poured out and went with him over to the news choppers.
    “Big job?” I asked White.
    “Worse than when you killed your first superbeing,” he said with a chuckle.
    “Mr. Martini, is it safe to assume