Alien Tango

that we can see,” I explained to Brian. “Maybe whatever hit the capsule is giving you hallucinations.”
    He shook his head. “They’re real. I can see them. Get away from her!” he shouted at something.
    Martini was back next to me in an instant. “The other astronauts see them, none of us do. What’re you panicking about?” he asked Brian.
    “They’re trying to get Kitty!” Brian sounded close to hysterical.
    It was unlikely to work, and I had no idea if there were any invisible beings there anyway, but since I’d had success using this method with other evil beings from space, I figured what the hell. I dug into my purse, pulled out my hairspray, and sent a stream of it around me and Martini, making sure to not get it in his face.
    Martini coughed. “Why?”
    “Just in case.”
    “It worked,” Brian said, voice filled with relief. “They backed off.”
    “Extra hold gets them every time.” I flipped the bottle around before I put it back into my purse.
    “Nice shootin’, Tex,” Martini said. “But does that mean we have invisible superbeings or that your boy here’s insane and just thinks you scared the ghosts away?”
    Another thought niggled. “Brian, do you recognize any of these people?”
    He looked intently at what still looked like nothing to me. “Not really . . . but they seem familiar.”
    Christopher had come over and heard this exchange. He went back to check with the other astronauts. He returned looking thoughtful. “Chee’s the oldest of the three of them, and he says he recognizes some people walking by. However, he thinks he’s wrong about it.”
    “Why so?”
    “Because everyone who looks familiar to him is dead.”
    After finding out aliens and superbeings existed, the presence of ghosts seemed normal. “So, does that mean whatever hit the Valiant is causing the astronauts to see dead people, or is it really bringing the dead people here?”
    “Let’s ask Chee.” Martini nodded to Brian. “Be right back. Shout if any more ghosts are trying to get my girl.”
    Brian gave Martini a dirty look. “I’ll be sure to.”
    “Jeff, why are you being such a jerk to him?” I asked as we moved to Chee’s holding cell.
    He snorted. “Can’t imagine.”
    Chee was at his window. “I recognize at least a dozen people.”
    “Did you know them?”
    He shook his head. “Not personally. But the ones I know were all astronauts who’ve died.”
    “In space?”
    “No, on the ground, so to speak. Either in a crash, in an accident on the ground or just due to natural causes. Not everyone dies from an exploding rocket, you know.”
    I let this one pass. “So they’re haunting the building?”
    “I don’t think so.” Chee, like Brian, was staring at nothing. “They’re really attracted to you.” I pulled out my hairspray. “No, wait. I don’t think they want to hurt you.”
    “What do they want?”
    “I . . . can’t tell.”
    I sprayed. “Better safe than sorry.”
    Christopher, Martini, and Gower all coughed. “We’re sorry,” Christopher said. “Does that count?”
    “I want to talk to Michael. Be right back,” I said to Chee.
    He shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    We reached Michael’s cell. He seemed agitated. “Why are they out and we’re not?”
    “What are they doing?”
    “Staring at us. At you in particular.” He grinned. “Can’t blame them.”
    “Are they all men?”
    “No, several women, too.” He rubbed his forehead. “Look, all three of us aren’t crazy at the same time.”
    “No, but you could all be affected by something at the same time,” Gower said. “None of us can see anything, and Daniel says he recognizes some of the people you’re seeing. The ones he recognizes are dead.”
    “Do you know Karl Smith?”
    “Not well, but yeah.” Michael looked at the group. “I don’t see him here, though.”
    “How about an older, heavyset Cuban cleaning lady?”
    He looked. “Nope.”
    “This gets weirder by the minute.” I closed my eyes. I could feel something kicking in my brain. “Michael, all of you thought something bad had happened to the Valiant , but you all thought it was a different thing. And none of you remember doing the landing the way it really happened—you all remember it like it was in a simulator.”
    “Right. So?”
    “So . . . I’m wondering if every person you’re seeing was in space at some time. Not just the ones Daniel recognizes, but all of them.” I looked at Gower. “Any way