Alien vs. Alien

Evan unprotected, but we have no idea how long he’ll be sitting in the street, waiting for me to return.”
    “And if he’s loyal to the senator, or merely unaware of what’s going on, he’s in danger,” White added.
    “If you tell him to go home and he’s working with our enemies, then it’ll tip them off,” Buchanan said.
    “Mister Joel Oliver went off to do distraction duty.” No answer from Jeff. Sent a text to Chuckie.
    “That doesn’t mean they followed him,” Buchanan said patiently. “And it also doesn’t mean there was only one person or team watching us. We have to assume we’re still being watched.”
    “Fine. In that case, let me remind you that our limos have special extras installed.”
    “But the senator’s limo will be less obvious,” Buchanan countered.
    “You want us in a car without a laser shield, Malcolm?” I wasn’t sure I wanted us in a car without a laser shield. Especially since Chuckie hadn’t answered, either.
    Buchanan looked thoughtful. “Yeah, I do. Senator, please tell your driver to pull into the Embassy’s parking garage so that we can all load in unobtrusively.”
    “If there’s a bomb in that limo, then that’s what they want.”
    “I understand why you’re worried about that, Missus Chief. However, while we were in Florida, some special equipment was installed in the garage.”
    “How special?”

    “Spot-any-and-all-of-the-bad-things-put-into-the-vehicles special. Some of it’s experimental, but it’s A-C experimental.”
    “How do you know about all this? You were in Florida with us.”
    He gave me a look I could only think of as pained. “Yes. I was. We weren’t cut off from all communications.”
    “Oh. Good point. I’m distracted.”
    “Use whatever excuse makes you happy, Missus Chief. Senator, let’s get your man into the garage.”
    While Senator Armstrong called his driver, Buchanan went upstairs to make sure Walter had all the new garage scanning equipment up and running, and I checked my phone. Still no reply from either Jeff or Chuckie.
    “You look worried,” White said.
    “I am worried. I sent texts to Jeff and Chuckie, and they haven’t replied. Now I’m wondering if I should call them.”
    “It might set your mind at ease,” White offered.
    “It might disrupt them at a bad time, too.”
    “And it might give them a chance to tell you not to go to the Festival,” Tito added.
    “Oh, Tito, good point. I’ll wait until we’re actually at the Mall to call in a panic.”
    “You work well under pressure,” Buchanan said as he rejoined us. “Walter cleared the senator’s limo—it’s clean inside though he mentioned it could use a trip to the carwash. However, dirty cars aren’t a crime, and there’s nothing dangerous in the dirt, so let’s get to the garage.”
    “We can test the dirt?”
    “Amazing, isn’t it? What
will
those crazy kids from Alpha Four think up next?”
    “You’re in an interesting mood.” I looked at his expression. “What sneaky thing are you planning, Malcolm?”
    “You wound me, Missus Chief. And disappoint me.”
    “You mean you’re upset that I haven’t already figured it out yet. Fine. Let’s get Jeff’s beloved parrot and get moving.”
    The temptation to leave Bellie at the Embassy and thus make her Walter’s problem, regardless of Jeff’s likely reaction to the idea, was strong. Despite the presence of some of the Peregrines, she’d clearly regained her nerve and normal personality.
    Bellie refused to sit on my shoulder. She refused to let me touch her. She freaked out at Buchanan, screaming that she belonged to Jeff. She almost took Armstrong’s hand off, even though she’d cawed his name out as though they were long lost besties—he escaped losing fingers to the Beak of Doom only because Buchanan pulled him back at the last moment. She tried the same with Tito, but he’d learned and kept himself far enough away that Bellie missed taking off his hand by a wide margin.
    No, the avian beast only deigned to sit on White’s shoulder. I took this to mean Bellie was aware of who the highest-ranking male was in whatever room she was in and, since she clearly had her standards, would only be with him.
    Once our horrible parrot was taken care of, Buchanan headed for the stairway that took us down to the garage, which was not the stairway that took us down to the basement. Bellie was mercifully silent, no doubt because White was giving her a lot of attention and more