Alien vs. Alien

seemed worth almost any price, let alone one that had made me more able to kick butt. And I felt like I needed to kick butt right now.
    Jeff was still asleep, and I really wondered if I was dreaming. He normally woke up if I was moving around too much. And we’d been apart for a month—I would have thought my moving would have woken him up faster right now. A part of me wanted to let him sleep, but all the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. I nudged him and put my hand over his mouth.
    I could feel him wake up and nod against my hand. Felt him move to look around the room, then he sat us up slowly. “What is it?” he whispered in my ear.
    “No idea,” I answered in the same way. “But I feel like we’re about to be attacked.”
    He nodded, slipped out of the bed, and hypersped into the nursery. He was back with Jamie in his arms. I took her, she seemed fine. Several of the Poofs came along for the ride. Still nothing.
    I was about to apologize for clearly being overly dramatic when Harlie and Poofikins both growled and went large. They were facing the bedroom door and were in major protection mode. Jeff grabbed me and hypersped me and Jamie to the closet. We dressed quickly in the blue pajama bottoms and white t-shirts that were standard A-C nightclothes. We both put on slippers, too, just in case. Then Jeff put me and Jamie behind him.
    The other Poofs were awake now, and to a one they were growling. We had a lot of Poofs, and that meant the growls were loud. The dogs, sensing that the game was afoot, all stood up. They were growling low, too, but not barking, which, for our dogs, was extremely unusual.
    Jamie’s Poof hadn’t gone large, but it was quivering and I got the feeling it was waiting for some signal from Harlie, who was the head Poof. The rest of the Poofs were also still small, but I got the impression they were also waiting for Harlie to give them some kind of Poof Enlargement Go-Ahead.
    The intercom crackled to life. “Chiefs, are you awake?”
    “Yes, Walt. All the Poofs are on major alert.”
    “Mine, too.” I’d insisted on Walter getting a Poof. He’d been so thrilled it had almost been embarrassing. Walter was determined to be the best Embassy Head of Security ever. I really liked Walter. Walter didn’t have a problem with his Poof being on his shoulder, either.
    “Can you spot anything?” Jeff asked, his Commander voice on. He’d been the Head of Field Operations for all A-Cs worldwide for over a dozen years, and a man didn’t lose his authority just because he’d changed jobs. At least, mine didn’t. Commander, Chief, really same thing, right?
    “Sensors show nothing, sir. All cameras are on, and they show no activity in the general areas or outside the building. I’ve checked with the other residents. All Poofs are awake and growling. All personnel are awake and prepared for attack.”
    I considered. It was late enough that it was safe to assume that everyone had been in bed. It was a safer assumption that anyone who’d been naked wasn’t any more. So that meant we were all in our nightclothes. I didn’t call that prepared. “Jeff, do you think it’s someone coming in through the secret tunnel?”
    “Reynolds insists he’s got that secured. So unless he’s completely incompetent—and before you snarl at me, I know he isn’t—I don’t think we’re being infiltrated from that source.”
    “Mister Reynolds is in the Embassy, as are Abigail and Naomi Gower,” Walter shared. “They were here late, and Doctor Hernandez and Former Pontifex White insisted they all sleep here.”
    “Same issues with their Poofs?” I asked.
    “Yes, ma’am, Chief.”
    “This is bizarre.”
    “Chief, Doctor Hernandez is asking if you think this is Jamie’s doing.”
    Tito had good cause to ask. Jamie had certainly made things interesting the night before she’d been born, or what I liked to call the start of Operation Confusion.
    Jeff put his hand onto her head. “I don’t get anything from her that’s wrongtha

    “Could she have had a nightmare that triggered all this?”
    “She was fast asleep and looked happy when I got her, baby. Walter, tell Tito I really don’t think it’s Jamie.” He closed his eyes. “It’s not Ezra, either.” We weren’t sure yet if Doreen and Irving’s son had special A-C talents, or extraspecial ones for that matter.
    “Chiefs, I’ve alerted Gladys to our situation.” Gladys was the overall Head of Security. She housed