CHAPTER 13
“EXCUSE ME?”
“This isn’t officially sanctioned,” Melville explained. “The Chief doesn’t want you bothered over some nut job. But we,” he indicated himself, Larry, and Curly, “think you need to talk to her. She’s saying that she has information you’ll want.”
“We want to sneak you in,” Officer Larry said. “So that no one knows you’re coming to the police station. And then sneak you back here.”
“I approve of the sneaking,” Vance said.
“So, Potentially Casey is still in the station?” I asked.
Melville nodded. “She’s still being processed and if she’s who we think she is, we’ll have to turn her over to your mother’s agency anyway.”
“Good point. Okay, so I’m all for verifying if it’s her. Because if it is her, then she may indeed have a message for me. That said message might just be ‘we all still hate you’ is likely, but, hey, it could be worthwhile intel.”
“I’d like to know why Gutermuth threw her under the bus,” Vance said. “You verified that she was still working with both Club Fifty-One and the Mastermind. Why would they disown her now?”
“Yeah, because I can guarantee that Casey’s still a True Believer. Well, I guess that’s part of why I’m going to go to the police station. So, we need Len and Kyle, and I’d like Manfred, too.”
Len Parker and Kyle Constantine were, officially, my driver and bodyguard and had been since we’d arrived in D.C. They worked for the CIA and reported to Chuckie. Well, now everyone reported to Chuckie, but back in the day, they’d reported into his division and him directly. I’d met them in Vegas during Operation Invasion, they and the rest of the USC football team had helped me out, and they’d chosen the career of Kitty Wrangling over going pro. There were many days I questioned their career choices, but never a day I wasn’t happy they were with me.
Manfred was an A-C troubadour assigned as the head of my Centaurion protection detail, meaning that he, like Colette, undoubtedly answered up and into Serene’s A-C CIA. He was a great guy and rarely if ever complained about who he was stuck babysitting.
“What about the rest of us?” Vance asked.
“Nancy and Abner will stay here.” Neither one was good in a fight, neither one knew Casey or any of our other potential Crazed Lunatics who might be this prisoner, and I preferred to leave the easy hostages safely at home, call me overcautious. “Vance, you’ll need to go back to the meeting and run interference while representing our FLOTUS interests. Colette, you’ll be with me.” Keep the A-Cs close was my motto, and it was a good one because hyperspeed remained the best superpower going.
“Sounds right,” Vance said as he sent some texts, while Colette looked pleased, Mrs. Maurer looked disappointed, and Abner visibly relaxed.
“We also need to bring along my Secret Service detail, at least some of them. Though I know we need to ask them to allow us to be stealth rather than trumpeting that I’m coming or going.”
“I’m ready to faint to hear that you plan to bring us along on whatever the latest mad scheme of yours is.” Evalyne, the head of my Secret Service detail, definitely had a sarcasm knob and, like my mother’s, hers went well past eleven on the one-to-ten scale.
“I think we misheard.” Phoebe was the second in command of the detail, and she, too, was honing her sarcastic abilities. “There’s no way Kitty was saying she wanted to bring us versus ditch us.”
“Wow, I’m almost sorry I was behaving, since you both seem so disappointed.” Looked behind them. I had four male Secret Service agents, too, but they were nowhere in evidence. Well, realistically, I had a lot of agents assigned—no one worked 24/7 unless they were A-C Security. I always had a team of six if I left the White House Complex unless, as mentioned, I’d managed to ditch them. However, due to the fact that Jeff and I were pretty much winning the Worst People To Guard Ever Award on a regular basis, there were times when it was just easier to have them come along, and this certainly seemed like one of them.
“It’s just the shock of it all,” Evalyne said. “I’m waiting for the roof to collapse or something.”
“Hilarious. Anyway, where are the dudes? Not that I think we actually want them along.”
Len and Kyle trotted in, and Manfred zipped in right behind them. “You wanted us, Mister Beaumont?” Len asked, while Kyle gave a little wave in Colette’s direction. She beamed at him, but quickly went back to looking professional and nodded to Manfred, who I figured she’d advised to show up pronto. Len looked at Melville. “What’s wrong and what’s going on?”
“Never let it be said that my boys are slow or stupid.” The situation was explained for all our new arrivals. “So, I think we need to get over there as unobtrusively as possible. Which probably means via a gate.”
Gates were devices that resembled airport metal detectors but sent you wherever in the world you needed to go in a matter of seconds. They had been, were still, and probably always would be the bane of my existence, because I’d never gone through one yet that hadn’t made me totally nauseated, or worse. My suggesting the gates, especially when Jeff wasn’t going to be along to hold me through the horror, was me totally taking one for the team.
“What about Mister Buchanan?” Kyle asked.
“Or Mister Wruck and Mister Siler,” Len added. “You know they don’t like you leaving without them knowing.”
“Dudes, seriously. I have three K-Nine units, you two, Manfred and Colette, and Evalyne and Phoebe, and we’re going to a police station that will be loaded with cops. Frankly, I feel that I’m working on the Overkill Level for security right now. We will be in and out fast. Just check out the new crazy chick prisoner, see if we know her, determine who of our Rogues’ Gallery she happens to be, interrogate or additionally incarcerate her, and leave. This is our plan. It’s a simple plan and, hopefully, a fast plan. Why bother those dealing with other gigantic issues? We’ll be back before they notice we’re gone if we’re using gates.”
“We have a gate where we’re going,” Melville said. “Your people installed it when your husband became the Vice President. So you can get back as unobtrusively as we’ll be going over.”
“See? Easy peasey. So let’s get going.” Realized I’d let slip that something big was going on and hoped no one had picked that up.
“What gigantic issues?” Mrs. Maurer asked. Dang, someone had noticed that particular informational slip.
“Um, I’m not sure if I’m at liberty to say at this precise time.”
“You’re not,” Vance said flatly. “I was still in the LSR when your husband shared what’s coming. We’re supposed to keep it on the DL.” The rest of those in the room looked at him balefully. Vance was unfazed. “You feel free to take it up with the President, his Chief of Staff, and the Director of the CIA.”
“DL means down low,” Abner said quietly to Mrs. Maurer.
Who shot him a look that could freeze milk. “Thank you so much for sharing, young man. I’m sure that I’ve never heard that abbreviation ever before in all my days, which are double all your days.”
“Sorry, just wasn’t sure you knew,” he mumbled, blushing.
Mrs. Maurer sniffed. “I’d wager I know what more acronyms mean than you do, worldwide. However, we’ll let it slide and stay here in ignorance together.”
“I can tell you once they leave.” Vance jerked his head toward the K-9 crew.
“What?” Melville asked, sarcasm knob clearly heading toward eleven. “Are more aliens invading or something?”