The Poofs had confiscated all but two of the power cubes during Operation Destruction. Cliff had had one of the power cubes-presumably the one LaRue had brought with her from her planet-and we'd gotten that one from him, finally, at the end of Operation Epidemic. But there had been another one, one had been hidden in plain sight-in the headboard of the bed in the Embassy's isolation room. A headboard no one had paid attention to for a long time.

Until I'd gotten the Poofs and Peregrines to admit to where this last cube was. Then I'd used it, along with Gladys, on a commando mission. She'd died on that mission.

I blinked back tears and, as I did, a rakishly handsome dwarf with unnaturally bright green eyes appeared, sitting cross-legged on the hamper. Algar smiled at me. "No. It's for you."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "You use it best. And let's not kid ourselves-you're going to remain active, wife of the most powerful man in the world or not. As today's events have amply shown."

"That power's open to debate, but I'll let it slide. And, thanks, I think, for moving the headboard into my room. So, um, will you be handling the cleaning at the White House?"

"Not so much, no. It would . . . disrupt the natural functioning there. But, to reassure you, yes, you can talk to me in your closet, just like you did last week."

"I didn't know for sure if you were there."

"But you picked up the penny."

"For good luck. And thank you for that luck. Why do you want Lizzie at the White House? Is something going to happen to Siler?"

"I like her. She's a lot like you. Only her parents weren't good."

"Yes, I kind of figured, since they were willing to kill her and all that. You like a lot of people, as far as I can tell. But you're not trying to have them all live with me."

"Her adoptive father brought her to you for safety. Not to the Embassy, but to you."

"He brought her to the Embassy because it's the most secure building around."

"Not anymore. The White House complex can now be said to be as secure."

"Shields have been installed?"

"They have indeed."

"Okay, that's great, but Siler didn't bring Lizzie to me forever. He brought her because he was on a mission and she needed to be somewhere safe. And before you say it, yeah, I get it. He's on a mission right now, and she's a teenager. Someone needs to be keeping an eye on her and she also needs to go to school. Denise is great, but she's got a room full of little kids to be taking care of, and Lizzie doesn't strike me as wanting to go into teaching as her life's work."

"Exactly."

"But shouldn't she, I don't know, sleep in the same place as her father?"

"Yes, if her father was home every night. But he won't be, even though he'll be working at the Embassy. He's one of your best operatives-you won't be able to sideline him."

"He's not about to die or something, is he?" Wasn't sure if I could handle it if Algar said yes.

"There is no fate, so could he die right now? Yes. Could he live for decades more? Yes. The future's always changing, and I've told you that if you want to discuss time, you need to talk to Charles."

"And then you snapped your fingers and disappeared. Fine, I'll let that drop. Is our going out into the greater cosmos going to cause problems for you?"

"Not any more problems than you all normally create. I'm not the one who was programmed not to allow that."

"Alexander took those restraints off of ACE."

"He did, but programming is hard to overcome."

"I'll have a chat with ACE."

"If you like."

"Using my own free will and all that."

"Good. Something else managed a bit of free will today."

"You mean the Kitty-Bot, don't you?"

"I do."

"Do you mean the Janelle Gardiner Fem-Bot as well?"

"I don't."

"So those are hints, but I'm not feeling sharp enough to catch it all. For all I know, Villanova and Evan are also using their free will."

"They are."

"Super. So are all the Dealers of Death." Algar nodded. "So, any chance you can do me a solid and tell me if Drax is trustworthy?"

"That's what you want to waste a favor on?" Algar actually seemed mildly shocked.

"I'd really rather waste it by asking you what all's going on, how many different actions are in active motion against us right now, if all the actions are being run by Cliff Goodman, where my flyboys, Camilla, and the princesses are and if they're okay or not and what I need to do to rescue them, and what to do to get the White House staff to not hate me, but I'll settle for what I can get."

"Many things are going on, many actions are in motion, though you won't know about most of them for a long time, you've again harmed your biggest enemy far more than you know and, because of that, other enemies are striking while he's weak and you're focused incorrectly, I can't help you with rescues other than to tell you that, as always, time is of the essence, and just be you, you charm most people even though you don't realize it."

"Wow. That was . . . helpful. Sort of." Considered what he'd said that was key. "You said I was focused incorrectly. So, what should I be focused on?"

"Camping." And with that, Algar snapped his fingers and disappeared.

CHAPTER 31.

"YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY," I said to the hamper. "But I appreciate the hints. I think. I do appreciate that I'll see you at the White House."

Got up and looked around the closet. Didn't see anything that indicated I should pick it up, so headed out of the apartment and to the elevator.

Went down to the third floor and into the daycare center. Jamie knew I was here, of course-she'd always had an uncanny ability to know when people she loved were nearby, and with ACE inside of her, that ability was strengthened.

ACE had been created by Alpha Four to keep the A-Cs, Jeff in particular, on Earth. We'd discovered him, and I'd originally filtered ACE into Gower during Operation Drug Addict. But due to what ACE had done to protect Earth during Operation Destruction, he'd been pulled away to face whatever kind of trial a superconsciousness could face.

Naomi Gower-Reynolds had saved ACE at the same time as she was sacrificing herself and becoming a superconsciousness of her own. ACE, Algar, and I were the only ones who knew that Naomi was still alive, though not in any earthly sense of the word, at least insofar as I could tell. Had my suspicions that Jamie knew, too, but actively chose not to ask.

Since returning to us, ACE had been housed inside of Jamie, which was protection for both of them. The downside was that I couldn't just chat with ACE like I had in the old days. Now, I had to wait for Jamie to be asleep, and it didn't hurt if I was asleep, also. So, these days, my chats with ACE tended to be kind of freaky, which was really par for my particular course.

However, Algar's veiled warning or not, I wasn't here to chat with ACE. I was here to get my kids.

Jamie ran over, arms outstretched for hugs, and I grabbed her, picked her up, and hugged her tightly while giving her plenty of kisses. Shoved any thoughts of bad things away-Jamie was easily as sensitive as Jeff, possibly more so, and I didn't need her worried about fake mothers and robots blowing up. Sure, she had powerful blocks installed in her mind by both Jeff and Christopher, but I wasn't positive that she kept them up all the time.

The next to hit me were the animals, of which we had a tonnage. In addition to my parents' three cats and four dogs-all of whom probably now considered themselves to belong to Jamie-we also had any unattached Poofs not on duty, any available Peregrines, and all the ocellars and chochos, the Beta Eight foxcats and pigdogs we'd brought back with us at the end of Operation Civil War.

The ocellars were a rusty orange color, with some blacks, browns, and yellows for highlights. They had elongated, pointy ears and extremely bright blue eyes, looked a little foxy and a lot like caracals, but in the same way that the Peregrines looked a lot like peacocks-similar and yet stronger, a lot more human-level intelligent, and just a little more alien. Ocellars were the same size as Peregrines without the tail-feathers.

Chochos, on the other hand, were about the size of an extra-large German Shepherd but with noses that were more squat and broad than elongated, long claws on their paws, tusks that stuck out just like a boar's, bristles instead of whiskers, and curlicue tails. They looked dorky but in a totally cute way.

The alien animals did time on the first floor of the Zoo whenever we did open viewings of our own personal Galactic Menagerie. However, things being what they were, we hadn't had the Zoo open for a couple of weeks now. And whenever they weren't on exhibit, the animals slept in our rooms or were at daycare with Jamie.

The realization that I was going to be bringing an entire alien petting zoo into the White House hit me. There was no way my children were going to accept that the animals weren't moving with us. Frankly, the animals weren't going to accept it, either.

Decided I'd worry about that later as I petted every furred or feathered body that I could reach. After all, there had to be some upside to the FLOTUS gig, and if my mark on the White House was going to be really fantastic luxury kennels, then so be it.

"You're here a little early," Denise said cheerfully as she joined us and the other daycare kids came over for hugs. "Charlie's still napping."

Checked my watch as I put Jamie down. We were indeed now into later afternoon. Early to get the kids for dinner, but, under the circumstances, that worked for me because I had no intention of going back to the White House any sooner than I had to. "Well, I can probably get him and keep him asleep."

Enjoyed hugging all the kids. Wasn't looking forward to having to ask permission to visit now, nor the idea that I'd be dragging along a million security personnel. Of course, I'd managed to leave all my Secret Service detail in the White House for most of the afternoon while I'd been elsewhere, so perhaps I was worried for nothing.

"Oh," Denise said, "Jeff called and asked me to remind you that you're needed back at the White House and can't hide out here."

"I need a new husband."

She shook her head. "Chuck sent me a text saying the same thing as Jeff. So I think you're out of luck on your options."

"Thanks, traitor."

Jamie looked up at me. "You're funny, Mommy. You know Missus Lewis isn't a traitor."

"That's true, I do, and you're right, I was teasing her." Chucked Jamie under her chin. "Shall we get your brother? All our things are moved into the new house where we're going to live for a while, and I can't wait for you to see your room."

Instead of excited, which I'd expected, Jamie looked worried. "Where is Lizzie going to stay?"

Interesting. Well, it wasn't like it was going to be a secret. "Lizzie has a room at our new house, too, right down the hall from you."

"Yay!" Jamie jumped up and down and clapped her hands. "Lizzie's going to stay with us forever!"

Denise and I exchanged another look. Denise knelt down and hugged Jamie gently around her shoulders. "You know that Lizzie's daddy won't want her to live with someone else forever."

"Oh, he can live with us, too," Jamie said. "I like Uncle Benjamin. He's neat."

"Yes, he is. So, let's get Charlie and go downstairs. King Benny is here, too."

At this all the kids gasped, even Raymond, who at ten was the eldest in our school and daycare combo. All the kids had met the Planetary Council, and while they seemed to like everyone and were very interested in Rohini and Bettini, the other Shantanu in the Council, King Benny was definitely the Daycare Favorite. As a giant walking otter, his Cuteness Level started at eleven.

"Can we go see him, please, Mommy?" Rachel begged, clearly speaking for all the kids.

Denise looked at me and raised her eyebrow questioningly.

Pulled out my phone and sent a text to Len, asking him to get the A-Cs assigned to Animal Duty revved up and ready to transport. "Sure, why not? Pierre has special, dinner-ruining treats in the kitchen, too."

"Oh, good." Denise laughed. "Hopefully you mean Lucinda's brownies."

"I do, indeed, and the grown-ups need a treat, too." I mean, I'd only had a few brownies and hadn't even finished my milk. I was still hungry. "Ah, Pierre says that they'll come up to us, so let's get ready for Special Snack Time."

While Denise got the kids in order, I went and got Charlie. To find Wilbur, my personal chocho, curled up next to Charlie's crib. This wasn't a surprise, really. Wilbur adored Charlie, and if Charlie wasn't with me or Jeff, Wilbur was right by his side.

Patted Wilbur. "What a good chocho you are."

Wilbur honk-barked very softly to share that I was the greatest and that he was on the guarding case and all things were secure in the baby sleep chamber.

Charlie was indeed still asleep, clutching his Poof, and looked angelic, as children do when they're sleeping. Even though human genetics were supposedly always dominant in hybrid children, and Jamie did look pretty much exactly like me, I could really see Jeff in Charlie.

Stroked his hair, then I lifted him and his Poof up into my arms. The Poof grumbled a little, but Charlie stayed asleep, though he did nestle his head into my neck.

"Come on, Wilbur," I whispered. "We're going on a trip." Wilbur got up and trotted happily at my heels.

All the kids had their own Poofs, and most of the families of our Embassy Daycare Kids had their own Peregrines now. The ocellars and chochos hadn't gone forth and multiplied enough to ensure that everyone had their own foxcat or pigdog yet, but that seemed to be just a matter of time.

The kids were in a semicircle on the floor, all looking expectant. Other than Jamie, who was getting her things ready to go, meaning getting all the animals prepped for departure. This wasn't something that a little girl of four and a half would normally be in charge of, but Jamie was as effective with the animals as I was. Wasn't sure if this meant she had my Dr. Doolittle talent or if she just loved the animals so much that they wanted to do whatever to please her, but the outcome was that they all behaved like well-trained animal citizens for her.

"When did he go down?" I asked Denise softly, as Jamie got the cats and Poofs into their luxury carrier on wheels, aka the Feline Winnebago.

"Late, so don't worry. He was really using his talents today." She looked a little worried. "He lifted Dudley."

Dudley was our Great Dane and therefore the largest animal we had, since he was even bigger than the chochos.

"Wow. Is Dudley okay?"

"Yes, as are the other animals. He, ah, did the animals in order of their weight. He started with the cats, then the ocellars, then Duchess, Dottie, and Duke, then the chochos, and then Dudley."

Duchess was our pit bull, Dottie our Dalmatian, and Duke was our Labrador. Duke might have been close to the chochos in weight, but I had a feeling that Charlie was being far more accurate than was good for anyone's peace of mind.

"Um . . ."

"Yeah." Denise shrugged. "The animals didn't seem to mind . . . too much. And Wilbur loved it."

"I think Wilbur is genetically disposed to love anything Charlie wants to do, potentially ever."