"Someone pay our bill as fast as possible." Ensured my voice was low but urgent. White got up and went to find Rosemary. I stood up. "We need to follow her."

Len waved his phone. "Sit back down, Kitty. I contacted Mister Buchanan while you were verbally sparring with her. He sent Mister Falk, who's just told me that he has her and is tailing. He has a team of P.T.C.U. agents with him."

"Great." Sat back down as requested, though what I wanted to do was run after Crystal and follow her to whatever lair or base of operations she was using. "Tell them not to approach her, because she'll self-destruct."

"She's an android?" Vance asked, sounding horrified. But not as horrified as Abner looked. Colette, on the other hand, got up, nodded to me, and went and got Manfred. They disappeared. Hoped they'd find Falk and his team, and Crystal, quickly.

"Yes," Abigail said. "Chuck's been having me work with John and Cameron to see if I can pick up emotional nuances between full humans or A-Cs and androids. It's hard, but I've been working at it since we all got back from Beta Eight, and I'm sure that she's an android."

Mrs. Maurer was pale. "I need to get to my grandchildren."

"Don't worry, it's totes handled," Lizzie said. We all looked at her. She shrugged. "I sketched her picture and sent it to my dad, along with the hotel name and that the kids are ten and eight." She held up her notebook that she'd been doodling on-there was quite a good likeness of Crystal drawn there. "He's with Mister Buchanan, who got in touch with Jeff, who said that he was against child endangerment. So the Secret Service went over and got them. They're at the White House, 'cause the Secret Service rolled with some A-Cs."

"Awesome. We need to get Nancy back there immediately."

"What are we going to do when Crystal calls the police?" Mrs. Maurer asked, voice squeakier than usual.

"She won't." Stood up again and indicated that everyone else needed to stand, too.

"You can't be sure of that," White said as he rejoined us.

"I can be, actually." Headed for the door. "She's not nearly as good as the androids that Antony Marling made, meaning she's not from that factory, so to speak. I was sure she was an android before Abby confirmed it. I think someone with a lot of skills and a hell of a lot of connections made her. No idea if Crystal was willing or not, but it doesn't matter. Her programming is better than the Fem-Bots I've seen, but not nearly as good as the other androids I've dealt with."

Zipped through the door before Evalyne or Phoebe, which earned me a couple of really loud sighs from the two of them. "The cars aren't here yet," Evalyne said, as she got in front of me. "Meaning you should still be inside." Phoebe was talking into her lapel, demanding our cars step on the gas.

"I'm a rule breaker, me."

"Tell me something I don't know. We're not going to allow you to go after her, so don't plan on trying."

"I wasn't." Looked around. Didn't see Falk, Colette, or Manfred, let alone Crystal. "You know, this makes at least the third time our enemies have essentially ambushed us at the Teetotaler. If I didn't love the place so much I'd say we should never come back here."

Had a tingling in between my shoulder blades, like you can get sometimes when someone's watching you. Spun around. No sign of Buchanan. Then again, I'd never really felt him watching me unless he'd wanted me to know he was there. Didn't see Mister Joel Oliver or Bruce Jenkins or any of their compatriots.

Looked up and around. Still didn't see anyone. "Think there are drones around here?"

"There shouldn't be," Evalyne said. "Why?"

"I think we're being watched."

One of our limos arrived. "What the hell kept you?" Phoebe asked as she opened the door.

"No parking across the street, no parking anywhere nearby," the driver replied. Checked. He was definitely one of the Secret Service guys who'd driven us here.

"Get Nancy back. And Abner and Vance, too." Looked at Lizzie, who gave me what I assumed she felt was a steely gaze. Decided that I'd let her win this one. "Richard, Lizzie, Abby, Mahin, the boys, and I will take the next car."

"That leaves agents stranded," Phoebe said.

"Call for another car. I want these three people guarded. So send the other dudes along with this car. Colette and Manfred will either rejoin us, stay with Falk and his team, or simply use their A-C ability to get home faster than anyone else and be waiting for us. We'll divide up into the next two cars."

Another limo rounded the corner, so Evalyne and Phoebe stopped arguing. Instead, Evalyne sent the two Secret Service agents who'd been guarding the door into this car.

"Stay at the White House, all three of you," I said to my staff. "See you soon."

Evalyne closed the door and they drove off. The next limo pulled up.

And, because I knew how my life worked, the driver was definitely not one of my Secret Service detail. But it was someone I knew, in that sense.

Thomas Kendrick was behind the wheel.

CHAPTER 49.

IT LOOKED LIKE KENDRICK, at any rate. But he was either in the White House complex or somewhere else with the rest of Team Technical. Then again, I was 99.99 percent certain that there was an android of Kendrick running around. And that the android could drive was not a shocker.

"That's our vehicle," Evalyne said, voice strained. "How did he get into it?"

"I don't think that's the real Thomas Kendrick. Mister White?"

"Agreed, Missus Martini."

"Abby?"

"Need more time, Kitty. Stall if we can risk it."

The passenger's window rolled down. "Get in, please," the driver who did sound like Kendrick said. But there was no real recognition in his expression, not that this was a surprise. He also wasn't wearing what Kendrick had been. Sure, he was in a suit, but his was gray, and the real Kendrick had been in navy.

Looked into the car, despite Evalyne trying to keep me from doing so. There was no one else inside. "Where's the driver? The original driver?"

The Kendrick Android stared at me. "I'm the original driver."

"No, you're not. I want to know what happened to him. Or we're not getting into the car."

"I've been driving this car all day."

"You tell me where the original driver of this car is, or I'm not doing anything you want."

The Kendrick Android stared at me for a bit. "Around the corner, four blocks down, in a dumpster."

Phoebe was talking into her lapel, advising others that we had a man down. Meanwhile, I was already angry, which was good. Rage, not fear, was my friend.

Our options were likely limited, though with A-Cs around we could run and be safe. Or I could find out what the Kendrick Android wanted. And with Stephanie incarcerated, had to figure the only person-to use the term loosely-who had any idea where our missing helicarrier and people were was this android. Crystal might know, but the Kendrick Android knew for certain.

"Thank you for the information. Who do you want in the car?" I asked.

"You're not getting in that car," Evalyne said strongly.

"She is or you'll all get shot," the Kendrick Android said. "We have snipers on the rooftops."

"Told you I felt like we were being watched. Give us a minute," I said to the android. "Need to confer on who's getting in with me."

"The kid and the old man," the Kendrick Android said without missing a beat. "The two women who aren't Secret Service can get in, too. The others will be shot if they try to get into the car with you or try to get you away from the car."

"He's bluffing," Phoebe said.

No sooner were these words out of her mouth than a bullet hit the ground just in front of her feet. Grabbed Evalyne and Phoebe both as they both started to move to cover me. "Don't react and don't try to shield me. That was an intentional miss." Looked up and around. Didn't see anyone.

"Our job is to shield you!" Evalyne sounded as upset as I figured everyone felt.

"Yeah, it is, only I never asked for someone to take a bullet for me, and you and the boys aren't on a short list for that option as far as I'm concerned." Besides, the android wanted to have me bring along two powerful A-C hybrids, my normal kick-butt partner, and a kid who'd been trained by three top assassins. Clearly I was going to be rolling with a strike force.

Decided I didn't want to risk it and sent a strong mental message to any of my stealth strike force that might be around that I could use some backup. Felt something nudge my leg, but didn't look down.

"Get in or we start shooting," the android said.

"Connect with Falk," I said quietly to Evalyne. "He'll know what to do to coordinate." Nodded to White, who opened the passenger door and ushered Abigail, Mahin, and Lizzie inside, then got in himself.

I opened the front passenger's door. "What are you doing?" the Kendrick Android asked, sounding shocked.

"Riding shotgun. I like it, rarely get to do it anymore, and want to ensure that you don't try the old Gas Them Unconscious Ploy. In fact, roll down the privacy window, or I don't get in and my people already in get out."

The android tried staring me down. It's difficult to stare down a machine, but I'd learned stare-down techniques from Mom, and so far she and Chuckie were the only ones who could beat me.

My record remained intact. The android dropped its eyes before I had to give. "Fine." He hit a button and the privacy window rolled down.

Looked back at the boys. "Get the four of you inside where it's safe," I said to Len. "Remember, this is just like when I first met you guys."

Len blinked, nodded, grabbed Evalyne and started to pull her back. Kyle looked uncertain, but he grabbed Phoebe and did the same. "You're sure?" Kyle asked worriedly. Len nudged him.

"This is just like when we were in Vegas, Kyle. I promise."

Saw the light dawn for Kyle, too. Waited until the four of them were inside, the boys willingly now, the women far less so. Made sure my team was still conscious and alive in the back, then got into the car and closed the door. "Where are we going?" I asked as our android driver pulled us away from the curb and I rolled the window down. The windblown look was always in fashion, especially because I had to figure an android could release gas and not be affected by it. Besides, the banana clip was doing a great job of holding my hair in place so far.

"Somewhere we won't be found," he replied as we headed off and the others in the back followed my lead and rolled their windows down, too. Ensured I was turned sideways in the seat, with my seatbelt on, so that I could keep an eye on our driver and my team in the back.

Lizzie was texting away, as was Abigail. Sadly, my looking back meant he looked in the rearview mirror. "Turn off all your phones and give them to me," he ordered.

Found it interesting that he'd taken so long to ask for our phones. But then again, he wasn't one of Marling's Top Models. Stephanie had clearly followed the schematics, but creating something like androids so lifelike as to fool humans and empaths both required artistry as well as scientific knowhow. Marling may have been one of the Original Board of Directors for the Crazed Evil Megalomaniacs Society, but he was definitely an artist. And Stephanie wasn't.

No one handed their phones over. He put his arm out and grabbed me by the neck. "I'll crush her windpipe if you don't." Everyone's phones from the back dropped into the front bench, between him and me. He let go of me immediately. "You, too," he said. "And turn the phones off."

"Thanks, gang." Turned their phones off. "So, what do we call you?" I asked as I dug my phone out and massaged my neck. He definitely had the Android Grip.

"Thomas."

"No way. You're not him."

He shot me a snide look. "I'm truly Thomas Kendrick."

"He's definitely not," Abigail said.

"See? You're truly not, though you may not know it for sure. You are his android. So, you can choose between the names I'm willing to use. Kendroid or, if we're playing nicely, TK."

"I don't understand why you want to give me different names."

"You'll adjust. Can we use my phone to listen to music?"

He glanced at me. "I have a GPS scrambler."

Decided not to ask him if the scrambler was in the car or inside of him. That was me, using the old diplomacy skills like a boss. "Super-duper and whatever. Does it affect music? Because if it doesn't, music would be nice."

He shrugged. "Go ahead. Just don't try to send a message or answer a call."

Pulled out my adapter and plugged it into the dashboard. Hit random and Mtley Cre's "Same Old Situation" came on. Had that right. "So, TK, why do you want all of us?" Figured it might be wise to keep him talking. My experience said that keeping your enemies monologuing was the only sure technique for short- and long-term survival.

"You're all important."

Waited. This appeared to be his entire thought on the matter. "Yeah? Important to whom?"

"Various interests."

We were on Independence Avenue, heading for what turned out to be the 295 going north. Apparently we were heading for Maryland. Wondered if we were heading to Camp David, but didn't have a real guess-I'd never been there, and since I was driven more than did the driving these days I tended to not pay a lot of attention to where we were going. Probably needed to pay a lot of attention right now.

Looked around to see if I could spot anyone following us. That someone was or would be trying to follow us seemed likely, since I doubted that Evalyne, Phoebe, Len, and Kyle had all decided to say the hell with us and just declare that it was now Miller Time. They might have wanted to, but had to figure their sense of duty would have overridden those desires.

Didn't spot any limos. Well, that wasn't true-we were in the D.C. area and it was a typical day for most people, so there were limos and other nice cars with official drivers about. But none of them were swerving in and out of traffic. The only vehicle doing so was a motorcycle-a black crotch rocket. The rider was all in black, too, helmet included. But that was how most people rode on a sport bike-like they were on a racetrack.

The music changed to "Machine Slave" by Front Line Assembly as the Kendroid put the pedal down. Really hoped that there weren't any cops nearby-knew without asking that he'd kill them if they tried to pull us over. Looked around for cops. None. No limos, either, or big burly SUVs, or anything else that seemed like it might be carrying the cavalry.

"Would those interests have names?"

"Yes."

"Wanna share them with me?"

"No."

Interesting. Most of the androids that I'd interacted with couldn't stop running their yaps. This one was, naturally, Mr. Curt And To The Point. Figured.

"Why did you take Drax's helicarrier?"

"Because we need it."