Took my best guess. "At the galactic core, sure, maybe. If they haven't died out by now. And on Beta Twelve. But they mingled in centuries ago, they aren't pure."

"No, they're not."

Managed not to high five myself. Time for my next guess. "Did you come in the nineteen-fifties? You look way too young to have been here that long."

The compliment worked. LaRue shot me a friendly smile. "We age differently than humans, but no. I was on the team that followed up when those sent here on the mission you're referring to didn't check in at the planned time."

"Did they stay here?"

She shook her head. "No. Frankly, they were just late to contact the Home World. However, my mission was already launched." She shrugged. "I was the communications officer and I didn't feel any need to share that we'd been recalled."

"So, when you came here, did you decide to change sides, or were you always a Z'Porrah spy?" Had my guess, of course, but it was better to have her confirm or deny.

LaRue shrugged. "I have more in common with the Z'Porrah than my own people."

I was batting a thousand. If only we weren't all still in extremely grave danger I'd preen. Hopefully there'd be time for that later. Hopefully we'd get a later. "We call your people the Ancients where I come from. Is that the name you use for yourselves?"

"No, but it's not p.r.o.nounceable for most other races. It means 'people,' though. And Ancients is a good name for them." Now she sounded bitter.

"What did they do to you? That made you change sides, I mean."

"That's enough," Cliff snarled at me. He looked at LaRue. "You're an alien? And you never told me?"

LaRue shrugged and turned away from me. "You never asked." Their attention was focused on each other and the a.s.sa.s.sins' shocked attention was focused on them. I'd never have a better chance.

Sent a request up to whoever might be listening for this effort to go a lot better than the last one. Then I rolled.

CHAPTER 77.

WELL, I rolled standing up.

Flipped myself into a standing forward roll and threw my helmet at Bernie's head. Kicked the gun down and out of LaRue's hand. Landed on the gun, hard, crouched down, and slammed my elbow up into Cliff's groin. As he buckled, grabbed the Death Ray nozzle and turned it back toward the machine itself. But I couldn't figure out how to trigger the ray. My helmet hit Bernie square in the face and slammed her back into the TV wall.

As all this went on, Cantu fired at Raul at the same time Raul fired at him. Wanted a Glock. Remembered I had knives my purse. Grabbed one in each hand. Stabbed a knife into Cliff's chest while I did a spinning low kick and knocked LaRue off her feet. At the same time, Alfred followed my lead and slammed his helmet into Raul's head, then ran, knives at the ready, and cut Chuckie, Reader, and Buchanan loose.

c.o.x and Stripes were also reacting, but they looked like they were moving in slow motion compared to Alfred and even slower compared to me because I was going so fast. c.o.x headed toward Cantu. The trajectory and size of Raul's bullet meant that c.o.x and Cantu both were going to be shot.

I was crouched down now as if I was in sprinter's blocks right before a race. Dropped the other knife and launched myself, aiming between c.o.x and Cantu, arms wide. Hit them both in their midsections and took them down as the bullet sailed harmlessly into the wall.

Well, sort of harmlessly. The bullet hit a machine, and that machine blew steam out, big time. This created the creepy atmosphere this entire scenario had so been missing.

Flipped into a crouch and took in what I could of the scene. Cantu had missed Raul and hit a TV screen. My men were engaging in hand-to-hand with the three male a.s.sa.s.sins. Stripes was on Bernie's face, yowling, clawing, and biting. Alfred had freed the kids and had them behind him. And LaRue was up, with the Death Ray nozzle in her hand. I was pretty sure she knew how to turn it on.

"You shouldn't have done that," she snarled. "I was willing to let you live."

"But only if I agreed to let you clone me." Stood up and moved nearer to the back of the Death Ray machine. If she was focused on me, she couldn't hit anyone else. Noted there was another pipe that attached in to the bottom of the frame and connected to the machines behind it. Had no idea what this meant for me in terms of stopping anything.

The men hadn't stopped fighting, but LaRue ignored them. Which was too bad, seeing as she missed Buchanan, Reader, and Chuckie all twist Sanchez, Lopez, and Raul's necks farther than necks were meant to twist, pretty much in unison. Wondered if they practiced that, or if Mom's team here had just been the gold medalists in the Synchronized Neck Breaking compet.i.tion.

Bernie was still alive, however, and as she got up, screaming, she threw Stripes off of her. Who twisted midair, claws out, and landed on LaRue's head, yowling the cat version of "yippee-ki-yay m.o.f.o" at the top of his cat lungs.

I didn't hesitate. Ran forward and grabbed the Death Ray nozzle, too. LaRue was strong, but I was stronger. As Bernie tried to shoot at me, Buchanan repeated history, at least for me, grabbed Sanchez's gun, and shot Bernie in the head. I would have applauded, but my hands were full.

Cliff lurched up, knife still sticking out of his chest. "Kill . . . them all," he gasped out as he grabbed at me. "Do it now."

"Kitty, if the nozzle hits the thermal core, it will self-destruct," Alfred shouted.

"What?" As if I could tell where the thermal core was. "Alfred, get everyone up those stairs and out of here!"

"Slam the nozzle into the big round ball in the middle," Chuckie translated. Thanked G.o.d that in any and all universes he spoke Kitty.

Heard gla.s.s break and then a clanging sound and risked a look. c.o.x had broken the "In Case of Fire" case open, grabbed the ax, and was slamming it onto the pipe on the floor, the one that connected the Death Ray to the machines.

"No!" Cliff shouted, as he let go of me and ran around the Death Ray. He pulled the knife out of his chest as he bore down on c.o.x, who wasn't paying attention to anything but the pipe he was chopping.

"Bill!" I could not watch c.o.x die again, I just couldn't.

c.o.x, hearing me shout, swung around, ax in hand. The ax, thanks to its handle, was a lot longer than Cliff's arms. And, thanks to how c.o.x had been holding it and was spinning, the blade was at just the right height when it connected with Cliff's neck.

Apparently it hadn't been dulled by hitting the pipe.

"Whoa!" That was shouted by everyone who was watching, LaRue and myself included, as Cliff's head bounced off the machine and, this being my life, ricocheted into Cantu. Who, to his great credit, didn't scream. At least until he caught the head automatically. Then he screamed like a banshee as he threw it across the room and out onto the Underground Path of Potential Doom. Heard an explosion, meaning Cliff's head had landed on a pressure plate.

Alfred took all of this as a clear sign to finally listen to me and leave. He ran the kids upstairs and was back in a flash to grab Buchanan and Reader, who just managed to grab Chuckie. They all disappeared as well.

In this same time period of approximately two seconds, c.o.x neither screamed nor ran. He just spun around and slammed his now b.l.o.o.d.y ax back onto the pipe. Cliff's body landed against the wall with all the machines and sprayed blood on them. Things started to sound like they were shorting out and this distracted LaRue just a bit.

Took the opportunity and did what Alfred and Chuckie had told me to-I shoved the Death Ray nozzle against the metal sphere. Just as LaRue undistracted herself and activated the beam.

I let go and flipped the hyperspeed up to well past eleven. Grabbed Stripes by the scruff of his neck and pulled him off LaRue's head, spun, and ran for Cantu. Shoved Stripes at Cantu's chest while I grabbed his arm. The cat was smart, and dug his claws into Cantu's clothes. Based on the look of pain starting to come onto Cantu's face, Stripes probably had his claws in skin, too.

Didn't pause, because Cantu had proved that he had a good catching reflex, and that meant he was going to hold onto Stripes. Grabbed c.o.x in mid-swing. The impact caused him to let go of the ax. Would have looked to have seen where it went, but sprinters who looked behind them lost their races.

Ran us up the stairs faster than I could blink. Could have sworn I saw something fluffy going past me but turning to look was still not in the cards. No one was in the garage, which was good. I was faster than the SUV could ever be, so I kept on moving. A wall was broken out, meaning I had a good idea of where Alfred had run. Went that way, too.

Got outside and to the far wall as the ground under us rumbled. Ran us past the wall and to where I could see the rest of our group was as the ground started to crumble down in an implosion worthy of a Spielberg movie.

Stopped running when we reached the others and did a fast head count. All accounted for, cat included. Took Stripes from Cantu and cuddled him, then handed him to c.o.x. Spun around to see the entire complex go down as if it was being sucked into the bowels of the earth. Readied myself to grab everyone and run, but while the outer wall and the tree went down, the cave-in stopped well away from us.

Realized that the speeders were going to go down, too. Grabbed Alfred and took off. We reached the area they'd been in just in time. He hit something and they appeared. He grabbed one, I picked up two, and we ran them back, as the ground slipped away behind us almost as fast as we were running.

But not quite. Reached the others and put the speeders down. Alfred fiddled with them, but since the immediate danger was over, I took the opportunity, grabbed the kids, and checked them for injuries. Realized I was still moving at hyperspeed by the confused looks on their faces and the panicked look on Chuckie's.

Alfred put his hand on my shoulder. I could feel him slowing me down. "It's okay, Kitty," he said. "Everyone's here, everyone's alright."

Let myself slow down and hugged the kids tightly, but not too tight. Then got up and hugged Chuckie. After a long hug, let go and hugged Reader, then Buchanan. And then asked the question, praying the answer wouldn't make me cry. "What happened to everyone else at the emba.s.sy?"

"They're safe," Buchanan said. Let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "The underground room we were in last night doubles as their bunker. Everyone got in and the doors locked in time."

"In time for what?"

"In time for the emba.s.sy to be bombed to bits," Reader said. "But your dad, Carla, Peter, and Caroline are all safe. They were inside the bunker."

"Why weren't the six of you inside said bunker?"

"Well, I was searching for you," Chuckie said. "As were some others." He looked at the boys. Charlie looked like he knew he was in trouble, but Max looked defiant.

"She was gone, and we couldn't leave her," Max said. "And Stripes was gone, too."

"I left a note."

"I was awakened by the sounds of bombs exploding," Chuckie said dryly. "I didn't stop to read. I had Jamie, and thought I had Charlie and Max. But when we got into the corridor, each one went a different way."

"Charlie ran into us," Reader said. "So we had Leah, Oren, and Jakob get the others downstairs. Charlie refused to go without his siblings, parents, and cat, and by refused I mean he thrashed and kicked."

"I'm sorry, Uncle James," Charlie said quietly.

Reader shot him the cover boy smile. "It's okay. Now. But by the time Buchanan had caught Max, we were blocked from the bunker by six well-armed commandos. We could let them take us or kill us. We let them take us."

"Which they did," Buchanan said. "We got to watch them turn the emba.s.sy to rubble and then we were all knocked out. I came to partway here, and I can guarantee we came here in a Sherpa." Opened my mouth. "It's a military aircraft used to transport personnel. I think it's probably housed at Patrick Air Force Base." Which tracked with my a.s.sumption that Cliff had used his C.I.A. clearance there.

"Hang on. Six commandos . . ." Looked at Cantu, who looked like he'd been hit in the gut. Really wished Jeff was here. I needed to know if this man was just remarkably stupid and/or unlucky, or if he was waiting to take over as the Mastermind.

"From what I could tell, you came in with them," Chuckie said. "We thought you'd been captured, too."

"Well, I'm happy they're buried in the rubble, but now, Esteban, that leaves us with a mystery."

"I had no idea," he said. He sounded p.i.s.sed and horrified and as if he was telling the truth. But I needed to be sure.

"Is Cantu here your boss?" I asked Chuckie.

Who nodded. "Yes, he is. Goodman made me call him, to get him down here. I know why you're suspicious, Kitty, and I can't blame you. But Goodman was waiting to get Cantu down with us and kill all of us at one time."

"Why?" c.o.x asked.

"To get rid of all his enemies before he took over the world," Reader said. "Literally. Guy was as insane as a typical Bond villain."

"You called that one," c.o.x said to me.

"Who are you? Jeff?" Chuckie sounded p.i.s.sed off and jealous.

"Wow, dude, no. This is Lieutenant Commander William c.o.x of the U.S. Navy. You need to get over the whole jealousy thing. Seriously, I know the bad guys were baiting you and all, but did you really think I'd left the emba.s.sy to go have a tryst?"

He heaved a sigh. "No, honestly, I didn't. I'm sorry."

"When she gets back, you two really need to work on this."

"She can't," Jamie said in a little voice. "The mad ladies said our house . . . our house was blown up?"

Picked her up and hugged her. "Yes, it was. Just like the emba.s.sy. I'm sorry. I know that means everyone's lost all their things. But the things that matter are the people and the animals. And as far as I know, we're all alright."

"But Mommy can't come home," Jamie said, lower lip trembling. "I can't see me now, and if I can't see me, I can't see her, and if I can't see her, I can't help."

The realization of what Jamie meant would have been more upsetting if I hadn't heard a sound I was really familiar with-the sound of a big gun being c.o.c.ked.

Turned around slowly to see LaRue standing there somehow. With the gun I'd left in the alligator enclosure in her hands.

She looked like c.r.a.p, but she was alive and apparently well. "The Z'Porrah were right," she said. "The only good naked ape is a dead naked ape."

I didn't think about it. I tossed Jamie toward Chuckie and ran straight for LaRue. She fired. And she hit me.

CHAPTER 78.

MY MIDDLE FINGERS up and pointed right at the PM was, of course, photographic gold for the press. Not that it mattered at this point. I left the PM couple gaping at me and went back to the press. "You get one more chance. Give me the film. You can keep the shots of me flipping everyone off, but not of my daughter."

"Too bad, too sad," one shared.

"Uh huh."

I might not be an A-C. But my husband had ensured I could defend myself. I wasn't as skilled in Kung Fu as he was, but I was a brown belt. And it was time for the Fists of Fury.

Only Martini was there, and he put his hand on my shoulder. "No, baby. You take care of Jamie." His voice was a low and extremely dangerous. "It's up to me to protect our family."

"Yeah?" yet another member of the press said. "You'll commit political suicide over a few snaps, mate?"

"I've killed men for less, yeah." Martini shot them a smile that wasn't nice-it was feral. "Or are you all forgetting that my rank in Centaurion Division was as Commander? Of our entire military. You represent a threat to my child. Guess what I'm willing to do to protect her?"

"Stop it," Margie said as she came over, in a Mother Tone that brooked no argument. "Stop it now. All of it and all of you. Confiscate the cameras," she said to her staff and ours. "All of them. And take the press into a room for a debrief."

Our Field agents used hyperspeed and wrested every camera away within seconds. "Search them," Singh said, as he joined this party. "a.s.sume they all have recording equipment on them."

The full patdowns were done, at hyperspeed. Many recording devices were indeed found. Martini took them all and crushed them between his hands, one at a time, while the photographers winced. Then he took the cameras and ripped them apart, again with his bare hands, crushing each piece. He did it at human speeds, too.