Alien in the Family

“Where’s Kevin? Bet he’d like to know what I think’s coming.”

“He’s with your parents,” Chuckie told me. “And we’re all fascinated. I’m wondering how you’re missing the part where we’re surrounded by your relatives and at your engagement party, though.”

“My surprise engagement party.”

He gri

I would have been impressed by our importance, but the waiter arrived with four laden plates and I was too busy trying to get food to care about it. The men cleared them to their own plates before he could set them down. I managed to snag a couple of cabbage rolls before they were all gone but got stuck with a lot of potatoes and goulash.

I looked at Martini. “Did you know about this?”

“No. You eating that goulash?”

“Go for it.” I wolfed down my cabbage rolls and eyed the ice bar with a touch of nostalgia. It was exactly that, a bar made out of ice, to keep your vodka martinis nice and frosty. Chuckie and I had come here every day when we were in Vegas.

“Hate your line of thought,” Martini muttered as he snagged some potatoes off my plate.

“Just occasionally miss having a drink.”

“So have one.”

“Right. Like I want to risk killing you? Or, worse, not being able to kiss you?”

He gri

I looked around some more. “Chuckie, how did my entire family get out here? I mean, my cousins are all here, not just my aunts and uncles and grandparents. The only ones missing are the kids under eighteen, ’cause I see the older ones. At the bar. Drinking.” Lucky things. I wanted to give the ones under twenty-one a severe talking-to, but they’d know it was because I wasn’t having a drink myself, so I let it pass.

He shrugged. “I think your grandparents called them. Apparently it wasn’t sitting well with anyone that they hadn’t met any of Martini’s family. Once they did and could confirm that Alfred and Lucinda seemed to believe you two were really getting married, it snowballed. The more of your side that came out, the more of Martini’s side Lucinda called in, basically.”

“Huh.” Most of my family lived in the West, so it wasn’t a long flight or even drive to get here for most of them. But some of them had come from farther away. “What day is it?”

“Thursday.” Chuckie gave me a long look. “You slept last, when?”

“No idea.” My brain was whirring. “I think I know the rest of the plot.”

“Great. Is there anything for dessert?” Martini had finished everything on my plate and his.

“Yeah.” Chuckie made some signals and two waiters appeared, laden with dessert plates, teacakes, and some other things. I couldn’t identify the other things because the men devoured them before I got a good glimpse. Fine. I liked teacakes. I took a few and clutched my dessert plate to my bosom.

“No one cares what I think,” I muttered to my teacake.

“We care. You go

“No, Jeff, I took it for you.” He ignored my sarcasm and snagged it.

“Thanks. Reynolds, call those waiters back, will you?”

“Geez, I’ve never seen you guys eat like this.”

“Kitty, we haven’t eaten in at least twenty-four hours,” Gower said patiently, as he grabbed some dessert off the new platters the waiters brought by. “By the way, ACE says he’s fascinated by what you think and is waiting patiently for us to finish so you can share it with us.”

“At least someone cares.”

“He says we have the time to eat,” Gower added, as he started in on what looked like German chocolate cake. I had no idea—the platters were never getting close to me.

Finally the men seemed somewhat satiated, and by that I mean I could see some of the food on the platters before it disappeared. Then I heard a sound I didn’t like.

“Everyone!” Nono Dom shouted. “We need to have a toast!”

“Oh, no. Please not this.” The Poofs were done eating and I put them back into my purse so I could run as soon as I needed to.

“Oh, relax,” Martini said as he finished the last teacake on the table and leaned back. He pulled me closer to him. “This is the fun part.”

“Is it?” I knew what my family’s toasts were like. Long. Detailed. Embarrassing.

I was saved from finding out how bad it could have been because an A-C who looked fairly familiar came up to us. I was pretty sure he hadn’t been at the party all this time.

“Commander Martini?” He seemed stressed, and I felt all of us shift from relaxed to alert.

“Yes, what’s up?” Martini had his Commander voice on.

The A-C took a deep breath. “The prisoners held in Dulce. They’re gone, sir.”

CHAPTER 47

WE ALL STOOD UP. “ARE THEY in the complex?” Martini asked, while Chuckie went off to pull our teams out.

“No, sir. We’ve already checked. They’re gone completely.”

“Did anyone get hurt?”

“No, ma’am, Commander Katt. Not even Security.”

“Then how did they get out?”

He shook his head. “We don’t know. Security wasn’t alerted. Including the agents on the floor with the prisoners.”

“Where are the dogs, cats, and lizards?” I asked Gower.

“Here.” He pointed out some people I realized were the aliens, all of whom were moving through the restaurant to the exit.

“Well, that’s convenient. I have to go say good-bye to my parents and grandparents.”

“I’ll come with you. Christopher, contact Gladys, I want her info. Tell Commander White the rest,” Martini snapped at the A-C. He took my hand, and we started to the back.

My family could tell something was going on. “What, they don’t like toasts?” Nono Dom asked as we got closer.

“No, Nono, that’s not it. We have an . . . emergency.” This was going to suck. Because I hadn’t told Martini just what it was I’d been telling my family I did for work now.

“What kind of an emergency that calls you away from your engagement party?” Papa Abe asked, in the tone of voice that said it couldn’t possibly be important enough for me to get a free pass to leave.

I took a deep breath.

“Our main client just rejected the full ad campaign and is threatening to go to a larger agency,” Reader said calmly from behind me. “Business-ending kind of stuff, unless we get right on it.” He shrugged and gave them the cover-boy smile. “You know how it goes when you own your own company. There’s always something threatening to end your world and put you right out of business. They won’t settle for less than me and Kitty, and since half of our creative team is here, we’re going to have to go into full-on ‘save the world’ mode.”

“What James said.” I didn’t look at Martini. “So we have to go. Hopefully we’ll be back tomorrow. Everyone’s staying at least the weekend . . . right, Mom?” I looked straight at her. “Since that’s the idea, isn’t it?” I looked at Lucinda, too. They both looked hugely guilty.

“What’s going on?” Martini asked me quietly.

“Ask your dad—he’s in on it, too.”

“In on what?” Martini sounded confused and suspicious.

“Tell him about it on the way,” Reader said with a lot of authority. “We don’t get moving, we’re out of business. Permanently.”

“Right. Mom, can I steal Renata and Kevin, please? The only thing the client liked about the campaign was the two of them. They’re into the unprofessional model/real person look.”

“Sure, Kitty.” Mom gave me a long-suffering look as I glared at her. “It wasn’t my idea, okay? But it’s not out of the question, either. You haven’t put any deposits down anywhere yet.”