Free Kitty Katt 11: Alien Separation by Gini Koch Page A

think the first order of business,” White said, “is to share our concerns with the President. Proof or no proof, he’s an ally and needs to be on his guard, because if the Mastermind is after us, he’s also after the President. Jeffrey, I’m sure Vincent would like you to advise him that you’re back in the country, as well.”
    Jeff sighed. “True enough, Uncle Richard.” He kissed my cheek. “Don’t start the next offensive without me, baby. I’ll be right back.” He got up and, like Kevin before him, headed out of the room to make his call.
    â€œKitty, I know you want to take a big team down there,” Serene said, “but I don’t see how we can do that without giving away that we know something’s up.” She sounded like the sweetest airhead in the world saying this. I’d come to realize that Serene was the poster girl for the whole “still waters run deep” maxim. She was an accomplished imageer—so much so that she’d taken over as Head of Imageering when Christopher had come into the Embassy with us. But she was also a troubadour, a fact she kept secret from all but a few people.
    Troubadours weren’t considered impressive to the average A-C, because they were actors. But, of course, what actors did was lie believably and with conviction. Raj was a troubadour too, and Serene’s right-hand man in the clandestine team she’d formed—the A-C version of the C.I.A.
    So I recognized now when she was throwing me a leading question. “You’re right, Serene. I’ve been thinking that, too. I guess a few of us should go down openly while the rest of the team goes in covertly. Wouldn’t you agree, James?”
    Reader been promoted to Head of Field for Centaurion Division at the same time as Serene, replacing Jeff. Jeff had been the Head of Field when I’d first met the gang, but supposedly wiser heads had shoved us into political and public-facing jobs. I still wondered what the hell was wrong with those people, but I’d long since given up complaining that I wanted to go back to my old job.
    â€œI think that’s going to be best, yeah,” Reader replied. “Frankly, I’d like more information about what was really going on in Florida before we commit a lot of manpower to searching for a traitor who may or may not be having a crisis of conscience or a change of heart. Especially because she could be doing this as part of an elaborate trap.”
    â€œShe very well might be,” a familiar voice said. The entire room jumped, because we hadn’t seen him and no one thought he was in the room. Well, everyone other than Buchanan jumped. And every guy who wasn’t Buchanan and packed heat had a gun out and pointed at the man who’d spoken.
    Benjamin Siler pushed off the wall he’d apparently been leaning against. “But there’s a real possibility she’s having reactions to having been ordered to murder eight people. And you can’t afford to bet a hundred percent either way.”
    â€œNightcrawler, good to see you. Why did you go all chameleon on us?”
    He grinned. “Sometimes I like to make an entrance.”

CHAPTER 10
    E VERYONE PUT THEIR guns away, though not without a lot of glaring. Siler seemed completely unfazed, not that this shocked me.
    â€œMartini let me in,” Siler said with a laugh as Jeff returned to the ballroom.
    â€œYeah, I went to my office to talk to Vince and saw him at the side entrance. Why is everyone so damn tense?”
    â€œSiler slipped in without our knowing,” Christopher snapped.
    â€œI knew he was here,” Buchanan said calmly, as Christopher shot Patented Glare #3 at him and I enjoyed the comfort of truly being home. No one in Other Me’s world was close to matching Christopher in the glaring department.
    Jeff shook his head. “He’s not our enemy. But he has insight into how some of