be the worst idea ever in the history of the world?”
“I believe that the situation could be less threatening than you believe it to be, Ambassador,” Oliver replied.
“I think it’s wonderful, Kitty,” Mona said. She appeared to be the only other person in the room who wasn’t clued in or getting secret signs passed to her. She looked quite pleased for us. I normally credited her with a hell of a lot more insight.
“It is?”
“Yes.” She beamed. “Why don’t you and Jeff go into one of the smaller salons and you two can discuss it as husband and wife.”
Ah. Mona was possibly more clued in than everyone else. And my good friend. Because I needed to talk to Jeff and I couldn’t risk saying anything in front of Culver, Cliff, or Horn, and presumably Mona realized this. Oliver probably had, too—he’d called me Ambassador and I was fairly sure he’d been lying about things being less threatening than I was imagining.
Khalid took my elbow and ushered me and Jeff out of this room, down a hall, and into a much smaller room that looked like a waiting room. “This is the antechamber to the Ambassador’s offices,” he said with a smile. So it was a waiting room, go me. “He’s not here at the moment, so you should have privacy.” Khalid nodded to us and closed the door.
Jeff opened the door leading to the Bahraini Ambassador’s office. “No one there.” He closed it, came over to me, pulled me into his arms, and hugged me tightly. His hearts were pounding. I hugged him back and felt his body relax a bit. “Are you, Jamie, and my mother alright? I wanted to call but Chuck and your mother wouldn’t let me.”
“Yeah, we’re fine. Because my ‘uncles’ are in town and gave Officer Melville and Malcolm the scary heads-ups.” Took a deep breath and moved out of our clinch. “Who in God’s name thinks you becoming Senator Armstrong’s running mate is a good idea?”
“Everyone, apparently.” Jeff ran his hand through his hair. “It wasn’t my idea.”
“I guessed. Whose idea was it?”
He sighed. “Don’s.”
“Senator McMillan suggested you? Is he high?”
“No. He thinks it will give voters something positive to choose.”
A-Cs were deadly allergic to alcohol, so I didn’t drink any more because I didn’t want to risk killing Jeff, or have him unable to kiss me. However, right now, I wanted the stiffest drink imaginable. “It’s going to give the press a really good time.”
“You don’t think I’m a good choice, do you?” Jeff asked in a low voice.
“Huh?” Looked at his expression—he looked disappointed and unconfident. This wasn’t an expression I was used to seeing on my husband’s face. Which meant he was reading my emotions incorrectly. Then again, my main emotion had been shocked horror. Maybe he was reading me right but interpreting me wrong.
I hugged him again. “Frankly, I think you’re a great choice. Jeff, you’re a natural leader and you always have been. It’s not you moving into a bigger position of power that worries me. It’s the fact that we have some scary skeletons in our closets.”
“Everyone knows I’m an alien.”
Wow. Due to our enemies giving Jeff a huge amount of Surcenthumain, what I thought of as the Superpowers Drug, he was amazingly enhanced. This meant a lot of things, but one of those things was that Jeff could practically read my mind. Backed up again and looked up at him. “Did you get hurt and no one wants to tell me about it?”
“No, why?”
“Because I’m not worried about you being ‘outed’ as an alien any more than I’m worried that our Supreme Pontifex is going to be ‘outed’ for being gay—both are very common knowledge by now and why both Club Fifty-One and the Church of Intolerance are so very fond of us. I’m worried as hell, though, about the fact that you and I used to do some really dangerous work, and that work included killing a variety of very bad people.”
“Oh.” He sounded
“I believe that the situation could be less threatening than you believe it to be, Ambassador,” Oliver replied.
“I think it’s wonderful, Kitty,” Mona said. She appeared to be the only other person in the room who wasn’t clued in or getting secret signs passed to her. She looked quite pleased for us. I normally credited her with a hell of a lot more insight.
“It is?”
“Yes.” She beamed. “Why don’t you and Jeff go into one of the smaller salons and you two can discuss it as husband and wife.”
Ah. Mona was possibly more clued in than everyone else. And my good friend. Because I needed to talk to Jeff and I couldn’t risk saying anything in front of Culver, Cliff, or Horn, and presumably Mona realized this. Oliver probably had, too—he’d called me Ambassador and I was fairly sure he’d been lying about things being less threatening than I was imagining.
Khalid took my elbow and ushered me and Jeff out of this room, down a hall, and into a much smaller room that looked like a waiting room. “This is the antechamber to the Ambassador’s offices,” he said with a smile. So it was a waiting room, go me. “He’s not here at the moment, so you should have privacy.” Khalid nodded to us and closed the door.
Jeff opened the door leading to the Bahraini Ambassador’s office. “No one there.” He closed it, came over to me, pulled me into his arms, and hugged me tightly. His hearts were pounding. I hugged him back and felt his body relax a bit. “Are you, Jamie, and my mother alright? I wanted to call but Chuck and your mother wouldn’t let me.”
“Yeah, we’re fine. Because my ‘uncles’ are in town and gave Officer Melville and Malcolm the scary heads-ups.” Took a deep breath and moved out of our clinch. “Who in God’s name thinks you becoming Senator Armstrong’s running mate is a good idea?”
“Everyone, apparently.” Jeff ran his hand through his hair. “It wasn’t my idea.”
“I guessed. Whose idea was it?”
He sighed. “Don’s.”
“Senator McMillan suggested you? Is he high?”
“No. He thinks it will give voters something positive to choose.”
A-Cs were deadly allergic to alcohol, so I didn’t drink any more because I didn’t want to risk killing Jeff, or have him unable to kiss me. However, right now, I wanted the stiffest drink imaginable. “It’s going to give the press a really good time.”
“You don’t think I’m a good choice, do you?” Jeff asked in a low voice.
“Huh?” Looked at his expression—he looked disappointed and unconfident. This wasn’t an expression I was used to seeing on my husband’s face. Which meant he was reading my emotions incorrectly. Then again, my main emotion had been shocked horror. Maybe he was reading me right but interpreting me wrong.
I hugged him again. “Frankly, I think you’re a great choice. Jeff, you’re a natural leader and you always have been. It’s not you moving into a bigger position of power that worries me. It’s the fact that we have some scary skeletons in our closets.”
“Everyone knows I’m an alien.”
Wow. Due to our enemies giving Jeff a huge amount of Surcenthumain, what I thought of as the Superpowers Drug, he was amazingly enhanced. This meant a lot of things, but one of those things was that Jeff could practically read my mind. Backed up again and looked up at him. “Did you get hurt and no one wants to tell me about it?”
“No, why?”
“Because I’m not worried about you being ‘outed’ as an alien any more than I’m worried that our Supreme Pontifex is going to be ‘outed’ for being gay—both are very common knowledge by now and why both Club Fifty-One and the Church of Intolerance are so very fond of us. I’m worried as hell, though, about the fact that you and I used to do some really dangerous work, and that work included killing a variety of very bad people.”
“Oh.” He sounded
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