Alien in Chief by Gini Koch Read Free Book Online Page A

AlphaTeam know what was going on, they were all going to want to come, too.
    Most embassies didn’t clear out half their personnel when the Ambassador was going on a short trip. But most embassies probably weren’t packed to the gills with personnel and family members like ours was. And most embassies also didn’t expect their ambassadors to get attacked merely by crossing state lines. We were just special that way.
    â€œWe could tell them all no,” Jeff said finally, in the tone of voice of a man who already knows he’s lost that battle.
    â€œAs if. We’re going to have far too many people who have
legitimate
reasons to come along to fly them down unless we take not only Air Force One and Air Force Two but also Air Forces Three through Twelve as well. Which, even if they exist, would be okay, as long as we aren’t racing down there like our parents are coming home from vacation a day earlier than we expected and we’re desperately trying to clean up the house from the all university kegger we threw the night before.”
    â€œI’m not even going to ask why you used that as an example.” Jeff heaved a sigh and dialed again, this time putting us on speakerphone.
    Repeated my issues, kegger example included. Armstrong didn’t seem to have any issues with it. Then again, I knew he’d been in a frat. “Vince, it’s insane to drop everything and race down. And I doubt the Planetary Council expects it, either. Let’s get ready, as in really ready, prepped to do double duty or more on the way there, and let’s go in such a way that we don’t appear to be running.”
    Heard a sneeze.
    â€œBless you. Are you getting a cold?”
    â€œMaybe,” Armstrong said. Was fairly sure I heard him trying to discreetly blow his nose. “If so, it just came on in the last hour. But anyway, you have a good point, Kitty. Several of them, really. Fine. As you say, we won’t race likepanicked maniacs. We’ll plan an impromptu campaign trip down to Florida that will provide us a safe political reason for the trip and allow us all to be at NASA Base whenever we ask the Planetary Council to meet us there. Gideon, you’ll get things set up on your end?”
    â€œYes. We’ll be ready with whatever you need, whenever you need it.”
    â€œExcellent, my office will coordinate with yours.”
    â€œHow are we going down?” Jeff asked.
    â€œI don’t recommend the plane,” I said quickly. “In part because we’re going to have so many in our entourage that the plane might not be able to get off the ground. And a lot of planes flying down sort of screams that the king is fleeing the palace. Plus, if you do have a cold, being up in the air isn’t in your best interests.”
    Armstrong chuckled. “True enough, and I anticipated your entourage. And, happily, I have a solution that will do the double duty you’re so fond of—we’re going to take Rail Force One.”
    That the President has his own railroad version of Air Force One shouldn’t have come as a shock to me when I first found out, but it had. However, it was extremely cool, too, and in ways far different from the mighty plane heralded in song and Harrison Ford movies.
    â€œAwesome!” I loved the train. The Vice President had Air Force Two and Rail Force Two, and we’d used it a few times, but not often enough in my opinion.
    â€œI assume we’ll need Rail Force Two as well,” Armstrong said.
    We discussed logistics, and the plan was to hook both trains together, hopefully giving us enough space to bring along everyone who felt they had to join us or die trying.
    In the olden days, before the A-Cs were outed as being on Earth, this never would have happened. Having the President and Vice President both traveling together was considered far too dangerous, because there had beenpeople trying to kill leaders as long as humanity