Chapter Ten
Erica longed for her bed.
Once she arrived at the Peace Ambassador Center, her boss Paul quickly filled her in on the situation. A death threat had been made against the V's, and the FBI were anticipating an assasination attempt on Anna, the V's queen. Of course, the FBI ensured Anna was safe on her ship, but they still had to be on the lookout; the FBI knew as well as anybody else that an assassin would kill anybody to make a point.
Of course, Erica had mixed feelings about her role in all of this. It was her job, as an FBI agent to protect the citizens of this country, protect anyone in danger, but she knew the truth about these liars called the Visitors. They were here for reasons unknown, but it wasn't for peace, that much Erica was positive about. She felt odd, protecting them. But still, it was her job, and besides, she couldn't draw any attention to herself.
As Erica canvased the Peace Ambassador Center for any signs of suspiscious activity, she couldn't help but feel on guard. After all, it was the Visitors who were the enemy, not the humans. If anybody was attempting an assasination, those people might be people like her, people who knew the truth about the Visitors, people who knew the dangers they really held.
No wonder she felt torn.
But still, she was an FBI agent, and the V's were watching her. If they suspected her, she could be in danger, or worse, her children.
As she turned a corner, she spotted an unconscious guard on the ground.
His uniform was gone.
The assassin was disguised as a guard.
So she began her search.
Of course, she called it in, and all the FBI agents on site were scoping out the place for a suspect in uniform, but that meant anybody could be the assassin.
It wasn't until she spotted a man, only feet away from her, garbed in Visitor attire, reach into his pocket and discreetly pull out a gun that Erica sprung into action.
Just as the assassin was taking aim at Marcus, Anna's right-hand man, Erica tackled him from behind, pinning him to the ground and kicking his gun out of his hand while he struggled madly, rambling on about how he was doing the right thing, the Visitors were bad news.
Tell me something I don't know, Erica thought bitterly as she cuffed the assassin.
And as if things weren't stressful enough, it got even worse when a group of Visitor guards came to collect the assassin. It turned out the V's wanted to interrogate the suspect, and they didn't trust the FBI to do the job correctly, so Erica had to watch with tight lips as the assassin was carted away - a knot formed in Erica's stomach just thinking about what these crazy reptiles were planning on doing to this man.
No, those kinds of things were better not to think about.
Well, at least her shift was finally over. What a day it had been!
"But Freddie, you never miss mass. I thought you'd be there, like always, but I had to sit by myself!" Kaitlyn complained over the phone as she sat propped up in bed, pajama-clad and watching her feet as she swayed them back and forth.
"Yeah I know, I just didn't really feel like going, sorry Kaiti," Freddie replied casually, as though it wasn't a big deal.
"Well, I'm sure God will forgive you," Kaitlyn added with a bit of a giggle.
"Sure," Freddie said distractedly. Weird. He wasn't acting like himself.
Kaitlyn decided to change the subject. Maybe he was feeling guilty about skipping out on church.
"Hey Freddie, what did you think of Mr. Delano's tie today?" she asked.
Freddie finally laughed.
"He needs to hire a personal assistant to buy him a new wardrobe," he replied. "I know he thinks he's being cool, wearing cartoon characters on his ties, but seriously. He's gotta be more than 50!"
Kaitlyn giggled and continued to listen to her best friend ramble on about Mr. Delano's collection of ties until she heard the front door downstairs. She quickly checked the time; wow, it was early - she wasn't expecting her brother or her mother home for a couple of hours yet.
"Freddie, I gotta go. Someone's home," Kaitlyn announced.
"But it's only nine," Freddie said curiously.
"I know. I'll talk to you later."
Kaitlyn hung up and swung her feet over her bed as she heard the stairs creaking.
Then she heard voices.
There was Tyler's voice, and...
A girl's voice.
So Tyler was breaking the rules. Their mother had insisted from the time Tyler turned 13 that they weren't allowed to have members of the opposite sex over for visits if Erica wasn't around. This frustrated the hell out of Kaitlyn, whose best friend was a boy, and Erica was never home anyway. Most of the time, Kaitlyn had to hang out at Freddie's, or at the library.
"Tyler, are you sure it's okay we're here? I don't want to intrude," the girl said in a gentle voice.
"Nah, don't worry, Lisa. Nobody's even home. My mom's never around, and my sister's at church," Tyler replied.
Showed how much he paid attention. Mass was over at eight.
Busted. Kaitlyn couldn't help but feel a slight smile cross her lips. For all the times he'd been a jerk to her these last few days, part of Kaitlyn just couldn't wait to rat him out.
As Tyler and his new girlfriend passed her bedroom, hands intertwined and completely oblivious to her presence, Kaitlyn couldn't help herself.
"Hey Ty!" she called.
Silence.
Tyler appeared in the doorway, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. Kaitlyn barely noticed he was wearing his Peace Ambassador uniform. So he really hadn't expected anyone to be home.
"You're home?" he asked sheepishly.
"Obviously."
Tyler sighed loudly.
"Kait, listen, I-"
And then Lisa appeared in the doorway, donning the same uniform as Tyler. She was pretty, nothing like Kaitlyn. Lisa had silk blonde hair, deep blue eyes and perfect skin. Kaitlyn already felt awkward just looking at her. Kaitlyn would never be that pretty. She unconsciously took off her glasses, and wished like mad her freckles would disappear.
"Tyler, is this your sister?" Lisa stepped into Kaitlyn's room, uninvited. "Hi Kaitlyn, my name is Lisa." She reached out her hand, and Kaitlyn took it to be polite, but suddenly felt very shy.
"Hi," Kaitlyn replied.
"You have a very nice room," Lisa commented, looking around. "Purple is such a calming color. Did you decorate it yourself?"
Her teeth were perfectly straight. Kaitlyn bet she never had to have braces.
"No, my mother did," Kaitlyn explained. "When I was ten."
"It's very nice." Lisa flashed her winning smile. "It was lovely meeting you, Kaitlyn. Tyler's told me so many wonderful things about you."
Kaitlyn glanced at Tyler, lifting an eyebrow. He shrugged awkwardly.
"Anyway, my room's this way, Lisa." Tyler motioned his girlfriend out of the room. She smiled once more at Kaitlyn before she disappeared down the hall. Tyler held back, his eyes pleading at Kaitlyn.
"Don't even give me that look, Tyler!" Kaitlyn chastized. "Mom's gonna kill you!"
"Come on, Kait, just don't tell her!"
"Ty!" Kaitlyn whined. "I'm so sick of keeping your dirty little secrets! It's not right! You and mom are the ones who are having all the issues. Not me! Mom trusts me, but if she ever found out I was lying to her about you all the time, I'd lose that, and that's not fair! It's bad enough you and mom are having problems, but why should I?"
Tyler considered her for a moment before peeking his head down the hall where Lisa had disappeared into his room. He suddenly seemed impatient.
"You know, lying by omission isn't really lying, Kaiti." Tyler flashed the fakest grin Kaitlyn had ever seen. "Just tell mom I got home not long after you. That's not a lie."
Kaitlyn glared at him.
"Some big brother you are." She spat. "Teaching me wrong morals."
Tyler shrugged. "Yeah, well, you're getting the good kind at church anyway."
"Way to shirk your way out of your brotherly responsibilities."
"Look, Kaiti, I got a hot girl waiting for me in my room, can you please just cut me some slack this one time? I swear, I'll-"
"Make me some more empty promises? Gee, I dunno, Ty, I've already lost track of all the money you owe me, rides you owe me, chores you owe me. What is it this time?" Kaitlyn was less than impressed.
Tyler sighed heavily. "Okay, then tell me what you want."
"Alright, fine, you know what I want?" Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow. "I want you to tell mom you forged her signature, and that you're a Peace Ambassador."
"Kaitlyn!"
"Would you rather tell her that, or have me tell her you've been bringing a hot blonde up to your bedroom when she's not home?"
"Alright, I'll tell her about the Peace Ambassador Program."
"Good." Kaitlyn flashed the smuggest smile in the world. Yes, she felt good; for once, she'd been the one in control, the one to manipulate an outcome. It was a new feeling, usually it was Tyler who called the shots.
As Tyler took off and shut his bedroom door, Kaitlyn breathed out and leaned back against her pillows. Even though she was able to convince Tyler to be honest about his involvement with the V's, it still cost Kaitlyn. She would have to lie to her mother once again.
So the cycle continued.