"Okay, the number for the elevator repairman is in my emergency file in the lower left drawer. I have money in my upper right drawer. Take as much as you need, clear the nearest vending machine out of corn chips, load them into Mister Weaver's ambulance and tell him the kids have another pickup for him. No, I'm not sure why the Battery is apparently now swarming with emus. I can only guess that some movie crew is finally making a film of The Great Emu War and had their cast take a walkabout. I hope it wasn't over a poor script, because that's a film I would want to see. Yes, and tell Dr. Sanchez to please feel free to call in extra security if he feels it necessary."
"I take it things are still crazy at your hospital?" Aileen asked as Colleen came over.
"That's putting it mildly. The players in the chess riot decided to continue things in the middle of the emergency room. Four of them started bashing each other with chess boards, the rest were throwing chess pieces, and Mister Fenniman, who strained his back again while attempting some sort of dance with his grandsons, tripped on a knight. On the up side, apparently his back is feeling much better after the fall, but that is the only good thing. If you need more people to help you round up alien criminals, my security staff will probably volunteer after this. The youngest person who caused the chess riot is eighty two. They are very much not being a credit to their species today. Is that a map of New Jersey?" She asked as she noticed what Aileen was studying.
Aileen nodded. "I'm trying to figure out where that bird could have came from. Where was your oncologist staying when she saw those lights? I'm almost positive those where signal lights to guide a ship in. I'm thinking possible smugglers."
"South Amboy." Colleen said after a moment's thought. "Susan and her friends usually go further down the shore to Cape May, but one of the others got a good deal on South Amboy this year. Can those birds fly? I know emus can't fly."
"They can fly." Aileen said. Pretty well, actually. And their feathers can bring in good money. I'm thinking that bird might have been brought in last night and got away somehow."
"Birds." Colleen said. "And smuggling would definitely make a lot of sense."
"Wait. Birds? More than one bird?" Aileen said as she looked up in alarm.
"I currently have three in my board room, soon to be four as soon as Mister Weaver's ambulance in loaded with a supply of corn chips so he can go to collect the newest bird and resupply the kids. They're going to do a wider search of the Battery as soon as they have the chips."
Four birds." Four birds, possibly soon to be joined by who knows how many other birds. What was she supposed to do about…. "Can your hospital handle the birds for the moment?" Aileen asked. "One bird, we could probably find a place for here, but four or more…."
"My secretary says they're much better behaved than the 200 turkeys Mrs. Hathaway donated to us for Thanksgiving after she said they fell off of a truck in the wilds of New Jersey. We're fine with hosting the birds for as long as necessary. I do have a couple of things that I need to report besides the growing flock of birds in my board room."
"What's wrong?" Aileen asked. "Wait, where's Marshal Walsh?" She had a feeling that Kay's brother would not be pleased if he came back and she couldn't tell him where Catherine was.
"Helping some of those nice Jeedangians get a couple more rooms cleared out so we can set up an area for any patients coming in with anything infectious and another birthing room."
"Another…. We had someone else come in in labor?" Aileen asked.
"Yes, the Pyslisics." Colleen told her. "And they happened to mention something about a childbirth class they took as we were finding a place for them."
"Why do I think that isn't something good?" Aileen said.
"There were nine other couples in the class. I don't know how it is on other planets, but here generally expectant parents take birthing classes with other parents who are due around the same time as them. We already have two of the couples from that class here, and I'm very much afraid that the other seven couples might show up at any moment. And that's just taking into account the parents who were in that class. Is there any way we can get into the medical records that you know of? I had one of the worms try, but he said Zeeltor has it locked down. And for some reason, he was afraid if he messed around with it too much, it might explode."
"It's Zeeltor. That actually is a possibility." Aileen said. Medical records. Why hadn't they thought about getting access to the medical records earlier? They definitely needed access to the records but how to get them would be a major problem. Her first thought was to check with some of the retired agents to see if they could get in, but they had all been gone for at least a few years and if Zealtor had done anything unusual to secure the medical computers, and why did she have a feeling he had, there was no way they would have a clue as to how to gain access. "I'll check with Agent D and some of the other retired agents to see if they have any ideas for how to get into the computers but for the moment, I'm afraid you're probably going to have to work without the records. How much will that complicate matters?"
"We'll manage. Having the records would make things easier as far as planning, but we'll manage." Colleen said. "I do have one more issue that I think might be alien related. New York Presbyterian has somehow managed to loose the eleventh floor of their hospital, well access to the eleventh floor of their hospital. Suddenly, an hour or so ago, every elevator in the building suddenly decided to act like the eleventh floor doesn't exist. People are pushing buttons for the eleventh floor and ending up on the eighth floor, or the tenth floor, or any floor but the right one and people on the eleventh floor are pushing the button for the elevator and aren't getting access at all. My secretary is sending them the name of an elevator repair company in Brooklyn that promises service in under two hours, but something doesn't seem right about every elevator in the hospital suddenly developing the same problem."
After a moment's thought, Aileen winced as she realized what might be the cause of the elevator problem. "It's a prank, I'm almost positive. There's an alien who calls himself The Great Attractor. This sounds like something he would do. I guess we should be glad he didn't cause a blackout like he did in 77. I'll see about calling his parents and letting them know."
"Wait, you're calling the parents of someone who caused the blackout of 77?" Colleen asked.
"His species matures much more slowly than humans. I think he would be the equivalent of twelve or thirteen now. He ought to be at home. Lyndon ordered resident aliens to stay home, but he isn't the most obedient. I guess we're lucky that Zed never gave him the ball he caused that blackout with back."
"He made every elevator in a major hospital forget an entire floor exists. I don't think this kid needs a ball to cause problems. I'll call John. Hopefully they have those medicines right now. He has experience dealing with super smart kids. He might be able to help round him up before something else happens. I really don't want to find out what hospitals have not been maintaining the required amount of fuel for the backup generators in case of blackouts today."