I wasn’t offering and did his customary slobber-fest that passed for kissing in his world. Gadoire spoke in a French accent all of us were sure was faked—he sounded far more like Pepé Le Pew than Maurice Chevalier. He didn’t possess an iota of the charm either one of those famous French actors had, either. That Nathalie hadn’t called him on his faking being from her native country was either a testament to her kindness or lack of interest.
“All Over the World” by ELO ended and “Sexy and I Know It” from good old LMFAO came on. I knew I hadn’t put it onto the mix, so I assumed Kyle had told Walter to play it in honor of “Monsieur Love” as I called Gadoire in private. Made a mental note to hurt Kyle later while I did my best to control the Inner Hyena.
Somehow during Operation Destruction Gadoire and Vance had convinced Senator Armstrong and themselves that they were my besties. They still seemed to believe it, all evidence of my dislike to the contrary.
Vance broke protocol, pulled me away from Guy, and gave me a big hug. “Kitty, you look gorgeous.”
Before I could escape or reply, Vance bent down and whispered in my ear. “Something’s going on, something bad, and I think we’re all in danger.”
CHAPTER 13
THE LAST TIME Vance had shared a dramatic “we’re all gonna die” message with me had been during Operation Assassination. He’d actually been right, even though it had been a ploy to get me to “share a bed of love” with him and Gadoire.
I didn’t get a chance to ask Vance any questions, though, because Senator Zachary Kramer and his wife, Marcia, moved up for their Happy Hellos. They were the remainder of the Cabal and were both clearly displeased with being last in the Shake the Paws line.
“Your dress is amazing,” Marcia said to me without preamble. “I don’t know what you’re paying that designer, but she won’t design for anyone else in the Beltway.”
“Akiko’s very loyal.” She was. A-Cs had plenty of money, the Diplomatic Corps in particular—since we were the showcase and lobbyist faction for the entire A-C community—and we paid well. Akiko wasn’t on an exclusive retainer to our Embassy, but she was particular about the clients she took, and she’d told me in private she didn’t care for Marcia. Needless to say, I felt Akiko was a girl of taste and refinement.
Marcia sniffed. “Well, we should all be wearing black.”
“We should?”
She nodded. “Poor Wendell passed away an hour ago.”
Had no freaking idea who Wendell was. Now had the entire Cabal staring at me, obviously waiting for me to say something appropriate.
“That’s too bad.” It was lame, but at least coherent and hopefully didn’t give away the fact that I had no clue as to who or what we were talking about. Times like this, I really missed killing superbeings for a living. It was so much easier.
“We’d hoped Representative Holmes would have pulled through his illness,” Jeff said smoothly, with just the right amount of sorrow in his tone. The man was incapable of not being great at any job you gave him. What a pity his wife wasn’t as smooth.
“Ah, yes,” I agreed, desperately hoping my tone matched Jeff’s. “Should we cancel the party?”
“Oh, no,” Marcia said with a tiny laugh. “The show must go on.”
“Must it?” Whoops. My brain had allowed my mouth to share what I was really thinking.
Kramer nodded. “Wendell would understand, and want it that way.”
“He would?”
“Oh, yes. Wendell served for decades—he, better than most, understood how the process can’t stop just because we’ve lost a valued member.”
We faced death on a regular basis, so I’d given this idea some thought over the past couple of years. Upon my untimely, or even long-awaited, death, I expected my friends and co-workers to be sad, and sobbing uncontrollably while tossing themselves onto my coffin wouldn’t be going too far. In all the “my death” daydreams I’d ever had, seeing the gang partying had never entered the picture, but then again, I wasn’t a career politician.
Saved by the bell. “I must move you lovely people on,” Pierre said. “I’m sure the Ambassadors will find time to converse with you once the party’s in full swing.” As Pierre indicated the door, “Get the Party Started” came on, so, per Pink, she’d already handled that for us.
Several A-C agents—recognizable in their black Armani suits, crisp white shirts, and all-around hotness—escorted the Cabal to their next stop. Wasn’t