Steeling herself, she thought about the situation as clearly as her rising panic would allow. If there was a threat on her life, then the code phrase that would have been sent to her would have been different. She would not have been warned to return here, but instead to never come back here, or ever use the name Madeline Cavanagh again. That was a contingency they had planned for and it had a different trigger word altogether.

But the message had not said to stay away. Instead it had said that she should return here immediately. They were checking her cover story. Lana was here to confirm that Madeline was inside the big assisted living apartment complex.

And while the alien assassin walked up to the front desk Madeline was sitting outside.

Shit, Madeline thought, and started to move.

* * *

“We have a Sarah Cavanagh on record here,” said the receptionist after Lana’s polite inquiry, “and I see Madeline marked as her next of kin and a caregiver, though I haven’t seen her in a while. Wait … let me call Ms. Cavanagh’s apartment for you.”

Even if Lana had not already found Ms. Cavanagh’s apartment number in the AI’s extensive database, she could comfortably read the receptionist’s screen by its tiny distorted reflection in the older woman’s thick spectacles.

“No, don’t worry about it.” said Lana, “I have her cell number. I don’t want to risk waking Sarah with the house phone.” said Lana smiling idyllically, “You know how loud those things can be, and I kind of wanted to surprise them.”

The receptionist nodded and smiled in return, she had always liked seeing women in uniform. She was so proud that they were taking advantage of something that had never really been an option when she was young. Good for her, thought the receptionist and she leaned in conspiratorially, “Listen, do you know their apartment?”

Lana nodded, “Sure, I see them all the time, apartment 258 in the Serenity Wing, right?”

The receptionist smiled at this sign that this clearly clean-cut officer was obviously a friend of the Cavanaghs, “Why don’t you just go on back, sweetie?” she winked.

Lana tilted her head to one side and smiled innocently, “Oh, are you sure that would be OK? Well, that is just so nice.” she flashed the woman a big, perfect, and thoroughly fake smile and winked as well, inwardly thinking what a fool the old lady was, and then she headed back toward the Serenity Wing.

Serenity Wing. What a ridiculous name. But then this was a ridiculous place. The concept of welfare, of caring after those who no longer contributed to society, and had no intention of doing so in the future, repulsed the princess. She reassured herself, as she always did, that places like these, along with their residents, would soon be eradicated.