“Let her go, and uncuff them both,” I said, in a voice that was surprisingly clear, and surprisingly cold. I had no more sympathy left in me. Somewhere between an observatory in Maine and a runway in Washington, it had all been bled away. “I am not here to negotiate with you.”

“Madame Vice-President, have you been hurt?” Agent Brown put her hand on the butt of her gun. “Please indicate if you are here under duress.”

They probably had a complicated system of signs and countersigns to tell each other when they were in trouble. They probably had a whole world of espionage on their sides. Me, I had a flying dinosaur from space, a cosplayer, and a herpetologist.

I had never felt more in command of a situation.

“Stand down,” said Vice-President Rogers. “I am unharmed. May I ask why you saw fit to collect the representative we had been told was coming, only to expel her from your plane?”

“That sounds so much nicer than ‘throw her out,’ doesn’t it?” I asked, glancing at Graham.

I was expecting amusement, or anger. Instead, I got blank-eyed sorrow, and a pallor that spoke of panic so deep that it refused to be easily shaken off. I touched his cheek before turning my attention back to Agent Brown.

“Let them go,” I said.

“She’s not the representative,” snapped Agent Brown. “She’s just another damn alien. We had this one in custody before everything went to shit. She’s a lab specimen.”

Hunter growled, low and deep in his throat. That answered one question. Whether he could understand English or was getting a translation relayed through the pollen, he didn’t like what he was hearing.

“My cousin doesn’t appreciate you calling me names,” I said mildly. “Remove the cuffs.”

“Do as she asks, Agent,” said the vice-president wearily. “It’s a small concession.”

“We shouldn’t be making concessions at all.” Agent Brown produced a set of keys and used them to undo Mandy’s cuffs. Handing the keys over, she said, “You can unlock your friend.”

Mandy didn’t say a word. She just spun on her heel and ran to where Graham and I were waiting. He stuck his hands out. She uncuffed him, dropping both keys and handcuffs before she threw her arms around my neck and yanked me into a painfully tight embrace.

“I thought you were dead you bitch,” she gasped, voice muffled and softened by the flesh of my neck.

I patted her awkwardly on the back. “Not dead,” I assured her. “Did you … did you want to say hello to Hunter? He’s my cousin.”

“Is Hunter the dinosaur?” she asked, without letting go.

“Yes.”

“I like your family more and more.”

Hunter made an amused clicking sound. // your small pet is amusing. //