The Bafflers and Other Fiction

"The Bafflers" U.S. State Department employee Fred Caffler and his wife Lisa use verbal evasion and confusion and lots of moving around and hiding to slow things and protect the interests of the people of the tiny nation of Miltonvaria during intersecting searches and chases inside the large Palace of the People building.
An American company with political connections is interested in a special mineral resource and offer to make a few Miltonvarian officials rich if they sign off on a lousy treaty deal while some of the on-the-scene State Department people work to prevent that.

"Special Delivery" The Metcalf parents and four kids find what appears to be a crash-landed spaceship in their suburban backyard. They work to keep it from exploiters who want to steal and sell it when the inventor of what is intended to be a time-travel machine, obviously not yet perfected, asks for help.

"Transfer Points" When eccentric inventor Jimbo Barker finds his latest and untested items gone from his secret workshop, he runs around trying to find them - followed by agents of the Mob and of a U.S. agency, each interested in getting the items for their group if they work. But only Jimbo knows what the devices can do.
The hunt and chases end at a shopping mall where the two tall walk-through arches are on display in a science exhibit. Here several people accidentally discover what they do - but can't explain it so they don't believe it. Jimbo must decide how to save his devices from doing more harm than good.