After the Cave
by
Part Sixteen
Liz was slightly in a panic. She had forgotten a file that she
was working on yesterday at home. With all that had happened in
school today, she had been slightly distracted. Liz just knew any
second now the Congresswoman was going to ask her for it.
In desperation Liz picked up the phone and dialled a number she
had dialled a thousand times before. It was Maria's fault she had
been distracted going all Charlie's Angel on that idiot guy and
besides what were best friends for. She hoped Maria got here with
the file before she saw the Congresswoman. While the woman seemed
nice most of the time, Liz saw something in her eyes that made
her weary of making any mistakes. She didn't look like someone
that dealt well with those that crossed her.
Maria rushed up the stairs, pass Mrs Parker, calling hello as she
raced by into Liz's room. Mrs Parker didn't blink. Maria was a
common sight in their house, as common a sight as Liz was in the
Deluca household, practically a second daughter. Thirty seconds
later Maria ran by again calling a farewell. Mrs Parker smiled to
herself as Maria left before she even heard the reply.
Liz was waiting for her was the only thing Maria thought of as
she ran into the Congresswoman's Whittaker's offices. She paused
for a quick breathe before heading to the secretary's desk to ask
for Liz. After receiving directions, Maria took a chance to look
around for the first time. The place was filled with desks
covered in computers, fax machines and phones. There was an
office in the end of the room - Congresswoman Whitaker's. Maria
headed towards the desk where the secretary said was Liz's.
Liz was no where in sight. Towards the right a door was slightly
ajar - the Congresswoman's office. Maria walked quietly towards
the open door and quickly sneaked a look. She could see the
Congresswoman but not much else. The woman was talking to someone.
Maria moved in closer to see if it was Liz in the office. It took
her a few seconds to figure out that Whittaker was on the phone.
Maria began walking away when she overheard something that made
her stop dead in her tracks.
Pierce. The name brought bad memories and fear to the front. Even
though he was dead and Nacedo had replaced him, the man had done
too much and hurt too many people. Killing him had almost
destroyed Michael. Before Maria had a chance to be buried in
memories the FBI trained part of her had already come closer to
listen in on the conversation. She could only hear the one side.
"Yeah , I think I'm going to dump him. He's no use anymore.
I can barely get any information and now with the shut down of
the department, we will lose everything."
"Of course, I took precautions. Yes all the files have been
copied."
"Please I have a back-up for everything." Her voice was
smug.
"No, I'm sending someone to pick them up. It's too risky for
my contact to bring them here."
"Of course, someone I trust. "
"She's arriving tonight at 8. I stuck her in the Grange -
that motel on the edge of town. Tomorrow I'll give her the
identity and directions. The later the better. She'll pick up the
files, hand them to me and leave immediately."
"Uh-huh. By this time tomorrow, we'll have everything we
need on the royal four. It'll be only a matter of time."
"Bye. Yeah I'll phone as soon as they are in my hands."
Maria moved back towards Liz's desk as soon as she heard
Whittaker put the phone down. She looked down and saw she was
about to crush the file in her hands.
'This was bad. At least it explained why the woman was on the
news trying to keep the Department open after Nacedo initiated
the shut-down. I have to do something.' Maria's thoughts were all
over the place calculating and discarding theories. Suddenly out
of the corner of her eye, she spotted Liz heading towards her, a
look of total relief on her face. And everything that had
happened today came back to her. She forgot the half- formed plan
and the excitement and fear that arose since she overheard the
conversation. She had to tell them everything tonight. There
wasn't a choice anymore. They would all have to help if they were
to intercept those files.
Maria and Liz didn't stop to talk. Liz thanked Maria and Maria
left immediately. She needed to psyche herself up for tonight. At
least they would be slightly distracted by the Whittaker
information and I won't get yelled at so much, I hope. Who was
she kidding? Michael alone was going to probably try to keep her
locked up for the rest of the year never mind Alex, Max and Kyle.
She really didn't know when they all become so protective? Oh
yeah , it was when she got stuck in the desert.
Whatever happened the meeting had to be done by 8pm so they could
find the courier in time. That gave her 2 hours to get ready and
2 hours for the meeting. Maria headed towards the desert - to her
cliffs. She needed to think.
Part
Seventeen A
As usual the meeting was at Michael's apartment. Six of the eight
were already there. They didn't say much to each other as they
waited. All of them were aware that they were thinking the same
thing and that was this time they were not going to take no for
an answer. Maria was going to clear up a few mysteries today,
even if they all had to gang up on her. They were not going to
cave. Time had been spent discussing the matter previously.
It had taken them some time to come up with a reasonable
explanation for Maria always winning arguments and finally they
reached the conclusion that it was because she always took them
on in small numbers, usually only one or two people. There was
strength in numbers the teenagers had decided and they were all
going to stay strong.
The blame for the total lack of answers had also been by majority
vote placed squarely on Max's shoulders. The reasoning behind
that was obvious. It was his job as leader to find these things
out and his new "Girlfriend" status had obvious made
him susceptible to what Alex referred to as the puppy-dog-look,
therefore he hadn't completed his job. As Alex had explained to
the rest during one of the many discussions on strategy to make
Maria give up her summer activities, it wasn't his and Liz's
fault that they fell for it since they had the excuse of years of
friendship. Max's counter argument that after years of
friendships they should by now have figured out immunity to
Maria's puppy dog look.
It was Michael who ended that argument surprisingly with his 'the
look is lethal' and there is no defence argument. Even more
surprisingly it was Tess and Isabel who agreed with him. It was
also Isabel who finally decided that since blame had to be
apportioned and Michael was protected by the boyfriend thing the
blame therefore fell on Max and Liz. Liz it was decided should
share blame because she was technically the best friend and
should by now know. Both Max and Liz were adamantly opposed to
this but were overruled quite happily by the remaining members of
the group.
No one explained why Michael was immune but the one thing that
was unanimous was the shock felt over Maria's continued silence.
After all, as bluntly and rather unkindly put by Kyle 'The girl
had made babbling an art form.' This was, of course, taken very
badly by the subject's sort-of/kinda/ex-boyfriend who had been
heard on many a occasion telling her to shut up. Unfortunately he
didn't extend that courtesy to anyone else and that particular
discussion had ended rather quickly by all to prevent a fist
fight defending the honour of the 'known for her babbling'
subject.
Maria kung-fu act today in school had pushed their timetable up
and increased the determination of all to find out where she had
been. Surprisingly without having to use any of the persuasive
techniques the 7 friends had prepared Maria had agreed to the
meeting and to share the information.
The door opened and they all looked up expectantly but it was
only Liz. She greeted them and then sat down where Max had stood
up to give her his seat on the couch. Isabel looked at her watch
and sighed loudly. It appeared that all of them were ridiculously
early. There was still 15 minutes before Maria was due to arrive.
Still no one said anything. They were waiting. And it had all
been said already.
Outside Maria had just arrived. She sat in the car for a few
minutes before squaring her shoulders and climbing up to
Michael's door. She stood outside the door for another few
minutes planning what she was going to say. She jumped when the
door was opened suddenly and Michael took her arm and dragged her
in.
"Damn it, Maria. You have been standing at the door for 5
minutes not to mention the time spent in the car. We're all
waiting," impatience laced Michael's tone.
"I can't decide if their little radar thing creeps me out or
really impresses me," Kyle whispered to Tess.
"You and me both," Tess whispered back.
"Excuse me. But didn't we say 6. I am exactly on time. Not
my fault you are early."
"Since when do you stand on ceremony before coming in. Hell,
you have your own keys."
"Wait a minute. She has keys. Why does she have keys?"
Max cut in. "And why don't I have any?"
"Hellllllo. Max, did you forget you're a Czechoslovakian.
You don't need keys." Maria emphasised her point by lightly
tapping him on the head.
Max looked embarrassed for a second before remembering the reason
why. He opened his mouth to enquire again but Michael answered
him before he could speak.
"I gave her the damn keys okay, Max. Its my apartment. I am
allowed to that right?", his tone was sarcastic.
Isabel decided to interfere before Max and Michael gave Maria and
Michael a run for their money.
"Why don't we start? Maria you wanna tell us now?"
"Not particularly," came the dry answer in reply.
Isabel smiled.
"You all have to promise not to yell at me, especially you
Michael. And Isabel."
"Why me?" Isabel asked in surprise.
"You'll see." Maria answered cryptically, "Do you
promise."
"Okay," Isabel replied. Maria looked at the rest of
them.
"Yeah," Liz, Alex and Max said in unison.
"Alright, " Kyle replied and Tess echoed him.
Everyone looked at Michael.
"What? I'm not making some stupid promise I am not going to
keep. She obviously did something I need to yell at her about."
"She is standing right here," Maria said, "And she
is not saying anything until you promise."
It was the pleading looks on the others faces that caused him to
reconsider.
"How about this I promise to try not to yell at you."
The teens turned their pleading looks on Maria this time. Like
Michael she had little defence.
"Fine," she gave in.
End Part 17A
Part
Seventeen B
"You need to sit I think. It will be better. Everyone except
Michael sat, squashing on the limited seating arrangements
available, with Tess practically on top of Kyle perched on the
end of the couch. Michael stood leaning against the wall his legs
and arms both crossed.
"Its going to sound a little unbelievable, okay. Don't
interrupt. It's hard enough to tell you without…just wait
till it's over."
Maria stood in front of them. As she began talking she started to
pace slowly in front of them. The seven pairs of eyes followed
her.
"It all began after the you found out about your purpose
here. Michael wasn't talking to me. Liz just left. All of you
were upset and distracted. Michael got it into his head he was
dangerous and he had to protect me and nothing I said made any
difference. He wasn't talking or willing to listen and Max and
Isabel were too busy dealing with what they heard from their
mother to see what saving the sheriff and Max from Pierce to see
what it was doing to him. Tess was the only one who could see
what was happening and at the time we didn't fully trust her and
we blamed her for a lot that happened." Maria sent a
apologetic look in Tess's direction.
Everyone was listening and their expressions varied and changed
with almost every sentence, from guilt to understanding. No one
interrupted.
"I couldn't do anything here. No one thought I could do
anything at all. I was just this weird girl who freaked out
regularly and babbled a lot. I was dangerous to you," Maria
continued. A number of voices immediately forgot the no
interrupting rule and rose in protest.
"You were never a danger to us," Tess's voice
surprisingly was the loudest.
"How can you say you never do anything? You the one that
comes up with all the ideas," Liz said.
"I know I didn't trust you in the beginning but I do now,
have for a long time. I trust you with my life. For heaven sake
you are one of my best friends," Isabel said next. The
others all nodded in agreement.
"I always trusted you," Michael's voice was quiet.
"He did. In the beginning when you guys just found out. I
was the one that freaked out the most. Michael hardly yelled at
Max at all. And I was the one that was worried about you. Michael
never questioned you. Liz, he wasn't so sure of but you…
let's just say Mr. Paranoia over there didn't seem to think that
you would tell at all," Isabel finished her long spiel.
Maria looked surprised, "He didn't ask you to dreamwalk me?"
"No. Isabel did that on her own," Max answered.
"Really?" Maria asked.
Michael stood on the side listening quietly.
"Yes. Really. And you know I never told them what I saw
either." Isabel said.
"What you see?" Alex asked.
"None of your business," Maria stated quickly. She
decided to continue before everyone got to curious about that
dream.
"Anyway I decided that I was going to do something to help
instead of just waiting around. I didn't know quite what to do
until I came by to see Michael. He wasn't here. I knew because I
couldn't feel him. I decided to leave a note for him so I went
inside. I wrote it and I went to the fridge to stick it up and I
saw the wallet of the FBI Agent that Nacedo killed lying on the
table. I picked it up and took it. I didn't want Michael to have
a reminder."
"When I got home I had already forgotten about it until the
next day when I met Isabel for lunch. I took out my lunch and the
wallet fell out and it was like a lightbulb kind of flashed and
the idea just came to me. " Maria paused and looked up at
the 7 teens who were listening fascinated.
"You know me, I'm spontaneous. I kinda went with the idea,"
Isabel's face started to clear as she slowly figured out what
Maria was saying. Liz who was also present during the
identification change expression also showed comprehension.
"I had Isabel put my face on the identity. The more I
thought about it the more the idea seemed workable especially
after I remembered the research I did on the FBI when Topolsky
first showed up."
Isabel opened her mouth and then shut it again wanting to hear
the rest first. Maria continued, "Liz was leaving and
Michael wasn't talking to me. Alex tried but it wasn't enough. I
went for it. I told everyone except Liz that I was in Florida. I
made sure I phoned regularly so no one suspected and I drove to
the FBI Training Base and talked my way into it."
Maria told them everything from the self defence and hacking
skills she learned to the stuff she did with Riverdog. Her
friends sat in shock their expressions changing with each word
she said. At some points their mouths hung open and they had to
remind themselves to shut it.
Kyle and Tess reactions ranged from sheer shock to outright
admiration. They were not as close to Maria then, not as they
were now. Alex wasn't as surprised as he should have been. Being
her friend for so long had its perks and he was used to Maria's
outrageous ideas even though this one was a bit out there even
for her. Mixed with all that was running through his mind was the
fear and worry that he felt for her and the among the rest he was
hurt that she kept something so huge from him.
Liz felt the hurt as well but it was guilt that was her main
emotion. Guilt she felt for not having been there for a friend
that had always been there for her, for being so self involved
she didn't see that her best friend was going to the same thing
as she was.
Max was mad at her for putting herself in danger and for the
total lack of control that came with being Maria's friend but at
the same time he understood the sentiment she felt that she had
to do something. Years of being Michael's best friend had made
him accustomed to the thing that made Michael act rashly to
protect those he considered family. It was one of those things
that the two shared and made them so right for each other. They
were the protectors.
Isabel couldn't decide how she felt. Part of her was furious at
her best friend for lying to her and making her an accomplice to
a plan that could have gone so wrong but the other half of her
admired the hell out of Maria. She had the guts to enter the
lion's lair a place that terrified all of them. Part of her was
relieved to finally know, a sentiment that was shared by all of
them. Plus the Riverdog training did explain a few things -
things that had been bugging her like how Maria kicked her out
during that dreamwalk.
Michael was beyond furious, beyond even anger. With every word
that came out of her mouth he grew more coldly infuriated. He
ignored the feelings of pride that arose with Maria's tale and
squashed them down ruthlessly. He ignored the circles of
attractions that were always just below the surface and were now
screaming having watched her pace for the last hour as she spoke,
the most time he had spent in her company since the desert. After
all the effort he had placed in keeping her safe. He gave her up
only to have her go do something this stupid to protect him. He
was going to yell for sure. The things that could have gone
wrong, they were too numerous to count. He didn't know the
penalty for impersonating an FBI Agent but he was pretty sure it
was big.
Little of this showed on his face. It was an effort but he kept
his face as carefully blank as he could, a feat only years of
practised indifference made possible.
Maria looked around nervously when she finally stopped at the
point where she met the others in the desert. She glanced quickly
in Michael's direction and looked away again, avoiding his gaze.
She could feel the emotions coming of him. They were that strong.
She looked at her other friends. She saw the shock, the hurt ,
the guilt, the anger and the admiration. She waited for the
verdict, the reaction. No one said anything for a few minutes
taking it all in. These were tense filled moments for Maria. She
had stopped pacing and now in a move imitating Michael stood
against the wall expectant and watchful. She still had one more
thing to tell after all.
End Part 17B
Part
Seventeen C
As usual it was Kyle who broke the silence, "Damn, Ria but
you sure do get around. I suppose I shouldn't challenge you to
that wrestling match now especially after your Bruce Lee act this
morning."
That was enough to get the rest of them going.
Liz stood up and hugged her. Maria put her arms around Liz and
held her tight. It was both a plea for forgiveness and an
acceptance of the apology Liz was sending.
"I'm sorry…" both of them said at the same time.
Then they laughed.
"You go first," Maria said.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you and I just took of,"
the word came out in a rush from Liz.
"You needed to go. I knew that. So did I. I'm sorry I never
told you or Alex or any of the rest of you, especially after we
promised no more secrets," Maria still didn't mention
Michael by name. And she forced herself not to look in his
direction.
Alex got up as well with much difficulty displacing an Isabel and
Max who was sitting next to him and joined Liz and Maria in the
hug holding both of them in his arms. The group hug had the
familiarity of hundreds before in the long threads of their
friendship. Maria and Liz buried their faces in his shoulders and
grabbed on tight. The others could hear light mumbling from
Alex's shoulder as Maria apologised to him again, even if the
words were not clear, the meaning was. Small feelings of envy
arose in the watching friends, envy for the closeness the three
shared and the trust and forgiveness that was so readily given.
It was a while before they let go. The others were all standing
around the room except Kyle and Tess who sat on the couch.
Michael still hadn't moved both his expression and his position.
Maria walked up to Isabel and stood in front of her. She had a
special apology to make to Isabel for using her. The two girls
looked at each other but before Maria could say anything Isabel
smiled and hugged her.
"You're not going to yell at me," Maria asked surprised.
"I promised, didn't I? But you do that again and I will not
be responsible for the consequences. Okay?" Isabel replied.
Maria nodded emphatically in agreement.
"Besides I want lessons," Isabel continued. "In
particular that move you used a Mr. Hands today at school and I
figure you owe me."
"Lessons it is. Deal," Maria agreed.
"Wait I want lesson too," Tess said.
"Me too," Liz put in.
"You guys do realise that a ten mile run every morning is
required. No excuses," Maria said.
"Every morning. Can't I do it every second day maybe?"
Isabel asked causing everyone to laugh.
"Damn," Alex whispered to Max and Kyle, "Now we
are going to have to learn as well."
"Yeah can't have the girls beating us up, can we?" Max
sounded amused.
Everyone stopped smiling and all conversation ended when Michael
finally moved. Like the Red Sea splitting, the teens all cleared
the way for him when he slowly walked toward his sort of/kinda/sometimes
ex-girlfriend. No one was talking. Maria sent a desperate look to
Alex, Max and Kyle but they all shook their heads. They were not
going to get involved in this one. They even took a step
backwards just for safety. Liz, Isabel and Tess were even less
help.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Michael's first
words were only slightly louder than normal. Maria almost felt a
sense of relief hearing them. At least the wait was over.
"You know why I did it, Michael." She was proud of
herself. She sounded calm and rational.
"Yeah. I do. Obviously living in the desert has caused some
sort of meltdown in you brain, either that or your blonde cells
were working at higher capacities than normal," Michael's
sarcasm was in full gear. His control was shaky and he was torn
between wanting to shake her or grabbing her and holding her as
tight as possible like he had seen Alex do. Not doing either
wasn't really helping his mood.
Maria of course took offence to that. Whether it was the blonde
reference or the insult to her intelligence that made her mad
wasn't clear to the onlookers. What they did notice with
fascination was the calm tones and reasonable sentences that
quickly disappeared and the argument that followed
Tess disappeared into the kitchen for a bit at the begin of the
discussion that was now in full force, and emerged carrying a
bowl. She sat down on the couch when she returned and waited for
the fireworks to erupt, every few seconds popping some popcorn
into her mouth. Kyle took her lead and sat down next to her
leaning over to steal some popcorn and promptly spat it out as
the taste of Tabasco sauce filled his mouth.
Tess laughed softly and then felt sorry for him so she waved her
hand over half the popcorn and the Tabasco disappeared. Alex
pulled up next to Kyle and Isabel helped herself to the popcorn
from Tess's side. Their heads moved from side to side as they
followed the conversation between their fiery friends, like
watching a tennis match their eyes on the ball.
Watching what Maria sometimes referred to as discussions,
disagreements, arguments or fights depending on speaking status
with her partner in crime was always interesting. Sparks flew and
often the spectator felt you could just about see the electricity
flow between the two and getting too close will only result in
you getting burned. Today was no different if more intense than
normal. For Michael and Maria fighting was as natural as
breathing and half the time it was just their way of flirting.
The confrontation between the two was a long time coming and as
it escalated voices rose and accusations flew back and forth
covering sheer stupidity (that was Michael's to Maria) to
overprotectiveness and idiocy (Maria's to Michael). The couple
forgot that anyone else was in the room and just went at it. In
between, as was common between the two, feelings escaped and some
"I love you's" were yelled at some point as reasons.
Nearer to the end a few apologies may have even been said but
these at lower decibel levels than the rest of the exchange.
For the witnesses it was more entertainment than going to the
movies. The popcorn didn't last that long but no one was ever
going to accuse Tess of not being prepared. She brought extras
and because she didn't want to miss anything, popped it the
Czechoslovakian way without moving. They split the new packet
between the humans and the aliens.
All of them saw the power that was Maria as the argument slowly
came to an end. That's not to say Michael didn't give her a run
for her money. He was good but she was Maria and sooner or later
everyone caved to Maria. It was the fact that she did it for him
that won it for her. After she said that in a soft and unsure
tone, he just stared at her a for a couple of seconds before
opening his arms and enfolding her in them. Then he leaned back
slightly and they met in the middle in a kiss. It wasn't a long
kiss and she buried her head in his chest and he lightly touched
his lips to her forehead before losing his face in her hair.
They stood like that for a while as their friends watched in
silence unnoticed until Maria suddenly moved her head back and
said, "Oh my God. I totally forgot. I have to tell you what
I found out today. Man am I an idiot."
"That's what I have been saying," Michael put in, a
smirk on his face now that the storm was over. Maria tapped him
lightly on the shoulder.
"This is important, spaceboy. Its about the Congresswoman."
"Okay I personally can not take any more revelations from
you. They're too…see what you did to my brain. You shocked
it to death. I have no vocab left," Alex said.
"Congresswoman Whittaker?" Liz questioned ignoring Alex.
"Uh huh. Remember when I came to drop of that file today,
well I kind of overheard something." Maria answered also
ignoring Alex. Then she told them all she heard still standing in
the circle of Michael's arms.
"Okay. That's it. I am going to lock you up and not let you
out ever again. You are dangerous on your own," Michael said.
"I'll help you," Max added.
"Hey," Maria stated indignantly.
"I'll hold her down. Then we tie her up as well so she
definitely can't escape." That came from Kyle.
"And I think we should gag her. It will best for all if she
can't speak or argue," Alex put in. All the guys looked at
each other in complete agreement. Maria on the other hand didn't
look as pleased.
"It's not my fault I heard this. It's Liz's. I wouldn't even
be there if it wasn't for her," Maria said.
"Guys, can we please be a little serious about this. This is
bad. We have to do something," Isabel's voice had a bit of
fear in it.
"We should call Nacedo and tell him," Tess said.
Liz was still looking a little shocked after the new revelations
about her boss. She was also a little chagrined that she hadn't
discovered it herself. Max was quiet now as he considered the
implications of what Maria had overheard and calling Nacedo. The
others in the room also grew quiet as the ramifications of this
sunk in.
Maria had the whole afternoon to think about it so she didn't say
anything as the others did what she had already done, creating
and discarding ideas. She had formed a plan to get the files back
and she knew it was pointless to call Nacedo without the identity
of the contact in the department especially since it was obvious
that he didn't already know about it. It was Kyle who answered
Tess's question about calling their protector. The others all
agreed.
Maria told them her plan to retrieve the information. It was a
well thought out and extremely detailed plan involving numerous
elements. It took a while to convince Michael to let the plan go
through. He objected to anything even slightly dangerous if it
involved Maria, ironically he had no problems if he was the one
in danger. Max, Kyle and Alex also objected to it but the support
of the girls pushed the vote in favour. Isabel, Liz and Tess
while not wanting to put anyone in danger recognised that it was
the only way to solve the problem and the guys deep down also
knew that it was the best way to go, so eventually allowed
themselves to be persuaded.
It was a group decision. Max, while designated the leader, had
been brought up in a democratic environment and had always made
decisions together with Michael and Isabel. With the secret
revealed and affecting more people the decision making process
had been increased to include the others. Anything important as
always they took a group vote and majority ruled except
occasionally when a hiccup sometimes arose.
The plan was dissected and everyone assigned roles. It was almost
8 o' clock. It was time to begin. Everyone left to do their part
forgetting all and any previous tensions as they slipped into
their crisis mode like a well oiled machine with lots of practise.
End Part 17C
Part
Eighteen
It was Liz's idea that each of them pair up as human/alien
couples for safety. Somehow without an actual discussion on the
matter the eight of them divided themselves into the
relationships that were most familiar to them.
Kyle and Tess had the first role. They left immediately from
Michael's apartment to the Grange to find the woman who was
supposed to pick up the files. The motel was a small one just at
the edge of Roswell. It didn't take long to find her. She was the
only new check-in and the only single woman. They discovered this
by some basic detective work. Tess mindwarped the clerk and Kyle
studied the records. Her name was Agent Megan Harris.
The two of them parked close by to her room and after making sure
she was in, phoned the Sheriff to send someone to keep an eye on
her. They didn't inform the sheriff the entire plan and
surprisingly he didn't ask. He just sent one of his deputy's to
the motel with strict orders to notify them if she left.
Unfortunately being in school meant even with a rather
understanding father, staying out all night with a girl was not
something that would go down well and so they had to adjust the
plan. In the morning the two of them would return and relieve the
deputy from stake out duty.
Max and Liz were in charge of the next part. It was decided that
Liz would plant a couple of bugs in the Congresswoman's office.
This was mainly because she could do this early in the morning by
entering the office without raising any suspicions because of her
job. She would just say if caught that she forgot something and
came to fetch it. Max was going along in case something went
wrong and to open any doors that may need to be opened.
The next day Max and Liz arrived at the Congresswoman's office
around seven. There was no one there yet so Max using a little
bit of his powers unlocked the doors, both the entrance and the
office door. Alex had given them two listening devices to use,
one for the phone and one for the office. Both of them had to
practise placing the bug in the phone many times the night before
under Alex and Maria's strict supervision. With all the practise
they had done, it all went smoothly. Max stood lookout at the
door and Liz placed the bugs both out of sight. After a short
test to see if Alex and Isabel could hear, they left for school.
One of the other decisions made the night before had been that at
least four of them would have to go to school to avoid rising any
suspicion as would be if all eight of them were missing.
Alex was responsible for all the high tech stuff. It was his
expertise after all. Isabel was his partner in crime. The teens
were using the listening devices they had found after their last
run in with the FBI and Nacedo. Alex and Isabel were staked out
in Michael's apartment which was within range of the
Congresswoman's office. The two of them would listen in and
report to Michael and Maria and Kyle and Tess. Just in case they
were to skip school and stay all day. The two of them were also
home base and everyone was to report to them and update them with
any new developments.
*****************
Kyle and Tess pulled up at the Grange just minutes before Agent
Harris left. The Congresswoman was already in her office based on
video feed from the office device and so far nothing suspicious
had been overheard. Kyle and Tess followed the agent to the
Congresswoman and waited outside for further instructions.
Alex and Isabel listening in the apartment with Michael and Maria
who copied and memorised all the information on the whereabouts
of the FBI Headquarters and the meeting and retrieval of the
files. Michael and Maria then left for the meeting while Isabel
sent Tess the go ahead.
The plan was simple. Tess would mindwarp the Agent into stopping
her car thinking there was a red robot and then further convince
her that she received new orders to go back home. Maria would
then replace her at the meeting and retrieve the files while Kyle
and Tess would return to school after only missing the first two
periods. So far everything was going accordingly and a complete
success. The Agent was on her way home and the only part left,
and the most difficult, was Maria's role to collect the files.
Michael insisted that he go along for protection. It was the
concession they had made to get to him to agree to the plan. In
addition he was the only other person who had any experience in
imitating a FBI Agent. Maria was all dressed up in her power suit
and Michael had already adjusted his clothes. Maria's identity
document had also been changed by Michael reflecting Agent
Harris's details, all collected by Kyle and Tess.
The headquarters was half an hour away. It was a silent drive
filled with unspoken thoughts. Michael and Maria were a strange
contradiction in many ways. While both of them could be extremely
vocal especially towards one another, some of their best
communication was made in silence. Both of them knew what the
other was thinking. It wasn't necessary to say it out loud.
Getting into the building was easy. At the entrance all they had
to do was show the identity before they were waved in. Michael
remained in the car ready to leave immediately or go in and help
if he felt Maria ask for it. Maria got out of the car in one
smooth moment. She didn't say goodbye to Michael and he didn't
wish her good luck. The two of them just exchanged one glance, an
emotion filled glance that said all that needed to be said before
Maria tuned and walked into the building.
The building was a nondescript grey two story. It seemed like any
other office building except for all the security that surrounded
it. No one would have suspected it being the headquarters of an
elite and secret FBI Task Force. Maria walked in, seemingly
confident. Her outer appearance and expression revealed none of
the inner turmoil and nervousness she was feeling at that moment.
She took a deep breathe before approaching the reception and then
smiled as what resembled a light breeze from within went through
her. It was a message from Michael telling her that she would be
fine and that everything would be okay.
After that, Michael saying that he had faith in her and that he
trusted her, Maria found the rest easy. Within minutes she had
asked for the contact and been ushered into a small room just of
the entrance to receive the files. Maria's hair had been changed
to a reddish brown colour and the length adjusted by Max to match
the description of the woman who she was pretending to be - one
of his Girlfriend duties as Maria put it. Similarly her face
matched the identification she carried. Maria didn't even blink
when upon displaying it, the man the Congresswoman was paying for
inside information scrutinised the identification and compared
her face. She trusted Michael and he did good work especially
when it counted.
Both Maria and the identification passed the test. The man handed
her a small envelope containing two disks. Maria didn't open up
the envelope. She just took it, smiled and said thank you, waved
goodbye and walked out the building. The second Michael felt her
get closer he moved the car and pulled up directly in front of
the building just as Maria strolled out. She jumped into the car
and at his questioning gaze gave a small smile of triumph.
Michael restrained himself from yelling in excitement even after
he drove out the entrance gates. Maria on the other hand wasn't
as hesitant and screamed loudly before leaning over and giving
him a loud kiss. Then she sat back with a huge cat got the cream
grin on her face. He just laughed in response. Before they had
much of a chance to enjoy the moment, Maria's cell phone rang. It
was Isabel.
*******************
Alex and Isabel had been sitting in Michael's apartment for a
couple of hours now. Waiting was a horrible job and Isabel was
bored out of her mind. They were waiting for news from Michael
and Maria to see if everything went according to plan. Listening
to the Congresswoman, apart from the morning meeting with Agent
Harris, had proved useless so far. Nothing out of the ordinary
had been said. Even Alex looked slightly dissatisfied which was
strange because he loved to play with little gadgets.
Isabel had her head resting on Alex shoulder as usual when the
phone on the screen they were watching rang. Without much
enthusiasm Isabel and Alex both reached for the headphones to
listen in on the conversation.
The conversation. It made Isabel wish with all her heart that she
could go back to being bored again, back to when the hardest
thing the 8 of them had to do was retrieve some files from the
heart of a secret FBI Headquarters.
The strange thing was, with all this time, since the cave that
they had been waiting for some move from the enemy and nothing
had happened in months, part of Isabel just hoped and believed
that nothing would ever happen. Even the thing with the files
hadn't changed her belief, since the FBI was just an old enemy
not something new.
She looked at Alex in a panic but found no comfort there. He was
just as terrified as she was. Only four were left. Max and Liz.
Kyle and Tess. All gone. She had to phone Michael. He and Maria
would fix it. They were the strong ones in the group. Alex handed
her the phone, reading her mind, the number already dialled. On
the other end, Michael's voice could be heard. Isabel could hear
the smile in his voice and knew that the mission had been a
success even before he said anything. And she knew that the
second she spoke that smile would be gone.
End part 18
Part
Nineteen
It took Isabel a few seconds to gather up enough courage to speak.
Michael didn't notice at first. He was busy telling Isabel all
about the retrieval. She waited for him to finish the sentence
before saying his name, "Michael."
It was her voice that told him something was wrong. It was the
same voice she used when ever she was scared and used to have
nightmares about being dissected when she was younger. She used
to run into Max's room where Michael was usually sleeping and
stand there at the door and say his name or Max's in this really
small soft tone just before she threw herself into their arms and
burst out crying. As she got older she did it less and he came
over less but every once in a while, even with Alex around Isabel
would show up and say his name in that same tone and he always
knew that whatever it was, it was bad.
"What's wrong, Izzy?" Michael was never one to mince
words.
Isabel didn't know quite how to begin, "I know why she
wanted the files, Michael."
"What do you mean?" he asked knowing she was stalling.
And all of a sudden Isabel knew she couldn't break the news to
him. Telling her big brother would make it real. She asked to
speak to Maria. Maria would tell him. The minute Maria came on
the line, Isabel began sobbing and talking at the same time, her
hand clutching Alex's.
"Calm down, chica. Whatever it is we'll fix it,"
"I can't tell him, Maria," she said between sobs.
"Okay, Izzy. You tell me and I will tell him,"
"They're all gone. They took them"
"Took who. Who took them? Isabel?" Maria voice was
rising in panic.
Isabel looked up at Alex and found the strength there. Her
sobbing calmed down and in a voice almost expressionless as she
said the words Maria had been hoping she wouldn't hear, the words
she had been dreading to hear.
"They took Max, Liz, Tess and Kyle. Just before they got to
school. We heard it during one of the phonecalls that woman was
making. They were waiting for them."
"Tell me exactly what you heard," Maria demanded.
"She was talking to someone about something being only a
part success. He said that they got Max and Liz immediately but
no one else showed up. They waited for a couple of hours and then
Kyle and Tess came. They waited some more but since we didn't go
to school today…" Isabel let the sentence fade and then
after a pause started again, "She called us subjects. She
said that they'd better find subjects 3,4,5 and 6 before Kivar
finds out that we were not taken."
Maria couldn't say anything. She dropped the phone and turned to
Michael her eyes wide and tearful. He'd heard and from her side
of the conversation knew. He picked up the phone from the car
seat where it had fallen. On the other end Alex took the phone
from Isabel. She let him.
Alex and Michael had a short conversation. Michael told Alex to
take Isabel and get the hell out of there. Maria who seemed to
get her strength back added for them to take the back way and
avoid main roads. Michael also gave instructions for them to call
Sheriff Valenti and told Isabel who was also now listening to
grab whatever she could from the flat and after a short
brainstorming between the four of them decided to meet at the pod
cave. At the last second, Maria remembered the files and told
Alex to bring his laptop so they could figure out what was on
them. They didn't discuss details of their missing friends
disappearance or rescue. That could wait. Hiding and regrouping
was the most important thing now.
Later they would rescue their friends and make the enemy pay.
And so one couple broke every speed limit there was to get back
to Roswell, to the cave and another sneaked out a small apartment
and after making sure there was no one around watching, climbed
down the fire escape, backpacks on their shoulders. All four knew
that it was sheer luck that they had not been taken as well,
sheer luck that Maria overheard a conversation and sheer luck
that they didn't go to school today. And they knew that they were
being hunted and running out of time. For their friends they
would be strong.
For their friends.
End part 19
Part Twenty
Liz was terrified. More terrified than she could ever recall
being in her life. More terrified than she had been when Michael
got sick. More terrified than she had been when she had been
kidnapped by Nacedo. More terrified than when Max had been
captured by the FBI and more terrified than she had been running
from Pierce, bullets shooting at them.
The reason for this utter fear that was almost paralysing was the
still form that lay on her lap on the floor in square lead
covered room. Her hands moved in his hair as she beseeched him to
move, to open his eyes, his beautiful out of this world eyes and
smile at her with that sweet smile that made her breathe catch.
She pleaded and implored him to wake up and to tell her that
everything would be alright.
She was all alone. All around her was pure silence, silent except
for her voice talking to Max and it had been so since they had
thrown his almost lifeless body into the room with her
practically crawling in after. Only once had she heard sounds,
voices yelling. She couldn't make out the words or the voices and
that had been two hours ago. And in all that time Max had not
moved. Not when she picked up his head and placed in her lap. Not
when her fingers ran all over his face looking for some signs of
life, of consciousness.
Liz didn't cry. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. She just
sat there holding her soulmate in her arms and waited. Waited and
prayed. Prayed that Max would wake up. Prayed that everyone else
was okay and free. Prayed that she would be rescued soon.
Her mind ran back to their capture, to see if she could have done
anything differently, even if her scientific brain recognised the
futility of the exercise. It had all happened so fast. There had
been no warning and no time to warn anyone else. Max had been
driving the jeep and she was in the passenger seat. They were a
little late for school because of the stop the two of them had
made at the Congresswoman's office. Just before they were about
to pull into the parking lot of the school, three cars ran them
of the road into an alley. The alley was deserted and the two had
put up a fight but they were outnumbered by at least six.
Max put up a forceshield using powers he didn't even know he had
and shot out small bursts of energy at their ambushers. None of
that mattered. Max ran out of energy and even though he took out
at three people. Liz herself using a wrench form the car hit and
injured one person pretty badly. Even now in hindsight she
couldn't feel any remorse for that. It was when Max's energy
levels started to diminish and the force field went down that it
had gone from bad to worse.
Whoever it was that was attacking them didn't want to kill Max
just capture him. Liz herself wasn't as priority and one of them
had shot a burst of lasers at her. Max had seen it out of the
corner of his eyes and being Max jumped in front of her, pushing
her towards the ground. The burst had hit him straight in the
chest and he had fallen unconscious to the ground next to her.
Liz didn't fight anymore after that and gave in. They threw the
two of them into a van after driving for 10 minutes arrived at a
house. Liz was panic stricken because Max had not regained
consciousness and almost didn't notice the method she had been
escorted into the house and thrown into the room where she now
resided. Her only thoughts and concern were for the boy she loved.
When the door opened suddenly Liz didn't look up. She didn't move.
It was fortunate for her that no one came in and only some water
pushed through. Liz waited for ten minutes before gently laying
Max's head on the floor and sliding over to water and dragging it
back to him. All problems, all misunderstandings, their break-up,
all had been forgotten. Her only thought now was for him to wake
up. She used the water to wash his face, slowly in small circles
her fingers wet his face with the hope that it would cause him to
open his eyes. Nothing happened but she wasn't ready to give up
yet. She tried again and again every 15 minutes and waited.
Waited and hoped.
***************************
Just two doors away in a room identical to the one Subjects 1 and
2 were in was another couple, Subjects 7 and 8. Of course they
were in the dark about their titles or each other's presence.
Kyle and Tess had been in the empty square room for just over an
hour.
Kyle sat against the wall in one corner. Tess sat next to him,
her head on his shoulder. They didn't say much. They didn't know
who was listening or watching. Although they were unaware of it
their capture was almost identical to Max and Liz's, except for
Max's unconscious state. Tess tried to mindwarp their kidnappers
but they were just too many of them for her to sustain any long
term mindwarp in order for her and Kyle to get away. The same
alley that resulted in their friends kidnap was also the site of
theirs. It was also the site of the two bodies that between her
and Kyle they had taken out in the fight that occurred subsequent
to the ambush, and the many injuries that not only the enemy had
suffered.
In the end it was the fact that they were totally outnumbered,
and that either would die before letting anything happen to the
other that led to their surrender. They were carted of in a van
clutching each other's hands and thrown into the room they
currently inhabited. They may have surrendered but the two had
not given up. They made enough of a fuss when being thrown into
their prison to get their point across, even though Kyle was
injured pretty badly and Tess was exhausted from fighting and
trying to heal herself and Kyle from the worst of their wounds.
It was a long hour and more to come. They ignored the pain as
much as they could and thought up escape plans while they
recovered as a way to both counter the helpless feelings and fear
that ran through them and to distract from the pain. The time
passed and Kyle and Tess rested while they waited for Tess to
gather enough energy reserves to contact the others and see if
they were okay.
End Part Twenty