Part 4

The next morning Liz, Isabel and Alex met before school at the Crashdown.
Michael soon joined them and Maria wasn't far behind. Liz noticed the two
of them exchange a subtle glance across the table when she arrived and took
a seat across from him in the booth. Maria was in for some serious girl
talk when this was all over.

Liz looked around the Crashdown and thought back to the dream she'd had the
night before. She and Max had held each other and talked until dawn. It
was the best dream she had ever had. She awoke this morning with more
determination than ever to get him back home safely.

Alex leafed through a stack of printouts on the table of the booth. "Seems
our Miss Topolsky has been exchanging e-mail with this scientist in D.C."
He pulled out a specific message and read the name, "Dr. Leonard Richter.
This guy's supposed to be some kind of expert in the field of
'xeno-biology,' whatever that is."

"Alien autopsy," said Isabel with disgust. An uncomfortable silence fell
over the group.

Alex continued hesitantly, "Anyway, Topolsky sent him this message saying
she's uncovered a find that could make both of their careers. She doesn't
go into details. He seems a little skeptical at first." Alex pulled
another paper from the stack. "But then, in this one he says he's made
arrangements to come out and observe her work. He's supposed to arrive
tonight."

"That's not much time," said Maria.

Michael added, "Then we'll just have to get Max out before this guy gets
there."

"I've got an idea," said Liz. "The only problem is, we need an adult.
Someone we can trust."

At that very moment, Milton walked into the Crashdown from the UFO museum
across the street. He saw them sitting in the back and headed straight for
their booth.

"Have any of you kids seen Max? He hasn't shown up for work in two days. I
wouldn't be worried except that he promised to help me with a new exhibit on
cow mutilations and he seemed so excited about it. I can't think why he
wouldn't even call."

Michael shook his head and mouthed the word "no." The rest of them shared
a knowing smile.

"What?" said Milton, suddenly feeling self-conscious at the ten pairs of
eyes looking him over.

* * *

Max lay back on his thin mattress feeling oddly content. He thought about
the night before. He was glad that they had waited. It would mean all the
more when they could be together for real. Liz had told him about hacking
into Topolsky's computer. She assured him that they would find a way to
rescue him. He wouldn't hear of it at first, but the thought of spending
his life, whatever was left of it, in this place was just too much to bear.
He made her promise to be careful. For the first time since being
kidnapped, he had a reason to believe that he would be free again soon.

There was a sound coming down the corridor, the clicking of heeled footsteps
along the cement floor. He knew that sound. Topolsky was coming. He sat
up in bed and prepared for her.

She slid a card into a numbered keypad outside the cell and punched in a
code. The glass door slid open.

"Morning Max," she said as she stepped inside.

"Agent Topolsky." He addressed her with added emphasis on the word 'agent.'

"You slept well, I trust."

"Why don't you check the video and see for yourself?"

"Smart," she said, crossing over to the bed. She sat down next to him. He
slid away. "I knew you were a smart guy the first time we talked. Do you
remember that session? The one about coming out from behind the tree? You
were talking about Liz, weren't you?"

"You do realize that you don't have to keep up the whole guidance counselor
story, right? I'd say your cover is pretty much blown by now."

"I know. I just wanted to talk for a minute. Person to person, so to
speak."

"If you say so."

"Are you comfortable here Max? Are you happy?"

"Sure. It's a regular five-star resort."

She lost her patience for a second and became dead serious, "I promise you
that it will seem like a resort now compared to what you'll go through if
you stay here." Then, out of nowhere, she regained her poise and the smile
was back, sweet and understanding. It was like watching a snake put on a
fur coat. "I know you miss your family and friends. And Liz. Wouldn't you
like to get out of this place?"

"What are you getting at? What do you want from me? More blood? A urine
sample? How about another spinal tap, cause that last one was so much fun."

"I know you've been through a lot. I know you'd like the tests to stop. I
can help you, Max. If you help me. We could use a guy like you on our
team."

"And what makes you think I would ever help you? You kidnap me, lock me up,
treat me like a lab rat, and now I'm supposed to trust you?"

"It doesn't look like you have a lot of options here. I'm offering you a
chance at freedom. Join us. We'll give you security clearance, complete
access to information, whatever you need. You'll be helping us track down
others like you. That's what you want, isn't it?"

"There are no others," Max lied.

There was a moment of intense silence between them, a test of wills to see
who would flinch first. Max's gaze remained rock solid.

Finally, Topolsky gave in and stood up. "Fine. If that's how you want to
play it. But I'm warning you, I can't protect you if you turn down my
offer. They will just keep experimenting until there's nothing left. You
won't be any use to me then. Just take some time to think about it."

"I have. No, thank you."

She took a deep breath, then walked through the door to the corridor
outside. Glaring at him through the glass, she pressed a button and the
door slid closed. Max sighed. He felt a strange sense of victory mixed
with terror as he heard her footsteps fade down the hall.

* * *

"I was afraid this would happen," said Milton.

"You were afraid what would happen?" asked Michael pointedly.

"It's the government." The five of them looked at each other, surprised.
Could Max have let Milton, of all people, in on his most guarded secret?
"They've been trying to keep the truth about aliens from us for over 50
years. They know we have information here, but they don't want the public
to know about it. It's all part of their elaborate cover-up scheme. Poor
Evans. He was a target from the moment I let him see those archives.
They're probably interrogating him right now. Oh, why couldn't they have
taken me instead?"

A collective sigh of relief came over the group. Milton was as clueless as
ever. The gang had gathered in his little studio apartment above the UFO
Center. Like the center, the walls were filled with goofy alien memorabilia
and posters. It reminded Maria of her mother's gift shop.

"Guess you're just too smart for them," said Maria, patronizing him.

"Well, that's true. I've spent years learning how to evade their covert
agents. You have to be on your guard when you work in a place like this.
But Evans, he hasn't been working here that long. He doesn't have the
benefit of my experience. He probably didn't know what hit him."

"Right about that," said Michael.

"So, you'll help us?" asked Isabel, anxiously.

"Of course. This is all my fault, you know. I knew he had the bug, but I
just encouraged him. I didn't warn him about how dangerous this information
could be. And now it's too late."

"Don't blame yourself, Milton," said Liz. "The important thing is that
we're going to get him out of there. Have you ever heard of a place called
the Canyon Ridge Research Center?"

"Are you kidding? Any UFOlogist worth his salt knows about Canyon Ridge.
It's just a few hours drive from here. It's where they brought the bodies,
you know, after the crash, to do the autopsies." Michael and Isabel
exchanged uneasy glances.

"Do you know how to get there?" asked Isabel.

"Never been there myself," said Milton. Disappointment quickly replaced the
feeling of excitement in the air. "But I've got a map."

At last, the pieces were starting to fall into place.

* * *

Michael searched the sidewalk in front of the airport terminal. He was
dressed in the uniform of the men directing traffic in the street. It had
taken Isabel only a minute after seeing the uniform to transform his clothes
into a reasonable facsimile. Soon he found what he was looking for. A man
in a black suit stood near his non-descript black car parked in front of the
terminal. He held up a sign that read "Richter."

Michael walked up to him and said, "Excuse me sir, you can't park here."

"What do you mean," he said, annoyed. "This is the loading and unloading
zone isn't it?"

"Yes, and I don't see you either loading or unloading, so I'm going to have
to ask you to move your car."

"I'm waiting for someone," he said, pointing to the sign.

"I see that," said Michael condescendingly. "But you'll just have to wait
for them someplace else. Now please move the car or I'll have someone move
it for you."

"Fine," said the driver. He got back into the car and moved it down the
block to a less crowded spot. He parked, walked back to his place and help
up the sign again.

Michael passed the driver and headed down to the car. After looking around
to make sure no one was paying attention, he leaned against the side of the
car and put his hand on the hood. There was a hissing noise and the engine
began to smoke. Casually, Michael stepped away from the car and slipped
inside the terminal unnoticed.

A woman came up to the driver and said, "Sir, is that your car over there?"

"Yes, and I'm not moving it again so you can just lay off." he replied, not
taking his eyes off the exit.

"I was just trying tell you that it's on fire."

"What!?!" exclaimed the driver. He ran down the curb to tend to the smoking
vehicle.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex pulled up to the curb in his father's Oldsmobile. He got
out and held up his own sign that said "Richter." Soon, a man emerged from
the terminal and headed straight for the car.

"I'm Dr. Richter," he said.

"Excellent, sir, " said Alex with a polite smile. "Right this way." He
took the man's shoulder bag and opened the door for him. The man climbed
inside.

"Hi," said Isabel from the back seat.

"I'm sorry?" said the doctor, a little confused. "There must be some
mistake..."

"Oh, it's no mistake," she said with an alluring smile. Isabel reached out
a hand and touched the side of his head. The man was surprised, but didn't
back away. She concentrated on the veins in his head, choosing one to apply
the slightest bit of pressure. Before he could react, the doctor was out
cold. He slumped over and landed in Isabel's lap. She rolled her eyes and
pushed him up again with her fingertips. His head flopped back onto the
headrest.

"Is he going to be all right?" asked Alex, settling into the driver's seat.

"He's going to have one hell of a headache when he comes to, but other than
that he'll be fine. Now let's get Michael and get out of here."

* * *

"You're not actually going to wear that?" asked Liz, walking in with a tray
of drinks. Milton stood there in the middle of his living room in an open
Hawaiian shirt, T-shirt and khaki cargo pants.

"Why not?" said Maria, proud of the ensemble she had put together.

"Scientists do not dress like that," answered Liz.

"Topolsky's never met this guy before. He doesn't have to be a boring old
stuffy scientist. For all she knows he's a quirky, off-beat scientist."

"I kind of like it," said Milton.

Liz shook her head. "Maria, we're not role-playing here. He has to look
respectable. Come here," she took Milton's hand and lead him to the closet.
She pulled out a white, short-sleeved button down shirt, a tie and a pair
of plain brown pants. "Do you have a lab coat?" she asked.

Milton seemed befuddled by all this attention. "In my office."

"Good. Now, are you sure you've never met Miss Topolsky before? If she
recognizes you it's all over."

"No. Never met her. Hey, do you think I should carry a weapon? Could come
in handy." Milton looked in the mirror and practiced pulling out a gun,
pointing at the mirror with his finger. He was really starting to get into
this whole secret agent thing.

"No weapons. They might search you. You'll have Michael and Isabel for
back-up," assured Liz.

"The punk kid and Evans' sister? What good are they?"

"You just worry about your part. We'll take care of the rest," said Maria.

"Who am I supposed to be again?"

Liz spoke to him slowly and patiently. "You're Dr. Leonard Richter. You're
a government scientist. You've just flown in from Washington D.C. Here,"
Liz handed him the stack of e-mail messages. "Read these. You have to know
all this."

"Dr. Leonard Richter, the famous xeno-biologist? What's he doing out here?"

Maria threw up her hands, "Not he! You! You're him, remember? Just read
the e-mail."

* * *

Alex, Isabel and Michael returned to the UFO Center with the comatose Dr.
Richter in tow. Michael and Alex carried him up the back stairs to Milton's
apartment.

Liz heard them coming and opened the door. "Thank god you're back.
Everything go all right?"

"So far," said Isabel as they entered the living room. Michael and Alex
laid the doctor on the couch.

"Okay. Everyone know the plan?" asked Liz. They all nodded.

"Simple. We get in, get Max and get out," said Michael, indicating himself,
Isabel and Milton.

"I'm going with you," said Liz.

"No you're not," said Michael.

"He's right, Liz," agreed Isabel. "I don't think it's a good idea."

"You don't understand. I have to go. I can't just sit here and wait. I
need to be there. I owe it to him. It's all because of me that he got
taken in the first place. Please." Isabel softened, but Michael held firm.
Liz went up to him and took his hand. Of all the people in the room,
Michael probably understood her feelings for Max the best. He had read it
all in the pages of her journal. She counted on his understanding now.
"Please."

Michael didn't change his expression. "You stay in the trunk. Do not make
a sound until I give you the signal. Stay low and don't get in our way."
Liz squeezed his hand in thanks. "Now, let's get moving."

"Good luck, you guys," said Maria, hugging Liz and Isabel in turn.

"Be careful," said Alex, shaking Michael's hand.

Alex put his arm around Maria's shoulder. The two of them looked on
nervously as their friends headed out the door to rescue Max.

To be Continued