Hours later, Maggie wondered if it was possible for a person's leg to literally fall off from sitting too long. Ham Tyler and his quiet friend, Chris Farber, had interrupted their romantic interlude when she and Leary had met outside. After nearly six hours of arguing, yelling, and cussing, all of which had been done by the others while Maggie had sat listening. Listening and feeling her butt go numb and then that numbness had to spread to her legs--it looked like the plans they'd made to begin attacking the Visitor's were going to be, if not halted, at least rearranged.

Tyler had revealed to the SEALs that groups of freedom fighters--there was no other term for the groups that Tyler represented--from all over the world had joined together to form The World Resistance Movement. This group's goal was to drive the Visitors from Earth using whatever means they had at their disposal. Unfortunately for the World Resistance, their founding members were scientists, philosophers, and historians, all declared outlaws by the Visitors, with a little help from the leaders of the countries from which the 'outlaws' lived, nor members of the military, all of who had been taken in by the Visitors.

With this lack of military expertise the founders of the World Resistance had been forced to do what all guerrilla fighters had done through the centuries, fighting with what they had and hiding when they had too. Fortunately, they had found Tyler and his fellow mercenaries and over the last few months had developed a more military make-up. It was Ham who'd found Leary and the other, how he wouldn't say, and now he offered to have them join the World Resistance and help them rid the planet of these alien invaders.

"So what's in it for us?" Rexer asked, Maggie noted he and the others still had looks of distrust on their faces, one she was sure was reflected on her face as well.

They'd seen the V symbol that had started showing up all over the place, heard reports of outlaws causing trouble, but as yet they hadn't met any member of the group hassling the Visitors. Maggie kept hoping they'd meet these fellow fighters but so far they hadn't managed to find one sign of who they might be or even where they were hiding. Which the SEALs had taken as an insult to their abilities, or that's how Maggie took the various comments and snide remarks she'd overheard whenever the resistance group was brought up.

The smile that had started to spread across her face at that thought disappeared when she happened to notice JT staring at her, and all her lighthearted thoughts instantly disappeared.

She still wasn't sure why JT hated her, and it was hate she saw in the other woman's eye, she wasn't fool enough to think it was anything else. Maggie would ask the other woman what she'd done to earn her hate. But after the derogatory remarks, condascending cutups, and put downs, Maggie didn't think the other woman would answer her even if she did.

"What do you mean, you'll be in charge? I don't think so. These are my people and what I say goes," Leary's voice broke through Maggie's thoughts at that moment. Dragging her eyes away from JT's and over to the head of the table where Leary and Tyler stood arguing.

JT's head jerked pulling her glare from Maggie to Tyler as he spoke. There was no way in hell she or any of the others would be taking orders from this man, or any one else that was not a member of their team.

"Listen kid, the WR's not going to let the only team of SEAL's left on American property--,"

"What do you mean 'only group of SEALs left'?" Leary asked, disbelief mingled with pain at Tyler's bold pronouncement.

Maggie winced as she heard the pain, and she winced more as she saw that pain reflected in the face of the others. She had gathered from her time spent with these extraordinary that the closeness they shared was something that extended to all SEALs, even if they didn't like each other as individuals they were all family.

"Sorry kid, I thought you'd have found out by now," Tyler's voice, while matter-of-fact, held a hint of sympathy in it, "It seems that not long after the Visitor's landed they infiltrated the highest branches of the armed services. Not long after that the various troops were ordered to Visitor bases. Over the last few months all members of the military have been replaced with Visitor troops, or those who are part of the Visitor's Youth Groups," this last was said with more than a hint of disgust.

"ALL of them?" Ramos asked, "How in the world could they manage to replace all of them? That just don't make sense man!"

"Yeah, you can't just take the whole stinking US armed forces and replace them overnight! People would notice man!" Rexer agreed.

At that moment all of them, including Maggie, started throwing questions at Tyler but they were cut off when Leary lifted his fingers to his mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle that silenced them all.

"Thanks kid. Anyway, as I was saying, we are not sure just how they managed to replace them, or even who okayed the orders, but we do know that effective three weeks after the Visitors landing there was only one known military team left in the US, your's." As he said this Tyler looked each of them in the eye, stunning Maggie when he gave her the same level stare as he had the others in the room.

"How'd they find us anyway?" Ramos asked.

"That was my doing, actually," for the first time Chris Farber spoke up.

"I happened to be nearby when this little lady," he nodded toward JT, "was walking down the street one day and I saw her approach that one there," this time he nodded toward Rexer.

"I'd recognized his picture from all those wanted posters and news flashes, so I just sort of followed from a distance--and found your little hidey-hole."

The flush that spread up both Rexer and JT's faces would have made Maggie laugh at any other time. Knowing the seriousness of the situation and the fact JT would probably punch her if she did laugh, Maggie kept the laugh contained.

"You son of a bitch! How'd you know who I was?" JT growled as her eyes narrowed at the man.

Tyler suppressed a laugh and Chris just looked at her, raising an eyebrow as he answered.

"Well for one thing there ain't to many woman SEALs around," he said looking at her as if he wanted to say duuh.

"Your pictures been in every newspaper and magazine since you were in training," JT rolled her eyes as he spoke, she hated the public relations that had surrounded her joining the SEALs.

"Not every one reads that crap!" She barked.

" Not to mention," Chris continued ignoring her statement, "The nice wanted poster they have on you now. Soon as you snuck out of SEAL Headquarters in Virgina, they had you pegged as heading for your team. Armed and dangerous was the caption under the mug shot I believe?"

He didn't elaborate that he followed her career because he had thought it totally impossible for a woman to make it as a SEAL.

"Well they got that right", Rexer said lightheartedly, jabbing JT in the ribs with his elbow. JT gave him a crooked grin in return.

"So, when I saw you and that guy," he nodded again toward Rexer. "I knew you were going to join your team."

"So if you knew we were here, why'd you wait till now to contact us?" Leary asked, and Maggie thought she could hear a hint of anger in Leary's voice. She wasn't sure though, because the man standing before her, the man demanding answers from Ham Tyler was not the Leary she'd come to know. It was as if, in the last several minutes, a meaner, harder Leary had slipped in and taken the place of 'Maggie's Leary'.

"Because we didn't realize you were going to try anything so damned stupid as to attack a Visitor base, with nothing more than some pitiful weapons and sheer bravado, until Chris hear managed to slip in here last night and look over your plans."

Those words caused every eye to turn to the heavily bearded man. Leary looked over to JT who had been on watch last night. JT was glaring daggers at Chris Faber.

"How the hell did you get passed me?" she asked angrily. Chris grinned from ear to ear.

"That my girl is my secret." he said with a wink.

Dane flashed Faber a threatening glare with steely blue eyes. He was not hot on the man's familiar smile toward JT, and the wink made Dane fume even more. If he thought for one minute that Faber thought JT was not good enough at, or could not handle her job, he would set him straight. With no uncertain terms either, the man would be eating cement off the floor.

"Well maybe we ought to know your secret," Dane sneered. "If there's a leak into this place we need to know about it."

Chris caught the underlying warning in Dane's voice and flashed him a warning look in return, "Don't worry, I don't think any one else would try slipping in through the sewers."

The two men glared at each other for a moment before Leary spoke up again.

"You call AK 47s, 9mms and a .50 caliber machine gun pitiful weapons?" He directed the sarcastic question to Tyler. Tyler just smirked before pulling out a small compact weapon that the others had only seen Visitor's carry.

The silence was deafening as he slowly waved it at the SEALs and Maggie.

To be continued….

page 18


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