Panacea…….
“That was the most incredible toy store I ever saw!”
Maria dug through her bags to find the cute little stuffed animal Michael bought
her for Valentine’s Day. “I absolutely love this. Thank you.” Maria kissed
him on the lips, both of them holding the touch for a moment as their eyes met.
They were sharing a bed again, and it was hard … in more ways than one.
Neither of them was willing to pull back, so they just lived with the torture.
“When do we have to be at the studio?” Michael asked
hoarsely.
“In two hours. I should change.” Maria kept her hand on
him. They had spent the last five days sightseeing, shopping and exploring
“Still can’t decide?” Michael guessed watching her
eyes.
“No. I mean the cover songs are crap. I guess I should be
happy to have my voice out there, but music for me was never so much the singing
as it was the songwriting. If they aren’t going to let me write … I don’t
know.”
“I never knew recording could be so damn boring!”
Michael confessed. The constant sound checks, playback, leveling, and endless
stops and repeats. It was amazing that an album was ever made.
“Not going to want to be the singing alien sensation?”
“Not in this lifetime.” Michael frowned at the time.
His time was short. The plane left in the morning, and he didn’t want to waste
too much time watching Dominique try to manipulate Maria into being the perfect
mindless client. “How long is today’s session?”
“We’ll be out of there by eight, I promise.”
“Eight?” Michael made a face. They ran over last night
until almost
“Promise. It’s your last night, so I wanted to do
something different. I’ve got a Valentine’s present for you too, something
… fun. I hear Metallica is performing live tonight, and …”
“What?!” Michael’s heart stopped in his chest. “We
have to go! We have to stand around like a bunch of idiots waiting for a chance
to see them. I … I might be able to get us in free, and …” Michael already
running through the scenario of using his powers to pop locks, and get them
backstage.
“And I had Dominique get us tickets. Front row with
backstage passes.” Maria gave a loud screech as Michael tackled her. Laughing,
they wrestled as Michael demanded to see the tickets. Struggling to sit up, she
gave up with a giggle and watched his face as he read the tickets over and over
again, her eyes softening as a smiled pulled the corner of her mouth. It was
hard to imagine falling more in love with someone, until you did.
“Dear Liz, You know, they say
Maria directed the limo to a place in
“Maria!” Billy laughed amazed. “What in the
world...?”
“I'm a rock star.” Maria said making a laughing face.
“Come on, don't look so shocked, I told you I was coming. Sorry about the
paper instead of black underwear, but I didn’t have anything I wanted to part
with.”
“Story of my life,” Billy retorted, putting his guitar
in the case. “I knew you said you were coming, but you didn't tell me you were
coming in a limo.”
“Well, what can I say, my label loves me.”
“Yeah, obviously, they gave you a limousine.”
“Gave is a little strong of a word, I actually borrowed
it from Dominique Lazar.” Maria laughed at the look on Billy’s face.
“You've got to meet her, a real live talent scout. I've got to introduce you
guys, I mean, I know she'll just love your stuff so …”
“No, that's cool, man, you don't have to do that.”
“Come on, it's nothing. Get in here.” Maria nodded to
the door. “We're gonna be late to my recording session. Let’s go.”
Billy laughed climbing in admiring the interior of his
first limo. “So how did you get here without your bodyguard?”
“Michael? I just put him on a plane home. Thought I
should wait until he was gone to seek you out … for some reason, he has a
problem with you.”
“I bet. So you and him through?”
“Hardly started. He had to get back to work, and look
into getting us packed for the big move. I’m still not sure this is going to
work. They’re demanding a lot of compromises from me, actually all of them
from me … none from them.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah. I’m giving it a few more days before I decide,
but until then, maybe I can use my limited connections to help an old friend
along?”
“Maria …
“Hookers I think.”
“Same difference,” Billy laughed as he sat back
listening to Maria tell him about her week.
~~~
“Dear Maria, spending a week
on a cramped, smelly bus was the most liberating experience of my entire life.
The further away I got from
Liz got off the bus and looked around at the strangeness of
“We have very strict rules here at Winnaman. Probably a
much more disciplined atmosphere than you are used to.”
“That's exactly what I want right now.” Liz said.
“Good. Because we do have rules, and we expect them to be
followed.” She handed Liz a list of rules. “Curfew is at nine. No boys
allowed on campus. There will be no smoking, no drinking, and drugs will not be
tolerated.”
Liz followed the directions to her room assignment.
Knocking on the door, she waited until a girl opened up. “I think this is
supposed to be my room.”
“You think?”
“Well,” Liz glanced at the room number again, “yeah,
it is.”
The girl let Liz in. “Well, I knew my single was too good
to last.”
“Are you Eileen Burrows?” Liz asked reading information
about her room including her roommate’s name.
“Yeah, I'm the welcoming committee. You must be umm
…” Eileen read Liz’s name tag. “Elizabeth Parker.”
“Did they not tell you I was coming?”
“No. But you might want to lose the name tag, cuz you're
an inmate now.” Liz peeled the label off her coat. “So um,
“Beth. I just go by Beth.” Liz lied as she started to
unpack.
Lighting up, Eileen glanced at Liz. “Where you from,
Beth?”
“
“What part?”
“Um, not too far from
“Ah, lucky you. You leave a boyfriend back there?”
Liz shook her head. “Nope, no boyfriend.”
“Lesbian?”
Liz shook her head again, slightly taken aback.
“Sorry.”
“Oh, no I wasn't asking for a date. I mean, there are
plenty of girls here who gabble with the whole thing.” Liz nodded listening as
she continued to unpack. Eileen held up her smoke. “Is this making you
uncomfortable?”
“You know, to tell you the truth, it is. I just got read
out by the dean and I don't feel like getting in trouble five minutes after I've
been here.”
Eileen lifted a brow. “It was a rhetorical question. I'm
not putting it out.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“I was being polite.” There was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” Eileen asked taking a drag.
“Dean Hawkins.”
“Oh, crap.” Eileen quickly put out her cigarette. She
sprayed the room with air freshener. Glancing at the door when the knock came
again.
“Um... Um... One second.” Liz took off her coat. “One
second, one second. I'm just...,” Liz took off her shirt, “changing my
clothes. Sorry, I'll be right there.” Eileen hid her cigarette. Liz held her
shirt up to her as she lit a candle, and opened the door. “Coming.” Liz
opened the door breathing a little hard. “Hi. Sorry, I just wanted to change
and get into my uniform …”
The Dean came in looking around the room. “Do I smell
smoke?”
“No, I just lit a candle. Is that allowed?”
“Of course,” The Dean handed Liz some papers. “I
forgot to give you these earlier. Fill them out and return them to me in the
morning.”
“I will. Thank you, ma'am.” Liz shut the door behind
the Dean.
Eileen smiled. “Quick thinker.”
Liz sighed in relief of another problem averted.
“Practice.”
~~~
At the recording studio Dominique, Billy, and Maria were
listening to Maria's demo.
“All right, well come on, this is so working!”
Dominique exclaimed, happy with the results.
Maria took the break to introduce Billy. “Dominique, this
is my very good friend Billy Darden. He's an excellent songwriter.”
“Oh, great, well give me a demo. I'd love to hear it.”
Dominique said with her patented five dollar smile and a hand shake.
“Sure, I mean, if you're really interested I can just
play you something right now.” Billy offered.
“No, actually a demo is best.”
Billy’s eyes went serious as he understood immediately.
Don’t bother. “Right.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Dominique turned back to Maria.
“Okay, sugar, this song is good. I mean, it's really good, you know? I'm
just-- I'm not quite sure that it's a home run. Do you know what I mean?”
“So, you don't want to use this song anymore?” Maria
said shrewdly.
“Okay, I love it. But the label, I think, might want to
go with something just a little lighter.”
“Okay, well if they want a different song, I mean, Billy
and I …”
“Actually, I've got the song, honey, right here.
Dominique interrupted handing her the lyrics.
“I don't understand, I thought you wanted me because I
was a songwriter.”
“Oh, well, baby, we want you, you know, for your voice and your look, everything. Everything.
The whole Deluca package.”
“Yeah,” said Maria holding up the lyrics, “but I
didn't write this.”
“Yeah, but professionals did. I mean, no offense, my god,
you're … you know … you're just new. You're raw.”
Maria read the lyrics again. “I mean, I don't even think
like this.”
“Okay. Please try it. All right? And trust me-- I tell
you what, you record this song, okay, and if at the end of the day if you don't
like it and you want to go with your song, then we will-- we will go with your
song. All right?” Maria nodded practicing in her head about compromise.
“Okay, cuz I just want us to have options.”
“Okay.” Maria agreed.
“All right then.” Dominique was all happiness and
smiles having got her way. Handling talent was her forte.
“Okay.” Maria said sharing a look with Billy, who
shrugged not knowing what to say. It wasn’t his call.
Dominique moved everyone into place. “Perfect.
Excellent.”
~~~
Maria
was back at her hotel room provided by the label. She had Billy order pizza for
dinner, and he was downstairs waiting for the delivery man. Checking the time,
she picked up the phone and called
While
she listened to the phone ringing, she quickly pulled off her top and bra and
pulled Michael’s green sweater on. It still smelt like him.
“Yeah,”
came a sleepy Michael voice.
“Hey,
you,” Maria sat up so happy to hear his voice.
“Hey,
you back.” Michael said laying back in the bed to talk to her. “How was your
day?”
“Sucked,”
Maria sniffed. “How was the flight?”
“Sucked.
I got home to jet lag, and a shift that starts at ten, which is in about two
hours my time.” Michael frowned when Maria sniffed again. “Are you
crying?”
“No.”
Maria reached for a tissue. “Yes. I … I just miss you, and you’re all the
way across the damn continent! I … the bed is too damn big, and I hate the
damn songs they had me sing. They were all bad. Nasty pop trash with no soul,
just some whacked up hip hop beat … you know, dance crap that’s supposed to
pass as real music.”
“You
hate it.”
“I loathe
it. And I hate that you’re not here.”
Michael
was quiet for a moment. “What are you doing?”
“Sitting
on the bed talking to you, waiting for pizza delivery.”
Michael
could picture her. “What are you wearing?”
“Your
sweater.” Maria hugged herself. “It still smells like you.”
Michael
swallowed hard, wanting to be there. Closing his eyes, he listened to the soft
sound of her breathing. “I’ll take the first plane back tomorrow.”
“Don’t.”
Maria took a calming breath. She was being a baby. It was just his voice, so far
away, and she couldn’t touch him. “Don’t. I’m going to the recording
studio again tomorrow. If things don’t change, then I’m going to use the
clause that Jesse gave me and get out. I didn’t take this deal to be turn into
a cheap Pop Queen wannabe. I want to be what Alex was working for. He wrote all
his own music, played with his band, did shows, and cut his own CD’s, never
losing his artist’s integrity. I want him to be proud of me. I want you to be
proud of me.” Maria paused for a moment. “Will you be disappointed in me if
I quit?”
“No.
Just come home. I’m here.”
“I
know.” Maria lay back on the bed. “I thought I could live in this city, that
it felt like home, but the moment you stepped on that plane, it stopped feeling
good to me. Don’t laugh, but I don’t think it can be home unless you’re
here. I don’t think I can sleep without you near.”
Michael
closed his eyes and listened to her voice, listened to what she was saying. It
didn’t seem possible to fall even more in love with her. “Maria,” he said
hoarsely. Thirteen days, three hours, fifteen minutes, and some seconds.
“I
know,” Maria laughed at herself. “I’m being a baby.” She sniffed.
“I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do. I’m going back tomorrow. I’ll have
an honest one on one with Dominique, and if she doesn’t sell it, I’m
walking. The songs she wants me to do are a total sell out, even Billy agrees
that …”
Michael
sat up in their bed. “Billy?”
“Um,
yeah. I looked him up in the Village after I dropped you off. I told you I
promised him I would.”
“Billy
is there?”
“Yes.
You knew he moved to
“Maria,
who’s with you?”
“No
one. I’m alone.” Maria held her tongue feeling it best not to mention that
Billy was downstairs getting food. “Michael, you know Billy is just a friend.
Whose sweater am I wearing? Not his.”
“Okay,
I … sorry, I, um … so you will call me when you know?”
“Immediately.”
Maria hugged herself. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,
just peachy.” Michael talked to Maria for a few more minutes, until she had to
hang up when food arrived. He frowned swearing he heard Billy’s pseudo Elvis
voice in the background. Hanging up, he went into the living room. Max came
through the door as he headed to the kitchen.
“Hey!”
Max greeted him, happy to see him back.
“Yeah.
Whatever.” Michael took his Snapple to go look out his back door. Searching
the skies, he looked towards the dark east. Billy. Frickin’ “Singing
Billy” in
“Michael!”
Michael
pulled his hand back staring the cut on his knuckle and hand. Sucking the blood,
he waved Max and his healing hands off. “Forget it. It’s nothing. I think
you’ve healed more than enough, don’t you?”
Max
took the slap hard. Staring at his friend, he watched as an upset Michael,
oblivious went back into his room slamming the door. Max rubbed his head for a
moment, feeling a headache coming on. He picked up the phone and called
~~~
Meta-Chem Corporation,
“What?” Michael turned around.
“Check this out.” He tried to stand his pen on his
chin.
“You--You woke me up for that?”
Monk was still trying to do it. “I had it a second
ago.”
“Man, I miss those other guys. These two man shifts are
boring as hell.”
“Already said a number of times,” Monk commented while
practicing his human seal trick. Michael took off a bloody band aid on his hand.
“What happened to your hand?”
Michael checked out his healing wound. “I put it though a
window.”
“On purpose?”
“Maria issues.” Michel put the band aid in the trash.
“She saw Billy after I left.”
“You haven’t even been gone twenty-four hours and
she’s hanging with another dude? Damn, Mike, not our Maria.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s romantic. He’s just a
friend.”
“Like you are?”
Michael’s face clouded. “No, not like me!” Michael
rubbed his face hard trying to calm his emotions before he blew the monitors
again.
“Hey, you okay?” Monk asked concerned. “Man, no chick
is worth that.”
“Maria is,” said Michael simply.
“Okay, maybe Maria is, but damn, you’ve got to get your
house in order. Kiss the damn girl already!” Monk gave Michael a sympathetic
look. “So, you moving or what?”
“Maria’s coming home, I think. If she dumps the
contract, then I think she’ll be home in about two days. One day to dump, one
day to make arrangements, and home on the next.” Michael said, a slight
lightening of his attitude coming with the thought of her home, with him …
away from the great unwashed singing bard. Billy. Michael gritted his teeth.
Monk glanced at Mike. “So, you wanna hang out this
evening? I need an opponent. I just got Man in 2002 and the computer keeps
kicking my ass.”
“All right, but I get to be the Ravens.”
“Fine, but you can’t have Jamal Lewis cuz he's out in
real life.”
“I don't need him, cuz I got Ray Lewis.”
“Well, whatever then, you're going down, sucker!”
Michael smiled. “All right, it's on. Time for the rounds
though, let’s go.”
Monk moaned, hating this part the most. After they left the
security room for rounds, two men in contamination suits entered the security
room, and took Michael's open bag of chips and put it in a plastic bag, vacuumed
Michael's hat to get hair samples, and took Michael's bloody band aid and put it
in a jar.
~~~
At
While talking to Max, Liz began to experience rushes of
electricity through her hands again, and she was horrified to realize that it
was Max who was making her react, even without direct proximity. Lying to him,
she hid the fact from him and hung up. The out of control rush of power melted
the phone.
Eileen glanced up when Liz came into the bedroom. “Is it
Liz or is it Beth?”
Liz sat on her own bed sighing. “I've always gone by Liz,
and I'm not from
“And the part about not having a boyfriend?”
“Uh,” Liz laughed making a face, “That guy that was
on the phone, he's actually the reason that I'm here.”
“See? Just be yourself and we'll get along just fine.”
~~~
Billy went with Maria to her recording session watching
from the sideline as Maria sang. He watched her sing another song not hers, and
the irritation moving over her face. He suppressed a yawn staring at the time.
It was well after
Maria stopped singing in mid song, “Okay, can we cut it?
I'm sorry.”
“Okay, darling, you
don't say cut, I say cut. Okay?”
Dominique told Maria in the mic behind the glass of the control booth. “Okay,
so we're gonna do it again, and now from the second verse. All right?”
“Okay. Wait.” Maria said, hating that she couldn’t
even find five minutes to talk to Dominique privately. “You know, I'm sorry
this isn't working for me.”
“What's wrong?”
“I don't know.” Maria stared at the lame lyrics and the
bad song. “It's just not me. I'm not feeling it or whatever.”
“Okay, but honey, really, I know what these label boys
want, so just trust me on this.”
“No, but I do. It's just these aren't my lyrics. I feel
really weird singing them.”
Dominique was becoming irritated, and the more irritated
she became the more fake and cloyingly sweet her tone. “All right. Well, fight
your way through it, cuz you sound great. Really.”
“I know, but I mean, my songs are, you know, what I
am.” Maria tried to explain to the woman.
“Well, this is business. This isn't personal.”
“Well, yeah it's personal to me.” Maria said speaking
up for herself, making Billy stand up straighter in the back of the recording
control booth from the tired slump he had going. He listened to Maria, cheering
her on silently. “It's personal to me. I mean, if it's not personal it's just
karaoke. I can just do that back at home at the Pizza Pan.”
“Are you going to sing the song or not?” Dominique
asked.
“No, I want to sing the other song. I want to sing my
song.”
“Yeah, well, Maria, sweetie, the other song isn't going
to work, okay? So we're going to need this song.”
“But we had a deal.” Maria said staring at the woman
through the glass waiting at the pause lengthened. Maria gave a nod having her
answer. “You're not giving me a choice, are you?”
“Oh no. No, no, no, honey. You always have a choice.”
Dominique threatened. “See you can finish recording this demo or you can head
back to
Maria took the headphones off. “Then I’ll head back
home to
Billy smiled putting his arm around her shoulders.
“Let’s go get that limo before they take it away.” They walked out of the
studio leaving the rest of the crew unsure what just happened, and Dominique
staring in shock at the receding back of one Maria DeLuca.
In the limo, Maria decided to go check out of the hotel
before the recording company decided to stiff her with the bill. “C’mon.
We’ll order late night room service and pack while I find a cheaper room for
the night. I also need to call Michael.”
“Look, I can give you a place to flop for the night. Save
your money.”
Maria squeezed Billy’s hand, but shook her head no.
“Thanks, but no thanks. Spending the night at your place is more trouble than
I can handle right now, especially with my singing career in ashes around my
feet. Michael finds out, he’ll add the rest of the world there as well.”
“He’s jealous.”
“No. I wouldn’t call it that. He’s … complex.”
Billy seemed amused by that assessment. “Did you mention
that you hooked up with me yesterday?”
“Hooked up? There was no hooking up. I told him that I
‘looked’ you up after I dropped him off.”
“And …?”
“And, I hope his apartment is in one piece,” Maria
admitted. “Look, Michael trusts me, or he should. If he doesn’t, he better
learn. We plan to move from
“Until recently, I hadn’t realized that you even knew
how you felt.”
“Granted, but who wants to live in the past?” Maria sat
back, lounging into the leather seat. “I’m marrying Michael Guerin.”
Billy startled. He hadn’t realized that it moved that far
in just a few months. “Whoa!”
“Oh, he hasn’t asked, and no, not tomorrow or maybe
even the next day. I have this whole ‘Guerin schedule’ and I figure it will
take him about ten years to get around to figuring out he should ask me.”
Billy laughed. “And what do you do in the ten years while
you wait?”
Maria smiled smugly, her eyes taking on a very brilliant
mischief glint. “I give him ten years worth of reasons to finally ask.”
~~~
Michael and Monk were on late rounds of their next shift
the following day. Walking through the deserted halls, neither of them was too
excited about the job.
Michael tried to open a door. “Secure.” Monk checked it
off on his list. They continued walking.
“Do you ever wonder what's behind these secret doors?”
Monk asked.
“Can’t say I really think about it or give a damn.”
Michael admitted, but then he felt that way about most things.
“I do.”
Michael checked another door. “Secure. Of course you
do.”
Monk pressed his thumb on a panel. Access Denied sign lit
up. “See, Meta-Chem is too secretive. I'm telling you, they have some crashed
alien space ship in there and they're using reverse engineering to steal other
cool technology. You know, like, where do you think remote controls came from?
Or microwave ovens? Or cell phones?”
“Monk, Meta-Chem is a pharmaceutical company. All they
have in those classified labs is some top secret formula from new cough syrup.
All right? Come on, let's go.” Monk and Michael walked away.
Inside the room they were standing in front of was a
scientist holding up a test tube that was labeled: “Guerin, Michael, blood
extract.” The scientist filled a needle with Michael's blood extracted
from the band aid.
Scientist glanced at the woman in the room with him. “Are
you sure about this?”
“Do it.” The scientist injected the blood into someone.
~~~
Monk and Michael returned to their security monitors after
they finished rounds. It was quiet, and Michael checked his monitors before
sliding down to take a nap.
“You hear from Maria?”
“Not before I left for work. She called earlier in the
day and told me they pushed the recording session back to later afternoon, so
I’ll probably have a message from her when I get home.”
“When am I going to get my forty bucks?” Monk asked.
“I'm not paying you.”
“You can’t welsh.”
“Watch me.” Michael told his friend. “Playing an
All-Star team against the regular Ravens minus Jamal Lewis, that's not fair.”
“Whatever. Take it up with the league, man. I've spent
all my cash on Valentine's Day.”
“You don't have a girlfriend, Monk.” Michael pointed
out.
“Yeah. I--I spent it on myself.”
Michael laughed. “You're weird, you know that?”
Michael’s attention returned o the monitors as something started beeping.
“Hey, we got a code blue in sector five pulling up.”
Monk zoomed in the camera in sector five. A door was open.
“We got a breach.”
“A real one?” Michael asked in amazement.
“Yeah, this one ain't a drill, man.”
“All right, uh, call 911. I'll go down and secure the
area.” Michael ordered Monk.
Monk picked up the phone as Michael ran out of the room
down the hall to the opened emergency door. He saw no one. He closed the door
and noticed the little window on the door was broken.
Michael using his walkie talkie reported the situation to
Monk. “This area is secure. I don't see anyone.”
“Police are on their way.” Monk informed him. “I'm
gonna come down.”
Michael bent down to pick up a piece of glass. The lights
went out. Michael swore called Monk back. “Hey Monk, what's going on?”
“It wasn't me. I'm already out of the control center.”
Monk said walking and talking to Michael. “Michael, I see somebody.”
“All right, wait there. I'm on my way.” Michael told
Monk as he ran. He could hear Monk through the receiver as his friend held the
send button.
“Stop! Don't move!” Michael heard two shots being
fired.
“Monk! Monk!” Michael yelled in his field receiver as
he ran down the halls towards Monk’s position. Monk was on the floor
surrounded in a pool of blood.
Michael ran scrambling to get to his friend. He rolled Monk
over onto his lap glancing up to see a figure rushing away. “Monk! Monk, look
at me!” Michael pleaded frantically. He glanced at the bleeding wounds and
then his deathly still friend. “Monk, look at me!! Monk, don't just give
…” Monk wasn’t responding. “Monk! Monk!” Michael continued to call as
his hand went to Monk’s pulse point. No pulse. “Monk. Monk. No.” Michael
shook his head as he began to cry unable to believe this was happening. “You
can’t die.”
~~~
It was a long bad night. In a Meta-Chem office Michael was
being questioned by a representative of the company.
“Now let me just get this straight...” The lady said,
the same lady that had been behind the closed security door having Michael’s
blood injected into an old man. “Uh, what happened immediately after the alarm
was tripped?”
Michael wasn’t talking very loud, his demeanor subdued.
“We found a breach …”
“I can’t hear you. Could you speak up?”
“We found a breach in sector five,” Michael said
louder, “and I went down to seal the exit.”
“And Mr. Piles stayed behind?” Monk last name was
Piles? Michael hadn’t known that. Why didn’t he know that? “Mr. Guerin?”
The woman said pulling him from his thoughts.
“Yeah, he phoned the authorities. And then the power cut,
and he walkied me over the radio saying that he saw somebody. And, uh, and then
I heard the gun shots.”
“Fine. Well, I think that about wraps it up. Anybody else
have any questions?” The woman asked the other people in the room. No one said
anything. “Good. Mr. Guerin, you are free to go.”
Michael was confused. “That's it? Don't the police want
to talk to me?”
“No, no, no. That's fine. We're going to send out notes
from the inquiry over to them.”
Michael stared at the woman suspicious. “No, but I should
go down to the station. I'm the only eye witness.”
“That really won't be necessary, Mr. Guerin. You know,
you've clearly been through a lot. Why don't you take a couple of days off?”
Michael stared at the woman, his voice low and quiet.
“I’d rather work.” Something wasn’t right. He definitely would rather
work.
~~~
Michael got home, it was still dark. He was home early from
his normal shift, and Max was sleeping. Going into his bedroom, Michael checked
his messages. There was one from Maria.
“Hey,
it’s me! You won’t believe how whacked this deal was, so I walked. I decided
to dump the cushy hotel before they tried to stiff me with the bill. I’m
staying with some friends of Billy’s, these girls that sing at a club he
sometimes works at. Hey, the girl Tisha, or Teesha, I think is like his possible
new girlfriend. She’s really cute! Anyway, call me when you get home, it
doesn’t matter how early or late. I’ll have my phone on. I’m heading to
the airport tomorrow to see what kind of return trip home I can finagle. I hear
there is a huge winter slash early spring storm coming so I need to get a plane
quick before I find myself a refugee at the airport. So … um, just call me. I
really miss your voice.”
Maria’s voice paused. “Well,
okay. God! Um … well, love you. Um, bye.”
Michael held the phone against him for a moment. Turning
off the light at the bedside, he hit the automatic number dial for Maria. It
rang for a few moments, and he tried not to …
“Hello?” Michael gulped at the sound of Maria’s
sleepy voice. He woke her.
“Hey.” he said softly.
“Michael?” He could hear her sitting up. “Michael,
hi! Um,” Maria seemed to pause as if she was thinking something over.
“What’s wrong?”
“I miss your voice too,” said Michael.
Maria was quiet, but he could hear her breathing. “I’m
coming home.”
“Good. I really need you.” Michael said losing control
of his emotions for a moment as he rolled over to his side to talk to Maria a
tear moving down his cheek.
Maria heard the tears in his voice. “Michael? Oh god …
Michael? Baby, what’s wrong? Talk to me, please!”
“Monk died. He was shot at work.” Michael told her as
she went quiet. He heard the sharp gasping draw of her breath as she tried to
understand what he was saying.
“Monk?” she repeated thickly.
“Yeah. He died in my arms. A security breach at work. He
was shot.”
“Oh god! Monk?” Maria was crying. She couldn’t help
it. So was he. “Michael? Are you all right? Did you get hurt? Michael, answer
me! Did you …”
“I’m okay.” Michael breathed deeply for a moment
trying to clear his throat. “It was just Monk. There was so much blood, and
… the company questioned me, but not the cops.”
Maria was quiet for a moment. “It was a homicide. How can
the cops not talk to you? Michael, that doesn’t make sense. Heck, they
questioned you over a pocket knife in the desert, how can they not question you
in this instance?”
“I don’t know.” Michael thought for a moment.
“Something wasn’t right about the job, the whole shooting. I think I need to
talk to Valenti.”
“Wait … you can’t go back there!”
“I have to.”
“Michael,” said Maria, a little out of breath. He could
hear her moving around, the rustle of clothes and things. “You behave. Do not
go anywhere without me! I mean it. I’m leaving for the airport right now!
Immediately. I’m getting on the first plane west, then another and another,
but I’ll be there! You wait … understand? Michael?”
“Maria …” Michael exhaled harshly. “I’ll see you
when you get here. I need you.”
“I know. I’m coming. You just stay put, and I’ll find
you. Don’t … just stay put.”
~~~
Michael knocked on the Valentis’ door. It was still
early, and when Kyle answered he stared at the stonyfaced Michael, shocked at
the ashen look and the blood smearing all of Michael’s clothes. Michael just
walked right in past Kyle without saying a word. Kyle shut the door and followed
him.
“Valenti,” Michael said when he found Jim drinking his
morning coffee and reading the paper. “I need your advice.”
Jim put the paper aside. “What?”
“Try to catch the guy who killed my friend.” Michael
quickly told Jim the events leading up to Monk’s death.
Jim was confused. “Aren't the police investigating it?”
“Yeah, but that's the problem, I'm the only eye witness,
and Meta-Chem doesn't want me talking to the cops.” Michael explained his
voice rising in anger. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
“Michael, calm down. You're going to have to bring me up
to speed. Here, come on and sit down.” Jim gave his son a look gesturing him
to get Michael some hot coffee. The young man was obviously still in shock, and
the trauma of the event still etched on his face not to mention the blood on his
clothes. “Tell me what you saw.” Jim invited to give Michael a course of
action, a comforting manner to calm himself.
Michael sat beside Jim on the couch. “I caught a glimpse
of a figure, but it was dark.” He nodded at Kyle as he was handed a cup of
coffee loaded with sugar. Kyle
leaned on the back of the sofa to listen.
“Well, can you give me any help at all? Was he tall? Or
short? Or fat? Thin?”
“He was pretty tall, I guess. It was just so quick.”
Michael confessed. “I was just trying to help Monk.”
“All right, what about video surveillance? Aren't the
cameras in all those hallways?”
“Yeah, but the power went out and the cameras shut
down,” Michael explained.
“Doesn't sound like there's a lot to go on,” Kyle
pointed out.
Jim gave it some thought nodding his head, more to himself.
“I tell you what, maybe there is a way I can help you.” First, he really
needed to get the boy cleaned up. He couldn’t continue to walk around town in
clothes covered with his dead friend’s blood.
~~~
Michael was back in the security room working the next
night. He had talked to Maria twice. She had made it as far as
“I guess the interview went well.” Michael commented,
noticing how comfortable Jim seemed in the uniform. The man was obviously born
to wear a uniform.
“Piece of cake.”
“Drop my name?” Michael asked.
“I really didn't have to, Michael.” Jim pointed out.
“She seemed pretty impressed with my resume, you know, being the sheriff and
all. Add that I previously applied and was not hired because of a corrupt
manager … it was a snap.”
“It must feel good to be back in uniform.”
“Not really.” Jim looked down at his uniform. He was
happy with his current life, and the break from law enforcement was much needed.
It cost him a lot in his life. His wife. Alienation from his son. “Wanna show
me that crime scene?”
“Uh, yeah. Michael put down his yo-yo and led the way.
About time someone took this job seriously.
At the crime scene Jim walked the area stooping to look at
things. Michael watched with interest the strange concentrating look that moved
over Valenti’s face.
“This is the door they broke in.”
Jim nodded. “Good, they haven't fixed it yet.”
“No, I delayed the maintenance request. I figured you
wanted to see it.”
“Good thinking.” Jim looked at the broken window
talking to himself, working the angles. “Now, if you reach your hand through
that hole, you'd still have trouble reaching the handle to unlock it, wouldn't
you?”
“Yeah, you think they had a tool or something?” Michael
asked, having noticed that same thing before.
“Anything like that turn up?” Jim asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“Now look at that,” Jim pointed to the glass. “You
see the shards of glass, how they're all pushed out?”
“Yeah, what do you think that means?”
“It means that whatever broke this window hit it from the
inside. No one broke into Meta-Chem that night, Michael.” Jim explained.
“They just wanted it to look that way.”
The lady that questioned Michael and hired Jim was watching
them through a monitor.
“Are you saying that the guy who killed Monk works
here?” Michael asked.
“I'm saying it's a possibility. I still have to check a
few things.”
Michael frowned at the area, and for the first time, he was
glad Maria wasn’t in
~~~
Hanson stopped to talk to Jim at his house after getting a
message requesting it early that morning. “I brought that autopsy report that
you wanted.”
“Thanks.” Jim said reading through the report. “The
company needs that for the insurance, you know?”
“Yeah. It's a shame about that kid.”
“Yeah, so uh, any leads?”
Hanson was suddenly uncomfortable looking at the man that
trained him. “Jim, I'm sorry, I can’t discuss an active investigation with
you.”
“I know you can’t. Of course you can’t. I taught you.
I just figured that uh, well, you know, this being your first homicide case and
all, maybe I can help.”
“Well, there is something. We found this shoe print at
the scene.” Hanson handed his a photo of it. “I've been waiting for a report
back from the FBI lab, but they're so backed up it could take weeks.”
“I know a guy who might be able to help.” Jim offered.
“I have to borrow this.”
“Sure. Actually, I uh, made you a copy.” Hanson handed
Jim his copy.
~~~
Michael and Jim had the lights off at Meta-Chem. It was
early. Just after ten P.M. They had just started their shift. They walked the
halls towards the crime scene.
“Any word from Maria?” Jim asked curiously, having a
special interest in Amy DeLuca’s daughter.
“No. Last I heard from her, she was stranded in
“Because you don’t want her to know what you’re
doing?”
“Something like that. She hates being left out of the
loop.” Michael cleared his throat. “I figure she’s leaving me message
after message right now. I know she’ll leave a message when she knows her
travel plans.”
“Hopefully we’ll have this taken care of before that
happens … before she gets back.”
“Word.”
Michael looked at the shoe print picture when they stopped
at the crime scene looking at the now clean floor. “This footprint is useless,
the floor has already been scrubbed.”
“Not completely useless.” Jim said as he sprayed the
ground with something, and shined his flashlight on the floor. The footprints
appeared.
Michael nodded his head laughing. “That's very cool.”
“Let me see the Polaroid.” Michael handed it to Jim, as
he compared the new Polaroid to the copy they had.
“That's our shooter then, right?”
Jim nodded. “Yeah. Let’s see where they lead.” Jim
sprayed the floor, and he and Michael followed the footprints along the hall
stopping in front of the room where Michael and Monk had stood in front of two
days before wondering what goes on back there. Michael tried to open the door;
it was locked.
“You think you can open that door?” Jim asked.
“Yeah, no problem,” Michael put his hand over the
verification panel and used his powers to make the door open. They looked around
quickly before going inside the room.
“What the hell were they doing back here?” Jim asked
glancing about the laboratory.
“No one knows.” Michael was looking through test tubes
on the table side. He found one that made his blood run cold. Taking it from the
rack, he held it up reading the label. It was his blood. “Valenti...”
Michael called, not a little upset.
“What is it?” Jim stopped searching to look over at
Michael.
Michael shook the test tube. “That's my blood. They've
been studying me.”
Jim joined Michael. “You think they know you're an
alien?”
Michael searched the counter beside him. He turned on the
lamp. There was a bottle of
“They definitely know.” Michael said. He picked up the
picture of Maria kissing him. “They know everything.” Jim took the folder
from Michael to read the report while Michael picked up a plastic bag. “That's
Liz's uniform,” said Michael in a hollow voice full of doom.
“When she was shot?” Jim asked staring at something he
thought was gone long ago. He stared at the familiar piece of material. His
blood ran equally cold as he and Michael shared a look.
“And Max healed her.” Michael said his stomach hurting
as he could feel the bilious taste of fear moving upward. “We got to get this
stuff out of here.” Michael and Valenti grabbed all of it and put it in a box.
Before they could leave two people walked in as they hid behind the counter
before they were seen.
“Yeah, I'm not a fan of horseradish either. I mean, if I
get a roast beef sandwich with Mayo, it's fine.” The one scientist picked up
something. “All right. Take a look at this here.”
Jim stood up from his hiding place speaking to the two
scientists, suddenly disarming them. “How are you fellows doing this
evening?” He walked over to them. “Mind if I take a look at your I.D.
badges?” Michael took the opportunity Jim gave him to sneak away from the
counter to behind a wall near the door and out of the room.
“Well, I don't think I …” The first scientist started
as he frantically searched his pockets. “We don't usually have to carry
them.”
“It's a new policy we've instituted since the recent
break in.” Jim explained.
“Well, I left mine in the car.” The other scientist
confessed. “Do you want me to get it?”
“No, no, no, that's all right. I'll tell you what though,
in the future why don't you, uh, why don't you make it a point to keep it on you
at all times.”
“Okay sir, I'll be sure to do that.”
“The company is clamping down on everybody since this
thing happened. Makes my job a lot tougher, I tell you.” Jim said socially
smiling at the two men in a friendly manner. The lady that hired Jim and spied
on his and Michael walked in with two guys in suits.
“Hello, Mr. Valenti.”
~~~
Maria double checked her flight schedule. After almost
thirty-six hours, she was happy to be getting out. She would still have a
layover in
Sighing, she called someone else.
“Liz?”
“Maria!” Liz slurred over the phone.
“Liz, are you drunk?”
“Yep! I’m in the Ratsdale, this cool hidden bar in our
dorms, and I told Eileen all about Max cheating on me. Screw him! Screw
cheaters! I’m alright on my own! Whooohooo!”
Maria held the phone away from her ear as the shrieking Liz
sacred a few people next to her away. “Liz? Um, …Liz!” Maria sighed.
“Look, why don’t you sleep it off? I’ll call you back.”
Maria hung up the phone frowning. Liz sounded … out of
control. Happy? Maria called Michael’s again this time going straight to
voicemail. “Michael, hi, me again. Listen, I am boarding my plane soon. I got
the first early morning flight to
~~~
Michael was frantically pacing around the apartment
listening to the phone. Frowning he, shook his head as he hung up the phone.
“Valenti's still not answering. It's been over two hours since our shift
ended, he should have been home.”
Max and Isabel were going through the box of stuff that
Michael bought back. Max frowned at Michael trying to think of a way to calm
him. “Maybe he's on his way over.”
Isabel could believe what she was looking at. “How much
do you think these Meta-Chem people know about us?”
Michael picked up the folder on him and tossed it into the
box with a loud resounding crash. “Everything.”
“We don't know how much they know.” Max reasoned.
Michael made a face. “Maxwell, they know enough to expose
us.”
“I say we go back in there.” Isabel voted. They might
have more. More of the rest of them, and not just Michael.
There was a knock on the door and the three alien teens all
stopped moving for a moment. “Valenti.” Michael said getting the door. It
was a Valenti … the wrong one. Kyle.
“Hey, were you working with my dad last night?” Kyle
asked as he came into the apartment. “He never came home.”
Michael licked his lips nervously. “Did he call?”
“No, he never called.” Kyle saw all the stuff on the
table. “What's going on?”
Isabel and Max stood up from where they were looking
through the box. “We need to go in now.” Max told the others.
“But we can’t go now. It's in the middle of a working
day.” Michael reasoned shaking his head. “Max, there are millions of
people.”
“Millions of people?” Kyle looked at each of them.
“What are you talking about?”
Isabel didn’t know how to break it easy, so she just told
him the truth. “Kyle, we think your dad is in trouble.”
They told Kyle everything, and Kyle sat down and looked at
the box too, all the stuff inside. He picked up a picture of Michael wearing
scrubs. “When were you a doctor?”
Michael looked at the picture. It was getting late, and
Isabel had left for home a few hours before leaving him and Max to finish the
planning. “It could be either the time I tried to meet Laurie, get information
on her to see if she was alien, or that Christmas I went with Max to heal the
cancer children.”
Kyle frowned. “Which one, Michael?”
Michael concentrated. “The hall is dark. That would be
the cancer children then. I stood outside … guarding the door while Max …”
Michael picked up Liz’s uniform. “How they got this from the special unit is
a nice mystery.” Michael said, then his brain seemed to comprehend what he was
saying. He picked up the pictures from his file. Most of them were of him and
Maria. There were pictures of him with all his friends, but mostly, Maria.
“There are too many pictures of Maria! I, she’s being targeted.”
Max frowned. “You can’t know that, Michael.”
“Yes, I can. I also know that between Liz’s uniform and
you having to save those kids, I became a target and didn’t even know it. What
do they have in common? Healing. Liz was healed, and the children were
healed.” Michael turned a picture to Max. “Maria became a target. If she had
come home with me from
~~~
Michael paced his apartment talking in the phone. “Maria,
pick up. Pick up!” He swore as the ringing continued. Getting her voicemail,
he left his fourth message. “Maria, it’s me. Listen. Do not come home.
Either stay where you are until I call, or catch a plane to
Michael disconnected holding the phone against his head for
a moment. He finally hung it up to get ready to leave. Kyle was holding a walkie
talkie. Michael joined them to stand beside Max.
“Okay this is how it works.” Michael said as Max
grabbed the walkie talkie from Kyle. “I'm going to go on first, alone.”
Kyle looked at Max, and then at Michael. “Where's my
walkie talkie?”
“You don't get one, because you're not coming.” Michael
told Kyle.
“But my father is in there.”
Max agreed with Michael. They couldn’t risk any more
humans. Liz was gone. Maria had been a target, and now Jim was missing. “Kyle,
it's too dangerous.”
“Don't give me that aliens only crap.”
“Kyle look, you are the only ones other than us who knows
what's going on. If something goes wrong, we could get trapped. Or worse.” Max
reasoned, hoping Kyle would see the sense of him being on the outside.
Kyle sighed. “All right, what do I do?”
Michael grabbed Kyle firmly. “You go to the airport. Park
your ass and wait in case Maria shows up.” Michael wrote down the information
Maria left about her arrival time. “Do not let her out of your sight, and do
not bring her back here or her place under any circumstance. If we're not back
by dawn, call Hanson.”
Kyle nodded understanding Michael’s anxiety over Maria.
“What do I tell him?”
Michael shrugged. At that point, what the hell. “Tell him
your father and three aliens got kidnapped by Meta-Chem.”
Max nodded. “At that point, it won't matter what you tell
him. Just get help.”
“All right.” Kyle stepped back. “Just get him and get
out.”
“Maxwell, you're going to pick up Isabel and bring her to
the plant. I want you there for the
“I’ll tell her,” Kyle promised. Michael nodded and
went through the door.
~~~
Isabel quietly got up trying not to disturb Jesse.
Carefully, she sneaked out of her house to get into Max’s waiting car. As soon
as she left the house, Jesse sat up and looked at his watch. He looked out the
window watching his wife get into Max’s car. Grabbing clothes, he hurried
after them before they got too far ahead.
Once at Meta-Chem, they looked up into a security camera by
the outside of the door. The door unlocked as Michael opened it from the
security room.
Jesse was in his car in front of Meta-Chem. He watched
Isabel and Max go inside. Isabel and Max walked down the hall splitting up as
each of them took separate major corridors
Michael checked the monitors. He saw a scientist coming
near Max. He called Max, and Max hid until the scientist was gone. Max opened a
door and saw Jim tied up in a chair in the middle of the room.
Jim’s head moved when he heard the door open. “Who’s
that?”
“It's me, Max.” Max shut the door behind him.
“Will you get that light out of my eyes?” Jim asked as
Max’s flashlight caught Jim directly.
“Sorry.” Max lowered his flashlight and walked to him
to begin releasing him. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I could use the bathroom.”
Max finished untying him. “Did they hurt you?”
“No, the woman just threw me in here and left.”
Max called Michael. “Michael, I got him, he's okay.”
“Good. Now get out of there.” Michael called Isabel.
“Isabel, Max has Valenti, get back up here.”
“Copy that.”
Max helped Jim to his feet. “Let’s go.” Max and Jim
went through the door, and immediately picked up two men. They ran through the
halls, but the two men quickly caught up as one shoot Jim in the back.
Max caught Jim as he started to fall seeing the wound in
his back, then he glanced at the two men. “No!” Max used his powers to push
the two men into the wall and onto the floor. Max leaned Jim against the wall;
Jim slid down to the floor. “Can you move?” Max asked.
“I don't know.”
Max ripped open Jim's shirt and placed his hand on Jim's
wound. “It's okay. It's okay. Valenti look at me. Look at me.” Jim slowly
looked up at Max as Max healed him.
“Thank you.” They stood up as three men surrounded Max
at gunpoint. The lady that hired Jim walked up to them.
“So you're the healer,” she said. “You have no idea
how long we've been looking for you.”
~~~
Isabel walked into the security room. “Where are they?”
“Last time I saw them they were in Corridor three.”
Michael told her. “Let’s go.” They ran out of the room to find the others
so they could get out of there. In one of the monitors, Jesse was trying to open
a door.
Michael led Isabel to the original lab where he and Valenti
found all this stuff. Inside they found a curtain,
“What the hell is in here?” Isabel asked.
“I don't know.” Michael frowned. He hadn’t noticed
the curtained off area before. He pulled back the curtain. There was an empty
bed. “Let’s go.” He didn’t know what was going on, but they couldn’t
wait any longer.
~~~
Maria walked off the plane trying to stay upright. She was
exhausted, but not for long. The moment she saw Kyle, all tiredness left her
body. Michael?
“Kyle?” Maria felt her stomach drop. “Oh, god! What
went wrong? Where is Michael?”
“I don’t know for sure.” Kyle confessed. He took
Maria’s bag. “C’mon, I’ll tell you on the way home. We don’t have much
time!” His father was out there, and her Michael. They couldn’t stop for
coffee and conversation.
~~~
The lady opened a door, behind her one of the men was
holding Max, another holding Jim.
“What do you want from us?” Max demanded.
“Not us.” The lady corrected. “Just you; the
healer.” She gestured to her men and they all walked into the room. “Bring
him in.” She ordered as an old man, the old man injected with Michael’s
blood was wheeled in. The woman put her hand on his shoulder. “Heal him.”
Max and Jim, both held at gunpoint shared a look. Max
asked, “Who is he?”
“My husband. Clayton Wheeler. He owns all of this.”
Jim looked from the old man on the verge of death to the
younger woman. “So you're what? A few days away from inheriting his
millions?”
“I don't care about that.”
“Right.” Jim made a face of disbelief. The woman was a
good thirty years younger than her husband, maybe even forty. The man was really
old. “You just happen to fall in love with a man twice your age who just
happens to be a multi-millionaire?”
“Quiet! You don't know anything about me.” The woman
told Jim, her hand remaining on Clayton’s shoulder. “Have you ever been
married, Mr. Valenti?”
“Once. Didn't stick.”
“Well, I've been married for twenty-two years. That’s a
long time to be with someone. Things change. Feelings change. Motives change. He
is my husband now, and I am not going to lose him.”
“What's wrong with him?” asked Max.
“He's old. Unfortunately all the money in the world
can’t stop the aging process. Believe me, we've tried everything. And then we
heard a story about a girl in
“Liz.” Max confirmed wincing. It always came back to
Liz, and the first time he healed her … the first exposure. “That's why you
have her uniform.”
“We analyzed that thing for two years. The best
scientists in the world couldn't figure that out. And then we got another little
tip. Several children with terminal cancer mysteriously healed.”
“In
“We set it up so he would need to heal, and since his
girlfriend was unavailable, we had to improvise. We couldn’t wait for her to
get home … my husband couldn’t wait. We thought he was the healer, well,
until he couldn't heal his friend. Then we knew we had the wrong guy.”
“You killed Monk as a test?”
“My husband is dying. We're desperate.”
Max shook his head at the woman, unbelieving that someone
could forfeit another’s life without remorse. “That's no excuse to kill
someone in cold blood.”
“What's done is done. Now heal him.”
“It doesn't work like that. I can’t save someone from a
natural death.”
“I think you can. Those children were ill naturally …
by the hand of fate. You healed them. And you will heal my husband.” She
snapped her fingers. The men pushed their guns into Max and Jim's throats.
Max nodded and kneels in front of the old man. He placed
his hand over Clayton's chest; his hand glows white. Max tried as hard as he
could. The white light intensified and expanded. As Max healed Michael and
Isabel were running down the halls looking for them, unable to locate them in
the huge vastness of the laboratories. They couldn’t afford to split up.
Max continued to try to restore health to the man, but his
powers were fading as his hair began to turn gray and his life force was fading.
Max began to sweat more than usual when he healed someone, the room shook, test
tubes shattered around the room.
Jim watched the use of power, the out of control pull from
Max’s body to the surrounding environment. “Max! Max! Stop!” The man
holding Jim cold cocked him with a
gun and Jim fell to the floor.
The room lit up as Max turned old, getting wrinkles and
more gray hair. Clayton screamed and pushed Max away. His wife checked him, and
she took Clayton and quickly left. Max slowly collapsed to the floor, old and
white-haired. A circle of fire emitted from Max's body and engulfed his body as
the room caught on fire. The guard left the room immediately before they became
trapped leaving Jim unconscious on the floor, and Max dead in the fire.
~~~
Jim woke coughing surrounded by fire. “Max!” Jim
crawled to Max, to the burned out shell of Max. “Max!” He reached out to
touch Max, and Max turned into dust.
~~~
Kyle was telling Maria everything as they returned to
“Michael?!”
“Maria!” Maria frowned when the frantic, still
inebriated voice of Liz came over the phone. “Liz, honey, I can’t talk!
I’m trying to get ahold of Michael, waiting for him to call. I told you that I
would call back once you were sober, and …”
Maria stopped talking and listened. She glanced at Kyle in
horror, but quickly reassured Liz. “Liz, I don’t know! I really don’t. I
am almost home right now. Kyle and I will find the others, and I’ll call you
back. Just … I’ll call you back.” Maria disconnected. “Drive faster,
Kyle. Liz said Max is dead.”
