Skin
and Bones…..
“What should I do?”
“I told you. You’re not listening.”
“Maria, this isn’t helping.”
Maria put down the dishes. “Alex, I can’t speak for
Isabel. She’s freaked by this whole alien thing. I think you need to give her
space.”
“Space? I haven’t pushed all summer. I don’t get it.
She and Michael aren’t together. They decided not to try Destiny, so why
can’t she be with me? How did I get back to the old ‘let’s just be
friends’ category?”
“Alex…”
“I mean before that damn Tess showed up and started
mindwarping everyone with their ‘destinies’ to awaken them to what ‘must
be’ shit, Isabel and I were finally together. Finally. Then bam! Just like
that, I lose the girl. Hell, I didn’t even get to…”
Maria sighed. Glancing over at the kitchen, she prayed
Michael would rescue her, but he was off today. Damn.
“Alex! Alex!” Maria grabbed her friend kissing him
quickly on the lips. “Honey, you’re killing me here. I wish I could help
you. Really,” she soothed, putting her hand on her chest in earnest, “really
I do, but you have to talk to Isabel, not me.”
Alex sighed. “Great. Just great. Isabel avoids talking
about any subject too close to our relationship.”
“Alex…”
“Do you think I should send her a present?” Alex went
on to list all the possibilities. Maria sighed, smiling in support.
~~~
“I think I’m confused.”
“Here, have another ice cream sundae. I added extra
whipped topping.” Maria shoved a new bottle of
Isabel sighed dousing the sweet and fattening treat with
extra
“Are you still dreaming about Michael?” Maria asked
curiously.
“No.” Isabel shook her head. “He barely talks to me.
We use to have some rapport, an unspoken understanding that he was my brother,
and now…”
“That’s gone.” Maria said softly. Michael lost what
little family he had. The only real connection he had to the other aliens was
through a supposed engagement…not even a marriage, and being Max’s second in
command. Destiny, instead of giving Michael a home and a place, stole all the
family he ever had. He was even more alone than before.
“How do I go back? How do we go back? I keep thinking
that being with Alex is just a knee jerk reaction to cover these really icky
feelings about Michael.” Isabel dug into her dessert depressed. “I can’t
even think of Michael like that. I can’t. He still feels like a brother.”
“Then what’s wrong with Alex?”
Isabel put her arm on the counter resting her head in her
hand dejectedly. “I can’t. Until I know, I can’t make promises to Alex. I
care too much to ever use him like that. I don’t want him to be this
‘convenience’. I want it to be real.”
“True love?” Maria asked sympathetically.
“Yeah. It might be, but with all that happened. I can’t
say. My feelings are all racing, and I think I’m looking for something or
someone. I can’t see the face, but I know it’s important to me.” Isabel
looked at Maria tragically. “Is it wrong for me to hate Tess? She mindwarped
me! Just like she mindwarped Max to think of her romantically. She was making me
have those dreams. I’m sure of it!”
Maria frowned. “I thought it was that stupid…‘the
planets have aligned and awakened your biological urges’ crap.”
“Right,” Isabel shook her head. “Michael looked into
it. Those damn planets align every few years. It’s no big deal. So why this
year and not last year, or two years ago? Or two years from now? And whoever
heard such a stupid thing? What if we’d been on a different planet, would
those planets have ever aligned?” Isabel warmed on her subject. “I had four
dreams. Do you know how many Michael had?” Maria shook her head. Michael told
her about the dreams, but she hadn’t realized that it hadn’t been the same
for both Isabel and Michael. “Two. He only had them when he was sleeping in
the house on Max’s floor. Like he had to be within shouting distance of me, or
he didn’t have them at all!”
“I don’t get it,” Maria sucked on a nail. “If the
dreams were an awakening, and you both shared the dreams, then why didn’t he
have all the dreams too, regardless of where he slept?”
Isabel sat back. “I’ve been giving that some thought.
Tess didn’t know about my dreamwalking abilities. I think she targeted me…mindwarped
me, and when Michael was sleeping close enough, in the vicinity, vulnerable…I
accidentally dreamwalked my dream or Tess’s mindwarp into his sleeping
mind.”
“You can do that?”
Isabel shrugged. “How else can you explain it? I mean if
we’re supposed to have this great awakened biological urge to mate, then why
does he still feel like my brother? Why does the thought of us being together
freak us both out, to the point we can’t even talk about it, and why does
neither of us have a desire to even kiss, spend time together in that way, or
even imagine it as a possibility?”
“Wow,” Maria said reaching over to add some hot fudge
to Isabel’s half eaten dessert. “Here, you need this. You’re really wiggin’.”
“Totally.” Isabel ate another bite with gusto.
“You’ve seen the boys I date. You know Michael. Does he even look or come
near to what I like in a man?”
“Um…” Maria wasn’t going to comment. Michael was
her friend, and she didn’t want to make remarks against him…but no, he
lacked the polish that Isabel usually found appealing.
“Don’t answer that. He doesn’t. The man chews with
his mouth open, stuffs food in whole, talks with food in his mouth, and uses his
hands.” Isabel laughed. “And we’re just talking about table manners. Have
you seen his clothes?”
Maria held her hand up. “Enough. I give up. You made your
point. He doesn’t dress in your circles. He doesn’t do the things you like
to do, and he eats like he might not have another meal. I get it.”
“He couldn’t be more opposite if he tried. As a
brother, he was just Michael. As a mate…um, he would need a lot of work, major
cleaning up, and well…a new personality…basically anyone but him.”
Maria shrugged. Michael seems okay to her. Maybe she just
got used to him, but in his own way, he was majorly charming when he wanted to
be. He had a spark of boyish enthusiasm that Maria really appreciated. It was
like Christmas morning, and when good things happened to him, he always looked
shell-shocked. It made it easy for her to want to do things for him, just to see
the surprise, the awe, and that uncommon spark of being important to someone.
Maybe Isabel didn’t get Michael, or she didn’t know how to look beyond the
superficial stuff like clothes and outer appearances. She was missing a lot, but
like most people, if she couldn’t see it after ten years, she never would. It
was strange, it had only taken a few moments of real contact with Michael for
Maria to see that something special in him, and maybe she would never understand
why, in ten years neither Max nor Isabel ever did.
“And Alex?”
Isabel smiled gently. “He’s geeky in his way, but he
likes the same things I do. He dresses a little off, but his clothes are nice
and acceptable, clean. He comes from a nice family with a nice car, and he has
that whole creative side that makes you know that he’s destined for great
things.” She looked at Maria, her eyes suddenly very serious. “He’s going
places, or he could, if he wasn’t tied to an alien girl hiding in fear of her
life, who could have to run any moment. Maybe he deserves better?”
“Maybe you should let him decide what’s better for
him,” Maria suggested softly. “I mean, I have all kinds of ideas about what
and how Michael should live, but ultimately…he has to decide, make the
changes, and want to change. If he doesn’t, then that’s good too, because it
should be his choice. That’s called free will, Isabel.”
“Something Destiny didn’t give us.” Isabel looked at
Maria. “I can’t follow Destiny Maria, because I want to fall in love. I want
it more than anything. I can’t…don’t feel that way about Michael. Sure, I
think he belongs to me in some way, but I always felt that…he was my brother.
So, I suspect I’ll always feel an attachment, but that doesn’t mean we’re
to be together.”
“Do you love him?”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Sure it is. Do you love him?” Maria couldn’t let
Isabel off the hook. She was confused, and letting her drown in her own feelings
because she didn’t know what to do with them was hardly the action of a
friend.
Isabel stabbed at the melting mess in front of her. She
glanced over at Maria. “I love him, but I’m not in love with him. I
can’t even think of him that way.” Isabel laughed more at herself. “He
deserves to have someone that’s in love with him…only him...to distraction,
and so do I.”
“Then there’s no confusion here, is there?”
“Alex,” said Isabel tragically. “What about Alex?”
Isabel started on Alex and her relationship, or lack of one with him. Maria
filled a glass with cherry coke. It was going to be a long shift.
~~~
“She hasn’t called.”
“No.”
Max searched Maria’s face. “You would tell me,
right?”
Maria grasped his hand squeezing. “Sure. You know I
would. Look, I love Liz. She’s been my best friend all my life, but she loves
you…and I know that you love her. I would help both of you if it was
possible.”
“Thanks, Maria.”
“I can’t. Not right now, because I don’t know what is
going on in Liz’s mind. She’s not talking to me either. All I know is
you’re making yourself miserable and depressed.”
“She walked away…no, she ran, Maria. I told her. I told
her that she is my Destiny, the only destiny I want. I can’t…she is
punishing me for being born into something I don’t feel or want, and…”
Maria sighed. Pushing comforting sugar and
~~~
Maria let herself into Michael’s apartment as a rock
exploded. Lifting a brow, she ignored Tess and went into the kitchen to put away
groceries.
“Hey,” said Michael glancing over once he no longer had
to concentrate.
“Hey back, Spaceboy. I needed you today, and you so
let me down.” Maria answered, putting the cream in the refrigerator. “That
cream is for my coffee, so do not use it to eat your cereal!”
“I ran out of milk.”
Maria held up a new gallon of milk. “Gotcha covered.”
Maria put it away. “So how is the quarry business going? You get a new gravel
contract?”
“Funny.” Michael frowned. Actually it wasn’t funny.
His powers, despite Tess’s help, were still unpredictable. He spent most of
his time blowing things up. He was tired and it was hard to concentrate after so
many hours of practicing. “What’s up?”
“The usual. I need to get out of Dodge. Let my hair down,
and blow off some steam. I was thinking a ride through the desert on someone’s
bike, heading towards
Michael smirked. “What’s in
Maria brought him a flier while drinking a peach Snapple.
Michael scanned the flier, a rare smile breaking over his face. “Tonight?”
He took Maria’s drink from her taking a large pull, finishing half of it in
one gulp. Maria quickly retrieved her drink before he finished it.
“Yep. Cover charge is five bucks. You get us there;
I’ll cover the cover.”
“I’ll need to shower and change.” Michael glanced at
the clock on the wall. “We might just make it.”
“Why are you standing here yakking?”
“I’m gone.” Michael seemed to realize Tess was still
there. “Hey, thanks for the help, but I think I’m through for the day.”
“You need to practice…”
“I know. But, truthfully, I can’t concentrate anymore
today. I was losing what little control I had. Tomorrow. I’ll be rested by
tomorrow.”
Tess recognized defeat, and she nodded as Michael went off
to find clean clothes and hit the shower. They needed to leave in the next ten
minutes.
“You can leave now,” Maria suggested, not in the least
bit pleasantly.
“He needs to practice. He can’t control his powers
unless he does. He’ll need them to fight, and…”
“Yeah, I know, free your people, or at least Max and
Isabel’s momma, so she can hold them in her arms again. Yadda, yadda, bang.
Got the memo.”
Tess looked Maria up and down. The girl hadn’t been very
warm or friendly towards her, actually no one was, except Michael who accepted
her help on his powers and little else. Max wouldn’t even talk to her. He
wanted nothing to do with Destiny or her. Isabel was still upset that she had
mindwarped her and Max. Alex and Maria treated her like she was a plague, a
disease that hurt and infected their friend, Liz.
“He’s supposed to be with Isabel…he will be with her
in the end. Destiny will make it happen, so you’re wasting your time.” Maria
lifted a brow at that.
“Says you. I think it’s Isabel and Michael’s
decision. If they want to be together, they’ll decide, and you know what? That
will be okay too.”
“You’re not fooling anyone. It’s obvious how you feel
about him, and…”
“Uh-huh. You know what?” Maria took Tess’s arm to
lead her out. “You’re like this annoying broken record that squeaks and
scratches out the same tired old tune, but no one is listening because your
scratchy old voice is annoying. Take a hike, you alien home wrecker. Your
usefulness of the day is over, we friend types have real life fun things to do.
Why don’t you go write on your lonely walls somewhere your stupid destiny over
a hundred times, or hit the blonde bottle again. I think I can see your
roots.”
Maria slammed the door in Tess’s face. Harpy.
Michael stuck his wet head out of his bedroom still rubbing
off the water. “What’s going on?”
“Just taking out the trash.”
Michael tossed the towel aside. “Maria, she’s helping
me.”
“I know.”
“Maybe you could cut her some slack?”
Maria shrugged. “I don’t trust her. After all, I’m
just a worthless unimportant human. Like all those other humans, it doesn’t
matter if we get hurt. We’re just in the way.”
“Like Pierce?” Michael said quietly.
Maria swore under her breath. “No. Not like Pierce.”
Maria went to him. “I’m sorry. You know I don’t put you in the heartless
human hating category with Tess and Nasedo. Pierce was a deviant even by human
standards. He was going to kill us all. Maybe you don’t feel it was justified,
but every day, I thank god you saved us, that you saved the Sheriff. I’m just
sorry it had to be you, and that it weighs on you.”
“Maybe she needs a friend, too, Maria.”
“I’m overbooked right now. It’s just hard to let her
near. I don’t trust her. How can I? She came in mindwarping, intruding and
pushing this Destiny in everyone’s face, not caring who got hurt as long as
she got what she wanted, and look at the devastation. Everyone was hurt.
Everyone I love.”
Maria didn’t say “including Michael”, but it was
true. Destiny might have given him back some purpose in life…to be a soldier,
but it also stripped away the only family he ever had. He was even more alone.
Sighing, Maria kissed his cheek. “Go finish getting dressed. I promise to try
to be civil, to cut her a little slack, okay? For you. I’ll try. Meanwhile, we
are going to miss the University party and live music if you spend too long on
your hair.”
Michael smiled. “I’ll drive over the speed limit to
catch up time.”
“Oh great!” Maria dug through her bag while he went to
finish getting dressed. She better have a brush. By the time they got to
~~~
Maria, Alex, Isabel, and Max were watching a special
committee meeting on C-SPAN. It was Nasedo posing as Agent Pierce reporting on
the Special Unit’s expenses. Basically he declared the Unit to be a hoax, and
the Special Unit all but defunct.
Alex sat next to Maria. He was listening intensely to the
report. “Well, if Nasedo can put an end to this special unit, I'd say, all
your problems are solved.”
Isabel didn’t agree. “We still have our enemies to deal
with.”
“It's been over three months, and nothing has happened.
No aliens have shown up.” Max pointed out. “Maybe there's no one out there.
Maybe the war is over.”
“Or thousands of them could be lining up outside of town
right now.”
“I just don't think we should live our lives in fear like
Michael does,” Max said. Maria made a sound in her throat rolling her eyes.
What the hell was that? It had only been a few short months ago that Max finally
understood the true meaning of fear in the White Room, and now he was acting
like it never happened?
“Maybe he's just preparing for the inevitable.” Isabel
would rather have Michael working to be prepared then burying his head in the
sand like Max.
Maria looked at the arguing brother and sister. “They're
taking a vote.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, I move for the immediate
disbandment of that component of the FBI known as the special unit. All those in
favor say, aye.”
The new waitress, Courtney came into the back breakroom.
She made a face at the group. “You people are way too into C-SPAN.”
“Goodbye, Courtney.” Maria retorted, quickly dismissing
the girl. Oh shit, she forgot to tell the little disease carrier to wash her
damn hands! Before she could rectify the oversight, the vote came in.
“All opposed say, nay.”
Maria frowned when one Congresswoman voted nay.
“The committee recognizes Congresswoman Whitaker.”
Maria glanced at Alex. “She looks familiar.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, that's Vanessa Whitaker. She's our
congresswoman.”
“I've gotta start reading the newspaper.” Maria moved
forward chewing on a nail.
“Members of the committee ... in 1972, the special unit
of the FBI investigated a murder. Several curiosities surrounded the event. No
murder weapon. No entry wound, other than the presence of silver markings left
on the skin, which subsequently vanished, yet the internal organs and tissues of
the victim were completely decimated. Now, nuclear analysis of the victim's
bones showed traces of a substance dubbed cadmium-x, an element which doesn't
exist on earth. It is, simply put ... not human.”
The group listened closely as Pierce was questioned by the
chair Congressman on the existence of this mysterious cadmium-x, which Pierce
claimed did not exist, that it was a hoax created by the Special Unit.
Maria’s eyes remained on Nasedo masquerading as Pierce.
For a homicidal maniac, the man wasn’t…unattractive. “I am definitely not
in the market for a thirty-something shapeshifter, but I have to admit the man
rocks.” Maria turned off the television. “All right, the show's over. I
gotta change into my uniform. My shift's starting.”
Alex kissed Maria on the cheek before following Isabel
outside to the actual diner.
“Girlfriend,” Maria said to Max, “Like, I know that
we bonded over the summer, but I'm not quite ready to show you the bod just
yet.”
“No. I was just wondering if you'd heard from Liz yet.”
“Not since you asked me an hour ago.” Maria looked at
Max sympathetically. “No.”
“I heard you on the phone with her.”
Maria sighed. Her life was becoming complicated with all
these friends, wanting her to be their best friends, especially when they were
pushing her between the two of them.
“Max, little advice. The girl goes off to some aunt in
“Let her come to me.”
Maria nodded. “That's what I'd do.”
Max rubbed the back of his neck. “Wait, you know this is
easier for you. Michael only ignored you for a month, and you made him grovel,
take you to concerts, and basically worship at your doorstep. I think you’re
seeing this from a skewed point of view.”
Maria frowned. “What's your point? Spaceboy was being a
jerk, he admitted it, and I forgave him. It wasn’t like he didn’t have good
reason. End of conflict. I keep telling you, it’s different! He’s not my
boyfriend…just a friend, and for the record…the man does not worship at my
doorstep. He comes over for dinner. My mom makes him take out the garbage. Stop
reading things into a situation that doesn’t exist. Okay?”
~~~
Alex and Isabel were sitting in a booth in the Crashdown.
Alex was reading the newspaper while Isabel was lost in thought. The report they
watched was disturbing.
“Oh, look! ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest’ is
playing at the Revival Theater at the fairgrounds.” Alex said. Oh, classic
cinema, perfect distraction to a fucked up life.
Isabel wasn’t listening. “You know, Alex, maybe you
should see what you can find out about cadmium-x.”
“Sure.” Alex waved off the alien investigation stuff
for now. He’d sic Michael and Maria on it. “Look, there are four showings on
Saturday.”
Isabel sighed. “We're not going to a movie, Alex.”
Alex sat back dejected. Three months, and Isabel was still
keeping him at arm’s length. “Yeah, right.”
It was hard to see the disappointment on his face…the
hurt. “Alex, I'm sorry. You know it's not you. It's just that with everything
that's happening, everything on my mind, I can't think about being with a guy
right now. You know, any guy.”
Alex and Isabel looked up when a man stopped at their
table. “Excuse me. Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to ... ”
Isabel’s face lit up, interest sparking in her eyes.
“N-no. You're fine. We're ... ”
“Uh, Grant Sorenson.” The man quickly introduced
himself to the beautiful young girl. She was well worth a second look.
“Isabel Evans.”
“Alex Whitman.” Alex quickly interjected, hating the
look on Isabel’s face. Obviously “no guys” just meant him.
The man smiled pleasantly at the two, but his eyes were
only for Isabel. “I was just wondering if you might be able to tell me where I
could find the Sheriff's office.”
Isabel and Alex shared a worried glance with each other.
Isabel almost stumbled over her next question. “Why are you looking for the
Sheriff?”
Isabel and Alex both listened in silence as Mr. Sorenson
explained that he was a geologist doing a survey in the desert, and he had
discovered bones.
“Bones?” Isabel turned worried eyes on Alex after
Sorenson headed out. “Pierce?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. The Sheriff will tell us. I
bet there are thousands of bones in the desert. These don’t have to be
Pierce’s.”
Isabel couldn’t agree. “I need to go find Max. The way
our luck runs, I wouldn’t bet on it.”
~~~
Michael and Tess were in Michael's apartment practicing
Michael’s powers. Tess was advising Michael on how to control his power by
blowing up rocks on the table.
Tess pushed him through the next pinpoint drill. “Next
one. Keep your focus.”
Michael concentrated. He was getting better. When he first
started, he blew up the rock and everything around the rock. Now he was able to
direct his powers on the rock only. He was so busy concentrating as the next
rock exploded that he missed Max and Isabel walking into his apartment.
“No rock stands a chance against Michael Guerin,” Max
observed sarcastically.
Michael scowled at the alien invasion into his personal
space. “Our fearless leader.” What the hell was Max doing here? Wasn’t he
supposed to be crying in his milkshake or on Maria’s shoulder about his
pathetic ineffectual ass? Michael wasn’t sure what pissed him off most about
Max…his inability to actually lead or that he was commandeering Maria as his
newest best friend.
Tess glanced at the two men, quickly smiling at Max.
“Hey.”
Max actually addressed Tess. “I think Nasedo's finished
with D.C. He'll probably be headed back soon.”
Tess shrugged. It's not like he's Ward Cleaver when he's
here.”
“So, what's going on?” Michael stared at his one-time
two best friends. Things were strained, real strained. “Something tells me
this isn't a social visit.”
Isabel finally spoke. “We think somebody found Pierce's
bones.”
The bottom fell out of Michael’s stomach. “You're
kidding.”
“A geologist,” Max said, as if that said it all.
“What the hell was he doing digging around in the middle
of nowhere?” Suspicion was a hard thing to overcome, especially after a
lifetime of living that way. Michael’s eyes narrowed.
“That's what geologists do.”
“No. That’s what archaeologists do. Geologists study
rocks.” Michael shook his head. “I don't feel good about this.”
“Valenti's handling the investigation.” Max bit the
inside of his lip. They should’ve never told Michael. “He'll take care of
it.”
“What about Nasedo?”
Max shook his head. “He told us not to contact him unless
there was an emergency.”
“So what do you call this? I mean, what if this guy's not
a geologist?” Michael asked. “What if he's one of our enemies, Max?”
“Right now there's no reason to doubt him. He's a
geologist, and in the course of doing his job, he dug up the bones.” Max’s
voice took on a firm tone. “I'll decide when we call Nasedo. Don't do anything
until I tell you.”
“I'm not just gonna sit around and do nothing like we've
done all summer.” Shit, now he was
going to be a leader? Now he cared?
“We've been having this conversation for months,” Max
said, tired of the fight. He and Michael had been at each other’s throat all
summer. “What are we supposed to do?”
“You're our leader.” Michael said sarcastically. “Why
don't you lead us?”
“Fine! Crack some more rocks.”
Isabel put a restraining hand on Max’s arm. “Max!”
Michael’s temper and powers were volatile. Max was pushing him too
hard, being too derisive of Michael’s attempts to control his powers.
“Valenti has it under control. Let's not panic.” Max
reiterated, as he and Isabel left the apartment. “I'll call you when there's
news.”
~~~
“You didn’t tell him?”
“No. I said I wouldn’t.” Maria sat back on Liz’s
bed looking her friend over. “I like the haircut. The shorter cut is nice.
Lightens your hair, gives it more body and makes you look not so young.”
“I don’t want to look young. I want Congresswoman
Whitaker to take me seriously for this intern position.”
“Whitaker. Geez, that woman is everywhere lately.”
Maria’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. That damn Michael Guerin was definitely
rubbing off on her. “So we won’t be working together any longer at the
Crashdown if you get this.”
Liz looked over at her friend feeling bad. She had left
Maria alone all summer, and now this. “Sorry, Maria. I just need a change, you
know?”
“Sure. I understand completely.” Maria plucked at the
blanket. “What about Max? He’s a mess. This has been a hard summer on
him.”
“I don’t know, Maria. I can’t think about this now.
Max has a Destiny that isn’t with me.”
“He doesn’t want that, Liz. He wants you.”
Liz sat down on the bed. “I don’t think he has a
choice. I hate to admit it, but Michael was right. They were programmed. He is
programmed to be with Tess, and it wasn’t all a mindwarp, Maria. He kissed
her. He felt drawn to her.”
“He hasn’t followed it, Liz. He doesn’t want it.”
Liz bit her lip. “I don’t know if I can risk my heart
again. It hurt too much last time to walk away.” Liz looked at Maria. She
looked beautiful. Her hair was longer and she was wearing short skirts and tight
clothes. Over the summer, she seemed to grow up. Her friend was no longer a
pretty young girl with the promise of beauty. She had arrived. She was a real
knock out. “You have it so much luckier, Maria.”
“What do you mean?” Maria didn’t really get what this
had to do with her. She had nothing invested in this fraudulent zodiac,
misaligned stars and Destiny.
“If Max and I hadn’t gotten together and just remained
friends last year, when this whole thing exploded Max could’ve really examined
his life, what he wanted, and made a choice. I’m a fly in this alien ointment,
and no matter how much I want to be with Max, I can’t forget Tess had him
first. She has an entire lifetime claim on him.” Liz wasn’t going to cry.
She promised herself not to cry. “If we had only been friends…never
together, it would’ve still been hard, but it wouldn’t have been so
devastating.”
Maria hugged Liz. “You don’t know that that’s true,
Liz. Both Isabel and Michael think it was all a mindwarp. They don’t feel
compelled to be together, and supposedly they were engaged. What if it was all a
mindwarp? Are you willing to throw away everything, throw away that feeling you
get with Max all because a beady-eyed alien hussy wanders into town?”
Liz laughed. “You’re too good a friend. You know
that?” Liz hugged Maria. “Thanks for being there even when I wasn’t.”
“Just do me a favor. Don’t be so hard on Max. He’s
had a terrible summer between you and Michael. He really could use a break.”
“Thanks for not telling him I’m home yet.”
“Yeah, I don’t like lying to friends, but I didn’t
have much choice. You’ve been my friend longer.”
“Thanks, Maria.”
Maria’s cell phone rang. Maria looked at it. “Aw,
Spaceboy, my keeper. I better take this. He’s been practicing blowing up
things.”
~~~
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way, Michael.”
“Sure he did.” Michael glanced at Maria. “Stop making
excuses for him.”
Maria bit her lip. “I’m not. I just don’t want you
feeling all upset and abused, that’s all.”
“I don’t, okay? You don’t have to worry about me.”
Maria looked out over the desert, down where the Sheriff
and his Deputies were excavating. It was where they had burned and buried
Pierce’s remains.
“Sure. Don’t worry about you.” He was irrational.
“I think they found something.”
Michael frowned. Maria was right. That doofus Deputy was
showing the Sheriff something.
“Sheriff!” Deputy Hanson called, “Found this in the
brush, right near the grave.”
“Let's see.”
“I'm all over it, Sheriff.” Hanson bagged a pocket
knife he found in the bushes. “I called the lab. I'm gonna run it over right
now and have them check for prints.”
Jim looked worried, but he nodded to his Deputy. “Good
work, Hanson.”
“Looks like we could have an actual homicide on our
hands,” The glee in Hanson’s eyes was a tad bit disturbing.
Maria and Michael watched the Deputy’s SUV rush away.
Michael put his hand on Maria’s back, low. Leaning over, he whispered in her
ear, “C’mon, let’s go.”
“What do you think he found?”
“I don’t know. Stay low.” Michael told her tripping
over some rocks when his head was turned. Falling he got up with Maria’s hands
on him when he saw something strange. It was a piece of skin that had been shed
on the ground. Maria leaned closer as they looked at it. Michael picked it up
and it immediately disintegrated into dust.
“What the hell?” Michael breathed as Maria’s nails
bit into his arm.
~~~
Valenti entered his office. He paused when he saw Michael
sitting in a chair across from his desk with Deputy Hanson hawking over him.
Maria was in another chair next to the wall, and even Jim could see her
nervousness.
Hanson stood at attention when Jim entered the office.
“This is the suspect, Sheriff. Came in peaceably.” Hanson actually looked at
Maria who made a face. “Although I do see a bit of an attitude problem with
her.”
Jim passed Michael the bag with his pocket knife. “You
recognize that?”
Michael shrugged. It was the knife Maria bought him for
Christmas last year. “Well, there are a lot of knives out there that look like
that.”
“How many of them do you suppose have your fingerprints
on them, Mr. Guerin?” Jim stared into Michael’s eyes, trying to send him
mental messages to play along. “My very efficient deputy here has linked this
knife to you. It was discovered way out in the desert, out near the old
“Yeah. Maybe you'd better.”
“I found you and a few of your buddies drinking beer,
joyriding, taking potshots out into the desert. Remember?” Maria lifted her
brow at that. Hey! She wasn’t a buddy!
“Yeah...,” Michael said, his voice uncertain, but
following Jim’s lead.
“Here's the police report I filled out that night, just
in case you forgot.” Jim showed Michael a report. “Now, did you witness
anything out of the ordinary that night, Mr. Guerin?”
“N-no, sir.”
“All right,” Jim dismissed the two teenagers, wincing
at Maria’s enthusiasm to leave. “Listen, do yourself a favor. The next time
you're going off to break the law somewhere, don't leave a calling card.”
“Yes, sir,” Michael stared at his pocket knife.
Uncertain whether he should ask for it back, he paused. “Can I have my knife
back? It was a gift.”
Jim handed Michael the bag. “Get the hell out of here.”
Maria paused on her way out of the door. Looking at the
Deputy, she smiled sweetly. “Oh, Deputy…I don’t suppose you found my lip
gloss I lost that night as well? It’s precious to me…a gift as well.”
Michael made a sound in his throat and pulled Maria out of the office. “Hey! I
liked that color!”
Deputy Hanson watched the two leave. “I smell a rat.”
~~~
Michael was pilfering loose change from Maria while holding
the receiver of the pay phone in his hand. Trying to locate Nasedo was next to
impossible, they kept getting rerouted, placed on hold, and the elevator music
was making his stomach jumpy.
“Max is going to shit over this,” Maria complained in a
mumble as she looked for more loose change.
“We’d have to cattle prod him awake first.”
“He’s upset over Liz, give him a break.”
“Sure, name the limb.” Michael stood up straight when
the phone was answered. “Nasedo, it's Michael.”
“Does Max know you're calling?”
“No.” Michael’s voice held his irritation. “But we
got a code red. Get the hell out here.”
“Don't ever contact me again unless Max knows.”
Nasedo hung up.
Michael slammed the receiver down. “Great people
skills.”
“He hung up on you?” Maria asked. Michael nodded.
“Hmm, must be an alien trait. You sure you’re not related to him?”
Michael took Maria’s arm leading her to the Jetta.
“C’mon, chuckles. Let’s go regroup. I think we should look into this
supposed geologist.”
“Nope. My vote is on the Congresswoman. I mean, honestly,
“Her what?”
“Shoes, Michael. Geez, could you pay a little
attention?”
Michael made a face. When they got to his place, he shut
the door and headed straight for the kitchen. Starving. They had gone from
watching Valenti’s people excavate the desert to being picked up by Hanson. He
needed sustenance.
Maria intercepted the good cereal before Michael hogged it
all. Munching on a handful, she looked at him thoughtfully. “So Nasedo ordered
you not to contact him, huh? Only the King.”
“King Weepy. I’ve had enough of watching him act like a
girl,” Michael made a face at Maria’s sound of indignation. “Stop it. I
don’t count you in that category. If you ever got that maudlin I’d stop
talking to you.”
“Therein lies the mystery of how to shake you. Had I only
known.” Maria put a tongue in her cheek. “I know you can’t understand his
feelings, seeing that you have none,” Michael made a ‘thank god’ sound
under his breath, “but it was hard on him seeing Liz walk away.”
“I don’t get the big deal.” Michael made a face.
“It’s not like Liz Parker is a supermodel or anything, or even has breasts
worth noting. She’s like kiddy porn and all the icky in betweens. Add in her
annoying voice, and the mystery is why he didn’t buy her a damn bus ticket
himself just to be free of her.”
Maria had had it with the foul humored alien boy. Fingering
a pot, she searched the cabinet. Michael frowned at her. “What the hell are
you looking for?”
“A heavier pan. This one is too light. I don’t think it
will do enough damage to your thick skull when I brain you.”
Michael held up his hands. “Okay, okay! I know, don’t
put down your friend. But honestly, Maria, when was the last time you talked to
Liz that it wasn’t all about her? Or to Alex, and it wasn’t all about Alex
and Isabel, and Isabel…all about her? Max? We won’t mention him because we
already know all he whines about. Do any of them even bother to ask you how
you’re doing? What’s going on in your life?”
Maria put down the pan. Kissing Michael on lips softly, she
patted his cheek. “That’s why I’m cursed with you, Spaceboy. You tend to
my pathetically few needs. And in case you didn’t notice…most of the stuff
we do revolve around you.”
Michael scratched his brow. “What’s your point?”
~~~
Michael and Maria were still arguing over their cover story
when they noticed the car. Ducking down they watched as Isabel got out of her
mother’s car and walked towards Grant Sorenson’s research site.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Michael asked
incredulously.
“Maybe Max sent her to check up on the geologist.”
Maria punched Michael lightly on the shoulder. “I told you we should’ve
investigated the Congresswoman! Isabel looks to have the geologist covered.”
Maria glanced over at Isabel, quickly reading the other girl’s body language.
“Oh yeah, she definitely has this covered.” Aw, poor Alex. “You know…I
think you need to take Max and Alex out on a guys night out.”
“Guys night out?” Michael said confused as he watched
the camp. “Why?” Michael glanced at Maria. “What’s going on, Maria?”
“You can’t be blind. Isabel is doing time with Mr.
Geologist. You know… ‘they do it in the dirt’ and ‘geologist have larger
tools’ crap.”
“Making time?” Michael was still confused, but then the
lights came on. “Dating? She’s making eyes at him for a date?” He pointed
a finger at Maria. “See? This is why I don’t investigate with Isabel. She
can’t keep her mind on the job.” Suddenly it occurred to Michael why Alex
would need a ‘guys night out’. “Oh great, forget it. I’m not going out
with Max and Alex. They’d cry all over me.”
“I threw up on you that one time,” Maria reminded him.
Michael shrugged watching that suspicious Grant person.
“That was my fault. You warned me that you couldn’t eat the hotdog and ride
the rollercoaster at the same time.”
“You could’ve warned me it would do all those fast
circles and then turn upside down…no matter, the people behind us got the
worst of it.”
Michael chuckled. “I remember. C’mon, Isabel’s
leaving. Let’s go interrogate her. You want to be good cop or bad?”
“Bad. You always play it too heavy. She might have a date
later and need to be in salvageable condition.”
~~~
Michael made a sound in his sleep at a knock on his door.
Pulling a pillow over his head, he couldn’t drown out the annoying sound, or
the other one at that.
“Michael, door.”
“You get it.”
“No way! Your door. I’m the guest.” Maria stole the
covers moving into his warm space as he got up, snuggling in. Investigation ran
over, grilling Isabel had been hard work, and her mother was out of town again.
Michael stumbled to his door in the dark pulling a t-shirt
on.
“Open the door! Police!”
“Valenti,” Michael said opening the door reluctantly.
Damn he didn’t have a father, and he didn’t need Sheriff Valenti stepping
into the empty space. “I figured you'd have to come over here and give me
grief about leaving the knife out there. Man, what's the big deal?”
“Mr. Guerin, you're under arrest.” Jim said loudly for
the other officers present, especially for Hanson. He had to hope that Michael
wouldn’t do anything stupid. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything
you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to
an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you by
the court.”
As Michael was being cuffed he caught Maria’s head
peering up at the window separating his bedroom from the living room. Shaking
his head slightly, he watched in relief as her head disappeared.
As soon as the front door closed Maria was pulling on one
of Michael’s sweaters searching for her shoes. She needed to tell Max.
~~~
“Maria? I thought you were Michael.”
Maria snorted as Max helped her through his bedroom window.
“If I was Michael, I wouldn’t have tapped. I would’ve unlocked window
myself.”
“What’s going on?” Max reached for a t-shirt. He was
only in a pair of sleeping sweats.
“Sheriff Valenti just arrested Michael…I think because
of the bones.”
“What?!” Max couldn’t handle it. It was too much. He
was at his breaking point. “What did he do now?”
Maria sighed heavily. “You know, now…that really pisses
me off! Why do you have to be like that?”
“Maria…”
“No, I’m serious. He didn’t do anything wrong. He
killed Pierce. You were there. We were all there. You and Valenti helped him
burn and bury Pierce. So he dropped a knife from his pocket…that isn’t
exactly a hanging offense. You could try to support him a little more.” Maria
knew everyone was self involved all summer, but this was getting tiring. “He
feels bad enough, you don’t have to validate all his feelings.”
“I’m sorry, okay?” Max sat on the bed. “What do you
want me to do?”
Maria refrained from screaming and shaking Max within an
inch of his life. “Call Nasedo. Michael tried, but I guess it takes the King
to send out an alert.”
“He called Nasedo? I told him that I would make that
decision.”
“Good. Then make it! Do not take that tone with me,
mister. What does it take to rattle your chain? Pierce on C-SPAN with a
Congresswoman Whitaker, who suddenly shows up in
“Liz is working for this Congresswoman Whitaker,” said
Max. “You could’ve told me she was back.”
“Yeah, I could’ve.” Maria shook her head. Unreal. He
finally found a reason to take interest. Liz. Sighing, Maria bit back her
irritation. Self-involved much? “She’s my friend. She asked me not to tell
you, so guess what? I respected her wishes.”
“I thought we were friends too.” Max answered, hurt
that Maria would hold out on him after knowing how he felt.
“We are, but there is a difference, Max, and you know it.
You’re my friend because of Liz, and your need to have someone to talk to
about her. Liz is my friend for life, as is Alex. They’re my friends because
we’re friends…no other reason.”
“And Michael,” asked Max. He was uncertain he wanted to
ask. Maria had been a point of dissension between him and Michael. Max had never
expected Michael to be so selfish with Maria’s friendship. It had been easier
when Michael had still been ignoring Maria.
Maria put her hands on her hip. That was why she was there
after all. “Michael is different. He’s a friend…a good friend. He
doesn’t want anything from me except my friendship and support. Things I would
give to any friend freely.”
“I only want your friendship and support, too.”
“I know, but I can’t be placed in a position between
friends, Max. I’ll have to make choices. Michael is out there. He needs help,
and you should’ve called Nasedo instead of him. You’re sitting on your
hands, and you can’t afford to do that.”
“I did what I thought was best.”
“I know you did. All the best intentions in the world
don’t make you right, just earnest. And all the impulsive behavior in the
world doesn’t always make him wrong.” Maria didn’t have time for this. It
was late. Throwing her cell phone at Max, she stood her ground. “Call Nasedo
because Michael is in trouble, and that’s all that matters.”
Max nodded. He looked at Maria as he waited for the phone
to be answered. “I envy Michael his friendship of you. You are a good friend,
Maria.”
“I’m your friend too, Max, but if it ever comes down
between you and Michael, Michael will win. I can’t explain our friendship, but
it’s based on a lot more than just friendship. There is some mutual respect,
and a lot more.”
“I know. That’s what I envy.” Max turned as
Nasedo’s voice asked him what he wanted.
~~~
Nasedo, disguised as Pierce, entered the Crashdown. Looking
at the gaudy décor and insulting renditions of aliens, he looked at the
tourists as they went around him. None of the Royals were apparent.
“You can never find those little pod people when you want
them.”
One of the patrons at the Crashdown recognized Pierce from
TV. “Hey! You're that guy from TV!”
Pierce rolled his eyes. Since when did the low class morons
of the humankind watch C-SPAN? “Move, please.”
“Honey, get over here. It's that crazy FBI guy!” Damn,
he should’ve known. Alien freaks probably taped the committee meeting for
numerous viewings. All the Special Unit talk had to confirm all their wildest
conspiracy theories. Dodging into the restaurant restroom before another
customer, he ignored the other customer’s “Hey!” Moving his hand over his
face, he transformed from Pierce back into Ed Harding.
“Excuse me.” Nasedo said to the customer waiting
outside, moving around him.
The customer looked around confused. One man had gone in,
another came out. “Honey?”
Nasedo went through the doors into the breakroom. He
immediately found his missing children, the human friends, and the newest
addition to the alien conspiracy. “Sheriff Valenti, welcome to the
ever-burgeoning "I know an alien" club.” Nasedo looked at Max.
“You called me here. I assume it's important.”
Max nodded glancing at Maria before continuing. “How much
do you know about Congressman Whitaker?”
“I know her intimately.” Nasedo informed them.
Tess tilted her head, unsure she heard correctly.
“Intimately?”
“To borrow a rather crude human colloquialism, I've been
diddling her all summer.”
Maria lifted a brow, she whispered to Alex. “I hope he's
using birth control.”
“I must admit, I've grown awfully fond of the foul
temptress,” Nasedo said with a small smile. “It's a shame I may now have to
kill her.”
“Well, Pierce's bones have been dug up,” Max told the
Shapeshifter, “and apparently some of them have been fused in a way that’s
completely unexplainable by human terms.”
“Tell me how far this information has been leaked,”
Nasedo sighed. Time to do some damage control. “I need to extinguish every
human who has this information.”
Alex gulped aloud. “I'm going to assume present company
is excluded?”
Liz came down the stairs having heard the entire
discussion. She had been trying to stay clear of all the alien stuff. “Isn't
murder what got you into this situation to begin with?”
Nasedo frowned at the annoying human, Liz Parker. She was a
problem. A big one. “My job is to protect the Royal Four. Their survival is
critical to the survival of an entire race.” Maria couldn’t watch Liz’s
face. The entire Destiny was a problem, and Nasedo just reaffirmed that Max had
a life that didn’t include her. Maria couldn’t say anything. The person
killed that Liz was talking about was Pierce, and Michael had done that. It
saved them all, saved Valenti. Liz was letting her hatred of the alien Destiny
to cloud her judgment.
“No one's going to die.” Max said, not wanting Liz to
feel unsure of them. “Killing people isn't going to solve anything.”
“Oh, my. A pacifist for a king.” Nasedo said
sarcastically. “Shall we all just commit joint suicide right now, or shall we
wait for our enemies to show up and have a nice boxed lunch of us?”
Max couldn’t take the risk on Liz, on her opinion of them
wavering…her opinion of him. “We're not killing anyone. That's an order.”
Nasedo’s jaw flexed. “As you wish. The feds know about
cadmium-x. If they find it on the bones, their first order of business will be
to do to Michael what they did to you in the white room.”
Max physically paled. “We can't let that happen.”
Maria bit the inside of her mouth. How could they assume a
young boy had anything to do with a radiation blast needed to meld bone? All on
the strength of a pocket knife that could’ve been dropped there whenever. It
was ludicrous. The stupidity was too much. The threat too much for her to take.
Her hand tightened on Alex’s.
“Where are the bones now?” Nasedo asked Jim. He would
have to take care of the bones immediately.
“Whitaker took them out of the coroner's office. I don't
know where they are.”
“Even if we knew where they were, what would we do with
them?” Isabel asked. “Hiding them isn't going to solve the problem.”
“I know what to do,” Max said.
~~~
They sent Nasedo to distract Congresswoman Whitaker while
Liz let Max into her office to help search for the bones location. Valenti took
the opportunity to see Michael, to make sure he kept his cool. Michael was
sitting on the lower bunk in the cell.
“We only have a couple minutes to talk.”
“What's up?” Michael asked.
“I just want to make sure you don't do anything like use
your powers to try to break out of here.” Jim sat next to Michael. “The best
thing to do right now is to sit tight.”
“You sound like Max.”
Jim looked at the young man sympathizing with his
situation. “Look, I know it's hard for you to be locked up like this.”
Michael shrugged. “It's not that bad. I killed a man.
Maybe this is where I should be.”
“Michael, you killed the man who killed Agent Topolsky
and killed Agent Stevens and who knows how many others, and he was just about to
kill me.”
“Yeah. I've told myself all those things, but I still
killed a man.” Michael said, his voice low as he confided in Valenti. “And
the thing that I keep thinking about is that what happened is just the tip of
the iceberg. I've been trying to prepare myself for what's about to go down, and
I have no idea what to do. I'm cracking rocks. I have no clue who or what we're
up against. And I've been so pissed off at Max for not leading, but he doesn't
know any more than I do.” Michael clasped his hands between his legs. “None
of us do. We're all in the dark waiting to be attacked,” he glanced at Jim,
“and all I can think about is what if I'm not strong enough?”
Jim gave Michael a comforting arm around the shoulders. It
was a lot for a young man who just turned seventeen to handle. He never asked
for this.
“Well, I have to go. I’m sorry to do this to you, but
you’re getting a cellmate.”