PART THIRTEEN

Alex sat bleary-eyed in the driver's seat of the Jetta, trying desperately to remain awake. Maria had dozed off an hour before, but he wanted to be vigilant in staying awake, in case the mysterious stranger decided to leave the motel.

But he hadn't, and Alex knew that they couldn't sit here forever. They needed to go home, they needed to go to school. But he felt he had to be here, for Liz. It might be their only chance.

Another hour passed of watching and waiting, wondering where Liz was, and if she was all right. Alex felt an overpowering sense of helplessness, of not knowing what to do.

For as long as he could remember, a day had not gone by that he hadn't seen Liz. She and Maria were more like family to him than his own parents. Liz knew him better than he knew himself. What if something happened to her? What if they never saw her again?

They had a good thing going here. Maria was the drama queen, Alex was the comic relief, and Liz was the sensible one. What were they going to do without Liz to balance them?

She was the one that told him that someone would be lucky to have him, when he'd been all upset that Allison Hendricks had turned him down for the Spring Dance last year. She had told him that he was smart and funny, and it was Maria and her advantage that they had him all to themselves for now, because soon enough, some wonderful girl was going to take him away from them. Coming from anyone else, it would have sounded patronizing, but from Liz, he knew it truly came from her heart.

For awhile, he thought Liz was going to be taken away from them by Kyle. He'd seen her interest in him, and he noticed her as well. But soon enough, Kyle had moved on, and left Alex and Maria to pick up the pieces. Secretly, Alex was happy about it, not because he didn't like Kyle, but because he wanted their little group to survive just a little bit longer, before adulthood and real life changed things.

He enjoyed his girlfriend status with Maria and Liz, and though he was ribbed for it by his friends, he knew secretly they were jealous. How many guys have unprecedented access to the female mind? More than once, his male friends had approached him, telling him that a girl said this, or said that, and what did they mean by it? Alex was invaluable as a window into the female mind.

He wondered if Liz and Maria knew how many relationships they had inadvertently saved by the long talks they all had.

Would he ever have one of those talks with her again?

He had to stop thinking like this. He had to be positive. They would find her. They had to.

Roswell was slowly coming to life as the sun started to rise over the buildings. Commuters left for their jobs, kissing their families goodbye in preparation for the long work-day ahead.

Alex imagined Liz's parents had come downstairs already, preparing to open the Crashdown for business. What was going through their minds? How were they coping with the insanity of what happened? He didn't know. At least he had some idea of what happened that night. All they knew was that their daughter's blood was found on the carpet and that she had disappeared.

The FBI had been called in. Alex suspected that whatever division Pierce belonged to was exclusive, and not known to the generally lower-ranking agents.

They'd been in and out of the Crashdown over the past few weeks, just as puzzled as everyone else, not having any leads to follow. Photos had been circulated, but had turned up nothing. Now, it was a waiting game for her parents. He wished there was something he could tell him, but he didn't know how they'd react to what he would have to say. He couldn't take a chance that they might jump the gun, alerting Pierce somehow, and ruining any chance to find Liz. As hard as it was, it was the way things had to be for now.

The incessant ring of his cell-phone made him jump. Maria stirred as he answered it.

"Hello?" he said in a low voice.

"Alex, it's Uncle John. Where are you? I tried to call you at home," he said.

"Uh, I couldn't sleep," he said. "I'm waiting for the Crashdown to open so I can get some breakfast," he lied.

"Alex, you aren't doing anything stupid are you? You promised me that if I helped you, you'd let me handle this and stay out of it," his Uncle said. "This could be dangerous."

"No, I swear," Alex said, crossing his fingers.

"I'm sitting in front of the Crashdown, just waiting for my java," he lied.

"Good," Uncle John said. "Keep a low profile. My contacts have found out that there is someone else looking for your Max," he said. "It's really strange. Some big-wig Hollywood producer is asking questions in nearby towns, looking for someone fitting Max's description," he said and Alex paled.

"His name's Cal Langley," Uncle John continued.

He had a sinking feeling that Langley was staying in the motel across the street.

"I don't like it," his Uncle said. "My contacts can't seem to keep up with him. He's ahead of them by a day at least."

"They'll find him Uncle John," he said, looking at Maria, who was staring at him questioningly.

"I'll call you as soon as they know anything," Uncle John said.

"Yeah, thanks," Alex said. "I'll talk to you later."

"What?" Maria said nervously, as he hung up the phone.

"I think we just found out who our mysterious guy is," he said, glancing at the motel.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

Liz awoke to the absence of Max's warmth. She sat up quickly, realizing he was gone. She felt panic as she realized that they had taken him away to do whatever torture Piece had promised the night before. Liz bit back tears as she thought the worst.

What if Max didn't come back? What if he didn't make it? She had wanted to be awake when they took him, she had wanted to reassure him, and to say thank you one more time.

Hours passed as she waited with growing fear with each minute that passed that he didn't return.

Liz heard voices outside the cell door, and she scrambled off the bed and pressed herself up against it, hoping to hear any news of Max.

She heard Pierce and another voice.

"How's it going in there?" the voice said.

"Longer than we expected," he said. "I've been going back and forth between the three observation rooms. The initial sweep was inconclusive. We had to go back and do it again. 79148's energy seemed to be emerging at a faster pace. The energy that he creates is enormous, and uncontrolled. The chip that he has now isn't going to be able to rei him in much longer," Pierce said. "But 88647's energy is dormant, and though he hasn't used it yet, it supercedes 79148's. We are going to implement a new chip tomorrow, which we'll be testing. This new chip will allow us to control them completely, if it works," Pierce said.

"Speak English Pierce," the second voice said irritated. "What does all this mean to the bureau?"

"Undocumented power. Nothing is beyond what could become reality, if the bureau wants it," Pierce answered.

"That's what I wanted to hear," the voice said jovially. "Make this happen Pierce, and you can write your own ticket."

"Yes Sir," Pierce said in a pleased voice.

Liz backed away from the door, trying to absorb everything she'd just heard. Tomorrow, Max would no longer be able to fight them. None of them would. They would never get out of here.

She sunk to the floor in utter desperation. What were they going to do?

A moment later she heard more voices.

"So, what do you think of this place so far?" a deep voice asked.

"I don't know," another voice answered. "It seems kind of sadistic, all of the stuff they are doing to those people."

"Do yourself a favor, and don't ask questions," the deeper voice responded. "Do what they tell you to do and just go about your business. If you don't ask questions, you won't have any trouble. Believe me, I am sure they have their reasons for what they are doing. I mean, these people are probably some kind of terrorists or something."

"Yeah," the voice said, sounding not completely sure. Anyway, it's a job. And I have to feed my kids," the other voice answered.

"That's the right way to look at it," the deeper voice answered. "Listen, whatever they are going to do to them, they're going to do it whether you work here or not. There's nothing you can do about it, so just do your job and keep your mouth shut, and you'll be fine. There aren't many jobs out there that will pay you as well for what you're doing."

"Uh huh," the voice said, as their footsteps faded out.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*

Maria paced agitated in the break room of the Crashdown. She bitterly regretted leaving the front of the motel this morning, but she knew they'd had no choice. It would be foolish to raise suspicions by not showing up at home, or to school.

Still she felt that they'd let Liz down. They didn't know if the guy had left the motel during the day, and Maria had to come to the Crashdown directly after school to start her shift. Alex was going to go check the motel, and stop at the Crashdown afterwards.

It shouldn't have taken this long, and Maria was starting to get worried.

Just as she was about to leave and look for Alex herself, he walked in the back door.

"Where the hell have you been?" she grated. "I thought something happened to you!"

"I went in to talk to the desk clerk," Alex said defensively. "Sorry, I lost track of time."

"Well, did you find out anything useful?" she asked, grumpily.

"Yeah. The guy hasn't left the motel all day," Alex said.

Maria nodded. "So, what does that mean for us?"

"Nothing, yet. I guess we stake out the motel again tonight," he said.

"You know, maybe this guy can only come *out* at night. Maybe he's like a vampire or something," she said musing.

"Maria, I think you've been watching too much Buffy," Alex scolded.

"Oh, and that's unreasonable, as opposed to the body snatcher alternative," she said.

"Ok, ok. It doesn't matter. The guy hasn't left the motel. We see where he goes tonight," he said.

"Want some dinner?" she asked. "If you hang around till after my shift, we can go right from here."

"You had to do that didn't you?" he asked.

"What?" she said.

"Since when have you known me to ever turn down Saturn Rings? I can see it already, ‘Alex, can you just bus that table for me quick?' or ‘Alex, do you mind sweeping up?'" he said in a squeaky voice.

"Oh, get over it," Maria said, pushing through the kitchen doors.

*%*%*%*%*%*

Liz was on pins and needles worrying about Max. He'd been gone most of the day by her estimate. She didn't want to think the worst, but what could be taking them so long?

After hearing Pierce's conversation.

Enormous power? How much power could one human have?

What had they done to him to gauge that power? To all of them? Max had been scared last night. As much as he'd tried to hide it from her, she'd known it.

The very thought of anything happening to him made her nauseous. He'd been through so much already. She realized that the world that she lived in was not at all what she thought, eve living in Roswell, the UFO capital of the world, where conspiracies abound. Perhaps it was for exactly that reason that she was so naïve. Seeing people come into town day after day, spouting crazy conspiracy theories had made her immune to reality. It might not be aliens the government was keeping from the public, but it amounted to the same thing.

She'd merrily buried her head in the sand, never thinking that things like this go on in her own country, happening people who don't deserve it. People who want nothing more than to be free, free of fear, free of pain.

Even if someday she got out of here, she would never look at things the same. Her whole world had changed. She'd woken up.

Without warning, the door the cell slammed open, and Max was pushed roughly to the floor, his hands slamming on the cement, before the door was roughly shut again.

Liz rushed over to him, dropping to the floor next to him.

"Max," she said, worriedly as she put her hand on his shoulder, his face still hidden from her.

"Come on Max, let me get you over to the gurney," she said. "Let me help you."

She gently took his arm, and helped him as he struggled to his feet, his face lowered, still hidden from her view.

He wobbled as he got to his feet, and she put her hand on his chest to steady him. An audible gasp flew from his mouth, and he flinched, and she pulled her hand away quickly, apologizing.

Slowly, she helped him over to the gurney, his tumbling gait an indication of his pain and exhaustion.

She steadied him as he pulled himself up onto the gurney, and looked into his face for the first time since he'd been thrown into the room.

On either of his temples, she could see round burn marks of electrical monitoring patches. His eyelids were swollen, probably from the electrical impulses that had been sent through the patches.

There was a long incision under the collar on his neck, sutured, but not covered with any bandage. She knew the collar had to be rubbing against it painfully.

Meeting his pain dulled eyes silently, she gently took the hem of the white scrub shirt he was wearing, now spattered with blood, and gently pulled it up. He raised his arms passively and she pulled it gently around the collar and over his head. As she laid it down next to him on the gurney, she caught sight of round burns similar to those on his temple splashing across his ribs and chest, mixed in with the older healed scars.

"What did they do to you Max?" she said mournfully.

"Let's not talk about it," he said quietly, wincing as one of the burns caused a painful twinge.

Liz felt anger overcome her as she looked at what they'd done to him.

Angrily she strode over to the door, pounding on it.

"What are you doing Liz?" he asked fearfully.

She didn't answer, but kept pounding.

Finally, an orderly opened the door.

"What is it?" he asked.

Liz's mind raced as she recoized the voice from the hall earlier.

"I need something to put on those burns," she said to him angrily.

"No can do," the orderly answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Liz thought quickly, and changed her tactic.

"Please, we're just asking for a little bit of compassion. You know what he's been through today, don't you?" she asked.

"Look girl, I could lose my job if I do that. Sorry, cant help you," he said, reddening at her closeness.

"Look, no one will know, but you, me and him," she said, tossing her head toward Max. "Now if I am asking, I'm not going to tell. And he obviously isn't going to tell. So what's the harm in it?"

She gauged his personality, reading his face, trying to figure out how far she could go, what to say that wouldn't push him too far. This man wasn't a mean person, she could tell.

"If Pierce finds out," he said.

"Pierce obviously isn't here, or you wouldn't have even said that much," she answered.

"He won't find out," she said. "Look, I'm not asking for anything crazy. He's been through hell. You know it, and I know it. I just want to keep him from getting an infection. I don't think Pierce would be happy about that either. Do you? It might set their uh, work back. Please, have a little mercy would you?"

He considered it for a minute, looking at Max, who slouched painfully on the gurney. He then looked into the pleading eyes of the girl standing before him, and did something he wasn't expecting to.

"Look, I'll give you a little antibiotic cream. That's the best I can do," he mumbled.

"Thank you,....?" she trailed off, waiting for his name.

"Dan," he mumbled.

"Thank you Dan. I didn't think you were a monster like them," she said.

"It's just a job Lady," he said, and she nodded at him, marveling at her luck that this man was the one who answered her pounding.

"I'll be right back," he said, closing the door.

She turned around to find Max looking at her, obviously in disbelief that she had managed what she did.

She smiled at him reassuringly as she waited for Dan to come back.

A moment later, he opened the door again, handing her a paper towel with a large amount of ointment in the middle of it.

"Make sure you get rid of that when you're done," he said. "They're going to be installing cameras in here tomorrow, so they'll know what you're doing after that. I don't want to lose my job over this," he said.

"I promise, no one will know," she said gratefully.

He nodded and closed the door behind him.

"How did you know he would give you anything?" Max asked wearily, as she walked over to the gurney.

"I heard him talking earlier in the hall," she answered, putting the paper towel down next to him and walking over to pull some more paper towels from the dispenser next to the sink.

She walked back over to stand before Max, putting some of the cream on the towel she was holding before pausing.

"He didn't think it was right, what they are doing to you. He's new. I took a gamble that I might be able to play on his sympathy, and it worked," she said.

He shook his head incredulously.

"How do you do it?" he asked softly.

"What?" she said looking into his eyes.

"You're in here, and it's probably the most frightening thing that's ever happened to you. You should hate me, but you don't. And you just risked getting more trouble by trying to help me," he said.

She wanted to tell him that it was because she was so grateful he was back, that he had come out of whatever torture they had inflicted on him. She wanted to tell him that his presence had become so important to her, that merely being near him gave her hope that they would get out of this. She wanted to tell him that sometime over the past week when he had been unconscious, when she had talked to him, told him things about her life, she had realized that her life was never going to be the same. That she knew that the moment she'd seen him in the kitchen of the Crashdown, she felt it change inexplicably, only she didn't have time to analyze it until she had all the time to sit and think about nothing else but what had happened to them.

But she couldn't say that. Not here, not now. Not with what had happened to him today.

And so she said nothing, taking the paper towel looking at him for his permission.

He nodded, and carefully, she rubbed a little of the cream on his left temple. He flinched for a second and then was still.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's ok," he answered, looking at her as she concentrated on covering his burns with the balm.

She didn't meet his eyes, afraid of what he would see in hers, her fear of the new chip that was going to be placed in his chest.

She walked behind the gurney, seeing burns much the same as she'd seen there in Uncle John's office.

Her eyes were drawn to them, mesmerized. Without even thinking about it, she reached out with her fingers and gently touched one of them with her fingers.

Max's body tensed, his head thrown back convulsively.

Her mind reeled at all of the images that flooded it.

With horror, she sat helplessly, her fingers frozen to Max's back as every torture he'd born earlier washed over her consciousness.

Three words repeated through her head as she witnessed everything Max had endured.

Make it stop.

Their connection was broken as Max jerked away from her, off the gurney, breaking the connection. She stifled a sob as she looked at him.

He was breathing harshly, his head turned away from her.

"Why did you do that?" he asked almost angrily.

"I....I don't know," she said. "I just, God Max, I'm so sorry," she said. "What they did to you...."

"I didn't want you to see that," he said. "I didn't want you to know about any of it."

"Is that why you didn't wake me this morning?" she asked quietly.

He nodded, turning away from her, and her heart went out to him.

"Why Max? Why didn't you want me to know?" she asked.

"Because, I wasn't strong. I was never strong, not once. It was the one thing I could do, be strong, so you wouldn't be any more frightened than you already are," he said angrily, sinking to the floor, and Liz suddenly realized what he meant.

His screams when they burned him, when they cut him. He thought it was weak, that he was weak.

She walked around the gurney, dropping to her knees in front of him.

"Max, to have been through everything you have, and to be the person you are, you have to be the bravest person I've ever met," she said.

"You don't know what you're talking about. You've no idea what I am," he said, breaking off. "If you knew...."

"Knew what Max? I'll tell you what I do know. I know that you'd never willingly hurt anyone, no matter what "powers" you have. I know that you'd do anything to get me and the others out of here. I know that you saved my life. I know that it doesn't matter whether you have these gifts or whatever they are, what they're doing to you is wrong, so monumentally wrong, and if there was anything I could do to change it...."

"I'm an alien Liz," he said flatly.

"What?" she said, not sure she heard it right.

"I'm from another planet. I'm not what you think I am. I never was," he said.

"Max, what are you talking about? You're just like...."

"No, I'm partially human," he said tonelessly. "I look like you, but I am *not* like you, Maria, Alex, or any other human on this planet."

Liz was stunned in to silence for a moment, yet on some level she wasn't completely surprised by what he'd said to her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she'd known that there was much more to Max than appearances.

All of it made sense now, the FBI, the experiments.

"So now you know. Now you know that all you thought was wrong. We're a threat to your planet. We're a threat to your people. They have their reasons for what they're doing. I've dragged you into this mess, and now you're life is in danger, because of what I am, because I couldn't leave well enough alone," he said.

For long moments, they said nothing.

It was incredible, what he'd said to her, and she knew she should be afraid of what he was, but somehow she wasn't. Somehow, the boy sitting in front of her was still Max, still the one who had healed her, who had taken her pain away, showing her the wondrous world he'd created in his mind.

And she realized then, that he was deliberately trying to push her away. Trying to make her afraid of him, of what he was.

And she got angry.

"It's not going to work Max," she said flatly, looking at him piercingly.

"What?" he said, looking up at her.

"It's not going to work. You aren't going to push me away. You're still who you are, the only Max I've known up until now, and the fact that part of you isn't like me doesn't change that. We need each other now," she said angrily.

"No, what you *don't* need is me," Max said fiercely. "What has knowing me gotten you? You are not only a murderer, now you're a prisoner. You don't know what they're capable of," he said.

"Oh yes I do Max," looking at him pointedly, reminding him of what she'd just seen when she touched him.

"Then that should convince you," he said.

"The only thing it convinces me of is that what you went through is something you shouldn't have had to go through alone," she said.

"Let it go Liz," he said wearily, moving away from her.

"After tomorrow you won't know me anymore. After they put the new chip in, I won't have any choices any more," he said. "I won't be able to do anything to get us out of here. I failed Liz. I failed you and I failed the others."


"Why are you taking all of this on yourself Max? Sometimes things happen that are out of our control. Not everything is *your* fault," she said.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he said angrily.

Impulsively, before he even knew what she was doing, her hands were on his face, and she brought her mouth forcefully to his, capturing his lips, her left hand sliding up his cheek into his hair. Her teeth gently caught his lower lip.

A muffled groan passed from his lips, and he reached up, his hands tangling in her silky hair as her tongue teased his lips.

Simultaneously, their mouths opened, their tongues sliding against one another. Her hands pulled him closer, her fingertips gently touching his neck as they ran over the erratic pulse there.

She broke the kiss her lips swollen with the bruising way she'd kissed him.

Gasping she spoke.

"If *that's* your fault Max, then I'm glad," she said. "Because that first time you kissed me, you made me feel things I'd never felt before. And if you're different, then so be it. I don't care. I don't care about any of it."

A second later, she was appalled by what she had done. What had come over her?

Her words hung heavy in the air between them, as he stared at her, his breath heavy.

Here was the moment of truth. She waited, afraid to breathe, afraid of what he was about to say.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*

Maria was wiping the counter in front of Alex when all hell broke loose.

She heard the door open, and spoke up without looking up.

"The restaurant's closed," she called out.

"I'm not here to eat," a voice answered. "I need to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Parker."

Maria looked up and froze for a split second. It looked like there wouldn't be another stakeout tonight after all. For standing in the doorway, was the very man they planned to watch.

Alex turned when he saw her face.

"Uh, let me get them for you," Maria said, walking toward the back, her mind racing.

"Mr.P!" she called up the stairs. "Mrs. P! There's someone here to see you!"

She waited nervously for them to come down. There was nothing she could do to stop whatever was going to happen. All she and Alex could do is sit back and watch and hope for the best.

"What is it?" Nancy Parker said from the top of the stairs.

"I don't know. Some guy up front is asking for you," she answered.

"We'll be right down," Nancy answered.

Maria walked back up front to see Alex looking at the guy silently, and a moment later, Liz's parents came through the door of the kitchen with a questioning look.

"Can we help you?" Jeff Parker said wearily, and Maria noted how tired he looked. He hadn't been getting much more sleep than she had, it seemed.

The man pulled out a wallet and flashed a badge.

"Agent Jeffrey," he answered. "I've been called in on the case."

Nancy Parker sighed. "Agent Jeffrey, I don't know what else we can tell you that we haven't told the other agents. We are at the end of our ropes. We just want our daughter home."

"I understand Ma'am," he said. "If I could just get a look around. Maybe I might see something that the others missed?"

"Sure," Nancy said. "Feel free. Liz's room is upstairs. Maria, would you mind showing Agent Jeffrey? I should finish up down here."

Maria knew that neither of the Parkers wanted to go back into Liz's room again. It was too painful.

"No," Maria said, looking at Alex nervously.

"Thank you," the Jeffrey look-alike said to Nancy, turning to Maria expectantly.

Alex stood, deciding he would go with her, and she motioned to the kitchen doors with her hand.

"This way," she said.

He followed the two through the kitchen and up the stairs as the question haunted both Alex and Maria.

What would he find?

Maria opened the door to Liz's bedroom, but didn't go in.

"Here it is," she said quietly, freaked out being in such close proximity to a dead man's look-alike.

"Thank you," he said. "I won't be long."

He stepped into the room, and Maria pulled the door closed half-way. She and Alex stood silently outside the room as they heard him moving around. They heard the creak of the floor-boards as he perused their friend's sanctuary.

Suddenly, there was silence.

Cautiously, they peeked through the crack in the door.

He crouched near the floor, his hand on it, where Liz's blood had been found. His eyes were closed, and he seemed in deep concentration. A glow rose from his hands that lit the whole room in a blinding blue light.

Maria's eyes widened as she watched this, and Alex squeezed her hand tightly. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, the glow faded, and he stood up, walking over to the window and opening it.

He stepped out onto the rooftop, and Maria whispered to Alex.

"What's he doing?" she asked nervously.

Alex was silent for a moment, watching the man as he slowly made his way across the rooftop to the ladder, standing and looking at the street below.

"Following a trail," Alex said quietly.

They saw him making his way back to the window, and silently moved away from the door, going down the stairs.

They sat down on the break-room couch waiting for him to come back down.

"Are we going to follow him?" Maria asked.

"We have to. This may be our only chance at finding Liz. This guy, whatever he is, seems to be tracking Max. And if he finds Max, we'll find Liz," he said.

Maria nodded, knowing he was right.

"What about Uncle John?" she asked.

"We can't tell him, not yet. Not until we know what this guy is up to, for sure," he said. "Can you cover with your mom? Come up with some excuse to be away for a day of two?"

Maria nodded. "I'll just tell her that Liz's disappearance is getting to me, and that you and I are going to stay with Uncle John. She never calls there, so we should be fine."

Alex nodded. "I'll do the same. I don't think we're going to have another chance at this. He's got what he needed here. He won't be back to Roswell."

"Please, just let her be all right," Maria whispered.

A moment later, the man came down the stairs, nodding to them as he walked through the kitchen doors.

"Let's go," Alex said.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*

They waited in the Jetta, watching the man put his hand over the key-lock of a nondescript sedan across the street. More than likely a tourist's rental.

Suddenly he opened the door that a moment ago had been locked popped open, and he got in. A moment later, the engine fired to life.

Alex looked at Maria as the car pulled away.

"Here we go," he said, turning the key to the ignition.

Two minutes later they were at a safe distance behind the sedan, following it out to the desert.

Neither knew where this would lead them, or if they were running headlong into danger. The one thing they did know was that no matter what, they had to find their best friend.