PML – Don’t worry about their friendship. They will all recover. Maria will recognize that her friends were protecting aliens, aliens that they love just like she loves Michael and would do anything to protect him.
Cjsl8ne –
Tess’s power is scary. And she doesn’t hesitate to use it to control Max and Isabel, get them to think what she wants them to think, believe what she wants them to believe. They are vulnerable. That’s when you realize what a presence our tv show Michael had. The group could always count on him when things were going tough, he never hesitated to act and protect the ones he loved. But in the story, Max and Isabel don’t have Michael, they never had him.So Max and Isabel both have had 'lost time' episodes. Now that's scary.
Part 99
Liz watched him, not missing the way he held Maria close, his words and harsh tone a direct contrast to his gentle care where his girlfriend was concerned. Maria was right, she thought. There had been ways to get around telling her the secret while still maintaining their friendship, but they had gotten so wrapped up in the big secret and they hadn’t just let her slip away, they had pushed her away.
Maria felt herself calming down by degrees as Michael continued to rub her back while he stated his opinion of the situation. She couldn’t help the smile that lifted her lips at the corners when he informed them that he didn’t care about them at all because the only thing he was interested in was getting down to what they knew.
“We don’t even know this guy!” Max exploded as he looked between all of them.
“Max, our research was solid and we’re certain he’s one of the two others mentioned in the letter,” Isabel spoke up before her brother could get sidetracked. “Look, we talked to him yesterday; he was found the same way we were, he’s been looking for answers, too, and that other alien mentioned in the letter? The one named Nacedo? His grandfather has met him!”
“He could be Nacedo for all you know!”
“So could Tess,” Michael said. He hadn’t spoken loudly, but with three words he had the attention of everyone there. “This girl’s exhibited abilities well above what an average human is capable of. To me that indicates that there’s a possibility that there’s somethin’ not human about her and we need to look into it.”
Isabel opened her mouth to remind him that Alex was the one who had suggested that they look further into Tess and her presence in Roswell, but Alex nudged her and shook his head subtly.
“You’re suggesting that we should investigate Tess?” Max asked, taking a mental step back.
“That would make the most sense,” Maria said, finally speaking up. “If this Tess person is dangerous to the three of you then we need to – “
“Oh, no,” Michael interrupted her, “you’re not gonna be involved in this.”
“Wanna bet? You couldn’t investigate your way out of a wet paper sack without my help.”
“We’re not getting into this right now, Maria. The important thing is to find out what everyone here knows and then to establish a plan of action.”
“Fine,” she said, waving her right hand dismissively, “establish away, but you’re not investigating without my help.”
Michael let her comment go unchallenged. She could believe she was going to be involved in the investigation all she wanted because he knew differently. “This girl’s already gotten too close to the two of you and if she’s somehow manipulatin’ you into tellin’ her stuff then we have a problem. We need to start investigating her and we need to get started yesterday.”
“You’ve got an idea?” Isabel asked curiously.
“She’s made it a point to be your new best friend; we can use that to our advantage. As long as she thinks she’s got the upper hand we can use that against her. The question is, how do we keep you from fallin’ under her influence?”
“That’s not a very good plan,” Maria said, shaking her head. “She knows about you too, now! If Tess is able to get her to talk without her even realizing it then that puts you in danger.”
Michael propped his hands on his hips as he turned to look at her. “Which is why we’ll figure out a way to keep that from happenin’, and if you were listenin’ you would’ve heard me say that.”
“Do not start acting like this, Michael.”
He held his hands up. “Look, we’ll figure somethin’ out; I’m not gonna put her in a position that puts her or any of the rest of us in danger.”
“Who put you in charge?”
He turned to look at Max when he spoke up. “I don’t see you comin’ up with any bright ideas,” Michael snapped. “Tess is a threat, can we all agree on that?” He nodded when the others made sounds of agreement. “Alright then, we need to establish how much of a threat she is and then we need to figure out how to deal with it.”
“Okay, say Isabel does this,” Alex said before an argument could break out. “What’re we gonna be doin’ while she’s keepin’ Tess busy?”
Michael shook his head. “No, we’re not doin’ this to keep her busy; we’re doin’ it to get inside her house.” He held his hands up when Max and Alex both started to protest that plan. “Maria says you’re a computer nerd – “
“I prefer geek over nerd, but – “
“How is that relevant to the conversation?” Michael interrupted. “The point is you have access to a ton of computer stuff, right? You know how to use video and audio equipment pretty proficiently, right?”
Alex nodded. “Well, yeah, but I still don’t see where you’re goin’ with this…” His eyes widened as it suddenly clicked. “Oh, audio and video… you’re talkin’ about surveillance equipment. You wanna plant a bug in her house?” He couldn’t contain his excitement at the prospect of actually getting to use his knowledge in the investigation.
“I’m not talkin’ about just audio; I’m talkin’ video, too.” Michael’s eyebrows lifted in question. “You got access to that kinda equipment?”
Alex mused over that for several minutes. “I know where I can get my hands on that type of equipment, but we could have a problem with signal strength. We’re gonna have to be in relatively close proximity to pick up the signal.”
“Makes sense.” Michael nodded. “Okay, Isabel, d’you know where she lives?”
Isabel shook her head negatively. “No, we’ve never hung out at her place.”
“We need that information so we can scout around for locations to set up our stakeout. You,” he said, pointing at Liz, “no one’s gonna question you bein’ in the office… you find out what her address is.”
“I can’t just walk into the office and start going through student files.”
“Use your brain and come up with a cover story… use your alien boy-toy to distract the office people… I don’t care what you have to do, just get that address.” He motioned to Alex. “You work on getting your hands on that equipment, the sooner the better. Isabel, you start makin’ contact with Tess again, tell her you wanna hang out or somethin’. Keep it casual at first… matter of fact, get her to hang out with you and Alex; he’ll keep you grounded and prevent her from influencing you until we figure somethin’ else out.”
“What about me?” Maria asked, annoyed that she had been left out of the plans.
“You… you stick with me. We’re gonna scout locations once we know where Tess lives and what kinda range we’re lookin’ at with the surveillance equipment.”
“So, basically, I’m just gonna be around so you can keep an eye on me?”
“Maria,” he growled in warning.
She just looked at him. “Isn’t Tess gonna be suspicious if Isabel wants to hang out with her while dragging Alex along? She hasn’t once invited him to hang out with them since she met Tess.”
“Okay,” Michael conceded grudgingly, “you may have a small point there.”
“A small point?” she echoed, warming up to her topic. “Michael, it’s the weekend; we have a very small window to extract vital information before we have to go home. We all have parents who want to know where we are once a certain time rolls around. That means we don’t have time to wait for Monday to come around so Liz can go and search for an address.”
Michael crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at her. “And what’s your big plan?”
“Oh, I don’t know… why not just have Isabel call her and ask her if she wants to go to a movie? A movie would be loud, distracting, and it wouldn’t allow Tess to do whatever weird voodoo magic she’s been doing on these two. And while they’re out doing that, Alex can be gathering up the equipment we need to do the surveillance on Tess.”
“Uh-huh, and how does that translate into Isabel getting her hands on the camera that Alex is supposed to be gathering before goin’ to Tess’ house?”
The others watched the couple as they debated scenarios, their gazes bouncing back and forth from Maria to Michael and back again.
“Alright, that does present a challenge,” she mused. “Okay, why not have Alex call Isabel after the movie – “
“During the movie,” Michael countered.
“Well, why would he call during the movie?”
“You’re the one over here havin’ a fit about things bein’ suspicious; if he waits an’ calls her after the movie lets out then it’s gonna be totally obvious.”
“Fine, he calls her during the movie… she’ll check her phone, see it’s Alex, comment about it to Tess, and then she can send him a text letting him know they’re at a movie and she’ll call him after it lets out.”
He nodded. “That makes sense.”
Maria made a face at him. “Of course it makes sense, I said it.”
“Um, not to interrupt, but what exactly will I be callin’ about?” Alex asked.
Michael glanced at him. “Homework. You’re callin’ about homework… you’re the kinda guy who does homework on a Saturday and chances are Tess has already picked up on that. They stop by your house and Isabel runs in to get the bogus homework because you’re goin’ out to dinner with your parents – “
“Well, my dad’s outta town right – “
“Fine, dinner with your mom; it doesn’t really matter just as long as it’s believable.”
“And what’re we gonna be doing while everyone else is occupied?” Max asked, not sure he cared for the way this guy had just come into the group and started making decisions for everyone.
Michael turned his head to look at the other guy. He opened his mouth to tell Max exactly what he and Liz could go do with themselves, but Maria’s hand on his arm stopped him and he took a deep breath. “I suppose the only place for the two of you to be is with us,” he grated out.
“Why?”
He shook his head at the question. “Why?” he echoed. “Because Tess seems to be fixated on you and that’s a problem.”
“Alright, so, first order of business is for me to call Tess and see if she’s free to go to a movie later today?” Isabel asked, clarifying before the guys could get into an argument.
“We can do that while we’re drivin’ back into town,” Alex said. “The rest of you can meet up at my place around noon. That’ll give me time to get the equipment and for Isabel to call Tess and get the movie time figured out.”
“Which means I’ll need the jeep when I leave for the movie.”
Max turned to look at his sister. “For what?”
“I can’t exactly tell Tess I’m out shopping or whatever and offer to go by her place to pick her up if I’m walking, now can I?”
“Oh. Right.”
“Besides,” Michael added, “if you’re with us you won’t need to go anywhere.”
“We’re gonna go then,” Alex spoke up. He held his hand out to Isabel and as soon as she took it they turned to walk back to his car.
“So, we should just meet you guys at Alex’s house at noon then,” Liz said, glancing between Maria and Michael.
“Yeah, we’ll see you there.” Michael didn’t bother trying to drag the conversation out because he wasn’t interested in making friends with them. He glanced at Maria, concerned about her continued silence now that she was facing the girl who was once her confidant and they had nothing left to talk about. “C’mon, let’s go get somethin’ to eat; I’m hungry.”
Despite the gruff words Maria could hear the caring tone in his voice and she slid her hand into his as they walked to her car. He accepted the keys when she held them out to him; he didn’t bother asking any questions, just got in behind the wheel and started the engine.
Michael turned the radio on, scanning the stations until he found one that was tolerable. When Maria didn’t complain about his choice of music he knew that she was lost in her thoughts and he decided to let her be for a while. She was a talker so he knew when she had sorted things out in her head she would let him know that she was ready to talk.
Maria wasn’t paying any attention to the landscape flying past the windows as they drove back to town. Her thoughts were still out at the quarry, and more specifically, with Liz and Alex. The situation they were faced with was serious, probably dangerous, so they hadn’t really had the time to focus on things like their deteriorated friendship. Thinking about it now, she wondered if it was a matter of waiting for some ‘right’ time or if it was more a matter of making the time.