Betrayal, (CC, MATURE) [COMPLETE]

[ken_r]

The Betrayal


Title: The Betrayal, This is the third of the series Liz of the Desert.
Author: ken_r AKA ken242 AKA kenr AKA Keneth Renouard
Genera: AU with aliens.
Rating: Mature
Couples: Conventional
Disclaimer: The Liz of the Desert is my idea but i used the roswell characters to act in it. I mean no harm and i do not intend to claim they are my original creations.
Summary: Liz is now one of four humans married to a group of engineered aliens living at Farmington New Mexico. They have just had a fight with narcotics smugglers which led to stopping the war on Antair. Now they are relaxing, maybe.

The Betrayal

Las Vegas:
Michael leaned against the bar. He was in a casino in Las Vegas. He could manipulate molecular matter and change mathematical probability a dozen ways and he was just watching. His wife would go on in about an hour and he would be sure to be there to watch her. He enjoyed her music. For a man who was able to do so much, Michael was almost tone deaf. Of course, he could tell when Music notes beat against each other, but to generate a tone with his own vocal chords or to take a musical instrument and put together tones that would be pleasing even to him, was just impossible. That Maria could play Guitar and sing and write music so others could play and sing, was beyond his comprehension. That was one of the things he loved about her. Waiting for Maria to go on Michael was watching the glitter and lights of the casino.

Of the four engineered aliens living at Farmington, New Mexixo, Michael had formed his alliance with a human first. That night, in Albuquerque, when he asked her to dance, she had talked so much about music and the joy of creating it, that Michael became infatuated. First, hw loved what she said and what she sang. Then, he loved the woman herself. A large part of that was because he so admired Maria’s ability. Yes, Michael could tell when he liked certain music, but to make pleasant music himself? No, he really felt that what Maria did, was magic. For the man who was created for a certain job, and then, to be freed to live as he wished, finding her so quickly was important. Maybe the magic he brought to Maria was the adoration for her ability to create moods with song. Michael had hundreds of CDs of her published songs and her proofs that she made to send to publishers.

The engineered ones had been made to handle and do things that the true aliens would have difficulty doing in the earth environment. Once they had accomplished their appointed task, they were free to take a mate and have a family. The freedom was a relative term since there was a prohibition against them ever taking more that one mate. The engineered women had more freedom than the men because they had the ability to control their bodies to prevent unwanted pregnancy. The true aliens wanted any off spring of their creations to be raised in solid families. The men had to find one human who would accept them, and then, they would never be able to love or mate with anyone else again.

There would be no reason for Michael to be late. Sitting in a bar watching other people playing at chance was as boring as trying to count aliens walking the halls back home. Especially, since the aliens did not have the same dimensional quality that humans did.

If no one was paying any attention to him and when he was sure that the other engineered alien of their party wasn’t close enough, Michael would sometimes interfere with chance. Makeing a man roll snake eyes when he was trying to make his point, or cause some old lady to hit the jackpot with the slot-machine, amused Michael. Isabel would give him hell if she saw what he was doing. She had warned him many times about interfering in the natural course of things.

Michael might, if he disliked the person, build and loose their fortune, all the while watching to see if the person had the sense to quit when they were winning. Isabel over and over warned him that he was playing God and he could cause serious damage to people with fragile egos and obsessions to win.

Michael saw Isabel sitting at the quarter slots. She would win several times in a row until she came to the attention of those who watched over the machines. Just as they were walking up to shut her machine down as defective, Isabel would initiate a series of losses to reassure them that their machines were fixed, as usual, for the house. The difference, she told Michael, to what he was doing was that she was only involving herself and casino security.

Engineered aliens did not have the ability to play games of chance like humans. The very fact that the control and manipulation of matter had been programmed into their matrix made chance a moot point. One way or the other those with engineered power would end up controlling the game Then it wasn’t a challenge anymore. Michael waved to the bartender for another beer. This would have to be his limit because if he was to really get drunk, he would be sparking and lightening all over the place. There would be no way he could explain that behavior, even by diabolical possession.

A handsome man in his fifties sat down beside Isabel. Michael saw him strike up a conversation. He saw the charm of Isabel as she mildly flirted with the man. Isabel saw no harm in this. She was known to do this as a challenge. There was no way she was going to be unfaithful to Alex. Fidelity was another thing built into their matrix. The playful flirtation in which she was indulging would never be known to Alex.

Michael still wished she wouldn’t do that. It made Michael uncomfortable. It was a challenge to their engineering. Michael knew that part of the engineering that went into Isabel was to assure that she would only be able to love one man and this was unbreakable. She had that man, was married to him and they had a daughter back home in Farmington.

From time to time scantily clad women would come on to Michael. With body language and, sometimes with direct requests, they would try entice him. Michael had no way to even pretend like Isabel did. Michael loved one girl. She was the one making music for him in public and really making music for him in the privacy of their bedroom. He found the others just a source of annoyance.

The show was about to start. Michael finished his beer and went back into the auditorium to find his seat. Isabel had a ticket right beside him, so after sitting, Michael twisted around to see where she had gone. Damn it, Maria would really be hurt if Isabel missed her last show!

Isabel was extremely bored even more than Michael. At least Michael had Maria to play with at night. Isabel had no one. She missed Alex so much. When the four of them made plans for this vacation, Alex had intended to be with her. At the last minute, there had been a prison break and all state police officers, including Captain Alex Whitman of the Investigations Department, were drafted into the search.

Isabel agreed to come on this trip because of Maria. She had come to love Maria as the mate of Michael. Isabel’s relationship to Michael was complicated. It was like being her brother, which would make Maria her sister-in-law, but more complicated than that. Isabel and Michael had both been made by the true aliens to accomplish a job. They probably didn’t have any DNA in common, where with another alien of the group, it was known that Max, was genetically her brother. Their DNA had been taken from an actual brother and sister back on Antar.

Vicente Degrasse was a handsome man. He also knew it. He had always had the ability to pick up any woman regardless of their martial status, whenever he wanted. Prowling the casino, looking for a challenge that he could enjoy, he spied the tall blonde. Her voluptuous figure eclipsed the anorexic figures of most of the women he saw in the building. He sensed her boredom and he fully intended to exploit that.

Vicenti did not look for a ring or ask if she was single. Vicente only set his sights for her body and knew that it would only be a matter of time, before he had it. He had seen her as a third wheel with another couple. Vicente was sure this was a double vacation where one of the couple’s partners wasn’t able to make it. He was sure because he had made it happen.

Talking to Isabel, Vicente found her remarkably intelligent and witty. She made jokes and puns that challenged even Vicente. It had been a long time since he had found a woman who probably could out do even him in conversation. Vicenti was sure she was just as good at other things.

As they were talking, Isabel suddenly looked at her watch. She was almost late for Maria’s last performance. Damn these casinos with their prohibition against having any timepieces on the walls. Isabel moved to excuse herself. Vicente asked, “Where are you going?”

“I have a ticket to see the show. My friend is the singer,” Isabel explained.

Vicente smiled, “I am, also, going. I guess we should go now or we will be late.”

He escorted her into the auditorium. The usher looked at each of their tickets. Then to her astonishment, he led them both to where Michael was waiting. Vicente had, surprisingly enough, a ticket just on the other side of Isabel, where Alex would have sat, had he been there.

Isabel saw Michael frown as she entered the auditorium on the arm of Vicente. She knew she would be in for a scolding when they went back to their rooms tonight. Secretly, the human part of Isabel was thrilled at the thought of a clandestine affair. This part of her engineering, maybe, was weak. But she took delicious enjoyment in the tempting of this prohibition. This was strange, because she had never pressed or challenged the rules before.

When single, Isabel had the freedom to sample and compare the fruits of love as long as she kept her body in control. The only rule was she couldn’t get pregnant. She had the physiological skill to prevent pregnancy. Once she was with child, that man was the one. They were mated for life. Emotionally, they would no longer stray. The father of their child would be her mate for the rest of her life.

Since the engineered ones were required to go to humans for mates, the males, when they once gave into to passions of love, would forever be unable to ever form an attachment with another woman the rest of their life. This was all in the matrix that the true aliens had developed. This was all designed to make their children, as they sometimes refered to their cloned creations, have stable lives with strong family values.

Now Michael was looking at Isabel. Was she breaking the bounds placed in her genetic makeup or was she just playing out of boredom, tempting her matrix? In any case, Michael worried that she might get in over her head with this flirtation. Isabel was supposed to be able to control herself, but what if a human could break the rules of her program?

Maria came on and Michael’s attention was diverted as he watched and listened to the wonders his wife created. Maria didn’t perform in public much. This week was to give her new album a boost in sales. The producers of the album had insisted that she perform, at least once, in public so they could use that for advertisement. For whatever reason, Michael was captivated by her performance.

After the performance Michael and Isabel, with Vicente in tow, made their way to a table where they would meet Maria. Michael was still angry at Isabel for bringing this stranger into their private world. When Maria arrived, Vicente stood and kissed her hand, “The music from the songbird of the southwest has been sung to the pleasure of the common folks. For this, my lady, I thank you.”

Maria was taken aback. She also wasn’t used to their group being invaded by any stranger, even a stranger who was as smooth and flattering as this one. She did manage to say, “Thank you. I am always happy when my music is found pleasing.”

Isabel made introductions. She noticed that when Michael shook hands he frowned. Isabel put this to down his contrariness that she was able to flirt while he couldn’t. Maria was all smiles when the stranger, again, kissed her hand and laid even more praise upon her. They talked for a time, Isabel and Michael using the public explanation that they represented a private company who undertook assignments from others that they weren’t free to discuss.

Vicente smiled. There was no mystery about him. He was a jewelry salesman who was passing through Las Vegas and had just taken a night off this itinerary. Michael and Maria stood up and walked to the dance floor. Vicente extended his hand and Isabel allowed herself to, likewise, be conducted to the floor. They danced and Isabel found she was genuinely enjoying his company. Her disappointment at Alex’s absence, surprisingly was being forgotten.

Back at their table, Michael took Maria’s hand with the admonition that they would leave early tomorrow, to return home. He left Isabel and Vicente still sitting at the table. She was becoming more comfortable in Vicenti’s presence.

Back in their room, Maria could sense the anger in Michael. “She just shouldn’t be able to do that,” he fumed.

“Do what, Michael? She has been cooped up with us for a week. She isn’t allowed a little harmless flirtation? It was bad luck all around that Alex’s leave was canceled. You told me that you were unable make love to any one else once you chose your spouse. Therefore, nothing bad should come of this.” Maria couldn’t completely understand why Michael was upset.

“That is just it, Maria. I couldn’t look at another women if she was buck naked and holding onto my neck. We are supposed to be designed to only go to one person. That is not rules, it’s engineering.” These were fundamental things that Michael religiously believed in.

“You, also, told me that engineered women have more wiggle room within the rules than do men,” Maria reminded him.

“Yes, that is before they give themselves to one person. Isabel is a mother. Once pregnant, she shouldn’t be able to even look at another man, if what we were taught, is true. Maybe, there is a defect in her design,” Michael explained.

“Yes, Michael, maybe Isabel is on a short list to be recalled to have a malfunction repaired,” Maria said rolling her eyes. Suddenly, Maria understood what Michael’s problem was. If Isabel broke her conditioning, then, would the rest of the group break up the same way? Michael had always felt that he was part of a very strong family who could withstand anything. He had believed in their conditioning and engineering. They had just come through a intergalactic war. True, it was the humans who finally were able to show the cosmos the evil of the war, but Michael, all through the conflict, never wavered in his trust directed toward the solidarity his family.

The next morning, Michael knocked on Isabel’s door. To his surprise, she was up, her bags packed and waiting on the bed. She was dressed in comfortable clothes ready to travel. “What time did you get in last night?” was Michael’s question.

Isabel wrinkled her nose as she did when annoyed. “If it is any of your business, we returned shortly after midnight.”

“Isabel, what are you going to tell Alex?” Michael inquired.

“If you and Maria keep your mouths shut, why do I have to tell him anything?” Isabel quipped angrily. This was unlike engineered ones. They might lie to outsiders, but to each other or to their mates they were usually truthful.

“And what do you think the aliens will say? The first time they have a conference with you, they are going to sense something is wrong,” Michael continued.

At this, Isabel sat back on the bed and frowned. “I really don’t know, Michael. I thought I was completely in control, but after last night, I don’t know if I am anymore.” Isabel was clearly upset. Now that the thrill of last night was over, she suddenly started to worry. She wasn’t even sure of all that she had done. Last night seemed to be part of an exotic and, at the same time, terrible dream.

“Isabel, this could rip apart our whole family. We have always assumed that we were made for one person only and if you prove unfaithful to Alex what will it do to the rest of us. We were always worried about Liz. She was always thought to be the week link in our family. Now, it seems to be you,” Michael was more than angry. He was worried that what he had completely believed in was now crumbling apart.

It was a very subdued Isabel who breakfasted with Michael and Maria. Maria, wisely, didn’t say a thing. She understood why Michael was angry. He was scared.

Maria thought she understood why Isabel had been attracted to the attention of a strange man. Isabel was lonesome and bored. She missed the presence of her mate. She had always been a bit of a tease and the tease was thinking about what she and Alex would have been doing if he could have been free from work.

The engineered ones had always been worried about the fidelity of their human companions. This was something over which they had no control. If the infidelity developed instead within the ranks of the engineered ones, themselves, then they truly had reason to be afraid.

Michael’s plane was fueled and loaded. He had filed a flight report and gotten his weather information. This should be a simple flight over spectacular canyons and deserts. They would be home within a few hours.

Of course, no one knew of the tall, handsome man who was looking out the window of his hotel looking toward the airport miles away. He knew, instinctively, when the plane of his interest took off. Since he was alone, no one saw his hands and his eyes briefly glow and then he turned and proceeded to the lobby of the establishment and checked out. He would have to hurry to be at the rendezvous point on time.

Max and Liz at Farmington:
Max and Liz were lounging in bed. They had no wars to worry about. There were no monsters to fear. For once, the State Police didn’t seem to need their attention. Captain Alex Whitman had called and explained that four men had escaped from the prison in Santa Fe. The four were very dangerous, but Farmington was a far cry from Santa Fe so they had the morning to themselves. Alex being in the field, Isabel along with Michael and Maria were enjoying themselves in Las Vegas. The Evan’s children were in summer computer camp and Janis, Maria and Michael’s daughter was in Jemez Springs at the Hummingbird band camp. Sabra, Isabel and Alex’s daughter, was the only one of the older children at home at the moment.

Kyle was off chasing some bad guys who no one ever heard of. Such was the secrecy of being a DEA (Drug enforcement) agent, always ferreting out the travels of dangerous drugs. Tess, his wife and her three small ones would be in their part of the house, but unless there was an emergency, she would leave Max and Liz to themselves. The household staff would always be discreetly going about with their duties, but that left one very important member of their family.

When Liz was single, she was a very ambitious archeologist. She was involved in many surveys in backcountry. Liz had always had an invincibility about her. She had undertaken an extensive survey of archeological sites, some lost and some just forgotten, bringing the current maps up to date with GPS (global Positional system) numbers which could aid any researcher in finding these sites. She spent most of a year alone in the area near and in the Navajo Nation. Liz had two companions at this time. One was her Glock 40 caliber pistol. She had practiced under the tutelage of her, then, boyfriend and lover, Kyle Valenti.

At that time, he was a member of the Sandoval County Sheriff department. Sandoval county included some of the area she was traveling in. Kyle had been willing to teach his girlfriend how to shoot, but he balked at her idea to spend that much time alone with no help in the relatively empty country. Their relationship broke up.

Liz was known, at that time, for having a terrible temper. No damned man was ever going to tell her what to do, even if he was right. Liz, also, had a dog. It was a magnificent German Shepard. She had spent a year preparing for her expedition and in that time she became proficient and, even very good, at her shooting. She also trained her dog and learned to trust and love the animal.

The last thing she accomplished was to break off with Kyle. For a while, Kyle was devastated. But, her temper outburst were getting to the point of abuse. Soon, he met one of the Engineered aliens and he was the second to fall to the wonders of alien-human love. His old love of Liz was not forgotten, but properly filed under the heading of advanced education. Now, Kyle and his bride, of many years lived in the same house that Liz and her mate, Max, another engineered alien, also called home.

The four engineered aliens were rounded out by Isabel taking for a mate and husband the, then, sergeant, now Captain, Alex Whitman, of the New Mexico State Police. Yes, this was the man who, maybe, Isabel cheated on with the stranger.

The four engineered aliens had gotten involved with a drug ring who turned out to be aliens taking drugs to a galaxy far away and a system called Antar. In an extremely complex move, they brought a stop to the aliens smuggling drugs and possibly brought a stop to the war. Their lives had settled down to the normal things aliens and humans did when not in fear of their lives or worlds.

After the drug ring was busted, they met many new engineered aliens they had found in Mexico and the northern part of New Mexico.

It was after all of this, that Max had a surprise for Liz. Rolf, her Shepard had passed on several years ago. He died one night peacefully. His heart was just tired of living and he, probably, felt he had had a good life. Max presented Liz with a puppy. Again he was from a pedigree of German guard dogs. His markings were similar to her old friend. Liz named him Hector, after the Trojan warrior from the Iliad of Homer. Later, she was chagrined when Michael started calling him, “What the Heck.” It was too late. Hector would answer to either Hector or What the Heck. He seemed to accept both names.

That was the one remaining entity who would not allow Max and Liz to lounge the day away. Hector had been fed by the household staff and allowed out to make his mark and patrol of the grounds of the old house they maintained. Hector whined and scratched at the door. Liz got up to let him in. When she got there, it was not only Hector, but also, the tearful face of Tess who greeted her. “Michael’s plane went down”

[ken_r]

Begonia9508

Chapter 2

Hearing this from his bed, Max was up in a single bound. Showing no concern of the fact that he was only dressed in pajama bottoms, he quickly went to the door. “What happened?” he asked.

Tess just shook her head. “We do not know much, yet. Alex called me. He heard it on the police radio where he is located at the roadblock. The plane, as far as I can tell, just disappeared from the radar. They were on their correct flight path according to the flight plan filed by Michael. They lost radio contact and that is strange. You know Michael. He is very careful about his flying. If anything was wrong, he would have radioed immediately.”

“Have you told Sabra?” was the question of Liz. “What about Janis, at Hummingbird? Has she been notified about her parents?”

“No, not yet. I do not know really what to say,” Tess replied. “We should notify Janis. It would be very bad if she was to hear about this from the news.

“Just tell them everything we know. They have the right to know and it should be from friends and family that they learn it. Do you want me to talk to them?” Liz asked.

“No, it is my responsibility. It would be best that the first information comes from me. Maybe, later, if you would sit with Sabra and talk to her, that would help.” Tess knew that nothing was going to help. How do you tell a child, even a smart child and one who is almost in high school, that their mother has just been in a plane crash. Getting Janis back from Hummingbird in the mountains of Jemez was going to be a problem. Tess left them to get up and she went back down stairs.

Liz was sitting in her bed. Her face was pale. Maria was a friend from her childhood. She had formed close ties to Michael and Isabel since she had been married to Max. Liz had had almost as much pride in Isabel’s daughter, Sabra, as Isabel had when she won the state essay contest and traveled to Washington D.C. to meet the president.

A lot of that excitement had been eclipsed by the war they ended up fighting with the drug smugglers. Recently, when Liz had been Kidnapped, during that war, they all were worried about what would happen to the group if something happened to her. Now, it seemed Liz had been saved and it was Michael, Maria and Isabel who were missing. It was going to be very hard on Janis Guerin because she had to ride the bus back to Albuquerque and then take a plane back to Farmington.

Max returned from the shower and, now, Liz prepared herself. When she was dressed and downstairs she found Max in his study, a large table set up and maps covering it. Behind his desk, he had a large computer screen/television running. The picture in a picture had a news cast and they were talking about the missing plane. The main part of the screen was a Delorme map of the current edition of the area.

The newscast was not very informative. It said, “Renowned singer and writer, Maria DeLuca-Gurein, her husband and a friend had disappeared from radar early this morning.” Then, the newscast went on to talk about other singers who had been lost in plane wrecks, Patsy Cline, Richie Valens and Buddy Holly. That wasn’t very comforting, but Liz guessed it made good informative material.

Liz went to Tess’s office to see how she was holding up. Tess was sobbing. She had, finally, managed to get a message to Kyle. This was very difficult because, many times, drug agents were deep undercover and were not available for any contact. Kyle had promised to be home that night.

“How did Sabra take it?” Liz inquired.

“Not well, she is still in shock. We are going to have to be really supportive.” Then, she looked up, “But who is going to support the rest of us?”

“We don’t really know anything yet, I guess we will just have to wait and see,” Liz answered.

Alex called. The roadblock was being discontinued. There was hard evidence that the four escapees had managed to get out of the area. He would be home early tomorrow if he could. He was up on news about his wife from the police radio, but he now was starting to worry about his daughter.

Right now, there was nothing any of them could do. Each of the engineered aliens had different gifts, just as descendents of the engineered one seemed to be able to do different things. The original ones had a little of each gift. Tess got her grief under control and sat quietly trying to pick up any feeling of the missing ones. As she was sitting there, an “Other” drifted in.

The Others were the true aliens. They had set up residence with the engineered ones and they were in close contact with them. Normally, the Others kept to rooms they had designated as their own and left the rest of the house alone. From time to time, you would see the nebulous almost ghost like beings floating through the house. The household staff was well aware of the nature of the others and they called them, “the saints.”

Tess watched as the Other approached her. It made an indication with its pseudopod or what looked like the arm of an amoeba, that it wanted to contact her. Tess nodded and the pseudopod entered her head without a single sensation. Once in though, Tess felt her powers explode. She was now searching for any of the lost ones with a powerful tool. Still there was no contact.

Eventually, the Other just retreated and Tess almost collapsed. Tess could only conclude that maybe Michael, Maria and Isabel were dead. The Other immediately returned and placed his pseudopod back in her mind. No they weren’t dead and she must not think that, but the Others had no idea of where they were.

Liz went to the room that was Sabra’s. She softly knocked on the door. The door swung open and Liz saw Sabra sitting on the bed, beside her was one of the Others. Liz could never tell them apart. When they interviewed the humans, the Others had a complicated numerical name system. Liz wasn’t sure that they really were individual entities like the engineered ones or the humans.

The children, of course, knew all about them but up to this time the Others had never approached the children like they did the adults. Sabra was still in tears. The Other had tenderly extended its pseudopod into her head. This was something they had never been known to do.

“It was telling me that my mother is not dead, but it was saying something else and I do not understand that. It told me I must love my mother and that she would return, but she would be really hurt. I don’t know what it means.” Sabra looked to Liz. Liz was the anthropologist. She was the one who was supposed to have all the answers. Many times when the correspondence from the Others was cryptic, it was Doctor Parker, who undertook an explanation. Here, she had no answer for Sabra.

As Liz approached Sabra, the Other discretely withdrew and faded away. Liz had no idea where it went. There were many times, especially when Liz was desiring the privacy of intimacy, that she wondered if they were ever alone. Liz cradled the head of her friend’s daughter. She let Sabra be free to cry. Liz knew that, for now, the only thing she could do was assure Sabra that the rest of them would be there for her.

Kyle returned that night and he led a tearful wife off to bed. He returned to the study a hour or so later. “She is exhausted. Tess has been working with the Others trying to make contact with Isabel, at least. The Others won’t allow Tess to think that they are dead, but they have no idea what happened.”

Max looked up. There had been no favorable reports. The beacon that is supposed to make it easier to find crashed planes, hadn’t gone off. Satellite imaging had shown no evidence of a crash. The plane was white and it should have left some evidence of itself on the landscape. Unless, that is, if it went down into one of those deep canyons. Liz asked, “Would the deep canyon affect your ability to contact them?”

Max shook his head. They had many powers and gifts, but they really didn’t understand them completely.

Alex came in the next morning. He was on temporary leave form the state police. They correctly assumed that he wouldn’t be much good to them until he had real news of his wife anyway. The FAA, (Federal Aviation Administration) had no news. They had no evidence of where the plane went down.

There were many times in this rugged land when a plane would be missed for years until a Navajo, rancher or hunter would run across the wreckage in some lost place. The FAA wasn’t giving up yet, but they couldn’t help from being discouraging. For awhile, Alex and his daughter tried to comfort each other.

The word came from someone that the Others wanted to interview all the Engineered ones and the mates immediately. Liz could only expect the worst. It was very difficult for the Others to talk to humans without extensive preparation. It was explained that the engineered ones could grasp meaning easier, but even they had trouble sometimes with alien concepts. If they wanted a hurry-up interview it would be cryptic, at best.

Liz was interviewed first. The interview was very disturbing. As Liz walked in the door, she felt a transformation. She looked down at her dress, and then, at her body. She was no longer the willowy athletic brunette, dressed in comfortable slacks and loafers. She could feel in her chest a bustiness that threatened to unbalance her. She looked at her hands. Liz usually kept her nails short. Working with the artifacts of archeology did not encourage long, painted finger nails. Now, her nails were long and carefully manicured. Liz felt of her hair. She pulled a strand out from her head so she could see it. It wasn’t the dark strands she was so used to. It was definitly blonde. Looking at her clothes. She had a knee length dress and she could feel the pinch of underclothes that she wasn’t used to. Then, Liz understood she was standing in for Isabel.

Usually when they were interviewed, the aliens would seat them on a chair or couch of some nebulous material while the Others delivered a carefully prepared speech, but now, Liz was left standing. She was standing in ridiculous high heels. Liz wore cowboy boots a lot when in the field or in the few times she now had for horseback riding. She had medium heels which she had purchased since she had married Max for dress up occasions. Liz could remember when she wouldn’t be caught dead in dress shoes. At that time, she only had one dress which she wore to the faculty get together every year. The same dress every time. Max encouraged her to increase her wardrobe, but style still wasn’t a driving force in her life. Isabel was completely style conscious.

Liz, now, was standing there in Isabel’s body and clothes. A handsome man came by. He took her hand and Liz couldn’t help it, but her heart fluttered. She hadn’t felt like this since she slept with the bull rider the first time when in college. Liz was completely, sexually attracted to this man. In her mind, she could see visions of Max/Alex, but the visions would be drowned out time and time again.

It was confusing how the two men seemed to crowd together. Liz couldn’t tell the difference between the Alex and Max. She didn’t see the Others anymore. She was in a room full of people talking and laughing, but all Liz could think of, was getting this strange man alone, ripping both hers and his clothes off then falling into bed together. Somewhere in her mind, there was a small Liz who kept saying that she had never been that bad even when she was being careless with her affairs while in college. The room suddenly went black for Liz. She collapsed and the Others quickly went to the door.

They reached for Max and brought him into the room. Max’s heart almost stopped. He saw the woman he loved so much crumpled laying on a bench of nebulous stuff, that the aliens usually made. The aliens were very disturbed. They indicated that he should remove Liz immediately. Liz dressed in the slacks and tee shirt she had put on that morning with her slip-on loafers, was carried out by Max. He took her upstairs to their room. Max was definitely angry with the Others.

The Others, before the human and engineered group could disband in their concern for Liz, indicated that Kyle and Tess should come in together. As they entered, Kyle found himself dressed in expensive clothes. He would later say that he was dressed like a waterfront pimp.

Tess was on his arm and she had a cocktail dress that was knee length. The cut was low and even Tess, who at one time enjoyed the lust she created by her choice of clothes, felt embarrassed.

Tess remembered when she first met Kyle. She hadn’t let him know, for a long time how smart she was. At first Kyle, who having just broken up with Liz, thought he had found the perfect woman, all boobs and no brain. That was so the completely the opposite of Liz that Kyle felt this must be right. As he tired of the bubble-headed company that Tess offered, he slowly learned that she was brilliant in her own right. By this time, Kyle was so in love, even though he was slow to admit it. He only professed his love, when Tess told him he either had to say he loved her or walk away. Kyle, by that time, couldn’t think of loosing her.

Now, they were walking in a casino. In the distance, they saw Isabel. Kyle wanted to walk up to her and ask what was the problem. Tess held him back. A very good-looking man came in and sat beside her. Isabel, in completely uncharacteristic behavior, was clinging to his arm. As they watched, the couple left together. Kyle could feel Tess shudder.

All Kyle could think of was that this wasn’t right. Engineered aliens were not unfaithful to their mates. This went against every thing he had been taught and what he had learned to believe in. The lights came on and Tess saw that, once again, she was dressed in slacks and blouse, her feet in slippers without any hose or socks.

Last was Alex. As he entered, his life with Isabel drifted before him. He saw the first time she walked up to him, asking the handsome state policeman some question about the law. Then, they were talking in the dinning room of a restaurant in the north part of New Mexico. Alex saw the night they first slept together. He felt the entire emotional experience of this first night. These were more than visions. Alex was to completely relive the emotions he had at every time.

There was the night when he was released from the hospital after being shot. The affirmation he made of his love for Isabel was played over and over. In his heart, he almost felt the orgasms he had experienced on the nights they had spent together. His love had multiplied as he relived these experiences.

Then, Alex saw Isabel. She was some distance away and no matter how hard he tried, she remained at that distance. Her back was turned form him. She was in chains. Her bare back bore the evidence of whippings she had suffered. She turned and he saw that her breasts were bare. She was bleeding in many places. Her eyes were smoking sockets. She had been purposely blinded. He called out to her. Isabel turned, trying to locate the place where his voice came from. She was reaching out to him. Alex was crying her name. He was trying to reach out for her. They just couldn’t manage to do it.

A voice came to Alex. “Do you really love her?” Alex looked around and there was no one there. The voice seemed familiar, but it wasn’t the voice from the Others, at least not the usual voice they played in his head. “Do you really love her, no matter what?” The Others were not visible anywhere. Alex was trying to remember where he knew that voice. “Do you really love her, no matter what she has become or has done?” Alex was screaming “Yes, I love her no matter what!”

Suddenly, he felt hands on him as they gently helped him up off the strange stuff the others had made into a couch. The hands were from Kyle, Tess and Max.

Alex was still screaming, “I love her no matter what she has done or what she has become. I will always love her!” Alex just fainted and the next thing he remembered was he was on a bench in the hall way with ice packs around his head. Alex was so shaken that he couldn’t talk. Max carefully helped him up to the room he normally shared with Isabel.

Max returned and the Others waiting patiently for him in the hall just indicated that he come in. Max was mad. “What did you do to him? What did you do to Liz? What is the meaning of this treatment?”

The Others just led Max into the room and sat him down. In front of him he saw Michael and Maria. They were alone. The stores of the plane’s emergency kit were stacked before them. There was water, but not much. There was some food, but again not much. They were cold and, in turn, hot, but they were always in pain.

As Max watched Michael would put his hands on Maria’s back and they would glow. Maria would, for a time, be more at peace. Michael just didn’t really know how to heal. He put his hands on his knee and his hands again would glow. Michael would then stand and move to the plane. He would remove from the plane as much as he could to where they were camped, but then, the pain would start again. Eventually, he could do no more. Max looked around. There was no sight of Isabel. The only people here were Michael and Maria.

As the light started to come up, Max felt a great sadness. The aliens all gathered and placed their pseudopods in his head. They grieved at the pain they had caused their children. Everything they had said or had done, in their minds had been necessary. There was also feeling that the aliens would do all they could to help Max and the others find the three missing people.

Max felt a strange feeling. When they would be found, Max was commanded to only feel love and forgiveness for everyone. This was so strong that Max wondered, forgiveness for what? But, by that time the lights were completely on and the aliens had disappeared. What upset Max the most was, at the last, he had been commanded to forgive Liz and make her forgive herself. Liz was in her bedroom. He had just put her there. What did he have to forgive her for?

[ken_r]

begonia 9508

Chapter 3

Max went up to Liz’s room. She was still on their bed. She was sobbing but she was able to talk a little. “Max, I love you. I would never do anything to hurt you. Max, please hold me,” she sobbed.

“What happened, Liz? Both you and Alex were almost destroyed by this interview. The rest of us learned something, I think. It is like the first time the Others tried to talk to us about drugs. They only talked in allegory. None of it made sense to us.” Max explained.

“Max, it was awful. There was a man and all I could do was to think of fucking him. I saw you in the background. It looked like you and then it looked like Alex, but the lust for this man was more than I could stand,” Liz was trying to explain her passion.

“Liz, that doesn’t sound like you. What was happening?” Max asked.

Max, it wasn’t me. It was Isabel. I felt her body, her clothes and her feelings. I was almost pleading for that man to ravish me. No, Max, I never felt that way about any one. It wasn’t the love I feel for you. It wasn’t the lust I ever felt when I was young and wild. It was so much more that, finally, I couldn’t take it. That is when I passed out.” Liz didn’t know how to convey what she felt. Doctor Parker didn’t faint, ever, but Liz, in this instance, did. The feeling was so intense.

Liz wanted so much for Max to make love to her. The feelings she had had were so dirty that she wanted something to cleanse them. Right now, in the afternoon, she settled for Max just to hold her. It was several hours before they were all called to dinner.

Alex was embarrassed when he came down. He didn’t know what to say. It was Tess who went to him and put her arms around him. For several minutes, they just stood that way. Alex looked over at Kyle. He was surprised because he expected to see a frown in Kyle’s face at someone else holding his wife. Kyle was looking at him like a brother. Kyle finally stood and took Alex by the arm and seated him at his usual place at the table. Alex looked at Liz. She looked terrible. Her eyes were blood shot and her hair, normally brushed to a sheen, was dull and tangled.

After dinner, they all gathered in the study. Max just shook his head. He didn’t know where to start. Usually, it would be Liz who would lead these sessions because she, sort of, understood what the aliens were trying to say. Finally, Liz did speak up, “Alex, something terrible has happened to Isabel. You are going to have to tell us what happened in the room, no matter how painful it was. I do not think she was killed or even hurt badly, but something did happen to her.”

“Liz, what did you see while you were in that room?” Alex asked.

“Alex, please don’t ask me. Just trust me that something happened and it wasn’t her fault,” Liz stated.

Alex nodded, “That is in line with what I saw. At first I saw ever time we made love. I saw the night where she demanded that I affirm my love for her. Then, someone started screaming in my head, ‘Did I love her?’ This happened over and over. I should know the voice I heard, but I can’t think whose it was. They asked, ‘Did I love her no matter what she did? No matter what she had done or what she had become?’ I saw her body, hurt, punished and mutilated. I saw her reaching for my voice, but she had been blinded. I was screaming, ‘Yes, ` I would always love her. I think that is when you came in and took me out.” Alex was holding his head in his hands. What did all of this mean?

Liz turned to Kyle. He looked at Tess and, then, he started. “I was dressed like a frigging pimp. Tess was in an outfit that would make sex illegal if seen in public. We were in the casino. Isabel was talking to a man we had never seen.” He looked over at Alex who still was sitting with his head in his hands. Tess visibly jabbed Kyle in the ribs. Alex never looked up, but Kyle did look at the rest of them and make a grimace. Liz and Max decided that they needed to talk to Kyle and Tess alone soon. “That is all,” Kyle quickly said.

Max went next, “I didn’t see Isabel. I did see Michael and Maria. There were alive, but they have very little water and little food. They are both hurt and Michael is trying to heal, both himself and Maria, but he is not very good at it. They need to be rescued soon.”

Alex looked up, “Do we have anything to go on?”

Liz put her hand on his shoulder. “Alex, we need to sleep on what we have seen and, then, decide what we are going to do.”

The two couples and Alex drifted off to their rooms. It was several minutes later when Max and Liz heard a soft knock. Neither of them had started to remove their clothes, so Max just went to the door. Kyle and Tess came in and softly closed the door. Kyle turned to Liz, “Okay, babe, what did you really see?”

Liz was quiet for several minutes, “I didn’t see it, Kyle. I felt it. I experienced it. I was Isabel for a time. I will never be critical of her again. There was a man. He was holding on my, or rather, Isabel’s arm. I have never felt so much lust for anyone in my life. There was no love involved at all. I just wanted to fuck him and do it over and over. It was nothing like making love to anyone in my past.”

Kyle made a comment, “Well, that is nice to know.” He quickly saw that the comment was not well received. Tess was still glaring at him. Kyle had loved Liz at one time. She just wasn’t the woman for him now.

“No, Kyle, this was stronger than animal lust. I just couldn’t wait until I could get naked with him and get laid over and over.” Liz was sweating from the thoughts. “Now, putting that with what Alex said, I think something happened to Isabel and I do not mean just a plane wreck.”

Kyle sat holding Tess’s hand. “That is in line with what we saw. Isabel was acting strangely toward this man. I just couldn’t bring myself to say it in front of Alex.”

Max was thinking. “The household staff can handle everything , but they need some one in charge.” He turned to Liz, “Do you think we could get Mary Greer-Zamora or Bernadette Gutierrez to stay here for a while?”

These were two women who knew all about the engineered aliens. Mary Greer, now Zamora, was the proof reader/editor who had stood with Liz when Liz went before the whole universe trying to expose what the drug did to the soldiers who were taking it. She worked for the University of New Mexico and it was closed at this time. Bernadette Gutierrez was a Mexican national who was taking classes at the university. She, herself, was descended from a set of engineered aliens that Max and Liz had discovered when they were seeking the drug smugglers in Mexico. They were both intelligent women. They were both capable of running the household for a time. Both of them were known and liked by the household staff. That was very important. Liz looked at the time, “I will call tomorrow and see.”

Max turned to Kyle, “I think the Others want you and Tess to go to Las Vegas and see what you can find. Be very careful. We may be shit deep in alien things again.” Then, Max turned to Liz, “I think we need to make a survey.” He smiled at her. “Just like old times. Let’s start by looking up some of your Navajo friends and see if we can get any information.”

“What are we going to have Alex do? He is really upset. I am thinking that the aliens were telling him that Isabel has done something really bad and he is going to have to forgive her,” Liz said.

Kyle turned to Max, “El Presidente, just how strong is the alien prohibition against infidelity?”

Max thought for a moment, “I do not think I could do it. I do not think Michael could either. The designing of women is slightly different. They are only supposed to become faithful when they decide to take a permanent partner. It is more or less their choice.” He turned to Tess. “You can explain it better.”

Tess was embarrassed, “Women are allowed to express themselves sexually, but they must not get pregnant. When they get pregnant, that is when they are not allowed, any longer, to seek anyone else. Isabel has had a child so she shouldn’t be able to go to anyone else.”

Kyle made a face. He was glad that Tess was the alien in his couple and not he. “What could break this conditioning or engineering?”

Tess thought, “I do not know. They are more like things in our design than like rules. Fidelity is made into our matrix and I do not know what could break them.”

Max looked at Tess. “Could another alien break the conditioning?”

Tess was thoughtful for a long time. “Yes, but I do not know how they would do it. I do not know how much damage they would do to the engineering.` Would there be anything of the same person left when they broke this conditioning? This is built into the person. It is who we are.”

Max look at the group, “That is what I am afraid of. We may be facing some sort of alien retaliation.”

I think for the moment, Alex should remain here and coordinate our information. He is the only one with enough official, political clout to make things happen if we do find something. He could call out authorities, who wouldn’t listen to us.

The next morning, Liz called Mary Greer-Zamora, “Mary, I need either you or Bernadette to stay at the house in Farmington for a while. Would you be able to do that?”

Mary thought for a while, “For a few days, I could. Salas is off on assignment. He might even be in the northern part of the state. Those escaped prisoners have been spotted there. Could I ask Bernadette to come with me? Then, if Salas gets off, she could stay and I could spend my time with him. I think that Ed Andrews, her boyfriend, is also in the north somewhere.” Mary asked. She didn’t feel that she had enough time with her husband as it was.

“Sure thing, Mary and both you and Bernadette are welcome to use our house if either Salas or Ed get time off. I will send word to them to contact you at Farmington by Alex.” Liz replied. This was one thing off her mind.

Mary continued, “Liz, is there any thing new about Michael, Maria or Isabel.”

“No, and that is why we want someone to stay at the house. We have Alex and Isabel’s daughter and we are trying to get Janis, Michael and Maria’s daughter back from camp. We are all going to start looking for the plane. We can use things that the human searchers can’t. Alex will be in and out, but in his condition, he can’t keep his mind on much.” Liz rang off and then, turned to Max.

They didn’t have Liz’s old truck any more. It had been ideal with extra gas tanks and water barrels attached to it. Max knew of a truck they could buy. It would be fitted with a boom and extra gas tanks. It was four-wheel drive and in really good condition. He could also get a GPS system installed. This would take two days. He was worried. Michael and Maria didn’t have many days left.

[ken_r]

xmag
begonia9508


Chapter 4

Michael in the plane:
When Michael had been asked, so many years ago, what he did as an occupation. His answer was simple, “I protect Max.” This answer was given at a country western nightclub where Max first came in social contact with Liz. Max had been looking for her for weeks, ever since he healed her from snake bite back in Navajo land. Well, he had been thinking about her since he first saw her through his telescope taking a shower where she thought no one could see her. Liz hadn’t counted on extreme technology.

Max and Michael were searching for certain sites themselves. Where Liz was studying early Pueblo and pre pueblo ruins, Max was seeking sites containing evidence that aliens had been influencing the culture of the southwest for thousands of years.

While healing Liz of the snake bite, Max learned a lot about her. He had tracked her down that night. She was out with Maria just looking for a good time. Michael would always remember that night, because while Max and Liz were dancing around each other making their acquaintance difficult, Michael met Maria and both of them immediately saw that they were made for each other.

After the quest on behalf of the aliens was finished and Max and Liz were the last of the alien-human coupling to occur, Michael looked around to see what was in life for him. Max went to college, as did Isabel and Tess. Max became a journalist and writer. Isabel became a free lance writer and Tess became the business manager of their private corporation.

Michael found that he had an interest in flying. He started out by just getting his license. Then, he attended one of the flying schools in Florida. From there, he got certified commercial and, finally, certified to fly small jet aircraft. Michael was very careful of his aircraft.

The corporation maintained several planes. They had a Cessna Citation, a small business jet that was brand new on the market called the Eclipse, and a Cessna Skyhawk modified for short take off and landing. They also had accounts where they could rent planes when needed. Now Michael was flying an older Cessna 340A. It wasn’t their craft, but the company they rented it from was a reliable company. It was comfortable and if Alex had been able to come, it would have been ideal for the four people.

Michael went through his checklist. He was very careful about his flying. Everything checked out and he was soon cleared for take off. The Las Vegas airport was busy so Michael was concentrating on getting off and staying out of everyone else’s way because the sky around Las Vegas was crowded.

Maria was strapped in beside him and a grumpy to tearful Isabel was in the next seat back. Michael didn’t know what Isabel had done last night, but if she broke her conditioning and went to another man, it might mean that the solidarity that the engineered aliens enjoyed would be fleeting.

There were a few times, when talking to her, Michael thought she wasn’t sure what she had done. Ever since they had come out of the pods, Isabel had always been the one who was so sure of herself. It was she who insisted they approach the people camping when they were still wet naked children having just emerged. There, they met the adults who adopted them and raised them. It was Isabel who the real aliens, or Others, had approached when the engineered ones were grown and it was Isabel who formed the corporation that they all used now.

Isabel was so sure when she gave herself to Alex, the state policeman. Isabel had watched Max as he embarked on the stormy trip of winning Doctor Elizabeth Parker. She had worried that Max had been careless with his heart, but by then, it was too late. Liz would either accept Max or Max would die alone. The engineered males only had this one chance to find love.

The weather was clear and the canyons below were beautiful. Michael banked the airplane so they could see out the windows and past the wing, then, straightening up, he set his course straight to the Farmington airport.

The land below them showed the violence it had been subjected to in the past. The whole Four Corners area had, at one time, been the bottom of an ocean. The sediments were testimony to conditions of the earth in different geologic periods. They would have remained buried except for the collision of two tectonic plates with in the earth. This collision caused upheaval and, sometimes, the buckling of the land. As the land rose, the different colored layers of the Earth were exposed. There was volcanic activity at the same time. We do not know what was going on in the rest of the world, but here, evidence was exposed for all to stand in awe at the grandeur and beauty.

Most of the cracks and cliffs formed were of sediment and they were soft sand stone. Some of the cracks and cliffs were in basalt fields. They were jagged like broken glass. Valleys filled with sediment, soft exposed rock weathered and mineral stains developed. Like the work of a mad artist the canyon lands were laid bare.

They were somewhere over Arizona, Michael was sure they had crossed the Utah-Arizona border although he hadn’t made his latest dead reckoning estimate of his location. They hit some turbulence and the plane lost a few hundred feet in altitude. Michael, at once, was scanning his instruments. He could find no reason to worry. Then, he found one. The instruments went dead. Turned back on and went dead again. Michael knew he was in trouble.

If Michael could find a reasonably flat stretch of highway, he might be able to set the plane down, but he was over canyons and mesas. The engines were making funny noises. A pilot listens to his engine like a conductor listens to his orchestra. There was something wrong. He turned to Maria who was so pale. She knew that there was something wrong. “We are going down. I love you, babe,” were his last words to her while in the air.

Maria, who was known to scream at the finding of a hangnail, put her hand on his tense arm. “Right back at ya, babe.” It was as if she knew that Michael needed her support at this time. Maria was able to summon great strength in times of stress.

Michael did hear Isabel in a frightened voice say, “He is here, he is going to take me again.”

Michael knew that they had no chance. The Cessna was coming in too fast and Michael had no way to slow it. It wasn’t made for landing on a rough mesa. They were going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.

Max and Liz in Arizona:
Liz, Max and Hector were in the crew cab of a Ford pickup. They were driving us 64, having just left Shiprock, a volcanic core rising out of the sand, sacred to the Navajo. Now, they were in Arizona. They were heading for a Navajo police station at a place called Teec Nos Pos. There was a chapter house there, which was the center of local Navajo government.

Liz had a list of names she remembered from long ago when she was in the area working for the Archeological Research Foundation. She was sure many on that list would have been retired or moved on, but if she could find anyone who had time to talk to her it might help. The FAA felt that the plane had gone down in either northern Arizona or Southern Utah. That was a large uninhabited area.

Liz, as an anthropologist, knew that there was no such place on the Earth uninhabited all the time, except maybe, Antarctica. In the desert southwest, there would always be hunters, sheep herders, prospectors and even some just explorers. The problem was each of these people had small circles that they communicated to. If there was any information it could take weeks for it to reach authorities.

Liz wanted to break into some of these circles and put out the word that they were looking for the downed plane. They had a standard $1000 reward for any information that could be helpful in locating the plane.

They came to the building labeled Navajo Tribal Police. They parked and walked through the hard packed dirt surrounding the building. As they walked, swirls of dust were raised by their passage. When they entered the door, they came to a framed document. It was the motto of the Tribal Police, “I will not die. I will fight. I will survive. I will go home.” This was a very proud organization. In her ethnology studies, Liz had learned that the tribal police stood, many times, as the conduit between the modern world of the Anglo and the traditional world of the Dene or the people. A Native American girl dressed in levies and a tee shirt reading “Red Rock Concert,” came to the desk when Liz approached. She was either in her teens or perhaps early twenties.

“I do not know if you can help me,” was Liz’s opening statement. “I need to know if any of these people are still with the police force and if any of them are in the northern part of the reservation.”

The young lady looked at the list. She briefly disappeared and returned with a man with pre-mature graying hair. “Yes, can I help you?”

Liz took out her identification, her University status ID and a card issued to her over 15 years ago by the Navajo Nation. The man looked at each of the cards. Then, he smiled, “Doctor Parker. I remember you now. I was just a young man when you hauled water to my grandmother’s place several times. You were no longer teaching when I was in college, but I remembered you with every anthropology class I took. Please step into my office.”

Liz and Max were led into a small office. On the desk was a sign that read, “Lieutenant Otis Begay.”

Liz introduced Max as her husband and Otis surprised them both. “Yes, Mr. Evans, I have read several of your books. I am awaiting the next one rumored to be about the Murders in the University Library.”

Max had to smile. It is always good to meet someone who appreciates your writing. “Thank you, it may be delayed a while. We are looking for some of our people who were lost in a plane accident.”

The Lieutenant was referring to a book Max was trying to write about the recent drug smugglers without any of the information about the aliens involvement. It truly was going to be a work of fiction.

Otis leaned back, “Yes, that would be Maria DeLuca and party. There has been no official word about it at all.” Then, he turned to Liz, “But you, Doctor Parker, want to find some unofficial word, do you not?”

Liz had to grin. The lieutenant was very quick on the uptake. “Yes, I know that things happen in back country and news of it does not make it to the rest of the world, sometimes for months.”

Otis thought for a moment, “There is a young man named, Thomas Charley. He works out of Mexican Water. That is a town down the road a way. He was an anthropology student and has been on the force for about two years. He is a good policeman, but he also is way too nosey to be a good Navajo.” Otis laughed at this and Liz had to smile.

The Navajo people respected privacy and it seemed that Thomas was more acculturated to being an ethnologist than they would like. Otis went on, “Thomas could tell you who to talk to. He could give you names of trading posts where information might be found.

I am going to put out a bulletin about the reward. Young men, many times are exploring or hunting or just seeking what young men of any culture do when they like to be alone. These are the men who will know or learn something about the plane.”

Otis stood and shook hands with Max and, then, taking Liz’s hand, “It is good to have you back on the Rez Doctor Parker. I see you have your dog with you. Is this same one you had when you visited my grand mother?”

No lieutenant, Rolf passed on several years ago. We just got back from a difficult time in Mexico involving drug smugglers and Max presented me with a puppy. His name is Hector.”

There was a twinkle in Otis’s eye. Does he come to ‘What the Heck’ as well?”

Liz and Max had to both laugh at that. “Michael, the pilot of the plane we are seeking, always called him that. He just thinks it is another name.”

It was a little more than thirty miles to the town of Mexican Water. The town had about 1,000 people living there. They were almost all Navajo. It took a little while to find the chapter house. There they asked for Thomas Charley.

The young girl, who was tending the desk looked at an older lady sitting at a typewriter. Liz thought, who uses a typewriter any more? Then, she thought, the electricity might be unsure out here and the mechanical typewriter would keep going no matter what. The girl who had a name tag that read Shirley, said, “Thomas has not left, yet, he may still be in the back working on papers.”

Liz knew that the curse of the police of any culture was trying to keep their reports up. They might save a man out of a burning car or pull a kid out of a collapsing arroyo, but when they came to reports, they were usually way over their heads. They followed Shirley to the back. Liz knew that Shirley was both a given name and a last name on the reservation. She wondered idly which it was for the young lady before her.

As they came to a room, Shirley said, “Some people to see you, Thomas. They are from the department of records. They can’t read your writing.” with that she quickly left.

The young Navajo stood looking very perplexed. Liz smiled, extended her hand and said, “Don’t let her fool you. Sounds like she was flirting with you. I am Doctor Elizabeth Parker-Evans and this is my husband Max Evans.”

He still frowned, “You are Doctor Parker of the Archeology Research foundation?”

Liz smiled again, “I worked for them a year or so, many years ago. Now I am just a consultant.”

Thomas gestured to sit. They all sat at the table at which he was working. “I used your maps to catch some pothunters working on the lower reservation last year. They were very exact. He turned to Max. “You are the author. The lieutenant gave me one of your books to read. He is very excited waiting for the next one.” He then turned and asked, “What can I do for you?”

Liz took a deep breath, “We are looking for the plane that went down just a few days ago. There were three people on board. One was his sister.” she indicated Max. “The other was my best friend, Maria DeLuca, and her husband.”

Thomas was thoughtful. “Ah, yes, your sister must be the wife of Captain Whitman of the New Mexico State Police. We received a bulletin about that the day it happened. We also received a bulletin that the four escapees from your New Mexico prison are now thought to be in the Four Corners area.”

Liz made a face, “The prisoners you can have, but we need information about the plane. We need to know who to go to and who might know of anything in the border country area.”

“I am going to make a swing through this whole area tomorrow. I will get Shirley to print me some bulletins about the reward. There is a Baptist missionary in the Kayenta area. He lives just outside the town. He couldn’t have picked a worse place to set up shop. The Dene who live there are very traditional and the non Native Americans are all Mormon. He is a good man and he helps with the schools along with running a clinic. We checked him out when he first came and decided that he was harmless. He does have contact with many people from the back country. You might try talking to him.”

There is, also, a trading post, Tohdenasshai, where the trader might know something. If you find anything about the plane, call the tribal police and they will arrange help to get to them.”

Then, as an after thought, Thomas said, “I am going to tell Shirley that my handwriting passed, but you are really considering sending all receptionist to a brief school in Phoenix next summer.”

Liz had to really laugh at that one. Phoenix, Arizona, in the summer had a temperature at or near 110 degrees. To the people who grew up in the higher mesas of Navajo land, that would be a harsh thing to do. If they were an Anglo couple, Liz would be certain that wedding bells would soon be heard between Thomas and Shirley. The Navajo had a very complicated exogamous Clan system, which dictated, marriage but if they were of the correct clans Thomas, here, might kiss his bachelor days good bye, soon.

[ken_r]

This weekend, the inspiration for me writing the stories about Navajo land, Tony Hillerman died. He made many mistakes in his description of Navajo culture but they were honest mistakes made by a man who tried to show the thoughts and lives of a people in the southwest. He was the inspiration for many writers to research and write about this land.

begonia for the almost two years i have been writing your name in the reply section has been a lot of what keeps me going. I know you have a busy schedule, but i always appreciate when you let me know you hav read my work.

Chapter 5


The reverend Harvey Rose, had come to this land to bring the blessings of his faith to a lost people. When he arrived he found a people far from being lost, thriving under conditions he could not imagine. Some of the older people at the trading post would laugh and say that Harvey was turning to the way of beauty faster than they were accepting the Jesus way. That was their way of saying that Harvey was becoming more and more Navajo.

Anyway Harvey was now a fixture in this area. He was always ready to lend a hand in any task. He would write letters and mail them for many who couldn’t speak English. Harvey had learned the language of the people simply by being immersed in the culture and having no one else to talk to.

Max and Liz drove up to his small place. Max started to get out of the truck but Liz stopped him. They sat and waited. Liz knew that Harvey was well aware that they were out front of his house. If he was as traditional as Thomas said he was becoming, Harvey would approach them in good time and it would be rude to get out before being invited.

Finally Harvey appeared. He was surprised to see two Anglos in the truck. They were using the correct protocol when visiting. He came out and said, “Ya’at’ eeh.” Then he said, if they didn’t understand, “Welcome to my home.”

Liz got out of the truck, “Ya’at’ eeh, and thank you,” she greeted. I am Doctor Parker-Evans and this is my husband, Max Evans. We need to talk to you if you have time.”

The man was about six feet tall. His first feature to be noticed was his mane of white hair and his neatly trimmed white beard. He looked at the sun shading his eyes with his hand. Then, he wet his finger and held it up in the air, testing the weather, after doing this he smiled and said, “I think we might make time if you will just step in my home.”

Liz wondered if these were purposeful actions within his mind or was he just making a pun about his time and how he spent it. Puns of all kind were common in the Navajo culture.

It was a small home. The only clutter was on the walls. He had hung painted pot sherds, arrow points and baskets from the more southern tribes in Arizona. Liz saw one black pot that she was sure was a Maria Martinez pot from the Rio Grande valley just north of Albuquerque. It was shinny black with decorations in dull black. At one time this decoration had almost been a lost art, but had now been re-learned. The pot, would be very expensive now, but she imagined that when Harvey bought it, the price was fairly reasonable.

“Can I offer you tea? I ran out of coffee the other day and I haven’t had time to walk over to the trading post to get any more,” Harvey offered. Not mentioning that the Trading Post was less than a quarter mile from the reverend’s home.

Max and Liz nodded out of politeness. Harvey wouldn’t have many visitors and this was an important gesture for him to make. Liz waited until the tea was carefully made and poured. There was a small table before them on which she and Max sat their cups.

“Doctor Parker, I assume that is not a medical term. Doctor Parker, humm there was a Doctor Parker about 15 or, maybe, 20 years ago. She was a hell fired woman on a mission. She worked with the people and was well thought of. Seems she ran off two drunks one night. Shooting her pistol at rocks on the ground showering them with shards. Don’t supposed you know what happened to her?” Harvey mused.

Max had to laugh inside. Liz was beet red. “She grew up married had children and is now a much calmer lady,” Liz murmured in returned.

Harvey had a real laugh out of that, “Probably inevitable, but a bit disappointing. The other one was real excitement in these parts. What can I do for you folks?”

Liz knew that she now had been given permission to speak. “A plane went down somewhere along the Utah-Arizona border. It had his sister and my friends on it. We are trying to find any information about this.” Liz handed Harvey one of the bulletins that Shirley had printed. “We were hoping you could help us get the word out about the reward and ask if you heard any thing.”

Harvey thought for several minutes. “This reward will probably work best if you can get the right people to see it. Many people in this region just mind their own business, except for maybe, that young cop who comes around asking questions. I assume I contact the tribal police, if I hear anything.”

Liz nodded, “Is there anyone else who might know something? Someone else we might talk to?”

Harvey frowned, “How is your Navajo?”

Liz held up her fore finger and thumb. “Just a little,” she answered

“Well if you come by tomorrow there is a man who sits in the mornings at the trading post. He doesn’t speak English, but I think he understands a lot more than he lets on. I will meet you there and we will talk to him,” Harvey offered.

There were a couple motels in Kayenta. They were expensive but they would be back to the trading post on time and they wouldn’t have to drive as far. The Best Western frowned but for an extra charge they let Hector stay with them.

They made a call back to Farmington. Mary picked up the phone. Salas and Ed both were now in the four corners area. It was sure that the prisoners were somewhere in this area. Alex was having worries about being back to work but also worried about not being available if they found anything about Isabel. Sabra had taken to staying in her room.

The last time Mary had checked on her she found several of the Others in the room with her. Janis had arrived and Mary had picked her up at the Farmington airport. Janis had tried to talk to Sabra, but there was something that was bothering Sabra so badly that she couldn’t even cry with Janis.

Mary and Bernadette had both tried to talk to Janis but she had now closed down, also. There were Others in her room as well. Bernadette and Mary were both worried about their men who were looking for the escaped convicts. This was the life of a woman who loved a state policeman.

Michael and Maria, lost somewhere:
That morning, Michael had taken stock of the water. There were only a few more bottles. He had tried to eat, but the pain was pretty bad. He had carefully concealed his discomfort from Maria. He had put all he could in to trying to heal her back but every time she moved, she cried out in pain. Again, he worried, “What happened to Isabel?” He was worried that she might do something foolish. When he had finally become conscious she just wasn’t there any more. What if she, in depression, just walked off the cliff he saw on both sides of the wreckage.

They were sitting on a point. Behind the wreckage, the way they must have come, there was a sandstone cliff. Then, his mind tried to figure how any of them had survived. The Cessna 340A would have been going way too fast to come to rest on the mesa top. There were no marks to show any attempt at landing. There was something very strange about this whole trip.

Michael went back in his memory for any survival skills he had read about. The trouble was, they were on a sandstone rock high on a mesa. The part about sucking cactus and other things just didn’t fit these conditions.

Michael had cut down both his water intake and food intake, but he realized that when he died Maria would have no one to help her. He had to maintain some strength or she would be totally alone. Michael had had many thoughts of ending his life and hers, also. It wasn’t cowardice, Michael just couldn’t bare to think of Maria suffering. He was sure that he didn’t want to live if she didn’t. Michael hoped that they weren’t far off their flight path. That turbulence still bothered him.


Kyle and Tess in Las Vegas:
Kyle and Tess arrived in Las Vegas the next day. They had a room in the same hotel that the Guerins and Isabel had stayed at. They dressed like Tess thought High rollers would.

Kyle griped the whole time. He hated dressing like this and he wasn’t sure he liked the men ogling his wife. They talked to as many as they could, pretending to be people working for the music industry. Whenever they could Kyle would move the conversation to the woman who was with the Guerins. Every one was polite but they were uninformative.

After a whole day of polite talk and no information Kyle informed Tess that night, “Look the Others may be really smart but they don’t know shit about interrogating maggots. These pretty people are just like squirrels. They are nothing but rats in pretty clothes. You stay in tomorrow and let me do things my way.”

The next day Kyle was dressed in comfortable walking shoes. He was wearing a worn pair of levies and tee shirt. Over this he wore a corduroy jacket. He didn’t shave that morning and he didn’t bother combing his hair.

He went to a bank out side the casino. He changed a thousand dollars into tens and twenties with a few hundred dollar bills thrown in. He made several bank rolls, putting a one hundred dollar bill on the out side of every roll. He returned to their room and left half the rolls with Tess.

Kyle went to the craps table. He bought a hundred dollars worth of chips pealing the hundred dollar bill off the roll without letting anyone see what was underneath. Kyle went from table to table playing a few times and then moving on.

Kyle was sitting at a bar drinking a beer. He took out a picture of Isabel and spoke to the bartender. “I am seeking my sister. She was here four days ago. Have you ever seen her?”

The bartender just shook his head no, without even looking at the picture. Kyle left the picture on the bar and was deep in thought. He saw another bartender looking at him. Kyle took out two twenties. He put them on the bar.

The second bartender came over and carefully pocketed the twenties. I saw that woman. “If she is your sister she got all the looks and you got what was left in the rubber. She, for days, sat around the slots like she was bored. She would win a bit and then she would loose it all just as fast.”

The bartender went on, “There was this real good looking dude who came up to her. I thought it must be her husband or something. She, from then on, was all smiles. That was funny. If he wasn’t her husband, she had turned down dozens of other men trying to pick her up during the days she spent just sitting. Was she just waiting for him?”

Kyle added another twenty and thanked the man. Well, that is one bit we didn’t know. Then he began to watch the bell boys. There was a room where they put on their uniforms. It was off limits to the public, but Kyle had broken so many laws being on the Drug Enforcement Agency that this rule didn’t bother him.

Kyle walked in and before they could tell him to leave, he drew out a hundred dollar bill. Holding the bill in one hand and the picture of Isabel in the other he asked, “Does anyone know anything about this woman? One bell boy stood up. He was dressed just in his shorts. He reached for the bill and said, “Yeah, I seen her.”

Kyle deftly moved the bill from his reach, “First, where did you see her and what was she doing?”

“She was hot to fuck some big older dude. She was holding on to his arm and they were going to his room.
“Did this older dude have a name?” Kyle asked.

“Yeah, I took some drinks to their room later and he signed. A Vicente Degrasse, I think.” This time Kyle released the bill.

As he started to walk out, “There will be more to anyone who has more good information,” and Kyle left.

He phoned Farmington immediately on getting back to his room. “Mary, how is Alex? Do you think he can talk all right? Okay put him on.”

“Kyle,where the hell are you and what do you have?” Alex was way too excited or, maybe, just anxious.

“Look, Alex, there is something else going on, Max thinks it is alien. I need to see the casino tapes for the last day Isabel was here. You have to find someone here who can make it happen. I need to see them with Tess. I couldn’t recognize an alien unless it was wearing green, but you can bet your farm that she can,” Kyle was trying to explain.

“Alien be damned, what about where the plane went down? What are you doing to find that out? Look, I am going to fly there, tonight.” Alex was so upset that he couldn’t talk or think straight.

“Yeah, right, Alex and when we need fast mobilization of the military or someone, just who is going to do it? Look, Alex, we are doing the best we can. We feel that we need to know who this man who was seen, with Isabel is. We need to know if he had anything to do with her wreck. Right now, you can get off your butt, wipe your eyes and get Tess and me into see those damned tapes.” Kyle was hoping he could shock Alex into remembering he was a police officer and to act accordingly. Kyle doubted if he would have been able to, if something had happened to Tess.

it took the rest of the day. Alex had to call in favors personal and professional. He, finally, did convince the Las Vegas police to take Kyle and Tess in to see the tapes for the last day Isabel was in the casino.

It took Tess only one glimpse. She pointed to the man and whispered something to Kyle. “Could you make me a print of that man?” Kyle asked.

The casino people frowned, but at the nod of the Las Vegas Police they complied. “I would like some information about him, if you could?”

Again, after the Las Vegas police nodded they made a note. Kyle and Tess saw the last tape. They watched approaching the hall camera, a laughing smiling Isabel holding on to the older man, “like she was dying to fuck him.”

By the time they were ready to leave, the Las Vegas police handed him a folder. Vicente Degrasse, there followed a credit report and a few other remarks. There was nothing really strong. Kyle had a friend in the FBI who had worked with him a few times. Kyle arranged to see him before he left. He handed the folder to the agent. “Can you check this man out as a terrorist?”

“Is this official or unofficial?” the agent asked.

Kyle looked at him. “If you find out anything, make it official, but if he is clean, make it as a favor to a friend whose daughter just ran away.”

The agent snickered. He well knew that Kyle’s daughter would start the first grade next year.

Kyle booked tickets on the flight back to Farmington. All they told Alex was that Isabel had been seen with a man who was most probably, an alien.

The news was also related to Max, along with a fax picture of Vicente to the Teec Nos Pos police agency, care of Lieutenant Otis Begay.

[ken_r]

begonia 9508
Chapter 6

Liz and Max:
The night at Kayenta was beautiful. The stars twinkled so brightly it looked as if you could reach out and touch them. They walked for some time. Hector was enjoying the feast of smells from this strange place. Now, the man Liz had seen when she was as Isabel, had a name. Liz shivered as she thought of how strong his attraction was. If he was strong enough to break the conditioning of Isabel he would be dangerous indeed.

Liz held on to Max. He sensed that she was disturbed, but there was no way Max could understand how upset she actually was. Liz had feelings aroused that she didn’t even think she had. Liz could just imagined how bad it had been for Isabel. When they got back to the motel and Hector was settled for the night, Liz was still not letting go of Max.

Max cradled her in his arms. She was crying. “Oh Max, I just think what Isabel is going through. She can’t help it. That man has so much power. He can demand anything and a woman will just do it. That is why the Others were so insistent that Alex be forgiving. Now, will Isabel be able to forgive herself?”

Max made very slow love to Liz that night. She needed to get many things out of her mind. It was long after he could feel Liz go limp as she fell asleep in his arms before Max himself could find rest.

The sun shone brightly through the windows. Liz opened her eyes. They opened to the bright vision of the desert outside and not the glowing eyes of the man who had haunted her mind the whole night.

Hector ran outside. They could hear him barking so as soon as they were dressed, they walked over to see what he had found. It was a dung or stink beetle. Hector would nudge it with his nose. The beetle would secrete a foul smelling substance. Liz felt that they were nudging a stink beetle and they were getting a foul substance on their noses. What had happened to Isabel?

Hector took up residence in the shade in front of the restaurant where they ate breakfast. They went to the trading post and asked to speak to the manager.

Old Man Youngblood had been trading since he got out of the war. Trouble was, if you asked him what war he would answer, “The civil war you fool.” He had already heard about the reward and the desperate need to find the plane. He and Max talked a few minutes. Then, the good reverend came in. “Hey Harvey did you save any one today?”

Harvey smiled and replied, “Every day they don’t die, they are saved. He said good morning to Liz and nodded to Max. Then, he turned to the trader. “Has Joe Horsestealer come in yet.” The trader nodded and pointed to a tree out back. Under the tree, were several men sitting and talking.

“He is probably the man to talk to,” the trader added.

Harvey led the way. The men stood as they approached. Harvey spoke in Navajo. “This woman is a good woman. Years ago she brought groceries and water to those who needed it. She was known as a friend to the Dene. Now she needs help.”

Liz could not follow Harvey at all. One man stepped forward. He extended his hand and he barely touch her extended hand as was his habit. Liz knew that the arm wrestling handshake of the Anglo was not seen as polite with the Navajo. It was trust in Harvey that he offered his hand anyway. Harvey was telling them that Liz was a good person and brought no evil.

Harvey went on making grand gestures. From time to time he would turn to pat Liz’s shoulder as he kept looking at the man who Liz surmised was Joe Horsestealer.

Finally, Harvey finished and Horsestealer, again, shook hands in his manner all around. They walked back to the trading post. Liz and Max bought a soda. She had to laugh because, obviously, strawberry soda was the favorite out here. Almost all the cans in the cooler were strawberry.

Again they thanked Harvey and the trader. As they left, Liz could hear them in deep theological discussion. She imagined that was the sole entertainment out here. They drove back to Teec Nos Pos to talk to Otis Begay.

Michael and Maria at the wrecked plane:
When Michael woke up, he saw that there was only one more water bottle. He was very worried. He really didn’t know what to do. On sitting up though he found a ceramic jar. It was sweating and filled with water. Beside the jar was a bowl of ground corn.

Michael looked around. He shouted, “Come out, we need help.” All he succeeded in doing was to awaken Maria whose lips were so parched she could barely talk. Michael tasted the water. It was cool. The sweating through the pores of the ceramic was a natural way to keep it that way.

Michael lifted Maria and slowly put a little water to her lips. She almost greedily tried to reach for it. Michael pulled it away. He gave her just a little at a time. He tried a little of the corn. It was good. It seemed to have some sort of sweetening with it. After Maria had drank a little more water Michael held a little corn meal to her mouth. At first, she spit it out. Then, as she tasted it, she began to want more. Something warned Michael and, like with the water, he only gave her a little bit. In an hour or two, Michael began to feel full. The corn had swollen in the water so that he felt like they had had the first full meal since they crashed. Maria was even able to smile a bit.

Maria drank more water and they managed to hobble away from camp to go to the bathroom. Their dehydration and their pain had made bodily functions difficult the first days.

Michael felt stronger so he worked on Maria’s back. Then he applied himself to his own knee. They even felt well enough to talk a little. For the last few days, they hadn’t said a thing to each other. “Where did Isabel get off to,” Michael asked.

“Michael, I have a vague memory of after the crash of seeing her just walk off. She didn’t seem to be hurt.” Maria was worried that, maybe, she had been delirious at the time when she remembered seeing Isabel. “What are we going to do?” Maria added.

“Well, someone knows where we are. They left the food and water. Maybe, they will notify someone else of our plight.” Michael was trying to be optimistic.

A couple hours later, Maria managed to turn over and look at Michael. “What happened to the plane?”

Michael shook his head. “It just went down and it didn’t go down like it should have. We should never have survived that crash. If, as you say, Isabel was able to walk away, that should have never happened either.”

Max and Liz:
Back at Teec Nos Pos, Hector was curled up under the desk. Otis had handed Liz the picture of Vicente Degresse. She was still shuddering. Otis was watching her. “If you were Dene, I would say you need a sing. Your spirit is not on the path it should be.”

Liz looked up, “I need something to cleanse me of that man.”

“You know him?” Otis asked.

“Yes, no, not personally, but I know what he is and what he is able to do. He is truly an evil man,” she explained.

Isabel within herself:
Isabel sat in the plane. She could hear the chatter between Michael and Maria. Last night kept going over and over in her mind. Vicente had sat there and watched as she slowly removed her clothes like a show girl.

Isabel searched her mind. No, there wasn’t a shred of concern about Alex. Before she met Alex, she was permitted by her conditioning to date and if chance occurred, she would sleep with her date. During this time, she strongly held her body with the ability to not get pregnant.

Isabel had watched Tess. Tess was a tease and she tormented her would be lovers to the point that they almost became dangerous. Tess always knew when one of her admirers was going to flip over her and just before he did, she melted in his arms and treated him to a bliss he couldn’t forget.

Usually when he returned for another round, he found Tess unavailable. Tess wanted the fun of sex, but she, like the other engineered aliens, was really seeking that one who would be mated with her for life.

Isabel just couldn’t be that abandoned. If the man she was with excited her, yes, she would let him spend the night. When a man wanted to become possessive, Isabel would, like Tess, be unavailable. Sex for Isabel, at that time, was a mutually accepted thing.

With Vicente, he just sat there doing nothing. Isabel was throwing herself at him. She was debasing herself in every way. When he stood, she attacked his belt and shirt. He just stood and smiled that little, ‘I know all about you smile.’ Naked, she embraced him. When he was undressed, she flopped over in the bed and he attacked her. She, not only allowed him to do this, but inside her mind, Isabel reveled in his fierce attacks. There was no Alex, no Max, no Isabel, only the animal who was mating in pain with Vicente.

If Michael had seen her body that morning, he would have been aghast. She was bruised and cut. Her bed clothes were covered in blood from her body after she had come back. She never gave any thought that Vicente had been so careful to not touch her face or any other place where it would show. Nor had she thought of the fact that she had done nothing to heal her scratches and bruises.

When Michael had come to her room that morning, Isabel was even feeling superior to him. Poor male who would never know the joy of the wanton behavior she had experienced last night. It wasn’t until Michael mentioned the Others, that her excitement abated. All of the humans had an interview with the Others at least once a year. During the drug smuggling and resulting war, it seemed that the Others were consulting the engineered ones along with the humans almost every day.

Michael was right. The minute the others prepared her for an interview, they would know about her breaking her conditioning. Isabel had several irrational fears. She was a manufactured person. Would the Others decide that she was defective and just replace her?

Maybe they would kill off the old Isabel, use her parts and make a new, more compliant one. Would they consult with Alex and ask him what accessories he would like made into the new model. Would all the hopes and dreams she had, her love for her daughter, be transferred to the new model? What was not used in the new Isabel, just be taken to the scrap heap or more correctly the place where they destroyed medical waste? Isabel was being unreasonable.

Isabel’s mind was completely undone. It was then that she heard, “Bring the plane down Isabel. Bring the plane down.”

Did someone want her to kill all of them? Bring the plane down meant a crash.

“Bring the plane down.” Isabel closed her eyes and the plane dropped like a rock. She opened them and Michael got control once more and was climbing again.

“Bring the plane down, Isabel. Do it now. If they get you to the aliens, you will be destroyed because you are defective.” This time, Isabel shut off the instruments. It took several times because she really didn’t know how a plane worked.

Isabel loved Michael like a brother. She had enjoyed having Maria in their group so much and now, she must kill them. She pointed the plane at a mesa top. She just allowed it to dive out of control. Then, at the last minute, she remembered how strong Liz was. Liz, who finally came to Max without giving up any of her individuality. Liz, who even though human, was chosen as the queen by the Aliens. Liz, who loved Maria so much all of her life. Would Liz have let anyone take over her mind and body like she, Isabel had just done? No, Isabel wasn’t about to kill all of them.

Just as the plane was about to dive into the rocky mesa top, Isabel suspended time. She had no idea how she did it. At the last minute, Isabel did not allow the plane to dive into the rock. She just allowed the plane to drop high enough so that it crushed itself.

Michael and Maria were hurt, but they would be found soon. The radio beacon would go off and helicopters would be there in minutes to save them. Isabel unbuckled herself and on very unsteady legs, she proceeded to exit the plane. That Vicente was there to meet her, was no surprise. She did not see that he caused a small rockslide to cover the plane so it couldn’t be seen from the air or the fact that he disabled the beacon in the tail section of the plane.
----------------------------
The first two of eventually four stories
Liz of the Desert
Smugglers of Antar

[ken_r]

begonia9508 i do not understand why some men seem to have such powers over women.

Chapter 7

Max and Liz:
There was a small motel at Teec Nos Pos. Nothing like the accommodations they had at Kayenta, but not as expensive either. The motel was for government people in the Navajo Nation to have a place to stay in the rare times they found themselves in this place.

They called Farmington. Kyle was the first to have news. They had identified Degrasse and he was a suspected serial killer. Kyle said Tess wasn’t satisfied. She still felt that he was alien. The FBI had taken over the investigation at the casino. Yes, the FAA was giving up the search. They had no leads solid or otherwise.

Alex was falling apart. Mary and Bernadette wanted to stay a while to be near their men if they got a break during the search. The news, as far as the police were concerned, was that the escapees were for sure in the four corners area, probably in the canyon area. One of them, a Simon Raufhausen, had spent a lot of time there in his youth. Kyle rang off with the warning to be careful in the back country.

Michael and Maria:
Michael woke up. The morning light was upon him. As far as he could see, were cliffs and canyons. He noticed that on the rocky point where they were located, there was sparse vegetation, but further back away from the point, there was scrub pinõn and sage at the foot of another cliff.

Sure enough, there was a fresh jug of cool water and a bowl of that corn meal. Maria woke up. For the first time, she didn’t moan. She could walk a little so she went to the edge of the clearing her self to take care of necessities. When she returned, she lay on her stomach and Michael tried and tried to put healing powers in her back. He managed to work a little on his knees and after that, they felt a lot better.

Michael only wished, he could find the mysterious person who left the supplies. He would just like to talk to someone about their plight. He hobbled over and surveyed the wreckage. The plane was in remarkable condition. It was crushed and the airframe would never fly again, but the plane should have been just a ball of crumpled metal with three bodies inside. It was strange how the whole thing was covered with several inches of dirt and mud.

Michael was sure that it could not be seen from the air. He proceeded to the tail section and examined the beacon. It was fused like a high voltage spark had gone through it. Well, so much for help that way. The plane didn’t land. It just plopped. There were no scars where it would have been slowed by friction with the rocks and dirt.

Michael ventured a little further from the wreckage. He saw a sight that chilled him. There in the dirt where the wind and weather hadn’t rubbed it out was a dainty print of a woman’s high heel and beside it was a print of a man’s shoe. Shoe, not a boot or walking shoe, but a man’s dress shoe. In Michael’s mind, it was the shoe of the man Vicente.

Escapees:
Don’t let anyone tell you a prison is a place of punishment, a place of rehabilitation or anything else. Prisons were invented for one reason. They were places to hold men until they could be executed. Now, we try to use them differently and sometimes, the result of this is very bad. Of the four men Simon Raufhausen was the worst.

Simon had been incarcerated for murder. He didn’t deny it or in any way excuse it. He killed because men had been in his way. His first murder was when he was a teen.

Simon had been in a school in a small town in southern Utah. There was a girl. She was very pretty and Raufhausen wanted her. She had three brothers. She was a nice girl and everyone liked her. This irritated Simon. Why should she be nice to anyone? She existed for one purpose only. She existed for the pleasure of Simon.

Simon stopped her one evening. Simon had no pickup line. He had no sophistication. He was just crude. He grabbed her and was pulling her into the trees. She started screaming. Her brothers weren’t far away.

When they came upon Simon, he was ripping her clothes off. Simon didn’t try to kiss her or anything. He just was tearing everything off. The beating the brothers gave him put him in the hospital. The poor girl was so afraid that she wouldn’t walk to school unless her brothers went with her.

When Simon got out of the hospital all he could think of was killing the brothers. He waited until he found the oldest one alone. He attacked him with a baseball bat. He was brutal in his first murder. Everyone in town knew who did it. When they caught him, he didn’t even deny his action. He was to be tried as an adult for murder one.

There was a woman in town. She knew about Simon’s plight. She had more money than brains, so she defended him. She got him tried as a minor and he got four years in juvenile prison. When he got out, Simon had only one lust. He wanted to kill again.

Robberies were perpetrated and every time if there was anyone there, Simon would try to kill. He lived more for the killing than the gain he got from the robbery. This time, he was up for murder one and there were no silly ladies. He received the death penalty. The Governor of New Mexico where his trial occurred, was a religious man who didn’t believe in the death penalty. He commuted Simon to life in prison, life without parole.

Jace Chavez was never right in the head. It was never known if there was some trauma in his youth or he was born that way. He wasn’t like Simon. Where Simon liked to kill, Jace just didn’t care. Because he wasn’t very smart, he was convinced by those around him, to be the point man in a liquor store robbery. As they were collecting the money, a car outside backfired. Jace just started firing.

At his trial, it was shown that he had no idea of what he was doing. He had killed a man during a robbery and the judge, rightly felt, that he was not a safe man to have on the streets. There had been argument that Jace should have been declared insane and sent to an institution. There were still appeals on that one. The Judge felt that Jace belonged where he couldn’t ever hurt anyone again. He was given 40 years. He never showed any emotion when sentenced. It was doubtful that he even understood.

Sammy Green was terribly scarred when he was a child. He had pulled on a pot handle, in which there was a simmering stew, on the stove. The result was he always had a scary appearance. He was, in fact, a very gentle person.

He was hitchhiking when he was in his twenties. The men in the car were all drinking. Sammy didn’t drink, but he did want a ride. They pulled up to an all night convenience store. All the men went in. It probably was unplanned. One man pulled a gun and demanded the clerk give him the money.

Sammy didn’t want anything to do with the robbery but he was with the men. When asked for descriptions, the clerk could only remember Sammy’s scars. He was given 20 years.

Arthur Valasquez came from a good family. He got into drugs. From there, he was into petty burglary. The more he stole, the more he used. The more he used, the more he had to steal. His Habit was running away with itself. As his need grew, he grew more bold in his thefts. Soon, he was boosting purses from women at the mall. Then, he got a gun and was actually robbing people at gun point. It was inevitable that111 he finally killed a man during his robbery. He got 40 years.

These were the four men who broke out of prison together. They didn’t plan the break out; it just happened. Prisons are built with redundant systems. If one fails, there are several more to protect the public from the inmates. After all, the systems are just mechanical. A small part of it failed totally. All the redundancy didn’t do any good and the authorities would debate the cause for years to come.

When the system failed, four men, by chance, were able to make their way out. They hijacked a car and hid the drivers body in a ditch. It was several days before he was discovered. By the time the road blocks had been set up, the four men were near the Colorado border.

Simon, being the meanest, became the leader because the other three were afraid of him. Simon only knew to head for the canyon lands where he grew up as a kid.

The others would have preferred to go to a city, especially Arthur. He badly wanted to score some drugs. Simon felt he needed the others and he made it clear that they would stay together, no matter what.

Timmy Yazzie:
Timmy Yazzie had been tending sheep for two years. He was twelve and he felt he was on his way to becoming a man. A little below the Utah border, his mother had a grazing permit. There was a flooded plain on which the grass grew. If there was danger of rains, it would be up to Timmy and his two dogs to push the sheep to higher ground, but this wasn’t the time of the year for rains, so he felt he was pretty safe.

Timmy wasn’t afraid. He had his father’s 30/30 and his dogs were very good. Occasionally, a coyote would come near, but the dogs had a way of acting that warned Timmy. He would set out to catch the yodel pup. He had three skins drying stretched against pinõn tree trunks. His family were all proud of him.

Not only was he a good hand at home, Timmy was doing very well at school. He had seen the plane go down that day. A plane crash was bad and he would mention it when his father and brothers brought his supplies this week. He had seen one crash a long time ago. People seldom survived a crash.

Timmy had seen a spike buck. It was small, but it would be good to add to his fare of ground corn and honey mixture. When his father came, he would bring some fry bread and other things, but they didn’t last long. If Timmy didn’t eat them right up, they would usually spoil.

Now, some deer meat could be dried and would last a long time. Timmy had trailed the small buck to a mesa top. From the mesa top he could look down on another mesa and there was the plane. Timmy guessed it was the plane. It was all covered with dirt. There were two bodies lying near it. Timmy watched and saw one of them move. His young sharp eyes saw several plastic water bottles. All but two were lying on their side. The people were obviously hurt and they were running out of water.

Timmy’s first thought was to go back and forget the whole thing. He was taught to not meddle in things he didn’t understand. Then, he remembered the man who always preached the Jesus way. He claimed you should always help others. Timmy didn’t follow the Jesus path, but maybe, he should give some aid to these people. At least, until his family came in a few days. They would know what to do.

Timmy went back to camp and found an extra water jar. He took this and a skin bag of water. That night he crept up and left the filled water jar and also, a bowl of ground corn and honey.

The next day, he went back to the mesa to check and he saw the people moving around. So, he kept repeating this every night doing the same thing. They seemed much better now. His family would be there tomorrow and they would know what to do. He, especially hoped his grandfather Horsestealer would be with them.

Max and Liz:
Accommodations would have been better at Kayenta, but Max and Liz wanted to stay near the Teec Nos Pos police station in case there was some news.

Hector was getting all the attention he could. Several of the officers would play fetch with him when they had a few minutes time. They were all calling him, “What the Heck” so Liz decided to just give up. They waited. There just wasn’t anything else that she and Max could do.

Kyle at Farmington:
Kyle was pursuing everything he could on Vicente Degrasse. He was reading the file that his friend had produced for him. Vicente would kill. Then he would disappear for a few years. Then he would return to kill again. His victims were invariably women. He had killed two men, but that was in escaping form pursuit.

Vicente had a juvenile history and that precluded Tess’s theory that he had to be alien. Unless someone had created and deserted another alien like Max and Michael, that didn’t make sense. Max and Michael were too carefully manufactured to their ethical standards. Michael had killed. He killed two men who had intended to kill Liz when they all first met. Both Michael and Max had been using pretty strong power blast when they were fighting the dope smugglers. These could all be judged by a standard of ethics. There was nothing like this in Vicente’s actions. Kyle made a note to ask the others if an engineered alien could be made who had no ethics.

According to the file, Vicente was in his fifties. Kyle carefully studied the early life of the man. He found a list of random killings, most for no reason. It wasn’t until he was about 35 that he saw the sporadic high profile killings of just women. Kyle was on to an idea. He needed to talk to an expert on serial killings. He made contact with his FBI friend. They made an appointment to talk to a profiler, a man who figured the characteristics of a criminal from his actions. Kyle’s friend in Las Vegas arranged for him to, unofficially, meet the man. He would have to fly to Denver to do it.

Edwardo Espinsoa had more letters after his name than he could remember off hand. He held degrees in both psychology and psychiatry. He had been a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Now retired, he was living in Denver. His interests and papers written about abnormal Psychology had brought him to the attention of the FBI. He had access to their crime computer and he was continually updating his data base on the profiles of serial criminals.

He had been asked to talk to Kyle by a mutual acquaintance from the FBI. This was unusual, but he felt he could accommodate Kyle. Kyle laid out the file and soon, Edwardo had the information up on his machine. Kyle’s request was strange. “Start from the time Vicente was 35. Now, look at the profile before that time. Look for methods, locations and other things that caused you to tie those crimes to Vicente. Now, look at unsolved murders at later dates, murders that had not been assigned to any one else. Would any of these crimes match the pattern you have already seen in Vicenti when he was young? The high profile crimes all have an element where Vicente drew attention to himself. You have the earlier crimes believed to belong to Vicente. You have the later crimes that match the earlier ones. Now look at the times after he was 35 and see how the list matches with the ones we already know.

What they found was a continous list of rather random crimes that all were like what Vicenti had done in his youth. In intervals, though, you had the high profiled crimes always against women, where he bragged or in some way attracted attention to himself. The crimes that the FBI had found to be those where the press would be notified and the crimes against important women that they had in some way, tied to Vicente fit in the spaces between the types of crimes that Vicente had done all this life.

There it was. Even though, Edwardo didn’t understand what Kyle was getting at, he could see what the results of Kyle’s quest had presented. The groups of lesser murders coincided exactly with the intervals between the high profile cases that had been ascribed to him.

Edwardo was normally a calm man who studied violent behavior. “Holy shit. Are we dealing with multiple personalities where each personality is a serial killer in its own right?” This would make a paper that could be read in many conventions.

Kyle grimaced, “Yeah, something like that. See there is a profile of the murders of women and another complete separate one that is just like Vicente in his younger days.”

“Yes, those murders which are hidden just like you would expect and the high profile ones involving women where the killer is trying to draw attention to himself. Clearly, two different personalities controlling the actions of the killer.” Edwardo was lost in thought.

Kyle noticed that one of the intervals was when the war against the smugglers was heating up. A general would need to be at the head of his troops at that time and couldn’t be voyeuristically traveling on Earth. After the supposedly defeat of the generals, the high profiled killings had, again, appeared. Kyle now knew who Vicente, or the person possessing Vicente, was.

Timmy Yazzie:
It was late when Timmy’s family arrived at the sheep camp. They unloaded their supplies and his father and grandfather surveyed the condition of the sheep. They both admired the coyote skins hanging on the tree. The skins were taken in the summer time so the fur had little value, but they were testimony to the maturity that Timmy was showing in taking care of the sheep. They sat to eat supper. Timmy waited until he felt it correct to mention the plane. To his surprise, both his father and grandfather were interested. He told of the two people who were alive and to whom he had been taking water and food. Both of the adults nodded. Timmy had acted correctly in their way of thinking. He had assisted the two people, but he had kept his distance until he had some one to talk to. It was no surprise to Timmy that they didn’t question him about his sighting. He was a man and men made sure of things before they told others. Both men would go back early tomorrow. They would talk to that nosey policeman and see about the reward. This might get Timmy into college.

Timmy almost got caught that night. He had just left the water and corn when Michael woke or, maybe, he had never been asleep. “Hey, we need help. We need you to send word to someone who can come and get us.” Michael called, but Timmy was back in the trees and Michael was too hurt to follow.

[ken_r]

begonia9508

Chapter 8


Max and Liz:
It seemed that they had just gotten to sleep when the banging on their door was heard. “Hey Evans, open up. Maybe, we found the plane.”

Max was out of bed in one bound. He didn’t even think of grabbing his robe. He opened the door to a sleepy faced Otis Begay. “You are to meet Thomas Charlie at the trading post at daylight. We need your truck so make sure it is gassed up. I will leave word at the gas station that you will be by.”

Otis had been roused from bed himself so he returned to try to finish his repast. Max and Liz couldn’t go back to sleep. This was the break they had been hoping for. They didn’t call Farmington because if it didn’t pan out, they didn’t want to raise false hopes.

They left very early. They could just see the pink of dawn breaking when they drove into Kayenta. Thomas Charlie was already there. He was not in uniform, but rather, was wearing levies and a denim shirt. Beside him, Liz saw the older man, Joe Horsestealer. Again, they all shook hands Navajo style.

“Joe has a grandson. He is tending sheep back in the canyons. The grandson claims to have seen the plane. He claims that there are survivors. I can’t call in help until we verify this. If you are willing, we can drive back a ways and then we can walk the rest of the way. My squad car can’t make it. Rather than getting another truck out of the agency, I was hoping we could use your truck.” Thomas explained.

Max nodded his head, “We have gas, water and food. Liz is very experienced at driving in back country so if I get stuck, she will get us out.”

Thomas placed his cased shotgun from his car into the cab of the truck. He looked at them, “The escapees have been seen somewhere in the canyon lands. I do not think they will bother us where we are going, but I want to be safe.”

Liz was careful not to mention that she had her Glock in her bag. Before, many years ago, they allowed her to carry it because she was a woman alone. But now, it was strictly illegal and she didn’t want to cause trouble. Max turned on the GPS system the minute they left. To men like Thomas Charley and Joe Horsestealer, these roads were as clear as city streets. To a stranger, the many miles of road could be traveled for years and they would never find their way out. He and Liz were, also, carrying personal GPS systems, but their value in this country would have to be seen.

For a long time, Liz was reminded of the years long gone by. The tall sandstone cliffs rose above the arroyo bottoms they used as roads. They were stripped with rose, orange and shades of white, all giving the history of this area when it was the floor of an ocean. Out of the arroyo, there was rubble piled up against the cliff. Rocks had broken off the cliff itself and some that had been pushed there in long forgotten floods.

Scrub pinõn and juniper grew back against the cliff. Some places, they would see little trees rooted in blown soil caught in the cracks, their roots adding to the cracking of the cliff stone. As they proceeded, she saw basalt cliffs, which told of ancient volcanic activity. She instinctively watched for ways to get out of the arroyo if they sensed any indication of rain. She knew that the rain could be miles away and the first indication would be a ten-foot wall of water that nothing could withstand. It was afternoon when Joe motioned to Thomas. Thomas directed them to turn out of the arroyo. They climbed out of the canyon area onto a slope. The slope had collected sand and there was vegetation growing in it. Liz noticed that the grass was better here and she correctly surmised that the sheep camp was near.

Any semblance of a trail was now gone. The distance between the arroyo and hills on either side had widened. There were faint tracks back to the trees, and Max followed them. As they approached the line of trees, Liz could see the white shapes of the sheep resting in the shade. A small boy came out carrying a very big rifle. When he saw Joe Horsestealer, he stopped. “That is Joe’s grandson. He is the one who knows where the plane is,” Thomas explained.

They all got out of the truck and the boy, just like the adult he considered himself to be shook hands Navajo style. He talked to his grandfather in Navajo and Liz wasn’t able to follow any of it. Then, he turned to her and said, “Grandfather says you used to be a real friend to the people. He says I should do this in spirit of friendship, but I really could use the reward if it is all the same to you.”

Liz smiled, “Tim if you can show us the plane, the money will be in your account in a matter of days. Timmy tucked the rifle under his arm. He pointed the direction they were to go with his pursed lips and chin. The three of them started off in the direction he had indicated. Joe Horsestealer would stay with the sheep. It wasn’t far, but the altitude was high. Liz thought she was in condition, but jogging the streets of Farmington was not the same as climbing through sage bush and juniper up this slope.

They finally came out on the edge of a cliff. Below them, they could see several hundred yards away a mound of dirt and sage. They could see two people moving around. They were alive but they weren’t exactly running around. Max turned to Thomas. “How do we arrange for help?”

“That is a problem. These cliffs are full of minerals. The frequency that allows us to hook up with all the other police agencies just won’t work back here. We will have to drive back to get out of these lands and radio for help. I have my portable back in your truck, but we will have to drive until it is able to get a signal out.” Thomas was explaning.

Max turned to Liz, “Drive the truck and every one back to Kayenta. If you have any trouble, you might have to get Alex to kick someone in the butt. Try to get a chopper here before night fall.” Max shouldered his pack. Liz had seen him fill it with medical supplies and food. He was, also, carrying a water bladder built into the pack. Liz knew that Max wanted to get to the survivors as fast as he could to start healing them before he was under the eyes of authorities. Timmy pointed out to Max the trail to get to the plane. Then, everyone else turned and walked back to the truck.

Michael and Maria:
Michael had the water that was delivered last night. He was getting tired of the corn meal, but that was all they had. He had almost caught the messenger, but Maria asked him to quit trying. “Michael, what if you scare him or her away?” Leave it to Maria to imply feminism, even in this crisis.

It was bothering Michael that he no longer had any idea of how long they had been there. First of all, he had no idea of how long they had been unconscious the first days. Then, somewhere the days had started to run together. The same buzzard was circling or was that yesterday? Michael couldn’t tell if things happened yesterday or maybe, a week ago. He and Maria had run out of things to talk about. Nothing new happened and they both were present when the nothing new happened or didn’t happen. Michael just couldn’t be sure.

They had removed all they could from the wreck of the plane. He still had no idea of why it went down. And when it went down, why did they survive? Where was Isabel? Was she even on the plane with them? Maybe they, in anger, they had left her still in Las Vegas. Yes, in Las Vegas with that boyfriend she was whoring with.

Somewhere in Michael’s mind, there was someone called Janis. Now who was she? He, then, had a slight vision of holding a baby. He had a sense of pride. He had no history because he had been manufactured, but now, he had a future. Yes, his daughter Janis was a future, if Isabel didn’t completely break it up. They weren’t supposed to be able to be unfaithful. Michael could understand humans and their fragile relationships, but he wasn’t human and the trade off was supposed to be a promise of fidelity. Michael was getting a headache again just trying to resolve this matter.

Maria was tired of seeing Michael knocking himself out with a problem he couldn’t solve because he couldn’t understand it. She had always imagined herself like her mother, divorced and shopping for another man. It was something out of a novel when she was introduced to the alien and their concepts on love.

She had a daughter who she felt she could promise a stable home, not like the one Maria had grown up in. At one time, Maria remembered that she stated she didn’t want any children. Who would bring up a child with no support like she had been raised. That she had a man who devoted his life to her passions was a surprise to her. In her dating life, which Liz had been so critical of, she had not found many men who would give importance to her music and writing like Michael had.

She just couldn’t see how Liz could be critical of her. Liz had gone from one man to the next, none of them being good enough. Then, she had met the aliens. Maria, by this time, had already made up her mind that her life would always be with the aliens.

If they both died here, who would raise Janis? Maria already knew the answer. Liz would rise to the occasion and she would love Janis like she loved her own children. But Maria wouldn’t be there to see what paths Janis chose.

Then, Maria, in her mind, turned to Isabel. She always felt that Isabel was a friend. True, she could be cold, but that was when you didn’t know her. If what Michael said was true, none of them ever knew Isabel. Was she a curse who would break apart the aliens and humans? How could she just walk away from the crash? How could she just walk away from Alex?
Michael said, over and over, no one could or should survive this wreck.

Maria remembered some story where a man was hanged. Owl creek or something like that. He relieved his whole life and then, just when he thought he had a future, he felt the rope of the hangman. Was that what they were to do? When they looked like they would have a future, would they feel the torture and tearing of their bodies as the plane ground to a stop? She almost fainted in a scream when she heard Max.

“Hi, Michael, Maria, can I help you?” Max’s cheerful voice made Maria reach for her throat. There was no rope found there. She ran her hands over her body and there was no blood. When she was sure she was still alive, she opened her arms to embrace him. They were saved.

Author’s note”
Incident at the “Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce is a story written in the 1800s. Many high school students are assigned to read it. Men are to be hanged during the Civil War. The man in story is pushed off the bridge and he falls into the stream. He runs toward his home and as his wife is running out to greet him, the rope snaps his neck and it was all a flash back as he died. I hated the story, but Maria remembers it as Max appears to save her. She searches to see if she is really alive.

Author note #2
Other authors discuss the fact that many Navajo do not like to touch strangers. I do not dispute this but the people I met in my youth when introduced would, much like the Hispanics of the area, just extend their hands for a light touch. I was always introduced to people who were close to my Uncles.

Pointing with your lips. Different cultures seem to have different ways of pointing to a certain direction. Many of the Native American cultures point with their lips pursed as in a kiss or by jutting their chins to indicate direction. Other people might tilt there heads or using their elbows. We had a very interesting discussion on this topic when I was in college.
---------------------
Liz of the Desert
Smugglers of Antar

[ken_r]

Begonia9508 At my time of life, travel is mainly a dream for me also.

Chapter 9

Max, Michael and Maria:
“You old dog, you,” Michael was clapping Max on the back. There were tears running down his face, also. Max knelt beside Maria so she could cling to him also. There were many minutes before words could again, take on meaning. Both Michael and Maria felt that now they had a chance.

“First, I need to get you fixed up as much as I can. Then, we can think of a way to explain why you are not hurt,” Max stated as he began to put his hands on Maria’s body.

“Ain’t gonna happen, Maxwell,” Michael said.

Max looked at him, “Why Michael?”

“Max, look at the plane there isn’t any way to Sunday that you can explain a wreck like that. If it was a chopper, maybe, but that plane just dropped from a few feet to the ground. It didn’t crash. There is no way we can be alive. I am still waiting for you to vanish and we be alone, again.” Michael was loosing his rational, but Max did look at the plane. It hadn’t rammed into the ground. It had just plopped down as Michael had said.

As Max was thinking about the crash, he was finding the cracks in Maria’s spine. She was very lucky that it wasn’t worse. “Sit down, Michael. Even if I am a vision, there is no reason for you to hurt in a hallucination or real life either.” Max worked on Michael’s knees. Then, he briefly went over each of them. They weren’t hurt as bad as they should have been.

“What about Isabel? Was she with you?” Max asked.

“Max, we don’t know. She had been acting funny that last day. She might have had a man the last night.” Michael looked at Max and was surprised at the way he took this.

“Yeah, the Others filled us in before we left. Something happened to her and we don’t know what.

In the distance, they heard the chop, chop of the medical helicopter. The three of them were taken to a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Isabel ???
Isabel/Vilandra stood before the palace. He would soon call and she would be permitted to grovel at the feet of her prince. She looked out across the estates of the palace. The towering cliffs were so majestic. They were worthy for the home of the greatest prince in the universe. She looked down at her hands. They were dirty and bleeding. She looked at her opened blouse. Her breasts were scratched and bleeding, also. She would have to fix herself before she appeared before her master.

He would be angry if she wasn’t perfect as a sacrifice for his violent loves. The prince would hurt her so many ways, but he expected her to heal her self in between times. He hated loving any thing not perfect. Isabel/Vilandra closed her eyes. She could feel energy flowing through her veins. She could feel the scratches and cuts close. She could feel the bruises cleanse themselves. He had told her that she could only gaze upon him if she appeared perfect in every way.

Once she had dared to look at him and for a day, her eyes were burned out of their sockets. Now that he had so graciously given her back her eyes, she would be sure to cast her vision down until invited her to look up. She was the chosen of the Kings family to be the footstool of the prince. He had killed the king and queen. He had killed most of the court. That he didn’t kill her was a testimony to his benevolence.

Again, she would be for him whatever he wanted Then she would heal herself to be a worthy present for the next day.

The escapees:
They had made a mistake. It was a bad one, but Simon, at the time, didn’t know what to do about it and he still didn’t. The mistake had cost them their anonymity. Now, it was known that the prisoners were in the canyon lands area. They needed clothes and a pickup. They had stopped at Farmington. On the outskirts, they found a kind of general store. This was a throwback to earlier days. What attracted them to the store in the first place was an almost new Chevrolet pickup. It had a crew cab and was four wheel drive.

The first thing Simon did on entering the store was to shoot the cashier. Then he went through his pockets and was gratified that he found Chevy keys. They found clothes and foodstuff. Simon ordered the men to change. Then he ordered them to carry out boxes of things out to the truck. He put as much in the truck as possible. He found several weapons and he put them and as much ammunition as he could in the truck. When they were through, he torched the store.

What he couldn’t carry away, he would despoil. Then, they headed for Mexican Water, Arizona where three Mexicans had supposedly found water in older historic times. That being so important in this country, they named a town after the event.

If they had continued on to Kayenta,Simon and company would have crossed the path of Max and Liz, although neither party would have seen the significance. Instead, they went back to Utah. They drove to the town of Mexican Hat. It seemed that the three Mexicans so long ago had really gotten around.

Here, they also robbed and killed the store owner, but this time, Simon had a reason. The store owner was the father of the girl he had wanted to know so many years ago, the father of the sons who had delivered to Simon such a beating. After they killed the man, they filled their truck with more stuff and went off road. From here on, Simon was at home.

He knew these unimproved roads very well. They were headed back to Arizona, but not on any highway. The going was slow. It took a day before they were back in Arizona. At this time, they were a little north and quite a bit west of the plane crash.

They stopped a couple of times to steal gas from pickups, either parked far enough away from the Hogan or not having any dogs to warn the people in them. Every once in a while Simon, would get out and look for tire tracks. He wanted a canyon where there was little or no traffic. Simon was looking for a canyon he could remember, where he probably wouldn’t be found.

The others were clearly unhappy. They were all city boys. It was Simon who was the survivalist. He needed them to use in his survival. As they went further and futher back in the country, the other three wondered if they would ever be heard from again.

State Police:
Salas and Ed had been given two days off. They were close to Farmington, so they decided to spend these days at the house in Farmington. Salas was married and he missed his wife. Ed was dating Bernadette, but her strict upbringing had, so far, not allowed them to sleep together. There was always the promise of facing her father if he disgraced her.

Ed really liked Bernadette. She was as close to Isabel as he was ever likely to get. As they went together, Ed found she was well educated, intelligent and a woman who had many interest in common with him. She had a mystery about her, more than just being from another country. Ed sometimes regretted that he hadn’t attended college. With Bernadette, every conversation they had was full of information. Somewhere along the line, Ed found a loving woman, raised in the proper setting of a Hispanic family and one who was more and more showing how much she was beginning to love him. She was younger than he and he worried about her parents. Her father was a Mexican narcotics agent. If he was anything like Kyle, he might arrange for Ed to just disappear if he thought that Ed was not respecting his daughter. But they would have the chaperon of the house at Farmington and they could spend time together. She had just started her master’s program at the university in Albuquerque. They had been talking of marriage.

When they arrived, they talked to the Captain. He was morose, he was jumpy and the household staff was avoiding him as much as possible. This was not like the captain they knew.

Salas immediately went searching for his wife. She squealed with delight when she saw him. They had two days and a night, so they intended to make the most of it. Ed went looking for Bernadette. It was Elena, one of the house hold staff, who considered herself a matchmaker. She called out to Bernadette, “Hey Bernie, there is an unshaven, unwashed bum to see you.”

Bernadette couldn’t imagine that kind of person was looking for her. When she came to the hall, she was almost as happy as was Mary. “Elena, you shouldn’t make fun of me or of Ed.”

This only caused Elena to go on about her business down the hall laughing. Once again, she was sure there would be another couple to become children of the saints, which was what she called the unions of the engineered ones and humans.

It was thus that the house had some good news and some disturbing news. The plane had been found. Kyle had gotten back from Denver with some very interesting information and a theory. And Alex was told that Isabel wasn’t with the party who was being rescued. He was becoming even more depressed.

Kyle needed to talk to someone soon about his information. He told Tess and she just nodded her head. She had been right about Vicente. He was alien or, as Kyle told her, he was alien possessed. The alien possessing Vicente, would come and go, from time to time. He had been absent during the war with the smugglers.

Kyle had a theory. He didn’t, yet, want to tell Tess. He wanted to meet with the others and, also, see Max and now Michael. Kyle thought how automatically he had cut Alex out of the chain of disclosure.

Max and Michael along with Maria would be in Farmington late tonight. They had called Liz and asked if she didn’t want to drive back to Farmington and meet with everyone. She answered negative. She wanted to check something out. She would call them in a few days. This should have rung a few bells, but they were so glad to get Michael and Maria back that it passed completely over their heads.

Coordinated Police task force:
There was the captain of the Farmington district of the New Mexico State Poice, a lieutenant of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Then, there were two federal marshals one from the New Mexico district and one from Arizona. They were all meeting in Mexican Hat, Utah. There were a couple of officers from the Utah department of Public Safety also, but they were mostly listening. The Arizona and New Mexico officers were deep in discussion. “We need a man who knows the country to go in and find these men.”

“No, you need a man who knows tracking to go after them. A tracker can work in any country, but reading men and being able to out think them is difficult.”

“Where in the hell is Captain Whitman?”

“Didn’t you hear? His wife was lost in a plane wreck. I understand that the wreck was found, but no sign of his wife.”

“Damn, that is just raw. We need to talk to him, anyway. Get him on the phone.”

“Alex, Garcia here, hey that really sucks about your wife. Any word? No shit, that takes the big one! Look, we have a problem. We need a tracker. What was the name of that boy you used in that unpleasantness in Farmington? He did a tour or two in Afghanistan or somewhere like that. Andrews, yeah that is the name. Any idea how we can get hold of him? What do you mean? He has a two day leave and is visiting his girl friend at your place. No, let him finish his leave, but get his butt to Mexican Hat, Utah by noon tomorrow if you have to commandeer a chopper to do it. Hey Alex, we all are rooting for your wife. I hope you find out something soon. Let us know what we can do. Ciao."

Garcia, turned to the other officers, he shook his head. “That is an unfair deal that the captain is living with. We all know about missing people and how seldom they are found alive. That boy he had was supposed to be good. Maybe, he can find our man or men. We gotta smoke them out someway.”
------------------------------------
Liz of the Desert
Smugglers of Antar

[ken_r]

begonia9508

Chapter 10

Liz in Kayenta:
Liz was reading in her room with Hector resting by the door. Being back in this land was exciting. She remembered so many things. There were some bad memories also. Rolf was shot one night. She watched his body fall into the arroyo. She was ready with her glock when a blanket was thrown over her head. When she regained consciousness, she was tied up and two California Navajos were standing over her.

There was a time when the bureau of Indian affairs had a truly hair-brained scheme. They took a large group of the Navajo children and moved them to California. The Navajo culture is more than just beliefs. It is a binding to the land and the landmarks of their land. Displaced, the children grew up with almost no support from family or beliefs. They did learn remarkably well, the evils of Anglo culture and many of them turned to crime.

Two of these men were going to rape and kill her for her possessions. It was then, she was saved for the second time; this time by Michael who turned the felons into dust. Then, it was Max who found her dog and saved him.

Liz was musing about this when she heard a soft knock on the door. Standing there was Joe Horsestealer. “May I come in?” he asked in perfectly good English.

Liz was a bit taken back, “You speak perfect English.”

Joe laughed, “If Harvey wants to live in this country, he needs to keep practicing his Navajo. We all take turns letting him interpret for us. Thomas knows that I speak English, but he is too polite to say anything. He is a good boy, even if he asks too many questions sometime. Guess that was learned from the white school he attended. Guess my grandson will be like that someday. With the money you gave him, he is sure to go to school now.”

Liz had to smile, “What can I do for you?”

“You are looking for white lady. Tall blonde looks like Dolly Parton?

Liz had to smile. The old man had an eye for female beauty, white style. “Yes, we are looking for a missing woman the fits that description.”

Joe was looking around. Liz didn’t know what he was looking for, but she handed him a map and then, wondered if he knew how to read one. Joe unrolled the map. With his finger, he traced a canyon some distance from the one where the sheep were kept. “It is said that there is a man who comes from time to time to this place. It is a cave. He has a house built in the cave. He always brings a woman. Then, he disappears. No one knows what happens to the woman. No one wants to go near him. He is considered a witch, an evil man.” Joe looked around the room. Where is your man?”

“He went with the two you helped rescue. He is in Las Vegas,” Liz replied. “If this gives us information to find the lady, I will personally put another thousand dollars in your grandson’s education account. Joe Horsestealer left. Liz didn’t call Max. She knew that he would tell her not to go.

She penciled a letter to Thomas Charlie and gave it to Shirley. By the time Max found where she was, she would be well on her way. There were many white men who might be holding a woman in bondage. In this area, there were several involved in alternative style marriages and she knew that sometimes, they held their women against their will. Liz, her Glock and Hector took off.

Farmington:
The reunion for Maria and Michael was really good. The only thing that spoiled it was that they had no news for Alex. He was getting more and more depressed. Michael, Max and Tess met in the library with Kyle when they were sure Alex was asleep.

“Here is what I got. This Vicente is a serial killer. But from time to time, he changes his methods and operation. In between these times, which is something the FBI has missed, he goes back to just killing at random. It is these times that the FBI has marked that he kills high profile women and leaves distinct clues that the FBI has picked up on. They missed the times in between when he just kills at random. Now, Tess thinks this man is an alien. We know too much about his childhood for him to just appear. I initiated an interview with the Others. I wanted to see if they could engineer someone without any ethics. They said that making an engineered one like you guys is much too complex to just change them. They do think that this is a case of alien abduction. They say that it is fairly easy for an alien to just take over a person and control what they do. Now just for conversation, let’s say, that a serial killer is abducted by an alien killer. Let’s say that the abduction comes and goes. You would have a creature who killed two different ways and that is what we have with Vicente.”

They all looked at Kyle. His theory was very closely put together. Max was looking at Michael. “Who would have it in for us and is a proven killer?

Kyle answered, “That general from the other side, Kivar.”

Ed Andrews:
Ed was up early. He knocked softly on Bernadette’s door. When she came to the door fresh from a sound sleep, he still thought she was beautiful. He kissed her and it was some minutes after he left that Bernadette understood why he came. He was going on a very dangerous mission.

Ed drove at speed to get to Mexican Hat before noon. The men were gathered and they showed him what they had. It was going to be just like Afghanistan. He was going into bad country, looking for a man and his intention was to kill him. He had all they could give him on the four men. He knew which ones were weak and that Simon was the strong one and the most dangerous.

He had a National Guard Jeep and he warned them that he would probably abandon it somewhere when he had to go on foot. When he left the jeep, he would take the distributor rotor; so when they went in to retrieve it, they should take an extra rotor in with them.

They asked who he wanted for a spotter. The only one Ed knew and trusted well enough was Salas, but Ed didn’t want to be responsible for getting Mary’s husband killed. He said he would go alone.

He was dressed in levies and work shirt. He had a backpack and was carrying his rifle. Of course, he had his 45 pistol. Now tracking is not looking for tracks. It is more an art form than a science. It is looking for the way the one you are tracking would see things. Simon was used to the backcountry, so that is the way Ed would see the group.

Simon was the leader and probably knew what he was doing. As Ed saw it, the rest of them were city boys. Any sign left would be by their inexperience. Simon would be keeping to the trees and not crossing any clearings. He would be ditching the pickup soon.

Ed had memorized the tire tracks around the store where the last man had been killed. This killing told Ed something about Simon. He was a heartless killer and would act more like an animal than a person.

Ed looked at his GPS machine. It wasn’t like the complex ones in Liz’s truck. The Police had placed maps of this area in the little device before Ed had left. He was using as high tech as possible while keeping his mind on the problem that his actions were as old as time, the predator seeking the prey.

With these men, if they had any idea that he was behind them, they could quickly turn the labels around and at least with Simon, Ed could easily become the prey.

Ed had crossed the Arizona-Utah state line. He was sure he was in Arizona and Navajo country. At the entrance of every canyon, Ed would stop and carefully, seek tire tracks. He was expecting Simon to ditch the truck soon. Ed knew that he had to travel slowly and Simon would be moving faster. That was all right. Eventually, Simon would go to ground. Then, Ed would plan his next move.

Doctor Elizabeth Parker-Evans, Liz of the Desert.
As she drove, Liz began to think that her decision was probably ill planed. She was thinking like she had almost 20 years ago. She had always been a resourceful woman. Before she met Max, she had depended on no man. Maybe, that was what struck her. This would be her last time to prove herself totally resourceful.

Yes, she was older, but she also was a lot more knowledgeable. She had worked with some remarkable people. There were the people living at Farmington. They were all career driven and they had many skills. All the engineered aliens were strong and they all chose strong resourceful mates. Living in the same house with Kyle really was a lot more instructive than being his lover.

Kyle had made his mark in the Drug Enforcement Agency by his intuitive and adaptable ability to get things done. He didn’t let technicalities slow him down. Witness in the drug wars how he smuggled the anthropologist, Dr. Witherspoon, back into the country as a doped up illegal alien human from Mexico.

Liz had always been like this. She had seen problems and usually asked for forgiveness after the fact, rather than permission before the fact. She promised herself that she would settle down after this last adventure.

Her GPS recorder was on. At least, she would be able to retrace her steps on the way out. For a while, she was driving on the flats, that large expanse of dust and sage. The ground was dusty and she imagined it was caleche, a clay-like substance that when wet would be very slick and difficult to drive in. She had provisions in her truck for one person for a week. She knew that if she was gone that long, Max would be furious. There had been a time that the thought of any man being furious at her actions would have brought the wrath of Liz Parker down on him. Now, she realized that any feeling Max had was only his concern for her safety.

The flats were several miles across. She could see that as she preceded north more and more, she would be getting into canyons. Now, she just had to find the right one. Mostly, she was driving in arroyos and watching to keep near places where she could get out quickly if she had any hint of rain.

Liz hoped to leave her truck several hours walking distance from the cave that Horsestealer had pointed out. As she drove, Jackrabbits would run in front of her truck. They enjoyed the challenge that they were faster than any damn woman driving a truck in their country.

An antelope, or pronghorn, ran up beside her and, for a spell, he just measured her speed. Then in a burst of bravado, the animal just ran in front of her and left her in his dust. Liz had to laugh. The beautiful animal had no living relatives in the new world. He was a species unique. The Navajo were a hunting people and for these animals to have so little fear of her, they must not have been hunted recently.

That gave more truth to the thought that this might be the place where Isabel was being held captive. Tess had told them that aliens were surely involved some way. The Navajo were sure he was a witch. They would avoid him as much as possible.

Simon and company
Simon pulled the truck into a blind canyon. He pulled back into the trees and he made the other three help him cover the truck with sage brush. Jace, Sammy and Arthur were not pleased to see this. They really wanted to be back in the city. Arthur could just imagine finding a score of narcotics somewhere. Jace and Sammy could only think of what wild animals they might meet.

Little did they know that they were running with the wildest animal in the whole reservation. There wasn’t a single coyote that wouldn’t have been offended to be compared to Simon. They had stolen some back packs at the last store just after Simon shot the owner. He ordered them what to pack and when they were through Simon led the way.

The three city boys were grumbling, but if Simon heard them, he didn’t let on. They walked out of the canyon where they hid the truck and, for a while, they proceeded along the cliffs. The country was coming back to Simon. It had been years since he had walked through this country, but if his memory served him, there was a valley up ahead with a spring. They could stay there for a time. Then after things settled down, venturing out might be attempted. Simon had not yet decided who was going to walk out.

Ed:
Ed figured he was probably a day behind the escapees. He knew that they would probably soon ditch the truck and take out on foot. That would be Simon’s plan. Ed wondered how the city boys would take this. Most convicts, out of boredom, spend a lot of time in the gym. Ed didn’t know about these men.

He saw the mouth of a canyon up ahead. He drove into some trees and parked the jeep.

With his rifle at ready, he darted from one group of trees to the next. The trees were either pinõn or juniper. The pinõn were a kind of a small pine tree. These were the trees that had the nuts that the Navajo collected for food and to sell to tourist.

The juniper were a kind of cedar with softer needles and sweet smelling bark. Ed darted from the last bunch of trees and was just within the canyon. He saw a large amount of earth torn up and there was a very unnatural pile of sage. Ed waited for a time. The jays were swarming all over the canyon. Watching them, Ed saw that they had no fear, nor were they shying away from any brush or trees. The men were, in all probability, gone. Ed was careful to not move the sage, but he did peer into the truck. It was still full of supplies in the covered back. Ed was being careful about the tracks he made, but he saw that the men were not. Simon was probably sure he was completely safe. Carefully brushing out any signs of his being there, Ed went back to his jeep. He would drive it across the canyon from the escapee’s truck. He hid it back in the trees. It was easier to conceal than the truck had been.

If Ed was right, Simon would be looking for a place to hide out. That meant he needed a source of water. Many of these canyons would have small springs. Ed would have to watch the vegetation. He would see a marked change if they came near a spring. The path of the men walking, with at least three of them dragging their feet, was not hard to follow.

Isabel:
He told her she had not disappointed him last night. Isabel reveled in that. She was his slave and she only existed to please her lord. Sometimes, when he was not near, her mind would drift to another world. In this world, she saw a beautiful proud woman. She was with a handsome man who wore a black and gray uniform. The Uniform had the Initials NM on the collar. They lived in a large house with many friends. This woman was so happy. She was admired and even, envied by many. She had a brother and he had a wife. The wife was very smart. Her mind wasn’t thinking any of this through. It was as if she was in a movie where they were running all the clippings from the cutting rooms floor. The woman reveled in the fact that she was free.

He would return and she would grovel at his feet until he gave her permission to move. She would look to his eyes only when he gave her permission and wait for his bidding. Isabel, herself, had no memory of anything, but what she had and was at this moment. Vicente/Kivar had been banished from his former home. This woman before him was part of the reason for this banishment.

Kivar had been a prince and he had been intended to rule the universe. The monsters were his idea. The stupid generals from the other side had found out about it. Instead of making protest, they embraced the idea. Those mining the drug on earth had been selling it to both sides. The generals, now, were fighting war as it was meant to be fought. They could even meet with Kivar and they would cheer as their two armies clashed. The casualties were only among the drug-induced soldiers. There had never been a spectacle such as this. Prisoners were not taken. A soldier would fight with his last breath. War, now, truly was a chess game.

Strategy and placement, not to mention numbers, would win battles. The generals scrambled to enlist or impress men for their armies. Kivar had ships scouring the many systems talking about the glories of the war and also, paying for live, but unconscious bodies. The war was at a stalemate, but Kivar was sure, eventually, his methods of recruitment would out number the tame generals who still had to answer king Zan.

Kivar did have one regret. The sister of Zan had been sympathetic to his cause at one time. She was a powerful woman. She, also, was a powerful lover. Kivar couldn’t decide if he admired her for her personal power or for her power over whatever man graced her bed. Vilandra never completely gave into the promises that Kivar was making.

Reform, Vilandra was for reform. To just put someone who would treat the kingdom in a worse manner, troubled her. She was very unsure of his theories that there were those who were destined to rule. She had let slip information about her brother’s army. Kivar was determined to use this information. She had pleaded with him, but he was not to be deterred from his way. At the last moment, Vilandra ran onto the field between the two forces. Whether it was his forces or those of Zan, Vilandra was killed.

Her death almost worked in Kivar’s favor. Zan’s troops, dismayed, pulled back, but instead of taking advantage, so did the troops of Kivar. Vilandra was so loved by the people that her death caused a period of mourning and there was no way Kivar could move his officers past that. He couldn’t understand. He had been bedding her and he was able to accept his losses, but the fools made a martyr of her. It was weeks before the war could continue.

Now, it has always been that the generals have to have recreation to bring peace to their troubled minds. Kivar was no different from hundreds of generals on hundreds of planets of hundreds of species. Kivar was a voyeur. He would abduct a being and exploit that individual’s senses to the fullest. In the time of the abduction, Kivar would experience as many sensations as the species was capable of having. Usually, he would completely wear out the subject, but that was not a care of Kivar. It became almost an addiction.

Kivar could experience pain, emotion or pleasures that the species had developed. He was mostly into the procreation sensations as they were far different, from his own. In fact, the experiences he learned, he took to his own bed and that is why he could bed exotics such as Vilandra. These primitive emotions and sensations brought fame to Kivar as a lover extraordinary.

On the same planet where the wonderful narcotic was mined, Kivar, in boredom, roamed the inhabitants. He found one that gave him something he had never experienced before. Vicente Degrasse was not that smart, but he was an evil man. He was a random killer. Kivar, at first, would just hitch himself for the ride. The killings were so purposeless. Kivar would, any time he was free from his duties, return to possess the body of Degrasse. But everything gets boring after a while, so Kivar started to take a small bit of control from Vicente. Vicente didn’t even know he was doing it. Kivar made the killings more spectular. This culture worshipped women. It covered their bodies and then, teased itself by vying to see how much could be uncovered and still be accepted. Kivar just magnified this. He raised the killing of the females of this species to a high art form. Then, to make the sensation even more heightened, he would leave clues as to who the killer was.

Recently, the war took a decided turn. Forces of third party meddlers produced a vision of the drug induced armies, the clone party that Zan had planted on this planet years ago and finally, a powerful woman who they proclaimed queen, were all to blame. Support for the war collapsed. Kivar was lucky to leave the vicinity of Antar at all. He rushed to the planet where, at least, he could find pleasure for himself. That he, also, met the clone of Vilandra was a major plus.

He moved the record company to force Maria into a public performance. He disabled the prison system to let four men out and remove Vilandra from her human mate. He intended to crash the plane removing Vilondra at the last minute, but she couldn’t accomplish that, so he damaged chances for rescue. Those primitive people living in this area interfered and the rescue occurred. That was all right, Kivar, in his possessed body, had the Vilandra clone and he could do anything he wanted to her and with her. That feeble conditioning against wanton sex was not that hard to break.

As he came out to the front of his palace, she was there to pray before him and to wait until he gave her permission to continue life. He wondered when he would tire of her as he had so many others.
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Liz of the Desert
Smugglers of Antar


For 2008 my Christmas Gift # 2
for the year 2007 i gave The Christmas Gift