* * *
very close to where Kyle's legs were hanging out from
beneath the car.
Suddenly Kyle didn't care whether or not Gomer
thought he had gotten the better of him. Kyle didn't want
to spend another second under this car with Gomer up
there.
Since Kyle was lying on a wheeled cart, he could roll
out in a second or less, if he rolled toward where Gomer
was standing.
He couldn't go the other way, because the transmission
lift and some other equipment were blocking his way. He
could try to angle himself and roll out next to the lift. It
would put the car between him and Gomer when he got
clear, but that would take several extra seconds at least.
He decided to just face Gomer. Reaching up, he
grabbed the underside of the car and pulled, moving the
cart and himself toward Gomer.
Then something came down on his leg. It took Kyle a
moment to process that fact that it was Gomer's foot.
Kyle's forward motion stopped.
"Where you going, smart guy," Gomer said.
Kyle felt his heart sink in his chest, but he was surprised
by the strength in his voice when he said, "Let go, Gomer."
Instead, Kyle felt more pressure on his right ankle.
"What's wrong smart guy? Scared?" Gomer said.
"This isn't funny," Kyle said.
Then Kyle heard a click and he immediately knew that
Gomer had his hand on the lever that controlled the
hydraulic lift's up-and-down motion.
"Yeah, I think it's pretty funny. You know, you should be
careful under there. I don't think these things are safe. If
* * *
something happened, you might hurt your smart mouth,"
Gomer said.
Then the car lurched down two inches in a sudden motion.
"Ahhhh!" Kyle said, forgetting completely about his
dignity. Frantically, he tried to move in any direction, but
Gomer kept up the pressure on his leg.
Kyle tried to calculate how much clearance he would
have between this car and the floor if it dropped to the
ground. How much damage would the car do to him?
Would Max be able to fix it? He decided he didn't want to
find out. "Wait. Let's talk about this," Kyle said.
"I don't want to talk to you, smart guy," Gomer said,
then he laughed. The laugh was low and creepy. Kyle
decided he didn't like it at all.
Then Kyle heard another click.
* * *
11
Michael heard the shouting from inside the garage. Maria’s
talk about the kidnappings or whatever was going on in this
town had gotten under his skin more than he had expected.
On the other hand, that was true about a lot of things
that Maria said and did.
"... much like smart guys ..." Michael heard from
inside as he passed the entrance to the garage. The words
didn't exactly make sense, but the tone was very clear.
Somebody was pretty pissed off.
Michael debated checking around the back to see if the
others were all right, but he was confident that Max and
Isabel could handle most of the trouble they could find in
this town. Then he remembered that Kyle would be work-
ing inside the garage. It might pay to check in on him.
Walking through the large door, he didn't see anyone
inside at first. Then, three cars down, he saw someone he
recognized.
Gomer was standing next to a car, shouting down ... at
the tire? No, that wasn't right.
* * *
Then someone spoke back to Gomer, but Michael
couldn't make out the words.
"What's wrong, smart guy?" Gomer said.
Michael decided he didn't like the tone of Gomer's
voice and started walking toward him.
Where was Kyle?
There was some more back and forth, and Michael
thought he heard Kyle's voice. Then Gomer grabbed a
lever, and the car seemed to shake in the air.
Then he heard a scream.
Sure that the scream was Kyle's, Michael started run-
ning. He saw that Gomer had his hand on a lever. And
then he saw Kyle's legs sticking out, one of them kicking at
Gomer. When Michael saw the car move downward, he
realized instantly what was happening.
When he acted, he did so immediately and without
thinking. Reaching Gomer, he reached out with one hand,
grabbed the larger man on the shoulder, pulled him back,
and then shoved him hard. Michael heard Gomer grunt,
then fall backward to the ground.
He was dimly aware of the fact that Kyle was still under
the car when Gomer went flying. A moment later, Gomer
was sitting on his butt and looking up at Michael in sur-
prise. That surprise lasted only an instant and was
replaced with fury. Well, Michael knew how that felt.
For someone so tall, Gomer moved quicker than
Michael would have guessed. Gomer was on his feet in
seconds and was lunging for Michael. Acting on instinct,
Michael leaned to one side and grabbed for Gomer's shirt.
The larger man hit Michael's hip, and Michael used
Gomer's momentum to toss him back to the ground. This
* * *
time, Gomer went down face first in an awkward dive.
Again, he moved quickly and was soon lurching to his
feet.
Too stupid to stay down, Michael thought as a red haze of
anger descended on him, drowning out all other thoughts.
A moment later, Gomer charged Michael again. This time,
Michael met him straight on, launching one punch with
each fist. His left hit Gomer low, in the ribs, while his
right, then his left hit Gomer squarely in the face.
Gomer staggered back.
A satisfied smile crossed Michael's lips, and he raised
his hand almost unconsciously. He felt his powers coalesc-
ing and he prepared to ...
"Michael," a voice said from next to him.
Michael ignored the distraction; he was dealing with a
threat.
Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. The voice shouted
this time, "Michael!"
Turning, Michael saw Kyle standing next to him. Then
he saw Gomer looking at him, fear clearly on his face.
"Don't hurt him," Kyle said.
It took a moment for Kyle's words to penetrate Michael's
red heat. Then he slowly put his hand back down. "He was
trying," Michael said, not taking his eyes off Gomer.
"I was just kidding around," Gomer said, raising his
hands in a warding-off gesture.
Michael felt himself relax by small degrees—very small
degrees. "You think that was funny?" Michael nearly
shouted.
Gomer shook his head. "I was just trying to scare him,"
he said.
* * *
Michael balled his right hand into a fist. It was not an
act of anger, it was calculated, and by the look in Gomer's
eyes, it had the desired effect.
"I'm sorry," Gomer said.
"Don't apologize to me," Michael said, gesturing to Kyle.
"I'm sorry, Kyle ... I... was out of line," Gomer said.
"Urn,
apology accepted," Kyle said. Michael noted that his
friend was out of breath. Kyle must have been pretty scared.
Michael felt his anger rising again and forced it back
down.
"Get out of here," Michael said. Gomer immediately
turned to go, but not before shooting Kyle a look that
Michael didn't like.
"Don't even think about it," Michael said. Then he
paused for effect. "Remember, I'm everywhere."
"Okay, okay," Gomer said, walking away.
Then Michael turned to Kyle and said, "Are you okay?
You want Max to take a look at you?"
Kyle shook his head and said, "I'm fine, just a little
shaken up."
That's an understatement, Michael thought, looking at
Kyle's face.
"Maybe he was just trying to scare me," Kyle said. Then,
catching Michael's questioning expression, he added, "He
thinks I'm after the girl in the office."
"Are you?" Michael asked.
Kyle smiled and said, "Maybe a little."
Michael shrugged and said, "I don't think he'll bother
you either way."
Kyle gave him a tighter smile and said, "I think you're
right. Listen, Michael, were you going to . . ."
* * *
Michael shook his head and said, "No. I was just kid-
ding around. You know, trying to scare him."
That seemed to make Kyle relax. His smile was broader
now. "Michael, thanks."
"Sure," Michael said, giving him an uncomfortable shrug.
"I probably made it worse. It's not smart to bait some-
one when you're stuck under a car. I'm just tired of taking
it, you know. I feel like I've been taking it for long enough."
Michael nodded. He knew how that felt. He, Max, and
Isabel had been taking it their whole lives. And the group
had been taking it pretty hard for the last three years.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," he said.
"I'd better get back to work," Kyle said.
Michael turned to go, and Kyle added, "I mean it,
Michael, thanks."
"No problem," Michael said, heading out the door.
Outside, he decided not to go straight back to the oth-
ers. Instead, he took a walk in the field behind the garage.
Finding a quiet spot, he sat for a moment. He had told
Kyle that he wasn't going to really hurt Gomer, but he
wasn't sure himself what he was going to do.
In the moment before Kyle stopped him, he felt the
same rage he had felt in their final battle with Agent
Pierce—a battle that ended when Michael killed the agent.
Since then, Michael had told himself a thousand times that
he had had no choice. His friends' lives and his own life
had depended on him.
And the truth was that he had acted in self-defense.
Yet when he had taken the agent's life, he had not felt
scared. He had felt angry—furious, actually. And when it
was done, there was a moment—-just a moment—when
* * *
he had felt pleased with what he had done. Pleased that he
had finally paid back the forces that had been dogging
him, Max, and Isabel their whole lives. Pleased that he
finally felt like he had won a small victory for them and for
himself.
That moment had caused Michael more sleepless
nights than the act of killing itself.
He had also wondered how much of that moment had
been payback for even more, for his previous life and his
previous defeats and eventual death. And not just his
death, but Max's and Isabels.
He knew Max blamed himself for that failure as well,
but Michael knew that it had been his job to protect them
all. After all, he was a soldier, a defender—a general, in
fact.
In his fight with Agent Pierce, with Gomer, and many
other times in his life, he'd felt like something else was
taking over. What was it? His training? His nature? Or
something that had been programmed into him when he
had been re-created and sent to Earth?
Michael didn't know, but whatever it was, Michael
didn't like it.
And it scared him more than a thousand Agent Pierces
ever would.
Kyle's hands shook for several minutes after Michael left. He
hoped Michael hadn't seen how scared he had been. At first,
he had thought that Gomer was only trying to scare him.
Although it was a possibility, the possibility dimmed when
the undercarriage of the car had pressed against his nose—
and three tons of steel threatened to drop down farther.
* * *
But Gomer had looked scared himself when he had left.
Michael hadn't really hurt him, but he could have—in fact,
he nearly did. Even Gomer wasn't so stupid to miss that.
Kyle had to go back under the car to check the seal on
the transmission. He forced himself to do it quickly
because he couldn't afford to be afraid in his line of work.
It took about ten minutes, and Kyle was glad to be fin-
ished. He moved on to the Plymouth and replaced the
points and plugs. He finished that quickly, then took both
cars for a test drive. An hour later, he parked the second
car outside. By then, his heart had stopped racing and he
was feeling more or less normal—which was just as well,
considering what he now had to do.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the office door
and stepped inside.
of cold fear melt away.
"Hey, you," she said.
Without thinking, Kyle felt himself smiling back. "Hey,"
he said.
She stared at him for a moment. Then Kyle remem-
bered why he had come inside. "Did Dan leave any
instructions for me?" he asked.
"Just a note," she said. Though she held the note in her
hand, she did not reach out to hand it to him.
As a result, Kyle had to lean over the desk to take it.
When his hand reached hers, she pulled the note back and
Kyle had to lean over farther.
He lost his balance for a moment and started to fall
onto the desk. Reaching out with his other hand, he stead-
ied himself and found that he was inches away from
* * *
Dawn. He could even feel her blond hair tickling his
cheek. He felt her hand on his shoulder and Kyle couldn't
help taking a deep breath, taking in her scent. Wow, did
she smell good.
"Careful there, sugar," Dawn said, not taking her hand
off his shoulder.
Kyle got up slowly and returned her smile. Dawn held
the note out in front of her again, a teasing smile on her lips.
Just looking at her, Kyle knew immediately that she
was trouble. Gomer was jealous and bad-tempered. And
Kyle had a responsibility to his friends to make sure they
all kept a low profile. Plus, even when he was a Roswell
High School star athlete he had never gone out of his way
to seek out trouble off the field. That went double for the
last two years, when he had become part of the Great
Alien Secret Society.
li
ke his friends, he had become adept at avoiding trouble.
Just two days ago, he would have taken one look at
Dawn and headed in the other direction. But that was two
days ago.
He had changed his life completely in that time. One of
the reasons he and his friends had hit the road was so they
could stop hiding all the time. They had started running
so they could relax a little. It gave them the best chance of
a normal life. And there was nothing more normal than a
little lighthearted fun with a pretty girl.
Reaching out, he took Dawn's hand and held it for a
long moment before taking the note. "Thanks," he said.
"Anytime, sugar," she said.
* * *
12
When Michael walked in, Max jumped to his feet. "Where
have you been?" he asked sharply—more sharply than he
had intended.
Michael didn't answer for a moment. Setting his face,
he said, "Gee, Dad, I guess 1 should have called."
"Michael, this is serious. People are disappearing right
and left in this town, and you take off for hours," Max
chided.
"Actually, women are disappearing in this town, so I
think I'm pretty safe. Plus—news flash—I can take care of
myself," Michael said, holding up his hand. "You know,
alien-whammy and all that," he added.
His friend was right, Max knew. He immediately regret-
ted his tone. And if he knew Michael, things would get
worse from here. Some combination of his friend's nature
and the difficult childhood he'd spent with a violent
drunk named Hank had conditioned Michael's response to
disagreemtents.
Max decided to stop the escalating conflict before it got
* * *
going. "Michael, it's not that—," he began, but his friend
waved him off.
"Forget it, Maxwell. I just went for a walk," Michael
said. "Next time I'll give you guys a heads up."
Michael had surprised Max a couple of times in the last
two days, but this was the biggest surprise yet. There was
something different about Michael, Max thought, consid-
ering his friend for a moment. Max saw something in
Michael's face, but his friend quickly looked away, study-
ing the changes in the room.
Something was bothering Michael. Maybe he and Maria