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       __________________________________________________________
 Place: Washington, D.C. The Federal Bureau of Investigation. There are two men talking, suits ... One is an older man, white hair, white beard, gray dull eyes.
"You understand the assignment?"
The younger man, dark hair with piercing ice blue eyes that freezes the older man for a second.
"Yes," he said.
"No one here will back you up. The Special Unit is nonexistent."
"Yes, sir," he responds, confident that no one would see through his disguise.
"One young, good-looking man, average height, average build, brownish hair, brown eyes, enters a pediatric ward in Phoenix disguised as a doctor, enters of room filled with terminal cancer patients, heals five of them, then disappears into thin air, leaving behind five silver handprints." He hands a file to the young agent.
"Bears similarities to the Roswell story in '59 ... except instead of healed children, we have a corpse."
"As in '72."
"Hubble’s wife."
"And now we have a dead US representative from Arizona who supported the Special Unit and a dead FBI agent."
"And the Crashdown Cafe incident."
"Yes," the older man says slowly. "Do you believe in God?"
"No," says the young agent.
"No ... neither do I. Here are copies of all the Congressional Hearing Records, plus the original Special Unit files. Whitaker's copies were destroyed. We found pieces of her files in the shredder. We believe the Parker girl might be responsible"
"I'll be on a plane in an hour."
"One more thing ... Topolsky."
Max watches Liz across the room in trig. class. She's not paying attention to class although she pushes her pencil across the paper. He wonders if Liz is thinking about Rose. It's been two weeks since Zan and Rose disappeared in the Granilith.
The bell rings. Startled by the sound, Liz looks up, sees the class leaving, gathers her books and begins to leave.
Max stops her.
"Liz?"
"Max."
"I thought we might go somewhere, you know ... after last class ... to talk."
"Yea, sure. ... What about?"
"The Granilith."
She nods.
"And about Rose and Zan."
"They've called off the search."
"Your parents?"
"The sheriff convinced them that there wasn't any point in continuing the search."
"Do they believe that?"
"I don't think my mom does."
"What does she think?"
"I don't know. She hasn't said. ... I don't know how to bring it up," says Liz. "I feel responsible."
"It's not your fault, Liz."
"I can't help it. ... I'd better go. I'll be late for English."
"Okay."
Max watches Liz as she exits the classroom.
Topolsky throws the keys of her rental car on the bedstand and places her small travel bag and laptop on the bed. She unzips the bag and pulls some newspaper clippings and a file from the top. They include a feature story on the Christmas Miracle in Phoenix, two small clippings regarding the disappearance of a Rose Parker from a Phoenix mental institution, Whitaker's obit., and a page one from the Roswell Observer about the Crashdown incident. Topolsky opens the file. Within are photographs of Maria, Alex, Michael, Isabel, Max, and Liz. She pauses at Liz's picture and smiles, then drops the open file on the table and picks up the phone. She dials a local number.
"Dr. Menzes, please."
"I can't believe we're back in the dump," says Lonnie, looking at the stretch of desert scrub.
"What are we doing here, anyways?" said Rath.
"You're going to help me get the Granilith," says Nicholas, looking at Lonnie, "and then, you can go home."
"So what's the plan?" says Lonnie.
"I'll let you know," returns Nicholas.
"You mean, you haven't got one." says Lonnie.
"I've got one," says Nicholas with disgust that such a suggestion was even made.
"Oh, yeah ... then what is it?" challenges Rath.
"No wonder your protector left you in the sewer," says Nicholas.
"Liz Parker," says Lonnie.
"Our flighty little princess is showing some teeth," says Nicholas.
"I'm going home, Nicholas" Lonnie threatens, "With you or through you. I'm going home and not you, Kivar, Max or his little bitch is stopping me. You got that."
"I'm terrified," said Nicholas.
"Don't cross me," says Lonnie.
"Hey, you want me to give him a slap shot," says Rath.
"Chill," says Lonnie. "Nicholas and me, we have an understanding."
Max waits for Liz outside English class. It's her last class and he didn't want her to miss her. The bell rings and the door opens. The class pours out. No Liz. He enters the classroom and sees her talking to the teacher. She turns and she acknowledges him with her eyes, then turns back to the teacher to quickly finish her conversation.
"Sorry," she says. "I just had this question about this project we have to do."
"It's okay. Are you ready?"
"Yeah. Where are we going?"
"I thought we could go to the pod chamber if that's okay."
Liz nods.
Topolsky exits the Phoenix mental institution. She puts on her sunglasses and carefully checks to see if there is anyone following her. She continues to travel dangerous ground, but that's her life now ... to stay alive and the only way to do that was to switch sides.
Her FBI ID still serves her well, even with the adjustments she has made. But the Special Unit is very resourceful and in spite of the outward "disbanding," Topolsky knows there is no stopping such people. She's living proof just how far they go. She shivers thinking about the fire and her narrow escape ... how she switched clothes with a dead patient, the choking smoke. How ironic she's in Phoenix now, "rising from the ashes." But it's only time before "they" know if they don't already.
She walks away from the building to melt into the Arizona landscape.
Max and Liz are at the pod chamber. Events had moved so fast that Liz is just now realizing how large the structure is and how oddly it looks similar, like she's read something about it. How could that be?
"You told me that the Granilith could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands," says Max, as he watches Liz slowly circle it. "How did you know that?"
"You."
"I never told you about the Granilith."
"I'm sorry. I mean, the future you," she says.
"I saw," says Max, remembering when he came into her room and ....
"I know," she replies. "That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."
"I should have known. I should have ..."
"Why should I even know anything about the Granilith? And what did my Grandma have to do with any of this?"
"I feel I failed you somehow," says Max.
"No, you didn't," says Liz, looking distressed. "How could you possibly ... " She stopped and took a long look at the Granilith. Liz suddenly understood.
"OMG," she said.
Max looks from Liz to the Granilith and back again.
"What is it?"
"I know how you ... F. Max ... modified the Granilith."
"I don't understand."
"The Granilith ... it's shaped like a light cone."
The FBI agent watches the hospital surveillance camera.
"Stop it right there," he says. "Can I get a print of that?" It's Michael knocking on the door of the pediatric unit.
"Sure, no problem. Unfortunately, there's not a good shot of the other one."
"Other one?"
"Well, as first, we thought it was just the one guy, but when we reviewed the tapes, there was someone else."
"Two angels."
The hospital security chief hands the agent a laser print of Michael.
"I'm surprised your colleague didn't make you copies of this."
"Colleague?"
"You know, that woman agent. What the heck was her name?"
"Agent Topolsky?"
"No, no ... that wasn't it. Oh well, it'll come to me."
Max enters the UFO Center. It's late afternoon. Brody is hovering over his bank of computers, analyzing the latest data in his head, going back and forth between potential UFO sightings, SETI reports, microwave transmissions.
"So what's going on?" says Max.
"These microwave transmissions," says Brody, "I'm trying to make sense of them, but I'm not having much luck."
"Maybe there's nothing to them," returns Max.
"I dunno. I think it means something ... I just don't know what."
"Are you here for any reason tonight, Max? You're not working today."
"I just came by to ask you about your daughter."
"Sydney, oh, she's great. But how do you know?"
"Maria."
"I should have guessed."
"Her cancer, you know, it's gone. Just like mine. They healed her, Max."
"Who do you think healed her?"
"Aliens. Just like they did me. They're here, Max."
"You mean, Phoenix?"
"Phoenix, New York, and maybe right here in Roswell. You know, that silver handprint."
"I read about it in the paper."
"Well, I've seen that before."
"When you were healed?"
"No, in a photograph."
Liz is just entering the Crashdown when Isabel and Michael stop her.
"Liz," says Isabel, "have you seen Max?"
"I think he's on his way to the UFO Center," says Liz.
"That's just great," says Michael.
"Why, is there something wrong?" says Liz.
"Yea," says Isabel, grabbing Liz's arm and sticking a needle in it.
"What ..." Liz says as the drug begins to take effect.
"Hello, Liz," says Nicholas as he steps forward, taking off his sunglasses, "Nice to see you again."
Liz sees Isabel and Michael change back into Lonnie and Rath before she passes out.
"I love it when a plan comes together," says Nicholas.
Michael, Isabel, Tess, and Maria enter the UFO Center. They see Max at the computers.
"Where's Brody?" says Michael.
"He asked me to watch the Center for a while."
"So he's not coming back soon?" says Isabel
"No, why?"
"We have a problem," says Michael.
"I saw Lonnie and Rath," says Maria, "and they have Liz."
"That's not your only problem," says a voice they all recognize except for Tess.
They all turn around, stunned. Tess is genuinely confused.
"Ms. Topolsky," says Maria.
"You died in the fire," says Isabel.
"I tried to help you before," Topolsky said, "and you wouldn't let me. Will you let me now?"
Max, Isabel, and Michael exchange looks.
"I know about The White Room, Max. I know it all."
"Max," says Tess, "Who is this?"
"This is Ms. Topolsky. She works for the FBI."
"Worked. Past tense. They are looking for me, too. I can help you, Max. I can help all of you."
Max looks to Isabel. She nods her head.
"How?"
"The Special Unit," she begins. "It's not dead. They know about Phoenix. They know what you did for those kids and they know about Michael. She hands the surveillance photo to Max. He looks at it and passes it to Michael, then to the rest."
"This is bad, Max," says Isabel.
"I can't worry about this," says Max. "There's Liz ..."
"They're coming for you," says Topolsky, her frustration showing "and Michael, for all of you."
"They have Liz," says Max.
"Who?" says Topolsky.
"The Skins," says Michael. "You were right about the communicators. There was just one little problem. It brought the Skins."
"Who are the Skins?" says Topolsky.
"The enemy," says Tess.
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