Firestorm - Part 4

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Maria's waits tables at the Crashdown. Reporters from various media outlets crowd some of the tables, vultures picking out prey to peck with questions and devouring answers like desert rats. She hears Agnes as she spills unfounded stories about Liz and her family to some young eager beaver looking to score his "inside scoop."

"Agnes," she says angrily, "Can you wait on this guy over here? He's been waiting for ten minutes to order."

"Who's that?" asks the fledgling reporter.

"Maria," says Agnes disgustedly and walks away slowly.

"Maria? Maria DeLuca? Liz Parker's best friend and Michael Guerin's girlfriend?" That peaks his interest.

Oh, great, thinks Maria.

"Excuse me," he says. Maria tries to ignore him, but he only gets louder. "Excuse me ... Miss DeLuca?"

Heads turn in Maria's direction.

She walks up to him.

"You want to say that a little louder?" she says sarcastically.

"Sorry," he says. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"I bet you do," she returns.

"I pay for information."

"What do you think this is, Temptation Island?"

"I NEED this story."

"Go find a mule, then."

"I don't eat carrots."

Maria's attention diverts as she sees Isabel enter. She watches as Isabel heads straight for the back room.

"At least, tell me one thing."

Maria ignores him and follows Isabel into the back room. Michael and Isabel are talking. Isabel is visibly upset.

"What's wrong?" asks Maria.

"They're holding Max," says Isabel.

Max sits back in his jail cell. His dad sits opposite.

"Son, is there something you want to tell me?"

"No," he says. "Is Liz okay?"

"She's already been released."

"That's good," Max says.

"Max," questions Phillip, "did you kill Agent Pierce?"

"Can you tell me how your prints got on the cyclotron?"

"Max, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

"There's nothing to tell."

"Well, I think we have a problem."

"I don't know. It's not usual."

"I understand," says Max and lowers his head.

"I'll see what I can do."

The phone rings again in Liz's room. She lets the answering machine pick up. It's another reporter. God, don't they ever stop, she thinks, and finally unplugs the phone. She climbs into bed and pulls the covers around her and begins to think about what happened. The knock on the door becomes another grating distraction.

"Honey, come and get some lunch," says her mom.

"I'm not hungry," returns Liz.

The door opens and they face each other.

"Please," Liz pleads. "I just can't eat right now. ..."

Nancy gives her daughter a worried look.

"You're worried about Max, aren't you?"

Was it that obvious, wonders Liz.

"You need to stay away from him."

"Mom," says Liz, "don't force me to choose."

Nancy is taken aback. While she sensed her daughter's feelings toward Max might be serious, she never expected just how deep those feelings ran. Liz was no longer her little girl.

"I promise I'll get something to eat later," says Liz, her voice softening. "I ... I need to be alone right now."

Nancy half nods, starts to turn and speak, thinks again, and leaves, closing the door behind her. Liz gets up and locks the door.

"This is my fault," says Michael, "If I hadn't ..."

"Michael, don't!" warns Maria.

"Don't what?" he returns heatedly, "Max is in jail for something I did."

"Keep your voice down," says Isabel. "Someone will hear."

"Max doesn't belong in jail," says Michael. "I do."

"No, you don't," says Isabel.

"It was self-defense."

"Yeah, and nobody's going to believe that. Especially not now. I can't let Max take this wrap for me. If I confess, maybe I can get Max off."

"Michael, you can't do that," says Maria.

"There's got to be another way," says Isabel.

"Liz," says Maria. "We need Liz."

The Roswell Gazette reporter just finishes her story. It's a definite front pager, but will it see the light of day? It's so sensational that even she's not sure if she believes it. Her anonymous source had proof positive that Agent Pierce, a member of the elite FBI Special Unit, deliberately killed another FBI agent, a James Stevens, who also belonged to this elite Special Unit. There was both motive and opportunity. Stevens had been investigating the shooting incident at The Crashdown Cafe which involved Liz Parker and Max Evans back in Sept., 2000. However, according to rumor, Liz Parker had been shot and Max Evans healed her leaving behind a silver handprint, but no official police or medical reports backed this theory. Ms. Parker had been examined by an EMT. She hadn't been shot, nor was there any mentions of a silver handprint. The blood on her uniform turned out to be merely ketchup. When the gun when off, Parker slipped and fell, hitting her head on the counter. That's all. Max Evans saw her on the floor, unconscious, and thought she had been shot. What Lawrence Trilling had mistaken for a mystical healing was nothing more than Evans examining Ms. Parker for a bullet wound. When she regained consciousness, Evans left the cafe hurriedly before the police arrived at the urging of his friend, Michael Guerin, a known troublemaker. Obviously, Guerin must have had a guilty conscience about something. A minor story, really. No harm, no foul.

However, what makes it interesting are Pierce and Whitaker. From the sources provided by her unknown informer, Pierce comes off as a ruthless predator, out to make a name and capable of doing ANYTHING to justify the outcome ... but on whose authority? His predecessor, Daniel Summers dies under mysterious circumstances. Pierce takes the reins and shortly after that, Agent Stevens also dies under mysterious circumstances, well, not so mysterious if her source was to be believed. Pierce deliberately murders Stevens ... to take his place and that of the unit's predecessor, Daniel Summers. Then, there's that other agent, a Ms. Topolsky, who was working with Stevens on the Crashdown incident. According to official documents, she suffers a mental breakdown while working on the case and dies in a suspicious fire at the Bethesda Psychiatric Hospital. It, too, smelled like Pierce. Pierce begins to date Congresswoman Whitaker, then turns around and immediately discredits her at the Senate Committee Hearings. Pierce winds up dead, then Whitaker, all with Max Evans and Liz Parker in the background. But this wasn't the work of high school students. It's too elaborate. This was far more sinister, a covert government at work. Max Evans, Liz Parker, Michael Guerin, and even Sheriff Valenti are pawns in a much bigger game. What better way to throw suspicion off than create a sensational diversion about highschoolers gone bad and an alien-chasing sheriff? Perfect media fodder.

She tags a headline to her story: Pierce Murder Government Coverup.

There's a knock at Liz's door.

"No, no, Liz," says Maria. "It's me."

Liz recognizes Maria's voice and bounds out of bed to unlock the door.

"Are you okay?" she asks Liz.

She nods quickly. Her concern is elsewhere.

"Max. Have you heard anything about Max?"

"Max is still in jail."

"Why? It's not like they have anything ..."

"Isabel says they found Max's fingerprints on the cyclotron."

Liz straightens and feels her muscles tense. She understands the significance.

"This is serious, Maria."

"Whitaker was apparently suspicious about the test results, so she had the cyclotron checked for tampering. ..."

"... so she had it dusted for fingerprints. ..."

"... and they came up with some unidentified fingerprints. ..."

"Max's. How did they know they were Max's?"

"You know that guy from the police board?"

Liz nods, remembering how unpleasant he was.

"He got Max's fingerprints from Las Vegas, you know, when Michael and he got arrested."

Liz frowns. This is not good, she realizes.

"They're holding Max as a flight risk."

"Because we were in Vegas."

"Maria, I don't know how we got there."

Liz shakes her head.

"One minute we were in the pod chamber ... we found this room. ... I found this room, kind of by accident. I fell through the rock."

"Is that how you lost your cell phone?"

"I don't know. I must have."

"Isabel and Tess found it in the Pod Chamber. They left it there."

"Maria, I have to go out there."

"You can't. There's fire everywhere."

"You don't understand. My diary and the crystals, they're missing."

"Like gone, missing?"

"Yeah, and they only place they can be is in the Pod Chamber. At least, I hope ..."

"They were in my bag, Maria. I checked it when I got back, after we got arrested. They're both gone."

"OMG, the police have them?"

"I don't know. Max and I, when we found the other room, it was like it was lived in, you know. There were crystals everywhere and a beautiful light. But we were both so tired, we went to sleep and when we woke up ..."

"... you were in Vegas."

"Exactly," confirms Liz, before continuing. "Our parents were there, the police ... so might still be in The Pod Chamber. The diary and crystals weren't listed among my possessions when Max and I were booked. I have to get out there. I think there is someone else out there."

"We have to get him out. I can't bear the thought of him being in jail ... by himself. I almost wish I were still there."

Agent Duff unlocks the key to her hotel room. She hates this assignment. It means someone is going down ... hard. Someone broke the law and in her gut, she knows Valenti's is at the heart and she knows him as a good man protecting an extraordinary bunch of kids with extraordinary gifts. As she enters, she senses something is wrong. She pulls out her gun and enters cautiously. From the bathroom, she hears movement.

"I know you're in there. Come out ... slowly, hands where I can see them."

Slowly, a figure emerges from the bathroom. Agent Duff stares, stunned. She lowers her gun. It's Kathleen Topolsky.

Liz dresses as she talks with Maria.

"Is Isabel still here?"

Maria nods. "She's in the back room."

"Are all those reporters still ..."

"Yep, stinkbugs everywhere."

"This is so claustrophobic. I have to get out of here."

"It's too dangerous."

"I can't help Max stuck in my room."

"Okay, okay, what are you going to do?"

"I have to go to the Pod Chamber."

"Why don't you just jump off a bridge?"

"I've already done that?"

"Never mind, Maria," Liz says, "Forget it. I need the crystals. That's why I need to get to the Pod Chamber. There are only three places they can be ... the Bali Hai, the police, and the Pod Chamber. Right now, I have no control over the first two, but I CAN get to the Pod Chamber."

"How do you expect to get past the firelines?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe Tess can come along and do her mind-warp thing."

"I'm coming with you."

"Everyone's going to be watching us ... our parents, the police, the press. We need to be extremely careful, Maria. I might need you to create a diversion."

"I don't know. You're the drama queen. Think of something. Have Isabel meet me out back during the dinner rush."

At the Tumbleweed Inn, Duff and Topolsky sit on opposite beds.

"I need your help, Suzanne."

"What happened to you?" asks Duff.

"These kids ... they're very special."

"I know that, but someone broke the law and someone has to pay for that."

"Pierce broke the law and he's paid his debt."

"Pierce killed Agent Stevens and he tried to kill me."

"I don't understand."

"When I found out what Pierce was planning, what he was going to do to these kids, and what he had done to Agent Stevens and others, I couldn't live with that. I tried to get out of the Special Unit ... but you just don't leave the Special Unit."

"They didn't count on me surviving."

"And now you want revenge."

"No, I want justice ... for these kids. I want them to live."

"Did they break the law?"

"They're good kids. All they are trying to do is stay alive."

"I think you already know."

Duff shakes her head, then nods. Something that couldn't be put in a report and still make assistant director.

Liz finishes the remains of a tuna melt and a glass of milk. Her mom watches her across the table, but they say nothing. Liz has a hard time swallowing the last bite.

"Can I get you anything else?"

Liz shakes her head. She doesn't want to talk.

"I, uh, really can't talk right now."

"We both feel like you're so far away," his voice trailing off.

"I know," she says, lowering her eyes.

"I mean, if you have a problem ..."

"Please," she pleads, her eyes welling with tears.

"I don't know what to say ..."

Liz gets up from the table and grabs the milk to put back in the refrigerator. She opens the door, puts the milk on the shelf, pauses and turns around. She's about to speak, but stops herself and withdraws from the room.

Jeff and Nancy exchange glances.

"What are you saying? Whitaker was a fraud?" questions, Agent Duff.

"I'm saying Whitaker was not who she appeared to be," says Topolsky.

"Why would she assume the identity of a woman born in 1919? And how do Liz Parker and Max Evans fit in all this?"

"Whitaker suspected Pierce was dead. They were on the same side, both staunch supporters of the FBI Special Unit. When he turned against her at the Senate Committee Hearings on the Special Unit, it confirmed her suspicions. Pierce was dead and the person she was dating was an impostor. She went to Roswell to investigate. That's when the bones were found. She immediately thought of Pierce."

"Didn't she insist on being the bones to Coleman Particle Research Lab?"

"There were some unusual circumstances surrounding the autopsy."

"But she wasn't happy with the results."

"The bones were old, weren't they?"

"Whitaker didn't believe it. The bones had been exposed to some kind of radiation burst. The aging remains unexplained. She had other forensic tests done which confirmed her suspicions. The bones belonged to Special Agent Daniel Pierce."

"And the fingerprints?"

"Someone within the government was looking extra funding. The Special Unit was deemed vulnerable. Alien-hunting seemed inappropriate in a government preparing for a possible recession, so ..."

"Pierce became expendable."

"Someone on the inside had him killed and replaced him with an impostor."

"Whitaker needed to save her pet project, so she enlists the Special Unit in a last-ditch effort to legitimize the Special Unit and save the funding."

"Based on evidence collected by Agent Stevens and myself, Pierce was convinced that Max Evans was an alien. So Whitaker deliberately targeted Evans using Liz Parker."

"That's why she hired her."

"It gave her a legitimate link to Max Evans and opportunity to extract a set of his fingerprints."

"Which she then plants on the cyclotron."

"Whitaker made sure that she kept the bones with her all the time the forensic staff was running tests so she had motive and opportunity. By proving that the bones belonged to Pierce she achieves two objectives: the possibility of alien contact and the fear that accompanies such contact. It virtually assures continuation of the Special Unit."

"Pierce's impostor discovers the plot; he disappears, but shortly after that, Whitaker dies in a car accident while on vacation."

"The same people who killed Pierce killed Whitaker."

"And they have ready-made patsies with Max Evans again at the center with his friends."

"Will it get Max Evans off?"

"If you have proof."

"How's this?" asks Topolsky who pulls out a duplicate set of files she has given The Roswell Gazette Reporter.

"You have been busy."

"Just make sure I get a new identity, a pension and that I stay alive."

"You won't make assistant director."

Isabel waits for Liz a block from The Crashdown. The fire trucks were out front when she passed. She sees Liz come around the corner and starts the jeep.

"What's that all about?"

"Maria and Michael started a small grease fire, enough to set off the fire alarms, but not do any damage. Let's go."

They zoom off together.

"Hello, yes, this is Phillip Evans."

"At the station. Sure, I can be there in 15 minutes."

He hangs up the phone. Diane Evans looks at her husband.

"They're releasing Max," he says. "Something about some new evidence that has come to light."

"Oh, thank God!" she says.

"I think she went out to meet Tess."

"We should call her and let her know."

Isabel pulls up to the front of the public library. Tess is waiting.

"Were you followed?"

"No, there's no one."

She climbs in behind Liz.

Isabel's cell phone rings.

"Are you going to answer that?" asks Liz.

"No," says Isabel, "What's so important about the Pod Chamber?"

"What did Maria tell you?"

"Nothing, really. There were a lot of people around, shift change and all."

"Max and I found this whole other chamber ..."

"What do you mean, other chamber?" interrupts Tess.