"Michael. Can I come in?" Blocking the entrance, he asked, "Is there something wrong, sheriff?"

"Nah, I just need to ask you a couple of questions."

Maria appeared from behind Michael. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Stay here. I'll be right back." She looked ready to argue, and he gave her a look that clearly said, 'I'll tell you everything when I get back.' He snatched his coat off of a barstool and went outside with the sheriff, closing the door behind him. The two men walked over to the curb where the sheriff's cruiser was parked.

"I'm sorry to barge in on you like this. I would have called ahead, but I couldn't find your number."

"I don't have one." Michael wasn't in the mood for small talk. "What questions?"

"When was the last time you saw Hank Guerin?"

"Hank?" The sheriff nodded. "Not since he left town. Before, actually. Why? Is he gone again?"

"Yeah, someone reported his trailer as being abandoned. The condition of it suggests it had been there a while."

"Hmm. Well I haven't seen him, and he's not likely to come looking for me to talk about old times."

The sheriff heard the bitterness in the younger man's voice. "Oh?"

"Yeah, we weren't exactly close, you know? It's not like we were ever a real family. His idea of looking after me was pouring beer on my cereal."

"Sounds tough." Michael didn't answer, just looked at the sheriff. "How about you tell me again about the argument you two had before you moved out?" The file the sheriff had grabbed before going to look at the trailer was the one in which the details of the report that was filed the last time Hank had disappeared were written. The sheriff wanted to refresh his memory of the incident in case it had any bearing on the present condition of the trailer. It said that just before Hank had left town for good, there'd been a disturbance at his trailer after which Hank had disappeared for a week or so. Valenti had been concerned and had brought Michael in for questioning, but the teen had had an alibi.

"There's nothing to tell. We argued, I left."

"Yeah, that's what you said before." Not really having anything substantial to work with for now, he decided not to push the issue at this time and put on his hat. "Michael, I want you to know that you can come to me if you ever need someone to talk to."

Michael said nothing but, "Goodbye, Sheriff."

Valenti drove away thinking about Michael Guerin. He knew that he was an alien, like Max and Isabel and that he, too, had powers. He also knew that Michael couldn't control his powers like Max could. He himself had witnessed Michael disabling a military vehicle simply by lifting his arm and releasing a stream of energy at it. That had been the moment when he'd finally realized that Max wasn't the only alien in Roswell. The thing was, when it was over, and Max and Liz were safely in his cruiser, Max had asked him "What'd you do?"

"I don't know." Michael had answered.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know!" he'd practically shouted, in a full panic. Then just a few hours later, Michael had stepped in and rescued all of them from being shot by an alien-hunting government agent, but in trying to save them, he had killed the guy. Valenti knew it was an accident. And he knew that Michael had, in the process, saved his own life, too. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter was that Michael Guerin, when pushed, could be a dangerous young man. He has these incredibly powerful abilities that he couldn't control. The sheriff wondered if Michael had anything to do with Hank's disappearance, and what he would do about it if he were.

Back in his apartment, Maria asked Michael what the sheriff had wanted.

"Hank's up and gone again. This time left his trailer behind. Valenti just wanted to know if I'd seen him."

"That's it?"

"Yeah." He pulled her close to him, and kissed her forehead. "That was it."

He closed his eyes, and enjoyed the feel of her in his arms. He was so tired. He'd been having that same feeling of impending doom on and off for the past week, and he was slowly going crazy. When he'd asked Max about it, he'd said he didn't perceive anything different. So far, nothing had appeared to threaten them, but Michael had been going around on full alert. He didn't tell anyone, but he had been stashing a few supplies in a cave near the cliffs where they went sometimes to talk, in case they needed to get gone in a hurry. Nothing major - a couple of blankets and three or four cans of food. That he was thinking in terms of preparation at all was an indication of how persistently his senses had been warning him of impending danger. He just wished the menace would show its head so that the waiting would end.

If he had told anyone what he had been doing they would have been amazed at him. The Michael of old would have high-tailed it out of Roswell at the first sign of trouble rather than prepare for a siege. He'd come a long way since then. Finally, he could echo Max's and Isabel's reluctance to leave their home. He had a place where he felt safe, friends that he cared about, and Maria. He wasn't going to give up any of those things without a fight.

With a sigh, her returned to the incredibly fascinating pastime of keeping Maria happy. Lucky for him, Maria seemed to be happiest when she was in his arms, with his lips on hers.

Alex was on his way to the reservation. He had an idea that Isabel's missing necklace might have gotten lost in Nasedo's cave. He was pretty sure that she had been wearing it last time they were there, the night Tess had died. When he reached the far end of the village, he parked his car, and grabbing his flashlight, began the long walk to the cave's hidden entrance. He'd only been to it a few times, but he wasn't likely to forget its location. Sure enough, within minutes, he was ducking into its cool interior. Unfortunately for him, the four strangers he'd startled in there were quick in their reactions. Before he could reverse direction and run for the safety of the village, they were on him, and that was the last thing he saw for a long time.

When Alex came to, three of the men were gathered around the wall where Nasedo had painted the map with the strange alien symbols years ago. They were talking quietly, and he couldn't make out what they were saying. He looked around trying to assess the situation. The cave had only one entrance, which is probably why Nasedo had chosen it so many years before. It was easier to defend one door than many. Their appearance didn't give him any clue to what their purpose might be. They could have been anyone. Average Joes dressed in jeans and plaid shirts, each one of them. They must have dragged him further into the cave because they currently stood between him and freedom. Alex thought briefly of Isabel, and was thankful that he'd decided not to invite her along with him. He'd wanted to surprise her with the necklace, assuming it was here at all. If she'd been here with him, he would have been going crazy trying to protect her. She was so beautiful, there's no telling what these men would have done to her, with him powerless to stop them. He shuddered at the thought.

The light coming in the front dimmed briefly before the fourth stranger ducked into the cave. He strode to his companions and said, "There's no one else around. He must be alone."

"Good," was the quiet reply.

They walked over to where he lay on the floor. Rather than pretending he was still out, Alex sat up, and then slowly pushed himself to his feet.

"Who are you, boy? Why are you here?"

Alex didn't know who these guys were, or what they wanted, but whatever it was, he wasn't going to help them get it. He stood in silence and refused to answer. They repeated the question, louder this time, and when he remained silent, the largest man of the group stepped forward. "You answer the question, boy, or you might not live to regret it." He smiled as he said it, and Alex saw no humor in his smile. In fact he saw no emotion in the man's face at all. Except for him moving around, he might just as well have been dead.

The teenager quickly weighed his options: answer the questions, or get pummeled by a very large man who looked like he could make two of him. It was an easy decision to make. "A... Alex. Mm..my name is Alex. I... I c... I come here to camp, sometimes."

"Thank you, Alex. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" The first man said. One of the others asked, "Where is the man who painted those symbols on the wall?"

'They were looking for Nasedo.' Alex thought. 'Well as long as he's in FBI Headquarters in Virginia, they won't find him here.' Still, he decided to be as uncooperative as possible and answered, "I don't know."

"Wrong answer," said the biggest man, just before he punched Alex in the face with enough force to break his nose, sending him to the ground.

Alex sat on the floor for a moment stunned, pain exploding in his brain. A part of him hadn't actually believed that they would hurt him. Whoever these guys were, they were in deadly earnest with their questions. Using the bottom of his shirt, he wiped the blood away from his upper lip and chin as he stood. "Look, I don't know who painted those symbols. It could have been some caveman for all I know. They've been there as long as I've been coming here."

"Try again." This time the fist landed directly in his diaphragm. He'd barely had time to clench his muscles in an attempt to ward off the blow, not that it did much good. The man was as strong as an ox. Alex, coughed and gasped, trying to get air in his lungs. He was barely keeping from retching and the four of them had him surrounded now. There would be no easy way to escape. If there were just one or two of them, he might have taken his chances in getting away from them. But with the four, there was no way. His only chance at getting out of here alive was a rescue, or if they got bored and left. The likelihood of either happening were slim to none, considering no one knew where he was. Alex's brain was furiously working. He'd been untruthful to them, but how had they known? They didn't know him from Adam. He could be just some kid who came here to camp on occasion. How could they know differently? Why were they so sure that he knew where Nasedo was?

"I'm going to ask you one more time, then I'm going to get mean. Where is the man who painted the symbols on the wall?"