The door behind Nasedo opened and closed, and only when the newcomer was settled into his seat did the man behind the desk look up from his work. "Agent Pierce. So nice you could finally join us. Although I suppose after being shot you deserve a couple of days R and R. How is the shoulder?"

Nasedo tried to estimate the proper mix of reverence and arrogance that he was sure the real Pierce would exhibit in this situation. "Fine, Sir."

"Good. Now, I couldn't help but notice that your unit checked in a couple of humvees lighter than you left with. A couple of agents, too. Since you've been so hard to get in touch with the past couple of days I've had my assistant, Johnson here, talking to your men. The story I've heard is very interesting. You went out chasing one alien and now it seems we've found three. Frankly, I'm surprised that you're back here at all."

"Well, General. You seem well informed. You must know that our captive got away."

"Yes, the boy you went after. You said before that you thought he was living with a family there. Did you check them out?"

"Yes, and the only thing I found there was a normal teenager. Several witnesses, including the local sheriff, placed the boy at different locations at the same time. We know these aliens are able to look like anyone, he must have taken the form of this boy to be able to move around town without anyone getting suspicious."

"Any idea why they were in Roswell?"

"No, sir. But based on past experience I don't think they'll be back again."

"Maybe, but I think you should have a man keep an eye out for suspicious events out there, just in case." Nasedo nodded and began to get up to leave when the general spoke again. "You should be proud, Pierce. Nevermind the losses, you're the first head of this unit that's been able to prove that all the money we've spent tracking down the alien we lost to long ago was not a waste. Now that we know there's at least two more our funding should skyrocket. Oh, and I look forward to reading your formal report."

"Yes, sir."

Nasedo could barely contain his disgust as he zigzagged past the people striding purposefully through the stark white hallways. That these creatures, mere infants on the evolutionary scale, could cause him so much trouble by their ignorance and fear, was almost unbearable. He needed to get to his office, were he could be free of the stench of them for a while. When he opened the door to find Pierce's assistant waiting for him it he had to suppress the urge to kill him immediately.

"What do you want?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir. You wanted to see the progress on removing the x-ray scanners?"

Finally, some good news. He let the young agent lead him into the bowels of the government complex. He had studied the diagrams of the building and was not surprised that these corridors were not on them. The agent stopped where two men in blue jumpsuits were pulling an electronic device from the wall.

"How far along are they?"

"Almost finished."

"Good." Nasedo watched as the technician removed the x-ray scanner from the security gate.

"Sir, are you sure this is wise?"

Nasedo dismissed the young agent with a quick glance. "Somehow the aliens have figured out how to bypass them. They are an unreliable safeguard, it leads to a false sense of security. And that can be worse than having no defenses at all." It was pitiful, the look of rapt attention on Pierce's assistant's face. As if he thought these words from his superior were the voice of God. It was easy to understand why Pierce had chosen this young man as his assistant. He was ambitious, idealistic, easy to manipulate. There would be no surprises from this one. A couple high level assignments, a promotion every couple years and he would be happily under control.

"Agent Garcia, I want you to brief the men. The labs are reviewing the data to come up with a better system of defense. Until then I want guards posted at every point of access in this complex. From now on everybody works in pairs. Under no circumstances does anyone let his partner out of his sight. If an agent takes a piss, he better be sure his buddy is right beside him. Guard posts will be rotated in threat alpha schedules and all orders are to be verified. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then get on it."

The assistant hurried away, his sense of purpose adding a slight swagger to his gait. Nasedo watched the technicians work for a minute, then slipped through the now open gate to the hallway beyond. He had been able to briefly look around the base in Roswell when rescuing Max and had found what was left of the ship. But there were other items he was interested in, he hoped that they might be here. The first couple doors he tried were unhelpful. Another medical exam room like the one he knew so well in Roswell. A few empty rooms. A janitors closet. Finally he got to a storage room filled with filing cabinets and shelves. Miniature saucer shaped ships, some meteorites, what looked like a hand in a jar of formaldehyde. Each item was tagged with a name and a year. This must be all the paraphernalia the FBI had collected in years of investigating UFO hoaxes. Then he saw something familiar on the top shelf. Small and spheroid, it's inky blackness reflected the dim light in the room perfectly. He picked it up, it's shape nestling naturally in his hand. It was cold, maybe it was damaged in the crash.

"Sir, we're all done out here. We have orders to lock the gate. Should we wait?"