Nasedo was leading the group through turn after turn, hallway after hallway, and stairwell after stairwell. He wasn’t letting up, nor was he saying anything about where he was going. They had finally started to get a lead over the two agents that Liz and Max had subdued in the hallway when the sirens started to go off like it was New Year’s Eve. Nasedo opened a door at the end of one hallway.

NASEDO: Everyone, in here…now!

MAX: What?

MICHAEL: Max, don’t question the man, let’s go.

The group all crowded into a small supply closet.

TESS: What are you doing?

NASEDO: What does it look like I’m doing?

TESS: I have no idea. Getting us all killed?

NASEDO: Haven’t you figured out anything by now?

TESS: No…I want some answers. You tell them everything about us, and then act like a crazy person? What is your problem?

NASEDO: Well, I was tasked to protect you.

MAX: Yeah, you’re doing a great job. What were you thinking? What are we doing here? What happened to you?

There was general clamor from all of them.

NASEDO: Please. I don’t think you really want those guys to notice we’re here. We’ll be safe in here as long as we’re quiet. There aren’t any cameras in this room.

MICHAEL: And how do you know that?

NASEDO: Remember, I was Pierce. I supervised the retrofit of this place.

LIZ: What are you doing, Nasedo?

NASEDO: OK. I’m really sorry that I had to put you all through that, but it was necessary.

ISABEL: Necessary for what?

NASEDO: To end the Special Unit and its threat.

ALEX: I think you can see that the shoe’s on the other foot right now thank you very much. We’re fighting for our lives and you’re bringing us into danger. Did you set this whole thing up?

NASEDO: Well, in a word, yes.

MICHAEL: What do you mean? You brought us here? This is insane.

NASEDO: Michael, you’re letting your emotions get in the way. Let me explain. The Special Unit wasn’t going to stop hunting you until you were all dead.

MAX: But I thought you were taking care of that.

NASEDO: Please, we only have minutes. Let me continue. Being Pierce wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t stop them from pursuing you. I mean, they’re feds, but they aren’t blind. They knew who Max was. They urged me again and again to pick all of you up. I tried to stop them, but in the end, one of them, Agent Wilson, the associate head of the unit, challenged me. He told me that I was holding up the investigation, and that he would personally see that I was removed. Said that I’d gone soft.

LIZ: Yeah, he spoke to me.

NASEDO: I’m sure he spoke to all of you. Anyway, I couldn’t just leave, and I couldn’t stop the whole unit by myself by force.

MAX: So you needed help.

NASEDO: Exactly. So I revealed my true identity to them, such as I wanted to. I told Agent Wilson that I was Nasedo, and that all of you were involved in a plot to take over the Earth.

ISABEL: Thanks a lot. Just what we need, more lies.

LIZ: I wondered what he was talking about.

NASEDO: I didn’t want to tell him the truth, and I needed a lie that I could work with. Anyway, I revealed to him who you all were. I left out the big details, but I filled him on enough so he knew a little bit about you and where to find you.

MAX: What about the letter?

NASEDO: He wrote and mailed it to you. They were going to lure you all into the woods, and then kill all of you after you talked. Easier to do it there. I’m just glad that you found my clues.

ALEX: The coded message.

NASEDO: Yeah. You didn’t think that the FBI would make a message that easy to break, did you? I hoped that one of you would be able to figure it out.

ISABEL: But that took us sixteen hours…

NASEDO: Exactly. A real coded message you would have never been able to decipher. See, I had to make it look to you like you were coming here to rescue me, and that it wasn’t a total setup.

TESS: Well, why the crazy act? You could’ve filled us in at any time.

NASEDO: Need I remind you that this place is completely bugged and videotaped, Tess? I couldn’t say or do anything.

MAX: So you risked all of our lives on a plan with a miniscule chance of success?

MICHAEL: And another thing, what do we do now? We’re going to be lucky to ever see the outside of these walls. This was your plan? Some plan.

NASEDO: No…with all five of us here, we have a chance to stop them. Two flights down from this room, there’s a basement storage area. There is a door that leads to a tunnel that will take us out to the compound.

MARIA: But, OK, we get out. But they’re still here, and now they know who we are and where we live. They’re the FBI. We’re still goners. It’s only a matter of time.

NASEDO: That’s why we hole up there. There’s a long hallway to the main door of the tunnel. With the excitement of all of you here, every member of the Special Unit is in house tonight. We just have to kill all of them as they come up to try and stop us from escaping.

MARIA: Did you just say kill? He said kill, didn’t he.

TESS: We can’t do that.

MICHAEL: There are probably 50 to 60 people in the Unit. How can we stop them all?

NASEDO: No, Michael, there actually is only thirty-three, not including myself. They can’t let too many people in.

ALEX: But wait, that’s still thirty-three people. How can we do that?

NASEDO: If the five of us combine our strength, we may be able to do just that.

ISABEL: May? This is all based on may?

Max was pacing around the backside of the room. He couldn’t believe that Nasedo would do such a thing; take such a huge risk with all of their lives. He was getting pretty agitated. Finally, he just had to let loose.

MAX: Nasedo, what were you thinking? You say you’re here to protect us. This is crazy. We are in serious trouble here, all of us. You ask us to trust you. We risked our lives for you, and for what, so you can lead us to the slaughter? All of this, this journey to Los Alamos, the whole weekend, you set up for us to be captured, interrogated, tortured. Don’t you think that the price is just a bit high for such a small chance? How are we going to stop an army? Because that’s what the Special Unit is to us, an Army. They have weapons, training, and the law on their side. You give us up? Thanks a lot. The next time I need some protection, you’re the last one I’m going to ask.

Max was visibly mad, practically screaming at him. If anyone were in the hallway, they would have heard him. But to Max, it didn’t matter. He was so furious with Nasedo and his entire plan. He risked all of their lives on a plan and a whim. Maybe they couldn’t depend on him after all, especially after this. If there was an after this, that was.

NASEDO: Max, look at me. No, look at me. Believe me, if there was any other way to do this, I would have. Do you think I like this, any of this? It was an acceptable risk for the gravity of the mission. You, all of you, can’t let emotion get in the way right now. If you do, you’re right, we’re doomed. And we simply can’t have that. All of you have to focus. We can get out of this, if we use all of the resources at our disposal.

MICHAEL: How?

NASEDO: Come on; let’s get to the tunnel. We have to go there now, or we have no chance to get out of here, much less end the Special Unit. I’ll explain when we get there.

Nasedo opened the door, looked left and right, and guided everyone out into the hallway.

SCENE 2

The True were able to sneak on the base pretty easily. About 100 yards down the perimeter fence, they found the small hole that Tess had made in the chain links. All five of them walked through it and set off to try and find where all of them were. They walked for a while, through the test ranges and such. It was getting dark in the desert, and so things were getting harder and harder to see. After they walked to the other side of the main test range, they saw one building with lights and sirens blaring.

JACOB: Now that has to be it.

KATHERINE: What are they doing here in the first place?

BRYAN: No clue. But they’re obviously here. How do we get in?

CAREN: Get in? We’re on a secure military base with the army all over the place. We’re lucky we haven’t been picked up yet!

BRYAN: Well, then why did we come all of this way then?

CAREN: I’m just saying that we may need to wait for Plan B.

JACOB: Which is?

BRYAN: The plan we don’t have.

After Bryan said that, they noticed that Jaime had walked away from the rest of them.

BRYAN: Jaime? What are you doing?

She put her hands to her temples and began to concentrate.

CAREN: Well, apparently our mute friend has decided to wake up and think of something.

JACOB: Maybe she’s just sick of hearing you complain.

BRYAN: Look guys, now’s not the time.

KATHERINE: Well, what is she doing?

BRYAN: I don’t know. But we need to move somewhere not out in the open. Let’s go behind that silo over there.

That’s what the other four did, except for Jaime. She stood about 300 yards away from the building, deep in thought.

SCENE 3

Once again, the group was following Nasedo through the hallways of the compound. The lights and sirens were still going full-tilt. He got to the end of one hallway, and pushed a section of the wall away. It was a hidden door. Everyone followed him down to the basement level, or so they supposed it was. After a quick turn, the hallway opened into a main storage location. They walked along quickly and deliberately to the other side of the area. Michael saw something out of the corner of his eye.

MICHAEL: What’s that?

NASEDO: Please Michael, now’s not the time. We have to move.

Michael fell out of line and walked over to a small table. The table had one thing on it. It was a model. Isabel saw what he was looking at, and walked over.

ISABEL: What is that? I’ve seen that before.

NASEDO: Come on, not now…

The model looked like a small teardrop. It was only about nine inches high, and maybe four inches around. The best way to have immediately described it was that it looked like a large Hershey’s kiss. It was metallic silver in color, with ridges built into the side. It was on a wood base, which had a faded inscription.

MAX: Come on, we don’t have much time, Michael.

MICHAEL: Wait just a second.

ISABEL: Just pick it up and take it. Come on, we can look at it later.

Michael picked up the model and ran to catch up with the rest of them. At the other end of the basement, they saw the long passageway that Nasedo had referred to. The group of them moved to the end of the hallway.

MAX: OK…what now?

NASEDO: We wait.

MICHAEL: Something tells me we won’t be waiting all that long.

NASEDO: No.

TESS: So what’s your grand plan? Come on, we’re all waiting.

NASEDO: OK. I think that the four of you saw that if you can all concentrate at the same time, that you could communicate with each other, right?

MAX: Yeah, so?

NASEDO: Well, think about what kind of power that takes. All you have to do is focus.

ISABEL: Yeah, but on what. Are we going to shoot fireballs, missiles, what?

NASEDO: No. I had something a little different in mind. A force field.

TESS: Force field? What is this, Star Trek?

MICHAEL: No wait. I think I get it. All we have to do is to manipulate the air molecules in front of us. Once we do that, their molecules will be transformed as soon as they touch it.

MAX: OK…even if we can do that, what when they figure that out? That’s going to take a tremendous amount on concentration to maintain. What when they realize that touching it is bad?

NASEDO: That will give us an edge. They’ll be off-balance. We can go and knock them out cold. Both by our way, and the traditional way.

MARIA: Traditional way?

MICHAEL: Hit them over the head, Maria.

MARIA: Ahh…

As she said that, an agent found them in the corridor on his rounds. He radioed up to the others.

AGENT: I’ve found them; they’re cornered in the passageway down in the supply area.

The agent started to charge down the corridor.

NASEDO: OK…now.

As the alien four started to conjure up the brainpower that altering air molecules would require, the agent kept coming.

AGENT: You there! Stay right there.

LIZ: What if this doesn’t work?

MARIA: We book out the back. Where is the back anyway? Nasedo said there was a door. I don’t see one.

Alex answered that by pushing the wall in. It slowly started to give way.

ALEX: I think that answers your question.

LIZ: Keep that closed for now. We may need that later.

The agent walked towards them, and then all of the sudden, he fell backwards. He was out cold, or at least he appeared to be.

LIZ: Oh my god…it’s working.

ALEX: I thought it was just going to hurt them, not kill them.

MARIA: Come on, don’t argue. Whatever stops them is good right now.

ALEX: Ahh…got it.

Within thirty seconds, all of the agents were assembled in the main supply area at the other end of the hallway.

WILSON: OK…we have you cornered. Just come out now, and no one has to get hurt.

No one responded.

WILSON: That seems to be common theme with you. OK, well I don’t want to do this, but…

He pressed a button on his cell phone, or at least that’s what it seemed like it was. Suddenly, all five aliens, Nasedo, Max, Tess, Isabel, and Michael, all keeled over, seemingly in excruciating pain.

WILSON: I told you I didn’t want to do that. After testing this nice new device on the shapeshifter, we knew it was potent. But what we didn’t realize is that it wipes your brain, molecule by molecule, atom by atom. That wouldn’t have been pretty. I’m told that prolonged exposure is, well, lethal. OK…let’s put them back in their cells.

A group of agents started to close the distance between them.

LIZ: Now would be a good time, Alex.

ALEX: What? Oh…that.

Alex forced open the door at the back of the wall. He grabbed Isabel, and brought her through the door. In about ten seconds all of them had gotten through. Max, Michael, Tess, and Nasedo along with Isabel were able to find some kind of strength to fight the enormous pain they were in, and they hobbled through. Liz slammed the door shut behind them.

WILSON: Well, don’t just watch them leave. Stop them!

---------

Back outside, Bryan, Caren, Jacob, and Katherine were still watching Jaime looking frozen at the building. She started to backpedal slowly, looking like she was going to join them. She stopped about five feet away, and then pursed her eyes as if to shoot something out of them at the building. What they saw next was a sight unlike any of them had ever seen. The compound started to vibrate. The whole building. Slowly at first, and then faster and faster. After about thirty seconds, the building was moving so much that they could barely even see it anymore. Jaime then turned around to face the other four.

JAIME: Boom.

The group’s eyes jumped from Jaime back to the building. Or at least their eyes would have except for that fact that the building was no longer there. The large compound that had stood on the spot, sirens blaring and lights blazing, was simply gone. In its place was just, well, just nothing.

CAREN: Jaime, what the hell did you just do?

Jaime opened her mouth as if to respond, but as she raised her arm, she collapsed.

BRYAN: Jaime!

The others immediately rushed over to her. Jacob went down to the ground and touched her.

JACOB: She’s dead.

---------

When the whining of the vibrations going on above them was almost deafening, the group was busy trying to stagger out of there. They had gotten as far as a turn in the passage when they were forced off their feet by what was going on above.

LIZ: What is that?

Then it subsided.

MARIA: What happened?

ALEX: I have a distinct feeling that I don’t want to know.

MAX: Liz…

Liz jumped up and went over to where Max was sitting.

LIZ: Max…what is it?

MAX: You’re OK.

LIZ: Of course I am. I’m more worried about you. What happened back there?

MAX: I don’t know. Come on, let’s move. I don’t want to stay down here.

The group got back up. Fortunately, the effects of Agent Wilson’s device didn’t seem to be that long lasting. All five of them seemed fine by the time they found the exit to the tunnel. As they came up to the nighttime sky, they breathed a massive sigh of relief.

MARIA: Well, we’re out of here.

NASEDO: Come on, there’s not much time to waste. Where are your cars?

Max looked out at where he was. They were almost right near the test field. He could see his Jeep about 100 yards away.

MAX: Over there.

MARIA: Well let’s get out of here.

The group hurried toward their cars, and it took about thirty seconds for them to be driving away.