In front of her, Tess saw the man posing as her father. Beside him a half-dozen black clad men quickly circled around her. Tess darted her eyes back and forth, preparing to bolt. Mr. Harding nodded to his associates. At once, the men grabbed Tess and carried her kicking and screaming form over to a prepared location. The men dropped Tess hard on a plastic tarp. Two men grabbed her arms and pulled them over her head. Tess rolled from side to side as the other four men started to kick her viciously in the ribs, thighs and back. To Tess, the episode went on forever, but in reality, the men stopped five minutes later at the prompting of Mr. Harding. Tess moaned in pain as the men holding her arms roughly yanked her up into a sitting position. Mr. Harding crouched in front of Tess. Tess winced, opened her eyes and glared at her “Father.” He took Tess’ face in his hand and squeezed her chin tightly.

“O.K. Tess, time’s up. The powers that be have finally gotten as tired of having you around as I have. Now, they are a little more kind than I am. They are willing to keep you around as a pincushion or freak-show exhibit so long as you tell us what we want to know. We know that there are three left like you. We also know that they are somewhere here in Roswell. We want to know who they are.”

Mr. Harding stood up and inflicted a strong kick in the ribs on Tess. As Tess panted in pain, Mr. Harding kneeled down in front of her again. In a thin monotone voice, Mr. Harding addressed Tess, “We intend to get the answers out of you one way or another.

Oh, and Tess, don’t think that you can use your powers on my men. I won’t hesitate for a moment if I have to kill them. If you do get control of their minds, then I’m prepared to eliminate any threat I see.”

Tess sneered at Harding and said, “Too bad I can’t control you. I’d love to see the color

your brains would color the wall after I forced you to blow your own brains out.”

Mr. Harding slapped Tess hard across the face and commented, “Lucky for me, I’m one

of the 2% of the population immune to your race’s mind control powers. Unlucky for me, that distinction got me saddled with you for the last seven years. Now, are you willing to cooperate?”

Painfully, Tess motioned for her “Father” to come closer. Once he was close enough, Tess spit in his face. Mr. Harding reddened with anger and frustration. He motioned to the guards and, in an instant; the men descended on Tess. Kicking, hitting and, somewhere in the middle of the abuse, burning and cutting Tess. The men continued until stopped by an odd sound echoing from the focus of their pent up rage. She started to laugh out loud. Maniacally, Tess threw back her head and addressed her “Father.”

“Oh my God, ‘Dad.’ What the drugs don’t work anymore, so you’re resorting to this? You’re pathetic if you think this is going to work.”

Mr. Harding stood up and backhanded Tess across the left cheek. Tess’ head snapped back and rolled, uncontrollably forward. With hatred, Mr. Harding started kicking Tess in her mid section. He could feel her ribs break due to the punishment and he smiled. He continued to attack Tess physically as he lashed out at her verbally, “You smart-mouthed

little bitch. You have no idea how long I have wanted to do this. All these years, pretending to be the father of something I despise – something that disgusts me. You deserve to die. Only my superior’s commands have kept you alive this long. Now, I can happily do this all night. (Mr. Harding drops to one knee. He looks at Tess’ pain filled face.) In fact, I would love to, just give me a reason.”

Not wanting to betray her fear, Tess looked away from Mr. Harding. She bit her lip. On the outside, all she did was tremble from the pain. On the inside, she screamed. For hours, Mr. Harding and the black-clad men beat Tess viciously. They slapped and slugged her. They kicked her sides and broke more of her ribs. Tess tried to be strong, but in the end, exhaustion won out and her screams ripped forth only to be stifled by a wad of cloth forced down her throat. Finally, Mr. Harding grabbed a mass of bloody curls and forced the wad of cloth out of her mouth. Painfully, he forced her head up, arching her neck. Mockingly, he addressed her, “Now Tess. I have to admit I’m

impressed. I never thought you could take this much punishment then I realized you’re not doing it for you. You’re going through all this because you want to die with your secret. Well, I’m not going to let you. You see, Tess. I’m not going to let you die. I’m going to keep you alive for as long as it takes to get the information out of you. Days, weeks, months, years, it’s all the same to me, Tess. I could participate in this kind of extra-curricular activity forever, if necessary.”

Tess squinted through a half-shut eye at Mr. Harding. Mr. Harding dropped her head and it wobbled as Tess tried to raise it. In her rapidly beating heart, Tess knew that her “Father” was telling the truth. He would never let her die. The left side of her mouth was almost swollen shut. Her entire body was sore. In defeat, Tess nodded and hissed out a series of names.

Once she was finished, a man from behind raised a blunt object and brought it down on the back of Tess’ head. The first strike stunned her. The second put her out cold. Three men wrapped her in the tarp and carried her to a sound proof cell in the basement. The other three stood at attention in front of Mr. Harding. Mr. Harding pulled out a handkerchief and started to wipe Tess’ blood off his hands. Coolly, Mr. Harding ordered the men, “Go pick up Liz Parker, Maria DeLuca and Alex Whitman. We’ll need to run tests on them right away.”

The men started to retreat, but paused when they heard Mr. Harding calling from behind.

“Oh and by the way, pick up Michael Guerin and those Evans’ kids. I’ve noticed that they tend to hang out together. Interrogate them, find out what they know about all this.”

-----<(0)>-----

At that moment, Maria was driving Michael home. The meeting had concluded a few minutes before when Michael agreed to help Isabel find Tess. Max stated yet another unwanted objection and the group dispersed. Sitting next to Maria, Michael saw the tension raging through her muscles. Stiffly, Maria sat behind the wheel, her back not touching the seat. Michael drummed his fingers against the side of the window, finally resting one finger on the top edge of it. Maria glanced over at Michael’s hand and spit out a muffled titter. Michael inquired into what was so funny and Maria replied, “I think

you’re giving all of Roswell the bird, there, buddy.”

Michael looked at his hand, realized Maria was right and brought the hand down quickly. Maria laughed out loud. Michael slowly started to laugh and soon they were laughing their way down the street. Michael turned to Maria, after their laughter had lasted just a little too long, and said, “I think we need to talk about this, Maria.”

“You want to talk? That’s new. You never want to talk.”

“Yeah, well, I’m talking right now, right?”

“Okay. We can talk. Let’s see. What shall we talk about? Hmm…Okay, I mean, can you answer a question for me?”

“Sure. Shoot.”

“Is this how you saw your life? Being sixteen years old and about to be a father? Is this all just some incredible pleasure trip for you?”

Michael sat silently for a couple of seconds. He taped his fingers on the door and softly said, “Well, I’ve always liked the idea of a kid, just not now. Years in the future –

maybe. Also, I definitely had a different woman in mind.”

Maria smiled, blushed a little and leaned against the seat back. Michael crossed his arms and smiled back.

Regretfully, only a single blissful moment passed before a red light started to flash and a wailing siren pierced the night. With a groan, Maria pulled over to the side of the road. They watched the officer approach the car and stop in front of the window. Too late, they noticed that his gun was already drawn. The officer pointed the gun directly at Maria’s heart and ordered the two out of the car. Once Michael and Maria were standing by the road, one more man stepped out of the squad car. This man slowly approached Maria and looked her up and down. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and told Michael to follow. The man placed them in the back of the squad car.

The man was efficient.

He had just the right mix of charm and authority.

He was wearing a black suit.

-----<(0)>-----

Across town, Liz was getting ready for bed. She put on her pajamas and brushed her teeth. She pulled back the covers and prepared to slide into bed when she heard a knock on the front door. Liz listened as her Father answered the door. Low mumbles could be heard but no amount of straining could decipher their meaning. Although the words were animated, only their intensity could be understood. Liz heard her Mother enter the conversation. The voices grew louder until the words “drugs,” “intent” and “NO” could be heard. For a second – silence, then Liz heard footsteps approaching her room. Heavy, fast footfalls stopped at her door. A loud knock sounded and Liz put on her robe and opened the door. Her parents stood before her with red faces and crossed arms. Beside them was a black clad man holding a paper that said “Arrest Warrant.”

-----<(0)>-----

On a lonely road, one commonly reserved for intimate late night adventures, Isabel and Alex sat, holding each other in the back seat of Isabel’s car. The impassioned clutching that had originally started as a show of comfort had quickly grown into more. Soon, they kissed and pressed against each other in a panic. They exchanged the words “I love you” and their hands roamed over each other.

In the dark, his hand found her breast and her embrace pulled him closer. They separated just long enough to discard their shirts. They took a moment to worship each other before returning to their fevered touching. Alex started to suck on one of Isabel’s nipples as he lowered a hand and took hold of the front of Isabel’s jeans. He placed his fingers over the button and zipper and then looked into Isabel’s eyes. Isabel looked at Alex’s hand and then crept her gaze up his form until resting upon the question in his eyes. With a nod of her head, Isabel consented and felt Alex undo the button and pull the zipper down. First, Alex pushed Isabel’s pants down and away before doing the same to himself. Sighing softly, Isabel parted her thighs and Alex slid comfortably between them.

Eerily, the green glow emanating from Isabel’s abdomen illuminated the dark space. Affectionately, Alex placed a hand over the glow and watched the light shine between his fingers. Leaning down, Alex kissed the glowing spot before continuing down Isabel’s body. Filled with pleasure, Isabel threw back her head and cried out at the first touch of Alex’s tongue to her most intimate place. Fueled by passion, Isabel pulled Alex up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Leaning over Isabel, Alex kissed Isabel’s mouth, forehead, neck, shoulder…

Shattering this romantic scene, a loud knock reverberated off the fogged up windows. Again, the loud knock sounded. Isabel pulled on her shirt and pants and Alex did the same. Wiping the steam from one of the windows, Alex met the bright beacon of a large flashlight. The officer motioned for Alex to roll down his window and Alex complied. That was when the gun the policeman was holding came into view. Shocked, Alex and Isabel moved silently as the officer and another man, wearing a black suit and Ray-Bans, ordered them to exit the vehicle and walk to the patrol car.

-----<(0)>-----