Returning to the apartment serving as a base of operations, Jared opened the back of the van and lifted out the bundle. Hurriedly, Jared carried the body into the apartment, past Molly’s picture, down the hall and into the backroom equipped as a cell. Waylans, Walter and George filed into the cell behind Jared and watched Jared throw down the limp bundle on the floor of the cell. His chest pushed out and a smile on his face, Jared pointed to his captive like it was the first deer of the season. Walter and George held back as Waylans walked up to Jared, slapping the boy on the back. Waylans kneeled down beside the bundle and pulled on the blanket revealing the face of their prisoner. Jared was knocked across the room by the force of Waylans fists hitting his chest. Angry, Waylans pointed at the blond girl lying on the floor and yelled, “Idiot, you got the wrong person. What did you do hide in the wrong apartment?”

Jared stared in shock, his mouth hanging wide open. He tightly squeezed his eyes shut before opening them wide. Waylans walked over and grabbed Jared by his shirt, forcing Jared to scramble to his feet.

“Well, come on, explain this to me!”

Jared was panicking at this point, tears forming in his eyes.

“WELL!”

Jared swallowed hard and answered weakly, “I went to the right apartment. I waited. At around 8:30 p.m., the person walked in. The room was so dark and the light outside was so bright. We never saw nobody else enter this apartment. I just assumed it had to be him.”

George got everyone’s attention by asking, “What time did you say it was that this girl entered the apartment?”

Jared panicked again and repeated, “I didn’t know it was a girl. I swear.”

George put his hands up and walked over to where Waylans was still holding onto Jared’s shirt. Calmly, George placed his hands over Waylans’ fists eventually getting Waylans to let go. George placed his arm around Jared’s shoulders and walked him to the door. Gently, George addressed the shivering youth, “I believe you, Jared. I meant the time. What time was it again, son?”

Jared stood with hunched shoulders and a bowed head. Humbly, he answered, “About 8:30 p.m.”

George turned back to Waylans and said, “That explains a lot. This girl must live with the alien. Why else would she have a key?”

George slapped Jared on the back and told him to go to bed and sleep it off. Turning back to Waylans, George asked, “So, what are we going to do, now?”

Her head feeling like it was going to split, Maria slowly opened her eyes. At first, her vision was blurry and her hearing was fuzzy. She could hear voices buzzing around her, above her. Finally, the images came into view and Maria realized that she was in an unfamiliar place. Her eyes darted back and forth from man to man to man beside her. They were talking animatedly.

One of the men, a tall, skinny one the others called Walter noticed that she was awake and alerted the others. At that moment, the voices became frustrated and anxious. The same tall, skinny man called Walter knelt beside Maria. He leaned in close and Maria could see how bushy and thick his dark hair was and how gaunt his features appeared. Next, Maria noticed the needle that was pulled out of the Walter’s pocket. Three-year old memories filled Maria’s mind, terrorizing her. Maria screamed and tried to get away, but couldn’t, the blanket was wrapped too tightly around her. The needle was pushed into her skin and a few drops of blood extracted. Looking at the three men surrounding her, Maria couldn’t believe this was happening again.

Inside her, something crumbled.

Inside her, something broke.

Maria began to cry, not from fear, but from defeat. The sobbing took on a nature that disturbed and concerned the crew. Stepping outside the cell, George rushed to do the tests.

A couple of hours later, George entered the back room where Waylans and Walter were waiting outside the closed cell door. George walked over the window in the door and was shocked to see Maria’s face staring back at him. Instantly, Maria’s eyes grew wide with fear and she backed away from the door. George turned away saddened by Maria’s reaction. Turning back to Waylans and Walter, George opened a folder and presented the men with Maria’s blood work – Negative. Waylans walked over to the cell door and looked at Maria.

“We have to keep her.”

George protested, “Mac, we don’t do human captures, remember? We have to let her go.”

Waylans turned around and walked over to George.

“We can’t. If we let her go, then she’ll run straight to the aliens and warn them.”

George opened the folder again and started flipping through the blood work of the other young people, his hand stopping on Vellena’s test results. Looking up at Waylans, George said, “I think this job was easier when I was younger, Mac, before I was so bothered by all the gray areas in life.”

Waylans wore a shocked expression as George walked away.

Unable to leave it at that, Waylans followed George into the kitchen where they found Jared sitting quietly, nursing a strong one. Jared moved to get up, but George motioned for him to stay. Still irate, Waylans confronted George, “What’s that supposed to mean, George? Gray areas? What gray areas?”

George turned around, a sad, remorseful look on his face. He looked at Waylans, studying him as he spoke, “When this all started back in the late sixties, Pete, Walter and I followed because you were a god to us. More importantly, you were like a Father to us. We were kids. Hell, Walter was the oldest one and he was only nineteen backs then. We all knew Molly. We all grew up in the same town. When those ‘people’ took off with Molly, we felt bad for your loss and we felt bad for our loss because we loved Molly, too. So, we gave you roughly twenty-two years of our lives. Twenty-two years and we gave up a lot more than that for you, Mac. Running here and there to catch and kill aliens who may or may not have had something to do with Molly. I missed my daughter’s birth. (George pointed at Jared) I can guarantee you that Pete missed most of that boy’s life. Walter wasn’t there when Jessica died having their son, Roland. He didn’t even know she had died until he came home two weeks later. Mac, I’m not saying that I blame you for this or any of it. We may have started out boys but we’ve been men a long time now. We chose to keep following you and while we were doing it everyday, it was easier to ignore the sinfulness of it, but it’s been more than thirteen years. Long enough to get this out of my blood.”

Waylans paced back and forth. He ran a hand down his face. Stopping in front of a wall, Waylans raised both his hands and pressed them against the painted surface.

“So, What are you gonna do? Leave the group? Leave me to do this by myself? You’re right, you’re not young anymore. I wasn’t young when this started, but I can’t let what happened to my Molly go unpunished. Right now, you would be whistling a different tune if it had been your girl.”

George responded.

“Maybe. Mac, you gotta do what you gotta do and I’ve gotta do what I gotta do. You always sit here and wait for us. You never touch these people. You never look in their eyes. We collect the samples. We meet the people, the aliens. I used to be able to look at an alien and the people they associated with and see the evil you see, but I can’t anymore. I look at those kids we’ve been following for the past week and all I see are my own. In fact, these kids, we’ve been following, are younger than my own children.”

Waylans crossed the room and stood in front of George. Enraged, Waylans shouted, “That don’t make them any less alien!”

George looked up at Waylans and agreed, “You’re right, but it does make them too young to have had anything to do with Molly. Thirty-six years is a long time to be without your child, Mac. It’s a long time to be out hunting. Maybe, it’s time you let go of Molly.”

Towering over George, Waylans grabbed George by the collar and pulled up.

In the old days, George would have gotten on his tiptoes.

In the old days, Waylans would have been strong enough to force him up on his tiptoes. Today, neither of those things happened.

The two men were silent for a moment until Waylans let go of George’s collar and smoothed out the wrinkles his clenched fists had made. With regret, George looked away, unable to meet Waylans’ stare. He left the kitchen and went to his bedroom. A few minutes later, George finished his packing and left out the front door. He jumped into the van that was rented in his name and drove away.

Inside her cell, Maria heard everything. She felt the house shake from the slamming of the front door. Nervously, Maria sat on the floor of the cell, staring at the walls, not knowing what to do. A couple minutes later, the door to her cell opened. Waylans walked in dragging a series of polls, a rough bolt of green fabric and a bundle of linens. Maria moved and Waylans pulled out a gun, pointing it at Maria.

Before Waylans could issue a warning, Maria pulled her knees up to her chest and, protectively, placed her hands over her head. Waylans stopped in his tracks and looked at the huddled mass on the floor. Maria’s fright was evident. Her helplessness was plain on her face. Quietly, Waylans put away his gun and constructed a cot out of the polls and course fabric. Once done, Waylans placed the bundle of sheets on the cot. He turned around and Maria flinched again. As unthreatening as possible, Waylans made his way to the door. Before opening the door, Waylans asked Maria a question, “What were you doing at that Apartment?”

Maria whispered in response, “I live there.”

“Where have you been for the last week?”

“At a hospitality seminar for my work.”

Waylans nodded, opened the door and left the cell, locking the door behind him.

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

The next morning, Michael woke up in an empty bed. Searching the small apartment, Michael ascertained that Maria was not there, but her bag was next to the door. Strange, since Maria left for work after he did. Usually, she was just waking up when he left. Michael left early that morning and went to Liz and Max’s place. As Michael got out of his car, he noticed that a paper envelope was stuffed into Max and Liz’ mailbox. Michael freed the envelope, opened it and read the letter it contained as he walked into the duplex.

Just crossing the threshold, Michael stopped, frozen in his tracks. Quizzically, Isabel, Max and Alex looked at Michael’s stricken form. Max went over and touched Michael’s shoulder. With a stunned, jerking movement, Michael looked up at Max. Staring at Michael’s wild and anxious eyes, Max took the envelope from Michael’s petrified grasp. Quickly reading the letter, Max looked over at Michael with sympathy before addressing the group, “The letter says someone has taken Maria. Whoever took them knows we’re aliens. Tomorrow night, they are going to bring her by and they want us here or they’re going to kill her.”

Max turned the envelope upside down and caught Maria’s driver’s license. Holding it up, the reality of the situation hit everyone with another frigid blast. Isabel jumped up off the sofa and raced over to Michael. She placed her arms around him and held him tight. Michael put his hands on Isabel’s arms and softly pushed her away. Confused, Isabel stared at Michael. Backing away, Isabel continued to stare at Michael while he walked across the living room and sat on the sofa she had just vacated. Alex walked up to Isabel and placed his arms protectively around her. Slowly, Max sat next to Michael and rubbed his hand on Michael’s back and asked, “Michael, is there anything I can do for you?”

Michael looked over at Max’s distraught face and replied, “Tell me how we’re going to get her back.”

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

Across the city, Walter and Jared were just waking, stretching as they pulled back the covers. As they entered the kitchen, they saw Waylans already dressed and drinking a cup of coffee. Waylans informed them of the envelope he had left at the Evans residence and the letter it contained. Jared nodded, poured a cup of coffee and sat down. Walter fumbled about for a moment before timidly finding his tongue, “We can’t use her as bait, Mac. She’s human. We don’t do that.”

Waylans slapped the tabletop and pointed an accusatory finger at Walter and said, “You’re not gonna to give me the same bull George did, are ya?”

Silent, Walter lowered his head and shook it slowly. Walter stood motionless for a second before plodding out of the kitchen. Under his breath, Waylans cursed a blue streak, gaining Jared’s scrutiny. Quickly, a growl had Jared’s attention shifted to the cup of coffee in front of him. Pushing himself away from the table, Waylans picked up a tray of food and walked over to the cell. Balancing the tray in one hand, Waylans unlocked the door.

On the other side of the door, Maria was already sitting up on the cot, her back against the wall. Like three years ago, Maria found strength inside herself. Fueled by hatred and contempt, Maria composed herself and prepared herself for when the moment to act came.

Silently, Waylans came in and noticed that Maria’s demeanor had changed quite a bit from the night before. An acceptance of her predicament was painted all over her face. She sat quietly, but her eyes screamed her anger and frustration at him loud and clear. Waylans placed the tray next to her and turned back toward the door. A small, tight voice stopped Waylans from leaving. “Are you going to kill me?”

“No. They don’t pay me enough to kill humans, too.”

Maria sat up straighter and asked, “What are you going to do with me?”

“Don’t worry. When this is all over, I’ll return you to your family. You’ll be okay.”

Maria scrambled from the cot and stood before Waylans. Even though Waylans was at least a foot taller than Maria was, Maria stood about four inches from him, almost touching him.

“What would you know about my family? What do you know of me that tells you I’ll be okay, huh?”

Waylans laughed at the audacity of this small girl trying to intimidate him. His laughter enraged Maria. Feeling stronger than she really was, Maria stood on her tiptoes and jabbed her index finger into Waylans’ chest and growled, “Don’t you laugh at me! What you’re doing isn’t funny.”

Abruptly, Waylans stopped laughing. In his mind, Waylans saw a beautiful face with freckles, a head of long chestnut brown hair and a similar waving finger. For a second, the image of this girl superimposed itself over Maria’s features.

“Molly?”

Stunned, Maria stepped back and said, “What? Who?”

Waylans shook his head and closed his eyes. When his eyes opened again, Maria’s irate face was all he saw.

“I’m sorry. You reminded me of my daughter just then.”

Feeling ever bolder, Maria lashed out, “Oh yeah, where is she? In a grave, maybe? ”

Waylans felt his own anger build as he loudly said, “Don’t you say that? You don’t know that she’s in a grave. She could still be alive.”

Confused, Maria bent her head to the side and leered at Waylans as she sneered, “What?”

Waylans turned away and stared at the wall. Slowly, he began to speak as if she wasn’t really in the room:

“She’s not dead. She can’t be. I won’t believe that. Someday, I’ll find her. I’ll kill the alien that stole her from me. I’ll get her back and we’ll be a family again. It’ll be just like it used to be.”

Maria leaned forward and asked, “An alien kidnapped your daughter?”

Waylans flinched and turned to face Maria. Shock covered his face, confirming that he had forgotten where he was. After a minute, Maria repeated, “Are you sure they were aliens?”

Waylans looked into Maria’s questioning eyes.

“Of course, they said they were.”

Maria narrowed her eyes.

“So, that must make it so, right?”

“Well, there were other signs, other evidence that they really were aliens.”

Maria placed her left hand on her hip. Rolling her head to the right, Maria stumbled in a small circle until she found herself in the spot from which she had started. Suppressing a laugh, Maria said, “Well, it sounds like to me that you don’t really know whether your daughter ran away with some guy or an actual alien. And y’know what? That’s just great! That means you hunt aliens because your daughter ran away. Because she left you and ran away to be with some guy. (Maria started to laugh loudly) That’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard!

Waylans walked for the door, stammering as he stormed away, “I don’t have to listen to this. Soon, there won’t be nothing left to discuss. Tomorrow, we’re going to exchange you for those aliens and then there won’t be any aliens left to worry about anyway.”

At the mention of Waylans’ intentions, Maria felt all her strength flow away from her, pooling into a frozen puddle at her feet. Falling to her knees, Maria felt the coldness splash around her as she reached out with her left hand and grabbed hold of Waylans’ hand. Frantically, she spoke, “No! Stay! Listen to me. You’re right. I don’t know what you went through with your daughter and I don’t know what evidence you have. I don’t know why she left. Maybe an alien did make her leave. What I do know is that she’s luckier than I am because as long as she lives, you’ll be here waiting for her. She can point at you and say, ‘that man is my father,’ and that’s more than I will ever have.”

Waylans started to turn toward Maria, but instead, turned back to the door and put his hand on the doorknob. On her knees, Maria scooted across the floor and grabbed Waylans’ wrist with her right hand while still holding his hand tightly in her own. Clearing her throat, Maria screamed, “Please! Call this off. If you kill them, then I won’t have a family to be returned to. Think what you want of me, but I’ve lived as man and wife with an alien for the past two years and I love him. I do. I love him and if you kill him, then you’ll be ripping from me the only family I’ve ever had.”

With those last words said, Maria hanged her head and cried, her tears running down her cheeks and splashing on her chest.