It had all started out simple enough; he had gone to Liz’s to give her a piece of his mind. He was sick of being left out every time something happened to one of his friends. He had thought that after the whole save Michael from the cocoon incident things would be different, but Max, Michael, and Isabel still seemed reluctant to trust him. Liz had promised no more lying and she had kept her word, but only telling him what he ‘needed’ to know seemed even worse. He had just turned the corner onto her block when he saw her and Michael sneaking down the alley behind the Crashdown in the direction of Isabel and Max’s house. He swore under his breath and decided to follow them. After about five minutes, he had realized that he wasn’t the only one interested in the nocturnal activities of his friends. Each time Michael and Liz turned a corner a shadowy figure followed them. While he was careful to keep well out of sight, this figure came closer into view and Alex was only mildly surprised to see it talking into some kind of surveillance device. He continued his pursuit and watched as the figure followed his friends to the block before the Evans’ house and then got into a black sedan parked across the street. Alex managed to circle behind the car and creep along the neighbor’s fence until he had come to his present position in the hedge outside of Max’s window. He knew he had to warn them, but wasn’t sure how.

“Well Whitman,” he said to himself. “You wanted to be in on the action.” He glanced up at the window and saw no sign of Michael or Liz. But he noticed that the light was now on in Max’s room. Alex shifted his weight and heard something crack under his foot. He looked down and saw a small satellite dish half buried in the ground at his feet. Alex glanced over his shoulder to the car down the street and saw one of the doors open. Panic seized him as he tried to decide what to do. He glanced back at Max’s window and saw Michael stepping out of it. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw that someone was getting out of the car and was headed towards to house. Alex crouched lower and tried to move towards the window to warn his friends. Suddenly he felt himself being grabbed from the hedge and thrown back against the fence behind him. His body shuddered in pain as he was pinned against the fence. Alex opened his eyes to see a very angry Michael Guerin.

“What the hell are you doing here?” asked Michael gruffly.

“Protecting you,” retorted Alex to his and Michael’s amazement. “Now back off and keep quiet.”

Michael let go, and noticed that Alex stayed against the fence. “What are you…,” he started to ask, but Alex just rolled his eyes and pulled him against the fence beside him. Michael looked at Alex in puzzlement, and Alex whispered for him to be quiet. The two of them heard a faint rustling ahead of them on the front lawn. Michael and Alex glanced at each other and then stared into the darkness as they waited for whomever it was to come closer. The sound stopped a few yards away from them and a gloved hand reached into the hedge where Alex had been. Michael and Alex edged themselves closer to the fence and tried to blend in with the darkness around them. They watched silently as a small flashlight came into view and the hand went to work at replacing the dish Alex had crushed with another one. After replacing the dirt and rearranging the hedge, the light disappeared and the rustling sound resumed as the figure headed back down the front lawn. Michael and Alex inched towards the end of the hedge and watched the car door close on the sedan across the street. The car’s lights came on and the two of them pulled back into the hedge. They heard the engine start and watched silently as the car headed down the street.