Turnabout

his hand and concentrated hard. A bright light shined out from his palm as he resequenced the elements of the bills, creating two twenty-dollar bills and one fifty. All of the chemical and physical elements of the bills were already in place; they merely had to be rearranged. Michael had learned the trick months ago, and it was one of the ways the group had kept themselves financially stable during their months on the run from the alien-hunters. Michael then gathered the coins in his fist and gave them a burst of power. With a grin, he remembered how a bit of residual alien energy had affected the dice at the casino when they had visited Vegas last year. He then turned and kicked the flush handle on the toilet, just in case anyone else had entered the bathroom and was wondering what he was doing in the stall. Outside, Maria was waiting with Eddie. Michael handed Eddie the new money and the quarters. «That should get you at least to Vegas, and a hotel. No need to drive through the night.» He grinned, and added, «And use the quarters in the slot machines with the biggest payout you can find. I have a feeling you'll be very lucky if you do.» «Thanks,' Eddie said, smiling. The trio soon rejoined Max and Liz near the Microbus. Liz's tears had subsided, but her mood remained decidedly somber. Max kept his arm protectively around her shoulder. «So, what did Brody say?» Max asked. Eddie put up his hand. «Before you guys get into all this, I really ought to get going. At the risk of sounding like I'm running out on you, I think I've come as far as I should.» Smiling apologetically, he added, «There's only so much I'll do on the word of Chameleon.» Max held out his hand for Eddie to shake. «We understand, Eddie. This is our fight, and you've already done a lot for us. Thanks.» The rest of them thanked Eddie as well, and the young man clambered onto his motorcycle and roared off toward the gathering night. Afterward, Maria revealed everything Brody had told her, thereby confirming the information Eddie had relayed to them from Valenti. But Brody had also supplied additional news from Jesse in Boston; Isabel's husband was currently on his way to Los Angeles with a lawyer named Shelby Tremaine, aboard a private plane that Brody had paid for. «And Jesse's also carrying proof that a certain quartet has alien powers, documentation of the government's current harassment campaign, and some other stuff as well,' Maria said. «So Jesse and Brody must be planning to 'out' you,' Liz said. «I guess we're already 'out' to Brody,' Michael said, feeling glum. «Maybe we should just take out full-page newspaper ads.» Liz shrugged. «Might not be the worst idea at this point, if Jesse and Brody think that going public is the only way to put a stop to what the government is doing.» «It's not like we haven't already considered doing that ourselves,' Max said, nodding. «Sounds like we're on parallel tracks.» «I know how to reach Jesse and his friend once we get to L.A.,' Maria said, displaying the hand onto which she'd transcribed the numbers and names. Michael considered all the years that he, Max, and Isabel had carefully concealed their alien natures from the world, including the adults who had taken them in and raised them. That ingrained caution wasn't easy to simply abandon. But what other choices did they have, other than running, or standing their ground to fight a final, hopeless battle? «I guess that's it, then,' Michael said at length. «We've got Jesse and Brody's plan running while we continue on to Langley's estate to get his high-powered Antarian assistance. And we're also armed with more of our alien trinkets, as well as the knowledge that the Special Unit goons are finally really playing hardball with us.» «We already knew that,' Max said, his eyes flashing anger. «We're just going to have to play harder.» They gathered the bag that Eddie had brought them, as well as their empty soft-drink cans, and began moving back toward the van. Liz held out her hands. «Wait a second. If Jesse and this other lawyer are on their way to California right now, who's going to meet Isabel and Kyle when they get there?» Michael looked around as everyone's faces went blank. Finally, he replied with the only answer that came to mind. «So they're left alone in Boston. At least they're not on their way to California. And Isabel won't have to face a Special Unit alien autopsy.» Michael noted that this answer seemed to satisfy everyone. Liz and Max ran to take a quick bathroom break, leaving Michael and Maria alone. Climbing into the van with her, Michael took out the alien «compass» and peered at it, trying to divine its workings. «What is it?» Maria asked, concern and curiosity both clearly audible in her voice. «I don't know. I just have a feeling this 'compass' thing that led Eddie to us might turn out to be a problem. What if more of these things are floating around out there?» «But if someone else out there had one of these Spideytracer doohickeys, wouldn't they have already used it to track us down?» Maria asked in return. Michael nodded, conceding that she was probably right. But inside, his growing sense of unease simply refused to abate. 8. Naperville, Illinois I sabel let loose a kick toward her attacker's midsection, but even as she connected, he grabbed her leg and yanked. Offbalance, she felt herself pitching toward the bed. The ruddy- complexioned man was on her in an instant, trying to pin her arms to the side with one hand. Isabel felt utterly vulnerable, but not defenseless. She brought her knee upward, connecting solidly between the attackers legs. He groaned and rolled to the side, the air escaping from his lungs in a great whoosh. Isabel heard a knocking on the door, and Kyle's voice. «Isabel! Are you all right?» The door's locked, Isabel had time to think as she tried to free herself and get over to the door. Far from incapacitated, the man grabbed at her, clutching the towel she had wound around her head, as well as some of her hair. Inches from reaching the lock, Isabel felt herself being yanked backward, off her feet once again. She crashed onto the floor, her head slamming hard enough to make her see stars. Woozy, she looked up to see the man twist something on the alien device he held in his hand. The gadget was pointed squarely at her, and she felt as if she were enveloped in glue, unable to move, barely able to breathe. «You're a feisty one, Vilandra. Kivar will no doubt be delighted to have you back,' the man said, a triumphant grin spreading across his broad face. You may have stopped my body, but not my mind, Isabel thought. Concentrating hard, she pictured the lock on the train room door sliding open, then concentrated on a coffee cup she saw on the table. It shot through the air, knocking the device out of her attacker's hands. Still unable to move, Isabel saw Kyle rush into the room with a roar. He tackled the man, driving him back against the table. The top of it splintered, its metal support bent from the impact. The man wrestled Kyle off of him and threw several punches, connecting hard with Kyle's jaw. Kyle toppled over, but quickly regained his footing and charged at the bigger man again. Isabel couldn't turn her head, but she saw Kyle drive the man back, into the bathroom door. There was a sharp crack, and suddenly, the man disintegrated into a pile of gray dust. He's a Skin! she thought. And wherever there's one, there are others. Winded, Kyle slumped onto the floor and looked at her. «I didn't see any others. How did the Skins track us down?» You heard me? Isabel thought. Yeah, Kyle's voice answered in her head. She stared intently at his face, but didn't see his lips move. Get me free from this thing, then, Isabel thought. He used that device to trap me somehow. He fiddled with some dial or switch on it. Kyle retrieved the alien object from the floor and fiddled with it for a moment. Isabel felt the constricting paralysis leave her almost immediately, though she still felt a crackling energy under her skin, like the pins-and-needles sensation of a leg falling asleep from bad circulation. «Thanks,' she said, gathering her robe around her modestly. «We've got to find out if there are any other Skins around.» «Oh, there are others, all right,' a woman's voice said. Isabel turned to see a middle-aged woman dressed in blue polyester standing in the open doorway. She was holding a pistol with a silencer mounted on the end of its barrel. «Lucinda?» Kyle looked incredulous. «I decided to invite myself to your room, since you weren't about to do it,' she sneered. «But I actually don't need you, cutey. I just need her.» The woman turned and fired the gun directly at Kyle. Isabel reacted completely by instinct, instantly erecting an energy force field in front of Kyle. The bullet smashed against the invisible shield and remained frozen in midair, suspended like a fly caught in a web. A second later, Isabel turned and glared at the woman. The bullet reversed its trajectory, piercing the shooter's shoulder at ballistic speed. Lucinda screamed and fell backward, dropping the gun. Using her telekinetic power, Isabel flicked the weapon aside, out of the woman's reach. Kyle was speechless, and stood stock-still, staring at Isabel, who gestured toward Lucinda. «Come on. We need to find out what she knows before more of them show up.» As Isabel and Kyle moved toward the woman, Isabel saw that she was moving one of her hands toward the small of her back. She's trying to dust herself, Isabel thought. Back in Roswell, a friendly Skin named Courtney had taught them about the pressure seal in the human husks that the Skins inhabited; when the seal at the base of the spine was broken, the bodies turned to dust. It seemed to be the only way to kill a Skin. «Not so fast, Lucinda,' Kyle said, grabbing the woman's arm before she could complete the act of suicide. He pulled her off the floor and sat her down on a chair. Holding her still with one hand, he reached for his duffel bag with the other. A few moments later, he had her hands securely tied together behind the chair, using the cord from his electric razor. Isabel retrieved Lucinda's purse and opened it. Inside were many of the normal items a human woman would be expected to carry, as well as something unusual. It was another black pentagonal device, with a raised white area in the middle. The white central nodule was split into five parts, and the outer black casing area bore alien symbols that Isabel recognized as Antarian. «What is this?» Isabel asked the woman. «No,' Lucinda said, shaking her head. «You can do whatever you want to me, but I won't give you any answers.» Isabel heard Kyle's voice in her head again. She's right. She was ready to kill herself. Why would she tell us anything? I have an idea, Isabel thought. But I'm going to need your help. Isabel faced the woman again. «Have you ever met Nicholas?» Lucinda smirked derisively. «N'Kolus? Your ex-lover on Antar? Of course.» Isabel tried to remain unfazed, though she knew that Kyle hadn't been aware of that shameful episode from her past. «Then you know