Liz didn't know how, but she was getting feelings from the man in the hologram. It's like what Max described when he told me how Ray showed him a hologram of his parents' ship crashing, she realized.
So maybe that was what was going on. Maybe the Project Clean Slate agents were trying to duplicate alien technology or something. She relaxed her grip on the table. She was going to get through this okay. All she had to do was look at some floating pictures. And if she was lucky, she'd get a glimpse of the ship on her way out.
'Anything else?' the voice asked through the intercom.
Liz studied the hologram. 'I know he's getting ready to ask his girlfriend to marry him,' she said. 'I don't know how I know. It's not like I can hear his thoughts or anything. But I just… know.'
The hologram disappeared. Bummer. I didn't even get to find out what she said, Liz thought. She was feeling a little giddy. Or woozy, like she'd had way too much cough medicine… while bouncing on a trampoline.
The air in front of her began to shimmer again. Oh, goody. Time for the second feature. Liz wondered how they-whoever they were-would feel about a request for popcorn with lots of that fake butter flavoring.
'Oh, I forgot to say the air has started to shimmer,' she said quickly. She didn't want to get Towner in any more trouble than he already was.
'The hologram has appeared,' she continued. 'It's another restaurant. I've seen it in town. The Crashdown Cafe. There are two men sitting in a booth.'
Liz's heart slammed up her throat when she recognized them. The day she got shot. Oh God, the day she got shot, these two were in the cafe. Fighting. The muscular man, he was the one who'd pulled the gun. He aimed for the beefy guy, but the beefy guy knocked his arm away. The gun went off, and the next thing Liz knew she was slammed against the wall, her stomach wet with her own blood.
'Go on,' the voice said over the intercom.
'The men are both angry. They each think the other one cheated them out of some money,' Liz said, trying to sound like this meant nothing to her.
This time the hologram let her see what happened next. She got to see the gun drawn again. See the shot fired.
'The more muscular man just shot a waitress. I can feel the pain from her,' Liz continued.
And she could. She could feel the pain again. Exactly as she'd felt it that day.
Exactly.
Oh God. Somehow they were getting the image from her. This time the hologram was like a memory playback. Like when Ray showed Max the ship. That must be why she'd been feeling so weird and dizzy. Someone had been accessing her brain.
And in about two more seconds the hologram projector would show Max vault over the counter and heal Liz's gunshot wound with the touch of his hands.
Liz let out a piercing scream. 'Make it stop,' she howled. 'It's like a drill going through my eyeballs. Make it stop.'
The hologram disappeared. Valenti burst through the door.
Liz pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes and doubled over. Was Valenti buying this? Did he believe she was in agony? Or had he discovered her disguise and decided to torture her?
Slowly Liz lowered her hands.
'What the hell happened?' Valenti demanded.
'You tell me,' Liz shot back. 'I felt like my head was going to explode. I didn't sign up for this.'
'I'll get you an escort home,' Valenti answered. 'But I better not find out that your exploding head was alcohol induced.'
He gave her a long look as she walked past him. Clearly he had the feeling. something was off, but he couldn't figure out exactly what.
Liz wondered if he'd make the connection when they came back in and stole the crystals.
Maria felt tears burn her eyes-again. Aren't you just a little ray of sunshine? she asked herself. In another minute Max was going to ban her from his room permanently. She could tell that her crying made him really uncomfortable.
And why wouldn't it? It was like she was holding up a big sign that said, 'Guess what, Max? You're dying!'
He looked bad, though. All sunken in on himself. The others had noticed it, too. Liz, Isabel, and Michael kept taking cautious little glances at him. They were careful not to stare but were obviously shaken by his appearance.
When Alex burst into the room, she was very happy for the distraction. 'Sorry I'm late,' he told them. 'My dad wouldn't let me leave the house until I showed him my web page, if you can believe that.'
'We're trying to figure out the best way into the compound. Any ideas?' Michael asked him.
The doorbell rang before he could answer. 'I got it,' Maria said. She rushed out. On the way to the door she pulled a vial of cedar oil out of her pocket and took a few deep breaths. It hadn't been helping her much lately, but it was better than nothing.
She swung open the door and found Ray Iburg standing there. 'We're all in Max's room,' she told him as she led the way back.
'I thought you might need an extra power source when you go into the compound,' he said as they stepped through the doorway.
'Great. We might need a shield like the one that froze Valenti in the mall,' Michael answered.
Ray shook his head. 'I'm not recharged enough for that yet. It took a huge amount of power. I won't be able to do it again for probably a month,' he explained. 'But I can still knock someone out if I have to.'
'That could also be useful,' Michael said. 'Okay, the team will be you, me, and Isabel, then.'
He was in commando mode. Focused entirely on strategy. For once Maria didn't have to wonder if he was thinking about Isabel or her. He wasn't thinking about either of them.
'Wait. I-' Alex began to protest.
'You don't have powers to protect yourself,' Michael cut him off.
Alex nodded. It made sense to Maria, too. And it reminded her for about the millionth time that Michael and Isabel were close in a way that she and Michael could never be. Michael and Isabel shared the same powers, the same history. Michael and Maria shared the same taste in movies. Huh. Now, class, which is the basis for a real relationship?
'Why doesn't one of you change your appearance to look like Valenti?' Liz asked, rapid-fire fast. 'Valenti rules that place. As him, you'd have access to everything.'
'Perfect plan. I'll do it,' Michael said.
'You and I should change our appearance, too,' Ray told Isabel. 'That way when they come looking for us, we can just disappear.'
'We need to make sure that Valenti's not already at the compound before you head out. I'll call his house. Say I want them to switch their long-distance carrier or something.' Alex hurried out of the room.
Max pulled in a long, rasping, rattling breath. A breath that sounded so painful, Maria didn't know how he could stand to keep breathing.
What if they don't get back in time? That was the thought she'd been trying to keep from thinking. She raked her fingers through her hair and tried to bury the thought again.
Alex rushed back into the room. 'He's there. And he was not happy to get a sales call on a Sunday morning.'
'You should go stake out his house,' Michael said.
'I'll go, too,' Maria volunteered. She couldn't stay here with Max-her aura was too filled with grief already.
'What are you going to do if he leaves for the compound?' Liz asked. 'You don't have any way to warn Michael.'
'I'll stop him,' Alex answered, with total conviction.
Maria believed him. Alex had more than a little commando in him, too, much as he didn't want to be Mr. Military.
