Isabel replaced the receiver and concentrated on listening, blood pounding in her temples. Had the phone call woken Mrs. Manes?
When she didn't hear anything for a few moments, Isabel sighed with relief and checked the computer's progress. The files were all copied. She pulled out the disk and added it to the two others she'd made.
Isabel checked her watch and quickly shut down the computer. Why did I tell her I'd stay? she thought nervously. She had to get out of here and bring these files to Max so he could sort through them. Part of her wanted to ditch, but she couldn't do that to Mrs. Manes. She could hang out and let the woman sleep-give Alex's mom a little comfort.
After everything Isabel had done to Alex, she figured she owed him that much.
Isabel burst into her family's kitchen and found Max sitting at the table. He was munching spicy tortilla chips and peanut butter, a snack they both loved. She waved the disks in front of him.
'Guess what I got?' she asked excitedly. It had taken forever for Mrs. Manes to get herself out of bed, and Isabel couldn't hold her news in any longer.
'Proof that aliens live among us?' Max guessed, dipping a chip.
'Such a comedic genius,' Isabel said, rolling her eyes. 'On these disks I happen to have copies of Mr. Manes's private files. And get this-one of the files is named
Max's eyes opened wide. 'No way,' he said. 'Where did you get those?'
'Reconnaissance mission to the Maneses' house,' Isabel informed him.
Max frowned. 'Isabel,' he said in the big-brother voice that drove her up the wall, 'are you out of your mind? I thought we decided that we'd leave the Major alone-'
'Chill,' Isabel told him. 'I knew you'd start freaking, but I got in and out, no problem.'
'Do you know how dangerous that could have been?' Max continued. 'Michael or I should have come along… as backup, at least. What if you'd gotten caught?'
'But I wasn't,' Isabel replied, tossing her long blond hair over her shoulder. 'Now, do you want to lecture me all day, or do you want to go up to your laptop and see what's in these files?'
Max heaved a big sigh as he started out of the kitchen. 'Let's go see what you've got.'
'Wait,' Isabel said. 'Bring the chips.'
Up in his room, Max took a seat at his desk, and Isabel hovered over his shoulder. 'Forget the Personal disks,' Isabel suggested. 'Go right for
'Right,' Max said, clicking around with his mouse. The folder contained several files, all named with numbers. But when Max clicked open file l.mxl, the screen filled with nonsense characters. Pure gibberish.
'This program doesn't support this type of file,' Max explained in frustration.
'Do you have a program that does?' Isabel asked.
'Maybe. I've got a translator that's pretty new.' Max started the program, but it crashed the system, causing the little hourglass cursor to spin endlessly in the center of the screen.
As Max rebooted, Isabel ground her teeth. 'What's the matter?'
'I think they're encrypted,' Max said. 'I'm not going to be able to open these files. Sorry, Iz. All that work for nothing.'
'Encrypted,' Isabel repeated. 'If the Major's encrypting stuff, he's got to be hiding something, don't you think? He's got to be Clean Slate.'
'We shouldn't jump to any conclusions,' Max said.
But Isabel knew she was right. Encrypted files.
It all pointed to one inescapable conclusion. Valenti might be dead, but now they had a new force to contend with.
And Mr. Manes was just a little too close to Isabel and her friends for comfort. Make that a lot too close.
The Crashdown Cafe was a madhouse.
Maria had been working her butt off all afternoon, and she still had another half hour before her break. She navigated her way through the aisle of the Ortechos' diner with a teeming tray on her arm, sidestepping a little girl who was running back to her table. At least tips will be good, Maria reminded herself as she served three out-of- towners at a window table. The tourists who came to Roswell to check out UFO central might be annoying, but they usually tipped decently.
As Maria headed across the room to take the order of a couple who had just sat down, she glanced across the restaurant. Adam and Michael were hanging out in a booth in Liz's area. Liz hurried by them, rushing to the pick- up window, and Maria smiled to herself as she watched Adam following Liz with his eyes.
The boy had it bad. Maria had felt the same expression cross her face too many times when she looked at Michael. She could recognize a major crush when she saw one. She just hoped it didn't look as sweetly pathetic on her. But of course it probably did.
Michael, Maria thought as she half listened to the new couples drink order. My good friend Michael.
'I'd like an iced tea, no sugar,' the woman said.
Maria nodded absently. It wasn't easy slipping back into thinking of Michael as just a friend. Understatement. It was one of the most painful processes of her entire life.
But that's the way Michael wanted it, so that's the way it would be.
Friends.
Good friends.
One of her best friends.
'Miss, are you even listening to me?' the man at the table in front of her asked.
'Oh,' Maria said. 'Oh, sure. You wanted an icecream sundae, right? With a cherry?'
'No,' the man said. 'I wanted a beer.'
'Right,' Maria replied. 'Beer.'
As she bustled away to get the drinks, Maria caught a cute girl shooting Michael a flirty look. Please, just don't let him start bringing some girl around me, she thought. At least not for a while. Not until I've… mended a little more.
Maria filled a plastic tumbler with iced tea. When he does find some girl, some girl he looks at the way he looks at Cameron, Maria told herself sternly, you are not going to allow yourself to be pulverized again. You will still be Michael's buddy. Get used to the idea of him dating because it's going to happen.
She put the iced tea on a tray, along with a bottle of beer and a tall glass. Maybe we'll even discuss what to get Michael's girlfriend for Valentine's Day and stuff, Maria thought, like I do with Alex.
Why don't I just stick needles in my eyes while I'm at it?
As she brought the tray over to the tourist couple, Maria continued her conversation inside her head. Not pins, but needles, she clarified to herself. Because needles have nothing to stop them from traveling through your bloodstream until they pierce your heart.
Maria put the tourist woman's iced tea down too hard on the table, splashing some on the woman's T- shirt.
'Yikes, sorry,' Maria said. 'Here.' She pulled a handful of napkins out of her apron and handed them to the shocked woman. 'The tea's on the house.'
Then Maria noticed the woman's T-shirt. Or rather, what was printed on it.
It was a logo for
As Maria gave the guy his beer, she glanced at his T-shirt, too. Tourist couples often had matching or similar slogans on their shirts, which always amused Maria.
But his didn't match. Instead it proclaimed, I've Gone Underground… in Carlsbad Caverns! over a picture of the gigantic cave's yawning mouth.
Carlsbad Caverns, Maria thought, staring at his T-shirt. Could-
