Chapter Ten

The Invader

The hot Nevada sun beat down mercilessly onto the five security guards at the gates of Area 51. Two guards were enjoying the cool shade of the small building off to the right of the gate, two others were keeping watch on either side of the gate, and one was crouching nearby, nursing an injury on his hand. He had been tossing scorpions into the road with his friends, bored at the lack of activity. The scorpion he had been holding unexpectedly stung him, and he had thrown it farther than the previous ones in anger and retaliation. It had landed on the hood of some kid's flashy yellow Camaro that just happened to pass by at that moment.

Not that he cared very much.

The crunching of gravel alerted him to the arrival of another visitor. He straightened and watched as a black Chevrolet pulled up to the entrance gate. His fellow guard stepped forward and began to drill the driver for proof of identity, valid driver's license, and signed orders that the driver had permission to be there. He and a third guard checked the exterior and interior of the car for any dangerous hazards.

Finally cleared, the soldiers waved the car through. Then everything became still and boring again.

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"I still don't get it."

Ari glared at Tyler. "Have you ever even played 'Capture The Flag' before?" she asked.

"No."

"You had a very deprived childhood. Now scram." Ari ordered. Tyler, always eager to please, obediently jumped down and rejoined the game that was currently in progress on the gymnasium floor.

Training would begin tomorrow. Tom had told them that in order to work like a team, they all had to act like one first. That was how an intense and bloody game of 'Capture the Flag' got started. Alexis couldn't play due to her sprained ankle, and Ari was among the few personnel who opted to sit out and watch. This decision had come around once Ari realized the extent of the violent nature of the game.

"Uh-oh, look at what the cat dragged in." Ari muttered, gesturing to the gymnasium door with her head.

Alexis, still fuming from the fight with Stryker, looked up from the game, expecting to see the haughty pilot walking in, but in reality it was far worse.

"Why the hell is Simmons here?" Alexis hissed through her teeth.

"Don't know, don't care. Quick… look busy." Ari muttered, pulling out a magazine from her back pocket and opening it. Alexis decided not to alert Ari to the fact that the magazine was upside-down.

"Why would you do that?"

Both women jumped when Stryker's voice came from behind them. Alexis immediately stiffened and then stared determinedly ahead at the game. Ari hesitated momentarily, and then informed Stryker, "She's still mad at you."

"I think I'm smart enough to figure that out myself." Stryker growled.

Meanwhile, Simmons had paused by the bleachers on his way into the base since he now faced a dilemma. The last time he had visited General Stanton, she had assigned an escort to him for the entire duration of the visit. This time, there had been nobody waiting for him upon his arrival.

"Hey, hey you," he snapped to the pilots who were lounging on the bleachers nearby. He wondered whatever happened to the good old greeting protocols he had had the last time. To his irritation however, none of the three pilots sitting nearby acknowledged him. He leaned over and tapped the nearest pilot on the shoulder rather aggressively.

Alexis turned her head slightly and scowled. "What?"

"Where is the general's escort?"

"We don't service government wash-outs." Ari replied, keeping a straight face and stared forward.

Alexis rolled her eyes and continued watching the game. She gritted her teeth when Simmons moved and blocked her view of the game. "I am ordering you to take me to Stanton!" he snarled.

"Can't you tell she can't walk? Did they kick you out of the government because you utterly failed the IQ test?" Ari demanded. "Now move before I call Tom over."

Simmons, apparently remembering the crutches, panicked and turned, only to see Tom on the opposite side of the 'field' yelling instructions to different game participants. Reassured that Tom was sufficiently distracted and without crutches, Simmons turned back to face the pilots, who were once again absorbed in the game. He checked his watch, knowing that his advantage of surprise over the general was slowly slipping away the longer he stood there.

Finally, something in his mental state snapped. He reached out and heaved Alexis to her feet by pulling on her wrist with strength he never knew he had. "Take… me… to Stanton… now," he growled, his face right up to hers.

Alexis just stared at him, momentarily frightened and caught unprepared. Then she remembered the pain from her ankle and winced, leaning slightly on the right foot to take weight off of the left foot. Her injuries at Mission City had been worse than this, but the sprained ankle still hurt. She geared herself up for a witty response to Simmons's demand when something made her freeze in place, still caught in Simmons's grip.

Click.

"Whoa! Hey, uh, Stryker, there really is no need to pull that out," Ari said suddenly, standing up and moving out of the line of fire. When Stryker didn't move the firearm, she gulped and said, "Yeah… I'm going to go get Tom." She jumped off the bleachers and dashed off.

"Put her down." Stryker quietly ordered. "Now."

"Easy buddy. I wasn't going to hurt her." Simmons said, but he didn't let Alexis go. Instead he moved her into the line of fire, so that she was staring down the barrel.

Alexis had been on the receiving end of a gun once, during training in her rookie year. Tom claimed that the rifle was empty, but she hadn't really trusted him very much back then. The experience had been extremely nerve-wracking, and she'd sworn never to experience it again.

Fate wasn't being very kind to her today.

"Stryker, Simmons, stand down!"

Alexis nearly cried with relief when Stanton finally showed up, flanked by Tom and Commander Randall. The game was still going on in the background albeit slowly so the players could watch the unfolding drama without being too obvious to the officers. Tom was the only other person other than Stryker who was actively wielding a weapon in the room, a hunting rifle in this case. Alexis knew that Stanton carried a concealed weapon on her person but no one knew exactly where.

Seeing he was outnumbered in lion's den, Simmons shrugged and said, "Here you go. I told you I wouldn't hurt her." He pushed Alexis towards Stryker, who caught her with ease and passed her off to Ari, who was waiting nearby.

"Why are you here?" Stanton demanded.

"Mr. Keller finally located those analysts you wanted and I was assigned to bring them in." Simmons snapped.

"Yes, you were assigned to do that, but not to harass my pilots. Come on." Stanton growled, and stalked away, her mini-entourage and Simmons following.

"Hey Stryker?" Alexis called out as he began to leave. He only paused and tilted his head to acknowledge her. "I… um… thanks," she finally said after a moment's pause.

His hair disguised his expression but she saw him barely nod anyway before he completely left the gymnasium.

"How strange." Ari remarked after a minute of silence.

"It won't last. Just wait and see. Something isn't right about him." Alexis said, confident of her analysis. She then turned and hobbled back to the bleachers to watch the game move back into its previous quick pace.

Good things usually never lasted.

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A/N: I hope everybody had a restful holiday. Also, did anybody catch the National Treasure reference in the last chapter?