Title: Rosmole (3/10)

Author: Kata

E-mail: katayla@juno.com

Disclaimer: Roswell's not mine, The Mole's not mine... I don't own much, do I?

Rating: PG

Notes: *sigh* Once again, I find myself apologizing for a late part. July was really busy at work and August wasn't any better. The parts should be coming out more reguarly, but school starts again soon, so that's going to mess up my schedule.

.

******

Ten friends playing for up to one million dollars. Among them a saboteur, a traitor, the mole. The winner? The one who answers the question, who is the mole?

It was nearing dawn on the seventh day of the game, when Maria woke to see her room full of people. "What?" she mumbled, not fully awake.

"Sh!" A tall women hushed her. "You're being kidnapped."

"Should I be worried?" Maria asked sleepily.

The women laughed. "It's all part of the game. Go back to sleep. It'll be all right."

Maria nodded and promptly fell asleep. A couple of hours later, she woke to find herself in a cave. Next to her, Michael was curled up, still asleep, clad only in sweatpants and a T-shirt. She poked him.

"Rise and shine, Spaceboy!"

Michael groaned. "Go away, Maria." He suddenly sat up. "Maria!"

Maria nodded. "Yep! I think this is the next challenge."

"It's too early for a challenge!" Michael lay back down.

"Michael!"

Michael sat up. "Fine, fine, I'm up," he said grumpily. "What's the challenge?"

Maria shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up when they moved us, but they just told me to go back to sleep."

"And you listened?"

"I was tired!" Maria looked at her surroundings. "It looks like we're in a cave. Oh! What's that?" She pointed at a piece of paper, pinned to the opposite wall.

Michael walked over to read the paper. "You have been kidnapped! There is no one to rescue you. If you can free yourself and be back at the hotel by ten, you will receive ten thousand dollars. If your friends are all there, you will receive fifty thousand dollars. PS-- Yes, you have to do this challenge in your pajamas!"

Michael shook his head. "They're crazy."

"What time is it?" Maria asked.

Michael glanced down at his watch. "Eight."

"Two hours." Maria bit her lip. "Will that be enough?"

Michael shrugged. "We can only try."

Maria shrugged. "Come on, let's go!" She grabbed him by the hand and started pulling him toward the cave exit.

"Where are we going?" Michael asked.

"Out, of course."

"Yes, but where is that?"

Maria stomped her feet, as she glared at her boyfriend. "Just follow me. I'll get us out!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Michael saluted her. He trailed behind Maria as she raced through the various caverns and pathways. Suddenly she stopped. "What's wrong?"

"I think we're lost," Maria admitted.

Michael smirked. "I could have told you that, Earthgirl."

"More lost than we were before, I mean. I wish Lizzie was here-- well, not really, because she doesn't want to be, but she got us out of the cave before, so maybe she could--"

Michael quickly silenced her with a kiss.

"Thanks, I needed that." Maria stepped back from him. "Now what?"

Michael shrugged. "You're the one who decided she knew where she was going."

"And now it's your turn!"

"Oh no, you got us in this mess, *you* get us out!"

Maria frowned at him. He frowned back. "Fine!" she fumed. "Let's go. We can argue just as well walking as

we can standing still." Before long, they came to yet another division of the path. "Which way?"

Michael reached into his pocket. "Flip a coin?"

"That's so unscientific!'

Michael shrugged. "You got a better idea? Besides, we're not Max and Liz, we don't have to be scientific."

Coin duly flipped, the bickering couple moved down the right corridor. "This isn't going to work, Michael. We'll be lost in the caves forever, wandering around for the rest of our lives."

"Don't be silly. They'll come looking for us-- eventually." Michael flashed an evil grin at Maria.

She hit him. "Michael! You could at least say something to make me feel better!"

"I thought we decided I wasn't good at that."

"Oh, right. Here's another fork in the road. Flip your coin."

"Fork in the road?" Michael asked incredulously.

"Just flip the coin, Spaceboy."

"Left!" Michael announced and the two walked off.

After fifteen more minutes of walking, Maria noticed something. "Hey, I think it's getting lighter! Maybe we're near the exit."

"Told you the coinflipping would work," Michael said smugly.

Maria broke off in a run. "Look! I see the exit."

"Maria! Wait for me!" Michael sprinted after her. Soon the two came blinking into the morning sunlight.

"We made it!" Maria cheered, throwing her arms around Michael.

Michael took at step back. "Careful, Maria! You want to knock me over?"

"We just need to get back to the hotel, now. Come on!" Maria starting walking down the street. Michael mutely followed her, not even bothering to ask if she knew where she was going.

A couple of hours earlier....

"Alex! Wake up!" Isabel said sharply.

"Hm?" Alex groaned, blinking his eyes. "Izzy? What are you doing in my bedroom? I mean, hotel room?"

He took a look at his surroundings. "I mean, wherever we are? Where are we?"

Isabel shrugged. "I don't know. I just woke up. I think it's part of the next challenge."

"I certainly hope so," Alex said, looking around at the small room he and Isabel were in. "Shouldn't there be note or something?"

Isabel glanced around the room. "Oh, it's on that table. I'll get it." She read it quickly. "We have until ten to get to the hotel." She glanced at her watch. "Two hours."

"For how much money?" Alex asked idly, wandering to a window.

"Ten thousand per couple. Fifty thousand if we all get there."

"Isabel?" Alex suddenly said.

"What?"

"Look outside."

Isabel took a glance at the window and quickly stepped back again. "Not more heights!" They seemed to be in a tower, far above the ground.

"It'll be all right," Alex said, gently touching Isabel's arm.

Isabel swallowed and nodded. She stepped back to the window. "Maybe we can see the hotel from here."

She gripped the windowsill tightly.

"I think I see it," Alex announced after a couple of minutes. "Look over there."

Isabel nodded. "I think you're right." She stepped back from the window and looked around the room once more. "Now how to get out?"

"Through the door?" Alex suggested.

Isabel shuddered. "It leads right outside, Alex. It's bad enough just to be this high."

Alex looked out the window. "There's a staircase leading down the tower."

"But it's outside." Isabel bit her lip, looking oddly vulnerable.

Alex looked at her. "Heights really scare you, don't they?" He moved over to put his arm around Isabel.

"I'll be right here, okay? Let's just take this slowly."

Alex moved over to the doorway. "It's locked, of course!" he groaned.

"Does it have a keyhole?" Isabel asked, coming to stand by Alex. "Maybe we could pick the lock."

"With what?" Alex asked, glancing around the empty room.

"With a hairpin, of course. A girl never leaves home without one." Isabel reached into her pocket-- only to discover she was still wearing her red silk pajamas. Her face fell. "Except when she's kidnapped."

Alex put an arm around her. "It's okay. We'll find a way out. There has to be a way. Maria made me watch this show every week. There's *always* a way to win, only sometimes it's harder than others."

"Maybe the key is hidden in here," Isabel said hopefully, looking once more around the small room.

"It's worth a try. I'll check the table. You look for secret compartments."

Isabel gave him a withering look. "This isn't Nancy Drew, you know."

"Come on, Iz. The producers set this all up."

Isabel didn't look convinced, but she moved to the wall anyway, and began tapping it. "This isn't working!"

"Just be patient." Alex straightened up. "Well, there's nothing on this table. I guess I'll help you check the

wall." He moved next to Isabel and the two searched on, pushing and prodding the wall, looking for a clue of some sort.

Finally, even Alex had to give up. "So much for that brilliant idea."

Isabel gave him a half-hearted smile. "It was worth a try."

"I don't get it," Alex muttered, half to himself. "It can't be insoluble." Half-heatedly, he began searching the

wall again. "Wait a sec! I found something!" Excitedly he pushed at the wall, revealing a secret compartment. "I thought you checked here!"

"I thought I did, too. I must not have reached high enough."

Alex reached into the hole and grabbed an object. "It's the key! Come on!" He rushed to the opposite side of the room and opened the door.

Isabel hesitated. "I hate this," she said to no one, before stepping onto the stairs that hung hundreds of feet from the ground. "Slow down, Alex!" Isabel called, a touch of panic in her voice. Alex was racing down in the stairs.

Alex looked back up at her. "Here, take my hand."

"No, I'm okay. Just-- don't go so fast!"

Slowly, the two made it down the stairs, neither bothering to check the time or realizing just how far away from the hotel they were.

In yet another part of town....

"Amy! Amy!" Jim Valenti called urgently.

"Just a minute, Maria." Amy groaned.

"I'm not Maria," Jim said, amused.

At the sound of his voice, Amy opened her eyes up. "No, you're a much better sight to wake up to." She glanced around. "Not the most romantic get-away, but it works." She and the sheriff were in a small room with no discernible entrance or exit.

"It's the next challenge." Jim handed her the note describing the challenge's rules. "Seems simple enough."

"Simple?" Amy raised her eyebrows. "And just *how* do you plan to get out of this room?"

"Through the door?" Jim suggested. He looked around the room. "Oh."

"Told you so."

Jim stood up and began walking around the room. "They got us in here, so there must be a way out." He ran

his fingers against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked.

"Checking for cracks. No matter how well hidden a door is, there will be a crack between it and the wall."

Amy watched him impatiently. He circled the room once and then again. When he began a third circuit, she groaned loudly. "This isn't working!"

Jim barely glanced at her. "There must be an exit."

Amy sighed. "Jim, did you ever consider that the wall is *not* the only surface in this room?" She gestured at the floor.

Jim blinked. "Have you ever considered being a deputy?" he asked.

"Nah. I'm afraid I'd have to arrest my own daughter."

Jim smiled wryly. "I know the feeling." His search moved to the floor. He glanced up at Amy. "Want to give me a hand? My knees aren't what they used to be."

After a thorough search of the floor, Jim sat back on his feet. "Nope." He looked up. "It's got to be the ceiling."

"The ceiling! Jim, that must be twenty feet high!"

"More like ten or twelve. I'll hold you up."

Amy looked uncertain, but managed to climb onto Jim's shoulders.

"Oof! Do you know how long it's been since I've carried a girl on my shoulders?"

Amy wobbled precariously. "Do you know how long it's been since a guy has carried me on his shoulders?"

She tentatively reached up to the ceiling. "I'm not sure if I really not what I'm looking for," she commented.

"You'll know if you find it," Jim responded. "Just look for any part of the ceiling that's not as smooth or just feels different."

After a few minutes, Amy let out a squeal of excitement. "I found it!" she chuckled ruefully. "I sound like Maria, don't I?"

Jim grinned. "Yep."

Amy's attention went back to the wall. "Now how do I get it open," she murmured to herself, poking and prodding the ceiling with her fingers. Suddenly the door swung downwards, hitting her in the head. "Ouch!"

"Are you all right?" Jim asked, trying unsuccessfully to smother his laughter."

"Yes! Stop laughing!" Amy began hitting Jim-- not an easy task when you're balancing yourself on someone's shoulders.

After Jim had stopped laughing and Amy stopped hitting him, their attention returned to the game. "Let's see," Jim mused. "I think I can lift you up through the door."

"And how do you plan to get out?"

"Let's work on getting you out first." He held tightly onto Amy's feet while she slowly stood on his shoulders, reaching for the open hole.

"Okay, I'm going to try to pull myself up." With a lot of moaning and groaning, Amy managed to get herself though the hole.

"What's up there?" Jim called out.

"A roof!" was Amy's muffled reply. She peeped down into the hole. "Coming out?"

"Not until I learn to fly," Jim retorted gesturing at the large space between him and the ceiling.

"Oh, did I mention there was a ladder here?" Amy asked sweetly.

Within minutes, Jim was out of the room and the two adults were on their way to the hotel.

One last pair....

Kyle sat watching Tess with a smile on his face, waiting for her to wake up. She always knew when he was

there.

"Stop staring at me." Tess didn't even open her eyes. "How'd you get into my hotel room anyway?"

"Open your eyes," Kyle suggested.

Tess opened her eyes to look into the empty sky. "What?" she asked. Tess sat up, only to discover that she

was in a boat, surrounded by what seemed like miles of open water.

Kyle waved a piece of paper in front of her. "Our next challenge."

"Leaving us in a boat in the middle of nowhere? Isn't that illegal? We could drown." Tess quickly skimmed the note. "I suppose it would be too much to wish for an oar."

"Sorry, nothing but this note." Kyle looked around apprehensively. "I've never been in a boat."

"You haven't?" Tess' voice was incredulous.

"Roswell's not exactly next to the ocean."

"I know, but-- I love the water! I used to go kayaking whenever I was near water."

"Great, but does that help us now?"

Tess wiggled her fingers at him. "First boating lesson. When no oars are available, use your hands." She

reached down in the water, paddling the boat forward. To Kyle's surprise, it actually worked. "Start doing this on the other side. Otherwise we'll go in circles."

Kyle followed her suggestion. "Hey, we're good!"

"We'll have to start a rowing team at West Roswell," Tess said.

"Yeah!" Kyle said enthusiastically. Then he frowned. "Too bad we don't live near any water."

Tess laughed. "It's okay, Kyle. You play enough sports for anyone."

"You should know. You stole all my jerseys."

"Borrowed, Kyle, the word is borrowed."

"Right, Tess. You took my football jersey the first week you moved in and I haven't seen it since."

"I'll give it back," Tess responded. "When football season begins"

Kyle reached down into the water and splashed water at Tess.

Tess sputtered. "Stop it, Kyle! You're messing up my hair!"

"I'm messing up your hair?" Kyle repeated is disbelief. "Tess, you slept on that hair. Trust me, I'm not making it any worse than it already is."

Tess' jaw dropped. "Kyle, you don't say that to a girl!" she splashed him.

"Hey, now you're messing up my hair!" Kyle protested, just before the two started an all-out water fight.

"No! Kyle, we really have to stop!" Tess shrieked, as Kyle moved from splashing to tickled. "We're in the middle of a challenge."

Kyle grimaced. "Right. Back to work." He returned to 'paddling' the boat. (but not before splashing Tess one last time.)

Despite their water fight, Tess and Kyle made good time, and were pulling up to shore in a little under an

hour.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Tess urged Kyle, jumping from foot to foot.

"I'm coming" Kyle climbed out of the boat. Tess grabbed his hand and began running. "Tess, do you have

any idea where we're going?"

Tess groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm *good* with directions. And we're far away from the hotel. We have to hurry if we want to make it on time!"

Since Kyle had no idea where they were, he decided he better shut up. He followed meekly behind Tess up and down a series of streets and alleys. A couple of times, he could have sworn they were going in circles, but, sure enough, they ran up to the hotel in exactly forty minutes.

"Made it!" Tess cheered as they walked into the lobby. Amy and Jim jumped up to great them.

"You made it!" Amy enthused, while Jim gave Kyle a high five.

"Where's everyone else?" Kyle asked, glancing around the empty room.

Amy frowned. "Not here yet. We just got here a couple of minutes ago."

"This is the part of the challenges I hate," Tess said. "Waiting. How many minutes do we have?"

"Ten," Jim answered tersely.

Nine minutes later, Michael and Maria rushed into the hotel, hand-in-hand.

"Did we make it?" Maria gasped between breaths.

"Just in time!" Kyle gave Michael a high five.

Maria was looking around the room. "Where are Alex and Isabel?"

Amy shook her head. "Not here yet."

Jim was watching his watch. "That's it. They're late."

Michael frowned. "We lost."

"No, we just didn't win as much as we could have," Maria corrected.

"Must you be such an optimist?" Michael demanded.

"Must you be such a pessimist?" Maria retorted.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Teenagers!"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Parents!"

Ten minutes later, Alex and Isabel entered the lobby.

"I'm sorry, Alex," Isabel was saying. "I could have sworn that restaurant was on our street."

She looked upset. "I lost it for us."

Alex had his arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. What's ten thousand dollars between friends?"

Michael stood up to greet them. "Yeah, besides, we all made it. That's thirty thousand anyway."

"See," Alex said comfortingly. "That's a hundred thousand already."

"Yeah," Maria chimed in. "Besides, I'm going to win all the money anyway."

"Oh you are, are you?" Michael asked.

"Yep!"

"Well, we'll just have to see about that!" Michael leaned over to tickle Maria.

"No! Michael! Stop it! Help!"

Anderson Cooper walked into the room. He looked down at the screaming Maria. "I take it you're not too upset about losing the money?"

Maria straightened up. "Sorry, Anderson. That dork over there decided to bother me."

"And you know what they say when a boy teases a girl...."

"Mom!"

"Anyway," Anderson brought his hands together. "You did make thirty thousand dollars. That's good."

Isabel sighed. "I suppose so."

"And you get the rest of the day off. Next challenge is tomorrow. And we don't have to travel for once."

Michael grinned. "Ah... but I love that van."

"Right, Michael." Anderson shook his head and left the room.

Michael turned to his friends. "What do you want to do?" he asked. "And if you say shop...."

"Shop?" Maria suggested. At Michael's withering glance, she shrugged. "Sorry, Spaceboy. I couldn't resist."

"We could go boating," Jim suggested. "I think you can rent canoes through the hotel."

Kyle groaned. "Sorry, Dad, but I've had enough of boats for a while."

Tess smiled at him. "Poor baby."

"Cave exploring?" Amy suggested.

Maria made a face. "Nope. I've got my fill of caves."

"Come on," Tess urged. "We're in Germany! We have to do something fun."

Isabel yawned. "Sorry guys, but all I want to do right now is sleep. That challenge deprived me of my beauty sleep."

"That sounds like a really great idea," Maria said, staring longingly at the stairs that led to her hotel room.

She gave Michael a quick kiss. "See you later. Coming, Tess? Mom?"

Michael stared at the departing girls. "Why do I have the feeling they're going to talk about us?"

"Because they're girls and they just left together," Alex answered. "Trust me. I have a ton of experience with girls. You really don't want to know what they talk about." His face had a pained expression on it.

Kyle nodded. "Trust me. Tess tries to get girlie on me sometimes." He shuddered. "I don't want to think about it."

Upstairs, the girls had gathered in Maria's room. "That was an interesting way to do the challenges, wasn't it?" Maria said. "One girl, one guy, in the most interesting combinations."

Isabel laughed. "Come on, Maria, you're making too much about it."

Maria shook her head. "Me and Michael? You and Alex? Kyle and Tess, Mom and the Sheriff... I think Anderson Cooper is a matchmaker!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Kyle and I are like brother and sister," Tess protested.

Maria snorted. "Right and that's why he's lost even the tiniest bit of interest in Liz."

"And Jim says you get pretty close," Amy put in.

Even Isabel joined the fun. "You live in his house. How can you stop feeling attracted to him?"

Tess groaned. "You guys! Personally, I think Isabel and Alex are the newest couple in the group."

Isabel grabbed a bottle of nail polish and began polishing her nails. "Alex and I decided not to go in that direction."

Maria snorted again. "Hate to break it to you, Isabel, but life doesn't work out that way. I've *seen* the way Alex looks at you!"

"And she looks back!" Tess put it.

Amy laughed. "Well, I for one, will admit I'm totally in love with Jim."

Maria made a face. "Which still completely and totally baffles me."

"Me, too!" Tess agreed emphatically.

Amy picked up a copy of Seventeen off Maria's bed and began flipping through it. "Do you actually read this?" she asked her daughter.

Maria glanced over at the magazine. "Teen People's better."

Isabel looked up from painting her nails. "How can you say that? Seventeen has the best make-up tips!"

"Exactly! I'm sorry, but I am not taking the time to experiment with all those ways to 'win a guy's heart.' If Michael doesn't like my make-up the way it is, then he can just leave. I'm sure Tess agrees with me. Right?"

Tess held up her hands. "Don't look at me. I'm a YM fan!"

Amy shook her head. "Next time, I won't ask."

******

For once, the day of the challenge dawned bright and clear, putting all of the contestants into great moods.

"Don't you love this weather?" Maria exclaimed, skipping around the room.

"What weather? We're inside." Michael pointed out.

Maria stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, come on Michael," she said, gesturing at the window. "Look at all that sun. It's just begging me to come out and play."

"Play the challenge, I hope," Isabel put in.

"Of course! I need to add money to my pot." Maria grinned.

At that moment, Anderson Cooper walked into the room. "Glad to see you're all in such a great mood. Are you ready for your next challenge?"

"Actually, I could use a couple more hours of sleep," Maria answered. When everyone turned to stare at

her, she shrugged. "Well, it was worth a shot."

"Today is a scavenger hunt," Anderson announced.

Kyle groaned. "Not one of those! The last time I went on a scavenger hunt I had to find an eyelash curler. I

asked everyone female I could find and never found one."

Tess laughed. "Poor baby. At least now I know what to get for your next birthday."

"I'm afraid there are no eyelash curlers this time," Anderson said. "You'll need to find a bottle of Coca-Cola,

a glass of beer, a German-Italian dictionary, a book written in English, a bottle of bright green nail polish, the signature of a policeman, the signature of the mayor and a different hat for each person in the group."

Kyle's jaw dropped. "I think I prefer the eyelash curler. How in the world are we supposed to find all that?"

"More importantly, how are we supposed to remember all that?" Alex asked.

"You'll get a list. You can split up for this challenge, but you only have an hour. You get $20,000 per item,

for a possibility of $160,000. If you're late, any items you found don't count. Your challenge starts now." He

handed the list of items to Michael.

"Okay," Michael spoke quickly. "I think we all just want to get a started on this challenge, so Isabel and Maria, you do the hats and nail polish. Ms. DeLuca, Sheriff Valenti, you get the dictionary and English book. Kyle and Alex, you work on the signatures, and Tess and I will get the beer and coke. See you all in an hour."

Maria rolled her eyes. "Of course, he takes the beer for himself. Come on, Iz, let's do some shopping." She hooked her arm through Isabel's and led her through the door. "I saw a great little shop while Spaceboy was dragging me through town." The girls stepped outside the hotel onto the busy street.

Isabel sighed. "Sometimes I envy your and Michael's relationship. You just fit so well."

"But you have Alex! He's so sweet. Michael doesn't even know what romantic means."

Isabel smiled. "Yes, but I've never thought of calling him 'earthboy'."

Maria laughed. "I started calling him Spaceboy long before we started our relationship! Besides, Michael and I are different." She paused. "I never really thought about it, but I guess Michael and I hide our feels behind words and you hide yours behind attitude." Maria smiled wistfully. "Sometimes I wish we didn't have to hide our feelings at all."

Isabel looked sad. "Me, too." She changed the subject. "Come on, we have to find the perfect hats for everyone."

A couple of minutes later, they walked up to a store full of every type of hat imaginable. "I knew I saw this!" Maria exclaimed.

Isabel eyed the many hats greedily. "You may never get me out of here," she muttered.

"Me either," Maria breathed. She shook her head. "But challenge first." She reached out to grab a hat.

"What do you think? Doesn't this just shout 'Alex' to you?" Maria held out a multi-colored "Dr. Suess" hat.

Isabel laughed. "Okay, but if he asks, I had nothing to do with it! Oh, Maria! This one's perfect for you!" She held out a black velvet hat with a large red flower on it.

"I love it!" Maria put that hat on. "My turn." She rummaged through the hats. "Okay, even though we're in Germany, I see you in a black beret."

Isabel donned the hat. "Do I look French?" She stuck a pose.

"Very."

They went back to looking for hats. "Hm..." Isabel mused. "A space helmet for your Spaceboy?"

Maria's jaw dropped. "I can't believe it. You're the best, Isabel!" She grabbed the NASA helmet. "Michael will love it." She paused. "Of course, he'll never admit it."

Isabel laughed. "He's like that, isn't he?"

"Now, I see Kyle in a baseball hat. I think this color would... um... set off his eyes perfectly." Maria pointed out a bright pink hat.

Isabel shook her head. "You're awful, Maria, but I like it. Let's go with Tess. How about a straw hat? Complete with flowers, of course." She took down a straw hat adorned with pink and white flowers."

"Perfect!"

The two girls continued to laugh and joke as the picked the final two hats-- a bright pink cowboy hat for the Sheriff and a matching purple hat for Amy.

As they were making their way to the register, Maria, who wasn't wearing a watch asked Isabel. "How much time do we have?"

Isabel glanced at her watch and gasped. "Fifteen minutes!"

Maria felt like kicking herself. "We should have paid attention to the time!" She glanced out the window. "I see a store across the street. I'll run across and find the nail polish." She jogged out of the store. "I hope you're in good shape! We're going to have to race back to the hotel!"

******

"A book written in English shouldn't be too hard to find," Amy commented.

"Except for the small fact that we're in Germany," Jim pointed out.

"Oh, everyone speaks English," Amy said, with a negligent wave of her hand. "Now we just need to find a bookstore."

Simply finding a bookstore took Amy and Jim nearly half-an-hour. "This place is huge! It has to have what we need."

"Where do we start?" Jim asked.

Amy bit her lip. "We could ask someone."

"Do you think they speak English? Because I don't know a word of German."

Amy shrugged. "We can only try." She walked up to a salesperson. "Excuse me, do you have any books

written in English?"

The man stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"English?" Amy tried again.

The man shook his head. "Ich habe kein Englisch." He walked off.

Amy groaned. "I don't even know what he said."

"I guess we have to try on our own," Jim said doubtfully, looking around at the many shelves packed with books.

The couple moved through the aisles quickly. "Is that in English?" Amy asked. "No. I guess it just has an English title. This is harder than I thought."

"Excuse me," a small dark women stepped up to Jim and Amy. "I couldn't help overhearing. Are you looking for something in particular?" She spoke English well, but with a slight German accent.

"Yes!" Amy cried. "All we need is a book written in English."

"And a German-Italian dictionary," Jim added.

The women smiled. "You're on the wrong side of the store. Here, follow me."

Within minutes, Jim and Amy had the required books and were racing out the door.

"Don't rush," Jim said. "We have plenty of time."

Amy frowned. "That was awfully quick, wasn't?"

"Well, we got lucky, having someone offer to help us."

"Was it just luck? Or the mole?"

"What?" Jim looked confused. "Are you accusing me of being the mole?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." Amy sighed. "This game is making me so paranoid! And you would be so perfect.

The sheriff, no one would ever suspect you."

Jim laughed. "And what about you? How do I know you're not just accusing me to throw me off track?"

Amy looked puzzled. "I think you lost me, Jim."

Jim shook his head. "I think I lost me, too. You really can't trust anyone in this game, can you?" Just like the

aliens couldn't trust anyone in their lives, he realized suddenly.

"No. You can't."

******

Across town, Kyle and Alex were desperately trying to find a policeman.

"I've never had trouble finding a policeman before," Kyle grumbled. "When your dad's the sheriff, you can't even speed without having the entire squad pull you over."

"There's an idea! Let's break a law. That'll bring the police to us."

Kyle looked at Alex as if he were crazy. "And give us police records. We could be deported!"

Alex sighed. "Not my best idea." After a couple of minutes, he looked up. "Deported?"

Kyle shrugged. "Well, you know, sent back, whatever." He glanced down the street. "Police! Come on!" He broke into a run.

"Wait up, Kyle!"

By the time Alex caught up to Kyle, Kyle was already deep in conversation with the policeman.

"Signature?" he asked, gesturing at the paper. "Alex! Do you know any German?"

Alex shook his head. "We had Spanish together, remember?"

Kyle groaned. "Where's Tess when you need her?"

"Someone here must speak English," Alex said, looking around the busy streets. "I'll start asking people. Don't let him go anywhere!"

"Right," Kyle muttered to himself. "Don't let the policemen go anywhere. Whatever you say."

Fifteen minutes later, Alex came back with a pretty teenager. "This is Katja. She speaks good English."

"Hi," Kyle said, a little tiredly. It was tough spending fifteen minutes with a stranger you couldn't even talk to.

Katja turned to the policeman and spoke to him in rapid in German. Within minutes, they had secured the policeman's signature.

"Yes! Thank you, Katja!" Kyle exclaimed. "Now we just to need to find the mayor."

"Uh, Kyle? Look at the time. We're going to be rushing to make it back to the hotel as it is."

Kyle's shoulders slumped. "You're right. I hate losing money!"

"Come on!' This time it was Alex who started running.

******

"See? That wasn't so hard," Tess said, coming up to Michael with a glassful of beer.

"Don't drink any," Michael said quickly. He wasn't sure if Tess had any experience with alcohol, but after

Max's drinking last year, he wasn't about to take any chances.

"Don't worry," Tess reassured him. "Na-- my dad warned me about alcohol. Oh! You know what I just realized?"

"What?"

"We should have gotten the coke first. I don't think we'll be able to walk into any stores carrying beer."

Michael shrugged. "You can wait outside. Or wait, I'll wait outside. You'll need to do the talking." He laughed. "I hope you don't get executed soon. You're the only one of use who can speak any German at all!"

"Growing up on the road does has some advantages."

"Perfect cover for the mole, too," Michael commented.

"Michael!"

"Come on, Tess. It could be anyone. You, me, the Sheriff. Maria."

Tess made a face. "Being the mole would be hard. I have to work hard enough to feel like I fit in with the group." She looked sad.

"Don't worry," Michael said comfortingly. "You'll always fit in with me." He put his arm around Tess' shoulders. "And Kyle!" He added.

Tess smiled, but didn't say anything. "Here's a grocery store. I'm sure they'd have coke." She hurried inside, leaving an impatient Michael staring at his watch.

"Got it!" Tess emerged from the store a couple of minutes later, triumphantly waving the coke over her head.

"All right!" Michael gave Tess a high five, and in the process splashed her with beer. He winced. "Sorry, Tess."

"It's okay," Tess said. "I'll just--" she moved her hand, prepared to use her powers, then suddenly stopped, remember the cameras that tracked there every move. "Change when I get back to the hotel."

Michael nodded in understanding. After the first couple of days, the had all gotten used to the cameras and

it was hard to remember not to talk about or show their powers within the cameras' range.

Michael and Tess hurried back to the hotel and were soon joined by the rest of the group.

"You're early!" Anderson announced. "I like that. Did you get everything?"

"Not quite," Alex admitted. "Kyle and I couldn't get the mayor's signature."

Anderson nodded. "Did everyone else get everything? Good! That's $120,000 for the pot."

"$220,000," Alex calculated quickly.

Anderson smiled. "Right. Tomorrow, you can sleep in as late as you like, but be ready for the execution tomorrow night. See you all, then!" He left the room, leaving the eight Roswellians alone.

"What happened to you?" Kyle stared at the beer-soaked Tess.

"Mr. Graceful over there, decided I needed some cooling off." Tess gestured at Michael.

"Sorry, Tess."

"You didn't drink any, I hope," Amy said to Michael.

"Of course not, Ms. DeLuca!" Michael said, with a smirk on his face.

Maria shook her head. "Sometimes I don't know why I even bother."

Jim was staring at the hat Isabel and Maria had chosen for him. "I'm not supposed to wear this, are I?"

"Of course." Maria opened her eyes wide. "It really...um... brings out your eyes."

"I kinda like mine," Michael said, playing with his space helmet.

They laughed and joked for a while, but eventually, they headed off in different directions.

Tess stood up. "Well, I'm going to my room to change. See you all later."

Michael yawned. "And I need a nap!"

The others also left. Isabel and Maria headed back to the hat shop to do some serious shopping, Jim and Amy went out to the lunch, and Alex and Kyle went off to do some "investigating." The next day was spent lying around the hotel, idly asking each other questions about the mole and trying to avoid thinking about the execution.

"This is going be the hardest one," Maria predicted, as she and Michael made their way to the execution.

"What do you mean?"

Maria shrugged. "It's just Max and Liz didn't really want to play, so they weren't too devastated about leaving. The rest of us want to play."

"Well, if they want to play, then they should know all the answers." Michael said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, yeah?" Maria asked. "Well then, smartly, who's the mole?"

Michael stuck his nose in the air. "I don't need to share my brilliant deductions with you!" he declared.

Maria burst into giggles. "You just don't want to admit you don't know!" She poked him, but instantly sobered as she and Michael walked into the execution. They were the last ones to arrive.

"You know the drill," Anderson said. "A green fingerprint means you stay, a red fingerprint means you go.

Who wants to go first?"

One by one, the contestants held their breath, as they waited for the TV. screen to tell them their fate.

Finally, the red fingerprint showed.

"Well," Jim said, doing his best to sound cheerful as he stared at the red fingerprint. "There goes all hope of

me proving my deceptive skills."

Amy gave him a quick kiss. "I'll miss you," she whispered. For once, Kyle and Maria didn't look embarrassed at their parents' antics.

Jim turned to Kyle and Tess. "You two-- behave yourselves! And be careful," he added in a voice that included the whole group. Slowly, he picked up his bags, and left the area.

The room was silent. Finally, Alex spoke. "I guess we should head back to our rooms and get some sleep."

"Good idea," Anderson commented. "We'll need to do some traveling tomorrow."

The seven remaining contestants slowly made their way to their rooms, happy to have survived the execution, but already missing the sheriff's comforting presence. One by one, they feel to sleep, six worrying about the next day's challenge, and one worrying about how to sabotage the upcoming task.