A Walk In The Park
Chapter 2
II
"You told me this was already handled. That's why I called you in the first place. I like things to be done right… the first time! I expect it!"
"It would have been, General. I had no way of knowing that the girl's father would pull her out of West Roswell General and take her home with no advance warning."
"Are you sure your man on the inside wasn't compromised?"
"I'm sure, General. The father pulled her out when she took a turn for the worse. That's all. Her departure was… unexpected. He hired a private nurse, and he's using his own doctors now."
"I'm sure you have some way to get around that. You told me there was no chance of her ever coming out of the coma."
"There wouldn't have been, sir, if she had stayed there for just one more day… two at the most. The matter was being… handled."
"Well, the situation has changed now. The girl is talking. You know what that can mean. Press problems… and other problems. I do not want to be called before Congress to explain this, Barker! So handle it quickly! And this time, Barker, do it right!"
The phone went dead, as the general hung up on Joe Barker, ad hoc leader of the Special Unit. The "Unit" didn't officially exist since Congress disbanded it after Nasedo, masquerading as the deceased Agent Pierce, testified that all their "proof" of alien presence on Earth was bogus. But the General still had contact with its former members, and the team still stood ready to answer any call to "duty." Nasedo had disappeared shortly after that.
Three days had passed since Liz had awakened from the coma she had been in for the last four months, and already she was exploring the limits of her physical capabilities. These weren't very numerous at the present time. She found that she was able to move her fingers and, to some degree, her hands, but her arms felt as though they were simply too heavy to lift, and her legs seemed hopelessly useless. Still, she counted it as a blessing that she could actually feed herself, albeit with some difficulty. She had to have her arm propped up so that she could reach her mouth just by moving her fingers and hand between the bowl and her face.
"Dad, did Kyle or Alex either one say where they were going after graduation?"
"Not to me, Lizzie. I don't know if they told anyone else or not. I'm sure Alex's parents must know… and I imagine Sheriff Valenti knows where Kyle went. I don't think they're making their whereabouts public knowledge, though. A lot of people around here are still jittery after what happened to the class of 2002."
"Yeah… but I'll bet you could find out, Dad. Sheriff Valenti trusts you. So do the Whitmans."
Jeff smiled. "I'll see what I can do, Lizzie. I guess having some contact with others from your class… who were there… could be good for you."
"Yeah, Dad, it would be."
"Dad?"
"Yeah, Liz?"
"Where are… I mean… where is, you know… where did they bury Max… and Isabel… and Maria?"
Jeff's face showed strain as he looked back at Liz.
"In the New Haven Cemetery, I think. Liz, you're not in any shape to be…"
"I know, Dad. I know. But I wanted to know. Maybe soon…"
Jeff nodded and tried to give Liz a smile. "Yeah, maybe soon… when you're a little better… if you want to…"
Liz tugged at the IV tube that led to her arm. "This can go, Dad. I don't think I need this anymore."
Jeff smiled, this time more genuinely. "I'll see what Doc Jennings says. If he says it's alright, I'll have Vera take it out for you. You just got rid of the feeding tube yesterday, Lizzie. Don't try to hurry things too much. I want you off all this, too, but I want you to have the very best treatment, as well."
"Vera takes good care of me, Dad. And you and Mom are the best. I can handle it. I just want all of this gone."
Jeff nodded. "I can understand that. I'll ask the doc what he thinks… today."
"Thanks, Dad."
As Jeff turned to walk out of the room, there was a knock on the door. He looked out the window to see who it was then opened the door.
"Sheriff! We were just talking about you!"
"Well, I reckon that explains why my ears were ringin."
Jeff laughed. "Come on in, Sheriff. I guess you've heard the news."
"Yeah, I heard. Liz is awake. That's wonderful news, Jeff. You don't know how glad and thankful I am for you."
"Thanks, Sheriff."
"Just Jim. We don't need to be formal, Jeff."
"Jim." Jeff nodded. "You want to see Liz? We were just talkin' about you… and Kyle."
"Yeah, I'd like that."
"Follow me."
Having overheard the conversation, Liz was prepared when Sheriff Valenti walked into her room.
"Hi, Sheriff. Thanks for coming to see me."
"Well, now, Liz, you know I couldn't stay away after I heard you were back awake. I been keepin' track of how you were doin'. It's really good to see you lookin' so good."
"You don't have to push it,
Sheriff. I know I look like a scarecrow."
Jim laughed. "No you don't, Liz. Trust me. You've gotta get outta that bed
before you can scare any crows. Right now they'd walk all over you."
"You're probably right, Sheriff. I'll work on that."
"I know you will. And you'll make it, too."
"Thanks, Sheriff."
"And you don't look like a scarecrow, Liz. You look like a little girl. A very determined little girl, of course.
Liz nodded and smiled. "Sheriff, I was wondering what Kyle is doing now…"
"Well, now, you see, that's sort of part of the reason I'm here right now. Kyle wanted me to bring you this." Jim handed Liz a sealed envelope.
"A letter?"
"You want me to open it for you?"
"Would you?"
Jim tore open the envelope and handed it back to Liz.
"Kyle wanted to come himself… see how you were doing… but…"
Liz nodded. "I know, Sheriff. It's better this way… right now."
"Yeah."
Liz took the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it with her fingers. After a few moments she refolded it and put it back in the envelope then stuck it where she could reach it again under her pillow.
"Have you heard any information about Alex, Sheriff?"
"Las Cruces. He's plannin' on goin' to college there. The family's not tellin' just everybody where he went, though."
"Sheriff?"
"Yeah?"
"You know, those guys that shot… us… Max and me… and Maria and Isabel… did they have a trial?"
"You shouldn't be worryin' yourself over such stuff right now, Liz…"
Liz gave Jim a determined look, and he sighed.
"Truth is, Liz, you've got about as good an idea as I've got about that. The trial… if there was one… was kept closed to the public, so no one but the army knows what went on in there. It was over quick. We know that much. The men who did it disappeared just as quick, and nobody from the army's sayin' where they went. 'Privacy laws,' they keep tellin' the Press when they call. They don't give me any more sway than the Press, either. What I do know, I didn't get from the army. I got it from… other sources."
"And what did your other sources tell you. Can you tell me?"
"That there never was any trial. That the shooters were from the old Special Unit… the one that was disbanded by Congress after Agent Pierce testified that the Unit was all a sham and humiliated Congresswoman Whittaker."
"Yeah, I remember."
"Well, my sources tell me they're disbanded, but they're still out there… and ready to take orders."
"Whose orders?"
"Well now, that's the big question, Liz. And I'm afraid it's one I don't have the answer to right now. But I do know this, the Special Unit is still a danger. Be careful who you talk to… and what you say. That's what I came over here to tell you. Take care of yourself, Liz. You're… family to me."
Liz smiled.
"Sheriff? Can you take a note back for me… to Kyle?"
"Sure can. You want me to write it?"
"No, I can do it, Sheriff. I can move my fingers. I haven't mastered writing with the pen between my teeth yet, though."
Jim smiled. "I don't think you'll have to, Liz. Looks like you're improving very rapidly. You just woke up three days ago. Now look at you. You're eatin' regular food and everything."
"I can feed myself," Liz said.
Jim seemed surprised. "Well, there you go! Here. I got a pen right here. And I just happen to have a piece of paper and an envelope, too." Jim smiled.
Liz smiled, too, and began to write. Then she folded the paper and put it in the envelope.
"Would you seal it for me? You can read it first."
"That's not necessary."
"It's okay. We're kind of in this together now, aren't we?"
Sheriff Valenti nodded.
"Well, I better be goin', Liz. I got other business to attend to."
"Sheriff?"
"Yeah?"
"You got your job back. I just realized it."
Jim smiled. "Yeah. I can't say I like the way I got it back though. Hansen took a lot of blame for what went down at graduation. The town blamed him for not protecting the kids. There was a big outcry, and a lot of folks were demanding the council's heads. The city council quickly ushered me back in. So Hansen's my Deputy now, like it used to be."
"Well, however it happened, I'm glad you're the Sheriff again."
"Thanks, Liz." Jim turned around to leave, but he stopped at the door and looked back.
"Me, too."
**********
(Four days later)
"You gonna be okay? Can you sit up that long," Jeff asked with a concerned tone in his voice.
"I'm fine, Daddy. Vera will be pushing me. All I have to do is ride. It's the good life."
Jeff smiled and shook his head slightly. "Okay, but if you feel tired or anything, ask Vera to bring you straight back. You don't need to be overtaxing yourself."
"I'm just going to the park, Daddy. We won't be gone long. And Vera is quite capable of taking care of me."
"You want me to come?"
"No, they need you in the CrashDown, Daddy. I'll be fine."
Vera walked into the room and nodded at Jeff Parker then looked at Liz. "You ready, honey?"
Liz smiled. "Yeah. I'm dying to see the trees and the sun again. Let's go!"
Somewhere else in Roswell, a telephone rang as they spoke.
"Terrier, you ready to go on this?"
"Ready, sir! Was the info correct?"
"It was. The girl's going to be in the park on the west side of town. They're just leaving her home now. Are you in position?"
"I will be. I'm almost there now."
"Alright. Make it good, Terrier."
"Yes, sir!"
The phone went dead.
At the park, Vera took Liz's wheelchair out of the car and helped Liz into it.
"Still feel like doing this, sweetheart?"
"Wild horses couldn't stop me, Vera. I just want to be out here in the fresh air among the beautiful trees and flowers for a while. I want to feel human again. You can understand, can't you?"
Vera nodded. Then she took the handles of the wheelchair and walked toward the nature trail. Liz was smiling broadly… and taking in all the scenery.
"God, it's so beautiful, Vera! I think I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be outdoors in the real world. Thank you so much for bringing me!"
"It's my job, honey. Besides, just between you and me, I like walking in the park." Vera smiled.
"Terrier is in position."
"Copy that, Terrier. Go with plan."
"You think anyone would mind if I pulled one of these little flowers off this bush, Vera?"
"I think there'll be plenty left, Liz. Go ahead."
Liz carefully plucked a flower from beside the trail with her fingers. As she did, her arm moved slightly.
"Did you see that, Vera? My arm moved!"
"I saw it." Vera smiled at her.
"It was just a little, but I actually moved it, Vera! Maybe I'll be able to walk again some day, too."
"I wouldn't doubt it, Liz, knowing you like I do since you woke up. You're certainly determined. But don't get yourself too anxious and then get depressed if it doesn't happen as soon as you think it should… or if it doesn't happen."
"It will, Vera. I know it will. I just have to be positive about it."
Vera smiled and nodded, but she seemed concerned by Liz's optimism. As they rounded a corner, a man sitting on a bench "reading" a newspaper lifted the paper up in front of his face.
"Pointer here. Target is sighted. Repeat. Target is sighted. Two targets."
Another voice replied…
"Operation is still go, Pointer. You got that, Terrier? Wait till target is near. You'll have to take them both, Terrier. Acknowledge."
"Acknowledged. Terrier out."
High up in a tree a couple of hundred feet off the trail, "Terrier" prepared his laser scope and high-powered rifle. Then he placed his eye to the scope and pointed it at the trail where the target would be appearing in a few moments, but as he watched, he became increasingly annoyed by the rising noise level in the park.
"Blasted motorcycle! That no-good sheriff should devote some of his time to keeping them out of the park. Sounds like a damn chain saw."
As he mumbled to himself, he felt the tree begin to sway… then move slightly… then begin a long fall toward the ground. Terrier grabbed hold of the limbs and did the best he could to hold on, as his perch came tumbling down, bringing him crashing to the ground with it. When he looked up from the ground, there was a shotgun in his face. At the other end of it was Sheriff Jim Valenti. And he wasn't smiling.
"Now, we got a choice here. You can crawl on back to that den you call a Unit and tell them that Jim Valenti said this little girl is off limits… or I can blow your head off right here and be a hero to the whole town for catching one of the ones responsible for what happened at graduation a few months back. The longer I think about it, the more I'm liking the second option."
Terrier didn't take the time to answer. Dragging an injured leg, he hobbled as fast as he could to the edge of the park, leaving his gun behind under the tree. A black Mercedes pulled up, and he got in as it sped away. A few moments later, Liz and Vera appeared on the trail.
"Well, hello," Jim said, tilting his hat slightly. "Fancy meeting you girls here!"
"Hi, Sheriff," Liz replied with a smile. She looked at the chainsaw and shotgun in Jim's hand and then at the fallen tree.
"Oh! Yeah… well, caught some guys tryin' to do some illegal lumbering in the park. Had to confiscate their saw and bust 'em."
"Ah," Liz nodded suspiciously.
"Can I walk with you girls? Suddenly I feel like a walk in the park."
"Sure," Liz said. "We'd be glad to have the company." Vera smiled.
As they walked, another conversation was taking place elsewhere in town.
"I don't care what the reasons were! I want results! Get that! Results! If you can't get that, I'll put someone in charge who can!"
"Sir, our operation has been compromised. The sheriff is onto us. He mentioned the Unit specifically. And he issued a threat if we didn't stay away from the girl."
"I don't care about the sheriff's threats. You know how to handle situations like that."
"The sheriff?"
"Take care of it. And Barker, do not call me back if you do not have good news for me, 'cause if you do, I may have someone do what the sheriff threatened to do. Am I making myself clear?"
"Yes, sir! Perfectly, sir!"
tbc
Coming next: Valenti is in the cross-hairs, and Liz visits the cemetery.