Midnight Pow-Wow
Part 2 – Decisions
Chapter 44
XLIV
The midnight sky over Roswell twinkled with hundreds of thousands of stars, most of them visible on this clear dark night from the New Granolith's lofty position in the sky, and the view through the ship's observatory dome was striking. The observatory of the New Granolith comprised most of the uppermost level of the ship, and the clear, one-way view dome that covered it allowed anyone inside this level to watch the stars and planets go by while the ship was traveling through space. On this night, however, the only visible movement of the stars was their incessant twinkling in the midnight sky. It was a sight that every person present had spent some time appreciating already; but now, with the meeting about to start, it became a peaceful… and strangely appropriate… backdrop.
There was plenty of room in the observatory. Even with everyone present and with the large table that had been brought in for the special meeting, it was not at all crowded. The large, oversized Antarian sofa that Michael and Maria so loved still sat against the back wall. On another side of the room there were a couple of special seats with various long-rang vision devices through which one could view the distant heavens in comfort. But one needed only to look up… or in almost any other direction… to see the skies through the huge dome that covered most of the level above and all around the observatory. It felt a bit like sitting on a large, mostly exposed, platform in the sky… until the lights were turned up inside, giving some sense of enclosure to the meeting's participants.
"This meeting is opened," Max stated simply, bringing the meeting to order. Everyone turned to look at Max, anxious to hear what he had to say.
Max looked around the table. All those invited appeared to be present. Directly to Max's right, at the head of the table, sat Michael and Gray Hawk. Liz and Rahn sat on Max's left. Along the left side of the table, Max saw his and Liz's younger doubles with Jeff and Nancy Parker, her parents. Beside the Parkers were the younger Michael and Maria with Maria's mom, Amy, and her new husband, Sheriff Jim Valenti, followed by Kyle Valenti, Phillip and Diane Evans, Isabel, Alex, then Alex's parents, Charles and Gloria Whitman. At the far end of the table were Diane Casey, Dan Klein, and General David Strickland. Beside David Strickland sat a guest, one still referred to by most of the crew simply as "Eagle One," since he and Dan Klein had led two squadrons of fighter jets to secure the reservation when it had been under attack. Moving back around to the right side of the table, Max saw Jim from Antar sitting across from his younger double. River Dog sat on Jim's right with Tess, Tess' husband, Rayylar, and Angie Lee. To Jim's left were the rest of Max's crewmates, Isabel, Alex, Maria, and Varec.
Seeing that everyone was present, Max smiled and continued… "I called this meeting because we have recently encountered a few problematic situations. It's nothing that we can't handle, of course… if we're prepared for whatever may come and we stick together…"
Michael nodded silently but rolled his eyes a bit. Max ignored Michael's not-too-subtle visual attempt to tell him that he was already forgetting his agreement not to "candy-coat" or underestimate the dangers they might be facing. But both knew that there were important decisions to be made tonight… decisions that would likely affect the lives of all those present, not just the "aliens" in the group.
"As everyone here probably knows by now," Max continued, "Max… your Max, that is… and I… have been spending a great many hours each day healing sick and injured people at the hospital in Roswell. Up till now, we've only had to heal local people and those who came to us, but the word has been spreading around the country and… I suspect… the world, and we know that if we don't prepare now or if we don't find a way to avoid what we think is coming, we may find ourselves in over our heads."
"I have a suggestion," Dan Klein said.
Max nodded toward Dan. "Go ahead, Dan. What is it?"
"We can put out the word that your powers to heal people have been depleted. You know… tell the press that your powers have been all used up… You can't even get a kink out of a muscle anymore. If the press spreads the word…"
"They won't buy it," Michael said with certainty. "People would want to see it for themselves. The press would want us to prove it. Even then… people would always suspect that we had lied to them, and Max would be accused of being self-centered and unconcerned about others if it ever came out that it really was a lie."
Dan shrugged. "Yeah… you're probably right."
"Hey! I didn't say it was a bad idea, though," Michael replied quickly. "I'm thinking about it… with a few little adjustments. But we have to be realistic. People are going to be suspicious of our motives and suspect that they're being lied to if we say something like that."
"Maybe you could say that their powers are getting progressively and permanently weaker every time they heal so many people without resting for several days in between," Maria suggested. "I mean… if you convince people that Max may lose his powers totally if they continue to abuse the two of them, people won't want their powers to go away, so maybe they'll give them a break, you know…"
"Hmm… in other words, we kind of tell people that they're killing the goose that laid the golden egg," Michael mused.
"Yeah. That's sort of it," Maria agreed.
"Might work… it's an angle. Max?"
Max shrugged. "It might come down to that. I don't like having to lie about it, though."
"You wouldn't really be lying, Max," Michael retorted. "Not much anyway. I mean, face it, if the problem keeps growing at the rate it has been, they really are going to kill the goose that… the goose that heals them."
Max smiled.
"You think that's funny?" Michael asked.
Max shook his head. "I was just picturing that imagery… You know, a goose… healing people."
"Well, you can't lay golden eggs, Max," Michael said with a touch of exasperation. "…Unless you've been keeping something from me."
There was a low round of laughter around the table. Max reddened slightly and smiled sheepishly. "You're right, Michael. I didn't mean to make light of it."
"I know," Michael conceded, then he turned again to the group around the table. "The problem, as Max and I see it, is that now that everyone knows what Max can do, they're going to expect him to do it… and if he doesn't, we're not going to be welcome here anymore… any of us. That goes for our doubles, too, especially his, and they have to live here. This is their home."
"Maybe," Max replied quietly. "Maybe not."
Michael nodded solemnly. "Right. That brings us to the other thing we discussed… if it comes to it."
Max took a deep breath and looked around the table again at each one there. "We have discussed it among some of us, and we feel that the time is coming… very soon, I fear… when staying here may not be an option. I'm talking about for some of those who live here, not for me or my crew. We will be going back to Antar in our dimension soon either way. But my double here… and maybe some of the others… have to make some important decisions tonight. This is very sudden, I know, but it's not as rash as it may seem. Just tonight, we learned that a circuit court in San Francisco may be planning to place my double and me under some kind of court restriction where the court would decide who we heal and when… and we think this would mean that we would also not be free to leave the court's jurisdiction without the court's permission."
"In other words, EVER," Diane Casey said, bristling with indignation. "If that happened, you'd be a virtual slave, Max… both of you. Are you sure of this information? San Francisco… that's the 9th Circuit Court. They don't have jurisdiction in Roswell. New Mexico is in the 10th Circuit Court's jurisdiction."
"It comes from some very reliable sources," General David Strickland said, responding to Diane. "I have personal, uh, sources close to the court. Over the past three days, the court has been meeting in secret to decide what they have termed, 'how to best allocate an indispensable and unique resource currently located in the vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico.' What does that mean to you?"
Diane frowned and thought about it for several moments. "Probably the same thing it means to you. But… how do they expect to get away with it? We're not in their jurisdiction here."
"I don't know that," General Strickland said, shaking his head. "But the sources were quite convinced of the court's intent. Maybe there is someone else here, though, who may have more answers for us." David looked straight at Eagle One, and the "guest" nodded slowly.
"It hasn't been officially published by the court, General. There's nothing that I can do about it until the court makes some kind of official adjudication… or at least admits it. I have heard the rumor, but the 9th denies it."
"Then, it's not so?" David Strickland asked.
"I didn't say that," Eagle One replied. "It's probably a denial of convenience."
"In other words, a bald-faced lie," Diane Casey retorted angrily.
Eagle One smiled. "Well, yes… and no. The denial could be based on the phrasing of the question as it was put to them by my staff. Courts and lawyers, you know. Anyway, if any detail of the question they were asked was slightly wrong, the court would simply issue a blanket denial of the entire question. What I can tell you is that I've been watching them closely, and when they do tip their hand, I'll be on it."
"But can you do anything about it," Liz asked. "I mean, with all due respect to you, Sir, I know a little bit about poli' science and sociology and how these things work here. I graduated from high school here in Roswell… Well, okay, not HERE… but in Roswell… in a different dimension, but I think it's pretty much the same. I got an 'A' in Political Science."
"You got an 'A' in everything," Maria interjected.
Liz blushed slightly, but Eagle One smiled and seemed impressed.
"She's right. I cannot simply overrule the courts… though there are a few things that I can trump them on. I won't know about this case until they decide to spring their 'decision.' But I've had my legal experts researching it already, and I am quite sure that legally there is no precedent for such an action and little likelihood of succeeding if a court without jurisdiction attempts to circumvent a court with jurisdiction. It's rather complicated, but jurisdiction is important here."
"I imagine that's why they've been discussing it for three days," Dan Klein said. "They're trying to find a way to stick a decision outside their jurisdiction. Maybe the 10th Circuit Court is in on it with them."
Eagle One shook his head. "I had that checked out, too. I can't be a hundred percent sure, but it doesn't appear that they are."
"How else could they hope to make it stick?" Dan asked. "We need to ask ourselves that. When we find the answer to that, we'll probably know what they're up to."
"Or…" Michael said. "We could just leave… now… today… or tomorrow at the latest… without saying anything… with both Maxes onboard. Then there'll be nothing for them to decide."
Diane Evans gasped, and her hand went automatically over her mouth. "Max? Leave…? And go where? Where would he go?"
She knew that the answer would not please her. Wherever the New Granolith was going, it would be taking her son away from her if he went along. But Diane was also aware of the problems Max was facing because of his ability to heal others, and she knew that it was getting worse, not better. Something WAS going to have to be done… soon.
"Does he… Does he have to go away… to some other… you know…?" Diane couldn't quite bring herself to say it. "Can't you find a way to fix the problem and let him stay here?"
"We're not going to take him away against his wishes, Mrs. Evans," Michael said, shaking his head. "If it comes to it… and right now it's only on the table for discussion, because we're just looking for options, not saying that it has been determined already… it will have to be his decision to make. And you will have to help him make the right decision."
"Don't say that. I can't ask him to go away and… leave us."
"Running away isn't an answer," Phillip said, agreeing with his wife. "We've always taught our children not to seek out trouble or invite it but not to run away from it either. They can come to us. We're here for them. In the end, they have to stand on their own two feet, but you can't just turn and run from your troubles. You have to face them… defeat them. Only then can you be free of them."
"I'm sure that Max and Isabel know that they can come to you for anything, Mr. Evans," Michael replied. "But… were you able to help them on graduation night?"
Phillip choked up, and Diane began to cry softly. Both of them felt like a dagger had just been run through their hearts, as memories of Max and Isabel being shot dead by commandoes at their graduation came flooding back into their minds… and with those awful memories, came the feelings of utter, horrible despair that had overcome them at not having been able to save their children or help them in any way.
"I'm… I'm sorry," Michael said with heartfelt sincerity, feeling a lump coming up in his throat. "I'm not implying that you ever didn't do your best to keep them safe. I'm saying that you really did… and it just didn't matter. There are things that this world is just not ready for. Your son… and Isabel… aren't truly of this world. None of us are. Everyone knows it now. I'm not saying that Max and Isabel have to run away… yet. I'm looking for options. But we have to keep that option open, too. It's… well… looking more and more like the best option… for several reasons."
"I'm a lawyer, Michael," Phillip said sternly. "If a court… anywhere… tries to put restrictions on my children… because of what they are… I'll take them to… take them to…"
"Court?"
"Court… yeah." Phillip ran the back of his hand over his eyes then put his arm around Diane and pulled her to him.
As everyone else sat in total silence, Max picked up the conversation again.
"Michael… and I… will be leaving here soon with the rest of our crew. We haven't decided yet to take anyone from here with us when we go. We're exploring all the options available, and that is one option that is available. As Michael said, it would have to be Max's decision… if he decides to go with us. In any case, these things need to be decided in this meeting… tonight. Once we are gone… there will be nowhere for Max… or Isabel… or anyone else here… to turn to. You will have to defend yourselves or be at the mercy of millions of possibly misguided people… and maybe even the courts… if it comes to that."
"And there is another matter to discuss," Michael said softly. "Nasedo."
Max nodded. "Right. Nasedo is a shape-shifter… He's dangerous. We can't leave him here. We need to take him back to Antar, in this dimension, where he can be handled properly by others of his kind."
"Not all shape-shifters are dangerous," Rahn interjected defensively. "Most of us are good."
Max nodded again. "Rahn is right. And it just illustrates the problems we face here. People are afraid of anything that they can't control or don't understand. I didn't mean to imply that all shape-shifters are dangerous just now, but the language I used did just that. If we can't control our own fears… if we let them come out… even accidentally in such little ways… how can we expect a whole planet of… earth people to stay calm and reasonable. The trouble is, it doesn't take a lot of people, only a few people with illogical fears, to cause a great catastrophe. The men who shot some of you at graduation here were only a handful of people who did not represent the majority, but the result was still disastrous. It's a hard lesson… one that we learned, too."
"But do you always run from your problems, Max?" Phillip asked. "Isn't there danger on your planet? What do you do when there's danger there? What did you do with that guy, what was his name… K… Ki…?"
"Kivar," Diane offered for him.
"Yeah… Kivar. Did you run from him? Or did you face him and win your planet back… in your own dimension?"
"You've found out a lot about us," Max said, a bit surprised at the extent of Phillip's knowledge of a subject that Max had never really talked about to anyone here.
"I told you… I'm a lawyer. I have a way of… snooping… getting little details."
There were a few chuckles around the table, and Phillip smiled just a bit.
Max nodded. "We talk when we don't realize it. Little things that we say…"
"…can be pieced together… if someone is really listening," Phillip said, finishing Max's thought for him.
"Yeah, exactly," Max conceded. "You're my father alright."
Again there was a chuckle heard around the table.
"Well… anyway, you're a lot like my father… in my dimension. He could hear a few words and put together a whole plot from them, too. And he occasionally got it right. It made being a teenager kind of nerve-wracking… sometimes." Max smiled, letting Phillip know that he meant this in a light-hearted way. Then he became serious again…
"We can face danger when there is a reason to… and a need. It was necessary to face danger to take back our planet… to return the rightful king to the throne… and to save my people from Kivar. But is it really necessary to stay here on earth… if there is a reasonable alternative? It's not even our planet… not really. Rahn found out from Nasedo that Antar, in this dimension, is no longer ruled by Kivar. He was killed by one of his slaves, and random factions that cannot seem to get together dominate the planet at the present time. The return of their king now could make all the difference. If Max and Michael here have the same feelings of destiny and calling that Michael and I had that led us to return to our planet and defeat Kivar, they may never have a better chance to reestablish their rightful place on Antar than now. We can't decide this for them, though. They will have to do that themselves. Stay… or go. It's in their hands." Max turned and faced the younger Max and Michael. "…Your hands."
"Go," the younger Max said quietly. Michael nodded emphatically… "Go."
Max smiled. He knew what their decisions would be before he ever asked. This Max and Michael were a little younger, and they lived in a different dimension, but they were still Max and Michael. Max never had any doubt what their answer would be. Neither did Michael… especially since they had gotten to know them. The two pairs were far more alike than different… in almost every respect. Max and Michael knew that this meeting was really about giving their doubles the opportunity to make the decision to return and retake their planet. All the problems they faced here on earth were only secondary. Even the court, if it was indeed plotting something sinister, could not have actually forced them to leave earth. But retaking their rightful place on their own planet was something deeper. It was a calling. Max and Michael had felt it once themselves. They had every reason to believe that their doubles felt it, too.
From the start, Gray Hawk had understood what this meeting was about, and he had kept silent and watched how it played out. He had been there when the ship had crashed on that day in 1947. He had seen the aliens and their urgency… the urgency to save their royal family… and their planet. He had no doubt that that urgency was still there… somewhere… in these two young men… the fruit of the aliens' efforts that day. And as much as he did not want to think about it, he suspected it might be in Angie Lee, too. But he wasn't sure.
"Max?" Diane whispered softly, her voice breaking. "Where would you go? Would we ever see you again?"
Max laid his hand on top of his mother's hand and then squeezed it comfortingly. "I don't know… I… I hope so… I just don't know. But we have to do this, Mom. It's something that I can't explain. It's… our destiny." Michael nodded in agreement. Max turned back around to look at Liz, and the look on her face struck his heart with all the force and effect of an exploding supernova. His heart almost stopped… until by sheer force he willed it to beat again. He realized quickly that this was going to be harder. Liz. How could he leave Liz… after all they had been through together? Liz. Liz whom he had carried when she was paralyzed… danced ecstatically with, lost in emotion, in Gray Hawk's home after Rahn had healed her… shared his feelings, his hopes, his love, HIS LIFE with… all but promised to marry. Liz. For the first time, since his Antarian double mentioned the possibility of taking him to Antar, Max faltered.
"I… I can't…"
Max reached out to Liz, and she took his hands. The look on her face, in her eyes, in her whole being screamed, "STAY," but her voice betrayed her.
"You have to go, Max. It's what you've always wanted. It's what you were always meant to do. You don't have a choice. You're the king of… of all those people. You heard what he said. Without you, they're fractured. They need you and Michael… even if Kivar is gone… maybe even more now that he's gone. Without you… without you… they… Without you…" Liz choked up in spite of her most noble intentions… "Without you… I… I can't…"
Max put his arms around Liz and pulled her to him, holding her close in his embrace… close to his heart.
"I won't leave you, Liz… if that's the choice…"
Liz buried her face against Max's chest then reached up and kissed him gently…
"Go, Max."
"But…"
Liz put one finger over Max's lips. "Go. I'll go with you."
Max sat there, momentarily speechless, then the truth struck him… This is what was meant to be. His double was married to Liz in their dimension… and they lived together on Antar. Their children were born on Antar. Their home… was Antar. Max looked at Liz, and a new feeling of profound love filled his heart almost to overflowing.
Michael watched as Max and Liz cemented their decision together then swallowed hard and looked at Maria.
"Hey, E.T., you don't think I'm letting Liz take the vacation of a lifetime while I stay here, do you?"
Michael smiled, his mind a confused jumble of caution and concern and yet, oddly, somehow, relief.
"Besides…" Maria said, "I've kind of gotten attached to you. I think I might actually like you… just a little bit…"
Michael nodded, understanding Maria completely, then he leaned over and kissed her on the lips. As they separated, a few moments later, he looked at her with that endearing lopsided smile…
"Whatever I did to deserve you, it must have been really something."
"It was," Maria said. "You let me into your heart. I don't think you ever did that with anyone else before."
Michael shook his head. "No, I didn't. Only Max… and Isabel. We had to stick together. But no one else. No one else ever… till you."
Maria smiled and kissed Michael again.
Max looked at Isabel, who was clutching their mother tightly by the arm without realizing it.
"Max… don't. Don't ask me that. How can I leave everything I've ever known… everyone I've ever loved. Mom and Dad are… are all I've got!"
"You've got Max," Max said, referring to his younger double. "And Michael."
"I don't want to have to choose… not between them or Mom and Dad," Isabel said.
"I'm sorry," Max whispered almost inaudibly, "but you are going to have to make a choice… to be with one or the other. If they go… and you stay… you'll be alone here. I mean, you'll still have Mom and Dad, but Max and Michael… will be gone. They won't be there to help you if you need them."
"I… I'll get by… with Mom and Dad… and my friends. I've got Alex… and Maria…"
Isabel stopped suddenly, as it dawned on her that she might not have Maria anymore. Maria had just said that she was going wherever Michael went. Isabel swallowed. That would hurt. She couldn't believe that she felt this way about anyone, but she did. The time she and Maria had spent just trying to survive together in the caves had changed something in Isabel. Maria had saved her life. They had been close… like sisters… almost like twins. They had depended on each other… totally… for survival… and for comfort… for so long. Losing Maria now would hurt… a lot. But she had Alex, and she had her parents. As long as she had them she would be okay in the end. Of this she was certain.
"I have to stay, Max. Mom and Dad need me. And there's Alex… I… I…"
Max nodded. "Okay. Just think about it for now. If that's your decision, we won't try to make you to change it. But be certain that it's the right decision, because after we're gone… you know…"
Isabel nodded, holding her mother's arm on one side and Alex's on the other, attempting to convince herself that she didn't want anything more. Being alone with Alex had always been enough for Isabel. As long as she had him… and the stars above… she could find happiness anywhere… anywhere… at all…
Isabel turned to Alex, and her lips moved, but nothing came out. She looked up at the thousands of visible stars through the dome above them. Alex looked up with her…
"Which one do you think it is,
Iz?"
Isabel shook her head. "I don't think you can see it from here, Alex. It's too
far away."
Alex nodded, reading Isabel's feelings like an open book. "How long do you think it'll take us to get there?"
Isabel looked at Alex and shook her head. "I don't really know." Then she laid her head against him, and he put his arms around her, cradling her head against his chest with one hand.
"Maria?" Amy said, her voice shaking, betraying her feelings, "You can't just run off to God knows where… some other planet… some other galaxy. You're still just a child, honey!"
"I'm not a child, Mama. I'm out of high school already. I've been through more than most people go through in ten life times already. This is something I have to do, Mom. I want to be with Michael. Besides, when you were my age…"
"You'll be leaving me," Amy cried.
"Mom," Maria scolded. "Turn off the tears. I know you. I learned it from you, remember?"
"They're not fake," Amy said, wiping her eyes and showing Maria the teardrops on her hand.
Maria hugged Amy. "I know they're not, Mom. But you'll survive. You're a survivor. Besides, maybe we can come back to see you someday. Max and Michael have this big spaceship in their dimension… my Michael and our Max can get a big spaceship, too. Max is the king."
"Oh, I know that," Amy conceded, shaking her head. "But I don't want to see you go away so far. Couldn't you just go to Texas or somewhere first? Somewhere where I don't need a spaceship to come see you? I don't think my Jetta will make it to Antar."
"Maybe Isabel can give it some of her special mojo, Mom. She's good at that. Trust me! You should have seen what she did to your car before!"
Amy smiled. "If it's all the same, I think I'll wait for the spaceship."
"Good choice, Mom."
"Or…" Amy's eyes got suddenly brighter. "Jim and I could come with you!"
Jim's mouth fell open, and he looked at Amy. "Oh, no! I'm just getting earth used to having me around. I wasn't cut out for space travel."
"Your double said that, too," Max noted. "But now he lives on Antar and considers it his home."
"All the same," Jim said. "I like to keep my feet on solid ground."
"You mean like right now?" Michael asked.
"Yeah." Jim thought about it a moment and realized that he was several thousand feet in the sky at this moment… inside a spaceship.
"Okay, but that's still the earth down there under me."
The younger Max smiled and joined the conversation. "Actually, it would probably be better if all the parents stayed here for now… on earth. We don't know exactly what we're going to find on Antar when we get there. After everything is running the way it should be, I should be able to send a ship back for anyone else who wants to come at that time. Or we can just come back to visit… if there's not a problem with the court."
"The New Granolith has invisibility capability and other stealth features," Max of Antar said. "Varec can give you the specs, and you can build one of your own if you want. Nobody else needs to know that you're here then if you come back. You'll have to find Varec on your planet and get him to supervise the building of the ship for you. He's the best. I don't know anyone else who can do what he's done with this ship."
The younger Max nodded. "That would be great."
"Lizzie," Jeff said, putting an arm around his little girl, "Are you sure about this?"
Liz smiled and nodded. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life, Dad."
Jeff nodded. "I won't stand in your way, then, Lizzie. You belong together. That's not easy for me to say; I want you to know that. But after all you've been through together… you and Max… and the others… I don't think I should stand in your way now. Maybe you could email me occasionally. Do they have Earthlink on Antar?"
Liz smiled.
"That was Alex's joke," Michael said. Alex asked us that in our dimension when he stayed on earth the first time we left to return to Antar."
"I guess things are the same everywhere," Alex mused. "They just get moved around a bit."
Tess walked up to Angie Lee and asked her the question that Angie Lee had been expecting.
"Are you coming with us? You're from Antar, too. You can return home if you want to."
Angie Lee looked up at the sky through the huge observatory dome and sighed, then she looked at Gray Hawk. She smiled and put her arm around Gray Hawk, then shook her head.
"I am home, Tess. Grandfather and I are home here."
Tess smiled. "Well, no one on earth knows about your powers to create visions and mind warps, and they don't know that you're one of us, so you'll probably be okay."
Angie Lee nodded. "I want to finish college, then maybe someday I'll marry a great guy and we can come to Antar for our honeymoon." Angie Lee looked at Kyle, and Kyle smiled.
Tess laughed. "You just may be able to do that. But be careful, Angie Lee. You must hide any hint of your powers. No one here must ever know that you are one of us. The dangers for you are too great if they ever find out."
"I know," Angie Lee agreed.
"Kyle?" Tess said. Kyle understood the question.
"I'm staying here."
"Why did I just know that?" Tess asked, winking at Angie Lee. "Have fun on Antar on your honeymoon, Kyle… you, too, Angie Lee."
Kyle grinned but reddened just a bit and nodded, glancing at Angie Lee, who was smiling even more now that Kyle had confirmed that he was staying, too, and all but confirmed his intentions with regard to Angie Lee.
"Well, some things aren't the same," Max said. "In our dimension, Kivar destroyed the earth, and Kyle, Michael, and I were the only ones who escaped and made it to Antar… until we went back to earth's past in the New Granolith and Alex here saved the world with his guitar."
Angie Lee looked at Alex and raised her eyebrows. "I'd like to hear how that happened some time."
"Maybe sometime I'll tell you," Alex said, grinning.
Diane Casey walked up to Max and looked him in the eyes. She started to speak but then thought again about what she would say.
"Yes," Max said. It was an answer, not a question.
"Yes? Yes, what?"
"Yes, Diane, you can go with us. You've always known that you belonged out there somewhere, you just didn't know where until now."
Diane appeared stunned. "You can read my mind? I… I didn't know."
Max smiled and shook his head. "No. I don't read minds. That's what our Diane in our dimension said to me a long time ago. She and you had different jobs, but other than that, you're like two peas in a pod. I just figured…"
"Amazing," Diane said in a stunned voice. "Those were the very words I was going to say."
"And some things are the same," Max said.
"Max," Varec called out from across the room. "There's a message coming in on the vidscreen."
"Turn it on," Max said. Varec turned the large vidscreen on, and everyone sat back down in their seats and looked at the screen. A man came on the screen, but Max didn't recognize him.
"Citizens of the planet Antar… greetings."
"Thank you," Max said. "What can we do for you?"
The man smiled, but Max thought that somehow the smile looked suspiciously… well… smiley.
"It's not what you can do for us, Max. You are Max, right?" It's what we can do for you. Is the, uh, the other Max there, too?"
"That would be me," the younger Max said, stepping in front of the camera.
"Ah, there you are! Yes!"
"What are you offering," Max asked.
"Well, we are very grateful
for all your efforts to help others on our planet… especially by rebuilding the
Mesaliko Reservation and, uh, healing all the people that you have healed."
"It was our pleasure," Max said politely.
"Well, some of us want you to know that it has not gone unnoticed, and we want to return the favor to you in our own small, humble way."
"Thank you," Max said, waiting to hear what the man was going to say.
"I want you to look at something. I'm putting a picture online for you to see." The man disappeared, and a picture of a large estate on a river appeared. The house was beautiful… and huge. And the land seemed to go on forever. Max guessed that there were sixty prime acres… many of them on the waterfront.
"It's beautiful," Max said.
The man reappeared. "It's yours. All you have to do is move in. We thought you might like to have something big enough for all of you to move into. There are thirty bedrooms, thirty baths, and a special guesthouse where someone's parents could live if they wanted more privacy, or you could use it for… whatever. If you like horses, we're going to give you six horses… and a groomsman and stableman to take care of them. As I said, it's all yours, Max! All you have to do is move in! There's even enough land to park your spaceship on."
"Where is it," Liz asked.
"Thirty-five miles out of Billings."
"Montana," Diane Casey said, her breath catching in her throat. She reached up and muted the outgoing audio for a second. "That's in the 9th Circuit Court's jurisdiction." She turned the audio back on.
"It's beautiful," Max said again.
"Max, it's a cage," Michael said, muting the outgoing audio again momentarily. "You can't be seriously considering it!"
"I'm not, but it's gorgeous. I've never lived in anything like that."
"Okay, it's a gilded cage," Michael corrected with exasperation. "A cage is still a cage, Max."
Max sighed. "Yeah, I know. Once we were in there, we'd be their prisoners… with the law keeping us inside. Don't worry, Michael. I'm not falling."
Michael turned the audio back on. "Thank you… uh, I don't think we got your name."
"Jeffers… William Smythe, Esquire, at your service."
"Well, Mr. Jeffers, as I was saying, we appreciate the offer, but we're going to have to turn it down."
"You can't be serious! Think about what you're giving up!"
"We already have," Michael said.
The man on the vidscreen appeared flustered. Obviously, he was not prepared to be turned down and didn't quite know how to reply. "I… I'll have to get back to you on the matter. I need to speak to the other, uh, benefactors and give them your response."
Max nodded and turned the vidscreen off.
"Well, there you have it," Dan Klein said. "That's what their plan is. Get you into their jurisdiction then slap the cage door closed."
"I can't believe the gall," Diane spat, not mincing any words.
"But now that I know what they're up to," Eagle One said, "I can get my legal staff working on it and see what can be done… legally."
"There's no need," Michael of Antar said. "We're outta here! In the morning… Tonight if everyone's ready. When they come back with another offer we'll be long gone already."
Eagle One nodded thoughtfully. "Still… I think I need to have my staff look at this offer. The guy on your fancy TV was right about one thing. We DO owe you a big debt of gratitude. There's nobody who would deny that. Maybe this 'offer' could backfire on the, uh, 'benefactors'."
"Maybe," Michael agreed. "But it's safer to take off and not have to worry about it." Michael's concern wasn't for himself but rather for the safety of everyone on the ship, especially Max, and he felt a similar obligation to protect their younger doubles. Protecting others was Michael's job… and his life.
"Give me 48 hours, Mister Guerin. They can't touch you as long as you're in New Mexico airspace. I may be able to make lemonade out of a benchful of lemons."
Michael looked at Max, and Max shrugged and nodded.
"Okay, Mr. President," Michael agreed. "Forty-eight hours. Then we're out of here. Is everyone okay with that?"
Michael looked around the room, and everyone nodded.
"Forty-eight hours."
tbc
The Circuit Court's plan hits a snag they never expected.