First
Wave: "The Lost Prophesies"
Chapter Eight – When A
Plan Comes Together
Summary:
Preparations to save Max begin in earnest.
Disclaimer: See Chapter
One
"One day at a time- this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."
- Ida Scott Taylor
The next few days Maria threw herself into perfecting her powers with Michaels help, in return she continued to train them in all the martial arts she knew.
For a short while, she forgot that she was still freaked out by all the alien business. It had been less than a week since she found out that she was a real life alien, and already she was planning on breaking into a Government Installation.
Stranger still was the fact that she was not scared of being caught committing a felony, because jail time was the least of her worries if she got caught, no, she was scared that she would be captured, because they would not treat her like a human being, they would treat her like an experiment. Something to be prodded, poked and dissected.
She no longer belonged to the human race, in the space of a few short days she had become an outsider, something to be feared and experimented on – exactly what they were doing to her brother this very minute, and that was why she had to forget about her past, forget about when she was a normal human girl and instead focus on her future, focus on her brother who was being tortured just for being different. She was different too, and she had to stand up against those who would exploit their differences, she had to fight back for her right to live, for her brother's right to live and her sister and her friends.
She would be damned if ignorance and stupidity would take that very right of existence away from her and her family.
It was funny how much your life could change in the span of a week.
Along with Isabel's power of visions she was also equipped with the knowledge of not only their home planet language, but also that of the language that Nostradamus had used, so she spent her time when not training working with Cade on the quatrains.
She didn't read the words written, not like you would read a novel, it was more like the knowledge just came to her.
Isabel began to believe that the knowledge came from her alien side, as if half of her knew the words and translated it for her other half. It was the only explanation she could think of, otherwise how else would she recognize the words printed on the ancient paper in front of her?
Liz, Alex and Mr. Evans had been working on the plans of the Base, trying to find a way for the alien trio to get in and out safely. Alex laid the building blue prints on a table marking the security check points in red and circling the Medical Research area he suspected Max was most likely being held in.
Liz paged through papers that described the security in detail, Making notes in the margins of things the alien trio needed to be aware of.
For the night of the rescue attempt they had rented a van so that it would be possible for them all to fit in. Using his powers, Michael had forged false documents for the rental company, to ensure that the vehicle could not be traced back to them.
Even so, they were all acutely aware of the fact that the people holding Max would no doubt trace his rescue back to them, and they were all prepared for that event. Prepared to defend themselves if it came to it, whatever it took, they would handle it together.
Alex had his computer set up in the van, he had also managed to hack into the Eagle Rock computer system without leaving a trace of his presence, which was not as difficult as it sounded, especially if you'd spent most of your dating years at home, bored, with nothing but a computer.
At least his sad lack of a love life had come in handy, he told himself.
However, skill or no skill, he was still restricted to the outdoor and hallway security camera's as he had been unable to hack into the system that the camera's in the rooms were on, probably because they were on a higher security level due to the sensitive nature of their experiments, whereas the outdoor and hallway camera's were essential for the security personal to keep tabs on the actual security of the building.
Alex suspected that the recordings made from the camera's in the rooms were kept highly confidential, and not even the security personal were aware of them.
Whatever the reason for the two different security systems, the fact remained that they could only gain access to the one, so he would only be able help Isabel, Michael and Maria when they were outside or in the hallways, once they got into the rooms, they would be on their own.
The trip to the base was made in silence, everyone deep in his or her own thoughts. No one wanted to voice their fears that maybe they had the wrong base, or that even if they had the right place they would fail and Max would be lost to them forever.
So, instead, they remained silent, putting on false looks of confidence, re-assuring themselves through wishful hopes, ignoring the parts of them that whispered they would fail.
Failure was not an option.
The day before the rescue Alex had gone shopping.
Shopping for his favourite kind of toys, the hi-tech kind, which was what he was dishing out to everyone now.
He handed everyone a headset consisting of earphones and a microphone so that they could all keep in contact and if he saw any impending danger on the camera's he could warn them. The only person not equipped with a headset was Mr. Evans; he instead was equipped with earphones that connected to the Bases radio frequency so he could listen in on all their radio conversations, specifically those ones that might endanger his children and their friends. The
Sheriff stopped the van behind a rock outcropping near the fence to the Base; Michael with the help of Maria was still adjusting his headset whilst Alex was helping Isabel with hers.
Alex addressed the group "listen up guys, I'm going to give you a warning before you reach each camera. You'll have to stop for a couple of seconds whilst I disrupt the camera feed to keep Security from seeing you.
I on the other hand will still see you, wait for me to give you the word at each camera before you continue."
Alex paused briefly, he was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that he was sending his sister into an installation that was actively looking for aliens.
For that matter, it was hard to believe that any of them were going in. They were all still kids. This wasn't something that any of them should ever have had to face.
Looking at his sisters determined face, he knew that there would be no talking her out of it. Maria was highly protective of the people she cared for, and there was no way she would back out of this fight.
Alex understood. He would do it for her, in a heartbeat. So he continued with the instructions that would guide them safely into the building. "Liz will be ready to give you step by step instructions on what you will be up against at each security check point. Mr. Foster and the Sheriff will be patrolling the perimeter of the Base to warn us of any impending danger, if they give the word get your asses outta there. Mr. Evans will be listening in on their radios so we'll know if they spot you."
The trio nodded, a mixture of both fear and excitement in their eyes. Alex pulled Maria into a hug, telling Michael to watch over them, Liz in turn also hugged them, wishing them Godspeed and the protection of his angels.
"Bring him back you guys" begged Liz.
Isabel nodded "you bet."
Cade opened the van door and slipped out, the Sheriff followed him after wishing them all good luck.
Michael, Isabel and Maria then climbed out, closing the door behind them, Alex turned back to his computer getting to work, deftly placing his headset on. Liz placed hers on too; the security plan lay out neatly before her.
Alex took a breath before speaking into his microphone "Base team checking in, do you read me?"
"Rescue team checking in, we read you loud and clear. We are now at the fence about to make our opening." Came Michaels voice over the earpiece.
Michael held his hand out to the fence using his powers to make a hole in it that the three could climb through, which they did, being careful not to touch the fence because it was electrified.
The Sheriff's voice then came through the earpieces "Patrol team checking in, we read you five by five, over."
Alex shook his head at the formality of the Sheriff's 'check in' "Ah Roger that, over" he said in a falsely official voice to Liz, giving her the giggles.
Michael led Maria and Isabel towards the emergency exit door that Liz had advised would be the easiest, the only problem was that it was an emergency exit and therefore would sound an alarm when opened.
Fortunately very little light illuminated the grounds, cloud cover hid the moon and very few lights were spread along the grounds, affording them enough cover to make their way to the door unnoticed.
Crouching near the door, Maria and Michael scanned the area around them as Isabel worked her magic on the door.
Within seconds she had de-activated the alarm and unlatched the door, before opening it however, Michael asked for the 'go-ahead' from Alex.
"You're clear" announced Alex.
Michael led the girls inside the base. "Okay we're in, where's the first camera?"
"Above you, don't worry, I've already disabled it, all they're seeing now is the last five minutes of recording, so don't take too long. Make your way to the end of the hall and turn left." Alex watched on his monitor as they made their way down the hallway.
Liz spoke up then "guy's, before you reach the corner you'll have to stop and deactivate a motion sensor."
"Where is it located?" Asked Isabel.
"Look to your right, you'll see a small black object attached to the wall near the floor."
"'Kay, I see it, what now?"
"Okay, whatever you do don't move in front of it because when it picks up movement it scans you for an identifier, which is something that all of the personal wear to identify them as staff. If it doesn't pick up the identifier on you an alarm will go off, so you need to de-activate it within seconds of moving in front of it."
"Can't we just step over it, like in the movies?" Asked Michael.
"Not unless you de-activate it at the same time."
"Easy enough" said Isabel, she concentrated her powers using her mind to locate its power source and temporarily disrupt it so that they could move past without it searching for an identifier. "Okay guy's move, I don't know how long that will hold for."
The alien trio turned left down the hallway, after receiving the 'all clear' from Alex.
Continuing down the hallway, Isabel began to feel strange, turning her head from side to side as if searching for something she said, "I can feel Max, he's close."
"How?" Asked Maria, also looking around.
Isabel shook her head "I would've said sisterly intuition, but actually I think it's got something to do with my powers."
"Or it could be indigestion from the curly fries you had for lunch" suggested Michael with a smirk before continuing along the hallway.
---
Cade and the Sheriff were walking along the perimeter of the fence being careful to keep to the shadows and at the same time listening in to what was happening with the pod squad. It had been fifteen minutes since they began their sweep of the surroundings and they had yet to complete their circuit of the perimeter due to the sheer largeness of it.
Cade stopped Valenti with a hand to his shoulder; his head cocked listening into the sounds of the desert around them.
Cocking his head in imitation the Sheriff asked, "What...?"
Before he could finish, they were both knocked to the ground by an unseen force. Before Cade could finish falling, he was back on his feet extending his leg in a forceful kick at his opponent, the man dodged the kick and reciprocated by sweeping a leg low on the ground and tripping Cade who then fell to the ground.
"Stop right there!" Demanded Sheriff Valenti having had the opportunity to climb to his feet and draw his weapon.
The man froze when he saw the gun pointed at him. "You don't know what you are dealing with" growled the man.
Climbing to his feet Cade smiled "maybe not, but I do."
Recognition dawned on the unknown mans face "You cannot stop us Foster, we will kill them and we will bring about the Second Wave."
By this point Cade had also drawn his weapon and had it pointed at his adversary "Yeah well you can try, but don't count on it. They're more powerful and resourceful than you realise. Besides, haven't you ever watched a movie? The good guys always win."
Cade pulled the trigger, sending the bullet straight into the Gua's heart, assuming they even had one.
The Gua's body burst into dust.
Holstering his weapon, Cade noticed the look of shock and confusion on the Sheriffs face and hastened to explain. "He's still technically alive, just not on this planet anymore, and he can't ever come back. What I just shot was the human shell of him, because their real form can't survive here or something like that…" Cade paused in thought a moment "at least I think that's how it works…I mean, there's no telling what you're dealing with when you're dealing with Aliens."
"I…uh…"
"Yeah I felt the same way when I first saw it. But my question now is how did they know the Royals were here, and how many more of them are here?"
Shaking himself out of his stupor the Sheriff nodded, "We'd better warn everyone." He bent down and picked up his fallen Stetson on the ground, dusting it off before placing it back on his head.
"Base team, Rescue team, we have a situation here, it would seem there are Gua in the vicinity" said Cade, speaking into his headset.
Over the microphone, the first voice to be heard was Michaels "damn, that's all we need."
"How many?" Asked Alex.
"One, so far" answered Cade "but if he's here, then there's sure to be others, especially since they know that the Royals are here."
"Okay guy's you heard him, be on the look out" warned Liz.
---
Inside the building the trio had stopped their search as they took in the latest news.
"You guys watch your backs too" said Michael, speaking into the microphone.
"Okay people, that door on your right leads to the medical wing where we think Max is" said Alex, getting back to the business at hand. "The camera signal has been interrupted, you can go ahead."
Michael eased the door open and they all slipped inside to the new hallway.
Back in the van Phillip spoke up "Liz, tell them an agent is on his way, he's doing a security sweep of the floor.
Liz relayed the message to the rescue team.
Isabel looked wildly about trying to find a place they could all hide.
"Stay down, I'll handle this" ordered Michael as he made his way back the way they had come.
The girls flattened themselves to the wall just as someone turned the corner, the agent stopped as he noticed the intruders, shocked to find them standing there.
Michael took the opportunity and raised his palm, a burst of energy shot from it and knocked the agent down.
The three aliens ran over to him and checked for a pulse, Michael breathed a sigh of relief when he found one.
Crouching over him Isabel whispered "what now?"
Before anyone could reply a burst of static was heard over a radio attached to the Agents belt "Nichols, what's your status, over?"
The three looked at each other in fear, fearing that they were only moments away from being caught.
Michael remembered Cade's speech about the magnitude of their powers and thinking quickly place his glowing hand on the agents neck where he knew the voice box was located, he then placed his hand over his own voice box, changing it to that of the agents. Michael then picked up the radio "Situation is normal, I'll complete my sweep and be back in twenty, over."
The three aliens held their breath as they waited for the reply, certain that the other Agents would not fall for their ruse and begin a base lockdown.
To their relief the agent on the other end said okay and signed off.
Back in the van Mr. Evans heard all of this whilst Liz and Alex watched over the monitor.
"Michael, see if you can use the same trick to get his fingerprints, you may need it if you go into one of the high restriction rooms because they require fingerprint verification to access." Said Liz.
"And what was our plan if I didn't get a fingerprint" demanded Michael, angry that it had been overlooked.
"We had no idea you were capable of that, so it wasn't even taken into consideration. Basically, the plan was to blow open the door and get the hell out of there…the new plan is better though." Replied Alex.
Michael changed his voice back, then placed his hand near the agent's hand, slowly it started to glow again.
"What's happening?" Asked Alex, concerned that they were taking too long to complete their mission.
"Well it looks like Michael has the prints we need to get through the checkpoint" replied Maria, giving Michael a smile of approval.
As was his custom, Michael didn't know how to deal with the show of appreciation, so instead, he turned their attention back to the task at hand "let's go!"
"Where to?" Asked Maria as she took in all the doorways in the Medical Research Wing "there are too many rooms for us to check."
Isabel closed her eyes and concentrated on the essence that was her brother, his aura had always been strong, so using her powers she tried to trace it, almost like heat signatures could be traced with the right equipment.
In this case, her powers were the only high tech equipment that she needed, so focusing her mind on her brother she then opened her eyes again and looked around.
The hallway shimmered, as if in a dream. Before her stood the hazy reflections of Michael and Maria and although they spoke, it sounded too far away to hear clearly.
Her eyes swept the hallway until a faint trail materialised before her, golden in color, it seemed strongest near one door in particular.
Blinking, Isabel's vision returned to normal and she pointed towards the doorway that the essence had been strongest "over there."
Without questioning her, the two led the way to the door Isabel had indicated.
"What if there are agents in there?" Whispered Maria.
Michael shrugged "a chance we'll have to take" he moved to place his hand on the scanner.
"Wait" said Isabel, causing Michaels movements to halt "being so close to Max is making me more in tune with him, drugs or no drugs, maybe I can connect and find out what to expect inside?"
Michael studied Isabel's pleading face before making a decision and stepping away from the scanner "all right, just make it fast Izzy, we need to get out of here before someone sees that agent."
Isabel held her hands out to Michael and Maria. She needed the power of all three of them to make the connection, because whatever the Government was using to keep Max's powers at bay was too strong for her to overcome on her own.
There was total silence as Isabel concentrated on forming a connection with Max.
As her mind formed the connection she described what she could see "Max is in there, he's strapped to a gurney, I can't make out what they're doing to him but it looks like some kind of mind control because they're giving him commands. I can't tell what they're saying but it looks like they don't like his answers 'cos they're connecting some sort of electro-therapy machine to him." Isabel choked, finding it hard to speak as her mind took in the horrors of what was being done to Max. "There…there are two men in the room, one looks like a doctor, he's standing next to Max and connecting the electrodes to him. The other one is wearing a suit, probably an Agent."
Isabel opened her eyes and focused them on Michael.
"Okay, here's the plan, I'll take out the guy at the bed, Maria you go for the other guy and Is, you get Max...okay?"
