Once Liz left the room, Max grappled with the gravity of what it would mean to team up with the Special Unit. At first, his gut told him to immediately reject the idea. As he sat with the memories of Liz's conversation with Agent Samuelson from the Special Unit, he thought about how Liz did not take the opportunity to pitch the whole group the previous day when they returned to the camper after rescuing Liz from the Special Unit base. It seemed so crazy that they would choose to ally themselves with the Special Unit after needing to rescue Liz from them.
Max figured that Liz knew all of them would immediately recoil at the notion of collaboration, just as he did the moment he realized what Liz thought about Samuelson's offer. He admitted to himself that he most likely would've immediately and stubbornly dismissed the idea in a conversation, even just between him and Liz. Opening herself up to show Max flashes with her memories and the feelings that she experienced as events unfolded was only possible with him. Max deeply respected his wife's intelligence and thoughtfulness. He knew she wouldn't attempt to convince him if she didn't feel adamant about it.
Despite the strength of Liz's convictions, Max didn't want to take a chance on the Special Unit due to his violent, traumatic history with Agent Pierce in the White Room. However, he couldn't help but admit that with Michael, Isabel and Ava their Royal Four proved a powerful unit. And fighting off a Special Unit betrayal seemed easier than combating Kivar and his forces. Max also thought about how throughout his time in El Quartelejo, everyone else made choices they didn't want to. Liz didn't want to come here to begin with and didn't want to stay as long as they did, at least up to the point of meeting Zan. Ava didn't want to rescue Liz while Kivar and Nicholas held Zan on their ship. Kyle didn't want to stray off the path of rescuing his wife Carmen to prioritize helping any of them or rescue Liz. Michael and Isabel didn't want to leave their families to come risk their lives in El Quartelejo.
The notion of Max as the only one in the group selfishly and stubbornly refusing to make a sacrifice didn't sit well with him. Even though he knew no one else would embrace the idea of working with the Special Unit, his endorsement carried more weight than any other individual. Max wanted to consider himself on equal ground to the rest of the group, but he could never fully set aside the responsibility that goes along with being the king. He could never live with himself if they failed to save Zan or anyone else got captured or killed if working with the Special Unit could prevent that.
The hopelessness Max sensed in Liz at the prospect of defeating Kivar with the group as it stands also resonated deeply with him. Up until now, he focused on staying in the moment with each new reveal of information or startling development. He didn't spend a lot of time or energy thinking about how they might ultimately survive Kivar's trip to Earth.
If not for Zan's capture, he thought they might simply try blitzing to Roswell to retrieve the Granolith and signal Larek. Max understood that even in that case, it may not work out since Larek wanted the Royal Four to hop on his ship with the Granolith, not battle Kivar at Earth. With Liz safe, Max prioritized Zan's rescue and didn't even consider attempting to retrieve the Granolith first.
Storming Kivar's ship meant lots of combat and a severe disadvantage in numbers, and Max knew full well that Liz envisioned all of them dying the last time they planned that. Perhaps she still would see that future if not for her thinking a deal with the Special Unit would happen.
Max took a deep breath as he came to a difficult decision. He realized that Liz, as usual, made sense and that he needed to work with her to get the full group onboard with calling the Special Unit at the phone number Agent Samuelson gave Liz. He heard the outside door slam shut and thought about how some of the group apparently went outside for a while. Max got dressed and stepped outside the bedroom.
Upon entering the kitchen, Max spotted Liz drinking coffee at the kitchen table while Isabel stood at the edge of the table putting fresh fruit into a basket she found in one of the cabinets and placed at the center of the table. Ava stood by the kitchen counter next to Serena. Ava spread cream cheese onto a bagel while Serena spread butter onto a toasted English muffin. Meanwhile Michael stocked the fridge with a case of Diet Snapple Peach Tea, which Max could only hope was paid for in-full. Max didn't see Kyle anywhere and wondered if maybe he stayed outside.
Max made his way toward Liz at the table and sat beside her in the booth bench. He kissed her on the cheek.
"You were right," Max whispered into Liz's ear, "we'll need to convince everyone."
Liz nodded slightly to reassure him, but she didn't smile at him or seem thrilled about it. Max understood why. The decision to attempt to collaborate with the Special Unit would never feel like a great choice, only a necessary one.
"Thanks for all of this," Max announced to the room, not sure who all bought the groceries.
Isabel looked down at him, "Not everyone was up yet, and your food inventory desperately needed to be restocked."
"It's been a crazy series of days," Liz chimed in, sounding a little defensive, as if they were accused of often flirting with low food inventories.
"Oh, of course," Isabel said warmly, "I completely understand. We've eaten a fair share of your food, so stocking some of your shelves is the least we could do."
"We appreciate it," Max confirmed. "Where's Kyle?"
Isabel looked around in alarm and Ava and Serena glanced around too. Max thought it a bit odd, but it seemed like nobody immediately noticed his absence. Michael walked over and reached out a hand with a Snapple for Max, who took the drink and also grabbed a banana from the fruit basket.
"He stayed here when we all left to get you and Liz in case any trouble came by while we went to buy breakfast," Serena explained. "Did either of you see him?"
"He was here," Liz noted. "Once I came out, he said Carmen's dad drove to the edge of the park to pick him up. Kyle wanted to say bye to everyone, but he was worried that if he waited too long, he'd lose Carmen's trail."
"That's too bad," Isabel said, "I would've liked to see him off."
Max felt anxious about initiating the conversation around accepting help from the Special Unit, but he decided that more than anything the group could benefit from enjoying a hearty breakfast. He sat back while everyone ate amidst a little small talk. Predictably, Ava first pressed about getting Zan back.
"Ok, we need to come up with a plan to get Zan off that ship," Ava prodded.
"Yes," Max agreed, "and I think Liz and I have an idea about the first thing we should do. But you all may want to sit down. I don't think you're going to like it."
Max and Liz alternated speaking as they explained what Liz went through at the Special Unit's base and why they both came to the conclusion that they should try reaching out to the Special Unit to take them up on their offer for help. Michael and Isabel attempted to voice their objections and concerns a few times and Max needed to plead with them to wait for him and Liz finish walking them through their reasoning before reacting.
When they finally finished up, Michael spoke out first, "Now are you ready to hear what I think?"
"Go ahead," Max encouraged him.
"I think your nuts," Michael started. "This doesn't make any sense. After all these years of being on the run from the Special Unit, we're just supposed to call them up and ask to meet up?" To Max, "I never thought I'd see the day where you'd be in favor of this." To Isabel, "Please tell me you're not buying this."
Isabel looked pensive, and Max could feel her internal struggle to pick a decisive side with their newfound psychic-emotional bond. He felt anxious as they waited for his sister to spit out an answer.
"It does sound crazy…" Isabel started.
"Thank you," Michael interrupted, gesturing in her direction with satisfaction that she seemed to land on his side of the debate.
Isabel continued, "…but…"
"Are you serious?!" Michael again interrupted.
"…I know this can't be easy for Max to warm up to this idea," Isabel continued, "so I'm not ready to make up my mind yet."
"C'mon," Michael pleaded.
"…On either side," Isabel reminded him.
Max and Liz did much of the talking already. Max preferred to keep gaging reactions at this point without immediately debating with anyone or addressing the indecisions Isabel expressed. Liz either followed his lead or simply wanted to take the same approach because she also calmly let the reaction to their appeal unfold without interjecting anything. Max made eye contact with Ava next and the others in the room turned toward her as well.
"I been duckin' the government most of my life too," Ava explained, "but I say we do whatever we got to do to get Zan back. We can deal with the fallout after."
"Figures," Michael mumbled quietly under his breath.
It drew a nasty stare from Ava. Max managed to maintain an even keel expression, but as much as anyone he felt the same way Ava did. Internally, Max agonized over the reality that they needed to stick together and choose between rescuing Liz or Zan first. Despite Liz being so much more of a presence in his life than Zan, he would never lose the instinct to protect his son. With an impossible emotional choice, Max really did let the tactical reasoning that Liz more likely faced greater imminent danger due to her capture opposed to Zan's choice to willingly go with Nicholas and Kivar lead to his final decision to push for Liz's rescue first.
"They really didn't put up much of a fight to keep Liz or capture anyone else once you got inside," Serena reminded them.
"No offense," Michael told her, "but this really has nothing to do with you."
Max prepared to speak up to insist they should all value Serena's input, but Liz beat him to it.
"Michael," Liz scolded, "Serena is part of our team now. She only wants to help. I'm so sorry, Serena. What's your take on all of this?"
"The Special Unit has never tried to trick anyone with false overtures of friendship, right?" Serena reasoned. "Look, I am newer to all of this than the rest of you, but that also gives me a fresh set of eyes. The logic behind Agent Samuelson's reasoning to side with you all in some sort of violent alien showdown makes sense and seems more plausible than using this scenario to coerce you all into a trap. And frankly, from what I've witnessed, Kivar and the other aliens are a much more formidable opponent to you all. With what the four of you can do together, I don't see that the Special Unit can be that much of a threat to you. Your friend Kyle corroborated what this Agent Samuelson told Liz that they've known who all of you are and kept tabs on everyone from your group for years. That certainly fits the narrative that the Special Unit deemed you as not an active threat and merely kept you under observation all these years. It seems they had the means to much more aggressively go after you all."
Again, Serena impressed Max. He wondered if he would be persuaded by her breakdown of everything if Liz didn't lay out her pitch first. He decided maybe not immediately but after further thought it might.
"That makes sense," Isabel said.
Max watched a little nervously as Michael surveyed the room. It looked like Michael started to recognize that he remained the lone one with a firm objection to the idea.
"Ok, fine," Michael conceded, "I can see I'm the odd man out. But I'll be watching for the slightest sign of betrayal from those Special Unit suits. I won't be letting my guard down."
Max smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Ok," Isabel said, looking—and from what Max could tell—feeling nervous about moving forward, "so what now?"
"We don't want to call that number from here," Serena suggested. "If they're not tracking any of our phones already, they definitely will start if we call from here."
"There's a pay phone outside the college," Liz said.
That seemed somewhat fitting to Max given that Isabel's dreams of Northwest Texas Community College drew them to El Quarterlejo, and the area became the focal point for where Max and Liz spent a bulk of their time prior to Liz's vision of Zan. Max knew Liz exceled at thinking on her feet, but she offered up that payphone suggestion so quickly, he wondered if she already identified that as a good spot to make contact with the Special Unit.
"Ok, good," Max acknowledged, "let's move."
The six of them got into Serena's van and made the short drive to Northwest Texas Community College.