CHAPTER 1
Mike Donovan sat on his small cot and glanced at his watch. The digits blinked "12:35."
It had been just around three hours since he and the Los Angeles resistance group returned to their headquarters after their biggest op yet. Somehow they'd managed to infiltrate the Los Angeles Medical Center and crash the Visitors' grand gala. Their leader, Juliet Parrish, unmasked the Visitors' Supreme Commander, John, and revealed the aliens' true reptilian nature in front of a global television audience.
However, in the mad scramble to escape the hospital, Juliet got separated from the rest of the group.
Right now, nobody knew where she was or what happened to her.
Is she even alive? Mike thought.
A small noise made him look up. Elias Taylor, one of the group's first-ever members, tiptoed through the doorway into Donovan's tiny quarters.
"Anything?" Mike asked.
Elias' frown spoke volumes. "The Bernsteins haven't seen nor heard from her. Neither have any of the other safehouses."
Mike rubbed his forehead. "I'll stay up and wait, just in case." He looked up at Elias. "You get some shut-eye."
"You sure? Why don't you nod off for a while. You look exhausted, man."
"I don't think I can get any sleep anyway." He closed his eyes. "Not after making that decision."
When Donovan opened his eyes again, he saw sympathy in Elias' eyes, and a tinge of guilt. Elias, along with Robert Maxwell, convinced him to leave Julie behind when she got separated from the main rebel group. She had decided to provide cover fire while the group made its planned escape up a deactivated elevator shaft.
"Look, man," Elias said, "it was the only call to make. Julie herself always said we can't sacrifice everything for just one person, no matter who it is – "
"I don't know," Mike said, unconvinced. "I just hate not knowing what happened to her."