NB: Just wanted to say thanks for all your lovely reviews! Hope you're all enjoying it so far, I feel like I've got my mojo back.
Chapter 4
Alex awoke to a crisp morning, the air chilly on her shoulders, and immediately curled into a warm ball underneath the covers. Sunlight streamed through a small gap in the curtains sending dust motes scurrying madly through the room. She raised sleep-filled eyes to the alarm clock on the table beside the bed, sighing inwardly when she saw the time – 6:29am, one minute before the alarm was supposed to go off. With an exaggerated huff, Alex cancelled the alarm before it could start blaring in her ear. If she had to wake up, she may as well do it peacefully.
Within fifteen minutes, Alex and Kara were ready to go. Despite the early wake up, Kara had had no intention of skipping breakfast so the three of them were stopping at the café opposite the school before beginning their investigation.
Alex made her way over to Max's motel room as Kara locked the door of their own. She raised her hand to knock, but the door opened before she could finish the action and Max almost walked straight into her.
'I guess I'm not the only one who lurks in peoples' doorways,' Max said, his startled expression fading quickly.
'Well, if you would stop just appearing out of nowhere,' Alex grumbled.
The short drive to the café was spent in the silence of those who have just woken up. Even Max didn't start talking until he'd had a few mouthfuls of scrambled eggs and coffee.
'Who are we today?' He asked, waving his fork in a circle. 'FBI, CIA, National City news?'
'FBI,' Alex replied, 'following up on any alien sightings after the incident in National City earlier this year. You can stick with your ridiculous fake name and hope that nobody recognises you.'
Kara smirked a little. Now that she knew it had been Max that Helena Dodd had spoken to, she was even more amused at how taken with him Helena had been. Very handsome man, she'd said. Very charming. Would've broken some hearts, no doubt about that!
'And if they do?' Max continued.
'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.'
Midtown High was a sprawling building of classrooms and offices in the shape of a U, but one drawn by a child who was holding a pencil for the first time. The corridors veered off at odd angles and the rooms weren't perfectly square. Behind the campus, there were two football fields and a large gymnasium. On the right side of the main building, the library stuck out like a tail.
Alex, Kara and Max approached the entrance to the main reception, passing empty bike racks and a man running the American flag up a flagpole. He nodded good morning to them and finished securing the flag, now flapping in the slight breeze.
Alex pushed open the door and entered into a sparse reception area fronted by a wide desk full of forms and posters regarding dress codes, music lessons and first aid procedures. A blonde woman with a severe nose and even harsher eyebrows sat behind the desk tapping away at a computer. Alex couldn't help but think that she looked awfully like a bird of prey.
'Excuse me,' Alex began, making the woman look up, 'my name is Alex Danvers. I was wondering if we could speak to the principal.'
'Do you have an appointment?' the woman asked in a drawl.
'No, but it's a matter of importance.' Alex pulled out her false FBI licence and flashed it in front of the woman. Her eyes widened and she nodded quickly.
'Of course,' she said, picking up the phone. 'Just a second.'
They waited while she called through to the principal and announced rather grandly that the FBI was here to see him. Alex hoped that she wouldn't go blabbing about them to all the people who came through the front desk today. Max and Kara raised their eyebrows at each other and then returned to scanning the posters idly until they heard the phone being put down with a loud clack.
'You may go in now. Just down the hall to the right.'
Alex thanked her and they followed her directions to a door with a gold plaque that read Andrew Bolton, Principal. After two knocks, a voice called out, 'Come in!' They entered in single file, closing the door behind them.
Andrew Bolton stood up from behind his desk, buttoning his blazer. He was an imposing man with large shoulders and a straight, grey moustache. He would've looked more at home as the commander of a military school.
'Andrew Bolton,' he said, holding out a hand to Alex who stood in front of the other two.
'Alex Danvers,' she replied, shaking his hand with the firmest grip she could muster. 'Mr Bolton, these are my colleagues, Miss Henshaw and Mr Gregson. We're with the FBI. I'm sorry to disturb you so early in the morning, but we were hoping that you would be able to answer some questions about an incident you had here at the school about two weeks ago.'
'Ah,' Bolton grimaced, knowing what was coming. He gestured to the chairs arrayed before his desk and returned to his own. Alex, Kara and Max settled themselves into the seats and listened intently. 'The lights in the library. Sounds like a bad science fiction novel doesn't it? To be honest with you Miss Danvers, I'm not totally convinced that the boy who saw them was telling the truth.'
'And why is that?'
'The police looked into it,' he shrugged. 'Watched the place every night for a few days. Nothing out of the ordinary so the case was closed. Young Jackson Hathaway was obviously just looking to stir up a bit of trouble.'
'Does he normally stir up trouble?' Max asked, earning a glare from Alex that said, Let me do the talking!
'No more than your usual teenage boy I suppose, but it's a small town Mr Gregson. A stunt like that, get your name in the papers for a few days, five minutes of fame. That sort of thing.'
'Could we speak to Jackson, Mr Bolton?'
'Miss Danvers, may I ask why on earth the FBI is interested in the imaginings of a fourteen year old schoolboy?'
'There have been incidents in National City recently which has led us to expanding our investigations to ensure that the nation's security evolves with the times.' Alex explained without missing a beat.
The comment confused Bolton for a moment, but then his eyes widened as it dawned on him what Alex meant.
'Aliens,' he breathed. 'You think these lights are from an alien?'
'We have to investigate the possibility. I'm sure you understand that this has to be kept between us, Mr Bolton.'
The principal burst out into a hearty laugh, surprising his guests. 'Oh don't worry Miss Danvers you can be sure it won't leave this room. I assure you that the likelihood of an alien going unnoticed in this sleepy old town is very low.'
'Nevertheless sir, we'd like to speak to the boy and have a look at the library. If you could provide a list of staff that have access to the library, especially after hours, that would be appreciated.'
Bolton sighed and tapped his thick fingers on his desk, sizing up the odd trio in front of him. Clearly the red head was the brains of the outfit. The man had mostly sat back and let the Danvers woman take charge and the blonde girl hadn't said a word. Maybe she's the muscle, he thought with a snicker.
'Very well,' he said eventually. 'I'll show you to the library and when Jackson arrives I'll have him come to my office. As for the staff, we have two librarians, Ronald Thornton and Terry Mitchell, but neither of them have access after hours. The only entrance is from this building which I lock when I leave.'
Alex nodded understandingly, rising from her chair to follow Bolton out of his office, through the reception area and across the hall to the library.
'He thinks it's all a big joke,' Max whispered to Alex as they walked.
'Probably for the best,' she replied.
'Bet he wouldn't be laughing if he knew an alien had just been sitting right in front of him,' Kara chipped in quietly. Alex gave her a stern look, but Max almost laughed.
'Here you are,' Bolton called over his shoulder and gestured through the library's double doors. 'Feel free to look around for…whatever it is you're looking for. If you come back to my office in half an hour, I'll have Jackson Hathaway waiting for you.'
'Thank you,' Alex replied and watched the principal march away.
'What are we looking for exactly?' Max asked when he was out of earshot.
'Anything unusual.'
'That's descriptive.'
'Just look around, ok?' Alex huffed.
They split up, Max wandering away to the left, Kara and Alex heading to the right. The library was long, divided by three rows of bookshelves that stretched away to the back wall. There was an alcove on the left that held a couple of self-serve borrowing computers and two doors on the right hid the offices of the absent librarians. Books filled every nook and cranny of the place.
Alex peered around, wondering whether they'd find anything. She had nothing to go on, nothing to point her in the right direction. Just the word of a teenage boy that there had been some odd lights here. She suddenly found herself wondering whether Hank had been overcautious with this case.
'Can you have a look into the two offices down there?' She asked Kara, figuring that the rooms would be locked until the librarians arrived with the keys.
'On it,' Kara nodded, heading over to the first door and using her x-ray vision to search the office. Papers stacked on a desk. Books piled up along two shelves, seemingly in random order. A filing cabinet. A framed picture of three girls, all about Kara's age, clearly sisters. All above board.
She moved onto the next room and found much of the same, although there were no framed photographs here. Instead there was a painting of a strange landscape, the earth a dusty yellow, the sky a deep red. There were mountains in the background and what looked like trees in the foreground, but they weren't like any trees Kara had ever seen. They were bone white and bent at odd angles, the branches folding back in on themselves. Bright blue leaves covered the trees and littered the ground, the only sign of life in an otherwise barren landscape. The colours didn't match and Kara wondered whether it was supposed to be some sort of post-modern, abstract, do-what-you-like-and-call-it-art piece. Despite its artistic oddness, the painting itself was rather good, clearly a labour of love. She wondered if the librarian who occupied the office had painted it.
'Anything?' Alex asked, coming to stand beside Kara.
'Books, filing cabinets, office stuff. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe that Bolton guy's scepticism wasn't so farfetched.'
'I must admit, I've been thinking the same thing. Hank's been a bit-'
'Hey, over here!' Max called, interrupting Alex. 'Come and look at this.'
Kara raised her eyebrows at Alex and followed her over to where Max was crouched next to one of the many bookshelves that flanked the borrowing alcove.
'What is it Max?' Kara asked.
'Check out the scratch marks on this wall,' he said, pointing.
The girls crouched down next to him to look, their eyes following the ends of three deep gouge marks along the wall next to the shelf. Alex peered behind it and saw that about four inches worth of wall behind the shelf had been scratched.
'It's been moved to cover them, but whoever moved it didn't quite hide the whole lot,' Max explained.
'I think we can agree that they weren't made by some kid with scissors and nothing better to do,' Kara murmured.
'I wonder if Bolton knows about this,' Alex wondered out loud, running her fingers over the scratches. It looked like an enormous cat had taken a swipe at the wall and walked away with chunks of plaster on its nails.
'How did the police not find this?' Max asked with a shake of his head. 'Surely they at least had a look around inside.'
'Doubt it,' Alex replied. 'You saw how seriously Bolton took it. He probably just told them this Jackson kid was making it up for attention or something.'
'Speaking of Jackson,' Kara chimed in, 'it's eight o'clock. Should we head back to Bolton's office and see if he's there yet?'
'Good idea,' Alex nodded. 'Don't mention the marks on the wall to either of them. No use scaring them.'
Max and Kara silently agreed and they headed back across the hall. Bolton's door was open so Max went ahead and knocked, ushering Alex and Kara in and shutting the door behind them.
Bolton was seated behind his desk again. A boy with short brown hair and freckles sat in one of the chairs in front, his schoolbag slumped at his feet. His eyes widened, studying the three 'FBI agents' excitedly as they entered the office.
'Here you are Miss Danvers,' Bolton said loudly, 'this is Jackson Hathaway. Jackson this is Miss Danvers, Miss Henshaw and Mr Gregson from the FBI. They want to hear your story about the lights.' His voice was almost a sneer as if he was teasing the boy.
'It's not a story,' Jackson mumbled angrily.
Alex and Kara took the remaining two seats, leaving Max standing behind them with his hands in his pockets. He tried not to cross his arms and look imposing. They wanted the kid to talk after all.
'Jackson,' Alex began politely, 'could you tell us what happened please? From the beginning?'
'Sure,' he replied, sitting up a little straighter.
Max snorted quietly. The kid was loving the attention. Then again, Max thought to himself, I wouldn't have snubbed two women who looked like the Danvers if they'd thought I was important when I was fourteen.
'It was about two weeks ago now,' Jackson continued. 'I'd left my bike chain here, must have unlocked my bike and got distracted and just left it on the ground or something. Wouldn't have mattered usually, but it was a Friday night and me and my friends were going to ride down to the big mall on the other side of town the next day and I didn't want to leave my bike unchained so I figured I'd just go and find it. I rode down to the school, had a look around the racks and the chain was there. I was just about to leave when I saw all this golden light coming from the library windows. I ran over to have a look 'cause it was flashing like crazy, but when I pressed my face against the glass, it stopped. Somebody was definitely in there though, I saw a shadow moving through one of the doors in the moonlight.'
Jackson spoke faster the longer his tale went on. He shrugged casually a couple of times as if the whole thing had been no big deal, but he hadn't relaxed back into his chair.
'What time were you at the school Jackson?' Kara asked and his eyes swivelled to look at her instead of Alex.
The stories he'll tell his friends about these two, Max thought with a snicker.
'Eight maybe? Eight thirty? I dunno.'
'And you never saw the lights again after that? Mr Bolton said the police investigated and didn't see them.'
Jackson cast a quick glance at Bolton before replying. Max and Kara didn't notice it, but Alex did.
'No,' he said quietly. 'I didn't see them again.'
'There you have it,' Bolton boomed. 'The tale of a schoolboy. Now Miss Danvers, if you don't mind, school has started and I have a job to do.'
Alex pursed her lips, but said nothing. She rose from her seat and looked Bolton square in the face. 'Of course Mr Bolton, wouldn't want these teenagers helping with federal investigations now would we?' Bolton looked like he'd been punched. 'Thank you Jackson.'
Jackson smiled and nodded as Alex marched out the door. Max and Kara grinned at each other and followed her out.
'I think you've got an admirer,' Max teased.
'Oh please,' Alex rolled her eyes. 'He's fourteen. He seemed pretty sure of what he saw though. I think Bolton put him off a bit.'
'What do you mean?' Kara asked.
'He kept glancing at Bolton, like he didn't want to say more in front of him.'
'Probably afraid he'll get detention,' Max shrugged.
'I don't know…'
They were almost to the front gate when a voice called out from behind them.
'Miss Danvers!'
Alex turned to find Jackson sprinting after them, slowing to a halt with his backpack sliding down one shoulder.
'Jackson,' Alex said, surprised, 'what is it?'
'It's the lights,' Jackson huffed, 'I lied before. I have seen them again. They stopped for a while, when the police were watching, but when the case was closed they started up again. They're there every night.'
'Why didn't you say so before?'
'I didn't want Mr Bolton to know I'd been back to the school at night. He doesn't believe me. No one does. Miss Danvers, is it an alien? You're from National City right?'
Alex bit her lip and glanced at Kara. In the end she decided to be honest with him since he'd risked getting in trouble to dash after them.
'We think it might be, but we don't know for sure. Jackson, you can't tell anyone about this until we've dealt with it ok? Do you understand?'
He nodded quickly. 'I won't tell anyone, I promise.'
'Thank you. Go on then, you'll be late.'
Jackson smiled at Alex gratefully and dashed off to class. Alex turned to Max and Kara and they looked at each other seriously for a moment.
'So,' Max began, 'we're doing what I think we're doing, right?'
'We'll come back tonight after dark and take a look for ourselves,' Alex confirmed.
'Time to find us an alien!' Max rubbed his hands together gleefully. Kara and Alex just shook their heads.
