b center Chapter Two /center /b
Maria was curled on up the couch when Michael came home. She had the TV on, but he was pretty sure she wasn't paying any attention to it. She seemed to be someplace else. "Hey." He said walking over and sitting down on the coffee table in front of her.
"Hi."
"You get any sleep?" Maria shook her head.
"No, I get nightmares." She told him. Michael nodded and climbed onto the couch behind her and wrapped his arms securely around her waist. He held her against his chest and she reached up to shut off the TV. The apartment was flooded in darkness, and Maria suddenly felt safer. She liked the dark, even when she was in the FBI complex. When it was dark they left her alone. She wondered if they would do the same for Max.
Hours passed and they hadn't moved. They were just listening to each other breathing. Content to be in that moment. To be in each others arms, to be needed. He reached up and gently wrapped his hand around one of her wrists. "When?" He asked referring to the slash down the length of her arm.
"Five months ago." She told him softly.
"How bad was it?"
"Pretty bad."
"Tell me what happened."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you don't need to know." Maria told him and gripped his hand tightly in her own.
"Yes, I do."
"Why? Nothing will change. You can't take it back and neither can I. So tell me how it will make anything better."
"At least then I will know what hell you went through because of me."
"It won't change anything." Maria whispered.
"But I need to know." Michael insisted, and then heard her sigh. She knew she was fighting a loosing battle.
"Liz and I had been up all night," she began. "Doing the girly thing. Talking and stuff. It was about four in the morning, we were hungry and I volunteered to run downstairs and grab the last of the Men in Blackberry pie. I went down and heard a noise, and got all freaked out. Then there was someone there. I dropped the pie. I screamed. Then something covered my mouth... I woke up with one hell of a headache.
// Maria woke up slowly, her head was throbbing, where was she? The room was dark, poorly lit, she couldn't see anything.
"I see you're awake." A voice came from nowhere, but everywhere at the same time.
"Who are you!?" She cried out.
"Someone you should be very afraid of."
"What do you want from me?" She asked, keeping her voice steady.
"To test you, poke, and prod, see what Max Evan's did to you."
And with that she started laughing. Maria couldn't help herself. She was caught up in this really scary situation, and they didn't even want her.
"What is so funny Ms. Parker."
"You're so freaking stupid. Did you even do any research? I'm not Liz Parker."
"What?" The voice sounded angry, and the light came on, and Maria flinched and stumbled backwards. "Who are you?"
"Someone that just always gets caught up in the middle. I'm just the friend." Maria sat down on the floor and glanced around the room. She knew they were watching her, she just wondered from where. "So what do you plan to do with me now?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"I suppose we'll just have to trade, her for you."
Maria laughed harder than before. "You're kidding right? They don't give a shit about me."
"Then I suppose we'll just have to kill you." Maria froze for a moment and then shook her head.
"What?!" She asked in a panic. "You can't do that."
"Why not? You are of no use to us."
"Ms. DeLuca." Maria lifted her head, she recognized that voice. Why? "I think we may have a use for you after all."//
"It was Topolsky. The next morning... they woke me up, strapped me down. And then they had needles, all these syringes, some filled with stuff, some to take my blood. Sometimes I would pass out, sometimes I wouldn't. They would cut at me, and... torture me." She felt Michael's arms tighten around her waist and clutch to her.
"You are safe now." He told her and kissed her shoulder softly. "You're safe."
Hours later Maria had fallen asleep in Michael's arms, finally, and then his cell phone rang. He reached for it quickly trying not to disturb Maria. "Yeah?"
"Max is gone." Isabel's voice was high and frantic.
"What?"
"He stood Liz up, and never came home."
"Isabel, calm down, he's fine, I'm sure. He's just being Max."
"No, Michael, you don't understand, I think... I think they took him."
"No, Isabel, they didn't. If they had wanted to they could have come for him before, and they didn't. No one came after him, he's probably just out planning something romantic for Liz." He didn't wait for a response and hung up his phone.
"Who was that?" Maria asked still half asleep.
"Isabel."
"What did she want?"
"Max isn't home yet, says he stood up Liz. She thinks the FBI has him."
Maria swallowed. "What do you think?"
"Max is just being Max."
It was late the next evening, Maria was sitting on the end of the slide at the park. She was waiting.
"Maria?" Isabel's voice filled the silence. "What are you doing here? Have you seen Alex? He was supposed to meet me here."
"No... haven't seen him." Maria whispered. "Why didn't you ever dream walk me?"
"Maria... Max said it wasn't safe. That... I don't know. He said it wasn't safe. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? Isabel... I was being tested on, for seven months. I tried to kill myself. They wouldn't let me die. I wanted to die." She looked down at her wrists. "I'm sorry too Isabel. That it had to end this way."
"What?" Isabel asked confused. "Maria? What are you-" She cut herself off when she saw the gun in Maria's hand. "Where did you get that?"
"Seven months in hell... Three months spent training to be an FBI agent. I never planned to actually go along with it. I convinced myself, I'd just pretend... and then when I got out, I'd tell you guys, and you could all run. But... none of you cared. You all just moved on. Had you dream walked me... You would have known just how bad things were. But... now you get to find out the hard way."
Isabel suddenly screamed when someone grabbed onto her. A hand clamped over her mouth and she was dragged away.
Maria tucked the gun back into the back of her jeans and looked up as an agent appeared.
"She wants the other one."
"What? No, that wasn't part of the deal." Maria shook her head quickly.
"Deal changed." The man told her.
Maria left quickly and pulled out her cellphone. "You can't just change the deal!" She yelled into the phone.
"Oh, but I did." She could hear the smirk in Topolsky's voice. "You have two choices. Bring him in... or we come after him, and kill you." The line went dead and Maria felt the fear in the pit of her stomach. What had she done?
She ran the whole way back to Michael's apartment and found him pacing the living room. "Where were you? I was worried. I came home from work and you were gone."
Maria began to sob and sunk down to her knees. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"
"Maria?"
"We have to go, we have to hide! We have to go and get Tess, and go someplace, and we have to hide."
"Maria... what the hell are you talking about?"
"Please!" Maria cried and Michael obeyed.
"Okay." The two got on his bike and drove to Tess' where they got into her suv and drove out to the pod chamber.
"Now you need to tell me what is going on Maria." Michael said, trying to remain calm.
"The FBI has Max... and Isabel."
"What?!" Tess shrieked.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Maria cried softly.
"You're a freaking psycho! This is your fault isn't it!?" Tess yelled at her.
"It is... I was mad... you all left me in there! They didn't care!" She looked up at Michael. "I'm so sorry Michael, please..." He was just staring at her, arms crossed over his chest.
"You betrayed us." He told her.
"I have an idea... about how to get them out."
"Why should we trust you? It could just be a trick." Michael snarled.
"Because I love you." Maria told him. "I can get you in there... and you'll have to take it from there, find them, and get them out."
"What happens to you then? You betrayed us." Tess crossed her arms over her chest.
"They won't know you guys were even there, until you're all out. And when they realize what I've done. They'll have no use for me any longer."
"No use?" Michael glanced at her.
"They'll kill me." Her jaw trembled. "Tess, if the two of you can follow me, and you use your mindwarp I can get you in. I can find out where they are and get you to them. I'll take care of everything while you guys get out."
"How can we guarantee that you won't just leave us in there?" Tess asked.
"You'll have to go against your gut instincts right now, and trust me."
Maria DeLuca stared down at the piece of paper in front of her. She signed her name and stuck it in an envelope and scribbled Michael's name across it. She tucked it under the pillow on his bed and took a breath. This was actually happening. This was the end. She glanced around the room and then left quietly before Michael and Tess returned. She wished she could do it all over again, change things. Do something different. But this was the only thing she could do. She could make it right.
Maria pulled the jetta up at the front entrance to the complex. Tess and Michael were in the backseat, hidden by Tess' mindwarp. They had a van parked not far from the complex.
"What is your purpose?" The armed man asked from his post.
"Topolsky. I've brought the remaining ... subject."
"Where?" The man asked looking into the car.
"Trunk." Maria told him annoyed. "Now open the gate." He did so obediently and she drove into the parking lot. She parked the car and took a breath. "You guys ready?" She asked softly before climbing out. She opened the back door, and pretended to be grabbing something from it. Giving Michael and Tess the chance to get out before closing it again.
At the front entrance she pressed her hand against the pad there and waited as it scanned her prints before the door unlocked.
"Agent DeLuca." She glanced up at the man behind the desk.
"Jackson." She nodded.
"Good to see you back again." She gave him a small smile. He was a younger guy, and had obviously had a crush on her.
"It's good to be back. I... was wondering if you could do me a little favor?" She leaned against the counter.
"Anything."
Maria smiled. "I was... wondering, where did they take them?"
"You mean..." He trailed off.
"Yeah." Maria leaned farther over the counter. "Please?"
"DeLuca... you know I'm not supposed to."
"I know... but... I just want to see... You know the hell I went through, and it was their fault. I just want to see what kind of hell they are in." She reached over and lightly touched his hand. "Please?" She felt a hand grab her arm and she slowly glanced in that direction. No one was there. Michael.
"DeLuca... you're going to get me into so much trouble."
"But I'm worth it." She grinned, and he laughed. Michael's grip on her arm tightened.
"Yeah, I think you are. Down the corridor. Take a left at the end of the hall, it's on the right hand side."
"Thank you Jackson." She smiled and turned to head down the hallway. "Grab me like that again and you'll be sorry." She hissed under her breath.
"Apparently being in here wasn't too bad, was it?" Michael's voice was by her ear, and it was angry. "You found someone to keep you entertained."
Tears stung Maria's eyes. Michael had no idea. "You really want the answer to that?" She whispered and turned down the hallway. She pressed her hand against another pad and the door opened. There were two rooms, side by side, both with a one way window. In one was Max, and Isabel in the other.
Maria paused and looked at the window. Slowly she reached her hand up and touched the glass. The pain of all the nights in that room came flooding back. "There is an emergency exit at the end of this hall. Get them out. And run like hell."
"DeLuca." Maria jerked her head up and saw Topolsky standing near the doorway. "Where is he?"
"Trunk of my car. I hit him over the head... pretty hard. He'll be unconscious for a while."
"So how does it feel? Your revenge?"
"Like I never imagined." Maria said softly and pulled out her gun and pointed it at Topolsky. "Now give me the key to their rooms."
"What?" The woman shook her head. "Oh, did you have a change of heart? After what you went through?"
"No, not at all. Now give me the key." Topolsky just laughed.
"I don't think so." Maria fired the gun and the bullet went straight into Topolsky's chest. In Tess' surprise she lost the mindwarp. Both Michael and Tess stared at Maria in shock, as she walked over to Topolsky's twitching body. Maria yanked the key from her pocket and went to the door. She opened first Max's then Isabel's door.
"Get them out now!" Maria yelled and the two sprang into action. Michael rushed into Max's room and helped him to his feet. Tess did the same for Isabel. She watched as Isabel and Tess ran as quickly as they could down the hall. Maria shoved the key into Michael's hand as he passed her. "You need this to get out. Now run!" She yelled and Max and Michael rushed down the hallway.
Michael had Max's arm around his shoulder helping him to the door. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Maria standing at the end of the hallway. Suddenly alarms were going off. Several men came down a hallway and spotted the four aliens escaping, and he watched as Maria raised her arm, gun in hand and began shooting.
Three men fell, and a fourth turned to her. Michael watched the man fire. Maria didn't move for a second before stumbling backwards. The light shirt she was wearing had a rapidly growing red stain on the chest.
"Michael come on!" Tess screamed as she tried to open the door.
Michael watched for a moment longer, watched as Maria fell backwards to the ground. "Maria." He whispered before rushing to the door with Max. He used the key and shoved open the door.
In the van driving away from the complex Tess glanced back at Michael who was staring out the window. "What happened?" She asked quietly.
"Maria is dead." He said simply.
"Are you sure?" Tess' voice rose in panic.
"She got shot, I watched her go down. She's dead."