Aftermath Part 40
Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2003 1:56 am
Author: Debbi aka Breathless
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17
The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.
From Sexual Healing:
“What are you doing here, Max?”
“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”
Aftermath
Part 40
The gang sat around the back room of the Crashdown trying to sort out the events of the day before. Liz sat on one of the lower steps that led upstairs to her apartment. Max sat right behind her, one step up, letting her lean back between his legs, surrounding her protectively.
Michael leaned his shoulder against a wall, looking relaxed but inside he was tense and ready to react if the need should arise.
Alex sat on the old couch with his arm in a sling, eating up the attention he was getting from Maria on his right and Isabel on his left. He might have broken his arm months ago if he knew this was what it took to get Isabel’s attention.
Kyle wore a hole in the floor, pacing back and forth in agitation. He wasn’t having a good morning. In fact, the last few weeks had been pretty shitty for him.
Ava watched them all from across the room.
“Why? Why me?” Kyle demanded. He threw the metal page from the Destiny Book down on the floor in the middle of the room. They all stared at it, the ‘Wanted Poster’ that showed the clear images of Liz Parker . . . and Kyle Valenti.
“What do you and Liz have in common?” Michael asked, trying to come up with a reasonable answer as to why both their images were on the page of an alien book.
“I don’t know,” Kyle snarked. “We’re human!”
Liz felt Max tense up behind her. She ventured a glance over her shoulder and saw his jaw clenching tightly. It didn’t take much to imagine why. Something weird was happening and he felt responsible. Kyle’s attitude wasn’t helping.
“You used to date,” Maria offered.
“It can’t be that,” Liz shot that idea down. “That was over a long time ago. It’s got to be something new. His picture wasn’t there before.”
“That thing’s from an alien book,” Kyle pointed at the metal page on the floor. “You guys are alien,” his gaze swept over the aliens in the room. “One and one makes four,” he said pointedly.
“Kyle,” Liz sighed in exasperation. She knew he was upset, and he had every right to be, but his attitude was just making everything worse. “Maria and Alex know about all this, and they’re not on that page. It’s something else.”
“Kyle,” Max sat stiffly on the stairs, disliking the thoughts that were suddenly filling his mind. He swallowed hard and asked, “What did you mean Friday night when you said I ruined you?”
“What?” Kyle spun around and faced him. “What does that –”
“You came here from Ben Baker’s party and you said I ruined you. You were drunk, but . . . you said you only had one sip.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about –” and then the insinuation became clear. He turned around, shaking his head, muttering, “Shit.”
Liz turned around to face Max. “You can’t think –”
“What is the one unique thing you and Kyle have in common with me?” Max cut off her protest.
“Max –”
“I healed you,” Max said, not letting it go. “I changed you when I healed you.” He grabbed her hands and held them out so everyone could see. “Last night your hands were glowing, Liz. And yesterday, somehow you predicted Alex’s accident.”
“We don’t know that,” Liz denied it. It couldn’t be true if she didn’t believe it.
“Liz, I was there!” his voice rose. “It was dark out. There was broken glass on the highway. Alex’s blood was everywhere. Everything you described in your vision was an accident that hadn’t happened yet.”
Liz stared at him incredulously. “Are you saying you think I saw the future?”
“I don’t know,” Max struggled to make sense of it. “You didn’t want Alex to go yesterday, like you knew something was gonna happen. Your hands were glowing last night, in a decidedly inhuman way. Kyle had one sip and he was drunk on his ass. What’s that remind you of?”
“Are you sa – saying . . .” Kyle stuttered. “You made me an alien?”
“No!” Max shot back and then sagged in uncertainty. “Maybe. I don’t know. The healing . . . maybe . . . I’m sorry . . .”
“Max, don’t be sorry!” Liz scolded him. “If it wasn’t for you we’d be dead.” She looked at Kyle pointedly and said, “Both of us.”
Kyle bit back a fiery retort, knowing she was right. Max Evans might have screwed up his life big time, but if it wasn’t for the alien, he’d be dead. He took a calming breath and said, “You’re right.”
Liz felt the stiffness in Max’s muscles relax a bit. The tension in the room eased slightly.
“What about me?” Alex asked. When everyone looked at him he added, “Max healed me too.”
“Maybe it takes time,” Max tried to sort it out. “I healed Liz last fall, but her hands didn’t start glowing until last night. Kyle got shot a month ago. Do you feel any . . . different?” he asked, looking directly at Alex.
Alex wasn’t sure how to answer that. Considering the fact that Isabel was sitting next to him, her leg touching his leg, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder, her attention focused on him, all those things made him feel very different, but not in the way Max was asking.
“I don’t think so,” Alex answered. If it was true, if Max had changed him, what would those changes be? Would he be able to levitate objects? Change molecular structure? Display superhuman strength? That would be so . . . cool!
Isabel picked the metal page up off the floor and looked at it closely. “We’ll have to watch this, to see if it changes again.” She looked at Alex and then at all the others in the room before settling on Max. “If it does, then we’ll know that you’re right.”
“What about the book?” Michael spoke up.
“We need to find it,” Max said the obvious. “Maybe it got ejected from the car in the accident. Michael, you and I should go look for it. We’ll check the accident scene, and if it’s not there, we’ll search the car again. Maybe we just overlooked it in the dark last night.”
“Okay,” Michael agreed.
With a course of action decided Max rose to his feet, ready to begin. He focused on his sister and said, “Isabel, you stay with Liz.”
“Max –” Liz started to protest.
“Just do this for me Liz,” Max pleaded. “I don’t want you alone right now. Please?”
“Okay,” she surrendered, letting him have his way for now.
He smiled at her, grateful that she was indulging him. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. With his arm around her shoulders he turned to ‘Tess’ and said, “Stay with Kyle until we get back.”
“My own private bodyguard?” Kyle looked at her with a resigned smile.
Ava felt the weight of seven pairs of eyes staring at her. She’d been quiet through the entire meeting, listening to everything they said. They were a diverse group of people, but the thing that struck her the most was how they worked together. With Zan, it was always following his orders. He controlled everything. No one was allowed to do anything without his permission. Here, Max was clearly the leader of the group, but everyone had a voice, and no one was afraid of him.
Ava smiled at Kyle and then turned to Max, vowing, “I’ll guard him with my life.”
* * * * *
Zan looked at his naked reflection in the bathroom mirror seeing his familiar visage staring back at him. His long hair fell unevenly around his rugged face. His full lips, slightly parted, showed no a hint of a smile. His cheeks and chiseled jaw carried nearly a weeks worth of stubbled growth. The color of his eyes held no warmth.
His attention dropped from the mirror to the four square symbol on his muscular arm. He waved his hand over it and the tattoo disappeared. He systematically removed each marking, from his right shoulder, his left hip, his right forearm, the small of his back. His gaze moved to his left pec, to the swirling symbol of his home world, and decided that one could stay. For now.
His attention returned to his face and he stepped closer to the mirror, concentrating on his image.
Time to make a change.
His hand swiped over his cheeks and chin removing the hair that had grown since his last ‘shave’. Whiskers turned to dust and fell away. A second wave of his hand changed the texture of his skin giving him a more youthful, boyish appearance. Weathered skin turned soft. Smooth. Crease lines disappeared.
Satisfied with the changes so far, he picked up the scissors from the edge of the bathroom counter and made the first cut, in the old fashioned human way. A clump of dark hair fell to the floor. It wasn’t long before the floor was covered with it, and the image of a new man emerged.
The face in the mirror now appeared softer, younger, with short hair and smooth cheeks. His full lips curved in a smile. Only the eyes remained the same. Cold as a winter night.
Zan slipped on a pair of jeans, and then a shirt, looking at himself closely while he buttoned up the front. He tested out different colors, blue and burgundy and black, before deciding to stick with white. He left the tails of the shirt hanging loose. That’s the way Max dressed.
Zan raked a hand through his short hair and smiled at his reflection in the mirror.
Time to play.
* * * * *
Max crouched down, inspecting the tire marks on the pavement, the blackened lines that told a story about what happened on this stretch of road last night. Slivers of glass still sparkled on the roadway, some still clinging to bits and pieces of a tattered beer label. Max slowly rose to his feet with a frown darkening his face, his stance clearly showing his confusion.
“What?” Michael asked, trying to extricate himself from the brambles near the spot of last nights point of impact.
“This is where Alex went off the road,” Max pointed at the skid marks and then looked over into the left hand lane.
“Yeah?” Michael made his way through the scrub grass to join him, rubbing a scratch on his upper arm.
“Alex said a semi came around this curve and crossed over into his lane. He swerved to avoid it. You can see it,” Max pointed at the road.
“So?” Michael prodded.
Max looked Michael straight in the eye and asked, “So why is there only one set of tire marks? Alex said he heard the air brakes before the semi swerved back into its own lane and kept going. Shouldn’t there be a second set of tire marks here too?”
“What are you suggesting?” Michael felt a surge of apprehension.
“I don’t know,” Max swept his gaze over the landscape. Something didn’t feel right. “Let’s find the goddamn book and get back to town.”
* * * * *
Isabel toyed with the sandwich on the plate in front of her wondering when Max and Michael were going to get back. They’d been gone for awhile now and she was getting bored. Liz was keeping busy waiting on customers, but Isabel had nothing to do except sit here. Next time Michael could stay back playing protector and she’d go where the action was.
The front bells chimed announcing a new Crashdown customer and one quick look had Isabel relaxing, leaning back in the seat. Finally! Max came striding across the restaurant and slid into the seat across from her.
“Hey Isabel,” he greeted her. “How’s it goin’?”
“Did you find it?” she asked. “Is everything safe now?”
“Everything’s great,” he replied, with his grin widening.
“Where is it?” Isabel gave him the once over. He obviously wasn’t carrying it. His jeans and short sleeve shirt didn’t leave any hiding room to conceal an alien book.
“Michael’s got it,” he answered. “Over at his place. Everything’s safe.”
“Thank God,” Isabel relaxed.
“You gonna eat that?” he stared at the sandwich on her plate.
“No. Go ahead,” Isabel pushed the plate toward her brother.
“Thanks,” he grabbed the sandwich and shoved it in his mouth. “Yo ca go na,” he said around the food.
“What?” Isabel smirked at him. Max didn’t usually talk with a mouth full of food.
He swallowed and gave her his most charming grin. “I said, you can go if you want. I’ll stay here with Liz. Where is she anyway?”
“She’s in the back. She’ll be right out.” Isabel watched her brother shovel the last of the food into his mouth and she cocked her head, asking, “Is everything okay?”
Liz pushed through the swinging door into the café and his gaze shifted, locking onto the dark haired girl. Her face lit up when she saw him.
“Couldn’t be better,” he answered, ignoring Isabel now.
Liz stopped at the soda dispenser and filled a cup, then walked over to his booth and set it in front of him. “Did you just get back?”
“Just now,” he smiled up at her.
“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Isabel rose to her feet. She looked down at Max and asked, “Are you going to be home for dinner tonight? Mom’s going to want to know.”
“Nah,” he looked Liz up and down. “I’m gonna be busy.”
Isabel rolled her eyes at her brother’s blatant behavior and then said goodbye to Liz. She left the restaurant and Liz stepped closer to the table. “You look like you’re in a good mood. I take it that means you found the book?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “You could say that. It’s all safe and sound.”
“In that case,” she looked down at his empty plate. “Can I tempt you with anything else? Martian Mudd pie? Stargate cheesecake? Moonbeam ice cream?”
“Are you on the menu?” he took his hand off the table and ran it up the back of her leg, inching above the hem of her uniform. He pulled her down onto his lap, smiling at the surprised look on her face. “Let’s go somewhere,” he nuzzled her ear. “Somewhere private . . .”
Liz looked up at his handsome face with her smile slowly disappearing. A sense of déjà vu crowded in on her, making it hard for her to breathe. Had they had this conversation before?
“C’mon,” he rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. His hand slipped into hers and he headed toward the back room.
“Max –” she tugged on his hand trying to get him to slow down. Her shift wasn’t over yet.
As he pushed through the swinging door Liz felt his hand tightening around hers, turning rougher, stronger, dominating. She gasped when he swung her around and pressed her against the wall. A sense of foreboding filled her, knowing this had happened before, in a dream . . . or a vision.
“Here’s good enough,” his lips swept down to kiss her.
Liz tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let her. His tongue demanded entrance into her mouth, his arm tightened painfully around her hips, his body pressed her hard against the wall. A flash filled her mind, just like in her vision, full of blackness and discordant sounds, sending fear slashing down her spine.
She pushed him away, struggling to breathe, staring at his familiar face, yet seeing someone different. His features were just the same, his angular nose, his chiseled jaw, the birthmark above his upper lip, but there was something about his eyes. Something not quite . . . human.
“Max . . .?”
“Let’s get out of here,” he said in a voice that sounded soft and melodic, just like Max.
His sensual smile gave her goosebumps, but they weren’t the good kind. A chill ran down her spine. Had she seen him before? A memory rose to the surface, of long hair and leather, tattoos and shades, hiding his inhuman eyes from the world.
“Who are you?” Liz let the words slip out.
The smile disappeared from his face. His cold eyes penetrated her, trying to look into her soul.
“Who are you?” his voice hardened. “Why are you so important? Why are you in my dreams?”
“I’m not,” Liz whispered. “I’m no one.”
“You haunt me. You make me see things. Feel things.” His voice turned harsher and he yanked her hard against his chest. “Things I don’t wanna feel!”
“Let me go,” her voice came out as a plaintive cry. “Please let me go.”
Zan stepped back but he didn’t relax his grip on her arm. “You’re coming with me.” He turned toward the door that led into the back alley, dragging Liz with him.
“No. NO!” her voice rose sharply in pitch. She fought against his arm, trying to break free. “LET GO OF ME!”
He swung around to face her with his mouth just inches from hers. He stared into her eyes, issuing a chilling edict. “You come with me, or everyone in that restaurant dies. Your choice.”
“No. You can’t. You wouldn’t –”
But he would, and she knew it. She could see it in his eyes. How could anyone with a face like Max’s have such inhuman eyes?
“Shall I start with the cook?” his cold gaze held her transfixed, making her shiver. “I don’t even have to touch him. I can do it from here.”
His eyes never left hers as he lifted his hand and pointed his palm toward the kitchen doorway. Inside the far room Liz heard Jose’s startled cry of pain.
“NO! DON’T! I’ll come with you!” She swallowed hard, knowing she had no other choice.
“Good,” he lowered his arm. “Wise decision.”
His hand clamped around her upper arm, dragging her out of the restaurant to the back alley and his waiting car. He pushed her into the stolen Camero and then climbed in behind the wheel, knowing exactly where he was going to take her.
To the one place Max Evans would never follow.
TBC . . .
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17
The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.
From Sexual Healing:
“What are you doing here, Max?”
“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”
Aftermath
Part 40
The gang sat around the back room of the Crashdown trying to sort out the events of the day before. Liz sat on one of the lower steps that led upstairs to her apartment. Max sat right behind her, one step up, letting her lean back between his legs, surrounding her protectively.
Michael leaned his shoulder against a wall, looking relaxed but inside he was tense and ready to react if the need should arise.
Alex sat on the old couch with his arm in a sling, eating up the attention he was getting from Maria on his right and Isabel on his left. He might have broken his arm months ago if he knew this was what it took to get Isabel’s attention.
Kyle wore a hole in the floor, pacing back and forth in agitation. He wasn’t having a good morning. In fact, the last few weeks had been pretty shitty for him.
Ava watched them all from across the room.
“Why? Why me?” Kyle demanded. He threw the metal page from the Destiny Book down on the floor in the middle of the room. They all stared at it, the ‘Wanted Poster’ that showed the clear images of Liz Parker . . . and Kyle Valenti.
“What do you and Liz have in common?” Michael asked, trying to come up with a reasonable answer as to why both their images were on the page of an alien book.
“I don’t know,” Kyle snarked. “We’re human!”
Liz felt Max tense up behind her. She ventured a glance over her shoulder and saw his jaw clenching tightly. It didn’t take much to imagine why. Something weird was happening and he felt responsible. Kyle’s attitude wasn’t helping.
“You used to date,” Maria offered.
“It can’t be that,” Liz shot that idea down. “That was over a long time ago. It’s got to be something new. His picture wasn’t there before.”
“That thing’s from an alien book,” Kyle pointed at the metal page on the floor. “You guys are alien,” his gaze swept over the aliens in the room. “One and one makes four,” he said pointedly.
“Kyle,” Liz sighed in exasperation. She knew he was upset, and he had every right to be, but his attitude was just making everything worse. “Maria and Alex know about all this, and they’re not on that page. It’s something else.”
“Kyle,” Max sat stiffly on the stairs, disliking the thoughts that were suddenly filling his mind. He swallowed hard and asked, “What did you mean Friday night when you said I ruined you?”
“What?” Kyle spun around and faced him. “What does that –”
“You came here from Ben Baker’s party and you said I ruined you. You were drunk, but . . . you said you only had one sip.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about –” and then the insinuation became clear. He turned around, shaking his head, muttering, “Shit.”
Liz turned around to face Max. “You can’t think –”
“What is the one unique thing you and Kyle have in common with me?” Max cut off her protest.
“Max –”
“I healed you,” Max said, not letting it go. “I changed you when I healed you.” He grabbed her hands and held them out so everyone could see. “Last night your hands were glowing, Liz. And yesterday, somehow you predicted Alex’s accident.”
“We don’t know that,” Liz denied it. It couldn’t be true if she didn’t believe it.
“Liz, I was there!” his voice rose. “It was dark out. There was broken glass on the highway. Alex’s blood was everywhere. Everything you described in your vision was an accident that hadn’t happened yet.”
Liz stared at him incredulously. “Are you saying you think I saw the future?”
“I don’t know,” Max struggled to make sense of it. “You didn’t want Alex to go yesterday, like you knew something was gonna happen. Your hands were glowing last night, in a decidedly inhuman way. Kyle had one sip and he was drunk on his ass. What’s that remind you of?”
“Are you sa – saying . . .” Kyle stuttered. “You made me an alien?”
“No!” Max shot back and then sagged in uncertainty. “Maybe. I don’t know. The healing . . . maybe . . . I’m sorry . . .”
“Max, don’t be sorry!” Liz scolded him. “If it wasn’t for you we’d be dead.” She looked at Kyle pointedly and said, “Both of us.”
Kyle bit back a fiery retort, knowing she was right. Max Evans might have screwed up his life big time, but if it wasn’t for the alien, he’d be dead. He took a calming breath and said, “You’re right.”
Liz felt the stiffness in Max’s muscles relax a bit. The tension in the room eased slightly.
“What about me?” Alex asked. When everyone looked at him he added, “Max healed me too.”
“Maybe it takes time,” Max tried to sort it out. “I healed Liz last fall, but her hands didn’t start glowing until last night. Kyle got shot a month ago. Do you feel any . . . different?” he asked, looking directly at Alex.
Alex wasn’t sure how to answer that. Considering the fact that Isabel was sitting next to him, her leg touching his leg, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder, her attention focused on him, all those things made him feel very different, but not in the way Max was asking.
“I don’t think so,” Alex answered. If it was true, if Max had changed him, what would those changes be? Would he be able to levitate objects? Change molecular structure? Display superhuman strength? That would be so . . . cool!
Isabel picked the metal page up off the floor and looked at it closely. “We’ll have to watch this, to see if it changes again.” She looked at Alex and then at all the others in the room before settling on Max. “If it does, then we’ll know that you’re right.”
“What about the book?” Michael spoke up.
“We need to find it,” Max said the obvious. “Maybe it got ejected from the car in the accident. Michael, you and I should go look for it. We’ll check the accident scene, and if it’s not there, we’ll search the car again. Maybe we just overlooked it in the dark last night.”
“Okay,” Michael agreed.
With a course of action decided Max rose to his feet, ready to begin. He focused on his sister and said, “Isabel, you stay with Liz.”
“Max –” Liz started to protest.
“Just do this for me Liz,” Max pleaded. “I don’t want you alone right now. Please?”
“Okay,” she surrendered, letting him have his way for now.
He smiled at her, grateful that she was indulging him. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. With his arm around her shoulders he turned to ‘Tess’ and said, “Stay with Kyle until we get back.”
“My own private bodyguard?” Kyle looked at her with a resigned smile.
Ava felt the weight of seven pairs of eyes staring at her. She’d been quiet through the entire meeting, listening to everything they said. They were a diverse group of people, but the thing that struck her the most was how they worked together. With Zan, it was always following his orders. He controlled everything. No one was allowed to do anything without his permission. Here, Max was clearly the leader of the group, but everyone had a voice, and no one was afraid of him.
Ava smiled at Kyle and then turned to Max, vowing, “I’ll guard him with my life.”
* * * * *
Zan looked at his naked reflection in the bathroom mirror seeing his familiar visage staring back at him. His long hair fell unevenly around his rugged face. His full lips, slightly parted, showed no a hint of a smile. His cheeks and chiseled jaw carried nearly a weeks worth of stubbled growth. The color of his eyes held no warmth.
His attention dropped from the mirror to the four square symbol on his muscular arm. He waved his hand over it and the tattoo disappeared. He systematically removed each marking, from his right shoulder, his left hip, his right forearm, the small of his back. His gaze moved to his left pec, to the swirling symbol of his home world, and decided that one could stay. For now.
His attention returned to his face and he stepped closer to the mirror, concentrating on his image.
Time to make a change.
His hand swiped over his cheeks and chin removing the hair that had grown since his last ‘shave’. Whiskers turned to dust and fell away. A second wave of his hand changed the texture of his skin giving him a more youthful, boyish appearance. Weathered skin turned soft. Smooth. Crease lines disappeared.
Satisfied with the changes so far, he picked up the scissors from the edge of the bathroom counter and made the first cut, in the old fashioned human way. A clump of dark hair fell to the floor. It wasn’t long before the floor was covered with it, and the image of a new man emerged.
The face in the mirror now appeared softer, younger, with short hair and smooth cheeks. His full lips curved in a smile. Only the eyes remained the same. Cold as a winter night.
Zan slipped on a pair of jeans, and then a shirt, looking at himself closely while he buttoned up the front. He tested out different colors, blue and burgundy and black, before deciding to stick with white. He left the tails of the shirt hanging loose. That’s the way Max dressed.
Zan raked a hand through his short hair and smiled at his reflection in the mirror.
Time to play.
* * * * *
Max crouched down, inspecting the tire marks on the pavement, the blackened lines that told a story about what happened on this stretch of road last night. Slivers of glass still sparkled on the roadway, some still clinging to bits and pieces of a tattered beer label. Max slowly rose to his feet with a frown darkening his face, his stance clearly showing his confusion.
“What?” Michael asked, trying to extricate himself from the brambles near the spot of last nights point of impact.
“This is where Alex went off the road,” Max pointed at the skid marks and then looked over into the left hand lane.
“Yeah?” Michael made his way through the scrub grass to join him, rubbing a scratch on his upper arm.
“Alex said a semi came around this curve and crossed over into his lane. He swerved to avoid it. You can see it,” Max pointed at the road.
“So?” Michael prodded.
Max looked Michael straight in the eye and asked, “So why is there only one set of tire marks? Alex said he heard the air brakes before the semi swerved back into its own lane and kept going. Shouldn’t there be a second set of tire marks here too?”
“What are you suggesting?” Michael felt a surge of apprehension.
“I don’t know,” Max swept his gaze over the landscape. Something didn’t feel right. “Let’s find the goddamn book and get back to town.”
* * * * *
Isabel toyed with the sandwich on the plate in front of her wondering when Max and Michael were going to get back. They’d been gone for awhile now and she was getting bored. Liz was keeping busy waiting on customers, but Isabel had nothing to do except sit here. Next time Michael could stay back playing protector and she’d go where the action was.
The front bells chimed announcing a new Crashdown customer and one quick look had Isabel relaxing, leaning back in the seat. Finally! Max came striding across the restaurant and slid into the seat across from her.
“Hey Isabel,” he greeted her. “How’s it goin’?”
“Did you find it?” she asked. “Is everything safe now?”
“Everything’s great,” he replied, with his grin widening.
“Where is it?” Isabel gave him the once over. He obviously wasn’t carrying it. His jeans and short sleeve shirt didn’t leave any hiding room to conceal an alien book.
“Michael’s got it,” he answered. “Over at his place. Everything’s safe.”
“Thank God,” Isabel relaxed.
“You gonna eat that?” he stared at the sandwich on her plate.
“No. Go ahead,” Isabel pushed the plate toward her brother.
“Thanks,” he grabbed the sandwich and shoved it in his mouth. “Yo ca go na,” he said around the food.
“What?” Isabel smirked at him. Max didn’t usually talk with a mouth full of food.
He swallowed and gave her his most charming grin. “I said, you can go if you want. I’ll stay here with Liz. Where is she anyway?”
“She’s in the back. She’ll be right out.” Isabel watched her brother shovel the last of the food into his mouth and she cocked her head, asking, “Is everything okay?”
Liz pushed through the swinging door into the café and his gaze shifted, locking onto the dark haired girl. Her face lit up when she saw him.
“Couldn’t be better,” he answered, ignoring Isabel now.
Liz stopped at the soda dispenser and filled a cup, then walked over to his booth and set it in front of him. “Did you just get back?”
“Just now,” he smiled up at her.
“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Isabel rose to her feet. She looked down at Max and asked, “Are you going to be home for dinner tonight? Mom’s going to want to know.”
“Nah,” he looked Liz up and down. “I’m gonna be busy.”
Isabel rolled her eyes at her brother’s blatant behavior and then said goodbye to Liz. She left the restaurant and Liz stepped closer to the table. “You look like you’re in a good mood. I take it that means you found the book?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “You could say that. It’s all safe and sound.”
“In that case,” she looked down at his empty plate. “Can I tempt you with anything else? Martian Mudd pie? Stargate cheesecake? Moonbeam ice cream?”
“Are you on the menu?” he took his hand off the table and ran it up the back of her leg, inching above the hem of her uniform. He pulled her down onto his lap, smiling at the surprised look on her face. “Let’s go somewhere,” he nuzzled her ear. “Somewhere private . . .”
Liz looked up at his handsome face with her smile slowly disappearing. A sense of déjà vu crowded in on her, making it hard for her to breathe. Had they had this conversation before?
“C’mon,” he rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. His hand slipped into hers and he headed toward the back room.
“Max –” she tugged on his hand trying to get him to slow down. Her shift wasn’t over yet.
As he pushed through the swinging door Liz felt his hand tightening around hers, turning rougher, stronger, dominating. She gasped when he swung her around and pressed her against the wall. A sense of foreboding filled her, knowing this had happened before, in a dream . . . or a vision.
“Here’s good enough,” his lips swept down to kiss her.
Liz tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let her. His tongue demanded entrance into her mouth, his arm tightened painfully around her hips, his body pressed her hard against the wall. A flash filled her mind, just like in her vision, full of blackness and discordant sounds, sending fear slashing down her spine.
She pushed him away, struggling to breathe, staring at his familiar face, yet seeing someone different. His features were just the same, his angular nose, his chiseled jaw, the birthmark above his upper lip, but there was something about his eyes. Something not quite . . . human.
“Max . . .?”
“Let’s get out of here,” he said in a voice that sounded soft and melodic, just like Max.
His sensual smile gave her goosebumps, but they weren’t the good kind. A chill ran down her spine. Had she seen him before? A memory rose to the surface, of long hair and leather, tattoos and shades, hiding his inhuman eyes from the world.
“Who are you?” Liz let the words slip out.
The smile disappeared from his face. His cold eyes penetrated her, trying to look into her soul.
“Who are you?” his voice hardened. “Why are you so important? Why are you in my dreams?”
“I’m not,” Liz whispered. “I’m no one.”
“You haunt me. You make me see things. Feel things.” His voice turned harsher and he yanked her hard against his chest. “Things I don’t wanna feel!”
“Let me go,” her voice came out as a plaintive cry. “Please let me go.”
Zan stepped back but he didn’t relax his grip on her arm. “You’re coming with me.” He turned toward the door that led into the back alley, dragging Liz with him.
“No. NO!” her voice rose sharply in pitch. She fought against his arm, trying to break free. “LET GO OF ME!”
He swung around to face her with his mouth just inches from hers. He stared into her eyes, issuing a chilling edict. “You come with me, or everyone in that restaurant dies. Your choice.”
“No. You can’t. You wouldn’t –”
But he would, and she knew it. She could see it in his eyes. How could anyone with a face like Max’s have such inhuman eyes?
“Shall I start with the cook?” his cold gaze held her transfixed, making her shiver. “I don’t even have to touch him. I can do it from here.”
His eyes never left hers as he lifted his hand and pointed his palm toward the kitchen doorway. Inside the far room Liz heard Jose’s startled cry of pain.
“NO! DON’T! I’ll come with you!” She swallowed hard, knowing she had no other choice.
“Good,” he lowered his arm. “Wise decision.”
His hand clamped around her upper arm, dragging her out of the restaurant to the back alley and his waiting car. He pushed her into the stolen Camero and then climbed in behind the wheel, knowing exactly where he was going to take her.
To the one place Max Evans would never follow.
TBC . . .