Michael stood up, prepared to jump her, but before he could take a step forward, the alien disguised as a nurse pulled one of the ray guns from beneath her uniform.
"Don't move," she said in a cold voice, training it on him. Then, she thought better and turned the gun to Maria. "Come any closer and your girlfriend gets it."
Michael froze, refusing to endanger Maria's life in any way. His power had worked to save her before, he couldn't take that chance unless it became absolutely necessary. The alien may have fired to early for him to save her.
"This is just great," Kyle was muttering. "We wait for her to come to us, and we're not even prepared. We're completely at her mercy."
"What would you have done differently?" Michael said sarcastically, "Test every person in New Mexico to see if she was masquerading as them?"
Kyle just shrugged, but said nothing, knowing there had been no alternative.
"Besides," the alien nurse said, backing slowly around the sheriff's hospital bed, "you've got nothing to worry about Kyle. I'm not going to kill you."
"You're not going to kill us?" Maria asked in surprise.
The "nurse" shook her head, "You misunderstand me, I'm not going to kill him."
The all stared at her in surprise, and she merely laughed. "I know you all have no idea what I'm talking about. Why don't we ask the nice sheriff here to explain it for us?"
"He's in a coma," Maria pointed out sarcastically.
"Not for long," was the answer as the alien picked up a needle filled with an orange fluid from the tray she had brought into the room with her. She stuck it into his IV and released the liquid.
"I wasn't aware there was a drug to cure a hole in the head," Max said.
She shook her head, "There isn't. The hole was a cover up to fool you. It was strategically placed so it wouldn't harm him. We injected him with something else to put him into a coma until we chose to wake him. It was his choice."
"My father chose to be put into a coma?" Kyle asked disbelievingly.
The alien shrugged, "It was that or be killed. The one condition of our agreement with him was that he not be able to communicate with you in any way."
'Agreement', everyone wanted to ask, but at that moment the sheriff's eyes began to open slowly. The fluttered once or twice before settling on Kyle. "Thank God you're allright," Jim Valenti said in a raspy, but relieved, voice.
"We kept out end of the bargain," the alien nurse said in a stoic voice. "Just like you did yours. He is uninjured. Even after that little prick beat the living snot out of me, I left him unharmed."
"What's she talking about dad?" Kyle demanded, "What bargain is she referring to?"
The sheriff hesitated, noticing the rest of the occupants in the room. His eyes settle on Max, and he mouthed the words, I'm so sorry. The alien laughed, and poked the sheriff. "Go ahead, tell them. Let them know about the deal with the devil you made to keep your precious son alive."
Jim didn't answer, just shook his head, refusing to tell. She sighed, and replied herself. "How do you think we found you in New York? Who do you think told us? We find you, and he'll find his son alive when he wakes up from his coma."
Maria shook her head, "The aliens told us that they had traced my bank card there."
The alien nurse sighed again. "We got the information after the sheriff here told us what we needed to know. It was part of the deal that you not know he told us and betrayed you."
"Which you just violated," Michael pointed out. She shook her head, "It matters not now."
Kyle just stared at his father. "How could you do that dad? Do you know how close everyone came to being killed? It was all because of you. In fact, someone did die. How could you do that?"
The sheriff avoided the eyes of his only son. "It was only a matter of time before they caught up with you," he said in a tired, and defeated voice. "They were so close. This was the only way I could ensure your safety. I'm not proud of what I did son, but it was what needed to be done."
Kyle shook his head, "No dad, it didn't. When they caught up to us, we were on a flight headed out of town. If you hadn't speeded up their discovery of us, we would have been safe, and Tess would still be alive."
"We trusted you with our lives and very existence," Max cut in, speaking in a very tense voice. "I believed you wouldn't betray us. Not after what I did for Kyle. I saved his life sheriff. You can't justify putting our lives in jeopardy, including your sons. You had no reassurance that they would keep the deal."
"It was my only choice," the sheriff said in a haggard voice, trying to make them see.
"It doesn't matter now," the alien cut in, waving the gun she still pointed at Maria. "What's done is done. I just wanted to wake the sheriff up so you could all know what he did before I rid the universe of you."
She trained the gun more accurately on Maria, and was about to pull the trigger when they heard a voice from the door saying, "What the hell is going on here?"
Amy DeLuca, Maria's mother, stood in the doorway of the hospital room, an incredulous expression on her face.
TBC........
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