Michael listened to John try to pronounce a Biaz word Rogalia had put on the white board. Rogalia had been teaching them Biaz in this motel for weeks, or at least she had been trying to. Michael mostly stayed to the back and let the others fumble with the words. He knew the importance of learning the language, but couldn’t bring himself to interact with Rogalia unless it was absolutely important. He found her a very bad influence, especially on John.
He tried to warn both John and Jennifer, but both just nodded their heads and ignored him. They pretended of course, but Michael knew better. He tried to tell them that she got too close to everyone she meets and it wasn’t a very good idea to get too close to some alien girl. I mean what if she had diseases, or worse, what if she got pregnant? Michael shuddered at the thought.
Another reason that kept him from paying too much attention at these lessons was that he felt so helpless. The aliens continued to invade Earth on a regular basis. He wanted to fight back, but there was no way of knowing where they would attack next. It was impossible to defend against them. They would swoop down and grab a bunch of people from a public place then leave again.
The air force tries to intercept the shuttles as the came down and left, but they had no luck. It was obvious to Michael that the aliens were tracking the aircraft, and avoided it. It wasn’t too hard considering the shuttles went about 500 times faster then the fastest fighter jet.
Michael tried to come up with a pattern of their attacks, but came up empty. He tried to contact people at the pentagon to see if they had made any progress, but everyone still refused to talk to him. It infuriated him, but he understood why.
He looked up to see Rogalia explain the various sounds of z in the Biaz language for the hundredth time. Why couldn’t John get this? he thought. He didn’t know if it was the sound of John’s voice screwing up another Biaz word, even he knew even though he had never said it out loud, or the thought of his family being taken by the aliens while he was helpless in this room, which suddenly popped into his mind again.
“We need to be doing something!” he yelled. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. “We can’t just sit here while they continue to take our people, our friends and family. We have to draw the line somewhere. I’m drawing the line here and now. Nobody else gets taken, not while I draw breath.”
“Well you can always take me,” Rogalia said with a seductive smile.
This infuriated Michael, but Jennifer spoke before Michael could react, “Rogalia,” she said, “be quite please.” Rogalia gave her an angry look, but remained silent.
Michael watched Jennifer as she contemplated what Michael was saying. He was sure she would turn his desire for action into her own ends. She was smart in that way. He didn’t trust her, nor did he particularly like her.
“What do you suggest?” John asked. Michael turned his attention to John. He liked John more, but he was an idiot. He knew he was sleeping with Rogalia. How much more evidence of stupidity did one need?
“I’ve been trying to come up with a pattern of their attacks,” he said. “I think I can come up with a few guesses as to where they might attack next.”
“That is a long shot at best,” John said.
“Beats sitting around here doing nothing, doesn’t it?” Michael retorted. John remained silent.
“I agree,” Jennifer said. Everyone looked at her in surprise. “I can’t concentrate here today anyways. Why don’t we take a break from the Biaz lesson and try to figure out a way of stopping these incursions of theirs.”
Michael looked at Jennifer. She was up to something. Nothing in her demeanor indicated it, but she was always up to something.
“Why don’t we all look at what Michael has done,” Jennifer continued.
“Even if we can find a pattern,” John said, “how are we going to stop them? It’s just 4 of us, and we aren’t allowed guns.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Michael said. “Militias have formed all over the country. If we can find where the next attack will be, then we just need to find the nearest one. They will be glad to arm us.” Michael smiled at the thought of holding a gun and aiming it at the aliens.
“Ok then, where do you want to start?” John asked.
Michael drew a rough map of the US on the white board and marked each alien attack that he could remember with an x. Both Jennifer and John pointed at further attacks, and corrected the locations of some. Michael was impressed how closely they were keeping track of the happenings in the world.
When he was done he looked at John and waited for him to speak. “Well,” John began, “I think your right about the times. It does seem related to the number of people they grab, which seems to make sense based on our experiences on board the spacecraft.”
Michael waited for the but he new was coming. “But,” John continued, “I’m not as sure about where they will attack. You are making a lot of assumptions. It’s unlikely your right about all of them.”
“Do you got something better?” Michael asked.
John hesitated. “No,” he said. “Not yet anyways.”
“Well then why not go with my plan until then,” Michael said. “It beats sitting around here waiting for an idea it fall from the sky.”
“We have a couple of days,” Jennifer said. “Why don’t we break for today and let John and Rogalia think about it for a while. We can meet back here the day after tomorrow, and discuss our final plans.”
Jennifer then got up to leave. John walked over to Rogalia and started talking. Michael rushed after Jennifer. “Wait,” he called after her after they were out of ear shot from the others.
Jennifer turned to face Michael. “I’m sorry I’m late to a meeting. I have to go,” she said.
“Why is it that you want to help?” Michael asked. “And don’t go saying it’s to help the helpless. You don’t strike me as that kind of woman.”
A look of hurt or guilt (Michael wasn’t sure) crossed her face, but she recovered quickly. “I care about those people as much as you do,” she said. Michael waited for the real answer he hoped was coming. “But, yes, I have another agenda too. If we can find a way to fight back against the aliens in any capacity, it would make us heroes in the eyes of the world. I can use that leverage to force the president to release Myra.”
Michael had not expected this answer. Oh, he knew she had an agenda, but how can he complain about a mother wanted to help her child. It was still wrong to subvert the government to any degree during such a circumstance, but he couldn’t condemn her either. She turned to leave before he could find a rebuke to her argument.
The next couple of days felt like the couple of days before a mission. He was eager to finally be doing something real. He was also a little bit excited at the prospect of combat, but mostly he was terrified. He was terrified of getting killed, but also of letting down his comrades. Worst of all, he was afraid of making a mistake that got everyone killed. He usually cleaned his guns, just for something to do, but they all had been taken away.
The day they were supposed to meet, he was the first one there. Followed by Jennifer. “How did your meeting go the other day?” Michael asked just to pass the time.
Jennifer looked at him for a moment before answering. “Well I guess you should probably know. I managed to get a hold of an order authorizing Myra’s torture,” she said.
“What?!” Michael yelled. “Who the hell gave that order?”
“The order was signed by my husband,” she said. “But I’m pretty sure General Mac is the one that pushed for it.”
“That’s not true,” Michael said. “I’ve known General Mac my entire life. He’s like a father to me. There is no way he would issue such an order.”
Jennifer looked at him. Michael thought she was going to argue further, but she just remained silent. She turned her attention back to the door.
“General Mac is a good man,” Michael said. “You should trust him more. He is doing the best that he can.” Jennifer remained silent.
Michael was going to continue, but the others arrived. Michael wasn’t pleased to see John and Rogalia arrive together, especially considering this was were Rogalia was staying.
“What did you come up with, if anything?” Michael asked John.
“They should attack just outside of Portland, Oregon,” he said.
It took Michael a couple of seconds to recover from his surprise. “How did you come up with that?” he asked.
“Um. Well. I didn’t really,” John said. “I googled it. It seems several professors were working on the same problem. This one seemed the most likely candidate.”
“Oh,” was all Michael could respond with. He considered asking for more details, but decided he didn’t really care. They had their destination, which is all that mattered. Besides he would have to admit not having confidence in his guess, which he wasn’t eager to do. “When do we leave?”
“Well, there in lies the problem,” Jennifer said. “I’m not sure how we can get on a plane with the tracking devices on our ankles. Taking a day trip to New York was one thing. Flying across the country is another. And we don’t have time for trains or automobiles.”
“I know a pilot,” Michael said. “It might take some convincing, and a few dollars, but he will take us.”
“Good,” Jennifer said. “Now we just need to make contact with the local militia to tell them we are coming and prepare for the attack.”
“I can find that information too,” Michael said. “I an’t going to need any special clearance to find the hillbilly that runs the glorified neighborhood watch in Portland.”
“Try to arrange for a flight tonight, if it’s possible,” Jennifer said. “The sooner we make it out there, the better.” She then turned to John. “So what is your confidence this is the right place?”
“50/50 I’d guess,” he said.
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