"Everyplace is pretty much closed," Alex said. "Maybe we should try the cave." And if they are there, what am I going to do about it? he thought. It's not like anything I can say will have any influence over Isabel. That's already been made most clear. And Nikolas-I'm sure he'd be happy just to squash me, or whatever he calls it, again.
"I don't think closed means much to Nikolas and Isabel," Michael answered.
"Yeah," Liz agreed. "And the two of them obviously like to go out and party. They probably wouldn't head straight to the cave."
Unless they want to go back to their cozy little spot on the sleeping bag, Alex thought.
"Let's try the school," Maria suggested.
"Yeah, when I hear the word party, I think of school," Michael said.
"But don't you think breaking into the school and turning it into your own amusement park might be sort of fun?" she asked.
"Can't hurt to try." Max turned left, and a siren started up behind them.
Alex glanced over his shoulder and saw the spinning blue light of Sheriff Valenti's cruiser. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse.
Max pulled over to the curb and stopped. The cruiser's door shut with a click, and Valenti started toward them. The sound of his boot heels on the pavement made Alex's teeth hurt. Would Valenti remember it was Alex who told him that the alien he was looking for was heading out of town in a green truck? Would he think it was suspicious that Alex was in the same car as Liz, who Valenti already thought knew something about aliens in Roswell?
Too late to worry about it now, he thought. He tried to keep a basically normal expression on his face as Valenti stepped up to Max and asked for his license and registration.
Max handed them over. Valenti took a long look, then handed them back. He glanced from person to person, making eye contact with everyone in the Jeep. Alex couldn't tell if Valenti recognized him or not. His expression didn't change or anything, but he seemed like a pretty cold, controlled guy, so he might remember every detail of his last encounter with Alex.
"Ms. Ortecho." Valenti moved down and stood right next to Liz. "I've been… interested in meeting some of your friends for a long time."
"We're just doing a science project for school together," Liz answered. "It's an astronomy thing."
"We're driving out to the desert so we can look at the stars without interference from any of the town lights," Max added quickly.
Max and Liz were always totally in sync. It was moronic that they weren't together. A total waste. Alex could understand Max wanting to keep Liz safe. But all of them would always be there to handle Valenti or anything else together. Max needed to give up this idea that he had to protect everyone all by himself.
"You're heading the wrong way," Valenti said.
He was right. To get to the desert, they should be heading either north or south. But they'd been driving east. "We were going to my house first," Alex said. "I forgot to bring the graph paper."
"Graph paper," Valenti repeated.
Alex felt little tremors running through Maria. He slid his arm around her. "Uh-huh. It's easier to map out the stars with graph paper."
"Well, as you've been driving all over town, have you noticed anything unusual?" the sheriff asked.
"No, nothing," Max said. "It's been totally quiet."
Valenti's beeper went off. He checked the number. "All right. You can go." He strode back to his cruiser.
"He's looking for Nikolas and Isabel, too," Liz said when Valenti was out of earshot.
"Yeah, but at least he doesn't know that's who he's looking for," Michael said. "And he won't if we find them first."
"But we don't know where they are," Maria protested.
Alex watched Valenti's cruiser speed past them. "I have a feeling Valenti might have just found that out. Let's follow him."
Max and Michael could both see a little better at night than they could during the day, so it wasn't hard for them to keep Valenti in sight without him knowing it. When he pulled into the mall's parking lot, Max drove around to the other side of the mall and parked on the street. They all climbed out of the Jeep and ran across the parking lot.
"We should have thought of the mall," Maria said. "What cooler place could there be to have all to yourself?"
Michael tried one of the side doors. "Locked," he announced.
"We moved a truck with our power. I guess we can move a door," Max said.
Michael shrugged. "Nikolas can certainly do it, so that means we can, too. We just have to figure out how." Michael got quiet, just sort of staring at the door. Max too. He looked like he was in a trance or something.
The door's hinges squealed, and a moment later the door slammed to the ground. I hope Valenti didn't hear that, Alex thought.
"I guess we can assume Nikolas has taken care of the security guards," Liz said softly as they stepped inside.
"Yeah-I've been feeling bursts of power all night. Let's split up so we can find Isabel and Nikolas faster," Max answered. "I'll take one group. Michael, you take the other. I don't want anyone to be without power if they need it."
"Okay, I'll go upstairs with Alex and Maria, you stay downstairs with Liz," Michael agreed. He took off without another word. Alex and Maria fell in behind him.
They climbed up the escalator and started down the walkway. Alex tried to put his feet down gently. Valenti was out there somewhere, listening.
Michael pointed to the food court. It was obvious Nikolas and Isabel had been there. Half the little stands were lit up, and the smells were too strong to have come from food cooked when the mall was still open.
"Over there," Maria whispered. She trotted toward a drugstore with the security gate up. Alex and Michael followed her inside.
Without discussing it, they split up, each taking an aisle. They're not here, Alex thought. It's way too quiet. Unless they figured out that Valenti was in the mall and were hiding.
He noticed a pair of shoes lying at the end of his aisle. No, not shoes. Feet. He ran forward. A sharp acid taste hit the back of his throat when he saw a security guard lying on the floor.
A few seconds later Michael and Maria reached the end of their rows. Michael rushed over and laid his hand on the guard's forehead.
"No, no, no," Maria whispered.
"He's okay," Michael said. "I'm going to let him wake up on his own, though, or we'd have to tie him up or something."
Maria swayed on her feet as she stared at the guard. "Come here. Come sit down a minute," Alex said. He grabbed her by the arm and led her over to the photo booth. He sat her down on the little stool. The last thing they needed was for Maria to faint now.
He backed up to give her some air-and bumped into the photo machine. There was a strip of photos in the slot. Someone forgot their pictures. Alex picked them up and saw Nikolas and Isabel. Nikolas and Isabel practically eating each other's faces off.
Suddenly Alex felt like he needed to sit down, too. He looked at the pictures again and noticed that Nikolas was holding a sign in some of them.
It said, Hi, Alex.
"Let's try Victoria's Secret," Liz whispered. "That seems like an Isabel kind of place." She could practically see Isabel going crazy on a one-girl lingerie shopping spree.
Max nodded. They hurried over to the store. The gate was open, and the door was unlocked. But when they stepped inside, the place was empty.
"I want to check the dressing rooms," Liz said. "Maybe they figured out Valenti's after them and they're hiding." She made her way to the back of the store, the silky fabrics brushing against her as she squeezed between the rows of nightgowns and robes and teddies.