Was it funny, weird, or logical that Alice appeared to have no trouble with the idea of alien incursions?And she’d adapted to the time travel very quickly, too.Of course, being in love with Ty helped.And the whole scientist thing she had going.
“I tried searching for John Phillips first, but he’s been hard to track,” Alice said.“Twice I’ve identified him at a location and then he wasn’t there when I looked again.”
Mel didn’t ask how Alice knew this.She just took the mental leap that she was correct.Once she’d traveled through time?Mental leaps were inevitable.
“We know,” Mel corrected herself, “we suspect since the attack on our compound, that he or they know we know about them.We’ve been wary about getting photographed where we’re not supposed to be.”
“I considered that, so I changed my search criteria.I looked at places he’d been first, then I also searched possible alien incursions, looking for faces that turned up there more than once and in fairly close proximity to Phillips.”
If the men in black knew this?They’d be unhappy with Alice.Since they didn’t seem to know, Mel leaned forward.
“You found something?”
“I think I found someone,” Alice said.
The screen’s image changed, no, they’d been enlarged and enhanced.In the ones where John’s face had been captured, there was a red circle around his face.And next to him, Alice had circled a woman’s face.
Then Alice began to play a series of images.In some it was the woman’s form, the way she stood, or her profile, but there were enough images of her face to support Alice’s “think.”
“I’ve been doing facial recognition searches for her and I think I’ve found her on her own in some places.”
Alice tried not to look hopeful as her gaze met Mel’s.Mel looked at the image.The woman was young and she looked interested and intelligent.Her hair—in the images that had color—was blonde and waved around her face.She couldn’t tell her eye color, but she was cute and she had the air of someone who could handle herself, despite the sweet expression.
“What places?”Mel asked.
“Well, Roswell, for one,” Alice said.“Even I’ve heard of that one,” she added with a grin.
Mel chuckled.“Houston, I think we have a way forward.”
“Houston?Is that a new team member?”
Mel opened her mouth to explain, but closed it again.“I’ll explain later.Let’s get the guys in here.
Mel made the call, then leaned back.Jack would be disappointed.He wanted to send Con into the future, but what was the point when they didn’t know when or who or where?
It seemed like all their efforts began in the past.It was both ironic and annoying.Again.
John entered Stella’s office, his gaze going first to the empty desk, then to where she stood looking out the window.
What did she think when she stood there?he wondered, looking at the blandness of the world outside that she’d somehow helped to make happen.He quelled the next thought: no one should meddle with time.Didn’t they teach their agents not to think about time?Didn’t they nudge their ethical concerns to the back burner so they wouldn’t go rogue?
He might be weary of all this, but he wasn’t ready to die yet.
“It’s begun,” he said, pleased at the flatness of his voice.No judgement there, for or against.It just was.
“What’s her name?”
John’s brows arched.“Are you sure…”
Stella turned.“If I’m sending someone to,” she stopped.“I should know her name at least.”
“Rita Graven.Her name is Rita Graven.”He paused but the name didn’t seem to to mean anything to her.Rita wasn’t a bad kid, but she saw too much, thought too much and came with baggage she hadn’t caused, but would have to pay for.
Rita was, in fact, a lot like Stella used to be.He wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to that Stella.
“Rita.”Stella almost smiled.“There was an actress named Rita back…when.”She turned abruptly back to the window.“Her family?”
“She doesn’t have family.”
