Michael wasn't exactly surprised. He'd only known Cameron for about a week, but she'd immediately made it clear she had zero tolerance for bull. In fact, there was something sexy about her sassiness.

"Why is she even here, anyway?" Isabel complained, not bothering to lower her voice. "Doesn't she have a home?"

Michael knew the answer to that one. Yeah, Cameron had a home in some other state. A home she never wanted to go back to. A home that was so bad, she'd agreed to submit to tests at the compound as long as Valenti promised not to tell her parents where she was.

But that was Cameron's story to tell. Or not.

"Adam said she was in a cell near yours," Maria DeLuca whispered. "Does that mean she's a…" She shot a glance at Michael. It was the first time she'd managed to look at him since she and the others had broken into the compound to rescue him. Michael knew she must feel strange-there was definitely some unfinished business between them. Business Michael wasn't looking forward to finishing. Maria had told him she loved him right before he got captured. Since he'd basically been in prison, he'd gotten away with not saying much of anything in response to the L word. But now he was out, and sooner or later…

Later, Michael thought. Much later. Even for the most sensitive of guys, which he never claimed to be, now was not the time to deal with Maria and her feelings.

"Valenti was having one of the doctors do some experiments on Cameron," he answered. "She has some parapsychological powers. I don't know how or why or even what exactly. But I know for sure that she's not one of us."

"You mean, one of you alien freaks?" Maria asked, her head tilted like a curious dog.

Max snorted, then broke into a chuckle. Maria and Isabel started giggling. Yeah, Michael thought. This feels more like normal.

"Look, why don't we go around the circle and each say what we think we should do about Adam," Liz suggested. "No yelling. No interrupting each other. Everyone gets a turn. Then we make a decision."