|
Rated: PG
Category: X-File, MA. SA.
Spoilers/Timeframe: Early Season 7, pre-Closure.
Feedback: patfiler2016@outlook.com
Archive: Gossamer, any other nice home. As long as you ask.
Author's Note: A special thank you to the quick thinking people
who showed me how Roush was spelled and even pronounced.
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
OFFICE OF ASSISTANT DIRECTOR KERSH
10:00 A.M.
Mulder had suffered considerably on his most recent non-
mainstream case. His search for an extraordinary serial killer
had put him in serious jeopardy, and he had been hospitalized for
four days before the doctors were sure he had suffered no
permanent damage. It was another week before he was back at
work.
"With all due respect Sir, while there seemed to be a schism in
Mulder's mind between the rational and irrational, I'd say he's
recovered quite nicely."
"Then you're sure he's fit to resume his normal duties? Because
if Agent Mulder isn't a hundred per cent, then I don't want him
taking any chances with your lives or those of the public." Yes,
Kersh could be quite strict. Always strict. "Are we clear on
that?"
Mulder was quick to respond. "Yes, Sir. Now if you'll excuse us,
we wouldn't want you thinking we love sitting in this office all
day enjoying your company," he muttered, in his most sarcastic
tone. "C'mon, Scully."
"Well, I see you are back to normal, Agent." Kersh still sat
there, hands folded. He knew his emotionless stare disturbed
Mulder to no end.
Scully stood. "That's enough. Let's go, Mulder. Thank you, Sir."
When they were out of Kersh's earshot, Scully grabbed Mulder's
arm and frowned at him. "Was that really necessary, Mulder?
We're not in a position to get him irritated. You know that, right?"
Mulder grabbed her by the shoulders. "Look, if he's not with us,
he's against us. And I think his loyalties lie very far from us."
Scully rolled her eyes and sighed her annoyance. "Must you always
be so paranoid, Mulder? He's just doing his job, and we have to
do ours!"
Mulder pulled her down the corridor and whispered, "I know that.
You know that. But for who?"
"What are you getting at?" Scully angrily whispered.
"I can't say as of yet. Let's just say I have my suspicions.
Let's get the rest of the day over with, so we can go home tonight
knowing we're going to be doing the same thing all over again
tomorrow. Background checks. Service with a smile. Stale
coffee."
Scully smiled. "Okay, so what are we really doing tomorrow?"
"That's my Scully! We're off to M.I.T." The previously sullen
Mulder was all aglow with boyish enthusiasm. "I got a heads up
from a scientist's analysis of one of those chips. The kind that
were placed in all those women."
"No, Mulder." Scully could see the wheels turning, and while a
part of her dreaded the consequences of leaving without Kersh's
go ahead, part of her was overjoyed that her partner was back to
his own self after all the torture he'd endured under a sadistic
serial killer from his past.Still, there was a part of her that
could not bear the reminder that she had had a malicious device
place into her body, against her will.
MINNESOTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
OFFICE OF PEDRO GARCIA-MELENDEZ, PHD.
NEXT DAY
Professor Garcia-Melendez's office was small, and cluttered with
physics books, charts of the atomic elements, pictures
and instruments. "You've finally come, as I had hoped you would,
Agent Mulder. And this is?"
Scully extended her hand. "Special Agent Dana Scully. I've heard
a lot about you, Sir. This is truly an honor."
"Thank you. Please, sit down. Please excuse the mess. It's been a
busy term, and with my other research going on... well, publish or
perish. However, since someone managed to recover this chip from
its deceased host, a small number of interested parties have been
examining it closely. Don't panic, Dr. Scully. We are not in
league with its manufacturers."
"Dr. Garcia-Melendez, I've told Scully about the latest information
on that chip. Can you give us any more information?"
The professor leaned back in his chair, folding his hands.
"I have explained to you that the chip is made of elements which form
another element we have as yet not been able to name. We have no
idea how someone managed to combine these particular elements.
The mechanism of this device is to alter certain genes in humans.
We've tried experiments with mice, rats, even monkeys, with no
effects. However, we remembered your bout with cancer, and that
of Betsy Hagopian and her friends, so we do know it can switch
certain cancer genes on or off, as well as influencing bodily
systems."
Scully could feel her stomach churning with anxiety as
unpleasant memories of her cancer treatment reared their ugly
head.
"Professor, do you know how this chip activates these genes?"
"That, Agent Scully, is a mystery. Frankly, we're stumped. I know
one thing: Someone engineered it, and someone must have
those answers. At this time, I know of no one in my scientific
circle who would know. I'm sorry."
Scully was crestfallen, and Mulder wasn't willing to give up.
"Do you know of any other *scientific circles* wherein some
key biologists frequent?"
"Frankly, Agent Mulder, I think you know the answer to that.
Does the name Roush sound familiar?"
"Very, Professor. Thanks a lot. Scully, I think we should pay a
visit to our friends at Roush. Thank you for your time,
Professor."
Scully and Mulder rose to leave.
"Be very careful", Garcia-Melendez cautioned them. "I've been
told of several cases of yours in which Roush was involved."
"We will," Mulder assured him. "Scully, I think we need another
company tour." As Mulder followed Scully out of the office, he
feared what lay ahead, and what Scully might endure again.
*No,* he told himself. *They wouldn't try now, with what we
know*. He wasn't sure he believed his own inner pep talk.
***
ROUSH LABORATORIES
18 HOURS LATER
1:14 A.M.
Mulder stopped the rental car in front of the Roush building.
"Well, this is the source of a lot of scientific breakthroughs,
Scully."
He got out of the car and opened Scully's door.
"So, why are we here in the middle of the night, anyway?"
"I doubt they'd roll out the red carpet for us, and I'm just dying
to know what's in there."
"You don't have a search warrant... Mulder." She knew her partner
was not above creative investigations. "All right. But if there's
the slightest hint of trouble... "
"Don't worry, Scully. You're my look-out."
"Your what? Mulder, you're crazy."
"Are you with me or not? Because if you're not, then you can bow
out anytime and get on a plane to Washington. I think you want to
nail them just as much as I do."
"Fifteen minutes, Mulder. Then we're out of here?"
Mulder jimmied the lock on a door at the side of the building. "All
right. Let's see what we can find." He led Scully down a
series of hallways, most of them with locked labs, and the odd
check point for employees. "I think we've found something, Scully."
There was a computer in an office that had not been locked for
some reason. "Let's see what's on file."
"If all the other doors were locked, why is this room open, Mulder?
This could be a trap." Scully stood at the door, scoping out the
hallway. She saw a security guard making his rounds. "Get your
flashlight out, Mulder. I'm canning the lights. The night
watchman's doing his rounds."
"I hear ya. Scully, look at this."
"Microchip 951B6A9. Subjects injected. CODE 59432R7 documented.
There must be thousands of names here," she whispered.
"Mulder, Samantha A., Murphy, James T., Murphy, Alison K, Nakano,
Sarah,... " Scully scrolled down the list. She had to know for
sure. "Scully, Dana K... Me?" She scrolled to the bottom of the
screen.
"Date for administration: December 15, 2007. CODE 671B."
Mulder
didn't quite know what to tell Scully. "I don't know what this
means, but I think... " Mulder inserted a floppy into one of the
computer ports. "Good. I think we're outta here in about a
minute."
Scully scanned the hallway. "Coast is clear. We'd better go out the
same way we came."
With the file copied, Mulder removed the disk and made his way out
along with Scully.
***
DAILY MOTEL,
2:12 A.M.
After they had successfully left Roush without detection, and
Mulder was suspicious of that, as well, they talked in Mulder's
motel room.
"All right, Mulder. You've kept your mouth shut all the way back
here. Now, tell me why my name is on that list, and what they're
planning."
"I have no idea, Scully. But I plan to find out. These codes mean
nothing to you?" He opened his laptop.
"I didn't recognize anything except some of the names, and I want
to know why your sister's name is there, as well as my own."
"Oh, I want to know more than anything, Scully. The date on this
record, it means they have future plans for all these people,
including you and Samantha. 2007? Just how confident are
they?"
Mulder saw the worry in Scully's eyes. "I'm sorry."
"I'm okay, Mulder. It's a bit overwhelming thinking of the
possibilities... but we'll deal with things when the time comes."
"Hopefully before then. Look, I'm going to the internet cafe I
saw when we got here. If I can send it to the guys, maybe they
can decipher the information."
"The Three Stooges," Scully whispered. "Mulder, I think this
requires a more expert opinion. Why not Doctor Garcia-Melendez?"
Mulder typed a note into his laptop. "I doubt it. He's on the
outside, I'm pretty sure of that. No, I think this calls for
some sneaking around."
"And why not?" Scully asked, with strong sarcasm. "We can do
some jail time, and that will keep us safe from the nasty
implants."
"That, I doubt." He closed the laptop. "Look. I'll be gone about
half an hour. They can call me when they've found something.
Order in, and I'll pay."
Before Scully could say "Mulder, wait..." her partner was gone.
She ran to the door to finish her protest.
As Mulder reached for the car door, there was gunfire. He took
cover. Scully ran out to investigate. "Scully, stay put. Lock
the door." He grabbed his gun and peered around the back of
the car. A black van sped out of the parking lot.
"I'm going with you," Scully shouted. "No arguments! Get in
the car, Mulder."
Mulder stood and took the driver's seat. "You're right. I'll need
your help. Apparently, someone is on to us." As they pulled out
of the parking lot, onto the main drive, Mulder wondered just
how far Roush and their cohorts were willing to go to hide the
information he wanted so desperately to have.
HEIDI'S INTERNET CAFE
2:35 A.M.
Scully looked on as Mulder inserted the disk into the port and
clicked send. "So, just what do you expect them to find,
Mulder?"
"Anything and everything, hopefully. Okay 100% uploaded."
"Got it," Byers typed. "Is this an X-File?"
"Careful what you tupe," Mulder replied. "Sorry to get you guys
up at such a late hour."
"Frohike was playing Doom again, anyway. Okay, give us a few
minutes. Langly just popped it into our drive."
As he sat back in the steel framed chair, Mulder glanced at
Scully. "I'm sorry. I know it's late. But chances are, we wouldn't
have made it here if we hadn't left when we did."
"As long as we know what we're doing, which is something
I'm not sure of. I did bring my gun. Take a look. Frohike's
typing something... "
Mulder's jaw dropped when he read the analysis of the disk.
"Nothing, Scully. They looked for encryption, hidden files,
nothing. Nada, niente, rien."
Scully turned her back to look at the parking lot.
"Are you sure?" Mulder typed.
"Blank, Pal. Sorry."
Scully spun around at the sound of Mulder banging the table with
his fist. "Damn!" he shouted. "Nothing!?"
"Mulder, how can that be? I saw you copy the information."
"Oh, I don't know how. It can be, though, Scully. Roush is really
shrewd." He calmed himself enough to type to the Gunmen, "Sorry
for all this. Thanks. Keep looking for other ways to find out.
I'm signing out for the night. Call in the morning."
"What now, Mulder? We can't stay out here forever, hunting the
invisible."
"Why not? We've been doing it for years... Well, we pick up a
pizza, and call it a night. My treat." He retrieved the
seemingly worthless disk, and held the door open for Scully.
"Why were you shot at if you got a whole lot of nothing?" Scully
asked, outside the car. "Maybe there's more than meets the eye."
"Maybe. Maybe I was set up. C'mon. If the Gunmen find anything
new, they can type to me at the motel. You're tired, I'm tired."
***
DAILY MOTEL
MULDER'S ROOM
9:30 A.M.
Neither Mulder nor Scully had slept well that night. It was 4:00
when Scully bade Mulder 'good night', but she was haunted by the
image of her name on the computer screen at Roush. She couldn't
bear the idea of the cancer coming back any time some chip, either
arbitrarily or by some other means, activated and instigated the
whole process again. How many women had the cancer killed? Too
many. Even one was too many, from her perspective. How many
bodily systems did this microchip have possible command of? Her
mind raced through Gray's Anatomy and although she had fallen
asleep eventually, there was no rest with the nightmares that
danced in and out of her brain.
Mulder fared poorly as well. He kept remembering Samantha's
name was on the same list as Scully's, and those of countless
other men, women and children. The codes that made no sense
to Scully and him. What the hell was this technology? Was the
purpose to control an entire population? Who was behind it?
How many agencies? With an hour or so of sleep he certainly
did not feel refreshed. However, he called Scully at 8:30 in the
hopes that she had had a good rest.
As he unlocked the door for Food Services, Scully arrived and
walked in. "Mulder. I guess you had a rough night, by the looks
of it."
"Yeah, I did. Looks like we're in the same boat. I ordered
breakfast anyway, even though I'm not that hungry. My sister's
name, your name, almost everyone's name is in that file. Why?
And remember, we've run into brick walls before. What's the
purpose of the tests, the chips, the illnesses, the deaths? World
domination by some rogue shadow government?" Mulder stood at
the window of his room as if he were addressing Congress, while
Scully took a chair at the small table.
"I'm sorry, Mulder. I know how devastating it must have been seeing
your sister's name and my name there. Mulder, there's an answer
for everything, and you of all people should know we'll find it. You're
determined and intelligent, Mulder, and I'm on your side. Any news
from the Gunmen?"
"Not yet. If it was blank, it was blank. That was a brand new
disk."
"Maybe it was a dud."
Mulder joined her at the table. "What are the odds of that?
Scully, maybe... maybe they knew I was coming. Maybe we
were had." Food Services arrived with breakfast and when they
left, Mulder locked the door. As he poured Scully's coffee, his
cell phone rang. "Mulder."
It was Byers. "Get out the laptop. We think there's something
you should see."
"All right, hold on. It's Byers." As he activated his laptop,
Scully looked hopefully at the monitor. "Okay. Send me what
ya got."
"You see the data?"
"Yeah. Why didn't it turn up before?"
Frohike spoke next. "At normal speed, you can't read anything
on the disk. But slow it down, and that's another story. This is
what we..." There were sounds of a door being broken down,
and then a dial tone.
"Looks like somebody followed the internet highway all the way
to the Gunmen's place, Scully. But, I think we can save the
data here, no matter what they take from the Gunmen."
"Looks like not, Mulder. The screen's blank, and it's gone."
Mulder snapped the cellphone shut. "See, Scully? Another brick
wall!" He was rather loud, but Scully had become used to that.
"Every damn time we get even close to the truth, someone gets
hurt, evidence goes missing!" He was seething with rage, and
kicked the bedframe.
"Hold on, Mulder. Not so fast. Nothing ever disappears without
leaving something behind. Look." She held a paper napkin up for
Mulder to read. He looked at her with the most apologetic look on
his face. "I copied a few of the code numbers I recognized from
last night's view. When I saw them again, I thought I'd better
get it on paper. Besides, we still have this." She held up the disk.
"We appear to throw it into the wastebasket, only it's a blank,
and keep this one, which looks like... dust. I don't know how,
Mulder, but it came out of your laptop in a dozen pieces. But we
do have some code numbers."
"Scully, I've underestimated you."
"Well, I didn't copy in school, but I'm learning now. Looks like
in this job sometimes you just need to break the rules. Like you
did at Roush."
Mulder took a long drink of coffee. "Yeah, Scully. But what good
are a few codes without the disk readable?"
Scully smiled. "You never know, Mulder. Each time we think we're
defeated, we go back home with a little more information. Maybe
some day, it'll all lead straight to the answers we're looking for.
So, what now?"
"Eat breakfast, then we call Kersh and tell him we're heading
home."
Scully looked at the napkin and the codes she had written. "And
what will we report? Mulder, he's going to want something."
"We tell him we had a tip and that we came up with nothing. It may
not be what he WANTS to hear, but it's what I want him to hear. As
for what we have, it's like you said: Each time, a little more."
END
|
