February, 3 - FBI Headquarters - 11:21 a.m.
When Assistant Director Walter Skinner returned to his office after a trip to the men's room, he found an unwelcome stench and its owner claiming the spot behind his desk.
"What the hell do you want?" Skinner growled.
"I've been looking over the report filed by Agent Scully," said the man through a cloud of cigarette smoke. "She's made some pretty outrageous claims here."
Skinner resisted the urge to snatch the file folder away from the Smoking Man and drop-kick his ass out of the office. The bastard was unfortunately his superior and although he hated him with a passion, the A.D. was forced to show him a modicum of respect
"Why should that interest you?" he responded.
"It should interest you as well, that is if you value Agent Scully's life."
"What do you mean by that?"
"There are individuals in high places who would not take kindly to having their pet projects scrutinized or made public."
"Then you're saying that there's some truth to her report?"
"I'm saying that you should do all that you can to dissuade her from investigating the matter further. It would be in her best interest. Trust me."
Agent Scully had high hopes when her boss summoned her to his office. But upon entering, she grimaced at the lingering odor of cigarette smoke failing to be completely camouflaged by a room deodorizer. She knew that Skinner didn't smoke and she silently guessed who his last visitor had been.
"You wanted to see me sir?"
"Have a seat, Agent Scully." He waited a moment as she sat in a chair across from him, and fingered the opened file folder that lay in front of him on his desk. "I've gone over your report and I find the claims made within to be highly suspect."
"But sir --"
He put a hand up to silence her. "I'm not finished. This Dr. Mulder stands a good chance of facing trespassing and burglary charges. I want you to make him aware of that."
"Yes, sir. But what he's uncovered --"
"Deserves to be investigated thoroughly. And it will be."
Scully relaxed at those words and nearly smiled in relief. "Thank you, sir. Where do we begin?"
"I don't want you involved with the investigation. You're too close to it. I'm placing Agent Krychek in charge for now."
"Agent Krychek? But --"
"Do you have a problem with my decision, Agent Scully?"
Hell yes, she had a problem with it, but she couldn't let him know that. Actually, she was almost certain that he already knew. Why else would he ask? Then she thought of the telltale smoke in the air and realized that her supervisor had been gotten to. With Krychek heading up the investigation, she knew that there would be no investigation.
"No, sir. I don't have a problem. I think Agent Krychek is an excellent choice."
"That's all for now, Agent Scully. I'll keep you apprised of the progress made."
"Thank you, sir."
As she stood to leave, the A.D. left her with a parting line. "And, Agent Scully, I'm very sorry about your sister."
She looked at him, seeing the sternness leave his features to be replaced with soft eyes that spoke of deep regret. For just a moment, she was able to believe in him. She nodded her acceptance of his regards, then turned away and exited the room.
Scully returned to her office, immediately picked up the phone and placed a call. "Hi, Libby," she spoke into the receiver, "this is Dana Scully. I'd like to make an appointment to see Dr. Mulder."
Libby cheerfully asked her to hold, then moments later a male voice came on the line. "Hi, Dana, how are you?"
"Oh, Dr. Mulder. I was just trying to make an appointment with Libby to see you."
"Yeah, she mentioned that. I told her if you called to put you on through."
"Are you with a patient right now?"
"Yes, but he's not exactly the most talkative of people. I think I can afford to take a little break from our staring contest. You don't mind, do you, Barry?"
His patient was a heavily-tattooed, nineteen-year-old, dressed in torn black clothing with rings and chains inserted and dangling from various body parts. When addressed by his doctor, his only reply was a middle finger held high and a scowl.
"No, he doesn't mind at all," Mulder informed Scully. "So how have you been?"
"I need to talk to you. But not over the phone. When can I come in?"
"Are you free this afternoon? My four o'clock Fear of Commitment group canceled on me again."
"I have nothing else pressing at the moment."
"Good. Look, I'm tired of being cooped up in the office, despite having such gracious company." Mulder threw a casual glance to Barry and was rewarded with another finger salute. "Why don't we meet somewhere? You pick the place."
National Museum of Art - 4:15 p.m.
The place Scully picked didn't serve food, so at least she didn't have to worry about trying to get her thoughts across with her mouth full. When she arrived in the lobby of the museum, she wasn't surprised to find her doctor already there and waiting for her. Actually, he had become so enthralled in a series of African American photographs that he wasn't even aware of her approach.
"They're beautiful," she commented softly, suddenly standing at his side and catching him by surprise.
"Oh, hi. Yeah, I like them too. Especially the one with the little girls jumping rope."
"Double Dutch," said Scully. "When I was that age, I could barely jump one rope at a time, much less two."
"Dana, are you saying that white girls can't jump?" Mulder laughed.
Scully rolled her eyes at his joke though she couldn't completely hold back the faintest of smiles.
Mulder turned away from the photographs and placed his full attention on Scully. "So I'm your doctor again, huh?"
"I need someone to talk to and I don't want to have to start all over with someone else."
"I don't want you to either. So tell me, what's wrong?"
"My boss turned the investigation over to Krychek."
Mulder understood the implications immediately but was at a lost for words at the moment. When other patrons approached to view the display they stood in front of, Mulder gently guided his companion out of the way and they began a slow walk down the corridor.
"When he called me to his office to tell me," Scully continued, "I smelled cigarette smoke in the air, but the A.D. doesn't smoke. They're going to pretend to investigate, but they'll make sure that they won't ever find anything. Skinner even wanted me to remind you that you might be facing charges of trespassing and burglary. I hate letting them get away with this, but I'm not sure what to do now. I don't know where else to turn."
"You remember I told you that I had a lot more documents at home? Well, I have some friends... acquaintances really. Actually, one of them is an ex-patient of mine. I won't say which one, but at any rate, they publish an underground newsletter called The Lone Gunman. It has to do with government conspiracies and cover-ups. They act as kind of a watchdog, tracking how the government supposedly really works. Now some of their theories are really out there and smacks of paranoia to the tenth power. But these guys are highly educated and well-connected. I gave them the rest of the documents to check out. I gave them a call before coming over. I think they may have something for us."
It was a fairly small house in a lower, middle-class neighborhood that Mulder drove Scully to. It was furnished in wall-to-wall high-tech electronics and a few chairs. The three men that Mulder introduced her to looked like an absurdly mixed-match trio. The one she considered as normal-looking, with a neat beard and mustache and dressed in a suit and tie was named Byers. His counterparts were Langly, a long-haired hippie of the nineties; and Frohike, a short, older man with bushy brows and lecherous eyes. Scully shook hands with each of the men and offered a pleasant smile in greeting. Frohike held on to her hand and led her to a chair.
"I see no rings on your finger, Miss Scully. Would that indicate that you are quite available for dating and such?" he inquired as she sat.
"Down, Frohike," Mulder warned. "I saw her first. And you know how I feel about sharing."
Frohike reluctantly backed off but not without a final word in the redhead's ear. "If you get tired of those boyish good looks and charm, come check out a real man."
Scully could only nod as she bit gently on her bottom lip to keep from spitting out a laugh. She had a pretty good idea now which one had been a patient of Dr. Mulder's.
"So what did you guys find out?" asked Mulder standing near the door while everyone else sat.
Byers, acting as the collective mouthpiece for the group, started the report by pressing a button on his computer. "The first thing we did was run the list of names through the IRS, Social Security, the National Census and Missing Persons data bases. We found that out of the forty-seven names on the list, twenty-nine of them are confirmed deceased -- through a variety of causes -- and the rest are considered missing, possibly deceased. Now, we've broken it down a bit more and found that all the ones that are still missing are females who were between the ages of twelve and fifteen at the time of their disappearance all between eighteen and twenty years ago."
"It looked like there was some kind of testing going on," said Mulder. "What did you find out about that?"
"The information on the files was sketchy at best, but a few things did stick out. The mention of Smallpox vaccinations kept cropping up and the introduction of an unknown chemical compound. Some of the results of that compound being injected into the bloodstream was listed on several of the documents. But no chemical substance that I know of could have caused those type of results. I've contacted the Thinker about it and he was at a loss as well."
"The Thinker?" Scully asked.
"If anyone knows about it outside the government," Langly spoke up, "the Thinker would know."
"So what you've got here," said Frohike, "is the government doing some secret testing with an alien compound."
"Alien as in little green men?" asked Scully.
"Gray," Mulder answered. "Little gray men."
"Well, at least alien as in previously unknown to man," said Byers.
"Did you find any common denominator why those particular people were used for testing?" asked Scully.
Byers smiled, pleased that she had asked and proud that he had an answer for her. "Now this is where it gets weird," he began, typing on the computer and bringing up a pie chart. "Forget about male, female, race or age. The ultimate connection is the government itself."
Mulder and Scully drew closer to the computer screen to study the chart as Byers pointed out the significant areas.
"Ninety-five percent of the men and women used as guinea pigs were either in a branch of the military or otherwise employed by the government. A full one-hundred percent of the children were offsprings of military or government employees."
"My father was in the navy," Scully murmured, nearly in a trance.
"Your father was.... I didn't see a Scully listed," said Byers softly.
"It was my sister who was...." Her voice trailed off, unable to complete the thought.
Mulder placed a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Would you like to leave now?" he spoke softly in her ear.
"No. No, I'm all right." She quickly snapped out of her moment of depression and looked to Mulder. "Why use all military and government employees? I don't understand."
"Healthier specimens," Frohike blurted out. "Everyone in the military has to pass a physical, then they have to train to get in top shape and stay that way. And the medical records for government employees is easier to keep up with than those for the public at large. In other words, convenience."
"By the way," Byers grabbed everyone's attention, "We had some of the locals check out the location where you said the files came from. Ever since the break-in, there's been a lot of activity in and out. Military troops have been placed on guard, so we know it's a government operation, but there's no telling who's actually pulling the strings."
"So, we've reached a dead end," said Mulder.
"Only until we figure out how to raid their computer system," Langly spoke. "All the files you had were pretty old. They've probably updated everything digitally by now."
"But you don't even know who they are," Scully pointed out. "How could you possibly hope to get into their computer system?"
Langly snorted. "Hey, I never said it'd be easy."
Byers shook his head and added, "However, the odds are not too great."
"Time frame?" asked Mulder.
The three men each exchanged a querying look, then Frohike chose to answer the question. "Sometime between now and Miss Scully's and my wedding night."
Scully could only look at him as though he'd lost his mind. Mulder took her by the hand and led her protectively towards the door. "Thanks guys. We appreciate all you've done."
"See ya, Doc," Byers and Langly spoke simultaneously.
"Stop by anytime, Doc," said Frohike. "And bring your pretty friend with you," he added with a lewd wink.
"Your friends are really quite interesting," said Scully as the car pulled away from the Gunmen's lair. "I'm sure I couldn't have possibly gotten that much information that quickly through normal channels at the bureau."
"Yeah, it definitely helps to know a good computer geek or two. So at least now you know a lot more than you did. But how can you put it to good use?"
"I'm not sure. I guess I'll at least have to wait for Krychek's findings. If he comes back empty-handed, then I'll know another cover-up has been issued, and I'll know that my supervisor is a part of it."
"And that old Smoky is right at the top of the totem pole."
Scully sighed deeply as she glared sullenly out the window at passing traffic. "It's all so hard to believe that something so sinister could be going on for so long, all round us, and our own government is at fault. And my hands are tied, and there's not a damn thing I can do."
"Hey, you're not in this alone, okay? We'll think of something. We'll work it out together."
Scully nodded as a warm hand patted hers reassuringly. Suddenly a thought burst into her mind and she exclaimed anxiously, "Your patients!" "What? What about them?"
"Your Close Encounters group. They're not dead and they haven't disappeared off the face of the earth."
"No, they haven't."
"They could be the key. Have you told them about the files?"
"No. I uh... I'm not quite sure if I should."
"But you have to tell them. Maybe once they realize that they're not being taken by ET's evil brother, they'll remember who's really responsible for their abductions. Maybe they've seen faces, heard names...."
"I understand what you're saying, but... it's not going to be that easy. These people...." Mulder suppressed a nervous laugh and stole quick glances at his passenger as he drove. "I think I may have done too good a job convincing them that they weren't crazy for believing what they did. I think they'd feel a lot less sure of themselves if they knew that Uncle Sam is the true cause of all their problems."
"But you can't let them go on believing in a lie."
"No. I know that. But I'm going to have to approach this very slowly and possibly one at a time. I can't rush this. I'm afraid they may lose their faith and trust in me, and there's absolutely no guarantee that they'll be able to shed any more light on the subject. So... you know... don't expect too much."
Scully could see the worry and even fear in his eyes. This time she attempted to give comfort. She gently patted his arm and spoke softly. "I only expect you to do the best you can."
Mulder allowed the tension to leave his body, then he managed a mild grin. "So, do you want to go somewhere and --"
"No."
"No, what?"
"Oh, well, I thought you were going to ask me if I wanted to go someplace to eat."
"No. I wasn't going to ask that at all."
"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions then. What were you going to ask me?"
"I wanted to know if you wanted to go somewhere and just watch me eat. You see, I'm working on a new technique for chewing with my mouth wide open. I hear it's all the latest rage."
"Oh, well in that case," Scully laughed, "definitely, no."
Mulder chuckled a bit too, then once the laughter subsided, he took on a serious tone. "I think you may have been right," he said while keeping his eyes on the road.
"Right about what?"
"About my wanting to feed you all the time. Having meals with my patients isn't really a standard practice of mine. Occasionally when I'm crunched for time or I'm helping to celebrate someone's birthday or something, I might have a quick lunch or a cup of coffee with them. But, you and I... well our first lunch together didn't count because you weren't my patient at the time, and our last dinner doesn't count either because you had already dismissed me as your doctor. But that still leaves the meals in-between... and uh... there's a good chance that I was unconsciously trying to make sure that you got enough to eat." He shrugged his shoulders as he glanced over at her. "I don't know. Maybe it's just the hair."
"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Scully asked.
Mulder flashed her a shy smile. "No, not at all. I enjoy your company. Listen... I know you're not Amanda. I'm not still pining over her and I'm not getting the two of you confused. It's okay. Really. So, you see if that was the reason why you don't want to go grab some dinner with me --"
"That isn't the reason," Scully cut him off. "It's my mother's birthday and we've got tickets to Phantom of the Opera."
"Oh. That's a great show. I'm sure you and your mom will have a wonderful evening."
Mulder dropped Scully off at the museum where they had met so she could pick up her car. She would contact him later when Krychek reported back in, and depending on his findings, they would decide what further steps would be taken. Again, he forced back a strong desire to give her a tender, farewell-for-now kiss. He was seriously beginning to think that it was much more than just the hair. He probably shouldn't have agreed to remain her doctor considering the feelings that she stirred in him since they first met, but he desperately wanted to be the one to help her with whatever problems she was facing.
After parting from Scully, Mulder used his cellular to call his sister, hoping to score an invitation for a home-cooked meal. She gladly invited him over for dinner but it would have to be on Sunday night because at the moment she was getting dressed to go out for the evening. He knew not to sound too disappointed because she'd put him on hold in an instant and get on the line with one of her unattached girlfriends to arrange a date for him. He loved his sister dearly, but he had vowed to never let her fix him up with a blind date again as long as he lived.
With his looks and charisma, he had no problem at all meeting and enticing beautiful women. But sometimes it just got too tedious to bother because he was looking for one specific woman to fall in love with, not merely to fall in bed with. Since he'd met Dana Scully, the thought of dating other women had taken a back seat. He wasn't sure if anything would ever happen between them, but he wanted to leave himself available, just in case.
He ended up stopping off for Chinese takeout and a couple of videos on his way home. With his schedule, it wasn't very often he had a chance to spend a quiet evening at home relaxing. He walked into the kitchen from the garage and flipped on the light as he pushed the door close with his hip. He immediately froze, sensing something was wrong. He smelled cigarette smoke.
Copyright © 2019 · All Rights Reserved · Fran Glass