1394 lines
76 KiB
Plaintext
1394 lines
76 KiB
Plaintext
Hi all! It's been a whiile since I've posted here so I hope you enjoy
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this one; it was written at warp speed (to get it in before season
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two begins) and late at night, so bear with me.
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WARNING: NO graphic sex inside! ;-) It would be good to have
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seen the episode "Ice"- but since that ep is one of the top five, I doubt
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it will be much of a problem.
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Comments can be sent to madge@uclink.berkeley.edu and are
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welcome. All the usual disclaimers apply.
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FROSTBITE- PART I, by Peggy Li September 16, 1994
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[FBI HEADQUARTERS, Washington, D.C.]
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Assistant Director Walter Skinner was not a man to sweat
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under pressure. Yet for the second time that morning he reached
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for his handkerchief and wiped his brow, giving himself an excuse
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to break eye contact from the man who sat smoking in the chair
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opposite him. The man waited patiently for Skinner to continue.
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"She is not an appropriate choice, sir." Skinner tried hard
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to keep the conviction he felt in his mind steady in his voice. "I
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don't see how she could be a viable option to the expedition; she's
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too great a risk." Skinner watched as the implacable smoking man
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blew another leisurely puff of smoke from between his lips, and
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tried again. "She knows too much, sir."
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"*That* is why I want her up there," the smoking man
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replied calmly, the cigarette smoke curling out of his nostrils and
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the slight smile cut into his face. Skinner felt his insides twist as he
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imagined a demonic laugh rising out of the sinister figure before
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him, and wondered, briefly, just how much one had to pay for
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selling one's soul to the devil.
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Putting on his best poker face, Skinner reached for the
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phone and felt very, very, sorry for what he was about to do.
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[The following day. 12:45PM Eastern Standard Time]
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Special Agent Fox Mulder pretended to study the map
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spread out upon his desk. He traced his pencil idly over the
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surface, randomly connecting the dots that marked the locations of
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the recent rash of shopping cart thefts in Birmingham, Alabama.
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The rest of the cubby-holed agents had plenty to do while he was
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stuck with the most mundane and tedious of cases in white collar
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crimes; a peculiar side-effect of his recent dismissal from the X-
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files. Sighing, Mulder opted to put his John Hancock on the case
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he had before him and pass it off on some other shmo, most likely
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the fresh-from-the-academy Cleaning, who, with a name like that,
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was the only person in the huge office who was one rung below
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Mulder on the popularity ladder.
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Mulder slapped the file into the "Out" box and reached for
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the next file in the "In" box while he glanced at the clock for the
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fifth time in so many minutes. *I bet this is what half the class is
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doing right now,* he thought wryly, then imagined Scully pacing in
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front of a blackboard in full lecture mode, eyes flashing and lips
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curling to form those perfectly articulated sentences, with thirty or
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so testosterone-drenched trainees in the audience. "Maybe not," he
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corrected out loud with a small laugh, drawing glances from his
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neighboring agents, and ignoring them. Mulder heaved another
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sigh, opened the folder but did not read, and allowed himself the
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luxury of thinking about Dana Scully.
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He had been thinking of her quite often lately; she had been
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assigned to the Academy, back to her old job of teaching, which he
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knew she would enjoy. It was still an ego boost- and a comfort-
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though, to hear her voice and to hear her talk about how she missed
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working on the X-files and working with him. She never actually
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said so in so many words, of course, but Mulder knew. As time of
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their separation had increased from days to weeks, however, the
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mutual bitching sessions about their predicament had become less
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frequent as the higher-ups gave them more to do. Mulder glanced
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at the clock again like an impatient trainee; Scully's class would be
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out in exactly four minutes and her call would be in twenty.
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[1:20PM]
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The light on Mulder's phone blinked, indicating an outside
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connection; Scully was on time as usual.
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"Mulder here. Hey Scully, class is no longer in session?"
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"Mulder..." Scully hesitated and Mulder stopped nibbling
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on sunflower seeds. He stopped reclining and leaned forward in his
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chair.
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"Scully, what's wrong?" Mulder could hear the background
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commotion of a large group of people and surmised that Scully
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wasn't in her office. "Where are you?"
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"Nothing's wrong, I hope. I'm in the Commons at the
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Academy because I've been called into a meeting with the CIC."
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"You sound nervous."
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"Yeah," Scully replied, "I feel like I've been caught
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smoking in the little girls' room or something and have been called
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into the principal's office for a reprimand."
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"I hope it goes okay." Scully was silent at the other end of
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the line. "What?" he asked.
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"I was just waiting for the witty commentary on my high
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school career, Mulder. Your desk job hasn't made you go soft on
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me, has it?"
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Mulder looked around the monochromatic office, at the
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rows and rows of hunched-over agents wearing identical
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expressions on their faces, and replied wearily, "You know, Scully,
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I think it has."
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Scully's voice became hushed and concerned, "Mulder,
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we've got to stay on our guard. You know we will..."
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"I know, Scully," Mulder replied quickly. "I haven't given
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up. I can't-" Mulder knew he was begining to sound like a broken
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record and decided to switch gears. "Scully, these talks with you
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are what keep me grounded, keep me down to earth." He smiled at
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the irony and let his voice carry traces of his amusement, "For once
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your sane and reasoning voice is a welcome addition to my day."
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"I'm your 'one sane voice in this crazy world'? I think
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you've got that backwards, Mulder. You like to hear from me
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because for once I agree with you and now you aren't the only one
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who sounds completely nuts." Scully was teasing him but Mulder
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was reminded of the true dire nature of their situation and was
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instantly sombered.
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"Oh wait, hold on."
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"Scully?"
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"I've gotta go. I'll let you know what's up."
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Mulder hung up the phone, hoping that Scully's meeting
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with the commander-in-chief would be nothing but routine. Deep
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in thought, he rubbed his lower lip and his eyes drifted once again
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to the clock on his desk.
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[4:22PM]
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Mulder had just returned from the archives, his tie dripping
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over the stack of papers he was trying to negotiate onto his small
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desk when his phone buzzed for attention. Hastily sliding papers
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across his chair Mulder reached for the phone.
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"Mulder."
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"Hi Mulder."
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Mulder took off his glasses and found an empty corner of
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desk to sit on. "Did they give you a detention, Scully, or are you
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going to be valedictorian this year?"
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Scully's reply sounded stiff, forced. "Something's
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happening that I had to tell you about."
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"What is it?"
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"I've been reassigned, Mulder, I- I can't talk about it right
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now." Mulder distinctly heard the sound of flesh being slapped
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over the receiver and someone talking to Scully in gruff tones. He
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frowned in confusion, then Scully was back on the line. "Mulder, I
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just want you to go to my apartment and lock up for me, would
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you?"
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"Scully, wait, what's going on...?"
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"Just do this for me Mulder. I don't have time to explain. I
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think I left a window open."
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Mulder grit his teeth in concern and said warningly,
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"Dana..."
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"A window, Mulder. It's open. I've got to go, bye."
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The line clicked dead and Mulder just gaped at the receiver.
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Agent Bledsoe leaned over from his cubicle and cracked, "What's
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the matter, Mulder, you look like you've just seen a ghost!"
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Mulder gathered his things and left in the wake of the laughter that
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spread across his corner of the room, unfazed. All he could
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concentrate on was the fact that Scully was being reassigned and
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didn't sound the least bit pleased about it. His mind raced over the
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possibilities. They had been working on a few side-projects
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together, Mulder doing most of the legwork while Scully made
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discrete inquiries from her end. They had decided early on that
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what they needed to do to get the X-files reopened and expose
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those who were supressing the truth was to find definitive proof
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that extraterrestrials existed before they could claim a government
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cover-up. In esssence, nothing much had changed; they were still
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investigating X-file cases, but there would be no slide shows for a
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while.
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Shrugging into his trenchcoat, Mulder realized that up until
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this moment, he had taken it for granted that eyes would be soley
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upon him and he realized angrily that he may have made a grave
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error. He had to find out what was happening to Scully and hoped
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that he would be in time to intervene, if necessary. And if he could.
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[5:33PM]
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Mulder flipped on the lights of the bath and scanned the
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room warily, but nothing seemed out of place. On the contrary, the
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air was stale and musty and Mulder had been unable to find the
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open window that Scully had been so concerned about. Ever since
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her move to Quantico, Scully only visited her D.C. apartment on
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weekends, but still considered it her home. Mulder had discreetly
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peeked into her closet only to find her suitcases and other traveling
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gear still intact.
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He had been to Scully's apartment many times before, but
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never without her present. He felt uncomfortable, awkward.
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Fingering the couch where he often sat for one of their late-night
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debates, he found himself bending his legs to sit. He had a hunch
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that if she was going to contact him again, it would be here at her
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apartment; she had made a point of drawing him there specifically.
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So Mulder sat and listened to the silence of Scully's apartment, and
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wondered, worried, where she could be.
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[DOOLITTLE AIRFIELD, Nome, Alaska 2:57 PM Pacific
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Standard Time]
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Russ Jarvis was annoyed. They had been ferrying
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equipment, people, and supplies through the airfield for over two
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weeks now, and the last shipment had gone out three days ago. He
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had been looking forward to returning to his regular schedule when
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they informed him that there was going to be a last-minute
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passenger he had to fly up to the cape that day. He had protested
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on the grounds that the clear weather they had been experiencing
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was bound to turn bad, but how could he refuse when they insisted?
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Russ pulled out his checklist and started at the top. He
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wanted his plane in peak condition to make this last hop. While
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Alaska was officially part of the good ol' US of A, Jarvis had
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learned from experience that there was only one law that governed
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this far North; the law of Nature, and it just wouldn't do to be
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caught by a lady with his britches down.
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[6:00PM EST]
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Mulder picked up a book lying on the coffee table and
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opened it to read. He felt almost voyeuristic, violating Dana's
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things, but there was an overriding curiosity that compelled him to
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nose around in her belongings.
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They had become so much less formal after their official
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partnership was dissolved. Mulder had secretly wondered about
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what would happen to their relationship outside the X-files and was
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pleased to discover that they were as good at being friends as they
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were as being partners. But they had always been friends, hadn't
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they? *You are getting soft, Mulder* he thought with
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bemusement. He scrunched down into the couch and began to
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read, clinging to the faith that Scully would somehow contact him,
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even if it meant violating regulations. Two images instantly flashed
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into Mulder's mind: one was of Scully the day they had met and he
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had accused her of spying on him. He would never forget the look
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of disbelief and cold, analytical reasoning she had appraised him
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with that first day, for he expected to never see it again.
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The other image was of Scully getting into her car to leave
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for Quantico, knowing full well why the X-files were being
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dissolved, and the look of anger and distrust and fiery independence
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that she had embodied that day. *That* was the Scully who would
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bend the rules to contact him and Mulder hoped it would be soon.
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He glanced at the clock on Scully's wall and conceeded to himself
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that Scully wasn't the only one to have changed over the last year.
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The lone Fox was no longer quite so alone.
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[ICY CAPE, Alaska 5:50PM PST]
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Russ returned to his single-engine airplane, happy to be
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leaving the godforsaken place. He had left the engines running so
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they wouldn't freeze in the sub-zero weather and also so he could
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make a quick gettaway. He was now two days behind his usual
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Nome-to-Anchorage supply route, but when the Government said
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jump, Russ had asked, "How high?" He squinted across the frigid
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airfield, if one could call it that, and tried to make out the lone
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figure of the passenger he had just dropped off. The white snow
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parka blended in very well, even when the wind wasn't blowing
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snow in every direction, but on this clear day he could just make
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out the dark color of snow boots and the coppery smear of red hair
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contrasted against the ice.
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He got into his plane and felt truly sorry for anyone who
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had to be stuck on the icefloe. His passenger had said very little on
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their flight up, perhaps already knowing that he wouldn't have been
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able to answer any questions anyway.
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He taxied the plane down the track that had been marked
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with sputtering pink flares and thanked God that the reported four-
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day window of clear weather had held as promised. It would be
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clear sailing once he was off the ground.
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Russ brought his little plane around in a lazy circle, his eyes
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just picking out the solitary blob of a human being moving off
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towards the compound situated about a hundred meters to the east.
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He could imagine the young woman, lost in her parka and shivering
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in the Arctic cold, and wondered who in their right mind would
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send anyone to this place. "All in the name of science," he
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muttered to himself, when a light suddenly flashed on his control
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panel. Russ reluctantly turned his eyes from the lone figure, which
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was rapidly becoming just a pinprick against the snow, and flew
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steady on his course back to Nome.
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[8:55PM EST]
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Mulder woke with a jerk, his body feeling sticky and his
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clothes wrinkled. The book he had been reading had slipped from
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his hands and one side of his face held the imprint of the couch
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fabric he had been sleeping on. He glanced at his watch and ran a
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hand across his face and hair. Still no sign of Scully.
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Mulder quickly made up his mind to call Quantico and find
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out what they could tell him. Fishing around in his pockets, he
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realized he had left his cellular phone in his car. "Damn," he
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muttered, then spotted a phone in the kitchen just beyond. Mulder
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reached for the reciever when he noticed the answering machine
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sitting on the kitchen counter. A strange feeling overcame him and
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he pushed the "messages" button. Dana's voice came clearly
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through.
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"You have reached Dana Scully. I'm not able to come to
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the phone right now, so please leave a message." The answering
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machine beeped and Mulder felt a selfish urge to hear her voice and
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play the message once again. His finger poised over the button
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when suddenly, it all clicked into place. Mulder saw that this
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machine had no messages; but Scully also had a private machine.
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He moved into the little hallway and found the second answering
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machine on the sideboard. The red messages light was flashing,
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beckoning him to press it; Mulder pressed it.
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It whirred and clicked and finally the message played.
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"Mulder, when you get this message I will be on my way to my new
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assignment." Scully sounded breathless, edgy. "They haven't
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given me any information; no destination, no contacts, nothing.
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They have given me orders to maintain communications silence,
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which I guess I've just breeched." There was a slight pause in the
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message, then Scully continued. "I don't know how long it will be
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before I can contact you again, or when I'll know more. Don't
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worry about me, ok?" Mulder clenched his fists, "Take care." The
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machine clicked and hummed to a standstill. Mulder was puzzled
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until the machine's mechanical voice intoned, "Four-oh-five, PM."
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Hitting the machine's erase button, Mulder headed for the door.
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He now had all the pieces and he wanted to go home to the droning
|
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of his TV set to figure out how they fit together.
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Scully's conversation with him at the office had come
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*after* the recorded message; Mulder felt sure that she had
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somehow conveyed to him the destination of her new assignment
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within those few moments. He would check the phone records at
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the Bureau in the morning. Until then, he decided that Scully
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would be alright; she had just wanted to let him know where she
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would be and he felt confident that if she were to get in trouble, she
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would find a way to reach him again. Until then, all he could do
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was wait. And perhaps do a little poking around on his own.
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* * *
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[ICY CAPE 6:00PM]
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Dana Scully looked up into the sky and watched her only
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means of escape fly south across the white horizon. She stifled the
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pointless urge to shout at the top of her lungs to call the small
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airplane back and had to face facts. She was stranded in Alaska.
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They had gone to great pains to get her there, too; in Virginia she
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was told practically nothing until she was loaded on a plane to
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Seattle. They hadn<64>t even given her any time to pack or to contact
|
||
her friends at the Academy- somehow Scully had managed to make
|
||
a call beforehand on her private line on the pretext of checking her
|
||
messages, and left a message for Mulder about her reassignment.
|
||
She knew she was being watched at every turn and couldn<64>t risk
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||
talking to Mulder directly at that point, but felt it vital that he know
|
||
what was happening to her. Instead of landing in Seattle, the plane
|
||
was diverted and she got word that her true destination was Alaska.
|
||
After she had protested loudly, she was told that the secrecy was
|
||
necessary because it was a highly sensitive mission and that word
|
||
came down from the top of the brass that she was to be a part of it-
|
||
quite an honor. She was told to make contact with those who
|
||
would become worried by her extended absence, and with someone
|
||
watching over her shoulder, was allowed to make phone calls. The
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||
first call went to her mother...the second call went to Fox Mulder.
|
||
Dana picked up the supplies she had been provided with at
|
||
Nome and began the march towards the corrugated iron outpost
|
||
that looked like a black beetle entrenched in the snow, low and
|
||
hugging the ground, her way marked by a line of pink flares. Even
|
||
in the cold, the exertion was making her sweat under her parka. As
|
||
she trudged closer and closer to the nearest building, she also began
|
||
to sweat from fear.
|
||
Just being there made her frightened; her last experience at
|
||
the Icy Cape had been horrific and she never thought she<68>d find
|
||
herself there again. She stopped in front of one of the doors and
|
||
hesitated. Her official assignment was to be there as some sort of
|
||
<EFBFBD>scientific observer<65>- apparently the FBI wanted to know firsthand
|
||
just what the Government Advance Research Project was doing
|
||
back in the Arctic. Scully had been assured that this AICP team
|
||
was not drilling into the ice as deeply as the previous team; just
|
||
what they *were* doing and how much they knew, she wasn<73>t told.
|
||
Details of her assignment and their project were to be provided
|
||
upon her arrival, but it was obvious to Scully that her scientific
|
||
background and first-hand experience with the Arctic Ice Core
|
||
Project incident made her ideal for the job.
|
||
Scully didn<64>t care how qualified she was for this. She had
|
||
the growing suspicion that they hadn<64>t told her the whole truth
|
||
behind what this new project was all about. There was talk about
|
||
medical breakthroughs and the like but Scully couldn<64>t shake the
|
||
feeling that something more was in the works. Her feet beginning
|
||
to go numb, she realized she couldn<64>t stand there stalling any
|
||
longer. She reached for the doorknob when it suddenly turned on
|
||
its own and rough hands grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked
|
||
her inside. Scully yelped in surprise and jumped away the instant
|
||
the hands let her go. She was about to draw her weapon when she
|
||
was greeted by friendly voices.
|
||
<09>Welcome! Don<6F>t stand outside on our account! You must
|
||
be Dr. Scully.<2E> Dana looked up at a huge, towering man of
|
||
obvious Nordic descent and realized that he was the one to drag her
|
||
in from the cold. She began brushing snow off of her arms warily
|
||
and felt her extremities begin to tingle as the warmth of the room
|
||
immediately began to penetrate.
|
||
<09>That<61>s right. And you are?<3F>
|
||
<09>Svenson. I<>m sorry I surprised you, but I noticed that you
|
||
were standing there for quite some time and thought you might be
|
||
shy.<2E> The blond man<61>s laugh reverberated around the small room
|
||
and Scully smiled weakly as he proceeded to introduce the others
|
||
present.
|
||
Scully recognized the names from the file she had read on
|
||
the way up: Karen Frankel, neurobiologist, was a surprisingly
|
||
young woman in her thirties who gave Scully a warm smile and a
|
||
mug of hot chocolate; Joyce Brand and David Brand, husband and
|
||
wife team of geologists who had been researching Arctic geology
|
||
for over thirty years; George Tanaka, chemical engineer with an
|
||
impressive background in both biology and toxicology; and of
|
||
course, Theo Svenson, microbiologist. One person was missing
|
||
from the group, however.
|
||
<09>Where<72>s the team leader, Philip Starky?<3F> Scully asked.
|
||
Svenson gestured to a doorway, <20>He is in the lab and
|
||
regrets he couldn<64>t meet you personally. Your arrival was a bit
|
||
unexpected, and he is in the middle of some tests and could not
|
||
leave them. He wanted to make sure that we made you as welcome
|
||
as possible, though. Karen?<3F> He gestured towards Dr. Frankel
|
||
who moved to give Scully a hand with her bags.
|
||
<09>Dr. Scully, I<>ll show you to your quarters so you can settle
|
||
in. You<6F>ll also find all the latest data on your desk so you can get
|
||
up to speed before dinner.<2E>
|
||
Scully appraised Frankel carefully and saw only honesty in
|
||
her dark eyes and round face. <20>Dana,<2C> she replied, <20>and thanks.<2E>
|
||
The group dispersed as Scully and Frankel made their way
|
||
down a long corridor. Scully still felt apprehensive, but less so after
|
||
meeting a group of such friendly and intelligent people. She began
|
||
to think that her fears were unfounded when sign caught her eye
|
||
and Scully stopped walking.
|
||
<09>Can we go in there?<3F> She gestured to double doors that
|
||
marked the entrance to the labs.
|
||
Frankel glanced nervously at Scully and seemed uncertain
|
||
how to respond.
|
||
<09>I<EFBFBD>d like to meet Philip Starky,<2C> Scully added, giving
|
||
Frankel a warm and innocent smile.
|
||
Frankel wasn<73>t fooled and replied tentatively, <20>Certainly.
|
||
But we can<61>t enter the clean-room.<2E>
|
||
Scully and Frankel dropped their bags and Scully pushed
|
||
through the double doors eagerly. They entered a dressing area
|
||
where lab scrubs were provided and a clear view of the inner lab
|
||
was visible through glass walls. Scully had braced herself for
|
||
whatever she would find they were experimenting on in the labs but
|
||
still was shocked at the sight that greeted her within.
|
||
A man was seated at a counter at the other side of the room
|
||
with his back to them, using a microscope and handling jars of
|
||
specimens. But he wasn<73>t what made Scully gasp; the glass case
|
||
above the counter was backlit by florescent lights and filled the
|
||
entire wall. Inside the case, lined up on every shelf, were dozens of
|
||
glass specimen jars. And within each jar Scully could see the
|
||
jerking, wriggling movement of a honey-colored worm.
|
||
<09>Wha...?<3F> Scully managed, fear gripping her and making
|
||
her speechless, <20>What is the meaning of this? Who authorized
|
||
these, these,<2C> she gestured at the far wall. <20>I demand to know what
|
||
is going on here!<21>
|
||
Frankel took Scully by the arm and Scully shook her off
|
||
roughly, tensed and ready for action. <20>Dana,<2C> Frankel began,
|
||
worry creasing her eyes, <20>I think you better read the reports we
|
||
have prepared for you. You don<6F>t understand what we are trying
|
||
to accomplish here and I won<6F>t bother explaining it to you until you
|
||
read those papers.<2E>
|
||
Dana glanced nervously at the wall of worms, edging away
|
||
from it as if the jars were going to bound off the shelves by
|
||
themselves and fly at her at any moment. She knew that she was in
|
||
a precarious situation and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.
|
||
Scully could feel Frankel studying her reaction with interest and
|
||
hoped she sounded reasonably rational and calm.
|
||
<09>All right. I resent the fact that I have been denied adequate
|
||
information on this assignment but I will read what you have for
|
||
me.<2E> Scully gave Frankel an icy glare, <20>And then I expect some
|
||
answers from all of you.<2E>
|
||
Frankel folded her arms and didn<64>t seem the least bit upset
|
||
by Scully<6C>s defensiveness. <20>We<57>ll have a meeting tomorrow
|
||
morning. You must be exhausted and you<6F>ll want to get rid of your
|
||
jet-lag,<2C> Frankel raised a hand to stop Scully<6C>s protest, <20>we<77>ll all be
|
||
thinking more clearly in the morning. Please,<2C> Frankel pushed
|
||
through the doors and recovered one of the bags, <20>we<77>ll answer all
|
||
your questions in the morning, if we can.<2E> She fixed Scully with a
|
||
hopeful smile and said quietly, <20>Then perhaps you can answer some
|
||
questions for *us*.<2E>
|
||
Frankel continued down the hall as Scully followed in bitter
|
||
silence. She didn<64>t know what questions she could answer for these
|
||
people; they seemed to hold all the cards. Shivering at the
|
||
thought of the lab filled with those terrible creatures, Scully prayed
|
||
that she would be able to handle on her own the information she
|
||
was about to receive. For no matter how nice or innocent the team
|
||
of scientists appeared, Scully wasn<73>t prepared to trust anyone.
|
||
|
||
[Washington, D.C. 11:00 PM]
|
||
Mulder ran a hand across his eyes and used his remote to
|
||
turn off the television. The papers in front of him told him in plain
|
||
black and white that Scully had been sent to Seattle for a highly
|
||
sensitive assignment. The fact that <20>radio silence<63> was tagged on
|
||
the file suggested undercover work, most likely in the drug market
|
||
or dealing with arms smugglers along the boarder. Not exactly
|
||
Dana Scully<6C>s line of work, in Mulder<65>s opinion, but the Bureau
|
||
was always in need of female agents to go undercover, and any case
|
||
where a large seizure of contraband was possible became high
|
||
priority for the FBI. But while this information seemed to answer
|
||
the question of where Scully<6C>s new assignment was, something still
|
||
didn<EFBFBD>t sit right in Mulder<65>s mind.
|
||
It was late, and any leads or inquiries that Mulder wanted to
|
||
follow would have to wait until morning. Mulder was sure he was
|
||
beginning to make a big deal out of nothing, but would check up on
|
||
Scully<EFBFBD>s whereabouts anyway- just in case.
|
||
|
||
[Icy Cape 12:30 PM]
|
||
|
||
Scully carefully removed the chair from where it was
|
||
wedged against the door handle and returned it to it<69>s proper place
|
||
by the desk. Scully cleared some papers from the bed where she
|
||
had been reading and threw herself down, her eyes burning from
|
||
fatigue and her back aching. She allowed herself to close her eyes
|
||
and relaxed for the first time since she had arrived at the outpost.
|
||
She was tired and her muscles were just beginning to unwind, but
|
||
she still could not go to sleep. Sitting up, Scully pulled her hair into
|
||
a knot and wearily pulled out her laptop. She moved to sit at the
|
||
desk and settled down to write in her field journal. She<68>d picked up
|
||
the habit from Mulder and found it was a good way to help
|
||
organize her thoughts.
|
||
At the thought of Mulder, Scully felt her heart leap as she
|
||
wondered if he had received her messages. She selfishly wanted
|
||
him to be there with her, be there to help her get through this
|
||
expedition, but more specifically, - could she even admit this to
|
||
herself?- be there so she could draw strength from his presence.
|
||
Pushing her thoughts of Mulder aside- his wry smile- Dana
|
||
booted up her computer and began to write - <20>Bring your
|
||
mittens...<2E> -
|
||
*DAY 1
|
||
The AICP II project has returned to the Icy Cape to further
|
||
study this area, but was carefully warned to not drill below certain
|
||
depths in the ice. They were told that these precautions were
|
||
necessary to avoid contamination from super-heavy radioactive
|
||
elements that were deposited here by the meteorite they were aware
|
||
had crashed at this site. Following these precautions, the team was
|
||
assigned to gather as much information as they could about the
|
||
area, especially details about the size of the impact crater. Research
|
||
was proceeding as planned until three weeks after their arrival,
|
||
when the outpost received a distress call originating near Point Lay,
|
||
about eighty miles to the south. Knowing that aid from Nome
|
||
would take over three hours to reach them, the team voted to use
|
||
their own emergency plane and Svenson and Frankel were sent to
|
||
try and aid the team. They returned to the AICP outpost with three
|
||
bodies. Judging from the equipment and documents found at the
|
||
decimated drilling site, Svenson and Frankel discovered they had
|
||
found a survey team sent by the ARPA that had been taking core
|
||
samples in search of petroleum deposits. A classic case of <20>the
|
||
right hand not knowing what the left was doing.<2E>
|
||
The team immediately radioed in their discovery and were
|
||
told to hold the bodies in quarantine, as well as the core samples
|
||
they had recovered from the drilling site, and that an agent would
|
||
be flown up immediately. Frankel, who took charge of isolating the
|
||
bodies, noticed something strange protruding from the head wound
|
||
of one of the victims. Scientifically curious, Frankel took a sample
|
||
from the body since they had not been ordered *not* to examine
|
||
them. Starky was furious with Frankel for violating the quarantine,
|
||
but was soon fascinated with her discovery. Soon, the whole team
|
||
was involved in studying their unusual find.*
|
||
|
||
Scully paused in her narrative to pick up the latest reports
|
||
by Tanaka and Brand. She shook her head slowly and still couldn<64>t
|
||
believe their findings.
|
||
|
||
*While an agent was scrambled to make contact with the
|
||
AICP team, the team was making their own progress. Tanaka was
|
||
interested in the worms<6D> biochemistry and their possible application
|
||
in medicine while Brand had begun analyzing the core samples
|
||
recovered from the Point Lay site for their geological significance.
|
||
Their findings have been radioed to headquarters and they were
|
||
awaiting an answer at the time of my arrival on the scene.*
|
||
|
||
Scully looked again at her closed door, now unbarricaded,
|
||
and listened for any sounds within the compound. Except for the
|
||
humming of the heating system, all was quiet.
|
||
|
||
*My instructions are to survey and advise the scientific team
|
||
for the worms<6D> possible commercial value- or else, find a way to
|
||
exterminate them. Either outcome would involve determining the
|
||
creatures range, living requirements, and behavior.*
|
||
|
||
Scully licked her lips slowly and continued.
|
||
|
||
*However, no mention was made in any of the files I have read as
|
||
to determining the organisms<6D> origin or ancestry. I do not believe
|
||
that headquarters is unaware of the possible connection between
|
||
these creatures and the meteorite that crashed here years ago, and
|
||
yet no suggestion has even been made that they may be
|
||
extraterrestrial in origin- which would be more significant a
|
||
scientific discovery in itself than anything else they may acquire
|
||
from their study. I believe the scientists themselves are not blind to
|
||
the fact that they are dealing with something extraordinary here, no
|
||
matter what their orders are.*
|
||
|
||
Scully again found herself wishing Mulder was there, knowing that
|
||
the research being done could possibly give them the answers
|
||
they<EFBFBD>ve been looking for.
|
||
|
||
*Tomorrow morning I will investigate how much the AICP team
|
||
has discovered and we will also be receiving instructions via
|
||
satellite hook-up.*
|
||
|
||
Scully<EFBFBD>s fingers paused over the keys, then she typed rapidly.
|
||
|
||
*I also must find a way to contact Mulder, though at this point,
|
||
contact seems improbable.<2E>
|
||
|
||
Scully hit <20>save<76> and let her computer put away her journal under a
|
||
coded file. The irony of her situation felt like a weight upon her
|
||
shoulders. Mulder was the one who had insisted these creatures be
|
||
studied and Scully had persuaded him to forget it. If she hadn<64>t
|
||
stopped him, perhaps the existence of E.B.E.<2E>s would<6C>ve been
|
||
established and the events leading to the shut-down of the X-files
|
||
would never have occured. Mulder was the one who had wanted to
|
||
return to the Icy Cape, yet she was the one to be placed in the midst
|
||
of the research. It made her feel terribly sad and even guilty; Dana
|
||
found herself fighting back tears that suddenly came to her eyes.
|
||
Throwing herself onto the tiny bed, Dana curled up into a
|
||
ball and wept quietly, angry with herself for coming so undone. As
|
||
she drifted off into welcome sleep, Scully swore to herself that she
|
||
would make the most of what she found here in the Arctic; for her
|
||
own sake and for Mulder<65>s, for Mulder<65>s...
|
||
|
||
* * *
|
||
[Washington, D.C. 5:00 AM]
|
||
*DAY 1*
|
||
Mulder paused his pen, hit "play" on the small tape recorder on his
|
||
desk, and listened again to the recording as he continued to write in
|
||
his field journal.
|
||
|
||
*Listening to the recording of yesterday's conversation, I
|
||
am reminded that Scully was being very careful with her words and
|
||
that someone was possibly monitoring her call. I also can't rule out
|
||
the possibility that Scully was trying to avoid Bureau surveillance.
|
||
In any case, her "open window" ploy did succeed in drawing me to
|
||
her apartment where I received her other message.*
|
||
|
||
Mulder fingered a file that Cleaning had provided him with last
|
||
night and frowned.
|
||
|
||
*Her last call had originated from Seattle, Washington, and
|
||
checking up on her reassignment, I have been able to find
|
||
conformation that she had been sent there for an undercover
|
||
operation. This explains the Bureau's desire for "radio silence" and
|
||
also corresponds with the information Quantico received about
|
||
Scully's transfer.*
|
||
|
||
Mulder still wasn't satisfied. There was something here that
|
||
he just wasn't seeing; Scully should've known that he would be
|
||
able to get information on her re-assignment as soon as he heard
|
||
about it, so why the messages? *Unless* she had suspicion that any
|
||
information he'd receive would be false.
|
||
"Good morning, Agent Mulder. You're up early."
|
||
Chris Cleaning, starched and coifed to a hilt, eagerly passed
|
||
by his cubicle to join Mulder. His soft brown eyes and baby-fine
|
||
hair only emphasized his young age, no matter how polished he
|
||
tried to get himself to look. Pelted with the usual affection given
|
||
Academy graduates, Cleaning was awarded such nicknames as
|
||
"Cleaning Agent" and "Kris Kringle", among others. His pariah
|
||
status had instantly bonded him to "Spooky" Mulder, although
|
||
Mulder still hadn't made up his mind about him.
|
||
"Agent Cleaning. You're up early as well, I see. Be
|
||
careful, or people might think you're trying to get ahead around
|
||
here."
|
||
Cleaning blushed and put his hands in his pockets. Mulder
|
||
decided to give the kid a break.
|
||
"While you're here, Cleaning, do you think you could help
|
||
me out?"
|
||
Cleaning brightened up considerably and replied, "Sure,
|
||
Agent Mulder. Do you need another report?"
|
||
Mulder lowered his voice confidentially and Cleaning was
|
||
forced to lean in closer, "I think you are ready to move up from
|
||
being gopher, Cleaning. I have a job for you." Mulder could see
|
||
the light in Cleaning's eyes spark as he asked quietly,
|
||
"What do you need me to do?"
|
||
Mulder hoped he was making the right decision in trusting
|
||
this bumbling, but seemingly competent, young agent. "There's a
|
||
sting operation going down in Seattle, and I want you to find out
|
||
just what it's all about."
|
||
Cleaning's face registered puzzlement, and he asked slowly,
|
||
"I don't understand..."
|
||
Mulder hesitated for only a second, then plowed ahead, "I
|
||
think there may be more going on up there than the Bureau might
|
||
think." He waggled his eyebrows for emphasis and was rewarded
|
||
with a start from Cleaning.
|
||
"You mean...? FBI agents? A conspiracy?" Mulder was
|
||
nodding to all of the above, "I don't believe it," Cleaning breathed.
|
||
"Believe it," Mulder replied.
|
||
|
||
[ICY CAPE 7:00 AM]
|
||
Scully was greeted the next morning by a steaming mug of
|
||
coffee, murmured "good morning"s and six expectant faces. They
|
||
had all gathered in the central portion of the main building and
|
||
everyone looked ready for answers. Scully opted to speak first.
|
||
"As you all are aware, I am Special Agent Dana Scully and I
|
||
was sent here by the FBI to investigate what you have discovered
|
||
here at the Icy Cape. I have read all of your reports so," she looked
|
||
at each face one by one, "I know what you know."
|
||
Philip Starky, a slim man in his fifties with features chapped
|
||
and weathered and hair white as snow, folded his arms and asked,
|
||
"Where would you like to begin, Agent Scully?"
|
||
"Where are the bodies?" Scully asked coolly.
|
||
"In the cold storage room adjacent to this building."
|
||
Frankel replied.
|
||
"Good. I'll begin there. Frankel, you reported that you
|
||
believed the men were infected by these parasites through...?"
|
||
"The ice core samples they had recovered while drilling.
|
||
When examined, they contained the worms in some sort of larval
|
||
stage. Agent Scully," Frankel paused, and Scully could feel all
|
||
eyes in the room upon her, "what exactly do you know about this?
|
||
They won't tell us anything. Have- have you seen these creatures
|
||
before?"
|
||
Scully couldn't read the variety of emotions that were
|
||
playing across everyone's faces and wondered how truthful she
|
||
should be. "Ye-es. Yes. I've seen these parasites before," a
|
||
collective breath was released by all, and the questions began in a
|
||
rush.
|
||
"How much do we know about them?"
|
||
"Where were they discovered?"
|
||
"Who documented this find?"
|
||
"Why haven't we heard about this?"
|
||
Scully waited patiently for them to stop when one voice
|
||
made itself clear from the rest of the barrage.
|
||
"How many have died?" The crowd fell silent and everyone
|
||
turned to Tanaka, who cleared his throat and asked again, "How
|
||
many, Agent Scully?"
|
||
Scully lowered her eyes and said quietly, "Last year- the
|
||
previous AICP team. Four people- plus others." She looked up
|
||
and fixed Svenson and Frankel with her gaze, "Like the survey team
|
||
you found at Point Lay."
|
||
"How much do you know?" Starky asked, and Scully
|
||
began to explain the events that occurred during her investigation
|
||
of the other AICP team, keeping it as brief as possible- and
|
||
omitting certain details.
|
||
When she was finished, Starky stepped away from the
|
||
group and everyone demurred to his leadership, "What do you plan
|
||
to do with them, Agent Scully?"
|
||
"I've been assigned to find out whether or not they have any
|
||
commercial value- if not, find ways to exterminate them."
|
||
Tanaka spoke up immediately, "We've been studying them
|
||
for three days now. They are about as useful as a tapeworm,
|
||
Scully, and obviously more deadly. And now that I know what
|
||
they could do to a population, I say we do what we can to eradicate
|
||
them, then get the hell out of here. We aren't even sure how one
|
||
gets infected!"
|
||
A chorus of voices rose up again as Scully felt panic begin
|
||
to take hold of the group.
|
||
"Wait a minute. WAIT A MINUTE!" She could feel their
|
||
growing hostility but also noticed that Starky was standing next to
|
||
her and helping her settle them down by gesturing with his hands.
|
||
She was instantly grateful. "Now, I agree with all of you that this
|
||
thing cannot leave this outpost. What it could do to a population is
|
||
too horrible to imagine. But I ask you all if you are aware that this
|
||
outpost, built directly over the remains of the previous AICP site, is
|
||
also part of a meteor crater? And that these organisms may have
|
||
been carried here by that same meteor?" Scully's unsaid questions
|
||
hung heavily in the air until Joyce Brand spoke up excitedly,
|
||
"That would explain the depth of the ice sheet in this area.
|
||
And the high levels of ammonia in the core samples, of course!
|
||
Agent Scully, you don't think..."
|
||
"I don't know what to think. I want you people to help me
|
||
find out."
|
||
Svenson raised a hand, "But what about the survey team?
|
||
Point Lay is not within the crater radius."
|
||
"What if," Joyce Brand said, snapping her fingers, "before
|
||
settling here at Icy Cape, the meteor slid and dug a trench along the
|
||
surface, depositing these organisms along the way. The ice sheet is
|
||
not nearly as deep at Point Lay, which is why the survey team was
|
||
drilling for petroleum there. Ancient crash sites all over the world
|
||
show evidence that great swaths of land were often affected by a
|
||
meteorite's trajectory before impact."
|
||
The room was again abuzz with voices as the scientists
|
||
began digesting this new idea, until Starky spoke up and addressed
|
||
Scully squarely.
|
||
"Agent Scully, is it the governments intention to discover
|
||
whether or not these organisms are extraterrestrial? That *is* what
|
||
you are hinting at, isn't it? The government knew about
|
||
their existence from the incident last year- they gave us strict orders
|
||
to not drill below certain depths in the ice- what are they planning
|
||
to do now? This kind of investigation can only be done properly in
|
||
a high-tech facility, not in some Arctic pup-tent such as this. Just
|
||
what is the government asking us to do?" Starky took a step closer
|
||
to Scully and looked her full in the face, "Just what are *you*
|
||
asking us to do?"
|
||
Scully did not let her gaze falter as she thought of Mulder
|
||
and replied, "I'm asking you to find the truth."
|
||
The nearby radio crackled and Svenson moved to answer.
|
||
"Yes, hold a moment. Agent Scully?"
|
||
Scully grabbed the receiver, very aware that everyone could
|
||
hear the transmission.
|
||
"Scully here, Doolittle."
|
||
"Results of last reports. Core samples indicate a large
|
||
deposit of petroleum AV3 and rare earth metals at Point Lay drill
|
||
site and Icy Cape margin. AICP team is ordered to destroy all
|
||
organism samples and proceed with all due caution to immediately
|
||
exterminate the threat to future drilling parties. You have 72 hours
|
||
to complete procedures, then a plane will arrive at your location to
|
||
remove data and the bodies, do you copy?"
|
||
Scully felt numb and drained; she should have expected
|
||
something like this, but what could she do? "AICP copies. Over."
|
||
Scully bent her head in defeat; when she looked up at
|
||
everyone, her eyes were weary, "Well. You heard? They are going
|
||
to destroy this site. Again."
|
||
"Petroleum AV3 is a highly volatile, extremely high-grade
|
||
crude. Labs have been unable to synthesize a suitable substitute. If
|
||
this area actually contains a large deposit of this material, it's a
|
||
coup for the U.S. to acquire it." David Brand explained to the
|
||
puzzled group. "There's sure to be a lot of profit in it."
|
||
Scully was barely listening and turned to address Svenson,
|
||
"Do you have a way to kill them?"
|
||
"Not yet, but soon."
|
||
Scully put her head in her hands and felt her opportunity
|
||
slipping away- she was between a rock and a hard place. On one
|
||
hand, Scully believed these creatures should be destroyed- on the
|
||
other, she and Mulder could use these creatures to prove the
|
||
existence of E.B.E.'s and get the X-files reinstated...but what were
|
||
she and Mulder compared to the welfare of humanity? Scully
|
||
pushed herself off of the radio bench and moved towards the lab. If
|
||
the government wanted these things exterminated, at least she
|
||
could make sure that it was done properly so they would never
|
||
have to deal with them again. Philip Starky grabbed her arm as she
|
||
moved.
|
||
"Where are you going?" he asked, alarmed.
|
||
"I'm going to start by destroying those specimens in the lab.
|
||
This all stops right here; right now," Scully replied, defeated.
|
||
"You can't!" Frankel exclaimed, as the AICP team
|
||
gathered around Dana. "We've got a lot of work to do and we
|
||
don't have much time."
|
||
Scully looked at the faces surrounding her and couldn't
|
||
believe her ears. Philip Starky spoke quietly and released her arm.
|
||
"If we only have 72 hours to study these things, we're going
|
||
to learn as much as we can in that time. We find the truth; right
|
||
here, right now." Heads nodded in silent agreement and Dana felt a
|
||
ray of hope in her heart that brought a small smile to her lips.
|
||
"You got it," she said, "let's get to work."
|
||
|
||
[FBI Headquarters 4:00 PM]
|
||
Mulder could feel his wheels spinning in place as he tossed a
|
||
fax from Quantico into his briefcase. He'd spent all day chasing
|
||
down papers, being put on hold, and learning little. The file open
|
||
on his desk outlined the various cases the Seattle office was
|
||
working on at the moment, but the list was marked "Incomplete"
|
||
and Scully's name wasn't on it.
|
||
Cleaning sidled up to Mulder's side and asked as casually as
|
||
he could manage, "Find what you needed, Agent Mulder?"
|
||
Mulder smiled encouragingly at the young man and lied,
|
||
"Yes. You did a good job, Cleaning," the young man beamed and
|
||
ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair. Mulder decided that
|
||
Cleaning was all right; if he had been a plant, Mulder would've had
|
||
a detailed profile- a doctored one- on the case Scully was working on
|
||
by now. They were patient, but not that patient.
|
||
"I need you to do me one more favor, Cleaning." Mulder
|
||
pushed a wad of bills in Cleaning's direction and watched with
|
||
amusement as he saw the man's eyes widen. "I need a plane ticket.
|
||
One way, to Seattle."
|
||
|
||
[ICY CAPE 10:45 PM]
|
||
Scully put away her laptop, turned out her light, and sank
|
||
gratefully into the crisp, cold sheets. The team had been working
|
||
hard all day in hopes of unlocking the mystery surrounding the
|
||
parasitic creatures. Gene maps were going to be run the next day,
|
||
and the cultures the scientists had been working on before Scully
|
||
even arrived would be ready for analysis as well.
|
||
A thought stabbed at her before she drifted off to sleep- she
|
||
hadn't gotten around to completing the autopsies on the bodies
|
||
they had in storage. Scully wondered what prolonged exposure to
|
||
the parasite might cause, even if it was only present in a dead body.
|
||
The cold storage would effectively keep the corpses in suspended
|
||
animation, but if the worms natural environment was one of sub-
|
||
zero temperatures...she made a mental note to check it out first
|
||
thing the next morning. With a yawn and a secret hope that the fine
|
||
weather they had been having would turn bad to give them more
|
||
time to gather data, Scully slipped quietly into a deep sleep.
|
||
|
||
[SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. DAY 3 - 9:00 AM]
|
||
Mulder found Sallers, Scrantons, and a Skully, but no Dana
|
||
Scully within the Seattle office records. The Section Chief had had
|
||
no explanation for the missing record, except that perhaps a delay of
|
||
the transfer report had occurred, and that Mulder should ask the
|
||
Washington office for details. Mulder was now positive that
|
||
Washington was the last place he could look for answers.
|
||
|
||
[ICY CAPE 9:40 AM]
|
||
Scully was putting together a medical bag for the autopsies
|
||
when David and Joyce Brand entered the room.
|
||
"Agent Scully, we just wanted to let you know that we're
|
||
going to be setting off some explosive charges- it's part of a
|
||
geological experiment, so don't think it's an earthquake!" Joyce
|
||
smiled.
|
||
Scully smiled thinly and replied, "Thanks for the warning.
|
||
What exactly are you doing?"
|
||
"We're making more accurate assessments of the crater's
|
||
size and depth. We'll be using the holes we have from the removed
|
||
cores to deposit the explosives. We've got to be extra careful
|
||
because of the petroleum AV3. The incorrect charge, and BLAM.
|
||
The whole deposit could vaporize this entire area." David Brand
|
||
waved a slim canister in the air, "Which is why we have a specially
|
||
designed charge. You can adjust the amount of detonation by just a
|
||
twist, here." Brand demonstrated the device to Scully, who began
|
||
to back out of the room. Joyce Brand just watched her husband
|
||
and whispered to Scully, "You know men and their toys."
|
||
"Uh, right. Let me know what you find."
|
||
Scully left the geologists to continue their experiments,
|
||
shaking her head. Everyone was being extremely productive, but
|
||
there still was quite a bit to get accomplished before the next
|
||
morning. She wanted to go do the autopsies at that moment, but
|
||
knew that Frankel and Svenson would be looking at the gene maps
|
||
soon; she also had to talk to Tanaka about how to destroy these
|
||
things, if that was even possible. Looking down the long, cold
|
||
corridor to the storage shed, Scully sighed and tucked the black bag
|
||
under her arm. The autopsies would just have to wait.
|
||
|
||
[Seattle, Washington. 10:20 AM]
|
||
|
||
After wandering the streets of Seattle for over an hour, Mulder
|
||
parked himself at a small, anonymous cafe and opened his field
|
||
journal.
|
||
|
||
*Still no sign of Dana. The Seattle office was notified of
|
||
the transfer, but no record can be found detailing her assignment
|
||
here. I have come to the conclusion that Scully was never in
|
||
Seattle to begin with; her whereabouts? Unknown.*
|
||
|
||
Mulder's hand was shaking as he tried to write legibly. He felt his
|
||
fears as a cold lump in his stomach and clenched his jaw, determined
|
||
to go over the facts in his mind clearly and rationally before making his
|
||
next move.
|
||
|
||
*Fact: the message on Scully's answering machine had
|
||
been from Virginia.
|
||
Fact: her second call was made in Seattle and her call was
|
||
being monitored by parties unknown.
|
||
Fact: Scully is not in Seattle.*
|
||
|
||
Mulder's thoughts turned once again to their last
|
||
conversation. He felt that the key was there, that, somehow, Scully
|
||
had managed to tell him what was happening to her. A surly voice
|
||
broke into his thoughts.
|
||
"Hey you, could you close that window?"
|
||
Mulder looked up, confused, "Excuse me?"
|
||
A plaid-clad boy with a ring through his nose snarled at
|
||
Mulder, "The WINDOW, hotshot. Close it."
|
||
Mulder smirked at the jerk and reached over to the window
|
||
next to him to pull it shut, when some thought began to tickle the
|
||
back of his mind...
|
||
Windows. He could hear Dana's voice saying, "A window,
|
||
Mulder. It's open." Certainly Scully meant that a window was
|
||
open in her apartment, or else she could have been referring to...?
|
||
Mulder bolted to his feet. He needed to get back to the Seattle
|
||
office to confirm his theory; then he'd have another plane to catch.
|
||
|
||
|
||
* * *
|
||
|
||
|
||
[At 30,000 feet 12:40 PM]
|
||
Mulder leaned back in his uncomfortable airplane seat and
|
||
tried to relax.
|
||
His hunch had paid off; making some discrete inquiries at
|
||
the Seattle office, Mulder discovered that there was indeed a new
|
||
AICP team stationed at the Icy Cape. That in fact, the outpost had
|
||
been experiencing some difficulties and an agent was supposedly
|
||
sent out there to see what was going on.
|
||
Danny also had come up with some information about
|
||
Scully<EFBFBD>s last phone call. Aparantly, she *had* been on a plane to
|
||
Seattle, but it was diverted at the last minute and was last seen
|
||
crossing the boarder into Canadian airspace.
|
||
Mulder listened to the droning of the light aircraft and
|
||
thought with dread what he surmised had happened to Dana; the
|
||
AICP II must have stumbled upon something the FBI knew Scully
|
||
would recognize- and would agree to destroy. Unless, of course, it
|
||
destroyed her first.
|
||
Mulder glanced out his window and fancied he could see the
|
||
dark shadow against the whiteness that would be Nome. The four-
|
||
day window of weather- the <20>window<6F> that Scully had been
|
||
refering to in her phone call- was going to be closing within a day
|
||
and Mulder wondered if he<68>d be able to find a pilot willing to fly
|
||
him up to the Cape. It really didn<64>t matter because Mulder would
|
||
drive a dog team if that<61>s what he had to do to find out if Scully
|
||
was alive and well. He looked out again at the vast whiteness of ice
|
||
and felt some part of him, some part of his soul, call out to Dana
|
||
across that great void.
|
||
|
||
[Icy Cape. 1:00 PM]
|
||
Scully had a light lunch and prepared to finally do that
|
||
autopsy. Frankel had only done a cursory examination of the
|
||
bodies when she had noticed the parasite in the body of Chuck
|
||
Sierra. She did a complete autopsy on Sierra, but hadn<64>t gotten
|
||
around to doing Arthur Conley or Matt Spiner. While Sierra died
|
||
from massive head trauma, Spiner had died from strangulation and
|
||
Conley from internal hemmoraging. According to Svenson and
|
||
Frankel, it seemed that Conley and Sierra had fought to the death,
|
||
while Spiner had been the first to be killed.
|
||
Scully glanced around the room and asked Tanaka, who
|
||
was sitting analyzing something under a microscope, <20>Tanaka, have
|
||
you seen Karen?<3F>
|
||
<09>Yeah, she went ahead to prep the bodies for your
|
||
dissection.<2E> Tanaka replied.
|
||
<09>Thanks.<2E> Scully rubbed her eyes and headed down the
|
||
corridor. So far, the team hadn<64>t come up with any conclusive
|
||
evidence about whether or not the parasites were actually
|
||
extraterrestrial in origin; they were certainly different from
|
||
anything anyone had seen before, but the Brands reminded
|
||
everyone that the Icy Cape was a whole different environment two
|
||
hundred thousand years ago, and that a meteorite that contained
|
||
rare earth metals could possibly have mutated some pre-existing
|
||
microbes from that era. At any rate, their data still looked
|
||
promising.
|
||
Scully could feel the temperature drop as she neared the
|
||
shed doors. The storage room was purposefully placed far from
|
||
the main building so they could cut it off from the central heating
|
||
system and allow it to remain at freezing temperatures. Amongst
|
||
the food and supplies usually stored in the shed would be three
|
||
corpses in body bags. Scully yanked open the heavy door and
|
||
noticed immediately that something was very very wrong; there
|
||
were only two black body bags lying on the floor of the shed.
|
||
<09>Karen?<3F> Scully called, droping her med kit and drawing
|
||
her weapon. She flexed her hands to warm them up and glanced
|
||
cautiously around the shed. Noticing vapors rising from behind a
|
||
pile of crates, Scully edged closer and peered over them.
|
||
<09>Oh my God!<21> Scully choked down the urge to vomit;
|
||
Karen Frankel lay behind those crates, disembowled, steam rising
|
||
from her opened body. In the distance, Scully could hear George
|
||
Tanaka calling her name and moved her lips to respond when she
|
||
sensed something behind her.
|
||
Turning quickly, Scully saw from the corner of her eye her
|
||
black medical bag rushing towards her head with deadly force.
|
||
|
||
[Doolittle Airfield. Nome, Alaska. 1:23 PM]
|
||
Mulder had no problem finding out who was making the
|
||
flights to Icy Cape. So far, a simple flash of his ID had given him
|
||
enough leverage to wander around the airport freely. As long as
|
||
no one checked up on his story, Mulder would be using every
|
||
advantage he had to get to the truth. Walking into hanger five, he
|
||
approached the grizzled pilot and pulled out his ID.
|
||
<09>Russ Jarvis? I<>m Special Agent Fox Mulder and I<>ll be
|
||
accompanying you on your next flight to the Icy Cape. This
|
||
afternoon, if possible.<2E>
|
||
<09>What? I wasn<73>t told that I<>d have a passenger this time!
|
||
Who do you people think you are, anyways, switching your
|
||
schedules, ordering me around.<2E> The wiry man narrowed his eyes
|
||
at Mulder. <20>My flight wasn<73>t supposed to be until tomorrow
|
||
morning. What<61>s your hurry?<3F>
|
||
Mulder opened his mouth and shut it, then replied evenly, <20>I
|
||
want to take advantage of the clear weather.<2E>
|
||
Jarvis rubbed his chin and found it hard to argue with that
|
||
logic. <20>I guess it would be ok. You people do what you like
|
||
anyways. When do you want to go?<3F>
|
||
<09>As soon as you<6F>re ready,<2C> Mulder replied.
|
||
<09>Give me twenty minutes to prep the plane.<2E>
|
||
Mulder breathed a sigh of relief and watched the old man
|
||
begin puttering around his plane. He now had twenty minutes to
|
||
see if he could pull the same trick on the radio tower operator and
|
||
somehow get his hands on the AICP transmissions. It was worth a
|
||
try.
|
||
|
||
[Icy Cape. 1:46 PM]
|
||
Scully was freezing. She tried to move her head but it was
|
||
stuck to the floor. She cracked open her eyes and licked her lips,
|
||
tasting blood at one corner of her mouth. As she regained
|
||
conciousness, Scully realized in horor that herown blood had forzen
|
||
her face to the floor.
|
||
Moving her hands to cup her cheek, Scully breathed to
|
||
defrost her skin. Her gun still lay within reach, but her position
|
||
didn<EFBFBD>t allow her to see the door to the shed. Straining to hear
|
||
above the sound of her breaths, Scully could not make out
|
||
anything.
|
||
At last her cheek painfully peeled away from the floor and
|
||
Scully picked up her gun. Turning to the doorway, Scully found
|
||
the body of George Tanaka. He had been hit on the head, a look of
|
||
horror and surprise literally frozen on his face. Scully reeled but
|
||
managed to wedge herself alongside the door and stop to take some
|
||
deep breaths. Looking back around the shed, Scully noticed the
|
||
third body bag crumpled in the far corner. Her mind raced to
|
||
understand what was happening. She glanced at the nametags on
|
||
the black bags- Sierra, Conley. Spiner<65>s was the body missing.
|
||
Spiner, Scully recalled, was the victim who had died from
|
||
strangulation. Could it be that he wasn<73>t really dead?
|
||
<09>He was dead, Scully, dead.<2E> she murmured to herself,
|
||
grateful for the feeling of movement in her cold features. The
|
||
bodies had been in the shed for over five days now; how could
|
||
anyone survive? Unless...Scully remembered the autopsies of
|
||
Richter and the previoius AICP members. All the worms but one
|
||
were dead- the worm that was still living was found in the
|
||
hypothalamus of the brain. Those bodies hadn<64>t been there for
|
||
much longer than these, so perhaps there were worms still alive in
|
||
Spiner and Conley as well. They really didn<64>t know what would
|
||
happen to a parasite once lodged deep in the brain. Perhaps in the
|
||
brain it pupated into another form, a form that could take more
|
||
direct control over it<69>s host. Spiner had recieved the least amount
|
||
of injury to his body and the extreme cold would<6C>ve prevented any
|
||
extensive tissue damage due to decay. Scully felt dizzy as she came
|
||
to the conclusion that Spiner, somehow, had risen from the dead- to
|
||
kill.
|
||
The tinkle of breaking glass and a muffled scream brought
|
||
Scully back into focus. Gripping her gun tightly between her hands,
|
||
Scully swung out from the protection of the shed walls and moved
|
||
out down the corridor in the direction of the sounds.
|
||
|
||
[En route to Icy Cape. 2:11 PM]
|
||
Mulder crunched on sunflower seeds and couldn<64>t believe
|
||
what he was reading. Authority obviously went a long way out
|
||
here in the Arctic as the radio operator at Doolittle had been more
|
||
than helpful in providing Mulder with the transcripts of the
|
||
transmissions between the airfield and Icy Cape once Mulder had
|
||
flashed his ID.
|
||
As he expected, the AICP II team hadn<64>t intentionally
|
||
unearthed the parasite; the government hadn<64>t any plans for
|
||
research, especially considering they had torched the same facility
|
||
only a year ago. The survey team stumbling on the creatures by
|
||
accident was certainly unfortunate, but was bound to happen, in
|
||
Mulder<EFBFBD>s opinion. He now could guess why the Bureau had sent
|
||
Scully; with her previous experience at the Icy Cape and her
|
||
scientific background, she would be well prepared to handle what
|
||
she would find. Also, Mulder was sure that this time the
|
||
government would go in and exterminate the creatures, and Scully
|
||
had gone on record a year ago stating that she agreed with that
|
||
policy. Many things had happened to them since then, but that
|
||
didn<EFBFBD>t make these creatures any less deadly, or any less dangerous,
|
||
to society.
|
||
Mulder noticed with interest that there was a vast petroleum
|
||
AV3 deposit directly underneath the meteor impact site. And, as
|
||
usual, the government had made the recovery of that precious
|
||
natural resource their top priority. Even if it meant extermination
|
||
of a new life form, possibly an alien life form.
|
||
<09>How much longer?<3F> he bellowed at Jarvis over the noise of
|
||
the airplane.
|
||
<09>About twenty five minutes, not including landing,<2C> he
|
||
yelled back. <20>I<EFBFBD>ve never seen anyone so eager to reach the Icy
|
||
Cape before. Won<6F>t they be surprised?<3F> he added, sarcastically.
|
||
Mulder thought of Scully, the look on her face when he<68>d
|
||
step out of the plane, and wished they could get there faster.
|
||
|
||
[Icy Cape 2:22 PM]
|
||
The sounds were coming from the direction of the lab.
|
||
She found the double doors proped open with the body of
|
||
Svenson, his throat roughly gashed. Careful not to slip in the
|
||
blood, Scully eased her way into the scrub room, then peered
|
||
through the glass walls.
|
||
Inside the lab, David Brand lay slung over a chair. Joyce
|
||
Brand had stopped her screaming and was held in the clutches of an
|
||
unfamiliar form; Scully assumed it had to be Spiner. Ugly purple
|
||
bruises stained his neck but otherwise his skin looked like cream
|
||
and his movements were fairly coordinatedfor a man who had been
|
||
dead and frozen for five days.
|
||
Spiner had taken the specimen jars off of the shelves and
|
||
had smashed them open; golden worms writhed all over the lab
|
||
floor. Spiner stepped on worms with his feet but also held one in
|
||
his hands with a pair of forceps. He was preparing to drop that
|
||
worm into Joyce Brand<6E>s ear when Scully opened fire.
|
||
The safety glass shattered all around Scully and she ducked
|
||
and rolled into the lab room, bringing up her gun to bear on Spiner.
|
||
The noise had startled him into dropping the forceps, but he now
|
||
held Joyce Brand closely to his chest.
|
||
<09>FBI! Release your hostage at once!<21> Scully yelled, not
|
||
caring whether or not Spiner could understand her. <20>I<EFBFBD>m armed!<21>
|
||
Spiner stared at her dumbly, his eyes glassy and his features
|
||
flaccid. Then his lips curled into an open-mouthed gape, and he
|
||
bent his head towards Joyce<63>s neck...
|
||
Scully was ready to fire when David Brand suddenly leaped
|
||
up from his chair to grapple with Spiner.
|
||
<09>Get down!<21> Scully yelled, getting up from her crouched
|
||
position, but it was too late. Spiner deftly twisted Joyce<63>s neck
|
||
with a sickening pop, then reached for a heavy drill bit he must have
|
||
recovered from the storage shed to strike at David.
|
||
David Brand was dead before he hit the ground and Scully
|
||
opened fire. She squeezed off three shots as Spiner rushed her
|
||
when somebody tackled her from behind. Spiner, his wounds only
|
||
oozing a dark black substance, barreled past them and kept on
|
||
going through the doors. Scully looked down to find Philip Starky,
|
||
gasping and terrified.
|
||
<09>Are you ok?<3F> she asked, struggling to get up.
|
||
<09>Yes. No.<2E> Starky stood, backed against a wall, and
|
||
promptly vomited. <20>Everyone?<3F> he asked after the heaving was
|
||
over.
|
||
Scully nodded. <20>It<49>s just you and me.<2E>
|
||
<09>That was Spiner, wasn<73>t it? How could that be?<3F>
|
||
Scully shook her head, <20>I don<6F>t know, Starky. This didn<64>t
|
||
happen last time. Perhaps the worms have some sort of more
|
||
advanced stage, a stage that we hadn<64>t seen.<2E>
|
||
<09>Until now.<2E>
|
||
<09>We<57>ve got to destroy it.<2E>
|
||
Starky shrugged. <20>You have the gun, Agent Scully!<21>
|
||
<09>I mean all of it, Starky. This whole site. And I know
|
||
how.<2E>
|
||
|
||
[Icy Cape. 2:32 PM]
|
||
Mulder jumped out of the plane and Jarvis threw his pack
|
||
down after him.
|
||
<09>Agent Mulder, I<>m going to take care of my plane first. I
|
||
don<EFBFBD>t trust this nice weather.<2E>
|
||
Mulder waved an affirmative and headed towards the main
|
||
building. It looked exactly like the previous outpost and Mulder
|
||
had a strange sense of deja vu.
|
||
As he entered the building, the first thing he noticed was the
|
||
sharp smell of ammonia and alarms began to go off in his head.
|
||
<09>Scully?<3F> he called. <20>It<49>s Mulder!<21> Slinging his backpack
|
||
around his shoulders, Mulder unholstered his gun and headed in the
|
||
direction he believed was the lab. Seeing feet protruding from the
|
||
doorway, Mulder broke into a run down the corridor.
|
||
|
||
Scully and Starky ran down the hallway towards the back of
|
||
the main building.
|
||
<09>Are you sure they<65>re here?<3F> Scully asked breathlessly as
|
||
Starky bent to fiddle with a padlocked cabinet.
|
||
<09>Yes. The sheds which cover the drill sites are just beyond
|
||
this wing of the building.<2E>
|
||
Scully squinted through a window to see four wooden sheds
|
||
about twenty-five meters from their position. Glancing down at
|
||
Starky, she pushed him aside by the shoulder.
|
||
<09>Let me,<2C> she said, then fired at the lock.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Mulder heard the gunshot and sprang up from where he was
|
||
examining David Brand<6E>s body. After listening for a beat, Mulder
|
||
yelled, <20>Scully!<21> but there was no reply. Mulder stepped over
|
||
Svenson<EFBFBD>s body and headed down the corridor in the direction of
|
||
the storage room when a voice behind him called out, <20>Agent
|
||
Mulder!<21>
|
||
Russ Jarvis stood in the outer doorway, his mouth agape
|
||
and his eyes wide with terror. <20>What<61>s going on?<3F> he wailed.
|
||
<09>Stay with the plane!<21> Mulder ordered, and watched as
|
||
Jarvis turned to go. Just as Mulder turned to proceed back down
|
||
the hall, he heard a muffled cry and whipped around in time to see
|
||
Jarvis crumple to the floor. Racing to his side, Mulder cursed and
|
||
felt for a pulse.
|
||
Lifting his hand away from the dead body, Mulder saw a
|
||
figure retreating down a second corridor and got up to follow,
|
||
wondering if there was anyone left at this outpost who was who
|
||
they were.
|
||
|
||
Starky held an armful of geological charges as Scully piled
|
||
them up like kindling, pausing occasionally to glance down the
|
||
corridor.
|
||
<09>How much time will we have?<3F>
|
||
<09>We can set the timers at twenty minutes. I need time to
|
||
prep the plane and we<77>ve got to taxi before we take off.<2E>
|
||
<09>Ok.<2E> Scully tried to give Starky a smile of encouragement.
|
||
<EFBFBD>We<EFBFBD>re going to make it.<2E>
|
||
They both jumped as they heard sounds coming from down
|
||
the hall and moved together to the door.
|
||
<09>Are you ready?<3F> Scully asked, and Starky nodded
|
||
anxiously. <20>Go!<21> Scully pushed Starky out ahead of her as she
|
||
covered the rear and the two of them headed over the ice to the
|
||
first shed.
|
||
|
||
Mulder rounded the bend, gun ready, only to see swirling
|
||
snow as whoever he was following exited the building. At the end
|
||
of the hall, Mulder noticed that a supply cabinet was open and
|
||
funny looking canisters marked <20>Explosive charges: Caution<6F>
|
||
littered the floor around it. Finding a padlock with a clear bullet
|
||
hole through the middle, Mulder murmured, <20>Scully,<2C> then threw
|
||
himself out into the cold.
|
||
|
||
Scully and Starky worked frantically, Scully keeping watch
|
||
while Starky set the charges to detonate at maximum charge and at
|
||
the proper depth. They had already loaded one of the core sites
|
||
and after this one, would go do one more just to be sure the chain
|
||
reaction would propagate and vaporize the entire impact site.
|
||
<09>How far away do we need to be when this goes off?<3F>
|
||
Scully asked as she attempted to see through a crack in the shed
|
||
doors.
|
||
<09>Just off the ground. The petroleum will ignite and
|
||
superheat the surrounding ice or soil layers, and the steam
|
||
produced will crack or even melt the top crust of ice. It all depends
|
||
on how much fuel is underground. There. Now just one more
|
||
should do it...<2E>
|
||
Scully backed quickly away from the door and Starky fell
|
||
silent instantly. She pushed him behind her and they backed into
|
||
the far corner of the shed.
|
||
There was a knock on the door and Scully braced herself to
|
||
shoot. The flimsy wooden doors gave way with the next thump and
|
||
Scully drew a bead on the movement when a voice called out,
|
||
<EFBFBD>Scully!<21>
|
||
Scully dropped her hands and couldn<64>t believe her eyes.
|
||
<EFBFBD>Mulder?!<21>
|
||
Mulder got up from the ground, rushed up to her and
|
||
grabbed her elbows, his eyes all fire and intensity. <20>Scully, are you
|
||
ok? What<61>s going on here?<3F>
|
||
Scully drank him in with her eyes and smiled up at him, her
|
||
body going limp in his arms and a dozen questions forming in her
|
||
mind. <20>Mulder, you have the most incredible sense of timing...<2E>
|
||
<09>Look out!<21> Starky shouted, and Mulder tossed Scully to
|
||
one side as he was pounded from behind.
|
||
The two men rolled on the ground until they bumped into
|
||
one of the walls, a struggling mass of arms and legs. Scully
|
||
brought up her weapon but couldn<64>t fire; Spiner and Mulder were
|
||
too close. Mulder did something to Spiner she couldn<64>t see, then
|
||
he was up and grabbing her by the hand. <20>Run!<21> he said, then
|
||
yanked her along.
|
||
The three of them ran out of the shed and Scully now pulled
|
||
Mulder<EFBFBD>s hand towards the runway where Jarvis<69> plane was visible.
|
||
<09>We<57>ve got to get out of here, now!<21> she yelled. <20>We<57>ve
|
||
set these explosive charges to detonate petroleum underneath the
|
||
ice!<21>
|
||
Mulder looked at her in shock, then looked over her
|
||
shoulder and stopped running. <20>Hey!<21> he shouted, as Scully turned
|
||
to see Starky get enveloped in a bear-hug by Spiner a few strides
|
||
behind them. There was a flash of silver in Starky<6B>s hands and
|
||
Mulder moved to help him but Scully held him back, leaning against
|
||
his weight with all her might.
|
||
<09>No!<21> she cried, <20>We<57>ve got to go NOW!<21>
|
||
The two of them were blasted off their feet as the entwined
|
||
Spiner and Starky blew up in a dirty grey cloud of smoke and ash.
|
||
They lay stunned in the snow until Mulder scrambled to his feet and
|
||
scooped up Scully with both hands. He looked deeply into her
|
||
startled eyes and said firmly, <20>We<57>re going. NOW.<2E>
|
||
They stumbled towards the airplane, the howling of the
|
||
Arctic winds taunting them as they struggled through snow drifts
|
||
until they finally made it to the smooth runway. As they paused to
|
||
take a breath, Scully gasped,
|
||
<09>Mulder. The research, the data. I have material all
|
||
prepared...<2E>
|
||
<09>Forget it, Scully.<2E> Mulder grabbed her hand again and
|
||
pulled her towards the waiting plane, his face as icy as the ground
|
||
they stood upon.
|
||
|
||
* * *
|
||
|
||
|
||
The two piled into the airplane just as they heard a deep
|
||
rumbling come from the bowels of the earth. They looked at each
|
||
other for a moment; Scully, her eyes wide, Mulder giving her a
|
||
lopsided smile, then they both jumped into the pilot<6F>s seats and
|
||
began scanning the dials and buttons.
|
||
<09>Here it is,<2C> Scully said, pushing a button, and the warm
|
||
engines sprang to life. The ground beneath the plane shook and
|
||
heaved, and Mulder saw the outpost begin to topple.
|
||
<09>Can you fly this thing?<3F>
|
||
<09>Nope. But I watched my father fly.<2E> Scully was calm and
|
||
cool as she closed her eyes and tried to visualize exactly what had
|
||
to be done.
|
||
<09>Dana...<2E>
|
||
|
||
<09>Hold on, Mulder.<2E> Dana grasped a lever and began
|
||
pushing it forward, goading the plane to taxi down the runway.
|
||
The ice pitched and rolled and cracked beneath the plane and steam
|
||
began venting from the openings in the runway. A sharp crag of ice
|
||
split directly in front of them and there was no way to avoid it.
|
||
They both winced at the sound of their wing being torn, but after
|
||
they passed over the obstacle, the plane had sufficient speed to take
|
||
off.
|
||
Scully struggled with the controls, <20>Mulder...I-can<61>t...<2E>
|
||
<09>Don<6F>t worry, Scully. Aim for that rise just ahead.<2E> He
|
||
placed his hands on hers and helped her maintain control of the
|
||
tilting plane while underneath them, the ice began to liquefy.
|
||
They reached the top of the rise, the plane plowing roughly
|
||
through the soft snow before finally coming to rest.
|
||
Scully eased herself out of her seat and checked her body
|
||
for injury. Finding none, she reached over to Mulder and checked
|
||
him for broken bones.
|
||
<09>Ugh.<2E> he mumbled as her hands explored his prone body,
|
||
then opened his eyes. Seeing her close, he managed to murmur
|
||
with a twinkle in his eyes, <20>Scully. I was having to most interesting
|
||
dream...<2E>
|
||
Scully swatted him with her gloves and smiled at him, too
|
||
exhausted formulate a proper retort. Looking out the plane
|
||
window, Scully could see a surging aqua-blue river flowing past the
|
||
embankment they had landed on.
|
||
<09>Do you think we<77>re safe up here Mulder?<3F> she asked,
|
||
worried that the rise they were resting on would soon get washed
|
||
away.
|
||
<09>It doesn<73>t matter, Scully. Look!<21> Scully followed
|
||
Mulder<EFBFBD>s pointing finger and could just make out the small black
|
||
forms of helicopters on the horizon.
|
||
<09>Amazing. How did they know?<3F>
|
||
<09>They<65>re probably after me. I didn<64>t exactly <20>go by the
|
||
book<EFBFBD> to find you.<2E> Mulder replied, reaching for the radio as it
|
||
crackled to life. <20>This is Special Agent Mulder and Special Agent
|
||
Scully issuing a general distress call, over?<3F>
|
||
The radio buzzed and a voice replied, <20>We have you
|
||
sighted, Agent Mulder, Agent Scully. Please exit the airplane and
|
||
|
||
be prepared for evac.<2E>
|
||
<09>We<57>re pretty happy to see you guys. How did you know
|
||
we<EFBFBD>d be out here?<3F>
|
||
<09>Agent Mulder, we were scrambled to intercept you as soon
|
||
as we discovered your arrival at Doolittle. Now you have just
|
||
witnessed the destruction of a massive area of government
|
||
property. Someone has to be held accountable, over.<2E>
|
||
Mulder just gaped in astonishment as Scully took the
|
||
handset from him. <20>We copy that, out.<2E> She placed a hand on his
|
||
shoulder and sighed. <20>Don<6F>t worry Mulder. We<57>ll work this out
|
||
somehow.<2E> Shrugging slightly, Dana added bitterly, <20>They don<6F>t
|
||
even care about the loss of life, the loss of a scientific discovery of
|
||
phenomenal proportions. All they are upset about is the loss of
|
||
some valuable petroleum deposit.<2E>
|
||
Mulder nodded slowly, then turned to Scully and stated
|
||
without irony, without bitterness, just stating a simple fact, <20>We
|
||
finally hit them where it hurts.<2E> Then his eyes softened and he
|
||
smiled at her gently, a look that Scully knew so well. <20>This brings
|
||
to mind the great words of Ripley...<2E>
|
||
<09> <20>Believe it, or not<6F> ?<3F> Scully interrupted with an arched
|
||
brow.
|
||
<09>Nooo. Wrong Ripley.<2E> Mulder reached into a jacket
|
||
pocket and pulled out a small vial that contained an obviously dead
|
||
and pristine sample of the parasitic worm, and bobbed it up and
|
||
down in his hand. <20> <20>At least you don<6F>t see *them* screwing each
|
||
other over for a damned percentage.<2E><>
|
||
Mulder opened the door on his side, hopped out of the
|
||
plane, then held his arms out to help Scully down. She sat for a
|
||
minute, looking at him with a mixture of awe and annoyance, and
|
||
something more, then jumped out and promptly knocked him into
|
||
the snow. <20>Incredible,<2C> she breathed close to his startled face,
|
||
smiling wickedly, <20>they haven<65>t got us yet, have they Mulder.<2E>
|
||
They could hear the sounds of the approaching choppers,
|
||
but Mulder made no attempt to get up. <20>Believe it or not, Dana,<2C>
|
||
he said quietly, his eyes glimmering with a new hope and his hands
|
||
moving to rest lightly on her waist. Through the numbing cold and
|
||
layers of clothing, Scully felt Mulder give her waist a gentle
|
||
squeeze, <20>we<77>re not finished yet.<2E>
|
||
|
||
Frostbite
|
||
From: Peggy Mei-Ling Li <madge@uclink.berkeley.edu>
|
||
Date: 16 Sep 1994 07:15:17 GMT (Page 1 of 1)
|
||
|
||
I'm sorry for the wierd formatting and punctuation problems this story
|
||
might have- For some reason, parts one and three came out fine, but the
|
||
rest are messed up. If anyone out there can help me with this, I'd
|
||
really appreciate it. I'm doing the same things I've done in the past to
|
||
post, so I can't figure out what's gone wrong all of the sudden. Email me!
|
||
|
||
Hope you like(d) it! Thanks,
|
||
Peggy
|
||
|