Takes place after Paper Clip (3x2). References to Ghost in the Machine (1x7) and Soft Light (2x23).
Disclaimer: The X Files and its characters belong to Chris Carter. I own nothing.
This is my very first X-files fanfic and I'll be glad to get some feedback.
PS. English is not my first language so forgive my little grammar sins :)
Part 1: Night call
Scully'sapartment – 11:40 pm.
The lights are dim. The TV is on but there is no sound. Scully is fast asleep on her couch, covered with a plaid. A half-eaten bowl of pop corn is standing on the coffee table.
Scully's rest is disturbed by the soft ring of her phone. She opens her eyes and stretches. Who could be calling her at this hour on a Saturday night? Automatically Scully thinks that it's Mulder. He probably got a flat tire on his way to Roswell and now he wants Scully to come and pick him up. For a split second Scully considers not to answer the phone. But then again it could be her mother. She sounds groggy when she is answering the phone.
"Hello?"
Surprisingly the voice that she hears on the other end of the line is not Mulder's. In fact, she doesn't recognise it at all. It's a male voice, and she can hear that this man is nervous.
"You must come to the Georgetown Waterfront Park tonight."
"Sir, I think you have wrong -"
"I need to show you what they do. Come before they take me."
This is getting annoying. Scully was never fond of prank callers. She is about to hang up, when the man says:
"See through the smokescreen, Dana!"
And nothing. Silence. This man has hung up before Scully had a chance to ask him anything about who he was or what he wanted. Who was this – a drunken prank caller or somebody who is in need of help? Scully glances at the clock on her living room wall. It's almost midnight. Suppose she does get in her car now and drives to the Georgetown Waterfront Park, then what? Best case scenario: there will be no one there, meaning that she's been fooled. Worst case scenario: someone will be waiting for her. Scully has made powerful enemies ever since she joined Mulder on his quest for the truth.
She could call the phone company and find out the caller's number, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. If something important is waiting for her in that park she has to go there now. Scully looks out the window and sees nothing but darkness...
Scully's apartment – 10:00 am
The kitchen bathes in sunlight. The smell of fresh coffee fills the air. Scully enters the kitchen. She's wearing a bathrobe. Her hair is wet.
It's good to be awake on such a beautiful Sunday morning. The memories of last night's phone call seem distant now, as if covered by a fog. She was tired, and gloomy thoughts occupied her mind that night. She overreacted and got frightened when that "joker" called and tried to pull her leg. But now that the sun is up, the dark spell of yesterday has been lifted.
Scully sits at the table and picks up the Sunday newspaper. She turns the pages, reading only headlines. One headline catches her attention. She reads it again:
"Man found dead in Georgetown Waterfront Park"
She reads the article. A middle-aged white male has been found dead by the pond. There are no external wounds or traces of struggle, but the police do not rule out foul play. The man's identity is yet to be established.
This is a coincidence. These things happen. Scully is trying to rationalize the situation and keep her head cold. And yet she can't help but suspect the obvious. That this man's death is somehow related to that mysterious phone call she received last night.
Edgar Hoover- Building – 12:00 pm.
Scully is waiting outside AD Skinner's office. She does not know why he called her in on a Sunday. Skinner's secretary sits behind her own desk, working. She does not acknowledge Scully. The phone on her desk rings, she answers it.
"Yes, sir, she's here." – She hangs up and faces Scully. – "AD Skinner will see you now, agent Scully."
Scully gets up and enters Skinner's office. The man himself is seated behind his desk; he is holding his reading glasses in his hand. Scully tries to read his facial expression, but as usual it does not give her much. His face is stern, and has been stern for as long as she's known him. Perhaps it is an act he has to put up in front of his subordinates. She can't imagine anybody going through life without smiling even once.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Have a seat, agent... Have you heard about the dead man found in Georgetown Waterfront Park last night?"
"Yes, I have."
"You don't happen to know why the police found a note with your phone number on it in his coat pocket, do you?"
"No, sir, I do not. May I ask you what this is all about?" – She pauses. – Am I a suspect?"
Skinner is taken aback by her question.
"No, of course not. But both the police and the FBI are curious as to why the deceased would have the phone number of one of our special agents."
He puts emphasis on the last two words, as if pointing out that any of Scully's problems with the law will inevitably affect the Bureau.
"Has somebody been following you in the past few weeks? You don't remember anything strange happen?"
Scully allows herself to a short pause before answering him. Not too long, so he won't become suspicious. But she needs time before she decides what exactly she will tell him. A year and a half ago she would have told the Assistant Director everything about last night's call. But too much has changed since she was assigned to the X-files. She has learned the hard way that not everybody in the FBI is to be trusted. And although in the past months Skinner has proven to be her and Mulder's friend and not foe, Scully is still reluctant to be completely honest with him. It is not him she doesn't trust, but the men who outrank him. She finally settles on a "short" version of yesterday's conversation.
"Last night a got a phone call. It was a man – I don't know him. He told me to come to the Georgetown Waterfront Park. He said he had something important to tell me. I assumed he was a late night prank caller."
"And now you wonder if this has to do with this case."
"Sir, agent Mulder and I can investigate-"
"You will have to leave this one to the proper authorities. This is not an X-file."
"It is now." – Both Scully and Skinner turn their heads to see Mulder standing in the door. – "I'm sorry I didn't knock, sir. Your secretary is not here."
He goes over to Skinner's desk, sits next to Scully and puts a file folder in front of them.
"The victim's name was Nicholas Planck. He was a physicist, and used to work at the George Washington University. Single, no children. The police have sent over the autopsy report. They want FBI:s assistance on this case. Apparently they're having a problem establishing the cause of death."
Scully picks up the folder and starts reading through the autopsy report. There are photos and CT-scans attached to the report.
"It says here that the pathologist found no exterior wounds, except a number of small puncture wounds on the victim's head."
"There's more." – Mulder points to the CT-scans.
When Scully is done reading, she hands the folder over to Skinner.
"I haven't seen anything like this." – she says.
Skinner is reading the report as well. Considering that the case somehow involves one of FBI:s agents, it falls under FBI:s jurisdiction. Plus the police needs their help. He looks at the pictures taken during the autopsy. The autopsy results are unusual, but Skinner is still uncertain if this case qualifies as an X-file. Finally it is Scully's knowledge in forensic pathology and Mulder's experience with unusual phenomena that gets Skinner to make up his mind.
"Alright, agents, you are now in charge of this investigation."
Ext. Autopsy room – 01:30 pm.
Mulder and Scully are waiting for the victim's body to be brought over and prepared for a second examination.
"And then he just hung up?"
"That's right."
Since Mulder practically snuck into Skinner's office, he couldn't help but overhear his and Scully's conversation. Mulder would not be surprised if he'd receive a phone call like that. A lot of Mulder's sources prefer to stay out of the light, and sometimes Mulder puts his own life at risk to protect their anonymity. But Scully is not used to his kind of thing. And it does worry Mulder that she got such a call. Personally, he's glad she used her best judgement and did not go to meet this man.
"He also said a few things I didn't tell Skinner about."
"What did he say?"
"He said that I must 'see through the smokescreen' ".
"Smokescreen? I will have to look into that. Anyway, why couldn't you tell that to Skinner? You still don't think we can trust him?"
"It's not Skinner that I don't trust, Mulder."
Mulder nods his head in agreement. He knows exactly what Scully is talking about. "Trust no one" – this has been his motto in both professional life and in personal. And in the past year it has been more relevant than ever. The men responsible for Scully's abduction, the death of her sister, the death of his own father – they are inside the government, inside the FBI. So while dealing with sensitive information, one must be careful.
The body is being rolled in the autopsy room. Scully leaves Mulder to begin the examination.
"I'm gonna head back to our office and do some snooping."
"I'll call you when I'm done."
They smile at each other and Scully enters the autopsy room. Before starting the initial examination Scully takes the CT-scans of the victim's brain that were taken during the first autopsy and studies them some more. The images indicate that Dr. Planck died from a brain haemorrhage. There should be no reason why the coroner wouldn't have been able to state that as the cause of death. However, when Scully first looked at the CT-scans she knew exactly why the coroner needed a second opinion. Never in her many years as a forensic pathologist has Scully seen a brain haemorrhage this severe. It looks like every blood vessel in this man's brain exploded. What could have caused such a high blood pressure? According to Dr. Planck's medical records, his blood pressure was normal. Nor did he suffer from any serious illness.
Scully must open the victim's cranium to see the effects of the haemorrhage. But first she must take a look at the multiple puncture wounds on his head. Could it be that these wounds have something to do with the haemorrhage? Scully snaps latex gloves on her hands, puts a surgical mask on her face, turns on the tape recorder and starts the procedure...
Mulder and Scully's office – 03:30 pm.
Mulder has been sitting in his office for the larger part of the afternoon. He has finished the initial research about Mr. Planck and is now waiting for Scully's call. He looks around the room. He should really clean up here. There's only one desk and sometimes Mulder thinks that it wouldn't be a bad idea to put a second desk. That would make many things a lot easier. Mulder leans back in his chair, takes one of the newly sharpened pencils in his hand and tosses it up. The pencil sticks to the ceiling, joining a dozen of similar pencils. Not bad. Just as he is about to throw a second pencil, the phone rings. He answers it.
"FBI:s most unwanted!"
"Mulder, it's me. I'm done with the autopsy."
"What did you find?"
"My examination has only confirmed what the coroner found in the first autopsy. Planck died from a brain haemorrhage. The problem is that there is not a force in the world that would cause a haemorrhage this severe."
She pauses and Mulder hears a car door open. Scully must be on her way home now.
Then there's the puncture wounds. There is nothing unusual about them, except for their origin. I still don't know how they got there. Meanwhile, what do you have?"
"Well, I've been doing a little digging of my own. It turns out that Doctor Planck was a professor in particle physics. He was teaching at the George Washington University until he resigned in 1987 to participate in something called Project Brainstorm."
"Did you say Brainstorm?"
" Yes. You've heard about it?"
"I have read about it years ago. They're studying the human brain and the nervous system. Their goal is to find a cure for Parkinson's decease and come up with better rehabilitation programs for people who suffered stroke."
"Looks like we need to go down to the Project Headquarters. But since it is Sunday afternoon, we will have to wait until tomorrow morning."
Project Brainstorm Headquarters – 08:00 pm.
Doctor Natalie Tanaka – the head psychologist of Project Brainstorm – is working late tonight again. For all she knows she can be the only living soul in the entire building, except maybe for the janitor. Her office is dimly lit by a lamp on her desk. The papers on her desk are neatly folded and stacked. She likes order. Her phone rings, startling her.
"Dr. Tanaka speaking."
Her face muscles stiffen when she hears the voice in the receiver. She knows this voice all too well.
"Two FBI-agents will be coming to see you tomorrow morning. They will be asking questions about Dr. Planck."
"I don't want to hear this. Please."
"You will answer their questions. We want to be cooperative, Doctor. But I hope you know what to leave out when you tell them your story."
"Yes, I do. Are we done?"
The man hangs up without saying anything else. Natalie Tanaka wishes that they were done. Done with this charade. She puts down the receiver and takes one of the framed photos that stand on her desk. It is a family photo. Natalie, her husband and their three children are smiling for the camera. The children are all grown-ups now, but it doesn't make them less vulnerable to "life's little mishaps". She thinks about her kids and about her friend Nicholas whose life was cut short last night.
She puts the framed photo back where it belongs. The psychologist likes order. She only wishes that she could bring order in her own life. But that is out of her hands. There are other people who have the power to control her life, both professional and personal. There is nothing that she can do but to obey them.
Thank you for reading. In the next chapter our agents will dig deeper in the mysteries of Brainstorm.
PS. This story is not related to a movie called Brainstorm, since I have only found out about it after finishing this story. Also I haven't seen it.