Title: Undercover
Author: elana
Rating: T or NC-13
Email: Anywhere, just keep my name, email and other info attached and let me know where.
Spoilers: A little bit of Arcadia, but nothing big.
Feedback: Love it, want it, gotta have it! Please provide it!
Disclaimer: None of the X-Files characters are mine, and neither are any references to the X-Files, but at least the story is mine.
Summary: The agents are assigned to another undercover case, except these neighbours are not nearly as uptight.
Author's Notes: This is probably gonna be the longest X-Files fic I've written. I really appreciate all comments as long as they are nice and/or constructive, and I try to respond to all. So, please, don't hesitate!
Chapter One – The Assignment
Mulder's Office
July 3, 1999 – 11:30am
Today… today is one of those days. Scully and I were stuck in an hour-long conference in Skinner's office. Then we spent two more hours doing paperwork we've been avoiding. Plus, it doesn't help that we're stuck in a stuffy office, in the middle of summer, with no air conditioning. It was hell.
I jump when Scully says the first thing either of us has spoken in over an hour.
"Finished!" she turns her head to look at me. I look down at the papers in my lap. I have been daydreaming for a while now and I forgot about the reports I am supposed to be doing. She's giving me a strange look, probably, because I'm starring at her with piles of untouched paperwork all around me. "Mulder, are you okay?"
"Besides being sweltering hot, I'm just peachy."
"The sooner you finish those reports, the sooner we can get out of this basement. Speaking of heat, Mulder, have you gone over the new case Skinner gave us, the one in California?"
"Not yet." I throw the papers into an already overflowing box and walk over to where I left the case file. At that moment, the phone rings and I turn to see Scully reach for it.
"Scully," she says into the receiver. "Yes, sir. We were just about to look over it." She gives me a motion to keep reading, so I look down at the case and continue listening. "Of course, sir, we'll be right up." She hangs up the phone and looks over at me. "I hope you're good at speed reading, because Skinner would like to see us in his office in ten minutes to discuss how we'll handle the case."
Skinner's Office
July 3, 1999 – Noon
"Good afternoon, agents." Skinner acknowledges both of us with a nod of his head.
"Good afternoon. Sir, I'm not sure I understand why we're here."
"It has been decided that this case should be handled in a different fashion, Agent Scully. The town where the missing women live is small and neighbourly. The town has a spotless reputation and the sheriff has asked us to keep our investigation on the down low for as long as possible. Therefore, the Deputy Director and I have decided that the best way to pursue this case is for the two of you to observe the friends and neighbours of the victims by going undercover.
I have completed the task of arranging everything you will need. Your plane will leave tomorrow morning at 11:45am. Your IDs and background information are in these two files. Everything else has already been brought to your new home, including the proper clothing suited for your rolls. You may have the afternoon off to pack anything else you think you may need. I also suggest going over your rolls. Do either of you have any questions?" Mulder and I shake our heads. "Well, then you are both dismissed. "Have a nice day, agents."
Mulder's Office
July 3, 1999 – 12:20am
Another undercover case in another friendly neighbourhood. I wonder if we'll be pretending to be married, like last time. Scully didn't seem to like being married at the Falls and she hasn't said a word to me since we left Skinner's office. "So, Scully, what are our names this time?" She hated the names I picked out last time. I had just meant it as a joke, but I guess I just embarrassed her.
"Kate and Andrew Whitfield. Not bad. Kate is short for my middle name. I've always kind of liked it."
"Hmm, Kate and Andrew Whitfield. You're right, Scully, not bad. It's no Rob and Laura Peatrie though." At least Scully likes the names this time. That's a good sign.
"It was 'Pee'trie, Mulder. There's a lot more than names here and we need to have it all memorized by the time we get there tomorrow. They even have some suggestions of how we should portray our characters. Maybe we should get together later to go over it." Uh oh, my apartment's a mess.
"Sounds good, how about I meet you at your place around eight? I'll bring a pizza."
"Sure, but you're going to have to clean your apartment up sooner or later." She smiles as she gets her things and walks out the door. I yell down the hall.
"I will see you later."
Scully's Apartment
July 3, 1999 – 8:47pm
Knock, knock.
I am pulled away from the files by a knock at the door. There is so much background info on Kate and Andrew. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to remember it all. I get up to answer the door. "You're late." I notice he's has something behind his back. I try to peek, but he won't let me see. "Mulder, what have you got?" I give him my famous eyebrow.
"Don't you know what day it is, Kate?" He gives me his best hurt look that I've always had a soft spot for. As far as I can remember, there is nothing special about today. I decide to keep the eyebrow up. At this, he pulls out a bottle of wine. "We've been married for exactly one month." He gives me a huge grin and walks into the kitchen to get some wine glasses. "Oh, the pizza is going to be delivered here in about ten minutes. I was already running late, so I figured delivery would be better than me picking it up." I walk back to the couch and start reading the files again.
"Okay, so, I am Katharine Amanda, maiden name Lovett, born July 27th, 1974, to James and Olivia Lovett. You are Andrew Cameron Whitfield, born December 2nd, 1970, to Wilfred and Lillian Whitfield. Mulder, are you listening?"
"Yes, and we're pretty young. You're 24 and I'm 28. Your birthday is coming up at the end of this month. What do we do for a living?" I flip through a few pages as he comes to sit at the couch.
"Um… Apparently, I'm working on my acting career, while you are a writer, working on your first novel. We are living off a large inheritance from your parents, who died in a plane crash many years ago."
"Young, rich and in love," he leers my way.
"That seems to be the case for most of the couples in this town," I say, ignoring his innuendo as usual, but sometimes I would like to respond with something equally suggestive, just to see how he would react, yet I doubt I ever will.
"What do you mean?"
"Well apparently most of the neighbourhood is couples in their twenties and almost all of them have blood money. They all like to have fun, all the time, because they have no need to work. Those that do work don't really have very demanding jobs."
"So they can do whatever they want?"
"Basically. Besides breaking the law."
"Scully," he smiles my way, "I think this is the beginning of a very enjoyable assignment."
Scully's Apartment
July 4, 1999 – 9am
"R – E – S – P – E – C – T. Find out what it means to me. R – E – S - ."
CRASH!
What was that? I think something fell on my head, because at the moment, said head is filled with extreme pain. I reach my hand up to feel it. Nope, my head seems fully intact. I guess I should probably open my eyes to see what the hell that noise was… In a minute. Besides the splitting headache, I am actually quite comfortable at the moment. What ever I am lying on has formed perfectly to my body. There is something warm, soft and sweet smelling rested on my chest. After about five minutes, I make myself open my eyes, mainly because; wherever I am I need to find some aspirin before my head explodes. Immediately when I open my eyes I see red. As my eyes focus, I see that the mass of red I saw is really a head covered in red hair.
End of Chapter One