"Are you serious Skinner?" FBI agent Dana Scully could not believe she had to go undercover as her partner Fox Mulder's wife again. "Are there not any other male and female agents that could play the part?"
"Oh come on Scully, we had fun last time didn't we?" Mulder gave her a little wink, making certain that their boss did not see it. The truth of the matter was that Mulder really did have fun on the other undercover assignment. He and his partner got along so well that everyone believed they were husband and wife. Mulder actually allowed himself to think of them as a couple a few times. Of course he brought himself back to reality quickly, telling himself that Scully was his friend, partner, confidante, but nothing more.
"Can I at least explain what the assignment entails?" Skinner was not angry, yet he was becoming somewhat annoyed. Mulder and Scully were two of his best agents. The only problem was that every case he gave the two of them became extremely complicated. The government was trying to conceal some truth. "The truth" could range from the existence of aliens to murders. This proved that the two of them would stop at nothing to discover the truth. That is precisely the reason why he needed these two agents on this case; no one else would work or be brave enough.
"Sorry sir, go ahead," replied Scully.
"There have been a total of nine disappearances on the Pumba Cruise Line. Have the two of you ever heard of this Cruise line?" Skinner looked at the two agents and awaited a reply.
"Well no sir, I have never heard of that cruise line. But isn't that one of the characters from the Lion King?" Mulder looked back and forth between Scully and Skinner.
"Agent Mulder, I do not know if that is a character on a children's movie or not. The point is that nine people are missing and the authorities are claiming that they all committed suicide," Skinner replied with a slight hint of anger in his voice.
"Alright, sir. Exactly what are Agent Mulder and I supposed to do on this assignment? I mean couldn't we just question the staff and passengers and conduct a normal investigation?" Scully found it difficult to play a pretend role and solve a crime.
"I will not sit here and argue with the two of you any longer! Agent Mulder and Agent Scully, the two of you will go undercover on Pumba Cruise Line as a newlywed couple. You will be departing from Florida at 8am in two days. The trip will be for two weeks. During which the two of you will act as much as a newlywed couple as you must in order to convince the other guests. Figure out the reason for the disappearances quickly. The F.B.I. wants a speedy investigation. If you happen to solve the crime before the two weeks is up…I can have the two of you returned to Washington at the same time as the convict. Are there any questions?'
"Sir, do we have a specific identification? Or am I allowed to choose Scully and my names?"
"Mulder, you got to choose last time! Remember Rob and Laura Pietry? We agreed that I would get to pick the names this time." Scully had no idea what names she would pick, all she knew was that she didn't want Mulder to do it.
"Quite frankly, I don't care who chooses the names. I did not include a name with the purchase of the tickets," Skinner replied dryly.
"All right, thank you sir. We will do our best to get to the bottom of these disappearances."