Dedication & Notes: To the victims and survivors of cancer and to their family, friends and loved ones. For more information on charitable donations and celebrity golf outings check out:
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April 14, 2001
MCI Center Washington D.C.
"Hey, Scully," Mulder said as he stopped in the Arena's isle. "What seat does your ticket say?"
Scully reached into her pocket and pulled out her ticket stub. "I've got Row C Seat 1."
"Okay then," Mulder said as he took another glance at his own stub. "Your seat is right here on the aisle." Mulder skipped over seat number two and proceeded to seat number three. "That's strange. My ticket reads seat three. Who is sitting here in number two?"
Earlier that morning, Mulder had gotten an envelope in his FBI mailbox with a note of instructions saying that he was to share the tickets with his partner, Agent Dana Scully, and treat her to a first round playoff hockey game between the Washington Capitals and the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. The note was unsigned.
"What's the occasion, Agent Mulder?" posed his partner.
"I got these tickets in the inter office mailbox. They didn't say who they were from," answered Mulder.
Settling in to their surroundings, Mulder and Scully removed their coats and placed them on the open seat in between them. By the time Mulder and Scully could sit down, however, the lights in the arena faded to black with only two spotlights operational in the building. One was illuminating the American flag hanging from the rafters and the second shown over a sharply dressed man with a microphone standing on a red carpet. The P.A. announcer said that it was time for the playing of the national anthem.
Mulder and Scully stood nobly in the traditional posture with their hands over their hearts and their eyes fixed on the flag. After the Anthem had finished playing, the P.A. announcer said the names of the starting goaltenders and the referees. Both teams of players, chosen to start the game, left their benches and skated on their own sides.
Mulder and Scully psyched themselves up for what started to look like a great playoff hockey game. It had all the ingredients. Cheering fans, beer vendors hocking their products, and the bulky man who just filched a handful of nachos that were passed in front of him.
Not a moment too soon, another spectator made his way down to where Mulder and Scully were sitting. He was dressed like he had just come from the office. Instead of the more conventional tie to wear, he tugged and loosened a black and gold Pittsburgh Penguins tie.
"Excuse me, but is that seat taken?" asked the new arrival to Mulder and Scully. He pointed to the seat between the two agents underneath the pile of coats.
"Ah, no, Agent Michael," implied Mulder. "It's good to see you again. The game is about to start."
"Good. Glad to see that you got the envelope and that you were able to take the night off," the partner's colleague said.
"Agent Michael, this is my partner, Agent Dana Scully."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Michael trying to use his best and charming smile. He could swear that perhaps Scully was doing the same thing.
Michael took his seat in between the two agents and paid close attention to the opening face-off. He clutched his fist at the approval of the visiting team winning the control of the puck.
"So, how much I owe ya for the tickets?" Mulder asked as he went for his back pocket to get out his wallet.
"Naw, don't bother," Agent Michael waved off as he kept close attention to the action on the ice. "Tonight is on 'Uncle Sam'. I asked you to come here tonight because were going to be on assignment afterwards."
"What do you mean?" chimed in Scully.
"Well, I wanted you both to meet Super Mario, I think this guy has achieved so much in his lifetime, that it all can't be a coincidence," explained Agent Michael. "He first had to rise to the top in the NHL, which as we all know is no easy task."
As Agent Michael talked about the career of Super Mario, he caught the attention of one of the beverage vendors in the aisle. Then, he made a signal with his hands to buy three beers.
"Two championships later, several ailments almost ended his career," said Agent Michael as he took the first two beers and handed one to Mulder. Scully quickly waved off her glass and the vendor then had to recount the change for two beers instead.
"You know, Mulder, actually I'm getting another craving tonight. I could really go for a ice cream bar on a stick!" said Scully.
"Here's a man who then discovers he has Hodgkin's Disease, goes through chemotherapy, misses and entire first half of the year, only to come back, completely and in his first game back score a goal as if nothing had ever affected him," Agent Michael continues.
"Michael, I know you're from Pittsburgh and all, but is this just a scam of yours just to meet your hero, Mario Lemieux?" asked Mulder bluntly?
"Guys, Don't you get it? Doesn't this seem odd to you at all? Do any of you two know anyone who has come back from the brink of death? Do you know anyone who has had cancer, then beat it, only to go back to their job as if nothing had happened?"
Agent Michael then experienced an awkward moment to which after he had posed those questions only garnished a simple reaction from his FBI colleagues. Mulder and Scully just looked at each other and smiled, while Michael who was still sitting between them felt as if they must know something that he didn't.
"Mario Lemieux is like the greatest player ever to play the game. People just can't do what he did and even decide to retire only to come back and still compete at the elite level that he is used to," pleaded Agent Michael. "Do you mean you guys don't see anything worth investigating here?"
Michael didn't get an answer to his question as the Penguins had scored the first goal quickly into the game. The conversation between the threesome had been stopped as they enjoyed the hockey game.
Later in the first period, the Penguins had again scored another goal when the captain of the team threw a backhand shot to the Capitals net that left Mario Lemieux to catch a rebound and score the game winning goal. The Penguins won two to one.