A/N- First of all, many thanks to those of you who reviewed the previous chapter. I finally figured out a basic plot line that I like, so I'm gonna give it the ol' college try. Again, I have no beta, and I tend to write really late at night, so if you see anything horrendous that must be corrected, please let me know. Or if you have any critisms/complements, I'll take those too. Cheers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU, the Lone Gunmen, X-Files, Homicide: LotS, or these shows' respective characters. And I promise to put Munch back where I found him, though he'll probably be in need of a nap ;).
"It all started when a Jonathon Mueller was killed in a hit and run."
"A Jonathon Mueller?"
"Yeah. That's the name on the official report my partner and I turned in." Munch took a sip of beer. "Of course, that wasn't the vic's real name."
"No kidding." Fin took a sip of his own beer. Realizing his partner's story was likely to take up a good portion of his life, Fin had suggested skiving off work and heading to the squad's favorite watering hole. "So what was his real name?"
"I'll get to that. Most of this stuff I didn't find out until after we had closed the case..."
OoOoOoO
Detective John Munch sat his desk in his apartment in Baltimore. In front of him, reports, pictures and other assorted documents were spread out like so much tarot cards. Munch sighed as he looked over the file for the Mueller case.
Jonathon Mueller had been the victim of a drunk driver. Like so many of these type of deaths, there had been no connection between driver and victim. At least, no obvious connection. Munch frowned. His instincts kept telling him that there was more to this than a simple hit and run, but he couldn't prove it. CSI and the ME had confirmed that Alexander Waters had been intoxicated and had been driving the car. When Waters turned himself in the next day, his blood alcohol level was still over the legal limit. As far as his squad was concerned, it had been open and shut. Mueller was now six feet under, and Waters was serving six to ten.
Munch was starting to think that he'd get more out of tarot cards.
He got up from his desk and went into the kitchen. After rummaging through the cabinets, he pulled out a box of Twining's tea. He heated up a mug of hot water in the microwave and threw the tea bag into the mug. He watched as the tea turned the water a rich brown; the swirls of color expanding outward, the tea getting stronger.
Stronger.
Munch practically ran back to his desk, his tea forgotten. He rifled through the papers until he found the report on Waters' medical exam that had been done upon arrest. He skimmed down until he got to blood/alcohol level. He then looked at the CSI report. Blood had been found in the abandoned car, specifically on the steering wheel. Waters had sustained various cuts on his hands from literally falling down drunk, leaving more than enough blood to do a DNA and an alcohol level test.
Munch compared the two levels. Waters' alcohol level was higher when he turned himself in; nearly ten hours after the accident.
"Well, that's interesting," Munch muttered.
OoOoOoO
"So the guy probably drank to get his courage up," Fin commented. "Or maybe figured he should have one last binge before he turns himself in."
Munch gave his partner a condescending look. "Please. When was the last time that happened? They don't call it a 'Hit and Run' for nothing. Besides, the car had been reported stolen two days ago, so except for the blood, we had no way of tracing the car back to Waters."
Fin leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Then why did this Waters turn himself in?"
"That, my friend, was the million dollar question." Munch took another sip of his beer. "And the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced Waters was setup to take the fall for Mueller's death."
"So there was a connection between the vic and the perp?" Fin asked his partner.
"Yeah, but it took me a while to figure it out." Munch finished off his beer. "In the meantime, I had my first brush with the Gunmen."
"The guys from that paper you were reading."
"The same. At first, they struck me as being a few inches short of the deep end. Byers's story about a framed scientist, government coverups, and dental work with tracking technology seemed so outlandish at the time."
"Uh, huh. Still does," Fin said. He reached for the pitcher and refilled his and Munch's glasses. "So how do these gunmen and Mueller fit together?"
Munch reached for his glass, "The Gunmen were the ones who put me on the right track to finding out the connection between Mueller and Waters."
A/N- Yeah, so anyone notice my vaugeness in regards to Baltimore? I haven't had the opportunity to watch Homicide, so instead of getting canon hopelessly wrong, I'm going to fake it as far as references to Munch's squad. Thanks for understanding, and remember, reviews are love. :)
