J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING

WASHINGTON DC

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009

1500

A day of research had yielded only one important piece of information—a money trail, linking all of the suicidal scientists to an offshore account. But when they had tried to trace where the money originated, they had gotten nowhere.

The money trail had provided enough evidence for Skinner to approve of their continued investigation, but Mulder knew if they didn't come up with something new soon, their still uncompleted paperwork would become a priority.

"Hey, Mulder, there might be something here. Cynthia Hassletuck went on vacation to France in 2002. She stayed at a hotel in Paris, and apparently attended a conference on robotics. A prominent Spanish robotics professor, Anibal Ollero. I'm checking into Ollero's history now."

"Let me know if you come up with anything," Mulder said from his computer, staring at a picture of Justin LeRains and a Naval officer, Commander Cody Reynolds, in 2003. They were smiling, and shaking hands as LeRains accepted an award for a leap in cancer research.

There was a knock at the door, and Mulder stood up. "Just a minute," he called.

Scully didn't look up as he walked over to the door, and opened it. But when no conversation started, she glanced over at him to find him staring at something on the floor. No one was at the door.

"Mulder?"

He bent over, and picked up the object. He showed it to her, and she frowned. "What is it?"

"I think it's a white rabbit stick-on tattoo," Mulder said, looking at it more carefully. He flipped the little sticker over, and said, "It says 'temporary tattoo, comes off under water.'"

"Who put it there?"

"I have no idea. But whoever knocked had to have run pretty fast to get out of the basement that quickly."

"What's it mean?"

Mulder shook his head, and put the white rabbit tattoo on his desk. "Maybe someone's trying to say Happy Easter."

Scully picked up the tattoo and studied it, hoping to find some kind of clue. Then she turned it over and looked at the back. "Wait a minute…" she brought it over to their microscope, and stuck it under. After adjusting the lens and ignoring Mulder's excited hovering form, she said, "Got it. Come on, Mulder."

"Where are we going?"

"Upstairs," Scully said, almost out the door.

"Why?" Mulder asked.

"It says 'The Matrix' on it, printed on the back. Grab the car keys," she ordered. When Mulder obeyed, she grabbed her jacket and said, "Remember? The white rabbit?"

"So we're looking for another white rabbit somewhere upstairs?" Mulder inquired, ever-excited. He had that nearly glistening look in his eye that told Scully she had just created a monster.

"Something like that," she said. Just as he went to brush past her and head out of the office, she caught his arm. "We stay together," she told him firmly. "Okay, Mulder?"

Mulder hesitated, and then nodded impatiently. "Let's go."

XXX

They found another tattoo dropped by the exit to the Hoover building, in the front lobby. After walking outside and scanning for whoever had the next little clue, they found a homeless man attempting in vain to stick the tattoo to his glove as he walked down the street.

"Excuse me! Sir!" Mulder called, and jogged up to him.

The man looked scared to death.

"We're not going to hurt you, Sir. We just need to know where you got that tattoo."

He squinted at them, and then began to speak. After a croak, he cleared his throat and began again. "You ain't cops, are ya?"

Mulder shook his head. "No, we just need to know where you got that tattoo."

"It's a bunny," he said, admiring the stick-on tattoo and smiling. "See?"

"Yes, it's very nice. Who gave it to you?" Scully asked.

"Hey! Are you two Neo and Trinity?" he asked, suddenly looking excited.

Mulder glanced at Scully, and Scully's eyebrow ascended her forehead.

"Yes," Mulder told him. "That's us. Who told you we were coming?"

Scully had to wonder what he was doing, but for the moment let him try to get something out of this man.

"The man with the bunny stickers. Said Neo and Trinity were coming and were gonna ask about my bunny sticker. You ain't gonna take it away, are ya?"

"No, Sir," Scully assured him. "I promise. Could you tell us what this man looked like?"

"Couldn't see his face, had a hood on. Came out of the building." He pointed to the Hoover building. "The cop building. You two ain't cops, right?"

"We're not going to hurt you, Sir. What did this man say to you?" Mulder asked.

"He said you two would come and ask about the bunny sticker, and I should stay here till ya do. So I walked up and down, but you didn't come till now. Oh! And when you come, I'm supposed to tell you. Watch the news tonight."

"Watch the news tonight?"

"The live news, the guy said. Has to be live news. Breaking news. Gonna be something big going down, promise."

"Is that all he said?" Scully asked.

"Yeah, that's all. You two ain't cops, right?"

"Thanks for your time, Sir." Mulder reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing the man a five dollar bill. "Go to Micky D's, get some food for yourself. It's gonna be cold tonight—you should find a shelter if you can."

"Don't need no shelter. But thank's for the five. Gonna buy myself a Whopper special. God bless ya. And thank God ya ain't cops."

The man shuffled away, dirty coat flapping in the wind.

"Don't you miss the days when they'd call me up in the middle of the night and tell me to turn on my TV? Things were simpler then," Mulder said, almost wistfully.

Scully rolled her eyes. "We should go over the security tapes. We might be able to identify the man if he was in the Hoover building. If not, well…I guess we're watching TV tonight."

MULDER & SCULLY TOWNHOUSE

GEORGETOWN, DC

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009

2100

Scully sat next to Mulder in bed, a book propped on her lap. They had no luck determining what the mysterious messenger had wanted or why he went to such lengths to give them the simple message he did. So after work, they sat through a story about a massive string cheese recall, after which Mulder made an obscene joke that caused Scully to enter a fit of hysterical laughter that didn't end until the weather report was over.

During the political commentary, they had both begun to read something in boredom. But that's when breaking news came in.

"We bring you breaking news live from a home in Bethesda, MD. This suburban home on Dellwood Place has met with recent tragedy when two intruders entered and murdered at least three out of five members of a foster home. It is confirmed that Ben and Lisa Bradley, foster parents to three children, have been shot to death in their home. One of the foster children, Derrick Jones, is confirmed dead, while police suspect another to be seriously injured. Two of the three children are still in the house, being held hostage by the intruders.

"The intruders have not identified themselves and are not making any demands. Police are calling an FBI negotiator—"

"Come on," Mulder said, getting out of bed and heading straight for the closet.

"Mulder, we have no idea if this is what they were talking about—"

"It's breaking news, Scully!" he called from the closet, as he pulled a pair of jeans from the shelf and a t-shirt from its hanger. "This has to be what they were planning. They've already murdered three people, maybe four. We have to get down there."

"No one called us," she protested. As if on cue, the phone rang. Scully rolled her eyes as she walked to the nightstand and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Scully, it's Skinner," the voice on the other end said. It sounded irritated.

"Yes, Sir, what can we do for you?"

"Were you watching the news?"

"Yes, Sir. About the hostages?"

"Don't go down to Dellwood Place."

Scully looked surprised, and glanced at Mulder coming out of the closet. "Why, Sir?" she asked.

"We have a negotiations team going down there already, and we don't need anyone else involved."

"Sir…what makes you think we would go down there?"

"Did they show the front of the house on the news, Scully?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Did you notice the sticker?"

Scully looked to the television, which was no longer focused on the front of the house. "No, Sir."

"Ben and Lisa Bradley were MUFON members."

Scully's eyebrow went up, and she said, "Really, Sir."

"It's better for everyone if you just stay out of this—there's nothing suggesting this is anything but a random act of violence."

She sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed. She was really going to regret doing this. She really, really was. But she couldn't help it—he needed to know. And Mulder was going, regardless. "Sir…there is something to suggest it's more than a random act of violence. This afternoon Mulder and I were…I guess you could say 'summoned', for lack of a better word. Someone with a construction worker's badge walked through the building, found his way to our basement office, and placed a white rabbit sticker at the foot of our door."

"Yes, I saw the footage and was told that you and Mulder were investigating. What does that have to do with this?"

"The intruder gave a white rabbit sticker to a homeless man, who told us to watch the evening news. He specified that it had to be live, breaking news. Sir, we believe this is connected."

"Did you get anywhere in identifying this man?" Skinner asked urgently.

"No, Sir. As you know, we tried. He wore a hooded jacket the entire time, but he did have a construction worker's badge. We checked the roster and it was registered under a fake name, for a job that never was completed. He appears to have done nothing else in the building other than give us the sticker."

He sighed. "Alright, Scully. I'll meet you down there. Do me a favor…if you two get there first, don't let Mulder do anything stupid."

"Trust me, Sir, I was thinking the same thing. We'll see you down there."

When she hung up and Mulder emerged from out of the closet fully dressed, he said, "Lisa and Ben Bradley. I've heard those names before, Scully."

"They were MUFON members," Scully said with a sigh, heading into the closet herself.

Mulder paused a moment, staring at a spot on the floor as the wheels of his photographic memory turned. "I've definitely heard those names before."

"Maybe they were at a conference or something."

"Foster parents to three children, at least one of which is dead," he muttered, as he watched Scully pull on jeans and then reach for a sweater.

"Okay, let's go," she said, brushing past him. "Promise me you aren't going to do anything irrational, all right?"

Mulder rolled his eyes. "Scully, have you ever known me to be irrational?"

Scully just gave him a 'look,' and he smirked as he led the way down the stairs.