CHAPTER 3

12:53 P.M. MST
Downtown Farmington, NM

"Doggett."

"Doggett, it's Mulder."

Doggett sighed, pressing his cell phone closer to his ear. "Mulder, I think it's happening already," he said softly, pacing in a far corner of the Stevens Institute of Technology campus plaza as some summer students milled by him.

"What do you mean?" Mulder asked quickly, his expression worrying Scully, who stood close by him.

"Mulder, we've got 14 kids dead in Seaside Heights, New Jersey from what looks like radiation. Their bodies were burnt to a crisp. They're still trying to ID them using dental records at this point. We've gotten a couple of the victims' names, and so far it looks like they are all kids from the Stevens Institute of Technology campus."

Mulder shut his eyes. "The cave," he whispered, causing Scully to move in closer in an attempt to hear the conversation.

"Yeah, I think so. From what we were able to get from the only witnesses as far as a sketch, our suspect is Chad Wentworth, a student at SIT as well. Environmental Engineering. I'm headed over with some troopers to his parents' house now."

"Be careful," Mulder warned. "If he's there, it might not be such a good idea to confront him."

"What choice do we have, Mulder? This kid has to be stopped before more people die, if they haven't already. We've got to trace it back to the source."

"What about any professors on campus?" Mulder asked. "Maybe one or more of them rounded up some kids on campus to do their dirty work so they could start analyzing the spring?"

"I've got Monica and some other guys checking on some potential professors who might have a connection to things. Can I reach you back at this number?"

"No," Mulder grumbled, not willing to wait in front of a payphone. He glanced across the street to an electronics store. "I'm biting the bullet. I'll call you with my new cell number in a bit."

"You sure about that?" Doggett asked. "I thought you wanted to fly under the wire."

"I think if we keep flying under it, eventually we'll get eaten by the big fat cat," Mulder replied. "We need to start taking the advantage back."

"Well, as long as you're sure."

"They could find us whenever they want to anyway," Mulder explained. "Foregoing electronic connection is only providing us a false sense of security."

"Alright, I'll wait for your call, then."

Mulder hung up, seeing Scully next to him nearly bursting with unspoken questions. "We're getting cell phones," Mulder replied, nodding to Will. "You and Cara too."

"Mulder, what did he say?" Scully asked.

"It's happening. Someone's come into contact with the Purity from Sybil's Cave."

"Shit," Will said, his nostrils flaring as he turned away from his father and mother and looking out into the street, breathing deeply to try to control his anger.

"How many victims?" Scully asked quietly.

"Fourteen," Mulder replied solemnly, seeing Scully's eyes widen. "Looks to be kids from the SIT campus." Mulder glanced up at Will, whose back was turned to him. "There's nothing we could've done, William," he said softly, knowing his son was blaming himself for the deaths.

Will nodded softly, half-listening to his father as his eyes focused on a figure moving across the street. His heart stopped - it was her. She was headed away from them. Without hesitation, Will darted across the street, leaving Mulder and Scully behind as they called his name in confusion, watching their son pursue the woman.

"William!" Scully said, stepping to the curb and checking for traffic before running after him, Mulder in close pursuit.

As she disappeared into an alley, Will continued after her, convinced she was a bounty hunter and that she needed to be stopped. From a distance, he saw a large man approach the same alley only seconds after she went down it, and ran faster toward it, trying to save the man's life, so he thought.

As he rounded the corner, Will's eyes went wide when he saw the man grab her, attempting to drag her away to a waiting car. Reacting in the moment, Will lunged onto the man, ripping him off the woman's back easily as he fell backwards, the man landing on top of him with force. The man punched Will hard in the jaw, splitting his lip and causing blood to trickle down his face. Shoving him off of himself, Will rolled over, standing quickly as he saw the man aiming a gun at him. "Back off, hero," he said, cocking the gun.

Will was surprised as he saw the man's gun fly backwards into the alley, the woman next to him breathing deeply as she focused on the man's hand. It wasn't his mind that had moved the gun, but hers, and he was stunned as he looked at her, watching her with intensity as he now heard the police yelling behind him.

"Hands in the air!" they ordered, and Will rose them instinctively, his eyes fixed on the woman that had moved the weapon with her mind, who was defending him to the police.

"No, he's innocent," she said. "He tried to help me." She gestured to the other man who was on his knees, being cuffed by officers. "He's the creep with the gun."

The police eyed Will, then nodded, Will lowering his hands in response. He was frozen as he felt his parents presence near the barricade of officers behind him, unable to move his eyes from the woman who now stepped toward him. "I suppose I should thank you," she said softly, her blue eyes searching his brown ones.

"How … did you …" Will couldn't formulate a sentence.

"You know how I did it," she whispered. "The same way you do, William."

Will paused, his breathing heavy. "Who are you?" he asked gently, swallowing as she closed the gap between them. His head felt light and heavy at the same time, her presence making him both weak and energized. She was stunning - she was shorter than Cara, he figured just a bit taller than his mother, with a fit, curvaceous body that Will tried very hard to ignore, except it drew him like a magnet, as if she was magnetite embodied and he was powerless to her. Her dark hair curled in gentle waves at her chest as it draped over her shoulders, incredibly long dark lashes decorating her light blue eyes. Her lips were red and full, and he hated himself for noticing how soft they looked.

"My name is Joy LaHaye," she replied quietly, trying to be discreet as she glanced back at the police. "I was in the Project with you when we were children."

"What?" Will breathed.

Joy looked around her quickly, seeming to be paranoid about being followed. "William … I need your help."

"William!"

Will heard his parents' voices behind him as they now approached, the confusion written all over their faces. "William, what is going on?" Mulder demanded.

"Help with what?" Will asked Joy, ignoring his father's question.

"Are these your parents?" Joy asked, looking at Mulder and Scully.

"Yes," Will replied. "How … how do you exist?"

"She knows," Joy said, nodding to Scully. "My mother Patti got in contact with her before you were given up for adoption."

Mulder turned to Scully, who stared at Joy. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Is your name Joy?" she asked.

Joy nodded, which made Mulder surprised. "You're the other infant?" he asked.

She nodded again. "Yes. I'm … I'm not as strong as William, but I can move things with my mind like he can." Joy's eyes fell on Will, who was frozen as he continued to stare at her. Joy turned to Mulder and Scully. "William and I are the only two left from the original project. When I heard about him being tried for murder, I immediately started trying to track him. I feared for his safety. But along the way, I've attracted my own not-so-fan club."

"Bounty hunters?" Will asked softly.

"Yes," Joy said with a nod. "I … I thought you were one of them when you saw me before. I thought … you were planning on killing me. Then I saw you bleed and I knew you weren't."

"How do we know you aren't one?" Mulder asked.

With a sigh, Joy picked up a piece of glass from the ground, turning out of sight of the police and dragging it on her arm as it left a trail of bright red blood behind, which quickly healed itself. Mulder felt Scully's hand rest on his back, knowing she was just as shocked as he.

"What happened to your mother, Joy?" Scully asked. "And … shouldn't you be only eleven years old?"

"My mother is dead. And I was given the development serum, like William, at the compound," Joy explained. "By Doctor Riggs."

"Daniel Riggs?" Mulder asked, stunned.

"Yes. His brother in law, Timothy … he did the procedure on William, but refused to do any more after that. Before the Project collapsed, Riggs gave me the serum as well. He thought the odds were better with two of us rather than just William. At least … that's what he told me before he went missing. I haven't heard from him in a while now."

"Daniel Riggs is dead," Mulder said softly, seeing Joy's subtle hurt reaction.

"They got to him, didn't they?" she whispered.

"They're cleaning up their trails," Will said softly. "How do you remember?" he then asked. "They erased everyone's memories."

"I guess they didn't do too good of a job on me," Joy explained. "Some things I didn't remember until hypnosis, which I underwent because I had become depressed, but other things came to me in recurring nightmares."

"You said you needed help," Will said gently, nearly jumping as Joy took his hand, the rush of electricity and passion he felt from the heat of her hand almost unbearable.

"They've been trying to track me ever since things blew up with you," Joy replied softly. "I … I was hoping … you'd be able to shelter me for a while. I can tell you as much as I know about these people and … I can help keep your family safe."

Will nodded. "Of course," he said, moistening his lips as he stared at her.

"William, we need to talk," Mulder said firmly, gripping his son's shoulder and pulling him away from the two women. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked when they were enough distance away to be discreet.

"She's like me, Dad," Will replied. "Mom even knows."

"How can you be sure?" Mulder asked. "You're willing to trust her, just like that? A stranger?"

"She doesn't have marks, Dad. She can't hide them with what she's wearing, and she's not trying to," Will argued, glancing over at Joy, his eyes falling on the tight tank top she wore that revealed her neck as her hair was draped over her shoulder, instantly regretting both looking at her and what he felt stir inside of himself. "She bleeds," he continued, back to Mulder. " And she frickin' threw a gun across the alley without touching it." Will glanced back over at Joy, then to his father. "I know her, Dad. I … she was in the dream I was telling you about this morning."

Mulder's eyebrow arched. "Her?" he asked.

"Yes. I've had the dream for like two weeks now. If she was looking for me, maybe it was some kind of a sign or because of some kind of connection we share due to our genetic makeup." Will searched his father's eyes. "Dad, this might be the only way to know who is behind things so we know how to stop them."

Mulder sighed deeply, hating that Will might be at least partially right. "Where will she stay?"

"With me and Cara."

"You honestly think Cara is going to want to host her right now?"

"She could use the company other than me."

"What about the Hosteen's? How do you figure you can just invite people to stay in their settlement?"

"What am I going to do, let her be killed because of me?"

"If she's like you, William, then all that can kill her is magnetite."

"Which we now know is available in bullet form."

Will saw his father frown. "I don't know, William."

"You've got to let it go, Dad," Will said sharply. "You're not the only one in the world who can be right."

"I just don't want to see you make any mistakes that could cost you dearly," Mulder snapped softly, not wanting to alarm Scully.

"Trying to find a way to stop the bastards who are behind all of this so I can protect my wife and my unborn children doesn't sound like a mistake to me," Will replied, brushing past his father and back to Joy and Scully. "Joy," he said, "I'll take you back to the cabin. You can stay with me."

"Oh, no … I don't want to impose," Joy said softly. "I mean … isn't … um … Carly there with you?" she asked.

"Cara," Will corrected. "And she'll be fine with it."

"William-" Scully began, but was cut off by Will.

"Mom, it'll be fine," he interrupted. Will looked at Mulder, fishing out his wallet and giving him a wad of cash. "For the phones," he murmured. "I'll drive her back now." Will paused. "Do you have an issue with motorcycles?" he asked Joy, realizing his mode of transportation might not be her forte, Cara coming to his mind.

"I like bikes," Joy said with a flirtatious smile, her eyes fixed on Will. "It's a great day for open air riding."

"Alright, come on," Will said, seeming to be unphased with Joy's reply. "See you guys back at the settlement."

Scully, on the other hand, wasn't so oblivious to the subtle attention from the woman to her son. She watched them with an arched eyebrow as they headed back down the street to Will's motorcycle. "Mulder," she said softly, "why do I suddenly feel protective of Cara?"

"Probably for the same reason I do," Mulder replied, equally as concerned with Joy's implied interest in Will.

Wentworth Residence
Wayne, NJ

03:49 P.M. EST

Doggett, accompanied by two state troopers, exited the squad car after parking in front of the Wentworth's house, shutting the door behind him as he turned toward the property. Carefully taking in his surroundings, Doggett led the way up the porch stairs to the massive colonial-style brick home, ringing the doorbell as he readied his identification. He paused, not hearing any sounds coming from inside the house, then knocked on the door loudly. "FBI, answer the door," he said, sighing at the silence he received in response. Glancing over to see that there was a car in the driveway, Doggett took out his gun, nodding to the trooper to give him the okay to kick open the door. After a silent countdown, the young trooper kicked the door open, Doggett filling the hallway first as he aimed his gun in front of him, cautiously looking around. "Mister and Missus Wentworth?" he asked, nodding the troopers to go the opposite direction. "Clear," he said, checking the living room alone as the two agents moved in toward the kitchen."

"Agent Doggett!"

Doggett turned quickly, rushing to the kitchen where the troopers were standing dumbfounded, their mouths open as they stared down at the floor. Doggett saw what they were looking at, his eyes widening at the two adults who were burnt to a crisp, evidence of radiation surrounding the area as it had on the beach.

Swallowing, Doggett asked, "Were there any other residents besides the kid and his parents?"

"No," the trooper said, shaking his head, "at least no one on record."

"When will forensics be here?"

"Ten minutes."

"Get me back to the campus," Doggett said with urgency. "This kid is eliminating all threats of exposure."

"Wait, what? You think the kid did this?"

"I know he did," Doggett replied. "Just get me to the campus."

"Yes, sir."

Whipping out his cell phone, Doggett quickly dialed Reyes, breathing deeply as he waited for her to answer. "Monica," he said when he heard her pick up, "we found the parents. They're dead. Burnt, like the others."

"There's nothing here, John," Reyes said softly over the phone, miles away from Doggett as she turned away from the professor she was questioning. "We questioned most of the professors that we could on campus that had any connection to Chad Wentworth."

"Did you go through them all?"

"No, there's only one left. A Doctor Nicholas Jenson."

"Alright, wait until I get there. I'll be there in a half-hour."

New York City, NY
3:49 P.M. EST

"Is it true?" the toothpick man demanded as he shut the door to the private suite, the dark and dim atmosphere clouded with fresh cigar smoke.

"Yes," the dark-skinned man said with a small nod.

"Is the boy is still unaccounted for?" the toothpick man asked.

"Yes," the mustache man answered. "But we're attempting to track him."

"This is far too early," the toothpick man argued. "Who agreed to this?"

"The humans made their own decision to move faster than planned," the dark-skinned man replied.

"If we allow a public crisis, we will never receive buy-in from the humans to continue with the project!" the toothpick man nearly shouted.

"What has happened will have no outer significance to the project," the bounty hunter replied.

"If we let the agents expose any remote connection from these deaths to the cave, no matter how incredible the story, the project is finished," the toothpick man growled.

"So how do we control it?" the younger man asked.

"I'm not sure controlling it is the best answer," the bounty hunter replied calmly, eliciting anger from the toothpick man.

"You are not the head of this project!" the toothpick man sneered.

"Come now," the bounty hunter said, tilting his head as he eyed the toothpick man, "let's not squabble over the details."

"Clean this up," the toothpick man warned darkly, eyeing the bounty hunter. "I don't care what kind of personal score you're seeking to settle with William. Stick to the plan."

"They volunteered," the bounty hunter said with a smile. "I never forced anyone."

"Then we must seek to replace those who can control access," the toothpick man snapped "as well as those who will monitor the media."

"Mulder knows of the plans," the mustache man noted. "What's to say he won't try to stop things now that they have escalated?"

"I've got someone in place already taking care of Mulder," the toothpick man replied.

"Klim?" the mustache man asked, shaking his head. "Klim failed us! He should be eliminated!"

"He's using a resource," the toothpick man replied sharply. "A very valuable one. One William will not be able to resist."

"Joy?" the younger man asked.

"Her power is not like William's. What do we care of her?" the dark-skinned man said with a frown.

"She holds a different power," the bounty hunter replied. "The kind that will be very effective against William, leaving the Shield vulnerable."

"And she will eliminate Mulder?" the dark-skinned man asked.

"When the time is right," the bounty hunter replied. "Then we will eliminate Klim."

"What of Agents Doggett and Reyes? What do they know of the project?" the mustache man asked, taking a drag of his cigar.

"What we want them to," the toothpick man replied. "Even if Doggett and Reyes and even Scully were to work against us with Mulder, they will be unwilling to do what is necessary, should they even be successful getting to that point." The toothpick man eyed the bounty hunter. "Eliminate the boy, or I will have you eliminated."

"Is that a threat?" the bounty hunter asked, standing.

"If this goes to hell because of your vendetta with William, I'll kill you myself," the toothpick man warned, storming out of the room and slamming the door.

"I'd like to see you try," the bounty hunter replied softly after the toothpick man left with a smile.