Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Hogan's alley and firing range, FBI academy,
Quantico, VA
Monday 18th October
1.48pm
The agents walked up the hill towards the firing range. The rain had cleared for a moment and the weather had become milder. As they passed the trees at the start of the assault course, Mulder sighed. "I remember this." He gestured towards the climbing ropes. "Getting up early so I could be first round the course and then first in for breakfast."
Scully pointed at signs on the nearby tree. "Remember those signs? I hate them!"
Mulder sniggered at her.
As they ducked under the police tape and onto the concrete of the firing range, flashing their badges to the guard, raindrops began to fall from the sky once more. They hit the concrete making large polka dots all over the ground. Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out his compact umbrella. He held it over the both of them as they began to check for signs of the bullet.
"The report said that Dexter was in bay 15." Scully said to Mulder, her voice raised to carry over the splash of the rain. They walked to the fifteenth bay and began to scour the ground. Mulder handed Scully the umbrella and dashed over to the targets. He checked for the bullet, all the while getting wetter and wetter.
"Mulder! Get back under the umbrella!" Scully yelled. "You're gonna be soaked!"
"I already am!" He grinned and turned back to the targets as rainwater surged down a gutter past his feet. Mulder looked down and noticed something glinting in the water. "Scully!" He called crouching down to peer into the leaf-cluttered drain. The patter of wet footsteps approached and Scully was next to him. "What is it Mulder?"
"There is something in the gutter. You got any gloves with you?"
"Yeah." Scully reached into her pocket, pulled out some latex gloves and handed them to him. Mulder pulled them onto his cold and wet hands with difficulty. He reached down into the water and attempted to grab the glistening object from amongst all the leaves and other debris. He pulled it out and held it up. It was a bullet, but was it the one they were looking for? His hand and the bullet were covered in some sort of sticky residue, similar to wallpaper paste.
"We need to get this matched to the gun." He said, standing up. "I'm hoping this is Dexter's bullet, but out here it could just be any old one. And what is this sticky stuff?" He held the bullet up to his nose and sniffed the goo. It smelled metallic. Mulder told Scully to smell it. She inhaled, wrinkled her nose and said, "Smells like… like iron, blood almost." Mulder nodded and placed the bullet into an evidence bag Scully had handed him. He sealed it up and placed it in his pocket. The agents turned to leave. Suddenly, Scully froze. Mulder looked at her puzzled.
"What is it Scully?"
She moved her eyes towards the woodland and lowered her voice. "Someone was watching us. From amongst the trees." Mulder turned towards where she was looking. Nothing. Just some bushes rustling in the breeze and rain swirling around the trees. "Scully," he began "there's nothing there…"
But Scully whirled around and pointed, "There!" she yelled. Mulder turned and ran, following the quickly retreating person into the trees. Scully ran after him, but lost sight of him as he tore away amongst the undergrowth.
Mulder chased the person through the bushes, the branches clawing at his clothes and face. He slipped and skidded on the rain-soaked undergrowth until he came into a clearing and stopped. The person had vanished. Mulder drew his gun and stared around the woodland, listening; his breath heaving in his chest, his heart racing with adrenaline. Above the roaring of the rainfall in his ears he was able to make out the sound of a twig snapping somewhere to his right. He plunged through a large bush and ducked a huge tree branch, continuing his pursuit. He could see the person now; a man wearing a thick navy blue coat and a cream baseball cap. A branch whipped past Mulder's face, cutting him deeply just below his right eye.
"Jesus!" He yelled, putting his hand to the cut, but still running at full speed after the man. "Freeze! Federal Agent!" Mulder yelled his breath getting shorter. "Stop or I'll fire!" The man stopped and stood still facing the opposite direction. Mulder approached him, gun drawn. "Now put your hands up and turn around so I can see you."
The man turned around and Mulder was taken aback to see the FBI Academy logo printed on the front of the man's jacket and on his baseball cap. The rain seemed to have eased, but it was only due to the obstruction of the trees above them. "Who are you?" Mulder asked the man. "Why were you at the firing range, and why did you run?" Suddenly, Scully appeared next to Mulder, from amongst the trees. She was panting and her usually pale face was red.
"My name is Patrick Lennox." The man stammered. "I'm a trainee here. I knew Tom Dexter." Mulder relaxed his gun, and replaced it in its holster. "Well, Mr Lennox, have you spoken to the police? Because I don't recall our case file having a record of you." Mulder looked at Scully who was still catching her breath. "Are you alright, Scully?"
She sighed and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm …I'm fine, Mulder. What… h-happened to your cheek?"
"Just a scratch from a branch." He gave her a reassuring smile and approached Lennox.
"Mr Lennox, I'm afraid we will need to ask you a few questions. Come down to the academy and we can take a statement from you." Mulder showed Patrick Lennox his Id badge. "Will you come with us? We need your statement to help us figure out why Dexter committed suicide." Lennox nodded and followed Mulder and Scully back out of the woodland and back down the path to the academy.
The agents were provided with an interview room in which they sat down with Lennox and a tape recorder. Just as he sat down, Mulder's cell phone rang. "I've gotta take this," he told Scully. "It's about the address. I'll be back in ten." He left the room.
"Mr Patrick Lennox, trainee at the FBI academy, Quantico." Scully said into the microphone. "Interview commenced Monday 18th October, 2.36pm."
"Well, all he seems to know are facts we already know." Scully explained to Mulder after she had terminated the interview and they had released Lennox back into the real world. "He just says that Dexter was tired. He didn't know anything about drugs or depression, so his story checks out."
Mulder nodded and said, "Anything else?"
Scully's face became troubled. "He said that he was Tom Dexter's roommate until last month." Mulder's brow creased as he frowned. Scully continued, "He says that he got transferred to another room because he was being kept awake by Dexter. Apparently he used to talk in his sleep while he was dreaming; scream sometimes." Mulder's frown increased further and he asked,
"What did he scream about?"
Scully leaned in conspiratorially, her voice calm and low. "Well you won't believe this..."
Mulder looked deep into her eyes, urging her to continue. "…alien abduction." She breathed and added, "Keep that under your hat, Mulder."
"But I'm not wearing a hat, Scully."
Scully went to fax the autopsy report to Skinner, along with a brief explanation about Lennox. She also sent the bullet down to the forensics and ballistics lab. They would contact her when a matching weapon had been determined and the sticky substance identified.
When she returned to the car park, she found Mulder sat in the driver's seat reading a map.
"I've found Joanne Ford's address." He said triumphantly. "It will take us about ten minutes to get there."