4:56 PM Aswan, Egypt
A sandstorm hit just moments after they were off the plane and the whole party winced as they made their way to jeeps that were waiting for them. Doggett thought this whole trip was just as mad as the person who was leading them, but seeing how William's safety was the primary concern, he felt he had little voice in this matter.They drove for about forty minutes until they reached a massive monument that had four figure heads standing roughly thirty feet wide and sixty-seven feet high for each of them.
The smoking man, who was sitting in the passenger seat while the other three remained in the back, smiled.
"Welcome to the temple of Abu Simbel."
Chapter Four: History and a Mystery
Mulder was awe struck. Having only read about this temple when he was a student at Oxford and having only seen a few old photographs, plus a small trip to London's museums, he felt like his jaw was never going to close.
They parked right next to the structure and got out; quickly going into the temple's structure which had battery-powered lights along the floor and ceiling to light their way.
Scully was deeply concerned about how all this exposure to heat and dust would affect William; she gently brushed away the strands of sand that were speckled all over his face.
The smoking man seemed to pick up on her thoughts. "Dana, I wouldn't worry about the elements here having any affect on William. His tolerance for it is pretty high."
"Yeah, but not ours. Why don't you explain why we're here." Agent Doggett said, sternly.
The smoking man smiled as he led them through the open structure, where the group met even more breath taking images. Much like the figures outside the ones inside were just as impressive. Each one in a sitting stance sitting about two feet away from the next one, which was duplicated on the opposite side. On the ceiling there were paintings of people with wings stretching to meet their equals on the opposite end.
"This temple was constructed for the pharaoh Ramesses II who reigned for 67 years, in the thirteenth century."
The Smoking man continued when they went around another passage.
"He ordered this to be made to declare his triumph at the battle of Kadesh and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors."
Mulder shook his head, "A man full of himself, drunk with power, and gloating at everyone. He's your hero, isn't he?"
The smoking man ignored the sarcasm and continued.
"In the early 1960's, the temple of Abu Simbel was to be moved to this very location. The big question is by whom?"
Doggett smirked, "By man, who else? We had the capabilities back then to move this kind of structure."
The Smoking man shook his head, "That's where you are wrong, Agent Doggett."
They moved into the main chamber where they were surrounded by hieroglyphics.
The smoking man pointed at them, "All of these symbols were translated by Hans Jagerstien in 1959, all of them except for this."
He pointed at a symbol that showed a circle with a line coming down the bottom and meeting behind the tip of a large "V".
Scully walked up to it, touching it with her fingertips; "In ancient Egyptian times, the sun was worshiped being identified as the demi-god "RA". This line and the "V", though, I don't recognize."
Mulder looked at her with curiosity.
"What? I took an Egyptology class when my father was stationed in Cairo." She said, smiling.
The smoking man was smiling too. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Scully. This isn't a hieroglyphic." He then took out a small, thin, metallic object that had the same Navajo writing Scully recognized on other separate occasions.
"Where did you get that?" Asked Scully.
The smoking man grinned, "Why, in my backyard, of course."
He then fitted the object onto the symbol, which slipped its way, making itself thinner and thinner until it fit the crevasses completely. A small humming sound could be heard and then white light shined brightly on the object followed by a metallic clanging sound.
Below their feet, the same humming was made but this time only louder as a small rectangular portion of the floor slid open, causing dust to fly upwards. When it cleared, they saw a three by seven-foot hole that was blanketed in complete darkness. The humming dissipated and a light illuminated within the hole, revealing a staircase that went down in.
With the exception of the smoking man, the others were looking at eachother as if searching for an answer to this discovery.
"Well." Said the smoking man, extending a hand that was pointing downward into the hole, "Shall we?"
10:08 AM Washington DC, J. Edgar Hoover Building
Agent Reyes had spent the whole night digging through old X-Files that Mulder had made himself which included everything he knew about the Smoking man whose so called name was C.G.B Spender. These were files that Agent Reyes had saved, which she was instructed, by Agent Doggett, to study upon so she could familiarize herself with the X-Files. It felt really nostalgic for her being in the old office, which would be later turned into a copier room. Earlier the previous day, she decided to look at the files here, just in case she needed to use the phone or the FBI's forensic team for anything; though, to be honest, she really wanted to look at them here to make it feel like "Back in the day". Looking over the old cases, it exhausted her to the point she actually did spend the night there, falling asleep on top of a stack of files. She awoke when Assistant Director Skinner walked in on her and cleared his throat.
"Were you here all night, Agent?" He asked, looking at her with amazement.
She nodded as she removed herself from the files and got up to stretch.
"I've been looking for clues as to where they might have gone. So far, no such luck." She then yawned and picked up a file that was slightly bent from her thigh resting on it.
"A lot of these files pertain only to Mulder's belief on a conspiracy ranging between the "Syndicate" and the government, the others read more like personal insights on the man Mulder hates."
Agent Reyes went to the small coffee maker that Agent Doggett had introduced into the office and made a quick batch.
Skinner picked up one of the files off of the ground.
"Have you considered looking into Alex Krycek's case, as to also maybe find a link and a possible location? I know he was involved with that son of a bitch more than anyone."
Agent Reyes nodded, "I have, and there it's more confusing than this one. He was associated with a woman who testified before Mulder's trial, and I can't seem to find out anything about her recent whereabouts."
"Marita Covarrubias?" Skinner asked, surprise.
Agent Reyes nodded, again.
Skinner thought long and hard. "Well, when Mulder gave me her address, we found that she was working at the Tunisia Ambassador's office, as an appointed secretary. Her father having been the Ambassador in the mid-1970s."
"Is she still there?" Reyes asked.
Skinner shrugged, "I don't know. From Mulder's trial I guessed that she was being influenced by the "judges" and wasn't going to say anything more without incriminating herself. Still, I think she's your best bet for finding Krycek and the others."
Agent Reyes yawned, again, and nodded.
Skinner then walked up to her, "First things first, Agent. You might want to go home, take a shower, and change into better clothes. Otherwise, you'll smell like Mulder."
5:18 PM Aswan, Egypt: Abu Simbel Temple, Hidden Passage
As they were walking, lights above their heads turned on which showed they were walking down a metallic pathway, to God knows where.
Mulder was curious about this whole expedition, as he was sure Scully was. Agent Doggett, however, looked guarded and unaffected by what he has seen so far. Mulder shook his head; Agent Doggett was more of a skeptic than Scully was when he first met her.
The Smoking man lit another cigarette as he explained the significance of this passageway.
"Abu Simbel was originally over where the Aswan Lake is and it was moved to avoid the damage the lake would surely have against the structure. The biggest debate, however, was HOW to move such an enormous structure. Our government was willing to spend eight million dollars to have it moved, and yet, the contractors, both foreign and domestic, still saw a problem with the procedure."
He then stopped and turned around and faced the group.
"It was only until we, the "Syndicate", discovered what lay beneath."
He then turned around and continued down while the other three looked at eachother with perplexity.
"When we made contact in 1947 we were told that their history with our planet went thousands of years before. While these simple fools argued about cost and procedure an interesting thing happened. The power generators had turned themselves off and an immense white light came."
Mulder and Scully exchanged looks, both knowing what that meant.
"Are you telling me that the aliens moved the structure with their UFOs?" Agent Doggett asked, with disbelief.
The Smoking man smiled, "I told you this trip would be educational, Agent Doggett."
They stopped in front of a door, which had the words "No one without level five clearance allowed beyond this point."
The Smoking man turned around, "When the power came back on the contractors found that the excavation was complete and no one could explain how it happened, well, of course, except for us."
He then took out a card and slid it through the vertical slot, causing four red lights to illuminate. The door then creaked open.
"What? Is that the end of the tour? Is this the gift shop?" Asked Mulder, smirking.
The smoking man held open the door as the others went in.
What they saw made them stop in their tracks.
10:48 AM Office of the Tunisian Ambassador
After showing her ID and going through the rigorous "pat down", Agent Reyes was shown to the directory desk.
The woman behind the desk, who had a big "Dolly Parton-like" hairstyle, with the nametag that said, "Hi, I'm Holly", and was chewing noisily on a stick of gum, looked up at the agent.
"May I help you?" She asked.
Agent Reyes showed her badge, "I'm looking for a Miss Marita Covarrubias, is she here, today?"
The woman sighed and took out a folder containing the employee directory and working hours.
After thumbing through it for a minute or so, she shook her head.
"Sorry, Agent, she's not on here."
"Try harder, her name is Marita Covarrubias. She's an appointed secretary to the Ambassador." Said Agent Reyes, pointedly.
Holly sighed and looked to the left to her at a man who was talking to someone. "Hey, Marty? Come here."
The man walked right over.
"This is Agent Reyes with the FBI and she's looking for a woman we don't have in the directory."
"What's the name?" Marty asked.
"Marita Covarrubias." Agent Reyes said, again.
"Oh…her. Sorry to tell you this, Agent, but she left about four months ago. From what I hear it was due to health. Right now she's in intensive care over at Georgetown Medical Center."
Agent Reyes thanked the both of them and got on her cell phone as she left.
When she called Georgetown, to her dismay, she found out not only did they not have Marita there anymore, but, she was sent to an even harder contact.
"She's at the Center for Disease Control? Are you sure?" Agent Reyes asked the woman over the phone.
Listening to the woman as she headed out of the building, she stopped as she heard her say something specific.
"Thank you very much, Miss Patterson." Agent Reyes hung up the phone and then redialed a number.
"Yes. I need to speak with the Assistant Director, immediately."
5:34 PM Aswan, Egypt
Mulder could not believe what he was looking at, though he had seen one before, hell, he'd BEEN on one before.
Beautifully carved stones featuring hieroglyphics that haven't been scorched by time were surrounding the UFO, which had an eerie light green mask that came over the top of the hull.
The smoking man led them down a descending spiral staircase to the bottom where numerous amounts of people were working on portable labs.
Scully noticed how all of this either reminded her of a James Bond movie or an expensive "Raiders of the Lost Arc" remake. When they walked by the ship she noticed how it seemed to make a weird sound. Scully then looked at William, who was fascinated by the extraterrestrial aircraft.
The smoking man took them to a portable office, which had air conditioning and folding chairs inside.
Sitting behind the desk, he fished out another cigarette, "Comments?"
"What are your plans with the UFO, and what do they have to do with William?" Asked Mulder.
"We're planning to salvage it, of course. William here is…Let me put it this way. When you put to magnets together, the opposite poles connect, but when you use the same ones they repel. Think of William and the ship as the same exact poles. Only I this case it's going to be more destructive than repelling."
Scully looked at him with horror, "Are you saying that either William or the ship will self destruct?"
The smoking man, smiled, "Don't fret, Dana, William won't be harmed."
"Listen, you son of a bitch, you've never gave us any reason to trust you, why should we now?" Scully demanded.
The smoking man took a long drag, "Because…It's what's on the inside of that ship that matters. It matters for the assurance that the human race will survive the final invasion. The parts in there, from what I'm told, have the capability of giving William's gift to the world, so we all may survive. I know it may be beyond my life, to where I could redeem myself in your eyes, but you have to ask yourself. Is this something worth denying?"
11:10 AM Office of Assistant Director Skinner
Agent Reyes waited patiently outside Skinner's office until he held open the door for her.
"Thank you for waiting, Agent." He said.
Agent Reyes nodded and walked hurriedly inside.
After closing the door, Skinner sat behind his desk, "What is it that you wanted to see me about, Agent Reyes?"
Agent Reyes placed a folder on the Assistant Director's desk, "This, sir."
Skinner took the folder and looked at it, briefly.
He shook his head, "I can't believe her kept this."
"I talked with the head nurse over at Georgetown Hospital. Apparently, Marita Covarrubias has the same condition as you do, sir. She claimed she had gotten it by the same man, Alex Krycek."
Skinner scowled at the name.
"There's more. When she had first found out about her condition, she was planning on making a trip to a place she claimed a cure was available. Where she could flush out the nano-bots that were attacking her immune system."
Skinner looked at her with eagerness. "Where?"
Agent Reyes sighed, "That's the thing, sir. I don't know where. The C.D.C took control of her and have her in isolated quarantine within their facility, and I can't go there without proper clearance."
Skinner got up from his desk and went to his window and looked outside. After a few moments, he spoke.
"Disregarding my own relationship with this matter, Agent, you do know how imperative it is that we make contact with her and find out where the other three are, correct?"
Agent Reyes nodded.
Skinner sighed, "I'll make the necessary calls to have you go there and find out all you can about what she knows."
He then turned and looked at her with all seriousness. "Whatever choice you make after hearing what she has to say, my advice is, do it with extreme caution. Marita Covarrubias is a double player and she'll only act within her own best interest."
11:29 AM Center for Disease Control
After checking in her gun, Agent Reyes was escorted down to a decontamination chamber where she was fitted into a bio-hazard suit and then was taken along a series of rooms and corridors until she ended up in front of a room that said "Isolated Quarantine: Authorized Personnel Only". Pressurized gas emitted as the two doors slid apart.
Going through the rows of the beds, she found Marita's the third to last one.
Remembering the case file on her, Marita Covarrubias was of both Tunisian and Greek decent. Her father an Ambassador and her mother a high ranking political member in Greece. Her parents had met at a social political benefit in Munich, Germany where she had been conceived. After a struggling marriage, her parents had split but did not divorce. Marita, it was decided, would spend time with her father, seeing as how her mother was all about work. Both her and her father traveled a lot. Living in the United States for the most part and only on a few occasions going to Tunisia. She had a brief stint in the military, enlisting in the Navy at the age of nineteen and went for training, as an officer in Annapolis, Maryland. She soon got tired of it and returned to civilian life, working as a receptionist for the UN Attorney General until she rose to the command as one of the Special Representatives. Her file said nothing of marriage or offspring, but what Agent Reyes understood, from both Skinner and Mulder is that she had a deep long relationship with Alex Krycek until she was discovered by the Syndicate for which he worked for. Reading Mulder's file on her, she was the victim of being one of the guinea pigs for the testing of a cure for the "Black Oil Cancer". Only until both Krycek and Agent Jeffery Spender saved her was she able to get her health back.
Now, looking down at her, through the plastic coffin-like container that she was in, did Agent Reyes feel somewhat sympathetic for her. Marita's face was bulging with ocean-blue colored veins, her complexion was completely white and pasty, and her eyes' blood shot.
Agent Reyes tapped on the container and Marita turned her head. Holding up her badge, Agent Reyes smiled, "Hi, Marita. I'm Agent Monica Reyes. I'm a friend of Mulder and Scully's. How're you doing?"
Marita winced as she coughed in an effort to laugh. "You have eyes, don't you?"
Agent Reyes nodded, "Marita, I'm here because of Mulder and Scully. That and a friend of mine has the same condition as you and I want to help them as well as you."
Marita closed her eyes and breathed in and out. She then turned her head again at the Agent. "You'll need help." She gasped. "There's…another man who's just as sick as me…if not more so. When the two of you are there you should be able to…find a cure for what destroys us. There…you'll most likely find the bastard…who did this…to us." Her breathing was really unsteady, as was her speech pattern.
Agent Reyes decided not to put this woman through anymore.
"Where, Marita, and who?" Agent Reyes asked.
Marita smiled and laid her head back down on the pillow. After taking a few moments, she opened her eyes and turned her head again. "Tunguska…Jeffery…Spender." She then laid her head back down and closed her eyes.
To be continued…
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A/N: Just to explain the time difference, which I
may be a little naïve about, for that I'm sorry. I though that
Egypt would be seven hour time difference from the US. Also, I don't
recall if in the episodes whether or not they explained Marita's
ethnicity, so this was a little creative thinking on my part. If I'm
wrong, please don't hate me for it. : )
A/N II: I hope you all are enjoying this, this two-part adventure. Do you think the Smoking Man can be trusted this time? Do you think Agent Reyes and Jeffery Spender will, not only find a cure for him and for Marita and Skinner, but will also find Alex Krycek? I'm really eager to hear.
Q-n-P