Thompson walked out near the street, it was just after lunch time when he exited the building, "Agent Thompson." A fellow agent greeted him.
"Ah." Thompson replied, "Andrew."
Four other agents had huddled around which began making him feel very uncomfortable, "Haven't seen you all week."
"What's up?" Andrew asked as he approached, "We should go and get a few beers and watch the game." Thompson looked down and saw the barrel of a gun invading his personal space and pressing against his ribs, "We haven't done that in such a long time." Andrew hesitated, "What's wrong Bradley?" He asked, "You look funny."
Without warning, Thompson lifted his weapon but unlike his former good friend he wasn't about to hesitate upon squeezing the trigger. The bullet his Andrew on the temple, spilling some blood as it tore through the skin. The other agents had seen what was going on and began to approach some of them already had their guns drawn out.
"Back off!" Thompson yelled but they just kept approaching him. He continued backing out onto the street. He hadn't even thought about where he was. Just before he had aimed his gun and was ready to fire a car had ran into him sending him sprawling over the windscreen and rolling back down the hood until he hit the road with a sickening thud.
Taylor had everything he had on the case littering the floor of his office. All the photographs, the still shots the reports were laid out and he stood above them studying each one. It was about two days since Agent Thompson and Agent Andrew were hospitalized. Miraculously, the bullet went along the temple and not into it and it was unbelievable that Agent Thompson had survived the car… But there was something that connected all of them. But what?
The times of the day were different… Lunch time, evening and dinner time. There were none in the morning. Taylor knelt down trying to make sense of it. Thompson had just finished his lunch. Colton had had a long day at work, he put his picture on the table as well as the picture of Thompson. Agent Nate also had a long day at work then went for a run. Agent Raine had a quick visit in DC before heading back to Oregon.
Taylor threw the file of Mackines on a different part of the desk. There seemed to be nothing in the files that connected him to the rest. This seemed to be going around in the circles. He stood up again to get an even better look. After rubbing his teeth a bit, he decided to finish off his cold coffee and try and look at this from a different angle.
One thought he was choking on something, one thought they saw a wolf and one drew their weapon and shot at a good friend and then the Oregon agent was firing upon something before swan-diving off the roof. Forget about the Oregon office… The J-Edgar building was starting to sound like an episode of the Twilight Zone.
AGENT TAYLOR'S Apartment
Taylor enjoyed the simple house-like layout of his apartment. There was just enough room to do all that he wanted. Another thing he learnt over time was that you had to occasionally pull yourself away from the case and take some time to yourself. Getting too immersed is unhealthy.
There was a night time telemovie on and he decided to watch it as well as tape it. Even though he was really shit-scared of spiders he also loved horror movies with Arachnophobia as well as Deadly Cargo. Deadly Cargo was the night's movie.
But he was almost sleeping by the time the movie started. The first thing he remembered was them loading cocoa beans onto a small plane… The next time he opened his eyes that small cargo plane had hit rough weather and passengers in the back were getting jolted around. A tarantula like spider was watching them and it crawled onto one of the passengers hand.
"Agghh." Taylor jumped a bit and sat up straight. He could feel his heart beginning to pound as it felt like his whole body was shaking. Sleep was now the last thing on his mind. It was a rush almost like being on a sugar rush, "My God!" He turned off the television set and decided to take a drive.
AGENT SCULLY'S Apartment 2215 hrs
Scully was lying in bed when she heard someone knocking at the door of her apartment. Usually, when someone comes knocking on your door at this time of night it was either someone with bad news or Mulder. She put the dressing gown over her pajamas and walked to the door.
"Who is it?" She asked the door.
"It's Agent Taylor Agent Scully." Taylor answered back, "Can I come in. It's urgent."
She opened the door and was clearly annoyed, "You know what time it is?"
Taylor nodded, "Yes Agent Scully." He answered, but it was clearly a rhetorical question and felt like an idiot for responding to it, "I need your assistance with something."
"Come in." She said, "What can I help you with?"
"You were a doc right?" This wasn't really a question, "Do you still have any needles around, so that you can draw blood."
"Sure?" Scully answered and asked at the same time.
"I didn't wake you did I Agent Scully?" He noticed the sound of irritation in her tone, "But I figure since this pertains to the current case you wouldn't have minded. Can you take some of my blood now and then some later?"
"What?" Scully asked.
"I have a theory." Taylor answered.
Scully shrugged as she walked into the medicine cabinet. At times she wandered why she had kept the needles around, "I don't have any vials." She called out.
"Can't you just leave them in the needles and I can take them down to the lab in the morning?" Taylor replied.
"Well if it's to do with the case you're working on." Scully came back, "We should get the tests done tonight."
Taylor sat down and Scully wrapped a band around his upper arm. He was told to make a fist so he complied. There was a small, almost unnoticeable wince look on Taylor's face… he hated needles and he couldn't believe he was going to go through this twice.
"Now can you put the TV on to NBC?" Taylor asked, "There's a movie on."
The movie had just gotten back from a commercial break and that's when Scully saw the title flash on the bottom of the screen, "You know if you went to Mulder's he'd probably be watching this right now."
"Yeah but I wouldn't have trusted him to stick a needle in me." Taylor said half-seriously, "Can you turn the lights off please? I need to get the full effect.
Scully did so and sat on the couch beside him.
The climax of Deadly Cargo was when they were shoveling up the paralyzed tarantulas with a shovel and drowning them in buckets of oil. But just the thought of those tarantulas coming to life at any minute and attacking those in the warehouse was enough to send the blood pumping all over his body. He felt something crawl up his arm, but it turned out that he was brushing away nothing.
The imaginary creepy crawly tingly feeling was there, "Dana." Taylor's hands were actually holding fistfuls of cushions, "I mean Agent Scully… Take the other sample now." It felt like the beating of his heart was restricting his breathing.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"Yes I am." Taylor answered, "Just take the blood."
"If spiders freak you out this much… Why'd you ever watch spider movies?" Scully asked.
"I've been asked that question so many times." Taylor said as the needle went in, "And I'll answer it as I always answer it… I love the horror genre and what's the use of going to see a horror movie if it doesn't scare you. That's why I love spider movies." He watched the blood go up into the needle's chamber.
"You're a strange one Agent Taylor." Scully wandered how on Earth Mulder and Taylor didn't get along.
"Thank you."
Taylor sat down on a chair in the FBI lab and waited for the test results to come in. He'd lost track of the time but knew it must have been about midnight by now and he had grown bored of watching the vials of blood getting spun around. He held his hands behind his head and looked up.
"Why didn't you become a doctor Agent Scully?" Taylor asked.
The question took Scully by surprised, "Why do you keep calling me Agent Scully?" Scully asked, "I noticed a couple of times you've called me Dana before correcting yourself."
Taylor didn't feel like answering it really but thought he should anyway, "Well I like to keep a sort of professional distance. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." Scully said, "But I don't believe you about the professional distance."
"That's your choice." Taylor replied, "You and Agent Mulder worked together for a few years right? Why do you only call yourselves by your last names?"
Scully laughed, "Mulder hates his first name Fox. And plus he has always called me Scully and that's how it will always be." She said.
"Right." Taylor said, "You two are an anomaly that's for sure." He saw the look on her face as she turned around, "In a good way. Most of the agents that walk around here are so stuck up and so damn ambitious. But you two seem to be a couple of the so few around here that are happy where you are. Or at least you use to be."
That last line had gotten Scully thinking. They were happy until things got a little too complicated. The test was almost done, it was impossible to imagine what two Agents would talk about late at night while waiting mindlessly for results.
"Ah-ha." Scully exclaimed, "There are the results."
Taylor stood to his feet and leant over her shoulder.
A/N: Thanks for reviewing so far... Hope things aren't getting too weird for you concerning Taylor and Scully. But let me assure you, there's nothing going to happen there. LOL