FBI HEADQUARTERS
Mulder and Scully were in their office discussing the Triad file when Reyes walked in and smiled at them in greeting.
"Hello you two," she said.
"Welcome back, Monica," Scully responded. "How was your vacation?"
"Very relaxing, but it is good to be home," Reyes answered. "Where's John?"
"He's taking care of some personal business," Mulder told her. "He should be here shortly."
Reyes nodded. "So did I miss anything exciting while I was gone?" she asked innocently.
Scully and Mulder exchanged a look, and at Scully's nod, Mulder handed Reyes the file. "See for yourself."
Reyes took the file and flipped it open, then began scanning the notes and documents inside, surprise registering on her face as she read through the various papers. When she had finished, she glanced up at Mulder. "Jessica Doggett is your sister?"
"Yep. As Agent Doggett is so fond of pointing out, God has an odd sense of humor."
Reyes closed the file and handed it back to Mulder. "How did John take the news?"
"How did I take the news about what?"
The three agents turned at his voice to see Doggett enter his office, shadowed by a limping Jessica, who was now dressed in jeans and an oversized U.S.M.C. sweatshirt that obviously belonged to Doggett. Hobbling across the room on one crutch, she promptly settled into a chair next to Doggett's desk after dragging over a second one to prop up her injured leg, while Doggett sat in his own chair.
"If human beings had been meant to walk with only one leg we'd have been born that way," she muttered.
"Wouldn't it be easier for you to use two crutches?" Scully asked.
"I can't," Jessica answered. "It puts too much pressure on my shoulder and aggravates the gunshot wound."
"I assume you resolved the issue of Jessica's living arrangements?" Mulder inquired casually.
"She's stayin' with me," Doggett answered, his tone making it clear that the subject was not open for further discussion.
Reyes was clearly not happy to hear about their co-habitation, but nonetheless gave Jessica a neutral smile. "I was sorry to hear about your brother, Lieutenant," she said.
"Thank you," came the automatic response.
"What were you askin' about me when Jess and I walked in?" Doggett prompted.
"I was just wondering how you reacted to the news that Lieutenant Doggett is apparently Agent Mulder's long-lost sister," Reyes clarified.
Doggett glanced at Mulder. "I wasn't aware we were makin' the information public knowledge," he said tightly.
"I didn't put an ad in The Washington Post, Agent Doggett," Mulder countered dryly, "and Agent Reyes is one of us."
"If it will make you feel better, John, I'll loan you my crutch so you can whack him across the head," Jessica offered.
The jest had the desired effect, and Doggett's ire cooled. "Sorry," he apologized. "I'm just a little edgy right now."
"So how exactly did all of you discover that Lieutenant Doggett is Agent Mulder's sister?" Reyes asked.
Doggett gave her a condensed version of the events of the past week, concluding with yesterday's attempt on Jessica's life.
"That explains your injuries," Reyes said as she glanced at Jessica. "Have you confronted your mother about any of this yet?"
"No. Aside from the fact that I spent last night in the hospital, I haven't decided how to go about telling her what I know. I have no idea how deep her involvement in this goes, and I need to know as much in advance as I can before I finally call her on it."
The ring of the phone on Doggett's desk interrupted their conversation, and he reached over to answer it. "John Doggett." He paused a moment to listen to the caller, and his gaze shifted to Jessica. "Yes, Ma'am, Senator; she's right here." Pulling the receiver away from his ear, he covered the mouthpiece with his hand as he said, "It's your mother. She got a phone call from the press about what happened last night and she wants to talk to you."
"How the hell did the press find out about it?" Jessica asked.
"Face it; as Elizabeth Caldwell's daughter, anything that happens to you is news," Doggett replied. "Are you gonna talk to her?"
"Do I have a choice?" came the rhetoric response, and she reached over to take the phone from Doggett. "Hello?"
"Would you care to explain why I had to learn from a reporter that someone burned your house down last night with you inside of it?" Elizabeth demanded.
"It was nothing, Mom," Jessica demurred. "I interrupted a burglar and he was trying to eliminate the witness."
"It was more than 'nothing', Jessica," Elizabeth countered sharply. "I called the hospital and they told me you were kept overnight after undergoing surgery to remove a bullet from your chest."
"I'm a police officer, remember? Getting shot on occasion comes with the territory."
"I don't appreciate your attitude, Jessica, and I don't understand why I wasn't notified when you were admitted to the ER."
"Because I told them to call John first," Jessica admitted.
Elizabeth released an irritated sigh. "Well, I trust that if something else happens you'll grant me the courtesy of having someone call to tell me?"
"I've got to go, Mom," the lieutenant evaded. "I'll talk to you later."
Without waiting for a response, she replaced the receiver in its cradle and met Doggett's questioning gaze. "What?"
"If you're goin' to snipe at your mother every time you talk to her, eventually you're goin' to have to tell her why," he said.
"Given what I've discovered in the last twenty-four hours I think I'm entitled to be a bit bitter," Jessica retorted.
"Just don't whack her over the head with your crutch," Mulder interjected dryly.
"Very funny, Fox."
"I hate to interrupt this impromptu session of Family Feud," Scully interjected, "but I have a suggestion to make."
The others glanced at her expectantly, and Scully directed her attention to Jessica.
"Given your mother's position, I think it would be a good idea for us to bring Skinner in on the case. If any of this gets out to the public, it will be in our best interests to have told the powers that be ourselves."
"Can you trust him?" Jessica asked.
"Yes."
A pause. "I don't suppose his office is on this floor?" Jessica asked.
"Nope," Mulder said. "Third floor."
The lieutenant sighed as she glanced woefully at the crutch propped against her chair. "It figures."
Nearly ten minutes later, Mulder, Scully, Jessica and Doggett were ushered into Skinner's office by his secretary. Once they were inside, Skinner closed the door and crossed the room to resume his seat behind his desk. As the others settled into the chairs, Jessica claimed the small loveseat so she could prop up her injured leg, and Skinner discreetly observed the two couples. Mulder and Scully were the most obvious opposites; her red hair, cerulean blue eyes and petite stature were a direct contrast to Mulder's height and darker coloring. Jessica and Doggett on the other hand, were more evenly matched physically; she was only four inches shorter than his height of six feet and her dark blonde hair was nearly the same shade as his light brown. Yet Jessica's sapphire blue eyes were much darker than Doggett's ice blue ones, and her casual attire an odd contrast to his custom-tailored suit.
"All right, Ladies and Gentlemen; which one of you wants to tell me what this little gathering is all about?" Skinner prompted.
"It's complicated, sir," Doggett said.
"Isn't everything with you three?" Skinner responded drolly.
The three agents exchanged sheepish looks as over on the loveseat, Jessica smiled to herself, and then Mulder addressed Skinner.
"Last week Agent Doggett volunteered to help Lieutenant Doggett investigate the death of her brother, Scott Caldwell, in a car crash," he began. "Based on the testimony from a couple who witnessed the accident, we have reason to believe the car that crashed into Scott's was being driven by Billy Miles."
"Billy Miles?" Skinner echoed. "What rock did he crawl out from under?"
"We haven't been able to find that out," Mulder answered. "Unfortunately, he disappeared again immediately following the accident. In any event, the day after her brother's funeral, Lieutenant Doggett received an anonymous note that read 'Dead men tell no tales', and it was accompanied by a newspaper clipping regarding my sister Christina's kidnapping almost forty years ago. At that point, she contacted me to help ascertain what the connection was between Scott's death and the kidnapping, which is what the note seemed to intimate."
"We did some digging," Scully continued, "and based in part on the copy of an adoption certificate for Lieutenant Doggett which was found in a file bearing her name in Scott Caldwell's office, we've discovered that she is in actuality Agent Mulder's presumed dead sister, Christina."
It took a moment for the revelation to sink in, and when it did, Skinner's eyes widened in surprise as he glanced at Mulder. "Lieutenant Doggett is your sister?"
"Yes, sir."
He frowned. "How would your kidnapped sister wind up being raised in one of the country's most prominent families?"
"That's what we're trying to find out," Jessica replied. "Up until forty-eight hours ago, I wasn't even aware I was adopted. My parents never told me."
The A.D. took a moment to absorb what he had been told before responding. "If what you're saying is true, then it would seem to indicate that your parents were at least indirectly involved with your kidnapping."
"It's beginnin' to look that way, sir," Doggett allowed. "The adoption certificate was signed by Alan Grant, who was Edward Caldwell's business partner."
"Do you have proof of any of this?"
Doggett handed him the Triad file. "Everything we've got so far is in here," he said.
Skinner opened the file and swiftly scanned its contents, including the information Mulder had gotten from the Boston Bureau, the amateur DNA tests done by the Gunmen and a copy of the police report on the attempted murder of Jessica the previous day. The others waited in silence for him to finish reading and when he did he closed the folder and glanced up at them, addressing Jessica when he spoke.
"Well the evidence certainly seems to indicate that whoever was in on the kidnapping with your parents and Grant all those years ago is now trying to kill anyone who has uncovered the truth," he remarked. "Have you given any thought to staying in a safe house?"
The beautiful blonde shifted her gaze to Doggett for the briefest of moments before focusing on Skinner. "I already am," she said simply.
Skinner glanced from Jessica to Doggett, who suddenly seemed fascinated with his shoes, and the A.D. permitted himself a faint smile. "I see," he said. "What about your mother? Have you spoken to her yet?"
"Not about what we've discovered, no. John and Fox convinced me that we should wait until we know who and what we're dealing with before confronting her."
Skinner paused. "With all due respect, Lieutenant, all of this evidence is circumstantial," he reminded her. "Even if you were able to initiate formal charges against Grant, your mother is a U.S. Senator. Finding a judge and/or a jury to indict her would be extremely difficult."
"I understand that, sir," Jessica responded. "That's why we're here. Whether or not charges are filed against anyone, sooner or later the information about my adoption will be leaked to the public, and the media will have a field day wondering why Elizabeth Caldwell never revealed that her daughter was not her biological child. Once that plants the kernel of curiosity, it's only a matter of time before the full details about how my parents...the Caldwells…acquired me are discovered. Given that Fox is an FBI agent and that a former agent was an accessory to the kidnapping, the Bureau is going to receive a great deal of unwanted publicity. John and his partners felt it would be better for all of us if we were to come to you with our information before it becomes public fodder."
"Fair enough, Lieutenant," Skinner responded, and glanced at his agents. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you to be careful and discreet while you proceed with this investigation, and from now on I want to be informed of anything else that comes out of this."
"Yes, sir," Mulder, Scully and Doggett responded in unison.
As always, the acrid smell of smoke permeated the air as he entered the room.
"I am here as requested."
"My sources tell me that Lieutenant Doggett was released from the hospital this morning after being treated for smoke inhalation and undergoing surgery for her gunshot wound."
"Yes. I made certain that the information was 'leaked' to the media."
"And you've tied up the loose ends we spoke of?"
"Of course."
"Excellent. It will take our people a few days to get everything in order, and then we will reveal the rest of the puzzle to Lieutenant Doggett and Agent Mulder."
"What do you require of me in the meantime?"
"Keep an eye on Grant and the lady Senator. I don't want them tipping our hand before we're prepared to finish the game."
"Understood."