'Now you've all found your assigned seats, you have the next five minutes to get to know the member of your new team,' John Jackson announced, 'after which the games begin.'
Cursing his photographic memory, Mulder didn't need to be introduced to the other members of his group. Unfortunately, Myers sat to his left and Fernandez to his right. Well this ort to make for a pleasant four hours, Mulder berated, knowing he'd mostly caused the situation. Jake Warner, Nickoli Stoynov and Sue Lam made up the rest of their table. Realising all eyes rested on him, Mulder felt impelled to break the suddenly deafening silence.
'Mulder,' he attempted a warm, open smile. I hope you're proud of me, Scully, I'm trying to play nice! Mulder really wanted to turn around and make eye contact with his partner. She always knew how to handle people, how to handle him. She always knows how to guide me through social situations like this, he thought.
'We all know who you are,' Myers chimed in impatiently. 'Bloody bad luck to get stuck with you, Spooky. I suppose you want to amuse yourself with little green men instead of solving problems like a real FBI Agent.'
How I want to play with his mind and say grey, Mulder bit his tongue.
'Actually,' Stoynov chimed in, 'they are reported to be grey.'
'Oh come on,' Myers complained, 'don't tell me you believe in ET too!'
'Given the size of the galaxy, the number of possibly habitable planets, statically, it's not so improbable that other life forms exist,' Sue Lam answered dead pan. 'I'm Sue Lam from the Statistics and Analysis Unit,' she introduced, 'I believe Dr…Ah… Agent Scully did a great job of introducing you yesterday, Myers, but I'd like to refresh my memory of the rest of you.'
Sue's smile became infectious.
Wow, how did I get so lucky? Mulder wondered, searching the faces of Syoynov, Lam and Warner. Not one of them appeared to give any credence to his Spooky reputation or the rumours currently in circulation. This might just be fun after all.
Meanwhile at Scully's table, things didn't go quite so well.
'I though I heard you say the baby's due in six months,' Agent Pam Smith commented with the intention of starting a conversation.
The question caught the interest of the four other Agents at the table. As Scully looked around, she cursed her luck. Not only did she have the misfortune to be seated next to Joan Smith, but Agent Carpenter and Tim Wu, one of the M.E.'s from Quantico. They'd come across each other several times in her residency and teaching years. Tim's love of gossip, combined with his innate sense of humour made him the centre of any party.
He'll be enjoying my discomfort and storing away every syllable I utter so he can spew it back out once he gets back to D.C., Scully groaned inwardly. Glancing toward table one, she forced a smile. Maria Fernandez and Myers sat either side of Mulder. At least I don't get to have all the fun, Scully couldn't hide her internal glee. Until she realised Mulder smiled, that slow sexy smile he normally reserved for her, aimed directly at one of the women seated at his table.
'What,' she broke the all consuming gaze, forcing her attention back to her colleagues.
'My daughter acted the same way with her pregnancies,' Miriam Sunders chimed in happily. Her gaze following Scully's, realising where her mind had wondered off to.
Turning red, Scully couldn't hide her embarrassment. Sensing his colleague's mortification, the final agent at the table spoke for the first time, recalling the other to their task. Looking into the deep brown eyes of the man she'd never met before, Scully silently thanked him.
'Now you have met your fellow team members, let the games begin. For the first round,' the facilitator's voice stoped the chatter in the room, 'we have a treasure hunt. Only you are not to leave your assigned seats. Between the six people in your group, you have fifteen minutes to come up with all the items on the list. Please choose an individual to come and collect your list.'
Myer's elected to complete this task without consulting anyone. This drew four pairs of knowing eyes to the same conclusion. The agent would be their weakest link. Returning to his seat, he perused the paper, refusing to share the information until he decided which of the objects he could provide the team. A fact Mulder noted as he peered over Myer's shoulder to take a quick glance at the list of items.
'I have all of them,' Mulder stated factually.
'You don't even know what's on the list,' Fernandez commented sarcastically.
'I have an eidetic memory,' he informed the woman, glaring at her, 'please allow me to prove it to you.'
Without further comment, Mulder produced each item on the list.
1. Wedding ring – from his left hand
2. Something to do with outer space – the alien key chain from his pocket
3. A size 13 shoe – from his left foot
4. $100 bill – from his wallet in his back pocket
5. Letter on FBI stationary – the official invite to the seminar still in his wallet
6. Nokia cell phone – from his pocket
7. Omega watch –from his right wrist
8. Necklace or bracelet – Scully's, removed when she experienced her headache the day before and he'd removed for safety, forgetting to return it
9. 2 Tylenol or similar – in his pocket, left over from Scully's headache
10. Book or magazine – tourist guide taken from the hotel counter this morning
11. Ball point pen – inside his jacket
12. Loud tie – removed from his neck
13. Cross or crucifix – attached to Scully's necklace
14. Handkerchief – from his top pocket
15. Key to your partners' home – on the alien key chain labelled Scully
Mulder so desperately wanted to turn to both Myers and Fernandez and say, 'I told you so' before sticking out his tongue. He resisted the impulse as too childish. Instead he turned to look towards the back of the room. Scully, just discovering the cross, usually nestled at the top of her cleavage, gone. Suddenly her face jerked up, cerulean blue eye's locked with his. Unable to help himself, and knowing she would make his life a misery, Mulder held the jewellery aloft for her to see. A wide smile covered his face, before turning back to his colleagues.
'I'll pay for that,' he laughed easily, sharing the joke with Stoynov, Lam and Warner. Myers and Fernandez scowled. Obviously they believed Mulder to be a show off.
