Within a short time the money was delivered, or at least a part of it with cardboard to fill a briefcase. Cerelli stood beside it with the radio monitor while adjusting his headset used to communicate with his fellow agents.
Team Chief Strafford held the phone out to the FBI agent who answered it with anticipation. "I want to see that money", the convict's breathless voice came over the receiver.
"I have it here but I need to see that you intend to carry out your side of the bargain."
"I have no reason to believe that you have what I want."
"The gesture of good will has to go both ways." Cerelli felt uneasiness starting to rise within him. "You let a couple of your hostages go, and we'll bring you the money. A helicopter is currently on its way to pick you up."
Mulder kneeled behind a stone structure on one side of the steps facing the nervous Lake on the opposite side. As the agent in charge walked by him with a briefcase in hand, he bit back a curse. "Cerelli, you're crazy. This won't work," he called as loud as he dared. He was ignored as the agent continued up the steps to the building.
Mulder shook his head with annoyance and futility. He glanced around his area looking for his partner's short frame but didn't see her.
Agent Cerelli stopped to the side of the door, his cell phone now in hand. "Okay, I'm here at the door, Patterson. Let the women and the child go."
When the convict didn't answer the agent feared the worse and almost backed down when he saw the child followed by 6 women heading for the door towards him. They were followed closely by Collins who trailed behind them with his pistol hovering over their backs.
Upon reaching the door Patterson called everyone to a halt warning them not to open the door.
Taking in the scared faces of the hostages Cerelli yelled into his phone, "Patterson, what are you doing? They were to leave."
"I don't believe you have the money I want." Patterson's thick voice was monotone.
"I have it here in this briefcase which will be handed over to your…"
"No!" Patterson interrupted. "It will not be handed over. I want you to bring it to me. You and, I'll say…three of your men."
"We had a deal", Cerelli said trying to hide his desperation. "You let the women and child go and we bring the money and get you a ride."
"To hell with your deal. For all I know you have a bomb in the briefcase. You and three of your men will walk in the right side of the door with NO guns while the women exit on the left at the same time. Am I understood?"
While the conversation went on, the federal agents supplemented by the SWAT team advanced upon the building making sure they stayed out of sight of the few windows circling it. The side door leading to another door that opened into the main lobby was found open and unsecured. Five members of the team entered in silence, checking each office along the corridor.
At the rear door, more team members entered just as quietly into a larger office that was filled with cubicles made with temporary walls. Winding their way towards the lobby door filled with anticipation, no one questioned the fact as to why the doors were open now but had been locked when checked by the police two days earlier.
"I'll bring it in myself only. I will not allow anyone else…" Cerelli was again cut off as Patterson, still betraying no emotion, interrupted.
"Oh, but you are already bringing others into this. I'm sure that's your men coming in the side and back doors now. Isn't it?"
Cerelli swallowed. The power had been cut; the cameras should not have been working, so how did this guy know? "Look, you can still come out of this alive", he said on the phone then after covering it, he immediately added into the headset. "All personnel in the building use extreme caution. He knows you're inside."
Mulder, who had heard the majority of the conversation, finally ran out of patience and rushed up towards the building, taking care to stay out of sight of the main doors. He stepped up beside the agent in charge who only glared at his approach.
"This won't work Cerelli. Pull those men out of there."
"Get out of my face Agent Mulder! I'm running this operation!"
Mulder considered arguing the point when a shot rang out from inside the building.
When another didn't follow, Cerelli peered around the edge of the wall and called into the headset. "Who the hell fired that shot?" Denials were the only answer he got.
Unable to make out anything past the frightened women at the door he returned the cell phone to his cheek. "Patterson, what is going on? What about our deal?" He stood silent waiting on the answer, when there wasn't one he assumed that the man had hung up. But after a few seconds he could make out the breathing. Patterson hadn't left; he was probably considering his situation.
"There is no deal, Fed."
Shots fired from Patterson's machine gun drowned Cerelli's comment out. Women's screams filled the air as Mulder pushed past the agent in charge and threw open the door trying to herd the people out. He had his gun ready for Collins who had been right behind them but he didn't see the other inmate.
The team's weapons added to Patterson's gunshots as they burst through the doors. Within moments it was over and the room lay in silence.
Mulder stepped inside away from the people still exiting the building. The first thing his eyes fell on was the still body of Collins laying face down on the floor. He had been standing behind the women apparently facing them and the door with his gun still covering them. His only injury was a shot in the back of the head and the only person who had an open shot at him was Patterson.
He stepped into the lobby, only then lowering his gun. The remaining hostages had now cleared out leaving many people lying on the floor either injured or dead. He couldn't help but notice there was a couple of black suited individuals on the floor also.
As the team now being augmented by medical personnel attended to the wounded, he stepped silently over Collins to face the criminal slumped against a large pillar. He kneeled down looking over the cause of past two days' pandemonium. The bald man still in his prison outfit had at least two dozen wounds spaced all over his body. Unfortunately with his adrenaline, it may have taken all the shots to bring him down. Mulder lowered his head in thought. It had been no good from the start. The guy hadn't cared whether he lived or died, just how many people he could take with him.
Standing up he turned back towards the casualties and medical personnel as they worked feverishly over the living ones. Most had already been taken out of the building on gurneys while others were being dressed for minor injuries.
Taking in the scene he realized he didn't see his partner who would have insisted on helping with the wounded. "Scully?" he called through the room not hearing an answer. Hoping she had taken him seriously during their earlier conversation he jogged to the door and looked out. "Scully?" He continued calling for her as he went down the steps and to where the last of the three ambulances were waiting.
Dread began filling him as he maneuvered through the medical personnel and teams. His calls grew more frantic as they continued to go unanswered.
Returning to the building almost at a dead run he burst into the lobby, immediately noticing the two bodies still mostly dressed in black among three other civilians. Catching his breath he went over to them. There was no mistaking the red hair of one of the casualties a nurse continued to work on. Her eyes were closed, the vest had been removed, and her shirt was soaked in her blood.
Mulder fell to his knees beside her; first taking in the victim, then the nurse, with an unspoken question.
"I'm sorry. All I could do was give her something for the pain", she said with as much sorrow as she could muster for a patient she didn't know. She collected her equipment into a bag unaware of the despair building in front of her.
As she stood up to depart Mulder grabbed her arms. "No, you can't leave. You have to help her."
"I can't do anything for her. No one can."
Mulder's eyes lowered in anguish taking in his fallen partner. "Yes you can. She's not dead." His beseechingly look returned to the nurse. "You can't just leave her like this. Help her, please", he begged again not realizing his grip tightened enough to cause her to look back at him in pain.
"I can't. Her injuries are too severe. I need to help the others." She tried to pull back out of his grip.
"Mulder", a soft voice came from behind him. "Please, let her go. She's done everything she can."
Recognizing the voice of Agent Lake, he reluctantly released the nurse and knelt back down to his partner. "Scully?" he whispered to her. Almost fearful of touching her and hurting her more he brushed his hand lightly down the side of her face, feeling her soft, warm skin.
"Mulder…" came a weak answer. Her eyes fluttered open to look at him. Taking in the grief evident in his eyes, his tears on the verge of breaking through, she intended to console him, to let him know everything would be all right. But she knew, even through her hazy mind that it wasn't. She knew that she was dying, that the bullets fired had caught her more on the side than in the front where the vest could have protected her, that the team had been set up from the start, that their intended victim had better protection than they had causing them to expose themselves to get to him. She had remembered her partner's warning and had intended on following it. But when called into the building she moved with the rest and was unintentionally shuffled towards the front. "I need…" she gasped unable to continue.
"Don't try and talk", he whispered for lack of better words. With each breath his anxiety built and his composure faced. He hardly noticed the tears now streaming down his face and that his trembling lips couldn't form the words he wanted to say. His mind only comprehended the fact of the person he cared for the most in the entire world, lay dying in front of him and he couldn't stop it.
With a shaky arm she reached up to his face and brushed away a tear. She tried to smile to reassure him but she instead coughed, blood dribbling down her chin.
Filled with helplessness, Mulder watched with dispair. He desired to take her in his arms and shield her from the inevitable.
When her coughing subsided she tried to talk again. "Please…" She gasped from the from lack of oxygen. "Hold me." Her voice scarcely a whisper but he heard and pulled her up gently into his lap.
Holding her to him, his chin resting lightly on her head he murmured softly, "I'll never let you go." He ignored the fact her blood seeped into his clothes. His eyes closed tightly and he fought back the urge to scream.
"Mulder." His name reached him so softly he wasn't even sure she had said it. Her head slumped to the side against his arm causing him to freeze, holding his breath. He knew without looking, that Scully, his Scully was gone. Yet he still waited; still hoped that somehow this wasn't happening. Scully would open her eyes and tell him that she had him good. He didn't care at this point that she would've scared the shit out of him. Everything would still go back to the normal routine. They would take her to the hospital and the doctors would make her well.
"Scully?" He finally let out his breath burying his face into her soft hair. "Oh God Scully." He now realized that the normal routine was a thing of the past, gone with the person he still held to him. His body wracked with sobs as he cried without shame over the one and only person who ever really cared about him; the one who stood by him whether she believed in his theories or not; and the one that he loved, whether he admitted it or not.
"Mulder." A familiar voice broke into his despair and he realized that someone's hand was on his shoulder, not to draw him away from Scully but to offer support. He tensed but did not release his partner. "I'm so sorry", the person added.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Mulder felt his emotions overwhelm him and made no attempt in keeping his cries for his partner quiet.
Standing behind him, and the only other person in the room, AD Skinner removed his glasses and dabbed at his eyes with his handkerchief. It had only been a couple of minutes before that he had gestured everyone from the room, allowing his agent to expend his grief. Now he was thankful he did, as he also needed the chance to remove himself from their eyes to shed his sorrow over the loss.