"What about her husband?" Scully felt a little silly asking.
"Scully, he's probably the one locked up."
Scully surveyed Mulder. "So, both Wang and this classics' woman are upset with the classics' woman's husband. So they plan retaliation together? Mulder, they probably don't want to be near each other!"
"But if Motsouka's right, it's the only explanation. The husband has hurt them both."
"Ruth, too," Motsouka added.
Mulder nodded his head. "See?"
"How did Ruth hurt the classics' chair?" Scully asked.
"You've met the man," Motsouka said. "Wang seems sensitive."
Scully nodded despite her doubt. "Okay. Even if Wang's accomplice is this classics' woman and they have her husband locked up, how does that information help us stop this? We still need to infiltrate the dreams of the entire town."
Scully saw Tom fight and fail to suppress a smile. "How about a town meeting?"
XXX
They repurposed the flier that Motsouka had found at the park, adding only the date, time and a picture of the motel. Tom used an outdated copy machine behind his desk to make several copies. Scully and Mulder's car was still park at the Town Hall, forgotten in their escape. Tom dropped them off next to it, and they split up to distribute the fliers.
In twos, they canvassed the neighborhood. They had agreed to leave fliers under doors, rather than confront each family like old-time salesmen.
Scully felt Mulder's light touch on her lower back as they walked off another front porch. She looked up at him and smiled. They had cemented the cracks in their relationship with putty – still with no consensus on whether they should announce their relationship at work. But even so, at the very least, she had him at that moment.
XXX
The red rays of sunset stretched through the dirty window into the motel's lobby office, bringing with them a stiff silence. Tom stood just outside the building, facing the parking lot, one hand shielding his eyes. Motsouka leaned on Tom's desk, studying original flier from the park. Scully glanced at Mulder, who was twiddling his thumbs next to her as they leaned on the opposite wall. She stepped closer to him and bumped his long arm. He glanced at her. She smiled, reached out, and took his hand.
A motor rumbled, and Mulder squeezed Scully's fingers. All four of them watched as cars began to enter one by one, like a poorly timed procession.
"Ready?"
Scully nodded.
The people approached like they expected the motel to jump forward and attack them. Scully took a deep breath, reminding herself that this briefing was similar to one at the FBI. There would be a lot of people who needed convincing – a lot of people who weren't sure they could trust her.
Tom had located folding chairs in a storage shed, and the four of them had set them up in the parking lot outside the office. People began taking their seats. Mulder, Scully and Motsouka nodded at one another and strode outside, joining Tom.
Several times, men waved to Tom and spoke to him. Tom smiled each time. People began to stand in the back, behind the folding chairs. And to think, Scully thought, that they were afraid no one would show.
The sun disappeared and the sky turned yellow like a bruise. The oncoming darkness seemed to still the crowd. Motsouka cleared her throat. "Geiá sou!"
The crowd stared at her.
"γόης. Κακό." Motsouka called. Her voice cracked. She looked at Scully. Scully met her eyes and then directed her gaze to the crowd. They looked concerned.
"Ummm." Motsouka closed her eyes. "Diorthónoume."
The townspeople looked from one to another. A man in a cowboy hat shouted a string of syllables. When none of them reacted, he added "Tom?"
"Voítheia," Motsouka tried, and pointed to herself. This word produced a nod. She muttered to them, "pretend to be sleeping."
Scully felt a little silly as she mimed sleep. She waited ten seconds before opening her eyes. Motsouka was still pointing at the crowd. They looked bewildered. She felt Mulder's grip on her arm at the sound of a motor. A black car appeared in the parking lot.