CHAPTER SEVEN
The CSM was waiting for her when she got home. Carly looked mighty pleased with herself.
" Here you go," Carly greeted him, handing him the cardboard box of vials.
" You did it," the CSM said, looking a bit shocked.
" Of course I did…did you think I wouldn't go through with it?"
" At one point, I thought you might change your mind," he confessed as he opened the box.
" it wasn't easy," she told him everything, " Skinner didn't suspect anything thank goodness."
" You did well," he assured her giving her a kiss, as he took one of the vials out of the box.
" Don't open it…you said it might be contagious," Carly protested.
" I wont open, I'm just inspecting it." He glanced at the vial…the substance, the black virus, was in it all right.
" You've done a good job…couldn't have done better myself," he told her closing the box up tightly and putting it aside.
" So we're safe from the virus aren't we? The body is burnt we have the vials…there's nothing else to worry about."
" No, everything is fine," the CSM assured her.
Carly smiled with relief, " I'd still like to know who burned my father's body though," she murmured.
" I'm sure the agents are investigating it," he said as he pulled her closer to his body, " let's forget about it all shall we?"
Carly practically floated in his arms for a tight embrace, when she started to feel a little nauseous, dizzy even.
Its just nerves, she told herself, they'll go away once the vials are destroyed. You did the right thing today.
" Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom," she chocked out, trying to keep it down. She rushed for the bathroom and the CSM could hear her retching.
A few minutes later, she returned, looking pale.
" Are you all right?" he asked her in concern.
" I think its just nerves." She replied, " I wouldn't mind having a lie down for awhile."
" Understand…I'll come back later." He left then and Carly sank down onto the couch, rubbing her tummy. What was wrong with her? She never got sick.
Mulder looked around in the lab, trying to find some clue of who burned the body. The charred remains were gone and Mulder had told the forensics not to touch anything else until he searched the area himself.
Mulder looked everywhere, but couldn't find anything useful. The arsonist was very smart in covering his-or her-tracks.
He stood near the table and pondered for a minute. Give up Mulder, you won't find anything, he told himself but Mulder didn't like to give up so easily.
He searched the room a second time when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
it was lying on the floor, underneath the table…it was strange how he never thought to look under the table.
Mulder snatched it from the floor-it was an empty carton of Morley cigarettes. Staring at the box, he knew exactly who had burned the body.
That son of a bitch…he's deceiving Carly. Mulder pocketed the carton and hurried out of the lab and caught a taxi to his apartment.
Carly answered Mulder's third knock. She was dressed in her robe and it looked like he had woken her up.
" Hi Agent Mulder," Carly peered sleepily at him, " Come on in."
" I didn't mean to wake you," he apologised, following Carly into the apartment. It was nearly six pm.
" That's okay, I was waking up when you knocked. I haven't been well today," she explained, running a hand through her messed up brown/reddish hair.
" Are you catching the flu?" Mulder asked warily.
" No…it's something else and I don't know what." She replied, not looking directly at him. Guilt flowed through her, he had no idea she had deceived him.
" Oh…well, I was at the lab today, searching for clues on who burned the body when I found something."
" What?" Carly asked, looking more alert.
" This," Mulder thrust the empty box of cigarettes at her, " We both know who smokes this particular brand."
Carly's eyes went wide, " Agent Mulder, you're not suggesting Mr. Spender burned my father's body?"
" I wouldn't be surprised," Mulder said grimly, " he's deceived you Carly and you actually trust him?"
" Look, this doesn't prove anything…anyone could have dropped the box…Spender's not the only person in Washington to smoke Morley cigarettes," Carly argued, refusing to believe any of it.
" He's taunted me in the past," Mulder shot back, " he's part of the Conspiracy I told you about."
" That's nonsense, he would have told me."
" I don't think so." Mulder paused, " Look, I'm sorry if I've upset you, but you have to listen to reason. The smoking man is biding his time before he harms you."
" I don't have to listen to this," she snapped, " he won't hurt me. If he was planning to hurt me, don't you think he would have done it by now?"
" As I said he's biding his time," Mulder reminded her.
" I'd like you to leave now Agent Mulder,"
" But-"
" Please, just go." Carly pointed to the door.
Mulder gave the box to Carly before he left the apartment.
Later that evening, Carly sat on the living room floor, going through her father's boxes. Most of the stuff wasn't of any interest to her.
She opened the last box and in it were old photographs, photo albums and several old diaries.
She put the diaries aside and rifled through the photos-they were mostly family photos, old army photos and college photos.
She found a photo of herself and her sister Madeline posing together. She had been eighteen and Maddy was twenty.
I was about to start college, she remembered and Maddy was in her third year… the two sisters may have looked alike with their long, brown hair and hazel eyes, but they couldn't be more different. Maddy was the prettier, more outgoing sister while Carly was quiet, serious and very career-driven.
Carly put the photos back into the box when one had caught her eye-it was of a group of men and one standing in the back was her father…and the man standing beside him looked like a younger version of Spender.
Very interesting, Carly thought and put it with the diaries. Spender had been telling her the truth when he claimed to be an old friend of her father's. Perhaps they had been work colleagues.
She grabbed the diaries and sat down on her recliner when that familiar nauseous feeling came back. She hurried into the bathroom to throw up again. A few minutes later, she returned back to the living room when a thought crossed her mind.
Results from a medical tests have been proven to be wrong sometimes, she told herself, perhaps I should ring Dana and ask if I can have another medical test? She glanced at the clock-it was almost six. She went into the kitchen to use the phone.
A few minutes later, she replaced the receiver. Dana had agreed to do another test the following morning.
Scully arrived at the office the following morning. She decided to check to see if the vials were still in their hiding place.
Mulder sat at his desk, flipping through some files from older X-Files. She opened the filing cabinet and rummaged through them.
Her blood went cold, the box wasn't there.
Unless Mulder moved it without telling me, she thought annoyed.
" Mulder, did you move the box of vials from the cabinet?" she demanded him.
" No, I haven't touched it," Mulder replied, " Why?"
" It's not here." Scully told him, " the box is gone."
" Are you sure you didn't move it yourself?"
" Of curse I'm sure," Scully snapped, " I would have remembered otherwise."
" Don't panic, its bound to be here somewhere," Mulder said calmly. The two agents began looking through the office, but there was no sign of the box.
" Someone's broken into the office and stolen the evidence!"
" And we both know who," Mulder said grimly.