Title: The Answer Is Out There
Disclaimer: If anyone thinks I own any of these characters, you are very
wrong and deserve all the shame in the world. I do not own the characters...I
don't even make money from this...hey, I don't even have permission to write
this! (and special note for this installment...I wrote the word "Microsoft"
once..er..twice now, so Bill Gates is gonna kill me. That should encourage
others to leave me alone, right?)
Ch.3
"So, you come here often?" A young man, who was obviously fond of his silver tongue ring, fingered the straw in Scully's drink. Dressed from head to toe in black leather, he was only the fifth to talk to her so far this evening. By this time, Scully was certain there had to be a sign on her back saying, "I'm looking for it". Her outfit was not encouraging their advances, not if black leather was the norm...and it was. Thankfully, Mulder had abandoned that horse. Instead, he had gone out in his jogging clothes, while she borrowed one of his blue-and-white striped dress shirts, rolled up to her elbows, over her white tee-shirt and khaki slacks.
Yet despite sticking out like a sore thumb, Scully had been made to feel more welcome in the three bars she had visited than she normally felt at the home office. Granted, that didn't say much, but it was still surprising. The latest kid to hit on her had been making his overtures for about ten minutes before he finally spoke to her. She had been expecting something a little dirtier or even a little more original.
"Not really. I was just looking for a friend of mine." A devilish grin crawled across the boy's face. Flicking his tongue out to caress its silver mutilation, he ordered a drink for himself.
"I gather this ain't your kind of scene. Whatcha drinking by the way?"
"Diet Pepsi." The edges of his lips drooped into a frown.
"Not much for liquor, huh?"
"No, it's just I can't find who I'm looking for if I'm piss drunk, you follow?" The hard edge of her voice was meant to encourage her new friend to leave, but the intended effect was lost on him. Instead if leaving, he actually sat on the stool next to her and leaned closer.
"I could always offer my services. Maybe if you told me who you're looking for, I could ask my good buddy, Tony, here," he slapped the bartender on the shoulder as he took his drink. Scully glanced over her companion's shoulder to scan for her partner. Her eyes scoured the sea of black for the muted grays of Mulder's sweatshirt.
In the farthest corner, near the bright red light of the EXIT sign, written in neon tubing, was her name. No one appeared to notice, not even the six or seven men and women all attached with leashes to a hook in the doorway beneath the sign. Still, the glowing, electric blue letters spelt out 'SCULLY', as clear as the music was loud.
"See something you like? My name is Jon, by the by. Might I have yours?" Jon continued to flirt, and Scully was beginning to realize that she would have to return the favor for the time being, until she could locate and trade info with Mulder.
"It's on the sign over there," she jerked her head slightly towards the door. Jon's moment of distraction served its purpose as she garnered another brief look around the club. Losing the objective of her search, namely, forgetting to look for Mulder, Scully's eyes rested on the various costumes the patrons donned. Some wore it tight, some wore it loose, but everyone wore leather, and most had some silver trimmings. A few spiked bands, metal corsets, silver brads all over, those were the only breaks in the monotonous display. Some looked the part of tough bikers or drug addicts; others only came off as pathetic wannabes, people rejected by everyone else and who had ended up in the 'underground' as a result.
"You mean I can call you Exit? Not bad. Not great, but it's better than Jon." Scully couldn't fight the urge to whirl around in time. Doing just that, she nearly knocked both drinks from the bar and Jon from his seat. Her eyes lifted to just above the doorway. The neon sign was, indeed, gone. There were no marks to indicate it had ever existed. Jon's quick thinking saved their drinks, but he remained mute in surprise. Recovering her calm, Scully smiled through gritted teeth, spreading her lips wider in an inviting grin. Her admirer responded in kind, the incident instantly forgotten.
"Sure, Exit, as you wish. Maybe you should think of a better name for yourself." A flash of excitement in his features said it all. This was a perfect topic, and one that he must have given considerable consideration over time. This way, she could keep up her surveillance while only listening marginally to anything he had to say.
"You think so? See, I was thinking of introducing myself as Foist. It's a really interesting story, you see..." After hearing his ludicrous pseudonym, Scully let the music drown out his enthused tale. The wall directly above the doorway held her attention. The greenish-brown wallpaper had seen a few tours of duty. Scrapes and cuts, stains and crusted remnants of spilled material were visible. No matter how long she stared, there were still no signs of electric outlets, holes, or gas lines that might have supplied the sign, had it actually been there.
"So, how about it? Foist? Call me Foist." A slight nod and 'Foist' smiled and pounded his fist on the bar. "Hot damn, I think she likes it." Although it felt dirty and unworthy of her, Scully gave Foist her best seductive smile. It had been a long time since she had used it, but it worked nonetheless. "So, how's about we make for a hasty..." he snickered into his hand sheepishly, "a hasty 'exit'? Exit, get it?" A sarcastic smirk was her only response.
"Excuse me, but can I cut in, please?" Scully didn't even bother to turn her head. Mulder's voice was recognizable even with the distortion of the blaring music. A few muttered protests came from her other companion, but she assumed that he took the hint because a second later, he passed with a wink.
"What is it about me, Mulder? I've been sitting here for an hour, and I sat at those other bars for hours, and still, the only people who approach me are the wannabe rebels, all of whom quit early to go home and get their real jollies playing with their computers."
"What makes you say that?" Rolling her eyes and then closing them, Scully took a deep, sighing breath.
"Well, most of these people have a particular fetish. Leather, for the most part..."
"I hadn't noticed." Scully could picture Mulder's own smirk. Their partnership had allowed her to retain and save all of his common facial twitches in her memory. There was a smile for every joke, and a blank look for every other emotion.
"It's just that that kid had to be no more than the legal age to drink, Mulder, if that. He probably used a fake ID anyway. I'm sure that in ten minutes, he'll head home, switch on his computer, talk dirty to someone he's never met, and get off on it, all the while hoping his parents don't walk in and discover how he's been spending his nights."
"Something of a geek, was he?"
"You could say that. If it weren't for our profiles so far, I'd say that description applied to most of the computer-types out there. Somehow, I just don't see my good friend 'Foist' blowing an entire squad of military reserves into kingdom come."
"Foist? Interesting. How'd he come up with that?"
"Uh," Scully tried to think back to the conversation. Soothing her forehead with her hand, she came up with the answer. "I think he said he was drunk one night and spent three hours rearranging the letters in 'Microsoft' until he had it."
"Clever."
"Not really."
"No, no, admit it, that is pretty clever. He's managed to avoid the wrath of Bill Gates thus far, right? He must be doing something right." Scully chuckled, rubbing her sore eyes. This merciful break was already doing wonders for her dried eyes. With Mulder looking out for their subject, she could afford to take this rest. Leaning against the bar, Scully propped her elbows up and let her head hang back a little.
"I don't know, Mulder. What would you call yourself if you were a computer freak?"
"I am a computer freak, thank you very much."
"I'm sorry, it's just I can't help but wonder where they come up with these names. Trinity? Neo? Ha! Do they sit there for hours with a dictionary, making lists that they read aloud until they like the sound of a particular word? Or does it have something to do with their hobbies?"
"Well, mine just kind of came to me, but given the circumstances, I guess you might call it fate." Scully couldn't suppress her laughter. Her eyes fluttered open between spasms. The fit was so bad that it made her double over in mirth.
"I've got to hear this," she gasped breathlessly, "what does fate have to do with anything? I didn't even know you had a computer identity."
"I do, and I'm sure you know it. It wasn't until someone mentioned it that I gave it any thought, and it seemed like too much of a coincidence. Besides, I believe in fate now. Given the circumstances, I'd say there has to be a reason why my name is an anagram of 'One'."
"What is your name anyway?" Fully recovered, Scully straightened to sit upright and look at her partner. Only her partner wasn't sitting next to her.
"It's Neo, but you knew that." If her eyes could have fallen out of her head at any time, this was the moment. Scully's eyes were wide enough for that to be a possible problem. Speaking with Mulder's voice, sitting in the exact spot that she had pictured Mulder possessing, was Anderson. A light, knowing grin decorated his pale face.
"Hello, Agent Scully."
*********************
This is my type of assignment, Mulder mused. The bar was full of young women dressed in barely existing leather outfits, and not one was shy about being ogled by others. What was truly impressing was the wide variety of leather accessories that could be found. Some wore basically leather bathing suits, others wore leather underwear, and the occasional patron wore a leather catsuit. Whoever supplied these people with their clothes had a limitless imagination. Mulder had no idea how anyone had been able to come up with that many variations using only black leather and silver accessories.
So far, he had found the best location to stake out the bars was the bathroom. Half the people on line thought he was the janitor, and the other half figured he was just there to use the toilet. That way, he escaped questions and, over the course of the evening, had made close to a hundred bucks in tips. After one very generous and extremely drunk man handed him a twenty at the last bar, he had made a point to wipe down the sinks as soon as he entered the restroom. Tips had kept coming after that.
Frequently, his mind would wander back to Scully, sitting at the bar. He had seen her take up position there at each stop, so he could safely assume she was there now. There was a little guilt in knowing that she probably had no idea where he was, but he couldn't leave to tell her now. As he saw it, Mulder figured the bathroom was a sure place to discover the suspect, if he was even here. And the coed bathrooms made for plenty of free...well, given the lack of clothing, peep shows.
However, an hour of wiping down counters, mopping up some of the stalls, and avoiding the sharper edges of some costumes, Mulder had had enough. Taking his tips and stuffing them into his sweatpants pocket, he walked back into the main room. Distracted by the cage dancers, he paid Scully no attention. Since she made no effort to make any signs to him, he assumed she was all right. If there were a problem, she would signal him.
The room was alive with people dancing, flirting, and flat-out screwing one another. It made for a lively atmosphere, if nothing else. Their suspect could easily slide through this club unnoticed. Everyone seemed oblivious to the actions of their neighbors. There was the added disadvantage that their suspect's description could have applied to anyone in the bar, which also meant that spying the suspect in the crowd would be even more difficult.
"Penny for your thoughts?" A strong, seductive feminine voice whispered from behind him. Mulder started to turn, but a pair of hands suddenly reached out to hold his head in place. "Don't. It'll spoil the imagination."
"You mean if I see you I may be disappointed? Is that it?"
"More or less. Mind if I ask what you're doing here? Besides scamming the masses in the bathroom, that is." Mulder laughed, shaking his head. The hands on either side of his neck disappeared, but he made no attempt to turn around.
"How'd you figure that out?"
"Simple, you don't belong here. Even if I didn't know more, that much is obvious." The breath at his neck was closer; it gently tickled and shifted his hair. At the same time, Mulder tried to think of what to do next. Although it had been fun to ogle a little, he couldn't afford to be distracted any more than he was already.
"Listen, uh, miss? I don't want to sound rude, but..."
"I know, you're busy." A slight chill rippled through his body. She had spoken with such intimate understanding and knowing. Whatever she assumed was occupying his time, it was close enough of a parallel to the truth that it would suffice. But her voice still caused that shiver to run through him. The sensible explanation was that she knew nothing, but he had never settled for the sensible explanation.
"How do you that? Maybe I was just trying to avoid having to talk with a strange woman. Doesn't that make more sense?"
"First of all, more sense than what? And secondly, I know a lot more than you think, Agent Mulder." Hearing his name, Mulder spun around. Intent on storing every detail, in case of future emergency, Mulder dropped his gaze to the floor. Starting with the leather boots, he let his eyes slowly scroll upwards. Above the boots, his mysterious contact wore skin-tight, flawless black leather pants, which stretched across her perfect figure. Mulder's eyes jumped up to the matching tight jacket, then to her face.
"Trinity." She smiled, giving him a slight nod.
"Hello, Agent Mulder."
*********************
Later, neither of the agents could remember exactly what happened after they each realized whom they had just met. Scully could vaguely remember being in complete shock at the deception Anderson had employed, but the conversation and the ensuing events that she recalled were too fantastic to be real.
"Don't move." In one quick gesture, Scully had her gun out of the holster on her back. Carefully concealing it by unrolling her sleeve, she kept the gun trained on the man in front of her. For his part, Anderson seemed unimpressed and even amused.
"What are you going to do? Shoot me? Here? I think not. That's not why you're here." Not wavering in her aim for a moment, Scully did allow her arm to rest of her lap. The weapon was still trained on him, and he knew it, which she took to be an understanding.
"I am placing you under arrest. Now, we can walk out of here, quietly, or I can scream 'FBI' and you can take your chances with a stampede if you try to run." Scully's whispered threat was barely audible, but he seemed to understand. At the mention of her screaming, she thought she saw him pale.
"I wouldn't do that, Agent Scully. It will only put you in great danger."
"I'm not afraid of you. I've dealt with killers before, Mr. Anderson, and lots of them had more power than you." His smile returned as she continued her attempt at menace.
"Really? You mean your work on the isolated incidents of paranormal activity? I've heard a lot about that. I'm impressed. And the fact that you are still here is likewise impressive, in both the good and bad sense of the word."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"You've seen so much, yet you claim not to believe. That is a feat indeed. But you must believe, Agent Scully, or else you would have disappeared the moment I said who I was."
"I don't have time to play games. I think we should leave now." Waving her gun towards the door, Scully stood to follow the gesture. To her surprise, Anderson stood as well, but he didn't start to walk. Instead, he waved at someone behind Scully.
"I agree, but I think we need to make a deal first. I'd rather not be hauled in right now, especially by you. It would be a waste."
"Oh? What makes you think I won't take you in?"
"Because if you do, I may have to wound your partner, Agent Scully." A voice from behind answered the question as Mulder was shoved gently to her side. The agents shared a sideways glance; Scully nodded and dropped her arm to her side. Mulder looked quickly around, but not even the bartender paid them any attention. Anderson gestured to the exit, and the four left, the agents following him and Trinity behind them.
Once outside, the agents were guided to a black car. Trinity motioned for them to get in the back seat, while she climbed into the driver's seat. Neo took the agents' weapons before he walked around to the passenger's side. All this took only a minute, and soon, the car was on its way. Having resigned himself only for the time being, Mulder had no hesitancy to probe their captors once the car had started.
"So, I guess this is your way of saying you don't like people investigating you? If you ask me, I think your pathetic aping of mob tactics is sad and cliched." The pair in the front shared an amused look.
"Really, Agent Mulder, is that what you think? That we're just here to kill you? Do you honestly believe we would risk such a public encounter simply to kill the two of you? And I thought Morpheus said this guy was smart." The last statement had been directed at Trinity, but Mulder stored the information. Morpheus was another piece of data to add to the burgeoning file on this man.
"So, then why are we here, Thomas? I can call you Thomas, right?" Trinity chuckled as Anderson made a face.
"Not unless you want me to change my mind about killing you. You can call me Neo, if it's all the same."
"Fine then, Neo, I would like to know why you've taken us hostage."
"Agent Mulder, do you believe in aliens?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's a relatively straight forward question." Mulder stared at Neo and said nothing. In all his years at the Bureau, Mulder had done too many psychological profiles for him to remember them all. In all those years, he had dealt with the criminally insane, the possessed, the elusive, the enigmatic, and even inhuman creatures. Not one of them defied a profile like this one man. The reserved woman in the front had more of a pattern than this guy, and he knew about as much about her as he did about Neo. Mulder decided to answer the question, hoping it might lead to more clues to unraveling this man.
"Yes, but I just assumed you knew that. You seem to know a lot about me, which puts me at a disadvantage."
"I know enough for the time being, Agent Mulder. I'm interested in finding out what I don't already know about you, though. Just to clarify, you do believe in aliens?" Mulder nodded. "Have you any proof that aliens either exist or have visited this planet?" Mulder shook his head. If this guy were after evidence, he'd come to the wrong person.
"Listen, I can't help you. I've tried, we've both tried," he gestured to Scully. "But we can't fight the government. They've destroyed every lead and every piece of evidence. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but if you're out to prove the existence of aliens, this is not the right way to go about it." Neo chuckled and shook his head. Disappointment was evident in Mulder's face from Scully's point of view. She had seen that look before. This man was toying with him, and she couldn't stand it.
"I know what you're doing, Neo. This is just sadistic. If you don't believe, fine, but must you torture my partner over this? What do you want?"
"Agent Scully, I just want to see the difference between what you know and what you believe. It could be vitally important. I need to know what you are willing to accept and what you won't. Tell me then, since you object to my questions, what do you believe?" Mulder glanced at Scully and then answered for them both.
"We have seen enough to understand the world is not as simple as people wish it to be." Neo turned a curiously attentive gaze on Mulder, nodding for him to continue. "I have seen aliens, Neo. I have seen monsters that not even Stephen King could have dreamt up. Monsters, monsters that have tried to kill both Scully and me only too frequently. I've met psychics, witches, cannibals, murderers, and ghosts, and I knew which ones were real. I have also seen the government step in and erase the evidence, cover up the tracks of killer insects, sterilize diseased areas, and kill witnesses. That is what I have seen. I believe what I've seen to be real."
"Oh, yes? What reality are we talking about, Agent Mulder?" This time, both agents could only stare in utter confusion at their captors. Neo appeared to be waiting for them to continue, and Trinity didn't even shift in her seat at the question.
"I don't understand the question."
"Very well, let me put it to you another way." Neo rubbed his chin and scratched his head as he searched for the correct words. "What is real to you, Agent Mulder? Agent Scully? Is it what you have seen, or is it what you believe?" They didn't answer. "For instance, if you had never seen an alien, would you still believe in them?"
"Yes."
"No." Neo glanced between the two agents. Mulder gave Scully a surprised look, but they didn't speak.
"Have you ever wondered how this government you speak of can cover all that up?"
"They knew about it in the first place." Mulder muttered, and Scully agreed, shuddering as she remembered the men in suits that she had seen when she had been abducted.
"Neo, I know that they knew. When I was abducted..."
"Hold that thought, Agent Scully. I know what you're going to say. You know that the government either planned or allowed for your abduction, am I correct?" She nodded, but Neo shook his head. "Agent Scully, no one can know everything. I have the particulars on your abduction, and I'm telling you that there is no way for any independent body to have planned that."
"What are you saying?" Scully shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Neo's words made sense, but at the same time, she feared the revelation he might spring upon her.
"Any number of things could have happened. Duane Barry's car could have run out of gas, he could have been driven off the road; the cop that pulled him over could have had a partner. There are a million and one different ways that you could have escaped that ordeal. But did you? No. That's because you were never abducted. That whole trip you remember is just a dream within a dream...a memory altered, nothing more."
"How would you know? Are you going to tell me now that you have been abducted too? Because if you haven't, there's no way you can possibly know what it's like..."
"You can't remember where you last were...you don't know if the past few days were a dream, or if they were real and now is the dream. That's how it feels." Neo's voice dropped a register. His tone was somber and pained. His words shook her very foundation of sanity. That was exactly how it felt.
"You were...?"
"No, I wasn't abducted, and neither were you. What happened to you did happen to me, though. We have both had our memories tampered with by higher powers. In my case, what I remember could be classified as one of your X-Files."
"But you are in our files." Scully blurted out before she realized what she had just revealed. Neo didn't seem impressed by her involuntary sharing of information.
"I realize that. I have a criminal record. I have killed quite a few people and ruined some rather lovely public works in my time. That explains why you guys are in Chicago and snooping around. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you're looking for me. I knew the agents had a file on me, so it makes sense that the FBI does too." Again, Mulder and Scully fell silent. They couldn't figure out why he had made a distinction between agents and FBI. He spoke as if they were separate entities.
"Agents?" Mulder glanced sideways at Neo, trying to puzzle out his meaning. "Does this have to do with Agent Smith?" Neo's lips tightened into a hard line. "It does, doesn't it? He arrested you, I've seen the pictures." The hardness in Neo's face fell away as pure shock replaced it.
"What do you mean, 'pictures'? Why would there be pictures of that in your file?"
"They weren't. A friend of mine had a friend look into it. We have the pictures of you being arrested. We have quite a bit on your friend too. And the file wasn't ours to begin with." This time, Scully was almost positive that Neo's color drained. He looked almost panicked at the idea of them not having their own file.
"Who handed you this file?"
"That is confide..." Mulder began, but he didn't finish as Neo cocked the gun he'd been holding. "Our supervisor tells us it came from the NSA."
"That's bullshit."
"That's what I thought too. There are entire segments blacked out, and the arresting officers..."
"They're called agents."
"Right, well, they're not mentioned. It's basically a rap sheet. The other information that my friend was able to pass on is much more illuminating, Neo. I was impressed with that attack you pulled off. I saw pictures of that too. I assume the military is after you as well?" Neo swallowed hard. "Can I ask a question now?"
"Shoot."
"Let's hope not," Mulder gave a dry, humorless laugh as he stared at the weapon in Neo's hand. "Why did those agents scare you? Who does Agent Smith work for?" The corner of Neo's mouth twitched, a smirk almost forming.
"Agent Smith is no longer a problem. Those agents are more dangerous than those monsters you talked about. As for who they work for, I think you've had the opportunity to find out."
"The secret government?"
"Not exactly, but a 'rose by any other name...' as they say. Let's put it this way, Agent Mulder, they run everything you think is being run. And they very well may have given you that file. The important question is why. Care to share?"
"I was told that we were to use all means necessary to either capture or eliminate you." Scully gave Mulder a furious look that was not altogether fraudulent. It was best to play along to this lie, but it wasn't far enough from the truth to suit her. If they did accomplish their task here, if they wrote a profile on Neo, it would most likely be used to those very ends.
"Agent Mulder, I am telling you this once, and I will not repeat it. Do not fuck with me. I want to know why you specifically were given this file. If, as you say, the NSA gave you the file, there would have to be considerable cause to do so. The NSA can pull up more manpower than can the FBI, so your explanation is wrong. If it is really the agents who gave you that file, they would know that there is no way you will have any chance of succeeding, which also eliminates that explanation. Tell me why you are here, now."
"We're supposed to come up with a working profile on you, Neo." Scully answered for her partner. The charade hadn't worked, so she saw no reason to keep clinging to it. Neo seemed satisfied with her answer.
"Thank you, Agent Scully, that is much more helpful." Neo sounded like he had more to say, but he stopped as the car came to an abrupt halt. For the first time since getting in, the agents looked out the windows. Trinity killed the ignition and motioned for them to get out. Outside, there was nothing but cornfields next to signs giving directions to Rte. 80.
"I'm sorry we have to leave you out here, but our alternate exit is only about a mile from here." Neo pointed down the road. "There is a gas station there. After we leave, you are welcome to head for it and call for a ride. Here," Neo reached into his pocket to come out with a cell phone. "They'll trace the call, so keep it short. The number for a cab company has been programmed into the auto-dial."
"Turn around." Trinity did not ask; she dictated. The agents did as asked. From experience, they each expected the next command, and both placed their hands on their heads. They walked a short way into the corn until Trinity allowed them to stop and asked them to kneel. Neo came up behind her. Though they whispered, Mulder could hear the short conversation clearly as the wind carried the words.
"They must be clear. They haven't disappeared yet, Trin."
"True, but that's only because they're used to this, Neo. That and the agents seem to have a use for them. We should get out of here and talk to Morpheus."
"Right." Neo walked over to the agents. "I am sorry about this. I hope next time we talk it will be a little more pleasant. Believe me, this isn't our style at all, but it was the best way I could think of to get to talk to you." He patted them on the shoulders for good measure. Scully held her breath. Despite his promise to allow them to go, she waited for the shot she was sure was coming.
The only sound that rang out was the gunning of a car's engine and then a tremendous crash. Mulder jumped to his feet, grabbing Scully and pulling her with him. They ran back to the road, each hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of the retreating vehicle and to investigate the cause of the loud crash. As soon as they hit pavement again, they saw what had happened. The car had been driven straight into a street light. The impact was amazing. The two objects appeared fused together, almost as if there had always been a street lamp sticking out of the roof. More astonishing was that there was no broken glass or damage to the car. Just a street lamp accessory. Neo and Trinity were nowhere to be found.
"What do we do now?" Scully looked helplessly at her partner. Mulder reached into his sweatpants to pull out the phone Neo had given them. Depressing the indents on the sides, Mulder nearly dropped the phone as the spring opened the phone. Scully watched him hit the auto-dial, but he stopped the call before it began to ring.
"We should go to that gas station first, figure out where we are." She nodded, and they set off. The next fifteen minutes were spent reaching the station, phoning for a cab, and then just sitting around, trying to make sense of the past hours.
By the time they reached Chicago, the entire experience had been warped by too much time spent thinking about it. Neither Mulder nor Scully could remember the exact details, but each knew that what had happened had been too preposterous for even them to comprehend.
End of Chapter 3