TITLE: The Port Charles Files 7/8
by Kelso (kelso28@excite.com)
*********
"This is it: the famous brownstone." Mulder slid the Dodge into
an empty space along the curb and turned off the ignition.
"Ready, Scully?"
She ignored him as she jotted some notes on her pad.
"Ready?" he repeated.
She still didn't reply.
"What are you doing?" Mulder leaned over to get a closer look.
"Which sounds better, Mulder?" Scully held up the notepad and
read, "Hannah Scott, setting back the advancement of women in the
Bureau by a good five years; or, the Port Charles Police
Department doesn't let the legalities stand in their way, so why
should we?"
"What's that, Scully?" Mulder made a grab for the paper.
Scully let him have it without a fight. "That's our progress
report for Skinner. It's much harder to write than I thought it
would be. How do we express the full gravity of the situation
while remaining within the bounds of credibility? And I'm just on
the part about Hannah."
Mulder read, "'There was a time when one actually had to be
qualified to join and remain in the FBI. Has that day truly passed
us by? Because Agents Scott and Larkin appear to be sterling
examples of all that is wrong. The mystery is, why weren't they
fired long ago? And when Agent Scott tried to resign, why wasn't
she allowed to?'"
"Anything you want to add about her, Mulder?" Scully asked.
"No, I think that about summed it up." He tossed the pad into the
backseat. "Forget the report. I'll write it later. We have more
important things to do right now. The brownstone, remember?" He
knew he was safe. There was no way Scully would let him send in
the report. He just needed to distract her from it until she felt
less frustrated.
Scully closed her eyes and recited, "All right. The brownstone's
owner is Bobbie, who is Luke Spencer's sister, Stefan Cassadine's
ex-wife, Roy DiLucca's girlfriend, Carly Benson's mother, Tony
Jones' ex-wife, A.J. Quartermaine's former mother-in-law, and
Lucky Spencer's aunt. We need to question her on several points,
including A.J.'s contention that she discriminated against him by
refusing to rent him a room or sell him the building. Let's go."
They walked up to the house side by side, and Scully rang the
bell.
A red-haired woman opened the door. "Tony, I--" She stopped.
"You're not Tony."
"Hello, Bobbie Spencer Brock Meyer Jones Cassadine?" Scully asked.
"Just Bobbie is fine. How can I help you?"
"FBI." They held up their badges and gave their names.
Bobbie's neutral expression changed to dismay. "Not again. This
isn't about Roy, is it?"
"No, we want--" Scully said.
Bobbie interrupted. "Luke, then? Lucky? Jerry?"
"None of the above," Mulder assured her. "We're much more
interested in your personal history, and it's in an unofficial
capacity."
Bobbie shook her head. "I don't think so." She started to close
the door.
Mulder was struck by inspiration. "Agent Scully is a friend of
Hannah Scott's. Isn't that right, Scully?"
She probably wanted to cringe, but managed a simple nod.
Bobbie instantly swung the door wide. "Oh, in that case, I can
give you a few minutes. I know Hannah quite well."
They entered the living room, where Mulder and Scully sat on the
couch as Bobbie chose a cozy armchair near the window. In the
next second, a brown-haired man of around Bobbie's age burst in
the front door. "Sorry I'm late, Bobbie." He then noticed her
companions. "Sorry again. I didn't mean to interrupt." He turned
to leave.
"No, come in," Bobbie invited. "Tony, this is the FBI. Agents
Mulder and Scully. And no, they're not here because of Roy or
Luke, or even Jerry. They want to talk about *me*. Agents, this
is my ex-husband, Dr. Tony Jones. I've been expecting him. It's
all right if he stays, isn't it?"
"No problem," Mulder agreed. "We want to talk to him, too."
Tony looked startled. "Me? About what?"
"Chloe Morgan," Scully explained. "Specifically, her supposed
visions."
Tony crossed the room and settled into an easy chair across from
Scully. "Chloe mentioned you. She said something about how you're
helping Jax avoid arrest."
Mulder looked sharply at Scully -- she hadn't mentioned that
incident to him -- as she answered vaguely, "That remains to be
seen. Chloe claims that you informed her that her dreams could
indeed have been caused by her brain tumor."
"Yes, I did."
"Yet when you yourself developed a brain tumor and went blind
some years ago, nothing of that nature happened to you, did it?"
"Every situation is different, Agent Scully," Tony said
placidly. "As a matter of fact, my life has been so quiet in the
last couple of years, you wouldn't think I was the same person as
I was back then."
"That, I can believe," Scully admitted. "Thank you, Dr. Jones.
You confirmed my expectations."
And not in a good way, Mulder knew. He addressed their hostess.
"So, Bobbie, we understand you've undergone some unusual
experiences."
She looked puzzled. "I don't know what you could possibly mean.
My life is pretty ordinary."
Mulder listed from memory, "What about your participation in the
capture of a crooked FBI agent, your marriage to your brother's
nemesis, Stefan Cassadine, and your reunion with the adult
daughter you gave up for adoption when she was a baby? And
weren't you falsely accused of murdering one of your ex-
husbands?"
Bobbie smiled slightly. "Now that you mention it, I suppose I've
had my moments."
"Continuing the trend, weren't you temporarily blinded?" Scully
pressed.
"Not exactly. I faked my condition in an attempt to hold onto a
man. It didn't work."
"According to our notes, you also faked a pregnancy," Scully
pointed out.
"That was to keep a *different* man. And it also didn't work."
Bobbie shrugged. "Hey, I was young and foolish then. We all do
dumb things when we're kids."
Mulder picked up the questioning. "Have you suffered from any
other noteworthy medical conditions?"
Bobbie was quiet for a handful of seconds before saying, "I
can't think of any."
"Your memory's slipping," Tony interjected. "You were paralyzed
for a while."
Bobbie snapped her fingers. "That's right. How could I have
forgotten? Thank you, Tony."
"You didn't fake that condition, too, did you?" Mulder asked.
Bobbie drew herself up a little straighter. "No, I learn from my
mistakes."
Mulder pushed his luck and asked, "Which would explain why you've
been married four times, and it would have been five but for the
fact that your fiance was arrested during your most recent
wedding?"
Bobbie looked coldly at him, as Tony flinched.
Scully broke the silence. "Bobbie, can you expand a bit on your
kidnapping?"
Bobbie turned to face her more fully. "Which one?"
Scully selected at random. "The one in 1992."
"Oh, that. Well, I started to correspond with Joseph Atkins, an
imprisoned cop killer. At first he seemed like he'd changed for
the better, but then I had reason to question his behavior. When
he wanted me to support his bid for parole, I told him no. He
escaped from custody and abducted me for revenge. That was
another close call."
There wasn't much one could say to a woman like Bobbie. Mulder
decided to finish up their business so they could move on to more
promising pursuits. "There's just one more matter we have to
touch on: A.J. Quartermaine's claim that you discriminated
against him."
Bobbie rolled her eyes. "He's still going on about *that*? He
tried to rent a room and I didn't want him living here because
of the way he's treated my daughter. I had every right to turn
him down, and if you say differently, I--"
The ringing of the front doorbell cut off her tirade. "Excuse
me." Bobbie stalked to the door, where she greeted her newest
visitors. "Carly, Sonny, what are you doing here?"
Mulder whispered to Scully, "Looks like we hit the jackpot. We
can cross Sonny's penthouse off our list, because he and Carly
have come to us."
Bobbie reentered the living room with Sonny and Carly close
behind. Spotting the agents, Sonny stopped dead, looking less
than thrilled.
Carly tugged on his arm. "Do you know those people? Who are
they?"
"Agents Mulder and Scully from the FBI," Bobbie answered for
Sonny. "Nothing's wrong. They just wanted to ask me a few
questions."
"Scully, I think we'd better get these two in separate rooms,"
Mulder said so quietly only she could hear.
"That's if they'll talk to us at all," she whispered back. "But
you're right. We'll stand a better chance if we can get them
apart."
Bobbie turned to them. "Tony and I have plans with our son. We
have to go out now."
Mulder nodded. "We've concluded our business with you. But we'd
like to talk to Mr. Corinthos and your daughter."
Sonny stiffened. "What about?"
"It's purely informal," Mulder assured him. "We want to discuss
several people, including A.J. Quartermaine."
"That's right," Bobbie told Sonny. "A.J. is still complaining
that I discriminated against him. Maybe you two can help
straighten out that misconception. You didn't come here about
anything really important, did you? Because Tony and I have to
get going."
"It can wait," Sonny said. "I'd like to help you, Bobbie. And I
guess I can spare a few minutes for Agent Mulder." He looked at
Scully. "But Agent Scully, you claimed that you're not related
to Joe Scully. Maybe you're not. But I still don't want to talk
to you. And I don't want Carly talking to you, either."
Carly scowled. "Sonny, I think I've proven that I can more than
hold my own against FBI agents."
He hesitated, then admitted, "Yeah, I guess you have. We'll give
it a try, then."
"Separately?" Mulder suggested.
"Separately," Sonny agreed. "But only for a few minutes."
Bobbie smiled. "I'm glad that's all straightened out. Carly, can
you lock up when you leave?" She and Tony waved goodbye and
exited the house.
Carly looked at Scully. "We can go in the kitchen." She led the
way farther into the house, as Mulder and Sonny settled down in
the living room. Once in the kitchen, Carly plopped down on a
wooden chair, crossed her legs, and plunged right in. "You have
something on A.J.? How can I help you nail him?"
Scully took a seat at the opposite end of the table. "I understand
you were once married to A.J."
"Yeah. So?" Carly sat forward.
"Do you know his birthday?"
"November 18. And I'm pretty sure 1972 is the right year," Carly
said in a puzzled tone.
That was the date on the medical records and the driver's
license, but it contradicted the information given by Amy and
Lesley. "Are you sure about the month?" Scully asked.
"That's the date we celebrated it on together last year, before
I shook myself free from him. What does his birthday have to do
with anything, anyway?"
"Maybe more than you know," Scully said cryptically. "How would
you describe your relationship with your ex-husband?"
With a disgusted expression, Carly replied, "Horrible.
Antagonistic. I'd be happy if I never saw his face again."
"Which would explain why your mother wouldn't want to have him
living in her house."
"If you knew A.J. like we do, you wouldn't blame her. So, he must
be in some sort of trouble. What is it?"
Scully shook her head. "I can't discuss any details with you. But
it seems that legal problems tend to surround you and those you
know. Hannah Scott told me about your and Sonny's troubles."
Carly laughed. "Shows you how much Hannah knows, then. The cops
can't touch Sonny. They underestimated him, yet again."
The last she'd heard, Scully recalled, was that Sonny was as good
as convicted. Of course, considering that Hannah was her source,
that information didn't carry much weight. She could probably
persuade Carly to share her side of the story. "What do you
mean? Hannah says the exact opposite."
Carly twisted a strand of hair around her index finger and looked
consideringly at Scully. "I guess I can tell you. Everyone will
know soon enough anyway, and it can't hurt us now. What happened
was, Sonny's father Mike borrowed money from a loan shark who
turned out to be working for Sorel, an enemy of Sonny's. I wanted
to get Sorel arrested, so I had Mike arrange a meeting in a hotel
room. I tipped off the police and hid in the closet with a tape
recorder, only Sonny found out about the meeting and showed up.
Sorel tried to blackmail Sonny into agreeing to traffic drugs,
then those eavesdropping cops burst in and arrested Sonny and
took away my tape. Sonny never actually agreed to anything
illegal, but his lawyer, Alexis Davis, told him he'd probably
go to prison anyway because of my testimony and the circum-
stancial evidence. It looked pretty bad until Alexis thought of a
way out. See, I married Sonny yesterday, and spouses can't be
forced to testify against each other in court." Carly sat back
and smiled smugly.
Scully stared at her. "Carly, don't you realize that...no,
obviously not. Never mind. Why don't we just move on?" She tried
to think of some filler material and came up with, "How do you
usually spend your time?"
Carly wrinkled her forehead. "Wow, that's a tough one. Um, I
play with my son and take him to the park. I argue with my
mother, and A.J., and Sonny, and Hannah, and Elizabeth Webber,
and anyone else who annoys me, which is pretty much everyone.
What else?... Oh, I know! I'm one mean roulette player. I never,
ever, ever lose. Sonny taught me how to play."
"Yes...?" Scully waited for elaboration, but went on when Carly
remained silent. "I must have missed something. Roulette is a
game of luck, not skill. You can't win every single time."
Carly looked her straight in the eye. "If you believe in
yourself, you will."
***********
Meanwhile, Mulder was experiencing a remarkable lack of success
in his talk with Sonny. Sonny's side of the conversation
basically consisted of answers like:
"Yes, I was once engaged to Brenda Barrett."
"Yes, I helped ruin Brenda's second wedding to Jasper Jacks."
"Yes, I was business partners with Luke Spencer for a while."
"Yes, Lucky Spencer used to work for me."
"Yes, I know Hannah Scott, and that's all I'm going to say about
her."
In fact, it turned out that Sonny was acquainted with virtually
everyone Mulder and Scully had met so far, although he was
unwilling to give many details about those people. When Carly and
Scully's reappearance interrupted the stagnant discussion, it was
almost a relief.
Sonny instantly stood. "You ready to go, Carly?"
"Yeah, let me just lock the doors and we can go." Carly left the
room, presumably to check side or back doors.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Corinthos," Mulder said
perfunctorily as he and Scully walked to the front door.
"Yeah, sure," Sonny said with a notable lack of enthusiasm.
Outside, Mulder and Scully got in the car before Mulder said,
"Before you ask, Sonny didn't say anything worth mentioning. He's
obviously a veteran at withstanding questioning, which must come
in handy when he's hauled to the police station every month or
so. What did you learn from Carly?"
"That if you trust your instincts when playing roulette, you
can't lose."
"In that case, why don't we just quit our jobs right now and fly
to Vegas?" Mulder waited for Scully to join in the joke, but she
didn't so much as crack a smile. "You're serious?"
"Well, Carly certainly was. But I haven't told you the best part
yet. Carly and Sonny got married yesterday."
Mulder thought back to their meeting. "Neither of them was
wearing a wedding ring."
"It probably happened so suddenly that they didn't have time to
go shopping," Scully informed him. "Because according to Carly,
the reason they got married was because Sonny's lawyer said that
then she wouldn't have to testify against him, and the drug-
trafficking charges would be dropped for lack of evidence."
Mulder shook his head. "Does this lawyer have a real degree, or
did they hire someone from off the street? Even I know better
than that."
Scully watched through the window as Carly and Sonny exited the
brownstone, smiling and laughing. "I didn't have the heart to
tell Carly that their little loophole only applies to private
conversations that take place after a marriage, not witnessed
meetings that occurred before. Anyway, the way legal matters go
in this town, she might never have to learn the truth."
"One good thing: We got the discrimination angle out of the
way." Mulder figuratively checked that item off their to-do list
and thought of the next most pressing matter. "What about the
mystery of A.J.'s birthday?"
"November 18, 1972, if you go by what Carly says," Scully
reported. "She was married to him at the time of his birthday
celebration last year."
"All right. This time, we go to A.J. and his parents to learn the
truth, once and for all," Mulder decided.
*********
Mulder, with Scully close behind, stepped off the elevator on the
fourth floor of General Hospital. "Alan Quartermaine said he'd
meet us right over...there." The doctor was indeed seated in the
nearest waiting room, absorbed in the business section of "USA
Today." Mulder and Scully crossed the hall to greet him.
As they across from him, Alan put aside the newspaper. "Hello,
agents. What can I do for you? My wife's running a little late,
but she'll be here any minute. I'm a bit pressed for time
myself -- I'm the chief of staff, you know -- so if we can make
this quick, I'd appreciate it. On the phone, you said you wanted
to discuss A.J. He isn't in trouble, is he?"
Mulder said, "It isn't trouble, precisely. We're just confused
over a certain issue. We've heard conflicting information about
A.J.'s birth date."
"His birth date?" Alan echoed. "I don't understand what that could
have to do with...well, basically, with *anything*."
Scully picked up the story. "Lesley Webber claims to have helped
deliver your son."
Alan nodded.
"In December of 1979," Mulder added.
Alan frowned. "No, A.J. was born on November 18, 1972. Poor
Lesley. Her memory must have been affected by the drugs she was
fed while being held prisoner by Helena Cassadine for over a
decade."
Mulder said, "The matter is more involved than just that. Nurse
Amy Vining informed us that you didn't meet your wife until
1977."
"Well, that's true," Alan said.
Mulder and Scully exchanged a startled glance.
"Is A.J. your and Monica's biological child?" Mulder asked
carefully.
"Yes."
"Then, if you didn't know Monica prior to 1977, how could your
biological son have been born in 1972?"
Alan looked blank, and then said, "Just one moment." He pulled
his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed. "Hello,
Monica? Are you almost done?...Good. Get that copy of A.J.'s
birth certificate from his file and bring it with you, okay?...
Right. Fourth floor, waiting room near the nurses' station." He
hung up and turned back to his companions. "As I speak, Monica is
on her way with A.J.'s birth certificate. That should sort things
out." He sat back in his seat as if he hadn't a care in the
world.
"Excuse me." Scully caught his eye. "I just asked you to explain
how your son could have been born in 1972 when you didn't meet
your wife until five years later, and you acted like you didn't
even hear me."
"Monica's on her way," Alan repeated, smiling and nodding.
"Think we have a problem here?" Mulder whispered to Scully.
She looked beyond him. "It's a distinct possibility. Monica
certainly got here quickly."
Monica walked up, an expression of curiosity on her face. "Hello,
agents." She sat beside Alan and handed him a paper. "Why did you
ask for A.J.'s birth certificate?"
Alan scanned the page. "Because Agents Mulder and Scully have it
fixed in their heads that A.J. was born in 1979, when we both
know that isn't the truth. Ah, here we are!" He leaned forward
and shoved the paper in Mulder's face. "There it is: November 18,
1972. And if this isn't proof enough for you, go to the county
courthouse and look at the original."
Mulder pushed the certificate away. "No, Mr. Quartermaine, this
*isn't* good enough. You've already contradicted yourself, though
I don't know why."
Monica snapped, "Will someone *please* tell me what you're all
talking about? I feel like I've walked into the theater in the
middle of a movie, and it's a bad farce, at that."
Alan sighed. "Monica, bear with me and tell the agents when A.J.
was born."
"November 18, 1972." Monica scowled. "Why?"
"When did you meet Alan?" Mulder asked.
"In 1977. What is this about?"
Scully took the next point. "You met your husband in 1977. Yet
according to both of you, your son was born before that time."
Monica's face turned red. "What on earth are you talking about?
That doesn't make any sense."
"Exactly what we say," Mulder replied.
Alan raised his voice. "We told you nothing of the sort!"
Scully held up a hand. "Let's just go over this one more time,
calmly. You two." She pointed at Alan and Monica. "Your son was
born in 1972. You met in 1977. The year 1972 comes before the
year 1977. Are we in agreement so far?"
Monica clasped Alan's left hand as they chorused, "Yes."
"We've made no progress, then," Scully concluded.
"Yes, we have," Alan insisted. "I have no idea why the FBI is
butting into our business, but it certainly speaks poorly for you
that you apparently feel the need to harass innocent people.
Please excuse us. Monica?" He turned to his wife.
Monica's face contorted, and she recited, "A.J. was born in
1972. Alan and I met in 1977. A.J. was born in 1972. Alan and I
met in...."
Alan patted Monica on the back and addressed Mulder and Scully
above her monotone. "Now that you've succeeded in upsetting my
wife for no reason at all, I hope you have the grace to leave us
alone."
"But--" Scully began.
Mulder grabbed her arm and urged her down the corridor. "Let's go."
"Mulder," she protested as she twisted around to look back at the
waiting room. "I think Monica was on the verge of making a
breakthrough."
"Yeah. So do I," he agreed as they reached the elevator. "That's
what I'm afraid of."
"Afraid? Why?"
The elevator doors slid open and they stepped inside the empty
conveyance. Mulder punched the ground-floor button. "You want to
hear my theory? This town is stuck in some kind of warp that
started in 1963. The residents operate on a different plane of
reality than the rest of the world. That's why so many crazy
things happen here. They're also essentially blind to the truth.
Whenever it's pointed out to them, they react with denial or a
mental block. Just now, Alan had the denial reaction, and Monica
was fighting the block. I believe if we pointed out a contra-
dictory situation similar to the mystery of A.J.'s birth date to
anyone else in Port Charles, the exact same thing would happen."
"Not that I necessarily believe you're right," Scully said, "but
if you were, wouldn't it have been best to encourage Monica to
battle through the mental block? To reach an epiphany, if she
could?"
Mulder shook his head. "No. In fact, the results could be
extremely dangerous. If Monica had come to her senses, the fabric
of the Port Charles universe might have collapsed, and the
consequences of that are unknown."
The elevator reached the first floor. The doors opened. Scully
exited and headed down yet another corridor.
"Scully?" Mulder said as he hurried to catch up. "What are you
thinking?"
"I'm thinking," she replied, "that I still favor the theory that
they're all insane."
In that case, silence really did say everything.
end 7/8