526 Grant Street
4:15 P.M.
"David sure was not kidding when he said this was a nice place," Scully said, eying the Watson residence in front of them. It was a single story house built of solid red brick with black shutters and a matching colored roof.
"Just think," Mulder replied pushing the doorbell, "one day you'll probably have a house just like this, Scully, and be married to some rich, handsome snob with no sense of humor. You'll be wishing you were with me in the middle-of- no-where chasing phantom tanker trucks in no time."
Scully smiled. It was the first time he had sounded like Mulder all day. He had been looking better ever since she had gotten in touch with David, and no matter how much he tried to hide it, he enjoyed seeing the kid as much as she did, if not more. They had really connected the year prior, and they were so much alike it was like they had cloned Mulder. Of course, in her line of work that was entirely likely, but she naturally chose to dismiss it.
The door opened and standing before them was a boy, about twelve years old. "Yeah?" he said.
"We're Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder with the FBI," Scully said, hands in the pockets of the jacket she was wearing despite the unnatural heat. "I take it you are Robert Watson."
"Y-yeah," Robert stammered. "Is this about that call? I'm sorry I forgot to give it to David. Please don't bust me for interference with Bureau affairs or something like that, I didn't mean to!"
"Relax, kid, we're not here to arrest you," Mulder said. Seeing the panic in the boy's eyes he added, "Well, at least not for this."
"Mulder," Scully said, giving him an elbow in the side and a smile, "don't frighten him. We're here to see David. Is he around?"
"Yeah," Robert said. "He's in his room. It's down that way." He pointed down the hall.
Following the finger's direction, they were led to a door with a large poster proudly proclaiming, "Footos: The Fresh Fighter". Mulder was the one who knocked.
"Who is it?" David asked quietly.
He must be tired, Scully thought upon detecting the faintness of his voice.
"FBI," Mulder said, "You're under arrest for…what was it again, Scully? Humiliating a federal agent in Galaxy Cross?"
"How about failure to adequately address Christmas cards? My name is not Dana Mulder, you know," Scully said faking an angry tone.
The door slowly opened, and David smiled at them weakly with a sniffle. "Well, not yet anyway," he said, chuckling weakly. He hugged them.
It felt so good to have him hug her again, but something about him did not look right... For a kid that mowed lawns for money and had a swimming pool in his back yard, he looked awfully pale-a stark contrast to the dark, tanned boy they had seen in the picture.
"We've missed you, David," Scully said.
"I've missed you guys too," he said, flashing another weak smile. Again, she was expecting a more David-esque smirk. "So why did you come all the way out here?"
Mulder messed up the boy's hair and said, "It's about your neighbor, Mr. Nicolas." His voice stayed calm and professional, pokerfaced to the letter.
David shuttered and turned away from them. His whole body seemed to tremble slightly.
"David, what is it?" Scully asked, instinctively putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't touch me," he said, pushing it away.
"David, what is it?" she asked, reaching out to comfort him.
"I said don't touch me." His voice was sterner, more desperate this time when he pushed her away.
Scully looked at Mulder, her face saying, What is going on here?
Mulder's heart sank as he ignored the look. "After we called, did you go over to Mr. Nicolas's house?"
David nodded, trembling in the way boys do lest they admit that sometimes they do want to cry.
Mulder turned and jogged back down the hall to the door.
"Mulder? Where are you…?" Scully started, and began a chase after him.
"Robert, which house is Mr. Nicolas's?" Mulder asked, as he opened the front door.
"It's the one on that side," Robert said, indicating it would be on Mulder's right as he walked out the door.
Before Scully knew it, he had cleared the lawn and they were at Mr. Nicolas's front door, banging loudly. "Mulder, what's going on? What did he do to David?" Scully asked, her imagination coming up with one horrifying possibility after another.
"He just got to the 'teaser', trying to put David into his control psychologically. David must have TK blasted him or something before he got very far or else he would not have told us. Don't worry, I won't let him get away this time." Mulder's voice was possessed as he pounded on the door louder than before.
"'Teaser'? 'This time'? Mulder, what do you mean, 'this time'?"
Inside the house, a stunned Logan Jackson, rubbing his aching side and back, peered through the peephole at the sight standing on his front doorstep. "Well…if it isn't Agent Mulder…" he exclaimed almost gleefully, thoroughly amused to say the least. He chuckled as he turned away and headed for the back.
If the FBI agent on the other side of the door had been able to hear the whispered expression, he too would have been shocked; he had never met Logan Jackson face to face, and he was only a name to the man as far as he knew.
At the moment he was preparing to break the door down, from around back, a screen door slammed shut. "He's getting away," Mulder said already starting to run. They reached the backyard just in time to see a hand as it disappeared over a fence. "FBI, hold it right there!" Scully shouted as Mulder ran and hopped over the fence in pursuit. She used the gate close by and reached the other side in time to see Mulder pulling his gun, running as fast as he could.
"FBI! I will shoot!" Mulder shouted, watching the figure turn around some shrubs. He followed and just barely caught site of a foot disappearing behind a shed. There he lost sight of the fugitive but followed the sound of gravel to a stretch of alley. He followed the path until he got to the street, where nothing could be found of the man he was chasing. Scully caught up to him as he was gasping for breath. Mulder swore loudly, drawing the attention and ruining the "virgin ears" children playing in the dirt across the street. "Scully, we almost had him!" he said between gasps of air.
"It's okay, Mulder, we'll get him." She placed her hand on his shoulder.
"We almost had him…."