- 4 -

The FBI-offices seemed nearly empty when they knocked on the door of
Skinner's office. It was already late but Skinner didn't mind seeing
them this late. It had been a busy day going through all the
documents and information they had on Dominique Durant, the leader of
'Salvation Awaits'.
'Come in,' Skinner said, offering them a seat and coffee. Mulder
declined the coffee and put a file on the table with the information
they had gathered in the course of the afternoon. Skinner drank his
coffee, leaned more comfortably in his chair and said, 'Tell me about
this case.'
Mulder sat down and started explaining about the phone call they had
received from Elaine Moss. He opened the file and dug out the photo
of Vickie they had been given by Elaine.

'We've been talking to the local PD about this cult that Mrs. Moss
claims exists,' Scully said. 'In truth, we cannot be sure at this
moment that it is a cult we're talking about, but it sure sounds like
this is the case.'
'The cult where Vickie could be in, calls itself 'SA', or 'Salvation
Awaits',' Mulder started. 'They distribute leaflets all over town,
promoting their yoga and self-knowledge exercises. They lure people
to a former high school outside of town that has been transformed
into a secluded home for its members. It's been renovated about three
years ago and is very strictly guarded. No one gets in without an
invitation. 'Salvation Awaits' focuses on a particular target of
people. They only recruit those with money and not many relatives, and
preferably those with problems or issues. In short people that are
in need of a bit of attention and comfort.'

'How do they find these people?' Skinner asked, glancing at a list of
people that had their official residency at the former Henderson
Institute.
"By chance,' Scully said. 'They are invited to join an introduction
class. Dominique who calls himself the chairman selects the members
personally. No one gets in without passing him. Every single of them
was recruited on the streets.'


Skinner glanced at his agents, returning his attention to the file
they had carefully put together with the help of the PD and
'Salvation Awaits'-Website. Mulder didn't seem to be paying attention
to what Scully said, but just looked tense at the file in Skinner's
hands.
Skinner couldn't help but remember what had happened a few years
before. He too was reliving the events. Finding those bodies in that
secluded room was one of the most gruesome things he had ever seen.
He didn't want to look back at it.
'What do you know about this Dominique?' he asked.

'He's an American citizen with French roots,' Mulder said, handing a
newspaper clipping about the man. 'Dominique Durant is a man in his
late thirties who has been convicted for fraud about ten years ago.
He spent three years in jail. After his release he secluded himself
in the south of France at first, and then returned to the US where he
bought the old school and started renovating it. There have always
been doubts about where he got the money to do so. Rumours
have it that he married a rich French girl who drowned mysteriously,
leaving him her fortune. Her parents had filed a complaint against
Durant but that never made it to court.'

'And he uses this building as his haven?'

'Yes, sir,' Scully said. 'It seems that Durant has a way with
persuading his members to donate large amounts of money to him. With
the money coming from France he renovated one wing, but with their
cash he did the other wing as well. In total, according to the
information that we have, there are twenty-three members living in
that building right now. We don't know how many guards he has.
There are a few men that stand out. One of them is Dennis Withers, a
ex-convict Durant met in jail. They were roommates.'

'How can we get this guy?' Skinner said. 'Looking at this file I would
say that there is nothing out of the ordinary to this guy. He hides
himself behind this yoga-movement he started, and everything seems
legally in order.'
'It's true that we cannot get him back on the financial side of his
business, sir,' Scully said. 'But we do believe that there is
something wrong there. Several members inherited shortly before or
after they joined the cult. Almost all of them donated their entire
inheritance to the group. That's their means of income. We believe
that despite the sober lifestyle Dominique called into life,
he in fact is saving up for a rainy day.'

'So money is his motive,' Skinner said, 'that's not really noble, is
it?'
'Unlike other leaders of cults, Dominique doesn't claim to be guided
by God or any other power,' Mulder said. 'That perhaps makes him more
dangerous than all the others. He's prepared and willing to do
anything for money. The police have reason to believe that he's a
murderer, but there's no evidence. All they have are the names of a
doctor and coroner who have signed the death certificates for
these sudden deaths. That alone is not proof enough to arrest
Dominique or the people he works with. There has to be reasonable
doubt to exhume the bodies.'
'What can you do then?' Skinner asked. 'Arrest him and question him?
The moment you walk in that home of his, he'll get rid of all the
evidence. He won't succumb to your questioning. There's no way you
can prevent this working from the outside. You need proof from the
inside.'
'First of all,' Scully said, 'we need to find out if Vickie Moss is in
that cult. She's underage so we have the authority to get her out of
there. However, if he sees us coming, he'll make sure she's out of
sight. She's not on his registration list yet. He'll probably claim
she's vacationing there or something. However, in about three weeks
she turns eighteen. When she's legally an adult, we won't be able to
get her out.'
'What do you propose then?' Skinner said.

'I'm afraid,' Scully began, 'that we will have to '

'- I want to try to get in there,' Mulder interrupted her. 'Get in
that cult and win his trust. If we become a member of his cult, we'll
have a way of watching what happens from the inside.'

Scully looked at her partner. 'You can't do that. He'll figure you out
from the start. You'll only endanger yourself and the others.'
'Not if he thinks I've got nothing to loose.' Mulder looked aside.
'I'll just have to persuade him that I mean what I say. And we can do
it, basing the lies on top of the truths. Sir, if I can get in there
and let him believe that I've burned all my bridges, he'll take me
in.' 'He'll distrust you from day one!'
'I'll make him trust me.'
'No,' Scully said hard, 'you're only doing this because of Melissa.
But Vickie Moss is not Melissa, Mulder. You don't have to do this.'

Mulder looked at Skinner and said, 'you know I'll do it one way or
another. If you think about it rationally, you know that we will
never be able to prevent a disaster from happening when we're
standing on the outside looking in. If you go to that cult and arrest
him, he'll have gotten rid of every piece of evidence.
He's able to kill them all just like Ephesian has done and so many
others before him. They all believed that they were divine. This man
only believes in one god: Money. So let's give him what he wants.'

'You don't know what he does to get these people to believe him,'
Scully protested hard. 'They might be on drugs or medication to keep
them calm. They might not be able to take care of themselves. How are
you going to protect yourself against this?'

'You are going to protect me,' Mulder said quietly. 'We'll be in
constant contact. But I need your support on this or it's not going
to work and you know it. I need you to trust me, Scully.'

Scully sank down on her chair, feeling angry with herself and her
partner. She knew he was right but she wasn't willing to give in just
yet. She turned to Skinner, ready to use her boss against her
partner. But Skinner had already agreed to the idea. She saw it in
his eyes. Mulder had been undercover before and it had worked out in
some way. He could take care of himself.
'All right,' Skinner said. 'You have three days in there. If you are
in trouble, we need you to get in touch with us. We'll smuggle a cell
phone in that compound if necessary. And don't do anything stupid,
Mulder. Your job is to get Vickie Moss out of there, and find
evidence to murder or fraud. Don't be a hero and face Dominique by
yourself.'
'No sir,' Mulder said.

Scully already feared that he would be taking too many risks. 'Know
thy partner,' she mumbled, as they left the office.