- 10 -
In the middle of the night Mulder sat on his bed with his cell phone
in his trembling hands. It had taken him some time to gather his wits
and to explore the room for bugs or cameras. There didn't seem to be
any. Dominique probably thought everyone was so under the influence
of drugs that they would cause no harm. And the doors were locked. He
couldn't get out even if he wanted to.
He had difficulty dialling her number. In fact, it just seemed
outright impossible to talk to her in a normal way. She seemed to be
part of another world that he couldn't reach anymore, and that after
spending just one day and night in this place.
She picked up the phone instantly, despite the fact it was nearly
three a.m. 'Mulder,' she said with worry in her voice that sounded
like heaven to him. He wanted to be with her right now and feel
secure in her presence. Instead, his seclusion only seemed to become
worse by the minute.
'Yeah,' he said hoarse, 'I'm here.'
'Why didn't you call me sooner? Are you okay?'
He wanted to tell her he was fine but he couldn't lie. She would
figure it out instantly. She knew him too well. Quickly he explained
what had happened. She listened in shock when he told her he couldn't
remember a single moment after leaving Dominique's office.
'You have to get out of there, Mulder,' she insisted, 'this is getting
way over your head. You're no use to anyone if you walk around
drugged in there.'
'No,' he said firmly, 'I need evidence. I haven't been able to talk to
Vickie yet, but I will in the morning. I'll try to get through to
her.'
'How can you, when they feed you drugs?'
'They only fed them to us during lunch. My guess is that they believe
the effects last a full day. But I woke up in the middle of the
night. What if those drugs have more influence to your system after a
while, numbing you completely after more exposure? That buys me a bit
of time.'
'Don't you think they see through you?'
'I can play a druggie,' he joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere a
bit. 'Scully, I need to steal a few of those tablets. If they are
drugs, we can get him on that. I need to talk to Vickie Moss and a
few of the others first before I get out of here. If I leave now,
he'll know and destroy all evidence. You know what he's able to do.'
'That's what worries me the worst,' she said. 'Have it your way,
Mulder. I'll give you one more day. But I'm getting you out of here
after that, you hear?'
'Okay.'
Reluctantly she hung up, more worried than angry because he had waited
so long to call her. But the fact that he was slowly losing control
scared the wits out of her. She resisted the urge to call Skinner and
ask for his permission to fetch Mulder. Instead, she slid out of bed
and turned on the lights. She had not been able to sleep. Now she
couldn't even if she wanted to.
So at four a.m. she found herself in her kitchen, drinking instant
coffee, wondering what her partner was doing right now.
After the call Mulder laid awake on the bed, staring at the cracked
ceiling. The floor squeaked outside of his room. They were doing
their rounds, probably checking up on their victims. Mulder couldn't
help but wonder about Renata Lowe and the other young woman that had
joined with him. Had they woken up in the middle of the night as
well? Had they wondered about this place too?
He was glad when the morning came and the bell rang for breakfast. At
breakfast the same ritual followed. Everyone sat down quietly but
there was no tablet. That would come during lunch. He didn't dare to
look at the others and ate his croissants quietly. But when his eyes
shifted restlessly, they met Renata's who sat opposite him.
From the clear look in her eyes, he knew she was her normal self as
well. He nodded slowly, unnoticeable to the others. They would talk
during breakfast. Somehow there was something different about Renata.
She had a secret that she wasn't telling.
Mulder drank his coffee, trying to glance at Dominique, who was
occupied with Vickie Moss sitting next to him. He spoke softly to
her. The girl's eyes seemed meek yet her gesture spoke of tension.
Then the girl turned away from Dominique and drank her tea. Her eyes
glanced at Mulder, and then shifted again, ignoring all of them.
After the group parted, a number of them returned to their quarters.
Everyone had received strict orders to keep their room clean. There
was no housekeeping, except for two women who came once a week to
scrub the floors. Everyone made their own beds. There was a daily
check-up in every room.
It was already rather warm for the time of year. Mulder waited to see
what Vickie and Renata would do, and then walked after Vickie who
left, apparently for a stroll down the artificial park.
He walked after her, taking a slow pace. There was a gardener at work
who ignored him. One of the guards that usually watched the gates,
talked to one of the women. They were on the other side of the pond.
'Vickie,' he said softly so that she alone could hear. She stopped and
turned to look at him. Instantly he knew she wasn't under the
influence of the pills. Her eyes were bright and alive, unlike those
of the others. He knew she noticed the same thing.
'Who are you?' she asked, refusing to look him straight in the eyes.
'You know who I am.'
'No,' she said, shaking her head. 'I know who you pretend to be. Now
tell me who you really are.'
'Can't you guess?'
'You didn't quit the FBI, did you?'
'No.'
'Did my mother send you?'
'Yes.'
She frowned, exploring his face. 'I know you,' she said. 'I've seen
your face before, but '
Suddenly she seemed to recognize him. 'You worked on Melissa's case,
didn't you? My mother kept articles and pictures of her death. You
were in them. I remember now. Is that how she got in contact with
you?'
He nodded slowly. 'She worries about you. She contacted me. It was my
idea to do this.'
'What exactly are you doing?'
'I'm trying to gather evidence that our friend Dominique Durant is a
liar, a drug-dealer and a murderer.'
Vickie smiled, baring her white teeth. She was a beautiful young woman
that had everything going for her. By far she seemed the brightest of
them all, having somehow overcome the effects of the drug.
'You're right,' she said. 'He is all that. But you cannot prove it.'
'Can't I? I've got you, haven't I?'
'Who says I'm willing to testify?'
Mulder sat down on one of the wooden benches near the pond. She
hesitated for a moment and then sat down beside him. Both glanced at
the guard on the other side of the pond. He didn't seem to find it
strange that they were talking.
'If you weren't willing, we wouldn't be sitting here,' Mulder said.
'You're not under the influence. Care to explain?'
She raised her shoulders. 'I didn't want to feel so numb. I don't take
those tablets anymore.'
'But you are willing to stay and be put in constant danger.'
She sighed. 'I came here for seclusion and peace of mind. That's what
I found.' 'At the cost of what? You obviously don't feel at home here,
or you wouldn't question Dominique like you're doing by refusing to
take those pills. There is something bugging you and you know it,
Vickie.'
The girl glanced angry aside. 'My mother had no right to send you.
I'll be eighteen in a few weeks. I can do whatever I want then. If
you take me home now, I'll cause hassles and expose you.'
'You know that they'll kill me.'
'Like I care.'
'Of course you do. Don't act like a tough girl, Vickie. We both know
it's just a faade.'
The girl seemed worried by his words. 'I can't go home. We haven't had
a good contact for ages. At least here I'll be able to think things
through. But ' Suddenly Vickie stopped talking when Gretl walked
over to them and asked to be seated beside them. Vickie nodded and
changed. Instantly she became a meek woman without a mind of her own.
Mulder realized instantly that Gretl was not to be trusted.
The other woman smiled at Mulder and asked, 'Do you like it here?'
Mulder nodded and smiled back. 'I love it.'
A few moments later Vickie got up and walked back to the house. His
chance to discuss matters with her was gone.
The remainder of that morning Mulder didn't have a chance to talk to
Vickie, and there was no chance to see Renata.
At lunch Mulder felt eyes of Dominique rest upon him when the cup with
the tablet waited for him. He couldn't take the chance of dumping the
tablet. Dominique knew all the tricks in the book. If he acted
suspicious now, he could forget his investigation.
He sighed as he took the pill and then startled when Gretl put her
hand on his wrist and said, 'It gets better. After a while you don't
feel so numbed anymore. Your body will get used to it and adapt.'
Mulder nodded, dreading the effects that would start as soon as the
effects of the drug entered his system. Within a few moments his body
seemed to turn into the zombie state that they were all in. He could
feel the change come over him.
Later on, he would not remember that they had taken him to the gardens
where he sat down for several hours, just staring into nothingness as
if he was a psychiatric patient that had been tranquillised for his
own good. Only after dinner he could slowly feel some of his senses
return.
By that time he was already starting to feel sick as a dog.
When he woke up around two a.m. he felt nauseated and sick, puking out
his guts as he rushed to the toilet of his small private bathroom.
His dinner was already digested and nothing but bile came out. With
that bitter taste in his mouth and feeling like crap, Mulder leaned
his head against the cool wall and tried to gather his wits.
After a while the pain started to succumb. He splashed cold water in
his face and washed his neck, face and wrists, regretting the moment
he had decided to infiltrate this place. After drinking another cup
of cold water, he returned to the room.
Lying on the bed he called Scully. He wasn't even able to rest his
head against the board. He just wanted to lie down, trying to deal
with the dizziness. He knew his body was resisting the invader in his
bloodstream. Dominique had said that some had difficulty adapting. He
had hardly ever taken painkillers in his life. Even at the worst of
times, fighting for his life at some hospital, he had mostly refused
to take any sedatives.
And now suddenly he was forced to take something that could be
considered a very strong sedative. No wonder he wasn't dealing too
well with it.
Scully sounded very alert when he called her up. He knew she had
refused to rest until he called her, ready to call the cops and break
down the doors if necessary to save him. He knew she was ready to get
him out of there, and to be honest that's what he wanted to most.
But he also knew he just needed one or two conversations with Vickie
Moss to persuade her to leave with him. She would be his evidence.
And then they could use his testimony to arrest Dominique on
the basis of drug-dealing and test his followers.
'You're sick,' Scully said when he had barely spoken her name.
He couldn't deny that he was.
'I'm getting you out of there, Mulder,' she said. 'This will only get
worse and you know it. Everyone in that place is drugged up. Sooner
or later your body will collapse or give in. If that happens, we
might already be too late to deal with this properly. You know you
can't investigate.'
'I'm getting to Vickie, Scully,' he said weak. 'I need one more day to
persuade her to get out of there. He can't stop her. If I have her,
we have our evidence.'
'You can't deal with it and you know. You're sick. You sound like
you're barely able to stand on your feet.'
'I can manage,' he said. 'I'll stay in bed during the morning and get
to her in the afternoon. But I need to persuade her. If I leave now,
she'll shut down and refuse to talk. I'll deal with my daily dose
somehow. I'll call you in the evening. If it's still bad or you don't
hear anything from me, you get me out of there. Okay?'
'Agreed,' Scully said, despite the urgency she felt inside of her.
When she hung up, Mulder sighed and put the cell phone back in the
pair of socks he put in the bottom drawer. Before long he fell
asleep, feeling weak and exhausted. Whatever the drugs were that they
fed him, his body was resisting it. At least that was worth feeling
so sick.
In the middle of the night Mulder sat on his bed with his cell phone
in his trembling hands. It had taken him some time to gather his wits
and to explore the room for bugs or cameras. There didn't seem to be
any. Dominique probably thought everyone was so under the influence
of drugs that they would cause no harm. And the doors were locked. He
couldn't get out even if he wanted to.
He had difficulty dialling her number. In fact, it just seemed
outright impossible to talk to her in a normal way. She seemed to be
part of another world that he couldn't reach anymore, and that after
spending just one day and night in this place.
She picked up the phone instantly, despite the fact it was nearly
three a.m. 'Mulder,' she said with worry in her voice that sounded
like heaven to him. He wanted to be with her right now and feel
secure in her presence. Instead, his seclusion only seemed to become
worse by the minute.
'Yeah,' he said hoarse, 'I'm here.'
'Why didn't you call me sooner? Are you okay?'
He wanted to tell her he was fine but he couldn't lie. She would
figure it out instantly. She knew him too well. Quickly he explained
what had happened. She listened in shock when he told her he couldn't
remember a single moment after leaving Dominique's office.
'You have to get out of there, Mulder,' she insisted, 'this is getting
way over your head. You're no use to anyone if you walk around
drugged in there.'
'No,' he said firmly, 'I need evidence. I haven't been able to talk to
Vickie yet, but I will in the morning. I'll try to get through to
her.'
'How can you, when they feed you drugs?'
'They only fed them to us during lunch. My guess is that they believe
the effects last a full day. But I woke up in the middle of the
night. What if those drugs have more influence to your system after a
while, numbing you completely after more exposure? That buys me a bit
of time.'
'Don't you think they see through you?'
'I can play a druggie,' he joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere a
bit. 'Scully, I need to steal a few of those tablets. If they are
drugs, we can get him on that. I need to talk to Vickie Moss and a
few of the others first before I get out of here. If I leave now,
he'll know and destroy all evidence. You know what he's able to do.'
'That's what worries me the worst,' she said. 'Have it your way,
Mulder. I'll give you one more day. But I'm getting you out of here
after that, you hear?'
'Okay.'
Reluctantly she hung up, more worried than angry because he had waited
so long to call her. But the fact that he was slowly losing control
scared the wits out of her. She resisted the urge to call Skinner and
ask for his permission to fetch Mulder. Instead, she slid out of bed
and turned on the lights. She had not been able to sleep. Now she
couldn't even if she wanted to.
So at four a.m. she found herself in her kitchen, drinking instant
coffee, wondering what her partner was doing right now.
After the call Mulder laid awake on the bed, staring at the cracked
ceiling. The floor squeaked outside of his room. They were doing
their rounds, probably checking up on their victims. Mulder couldn't
help but wonder about Renata Lowe and the other young woman that had
joined with him. Had they woken up in the middle of the night as
well? Had they wondered about this place too?
He was glad when the morning came and the bell rang for breakfast. At
breakfast the same ritual followed. Everyone sat down quietly but
there was no tablet. That would come during lunch. He didn't dare to
look at the others and ate his croissants quietly. But when his eyes
shifted restlessly, they met Renata's who sat opposite him.
From the clear look in her eyes, he knew she was her normal self as
well. He nodded slowly, unnoticeable to the others. They would talk
during breakfast. Somehow there was something different about Renata.
She had a secret that she wasn't telling.
Mulder drank his coffee, trying to glance at Dominique, who was
occupied with Vickie Moss sitting next to him. He spoke softly to
her. The girl's eyes seemed meek yet her gesture spoke of tension.
Then the girl turned away from Dominique and drank her tea. Her eyes
glanced at Mulder, and then shifted again, ignoring all of them.
After the group parted, a number of them returned to their quarters.
Everyone had received strict orders to keep their room clean. There
was no housekeeping, except for two women who came once a week to
scrub the floors. Everyone made their own beds. There was a daily
check-up in every room.
It was already rather warm for the time of year. Mulder waited to see
what Vickie and Renata would do, and then walked after Vickie who
left, apparently for a stroll down the artificial park.
He walked after her, taking a slow pace. There was a gardener at work
who ignored him. One of the guards that usually watched the gates,
talked to one of the women. They were on the other side of the pond.
'Vickie,' he said softly so that she alone could hear. She stopped and
turned to look at him. Instantly he knew she wasn't under the
influence of the pills. Her eyes were bright and alive, unlike those
of the others. He knew she noticed the same thing.
'Who are you?' she asked, refusing to look him straight in the eyes.
'You know who I am.'
'No,' she said, shaking her head. 'I know who you pretend to be. Now
tell me who you really are.'
'Can't you guess?'
'You didn't quit the FBI, did you?'
'No.'
'Did my mother send you?'
'Yes.'
She frowned, exploring his face. 'I know you,' she said. 'I've seen
your face before, but '
Suddenly she seemed to recognize him. 'You worked on Melissa's case,
didn't you? My mother kept articles and pictures of her death. You
were in them. I remember now. Is that how she got in contact with
you?'
He nodded slowly. 'She worries about you. She contacted me. It was my
idea to do this.'
'What exactly are you doing?'
'I'm trying to gather evidence that our friend Dominique Durant is a
liar, a drug-dealer and a murderer.'
Vickie smiled, baring her white teeth. She was a beautiful young woman
that had everything going for her. By far she seemed the brightest of
them all, having somehow overcome the effects of the drug.
'You're right,' she said. 'He is all that. But you cannot prove it.'
'Can't I? I've got you, haven't I?'
'Who says I'm willing to testify?'
Mulder sat down on one of the wooden benches near the pond. She
hesitated for a moment and then sat down beside him. Both glanced at
the guard on the other side of the pond. He didn't seem to find it
strange that they were talking.
'If you weren't willing, we wouldn't be sitting here,' Mulder said.
'You're not under the influence. Care to explain?'
She raised her shoulders. 'I didn't want to feel so numb. I don't take
those tablets anymore.'
'But you are willing to stay and be put in constant danger.'
She sighed. 'I came here for seclusion and peace of mind. That's what
I found.' 'At the cost of what? You obviously don't feel at home here,
or you wouldn't question Dominique like you're doing by refusing to
take those pills. There is something bugging you and you know it,
Vickie.'
The girl glanced angry aside. 'My mother had no right to send you.
I'll be eighteen in a few weeks. I can do whatever I want then. If
you take me home now, I'll cause hassles and expose you.'
'You know that they'll kill me.'
'Like I care.'
'Of course you do. Don't act like a tough girl, Vickie. We both know
it's just a faade.'
The girl seemed worried by his words. 'I can't go home. We haven't had
a good contact for ages. At least here I'll be able to think things
through. But ' Suddenly Vickie stopped talking when Gretl walked
over to them and asked to be seated beside them. Vickie nodded and
changed. Instantly she became a meek woman without a mind of her own.
Mulder realized instantly that Gretl was not to be trusted.
The other woman smiled at Mulder and asked, 'Do you like it here?'
Mulder nodded and smiled back. 'I love it.'
A few moments later Vickie got up and walked back to the house. His
chance to discuss matters with her was gone.
The remainder of that morning Mulder didn't have a chance to talk to
Vickie, and there was no chance to see Renata.
At lunch Mulder felt eyes of Dominique rest upon him when the cup with
the tablet waited for him. He couldn't take the chance of dumping the
tablet. Dominique knew all the tricks in the book. If he acted
suspicious now, he could forget his investigation.
He sighed as he took the pill and then startled when Gretl put her
hand on his wrist and said, 'It gets better. After a while you don't
feel so numbed anymore. Your body will get used to it and adapt.'
Mulder nodded, dreading the effects that would start as soon as the
effects of the drug entered his system. Within a few moments his body
seemed to turn into the zombie state that they were all in. He could
feel the change come over him.
Later on, he would not remember that they had taken him to the gardens
where he sat down for several hours, just staring into nothingness as
if he was a psychiatric patient that had been tranquillised for his
own good. Only after dinner he could slowly feel some of his senses
return.
By that time he was already starting to feel sick as a dog.
When he woke up around two a.m. he felt nauseated and sick, puking out
his guts as he rushed to the toilet of his small private bathroom.
His dinner was already digested and nothing but bile came out. With
that bitter taste in his mouth and feeling like crap, Mulder leaned
his head against the cool wall and tried to gather his wits.
After a while the pain started to succumb. He splashed cold water in
his face and washed his neck, face and wrists, regretting the moment
he had decided to infiltrate this place. After drinking another cup
of cold water, he returned to the room.
Lying on the bed he called Scully. He wasn't even able to rest his
head against the board. He just wanted to lie down, trying to deal
with the dizziness. He knew his body was resisting the invader in his
bloodstream. Dominique had said that some had difficulty adapting. He
had hardly ever taken painkillers in his life. Even at the worst of
times, fighting for his life at some hospital, he had mostly refused
to take any sedatives.
And now suddenly he was forced to take something that could be
considered a very strong sedative. No wonder he wasn't dealing too
well with it.
Scully sounded very alert when he called her up. He knew she had
refused to rest until he called her, ready to call the cops and break
down the doors if necessary to save him. He knew she was ready to get
him out of there, and to be honest that's what he wanted to most.
But he also knew he just needed one or two conversations with Vickie
Moss to persuade her to leave with him. She would be his evidence.
And then they could use his testimony to arrest Dominique on
the basis of drug-dealing and test his followers.
'You're sick,' Scully said when he had barely spoken her name.
He couldn't deny that he was.
'I'm getting you out of there, Mulder,' she said. 'This will only get
worse and you know it. Everyone in that place is drugged up. Sooner
or later your body will collapse or give in. If that happens, we
might already be too late to deal with this properly. You know you
can't investigate.'
'I'm getting to Vickie, Scully,' he said weak. 'I need one more day to
persuade her to get out of there. He can't stop her. If I have her,
we have our evidence.'
'You can't deal with it and you know. You're sick. You sound like
you're barely able to stand on your feet.'
'I can manage,' he said. 'I'll stay in bed during the morning and get
to her in the afternoon. But I need to persuade her. If I leave now,
she'll shut down and refuse to talk. I'll deal with my daily dose
somehow. I'll call you in the evening. If it's still bad or you don't
hear anything from me, you get me out of there. Okay?'
'Agreed,' Scully said, despite the urgency she felt inside of her.
When she hung up, Mulder sighed and put the cell phone back in the
pair of socks he put in the bottom drawer. Before long he fell
asleep, feeling weak and exhausted. Whatever the drugs were that they
fed him, his body was resisting it. At least that was worth feeling
so sick.