- 12 -

Scully's instincts told her that Mulder was in trouble. She picked it
up as a sixth sense as she had done so many times before, saving his
life a few times in the process. Now all she could do was inform
Skinner and get him out of there instantly.

It was nearly seven a.m. when she called him. His voice sounded alert
as if he was already at work. 'Meet me in my office in half an hour,'
he said, when she finished her introduction.
He hung up before she could say anything else. Relieved she hurried to
the office, meeting him in the hallway on his way in.

A few moments later Agent Wilkes stepped in as well. Skinner had
contacted him on the way in. It seemed everyone was up for a very
long day. Scully recognized him from her previous meeting with him
and Mulder to discuss 'Salvation Awaits'. Then, Wilkes had said that
'SA' didn't have their immediate attention. There had been lack of
evidence to show 'SA' was becoming a danger to its members. Now
things had changed.

Wilkes listened in silence when Scully explained about the few phone
calls she had done with Mulder. Skinner had already been informed
about the first one, agreeing with Mulder then that they had to wait
and see. Now his worry grew when he learned that Mulder hadn't
called, and that he had been sick during their last talk.

Wilkes frowned, listening to the explanation of the drugs the
followers received. Then he put a file on the table and said, opening
it, 'after our meeting a week ago, I did a bit of research on my own,
even though my A.D. still doesn't believe we have enough to go after
Durant. I extracted bank statements from five 'SA'-members, and saw
that they all extracted large amounts from their accounts. Plus,
suddenly the name Durant seems to appear everywhere. With what
you are saying, I believe I might be able to convince AD Gersh to
organize a raid to arrest Durant.'

'With all due respect, sir,' Scully said, 'but my partner will not
live through that. Durant is able to kill them all before we are able
to get to them. If they see us coming, it might already be too
late.'
'With all due respect, Agent Scully,' Wilkes interrupted her, 'but
your partner screwed up. He's become a victim himself and jeopardized
not only his life but also the lives of all the other inhabitants of
that compound.'
Scully turned forcefully towards him. 'You weren't interested in
investigating how a seventeen-year-old girl could become a member of
a cult. You didn't care about the strange deaths that are a part of
that cult. In fact, you didn't even believe it was a cult, did you?
At least Mulder did something, and he has the proof he needed. What
more do you need?'
'That's enough, Scully,' Skinner said hard, calming her down with one
look. 'It's no use blaming each other. Agent Wilkes, I'm sure, had
his reasons not to go after Durant. Let's see how we can help those
people now, shall we?'
Wilkes nodded, clenching his teeth. He wasn't interested in getting
hell from a fellow agent who didn't know how they handled cults. On
the other hand, he knew perfectly well how she felt, and why her
partner had done what he did. He was there when Ephesian and over
forty people killed themselves. It was worse than the worst war to
witness.
'I want to try and get Mulder out of there myself first,' Scully said.
'We have to make sure he's alive and well. He can tell me what the
best way to go about is. He alone can tell us what to do.'

'I'm not sending you in there,' Skinner said strict. 'I'm not risking
you too.'
'Sir, you know we have to do this. They have no right to stop me.
Legally, I can pull strings. Mulder signed all his rights over to me
in case of mental instability or medical issues. If I find Mulder
legally unfit to act I can use a warrant to get him out of there.
Durant cannot stop me from doing that.'
'Okay,' Skinner said. 'I'll have a warrant ready in case you need it.
Are you going right away?'
'I'll be going around noon. Mulder told me they get their daily dose
around that time. I need to prevent them from giving him those drugs.
I might as well use any means necessary.'

'Good. I want to hear from you before five this afternoon, Scully. If
I don't, I'm signing a search warrant myself. Got it?'

'Yes, sir.'

Skinner turned to Wilkes. 'You'd better advice Gersh to have his team
ready. The moment Mulder and Vickie Moss are out of there you're
going in. I want your guys ready.'

'I'll try to fix that, sir,' Wilkes said weak.

'No. You'll do it or I'll have your badge. I'm through being polite
when it comes to political issues like this. One of my best agents is
in immediate danger thanks to your lack of help, and I won't stand
for that. I don't want a second Ephesian here, got it?'

'Yes, sir,' Wilkes said, excusing himself.

When he left and shut the door, Scully couldn't help but smile.
Skinner looked at her when her smile faded into worry. 'He can take
care of himself, Dana,' he said, moving from his chair to a seat next
to her. 'He always has.'
'I know,' she said. 'But I'm angry.'

'At him?'

'No. At the situation. I hate feeling this helpless.'
'You're helping him now.'

Scully nodded, not wondering if it was already too late.