- 20 -

Vickie quickly found what she was looking for in the security's
office. There were only two keys to the gate. Dominique had one of
them, but the guards always kept one in this room. She grabbed it and
left the small office, hearing footsteps rush down the stairs.

A few moments later she came eye to eye with Gretl.
'What are you doing, Vickie?' the woman asked. 'You were supposed to
be with the others.'
'I'm coming right up,' Vickie said calmly, 'I just had to do something
else '
Gretl smiled. 'You haven't been taking your little pills, have you?'
'Neither have you.'
'I persuaded Dominique to take me with him. I figured him out quite
early. But you weren't part of the plan.'

'Are you jealous?' Vickie asked. 'You know he likes me more than
you.' 'That's a goddamn lie.'
'You know it's true. Why else would he give me a room next to his?'

Gretl stepped forward and hit Vickie's left hand hard, sending the key
over the stone floor. They both stared at it. 'Do you think he'll
still love you when he finds out about your betrayal?'
Vickie couldn't be put off. 'It's over,' she said softly. 'The Feds
are right outside, ready to arrest him. It's over.'

'You're doing this for that FBI-agent, aren't you?' Gretl said,
unexpectedly grabbing Vickie's hair in an attempt to bring the girl
down to the floor. Vickie screamed and fought back, clutching her
fingernails in Gretl's skin.
The women screamed and struggled for life as they fought out their
battle on the cold, stone floor. Vickie was the stronger of them,
grabbing Gretl's hair and knocking the back of her head on the floor.
Gretl stayed down for the count as a trickle of blood escaped her
skull.
'Good,' Vickie moaned, crawling on hands and knees towards the key.
She was exhausted but there was no time to waste. From the stairs she
heard more footsteps coming down. Quickly she hurried out, running
for her life and the lives of her friends towards the gates, where
the FBI was attempting to break the chains.

A few moments later the gates were opened, and the FBI could enter the
compound. By that time all the doors were locked and closed with
bars.

- 6 -

With paramedics working on Scully and Vickie, Skinner stared worried
at the building. Agent Wilkes had taken over, ready to negotiate with
Dominique. 'Are you okay?' Skinner asked worried, taking in the pale
features and blood on her shirt.

'I'm fine,' she said, pulling the white shirt. 'This isn't mine.'
Skinner stared at her in surprise as she explained what had happened.
'I think Mulder used his own blood to make them believe I was dead,'
she grinned painfully. 'He was so determined to stop this that he
didn't want me involved. I've never seen him like this, sir.'

'He might have saved your life,' Skinner said, 'but he won't be able
to save all of the others, unless he stops Dominique by hand. He
doesn't have a weapon and in the state he is right now, I doubt that
he's strong enough to fight off anyone.'

'At this moment, he's capable of doing anything, sir,' Scully said,
sliding out of the backseat of the car she had been sitting in while
they took care of the cut on her face. 'He's so determined to bring
this to an end. He's reliving the entire event with Melissa again.
Only, this time he's working from the inside. I believe he doesn't
know what he's doing anymore.'
Vickie glanced at the female agent, feeling guilty for the entire
event. If she had been reasonable enough to talk to her mother about
this, none of this would have happened.

'The more reason to get him out of there,' Skinner said. 'If what
Vickie says is true, that place is going to hell right now.'

Dennis could be heard laughing from the backseat of one of the
vehicles. He looked at them challengingly and shouted, 'It's too
late! They're all burning in hell by now!'

Scully and Skinner stared in shock at the building as the first flames
burst out of the windows on the second floor, while outside, the FBI
was still attempting to move in.