Title: Means to an End
Author: Lisa
Email: lc7685@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters, or anything like that :)
Rating:
Summary: Monica finds herself in a dangerous position after events take a
turn for the worse. Set after Sunshine days, Pre-Truth. Please R/R this is
a WIP :)
Category: DRF/DRUST/DRR...just-all-DR :P Drama, Angst
Monday 9.55pm
After closing the blinds, Monica truly hoped that someone had seen her and had enough smarts to work out what she'd been trying to tell them. She turned back to the room. Everyone was silent. She sat down next to the three security officials and leant close to one.
"So when were you planning on releasing the program?"
"No talking," the man with the gun stated. The man from the picture that Brad had shown her earlier that day.
"Sorry," she mocked, tapping her fingers endlessly on the floor instead.
"Stop that!" The man with the gun waved it closer to her.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked. He thought about it, and didn't refuse, so she continued. "Why do you have a gun? I mean isn't that pile of plastic explosives you have in the other corner of the room, and the detonator sitting on top of it, enough of a threat? Why are you threatening to shoot us if you're just going to blow us up anyway?" Then she turned to the other three. "You know you're really stupid messing with someone like this."
After she'd pushed Brad out of her apartment, they'd looked into all the possible connections. By a stroke of luck and skill on Dana's part, they discovered that the man in the photo was a distant relative of one of the officials, who had a family photo on his website. The new theory was that the four had been collaborating, but the fourth decided to do it himself, taking charge in a different kind of way. He decided that instead of destroying financial systems, he'd just blow them up. Now they were all sitting half way up a high rise financial institution, listening to a very loud silence.
*
Down on the ground, Skinner and Follmer were blowing orders.
"I want this whole place evacuated!" Follmer insisted.
"We can't do that Agent Follmer," Skinner retorted. "I'm not abandoning my agents!"
Scully heard Skinner's last remark and stepped forward, grabbing his arm.
"What do you mean Agents? Who else is up there?" Skinner's jaw tightened as he looked down at her.
"Agent Doggett ran after her. He broke off all contact. We don't know where he is."
*
Two Hours Previously
"Have you heard from Monica?" John asked.
"No," Skinner stated. "There are no phones in the room. We can't make contact. You shouldn't have gone in there in the first place without backup."
"We didn't realise what we were getting into. We didn't know he was up there plotting his next move! Why did you turn up anyway? We didn't call you-"
"He used Monica's cell phone to call the media, who called us right away, then he disconnected the phone."
"Shit," John mumbled. "We gotta do something!"
"There's nothing we can do except keep the snipers in place Agent Doggett."
"It's dark, they're not going to be able to see anyone!"
"There's a light on up there, probably some kind of lamp-" He gestured to where they were receiving video footage from across the street. "Blinds create a shadow but the light's not strong enough so there's no way of telling-"
"What did the tip off say?"
"That an FBI Agent was being held for ransom in this building-"
"He can't want ransom- And I'm not sitting around here to find out-"
"Agent Doggett get back here! That's an order!" Skinner yelled as John stormed off, grabbing a bulletproof vest on his way. "Agent Doggett!" He turned.
"I'm not going to let him win, let him die and take Monica along for the ride!" With that he turned back and made his way past the police lines. Oh boy, Skinner thought. This is going to get worse before it gets better.
*
Monday 10.02 pm
"John did what?" Scully exclaimed. "And you let him?"
"He wasn't going to take no for an answer Scully." Scully put her hand to her forehead and thought.
"I'm not evacuating."
"I didn't ask you to."
"Well I'm asking you to-" Follmer declared.
"No," both Scully and Skinner replied in unison. Skinner added, "If you're staying, I'm staying. You're on thin ice already and you owe no one any favours." A uniformed officer approached them, along with a man wearing an FBI jacket.
"Assistant Director Skinner," the officer began. "The surveillance team in the building opposite are requesting evacuation orders. With all due respect sir, they want to get the hell out of there."
"Here are your orders," Skinner replied. "Leave all the equipment, the cameras, in position so we can monitor them from down here. Then your men can leave."
"Sir-" Scully began.
"Not now Scully!"
"Sir that's Monica's silhouette at the window-" Skinner's head snapped around, eyeing the grey shadow.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." They watched as a hand waved back and forth very slowly. "And I think she just worked out that we can see through those blinds. We have to get to John."
*
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm admiring these blinds-" and thanking whoever put them there that they chose light colours. She turned to face the man, who was sitting on top of his explosives and swinging his legs and the gun. "I can't enjoy myself before you blow us up. Do you have any music?"
"Music?"
"Yeah, to dance to." The four other people in the room looked at her as though she were crazy. Monica thought, she was close, but she wasn't going to let anyone see how scared she really was.
"No, I don't have any music."
"This is a personal office, isn't it? Why not just turn on that computer and stick in a CD." She turned to the three officials who were looking near death. "Do you have any CDs?"
"Uh...no, sorry," was the standard reply. Monica sighed. She turned and walked back to the window.
Suddenly she felt fear and apprehension, but it wasn't hers. She turned, eyes wide, looking around the room. It wasn't coming from this room. He didn't know which way to go.
"Anything? Any kind of music?" she asked again.
"I do have one... It was a present for my neice." She reached into her bag and pulled out Kylie Minogue. Monica smiled graciously, taking it.
"It still will be," she replied, walking over to a computer and switching it on.
"You really think I'm stupid Miss FBI?"
"Yes," she replied. "If you were smart you would have planted this bomb near the bottom, strategically at as many structural joins as you could, so that the building would-"
"Maybe I did," he cut her off. She turned to look at him.
"You didn't," she stated.
"And how do you know?"
"I just do. You don't want any more pictures of buildings collapsing, you want to just blow the top right off one. But you don't want to kill anyone, because you warned people. This whole street has probably been evacuated for hours." The computer turned on and Monica slid in the CD, finding the music player that should have been a built in requirement. It was. She opened the program and pressed play, turning the volume up. Please hear it, she silently begged of John. Please hear it.
*
So let's dance through all of this War is over for a bit The whole world should be moving do your part Cure a lonely heart Your disco, your disco, your disco needs you-
*
John was sitting against a wall, trying to get his bearings when he heard it. He almost couldn't believe it. Was that...music? Loud music. Pop music. He knew enough about Kylie Minogue to recognise the style, although he would never, ever admit it. It sounded as though it was coming from upstairs. He got up, hoping that it would stay on, and found the staircase. This had to be Monica's doing. He could only imagine what was going on up there.
*
"Come on, you want to dance? This song's terrific!" She leant over and grabbed the hands of one of the security officials and pulled them to their feet, dancing a little. Then she chose another, then the final one, each doing the same thing. Then she turned to the man with the gun and held out her hand, her index finger rolling back seductively.
*
Scully and Skinner were sitting at the video, listening to what hit the microphones across the street as faded pop music.
"She's showing us who's there," Scully picked up right away.
"Are you sure it's Agent Reyes?" Skinner asked again.
"I'm positive. Tall, slim, you can see the shoulder length hair blending into her form. This one's a shorter woman. She's one of the three missing. The other two should be men. One overweight, one about Monica's height." As they watched, two men matching those descriptions were shown off through the blinds. They watched as Monica turned and beckoned someone to come to her. "That must be him." Scully paused, before uttering a pronounced, "Shit!"
"What?" Skinner asked.
"She doesn't know the snipers aren't still there. She's trying to get him in the firing line."
"They are still there. I never ordered them down."
"But Follmer-"
"To hell with Follmer you three are my Agents." Skinner picked up a radio and explained the situation to the opposite rooftop. They had sight of the shadow but knew it was friendly. "Are you sure this is the guy?" Skinner asked.
"Yeah. If he can come forward. None of the other shadows even came close to his physical outline. If he's going to dance with Monica it'll be a close shot," Scully warned.
"I know. Their orders are a clean shot only. They know she's FBI."
*
Category: DRF/DRUST/DRR...just-all-DR :P Drama, Angst
Monday 9.55pm
After closing the blinds, Monica truly hoped that someone had seen her and had enough smarts to work out what she'd been trying to tell them. She turned back to the room. Everyone was silent. She sat down next to the three security officials and leant close to one.
"So when were you planning on releasing the program?"
"No talking," the man with the gun stated. The man from the picture that Brad had shown her earlier that day.
"Sorry," she mocked, tapping her fingers endlessly on the floor instead.
"Stop that!" The man with the gun waved it closer to her.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked. He thought about it, and didn't refuse, so she continued. "Why do you have a gun? I mean isn't that pile of plastic explosives you have in the other corner of the room, and the detonator sitting on top of it, enough of a threat? Why are you threatening to shoot us if you're just going to blow us up anyway?" Then she turned to the other three. "You know you're really stupid messing with someone like this."
After she'd pushed Brad out of her apartment, they'd looked into all the possible connections. By a stroke of luck and skill on Dana's part, they discovered that the man in the photo was a distant relative of one of the officials, who had a family photo on his website. The new theory was that the four had been collaborating, but the fourth decided to do it himself, taking charge in a different kind of way. He decided that instead of destroying financial systems, he'd just blow them up. Now they were all sitting half way up a high rise financial institution, listening to a very loud silence.
*
Down on the ground, Skinner and Follmer were blowing orders.
"I want this whole place evacuated!" Follmer insisted.
"We can't do that Agent Follmer," Skinner retorted. "I'm not abandoning my agents!"
Scully heard Skinner's last remark and stepped forward, grabbing his arm.
"What do you mean Agents? Who else is up there?" Skinner's jaw tightened as he looked down at her.
"Agent Doggett ran after her. He broke off all contact. We don't know where he is."
*
Two Hours Previously
"Have you heard from Monica?" John asked.
"No," Skinner stated. "There are no phones in the room. We can't make contact. You shouldn't have gone in there in the first place without backup."
"We didn't realise what we were getting into. We didn't know he was up there plotting his next move! Why did you turn up anyway? We didn't call you-"
"He used Monica's cell phone to call the media, who called us right away, then he disconnected the phone."
"Shit," John mumbled. "We gotta do something!"
"There's nothing we can do except keep the snipers in place Agent Doggett."
"It's dark, they're not going to be able to see anyone!"
"There's a light on up there, probably some kind of lamp-" He gestured to where they were receiving video footage from across the street. "Blinds create a shadow but the light's not strong enough so there's no way of telling-"
"What did the tip off say?"
"That an FBI Agent was being held for ransom in this building-"
"He can't want ransom- And I'm not sitting around here to find out-"
"Agent Doggett get back here! That's an order!" Skinner yelled as John stormed off, grabbing a bulletproof vest on his way. "Agent Doggett!" He turned.
"I'm not going to let him win, let him die and take Monica along for the ride!" With that he turned back and made his way past the police lines. Oh boy, Skinner thought. This is going to get worse before it gets better.
*
Monday 10.02 pm
"John did what?" Scully exclaimed. "And you let him?"
"He wasn't going to take no for an answer Scully." Scully put her hand to her forehead and thought.
"I'm not evacuating."
"I didn't ask you to."
"Well I'm asking you to-" Follmer declared.
"No," both Scully and Skinner replied in unison. Skinner added, "If you're staying, I'm staying. You're on thin ice already and you owe no one any favours." A uniformed officer approached them, along with a man wearing an FBI jacket.
"Assistant Director Skinner," the officer began. "The surveillance team in the building opposite are requesting evacuation orders. With all due respect sir, they want to get the hell out of there."
"Here are your orders," Skinner replied. "Leave all the equipment, the cameras, in position so we can monitor them from down here. Then your men can leave."
"Sir-" Scully began.
"Not now Scully!"
"Sir that's Monica's silhouette at the window-" Skinner's head snapped around, eyeing the grey shadow.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." They watched as a hand waved back and forth very slowly. "And I think she just worked out that we can see through those blinds. We have to get to John."
*
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm admiring these blinds-" and thanking whoever put them there that they chose light colours. She turned to face the man, who was sitting on top of his explosives and swinging his legs and the gun. "I can't enjoy myself before you blow us up. Do you have any music?"
"Music?"
"Yeah, to dance to." The four other people in the room looked at her as though she were crazy. Monica thought, she was close, but she wasn't going to let anyone see how scared she really was.
"No, I don't have any music."
"This is a personal office, isn't it? Why not just turn on that computer and stick in a CD." She turned to the three officials who were looking near death. "Do you have any CDs?"
"Uh...no, sorry," was the standard reply. Monica sighed. She turned and walked back to the window.
Suddenly she felt fear and apprehension, but it wasn't hers. She turned, eyes wide, looking around the room. It wasn't coming from this room. He didn't know which way to go.
"Anything? Any kind of music?" she asked again.
"I do have one... It was a present for my neice." She reached into her bag and pulled out Kylie Minogue. Monica smiled graciously, taking it.
"It still will be," she replied, walking over to a computer and switching it on.
"You really think I'm stupid Miss FBI?"
"Yes," she replied. "If you were smart you would have planted this bomb near the bottom, strategically at as many structural joins as you could, so that the building would-"
"Maybe I did," he cut her off. She turned to look at him.
"You didn't," she stated.
"And how do you know?"
"I just do. You don't want any more pictures of buildings collapsing, you want to just blow the top right off one. But you don't want to kill anyone, because you warned people. This whole street has probably been evacuated for hours." The computer turned on and Monica slid in the CD, finding the music player that should have been a built in requirement. It was. She opened the program and pressed play, turning the volume up. Please hear it, she silently begged of John. Please hear it.
*
So let's dance through all of this War is over for a bit The whole world should be moving do your part Cure a lonely heart Your disco, your disco, your disco needs you-
*
John was sitting against a wall, trying to get his bearings when he heard it. He almost couldn't believe it. Was that...music? Loud music. Pop music. He knew enough about Kylie Minogue to recognise the style, although he would never, ever admit it. It sounded as though it was coming from upstairs. He got up, hoping that it would stay on, and found the staircase. This had to be Monica's doing. He could only imagine what was going on up there.
*
"Come on, you want to dance? This song's terrific!" She leant over and grabbed the hands of one of the security officials and pulled them to their feet, dancing a little. Then she chose another, then the final one, each doing the same thing. Then she turned to the man with the gun and held out her hand, her index finger rolling back seductively.
*
Scully and Skinner were sitting at the video, listening to what hit the microphones across the street as faded pop music.
"She's showing us who's there," Scully picked up right away.
"Are you sure it's Agent Reyes?" Skinner asked again.
"I'm positive. Tall, slim, you can see the shoulder length hair blending into her form. This one's a shorter woman. She's one of the three missing. The other two should be men. One overweight, one about Monica's height." As they watched, two men matching those descriptions were shown off through the blinds. They watched as Monica turned and beckoned someone to come to her. "That must be him." Scully paused, before uttering a pronounced, "Shit!"
"What?" Skinner asked.
"She doesn't know the snipers aren't still there. She's trying to get him in the firing line."
"They are still there. I never ordered them down."
"But Follmer-"
"To hell with Follmer you three are my Agents." Skinner picked up a radio and explained the situation to the opposite rooftop. They had sight of the shadow but knew it was friendly. "Are you sure this is the guy?" Skinner asked.
"Yeah. If he can come forward. None of the other shadows even came close to his physical outline. If he's going to dance with Monica it'll be a close shot," Scully warned.
"I know. Their orders are a clean shot only. They know she's FBI."
*