DISCLAIMER: Same as earlier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scully rubbed her face as she walked into the Pentagon. Mulder had gone ahead. They thought it wiser not to be seen walking in together. At 4 that evening, they'd meet in the lobby. Till then, Scully would be in a filing room, searching through some files. Obviously. Mulder would try and follow Langly's hacking tip on a worker's computer. She silently wished them both luck.
Mulder frowned at the computer.
"Blasted thing!" He coughed a little too loudly. He smiled at the lady across the room who was eyeing him narrowly.
"C'mon......C'mon. BLASTED!" He gave the monitor a shove. He reprimanded himself silently for these sudden outbursts.
IN! At long last, the code worked. HE sorted through several records, turning up near to nothing. Then he clicked on SECTION A19122.
Access Denied.
That's what you think! Mulder surprised himself, He sounded like Langly!
Scully frowned. Nothing. Nothing. What the........? Was someone there?
Mulder tapped out the cords to his favorite song on the keyboard while he waited for Langly's password to kick in. Whenever that would be.
Federico stirred uncomfortably on the couch. Reaching for her Star Trek: The Next Generation ringing cell phone, she answered drowsily.
"Lloo?"
"Federico?"
"This is she. Who is this speaking?"
"Federico," the man on the other end sounded exasperated, "It's me, Mulder."
"Oh, hi."
"Scully's missing."
"What?" Federico sat up suddenly.
"Scully is missing! We were supposed to meet in the lobby at 4:00. She's not here. And do you see what time is it?"
Federico rolled over uncomfortably to view to the clock, amazed at Mulder's sudden misusage of grammar.
"Oh my gosh. It's 8."
"I know."
"Could she still be in the building somewhere?"
"No. I did a quick sweep."
"Oh no. Where are you?"
"I'm in the lobby."
"Where are you two staying?"
"Our own respective homes."
"Don't go back. Book yourself a room in Maryland. Book two. I'm gonna book myself a flight down and meet you there."
"Okay."
"Oh, Mulder?"
"Yeah?"
"Should I alert the Gunmen?"
Mulder hesitated.
"Yeah. Bring em down."
"Book three rooms."
"Three? There'll be five of us."
"The gunmen can share a room."
"Three of them? There'll only be one bed."
"We'll find cots for two of them. Let's worry about that later. Get Out of the Pentagon! Now! But whatever you do, don't act panicked. Bring your information, and leave immediately, and call me when you've got the rooms."
"Right."
Click.
Why did he do that?
She dialed his number.
"Mulder."
"Goodbye, Mulder."
Click.
She banged on the Gunmen's door.
"Ah. Federico. What's up?" Byers smiled.
"You three, get packed. My car's outside. Hurry. We're goin' to Washington."
"What? Federico?"
"I'll explain on the way. The flight leaves in an hour, I need you down in my car now. Hurry. You've got five minutes."
She ran off.
Byers was a little stunned as he alerted the other gunmen. What had just taken place?
In any event, the three had loaded their suitcases and paid their rent to the landlady in five minutes, and were already well on their way.
"What's this about?"
Byers turned to Federico (driving) next to him.
"Scully's missing."
"What?" The Gunmen asked simultaneously.
"That's what I said. She and Mulder went to the Pentagon and were supposed to meet at a certain time. She never showed. Mulder can't find her."
"Oh my heavens." Byers put his head back.
"What are we gonna do?"
Federico paused.
"I wish I had an answer for that, Langly." She made a sharp right turn, such a turn as deserved a ticket. "Unfortunately, I don't. We'll come up with something once we're there. Mulder's booked us a room, and we'll devise a plan once we're settled in."
"Chances are she's in the Pentagon? Hidden room?" Langly offered.
Federico remained silent and sped through a red light. Byers gripped his head, contemplating whether or not to warn Federico while she was in this disgruntled state that many street lights have cameras on them to catch people such as herself that insist on going head-on into road lights that are supposed to tell you to halt.
He decided it against it.
LaGuardia Airport 10:00 P.M.
Federico stuck 4 passports under the lady's nose at the same time.
"One at a time please."
"I'm in a hurry."
"One at a time please," the lady repeated.
"I don't think you understand," she repeated, this time flashing her FBI badge, "I'm in a hurry."
"One-at-a-time-PLEASE."
At this point, Federico was really wishing homicide wasn't a crime.
"Look." She said leaning across the counter top and looking quite menacingly up at the lady," Just check us in. Stamp the books. Run us through. Stick our luggage on the carasel. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out."
"Miss, I---------"
"WE MAY HAVE AN AGENT DOWN!!!!!" She shouted the last part. Then more quietly, she added, "So either you let us through, or I let loose Disgruntled-Pervert A on you." She said confidentially, so low only she and the lady could hear, and gesturing towards Frohike.
The lady considered her options.
"Gate 22. Down that corridor, miss." She said acknowledging the ticket, with a smile that that was was meant as though she were doing Federico a favor.
"Thanks." Federico snatched the tickets and practically ran down the hallway. The Gunmen were somewhat confused.
"Please excuse her. She's, ehm, a little stressed." Byers smiled slightly and hurried after Langly, Frohike, and prayed that they'd find the Gateway alright, since Federico was now a simple speck on the horizon.
Sitting down in his seat Langly eyes Federico out of the corner of his eye, then exchanged a sideways glance at Frohike. Something had gone terribly wrong with Federico. Up until two hours ago, Federico was your average FBI agent, with a quirky humor. Then, she became a secretive and silent child, quite the opposite of her usually talkative self. Next, she became enraged and easily angered. And now......well, let's just say Langly did NOT want to be stuck sitting next to her.
"I think I'm gonna hurl." Federico moaned doubled over in pain.
"Again?" Frohike complained passing her a paper bag.
"Hey, last time I didn't."
"Right. That was the false alarm." Byers reminded Frohike, Half grinning.
"I wish the first time was a false alarm......."
Even Byers had to laugh as Frohike looked down at this stained shirt. Federico had a little accident earlier.
Langly winced, looking at his arm. What the........?
"Excuse me?" He paused the stewardess.
"Yes?" She asked warily, eyeing his hair.
"Ehm, what is....that?"
"Ehm.....Condensation.........?"
"Riggghhhtttt.....And I'm Joey Ramone."
"Really?" The stewardess mocked sarcastically, then stalked off.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, This is the captain speaking. Opps.....Uh.......We're have a little trouble with the air ventilation system. We will be turning around. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Over and out."
"I wanna be sedated........,"Federico sang quietly.
Half an hour later they sat in the Gate trying to sort out the problem. Rather, the Gunmen were sitting, Federico took took to arguing with the lady who refused to give them a transfer flight.
"Give it a rest, Federico." Frohike called.
If she hadn't already snapped at them twice, she would have told him to shut-up. Instead, she sighed, gave the lady a menacing glare, than plopped down beside the Gunmen.
Turning her head, she faced another gate.
"Guys? Did you check in any luggage?"
"No.....,"Byers said, glancing at the others before answering.
"Neither did I." She never took her eyes off the other gate, but got up and walked over. They could see her flash her badge, then turn and motion them to follow.
"Some people are sympathetic to our cause." She smiled at them, waved to the lady at the counter, then headed for the gate.
Jopiebay Inn 4:00 A.M.
Federico knocked on Mulder's hotel room door lamely, then tumbled in when he opened it.
Frohike looked around the place. Not bad. Not bad. Apparently it didn't cost much either?
Mulder showed them to their own respective rooms.
Wait. Where was his room? Frohike turned to face Mulder, who promptly cleared his throat.
"There are two cots in the closets, boys."
Three stares focused on him.
"Not my fault. You blame her."
They shifted to her.
"Just be happy that we don't have 5 rooms charged to the Bearuo instead of 3." She plopped on Mulder's bed.
"Where do we start?" She asked.
"Pentagon tomorrow morning."
"You mean today, Mulder."
At 7:00 that morning, before heading out, Mulder approached Federico and Byers privately.
"I managed to get hold of these." He handed each of them a long, slender piece of metal. Byers's eyes widened, and he quickly hid it in his jacket. Federico fiddled with it, clicked something, and jumped back as a 10 inch long blade threatened to cut her nose off.
"Woah. Is this some sort of new device to try and kill someone?" She joked.
"Actually.....," Mulder began, "You know bounty hunters?"
She nodded.
"Use this to stab them at the base of their neck, right about here," He indicated on Byers, "It must be precise, and quick. Don't remove it. Leave it."
"How do I know----"
"You won't."
She nodded.
"Keep it hidden. No one is to know you have it. Only I, Byers, Langly and Frohike know you have this. Anyone else who indicates it......umm.....may not be us." HE looked aside.
She put it away quickly.
"We'll be at our place. We wanna run some tests on those files Mulder downloaded."
"Right. We'll be here tonight. I wouldn't stay at your place too long. Unless....."
"We'll be fine. We'll see you around." The Gunmen nodded and walked off.
Scully rubbed her face as she walked into the Pentagon. Mulder had gone ahead. They thought it wiser not to be seen walking in together. At 4 that evening, they'd meet in the lobby. Till then, Scully would be in a filing room, searching through some files. Obviously. Mulder would try and follow Langly's hacking tip on a worker's computer. She silently wished them both luck.
Mulder frowned at the computer.
"Blasted thing!" He coughed a little too loudly. He smiled at the lady across the room who was eyeing him narrowly.
"C'mon......C'mon. BLASTED!" He gave the monitor a shove. He reprimanded himself silently for these sudden outbursts.
IN! At long last, the code worked. HE sorted through several records, turning up near to nothing. Then he clicked on SECTION A19122.
Access Denied.
That's what you think! Mulder surprised himself, He sounded like Langly!
Scully frowned. Nothing. Nothing. What the........? Was someone there?
Mulder tapped out the cords to his favorite song on the keyboard while he waited for Langly's password to kick in. Whenever that would be.
Federico stirred uncomfortably on the couch. Reaching for her Star Trek: The Next Generation ringing cell phone, she answered drowsily.
"Lloo?"
"Federico?"
"This is she. Who is this speaking?"
"Federico," the man on the other end sounded exasperated, "It's me, Mulder."
"Oh, hi."
"Scully's missing."
"What?" Federico sat up suddenly.
"Scully is missing! We were supposed to meet in the lobby at 4:00. She's not here. And do you see what time is it?"
Federico rolled over uncomfortably to view to the clock, amazed at Mulder's sudden misusage of grammar.
"Oh my gosh. It's 8."
"I know."
"Could she still be in the building somewhere?"
"No. I did a quick sweep."
"Oh no. Where are you?"
"I'm in the lobby."
"Where are you two staying?"
"Our own respective homes."
"Don't go back. Book yourself a room in Maryland. Book two. I'm gonna book myself a flight down and meet you there."
"Okay."
"Oh, Mulder?"
"Yeah?"
"Should I alert the Gunmen?"
Mulder hesitated.
"Yeah. Bring em down."
"Book three rooms."
"Three? There'll be five of us."
"The gunmen can share a room."
"Three of them? There'll only be one bed."
"We'll find cots for two of them. Let's worry about that later. Get Out of the Pentagon! Now! But whatever you do, don't act panicked. Bring your information, and leave immediately, and call me when you've got the rooms."
"Right."
Click.
Why did he do that?
She dialed his number.
"Mulder."
"Goodbye, Mulder."
Click.
She banged on the Gunmen's door.
"Ah. Federico. What's up?" Byers smiled.
"You three, get packed. My car's outside. Hurry. We're goin' to Washington."
"What? Federico?"
"I'll explain on the way. The flight leaves in an hour, I need you down in my car now. Hurry. You've got five minutes."
She ran off.
Byers was a little stunned as he alerted the other gunmen. What had just taken place?
In any event, the three had loaded their suitcases and paid their rent to the landlady in five minutes, and were already well on their way.
"What's this about?"
Byers turned to Federico (driving) next to him.
"Scully's missing."
"What?" The Gunmen asked simultaneously.
"That's what I said. She and Mulder went to the Pentagon and were supposed to meet at a certain time. She never showed. Mulder can't find her."
"Oh my heavens." Byers put his head back.
"What are we gonna do?"
Federico paused.
"I wish I had an answer for that, Langly." She made a sharp right turn, such a turn as deserved a ticket. "Unfortunately, I don't. We'll come up with something once we're there. Mulder's booked us a room, and we'll devise a plan once we're settled in."
"Chances are she's in the Pentagon? Hidden room?" Langly offered.
Federico remained silent and sped through a red light. Byers gripped his head, contemplating whether or not to warn Federico while she was in this disgruntled state that many street lights have cameras on them to catch people such as herself that insist on going head-on into road lights that are supposed to tell you to halt.
He decided it against it.
LaGuardia Airport 10:00 P.M.
Federico stuck 4 passports under the lady's nose at the same time.
"One at a time please."
"I'm in a hurry."
"One at a time please," the lady repeated.
"I don't think you understand," she repeated, this time flashing her FBI badge, "I'm in a hurry."
"One-at-a-time-PLEASE."
At this point, Federico was really wishing homicide wasn't a crime.
"Look." She said leaning across the counter top and looking quite menacingly up at the lady," Just check us in. Stamp the books. Run us through. Stick our luggage on the carasel. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out."
"Miss, I---------"
"WE MAY HAVE AN AGENT DOWN!!!!!" She shouted the last part. Then more quietly, she added, "So either you let us through, or I let loose Disgruntled-Pervert A on you." She said confidentially, so low only she and the lady could hear, and gesturing towards Frohike.
The lady considered her options.
"Gate 22. Down that corridor, miss." She said acknowledging the ticket, with a smile that that was was meant as though she were doing Federico a favor.
"Thanks." Federico snatched the tickets and practically ran down the hallway. The Gunmen were somewhat confused.
"Please excuse her. She's, ehm, a little stressed." Byers smiled slightly and hurried after Langly, Frohike, and prayed that they'd find the Gateway alright, since Federico was now a simple speck on the horizon.
Sitting down in his seat Langly eyes Federico out of the corner of his eye, then exchanged a sideways glance at Frohike. Something had gone terribly wrong with Federico. Up until two hours ago, Federico was your average FBI agent, with a quirky humor. Then, she became a secretive and silent child, quite the opposite of her usually talkative self. Next, she became enraged and easily angered. And now......well, let's just say Langly did NOT want to be stuck sitting next to her.
"I think I'm gonna hurl." Federico moaned doubled over in pain.
"Again?" Frohike complained passing her a paper bag.
"Hey, last time I didn't."
"Right. That was the false alarm." Byers reminded Frohike, Half grinning.
"I wish the first time was a false alarm......."
Even Byers had to laugh as Frohike looked down at this stained shirt. Federico had a little accident earlier.
Langly winced, looking at his arm. What the........?
"Excuse me?" He paused the stewardess.
"Yes?" She asked warily, eyeing his hair.
"Ehm, what is....that?"
"Ehm.....Condensation.........?"
"Riggghhhtttt.....And I'm Joey Ramone."
"Really?" The stewardess mocked sarcastically, then stalked off.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, This is the captain speaking. Opps.....Uh.......We're have a little trouble with the air ventilation system. We will be turning around. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Over and out."
"I wanna be sedated........,"Federico sang quietly.
Half an hour later they sat in the Gate trying to sort out the problem. Rather, the Gunmen were sitting, Federico took took to arguing with the lady who refused to give them a transfer flight.
"Give it a rest, Federico." Frohike called.
If she hadn't already snapped at them twice, she would have told him to shut-up. Instead, she sighed, gave the lady a menacing glare, than plopped down beside the Gunmen.
Turning her head, she faced another gate.
"Guys? Did you check in any luggage?"
"No.....,"Byers said, glancing at the others before answering.
"Neither did I." She never took her eyes off the other gate, but got up and walked over. They could see her flash her badge, then turn and motion them to follow.
"Some people are sympathetic to our cause." She smiled at them, waved to the lady at the counter, then headed for the gate.
Jopiebay Inn 4:00 A.M.
Federico knocked on Mulder's hotel room door lamely, then tumbled in when he opened it.
Frohike looked around the place. Not bad. Not bad. Apparently it didn't cost much either?
Mulder showed them to their own respective rooms.
Wait. Where was his room? Frohike turned to face Mulder, who promptly cleared his throat.
"There are two cots in the closets, boys."
Three stares focused on him.
"Not my fault. You blame her."
They shifted to her.
"Just be happy that we don't have 5 rooms charged to the Bearuo instead of 3." She plopped on Mulder's bed.
"Where do we start?" She asked.
"Pentagon tomorrow morning."
"You mean today, Mulder."
At 7:00 that morning, before heading out, Mulder approached Federico and Byers privately.
"I managed to get hold of these." He handed each of them a long, slender piece of metal. Byers's eyes widened, and he quickly hid it in his jacket. Federico fiddled with it, clicked something, and jumped back as a 10 inch long blade threatened to cut her nose off.
"Woah. Is this some sort of new device to try and kill someone?" She joked.
"Actually.....," Mulder began, "You know bounty hunters?"
She nodded.
"Use this to stab them at the base of their neck, right about here," He indicated on Byers, "It must be precise, and quick. Don't remove it. Leave it."
"How do I know----"
"You won't."
She nodded.
"Keep it hidden. No one is to know you have it. Only I, Byers, Langly and Frohike know you have this. Anyone else who indicates it......umm.....may not be us." HE looked aside.
She put it away quickly.
"We'll be at our place. We wanna run some tests on those files Mulder downloaded."
"Right. We'll be here tonight. I wouldn't stay at your place too long. Unless....."
"We'll be fine. We'll see you around." The Gunmen nodded and walked off.