Disclaimer: .......................
****************************************************************************
****************
"You've reached the Lone Gunmen's office. Please leave a message."
"Hi, it's Federico. Pick up." Federico waited patiently.
"What's going on?" Byers asked.
"Hi ya'. Well. Several things. I'm on my way to the hotel room now. Will you guys be there?"
"Ehm.....Yeah."
"Great."
"Something wrong?"
"Oh, no, just the usual. I mean, it's just I have another bounty hunter dead locked in my office again." CLICK.
She knocked on the Gunmen's hotel room door, and walked in waving the capsule of green gunk.
"What's this about a bounty hunter?" Byers asked.
"Some bounty hunter impersonated my partner, Garaguso. Only Garaguso is on vacation. I told him to use some personal days while I worked on this case, and he took me up on it."
"And you killed it?"
"Yeah. I locked him in my room and I never removed the Stiletto. In any event, I took a sample of that green stuff that pours out of him, and did a study of it. Then I rummaged through the X-File office a little. IT so happens that this green gunk, happens to be some form of bounty hunter blood. In the sample I took there was a little," She cringed, "Gland-thing. Apparently, this blood mixes with a toxin that is secreted by this gland at the base of the neck, and that causes everyone's eyes to burn out when they 'bleed.' It also happens to be why they're indestructible. Near Indestructible, anyway. It's some sort of something that keeps them alive, the gland I mean, which is why when you puncture it, they die.." She leaned against the bed-post. "Man, I wish I finished Med. school."
"And you figured this out through a little test?"
"Well.....yeah....and, I mean.....several guesses. What!? I didn't have time to cut him open and study his internal structure! 'Sides, whom I to say he's dead?"
"Because you punctured that little gland."
"Oh, yeah."
"In any case," she continued, "That's not all. Before he disappeared, Mulder gave this sample from Roswell he found at the Pentagon." She handed it to Byers. "It matched the green gunk exactly. It's a little yellow though, simply because of the amount of oxygen it was exposed to. I was able to recreate its conditions in the crime lab with a bit of the green stuff from my bounty hunter friend, made a perfect match."
"And......."
"And? And this means that bounty hunters are the guys with the downed craft at Roswell!"
Byers studied the capsule.
"Where's Langly and Frohike?"
"Their still at our place goin' over your files and working on some equipment. Once we do figure out where Mulder and Scully are, we're gonna have to sneak in somehow."
"Great. Umm....Where's your place?" She asked throwing her jacket back on.
He wrote down the address.
"Grmeermph. Long drive from here. Ah, well. Keep in touch." She smiled and ran out.
"Who's there?"
"Federico."
"One minute."
Click. Clack. Cloke. Clink. Clunk. Clock. Cleek. Clook.
Federico stepped inside, and rolled her eyes on the number of locks on their door. She thought Mulder was a wee-bit paranoid?
"Byers said you'd be here."
"Byers?"
"Yeah."
"Byers has been with us all day. He left about 15 minutes ago to meet you at the hotel."
"Darn this world!" She dialed Byers's cell like mad.
"Hello?"
"Byers?"
"Yes who is this-"
"It's Federico. Where are you?"
"About 4 blocks away from the hotel. Why?"
"Are you just arriving?"
"Yeah. Bad traffic."
"Byers turn around and run."
"What?"
"Turn around. We'll meet you.........At my office."
"Uh, okay."
Click.
"Darn it. Guys, you've gotta get out of here. Delete any information you've got stored. Bring all your papers with you. Some darn bounty hunter followed me. He knows you're here too."
Byers entered Federico's office.
"Byers?"
"HI. What just happened?"
"Some bounty hunter posed as you." She glanced at the dead hunter still in her office.
"I just told it all my information." She recapped what she knew now.
"But the stiletto is the only thing to kill them?"
"Right. The gland is properly punctured by it. Also, the metal the stiletto is made of, has a chemical reaction with the blood before it even comes in contact with it, and causes the bounty hunter to become in active."
Byers sat down.
"And Mulder and Scully?"
"We're working on it."
"We could be in......" Frohike said looking at Federico's computer screen.
Federico's face lit up.
"From these files, we know two things. One, that Mulder and Scully are in the Pentagon, and two, that they're in an area requiring level 4 clearance." Langly never looked away from the computer once.
"How do you know that?"
"Those decoded files? Civilians who got a little too close to the aliens for comfort at Roswell, became the first abductees. They were brought to this specific room inside the Pentagon, where they were questioned, tested, the works."
"Okay......"
"Only a handful of people had access to that room, level four clearance people. From the file we know that this room is located in the basement, passed filing rooms, and behind the boiler room. Two days ago, that room was accessed. Only 2 people with level four clearance logged in that day, one didn't even go to the room, the other, was C.G.B.Spender."
Federico glanced at the screen.
"Okay. Think you guys could bypass the systems for me?"
They looked at her.
"Probably." Byers admitted.
"Great. How soon can we start?"
"Tomorrow night."
"Right." She paused. "Where do we stay this evening? Jopiebay Inn is no longer an option."
"We'll take Mulder's house....You take Scully's."
"Do you guys have keys?"
The shuffled a bit.
"Guys?"
"Do you have a lock pick?"
"I'm beginning to wonder if you're a bounty hunter, too, Byers! You, lock pick?" Then she shrugged. "Yeah, I'll do it."
"You've reached the Lone Gunmen's office. Please leave a message."
"Hi, it's Federico. Pick up." Federico waited patiently.
"What's going on?" Byers asked.
"Hi ya'. Well. Several things. I'm on my way to the hotel room now. Will you guys be there?"
"Ehm.....Yeah."
"Great."
"Something wrong?"
"Oh, no, just the usual. I mean, it's just I have another bounty hunter dead locked in my office again." CLICK.
She knocked on the Gunmen's hotel room door, and walked in waving the capsule of green gunk.
"What's this about a bounty hunter?" Byers asked.
"Some bounty hunter impersonated my partner, Garaguso. Only Garaguso is on vacation. I told him to use some personal days while I worked on this case, and he took me up on it."
"And you killed it?"
"Yeah. I locked him in my room and I never removed the Stiletto. In any event, I took a sample of that green stuff that pours out of him, and did a study of it. Then I rummaged through the X-File office a little. IT so happens that this green gunk, happens to be some form of bounty hunter blood. In the sample I took there was a little," She cringed, "Gland-thing. Apparently, this blood mixes with a toxin that is secreted by this gland at the base of the neck, and that causes everyone's eyes to burn out when they 'bleed.' It also happens to be why they're indestructible. Near Indestructible, anyway. It's some sort of something that keeps them alive, the gland I mean, which is why when you puncture it, they die.." She leaned against the bed-post. "Man, I wish I finished Med. school."
"And you figured this out through a little test?"
"Well.....yeah....and, I mean.....several guesses. What!? I didn't have time to cut him open and study his internal structure! 'Sides, whom I to say he's dead?"
"Because you punctured that little gland."
"Oh, yeah."
"In any case," she continued, "That's not all. Before he disappeared, Mulder gave this sample from Roswell he found at the Pentagon." She handed it to Byers. "It matched the green gunk exactly. It's a little yellow though, simply because of the amount of oxygen it was exposed to. I was able to recreate its conditions in the crime lab with a bit of the green stuff from my bounty hunter friend, made a perfect match."
"And......."
"And? And this means that bounty hunters are the guys with the downed craft at Roswell!"
Byers studied the capsule.
"Where's Langly and Frohike?"
"Their still at our place goin' over your files and working on some equipment. Once we do figure out where Mulder and Scully are, we're gonna have to sneak in somehow."
"Great. Umm....Where's your place?" She asked throwing her jacket back on.
He wrote down the address.
"Grmeermph. Long drive from here. Ah, well. Keep in touch." She smiled and ran out.
"Who's there?"
"Federico."
"One minute."
Click. Clack. Cloke. Clink. Clunk. Clock. Cleek. Clook.
Federico stepped inside, and rolled her eyes on the number of locks on their door. She thought Mulder was a wee-bit paranoid?
"Byers said you'd be here."
"Byers?"
"Yeah."
"Byers has been with us all day. He left about 15 minutes ago to meet you at the hotel."
"Darn this world!" She dialed Byers's cell like mad.
"Hello?"
"Byers?"
"Yes who is this-"
"It's Federico. Where are you?"
"About 4 blocks away from the hotel. Why?"
"Are you just arriving?"
"Yeah. Bad traffic."
"Byers turn around and run."
"What?"
"Turn around. We'll meet you.........At my office."
"Uh, okay."
Click.
"Darn it. Guys, you've gotta get out of here. Delete any information you've got stored. Bring all your papers with you. Some darn bounty hunter followed me. He knows you're here too."
Byers entered Federico's office.
"Byers?"
"HI. What just happened?"
"Some bounty hunter posed as you." She glanced at the dead hunter still in her office.
"I just told it all my information." She recapped what she knew now.
"But the stiletto is the only thing to kill them?"
"Right. The gland is properly punctured by it. Also, the metal the stiletto is made of, has a chemical reaction with the blood before it even comes in contact with it, and causes the bounty hunter to become in active."
Byers sat down.
"And Mulder and Scully?"
"We're working on it."
"We could be in......" Frohike said looking at Federico's computer screen.
Federico's face lit up.
"From these files, we know two things. One, that Mulder and Scully are in the Pentagon, and two, that they're in an area requiring level 4 clearance." Langly never looked away from the computer once.
"How do you know that?"
"Those decoded files? Civilians who got a little too close to the aliens for comfort at Roswell, became the first abductees. They were brought to this specific room inside the Pentagon, where they were questioned, tested, the works."
"Okay......"
"Only a handful of people had access to that room, level four clearance people. From the file we know that this room is located in the basement, passed filing rooms, and behind the boiler room. Two days ago, that room was accessed. Only 2 people with level four clearance logged in that day, one didn't even go to the room, the other, was C.G.B.Spender."
Federico glanced at the screen.
"Okay. Think you guys could bypass the systems for me?"
They looked at her.
"Probably." Byers admitted.
"Great. How soon can we start?"
"Tomorrow night."
"Right." She paused. "Where do we stay this evening? Jopiebay Inn is no longer an option."
"We'll take Mulder's house....You take Scully's."
"Do you guys have keys?"
The shuffled a bit.
"Guys?"
"Do you have a lock pick?"
"I'm beginning to wonder if you're a bounty hunter, too, Byers! You, lock pick?" Then she shrugged. "Yeah, I'll do it."