Title - I Know What You Did . . .
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG
Classification - TRA
Keywords - Mulder/Scully Romance, Angst, Charlie Fic
Spoilers - The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati
Summary - Mulder and Scully help her brother Charlie and end up with more trouble than they bargained for.
Disclaimer - The characters don't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own therapeutic purposes. They will be returned relatively unharmed to Chris Carter, or whoever wants to borrow them next, when I'm done.
Chapter 11
Charlie knocks on the door to the apartment, surprised to see the door swing open at the first tap. He peeks his head inside the door, looking around at the messy living room. It looks like a world wind tore the place apart. He sees Mulder sitting in the middle of a pile of papers, frantically searching through the pages.
"Hey," he calls out. Mulder looks up at him with blood shot eyes.
"Charlie. Come in," he says, flustered at the unexpected visitor. He stands and tries to clear a path on the littered floor from the front door to the equally cluttered sofa. "Have a seat."
"I actually just came by to drop this off," Charlie says, nodding to the big brown bag in his hands. "Mom asked me to bring this for you. She said that you probably haven't eaten anything since Dana disappeared."
"No, I don't think I have," Mulder says with a dark smile.
"It's been almost a week," Charlie says. "How do you do it?"
"I may grab things here and there," Mulder shrugs, pointing to mostly full Chinese food containers and pizzas still practically whole. "There just isn't any time to eat."
"Or sleep, apparently. You look exhausted."
"I have to find her, Charlie. The last time, she was gone for too long. I don't think I'd be able to live without her again," Mulder says quietly.
"And all because of me," Charlie says. He drops his head, too ashamed to look the other man in the eyes. "All this is happening because of me."
"Charlie I told you before. Your sister and I have made enemies over the past few years. And I believe they have taken her."
"But I made it easy for them by bringing that rubbing in the first place," Charlie adds. "Bill is so hard on you. He wants to blame you so much for this so he can find someone to hate. If he only knew that I'm the one he should be hating. I'm the one who got Dana into this mess."
"However it happened, she's gone," Mulder says. "We have to find her and bring her home."
Charlie just sighs and looks down at his hands, suddenly remembering the real reason he's there. He holds out the bag of food and Mulder takes it with a little smile.
"Dig in. I've been given strict orders not to leave here until I've seen you eat every morsel of food in this bag," Charlie smiles. "You're lucky. There's some good stuff in there."
"Help yourself. You can help me eat all of this. There's no way I'd be able to get through it all alone. I won't tell if you won't," Mulder smiles back. He goes into the kitchen, returning after a moment with a plate and some forks.
They divide the food and start to eat. Silence fills the room as the men work through the massive quantity of food Mrs. Scully prepared. Charlie notices after a few minutes that Mulder is not doing much more than pushing the food around his plate. He's hardly eating anything. He's about to say something to the man about it when the door opens again.
"Something smells good in here," a voice calls.
Charlie looks up, but doesn't recognize the man standing there. He's there with two other men he doesn't recognize and one he does, Skinner. Mulder must know them, Charlie realizes with much relief once their appearance earns a smile from Mulder. Hopefully these guys can distract him a little from the agony of missing his partner. Charlie doesn't seem to be doing a very good job.
"A little sustenance from Ma Scully," Mulder explains. "We would have saved you some if we knew you were showing up."
"No problema," Langly says. "We brought pizza."
He points to the box in Frohike's hand.
"A surprise visit and you guys bring food and Skinner," Mulder says. "What's going on? I know this isn't a social call."
"We found something," Byers says after getting looks from the other men. He must be the designated spokesman. "Something we think you'll find very interesting.
"What is it?" Mulder asks anxiously. It must be something about Scully, he assumes. Because the Gunmen know he'd shoot them for wasting time he could be using to search for her.
"It'll be easier to show you on the computer. Let me just plug in, Dude," Langly says. He goes over to Mulder's desk and sets up the laptop.
"I have other news while they do that," Byers whispers to him, pulling Mulder away from the others. "The results of the DNA tests came back. Scully is definitely the mother."
"How about the father? Is he . . . human? Or are these babies like Emily?" Mulder wants to know.
"Oh, he's human all right," Byers laughs, noting the confused look on Mulder's face.
"Someone we know?"
"I'll say," Byers says, getting a cryptic look on his face. He wants to drag it out to torture Mulder more, but he decides to ease the man's torment. "It's you, buddy. Congratulations."
He slaps Mulder on the back and joins the others by the computer. Mulder, still stunned, stays rooted to the spot he was in. The news comes with mixed emotions. He's happy he's the father. But disturbed that whoever is behind this can interfere so much with their lives.
"I'm going to be a father," he mumbles as a dazed smile crosses his face. Scully is having his babies. The more the idea sinks in, the happier he is about the revelation. No, happy isn't the word. Ecstatic is more like it. He wants to celebrate. That thought sobers him, bringing back to his memory that neither Scully nor his children are there to celebrate with him. He's now even more determined to find them and bring them home.
"What do you have for me, Langly?" Mulder asks him, his mood serious again.
"If I'm right, it's a way to find Scully's location."
"Seriously? How?" Mulder asks excitedly.
"We've figured out a way to track her using the implant," Frohike says. "Think of it as a human lojack system."
"Well? Where is she?"
"She's close, Man. In Maryland," Frohike says. "But we can't figure out an exact location."
"Either our coordinates are off or she's in the middle of nowhere. Literally," Langly continues. "There's nothing on the map where our data says she is."
"Okay, maybe we're not looking for a building. A cave? Mines? Something underground?" Skinner suggests.
Langly types furiously into the computer for a few minutes, shocking them all when he suddenly yells, "Bingo!"
"What did you find?" Charlie asks.
"Tunnels were dug. The city engineers intended on expanding the Metro system out that far. But the area was never quite developed as much as they anticipated and they abandoned the idea, realizing they wouldn't need the public transportation in such a rural area. It's possible they're set up down there." Langly hits the print button and distributes the information to the others.
"Well, it gives a place to start looking," Mulder says, looking around for his keys as he places the paper in his pocket.
"Mulder, where are you going?" Skinner's voice booms when he realizes the man is about to leave. "You need a plan. Supplies. Back up. Any of these words making any sense."
"Sir, I've got to go find her," Mulder whines. "How are you going to arrange for back up? What are you going to tell them when they ask where you got your information from? That Agent Scully has a metal implant from her last abduction that made it easy for the local conspiracy theorist group to get a lock on her location using their illegal equipment?"
"Dude," Langly says, his tone reflecting the obvious objection to Mulder's sentiments.
"No offense, Langly," Mulder says to the pony tailed man with a shrug.
"Let me worry about that," Skinner says, giving a smile of encouragement before walking out the door.
"So we're waiting?" Charlie asks the other men.
They turn to Mulder for the answer. He's standing at the window, watching until the assistant director gets into his car and speeds away. When he turns back to face them, they see the look of determination in his eyes and suddenly know the answer to Charlie's question. Fox Mulder is not a patient man. He has no intention of waiting for Skinner and his back up. Which is why they came prepared.
"What kinds of toys you gentlemen got for me?" Mulder asks pointedly. "I know you wouldn't show up here empty handed."
"Of course not. We know you too well," Frohike smiles. "We know you'd want to get there immediately.
"Maybe Skinner's right," Byers chimes in, the voice of reason. "Maybe we should wait for back up."
"We should. But you know that I'm not going to," Mulder says, ushering them out of the apartment, barely taking the time to close and lock the door. They practically have to run to keep up with his long strides as he races toward their van. He climbs in and finds a seat, noticing only after they pull away that Charlie is seated next to him.
"I'm not going to let you do this alone," Charlie tells him. "I got her into this mess. I need to help you get her out of it."
"Thanks, Charlie," Mulder says, although, he has no intention of allowing the man to accompany him on the rescue mission. He refuses to put another Scully in danger. He can't put Mrs. Scully through losing another child. He busies himself the rest of the trip with going through the equipment, getting what he'll need.
Charlie, on the other hand, spends the trip in deep thought. He's never seen anyone with as much determination as Mulder. The man will do anything to save the woman he loves. Charlie just hopes that this all turns out well. Because he can't imagine either his sister or Mulder being able to live without the other. He can only pray it doesn't come down to that.
* * * * * * * *
A pregnant woman is truly a thing of beauty, Alex Krycek thinks to himself. He stares in awe at the video feed from the room Scully occupies. All she's doing is sitting in the rocking chair, hands planted protectively on her rounded abdomen. But the sight stirs something in the man. It stirs a longing he never realized he possessed. Not only for the woman. No, he's always known he's wanted Agent Scully. But seeing her like that makes him wish he were the father of her children. It makes him wish he had something to bind himself to her.
"She'll never love you. Not like she loves him."
Krycek turns around and finds Marita standing behind him. His very eager partner in crime in this whole thing. And by the looks of things, jealous at his apparent affection for their prisoner.
"What business is it of yours?" he asks defensively. "You're just mad because you'll never be half the woman she is. It really is pathetic how many times you've attempted to seduce Mulder, but to no avail."
"No, what's pathetic is how many times I settled for you, Alex," she strikes back, leaving him speechless. She's won. This round at least. They both turn back to the monitors and continue to watch Scully.
"She's not going to make things easy for us. She's going to try to escape," Alex says with an almost proud grin. "That's just the kind of woman she is. That's the kind of spirit she has."
He gives Marita one last knowing glare before turning to leave the observation room.
Not unless that spirit is broken, Marita thinks to herself as he leaves. Not unless *she's* broken. Marita is barely able to hold back the smile threatening to spread across her face. She's about to have a little fun with the ever so loved and coveted Agent Scully.
* * * * * *
Scully can't escape the feeling she's being watched. She glances up at the ceiling and sees a poorly camouflaged video camera in the corner. They're keeping an eye on her. So any escape attempts will have to be made quickly to avoid detection.
She stands and walks to the door, jiggling the handle slightly. Locked. She didn't think it would be otherwise, but it was worth a shot. She spends another few seconds examining it to see if she'd be able to somehow pick it. It's looks electrical as opposed to mechanical. She'll have to keep that in mind. She doubts there's anything in her room that could be used to short it out, but she'll have to be on the lookout the next time someone comes into the room. If she's slick enough, she might be able to sneak something useful from a doctor or nurse.
She goes back to her rocking chair, carefully pulling her IV stand behind her. She wonders briefly what kind of drugs they're giving her. But for the moment, she's decided to trust Krycek's word that her babies are safe. Removing the IV could jeopardize them. And she doesn't want to risk it.
She's barely settled in her chair before the door opens. She looks up expecting to see Krycek, but surprised to see a blond woman instead. Scully wonders if she's a doctor or nurse, but dismisses both options when she notices the way the woman is dressed.
"Agent Scully. You don't know me. My name is Marita Covarrubias," the woman says.
"Mulder has mentioned you," Scully says, glaring at the woman warily. "He says you've been a help to him in the past. So why now are you involved in this scheme of Krycek's?"
"That's complicated, Agent Scully. And probably something you shouldn't be concerning yourself with," Marita warns.
"Why don't you get to the point, Ms. Covarrubias. Something tells me you didn't come in here for girl talk."
"If you insist." Marita gives her a fake smile before continuing. "We saw you checking the room out earlier. If I were you, I wouldn't waste my time. You will be our guest here for as long as we want you to be. Any escape attempts will be futile. And any hopes of your partner rescuing you . . . well, let's just say he's going to be too busy to worry about coming to get you."
"What do you mean?" Scully asks, unintentionally letting her guard down and showing this woman a point of weakness. "What have you done to Mulder?"
"He's going to have a lot to answer to," Marita says cryptically. "The police will have a lot of questions about your disappearance. And they're going to believe Agent Mulder has all the answers."
"That's ridiculous," Scully scoffs. "Why would they . . . "
Her questions is cut off when Marita tosses a stack of photos into her lap. Crime scene photos. She recognizes her bedroom as the location and looks further. The room looks tossed, her favorite bedside lamp lies shattered on the floor. The next photo, however, shows something that makes her glad she's sitting down. It's a picture of a despondent looking Mulder covered in blood.
"What is all this?" she asks, her hand visibly shaking, especially at the last photo. "Who's blood is that?"
"Yours," Marita says with a smile. "At least, that's what everyone thinks."
"There's so much of it. If they think it's mine, then they must think that I'm dead," Scully realizes suddenly. "Mulder thinks I'm dead."
"Yes. That he killed you," Marita explains.
"This must be killing him." Scully drops her head into her hands and cries silently for a few minutes. The next time she looks up, she sees that she is alone again in the room. Marita's gone and Scully realizes she didn't get a chance to check the woman for anything to aid her escape. Not that it matters anymore anyway. In the back of her mind, she wanted to believe that Mulder would be on the way to rescue her. But she knows that's not the case now. He's probably rotting away in some jail, believing that she's dead.
The thought brings more tears to her eyes. She can only imagine how he's torturing himself, his guilt far beyond any punishment the police can give him. Images of his all too recent stint at a mental hospital flood her mind. It's an experience she never wants him to relive. Unfortunately, unless she can get herself out of there soon, a return trip may very well be in Mulder's future. She cannot allow that to happen.
"Hold on, Mulder," she whispers into the empty room. "I'll get out of here and we'll all be back together soon."
She rests her hands on her stomach, drawing comfort from her unborn children. She finds herself praying silently for the strength to follow through with her promise, never for once dreaming that at that very moment, Mulder is trying his hardest to make good on a vow of his own.
* * * * * *
The van rolls to a stop and Mulder takes a peek outside the window. They appear to be in an empty field. But he's trusting the Gunmen to have brought him to the right place. However, he asks them one last time just to be on the safe side.
"Are you sure this is it, Langly?" he asks warily.
"I just hacked into the metro rail database at the WMATA," Langly starts.
"WMATA?" Charlie asks, obviously confused.
"It stands for Washington Metro Area Transit Authority," Byers explains. "Any information on metro stops, existing or planned, would come from them. We were able to find plans for a station right here, just past the Shady Grove stop on the red line."
"The tunnels have been dug, but the plans to build the stop have been put on hold indefinitely. It's the perfect place for Krycek to hide out," Frohike adds.
"And since the coordinates from her implant led us to this spot . . . "
"I think we get it, boys," Mulder says, stopping their lecture. They could probably go on for days now that they've got Charlie's rapt attention. "She's here some place. We just have to find a way to get in there and then to get her out."
"I'm working on that now," Langly says as his fingers fly across his the keyboard of his laptop. "There appears to be a digital signal coming from whatever facility they're running down there. Give me a few more seconds and . . . there. I'm in. I'm pulling up the layout of the building now."
"You guys are amazing," Charlie gushes in awe. "Who are you people anyway?"
Mulder just rolls his eyes, watching in disbelief as Charlie single- handedly boosts their egos. But he shouldn't deprive them of the accolades they deserve. He doesn't give them enough credit for all they really do for him. A little hero worship from Charlie is the least they deserve. But not now. Now, it's time to go rescue Scully.
"I hate to break up this little love fest, but we got some work to do, fellas," Mulder says.
"You're right," Charlie says, instantly sobered. "How are we going to do this?"
"We?"
"Yes, we," Charlie insists. "Mulder, that's my sister in there because of me. I'm not going to let you go in alone."
"He's right, Mulder," Byers reasons. "We'd feel better if someone was in there to watch your back."
"Fine," Mulder relents. "Let's do this."
The guys help Mulder and Charlie get the necessary equipment before watching the two take off across the field, disappearing into the tunnel entrance. They weren't just trying to appease Charlie before. They really meant it when they said they were glad Mulder had back up. Because for some reason, they feel like he's really going to need it.
To be continued . . .
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG
Classification - TRA
Keywords - Mulder/Scully Romance, Angst, Charlie Fic
Spoilers - The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati
Summary - Mulder and Scully help her brother Charlie and end up with more trouble than they bargained for.
Disclaimer - The characters don't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own therapeutic purposes. They will be returned relatively unharmed to Chris Carter, or whoever wants to borrow them next, when I'm done.
Chapter 11
Charlie knocks on the door to the apartment, surprised to see the door swing open at the first tap. He peeks his head inside the door, looking around at the messy living room. It looks like a world wind tore the place apart. He sees Mulder sitting in the middle of a pile of papers, frantically searching through the pages.
"Hey," he calls out. Mulder looks up at him with blood shot eyes.
"Charlie. Come in," he says, flustered at the unexpected visitor. He stands and tries to clear a path on the littered floor from the front door to the equally cluttered sofa. "Have a seat."
"I actually just came by to drop this off," Charlie says, nodding to the big brown bag in his hands. "Mom asked me to bring this for you. She said that you probably haven't eaten anything since Dana disappeared."
"No, I don't think I have," Mulder says with a dark smile.
"It's been almost a week," Charlie says. "How do you do it?"
"I may grab things here and there," Mulder shrugs, pointing to mostly full Chinese food containers and pizzas still practically whole. "There just isn't any time to eat."
"Or sleep, apparently. You look exhausted."
"I have to find her, Charlie. The last time, she was gone for too long. I don't think I'd be able to live without her again," Mulder says quietly.
"And all because of me," Charlie says. He drops his head, too ashamed to look the other man in the eyes. "All this is happening because of me."
"Charlie I told you before. Your sister and I have made enemies over the past few years. And I believe they have taken her."
"But I made it easy for them by bringing that rubbing in the first place," Charlie adds. "Bill is so hard on you. He wants to blame you so much for this so he can find someone to hate. If he only knew that I'm the one he should be hating. I'm the one who got Dana into this mess."
"However it happened, she's gone," Mulder says. "We have to find her and bring her home."
Charlie just sighs and looks down at his hands, suddenly remembering the real reason he's there. He holds out the bag of food and Mulder takes it with a little smile.
"Dig in. I've been given strict orders not to leave here until I've seen you eat every morsel of food in this bag," Charlie smiles. "You're lucky. There's some good stuff in there."
"Help yourself. You can help me eat all of this. There's no way I'd be able to get through it all alone. I won't tell if you won't," Mulder smiles back. He goes into the kitchen, returning after a moment with a plate and some forks.
They divide the food and start to eat. Silence fills the room as the men work through the massive quantity of food Mrs. Scully prepared. Charlie notices after a few minutes that Mulder is not doing much more than pushing the food around his plate. He's hardly eating anything. He's about to say something to the man about it when the door opens again.
"Something smells good in here," a voice calls.
Charlie looks up, but doesn't recognize the man standing there. He's there with two other men he doesn't recognize and one he does, Skinner. Mulder must know them, Charlie realizes with much relief once their appearance earns a smile from Mulder. Hopefully these guys can distract him a little from the agony of missing his partner. Charlie doesn't seem to be doing a very good job.
"A little sustenance from Ma Scully," Mulder explains. "We would have saved you some if we knew you were showing up."
"No problema," Langly says. "We brought pizza."
He points to the box in Frohike's hand.
"A surprise visit and you guys bring food and Skinner," Mulder says. "What's going on? I know this isn't a social call."
"We found something," Byers says after getting looks from the other men. He must be the designated spokesman. "Something we think you'll find very interesting.
"What is it?" Mulder asks anxiously. It must be something about Scully, he assumes. Because the Gunmen know he'd shoot them for wasting time he could be using to search for her.
"It'll be easier to show you on the computer. Let me just plug in, Dude," Langly says. He goes over to Mulder's desk and sets up the laptop.
"I have other news while they do that," Byers whispers to him, pulling Mulder away from the others. "The results of the DNA tests came back. Scully is definitely the mother."
"How about the father? Is he . . . human? Or are these babies like Emily?" Mulder wants to know.
"Oh, he's human all right," Byers laughs, noting the confused look on Mulder's face.
"Someone we know?"
"I'll say," Byers says, getting a cryptic look on his face. He wants to drag it out to torture Mulder more, but he decides to ease the man's torment. "It's you, buddy. Congratulations."
He slaps Mulder on the back and joins the others by the computer. Mulder, still stunned, stays rooted to the spot he was in. The news comes with mixed emotions. He's happy he's the father. But disturbed that whoever is behind this can interfere so much with their lives.
"I'm going to be a father," he mumbles as a dazed smile crosses his face. Scully is having his babies. The more the idea sinks in, the happier he is about the revelation. No, happy isn't the word. Ecstatic is more like it. He wants to celebrate. That thought sobers him, bringing back to his memory that neither Scully nor his children are there to celebrate with him. He's now even more determined to find them and bring them home.
"What do you have for me, Langly?" Mulder asks him, his mood serious again.
"If I'm right, it's a way to find Scully's location."
"Seriously? How?" Mulder asks excitedly.
"We've figured out a way to track her using the implant," Frohike says. "Think of it as a human lojack system."
"Well? Where is she?"
"She's close, Man. In Maryland," Frohike says. "But we can't figure out an exact location."
"Either our coordinates are off or she's in the middle of nowhere. Literally," Langly continues. "There's nothing on the map where our data says she is."
"Okay, maybe we're not looking for a building. A cave? Mines? Something underground?" Skinner suggests.
Langly types furiously into the computer for a few minutes, shocking them all when he suddenly yells, "Bingo!"
"What did you find?" Charlie asks.
"Tunnels were dug. The city engineers intended on expanding the Metro system out that far. But the area was never quite developed as much as they anticipated and they abandoned the idea, realizing they wouldn't need the public transportation in such a rural area. It's possible they're set up down there." Langly hits the print button and distributes the information to the others.
"Well, it gives a place to start looking," Mulder says, looking around for his keys as he places the paper in his pocket.
"Mulder, where are you going?" Skinner's voice booms when he realizes the man is about to leave. "You need a plan. Supplies. Back up. Any of these words making any sense."
"Sir, I've got to go find her," Mulder whines. "How are you going to arrange for back up? What are you going to tell them when they ask where you got your information from? That Agent Scully has a metal implant from her last abduction that made it easy for the local conspiracy theorist group to get a lock on her location using their illegal equipment?"
"Dude," Langly says, his tone reflecting the obvious objection to Mulder's sentiments.
"No offense, Langly," Mulder says to the pony tailed man with a shrug.
"Let me worry about that," Skinner says, giving a smile of encouragement before walking out the door.
"So we're waiting?" Charlie asks the other men.
They turn to Mulder for the answer. He's standing at the window, watching until the assistant director gets into his car and speeds away. When he turns back to face them, they see the look of determination in his eyes and suddenly know the answer to Charlie's question. Fox Mulder is not a patient man. He has no intention of waiting for Skinner and his back up. Which is why they came prepared.
"What kinds of toys you gentlemen got for me?" Mulder asks pointedly. "I know you wouldn't show up here empty handed."
"Of course not. We know you too well," Frohike smiles. "We know you'd want to get there immediately.
"Maybe Skinner's right," Byers chimes in, the voice of reason. "Maybe we should wait for back up."
"We should. But you know that I'm not going to," Mulder says, ushering them out of the apartment, barely taking the time to close and lock the door. They practically have to run to keep up with his long strides as he races toward their van. He climbs in and finds a seat, noticing only after they pull away that Charlie is seated next to him.
"I'm not going to let you do this alone," Charlie tells him. "I got her into this mess. I need to help you get her out of it."
"Thanks, Charlie," Mulder says, although, he has no intention of allowing the man to accompany him on the rescue mission. He refuses to put another Scully in danger. He can't put Mrs. Scully through losing another child. He busies himself the rest of the trip with going through the equipment, getting what he'll need.
Charlie, on the other hand, spends the trip in deep thought. He's never seen anyone with as much determination as Mulder. The man will do anything to save the woman he loves. Charlie just hopes that this all turns out well. Because he can't imagine either his sister or Mulder being able to live without the other. He can only pray it doesn't come down to that.
* * * * * * * *
A pregnant woman is truly a thing of beauty, Alex Krycek thinks to himself. He stares in awe at the video feed from the room Scully occupies. All she's doing is sitting in the rocking chair, hands planted protectively on her rounded abdomen. But the sight stirs something in the man. It stirs a longing he never realized he possessed. Not only for the woman. No, he's always known he's wanted Agent Scully. But seeing her like that makes him wish he were the father of her children. It makes him wish he had something to bind himself to her.
"She'll never love you. Not like she loves him."
Krycek turns around and finds Marita standing behind him. His very eager partner in crime in this whole thing. And by the looks of things, jealous at his apparent affection for their prisoner.
"What business is it of yours?" he asks defensively. "You're just mad because you'll never be half the woman she is. It really is pathetic how many times you've attempted to seduce Mulder, but to no avail."
"No, what's pathetic is how many times I settled for you, Alex," she strikes back, leaving him speechless. She's won. This round at least. They both turn back to the monitors and continue to watch Scully.
"She's not going to make things easy for us. She's going to try to escape," Alex says with an almost proud grin. "That's just the kind of woman she is. That's the kind of spirit she has."
He gives Marita one last knowing glare before turning to leave the observation room.
Not unless that spirit is broken, Marita thinks to herself as he leaves. Not unless *she's* broken. Marita is barely able to hold back the smile threatening to spread across her face. She's about to have a little fun with the ever so loved and coveted Agent Scully.
* * * * * *
Scully can't escape the feeling she's being watched. She glances up at the ceiling and sees a poorly camouflaged video camera in the corner. They're keeping an eye on her. So any escape attempts will have to be made quickly to avoid detection.
She stands and walks to the door, jiggling the handle slightly. Locked. She didn't think it would be otherwise, but it was worth a shot. She spends another few seconds examining it to see if she'd be able to somehow pick it. It's looks electrical as opposed to mechanical. She'll have to keep that in mind. She doubts there's anything in her room that could be used to short it out, but she'll have to be on the lookout the next time someone comes into the room. If she's slick enough, she might be able to sneak something useful from a doctor or nurse.
She goes back to her rocking chair, carefully pulling her IV stand behind her. She wonders briefly what kind of drugs they're giving her. But for the moment, she's decided to trust Krycek's word that her babies are safe. Removing the IV could jeopardize them. And she doesn't want to risk it.
She's barely settled in her chair before the door opens. She looks up expecting to see Krycek, but surprised to see a blond woman instead. Scully wonders if she's a doctor or nurse, but dismisses both options when she notices the way the woman is dressed.
"Agent Scully. You don't know me. My name is Marita Covarrubias," the woman says.
"Mulder has mentioned you," Scully says, glaring at the woman warily. "He says you've been a help to him in the past. So why now are you involved in this scheme of Krycek's?"
"That's complicated, Agent Scully. And probably something you shouldn't be concerning yourself with," Marita warns.
"Why don't you get to the point, Ms. Covarrubias. Something tells me you didn't come in here for girl talk."
"If you insist." Marita gives her a fake smile before continuing. "We saw you checking the room out earlier. If I were you, I wouldn't waste my time. You will be our guest here for as long as we want you to be. Any escape attempts will be futile. And any hopes of your partner rescuing you . . . well, let's just say he's going to be too busy to worry about coming to get you."
"What do you mean?" Scully asks, unintentionally letting her guard down and showing this woman a point of weakness. "What have you done to Mulder?"
"He's going to have a lot to answer to," Marita says cryptically. "The police will have a lot of questions about your disappearance. And they're going to believe Agent Mulder has all the answers."
"That's ridiculous," Scully scoffs. "Why would they . . . "
Her questions is cut off when Marita tosses a stack of photos into her lap. Crime scene photos. She recognizes her bedroom as the location and looks further. The room looks tossed, her favorite bedside lamp lies shattered on the floor. The next photo, however, shows something that makes her glad she's sitting down. It's a picture of a despondent looking Mulder covered in blood.
"What is all this?" she asks, her hand visibly shaking, especially at the last photo. "Who's blood is that?"
"Yours," Marita says with a smile. "At least, that's what everyone thinks."
"There's so much of it. If they think it's mine, then they must think that I'm dead," Scully realizes suddenly. "Mulder thinks I'm dead."
"Yes. That he killed you," Marita explains.
"This must be killing him." Scully drops her head into her hands and cries silently for a few minutes. The next time she looks up, she sees that she is alone again in the room. Marita's gone and Scully realizes she didn't get a chance to check the woman for anything to aid her escape. Not that it matters anymore anyway. In the back of her mind, she wanted to believe that Mulder would be on the way to rescue her. But she knows that's not the case now. He's probably rotting away in some jail, believing that she's dead.
The thought brings more tears to her eyes. She can only imagine how he's torturing himself, his guilt far beyond any punishment the police can give him. Images of his all too recent stint at a mental hospital flood her mind. It's an experience she never wants him to relive. Unfortunately, unless she can get herself out of there soon, a return trip may very well be in Mulder's future. She cannot allow that to happen.
"Hold on, Mulder," she whispers into the empty room. "I'll get out of here and we'll all be back together soon."
She rests her hands on her stomach, drawing comfort from her unborn children. She finds herself praying silently for the strength to follow through with her promise, never for once dreaming that at that very moment, Mulder is trying his hardest to make good on a vow of his own.
* * * * * *
The van rolls to a stop and Mulder takes a peek outside the window. They appear to be in an empty field. But he's trusting the Gunmen to have brought him to the right place. However, he asks them one last time just to be on the safe side.
"Are you sure this is it, Langly?" he asks warily.
"I just hacked into the metro rail database at the WMATA," Langly starts.
"WMATA?" Charlie asks, obviously confused.
"It stands for Washington Metro Area Transit Authority," Byers explains. "Any information on metro stops, existing or planned, would come from them. We were able to find plans for a station right here, just past the Shady Grove stop on the red line."
"The tunnels have been dug, but the plans to build the stop have been put on hold indefinitely. It's the perfect place for Krycek to hide out," Frohike adds.
"And since the coordinates from her implant led us to this spot . . . "
"I think we get it, boys," Mulder says, stopping their lecture. They could probably go on for days now that they've got Charlie's rapt attention. "She's here some place. We just have to find a way to get in there and then to get her out."
"I'm working on that now," Langly says as his fingers fly across his the keyboard of his laptop. "There appears to be a digital signal coming from whatever facility they're running down there. Give me a few more seconds and . . . there. I'm in. I'm pulling up the layout of the building now."
"You guys are amazing," Charlie gushes in awe. "Who are you people anyway?"
Mulder just rolls his eyes, watching in disbelief as Charlie single- handedly boosts their egos. But he shouldn't deprive them of the accolades they deserve. He doesn't give them enough credit for all they really do for him. A little hero worship from Charlie is the least they deserve. But not now. Now, it's time to go rescue Scully.
"I hate to break up this little love fest, but we got some work to do, fellas," Mulder says.
"You're right," Charlie says, instantly sobered. "How are we going to do this?"
"We?"
"Yes, we," Charlie insists. "Mulder, that's my sister in there because of me. I'm not going to let you go in alone."
"He's right, Mulder," Byers reasons. "We'd feel better if someone was in there to watch your back."
"Fine," Mulder relents. "Let's do this."
The guys help Mulder and Charlie get the necessary equipment before watching the two take off across the field, disappearing into the tunnel entrance. They weren't just trying to appease Charlie before. They really meant it when they said they were glad Mulder had back up. Because for some reason, they feel like he's really going to need it.
To be continued . . .