TITLE: Chess Game III: Checkmate

ORIGINAL TITLE IN SPANISH: Tablero de Ajedrez: Jaque Mate

AUTHOR: Rafael Zea (rafaelzeap@terra.com.co)

DISCLAIMER: The characters from The X-Files used in this story belong to Chris Carter,

20th Century Fox and 1013 Productions. It is not our intention to infringe the copyright

laws.

CLASSIFICATION: WIP (3/3); X-File, with a subtle touch of MSR and DRR.

RATING: PG-13

SPOILERS: This story takes place after "Existence". There are some references to

"Syzygy," "Invocation," "Dead Alive," and "Empedocles". "Jump the Shark", "William",

and "Release" never happened.

SUMMARY: It's the end. After the last move, only one King will survive.

Author's Note: This was first published in December 2001 and is available at

http://www.silverbug-x-files.com/relato1111.htm

---------------------------------

KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA

6:43 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)

The brightness that had blinded the witnesses of the phenomenon disappeared suddenly.

Sheriff Delani and Deputy Peters realized that neither Mulder nor Reyes were in the motel.

The two FBI investigators had vanished from the place. Nobody was able to comprehend

what had actually happened, and when they tried to explain the facts to each other, their

versions of the story were contradictory. It was as if someone had intentionally tangled

their ideas in order to cause chaos. One group of witnesses said that they had seen an

incandescent object flying to the statues sculpted on Mount Rushmore. Another one assured

everyone that they had seen a UFO that had disappeared in front of their eyes, while a third

group of people stated that they had seen "something" similar to a comet that had broken

into pieces.

Even through the confusion, Adrian Hughes, Keystone Police Department Chief, put

together a group of policemen who, along with Delani and Peters, would look for the

missing agent and the FBI external adviser. Since all communication systems were still

down and it was impossible to get in touch with the search task group once they were

outside the town, Hughes preferred to stay at the police headquarters, waiting for any news

- whatever it was.

--------------------------------

Physically and emotionally hurt by the events in Fulton, Doggett drove his rented car to

Syracuse Airport and boarded a two-engine powered plane to Chicago, where he met

Assistant Director Follmer and they both chartered a flight to Rapid City. There, they

would continue the trip by land to Keystone.

Due to the "Monica issue," it hardly took a mind reader to see that John Doggett and Brad

Follmer hated each other, and during the trip they barely said a word, referring only briefly

to Scully and William's kidnapping and the lack of communication with Mulder and Reyes

in Dakota. By 6:45 pm Agent Doggett and Assistant Director Follmer arrived in Chief

Hughes' office.

"Chief Hughes, good afternoon... I mean, good evening. I am FBI Assistant Director Brad

Follmer..." the blonde A.D. said slowly, looking at Doggett out of the corner of his eye.

"...And he is Special Agent John Doggett. We've come from Washington in search of

Special Agent Monica Reyes and External Adviser Fox Mulder because we've had no

information on them since they left D.C. 48 hours ago..."

"Good evening, sirs. I wish I had better news for you, but I don't," Hughes answered,

standing up to greet them.

"What do you mean, Chief?" Doggett inquired, worried.

"Today, around noon, a weird phenomenon occurred which, according to the eye witnesses,

might have been a UFO sighting. Agent Reyes and Adviser Mulder were there as it

happened, but by the time the *flying saucer* disappeared, they both were already missing.

Up till now, there hasn't been any clue to their whereabouts..." the policeman said.

"Does this mean that Mulder and Reyes *vanished* along with this so-called UFO?"

Follmer asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It sounds ridiculous, but it's the only thing we've all been able to agree on," Chief Hughes

pointed out. "The people who watched the events have different versions of the facts, and

most of them contradict one another," he added.

"I've heard about behaviour like that in previous investigations. This is what Mulder would

call a 'time and memory absence,' but it seems like this time, owing to the large number of

witnesses, some confusing *traces* were left in their memories," John Doggett said, basing

this statement on what he knew about previously solved X-Files cases.

"May we talk with any of the witnesses?" Follmer questioned.

"We have no time now!" Doggett interrupted him. "Finding Reyes and Mulder is our

priority."

"A Keystone Police search task force has already started a search. Deputy Peters and

Sheriff Delani from Rapid City are also searching for them," Hughes explained.

"OK, OK! Where are they?" Doggett asked as he began to walk towards the door.

"They are in the forest nearby Mount Rushmore..." the Police Chief answered.

Doggett and Follmer left the police headquarters immediately.

----------------------------------

HAMPTON, VIRGINIA

9:28 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

The communication experts from the FBI had intercepted part of an encoded conversation

about a 'guest' who wanted to 'leave the party'. Through triangulation of the faint radio

signal, the source of the conversation was traced to a warehouse at the Hampton Dock, at

Chesapeake Bay's shore. Skinner, about 30 FBI agents and a SWAT team went to the

warehouse, as A.D. Skinner was sure that Scully and William could be hidden inside. The

warehouse was surrounded carefully both by land and by sea through a coast guard patrol.

The Lone Gunmen intercepted all communication signals going from or coming to the

warehouse, so that the warehouse was completely isolated. The occupants inside had no

chance to escape or seek help from the Consortium...

"Musketeers here... The Three Little Pigs have been locked away... Over..." Langly said

through the radio of a van filled with crazy electronic gadgets designed by the Lone

Gunmen.

"Big Bad Wolf here... Are you ready to get inside the Three Litle Pigs's house...? Over..." Skinner

said to all units.

"Unit One, go! Over."

"Unit Two, go! Over."

"Unit Three, go! Over."

"Aquatic Unit here. We can see movement from the warehouse... Over..." the Coast Guard

team leader said.

"OK. Let's go in!" A.D. Skinner ordered.

FBI agents and SWAT team members burst into the warehouse from the roof and

surrounded the building on all four sides. The idea was to take control of the situation as

soon as possible in order to avoid a counterattack from the people inside the building. They

hoped to prevent a shoot-out in which Scully and William could be wounded. That goal

was quickly achieved as the guards from the main gate, and the ones taking care of the

other entrances, were immobilized without firing any shots. Skinner and an outpost team of

SWAT men went to the laboratory, in which William was being examined again by the

genetics experts. Several samples of human-like organs were submerged in jars containing

a green liquid.

"Everybody keep still!" Walter Skinner shouted as he aimed at one of the scientists who

were examining William. The SWAT team members pointed their weapons at the rest of

the people in the laboratory.

"Not so fast, Assistant Director Skinner!" one woman in a white coat said. She was near the

baby, her back to Skinner. Then she turned around, showing her face... She was Marita

Covarrubias.

Astonished, Skinner saw that the beautiful and evil blonde member of the Consortium was

holding the same device that the late Alex Krycek had possessed. It was the same device

that could kill Walter Skinner with only the push of a button.

"Why do you have that thing? Krycek...?" Skinner managed to say. His voice trembled.

"My dear Alex was very careful and gave me a gadget identical to the one he had, just in

case anything bad ever happened to him... For instance, if someone fired a bullet in his head

in the Hoover Building underground garage," Marita pointed out, ironically.

"Krycek was going to kill Mulder. I had to do it..." A.D. Skinner said, trying to justify his

actions.

"I don't give a damn about what could have happened to Mulder! You murdered Krycek, in

cold blood, and if I push this button now you can call it quits. You are pointing a high-

precision rifle at me after all, aren't you?" she said with menace.

"Go ahead. Push it! You'll kill me but the men who are with me will fill your body with

hundreds of bullets in less than a second," Skinner dared her.

"If I press this button and you or your people shoot me, we're not the only ones who are

going to die. The pathogen nanobots have been injected into William's bloodstream... So,

the choice is yours," Covarrubias stated, playing her best card.

"You wouldn't be able to-"

"See you in hell, Skin-!" Marita screamed as she pushed the switch that turned on the

nanobots.

A thousandth of a second later, one shot was heard.

---------------------------------

MOUNT RUSHMORE

KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA

8:35 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

Doggett and Follmer had contacted the search team looking for the missing agents at Mount

Rushmore. Up to that point, the team had not found any clue on Mulder and Reyes'

disappearance. Doggett felt sick and the fever made his forehead smoulder almost as

intensely as it had when he had found Luke. Doggett had not said a word to anyone about

the events in Fulton, and had promised himself not to comment about it until Monica and

Mulder were located, Scully and her baby were rescued, and he had received some news

about Luke. Even if he managed to accomplish all of these goals, Doggett knew that he

would probably only talk to Monica about it because she was the only person he really

trusted...

"Why are you so quiet, Doggett? Are you trying to listen to the *vibrations* that Monica

emits so you can locate her?" Follmer asked Doggett sarcastically as they walked along

with the policemen in the middle of the forest.

"This is not the right moment to say something like that, Director Follmer..." Doggett

replied bitterly as he looked at Mount Rushmore's sculptures. "I was thinking about Buck

Rogers..."

"What do you mean?"

"A long time ago, I saw an episode of 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century' in which Mount

Rushmore was actually a nuclear bunker constructed during the 1940s in the middle of

World War II..." Agent Doggett said, looking speculative.

"You're not saying you believe in such nonsense are you, Agent Doggett?" Follmer asked,

laughing. "For God's sake! If we indeed wish to find Reyes and Mulder, we can't base our

search on information extracted from a 1970s sci-fi series," he said, refuting Doggett's

theory.

"Let me join in your conversation, Mr. Follmer," Sheriff Delani said, interrupting. "Here in

South Dakota, people have always conjectured on that hypothesis. There is no evidence to

prove it, but... but lots of rumours that something is hidden inside those huge white rocks..."

"You see?!" Doggett exclaimed in victory, staring at Follmer.

"My father used to say that, when he was a child, they were constructing the monument in

honor of the presidents. In those days, nobody was allowed to go in that zone, but both he

and my grandparents saw several enormous trucks, heavy machinery and equipment that

were too large to be used for simply constructing stone sculptures," Deputy Peters added,

wiping away the sweat from his forehead, even though it was about nine at night.

"According to the case files for some of the investigations Mulder conducted a long time

ago, which were similar to the one which brought him and Monica here in the first place,

that area has been the epicenter of alleged *UFO activity*," Doggett stated, reinforcing the

idea.

"So let's go find some little green men inside George Washington's head," Follmer

suggested, not believing anything he had heard.

"Shhhh! Look over there... that light... Can you see it?" Doggett said as he pointed at a

small point of light that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the bushes, apparently

coming from a hole in the rocks, underneath the monument.

Doggett, Follmer, Delani, Peters and the other three policemen went over to the hole. It

looked like a tunnel. Completely visible, even though the darkness that prevailed there.

"It seems to be an air source... a sort of ventilation shaft," Follmer suggested.

"Ventilation for what?" Delani asked.

"For an underground facility or something like that," Doggett whispered to the policemen.

"A.D Follmer and I are going to go inside. Wait for us here. If we don't come back in a

reasonable amount of time, get help."

"Hey, hey! I'm the one giving the orders!" Follmer replied. "We're going to enter that

tunnel. Wait for us. If we don't come back within a reasonable time, go get help."

"That's exactly what I said!" Doggett pointed out.

"Yes, it is, but I'm the Assistant Director here, NOT you..."

Looking at each other in anger, John Doggett and Brad Follmer, wielding their weapons,

walked towards the strangely illuminated hole. As Doggett was left-handed and his left arm

was in a sling, he was forced to carry his gun in his right hand. Although he had learnt how

to shoot a gun with both hands during his training as a U.S. Marine, a policeman and an

FBI Agent, his marksmanship with his right hand was not as good as his left. If he had to

shoot at someone or something at that moment, and the target was too far away or moving,

he could probably hit it, but the aim wouldn't be as exact.

Follmer, on the other hand, was frightened in spite of being boastful and pretending to be a

brave man. He had volunteered to travel to South Dakota because he believed that Reyes

and Mulder had been cut off from Washington, not missing. Besides, Follmer thought it

was the perfect chance to impress Monica by acting as a hero. She would see how

concerned he had been for her and come across as *the brave one* compared to Doggett.

But things weren't as easy as he thought they would be. Therefore, he was behind Doggett,

so that the other agent would be in the line of fire if they were attacked...

As they moved through the tunnel under Mount Rushmore, Agent Doggett and Assistant

Director Follmer were absolutely sure that it had been constructed by human beings

because there were tracks that proved that some kind of machinery had been used to drill

the tunnel, several years before. Step by step, the tunnel became as narrow as a genuine

ventilation shaft. The light that illuminated the tunnel did not come from light bulbs or any

other visible power source. It was as if it was daylight inside the mountain, although it was

night outside.

By the time they reached a place that was connected to a hatchway, the sound of footsteps,

and the voices of several people who were coming closer, forced Doggett and Follmer to

move back. One of the men from this anonymous group was talking to someone through a

radio that *was* working perfectly, unlike the rest of the communication systems in the

state of South Dakota.

"We've caught them, sir. We had to do another experimental flight with a Sitting Bull

prototype to distract people and bring our guests here, without being seen," the man said to

the person he was speaking to, who seemed to be his superior. "No... Don't worry. Time

and memory gaps will keep these people disoriented, as well as the police, long enough to

complete *the procedure* that you're carrying out there. Then, you can tell us when we

should let them go..."

"The 'Sitting Bull Project'? Are we in the middle of the 'Sitting Bull Project'?" Follmer

mumbled.

"It seems like it. In any case, the writers of 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century' weren't too

far off," Doggett answered Follmer, speaking in a lower voice, a subtle hint of victory in his

tone.

"Is there any other news?" a hoarse voice asked from the other end of the radio.

"Sir, we know that two men from Washington have arrived in Keystone in the last few

hours. We'll be alert just in case they decide to snoop around Mount Rushmore," the man

on the radio said.

"They already know that we're here. We should ask for help from the local FBI office or

the police, at least," Follmer suggested as he heard those words.

"Let's try to take advantage of the surprise factor. We have no communications. They do

and they know that we're already in town, but they don't know that we're inside the

facility," Doggett said. "If Mulder and Reyes are locked away in this cave, we ought to

locate them before we're caught. It's necessary to step carefully..." he added.

The so-called 'Sitting Bull Project,' named after the chief of the Sioux Native American

people, was a highly-confidential program that had existed since World War II. Its aim had

been to develop aircraft capable of reaching unbelievable speeds, superior to any known

supersonic military plane. It was believed, wrongly, that the 'Sitting Bull Project' had been

cancelled after war planes such as the F-14, F-16 and the 'invisible' F-117 - first used in

Iraq in 1991 - had been developed. But the project had not been cancelled. Doggett had had

access to certain information on the operation during the years he was in the Middle East,

and Follmer knew some details about it through his contacts in the CIA, but neither of them

had ever known the actual location of the 'Sitting Bull Project' base. That information was

reserved to U.S. Army General Staff. Underneath Rushmore and that famous symbol of the

United States that had been sculpted in 1942, was hidden a huge military facility where

staff worked constantly on the design of military aircraft prototypes that could resemble a

'UFO' on first glance.

The man who was talking through the radio walked away from Doggett and Follmer with

her partners. Doggett and Follmer went out of the hatchway and reached a narrow metallic

hall with handrails. From there, an enormous hangar could be seen. The Assistant Director

and the Special Agent watched a large group of people who, poring over sophisticated, hi-

tech electronic instruments, were repairing four planes. All of the planes were identical to

the ones that witnesses from all over the world had declared seeing as UFOs. Without being

seen, both men headed for some stairs that led to a corridor with several doors on both

sides. As they were about to open a door, Doggett and Follmer were intercepted by two

soldiers, who came from the other side of the hall. The intruders could not hide themselves.

"Halt! Where's your identification?" one of the soldiers shouted, aiming his rifle at them.

"You take the one on the right and I'll take the one on the left..." Follmer whispered, as he

saw that there were no other choices available to them.

Doggett nodded. The soldiers had moved quite close to them and, even though they risked

being shot, Follmer and Doggett turned around and fell upon them. The two military men

did not have time to use their weapons and were quickly subdued by their attackers.

Doggett and Follmer dragged the unconscious men into a room, then handcuffed them.

They took off their prisoners' uniforms and dressed themselves as soldiers. They also took

their rifles away.

"I'm afraid that we're going to be discovered sooner or later. A soldier with his left arm in a

sling usually stands out," Doggett said.

"If we find Monica and Mulder soon, I'll give my gun to her and you'll give that rifle to

Mulder because, with that shoulder, you'll only be able to hit someone with the butt of the

G-3," Follmer answered sharply.

"Don't tell me what to do, Follmer! The fact that we're here for the same reason doesn't

mean that I'm under your authority," Doggett said, rebuking Follmer.

"Whether you like it or not, I'm your superior!" Follmer threatened Doggett.

"We're not *officially* on any mission, so right here and right now you're NOT my

superior... I'll do things my way!" John Doggett bellowed defiantly as he cocked his rifle.

---------------------------------

HAMPTON, VIRGINIA

9:36 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

Three things happened at the same time: Marita Covarrubias pushed the button of the

nanobot device, one sniper - who was posted in the roof's skylight - had shot Marita, and

A.D. Skinner had collapsed on the floor, feeling the first symptoms of the illness the

nanobot gadget caused. Two SWAT team members tried to help Skinner, while the others

examined Marita's serious wounds.

"Th... the baby!" Skinner shouted with a faltering voice as he heard William burst into

tears, scared by the shooting. "Help...! Help the boy!"

Despite Covarrubias' warning, William had not been affected by the nanobot device. He

seemed to be in perfect condition, just frightened. It seemed like the only survivor of the

old Consortium had simply been boasting about the device to save her own ass.

"The baby is OK, sir," one member of the SWAT team said. "The woman is badly

wounded, but still alive. She has passed out."

"Desss...troy that stuff..." Skinner implored. His veins had started to bulge through his blue-

tinged skin.

The same SWAT team member took the device away from Marita's hands, then put it on

the floor and shot a rifle burst, breaking the gadget into pieces. One bullet bounced on the

floor and hit one of the glass jars containing tissue samples. Skinner's illness disappeared

within seconds and he stood up.

"You three, take the boy out of here and give him to the *Musketeers*. And take her to a

medical facility," Skinner ordered, looking at Covarrubias.

The men under his command obeyed immediately. Skinner headed for the radio.

"Big Bad Wolf to Musketeers... The baby has been released. From now on it's up to you

three... Over."

"Musketeers here... Understood, *Skin*," Frohike's voice said through the radio. "I will

defend him. If necessary I would give my life for William... Over."

"Don't call me *Skin*... An escort team will guard you constantly... Is there any clue about

Scully?... Over."

"Unit One here. Nothing yet... Over."

"Unit Two here. We'll keep looking for her... Over."

"Unit Three. Negative... Over."

"This sounds fishy..." Skinner complained over the radio. "Has anyone out there seen

anything...? Over."

"Aquatic Unit here. No news..."

"Wait a minute... We've detected some heat traces in the zone closest to the dock. It looks

like there are two people walking towards an exit..." Langly said as five members of the

SWAT team arrived at the Lone Gunmen van with William.

---------------------------------

"Wow! It looks like we've got visitors!" Diana Fowley exclaimed as she heard the

shooting.

"You won't be able to keep us hidden forever," Scully said. She was badly hurt and barely

conscious after being tortured.

"Shut up!" Fowley ordered her, slapping Scully in the face. "That idiot Marita was never

able to do anything right," Diana grumbled. "Well, they aren't going to lock me away in a

mental asylum again."

"Are you saying that you're going to fight against the authorities with your surgical

equipment?" Dana Scully asked, laughing at her enemy.

"Maybe I'm a mad woman, but I'm not a stupid one, Scully," Diana refuted her in anger.

"We're going on a long trip instead," Fowley said, grabbing Scully and threatening her with

a sharp bone-cutter.

Diana Fowley dragged Scully from the room and through a hall filled with SWAT and FBI

Unit Two members. The leader sent the news to Skinner by radio.

"Unit Two here. We have located Agent Scully... Over."

"Ugly Wolf here," Skinner answered. "Is she OK?... Over."

"I'm afraid not. A woman has taken her hostage. Agent Scully has her hands tied behind

her back and her kidnapper has a scalpel at her throat. It also looks like Agent Scully is

wounded, since her clothes are stained with blood... What shall we do...? Over."

"Don't do anything you'll regret later. Let them walk towards the warehouse exit. From

there, we'll surround them from inside and outside... Over and out."

Slowly, Scully and Fowley were moving through Unit One and Two members. As they

were about to reach the gate that led to the dock, Skinner and his team faced the two

women.

"Diana Fowley!" A.D. Skinner exclaimed in surprise as he saw the woman who everybody

thought was dead.

"What's happening? 'The Return of the Living Dead'? Langly inquired through the radio

when he heard Skinner's words.

"Assistant Director Skinner, I can't say that it's nice to see you again," Fowley said

sarcastically.

"I'd say the same, Agent Fowley. Scully, you OK...?" Skinner asked.

"I..." Scully tried to speak, but Diana brought the scalpel closer to Scully's mouth, tacitly

*persuading* her to keep quiet.

"She'll be OK as long as I'm OK, so you and your hunting dogs better not do anything

stupid. Now open the door!" Fowley shouted.

Skinner did not say a word. SWAT team members who where guarding the gate waited for

instructions from the Assistant Director.

"Didn't you hear me? Open the damn door right now or else the redhead dies with her

throat cut, like a Thanksgiving turkey!" Diana roared, making the gesture with the scalpel

as she was going to cut Scully's throat.

"Open the door..." Skinner finally ordered.

Fowley and her hostage walked until they reached the dock's edge, where a launch was

moored.

"Dark Angel to Big Bad Wolf... I have Fowley at six o'clock. Waiting for orders... Over." One

sniper said from the terraced roof of a nearby warehouse.

"Big Bad Wolf here. Don't even breath. That mad woman has nothing to lose..." Skinner

whispered, warning the sniper.

"You're right, Skinner," Diana assured him when she heard Skinner speak into the radio.

"And this is to demonstrate that I'm not kidding..." Fowley added, cutting Scully on the left

side of her neck slightly, close to jugular vein.

Scully cried out in pain. The Assistant Director trembled in fear.

"Big Bad Wolf to Dark Angel... Take down your rifle..." Skinner said. Then, raising his voice,

he spoke again. "All units overlooking the warehouse and dock area put down your

weapons immediately!"

A.D. Skinner seemed to be giving up.

"I see that we've reached an agreement," Diana Fowley said as she untied the launch. "Dear

Dana, are you ready to get in the boat?" she added, lifting Scully and boarding the launch

without giving Skinner's team the chance to shoot her. Then, she turned the engine on.

"Byeeeee!"

As the launch sped away from the dock, Diana Fowley pushed Scully onto the deck. At that

moment, Fowley was an easy target for any sniper. Walter Skinner immediately ordered

units to open fire on her from both the terraces and the Aquatic Unit, but, inexplicably,

none of the shots hit the mad kidnapper, whose vessel was hidden by the night's darkness

and reached the Atlantic Ocean through Chesapeake Bay. The Aquatic Unit tried to go after

it, but the Coast Guard vessels were too heavy to pursue such a small boat. Skinner decided

to ask for some better support.

"Attention! This is an emergency message. It's Walter Skinner, Washington D.C. FBI

Assistant Director. I repeat. This is an emergency message... I am asking all U.S. Navy

ships in the Chesapeake Bay area for help locating a stolen launch in which a highly

dangerous woman and her hostage - an FBI Agent - have gotten away... Over."

-----------------------------------

U.S.S. CLEVELAND

10 MILES OFF VIRGINIA'S COAST

"Sir, we've just received an emergency message. It seems to be from a certain Assistant

Director Skinner of the FBI," the radio operator said to his superior officer. Then the

operator ran as fast as he could to the Captain's office where he started studying a

coordinates map of the Atlantic Ocean.

"I will respond to the message," the superior officer said, standing up and striding rapidly

towards the radio microphone. "U.S.S. Cleveland here. This is Captain William

Scully, Jr.... Over."

"It's Walter Skinner, from Hampton dock, Virginia. Are you Bill Scully, Special Agent

Dana Scully's brother...? Over."

"Yes, I am, Mr. Skinner... It's a small world, isn't it? What can the U.S. Navy do for the

FBI...? Over."

"It's about your sister, Dana. She has been taken hostage and her kidnapper has left this

dock in a launch. Their whereabouts are unknown... Over," Skinner said.

Captain Scully grimaced before speaking again.

"And where is Mulder and my nephew?...Over," he said.

"William is fine, but Mulder and Special Agent Monica Reyes are missing in South Dakota.

Assistant Director Follmer and Special Agent John Doggett are looking for them now. We

don't have any news on either of them because communications are down in that state...

Over."

"OK. Right now we're heading for Fort Raleigh, so we'll change direction and go

northwest to Chesapeake Bay... Over and out."

--------------------------------

MOUNT RUSHMORE

KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA

9:17 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)

Mulder and Reyes had been confined to two rooms, one next to the other, which were

guarded by two MPs. The attitude of each prisoner was the opposite of the other. Mulder

didn't stop pacing around the room, resembling an expectant father in the waiting room of a

hospital's maternity ward. He would sit down on his bed, then he would stand up, then he

would sit down again, throw the pillow against the door, swear in a lowered voice and

blame himself for believing that the cases Doggett had brought to him had been worth

investigating. It was more than obvious now that the cases had just been bait to lure him

and Reyes from Washington and keep them away from Scully and William... But away for

what reason? Had Doggett been deceived? Could Doggett have had anything to do with this

plot...?

No. Mulder couldn't believe it. It was inconceivable that his colleague, who had risked his

own life time and again to protect Scully when he, Mulder, was absent, could have done

this. This was a man who had done everything possible to find him when he had been

abducted, who had risked his beloved Monica, by putting her in charge of Scully when

Scully gave birth to William, and the man who had become the enemy of half the FBI by

keeping the X-Files section open. Even though Mulder didn't agree with Doggett about

investigation issues and procedures, he, Mulder, regarded the new X-Files section chief as

an ally and a relentless agent. He now solved the cases Mulder couldn't solve after being

fired by Deputy Director Kersh...

Reyes felt completely dominated by fear. Such a terrible fear that it seemed like it was

about to turn into horror. Ever since she and Mulder had come to after the *abduction*, she

had been exposed to images and sounds in which she could see and hear Scully and

William being taken out of a car by force. Then she could see Doggett being deadly shot.

Seconds after, Doggett, wounded, but standing up and embracing a kid who looked like

Luke, though he was a little older. A laughing woman was cutting Scully's chest and neck

with a scalpel. Doggett was standing in the middle of a forest, crying in despair for his son.

Then there was a burst of bullets, a baby wailing, Brad Follmer's voice, scolding Doggett, a

huge glowing light coming from Mount Rushmore and a picture of Luke, dressed up as a

U.S. Marine...

"Noooooo! That's enough!" Monica shouted, falling face down on her bed, weeping.

Doggett and Follmer heard those screams of horror as they walked along the endless halls

of the military complex, without any clear destination. Both of them recognized the owner

of the voice immediately. Doggett, using all of his senses, which had been sharpened

during his years in the Marines, set the route.

"Over there. I couldn't miss that voice, even if it was underwater," Doggett said to Follmer

confidently.

"As you order, *General*," Follmer replied sarcastically, following Doggett.

Both agents, disguised as soldiers, soon approached two military policemen guarding the

door of Mulder's and Reyes' rooms. The MPs were angry due to Monica's screams, and

one of them was pounding on the door and ordering her to be quiet. From the other room,

Mulder shouted at them to leave Reyes alone.

"Oh, you two have finally come to replace us!" the other MP exclaimed as he saw Doggett

and Follmer. "We can't stand that mad woman anymore..."

Doggett and Follmer looked at each other from the corner of their eyes.

"Yes, we're here to replace you... Why is that woman screaming so much?" Follmer asked.

"She says that she sees and hears 'things,' and the guy from the other room keeps pacing

around like a tiger locked in a cage," the guard to Mulder's room commented.

"May we see the girl?" Doggett inquired, trying to hide the sling around his left arm with

his rifle.

"Of course," the guard said. "Maybe she's nuts but she is gorgeous..." he added as he lifted

the key card to open the electronic door. "Hey, why do you have your left arm in a sling?

Wait a second... You're not Wilkins!"

A harsh bash on the head from Doggett's rifle butt was the only answer the soldier received

when he realized that the replacements were imposters. Follmer immobilized the other MP

before he could even repel the attack.

"No, I'm not Wilkins," Doggett said to his unconscious counterpart.

"And I'm not Hurst either, Private Roberts," A.D. Follmer added, aiming his gun at the

other soldier and forcing him to face the wall so he could handcuff him.

"Monica!" Doggett exclaimed as he entered the room in which Reyes had been imprisoned.

"Oh, John! John!" she managed to say before bursting into tears and hugging him tightly.

"Aaaahhh!" Doggett cried as Monica unintentionally squeezed his wounded left arm.

"Oh, my God! So what I saw was true... You were shot!" she said. Then she put her hand

on Doggett's forehead. "John, you're burning up..."

"It doesn't matter now, Mon."

"And Scully and the baby... And Lu-?"

Doggett didn't let her finish her question but hugged her, putting his head against hers in

order to whisper in her ear.

"Don't tell anyone. He is... alive. I saw him. I embraced him as I'm embracing you now...

then..."

"I saw it, John. Don't ask me how I know, but I believe you. What you saw was real."

"Hey, get me out of here! Doggett, Reyes, Follmer!" Mulder interrupted them, shouting

from the other cell, kicking the door.

"Forgive me for interfering your little love chat, but would you two mind helping me open

this door?" Follmer said, trying to be as annoying as possible. "The damn card doesn't

work..."

"I don't think it'll be necessary to use it. Step aside! Mulder, keep away from the door!"

Doggett pointed his gun, wielding it with his trembling right hand.

The shot was accurate and hit the electronic lock, despite the fact that had fired with his less

able hand. Follmer pushed the door open and Mulder came out, coughing because of the

smoke and sparks that were coming from the destroyed electronic device.

"...Doggett, Director Follmer..." Mulder coughed. "On behalf of the four presidents, Agent

Reyes and I welcome you to Mount Rushmore's basement..." Mulder said, coughing again.

"*Doggie*, we've been cut off since we get here. Did you receive telepathic messages from

Monica...?" he added, and then looked down at Doggett's wounded left arm. "Doggett, your

arm..."

"This isn't a good time for jokes, Mulder. Terrible things have happened in Washington,"

John Doggett said, bowing his head.

"Adviser Mulder, Agent Scully and her son, William, were kidnapped and, during the

attack, Agent Doggett was shot three times... Margaret Scully is unharmed," Follmer told

Mulder.

"WHAAAAAT?" Mulder's eyes were so wide, they looked like they were about to jump

out of their sockets.

"An FBI-SWAT task force has been deployed. Director Skinner is leading the search of the

Maryland and Virginia area personally. We don't know whether they've succeeded because

no communication signals have been coming in or out of South Dakota. That's why we had

to come here to locate you two," Doggett informed Mulder.

"Let's go!" Mulder exclaimed. Although he had tried his best to calm down, his lack of

composure indicated that he was about to fall apart. "I think we should leave these guys to

replace us," he said, looking at the MPs. Then, he *invited* the one soldier to enter

Monica's cell, pointing the rifle Doggett had given to him, while Doggett and Follmer

started dragging the unconscious MP into the other cell.

The four agents ran from the cells, carrying two extra rifles. They had no idea how they

were going to escape from the underground facility.

---------------------------------

HOG ISLAND

ALONG VIRGINIA'S COAST

11:42 P.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

The launch Diana Fowley and Dana Scully had boarded went quickly through the icy

Atlantic Ocean despite the darkness. Far away from them, the only source of light was the

old lighthouse of Hog Island, a rocky piece of land and part of the group of small islands

along Chesapeake Bay. Scully had been knocked unconscious when Fowley had shoved her

onto the deck. She had hit her head on an oar that had been stored on the launch in case the

launch ever ran out of fuel. During the trip without a clear destination, Diana Fowley didn't

stop talking to Scully or herself about colonization, alien viruses, clones and unbeatable

super soldiers.

When Dana came to, the first thing she saw was the oar her head had struck. She untied

herself, stood up carefully and lifted the oar, creeping towards Fowley to hit her with this

*weapon*. But as Scully was about to strike her, Diana turned around and dodged the

attack. Then she fell upon Dana using her amazing strength. The two women rolled over

the deck. The launch kept on its course, straight to the lighthouse.

Fowley grabbed Scully by the throat and started squeezing it, attempting to strangle her.

Scully desperately struggled to release herself from her enemy, but it was impossible due to

the difference in their strength. Then a strong wave suddenly jolted the launch. Scully took

advantage of the distraction, breaking free from her attacker and recovering the oar...

"Are you stupid? Do you really think you can beat me with an oar?" Fowley challenged

Scully.

"It doesn't matter. We're both going to die anyway..." Scully said, pointing to Hog Island

with her index finger. It was less than 30 meters away from them.

"You're wrong... You'll die but I won't!" Diana Fowley replied. Then she ran across the

deck and took control of the rudder. Scully also ran across the deck and towards Fowley.

She hit Fowley on the head with the oar, but it didn't hurt Fowley at all.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Fowley mocked Dana. "I told you..."

Scully had second thoughts and, instead of hitting Diana, she began to destroy the launch

control panel.

"What are you doing?" Fowley demanded as she raised her hands to protect herself from

the sparks and smoke that were coming out of the control panel due to the short circuit

Scully had caused in the system.

"I'm making sure that I won't die alone," Scully answered.

Diana Fowley and Dana Scully started fighting again, forgetting the vessel's rudder once

again. The launch rocked from one side to another as the two women rolled from port to

starboard, nearly causing the launch to capsize. As they struggled, Diana took a scalpel

from her pocket, but Scully was able to snatch it from her. Fowley pushed Dana with the

oar, and Dana fell on her back. As Fowley leapt on top of the other agent, Scully thrust the

scalpel into her enemy's side as if it were a dagger.

The launch crashed into the rocks of Hog Island and broke into a thousand pieces.

----------------------------------

MOUNT RUSHMORE

KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA

10:48 P.M. (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)

Doggett, Reyes, Mulder and Follmer tried to find an escape route. The alarms inside the

Mount Rushmore hidden complex had gone off and soldiers were pursuing the agents.

Mulder and Follmer formed the vanguard, while Doggett and Reyes were positioned as the

rearguard. Their way to freedom seemed like it was an endless distance away. The four

fugitives had had to shoot five soldiers who had tried to block their way. A bullet had

grazed Follmer's left forearm slightly.

When they reached the hangar Follmer and Doggett had seen when they first entered the

facility, Mulder gazed at the strange aircrafts in wonder.

"I have an idea! Doggett, when you trained to be a U.S. Marine, did you attend any basic

flight lessons?" he asked Doggett.

"I did but we only covered theory. I just had a couple of flight simulator lessons... Why the

question?" Doggett asked, looking at the military planes. "Hey, you aren't thinking of..."

Doggett stared at Mulder in disbelief.

"If anyone has a better suggestion, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"It's crazy, Mulder. If the soldiers chasing us don't kill us, we'll kill ourselves by crashing

into the mountains, assuming we're able to get one of these things off the ground," Follmer

pointed out, betraying the slight trace of a British accent.

"Gentlemen, I think that Mulder is right. We don't have any other choice, so let's hop on

board one of those aircrafts, airplanes or whatever they're called... OK *Doggie*?" Monica

Reyes said, slapping Doggett's back lightly.

"Ha! 'Doggie'. What a ridiculous nickname!" A.D. Follmer stated sarcastically.

"Brad, don't make fun of us!" Reyes cried, knitting her eyebrows in annoyance.

"Come on, *Doggie*! I hope you have a good memory," Mulder interjected, breaking the

tense environment that was about to explode from the three different elements of that weird

love triangle.

The three FBI Agents and the External Adviser moved stealthily through the hangar and

broke into the working area, surprising the scientists and the few soldiers who were there.

One of the soldiers was able to react a fraction of a second before his comrades and opened

fire on Monica. She was miraculously saved by Doggett, who pushed her to the ground. As

Doggett cleared Monica from the path of the bullets, he fell over her and they lay facing

each other, just millimeters apart. They both felt a slight charge of electricity between them,

causing them to tingle from head to toe, but, given the pressing circumstances of that

moment, they could go no further than to revel in the sensation of their breath tickling each

other's skin. Then they both stood up and Doggett headed for one of the frightened

scientists.

"Tell me if any of these planes are ready to fly," he said.

The scientist did not answer him.

"Did you not understand me? Tell me if any of these #%&*in' planes can take us out of

here!" Doggett roared furiously, grabbing the man by the collar of his T-shirt.

"John, calm down! Reyes begged him.

"Oooo...Ooonnnlyyyy...thaaat..." the scientist managed to say, pointing at the third of the

four planes.

"So, get it ready for take off. We'd like to stay here and chat with all of you about the latest

technology, but we have to go," Mulder said as he walked over to the aircraft.

"But I would like you to stay with us for a long time..." a well-known and hated voice said.

It was a voice Mulder had heard too many times during the past nine years.

The Cigarette Smoking Man was sitting in his wheelchair and was accompanied by at least

20 well-armed men. The soldiers who had been among the scientists immediately took

away the weapons the four members of the FBI were carrying.

"We have been informed that the experiment in Hampton failed due to Skinner's

intervention," the evil man said.

"In Hampton, Virginia?" Adviser Mulder inquired.

"That's right. Your son is already with the FBI team, but Agent Scully and Agent Fowley

disappeared in a launch on the high seas..."

"What do you mean...? Diana died a long time ago."

"I have also been *dead* several times and look at me. Should you be amazed?"

"So, if the experiment in Hampton failed, why don't you just let us go now?" Doggett

asked.

"Agent Doggett, what you have seen has been classified information since 1942 and *no

one* must know about it," the Cigarette Smoking Man said. "So, there are two choices

open to us."

"Which are?" Follmer questioned.

"The first choice is to eliminate all of you because what you know is dangerous to the

national security of the United States of America," Cigarette Smoking Man said.

"And the second one?" Reyes asked him.

"We send you to a psychiatric hospital under false identities, as we did with Agent Fowley,

claiming that you're all mad and-"

The words of their old enemy were silenced by a burst of shots coming from a group of

armed men in black uniforms and balaclavas. These unexpected defenders appeared from

nowhere and gave rise to mass pandemonium. There were bullets everywhere. Cigarette

Smoking Man was quickly escorted from the hangar by his soldiers.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Mulder, Doggett, Reyes and Follmer recovered their

weapons, and, realizing that the new attackers hadn't opened fire on them but only on the

Cigarette Smoking Man and his team, the four aimed their own weapons towards their

mutual target. The sound of bullets rang in their ears.

In the middle of the shoot-out, one of the men in black uniforms - the only one who didn't

have his face covered and who seemed to be the leader - walked over to Doggett.

"We'll cover you. Go!" the man said.

What surprised Doggett was not what this person told him, but his *face*.

"Luke?!" Doggett exclaimed.

As Monica heard that name pronounced by Doggett, she turned around and saw what her

partner was seeing. She stared at the stranger in bewilderment. This person had the same

face as Luke but the body of a young man who was seventeen. It was as if she were seeing

a teenage Agent Doggett...

"Excuse me. What did you just call me?" the man resembling Luke asked Doggett.

"You... you look like someone I know... my son who would be turning eleven the day after

tomorrow, September 7th... His name is Luke John Doggett," Doggett said, wiping sweat

from his forehead. The fever had started bothering him again.

"I have never heard that name and it's not my name. It has to just be a coincidence, though

I was also born on September 7th, but I'll be turning eighteen. I'm in a secret military

academy."

"Which academy? Where?" Reyes asked, impressed.

A bullet shot past the three of them, and they crouched down in a reflexive movement. The

projectile hit the control panel of an electric device behind them.

"That's all I can say. Now get on the aircraft!" the young cadet urged them.

"We don't know how to pilot it," Doggett replied.

"In that case, you should take one of these guys with you. They can tell you what to do,"

their anonymous ally said as he started shooting, making his way to the scientists along

with Doggett and Reyes.

"You will go with them," the cadet said coldly to one of the scientists.

The man, intimidated by the barrels of three rifles, didn't have any other choice but to obey

the cadet. The group headed for Mulder and Follmer, who had found a safe spot in the

hangar that allowed them to remain protected and save bullets by only shooting at the

enemy when necessary.

"Mulder, we've got a co-pilot. Let's go!" Doggett shouted.

As the cadet and some of his men covered the agents while they entered the aircraft, the

roof of the hangar began to open like the dome of an astronomic observatory. The clear and

starry autumn sky of South Dakota could soon be seen.

Doggett was the last to board the aircraft. He was about to follow his colleagues when he

stopped.

"Tell me who you are... Why are you helping us?" Doggett begged the cadet.

Instead of hearing an answer, Doggett's ears were filled with the sound of gunfire. Several

shots hit the cadet, killing him. A grayish green liquid began to seep through the bullet

holes. Doggett stepped inside the plane quickly. He already knew the harmful effects this

liquid had on human beings. Before closing the hatch, the agent stared in astonishment as

the body of the boy resembling Luke disintegrated in front of his eyes.

The lights of the aircraft came on. Inside the plane, the crew was getting ready to take off.

"Can this plane rise vertically like a Harrier?" Agent Doggett asked the scientist, sitting

down in one of the two front seats of the plane and looking at the huge control panel made

up of indicators, switches and buttons.

"Not only vertically, but in any direction. After all, this is a 'UFO' as far as the rest of the

world is concerned," the scientist said.

"What weapons do we have to defend ourselves?" Mulder asked as he glanced at the other

control panel on the left side of the aircraft, similar to the other two, placed on the right and

posterior sections of the plane.

"We have everything from conventional artillery to medium-range ballistic rockets and

virtual shields that enable aircrafts to seem *invisible* in broad daylight. But this plane

doesn't have that device installed," the scientist said.

"Let's trade in this plane. I want an invisible one," Mulder joked.

"External Adviser Mulder, please," Brad Follmer said, berating him from the back seat of

the plane.

"OK, OK. Let's get this plane off the ground, then. I'll take the left flank and, Monica, you

can take the right flank," Mulder said.

"Well, here we go!" Doggett announced, switching on the controls the scientist had

instructed him to use. "Mulder... do you remember what I told you about my flight

simulator lessons?" he added.

"Yes. Why?" the External Adviser asked.

"I lied. I only attended two theoretical classes on flying basics. I never got on a simulator..."

"What a time to tell us, *Dumbo*!" Reyes rebuked Doggett.

"God, don't call me that, Mon..." Doggett complained, touching his right ear.

"If we make it out of this alive, I'll be making fun of you for the rest of your life," Mulder

mocked. "*Dumbo*? Ha, ha, ha!"

As the aircraft ascended towards the opening in the roof, hundreds of bullets hit the plane's

structure without causing any damage. In less than fifteen seconds, the flying object had

gone through the opening and had reached the wide-open sky.

-----------------------------------

HOG ISLAND

ALONG VIRGINIA'S COAST

12:04 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

Although Scully had miraculously survived when the launch had crashed, the strong waves

were pushing her against the rocky shore on which the sea ended and the land began. The

agent could barely keep floating on those dark waters, in spite of being the daughter and

sister of sailors. Although she had spent most of her childhood and teen years around ships

and ports, she was not exactly a good swimmer.

With the little strength that remained after everything that had happened, Scully just

managed to pull herself out of the water. Then, she climbed painfully up the rocks and

headed for the lighthouse, grabbing the roots of plants as if they were rope. Once Dana had

completed her hard ascent, she reached a relatively flat surface that was similar to a stone

path. This path led to the lighthouse, and Scully ran to the old building to ask for help. As

she approached the rusty door and knocked on it, the door opened on its own, screeching

noisily on its hinges.

"Hellooo! Is there anybody here?" she asked.

No answer. Stepping into the lighthouse, Scully repeated her greeting.

"Is there anybody here? I need help!" she shouted.

Going upstairs, Dana Scully saw the tower's massive electric light, as well as the

mechanism that controlled it. There was nobody there. Nevertheless, inside what appeared

to be the lighthouse operator's dormitory, Scully found some food and radio equipment. A

radio...! As soon as Scully saw it, she ran to it and...

"Attention. This is Special Agent Dana Scu-" She stopped speaking into the radio when she

realized it was broken.

"Damn it!" she yelled in fury.

The radio didn't work. That's why the lighthouse operator isn't there, Scully thought.

Maybe he had left the island in order to report the damage, in which case the Virginia coast

shouldn't be too far. It would certainly take into account how quickly she and Diana

Fowley had reached Hog Island. But why hadn't he returned and why had the lighthouse

been left completely unattended? Wasn't it at night when the lighthouse operator had to pay

the closest attention to ships in case of potential accidents or emergencies?

It was after midnight and she wasn't the one who was supposed to be answering those

questions, so she decided that the most sensible thing she could do was rest and wait for

daylight. However, rest did not mean *sleep* because it was inconceivable for her to fall

asleep without having any news about William and Mulder...

-----------------------------------

INSIDE THE F-118

OVER INDIANA AIR SPACE

12:55 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

After leaving Mount Rushmore, the *UFO*, which was actually an F-118 prototype that

was triangular in shape, was being pursued by eight USAF F-16s. The pilots had been

ordered to shoot down the strange flying object.

The F-118 broke the sound barrier, and its crew managed to evade their pursuers and shoot

down four of the enemy planes by using light artillery. The frantic air chase through the

skies of South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois had lasted almost two hours.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please set your watches to Eastern Standard Time because we have

just entered the state of Indiana!" External Adviser Mulder informed the rest of the crew as

he stared out at what he thought was Port Gary, at the shore of Lake Michigan.

"You'd better watch out, Mulder. Target at 8:00..." Doggett warned him, looking at the

radar screen.

"Come on. Closer, closer... a little closer and you'll see what *Spooky* has for you, piece

of scrap from the Wright brothers," Mulder said as he saw an F-16 enter into shooting

range.

"We are at Mach 2.5 and rising. It's not a good idea to shoot at a moving target using the

heavy artillery at that speed. It's only safe to use the heavy artillery against unmoving

targets at this point," the scientist pointed out in concern.

"That's true. A 70-millimeter rocket could explode inside the cannon and cause the other

rockets to go off in a kind of domino effect," Doggett added. "It's better to use the 30-

millimeter rockets. They're safer."

"But it would be the same as trying to defend ourselves by throwing stones at them. We

wouldn't be able to shoot them down," Follmer stated from behind. "By the way, we have

two F-16s breathing down the back of our necks..."

"I have another one on the right!" Agent Reyes shouted.

"The armour-plating of these planes weaken if it is shot twice in the same spot," Doggett

said. "But it would be better if... tighten your safebelts!"

Taking the command lever firmly in his right hand, John Doggett maneuvered the plane

downwards, placing the aircraft in a vertical position. The F-16s tried to imitate the

maneuver, but their engines were not powerful enough to maintain it. Then, the F-118

turned upwards, facing the planes pursuing it.

"Let's see who steps aside first, birdies!" Doggett challenged, tapping his fingers nervously

on the lever. "In case this doesn't work, Mulder, Monica, are you two ready to open fire at

them if they don't turn away?" he asked.

"OK, *Doggie*," Mulder said.

"I'm ready, *Dumbo*," Reyes announced.

The four F-16s and the F-118 were coming at each other from opposite directions. They

were less than 500 meters apart. A fatal crash was about to occur in just a matter of

seconds. Doggett turned the plane right, then left, forcing two of the F-16s to move in a

zigzag, crossing dangerously close to each other.

"Now, Mulder! Shooooot!" Dogget yelled.

To evade the rockets, one pilot turned his plane left while the other turned right. Their

wings crashed into each other and both planes exploded in a huge display of fireworks.

"Yeeeeeeehaaaaaa! That's what I would call killing two birds with one stone!" Mulder

shouted in excitement.

"Two enemies are left. One on the right and the other behind us," Reyes remembered them.

The remaining F-16s shot four 65-millimeter rockets simultaneously. All of the rockets hit

the right wing of the F-118.

"We're hit! We're hit!" Monica exclaimed.

"But they won't be able to shoot us down, will they?" Doggett asked the scientist.

"There were too many shots taken in the one area of the prototype's armour-plating and,

even though it's stronger than other aircraft, it still weakens if it's hit several times,

especially by high-powered rockets."

"Damn!" Doggett cursed in a lower voice. "What's our cruising radius?"

"We have fuel for about two and a half hours, maybe three. A military plane like this has

never been tested under extreme conditions or forced to fly with a damaged fuselage,

either," the scientist indicated.

"Is it enough to get us to Virginia?" Fox Mulder asked.

"Virginia?" Follmer said.

"It's obvious they're not planning to give us a warm welcome at Andrews Base in

Washington. What's more, the U.S. Air Force bases all over the country will probably have

been informed of our escape by now," Doggett said. "We have to find a place to land near

the capital... south of the city."

"We could land the plane on a flat surface, like a piece of farmland," Monica suggested.

"If we failed, there'd be no possibility of any of us surviving the impact. Given the

weapons we have on board, the only piece of the plane, or any of us, that would remain

would be no bigger than the head of a nail..." The scientist stated.

"I have an F-16 in target position!" Follmer said from the rear of the plane. "Here's a

present for you, from England with love!"

"Follmer, don't! We're at Mach 3!" Doggett shouted.

A.D. Follmer didn't pay any attention to Doggett and shot two 70-millimeter rockets. The

F-16 broke into thousands of pieces, but the wave of the explosion reached the F-118,

causing strong turbulence that made the plane lose altitude.

"It was extremely irresponsible of you, Director Follmer... We could have died!" Doggett

shouted after he managed to stabilize the plane.

"We might still make it back to Washington, even if it's in a pottery vessel..." Follmer

argued pessimistically.

"Only one left. It's mine," Doggett said firmly. "Do you see all those light above the

mountains there? They're the flight control lights of the Appalachian Mountains. If we can

get beyond them, we're saved."

The F-118 increased its speed to Mach 3.2 and headed for the summit of the Appalachians,

on the Kentucky-West Virginia border. The only F-16 remaining fired another shot at the

right wing of the prototype, trying to penetrate the plane's plating and ignite the fuel,

which, in turn, would cause the plane to explode. One of the rockets hit the wing tip, but the

other one crashed against some rocks on the Appalachians. Doggett kept leading the plane

towards the mountains.

"Director Follmer, aim at the F-16 so that the rockets go just above it," Doggett ordered.

"And, please, this time use the 30-millimeter projectiles."

"What are you going to do, John?" Reyes asked Doggett.

"You'll see..." Doggett said.

"Target intercepted," Follmer stated.

"OK, here we go... FIRE!" Agent Doggett shouted.

Follmer opened fire on the pursuer plane. The F-16 dove to evade the rockets.

"Mulder, Monica, shoot at the control lights!" Doggett said.

Mulder and Reyes shot at the light control towers, which erupted into flames. Doggett

immediately raised the aircraft 90 degrees. The F-16 that had been pursuing them suddenly

collided with the burning towers and became a ball of fire itself, exploding a few seconds

later.

"That was spectacular, Doggett! Why aren't you a combat pilot?" Mulder asked excitedly

as he watched the incandescent pieces of the last F-16 shower down on the mountain.

"Would you believe me if I told you I'm acrophobic?" Doggett said, a hint of humour in his

voice.

"No kidding. If that's true and we're still alive tomorrow, I'll kill you. Do you hear me,

John Jay Doggett?" Monica Reyes said in a threatening tone.

"I hope we will see the dawn," the scientist stated. "The damage to the right wing is more

serious than I first realized. We are losing power in the right engines. We'll need to reduce

speed if we're going to keep flying."

"No way. The slower we go, the longer it will take to get there," Doggett said.

----------------------------------

USS CLEVELAND

76° WEST, 37° NORTH

ALONG VIRGINIA'S COAST

3:27 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

Several fragments from the launch floated towards the ship commanded by Captain Bill

Scully Jr. Skinner, who had boarded the ship along with FBI and SWAT team members,

the Lone Gunmen and little William, recognized the pieces at once. This was, undoubtedly,

bad news. The salvage order would now become a *recovery* effort, as everyone assumed

that both women had died. Nevertheless, Captain Scully still had some faith.

"Lieutenant Harding, have all lighthouse operators been contacted by the Navy and the

Coast Guard? Have they seen anything?" he asked his first officer.

"All of them except for one, sir. We've tried to get through to the Hog Island lighthouse

several times, but we've received no answer. The closest lighthouse from there is the

Parramore Island lighthouse, whose operator told us that he hadn't seen anything unusual,

but that he also hadn't been able to get through to his colleague in Hog," Harding answered.

"We're not far from Hog Island. We should go there. Dana might have managed to reach

that island," Bill said.

"Captain, look at that!" a cabin boy shouted, pointing at the sky.

"What the hell...?" Director Skinner exclaimed.

"It looks like a piece of meteorite or a small burning plane... I'm not very experienced in

aeronautics, but I'd swear that it's a Northrop B-2 Spirit or something similar..." Captain

Bill Scully Jr. conjectured.

--------------------------------

INSIDE THE F-118

The aircraft's surface was burning like a torch, due to the friction caused by the speed at

which the plane descended, on a diagonal angle, towards the Atlantic Ocean. The flying

object was about to run out of fuel, and its engines had been forced to work beyond their

limits during the three hours in which the inexperienced "crew" of the F-118 had been

preparing for imminent emergency aquaplaning. The possibility of survival was minimal. If

the plane didn't explode when it crashed into the water, it would probably sink along with

its "pilots". Likewise, if the plane didn't sink and they didn't drown, Doggett, Reyes,

Mulder, Follmer and the scientist could die of hypothermia if they remained in the cold

ocean too long.

"I hope you've all paid your life insurance quotas..." Doggett joked, trying to keep the F-

118 as horizontal as he could.

"John...!" Reyes barely managed to shout before the aircraft crashed into the ocean.

---------------------------------

The USS Cleveland immediately headed to the point of impact, which was one mile away

from their current location. The military vessel reached the aircraft nine minutes later.

Fortunately, the plane hadn't disintegrated on impact, but the five people on board were

trapped inside.

The plane's metallic structure melted like chocolate because of the heat that had been

generated through friction. In order to prevent the plane from sinking into the ocean, Bill

Scully ordered his crew to suspend it from the ship using two cables. Then the mechanical

engineers on board tried to open the hatch with blowlamps and drills, tools that were

usually used to make repairs to the ship. After a long and exhausting struggle between the

tools and the strong alloy of the F-118, the hatch gave way and allowed the engineers to

drill a hole in its surface, through which cries for help could be heard for the first time. The

crew of the plane hadn't sustained any injuries, except for some bruises caused by the

sudden impact with the water.

It was impossible to know who was more surprised, since both the survivors and their

rescuers hadn't expected to see one another at that moment, in that place, or under those

circumstances. As usual, Bill Scully was very apathetic towards Mulder. They hadn't

gotten along before or after William was born. On the other hand, Captain Scully hit it off

with Doggett, who he hadn't met before. They appeared to have several things in common:

they were both military men and shared the same kind of discipline.

Once they were saved, the survivors were told the news of Scully's possible whereabouts.

Despite the fever and wounds to his left arm, Doggett insisted on joining Mulder and

Follmer in the rowboat they were taking to Hog Island to search for Scully. If she was still

alive, she had to be there...

---------------------------------

HOG ISLAND

5:19 A.M. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

Scully woke up before dawn. Her determination not to sleep did not last long, since her

tired body was unable to obey her mind and she had been forced to close her eyes. As soon

as the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, the beautiful redhead stood up. The

first thing she saw in the Atlantic Ocean was a warship. A frigate. A frigate like the one her

brother Bill commanded.

Without missing a second, Scully grabbed some flares and ran to signal the ship. From the

rowboat, Mulder, Doggett and Follmer saw the light from the first flare Scully lit. They

weren't able to identify Scully because it was still too dark and they were too far from the

island. Follmer and Mulder rowed as fast as their arms allowed them. When they had

almost reached the island, Mulder could finally see who it was...

"IT'S SCULLY!" he shouted in excitement.

Mulder's yell mixed with the scream of Diana Fowley, who, in spite of being stabbed in the

stomach with a scalpel, had been able to make it to shore the night before, barely alive.

Now she grasped Scully by the shoulders, pushing her face down.

"Damn it! Diana Fowley's there too!" Doggett exclaimed angrily. "She's going to kill

her..."

The small rowboat had reached a point where it couldn't move any farther due to the rocks

along the shore. Having no other choice, Mulder dived into the water and started swimming

towards the island.

"Mulder, wait! I'm coming too!" Doggett said.

"Doggett, you're wounded. Let Director Follmer go," Mulder called as he swam.

Doggett ignored Mulder's advice and dove into the ocean before Follmer did, forcing the

latter to remain on board the boat to prevent it from drifting. A.D. Follmer chose to contact

the USS Cleveland via radio and inform them that Scully had been found.

On the island, Diana Fowley and Dana Scully hit each other without causing any serious

harm, as their energy level was low. Fowley stood up with a struggle and lifted Scully,

intending to hurl her against the rocks.

"Diana, STOP!" Mulder roared, aiming his gun at Fowley.

"Would you be such a coward as to shoot me in the back, Fox?" Diana dared him, releasing

Scully and raising her arms.

Scully stepped back, moving away from the rocks.

"Don't lecture me on cowardice... Bye, Diana!" Mulder said.

Mulder pulled the trigger, but his gun didn't work. It had jammed.

"This isn't your best day, my dear Fox..." Fowley said sarcastically as she turned slowly to

face Mulder, who kept trying to pull the trigger, unsuccessfully.

A shot was heard. Diana's face froze. Then she collapsed on the ground and blood poured

from her chest like a faucet. Doggett, who had only just reached the shore, given that he

had had to swim with one arm, had made his shot from behind Mulder. His aim had been

perfect.

Scully ran to hug Mulder.

"See what happens when you go away," Scully said, sobbing.

"I promise I'll never leave you again..." Mulder said, embracing her tightly. "Thanks,

Doggett..." he added, looking at his colleague.

"You don't have to thank me for anything. On contrary, I should be begging you both for

your forgiveness..." Doggett replied, struggling to make his confession.

"What do you mean?" Scully asked Doggett.

"All of this started because of me, so I had to make sure that I was the one to end it,"

Doggett said.

-----------------------------------

As soon as he and his partners reached the USS Cleveland, Doggett asked Captain Scully to

put him through to Maggie Scully because he wanted to tell her himself that he had fulfilled

his promise, and that there were three people who longed to see her.

The next day, on September 7th, Mulder and Scully threw a dinner party, inviting Skinner,

the Lone Gunmen and Bill Scully Jr. Bill's wife Tara, their son Matthew, and Maggie

Scully, who had all travelled to D.C. as soon as they had heard the good news, had also

been invited. Follmer had been kept off the guest list as the hosts feared his presence might

make their last two guests uncomfortable. And they were already running late...

-----------------------------------

NATIONAL HOSPITAL

WASHINGTON D.C.

8:11 P.M.

The last two guests were Doggett and Reyes, who were standing by Marita Covarrubias's

bed, looking for any sign that she might regain consciousness. She was the only person who

could tell Doggett the truth about Luke, who would have celebrated his eleventh birthday

that day.

"The doctors say that she might be unconscious for weeks, maybe months... or that it's

likely she'll never wake up again..." Doggett said to Monica as they left the room and

walked down the hospital corridor.

"John, we have gone through Luke's death once. I don't want you to have to... for *us* to

live through that tragedy again," Reyes declared in a compassionate tone.

"That body we both buried, that boy we mourned for together, was not my son. We've been

bearing the pain and mourning of others..." the agent said to her, showing Monica the

wrinkled sheet of paper with the DNA test results.

"After everything we saw in South Dakota, I'm more convinced than ever that anything is

possible. Everything..." she declared, handing the piece of paper back to Doggett.

"Without a doubt. In the space of less than two days, I saw three different images of my

son: a skeleton that, according to science, could not be related to me at all; a kid who

looked exactly like Luke would look today and who called me by a nickname only Luke

would know; and a boy who had identical features but was older than Luke and turned into

a shapeless mass before my eyes," Doggett said. Then he reached into his pocket and took

out the small military shield from Lebanon, giving it to Reyes.

"You don't need to prove anything to me," Reyes stated, surprised to see the object her

partner was giving to her. "I believe you. Without a doubt," she added.

"Please keep it, and... and every time you see it, please remember to not only keep your

mind open but to help me keep *my* mind open as well. Monica, promise me that you

won't let my hope die..." he pleaded.

Both of them stopped for a second. Monica Reyes moved closer to Doggett, and, as an

answer, she kissed him softly and briefly on the lips. Then, she looked at him with her deep

brown eyes.

"I will. I promise..." Monica said.

THE END

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