Another One by stonewar (4/?)
standard disclaimers apply
Sorry no energy to do much more than that. I did some god awful
things to my hair and its depressing the hell out of me.
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Part 4
Mulder rose from one of the hospital's chairs in its lobby as the familiar rhythm of Scully's clicking heals
reverberated from the direction of the elevator bank. As he closed the distance between them
he dug into his pockets for the car keys and tossed them to her. Scully clutched
the keys possessively as if she was afraid he was just teasing and would snatch them back
again. She scanned is features trying to read his mood, but their silent communication
didn't seem to be working at the moment. His face was closed.
"How'd it go?" he asked as they exited through the hospital's
revolving door.
"Rather well, but I find it unusual that she's having trouble
recalling the days leading up to the abduction."
"You're calling it an abduction? Not disappearance? What convinced
you?"
"The fact she recalls someone dressed in riot gear crashing through
her front door."
"That must be one of the bits and pieces from the 12th," he mumbled as
they reached the car
"Mulder." She peered at him over the car. "What happened in there?"
"I'm spooky. I flip out occasionally. I'm famous for it," he evaded
while he climbed into the passenger's side of the vehicle.
"Did you forget you are talking to? What were you doing down there
while I was talking with Ms. Braun?"
"Sittin', thinkin'"
"More like sulkin' broodin'," she grumbled as they pulled out of the
parking lot.
After a few minutes of driving in silence Mulder asked, "Scully, did
she seem familiar to you at all?"
"Mulder, you know I can't remember anything from that time, besides
she didn't mention any previous previous occurances of 'missing time'."
"No, I mean, just in general."
"Well, I guess she looks a little like Deanna Troi."
"From Star Trek?"
"Only taller and not as well endowed."
"You watched Star Trek?"
"On occasion. Are you going anywhere with this or are you just trying
to distract me?"
"Just talking....I want to get some background on her and go to the
house--" He started.
"No, Mulder. We have to let it go now. Remember the plan." She
reminded him as they drove back to work.
"I don't think this is the case that will get them back," He intoned
staring out the window.
"You're just saying that because you don't want to let it go." She
accused.
"No! I'm saying that because it will be as convincing as Sam walking
through the front doors of Hoover ready to point fingers and name names. It just seems a little
contrived because I'm...We're too close to it."
"I disagree. That would work. Not likely to happen, but it would
definitely be to our advantage. And I don't see how that analogy
works either. We're close to all our cases from a certain perspective."
"The word of a Mulder is tainted. They would never believe her." He
sighed. "What about the mother could she corroborate Theen's story."
She paused at his use of Athena Braun's nickname. She had asked Scully
to call her Theen as well but she didn't feel comfortable using it after only
one meeting. "Dr. Diedre Braun? No. On the 12th, she woke
to discover her mother had passed away during the night. Not ten
minutes after the coroner left--"
"Black Ops Invaded." He finished for her.
"I wouldn't have put it so dramatically but yes. The rest is a blank
until this morning."
"And the day before was a total blank," he recalled. "Scully, Is it
just me or did she seem hyper to you?"
"Nope, she was hyper alright. There were stimulants in her system that
weren't present when she was admitted and weren't administered by the hospital."
"So they wanted her to wake up. Curiouser and curiouser. Its going to
be difficult to restrain myself while we wait for everything to fall into place."
"Need help?" She offered with a smirk.
He smiled at her allusion the remark he made earlier. "Be gentle with
me," He returned.
"By the way I gave your card to Ms. Braun. She says she's going to
call you regardless who contacts her about her case. See. Mulder-charm."
she remarked as she nudged him with her elbow
At Scully's attempt at levity the smile on his face faded. Scully was
confused but concentrated on maneuvering through the traffic surrounding
the Hoover building. She silently ran the last hour or
so through her head trying to discern what had upset him to this
extent.
They returned to the bullpen to find it mostly empty as most of the
agents had gone to lunch at the more traditional hour. Mulder sent the
email he prepared before they left as Scully began to compose
one herself detailing her interviews with Athena Braun, her doctor
Felix Javali and the tests she asked to be performed but the results had not yet been returned.
While they were out to 'lunch' a case file was left in Mulder's inbox.
He looked it over then tossed onto Scully's desk. "Here's a little something to keep us busy while
play the waiting game."
She paused her typing and opened the folder. "Shippenville, Pennsylvania."
"Piles of Shit in Amish country."
"Lovely." She replied her voice dripping with sarcasm. She returned to
typing. " When do we leave?"
"Soon as you're done will be soon enough since we have to drive." He
informed her as he began to dig through his desk drawers for some seeds.
"Drive?! Isn't it in the Western part of the state."
"You obviously didn't see the budget warning Kersh lovingly added." He
pointed to the memo paper clipped to the inside cover of the folder.
She exhaled a frustrated sigh and finished the email.
End of Part 4
I think I got 3 or 4 more installment in me before the story peters
out.
I'm not going to beg for feedback but I would like to know your
opinion about my writing style.
Too spartan? Too cryptic? can you even tell what's going on?
All 4 parts are archived at
he never wanted in
the first place. Doesn't have the power he thought."
"What are you two talking about?" Theen interrupted.
"You still haven't told her," Scully accused. "When will you learn that
withholding information doesn't offer any protection?"
"I'm sure it will sink in eventually," He mumbled around a mouthful of breadstick.
Scully turned toward Theen and explained, "Agent Spender was cited for willful
negligence."
"Because of Me? ...That's the guy who wouldn't return my calls, right?" Theen
asked, eyes wide with surprise.
"He ignored you offers to assist in your own investigation. He ignored his
superiors inquiries into the progress of the case and he failed to direct the
case to someone else if he felt it didn't fall within his divisions focus." Scully
rattled off the charges that had been addressed by the review board.
"He also allowed a fellow agents sister to twist in the wind violating the old boy
network tenet of 'We take care of our own." Mulder added. "And here I
thought have the Mulder name attached to you would be a liability."
"What's going to happen to my case now?"
"It's still labeled an X-file, so the other agent in the division, Agent Fowley will
be handling it. She was exonerated for any wrong doing in the matter." He informed her.
"You still believe she didn't know about the case. She was the one who
complained about Athena's phone calls in the first place."
"Skinner admitted he only followed up with Spender about the investigation
and the tech guys backed up her assertion that her email account was
malfunctioning and she never received my original message."
Theen sat back in her chair attempting to blend into the wallpaper.
She had a feeling she was watching an old argument or rather a new
argument on a old theme. She knew this case had ceased to be about
justice for her early on and they had other goals in mind though Mulder
hadn't been exactly forthcoming with those details. When they were
together he pretended it was all about her and she appreciated the
effort but she didn't expect justice in any conventional form. The message
her Mother left her lead her to believe it was an impossibility and was
the reason for the measures she took to make sure her daughter would
be protected after she was gone.
"She said she thought Athena's messages were from a girlfriend," Scully
scoffed rolling her eyes.
"You saw the messages. They didn't mention the case and when Spender
complained she concluded it was a stalker."
"And that's more believable?"
Now theen was interested. " Is it outside the realm of believability that
Agent Spender would have a girlfriend or a crazy ex-girlfriend that this
scenario asks for."
"You haven't met Spender." Scully stated calmly.
"No I haven't," She smirked, "but that's why he's in trouble now isn't it."
Scully's lips turned up a little at Theen's volley until Mulder continued speaking.
"We may hate him, but someone could find him attractive. A woman in love
can forgive a multitude of faults." he pointed out. and ended his statement
by signaling for a waiter.
"Tell me about it," Scully muttered under her breath. Mulder didn't hear her
but Theen did and bit her lip to keep from giggling. She had observed these
to over the last two weeks and decided they were the strangest couple on earth.
Mulder said you for give a multitude of faults in those you love and she was
learning to love them. She was going to miss them both when she went back to New Haven.
Scully noticed Theen's struggle with laughter and begged with her eyes
"Don't laugh, please don't laugh!" Theen understood, if she laughed she would
have to explain why she was laughing. If she explained she would disrupt their
lovely little status quo of denial they were enjoying. Then everything would be awkward.
Mulder turned back to the table after requesting a glass of iced tea from the
waiter to see Theen and Scully looking at him with innocent expressions and
sweet smiles. Suspicious, He opened his mouth to question their apparent collusion.
"Have you found out anything interesting on my disks?" Theen asked
quickly changing the subject before it could begin.
"Uh.. yes," He answered caught a little off guard. "The research data was
very heavily encrypted, but most of it is translated now. The second disk
didn't have much on it but Consortium junk mail. The guys seem to be
deriving too much entertainment from the fact the shadow government is
having more parking problems that the federal government."
Scully smiled at the joke and in relief for the subject change.
"They were still bugging to get you to contribute something.
Do you want me to take you over there again?"
"No!"
"I'm sure I can get them to behave."
"No, I'll be frank, they scare me. I'll restrict my contact with
them to written correspondence."
"They'll behave now that I explained who you are." He pushed.
"They aren't that bad. They grow on you."
"Like fungus" Scully inserted with a grin. "Don't get me wrong I
find them invaluable source of information but I sympathize with
Athena. They still scare me too sometimes."
"I think your worried she'll dethrone you in their affections," He teased.
"That is something I would gladly bestow on my worst enemy."
Their meal arrived and the waiter poured the wine. Theen raised her glass.
"To Family and going home," She toasted.
"To Friends and a safe journey," Scully added.
"To the first nail in Spender's coffin," Mulder finished.
End of Part 11
End of Another One.
Athena Mulder Braun is a flighty little twit in my opinion.
so I'm not going to write about her anymore. but if you
find her worthy of further development, I'm putting her up
for adoption. Applications will be accepted at stonewar@alltel.net
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Canny one-armed audio-visual manipulation, nagging the whiny amorality of
his superiors, chauffeuring the Syndicate kids to and from their assignments,
always ready to lend a hand with the stiletto or be there for someone's "first
time." Alex Krycek: Soccer Mom of the Consortium.
--From Amanda Finch's My Two Slightly Mundane Dads
Stonewar's Reality
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