Mulder yawned loudly and obviously as he drove. Scully hardly gave him a glance as she sat in her usual spot in the passenger's seat, but Marson glared at him from the back. Marson had been almost completely silent since they had left Skinner's office, as if he were afraid of Mulder and what Mulder would tell him to do. But Mulder hadn't told him to do anything yet, saving his position of 'command' for a later time. He had told Marson to shut-up and move, but the agent didn't think that counted as an 'executive order'. He leaned forward in his seat.

"If you're tired, why don't you let me drive, Agent Mulder?" he asked quietly.

Mulder looked at him almost incredulously. "I always drive. Don't I, Scully?"

"Uh huh. Always," she said distractedly.

"See? Now lean back in your seat like a good little boy."

Marson did sit back, and even crossed his arms and pouted like a child. Mulder noticed this and smiled to himself. I'll make that guy wish he never asked Scully out, he thought to himself. I'll show him that no one can mess with her... His smile was noticed by Scully, who gave him a funny look.

"What's so funny, Mulder?"

"Dancing bunnies," he quipped.

Scully raised an eyebrow, then turned back to the window. They stopped once at a hotel, but were off first thing the next morning. About noon, Mulder pulled into the police station of Mestdale, Louisiana. They quickly got out of the car, happy to be able to stretch their legs. Mulder leaned against the car and looked up at the small police station. "Ye haw," he said to himself. He motioned to Scully and Marson, then stepped inside the small lobby. He approached the desk, which was separated from him by a glass plate, probably bullet-proof.

He rapped his knuckles on the glass and pressed his badge against it. "Special Agent Fox Mulder, FBI."

The woman stared at him for a moment, then shuffled some papers. She picked one up and made a show of reading it slowly. "Ah," she said finally after a few minutes. "Officer Mitchell is expecting you. Go on inside. His office is the second on the right." She pushed a button and there was a buzzing noise by the door, signaling that it was unlocked so they could pass. Mulder nodded to the woman and pushed the door open. Marson and Scully followed.

Mulder glanced into the office before entering. A balding man he guessed to be about forty was sitting in a chair, dressed in full police uniform. He looked up as Mulder approached.

"Officer Mitchell?" Mulder asked. The man nodded and Mulder held a hand out. "Special Agent Fox Mulder of the FBI. This is my partner Special Agent Dana Scully and this is Agent Kevin Marson. We were asked to investigate a string of murders you've been having."

The man smiled as he shook Mulder's hand. "Great! I've been waiting all day for you guys to get here. But yeah, we do need some help with our serial killer. It's way out of our league."

Mulder nodded and sank into a chair, Scully followed, leaving Marson as the only one standing. He looked a little put-out by this, but didn't say anything. Officer Mitchell handed Mulder a file. He flipped it open and began shuffling through the photos. He finished it quickly and handed it to Scully. "We've seen these pictures before. They were in Agent Marson's file of the case."

Officer Mitchell looked up at Marson with a surprised expression. "You've been following and just now decided to help?"

"I...well I wanted to get all of the information I could on the case before I dove into it. Unlike some agents," he looked at Mulder pointedly, "I like to have an idea of what I'm going to be getting into."

Mulder smiled. "Well, we can't all be perfect."

The officer nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, there's really nothing else I can tell you. There's been no clues, no suspect, no witnesses, and as far as we can see, no motive. This guy just wants to rip out people's organs." He shook his head. "You must understand. This is not D.C. We're not used to such crimes here in Mestdale. The worst crime we had before this was when a kid tried to burn down the school office to get rid of his records. People are scared."

"They should be. The killer could be anyone. For all we know, he might be you," Mulder said with a slight grin that told the man he was joking.

"Sure. But we've rented out a hotel conference room for you; so you can work in peace. All of the materials, files, and evidence are up there for you. We just hope you'll be able to crack this thing before someone else is killed."

Some time later, Mulder, Scully, and Marson were at the hotel, poring over pages and pages of police reports. Mulder sat in a chair, his feet propped up on the large center table, scrutinizing a picture. "Hey Marson," he said distractedly, still staring at the picture. Marson moved over to him, thinking that Mulder wanted to show him something.

"Yeah?"

A small smile played at the edge of his lips. "Go down to the lobby and grab me a cup of coffee." He turned to Scully, who had a small smile on her face. "You want anything?"

She looked up. "Coffee's fine."

Mulder looked up at Marson. "Two coffees. Black." He held up two fingers. "Two sugars."

Marson glared at him for a moment, then shuffled towards the door, cursing under his breath. Just as he reached the door Mulder called after him. "Oh yeah, Marson? Do it while hopping on one foot."