Time Is Running Out Part One
By Katie Phillips
Disclaimer Info: I know they don't belong to me and I appreciate being
able to play with them every now and then.
Spoilers: None really. Assumes a basic knowledge of the show nothing
more.
Date: November 2003
Archive: I will take care of Ephemeral and Gossamer. If you put them
anywhere else let me know so they won't get lonely.
Feedback: Love it. Xfstories@yahoo.com.
Classification: This is pretty much an X-file with some MSR thrown in to
keep all you shippers out there happy.
Rating: PG-13 so far.
Summary: Colonization is on the horizon and the President asks for
Mulder's help taking him away from DC and Scully. Things become
complicated as the separated partners work to save the planet.
Chapter One
September 1st Friday 9:00 am Oval Office, Washington DC
"Are you sure there is no other way?" asked the President of the United States.
"None, that we can see Sir." replied his National Security Advisor. "Our sources indicate that colonization will occur within the next three to five years."
"And let me guess" the President interrupted "it will take us longer than that to finalize our vaccine."
"Yes Sir, we will be lucky to be in the testing phase in three years. But, there is some hope."
"Dare I ask?" the President said sitting back in his chair looking at his advisor.
"We believe we have found a research facility being run jointly by the Syndicate and their alien contacts. They are conducting their own research on a vaccine to help insure the safety of their membership when colonization occurs."
"Can we raid this facility, General?" the President asked leaning forward in his chair.
"That would not be advisable Sir. As far as we can tell, they do not know of our counterattack plans. If we perform a military raid on their facility we will reveal ourselves."
The President sat back in his chair again wondering to himself exactly why he had wanted this particular job in the first place. He would much rather be fishing right now instead of trying to decide the fate of not only his country but very possibly the entire world.
"What are our options General?"
General Gordon Elliott rose and walked over to the President's desk. "As I see it Sir, there is only one option available to us."
12:30 PM FBI Headquarters
FBI Director George Williams put down the phone and frowned. He had received many an odd phone call in his career at the FBI, but this had to be one of the strangest.
He shook his head briefly and then picked up the phone again. He had his orders and he would follow them, at least for now.
"Agent Mulder?" he said into the phone "This is Director Williams. I need you in my office in 30 minutes."
There was a brief pause. "No, I understand that Agent Scully is at Quantico. Her presence is not necessary at this time. I am sure you can fill her in when she returns."
Another pause. "Thank you Agent."
Fox Mulder arrived at Williams's office wondering what he could have possibly done this time to warrant a personal visit to the Director's office. He was used to being in trouble, but it was usually AD Skinner who read him the riot act.
He was quickly greeted by the Director himself and shown into his office.
His mouth almost fell open when he saw the other men already seated around the conference table.
"Agent Mulder" Williams said following him to the table "I would like to introduce to you General Elliott, Chief National Security Advisor; Secretary of Health Johnson; and Head of Homeland Security Cohen."
Mulder shook hands all the way around even as the feeling of dread began to spread across him.
"Have a seat Agent Mulder" General Elliott said indicating to Mulder exactly who was in charge of this particular meeting.
"Agent Mulder, we have called you here today because of your expertise on the X-files."
Mulder swallowed hard. Something had to be definitely wrong if high ranking officials in the government were actually acknowledging his work with the X-files.
"We are particularly interested in your work in regards to extra terrestrials."
"Sir?" Mulder responded obviously confused.
"Let me cut to the chase Agent Mulder. Although we would never admit it publicly, the Federal Government has been aware for quite awhile about the existence of alien life on this planet and their plans for the future."
Mulder's eyes grew huge at this admission but he said nothing. Elliott continued.
"As you are very much aware, not only have aliens been living here for decades but they have been working with a shadow government on plans to colonize the entire planet for their own use."
Mulder couldn't help but interrupt at this point. "Are you telling me that the Federal Government is not backing the Syndicate?"
"They had the blessing of the Government when they first began but their desire for power became too great. They began to make decisions concerning this planet without consulting the United States or any of the other major powers. We pretended to loose interest in the project and cutting all funding."
"The recession of the 80's proved very helpful for that" chuckled Cohen. A look from Elliott silenced him immediately.
"The Syndicate has basically been ignoring us for the last 20 years and we would have kept it that way except that the time is drawing near." Elliott said before reaching for a glass of water and taking a sip.
"Time is drawing near for what?" Mulder asked totally intrigued.
"Colonization."
"Mulder's mouth fell open at this. "When?"
"Our sources tell us between three and five years."
Mulder nodded. "I appreciate you telling me all of this, but what does this have to do with me and the X-files."
General Elliott put down his glass of water and turned to face Mulder. "Agent Mulder, our sources indicate that the Syndicate has been working with alien technology for decades. The chip inserted in your partner's neck is just the tip of the iceberg."
Mulder shut his eyes trying to block out the memories surrounding Scully's chip but kept listening.
"We know that you have been exposed to the alien's bee projects."
"Yes, the virus almost killed my partner" Mulder said quietly.
"Well, the vaccine you administered to Agent Scully was a rough version of the Syndicate's current project. They have a facility in Nebraska that is in the final phasing of testing the newest version of the vaccine." Elliott got up and began to walk around the room.
"Their plans are to make enough vaccine to inoculate themselves now and then either destroy or conceal whatever remains. This will give them greater negotiating power when colonization comes."
"Their plan makes sense, but I still don't understand why you are telling all of this to me." Mulder said.
"What we need you to do Agent Mulder, is to break into that facility and obtain a sample of the vaccine for us to replicate."
"Alright, when do we leave?" Mulder asked after a moment.
"You will be doing this mission on your own Agent Mulder." Elliott said. "Our sources indicate that the chances of survival are rather small. Agent Scully's family has already lost someone because of the Syndicate. We are hoping to spare them."
"And I am. . ."
"Expendable. The truth of the matter is that you have no family Agent Mulder. A fact that will come into play if you are successful in your mission."
"How so?" Mulder said getting a bit annoyed at the whole idea.
"After you have obtained a sample of the vaccine, you will be put into a type of witness protection program where you will work with our researchers on not only reproducing the vaccine but instituting a plan of distribution."
"So no matter what, I am disappearing?"
"That is correct Agent Mulder, at least for the time being. When the situation has stabilized, you will be allowed to return to DC."
"And that would be when?" Mulder said beginning to realize that he had very little choice in the matter.
"That is undetermined at this time."
"I assume that my mind has already been made up for me" Mulder said giving Elliott a long cold stare.
"Your country needs you Agent Mulder. We knew that you would answer the call."
At this Mulder turned and faced the Director. "Sir, what about Agent Scully?"
The Director glanced at General Elliott before answering. "I am afraid that we cannot allow you any contact with Agent Scully at present Agent Mulder. I will however speak with her personally and appraise her of the situation."
Mulder sighed and closed his eyes briefly wondering what Scully would say when she realized that she had been ditched by him yet again. Even if, this time, it wasn't his fault.
"When do I leave?" he said opening his eyes and turning to Elliott.
"Immediately. You will be provided with everything you need."
Mulder simply nodded and followed his armed escort out of the room. Elliott rose indicating that the meeting was over.
"General" Director Williams said before Elliott could leave the room.
Elliott stopped and turned towards Williams his eyebrows raised in question.
"Sir, what would you like me to tell Agent Scully?" Williams asked a bit afraid of what the answer might be.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing." Elliott said before turning and leaving the room.
Kingsley, Nebraska Saturday September 2nd 8am
Mulder sipped his bland coffee wondering for the hundredth time exactly how he ended up sitting at a table in a small military facility located in the middle of nowhere planning to break into a high security research facility.
The sound of someone obviously asking him a question broke him out of his thoughts. "Mulder, are you awake, buddy" Joe McKenzie said giving him a friendly shove. "Looks like your mind is a million miles away."
"Sorry" Mulder said smiling weakly at him. He liked both of the men who had been assigned to 'help' him even though he was quite aware that their real assignment was to keep him from fleeing.
"No problem" McKenzie said smiling back at Mulder. He was a large man in his early thirties with sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes. One would never know from his laid back attitude that he had been in the Special Services for the well over a decade.
McKenzie was about to ask Mulder why he was so preoccupied when they were joined by the third member of their team, Bart Hopkins. Whereas McKenzie was laid back and easy to get along with, Hopkins was incredibly serious. Mulder wondered to himself when the last time a smile had shown itself on his chiseled face.
Hopkins looked at Mulder intensely with his dark blue eyes before speaking. "Agent Mulder, I assume you had a chance to look over the plans I gave you last night?"
Mulder nodded. After he had been escorted to his room and soundly locked in for the night, Mulder had spent the evening memorizing the plans that Hopkins had given him.
"Good, then I imagine you have come up with a way for us to gain entry?" Hopkins said sitting across from Mulder.
"I assumed that one of you two would be handling the technical aspects of this mission." Mulder said looking back and forth between the men. "Isn't that your specialty?"
McKenzie laughed at this. "We are just soldiers Agent Mulder. We are just following orders."
Mulder looked confused by this. "May I ask exactly what your orders are?"
Hopkins seemed a bit shocked by this request but answered it nonetheless. "Our orders are simple Agent Mulder. To assist you in this mission and ensure that you return safely here upon its completion."
"That's it?" Mulder said sounding a bit angry. "You mean your superiors didn't even have the decency to provide us with details on how we are supposed to pull this off?"
"No, it is our understanding that information would be coming from you." Hopkins said still dead serious.
McKenzie burst out laughing at this and thumped Mulder on the back. "Not to worry, Agent Mulder I am sure a bright man like yourself will have it all figured out by tonight."
Mulder smiled at McKenzie wishing that there was some way he could get hold of the Lone Gunmen.
Sunday September 3rd 3:30 AM Outside the Syndicate's Research Facility
Mulder checked his equipment again and then turned to his two companions. "Okay, are you both clear on what we have to do here?"
Hopkins nodded. "We will provide cover while you head over to the transformer station located on the North side of the building. After you have cut the power, we will join you and enter through the doors located just behind the transformer."
McKenzie added. "If our charts are accurate, we will head down to the basement to where the storage units are kept. You grab your little vials and we are outta there."
Mulder licked his lips nodding slowly. "Yeah, that's right." He closed his eyes briefly as if in prayer and then began his way towards the transformer.
Mulder reached it with little difficulty and had the door to the power panel off within seconds. He quickly shown his flashlight on it and found the main power switch. He pushed it to the off position and then cut a few wires for good measure.
The facility that was bathed in light went dark.
"So far so good." Mulder said to himself as he crept his way from the transformer to the doors located just behind it. He reached it without a problem but was very glad to see McKenzie and Hopkins sneak up behind him. All three men slipped on their night goggles and paused to regroup themselves.
Hopkins held up his weapon and three fingers. Mulder and McKenzie nodded and on his count of three burst through the doors into a dark hallway.
Mulder looked around him. His night goggles cast the hallway in an eerie green light the result of the small emergency lights that appeared every 50 feet or so.
He motioned to the others and they slowly made their way down the hallway to the stairs that led to the basement.
Here again, they waited for Hopkins's sign before opening up the door and slowly beginning their descent. Things were going smoothly, too smoothly thought Mulder. Shaking off his feelings of paranoia, Mulder motioned for the others to stop. He reached into the small bag hanging off his belt and took out a small insulated box where he would store the vials of vaccine.
When he was ready Mulder nodded and McKenzie opened the door.
XXX
Alex Krycek stood in the security operations center glancing over the bank of monitors that were located on the desk in front of him. The security cameras were operating despite the power failure and were providing him with glimpses all around the facility.
Finally he spotted what he was looking for. Three men dressed in black working their way slowly down the front stairwell towards the basement.
Krycek tapped a few keys on the keyboard in front of him and the image became larger. He smiled to himself and tapped the keys again making the image larger still.
"Well, well, well, look who we have here." Krycek said recognizing one of the figures almost immediately. "Fox Mulder. They must be getting pretty desperate to send you in."
Krycek turned slightly and picked up the phone sitting on the desk next to him. "They have entered the storage unit. Start the self-destruct sequence."
Krycek put down the phone and glanced back at the monitors. The image of Mulder and his two companions standing in front of the storage room door had been replaced by a large countdown clock which was working its way down from 5:00.
"It's a pity I can't wait around to watch you die Fox" Krycek said as he got up from his chair "but time is a wasting."
XXX
Mulder was a bit surprised to find the door to the storage room unlocked when he went to open it. Still trying to shake off the feeling that something was wrong, he pushed the door opened and went inside.
The room was enormous with large shelving units about ten feet high lined up in rows. Mulder quickly looked at the shelves and noticed that they seemed to hold some sort of records.
His eyebrows shot up as he quickly realized that they were arranged alphabetically. He was standing in the middle of the "B's".
He ran towards the latter part of the alphabet stopping when he reached the letter "S". If he could find a file on Scully, perhaps he would be able to find out the true answers behind the chip in her neck and her infertility.
It took him only a minute to find her name. It was on the outside of a small box. Mulder grabbed it and opened it only to throw it down in frustration.
It was empty.
McKenzie would had been following Mulder, frowned at him. "Aren't we supposed to be looking for some kind of medicine?" he whispered looking at the empty box.
"Yeah, we are." Mulder stopped to think a minute. "It may be located elsewhere. I think we should split up so we can cover ground more quickly. It won't be long before someone will notice that the power has been turned off."
McKenzie turned to Hopkins who had come up behind him. "Sounds like a good idea. You and Mulder head to the left, I will head to the right. We will signal using the radio when we find something."
"Things would go much quicker if we all split up." Mulder said looking back and forth between the two men.
"That may be, but we have our orders not to leave you alone under any circumstances." Hopkins said in a tone of voice that told Mulder that he never defied orders.
Mulder nodded and he and Hopkins headed left walking along the outside wall of the storage room looking for other doorways.
XXX
Upstairs in the security operations center, the monitors read 1:42.
XXX
Mulder sighed in relief when they finally stumbled upon a door. Hopkins checked it and then swung it open for him. Unlike the storage room, this room was small, dark and contained only one small set of shelves pushed up along the backside of the wall.
Mulder removed his night goggles and pulled out his flashlight to get a better look at the small containers lining the wall.
Mulder squinted in the poor light. The containers looked like small thermoses. He grabbed one and opened it. In the middle of the container were two small vials of greenish liquid.
Mulder pulled one out and showed it to Hopkins who almost smiled at the sight of them before motioning to Mulder to hurry up.
Mulder grabbed several of the containers and opening them, quickly placed as many vials as he could in his special container. He had one more than he could carry, so he simply held it in his hand assuming he would find a more secure place for it after they had cleared the building.
Feeling quite pleased with the success of the mission, Mulder went back out into the stairwell with Hopkins to wait for McKenzie. He looked at the vial in his hand wondering exactly what the Federal Government planned to do with the knowledge he was going to provide them.
Mulder was just about to put the vial into his pocket when a loud explosion tore through the heart of the storage room. Mulder was thrown against the base of the stairwell, his bag, weapon, goggles and flashlight scattering around him.
His brain was just beginning to acknowledge the fact that he had been right about things going too smoothly before another explosion rocked the building and everything went black.
Monday September 4th 7:00 AM Inside the remains of the Syndicate's Research Facility
General Elliott stood in what was once the main foyer of the building shaking his head. The two story building that had stood here had been reduced to piles of rubble.
Two young soldiers approached the General awaiting their orders. "Look for survivors and then begin to sift through this mess."
Elliott didn't think that he would find anything of much use, but knew he would at least have to put in a good effort. Three men had lost their lives on this mission and he knew that the President would want to be able to tell their families that they had done everything they could to recover them.
Elliott motioned to his Sergeant to follow him. "Jenkins, I want to make sure everything is properly documented. I don't want those asses at the CIA taking credit for our work here."
Jenkins nodded and kept following. "Arrange a meeting with the President's Chief Of Staff . . ."
Elliott was cut off by the shouts of one of his men. "I think I found something!" the soldier was yelling.
Elliott looked at Jenkins and began to run towards the sound of the voice. He stopped when he saw the man crouching over two bodies. He walked slowly over to where they lay and circled around them.
"Sir" the young soldier who had yelled out began "I think this one is still alive."
Elliott squatted down next to the man and felt for a pulse. "You are right soldier, good work."
He turned to Jenkins. "I want this man airlifted immediately to our facility in Idaho. I will accompany him personally."
"And the other one Sir?" Jenkins asked even as he pulled out his phone.
"Contact the FBI Director and give him our regrets. Tell him because of the Top Secret nature of this mission that the body must be placed immediately in a closed casket and there is to be no autopsy."
"Sir?" Jenkins said a bit perplexed.
"Are you questioning my orders Jenkins?" Elliott asked.
"No Sir."
XXX
Monday September 4th 9:00 AM FBI Headquarters
Director Williams hung up the phone and put his head in his hands not knowing exactly how he would find the words to tell Agent Scully what had happened out in Nebraska.
He sighed deeply remembering again how much he hated this part of his job. He would start with AD Skinner and then, together, they would break the news to Agent Scully.
++++
End of part one. comments anyone?
Chapter One
September 1st Friday 9:00 am Oval Office, Washington DC
"Are you sure there is no other way?" asked the President of the United States.
"None, that we can see Sir." replied his National Security Advisor. "Our sources indicate that colonization will occur within the next three to five years."
"And let me guess" the President interrupted "it will take us longer than that to finalize our vaccine."
"Yes Sir, we will be lucky to be in the testing phase in three years. But, there is some hope."
"Dare I ask?" the President said sitting back in his chair looking at his advisor.
"We believe we have found a research facility being run jointly by the Syndicate and their alien contacts. They are conducting their own research on a vaccine to help insure the safety of their membership when colonization occurs."
"Can we raid this facility, General?" the President asked leaning forward in his chair.
"That would not be advisable Sir. As far as we can tell, they do not know of our counterattack plans. If we perform a military raid on their facility we will reveal ourselves."
The President sat back in his chair again wondering to himself exactly why he had wanted this particular job in the first place. He would much rather be fishing right now instead of trying to decide the fate of not only his country but very possibly the entire world.
"What are our options General?"
General Gordon Elliott rose and walked over to the President's desk. "As I see it Sir, there is only one option available to us."
12:30 PM FBI Headquarters
FBI Director George Williams put down the phone and frowned. He had received many an odd phone call in his career at the FBI, but this had to be one of the strangest.
He shook his head briefly and then picked up the phone again. He had his orders and he would follow them, at least for now.
"Agent Mulder?" he said into the phone "This is Director Williams. I need you in my office in 30 minutes."
There was a brief pause. "No, I understand that Agent Scully is at Quantico. Her presence is not necessary at this time. I am sure you can fill her in when she returns."
Another pause. "Thank you Agent."
Fox Mulder arrived at Williams's office wondering what he could have possibly done this time to warrant a personal visit to the Director's office. He was used to being in trouble, but it was usually AD Skinner who read him the riot act.
He was quickly greeted by the Director himself and shown into his office.
His mouth almost fell open when he saw the other men already seated around the conference table.
"Agent Mulder" Williams said following him to the table "I would like to introduce to you General Elliott, Chief National Security Advisor; Secretary of Health Johnson; and Head of Homeland Security Cohen."
Mulder shook hands all the way around even as the feeling of dread began to spread across him.
"Have a seat Agent Mulder" General Elliott said indicating to Mulder exactly who was in charge of this particular meeting.
"Agent Mulder, we have called you here today because of your expertise on the X-files."
Mulder swallowed hard. Something had to be definitely wrong if high ranking officials in the government were actually acknowledging his work with the X-files.
"We are particularly interested in your work in regards to extra terrestrials."
"Sir?" Mulder responded obviously confused.
"Let me cut to the chase Agent Mulder. Although we would never admit it publicly, the Federal Government has been aware for quite awhile about the existence of alien life on this planet and their plans for the future."
Mulder's eyes grew huge at this admission but he said nothing. Elliott continued.
"As you are very much aware, not only have aliens been living here for decades but they have been working with a shadow government on plans to colonize the entire planet for their own use."
Mulder couldn't help but interrupt at this point. "Are you telling me that the Federal Government is not backing the Syndicate?"
"They had the blessing of the Government when they first began but their desire for power became too great. They began to make decisions concerning this planet without consulting the United States or any of the other major powers. We pretended to loose interest in the project and cutting all funding."
"The recession of the 80's proved very helpful for that" chuckled Cohen. A look from Elliott silenced him immediately.
"The Syndicate has basically been ignoring us for the last 20 years and we would have kept it that way except that the time is drawing near." Elliott said before reaching for a glass of water and taking a sip.
"Time is drawing near for what?" Mulder asked totally intrigued.
"Colonization."
"Mulder's mouth fell open at this. "When?"
"Our sources tell us between three and five years."
Mulder nodded. "I appreciate you telling me all of this, but what does this have to do with me and the X-files."
General Elliott put down his glass of water and turned to face Mulder. "Agent Mulder, our sources indicate that the Syndicate has been working with alien technology for decades. The chip inserted in your partner's neck is just the tip of the iceberg."
Mulder shut his eyes trying to block out the memories surrounding Scully's chip but kept listening.
"We know that you have been exposed to the alien's bee projects."
"Yes, the virus almost killed my partner" Mulder said quietly.
"Well, the vaccine you administered to Agent Scully was a rough version of the Syndicate's current project. They have a facility in Nebraska that is in the final phasing of testing the newest version of the vaccine." Elliott got up and began to walk around the room.
"Their plans are to make enough vaccine to inoculate themselves now and then either destroy or conceal whatever remains. This will give them greater negotiating power when colonization comes."
"Their plan makes sense, but I still don't understand why you are telling all of this to me." Mulder said.
"What we need you to do Agent Mulder, is to break into that facility and obtain a sample of the vaccine for us to replicate."
"Alright, when do we leave?" Mulder asked after a moment.
"You will be doing this mission on your own Agent Mulder." Elliott said. "Our sources indicate that the chances of survival are rather small. Agent Scully's family has already lost someone because of the Syndicate. We are hoping to spare them."
"And I am. . ."
"Expendable. The truth of the matter is that you have no family Agent Mulder. A fact that will come into play if you are successful in your mission."
"How so?" Mulder said getting a bit annoyed at the whole idea.
"After you have obtained a sample of the vaccine, you will be put into a type of witness protection program where you will work with our researchers on not only reproducing the vaccine but instituting a plan of distribution."
"So no matter what, I am disappearing?"
"That is correct Agent Mulder, at least for the time being. When the situation has stabilized, you will be allowed to return to DC."
"And that would be when?" Mulder said beginning to realize that he had very little choice in the matter.
"That is undetermined at this time."
"I assume that my mind has already been made up for me" Mulder said giving Elliott a long cold stare.
"Your country needs you Agent Mulder. We knew that you would answer the call."
At this Mulder turned and faced the Director. "Sir, what about Agent Scully?"
The Director glanced at General Elliott before answering. "I am afraid that we cannot allow you any contact with Agent Scully at present Agent Mulder. I will however speak with her personally and appraise her of the situation."
Mulder sighed and closed his eyes briefly wondering what Scully would say when she realized that she had been ditched by him yet again. Even if, this time, it wasn't his fault.
"When do I leave?" he said opening his eyes and turning to Elliott.
"Immediately. You will be provided with everything you need."
Mulder simply nodded and followed his armed escort out of the room. Elliott rose indicating that the meeting was over.
"General" Director Williams said before Elliott could leave the room.
Elliott stopped and turned towards Williams his eyebrows raised in question.
"Sir, what would you like me to tell Agent Scully?" Williams asked a bit afraid of what the answer might be.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing." Elliott said before turning and leaving the room.
Kingsley, Nebraska Saturday September 2nd 8am
Mulder sipped his bland coffee wondering for the hundredth time exactly how he ended up sitting at a table in a small military facility located in the middle of nowhere planning to break into a high security research facility.
The sound of someone obviously asking him a question broke him out of his thoughts. "Mulder, are you awake, buddy" Joe McKenzie said giving him a friendly shove. "Looks like your mind is a million miles away."
"Sorry" Mulder said smiling weakly at him. He liked both of the men who had been assigned to 'help' him even though he was quite aware that their real assignment was to keep him from fleeing.
"No problem" McKenzie said smiling back at Mulder. He was a large man in his early thirties with sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes. One would never know from his laid back attitude that he had been in the Special Services for the well over a decade.
McKenzie was about to ask Mulder why he was so preoccupied when they were joined by the third member of their team, Bart Hopkins. Whereas McKenzie was laid back and easy to get along with, Hopkins was incredibly serious. Mulder wondered to himself when the last time a smile had shown itself on his chiseled face.
Hopkins looked at Mulder intensely with his dark blue eyes before speaking. "Agent Mulder, I assume you had a chance to look over the plans I gave you last night?"
Mulder nodded. After he had been escorted to his room and soundly locked in for the night, Mulder had spent the evening memorizing the plans that Hopkins had given him.
"Good, then I imagine you have come up with a way for us to gain entry?" Hopkins said sitting across from Mulder.
"I assumed that one of you two would be handling the technical aspects of this mission." Mulder said looking back and forth between the men. "Isn't that your specialty?"
McKenzie laughed at this. "We are just soldiers Agent Mulder. We are just following orders."
Mulder looked confused by this. "May I ask exactly what your orders are?"
Hopkins seemed a bit shocked by this request but answered it nonetheless. "Our orders are simple Agent Mulder. To assist you in this mission and ensure that you return safely here upon its completion."
"That's it?" Mulder said sounding a bit angry. "You mean your superiors didn't even have the decency to provide us with details on how we are supposed to pull this off?"
"No, it is our understanding that information would be coming from you." Hopkins said still dead serious.
McKenzie burst out laughing at this and thumped Mulder on the back. "Not to worry, Agent Mulder I am sure a bright man like yourself will have it all figured out by tonight."
Mulder smiled at McKenzie wishing that there was some way he could get hold of the Lone Gunmen.
Sunday September 3rd 3:30 AM Outside the Syndicate's Research Facility
Mulder checked his equipment again and then turned to his two companions. "Okay, are you both clear on what we have to do here?"
Hopkins nodded. "We will provide cover while you head over to the transformer station located on the North side of the building. After you have cut the power, we will join you and enter through the doors located just behind the transformer."
McKenzie added. "If our charts are accurate, we will head down to the basement to where the storage units are kept. You grab your little vials and we are outta there."
Mulder licked his lips nodding slowly. "Yeah, that's right." He closed his eyes briefly as if in prayer and then began his way towards the transformer.
Mulder reached it with little difficulty and had the door to the power panel off within seconds. He quickly shown his flashlight on it and found the main power switch. He pushed it to the off position and then cut a few wires for good measure.
The facility that was bathed in light went dark.
"So far so good." Mulder said to himself as he crept his way from the transformer to the doors located just behind it. He reached it without a problem but was very glad to see McKenzie and Hopkins sneak up behind him. All three men slipped on their night goggles and paused to regroup themselves.
Hopkins held up his weapon and three fingers. Mulder and McKenzie nodded and on his count of three burst through the doors into a dark hallway.
Mulder looked around him. His night goggles cast the hallway in an eerie green light the result of the small emergency lights that appeared every 50 feet or so.
He motioned to the others and they slowly made their way down the hallway to the stairs that led to the basement.
Here again, they waited for Hopkins's sign before opening up the door and slowly beginning their descent. Things were going smoothly, too smoothly thought Mulder. Shaking off his feelings of paranoia, Mulder motioned for the others to stop. He reached into the small bag hanging off his belt and took out a small insulated box where he would store the vials of vaccine.
When he was ready Mulder nodded and McKenzie opened the door.
XXX
Alex Krycek stood in the security operations center glancing over the bank of monitors that were located on the desk in front of him. The security cameras were operating despite the power failure and were providing him with glimpses all around the facility.
Finally he spotted what he was looking for. Three men dressed in black working their way slowly down the front stairwell towards the basement.
Krycek tapped a few keys on the keyboard in front of him and the image became larger. He smiled to himself and tapped the keys again making the image larger still.
"Well, well, well, look who we have here." Krycek said recognizing one of the figures almost immediately. "Fox Mulder. They must be getting pretty desperate to send you in."
Krycek turned slightly and picked up the phone sitting on the desk next to him. "They have entered the storage unit. Start the self-destruct sequence."
Krycek put down the phone and glanced back at the monitors. The image of Mulder and his two companions standing in front of the storage room door had been replaced by a large countdown clock which was working its way down from 5:00.
"It's a pity I can't wait around to watch you die Fox" Krycek said as he got up from his chair "but time is a wasting."
XXX
Mulder was a bit surprised to find the door to the storage room unlocked when he went to open it. Still trying to shake off the feeling that something was wrong, he pushed the door opened and went inside.
The room was enormous with large shelving units about ten feet high lined up in rows. Mulder quickly looked at the shelves and noticed that they seemed to hold some sort of records.
His eyebrows shot up as he quickly realized that they were arranged alphabetically. He was standing in the middle of the "B's".
He ran towards the latter part of the alphabet stopping when he reached the letter "S". If he could find a file on Scully, perhaps he would be able to find out the true answers behind the chip in her neck and her infertility.
It took him only a minute to find her name. It was on the outside of a small box. Mulder grabbed it and opened it only to throw it down in frustration.
It was empty.
McKenzie would had been following Mulder, frowned at him. "Aren't we supposed to be looking for some kind of medicine?" he whispered looking at the empty box.
"Yeah, we are." Mulder stopped to think a minute. "It may be located elsewhere. I think we should split up so we can cover ground more quickly. It won't be long before someone will notice that the power has been turned off."
McKenzie turned to Hopkins who had come up behind him. "Sounds like a good idea. You and Mulder head to the left, I will head to the right. We will signal using the radio when we find something."
"Things would go much quicker if we all split up." Mulder said looking back and forth between the two men.
"That may be, but we have our orders not to leave you alone under any circumstances." Hopkins said in a tone of voice that told Mulder that he never defied orders.
Mulder nodded and he and Hopkins headed left walking along the outside wall of the storage room looking for other doorways.
XXX
Upstairs in the security operations center, the monitors read 1:42.
XXX
Mulder sighed in relief when they finally stumbled upon a door. Hopkins checked it and then swung it open for him. Unlike the storage room, this room was small, dark and contained only one small set of shelves pushed up along the backside of the wall.
Mulder removed his night goggles and pulled out his flashlight to get a better look at the small containers lining the wall.
Mulder squinted in the poor light. The containers looked like small thermoses. He grabbed one and opened it. In the middle of the container were two small vials of greenish liquid.
Mulder pulled one out and showed it to Hopkins who almost smiled at the sight of them before motioning to Mulder to hurry up.
Mulder grabbed several of the containers and opening them, quickly placed as many vials as he could in his special container. He had one more than he could carry, so he simply held it in his hand assuming he would find a more secure place for it after they had cleared the building.
Feeling quite pleased with the success of the mission, Mulder went back out into the stairwell with Hopkins to wait for McKenzie. He looked at the vial in his hand wondering exactly what the Federal Government planned to do with the knowledge he was going to provide them.
Mulder was just about to put the vial into his pocket when a loud explosion tore through the heart of the storage room. Mulder was thrown against the base of the stairwell, his bag, weapon, goggles and flashlight scattering around him.
His brain was just beginning to acknowledge the fact that he had been right about things going too smoothly before another explosion rocked the building and everything went black.
Monday September 4th 7:00 AM Inside the remains of the Syndicate's Research Facility
General Elliott stood in what was once the main foyer of the building shaking his head. The two story building that had stood here had been reduced to piles of rubble.
Two young soldiers approached the General awaiting their orders. "Look for survivors and then begin to sift through this mess."
Elliott didn't think that he would find anything of much use, but knew he would at least have to put in a good effort. Three men had lost their lives on this mission and he knew that the President would want to be able to tell their families that they had done everything they could to recover them.
Elliott motioned to his Sergeant to follow him. "Jenkins, I want to make sure everything is properly documented. I don't want those asses at the CIA taking credit for our work here."
Jenkins nodded and kept following. "Arrange a meeting with the President's Chief Of Staff . . ."
Elliott was cut off by the shouts of one of his men. "I think I found something!" the soldier was yelling.
Elliott looked at Jenkins and began to run towards the sound of the voice. He stopped when he saw the man crouching over two bodies. He walked slowly over to where they lay and circled around them.
"Sir" the young soldier who had yelled out began "I think this one is still alive."
Elliott squatted down next to the man and felt for a pulse. "You are right soldier, good work."
He turned to Jenkins. "I want this man airlifted immediately to our facility in Idaho. I will accompany him personally."
"And the other one Sir?" Jenkins asked even as he pulled out his phone.
"Contact the FBI Director and give him our regrets. Tell him because of the Top Secret nature of this mission that the body must be placed immediately in a closed casket and there is to be no autopsy."
"Sir?" Jenkins said a bit perplexed.
"Are you questioning my orders Jenkins?" Elliott asked.
"No Sir."
XXX
Monday September 4th 9:00 AM FBI Headquarters
Director Williams hung up the phone and put his head in his hands not knowing exactly how he would find the words to tell Agent Scully what had happened out in Nebraska.
He sighed deeply remembering again how much he hated this part of his job. He would start with AD Skinner and then, together, they would break the news to Agent Scully.
++++
End of part one. comments anyone?