Spoilers: This contains a reference to Teso Dos Bishos [3x18] so if ya
haven't seen it, err, just be aware. It's that eppy with the evil cats for
anyone who is brain-dead at the moment =)
A/N: Just a few things. First off, thanks for the reviews! I think this is a great start for the story and I hope it gets fairly popular. I completed my first posted X-Files fic, Endless Nights, last week, and I urge anyone here who hasn't read it, to go do so. I've set a goal of 45 reviews for it, so I only need 3 more and I'll be happy =D And, I think that's all I needed to say! Read on now.
- - - - - -
One Week Later
FBI Headquarters Washington D.C.
The usually lively office halls were running slow this Tuesday, noted Special Agent Fox Mulder as he strolled off the elevator and made his way down the brightly lit corridor. He shuffled what appeared to be a thick, yellow folder from one hand to the other, rounding a corner and smiling as his FBI partner fell into his line of view.
"Just the person I was looking for."
Agent Dana Scully looked up from a seemingly captivating science magazine and rose from the metal framed chair she'd claimed minutes before, only to greet the overexcited man with an upraised brow.
"Oh come on. Don't give me the look. I just *know* you're itching to find out what I've got."
"Yes Mulder. Seeing as you dragged me out of my Christmas shopping plans for the day, and ordered me to come down here at," looking up at one of the round office clocks, Scully continued, "6:30 in the morning, this had better be good."
"Aww. What's the matter? Less then two shopping weeks 'til Christmas and the G-Women's panicking?"
Another eyebrow shot up, and Mulder eased his teasing grin to a friendly smile.
"Take a look at these."
He handed over a file, which Scully flipped through silently. A moment passed.
"What is this?"
"Exactly what it looks like, Scully."
"So let me get this straight. You dragged me out here at the crack of dawn and spoiled my day's events so I can look at a dozen decapitated rodent carcasses caught on camera? What are you getting at here? A rat exterminator gone wild?"
Although frustrated, she could not keep the amused mock in her voice from showing. Mulder either missed it, or chose to ignore it.
The air was suddenly tense, and she knew there was more to this case then she'd been shown.
"That's just how it started." Her partner produced another file from seemingly nowhere, not rushing into passing it along.
"What are you talking about?"
A hint of pain flash in her partner's eyes, but it was gone within the millisecond.
"Three teenagers, Brooke Parshall, Keith Huntington and Edward Kerr, all age 16, were found dead in the underground parking lot of a city-owned building complex in Queens, New York, at around 7 AM last Wednesday. All three supposedly dead fast; their bodies severely mutilated."
"My god." The female agent whispered, taking a split second to gather herself before browsing the breathtaking shots of the murdered teens.
"It says the probable time of death was around 1 AM that morning." Scully muttered half consciously.
"Yeah. Seems they were out for some late night action. A security officer found their bodies in the restricted section of the parking lot."
"Does the local PD have any leads as to who's responsible?"
"No, and I believe the question is 'what's' responsible."
That got Scully to look up and meet her partner's gaze with a strong stare.
"Seriously Mulder. This seems like nothing more then some sick bastard's idea of a blowout. New York has a reputable crime rate. These kids were, simply put, at the wrong place, at the wrong time."
"You know of a person capable of doing this to three healthy 16-year-olds?"
Scully prepared herself for the twist in the case - the miniscule fact that had caught her partner's attention and mutated into something bigger in his mind.
"The cause of death is thought to be severe bleeding for Brooke and Edward; bleeding from the furious slashes all over their bodies. The other boy, Keith, likely died when his windpipe collapsed once his head was torn off his neck."
Mulder reached for the folder in the female agent's hands while talking on; shuffling the pictures until the one he needed was on top.
"Two parallel 7-inch deep cylinder holes stand out from the other *teeth* marks over what's left of his head. The patterns of the cuts have the city police at a dead end. They were run through all known crime records and result show they aren't from any manmade tool. And the bite, it matches no known species of animal."
Scully was surprised he could get all that out in a single breath.
"What does the police propose then?"
"As I said, the department is at a dead end. S'why we got called in."
"Alright. What do *you* think these dumbfounding markings are, Mulder?"
He offered a charming smile, for a moment things were normal. Then the reality of this sick case overtook the air again.
"The flesh around the cuts is hardly touched, showing that something very sharp and hook-like is to blame. It's too wide for a knife or sword, so that rules out a man-caused homicide."
"Are you getting to a point soon?" Scully leaned back against the wall, bringing a hand up to her mouth to muffle a yawn.
"Claws, Scully. Typical feline claw markings. And the tooth prints, although not matched 100%, did closely resemble those of many modern big cats."
Her expression remained unbiased.
"Cats, Mulder? You think cats did this?"
"Simply put, yes."
"Right then. And you thought my idea was far-out."
Silence. Scully sighed and continued.
"I'm still not seeing what you're getting at, Mulder. Are we thinking another tribal curse at work here? Local strays going murderous on these children because they disturbed something sacred that night?"
Her partner seemed to ponder the notion before shaking his head. "The evidence supports the fact that it's an individual to blame, not a group. What did this wasn't just *any* cat. A common stray or even a wildcat couldn't have accounted for the damage caused. This was something much bigger. And the tooth prints are solid prove of the 'bigger' part of the deal."
"How could anything like that wander into a community garage unnoticed? This is New York we're talking about, not some empty lot out in the country, Mulder."
"Maybe whatever it is has been down there for a while. Maybe someone from the building was keeping it there."
Scully opened her mouth to argue, but his theory was certainly possible enough. She looked down at the files again as Mulder continued to talk while digging through his coat pocket.
"I had copies of the victim photographs and all the claw and teeth measurements faxed over to a Dr. Bridget Ashford in the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, and we have a meeting with her tomorrow evening to review the results." He found what he was looking for - a transparent airline folder with two tickets inside - and grinned. "We leave for New York in 3 hours, and I've arranged for us to go sweep through the crime scene before we settle in."
Mulder sure planned ahead, Scully thought absentmindedly, already knowing her Christmas shopping would be delayed to the last minute.
- - - - - -
A/N: Alright. Next chapter is halfway done so don't expect it very soon. Then again, I am home for the next 3 days so I'll try my best to work on it =) Report cards go out next week, and if I get in trouble, I may not be allowed on for a week or two. I wouldn't worry too much though. Hardly anything can keep me offline, mwha. -Cough- Yea. Review and tell me how it's working out for ya'll. -DKers
A/N: Just a few things. First off, thanks for the reviews! I think this is a great start for the story and I hope it gets fairly popular. I completed my first posted X-Files fic, Endless Nights, last week, and I urge anyone here who hasn't read it, to go do so. I've set a goal of 45 reviews for it, so I only need 3 more and I'll be happy =D And, I think that's all I needed to say! Read on now.
- - - - - -
One Week Later
FBI Headquarters Washington D.C.
The usually lively office halls were running slow this Tuesday, noted Special Agent Fox Mulder as he strolled off the elevator and made his way down the brightly lit corridor. He shuffled what appeared to be a thick, yellow folder from one hand to the other, rounding a corner and smiling as his FBI partner fell into his line of view.
"Just the person I was looking for."
Agent Dana Scully looked up from a seemingly captivating science magazine and rose from the metal framed chair she'd claimed minutes before, only to greet the overexcited man with an upraised brow.
"Oh come on. Don't give me the look. I just *know* you're itching to find out what I've got."
"Yes Mulder. Seeing as you dragged me out of my Christmas shopping plans for the day, and ordered me to come down here at," looking up at one of the round office clocks, Scully continued, "6:30 in the morning, this had better be good."
"Aww. What's the matter? Less then two shopping weeks 'til Christmas and the G-Women's panicking?"
Another eyebrow shot up, and Mulder eased his teasing grin to a friendly smile.
"Take a look at these."
He handed over a file, which Scully flipped through silently. A moment passed.
"What is this?"
"Exactly what it looks like, Scully."
"So let me get this straight. You dragged me out here at the crack of dawn and spoiled my day's events so I can look at a dozen decapitated rodent carcasses caught on camera? What are you getting at here? A rat exterminator gone wild?"
Although frustrated, she could not keep the amused mock in her voice from showing. Mulder either missed it, or chose to ignore it.
The air was suddenly tense, and she knew there was more to this case then she'd been shown.
"That's just how it started." Her partner produced another file from seemingly nowhere, not rushing into passing it along.
"What are you talking about?"
A hint of pain flash in her partner's eyes, but it was gone within the millisecond.
"Three teenagers, Brooke Parshall, Keith Huntington and Edward Kerr, all age 16, were found dead in the underground parking lot of a city-owned building complex in Queens, New York, at around 7 AM last Wednesday. All three supposedly dead fast; their bodies severely mutilated."
"My god." The female agent whispered, taking a split second to gather herself before browsing the breathtaking shots of the murdered teens.
"It says the probable time of death was around 1 AM that morning." Scully muttered half consciously.
"Yeah. Seems they were out for some late night action. A security officer found their bodies in the restricted section of the parking lot."
"Does the local PD have any leads as to who's responsible?"
"No, and I believe the question is 'what's' responsible."
That got Scully to look up and meet her partner's gaze with a strong stare.
"Seriously Mulder. This seems like nothing more then some sick bastard's idea of a blowout. New York has a reputable crime rate. These kids were, simply put, at the wrong place, at the wrong time."
"You know of a person capable of doing this to three healthy 16-year-olds?"
Scully prepared herself for the twist in the case - the miniscule fact that had caught her partner's attention and mutated into something bigger in his mind.
"The cause of death is thought to be severe bleeding for Brooke and Edward; bleeding from the furious slashes all over their bodies. The other boy, Keith, likely died when his windpipe collapsed once his head was torn off his neck."
Mulder reached for the folder in the female agent's hands while talking on; shuffling the pictures until the one he needed was on top.
"Two parallel 7-inch deep cylinder holes stand out from the other *teeth* marks over what's left of his head. The patterns of the cuts have the city police at a dead end. They were run through all known crime records and result show they aren't from any manmade tool. And the bite, it matches no known species of animal."
Scully was surprised he could get all that out in a single breath.
"What does the police propose then?"
"As I said, the department is at a dead end. S'why we got called in."
"Alright. What do *you* think these dumbfounding markings are, Mulder?"
He offered a charming smile, for a moment things were normal. Then the reality of this sick case overtook the air again.
"The flesh around the cuts is hardly touched, showing that something very sharp and hook-like is to blame. It's too wide for a knife or sword, so that rules out a man-caused homicide."
"Are you getting to a point soon?" Scully leaned back against the wall, bringing a hand up to her mouth to muffle a yawn.
"Claws, Scully. Typical feline claw markings. And the tooth prints, although not matched 100%, did closely resemble those of many modern big cats."
Her expression remained unbiased.
"Cats, Mulder? You think cats did this?"
"Simply put, yes."
"Right then. And you thought my idea was far-out."
Silence. Scully sighed and continued.
"I'm still not seeing what you're getting at, Mulder. Are we thinking another tribal curse at work here? Local strays going murderous on these children because they disturbed something sacred that night?"
Her partner seemed to ponder the notion before shaking his head. "The evidence supports the fact that it's an individual to blame, not a group. What did this wasn't just *any* cat. A common stray or even a wildcat couldn't have accounted for the damage caused. This was something much bigger. And the tooth prints are solid prove of the 'bigger' part of the deal."
"How could anything like that wander into a community garage unnoticed? This is New York we're talking about, not some empty lot out in the country, Mulder."
"Maybe whatever it is has been down there for a while. Maybe someone from the building was keeping it there."
Scully opened her mouth to argue, but his theory was certainly possible enough. She looked down at the files again as Mulder continued to talk while digging through his coat pocket.
"I had copies of the victim photographs and all the claw and teeth measurements faxed over to a Dr. Bridget Ashford in the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, and we have a meeting with her tomorrow evening to review the results." He found what he was looking for - a transparent airline folder with two tickets inside - and grinned. "We leave for New York in 3 hours, and I've arranged for us to go sweep through the crime scene before we settle in."
Mulder sure planned ahead, Scully thought absentmindedly, already knowing her Christmas shopping would be delayed to the last minute.
- - - - - -
A/N: Alright. Next chapter is halfway done so don't expect it very soon. Then again, I am home for the next 3 days so I'll try my best to work on it =) Report cards go out next week, and if I get in trouble, I may not be allowed on for a week or two. I wouldn't worry too much though. Hardly anything can keep me offline, mwha. -Cough- Yea. Review and tell me how it's working out for ya'll. -DKers