~*~
Chapter 2
WASHINGTON D.C
John Doggett sat at his desk, sipping at a morning coffee, when a file folder slid under the door of the X-Files office. Agent Scully had the day off, so he thought he'd catch up on some filing and billing waivers. Doggett walked towards the door and opened it, hoping to catch whoever it was that slipped him the file, but to no avail. The elevator doors shut just as he peered in that direction.
He closed the door and bent to retrieve the file. He flipped through it. It was a note addressed to Agent Mulder, with some dossiers attached. He didn't want to eavesdrop on Mulder's business, but he figured if it was an X-File, he should know about it before Mulder went off on another trip leaving him and Agent Scully in the dust.
The note read, "Roswell, New Mexico is an interesting place to visit. Especially for someone like you, no doubt. There are secrets there that make the whole weather balloon story seem trite. And those secrets go to high school.... - X "
Doggett stared at the note, and then looked at the dossiers. There was one of a Liz Parker, a Max Evans and Isabel Evans. There were also a couple of arrest records on a Michael Guerin. Breaking and entering and shoplifting. Filed by a Sheriff
Valenti. Doggett scoffed and put the file on Mulder's desk. "Another wild goose chase. This time I can keep tabs on him though," he thought.
He sat back at his desk and waited for Mulder to arrive.
Mulder looked at his wristwatch and when he saw what time it is he decided it was time for him to show his face in the office, he could feel that something big was about to happen. As he opened the door of his office he saw that Doggett was already at his desk,
"Morning" he said and went to his desk, when he saw the dossier on his desk he lifted his eyebrows and flipped through it.
"Interesting" he whispered. He looked at Agent Doggett and asked,
"How would you feel about going on a field-trip?"
Doggett looked at Mulder and smirked. "Following that Roswell lead you got? You can't be serious, Mulder. Deputy Director Kersh will have your butt for dinner and mine will probably be his damn dessert."
"Screw him, it is one of the best leads I got so far and I'm not going to let it go. And by the way, you need a vacation you seem so uptight lately. It would be an interesting trip"
"Uptight? I'm not uptight. I'm very laid back, once you get to know me." he looked at his mug,
"Maybe it's the coffee."
He walked to the garbage, dumped it out and came back to Mulder.
"What I'm saying, Mulder, is that your leads could land both our butts out in the cold without our badges. And Roswell? Of all the places to go look for aliens, don't you think that spot is a little bit too publicized? I mean, they should have a sign posted at the town limits saying 'Aliens here.' Give me a break, Mulder. That file isn't anything but a prank. Maybe even a set-up."
"It's not a set-up. I know the sheriff and I trust his judgment. We should go" He looked at Doggett and said further,
"I think it could make our careers"
Doggett sighed.
"Alright, Mulder. But the first sign that this is a load of crap, we're coming back to Washington. Even if I have to bring you back by gunpoint."
Mulder looked at Doggett again and whispered,
"Lighten up. We won't even be missed"
After her long flight from Roswell, New Mexico, Agent Whitaker has finally reached the core of Washington. She parked her car right outside the grand building and checked the address one more time to make sure she was outside the right building where Mulder apparently works. Whitaker moved slowly toward the reception office inside the building and asked the secretary politely,
"Can you please show me the way to Agent Fox Mulder's office?"
And so without further question, C.W Whitaker was directly shown the way to his office where she stood there and saw two men talking to each other's...
"Hey, I'm Congresswoman Whitaker from Roswell, and I'm here to see
Agent Fox Mulder," She said flashing her FBI card and at the same time giving a small smirk to both men...
Mulder was still trying to persuade Doggett when he saw the woman entered his office; he looked at her and said, "I'm Agent Mulder. What can I do for you?"
Doggett leaned against his desk and watched as Mulder talked to Whitaker. "Roswell?" he thought, "Strange coincidence. This smells bad, I just know it..."
"What kind of information do you have for me, Congress Woman? Has it anything to do with those files I received?"
Whitaker took a long glance at the Mulder then said casually,
"Yes it was me who send you the files..."
Then paused when she saw Doggett holding the files.
"I made sure it was marked 'Confidential' but obviously someone else got a hold of them before," She said giving off a soft smile to Doggett.
She walked over to where they stood and laughed. "They said you where the man to talk to. According to some Agents I know, you have experience in that kind of field," She said as she pulled the files from Doggett's hand and picked up a particular loose paper with pictures of four school kids.
"I need you to help me on this assignment," She paused then looked straight into Mulder's eyes to make sure he was listening closely,
"We need you to track down those 'objects' (kids)- not to capture them but to find evidence to prove their existence." Whitaker straightened her jacket and moved slowly toward the window, her high-heels tapping loudly against the floor.
"By evidence I mean anything ranging from blood samples to video recordings," She explained in a serious tone.
Examining the room more closely, Congresswoman Whitaker said in a low voice, "There is a plane leaving to Roswell at 3:20. That's..." She stopped to look at her watch,
"Less than 50 min away. So Agent you need to make up your mind quickly if you want to proceed with the assignment or not."
"No problem agent, meet you down at the car park," Then as she heard Mulder ask the other man to come she smiled at Doggett and said,
"Well...It'll be smashing Agent...." Then looked at his tag and read off his name, "...Agent Doggett. I'll meet you two as I said down at the car park, no need to drive to the airport - I've got a taxi waiting already."
She suggested with a keen and ready voice then walked out of the office and down the building and waited for the two men...
Mulder packed his briefcase and walked with Congress Woman Whitaker as they walked he asked, "Why is these evidence so important to you?"
Doggett grabbed his overnight bag, his service revolver, badge and handcuffs and ran after Mulder. Mulder looked over his shoulder and saw Doggett coming towards him, he smiled and said,
"Glad you could join us. I never thought you could do something so drastic"
Doggett grimaced at Mulder's sarcasm. He followed along.
Whitaker smiled listening to the conversation that was taking place between Mulder and the other Agent. When she reached the taxi she stepped in the car and told the driver, "To the airport and make it quick."
Then saw the two agents sit behind her in the passenger seat.
When they reached the airport, Congresswoman Whitaker paid the driver considerable amount of money. After dealing with all the travel papers, Whitaker finally got into the plane where she sat rearward in a cozy position. She saw Mulder and Doggett follow closely behind her,
Whitaker turned to their direction and smiled,
"Enjoy your flight Agents."
Closing her eyes shut, Whitaker sighed in relieve...
"I know I will", Mulder told the Congress Woman
Mulder sat down next to Agent Doggett and leaved through the files on his lap. He knew that it was a case that Scully would have enjoyed to investigate with him, but now that Scully is on holiday he has to be stuck with an agent who was more closed minded than what Scully was when he met her.
He closed the files and rested his head on the chair, slowly he drifted off to sleep and dreamt about what he might find on this case in Roswell. Agent Doggett looked over to Mulder's sleeping form and sighed, he knew that Skinner would have propably approved this mission, but Kerch, that is another story. He knew that that man wanted to get Mulder out of the F.B.I as soon as possible. That is why he decided to go with Mulder and the Congress Woman on this case. As soon as they could see that this is just a hoax the better he would sleep to know that Mulder would see that aliens don't exist.
It was quite a long flight when they finally landed; they knew that they would have to drive another few miles before they entered Roswell. Congress Woman Whitaker took the car keys of the rented Ford and climb into the driver side of the car, Mulder decided to sit next to her so that he could ask her more questions on the case she just dropped into his lap. Agent Doggett on the other hand didn't mind at all to sit in the back of the car, because it wasn't his case at all. He was just here to keep an eye on Mulder to make sure that there were no slip-ups.
The car left the parking lot and drove onto the high way. While they were on the high way, Mulder looked at the C.W. and asked again,
"Why is this case so important to you?"
C.W. Whittaker looked in the mirror at the Agent and said,
"For four years I've been tracking a lead on possible aliens on this planet with no success, then it happened three years ago an incident happened in a diner in Roswell that made me belief that the evidence is here"
"What made you decide to follow it now?"
"Well, my superiors wanted me to expose them and take evidence to the highest powers. That is why I need your help"
The rest of the drive the three were silent, they were in a world of their own. C.W. Whittaker thought about how pleased Khivar would be if he sees the Royal 4 destroyed, plus all the allies with them. Mulder, again, thought about how great it would be to finally find the evidence of aliens amongst humans. For about ten years he has been searching, first with Scully, and now with Doggett. He is about to embark on a case of a lifetime. Agent Doggett was the only one with a neutral agenda. The only reason he came with the two is to keep his eyes on Mulder. He knows for a fact that Kerch wouldn't be pleased to find out Muldre left on a wild goose chase. About two hours later the car came to a sudden halt and Whittaker looked at the two agents and said,
"We're here?"
Mulder and Doggett opened their doors and looked at the scene in front of them. It was a town where everyone has a fetish about aliens and all the unexplained phenomena. They stopped in front of a diner called the CrashDown and walked in. What they didn't notice is that the Congress Woman didn't follow them into the diner. They sat down in one of the booths and waited to be served.
Liz saw the two men entered the diner and took her waitress note pad and pen with her.
"Good-afternoon. My name is Liz Parker; I'll be your waitress. What can I get for you?"
When she uttered her name, Mulder and Doggett looked at each other and then back to the girl and said,
"I'll have a Alien Occupation and a large Pepsi" Doggett said
Mulder looked the menu and said,
"I'll have an Area 51 burger and a Saturn Milkshake"
"Coming right up" Liz said and left the booth
As she left the booth, the two agents looked at each other and said simultaneously,
"It's one of the kids that was featured in the files"
They sat there and started to look more closely at the waitresses and customers that was sitting and talking in the diner. So unaware of what is about to happen in the town of theirs.
"We need to see the sheriff as soon as possible" Doggett said
"I know, but I think it can wait for a while. I haven't eaten since this morning"
"Ok, but as soon as we are done here, we need to speed up this investigation"
Liz looked over to the two men as they sat in their booth, deep in conversation. She could feel that something wasn't right when she spoke to them, but in what way? She saw Nasedo sitting in the far side of the diner also in deep conversation, but this time with Max. By the look on Max's face, she knew that he decided to go to Sunnydale as soon as possible. This time she knew that he wasn't going to take Michael with him to Sunnydale. He was going to take Tess and maybe it is the best thing he could do. She knew for a fact that the two of them belonged together and she wasn't going to break them up, but she has to talk to Nasedo. She walked up to them and said,
"Excuse me, but I think you must see this"
The two turned towards the way she was pointing and Nasedo exclaimed,
"Oh Crap."
"What is it?" Max and Liz said simultaneously
Nasedo turned to them and said,
"Those are the two Agents of the F.B.I I was telling you about"
Max turned around and then back to Nasedo and asked,
"What are you going to do?"
Nasedo stood up and said,
"Excuse me for a moment, I think the only thing I could do is change into Pierce to foil them" with that he walked to the rest rooms.
Max turned towards Liz and said,
"Um, I know that you might have notice that Nasedo told me, Michael and Tess that the only way not to be capture by the F.B.I is if I go with one of them to Sunnydale to investigate that vision those two had. Michael can't go with me, because he said that he wants to patch things up with Maria, so I decided to ask Tess if she wanted to go with me. She said that she would go. I'm sorry"
"Don't be," Liz said, then added: "I knew from the start that the two of you would become close"
Max looked into Liz's eyes and saw hurt, but also understanding, and then he added,
"I will always love you as a friend. Tess is just my soul-mate"
As soon as he said that he could see the tears forming in her eye, he stood up and wanted to comfort her, but she grimaced and stormed out.
Max sat down again and sighed, then he noticed 'Pierce' coming out of the bathroom. He smiled as he saw the man walking towards the two agents.
Doggett and Mulder received their order and were about to eat, when Mulder saw Pierce coming towards them.
"Agent Pierce, what are you doing here?"
"Following the same lead as you"
"So, you believe there is truth in those files?"
"In a way, but I haven't found the evidence yet"
Mulder looked at Pierce and added,
"We were send here with Congress Woman Whittaker, she said that she needed the evidence as soon as possible"
'Pierce' sat down next to the two agents and said,
"You might as well go, I'll follow the lead"
Doggett turned to the man and said,
"I'm going to stay and finish the job and I think Agent Mulder is thinking the same thing"
"You read my mind, Doggett. I'm going to stay and find the truth"
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Valenti sat by his desk, looking for a way to avoid the F.B. I to come again and mess up the town, but he knew that if they were going to come now he'd have to prepare for that. Suddenly he heard a knock on his door and Deputy Pyle came into his office,
"Boss, there's a woman asking for you at the front desk"
"Show her in" Valenti replied
The Deputy walked towards the information desk and a minute later came in with a woman standing next to him,
"Sir, here is the visitor"
Valenti turned around and looked straight into Congress Woman Whitaker's smiling face,
"Long time, no see?" she said
"What are you doing back here?" he asked
"Is that the way you wanted to greet your guest?" she asked
Jim sat down back again and directed her to sit in the chair overlooking his,
"What are you doing back in Roswell?"
Whitaker sat down and placed her briefcase next to her on the floor and said,
"I just gave to prominent agents of the FBI the best lead to the whole scenario here in Roswell and I want you to work with them. I need that information you have on Max Evans and anybody who is affiliated with him"
Valenti looked at the smiling face of his 'guest' and said with content in his voice,
"I'm not going to comply with any of your orders. You can tell those Agents that they would never be able to get tangible evidence"
"That is a shame, because I know for a fact that you are the only one who might have to be relieved from duty"
She stood up from her chair and left, but before she closed the door behind her she said,
"Sheriff, you might as well help us. You know just as I do that it is no use to keep secrets" with that the door closed.
Jim cursed behind his breath, somehow he knew that Whitaker would end up here in Roswell with an agenda in her heart and that is to expose the Pod Squad for what they were.
He stood up and walked out of his office and looked at Deputy Pyle and said,
"I'm going out of a moment. There is something I need to finish."
"I'll keep the fort Boss" Pyle said as Valenti left the office.
Jim walked to the CrashDown and was about to enter it when he saw 'Pierce' sitting next to two men. He knew who Pierce was, but he couldn't recognize the other two men that were sitting next to him. Then it hit him, those must be the two agents Whitaker told him about. He took his cell-phone and dialed the CrashDown's number.
Liz stood by the cash register when she heard the phone ring; with more composure she answered the phone,
" Liz, I want you to go over to Nasedo and tell him that there's a message for him"
"Sure, Sheriff" with that she ended the call and walked towards the men.
"Sir, there's a message for you at the desk" she told 'Pierce'
Nasedo stood up and walked over to the desk and picked the phone up,
"Yes, whom am I talking too?"
"It's Sheriff Valenti here. I just want to inform you that I know who stole the files. It was Congress Woman Whitaker"
"Sheriff I know. I am just trying now to divert the two agents from the case, but it is not going well. Mulder is one of those guys that don't quit. How did you find out about the connections?"
"Well, I got an interesting visit today from two people. The first one is of a FBI Agent that told me exactly who stole the files and that they won't quit until the four are captured. The second visit I had was from C.W. Whitaker herself, she told me that she will make sure the group would be captured and I loose my job as the sheriff"
Nasedo looked at where the two agents sat and said,
"Don't worry about anything. I have it under control"
They said good-bye and Nasedo walked back to where the two agents sat.
Mulder looked at 'Pierce' and asked,
"Is there any problems?"
"No, it is just a formality I had to take care off. So what are you going to do about those files?"
"At the moment we are just going to observe the group and try to determine if it is an X-File, but if it is not we will return to Washington as soon as possible"
"And if it is?"
"Well, then the group will be capture and taken to the laboratory in Atlanta" Doggett replied.
The rest of the way they just talked about the files and what it all meant, and then Nasedo looked up and said,
"I better get back to work, before my work is in danger"
"We better go too" Mulder replied and signaled for Liz to pick up the bill.
Liz walked over to the three and took the money. In an unnoticeable manner she looked at Nasedo and when she saw that everything was in control she left.
Max waited outside the Valenti house for Tess to arrive. He knew for a fact that if the visions are real as what Nasedo told them they were, they had to be in Sunnydale as soon as possible. The door opened up and Tess came out of the house with her overnight bag and climbed into the Jeep,
"What did your parents say when they heard that just the two of us are going to Sunydale?" she asked him
He looked in the mirror at her and while he turned the key in the ignition he said,
"They just wanted to know if we wouldn't do anything they wouldn't do. I told them that they don't need to worry. We won't do anything of the sorts. We are just going to Sunnydale for research on a paper"
"Oh, ok" Tess replied and sat back into the car seat.