4:40 PM Offices of the Lone Gunman.

Langly cautious opens the door.

" What? You guys change the secret knock on me again? " Mulder pushed open and held the door for Scully as Langly backed into a dimly lit room containing masses of electronic equipment and his two cohorts Byers and. " Frohike," Mulder handed him a bundle of tapes " You are the right man for this job."

Two hands gloved from the first finger joints to the wrists took the bundles.

Behind round glasses an unshaven face accepted the assignment. " Who or what am I looking for? "

" Modell, Pusher."

The three gunmen looked at each other, then at Mulder. " That " Byers began " Might explain your little package."

"But, I thought Modell was terminal, never going to even regain consciousness." Byers looked perplexed " How did."

Scully cut him off  " Miracle of modern science." She lifted an eyebrow. " Good drugs."

" If it is Pusher, he sent you clues to a fable. The Fable of the Jewel Maiden." Byers walk over and gestured to a table were the results of his researched were scattered.

"The Japanese kitsune or foxes are sometimes were beasts in legends. Tamamo no Mae` is a famous were-fox, so skilled and powerful she would often prey upon kings and emperors. Her rein came to an end when one counselor of Emperor Toba's, a kitsune gari, a foxhunter, recognized her for what she was and set about her destruction along with her companion, another kitsune. The dead foxes were turned to Sessho-Seki."

"And Pusher is applying this story to us?" Scully asked.

"There is a bit more to the fable, the fox hunter had to take these foxes down. He was a young man, but he had been in a fierce battle with Tamamo no Mae's companion previously. That fight had poisoned him and he knew he was dying and if he couldn't finish them now he never would avenge himself."

"Oh, so it's personal " Mulder mused.

" Pusher fought the both of you before and lost. He was trying to go mano a mano with Mulder not realizing you work as a team, he must have underestimated agent Scully's abilities. That, and given his overblown ego, his defeat by her intervention, well, he had to come up with a rationalization for his loss to you, so this is now how he see you, both as foxes, dangerous powerful foxes, he must hunt down and destroy, to right his being wronged."

" So this is to let us know we are the prey, and the hunter is on our trail. Why let us know? Would a good hunter tip off his quarry? "Scully pondered.

" No, but he might try to unsettle his game, to make it more interesting." Mulder looked at Scully

" Guys call me if he turns up on those tapes, we'll be at my place."

Scully furrowed her brow at him, as she picked up the case file and headed for the door.

" First thing he'll attempt is divide and conquer, we are going to play his game, just not by his rules. We are going to play him."

Holding the door for Scully she jibbed " Did you ever get the hot water turned on? "

" Hey, was that a cold shower joke?"

As the door closed behind them, Langly grinned, Byers shook his head and Frohike sighed.

7:00 PM Mulder's Apartment

" Yes sir, understood, until we have more to go on he'll have to make the first move.

I'll be going over the doctor's charts and Mulder is reviewing surveillance tapes. Right. Good night sir."

"Skinner updated?" Mulder put one of the two tapes he had spared Frohike into the VCR.

"As much as we are." Scully resumed reading the case file.

Mulder plopped on the couch next to Scully and began scanning through the first tape.

10:00 PM Mulder's Apartment

Scully stifles a yawn as she closes the case file and stretches.

Mulder clicks off the TV, " I have much better ideas on how to waste an evening."

"True, but figure we saved you a fortune on tonight's phone bill."

Mulder tried to look wounded but ended up grinning. " Always looking out for me."

"That's what partners are for. So, what do foxes do after a hard day of being foxes?"

"They go home to their den and sleep. Let's hope Frohike comes up with something."

August 27 6 AM Mulder's Apartment

Ring, Ring.

"Ah…Hello." Mulder groggily answered the phone.

"Bad news dude," Frohike sounded like he had been up all night. "It's definitely your boy on the tapes, unfortunately he looks like he is up to his old tricks."

"Damn, we'll be right over" clicking off the phone, Mulder realized the aroma of brewing coffee.

"Hey," Wandering into the kitchen " I didn't have any coffee."

"I know. You didn't have any the last time I was over either." Scully handed over a mug of Java.

"You got all the badges in girl scouts, didn't you? That was Frohike, he's got something."