Part 24
Saturday 2/18
Scully enters her apartment and shuts the door. She tosses the shopping bags on her sofa and walks over to her answering machine. Theres three messages. One from Frohike saying that he is willing to be her date for tonight's ball, one from Willmore thanking her for the tickets and one from Skinner just checking up on how she is doing.
She looks at her watch, its 3:00 PM. She decides to run a hot bubble bath. She climbs in but decides not to stay in too long as she can't help thinking as she sits there. She has to keep busy with something. She can't remember feeling so depressed before. She sits down to watch tv and flips through the channels. After ten minutes she realizes that she is watching the Sci-Fi Channel and was actually enjoying it. She tosses the remote to the side and picks up a magazine on her coffee table. She flips through it stopping on an article about Bigfoot. "What is this? Everything I look at somehow reverts back to him", she says aloud.
She looks down at the gown bag sitting on her sofa. Another black gown. She had wanted to buy a electric blue gown, but in a small way she didn't want to look too festive. It was almost appropriate that she wear black as she was in mourning. Well, the hotel would be alive with excitement right now as the crew that she had haphazardly put together would be decorating and setting up the tables. Maybe it would be a good idea to get dressed and head over there early to help. That way she could disappear once the party started into full swing. She didn't feel like a party tonight. She grabs the gown and heads into her bedroom to get dressed.
********************
2/17 6:00 PM - Alexandria, VA
Being February the sun has already gone down. We see a black Cadillac pull up to an apartment building. Mulder is thrown out onto the sidewalk. He groans as he crawls up the stairs leading to his building. Somehow he makes it to his door without anyone seeing him. He reaches for his key, but he doesn't have it. He looks around and realizes he has no choice. Using the last of his strength he kicks the door in. He steps over all the mess that still covers the floor of his apartment and picks up the phone. He calls Scully, but she's not home and she is not answering her cellphone. Immediately he feels worried, but he makes another call.
"Lone Gunmen!", answers Langley.
"Hey. I've returned from the missing", moans Mulder."
"We almost gave up on you. Scully was here and we helped her with the disk."
"The disk?", asks Mulder blankly.
"She had a disk from your deposit box. We helped her put a virus on it so it would self destruct in seventy-two hours from the trade", continues Langley.
"But I hid the disk", says Mulder. I had taken it out to put into a new harddrive that I bought on Wednesday. The disk is taped to the bottom of my top desk drawer at work."
"Then what was on the disk that Scully had", asks Langley confused.
"Its a sci-fi novel that I wrote in college. I never had it published. Come to think of it, its actually got some qualities that are parallel to this whole project we are dealing with", says Mulder.
"I'd be watching my back", says Langley. "Once they realize that the disk isn't real you are going to be a dead man."
"Yeah well if I'm going to die I need to do something first. Can I talk to Byers?"
Byers comes to the phone. "Mulder, thank God you're alive. I have a feeling this was a close one."
"It was and I have a favor to ask you", replies Mulder.
"Yeah, I still have it. Its in my closet and clean. I think it will fit you.", says Byers. "We'll be over in half an hour."
Saturday 2/18
Scully enters her apartment and shuts the door. She tosses the shopping bags on her sofa and walks over to her answering machine. Theres three messages. One from Frohike saying that he is willing to be her date for tonight's ball, one from Willmore thanking her for the tickets and one from Skinner just checking up on how she is doing.
She looks at her watch, its 3:00 PM. She decides to run a hot bubble bath. She climbs in but decides not to stay in too long as she can't help thinking as she sits there. She has to keep busy with something. She can't remember feeling so depressed before. She sits down to watch tv and flips through the channels. After ten minutes she realizes that she is watching the Sci-Fi Channel and was actually enjoying it. She tosses the remote to the side and picks up a magazine on her coffee table. She flips through it stopping on an article about Bigfoot. "What is this? Everything I look at somehow reverts back to him", she says aloud.
She looks down at the gown bag sitting on her sofa. Another black gown. She had wanted to buy a electric blue gown, but in a small way she didn't want to look too festive. It was almost appropriate that she wear black as she was in mourning. Well, the hotel would be alive with excitement right now as the crew that she had haphazardly put together would be decorating and setting up the tables. Maybe it would be a good idea to get dressed and head over there early to help. That way she could disappear once the party started into full swing. She didn't feel like a party tonight. She grabs the gown and heads into her bedroom to get dressed.
********************
2/17 6:00 PM - Alexandria, VA
Being February the sun has already gone down. We see a black Cadillac pull up to an apartment building. Mulder is thrown out onto the sidewalk. He groans as he crawls up the stairs leading to his building. Somehow he makes it to his door without anyone seeing him. He reaches for his key, but he doesn't have it. He looks around and realizes he has no choice. Using the last of his strength he kicks the door in. He steps over all the mess that still covers the floor of his apartment and picks up the phone. He calls Scully, but she's not home and she is not answering her cellphone. Immediately he feels worried, but he makes another call.
"Lone Gunmen!", answers Langley.
"Hey. I've returned from the missing", moans Mulder."
"We almost gave up on you. Scully was here and we helped her with the disk."
"The disk?", asks Mulder blankly.
"She had a disk from your deposit box. We helped her put a virus on it so it would self destruct in seventy-two hours from the trade", continues Langley.
"But I hid the disk", says Mulder. I had taken it out to put into a new harddrive that I bought on Wednesday. The disk is taped to the bottom of my top desk drawer at work."
"Then what was on the disk that Scully had", asks Langley confused.
"Its a sci-fi novel that I wrote in college. I never had it published. Come to think of it, its actually got some qualities that are parallel to this whole project we are dealing with", says Mulder.
"I'd be watching my back", says Langley. "Once they realize that the disk isn't real you are going to be a dead man."
"Yeah well if I'm going to die I need to do something first. Can I talk to Byers?"
Byers comes to the phone. "Mulder, thank God you're alive. I have a feeling this was a close one."
"It was and I have a favor to ask you", replies Mulder.
"Yeah, I still have it. Its in my closet and clean. I think it will fit you.", says Byers. "We'll be over in half an hour."