Church Of The Latter Day Saints Mercer Island,
Seattle 19th December 2004 1.05 PM
They weren't surprised to find the church doors open. It was a cool day before Christmas but the rain that had threatened to break the skies had just started to fall. The air crackled with unspent energy as they stepped through the wide oak doorway.
Wooden cushioned pews adjourned the red tilled floor, all facing up to the sparsely decorated alter. The window held stained glass images of children playing or woodland creatures and allowed a colourful light into the wide fresh room. "Nice digs," Mulder quipped at the sight of the gold lined pulpit to the left of the alter.
"This should be the way to the vestry."
Scully walked behind the Alter to a small hidden doorway that was covered with a beautifully detailed tapestry. She couldn't help a second glance as they passed it. Knocking on the door softly Mulder afforded the tapestry a quick look, but turned at the sound of the door opening.
"Yes?"
"Reverend Hank Pearson?" Mulder asked looking at the young boy who eyes them with undisguised curiosity.
"I'm Hank Jr."
"Is your father here?"
"Not at the moment."
"I'm Detective Frank Williams, This is Special Agent Dana Scully with the FBI. Do you know where we can find the Reverend?"
"He's out on retreat and wont be back until tomorrow night."
"Where is the retreat Hank?" Scully asked with a sweet smile she hoped would help him give her the right answer.
"At the graveyard. Where my mother is buried."
"Ok. Thank you."
Mulder ended the conversation abruptly and took Scullys elbow to lead her out of the church. They climbed into the car in silence. She remembered the quick flashes of decisions he would make during an interrogation, a recollection of information he already knew, pieces of the puzzle falling together, finally. She knew better than to fight him and instead waited for his mind to process whatever it was it found in its own time.
The I-90 was jam packed with traffic and finally the rain that was drizzling down thundered down from the dark skies pounding against the windscreen with ferocity Scully had rarely witnessed before.
"Reverend Pearson's wife. Over a year ago she displayed symptoms of stigmata." His words were soft and pensive as if he was thinking aloud.
"Stigmata?"
"Seeping wounds on the hands and feet."
"Was it discounted?"
"By any and all that saw it."
"Did you see it?"
"No...I'm not that kind of detective anymore," he answered with a small smile. "Bishop Reilly, if I recall correctly, was the main disqualifier of her claims. Jared Wilks accused the Reverend's wife of instigating a distraction from the problems the church was experiencing at the time."
"What kind of problems?" she asked intrigued.
"An outbreak of teen suicides. In three weeks six teenagers from the Church of the Latter Day Saints committed suicide."
"Was there an investigation?"
"Yes of course, but all the kids were members of an after school club called The Beautiful People. Four other members from this club, who were not members of the Latter Day Saints church committed suicide. As all the victims left suicide notes, pertaining to a pact the investigation was closed."
"How did the reverends wife die?"
"She bled to death." Scully was shocked. Expecting to hear another murder claim she didn't prepare herself for other options. "Deep penetrating circular wounds about the size of a small railroad spike in each wrist between the ulna and radius bones...and similar wounds on the feet."
"Stigmata wounds."
"With traces of rust and iron in them."
"Self inflicted?"
"Reverend Pearson was investigated but with no evidence it was ruled as self inflicted."
Finally the traffic broke off the interstate and Scully sat quietly as Mulder navigated the small winding streets to get to the precinct as fast as possible. He parked hap hazardly on the road outside and they went directly to the mock office David was still sitting in.
"Your back. Did you speak to The Reverend?" he asked Scully who walked in first.
"Where is Gary?" Mulder asked ignoring David's question.
"He just went to his office to make a call."
Mulder walked out of the room and Scully followed him across the station to Gary's office. David followed bewildered and Scully signalled at him to wait. There was too much information for her to relay in such a short time so she wanted him to hear it from Mulder in its entirety. Gary was just hanging up the phone in its cradle when the entourage walked in.
"Frank, did you talk to the reverend?"
"No. His son."
"He wasn't there," Scully said.
"Reverend Hank Pearson. As in husband to Helena Pearson," Mulder said letting Gary see the pieces for himself.
"Helena Pearson? Helena Pearson?" Shane rolled the name around his tongue and Mulder could see the moment he recognised it. "Stigmata claim in 2003."
"Yes."
"Stigmata?" David asked confused. "We need to get a warrant out on the good Reverend," Mulder said picking up the phone as Gary reached for the old case file.
Scully led David out of the room as the orders were barked down the phone to gather the swat team. She explained to him the case Mulder told her about and how all the victims were connected to the Reverend. But David stood tall, his arms folded across his chest.
"It's all a bit circumstantial Dana. We have no evidence to go in after this man. We'll never get a warrant."
"I got Judge Maguire to sign off on a warrant he will fax though the reply straight away." They heard Gary saying to Mulder in the office behind them. "We should be ready to go within the hour."
"Team is setting up in the basement. I want to go down and go over it with them."
Mulder said as he stepped out of the office but his feet halted at the sight of Scully and David standing to closely speaking softly. Her hand was on his upper arm, applying a soft pressure he could almost feel in his own arm. He tore his eyes away from the traitorous sight and continued to walk past them.
"Frank..." he looked back to where David called him. "Need a hand down in the basement?"
"Sure David. This way." Scully watched them walk towards the stairs and turned to join Gary in the office.
"Finally a break," he said as she claimed the seat across from him.
"With circumstantial evidence I'm intrigued as to how you managed to get a warrant."
"Judge Maguire is...was a golfing buddy of Bishop Reilly."
"Ahh. I see."
"We need to get this moving Agent Scully."
"I understand. I hope we are right."
"Nice to get back to DC for Christmas I guess."
"Yes. That would be nice."
Gary heard the insincerity in her voice, but her false smile told him she was trying to convince either him or herself so he left it lie.
Church Of The Latter Day Saints Mercer Island,
Seattle 19th December 2004 4.35 PM
Mulder knelt behind the car door and fixed his bulletproof vest around his chest. His police badge hung on a small link chain around his neck so he tucked it into a small pocket at the front of the vest. He glanced around the street and spotted the various members of the SWAT team in position watching him, waiting for his signal. Behind him Scully and David crouched low holding their guns by their sides and watching him too.
Mulder leaned a little past the car and signalled for the first team to go and then a few seconds later the second team. It seemed like and age but was mere seconds when he pointed at the FBI Agents and jumped up dashing across the street not waiting to see if they followed. But as he crashed his body into the wall of the church he felt them land beside him.
The first team broke through the door followed by the second team who searched the church. Mulder and Scully walked up to the vestry door and stood either side of the tapestry. He counted her out with three sharp nods of his head and on the final nod, she whipped the tapestry aside and he jumped in front of the open doorway.
His gun was held out rigidly in front of him and he was about to shout Freeze when a loud shot rang out through the church, knocking him back against the alter and landing him beneath the pulpit. Scully watched in slow motion horror as he flew through the air and landed with a sickening thud. She focused on the source of the shot and turned to the open vestry doorway where Reverend Hank Pearson stood with a gun to his son's head.
David rushed over to Mulder's fallen body and called for an ambulance. He checked for a pulse but the blood that he coughed up didn't make for hopeful thoughts. "Reverend...put the gun down." Scully said softly, aware of the SWAT team that was circling in behind her as the second team made their way outside to gain another entrance.
"I give you my son..." Hank said, his hand shaking as he held the 9mm 's gun to his son's temple.
"Reverend...put the gun down, no one else needs to get hurt."
"Belief is a fickle thing..." He pressed the gun harder to his son's head and it was then that Scully noted the serene expression on the kids face. He was staring straight ahead his eyes open wide and not blinking. He knelt on the floor with his hands behind his back but Scully couldn't tell if he was tied up or not.
"Reverend put the gun down or I will be forced to shoot you!" she yelled forcefully but as she took a step forward the Reverend pulled the trigger.
The sound was deafening in the small vestry but she wasn't prepared for the sight of the kid's body slumping to the ground after the implosion of his skull, as the bullet left a large exit wound and lodged in the concrete wall.
The Reverend put the gun to his own head but this time Scully was quicker and she shot him directly in the shoulder, knocking him back against the desk with a moan.
"No, it's not supposed to end like this."
"Never is."
"It can't end like this."
He sat up with a last gasp of air one arm holding his injured shoulder, while the other one faced the gun up to Scully, but before he could pull the trigger Scully spotted the unmistakeable red dot on his chest. It was with a muffled moan that his body crumpled to the ground half lying over his dead son. Scully took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts and rushed out to Mulders side. She pushed her way past the small crowd that were standing over him and was surprised to see David leaning over him giving CPR. "The bulled skimmed his vest but went into his left side...he stopped breathing, I think he may have punctured a lung. He was coughing up blood"
"How long has he been out?"
"Since the shot."
She took over the CPR, letting David pump his chest as she held his nose and breathed into his open mouth. His vest had been torn off and discarded to the floor over his head. Blood soaked through his light blue shirt, the dark stain spreading as David pumped him.
"Block off that wound, don't do the compressions anymore," she yelled, still breathing into his mouth ignoring the blood on her lips from breathing into his mouth. The EMT's rushed in and a member of the swat led them to Mulders fallen form. They immediately took over pushing Scully away, and placing an oxygen mask over his face. Mulder's eyes were open but glazed over, seeing nothing of what was going on around him.
"Entry wound on the left side of the body. Just above the fourth rib," one of the technicians shouted.
"Blood in the mask."
"He's going to need to be intubated."
They scrambled for their equipment and one of them covered his wound while the other deftly sliced a small hole in Mulder's throat before inserting a thin hallow tube into it, feeding it low enough to get to his lungs.
"Ok, tube in."
"This lung is definitely collapsed, we gotta get him out to the ER now."
Scully saw everything happen in slow motion as they hoisted him onto a gurney and hurriedly wheeled him out to the waiting ambulance. They had almost gotten him packed away when she suddenly realised she needed to be with him. Rushing out to the door with David on her heels she climbed into the back and sat next to the technician.
"Dana?" David said from the door.
"I have to go David, I have to go."
He nodded with a grim smile but slammed the door shut and watched the ambulance drive off, it's siren loud and ominous as its lights twisted brightly in the early evening darkness. Turning to the SWAT team, he ordered the area to be cordoned off and called for the coroner. He could feel everything from the past few days coming to a head and after waiting for it for so long he wasn't sure if he wanted it anymore.
Seattle General Hospital
19th December 2004 5.05 PM
Scully was pushed out of the cubicle as the team of doctors worked on him. They tried to convince her to wait in the waiting room but she steadfastly refused to let Mulder leave her sight. The intubated tube was connected to a hand pump to help him breathe and a young nurse counted out his breathes with minute movements of her head before pumping more air into him. Her head swam with familiar terms as the doctors worked on him but all she could do was listen.
"Entry wound through third and fourth ribs and then into his lung."
"He's bleeding!"
"Suction."
The surreal sound of the suction pulling loose blood out of his lung and clearing spaces for the doctors to see stung her ears. She stepped closer and tried to help but another nurse gently pushed her back.
"Four units of O-Neg, he's loosing too much."
"Blood pressure is too low."
"He's A Positive..." Scully said loudly. "His blood type is A Positive."
"Four units...make it now!" The IV was connected to his arm and the blood started to flow, but with an unseen wound still open his pressure remained low. The doctor made the relatively small entry wound bigger with a careful swipe of the scalpel blade so he could fit four fingers into the new hole. Another doctor stood by Mulder's head shining a light into his eyes.
"Hello...wake up, can you hear me? What's his name?"
"Mulder...I mean Frank Williams. His name is Frank Williams."
"Hello Frank can you hear me? Move your toes if you can hear me Frank." Scully's eyes darted to his feet but they remained still.
"Suction...clamp...hold this." Her attention was dragged back to the bullet wound where another doctor took the clamp and held it in place to stop the bleeding. "I see it...lower left lung lobe has been punctured, pleura is torn. Get me a kit!" he shouted.
The small stainless steel kidney shaped bowl was thrust in front of him and while his colleagues held the clamps in place to stop blood getting to the lungs, he quickly sewed up the wound. Pulling on the last stitch they cleared his lungs of any blood and pumped more oxygen into them. They inflated and deflated with ease so he removed the clamp, whilst everyone waited with their breath held for five agonising seconds as his blood travelled along newly sewn patches but his blood pressure didn't rise as expected.
"Roll him over, let me take a look at the exit wound." Two nurses pulled his body towards then so that he was laying on his right side, his bare back exposed to the doctor.
"Large exit wound higher than expected." This time he didn't need to make the wound any bigger as it was big enough for his exploration. "Can you see it?" Scully asked anxiously wanting to grab a pair of latex gloves and dig in herself.
"Left atrium, blood vessel...I'm going to need another clamp."
Quickly he clamped the small vessel and sewed up the small wound, releasing the clamp and for a second time they waited for his blood pressure to rise. Seconds seems to stop for Scully but finally the figures on the monitor slowly began to rise and she let out the breath she'd been holding. "Okay...he's as stable as we can get him down here...Get him sewn up and lets get him a CT Scan of his chest and make sure we didn't miss anything."
A nurse worked on pulling the jagged edges of Mulder's skin together in a makeshift way before the gurney was wheeled away to the lift. Scully turned to follow it, but suddenly realised someone was calling her name and she saw Detective Gary Shane walking towards her.
"Agent Scully, where is Frank?"
"He's stable." She touched Gary on the shoulder as he stood next to her in time to see him disappear into the lift. "He's gone to the Radiology lab."
"Pearson shot him?"
"Then shot his son in the head. He tried to shoot me but someone got to him first."
"Agent McLane is processing the scene as we speak."
"Did Pearson survive?"
"No. Shot in the chest straight through...died on the scene."
"Does anyone know what happened?"
"McLane said he found a diary in the vestry and it has detailed plans of how to go through with each murder. His son helped him."
"Oh god." She sighed with him and followed him to the seats by the door.
"Is Frank going to be okay?" he asked after a moment.
"Yeah. He's going to hurt like hell for a while but he'll be fine."
"I understand you two had a history."
"Yeah?"
"He mentioned that you worked together before but it ended badly."
"Yes. Something like that."
"Well when this kind of thing happens it brings it all back into focus don't you think?"
"Yes I do."
The silence fell between them again but this time neither of them disturbed it, letting it wrap around them keeping their thoughts warm. Hours passed slowly with assured monotony until finally a nurse came over and told them he had been transferred into the ICU. They went there directly but were told only one could go in at a time. Gary looked at Scully and was about to let her go in when her phone rang.
"You go in. I'll take this," she said stepping back and pulling her phone from her pocket. "Scully?"
"Dana. It's David."
"How's it going out there?"
"Fine. How is Detective Williams?"
"He's been stabilised. His left lung was punctured but it's been fixed. He should be fine."
"Good, that's great news."
"Detective Shane said you found a diary," she asked leaning against the wall outside Mulders room.
"Yes it details all the murders and how they were performed."
"Revenge."
"Yes. After the three men discounted his wife's claims of stigmata, then she bled to death I guess he just cracked."
"It still doesn't explain how he got them to remain still while he crucified one and beheaded another."
"No it doesn't, but I've only read through it a little. We can safely say there will be no more of these murders." "Have you called AD Skinner?" She pushed herself away from the wall as the door opened and Gary walked out. He smiled grimly at her and waited for her phone conversation to finish.
"Yes just now. He said he will look forward to our report when we get back to DC."
"Okay David."
"Should I book flights for tonight?" he asked and she could tell by the expectant tone in his voice that he already knew her answer.
"No. Leave it until tomorrow. Anyway I'm about to go in and see Detective Williams. I'll call you back."
"Bye Dana." She slipped the phone back into her pocket and turned to face Gary.
"How is he?"
"He's unconscious. In considerable shock and he don't look too hot but they assure me he will be fine." He offered her a small smile but she stepped past him to look in the small window on the door. "I'm going back to the Church. I'll speak to you later Agent Scully."
Scully nodded slowly then walked into the door not waiting for Gary to leave. She approached the bed and was amazed at how familiar it all seemed when it had been over four years since she walked up to a hospital bed where Mulder lay. Reaching out she stoked his hair away from his face, letting her fingers brush against his scalp, touching his gently to let him know she was there.
"Hey..." she whispered.
The thick bandages that were wrapped around his torso covering the bullet wounds on his chest and back were startlingly white and were accompanied by the smaller bandage on his throat where the intubation was. Her fingers tenderly touched his neck, wanting to feel his pulse for herself, even though she could hear the heart monitor beeping over his head.
"Thanks Mulder," she whispered. "It could have been me."
Her other hand rolled down his arm to take his fingers as she sat on the small leather chair beside his bed. His skin was warm and soft and she interlocked their fingers to get closer to him. Hours passed and nurses walked by inquiring if she needed anything but she just wanted to stay with him for as long as she could. They worked around her, checking his bandages and stitches, making sure none of them moved. His vitals were recorded and his pain meds reduced slightly, and it was nearing half past nine when a nurse touched her shoulder to tell her an Agent McLane was waiting in the corridor to speak to her. Scully extracted herself and walked out to him, rubbing the heel of her hands into her eyes.
"How is he?" David asked as soon as she closed the door behind her.
"He's stable. Just waiting for him to wake up."
"That's good." He looked at her tired dark eyes and small shivering cold body. "Do you want to go back to the motel and change?"
"No. I'm staying here," she answered firmly.
"What is it about this guy Dana? What is he to you?" David was tired of the dark, tired of waiting for the pendulum to swing so he pushed it.
"It's a long story."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"David please..." she pleaded with him, imploring for the time to relax, to calm down but he stood firmly before her. Reaching out to her he gathered her into a hug and she accepted the warm embrace. "Just give me some time."
"Okay Dana." His hand stroked her hair and he pressed a small kiss onto her forehead. "I know something is going on...I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"Don't worry David."
"I will worry. You know I will."
"Yeah I know." "Do you want me to wait with you?" he asked knowing she was about to spend the night here in the ICU ward at Seattle General hospital.
"No thanks. I'll be fine." David released her from his hug but held onto her hands.
"This is going to be one of those late night stakeout stories isn't it?" he joked loving to see the small smile traverse her lips.
"Something like that."
"Goodnight Dana." He let go of her hands and walked away. Watching him for a while she soon returned to Mulders side. She took his hand again and sat back into the chair. A nurse walked in to check his vitals again and she smiled warmly at her.
"Would you like a blanket Dana? It can get pretty cold in here."
"No thanks I'm fine."
"Well give me a call if you need anything."
The room was silent again except for the soothing sound of his heartbeat as the monitor beeped rhythmically into the stillness of the room. She rubbed his hand with her thumb and watched his face for any sign of consciousness but it all became too much for and she drifted off into a restless sleep.
Faint impressions of people walking around her and a heavy warm feeling all over her body soon were enough to drag herself back into the waking world. Her eyes blinked heavily and she snuggled deeper into the blue blanket that one of the nurses must have draped over her. Glancing at the window, she saw it was still dark so she knew she couldn't have been asleep for too long. Her eyes darted back to Mulder who was still out. Sitting up on the chair she pulled the blanket tighter around her suppressing the small shiver that shook her body. Taking his hand again she let his warmth seep into her and reached over to stroke his hair.
"Mulder, you have to wake up, you can't stay there forever."
His brow twitched and creased into a small frown. She stilled her hands and watched him, willing him to come back to her.
"Mulder? Can you hear me?"
"Leave me alone...all of you...leave me alone."
She froze. The words that had haunted her since she first heard them four years ago in his apartment stuck her to the ground and rattled her body with fear. She knew then instantly that Mulder had never gotten over it, that his nightmares were still there, still tormented him and ruined his life.
"Mulder, its me Scully. Can you hear me?"
She gently squeezed his shoulder as his head lolled to the side. His frown deepened and his lips moved again, but this time no sound came out. He blinked slowly at first as if trying it for the first time and eventually his eyes opened enough to see her standing over him. His face screwed up in fear at the sight of her standing over him and he tried to roll away but he couldn't move.
"No, leave me alone."
"Mulder...it's me."
Her voice penetrated through the haze that tainted his vision and slowly his body relaxed. Cautiously turning to her he looked up to her face and read what he expected. The worry and fear were obvious but the anger more prominent.
"Do you know where you are Mulder?"
"Heaven?" he said with a raspy voice and a small smile.
"Not quite."
"What happened?"
"You were shot. Damaged lung and fractured ribs."
"I was wondering why it hurt to breathe."
"How do you feel?"
"Roughed up a bit...but I guess I'm going to survive right?" "Yeah you will survive." They shared smiles as she brushed her fingers through his hair. "I better call the doctor and tell him you're awake."
"Wait Scully..." She turned back to face him, her hand still on his.
"Thanks for waiting with me."
"That's okay."
"Reverend Pearson, is he dead?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"Don't worry about that Mulder, just concentrate on getting better."
"You're going back to DC aren't you."
It wasn't a question. She didn't have a reply anyway, not the one he wanted to hear. Instead she turned and walked out the door. Soon after her exit, doctors came in and tested his eyes, pulse and blood pressure. They tried explaining all the procedures that were performed on him but the words flew over his head. He was alive, he was breathing albeit painfully and Scully was leaving. That was all that swam around his mind over and over until finally the medical team left and he was on his own. He waited for her to come back to speak to her again but the pain killers were making him drowsy and without choice he wandered back to a physically painless sleep.