disclaimer: -sighs- grrr, don't remind me. I don't own the X-Files or any of it's characters. –sulks yet again-
author's note: some of the things I mention about Santeria are false. I have nothing against the religion, so take no offense.
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Tuesday, March 11th, 2003 10:56am Hoover Building, Washington D.C.
"So, how soon are we leaving to investigate these crimes?" Scully asked. Mulder glanced at his watch, then spoke. "Actually, right after Skinner handed me the case, I immediately reserved two airline tickets. We really should get going, because out flight heads out a little before 1:00 this afternoon." Scully got angry. "Mulder! What were you thinking? With all of this paperwork left finished, we'll if we're out of here by 7:30." He rolled his eyes in response "Forget about the paperwork, Scully, this is more important. Besides, we can finish it all when we get back." he reassured her. "Alright, fine, how long will we be staying there?" she asked. "About a week, maybe less, it all depends. C'mon, we don't have much time, go home and pack and I'll pick you up a little before 12:30." he replied as he ushered Scully out of the office.
1:28pm
American Airlines flight 180
Mulder gazed out of the tiny window by his seat, while eating some sunflower seeds. Scully was reading "The Sheltering Sky". She was about halfway through the book when Mulder spoke. "Ay, Scully." She turned to face him. "Have you ever been to Miami?" he continued to look out the window. "No, I don't believe I have. What about you?" she asked. He shook his head "Neither have I."
"Mulder, you never told me about your 'research' on this case." Scully reminded him. "Oh yeah, sorry, it's actually quite interesting really. In the religion of Santeria, there are many gods they worship. The main one being Chango/Saint Barbara, who is the most feared of all the gods. Now according to their belief, those who worship this god must perform every ritual and sacrifice correctly, or they will suffer the wrath of Chango." explained Mulder. "Like some kind of curse?" asked Scully. "I guess you could say that." he replied. "Dare I ask for your theory on this case?" she asked. "My theory? Well, I believe that the murders might be the result of a curse." he replied. "Mulder, maybe the preformed a ritual or sacrifice wrong, as you mentioned before, or committed some sin against the religion, which angered some other followers in their specific group? Which could explain the murders being within the same family. They murdered them in some kind of ritual probably. It all makes sense." argued Scully. He argued back "In any other case I'd agree with you, Scully, but there's been proof of people falling victim to the sorcery of Santeria, so we have to keep an open mind on this one." "Well, let's not jump to any conclusions until we examine the bodies and crime scenes." said Scully leaning back in her chair. Mulder nodded in agreement, and resumed eating his sunflower seeds while staring out the window.
6:30pm
Miami, FL
Radisson Hotel
"Well, everything seems to be going to plan so far." noted Mulder, as him and Scully stopped in front of the check in/out desk. There stood a short dark Hispanic woman with a heavy accent "How may I help you today sir?" she asked him. "Yes, I have room reservation under the name of Fox Mulder. It was a conjoined room suite." he said. "Ahh yes, I remember. Your room is on the 8th floor. Rooms 818 and 819" she said as she hand him their keys. "Thank you" they both said, as they headed for the elevator with their luggage.
In the elevator, they began talking. "Well, looks like we'll have some free time after all." said Mulder. he continued "I figured we should go question the family sometime tomorrow morning." Scully nodded in agreement. "So, what do you want to do in the meantime?" asked Scully. This question caught Mulder off guard. "Why Scully, I'm surprised at you. I thought I was the one who was suppose to make all the innuendo remarks?" said Mulder as he let out a laugh. "Mulder, you know what I meant." said Scully, as she rolled her eyes at him. "Well, we could get some dinner I guess." he suggested. "Sounds like a plan" she replied, as the elevator door opened to the 8th floor. "Well, let's unpack, and then we'll find some place to go." said Mulder.
After they finished unpacking, they left the hotel in the car that was rented out to them. Mulder began driving. "So where to Scully?" he asked. "Well, I really wouldn't know being that I've never been here before, so let's just drive around and see what we find." said Scully. They had been driving a while when they came across a restaurant called 'La Caretta'. "Hnn, this looks like a place to try out." said Mulder. Him and Scully both entered the restaurant intrigued by what they saw. The place was playing classical Cuban music and there were paintings, pictures, and decorations of Cuba. The hostess came up to. "Hola. dos? she asked. "Oh, I'm sorry we don't speak-"Scully was cut off by Mulder "Si si, dos." said Mulder in the biggest gringo accent. Scully raised an eyebrow at him as they were ushered to their seats. "Since when do YOU speak Spanish?" asked a surprised Scully. "Oh, I took 3 years of it back in highschool, but I don't really remember much. I only understand a tiny bit." he replied. Just then the waiter came up. "Buenas, yo soy Guillermo. Que quire tomar oy?" asked their waiter. "Sorry, Guillermo, we no intiendo espanol bien." said Mulder. "Oh, I so sorry. What you like to drink?" asked the waiter who clearly didn't speak English very well. Scully decided on water, and Mulder decided on some iced tea. They both looked at the menus confused. "Mulder, the entire menu is in Spanish." she said. "Thank you, captain obvious." said Mulder. The waiter returned. "Sir what do you recommend for us to eat." asked Mulder. The waiter gave them some options. Mulder decided on Bistec con limon y plantanos (skillet steak with lime and plantains), and Scully decided on arroz con pollo y plantanos (rice with chicken and plantains). When they got their food, they were surprised at how good it was. "And we have a winner." said Mulder with his mouth full. Scully smiled.
After dinner, they headed back to the hotel. "Looks like I'll be having Cuban food more often." said Scully. "Ditto." said Mulder as he patted his stomach. "So, tell me, where is it that we have to go tomorrow to speak with these people?" asked Scully curiously. "We have to go to a section of Miami called Little Havana. That's where the family lives." replied Mulder. "What about the bodies? Has there been autopsies preformed on them yet?" she asked her partner. "Not to my knowledge. While I question the family, you can work on getting those autopsies." said Mulder. She agreed with him. As they approached their rooms, Mulder spoke. "Y'know Scully." she looked up at him before he continued. "I have the feeling that this is going to be one hell of an interesting case." She gave him a look of question. "G'night, Scully." he said. "G'night, Mulder." They both entered their separate rooms and got ready for bed.
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
10:56 am
Mulder awoke to the ringing of his cell phone. "Mulder..." he answered groggily. "Mulder, it's me, I just got here at the morgue where the bodies are being held." she said. "What time did you get up?" he asked. "Around 9:30. Anyway, Mulder, when are you going to go and question the members of the family?" she asked. "Oh, I'll go as soon as I'm finished showering and getting ready. Call me if you find anything, Scully." he said. "Of course, you know it." she answered before hanging up. Mulder got up to shower and get ready. Which didn't take him very long.
11:49am.
Little Havana.
A still tired Mulder, pulled up to the driveway of, what according to the directions, was the victim's family residence. The house was clearly added on to, had metal bars around the windows, and was painted a tacky shade of aqua. In fact, he noticed that a lot of the houses in Little Havana were tacky looking. He got out of the car and proceeded to walk up to the front door. An old woman peered out the window at him. He stepped to the door and knocked. The woman undid the many latches before opening the door. "buenas, senior." she said. "Hola, my name is special agent Fox Mulder, I'm with the FBI." he said as he held out his badge in front of her. The woman wasn't very tall, in fact she was less than 5ft tall. Her hair was cut in a bob, premed, and dyed what looked like it was suppose to be black but came out purple instead. "Oh, pardon senior, por favor, entran." she motioned with her hand from him to come in. As he stepped inside he noted the many big statues of the saints and candles everywhere. A strong aroma filled the air. "Yo, no abler espanol bien." he said to the old woman. "Oh, sorry senior. I try to eh speaky mas english." she said. She offered him some Cuban coffee. "You look eh mui tired, quiero café cubano?" she asked him. "Yes, thank you." he said in response. "My name is eh Joseffina Cortez De La Rosa Rodriguez." she said. "You are here about Marta, Yamil, and Luisa, no?" she asked. "Yes, he said. I understand that you are all strong believers in Santeria." he said. "Si." she said flatty and bit nervously. A man who had been sitting in front of the livingroom tv turned around and spoke. "So what you ask us for? We have eh noting to do with this." he said with an annoyed attitude.
"Sir there's no need to take offense. I just want to know what happened, that's all." said Mulder. "Don't mind my huband, he no know what happen either. We no try make trouble with them." she told him. "Marta was my sister, Yamil nephew, and Luisa niece." They live eh next door before it kill them." she said. "What exactly do you believe killed them?" Mulder asked now more interested. Her husband stood up now. "No, Marta no deise nada a el! You no believe us anyway!" yelled the man. "Humberto, ya! cayate la boca!" she yelled back at her husband. she motioned for Mulder to follow her. She led him out to the back yard. it wasn't too big, but still a decent size. He noted all of the candle stands, and a circle for what look like fire. "My family very big. Many many people." she told him. My younger sister and her children, they grown up, they all live with her. They no believe in the religion. Our family saint is eh Barbara." she told him. "Chango." he muttered. She looked at him with a surprised look. "You know about eh Santeria?" she asked him. "Yes a little bit. It's a very interesting religion." he said. "Yes, my family we all live in this eh street, 3 house." she said. Just as she was beginning to explain more to Mulder, his cell phone sounded. he answered. "Mulder." "Mulder, I found something very interesting. You've gotta see this." said Scully