Disclaimer: Blah Blah...I don't own Mulder and Scully or The X-Files...Hnn...I
wonder how much they cost anyway? o.O Lol...
author's note: umm...hi again? lol...I don't really have much to say this time, but the usual applies...my Spanish grammar and spelling SUCKS XoD ...Now, on with the story! =oD
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Radisson Hotel, Miami
10:45pm
Scully was on her bed in her pajamas watching some TV. The hotel didn't get many good channels. She had flipped it to some Spanish news channel. She didn't understand what they were saying, but still gazed at the television anyway, extremely bored. Then she glanced at the clock on her nightstand. She read the time and began to worry. 'What on earth is taking Mulder so long?' she thought to herself. She hadn't called his phone, because she knew that he wasn't suppose to be going to the crime scene, especially at this hour, just in case someone heard his phone ring. She let out a long sigh. Why is it that SHE's the one who gets stuck doing the tedious work? Then again, Mulder usually took care of the more dangerous things on his own. He did his best to keep her safe at all costs. This was one of his methods. However, Scully always felt this to be more of a dominance kind of thing...something to boost his ego.
'Why does HE always have to be the one to conduct everything?' She was well used to it by now, but it made her feel less important at times. It seemed to her like he always expected her to go along with everything he has planned...no matter what it is. She hadn't been on a date in YEARS. Ever since she was assigned to the x-files she became numb to that emotion. It became foreign to her. 'Does he expect me to just follow him around FOREVER?' she thought to herself. He did, after all, just go and make plans at the spur of the moment...like with this case. Though they were bored to tears for not having anything assigned to them, he always did this when something came up. Why couldn't he for once just treat her like a woman? These kinds of things crossed her mind every now and then when she was alone. Just then she her the sound of a door being unlock. Mulder had come back. Since they had gotten a double room suite, Scully went in his room through the connecting door excitedly.
"Did you find anything?" Scully asked a now enthusiastic Scully.
He let out a long sigh before speaking. "Where do I even start?"
"I figured something must've happened since you had been gone so long." said Scully
"Well..." Mulder explained everything that had happened at the crime scene.
Scully was a bit puzzled, but she already had her theories. Clearly someone was trying to cover up their tracks. The killer obviously was taking advantage of the family's religious beliefs and superstitions to scare them and other away. The 5 men that had first investigated the crime scene fell ill due to some kind of toxin or contagion she thought. Scully pointed this out to him.
"Mulder, you probably should get checked out, remember the other men investigating fell ill. The killer probably planted some kind of toxin in the house to prevent other people from investigating." said Scully.
"Yes, Scully, the men DID get sick, but immediately after leaving the crime scene. I had a ritual preformed on me to ward off any curse that might be on me. The other men didn't. I've been away from the crime scene for over 2 hours now, and I have yet to feel a thing." said Mulder.
"Maybe you didn't encounter the toxin, so it's not affecting you." said Scully.
"That's because there IS no toxin, but there IS a curse. One of the men in the family even told me that if I wasn't cleansed immediately that I too would fall victim to the curse" explained Mulder.
"Well, how did they know about this curse if they had nothing to do with these murders?" asked a now skeptical Scully.
"That's because they've seen this kind of thing before. When I heard them talking amongst themselves I tired piecing together what they were saying, and I heard them say that something was attacking their family...a demon." said Mulder.
"So they believe that their family is being cursed by some demon?" asked Scully raising an eyebrow.
"Well, from what I heard, yes." said Mulder.
"Mulder, get real. You honestly believe this?" she asked half laughing at the mere thought.
"I don't see why I shouldn't, and from what I experienced tonight, it seems to be fact." said Mulder.
"Can't you see? The killer is just trying to cover their tracks, and is using this belief to their advantage." argued Scully.
"Scully, cleaning up evidence is one thing, but to do it in mere seconds is another." he argued back.
"You said that you stepped out to the backyard for about 5 minutes, so-" she was cut off by Mulder.
"Yeah, keyword there, Scully. FIVE minutes...if that! There's NO way possible that someone could rearrange everything that was knocked down, make all of the beds, and then clean up ALL of that blood. I mean, there were huge stains in the carpets and in the linens of the beds, and they just vanished. Now explain to me how someone could do all that in under 5 minutes?" said Mulder demanding an explanation.
"Ok, fine Mulder, suppose it DID just vanish...all of that didn't happen on it's own. Someone was in there controlling that...the killer most likely." said Scully
"Of course they were, but the question here isn't HOW they did it, it's WHO or WHAT did this." said Mulder sitting down at the edge of his bed.
"Wait...what do you mean WHAT did this? Don't tell me that you believe something inhuman is responsible...that, that THING you showed me in that book in the Santeria shop is the killer. What was it called again...el...el- " she was interrupted by Mulder.
"El monstruo de Chango." said Mulder.
"Mulder, that's a mythological creature, it's not real. Even if it were, it couldn't be capable of spells, curses, or magic. That's ludicrous." said Scully.
"Scully, I saw its foot prints. Those footprints couldn't have been human. They looked reptilian-like and were over a foot long, so right now that seems like a good explanation." he argued.
"Well, we won't know more until we keep investigating, so let's not jump to conclusions." said Scully in response.
"Right, we'll continue tomorrow." replied Mulder
He leaned forward slightly and clutched his knees to support the weight, forgetting how he had been dragged on them earlier. He quickly remembered.
"Oww..." Mulder hissed in pain and let go of his knees.
"Mulder, are you alright?" ask Scully a bit worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just that earlier, when the family pulled me to the other end of the yard, my knees were dragging the whole way." said Mulder.
"Have you looked at them to see if they had been cut and were bleeding?" asked Scully.
"Well, I did have to undress and soak in some holy water of sorts, but I had completely forgot about my knees at that point. The ritual did something to my nerves as a part of the cleansing process, so I completely forgot about them." said Mulder.
She kneeled down in front of him, trying to roll up his pants above his knees, but to no avail.
"Mulder, take off your pants." said Scully.
"Oh Scully, do you know how long I've waited for this?" said Mulder throwing her a joking smile.
"Riiight, I'll go get my first aid kit." said Scully.
When she returned, he had removed his pants, and he was calling out to her.
"That's right, come to papa, baby..." he said again jokingly.
She let out a brief laugh in response to his comment, and then cleaned up his knees.
"Well, I don't see much bleeding...just scrapes...so your knees are fine." said Scully.
"Sure wish I could say the same for my pants." said Mulder holding up the pants he had been wearing and inspecting them.
"No, but you can always buy another pair. Those were probably old anyway." said Scully raising herself to her feet once more.
"It's a good thing that I decided to bring more pants on this trip, usually I only bring a few pairs." said Mulder.
"That's all?" asked Scully, surprised.
"Well, there really isn't any need for more. Unlike YOU, who packs her entire apartment." said Mulder teasing her.
"I do not, and all of the things I bring are necessary." she replied.
"Gee, I didn't know that your entire Reader's Digest collection was a necessity?" he said sarcastically.
"You're exaggerating. I only brought a few of them. And what about those magazines and tapes that 'aren't yours'? asked Scully now teasing him.
"No, this time I left those at home. In Miami you don't need any of that...not with all of the girls walking down the nude beaches." said Mulder with a sheepish grin.
She laughed at the remark. "Good night, Mulder."
"G'night, Scully." he said with a smile.
Scully returned to her room through the connecting door once more. She laid down in her bed, and turned off the lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. She closed her eyes, but sleep would not to come to her. This case was definitely going to be a confusing one. That family seemed very suspicious to her...like they were hiding something. Could it be that one or more of the family members was responsible for these murders? She knew that it was important to keep in mind that the family was very superstitious and devout to their religion, so they could've just felt uncomfortable around them. That's happened to them before with many other cases, but she wouldn't take any chances. In her eyes, everyone was a suspect...except for Mulder. She began to think of him. Though he could be a pest at times, there's no other person she'd rather work with. Many people judge Mulder and only see his flaws, but they really don't give him enough credit. The man is extremely intelligent and is THE perfect asset...she thought so anyway. She started to regret her thoughts a little while back before Mulder had come back from the crime scene. Finally she grew weary, and drifted off into slumber.
Thursday, March 13, 2003
11:06am
Still sleeping, Mulder rolled over on his bed now facing the window. The sunlight had crept between the closed vertical blinds and project stripes on the walls and on his bed, shining on his face. This woke him. He stretched for a minute or so before sitting up, and then turned his head towards the nightstand next to his bed. The clock read 11:06am. It took him a few moments to realize how late he had woken up. Quickly, he got up and rushed into Scully's room. She was still sleeping, which was very unusual, being that she always gets up early.
"Scully..." Mulder shook her lightly. "Scully, wake up..."
"Wha- huh?" Scully mumbled in confusion.
"Scully, it's already past 11:00am." said Mulder
"What?" she sat up.
"Yeah, c'mon, get up and get dressed. We're running very late today." he told her.
Scully got up and dressed herself while Mulder did the same in his room. About 15 minutes later, they left the hotel. Mulder told Scully to stop by the Santeria shop again to look up more information concerning el monstruo de Chango. When they got there, he looked for more books that spoke of that creature. Finally, he found one that mentioned the creature. He quickly opened it and began to read, when he found something interesting.
"Hey Scully, take a look at this." said Mulder.
She walked over to him. "What is it?"
"According to this, el monstruo de Chango is an enchanted beast." said Mulder.
"So you're saying that it has powers?" asked Scully.
"Yeah, this book doesn't explain too much about it, but if it really is enchanted, then that could explain the disappearing evidence and curse." said Mulder.
Scully remained quiet, she wasn't buying this theory at all.
"Mulder, why don't we just go and question the family a bit more about the Martinez's, maybe we'll find out more...like if they have any enemies or foes." said Scully.
"I'll also see if I can get anything out of them concerning el monstruo de Chango." said Mulder.
Mulder and Scully left the Santeria shop and proceeded to the family's residence. The day was hot and muggy. They both squinted from the immense sunlight as they walked up to the Cortez's front door. Joseffina answered the door.
"Hola...eh Senior eh Moolder...y eh..eh-"Joseffina had forgotten Scully's name.
"Scully..." she said.
"Ahh...si...eScoolly...beng...come in." said Joseffina smiling and motioning to come inside.
"Hola, como estas?" Mulder asked in his gringo accent.
"Mui bien...y tu?" she asked in response.
"Bien bien, gracias..." said Mulder with a small smile.
Scully began her questioning. "Mrs. Cortez...what can y-"Joseffina cut her off.
"Por favor...call eh me Joseffina." she said.
Scully continued. "Ok, Joesffina, what can you tell us about your sister Marta and her family?" she asked.
"Marta...she was eh very nice, she no cause any problemo..." said Joseffina, trying her best to explain in what little English she knew.
"From what I've heard from other members in your family...Marta , Yamil, and Luisa weren't very religious or devout to Santeria am I right?" asked Mulder.
"Si si, but she eh no always like eh that. We all three...eh Marta, Gisela, y mi...we were eh...together...De la Rosa." Joseffina tried explaining.
"De la Rosa means 'of the rose' so that is the group of Santeros that you represent, correct?" asked Mulder
She nodded, understanding enough to confirm what he said. Just then her daughter Victoria came in through the door and greeted them. She told them she'd translate their questions to her mother so she could give them a clear answer.
"Your mother was telling my partner and me that your late aunt used to be just as devout a she and your other aunt." said Mulder.
"Yes, they were the daughters of my abuelo, Jose Rodriguez. He was the high priest of the Rodriguez family, which consisted of six separate families (his two brothers and three sisters) each of them had a different name for their clan. His was De la Rosa. He passed on the title to his 3 daughters, my mother and two aunts. They all honored him and became devout high priestesses. Marta was very devout, and even raised my cousins the same way. It wasn't until her husband died that she lost her faith. I mean, who could blame her? We all understood this, and accepted the fact that she wouldn't be a practicing priestess anymore." explained Victoria.
"So she abandoned Santeria completely?" asked Scully.
"No, she still respected our beliefs and still kept the family's Santeria statue up that was handed down to her by my abuelo." replied Victoria.
"Do you think that anyone would want to kill her because she abandoned her faith?" asked Scully.
"Well, I honestly don't know. I know that we didn't hold any grudge toward her and my cousins for it." said Victoria.
"Senior y Senora quiero café cubano?" Joseffina offered them some of the coffee that she was brewing.
"No, gracias." said Scully.
"Yes please, muchos gracias." said Mulder accepting the tiny cup.
Mulder turned to face Victoria again before he spoke. "Ask your mother if she thinks el monstruo de Chango is responsible." said Mulder.
Joseffina turned around when she heard the name. Victoria asked his question in Spanish. Then she answered nervously to her daughter.
"My mother says that she believes that Chango punished them for abandoning their faith, and curse them to death. She believes that Chango himself sent down the beast to kill them." said Victoria.
Scully spoke up to try and change the subject. "Do you know of anyone who disliked your aunt or your cousins?" she asked.
"No, not really. Yanina didn't always get along with Luisa, but she wouldn't have anything to do with this. I mean, she was saddened by the whole thing just as much as we were." said Victoria.
"Do you know if Yanina is at home right now?" asked Scully.
"Well I think so. Both cars were outside when I got here." said Victoria.
"Thanks." Scully got up from her chair and went towards the front door. "We'll come back later if something else comes up." said Scully motioning for Mulder to follow.
He was very surprised by her sudden initiative. He got up and excused himself, and met Scully outside.
"Scully, what are you doing?" asked Mulder.
"I'm taking the lead, that's what I'm doing. According to members of the family, Yanina wasn't too fond of the Martinez's. You even told me that Yanina joined the ceremony late last night, after they had already brought you there." said Scully.
"Yeah, and so did Victoria." said Mulder.
"Then we should investigate her too." said Scully.
"Fine, but we don't have enough substantial evidence that proves either of their guilt." said Mulder.
"True, but we don't have anything that proves them innocent either." she argued back.
"Weren't YOU the one that said we shouldn't jump to conclusions until we knew more?" said Mulder, implying her hypocrisy with his question.
"I'm not jumping to conclusions Mulder. I'm just saying that we should find out more about them, especially Yanina Perez. She is very suspicious." said Scully.
"Alright, fine, I'll go over and question Yanina while you stay here and question Victoria." Mulder suggested.
"Fine by me, I'll call you when I'm finished." said Scully as she turned around approaching the Cortez's front door once more.
Mulder walked over to the Perez's house. Juan Carlos answered.
"Oh, it's you again. What brings you back here Mr. Mulder? He asked.
"Actually, I'm here to speak to you and your sister about your relationship to your cousins." said Mulder.
"Sure, come in." he still speaking in a friendly tone.
Mulder sat down at the dinner table while Juan Carlos called out for his sister. Juan Carlos sat directly across from him.
"So what do you want to know about our cousins again?" Juan Carlos asked.
"I'd like to know how close you were to Luisa and Yamil." said Mulder.
"Well, I've never had any problems with them. Especially with Yamil...him and I were like brothers. I wasn't too close to Luisa, her and I didn't talk or hang out much...only on family occasions or when I'd go over their house." said Juan Carlos.
"And what about your mother and your aunts...how did they get along?" Mulder asked.
"They've ALWAYS been close, they never fought about anything really. They were always on good terms with each other." he replied.
"What about Yanina...how did she get along with them?" asked Mulder.
"Well, I know that they had their fights sometimes or whatever, but to tell you the truth...I never let myself get involved you know. It wasn't any of my business. I know that occasionally Yamil would get mad at her for things, but they weren't usually serious." Juan Carlos explained to him.
As Juan Carlos spoke, Yanina entered the dinning room and took a seat next to her brother. Juan Carlos looked at his watch.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I have to get going now. I'm scheduled to work in 20 minutes, but if you need to know anything you can come back later and speak to me." Juan Carlos offered.
"That'll be fine, thanks." said Mulder
Juan Carlos said bye as he walked out the front door, and Yanina took his seat.
"So what brings you here, agent Mulder was it?" asked Yanina.
"Yes, I'd like to know about your relationship to your cousins." said Mulder.
"Oh, well, there's not much really." she said.
"I've heard that you and Luisa didn't get along very well." said Mulder.
She paused for a moment. "We had our differences. It wasn't always like that though. We used to be really close." said Yanina.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Well, we used to always hang out when we were teenagers, through high school and stuff. She was a couple years younger than me. She hung around my friends and me. It was all good...until she starting disrespecting me."
"How so?" asked Mulder.
"Well, she was never really serious about Santeria, and I've always been serious about it. Whatever, we didn't get along anymore. She started hanging around a bad crowd of people, and was really immature." she said.
"What about Yamil, any problems with him?" he asked her.
"Whatever, I never talked to him much to begin with. He always hung around my brother though. Yamil was always very nosy and boy did he have a mouth on him, he would gossip more than a group of high school girls." Yanina told him.
"What do you think happened to them?" asked Mulder.
"I'm very religious, and I believe that the gods grew angry, and Chango especially...so he sent down a curse on them." she explained.
"Oh I see...would this involve el monstruo de Chango?" Mulder asked her.
"I'm not sure, but I believe that might be what happened. If that's what it is, then I'd be careful if I were you. You wouldn't want Chango to experiece the wrath of Chango. I know I don't, so if you don't mind, I'd like to stay out of this." said Yanina.
"Look, I know that you're religious and don't want to go against the gods, but if you help out, then maybe we can find out what really happened and this can be laid to rest...regardless of what the truth is." encouraged Mulder.
She smiled at him before standing up. "You know, my mother and aunt were right about you."
Mulder got up from his chair. "Really, how so?"
"They said you were very deep and spiritual...a seeker of the truth...they sensed greatness in you...we all did..." She moved in closer to him and spoke softer. "I still do."
Mulder started to feel uncomfortable when his phone rang. He answered the call quickly.
"Yeah?" he said, knowing who it was.
"I'm finished talking to Victoria. Are you done yet?" asked Scully
"Yeah, I'm just finishing up here. I'll meet you right out front." he said. Scully agreed and they both hung up.
"That was my partner. We'll come back later." said Mulder as he walked out the door.
Scully was already walking towards Mulder when Yanina ran up to him.
"Agent Mulder..." she said as he turned around to acknowledge her. "I meant what I said..." she planted a soft kiss on his cheek then smiled at him before turning around to go back inside her house.
Scully finally made her way to Mulder.
"What was that all about?" said Scully, raising an eyebrow.
Mulder was still a bit shocked by Yanina's actions. "I...I don't know?"
"Anyway, I found some things out about Victoria. We'll talk about it over lunch." said Scully heading towards the car.
"Yeah, I'm starving...and I want some more of that coffee." said Mulder accompanying her.
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(Things are just starting to unfold, the next chapter will prove this . Please keep reviewing! I really appreciate it. I'll write more soon! =oD)
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author's note: umm...hi again? lol...I don't really have much to say this time, but the usual applies...my Spanish grammar and spelling SUCKS XoD ...Now, on with the story! =oD
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Radisson Hotel, Miami
10:45pm
Scully was on her bed in her pajamas watching some TV. The hotel didn't get many good channels. She had flipped it to some Spanish news channel. She didn't understand what they were saying, but still gazed at the television anyway, extremely bored. Then she glanced at the clock on her nightstand. She read the time and began to worry. 'What on earth is taking Mulder so long?' she thought to herself. She hadn't called his phone, because she knew that he wasn't suppose to be going to the crime scene, especially at this hour, just in case someone heard his phone ring. She let out a long sigh. Why is it that SHE's the one who gets stuck doing the tedious work? Then again, Mulder usually took care of the more dangerous things on his own. He did his best to keep her safe at all costs. This was one of his methods. However, Scully always felt this to be more of a dominance kind of thing...something to boost his ego.
'Why does HE always have to be the one to conduct everything?' She was well used to it by now, but it made her feel less important at times. It seemed to her like he always expected her to go along with everything he has planned...no matter what it is. She hadn't been on a date in YEARS. Ever since she was assigned to the x-files she became numb to that emotion. It became foreign to her. 'Does he expect me to just follow him around FOREVER?' she thought to herself. He did, after all, just go and make plans at the spur of the moment...like with this case. Though they were bored to tears for not having anything assigned to them, he always did this when something came up. Why couldn't he for once just treat her like a woman? These kinds of things crossed her mind every now and then when she was alone. Just then she her the sound of a door being unlock. Mulder had come back. Since they had gotten a double room suite, Scully went in his room through the connecting door excitedly.
"Did you find anything?" Scully asked a now enthusiastic Scully.
He let out a long sigh before speaking. "Where do I even start?"
"I figured something must've happened since you had been gone so long." said Scully
"Well..." Mulder explained everything that had happened at the crime scene.
Scully was a bit puzzled, but she already had her theories. Clearly someone was trying to cover up their tracks. The killer obviously was taking advantage of the family's religious beliefs and superstitions to scare them and other away. The 5 men that had first investigated the crime scene fell ill due to some kind of toxin or contagion she thought. Scully pointed this out to him.
"Mulder, you probably should get checked out, remember the other men investigating fell ill. The killer probably planted some kind of toxin in the house to prevent other people from investigating." said Scully.
"Yes, Scully, the men DID get sick, but immediately after leaving the crime scene. I had a ritual preformed on me to ward off any curse that might be on me. The other men didn't. I've been away from the crime scene for over 2 hours now, and I have yet to feel a thing." said Mulder.
"Maybe you didn't encounter the toxin, so it's not affecting you." said Scully.
"That's because there IS no toxin, but there IS a curse. One of the men in the family even told me that if I wasn't cleansed immediately that I too would fall victim to the curse" explained Mulder.
"Well, how did they know about this curse if they had nothing to do with these murders?" asked a now skeptical Scully.
"That's because they've seen this kind of thing before. When I heard them talking amongst themselves I tired piecing together what they were saying, and I heard them say that something was attacking their family...a demon." said Mulder.
"So they believe that their family is being cursed by some demon?" asked Scully raising an eyebrow.
"Well, from what I heard, yes." said Mulder.
"Mulder, get real. You honestly believe this?" she asked half laughing at the mere thought.
"I don't see why I shouldn't, and from what I experienced tonight, it seems to be fact." said Mulder.
"Can't you see? The killer is just trying to cover their tracks, and is using this belief to their advantage." argued Scully.
"Scully, cleaning up evidence is one thing, but to do it in mere seconds is another." he argued back.
"You said that you stepped out to the backyard for about 5 minutes, so-" she was cut off by Mulder.
"Yeah, keyword there, Scully. FIVE minutes...if that! There's NO way possible that someone could rearrange everything that was knocked down, make all of the beds, and then clean up ALL of that blood. I mean, there were huge stains in the carpets and in the linens of the beds, and they just vanished. Now explain to me how someone could do all that in under 5 minutes?" said Mulder demanding an explanation.
"Ok, fine Mulder, suppose it DID just vanish...all of that didn't happen on it's own. Someone was in there controlling that...the killer most likely." said Scully
"Of course they were, but the question here isn't HOW they did it, it's WHO or WHAT did this." said Mulder sitting down at the edge of his bed.
"Wait...what do you mean WHAT did this? Don't tell me that you believe something inhuman is responsible...that, that THING you showed me in that book in the Santeria shop is the killer. What was it called again...el...el- " she was interrupted by Mulder.
"El monstruo de Chango." said Mulder.
"Mulder, that's a mythological creature, it's not real. Even if it were, it couldn't be capable of spells, curses, or magic. That's ludicrous." said Scully.
"Scully, I saw its foot prints. Those footprints couldn't have been human. They looked reptilian-like and were over a foot long, so right now that seems like a good explanation." he argued.
"Well, we won't know more until we keep investigating, so let's not jump to conclusions." said Scully in response.
"Right, we'll continue tomorrow." replied Mulder
He leaned forward slightly and clutched his knees to support the weight, forgetting how he had been dragged on them earlier. He quickly remembered.
"Oww..." Mulder hissed in pain and let go of his knees.
"Mulder, are you alright?" ask Scully a bit worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just that earlier, when the family pulled me to the other end of the yard, my knees were dragging the whole way." said Mulder.
"Have you looked at them to see if they had been cut and were bleeding?" asked Scully.
"Well, I did have to undress and soak in some holy water of sorts, but I had completely forgot about my knees at that point. The ritual did something to my nerves as a part of the cleansing process, so I completely forgot about them." said Mulder.
She kneeled down in front of him, trying to roll up his pants above his knees, but to no avail.
"Mulder, take off your pants." said Scully.
"Oh Scully, do you know how long I've waited for this?" said Mulder throwing her a joking smile.
"Riiight, I'll go get my first aid kit." said Scully.
When she returned, he had removed his pants, and he was calling out to her.
"That's right, come to papa, baby..." he said again jokingly.
She let out a brief laugh in response to his comment, and then cleaned up his knees.
"Well, I don't see much bleeding...just scrapes...so your knees are fine." said Scully.
"Sure wish I could say the same for my pants." said Mulder holding up the pants he had been wearing and inspecting them.
"No, but you can always buy another pair. Those were probably old anyway." said Scully raising herself to her feet once more.
"It's a good thing that I decided to bring more pants on this trip, usually I only bring a few pairs." said Mulder.
"That's all?" asked Scully, surprised.
"Well, there really isn't any need for more. Unlike YOU, who packs her entire apartment." said Mulder teasing her.
"I do not, and all of the things I bring are necessary." she replied.
"Gee, I didn't know that your entire Reader's Digest collection was a necessity?" he said sarcastically.
"You're exaggerating. I only brought a few of them. And what about those magazines and tapes that 'aren't yours'? asked Scully now teasing him.
"No, this time I left those at home. In Miami you don't need any of that...not with all of the girls walking down the nude beaches." said Mulder with a sheepish grin.
She laughed at the remark. "Good night, Mulder."
"G'night, Scully." he said with a smile.
Scully returned to her room through the connecting door once more. She laid down in her bed, and turned off the lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. She closed her eyes, but sleep would not to come to her. This case was definitely going to be a confusing one. That family seemed very suspicious to her...like they were hiding something. Could it be that one or more of the family members was responsible for these murders? She knew that it was important to keep in mind that the family was very superstitious and devout to their religion, so they could've just felt uncomfortable around them. That's happened to them before with many other cases, but she wouldn't take any chances. In her eyes, everyone was a suspect...except for Mulder. She began to think of him. Though he could be a pest at times, there's no other person she'd rather work with. Many people judge Mulder and only see his flaws, but they really don't give him enough credit. The man is extremely intelligent and is THE perfect asset...she thought so anyway. She started to regret her thoughts a little while back before Mulder had come back from the crime scene. Finally she grew weary, and drifted off into slumber.
Thursday, March 13, 2003
11:06am
Still sleeping, Mulder rolled over on his bed now facing the window. The sunlight had crept between the closed vertical blinds and project stripes on the walls and on his bed, shining on his face. This woke him. He stretched for a minute or so before sitting up, and then turned his head towards the nightstand next to his bed. The clock read 11:06am. It took him a few moments to realize how late he had woken up. Quickly, he got up and rushed into Scully's room. She was still sleeping, which was very unusual, being that she always gets up early.
"Scully..." Mulder shook her lightly. "Scully, wake up..."
"Wha- huh?" Scully mumbled in confusion.
"Scully, it's already past 11:00am." said Mulder
"What?" she sat up.
"Yeah, c'mon, get up and get dressed. We're running very late today." he told her.
Scully got up and dressed herself while Mulder did the same in his room. About 15 minutes later, they left the hotel. Mulder told Scully to stop by the Santeria shop again to look up more information concerning el monstruo de Chango. When they got there, he looked for more books that spoke of that creature. Finally, he found one that mentioned the creature. He quickly opened it and began to read, when he found something interesting.
"Hey Scully, take a look at this." said Mulder.
She walked over to him. "What is it?"
"According to this, el monstruo de Chango is an enchanted beast." said Mulder.
"So you're saying that it has powers?" asked Scully.
"Yeah, this book doesn't explain too much about it, but if it really is enchanted, then that could explain the disappearing evidence and curse." said Mulder.
Scully remained quiet, she wasn't buying this theory at all.
"Mulder, why don't we just go and question the family a bit more about the Martinez's, maybe we'll find out more...like if they have any enemies or foes." said Scully.
"I'll also see if I can get anything out of them concerning el monstruo de Chango." said Mulder.
Mulder and Scully left the Santeria shop and proceeded to the family's residence. The day was hot and muggy. They both squinted from the immense sunlight as they walked up to the Cortez's front door. Joseffina answered the door.
"Hola...eh Senior eh Moolder...y eh..eh-"Joseffina had forgotten Scully's name.
"Scully..." she said.
"Ahh...si...eScoolly...beng...come in." said Joseffina smiling and motioning to come inside.
"Hola, como estas?" Mulder asked in his gringo accent.
"Mui bien...y tu?" she asked in response.
"Bien bien, gracias..." said Mulder with a small smile.
Scully began her questioning. "Mrs. Cortez...what can y-"Joseffina cut her off.
"Por favor...call eh me Joseffina." she said.
Scully continued. "Ok, Joesffina, what can you tell us about your sister Marta and her family?" she asked.
"Marta...she was eh very nice, she no cause any problemo..." said Joseffina, trying her best to explain in what little English she knew.
"From what I've heard from other members in your family...Marta , Yamil, and Luisa weren't very religious or devout to Santeria am I right?" asked Mulder.
"Si si, but she eh no always like eh that. We all three...eh Marta, Gisela, y mi...we were eh...together...De la Rosa." Joseffina tried explaining.
"De la Rosa means 'of the rose' so that is the group of Santeros that you represent, correct?" asked Mulder
She nodded, understanding enough to confirm what he said. Just then her daughter Victoria came in through the door and greeted them. She told them she'd translate their questions to her mother so she could give them a clear answer.
"Your mother was telling my partner and me that your late aunt used to be just as devout a she and your other aunt." said Mulder.
"Yes, they were the daughters of my abuelo, Jose Rodriguez. He was the high priest of the Rodriguez family, which consisted of six separate families (his two brothers and three sisters) each of them had a different name for their clan. His was De la Rosa. He passed on the title to his 3 daughters, my mother and two aunts. They all honored him and became devout high priestesses. Marta was very devout, and even raised my cousins the same way. It wasn't until her husband died that she lost her faith. I mean, who could blame her? We all understood this, and accepted the fact that she wouldn't be a practicing priestess anymore." explained Victoria.
"So she abandoned Santeria completely?" asked Scully.
"No, she still respected our beliefs and still kept the family's Santeria statue up that was handed down to her by my abuelo." replied Victoria.
"Do you think that anyone would want to kill her because she abandoned her faith?" asked Scully.
"Well, I honestly don't know. I know that we didn't hold any grudge toward her and my cousins for it." said Victoria.
"Senior y Senora quiero café cubano?" Joseffina offered them some of the coffee that she was brewing.
"No, gracias." said Scully.
"Yes please, muchos gracias." said Mulder accepting the tiny cup.
Mulder turned to face Victoria again before he spoke. "Ask your mother if she thinks el monstruo de Chango is responsible." said Mulder.
Joseffina turned around when she heard the name. Victoria asked his question in Spanish. Then she answered nervously to her daughter.
"My mother says that she believes that Chango punished them for abandoning their faith, and curse them to death. She believes that Chango himself sent down the beast to kill them." said Victoria.
Scully spoke up to try and change the subject. "Do you know of anyone who disliked your aunt or your cousins?" she asked.
"No, not really. Yanina didn't always get along with Luisa, but she wouldn't have anything to do with this. I mean, she was saddened by the whole thing just as much as we were." said Victoria.
"Do you know if Yanina is at home right now?" asked Scully.
"Well I think so. Both cars were outside when I got here." said Victoria.
"Thanks." Scully got up from her chair and went towards the front door. "We'll come back later if something else comes up." said Scully motioning for Mulder to follow.
He was very surprised by her sudden initiative. He got up and excused himself, and met Scully outside.
"Scully, what are you doing?" asked Mulder.
"I'm taking the lead, that's what I'm doing. According to members of the family, Yanina wasn't too fond of the Martinez's. You even told me that Yanina joined the ceremony late last night, after they had already brought you there." said Scully.
"Yeah, and so did Victoria." said Mulder.
"Then we should investigate her too." said Scully.
"Fine, but we don't have enough substantial evidence that proves either of their guilt." said Mulder.
"True, but we don't have anything that proves them innocent either." she argued back.
"Weren't YOU the one that said we shouldn't jump to conclusions until we knew more?" said Mulder, implying her hypocrisy with his question.
"I'm not jumping to conclusions Mulder. I'm just saying that we should find out more about them, especially Yanina Perez. She is very suspicious." said Scully.
"Alright, fine, I'll go over and question Yanina while you stay here and question Victoria." Mulder suggested.
"Fine by me, I'll call you when I'm finished." said Scully as she turned around approaching the Cortez's front door once more.
Mulder walked over to the Perez's house. Juan Carlos answered.
"Oh, it's you again. What brings you back here Mr. Mulder? He asked.
"Actually, I'm here to speak to you and your sister about your relationship to your cousins." said Mulder.
"Sure, come in." he still speaking in a friendly tone.
Mulder sat down at the dinner table while Juan Carlos called out for his sister. Juan Carlos sat directly across from him.
"So what do you want to know about our cousins again?" Juan Carlos asked.
"I'd like to know how close you were to Luisa and Yamil." said Mulder.
"Well, I've never had any problems with them. Especially with Yamil...him and I were like brothers. I wasn't too close to Luisa, her and I didn't talk or hang out much...only on family occasions or when I'd go over their house." said Juan Carlos.
"And what about your mother and your aunts...how did they get along?" Mulder asked.
"They've ALWAYS been close, they never fought about anything really. They were always on good terms with each other." he replied.
"What about Yanina...how did she get along with them?" asked Mulder.
"Well, I know that they had their fights sometimes or whatever, but to tell you the truth...I never let myself get involved you know. It wasn't any of my business. I know that occasionally Yamil would get mad at her for things, but they weren't usually serious." Juan Carlos explained to him.
As Juan Carlos spoke, Yanina entered the dinning room and took a seat next to her brother. Juan Carlos looked at his watch.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I have to get going now. I'm scheduled to work in 20 minutes, but if you need to know anything you can come back later and speak to me." Juan Carlos offered.
"That'll be fine, thanks." said Mulder
Juan Carlos said bye as he walked out the front door, and Yanina took his seat.
"So what brings you here, agent Mulder was it?" asked Yanina.
"Yes, I'd like to know about your relationship to your cousins." said Mulder.
"Oh, well, there's not much really." she said.
"I've heard that you and Luisa didn't get along very well." said Mulder.
She paused for a moment. "We had our differences. It wasn't always like that though. We used to be really close." said Yanina.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Well, we used to always hang out when we were teenagers, through high school and stuff. She was a couple years younger than me. She hung around my friends and me. It was all good...until she starting disrespecting me."
"How so?" asked Mulder.
"Well, she was never really serious about Santeria, and I've always been serious about it. Whatever, we didn't get along anymore. She started hanging around a bad crowd of people, and was really immature." she said.
"What about Yamil, any problems with him?" he asked her.
"Whatever, I never talked to him much to begin with. He always hung around my brother though. Yamil was always very nosy and boy did he have a mouth on him, he would gossip more than a group of high school girls." Yanina told him.
"What do you think happened to them?" asked Mulder.
"I'm very religious, and I believe that the gods grew angry, and Chango especially...so he sent down a curse on them." she explained.
"Oh I see...would this involve el monstruo de Chango?" Mulder asked her.
"I'm not sure, but I believe that might be what happened. If that's what it is, then I'd be careful if I were you. You wouldn't want Chango to experiece the wrath of Chango. I know I don't, so if you don't mind, I'd like to stay out of this." said Yanina.
"Look, I know that you're religious and don't want to go against the gods, but if you help out, then maybe we can find out what really happened and this can be laid to rest...regardless of what the truth is." encouraged Mulder.
She smiled at him before standing up. "You know, my mother and aunt were right about you."
Mulder got up from his chair. "Really, how so?"
"They said you were very deep and spiritual...a seeker of the truth...they sensed greatness in you...we all did..." She moved in closer to him and spoke softer. "I still do."
Mulder started to feel uncomfortable when his phone rang. He answered the call quickly.
"Yeah?" he said, knowing who it was.
"I'm finished talking to Victoria. Are you done yet?" asked Scully
"Yeah, I'm just finishing up here. I'll meet you right out front." he said. Scully agreed and they both hung up.
"That was my partner. We'll come back later." said Mulder as he walked out the door.
Scully was already walking towards Mulder when Yanina ran up to him.
"Agent Mulder..." she said as he turned around to acknowledge her. "I meant what I said..." she planted a soft kiss on his cheek then smiled at him before turning around to go back inside her house.
Scully finally made her way to Mulder.
"What was that all about?" said Scully, raising an eyebrow.
Mulder was still a bit shocked by Yanina's actions. "I...I don't know?"
"Anyway, I found some things out about Victoria. We'll talk about it over lunch." said Scully heading towards the car.
"Yeah, I'm starving...and I want some more of that coffee." said Mulder accompanying her.
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(Things are just starting to unfold, the next chapter will prove this . Please keep reviewing! I really appreciate it. I'll write more soon! =oD)
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