Part 7
Mulder looked over his shoulder at John and they both went for the other door of Skinner's office. Just as they reached it, the other door opened and Scully walked in.
"Shit, Scully! I have never been so happy to see your gorgeous face!" Mulder walked over to her and offered her a sheepish smile.
"Oh gee, thanks. What the hell are you two doing in here?"
"I'll explain it in a second but we got to get out of here now!" John herded them out of the office and then turned around to relock the door with his 'boy scout knife'. They walked quickly to the elevators and just as the doors slid shut, they could see the second guard start his way down the hall.
"Scully, how the hell did you know we were in there?" John asked her.
"Well, it wasn't hard. You weren't in the basement and whose office does Mulder like breaking into the most?"
Mulder pretended he didn't hear that. The elevator began its decent and all three looked at the doors and could see each other's reflections in the metal. Scully looked at Mulder's refection and smiled at him. Mulder smiled back and John rolled his eyes and…smiled too.
"Lets just hope these doors don't slide open to the lobby and scare everyone away when they see three grinning agents." Scully poked Mulder in the ribs but couldn't keep from giggling.
When they reached the basement, they all stepped out of the elevators and walked into their office. Scully sat at what was Monica's desk and John sat at his since desks hadn't been placed in the already cramped office for Mulder and Scully. Mulder leaned against the wall and said, "Okay, so we know she was indeed transferred and it has something to do with astro…"
"Astro?" John handed Scully the slip of paper and she fiddled with it as she looked over it. "This could be anything."
"I know," John felt the panic again but forced it down as he sprang out of his chair, "this is a small clue but …this would be so much easier if the head of the FBI wasn't trying to hide her. I mean, we can't check the airlines, taxis, nothing! Everything has been covered up so neatly, it's like a conspiracy." As soon as it was out of his mouth, he regretted saying it. Mulder looked over at him and Scully groaned.
Part 8
Monica pulled up behind two cop cars and got out. Stretching her back, she glanced around her. Five cops were milling around, picking up evidence and photographing the crime scene. She could see Agent Ryan up ahead, talking to a civilian. Monica made her way over to him and, tuning into the conversation, she quickly realized that this was the owner of the jewelry store that had just been robbed.
"She just stood there, as if she couldn't hear me at all." The woman seemed frantic as she relayed the events to the two agents.
"Do you mean she was ignoring you, or that she just could not hear you?" Monica watched the woman as she pondered over the question.
"I don't think she could hear me. It's as if I wasn't even there. She just continued to reach into the case and take the bracelet."
"What kind of weapon did she have?" Monica glanced at her as she flipped out her own note pad and wrote all the information down. When the woman didn't respond, Monica whipped her head up and looked at her. "She did have a weapon, didn't she?"
"I…I don't know. I can't remember."
"Okay, that's it for now. Thank you for your time. We'll be in touch." Agent Ryan touched Monica's elbow and she began to walk beside him.
"What the hell does this mean? This is the sixth case with a robbery in a jewelry store, the same suspect and no weapon."
"And don't forget, she has an alibi. This time though, she was at a friend's house and was asleep on a couch while she and her friends were watching videos." Monica stopped in front of her car and turned to look at him
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Agent Ryan spat at the ground and turned around to look at the jewelry store. After a minute, he turned around and said sarcastically, "You're suppose to have this ability to come up with strange theories. So come up with one!"
Monica watched him stalk off and turned to her car. Damn it! She was always considered the 'black sheep' wherever she went. Sometimes she wished she would just keep her mouth shut.
Monica walked up the hill and gingerly sidestepped the yellow tape as she entered the store. There was powder all over the glass cases, but other than that, the store seemed like there had been no robbery. Monica walked over to the case where the bracelet had been stolen from and peered inside. All the jewelry sparkled and Monica could see the little empty space where the bracelet should have been. There had been no weapon, yet the store owner had been frightened for her life by a thirteen-year-old. Very strange. And, Monica thought, there would probably be no fingerprints, just like the other five cases. With one last look, Monica walked out and went to her car. Agent Ryan had already left. Just as well, she didn't need to deal with his sarcasm right now anyway. Grabbing her tape recorder, Monica walked back and began to retrace the crime scene.