Part 14.
John jumped up from his chair when he heard the urgent knocking on his front door. As soon as he opened it, Mulder shouldered his way in and yelled "Gibson!"
Scully was right behind him, a look of confusion written all over her face. She turned to John as Mulder walked up to Gibson and said, "Why Gibson? What does he have to do with Monica's disappearance?"
"I have no idea. We agreed not to talk until you two got here. The more ears, the better."
Scully nodded and walked over to Gibson. Giving him a huge hug, she led him toward the couch.
"How are you? We haven't heard from you since, well you know."
Gibson nodded. "I'm good. After Monica and John took me back here, to Washington DC, we realized there was nothing here for me. No protection, nothing. I escaped to the desert again but as soon as I got there, the danger seemed to have vanished. All the super soldiers were gone. I kept thinking it was too good to be true, which is why I had been lying low. But then I came across information about something evil that has been brewing again. And Monica is at the center of it."
At this, John stiffened and got up. "I'll uh... I'll get us some coffee before we go any further."
Scully, Mulder and Gibson looked at each other when he left and said nothing until John returned with four steaming mugs. After handing them around, he sat back down, took a deep breathe and looked at Gibson.
"Okay, so Monica is at the center of this..,"
"Conspiracy," Mulder offered.
John looked at him and said "Thanks."
Mulder didn't even acknowledge him; he was lost in thought with his hands folded in front of his mouth as he thought about this turn of events.
John looked back at Gibson and said, "Start at the beginning. When did you first find out about this new conspiracy?" John almost choked on the last word but remained calm as he stared at Gibson.
"Well, it was pretty quiet for awhile in the desert. Until recently I had heard that you two," Gibson nodded at Mulder and Scully, "were reassigned to the X-Files. I was really surprised, but pleased. I thought the X-Files were gone for good, until they reopened it and had Agents Doggett and Reyes running them again. But two days later I received some more news. I can't tell you who it came from but what I can tell you is what he said. The super soldiers were vanquished from this earth, but another kind is taking over. However, there are very few of them, only a handful I believe. But don't be mistaken, they are just as deadly."
"Uh-Huh." Mulder got up and began to pace the room with everyone watching his every move. "So these new super soldiers, do they have a name? Or are they just super soldiers?"
"No, they are different. Therefore, they are categorized differently. They are called Red Guns."
"Red Guns?" Scully couldn't help but laugh. "They couldn't come up with something better?"
"Red guns, meaning they are machines to spill blood."
"Oh." Scully sat back on the couch and pondered over this.
"So how does Monica fit into this? Why do these Red Guns want her?" John was anxious to hear everything as quickly as he could so he could get to work on planning his next move in locating and warning her.
"She has this capability to tap into feelings. What these Red Guns want to achieve, they know they will need help. They need her."
"But there has to be other people who have this ability."
"Yes. But only Monica has the inside to FBI capability, and if she's maneuvered correctly, she'll never know she was helping these men in the first place."
John got up and walked to the window. "Okay, I have heard enough of this hocus pocus. This is unreal."
"John." Scully warned him softly.
Gibson got up as well and put his hand on John's back as John stared out the window into the dark night.
John turned around.
"I have also heard that the leader has already made contact with her."
Mulder looked over and said, "And who is that?"
"Knowle Rohrer."
Part 15.
"Monica! Wait up!"
Monica turned around to see her partner running toward her. She had just left their office and had left him a note taped to his computer.
"Where are you going?"
"I just got a lead. I called your cell, but couldn't get a hold of you." Handing Agent Ryan the slip of paper, Monica stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. Agent Ryan glanced down at the paper.
"Terrance Fisher? Who is that?"
"He says he has some information about this girl."
The doors opened and they both walked outside and towards Monica's car. Because she still wasn't quite sure how to maneuver around Los Angeles, Agent Ryan directed her through the traffic and to the address printed on the little piece of paper. They pulled up and were in complete awe. The house, rather the mansion, stood on a cliff and looked out toward the ocean. The front was made of stone and looked like it belonged in the colonial era. There were white pillars that supported the magnificent balcony that looked out onto the street and probably had a great view of Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and the surrounding mountains. There were hundreds of windows, giving the mansion an airy feel. Monica and Agent Ryan stepped from the car and slowly walked up the front walk and to the big front doors.
Agent Ryan whistled and said, "We sure as hell don't get paid enough."
Monica smiled and knocked on the door. Expecting a maid to answer, Monica was surprised when a gorgeous young man opened the door. He appeared to be in his late twenties and in great shape. He was wearing black slacks and a royal blue button down shirt.
Smiling at them, he stepped back and Monica and Agent Ryan stepped inside. "You must be Agents Reyes and Ryan. It's good to meet you. I'm Terrance Fisher." Shaking both of their hands, he led them through several rooms where he finally stopped and motioned for them to have a seat. Monica felt uneasy in this room. It looked as though nothing had ever been touched. The room was fairly barren except the white leather couch, two statues of dolphins and a whicker chair. The room opened up into another room that had a beautiful view of the ocean. Monica and Agent Ryan sat gingerly on the couch and looked at Terrance, who had settled into the chair.
Monica knew she should start by asking Terrance questions but couldn't seem to find her voice. She was having horrible vibes about this man, and about the house. She couldn't remember a place where she had felt so uneasy. Well she could, but it had been awhile.
Seeing that Monica wasn't going to make the first move, Agent Ryan opened up the questioning by asking Terrance how he knew the girl, Kate Simpson.
"I know her because I have done business with her parents.
"And what kind of business are you in?" Snapping back into control, Monica took out her notebook and began taking notes.
"I'm in construction. Here's my business card." Monica took it and tucked it into her purse.
"Kate's parent had hired me to do some adding on to their upstairs master bedroom. Anyway, I went there yesterday to measure their bedroom and had to walk by Kate's room a couple of times. The second time I walked by I saw her sitting on her bed, playing with a bracelet. It was very beautiful. I didn't realize it was the one stolen until I saw the NEWS this morning. And that's when I called you." Terrance shrugged his shoulders and sat back in his chair.
"Did you notice any other jewelry?"
"No. Just the bracelet. It was only a glance though."
Monica leaned forward and looked the man in the eyes. "Sir, is it at all possible that you could have mistaken the bracelet? Maybe it could have been a different color, different shape?"
Terrance starred right back at her for a second and replied, "No."
Suddenly chilled, Monica stood up and Agent Ryan stood as well.
"Thank you for you time and please call us if you can think of anything else. We'll show ourselves out."
Monica walked stiffly out of the room and made her way toward the door. Glancing into another room, she gasped and almost stumbled. Agent Ryan caught her arm and helped her regain her balance.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." Monica looked into the room again but no one was there. She walked farther into the room and looked around. The room was just as barren, except it had a few lamps tucked here and there. There were several doors that led into other rooms. Who knew which door he could have gone through. And she couldn't just start walking through each room, not with Terrance near by. "Let's just get out of here. This place gives me the creeps," she whispered.
Monica and Agent Ryan quickly walked to the front door and down the walkway toward their car. As soon as they got in, Monica turned on the heater.
"What was with that place? Did you notice that were no personal stuff in that house? Just some furniture and a couple of statues. No color at all. Even on the outside, no gardens or flowers. And this Mr. Fisher. He looks rather young to have done so well for himself already. Very interesting." Agent Ryan stared up at the mansion through his window. He turned to her and looked at her while she stared straight ahead and gripped the steering wheel. She had yet to turn the key into the ignition.
"What did you see in that room?"
"Not what…who."
When Agent Ryan opened his mouth to ask her who it was, Monica shook her head and turned on the car. They pulled away from the house and neither of them saw the four men watching them from the balcony. They made their way down the winding road in silence. When they reached the main road, Monica couldn't stand it anymore.
"We need to speak to the Simpson's again."
"What? Look I know Terrance was a creep but his story sounded concrete. And we can check up on it with just a few strokes of the keyboard. We've already put Kate's family though enough. Until we have enough evidence to bring her in, I don't see why we have to barge in on them right now."
"I can't rely on the computer right now. We are so close. I just need to talk to her, and to her parents. Right now."
Resigned, Agent Ryan sat back in his seat and didn't say another word.
Monica welcomed his stubborn silence. She needed time to think. Why had Knowle Rohrer been there? He had been in that room and as soon as she saw him, he had smiled at her. After Agent Ryan had helped her to her feet, Knowle had vanished when she looked back. This reaffirmed that she had not been hallucinating last night. Knowle Rohrer had indeed been there last night on the beach. But how? All the super soldiers were suppose to have vanished. Oh God, had they come back? Monica felt her knuckles tightening on the steering wheel. Did John know? Did Mulder and Scully? And even so, why was Knowle Rohrer here? He had made contact with her. This meant he needed her for something. And he knew Terrance Fisher obviously. Well, that explained why she felt chilled around Terrance. He was obviously a super soldier too. Oh great, this was just great. She couldn't tell Agent Ryan any of this. Well, at least not yet. First she had to question the Simpson's to confirm her suspicions.