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Shreveport, Louisiana
Airport
12:00 p.m.
Scully had fallen asleep on Mulder's shoulder after a couple of hours in flight but he didn't mind the extra weight. She's been there for him and he'll sure in hell be there for her when she needs him.
"Hey sleepy head… we finally arrived…" he touched her cheek.
"Oh, Mulder…" she stammered.
"That's all right I was getting quite comfortable," he teased her with a smile.
"We've got a long drive ahead of us if we want to get to Arcadia." He opened the overhead compartment, grabbing the
suitcases.
"How far do you think Arcadia is from Shreveport?" Scully asked as she took her overnight bag from his hands.
"Well, I'm not sure how far. I'm guessing about two hundred miles but we should be there in about three hours if we haul ass. Speaking of a hot fine ass." Mulder said and peered over her shoulder winking at her.
"Mulder!" Scully turned around and playfully pushed him back, almost knocking him over his overnight bag.
"Oh, Scully… you're not wanting to cause a scene, are you, especially in a crowded airport?" he smirked grabbing her arm in retaliation.
"I don't mind if you don't?" Mulder was speechless at that comment from his Scully. There could be more fun to come, but you never know what she's thinking, he thought to himself, smiling.
"Earth to Mulder?" Scully waved her hand in his face to wake him from his daydreaming gaze.
"Right behind you, honey," he joked.
They went to the rental center agency to rent an automobile. As they pulled out of the airport, they took the exit for the highway that led into Arcadia. The traffic was flowing smoothly and finally the two agents arrived at Jay's Country Store in time to see the informant standing at the street corner. Mulder spotted the informant first. Mulder parked the car facing out of town so that he and Scully wouldn't be recognized so easily.
"Scully… I see him. Cover me." He walked briskly toward the man.
"Okay… be careful, Mulder." Scully ducked behind a building and drew her weapon.
"Are you Mulder? You looking for some files?" the slim older gentlemen said, not looking at Mulder.
"Yeah, do you have them?" Mulder asked.
"Yes, I do. Here I trust that you won't let these fall into the wrong hands." The older man handed him the file folder.
"No, they'll be safe with me."
The older man ducked behind a building, through an ally, and into a waiting black sedan. The informant reached for his cell phone and pressed speed dial number.
"Hello." Diana was on the other end of the line.
"He took the bait. It's up to you to finish them." The older man said and hung up the phone.
"Mulder, did you get the files?" Scully rushed to his side.
"Yeah. Let's get the hell out of here." They hurried to the car.
The day was passing by without any sign of the government conspiracy. The major highway was about twenty minutes away. Suddenly Scully spotted two black Suv's tailgating them.
"Mulder, look behind us." Scully spoke up and looked forward. Mulder looked in the rearview mirror.
"Oh, shit. Hang on Scully."
Mulder tried to out run the two powerful Suv's, but as they swerved the Suv's matched him with perfection. One Suv passed him on the shoulder, blocking their path while the other tried ramming Mulder and Scully's car from behind. The Suv's succeeded in knocking Mulder and Scully off the road at the junction of Gibsland. The wrecked car landed in a ditch, knocking the two agents out cold. Ironically, this is the same place another dynamic duo met their fate. The conspiracy may think they have disposed of Mulder and Scully, but it's not so.
Mulder finally regained consciousness, wincing at the pain from his injury to his head. He looked over at Scully and nudged her with his hand to see any movement, nothing. He opened the door of the car and walked over to the passenger side of the car.
"Scully… you okay?" Mulder touched her cheek tenderly.
"Mulder, where are you?" she whispered.
"I'm right here Scully." He gripped her hand in his, pushing a few strands of red hair away from her face.
"Mulder, your hurt." Her vision blurred briefly then looked at clearly him.
"Are you okay? Scully you must have hit your head pretty hard. You have small sign of swelling on your forehead. Does your head hurt?" He asked her and gently caressed the injured area, trying to sooth away any pain.
"It hurts a little. Your injury is more severe than mine your losing blood we need to get it stopped."
"I might have something in my purse if you could get it."
Mulder walked back to the trunk of the car and retrieved Scully's purse handing it to her. She rummaged through it looking for her tiny first aid kit that she always kept with her at all times.
"Don't leave home without it. Now hold still Mulder." She delicately cleaned the wound with a disinfectant wipe and secured a bandage to his forehead.
"I think the car isn't going to get us back to the airport, Scully." He walked around the front of the car looking at the damage.
"So, what should we do? Wait until someone drives along to hitch a ride back to town?" Scully said as she joined him at the front of the car.
"Or we could start walking back to town." Mulder grabbed the overnight bags from the trunk.
"But it's ten miles back, Mulder."
"Yes, I know. If we wait here its no telling how long it'll be before someone comes along."
They walked about five miles out of Gibsland. The sun started to set on the horizon while Scully lagged behind, Mulder stopped and waited for her; setting the overnight bags down.
"Gee Scully, I'm I going to have to carry you?"
"Can't we stop and rest for a little while, Mulder?"
"Well, you rest your little feet. I'm going to water the bushes."
"Mulder, I'm not in the mood to discuss my feet." Scully huffed and sat down on her overnight bag.
Meanwhile Mulder went into the wooded area to relieve himself. In the woods, something caught his attention. As he walked closer, it appeared to be a large orb like apparition, moving in a circular motion. He walked up to it as it vanished.
"Mulder, what's taking you so long?" Scully called to him but no answer. She walked the same path as he had taken earlier. No sign of him so she called out to him again, silence. But she did notice the same circular motion that Mulder had. She walked over to it and it pulled her through the vortex.
It was early morning, and the last remnants of the night still lingered in the corners. The sun just started to rise and its warm rays warmed Mulder's face, as they reached into the valley. His vision blurred for a few seconds. Rubbing his eyes groggily, he searched for Scully, doing the almost instinctual scan of the horizons. His eyes locked on Scully, when he spotted her a few yards away, lying on her left side. He got up and stretched his legs, noticing the change in his surroundings since the last time he was conscious. The ammunition beside him and the clothes he wore were not familiar, or even from the same time period. Scully stirred for a moment, looking for Mulder. When she spotted him, though, it was hardly what she had expected. His blue suit and tie had been changed into a dark suit with pin stripes and expensive dress shoes. Scully looked down at herself and noticed her clothes had changed, too. She donned a red skirt with a dark blazer; these clothes were also out of date, something native to America, circa of 1930's.
"Mulder, what the hell happened to us?"
"I'm not sure. Did you see the light in the woods?" Mulder turned his head, looking back at the wooded area.
"I went looking for you. I thought I saw something like an orb," Scully replied.
"I wonder if it could have something to with the way we are dressed."
"Oh, Mulder don't tell me. A wrinkle in time?" Scully rolled her eyes.
"Well, how do you explain this?" He pointedly gestured to their clothing and then to the weapons that lie on the ground.
"Mulder, I have no clue."
"Scully, maybe this is a bad time, but you look very sexy in those clothes," he smiled at her.
"You don't look so bad yourself," she leaned into his personal space, running her hands down his chest.
They heard a car roaring down the road and looked in the direction and spotted a Ford V8 coming in their direction. A slender
young man in his early thirties drove towards Mulder and Scully; as he came upon the two agents, he skidded to a
stop.
"Get in Clyde, the law is comin'! Hurry don't forget your guns," he said nervously looking into the rearview mirror.
Mulder looked at Scully and then back at the man before running toward the pile of weapons. He heard the faint sound of police sirens and quickly opened the car door, grabbing Scully's hand, pulling the door shut.
The young man drove down the road and turned left speeding toward the county line. The lawman stopped on the county line, heading back toward the town in defeat.
"Clyde, we almost got caught."
"Well, they didn't get us. That's all that matters isn't?"
"That was awful close, baby brother," he looked back at Mulder.
"So, where are we headed?" Scully spoke up.
"I'm not sure, Bonnie, but we're going to keep driving until we find another car to swap."
"I'm sure getting hungry; can't we stop someplace for a bite to eat?" Mulder asked.
"I'll stop at a restaurant in the nearby town. I'm sure there'll be some food, but we've got to be careful."
A small town appeared on the horizon. The young man pulled behind the restaurant; he parked the car and shut off its engine. He turned around in the seat, looking at the two of them, waiting for Clyde's orders.
"Clyde, should I wait in the car? Or go get the food."
"Bonnie and I will get the food. Wait here."
They walked toward the restaurant and noticed a few people throwing them suspicious glances their way.
"Mulder, just what the hell is going on here?"
"I believe that man in the car thinks we are Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the infamous bank robbers from the Thirties and I'm his brother."
"Mulder, you're telling me, we leaped into a time portal, and now we're criminals? An X-file?" she gave him a sly smile.
"Scully, I believe we're on the same page."
They walked into the restaurant, the suspicious glances increasing. Mulder ordered a couple of cheeseburgers with fries as their waitress threw the two of them the same glares the other patrons directed upon them as she placed their orders.
"It'll be about five minutes," the young woman said after giving Mulder the "once- over".
"I can't take you anywhere, Mulder," she whispered before gently poking him in the ribs.
"Sorry… Scull- I mean Bonnie," he whispered back at her.
The waitress handed them the brown paper bag, and they hurried back to the car, only to find that it was empty.
"Where the hell did he go?" Scully shouted.
"Damned if I know," Mulder responded.
"You know something Mulder, he sort of resembled Agent Doggett and he called you, "baby brother." I remember reading in the library archive, that Buck Barrow and his wife Blanche traveled in the gang."
"Scully, this is so damn crazy."
Just then Buck rounded the corner with a young lady. He opened the back door and they slid into the car. Mulder and Scully still stood on the pavement in front of the car, dumbfounded. They looked at each other in astonishment when they saw the striking resemblances shared with another young woman, Agent Reyes.
"Come on, Clyde. Let's get out of here before the law comes lookin' for us."
Mulder drove as fast as he could out of the little town, not knowing where they would end up.
11:30 p.m.
Country Road 20
"Clyde, we need pull over so we can rest for a little while." Buck spoke up while he leaned up against the front seat.
"I'll find a clearing up ahead and then we'll stop, Dogg… I mean Buck." Mulder corrected himself glancing nervously over at Scully.
"You calling me a dog, Clyde?" he argued.
"No, not at all."
"Hey, you guys it's been a long day. Let's just get some rest." Scully jumped in before an argument could take effect.
Mulder drove the Ford into a flat clearing, stopped the car and shut off the engine. Buck and Blanche got out of the car and pulled a blanket out of the backseat before walking toward a few large oak trees on the far side of the meadow. Meanwhile, Mulder and Scully walked toward the front of the car a few yards away and sat down on the grass.
"So, what do you think now?" Mulder leaned back and relaxed on the cool grass.
"We're criminals, no doubt about it. It's so weird but it's exciting at the same time and the fact that the two resemble Agent Doggett and Reyes. I was thinking, 'what if all this is in our heads, Mulder?"
"Scully, are you saying we're imagining all this?"
"If not, then we must have been hit on the head pretty hard to be here. We can't mess with history; it'll change the whole outlook in the future, Mulder."
"Wait a minute, did you just say you were excited? Are you as turned on as I am?" he grabbed her and pulled her down with him.
"Mulder… I mean Clyde." She landed on top of his chest and looked down at him, smiling.
"You're enjoying this I can tell."
"Sure, I am. Why wouldn't I be? You're with me, right?" He smiled and captured her lips, rolling her over so that she was beneath him.
"We shouldn't be doing this," she whispered into his neck.
"Why not?" He kissed her on her lips, silencing her once again.
"Buck and Blanche probably don't care and besides, they're probably doing the same thing."
"No, we can't. We have to stop." She gently pushed him away.
"What, why? You're not afraid are you?"
"It's not that I'm afraid, Mulder. We are in the company of strangers and I don't want to cause any more problems between you and your brother over there," she glanced back over toward the couple.
"Alright, you won this time, but you'll be mine in time, mark my words." He pulled her closer, kissing her on the lips and then cradling her in his warm embrace.
"Mulder, you owned me when we first met," she whispered into his chest.
"Damn right." He pulled her tighter against him and drifted off to sleep.
Dawn arrived over the valley. Buck and Blanche awoke to the sound of birds chirping in the nearby trees. Mulder and Scully were still curled up together, his hand draped over her, holding her to him protectively.
"Clyde, we better get moving." He looked down at Mulder's sleeping form.
"Yeah, just give us a few minutes."
Buck walked back to the car and straightened his clothes, joining Blanche at the car. Mulder and Scully walked back to the car, wondering what was going to happen today.
"Clyde, I know a bank that's about ten miles away from here. We've got to take it today. There are not a lot of guards in this bank so it'll be a piece of cake."
"Let's take it then." Mulder opened the car door sliding into the driver seat, while the rest of them piled into the car.