Title: "Credidi me Felem Vidisse"

Author: KimotoCat

Rating: PG-13

Summary, disclaimer and all that are in part 1.

Credidi me Felem Vidisse

Part 6 - Epilogue

Popcorn.

The smell of old popcorn was all over the place and as he opened his eyes, he discovered a pile of them in front of his face. Benches and concrete, old snacks and litter. He was lying on his side between rows of seats in a sports-centre.

Mulder barely made it onto his knees before he threw up. Not violently, just a few gasps of unpleasant vapours and liquid, leaving behind a disgusting taste in his dry mouth.

"Mulder, are you all right?" Scully's coarse voice broke in.

"Scully?" he exhaled, fighting to gain some kind of balance. "Scully, what happened? Where's Vandenberg? Where's Kim?"

He felt the calming touch of Scully's hand on his shoulder as she tried to support him. Somehow the touch made him relax slightly. How often he had experienced that; Scully's hand in an effort to help him in some situation where he needed help. Where he needed Scully…

"We must have been knocked out somehow," Scully said as she came into Mulder's view, a concerned and tired look on her face. "There are no signs of either Vandenberg or Kim here. Or Simmons for that matter. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," he admitted, finally getting upright and regretting it one moment later as he found himself reeling slightly and saw traces of more vomit on the concrete floor. "We've been knocked out?" he then exclaimed in a concerned voice. "What do you mean, we? You too?"

"Yes, Mulder, me too. Maybe we've been sedated. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Remember?" Mulder's voice trailed off as he realised his own insecurity. He was not at all certain about what he remembered from… He suddenly felt vertigo overwhelming him and leaned heavily against the nearest seat. "I'm not sure. I was here, as was Vandenberg. You phoned… I saw Kim. At least, I think I saw Kim."

"I phoned you to warn you about Vandenberg," Scully said, slowly taking out her cellular phone. "And then I went straight here. That much I am sure off, but after that, it gets blurry."

"Kim was here," Mulder said, rubbing his forehead with a clinched fist and slowly sinking down to a kneeling position. "I'm sure of it. Vandenberg must have… done something."

"This is agent Dana Scully of the FBI," the other agent said into the phone. "I am at the Toledo Sports Centre and we are in need of an ambulance. Two agents down, possibly drugged. And we need backup too…"

o o o

It was not difficult for the FBI to find solid evidence that Kimoto Takita had been at the Toledo Sports Centre. Nor was it a problem to prove that both "agents" Vandenberg and Simmons had been there, leaving both fingerprints and witnesses, as Mrs Raymonds had watched both men come and go several times, flashing their false badges at her and telling her to keep distance.

It turned out more problematic to explain the wrecked motel-room with an equally wrecked rental-car parked inside it. The room was rented in Mulder's name and the Clark could testify that it was Mulder who had come to get the key, telling that he was with two other people. Investigations revealed traces of both of the missing men and the feline as well as Mulder and Scully, but none of the agents remembered anything from the room.

Bloodstains on the floor and the one wall turned out possibly to be from Francis Vandenberg, and a smaller bloodstain on the quilt of the bed obviously came from Kim. Other than that, nothing indicated what really had happened there.

Agents Scully and Mulder were kept under supervision for two days at the hospital, mainly because of their obvious symptoms of a drug-related amnesia. The exact nature of the drug was not determined, all though needle marks and various reactions did indicate that they had been injected with a very potent substance.

Both the agents recovered fully from their experience, but neither of them regained any memory of the events at the motel.

After another two days, the medical advisor of the FBI recommended the two back in service, where their first assignment was an attempt of tracking down Kimoto Takita, following the leads achieved by two colleagues. But nobody at Clean-Bean had seen Katherine Thompson after the events at the Toledo Sports Centre. An interview with Mr Thorndyke revealed his anger towards the agents, as he apparently blamed them for making Miss Thompson leave without any notice.

Soon another case came up and the two agents were put to investigate a case in Bismarck, North Dakota along with a colleague, an old friend of theirs.

They did not find any further leads or any information leading to the exposure or capture of Francis Vandenberg or Randolph Simmons. Nor did they hear anything else from Kimoto Takita or her alias, Katherine Thompson.

That is, a few days later, Mulder came home to his flat, tired from a couple of long days in North Dakota and a peculiar incident down in a near by park. Weary and confused, he had put the key in the lock before he noticed the edge of brown paper, barely visible under the edge of his door.

Immediately wide awake again, he leaned forwards and gently pulled it out, discovering it to be the end of a cheap, brown envelope.

He opened the door and entered all ready tearing at the envelope to see what was inside. It was a letter and a photography; one of those long bands with four pictures, taken in a snapshot automatic on a railway station and usable for passports or public papers. And the smiling face on all four pictures was the one of a feline woman, green eyes staring back at Mulder as he gazed at the pictures, canine teeth shining in a wide, almost inhuman grin.

Then he looked at the letter:

Washington DC, 1999.

Very Special Agent Fox Mulder, I am sorry to tell you that I am leaving Washington. I finally got rid of Francis Vandenberg and his merry sidekick, but I cannot expect to count myself that lucky once more.

Unfortunately I have the idea that Vandenberg made you two forget the more interesting parts and I'm not too sure what he will do next. If I were him, I would expect you to be a good guideline to find me. That's why I don't tell you where I'm going. I am sorry, but it is probably better this way. As a pro, I'm sure you understand.

I know, I am just mumbling away in the most confusing way. But first I am still a bit drowsy from Vandenberg's stupid drugs and secondly I don't know how much you would remember anyway. And I am also not to sure that I should remind you of anything of it. Just as long as you keep in mind that Vandenberg isn't evil or something, but he is your enemy in this. He sure is my enemy in this. If you see him again, arrest him as an illegal immigrant or something.

I'll go to another part of the US. I'm not sure I could not fake my way out of your lovely nation, but your society demands papers for almost everything, not least flying via international airlines and believe it or not, but I hate sailing. If I keep a good distance from Washington, I feel pretty certain that I can manage to hide in the United States, as long as I keep a low profile, hide my whiskers and work for low wages. And yes, keep away from cat burglaries…

You and I are going to meet again. When we do, I'll help refreshen your memory in so far as I am able to and perhaps then some. My abilities will not be of much help here, but I was there right till they sedated you and your redheaded partner and I did hear most of what you and the others said.

Say hi to Scully from me, she was really a great help too. I really feel that I owe the two of you a big one. You have a really good partner there and mind you, Mulder; she is the fox of you two!

I'll have to stop now as the bus is leaving soon. Whoa, I hate driving in a bus, but I don't think I can go back to my flat for the rest of my money now. Take care of yourselves and remember to feed your fish. I'll see you again if I can help it.

Keep the pictures. I have one of you too, remember?

Kind regards – Kim

Mulder read the letter twice, then he put it on the table and looked at her face again. So sincerely feline, predatorial and yet with its own subtle grace. He wished he remembered the events at the motel, but it was gone. What ever Vandenberg had done, he had done it well.

Why was it that he always met these people? People with great secrets, which they willingly shared with him. It was as if it was bait, just enough to keep him going on. Just enough to keep him following the alternative trails in a world where science held an explanation to almost everything.

Perhaps science also held an answer to Kimoto Takita.

Fox Mulder found himself willing to take another step along the unauthorised routes in order to find that answer.

With a smile, he folded up the pictures and put them in his wallet. Another picture of a friend, whom he was looking forward to see again.

o o o

The end?

o o o

April 1999 by KimotoCat

o o o