Chapter Seven

Outside the Hoover Building

January 5th, 2001, 1:25 a.m.

"That is the most ludicrous idea I have ever heard," Lieutenant Carson Raines rolled his eyes and crashed his fist onto a squad car's windshield. "Have you told your boss about this?"

"It's not something to debate about," Scully crossed her arms.

"I'm not about to send a squad of my men to clear a building for a pregnant woman to go join her 'significant other'."

"This is not about me, Lieutenant. This is about getting a man with a gunshot wound out and to a hospital. God knows how much blood he's lost--Mulder's not a medic. We're making a trade."

"And this is assuming of course that you'll be talking to the one who understands English," Raines rolled his radio's antenna between his fingers impatiently.

"They both understand English. One of them speaks-"

"Lieutenant, this is the Alpha Squad Leader McClellan with a status report," echoed the walkie talkie.

"Go ahead, over," the lieutenant brought the radio up to his ear and held up his index finger to the FBI agent.

"We've got the lobby secured, sir. Death toll is as follows: 3 security guards found in the bathroom handcuffed to the stalls, and one more at the desk. The guards in the men's room were probably dragged there after being shot. The desk sentry's gun is missing and so are his auxiliary rounds, over."

"Can you access the security footage, over?"

"Sure, sir, but I thought we were supposed to be clearing the lobby for the bomb squad, over."

"You've done your duty correctly, then. They'll be coming in shortly. But first, I want you to see if you can get any more information on our terrorists, over," Raines exchanged glances with Scully, whose expression brightened from its torrential stormy glare.

"I don't need security footage to be able to tell you how many men performed this attack, sir, if that's what you're wanting to know. I can even tell you how he moved, and what kind of ammunition he's got with him, over."

"One man? You're saying that one man did this?" Raines became so baffled that he forgot proper radio etiquette. A few seconds later after McClellan was silent, he finally stuttered an 'over' back.

"That's correct, sir. I cannot tell you how much ammunition he's accumulated yet since we've just secured the lobby, but I know for sure that he's got a standard SIG Sauer 9mm. I believe that is the standard FBI issued handgun, over."

After receiving a slight nod and nonchalant shrug from Scully, the lieutenant confirmed it with a yes. It was too bad for him that Skinner was on top of the adjacent building. Besides Mulder, he was the only one that could read through Scully's body language when she was perturbed. And when Scully became upset, her behavior became even more irrational than Mulder's. Right now, she was moments away from storming the Hoover building with her own automatic pistol and threatening the terrorist herself.

"Should we continue to the next floor and let the bomb team enter, sir?" the officer continued. Scully's cell phone suddenly caught the both of them off guard, and she motioned for him to wait a moment as she answered it.

"Scully."

"It's Skinner. They're in my office."

"Your office? Sir, are you positive about this?"

"Yes. I always push my chair in before I leave my office for the night. This office's chair has been moved away from the desk--Barnes was probably sitting in it to watch Mulder and Doggett. In fact, I'm sure of it. There he goes now."

"Wait a minute," Scully yelled to Raines, who was becoming impatient and was just about to speak into the walkie talkie again. "You've got to help me convince this idiot Raines to let me into the building."

"What! Scully, have you lost your mind?"

"Doggett needs to go to a hospital, and you know damn well that Mulder's no physician. We'll make a trade."

"What makes you think this schizophrenic will listen or deal with you? Remember what happened with Duane Berry!"

All too well, she thought. And right now, I don't give a damn.

"We'll make Barnes think he's got the upper hand. Then when he's in his weakest moment, we can get him." I have to see Mulder.

"You're choosing an awfully dangerous path, Agent. Even if you got through, what if he blows the building?"

"Please, sir...I need to be with him," she whispered the last phrase. There was a pause on the line as Skinner reviewed the facts to himself. "Clear the SWAT teams away as soon as Doggett gets out as well as everyone near the Hoover within the blast radius."

"Scully, you're asking a lot...some people might call it-"

"Selfish? If you know anything about us, sir, then you understand how much we mean to one another. I can't lose him again, and I don't think he could bear to lose me."

"All right. Give Raines your phone," he said gruffly after what seemed like an eternity to her. As she did, she could have sworn that she heard him mumbling about how much Mulder had rubbed off on her, which almost would have made her smile if this weren't such a serious circumstance.

"My superior would like a word with you," Scully announced, and Raines grunted in reply.

"Yes, I'm very aware of your agent's request, AD Skinner. Well, I don't want to get my men blown shit sky high, that's why I'm denying it. Yes, of course, I'm concerned about her," he rolled his eyes to the heavens. "I make the final decisions here, Mr. Skinner. I'm not about to let some psychotic blow up the Hoover building because of two agents' devotion to one another...and by the way you're taking it, I'm believing it to be something more...unprofessional."

Scully's head snapped away from a nearby rally that was cursing the FBI and its Nazi-like investigative methods. She rewarded Raines with a bitter glare.

"I realize that you're also emotionally attached to these agents, too. Now hang on before you start to raise your...--what the--Mr. Skinner? Are you there, Skinner?" Scully's expression changed to concern as his face contorted into confusion. "Is anybody near this phone or man?" he yelled. When no response came, he shoved the mobile unit back into her arms and got back onto his radio. "Bravo squad Leader come in, this is Raines, over."

"This is Bravo squad Leader Denario, I hear you, over," came the reply.

"Check out that Assistant Director, will you? I think I lost reception with him or something, over. So much for that great FBI technology that never interferes with anything," he mumbled.

"He's about ten feet away from me, sir, and is complaining about his dead battery. Want me to put him on, over?"

"No. Have your men take him outta there and load him into the paddy wagon, over." Raines held his hand up in Scully's face and then signified with his index finger that he wasn't finished speaking yet. "If need be, do it forcefully. You keep cover of where you're supposed to be while they're doing this, over."

After Denario's acknowledgment, Raines shut off the walkie talkie. "He was starting to threaten me. The man is tired and needs to sleep it off. I am going to let you go in there, Agent Scully. But not until my bomb squad has said it's okay. You sound like you've got some things mentally under control, but if need be, I'll also throw you in there with Skinner. Don't interfere in my investigation. You got me?"

She nodded. "May I ask how long this will take? Remember, there are men in there suffering blood loss. If any more wounds occur, they could be life threatening."

"I've got six guys plus the SWAT team members covering their asses. Which floor is Skinner's office on?"

"The third floor. There also is a basement, and one more above Skinner's."

"Starting now, I'll say fifteen minutes. McClellan?" Raines held up his radio again and turned the volume up so both of them could hear the leader.

"This is McClellan, Alpha squad Leader, sir."

"Start the bomb search and don't turn off your radio. Agent Scully and I can't see shit down here, so we need to hear what you're seeing and hearing from the other team members, over."

"10/4." As soon as Raines' conversation ended, Scully's phone chirped rudely. She fished it out of her pocket, saw that it was Reyes, and removed the headset from her ear. "Scully," she replied.

"Hi, Dana, it's Monica. I've got lots of information to fill in the blanks of our mysteriously possessed kidnapper, courtesy of Langly here."

Thank God it wasn't Frohike, Scully thought to herself. I just might have had to make good on all those innuendoes he throws at me constantly.

"I'm listening, Monica, please go ahead."

"Well, here's the deal. Donald Granger was a member of the Office of Strategic Services from 1942 to 1945, and he served in Europe from '42 till '44. The year after that, he became a superior of the counterintelligence service back in the States. This is the man that Barnes, aka Schultz, thinks Mulder is."

"Does he resemble Mulder at all?"

"Couldn't find a picture of him. But, here's some more history for you to follow before you dismiss my theory totally. Joy Kennedy was the secretary to Fritz Kolbe, a foreign minister to Germany until about 1943. She emigrated to Ireland sometime later, married, and had two sons and two daughters."

"Why do you say 'sometime' later?" Scully inquired.

"Well, the first son was born in 1949. Langly wasn't able to locate the marriage license. I guess I'm assuming that they got married."

"And your point is...-"

"His name was Michael Kennedy. Joy's date of death was April 3rd, 1964. Hmph, so much for the idea of marriage. The children were divided up and sent to social services. But Michael was adopted by Hiram and Katie Scully of October that same year." Scully's intake of oxygen was suddenly erratic.

"Those were my grandparents' names. Are you telling me that I've got an uncle named Michael?" Scully also felt her throat constrict.

"Yes, and unfortunately...well, I don't think I have to tell you why Hiram and Katie took Michael under their wings," Monica finished slowly.

"No, it's not necessary," the red headed FBI agent paused to gather herself. "But what else has this to do with me?"

"I think, Dana, that Schultz sees that you sound and look so much like Joy Kennedy because you're related! He must have been in love with her."

"So now you're saying that some man who's possessed is mistaking me for an illegitimate grandmother of mine? And is also on the same mission to recover some important letters?" Scully burst out laughing. "Oh, that one could even topple a Mulder theory! Or better yet, be a Jerry Springer topic of the week!"

"But what if it's true, Agent Scully?" Reyes waited until her outburst subsided.

"If it's true, then Mulder and I will break the rumors that have been circulating around the water cooler for nearly eight years finally. And give the Gunmen ringside seats."

"Um...I'm not quite sure of how to respond to that.."

"You might want to re-think that bet, Scully," Langly's voice chimed in. "Agent Reyes here is pretty much reading word for word what I found from our contact. Well, except about the possession and being in love with you part."

"He hasn't even seen what I look like!" Scully exclaimed. "How could this...no...no, this is too farfetched." She clapped her hand over the phone and glanced up at Raines. "Did you send the bomb squads in?"

"Yeah, and they've already gone up to the second floor. I got better things to do than wait around for an FBI agent to finish up her phone calls," he responded coolly. "Go ahead, McClellan. Sorry about the interruption, over."

The call forwarding tone warned her that she had an incoming call, and the word 'Mulder' flashed intermittently on it. "I've got to go. I think Mulder's calling me," she told Reyes and Langly. Without another hesitation, she picked up. "Mulder?"

"So where did the train go after Alsace?" Barnes' Germanic accent made her swallow her next mouthful of saliva very carefully.

What could she say? If she tried to bring Barnes back into reality, he could snap easily and kill his captives without a moment to lose. However, if she pushed him over the edge of his fantasy and angered him, the outcome could still be the same. Every single impulse in her brain was screaming at her not to feed into the illusion--his illusion. But her heart ached to see Mulder, and if this were the only way she could do it, then let it be done.

"Paris," she murmured.

"And then where did you go?"

"We took a car to St. Milo, and a plane picked us up to go to London the next night."

"Did you make love?"

"What? How did you learn to use this phone?" Reluctant to lie anymore, she diverted him.

"Dis other man taught me. I had to speak to you--a privilege I never had before. Now tell me, did you make love?"

"Wilhem, do you know what year it is?"

"I am certain it is not 1943," he chuffed and paused. "But that does not matter. The information I have is either on one of you or inside you. Tell me, now, Kennedy. Did you make love?"

"The man...who showed you the phone. He's wounded, isn't he?"

"I shot him, yes."

"He needs to go to a hospital so that he won't bleed to death."

"Answer my question."

Scully took a deep breath as she considered her words. "There wasn't time."

"I will let the other man go if you come up here."

"Please tell me what you want."

"You'll get it when you arrive in this place."

"Fourth floor is clear, sir," McClellan's voice echoed from the walkie talkie.

"Good. Agent Scully, every bone in my body is telling me that I'm sending you to your grave. And my snipers up there are waiting for two clean shots. Once you enter that office and the wounded man is out, my teams leave the Hoover. Keep his attention on you and his back towards the window," Raines mopped his forehead with a Kleenex. "And just in case I don't see you again, may God have mercy on your souls."