Chapter Seven

Ft. Nexus, Honey Ridge, WV

April 25th, 2001, 11:49 p.m.

"Colonel, I don't know about you, but I'm at a total loss of words to explain what we just saw tonight," Capt. Scully told Jarod as they passed through the fort's main entrance. "I hope all those pictures survived that blast." He removed his digital camera from a pouch on his utility belt.

"Don't count on it. I bet the cloaking field we saw on that ship knocked out your memory card. It screwed up our night vision and spoiled our surprise attack," Jarod grumbled. "Next time, I take one man with me. That's it."

"It wasn't your fault, Colonel. Those other guys just got too gung ho—I call it the 'Bruce Lee conniption'. Some guys get a rush of adrenalin and think they're immortal. But it only takes one bullet."

"They're dead because I wasn't properly prepared."

"At least you know how they died. Now we have to report the bad news to that woman...the Special Representative to the Secretary General," Capt. Scully lamented.

They traveled down the corridor without exchanging any more conversation for a few minutes until they came to the end of it. A squad of children stood in front of a steel door with crossed arms. They appeared to be guarding something; but why weren't they armed? This bewildered Jarod and made him feel highly uncomfortable.

"Captain, who are those kids?" He signaled Charles' attention to the children.

"Oh...I don't know. I've never been to this base before, but I've heard some awfully strange things about it. And now that I think of it, we've gotten some more air base brats recently at Bethesda, too. We never let the kids inside, though."

"Don't they appear to be keeping watch over something?"

Both of them stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the kids. They were paired side by side and stood at perfect attention. "I guess, but we shouldn't worry."

"Why do you say that?" Jarod questioned him.

"If it's our business to know, then we'll find out. Come on, Colonel, you know how it works. Unless you Army guys have got some kind of loose security."

"Hmmph, I guess you're right. She'll tell us if we need to know."

The two men journeyed down a set of stairs to the basement floor and nearly hit Marita Covarrubias with the door as they walked in. "Oh, sorry," Capt. Scully apologized.

"It's quite all right, Captain. What have you to report?" she queried.

"We started off with the GPS coordinates you gave us and went north. From there, my team split into two. We heard some strange noises coming from the east, so Captain Scully went with two of my men, and I went with the others in the opposite direction," Jarod explained.

"I told Jarod's men to be careful, especially since we had no idea what we were looking for," Capt. Scully went on. "They did listen to me for about five minutes, but when they saw that there was nothing visible, they complained that they got tired of crawling on their stomachs. Then they got up, started walking, and before I could yell to them to get down, zap."

"Did they get shot?" Covarrubias asked.

"You could say that—vaporized is the better term."

"Vaporized?"

"There was nothing left behind but their boots and weapons. Now I stayed on my stomach and crawled closer. As I leaned over to examine the evidence, I saw a flickering light out of the corner of my eye. It was about three feet away, and I tossed a pebble into it. I was expecting to see some of it be captured in light, not strike something and disappear," Capt. Scully remarked.

"So you encountered an invisible force field?"

"Well, I didn't see if the men actually touched it. I started to take pictures of the leftovers first."

"What did you do next?"

"I tried to radio Lt. Colonel Grant; our communication got broken somehow."

"My men became overzealous as well...but they didn't vaporize. They just vanished," Grant reported. "See, we saw a man over on our side of the forest. He had some kind of a tool or weapon in his hand and appeared to be working on something."

"Something, Colonel Grant?" Covarrubias demanded.

"Neither of my men could distinguish his actions. They were about twenty feet in front of me; I stayed behind to provide cover fire if needed. The man had his back turned to us, and my men wanted to investigate further."

"And?"

"They did—but as soon as I told them to hold off, they both screamed and disappeared. I ran in their direction but became repelled by something, and my night vision goggles began to overload. Naturally, I made some noise as I struggled to get the damn things off. The man that had had his back turned whirled around and rushed towards me. I don't remember anything until Captain Scully revived me," Grant recollected.

"It was only for a few moments, but I did see some kind of aircraft when I retreated to go look for Grant," Capt. Scully continued. "I managed to snap off a few shots; as soon as I found the Lt. Colonel, it turned invisible again."

"May I see these pictures?" Covarrubias inquired.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded and handed the camera to her.

"Is it on?"

"Yes, ma'am. It's on the correct setting to view the pictures as far as I know."

"It's not getting any power."

"I just put a new battery in this afternoon. What the hell..." He took it back and removed the cover. The energy source had melted into liquid copper and nickel. "Shit," he sighed. Capt. Scully then opened up the memory card slot and as suspected, the card had become one with the PC board. "I don't suppose this'll be covered under the Best Buy warranty."

"Well, how big do you estimate the craft was?" Covarrubias questioned him.

"Ahh...maybe twenty feet tall. I'm not sure how wide."

"Thank you, gentlemen, for your service. I'll see to it that you get reimbursed for the damage done to your camera, Captain," Marita finished and turned away.

"Just a minute, Ms. Covarrubias," Jarod began.

"Yes, Lt. Colonel? Was any of your equipment damaged as well?"

"Just the eye wear, but...forgive my curiosity, please. Captain Scully and I observed a group of children standing guard a few floors up. Might I inquire as to what they're guarding and why?"

"They're here as part of a junior ROTC program, Colonel Grant. Surely you've heard of junior boot camp?"

"Uh...I didn't...um, realize that there was one for kids that young, that's all."

"It's never too soon to begin to teach our young discipline, is it?" She smiled and acknowledged them before walking away.

"If they're part of a boot camp, then where's the instructor?" Jarod muttered, but Capt. Scully heard him.

"C'mon, Grant, we did our job for the evening. Let's get outta here."

"You go on ahead—I feel fine, now. I can drive."

"All right, Colonel, I trust you. It was nice to work with you," Capt. Scully said and held out his hand.

"The feeling is mutual." The Pretender shook hands with him. "Tell me, Capt. Scully, did you know that your sister's child is missing?"

"What're you talking about?"

"I saw the news this evening."

"My sister can't have children..." Capt. Scully disagreed. "At least, that's what I heard from her last year."

"Then you didn't know that she gave birth earlier this year?"

"She did? Why didn't she tell me?" he whispered the last question to himself.

"That's a very valid query. I'd like to find out what's inside that room."

"I can't go with you, Grant. I've got a family to get back to."

"I understand. Just please promise me that if I need your help, you'll give it to me without hesitation."

Capt. Scully bit his lip and frowned. "What do you expect from me?"

"A little trust."

Charles sighed, pulled out his wallet, and withdrew a card. "This has my cell as well as my home phone. You don't think that my sister's kid got kidnapped by that woman, do you?" he lowered his volume.

"She was interrupted from investigating someone that had clandestine ties to the local law enforcement by this crime. It's a hunch, but right now, it's the only one I've got."

"Call me when you have something more. I've got to go." He saluted Jarod and left his presence.

Mulder's Apartment, Alexandria, Washington, D.C.

April 26th, 2001, 7:18 a.m.

Three staccato knocks brought Mulder to the door with his coffee mug in hand. He was entirely surprised to open it and see Scully on the other side.

"Oh, hi Scully. C'mon in," he said and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry to bother you, but there were reporters mobbing my doorstep at 6:30 this morning as I was trying to get ready for work." She rushed in with her overnight bag and strode quickly to his bathroom.

"Did you talk to them?" Mulder followed her and drank from his mug when he arrived in the bathroom doorway.

"Not at all." Scully lifted the bag up to the counter, unzipped it, and tossed various makeup items into the empty sink.

"Uh, Scully...did you..." He glanced at her worriedly and then reached out to tap her.

"God, Mulder! What!"

"Did you have any coffee this morning yet?"

"Not even a drop. I had just started the pot when they started to bang on the door," she fumed and started to apply her foundation.

"Here," he proffered his mug towards her. "No sugar. I know you're not a big fan of black-"

She accepted it and downed a large gulp of the beverage. "Thank you."

"You still keep me guessing," he chuckled. "Are you in the mood to talk, or are you rushing to the Hoover like the speed of sound?"

"Well..." She set the mug down and began her mascara. "Doggett was late yesterday...I guess I could slow down a bit."

"How about some breakfast?" He turned around and went into his living room.

"I don't know, Mulder..."

"Come on, I'll make you a bagel...with real cream cheese."

"Are you trying to fatten me up or what? I just got rid of that extra weight from the pregnancy!" she shouted.

"I'll toast it just barely in my oven—I've even got the flavored kind," he sang and traveled to the kitchen.

"Well..." Scully capped the mascara, set it down, and pursued him. She glanced down and eyed herself cautiously.

"For Pete's sake, Scully, stop worrying about the calories for once and eat something that tastes good," he growled and opened his refrigerator.

"Okay," she shrugged. "Thanks, Mulder."

"So...you went to Delaware yesterday?"

"How'd you-"

"You called me on your way home last night, remember? You said you needed to talk to someone or else you were inclined to fall asleep behind the wheel."

"Oh. I don't remember much of what I told you, sorry," Scully shrugged and lifted the coffee to her lips again.

"Just that you and Doggett didn't get to meet Raines and Lyle, but you did manage to pick up some more footage of illicit activities being done in The Centre."

Mulder closed the fridge and slid the two bagel halves into his toaster. He retrieved another coffee mug from a cupboard and poured some more for himself.

"Was that all I said?"

"Well, I think you also mentioned that you met some people, but you didn't describe them very well. Can you remember now?"

"Yes, very well. There were three people; two men and a woman."

"Who appealed to you the most?"

"Hmm?"

"If you ever happened to meet one of them again, which one would you definitely strike up a conversation with?"

"I'll tell you whom I would not," Scully paused, "that Parker woman. Argh, she was frustrating."

"What'd she look like?"

"One of your Playboy centerfolds with her clothes on."

"Scully, I didn't subscribe to Playboy!" Mulder's face scrunched itself into self indignation briefly, and then he broke into a grin. "It was Celebrity Skin."

"Whatever," she pursed her lips and gave him a disintegrating stare.

"Note that I used the past tense, Scully." He opened another cabinet and slid a plate in front of Scully. "Please sit." Mulder waited until she did and served her the bagel. "So what's your next move against The Centre?"

"Mulder, did you know that this Jarod who sent the Gunmen this information was the same one we met in Indianapolis?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I might have had an inclination towards it, yes."

"Why didn't you say anything about it?"

"Well, we were so consumed with the oil case at the time; it just didn't seem to be the appropriate action then."

"I thought we were past this," she sighed and dug a knife into the cream cheese.

"What?"

"The secrecy...the hiding...the lack of trust."

"Scully, I completely trust you."

"Yet you didn't think to mention that this man was the victim of terrible crimes or an instrument used to create them."

"Well, I-"

Before Mulder could finish, Scully's cell phone interrupted their disagreement. She retrieved it from her suit coat pocket regretfully. "Scully."

"Agent Scully, this is SAC Tony Capricci, from Organized Crime," the voice announced.

"Yes, sir, how can I help you?"

"Well, first of all, you can stop calling me sir. Crimony, Agent Scully, I'm younger than you are. Secondly, I wanted you to know that I found out what those fibers were from that we found in your mom's home."

"I'm listening," Scully replied coolly. Although internally, she was about ready to pounce on him impatiently almost like that woman from The Centre.

"We matched them up to some military uniforms. The fibers were from the Black Berets, we think, but we're not absolutely positively sure."

"Why's that?"

"Well, their uniforms are always changing, and you of all people know how secret the military is. We don't know if the stuff matches what they currently wear, and that'll take some finagling."

"I appreciate what you've done so far, Agent Capricci."

"Then just call me Tony, will ya? I only call you Agent Scully 'cause I hear you're a formal type of a lady, and I respect that. It's not too often to meet a woman nowadays in our field that's also a lady."

"Even the ones you dated?"

"Oh, you heard about that?" he snickered sheepishly. "Well, it was bound to come out into the open someday, I guess..."

"Tell me, Tony...-why did you...?"

"Try to screw two women at the same time?"

Mulder heard that last retort and snorted. Scully's agitated eyebrow began to twitch in his direction, to which he grinned maniacally and stepped behind her to avoid a playful swat. "Uh, yeah," she answered and turned her head as she tried to locate her partner with her peripheral vision.

"It was a challenge, all right—to juggle them. And it gave me great pleasure to know that two women desperately wanted me. I mean, both of them were physically great and gave me everything I wanted, but Rita was the one that actually wanted to listen to me instead of just get down to business...if you know what I mean. The other...well...let's just say that she could be a real dominatrix."

Oh, I couldn't see that at all, Scully thought.

"So...any more news?" she wondered aloud cautiously.

"Other than that, no, I'm...uh...I'm sorry, Agent Scully. Your suspect list is rather short and ambiguous, I'm afraid. We're having trouble diagnosing a proper M.O."

"You want to know why? I'll tell you why! Because I was getting too close to their operation in Indianapolis, whatever it was, and they're using my son against me. I'm trapped, Agent Capricci, in a no-win situation."

"Uh, does this mean that you want me to give this case to VCS?"

"No. You appear to be an astute and clever man, Tony. It's too bad that you didn't apply to the X-Files Division earlier; we could've used a man like you."

"It's funny you should mention that...-"

Scully's phone beeped twice, and she drew it away from her ear to glance at the caller identification in the window. "I'm sorry, Tony, but my mom's on the other line. I'm going to have to let you go," she told him.

"I understand. Goodbye, Agent Scully."

"Thank you, Agent Capricci. Hello, Mom?"

"Good morning, dear. I tried to call you at work, but I got your voice mail. Where are you, Dana?" Maggie inquired.

"I'm at Mulder's right now."

"Oh. I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"Just some breakfast, that's all," Scully informed her and shoved a large bite of the bagel into her mouth.

"Well, I got one of the strangest phone calls this morning, Dana. It was from your brother, Charles."

"Charlie? Isn't he overseas?"

"No, he's been home for about two weeks now. And he wanted to know about you, dear."

"Doesn't he have my cell phone number? I was sure that I gave it to his wife last Thanksgiving when she came over your house."

"It's possible, Dana, but he phoned me to ask me a very odd question. I don't believe that you didn't tell him before, sweetheart, he's your brother."

"Tell him what?"

"That you had William, of course!"

"What else did he want to know?"

"Well, I told him that you're managing as usual, like your father did, to hide all of your emotions and be the strongest Scully of the family."

"Stability breeds success."

"Undoubtedly so, Dana, but don't be afraid to give into your emotions every now and then...perhaps in the arms of someone you love." Scully spun around and reached for Mulder's hand. He took hers and gently squeezed it.

"Mom, I hate to do this, but I've got to go. I'll be late for work."

"That's fine, dear. I just thought you should know that your brother's in town and cares. He says that he's going to do everything in his power to help you. I love you Dana."

"I love you, too, Mom." Scully closed her phone and brushed her cheek with the antenna lightly.

"What's up with your mom?" Mulder inquired and began to stroke her hand.

"My brother's back and wants to know about William."

"I find that an interesting concatenation. Coincidental, do you think?"

"I wish I could be sure. I know he's in the Air Force, but...you of all people know how the military can be." She sighed and released herself from his grip. "This new evidence that SAC Capricci informed me of is troubling, too. He said that our labs found fibers of military uniforms, specifically from the Black Berets."

"Those aren't under the hospices of the Air Force, are they?"

"No...they operate under the Army. They're pretty elite, though."

"Where does your brother operate from...Bethesda Air Base?"

"Probably."

"Why don't you take a trip out there and ask him?" Mulder asked her and picked up the other half of her bagel. "Are you going to eat this?"

"No. I've got to get to the office, anyhow." She arose and pocketed her cell phone.

"Now wait a second, Scully." Her hands went to her hips, and he deftly wiped at the corner of her mouth while still holding the bagel.

"I suppose thanks are in order."

"Well, I'd settle for actions rather than words." He tossed the food back onto the plate and invaded her personal space. "Did you put on your lipstick yet?"

"I did, actually."

"Scullee..." he whined and leaned in. "Why'd you do that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I was planning on going into work today and looking like a professional..."

"Mmm...well..." Mulder went in for the kill, and she didn't stop him. She just couldn't; he felt too warm and she had ached for him yesterday but didn't want to admit to the feeling. She was still in self-denial that he only wanted her for the simple convenience of her being the only female in his life and not for who she truly was. But yet he had told her that he loved her. Did he really mean it, or did he just say it because he wanted to make love?

She let him drive and he broke away numerous times, only to just barely separate their mouths and cement them back together again as soon as they each took a breath. But he would not be satisfied; he needed more contact. He pulled her body closer to his, and this time as his lips left hers, she gently slid out of his embrace. "Scully, no," he breathed.

"Mulder, I've got to get to work."

"But-"

"I want to find our son, don't you? And get the bad guys in Blue Cove?"

Mulder sighed and let her travel back into his bathroom. A few moments later, she re-appeared at the door and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek. "Remember, you owe me one, FBI woman," he warned her as he opened the door.

"Owe you what?"

"Twelve minutes, for starters."

"You make it sound so quixotic, Mulder. No doubt you leave those $1.99 a minute hotl-line women frenzied and breathless."

"I'll make it last all night if you let me." That message alone ran shivers up and down her spine, and for once in a long while, she blushed.

"I'm...not sure. I need...time. Please, don't rush a good thing."

"I'll wait ten more years if I have to, Scully, but I'm certain only of this; you are my life and my joy. No other woman has made me feel like you—no one."

She turned and made direct eye contact with him. "Really? And what would you say if I quit the X-Files after Will is back?"

"I'd ask where your new office was so I can come bug you," he smiled. Scully bent down, picked up his morning paper, and handed it to him.

"Have a good day, Mulder. You might want to get rid of that," she motioned to his lips. "It's simply not your color."