Disclaimer: No infringement intended.
Chapter 17
Monday night, 7:30 pm
Washington DC
Mulder walked out the front door of his apartment building dressed in black. He stood on the stoop and took a deep breath, the frigid winter air burning his lungs. He watched Driscoll's fleet sedan turn the corner and pull in front of the building. He walked to the curb and climbed into the passenger seat of the car.
"The fish okay?" Driscoll asked.
"Yeah, Skinner has been feeding them," Mulder chuckled at his friend. "He just called, we need to meet him at Choice of Potato on Miller Street."
"Miller Street, geezus … talk about back alley," Dris scowled. "That's the best Fritz could do?"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders. "That is what I said, but apparently Cramer goes there a lot because it is close to his apartment."
"Cramer hangs out on Miller Street?" Driscoll raised his eyebrows. Miller Street was near the red light district of D.C. The district was notorious for prostitution and drug deals. The diner in question was at the better end of the street. "He probably sits in there and runs stats on the hookers," Driscoll muttered and started laughing at his own joke.
Mulder rolled his eyes at how corny it was. "Don't get me started about him. I'm already completely ticked off …. any additional visual stimuli might flip my kill switch."
Mulder was quiet for a minute, and then dug his cell phone out of his pocket. He dialed Scully's number and listened to it ring until the voice mail picked up. "Scully, it's me. I was just …. I dunno. Call me when you get this." He pressed the end button and closed the phone.
"Have you talked to Nester since we left?" Mulder asked Driscoll. He was slightly miffed that Scully wasn't picking up the phone.
"Uh ughh, I called for Amy earlier and Dad told me that Scully and Nester were chasing some lead on their case," Driscoll replied. He wheeled the car through the D.C. streets and stopped at a red light. "Why?"
"I've called her three times and it keeps going to voice mail," Mulder replied quietly. "I'm just concerned."
"Well, that is why we left Nester with her, remember?" Driscoll said as he turned down a side street a couple of blocks from the diner. "I'm sure she is fine. Dubuque doesn't get the best cell phone reception in the world. The bluffs, the river, lead mines … it all gets in the way," Driscoll replied trying to sound convincing. "Besides, Dad would call immediately if he thought something was wrong."
"Lead mines?" Mulder furrowed his brow.
"Yeah, in the 1800's, Dubuque was famous for mining lead. The mines are still there under the streets. The lead causes interference with radio signals," Driscoll said shrugging.
Mulder tapped the glass with his finger. There was logic in Driscoll's argument, but somehow … something just seemed off. They drove in silence for several minutes. Finally Driscoll turned left onto Miller Street and made his way down the colorful and dangerous street.
"There's Skinner," Driscoll said, pulling Mulder from his thoughts. "Operation Kill Bill is engaged."
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Choice of Potato was a small dingy diner on the edge of the Red Light district of D.C. There were more choices on the menu board that just food and potatoes. Outside the door, a walk to the east or south would get you drugs, sex and a straight shot to the morgue…. a couple of blocks to the west or north put you in a residential neighborhood filled with playgrounds, basketball courts and flower beds.
The interior of the place was different depending on the time of the visit. During the daylight and early evening hours the atmosphere was inviting and homey, but at night took on a life of its own. The diversity of the patrons was varied and made the environment less than inviting.
Mulder and Driscoll waited outside on the sidewalk while Skinner made contact with Agent Fritz inside the diner. Skinner had enlisted Fritz's assistance with the plan because he had a connection with Cramer … the Friday night poker game. Fritz could put the operation in motion without causing suspicion by suggesting they meet for coffee. Fritz was all too eager to assist, as lately Cramer had been making some derogatory commentary regarding his relationship with Scully….specifically that "she wasn't putting out." He had told Skinner that he had "no time for morons that didn't understand the signals" and felt he needed to watch out for Scully's interests because she was friends with his daughter Meg.
Mulder stood with his hands in his pockets, shivering in the cold wind. He watched Driscoll jump around trying to keep warm. "Hey, will you stop trying to draw attention to yourself? It's not that cold out here," Mulder remarked dryly.
"What? It's …." Dris craned his neck to the left, trying to read the marquee from the bank down the street. "Its 32 degrees, that is cold my friend. Scientifically proven. Imagine if you were stuck out here all night without a coat."
Mulder shook his head, "Well, just go home, stoke up your fireplace and curl up with your blow up doll. I'm sure Amy will be sleeping peacefully back at your Dad's."
"Ohh," Driscoll mumbled shoving his hands in his pockets. "Remember how warm it was when we left Dubuque? It was nearly 60 degrees there today. Dad said it was going to drop into the 20's tonight. Talk about a shock to the system."
Mulder was about to respond when Skinner stuck his head out the door and gave the two men the signal. They walked into the diner and paused a moment as their eyes adjusted to the dim light. Mulder spotted Agent Fritz sitting in a booth at the back of the room facing the door. He recognized the back of Cramer's head.
When Fritz saw Mulder standing at the door, he calmly excused himself from the table and walked toward the men's restroom. That was their queue to approach the table.
Skinner, Mulder and Driscoll approached quietly, drawing little attention from the other diner patrons. Driscoll hung back a second out of Cramer's site as Skinner sat across the table from Cramer. Mulder slid in next to him. He was a little shocked to say the least.
"Assistant Director, Agent Mulder. What… what are you doing here?" he stammered looking at both men. The large booth had seating for three on one side. Cramer had been sitting in the middle and when Mulder slid in next to him he started to feel a little cramped. As he started to move to the left to get away from the Mulder press, he felt movement to his left and was startled when Driscoll climbed over the seat back and plopped into the open space between him and the wall.
Cramer looked nervously to the left and the right. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it was obvious he wasn't going anywhere sandwiched between Mulder and Driscoll. He coughed nervously as he saw the stern expression on Skinner's face.
"Where is Agent Fritz?" he stuttered again as he struggled to figure out what was going on. Thinking on the fly wasn't his forte and he quickly felt the full court press coming from the three men.
"That isn't your concern right now, Agent Cramer," AD Skinner replied coldly.
"Well, what do you want?" Cramer asked, still puzzled by their presence in his booth.
"We just came to have a little chat with you," Driscoll replied reaching over and taking a drink out of Cramer's water glass.
Cramer's watched Driscoll commandeer his water and darted his eyes around the table at the three men. He knew this wasn't going to be any ordinary talk …he had no idea what they wanted. "Talk about what? Is this about the budgetary cuts to the expense accounts? Because I have no control over that, I get those orders from above," he blurted out nervously.
"Of course you have no control with your work, you are just a "yes" man," replied Mulder as he moved a little close to Cramer to intimidate him. "That's why you try to control other things…isn't it?"
"Wha… what do you mean?" Cramer asked, hands shaking. What the hell are they talking about? he thought as his mind was racing.
"Oh… perhaps taking control of relationships," Driscoll commented as he put his arm across the back of the booth. He tilted his head to the left and stared over at Cramer and then looked up at Skinner. Cramer's expression was blank. He had no clue what they were inferring too.
"Agent, charges of sexual harassment would be a career limited offense," Skinner replied flatly getting straight to the point.
"Sexual harassment? Who? Me? You're kidding right?" Cramer exclaimed shaking his head.
Mulder moved his hand across the table top close to Cramer and started drumming his fingers slowly. He turned and stared Cramer down.
"Agent Benning mean anything to you, Cramer?" Mulder asked emotionless.
"She works with me in accounting," he replied.
"Word in the office is that you have been harassing her on the job," Mulder stated leaning forward at the table.
"Harassing her? I asked her to lunch," Cramer retorted.
"Once, twice, four or five times," Driscoll prompted.
"Three times … she turned me down," Cramer replied, his voice shaking.
"Repeated instances of unwanted advances are harassment Agent Cramer," Skinner replied.
"She could have asked me to leave her alone."
"No, Cramer …. She doesn't have to ask. You should be wise enough to know when a woman is interested or not," Driscoll hissed into his ear. "Once is polite, more than twice is a jail term."
"She was flirting with me … now suddenly she is crying harassment? Geezus, just like the Ice Princess," Cramer muttered under his breath.
Mulder pursed his lip and looked over at Skinner. The conversation turned in their favor more quickly than they had expected. The rumor mill at the office had dubbed Scully the 'Ice Princess' when she refused to 'play' the flirting game with the old school agents. Mulder felt the anger boiling in his blood. He wanted to reach over and snap the guy's neck, but Skinner glared at him to cool it.
Driscoll couldn't see Mulder's reaction to the comment, but he did notice that Mulder's hand had started to shake. Driscoll inched a little closer to Cramer and spoke to him in a low voice.
"Ice Princess? Who would that be Agent Cramer?"
Cramer rolled his eyes. "Dana," he paused and looked down at the table.
"Dana …. Scully?" Driscoll replied slowly. He watched Cramer nod his head. "I thought you two were dating?"
Cramer cleared his throat. "Ahh, we aren't exactly dating anymore."
"Really," Driscoll replied trying to act surprised. "Well it's no wonder….asking other women to lunch …. referring to her as the "Ice Princess."
"Yeah…well, I was just keeping my options open, I guess," Cramer paused for a moment and began to relax slightly. Is that all they wanted? Geezus, scared the crap out of me. He drummed his finger tips on the table and took a deep breath.
"Scully's a bitch," Cramer said shrugging his shoulders. He looked over at Mulder for some type of confirmation. Mulder had masked his anger with a controlled expression on his face. Cramer shifted nervously in his seat. "Don't act like you haven't heard the rumors about her? Ice Princess, doesn't flirt, won't date … can't get her in the sack." He looked at Mulder again. "You should know, being her partner and all." Cramer shrugged carelessly.
"No, Cramer, I wouldn't know. My relationship with Agent Scully is purely professional," Mulder replied evenly.
"Yeah, well, I can see why … she is a little tight with the affections. It has to be her way or not at all," Cramer remarked rolling his eyes. He started to relax slightly.
Driscoll started laughing and playing into his comfort zone. "Yeah, I hate it when women act like that, sometimes you just need to show them who's boss," Driscoll nodded his head, trying to convince Cramer he was on his side.
"No shit," Cramer cracked a smile. "I finally screwed her the other day. It was probably the only time she had gotten it this year."
"Really," Mulder replied. He bit his lip as he chose his words carefully. "You got it 'on' with her?" The thought of Cramer touching Scully was making his skin crawl.
"Yeah, it was great," Cramer replied smugly. "She was begging for more."
Mulder felt his whole body start to tremble at Cramer's comments. His facial muscle flexed tautly and his jaw was set firmly. He felt Skinner glaring at him and looked away, barely able to contain his anger. He needed to wait for Driscoll to bring the conversation around before he could release his aggression. It was taking every ounce of self restraint.
Driscoll nodded his head and paused slightly. He could feel the anger burning in his throat like acid reflux. He couldn't see Mulder's reaction but was sure his friend was ready to rip Cramer's head open as well. He looked over at Skinner and noticed he wasn't looking any better either. I need to get this moving before all three of us end up on murder charges, he thought quickly. He pursed his lips and then chuckled.
"She was begging for more ….You the man, Cramer." Driscoll nodded his head. "Yeah, you are the man." Driscoll lost his restraint on his emotions as the visual image of Cramer making his move on Scully flashed through his head. He put his palm on the back of Cramer's head and slammed his forehead into the table.
Cramer didn't have time to react as his face bounced off the laminate table top. He felt his teeth pierce his lip and tasted the blood on his tongue as it began to ooze from the torn flesh.
"What the fug?" he stammered as Driscoll held his head in place.
"I think you need to clarify something, Agent Cramer," Driscoll hissed through his teeth. "What does "begging for more" mean exactly? Was she all into you, running her hands through your hair and screaming out your name … or was she laying there not saying a god damn thing and crying for you to stop?"
"Geezus, I didn't force myself on her, we made love…. Since when is it a god damn crime to have sex with your girlfriend?" he protested as he coughed up the blood pooling in his mouth.
"Oh, now she's your girlfriend?" Driscoll asked through gritted teeth. "Two seconds ago you weren't seeing her and said she was a bitch."
"That was just ….. guy talk," Cramer cried out as he gasped for breath. The pressure Driscoll was exerting on his head was making it hard to breath. "I have nothing but respect for Dana."
Driscoll looked over at Mulder and Skinner as he heard his gasps. Skinner nodded and Dris released his hold on Cramer. As he sat up, Skinner handed Cramer a napkin. Mulder wasted no time asking him more questions.
"You respect her? Is that why you had sex with her ….when she didn't want it?" Mulder retort.
"How do you know what she wants?" Cramer mumbled as he glanced sideways at Mulder. "I heard what you did to her … how you led her on and then tossed her to the side when Diana Fowley transferred back to the house." As soon as he saw the rage in Mulder's eyes he wished he hadn't said it…. Mulder's reaction said it all… for once the rumor mill was right about something, Cramer thought silently. Although I'm probably going to get the shit kicked out of me for saying it.
Mulder stared at Cramer incredulously. The rumor mill will go to any extent to drum up drama, Mulder thought in disgust. Despite how far fetched the story actually was, the fact remained that Scully had believed it and that completely ticked Mulder off. He may have been able to hide it when Scully confronted him with it just days ago, but having Cramer shove it in his face was a little more than he could take. He drummed his finger tips on the table for a moment and chose his words carefully.
"You know Rick … when you are assigned to work with someone, day in and day out, you get to know a person. Come to understand them in a way that they don't even understand themselves. Understand their moods …good and bad," he stated slowly and turned slightly in the seat to face Cramer. "Something has been off about Scully since I met her at the airport that afternoon. It's not like her to take things so personally … By your own admission to me, you said she was upset when you left the apartment," Mulder tilted his head and looked down at the table.
"And you just admitted you had sex with her … 'screwed her' was you exact expression," Driscoll added.
Skinner put the nail in the coffin, summing up their suspicions. "So you can see why Driscoll, Mulder and I would draw the conclusion that you had something to do with it."
"Perhaps that little moment between you didn't go exactly as you had intended it," Mulder prompted Cramer and said nothing for several seconds.
"Maybe she wasn't into it like you thought, maybe you forced yourself on her … not intentionally of course … you thought she wanted it … when she really didn't," Skinner added.
"So Agent, what exactly happened between you and Agent Scully? Did you have sex with her, screw her or make love to her," Driscoll questioned.
Cramer looked around the table at the three of them perplexed. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, "Aren't they all the same thing?"
The reply sent Mulder over the edge. He reached over and grabbed Cramer's hand and bent the fingers back until they snapped. Cramer screamed out in pain and tried to retaliate, but Driscoll and Skinner held him back, which didn't take a whole lot of effort. Skinner stared at him with an emotionless mask over his face, but was slightly appalled at Mulder's actions.
The screams coming from the back of the diner collected stares and a murmur of voices from the other patrons. A crusty old security officer sitting near the door stood up and started to make his way toward the back table. Agent Fritz stood up from the counter and blocked the walkway. The guard stopped and stared at him. Fritz pulled out his badge and flipped him.
"Step back sir! Federal Agents. We're interviewing a suspect," Fritz said deadpan, as he towered over the security guard, his hand in front of him, palm facing out in the 'stop' position.
"For chrissake you could have told me when you came in," the man mumbled and turned to head back to his seat. He grumbled about the noise all the way back to his cup of coffee. "Why don't you motha's take him back to brig if you want to talk to him, why you gotta make a scene out in public. This is a respectable establishment here." He looked around the diner and caught the stares of the patrons, and continued to mumble under his breath. "Friggen hot shot federal agents, go flip your badge somewhere else."
Fritz stared at the guard and chuckled under his breath. That could be me in a couple of years, he thought to himself, if I don't get canned for kicking the crap out of this Cramer punk. Fritz started to walk back toward the booth, and took a seat at the end of the counter closest to the booth.
"Geezus christ … fug…." Cramer yelped from the booth. He felt Mulder putting pressure on his arm and tried to squirm away from him.
"Answer the question Agent," Driscoll implored.
"Look," Cramer squawked out. "I may not have a lot of relationship experience, but I did not force myself on Dana." He gulped in a few breaths of air as the pain of his broken fingers danced up his arms. "I went to her apartment, we starting kissing and groping each other. I took it to the next level. For once she didn't tell me no… although she had plenty of opportunity to before I dropped my pants."
"And after you dropped them?" Driscoll hissed.
"She really didn't have time to," Cramer stammered.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Mulder retorted leaning close to Cramer's face.
"Look, I haven't had sex in a while and she was pretty tight," he stammered, his face flushed with embarrassment. "I came right away …. it was over in seconds." He paused and took a deep breath. "I'm sure it didn't go the way she wanted it too. It didn't go the way I had wanted it too. She was upset and asked me to leave… which I did. I knew she was mad about it, so I left her alone for a day… to cool down."
"So, you just decided to start harassing with phone calls?" Driscoll asked sternly.
"I wasn't harassing her! I just wanted to … talk to her … to feel her out and apologize if she would let me," Cramer said.
Mulder stared at Cramer for a moment, still feeling rage flowing through his veins. Cramer's story was similar to Scully's and although he would never admit it, probably held more truth than her version. Scully had told him that she had just let it happen, and that it was over quickly. He had been in Cramer's shoes before, coming quickly because he hadn't had sex in a while. Mulder was suddenly very warm and needed to get some air. He got up from the booth and walked away from the table, leaving Skinner, Dris and Fritz to clean up the mess from there.
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Somewhere on Miller Street 8:45 p.m.
Washington DC
Driscoll, Skinner and Fritz found Mulder leaning against Driscoll's sedan twenty minutes later.
"Is it done?" he asked, looking up at them as they approached.
"Yeah," Skinner replied. "He agreed to everything … to forget she existed, call in sick for the next two days and then request a transfer out of our department on Thursday."
"Or what?" Mulder mumbled.
"There is no or what," Fritz said. "He was crystal clear on the terms of the agreement."
Mulder shook his head almost dejectedly. "You know, as much as I don't want admit it, I've been in his shoes before…. I almost feel bad about breaking his hand."
"Well, I don't feel bad about splitting his lip, he's just lucky that's all I did," Driscoll commented.
"And I don't feel bad about bustin his nose," Fritz added. "So lighten up."
"Mulder, we have all worn those shoes at one time or another…"Skinner started but was interrupted by Fritz.
"Sure we have all had a similar experience….but the difference is we are men," Fritz interjected shrugged his shoulder indifferently. "Cramer is a punk. He isn't man enough to tell the difference between desire and disgust. If he thinks the 'quarter note' is making love … he is going to wind up on the fast track to a jail cell."
Mulder nodded and turned to face the car. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked over at Fritz. "You broke his nose?"
Skinner and Driscoll both began to chuckle. "Man, you missed it," Driscoll replied. "It was a classic old school FBI move … Nester would have been in heaven."
Mulder smiled and finally felt relieved that Operation Kill Bill was complete. "You guys wanna get a drink?"
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Mulder's Apartment 12:40 a.m.
Washington DC
Driscoll dropped off an inebriated Mulder at his apartment almost four hours later. Mulder fumbled with the lock as he struggled to retain his balance in the hallway. The door finally popped opened and he made his way into the dark apartment.
He stumbled around in the kitchen, found a half full carton of orange juice and drained the contents into his mouth. He made his way to his bedroom in the dark and managed to set the alarm for 5:30 a.m. Mulder stared at the clock, making a mental calculation of how many hours of sleep he wasn't going to get.
Mulder lay back on the bed and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed Scully's number one final time to see if she would pick up. He had tried her four times since the conversation with Cramer. It went to voice mail after a couple of rings.
"Scully, it's Mulder. Look… I don't mean to sound over-protective or anything, but I'm kinda worried that you haven't answered your phone or returned my call. Dris said you might just be in a dead spot, but if it's all the same to you, please just call me back as soon as you get this. Our flight leaves at seven tomorrow morning as is a straight shot into the Quad Cities, so with the time zone difference we should be in Dubuque by 11 a.m. I don't remember if I told you this earlier, but ummm … I love you."
He closed the phone and rested it on his chest. He kicked off his shoes and lifted his legs up on the bed. Mulder closed his eyes and his mind drifted to the image of sleeping next to her. He was asleep within seconds.
The next sound he heard was the alarm going off.
TBC
