Well, I'm sure that my readers probably gave up on this! I'm so sorry I haven't updated for so long. I am still writing, and I have actually finished this story - it's just finding time to get it uploaded! Anyway, I'm trying hard to get this finished because I know how irritating it can be to find a story and then find out that the author has abandoned it...I haven't, honestly! I'll try and upload a couple of chapters today depending on how many I can quickly proof read, so let's just see how it goes.


CHAPTER 9

RYELANDS BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DISEASE CONTROL CENTRE, RICHMOND

VIRGINIA

10.13am

The biotechnology laboratories were housed just beyond the downtown area at a newly developed white collar technology park, close to the northern stretch of the Chamberlayne Parkway. A huge cream and glass building, it occupied almost three whole blocks. A security fence topped with razor wire ran around the perimeter, a necessary precaution to keep the pro-lifers and animal rights activists away.

A small guardhouse at the entrance was protected with barriers, security cameras and car traps, and was staffed by a uniformed guard. As they approached, he stepped from the booth.

'Good morning, sir. Can I help you?'

'We're with the FBI. I'm Fox Mulder and this is my partner Dana Scully. Assistant Director Skinner and Agent Krycek are in the back there.' He smiled as he handed the guard his ID who took it and examined it carefully.

'And what is the nature of your business at Ryelands today?'

'We'd like to speak with Doctor Berkowitz.'

'Are you expected?'

'No,' Scully answered. 'But he knows me. I'm sure if you'd just call him, he'll authorize our entry.'

'Okay, ma'am. If you could just wait here for me.'

The guard disappeared back into his booth. Mulder could see him speaking to someone on the phone. He seemed okay with whatever he was hearing because he was nodding, but other than that, his expression was blank. A few moments later, he returned.

'Sorry about that, Agent Mulder. Please proceed. Park in the visitor's lot on the right at the end of the driveway. You'll need these passes,' he said, handing them four small plastic cards with magnetic strips on the back.

'Thanks,' Mulder replied. A moment later, a red siren flashed and the gate slid open.

The entrance lobby was far from the usual exercise in public relations he had come to expect from such institutions. There was no reception area. Just a cream marble lobby and security booth where visitors signed in, surrendered their weapons, and had to pass through metal scanners. Another uniformed guard checked their badges again and directed them to a waiting room at the end of a long, featureless corridor, where they had to sit through a fifty minutes-long video explaining the necessity of following the biohazard containment procedures. Brutal and graphic images of victims of Ebola and Hanta viruses then followed.

'You know,' whispered Mulder to Scully, 'I really think we ought to have gone for Mars Attacks.'

She smirked, but never took her eyes from the film.

They waited for another ten minutes after the film had finished, exhausting what was left of the mud-like coffee in the over-used percolator before Scully finally tired and decided to see if anyone remembered they were there. Half way back up the hallway, she saw Doctor Berkowitz striding towards her from the elevator, a broad smile on his face as he held out his hand.

'Dana! It's so good to see you again!'

'You too, Doctor,' she smiled. 'How have you been?'

He had changed over the past ten years or so. The stress of having lost his son in the Gulf War had taken its toll. His smile no longer quite touched his eyes which were rimmed with dark circles now, and his hair and neat moustache were more salt than pepper.

'I'm doing alright. I never got a chance to thank you for your kind message after Stephen died. It meant a great deal.'

'It was no problem. I was so sorry to hear about what happened.'

He nodded, but it was still clearly a painful subject for him; one which he wanted to move swiftly away from. 'I knew that you were having doubts about choosing medicine, Dana, but I was quite surprised to see your name on my visitor's list. I didn't think it could be the same Dana Scully who questioned me so thoroughly on the ethics of animal experimentation. I wonder if your feelings toward the matter have changed?'

'Mmm…I'd like to plead the fifth on that,' she smiled.

He chuckled. 'Ah well, it's good to see that the FBI has taught you a degree of subtlety, Agent Scully.'

'I'm not sure my partner would agree with that, Doctor. He's in the waiting room. I'd like to introduce you.'

'Yes. Of course. After you.'

He followed her back into the waiting room.

'Doctor Berkowitz, this is my partner Fox Mulder; Assistant Director Walter Skinner and Agent Alex Krycek,' she said.

Berkowitz shook their hands in turn.

'So, I presume, given the presence of so many agents, that you would like my help with a case?'

'In a way, yes,' said Scully. 'This is why I came to you. Because I know we can trust you.'

'Mmm. Sounds interesting.'

Scully proceeded to outline the basics of Skinner's condition, but not the origins of it because she was not sure she believed that herself. Mulder handed him the controller device.

'My, my,' he muttered, gazing at it, running his thick fingers over the keys. 'This is what you say controls the Nanites?'

'We believe so, Doctor. But we were hoping to get confirmation of that from you,' said Mulder.

'Well, I'll have to check what type of transmission it employs. I'll take it to the biotech labs upstairs, and we'll need to get some blood work done. It would be even better if we could get some tissue samples, but we'll wait until that becomes absolutely necessary.'

'I don't mind,' Skinner replied. 'If it means finding a way to destroy these machines, then I'm willing to provide whatever you need.'

'Thank you. That's good to know. I'd also like to run some MRI scans, if I may. I have to say, I have heard of such advances in the field of biotechnology – indeed, we are working on something very similar ourselves – but I never thought that anyone had made this much progress so quickly. I can't wait to take a look.'

Berkowitz's office was small, but very well maintained. It was freshly painted, its walls covered with certificates and photos of his children and grandchildren. The desk was uncluttered, the filing cabinets neat and organized, and the journals and reference books lining the bookshelves were alphabetized and grouped by subject. Another chair sat opposite the desk for visitors, and an old but extremely comfortable-looking couch stood beneath a beautiful print of Cathedral Rock.

Berkowitz pulled the vertical blinds closed to block the low angle sunlight while Mulder and Krycek sat on the couch; Skinner and Scully on the chairs opposite the desk. Berkowitz took out a blood sampling kit from a cabinet beneath the hand-wash sink, asked Skinner to roll up his sleeve, then tied a tourniquet around his upper arm and proceeded to withdraw a small sample of blood.

'Perhaps you'd all be good enough to wait here while I run this to the labs. Is it alright if I have someone else perform the analysis?'

'To be honest, Doctor, we would prefer as few people know about this as possible,' said Scully. 'I understand it's difficult and you may have to explain yourself to others at some point, but this is very important. I really would appreciate it if you could run the tests yourself.'

He took a deep breath and nodded. 'I'll have to put it through the SEM after processing the sample. That has its own room on this floor, and I have access to it alone. But the MRI suite and the other labs upstairs where we would have to examine the Nanites if we find them are busy and I can't guarantee that others won't ask what I'm doing. I am not qualified to examine the engineering behind the machines themselves. My expertise lies more in the field of disease research and the application of such man-made eradicators. We have a timetable we have to adhere to, Dana. You'll have to trust me. I vouch for the integrity of all the people I employ.'

She faltered, but Skinner answered. 'Go ahead and do what you need to, Doctor.'

'Thank you.'

Berkowitz smiled. 'I am glad to help. Dana, you're welcome to join me, if you like.'

'Sure, that would be great. Thank you.'

'I'll need the controller too, Agent Mulder.'

He was about to protest, but Scully said, 'It'll be fine. I won't activate it unless absolutely necessary, and I won't let it out of my sight.'

'Okay,' he said, reluctantly handing it over.

'I'll let you know as soon as we find anything.'

The scanning electron microscope occupied almost the whole of the small, windowless room, the last in a series of three decontamination suites. Ultra-modern chrome and glass cabinets lined the walls opposite along with a workbench for sample preparation.

Berkowitz carefully prepared the slide with Skinner's blood, mounted it into the scanning unit, flicked on the viewer, and adjusted the brightness on the monitor. A few keystrokes on the computer enhanced the image. Nothing out of the ordinary was evident. The sample certainly looked nothing like that examined before when Skinner's infection had been at its most virulent.

'This looks perfectly healthy to me, Dana,' said Berkowitz. 'Perhaps you can tell me what you saw during his previous tests.'

'Tiny…machines, for want of a better term. They were around a quarter of the size of a red corpuscle. And they multiplied exponentionally before our eyes. They worked together to construct blockages from dead cells and their own damaged units throughout the circulatory and lymphatic system. Depending on the rate of growth, they could cause a fatal heart attack or stroke within minutes. With the blockages throughout the system, the pain would be excruciating. I know they're there, but I'm at a loss to explain why we can't see them.'

'It's possible they could have been broken down. Reabsorbed into the bloodstream.'

Scully sighed. She knew that Krycek wasn't to be trusted. What on earth this whole thing was about, she didn't know, but her heart ached for Mulder. 'I don't know what to tell you, Doctor. It looks as though we've wasted your time.'

'Not necessarily. How long has it been since the initial contact with the Nanites?'

'Around a year and a half.'

'I'm just wondering how long these things could survive in a dormant state. And how they could manage to hide themselves from the body's natural defense systems.'

'We have been told that they can survive indefinitely unless specifically programmed to self-destruct. We have no reason to believe that has happened. In any case, it's not possible to send that command via the unit we have.'

'They could have entered stasis outside of the bloodstream. Perhaps in the liver or spleen. We could perhaps detect them with an MRI. While we have the sample here though, we could try stimulating them. After all, you could be concerned when there is no real threat anymore.'

'I can't make that decision. Activating them could have untold effects on the AD,' said Scully.

'Sir, it's up to you.'

Skinner's face was impossible to read as Scully outlined their findings to him back in Berkowitz's office. Then he sighed deeply and met her gaze.

'There are several stages of activity. I can withstand the lower settings. Go ahead,' Skinner replied. 'Just make sure you turn it off again as soon as you see what you're looking for.'

'Thank you,' said Scully. Somewhat hesitantly, she handed the controller device to Krycek. 'You heard. The lowest setting only.'

'Whoa up there now,' said Krycek. 'I'm uncomfortable about this whole thing. If I activate that, someone is going to find out we're here.'

'It's likely they already know anyway,' said Mulder, 'given that you've already called them.'

Krycek sighed and shook his head. 'I didn't call anyone, Mulder. I don't know how many more ways I can say it.'

'Is there…uh…something going on here that I should know about?' asked Berkowitz.

'No, Doctor,' Scully replied. 'I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you more, but this situation is…complicated. Agent Krycek knows how to operate the device, but he knows nothing about its creation or the manner in which it works.'

'Alright,' Berkowitz said cautiously, 'well, perhaps if you'd like to take a break, I'll arrange for some coffee and sandwiches to be sent down to one of the meeting rooms down the hall. Dana, I'm going to need some help setting up a few pieces of equipment I'll need to monitor signal outputs from the device. Shouldn't take more than an hour or so.'

'Of course,' she replied.

Mulder and Skinner sat together at the large oval table in the meeting room with vertical blinds pulled over the windows. Krycek sat alone on the edge of the windowsill. They had said barely a word to each other as they picked half-heartedly at their sandwiches while Scully and Berkowitz worked on setting up whatever equipment it was that they needed for the tests.

When Mulder's cell-phone rang, he was almost grateful for the distraction. He took it out and glanced at the display. Shit.

'Sorry. Excuse me,' he said as he headed outside to the corridor to take it.

'Hi, Mulder, it's Frohike.'

'Yeah, I know. I told you not to call me unless it was urgent.'

'I know, I'm sorry, but I've put you on just about every scrambler known. It'll take them weeks to trace you.'

'Alright,' he sighed. 'Just make it quick.'

'We've found out that Marita Covarrubias was at Fort Marlene after coming into contact with an extremely contagious airborne vector, probably a biotoxin, producing Level Four symptoms.'

'Well, that's bullshit for a start.'

'Yeah, but they're hardly expected to put the truth in these 'official' records, are they? Anyway, she was never discharged from that hospital, and there are no records of her being transferred. However, I did find one R. R. Marcus in the UN files as being transferred from the SRSG's offices in Washington to a WHO research centre which is located just north of a small town called Oak Springs in Nevada. What's strange about this though is that there is no record of her ever joining the UN, and her previous history has been deleted.'

'So...' Mulder prompted.

'I hope you appreciate this. I worked real hard for this one. R. R. Marcus is female, though marital status and title has been harder to pin down. All I can tell you is that her name is Rubi, with an 'I', and she is thirty-four years old. There is also an addendum that states a special request for her was made by the doctor in charge down there, but I couldn't find any specific names. People above a certain hierarchy seem to be protected by a Level 32 security designation. Incidentally the same clearance as MJ-12. I just thought maybe you'd like to check her out. I'm convinced Marita Covarrubias and this Marcus woman are one and the same.'

'Is she still at Oak Springs?'

'Her name is still on the roster there as a consultant and advisor, whatever that entails.'

'Thanks, Frohike. I appreciate this. I'll check her out and let you know, okay?'

'Sure.'

Mulder was glad to feel as though someone was still on his side, anyway. But the most difficult part was yet to come. Explaining why he had to leave. He headed back to the meeting room.

'Listen, I have something very important that I have to follow up that may have a huge bearing on our situation here,' said Mulder.

'Excuse me?' said Skinner.

'Sir, I need to leave right now, but I will stay in contact. I may have a lead on who's doing this. But I have to go alone.'

'What the hell?' said Krycek, wiping honey mustard sauce from his mouth. 'What do you mean? Where are you going?'

'I don't owe you explanations, jackass,' said Mulder.

'What about Agent Scully? Are you going to tell her?' asked Skinner.

'No. There's no time. She'll understand.'

Skinner raised an eyebrow, the only sign of his disapproval. Whether of the decision itself or not telling Scully, Mulder didn't know.

'Alright. Watch your back, Mulder.'

'You too, sir.'

Mulder had been gone for barely an hour when the door opened again to Scully.

'Okay, Krycek, we're ready for the… Where's Mulder?'

'Decided he had better things to do,' said Krycek.

'What?'

'He said he had something important to follow up that might explain what is going on,' said Skinner.

Scully was incredulous. Her eyes darkened and Skinner could see the veins pulsating in her neck as her jaw tightened with things unsaid.

'He's gone? Where, exactly?'

'He didn't say. But he did say that he would stay in contact.'

'I don't believe this,' she muttered, white hot anger bubbling from the pit of her stomach for more reasons than Skinner would ever understand. She struggled not to let her feelings register on her face because she could feel Krycek's eyes upon her, like a hyena on a dying gazelle. She took a breath. 'Well, I'm sure he had his reasons.'

Krycek laughed. 'You tell yourself that shit so you can sleep at night?'

Neither Scully nor Skinner gave him the satisfaction of a response.

He rolled his eyes. 'I get it. Speak when I'm spoken to. Why don't you just cuff me, gag me, and stick a fucking hood over my head and be done with it?'

'Don't tempt me,' Skinner growled.

'We've finished setting up the equipment, Krycek. So move,' said Scully.

They headed back down the corridor to a room just across from Berkowitz's office where an oscilloscope had been connected up to a computer. The doctor turned as he heard them entering.

'Agent Mulder not joining us?'

'No. I'm afraid he's been called away,' Scully replied as she connected the device to the frequency scanner. 'Krycek, would you turn this thing on?'

Touching the stylus to the screen, Krycek pulled up a page of strange looking symbols and pictures that he navigated as easily as most people would use a calculator. With a few strokes, a type of bar graph appeared and gradually each field of information started to increase until the graph was three dimensional, orbiting about three axes.

'That's enough,' said Berkowitz. 'Hold it right there.'

On the monitor feed from the SEM, out of nowhere, hundreds of dark, circular cells began to grow, multiplying rapidly in front of their eyes. Before long, the screen was filled.

'Jesus, Krycek, what have you got that thing set on?' asked Scully.

'All I've done is activate them. I haven't sent any commands.'

'Well, that's more than enough for now.' Scully turned to Skinner who was staring at the monitor. His face was drained of color. 'How are you feeling, sir?'

'I…don't know. Tired, but I didn't get much sleep last night. Slight headache. Are you sure we can control the reproduction? Because if those things are doing that on the slide, they're doing it in my bloodstream.'

'I can control them. Maybe. I think…my memory is kind of fuzzy.'

'Switch them off. Now,' said Scully.

Krycek frowned and shook his head. Every punch, every kick, every word that had been said to him over the last few hours fuelled it as he reveled in the sudden shift in control. 'I don't remember,' he sighed, 'maybe…maybe this?' He slid the stylus over the display and it began to flash.

Skinner groaned and fell forward, his hand clutched against his abdomen.

Scully pulled her gun from its holster and pointed it at Krycek's head. 'Switch. Them. Off. Now!'

'Za chem poydyosh, to i naydyosh,' he muttered as he moved the stylus over the screen. Suddenly, the spread of cells on the screen lost its bonds, broke down, and dissipated as quickly as it had come.

'You just blew your last chance, Krycek,' Scully spat as she snatched the device from him. 'Turn around. Hands against the wall.'

'Oh come on. That thing is traceable; I didn't even turn it up that much. Your partner almost broke my goddamn ribs, you know. I think I'm entitled to - '

'You're entitled to nothing,' she said, driving the gun into his side. 'I told you to put your hands on the wall. Do it. Now!'

He sighed as he acquiesced. Scully cuffed his hands behind his back.

'What on earth is going on here?' asked Berkowitz, horrified by what he had just witnessed.

'I'm sorry, doctor. I haven't been completely truthful with you because I didn't want to alarm you. This man is not an agent. He is a suspect in the attack on Agent Skinner, but he is in protective custody. He's not a threat to anyone here, I promise. He's just a jackass who gets off on the occasional power trip because he knows that we need him.'

'You need me now, huh? Well, there's a turn-up.'

Skinner, still breathless, found just enough energy to sock Krycek hard across the jaw. It split his lip and blood spattered the wall, but Scully didn't comment. Skinner deserved a release after what Krycek had just done to him.

'I…I'm not sure what to say,' said Berkowitz. 'Except that I'm disappointed you didn't trust me before, Dana. I would have helped you, but I also have a duty to make sure my staff are safe. You should have told me.'

'I thought the presence of three agents would be enough, doctor. I'm sorry.'

'Perhaps. But there are only two of you now. And one of you is sick.'

'Yes,' Scully admitted. 'But he's under control now.'

'Do you need me to call security to - '

'No,' said Skinner. 'That won't be necessary. This won't be repeated.'

'Nevyeaz hestvennee, ublyudok,' Krycek muttered.

'And you can speak goddamned English here, Krycek, or I'll make sure you can't speak at all,' Skinner spat.

Berkowitz had turned back to the screen, probably feeling more comfortable seeking solace and distraction in the work. 'It does appear as though the device had a direct effect on those things within Mr. Skinner's blood, but they still seem to be organic in nature. In spite of their spontaneity and apparent intelligence, they are behaving as a normal cell, albeit their reproductive rate is vastly accelerated. It's doubtful that each of those cells would have receivers built into their coding. It's more likely that there is something else within the body that is acting as a hub. A source of control. A brain, if you will.'

'Like what?'

'I don't know exactly. Maybe a tiny receiver implanted under the skin, or - '

'Like a metallic chip?' Scully asked, almost afraid to voice the words.

'Perhaps, yes. It would depend on the nature and location of the receiver, of course. I don't believe we have the technology to miniaturize to that degree, though. Any device that would produce the kind of effects we've seen here would be far too large to implant within organic tissue. I'd still like to run that MRI. We could see something on that.'

'That sounds like the best course of action right now,' said Scully. 'As long as you're willing, sir.'

'Of course. Though I think I'd have noticed if anyone had implanted something within me. Still,' Skinner sighed, 'I have to admit, I am curious.'

'Good. I think it's best if just the AD and myself go down there. The MRI we have here is not really designed for human subjects, and it may take a little smooth talking to allow us to use it. Besides, under the circumstances, I'd really rather not allow Mr Krycek any further access to the rest of the building.'

'I understand, doctor. We'll be fine here.'