CHAPTER 10

SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF OAK SPRINGS,

NEVADA DESERT, GROOM RANGE

15.54pm

The circumstances under which Mulder found himself should have made him oblivious to everything but his goal, his destination, and the road ahead. Instead, he found himself in awe at the beauty of the barren landscape around him. The bright blue sky and the red sands of the desert couldn't have been more perfect if they had been a painting. The heat of the sun on his neck as he drove toward Oak Springs made him feel glad that he'd chosen to head down here to the sun rather than listen to Krycek's ramblings in cold, wet Virginia.

Though he had to admit to missing Scully's company on the flight, he was disturbed to realize that, right now, given that things were so strained between them for reasons he didn't completely understand, it was probably best for them to spend some time apart. The acknowledgement of that made him feel a little sick, and suddenly instead of being content with his own company, he felt like the loneliest man in the world, and he ached for her.

Oak Springs appeared on the horizon, blurred and dusty in the stifling heat like a mirage. It seemed a small town; just a few stores and a scattering of wooden houses. The WHO branch should be around two miles or so north-east of town, if Frohike's directions were correct. There were certainly no signs that such a large institution was located anywhere near here. Its influence was non-existent.

It hadn't taken him long to figure out that the mysterious Rubi Rita Marcus was a rather poor anagram for Marita Covarrubias, give or take a few letters. He wondered why she had changed her name. Whether it had been her choice or someone else's. Did they know where she was, or was she trying to hide from them? Was this even her at all?

What could only be the WHO base emerged from the desert sands a couple of minutes after he'd left behind the scattering of houses that had been Oak Springs. A couple of small outbuildings lay on the outskirts of a much larger complex that stood only one storey high, although there were usually several underground levels in such installations, especially those involved in complex or dangerous research that required not only protection for the workers, but also containment in the event of an accident.

Security around the base appeared to be minimal. There were no fences or guard booths, no high walls or warning signs. Two white Explorers were just visible through the brush up on a ridge a mile or so off to the east. He couldn't be sure whether they had seen him or not, but they didn't move. The lack of security would have surprised him, but out here in the middle of nowhere, they probably didn't need it. Who would want to spend hours driving through the baking heat to come see a disease research facility anyway? Area 51 was a much larger tourist draw and was closer to the airport, and even had its own feeder flights.

Of course, the security could also have been extremely well hidden.

He was so busy keeping his eye on the cars on the ridge, he failed to notice the one approaching from the west. It only drew his attention when he heard a voice through the PA system attached to the roof.

'You are entering a restricted area. Please stop and identify yourself.'

'Aw shit,' he muttered.

Two men in dark suits and even darker glasses stepped down from the Explorer and strode towards him.

'Can I ask you to state your business here, sir?'

Nice and formal, thought Mulder. Not a good start.

'I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI. I'm reaching for my ID,' he told them as he saw their hands flying for their weapons when he reached back into the car.

The taller man took it and slid it into his breast pocket without looking at it.

'I'll need you to hand over your weapon too, sir.'

'I've told you who I am. Who the hell are you?'

They grabbed him and pushed him face down onto the searingly hot hood and searched him, taking both of his guns. 'What is your business here, Agent Mulder?'

'I'm looking for someone who I have reason to believe works here.'

The shorter man's face was impossible to read as the sun glared into Mulder's eyes when they let him up. 'Then maybe you should come with us, sir.'

'Where, exactly?'

'Sir, get in the car, please,' the taller man directed.

'You realize I've left the top down and if it rains, I'm going to invalidate my insurance.'

He was pushed inside the Explorer and immediately tried the door as soon as it was closed after him, but they had engaged the child lock. He also just realized he'd left his cellphone in the car.

Dammit.

The Explorer rumbled down the dirt path and eventually came to a stop at a makeshift car lot outside the main structure. The taller man walked off to what must have been the control centre, while the other guy got out and opened the door for Mulder.

'Come with me, please.'

He was escorted to the door of the stone building, where his guide entered a digital security code into the panel. It beeped and slid open to reveal a large refreshingly air-conditioned room that was covered in large white tiles from floor to ceiling. Another two double doors lay at the far end, and what looked to be three highly polished steel elevators were off to the right side. All of them had electronic key card locks, and were monitored by CCTV cameras that moved to follow them as they headed to the first elevator door.

They seemed to be in the lift a long time when the doors opened on a long corridor buried deep underground. The floor was tiled in the same style as the lobby, but the walls were plain and painted a deep ochre, and round steel-plated light fixtures blazed above them. He was taken past three unmarked, digitally locked doors to another set of double doors that he could see led to someone's office through the small glass panels set at eye-level.

'Wait there, sir,' he was told, and his escort abruptly left.

'They'll knock off an A for service,' he muttered to himself. He went into the large, poorly lit office and sat down in the leather swivel chair opposite the desk. It was pointless taking advantage of his solitude to make a phone call or try to learn something about the place he had been taken to because the room was empty aside from the desk and chairs. It looked more like an upper-class detention or interview room, if it hadn't been for the lack of cameras or locks on the doors.

He hadn't been sitting there long before he heard heels clicking against the white tiles outside. He was equally surprised and relieved to see who emerged through the doors.

'Marita,' he smiled, standing up and hugging her. 'I am so glad to see you. How are you?'

'Agent Mulder, you should not have come here,' she said coldly, pushing him away. 'If anyone finds out that I've even spoken to you, they'll - '

'It was you who called me, wasn't it?'

She sighed and pushed a hand through her collar-length blonde hair. 'Please, you have to leave here. I can get you out without anyone knowing, back on a plane by this evening - '

'Wasn't it?'

'You don't understand,' she said and pulled him out of view of the panels on the door. 'They have given me an opportunity here. They've forgiven what they see as my betrayal of them and allowed me to continue in my work where I can still help you. But if they suspect me again, they'll...well, you know what they'll do to me and I can't go through that again. Not ever.'

'Marita, why did you call me?'

'Because I had to make you aware that this isn't over. The threat from the alien race is still as grave as ever. They have been here too long, overcome too many civilizations before ours to give up at the first hint that things might not be going the way they would wish them to. They are still here, Agent Mulder.' She looked at him strangely when the surprise she had been expecting to see in his eyes failed to materialize. 'This is not new to you, is it?'

'I've heard something along the same lines recently, yeah. I can't vouch for the reliability of the source though.'

'Alex?'

'Alex? You're on first name terms with him?'

'No. Not exactly. It's…complicated.' She stepped around the desk and unlocked a drawer, pulled out a snub-nosed Browning and slipped it into her pocket. 'I need to talk to you, but not here. Neither of us is safe. You would have passed Oak Springs on your way here. There's a hotel and bar in town. I'll meet you there tomorrow for breakfast.'

'Wait a minute: you knew Krycek was coming to me. You knew what he was going to tell me.' He moved to block her path to the door. 'How would you know?'

'Tomorrow, Agent Mulder.'

She refused to say anymore as she took him to the elevator and back up to the surface where the dying sun was setting the desert on fire and the first pinpricks of light from early evening stars fought their way above the horizon. The temperature had dropped sharply and without his jacket, he felt the chill from the wind like the breath of a Siberian winter. She unlocked her dusty Chrysler and gave him a lift back to his car.

'You know, I'm having serious misgivings about what you're not telling me,' he said, leaning back in through her car window before she left. 'I'm not sure I can trust you.'

'I think if you need to ask that question, then whatever...relationship…we used to have is over, and I refuse to risk my life to convince you. You're not that important, Agent Mulder. It's your choice. If you're not there tomorrow, I'll have my answer. Goodnight.'

She tramped hard on the accelerator, churning thick desert dust into his lungs as she disappeared, leaving Mulder alone on the cold ridge under a quickly darkening sky.