Chapter 8

**Into the Storm II**

ON THE ROAD TO SWITZERLAND
MONDAY, JUNE 1
15:16 HOURS

William!

She opened her eyes abruptly, the sound of her voice ringing in her ears. She struggled for a moment before she remembered where she was. Her heart was racing.

"Are you okay?" Mulder asked, seeing her frightened eyes.

She touched her forehead and tried to calm herself. "Yes, I'm fine. Where are we?"

"Near the Italian Dolomites," he replied and squeezed her hand. "You're agitated."

She looked at him with troubled eyes. There were so many unspoken words between them, always have been, and a deep sense of the other, almost tangible.

"I dreamt of William," she whispered, her eyes dimming. "They were taking him."

"The cabal?" Mulder asked.

She nodded and leaned into his shoulder. "It was just a dream," she added. "I had similar before."

He pressed her to him, and she closed her eyes. "When did we stop?" she asked, seeing they changed the seating positions.

"An hour ago. We didn't want to wake you," he whispered back. "Nicola wanted to keep driving, but Marco insisted he needed a break. We'll be at the border in one hour."

Scully looked around, admiring the tall grey mountains with snowy peaks. "It's colder here."

"Yes," he agreed, "we are high in the mountains. Maybe we should just wait here. I doubt anyone would find us."

She chuckled, "A yeti would."

"Scully?" Mulder feigned shock, his lips curling.

"But I forget," she went on, "there are no yetis in northern Italy. Only in the U.S."

Mulder smirked and put his arm around her shoulders and her her legs atop of his. He looked into her eyes and gently reassured her, "We're going to get through this, Scully."

She leaned her head against the side of his and softly exhaled.

"The Swiss border," Marco announced.

She opened her eyes and saw Nicola's resolute expression as he turned to Marco. "We are two hours late," Nicola voiced what everyone already knew.

Mulder turned to Rosa, who was still asleep against his shoulder and murmured gently into her ear to wake up. She blushed when she realized that she slept so comfortably against him. "Sorry," she mumbled and adjusted her hair.

"It's okay," he reassured her and smiled.

"I hope our connection is here," Nicola continued. "The Great St. Bernard Pass isn't a place to spend the night out in the open." He parked the car near a hospice and killed the engine. The cool air started to penetrate the vehicle's armor instantly.

"How will we recognize him?" Rosa asked, searching for her parka.

"We won't. He'll recognize me," Nicola replied and exited the car.

Mulder followed him with his eyes and turned to Scully when he saw him enter the hospice. "Do you think he wants us to follow him?"

Scully stared at the hospice's door and turned to Mulder. She knew the question was rhetorical. "No, I don't think so."

"He's too exposed alone," Mulder said with an urge in his voice, "I'm going in. Rosa, I need you with me."

Marco turned back to them in his seat. "I can go with you."

"No," Mulder replied. "You'll understand when Rosa and I get back. I think I know who Nicola is meeting."

Marco's eyes widened, and his brows furrowed. Rosa looked at Mulder a bit confused, too, but nodded and exited the car without further delay. Mulder followed her.

"Be careful," Scully warned Mulder.

GREAT ST. BERNARD PASS, SWITZERLAND
MONDAY, JUNE 1
16:23 HOURS

"I spoke in general when I said my father was hungry for all the things he shouldn't be," Marco spoke, interrupting the long silence. He was sitting in the passenger's seat.

"What do you mean?" she asked, sitting on the backseat and looking into his direction.

His tone grew serious, "He's made this way. When he wasn't a priest, he often dreamed of a life far from the noise and chaos of relationships. And now that he is a priest—"

"He wants that noise and chaos back," she finished for him, her eyes still fixed on him.

Marco nodded and sighed. "He's restless."

She lifted her eyebrows but didn't say a word.

"He wants," Marco's young voice faltered, "he's never wanted anyone really, but now he wants you."

She blushed, "I don't think it's for us to discuss it. It's his life."

"Right now, you are as much part of his life as I am," he interjected.

A feeling of tiredness washed over her. "What is your point?"

He turned back to her. "He trusts you and Mulder. I can see it. But he's got a lot of emotional luggage, and he hasn't been exactly good at processing it."

Scully felt for Marco, but they all had their share of emotions waiting to be sorted out. "I can't save him, Marco."

"But you can," his eyes pierced her.

"Marco," she said impatiently.

"Don't let him shut off," Marco insisted, a gentle plea echoing in between his words.

"I can't promise you that," she replied sincerely and saw his eyes dim.

Marco stared at her. "To be completely frank, this mess was avoidable. But for a reason I have yet to comprehend, you're the only one who can make this right."

She sighed loudly. This was avoidable. The sentence echoed in her mind. She looked at the hospice's entrance. "Look," she told Marco as she saw Mulder, Rosa, and Nicola exit the hospice.

"What happened?" she asked when Nicola sat in the car, followed by Mulder and Rosa.

"I got only a letter," Nicola replied. "It says we should wait in room 102."

"Rosa and I will go first, then Nicola and then Marco and you," Mulder explained. "We won't attract unnecessary attention that way."

Scully looked concerned. "What if it is a trap?"

Mulder worried his lower lip and gazed at her. He had the same doubts, but there wasn't much else to do.

"I have another idea," Scully said, looking into his eyes as if they were alone in the car.

"Okay," he replied expectantly.

"Let Marco meet our contact," she suggested. "Leonardo's contact will know he's with us."

"And if he won't, he's an impostor," Mulder finished. "Is it okay with you, Marco?"

Marco nodded firmly, but Nicola shook his head. "It's too dangerous. What if they take him as a hostage? What if they hurt him?"

"I don't like the idea at all," Rosa voiced her disagreement. "But I'll go and pretend to be the cleaning lady."

Mulder looked at Scully and back at Rosa. "Are you sure?"

"Rosa?" Marco stared at her. "No, no way."

"You can't stop me, Marco," Rosa said. "And it's the least dangerous idea."

Nicola sighed and looked at Scully. "I hate to admit it, but she's right."

Marco looked scared but tried to remain calm. "If that's what you want."

"It is," she nodded.

"We'll be there for you," Scully reassured her.

"And run away if anything feels odd," Nicola added.

They set the plan in motion in no time. Rosa sneaked into the personnel room and grabbed a working suit. The high adrenaline was the only thing that kept her focused and strangely calm. She changed her outfit in the toilet, stashing her clothes in the toilet tank, while Nicola and Marco bought SIM cards at the local store.

»You're fortunate,« the owner of the store commented, »I don't usually have them. But this package arrived yesterday by mistake, and I haven't returned it yet. Looks like I won't have to.«

Mulder and Scully were still in the car, watching Nicola and Marco enter the hospice and waiting for Rosa's signal that she was in the room.

"She's very courageous," Mulder broke the silence that filled the car once everybody but Scully was gone.

"Yeah," she exhaled heavily. "She reminds me of myself when I joined the Bureau."

"Look, there's the sign," Mulder pointed at one of the first-floor windows.

She looked in the direction he was pointing and saw Rosa. "Let's go."

They waited patiently in the lobby for half an hour when Mulder saw Gino walk in. "He's here."

"Who?" Scully asked and looked around. "Oh, my God, it's him."

"Go," he urged her.

"No," she stopped him. "Look."

He looked at the entrance and saw two men walk after him. "Do you recognize them?"

Mulder shook his head and looked intently at them. They were in their fifties, casually dressed, and walked right behind Gino. "I think they're with him."

"Wait," she insisted, and they waited for Gino and the two men to enter the elevator.

"Quick," she urged him then. "We'll take the stairs."

Before the elevator dinged, Mulder and Scully were already around the corner, waiting for the three men to exit the elevator and enter room 102. Marco and Nicola stood opposite them. Marco's eyes widened when he recognized Gino, but Scully put a finger on her lips, reminding him to stay quiet.

But Marco didn't listen. Afraid that Rosa would freak out, he ran after the men without a second thought, earning a hissed 'dammit' from Mulder. Nicola, Mulder, and Scully ran after him. Marco yanked the door of the room open and met a surprised Gino. One of the two men that accompanied him grabbed Marco's hands and thrust him against the wall.

"No," Nicola and Rosa both yelled. "Leave him," Nicola grabbed the man.

"Enough!" Gino ordered, his voice deep and austere, and the man let Marco go. "I know him."

Marco adjusted his clothes. "What the hell is going on?" He looked at Gino, the two men, and then at Rosa. Her shocked face made him calm down a little. He didn't want to make it worse for her.

"It's okay, Marco," Gino reassured him. "They are Jesuits. Günther and Paul."

"Jesuits? What kind of Jesuit fights like that?" Marco eyed the older man.

"Günther is ex-military," Gino explained. "And Paul is, well, he's an ex-con artist."

Marco looked at Paul suspiciously, but he only grinned. "Right."

Mulder looked at Scully in amusement, mouthing 'con artist.' Her lips curled. She was relieved that Günther and Paul were friends.

"I think you owe us an explanation," Nicola said, looking at Gino.

"That I do, although I'm sure you've gathered more information than I ever could in this short time," Gino replied.

"We certainly have, father, but there are things that have yet to be answered. Your supposed death, for one," Mulder intervened, his voice smooth and patient.

"Yes," Gino nodded, his eyes crystal clear.

This wasn't a drunkard or a man of ambiguous morality as Mulder first described him, Scully thought.

Gino's eye caught hers, and it was all it took for the two of them to read one another. "Let us all sit down."

HOSPICE AT GREAT ST. BERNARD PASS, SWITZERLAND
MONDAY, JUNE 1
17:35 HOURS

"The cabal found out that I possess documents of projects that are carried out in secret," Gino spoke as they all sat around the table in the small room.

"Projects involving alien DNA," Mulder suggested.

Gino looked at him with stern eyes and nodded reluctantly, "It would appear so. One of our brothers is a biochemist specializing in genetics. The DNA sequences in those documents ... they are not human."

"Not human?" Marco asked. "As in ... animal?"

Rosa rolled her eyes at him.

"As in alien," Mulder replied.

Scully looked at him and sighed. "Is it the black oil?"

Marco looked at her, perplexed.

"There's a black substance, yes, but they've been very successful with other matters, too," Gino replied, looking at Nicola and Marco. "There's a reason I asked Mulder to come to Rome."

"Is there now?" Nicola retorted.

"He knows about the experiments in Tunguska, the black oil, the alien-human hybrids," Gino explained. "He knows about the conspiracy and the men behind it."

"What exactly are you saying, father?" Scully asked.

"That we need your help," Gino replied and looked at her. "Your knowledge and expertise. I didn't invite you to Rome with Mulder, Ms. Scully, because I was afraid to draw too much attention. And because I needed Nicola to believe it was just a friendly visit. I asked Mulder not to tell Nicola anything."

"So you knew they were after you? That it was a matter of days, maybe hours?" Scully pressed.

Gino looked down and then back at her, "Yes, I did."

"Oh, Gino," Nicola shook his head. "You could have gotten us all killed, and I mean Rosa and Marco as well."

The old man's eyes softened, but he repressed any feeling of sorrow and guilt. "I have no question that I will be judged severely for that, Nicola. But this ... this is greater than you or me and all those around us."

Scully closed her eyes. She heard those words before, and although she knew they were true, she dreaded them. She had already lost too much to the Cause.

"Why?" Marco asked. "Why is it greater?"

"Because it's a danger to all humanity," Gino's voice was stern.

"No, that doesn't make any sense," Marco replied. "You can't quantify life. Every sacrificed life in this quest is one sacrifice too many. You of all people should know that."

Scully raised her head, her eyes meeting Mulder's for a split second, but enough to see the old guilt arising.

Nicola and Rosa stayed quiet, knowing well that neither Gino nor Marco would back away easily.

Gino's lips trembled slightly. "Every lost life is a loss too many. But that doesn't mean it's a loss in vain."

The air in the room was heavy and sad. Each one of them had everything to lose.

"Maybe we should just concentrate on how to solve the issue at hand," Paul spoke carefully.

Marco closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, we should."

"There's a place waiting for you two hours drive from here. It's secluded and hard to find," Günther started explaining.

"Poggia's place?" Rosa asked.

"No," Gino replied. "That was a decoy. We could not risk exposing the location before you got here. The three of us are the only ones that know."

"I see," Rosa replied and looked at Marco. He ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"So we just wait for the storm to pass?" he asked Gino.

Gino looked at Paul and nodded. "Not exactly. Think of it as a retreat to make a plan how to fight back."

"What do you have in mind?" Mulder asked.

Paul smiled briefly. "We expose them in a way they've never been exposed. But first, we need both of you to examine the documents and the tape."

Scully glanced at Mulder, knowing there would be hope in his eyes. "Do you have them here?"

"Here and in many other secure places," Paul smiled.

"I'd like to see them as soon as possible," Scully said.

"Then we should get moving," Gino stood up. "We leave as we have arrived. A new car is waiting for you in the parking lot. A Jeep Renegade, if you excuse the irony. All the provisions and gear have already been transported to the final destination. You can ditch the Volvo."

Mulder smirked while Marco rolled his eyes.

"And, Mrs. Scully, I am pleased to have finally met you," Gino added and gave Nicola the car keys.

Scully's eyebrows lifted in surprise, and she smiled.

Gino nodded and winked at Mulder, earning a soft chuckle from him.

"We meet at the intersection one kilometer from here. Follow a dark brown Dacia Duster," Günther instructed them.

UNKNOWN ROAD, SWITZERLAND
MONDAY, JUNE 1
20:49 HOURS

"I hope for a nice shower when we get there," Marco said hopefully and stretched his arms.

"I wouldn't count on it," Nicola replied wearily.

Great, Scully thought, no running water.

"It'll be like in the olden days," Mulder whispered to her, sitting beside her.

She looked at him with icy eyes. Having no warm water or any water reminded her of how she gave birth to William in Democrat Hot Springs. An experience she would gladly forget if it weren't for the birth of William.

Mulder's grin disappeared when he saw her cold eyes. "Scully?"

She shook her head. "It's okay."

He looked at her as if his eyes alone could tell her how much he cared for her. For better or worse.

She gazed back at him, eyes locking and communicating on their own. She wasn't in the car anymore. No, that was another world—hers and Mulder's. Ever-expanding, challenging, complex, and beautiful. She leaned on his shoulder. Maybe this time, it won't be as raunchy and lonely, she thought. Because this time he was with her.

They were driving on a rather desolated road, passing small villages and thick forests. The sun was about to go down, spilling its red-orange aura on green pastures and grey mountains. Leaning on Mulder's shoulder gave her a sense of security and tranquillity. The dark brown SUV was driving in front of them. One could never guess who was sitting behind darkened windows. She searched for Mulder's hand and squeezed it.

He turned his head down to look at her and gave her a reassuring smile. They locked eyes, and if it weren't for Rosa, who was sitting right beside her and chatting with Marco in the front seat, she would have kissed him. Slowly and thoroughly like she used to. "Like in the olden days," she whispered to him and brushed her lips against the soft fabric of his shirt.

He sighed and squeezed her hand back. There was more intimacy and longing in that soft touch of hands than in any other physical contact she shared with him for the last couple of months.

After that, she zoned out.

TO BE CONTINUED.

"In barns we crouch, and under stacks of straw,
Harking the storm that rides a hurtling legion
Up the arched sky ..."
― Siegfried Sassoon, Storm and Sunlight (1918)

"Give me the long, straight road before me,
A clear, cold day with a nipping air,
Tall, bare trees to run on beside me,
A heart that is light and free from care.
Then let me go! – I care not whither
My feet may lead, for my spirit shall be
Free as the brook that flows to the river,
Free as the river that flows to the sea."
― Thomas Hardy, Freedom