Hamelton Motor Inn
Wednesday, March 10
6:00 a.m.

Mulder smiled, and slowly woke up from his favorite dream. A bit dazed and disappointed, particularly when he saw who was his companion in the room (or rather, in fact, that it wasn't his partner), he shrugged off the last of his dream, and started to wonder why he had slept (relatively) peacefully the past two nights. Then he remembered the events of the previous evening, and started to wonder if there was a connection . [I'm going to have to ask Andrew about that sometime before this case is over,] though Mulder. He sat up, climbed out of bed and started to pull on his running clothes when he looked to the other bed and realized that his roommate was, indeed, awake, although just barely.

"Morning, Andrew."

"grrrmph" was all Andrew could reply at the moment.

"I'm surprised, Andrew," commented Mulder, "Angels aren't morning people?"

Andrew sat up, squinted, and slowly opened his eyes. "Actually, they arefor the most part. I'm the only one I know of with this problem. Does it ever get any better?"

Mulder chuckled a little in sympathy. "Not according to my partner."

"So where are you going?"

"Running. I'll be back in time for breakfast."

"Okay, give me a minute to get ready..." he stopped when Mulder looked a bit uncomfortable. "You don't mind, do you?"

Mulder pondered the concept of a guardian angel for a running partner for about half a second and then replied, "No, of course not. In fact, it will give me the chance to get answers to all the questions I have going through my head."

[Couldn't agree more,] thought Andrew. He quickly changed into running clothes, and they were out the door in a few minutes.

Along I-35 North
6:15 a.m.

They had been running for about fifteen minutes, and neither the angel nor the man had said a word. It had been so long since anyone other than Scully had gone jogging with him that Mulder had forgotten he usually jogged at a pace that left him in no mood for conversation - Scully usually didn't talk because she was too preoccupied with keeping up with her partner's long legs. Andrew, however, had no problem keeping up with him. In fact, the angel even tried to push him a little. Of course, this fired up a competitive streak from Mulder, and the two had started to race. Finally, Mulder collapsed to the ground, exhausted. "Okay, okay, you win."

Andrew sat down next to his running partner and waited for Mulder to catch his breath, using the opportunity to take in the sights from where they were resting. They had run far enough away from town that they were well into the hills, and the hill they were resting on had a spectacular view of Hamelton and the surrounding countryside. He nudged Mulder to convince him to sit up and take a look at the view around him. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Mulder nodded. He had to admit, it was pretty nice up here. He had finally gotten his breathing down to a point where he was able to talk. "You're a pretty good runner, Andrew."

Andrew decided to take the complement and leave it at that. "Thanks. How did you sleep last night?" He knew that Mulder was constantly plagued by nightmares about his sister's abduction and his partner's disappearance.

Having the perfect lead in to getting his questions answered, Mulder replied, "Pretty good, actually. In fact, I've slept pretty well the past two nights. That couldn't be a result of having you around, could it?"

Andrew shrugged. "Probably is. There are only a couple of ways that a human can be protected from a demon. One is when there is an angel working in close proximity who is not blocked by orders not to protect a person from attacks."

"And you think these demons are what cause my sleeping problems?"

Andrew nodded. "Anytime that you're tormented by a persistent, nagging train of negative thought, an emotion like guilt, or fear, or something like nightmares, a demon can often be one of the root causes, if not the root cause."

Andrew watched Mulder, and saw that he understood, and connected that with his own guilt, as well as the nightmares. Mulder then asked, "And what's the second way?"

Andrew looked at him quizzically. "Mmmph?"

Mulder recited back what the angel had said. "There are a couple of ways humans can be protected by demons?"

"Oh," Andrew mouthed, without saying it. [It should be interesting how he responds to this one,] he thought. "The other way is through an increase in what we call the 'prayer cover'."

Mulder had a feeling he knew what that meant, but he wanted Andrew to explain it anyway. "Prayer cover?"

Andrew nodded slightly. "When someone prays for a particular person, place or situation, our 'prayer cover' over that area grows. In a way, it strengthens angels almost in a physical sense, giving us the ability to make sure that a particular situation works out for the long-term good."

"So someone's praying for me and Scully? That's part of the reason you're here?" [It's probably Scully's mom,] thought Mulder.

"Part of it. Part of it is also because of your work, and how important God considers it."

[This should be interesting,] thought Mulder. He nodded for Andrew to continue. "Go on."

"Well, God has a hand in every time someone gets elected to public office, because he believes that everyone who wins an election, inherits a throne, or is appointed to a position of power has the potential to do tremendous amounts of good for his people. Whether or not they do is another matter. These dark forces that you and your partner deal with every day, however, are different. As you know, they're pure evil, bent only on obtaining absolute power and accomplishing their own agenda. God did not want them to have any power, let alone stay in power, and does not want them to succeed. That's why you discovered the X-Files, and that's why Scully was assigned to you as a partner. Together, you are the two most formidable adversaries they've ever had. That's why they have attacked you so many times, and that's why you've always come out, if not on top, at least alive."

"Because God is protecting us so we can keep fighting?"

"Yep." Andrew nodded.

This was a little much for Mulder to handle. He always thought that God hated him, and he had often blamed God for taking Samantha away and for everything his parents put him through growing up. And now, not only did he find out God allowed that to happen for a reason, he finds out that God was orchestrating everything in the creation and survival of the X-Files? That God himself considered his work important and valuable? That he and Scully were players in some sort of cosmic spiritual battle between good and evil? He couldn't look Andrew in the eye anymore, so he looked down at the town of Hamelton below them. He definitely needed to change the subject. "How's Hamelton's prayer cover?"

"From what I can tell," replied Andrew, "it's pretty weak. Since my main assignment is you two though, I can't get more than a vague impression behind your prayer cover, which is pretty strong."

"So what happens if we get in too far over our heads with weak prayer cover?"

"Well, what happens when you take off on a hunch and leave Scully behind?"

His mind quickly flipped through all of the times he did that, and he blushed when he realized the result. "Most of the time, I put my life in danger."

"Would your life have been in danger if Scully had been there?"

"Most of the time, probably not."

"Well, there's your answer. Your prayer cover is for you and Scully together. Those who are praying for you, are praying for you as a team. So, when you're working together on a case, whether you're physically together, mentally together, or emotionally together, your prayer cover is strong. Those are the times when you start to make real progress toward finding out the truth." Mulder nodded in recognition.

Andrew continued, "When one of you leaves the other behind, however, your prayer cover weakens considerably. At those times, you are most vulnerable to the forces that oppose you, both the physical ones and the spiritual ones. When prayer cover is weak, both angels and humans are considerably more vulnerable to attack. Prayer is a pretty powerful shield."

"So how do we strengthen Hamelton's 'prayer cover'?"

Andrew paused in thought for a moment. "I don't know. From what I can tell, that's really not our job here. However, I have a feeling Tom Harris has something to do with it."

"The man from the Brandon case?"

Andrew agreed, "Yes. He's a minister, and his faith is strong. What little prayer cover Hamelton has, he has played a large part in providing. Bringing him in on this case should help encourage him to pull the remnant together."

Confused, Mulder asked, "The remnant?"

Andrew raised an eyebrow for a second, then realized Mulder had no idea what a remnant was. "In every town, there is a group of people with strong faith who can provide the prayer cover a town needs in a time of it's a church, sometimes it's part of a church, sometimes it's just a small prayer group. Many times, though, the 'remnant' as we call them, don't even know each other. It takes something like this and someone like Tom Harris to pull them together. That's what he did in Bacon's Corner."

"And that's what you believe he will do here?"

Andrew smiled, "Of that I have no doubt. I also believe that he'll be able to give us some insight into how to get our hands on what the school's curriculum really is. That's why we need to get a hold of him first thing today."

Mulder looked at his watch. It was almost 7:00, and it would take at least 25 minutes from where they were to get back to the Inn. "We better get going if we're going to get back in time for breakfast."

Andrew looked at the watch on his wrist, and nodded in agreement. However, he was more concerned with how Mulder was taking this. It was a lot for a human to get hit with all at once. "How're you doing?"

Mulder was tempted to get offended by that comment, but he looked at Andrew, and one look in Andrew's eyes told him that Andrew meant that comment with all sincerity. "I'm fine. A little overwhelmed, but I've had to fight things that were a lot tougher to believe. Give me a little time."

Andrew smiled, confident that Mulder was telling him the truth, and they quietly jogged back to the Inn.

Neither man turned back to notice the large rock they were leaning against, nor did they notice the two large men dressed in khakis who were sitting behind that rock. The strong, dark-haired man turned to his blond-haired friend and asked, "Well, what do you think of that conversation, Captain?"

Captain Tal pursed his lips in thought for a brief second, then smiled. "I think our enemy has much more to be concerned about that he could have ever bargained for. Has Mercurius received his assignment for the morning?"

Guilo nodded, "Yes, he is at Sally Roe's right now, making sure she gets to Tom Harris' house in plenty of time. He will be ready."

Tal asked, "And what of the remnant? Are they coming together?"

At this, Guilo smiled. "They have been meeting together for months now, though they don't know it yet. All that needs to happen is for their hearts to get a gentle push in the right direction."

The two angels stood up from the spot where they had been sitting and Tal placed a hand on his old friend's shoulder. "That they will get, my friend, and soon. Let's go."

They flew off the fight their respective battles for the day.

Myrtle's
7:45 a.m.

It was a pretty slow morning, as things went. Myrtle, as always, was behind the counter, taking the opportunity with the rare lack of business to straighten things up and enjoy the conversation between the few regulars the diner had. Myrtle's had become a morning ritual for them, as routine as brushing their teeth. Each of the regulars always got the same thing every morning, and Myrtle always charged them the same prices every day. When the killings started in town, the diner was full almost all the time, so Myrtle didn't get the chance to talk to the regulars like she always did. Now, though, was the perfect time to catch up.

She walked down to the seat by the register to give Sheriff Materian his third cup of coffee. This was a welcome break for him, too. Handing those murder cases over to the FBI was a relief to him. Having some sort of crazed killer on the loose in his town was more than he particularly cared to deal with. Although he made sure not to show it, the killings scared him just as much as everybody else. He ran a hand through his dark, slightly graying hair, adjusted his silver wire-rimmed glasses, and thanked Myrtle for the coffee. He came to Myrtle's because she made the best eggs in four counties, never charged him for the three refills he always got on his coffee, and didn't give him a hard time about the caffeine and cholesterol like his wife did. As he leaned on the countertop and looked up the short line of seats, he saw his old friend George McLintock nursing a very cold bowl of oatmeal. It had only been a couple of weeks since Bill and Jessie had been killed, and he still hadn't quite gotten over the shock. "Hey George," called the sheriff, "how're you doing?"

George looked over at his old high school buddy and sighed. He was angry, mad as hell that he was never going to see his boy again, and even madder that whoever it was who killed his boy had the nerve to take his grandkids away from him too. When Mary Ellen died a couple of years back, he still had family in town to help him through it. Now he didn't have anybody. [Oh Mary,] he thought, [I miss you so much.] Then he realized that Jeff had said something to him. "Oh hi Jeff," replied George, "any word on the kids?"

"Not yet. But I promise, we will find them. I turned the case over to a team of feds yesterday. If anyone can get us a lead, they can."

"I saw them come in here yesterday," chimed in Myrtle, "they look like good people."

"Yeah," agreed the sheriff, "I really get the feeling that they won't rest, let alone leave until we find out what happened to the kids and their parents."

"I think you're right," added Marie, "I saw them at the Board of Ed office the other day when I came back from lunch. They were still there when I left. Looks like they were looking for something important in the school records." Marie was one of two secretaries for the school district, and the only female regular at Myrtle's.

"You think that the schools might have something to do with it?" asked Myrtle, pouring Marie a cup of coffee.

"Lord, I hope not!" she exclaimed. "Can you imagine?"

George hung his head and agreed, "I don't even want to think about it. I just want my grandkids back."

Marie put a hand on George's shoulder in sympathy. "Me too, George. Me too."

Myrtle nodded, and raised her eyebrows, tilting her head toward the door. Everyone knew that meant the federal agents, subject of their conversation, were coming in, and they had best change the subject. The door opened, and the two agents and two angels walked in. Myrtle called over to Tess, who was refilling the salt shakers last time she checked, but Tess was way ahead of her, already heading over to the corner booth with menus and coffee. The elder angel noticed that although the four of them were all business, just as they were yesterday, there was something different about them - a sense of camaraderie that she didn't get from them yesterday. It was like the walls that had been between them yesterday came crashing down overnight. It intrigued her, but she decided to do nothing until she knew more.

The foursome at the table, for their part, were in quite an interesting situation. All four were frustrated that yesterday provided very few concrete leads in the case, yet amazed from the things that yesterday (and for Mulder, this morning) revealed. No one seemed to have a clear indication of why they were there, yet they all knew that they had to continue, before someone else died. One thing was certain to all, however: Andrew was no longer there to purely 'observe' or 'back up' anyone; his experiences and insights from Bacon's Corner provided the few leads they did have. It was he who spoke up first: "So what's our plan for today?"

"I would like to go over the autopsy reports on the six victims from here in Hamelton, especially since I didn't get a chance to look at them yesterday," replied Scully.

"Good idea," said Mulder. "If this demon is working through a particular person or persons, the autopsy results may provide some clues as to how he picks who he works through." Scully was about to chastise him for working based off of a far-off assumption, but then the events of the previous night came flooding back into her memory, and she reluctantly nodded. Mulder continued, "There are also three other things I would like to see us do today: First, I would like to take a look at each crime scene. There might be some subtle clue that the local police might have missed in their investigation. I think we should all be there and do that as a team: one of us might pick up on something the other three might not have recognized. Second, I think we should talk to some of the other parents at the school, and maybe observe what's going on in each classroom. If the children are a link in this case, maybe someone will be willing to admit their child is acting a little strange."

At this, the other three agreed. Monica chimed in, "If we split up for that, after we take a look at the crime scenes, we will be able to cover more ground."

All were in agreement on this point too. Andrew then asked, "What's the third thing?"

Mulder replied, "I agree with you, Andrew, that we need to talk to Tom Harris as soon as possible."

[Agree with Andrew?] thought Scully, [What's he talking about?]

Unnoticed by the agents, two heads at the counter popped up when they overheard what Mulder had said.

One was a young man, thirty-eight years old, although he could easily pass for someone in his late twenties. He was another regular at Myrtle's: new in town, he always came in for a cup of coffee and an english muffin before getting home to start his children's lessons. He was a friendly sort, what most people call a 'people person'; he wanted to make friends with the people in this town, whom he liked and who liked him. Myrtle's gave him that opportunity. Very few people knew where he was moving when he left Bacon's Corner, so he was surprised that an out-of-towner would be looking for him. He was even more surprised when that out-of-towner was an FBI agent. [I wonder why they want to talk to me,] he thought, [maybe I should head them off at the pass.] He walked over, and was quickly noticed by everyone at the table. "Excuse me, but I couldn't help but overhear. You're the FBI agents looking for those missing children, is that right?" All four at the table nodded.

"I believe you're looking for me. My name is Tom Harris."

Mulder couldn't believe their luck. No one had any idea how to get a hold of Harris, and he knew he would have a real hard time convincing Scully that all four of them should do this interview together. He looked over at Andrew, who was doing everything he could to keep from grinning like an idiot. [I guess it's true what they say,] thought Mulder, [God works in mysterious ways.] Andrew extended a hand out to Tom, who shook it warmly. "Good to meet you, Mr. Harris. Would you like to pull up a chair and join us for breakfast?"

Having only gotten there a few minutes before the agents, he had only taken coffee himself, so he readily agreed to the offer. He went over to a nearby table, grabbed a chair, and pulled it up to their table. He then motioned to Myrtle to make sure to bring his breakfast and the check over to the table instead of the counter before sitting down. "I can't stay long, ladies, gentlemen. I have to get home to my children soon."

Mulder nodded, and agreed. "That's quite all right, Mr. Harris. I'm Agent Mulder. Mulder, this is my partner Dana Scully, Andrew Wesson, and Monica Smith. We just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to ask you a couple of questions about Amber Brandon."

Tom drew a deep breath and sighed. That name brought back a lot of painful memories for him. "You'll have to forgive me. I almost lost custody of my own children because of the things that happened to that child. It's still hard for me to talk about sometimes."

Scully leaned forward, elbows on the table, and quietly asked the next question. "What exactly happened, Mr. Harris?"

Tom scooted his chair a little closer to the table, and folded his hands together for a second, as if quickly praying for the strength to be completely open with what he had to say. He then began his story:

"I was the pastor of the Good Shepherd Community Church in Bacon's Corner, as I'm sure you know. I also ran their small elementary school, where they taught up to fourth grade. Amber came into our school after being in the class of a Mrs. Brewer in the elementary school. Several weeks after she came to the school, she started teaching the other children relaxation techniques, that, according to her, she had learned in Mrs. Brewer's class. She said she liked the exercises because they made you feel better and you met special friends, 'imaginary guide' she called them. Her 'imaginary guide' was a pony named Amethyst. Several times, she would come back from recess not as herself, but as Amethyst. At first the behavior was only mildly disruptive, and I dealt with it using our standard procedures, including spanking. However, when at one point she became not only disruptive, but hostile, violent and blasphemous. She cursed more in five minutes than I've seen many 'sailors' curse in days. The other children were literally terrified of her. At that point, I believed that Amber was possessed by a demon-this was not the personality of a small child."

He looked at the faces of the four people in front of him. Whenever he told this story, by this point, most people looked at him like he was either a child molester or a complete lunatic. These four, however, continued to look at him with all seriousness. By this time Myrtle had brought over his english muffin, and he took a bite out of it as he quickly studied the faces of the other people at the table. He could have sworn that the men were paying much closer attention than the women, particularly the redheaded Agent Scully. The men, particularly that Mulder fellow, looked like they not only believed him, but that this was something essential that they needed to know. Mulder even urged him to continue from that point, "Go on, Mr. Harris. What happened then? What did you do?'

Tom took another deep breath, and continued with his story. "I attempted to exorcise the demon, and for a while there, I thought it had really left. That's when my own personal nightmare began."

Her curiosity now piqued, Scully repeated the last part of what Tom had said, "Your own personal nightmare?"

Tom continued, "Yes, apparently Amber told her mother about what had happened. At first, her mother had no problems with the steps that were taken. After a visit by the ACFA, however, she seemed to see things differently. I was soon defending my actions in court not only to save the school from closing, but to regain the custody of my children as well. After the indictments against The Omega Center and Amethyst's brief appearance in court, however, the case was quickly dropped."

Andrew was curious as to the circumstances that brought Tom to Hamelton, so he asked, "After the trial, why did you leave Bacon's Corner?"

Tom replied, "Are you familiar with the 'Finding the Real Me' curriculum that was at the center of the controversy?" At this, all at the table nodded. Tom continued, "Well, during the trial, I had started receiving letters from Sally Roe, and although I was never able to respond back to them, she had apparently decided to fight against the people who she had previously worked for. Her letters contributed evidence that was vital to our case. However, those letters were also deeply personal, and by the time I had finally met her, I felt like I had known her for some time. We started talking, and then we started to spend time together-strictly as friends, mind you. Her past had started to spread rumors around town, though, and she couldn't stay in Bacon's Corner for very long after the trial was over. When she moved, I decided I wanted to continue to get to know her better, so I bought a house here in Hamelton. She's watching my children right now, which is why I have to get home, so she can get to work on time. If you'll excuse me-"

As Tom got up, the four agents got up to briefly shake hands with the young minister. Andrew asked, "Would it be all right if we took down your address and phone number? It looks like your experiences might be helpful to the case we're working on."

Tom gave them his address and number, then added, "Why don't I give you Sally's number as well? I'm sure she won't mind talking to you, and if I've been a help to you, I'm sure she could give you even more insights."

Mulder added, "That's an excellent idea, thank you." As he took down Sally Roe's telephone numbers, he pulled out a business card and added his and his partner's cellular phone numbers on the back. "Here's my card. If you can think of anything that might be helpful to our case, please don't hesitate to call. My cellular number as well as Agent Scully's is on the back of the card."

Tom replied, "I'm sure we will be in touch. Ladies, gentlemen, I must be going." He put down some money for Myrtle to pick up, and headed out the door. Before the door shut behind him, though, he turned back to the agents and quickly added, "I've been praying for you to find those children. I know this will all work out for the best."

Both Andrew and Mulder smiled, a source of great confusion for Scully. Mulder replied, "Thank you."

As Tom left the diner, Tess also saw the smile on Mulder's face. Knowing Agent Mulder's background the way she did, she was definitely surprised to see him smile like that at the concept of someone praying for him. Their breakfast orders were ready, and that gave her the perfect opportunity to go over to the table and find out what was going on. She gave each person their orders, looking briefly at both Monica and Andrew. The look in her eyes told the two angels that she needed to know what was going on, immediately. As she left, Monica and Andrew quickly started to excuse themselves, briefly tilting their heads toward the waitress who had just left.

Mulder and Scully both saw and quickly recognized the look on Tess' face. It was the "In my office, NOW!" look that they thought Skinner held the copyright on. They both thought simultaneously, [Must be something you learn whenever people start working for you.] Mulder said to the two angels, "Go on. We have some things to discuss ourselves." Again Scully looked at him curiously, but he dismissed it. He continued, "We both know how it is to deal with a tough supervisor. Good Luck."

As the two angels went off to face their bewildered supervisor, Scully turned to her partner and asked, "Okay, so what's going on?"

Mulder looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean, Mulder. What's going on with you and Andrew? And why were you so 'pleased' when you found out someone is praying for us?"

Mulder looked at her, and wondered what was going through her head. He knew that Scully had been raised Catholic and lapsed, so the concepts of God, angels, demons, and prayer were not new to her, but her scientific mind was probably still a bit bewildered by having all of these things laid right out in front of her in a span of less than twelve hours. He told Scully everything that had happened during his run with Andrew that morning. When she didn't have a response, Mulder grew concerned. "Scully? Are you OK?"

She didn't respond. [Not even "I'm fine, Mulder."?] thought Mulder. He encouraged her, "What do you make of all this?"

"I really don't know what to make of it, Mulder," replied Scully. Her hand found its way to the gold cross that almost always hung around her neck. "I always thought I believed in things like God and angels - maybe because I grew up hearing about them. It's a little disturbing, though, when you're standing face to face with someone who claims to be an angel."

[Claims to be?] thought Mulder. "Scully, after everything that happened last night, after everything Tom Harris just told us, you mean to tell me that you don't believe that these two really are angels?"

"I never said that," replied Scully. [But then what do I believe?]