SAC Aimee Paulson is an athletic and handsome woman in her late thirties with a reputation for being competent, analytical and professional. She fought her way through the FBI ranks to Special Agent in Charge of the Boulder field office after solving the murder of an associate project manager and exposing a plot to undermine the National Youth Project's reconstruction. At the moment she has the less than enviable position of facing an agitated and irate Walter Skinner and an unnervingly quiet Special Agent Gibson Praise.
"Let me get this right, the agent you sent to pick up our wives at Denver International has been found in the airport parking garage, drugged, tied up and stripped of his gun and badge. His vehicle, Marita and Miya are all missing? Jesus Christ, Agent, they were escorted onto that plane and were to be met at the gate, how the hell do these things happen?" Skinner demands, his anger is palpable.
She gives him a dark look, but is reluctant to speak.
Gibson sorts through SAC Paulson's defensive thoughts. "Agent Paulson, he... we have every right to be angry at the situation and although you're seemingly correct in your innocence, this isn't about blame. We need to find them."
"I understand Agent Praise, you have my full cooperation, but there is one other thing you should know…"
He stares at Paulson and takes a deep breath. With a troubled look on his face he turns to Skinner.
"Doggett and two students from the NYP are missing, too."
"Monica, none of us is without fault." Scully's shoulders sag with fatigue. She is weary from the stress and anticipation of meeting her son for the first time after almost seventeen years, only to learn he may be in harms way.
"Where's Gibson? He's our best shot at finding any of them." Mulder says tapping his fingers on the conference room table. Their meeting with Will was to take place here, at the former refugee intake center's conference room.
"You were right. You said it wasn't safe, you feared this would happen and now it has." A look of pain crosses Monica's face. "Who could have gotten to John, after all these years… unless he's…"
"Agent Reyes, you have no bases for that conclusion. You'd best stop it before you talk yourself into something that's not true." Skinner says entering the room, followed by Gibson and an ill at ease SAC Paulson. He looks at his former subordinate and knows his words have little credence, for his fear is as real as hers.
Monica rises out of her chair, composes herself and bends down to greet Gibson and then shakes Skinner's hand. "Assistant Directory, I'm glad to see you again. It's been far too long."
Skinner greets her by nodding his head and says, "Monica, this isn't over. We'll get to the bottom of this, we have too." He turns to the others and gives Mulder and Scully a look they've seen hundreds of times since they first met. It's one filled with questions, concerns and determination.
Gibson gives Agent Paulson a curt introduction. He wheels himself toward the table. The emotions in the room are thick with fear. They've learned that five people, important to them all have vanished, their whereabouts unknown and a family reunion has turned into a manhunt for loved ones.
Doggett groans as he struggles to regain consciousness, he can feel the hard, cold floor under him as the sensation in his limbs slowly returns. In the dim light, the ceiling slowly comes into focus.
He wrestles himself up into a sitting position, his head reels and he closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths willing the nausea in him to subside. After a moment, he looks around his surroundings and sees he's in a small room, possibly a basement by the looks of the hard surfaces. The only light comes from an illuminated panel of buttons on the wall.
He rolls over on his hands and knees and stands tentatively holding his arms out for balance. As he adjusts to being upright, he moves toward the door looking for a knob or handle, but none exists. His hands move toward the panel of buttons to the left of the door, he pushes one and a row of fluorescent lights shines down on him.
The room is larger than he thought, maybe fifteen by twenty feet. There is a metal table with two chairs in the center, to the right of the door is a counter with a small sink and a built in refrigerator. Above it is a shelf with paper cups and a paper towel dispenser. In the corner of the room he sees an open door into a bathroom with a toilet and small sink. As his eyes follow around the room he sees two cots, one is empty, the other holds the prone body of a man, but on second look, Doggett recognizes that it is in fact a boy, a boy named Will van de Kamp.
Gibson insists that SAC Paulson and her team continue their investigation. They will look for new leads and follow up on locating Doggett's missing rental car and the vehicle that was used to abduct Marita and Miya.
Skinner and Monica have left to talk with Agent Nelson and go over the details of what happened with his assault at the airport. They have the report including his debriefing, but neither is willing to take a passive role in this investigation.
Scully's has gone into the adjoining office to return calls to the World Health Task Force. The fatigue on her face is evident, as she sits down with her computer panel and cell phone.
Gibson sits while Mulder paces as they discuss the case. He can feel the tension rolling off of him and knows this won't be easy. "I know you and Dana want answers, we have known each other for a long time, you have to trust me."
Mulder gives Gibson an incredulous look that he knows all too well. "When we first met, I knew I was practically alone in my beliefs. I was on a crusade to prove the existence of aliens, expose the men who sought to sacrifice humankind, and to find my sister. That may have changed over the years but what hasn't changed is that it is still personal. I know I've been a selfish asshole, but this time it's not about me. It's what I owe to Scully, this can't end badly…"
Gibson stops him in mid sentence. "I know. Like I said, trust me."
Marita, blindfolded with her hands bound behind her, is led by gunpoint into a building. She has walked up a ramp and down a long hallway before ascending a set of stairs. Alexi stops her, cuts her loose and pushes her into a room, the door closses with a bang behind her. She reaches up and pulls the blindfold off and as she looks around, she sees a young girl huddled up on a cot in the corner of the room.
"Don't be frightened, I'm not here to hurt you. Who are you? Do you know where we are?" Marita asks slowly inching her way toward the girl.
"I don't know where we are or why I'm here. Petie answers, her voice is small and she starts to cry. "A man grabbed me at school…" Between gulps of airs she stutters on "I tried to fight him… but he said he'd drug me… if I didn't stop."
Marita sits next to her and says soothingly "My name is Marita. The man who brought us here said he wouldn't hurt us. Try to calm yourself."
Petie throws herself into Marita's arms and holds onto her, she cries uncontrollably and Marita hugs her back, stroking her hair out of her face.
"Sshhh, we'll be okay," she says in her most convincing tone. "What's your name?"
"Petie" she answers haltingly. "Petie Reynolds."
"Petie, that's a really sweet name. My friend and I were on our way to meet our husbands when this man tricked us and forced us here. What can you remember, please tell me?"
Petie stops to catch her breath and wipes her nose with a tissue that Marita has pulled out of her pocket and handed to her. "I live on campus at the NYP, I was walking back to my dorm room and I heard a noise behind me. I started to run, but a man caught me from behind. He told me to be quiet and said he wouldn't hurt me. I fought him but he was really strong and I couldn't get away."
"Go on. What else?"
"The man took me to his car and forced me to get in. He drove me to an alley, I don't know where… He made a phone call and told someone to meet us there right away. It seemed like a really long time, but a car pulled up next to ours and the man in it was Ms. Reyes boyfriend."
"Reyes? You mean Monica Reyes? The man was John Doggett?" Marita asks trying to process the information.
"Yeah, I met him at Ms. Reyes cottage. The man held me up in front of him and told Mr. Doggett to drop his gun. I was really scared and started crying." Petie says sniffling.
"He laid his gun down on the ground and the man told him to turn around and put his hands on top of the car. He pushed me back in the car and then he stuck Mr. Doggett with a needle, a syringe and he fell down. He put him in the trunk of the car."
"Petie, could you tell if he was seriously hurt? Was he still alive?"
"Yes, he was breathing but unconscious. The man put a blindfold on me and tied my hands behind my back and he drove us here. He put me in this room."
"How long have you been here? Do you know?"
Petie shakes her head. "A while, it feels like forever." Her eyes fill up with tears.
"It's okay, is there anything else?" Marita asks.
"He asked me about my parents and where they were. Then he asked me about my boyfriend. He wanted to know if we were in a fight and what it was about. I thought it was weird."
"Your boyfriend? Why would he… who's your boyfriend?"
"His name is Will van de Kamp."
Marita instantly recognizes the name but she's not sure where this piece of the puzzle fits. The fact that John has been taken worries her, as does Miya's whereabouts and what Walter, Gibson and the others must be thinking.
"Marita? How do you know Mr. Doggett?" Petie asks.
She shrugs in response. "Petie, let me think for a minute, I promise I'll tell you what I know."
She finally takes the time to look around the room and goes to the sink and draws Petie a cup of water. The room mirrors the one next-door in size and layout and unknown to them all, it is the room that imprisons John Doggett and Will van de Kamp.