Stockholm Syndrome

2. The Spooky Spy

They feel you methods, your theories are…~Dana Scully (Squeeze)

Spooky? Do you think I'm spooky? ~Fox Mulder (Squeeze)

"The Spy Museum, Mulder?" Scully repeated quizzically. Mulder didn't answer; he just continued walking. He stopped and held the door open for his skeptical partner and she gave him a look that said, this is an X File, isn't it?

A worried-looking woman in a suit was there to greet the agents when they entered the lobby. Scully looked around. She had never actually been in the Spy Museum before, but she had a feeling it was the kind of place where Mulder would spend his time. Her assumption was even more confirmed by the look of childlike excitement that came over his face as he looked around.

"Are you the FBI agents?" the woman asked anxiously.

"Yes," answered Mulder. "I'm Agent Mulder and this is Agent Scully. And who are you?"

"Helen Gomez, the curator. I have to tell you, this is all very distressing. We've never had anything like this happen here before. The custodian found it first; it was very early in the morning, thank God. We had time to react. Had to close the museum until further notice."

"Where exactly is the body?" Scully asked.

"That's the really weird part."

They went up a couple floors on the elevator and then Helen led them through a section that was filled with props and look-alike props from just about every spy movie that had ever been made. The curator walked at an alarming pace and the agents had to rush to keep up. When Helen was out of earshot, Mulder nudged Scully and bent down into a crouching position with his arms spread out at his sides. He started humming a poor imitation of the Mission Impossible theme song and doing ducks and rolls around the exhibits with an imaginary gun.

"Mulder," Scully whispered embarrassedly, making sure no one was around to see him. "First of all, you are not acting the least bit professional. Second of all, you don't need an invisible gun when you're playing Mission Impossible. You have a real one."

Mulder frowned. "Scully, I'm disappointed in you. That was so obviously the James Bond theme song. Should I try Get Smart instead?"

"I'd rather you try Charlie's Angels."

"I wouldn't mind trying them."

"Is everything all right back there?" Helen had stopped to see what was holding up the pair. Mulder hopped up and he and Scully hurried to where Helen was standing.

"Well, there you have it," she said. The agents looked around in confusion. There was no crime scene that they could see.

"I don't understand, Ms. Gomez," said Mulder. "Where is the body?"

Helen pointed to a dark rectangular hole in the wall. "It's in the shaft."

"It's in the ventilation system?" Scully said.

"No, the shaft," the curator repeated, looking slightly irritated.

"The shaft is like a vent," Mulder explained. "Visitors can crawl around inside and pretend they're real spies."

Scully gave him a look.

"Not that I've ever done it."

"Right."

Scully sighed. She crawled up into the square tunnel, which wasn't easy to do in heels. Mulder climbed up after her. Unfortunately, (or fortunately?) the shaft was not built for two-way traffic and Mulder and Scully found themselves quite squashed. It might have been somewhat romantic if not for the ghastly sight before them. The corpse had been sloppily wedged into the duct. It had a few patches of flesh and bloody tissue on it, but was mostly bare to the bone.

"Well, the lack of flesh is definitely not from decomposition," Scully said, looking disgusted. "The body barely smells and it's obvious that the flesh has been removed intentionally, possibly torn off."

Mulder turned to respond, but quickly whipped his head back after almost kissing her forehead. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and what about these," he added, pointing to some marks on the exposed bone. "Do these look like teeth marks to you?"

Scully studied them. "They could be. I'll have to check them for DNA during the autopsy." She paused. "You know, it could be destitute people."

"A hobo? What makes you think the murderer's homeless?"

"Well, not necessarily homeless. But ecstasy and other drugs have been known to have consequences similar to this. There was once a boy who clawed off all of his own flesh because of LSD. People on drugs sometimes kill their companions in the middle of a high, unaware of their actions. Maybe the killer and this man snuck into the museum to do drugs. In the middle of smoking, the man's companion murdered him and…ate off his flesh. After realizing what he'd done, the killer stuffed the victim in the shaft and bolted."

Mulder was quiet for a few seconds. "Only Special Agent Dana Scully could possibly come up with that."

Scully rolled her eyes. "I suppose you think it was the goat-sucker."

"No," he replied laughing. "I don't think El Chupacabra could ever stand the cold weather of DC."

"We're gonna need CSI down here to get the body out."

Scully started to climb out when Mulder grabbed her arm. She looked up.

"Scully," he said seriously. He was gazing intently into her eyes. Scully's breath was caught in her throat.

"Yes, Mulder?"

"Shaft! Can ya dig it? They say this cat Shaft is a bad motherf-"

"Shut your mouth," she said dryly.

"Talkin' bout Shaft."

Author's Note: Haha! Bet you thought there was gonna be some romance didn't you? Don't worry, there will be. ;) Sorry this chapter was a bit shorter…I'll be sure to make the next few long again. Next chapter's back to Raelyn (Pronounced Ray-lynn in case you didn't know), Alex Krycek, and a few other familiar faces! *Cough* Cigarette Smoking Man *Cough*