Trouble

"That doesn't sound good," said Pérez looking up at the ceiling.

Scully put down her coffee and tried to listen carefully. There was only the sound of a very crackly music radio station from Mrs. Chang's kitchen. "I don't hear anything." She raised her eyebrows to suggest he had to explain.

"Just wait a second more," he said quietly. They both looked up. The dim lighting flickered as it had been doing intermittently for the whole evening. But then it went off for a second.

"Just the generator," Mrs. Chang shouted thru to them.

As Scully went to pick up the coffee again, there was a murmur in the distance.

"Is it a plane?" she said quietly, trying to pick out the tones.

Pérez nodded. "Probably. Quite low. Quite slow. Delivery."

She stood up and pulled the woolen jacket around her shoulders. "Do you know what it is?"

Pérez leaned back in his chair. "If it's the delivery from Galveston, then I know of it. I doubt many people will know exactly what it is." He shrugged knowingly.

"Don't mess me around, Victor. If you want me to stick around, you should be a bit more helpful." She reached for the heavy outdoor coat and pointed at his too. "I'm going to look. Are you coming?"

He stretched out his hand to indicate acceptance. "I'll go with you, Dana, but there won't be anything to see from here. Maybe a big splash in the middle of the lake."

Dana frowned. "So their aim will be a little better than yours?"

"I didn't aim," said Pérez. "I used an electronic target. This will be a visual drop into the water."

Mrs. Chang walked back into the living space. "Where are you going? You can't go out again so soon. Have some rest first." She held gently onto the coat to prevent Pérez pulling it on.

"We just need to get some fresh air, Mrs. Chang." Pérez smiled in a his most winning way. "That was an excellent meal. We just need to walk some of it off." Scully walked to the door venturing a smile.

"I will come with you," Mrs. Chang offered.

Pérez shook his head, took the coat and put his arm around Mrs. Chang. "Dana and I would like some time together. You know? Just the two of us."

Mrs. Chang smiled, then nodded. "Of course. You should go now. Quickly. Go after her."

:::

They trudged quickly back to the edge of the lake. The water was illuminated slightly by moonlight.

"We'll miss it," Said Scully. "Quicker." She pointed ahead.

"I don't know what you're expecting to see, Dana," said Pérez, walking without any urgency. "They won't be trailing a Stars and Stripes behind them. It'll be an unmarked plane."

"Go back and eat your dinner, Victor. I'll do the investigating." She increased her pace and reached the edge of the water, close to where they had met earlier. "Where is it?" She strained to look up into the light mist of the sky.

Pérez tapped her shoulder and pointed much lower down, almost at the surface of the water. "There. Flat, wide, quiet. Stealth glider combined with catamaran fins."

Scully had to blink to make herself see the imperceptible lines of the plane hiding among the ripples of the soft waves. "They landed on the lake?"

"No," he said quietly. "Just a wisp of air between the hull and the lake. Like a skater running on a few molecules of water over ice."

She stared at it intently, noting the meagre details. Somewhere, there was a poor digital camera in her cellphone, but she could barely make out the scene with her own eyes. "Is it manned? Are there people on board?"

Pérez shrugged. "Who knows? It must be quite a ride." He smiled grimly. Scully noted his obvious delight in the flight of the skimming plane.

"Where's the delivery?" she asked. "The payload must be really small."

He shook his head, then gently angled her shoulders to observe even further back on the lake. "No. It's enormous. Just very thin."

A thin sheet was trailing out from the back of the flat gliding surface of the plane. It reflected all the silver notes of the feeble moonlight and spun out like fabric from a fairytale loom.

"Beautiful," she said to herself.

"Men will die for it," he said in her ear. "Others have disappeared. Even friends have killed for it."

She saw a darkness in his eyes. "Isn't that the 'Maltese Falcon', Victor?" she replied.

He smiled. "I don't know. That's not the point I'm making. No matter how pleasant it appears to us, the properties of that material make it probably the most valuable piece of technology in the world today. And that makes it very dangerous."

:::

"Time to cut bait, Dana," said Pérez. "Come with me to liberate this technology. Or scuttle away under a rock and keep out of the firing line." They were slightly further up the near side of the lake, a little north of the township.

Scully looked up and down the lines of tethered boats, light dinghies and traditional fishing craft. It was barely enough to be called a marina. "Do you have permission to take any of these boats, Victor? We should check in the town before we randomly take other people's property."

He stepped down into a light power-boat with twin outboard motors. Each motor was marked with a '15hp' decal. "Vernon has a hand in most of the things round here. He always says I should help myself. Probability suggests that we'll probably borrow something that he's entirely happy with us borrowing. Or there are plenty of rocks over there. For the hiding option I mean." He flipped open the fuel cap on each motor and looked inside, nodding with satisfaction.

He knocked the screwed-in ignition key with his thumb and pulled the starter cord on the first motor. It fired into life and became clouded by a light sweet smoke. He reached up to her on the dockside and offered his gloved hand. "Ready to go?"

She pulled her scarf up around her lower face, trying not to show her indecision. "If this is as dangerous as you think, we could use more help." She tried to explain. "My partner is good in a fight," she lied.

Pérez sat down on a little bench where he could steer the boat. He laughed. "I assume you mean someone other than Fox Mulder? You'll find him over there already under the rocks. I won't make you come with me, Dana. Just stay out of my way when the shooting starts."

Furious, Scully stepped into the departing boat.