From: "Alasdair Mclean" Subject: Falling into Frame Date sent: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 13:54:48 +0100 Author's Notes:- Written by Alasdair T. McLean using characters created by Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen productions. No copyright infringement or offence is intended. The characters of Will McCormack, Jeanette Montaigne and co. are mine though. If you enjoy this tell me.. For that matter, if you don't enjoy it tell me as well ... But, please, tell me what it was you didn't like, eh? This is set between my stories 'Faith and Loss' and 'Friendship', and between the second season episodes 'Firewalker' and 'Anasazi'. That means that although Dana knows Will can heal himself faster than a normal human she doesn't know *what* he is exactly, and Mulder has no idea that McCormack could be anything other than human. The each uisge is a creature from Celtic folklore and the name is pronounced ekk-wizz-kee, I think. Don't quote me on that though. Warnings:- Mulder and Scully don't really make an appearance until part III, my apologies for that. There is a fair bit of British Police terminology used so I'll give you a quick rundown on some of the words and abbreviations used:- CID: Criminal Investigation Division, officers who fulfil a similar role to American police detectives. The ranks of CID officer that appear in this story DS (detective sergeant), DI (detective inspector), and DCI (detective chief inspector). A 'brief' in the context used later on is another word for an attorney. A soco (or S.O.C.O.) is a Scene of Crime Officer, and has been specially trained in forensics. Summary:- When Mulder and Scully are investigating an X-File at a US Air Force base in England Dana arranges to meet her younger brother, Charles, who is working as a consultant with a Glasgow based software company. Unfortunately when Charles witnesses a murder he is picked up by the local police as a suspect. X - Files. Falling into Frame - Part I. by Alasdair T. McLean Trust no one. 9:24pm. The home of Will McCormack and Jeanette Montaigne. Glasgow, Scotland. "Jeanette?" Will called out as he carelessly threw his coat onto the rack by the door. When there was no response he sighed and pulled off the tattered remains of what had once been a sweater and shirt and was now completely beyond repair. Even if the bloodstains could be removed there was no way that the eight inch long tear down the front could be mended, or the burnt patches. Almost without being aware of it, he padded into the utility room just off the kitchen and tossed the ruined clothes into the bin and tried very hard not to think about what had done such damage to them - or the fact that he had been wearing them at the time. A part of him was grateful that Jeanette wasn't home, because if she had been she would have seen the state he had returned home in, and she would have asked what happened, and he would have told her, and then the next time he was sent on an investigation she would worry even more than she already did. But there was another part that wanted nothing more than to be able to take his love into his arms and try to forget what he had seen. What had happened. He washed mechanically, without looking at himself once. He didn't want to see the scars to remind him of what he did, or those places where the very fact that there were no scars would remind him of what he was. For one brief moment he wanted to pretend that he was normal and had a normal life. He finally made his way into the bedroom and collapsed bonelessly onto the bed and closed his eyes .. And in his mind relived the moment when the each uisge turned on him, enraged by their attempts to restrain it, and had ripped open his chest as an expression of its displeasure. Each uisge were carnivores by nature and this one had developed a taste for human flesh. A fisherman first, then a young woman who had been out walking her dog by the lochside early one morning, a tourist, and finally a young teenage girl who had arranged to meet her boyfriend by the loch one night - he arrived in time to see her riding the beast into the waves. The police hadn't believed him. The Section did. And now, after all that, Will wanted, needed to sleep and forget just a little of what he had seen. "Jeanette," he whispered, and pulled a pillow into his arms, clutching it tightly to him. Breathing in deeply he allowed his sensitive senses to identify her scent on the pillow as he tried to relax. The phone rang, shrill and urgent in his ears. Will pulled the pillow over his head and tried to ignore the ringing. The machine answered after three rings. "You've reached the home of Will McCormack and Jeanette Montaigne. We can't come to the 'phone right now, so if you could leave a message after the beep that'd be great .. *Beeep*.." "Will? It's Dana," one eye peeked out warily from underneath the pillow, "are you there? ... Guess not. Could you contact me as soon as possible, you've got the number in England. It's urgent." Will snatched up the receiver, "I'm here, Dana. What's up?" "I thought you weren't in?" her voice was slightly teasing, but he could still detect the worried notes in her voice, "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Despite himself Will smiled, "No, nothing like that. I was just relaxing." There must have been something in his voice, some indication of what he had been through, because her next question was, "Bad case?" "Yah," he closed his eyes for a moment and saw a small hollow deep in a river bank where there was a pile of bones and rotting flesh, the young girl had still been recognisable - barely, "what tipped you off?" "We've all been there, Will. Are you okay? I can let the Consulate handle it if ..." Will's head snapped up as he remembered a part of the message the tape had caught, 'it's urgent', "Consulate? What's happened? Are you guys in any trouble?" "No, we're fine," Dana sighed, "but ... I could do with a favour." McCormack didn't hesitate, "Name it." "Charles has been arrested." "Charles..? Your brother?" "Yes." There was a pause, "Will, he's been charged with murder. I'm tied up with this damn case down here, and ..." Will rubbed the bridge of his nose with his free hand and swung his legs out of bed. "Where's he being held?" he said. "Are you sure?" "Dana, I'm sure," he thought for a moment, "You realise that I won't be allowed onto the investigation? All I can do is check that he's being treated okay. And even that won't be official." He paused once more, "In fact, legally speaking, he'd be better off waiting for a consular officer." "I know.. But he's my brother, Will, I .." Will nodded, "I understand. I'll check on him for you." "Thanks, Will," he could hear her relief and could almost see her look up at Mulder, who doubtless had to be at her side, "He's being held at Maryhill Police Station. The officer in charge of the investigation is a DI Addams." "Okay, Dana, I'll go straight away." "Will..." "Yes?" "Thank you." "It's not a problem. You know that," he said gently, "I'll call you when I know more." "Thanks." After ten minutes, five of which was spent under an ice cold shower to wake him up, Will was wearing a suit and pulling away from the kerb in his black Citroen XM and thanking God that it had been Maryhill Police that arrested Charles Scully. They knew him there from his time as a reporter with the Herald and, perhaps more importantly, several CID officers owed him favours. Evidently it was time to collect. His S.10 id got him past the front desk and, from memory, he made his way to the custody sergeant's office. He knocked and a feminine voice that triggered a few rather ambivalent memories in Will's mind from his time as a reporter shouted back, "Come." Will took a deep breath and then opened the door, "Quiet out there for a Saturday night," he observed as he closed the door behind him. "Just wait until it's nearer last call with the pubs," the sergeant said grimly without looking up from her computer, "At least I've got time now to update the paperwork." She looked up at him blankly, "What can I do for ...." And then it hit her, "What the bloody hell are you doing in here? How did you get past the front desk?" She reached for her phone, but stopped, her hand resting on the receiver when she noticed the small id wallet that he was holding open between them. "It's nice to see you again too, Sgt. Burns," he grinned, "I'm not with the Herald any more." Lorraine Burns looked at him sceptically for a moment and then said, "May I?" He threw the id wallet to her and watched as she examined it. Finally she threw it back to him and said, "So, Will, what *are* you doing here?" "You're holding an American on a murder charge. A Charles Scully," Will explained, "His sister is an FBI agent I've worked with, and a friend of mine. She asked me to check on him." Inwardly he thought to himself, I don't think it's a good idea to tell them that she's in the country and will be heading up here as soon as she can. "Purely unofficial." Burns shook her head slowly, "I wondered why he didn't insist on calling the Consulate in Edinburgh." "You *have* called them already?" Will was relieved when she nodded, "Can I talk to him?" Now it was Burns' turn to shrug, "If it were up to me .. But you'll have to clear it with the DI." "I don't know him," Will said after a second, "what's he like?" "Not a chance in Hell!" "Inspector Addams ..." Will tried. "Let a reporter talk to a prisoner in custody? You shouldn't even be in here! Never mind asking to talk to a murder suspect." "I'm not a reporter...," Will tried a second time to inject some reason into the conversation. "Aye, but you're still friends with a few, I bet." "That might be true, but I'm also an investigator with the MoD. And this," he held up his id wallet, "gives me equal authority to a DS..." "*If* it's genuine," Addams sneered. If Will hadn't been awake for the past 36 hours, and hadn't been disembowelled by a creature that according to modern science shouldn't exist, to say nothing of the fact that four people had died - one a young girl - before they stopped the creature, he would not have reacted the way he did. "Now listen here, you officious little git," he snarled, "I am a Special Investigator with the Ministry of Defence, and I happen to be very good friends with your DCI. Do you want to make the call or will I?" To Will's pleasure the Inspector lifted up the telephone on the sergeant's desk and dialled. And waited. "Yes, sir. It's DI Addams. ... I know, sir, and I am sorry to bother you at home but .. Well, sir, I've got someone here asking to talk to one of my prisoners. ... Yes, sir, murder. No, he's not their brief. He used to be a reporter. Claims to be a MoD Special Investigator ...," Addams paled, "Yes, his name is William James McCormack. ....... I .. see, sir. I'm sorry .." He gently replaced the receiver and glared at Will. "Give him interview 1. He can talk to Mr. Scully there." Aware he might be pushing his luck, Will asked, "I don't suppose you'd tell me what the circumstances of his arrest were?" Addams, who had turned to leave turned back and grinned, "Certainly. Your American friend was found at the site of a murder. The victim hadn't been dead long, pathologist estimated ten, fifteen minutes at the most. And the knife was in his hand along with a fair bit of the victim's blood. No other fingerprints on the knife apart from his own. Soco haven't found any evidence of any one else at the scene. "He's the murderer all right." To be continued ... Author's Notes:- Written by Alasdair T. McLean using characters created by Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen productions. No copyright infringement or offence is intended. The characters of Will McCormack, Jeanette Montaigne and co. are mine though. If you enjoy this tell me.. For that matter, if you don't enjoy it tell me as well ... But, please, tell me what it was you didn't like, eh? This is set between my stories 'Faith and Loss' and 'Friendship', and between the second season episodes 'Firewalker' and 'Anasazi'. That means that although Dana knows Will can heal himself faster than a normal human she doesn't know *what* he is exactly, and Mulder has no idea that McCormack could be anything other than human. X - Files. Falling into Frame - Part II. by Alasdair T. McLean I want to believe. 10:32pm. Maryhill Police Station. The interview room was small, and sparsely furnished. There was only a rectangular table with four chairs set two on each side. On top of the table, against the wall, was a dual deck tape recorder to allow the police to record the interviews. Two tapes were recorded simultaneously and then sealed immediately afterwards as a precaution against any attempt to alter them. Will sat at the table and sipped the tepid coffee from the vending machine in the hallway. At least he thought it was coffee. It was black, but other than that bore more resemblance to boiled water than anything that had been near a coffee bean in its life. The door opened and Charles Scully was escorted in by a uniformed officer who glanced at Will questioningly. "Thank you, constable," Will said and then gestured for Charles Scully to sit down. "Coffee?" "Uh, thanks," Charles glanced at the door in confusion, "Shouldn't there be another officer here or something?" "No need," Will reached over the table and offered his hand, "Will McCormack. I'm a friend of Dana's. She called me." Charles shook the offered hand and relaxed slightly. "This is a nightmare," he whispered staring at the coffee. Will nodded, "What happened?" "I, ah," he looked up at Will as a sudden thought struck him, "How do I know Dana sent you?" "Good question," he took another sip of the coffee before continuing, "I don't know how much she has told you about her work with the Bureau... but I've worked with her and Mulder quite a few times lately." Charles nodded, "How serious is this? As if I can't guess. I mean, they think I killed someone." Will didn't bother to ask the obvious question, instead he said, "Very serious. You've been cautioned?" Another brief nod. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" "Uh, okay ...," Charles began, "There's not much to tell really. I was walking back to the Hospitality Inn from work at the Turing Institute - I'd been working late - when I heard sounds of a scuffle from an alley. I heard someone cry out. I ran to see what was happening and by the time I got there this guy was lying on the ground with a knife in his chest. I did what I could, but he was already dead." "You were holding the knife when the police arrived?" "Yeah, the first thing I did when I got to the ..the body was pull the knife out, but he was already dead," he looked up at Will again, "I know it was stupid. But I wasn't thinking. I mean I thought he was still alive and I'd be helping him.. I just didn't think." Although he was looking right at Will the vampire knew he wasn't seeing anything other than the dead man's body. "And then the police arrived. I didn't know I was still holding the knife. .. I just didn't think." Will nodded, "I know. It's okay." "I just didn't think." Will's mind was racing, the local police were good at responding to 999 calls, but even so .. Someone must have called them before Charles had found the body. "Charles, did you call the police before running to help?" "No, I, uh, didn't know the number." There was a knock on the door and Lorraine Burns popped her head into the room, "Somebody from the American Consulate is on their way, Will. They ought to be here in under an hour." "Thanks, Lorraine," Will smiled tiredly. The sergeant smiled back, "And DCI Rodgers would like to see you in his office as soon as you're done here." Will nodded again, and Charles waited until the door was closed again before he said, "Dana said you weren't a policeman?" "I used to be a reporter for one of the newspapers based here. As a result I have a few friends in unusual places." He looked towards the ceiling, "Still, the DCI isn't a patient man... I'd better go talk to him. You'll be okay?" "I think so," Charles watched Will as he stood up and walked to the door, "I didn't do it, you know." Will nodded, "I know," he said simply, and then he opened the door and motioned to the constable who had been standing outside, "I'll do what I can, Charles." "Thank you." "Will," Detective Chief Inspector Rodgers glared at the young investigator who was standing across from him, "would you like to tell me exactly why one of my DIs called me while I was at my son's birthday party to ask about you?" McCormack didn't make the response that immediately sprang to mind about DI Addams' abilities as a officer of the law but instead said, "I'm a friend of the suspect's sister. She asked me to check on him." "Blast," the DCI muttered, "and what do you think? Did he do it?" "No." Rodgers glared at him again, but there was no real anger there, "I liked it better when you were a reporter. At least then we could escape from you in here." Will smiled, "Yes, sir." And then he realised something that made him want to kick himself, "Who was the victim?" "Dougie Wilcox, he's a .. McCormack, your interest in this case isn't official, is it?" *Damn* "No, sir." "Then we can't discuss any of the details about it with you. You know the rules as well as I do." "I know." Will nodded, "Thanks for letting me talk to Mr. Scully." The DCI looked at McCormack carefully for a moment before he spoke, "Thank you for not getting *too* involved." "... Yes, sir." The older man reached for the 'phone on his desk as soon as Will left and he only heard what followed because his vampiric senses were far more acute than a human's. "Addams, I want you to be bloody sure that you have the right guy ... It doesn't matter.. I don't want to let a murderer go scot free .. Just make sure you haven't missed anything, *inspector*!" Will smiled and headed down to see Sgt. Burns again. "Lorraine?" he winced when he saw the organised chaos outside her office - several officers were trying to control a group of drunks and one of them vomited on the desk just outside her office where the sergeant was trying to fill out their custody forms. She looked up, her expression harassed, "Yes?" "Could you do me a favour and tell Mr. Scully that I'll look in on him later?" "If I get a moment. ...," she turned to a couple of uniformed officers who were struggling to restrain the drunk and prevent him from vomiting on their sergeant, "Cell three! And get someone to clean this mess up!" Shaking his head to himself Will made his way out of the station and to his car. He reclaimed his weapon and cellular 'phone on the way. As he settled himself into the comfort of the driver's seat he reached into his pocket and removed the cellular and dialled. "Dana, it's Will .. Yes, he's fine. A little scared, but fine. .. Yeah, a consular officer will be in with him soon. ... Uh-huh, that's right, they can't interview him until then. ... I know he didn't do it. .... Okay, I'll meet you at my place tomorrow afternoon. ... It's no problem. Look, I'm going to do a little poking around tonight before I turn in. .... Dana, I've told you it's not a problem. .. I'll see you then. 'Bye." Will glanced at his watch and then winced, before starting the car and pulling out into the traffic and heading towards the Turing Institute. The Institute was a small, independent research company that specialised in computer vision and using Artificial Intelligence to allow computers to better interpret images fed to them from a variety of sources. Although he hadn't any dealings with it a couple of his former classmates at the University of Glasgow had found jobs there and he knew that it had a good reputation for its work. He also knew where their offices were, and where the Hospitality Inn was. So finding the crime scene shouldn't be too hard ... As it turned out it was a small alley about fifty yards from the Institute's office on Dumbarton Road. As he drove past he could see the socos still going over the scene, which was illuminated by portable floodlights that cast stark shadows everywhere. He stopped the car about a block away and got out, taking care to alarm the vehicle before he walked into a deserted side-street. It would draw attention if he were to request access to the crime scene itself. Will smiled and looked around to make certain there was no one watching, and then his body dissolved into fine mist only to reform into a small owl which flew back towards the crime scene. There was the occasional advantage to being dead, he thought to himself as he flew through the night. When he reached the scene he shifted once more, this time into the form of a small black furred cat, and watched the socos work from a fire escape that overlooked the alley. Judging by the looks on their faces they hadn't found anything since they had been called in. One of them turned towards him and Will recognised a familiar face: Jim David, a forensic pathologist who worked with both the local police and Section 10. Will had worked on cases with Jim before. In fact they had met on Will's very first assignment with the Herald, and those killings had turned to be the work of a rogue werewolf. He made a mental note to call Jim in the morning and then returned to his study of the alleyway. Like the forensics team, he found nothing out of the ordinary. And nothing to support the theory that was rapidly forming in his mind. Could someone be framing Charles Scully? And why? To be continued ... Author's Notes:- Written by Alasdair T. McLean using characters created by Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen productions. No copyright infringement or offence is intended. The characters of Will McCormack, Jeanette Montaigne and co. are mine though. If you enjoy this tell me.. For that matter, if you don't enjoy it tell me as well ... But, please, tell me what it was you didn't like, eh? This is set between my stories 'Faith and Loss' and 'Friendship', and between the second season episodes 'Firewalker' and 'Anasazi'. That means that although Dana knows Will can heal himself faster than a normal human she doesn't know *what* he is exactly, and Mulder has no idea that McCormack could be anything other than human. Also the barras is a kind of market that happens every weekend in an area between Charlotte Street and Ross Street. X - Files. Falling into Frame - Part III. by Alasdair T. McLean The truth is out there. 06:40am. The home of Will McCormack and Jeanette Montaigne. The alarm went off in Will's ear, jarring him out of a sound sleep and he reacted accordingly and without thinking. He picked up the alarm clock and threw it as hard as he could at a convenient wall. The clock shattered when it hit the wall. "Oh, bugger," Will sighed and pulled himself up into a sitting position to survey the damage to both the clock and the wall. The clock was irreparable, all the wall needed was the attention of a plasterer and you would never be able to tell that it had been damaged. Sometimes he forgot his own strength. A soft, familiar yawn next to him alerted him that Jeanette was awake, "Morning, love," he whispered, bending down to kiss her gently. "Hm? Morning," she returned his kiss sleepily and murmured, "What time did you get in last night? I didn't hear you." "A little before three," he admitted, his traitorous mind working out roughly how much sleep that meant he had been able to grab. He let himself fall backwards into bed again. "How did the case go?" "We caught the killer." "What was it?" "An each usige. A kelpie." He almost smiled when he heard the rustling sound of her shaking her head slowly against her pillow. "You okay?" "Yeah." "Will, I found your shirt and jumper when I put the garbage out when I got in last night." Despite the worry that was evident in her voice she went on, her voice lightly teasing, "It was your turn, you know." Without opening his eyes Will gently pulled her over into his arms, "I'm sorry. I forgot." "Are you okay?" Will opened his eyes and looked up into her emerald ones as he held her, "Now, yes." "Good," she smiled and brushed some of his hair away from his eyes before gently kissing him on the lips. "Don't you have to be at work?" Jeanette asked, curious as Will strolled into the Herald's offices at her side. "No, Rhuriadh and I were given the day off." The Canadian woman shook her head, "And you spend it following up leads? You think he's innocent, don't you?" "Yeah," Will nodded, "And because this is unofficial I can't use the Section's resources, or the police either." He looked at her hopefully, "I don't suppose...?" Jeanette thought for a moment, "Go talk to Jess. We just wrapped up the council rates story, so she's not got anything pressing on her plate. " She paused and then moved a step closer to him, whispering, "Will, I hate to have to say this. But she's one of my reporters, and if she finds a story here .." Will nodded, and grinned, "She used to be my partner, remember? I know what she's like. Thanks, Jeanette." Jessica Parker was a tall, stylishly dressed brunette with blue eyes, shoulder length slightly curled hair and black, metal- rimmed glasses. She looked up from her writing when she noticed that there was someone sitting perched on the corner of her desk. "What do you know about Dougie Wilcox?" Will asked. Jess thought for a moment, "He's a second rate fence. He has a stall at the barras sometimes. Deals with pirated computer software and stolen hardware mostly. Last I heard he was trying to expand into larger things." "He was killed last night just around the corner from the Turing Institute," Will said, "The police have someone. A relative of a friend of mine. And ..." "And you don't think he did it?" Jess looked at him, a slow smile spreading across her features, "Why do I get the feeling that you aren't here to take me away from all this and buy me lunch?" "Lucky guess." Will grinned, "although I might just buy you lunch at that." "Dino's?" "Deal." Will started, "That reminds me. Can I use your 'phone?" "Sure," Jess shrugged, and watched as he picked up the receiver and dialled a number from memory. "Hello, can I speak to Doctor David please? .. Thank you." "I mention Dino's and he's reminded of a pathologist," Jess shook her head, "This is not a good sign." As things turned out Jim David couldn't tell them anything that they didn't already know. Dougie Wilcox died of a stab wound to the heart, and he had only been dead a matter of minutes before the police arrived. And there were no signs to point to any one else being on the scene. Will settled into the passenger seat of Jess's car, a beaten up Ford Fiesta that, against all common sense had a state of the art CD player. A small part of his mind dimly wondered if her driving abilities had improved in the years since he had last worked with her. The smell of burning rubber and the sound the tires made as they tore out of the parking lot used by the staff at the Herald answered that question just as effectively as the frantic blaring of various car horns behind them when she entered the traffic by cutting directly in front of a black cab. "Music?" she grinned and slipped a CD into the player. Will closed his eyes in appreciation at the sounds that were coming through clear over the speakers. "Bix?" "Who else?" The sound of Bix Beiderbecke's horn floated through the car and was almost enough to make Will forget that he was in a car with his old partner. And that she was driving. "So, what have you been doing with yourself?" he asked, trying to concentrate on the music. "Oh, you know, the usual," she paused for a moment, "Although I think I might have something on one of the MPs. I think he's involved with one of the DPG officers assigned to him." "That doesn't sound like your style of story," Will observed. "It's not," she said, dropping her foot on the accelerator and speeding through a set of lights just as they changed to red, "But there seem to be a few irregularities about his income. And a while back someone tried to kill him and his family in the States." "Malcom Marsden, I remember," Will nodded. "I think he might be connected to InterChem." Again Will nodded in agreement, remembering his own thoughts in that regard, "It's certainly probable." The offices of the Turing Institute were quite small and unimpressive from the outside and even less so from the inside. The individual work spaces were enclosed in small cubicles and there were several machines hooked up to cameras and other sensors that appeared to be running interpretative programs to determine what exactly they were looking at. One of the cameras was pointed at a small plastic model of a TIE-Fighter. They were talking to Malcom Smith, the team leader in charge of the project that Charles Scully had been working on. As things turned out he was less than helpful. "I'm sorry," he said, his tone apologetic, "but the details of that project are confidential. I'm really not at liberty to tell you anything." "How did you feel about an outside consultant being brought in?" Jess asked, "Surely that reflected badly on your abilities?" Mr. Smith smiled, "It was me who suggested that we hire Mr. Scully." He shrugged, "There was no-one here with the necessary experience in .." Jess leaned forward, "Yes?" "I'm sorry, but I really shouldn't even be talking to the Press." Smith stood, indicating that their brief interview was at an end." As he stood Will asked, "Does it bother you that Charles Scully has been arrested for murder?" "It bothers me that it appears he may have been involved in industrial espionage." "Really?" "I discovered yesterday from the police that he had met with someone and had been negotiating with a rival company to hand over some of our research." "Charles worked late last night," Jess thought aloud, "if you suspected him of industrial espionage you didn't leave him alone in the office...?" "Good-bye, Ms. Parker, Mr. McCormack." "Curiouser and curioser," Jess murmured as they walked back to her car, "Industrial espionage and murder. You still think he's innocent?" "You don't?" Jess paused for a second, "No, you're right. I think he's innocent too. This is too tidy. You want to check out his hotel room?" Will shook his head, "That would be illegal. Besides the police will have already been over there. We won't find anything." He looked at his watch, "They'll be here in a couple of hours. And we really need to find out what he was working on." "You could ask him," Jess suggested. "And you could go talk to your friend at the university.." Jess grinned, and tossed him the keys to her car, "I'll lay odds that you don't get past the front desk this time." "I'm sorry, Mr. McCormack, but my client does not need your help." Will regarded the solicitor that the consulate had sent to represent Charles Scully, "All I want to do is look in on him and make sure he's okay. His sister's a good friend of mine. She asked me to." "I'm sorry, but anything you do will probably make things worse for my client than they already are." "But, I ..." "I've talked to the DI and he seems to be of the opinion that you will try to interfere in the investigation out of a misguided desire to help my client. I would advise against it. You'll probably just make matters worse for both of you." Will had dealt with lawyers long enough to recognise the threat, and as he looked at the older man he realised something else, he thinks Charles did it. He's not going to exert himself on this. Jess Parker was having slightly more luck than her partner, however. She was in a cramped office surrounded on all sides by computer equipment, most of it in various states of repair. She was leaning over a slightly built man who was intent on a monitor in front of him. His fingers danced over the keys and, after a few moments, he leaned back. "There you have it, Jess." "Damn," she shook her head slowly, "Will isn't going to like this." "Should I ask?" Martin Sinclair looked up at her from his seat, "I mean this looks serious." He glanced at the sheets of paper that were flowing from the laser printer that stood on a trolley by the door, "Very serious." "It is." "Thanks, Martin," Jess said quietly as she picked up the printout and leafed through it, "You won't get in trouble for this, will you? You could get fired." The technician shook his head, "Nah, my boss doesn't know the first thing about computers and even if he did the only way he'd find out is if he had root permissions on the network. And that's controlled by the support services officer." Jess shook her head, "And that's you, right?" "Yep," he grinned and leaned back in his chair, "Now, about dinner on Saturday..?" Laughing lightly she picked up her bag and walked to the door, "You're incorrigible, you know." "Yep." He paused, "So, dinner?" Jess stopped, her hand on the door, "Italian?" "I know a lovely place in the West End." "Done and done." 11:21am. Central Station. "Mulder, for once I think I agree with you," Dana Scully remarked as they stepped down onto the platform, "We may have found evidence of a life form so radically different from our own that it can only be classified as alien." "I don't know, Scully," Mulder said as he lugged their bags along until they could grab a trolley, "I'm not sure that the British Rail sandwiches were that bad." He noticed that her smile had quickly faded and turned into a worried frown. "He'll be fine. Will would have called if there was any news." "Yes, you're right, Mulder," she sighed, "but I can't help worrying. He's my brother." Mulder nodded, "I understand." Scully turned and looked up at him and smiled briefly, "Thanks." To be continued ... Author's Notes:- Written by Alasdair T. McLean using characters created by Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen productions. No copyright infringement or offence is intended. The characters of Will McCormack, Jeanette Montaigne and co. are mine though. If you enjoy this tell me.. For that matter, if you don't enjoy it tell me as well ... But, please, tell me what it was you didn't like, eh? This is set between my stories 'Faith and Loss' and 'Friendship', and between the second season episodes 'Firewalker' and 'Anasazi'. That means that although Dana knows Will can heal himself faster than a normal human she doesn't know *what* he is exactly, and Mulder has no idea that McCormack could be anything other than human. X - Files. Falling into Frame - Part IV. by Alasdair T. McLean The truth is out there, but so are lies. 11:55am. The home of Will McCormack and Jeanette Montaigne. "Are you certain about this?" "It doesn't look good does it?" "No," Will shook his head slowly, as he flipped through the printouts that Jess had handed to him, "If the police have found this no wonder they think he's guilty. Mind you, with his finger prints on the knife they wouldn't have a problem obtaining permission to hold Charles for another twenty-four hours." "Do you still think he's innocent?" Jess looked seriously at her former partner, her eyes locked on his. "Yes," Will ignored a small part of his mind that was saying that the evidence against Charles Scully was overwhelming and therefore proved his guilt and instead listened to his instincts which were saying that Dana's brother was being set up. "He's being framed. The question is by who." Jess nodded, "What we need to do is find the why and the who should follow." Will looked up a second before the doorbell rang, "That'll be them." "Who?" "Mulder and Scully." "The Feds?" Jess stood and followed him to the door, interested to meet the American agents. 2:01pm. Maryhill Police Station. "I'm Dana Scully. I believe that you are holding my brother, Charles Scully. Would it be possible for me to speak with him?" Dana's voice was calm and polite and only Mulder and Will would have guessed how angry she was. On the drive over from Will's house she had passed through angry and was now in the icy calm that was somehow that much more frightening than mere anger. The constable who was manning the front desk blinked once, clearly unsure of what he should do. In fairness it should be noted that this was his first week on the job and he didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of a Scully glare. "If you'll wait here just a moment?" he said after a second spent in shock he disappeared behind a wall of files and they heard a slightly panicked "Sergeant!" A few seconds later a door off to one side opened and a uniformed officer stepped out. He was middle-aged and there were sergeant's stripes on his epaulettes. He took in the situation in an instant and said in a quiet voice, "If Agent Scully and Mr. McCormack would like to follow me?" He paused and turned to Jess, nodding slightly in her direction, "Ms. Parker, I'm afraid that you and .." His voice faltered. "Agent Mulder," Mulder introduced himself, "Agent Scully's partner." "I'm afraid that you both will have to wait here," the sergeant continued and then opened the door to the station after briefly punching in a key code on the door lock. He held the door open for Will and Dana and then followed them into the station leaving Jess and Mulder alone in the waiting area. "So," Jess began after a moments awkward silence, "Will tells me that you two investigate the paranormal?" Mulder sighed inwardly and prepared himself for another person to start to ridicule his work. "That's right," he said, and braced himself to the sarcastic comments or stupid jokes. "Ever seen a werewolf?" "Yes," he responded automatically and then corrected himself, "well, strictly speaking it wasn't a werewolf, but a manitou .." his voice trailed off when he realised that she wasn't laughing at him, or making fun of him. In fact she was turned towards him, her blue eyes, only slightly concealed by the glasses she wore, showing nothing other than genuine interest. "You .. You believe too?" his voice was a whisper. Jess nodded, "The first story Will and I ever covered together. He was assigned as my photographer... God," she shook her head, "You wouldn't believe what we saw." Mulder leaned forward in his seat, his interest piqued, "Try me," he said. It had taken an argument, and the production of her FBI id, but Dana had finally persuaded the solicitor that the consulate had sent that she was Dana Scully, the elder sister of Charles Scully. It had taken another ten minutes of arguing and the reluctant intervention of DCI Rodgers to confirm that Will could be trusted and that they both should be allowed to talk to the suspect. Dana did not like hearing her little brother being identified as 'the suspect'. For the second time in twenty-four hours Will sat down in interview 1 and waited for Charles to be brought up from the cells. Dana said nothing, but sat stiffly in her chair and stared at the opposite wall. "I don't believe it," she whispered. "Neither do I," Will murmured in agreement. "Do you think They did this to try to distract Mulder and I from the x-files?" Will paused and thought for a moment, "I don't think so. Families are generally supposed to be left alone." He closed his eyes as he remembered a few of the Section's more recent dealings with their rival organisation, M.I. 7. While the Section existed to stand between the 'normal' and 'paranormal' protecting both, M.I. 7 existed to serve the National Interest and a lot of people in the Section believed that 7 had it's own agenda over and above that. "Although that may be changing." Another pause and then he said finally, "No, I don't think your enemies have anything to do with this." "Charlie?" Dana whispered to herself, "What have you got yourself into?" The door opened and Charles Scully walked in hesitantly, escorted by a constable who disappeared a moment later. He stood by the table looking at his sister as if he couldn't believe that she was there. "Sis?" "Charlie." Dana's voice was a mixture of so many emotions that it was impossible to tell whether she was annoyed, relieved, worried, or about to tear his head off. Automatically she stood and went to him, giving him an affectionate hug, "You okay, baby brother?" Charles bristled instinctively and Will couldn't help but chuckle. Charles was at least a foot taller than Dana. "Yah, I think so." There was a knock on the door and a constable came in with a pot of coffee and three mugs. Will sniffed the air and was surprised to notice that this time the coffee was genuine and not the usual vending machine slop. Charles sat down and Will looked at Dana, who nodded. "Charles," he said, "Do you have any enemies who might want you in jail? Or out of the way?" Charles shook his head, still slightly bewildered, "No, not that I can think of." "Did you know that the victim, Dougie Wilcox was a fence who sold pirated software and stolen computer equipment?" "Yes, but only after the inspector mentioned it during one of the interviews." "Are they still treating you okay?" Scully leaned forward to rest her hand on her brother's shoulder. "Yeah," he looked at her, "Dana, I've let you all down." She shook her head, "No. You haven't." "Mr. Connelly doesn't think I have a case." "The solicitor from the consulate?" "Yeah." "So we'll get you a new one," Dana looked at Will who nodded and scribbled a note on a small pad he was holding. "Charlie, what is it you were working on exactly?" "So then I said, 'before anybody passes judgement I'd like to remind you all we are in the Arctic'!" Despite herself Jess shuddered and found herself rubbing absently at her neck, "And they nearly infected you with one of those . parasites?" He nodded. "And you think that they came from outer space?" Mulder nodded again. "I'll bet Scully loved that," Jess smirked. "Well, that wasn't as bad as when I introduced her to the boys ..." Mulder's voice trailed off. "The boys?" Jess asked, looking at him strangely. "Let's go!" Mulder stood up abruptly, "we need to pay a visit to that computer expert of yours." Jess stood and went over to the desk to ask the officer on duty there to tell Scully and Will where they were going. Then she went to the payphone that was secured to one wall of the waiting room. After feeding it some money, dialling and then waiting for an answer she said, "I'd like a taxi to take me to the University, please... ... Maryhill Police Station .... My name's Parker." Will and Scully stared at Charles; unable to believe their ears. Eventually it was Dana who spoke, "I don't believe it." "It's true," Charles nodded. "I can see someone wanting to steal something like that," Will said, his mind racing. "But who would want it enough to kill?" Scully asked. "Hm?" Martin Sinclair climbed out from underneath a row of desks where he'd been laying out cabling for a new computer lab at the university's Divinity Faculty, "Jess? Twice in one day? You'll make my boss suspicious that I have a life outside of Computing Services." "That's allowed?" Mulder asked from where he stood just behind Jess. "Nope, but I'm rebelling," he grinned at Mulder, and then, after a moment, offered his hand, "I'm Martin Sinclair." "Mulder." They shook hands and then Martin shrugged and then turned to Jess, "What's up?" Jess indicated Mulder who stepped forward and said, "Have you ever heard of the Lone Gunman?" "Nope." "Well, I have a few questions for them and you both," Mulder said, "about that stuff that you dug up for Jess earlier." Martin nodded, "To my office then." "That is a very good question," Will mused, "I mean software for analysing the behaviour of people in a shop could prove useful, but it's not worth killing over, is it?" "Unless we're on the wrong track here," Scully whispered as she leaned back in her seat, "what are we missing?" "A suspect and a motive," Will said automatically, "we know the method and the victim." "You're sure about this Martin?" Mulder asked as the technician's fingers flew over his keyboard. "Yes," Sinclair shook his head, "Whoever put Ogilvie in charge of Computing Services has my thanks. The idiot doesn't know the first thing about computers." A small window on the screen opened up and was blank for a moment apart from the words 'Attempting Connection' that flashed on the screen only to be replaced with 'Connection Established' a second later. The window flared and revealed a slightly grainy image of three people that appeared to be huddled around something. "Mulder!" The one in the middle grinned and leaned towards the camera, "Is the beauteous Agent Scully with you?" "I'm afraid not just now, Frohike." Mulder paused, "I need you guys to do me a favour though...?" "Aren't you working on something for the military?" Byers did not sound very keen on the idea of doing anything that might help the US military. "No, that case was a dead end," he explained, "We're in Glasgow now. Scully's brother is in a lot of trouble and I need you guys to do a little digging for me." Mulder ignored the small cough that came from Martin's direction. "So what are we looking for?" It was Frohike who spoke, and Mulder was in no doubt that they would help. To be continued .... Author's Notes:- Written by Alasdair T. McLean using characters created by Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen productions. No copyright infringement or offence is intended. The characters of Will McCormack, Jeanette Montaigne and co. are mine though. If you enjoy this tell me.. For that matter, if you don't enjoy it tell me as well ... But, please, tell me what it was you didn't like, eh? This is set between my stories 'Faith and Loss' and 'Friendship', and therefore between the second season episodes 'Firewalker' and 'Anasazi'. That means that although Dana knows Will can heal himself faster than a normal human she doesn't know *what* he is exactly, and Mulder has no idea that McCormack could be anything other than human. X - Files. Falling into Frame - Part V. by Alasdair T. McLean For truth is truth to the end of reckoning. 4:34pm. Martin Sinclair's office. The University of Glasgow. "You were right, Mulder," Byers said calmly in his usual precise tones, "the amount in Charles Scully's account *was* altered by someone who got past the bank's firewall." "So the money was planted." "Exactly," Byers looked mildly annoyed at what he was about to say, "We tried to trace where they operated from, but alas ..." He shook his head, "Whoever did this left behind a little program that detected our intrusion and, despite our countermeasures, alerted the bank's computers to our presence." "Only two organisations we know of outside of official government have that kind of technical expertise working for them," Frohike said slowly. "Microsoft?" Mulder suggested jokingly. Frohike sniggered, "Not likely. The Storm Project and the Consortium." "You're thinking it's an attempt to get at Scully and I through her family?" "It's a possibility." "Thanks, guys," Mulder said and then motioned to Martin to cut the link, he noticed that the support tech was shaking his head slowly. "What?" he asked. "I could name a couple of people inside the DCS here who have that kind of skill," Martin grinned, "And I'm not one of them. A couple of the lecturers, and one of the students." Mulder and Jess spoke at the same moment, "What about Malcom Smith?" Sinclair thought for a moment before he answered, "Yes, he probably could write something like that. But I don't think he'd use it. For him it would be the intellectual challenge of writing the program. I don't think he'd use it for something like this. And I don't believe he's capable of cold blooded murder." "Could he be working with or for someone?" Mulder said, and then turned to face Jess, "I think it's time you and I had a little chat with Mr. Smith." "Oh, I agree entirely," Jess grinned and then turned to Martin, "Thanks, that's another one I owe you." And then to his immense pleasure and surprise she kissed him swiftly on the lips. "No problem," the tech officer grinned after them, "Anytime I can help." The Turing Institute. They arrived at the Institute a few seconds before the familiar shape of Will's black XM pulled up to the kerb. It was Mulder who spoke first, "Malcom Smith?" Will and Dana nodded their agreement, "But he's not in this alone." Suddenly Will's head snapped up, "Oh *bugger*! This is not a good sign." And he threw open the doors to the Institute and raced inside. When they caught up with him they found him standing next to a security guard who was being violently sick into a waste paper basket. Wordlessly he pointed them towards a small office that bore the words 'Malcom Smith' on the door. Inside, sitting slumped in his chair was the body of Malcom Smith. He was not breathing. Out of reflex Scully moved towards the body, but stopped just short of it as she remembered that she was more than a little out of her jurisdiction in Scotland. Leaning forwards slightly she said, "I can't be certain, but it looks like he was strangled. The bruising on his neck would support that." Mulder nodded, "It looks like we were right about him being involved. But we have no idea who he was working with," he looked at Will, "How did you...?" Will shrugged, "A hunch." "Will, have a look at this," Jess was kneeling in front of the desk, caught on one of the handles on the desk drawers was a small piece of dark coloured cloth, "I think it could be from the killer." As they all looked at the small fragment of cloth Scully narrowed her eyes and whispered, "I've seen that material somewhere today..?." Will sniffed quietly, and shook his head, "You're right." They looked at each other for a moment before saying together, "Addams!" "I've called the police," the security guard said from outside the office. "Good idea," Will turned to the young man and said in a businesslike voice, "Make sure no one enters this room after we've gone." "Uh, right." "So now we turn this over to the police?" Scully asked, it was impossible to tell whether she approved of that particular course of action or not. Will shook his head, "No," he smiled, "Dana, how long would you say Smith's been dead?" "Not very long. An hour at the most." "So Addams might still be in the area," Mulder finished, a grin forming on his face as he turned to Jess. "One of us has to stay to tell the police," he said, smiling. "Oh no!" Jess shook her head, "No way. I'm a reporter. They *hate* me!" 8:47pm. After two hours of trolling the area it was beginning to look that Addams had fled the city. Will hadn't heard from Jess, and despite the fact that he knew DCI Rodgers was a reasonable man and would probably trust his and Jess's instincts they had been sailing very close to interfering in a criminal investigation and he was starting to get worried about his former partner. Preoccupied as he was with his thoughts he almost missed the swift movement as someone tried to duck into the shadows of a doorway. The second he spotted Addams Will drew his sidearm shouting, "Stop! Armed police!" The inspector merely cursed under his breath and then bolted down a side-street. "Damn," Will holstered his weapon and started running at the same instant as Mulder and Scully. Out of reflex his first thought was to shift into the form of an eagle and then find the DI from the air before landing ahead of the running man and ambushing him. Abruptly he remembered his friends and that he couldn't risk letting them find out what he was. Dana already knew more than she should.... "I think I know where he's headed," he said, "I'll cut him off!" With that Will turned and ran down a dark, narrow alleyway. He turned another corner that put him in what appeared to be a loading dock for a superstore and then shifted forms into a small falcon. The extra speed would be important. "What do we do if we get to Addams before Will does?" Scully asked as she leapt over some rubbish bins that the policeman had tipped over in an attempt to discourage pursuit, "We have no jurisdiction here?" "Perform a citizen's arrest?" suggested Mulder, skidding to a halt as they looked around in puzzlement when they realised that they had reached a point where the alley split in two. "Which way?" "Left," Scully didn't slow down for a moment, and simply continued on past her partner as she spotted Addams disappearing into another alleyway... When they sprinted into it they found Will already there handcuffing the man. "Richard Addams, I am arresting you for the murders of Douglas Wilcox and Malcom Smith and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. You do not have to say anything, but anything you do say may be taken down and given in evidence against you. I must inform you that it may harm your defence if you do not mention something now you later come to rely on in court." "You aren't a real policeman," Addams snarled as he struggled against the 'cuffs, "you can't arrest me." "Actually, I can," Will, one hand holding onto the handcuffs to prevent Addams bolting again, withdrew a cellular phone from his jacket's inside pocket and hit the speed dial before placing the phone to his ear, "Hello, this is SI McCormack I have a suspect in custody and need transport to the station. ... Thank you. My location is .." Mulder looked around the alley, there was something niggling at his mind and he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was, but he knew that there was something wrong with the situation. And then he realised what it was . The alley where they were standing was a dead end. There was no way that Will could have got there before they did. He found himself looking towards the sky and shook his head slowly. *Impossible,* he thought to himself. 10:15am. The office of DCI Rodgers. "It appears that DI Addams was behind a large scale software piracy scam. He had been using the barras as a outlet and a way of distributing CD-ROMS and disks to others. I'd guess that Wilcox got greedy and so Addams killed him. It was only luck that he was able to frame your brother, Agent Scully," the DCI nodded in her direction, "Mr. Smith had been using the resources of the Institute to crack copy protection and licences on the software. We don't know yet why he was helping Addams, but that shouldn't be long in coming out." Rodgers turned to face Will and when he spoke there was no emotion whatsoever in his face or voice, "SI McCormack, I'd like to thank you for your assistance in this matter. Funny thing, but it seems that my request for your aid appears to have got lost." He paused, "I expect it will turn up somewhere soon though." "I expect so, sir," Will nodded, and tried not to smile. "That's all." "Yes, sir." As soon as the door closed behind them Mulder and Scully breathed out in perfect unison in relief and avoiding what could have turned into a prolonged shouting match, with the DCI doing all of the shouting. "You know, he looks a little like Skinner," Mulder said quietly. "But he doesn't sound anything like Skinner," Scully finished. Will grinned, "It's amazing how friendly people can be once you've saved their daughter from an insane Bane Sidhe." Mulder and Scully stopped dead in their tracks and stared after him as he walked on for a couple of steps before noticing that they were no longer at his side. He turned and looked back at them. "What?" The end. Okay, this story came about because I wanted Mulder, Scully and Will to investigate a case that had absolutely nothing to do with the paranormal. This isn't as easy as it sounds, especially when one of your main characters is a vampire. Anyway, I originally meant for Mulder and Scully to come in sooner, but the story kind of took on a life of its own. My apologies for that. I hope that, despite M&S not appearing until the end of part III, you enjoyed it. Alasdair -- Alasdair T. McLean "You know, you hear a lot of bad things about the undead, but you never hear about the marvelous work they do in the community." :- Terry Pratchett