Armistice (6a/11) by Caroline O'Callaghan caroline.o@virgin.net Do NOT post to ATXC - already been there Rating: NC-17 Category: MSR/adventure/mythology Summary: Mulder discovers clues to the circumstances behind his sister's disappearance, whilst Scully battles fatal illness. Disclaimer: Oh, do I have to? Okay - nobody belongs to me - nuff said! Spoilers: Up to Small Potatoes (in this universe Gethesmane has not yet happened). Particular reference to Nesei and 731. IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a continuation of an earlier story 'The Lure of the Fox' in which Mulder and Scully became lovers. ************ St Joseph's Hospital East Tisbury Martha's Vineyard July 2nd, 1997 12.54 p.m. Mulder stood rooted to the ground. Struck dumb. Charles Scully asked the questions he should have been asking. "Did she leave of her own will? Was there any signs of a struggle? Surely somebody must have seen something?" The Doctor shrugged and Mrs Scully sat down on a plastic chair in the corridor, with a 'whatever next?' expression on her face. Charles strode purposefully towards Scully's room and Mulder managed to get his brain to make his feet work as he followed him. He swallowed hard at the sight of the empty bed that greeted him. His mind screamed at him. 'God not again. No, not again'. At least this time there was no answerphone message to haunt him. No nail scratches on a glass table. Even so, it was frighteningly familiar. Charles turned to him. "Okay Fox. Before we go into full alert here, I'm going to check the hospital grounds and get security to check each floor. Knowing Dana, its possible she just decided she wanted to be on her own for a while and went for a walk." Mulder nodded but he was sure that they wouldn't find Scully wandering aimlessly about. She was gone. They had come for her, again. Charles dashed from the room, nearly knocking over Maggie on his way out. Scully's mother came to him and put a hand on his arm. "They took her again, didn't they Fox?" "Yes." "I knew it. I had the dream again last night. Just like the first time." Train car Martha's Vinyard July 2nd. 1997 1.25 p.m. Scully came out of a forced sleep to the sound of voices. "How much did you give her?" "Not much. 5 Mils. She should wake up anytime soon. I didn't want to give too much. I don't know anything about medicine." "Its okay. You did good." Scully thought she recognised one of the voices, but she couldn't place it in her drugged state. She didn't know what she'd been given. Something that would knock her out temporarily, no doubt. She couldn't get her eyes to open. "What do you want her for? Why was I ordered to bring her here?" "You ask too many questions." "I have a right to ask questions. I've risked everything. My job...." "...You are nothing. You are a worker. A drone. You have no right to ask questions of us. You sold yourself willingly to us, and now must do as you are told without hesitation." "Is she going to be cured?" "What makes you think we can cure her? Or that we want to." "Then why put her through this? Why not leave her to die in peace, with her family?" "You are so sentimental. She is interesting to us at this time. We can compare her, study her, and see if we have made a good job." To Scully, the words were jumbled and confusing. They made no sense. Strangely, she felt no panic; which might have been because of the chemicals floating around her system, or it might have been that the whole scenario was familiar. She could tell by the noise and motion that she was on a train car again, and once again tests were being performed. She felt something gripping her right arm and knew her blood pressure was being taken. She concentrated extra hard on willing her eyes open and her effort paid off as she stared up at the bright light above her head, and then gasped in pain as it scorched her sleepy eyes. "She's awake." She turned her head towards the voice and gasped again. It was Skinner. Suddenly she remembered him coming to see her in the hospital. She had been wary of him, remembering that she had seen him with other members of the consortium the night before, but she had allowed him to approach her bed, and then she had blacked out. He'd injected her with something. She heard a muffled female scream to her right and turned her head in its direction. On an examination table across from her lay Samantha. She felt a needle press into the skin on her upper right arm and before she passed out once again, she called out "Mulder"; even though she knew he wouldn't hear her cry for help. St Joseph's Hospital East Tisbury Martha's Vineyard July 2nd, 1997 1.48. p.m. Sitting on the hospital bed, Mulder lifted the pillow to his face and inhaled. Her scent was there; fresh, clean, flowery, mingled with the antiseptic hospital smell he so despised. A full search of the hospital had been conducted. Not a sight of her. Gone without a trace. Police and FBI had been called in, but he expected them to discover little, or do much to help find her. Charles had taken his Mother to a nearby hotel because the poor woman was near to collapse. Mulder was left alone with his guilt, remorse and not a clue as to how to begin to look for his partner and lover. He threw the pillow down and began to sort through her belongings in the night-stand beside the bed; all the while trying not to remember how she had taken him into the comfort of her arms the night before, and how her body had yielded to him; closed around him; causing feelings so sweet they had been almost painful. The drawer was full of essentials that her mother had brought down for her. Toothbrush, hairbrush, shampoo. He wanted to examine each article in turn. To smell them, touch them, as she had touched them, but he knew it would be torturing himself. His riffling eventually happened upon several scraps of paper, filled with notes in Scully's elegant, distinctive handwriting. He sat down to read them carefully, wondering if he held another journal, which would contain similar thoughts to the one he had discovered at her bedside in the hospital in Allentown. He almost hoped it was. Scully gave so little of herself away in person that any clue to what was really going on behind her composed facade and professional manner was welcome. Although another part of him wasn't sure he could bear to read her innermost thoughts. Especially when she had recently discovered his liaison with Marita, and had been angry with him for leaving her in hospital while he went to meet his informant. He doubted that Scully would be as generous about him in these words as she had been in her previous writings. He smoothed the pages out, bracing himself for what he was about to read, and digested her scribblings. After he had taken them into his mind, he sat in serious contemplation for several minutes before quickly getting to his feet and walking quickly from the room and out into the corridor. Police and suited FBI agents looked at him striding towards the elevator, but the determination in his step prevented any of them from stopping him to ask him where he was going. He was unlocking his car door in the parking lot when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He whirled around, ready to defend himself against attack and sighed when he saw Charles Scully. "Going somewhere Fox?" "Its Mulder." "Whatever. What's going on?" "I have an idea where Scully may be. I'm going to look for her." "Where?" "Virginia." "Whereabouts in Virginia?" Mulder shrugged. He didn't know. Charles Scully walked around the car to the passenger side. "I'm coming with you." "No. Its best I go alone. You don't know what you could be getting involved with. Its dangerous." "I'm a Navy Seal. There's not much I don't about dangerous situations. I've lived half my adult life in war zones." Mulder was a little surprised. He'd heard that Scully's older brother was in the Navy, but he hadn't known that the younger one was as well. "I work better alone." Charles gave him a wry grin. "Yeah? Is that why you depend so much on Dana? I think you need some back-up. She's my sister and I'm going with you." "What about your Mother?" "I'll call her from the road. Let's go." Mulder sighed knowing he was beaten for the moment. He got in the car and unlocked the passenger door for Charles, reminding himself that he could always 'forget' his travelling companion at a rest stop along the way if he needed to. As they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway, Charles threw Mulder a look. "So why Virginia, what's there?" Mulder shook his head. "I don't know. Yet." He took the notes Scully had made from his pocket and gave them to her brother. "What's this?" "Scully must have been doing some thinking this morning. During our investigations into her abduction two years ago, and my sister's abduction many years ago, we've discovered all sorts of information. I've always concentrated on what we discovered, but this morning Scully was thinking about where we discovered it." He looked over at Charles to make sure he was following and then continued. "Your sister discovered a computer chip in her skin. She traced the chip back to a facility in Perky, West Virginia." Mulder was somewhat surprised that Charles didn't look dumbfounded that his sister had had a tiny piece of micro technology surgically imbedded in her. "Mulder. Dana told me a lot about your work. I found a lot of it fantastic, but I know my sister well enough to know that she doesn't exaggerate or confabulate." "I didn't think you were that close." "Not in miles. I was often away. But we wrote long letters to each other." Charles chuckled softly. "I think it was therapy for both us. To tell each other about the stresses of our work." Mulder nodded. "Anyway. Other things happened in Virginia. In Quinnimont, I saw what I suspected to be an alien life form being loaded onto a train car. We found deserted mines with secret tunnels housing thousands, maybe millions of files. And when your sister was abducted, she was taken from Skyland Mountain, which is in Warrenton, West Virginia." "So what do you plan to do, revisit these places and see if she's being held at any of them?" "Whenever we returned to the scenes, all evidence had disappeared, but the state itself seems to house a lot of our enemies activities. Maybe its their headquarters. Its my only lead at the moment." Charles stretched in his seat, preparing himself for the long journey ahead. He looked at Dana's notes again. "What's this address at the bottom of the list?" Mulder looked around at him briefly before turning back to the road. "I don't know. Its the only location I don't recognise. That's our first port of call." Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 2nd, 1997 8.45 p.m. When she woke this time, she didn't feel so calm or light-headed. She was cold, and the searing pain in her head was enough to bring tears to her eyes. The painkillers she'd been given at the hospital had clearly worn off. She felt something wet on her upper lip and brought her hand up to wipe away the blood. She stared at it on her fingers for a while before pulling the thin, scratchy blanket she'd been left more tightly around her. She sat up slowly to take in her surroundings. She was in a holding cell, but not like the one in the Vineyard. This was dark and it smelled badly of urine. The furniture consisted only of the cot she sat on. There was a tiny sink against the wall. She got shakily to her feet and walked over to the bars on the front of the cell that encased her. Around two hundred yards away, behind another metal gate, stood a guard with his back to her. She considered calling out to him and asking for food and water. She was both hungry and thirsty, but she decided against it. She wanted nothing from these men. Another row of bars lay between her cell and the one next door. It was empty and she thought of Samantha. What had happened to Mulder's beloved sister? Was she still alive? Was that cell for her? Oh God Mulder. She could only imagine the state he was in. She was already exhausted just from her five yard walk, and every bone in her body ached. She remembered that she was dying. She shuffled back to her cot and lay down again. Closing her eyes, she brought forth an image of Mulder to comfort her back to sleep. In her mind he was on top of her, inside her. Pulling in and out steadily, his eyes dark with desire, and sweat on his bow. She could imagine his weight above her. His thickness imbedded in her. Life was cruel. For her and Mulder to have found each other, to have joined together intimately and found such pleasure in one another's arms, only to be pulled apart again, that was too cruel. 1100 Parthea Street Mountain Falls Virginia July 2nd, 1997 9.18 p.m. Mulder looked at Scully's handwriting, at the house across the street, and then at Charles. "I thought it would be a lab, a warehouse, or something." Charles shrugged and got out of the car. Mulder got out too and they both headed towards the modest suburban house. "It must mean something Fox, Dana wouldn't have written it down for nothing." "Its Mulder. Not Fox." "Fine. Whatever." "Let me do the talking." "I wouldn't dream of interfering. This is your show. I'm only here because Dana's my sister." They'd reached the porch and Mulder rung the bell, wary of what he would find. He didn't expect the elderly, white-haired, frail woman who eventually answered the door. She eyed them both carefully and Mulder drew his I.D. from his jacket. "Sorry to bother you this time of night Mamm, but we're with the F.B.I." Her eyes brightened and she stepped back to wave them in. "Oh. You're here about Samantha." Mulder's felt his heart stop and restart. His breath rushed out of his body and he gasped to bring it back in again. Charles spoke when he couldn't. "Yes. We are." He followed the woman into her house and Mulder went in after them, closing the door behind him. Mulder found his voice as they all sat down in comfortable chairs in a tidy, old-fashined little sitting room. "Sorry Mamm. We know little about the case. Our boss forgot to brief us. He just sent us down here without any information. I wonder if you could fill us in." The old lady composed herself and sat demurely in the chair with her hands clasped as she began to speak. "My Samantha has been missing from her apartment in Maryland for a week now. I reported it as soon as I realised she wasn't there, but the Police didn't take me very seriously. They said she might have just taken a week off to go somewhere with a boyfriend, or something. But I know Samantha, she calls me every night without fail. Has done since she first went to college at eighteen, and she hasn't got a boyfriend. She tells me everything, you see. If she'd met somebody I would have known. So that's why I called the F.B.I. But I must say, I didn't expect a response. The young man I spoke to was quite dismissive, and yet here you are." Mulder nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name. We were just given your address." She looked at him slightly suspiciously, but then she seemed to accept his explanation. "Elaina Hicks." "I see and your daughter is Samantha Hicks?" Elaina nodded. "Yes. Its not the first time she's been missing you know. Its happened before. That's why I'm so worried." "What happened the other times?" "Two, maybe even three years ago now, she went missing for thirteen weeks. Then she just showed up one day. We asked her where she'd been, but she couldn't remember. It was so distressing. For her and us." "I'm sure it was Mrs Hicks. Tell me is your husband around?" "He passed away eight years ago. Its just Samantha and I now." Mulder swallowed hard and tried to form a line of questioning that would tell him what he wanted to know. "Your daughter is a librarian at the University of Maryland, is that right?" Elaina Hicks nodded and Mulder stared at her for a long time before he continued. "Was your daughter adopted Mrs Hicks?" "Why yes? How did you know that?" Mulder lied. "Its on our records at the Bureau." "Oh I see. Of course, it wasn't a usual adoption. My husband worked for the Government. He was involved in a project and one of his co-workers died in a car crash with his wife. The little girl was orphaned and Jeremiah brought her home to me to look after her. You see we married late in life and I was past the age of childbearing. She was around nine when we took her in. Poor little thing, she couldn't remember her parents at all, so she became very attached to us very quickly, and I tell you even though I didn't give birth to that child, I love her like I did." Mulder was on the edge of his seat, his eyes silently begging her for more details. About Samantha Hicks, formerly Samantha Mulder. He had found his sister, he was certain of that. "I'm sure you do. Do you have a picture of Samantha?" Mrs Hicks got up to cross the room, but had trouble steadying herself. Charles was on his feet in a flash and held out his hand to help her. She smiled up at him, obviously charmed. "I knew you'd want a picture so I sorted a few out." Mulder smiled sadly as he watched Charles escort Elaina across the room. He was so like Scully, so willing to help; courteous, polite. Mrs Hicks gathered her pictures up and crossed the room again to give them to Mulder. Mulder took the pictures and gazed down at his sister. Her face wasn't a surprise to him. After all, he had already seen her in person the night before. It was somewhat comforting that she was smiling in all the photographs, somewhat shyly, but she looked happy, healthy. Charles had settled Elaina back in her chair and now held out a hand for the photographs. Mulder passed them to him, reluctant to let them go, but not wanting to make a fuss. Charles gazed down at the image of the pretty young woman. She had warm hazel eyes, long dark hair. Something about her reluctant, careful smile moved him. He glanced up at Mrs Hicks. "She looks like a lovely young woman." Mrs Hicks nodded, and her eyes grew moist. "She is." Mulder cleared his throat. "You said she doesn't have a boyfriend, but has there ever been anyone in her life?" Elaina chuckled. "No. We gave her as happy a childhood as we could, but I think she's always felt a bit alienated and disorientated in the big wide world. She's quiet and withdrawn, almost painfully shy I'm afraid. The only place she really feels comfortable is with me at home. She comes here a lot at weekends. There were a few friends in high school and college, but I think she's been very lonely these last few years." "Why do you think she's so shy?" "I'm not sure. Perhaps she felt she wasn't like other people, because she had no memories of her parents. She couldn't recall anything of the time before she was brought to our house. She would say sometimes that she faintly remembered a brother, but Jeremiah said there was no other siblings. Maybe it was wishful thinking, you know like some kids have imaginary friends?" Mulder smiled but he really wanted to yell at the top of his voice that he was real, not a false childhood memory. "Didn't she ever try and trace her family?" "There was no family. Except the mother and father. We took her to see the graves, but it didn't seem to settle her unease." "What was the name, of her parents?" "Malden." Mulder felt sick to his stomach. So close to her real name. He could imagine Samantha seeing what were likely false names carved on headstones, and knowing by gut instinct that what she was seeing wasn't real, but knowing no different, and having to accept it. Mrs Hicks brow furrowed. "Why is this all important anyway?" Charles interrupted. "We just like to know as much as possible about the people we're looking for. Sometimes even the smallest detail about their lives can help. But, I think we've taken up enough of your time. We'll borrow one of these pictures if that's okay and if we can have your telephone number we'll call you as soon as we have any news." The old lady recited her number and Charles wrote it carefully on an old envelope he pulled from his jacket pocket. He put the picture of Samantha in the envelope and headed for the door. Still in a daze, amazed by what he had learned, Mulder got to his feet. Mrs Hicks stopped them from leaving by calling out. "Oh, I didn't get your names." "I'm sorry its Mulder. Agent Mulder, and this is Agent Scully." He gestured at Charles, thinking how strange it was to be calling her brother by her title. "Scully? I know that name. Now how do I know that name? I haven't met you before have I?" Charles, standing in the doorway, shook his head. Mulder's instinct took over. "Dana Scully. Do you know a Dana Scully?" Elaina grinned at him. "Yes that's it. Dana. Of course." Charles came back further into the room and pulled out a wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. He sorted through it until he found what he was looking for and gave his picture of Dana to Mrs Hicks. "This Dana? Is this who you know? She's my sister." She smiled at the picture and nodded. "Really? Goodness me, what a coincidence. Dana was a friend of Samantha's when she was in college. She was so nice to her. Sammy found it so hard to make friends at Maryland, but Dana took her under her wing and introduced her to some of the people she knew. She came to stay with us once one weekend and Samantha was so pleased that she had a friend to invite home. We all had such a nice time the together." Charles took back his picture and looked at Mulder whose face was drained of colour, and then he turned back to Elaina. "Did they lose touch?" "Yes. After college. At first they would write to each other, but Samantha moved apartments a few times, so perhaps Dana's letters would get lost, and she thought Samantha wasn't replying, so she stopped writing. And then Dana moved and Samantha didn't have an address for her. It was a shame because they got on so well. I'd never known anyone get as close to Samantha as Dana did." "Well we'd better get going." Charles moved to the door and was grateful that Mulder followed him, because for a moment he was worried the man might collapse on the spot. Mrs Hicks bid them both a warm goodbye and told him to say hello to Dana for her. He assured her that he would "the next time I see her." And he and Mulder walked across to the car they had rented. Mulder watched as Mrs Hicks went inside and shut the door, and then he leaned heavily against the car. "Are you okay Fox?" "Mulder." "Sure, whatever. How you holding up? I gotta tell you man, you don't look too good." "I'm just....I don't know." "I take it Samantha Hicks is really Samantha Mulder?" Mulder nodded. "Listen. I need to hear this whole story. You have to tell me everything, but first I think we should get a motel and crash out for a couple of hours." "We have to find them." "No offense pal, but at the moment I don't think you could find a tree in the woods. Get in the car and we'll find somewhere to stay." ******** End of part 6a continued in 6b ******* caroline.o@virgin.net Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 18:57:52 +0000 From: Caroline Subject: Armistice (6b/11) Armistice (6b/11) by Caroline O'Callaghan ************* Room 9 Motel 6 Mountain Falls Virginia July 2nd, 1997 10.52 p.m. Mulder lay on one of the beds. His whole body was shaking and he couldn't get it to stop. In his hand was the card that Marita had given him earlier that day. Charles sat on the edge of the other bed, towel-drying his hair after the shower he'd just had. Mulder was glad he hadn't dumped Scully's brother, because quite frankly he was a nervous wreck at the moment and it felt good to be around somebody; especially somebody who reminded him so much of his partner. Charles got to his feet and pulled his jeans on over his shorts and then tugged his sweater over his head. When he was dressed, he sat down again and faced Mulder. "Okay, I think I deserve to be filled in a little. Why don't you start at the beginning?" Mulder licked his lips and sat up. "My father worked for a secret Government project that conducted illegal experiments on children. He rebelled and threatened to expose the project to the public. To ensure his silence my sister was taken. She must have been stripped of her memory, and placed with the Hicks. They raised her, sent her off to college, where she obviously met your sister. But Scully knew her as Samantha Hicks, she didn't realise when she came to work with me that her old friend Samantha, was my Samantha. She'd lost touch with her by then, and there was no reason for her to even think it." Charles nodded. "But..." Mulder interrupted "When Scully was abducted, by the agency who were still conducting illegal experiments, She found Samantha Hicks again, who was also there to be experimented on. It was there that she must have realised that she was in fact my Samantha. Samantha Mulder. Only when Scully was released, she had no memory of the time she was held captive." Mulder got to his feet and began to pace. "Then last night we broke into a lab on the Vineyard, where she saw Samantha again. Scully's lost memories came back to her. This morning in the hospital, she must recalled going to the Hicks' house; visiting with them, and she remembered their address and wrote it down." "So all that stuff Mrs Hicks told us about the car crash and the graves was made up the project people?" Mulder nodded. "I think Mrs Hicks believes it. But her husband was obviously part of the experiments in some way." Charles let out a soft laugh. "What are the odds on that? That you get partnered with someone who knows the sister that you've been searching for all that time?" Mulder laughed as well, despite himself. "If this were a movie you wouldn't believe it." "I'm not sure I do believe it. I mean, wiped memories, its not possible to wipe someone's memory." Mulder laughed harder. "God you really are a Scully aren't you?" Charles wasn't quite sure what Mulder meant by that remark, but didn't bother to ask for clarification, instead he got to his feet. "I'm going to get us something to eat. We need to refuel. I'll be back in a while." Mulder lay back down on his bed. Charles stopped at the door. "And don't even think about taking off without me. I'm trained to track people down, you wouldn't get half a mile before I found you." Mulder nodded and Charles left. He stared at the ceiling for a while before looking back at Marita's card. He grabbed the motel phone from the night-stand and dialled the number quickly. She answered with a terse hello. "Its Mulder." "Agent Mulder. I hope you're not calling to make any foolish demands for information." "No. I'm ready to make the choices. The decisions you spoke of this morning, I'm willing to face them." "Is this because they have Agent Scully?" "Yes." "You're ready to sacrifice everything?" "Yes." "Maybe even your life?" "If that's what it takes." "Okay I'll meet you in the morning. Where are you?" "Motel 6, Mountain Falls, Virginia." "Virginia. That's a coincidence. I'm quite close by." "That doesn't surprise me. This state seems to be the centre of activity lately." Marita hung up on him without a goodbye The trill of his cell phone made him jump. He grabbed it out of his suit jacked on the end of the bed and answered it. "Mulder. Its Skinner." "Well hi there Walt. What can I do for you?" "I know you don't trust me too much at the moment." "You took Scully didn't you? You bastard. You did their dirty work for them." "Yes I did. But now I may have a way of getting her back. Your sister too. Where are you? We have to meet." Mulder sighed. He had little choice. Any slim hope was worth chasing. He gave Skinner the address of the motel. "Okay sit tight Mulder. I'll be there in the morning." Mulder switched the phone off and threw it across the room. He had two visitors to look forward to in the morning. Marita and Skinner. He wondered who would show up first. Perhaps they'd arrive at the same time. That would be interesting. Charles arrived back with the food twenty minutes later and threw a greasy bag at Mulder. Mulder caught it and pulled a hamburger out. Surprised at how hungry he was. "I take it back Charles. You aren't that much like your sister after all. She'd never willingly buy this crap for me." Charles chuckled. "So Fox." "Mulder." "Fine. Whatever. Forgive me if its none of my business, but the last letter Dana wrote me, she was still talking about you like you two were just friends. When did it change?" "Our last case." Charles nodded. "You're a lucky guy, you know that. My sister is very special." "I know that." They ate in silence for a few moments, till Mulder became curious about his companion. "So Charles, you have anybody? Girlfriend, wife?" "No. Being in the service, its hard to meet people. Especially the Seals. I hardly get any leave. I have to keep a lot of my work secret. Most of the time we're not allowed to tell people where we are. Its hard to find a woman who'd put up with that." "I wonder why Scully puts up with me." Charles laughed and Mulder looked at him. "What's so funny?" "I'm sorry. Its just when you say Scully, I keep thinking you're talking about me. Don't you ever call her by her first name?" Mulder smiled. "Hardly ever. Its a habit now. She's Scully to me." Charles finished his burger and pulled his sweater off again. "I'm going to get some shut eye. I suggest you do the same." Mulder nodded. When Charles pulled off his jeans he fished his wallet from the pocket and pulled out his photograph of Dana. He handed it to Mulder. "You keep this." "Thanks. You know its funny. All these years I've known her and I don't have a picture." Charles shrugged and got into the other bed. "Well you do now. But put it away and go to sleep. This barracks is shutting down for the night." Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 2nd, 1997 11.05 p.m. Scully awoke again, cursing out loud at the pain in her head. She opened her eyes carefully and looked around her, noticing that she was still in the small cell. Her eyes widened further in surprise when she saw the man who was standing on the other side of the bars in front of her. She looked over at the cell next to hers. It was still empty. No Samantha. She turned her gaze back to Cancer Man. Her breathing quickened when she realised he was blurring now and again as she stared at him. Another symptom of the tumour. Her sight was beginning to fail. "Good evening Agent Scully. How are we feeling?" "Well I don't know about you, but I feel like shit." He chuckled and she sat up on the cot. "Why am I here. Why didn't they just leave me to die?" He blew some smoke through the bars. "You have no idea how important you've been to us do you? You've made such a contribution that we've grown really rather fond of you. We like having you around." "I wish I could say the feeling was mutual." A security guard came through the larger gate down the corridor and hurried to Cancer man's side. "Sir. We've had a security breach. The chip's gone." Cancer man's expression hardened, and his voice betrayed his fury as he confronted the guard. "What are you talking about. The chip? It can't possibly be gone. It was under maximum protection." "We think its been taken by someone on the inside. We're not sure who yet. They managed to temporarily disable the power supply in that part of the building, so we have no video recording and the lasers were off." Cancer man threw his cigarette down in disgust, and glared at Scully. "I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up in the hands of Agent Mulder. What do you think Dana?" She refused to show any emotion at the mention of his name, and kept a firm silence. He turned to the guard. "Why don't you go and get me merchandise number nine-two-five. I think we may have found a use for it." The guard nodded and hurried off. Cancer Man paced until the guard returned with a small, petite woman in tow. Scully's sight blurred at her first glance, but when her vision cleared she gasped. "Come here Dana." Scully got shakily to her feet. Willing to do as her enemy bid her for once. She needed a better look to believe it. Cancer Man laughed. "What do you think? Did we do a good job?" Scully stared at the woman, who stared blankly back at her. She closed her eyes, hoping it would go away, but when she opened them she was faced with the same thing she had seen before. Herself. She was staring at herself. An exact replica of Dana Katherine Scully. ************** end of part 6 ******* Continued in part 7 Armistice (7a/11) by Caroline O'Callaghan caroline.o@virgin.net Do NOT post to ATXF - already there Rating: NC-17 Category: MSR/adventure/mythology Summary: Mulder discovers clues to the circumstances behind his sister's disappearance, whilst Scully battles fatal illness. Disclaimer: Oh, do I have to? Okay - nobody belongs to me - nuff said! Spoilers: Lots and lots - all the way up to Small Potatoes (although in this universe Gethesmane has not yet happened.) IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a continuation of an earlier story 'The Lure of the Fox' in which Mulder and Scully became lovers. Room 9 Motel 6 Mountain Falls West Virginia July 3rd, 1997 6.02 a.m. Charles awoke, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and took a moment to remember where he was. He lifted his wrist out from under the covers and checked his watch. Two minutes after reveille. His internal body clock woke him at around the same time every morning, even when he wasn't on duty. He looked across at the other bed only to find it empty, but he was pleased to note that it looked like it had been slept in. At least Mulder had gotten some shut eye. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he climbed into his clothes, ran a hand through his hated, short, red hair, and stepped outside into the bright morning sunlight. Mulder sat on the edge of the walkway between rooms. Charles noted that the man was staring at the picture of Dana he had given him the night before. He sat next to him; not speaking, waiting to sense his mood. Mulder coughed a little. "You know what I promised her? Just two days ago I said I wouldn't leave her alone for a second. I knew she might be taken again and I promised to protect her." Charles squinted into the sun. "Don't beat yourself up Mulder. Nobody can be with somebody twenty-four-seven. Even if you had been with her, there might not have been anything you could have done; and besides, she's usually pretty good at protecting herself." Mulder let out a sad half-chuckle. "Yeah, nobody knows that better than me, but this time Charles, she was truly terrified, she took comfort from me being with her, and I let her down." "Let's concentrate on getting her back." "What if its too late? She's dying. She could be...already ..." Charles' voice and glare betrayed his calm anger at the words "Don't even think about that. The Doc said we have two weeks. Fourteen days to get her back. I don't care if I'm only getting her back for her to leave us again. I have to see her. I have to say goodbye properly." Mulder nodded. "I understand. Ignore me, I just..." He sighed. Charles shifted uncomfortably. "Do you really think that we're wasting our time? You don't honestly think she's already dead, do you?" There was a long silence before Mulder answered. "No. I think I'd feel it...be certain of it, if she was..." He stood up to end the conversation, not wanting to have to explain the connection between him and Scully, or how he'd know, just know, if she had left his life forever. He knew that he'd feel her absence from the world. He and Charles both looked up suddenly when a car pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop. They watched as Skinner got out, nodded to Mulder and approached. Mulder addressed him with the word "Sir", but it was dripping with sarcasm. Skinner nodded at Charles. "Who's this?" "I'm Charles Scully. Who are you?" "Walter Skinner." Charles recognised the name from Dana's letters. The mysterious assistant director. He'd got the impression that Dana had trusted him, but Fox was looking as if he wanted to kill the man. Skinner pointed to the room. "Shall we go inside gentlemen?" They filed into the room, Charles sitting on the edge of the bed, Mulder slumping in a chair and Skinner standing stiffly by the bathroom door. "Don't make me endure your presence any longer than is necessary Skinner. Say your piece." Skinner stuck his hands in his pockets and glared at Mulder. "You misjudge me. Everything I've done, I've done with Scully's best interests at heart." Charles was confused. "What did he do?" Mulder smirked at the assistant director. "He took Scully from the hospital and handed her over to them." Mulder saw Charles jump from the bed and reacted quickly, putting a hand on his chest to stop him from going for Skinner's throat. "Calm down Charles. He says he has something that may help us, we have to hear him out." "Says who?" "Believe me, I want to kill him as much as you do, but they'll be time for that later, if necessary. We have to concentrate on getting her back." Charles took a couple of deep breaths and nodded. Sitting back down on the bed. Mulder turned to Skinner. Looking a little relieved that Charles had been restrained, Skinner reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial. He walked to the table by the door and placed it there. "What's that?" "That's what I almost got myself killed for last night when I stole it from their headquarters. It was under the highest security." Mulder walked over and picked up the vial. Inside it was a tiny black dot. It looked a lot like the complex computer chip that had been removed from Scully's neck. "It contains vital information about the project. It lays out their master plan in full. If you let them know you have it they'd willingly trade Scully and your sister to gain repossession." Charles got to his feet again in excitement. "Well that's it. That's what we do. We make a deal, right Fox?" Mulder held the vial tightly in his grip and sank back into the chair, deep in thought. Charles looked at him quizzically. "Fox?" He held up the vial. "This is the truth." Skinner nodded. "Yes Mulder. Its your Holy Grail. You have it, but surely its worth sacrificing for Scully and Samantha?" "Couldn't we retrieve the information from it first?" "It wouldn't be that easy Mulder. We'd have to find someone with the right technical expertise. Its very advanced, it might take weeks, or even months, for them to decode. Its not like downloading a computer disk." Charles threw up his hands in frustration. "What's the matter with you? I thought you loved the woman. If that's true, you'd be willing to give up everything for her." Skinner made an intake of breath and Charles realised he had just exposed something. This man obviously didn't know about the nature of his sister's and Fox's relationship. He glanced furtively at Mulder to apologise, but Mulder didn't looked bothered. Charles sighed. "Fox, answer me. You're surely not going to risk Dana's and Samantha's lives when you have the chance to save them?" Mulder jumped out of deep thought. "No. No, of course not. I was just wishing..." "Well thank God. You had me worried for a minute there." Mulder stood up. "We'll get in touch with them. Let them know we have this." He held up the vial. "..and arrange a trade." He looked at Skinner. "Do you think they'd throw in a cure while we're at it?" Skinner shrugged. "I was led to believe there was a cure, but I'm beginning to think that was just a false promise made in order to buy me." Charlie ducked, and Mulder and Skinner both reached for their guns when the door suddenly flew open and two figures in combat fatigues entered, brandishing automatic weapons. "Put the guns down guys. We have double the firepower here." Mulder blinked several times when he realised that one of the rifle holders was Marita. The other was a tall, broad- chested man with a huge scar down the side of one cheek. "Drop it Mulder." She nodded at Skinner. "You too." Another combat-gear-wearing, rifleman entered and after a resigned look at one another. Mulder and Skinner threw their guns onto the floor. Marita looked at Charles for a moment before dismissing him as harmless, and then turned her attention back to Mulder. "I'm here for the chip." Mulder had transferred the vial from one hand to the other when he had reached for his gun and it was still gripped in his slightly sweaty palm. He wished he'd had time to stash it somewhere. "What chip?" Marita smirked. "Don't waste time. It went missing last night. The level of security is such that it could have only been taken by someone on the inside." She motioned towards Skinner. "And look who's here? Hand it over." Mulder stepped forward and she aimed the weapon directly at his chest. "You spoke about me having to make choices. What happened to my choices? I thought you were offering me a chance to get Samantha back." "But now you have the chip. That changes things. If we have that, we don't need you. We'll have won the fight." "What fight? The fight against the project? What are you guys, some kind of resistance?" Marita blinked and for a moment Mulder thought she was about to tell all, but she held out her hand instead and shot him a cool glare. "I don't have time for this Mulder. Either hand it over or I'll shoot you and your friends dead." "You'd do that? After all we've been through?" He cocked his head to one side and tried to appeal to her through his eyes. "I have a better idea. Why don't you recruit us into your little band of merry men and we'll all work together." She licked her lips. "We're fighting for different things. You're only concerned for two people. I'm trying to save millions. Your sentimentality would interfere with the struggle for the greater good. Unfortunately, my superior is right, you can't be trusted, your feelings would betray us." "Don't you have feelings Marita?" She shook her head. "No I gave them up when I decided to dedicate myself to the fight. If I take the chip from you, Agent Scully will die. Possibly your sister will as well, but don't you see that they would be small losses compared with what this world could lose? Now hand it over before I get bored with this little chat." He sighed and opened his palm. She took it from him, but then all hell seemed to break loose. Squeals of tyres could be heard outside, car doors banged and shouts were heard. Marita moved to the door, only to duck quickly back inside when she was fired at. Bullet upon bullet rained upon them as semi-automatic weapons were aimed at the room. Shooting out the window and ripping the hardboard front of the room full of holes. Mulder, Charles and Skinner were all on the floor. Mulder eyed his gun a few feet away but he would have to move closer to the firing line to get it. Marita and her two gunmen were firing back now, and the noise was deafening. "Fox." He looked around at Charles who had called his name. He whispered. "Bathroom Mulder. There's a back way out." Mulder shook his head. "They probably have it covered." "Its worth a try. Better than lying here waiting for them to kill us." Mulder nodded and looked around at Skinner who had also heard Charles. Skinner indicated with a jerk of his head that he was willing to run for it and all three men got quickly to their feet and ran to the bathroom. The window was open and Mulder saw Charles hurtle himself through it, just as he heard a strangled cry behind him. He turned to see Skinner slump to the ground, blood pouring from his chest. He wanted to stop, to check on the man, to try and help him back up and through the window, but he knew if he delayed any longer he would be shot too. He scrambled out of the window and landed hard on his backside. Charles grabbed him under the arm and looked up at the window. "Forget it. He's down. Took one in the chest." Charles nodded, and as Mulder got to his feet he looked around him, amazed to find that there were no gunmen waiting for them on this side of the building. The two men took off across the street and ran into an alley, where they clambered over a fence, through someone's yard and down another street before they burst into an empty MacDonald's. The counter staff didn't even look up as they headed for the bathroom where they went into the same stall and locked the door. They leaned against opposite sides of the small space and panted hard, trying to get their breath back. "Think we made it?" Mulder nodded. "Probably still shooting the crap out of each other. It'll be a while before they realise we're gone." "So who was that woman?" Mulder shot him a wry grin. "G.I. Jane." Charles let out a weary chuckle. "And who were the one's trying to kill her?" "The consortium's trained monkeys. They've probably realised that she's not one of them." "So she's a double agent?" Mulder nodded. "Well, she was. Seems like her little game's been rumbled though." "So what now?" "Well we can't make the trade anymore. Looks like we're back to square one." "Why can't we trade?" Mulder was surprised that Charles hadn't realised that they'd lost their bargaining tool. He'd seemed like a pretty smart guy so far. "We lost the chip." Charles pulled something from the pcoket of his leather jacket and held it up for Mulder's inspection. "What chip? This chip?" Mulder's face split into a grin. "How the hell...?" "G.I. Jane dropped it when she was getting shot at." "You know Charles I'm beginning to like you almost as much as I like your sister." "Well as long as you don't try and kiss me." "Right, and on that subject let's get out of here before people start talking about us sharing a cubicle in the men's room." Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 2nd, 1997 7.58 a.m. Scully awoke coughing because of the blood running down her throat. She sat up quickly to make it travel down her nose instead, and wiped it on the short sleeve of her hospital gown. A female voice spoke her name and she looked in the direction it had come from. She felt anguish when she realised that everything around her was becoming a blur. She had to concentrate to get her limbs working, as she got up and edged slowly towards the bars that separated her cell from the one next door. At least her voice and hearing were still working fine. "Samantha?" "Yes. Oh God Dana. I thought you weren't going to wake up. You look awful." Scully smiled wryly. "Thanks." She could she Samantha's pretty features now that she was close enough. She also saw her hand gripping the bars and closed one of hers around it. Samantha squeezed her fingers in return. "Dana what are we doing here? I couldn't believe it when I saw that you were here too. What's going on?" Scully sighed and realised that Samantha had been in such a state at the laboratory on the Vineyard that she hadn't recognised her when she and Mulder had broken in to it two nights ago, but perhaps she would remember their earlier abduction. "I'm not sure. Do you remember last time? We were held together like this before. With a woman named Penny Northern?" Samantha shook her head, terror in her eyes. "Two years ago Samantha, you went missing for a period of time." Samantha nodded. "I woke up at my apartment one day and when I called Mom she burst into tears, saying I'd been missing for thirteen weeks, but I don't remember where I'd been, or anything. Are you saying I was here?" "Not here exactly, but somewhere else like here." "I don't understand. What do they want?" Scully thought about trying to answer honestly. 'Well, they want to see if they can clone us. They want to steal our ovaries for a genetic engineering project. They want to implant chips in our necks that can read and document our every thought. They want to give us cancer, erase our memories and send us home to die'. She settled upon "I don't know. Some kind of test." Samantha let out a small wail and Dana gripped her hand tighter. "Listen Samantha. You trusted me back in college didn't you?" "Of course I did. You were such a good friend to me Dana." "Then you have to trust me as your friend now, when I tell you that you must not give up hope. Your bro.... Someone is out there looking for us. Someone that I trust, and he'll go to any lengths to find us." Samantha nodded but she still looked terrified. Scully suddenly felt faint. "I have to sit down." "Okay but don't go to sleep again soon will you? Keep talking to me Dana." Scully walked back over to the cot and lay down. "Sure, what do you want to talk about?" "Tell me a story from college. Remind me of some of the things we did." Scully smiled and began talking, still slightly bemused that she had known Mulder's sister for so long and yet had been searching for her as if she were a stranger. All those times when Mulder had pined for her, she could have so easily have given her to him, yet she'd had no idea that Samantha Hicks was really Samantha Mulder. Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 3rd, 1997 2.25 p.m. "Scully." Somebody shoved her and she came awake. She didn't remember falling asleep. She must have nodded off while talking to Samantha. She opened her eyes to see who was manhandling her. He was close by, but it still took her a while to focus on him and she cursed her eyesight. "Krycek." He was kneeling in front of her, a tray of food in his hands. "Lunch is up. You better eat. You look like you're not holding up too well." She sat up and pulled the short gown down to cover more of her thighs. She tried to glimpse into the other cell, but no amount of squinting helped. She asked Krycek instead. "Samantha?" He shrugged his shoulders. "She's gone. More tests I think." He put the tray down next to her and she gave it a distasteful glance. "I hope you're not the chef." He gave her a grin. "No just the delivery boy. I don't have a lot of use around here now. They give me all the grunt work. Everybody else is in a major panic at the moment." "Because of the missing computer chip?" Krycek looked a little surprised that she knew about the security breach, but then nodded. "They think Mulder has it." "Knowing Mulder, I wouldn't be surprised if it had fallen into his hands somehow." "You're probably right. But that's good news for you. He'll probably use it to gain your freedom." Scully shook her head. "Not if he's fooled into releasing it first. This may sound crazy Krycek, but they have some kind of copy of me here." "It doesn't sound crazy at all. I know. I've seen it." Of course Krycek had seen it. Everybody here had probably seen it. Back in Martha's Vineyard a guard had mistaken her for her own clone. The thought almost made her laugh. "I'm worried that this clone...or whatever the hell it is, may persuade Mulder to hand the chip over to her, and then he'll never see Samantha again." "Or you." "He probably won't ever see me again anyway. I'm dying. I don't know how much longer I'm going to last." "I'm sorry about that Scully. I really am. I meant what I said the other night in your apartment." She took hold of his remaining human hand and squeezed it. "If you are really sorry you'll go to Mulder for me. You'll warn him." He shook his head. "Please Krycek." "No. I don't even know where he is. He's probably in hiding somewhere." "You could find him. I know how resourceful you are." "Even if I did. He'd probably shoot me on sight." "I could tell you how to approach him so he'd trust you. I'll tell you what to say." He shook his head again. "I'm sorry Scully. I can't." He backed out of the cell, locking it behind him. He was gone a few minutes when Scully received her second visitor. A doctor in scrubs. A doctor that she recognised. "Hello Dana." She sighed heavily. "Dr Scanlon." He was followed into her cell by another two men, also dressed in scrubs and wheeling a gurney between them. She looked at it in panic and realised that they had come to take her for more testing. Her heartbeat began to accelerate and she shook her head fiercely. "No." "Come on Dana. Be a good girl." "No. You bastard." She backed herself up into the corner of the cot, against the wall, but his assistants advanced on her. "Get away from me." Doctor Scanlon looked at her in dismay. "It'll be a lot easier for you if you come without any fuss. We don't want you to get hurt." She screamed and kicked out when one of the men took hold of her right ankle. Her foot caught him in the chin and he recoiled for a second, but came back for her. This time grabbing both ankles while the other man grabbed her wrists. She fought all the way, kicking and screaming with all her might, but eventually they wrestled her onto the gurney and placed her hands and legs in straps while Dr Scanlon administered some kind sedative into her upper arm. As they wheeled her out of the cell and down the corridor, she could already feel herself losing consciousness. ********** end part 7a continued in part 7b ************* Armistice (7b/11) by Caroline O'Callaghan ************* Stay n' Save Motel Front Royal West Virginia July 3rd 6.42 p.m. Mulder peered through the motel window as he heard a van pull up outside. It was black, undecorated and had out-of-town plates. He tensed for a moment and reached for his gun before reminding himself that it was no longer on his hip and that he had left on the floor during their hasty exit from the last motel. He was relieved and even allowed himself a slight grin when he saw his three friends climb out of the vehicle. Byers, Langly and Frohike, looked carefully around them before knocking on his door. He opened it for them and they all piled into the room, Frohike hugging him briefly on the way. "Thanks for coming guys." Langly took a seat on the edge of one of the beds. "Sounds like its gonna be too good for us to miss out on." Frohike checked the bathroom before coming back into the main part of the room. "So where's the Scully brother?" He went to dump the car he stole. Frohike's sweaty brow creased. "A Scully stealing a car? I always thought they were such moralists." "Yeah, well, they're also very resourceful when they need to be. You should have seen how quick he hotwired it. So is everything set up?" Byers nodded and paced as he spoke. "We've set up a roving e-mail address and sent the message to the address we found on the found on the files we hacked into on the laboratory in Martha's Vineyard." Langly interrupted. "Cool message Mulder, listen. 'Anyone want a chip for their dip." Mulder laughed despite himself. "That's cute. What next?" Byers coughed and continued. "We've already shut down the original reply address, which we obviously opened under a false name." Mulder nodded. "Of course." "And asked them to post their reply in code on a governmental conspiracy theorists newsgroup that we use. We gave them a time limit of ten o'clock tonight." "I guess we just have to wait and see if they've been checking their e-mail." "Oh they will, its probably how they expect me to get in touch." Charles Scully entered the room and shot Mulder a nod of greeting before carefully examining each of the men in turn. Mulder made the introductions. Frohike shook Charles hand. "Fine sister you have." "Erm...thank you...I think." He looked at Mulder who just shrugged. "So what's going on?" "We've initiated contact and given them a time and location when we'd be willing to exchange. We've demanded both Dana and Samantha to be returned safely." Byers turned back to his colleagues. "Come on guys let's get the stuff from the van." All three gunman trailed out. Charles watched as they got into the vehicle and began rummaging around. Mulder saw him watching his friends. "Something wrong Charles?" "No..I just..are you sure these guys are reliable..I mean they look like.." "It doesn't matter what they look like. They're the best, and they'd do anything to help your sister, remember that." Charles nodded. Operating theatre Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 2nd, 1997 7.19 p.m. Scully felt like somebody had been hitting her over the head with a hammer. She couldn't move a muscle, not even the ones that controlled her eyelids. So she lay still. The operating table she lay on was uncomfortable, but she made no noise to protest against it; instead she fought the pain in her head. Voices drifted within her earshot and she listened, recognising Doctor Scanlon's and Cancer Man's. "Have you finished the procedure we asked you to perform?" "Yes. I'm not sure it will work. She's very sick." "It has to work. Desperate measures may be called for." "So the chip hasn't been recovered yet?" "No we're arranging a meeting now. We expect it to be back in safe hands by tomorrow." "I heard that Walter Skinner took it." "He's a foolish man. He knew to take it was certain death and yet he did so anyway, and for what? For this woman? She was just an employee to him. It makes no sense. He could have had a bright future if he'd stayed on our side, and so could you Scanlon." "That's not what I hear. I hear they're increasing their presence. That we have no control anymore, that the experiments haven't worked and that we won't be ready when the date comes." "Then you heard wrong. Excuse me doctor, I have a lot of business to attend to." Scully heard the door bang behind Cancer Man as he left the room. Stay n' Save Front Royal West Virginia July 3rd, 1997 8.36 p.m. Mulder lay prone on one of the beds, to outward appearances calm, but on the inside he was in turmoil. He glanced around the room. Charles Scully had found a deck of cards and was playing patience. Langly and Byers had hooked up their computer and were scanning the newsgroup every five minutes. Frohike was watching CNN with the sound turned down. Mulder's plan was simple. Give back the chip. Get Scully. Hold her to him till it was time to lay her to rest. He felt tears stinging the backs of his eyes. Byers must have noticed his misty gaze for he looked over sympathetically. "Thinking what its going to be like to get Samantha back huh?" Mulder looked at him blankly and just nodded, but the question filled him with tremendous guilt. Samantha. He hadn't been thinking about her hardly at all. His mind was obsessed by the idea of finding Scully so he could spend one more night lying next to her. He wondered if, and when, she had become paramount in his mind, even above Samantha. It wasn't right, he had been looking for Samantha for so long. That was what he had devoted his life to. Hadn't he just warned Scully a few days ago that that his sister came first with him? He wanted to smack his head against the wall and curse himself. He supposed it was love. He'd admitted to himself that he loved her when she'd saved him from getting crushed by the train. And the sex had been so powerful, so intense. He'd felt so glorious inside her; as her soft, hot, wet inner flesh had gripped around him. Sex was powerful, love was powerful, but together they made a dangerous combination. It was enough to make a man forget that he had a purpose, a mission to fulfil; a sister to find. "Hey Mulder look at this." Frohike turned the sound up on the t.v. and a reporter was speaking from outside a local hospital. Mulder listened to the facts of the news story. Assistant Director of the FBI, Walter Skinner, found with a bullet hole to the chest in a nearby motel. Paramedics and police were called to the scene after a gun battle broke out. Police suspect terrorism. Assistant Director Skinner in critical condition. Two dead men also found at the scene. Their identities unknown. Charles let out a whistle. "He's alive." Mulder found himself smiling. "Take more than a measly bullet to get the better of Skinner. He's as tough as old boots." "That's not what you said this morning Mulder. You thought he was dead for sure." "Yeah well, I temporarily forgot that it would take a direct hit with a nuke to see him off." Frohike switched the t.v. off. "Don't forget they said critical. He's not out of the woods." "He'll make it. Notice they only said two men dead Charles?" Charles nodded. "G.I. Jane must have got away." Langly jumped up from in front of the computer screen with a half-terrified, half-excited look on his face. "We got it. They've agreed to the exchange." Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 2nd, 1997 8.51 p.m. As she was wheeled back to her cell on the gurney, Scully began to detect the return of movement in her limbs. The gurney stopped and two strong pairs of male hands lifted her onto the cot. She couldn't open her eyes still, but felt it was more because of a pressure placed on them, rather than the lack of muscle movement. She raised a hand to her head, but Doctor Scanlon spoke to her in a soft warning. "No Dana. There's a bandage over your eyes. We've been messing around with them all afternoon. They need to be protected from the light for at least a week. You musn't touch the bandage." She managed to get her voice in gear. "You almost sound like you care." "Please understand, I do what I do because I believe in the cause. Its my life." "You killed all those MUFON members." "Yes. I was ordered to." "Would the cancer have killed them anyway?" "Yes. In time. I never wanted to hurt anybody, but I believe its necessary to make sacrifices sometimes. They were a threat to the secrecy of the project. I'll leave you now, there's a guard here if you need anything." "Scanlon. What was done to me. What procedures?" "I can't say, but I'm sorry. So terribly sorry. Excuse me." She listened as he and the orderlies shuffled out the room. Scanlon called to the guard to lock the door, and the guard replied with a smart. "Yes sir." When the key turned in the lock she called out to him. "Krycek. Is that you?" "Yeah Scully." "I thought so. You're on guard duty now?" "Yes." "Is Samantha next door?" "Yes. She's asleep." She heard him unlock the door he had just locked and sensed his presence as he came to kneel by the side of her cot. He whispered to her. "They're making the exchange tonight. That's why they have me guarding you. All their normal security guys are out going over the location." "Exchange?" "Mulder does have the chip. He's using it to free you and Samantha." Scully was quiet for a while and Krycek was about to leave before she spoke quietly to him. "I can't let him do it." "Are you crazy. Don't you want to get out of here?" "Yes, but this chip has information on it right?" "I'll say. Just about every piece of information there is." "Its his truth. Its what he's been looking for. I can't let him give it up." "This isn't just about you Scully. Samantha needs to get out of here too." "I know. That's why I'm asking you to get us out." "What?" "Please Krycek. We could get out of here. You're the guard, you're the one whose supposed to raise any alarms that we're missing, but you wouldn't be here to do it. It could be hours before anybody realises were gone." "Its too risky. And you're not well enough to travel." "I'm well enough to get back to Mulder, and if Samantha and I get back to him, he won't need to surrender the chip. He could expose them Krycek. Didn't you say once that was what they feared most? Come on, let's beat the bastards for once. Show them they can't play around with people's lives anymore. You owe them no loyalty, they tried to kill you once, and another time they left you for dead." Krycek let out a laugh of amazement. "You know I'm actually considering this. You could probably sell ice to the eskimos Scully." She smiled. "You know Krycek when you came to my apartment that night you were looking for redemption. Well here's your chance to earn it. Do something truly good for a change. Be on the right side." "Okay. Shit, yes, I'll do it. Give me twenty minutes to get a truck. Wake Samantha up while I'm gone. ************* end part 7b continued in part 8 ************** Armistice (8/11) by Caroline O'Callaghan caroline.o@virgin.net Do NOT post to ATXC - already there Rating: NC-17 Category: MSR/adventure/mythology Summary: Mulder discovers clues to the circumstances behind his sister's disappearance, whilst Scully battles fatal illness. Disclaimer: Oh, do I have to? Okay - nobody belongs to me - nuff said! Spoilers: Lots and lots - all the way up to Small Potatoes (although in this universe Gethesmane has not yet happened.) IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a continuation of an earlier story 'The Lure of the Fox' in which Mulder and Scully became lovers. Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 3rd, 1997 11.00 p.m. Cancer man stood in the control centre of the project, surrounded by banks of computers and technical operatives. He watched the well-manicured man approach, and spoke with sarcasm. "Nice of you to join us." "I was on a golfing holiday." "Meanwhile all hell was breaking lose here." "Is it my fault, you and my colleagues are incapable of handling even the most simplest situations." Cancer Man blew out a puff of smoke. "You shouldn't be smoking in here. Don't you know how delicate this equipment is?" He blew another puff of smoke, smirked and said nothing. "Why don't you tell me what's been happening?" "Walter Skinner stole the chip. He's given it to Fox Mulder who is using it to secure his sister's and Dana Scully's freedom." "And what if he hands over a false chip in exchange?" "We'll still have Dana Scully to bargain with." "I thought she was part of the deal?" "We'll hand over the clone in her place. By the time he's realised he hasn't got the real Scully, we'll know whether the chip is real. And, if necessary, we'll re-negotiate." "I heard that Marita Covarrubias isn't on our side after all, that she's one of them." Cancer Man nodded. "Some of her compatriots were killed this morning when we tried to recover our property. She managed to escape." "Well, we know it takes a lot to kill them." A security man rushed breathlessly into the room. "Sir, we went to collect the prisoner from her cell like you asked, but she was gone." Cancer Man glared at his subordinate. "What?" "The cell was empty Sir, both of them were." "I don't believe this. Who was guarding them? Bring him to me." "It was Alex Krycek Sir, and I'm afraid...well, it looks like he's gone too. Our man on the gate waved him through in a truck about 90 minutes ago." The Well-Manicured Man studied his fingers, before glancing back at Cancer Man. "Another desertion? Krycek, Skinner, Marita...these were all people who were supposed to be under your control. I'm beginning to believe you're not entirely proficient in such matters." A young man who was seated at a computer monitor turned to them. "Sirs, I think you better check this out. We're getting readings from all over the skies. Hundreds of them." The Well Manicured Man moved to behind the man's chair and read the information on the screen. "This is bad news. We're not even remotely ready for them. How long before they arrive?" "One hour, maybe two." Route 231 Etlan West Virginia July 3rd, 1997 11.02 p.m. Krycek negotiated the small road carefully in the black of evening; his headlights on half-beam so as not to throw off too much light. He had been surprised at how easy it had been to sneak Dana and Samantha out of the lab. He had walked calmly through the building gripping Scully by the elbow and keeping his gun trained on Samantha, to make it seem as if he were just transferring the prisoners elsewhere. He had snuck them out of a side door and told them to lay flat on the back of the truck he had appropriated, and then lain a blanket over them. He'd grinned at the guard on the gate, telling him he was off to buy pizza and then they were on their way. He glanced over at Scully who was now sitting beside him in the truck. Samantha was squeezed up against the window, and hadn't spoken a word to him since their escape. He got the impression she was extremely timid. It was hard to tell if Scully was awake or not, with the bandage covering her eyes. She leant against the head rest so comfortably that he thought she might have nodded off and so he jumped a little when she spoke. "Where are we now?" "Nearly at the mountains. I don't know where else to go. Listen Scully, I've been thinking about your little plan, and I'm not so sure its going to work." "I know what you're thinking. That our escape might not necessarily stop Mulder giving back the chip. That they may just hand clones over to him in exchange." Samantha stared out of the windscreen in horror. "Clones? What are you talking about?" Scully licked her lips. Not being able to use her eyes to communicate with people was frustrating to say the least. She tried to calm her friend with words instead. "They have the technology to make walking, talking replicas of us. I know they have one of me. I think they've had some of you in the past. Krycek?" "The first clones that didn't grow beyond eight years old were all killed when they destroyed that part of the hive. The second batch turned against their creators, they tried to rebel and were extinguished in an explosion." "That explosion nearly killed Mulder too." "Whose Mulder?" The question made Scully swallow hard. "He's my partner, in the Bureau." Krycek continued. "I haven't seen any more clones of Samantha, at least not in that lab." Scully coughed. "Well then, at least we've bought some time. Mulder won't release the chip without Samantha, and maybe we can get to him before they churn out another replica of her." "Why would your partner be so concerned about me?" Scully sympathetically listened to the concern in Samantha's voice. "Because he's...because he's the kind of person who's concerned about everybody." Scully coughed again and Krycek looked at her in concern. "You doing okay?" "I'm fine." "I'm not sure that you're fit enough to traipse around looking for Mulder. I think I ought to hide you somewhere and go get him myself." "I thought you were concerned about him shooting you on sight?" "So I'll take Samantha with me. Then he'll have to at least hear me out. She's in a lot better shape than you are Scully. Come on, let me get you somewhere safe?" Scully considered her weak limbs, her non-existent eyesight and the pounding ache in her head. She also felt incredibly warm, even though she still only wore a hospital gown and it was a cool night. Perhaps she was running a fever. Krycek was right. He'd be quicker if it was just him and Samantha. "Okay, where were you thinking of taking me?" "I guess hospital, or the FBI are out of the question?" "Yes. We don't know who we can trust, or where they're watching. Are we anywhere near Breakspeare?" "Its a few miles down the road, why?" "I know someone there who might be able to help. Take me to the Sheriff's station in Breakspeare." Blue Ridge Nightclub Front Royal West Virginia July 4th 1997 1.10 p.m. Mulder looked at his watch for the second time in thirty seconds and sighed. He looked over at Frohike who was torn between watching the exits for any, sign that the deal was going down, and watching the gyrating hips of the tall blonde in front of him who seemed to be celebrating July 4th with great gusto. The nightclub was packed and the music so loud it made his head hurt. Staging the exchange here had been the Gunmen's idea and Mulder had agreed that he thought it a pretty good one. Their enemies wouldn't be able to make any rash moves here. They wouldn't be able to open fire on a crowd of people celebrating Independence Day. Things were more likely to go smoothly, and the crowds meant that they had a better chance of slipping away safely once it was over. He wanted it to be over. He wanted to kiss Scully's full, lush mouth and sit down with Samantha and tell her how wonderful it was to know she was alive and well. But it wasn't over, and they were late. Ten minutes late, in fact, and his body was beginning to sweat as much as the young nubile ones who had been dancing to the pounding beat for hours on end. A brunette in a tight red tank top stared at him with a measure of interest and a seductive smile while she swayed to the music. He shot her a menacing glare and she returned to her dancing after shooting him a 'you weren't worth it anyway' look. He saw a flash of red hair and his heart rate quickened but it was simply another clubber. He wondered briefly if Scully ever went to nightclubs and the thought made him smile. He really couldn't see her in this sort of place, but with Scully, anything was possible. He really didn't know her half as well as he pretended too, and he'd always suspected their was a deeply- hidden, but very strong, wild side to her. Charles came up beside him, interrupting his musings. "Eleven minutes late. Something's wrong." Mulder tried to shrug it off with humour. "Maybe they got stopped by the doormen. Too menacing looking, or something." "No, you said these guys were like a secret military. Take it from me Fox. Military people are never late." "Mulder. Its Mulder." "Yeah sure." They both looked up in interest as Byers came into the club. He'd been stationed in the van outside. He was tugging at his tie anxiously. Mulder approached him. "What's up?" "They've posted another message. The deal's off. They say they don't require the chip anymore." Mulder raised his voice. "That's such bullshit. They were willing to kill for it earlier today." Charles ran a hand through his hair. "Do you think they're bluffing?" "I don't know." Mulder strode away angrily. Charles called out to him. "Fox. What happens now?" He stopped, turned and glared at Scully's brother. "I have no fucking idea. Leave me alone. I don't have all the answers." He ran up the stairs of the club and stormed out the door. Frohike walked over to Charles and Byers, looking up at them expectantly. "What's happened?" "Nothing. Nothing is going to happen either. No deal." "Damn. That's bad. I guess we'll have to go plan B then." Charles looked confused. "What's plan B?" Frohike shrugged. "We'll know when we invent it." Byers smoothed down the lapels of his suit. "I suggest we go find Mulder. We're fish out of water here." Frohike stroked his stubble. "Speak for yourself. I was doing okay with blondie over there." Charles slapped his back. "Hate to tell you this pal but I think she was looking at you in shock rather than lust." Frohike made a disgruntled sound as they made their way out of the club. Charles was surprised to see Mulder sitting in the van with Langly. He had assumed that he had taken off on his own in anger, but was pleased that he had realised he could use help from his friends. Once everybody was inside. Langly pulled out of the side street and began the short drive back to the hotel. All of them were too pre-occupied with wondering why the deal had been called off to notice the very similar, unmarked black van that followed them at a discreet distance. Sheriff's Station Breakespeare West Virginia July 4th, 1997 00.15 a.m. Sheriff Emily Watson yawned at the small television she had set up on the counter to relieve her boredom. Nothing exciting was on but she didn't switch it off because she welcomed the noise it gave to the dark office. Normally the Sheriff's Station wasn't open through the night, but after the kidnapping of Molly Turner the residents had organised a public meeting and suggested that they'd feel safer if the local law enforcement was available twenty-four-hours a day. Emily had tried to reason with them. Assuring them that Molly's kidnapper had been found and that the Sheriff's office didn't need to remain open, and that she'd still be on call even when it wasn't, but it hadn't appeased them and so she'd agreed that she and her deputy would work shifts. She was hoping that in a couple of weeks the hysteria would die down and things would go back to normal, because she'd really had it with the night shift. Although it wasn't as if she had anything better to do. She admitted that she had no social life, and had neither the time nor the inclination to go looking for one at the moment. A comedy show began and one of the characters was a petite red-haired girl. She smiled. She was pretty, but not like Dana. Dana Scully had been beautiful; with her classic features and noble air. She sighed. She really had to get over her fixation. The woman was straight, and in love with that lanky partner of hers, who probably didn't deserve her. She sighed again. That wasn't fair. He was a nice guy. A little screwed up perhaps, but a good guy, nonetheless. She became alert when a truck pulled up sharply outside. She switched the t.v. off and put a hand on her holster as she moved to the door. The man who got out of the drivers side walked quickly towards her and she tensed. He was wild looking, dark and dangerous. As she opened the office door to greet him warily she noticed his false limb. "Can I help?" "Are you Sheriff Watson?" "Yeah. Something wrong?" "I was hoping you might be able to help me. Well actually I was hoping you might be able to help the person I have with me. She needs protecting." Emily tried to look around him at the truck but it was too dark to see much. "Who are you?" "It doesn't matter what my name is, but I have Dana Scully with me." Emily almost gasped. "Is she in some kind of trouble?" "She needs somewhere to hide. She needs to be taken care of. She's not well. She's gotten worse on the drive. She's so hot and I can't rouse her. I think she's in a bad fever." He walked back to the truck and Emily followed eagerly. He opened the door for her and she climbed in next to Scully. A woman sitting on the other side of the truck nodded at her. "Hi." "Hi. Who are you?" "Sam. Samantha Hicks." Emily took a deep breath and examined Dana more closely. Her fever was high and sweat gleaned from her body; her lips moved noiselessly. Emily looked around at the man who was standing on the street looking up and down. "What's this bandage for over her eyes?" "Some kind of operation. It can't be taken off for a week. Please don't ask more questions, there isn't time. Will you help her?" Emily nodded. "Of course. We'll take her to my place. Its just at the back of the office. Drive the truck around to the door and I'll lock up here." Emily Watson's house Breakspeare July 4th, 1997 1.30 a.m. Emily dipped the cloth back in the bowl of cool water she had placed by the bedside, rung it out, and wiped Dana's face again before she settled the cloth on her forehead. She looked up at Samanatha and Krycek who hovered at the end of the bed. Krycek motioned towards Scully. "How's she doing?" Emily got to her feet. "Still feverish, but she seems to be sleeping now." Samantha looked as if she were about to cry. "Do you think she's going to be okay?" "I'm no doctor, and since you guys won't let me call one, there's not a lot I can tell you." Krycek moved towards the door. "You can't tell anyone she's here. Keep her hidden till either Mulder or I come back for her. Come on Samantha, you have to come with me." Samantha looked a little stricken, but did as she was bade. Emily sighed. "I don't suppose I'm going to get any clue as to what's going on here." Krycek looked at her with a plea in his eye. "The more you know, the more you're in danger." "Listen. For all I know you two are responsible for Dana being like this. If I was doing my job properly I'd arrest you right now." "Her life is under threat, but not by us. If anyone knows where she is...just protect her...please." Krycek disappeared through the door, dragging Samantha along after him. Emily heard the door bang and slumped back into the chair she had just vacated. "Mulder." When she heard Scully's voice her head whipped round to look down at her unexpected house guest. She took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Mulder's not here Dana. Its Emily Watson, remember me. I'm just taking care of you, you're not well." Dana was quiet for a while, as if she were trying to piece together the information and remember recent events. She nodded slightly and licked her lips. "Thirsty." Emily smiled. "Well that's a good sign. I'll just be a second." She hurried downstairs and quickly filled a glass of water and rushed back to the bedroom where she lifted Dana's head from the pillow to help her take a sip. Scully settled back into the pillows with a slight moan. "Has Krycek gone?" "Yes. He took Samantha with him. Is that okay?" Scully nodded. "They've gone to find Mulder. Thank you Emily." "For what?" "For taking care of me." Emily found herself blushing a little and was relieved that Dana couldn't see it. "Hey. The pleasures all mine. I never thought I'd get to see you in my bed." Scully's mouth lifted into a half-smile. "You're wearing my p.j.'s too, but don't worry I let Samantha change and wash you down. I didn't trust myself not to take advantage. What's happened to you Dana?" "Its a long and highly unbelievable story. But...you should know that I'm dying...I have cancer." Emily was quiet for a moment whilst she digested the painful information. "Emily. I know I don't have long...but I...I need to see Mulder again. Please...I need...things I haven't told him...doesn't matter...Marita...Sam, I know Samantha. Hicks." Emily recognised that Dana was still a little delirious from the fever and gently stroked her hand. "Okay calm down. You're gonna see Mulder again. That guy's gone to get him for you. He'll bring him back here. Its all going to be alright." Scully nodded, quietened down and in a few minutes, much to Emily's relief, she was asleep again. Room 2 Stay n' Save Front Royal West Virginia 2.15 a.m. Mulder paced the room, a picture of barely restrained anger. Charles sat quietly on the bed, studying the vial that contained that chip The Gunmen were in the room next door. Desperately searching their databases and calling in all their favours and resources to try and find any information that might help. Mulder pulled the card that Marita had given him earlier from his pocket. Charles looked up. "What's that?" "My last lead. G.I. Jane's phone number." "You honestly don't think she's going to be of any help do you?" "You got any better ideas?" "Maybe we could go see Skinner in the hospital." "Too dangerous. He's probably being watched." Charles sighed. "I guess you'd better call the number then." Mulder moved to the phone, but stopped short when he heard a knock on the door. He and Charles exchanged a look and Mulder pulled out the gun that Langly had gotten for him as he moved to answer it. His heart pounded and he couldn't believe his eyes when he opened the door, only for Scully to fall into his arms. He held her tightly against him and thanked whatever, or whoever, had brought her to him. He dragged her limp body into the room and kicked the door shut. "Christ Scully. I thought I was never going to see you again." He blinked back tears as he held her away from him, so he could look down carefully into her eyes. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "Just a little out of breath. I've been running ever since I escaped." "How did you get here?" "It doesn't matter. I'll tell you later. I'm exhausted. I need to lie down." "Where's Samantha?" "Still with them I'm afraid. I can help you find her though." Charles got up from the bed and crossed the room. "Hey D." His heart stopped for a moment as his sister looked at him blankly for a while before recognition came to her and she smiled at him. "Hi Charles." She broke away from Mulder for a moment to kiss her brother's cheek and hug him briefly. She looked back up at her partner. "Where's the chip?" "How do you know about that?" "There was uproar in that place when they found out it was missing and that you had it. I escaped so that you wouldn't have to hand it over to them." He gently took her hand. "Scully there's still Samantha. I have to see if I can buy her freedom. I may still have to surrender it." She looked confused for a moment. "Of course. Yes." "I want to tell the Gunmen you're back. I won't be a second. They're just next door." She didn't release his hand. "No. Don't. I don't want you to leave me yet. Charles, why don't you go?" Her brother nodded, keen to spread the good news. He headed for the door and as he was about to leave Dana called out to him. "Charles. Could you stay in there for a while? Fox and I could use a little time alone." Mulder was a little surprised at the use of his first name, but quite frankly, he'd allow her to call him anything she damn well wanted to, as long as he could have her near him. Charles smiled his agreement. "Sure. I understand. Young love and all that. Give us a yell if you need us." When her brother had left, Mulder wrapped a hand around Scully's neck and pulled her mouth to his. He was surprised that she was unyielding at first, her lips remained hard under his, but with his perseverance she softened and moulded her body to him, opening her mouth at the insistence of his tongue. Mulder wondered briefly why she tasted a little different, and for that matter, smelled a little different. He supposed it was being in that place, where they'd done God knows what to her. His fingers wound their way through her hair as he backed her against the bed and lowered her onto the soft mattress. He groaned her name as he kissed her neck and pushed his groin into hers. "Fox." He didn't understand Scully's sudden propensity for wanting to call him by his first name, but he decided he quite liked the way it sounded on her soft alto. In fact, it only increased his desire. He was already rock hard, with a primal need to sheath himself inside her. After their last sexual encounter, he had sworn to himself that he wouldn't take her again without ensuring her pleasure first, but at the moment all thoughts beyond the need to enter her were banished. He undid the button on her suit jacket and slipped his hand inside to cover her breast through the silk and lace of her blouse and bra. "Fox I..." He cut her off with a kiss, unable to stand any more uttering of his name. It was driving him crazy. His hand left her breast as he continued to kiss her. He rolled slightly off her to undo the button and zipper of his jeans and sighed in relief. Wanting her to touch him, he grasped her hand and brought it onto his hardness. She squeezed him lightly through his boxers. "Oh God Scully." He searched for the catch on her suit trousers, but was stopped when she released him and put a hand on his chest to push him away. "Fox. Take it easy, there's no rush." His eyes met hers a little guiltily. "I'm sorry. I just need to connect with you." She smiled softly at him and he wondered at the colour of her eyes. He'd never seen them turn exactly that shade before. "Its nice to know you want me so much, but there's plenty of time." "No there isn't. I have to start looking for Samantha again soon." He kissed her again, hoping to persuade her. She accepted the kiss but pushed at his chest again. "Why don't you take a nice shower first?" He looked at her quizzically. "A shower?" "Yes. You smell strange. Like smoke." He sniffed his arm and shrugged. "Its that damn club. It really bothers you?" She turned her nose up and nodded. "Yeah. Please. Take a shower for me." Willing to do anything that would make her happy, he rose from the bed and nodded. "Okay. I'll be ten minutes." "I'll be waiting." He went into the bathroom, a little bemused by her behaviour, and began stripping off. He winced as he pulled his boxers down over his erection and as he stepped into the shower cubicle and switched the water on, he couldn't resist giving himself a few soothing strokes. His need was bad. Scully could make him desperate with just a few kisses. He reached for the soap and began to wash himself free of the smoke. As he lathered up, his mind began asking himself questions. How had Scully known where to find him? Why was she wearing a suit? She'd been wearing a hospital gown when she'd gone missing. Had she escaped and gone back to Washington before coming back here? He supposed it was possible. As he pondered, he heard the door of the cubicle open. He turned to see Scully standing there with a syringe in her hand. "What?" Before the word had even left his mouth she had plunged the needle into his right thigh. He grappled for the offending item, and succeeded in knocking her backwards, but it was too late, his vision was already blurring and the strength had left his muscles. He plunged to the floor of the shower, naked and helpless. The world went black. Room 3 Stay n' Save Front Royal West Virginia 2.52 a.m. Langly was speaking on the phone, Byers was still hunched over his computer monitor, and Frohike and Charles were playing cards when they heard the second thump from the room next door. Langly covered the receiver and tittered. Frohike raised an eyebrow and Byers turned round from the screen with a stiff smile on his face. Finishing his phone call, Langly got up. "Well at least someone's having fun tonight, but do they have to make so much noise about it?" Byers coughed. "I would have thought more modern motels like these would have better sound proofing." Frohike sighed. "That Mulder's a lucky dog." Charles spoke sternly. "Cut it out guys. That's my sister. I'm trying not to pay any attention, or even think about what may be happening next door." Langly picked up the phone again and began to dial. "Sorry." "So how do you think she found us?" Charles laid down his beaten poker hand and looked at the little man across the table. "What?" "How did she know how to find Mulder? We haven't told anybody where we are." Charles thought about it for a moment, but couldn't find any answer. Another thump was heard, followed by the sound of a banging door and a couple of seconds later they heard a car speed away. All four men got to their feet almost simultaneously and ran from the room. Mulder's door was wide open and they approached with caution. Charles stepped over the threshold and carefully into the room. It had been ransacked. The mattress hung halfway off the bed, the drawers all hung open, the bedside lamp had been smashed and a picture ripped. He looked around at the Gunmen in disbelief. "What's happened here?" Langly's mouth hung open. "Someone's been searching, probably for the chip. Do you still have it Charles?" He nodded and pulled it from his pocket. He walked to the bathroom, just to ensure it was empty. "They're both gone." Langly took off his glasses and cleaned them on his Megadeath t-shit. "You don't suppose Scully's ...well...gone to the other side, do you?" Charles pierced him with a glare. "My sister would never betray her country, or treat people like those bastards do. Somebody must have taken them both. Maybe they followed her here." They all jumped in surprise when a cell phone began to ring. It was Mulder's. It lay discarded on the floor. Charles bent and picked it up, pushing the button to answer it. "Hello." The voice on the other end of the line was male. "Is this Fox Mulder's phone?" "Yes." "Put him on." "He's not here at the moment. Who are you?" "Where is he?" Charles became more forceful. "Who are you?" "My name is Alex Krycek. I have his sister, and I know where Dana Scully is. She gave me this number. I need to speak to Mulder." "Okay...Krycek...let's meet." ******** continued in part 9 Armistice (9a/11) by Caroline O'Callaghan caroline.o@virgin.net Do NOT post to ATXC Rating: NC-17 Category: MSR/adventure/mythology Summary: Mulder discovers clues to the circumstances behind his sister's disappearance, whilst Scully battles fatal illness. Disclaimer: Oh, do I have to? Okay - nobody belongs to me - nuff said! Spoilers: Lots and lots - all the way up to Small Potatoes (although in this universe Gethesmane has not yet happened.) IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a continuation of an earlier story 'The Lure of the Fox' in which Mulder and Scully became lovers. Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 4th, 1997 6.04 a.m. The smoke woke him. The stale, musty smell of Morley's. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a small, dank cell. Rubbing a hand through his hair, he sat up and looked around, knowing who he would see. Cancer Man nodded at him. "Agent Mulder. How are you feeling?" His enemy seemed downcast, strangely melancholy. His usual smirk missing. Mulder got up, taking with him the blanket that covered his otherwise naked frame, and walked to the front of the cell where he spoke to Cancer Man through the bars. "A little under-dressed." "Sorry my associate didn't feel there was time to stop for clothes." "Your associate. You mean that thing? That poor imitation of Scully? Is it even human?" "I'd explain what it is Fox, but science was never your strong point." "I suppose it was looking for the chip. You must have been pretty pissed when you realised I didn't have it, especially after all the trouble you went to." Cancer Man looked down at his feet and let out an ironic chuckle. "The events of the last few hours have made the chip seem rather insignificant." "Where's Scully? Where's my sister?" "I haven't got the faintest idea." Cancer Man opened the cell door and walked away. Mulder realised he was meant to follow and walked quickly to catch up. His feet freezing on the cold floor. They walked out of the cells and into a corridor, which was thriving with activity. Men with heavy weaponry rushed back and forth. People in lab coats were packing boxes and stacking them in rows. Mulder's brow furrowed. "What's happening?" Cancer Man gave him a resigned look. "They're coming, but we're not ready for them." "Who?" "Them Fox." Cancer Man pointed a long, yellow finger up at the ceiling. "Them. The project has failed." Dee's 24-hour Diner Front Royal West Virginia July 4th, 1997 6.17 a.m. Langly, Byers and Krycek sat around a table poking at their food with forks. Silence prevailed. The talking; the explanations had already taken place. Charles and Samantha sat at another table across the restaurant. "I always knew that I had a brother, I mean I didn't know, but I felt it, somewhere inside me was a sense that there was someone..." Charles looked up at the pretty woman opposite him, when she failed to finish the sentence. She spoke softly, her head ducked in shyness. "He's been looking for you since you were taken. Dana told me that finding you is the only thing that matters to him." "I just hope we get to meet." Charles smiled softly and covered her hand with one of his. "You will. From Dana's letters I gather he's something of a survivor. He may come back battered and bruised, but he'll come back." Samantha smiled back, although she covered her mouth self-consciously. "I just keep thinking how strange it was that Dana and I knew each other. If we'd have stayed in touch after college, I probably would have found out about Fox sooner." "You don't remember anything about your childhood?" "No, not really. Not memories. Feelings perhaps. When you told me my real name was Mulder and that I had a brother, it seemed right, not strange. Like it was what I'd been expecting to discover all along." Charles nodded and took a sip of his coffee. He was enjoying Samantha's company, despite the strange circumstances of their meeting in the early hours of that morning, and his concerns for Dana. As if she had read his mind, Samantha broached that subject. "Are you going to go and see Dana now? You must be worried about her." "Yes I am worried, but she's in safe hands, and I feel that I ought to do something to help Fox." "Can we exchange that chip thing for him?" "Fox's friends over there sent a message to say that we'd be willing to, but so far we haven't heard anything. There was a number that Mulder had, a contact of his that might help. I was thinking of calling her. Other than that, I don't really have any idea what to do." Across the room Langly, Byers and Krycek were indulging in an animated conversation. "Krycek man, you know where their headquarters are, I say we try and get in there and rescue him." Krycek shook his head. "You have no idea of the security there." Byers cocked his head to one side. "Well you managed to sneak Scully and Samantha out okay." Alex had to concede. "Yeah, but only because they thought I was on their side." "Whose side are you on?" He glared at Byers. "Mine." His face softened as he considered further. "And Scully's. I got her involved in this, it was me who... I kept Mulder from getting to her in time." He looked around and ducked his head. "I was there when her sister was shot." Byers considered for a moment, still not sure whether or not to trust Alex Krycek. Mulder had told him of the awful heinous crimes that the man had committed as a pawn of the consortium. On the other hand, however, he had brought Samantha to them, and she claimed that he had helped Scully and herself break out of the laboratory. If he could possibly assist them in finding Mulder, it was worth the risk his help carried with it. Langly interrupted his thoughts . "How about we try and disable their computers or something? Hack in and bring 'em all down?" "That's been tried before. By a group with technology far superior to yours, and it didn't work." Frohike came running into the diner on stubby little legs, his face betraying his excitement. "Guys I've just been on to all the local UFO networks. You wouldn't believe their figures for last night. Sightings all over the place. The skies were alive." Byers shrugged. "We were out last night. We didn't see anything." Frohike wasn't deterred. "Most of it was about forty miles away." The placid tones of Langly calmed him slightly. "That's cool dude, but we have a more pressing matter were trying to deal with here." They all looked round as Charles got up from his table and crossed to the payphone, where he pulled a card from the back pocket of his jeans and began to dial. Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 4th, 1997 6.24 a.m. Mulder couldn't help but be completely fascinated by the sights that surrounded him in the control room of the laboratory. The banks of computers were manned by young men who all looked incredibly alike, with only subtle differences to tell them apart. They were beginning to sweat profusely as the tension in the air increased. If he was reading the monitors right, they seemed to suggest that some kind of invasion had taken place. Video-captures of strange craft kept flashing up on VDU's, bleeps and alarms sounded, struggling to be heard over the shouted numbers. "One-hundred-and-forty-two now sir." The Well Manicured Man nodded and hung his head. "What should we do Sir? The last unit of men we sent out have all been killed." He shrugged. "There is nothing to do but sit and wait. They'll come to us. I'll be in the conference room. When they ask you to take them to your leader, you'll know where to find me." With his weak joke, he left the room, not even sparing a glance at Mulder, who stood shivering in his blanket, despite the heat. Cancer Man sat calmly in a chair. Mulder moved to occupy the one next to him. Blocking out the noise and activity and focusing on the man who had been his chief demon for so long. "You know in really bad crime movies, as he's about to die, the bad guy gives in and reveals to the good cop what exactly happened." Cancer Man actually smiled at him. "You've been looking for the truth for so long. All I can offer is an explanation." Mulder nodded. "We started out with good intentions in Roswell. When we discovered they had the capability to infiltrate our world, we began to formulate a strategy for protecting ourselves. There were some good men involved. Clever men, who meant only to save mankind from a very real threat to its existence." Mulder thought of his father and the man he had only known as Deep Throat, as he listened to Cancer Man speak. "We studied them and tried to learn from them. We watched the skies, and as they landed we captured and experimented on them. We found that they had become so advanced because they had a harsh system of elimination. The accepted only the strongest, fittest and brightest in their world, anybody lesser was terminated without sympathy." "Like the Nazi's?" "Yes, I suppose. They would have had a lot of respect for Hitler. What the men in our group determined was that in order to survive any attacks on this planet we needed to weed out those who were not up to the challenge of making it better and stronger. Keeping only the good genes. We tagged everybody, through small pox vaccinations." "How did you decide who to keep and who to reject?" "Medical records, I.Q. tests, other methods." "How did you plan to rid the world of those who didn't make the grade?" "Bees. Specially bred bees." Mulder nodded. "The bees know who to attack?" Cancer Man laughed. "No. But those who had a special serum injected into them with their small pox jabs wouldn't have fatal reactions to the stings. Others would." "Why the experiments on the Mufon members? Why the clones?" "Every hive needs workers. Our plan would have left us with too many chiefs and no indian's. Imagine all those wonderful brains that would be left, none of whom would want to do the grunt work. So we'd create controllable clones. Much more manageable than people. Or so we thought. We did too good a job Mr Mulder, they began to think for themselves." "Kurt Crawford?" "Among others." "And he was created from the ova you stole from those women?" Cancer Man nodded. "Any more questions Fox?" "The cancer?" "Created simply to destroy the women that were no longer any good to us, and whose stories about abduction and being taken away by little green men were becoming annoying." "Is there a cure?" Cancer Man shrugged. "We were working on one. Scanlon performed a procedure on Agent Scully yesterday. Its never been done before, and quite frankly, I think the man is not entirely competent. So please don't expect any miracles. She and your sister escaped from this facility last night, aided by Alex Krycek. She may be dead by now. She didn't seem too good the last time I saw her." Mulder looked away from the man, trying to hide his emotions from him. He wasn't sure whether to be hopeful that Scanlon might have hit upon a cure, or be filled with fury at the knowledge that they had once again been experimenting on Scully. How dare they play with her like she were some kind of toy, and not the glorious, wonderful human being that she was. He swallowed hard as Cancer Man's words reverberated around his mind. 'She may be dead by now'. Suddenly all the computer's were silent and all screens blacked out. The nervous young men all looked at one another and Cancer Man got to his feet. "Well, somebody has disabled our systems. It looks like they're here. Fox, why don't you come and witness the truth?" Residence of Emily Watson Breakespeare West Virginia July 4th, 1997 6.48 a.m. Emily watched in frustration as Dana Scully tossed, turned and kicked in her sleep, moaning unintelligibly. She was obviously in the grip of high fever and other than keeping her cool by wiping her face and neck with a cool flannel, Emily didn't know how else to help her. Her instinct was to call for an ambulance, but the people who had brought her here had been so insistent that she shouldn't, that she'd resisted the urge. She would only do so if her patient's condition became critical. She stifled a yawn and looked up at the clock. Up all night, and who knew how much longer she would have to keep vigil? Outside the Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 4th, 1997 7.10 a.m. Charles rubbed his sweaty palms against his black jeans and looked over at Alex Krycek, who sat with a controlled expression on his face. Also in the van with him were the three Lone Gunmen. He had sent Samantha to his mother with instructions not to tell anybody Dana's whereabouts until he had told her it was safe to do so. Marita had never answered the phone. They had only one option left. Direct confrontation. "You're crazy. These guys aren't playing at soldiers you know, they're deadly serious." Charles nodded at Alex. "So am I. When all attempts at getting in the windows and the back doors fail, your only option is to go right up and knock on the front door." All five men took deep breaths, got to their feet, checking the weaponry they had gathered. An assault riffle, a Smith n Wesson, a semi-automatic machine gun, a sig and a 9mm Baretta. Not bad at such short notice. Charles was the voice of authority, and in Mulder's absence, had become something of a leader. "No time like the present. Let's go." "Wait, wait." Charles' let go of the door handle at Frohike's warning. "What? Something wrong?" "I'm not sure, come and look at this." Langly had set up a surveillance camera on top of the van, that was throwing pictures of the front of the laboratory, onto his monitor. Charles went to stand over his shoulder. "Who are those people?" The pictures showed a relative army of a few hundred bodies, which was descending in perfect marching formation on the laboratory building. Frohike shrugged and Byers looked steadily at Charles. "Maybe we ought to wait and see how this unfolds?" Charles nodded and returned to watching the screen. His blue eyes widened as he saw the laboratory guards simply throw back the gates and allow the mass presence easy entry. Once inside, twenty or thirty of the party sought and gained entrance to the building, whilst the others hung back to patrol the grounds. The laboratory security forces threw their weapons down and allowed themselves to be gathered into a group. *********** continued in 9b Armistice (9b/11) by Caroline O'Callaghan ************** Conference Room Laboratory Warrenton West Virginia July 4th, 1997 7.22 a.m. Mulder was filled with the same kind of awe he had experienced as a child when he had watched Apollo 11 land on the Moon. He knew he was watching history being made. He was witness to an astonishing moment. Cancer Man and the Well Manicured Man stood with other members of the consortium in a row; their backs to the wall behind a large oak table, as the huge double doors of the conference room were thrown open and an invading force from another world marched in. Although, it was hard to distinguish them as being from a planet other than earth, because they looked as human as he was. Marita led their approach to the table and Mulder was completely aware, and not in the least surprised to realise who, or what, she was. Her army stopped behind her and she went on. Eventually meeting the Well Manicured Man, who nodded in greeting. She spoke in a voice that was quiet, but which at the same time reverberated around the room for everybody to hear. "You are a weak and foolish people. Your attempts to resist domination are pathetic." The Well Manicured Man looked at his shoes. "You cannot blame us for trying to defend ourselves." "And how did you chose to do that? By destroying your fellow men, by keeping secrets from them? "Isn't that how your race have survived?" Marita merely smirked. "No. We have survived by discovering other's secrets, not by having our own. We know your plans, your project." "You know nothing. Unless you have the chip." "Forget the chip. We have no use for it. We could simply annihilate your planet if we wished. But it is not our wish. We're tired of playing games with you. We have come to ask for peace." "We will always see you as a threat. It is human nature to fear those who are in some way different." Marita nodded. "We will end our visits, our experiments, if you agree to end yours. What would you call it? A treaty for peace; an armistice?" "How long would this last?" "As long as the conditions were obeyed, forever. We have gotten all the information from your planet, and your race, that we require, we have no wish to return here." "But we have not learned all that we desire to know about you." "Which is exactly the way we want it." "You will remove all your spies?" Marita noted the sarcasm in her opponents voice. "Every last one. They are being recalled and will leave with us." "What if we do not wish an armistice?" "Then we can only assume that you wish for war. And you are aware that you are not yet strong enough to contend with us." Cancer Man and the Well Manicured Man exchanged glances, as did other members of the consortium. "You leave us no choice but to agree." Marita nodded in satisfaction. "Then we will leave soon." Cancer Man's voice rose in the air, along with the smoke he exhaled. "After you kill the people in this laboratory?" Marita tensed. "That's what you intend to do isn't it? We're so close to copying your technology, but we haven't shared the results of our hard work with anybody outside this building. Destroy us and you'll put the human race back to almost the same point it was when you first began to take an interest in us." He glanced at Mulder before continuing. "Maybe our mistake was to keep secrets, if we hadn't, then it wouldn't be so easy so destroy all our work. Once we are dead, the evidence and information is dead. The people of the world will have no reason to believe that your presence was anymore than shadows, lights and overactive imaginations." Marita strode back to her silent army. "Yes, you will die. But your deaths will bring peace for millions of people. A continuation of the race, isn't that what you were always working for anyway?" Cancer Man threw his cigarette aside. "Kill us all then. I'm willing to make the sacrifice. But let Fox Mulder go." Marita glanced around the room and her eyes settled on Mulder. She hadn't noticed his presence before. Her expression softened. Cancer Man's voice was pleading. "He really is harmless, you know. He's been searching for what he calls the truth for four years and never discovered anything that he could use to inform the people of the world what was happening in secrecy, behind their backs. Everybody who knows him thinks he's mentally ill. If he related the events of this meeting to anybody, they'd probably institutionalise him." Mulder merely looked dumbfounded. Knowing that Cancer Man was trying to save him by insulting him. If he came to his own defence he was as good as dead. Marita's expression hardened again and he knew he would be killed. She nodded at her troops and stepped out of their line of fire. The members of the consortium were picked off one by one. The weapons used to kill them made no sound and seemed to emit no bullet, but the men fell anyway. When their attention focused on Cancer Man, the last in the line, he turned to Mulder and smiled enigmatically. Mulder watched him slump to the floor with a mixture of feelings. There was some elation at the fact that the man who had caused he, Scully and Samantha such pain was no longer, and some despair at the thought that perhaps now he would never know the answer to the question that had plagued him for some time now. Had the man been his Father? He had no more time to ponder, for now the task force had their concentration trained on him. He took a deep breath and prepared to meet whatever lay beyond this life. He said his goodbyes. An image of Scully raising a challenging eyebrow at him on their first meeting flashed into his mind. He closed his eyes so that he could better concentrate on it. A crashing sound made him open them again and he looked over to see Langly, Byers, Frohike, Krycek and Charles Scully being accompanied into the room by several more of Marita's troops. Mulder grimaced in pain. Now they were dead too. Marita spoke to one of the troops in a language he had little hope of understanding. They conversed for several minutes, and then she turned and ordered her firing squad to lower their weapons, which had been aimed at Mulder's chest. Then she crossed to Charles Scully. "You have the chip?" He nodded. "Yes. I can give it to you. If you let Mulder go." Marita smiled. "You really don't have a lot of bargaining power you know? I could just kill you and take it from you." "I'm armed." Mulder used his eyes to try and beg Charles not to argue with Marita, but the man was refusing to look at him, as if he knew that Mulder was trying to deter him and he didn't want to be dissuaded. Marita smiled again. "A few little guns really aren't going to stop us. The chip is evidence that we feel it would be best to destroy. Give it to me and I may let you and your friends go, but Mulder must die. He has seen much here today." Charles straightened his shoulders and pushed out his chest. "The chip has been placed with someone who is under strict orders to release it to people who can make it public unless Mulder is returned safe and sound." Marita considered for a few moments before holding a hand out to one of her troops, who relinquished his weapon to her. She carried it over to where Mulder stood and aimed it at him. "Tell me its location, or he dies this instant. You all die this instant" Charles swallowed hard. His bluff hadn't worked. Marita knew that he had it in his possession. He pulled the vial from his pocket, placed it on the floor and kicked it in Marita's direction. She watched it roll towards her and picked it up when it stopped at her feet. Then she turned her attention back to Mulder. A finger on the trigger. "No." The cry came from Alex Krycek. Who pushed his way past Charles, drew his handgun and blasted a shot at Marita. She fell to the floor, and seconds later so did Krycek, as he was picked off by her firing squad. Mulder's gaze was torn between the body of Alex Krycek, and that of Marita, who lay in a pile of green liquid. Her men were now crowding around her. Looking at her in distress, and speaking to one another in their own language. To his surprise they did not choose to immediately kill all the other men in the room. Instead, two of them lifted her decaying body and they all walked quickly through the doors, fussing over their downed leader. Mulder, and the Gunmen watched in fascination. Charles put two fingers to Alex Krycek's neck. "He's dead." Langly shook himself out of his stupor. "Mulder. What, who...what, were they?" He pointed upwards. Mulder nodded without looking at him. "Yes." Frohike stared at Mulder in amazement. "But, they looked so normal, so like us." Mulder licked his lips. "I think they can be, or look like, whatever they want." Charles passed a hand over Krycek's eyes to close the lids in respect, and moved to Mulder's side. "Why do you think they didn't kill us?" "She was their leader. They couldn't, not without her permission. They're a very ordered people. It was okay to shoot Krycek, because he had harmed one of them directly. They've taken her to see if they can heal her." Charles realised that Mulder was shaking. "You okay Fox? I think we ought to get you to a hospital." Mulder turned suddenly to look at him, really noticing him for the first time, as if he had been talking to him before from a dream. "Scully, Samantha?" "Samantha's safe and well. Krycek looked after them. He took Dana to stay with someone called Emily Watson. He told me we could find her at the Sheriff's station in Breakespeare, but he said she wasn't doing too good when he left her. Do you think its safe to go to her now Fox?" Mulder nodded. "Its all over." Frohike walked towards the door and then stopped and turned. His hand on the heavy wood. "You sure?" "Yes, they've gone." Mulder looked around at the felled members of the consortium, before moving towards the door himself. "Its finally all over." St Mary's Hospital East Tisbury Martha's Vineyard July 4th, 1997 6.45 p.m. Fox Mulder walked briskly up the hospital corridor, his bare feet slapping on the sterile floor. His clothes consisted of a Beavis and Buthhead t-shirt and jogging pants that came to an end half way up his calves, both were borrowed from the Lone Gunmen. Maggie Scully stood when she saw him approach, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Mrs Scully...where...?" Emily Watson, who had been sitting beside Scully's mother interrupted. "I was supposed to be taking care of her but she got so sick Fox, that I had to get her to a hospital. I'm sorry if..." He shook his head. "No, its okay. It doesn't matter if people know where she is now. Its safe." Charles Scully came running up the corridor behind him and embraced his mother. Emily continued. "I took her to my local hospital, but they don't have an oncology department there. I told them who she was and they called the FBI in Washington who suggested she be transferred back here, where they had her records and she'd been treated. They transferred her this afternoon and they're examining her now." Mrs Scully looked up at her son. "Where have you been Charlie?" He smoothed her hair and held her close. "Trying to make things better, for Dana. We would have been here earlier today, but it took us ages to find out where she was. We went to Breakespeare first." Mulder shook off the hand that Emily Watson had placed on his forearm, and turned to Mrs Scully. "Where's Samantha?" Her voice was heavy with emotion. "Back at the motel. She's fine but exhausted. She called her mother who's on her way here." "Our Mother?" "No Fox. Not your Mother. Mrs Hicks." She saw Mulder close his eyes in pain and spoke to him soothingly. "She's very close to her Fox. As she will be to you in time, I'm sure." He shook his head. "Its just that I realised I'm going to have to tell her soon. My Mother, I'll have to let her know." His face was set in face concentration for a moment and then his gaze swept down the corridor, before his feet set off in the same direction. Charles caught him by the shoulder. "Where you going?" "I have to see Scully." Emily Watson ran to stand in front of him, to block his path. "The doctor said he'd come and let us know when we can see her. He said to wait here." Mulder tried to step around her, but she put a hand on his chest and Charles grabbed his shoulder again. "You don't understand I have to see her, just for a second...I have to..." His eyes filled with tears, and his mouth quivered as he began to sob. Maggie Scully brushed both Emily and Charles aside and opened her arms to Mulder. His head fell against her shoulder, and his arms encircled her waist, as his body shook with the effort of crying. St Mary's Hospital East Tisbury Martha's Vineyard July 4th, 1997 8.19 p.m. He watched her chest rise and fall with each breath she took. He examined her pale, pretty features for even the smallest sign that she might wake. He tended to concentrate on her lips, because her eyes were still obscured by bandages. Her lips remained silent. He had kissed those soft lips when he had seen her; he had leant down over the bed, muttered a soft hello and told her how wonderful it was to see her again. He sat by her bedside now with her mother. The doctors had pronounced Scully unresponsive, but not comatose. The high fever had broken and now she slept on, despite their attempts to rouse her. They could think of nothing else but to connect an I.V. to her hand and wait twenty-four hours to see if she recovered consciousness. So they waited. Mulder took a deep, shuddery breath. Still slightly embarrassed that he had broken down in the corridor. "You know Fox. It might have been better if you gone back to the hotel with Charles, you could have seen your sister." "I know she's safe and well. I just wish I knew the same about Scu..." He corrected himself. "Dana." "The doctor said he'd have more results from their tests soon. That should tell us more." "What if it tells us something we don't want to hear." She ran a hand along his back in comfort. "Whatever it is, we'll cope." "I couldn't cope with.... If he told us she was dying. I...don't think I could stand it...deal with it. She can't leave me alone." "You wouldn't be alone." He nodded. "Yes I would. I'd have people around me, but I'd still be alone. And that's unbearable." "You'd manage Fox. We think we can't cope with those we love dying; that we'll shatter into a million pieces and never recover, but something inside of us allows us to go on. Trust me, I know. Its hard, perhaps the hardest thing ever, but you find the strength from somewhere and you...survive." He nodded. She took his hand. "But we're not going to think about that now are we? We're going to think positive thoughts. Dana's alive, let's not start burying her yet." The door opened and he swivelled around to see his sister enter the room, followed by Charles Scully. His eyes met Samantha's and they merely drank each other in before she averted her gaze in shyness. He knew no such reticence and moved towards her quickly, engulfing her in his arms and pulling her towards his chest. He could think of only one word to say. "Samantha." She chuckled, half-delighted, half-embarrassed. "Hello Fox." ******************* Continued in part 10 *******************