From: larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca (Jess Archibald) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: REPOST: COLLUSION 1&2/7 Date: 1 Feb 1996 22:28:22 GMT Okay. I've got a lot of messages from people at AOL saying parts two and three never made it out there, so I'm combining the first four parts into two posts and sending them out again. Apologies for the wasted bandwidth . . . I'm going to have a little 'chat' with my server (hey, anyone seen my rocket launcher?) ______________ I told you it'd be coming and here it is...the sequel to Commitment. If you haven't read Commitment, don't worry, I'll fill in the relevant bits as we go along. This story takes place immediately after Commitment. Thanks for everyone who asked about this one and special thanks go to Charleyne and lioness for help and encouragement. THANKS! Story contains characters copyrighted 1993 by CC and 10-13 productions, no infringement intended. Story and characters of Doug Shelton and Zoe Bateman belong to me.... COLLUSION 1/? by Jess Archibald (larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca) Arrowhead Army Base, Kentucky 3:04 a.m. The Kentucky night was layered in darkness. Walking the perimeter of the fence was a boring duty under the best of circumstances. Waiting for a breach of security in one's own country, when the only assault would come from city kids in look of a thrill or reporters in search of a tale of elicit maneuvers, was something the soldiers at the base expected and tolerated. it didn't mean they were anxious to spend their nights wandering the base carrying an assualt rifle at the ready. Or at least that's what Private Billy Raines thought. if any foreign county decided to infiltrate an Armerican Army Base, Raines figured Arrowhead would be on the list of 'only if everything else is closed by cutback' targets. Shifting the strap of his gun, Raines sighed and started to trudge back the way he had come, nodding to the private arriving perpendicular to him. He opened his mouth to call a greeting when the sky lit up. "What the *hell*!?" he shouted, raising one hand to shield his eyes, the other dropping the gun, letting it swing down on its strap while he reached for his radio. He raised it to his mouth, squinting as a bright white light flared out of the night, casting the shadowed base into daytime brightnes, making eyes water as the two privates tried to peer through the light to its source. A wild wind had whipped up, tugging at Raines, striving to knock him in one direction or another. "Sarge! Sarge! We've got a prob -- " He trailed off as he heard the squeal of static. "Dammit! Radio's not workin'!" The private who had been patrolling the other section of the base called back, "Mine neither. What's goin' on?" Raines shook his head and let out a uell of surprise as the light seemed to dip down closer, and a steady throbbing sound began to shake the ground, making his teeth grind together. The other private let out a frightened yell. Raines knew the feeling. Just as he felt that he couldn't take it any more, the throbbing faded, the wind died and the light vanished as if someone had switched it off. "*Raines*! Answer me, Private!" His sergeant was screaming at him over the now working radio. "I -- I'm here, Sarge," he said into it, wondering at the quiet of his voice after the noise. "What the freaking hell was that, Private?" "Damned if I know, sir," he replied. "Christ!" the other private suddenly yelled. "Raines, you'd better look at this." He stepped forward, unwilling and reluctant to get a better look at what the other soldier was pointing to. A crumpled form was on the ground, its army green clothing blending into the grass, looking for all the world like a small hill that had materialized out of nowhere. It groaned. Raines raised the radio to his mouth once more. "Uh, Sarge, I think you'd better get down here." He tucked the radio back into his belt and went over to the figure, rolling it over carefully while the other private held his gun at the ready. The figure was wearing the uniform of a corporal in the United States Army. Raines cursed softly. "It's Corporal Dunham." "Huh? But he disappeared." "Looks like he's back." *************** Two days later Dana Scully's Residence Washington, D.C. 1:46 a.m. "All right, I'm coming!" Dana Scully nearly shouted, one hand pulling her robe closed while the other one wrapped frimly around the handle of her 9mm. Early morning visitors were not something she took lightly, especially after the month she'd had. The twinge in her side was more than ample reminder of the troubles that had recently been visited on her and her partner. The pounding knock came again, having frightened her out of sleep just a couple of minutes ago. "Who is it?" she demanded. "Dana?" The voice held a quavering note that she had never heard in it before, but was easily recognizable. Her free hand flew to the deadbolt and chain, releasing them so she could fling open the door to admit Zoe Bateman, who stumbled in, almost in a state of shock, pausing long enough to put her travel bag down on the floor before reaching out to Dana, her dark hair and black trenchcoat enveloping the redhead like a cloak of darkness as she hugged her friend with almost desperate intensity. Dana hugged her back, feeling a little foolish wiht her gun still in hand, trying not to wince as the pressure applied itself to her side. "Zoe, what is it? What are you doing here?" The voice was muffled but clear. "I've done something horrible, Dana..." ************** Dana got the coffee made and placed a mug in front of her friend before sitting across from her at the kitchen table. "It started three weeks ago when we got the report on a kidnapping in Salt Lake City; a twelve year old girl was taken from a shopping mall be a man in his late forties and the police had received a number of reports of the suspect car crossing the state lines into Nevada and then later into California." Zoe's face was dead white, the only colour coming from the blue-black patches under her gray eyes. "Ryan McIntyre and I got the case . . . we were supposed to follow up on the reports and find the girl. We tracked the car to San Bernadino . . . our best guess is the guy was heading for the Mexican border . . . I don't know why he didn't just cut through Arizona . . . maybe he wasn'ted to take the scenice route . . . " Her voice bordered on a hysterical edge and Dana reached out to take hold of Zoe's right head, steadying her and giving her the strength to continue. "We cornered him and the girl -- she was still okay, screaming her head off, but alive and unhurt -- in a little warehouse, one that contained shipping supplies for a courier company. I went in first . . . I don't know what happened . . . one minute everything's fine, the net I'm on the ground seeing stars and my gun . . . it's on the ground next to me. The bastard was waiting for me to come in and had one of those wooden crates in his hand. Hit me with it. Ryan's right behind me though, gets the guy to back off, retrieves my gun just as I'm starting to get back up again and then the guy goes nuts on us, grabbing the girl and suddenly there's this little switchblade in his hand, resting on her throat and Ryan tells him to put it down, put it down or he'll be forced to shoot and the girl's crying now, begging us not to let this guy kill her and Ryan hands me my gun and -- and -- " Her voice broke and her shoulders heaved as she began to cry. "I hear a gunshot, two of them and the guy goes down and I remember thinking 'that's it, it's over,' but the girl goes down with him . . . " Dana waited patiently as Zoe struggled with the next part. "She died, Dana. That son of a bitch never *touches* her and she dies from gunshot wound to the chest. And the bullet came from *my* *gun*! I don't even remember firing it, but the ballistic tests matched the bullet that killed her and the one the killed the guy as coming from my weapon." "Oh my God," Dana whispered. Zoe's eyes met hers and Dana gasped at the despair in them. "I killed her, Dana, and I don't even remember doing it . . . " "Zoe -- " "They suspended me pending an inquiry. The ruling came back eight days ago. They cleared me because of the blow to the head I took, actually reprimanding Ryan for handing back my weapon without checking to see if I was incapacitated first." She began to laugh hysterically. "I killed a little girl and my partner takes the flak for it." Dana came around the table, pulling a chair with her to wrap her arms around her friend again. "It's all right, Zoe . . ." "No, it's not!" She pulled away. "Everyone in L.A. thinks I got off because of who my father is and because I'm a woman. My own *parter* thinks that and so does my ASAC. I can't work out there, Dana, I really can't. I came down here to plead with Assistant Director Skinner for a transfer because the only transfer I can get from my bosses out west is one right out of the Bureau . . . and I'm not so sure that's a bad thing right now." She was crying again. Dana suspected that she'd been crying for most of the last few weeks. "I killed her . . . " The litany went on for quite a long time until Dana managed to coax Zoe as far as the living room and got her settled on the couch, where she fell into an exhausted sleep. *************** Fox Mulder's Residence 4:03 a.m. The sound of paper sliding under his door brought Fox Mulder awake in an instant. His hand streaked for the gun on the table as he half rose, facing the door and covering it with the weapon, his heart racing. It took him a second to realize that he was probably over reacting, but his more practical side decided that if over reacting kept him from getting killed or placed in a lunatic asylum again, he could live with being more paranoid than usual. Getting off the couch, he crept slowly towards the door, stopping when he saw the file that had been crammed through the narrow gap between door and wooden floor. A file marked with a big red X. *************** J. Edgar Hoover Building 7:02 a.m. Mulder looked up as Scully came in the room, tossing her briefcase in the general direction of her desk and starting to head back out again to find the coffee. "There's a cup on your desk already, Scully," he called after her and a second later she was back in the room. "Thanks, Mulder," she said, reaching for it. "What are you doing here so early?" "I could ask you the same thing." He leaned back in his chair, watching her and noting the dark circles under her eyes. "I had a surprise guest at two a.m. and never got back to sleep," she said. He straightened in his seat. "Are you all right?" She waved a hand. "Not that kind of guest. Zoe Bateman turned up at my door. She's still asleep on my couch." "I thought she had better manners than to come calling at that time of night." A ghost of a smile drifted over her face. "Fine talk coming from you, Mulder." He grinned back then sobered. "Is she all right?" "No. No, she's not all right. She's been all but removed from the L.A. Bureau." "*Bateman*?!" He was surprised to say the least and listened carefully as Scully related the stoyr. By the time she was finished, Mulder was just as angry as she looked. "Her own *partner* isn't backing her up on this at *all*?" Scully shook her head. Mulder stared at her in shock. Considering the relationship that they had, it was hard for his to imagine not having a partner that would back him one hundred percent. He and Scully had gotten mad at each other before, but never to the extent that they would have supported an effort to get the other one removed from the Bureau. "I hope Skinner approves her transfer," he said finally. "So do I." She changed the subject. "Why are you here so early, anyway? It's our first day back." He tosed the file at her. "I found that shoved under my door this morning." She read through it quickly. "Mulder, we've been through this Kentucky situation before. The disappearances happened a month ago . . . over a month ago . . . at the same time . . . " Her voice trailed off and he finished for her. "At the same time I disappeared and that double turned up in my place. I know that as well as you do, Scully. But what you don't know is that a fax came in last night. One of the corporals has returned under rather mysterious circumstances. He's been transferred to a hospital in Lexington for long term care and hasn't regained consciousness since his return. All that getting this file means, is that someone else has an interest in this case too." He paused and met her gaze, smiling reassuringly. "I've booked us on the next flight out to Lexington. Let's just hope we can sneak out of here without being caught." The phone on his desk rang. "You were saying?' she asked sweetly as he picked it up. *************** "Kentucky." "Sir?" "Kentucky, Agent Mulder." "Is this free association, Director Skinner?" Dana suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and instead glared over at Mulder, who was, as usual, doing his damnedest to annoy their superior, Assistant Director Walter Skinner. And as usual, he was doing a pretty good job of it. Dana wished she was someplace other than Skinner's office. Like back at her apartment figuring out a way to help Zoe. "Agent Scully, would you care to explain why Agent Mulder, who is not yet off the sick list, has booked travel arrangements for the two fo you to the state of Kentucky?" Skinner looked like he already had a headache and the business day had only just started. She resisted the urge to tell him that she had just found out about it herself. "Agent Mulder had expressed an interest in pursuing a case file that came into the X-Files Division about a month ago -- " "And we all know why it wasn't investigated sooner," Mulder broke in, not with anger, but with resignation. Skinner's mouth tightened. "Yes, we do." Dana studied the carpet. Just over a month ago, Mulder had been abducted by unknown forces and committed, against his will, to a psychiatric hospital, while a doulbe of him infiltrated his life with no one the wiser. Dana had figured it out and managed to same Mulder's life, but it had taken the help of a few people, including Skinner. Not many people knew the whole stroy, however. Fewer still were alive and counted for. At least three men vanished into thin air -- literally -- while the doulbe and the doctor in charge of Mulder's "case" had disappeared. Mulder was still recovering from the experience. His weight was still below what was normal for him and he suffered from fatigue that almost cancelled out his chronic insomnia. He had only been out of the hospital for a little while. Dana was not feeling up to par either. Saving Mulder had cost her a bullet in the side, which wasn't completely healed yet. "Sir," Mulder said earnestly, leaning forward in his seat. "I just recieved a fax reporting that the first victim has reappeared under similar circumstances to his disappearance. We need to find out what's going on out there." "Agent Mulder, I am not denying that there is a case that requires investigation. What I am concerned about is the physical capabilities of you and your partner. I have yet to receive conformation of your fitness for active duty and until I do, I will not put the two of you in the field without support." The partners exchanged startled looks. This wasn't what they were expecting. Skinner caught the look and allowed himself a slight smile. "I know better than to get between you and a case, Mulder." He looked down at his desk and then back up at his agents. "I'm going to sent two other agents with you." "Sir," Mulder began, but Skinner held up a hand. "I know that the two fo you don't have the best track recornd with getting along with other agents, and for good reason. That's why I'd like your recommendation of which two agents you'd like to accompany you. If they're free, I'll send them." The partners exchanged looks again. Definitely not what they were expecting. Mulder raised an eyebrow, silently asking if Dana had any suggestions. She thought about Zoe, but wasn't sure if Skinner was aware that she was in town or if he would approve sending her along with the cloud of accusation that was surrounding her right now. Mulder, of course, had no such worries. "How about Agent Bateman, sir?" he asked, seeing the look Dana shot over at him out of the corner of his eyes, one tinged with warmth and a silent thank-you. He managed to slip her a surreptitious wink when Skinner looked away. "Bateman?" Skinner echoed, drawing a blank for a moment then remembering something. "The agent from out west who was coming to see me later today about a transfer. Now I know where I've heard that name before. She flew out here after -- " He floundered and Dana filled in the missing words flatly. "After I was found in a coma." She had been trying to ignore the parallels between Corporal Dunham's case and her own, but this conversation wasn't helping. "She's an old friend of Scully's sir," Mulder cut in, trying to change the subject. "She's also a friend of mine." Skinner nodded. "In other words you think you can trust her." "Yes, sir." "All right. Who else?" Dana spoke up. "Doug Shelton, sir." That one didn't take their boss by surprise. "I thought you might say that. I took the liberty of freeing him from his wiretap duties just in case. There are two additional tickets waiting for you at Dulles." "Thank-you, sir." "I'm not doing this for you, Mulder," Skinner said. "I'm doing it to save the taxpayers some money." "Sir?" "Every time the two of you investigate something, the Bureau gets stuck with another medical bill. I'm hoping to head this one off before it even gets started." *************** Doug Shelton looked up as someone called his name from across the bullpen. He saw Fox Mulder and Dana Scully standing by the hall that lead to Skinner's office. Almost as soon as he looked up, Mulder beckoned him. At the desk scross from Doug, Anthony Hess looked up as well, craning his neck around to see what had captured his friend's attention. A low whistle escaped him. "Man oh man, Doug," he said in a conversational tone. "Are you applyin' for the role of Spooky junior." "Shut up, Tony," Doug shot back good naturedly, grabbing his sut coat and heading over to join the other two agents. "Welcome back, you tow. You're just in time to head off the rumour mill." "What are they saying this time?" Mulder asked with a long suffering sigh. "The usual." Doug's expression sobered. "That you've flipped out and took Dana with you." "Not far off from the truth are they?" Dana said. Doug was privy to the events of last month . . . after all, he had been one of the key players in saving Mulder. "A little too close for comfort," Mulder acknowledged. "We're skipping town to investigate a little disappearing and reappearing act in Kentucky. Skinner's asked us to extend the invitation. You interested?" Doug felt his eyes widen. "Let me think about that for a second. Spend the next who knows how long sitting on a wiretap or head over to Kentucky . . . hmmm. Tough call. When do we leave?" *************** COLLUSION part 2/? by Jess Archibald (larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca) Zoe groaned as the phone dragged her out of sleep. "This is Dana Scully. I'm not here, leave a message and I'll get back to you," chirped the answering machine from across the room. Another groan came as she remembered. "Zoe, it's Dana," came a voice from the machine. "Pick up if you're there." There were faint whooshing sounds like rain on windows. It sounded like a cel phone. She made it over to the phone before Dana could say anything else. "I'm here. What's up?" "Road trip. Skinner's approved your transfer, at least on a temporary basis, and you're assigned to accompany me and Mulder to Kentucky. We're en route to pick you up." "You're kidding, right?" "Nope. You up for it?" Zow thought about that. She'd been doing nothing but sit around and feel sorry for herself for the last several days. An assignment sounded good right about now. "Yes." "Great. We'll be right there." "Dana . . . thanks. Skinner wouldn't have gone for it without some prodding . . . I can tell . . . " "Don't thank me," Dana replied, her tone amused. "Thank Mulder." *************** Sleep Eaze Motel Lexington, Kentucky 3:15 p.m. Shelton tossed his suitcase onto the bed and surveyed the room with an expression of veiled distaste. Mulder ignored it and started rooting around in his carry-on for the file notes on the case. Someone knocked on the connecting door and Shelton pulled it open after wrestling with the stubborn lock for a moment. It finally unlocked with a loud squeal of rusted metal which grated on his nerves. From the expression on Bateman's face, the sound didn't do much for her either. Mulder looked up from his search of his carry-on and winced, seeing both the other agents looking at him. "Don't blame me," he said, raising his hands in a helpless gesture. "Bureau picked the hotel." Scully came into the room, behind Bateman, a wry smile playing at her lips. "That's what you always say, Mulder." He tossed the file at her. "That's because it's always true..." Shelton and Bateman exchanged looks. They hadn't had time for anything other than a quick introduction at the airport before their flight had boarded. Because they had waited so long to get their tickets, the quartet had gotten stuck with four single seats strewn throughout the plane. "So what exactly are we investigating?" asked Bateman, rubbing a tired hand over her eyes. The dark circles were still there, no amount of makeup would hide them and she had given up trying. "We're looking into the disappearances of two men, both of them corporals with the local army base. The first man to disappear has just been found on the base. He hasn't regained consciousness yet and we need to find out what happened to him. All three occurrences happened the same night as numerous UFO sightings in the area." Mulder started pacing back and forth, getting into his presentation. Scully took a seat on the end of his bed, knowing from experience that he was just getting started. Bateman and Shelton took their cues from her and sat down. Mulder took a deep breath and continued. "The two corporals vanished within two days of each other and MUFON reported several UFO sightings in the area, centered around the army base. My best guess is that these two were targeted because of their proximity to the base. The first corporal vanished while out on patrol around the barracks. The second was coming back from leave, just pulling up to the compound when the sentries reported seeing a bright flash of light, like a magnesium flare, and when their vision cleared the corporal's jeep was empty. Just before the first corporal, Dunham , was found, two privates reported seeing a flare of white light at the same time as their radios were malfunctioning. When the light cleared, their radios were working again and Dunham had practically been dumped at their feet." Scully shifted on the foot of the bed. "So what are you suggesting we do, Mulder? Hang around the army base and hope to see a flash of light?" "Of course not, Scully," he said with a grin. "We're going to conduct a by the book investigation, starting with an interview of the base commander. Find out if there's a common link between the two corporals other than working at the base. See if they worked the same duty at all. We need to run medical tests on Dunham, see if we can spot something the doctors missed." "But if Dunham's already been transferred out of the base hospital," Scully said slowly, "that must mean that whoever signed the order must have known something more about his condition that is being let on." "Right," Bateman said with a curt nod. "The army doesn't transfer its ill soldiers to local hospitals except for long term care." "And how could the army doctors already know that Dunham need long term care if he only just returned," Mulder conclued. "Was there any mention of brain damage -- head trauma of any kind?" Scully asked, playing out the possibilities in her mind. "None." Mulder spread his hands in a gesture of bafflement. "That's one more little mystery for us to solve." Shelton half raised his hand to get Mulder's attention, having stayed silent for a long while. "But if these two were *really* abducted by aliens, there's no reason to suspect that there *is* any connection between them. We may not even have much of a starting point." "Aliens? How much did Mulder pay you to say that?" Scully asked wryly, shooting Mulder a suspicious look. He smiled back innocently. Bateman shook her head. "The fact that these two were the only two to disappear in the whole area and that they both are from the base can't just be coincidence." Mulder thrust an enthusiastic finger at her. "Right. So we'll head out to the base and take a look around." "Mulder," Scully said, looking at him grimly. "It's an army base. They aren't about to welcome FBI investigators." "That's never stopped us before, Scully, why should it start now?" *************** Lexington Memorial Hospital Chronic Care Unit 4:45 p.m. Dana went straight to the nurse's desk and demanded to see Corporal Dunham. She was more than half expecting to find that a guard had been posted and that she'd have to take the matter up with the man's CO, but it turned out the military had practically dumped the comatose man on the hospital. The nurse was more than glad to take her to see him, Doug trailing behind. The agents had split into pairs, but not the way Mulder had intended. Doug and Zoe had argued against having the X-Files agents going out together and on their own. The whole point of the two additional agents going with them to Kentucky was to make sure that neither Dana nor Mulder got into more trouble than they could handle. Given Mulder's aptitude for less than textbook approaches to matters, Zoe refused to let him out of her sight, leaving Doug to accompany Dana while the other two pored over the files. Dunham was in a bed about halfway down an aisle of patients. Some of them were in comas, others staring blankly into space. Dana felt a shiver run down her spine as she recalled her own experiences, but she pushed that thought aside as they approached the corporal's bedside. He was pale under the hospital lights, his brown hair still cut in the regulation army style. There were no bandages anywhere on his body, except for the one over the IV shunt, and Dana scanned through his chart, looking for any sign of physical injury. There was nothing listed on the chart that made her suspicious, but there had to be a reason for the man's comatose state. All the blood test had turned up negative for any contaminants, so his case was nothing like hers. At least the doctors who had treated her had known that *something* was wrong even if they couldn't identify precisely what it was. She turned back to the nurse while Doug stared intently at the man. "Were any X-rays ordered?" "Only to check for broken bones and that was at Arrowhead," the woman replied. "They should have been attached to the chart . . . " She took it from Dana and paged through it. "That's odd. They must have forgotten. I'll have to call and ask for them to be brought here. If you need to see them, they'll be here tomorrow." Dana nodded, not believing for a second that the army had 'forgotten' to send the X-rays. There was nothing she could do about it right now though. If they didn't arrive tomorrow, she'd ask for another set to be taken. "That'll be fine. Thank-you." She turned back to Doug. "Anything you can think of, Doug?" He looked over at her, inclining his head ever so slightly, the move saying 'not here' louder than any words. "Nope. We'd better go see if Mulder and Zoe dug anything up yet." He smiled at the nurse. "Thanks for your time." She smiled back at him in a manner that almost made Dana give a dark laugh. "No problem. No problem at all." When they got back to their rental car, Dana waited until Doug had started the engine before asking, "Okay, what did you see?" He pulled out of the parking lot before answering. "Dunham was missing for a month, right?" "Yes." "Then how come his hair is still so short? An army buzz cut like that would have grown out more by now." "Maybe the base doctors had it cut before they shipped him out." "Preserving the pristine image of army men?" he asked sarcastically. "Maybe not," she admitted with a wry smile. "Are we assuming that Corporal Dunham was incapable of getting his hair cut while he was missing?" "Depends. Does Mulder believe that aliens are good barbers?" She sighed and looked out the window. "Knowing Mulder, I wouldn't be surprised." *************** Sleep Eaze Motel 5:57 p.m. Bateman finished going through the file in front of her and looked up, one hand rubbing the back of her neck, to find Mulder staring at her. "What is it, Mulder?" she asked tiredly. "You all right, Bateman?" She took a deep breath and exhaled. "No. I'm upset. Dana told you what happened, didn't she?" He nodded. "Well, I'm angry at myself for what happened." "Bateman, from what Scully told me . . . it wasn't your fault." "I appreciate the sentiment, Mulder, but neither of you were there." Bateman managed a thin smile edged with pain. Mulder knew that look in her eyes all too well. He had had it in his own when they had first met that night in Los Angeles. He had blamed himself for Kristen Kilar's death much the same way Bateman was blaming herself now. Nothing good could come of it. Killing a child, even by accident, was something that no one could forget, but letting it consume you . . . that was as great an injustice. She reached for the next file, but Mulder caught her hand. "Why don't you take a break?" "I'm not tired, Mulder," she replied coolly. Mulder wondered what it was about Quantic that made female FBI agents so determined to refuse any help from anyone. First Scully, now Bateman. And then he remembered, from experience of his own now and again, that male FBI agents were the same way . . . Bateman leaned back in her chair, breaking contact between them. "We don't have much to go on so far." He adopted the same position as she did. "We'll know more after we talk to General Hammond tomorrow." Even if Bateman wasn't tired he was. It didn't take much to make him exhausted these days. Scully had categorically banned his daily jogging routine as well as demanding that he stay away from his usual diet of less than healthy foods. He thought that the wholesome ness of the foods she had okayed was wearing him out from boredom. She had promised that as soon as his weight was back up to normal and he didn't feel as tired as often, she would back down and leave him to 'destroying' his health as he normally would. A key scraped in the lock and Scully and Shelton came in. Both Mulder and Bateman sat straighter. "Find anything?" Mulder asked. "Not really," Scully replied, shrugging out of her trench coat and tossing it onto Mulder's bed. "The army 'forgot' to ship Dunham's X-rays along with him. The hospital's going to chase them down and try to have them for tommorow." "That can't be just convenient forgetfulness," Mulder asserted. "Of course it isn't," Shelton agreed. "There's not much we can do until tomorrow though. We can't accuse the army of concealing records." "Why not?" "Mulder . . . " Scully was not amused. "Anything else?" he asked with a smile in her direction. The two newcomers exchanged looks. Scully smiled slightly. "Your call, Doug." "Tell, tell," Bateman urged with a spark of curiosity. "Dunham's hair is still in a regulation army cut -- " "After a month?" Mulder caught on immediately. Scully tried not to roll her eyes while Bateman looked momentarily confused until she too caught on. Hands on hips, Scully surveyed the two men with feigned contempt. "You twoo have been hanging around the Lone Gunmen too much." Shelton grinned. "I didn't even know them until you introduced us, Dana." "Don't blame me for this," she shot back, amused now. Mulder smiled slightly. Shelton had gotten mixed up with the LG when Scully had recuited them all to try and save Mulder's life. He was surprised when he finally found out but rather touched that they had all managed to work together without incident. Scully hadn't even had to hurt Frohike. "Now children," Bateman drawled. "Behave." Scully and Shelton turned identical looks on Bateman, who flung up her hands and turned to Mulder for help. "Uh-uh." He raised his hands. "I'm not getting into this one." "Okay, okay. So what does this perfect hair cut prove?" Scully asked, changing the subject. Surprisingly, Shelton was the one to answer. "If Dunham was kidnapped by aliens -- and I'm not saying that he was -- then abductees have reported a time loss, that when they return, more time has passed here than wherever they were. If he was kidnapped, time may have passed at a different rate for him and his hair didn't grow out." Scully shook her head in dismay. "Great. First Mulder, then you. Zoe, tell me you aren't believing this." Bateman smiled tightly. "Sorry, Dana. At least it's a theory." Scully groaned. *************** 11:17 p.m. The frightened cries woke Doug before he knew precisely what they were. He reached for his gun, a trained response but let his hand grow slack on the trigger as he realized what was going on. The sounds were coming from the bed beside him. He switched on the light, half hoping that it would throw Mulder out of the grip of whatever night terror had hold of him, but all it did was hurt his eyes and allow him to see with clarity the man sharing the room with him. Suddenly he wanted to turn the light off again. Mulder had bunched up the bedsheets, hands twisting them as if he was trying to strangle someone. His eyes were closed too tightly for mere sleep, as if by not opening them, he could ward off whatever menace was threatening him. Knowing that this wasn't an ordinary nightmare, Doug climbed out of bed and tried to shake Mulder awake. "Doug, don't!" Dana came in, shaking her head and tying the belt of her robe. "Wake him up like that and you'll be lucky if he doesn't kill you. Trust me, I learned the hard way." She crossed the room and sat on the edge of Mulder's bed, one hand reaching tentatively for her partner, speaking softly and soothingly as she did so. "This happen a lot?" Doug asked, voice scratchy from sleep. She smiled sadly. "Too often. Cases like this make them come more often." Zoe cleared her throat from the connecting door. "You okay with this, Dana?" "yeah." She looked at the other two and they could both read the look she was giving them. "Right," Doug said, turning to Zoe. "Um . . . " She grinned crookedly, eyes weary. "C'mon, Doug. We'll go find a bar, get drunk, spill all our secrets and not remember a thing except the hangover. It'll be fun." "Fun, I don't know about." He looked from one woman to the other. "Interesting on the other hand . . . " "Thanks," Dana said with a smile. "We'll be back in an hour or so," Zoe promised, vanishing into the room to get changed. Within a couple of minutes they were gone. Poor Mulder was still caught in his dream and now she could wake him up without having to worry about his embarrassment of disturbing everyone else. He could be concerned later. "Mulder?" she called softly, smoothing his hair. Waking him abruptly only made it worse, she had discovered. This was the best way, easing him slowly out of the dream. "Mulder . . . " After about five minutes of this, his hands stopped clenching and in another couple of minutes, his eyes opened, a sheepish expression in them. "Hi, Scully," he said. "Hi yourself, partner," she replied, smiling slightly. He sat up and looked around. "Dammint. I woke everyone, didn't I?" "The world doesn't revolve around you, Mulder," she said lightly. "Doug and Zoe decided to go out for a drink." "After we had already turned in for the night?" He looked at her doubtfully. "You are a rotten liar, Scully. Thankfully, Skinner doesn't know that." "I thought I was a pretty good liar," she retorted, standing up. "Scully . . . thanks." "Anytime, Mulder. Anytime." She looked at him sideways. "Do you want to talk about it?" He shrugged. "Just the usual." She nodded. He had dreamed of Samantha. That was the usual source of his nightmares and over the years, she had seen him through several. Sometimes she shuddered when she thought about all the nights before they were partnered and all the lonely nights at his apartment when there was no one there to ease him out of the dreaming and into wakefulness. Occasionally he would call her if a dream was bad enough to wake him and vivid enough to remember, but she suspected that there were many more times when he didn't. She also suspected that he had been having these dreams more regularly since his incarceration at Raven Crest. He had claimed to have seen Samantha in a flare of unexplained light and that vision was haunting him still. "You going to be okay?" she asked softly. "I'll be fine. Really." "I'm going back to bed then," she said tiredly. "We'll have to figure out how to approach this mess tomorrow, okay?" It was his turn to nod. "Good night, Scully." "Good night, Mulder." ********* =========================================================================== From: larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca (Jess Archibald) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: COLLUSION 3/? Date: 30 Jan 1996 21:56:23 GMT Here's more. Standard disclaimer: see part one COLLUSION part 3/? by Jess Archibald (larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca) Sal's Bar 11:28 p.m. They found a bar within walking distance of the motel. Doug pushed the door open and followed Zoe inside, doing a mental double take as he surveyed the interior. From the outside the place had looked at least respectable, if not downright posh. That illusion faded as soon as he got a good look inside. The booths were covered in cracked vinyl, shining slightly in the dim overhead lighting, the bar itself showing gouges and chips that only come with age. The customers were a mix of brawny, blue collar workers, and working girls. Looking from the clientele to his partner to himself, he realized that they were sorely out of place. "We could go somewhere else." Zoe caught his concerned look and smiled, taking his arm and drawing him inside. "Don't worry, Doug. At least we're armed." She crossed the room and slid into a corner booth leaving him to follow. To his relief, they didn't attract any undo attention and Zoe had emerged from her solemnity long enough to laugh at his worry. "Re*lax*, Agent Shelton," she said. "I've been in dives like this since I was old enough to drink." "Really?" he replied, sliding in across from her. "You don't seem the type." "You'd be surprised at some of the places I've been." A waitress came over to take their order and they decided to stick to beer, splitting a pitcher of whatever was on tap. Their goal was not to get drunk enough to impair their work tomorrow. Doug waited until his first glass was half empty before speaking again. "Mulder and Dana told me a little about what happened out west. I'm sorry." She was able to met his eyes. "Thanks. So am I. I'd rather not talk about it though, if that's all right." He nodded, spreading his hands flat on the table. "Sure. Whatever." Eyes wandering over the room, she smiled a bit in memory. "This actually isn't that bad. Reminds me of a little bar in Dublin." "You've been to Dublin?" "Yep. My father's part of the diplomatic corps. He's been assigned all over Europe and dragged me with him as a kid. He's in Japan right now." "What about your mother?" More pain came into her eyes. "She died when I was six. Brain tumour caused by cancer." "I'm sorry," he said again, feeling like an idiot for bringing up the subject. She smiled just a little. "It's okay. I don't mind. I know whenever I start working with someone new, I ask a lot of questions too. It's all got to come out sometime." He didn't bother pointing out this was a field assignment, not one that would likely lead to a regular partnership; he didn't mind sharing with her. God knew her manners were better than Anthony Hess'. And Doug was damned sure he was a better partner than her old one, McIntyre, would have been. She took his silence as a cue for her to continue. "Anyway, instead of bouncing from one foster home to another, I went from country to country. England, France, Germany, Spain. Ireland. Even Korea for a couple of months. Dad was a junior attatche until about five years ago and that's when he got his permanent station in Japan." "Sounds like it was exciting." "To say the least. We were in Lebanon for two weeks . . . Beruit. I was thirteen and couldn't wait 'til we got the hell out of there." He winced. That was no place for a teenaged girl. "So how'd you end up back in the U.S.?" "I got sick of traveling. I was born in Chicago and I missed the U.S. metropolises. Came back when I was eighteen and took up psychology at the University of Washington. Dad did have connections in that town." "Why the FBI?" She shrugged. "Why not? I was still young and idealistic. Going to all those different countries . . . I saw all kinds of injustices . . . personal abuses and degradation of humanity. I thought coming back here would allow me to get away from it . . . Washington was just more of the same, and I thought that joining the FBI would allow me to stop it. Silly, huh?" "Not at all," he said sincerely. "It's as good a reason for joining as any and better than most." She poured herself a new glass and topped off his. "Your turn. What brought Douglas Shelton into the FBI fold?" "My father did. He was an agent." "Shelton . . . not Palmer Shelton? The agent who caught the Richmond sniper?" "The agent who did catching the Richmond sniper." "God, I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Hey, it was a long time ago and he died doing his job, and man, he loved his job." "Do you love it?" He shrugged. "Sometimes." "So did you going right after that?" "No. I was twenty-four and part way through a law degree at Harvard. Not something I was willing to walk away from. I finished the degree and then applied. Never did take the bar exam though . . . " "Ever think about trying it?" He laughed into his drink. "The FBI pension plan's a little more secure than being a lawyer." She laughed with him. "Any way, I joined and my sister, Leah, is with the Richmond PD. She just made dective last year." "Sounds like the two of you did fine." "Yeah. Mom wasn't the same after my father died. She passed away three years ago . . . heart failure one night in her sleep." He looked tired as he said it, finishing his drink as he did. "Leah took it hard." "What about you?" "You go on," he said simply. "Life always goes on." "I guess it does," she whispered, thinking about a dead little girl whose life would never go on. Could Zoe spend the rest of her life punishing herself for that, even if no on else blamed her? She wasn't sure yet, but wanted to see if she could move beyond it. Doug sensed the change in her mood and stayed silent, nursing the last drops in his glass. Finally, Zoe snapped out of whatever trance she had gone into and checked her watch. "Well, that should give Dana enough time to get Mulder calmed down," she said matter of factly, eyes sliding up to meet his. "What do you think of the two of them?" "They're damned good agents," he said immediately. "And I think they catch a lot of flak from other agents and the brass that they don't deserve. I've never seen two partners more . . . " He couldn't find the word. "Devoted?" "Committed," he said. "I've never seen two more committed agents. To each other and to whatever it is they're searching for. To tell you the truth, I'm a little envious." "I know what you mena. They're luck to have found such support in each other." Her face twisted slightly. "Not all partners are so considerate of each other." He nodded, not saying anymore, not needing to. He stood after a long moment and fished out some money to put on the table. Zoe started to protest, digging around herself, but he held up a hand and smiled. "You can get the next one, Bateman." She smiled back. "I'm holding you to that, Shelton." ************* Sleep Eaze Motel 6:23 a.m. Once more, Dana was dragged for a sound sleep. Zoe was tying her shoelaces, propping one foot up on the side of her bed, ponytail falling over one shoulder. "Zoe? Everything all right?" Dana asked half into her pillow. "Go back to sleep, Dana." "What time is it?" "Almost six-thirty." Another hour until they had to get up. "I'm going for a run." "Couldn't sleep?" Dana sat up, concerned, brushing red hair from her face. "No. No nightmares though. I had a good talk with Doug last night. He's a good guy." "I know. He's the only other agent besides you and I who's willing to go out on a limb for Mulder." "Do you always define people in terms of their willingness to help Mulder?" "Zoe . . . it's too early for pop psychology." Zoe actully grinned. She had to be feeling better about herself today. "Is Mulder like a puppy? You know, the best way to gauge what kind of person someone is is to see how a puppy will react to them?" "Zoe . . . " Dana laughed. "You're forgetting the kind of puppy who's only encouraged by someone abusing them." "Is Mulder like that?" She was dead serious now, straightening slowly. "Abusing Mulder only makes him stronger," Dana said sincerely. "Now that I'm awake, hold on and I'll go with you." She got out of bed and changed quickly into stretch pants and a gray sweatshirt that said Quantico on it, with the FBI emblem embroidered on the back. "Subtle, Dana," Zoe remarked. "No one will know we're FBI." "And no one will know you're from L.A." Zoe looked down at her red leggings and pink and yellow tie-dyed shirt. "At least oncoming cars can see me . . . trick I picked up jogging in the smog." Dana wrote a quick not and slipped it under the connecting door. "Just so Mulder doesn't get any ideas," she said defensively as Zoe stared impassively at her, clipping her gun on with a hip holster. "You're taking that with you?" "Zoe. I got shot last month and my partner spends half his time being attacked by unfriendly people. I've learned to be prepared." "What were you? A boy scout in a previous life?" Dana followed her out the door. "You're feeling better today, I can tell." ************* They ran for almost two miles before Dana's side began to ache. She was able to got for another half mile before a painful stitch made her double over, clutching her side, gasping for breath. "Dana?" Zoe bent over too, concerned written on her face. "You okay?" She nodded, unable to talk. "Want me to commandeer a car and take you to the hospital?" She shook her head. "Just a suggestion." Zoe spotted a bus stop and guided Dana over to the bench. After a couple of minutes she was able to breathe easier. "Now what caused *that*?" Zoe asked. "Bullet wounds," Dana replied, wiping sweat from her brow. "I should have known." "Yes, Doctor Scullly, you should have." Zoe sat on the bench beside her. "Oh, well, I was getting tired anyway." They sat there for a few minutes before Dana felt all right enough to start walking back. "So tell me more about what happened to you and Mulder last month." Zoe looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "I heard a few rumours, but nothing concrete." Dana explained everything as they made their way back to the motel. " . . . and all we know is that Taylor and the double disappeared before anyone could get to them." "Nasty business." Zoe shook her head in disguest. "So what did Mulder think he saw in that light?" "He says he saw his sister. With Mulder it's always his sister." "Did you see anything in it?" "I was in a car with Skinner. An out of control car. I was too busy thinking I was about to die to take a look." "What about Doug and the Gunmen? Did they see anything?" "Not that they mentioned. And believe me, the Gunmen are anything but shy about being vocal." "So I gathered." Zoe gestured to a coffee shop that was just opening for the day. "Let's pick up some breakfast." They went in, stopping to savour the aroma of fresh baked goods and ground coffee. They left a few minutes later with a tray of four coffee cups and a paper bag full of muffins. "So what about you?" Dana asked. "You seem to be in a better mood." "Talking to Doug helped, even if we didn't discuss the shooting. And in my dreams . . . I don't know. It's like was I was remembering something about what happened, but it's not all there yet. I decided that rushing it wouldn't help. Besides, we've got a job to do and moping won't help that." Dana thought back to the two corporals, one comatose, one still missing. She only hoped that four federal agents could help them. ************** Mulder woke up shortly after seven, looking over and seeing Shelton still sound asleep. He got out of bed quietly and started to look out the window, but a piece of paper under the connecting door caught his eye. It was a note from Scully: Mulder, Zoe and I went for a run. Under NO circumstances or you do to likewise or I'll have to hurt you. See you in a bit. S. He laughed silently, not doubting her for a second. "What's so funny?" asked Shelton, sitting up in the bed. Mulder handed him the note and he chuckled . "Must be tough having a doctor for a partner." "Occasionally. But as Scully would tell you, I'm so accident prone it comes in handy to have someone who knows a lot about first aid." He looked at the younger man. "I'm sorry for waking you last night, Shelton." He waved it off. "No big deal. Zoe and I went out for a drink and had a good talk." The door the the other room opened and closed. Mulder swore he could smell coffee as a hesitant knock came on the connecting door. "Yeah?" Bateman stuck her head in. "Morning, guys. We brought coffee and muffins." She looked right at Mulder and smiled. "And yes, Mulder, Dana got you a nice, healthy, bran muffin." Shelton snickered and Mulder gave a suffering sigh. "Scully . . . " *************** Arrowhead Army Base 10:24 a.m. Mulder got out of the car and waited for Bateman to come around to join him. "So General Hammond's expecting us?" she asked, pulling a few strands of black hair out from under the collar of her jakcet. "Not exactly . . . " "Uh-huh." She pulled open the door to the office building where most of the officers held court. "Should I let you do the talking?" "You are feeling better. I can tell." He stopped a uniformed soldier and asked for directions to the general's office. "I'm doing better, Mulder, but I don't know if I feel better about what happened." She looked sideways at him as they set off down the hall. "You don't have to feel better about it," he said, "you just have to deal with it." "I know." A man with captain's bars stepped in front of them as they started to knock on a wooden door bearing the name of General Donald Hammond. "May I help you?" he said in a tone of voice indicating he'd sooner see them tossed off the base than help them with anything. Bateman smiled innocently as Mulder drew his badge. "We're FBI agents. We'd like to ask General Hammond a few questions." "About what?" "I'm not at liberty to say." Mulder didn't bat an eye, staring down the younger man. Bateman kept her face equally as blank. The captain cleared his throat and gave them a dirty look. "I'll see if he's free." He disappeared inside the office. Mulder turned to Bateman. "Think we'll need to get a warrant?" "Or a nice sergeant-at-arms." A minute later the captain came back out. "General Hammond will see you, but he's a very busy man." Mulder brushed passed him, into the room. "So am I, Captain, so am I." **************** Lexington Memorial Hospital 10:31 a.m. Dana tapped her index finger idly as she and Doug waited at the nurse's desk. He caught the motion and watched her. After a minute she became aware of his scrutiny and offered a wry smile, dropping her hand down into her coat pocket. "Agent Scully?" The charge nurse came down the hall towards them. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I understand there's been a mix up with Corporal Dunham's records." "That's right," Dana said, stepping away from the desk to meet the oncoming woman. "His X-rays are missing. I'd like to take a look at them if possible. I spoke with a nurse last night who said she'd try to get the records sent down from the base." "Yes. I spoke to Doctor Underhill out at Arrowhead. He assures me he'll have the records send down as soon as he locates them." "And how long will that take." The woman shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I don't know. May I ask what you're looking for in the corporal's X-rays?" Dana exchanged a look with Doug. "We're not completely sure but in order to get a clear picture of all the possibilities we could be dealing with, I thought it would be best to get a look at Dunham's complete medical history." "I see." The nurse looked doubtful. "Well, if you don't want to wait unitl the X-rays get here, youi can start going over what we've got on him. There are *some* X-rays but the most recent ones are from a year ago." "No, we need to see recent ones." With a nod, the nurse beckoned them down the hall, Doug leaning towards Dana as they followed her. "I'm feeling like a fifth wheel, Dana. Sure you don't have a wiretap you need me to sit on or something?" She smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Doug. You can help me go over this file." He gave her a teasing smile. "Did I ever tell you I failed biology in high school?" "No wonder you and Mulder get along so well . . . " ********* =========================================================================== From: larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca (Jess Archibald) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: COLLUSION 4/? Date: 31 Jan 1996 05:06:22 GMT And yet another installment... Disclaimer: See part one. COLLUSION part 4/? by Jess Archibald Arrowhead Army Base 10:35 a.m. Zoe hung back as she and Mulder stepped into General Hammond's office, playing rear guard and taking the opportunity to watch his reaction as they swept in. The general was an older man, in his fifties, as most generals tended to be, with graying brown hair and expressive green eyes, that immediately locked onto Mulder. That was odd. His expression froze for a second on seeing the federal agent but didn't seem to even register her. "I understand you're federal agents?" he said without preamble. "Yes, sir. Agents Mulder and Bateman." "Yes, yes. Please sit down." The general took his own advise, falling back into his padded leather seat. By contrast the seats offered for visitors were plain wood, with thin cushions attached at two spots. Zoe didn't like what this told her about the man and started cataloguing what she was observing. Just as she thought. when they sat down, the chairs proved to be slightly shorter than the general's own, putting him at a slight but noticeable height advantage. "We're here about your missing corporals," Mulder said, taking the lead with the interview. "I've only got one missing corporal," Hammond corredted with a tolerant smile. "One missing, one comatose." The smile faded around the edges. "I don't understand how this concerns the FBI." "We're investigating alleged UFO sightings in the area and found that the disappearances of Corporals Morrison and Dunham, as well as Dunham's return, coincide with these reports." Hammond leaned forward, leveling a stern gaze at Mulder. 'You mean the FBI has got you out here chasing little green men?" "Gray men, sir," Mulder said without a smile. "Son, who did you piss off to get this chore?" "I chose this investigation, General." "I see." His gaze turned colder. "There's nothing I can tell you that isn't in your reports." "I'd like your permission to take a look around the base and talk to some of the other men here. See if they can tell us anything that could shed some light on what's going on." "Denied." "Sir, we're conducting an investiagtion." "And I'm responsible for running an army base. We do have operations going on here that aren't for the eyes of outsiders, even if your paychecks do come from the same source as mine." Hammond rose. "I'm sorry, Agent Mulder, Agent Bateman, but I'm a busy man. I don't have time for talk of UFOs." Mulder stood and Zoe followed his lead. "Thank-you for your time, sir." Out in the hall, heading towards the exit, Mulder's long legs ate up the distance so quickly that Zoe had to hurry to keep up with him. "Mulder, slow down. Maybe Dana's used to chasing after you, but I'm not." She caught up with him at the door, beating him to it and yanking it open, gesturing for him to proceed him into the morning sunshine. "I hate bullshit like that," Mulder exploded, barely remembering to keep his voice down as they headed for their car. "I know, I know." She gazed out across the base grounds and saw two men standing sentry at a bunker, rifles at the ready. it seemed a little strange. From what she knew about army layouts, the armory was usually on the other side . . . she craned her neck around slightly and nodded to herself when she saw it, turning back to face the bunker. So what was in there? The hairs on the back of her neck tingled and she looked back towards the offices, seeing Hammond standing at his window, scowling at her. From there he could see what she was trying to get a look at. She resisted the urge to either wave or stick her tongue out at him as Mulder unlocked the car doors. Once inside, she started to open her mouth to tell Mulder what she had seen and then stopped. She knew Mulder. Obsessive compulsive didn't begin to describe him when he got an idea into his head. If she told him about that bunker, he'd probably go marching over there to see what was inside and Zoe didn't really feel like getting shot or arrested. "So what do you think, Bateman?" he asked, pulling out towards the exit. "I think he's an idiot and a power drunk one at that." "Oh? I thought he was just an idiot." She shook her head. "Those wooden chairs were there to make whoever he's talking to feel uncomfortable and they're shorter to give him the height advantage." "A sense of dominance?" "yep." "You noticed all that just from the five minutes he gave us?" "Yep." "Remind me not to invite you over to my house." "That's okay. I'll just ask Dana what it's like." ******************** Lexington Memorial Hospital 11:56 a.m. Doug looked up from the file he was scanning as Dana shifted in her seat for the forth time in five minutes. "Why don't we take a break?" he suggested, marking his place and shutting the folder. "I don't know about you, but this seat is trying to kill me." She jerked her head up, pencil in one hand, the other toying with her reading glasses. "Sounds like a good idea." The door to the record room opened to admit Zoe and Mulder. "Glad to see someone's getting work done," Zoe said, going over to lean against Doug's desk. "Don't let appearances fool you." He got up to offer her the seat. "Oh, no, Doug, really. That's all right." "I insist," he said with an evil grin. "I really insist." "It's uncomfortable, isn't it?" she asked, smiling faintly. "Incredibly." "You are such a gentleman." "Do they remind you of anyone, Scully?" Mulder asked his partner in a stage whisper. "I could think of a couple names," she replied, tipping her head back to meet his eyes. "Mulder, you hover over me like that and I'll get a kink in my neck." "I'd love to see you file a medical claim for that one." "I'd stick it on your account." Her smile widened with amusement. "So what did you two find out from General Hammond?" "Well, Bateman psycholanalyzed him during the car ride back here and thought he was a megalomaniac who worships the devil when the moon is full." "No, Mulder, that was you I was talking about," Zoe responded with a mischievous grin. "You're felling better, aren't you?" Doug asked. "*Why* is everyone saying that to me?" "Seriously, what did you find?" Dana asked again. "Not much. Hammon kicked us out of his office after sidestepping our questions." "Which endeared him to you forever, right?" Mulder snorted. 'Something like that, yes." Doug saw a strange look flicker briefly over Zoe's face, but before he could ask her about it, Mulder turned his attention to the deskbound half of the team. "What about you?" "There's nothing unusual about Dunham's medical file," Dana said, tapping her pencil along the file in front of her. "No strange diseases or unexplained injuries. Sorry to disappoint, Mulder." He shrugged. "I didn't think there would be. With cases like this, all we can really do is wait and see if Morrison will turn up." "As a vegetable. Like Dunham?" Dana met his eyes. "That's not how I'd like to see this case end." "It's not how I'd like to see it end either," Mulder replied earnestly. "Let's break for lunch and then there's someone I think we should interview." ******************** Residence of Melanie Davis Louisville, Kentucky 2:48 p.m. "You know that Doug and Zoe thought we were going to ditch them and do something reckless, don't you?" Scully looked out the passenger window as Mulder pulled up into the driveway of the two storey house. "Would we do something like that, Scully?" "We, no. You, yes." She unbuckled her seat belt as he stopped the engine. "Tell me again why we just spent an hour and a half driving out here." "Melanie Davis was dating Corporal Morrison. In fact the night he disappeared, he was coming back from visiting her. I'm hoping that she might be able to tell us if he was acting strangely." "Why would he? If he knew something was going to happen to him, I doubt that he was stick around and wait for it." "That's what we're going to find out." Melanie Davis was waiting for them at the front door when they climbed up to the porch. She was a thin woman in her late twenties, amber colour hair pulled back in a bun, a small smattering of freckles spread across her face. She looked like she would be more at home on the beaches of California, but her brown eyes shone with grief. Her stomach was slightly rounded with pregnancy. "Tommy's been gone for a month now and I don't think he'll be coming back," she said, after getting them settled in the living room with cups of coffee. "I kept telling myself that he'd be back, y'know, but it's been so long." Mulder could tell that Scully was looking at him. She hadn't given up on him after a month. "Miss Davis, can you tell us if Corporal Morrison was acting strangely the night he disappeared? I know that the army's already gone over this with -- " "No they haven't," she said, shaking her head. "I never even got a call from them. One of Tommy's buddies had to let me know. Showed up at my doorstep the next night. The army was trying to keep it hush-hush, didn't want anyone to know, but his buddies thought I should be told. They worked out who had leave next and Dan Reilly came right to my door." Her hands were twisting in her lap. "I told Tommy he shouldn't go back to the base." "Why did you tell him that?" Scully asked. "Because of what he saw." "Which was?" "He didn't say exactly. Said he didn't want to get me involved. Like I'm not already." She rubbed one hand over her belly. "I didn't tell him about the baby because I thought it would be better to wait." She laughed bitterly. "I guess it wasn't a good idea." "Miss Davis, do you have any idea what Tommy saw?" Scully kept her voice soft. "No. I wish I did." Her brown eyes filled with tears. "I really wish I did." ****************** Sunrise Diner Lexington, Kentucky 5:16 p.m. "So Melanie Davis is pregnant?' Zoe took a sip from her water glass. "Jeez. The poor woman." Mulder nooded. "Even if Morrison's returned, chances are he'll be in a coma the same as Dunham." "And if the army already dumped Dunham on the local hospital, then they know that whatever's wrong with him isn't something that's going to magically fix itself overnight." Doug toyed with the fork in front of him. "Well, I think we'll know more tomorrow," Dana sighed. "The X-rays from Arrowhead will be at Memorial first thing in the morning." "And I want to take another look around Arrowhead," Mulder replied. "Not tonight, you're not." Dana picked up her knife and waved it in his direction. He turned innocent eyes on her, almost making her choke as she took a sip of water. "Would I do that?" ******************** Sleep Eaze Motel 2:01 a.m. Zoe was dreaming of the warehouse. The little girl was screaming, a bloody hole in her chest, asking why Zoe hadn't saved her, why she had killed her instead. The suspect, the man who had kidnapped the girl in the first place was there, sitting at a card table with Ryan McIntyre and they were having a drink, laughing and raising a toast in Zoe's direction. In the distance was the bunker from Arrowhead, the sentries saluting her. Zoe turned from one to the other, hands out stretched, until she was turning and turning, like a merry-go-round, spinning from one face to the other. They all had guns and were aiming at her. "No!" she screamed. 'It was an accident!" McIntyre was laughing hardest of all, louder than the little girl's screams. 'You never should have joined the FBI, Zoe. It's no place for a woman." She woke up before he could pull the trigger. Gasping for breath, she closed her mouth and tried to get her breathing under control before she woke Dana. she thought after a long moment. The good feeling she had had all day was gone, replaced with dread. Looking over at the clock, she saw it was shortly after two in teh morning. She drew her knees up to her chest and sat for a few minutes, staring at the patternes of light the starfilled night sky made on the room's carpet. She couldn't stop thinking about that bunker. Dana wouldn't let Mulder go any where near it, if she knew about it at all. Zoe agreed with her on that. Letting Mulder go would be stupid. he wasn't up to his old self and would get caught for sure. So would Dana. Zoe on the other hand . . . She got dressed quickly. ****************** Doug woke up, hearing movement in the next room. He checked the clock, wondering what was going on over there. Then he heard the outside door closing and locking. He'd always been a fast dresser. This time he flung on clothes in about thrity seconds, moving stealthy towards the door as he heard a car engine come on outside. He managed to slip outside without waking Mulder and saw Zoe behind the wheel of one of their rental cars. She looked up and saw him, engine idling as he approached. She rolled down the window as he leaned towards it. "Evening, officer," she said that haunted look back in her eyes. "Zoe, what are you doing?" "I saw something out at Arrowhead that I'd like to take a look at." She smiled sheepishly. "Figured Mulder and Dana would get caught taking a peek." "And you're much more subtle than they are, right?" "Much," she said, nodding. Doug sighed, went around to the passenger side door and got in. "So let's go take a look." "Doug. it's dangerous." "So? Would you like me to go wake everyone else up?" "Doug . . . " "I'm not going to let you go there by yourself. How would I explain it to Skinner? How would I explain it to *Dana*?" She clenched her hands around the steering wheel. "You sure." "Now you've got me curious. Let's go take a look." *********** =========================================================================== From: larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca (Jess Archibald) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: COLLUSION 5/? Date: 31 Jan 1996 22:50:31 GMT And now we get down to the action *grin* Disclaimer: see part one (really, people, I think we all know it by now) COLLUSION part 5/? by Jess Archibald (larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca) Arrowhead Army Base 3:21 a.m. They left the car a quarter mile from the base and made their way to the perimeter fence on foot. Timing was crucial. They had to time the patrols to find the best opportunity to get in. Their goal was to scout around, not get arrested. Zoe watched the last guard disappear from sight through narrowed eyes. "Now would be a good time to try." Doug nodded. "I just hope the fence isn't electrified." "*Now* you bring that up." She shook her head. "I don't think it is. There are no warning signs up." "Forgive me if I want to find out *before* we get fried." She dredged up a smile. "Forgiven." The crept closer to the fence and Zoe scooped up a rock, pitching it gently at the ten foot fence. It hit with a quiet rattle that seemed to echo in the ears of the two agents. No sparks flew. Doug sighed. "One less thing to worry about. Nice to know Uncle Sam is too cheap for electric fences." "I feel safer," she said ironically. Reaching forward slowly, she grabbed hold of the fence, feeling her muscles tighten involuntarily then relaxing as nothing happened. She began to climb, pausing once she was three quarters of the way up, reaching back to take the car mat Doug had brought with them. She hefted it and slung it over the barbed wire at the top of the fence. Once it was in place, she climbed the rest of the way up and swung herself up and over, dropping to the ground and crouching down as Doug followed her example, pulling the mat behind him. They hid it in the grass and started across the grounds. "So, what exactly are we looking for?" Doug whispered in her ear. "The general was nervous when he saw me looking at one of their bunkers. I want to see what he's hiding." She pointed off to the east, in the direction of a squat metal building with two sentries standing guard at the front. "Hmmm . . . might be harder than I thought." "We'll try to check the back." They managed to circle around, hiding from view of roving patrols behind parked vehicles and the occasional tree. When they finally reached their goal, Zoe gave a soft cry of delight when her eyes lit upon a window eleven feet off the ground with light shining through. Doug looked around, but found nothing to stand on. Finally, after a passing patrol nearly induced a heart attack triggered by panic he positioned himself under the window, beckoning to Zoe. "If I give you a boost, think you can take a look?' "Oh, I think I could manage." It took a little maneuvering but they managed. Zoe couldn't help but compare Doug Shelton to Ryan McIntyre. There was no way Ryan would have volunteered to go with her in the dead of night to this army base, much less help her take an illegal peek at what was going on. Doug was amazingly open to ideas. She wondered if perhaps he was a little too open, if he was too easily swayed. Even if he was, it made a nice change to be treated with respect rather than veiled contempt. "You okay up there?" Doug asked, forcing her attention back to the job at hand. "Fine," she whispered back. Doug was standing stock still while she blanced precariously on his shoulders. Even with the help of the six foot three federal agent, she had to strain on her tip toes to get a clear look. What she saw made her draw a sharp breath. Several people in lab coats were bustling around the single room, the center of attention being a huge metal ship of a design she had never seen before. It was a polished dull gray colour that seemed to glisten in spite of its matte finish. There was a circular hatch in the section closest to the window that slid closed as she watched, fading into the rest seamlessly. Incredibly, it wasn't the ship that captured her attention. Twenty feet into the room stood a small figure less than four feet tall. Even as she watched, it turned in her direction. It was naked but she could see no genitalia of any kind, the gray skin as smooth as the hull of the ship. Her gaze traveled up to meet its eyes -- its pupiless black eyes that seemed to swallow her whole. No words passed between them, but they communicated nonetheless. She could feel the incredible loneliness that the being radiated. It felt her terrible guilt over the shooting and her angry frustration of not being able to remember. <> The vision faded and she was once again perched on Doug's shoulders, peering into the building. Her face was wet with tears. The being was still watching her, its loneliness almost tangible. "Thank-you," she mouthed. One of the researchers turned to see what the slight, gray figure was staring at. His eyes widened as Zoe dropped from sight a second too late. Doug was surprised by her sudden move and staggered slightly. She grabbed his arm to steady him. "What happened?" "Later," she said. "Some one saw me." "Damn." They started running back the way they had come, ignoring secrecy in exchange for speed as they heard activity behind them. They had almost a mile to cover back to the fence. Soldiers were arriving from all directions but the sounds of pursuit were strangely muffled. No shouts or dire warnings were called at the fleeing federal agents. If anything, the silent chase was more frightening. "They don't want to raise the whole base," Doug managed in between gulps of air. He had been concerned that Zoe, nearly a foot shorter than he, wouldn't be able to keep up, but her morning runs had paid off. He actually thought she was keeping herself in check to keep from pulling ahead of him. "They won't use their guns," she gasped. "Not unless they've got silencers." They reached the fence ahead of their pursuers. Zoe scaled up quickly, having shrugged out of her black leather jacket, flinging it over the barbed wire and all but throwing herself over, Doug bare seconds behind. Their only hope lay in reaching the rental car and they raced for it. Sounds of pursuit became louder once they were over the fence and Doug spared enough breath to question it. Zoe managed an answer. "We're off the base. They don't have to worry about where our bodies are found now -- " "But we're federal agents -- " "Exactly. No shortage of suspects." She could see the car. "Doug. What I saw -- they'll kill to cover it up." They ran for the car, Zoe throwing the last of her energy into a sprint, car keys in hand, planting her palms on the trunk as she vaulted over it to reach the driver side door. The key turned in the lock and she threw herself inside, panting for breath, slamming her hand down on the automatic door unlock as Doug reached the passenger side. She had the car moving before he was settled in his seat. The vehicle jumped forward with a squeal of tires. "We'll have to head away from Lexington and swing back later. I am *not* turning us around here!" Zoe exclaimed. "No argument from me. You're driving," Doug replied in a reasonably calm voice. Lights flared ahead of them as another car roared towards them, turning onto the road from a point just ahead of them. "They circled around us," Doug growled. Zoe slammed her foot down on the brakes, beginning to turn as the car ahead of them resolved itself out of the shadows, its form that of a jeep. Someone was leaning off to one side with a rifle. "Oh my God -- " That was as far as Doug got before the jeep's occupant opened fire on them. Zoe heard the crack of the bullet as the windshield in front of her spiderwebbed, the safety glass shattered by a bullet. She felt a fierce pressure as she was thrown back against her seat as Doug reached over to try and shover her down, out of sight. The steering wheel jerked under her suddenly slack hands, as wracking pain began to radiate up from her chest, a faint spray of blood misting the inside of the car with every breath she took. Doug grabbed for the wheel, bullets still smacking into the frame of the car, no more entering the interior, the one that had slipped inside having already done its work. Zoe couldn't breathe, every second seemed an eternity as pain and pressure drove her to the brink of blackness. Doug managed to get the car under a bare semblance of control, attention divided between car, gunfire, and his wounded partner. And then the light came . . . *************** Sleep Eaze Motel 4:47 a.m. White light was pouring in all around her until it was all she could see or sense, the only sound a heavy throbbing that matched the weakening beat of her heart. She tried to scream . . . Dana's eyes flew open to darkness as she bolted upright in bed, breath ragged. Her heart, unlike her dream, was pounding, not weak in the least. Her chest ached like someone had hit her with a hammer. she wondered, eyes sweeping the room to see if she had disturbed Zoe. Except the other bed was empty. Her breathing, finally controlled, began to come faster again. She threw back the bed covers and got up, going to peer out the window. One of the rental cars was missing from in front of the rooms. "Dammit, Zoe," she said softly, then moving away from the window towards the connecting door, "Mulder. Doug. Wake up." To her surprise, one bed in the other room was empty as well. And shock of all shocks, it was Doug that was missing. Mulder was still asleep, having picked a *fabulous* time to have cured his insomnia. "Mulder!" Her voice woke him up instantly this time and he reacted, reaching for his gun on the night stand. "No, no! It's just me," she said quickly, hands spread as he sat up and forced bleary eyes to focus on her. "Scully, aren't you a little old for night raids?" he asked mildly. She had to smile. "We're the FBI, Mulder. We specialize in night raids." "But not on your own partner." He started to turn to Doug's empty bed for support. "Hey . . . where's Shelton?" "I don't know, but Zoe's gone too." Mulder hung his head. "And Skinner sent them because he thought *I'd* run off." "Any idea where they went?" she asked, disappearing back into her room to pull some clothes on. She left the door open, hearing Mulder rummage around for clothes of his own. She changed quickly, balling her night clothes into a heap and leaving them on her bed, trading them for jeans, the Quantico sweatshirt, her gun, badge and jacket. She went back into the other room to find Mulder tucking his turtleneck into the back of his jeans. "So?" she prompted. "You know Bateman better than I do," he said. "There was a bunker out there at Arrowhead, under guard. I don't think she thought I saw it. Would she try to sneak onto the base?" "Like you would do?" He grinned briefly. "Yes." She shut her eys, groaned and nodded. ******************* They found the second rental wrapped around a tree with its engine still running. The front end was twisted into a blending of metal but the passenger and driver areas were reasonably intact. Mulder was out of their car and heading for the wreck before Dana could stop the vehicle. "There's no one inside!" he yelled, peering in through a cracked side window as she joined him. "Someon shot at them." He indicated the bullet holes and chips on the frame of the car. "Let me see." She pushed past him to look in, flashlight in one hand. The beam of light played around the interior. She swung it over the seats to the steering wheel and dash board, paused and swung back to the driver's seat. Stains of red were slowly drying across it as chest level. The light beam trembled as her hand shook. Mulder reached out and took it from her gently, this time shining it back to the steering column. It was flecked with blood. "Oh God," she said softly. "Oh my God." Cold comfort was all he had to offer. "We don't know who was driving, Scully." "Does it matter?" she asked, turning her hea away from the bloody, bullet ridden car. Either Doug or Zoe had been shot. "that sort of blood spattering -- Mulder, that's a lung shot." "Damn." He clicked off the light. "We'd better call the local police." The first shot was the loudest and most surprising, a plume of wood chips exploding out of the tree trunk as a bullet slammed into it. The retort of the rifle echoed through the area, half-deafening the two agents. Mulder ducked down immediately, judging that the shot had come from behind them, from the far side of the car wreck. Dana froze, shock coursing through her system. The last time she had heard a gunshot had been just a few weeks ago . . . < "Where's Mulder?" she asked, finding her voice. He grinned. "The real Mulder," she amended, glaring at him. His grin faded, grudging admiration taking its place. "How long have you known?" "Long enough." The finger on the trigger guard tightened and she assumed that a more precise answer was wanted. "A couple of days. He's good, whoever you have pretending he's Mulder, but he's not good enough." "Evidently. Who have you told." "No one." She shrugged even though it hurt to do so. "Who would believe me?" "No one." He gestured with the gun; she noticed that it was hers. "Over by the edge of the pier." She obyed, trying to think of a way out of this mess. He was good, she had to give him that much, keeping well away from her, covering her with the gun, not giving her an opening that she oculd use. He was between her and the van, witholding whatever cover it may have provided, the rest of the city beyond that. It might as well have been the other side of the planet for all the good it was going to do her. "Where is he?" she asked again, hoping he would answer. "I'm not stupid, Agent Scully," he said, smiling with satisfaction at the look that crossed her face. "Just hold still and it will all be over." He raised the gun a little, finger tightening on the trigger. The edge of the pier was just behind her; if she could dive off the end before he pulled the trigger, she would have a chance... She threw herself over backwards as the sound of the gunshot filled the night, something hitting her hard, wrenching her around, open air under her, followed by a cold splash of water, fiery pain blazing through her body, chasing away the chill of cold water, leaving a black numbness in its wake....>> She could still feel the burning pain and cold water, memory holding her frozen as another shot dinged the top of the car, scant inches from her head. ***************** At first, Mulder thought Scully had paused to return fire, but as the second shot echoed through the night, he realized that she hadn't even drawn her gun. He half stood, got an arm around her waist and yanked her down as the third shot whistled through the air, right where her head had been. "Scully, what the hell are you doing?" he demanded, letting go of her waist to grab her by the shoulders. Her face was pale under the lightening sky. "I -- I'm sorry -- I -- " The forth shot broke glass on one of the windows. "Let's talk about it later," he suggested, ducking down even further and pulling her with him. "Any idea why they're shooting at us?" She gasped in a deep breath. "Whatever Zoe and Doug got themselves into, it's carrying over to us." "In other words, the military is shooting at us!" More shots hit the car, the noise of bullet impacts sounding uncannily like nails being hammered into a coffin. The shots stopped all of a sudden and the two exchanged disbelieving looks. "Maybe they thought we were Bateman and Shelton and just figured out we're not," he whispered. "Maybe." They stayed huddled there for almost ten minutes, waiting for another shot to come. Finally, Mulder reached for his cel phone and called the Lexington police. ******************* Sleep Eaze Motel 7:56 a.m. The car had been towed to the police impound lot while techincians crawled over it, searching for a microscopic clue, as Scully waited for a blood typing to be done on the blood taken from the driver's seat. Mulder was at the motel making a phone call back to Washington. "Yeah?" "Langly, it's Mulder. I need a favour." "Hang on." He heard a series of clicks. "Langly, tell me you aren't recording this." "Mulder, I'm not recording this," the Lone Gunman repeated dutifully. "Langly . . ." "Anyone ever tell you you're uptight, Mulder?" "Not recently." "Relax. I'm putting you on the speaker phone." Another click and Mulder could now hear two other voices. "Okay, go ahead." "Hey, Mulder, how's Kentucky?" called Frohike. "How'd you hear I was -- never mind." He realized the stupidity of the question. Byers answered anyway. "Agent Scully never removed the transmitter she planted in your office last month." "Scully bugged our office?!?" "Ooops," Frohike chimed in. "All right, all right. That's not important right now." Mulder rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Shelton and Bateman have gone missing and someone thought Scully and I made good hunting targets." "Are you two all right?" "We're fine, Byers." "What do you need from us?" Byers had grown serious. Shelton had taken to hanging out with the LG since Mulder's rescue. "I need reports of UFO sightings in the area. Either Shelton or Bateman was shot -- we've got to find them. Oh -- Zoe Bateman's an -- " "Old friend of Scully's," finished Langly. "We heard." "You guys have no shame, do you?" "Eavesdropping saves time," Frohike affirmed. "Speaking of Agent Bateman," Byers said delicately, "we took the liberty of digging into the records of the -- incident. There was some . . . inconsistancies in her former partner's statement." "Really?" Mulder didn't bother reprimanding them. They were more incorrigible than he was. "Just thought you should know." "Mulder," Langly called, sounding further off, keyboard clacking. "I'm in MUFON's data base. Four sightings last night in your area. Also reports of gunshots. MUFON wrote them off as military experimentation. What's going on down there?" "I wish I knew." The door opened and Scully came in, pale faced, sheaf of papers in her hand. "Uh -- hang on a second, fellas." Mulder coverd the reciever. "Scully?" "I got the blood tests back -- the blood is Type A -- Doug's Type O -- " "Bateman?" She nodded. "I'm sorry," he said softly. She smiled tightly. "Not your fault." Mulder got back on the phone. "Bateman's the one who's been shot." "We don't know what to tell you, Mulder," Byers said. "Do you want us to check with NICAP?" Scully's cellular rang. Mulder heard the low murmer of her voice answering the call. "Don't bother," he said finally. "I doubt you'll find anything else." "Mulder." Scully's hand was over the receiver of her phone. "Skinner wants a word." "I doubt it's just on." Mulder swapped phones with her. "Keep the boys busy." Dana took the phone from him and put it to her ear with trepidation. "Hello?" "Hey, Scully," Langly drawled. "We're checking MUFON for UFO sightings from last night." "Find any?" she asked, trying to inject a tone of disbelief into her voice. "Yes, actually, we did," Byers replied. "We also found something you might be interested in." "Like what?" "It's about Bateman," Langly said quietly. She shut her eyes in pain. "Dana, are you all right?" Frohike asked in concern. "I'm fine. Go ahead." "We checked the transcripts of Bateman's tribunal over the shooting." "Byers, how did you find out about that?" "You -- ah -- never removed the transmitter from your office." "Thanks for reminding me." She made a mental note to remove it the second they got back to D.C. "What about the one in Mulder's apartment?" Mulder's head jerked around sharply. "Yes, sir. I am paying attention," he said into the phone, mouthing, "You'd better not be talking about what I think you are, Scully." "Don't worry. His apartment got searched by the feds. You guys are pretty thorough. It's gone." Langly sounded disappointed. "Scully," Byers said. "It looks like Ryan McIntyre lied on his statement." It took a second for her to figure out what he was talking about. Then she remembered. Zoe's partner. "Lied how?" "His statement that was given isn't exactly the same as his case notes. The sequence of events is wrong. His case notes say he picked up Bateman's weapon before the suspect grabbed the girl. In trial he said it was *after* the suspect grabbed her." "His case notes . . . you *hacked* his private files?" There was a chorus of affirming noises. She sighed. What could she say that would possibly reprimand them? "Why would he lie about that?" she said, chaning the subject. "That's the problem, isn't it?" Langly said. "We thought you should have the information." "Thanks, Byers -- all of you." She meant it: something wasn't adding up about Zoe's case and they were only trying to help after all. "Good luck." The words could have come from any of them as they hung up. She folded the phone back up and waited for Mulder to finish. He hung up, looking mentally battered. "Skinner's furious. He wants to know how I lost two agents." "How *you* lost two agents?" she echoed. "Guess I make a good scapegoat, huh?" "What's are next move." She wasn't in the mood for playful bantering. "We need to have another chat with the general, but I want to have something to confront him with." "I have an idea about that." He was pleasantly surprised. "Like what?" "Dunham's X-rays that Arrowhead finally send over? They weren't his. According to his charts, he broke his sternum in training, fell while on a run and broke it on a rock." He couldn't resist and trained innocent eyes on his partner. "Reminds me of me." "Really?" Her tone was perfectly deadpan. "Well the X-rays the hospital receivered showed no sign of injury to the sternum. I've ordered new X-rays to be taken. They'll be ready soon." He nodded. "Nice work, Scully." "Mulder, do you think we'll find them?" she asked abruptly. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "Bateman can take care of herself and so can Shelton." "Zoe's been shot, Mulder, and we don't know *what* happened to them." "There were sightings last night in the area." She shook her head. "You're not suggesting they were taken by aliens are you?" "Why, Scully, I thought you didn't believe in that sort of thing." He help up his hands before she could snap at him. "All I'm saying is that this fits the pattern of Corporals Dunham and Morrison's disappearances." She didn't answer, head bowed as she perched on the end of Doug's bed, facing away from where Mulder lounged on his own bed. "You okay, Scully?" "I'm worried about them, Mulder." "So am I." "I know." He need to ask her why she had frozen up by the wrecked car, why she had stook stock still while a sniper nearly blew her head off. "Scully?" "Yes?" "What happened out there?" he asked gently. "Why'd you freeze up like that?" <> She flinched, hands clenching, eyes closed tight against the memory. "Scully?" Mulder's voice was practically in her ear, one hand resting ever so lightly on her shoulder. "The last time I heard gunshots . . . was just before I ended up in the Potomac. If Langly and Frohike hadn't been there . . . " "But they were. Scully . . . " "I killed someone, Mulder. Just before that." "Self-defense. That's been cleared. For God's sake, Scully, the guy was trying to kill you." "Dammit, Mulder! I almost *killed* *you*!" Her eyes openen and he was kneeling in front of her, a confused look on his face. "The double," she said. "I could have shot him . . . " "That wasn't me, Scully. It wasn't me you could have killed." "What if I'd been wrong? What if it had been you?" The question was voiced in a tortured tone. Mulder sighed and got up, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. "You weren't wrong, Scully." "I could have been." She buried her head in her hands. She was so tired, not just physically, but mentally as well. The stress of last month, worrying over Mulder while trying to avoid being killed by a conspiracy only vaguely tenable and now having two agents -- friends -- go missing . . . Mulder slid one arm over her shoulders, the other hand running through his hair. "I think we need a vaction." She started to laugh, the kind of hysterical sound that trembled on the edge between laughter and tears. "You've got a gift for understatement, Mulder." She raised her head to look at him. "I'm sorry." He managed a smile. "Don't be." His arm came up and ruffled her hair like she had done to him so long ago. She put up with it for about five seconds, bounding to her feet in a fit of movement. "Okay. I'm going back to the hospital to see those X-rays if I have to take them myself." Mulder stood as well. "For right now, I think we should stick together." "You think we're targets?" "Someone thought enough of us to shoot at us. If the army is cleaning up after something, I'd rather not make an easier target than I have to." She nodded, eyeing his still too think frame. "We're stopping for breakfast -- in a *real* restaurant. I'll even buy." *************** =========================================================================== From: larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca (Jess Archibald) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: COLLUSION 6/7 Date: 1 Feb 1996 22:10:40 GMT And here's yet another bit. I'll get the finale out tomorrow, I promise. Disclaimer: see part 1 COLLUSION part 6/7 by Jess Archibald (larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca) Lexington Memorial Hospital X-ray Room 9:38 a.m. The lab tech opened the door, X-ray sheet in one hand, to find the two federal agents waiting impatiently, the petite redhead leaning against the counter, while the tall man paced back and forth. They both turned their full attention to the woman coming in. "Dr. Scully, here are the X-rays you asked for." She handed them to the professional looking woman and scurried back out. Dana took the X-rays out of the envelope, switching on the light to display them with, Mulder coming up beside her. She slid the first set of X-rays in place and leaned in closer to take a look. Her finger traced the line of the sternum, just shy of actually touching the sheet. Even Mulder could see the faint line on it. "There's the break." "Uh-huh. So if these X-rays are Dunham's, whose did the army send over and what are they trying to hide?" There were no other abnormal markings on the X-rays. The ribs were fine, lungs clear of shadows. She was disappointed, having hoped the army was hiding some new health problem caused by something on base that shouldn't have been there. It was a long shot, but more likely than whatever Mulder had in mind. "Let's try the skull X-ray," he suggested. She took the first one down and put up the next. They saw it immediately and the room temperature seemed to plumment. "Look familiar?" he asked sardonically, steepling his hands in front of him and running them along the bottom of his face with an explosive sigh. In the upper reaches of Dunham's nasal cavity sat a tiny rolling pin shape, a seemingly innocent object that chilled the two more than any sight of a cancerous lump. "It's an implant," she said flatly. They searched through the rest of the X-rays, literally with a magnifying glass, and found two more, one in Dunham's abdomen, just below the line of the first X-ray, the other in his rght forearm, just above his wrist. "Well, that answers a few questions," Mulder said. "And raises more," Dana finished. She took down the last of the X-rays and put all of them back in the envelope. "What do you think is going on?" He turned away from her to get some pacing room. "Bear with me, Scully. What if the army had a UFO hidden on Arrowhead? One they have control over, could make disappear whoever they want to have disappear?" "Like Zoe and Doug?" "Maybe." "What about the two corporals?" She wasn't buying it. "What if there's another UFO trying to get this first ship back?" "Whoa. Wait a minute." She held up a hand. "*Two* ships? Mulder, I'm having enough trouble with *one*." "I know, but it makes sense." "If you say so," she said rather doubtfully. "I do," he said, a hint of a grin creeping across his face. She shook her head. "Just don't tell Skinner this is our working theory." ******************* Zoe opened her eyes to whiteness. It was all she could see, it was like being wrapped in a white summer cloud, floating on air. Except that her chest hurt and there was a high pitched sound that she realized was her own voice screaming, throat almost as raw and fiery as the pain in her chest. Above the screaming was another sound, a thumping rhythm, that pounded in her ears. . . . lub dub . . . lub dub . . . Her heartbeat. There were figures in the whiteness, she could barely see them, but they were there, poking at her, prodding, searching. . . . lub dub . . . lub dub . . . She tried to stop screaming long enough to ask them why they were just standing there, she'd been shot and needed medical attention, but she couldn't stop screaming, breath coming in sobbing pants in between screams. . . . lub dub . . . lub dub . . . She couldn't breathe. . . . lub dub . . . lub dub . . . And then the screaming stopped. . . . lub dub . . . lub . . . . . . . ******************** Arrowhead Army Base 5:56 p.m. General Hammond wasn't on the base. His adjutant reported this in a smug tone, his expression a borderline sneer as he looked at Mulder. "Where can we find him?" Scully demanded, physically interjecting herself between them. "He is not to be disturbed." "Wouldn't want to wreck his golf game," Mulder muttered just loud enough for both the others to hear him. Scully planted one hand on his chest, not taking her eyes off the aide. "You listen to me," she said to the younger man, voice dropping to a silky purr that Mulder recognized all too well. "We've got two *missing* federal agents that we need to find. Do you want us to call our Assistant Director who will call the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who will in turn call *your* Commander-In-Chief and get *him* to ask where your general is?" The adjutant gulped. "He's gone out for dinner. The Lexington Hilton." "You hungry, Scully?" Mulder turned to her. "I wouldn't mind stopping at the Hilton." On the way off the base, Mulder turned away from the passenger window to examine his partner. She caught his scrutiny. "What?" "Nice bluff." She turned the car towards the city, foot coming down hard on the accelerator. "Who was bluffing?" ******************** Lexington Hilton Dining Room 6:45 p.m. General Donald Hammond looked up from his glass of champange and smiled at the young lady across the table. She looked demurely away from his gaze, giggling a little, a high pitched girlish sound that he found captivating. The body was there in front of him, but no one was home inside the lovely head. Perfect. There was a disturbance across the room and Hammond spotted that damned federal agent, this time with another woman in tow, this one a redhead. Looked like he had lost the other one as thoroughly as his men had. A pity his sniper had stopped firing at the man. If Doctor Mark Taylor and his *remarkable* double couldn't make Fox Mulder disappear, a bullet would do in a pinch. The maitre d' looked embarrassed as he led the two agents over to the general's table and Hammond schooled his expression so his distaste didn't show through. "Your pardon, sir," said the maitre d' in a hushed tone, "but these -- people -- desire a word." Hammond nodded, dismissing the man, turning his flat green eyes onto Mulder and his companion. "What is it this time, Agent Mulder?" he asked in a weary tone. The man's eyes flicked first to Hammond's left hand, taking in the wedding band, then over to the young lady's left hand, bare of any ornament, and his hazel eyes narrowed slightly. "Does Mrs. Hammond know you're here?" he asked mildly. The general felt his face grow hot. "This is my daughter," he said with a fierce scowl. The young lady smiled, willing to play along, her vapid blue eyes locking on to the male agent with a sudden spark of interest. The female agent intercepted the suddenly predatory lookk and shook her head slightly, enough for the other woman to notice and back off. "Nice to meet you, Miss Hammond," Mulder said blandly. "Will you excuse us? We need to speak with your father." "Now wait just one minute," Hammond blustered but the woman turned a disproving look on him. "General Hammond," she said in a voice like ice, speaking for the first time, "we need to speak with you about our missing agents." "You think I had something to do with that?" He tried to summon indignation, but a fearful chill was running through him. "You lost two people, we lost two people." Mulder shrugged. "Maybe I'm stretching, but I see a connection." "We should speak elsewhere." Hammond got to his feet, tossing money on the table and offering his 'daughter' a smile. "I'll cal you later, my dear. The maitre d' will get you a taxi." He turned to the two agents. "I will talk to you at the base." He lead them from the dining room, feeling like he was being flanked by two MPs and not liking it one bit. ******************* Arrowhead Army Base General Hammond's Office 7:48 p.m. Hammond stared out the window, hands clasped behind his back, at parade rest. He'd been like that for a few minutes now and Dana was getting sick of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mulder fidgeting in his seat and knew he wasn't any happier than she was. "General," she said at last, "what's going on here?" "I don't know what you mean," he replied. "Let's stop playing games, General," Mulder said, anger rising with his voice. "We've got two people missing and we want to get them back. What did your corporals see? Did they see or damage that ship you've got in that bunker?" It was a shot in the dark, but Hammond reacted like the bullet had hit the back of his skull. He whirled, a nervous tic pulling at his mouth. "What do you know about that bunker?" Dana felt Mulder's oblique gaze light upon her in an "I-told-you-so" fashion. She ignored him. "You're hiding a UFO in there, aren't you? Dunham and Morrison were abducted by another UFO who wants the first one back." Dana could tell by the way Hammond's posture relaxed some of its rigidity, which he had maintained since they had tracked him to the Hilton, that Mulder had guessed wrong -- but not by much. Hammond's eyes were still a little frightened for it to be otherwise. She spoke without realizing what she was proposing. "No, Mulder, that's not it. Dunham and Morrison disappeared because they *saw* the first ship and they weren't supposed to." She pointed a finger at Hammond. "You had your own men vanish . . . " The general glared at her, flat eyes suddenly reminding her of a snake waiting to strike. "Where are Zoe Bateman and Doug Shelton?" she asked angrily. Hammond didn't reply. Instead, he walked to his desk and sat behind it. "Where are they, General?" Mulder picked up the refrain. "I don't have them and neither do our pet green men." "Gray men," Mulder corrected with a humourless smile. Dana ignored him, head reeling by the fact Hammond had practically admitted to having aliens -- *aliens* for God's Sake -- on the base. The door burst open and the general's adjutant skidded in. "Sir, they're here -- " He stopped dead, seeing the two agents, who turned towards him, surprised by the sudden intrusion. "Thank-you, Captain." Hammond got to his feet. "Why don't you two come with me? I'm sure Agent Mulder would like to see what's in that bunker." Alerted by the sudden cheery tone in his voice, Dana swung her head back towards him and caught her breath. "Mulder . . . " Mulder was taking his time to look, back but the inflection in her voice hurried him up. "Captain, if you would be so kind as to relieve the agents of their guns?" Hammond smiled coldly at them from above the black barrel of his service revolver. ***************** Cursing himself, sizing up their chances, Mulder allowed General Hammond to herd him and Scully out of the office building and over to the bunker. They passed a few soldiers who looked surprised, but a quick bark from Hammond made them mind their own business. Hammond's gun hand was steady and his aide also had a weapon trained on them. Mulder doubted that he and Scullly could take both army officers without someone getting shot. Looked like Skinner had been right to send other agents to keep the X-Files division from getting wiped out. Too bad the other agents were the ones who got into trouble first. They could have used a few more. The two sentries at the bunker looked at the approaching quartet and started to pull open the door to let them in. Mulder knew if they went inside the only way he and Scully would come back out were in body bags. Hammond checked his watched and sneered. "Wait." He nodded to the two sentries. "Keep your eye on them, but don't kill them yet." Mulder thought of what the adjutant had said upon bursting into Hammond's office -- "They're here." Somehow Mulder didn't think the man was doing a "Poltergeist" impression. The sentries trained their rifles at the two, digging the barrels in their backs. Mulder saw Scully wince and held himself back from echoing the gesture. "Enjoy yourself, Mulder," Hammond taunted. "Morrison's about to put in an appearance." He looked at his watch. "In eight seconds -- our friends are extremely punctual." Mulder ignored him, counting down in his head. "Scully, cover your eyes!" he called, earning him a quick prod in the back as he flung a hand across his face. She looked at him in shock, but quickly followed suit at the first flash of light. White light flared, seemingly out of nowhere, a throbbing sound accompanying it. Through squinted eyes, Mulder saw Hammond shield his eyes with his free hand, his shadow stretching across the base lawn. Beside him, Scully had covered her eyes, bracing herself against the wind that began to whip around them all. The noise grew until it was nearly intolerable, the throbbing creating a sympathy rumble in Mulder's chest, like standing next to a loudspeaker when heavy bass was playing, one that made it hard to breath. The fact that he wasn't back in shape yet was driven home by the urgent need to pant for breath. Just when he thought it would never end and he was going to pass out or die from lack of air, it stopped, the light fading as suddenly as it began. "Mulder, you all right?" Scully's voice was quavering as she too gasped for breath. If he had had trouble catching his breath, she would have had more so with a healing bullet wound along her ribs. "Fine," he managed. "You?" He tried to look over at her, but the after-images of the light still half-blinded him. "I'm okay," she replied, but he could hard the unsteadiness of her voice as she turned to address Hammond. "Nice helicopter. How big a chunk of the defense budget did that eat up -- " Mulder heard the cracking sound of metal on bone a few seconds before the thump of a body hitting the ground. "Scully!?!" He heard Hammond laugh and wished desperately he could see so he'd know where to throw his punch. Of course it had been a helicopter -- that rumble was a dead giveaway to him since he had researched the difference. Hammond must have been disappointed that Scully had seen through it. The adjutant's radio squealed as Mulder's vision cleared. The captain activated it, while passing it along to Hammond. "Yes?" Mulder ignored him and looked around for his partner, spotting her face down on the grass, left temple raised and bleeding from where a gun butt had landed. He started to got to her but the two sentries stopped him with a gun barrel leveled at his chest. Hammond smirked, speaking into the radio. "Get him to the infirmary. I'll be by later." He handed it back to the captain. "Good news, Captain. Corporal Morrison has been returned." The aide beamed like any good Igor would. "Excellent news, sir." Eyes darting from Scully's prone form to the maniacal one of the general, Mulder realized that he and his partner were going to die. Not that long ago he would have been ready to give up at this point, but spending a month in the Raven Crest Psychiatric Hospital and the subsequent rescue had taught him never to give up because fate was always around to throw a curve ball. "So Scully was right," he said in a loud voice. "You did have your own men taken." Hammond laughed again. "You really should listen to yourself, Mulder. Didn't Doctor Taylor cure you of all these delusions?" Mulder's eyes widened. Taylor had been the 'doctor' that ran Raven Crest. Hammond shouldn't have -- couldn't have -- know about him unless . . . *Unless he had been involved.* Hammond saw that he had said too much and raised his gun. "It's a pity really. Two more federal agents break into Arrowhead and are shot trying to flee." "Did you kill Bateman and Shelton? Did they see the ship?" "They saw the ship, but I didn't kill them. I would have, but someone else got to them first." Part of Mulder hoped Scully wouldn't wake up in time to feel the shot that was coming, but the rest of him didn't want to die alone. "Who got to them?" Light flared again. This time it was without warning, wrapping itself around all those gathered outside. Hammond cried out as it blinded him and Mulder moved, photographic memory telling him how far Scully was, trusting in the light to have blinded the sentries and the captain as well. He questing hands found the fabric of Scully's coat and he traced it until he found her shoulders, lifting her up as she groaned. "Cover your eyes again, Scully!" He didn't have to worry about anyone hearing them. A high pitched whine was cutting through the night sky, half deafening them all. "Fox!" He heard someone calling him. "Fox!" A voice from his past. "Fox!" "Sam?" ******************** Dana forced her eyes open, bit back a cry and squeezed them shut again. Unsure if the light was from the exploding pain in her head or something else, she followed Mulder's advise and got a hand over her eyes. She heard someone calling Mulder's name, his first name, over the high pitched sound and opened her eyes again. Someone was standing between them and the light, a woman's form that rippled and changed to that of an eight year old girl's. "Sam?" Mulder whispered from beside Dana. "Mulder, no!" She wrapped her fingers around his collar, forcing his head down to her level to get him to listen to her. "It might now be what you think it is." "It might be though." His eyes were pleading, begging for her to understand. And she did. She let go of him and pulled away from his supporting grip, deciding that the ground looked like a good place to sit while all this weirdness sorted itself out. She almost tripped over something and turned to see what it was, one hand still over her eyes, rubbing gently at the sore spot on her forehead. Doug Shelton was sprawled at her feet. A delighted smile burst onto her face until she saw the second form. "Zoe!" ****************** Mulder stepped towards the figure in the lihgt. It didn't stay constant, fluttering between one shape and the other, first a little girl, then a grown woman. "Sam?" he whispered again. The form shrugged. Nodded. "If you want me to be." This was what he had glimped in the back of that car, speeding through Maryland, trapped in a straightjacket. Another flare of light had come, stopping the engine, and Mulder had seen his sister in the light before he had lost consciousness. And now here she was again. He didn't understand. "We haven't got much time," she said quickly, seizing his arm. "You have to listen to me, Fox. We want to help you, but we can't stay here any longer." "Don't leave, Sam." "I'm not your sister, but I am your friend. We're the ones who took the men trying to kill you and we saved your friends." "Shelton? Bateman?" His brain wasn't working properly. "But she was shot." "We healed her." The woman looked back towards the light. "We have to leave now, Fox. We're leaving behind all those we took. We aren't like the others, the ones here with the army. Although we can't stay, I promise you you'll have an ally when the time comes for you to face the other you." "What's that supposed to mean?" Mulder reached for her arm, but she stepped away, not hindered by the light like he was. "Good bye, Fox. Samantha sends her love." "Wait! Dammit, you can't leave!" But he was alone. **************** =========================================================================== From: larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca (Jess Archibald) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: REPOST: COLLUSION 7/7 Date: 8 Feb 1996 18:33:14 GMT Okay, I heard this didn't show up (Karen, here it is, don't hurt me!) so I'm giving it another try . . . And the conclusion (and I hope this reaches everyone this time . . . ) Disclaimer: story contains characters copyrighted 1993 by CC and 10-13 productions. Quoted lyrics copyrighted 1995 by the Rembrants (more on that later). No premission given in either case, but no infringment of copyright was intended (what else would we all do for fun?). The story itself, the characters of Bateman and Shelton, and everyone you *don't* recognize belong to me . . . COLLUSION 7/7 by Jess Archibald (larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca) Dana cursed the light and the pain in her head, nearly tripping over Doug again as she made her way around him to Zoe. It was hard going when you where half blinded. She made it, and sank to her knees next to her friend. "Please don't be dead, Zoe. Dear God, don't be dead." SHe fumbled for a pulse, searching Zoe's chest for signs of bullet penetration. The pulse was strong and helathy, no wounds visible, not even a bullet hole in her clothing. Dana didn't understand. According to the lab reports and all the physical evidence someone had been shot and the blood work was Zoe's. She didn't even notice when the light faded and Mulder stumbled over to her. "They're gone," he said hollowly, collapsing beside her. "She's gone." Dana's head jerked around. "Was it her?" "No." THe word was devoid of emotion. The light was gone, but in its place were several prone bodies. She recognized Hammond's, the captain's and the sentries, but there were a few more than there should be. With shock she recongized the man who had shot her, who had kidnapped Mulder. "Where did he come from?" she asked hoarsely. "She said they were leaving behind all they took." Mulder shrugged, a lost look in his eyes. "She said they healed Bateman." "They *what*!?" "Healed her." "That's not . . . " She trailed off, seeing the evidence with her own eyes. Doug moaned. "Doug? Doug, can you hear me?" She bent over to hear his reply. "Man, Dana," he mumbled, eyes opening into slits, "whenever I hang out with you, I see these incredibly bright lights." "Blame Mulder." They helped him sit up. "WHere the hell am I?" he asked groggily. "Oh God, where's Zoe? The bastards shot her . . . and I remember hearing her screaming. WHere is she?" "I'm right here." Zoe rolled onto her elbows and tried to push herself up. "I don't feel shot." "Easy, Zoe. We'll get you to a hospital." Zoe peered at her friend. "Maybe we should get *you* to a hospital, Dana. Who clubbed you?" "Hammond. We'll worry about that later." Mulder nodded, clearing his head, saving his heartache for another time. "We'd better get out of here before all these sleeping beauties wake up." He got up and retrieved their weapons from Hammond, checking for a pulse as he did so. He didn't know to be relieved or disappointed when he discovered the general was still breathing. He went back to the others, finding Doug trying to get the women on their feet. Zoe was all for it, but Dana seemed to prefer sitting down at the moment. Mulder realized with a shock that he was probably the healthiest person awake and that was a scary thought all in itself. "C'mon, Scully." He reached down and pulled her to her feet. "Remind me to teach you the difference between a good time to provoke someone and a bad time." "Who was trying to provoke?" she slurred indignantly, one hand to the side of her head. "You know, Scully, why is it that whenever we see an alien ship, you get knocked on the head just before?" he grumbled, trying to keep her on her feet. "Why is that? Skeptic's luck?" Zoe laughed, reeling a little. Doug tried to steady her without much luck. Soldiers were arriving from all over the base, weapons out. Mulder pulled his badge. "FBI. We're conducting an official investigation here." One of the sergeants aquared off in front of him. "What happened to the general and who are all these people?" "General Hammond is under arrest for assault and attempted murder of a federal agent." Mulder was improvising and he knew it. Striking Scully counted as assault. he'd have to work at getting the rest of it to stick. He had a feeling that he general would vanish into the system and only hoped he would never have to see him again. "If someone would be kind enough to place a call to Assistant Director Skinner of the FBI I think we can sort all this out." He smiled pleasantly. Dana groaned into his jacket, Zoe stiffled a laugh and Doug shook his head. It was going to be a long night. ******************* J. Edgar Hoover Building Washington, D.C. Three days later 8:13 a.m. "So I called my ASAC and had him go over McIntyre's notes. Sure enough he had lied on the deposition." Zoe Bateman perched on the edge of Scully's desk, arms bracing her while Mulder, Scully and Shelton watched her from various spots in the room. "*Now* he's saying that he got confused and *he's* the one who fired the shot that killed the girl, not me, and that he handed the gun back right after. He's claiming that it was an accident." "Maybe it was, but he lied to cover it up." Shelton was lounging against a filing cabinet. "Exactly. There's going to be another inquiry and I might have to go back to testify." "Did they offer your old position back?" Mulder asked. She nodded. "I told them no way. If they weren't going to support me when I needed them, I wanted nothing to do with them. Some of the agents are already rallying around Ryan McIntyre. It's enough to make me sick. Skinner approved my transfer to Missing Persons in Washington." She smiled and the dark lines and haunted look were missing from her face. "Looks like I'll be here for a while." "Speaking of which," Shelton said, "I just got transferred too. Skinner was impressed with the way we handled the investigation in Kentucky -- " "He was? That's not the impression I got." Mulder thought back to yesterday's chewing out. Skinner had been in rare form, giving Mulder the brunt of his anger since the others were in various states of injury and Mulder was the closest to fully recovered. Shelton and Bateman were given examinations at the Arrowhead infirmary and ordered to bed although nothing was found to be wrong with them. Mulder had wanted Bateman to undergo more thorough testing, including a blood test, but she had told him to mind his own business. He had tried bribing her with the Lone Gunmen's tidbit on McIntyre, but Scully had blurted it out before he got the chance to. Scully had a concussion that required she be woken up every hour for twenty-four hours and had been irritable for the whole wrap up of the case. Hammond and the others, including the three men who appeared out of nowhere, were taken into custody. The general and the orderly from Raven Crest, who had shot Scully last month, were to be tried on attempted murder charges. Mulder didn't think the case would get very far before they vanished again, this time by more earthly means. The bunker was empty, whatever had been in it, gone with the light. They had found a helicopter rigged with several floodlights in a hanger nearby. Shelton brought his attention back to the present. "Well, Skinner *said* he was impressed. I've been transferred to Missing Persons and assigned to work with the newly arrived veteran of the L.A. Bureau." Bateman made a mock bow. "Who would be me." Scully grinned at her, only sign of head trauma a tiny white bandage. "That's fabulous, Zoe." "Now all I gotta do is find an apartment." Shelton turned to Mulder. "So, transfer aside, I'm confused. What was going on out there? Why did those corporals vanish and what happened to Zoe and I?" Mulder found the woman watching him too. "Dunham and Morrison saw the UFO in the bunker." "What UFO?" Bateman tipped her head to get a better look at him. Mulder stared at her in shock. Hammond had said the Bateman and Shelton had seen the UFO. "Zoe, you looked inside the bunker," Shelton prompted. "You said they'd kill to protect what was in there." Her gray eyes were wide. "I - I don't remember. I don't even remember being shot. Are you sure you all didn't just imagine that?" "We're sure. Whoever that was in the light said that they healed you." The five foot four woman wrinkled her nose at Mulder. "The least they could have done was make me taller." "Zoe . . . " Scully shook her head. "Go on, Mulder." "Thank-you," he said with light sarcasm. "Okay. The corporals weren't supposed to see the UFO so Hammond ordered their disappearances." "And since the army knew about you," Scully picked up, "they had you kidnapped and replaced before this happened so you couldn't investigate." He nodded. Shelton gave a low whistle. "Kind of extreme, don't you think?" Mulder shrugged. "I can't say I'm too surprised." "Why didn't they just killl you?" Bateman asked. "Not that they should have . . . " "Too hard. Too many people would have made protests of some kind." He smiled over at his partner. "Starting with Scully." "And the Gunmen . . .speaking of which." Scully got out of her seat and went over to Mulder's desk, taking the phone reciever and unscrewing it. "I almost forgot about this again." She removed a tiny transmitter. "Sorry, fellas. No more eavesdropping." Mulder thought he could hear the trio of conspiracy freaks groaning from across town. "Let them listen to the end of the story or they'll be pestering us for weeks." "I've got to meet these guys," Bateman said in amusement. "They sound . . . interesting." "Don't get any ideas, Frohike," Mulder said sternly into the transmitter, seeing Shelton's grin out of the corner of his eye. "Anyway, Dunham and Morrison disappear and their memories are wiped. Who knows, they may have no memory functions at all and may stay in those comas." His eyes met Scully's and he was profoundly glad that her coma had ended. She smiled back at him. "What about the implants?" she asked sweetly. "The army was workign in collusion with whoever commands the UFO," he said simply. "Maybe in exchange for something. Their phony UFO would make it easier for a real one to slip in unnoticed, because there are so many sightings." "What about Zoe and I?" Shelton asked again. "There was another UFO. This one was . . . part of a different agenda. They said they weren't like the ones siding with the army. They probably saved you two from being killed and didn't just beam you back to the hotel because Bateman got shot -- " "Which I don't remember." "Right." Mulder leaned back in his seat. "And that's it." Bateman looked doubtfully at him. "Sure it is, Mulder. Can't lie to a psychologist." He beamed at her. "I can try." She sighed. "I've got paper work to do before my transfer goes through. I'd better get to it." She turned to Scully. "I'll see you later." She nodded. Bateman was staying with her for right now. Shelton straightened to follow his new partner, but stopped, holding out his hand to Scully. "I'm going to see the Gunmen tonight." She gave him the transmitter and watched him go. "Okay, Mulder, what aren't you telling them?" she said as Shelton closed the door behind him. "If I was hiding something, Scully, what makes you think I'd tell you?" he asked innocently. "I'm your partner." Partner. Best friend. Only person to believe in him unreservedly. They all applied. She's believed enough to risk her life for his and enough to let him step into the light, confident he'd step out again. "I thought it was Samantha," he said, eyes overted from her worried gaze. "I'm sorry it wasn't," she said sincerely. "I know you are. It still hurts though." She got up and walked over to him, sitting on the edge of his desk, one hand resting on his should in support. The words of the woman in the light, who hadn't been Sam, ran through his ears. Maybe she had meant Scully. Maybe not. "The woman said I'd have an ally. When I faced the double." Scully looked at him. "He's still out there." "And he'll be coming." ****************** Potomac River 11:46 p.m. Mulder sat on the wooden bench, his back to the roadway, staring out across the water to the heavy moon that hung like a white spotlight in the middle of the black sky. Dana pulled up along the curb. She'd been trying to get a hold of him all night but had had no luck. Finally, she'd gone out looking, thinking she knew what was going on in his head. "Want me to wait for you?" Zoe asked from the seat beside her. She'd come along for the ride. Dana smiled sadly. "It's okay, Zoe. I'll find my own way home." "What about him?" Zoe indicated Mulder's form with a jut of her jaw. "Him too . . . him too . . ." Zoe got out of the car with Dana and went around to the driver's side, taking the keys from her friend. She watched the redhead make her slow way down to the lonely figure by the water before she got into the car. As she turned to pull away, she flicked on the radio, heard the sweet strains of music beginning to fill the car. Her hand hovered over the tuner, hesitated and then she smiled, swinging out into traffic.