From: D_Quell@the-pentagon.com Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:59:42 -0600 Subject: Eoh (1/2) Title: Eoh Author: Dana Quell (D_Quell@the-pentagon.com) Rating: Ooh, we'll say PG-14 Classification: S, A, XF Keywords: MSR!!! There's also a case file in there. Summary: Mulder and Scully find themselves on a case which endangers their lives. Will they finally admit what they've known all along to each other? Disclaimer: The author does not claim ownership on the characters Mulder, Scully, or Skinner. They belong to Chris Carter, 1013, and Twentieth Century Fox. No money is being made, and no infringement was intended. The author does, however, claim ownership on Annika Jeri Alexandria Neni, and the plot or this book therein. The story plot belongs to the author, as do the characters of the story. This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincedental. Crescent City is a real city, and though the author has never been there, she decided to make up the places within the city. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without typed permisison of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Finished: May 30, 1998 Dedication- I would like to thank many people, none of whom helped me write this, but they did help inspire me. To my parents, whom, when I got mad at them, I would write to help calm myself down. To my real life friends, Rachel, Adrian, Sabrina, and Christi, who frustrated me so much that, again, I had to write to calm myself down. To my online friends, Erica, Ericka, Damion, Stef, Meat, and the many, many others, who helped encourage me to write. To my social studies teacher, Mr. Duffey, who inspired me and encouraged me to write, and also told me the best writing college to go to. And finally, my grandparents, both the Frosts (including George, who's seventieth birthday was yesterday, May 29), and the Burkes, who always encouraged me to do the best I could, and inspired me with their intelligence and wisdom. I thank them all. Wednesday, June 3, 1999 2:23 am Crescent City, North California Abandoned Warehouse The darkness was momentarily cut through by a brief flash of light. This light blinded everyone in its path, but only for a few seconds. But the few seconds were enough to let the killer get out of the way of her pursuers' guns. Her two pursuers were blinded for even longer than she, and that gave her time. Those precious few seconds more that she had were enough for her to prepare for the final showdown. Once the light was gone, and the two pursuers, two federal agents, were able to see through the darkness once more. Only this time, they had no idea where the other was. "Mulder?!" a female voice asked though the quiet darkness. "Mulder, where are you?" "Scully? Scully, where are you? I'm over here, near the pile of empty boxes," a loud male voice inquired. "Mulder, there must be a thousand piles of empty boxes. I'm by a pile myself," Scully called back. "I'm going to try to follow the sound of your voice, okay, Scully? Just keep talking, and I'll try to come to you. Don't go anywhere," the one called Mulder replied. "Mulder, how do you know that I'm not standing next to the same empty pile of boxes than you?" she asked. "Because I would see your shape next to me. Just keep talking. Sing if you have to." "Mulder, you don't want me to sing. Remember the time I did sing in front of you?" "Yeah, Scully, I remember. You weren't that bad. So sing, or talk, or something to let me know where you are, okay?" "All right, Mulder, but I'm warning you," she said. Scully cleared her throat, then began to sing. "'I thought I saw a man brought to life, He was warm, he came around, like he was dignified, He showed me what it was to cry, Well, you couldn't be that man I adored, You don't seem to know, seem to care, what your heart is for. But I don't know him anymore, There's nothing where he used to lie, My conversation has run dry, That's what's goin' on, Nothing's fine I'm torn...'" Mulder thought to himself. He sighed. "'I'm all out of faith, This is how I feel, I'm cold and I shamed, Lying naked on the floor, Illusion never changed, Into something real, I'm wi-'" All of a sudden, Scully stopped singing. Mulder grew more alert. "Scully? Are you okay?" There was no answer from his partner. Mulder started growing even more worried. "Scully? Come on, answer me. Where are you?" A different voice joined the air. This one was also female, yet distinctly different from Scully's. "Ah, Agent Mulder. Why don't you follow my voice? If you find me, you'll surely find your petit partner," the voice said, then laughed. "I think that she would like to see you right about now. "What have you done with her? Is she okay?" Mulder implored. "She's just fine, I suppose. Perhaps you would like to hear her. Just a few words, though. Go on, Agent Scully, talk a little, just to let your partner know you're alive," the sultry voice replied. "MULDER! Help! She's armed, and she's going to kil-" Scully's voice sceamed towards Mulder's ears. "Okay, that's enough," the voice cut through. "Convinced, Mulder? You should be. Oh, and if you can't find us in time, I'll kill her. Slowly. Make her scream a little, so that you can hear her pain. And then I'll hunt you down and kill you, too. But she'll die first, so you have the express pleasure of hearing her die, maybe even watching it. Do you like that idea, Mr. Mulder?" "You bitch! If you even so much as scratch her, I'll kill you. I don't care if you are working for the Consortium and can give me answers. I'll kill you!" Mulder cried as he made his way to the voice. "Temper, temper, Mulder. Tsk, tsk. Didn't your mother ever teach you to keep your temper in check?" "Don't you dare talk to me about mothers and tempers. After all, by the way you murder people, I'd say your mother didn't teach you much," Mulder replied to the previous comment as he ran into a pile of boxes. "Make any more comments about my mother, Agent Mulder, and your pretty little partner gets a little bloody. Let me refresh your memory. I love using the knife. It's a creative outlet for me. I have a knife in my hand as we speak, and I will not hesitate to use it. And before you say that a knife will never hold up to a gun once we meet, let me also say that I have a gun as well. Would you care to know what kind?" the voice asked. "No, I would prefer to be left in the dark," "What a shame. It's such a nice gun, too. In fact, I think you have one almost exactly like it," the voice replied, letting Mulder hear the smile in it. Mulder stiffened with anger. he thought. The voice continued on as Mulder continued towards it. "It's a shame that you prefer to be left in the dark, for now I think it's time for the lights to come back on. I can see your shape through the darkness, you know. So, let there be light!" the voice finished and clapped as the lights went on. The lights were almost as blinding as the first light, but Mulder's eyes soon adjusted, and what he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life, however long it may be. Standing in front of him was Scully, held by a young teenage girl. The girl had a knife to Scully's vulnerable throat, and a gag in Scully's mouth. She had obviously removed the headset from Scully.. "Oh, my god, Scully," Mulder said quietly as he saw the situation. Scully struggled against her captor, but quickly stopped as the girl held the knife to her throat with even more force. "Now, now, Agent Scully. I don't want you to die so quickly. Please stop struggling so, or I will have to kill you fast. I don't want to kill you so fast, but I will do it. Don't think I won't. Ah, Agent Mulder, so good of you to join our little party. After all, it just wouldn't be the same without you, now would it, Agent Scully?" the girl crooned as Scully quieted. "That's much better" "You seem to know who we are," Mulder said to the girl. "But we don't know who you are. Maybe you should enlighten us." The girl smiled, her grey eyes flashing. "Why, Special Agent Fox William Mulder, you wouldn't want a magician to give away all her secrets, would you?" Mulder was serious. "Fox had that 'Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed' special on. I'm sure that you can divulge a name." "Ah, Fox, you don't mind if I call you that, do you? It fits you so well. Very well, I'll tell you my name. It's Annika Jeri Alexandria Neni. But you may call me Annika, or Alex." "What do most people call you?" Mulder asked the girl, who seemed to have pulled back inside her shell. "Most people don't call me anything. They say, 'Hey, you!' or something equally as degrading for my intelligence. But I guess that those rare occasions where people actually did use my name as a basis for something to call me, they used Annika. So I suppose that you should call me that." the girl said as she used one hand to toss back her shoulder length black hair behind her. Scully seemed to have noticed the change in Annika as well as Mulder, and tried to spit the gag out. As a result, she started choking on it. Annika saw this and sighed. "You aren't going to learn that the gag won't come out unless I make it, are you?" she asked as she replaced the gag back to its former position. "Annika, what do you hope to accomplish with all of this?" Mulder asked her. "Je ne sais pas. Purquoi?" she answered back. Mulder looked confused. "I'm sorry, I never took French. Perhaps you should speak English." She sighed. "Very well. I said that I didn't know. And I asked why. Why?" Mulder thought for a few seconds, then answered, "Killers always have their motives. I want to know what yours is." "I have no motivation. Unless of course, you count deception," Annika replied. "But I don't." "Deception? Perhaps you should explain this to me. I don't seem to get it." "Must I spell everything out to you? Very well, I suppose I have time to explain it to you, before I have to kill you two," Annika paused, gathering her thoughts, then began. "I want the world to know how intelligent I am. I want to prove it to the non-believers, the skeptics. I'm sure you understand that much, about the skeptics, Agent Mulder? Well, what better way to prove your intelligence is to fool the police into thinking that its killer is just the opposite of what he or she really is? The police department's top officers were fooled, fooled by me, into thinking that the genuine murders were done by a male, age late 20's, early 30's, with a tattoo, and that the other half of the murders were copycat killers, individuals unto themselves. I fooled them, and I would have kept on fooling them, until you and your partner here came along. But it was you, the believer, that didn't believe what they had already proven to be the truth to be true, You the believer, in that moment, turned into the skeptic. And the skeptic here," and with the word skeptic she yanked Scully back hard by her neck. "The skeptic here believed the lie I had so very easily and gracefully had set up. And the skeptic turned into the believer." Annika smiled. "It was so easy, so very easy, until you two came along. Your incessant meddling created problems for me. I was almost found out. You were at the crime sites for Anne Pikaro, and Serene Horton. But I tidied the sites up enough not to get noticed by you or the police. And that is why I will triumph." Her smile turned into a huge, evil grin. "And now I think that the time for twenty questions is over. My dear Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, it is time for you to die." Monday, May 31, 1999 8:59 am Washington, D.C. FBI Headquarters Special Agent Dana Scully got off the elevator at the basement floor and headed into her shared office. When she got in, she went to the coffee maker and started to make coffee for her and her partner. I wonder where Mulder is. He's usually earlier than I am. He'll be late if he doesn't come in the next few seconds, she thought. Just then Special Agent Fox Mulder walked through the door. Think of the devil, Scully thought with a grin. "What's up, Scully? Something to smile about? I know, you're checking out my lovely new tie. And what's that smell? Coffee?" he asked as he inhaled the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee. "Mmm, coffee with a woman's touch. You're so good to me, Scully." Scully's smile widened. "I was just thinking, that's all. It's a very, lovely tie, Mulder. Yes, it's coffee, and I appreciate that you appreciate me. But where were you that you were late?" "Me, late? You should know me better, Scully. I was actually early. I was just up in Skinner's office. We've got a new case." Scully raised her eyebrow. "New case? What happened this time?" "Couple of killings up in Northern California. The local FBI haven't been able to turn anything up. We're being brought there as a reference, a helping hand, if you will." "Are they short a couple of agents in the division?" "I'm not sure. All I was told was that we're to go up Crescent City as fast as possible." "Did you get us a flight?" "Red-eye flight to Crescent City, California, leaves at 12:35, pm. You should probably get your things packed." "Mulder, you should know me better than that. I've already got things packed up at my apartment. Let me just go back to my apartment and pick it up." "Sure, Scully. Why don't we carpool, if you only have to pick up your stuff? I could drop you off, pack my stuff, then pick you back up. How 'bout it?" Scully nodded. "Sure, it's better that we use your car, with your gas," she said with a grin. Monday, May 31, 1999 15:56 (military time) Crescent City, North California Rearview Road "Mulder, are you sure you know where we're going?" Scully asked him as they headed north from the airport to the police department. "I'm sure, I'm sure. Check the map if you don't believe me. I know my way around. Don't you trust me, Scully?" She gave him a disapproving look. "Mulder, you're the only one I trust." "Good, then you know we're going the right way," he told her with a grin. Scully sighed. That's Mulder, all right. He just loves to make you believe the lie that he knows where he's going, even when he doesn't. He's too...him to ask for directions, she thought. She shook her head to clear away the thoughts. "Sure, fine, whatever, Mulder," she said in reply. Monday, May 31, 1999 17:28 (military time) Crescent City, North California Lovvy & Stodge Motel, Room 213 After being lost two hours on the road, and Scully's "I told you so", Mulder was ready to just lie down and forget the whole day had happened. But of curse, he knew that there was a case needing solving, and there was time for sleep later. Whenever that later was. There was a knock on his door, and he shouted, "It's open!" "Mulder, you shouldn't leave the door unlocked. It's not very safe. And you didn't even ask who was there. It could have been the killer, come to kill you. You're just lucky it was me," Scully said as she entered the room. "I knew it was you, Scully. It certainly wasn't the killer, the killer most likely doesn't even know we're here "Okay, so it was me, but it could have been Cancerman. And how the hell did you know it was me?" "I'll tell you when we get back to Washington. Right now, I am so hungry, and so tired, so what do you say we get some dinner, and then some rest?" "Sure, Mulder. Fine with me. Whatever you want," Scully replied with a grin as Mulder got up and they left the motel together. Tuesday, June 1, 1999 9:34 am Crescent City, North California Crescent City PD "Excuse me, we're here to see Detective Rourke. Is she The policeman tending the desk looked up towards the two FBI agents. "Natalie? Yeah, sure, she's in. Who are you?" he asked in a gruff voice. Scully looked at Mulder, who smiled back at her. She smiled a little too, then pulled out her badge and said, "Special Agents Scully and Mulder. With the FBI. May we go talk to Detective Rourke?" "Eh, let me check, Agent...Scully, is it?" Scully nodded as the policeman got up and walked towards the back of the station. "They've got a very, um, interesting station here, don't you think, Mulder?" Scully asked once the policeman left. "Define interesting," he replied, his hazel eyes roving all over the station, until they came to rest upon the two officers joking by the water cooler. "Interesting- something that holds your attention," a female voice said. "I'm Natalie Rourke. You the FBI agents?" "How'd you guess?" asked Mulder, who was now checking out the detective. "Your, eh, imaginative tie," Natalie said with a laugh. Scully decided that she liked the detective. She was one of those people who could get a smile out of anyone, but still be serious when it came to business. Scully stepped in. "I'm Agent Scully, and this is my partner, Agent Mulder." "Well, I thank you for coming to the other side of the country. Normally we would have solved this case, or pursued it until orders from the higher ups told us to stop," Rourke "But...?" Mulder asked. Natalie Rourke took a deep breath. "But, this is no ordinary homicide case. Five murders in as many weeks. One murder every Wednesday. The bodies have been discovered the next day, most likely by someone who knew and cared for the deceased. There's also been two distinct killers. Their methods vary as night and day. One is the original killer, the other is a copycat. Even the guys from the Crescent City Division of the FBI agreed with us there, and believe me, we don't normally agree on things." Scully and Mulder exchanged looks, then Scully said, "Every Wednesday? That leaves us one day to get ready. Pretty short amount of time, don't you think?" Natalie shrugged. "It's the killers' MO. It's when he commits the crime." "He?" Mulder asked. "Are you sure it's a male?" Natalie looked towards him with huge purple eyes. "Positive. At least, the original killer is. The marks on the bodies indicate a sharp object, most likely a knife, was held by a lefty. This lefty is a male, by the depth at which he struck. There is no way that he wouldn't be a true lefty The angle at which the knife entered the body indicates that the blade was held by the left hand. The depth not only indicates the gender, but also that the lefty was in fact real. There is no way a righty could have made gashes like those." "Well, Detective, I'd say that you got it pretty much under control here. What do you need us for?" Scully asked. "I have no more available officers to put on this case. We're a little short on manpower, as you probably see. And, I have no suspects. The victims had nothing linking them, that we can see, and that makes it pretty hard to come up with a suspect. But now that I think about it, there was one thing that the victims had in common," the detective replied thoughtfully. "That would be...what, exactly?" Mulder asked her. "They were all the same age. The exact same age, to the year. I hadn't noticed it at the time, but they were all forty-seven years old," Natalie said with a snort. "The reports have them listed as being in their late forties, but they were all forty-seven. Odd. You're the psychologist, Agent Mulder, correct?" Mulder nodded his confirmation, and the detective continued. "Could it be that the killer has some kind of complex, against his parents, that would make him feel compelled to kill forty-seven year olds?" Mulder shook his head. "Not really. All in all, it's more probable that he or she is a Trekkie." The two women gave him a weird look. "A Trekkie, Mulder?" Scully asked. Mulder nodded. "The number forty-seven has been placed in the scripts since the Next Generation. Since the writers of ST:TNG, other Star Trek writers have placed the number forty-seven throughout their scripts. Trekkies have begun to look for the number forty-seven. Um, for example, in ST:VOY, we found out that the Borg's enemy was Species 8472. Notice the forty-seven in the middle there?" "Yes, but why would a Trekkie do this? And if so, wouldn't it have been easier to just kill people in apartment numbers 47, and not the age?" Rourke asked. "Well, it appears that we have a clever killer on our hands. The age wouldn't have been that noticeable, but the apartment numbers would. I think we're looking for someone with a very high IQ." "Someone with an IQ of 265, perhaps?" Scully asked in a rare show of humor. Mulder looked seriously back at her. "No, but someone with an IQ very close to that." Scully's smile faded as she realized that Mulder wasn't joking. Detective Rourke looked very confused. Tuesday, June 1, 1999 12:53 am Crescent City, North California Billy Y's Bar & Restaurant "Every Wednesday? Don't you think that's cutting things a little close?" "You can't help when a killer commits a crime, Scully." Mulder replied. "Yeah, but you'd think they would have assigned the case to us on Friday, not yesterday. Given us a little more time to check out the crime sites." "Scully?" Mulder asked, trying to get her attention. "Yeah, Mulder?" "Shut up and eat your rabbit food." Tuesday, June 2, 1999 14:21 (military time) Crescent City, North California Crime Site #3 After eating at "Billy Y's Bar and Restaurant", the two headed to some of the crime sites to see what they were dealing with. "Residence of Serene A. Horton, age forty-seven. Divorced, no roommate, no boyfriend, no children. Lived alone. No living blood relatives," Scully read from the police report as the two partners went into the crime scene. "Kind of an isolated gal, wasn't she?" "Yeah. You know, Mulder, I think I found another connection between the victims that we've seen the crime scenes for." "Really? What connection would that be?" Mulder called over his shoulder as he bent down to look at the blood stains on the white carpet floor. "Well, there was Anne Pikaro, Maiya Archillo, and Serene Horton." Mulder glanced over at her with a confused look. "Yeah, "Well, they all had names that began with an 'A'. Anne, Archillo, A. Horton. Don't tell me you hadn't noticed it already," Scully said with a don't-tell-me-a-lie-or-else Mulder grinned at her sheepishly. "Okay, okay. I had noticed it, on the report listing all the victims names. I was slightly surprised that Detective Rourke hadn't noticed it already." Scully looked down at the blood stains. "I'm surprised. too. She seems like a very competent person." Mulder wasn't listening anymore. His mind was racing, trying to match what he was seeing to something he had already seen. "Scully," he said. "What do the bloodstains look like to you?" "Mulder?" she asked. "What do they look like?" She sighed. "To me, they look like bloodstains. Why? What do you see?" "I'm not sure," he replied. "Hey! Can we get a picture of this?" he shouted to the photographer that had come with The photographer nodded and walked over to where they were standing. She proceeded to take pictures of the bloodstains, the flash popping like popcorn. Tuesday, June 2, 1999 17:30 (military time) Crescent City, North California Crescent City PD "Looks like the bloodstain lead is paying off, Scully," Mulder said as he handed her the manilla envelope containing the photos of the bloodied carpet. Scully opened the envelope and looked at the photographs with confusion. She said, "I still don't see what you're obviously seeing, Mulder. Why don't you cut the leading crap and just tell me what it is?" Mulder smiled. "Take a look at this, Scully, and you'll know what it is." He handed her a piece of xeroxed paper, and then rocked back and forth on his heels until she had seen enough of it. "I give up, Mulder. The bloodstains look exactly alike, yet I don't know what it means. What does it mean?" "What you are gazing at, my dear Agent Scully, is a symbol. It's Norse, a rune, actually." "Yes, but what does it mean, Mulder?" "That particular sign? It's called eoh. In English, it means death, endings." Tuesday, June 2, 1999 23:21 (military time) Crescent City, North California Crescent City PD After hours of trying to figure out where a deranged, rune-citing psychopath would go to kill his next victim, Mulder, Scully, and Detective Rourke were no closer to figuring that out then when they started. But Mulder had developed a second profile on the killer. "I think that this is a very intelligent killer, of that there is no doubt," Mulder said. He continued on. "But I think that there are some things that are not as accurate in the police profile, and I have developed a profile that I feel goes more with the killer and the killer's personality than the police profile." Detective Rourke and Agent Scully were all for hearing this, and so Mulder continued. "All right, well, for starters, I think that the killer is a female." "A female, Mulder?" Scully asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "Yes, a female. And a right-handed one, to boot. Also, very young, not even in her twenties yet. Possibly close, but not quite there." "Oh, to be that young again," moaned Detective Rourke with a smile. Scully and Mulder both smiled, then Mulder continued, "Don't we all? Well, anyway, I don't think this female has a tattoo, her style of killing with a blade suggests pride in craftsmanship and a sort of intimacy with the victim. A sentimental kind of girl, for a killer. And I think that all seven of the murders were done by her, not just five done by the original killer and two by a copycat on the same night. I think she killed one person, then an hour later, and twenty-five miles later, she kills again, so as to mislead the police. "What we have here is an extremely dangerous adolescent, one who, when found, should be approached with extreme caution," Mulder finished. Scully and Rourke looked at each other. "So where do we find this woman?" Rourke asked. Scully got up from her seat and started pacing around the room. "Killers usually go back to other crime scenes if they can't find anymore victims. Maybe that will hold true for our killer. We should probably stake out the old crime scenes. Maybe that's where we'll find our killer." she said. Mulder nodded. "I agree with Scully. It's a proven fact that some serial killers have, in the past, returned to the scene of the crime, so it would be the only logical choice to stakeout the crime scenes and it's likely that our killer is like most killers." "All right, I'll go put some men on it. Would you two like to go on a stakeout tonight?" Rourke asked. Mulder and Scully looked at each other, then nodded simultaneously. End part 1 Begin part 2 Wednesday, June 3, 1999 2:08 am Crescent City, North California Crime Site #1 "Is everything all right, team one?" Detective Rourke's voice crackled over the earphone sets the agents had on. Mulder replied. "Everything is fine, though you might want to keep your voices down a little. Agent Scully is asleep." Scully stirred in her sleep, then answered back drowsily, "I am not asleep, I just closed my eyes for a few minutes. That's all." "Just closed your eyes for a few minutes? I suppose to sleepers half an hour seems like a few minutes," Mulder replied in answer to her protests. Natalie's voice came through the earphones once again. "I suppose I'll be checking in on the other teams and leave you to your arguments. Ta-ta," the voice said and faded out. Mulder and Scully sat in the car which was parked in the street, thinking their own thoughts for a while, when all of a sudden they saw a figure running across the street, dressed entirely in black. "Mulder! Look!" Scully shouted. They both opened the car doors and started running towards the running figure, who, they now saw, had a knife. The figure ran down the street, and even Mulder himself had to admit, ran even faster than Mulder could. Man, that person must have running in her genes, or something. Perhaps she's an alien hybrid, or something, he thought as the two agents ran in pursuit of the figure in black. They continued to run, down this way, and up that alley, when the figure suddenly turned a sharp left. Mulder reached the place where he saw the pursuee turn, took out his gun, and turned quickly, Scully quickly following suite. They were now in an abandoned warehouse of some sort, and they split up in search of the suspect. Mulder went to the right side of the warehouse, and Scully went to the left. They were in the middle of the warehouse when there was suddenly a bright flash of light. Wednesday, June 3, 1999 2:47 am Crescent City, North California Abandoned Warehouse "And now I think that the time for twenty questions is over. My dear Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, it is time for you to die." Scully started struggling against her captor, but the effort was futile. This killer, this teen, was stronger than she was, and she also had two up on her. Scully was weaponless, and Annika had both the antique knife that was pressed up against Scully's throat and Scully's gun. "Now, now. Stop struggling. I promise to make it as painful as possible," Annika said. Mulder was standing there, gun raised, with a weird expression on his face. Scully had no idea what the hell he was thinking, but she figured he was already blaming himself for this situation. She was quite wrong. Mulder was actually trying to communicate with her telepathically. he thought. Scully stopped struggling and blinked. she thought, and looked at him, stared into his eyes, and realized that was exactly what he wanted her to do. So she did. Scully quickly made a sharp turn to the left, bringing her right side to face Mulder. And of course, Annika had to swing around as well to place her back in the former position. Annika realized what Scully was up to, and so increased her speed in trying to right them. She was getting no cooperation from Scully, and got so frustrated that she cut Scully a bit with a knife. The cut wasn't so deep that it would make Scully bleed to death, but it was deep enough to hurt badly. Scully felt the burning on the side of her neck before she felt the blood gush out. She tried to get her hands up to stop the bleeding, but they were being held by Annika. So she bore with it, but soon felt dizzy, and had to stop the struggle she was putting up. Annika managed to get them back in their former position, in only a matter of a few seconds. But those few seconds were enough for Mulder to take his shot. The round raced towards its target and ripped through her right arm. The next few seconds happened so fast, Mulder didn't know what had happened until it was over. Annika was thrown to the ground by the bullet's impact in her arm. Scully was also thrown down with her, and managed to land on the knife. Mulder quickly saw the situation and went to Scully, and saw how badly her side was ripped apart by the knife. "Oh, my god, Scully," he said quietly as Scully ripped the gag out of her mouth and tried to get up. "OW! Help me get up, Mulder. I want to check and see how bad it is. You can see it, Mulder, so tell me, how bad is it?" Mulder helped her sit up, and evaluated all the blood. Then he said to her, "Scully, I won't lie to you. I'm no doctor." At that she laughed, then stopped because of the pain it caused her, and he continued. "But I can tell a not- so-good-wound from a really bad wound, and in my opinion, this is a really bad wound." She winced. "How bad, would you say?" "I would say, that you are losing a lot of blood, and your side is torn up pretty badly. Not to mention the kind of deep cut on the side of your neck." "The cut doesn't feel so serious, but the torn up side has me worried. Mulder, I need to get to a hospital, and soon. If I pass out, the chance is slight that I would wake up again, too, so don't let me fall asleep." "All right, Scully. Let me go call for an ambulance and the police." At that moment, Annika stirred. "Oh," she moaned, holding her right arm in her left, and peering at it. "What the hell did you do to me? My arm's all bloody!" she cried. "It's called a gunshot wound, in case you never got told about it," Mulder said, taking out his cell phone with his left hand, but still not letting go of his gun in his right. "You shot me? YOU shot ME? How the hell did you do that?" she asked. Mulder was talking on his cell phone to the police by this time, telling them their location. He covered up the mouthpiece, then said to Annika, "I'll tell you about it in jail." Her eyes grew big, and she picked up the knife. "Oh no, you won't. I'm not going to jail. But you two will be going to hell," she growled. Annika lunged at the two with the knife, heading towards Mulder and his exposed throat. With her bad arm she tore the cell phone out of his hand, with the other hand, the one holding the knife, she cut his hand, forcing him to drop the gun. Then she lunged once again, this time for Mulder's gun. The two both went for it, and Annika got it, and threw it into the darkness, where the lights didn't shine. Mulder got up to run for it, realizing that if he could get it, the odds would be a bit more even than they were, but before he could get very far, Annika plunged the knife deep within the muscle of his leg, and he fell. Annika laughed. "You two are such good FBI agents. Letting a girl like me take you down." She shook her head. "I suppose your superiors would be happy to have you gone, if you're like this on all your cases. Well, good riddance," she added, then prepared to plunge the knife down into his heart, or slash his throat. But before she could finish the job, a voice rang out, clear as day. "Hold it!" Both Annika and Mulder looked toward the place where the voice rang out, and saw Scully, standing wobbly on her feet. She had Mulder's gun and it was aimed at Annika. "Drop the knife, and this will all be over," she said. When Annika didn't comply, she yelled forcefully, "Drop the damn knife!" Annika dropped the knife safely away from Mulder at the same time she whipped Scully's gun out and pointed it at Scully. "Now, Agent Scully, just you and me. No Mulder, he's incapacitated. And even if he were able to reach the knife," she kicked it farther away from him and continued, "even if he could reach it, he wouldn't be able to use it on me. I think I dug the knife in far enough to his leg to make sure that doesn't happen. "So now, Agent Scully, it's just the two of us. Who will triumph? That's like asking someone, 'Which came first, the chicken, or the omelet?'" "Annika, don't you think that we can resolve this without violence?" Scully asked, getting a little closer to the girl. "Resolve this without violence? Ha, that's a laugh. No, resolving it without violence would mean I go to jail, and you two don't die. No, it has to be done with more violence. And I know the perfect way to finish this." "How, Annika? How do you plan to end this?" Scully asked wearily, holding one hand to her side in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. "First, I have to do something about you," she said, and shot the gun out of Scully's hand. "There, that's better. Now don't go near it, or I'll have to shoot you through the arm, or the leg." Scully obeyed, not making any move to go to the gun. Instead she was thinking. Meanwhile Annika had continued talking. "...strategically placed gasoline all over this warehouse. And this warehouse houses explosives. Everything will be over soon, Agent Scully, real soon. You'll go out with a bang, with your partner." Scully stood, wobbling, in shock. She hadn't expected the killer to lead them to a place that she would blow up. she asked herself. Mulder groaned, his arm pressed up against the wound in his leg. Scully almost went to him, but remembered that she was being held up at gunpoint. She looked over towards Annika, who smiled and said, "Go to him. I know you're a doctor, but I don't think you could do much for him here, without the proper equipment." Scully nodded, then ran over as fast as she could, limping because of her side. "Mulder," she gasped. "Are you all right?" "Feels like she shoved a knife into my leg," he replied, with a wry smile, which then turned into a grimace because of the pain. "Very funny, Mulder. You need to get to a hospital, and soon, or you might never walk again." "We both might never walk again. I heard what she was telling you, and I don't think that the Fates are with us this time. Dana, now might not be the perfect time to tell you this, but I think it's going to be the last chance. You know how the old poem goes, don't you? 'This is it, My last dance, Never to find another chance Or sweet mem'ry of romance, Powerful pain, joined together All is one that is for never.'" Scully had a feeling that she knew what he was going to say, and she didn't want to hear it. It wasn't that the feeling wasn't reciprocated; it was. It was just that she thought that there was a chance they might get out, and she didn't want to hear it when she was all bloody, and he was in shock. Mulder continued, oblivious to her slight discomfort. "Dana, what I'm trying to say, is that...well, I love you." Scully's calm exterior broke and she started to sob uncontrollably. She leaned on him and started to cry. "Are you okay?" he asked. She sat up and shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm fine, Mulder. I've just been waiting so long to hear that from you. I love you too." "Aw, how sweet. And ironic," Annika mocked from where she was standing. "The two partners, destined to meet, destined to die, both love each other, but don't have the courage to tell the other until the very end. And what an end this will be! You'll see, it'll be a great way to die, if there is such a thing." "Who the hell do you think you are to determine when a person or people will die? How they die? Who are you?" Scully asked furiously as she walked up to Annika with one hand behind her back. Annika smiled as she worked on setting a trial of gasoline on fire. "Me? I'm just a teenager with a childlike exuberance and an urge to kill." She got it to light and watched it slowly smother and then leap up into a brilliant magnificence. "Who are you to say that I'm wrong to determine the if's and when's of people's deaths?" Scully narrowed her eyes and yelled, "An FBI agent!" at the same time she brought her hidden hand into view. Before Annika could raise the gun again, Scully had the knife plunged with a deadly accuracy into Annika's stone heart. Annika looked surprised, as though she thought it could never happen to her, then let out a low moan as she fell to the ground, flames licking up her clothing and covering her in seconds. Scully turned her attention away from the dead killer and brought it to Mulder. He was lying on the ground watching the whole thing in surprise, and he was starting to go into shock. She quickly went over to him and helped him get up. "Come on, Mulder. The flames are getting higher, and if we don't get out of here before the flames reach the explosives, we'll have no chance at survival." "Scully?" Mulder asked as he tried to get up with her "Yes?" she asked back as she held him on her good side and tried to walk with him using her as a crutch. "Where'd you learn to use a knife like that with such deadly accuracy?" "I'll tell you one we get out of here. Do you remember where the door was?" "I think it's that way," Mulder replied, pointing to the right. By now the flames had almost reached the ceiling, and Scully was looking very worried as she wobbled towards the direction that Mulder pointed to, with Mulder leaning on her. She managed to get to the door before she collapsed with exhaustion and coughing because of the smoke. "Scully!" Mulder yelled as they both went down. "Scully, come on, get up. I know you can make it if you set your mind to it. I know you can do it. Come on, get up. I can't carry the both of us." Scully looked up at him, her face full of love and concern. "Okay, Mulder. I'll try. No promises, though." Scully got up slowly, then cautiously walked foward. Mulder was trying to put as much weight as possible on his good leg so that she wouldn't have to do all the work, but it was almost impossible. They somehow managed to get to the door like this, and out the limped, hurt and bloody. Outside was a scene of action. Police had started pulling up, along with an ambulance and many firetrucks. The firetrucks started to prepare for going inside and looking for the suspect, when the building exploded, knocking everyone that was standing down to the ground. Mulder and Scully, who hadn't gotten more than a few feet away from the building, were actually lifted up off the ground and flew a couple of feet until they were set down, none too gently, by the blast. After the building exploded, Mulder lifted his head up off the ground and nudged Scully. "You okay?" he asked. She groaned. "I think so. Let's see. I have a cut on the side of my neck, a torn up left side, a few burns and scratches, and most likely a concussion. How are you doing?" "Well, my leg hurts, and I think I lost a lot of blood, and I think I have a bruise on my head the size of Florida, but other than that and a bunch of scratches, I think I'm okay." "Good, nothing too serious. Look, here comes Rourke," Scully said. "Are you too okay? You look like hell. And you're all bloody. What happened?" Natalie asked. "Can we explain this later? I think we need some paramedics over here," Scully replied. Rourke looked them over. "I'd say so." She waved to two of the paramedics, then yelled, "Hey, you two! Over here, we've got a big job for you!" "No, no. Wave them away. We can get repaired later, there's something I want to do now," Mulder said. "Mulder! You can't be serious! You have to get fixed up, right now." "Scully, don't you trust me?" "Of course I do. Geez, you tell a man you love him and he starts questioning your trust." "Well, then trust me on this. Now come here." Scully obeyed, and he wrapped his arms around her, then asked, "Can you try to stand?" Scully looked at him, then got up, slowly and shakily. He got up as well, and wrapped his arms around her even tighter in a bear hug. "Can you give us a few moments, Detective, to get our thoughts together?" Mulder asked Rourke. "Sure," Natalie said, and left. "Finally, I've got you all to myself, Scully," Mulder said with a grin. A police car had a radio on, tuned to WCCR, and it was belting out the chorus to Sarah McLachlan's "Angel". And so the two agents, friends, partners, and soon to be lovers, stood together, hugging each other, comforting each other after their ordeal as the strains of "Angel" played through the air. "In the arms of the angel Fly away from here >From this dark cold hotel room And the endlessness you feel You are pulled from the wreckage Of your silent reveries You're in the arms of the angel May you find some comfort here You're in the arms of the angel May you find some comfort here." And the night turned to day. End part 2 Finis So, what'd ya think? Send me some feedback. Most Sincerely, Dana Quell Archiver & writer Have a nice day!;)