From: Jenna Date: 1 Jun 2003 12:54:17 -0700 Subject: NEW: Evil Personified (PG-13), MT, MSR Source: atxc TITLE: Evil Personified AUTHOR: Jenna (jennasxffic@lycos.com) FEEDBACK: Worshipped, Cuddled and Adored CLASSIFICATION: Case file; MT/ST; minor MSR RATING: PG-13 SPOILERS: The Calusari ARCHIVE: Mulder-In-Jeopardy, Goss, Ephem. All others, please ask first. DISCLAIMER: These characters belong to Chris Carter and 1013 productions. AUTHOR'S THANKS: Thanks to Lisa for the fast beta and friendship. AUTHOR'S NOTES: Written for the May, 2003 Mulder's Refuge Contest. SUMMARY: Neither innocence nor vigilance protects against unseen forces. ----------------------------------------------------- April 1995 St. Matthews Hospital Arlington, Virginia ----------------------------------------------------- "It is over for now. However, you must be careful. It knows you." We stare at his retreating figure as he closes the door after that ominous warning. I glance over at Scully and we make eye contact. Neither of us speak as we turn to walk down the corridor of the hospital. ----------------------------------------------------- July 1995 FBI Field Office Chicago, Illinois ----------------------------------------------------- After days on this case, I see the hopelessness in his eyes. I stare across the table at his hunched shoulders. He is intently studying the case file in front of him. Another profiling case -- the very thing that Mulder doesn't need right now. Actually, the very thing that neither one of us need right now. He was so wiped from our last profiling case just a couple of weeks ago and helping to keep him together has put me in bad straits as well. I'm beginning to worry about his health and he is more easily worn down these days. I talked with Skinner before he assigned us this case and begged him not to send Mulder on another one. Mulder's psyche was almost damaged beyond repair when he learned that a little girl had been abducted from her home. She had been found murdered in broad open daylight before we were able to apprehend the UNSUB with Mulder's profile. I smile slightly as he looks my direction and his eyes crinkle in appreciation. "Hey, Scully, a penny for your thoughts?" "Nothing, Mulder. I was just wondering how you are. You look tired. Would you like to stop for a while and go get something to eat? It's been hours since we took a break." "No, I'm good. If you're hungry though, order something in or take a break." "Mulder, I think..." He cuts me off without any hesitation. "Scully, I promise. I'm fine." I sigh and resign myself to the fact I must stay by his side until he has broken through whatever hold this case has on him. I will be there at the end to pick up the pieces of his shattered soul, once again, as always. Believe me, I'm not grandstanding about this fact. It just is and always will be. I, Dana Katherine Scully, from the day I was assigned to the X-Files Division, have been entrusted with the care of the fragile soul of one, Fox William Mulder. I sensed that it was my reason for living. As I contemplate my existence in the universe, Mulder has buried his head into the case file once more and has begun to take more notes on a fresh notepad. I stand to stretch my aching, unused muscles, when Agent Moseley steps into the makeshift office. "I think we just got a break on this case." Mulder's head pops up from the case file with a sea of mixed emotions etched on his face. Could this be the break we've been waiting for, I wonder. "What kind of break?" "Well, I just received a tip that an anonymous caller spotted the 'possible' UNSUB down in Springfield, Illinois. We're sending two of our best down there with you to help aid in the investigation, along with any help from law enforcement there." "Call the Field Office in Springfield and the local PD. Tell them we're on our way." As we are exiting the room, we ask that a courier deliver copies of the case files to the motel before we depart for our flight. "There's something else you should know." Mulder's eyes lock with my own suddenly. "What?" I stammer impatiently; we have a serial killer on the lose not 200 miles away and this guy is keeping us standing here like nothing is wrong. "This tip claims the UNSUB is one of the FBI's own, and that he looks just like your partner." Mulder and I look at him with incredulity, neither of us knowing what to say. ----------------------------------------------------- July 1995 FBI Field Office Springfield, Illinois ----------------------------------------------------- "Well, if it isn't old Spooky Mulder. Straight from Hell to the VCS' front door once again." "Hello, Agent Cook," he replies dryly, ignoring the sarcastic remark. I can tell he's trying to hold his temper in check, and is doing a very good job I might add. Theresa, the receptionist, finally greets us. She stares at Mulder for a short moment before she notices my annoyance. She apologizes profusely and hands us faxed copies of previous reports from the Chicago Field Office, that were not available at the time of the courier delivery. The last meal we had was breakfast and Mulder is now looking very weak and tired. I'm exhausted so I know he has to be. I pull Teresa aside and ask her to order in some food, in the hopes of getting Mulder to stop long enough to eat. I'm sure he will resist at first, but I always coax him enough to where he eats something...even if it is just a few bites. He knows it makes me feel better; with another profiling case that he has yet to break through...he's going to need all the help he can get. Once the food arrives, he takes small bites as he works on his profile once more. I can see how he is unable to comprehend how the UNSUB looks like himself. He is at a loss as to which way to proceed. However, after hours of solid work on the profile, he finally breaks through the stumbling block, figuring out what information about the UNSUB is needed. Through compilation of the profile and evidence given to us from the latest crime scene in Chicago, we indeed learn that we have found the UNSUB near the Springfield area. I almost see relief in Mulder's eyes when he closes the case file for the last time. He stands, checks the clip in his gun and clicks it into place once again. "Let's go catch us a killer, Scully." ----------------------------------------------------- July 1995 Rochester, Illinois ----------------------------------------------------- We reach the Jacoby residence. The house has probably seen better days, but a rather innocent-looking man and woman descend from the steps and down to the gate at the front of the yard. Looks can be so deceptive. "Can we help you?" They ask in unison. We flip open our badges, long enough to let the couple allow us to gain entrance into the front yard. "Yes. We are looking for Derrick Jacoby. This was his last known residence. Are you his sister and brother-in-law?" "Yes, but Derrick died in a car crash outside of Chicago five years ago. What is this about?" "Well, we have reason to believe that he may have possibly faked his own death, and has been murdering and torturing little girls throughout the state." Mulder stands stoically beside me, still being quiet and taking in the conversation. Mulder quickly becomes agitated with the couple and yells out his statement. "You know where he is, don't you?" "No mister, we don't. I've done told you, he died instantly, five years ago in a car crash. I was there in the car with him when it crashed. I was thrown free as I wasn't wearing a seat belt, but the car exploded into flames with Derrick still strapped inside, unable to free himself. I heard his..." The man stopped, unable to continue reliving the painful memory. "I'm sorry, sir. I just..." Mulder looked away, embarrassed by his accusation of this man and his wife. "It's okay, Agent Mulder, I completely understand. I used to be an on-call profiler myself, for the local office in Springfield. We left the couple with hasty apologies and went back to the car with the next clue awaiting us, but failed to see the dark, menacing shadow staring at us from the trees behind the Jacoby residence. After regrouping our evidence and leads at the Springfield Field Office, we head back to the Jacoby residence, as all leads and clues kept pointing to that area. We had obtained a search warrant before leaving and stepped back up to the gate. We found that the Jacoby family had left for the day and wouldn't be back for at least two hours. "You start around back in that line of woods, Mulder and I'll start inside the house. We can meet back out here at the tree. Maybe we will find something, anything that ties Derrick to the present time here." He nods in agreement and begins his trek back to the woods. I enter the house and make my way quietly through each room, but find nothing out of the ordinary. Everything is as it should be. It's then that I hear a scream and a gunshot, before my fear and panic set in. It sounds like it came from the woods. In my futile attempts to run to my partner, I trip over a stump and hurt my ankle. I stand but with severe pain, unable to bear any weight on it, yet I know Mulder needs me. I run as best I can to the sounds of moving branches in the woods. I arrive to find Mulder writhing on the ground with two gunshot wounds, one to his upper left shoulder, and the other to his thigh. He's losing a lot of blood and if I don't get him moved to a hospital soon, shock could set in. "Scully." He gasps for each breath, he's in agony. I kneel down beside him, offering him my comfort and support, while I flip out my cell phone. "Shhhh, Mulder. I'm calling an ambulance. Don't try to talk. You need to save your strength." "'M cold." He shivers and I run back to our car for the thermal blanket from the first aid kit, and cover it around his shaking body as best I can, all the time looking around for whoever did this, aware they might still be hiding in the trees. As I stand, Mulder grabs my hand and begs me not to leave him. He's lips are trembling with onset of shock. As I ruffle his hair, I reassure him that I won't ever leave him. As I lay down beside him to provide more warmth from my body heat, I feel something strike me over the head and drag me down into the darkness. I awake to find myself strapped down to a gurney, but where, I'm not sure. I see Mulder beside me as well, strapped down in the same fashion. We both have IV's snaking ion and out of our arms, and gags in our mouths. My eyes try to search around the area to find out where we are located, but find my head has also been secured to the gurney. ----------------------------------------------------- July 1995 Rochester, Illinois ----------------------------------------------------- "Well, look who's awake?" My eyes widen slightly as I realize that I'm looking at Bill Jacoby, Derrick's brother-in-law. We have been looking for the wrong person all along, and that error has placed us at his mercy now he has us in this contraption. My eyes must betray my fears because he just chuckles, running his index finger down my bare arm. "Looks like it's time to wake up Agent Mulder and give him what he's had coming for a long time. I've been so looking forward to this, Agent Scully." My eyes widen even further as I realize he has a machete in his hand, and he senses my fear once more. "Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head over this here machete. This isn't for you. This here is for Agent Mulder. Isn't that right, Agent Mulder?" He waves what I assume to be smelling salts under Mulder's nose, which causes him to gasp in a deep breath, groaning in intense agony. I know if Skinner doesn't get to us soon, we will be dead for sure. I hope someone has gotten a message to him. I wonder too, if someone else has succeeded, where the FBI has always failed to close us down. "Wakey, wakey, Agent Mulder." Bill's voice takes on an almost demonic quality. He pulls my own gurney up and around to face Mulder's. The blood has caked all up his thigh, but is still pouring from the wound at an alarming rate. If I don't figure a way out of this soon, Mulder will die of hypovolemic shock; in fact both of us will be dead. Once he has the gurneys in place, Mulder and I face each other. His eyes are barely open and I see his chest rising and falling in shallow pants of breath. He is almost near the end. I close my eyes, unable to stand to see Mulder beg for mercy, as Bill Jacoby makes small, slow cuts on various parts of Mulder's naked body. However, I can still hear his screams and I beg for this monster to hurt me instead. He walks over to my side and said my time is coming, but for now, Mulder has to suffer. When I ask why, he only says because of past deeds, and walks away once more. I finally hear Mulder whimper across the way. He slowly opens his eyes. Suddenly I hear a shot coming from the next room over, and struggle to try to see what is going on, but can't move. Finally the door bursts open and I see Skinner standing in front of Mulder, trying to remove him from the gurney. As he releases his bonds, Mulder falls into Skinner's strong arms, which carefully lower him to the floor. He calls frantically for the paramedics and they arrive to take Mulder away quickly and work on him. I fear they maybe too late. I tell Skinner I'm unharmed aside from the bump on my head, and need to get to Mulder quickly. As I pass through the room, I look into the eyes of one Michael Holvey. The body is of a child now; no longer the monstrous adult form of Bill Jacoby. I'm stunned at this finding, but feel that it was that warning from the Calusari a few months ago, about how it knew us. It was definitely evil, but I decide to worry about it in the future. For now, I have to get to Mulder. He needs me by his side. The local PD provides a quick escort to the hospital in Springfield. Much later I sit at his bedside holding his hand as he sleeps. Only the sound of the monitors invade my thoughts as I consider how close a call this was sgain for my partner. How many more times must I go through this and almost loose him? One day he will run out of luck. His image blurs with my tears. I crawl into the bed beside him, and wrap my arm instinctively around his chest and lay my hand over his heart. "I love you, Mulder. I'll be here to help you heal. Not only in your body, but your mind and spirit as well. We will find the truth together, this I promise you." -The End- Did you like it? Send me some feedback at jennasxffic@lycos.com