From: "Lisa R. Colodny" <dr_lisa@gate.net>
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 19:27:02 -0400
Subject: Resubmittal

Hirudo Medicinalis

By:  Lisa Colodny


Introduction

Glades Medical Center
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
April 1996

Trauma Center 6 PM
The  excitement in the emergency room filled the room with an almost eerie atmosphere. 
The bright fluorescent lights settled hauntingly over the nursing station leaving it almost 
angelic in appearance.  To the left of the  trauma center, encased in a somewhat darker 
area, six examining tables were lined against the wall. Each had a circular barrier hanging 
from the ceiling  to allow its occupant some privacy when the curtain was pulled around 
the exam table. Several nurses and technicians were in the room, but most of the action 
seemed to be occurring  on the other side of the room. The first two tables were occupied 
by patrons involved in a minor automobile accident. For the most part they were in no 
immediate danger, so the nurses and technicians were  moving  at a calmer pace. 

Four tables over a youngster about seven years old sat helplessly on the large metal table 
which made him look even smaller than he really was. He clung tightly to a worn yellow 
bear wrapped protectively in his arms. To his right sat an anxious looking man in his mid 
30's. He had  small rectangular glasses pushed snugly against his face. He watched intently 
as the young resident physician bandaged the child's leg. As he finished  doctoring the 
child's leg,  the resident presented a purple lollipop to the injured child and smiled as the 
child's eyes lit up excitedly.  The doctor tousled the child's hair as the little boy snatched 
the lollipop from the offering hand. "Adam,"  the doctor began, " you be more careful next 
time, Okay?" The child nodded affirmatively and wiped his face with the back of his small 
hand. 

The tranquillity of the moment was interrupted by the sound of a gurney  crashing through 
the metal doors. A number of paramedics rushed into the trauma center and pushed the 
gurney into the next examining room. The doctor nodded to the man sitting next to the 
child, "He's all done. You can take him home now." Without delay the doctor looked 
behind him to where the other resident was working on the accident victims. With no 
further  hesitation  he hurried to the stretcher where a young man was being lowered onto  
examining table number six.  He was a young man about 25 years of age with sturdy 
features and a darkened tan. His brown colored hair was stained by the South Florida 
exposure to the sun.  From the clothes he wore, he appeared to be a construction worker 
of some station. He was highly agitated and struggled profusely with the paramedics and 
nurses who were attempting to restrain him on the table. The young doctor quickly joined 
them by intervening with the man's muscular arm that was making angry swipes into the 
air. He yelled anxiously between forceful lunges by the young man to one of the 
paramedics, "What do we have?" 

The older paramedic answered between huge breaths of air, "Construction worker had an 
accident with a table saw." The paramedic indicated to a parcel wrapped in a blood stained 
cloth, "Took his ear plum off!" The construction worker began to struggle again and 
quickly more hospital personnel joined in to restrain him.  The young doctor proceeded to 
the other side of the table and inspected the area  that the paramedic had indicated. Pulling 
a clean pair of latex gloves from his lab coat, the doctor examined the bloody area where 
the man's ear had once been. The ear was neatly severed; there were no other apparent 
areas of trauma . He looked to the clerk sitting behind the trauma desk, "Contact the 
vascular surgeon on call," he said with no hesitation. He quickly added, "And notify  the 
pharmacy. Tell them to get the leeches ready."

Six hours later
There wasn't a sound uttered as the surgery came to a conclusion. The surgeon pulled off 
the green mask that covered his face and tossed it  into the trash receptacle. He looked to 
be about 50 years old with thin graying hair and a brown mustache highlighted by thin 
gray hairs. He wiped a layer of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand,  looked to 
the clock on the operating room wall, and remarked sarcastically, " Another speedy one, 
gang." He looked quickly again at his wrist watch as if to reaffirm the time. "Only six 
hours later, the man's ear is good as new." A low chuckle from the operating room 
personnel was heard above the heart monitor's beep. The surgeon looked to the nurse to 
his immediate right, "How's the leech? Is he holding his own?" 

The nurse glanced down to the  slimy creature that had been attached  to the man's ear. 
She nodded, `He's doing just what we pay him for." Once again the group laughed. 

"Okay," the surgeon announced as he pushed away from the operating table. He pointed 
to the seven expired leeches who had  performed already. "See that they get a proper 
burial, uh?" The nurse nodded and discarded them in a red plastic bag reserved for blood 
or blood product wastes. The surgeon look to the anesthesiologist, "Let's wake him up, 
shall we?"  An asian lady nodded and adjusted a number of buttons on the device to which 
she stood closest. 

Within minutes the construction worker began to move, uncognitively at first then more 
aware of both place and surroundings. The anesthesiologist asked, "Vincent, can you hear 
me?" 

Groggily he corrected her, "Vince." 

She smiled and repeated, "Okay Vince, do you know where you are?" 

He answered hoarsely, "...Hospital". Instantly his trembling hand  went up to his  head to 
inspect the damage to his ear. His hand met with the sensation of bandages and tape. He 
looked sleepily to the surgeon, "Is it back on?" 

The surgeon nodded and asked, "How do you feel, Vince?" Without waiting for a reply he  
went on, "Feel like going to a nice comfortable room for a day or two?" 

The patient nodded, swallowed, but then hesitated  as if  he were in pain. He answered 
lowly "Yeah, but I got blood in my  mouth." 

The surgeon walked back to the table and motioned for Vince to open his mouth for a 
closer look. Finding nothing the surgeon switched off his penlight and replied, "No blood 
Vince." 

The patient insisted, "Doc, I can taste the blood. It's there." 

The surgeon looked questionably to the few operating personnel that had remained 
behind. " Vince, there's no reason for you to have blood in you're mouth." He looked to 
the nurse waiting to wheel the patient out to the recovery room, "Probably just the trauma 
of the experience. Give him a sedative for the first 24 hours to help him relax."


The next Day
It had been nearly three hours since Vince had been discharged from the hospital. His ear 
had healed nicely, in fact he had hardly experienced any pain at all. Just a few twinges here 
and there, nothing really major at all. He had hardly used any of the pain medication that 
he had been given upon discharge from the hospital.  However, the  most worrisome effect 
of his ordeal had been the unpleasant taste that remained in his mouth despite any and all 
attempts to eradicate it.. He had already gone through one whole tube of toothpaste and 
nearly emptied the bottle of mouthwash he purchased.  In spite of all these attempts, he 
could not get rid of the taste of blood in his mouth. He tasted it all the time even when he 
slept. It was there like a bitter reminder of his accident.
 
Anxiously he opened the brand new bottle of mouthwash and with shaky hands poured 
some into the plastic cup. The trembling of his hands became so violent that his grip on the 
bottle increased until it became compromised. The shaking spread up his arms and torso 
so that his entire upper body convulsed. The glass bottle slipped to the floor, shattering 
into a number of large and small pieces against the bathroom floor.  Without thinking he 
knelt down to pick up some of the larger fragments to discard. He studied the jagged edge 
of the large piece cupped against his palm. As if hypnotized by the raggedness of its edges, 
he  forcibly enclosed his fingers around the piece of glass and  watched as the blood began 
to run between his fingers and drip down unto the tile of the floor.  He watched as the 
blood dropped in slow motion against the smooth surface of the tile. Each drop resonated 
loudly in his mind. As the sounds of the blood falling against the floor grew louder, 
Vincent's head began to spin.  He felt the room  growing larger and larger until he seemed 
to be a minute speck in its center. His last recollection was a sharp pain as his head 
collided with the bathroom floor.



Dana Scully walked  quietly down the hallway to her apartment. She looked awkwardly to 
the young man accompanying her as he took the key from her hand and unlocked the 
apartment door. The door swung slowly open; it creaked until it came to rest inside the 
apartment. He motioned her towards the darkness of the apartment. Handing the key back 
to her, he smiled as if the anxiety were getting the best of him as well. He looked away 
from her eyes momentarily then smiled to her again, and spoke quickly as if he feared she 
would speak before he could tell her what was on his mind. Without giving her a chance 
to say anything he reported, "Dana,  look this is still awkward. I know." She bit her lower 
lip and smiled but said nothing, looking down at the carpet that lined the hallway. He took 
her chin in his hand and lifted her eyes up to meet his, "Can I come in? Just for a while?" 

Her cheeks flushed just a touch; she bit her bottom lip and replied lowly, "I'd like that 
very much, but I don't think it's a good idea." 

He nodded as if not surprised at her answer and added, "When then?" 

Her hand went to caress the door knob as she answered, "I just need a little more time, 
okay?"  

He smiled to her, grasped her gently by the shoulders, and pulled her a bit closer to him. 
"Well, then this will have to do for now."  He pulled her close against his chest and kissed 
her softly on the lips. Her lips opened just enough to rest against his, allowing the gentle 
caress of his tongue.  His kiss was gentle and passionate  yet cautious at the same time.  
His mouth held hers just for a moment then prepared to let her go but then held on for a 
second taste.  He smiled and pulled away from her  almost at the same time. 

Dana opened her eyes and met his gaze, "I had a real nice time." 

He opened the door for her, "Me too."  

She walked inside and turned to face him. He held onto her arm and pulled her back to 
him eagerly. He kissed her once  more on the cheek ,this time. He slid his hand down into 
his jacket pocket and jingled his car keys anxiously in his hand, "I'll call you tomorrow?" 

She nodded that he could and slowly slid the door closed, smiling to him once more. He 
waited until he heard the latch lock form the inside before he made his way down the 
hallway and out to his car.  

Once inside, Scully undressed and got ready for bed. She breathed a deep sigh and thought 
to herself how close she had come to letting him inside for that drink.  He probably would 
have refused the offer to stay over anyway, citing having to work early or something to 
that extent. If there was one thing she had discovered about him these last 6 months, it 
was that he was cautious. Infact that's what she like the most about him. Chris Gates  was 
not a man who acted on his impulses, regardless of their intensity.  He was steady like 
Mulder, but not quite to that extreme. Even that night she and Gates had been stranded in 
those  woods in Kentucky, he had behaved cautiously. At no time during their ordeal was 
she threatened or frightened of him in any way. Infact she had found his presence 
comforting.  It was no secret that she found him attractive. Mulder had ruthlessly 
questioned her the entire trip back from Taylorsville. 

"Yes Mulder," she had finally confessed, "I do think he is cute." Mulder was not  at all 
surprised  when the telephone call came before the week was even up once they returned 
to Washington. Scully, herself, seemed surprised that he would call and ask if they could 
get together. Mulder was not. Over the last  few months she and Gates had met often for 
lunch. And she had lost count of how many dates they had been on. In fact, she had seen 
him at least one night every week since she had met him, sometimes even two nights. They 
usually went to dinner, sometimes a movie or a ball game. Gates, like  Mulder, had the 
miraculous ability to rattle off each and every major league sport imaginable at a moments 
notice. It really didn't matter, basketball, football, hockey. He really didn't seem to care. 
He liked sports, any kind. They had frequented a few games. Most of their lunches usually 
occurred at a sports bar or something to the like. Scully really didn't mind. All her time 
with Mulder had prepared her  well. 

Gates was actually impressed  that a woman like Dana Scully would be so sports minded.  
She was constantly surprising him and challenging him in a way that he just wasn't used 
to.  Chris Gates had dated many women and there were many  more willing to get in the 
game. He was an extremely attractive  man with more than his share of attractive women 
waiting ready to pounce on any of his offers. However, these days he was only offering to 
Dana, and she really wasn't the pouncing type. If the truth were known, he had never met 
anyone like Dana. Most of the time she acted like she could take him or leave him, making 
him even more determined to catch her.  Besides,  something deep inside told him that she 
would be a woman worth the wait.

When Scully arrived at the office the next morning, she found her partner, Fox Mulder, 
adjusting the focus on the projector. He smiled to her as she tossed the ragged  brown 
satchel down against her desktop. She knew she should probably purchase another 
briefcase; hers always looked so worn. However, she smiled to herself and looked 
comfortingly at the satchel; it had been a graduation gift from someone very special. She 
shrugged off the nostalgia she felt overtaking her. No, she thought to herself, the satchel 
still had a few more good years left. She'd keep it for just a while longer. Her thoughts 
were interrupted by Mulder.  

He asked, "Late night?" noticing the way her blue eyes seemed hungry for sleep.  

She nodded, keeping her eyes focused on the carpeted floor near her desk,  "Not really. I 
just didn't get much sleep." 

Mulder's eyes twinkled, his lips prepared for a reply. He hesitated as if debating whether 
to reply, and then added sheepishly, " So how is Gates?" 

Her eyes met his instantly as she smiled, "Not that it is any of your business, but he isn't 
the reason I didn't get much sleep." 

He chided, "Come on Scully. I'm just kidding. I really didn't think he spent the night." He 
paused then added under his breath, "At least not yet." 

"Mulder," she warned, "I heard that." 

He threw his hands up in surrender, "Okay, Okay." 

She sipped at the coffee, looked up towards the waiting movie screen, and asked, "What's 
the movie of the week? Debbie does Dallas?"

 He smiled  to her innocently and replied, "That's for tomorrow." He switched off the 
lights and turned on the projector. The screen flashed to a picture of a young man lying on 
what appeared to be a bathroom floor.  He was naked and laying in a rather awkward 
position, chest down with his face positioned with the right cheek down. Mulder began, 
"Vincent Jimenez, a 27 year old construction worker from South Florida." Scully listened 
intently as Mulder continued. "Jimenez was admitted to Glades Medical Center in Ft 
Lauderdale last week after he accidentally severed his ear off during work at a 
construction site." 

Scully made an awkward face at the slide show before her. She asked, "Where they able to 
save the ear?" 

Mulder joked, "Well Dr Scully, the ear survived but the patient expired." 

She raised her eyebrow inquisitively. Mulder went on as he displayed a slide of surgeons 
reattaching another body part of an accident victim.  There was a black image barely 
visible on the slide of the appendage being reattached. 

Mulder said, "They did reattach his ear, but they used a rather unconventional method." 

Scully interrupted, "Leeches ? They used leeches right?" 

Mulder's handsome face took a saddened expression, "Scully, you never let me have any 
fun." 

She sipped arrogantly at her coffee, "That's my job. Remember"  
He countered, "But do you have to do it so well?" His expression turned serious, "What 
do you know about medicinal leeches?" 

She sat down still facing him on the edge of his desk, "Leeches work by producing 
bleeding that mimics venous circulation in tissue that has been compromised by 
reconstructive surgery." She took another drink of coffee and continued, "Leeches secrete 
a natural anticoagulant that allows post op wounds to ooze blood for hours. By removing 
the congested blood normal circulation returns, thereby preventing gangrene and other 
complications.  

Mulder's eyes sparkled and he replied in a monotone voice, "You look really good in that 
suit, Scully." 

She ignored him, as usual but asked, "What happened after Jimenez's surgery?" 

Mulder turned the lights down again, "Jimenez was found dead in his apartment the day 
after his release from the hospital." 

Scully took the manila folder from him and scanned it quickly, "What did the ME cite as 
the cause of death?"  

Mulder presented the next slide of Jimenez body on the  blood covered bathroom floor. 
The ME reports that Jimenez bled to death but the report also questions the relatively 
small amount of blood found at the scene." 

Scully looked up from the file folder, "What do you mean `relatively small amount of 
blood' ?"

"Jimenez had a pretty good size wound in the palm of his hand and a smaller wound on his 
left thigh that might be a bite mark of some kind. But the ME couldn't determine if one, 
both, or neither wound actually killed him." Mulder turned off the projector and flipped 
the lights back on, "All the ME could report is that Jimenez died from hypotension 
secondary to blood loss." 

Scully thought to herself for a moment then stated, "You know Mulder, the thigh area 
provides access to the femoral vessels. These vessels like the subclavian are very large. It 
wouldn't be a bad assumption to introduce the concept of exsanguination relative to that 
area. The marks could be the entry wound for whatever exsanguinated him.." 

Mulder gave her a wide grin and answered, `Why Agent Scully, you aren't suggesting that 
a vampire killed this man, are you?" 

She rolled her eyes and replied, "Okay, Mulder,  I'm afraid to ask but what do you think 
happened to the blood?" 

Mulder slumped down into his desk chair, "That Dr Scully is the one thousand dollar 
question." 

Scully didn't appear to be listening. Her mind was elsewhere, on two little blonde haired 
girlss with identical faces and features (Eve 10 & 11). She thought to herself, "Not again," 
as her mind recalled those girls and how they had murdered their fathers. 

Her thoughts were interrupted, "Scully, you okay?" Mulder was asking. 

She nodded, "Yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking. 

He looked cautiously at her, "I know. I know what you were thinking about. But I doubt 
the Eve's are a part of this. I already checked out Vincent Jimenez. He had no connection 
to the Adam or Eve projects."  

She looked at the 8 X 10  file photo of the wound on Jimenez thigh. She shook her head, 
"So Mulder, What are you thinking? The mother of all leeches came back for revenge?" 

"I don't know but we're headed to Fort Lauderdale this afternoon." He picked up his 
jacket to leave then mischievously added, "Don't forget to pack your bathing suit; 
preferably the bikini."  

She pushed him through the door and  closed it behind her, chiding him as they proceeded 
down the hallway, "In your dreams, Mulder."



Mulder and Scully waited patiently for the emergency room physician to join them in the 
lounge. Scully looked curiously out the window to a large area of green swampland. She 
remarked, "It's hard to believe that the Everglades are just over there." 

Mulder nodded, "I know." 

The door opened and the young doctor from the Jimenez  case appeared. He extended his 
hand, " Sorry for the delay but it's hard to schedule traumas." He poured himself a cup of 
coffee and held the pot up to the agents. Both declined.

Mulder spoke first, "What can you tell us about Vincent Jimenez?"  

The doctor thought a minute as if unsure of the question. 

Scully intervened, "He's the young construction worker with the ear missing." 

"Oh yeah. the leech case."

 Mulder nodded, "Anything unusual?" 

The doctor shook  his head and replied, "Not really. He seemed to be responding very 
well." He sipped at his coffee, "I think  he went home within a day or two of the accident. 
I was surprised to hear he expired."  

Mulder asked curiously, "You use many leeches here?" 

The doctor  shrugged  his shoulders and answered, "Not lots, but some." The doctor's 
thoughts seemed to stray momentarily, but then focused back to the agents. He began 
hesitantly, "You know Agent Mulder, there was something strange about the case." Both 
agents leaned in closer as the doctor continued, The leeches that we used that night, they 
looked different from the ones we have used in the past." 

Scully asked, "Different? How where they different?"  

The doctor smiled, his face contorting into a somewhat uncomfortable, almost 
embarrassed laugh.  He hesitated as if deliberating on how to explain without seeming 
ridiculous. Suddenly his blue eyes lit up, `You remember that movie, Gremlins?" 

Scully bit her lip but said nothing, her eyes grew wide, wider than Mulder had ever seen 
them. 

Mulder repeated, "Gremlins, the little fuzzy gremlins?" 

Scully shook her head, nudged Mulder, and urged, "Go on, Doctor, please." 

He ran his hand through his blonde hair, "You know how the gremlins had those little tufts 
of hair on their heads?" 

Scully couldn't contain her disbelief. She stated, quickly, almost interrupting him, "You're 
not saying these leeches had brightly colored tufts of hair of the tops of their little heads?" 

He shook his head, "No, not hair really!" 

Mulder, who had been very quite, suddenly interjected, "What then are you saying?" His 
voice broke  impatience. 

The doctor replied effortlessly, "It was a bump actually, centered on their head. It sort of 
looked like hair, but not really." He added as an afterthought, "The bumps had sort of a 
reddish color."

Scully finished the note she was writing in her note book and asked, "You never noticed 
marks on any of the other leeches you have used in the past?"

"No, I have never noticed them before."

Scully nodded and blew a sigh of relief as if to indicate that this round had come to an end. 
She looked quickly to Mulder, who surprisingly had said very little, then back to the 
doctor. "Are you aware that the ME listed Jimenez's cause of death as hypotensive shock 
secondary to blood loss?" 

"Yeah, that's what I understand." 

Mulder added, "Any theories?"  

The doctor shook his head as if clueless, "Not really, but as a doctor, let me say that the 
upper thigh area provides good access to the femoral artery. This is pretty important in the 
concept of blood letting." 

Scully answered, "We're aware of that possibility, doctor. We have already considered 
that possibility."

 The doctor rose and looked out the window. He  scanned the  surroundings, his face was 
tired, "Agent Scully , we have used leeches many times in the past. We've never had any 
problem like this ever before, I don't know what happened to him."  

Scully asked, "Do you know where Jimenez `s body is being kept.  I would like to 
examine it." The young doctor looked questionably at her. She added as if understanding 
his curiosity, "I'm a medical doctor. I finished a forensic residency before I was recruited 
into the FBI." 

He nodded as if even more intrigued than ever by her. He answered, "I believe the police 
are holding it at their forensic lab downtown." He gave Mulder directions quickly and then 
left.

 

The trip to downtown Fort Lauderdale was, if nothing else, a test for the agents in 
endurance.  Interstate 95 was, as usual, lined with cars and semi trucks. They took the 
Broward Blvd. exit and traveled east towards the beach until they came into downtown 
Fort Lauderdale. They opted for a quick bite to eat on Los Olas Blvd. before heading to 
Andrews Avenue where the police station was located.  At the desk they were directed to 
the desk of Detective John Jordan, where they waited nearly 30 minutes for the detective. 
He walked  briskly toward the agents with his hand already extended. He was a stocky 
man, in his mid 40's. He had light colored hair and dark eyes. He wore a brown suit with 
his tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck. He nodded to each of the agents and 
apologized for the delay, blaming the judicial system  with a thick Hispanic accent. 
Detective Jordan showed them to the morgue where Jimenez' body was being held for 
Scully's examination. However, to their disappointment, they discovered the body had 
already been cremated  by mistake the night before.

Outraged they made their way make back to the hotel and went to their individual rooms 
to unpack and settle in  before continuing on the case. From his room, Mulder made 
several telephone calls, one of which was to The Lone Gun Man. Byers answered the 
phone in his usual tone. His tone brightened when he realized the caller was Mulder. 
"Mulder, "he questioned, "Where are you?" 

Mulder answered, "Ft Lauderdale." 

It was Frohike who replied next, "Is the lovely Agent Scully there as well?" Mulder 
answered defiantly as if already knowing where the conversation was heading, "You know 
that she is." Frohike's reply grew softer as if he was thinking aloud rather than talking  to 
Mulder, "Ah, Agent Scully in a bikini." He breathed a  heavy sigh, "Tell me Mulder, Will 
she come back with a tan lines or not?" 

"You'll have to ask Scully about that Frohike." He  went on attempting to change the 
subject, "Listen guys, what can you find out for me about leeches?" 

Langley repeated, "Leeches?" 

"Yeah, you know like as in blood sucker?" 

"Okay Mulder. We'll see what we can find out. Later dude." 

Frohike ended the conversation as well with instructions for  Scully and proper tanning 
procedures. Mulder wasn't sure of many things in his life but he was sure he was not 
giving that message to Scully.  After all he did consider himself a brave man, but not that 
brave.

The knock at her door was expected.  Actually she had finished unpacking about 20 
minutes earlier. She also knew that it always  took  her more time to unpack than it did 
Mulder. After all, he just unzipped the suitcase and hung up his suits. He used everything 
else from the suitcase. However, she was different. She liked to have every thing put away 
nicely in an organized  manner. She unpacked her clothes and put them away in the 
drawers the bureau; then put the empty suitcase in the closet.  Next her attention was 
turned to the bathroom, where she put all of  her "accessories", as Mulder liked to call 
them, away. Therefore, since she had finished `moving in'  (More Mulder terminology) a 
while ago, she knew he must have already made his `Mulder calls'. She answered the door 
and motioned for him to take  a seat.  However, he was already falling into the chair 
beside the bed. She  sat on the edge and began, "Well?" 

He smiled, "Frohike send his love. He was wondering  about tan lines?" 

She ignored him, and Frohike, too.  She sipped at the iced tea she had purchased from the 
vending machine, "Mulder,  are we heading back or what?" 

He looked questionably at her, "But we just got here." 

"I know but since our body is gone..." 

He cut her off, "I asked the guys to see what they can dig up on the use of leeches for 
medicinal purposes." He looked out her window, "Might as well relax and see what they  
find out." He grinned and added, `So what kind of swimming suit did you bring?" 

She flashed him one of warning looks and answered, "I didn't come here for the sun, 
Mulder."  She rose to look out the window. She had a lovely view of downtown Ft 
Lauderdale, she looked briefly form side to side, continuing to stare out the window, but 
said nothing. 

Mulder asked, "What's the matter, Scully? You aren't homesick, are you?"  He smiled as 
he said it. 

She turned quickly to face him, her face a bit flushed, "No," she began, `it's just that our 
victim's body is gone. We have no leads to continue investigating." 

Mulder joined her at the window, "Let's give it till morning. If the guys haven't turned up 
something by then, we'll get a flight back to DC." 

"I'm sorry, Mulder. I'm being foolish." 

He placed his hand on her shoulders, his tone grew serious, "Scully, it's okay. I know you 
miss him." 

She pulled quickly away, rolled her eyes, and replied, "Mulder, please..." She fell into the 
chair he had previously occupied and continued, "I'm an adult, a professional. If our case 
is here, I'm here for the duration." She bit her lip and glanced anxiously up to him, 
"However, if the case is finished, I want to go back to DC." 

"So noted. Tomorrow if we have no leads, we're gone. I promise." She smiled, her grin 
encompassing nearly her entire face, "Deal!" She made a mock salute to him, stood to 
meet him, and pointed towards the door, "Mulder," she begged, " I have some calls to 
make." She opened the door and waited for him to exit, "Then I'm going to take a hot 
bath and hit the sack."

 He left her room smiling and bade her goodnight.



The next morning 
As they finished breakfast in the hotel dining room his cellular telephone went off. He 
answered  questions briefly and ended the conversation he indicating that he and Scully 
were on their way. He put his phone away and headed for the door.

"Sorry,  Scully, we got another one." 

He waited for her at the door, then let it close securely behind her. The rental car made its 
way slowly through the afternoon traffic  back towards the police station.  The trip took 
much longer than Mulder anticipated. He parked anxiously and led Scully politely through 
the station down into the basement towards the morgue where they found Detective 
Jordan leaning impatiently against the wall. He motioned towards the big double doors 
and held the door open for Scully as she entered  first.  The agents were startled to find 
the body of a relatively attractive young woman lying  atop the table draped by a solid 
white sheet. 

Scully looked interestedly  at the body, `What happened?" 

The detective pulled a folder from the wall organizer and  answered. "Kelly Barnes, she's 
a pharmacist at Glades Medical Center." 

Mulder's  heart  began to beat faster. "The same hospital where Jimenez was treated ? ." 

"Oh it's better than that. Actually she is Dr Barnes. She's a doctor of pharmacy at the 
hospital. She's the clinical specialist responsible for the leeches." 

Scully pulled the sheet up and quickly inspected the body. She remained expressionless as 
she  searched for and discovered the bite marks on Kelly Barnes' inner thigh. They were 
identical to the one found on Vincent Jimenez.  She put the sheet back and asked, "Same 
as Jimenez?" 

Jordan answered, "Exactly. Her roommate found her a few hours ago at home. The 
preliminary report from the ME looks like hypotension secondary to  blood loss. Once 
again we got hardly any blood at the scene." 

 Scully pulled off her jacket and looked around , "Where can I change and scrub up? I 
want to do this one myself." 

 Detective Jordan looked around and pointed towards the back wall to a door, "The 
lounge is over there. You can change in there." He pulled a set of scrubs off the rack and 
handed them to her. Then added, "Dr  Scott, the pathologist, is usually the only person 
down here. He's already gone for the day. So you'll have some privacy." 

She looked to Mulder, "Where will you be?"  

Mulder's answer was put off by the concurrent ringing of cellular phones. Mulder's phone 
as well as Detective Jordan's began to buzz impatiently. Mulder pulled his out and went to 
the other side of the room. Detective Jordan's actions were nearly identical except he went 
to t he opposite side of the room. Scully started for the lounge, but Mulder held up his 
hand indicating that she should wait, at least  momentarily.

Detective Jordan finished his call first and waited politely for Mulder to finish his. Jordan 
motioned for Scully, she returned quickly. As soon as Mulder put his phone away  Jordan  
reported, "Got another body. This one is an environmental  worker employed by the 
hospital." 

Mulder interrupted, "Environmental worker?' 

Scully  added, " Housekeeping,  Mulder."  

He nodded. Jordan went on, "Anyway, the employee who empties the waste products 
form the trauma center just expired." He pulled his tie closer to his shirt and opened the 
door to leave, "I'm going over to his home. The body's still there."  

Scully tossed the scrubs into the chair and waited for Mulder to reply.  Mulder pondered 
for a minute or two, then said, "Scully, why don't we check out the garbage man first." 
He looked to Kelly Barnes' body, "She's not going anywhere. You can do the autopsy 
after we check out the newest one." 

She nodded, collected her jacket, and followed Detective Jordan out the door with Mulder 
following closely behind.


The agents followed Detective Jordan's car south towards  Miami Lakes.  During the ride 
Mulder informed Scully, "That was Byers. He says that there is really only one company 
making any attempt at providing  leeches to the medical community." 

Scully listened inquisitively, "And......" 

He went on, " The is company right here in South Florida, actually about 50 miles into the 
Everglades.  Hirudopharm Inc. provides medicinal leeches to most of the major trauma 
centers throughout the United States." 

Scully looked quickly at the notes Mulder had made as he spoke with Byers.  He went on, 
"However, they are currently  doing some research with leech saliva for cardiovascular 
uses. Byers  mentioned  the most promising being a vasodilating agent for stroke victims." 

Scully made one of her you don't say faces but said nothing. 

Mulder  continued to follow the detective's car  and added very matter of factly, "Byers 
also says that recently the government secretly sank a huge sum of money into another 
leech study." 

Scully replied sarcastically, "Nice to see our government working so hard  to move the 
cardiovascular research ahead." She paused, "What aren't you telling me, Mulder?" 

He smiled, "Scully, did anyone ever tell you that you are amazing?" 

She answered, "Many,  many times."  

He cocked his eyebrows as if pondering her reply. 

She nudged him onward, "Come on Mulder, spill it." 

"Apparently the leeches that our government wants studied possess very unique abilities."  

"What kind of abilities?" 

He followed Jordan's car into an apartment complex and parked immediately next to the 
detective's vehicle.  As they stepped out of the car, Mulder answered to her over the top 
of the car's roof, "The bites of these leeches cause severe anticoagulation of the victims 
blood.  These people literally bleed to death in a relatively small amount of time."  

Scully hesitated as if processing all that he had said to her. "But where's the blood, 
Mulder? We haven't found hardly any blood."  

They joined the waiting Detective Jordan and followed him inside to apartment number 
17.  The man there looked to be about 50 years old with dark balding hair combed greasily 
against his scalp. He appeared to be about 30 pounds or so overweight. He wore dark 
black pants that hung baggily against his buttocks. The waistband was pulled down very 
low to accommodate the huge belly that made Mulder the impression that Walter 
Barberrie hadn't  missed too many happy hours in his life. His burgundy bowling shirt 
hung loosely and was unbuttoned down the front to reveal a thin white sleeveless 
undershirt . His face was wrinkled and like the rest of his visible body deeply tanned a 
golden brown color.   With the exception of a small amount of blood, maybe four ounces, 
the area appeared absent of any turmoil of any kind.  The  little blood that was visible 
seem to  come from his left leg where it pooled to the floor just under the hem of his pant 
leg.

Scully scouted the area while Mulder and Jordan watched the technicians documenting the 
scene. After nearly 90 minutes of documenting and picture taking. The detective motioned 
for the agents to  begin their investigation. 

Scully looked to the ME, "Does he have  the same  wound  on his thigh as Jimenez?"  

The ME shook his head and replied, "Haven't gotten that far, but please be my guest."  
The ME gestured towards Barberrie's body.  

Scully  hesitated  momentarily, then reluctantly unbuttoned the man's trousers and  
unzipped the zipper. 

Mulder thought for a second then leant in close to her ear, "Scully, you do that so well." 

She shot him a warning look, but continued  to  investigate for the puncture wound that 
she sought.  With some reluctant assistance from Mulder, finally she pulled his trousers 
down far enough to reveal a small wound on the inside of his inner thigh identical to the 
wound  found on Jimenez. Nothing else from the scene produced any new clues into the 
investigation.


The ride back to the hospital was uneventful. It was evident to Scully that Mulder was 
deep in thought and theory. She looked cautiously to her partner as he drove. She could 
almost hear the wheels spinning  inside his head. Finally the silence was more than she 
could stand.

 "Mulder," she asked, "What are you contemplating over there?" She paused momentarily 
then added quickly, "Governmental overthrow?" 

"Not this week."  His face grew serious, "Scully," he began, " Suppose this Hirudopharm 
company has more than one type of leech on the menu?" His glance continued to alternate 
from Scully to the road in successive turns. He continued, "Byers said that Hirudopharm is 
studying leeches for cardiovascular research as well as another highly classified study for 
inducing severe  hemorrhage" 

"And?"

"Suppose this highly classified research is being funded by the deep pockets of our 
government." She could see the excitement building in his eyes as he went on, his words 
coming quicker and quicker, "Only this classified research isn't nearly as noble as the 
cardiovascular study." He shook his head to emphasize the point, "These leeches could be 
used as a weapon, a relatively inexpensive weapon to produce and maintain. This weapon 
is also indiscriminate and it is perfect, it never misses or changes its mind." She  started to 
interrupt but he continued before she could interject, "Suppose accidentally someone 
shipped the wrong leeches to the hospital." 

"Nice theory, Mulder. But as usual, where is your proof?" 

He tossed a sunflower seed into his mouth, "What do you say we go get some then?"

Once they arrived back at Everglades Medical Center, Mulder left Scully in the capable 
hands of the  morgue technician. He seemed to be a pleasant young man with blond hair 
and blue eyes. It didn't take a genius either, to see how  bewildered the young man was 
with Scully. He watched and held on to her every  move.  Scully  went back to the morgue 
with the technician following close behind. Mulder  said his good byes and indicated that 
he was heading to Hirudopharm Inc to investigate.  

He caught Scully by the arm as he exited and whispered, " Scully. Try and behave. I'd 
hate to have to report to Gates that you were stepping out on him." 

She answered curtly, "Goodbye Mulder." 

He smiled to her and shut the door quietly behind him.


Once Mulder was gone, Scully began the  autopsy on Kelly Barnes. She picked the scrubs 
up that Jordan had given her earlier, looked to the lounge, and then decided that a lab coat 
over her blouse and skirt should be sufficient. She placed the scrubs back on the shelf and 
pulled on the white coat that hung invitingly on the rack.


The drive to Hirudopharm Inc took nearly an hour and a half in the traffic. Interstate 75 
wasn't any better than Interstate 95, or so Mulder thought.  The view, however, was much 
different.  To either  side of the road as far as the eye could see were the green spiky reeds 
that was the Everglades,  a sea of grass.  A small creek like body of water lined nearly the 
entire road so far, or at least the part the Mulder had traveled thus far.  To Mulder's 
delight, since the day had been overcast, an alligator or two was actually visible from the 
road. Mulder was surprised to see that its color was actually closer to black rather than the 
green he always associated with the reptiles.  He was also surprised at how large it 
appeared even at the distance he was viewing it from.

He slowed the car momentarily to inspect the silver fence that separated  each side of the 
road from the Everglades.  He looked at the traffic coming towards him and suspected 
that one too many accidents had caused the county to construct the fences to keep the 
animals out of the road and the impending traffic.  He followed the Interstate until he 
came to the sign  announcing the entrance to the Seminole Indian reservation. He drove 
another 10 miles until he came to the man made  access road  as Jordan had described. He 
followed the winding road until he came to a modestly constructed  series of buildings. 
Actually they looked more like those temporary buildings used for unexpected over 
populations.  He noticed they looked exactly like the ones he seen used in DC at some of 
the junior high schools.  They were lined neatly in rows of six or seven. All made from  
performed materials and fitted nicely together. Mulder instantly got the impression that 
they had been put up quickly and could just as easily be taken down if needed. They had 
done little for landscaping, but then again, they were in the middle of the Everglades, quite 
literally. He made his way to the building  closest to the road. It was identical to the others 
with the exception that it bore a sign that read OFFICE. 

Mulder unholstered his gun and went in cautiously. He really wasn't surprised to discover 
that every office was empty. Not even a desk or file cabinet remained. He wandered 
through the other buildings but found nothing to indicate that people had been there or 
were returning. He made his way back to the rental car and pulled impatiently back unto 
the Interstate towards the medical center. He hoped Scully would have better luck with 
the body.


Scully worked diligently on the Barnes body.  With her laptop computer she had pretty 
much finished the entire report as she did the autopsy. She had collected a number of 
specimens. They were marked, bagged, and ready to courier to DC.  She was only vaguely 
aware of the lab door opening. It wasn't until she saw him move out of the corner of her 
eye that she acknowledged him. 

The technician smiled as he made his way next to her, "Ah," he stammered, "Agent Scully, 
I'm going to get some dinner." He waited for a reply. 

"Okay, "

"I put the phone to ring the operator and I'll latch the door so no one will bother you." 

"Thanks." 

He looked nervously at his feet "Can I bring you something back?" 

She hesitated for a moment, looking at the clock as if the answer were there. Mulder 
would have eaten already.  "Sure, that's very thoughtful of you." 

He smiled a toothy grin, his face somewhat flushed. 

"Could you get me a turkey sandwich and a diet soda?"
 
He nodded and turned to make his way back out. 

"Take some money from my wallet there in the jacket pocket." 

He nodded and picked up her jacket, laying the holster and gun away from it.  He took a 
ten dollar bill and took off quickly out the door.  Scully finished the autopsy and 
disappeared into the lounge to use the sink to wash up. The young man returned about 20 
minutes later with her sandwich and soda in tow. He placed them on the desk beside the 
door and bent to put her change back in her jacket. She came from lounge somewhat 
startled at first, then smiled when she saw it was only him. She motioned  for him to keep 
the change for himself, unwrapped the sandwich, and ate slowly alone. He disappeared 
back outside the lab. She tossed the white jacket in the laundry bin and clipped her holster 
inside the waistband of her skirt close against her back.

She finished the sandwich and soda, and then began packing up her belongings in 
anticipation of Mulder's return.  She was nearly finished when the door opened again and 
the young technician returned. 

"Done?" 

She nodded and folded the  laptop's power cord up and inside the black bag she carried.  
Her head felt suddenly large, her eyes nearly equally as heavy. Her hand went instantly to 
her forehead and wiped the perspiration that had quickly collected there.  The room 
swayed and she balanced herself against the examining table where Kelly Barnes' body 
recently lay. 

The technician moved towards her concerned, "Agent Scully? You okay?" 

She nodded that she was but did not  get to reply. She fell  unconsciously into his arms. 
He held her around the waist  with her head laying against his chest. He picked up her 
small form and carried her over to the worn couch farthest away from the  door.  Then 
made his way back to the door, opened it, and called out to the other side, "She's all 
yours." 

The technician stepped out of the way as X  impatiently entered the room. "What took 
you so long? We don't have much time." He looked quickly around the room. "Gather up 
all her notes, the laptop, specimens, everything." 

The technician moved quickly, collecting those things X indicated as well as her jacket. X 
took everything from the young man's arms. "Put the body of the pharmacist on that 
gurney, wheel it out back, I'll pick it up there."  

The technician nodded,  and quickly removed the body from one of the metal vaults, 
covered it with a sheet, and waited for further instructions.  He looked to where Scully lay 
peacefully unconscious, "And what about her?" 

X looked quickly towards her, "Get her up.  I'll take her with me." He waited as the 
technician pulled her up  with his arms clasped under her arms. He leaned her against his 
chest and waited. X approached and picked Scully up easily tossing her over his shoulder.  
He handed the items they had collected to the technician, who in turn tossed them atop the 
gurney next to the body. X went through the door first, taking extra care in getting Scully 
through as well. He called to the technician as he disappeared into the darkened hallway, 
"Pick you up in the back." The technician nodded and pushed the gurney towards the exit.

Mulder was instantly suspicious when he noticed all the lights were out in the morgue. 
"Well," he thought aloud,  "maybe she  has finished already." He walked quickly towards 
the metal doors until he was interrupted by a young woman about 25 years old with long 
dark hair sitting casually behind the desk.  She looked up quickly desk as he approached. 
It was odd to have anyone down here at this time of the evening. The ME had left long 
ago for the night. Other than her friend,  Melissa, from booking no one was ever down 
here much at this time  of the night.  

"Excuse me, is Agent Scully finished already?" 

The young woman looked at him curiously, "Who?" 

He looked anxiously at the darkened laboratory to his right. He flashed his badge and 
explained, "I'm Agent Mulder. My partner, Agent Scully was here doing a preliminary 
autopsy on one of those mysterious leech victims. Has she finished already?" 

"Sorry but I've been here for about an hour. It was all locked up when I came."  

He looked curiously around but motioned towards the lab, "May I?" 

She nodded that it was okay. He went inside, looked around, and came out quickly. 
"Where's the young man who was here before?" 

She made an impatient face at him, "Sorry, but there is only me and the Doc down here." 

Mulder insisted, "Maybe he was just minding the desk?" 

"No, just me and the Doc." 

Mulder was walking away before he said anything else, but he muttered "Thanks" quickly 
as he headed back towards his car. He pressed the automatic dial button on his cellular 
phone as he slid behind the wheel of the rental car. He allowed it to ring about six times 
before he disconnected the call and started the car. Within minutes he was headed back in 
the direction of Hirundopharm Inc half  hoping that  he would find Scully waiting angrily 
back at the motel.


X pulled the van along side the building marked OFFICE  and instructed the young man, 
"Burn it all. Then meet me down at the lab. If you aren't there in a hour. I leave without 
you." 

Without waiting for a reply he applied pressure to the gas  pedal and rushed away.  He 
followed the access road  winding  into the darkness about 30 minutes or more until he 
came to the small laboratory outlined by security lights against the night sky. He parked  
the van and carried his unconscious prisoner inside depositing her on the floor of the room 
to the left of the laboratory itself. It was very big room especially considering that the 
laboratory was so small. He looked impatiently around into the darkness of the room, and 
then flipped a light switch against the wall. Although most of the room remained 
darkened, the immediate area that housed his prisoner lit up to some degree. He pulled at 
her wrists to confirm that the ropes he found in the van continued to indeed  render her 
bound. He pulled a black  piece of cloth from the counter and tied in tightly over her eyes.  
He checked her pulse, noting it to be strong and steady. He then left, only to return a few 
minutes later with her laptop, notes, and specimens. He disappeared back to the van twice  
returning each time with the white covered form of a body. One  belonged to the 
pharmacist and the other to the environmental worker.  One at a time he tossed the bodies 
into the incinerator located behind the laboratory. Then  he tossed  all of Scully notes, as 
well as her laptop and specimens  into the incinerator. 

When he returned he heard the initial sounds of  Scully as she regained consciousness. He 
dropped down beside her and searched quickly for her weapon. He found it in the holster 
she carried against her back and  tossed it on the counter. Once again checked to see if she 
was okay. 

He began to speak in a soft, unthreatening tone,  "Agent Scully....." 

However it was the movement in the darkness that informed him that he was not alone. 
He saw the swirl of smoke before he smelled it. 

Scully awoke quickly and pulled herself to a sitting position against the wall. She thought 
she recognized the voice but her head was spinning and she wasn't sure. She was sure, 
however, that she smelled smoke. And as she and Mulder both knew, where there was 
smoke, there usually were cigarettes and that meant Cancer Man was usually not far 
behind. She attempted to speak but the voice from before beat her to it. 

X's jaw tightened his eyes hardened as if he were having second thoughts,  "Agent 
Scully,"  he began  his tone was harsh this time, "You look very uncomfortable." He 
reached down to her and replied as he unbuttoned the top button that was close around 
her neck. "Let's undo this shall we?" 

She struggled to pull away from his grasp, but he caught her as she slid down the wall and 
pushed her on her back against the floor. He undid the  top button of the shirt and 
continued to talk, "What do you say? Better?" He looked out of the corner of his eye to 
confirm his earlier suspicion that the cigarette smoking man was with them. In the 
darkness he could barely make out the frail form. His attention turned back to Scully, 

"No? Well how about one more then?" Once again his hands found the next button and he 
undid that as well. 

She barely recognized the voice as her own. She demanded,  "Stop." She swallowed 
loudly and pulled her  bound hands up against her chest. 

He grasped her hands roughly, "Agent Scully," he purred bringing his mouth close to her 
cheek. She could feel the whiskers of what she thought was a  thin beard.  She turned her 
face away from him. He looked slowly down at the small woman  so close to him, taking  
in all of her.  "You are a very beautiful woman, Agent Scully."  He brushed his face 
against her throat, causing her to gasp under her own breath,  "A woman such as yourself 
should be occupied by leeches of a more obvious nature." He took a taste of her neck, just 
where his lips met her. He brought his teeth tightly around the soft skin there, producing 
an  indention of his teeth but without drawing any blood.  

The cigarette smoking man stepped out  of the shadows exhaling smoke into the air all 
around him. He cleared his throat loudly to announce to X that he was not alone with 
Scully. X  turned quickly toward the cigarette smoking man, grasping his revolver as he 
whirled. He nodded to the man and to his accomplice whose appearance was obscured by 
the shadows. X immediately returned his attention to Scully who had managed to return to 
a sitting position against the wall. He knelt beside her again and grasped her roughly by 
the collar of  her blouse and pulled her towards him, his face close once again. 

The cigarette smoking man stated without any emotion, "We don't have time for that." 

Scully's fear was equaled only  by her anger. With only a slight tremble of her bottom lip, 
she asked him, "Why are you doing this?" 

He leaned in closer to her. Scully thought she heard him mumble something like  "I'm 
sorry." But the drug had left her very incoherent and whatever he had said, he said barely 
above a whisper. She added, "I thought..." 

She didn't get to finish what was to have been `I thought you were his friend'. X's mouth 
came down quickly, impatiently on hers with such force that she couldn't breathe.  The 
cigarette smoking man nodded to his companion in the shadows. The  man went quickly 
to X and Scully and pulled X away, tossing him into the wall on the other side of the 
room. Scully gasped for air and slid down again to the floor, propelled on her side. 

The cigarette smoking man blew another trail of smoke into the air, "I said," he informed 
him, "that there is no time for that." 

X replied as he stood to look down at Scully, "I think it such a shame in our business that 
we never seem to take the time to do the things we want to do when we want to do 
them." He glanced hesitantly towards Scully as the other man was pulling her up into a 
sitting position. "We are constantly putting off those things we really want to do." 

The cigarette smoking man tossed his cigarette to the floor and stomped it out. He 
exhaled as if bored with the entire situation, "Is she infected or not?" He lit up another 
cigarette and added without waiting for a reply, "If she is, kill her and burn the body with 
the rest. If she isn't, let her go." 

X looked annoyed and answered, "I don't know. I haven't tested her yet." With this he 
dropped down beside her again, "Oh well, Agent Scully, some other time, perhaps?" 

She answered coldly, "I don't think so." 

X pulled a hand full of red locks in his hand until she winced in pain. The cigarette 
smoking man nodded to the other man. Almost instantly the man pulled a  big silver 
handgun and placed  it against  X's forehead. 

The cigarette smoking man announced, "I've grown tired of this. Please give my associate 
your weapon." 

X hesitated but when he heard the click of the hammer pulled back by an unshaking hand.  
He placed his gun into the other man's hand with no intervention. The  man had a steady 
hand. He revealed no emotion or opinion of anything that he saw before him. He simply 
performed as he was instructed. The only sign even vaguely discriminate about him  was 
the gold lion's head ring he wore on the pinkie of his right hand. It was the only thing 
about the man distinguishable from either of the other two men. Like X and the cigarette 
smoking man, he was a  nameless and sometimes faceless figure in dark clothes and a 
trenchcoat.


As Mulder parked the car and started quietly out, he saw the glimmer of light from the 
building near the end. In his mind he already knew it was the beam of a flashlight. He  
made his way down to the last building and without any sound at all proceeded through 
the front door.  He recognized him instantly from the morgue. The young man was still 
dressed in the hospital scrubs he had seen him wearing hours before. The young man heard 
and saw nothing as Mulder crept closer towards him. However Mulder made his presence 
known as the young man felt the cold steel of Mulder's gun against the back if his head. 
Instantly his hands went up in surrender. Mulder  pulled on his shoulder and indicated for 
him to turn around and face him. The young man's hands went up to his head as he turned 
towards Mulder. He really wasn't surprised to see the other agent. Infact he  had half 
expected him throughout the entire evening. 

Mulder nudged at the man with his gun, "Where is she?" 

"She's in the lab." 

"Is she hurt?" 

"No, she wasn't  last time I saw her. She was fine." 

Mulder pushed him towards the door. "Let's go." 

The young man hesitated, "No way, man. If I take you there I'm a dead man." 

Mulder cocked his gun and pointed it at the man's head, "If you don't, you're a dead 
man." 

"Listen man, if you're gonna  kill me, then do it!. Here, now! At least this way my family 
will have a body to bury." He let his hands slide down to rest by his side, "If I take you 
there, my family will never know, man." 

 Mulder pushed against him again and  repeated as he put the gun back up to his head, 
"Okay, you made the choice." 

The young man panicked, "Okay, okay! I'll show you, but you let me go, before you go 
in." 

Mulder nodded, "Deal, now move." 


The young man lead Mulder outside. Mulder headed for the car but the man reported, 
"We can take the boat. It's a 15 minute ride through the glades" Mulder looked behind the 
building to where a number of air boats were anchored against a rickety dock. The man 
went on, "It will take us 45 minutes to an hour to drive it." Mulder looked towards the 
endless swamp that lay ahead of him. The man added, "She's not alone." With no further 
hesitation, Mulder followed the man to the air boat. Within minutes, they were whipping 
through the Everglades. The young man glided the boat easily along the man made trail 
through the swamp. Mulder watched earnestly ahead of them for any sign of Scully.

The cigarette smoking man moved closer to where X and the other man attended to 
Scully. He nodded to his companion and instructed, "Get a sample from her." 

X looked quickly to the cigarette smoking man, then back to the other man who 
obediently put his gun away. The  man pulled Scully's arms down into her lap and turned  
them so that  her left hand was palm up against her lap. He ripped the sleeve away to 
allow easy access to her upper arm.  He pulled from his pocket a tiny syringe and began 
uncapping it. 

X interrupted, "You can't take a sample from her arm."  

The man looked curiously at him but the cigarette smoking man agreed, "Yes, take it from 
her thigh. All the wounds must appear the same. If she is infected, her wound must be the 
same as the others." 

Scully began to struggle again, but both of the men pushed from the wall and back against 
the floor on her back. X leaned in close against her, holding her down by using his  right 
forearm as leverage against her chest. She struggled only momentarily until breathing 
became more difficult. She felt her skirt being pulled up to her waist and struggled once 
again. She cried through clenched teeth, "You son of a bitch." However, she said 
nothing else, refusing to plead with them. She heard what sounded like a switch blade 
flipping open. She cringed as she felt the nylon against her left thigh being sliced away. 

She heard the voice of whom she believed to be X remark, "Be sure to use the alcohol 
swab." He shook her chin between his thumb and forefinger, "Wouldn't want her to get an 
infection." Scully felt something cold wipe against her thigh, then a slight pain as the 
needle was injected into the soft, tender flesh. It strung for only a minute or two, then she 
felt it being removed. Within a few minutes, she felt them release her and she pulled 
herself back up to a sitting position. 

The cigarette smoking man nodded to the other man. He took the vial of blood and 
disappeared into the next room. The cigarette smoking man stomped out the cigarette and 
motioned to X. Without saying a word he too, disappeared into the other room. X looked 
down to her, knelt close and whispered, "I'm sorry." He stood away and announced  in a 
much louder tone, "If I don't return, it means that you are not infected and someone will 
find you." He turned to leave then added, "However, if I do have to  return.." He didn't 
finish the sentence. He didn't have to. Scully knew the rest.  


Mulder kept his promise. He let the young man go as soon as the boat touched against the 
solid definition of the ground. He watched as the man made his way hurriedly down he 
road back towards the main buildings they had just left. Mulder inspected the small 
building quickly and made his way to where the white van was parked haphazardly against 
the side of the road nearly atop the entrance to the back door. He leaned into the 
passenger  window quickly and quietly, and then made his way around to the back. The 
back doors were already open.  He silently counted in his head to three, then took the 
familiar Mulder stance with gun in hand and aimed forward. Once again he found nothing. 
He stepped closer to the small laboratory and tried the knob. It opened with no force at 
all. A quick inspection of the laboratory revealed nothing unusual and no one any where 
near. In fact the place was pretty much empty with the exception of a scattered chair and a 
few Styrofoam cups. He noticed another door off to the right and proceeded  to 
investigate.


As Scully heard the steps coming back towards her, the fear that was mounting inside 
swelled quickly threatening to take what little breath that remained away. She couldn't 
decide if the fear of dying here alone or the fear of being infected and dying a painful death  
was the fear she should dread the most. She struggled once again to free her wrists, but 
her captor had been thorough. The bonds would not break their hold and give her at the 
very least a fighting chance. She brought her hands quickly to her face to push the 
blindfold away. At least she would force her executioner to look her in the eye as he 
pulled the trigger. This Scully would not be as easy to kill as the last one. This one would 
look into his cold eyes and insist that he look upon her. 

Mulder saw her before he even got completely through the door. At first he thought her  
unconscious, she lay so still. But as he drew closer, he saw her stir; he saw her move. 
Instantly he was relieved. He surveyed the room; as best as he could tell they were alone. 
However, he knew the room was  very big and most of it was very dark. He searched 
quickly for any other light panels. He spotted a few and made his way cautiously towards 
them. Upon impact with the switches, the room flashed into brightness. They were indeed, 
alone. 

He fell close beside her, "Scully?"  

"Mulder?", she exclaimed, " thank God. I thought he was coming back." 

Mulder moved quickly to untie her. She pulled off the blindfold on her own just as he 
untied her wrists. Mulder had noticed the way her skirt was positioned high up around her 
waist from the moment he had entered the room. He looked quickly at her for any signs of 
injury. "You okay?" he asked lowly against her ear. 

She had raised herself from the floor to pull her skirt back down over her hips when he 
noticed the blood that ran down her thigh and calf. He grasped her shoulders with great 
concern, "Scully, you're bleeding? What happened?" He didn't give her a chance to reply 
as he pulled his gun and exclaimed, "I'll kill that black lunged son of a bitch this time." 

She held his arms, "Mulder, I'm fine. They took a blood sample. That's all." 

He touched her cheek, "Scully." 

"Mulder, I swear. That's all." 

He helped her to stand on shaky legs. He slid his arm around her waist and led her 
towards the door. "Did you see who it was?" 

"I think it was your friend. The one you contact with the X on the window. And I smelled 
cigarettes." 

Mulder stopped and leaned her against the wall. "You sure?" 

She shook her head and pulled her collar tight around her neck, "No. I only met your 
informant  once." She rubbed the raw place around her wrists, "But it sounded like him."  
She looked around the room, "They took the bodies Mulder. All of them and destroyed 
them."  

Mulder looked around the room, found her jacket, and pulled it around her shoulders. 
"What's this?" he asked touching a place on her neck  that closely resembled bite marks, 
too closely. The vein in Mulder's neck grew intensely big. He turned her to face him, 
"Scully, I have to know. What happened?" 

She looked down at the floor and then quickly back up to meet his hazel gaze. "Mulder, I 
told you. I'm fine. That's all I can tell you,  right now."  Her hand went to her forehead 
and wiped the perspiration that had collected there. "Mulder, "she pleaded her voice 
strained, barely above a whisper, "can we just go please?" He nodded, embraced her 
around the waist, and held her close for just a moment. She steadied herself against his 
chest and looked dizzily around the room, fighting for her self control..  


The next sound they heard was what Mulder thought believed to be a helicopter close by. 
He took Scully's arm and led her towards the door. She didn't make it very far at all. Her 
legs gave way before they had gone five steps. She sank heavily to the floor with Mulder 
guiding her down to break her contact with the floor. 

She apologized, "Mulder, I'm sorry. My head is spinning and I don't feel well." 

He held her hands against her lap, "Wait here for me. Don't move from this spot." His 
hands dropped down  to his  right ankle where he removed a small revolver from an ankle 
holster and placed it into the palm of her hand.  "Scully, I mean it. You wait here." He 
disappeared through the door, but not before giving one final look back to where she sat 
with her head against her hands.


Mulder ran  down the steps and out the door only to be  assaulted by the blackness of the 
Everglades night. He stopped and listened in an attempt to decipher from which direction 
the sounds were coming.  He ran toward the sound and after he had gone about a half mile 
he saw the unmistakable figure of a helicopter taking off. It was already up and away 
before he could  get off even one shot. Even in the darkness, the figure of the cigarette 
smoking man was evident. Mulder imagined he could even see the cigarette in his hand as 
the helicopter soared out of sight and into the darkened sky.


Disappointed he made his way back to the laboratory to retrieve Scully and head back to 
Ft Lauderdale. He was reaching to turn the knob and enter the building when he saw the 
tall black figure of X standing near the doors of the white van. He spoke in a monotone 
voice as if he were not surprised to see Mulder at all. "Good evening Agent Mulder."  

Mulder answered between heavy breaths, "It will be when I bury your deceiving ass!" X 
shook his head in reply but fingered his gun still safely in his holster, just in case.  Mulder 
approached him purposefully, reholstering his gun as he walked closer to him. "You lied 
to me all along. Why?" 

X made motions with his hands  warning  Mulder to desist in the encroachment. "Mulder," 
he cautioned, "let me explain." Mulder stopped quickly waging a silent battle within his 
own self. Still, he said nothing  X stepped back towards the truck, "I knew he was in the 
room. I had a cover to maintain." 

Mulder fists clenched, "I don't give a dam about your cover. Did you hurt her?" 

"No not really. We needed a blood sample to make sure she wasn't infected." He held out 
his hand to Mulder, "She's fine. She is not infected." 

Mulder took a few steps closer, "She has your bite marks on her neck, you bastard!" 

The tone of X's voice grew tense, "Agent Mulder, I will do whatever is necessary to save 
my ass. If that means you or your partner must endure as the sacrificial lambs, then so be 
it. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

 Mulder's stare became colder, "You ever touch her again and I will kill you! DO I MAKE 
MYSELF CLEAR?" 

X breathed a  useless sigh of desperation, "Agent Mulder.." Before he could finish 
Mulder had charged at him throwing his entire weight upon the man. X had been 
expecting Mulder to shoot at him and was prepared for that reaction. However, he did not 
anticipate that Mulder would hurl all 170 pounds of his body weight directly at his chest 
area. X fell back with full force , first against the metal of the truck and then against the 
cold hard ground. However, X was a professional. And professional's are hardly ever 
unprepared for long. After the momentary shock of hitting the ground and the pain of his 
breath hurling through his body was over. He was up and on his feet within seconds. 

He caught Mulder quickly with a fist to the face followed by an equally powerful thrust 
into his gut.  Mulder only got off two or three punches before X body tossed him into the 
area directly across from the van. Mulder hit the swamp hard, his body sinking quickly 
into the  quicksand like mush. At first he thought he could wade out, but as he made 
attempts to pull himself out. He seemed to sink even deeper into the mud.  X stood quietly 
at first,  debating whether he should help. He walked toward the struggling Mulder,  and 
then hesitated. He turned back, closed the van doors, and exclaimed, "To hell with you 
Agent Mulder." He wiped his brow with the sleeve of his trenchcoat, "To hell with you 
both."  He watched as Mulder uselessly struggled in the pit but to no avail.

Mulder had sunk about chest deep when the gun shot broke the silence. X's first instinct 
was to reach for his gun, but he didn't have time. He turned towards the sound to find 
Scully leaning against the door of the building, her gun aimed determinedly on him. He 
contemplated only for a moment. However, he knew that Mulder wasn't such a good 
shot. This wasn't the situation with Agent Dana Scully. In  fact rumor had it she was a 
good shot, a damn good shot. He raised his hands in surrender and waited to see what she 
wanted. With unfocused eyes, she walked closer and indicated for X to back away 
towards the van. He did so without question. 

Her steps were clumsy, her body unsure, but her aim never faltered for a second. She had 
him in sight all the way. She directed through slurred speech, "Get in the van and drive." 
She gave him only a few seconds to comply then repeated, "Get in the van and go or so 
help me, I'll drop you where you stand!" She pulled awkwardly at her collar and added, "I 
doubt anyone would blame me." X nodded that he understood and walked backwards 
towards the van. He stepped inside with no further delay or conversation. She waited until 
she heard the engine start and watched him pull away before she let her gun fall down. She 
heard him off to the side but she couldn't see anything, "Mulder?" she called, "where are 
you?" 

He answered with panic in his voice, "Over here, Scully! Quick!" 


She stumbled over to his voice. Her eyes grew wide with terror as she saw him in chest 
deep mud. Even through the fog in her head she could see unmistakably the  little black 
figures of the leeches as they began to attach themselves to Mulder's face, neck, and 
hands. Panic screamed in his eyes as he pulled frantically at the little vampires, only to 
have another one anchor into his skin almost as quickly as the first one was removed.  She 
tossed the gun to the ground and dragged a nice size tree branch over to the pit. After two 
attempts she managed to throw the branch close enough so that he could grab it. Both 
were relieved when he stopped sinking deeper into the mud. However, getting him out of 
the pit was not quite as easy. Even if she had been in her usual state of physical ability it 
would have been difficult. Add to it her current state of health, the odds were not very 
good.

After nearly 45 minutes of Scully pulling with every ounce of physical strength she could 
muster, she managed to pull him to the edge of the pit and out about mid way between his 
waist and his knees. With her physical endurance maxed out, she fell backwards and 
drifted into an unconscious slumber. Mulder propelled himself out the rest of the way by 
using his arms. He rose from the mud looking like something out of the movie Swamp 
Thing, but his physical appearance was last on his list of priorities at this time. Terrified, 
he pulled away from his cheek the biggest blackest leech he had ever imagined in his life 
and tossed it against the bank. He looked quickly down the length of his arms and legs 
covered by the cloth of his pants and shirt. He knew they were there under his clothes, he 
could feel them pricking his skin, sucking him dry. However, his attention now was 
focused on his unmoving partner laying helplessly at his feet.

He knelt down to her, gathered her in his arms, and headed for the car. He laid her easily 
against the seat in back, and examined her quickly.  He was dismayed to find a number of 
the black creatures had attached themselves to Scully's body. There were maybe four or 
five on each leg,  a few smaller ones feasting on her arms, and one just barely visible 
underneath the  top button of her blouse. He peeled the creatures tenderly off of her, 
letting them fall to the ground and following through with numerous stomping motions 
with his feet. As he removed them, anxiously he inspected the leeches for the red "tuft of 
hair" the doctor had described. To his relief, he found nothing unusual about the leeches. 
Quickly he pulled his trenchcoat around her body, locked the back doors, buckled himself 
in the driver's seat, and quickly directed the car towards Ft Lauderdale as fast as it would 
permit.


Mulder paced the waiting room anxiously, looking for about the sixth time in nearly as 
many minutes at the clock on the wall. Even at this late hour, the  Glades Medical Center 
waiting room was bristling with activity. With much frustration he slid down into the 
nearest chair and sank his face into his hands. He wasn't sure how long he had sat like that 
when he felt something nudge his arm.

 "Agent Mulder." 

He looked up into the face of an attractive nurse with long brown hair. He stood up 
quickly and asked, "How is she?" 

The nurse smiled, "Dr Phillips will be with you in a moment."

He ran his hand through his hair and looked towards the metal doors. Almost on cue, the 
doors burst open and a young man made his way towards them. 

"Agent Mulder?" he asked extending his hand.  Mulder nodded and shook the man's hand. 
The doctor asked, "You're Agent Scully's partner?" 

Again Mulder nodded, "How's she?" 

The doctor took his arm and led him to the other side of the room to afford them some 
privacy. "She's fine, Agent Mulder." The doctor looked quickly over her chart he held in 
his hand. "She was drugged with a pretty good dose of some benzodiazepam, I can't be 
specific without a more detailed toxicology report. However, she's talking now. She's 
much more cognitive and coherent." 

He pulled Mulder closer away from the  ears of the crowd, "I gave her a tetanus shot for 
that bite on her neck, even though it doesn't look like it actually broke the skin. She 
hadn't had one in a while so she was due." He closed the chart, "She's really exhausted, 
but nothing  a few good hours of sleep won't cure."

"Can I see, her?" 

"Sure, she's getting dressed right now. Give her a minute." The doctor turned to walk 
away, but Mulder caught his arm. 

"Dr Phillips." Mulder hesitated then stuttered on to finish his question, "Did you examine 
her for an assault?" 

The doctor answered, "Agent Scully was unconscious when you brought her in. I saw 
evidence that I believe indicated that she had been sexually assaulted." Mulder waited 
impatiently, "We did a pelvic on her, Agent Mulder. There was nothing to indicate that 
she had been violated." Mulder breathed a sigh of relief and waited as the doctor 
continued, "She has a bite mark on her neck , a small wound on the inside of her thigh, 
and a number of entry wounds from the leeches, but other than that she's fine." 

Mulder smiled and thanked the doctor once again. He motioned towards the door and 
nodded that he was entering her room.


She looked so small and fragile to him, even  knowing all the powerful things she   
managed to accomplish. She smiled when she saw him come around the curtain, "Hi 
Mulder." 

"Hi yourself, how you feeling?" 

She nodded and made her first attempt at sitting up, "I'm fine Mulder." She dangled her 
feet over the edge of the examining table, "I need my clothes." 

He looked awkwardly around, then located the blouse and skirt tossed hurriedly atop the  
white counter in the examining room. He continued searching and finally found the 
undergarments as well. Her face was paler than he was used to, but some color returned 
as she took them awkwardly from his hands. She motioned towards the curtain, "Mulder, 
give me a minute, uh?" He shook his head and left to give her a few minutes in private. 

After about 10 minutes or so, he made imaginary knocking noises on the curtain. She 
replied, "All's clear, Mulder. You can come in." He came around and helped her get down 
from the table and led her out or the emergency room.  

A few hours later (3AM)
He poured her coffee anxiously,  stealing glances at her as the warm soothing liquid filled 
her cup. He slid into the booth next to her sitting uncharacteristically close against her. 
She sipped cautiously at the coffee, still saying nothing. He embraced her again, but looser 
this time. His hand making up and down rubbing motions from her shoulder to forearm. 
He asked, "Scully, you what to talk about it?" She began to nod that she didn't, but he 
interrupted her by pulling her chin up with his finger so that her eyes met his. "Scully, " he 
pleaded, "talk to me, Please." 

She swallowed loudly and closed her eyes to fight back the tears that had collected there. 
She took a deep breath, "Mulder," she whispered, " I was so scared." 

He held her closer, "It's okay." 

She pulled away and continued, "I really thought he was going to .." She couldn't finish 
the sentence. She wiped the single tear that had escaped down her cheek, "I had absolutely 
no control, no weapon. I had nothing to protect myself with." The tears came freely now, 
dropping silently down her cheek to rest on her chest. She bit her lip, inhaled loudly, and 
wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. "I have never felt that vulnerable, that 
powerless in my entire life." 

His embrace grew tighter again, "It's okay. You're safe now." He planted a kiss on the 
top of her forehead. 

She went on, "I can't explain to you the terror I felt." 

He broke her off, "You don't have to. You don't have to explain anything to me, Scully." 
They sat like that for along time until Scully's tears subsided and she felt like she could 
face the emptiness of her hotel room. He paid the check and led her upstairs to her room. 
Once inside, he put her to bed and sat down in the chair beside her bed where he intended 
to sit until she feel asleep. Scully would be really glad to get back to DC. She decided that 
she didn't like Fort Lauderdale very much, after all.


Washington DC
3 days later

For the first time in a very long time Mulder handed a report to Skinner without fear of 
what had become known as "extreme possibility fallout". Here was a very simple case to 
follow, much simpler than some of their other cases. As the agents reported, there was 
evidence that a shipping mishap had occurred whereby a case of experimental top secret 
leeches were accidentally delivered to Glades Medical Center for use in selected surgical 
cases. These experimental leeches were being investigated for their unique anticoagulative 
properties; exposure to these leeches produces bleeding tendencies in extreme even 
compared to traditionally blood clot busting agents. Anticoagulation to this degree does 
not even occur when agents such as streptokinase or TPA are used. 

The deaths of the trauma patient who received the leeches conjunctive with therapy, the 
pharmacist who handled the leeches prior to surgery, and the environmental worker who 
handled the leeches after surgery all expired as a result of massive hemorrhaging produced 
after severe anticoagulation occurred.

A search of the grounds once occupied by the Hiruodpharm Inc agencies failed to produce 
any substantial evidence to identify agents of the company or those responsible for the 
kidnapping of agent Scully. This is not surprising as the buildings once occupied by 
Hirundopharm Inc were dessicated in a fire that destroyed the grounds after FBI agents 
left the area. At this time, no bodies of any of the victims have been recovered. Also no 
autopsy notes or specimens from any of the victims have been discovered. 

With no other victims to date and no other leads to follow up on, the agents of record, 
Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, have no alternative but recommend that this case be closed 
until at later time when new evidence is made available.

Skinner closed the file and nodded, "Nice work, Agent Mulder." He looked worriedly to 
the empty chair beside Mulder, "How's Agent Scully feeling?"

 "Fine, sir. She just needed a little time, that's all." Skinner nodded.


Scully leaned back against the cushions of her couch, pulling him closer against her in the 
process. He kissed her passionately, so passionately that her limbs ached. She ran her hand 
through the locks of his dark hair and under the collar of his shirt. He pulled his mouth 
from hers only long enough to parade a trail of hot kisses down her neck and across her 
clavicle. He slid her sideways against the cushions so that she was fully horizontal beneath 
him and continued kissing her neck, her face,  even her ear. He pulled her shirt out from 
the waist band of her jeans and tugged hurriedly at the bottom buttons. Her hands covered 
his, prohibiting him from continuing. She swallowed loudly and opened her eyes to meet 
his handsome, yet hungry eyes. 

He breathed a sigh of frustration, "Dana, either let me make love to you or make me go 
home." 

She smiled and ran her hand over his cheek down to his chin, "Chris," she began, "we 
should be comfortable. I don't want it to be here on the couch, like this." 

He smiled, pulled himself off of her and offered his hand to help her up. He knelt down, 
collected her in his arms, and carried her towards her bedroom.

He placed her softly on the bed and followed gently close beside her,  his body just barely 
touching her.  His kisses came quickly as his body pushed closer towards her. The kisses 
grew more intense and more demanding. He hesitated for a moment, looking deeply down 
into her deep blue eyes, "Dana," he whispered, "you okay with this?" 

She nodded and smiled to him, reaching hungrily for his lips. Slowly he removed her 
clothes, then his own, wrapping himself tightly around her in the process. He caressed her 
with his eyes at first then with his hands, his heart fell somewhere in between. Their 
passion grew quickly, embraced them both, then released almost simultaneously. 

Dana lay in his arms with her face gently touching his shoulder and caressing the broad 
width of his chest. He ran his hand through her hair and then down to trace her cheek. He 
pulled her chin up to face him and smiled to her when there eyes met. He kissed the top of 
her nose and whispered, "That was incredible." She smiled, pulled the white sheet closer 
around her chest, and snuggled closer to him.

"Yes, it was." He turned quickly over to face her, kissing her shoulder during the 
transition. He caressed her neck, tracing the outline her collarbone made against her skin. 
Facing her now, he kissed her just above where the sheet bordered around her chest and 
said between more kisses back up to her throat, "You know Agent Scully, I think I'm 
falling in love with you." 

She smiled and met his lips as they came down quickly on top of hers, "If I didn't suspect 
that, you wouldn't be here now." His body slid quickly against hers, molding her neatly to 
fit against him. His hands intertwined in hers and he brought both her arms to rest above 
her head. They made love again just as the sun began to rise for the day. From the distant 
window, its beam danced upon the two lovers, kissing the flesh that remained uncovered 
from the bedclothes. The sunbeam concentrated on their hands highlighting the 
intertwined fingers . It was hard to separate  his from hers, they seemed to merge together 
forming only flesh. In fact there was nothing to distinguish one from another, were it not 
for the tiny gold lion head ring visible on the pinkie of  his right  hand. 

End Chapter 2 



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