From: "J Astoria" Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 08:27:52 PST Subject: Nadine I: Prelude Source: direct Title: Nadine I: Prelude Author: Astrid Billings E-mail: USSTrustNo1@hotmail.com Spoilers: Pusher, Irresistible, Ascension Category: X, A, M/S UST Rating: R for violence, suggestive language, adult situations, adult subject matter and nudity. Summary: Scully goes missing again, and Mulder finds her with a little help. Or does he? Disclaimer: They're not mine. Author's note: I mean no disrespect to Chicago, New York or Cook County detectives, strippers, Mulderists, night club owners, the city of New York or people with strange first names (incidentally). As far as I know, there is no Black Tie bar in New York, or anywhere else for that matter, nor do I know of any illegal night club in association with said bar. ----- X-Files Case No. 6-727X Field Notes of Special Agent Dana Scully October 15, 1999 "This case was first classified as an X-File because of the exsanguinations of a number of bodies. It was not until Agents Mulder and I arrived on the scene that the killings were reclassified as violent homicides, possibly the work of a serial killer. We began creating a profile of the UNSUB. Agent Mulder and I ran into some trouble when we could not agree on the age or intelligence frame of our killer. Agent Mulder insisted that the killer was a white male, 25-35, and of average to below average intelligence. I, however, believed the killer to be 18-25, and of above average intelligence. From this point, Agent Mulder and I began to conduct separate investigations and write separate profiles. My first big break came in examining the bodies. Autopsies have already been performed, but, in the opinion of this pathologist, not very thoroughly. The two previous pathologists had failed to notice the small initials L and S carved in the bodies of two of the victims. Eventually, through studying autopsy and crime scene photos, I was able to discover the initials on five of the six bodies, each time appearing in the fold of the upper leg and right buttock. I shared my news with both Agent Mulder and the Cook County (Chicago) detectives who had originally been on the case. Each of us came to a different opinion, however. The detectives came to the conclusion that the killer was either leaving us some kind of clue to his identity, or that he had fixated on a specific law enforcement professional with the initials L.S. Agent Mulder decided that the markings were part of a satanic ritual, which would keep the case classified as an X-File. Profiles of the victims were completed by New York forensic psychologist, Detective Donovan. After studying the victims' profiles done by said forensic psychologist, on loan to the Chicago P.D., I came to the conclusion that the carvings were neither initials, nor a clue, nor evidence of satanic ritual. Each of the victims had been an older sister. The initials found on the bodies were not initials of the killer, the victim(s), or a message to an officer--they were an abbreviation for Little Sister. L.S. This led me to the conclusion that the killer had been fixated on the girls and their families, and, although he was too old to get the object of his desire (in this case, the younger sisters), he could still get the older sisters. He had probably dated several of them at a time, only killing when he realized his substitutes were not working. The killer would be male, 18 to 25, a local college student, good-looking, of above-average intelligence, and be employed in a job that allowed him access to families with both high school and middle school-aged daughters. We began a search of area restaurants, aided by unusual tire prints found in several of the crime scene areas. On day twelve of the investigation, the team brought Tate Benadetto in for questioning. He" ----- X-Files Division Basement Office, J. Edgar Hoover Building Washington D.C. January 22, 2000 "On day twelve of the investigation, the team brought Tate Benadetto in for questioning. He" That was the last thing she wrote. He had been reading that line for three months now. Three months since she had disappeared. This time, however, there was no former FBI agent who thought he'd been abducted by aliens. No dramatic phone message left on his answering machine, no necklace and badge left in the trunk of a car. This time, all he'd found was her computer on in a hotel room, along with all her clothes, except the ones she'd been wearing that day. No signs of foul play, or a struggle, or...anything. According to the report that Kersh had in his office, Agent Scully had gone AWOL on a case and was awaiting disciplinary action upon her return. Because of Scully's supposed "voluntarily" leaving the case and, apparently, the X-Files division, Mulder was not granted the reprieve of not obtaining another partner. He was doing a fair job of keeping her at bay, for the meantime. All he really needed to do now was to go to the Gunmen to figure out what he was dealing with in this new partner. New partner, as if anyone could ever replace Scully. It was dawning on him more now, that Scully was not just his partner at work. The only thing that had kept him from pulling the trigger as he placed his gun in his mouth after the "report" came out was the fact that if she had come back from being missing before, she would surely come back this time. Mulder checked the office answering machine one last time before leaving for the Lone Gunmen's headquarters. He and the guys had contacts out all over the country, searching for clues that would lead them to her whereabouts. Mulder pressed the "play" button, hoping for one piece of evidence, one single clue. "This is Caley Donovan again. I can't seem to get a hold of you, but I suppose that A.D. Kersh will let me know when you're ready for a new case. I've done several without you, but I'd really like to get your input on one of these cases as soon as possible. Also, I think it's very important that we--" Mulder pressed the "stop" button. He couldn't take it any more. Caley Donovan could not take her place. Scully would be back soon. She had come back before. She would be back soon. Wouldn't she? ----- Lone Gunmen Headquarters Restin, Virginia January 22, 2000 "I need some info, guys," Mulder said upon entering the Lone Gunmen's headquarters. Langly eyed him warily, as if he were a time bomb ready to go off. "Whaddya need, Mulder?" "I need everything you can come up with on Caley Donovan. She's assigned to work with me, and I want to know what I'm getting into." "You want everything we have on...Caley," Byers said slowly. "Yeah. Why are you asking me that? Why are you asking me *like* that? What is going on here?" With each question, Mulder's voice grew more panicked. "We just..." Frohike began. "We thought you knew," Byers finished soothingly. "Knew *WHAT*?" Mulder demanded. "We thought you knew Caley," Frohike answered. "Look, all I know about Caley is that she's been assigned to me, I think she's a psychologist, and I know that she's a pain in the ass. She has called me every day, twice a day for the last two months. So who the hell is this brat?" "First of all," Byers said, slightly defensively, "she's a forensic psychologist who had been working with the Chicago police department. If you hadn't had your head up your ass during the Benadetto investigation, you might have learned a thing or two from her." "*She* was the one who wrote the victims' profiles on that case?" Mulder sat down, stunned. "Yeah, the profiles that helped Scully *solve* that case. Which isn't surprising, actually, considering she and Caley have been friends since they were undergrad students together. They were roommates for four years. After graduation, Scully went to medical school and Caley went to work for the NYPD, where she became a detective on Vice squad. Then she went back to school to get her M.A. in forensic psychology." "I didn't..." "And why does that not surprise me, Mulder? Even when Scully's here, you show little to no interest in her life. Hell, she probably mentioned Caley at least a dozen times, none of which you paid the least bit of attention to. You probably even met Caley and never cared enough to remember her. *We* met her, and actually gave her the courtesy of remembering her. Imagine that." For a moment, Mulder was stunned. "Don't hold anything back, now, Byers," he said softly. "He didn't mean it," Frohike said. "Narc," he whispered to Byers. "As if things can get any worse..." Mulder mumbled, leaving the Gunmen's headquarters. Upon returning to his apartment, Mulder noticed the light flashing on his answering machine. Immediately, he raced across the room to retrieve the message. This one could be the one that gets Scully back. "This is Caley Donovan again. I don't know if you're getting these messages, but I really need to speak to you about--" He couldn't tell what Detective Donovan wanted to speak to him about, but her intense tone and the recent information he'd acquired from the Gunmen kept him from cutting off the message there. "Meet me at the Laguardia Airport Hotel and Lounge in New York tomorrow at 3 pm. That should give you enough time to get here." Without listening to the other messages, Mulder packed a suit, his spare gun, a picture of Scully and all the hope he had left into a small black bag and headed toward the airport. To be continued... ----- Feedback will guarantee a conclusion to this story. USSTrustNo1@hotmail.com