From: YRLD43A@prodigy.com ( PATTY   HAYES)
Date: Sat,  7 Nov 1998 18:05:25, -0500
Subject: The Perfect Killing Machine 1/2


Thanks to everyone who has responded to my stories, it is appreciated 
and very encouraging.  You can e-mail me at  YRLD43A@PRODIGY.COM  .  
I hope you enjoy this.

Title - The Perfect Killing Machine
Author - Patty Hayes
E-Mail address - yrld43a@prodigy.com
Rating - PG
Category - SAX
Spoilers - Redux, Redux II
Keywords - Scully's cancer
Summary - Story about nanotechnology and how it could be related to 
Scully's cancer. 

Disclaimer:  The characters and situations of the television program 
"The X-Files" are the creations and property of Chris Carter,  Fox 
Broadcasting, and Ten Thirteen Productions, and have been used 
without permission.  No copyright infringements are intended.  This 
work is not to be forwarded or distributed to any newsgroup, FTP, or 
WWW site without the permission of the author.   

Do Not post to atxc.

*******************************
The Perfect Killing Machine 1/2
By Patty Hayes
YRLD43A@prodigy.com
November 7, 1998
*******************************

     He picked up the envelope after almost tripping over it.  A 
nondescript manila envelope, large enough for a manuscript, but thin. 
 There were no markings on it, no address or return address.  Mulder 
tossed his keys onto the coffee table and sat down the bag he had in 
his arms, then leaned over to flip on the lamp as he sat at his desk. 
 He opened the envelope with a curious expression and pulled out a 
couple of negatives.  They were large, 11 x 14's and Mulder turned 
the shade of the lamp up so he could inspect the items.  As far as he 
could tell, they were photographs of a room, devoid of furniture, 
with a few people sitting along the floor or standing.  A couple of 
folding chairs sat near the door, but no one bothered with them.  The 
second negative was a wider view, the characters looked smaller and 
he had to squint to see them.  There were far more people than he 
first thought and suddenly he realized that they were all women.  He 
recognized one of them, Penny Northern.  In the third, a closeup of 
her standing in the corner with another woman, a smaller dark haired 
woman.
     Mulder sat back and ran his hand over his face.  Where did these 
come from?  When were they taken?  Penny Northern died not too long 
ago, yet in this negative, she looked healthier, younger.  Should he 
tell Scully?   Why were they given to him?  There had to be something 
in these photos. 

     "No prints at all, Mulder, sorry."  The technician handed the 
package to Mulder as they spoke.  "I made prints of the negatives for 
you, they're in the envelope.  But they were handled with kid gloves, 
not even any body oil showed up.  Except for yours of course."  She 
turned and walked with Mulder to the door.  "The edges have been cut, 
so I couldn't immediately date them, but based on a few tests, I 
believe they're four to five years old."
     "Okay, thanks, Kris."  Mulder left without his normal discussion 
about the dinner he owed her and whether she wanted more than dinner, 
he'd had too much on his mind.  These negatives disturbed him.  If 
they were truly taken around the time or before Scully's abduction, 
what were they trying to tell him?
     He hadn't discussed any of this with Scully.  Yet.  Not until he 
knew what was going on.  Mulder expected to see her when he entered 
the office, they had a report to finish to pass on to Skinner, but 
she wasn't there so he took the opportunity to sit down and study the 
photographs.  There were three in all.  Kris had enlarged parts of 
two of them at Mulder's request, so Mulder had seven to review.  
There was nothing in the room that he could identify.  He didn't 
recognize anyone except Penny Northern.  Maybe Scully would know some 
of them.  His cell phone interrupted his concentration.
     "Mulder, I need you."
     "Scully, where are you?"  He asked as he slipped the photos 
inside the envelope and placed them in his desk drawer.  Then he rose,
 grabbed his coat and headed out the door almost before she had a 
chance to continue.  "What's up?"
     "I'd rather not say over the phone.  I'm at Georgetown, the 
research lab in forensics."
     The phone call ended and he slipped the phone back in his jacket,
 then put his overcoat on while making his way to the parking garage. 
 He didn't like the tone of Scully's voice, there was a hint of panic 
in it that ran shivers down his spine.  She wouldn't show panic, ever,
 but he could sense it.

     He walked in, his coat over his arm, and nodded at Scully with a 
small smile as she pulled the helmet of her biohazard suit from her 
head.  She nodded at him through the glass window and he waited 
patiently for her to come forward.  
     "What do you have?"  he whispered, leaning down as she stood 
close, his brow furrowed with interest.
     "I got a call from a friend in the coroners office, he thought 
we might be interested in this case."  She spoke softly, but it was 
well above a whisper.
     "What is it, Scully?"  Mulder was becoming more impatient as his 
curiosity grew.
     Scully lowered her head and crossed her arms.  She moved away a 
few steps before turning back to him.  "A woman, thirty two, her body 
... "  Scully gestured with her hands, not knowing how to describe it.
  "Well, it sort of ... exploded."
     Mulder frowned.  "Exploded?"
     "Well, her insides just exploded.  We think it may be a virus, 
it certainly behaves similar to the ebola virus.  Her organs were 
completely liquefied but she had no open sores.  It was confined to 
her internal organs."
     "They don't have any idea what caused it?"
     "Not yet."
     "What do they think you can do with this?  Why were you called?
"
     "John knows what my work entails and he also knows I'm a doctor. 
 He thought I might be able to shed a little light.  Have you ever 
seen anything like this?"
     Mulder shook his head slowly, chewing on his bottom lip as he 
stared at her in thought.  "I don't think so.  The only cases similar 
have been virus oriented."
     "Dana?"  The lab tech called to her as he stepped from the 
changing room.  
    She turned and took a few steps toward him.  "John, this Fox 
Mulder, my partner."  She gestured and looked at Mulder.  "This is 
John Boller.  John is assigned to this case, he's a forensics 
scientist and a viral biologist.  He was with the CDC for a few years.
"  Scully turned back to John.  "What did you find?"
     Boller shook hands, then finished snapping the X-rays onto the 
light fixture.  "I found something that you might find interesting in 
the x-rays.  Something metal, I think, embedded in the back of the 
neck."
     Both Scully and Mulder felt a shudder run through them.  Scully 
hadn't had a bit of trouble since her cancer had gone into remission. 
 However, she still had the chip.  No one was certain what had caused 
the remission, but no one was willing to test their luck.
     Mulder looked briefly at Scully before turning to the doctor.  
"I want every test imaginable run, Dr. Boller.  And I need you to do 
me a favor, don't notify anyone before calling us first.  Can you do 
that?"  he asked as he passed Boller a business card.
     John nodded.  "I'm not sure."  He glanced at Scully and noticed 
the visible difference.  She'd gone pale and her body shook 
momentarily.  "You know the CDC has been banging on my door.  They're 
threatening to take over.  I'll do the best I can."
     "Thanks, we'll get back to you."  Mulder turned away, gently 
pulling on Scully's arm,  moving her away from the x-rays.  "I know 
what you're thinking, Scully,"  he whispered.
     "Mulder ... "
     "Just listen a minute."  He interrupted.  "It could be just a 
coincidence.  It doesn't mean it's going to happen to you."
     "How do you know, Mulder?"  Her voice firm.  "No one's been able 
to tell us anything about this chip.  Except that it can somehow 
control me."  She'd never forgotten the experience of showing up at 
that bridge, not knowing why she was driven to be there.
     "When did you last see your doctor?"
     "It doesn't matter, Mulder."
     "Look, let's find out more before we begin to worry."  He hated 
himself for what he'd just said, remembering similar words said to 
her once before.  "Who she was, what her medical history is."
     Scully looked into his eyes for a long moment before finally 
nodding and turning away.  Her arms crossed in front of her, she 
glanced at him briefly then looked down before speaking.  "I want to 
work with John on these tests.  Why don't you look into her 
background."
     Mulder stood with his hands on his hips and nodded as she 
started to walk away.  Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her arm.  
"Scully?"
     She turned to find a pair of dark, sad, concerned eyes staring 
at her.  Searching hers, silently speaking the language that was 
known only to the two of them.  "I'm fine, Mulder,"  she whispered.
     Mulder let her go and watched her walk the distance of the room 
before he turned and left.  I hope so, God, I hope so.  The words ran 
through his mind.

     He sighed heavily as he unlocked the door to his apartment.  
Under his arm, Mulder held the folder with all the medical history on 
one Margaret Calley.  He'd read most of it, but wanted to go into it 
in detail before confronting Scully.  But at his feet was another 
manila envelope.  His brow knitted as he picked it up.  Something was 
happening here, but he couldn't figure out what.  Most of his 
contacts were long dead.  The one woman from the SRSG's office 
wouldn't be giving him this kind of thing.  Mulder went immediately 
to the desk, turning on the lamp.  Then he pulled out the current 
negatives.  
     The first one showed a different room, a long metal table with a 
huge light hanging from the ceiling to just over the table.  On the 
wall was a mirror and he could see a figure in it, but couldn't make 
out who it was.  The next negative was the same room as the original 
negatives.  This time there were men in white coats dragging two of 
the women toward the door.  The women's faces were distorted in what 
he guessed was anger or pain or fear.
     The third took his breath away.  His blood ran cold as he stared 
into the face full of fear.  He knew that look.  He hadn't seen it 
often, but he'd seen it in her before.  It was Scully.  She was 
trying to fight the two men dragging her through the door.  He 
dropped the negative and ran a hand over his face.  Who was sending 
these?  Where did they come from, when were they taken?  What were 
they trying to tell him?
     The file on Calley didn't make him feel any better at all.  
She'd had several reports of abductions.  None of which were ever 
taken seriously.  And she'd had the same cancer as Scully.  Unlike 
Penny Northern and the others, Calley's had gone into remission.  But 
Northern and the others had their implants taken out.  Calley didn't. 
 

     Scully sat in front of the screen, running slide after slide 
through the scope, finding nothing.  After determining that it was 
not an airborne virus, if it even was indeed a virus, they shed their 
biohazard suits for ordinary lab coats.  She closed her eyes and 
wanted to rub them with her fingertips but it would involve taking 
off her gloves.  So she opened them again and sighed heavily.  "I 
just don't see ... whoa!  Did you see that?"  Her eyes widened as she 
leaned in.
     "What the hell was that?"  John had seen it.  It was just a 
speck, but it clearly didn't belong.
     Scully worked a couple of knobs that magnified their view on the 
screen.  Again and again until it was as magnified as the machine 
would take it.  Suddenly, the tiny object floated past again.  On a 
slide with a mere drop of blood, they found only a couple of the 
specks.  She never took her eyes off the screen as she reached for 
the phone.  "I think we need stronger equipment here."

     "What are they?"  Mulder asked, staring at the screen.
     Scully looked to John to answer.  "It's hard to explain, but in 
basic terms, they're machines."
     "Machines?  You're talking about nanotechnology.  I didn't think 
it'd been developed to this level yet."
     Scully raised her brow, surprised that Mulder was up on the 
latest of this technology.
     "I read the trades."  Mulder whispered as John continued.
     "Well, they haven't.  Not that I knew of anyway.  We all know 
what's possible, but I found something else, Dana."  He glanced at 
her as he placed another slide on the scope.  "This sample holds none 
and this one," he exchanged it again, "has a couple, but they're 
inactive."
     Mulder leaned down in front of the television screen, staring at 
the two metal objects lying dormant next to the blood cell.  He 
couldn't believe what he was seeing.
     "There's more."
     Both turned to look at John.
     "They're dying and disintegrating.  And I don't know how to stop 
them."
     "What do you mean, dying?"  Scully asked.
     "They become inactive, they go dormant and inside of a few hours,
 they'll disintegrate.  I expect this body was full of them not too 
long ago.  Now that she's dead, they're disappearing."
     "Is this what killed her?  Did they do this to her system?"  
Mulder asked, his hands on his hips.
     "At this point it's anyone's guess.  It's possible that these 
were designed to heal and they turned against her."   Scully turned 
to reach for the phone as it rang at that point.  "John, it's your 
office."  Their testings had moved to the FBI lab for the highpowered 
equipment.
     Mulder was speechless for a moment.  He couldn't help but think 
that the negatives he'd been receiving had something to do with all 
this, but he couldn't figure it out.  And he still hadn't said 
anything to Scully yet.  He started to speak when John's tone of 
voice took his attention.
     "What?  When?  Well, stop them.  They can't come in there and 
take it, we're not finished with the investigation!"
     Mulder and Scully knew.  Without any discussion, they knew what 
had happened.  Once again, all evidence was being obliterated.  
"What's going on?"  Scully asked as John slammed down the receiver.
     "CDC, they came in and they're taking everything.  All my files, 
all the tests, the body, the samples, everything.  This is all that's 
left."  He waved his hand over a small box with glass slides.  He put 
all the slides back in the box, then John took off the lab coat and 
grabbed his overcoat from the door, slipping the tiny box inside his 
jacket pocket, as Mulder and Scully followed him out the door.

     "These weren't CDC."  John tossed the clipboard onto his desk.  
He stared at the two, feeling that they'd known it all along.  "Who 
was it?"
     Mulder shook his head.  "I don't know.  How do you think they 
found out about this?"
     John looked through the half window that covered one office wall.
  Slowly he shook his head.  "I guess it could've been anyone.  It's 
not like we do top secret work here.  I didn't call anyone but CDC 
was alerted when the body was first brought in because of the 
possible viral status."
     Scully nodded and looked up at John.  "I think I better hang 
onto those samples, John.  I don't want to put your office at risk 
here."
     "What do you mean, risk, Dana?  You don't believe that they'll ..
. "
     "I don't know what they'll do, John.  You've seen what they did 
here."
     John didn't want to ask again who 'they' were.  He suddenly 
didn't envy Dana any longer in her career.  He pulled the box from 
his jacket and passed it to Scully.  "I doubt they'll do you any good 
anyway, they've probably disappeared by now."
     "Maybe, but I still want to do more research on it."

     Mulder unlocked the car door and opened the passenger side for 
Scully before walking around and unlocking the driver's door.  He sat 
for a minute, gnawing on his lower lip then started the car.
     "What did you find out about the victim, Mulder?"  Scully asked, 
locking her seatbelt.
     This is what Mulder wanted to avoid, but he knew he couldn't.  
"She was 32, single, worked as a bar tender on the east side."  He 
pulled out into traffic.
     "And?"
     Mulder sighed.  "There were a couple of items in her file, 
reports of an abduction, mostly ignored."
     "And?  Mulder, you're holding something back, I can tell.  What 
is it?"
     Mulder hesitated, turning his gaze away from her for a moment.  
"Margaret Calley underwent treatment for cancer a year ago."  He 
watched Scully take in the information, nodding slightly.  "It went 
into remission a few months ago."
     Scully maintained her calm facade.  "Mulder, I don't know what 
was in her blood, but I don't think it cured her cancer."
     Mulder pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped, 
putting the car into park.  Then he shifted his body to turn and face 
Scully.  "She had a nasopharyngeal mass, a tumor.  The same as you 
had, she had the same implant.  Or what we think was the same.  Her 
cancer was cured, as was yours once the implant was put in.  Maybe 
these machines came from the implant."
     Scully stared angrily.  She didn't want to face this part of the 
inevitable.  It was too much.  After all she'd been put through, 
there was still more.  When would it end?
     "I think we need to test you too."
     "Don't you think that we would've detected these things before?  
After all the testing and treatments?"  
     "No, I think they were too small.  Even you didn't see these 
until you magnified it beyond the normal scope."
     "Mulder ... "  Scully began, not really wanting to say what she 
felt.
     "I know, Scully."  Mulder whispered, knowingly.
     "Let's talk about this in the morning, Mulder.  It's been a long 
day."  She turned away from him and waited for him to start the car.

     Mulder dropped her off and headed home.  It had been a long and 
unsettling day.  He knew she was afraid, he was afraid too.  What if 
it had been true?  What if the nano machines were in Scully, waiting 
to destroy her?  Mulder stared at the locked door and then lowered 
his eyes to the crack at the bottom.  What would be waiting for him 
tonight?  With a deep breath, he unlocked and opened the door.  The 
manila envelope was lying on the bare wood floor and a sick feeling 
hit his stomach with a blast.
     He picked it up and as he'd done the past two days, he walked 
over to his desk, flipped on the light and sat down.  Nothing other 
than more negatives rested inside.  Three more, two were similar to 
the others.  The third was a clear shot of Margaret Calley.  Now the 
connection was made.  Three envelopes, at least three close ups.  
Calley, Scully and the first, Penny Northern and a small dark haired 
woman.  Who was this other woman?

End of Part 1 of 2



*******************************
The Perfect Killing Machine 2/2
By Patty Hayes
YRLD43A@prodigy.com
November 7, 1998
*******************************

     "Mulder."   He started as the phone rang and Mulder popped up 
from the horizontal position on his couch.  The negatives fell to 
floor about him.
     "We have another body, Mulder.  I want to get over there fast 
before the clean up gets there.  Meet me at Georgetown as soon as you 
can."
     "Scully?  Wait, Scully ...  Damn!"  She'd hung up already.  He 
didn't want her going into this unknowingly.  And if she was hurt in 
the process, he had only himself to blame for not telling her sooner.

     It didn't take him long to get to the forensics lab.  He stood 
in the outer chambers watching Scully and Boller in their biohazard 
suits.  Mulder paced, checking his watch every so often.  Finally, he 
tapped on the glass and Scully nodded.
     John had enough samples to test and Scully was finished with the 
autopsy.  "We're done for now, John."
     "I want to test these right away, Dana.  If they have the 
machines, we need to see if we can save any of them before they 
disintegrate."
     Scully didn't reply.  A part of her didn't want anything to do 
with the tiny objects.  And a bigger part wanted to know how they 
worked, what they did, how they were made.  All the scientific 
possibilities of such a product.
     "Do you have any ID on the victim?"  Mulder asked as they came 
into the viewing room.
     "Yeah. Jody Preston."  Scully handed him a folder with what 
little data they found on the woman.  
     "Is the cause the same, Scully?"  He asked as he reviewed the 
stats.
     "Yes."  She didn't elaborate.
     "Did she have the implant, Scully?"  Mulder lowered his voice as 
he asked.
     Scully looked up into his eyes and hesitated.  "Yes."
     Mulder nodded, a look of concern on his face.  Then he turned 
back to the folder.  Something else caught Mulder's eye.  This was 
the dark haired woman in the first negative.  "I want that blood 
tested right away."  
     "I was planning on taking it to your office, Dana.  It'll give 
us a better ... " John was interrupted when the doors burst open and 
several men in white hazard suits bounded through.  "What the hell is 
this?"
     "Dr. Boller, we understand you have another possible viral 
situation."  He handed Boller a stack of papers while his men went 
busily about their business taking everything in sight.
     "You can't do this, you don't have the authority!"  Mulder 
stepped up.  "Who are you?  Who do you work for?"
     "Mr. Mulder, we do and we can.  If you'll step aside please."
     "How do you know my name?  Who are you people?"
     Within minutes the men had everything cleaned out.  The body was 
nicely wrapped and was wheeled out before their eyes.  He shoved a 
piece of paper in Mulder's hand as he left behind them.  Mulder 
glanced at the paper.  It was a typical transfer form, no signature, 
no names.  He looked over at Scully and Boller.
     John reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of vials, 
grinning.  "They didn't get these."
     "Scully, you and John check this out.  I want to see what I can 
find out about Jody Preston.  I'll meet you back there in a couple of 
hours, okay?"
     Scully nodded.  "Don't be long, Mulder, there may not be 
anything left to see."
     "I'll be there and be careful, Scully.  If they realize they 
left something, they may go looking for it."

     On the way to his car, Mulder's cell phone jingled inside his 
jacket pocket.  He didn't recognize the voice.
     "There's a bench on the west side of the river.  You want 
answers, Mr. Mulder.  I'll be there for twenty minutes.  No longer."
     "Why would I be interested?"  But the line went dead.  Mulder 
stopped with his hand on the car door.  Were these answers dealing 
with the negatives?  He made the decision to go.  Why did everything 
from these people have to come in pieces?  Why did it have to be 
dragged from them inch by inch, word by word?

     It took fifteen minutes to get to the park, his shoulders sagged 
as he saw a woman sitting on the bench.  He'd missed his contact.  
Several kids were playing a few feet away.  It seemed like the woman 
had been there a while, maybe his contact couldn't get the bench.  He 
slowly looked around to other areas of the park when a voice over his 
shoulder called him back.
     "Have a seat, Mr. Mulder."
     He turned sharply to stare at the woman who looked like she was 
reading a novel.  Her head was down and her hand moved to turn a page.
  This wasn't what he expected from a contact.  She was middle aged, 
maybe forty, an attractive woman but nothing to look twice at.  
Shoulder length brown hair, wearing a simple skirt and blouse, she 
actually looked like the nearby kids belonged to her.  Maybe they did.
  Mulder took a seat at the far end of the bench and leaned forward, 
placing his elbows on his knees.
     "I don't have much time, so please listen without interruptions.
"  She lifted her head and looked swiftly around as if expecting to 
see several dark suited men standing behind trees.  
     "Did you give me the negatives?"  Mulder picked up the newspaper 
lying on the bench and opened as if to read the articles.
     The woman sighed and returned her gaze to at her book.  "I work 
for the Charleston police department."  She began, ignoring his 
question.  "Margaret Calley was a friend of mine.  She'd told me a 
lot of strange tales.  The latest was that they were going to kill 
her."
     "Who was going to kill her?"
     "I haven't completely found that information yet.  She claimed 
it was the same men who abducted her.  The same men who put the 
implant in her neck."
     "Was that ever removed?"  He asked quickly.
     "No, she said it was never to be removed.  That it would save 
her life after the experiments were done.  She believed they were 
still experimenting on her in everyday life."
     "Did you send me the negatives?"  Mulder asked again, with 
emphasis this time.
     "Yes!"  She turned and finally looked Mulder in the face.  Then 
she looked around again, hoping no one saw the exchange.  "Margaret 
brought those to me.  Said that if anything happened to her, I should 
give them to you.  That you're the one to fight these people."
     "How am I supposed to do that?"
     "She said your partner could be in danger.  They're using the 
implant to control and to kill.  They've proven that already."  She 
paused, but no response was forthcoming.  "Are you familiar with 
nanotechnology?"
     Mulder looked around, then turned to face her directly.  "Yes."
     "That's how they're doing it.  Somehow, they're able to remotely 
control the implant, the machines."
     "Remotely?"  Mulder couldn't believe what he was hearing.  But 
this woman obviously believed what she was saying.  Tears sprung to 
her eyes and her hand shook as she turned another page.
     "They've killed two so far.  I don't know how many are left, I 
know your partner was one of the original test subjects.  Margaret 
contacted Jody Preston and now she's dead.  Most of the others are 
dead because of their cancers."  Her voice grew low and bitter.  
"They give them this cancer, then press a button and it goes away.  
But at any time, they can press that button again and the cancer 
comes back.  Or worse."
     "You're saying they use the implants to produce machines to kill 
and to produce cancer cells."  Mulder couldn't believe what he was 
hearing.
     "And this time ... "  The woman nodded as she spoke.  "This time 
they used the machines to destroy.  To kill."  Her voice broke as she 
thought about the pain her friend had been in.  Tears were brought 
forward again.  "I was with her when it started."  The tears began to 
stream down her face and she turned to look into Mulder's eyes, her 
face contorted with anger and fear.  "It was horrible, I've never 
seen anything like it.  It was over before we could even get an 
ambulance there.  The pain was ... "  Her lips pressed tightly 
together as she tried to regain her composure.  She swallowed hard.  
"I want these people to pay, Mr. Mulder."
     "What do you think I can do about this?"
     She shook her head slowly.  "You have to expose these people.  
Margaret said you were the one who could do it."  Then her voice 
softened.  "I've tried and all I've gotten is two people dead."
     Mulder studied her, oblivious all of a sudden of anything around 
them.  "Is there anything else you can tell me?  Where do I find 
these people?"
     She closed her book and slipped the strap of her purse over 
shoulder.  "They'll find you."  The woman hesitated for a moment, 
returning the stare that Mulder was giving her, then with a quick 
look around, she got up and walked away.
     Mulder sat back, placing an arm on the back of the bench.  The 
children were laughing, falling over each other in the grass.  What 
was he supposed to do?  How could he stop these people before they 
killed Scully?

     John was leaning over Scully when Mulder walked in, looking 
intently at a test result.  He thought how close they were, the 
personal space of each becoming nil.  A small chuckle came from her 
and he finally cleared his throat to let them know he'd arrived.  
Mulder had driven around for an hour before picking up all the 
negatives and heading to the lab.  "Did you find anything?"  He asked 
when they looked up.
     "Mulder, this is amazing."  Scully shook her head, motioning him 
to look at the screen.  They'd set up a television screen to view 
what could be seen through the high powered microscope.  "They're 
replicating.  I don't know why some of them are continuing while 
others are dormant, but in this one sample, there are twice as many 
as just a few hours ago."
     "They aren't doing anything now."  He noticed the tiny metal 
objects floating aimlessly from screen to screen.
     "Yeah, one minute they're active, the next they're not.  Like 
they're taking a break."  John interjected.
     "Or like someone flipping a switch."  Mulder replied as the two 
stared up at him.  He locked eyes with Scully, silently asking for a 
moment of her time.
     "John, will you excuse us a moment?"  She asked and John stepped 
out of the office.  The silence was deafening and the tension that 
Mulder emitted was thick.  The feeling left her cold.  Scully waited 
for the door to close before speaking.  "What is it?"
     Mulder pulled the negatives from the folder and began placing 
them on the display light in the corner of the lab.  When he turned 
around, Scully was staring at them, her face had gone pale.
     "Where did you get these?"
     "They were left under my door.  This is Margaret Calley,"  he 
said, pointing out a specific negative.  "And this is Jody Preston.  
Do you recognize this place?  Do you remember this ever happening?"  
Mulder asked, softly.
     Scully shook her head slowly, staring at the lighted images in 
front of her.  "No, I don't remember it."
     "Scully ... "  Mulder started but stopped to rethink what he was 
going to say.  "Have you done any tests on yourself yet?"
     "No, why?  What did you find out?"
     Mulder took a deep breath and leaned back against the table, 
folding his arms across his chest.  "I don't know if this is true, 
but I believe it is.  It's possible that someone else is controlling 
these machines.  Using them as the perfect murder weapon."  He 
hesitated, letting that take hold.  "They lay dormant until they're 
ready, then they remotely control them to kill or ... or whatever 
they may be programmed to do."
     "Like activate cancer cells."  Scully finished.  "Or destroy 
internal organs."  Her face still as pale as before, her eyes 
searching his.
     Mulder couldn't avoid her stare.   She knew what the score was 
and he couldn't lie to her, he told her of the woman in the park.
     "Mulder."  Scully shook her head, turning away.  "Will this ever 
go away?  Will I ever be free of them?"
     "Maybe you are free of them.  We don't know that the implant 
helped the cancer, we don't know that.  We don't know if it produced 
these machines in you."  Mulder reached out and touched her shoulder. 
 "There's only one way to find out."
     She stared up into his eyes, anger and fear shone in hers.  
Scully turned as John walked back into the room.  She glanced quickly 
at Mulder, then turned to John.  "John, I need you take a blood 
sample from me."  Scully unbuttoned her sleeve as she walked over and 
pulled the necessary equipment from the drawer.
     "What's going on?  What did you find?"  John looked in confusion 
from Mulder to Scully.
     Scully looked over to Mulder.  "This may prove nothing, Mulder.  
If they've done their job and disintegrated, nothing will show up."
     "You think these things are in you?"  John wanted to know.
     "At least we'll know if they're in you now."
     "And what do we do if they are?"  Scully asked, staring into 
Mulder's eyes.
     He didn't want to think about the implications.  If they were 
there, he'd have to consider cold blooded murder.

     Mulder paced as John took a sample of Scully's blood.  He 
thought about what the woman had told him.  Was it really possible to 
remotely control the already impossible reality of a nano machine 
inside the human body?   He reached for his jacket when the pocket 
began ringing.  "Mulder."
     "There's another one and I think they're after her next."
     The voice was urgent.  "Who is this?  What do you mean, they're 
after her?"
     "Please, Mr. Mulder ... "  her voice lowered to a whisper.  "You 
have to get over there now.  She's at Georgetown, the oncology 
department.  Janet Evans.  Please."
     The line went dead and Mulder stared at his cell phone.  
     "We'll be able to run it through the scope in just a few minutes.
"  Scully said, coming to the front part of the lab.
     "Scully, we need to get to Georgetown, I just got a call.  
Another woman is there with the same situation and she's alive."
     Scully didn't speak, she told John where they were going and 
then followed Mulder out.  She wanted any information available and 
maybe this woman could help.  "What's she doing at Georgetown?"
     "I don't know, she's in oncology, so maybe she's taking 
treatments."
     "Mulder, how did you get this information?"
     "I got a call from the woman in the park."  Mulder replied.
     Scully let it drop till they checked out the latest.  They found 
Janet Evans in oncology, just where the woman said.  
     "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about.  I'm just 
going through treatment, no one's threatened my life."
     "Ms Evans, do you know Margaret Calley or Jody Preston?"  Mulder 
asked.
     Janet lowered her head and looked away.  She didn't answer right 
away.
     "Do you know they're dead?"  He asked next.
     Suddenly she became agitated and turned to face them.  "Look, I 
don't know anything, I told them that."  Her voice rose.  "Leave me 
alone, why can't everyone just leave me alone!"
     Mulder started to reply, but she suddenly cried out, clutching 
her stomach.  She crumbled to the floor and they rushed to help her.
     "Oh God, oh God."  She repeated over and over as the pain 
worsened.
     "What's wrong with her, Scully?"
     "I don't know, Mulder, it could be any number of things."  They 
got her to the examining table just as a nurse came in.
     They both stood back as a flurry of medical professionals 
stepped in.  The screaming reverberated through out the halls of the 
hospital.  Nothing anyone did helped, it became worse and worse till 
the woman blacked out.  With in a moment, blood trickled from her 
mouth and ears.  She was pronounced dead a moment later.
     Chills ran up Scully's spine at the intensity of the pain and at 
the sudden turn of events.  One moment the woman was fine, alive and 
within a matter of minutes she was dead.  How could they operate so 
fast?  And how did they get to her?  She didn't need to do an autopsy 
to know what had happened to the woman.  Scully knew what they'd find.

     Mulder saw Scully turn pale and briefly escorted her out of the 
room.  She paced the hallway for a moment, but didn't say anything.  
He knew the scene had frightened her more than anything she'd seen in 
a long time.  "Let's get back to John."

     "What did you tell Mulder?"  The large balding man slapped the 
woman, knocking her back against the wall.  "I asked you a 
question!"
     Sara Parker winced at the pain.  She wasn't unaccustomed to 
violence.  Being a police officer, she'd seen a lot of things, been 
in a few fights of her own.  But she feared these people, these men.  
The pain that Margaret had gone through could only be described as 
excruciating.  The kind of pain where you hope for death.  "I didn't 
tell him anything.  What do you want from me?  Who are you?"  She 
screamed at the men standing in the shadows. 
     The large man grabbed her arm and shoved her in a chair.  The 
two in the background whispered to each other.  "Does he know about 
the machines?"
     "What machines?"  Sara snarled.  She heard them snicker, but she 
wasn't about to let on that she knew anything about it.  "Look, I'm a 
police officer.  Do you know the penalty for killing a policeman?  
Automatic death penalty."
     No answer came, but the whispers continued.  Before long the two 
men left, leaving her alone with the large balding man.  He pulled a 
gun and Sara closed her eyes.  She knew this was it, her life was 
over.  She only hoped Margaret knew she'd done her best.

     "No sign of anything unusual, Mulder."  Scully kept her eye 
glued to the screen.
     Mulder breathed heavily, a sigh of relief.
     "That doesn't mean they weren't there.  Or won't be there again.
"  Scully looked up into his eyes.
     "Look, I'm going to get us some coffee.  I'll be back in a 
minute or two."  John felt he was suddenly intruding and made an 
excuse to step out.  He gently squeezed her arms and gave her a small 
smile.  Glad that she was all right.  For now.
     Scully nodded and both watched as he left.  Then Scully sighed.  
"Damn it, Mulder."  She shook her head.  "I can't live like this.  If 
I leave the chip in, it's possible it gives them control over my life 
and death.  We already know that it might control my thoughts, I 
can't let them do this to me."
     "And if you remove it, the cancer could come back."
     "We don't know that, Mulder.  We don't know for sure that the 
chip cured the cancer."
     "Scully ... "
     "Don't!  Okay, just ... don't."   Her voice softened as she felt 
herself surrender to the inevitable.  
     John came bursting through the door a moment later.  "I just got 
a call, we have another body."

     They followed John into the city morgue.  The police notified 
him because of the note found on the body.  It was a suicide note 
saying she couldn't live knowing that she was alone now that Margaret 
had died.  The detective stood by and waited till they viewed the 
body.
     Mulder knew immediately who she was.  Or rather why she died.  
It was no suicide.
     John and the police stood off to one side, discussing the body.  
Scully moved over to stand next to Mulder.  "What is it?"
     "This is no suicide, Scully.  This is the woman who gave me what 
little information I have.  The one in the park.  They killed her 
just like they killed the other two."
     "Unless I have something to offer, they're going to declare this 
one a suicide.  Is there anything we can tell them?"  John walked 
over and spoke softly, his arms folded across his chest.
     "They can't possible believe this is a suicide.  The coroner 
signed the autopsy report?"  Mulder couldn't believe the possibility 
that they over looked all the evidence.  He moved over to the 
detective.  "Look at the bruises on her face, you're telling me that 
was accidental?  What about that?"
     "Agent Mulder, do you have any information to offer?  Why are 
you here anyway?  What is the FBI's involvement in this?"
     Mulder stood with his hands on his hips, his jacket pulled back 
behind them.  He looked from the detective to John, to Scully then to 
the body.
     "Did you know the victim, Agent Mulder?"
     Mulder looked up.  "No ... no."  He shook his head.  There was 
nothing he could do for her now.

     They dropped John off at Georgetown and sat in the car in front 
of Scully's apartment.  Neither said anything, both looking out their 
respective windows.  Mulder wondered what Scully would do.  What 
would he do?  What did he want her to do?  
     "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."  Scully reached for the door 
handle.
     "Scully, wait."  Mulder spoke quietly, reaching for her arm.  
When she turned to face him, he wasn't sure what he'd say.  "I can't 
leave you like this."
     "There's nothing you can do, Mulder."
     "There has to be something."  He waited, but no response was 
forthcoming.  "How about some coffee?"
     Scully eyed him for a long moment, then nodded.  "Sure, come on.
"
     They sat quietly sipping the hot coffee, both looking as 
uncomfortable as two people could be.  Finally Scully cleared her 
throat and spoke.
     "Why?  Why Mulder?  After everything they've put us through, 
what do they hope to gain from this?"
     "The ultimate killing machine, Scully.  Think about it.  
Something like this could be passed along in anything.  All it would 
take would be getting one machine inside the human body and it would 
replicate itself into thousands.  Hundreds of thousands.  It probably 
started out as a way to help people.  Cure cancer, the common cold, 
whatever.  And then someone gets wind of it and all they can see is 
money and power.  You could control governments, everyone and 
everything.  And if someone opposed you, they die and no one knows 
how or why.  The ultimate killing machine."  Slowly he faced her, 
blushing at what he'd just said.  Not wanting to upset her.
     "I have to decide whether to remove this chip and take the 
chance that the cancer will return, or leave it in knowing they could 
kill me at any moment."  She said it so matter of factly, it took him 
aback.  "No one can make that decision for me, Mulder."
     "What are you going to do?"  he asked softly.
     Scully sat back and sighed.  She thought of all the 
possibilities for her cure of the cancer.  It may not have been the 
chip.  Suddenly the decision was made.  "I'm going to have it taken 
out."
     Mulder nodded, scared for her and for himself.  "What if they're 
already in your system, Scully?"  A part of him was afraid that if 
she removed it, the cancer would return.
     "The tests came back negative.  And believe me, I looked hard."  
She smiled.
     He returned the small smile.  "Are you sure you want to do this?
"
     Scully hesitated, searching for the right words.  "We don't know 
that this cured the cancer, Mulder.  It could've been the treatments. 
 It could've been ... faith."  Her brow rose as she nodded slightly.  
"I have to believe in myself, in my faith.  If the cancer comes back, 
then I'll fight it with everything I have.  But I can't live everyday 
waiting.  Waiting for them to make the decision for me.  Waiting for 
them to control me or kill me."  Her words were lined with the venom 
she felt for those men.  "I have to go with my beliefs, Mulder."
     Mulder swallowed and slowly nodded.  She never failed to amaze 
him.  He could see she was scared too.  He set his coffee down and 
moved over next to her, then put his arm around her and hugged her, 
her head resting upon his chest.  "I'll be there.  I'm behind you."  
He whispered.  It's all he could do.

The End