From: Patrice Farmer Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:01:24 -0400 Subject: Project MK-Ultra by Trycee Source: direct Project MK-Ultra by Trycee Time-Line: Season 6 Rated G Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit. Description: Mulder and Scully investigate a case involving mind control. Will they end up victims? Mulder knocked softly on the connecting door between their hotel rooms. "Scully...I..." "Mulder, if you don't have a coffee in your hand when you enter, I'll shoot you!" Mulder peeked into her room. He could see she was buried in a pile of blankets with her finger pointed up straight to the ceiling. He sighed and then closed the door back behind him. Scully snuggled in deeper into the blankets, pulling a pillow over her face to block out the sunlight that was shining through into her eyes. She could hear Mulder's exterior door open and close and then she listened for the car engine to start and then heard Mulder peel away. With a half smile on her face, she snuggled in deeper, falling back to sleep. A half an hour later, she heard another soft tapping on the connecting door. She looked up to see Mulder holding out a cup of coffee like a peace-offering as he slowly made his way into her room. She made no attempt to sit up but instead just watched him carefully as he placed the coffee down near her nightstand along with a bag she knew would be a bagel with cream cheese. She shot a cold glare at him and then laid her head back down, shielding her eyes with the pillow. "What do you want!", she said, gruffly. "Our plane leaves in two hours, Scully...I thought maybe you'd..." "What?", she said, with narrow eyes. "FIRST, you drag us out here on one of your Cockamamie..." "Cockamamie?", he laughed. She gave him one of her icy glares. "Your stupid little leads that had us running in the woods after something that doesn't even exist and now I have a headache the size of Canada and I have the chills from being out in the cold, wet woods in the middle of no-man's land!" Mulder nodded shyly. "Well...Scully...it's our job..." "SECONDLY," she said loudly. "You put us in a hotel that smells like mold...which makes me feel even worse," she said, burying her face deeper. "I'll get you some medicine," Mulder said helplessly. "But we had to come..." "To look for a ghost train..." Mulder huffed. "Yes Scully," he said firmly. "That's what we do..." "Maybe I don't feel like doing it," she whined. "Maybe I want to just lay here and not get up..." "Our plane leaves soon, now you can either stay here or get ready and come with me and maybe take off a day or two to recuperate at home. I'll disappear and you won't see me again until we have to go back in to work." She looked up suddenly. "No chasing after monsters, Mulder?" "No, chasing anything...", he said, as he pulled out the bagel with cream cheese and handed it to her. It was still warm and had been sliced. She smiled vaguely and accepted his offer. He grabbed up the paper bag and walked near the front door to toss it in the trash. He looked down at a slip of paper that had been slipped under her door. "What's this?" Scully bit into her bagel. "Umm...", she said. "You want the other half, Mulder?" He opened the paper and then turned around abruptly. "Someone knows we're here." Scully's face drained of color. "Oh no...you said we wouldn't chase after anything..." "Scully...this is a note telling us to meet them at the park in one hour. Its signed MKULTRA." "So...", she said, as she sipped on her coffee. "Is this from a gas station? It tastes like gas..." "Do you know what Project MK-ULTRA was, Scully?" "No...is there a Starbucks around here?", she said, pushing the coffee cup away. Mulder looked annoyed. He sank down on the bed next to her, looking her dead into her deep blue eyes. "Its was the governments covert mind control experiment..." Scully laughed, rolling her eyes. "I haven't had enough of this diesel coffee for this Mulder..." "I'm serious," he said, huffing. They were mere inches from each other and she could feel his hot breath as it traveled over to her. "Scully back in 1950's, the CIA experimented on Army soldiers and civilians injecting them with LSD and other mind alternating substances in a 14 yr experiment to manipulate the mental states of individuals and alter their brains. They...They...used everything from chemicals, isolation and sexual abuse to create like a super human they could use as a weapon. They covered up it up and destroyed almost all records. The only records left were the financial records. Its the only evidence left that this project even existed. And do you know who one of the victims of our governments testing was, Scully?" "Who?" "The Una-bomber...", he said, standing up and heading for the connected door. "This project came out of Operation Paperclip, Scully...Look, we need to meet this guy...I'll buy you some flu medicine and I'll even take care of you when we get back home." Scully frowned. "Mulder...I don't even want to imagine what you would do to take care of me..." A smile formed along the corners of his mouth and Scully noticed. "You know what I mean...", she added. "Scully...I've taken care of you before...You're still alive...", he smirked as he closed the door. She stared at the door as it closed and then fell back against the bed. "Ugh...so much for not chasing after monsters..." Mulder handed Scully a box of tissues and a bottle of water with Alka-Seltzer tablet crushed into it. She took it willingly along with two aspirins he gave her. "Thanks," she said, as her head pounded. The park was empty as they sat in their rental car along the tree-line of the park. They both scanned the area carefully, trying to spot their source. "I wonder what this is about...", he said quietly. "Why MK-Ultra?" "I don't know," she sighed. "Hopefully...it won't be anything that keeps us here for long...Our flight leaves in an hour." "I'm giving our source 15 minutes to show up and then we're out of here...it'll be hard enough to try to catch the plane this late..." Out of the corner of Scully's eye, she saw a teen-aged boy riding a bicycle in their direction. "Head's Up, Mulder," she said, as she watched the boy pull up along side of her, tapping on her window. "You FBI agents?", the boy asked. "Yes," Scully said, confused as she blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the young boy. He pulled out a envelope and Scully let go of the grip she had on her gun that sat next to her. "A man gave me $5 to give this to you." Scully handed it over to Mulder, her eyes never leaving the boy. "What did he look like?" "Long black hair...look like a homeless man...", the kid said. "He disappeared as soon as he paid me...", the boy said. "Gotta go...My mom would kill me if she knew I did any of this," he said, pedaling off. Scully turned to Mulder. "What is it?" "An address...", he said. "Looks like we're not gonna meet our plane..." Scully's eyes narrowed. "Of course...", she said, throwing her hands up. Mulder ignored her. "We'll bag this to see if we can lift some prints off this...", he said, pulling out onto the road. "Oh come on...Scully...I promise this is just a quick little look-see..." Her eyebrows raised. "Mulder...please don't say anything like that...you'll jinx us." Mulder's smiled faded. "Okay...well...we'll just go take a look...try to figure out what this is..." "Thank you...", she said, sitting back. "Hopefully this won't take too long...", she said, closing her eyes. "And hopefully I'll start feeling a little better." "Just a quick little look...Scully and we'll be back at home before you know it..." Scully grabbed at her freed wrist, they were hurting from the restraints their captive had bound them in. She and Mulder were laying in what she could see was a dark room, like a crawl space, covered in dirt and soot. She tried to move her arm to reach for Mulder but was aware of a slight stinging coming from the scrape she'd receive on her arm as she was thrown in there, wherever there was. Her hand searched for him in the dark but was suddenly grabbed by Mulder's powerful hands. "Scully...", he mumbled. She made her way over to him and could feel him against a wall in the dark cramped space. She could barely make out his face but when she touched it she felt whelps and could feel blood on her fingertips. "Mulder...are you okay?" "I'm fine," he mumbled. "Nothing's broken...", he said, pulling her in closer than he ever had, practically on his lap. She didn't pull away, instead, she ran her fingers through his hair, trying to feel for bruises but what she really wanted to do was touch him, to make sure he was alright. "What happened to us, Mulder?", she said softly, her lips close to his skin. He shook his head as she gripped his face in her hands. "I don't know, Scully...I don't remember much..." She removed her hands and sat between his legs on her knees, her hands gripping his hips, looking worriedly into his hazel eyes which shown brightly in the dark. "Mulder...I don't remember much either...I know we came here looking for something...wherever we are...but I can't remember what..." Mulder was staring into the deep pools of her blue eyes. "It doesn't matter...we just need to get out of here...", he said, glancing in the direction they had both been thrown in. "I'll see if I can open it," she said, making her way over to the steel door that had been closed behind them. "Its steel...probably locked from the outside." "Damn," he muttered, as he searched his pockets for his phone, badge and gun. They were all missing. "They took everything, even my gun in my leg holster." Scully crawled back over to him. "Everything of mine is gone too...What do we do?" Mulder pulled her back in closely to him. "Just wait, partner...and hope someone notices we're missing..." Skinner stared at the clock on the wall and then glanced again at his watch as if the time had changed between the few seconds that motioned had taken. He hadn't heard from his agents in over seven hours which wasn't all too unusual when it came to Mulder and Scully but they were supposed to have been back into town resting up but neither had answered their phones and neither were at home. He had let himself in into both apartments, checking for them during his lunch break. He had gone back to his office and waited and there was still no answer from them. He had called for the local police in Albany, New York and the local New York FBI field office in search of his wayward but brilliant agents. And so he sat, waiting to hear from someone that they found something. But Mulder and Scully's hotel rooms had been cleared out by them and had been reassigned to tourists. They're plane tickets had been unused and he for the life of himself, couldn't figure out where they could be. "Scully, I didn't ask if you were okay...I'm sorry...I...Are you okay?" "I am, " she said, as she sat down beside him. "My wrists were bound, and I have a small little scratch on my arm but I'm fine...the question is whether you are or not...You were beaten..." "I've had worse," he said, smiling down to her. "Are you cold?" "A little...", she said, shivering. "I guess I'm still sick...That I remember...but nothing else..." Mulder moved to take off his suit jacket but his arms ached and Scully quickly helped him slid it off him. "Lay down," he ordered. She looked at him and then at the dusty floor. "That's not gonna be comfortable..." Mulder motioned for her to lay down and she slid down to the ground but not before taking off her own suit jacket and laying it on the floor first. When she lay on top of her clothes, he surprised her by spooning up directly behind her, draping an arm around her waist and then pulling his suit jacket up as a blanket covering them both. "Try to get some sleep...", he said, breathing into her ear. Scully closed her eyes partly from the proximity of Mulder and partly because she was dead tired, barely able to keep her eyelids open. "What about you?", she said, as she snuggled back a little more until they're bodies touched. "I'm gonna try to rest too...When the door opens it'll make a lot of noise, waking us so there's no need for one of us to stand guard...This is a pretty tiny little enclosure..." "Okay," she said. Mulder shifted and his arms wrapped her in tightly against him. He was using her neck and hair as part of his pillow as he laid on his arm that jutted out right above her. She closed her eyes and noticed that the chills had subsided. All she could feel was Mulder's warm arms encasing her. Even in the dark laying on the cold slab concrete filled with dust, she felt surprisingly safe. "Get a helicopter ready, " Skinner said into his phone. "I'm coming up there...We have two missing Agents and I won't all resources used. You better find them!" "Jim Jones," Mulder screamed out into Scully's ear. "What?", she said, twisting herself to face him. "Sorry...I was...dreaming," he said, removing the warmth of his arm wrapped around her to wipe at his eyes. She immediately wanted his arm back in its place. "Why were you dreaming about Jim Jones?" Mulder sat up and she cursed herself for being curious because he took his warmth with him. "It has something to do with why we're here..." "How?", she said, dusting herself off. "I don't know...", he said, leaning onto his arm. "It'll come to me...Lay back down," he said, draping his arm back around her waist. She was still seated up as she looked into his eyes. She wanted so much to kiss him but she quickly pushed that thought out of her head. She laid back down and pulled his arm so that he had fully wrapped his arm around her and settled back down, closing her eyes, listening to him breath against her. Mulder could feel her small body against him and couldn't help but occasionally squeeze his arm tighter. She never said a word and he was grateful for that. He didn't want to explain to her that he really wanted to kiss her despite where they were. Just having her there with him despite the reasons put him at ease and so he listened to her breathing until his eyes began to close. Skinner stepped out of the car after having flown to Albany in a helicopter. He was met by several agents who were debriefing him. "Anything?" "Nothing sir...They're rental car is missing too." "No one spotted the car either?", he said, as he was being escorted into the local field office. "No sir..." "Any surveillance video showing them leaving the hotel?" "Yes sir," the younger agent said, escorting Skinner into a video room. Skinner sat down in a chair and water was immediately poured for him in a clear glass cup. He ignored the water and stared at the surveillance tape obtain from the hotel. 'At least I know they're not sleeping together...at least not yet', he thought to himself, though he did see them coming out of one room at times. They apparently had packed and stepped out separately with their belongings out of their own doors, while Mulder placed their belongings into the trunk. Scully was unknowingly standing under the hotel's camera reading a slip of paper. "Focus in on what's in her hands...", Skinner ordered. One of the techs straightened out the blurry images, zooming in as much as he could. Skinner looked over to the young agent. "Its a park address...", he said. "Print that out...Let's go!", he said, jumping up, rushing out of the door. "Jim Jones!", Mulder screamed out again. "Okay...", Scully said, twisting again to face him. "Why Jim Jones?" Mulder sat up fully and looked down at his hands. "There's something about Jim Jones that explains why we're here Scully..." "Maybe it has to do with the fact that a bunch of innocent people followed a madman to their deaths..." "Is that a crack at me?", he said, pulling her up to sit next to him. A small smile crossed her lips. "It would be if we weren't laying here in a place we don't know...and our memories have some how been robbed from us..." "Like that case...", he said, looking over to her. "Colonel Budahas..." "We never proved anything with that case Mulder...Its probably trauma...You did receive a blow to the face." "But you didn't...", he said, staring into her eyes. "Why can't you remember?" Scully breathed out slowly. "Okay, fine...Jim Jones...What do we know about Jim Jones?" "Besides the fact that he killed nearly a thousand women and children by making them drink cyanide at gun point and then killing himself?" "He was a charismatic religious leader that turned deadly once he got his followers alone in Guyana." "There was rumor that the CIA recruited him..." Scully shook her head. "That's unproven..." "My memory is coming back..." "It is?", she said amazed. "I can't remember anything but laying in bed sick...and wanting to go home..." "We met someone at a park...there was a note...something about...mind..." "The mind or a mine?", she said, looking around at the dust and soot. "I don't know...this could be a mine shaft," he said, looking around. "Do you remember where we were before we got here?" Scully nodded. "Albany, New York...we were looking for that ghost train..." "Okay," he said, more to himself than her. "We met someone about information...do you remember what they looked like?" "No," she said, looking down at her lap. "I remember a bicycle." "A bike? Okay..." "I can't remember...", she sighed. Mulder nodded. "It'll come back to us...", he sighed as well. "We'll get out of here Scully...Skinner is probably searching for us right now." "What do you want me to do with them? You had me lure them here...Yeah I gave them a shot in the back of the neck...They're locked in here. I'm waiting on your instructions.", the captor said into a cell phone. "Monitor them and erase all memories. Then give them the injection." "Why not eliminate them? Mulder has only gotten in the way, exposed us..." "Mulder is central to our project, you know that." "You're protecting him..." "I am...", the voice said. The captor's hazel eyes grew colder. "I need to know why...Why do we continue to protect him...He's exposed all of our work...Why is he important?" "He holds the key in the end...and we have plans for Scully." The captor's face twisted up angrily as he stood outside an abandoned hospital. "Your keeping something from me. I need to know or else I'll leave them here to die!" "Alex, you and I both know that wouldn't be a good ideal on your part..." "Tell me why you protect him!", Krychek demanded. "Because he's my son..." Alex's mouth twisted up. "We've been protecting the son-of-a-bitch all this time because he's your goddamn son! Does the other's know this." "They think its out of loyalty to Bill. I think they suspect it..." "What would they do if they found out!", Krychek threatened. "Alex...You need me or else you wouldn't have come for me, to bring me back to the project." "They told me to get you old man..." CGB took a long swig of his cigarette."We need Fox Mulder. Jeffrey doesn't have the balls for the job...that leaves Mulder...He's passionate, determined...He will break...Once he learns the truth." "That colonization will begin..." "And that he cannot stop the future...We now can control Mulder's mind, Alex...Monitor him. Inject them again if you have too. Meanwhile I have a crew coming to erase all evidence of our operations there." Skinner and a slew of agents searched the empty park looking for clues. There were none. He was at a lost. He looked around at the surrounding buildings to the entrance of the park, it was all residential. "Damn," he huffed. "Like finding a needle in a haystack..." "Scully," Mulder said, into her ear. "Are you awake?" "Hmmm...", she said, lifting her head. "I am now..." "I thought I heard something...", he said, sitting up. "Did you hear it?" She sat up quickly. "Yeah...like a truck..." Mulder crawled over to where the steel door was and began pounding. "Hey! HEY!", he screamed which echoed loudly in both of their ears. Suddenly he could hear footsteps and the door was unlocked and swung open. "You son-of-a-bitch!", Mulder cried out. "Let us go Krychek!" "Mulder," Krychek said with a gun pointed at Mulder's forehead. "I'm here to give you a little potty break..." Mulder turned slowly to look at Scully. Silently he was telling her not to be afraid, that he would be back. Her eyes were wide and fearful. She was trying to hide her fear but her eyes betrayed her calm exterior. Krycheck smiled to himself, satisfied with having witnessed fear in them both. "Come on Mulder..." Mulder stood up with his hands raised. He glanced over to Scully, his gaze lingering for a moment before Krychek grabbed Mulder's arm. She sat on the cold dirty floor feeling helpless as she watched Krychek slam the door back leaving her in utter darkness. She sat down flat on her behind and cradled her legs, trying to still her thoughts and trying to listen for sounds, any sounds, dreading the one sound she could hear in her mind...a gun shot. After what felt like an eternity, the door swung back open and Mulder was thrown back in, face first. She reached out for him but Krychek turned his gun on her. "Come on, Scully...your sweet little Mulder is taking a nap..." She stood up, her eyes locked onto the back of Mulder's head, trying to catch him breathing when Krychek reached in and grabbed her arm, pulling her out into the bright sunlight which blinded her. "What do you want with us Krychek?" Krychek snorted. "You and that son-of-a-bitch have been given more chances than you'll ever know...Every time we turn around you're there...If it were my choice, you'd been dead a long time ago..." Scully's mouth clenched shut and she walked ahead with Krychek's gun directly behind her. She was walked into an empty hospital room with one chair and a bright bulb dangling down from the ceiling. A short Asian doctor stood along side a table with an array of needles displayed out next to him. "What are you injecting us with?", she screamed as Krychek pressed her shoulder down, forcing her into the chair. "Don't worry...," Krychek said in a low sinister voice. "Nothing that will kill you...yet." A needle was shot into the back of her neck, causing her to scream out. "Ouch." A moment later Scully's head flopped down. "Can you hear me?", Krychek asked. "Yes," Scully answered, her head still positioned downward. "You will remember laying in your bed," the doctor stated. "You will remember feeling ill...You want to go home..." "I wanna go home," she repeated. "You will not remember anything here...", he said as he injected a second needle to the base of her neck. Scully did not respond to this needle. The doctor nodded to Krychek to continue. "Stand up...and follow me," Krychek said. Scully stood up, her head held high and with glossy eyes, she followed Krychek back to the crawl space she shared with Mulder. "Get in there," Krychek said, with a grin on his lips. Scully unlike Mulder, could walk right into the tiny enclosure. She knelt and then laid down on the ground next to Mulder and closed her eyes. Krychek shook his head in disgust as he stared at them both. "Your a lucky ass-hole Mulder...He may not want to kill you but I do...I'll get my chance...", he said, slamming the door back. Skinner dialed a number. The phone continued to ring. Froehike and Langley locked eyes. "Its Skinner..." "How do we know it really is Skinner and not someone using his phone?", Langley asked. "There's only one way to find out, gentleman," Byer's said, pushing on a button and switching on a device. "Let's use your latest device, Langley." Langley answered the phone. "Speak to me..." "Ah...this is A.D. Skinner...I need some information.." Langley looked over to Froehike who along with Byer's was staring at the screen of their newest device. "Anything?", Langley whispered to them. "Detecting a human tone...definitely A.D. Skinner." "Hello? Hello?", Skinner said, with his hand on his hips as he paced around the park, kicking up dust. "Skinman..." "Don't call me that..." Langley dropped his feet to the floor and sat up. "Yes sir...What can we help you with?" "Have you heard from Mulder and Scully?" "They're missing?", Langley said concerned. He switched the phone to speaker. Byer's and Froehike stepped closer to him, shooting worried glances to each other. "How long have they been missing?" "Going on a full day now," he sighed. "We have there cell phones traced...", Langley said, switching frames on his computer. "We can trace it but there's no guarantees...Mulder loses his cell phone..." "I know...I know...I oversee his expense reports...", Skinner said. "See if you can track it...We need a lead...any lead." Langley typed into his computer and within a few minutes he had an address. "Looks like an old abandoned hospital...Albany, New York...There's no hospital name...It comes up...The Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology...Dr. Edwin Cameron." All three Gunmen looked at each other. "MK-Ultra...", Froehike whispered. "What?", Skinner said into the phone. Froehike snatched the phone out of Langley's hand. "The Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology conducting by Dr. Edwin Cameron was a front for the governments illegal testing using LSD in their mind control experiments." "The government tested mental patients, prostitutes, African Americans, Military men, religious cults, doctors, nurses, the homeless...anyone...all for the purpose of controlling the mind...", Byers interrupted. "None of this testing was done with the patients consent," Langley added. "MK-Ultra was so secret that only the financial records remain...Its such a highly contained experiment that was broadly executed...", Byer's spoke. "Numerous universities, hospitals, clinics in the U.S and Canada...were involved.", Froehike added. "Including all branches of our military on up to the top levels of government, " Langley added. "If Mulder and Scully got involved in this...they could be in serious trouble," Byers said gravely. "We have been reporting in the Long Gunmen that they're experiments never ended..." "If they're following in Dr. Edwin Cameron's footsteps...", Froehike gasped. "They are in grave danger...He was one of the worst ones, he was a psychiatrist. He conducted his experiments on both U.S and Canadian subjects for 20 yrs paid for by the CIA." "He used shock therapy, forced prolonged drug-induced sleep...he shot them with barbiturates and left them in isolation...", Langley added. Byer's nodded. "You need to get to them fast!" Skinner along with forty other agents surrounded the abandoned hospital. Most of the building had caved in so they entered the front area, searching each room. They opened a steel door and an agent rushed in, finding Mulder and Scully collapsed on the dirt floor. "Are they alive?", Skinner asked as his throat dried up. His heart pounded but he maintain a calm exterior. "Yes," the other agent said, feeling their pulse. "They must be drugged...they're unconscious but alive." "Get the ambulance here immediately!", Skinner barked. The agent jumped up and walked out of the tiny room. Skinner bent his tall body down and walked over to them, shaking Mulder. "Mulder...Mulder..." Mulder stirred slightly. "My head...", he whispered. Next Skinner shook Scully. "Scully..." Mulder sat up instantly. "Scully?", he said, frantically. "Hmmm?", she said, sitting up. "Mulder...I want to go home...What time does our plane leave?" Skinner smirked. "Agent Scully? Do you know where you are?" "What are you doing in my hotel room, Mulder?", she said, frowning as she stared at him. Mulder touched the back of his neck. "What happened to us?" "I was hoping you could tell me," Skinner answered. "Where are we?", Scully said, glancing from Skinner to Mulder. "Come on, Agents...We need to have you both checked out...", Skinner said, extending his hand to them both. They grabbed it and he pulled them both up to Mulder's surprise. "Come on...", Skinner said, leading them both out of the darkened space. Their ride to Albany Memorial hospital was uneventful and as they were being checked over, side by side in the emergency room, a nurse noticed two puncture wounds in the back of their necks. "They've been injected with something," the nurse told Skinner. "We have to run test to see what it was..." Skinner nodded but suddenly Mulder stood up and grabbed his gun, putting it to Skinner's head. "I'm getting out of here," he screamed hysterically. "What the hell...Mulder what are you doing?", Scully said, shocked. "Mulder...take it easy...", Skinner said, feeling the cold steel against his bald head. A second later, Mulder collapsed to the ground and Skinner grabbed his gun out of his hand. "What the hell was that about?", Skinner said to himself. He turned around towards the hallway and saw a man he recognized. "Krychek," he said. Krychek was standing off against the wall watching them when he noticed Skinner had spotted him. He took off running, knocking a few people down as he raced towards the stairs. Skinner followed behind him into the stairwell but was met with a swift kick in the gut from Krychek as he leaped off the top step, knocking Skinner to the ground. Krychek smiled as Skinner, grasping his ribs. He kicked Skinner again against his ribs and then spit near Skinner's head. He took off down the steps and disappeared. When Skinner could stand up, he walked back in to where his two agents were. "Sir?", Scully said, noticing the disheveled appearance of Skinner. "I'm okay...Krychek was here..." "Krychek," Mulder said as he lay back in the bed, restrained. "He did something to us..." "I know," Skinner said, trying to steady his breath. He turned to the doctor and nurse that were caring for both Mulder and Scully. "Complete work-up! Blood tests...the works..." Mulder looked over to Scully as she lay back in her bed. He smiled to her and tried to move his arms but he was being restrained. "I don't remember much...", he said, looking at her. She looked concerned, her eye brows were raised but she slid off to the side of the bed and touched Mulder's face. "You okay, Mulder?", she asked sweetly. Mulder searched her eyes and could see that she was worried for him. "I am," he said, as she ran her fingers through his hair, pretending to look for marks or bruises. He knew what she was doing but she wasn't ready to admit her feelings for him but he could feel it in her touch. She let her fingers linger a little too long and then noticed and quickly removed them. "What were we doing there? I only remember being in my hotel room and wanting to go home..." "Krycheck," was what Mulder answered. "How did he get ahold of us?", she sighed. "I don't know," he said in earnest. Scully studied his face and eyes. She could see he was just as lost as she was. "Why did you attack Skinner?" Mulder's eyes cast down and then he looked up again into her baby blues. "I don't know, Scully...You have to believe me...I just had a suddenly urge to get out...As if...something was controlling me...", he sighed. "Its okay," she said, as her hand touched his. Her fingers rubbed against his without even realizing it. Mulder stared into her eyes, their eyes locked onto each other until Skinner coughed behind them. Scully turned to look at Skinner. "How long were we gone?" "48 hours...", he said, matter-of-factly. "I don't remember that...not a thing...", she said, turning back to Mulder. "Do you?" "No," he said, hoarsely. "I just remember getting you coffee...and then waking up...Where we were..." "What can you tell us about where we were found?", she said, turning back to Skinner. "Its an old abandoned hospital...it was once used for testing...ever heard of MK-Ultra?" Mulder sat up. "MK-Ultra...MK-Ultra..." "What is it Mulder?" Mulder's face tensed up and he pulled on his restraints. "I...I...think we were looking for it...", he said, straining to remember. "That would explain your erratic behavior, " Skinner said, as he looked from Mulder and then rested his eyes on Scully, silently giving her an explanation for Mulder's behavior. "You both have two puncture wounds in the back of the neck...You were being tested on...for what purpose I don't know..." "Or with what...", Scully added. "They'll find out," Skinner said confidently. "And we'll try to find Krychek." Mulder laughed out-loud and both Skinner and Scully turned to face him. He quickly wiped the smile off his face and then closed his eyes as he lay restrained to the bed. "You failed Krychek," CGB yelled into the phone. "I got the stuff out...it was wiped clean...Skinner showed up before I could wake them and put them back into their car as if nothing happened...I didn't fail..." "You failed...because now they'll test them and it will show up in their blood work." "Maybe you should do your own dirty work, Old man...", Krychek sneered. "Maybe I should...", CGB announced. "I'll have the test results and their blood work destroyed...Our plans must not be altered. As for you...Make yourself scarce until I need you again," he said, hanging up. Skinner stood outside of a hospital room where Mulder was laying on the padded floor, thrashing around, screaming out as he kicked and fought with something only visible to himself. "Its a combination of drugs," Dr. Gerker said, looking over Mulder's chart. "Its barbiturates and amphetamine's... It's a combination of LSD, Ergine and Pentothal...and a few other drugs." Skinner shot the doctor a pointed look and the doctor smiled meekly. "It's a cocktail basically...in low enough doses not to kill them but low enough to perhaps cause severe reactions in them such as being comatose or they could be lucid one moment and then next fly into a rage...as evidence by Agent Mulder's outburst with you...", the doctor said, pushing up his glasses. "I personally have never seen such a concoction and this is my specialty...I mean we've treated druggies stoned on every combination you can think of...but this," he said wide eyed. "Its...It's...a mixture of so many drugs...I didn't even know it was even possible to mix them like this without killing the patient, basically... Out of this cocktail we're only able to recognize some of the drugs...", he said, shaking his head. "What we do recognize isn't good...Whoever was working on this...they've worked on it a long time..." Skinner's jaw tensed up. "Who knows about this?" "Just me and the lab tech...", the doctor said, looking alarmed. "Let's keep it that way," Skinner said, in a serious tone. "I need you to give me a copy of all that you tested...I don't want them burying this one..." "Okay," the doctor said looking confused as he moved on to the next room. Skinner peered in through the glass window and saw Scully who like Mulder was dressed in a white tight fitting shirt with white pants. She too was thrashing around on the floor. "How long will they have to detox?", Skinner said, turning to the doctor. "Anywhere from two weeks to a month," the doctor explained. "Detox occurs in steps and right now, they are too physical for us to administer any drugs...as in medical detox. We need them to go through their withdrawal symptoms and when they stop seizing, we can then move them back into their room where we can then work toward medically detoxing them. They're gonna feel like they're dying...", the doctor said, pointedly. "With the amount of drugs in their system...it may be awhile before they can be released..." "Of course," Skinner said sighed. He was used to Mulder and Scully being out for medical leave or having prolonged hospital stays...but they were his best agents and he didn't think he could figure out what the link between Krychek and MK-Ultra was without them. "Thank You doctor," he said, as the doctor patted him on the back and walked off down the hall. Skinner turned his attention back to Scully who was lying on the padded floor screaming out, "MULDER!" at the top of her lungs. He moved on back down to Mulder's room and was shocked to find Mulder shaking from seizures, "SCULLY!", he screamed. The Lone Gunmen Lair: "What were they doing to them?", Byer's asked, as they all stared at the blood work Skinner had faxed them. "This is unbelievable...", Froehike added. "Obviously the work of a genius...", Langley added. "Or of a mad men..." "I say it was the latter," Byer's added. "They need your help," Skinner said over the speaker phone. "They're going through withdrawals..." "You want us to help with this?", Langley said, surprised. "There are compounds we don't even recognize..." "I need you to come up with a cure for them...", Skinner added. "That's a little above our pay scale," Langley smirked. "Yeah...we're computer geeks, not scientist," Byers added. "I know you guys are capable...", Skinner sighed. Langley and Byer's turned towards Froehike. "Well...I do have many skills," Froehike bragged. He felt a little uncomfortable with all eyes on him."My skills have not always been appreciated...when it comes to the...underground stuff," he whispered, referencing to his illegal drug making skills from a former life. "You just told one of the Assistant Director's of the FBI about your underground skills," Langley said, rolling his eyes. Froehike's eyes widen and he looked like he would faint. "I'm not hassling anyone about that...", Skinner added. "Look...they need your help and I know you can figure it out...You're all they have right now..." The guys looked at each other. They knew he was right. "We're on it," Froehike stated. "Good," Skinner sighed. "Get it to me as soon as you can." Albany Memorial Hospital: Mulder had passed out onto the padded floor and two orderlies lifted him onto a gurney and transported him back into his hospital bed. He opened his eyes and noticed Scully was laying in her bed next to his. He smiled to himself and then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. The lab technician was fascinated by the findings he held in his hands. He couldn't believe the properties of the combination that had been injected into the two FBI agents. He poured over the list of drugs and combinations, trying to formulate in his mind what new drug this had created. Suddenly it all went black and he fell down onto the table in front of him. His findings were taken and the vials of blood labeled F. Mulder and D. Scully were taken leaving the lab tech dead on his desk. The dark haired man quickly exited the lab and as he made his way down the hall he heard a scream coming from the lab. He quickly ducked into the stairwell and made his way up from the basement where the lab was situated on up to the second floor of the Albany Memorial Hospital. Skinner rushed to the scene of the lab technician and held back the crowd of white coats forming around the dead man. "Stand back...", Skinner spoke. "You're disturbing a crime scene." On the second floor, the long dark haired homeless looking man, peered out into the hall from his hiding space behind the metal door in the stairwell. When the coast was clear, he made his way out onto the floor. He spotted the doctor he noticed who was treating Mulder and Scully and he pulled out a gun and pointed it to the doctor's heart and fired. "POW!", the gun echoed in the hallway. Dr. Gerker dropped dead immediately, collapsing onto the floor. Screams erupted around his body and the killer pointed his gun to anyone coming in his direction. He entered the room of the two agents and snatched up their charts, still holding his gun toward the hysterical nurses and doctor's that were standing around in shock, ducking behind doors or hiding beneath the desks. After grabbing their charts and all traces of their paperwork he glanced over to his foes who had fallen into a deep exhaustion driven slumber and then he quickly left the room, making his escape down the stairwell and walked out the exit into the parking lot, disappearing into the streets of Albany with police sirens fading in the background. Skinner closed the door behind him. "Do you have it?", he said, turning towards the three Lone Gunmen who were standing near Mulder's bedside. "It took some haggling...", Byer's stated. "This guy is a genius...They'll be 100% sober in a matter of minutes," Langley announced. "My old buddy," Froehike spoke. "From back in the day...he came up with something that will work...we used to make a concoction that would counter almost any drug. We sent him the lab results and he whipped this up.", he said, pulling out two vials of a clear liquid and a two syringes. "Will it work?", Skinner asked. "They are slowly detoxing them...and they may be here up to a month." "This will be instant," Froehike announced. "We used to sell something like this to a few men in power who needed to sober up quickly...for a price...They'd get wasted and the stuff we'd concoct had virtually eliminated it completely out of their systems.", he smiled. He took the syringe and inserted it into the vial and stuck it into Mulder's shoulder. Mulder's eyes rolled in the back of his head but then he jumped, startling everyone. "Where am I?", he asked. Froehike smiled and then moved on to Scully, injecting her as well. "This stuff is pure gold," he said, as he stuck the needled into his beloved's arm. He blew a kiss to Scully but when she jerked awake he backed off with a nervous grin. "Mulder...Do you remember what happened to you?", Skinner asked. "Scully and I went to investigate Mk-ultra." Skinner nodded to the Gunmen. "You were drugged...you and Agent Scully." Mulder looked concerned. He turned to see Scully looking back at him, silently watching him. "What happened to us? We were lead to a hospital..." "You were injected with a combination of drugs...You're doctor was murdered as well as the lab tech that handled your results. They were all stolen...There's no proof left, " Skinner began. "But I think they were continuing the Mk-Ultra tests and used it on the both of you." Mulder turned to look at Scully. Her eyes were still focused on him though she uttered not a word. "Is Scully okay? Did they harm her?", he said, staring over to her. Scullys eyes fluttered but she remained silent as they all stared at her. She glanced to them and then returned her gaze to Mulder, letting him know through her eyes that she was okay. "She was unharmed...", Skinner continued. "Just injected like you..." "With what?", she finally spoke. Mulder cracked a smile in the corner of his jaw. Just seeing Scully alert and asking questions made him feel content. "Where did you find us and in what condition?" "Well...to answer your question, Scully," Skinner asked. "We don't know what exactly...we just know that it was a series of drugs...And you were both found in an abandoned hospital asleep laying next to each other." They both shot a nervous look towards each other and then turned away. Skinner noticed their glances but continued. "The Gunmen basically woke you from your stupor." "You were withdrawing...", Langley announced. "We fixed you up real good." "Not a trace will remain in your system...", Byer's spoke. "We'd be rich if we ever capitalized on this," Froehike smiled weakly. "But we're not corporate snobs like that." "Of course," Mulder grinned slyly. "So where do we go from here?", Scully interrupted. "Who did this to us?" "Krychek...", Skinner answered. "I guess it goes without saying that Cancerman is behind it." "For what purpose though?", Mulder wondered. "Mind control," Froehike spoke. "Control the mind of his worst enemy and you have no enemies...", Byers spat. "What can we do about it?", Mulder said, sitting up. "We need to figure out why they targeted you and what they're ultimate goal is...", Skinner answered. "Mk-Ultra...They used that on us?", Mulder said astonished. "I know for certain Krychek was involved," Skinner said, touching his ribs. "Plus he was caught on camera shooting both the lab tech and the doctor...he wore a black wig...but I know it was him..." Mulder sat up further in his bed, not noticing that his gown didn't cover his back and rear. Scully noticed but she turned her head focusing on his face though her thought were on Mulder's lean muscular back and tight buttocks, from what she could see. She tried to get that out of her head but it wasn't easy. "What do you think Krychek wanted with us?", she asked mainly to distract herself. "Good question," Skinner sighed. "You know as well as I do that finding Krychek is like finding a needle in a haystack..." "They lured us there to control us...to control the X-Files," Mulder said, shooting a look over to Scully. She frowned. "there's got to be another reason," Skinner continued. "Maybe they were testing more than you and Scully, Mulder." "What did you find at the site we were located at?", Scully said interrupting. Skinner looked to the Gunmen and then back to them. "Nothing...they cleaned house." "Do you know where Krychek headed...what direction...was he caught on surveillance tape?" "Not after he fled the hospital grounds on foot," Skinner informed them. "As of right now...you were they're only targets." Mulder turned towards Scully. He could see determination in her eyes and it pushed him forward. "We need to get out of here...so we can find out for ourselves." "You'll be released soon," Froehike smiled. "Thanks to a buddy of mine." Mulder looked confused but dismissed it. ""I'd like to take a look at this place we were." "I'd like a look too," Scully said, pulling the blanket up to cover herself as Froehike surveyed her body. She shot him a dirty look and he smiled and stepped back. Mulder noticed and Froehike was shocked at the deadly look Mulder gave him. Scully smiled to herself. She loved it when she saw Mulder's jealousy. "Okay, as soon as they release you two we'll take you to the abandoned hospital.", Skinner said, pulling the Gunmen out of the room with him. "Let's let them rest." "We'll be right outside if you need us," Byer's smiled warmly. Mulder sifted through the building that had held himself and Scully captive but could find nothing. "What was the reason to lure us out here?", he said to himself. "Beside mind control?", Langley asked. "They weren't successful with us...", Mulder rambled. "They were interrupted..." "We found you...", Skinner spoke. "We got here before they could finish with you." "Whatever it was we may never know," Scully said, touching Mulder's sleeve. He looked down to her and stared into the blue abyss of her eyes. "You're right...", he whispered. "But I have the feeling that there's something we're missing..." Mulder stared in the dark in his apartment at the computer screen in front of him. For a moment, he glanced over to his fish tank and smiled. They were survivors, at least this batch was, despite going unfed for a few days they were still alive. His door swung open to his surprise and before he could reach for his gun, Scully said, "It's me..." Mulder relaxed his shoulders and blew out his breath and then waited for her to walk over to him. She padded her way over and peered over his shoulder, resting a hand on his shoulder blade. Mulder's heat blasted her and she closed her eyes for a fraction of a second, taking in his aura, feeling the waves as they resonated to her. "What are you looking at?', she said quietly. Mulder turned his head to look up at her, looking into the deep pool of blue of her eyes. "Just researching," he said, as he continued to stare. They're eyes were locked for what felt like an eternity before Scully turned her gaze away from his sparkling hazel eyes and settled onto the computer screen. "What did you find?" "It has no mention of when they shut down the facility we were found in...", he said, finally turning his gaze from her. "There's not much left about it at all...except that the experiments were extremely cruel and it may have attributed to creating The Una-bomber and to Jim Jones, and others...They were creating hypnotic couriers." "Hypnotic couriers?", she said, as her hand slid from his left shoulder to his right, pretending to straighten his sweater but Mulder knew better. "Yes...", he said, trying to calm his voice. Scully's touch always caused him to lose focus. "They wanted to program people for Military Intelligence purposes. Universities and the Military as well as hospitals and mental hospitals were all involved in this Scully. All without the victims permission, some may never know and some died or went mentally insane. They tested doctors, nurses, professors, college students and even our own military all the way to targeting African Americans, prostitutes and the homeless...this was a massive operation with a massive cover-up, Scully. How do we know this isn't still in our systems?" Scully stared into his eyes unflinching. She could see the horror that registered in the deep recesses and it frightened her. "We know what they're capable of Mulder...", she whispered. "What if Froehike's hippie friend didn't get it all out of our systems?", he said, questioning her with his eyes. "Mulder, we went through the withdrawal process in a matter of seconds...", she said, astounded. "Do you know how incredible that is? I think Froehike's friend performed a miracle." Mulder looked concerned. His mouth tensed up as he stared into her eyes. "Scully...we don't know what the effects will be on us...what if we kill someone because we suddenly flip out due to being experimented on. They could ruin our careers...our lives...what if that's what they had planned for us." Scully crossed her arms and her eye brown raised but she stared up at the ceiling, nodding to herself. She grabbed Mulder's leather chair and pulled it up inches away from him. She grabbed the corner of his meaty hands and Mulder looked down at her soft hands gripping his and the stiffness in his neck and shoulders seemed to disappear. "We'll look out for each other like we already do...", she paused. Her eyes slid over his head and down to his lips and then back up to his eyes. "We'll look for unusual behaviors...hallucinations, sleep disturbances..." Mulder frowned and Scully smiled. "I pretty much know how you sleep Mulder." "Oh?", he said with an eye wiggle. 'You've been drooling over me as I sleep, huh?" "Not like that," she sighed. "I mean...I know how you react when you have nightmares...I know how you function on just a few hours of sleep..." "And how you fall asleep whenever the car moves...Like a little kid," he smiled. She smiled back and released his hand to his disappointment. "If we observe anything out of each other that isn't the norm for us than we make note of it. We each keep a detailed journal of how we're feeling...what we're thinking...do we hear auditory hallucinations or having visual ones..." "Can we write what we're wearing for bed?", he leered. "Like if you slept in a a hot red little number or completely nude..." Scully blushed and then dropped her head slightly. "Not even close Mulder...", she said, glancing up at him. "Just stick to the facts..." "Isn't that a line from a movie?", he said with a wide grin. He knew he was annoying her and like a child it always tickled him to get under her skin. "Mulder...", she said, rolling her eyes again. "I thought you had gone home to sleep. I'm surprised you here so late," he said, finally taking in her outfit. She was dressed in a pair of tight sweat pink pants and a pink and white blouse with a few buttons undone exposing a tiny amount of cleavage. Mulder took it all in with a smile. Her hair was pulled up in a pony tail and only her lips had any cosmetics on. But mainly it was her eyes he saw, her eyes that told him everything about her. "You needed to be here, didn't you?", he spoke. Scully half shrugged her shoulder's and then looked up into his eyes. "Do you mind?" "No, not at all...", he said, standing up. "Mi casa es su casa! Always Scully..." "I just couldn't sleep so I thought...maybe we could watch a movie...", she said, standing up and following him over to the couch. They sat down a few inches from each other as Mulder reached for the remote on his coffee table. There was a shuffling noise upstairs. Scully looked over to Mulder. "I thought no one lived up there." "I guess they do...", he sighed, flickering on the remote. "Plus...the guys just swept the apartment and didn't find anything. We don't have to worry," he said, stretching his arm out onto the back of the sofa just above Scully's head. She glanced over to him, her eyes again settling onto his lips. She wanted to move closer to him and put her head on his chest but she pushed that thought out of her head and turned quickly to stare at the television screen. CGB smiled to himself as he watched through his camera observing them through a smaller peep hole he had drilled right above Mulder's sofa. His other two camera's were steadily recording over Mulder's computer desk and front door. He took a long drag of his cigarette and puffed out the smoke. He quickly shut off the recording and then slipped the tape into his pocket and walked over to the front door and locked it closed, leaving his equipment for another day. THE END Reviews Are Always Appreciated: Thanks!