From: reillys@ix.netcom.com (susan p. reilly ) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW STORY "Remote Access" 1/3 Date: 11 Oct 1995 20:38:14 GMT Hi, I'm new on this newsgroup and I'm posting this particular story solely at the suggestion of a friend, so here goes nothing. Please do not flame this...however, comments and *constructive* criticism are welcome; please do NOT write to me at the address shown along with this posting...write to me at the following address if you wish to comment: ai855@osfn.rhilinet.gov thanks DISCLAIMER: "The X-Files," and all prominent characters, are property of Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox; the character of Hank Webber was taken from the X-Files novel "Goblins," and is not my own. The only character of my own creation in this story is Jonas McDeere. A Couple of Notes...This was written like post-"Anasazi," but pre-"Blessing Way," during the little lull inbetween...I noticed some of you people rate your own stories; I'd give this about a PG, nothing more...not too bad. For anyone who's looking, Krycek is in this story (oh no, I just lost half my audience). :) The X-Files "Remote Access" by: Carolyn Reilly PROLOGUE WASHINGTON, D.C. : FBI HEADQUARTERS 1:45 A.M. The still silence of the cold October night air was occasionally broken by the sound of a middle-aged man's cough. His whole body shivered with illness, but he was a man with a mission, and nothing could interfere with that quest. He tried to suppress another cough as he slipped by the night guard, whose head only nodded slightly at the sound of the intruder's footsteps. Asleep. The man continued on, and security was tightening, only further in, the men were being replaced with machines. To the man, computers were no obstacle; he could crack any code and leave no fingerprints. His bare hands trembled, intertwined, as he concentrated with a hard stare on the electronic security. The computer beeped and the door opened. In he stumbled, only to see the floor wheeling to meet with his face. The guards in the hall, observing the unconscious man collapsed in the corridor of FBI Headquarters, immediately went into action to deliver him to the infirmary... CHAPTER ONE FBI HEADQUARTERS 8:03 A.M. Agent Fox Mulder was hunched over his office desk, his work illuminated only by a small desklamp. He had been busy transcribing the hypno-regression therapy tapes that were scattered about his office for the past week or so; the assignments from Assistant Director Skinner had been few, and his most recent assignment for Mulder, the transcribing of the tapes, had been issued to him while Skinner considered Mulder's most recent case submitted for approval. Approval as an X-File. It seemed like only yesterday to Mulder that he was assigned to the section of the Bureau called the X-Files, the section devoted to the paranormal, the section that the government would rather have dealt with quickly, quietly, and with-held from the public. Mulder's ideas an theories had always been viewed as eccentric; even from his earliest days at the Academy in Quantico, Virginia, he had earned himself the nickname of "Spooky." That was why, once he had been assigned to work on the X-Files, Skinner had assigned someone to keep him and his theories in line... And that someone came through the door at that moment, groping for the light switch. An audible sigh was heard. "Mulder, don't you *ever* turn on a light in here?" was the question asked as the lights came on. Mulder blinked a few times, adjusting his eyes to the new brightness, and looked at his partner, perplexed. "When did you get here, Scully?" he asked. Dana Scully was always patient with her partner, even after years of investigating the supernatural alongside Fox "Spooky" Mulder. Her personality, rational, calm, and skeptic of the paranormal, fit right in with her orders to keep Mulder in line. "I just came over from the infirmary," she replied. "There's some man in there...a Mr. Jonas McDeere..." Mulder's head remained bowed over his work. "He got past security..." Still, he remained focused on his work. "Mulder, no one knows how he got past security...! You know how tight it is here...!!" Mulder's head slowly raised so that his eyes were locked with hers. "Are you feeling okay, Scully?" he finally asked. Scully stared blankly back at him. "Scully, what you just described...it hardly fits the description of an X-File..." Scully almost laughed out loud at that point. "What made you think that I thought it was X-Files material?" She was trying desperately to contain her laughter. Mulder switched off the tape machine, and set down the headphones. "Sorry," he apologized, "I guess I've been listening to too many of these hypno-therapy tapes." "Whose are they?" Scully asked. "Remember our friend Cecil L'Ively?" Mulder asked with a slight grin. "Yes, the one whom you thought was a pyrokinetic," Scully replied. "Well, he's gotten out from the hospital he was in, and Skinner asked me to transcribe these tapes of the sessions he underwent prior to his escapement so as to get a psychological profile on him." Special agents Mulder and Scully had not only gone through the rigorous training in the Academy, but had also earned Ph. D's in psychology and medicine, respectively. "Cecil L'Ively escaped?" Scully suddenly asked, incredulously. "Who -- who's assigned to the case?" "Agent Webber, but like I said, Skinner told me to draw up a profile for our pyrokinetic friend..." "Don't tell me," Scully said with an almost wicked grin crossing her lips, "Phoebe Green told you about this case...? Mulder gave her a sidelong glance and slipped his headphones back on, trying to ignore her comments. It had been three days since the mysterious man's admittance to the infirmary, and Scully continued to make careful observations on his condition, logging them, as usual, back-up on her computer. "John McDeere's condition is stabilizing; the combination of flu-like symptoms and exposure to the elements, however, has left him weak and unable to talk coherently for the last few days. It is still uncertain how the patient got past FBI Headquarters' security parameters..." Scully looked over what she had written, and decided to call it a night. Switching off the computer, Scully went to bed, and fell asleep rather quickly. She was unaware of the soft sounds of her own computer rebooting on its own; she was unaware of the files seemingly opening themselves; she was unaware that her computer password was being used to gain access to her private files. She was unaware... CHAPTER TWO AN ALLEY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. TIME UNKNOWN (APPROXIMATELY 2:56 A.M.) There was no mistaking the soft orange glow that eminated from the lit cigarette hanging casually from his mouth. His steps, echoing through the alley, were quick yet purposeful; his dark gray trenchcoat flapped in the short gust of wind that whipped between the tall buildings to either side of him; his breath came out in puffs of smoke. Another figure stepped out of the shadows to meet Cancer Man's own. "Everything went according to plan..." the new figure hoarsely whispered. "You have it, then?" Cancer Man asked, showing no visible signs of emotion, taking a puff of his cigarette. The enigmatic figure raised its arm slightly to hand Cancer Man an 8½" x 11", stuffed manila envelope. Cancer Man gently prodded the package and, feeling what he wanted to find, took the last puff and jettisoned his cigarette. "You will be contacted again when we need your assistance," he told the figure, and with that, walked briskly away. Mulder awoke suddenly, looking at the digital clock beside his couch reading 5:00 A.M., his brown hair tousled, his blue eyes sleepy, yet hastily searching for the source of the noise he thought he'd heard. Then he saw it. He pulled himself up off the couch and walked, as if in a trance, to his apartment door, bent over, and picked up the newspaper along with the slip of paper that had been thrust under his apartment door. The slip of paper read: Check your e-mail. X Mulder crumpled up the paper and went to switch on his computer, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next. His computer was already on. He watched as the hard drive clicked and almost every one of his files was being read. Mulder tapped in vain on the keyboard, the computer did not respond. He became infuriated, however, when his private files were opened, and the computer seemingly itself typed "TRUSTNO1" in the password dialog box. He angrily yanked the cord out of the wall socket and watched as the screen went blank... =========================================================================== From: reillys@ix.netcom.com (susan p. reilly ) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW STORY "Remote Access" 2\3 Date: 11 Oct 1995 20:40:41 GMT DISCLAIMER: "The X-Files," and all prominent characters, are property of Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox; the character of Hank Webber was taken from the X-Files novel "Goblins," and is not my own. The only character of my own creation in this story is Jonas McDeere CHAPTER THREE SCULLY'S APARTMENT 5:34 A.M. Scully groggily opened the door to her apartment in response to the frantic knocking she had heard. There stood Mulder. "Scully, I have to talk to you," he said, brushing past her. "Well, come right in," Scully replied, closing the door. "Where's your computer, Scully?" "Mulder, what are you--" "Where is it, Scully, I need to know!" She led him to her computer. "There," she said. "Now will you please tell me what's going on here?" Mulder felt along the back of her computer, and realizing that the power cord hung over the back of the computer center that it was on, pulled the desk out and unplugged the machine. "Mulder, what are you doing??" "Keep it unplugged, Scully." "Why?" "Because when I woke up this morning, my computer was turned on, and someone -- or some*thing* -- was going through all of my files." "Even the ones with a password required? The private ones?" "Yes; somehow the password was automatically entered." "Mulder," Scully said, trying to remain calm, "I may not know much about hacking, but I *do* know that you can't hack a computer that's turned off." Mulder sighed. "You have to believe me when I tell you: I saw it happen with my own eyes." It was Scully's turn to sigh, as she pulled her robe closer around herself. "What are you doing up so early anyway, Mulder?" "My informant left me a little note, along with an article, that told me to check my e- mail," Mulder replied, suddenly realizing how tired he was, "but when I went to do just that, I saw that my computer was already on, going through the files, as if some outside force was doing that." Scully looked from the computer to Mulder, trying to weigh the evidence and come to some conclusion. "What did the article say?" she finally asked. "I don't know; I haven't looked at it yet," Mulder said thoughtfully. "Well I suggest you do, because it may hold a clue to our computer mystery." Scully's green eyes were beginning to show signs of weariness, and Mulder caught on. "Okay, Scully, sorry about waking you up at such an ungodly hour," he apologized, heading for the door. "Don't worry about it, Mulder; you get some sleep," she advised. Scully lingered only a few seconds after the door closed behind Mulder to deflect on what he had just said. She wondered if there was any validity to his claims of a self-hacking computer. She tried to forget about it and get some sleep. Just as she was headed for her bed, her heart suddenly leapt to her throat as a hand was placed over her mouth and an arm restrained her body. She struggled to get free, but the grip only grew tighter. There was a sudden sharp pain in her upper arm, and she knew she had been injected with something as the room began to spin. She strived to see the face of her attacker, but it was too late... CHAPTER FOUR 9:15 A.M. Scully was barely able to open her eyes when her cellular phone rang the next morning. She reached over to her arm, wondering why it was so sore; she was even more perplexed as to why she was lying on the floor next to her bed rather than on it. Figuring she'd fallen out of bed and had hit her arm, she forced herself up and answered the phone: "Scully." "Scully, where are you?" Mulder's voice asked. "You didn't call in sick, and everyone at the Bureau is worried about you." Scully winced as her head pounded; she strived to recall the previous night's events. "Scully?" She didn't know what exactly happened next. She suddenly found herself losing her temper. "Don't I get excused when I'm sick?" she harshly demanded, "or am I expected to have a perfect record?" "Scully, what's wrong with you?" "I am sick, Mulder, and I'm taking the day off." "Scul--" He was cut off by the click on the other end of the line. He tried to comprehend what had just happened, but eventually gave up and, looking around his office, was suddenly reminded of Mr. X's note. Against his better judgment, Mulder switched on his computer and went on-line to see the contents of his e-mail. The singular and solitary letter in his mailbox was perhaps even more bizarre than Scully's erratic behavior; along with a very short article was a picture of a middle- aged man. Underneath, the caption read: "Jonas McDeere." Agent Hank Webber studied the photo scrupulously while Mulder leaned over his desk. "Do you know who he is?" Mulder asked. Webber looked up. "Yeah, I know who this is. Name's uh...Jonas McDeere; he was admitted to the infirmary a few days ago. You might want to check there." "Thanks, Hank," Mulder said, taking the photograph back and heading for the infirmary. At the main entrance, Mulder produced his badge and asked where he could find out if a certain patient was still in the infirmary's care. He was directed to a large desk where a pleasant nurse sat. "Can you check if there's a Jonas McDeere in here?" Mulder asked her, once again flashing his badge. The nurse turned to the computer and typed in the name requested. "I'm sorry, sir, he was just discharged yesterday," the nurse replied, glancing at the list of names. Mulder almost banged his fist on the desk in frustration, but thought better of it. He had been so close! He was certain that there was a connection between his computer incident and McDeere's release on the computer files; Scully had not mentioned her patient being discharged, but then again, he thought, her behavior... He cleared his mind, thanked the nurse, and set out to Scully's apartment to endeavor to find the truth. Scully almost didn't answer the door when Mulder knocked on it. He waited for what seemed like forever before he finally saw her face peek out from behind the door. "Mulder, I thought I told you--" she began. "Save it, Scully, I have more important matters to discuss with you," he told her, pushing past her. "Did you know that McDeere was discharged from the infirmary yesterday?" "No, but what does it matter?" Scully asked, trying to fend off her oncoming headache. "What does it matter?'" Mulder repeated. "It matters only in the sense that my informant sent me McDeere's picture, along with a profile and article, and I suspect he may have something to do with this whole hacker business." Scully put her hand to her head. "So what are you saying?" she demanded. "I'm saying that..." Mulder's voice trailed off as he looked at her a little more closely. She was very flushed, her eyes glazed, her head droopy. The only thing he could recognize as in place was her auburn hair, which was always perfect. "Geez, Scully, you look sick. What happened to you?" Scully began to feel dizzy. "Mulder, I...I can't remember what happened to me last night," she said, somewhat drowsily. "I...recall being...restrained...I...I couldn't see...who it--" "You really need your rest, Scully. Come on, you need to go to--" "No, I'm *fine,* Fox." Mulder stopped cold. "Did you just call me Fox?" he asked incredulously. "Oh so what? You and your stupid little name games, insisting that everyone call you Mulder, never Fox." It was highly trivial, but at that point, Dana Scully was just arguing for argument's sake. "Scully--" "I'm leaving, Fox," she said, pulling on her coat and grabbing her keys. "I just...need some fresh air..." =========================================================================== From: reillys@ix.netcom.com (susan p. reilly ) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW STORY "Remote Access" 3\3 Date: 11 Oct 1995 20:45:37 GMT DISCLAIMER: "The X-Files," and all prominent characters, are property of Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox; the character of Hank Webber was taken from the X-Files novel "Goblins," and is not my own. The only character of my own creation in this story is Jonas McDeere CHAPTER FIVE MULDER'S APARTMENT 10:05 P.M. Fox Mulder sat and stared at his empty coffee cup, turning his conversation with Scully over and over in his mind. He thought about the different possible explanations for Scully's outbursts, until he couldn't stand it any longer. There was the sound of a car door opening and closing, footsteps on the pavement, outside his apartment window. Mulder's instincts told him to check it out, which he did, cautiously. He was surprised to see Scully walking around to the front of the building, apparently to come to his apartment. But something else caught Mulder's eye: the strange shadow of a person in the driver's seat. It was hard to see, but he thought he heard the figure talking, and strained to catch the words. To no avail. Whoever it was had suddenly opened the door and followed Scully's path. Deeply perplexed by this, Mulder took the proper precautions by grabbing his gun and turning off the apartment lights. Almost immediately, there was a knock on the door. "Mulder?" Scully's voice called from the hallway. "Mulder, it's me, I..." She paused for quite some time before finishing. "I want to apologize for this afternoon..." Mulder picked up the faint sound of a second pair of footsteps in the hallway, and, sensing a trap, prepared to execute his already formulated plan. Before Scully could say another word, the door was yanked open, and in she was pulled. She heard the door slam shut, she felt herself being forced to the corner of the room, the burn of rope being slid and tied tight around her wrists and ankles, and finally her mouth going dry as it was gagged with a piece of cloth. "Sorry about this, Scully," Mulder told her as he headed into the hallway. He glanced from left to right, catching sight of a man disappearing down the stairwell. Mulder quickly followed after him, kicking open the door and accompanying his gun extended before him. He followed the stairs to the bottom just in time to see the exit door wide open and the man running towards the car. Mulder decided to cut him off, and turning around the corner, came face to face with the man he despised the most...Alex Krycek. Mulder became enraged at the very sight of him. Thoughts of a long-forgotten case came flooding back into his brain...the X-Files had been shut down, he and Scully assigned to different sections of the Bureau. When Mulder was assigned a new partner, Krycek, he believed that he was more than willing to discover the truth. However, Krycek was more than willing to destroy Mulder, Scully, and any trace of the X-Files. And when Scully was missing after being kidnapped by the psychotic Duane Barry, presumed dead, and then returned to Mulder in an unstable condition, Krycek had seemingly disappeared, no where to be found. It was only a few weeks ago that he had turned up again, returning to his old was of planning, plotting, collaborating with Cancer Man in order to keep any governmental cover-ups covered up; it resulted in Krycek killing Mulder's own father. Now, confronted with his father's murderer, Mulder let the anger engulf him, and ran in Krycek's direction. Finally catching up with him, Mulder found himself once again violently dealing with the assassin. He was standing over him within seconds, his gun aimed directly at Krycek's face. Mulder barely had time to get the words -- the anger -- out before Krycek had knocked his legs out from underneath him. As Mulder felt himself fly through the air, Krycek pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the bruises and cuts, and quickly ran to the car. He took off, wheels screeching, into the night. Just as Mulder remembered it the night of his father's death. He waited for the pain of having the wind knocked out of him to pass before getting to his feet. He watched the tail-lights of the car vanish in to the still night. "*Damn!*" Mulder cursed. CHAPTER SIX MULDER'S APARTMENT 10:20 P.M. As the door to Mulder's apartment opened, Scully lifted her head; she had never felt as relieved as when Mulder unbound her. She wanted to hug him and beg his forgiveness, but quickly realized that she was letting her emotions get the better of her. "You ready to talk?" Mulder asked quietly. "I'm sorry, Mulder, I don't know what happened..." Scully began. "You went off with Krycek...apparently to set some kind of trap," he reasoned. Scully thought about what he had just said for a moment, then suddenly the events if the previous night came back to her. She sighed as she began to relate the story to Mulder. "Evidently, it was some kind of drug that Krycek used to turn my behavior irrational...and my trust away from you..." "Well at least you're back to your old self again, Scully," Mulder smiled. "But what about McDeere?" "He's being held down at the docks," Scully answered promptly. "And you were right, Mulder. Krycek showed me what role this McDeere character is playing in their little scheme, and how they're accomplishing it too." "How? How are they doing it, Scully?" "McDeere is capable of mentally talking to computers," she began. "They claimed he was born with this ability, but Cancer Man also ordered that this gift' be enhanced. McDeere underwent surgery and was implanted with additional circuitry and a direct-link access to the phone lines, as to receive instructions on what to do from Cancer Man...all this inserted directly into his brain." "...you don't sound so skeptic," was all Mulder could say. "I know it's true because I saw McDeere in action. So far he has accessed our computers -- yours and mine -- the infirmary's main computer, and other FBI databases. Since he could ‘talk' to the computers, passwords were no obstacle." "And *that's* how he initially got past security!" Mulder concluded. "Exactly." He paused, thoughtful. "But if Krycek revealed all this to you -- location and all -- don't you think it'd be a trap?" "I thought of that too, Mulder, which is why I'm ordering a back-up SWAT team to help us recover the stolen information..." The docks were cool in the breeze that came off the surrounding waters. The air was disturbed only by an occasional puff of smoke from Cancer Man's cigarette. Up to this point no one had asked Jonas McDeere how he felt about all this, because no one cared. The boathouse was dark and musty inside; it did not help his cough. His body still shivered as he scanned the complicated network of plastic explosives that Cancer Man ordered be laid in. McDeere was beyond the point of caring now, however; if he died, he died. He had only done this whole hacking business at first because the drug -- the same as given to Scully -- took away his ability to decide for himself. The more he was injected with, the more he didn't care. Cancer Man knew that Mulder and Scully were coming to the docks. He had specifically leaked their whereabouts to Scully because he knew she'd tell Mulder about his little project. He had a helicopter standing by, unbenounced to Krycek, who had just arrived at the docks a few moments earlier, stepping out of the car and nursing his wounds. He looked at Cancer Man only once to give him a glaring look. He ignored it and continued to survey the area for Mulder's or Scully's car. "They should still be there," Scully said worriedly as Mulder swerved the car around the corner and the docks came into view. "I saw McDeere; he was here, Mulder." "Okay, I believe you, but let's just go see if they're still here," Mulder said, stopping the car. They both jumped out and ran to the boathouse, where Scully said she'd last seen McDeere. They pressed themselves close to the outside wall, following their guns; Mulder glanced in the window, then glanced back again, his eyes following who he assumed to be Krycek, running to the other end of the docks. But Mulder forced himself to ignore him and concentrate on the hacker. "Scully, I think I see McDeere," Mulder whispered to his partner, who followed close behind him. "Mulder," she whispered back, "this whole building is lined with explosives! It could go up at any moment and--" Her voice was drowned out by the sudden noise of a helicopter lifting off. Mulder searched through the darkness for a face in vain. "Fall back, Scully!" Mulder shouted over the din. "Get back to the car! The explosives!" Fox Mulder and Dana Scully imagined that they had never run faster in their entire lives. They did not see McDeere raise his head as the helicopter lifted off; they did not see the tears streaming down his face; they did not hear him whisper, "I'm sorry," as his thoughts detonated the bombs. Scully's eyes opened wide as the flames leapt higher and higher into the night sky, while Mulder squinted to protect his eyes from the bright light; she sent up a silent prayer thanking God that he had not parked close to the docks. The SWAT team arrived within minutes, hurrying to extinguish the fire and pull Jonas McDeere's body from the boathouse. "Mulder, they only pulled one body from the building," Scully noticed aloud from within the car. "Cancer Man *had* to be in the helicopter," Mulder mused. "It was just McDeere..." "And Krycek!" Mulder rushed to the nearest SWAT member and inquired as to a second body. The young officer replied that a second body had not been found, but that he would advise the other SWAT members to be on the look-out. As the commotion died down, Scully watched sadly as McDeere's body was lifted into an ambulance. "No sign of him, Scully," said a suddenly voice in her ear. She turned around to see Mulder. "They didn't find Krycek." "Maybe he was in the helicopter too," Scully argued, but Mulder just shook his head. "I saw him right before the helicopter took off; he was on the docks. There was no way he could have..." His voice trailed off. She put a hand on his shoulder, "I know how you feel about your father," she said quietly. "I know you want to capture his murderer, but Krycek's gone; they said there was no second body..." Mulder looked at the smoldering remains of the boathouse on the docks. "We were so close, Scully," he said, not looking at her. "Now we have no evidence; both our copies and notes on this case in our computers were stolen -- and you *know* Cancer Man has them -- so Skinner will never authorize this investigation..." Scully silently admitted that he was right; with no tangible evidence, the case would certainly be dismissed by Skinner. "Come on," she finally said, softly. "Let's go home..." EPILOGUE FBI HEADQUARTERS; INTERROGATION ROOM FIVE DAYS LATER 5:03 A. M. The heavy metal door to the dimly lit interrogation room had only been opened once for an agent to enter and begin questioning the subject. He sat down, looking just a bit unnerved, but proceeded with the questions. "Okay," he started, "do you want to begin with everything you can remember?" The computer to the left of him clicked, and an answer came up on the screen; it was hasty and at times indiscernible. "Okay, Mr. McDeere, I'm going to have to ask you to slow down and start again." The agent tried to keep his stomach from lurching as the brain in the specimen dish, with what he estimated to be a zillion wires protruding from it and connecting it to the computer, shifted seemingly on its own, and began it answer again... so there you have it...my first-ever fanfic; i'm writing another one...god knows *when* i'll have it done...once again, if you'd like to contact me, please write to me at ai855@osfn.rhilinet.gov