From: Muzinke@aol.com Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2000 13:59:09 EDT Subject: xfc: Threnody 12: First Steps (1/1) Source: xfc TITLE: Threnody 12: First Steps AUTHOR: Tarin Z. Kesumin E-MAIL: Muzinke@aol.com CATEGORY: WIP, post-ep KEYWORDS: implied MSR, X-File, Angst RATING: PG SPOILERS: 'Requiem' is pretty much a given. SUMMARY: First steps are always the most difficult. ARCHIVE: Gossamer, Spookys, and Xemplary are fine. Anywhere else, please just ask first. I'm pretty easy to convince. DISCLAIMER: Special Agent Dana Scully of the FBI is not mine. Frankly, I like the notion that she and Mulder belong to each other; legally, however, I have to say that she belongs to CC, FOX, and 1013. Special Agent Robert Garnet of the FBI, however, is all mine. AUTHOR'S NOTES: The title of this series, 'threnody', means 'lament' or 'mournful chant'. This is the twelfth chapter in an ongoing series, and at this point, you should go back and read the previous chapters before diving into this one. You can find previous installments at the following website: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Orion/5345/TheHole.html Thanks go out to the beta with the most...a. Okay, well, you get the idea. Thanks, Suzanne, for hanging in there with me. * * * J. Edgar Hoover Building Washington DC June 22, 2000 8:17 am The sound of her high heels against the linoleum reverberated off the cinder-block walls, and in her mind's eye she visualized the sound creating a protective bubble around her. This morning, she'd pulled from Mulder's closet one of her older suits, the cut more severe than was her current style, and a scoop neck black silk sweater. She refused to admit to herself the true reason why she had chosen to wear monotone black to work this morning. Instead, Scully had reasoned that for today, it was crucial that she exude stoicism and confidence. Not only to ward off the man she refused to call her partner, but also to remind her of why she was facing the man at all. She was a professional, and an Agent. Her personal feelings for Mulder had no place at the office, and would do nothing but hinder her search. There would be time to feel later, when she was alone. Rounding the corner, the staccato clacking faltered, along with her aura of confidence, as she stopped short, eyes widening at the sight of light coming from beneath the office door. He was already here. She had purposely come in to work early, hoping to have time to get settled before having to deal with the highly recommended, highly aggravating Agent Robert Garnet. She'd had everything worked out: she'd sit at Mulder's desk, reading glasses on, perusing one of the files she'd left for him to read yesterday. She'd ignore him for the first few minutes after his arrival, and then grill him to see just how accurate those recommendations were. Apparently, she would have to make some revisions to her plan; Agent Garnet was already present and accounted for. In Mulder's office. She didn't remember giving him a key. The pound of her steps resumed, arresting again moments later before the office door. His nameplate stared back at her, 'Fox W. Mulder, Special Agent', as she rested her hand against the brass doorknob. Scully inhaled deeply before opening the door with a calculated caution usually reserved for dealing with murder suspects and felonious mutants. Scully could only hope in the moment following that her quite audible sigh had gone unnoticed by the man who was, to her relief, not sitting behind Mulder's desk. she mused with a degree of satisfaction. Garnet was perched on the rickety stool she had provided him yesterday, several files spread open on the workbench before him. He turned at the sound of her steps coming across the room, dropping the pen he'd been gnawing onto the file nearest to him. Scully tried not to show her disgust at the man's apparent oral habit, and wondered if she'd now have to disinfect all of her pens before using them. Garnet, who had caught the subtle upturn of her nose, gave Scully a jaunty grin. "Don't worry, I've brought my own stash." A stony stare was her only response. To his credit, Garnet lost the smile quickly, and returned his focus to the open files. Minutes later, his attention was pulled back by the smooth professional voice of Dana Scully. "I hope that you've taken the time to thoroughly review the files I left for you?" She was now settled behind the desk, reading glasses perched atop her nose, eyes scanning several faxes that had come through during the night. Garnet couldn't sink the feeling that she was making a concerted effort to avoid making eye contact with him. He was absolutely correct. "I did," he said slowly, watching to gauge her reaction. He figured he'd rather be safe, rather than sorry; this woman impressed him as being a ticking emotional time bomb that he would sincerely regret setting off. Seeing no change in her expression, he continued, "But I found that I had some questions that weren't answered in the files you'd left, so I pulled a few more this morning to fill in the gaps." He could see the tightening of her lips from across the room. "Really. And what, exactly was it that you couldn't find answers to in the files I provided you?" Garnet was immediately reminded of the conclusion he arrived at shortly after yesterday's initial meeting: there was no way to win with this woman. If he hadn't pulled the files, she'd accuse him of disinterest; because he did, he was being accused of overstepping his bounds. "For one, Mr. Alex Krycek. He's obviously up to he eyeballs in Agent Mulder's disappearance, yet none of the files you selected made more than a passing mention of him." He noted with a degree of satisfaction that he now had Scully's undivided attention, her eyes boring into his. She was also looking decidedly pale. "The lack of background or basic identifying information in the more recent files led me to believe that you and Agent Mulder had dealt with Alex Krycek in the past. So, I dug around, pulled any backdated files in which he was mentioned. After reviewing this guy's history, I'd have to say that it was a good idea." His carefully contained tirade over, Garnet refocused on the target of his words, who was again not looking at him. Instead, here eyes were glued to the desk blotter, a sorrowful look of contrition momentarily lengthening her features. "You're right. It was. Alex Krycek is not a man to be taken lightly." "So I gathered." Turning to the table, he picked up the small stack to his left, paging through them as he spoke. "I started by reviewing the most recent cases, but these too were missing the personal background information I was looking for. So, I kept digging, until I found this file," he said waving the manila folder for emphasis, "detailing his involvement in your kidnapping by one Duane Barry from your home in 1995. I had no idea that Alex Krycek used to be FBI and that he'd been partnered with Agent Mulder." "That was a long time ago," she murmured under her breath, more to reassure herself than to inform the man sitting across the room. Scully seemed to remember herself moments later, snapping her head up in a razor precise motion to fix narrowed eyes upon the unsuspecting Garnet. "I did not authorize you to review any files other than those I'd selected. I-" "Agent Scully," he broke in, finally feeling the tight stir of anger in his chest. "Whether you agree with his decision or not, AD Skinner has assigned me to the X-Files unit to help you with this investigation. In order to do that, I need to have access to all the available information, and that includes these backdated files." Fuming with indignation, Scully rose from her seat and leaned forward against the desk. "I fully realize that, Agent Garnet. I would appreciate, however, for the time being, that you check with me before going off on any more of these self-created tangents." "Agent Scully, you may be the acting Senior Agent in this unit," he prefaced, before also rising from his seat, "but that does not give you permission to treat me like some wayward child!" His anger spent, Garnet paused, taking a deep breath before adding resignedly, "When is it that you think you might be able to look at me as more than some second-class citizen?" Unmoving and unwavering, she replied, "Just as soon as I can be certain that I can trust you." "And when, exactly, might that be?" he blustered, carelessly sweeping his arms about him for emphasis. "Days, months, a year? How long are you going to punish me for trying to do my job and help you bring your partner home?" Inwardly reeling from the truth in his words, Scully said nothing. Instead, she merely continued staring at the man before her as if he were the Flukeman himself, fascination and disgust warring for dominance. She wanted to doubt his sincerity, it was the easy thing- the expected thing for her to do. But he sounded so earnest, his obvious frustration only adding credibility to his pleas, and found herself beginning to doubt her resolve. She wisely decided to say nothing. Garnet, however, did not, feeling the combined weight of her gaze and her silence pressing sharply against him. Spinning on his heels, he returned to his perch at the table, deciding to relieve the pressure by physically and verbally retreating from her relentless assault. "Based on my review of the relevant information, I would have to agree with your current investigative direction, which I presume still focuses on locating Mr. Krycek." "It does," she replied with deliberate slowness, obviously thrown by his refusal to continue their confrontation. She realized with a touch of embarrassment that she had enjoyed having an all too rare tangible focus for her anger. While cognizant that the blame was solely theirs, her gossamer-thin remembrances of these shadowy men who had taken so much from her were not enough. She had needed the release that a flesh-and-blood target could provide. She was uncertain how she felt about his having deftly put a stop to her rapidly escalating anger with the utterance of only a few short sentences. Scully supposed she should be thankful that he had saved her from what would certainly have become an embarrassingly inappropriate level of emotionality. Instead, she found herself longing to take just one more verbal jab at him. In the rush of words and emotion, it had felt so good to let some of the pent-up pain and desperation overflow, allowing its current to surround them both. She had felt her heart lighten with a satisfaction that comes from making another feel the overwhelming burn of a misery eating away at the soul. She had wanted to make him feel as terrible as she did, and she believed that she had been succeeding. And it had felt amazing. Now, the only thing Scully felt was the cooling numbness that comes with the confusion of one too many 'why?'s. With weak knees, she fell back into the leather backed chair, aware but suddenly uncaring that Garnet's eyes followed her descent, correctly reading it as an acceptance of his proffered cease-fire. Rather than waste his time wondering just how long a reprieve he'd been given, Garnet took advantage of his unexpected opportunity. "I do wonder, however, given this man's well documented ability to disappear for extensive periods of time, if there may be a more effective way of locating him." "Really," she said, the sarcasm in her voice pulling the word low with its weight. "And how do you propose we go about finding him, exactly?" Quirking his head to the side, he stated simply, "By bringing the mountain to Mohammed." Noting her look of interest, he continued, "Certainly there's something you have, or some action you might take to draw him out?" He watched, amazed, as light bloomed from the depths of her eyes, and color rushed to her pale cheeks. Gone was the porcelain facade he had become accustomed to; for the first time since their disastrous meeting, Garnet felt hopeful that he might yet help his obstinate partner bring this investigation to a successful conclusion. All the better to get himself reassigned as quickly as possible. Scully hesitated, eyes searching his visage for any sign of deception or ill-intent in his suggestion. Finding no evidence of such, she bowed her head before replying softly, "I hadn't considered... I don't..." Scully breathed deeply, her shoulders rising with the effort, before issuing a quiet and rapid, "Thank you" before rising and striding purposefully out the office door. Her face reappeared a moment later, peeking around the door jamb, gazing at him with impatience. "Well, let's go. And bring the casefile with you." The sound of her footsteps against the tile followed her down the hallway. Alone again in the basement office, Garnet blinked several times in surprise, amazed at her apparent and abrupt emotional thaw towards him. As he scramble to remember exactly what it was he did to elicit such a response, he suddenly realized he hadn't a clue where she was headed, and was in serious danger of being left behind. Again. Grinning at the sense of deja vu, he grabbed his suit jacket from the coat hook and hustled out the door to follow her. * * * End. * * *