From larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca Mon Oct 07 14:29:02 1996 >From larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca Fri Sep 6 12:44:27 1996 Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 12:44:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Jess Archibald X-Sender: larchiba@netinfo.ubc.ca To: Char Subject: SUBMISSION: NEW:TRIV II: FALLING DOWN 3/3 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: RO X-Status: Disclaimer in part one TRIVIAL PURSUITS II: FALLING DOWN by Jess Archibald larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca They'd gotten to within nearly twenty feet of the plane before someone opened fire on them. Mulder saw the sudden movement by a gaping hole in the frame and flung himself at Shelton, knocking them to the side, as the first shot streaked throught the air where their heads had been. Landing hard, Mulder rolled off the larger man, drawing his gun and snapping off a quick shot while Shelton followed suit. "Evan Jacobs?" Mulder whispered at his fellow agent as they made for the tree line. "Either that or Dana's *really* mad at you." "What about Bateman?" "She says something before she opens fire." A ghost of a smile. "The earphones at the firing range aren't just to block out the gunshot noise." Another shot. Mulder winced, throwing himself behind a tree. "Sounds more than loud enough to drown her out." "You ain't takin' me nowhere!" came a ragged shout from the plane. Shelton peered around his tree and let out a low whistle. "It's amazing this guy's still on his feet." Mulder rised a quick look. Jacobs was framed in the hole, head bloody, leg nearly impaled with a shard of metal, waving a gun in the air. "That's a bureau issue weapon," Shelton said steadily. Mulder nodded. "Yeah, and if he looks that bad . . . " He didn't have to finish the thought, reading the expression on Shelton's face. What sort of shape were their partners in? ******************************** Dana squinted at the plane from her position behind another tree. She decided that she was heartily sick of trees and woods in general. A desert would be nice for a change. "Who's he shooting at?" she asked. "I can't tell." Zoe ducked back down. "But I didn't hear sirens." "The shots weren't coming from the same place, so it can't just be him firing -- there weren't that many bullets in my gun." "Did you have an extra clip with you?" Zoe winced as Jacobs fired again, aiming roughly across the clearing from where they were hidden. "No." Dana rubbed her forehead. "I -- I don't think so." "Dana! This is important!" "No! I didn't have a spare clip. I'm sure." "Okay then. He should only have two or three more bullets left." Another shot rang out. "One more," Dana said, doing some rather foggy mental math. Maddeningly Jacobs stopped firing and started shouting again. "Go away! Leave me alone!" he yelled. "You're all out to get me!" "Motive," the two whispered at the same time. "Get away or I'll do to you what I did to them." "Confession?" "Not specific enough to hold up in court," Dana reminded. "Yeah, like this guy is ever going to stand trial." Zoe shook her head. "Delusional disorder with psychotic symptoms would be my guess. Hell, I'll testify for the defense if we can get him to put that gun down!" "We could try asking him . . . " "You first." In the distance, but getting louder, were the sounds of sirens. Even with only one bullet, Jacobs could still hurt someone. They were running out of time. ************************************* Mulder cocked his head, listening to the distant electronic wails that were approaching. Shelton noticed he had stopped and gestured impatiently for him to get a move on. They were circling aorund the edge of the clearing, to a point behind the plane's newly invented air conditioning, where Jacobs wasn't looking. The lack of other voices from the plane was worrying them, making them assume that Scully and Bateman were injured at the least and neither of them wanted to give voice to the worst case scenario. Mulder started forward again, passing Shelton with a sudden surge of energy. Just as they reached their goal, there was a thumping sound from the clearing. Mulder stopped again, staring. Jacobs had fallen out of the plane as the shock and injuries had finally caught up with him. He landed in an ungraceful heap, limbs folded under him, groaning. Mulder blinked in disbelief. "That's it?" "You'd rather he shoot more?" Shelton asked, moving forward a little, intent on getting to that plane, Mulder close behind. *************************** "What happened?" Dana asked, hearing the thump, moving to look past Zoe. "He collapsed." "He *what*?" "He fell down, went boom. D'you want a *dictionary*?" "No, that's okay." Zoe was still peering around a tree. "If he's faking, I'm shooting him while I still can." Dana sighed. "Well, I'm not sitting out here for another hour!" Zoe paused, peered out, grinned and ducked back. "Our ride's here." Dana gave her a puzzled look. The sirens, while approaching, weren't there yet. Zoe waved her forward in time to see their rather worried looking partners confiscate Jacobs' gun and hoist each other into the plane. "You know we're never going to hear the end of this," Zoe warned, breaking cover and strolling over to the airplane. Dana trailed behind her more slowly. "*I'm* not the one who crashed the plane . . . " Zoe sniffed in mock indignation. "Fine. Be that way." ****************************** "They're not here." Mulder surveyed the interior of the plane. "I noticed," Shelton said dryly, trying to decide if he should be relieved or alarmed. They'd checked quickly on Jacobs before getting in the plane. He was in no immediate danger unless he removed the shard of metal from his leg, in which case he might bleed to death. As cold as it sounded, they were more concerned with finding their partners right now. "So where are they?" Mulder asked in frustration, heading back to the hole serving as doorway. Shelton beat him to it, paused, then crossed his arms, giving the impression that he was lounging in the hole. "Look, Mulder, it's Thelma and Louise." "You're not Brad Pitt," came a welcome voice, laced with playful disappointment. "After being in a plane crash, I deserve Brad Pitt." Mulder nearly knocked Shelton out of the plane. Bateman, hands on hips, stood just under the plane, craning her neck to watch them in a manner that looked painful. Scully was kneeling by Jacobs, making sure he was all right. She seemed to sense the weight of her partner's gaze and looked up, smiling slightly at him, before turning back to the other man. The sirens had reached a cresendo and they could hear the voices of the arriving emergency personnel. Jumping down, Mulder nodded at Bateman who winked back before dodging out of the way as he headed for Scully. "You okay?" "We're both fine," she said calmly, shooting a warning look to Bateman. "Actually," the other woman drawled, ignoring her friend's pleading look, "I'm fine, Dana got bashed a little and Jacobs caught the brunt of it." Mulder looked from them to the plane. "You were lucky." Emergency workers were pouring into the clearing as the four agents stepped off to one side to let the paramedics get a clear path to Jacobs. A couple of medics made overtures in their direction but the two women waved them off. Mulder opened his mouth to object but shut it under the challenging look Scully threw at him, swallowing a grin. She was just fine. Bateman took a sudden sharp breath, nearly precipitating a heart attack in her alarmed partner. "What?" he demanded in a strangled yelp. "I just had a horrible thought," she said in a whisper. "Yes?" She waved a hand around the clearing. "I'm not going to get stuck with the bill for all this, am I?" Scully started to laugh. "Oh, yeah, that's fine for you. You weren't flying the damn thing . . . " She laughed harder. Bateman made a disgusted sound as her partner wisely decided not to follow Scully's lead. Instead he raised his brows at Mulder, jerking his thumb in the direction of their car. Mulder nodded, hiding an amused look of his own. **************************** "Every bone in my body hurts." Zoe could barely make the words out from around the pillow Dana had buried her face in. "Well, we were offered accommodations at the hospital." "Down the hall from our dear friend Mr. Jacobs? No thanks." Someone knocked on the door. Zoe waited a minute, saw that Dana showed no sign of moving, then levered herself off one of the hotel room's two single beds. "Yeah?" "Room service," came Mulder's voice. She opened the door to the smell of Chinese takeout and two smiling feds. "C'mon in." Dana managed to sit up, tugging her shirt into order as the others settled themselves around the room. "Jacobs will be out of the hospital in a week or so," Doug volunteered, "after which he'll be remanded into the custody of a nearby mental hospital. It's doubtful he'll even stand trial." "No surprise there," Dana muttered, sniffing the air a little, realzing she was hungry. Mulder handed her a pair of chopsticks. "We talked to Skinner." Zoe groaned as Doug's smile grew wider. "You're not financially liable, but he did mention wanting to talk to you when we get back," he said. Dana hid a smile as her friend buried her face in her hands for a moment with a strangled sound. "Actually, Skinner kept trying to blame *me*," Mulder said, picture of innocence. "I wonder why . . . " Doug focussed on the food in front of him, vowing not to look at Zoe or Mulder to keep from laughing. Looking up, his eyes met Dana's, saw the sympathetic amusement there and they both lost it, starting to laugh. "What's so funny?" demanded the others in one breath. "Nothing," Dana gasped, refusing to look at Doug again. "Just promise me one thing, Zoe." "What?" "No more planes. Ever." "Fine." She looked at her friend's partner. "Next time I'll take Mulder." "Uh . . . no thanks . . . really . . . take Shelton. He's your partner." Doug snickered. "I know better." Zoe glared at him. Mulder cleared his throat. "There is one more thing." He looked at Dana. "Uh-oh," she said. "I know that look. I don't like that look." "The car that Jacobs shot up." "Yes?" she asked caustiously. "You rented it." It was Zoe's turn to laugh. "Oh, no," Dana said with sour amusement. "Oh, yes. Skinner said to tell you he wants a full explanation of how it happened plus an insurance claim for the accounting department." Mulder's eyes glinted with silent laughter. "Zoe . . . " "Not my fault, Dana. I flew the plane, you drove the car." "Next time, *you* rent the car. I think I'll take my chances with the plane!" THE END Okay, enough silly stuff. Comments (if there are any) go to larchiba@unixg.ubc.ca Jess M&S, XA, EMXC, naXi 007