From: shoshana1013@excite.com Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999 00:44:01 PDT Subject: New: Under Scrutiny (1/1) TITLE: Under Scrutiny (1/1) AUTHOR: Shoshana EMAIL ADDRESS: shoshana1013@excite.com DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Anywhere SPOILER WARNING: Everything through Alpha. RATING: G CONTENT STATEMENT: MSR CLASSIFICATION: S SUMMARY: The agents meet with Skinner and then go on a short road trip. DISCLAIMER: These characters do not belong to me. FEEDBACK: Would love it. Under Scrutiny By Shoshana It was Tuesday. Mulder and Scully sat inside Skinner's office waiting for him to finish an urgent phone call that had interrupted their meeting. Actually the meeting had yet to begin, they had just seated themselves when the call came through and Skinner excused himself, nodding and uh-huhing into the phone as they sat there in front of him. Mulder knew this was just a routine meeting, receive their next assignment, tie up loose ends on any previous cases, blah, blah, blah. He, unlike Scully, firmly believed that they would never hear a murmur from Skinner about their private lives. He had tried to tell her last evening that she was being utterly paranoid, that Skinner was not listening to gossips around the water cooler, discussing their love life. And if he heard something in passing, he would probably disregard it as foolishness. Mulder secretly relished turning the tables on Scully. He was ordinarily the delusional one, capriciously harboring groundless fears. So, he wasn't expecting anything unusual at today's meeting. He would be wrong. Skinner got off the phone and picked up the latest case file from his desk. "O.K. agents, you will be going to Vermont tomorrow, for as long it takes, to investigate a murder-suicide that local authorities are reluctant to close until certain aspects of the case have been resolved. The mother and daughter have similar puncture wounds around their abdomens. No toxic substances were found in blood samples and otherwise they appear to have died from point-blank gunshot wounds to the head. The husband has an alibi, but there were large insurance policies on both victims and previous domestic violence in the household. Here's your plane tickets, Kimberly has the name of the motel you'll be staying at and where to pick up your rental vehicle." "Sounds great, sir. We just have a few loose ends to tie up today and we'll get back to you as soon as we have anything to report," Scully said. "Agents, there is one other thing I'd like to discuss with you briefly." Mulder nervously glanced over at Scully, observing that her steel countenance had ever so slightly blinked. "I received this in the mail today. No return address, plain brown envelope." He pulled a photograph out from beneath his desk blotter. It clearly showed them kissing at the motel in Virginia Beach. Although it had been quite dark that night, someone had used a sophisticated camera to catch the shot. The clarity of the image gave no doubt that it was them. "I don't think it's my place to tell you how to conduct your private lives. Since I do not consider either of you in a supervisory role to the other, that role having been rendered superfluous by the nature of your partnership, F.B.I. regulations do not apply in this case." "Sir, I can explain..." Mulder offered. "Hold off, Agent. I have more to say. As your supervisor and someone who considers themself to be your friend, I would advise you to use more discretion from now on. This photo is obviously not tabloid material. I'm sure it's only meant as a warning that somebody is interested in your every move. Have your apartments checked out for bugs and cameras. Watch yourself on the road. That's really all I have to say on the subject and I apologize in advance if I've intruded on your privacy." Scully and Mulder were both silent, surreptitiously glancing at each other, waiting for the other to speak first. Mulder finally did. "You haven't sir. We appreciate your concern and candor. I expected such a thing to occur sooner or later. We won't let our guard down again." "Please don't. You are two of my most valuable agents and I'm not willing to lose you. You have my full support for any precautionary measures you'd like to implement." Scully finally found her voice, "Thank you, sir. I'm sure everything will be fine. Sir, what will you do with that photograph?" "I'll shred it." "May I have it please?" Mulder's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, amazed at her request. "Sure, here you are." He handed it to her and she put in her suit jacket pocket. With that, he dismissed them and they stopped with Kimberly briefly. Mulder sheepishly followed Scully down the hall, not at all eager to converse till they were totally alone. They skipped the elevator and took the stairs. "Well, that went well," Scully said sardonically when they reached the office. She unlocked the door, let them in, then secured the deadbolt with a flourish. "Um, yeah. Gee, Scully you have way more intestinal fortitude than I do. I never would have asked for that photo." "Well, no matter what the source, I wanted to have it. Nobody should be able to steal my life away from me. As, Skinner said, we haven't done anything against regulations. There 'are' married agents out there, though I don't know any that are still partnered with one another." "Just what are you proposing, Agent Scully? I thought we were taking things slow and easy?," he said with a silly smile. "Oh, you know what I mean, you goof. I just don't want surveillance by anyone, the Consortium, the military, or whomever felt it necessary to invade that private moment of our lives, to be able to taint that moment. I won't let them do that. It's my life and I'm getting it back from them." "I'll have to agree with that scheme. I don't want to hide in the shadows because someone might be watching. I was surprised by Skinner's attitude, though. 'Go check your apartments for bugs, this is not my business.' I thought for sure he'd just split us up, or reassign you to Quantico till this blew over." "Mulder, it's never going to blow over. They'll tail us till we have no use to them anymore. We'll just have to be more careful and aware of our surroundings." "Starting with you moving over to my apartment today. At least, temporarily." "Won't that just compound our problems? Make us more of a target?" "No, I don't think so. You're over there half the time, anyway. And after the CDC invaded I had the guys install video cameras in every room. I've been paying Langley to review the tapes. No one can break in and install new devices. They also sweep for bugs every week, just in case." "So what about my home, my apartment?" "We'll have them work on it while we're in Vermont. It won't take long." "I thought your waterbed was out of commission," she grinned. "There's just an ordinary bed now. I thought I'd try sleeping in a real bed for a while. Or maybe I thought I'd just get lucky." He sent her a broad smile. "But you're welcome to it tonight." Doubly broad smile. "To tell the truth, I really don't want you to spend any more nights alone until we find out a little more about who's tailing us." She sighed, walked over to him and gave him an affectionate hug around the waist. He reciprocated and kissed her softly on the head. She looked up and said, "Alright, you win. I'll feel better with you around. But Mulder, are the video cameras on all the time?" "We can selectively turn them off, if that's what you're getting at," he beamed. "And there are none in the john or bedroom. You wouldn't want to entertain Frohicke twenty-four hours a day, would you?" "Mulder, I don't even think I can entertain you twenty-four hours a day, much less Frohicke." "Oh, we'll have to see about that..." And he gave her a quick kiss on the lips before releasing her, then turned to gather some items they might need in Vermont. "Masher," she flirted back, as she grabbed her laptop and started to read her E-Mail. Wednesday morning, the airport. "Our plane is late Mulder, let's go to the lounge and throw back some iced teas." "Scully, are you coming on to me?" "No, I'm just really, really thirsty and the vending machines are awful." Before they got up from their uncomfortable plastic seats to head to the lounge, Mulder spotted her. A woman across the room was watching them and had risen from her seat slowly. He decided to tempt fate and took Scully's hand despite her minor protest. He whispered to her, "There's someone watching, just play along." She gave him a dubious look, but didn't relinquish her hand. At the lounge door, Mulder turned around and spotted the woman not twenty feet away. The watcher pretended to be interested in reading her boarding pass and retreated to a chair nearby. He whispered to Scully, "Well, at least we know who to look out for. This time. I say we just forget about it. Like Skinner said, unless they have incriminating photos, why worry? I don't like being followed, but it's not the first time." Scully sighed resignedly, they entered the bar and waited for their flight out. Vermont, Larchmont Motel, 6:30 p.m., Wednesday "Did you bring that sweeping device, Mulder?" "Yeah." "Well, get in here and sweep. I want to get out of these nylons." "Want help with them?" "No, yes. I mean no, not with nylons. Yes, with checking out the room." They had connecting rooms this time and he put down his bags and grabbed the device. A few minutes later, while she was patiently arranging her bags, he was done. "What about cameras?, " she said. "Well, to tell the truth Scully, I don't think we can ever be completely sure there's nobody watching. Like they say, there's no place like home. For complete security, that is. Just remember, they're a lot more interested in getting the two of us in a compromising shot, than either us alone. Anyway, I suppose it will keep us out of mischief, if you know what I mean..." "Mulder, this is insane. We've already shared enough paranoia to last us ten years. I'm not going to go along with it. Whatever happens, happens. I am not going to chase you out of my room if you touch me or kiss me. The hell with the watchers. Who are they going to give the pictures to, my mother? She already knows. And like Skinner said, we can't lose our jobs over this. You and I are going to care as much or more about each other in spite of any glossy photos that the Consortium gets to leer at." "Are you sure that's how you feel? I've been waiting for your reaction, not wanting to prejudice you either way. I couldn't give a damn, myself. Although, I'd rather not have strangers leering at you." "Ah, Mulder. We'll only be here a couple days. Let's do our work and enjoy ourselves otherwise. Speaking of enjoyment, order us a pizza and let's get down to going over the interviews from today." She ruffled his hair and pushed him toward his room as he muttered, "Forever your slave, ma'am." Thursday night, Scully's apartment "Oomph, what do you have in that one, Scully?" "Hey, be careful. That's my maple syrup stash for the next year or so." "Ah, they've been here already. There's a note on the T.V. It says open the hall closet. Hey look! You've got your own phalanx of security monitors here. They just took some old sets and wired them together. They also have a feed over at their place." "Oh great. Nothing like the latest in home security. I hate to tell you Mulder...it was nice of you to make haste with all these precautions, but I think I'd really rather have my closet space back. The paranoia stops here." "I guess I'll have to agree to that if I want to stay in your good graces," he said winsomely. Scully surveyed her apartment and said, "I'm sure glad we wound up that case quickly. I couldn't wait to get back home. Now, how do we shut all those cameras off, Mulder?" "Don't you want any of them on?" "No, not now. I want to pop popcorn, drink wine and neck on the couch. I don't want Frohicke leering at me from the other side of a monitor." He crossed the room, took her in his arms and said, "How bought if we just go straight to neck on the couch? That's the part that most intrigues me..." She grinned with delight and they jubilantly flicked off all the monitors. fin