=========================================================================== Archive Note: Charleyne Hall has a new email address: lazydark@aol.com =========================================================================== From: lazydark@aol.com (Drakkar) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: Unfortunate Deceptions Part One by Charleyne Hall Date: Sat, 09 Sep 95 17:05:03 GMT *Author's Note: I am sorry about the format of this one, my editor has chopped the hell out of it, so if you have trouble reading it, just download and try various viewers. One warning, I didn't do any research for this one, so there is no real scientific fact. I made it all up! Yee! Okee, enjoy. As always, comments, questions or suggestions are welcomed. lazydark@aol.com Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and the X-Files are copyrighted to FBC, 1013 and Chris Carter. I have not meant to infringe upon those copy rights. And so forth. Excuse any incorrect information. Unfortunate Deceptions Part One of Five By Charleyne Hall Fox Mulder slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. He was not impressed with the situation at hand. It would be his death if he did not find what he was looking for. He threw open a drawer of his very messy desk. He cursed as he frantically searched through it, coming out empty handed. He bent down and opened another drawer, tossing files here and there. He was having a fit. He scowled at the now empty drawer and gritted his teeth. He looked at the surface of the desk, scanning for the tell tale wrapping. He frowned, plunking himself into the chair before his desk and opening yet another drawer. 'Mulder.' a seriously upset voice said from somewhere in the office. He did not look up but rather just kept on searching. He pushed a hand unconsciously through his hair and fumbled with another stack of junk. 'Mulder.' the person said again. He continued to ignore his partner, who stood by tapping her foot impatiently. 'I can't find them.' 'Mulder!' she cried for the last time. This time he looked up, taking in the sight of his partner. She wore her auburn hair pulled back into a pony tail, a grey pinstriped suit and a matching blazer atop a white blouse. Her heels clicked as she took a step toward the desk, wrinkling her nose. She held up something, then tossed it at him. 'You've had them this whole time, haven't you?' he asked, his face brightening as he opened the yellow package and popped five of the sunflower seeds into his mouth. 'Mulder, pay attention.' she said, waving a file folder in front of his nose. 'Yes, your majesty.' he said, relaxing in the chair, his craving satisfied for the time being. He nodded at a chair and she gratefully sat in it. 'What is it this time? Veggie burgers that have been mysteriously made with beef?' he asked, flicking a few more seeds out of the package into his mouth. 'Get serious for once would you?' she said. 'This one should have you perked up in just a moment.' she said, tossing the file at him. It landed on the desk and slid under a pile of other files. It took him a moment to search through to pull it out. He looked down at it, then made a show caressing it and turning it over and over. 'Hm, yep. Turnin' me on, this one is.' he said, smirking. 'Cut it out!' she cried, swatting at the air in front of her. 'Aww, you are positively no fun, Dana Scully!' he cried, playfully pouting. Then he glimpsed the look on her face and grew suddenly serious. 'That bad, huh?' he asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded and he knew that it was time to get back onto the field and play. He eyed her one last time, then glanced at manilla cover of the file. He quickly read through, then came to the pictures at the back of the file. His mouth fell open as he looked at the pictures. 'Oh god.' he managed. 'I know what you mean.' she said, glancing around the room almost nervously. 'Where are these from?' he asked, then using his finger as a pointer he searched down the page and answered his own question. 'Right here, in Washington. Oh man, Scully, this is horrific!' He flipped to the back of the file and looked through the pictures again. They were all pictures of children between the ages of three and five. Each child had three slashes across their jugular vain. The slashes appeared to have been made by some sort of jagged material, although you couldn't tell by the picture for sure what had done them. Mulder gulped in some much needed air. 'Mulder?' Scully asked, concern creeping into her voice. 'I'm okay. Does Skinner want us to take this one?' he asked, referring to the assistant director of the FBI, their boss. 'Yes.' 'But isn't this one better for violent crimes?' he asked, interested that they would send him such a painfully clear case. It appeared to him that human's had done this and nothing was really out of the ordinary. Well, that is, other than the crime itself. His work usually had to do with the paranormal and other strange cases. The unexplained. He worked on X-Files. 'No one wanted to touch it. It's too... Uhm...' she began. 'Right, leave it to Mulder to clean it up.' he grumbled. 'Mulder...' 'Well, it's true isn't it?' 'You are the best man for the job, though. Admit it Mulder, they need you on this one.' she said sternly. She glared at him until he felt foolish for having complained. And of course, she was right. He was the best equipped agent to handle this case. 'So, my amazing sidekick, where do we begin?' 'I've asked to be allowed to do an autopsy on the most recent victim. Uh, Carrie Andrews, I believe her name was. She was four years old.' Scully said and her voice faltered. Mulder's head snapped up and he looked at her genuinely upset face. 'Scully, you're not going to crack on me are you?' he asked, solemnly. 'No. I just hate doing autopsy's on such little children. It makes me wonder what kind of monster's we have running around out there.' she said, holding her chin up and setting her jaw. 'Good girl.' he said, smiling faintly. Scully flashed a quick smile too, but it soon dissolved. 'So, I think maybe we can get at least a start from there.' she continued, as if they'd never had any discussion between. 'Good. When's it scheduled?' he asked. Scully glanced at her watch and her eyes widened. 'Now. I've got to go.' she said and quickly stood up. She smoothed out her skirt and walked towards the door. 'Oh, Scully.' Mulder said, holding up the bag of sunflower seeds. 'Thanks.' She nodded and turned the knob to exit the office. ----- Clad in a blue-green scrub suit, latex gloves, surgical mask, protective glasses and a hair cap, Dana Scully stepped up to the table. She glanced at the tiny body that lay on the long table. She had not often worked on children and was somewhat disturbed by the sight of the little feet that didn't even reach the halfway mark of the table. She scowled and picked up a very sharp scalpel. Before making the first cut, Scully felt around her neck for her little cross and held it in her left hand. She said a quick little prayer for the four year old who'd been so unfortunate. Before letting her fingers slip away from the cross, she said one more prayer. She glanced at the little girl again. Her blond hair was surprisingly long and it hung around her pale shoulders. Her open eyes, frozen in a look of horror, were a very bright blue. Almost the colour of the sky. Scully shrugged, trying not to let the sight of those tiny eyes bother her. Scully swallowed hard and pulled back the sheet that had shrouded the little body. She shuddered at the blue-white colour of the skin and looked away for a moment. She closed her eyes, clearing her head, breathing slowly. She opened her eyes and skillfully made a cut along the center of the little body, starting at the top of the chest below the neck and ending just above the naval. Scully switched instruments and glanced at the body again. For a split second, Scully thought she'd seen the little girls hand move. She watched closely, feeling foolish, but then the hand moved again and she was sure she hadn't imagined it. She stared in horror as the little hand moved along with the rest of the arm, grabbing at the air above. Scully gasped and moved quickly backwards. In her haste, she knocked over the instrument cart. She quickly twirled on her heel and ran to the sink at the back of the room, struggling to get the face mask off so that she could vomit. She placed her hands at the edge of the sink and closed her eyes, breathing heavily. She told herself that it was her imagination. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to turn around and look to see if indeed it was real. Suddenly she felt an iron grip on her shoulder and she let out a very high pitched scream. Another hand grasped her other shoulder and twisted her around. She found herself staring into the concerned eyes of Doctor Alan Penbrook. 'Agent Scully, are you alright?' he asked, concern dripping from his voice. She felt like a complete idiot as she looked past his shoulder and saw the body lying flat on it's back, arms by it's sides. 'I-' she swallowed hard. 'I'm okay.' she stammered. 'Do you need a hand?' he said, looking past her and into the sink. 'Uh-' she said, then shrugged loose from his grip. 'N-No. I think I'll be fine.' 'Okay, but at least let me clean that up.' he gestured to the sink. 'No, it's all right. Thanks anyway.' she replied, giving him a grateful look. 'Fine. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me, I'm in the next room over.' he swept a hand toward the door. 'How did you know?' she asked. 'I heard the cart crash.' he said and she nodded. she thought but said 'Thanks. I'll let you know if I need any help.' she gave an embarrassed, crooked smile. 'Not to worry, I won't say a word.' he winked, then turned to leave. Scully studied him as he walked away from her. He was tall, widely built and very strong looking. Needless to say, his shoulders filled out the medical smock quite well. His sandy blond hair made him look like a surfer and Scully half suspected that he was. 'Thanks again.' she muttered as he walked out into the corridor joining the autopsy bays. When he was gone, Scully became furious with herself as she turned on the tap, washing away all the foul smelling bile that she'd coughed up. She grimaced, then looked back at the body. her inner voice chided. She picked up the scalpel and began again, this time completing the autopsy without further incident of imagination. ----- Fox Mulder took long strides, he was somewhat upset. He was on his way to Skinner's office and that always upset him considering it usually meant he was in more trouble. He frowned as he passed several other agents, who also wore the badge that bore the bold blue FBI letters. He felt like they were staring even though he knew they weren't. he thought. at that thought he smiled and his mood lightened ever so slightly. Lost in his own reveries, he didn't notice when a flash of auburn hair, attached to the head and body of his partner, strode around the corner he'd just passed and caught up with him. She had to almost run to keep up with his long strides. 'Hey you.' she said, jabbing his side. 'Where are we off to in such a hurry?' 'Oh, hey. Uhm, Skinner wants me.' he replied. Scully raised an eyebrow, then smiled. 'That could prove to be very interesting.' she said. He groaned and made a swipe at her but she agilely sidestepped it and they kept on walking. 'Probably about the last case.' Mulder continued. 'I'm to assume you finished the paperwork and handed it then?' Scully asked, surveying the surrounding offices with almost tired eyes. 'Yeah and I don't think he liked it too much.' 'Not that it matters. Anyway, am I supposed to go?' she asked. 'I don't know. Might as well come along to defend me from the perils of the Skinner monster.' he said, a smile turning up the corners of his lips. 'Lady in shining armor huh?' she said, wrinkling her nose. 'You bet.' he said and found the office he'd been looking for. He pushed open the door and waited for her to enter. Before going in, he rolled his eyes and prepared to get an earful from their boss. When he walked through the door, Scully was already opening the door to the inner office, smiling knowingly at him. She beckoned him in with a wave of her hand and he hesitated before he followed. Mulder frowned looking around the office. He noticed an ashtray with a freshly stamped out cigarette in it. he thought instantly, wondering if he was going to get a little more than an earful. The assistant director sat behind his desk, roughly marking comments on the edge of a page he'd been reading. He did not look up as Scully walked in, sitting primly in a chair in front of him. Mulder remained standing and eyed Skinner. He was a balding man who wore glasses. What was left of his hair was a sandy blond colour. Mulder allowed a faint smile to cross his lips. This man was not at all as bad as he sometimes wished to appear. Mulder had seen him become compassionate and willing to help out. Then again, Mulder had seen him at his supposed worst too. Not that it mattered today, Skinners face held a scowl that seemed so deep his whole face would be swallowed. Mulder continued to smile at that thought. Finally, Skinner looked up and addressed them. 'Agent Mulder. Agent Scully.' he said, nodding his head. 'Agent Mulder, please have a seat.' Mulder sat, not wishing to upset the man any more than he already appeared to be. 'Sir-' Mulder began but was hushed by a glare from the older man. 'Mr. Mulder, I am aware that your last file was not exactly a very professional submission, however that is not what we are here to discuss.' Skinner said, looking down at the folder on his desk. He rubbed his chin and continued to stare. 'What then sir?' Scully asked, eyebrows knit together in an odd expression. 'Well, it seems that you two need a little bit of straightening out. So, I've assigned some very special agents to work with you on this case.' Skinner said, a little smile turning the corners of his mouth up. 'But sir-' Mulder began but was again stopped. 'No but's Mr. Mulder. I expect you to help these two out. They're just fresh agents and they are quite eager.' Mulder fumed at the man and Scully began to laugh. Mulder turned his burning gaze towards her. 'You think this is funny?' he said. 'Mulder, you take everything way too seriously.' she said, struggling to stop laughing. 'And just this morning, I was the one telling you that.' he said, sternly. 'Well-' Scully said but stopped when she noticed the look on Mulder's face. She looked down at her hands which were relaxed on her lap and breathed slowly. Skinner glanced between the two of them, then picked up the phone, ordering the two agents who had been patiently waiting outside in. When the two agents walked in, Mulder thought he was going to laugh. One was a tall, brown haired woman that had a tiny build. The other was a nerdy looking young man, who had almost white hair. If his eyes had been pink, Mulder might have thought him to be an albino. Mulder snickered but stopped as soon as he felt Scully's elbow jab into his side, hard enough to hurt. 'Ow!' he cried, rubbing the spot. He glared at Scully for a few moments, but she only smiled and stood up. She walked over to the young woman and introduced herself. 'Hi, I'm Dana Scully. The sore one over there is Fox Mulder. We're glad to be working with you.' she said, thrusting her hand toward the woman. Soon, Mulder was by her side. 'Don't lie, Scully.' he said, smiling genuinely at the joke. He too put out his hand to be shaken in turn. Now it was the young mans turn. 'I'm Glen Wireton and this is Alyssa Graves. We're uhm, appreciative that you've agreed to work with us.' he said, smiling awkwardly. Mulder nodded and looked back at Skinner who was no longer scowling. He glared at the man, but Skinner just smiled and winked. Mulder felt like punching the smug face, but decided against it. 'Well, if you two would care to follow us, we've got to get back to work.' Scully said, stepping past Wireton and out the door. Wireton followed her with his eyes, Alyssa rolled her eyes and Mulder just smiled. He'd seen a number of men react to Scully that way. It sometimes bothered him, sometimes not. It depended on his mood. He allowed his gaze to follow her for a moment too, then he started after her. He had soon caught up, due to the fact that his legs were much longer and he could walk twice as fast. The other two agents lagged behind, unsure of exactly what to do. 'So, what did the autopsy reveal?' he asked, he watched Scully closely and thought he saw a flicker of shame cross her face, but it was gone instantly. 'Not much more than the pictures did. Three slashes across the jugular. No toxic agents in the blood stream. No suggestion of sexual tampering. No other unexplainable abnormalities. I came to the conclusion that the rips, excuse the term but that's what they appear to be, were made with human fingernails.' she concluded, swallowing hard. 'Fingernails? I would never have guessed.' he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. He nodded, thinking to himself, then thrust his hands forward to glance at his fingernails. He cocked his head. 'Does this mean it's a female?' he asked. 'Not necessarily, Mulder. Lot's of males have long fingernails.' she replied. 'But you don't think it was a male.' he said, as if reading her thoughts. 'No. I would have to agree with you. Most males do indeed have short fingernails that could not have done that sort of damage to the vein. Even a woman would have trouble.' she replied, nodding at Mulder's short fingernails that had been chewed to the quick. 'You should really stop biting your nails, you know.' she said. 'Oh, but it keeps me occupied.' he said. 'You know, I can get this stuff to put on them that makes them taste like-' 'Woah! That's a nasty thought, Scully. You wouldn't do that to me would you?' 'I wouldn't be so sure.' she said and turned around a corner before he could reply. Mulder continued to walk along their previous path, then realized his partner had turned and backed up. 'Hey! Where are you going?' he called. 'Just take those two with you, I've got something I forgot to do!' she said and walked away into the crowd of agents that infested the hallway. He shrugged and looked back at the two agents who silently walked along, a few paces back. He turned on his heel and started toward the elevator. =========================================================================== From: lazydark@aol.com (Drakkar) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: Unfortunate Deceptions Part Two by Charleyne Hall Date: Sat, 09 Sep 95 17:06:30 GMT *Author's Note: I am sorry about the format of this one, my editor has chopped the hell out of it, so if you have trouble reading it, just download and try various viewers. One warning, I didn't do any research for this one, so there is no real scientific fact. I made it all up! Yee! Okee, enjoy. As always, comments, questions or suggestions are welcomed. lazydark@aol.com Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and the X-Files are copyrighted to FBC, 1013 and Chris Carter. I have not meant to infringe upon those copy rights. And so forth. Excuse any incorrect information. Unfortunate Deceptions Part Two of Five By Charleyne Hall ----- Glen Wireton glanced around the office. It looked as though a hurricane had hit it. He tried to appear calm and at ease in the new surroundings but he knew that Mulder had an eye for what people felt. He allowed Alyssa to enter the office first, then walked as nonchalantly as possible in after her. He couldn't believe all the files that were scattered everywhere. He frowned in spite of himself at the disgusting mess. Then, just as he suspected, Mulder picked up on his mood. 'Sorry about the mess guys. Scully's always trying to get me to clean it up.' he offered. Glen could only smile at him. Mulder offered Alyssa the chair and then went to clear off another one for Glen. After all three were seated, Mulder scanned his desk, closed his eyes and pushed his hand under a pile of folders. He yanked one out from under the mess and glanced at it. 'Yes, it's the right one!' he cried, causing both agents to lean back. He smiled apologetically and handed the folder to Glen, who opened it up and held it closer to Alyssa so she could read through too. When they reached the pictures, Alyssa grimaced and looked away, while Glen stared. He was engrossed by the black and white photo's. He licked his lips, feeling them begin to go dry. No matter how much the photo's bothered him, he could not look away. Finally Mulder's voice gave him the chance to slam shut the folder. 'Well, what do you think?' the brown haired agent asked. 'I think it's gross.' Alyssa said. 'Uh. I haven't formed an opinion yet.' Glen answered. He studied Mulder for a moment. He was something like 6'2" and he had a mess of brown hair that sometimes hung just above his eyes. He wore black pants with a white cotton shirt and a blue tie. He had hazel eyes, that to Glen held a far off look, even when they were focussed on something. 'It's a natural reaction to be sickened by the sight of young children. If this case is going to bother you two too much, then I am sure Skinner will understand.' Mulder said, leaning back on his chair and putting his feet on the desk. 'Oh, I think I can handle it.' Glen said, but looked at his partner and wondered how she would be. 'Uh.' was all she said. She looked away, nervously. Then her eyes fixed on something at the other side of the room. She stood up and strode across the room. She pushed back a pile of papers, then gasped with delight. She held up a yellow package. 'Sunflower seeds!' she said. 'Yeah, I have a thing for them.' Mulder said, obviously happy that she'd picked them out from across the room. 'Sunflower seeds?' Glen asked puzzled. 'My brother got me hooked on these.' Alyssa said, then looked at Mulder. 'Have you got any more. I think I might feel a little better if I could crunch on a few.' 'Sure, here.' he said and tossed her the remainder of the bag Scully had given him that morning. 'Hey, just don't tell Scully I gave 'em to ya.' 'Agent Mulder-' Alyssa began, but Mulder interrupted her. 'Just Mulder, please.' he said. She sighed, sat down and started again. 'Mulder. I have a question for you.' she said. Glen raised an eyebrow, interested in what sort of question she had come up with. 'Why do you call her Scully? I mean, she has a first name you know.' she said, glancing at something on the wall and chewing happily on a sunflower seed. 'I don't know. Just because I can?' he offered and waved the question off with his hand. She looked puzzled but dropped the subject. Glen took that moment to begin asking his own questions. 'So, uh, what are those scratch marks made by?' he asked, not having found an autopsy report to get the answer from. 'Agent Scully believes that they were made with fingernails. Although she said she can't be positive.' Mulder said, reaching for the sunflower seeds that Alyssa had placed on the edge of the desk. 'Fingernails. Interesting.' Alyssa said. She pulled at an eyebrow as if in deep thought. 'Yeah. Now, are there any other questions?' Mulder asked. Perhaps he had tired of baby sitting them. Glen searched his mind, but all the questions he'd previously come up with had vanished. he thought. 'None that I can think of for now.' Glen said. Mulder nodded and got out of his chair, stretching his long legs. He moved to the door and opened it. Both agents turned in their chairs and finally got up as they realized he wanted them to leave. 'I want you guys to go home and get a good night's sleep. It seems that we're going to have a hell of a day ahead of us tommorow.' he said, yawning into his palm. Alyssa Graves nodded and walked out the door. Glen followed her, nodded at Mulder as he passed. 'Good god, what are we getting into.' Mulder asked the room, turning his face up to the ceiling and holding his hands high. ----- Alyssa Graves walked away from the office feeling much better than she had on the way there. She liked Agent Mulder and was happy that he had not seen through her facade. It would be easier if she tricked him into thinking she was easily upset by the sight of the jagged wounds. Agent Scully, on the other hand, might be a little more difficult to deter. For some reason, Alyssa thought Scully would be able to point out that she was not bothered. Not sure why she felt that way, Alyssa pushed the thought out of her mind. She glanced sideways at Glen. He was a good looking guy, although perhaps a little too preppy for the job. She herself was dressed in tapered dress pants and a blouse, but he had over done it, dressing in a full suit that almost looked like a tux. She smiled when she saw him nervously adjust the gun he'd been wearing holstered under the suit jacket. He had been the easiest to fool. His emotions were quite easy for her to read and she smiled knowing that he was very nervous about their first case. 'Hey, calm down. It'll be okay.' she said, and he threw her a puzzled look. She smiled at him weakly and then added 'You're worried. It's written all over your face.' 'Shouldn't you be worried too?' he asked, giving her a faint smile. 'Nah, we're in the best hands.' she replied and saw his gaze turn confused again. ----- Dana Scully knocked on the office door before her. She adjusted her skirt and patiently waited for an answer. Just as she was about to leave, thinking no one was in the office, the door handle turned and the door swung open, away from her. Doctor Alan Penbrook stood before her, his eyes lit up when he saw who it was. 'Agent Scully. What a pleasant surprise. Won't you come in?' he stepped aside to allow her to come in. She smiled and walked past him into the office. He shut the door again and ambled around his desk, lowering himself into the empty chair. He gestured for her to take a seat and she did so. 'So, what brings you to my office. Here to offer me money to keep silent about your little mishap?' he asked, a sly grin crossing his face. 'No, I just wanted to thank you for offering your help.' she said. 'Well, I'm glad you came here. I've been wondering how you've been feeling all day.' 'I'm fine. Better now, anyway.' she replied. She looked at his desk and notice a few folders in front of him. She looked at the names on the folders, then averted her attention back to him. 'That's good. So, what happened anyway?' he asked, referring to why she'd gotten sick. 'I'm not sure. Maybe it's the smell of the preservatives. Sometimes they make me sick.' she lied. He nodded, knowingly. 'I see.' he said. Then he nodded again. He grinned non-stop and Scully couldn't help but take an instant liking to the agent. He was the head of the forensics lab and he was definitely a charming man, from what she'd seen. She looked around the office, trying to see if anything in it would give her a clue as to his personality, but she realized that it was almost impersonal. Blue painted walls, a desk free of clutter and one painting of the Mona Lisa. She allowed her smile to fade from her lips as she realized that Mulder was probably wondering where she was. 'Well, I must get going. My partner and I are working with another group on a really weird case and I have to go talk to him.' she said, getting out of the chair. She unconsciously smoothed out her dress and stepped away from the chair. 'Hm, maybe I can ask you out for dinner tonight then?' he asked. She held his gaze and silently, slowly nodded. She liked that idea a little more than she'd expected, but it would be good for her to have one more social outing before she and Mulder became engrossed in their current case. 'I'd like that.' she said and before leaving, they set up the date. ----- 'Mulder, that was a stupid thing to do.' she offered, leaning on the desk. 'I couldn't help it Scully. The mess was calling to me and I had to just-' he smiled, looking at her face. She was in unusually high spirits now. He wondered where she'd gone. She laughed jovially and looked around at the totally clean office. 'I'm just amazed at how fast you pulled it off.' she said, shrugging. 'What can I say? I'm speedy!' he said. 'No Mulder, you're spooky.' 'Ha Ha, Scully. That's the most hilarious thing I've heard you say.' he said, lowering himself into his chair. His eyes gleamed with pride. 'I've only got one problem now.' he glared happily at her. 'What's that?' she asked, raising an eyebrow. 'I can't find a damned thing!' he cried and was happy when she laughed. He liked to hear her laugh. 'Well, I'm sure everything will be back into order by tommorow.' she said, she pushed away from the desk where she'd been leaning and moved toward the coat rack beside the door. 'Where are you going?' he asked. 'I'm going home. I've got a long day ahead of me for tommorow, Mulder. So do you. So, go home and relax!' she did not mention her dinner date. He smiled a "you're right Scully" smile and joined her by the door. She took her long coat from beneath his and moved around him to reach the door. He stepped away and she walked past him, almost like she wanted to get away from him. 'Have a good night, Scully.' he said as she walked away. She did not turn to look at him, or to offer a reply. He was somewhat upset, but pushed it away. Dana Scully was impressed by Mulder's clean up job, but she knew that he hadn't done it alone. Someone, probably Skinner's secretary, had helped him. Betty, Scully knew, always wanted Mulder to clean up his office so she probably just got fed up and came down with a huge garbage pail and a few plastic bags. She laughed at the mental picture and continued to walk. She knew that Mulder had thought she'd brushed him off just now, but sometimes she just had to do that to him. Considering he fired such strange crossed emotions at her half the time and she didn't know what was what. It didn't matter either, she had a dinner date with another doctor and she intended not to let thoughts of Mulder spoil it for her. She wondered why she hadn't told him her real plans. Was it because she was worried he'd get jealous? No, that wasn't it. Or was it? Scully couldn't be sure any more. Still, she found that she didn't care. She was wondering why she'd been so attached to the good looking doctor that she'd only officially met today. Sure, she'd seen him before and had watched him work, but she'd never really met him until this morning. She sighed, fumbling in the pockets of her jacket for her keys as she stepped off the elevator. She was amazed at how quickly she'd found her way through the complex of offices. She smiled, slipping her key into the lock of the car that she'd made her way to. Scully shook her head, trying to rid it of thoughts of Mulder, opened the door and got into the car, grateful for being able to finally get away from the office. Today had been an especially interesting and difficult day. She sighed, turned the key in the ignition and stopped. There was something different about the car. She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to pin point it. Then she remembered. The seat was too far back and the mirrors out of their usual place. Mulder must've borrowed her car sometime that morning. She'd have to ask him about it. She adjusted the seat and mirrors, smiling at how much she had to move them just to adjust for their height differences. Mulder was almost a head and a half taller than her. When she pulled out of the parking lot, Scully was thinking, once again, about Mulder. ----- 'Stop or I'll develop a complex!' Mulder cried. Covering his face. He'd once again been joked about his nose. How it seemed too big. Although most of the joking was taken lightly, sometimes he just tired of it. He sat with a couple of his buddies from the violent crimes section in a bar that was as far away from the office as they could get. Mulder was currently working on his second beer but the other two were nearly on their fourth. He smiled as he looked at the surroundings. They were seated in a booth at the very back of the bar. Mulder's back was to the door and the high seat prevented him from seeing the rest of the bar unless he turned around and peeked out at the side. The other two were in a much better position to scan the bar. Mulder smiled, uncovering his nose. He took a swig from the mug in front of him. 'A complex, Mulder please!' David Jankins said. He peered at Mulder through his already reddened green eyes. Mulder in turn studied the man back. He was a pretty big guy, a football star from his high school years. Mulder had often spent time in the bar with him. Mulder wondered how his blond hair had remained that way with all the stress that was floating around. This man had to be almost five years older than Mulder. 'You should already have one from long ago.' John Crane, who sat next to Jankins. Mulder switched his gaze and stuck out his tongue at the other agent. 'I can't believe I'm here with you two... Creeps!' he said, sitting back. He drained the remainder of the beer in the glass. When he set the glass down, Mulder noticed that Crane was looking at the door through a lock of red hair that hung in his grey eyes. He brushed the hair aside and whistled softly. Now, Jankins turned to see what Crane had been looking at. Mulder raised his eyes to the faces of his friends and noticed that they were practically drooling over someone. He turned around and peered out from the side of the booth seat. What he saw surprised the hell out of him. He gasped and turned around, staring at his friends. 'Uh, guys... You can stop drooling over my partner now.' he said, flatly. 'Wait. Mulder, that can't be Scully.' Crane said, tearing his eyes away from the red head that had just walked in and sat at the bar with another man. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that read Lollapalooza on the back. 'I don't believe it.' Jankins said, not looking away. 'Believe it.' Mulder said and chuckled. He'd never seen someone go completely google-eyed over Scully. Sure, he'd seen men stare after her and drool but never seen them... 'Hey, who's she with?' Jankins interrupted and Mulder took another look around. 'I don't know. I don't care.' Mulder said sternly. He was beginning to feel a little jealous, but he couldn't say exactly why. Perhaps it had been because she hadn't told him about her date. Not that it mattered to him. He was glad to see her having fun. Especially when she was out in just plain clothes. Not dressed in fancy attire. He smiled, then turned around again. Crane reached over the table and patted Mulder on the shoulder. 'Maybe you should go rescue her.' he said, the grin widening. 'Maybe you should.' Mulder replied, allowing his previous humor to return. He felt a little more relaxed now. 'Nah. She'd probably end up shooting me.' he said and looked her over again. Then he turned to Jankins and said, 'Time we blew this joint, don't you think?' He picked up the beer and finished the mouthful that had been left, then he pulled out his wallet. 'Let's leave Mulder to wallow in jealousy.' Jankins said, winking at him. Mulder made a gun with his index finger and thumb, pointing it at Jankins. 'Blam!' he said, then smiled. 'You guys are going to leave me here? How am I supposed to get home if I end up getting drunk in a fit of jealousy?' he asked. 'Maybe you should ask her for a ride home.' Crane said, hiking a thumb in Scully's direction. The two of them dropped a ten on the table each, then they got out of the booth and stood beside Mulder. 'Keep the change for a cab if you need one.' Crane said and walked away. Jankins winked again and then Mulder was left alone. He looked around once more at Scully who was now drinking what looked like a fuzzy navel and laughing. Mulder sighed, happy to see her in such a good mood. He shrugged into his coat and dropped his own money on the table beside the others. He stood up, stretched his legs a bit and walked out of the bar, without even bothering to look at his partner again. ----- Scully awoke in the morning with a very large headache. She had not expected to drink as much as she had. she thought. Her dinner date had gone very well. She enjoyed the company of Alan Penbrook to no extent. It was the first time she'd had some real fun in almost three months. Mulder kept her so involved with work, she almost forgot that she could have an outside life without him. She was just glad that she was able to push him out of her head for the dinner. Scully glanced at her alarm clock and moaned. It was only six thirty and she usually didn't go to work until about nine. Not that it mattered, with this headache, she was sure she couldn't get back to sleep. She groaned again and rolled out of the bed. She sat on the edge, allowing her toes to touch the soft beige carpeting of her room. It was soft and inviting, so she stood up and walked around a bit, allowing her head to get used to the fact that it was going to be bobbed up and down all day. She was just about to go into the bathroom to take a shower when her cell phone rang. She padded over to the night stand and picked it up. 'Scully.' she said sleepily. 'Scully! Where the hell have you been?' It was Mulder and she cringed at the tone of his voice. 'I was-.' she tried to think of where she had been. 'Mulder, I was sleeping.' she remembered. 'Sleeping? I've been calling you on this thing for almost and hour now. You must have had one hell of a night.' he said and she picked up his knowing tone. Had he followed her? No, Mulder wouldn't stoop that low. 'I did, in fact. Now, tell me why you're calling and it better be important!' she retorted. 'There's been another one, Scully. I'm at the scene now. I think I might have something to go on. I called our new little partners and they'll be here shortly. If you are wise, you'll get your ass out here too!' he cried into the phone. 'Mulder, I uh-' she didn't want to admit it to him, but she was pretty sure she didn't want to drive. 'I'll be there in a half an hour. Just don't wrap up the case without me.' she said. He relayed the address and she quickly hung up. she thought, then smiled the first smile of the day. Quickly she jumped into the shower and got dressed. Today was going to be a very long day, she was just sorry she didn't have any aspirin. =========================================================================== From: lazydark@aol.com (Drakkar) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: Unfortunate Deceptions Part Three by Charleyne Hall Date: Sat, 09 Sep 95 17:08:45 GMT *Author's Note: I am sorry about the format of this one, my editor has chopped the hell out of it, so if you have trouble reading it, just download and try various viewers. One warning, I didn't do any research for this one, so there is no real scientific fact. I made it all up! Yee! Okee, enjoy. As always, comments, questions or suggestions are welcomed. lazydark@aol.com Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and the X-Files are copyrighted to FBC, 1013 and Chris Carter. I have not meant to infringe upon those copy rights. And so forth. Excuse any incorrect information. Unfortunate Deceptions Part Three of Five By Charleyne Hall ----- Mulder grinned as he pushed the end button on his phone. Scully had indeed had one hell of a night. Mulder could tell by the almost inactive slur to her voice. She must've gotten plastered. He was just glad that she'd gotten back in one piece, at least now he wouldn't have to worry about her and maybe she'd learn from the experience. He turned around and surveyed the scene. It was gruesome. The other two agents had arrived and were nervously looking away from the scene. Mulder committed the picture to memory. The little body lay on the ground, arms crossed on it's chest as though the killer had felt the need to put the child at rest. It was a little boy of about four, the same slash marks appeared across his neck. Mulder didn't like to look at it, although he knew that it didn't bother him as much as it really should. Perhaps it was because he'd seen so many other things that were far worse. He looked at the surroundings of the poor boy. They were in a secluded bush beside a park and the body was discovered quite quickly and therefore, Mulder thought that it was fairly fresh. Something to give him a little more to go on. Yet, there was nothing. Nothing that would lead them anywhere. Mulder sighed and walked over to Graves and Wireton. He sighed, once in their presence, a long and exasperated sigh. 'Is Scully on her way over?' Wireton asked, shielding his eyes from the new morning sun. 'Yeah, but it might take her a while.' he replied and smirked. Graves picked up on it. 'She had a long night, huh?' she asked. Mulder just nodded. Graves smiled and began to walk toward the body. Mulder followed, curiously. She walked around bit and then began to rub her temple. Suddenly a dour look crossed her face. She leaned down and reached into her pocket for a rubber glove. She slipped it onto her hand and gently turned the little head just a tiny bit. She poked a finger at something Mulder couldn't see, then stood up and turned to him. 'Agent Scully is authorized to perform autopsies?' she asked. Again Mulder nodded. 'Tell her to take a good look at the left side of this child's head, just below the ear. There seems to be a small puncture hole there.' she said and strode away. Agent Wireton stayed and stared at the little head that was now tilted to the side instead of staring straight up at him. Mulder, however, followed Agent Graves. 'How did you see that?' Mulder demanded. He himself had even missed it and he rarely missed that sort of thing. 'I just-' she turned and abruptly stopped walking, almost causing Mulder to walk into her. 'I just noticed when I took that second look.' she offered. 'Okay.' Mulder said, giving her a break. She obviously had some talent that was hard to explain, but what he didn't know is that her talent went far beyond hard to explain. It was unexplainable. 'So, can we leave?' she asked, looking at Wireton who had started his way over. Mulder looked around one last time. 'I guess so. I'll wait here for Scully, but you two can get back to the office if you want. Not much left to do here.' 'Thanks.' she said and walked quickly away from him. As Wireton passed, Mulder rolled his eyes and the younger man smiled. 'This ought to be a great case!' Mulder said aloud as the agents walked away. They did not hear him, although he wished they had. Mulder walked back to the body and looked at the little red mark that was behind the ear. He put on a pair of rubber gloves and tilted the head back to it's previous position. he thought. He was puzzled. Something about her behavior made him wonder about her. Something bothered him. She almost seemed false. Mulder bit his bottom lip, thinking. He absently turned away, walking in the other direction. He couldn't figure it out. He planted himself under a tree and scratched his head. He'd no longer just sat down before a shadow enveloped him. He looked slowly up. The shoes were the dead giveaway, high heeled and out of place on the muddy grass. The long coat was the next giveaway. He yawned, looking up at Scully's face. 'Hi.' he said. 'Good morning.' she said and toed the sole of his shoe. 'So, did you have a good night?' he asked, a smile creeping across his face. Her face turned ashen and she looked away. 'How did you know about last night?' she asked. 'Oh, I hired a P.I. to follow you around and keep me updated on your whereabouts.' he said. She did not look impressed. She turned and walked slowly away. He scrambled to his feet and followed. 'Hey, wait up!' he cried. 'Mulder, a serious answer would do.' she said, trying her hardest to remain upset with him. It rarely happened that way because he turned on his puppy dog look and Scully's fury usually melted with it. 'Okay, I was in O'Tooles when you walked in.' he said. He explained how his friends had reacted and instantly her face went very red. 'Oh.' she said and began to walk again. 'So, anyway...' he said and outlined what had happened. 'They found it this morning?' she questioned. 'Yes, an early jogger happened across it when he was running his usual trails.' 'And Agent Graves mysteriously saw this puncture hole?' Scully asked, raising her eyebrow just slightly. She gave Mulder a quick look-over. She couldn't read him today, not with her head pounding. 'Look, Scully, I know that tone. It usually means you don't believe me. That's okay, you'll see for yourself. Come have a look.' he said, rushing forward and bending down by the body. He handed her a glove when she rolled her eyes and squatted down beside him. She touched the tiny hole herself then looked at him, puzzled. 'Mulder, I might have missed that on the autopsy of the last child. I'll have a look. It could just have been from something-' she stopped abruptly. Then looked around, an odd expression crossing her face. Her eyebrows knitted together and she frowned. She then stood and walked away from the body. Mulder stood but just remained where he was, watching her. he thought, then he sneered. He walked toward his car and leaned against it, waiting for her to return. She realized that she had been walking aimlessly, looked up and saw him across the park, then put her head down and looked at the ground while she walked toward his car. 'You didn't miss it.' he said, as she approached him. 'No. I saw it, I just thought-' she frowned. 'Well, I thought it was a mosquito bite.' her lips pressed together into a thin line. She was not happy about having missed something that could have been so vital. 'It's okay Scully. It happens to the best of us. Hell, I even missed it.' he said and laid a solid hand on his partners shoulder. She brushed his hand away with a weak smile. 'I don't think I should have gone out last night.' she said more to herself than to him. Mulder reached into his pocket and whipped out two small white tablets. He offered them to her in the palm of his hand. She grabbed them and then he bowed. 'I am your humble servant, M'Lady.' he cried and dodged her hand as it swept through the air at him. He only grinned and moved around to the other side of his car. He stretched his arms out on top of the roof and glanced at Scully who was still looking somewhat confused. 'I'm going back to my office, you coming?' he asked. 'I'm going to stick around here for a little longer. I'll call you later.' she said and before he could answer, she walked away. Mulder stuck out his tongue and stepped back to open his door. He slipped into the car and drove away, leaving Scully to wallow in her mistake. ----- Alyssa Graves walked quickly down the hall toward the office. She smiled when she opened the door. There stood the man she needed to see, along with the other man. She walked in, head held high and stood before them. 'Agent Graves.' the taller man said. He nodded as he blew out a puff of smoke. She glared at him, then nodded back. The other man stepped toward her this time. He too nodded and then fished something out of his white lab coat pocket. She admired this man. He had sandy blond hair and was very widely built. He handed her a white envelope and then stepped back. 'Don't worry about Scully. I'll take care of that.' he said and then exited the office through the door at the back. The next man took another drag of his cigarette and pushed a hand through his salt and pepper hair. She nodded to him and quickly took her leave. She did not like being alone with that man, he gave her the creeps. ----- Mulder looked around his newly cleaned office and frowned. He grabbed a couple of folders and spread them across his desk, then he added a bunch of post it notes. He grinned, adding more and more to his mess until finally he was satisfied that it was messy enough for him. He knew he couldn't live in anything less than a mess. Scully would probably kill him, but what did it matter? After all, it is his office, isn't it? He grinned and put his still muddy shoes on the desk. he thought. He leaned back, clasping his hands together behind his head. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind. Then, before he actually was able to succeed a sharp knock came on the door. Before he could react, a hand slipped through the door and shut off the lights. Mulder gasped and struggled to get out of the chair. That was before he heard the hammer of a gun cock. He remained very still, then listened as feet shuffled across the floor. Then the door opened and a black figure swept out. Mulder fumbled his way over to the light switch and flicked it on. There on his desk he saw a plain folder, a new one. It beckoned to him and he quickly took his seat and rolled closer to the desk. He tossed the files he'd just strewn everywhere, to the side and emptied the contents of the other folder on the desk. It was a montage of newspaper clippings. Mulder shuffled through them, all dealing with some sort of DNA testing in the 1960's. August 1963, Saturday Post Government officials have denied that they have been testing human DNA sequences for the last three years. One doctor has come forward (but wishes to remain anonymous) to tell us the facts. Several doctors all over the country have been extracting small blood samples from children under the ages of four to subject to various tests.... Mulder read on, horrified. He was startled when the knob of his office door began to turn. He grabbed his gun and aimed it at the door, as it swung open. Scully gasped and threw her hands out in front of her. Mulder smiled and lowered his gun. 'Mulder!' she cried, lowering her hands and looking embarrassed. 'Sorry.' he said. 'Sorry? Mulder, you almost gave me a heart attack.' she said and backed out the door. She took a few steps back and closed the door. 'Scully!' he cried and jumped out of his chair. Then she opened the door and stepped in again. This time she looked a little more composed and collected. She glanced around the room and wrinkled her nose at the mess that had begun to form on his desk already. 'Mulder, I thought you cleaned this up.' she said, quietly. He sat back down and closed his eyes. He groped around for something on his desk, grabbed it then held it up. A sigh racked through his body and he shook the file a bit. 'Read this.' he said. She gripped the file and pulled it out of his hand. He opened his eyes, only to stare at her intensely. She sat in the chair across from his desk and slowly opened the folder. Her jaw slackened and her mouth opened ever so slightly as she read through the newspaper clippings. 'Mulder, where did you get this?' she asked. Mulder explained what had happened and she soon understood why he'd brought out his gun. 'Is this the lead we need?' she asked, eyeing the clippings again. Mulder nodded. 'We just have to find the connection. I mean, sure the puncture wounds might indicate that someone is extracting blood, but that doesn't explain why they would kill the children and then ditch them.' Mulder sighed, pushing back his chair and leaning his elbows on the desk. He pushed his hands into his hair, where they remained. 'It still doesn't give us any names to start with.' 'Well, I'll go through my medical journals and find some doctors that have an interest in DNA testing. It'll be a long process but maybe we'll get some clue...' she said. 'Listen, why don't you get Alyssa and Glen to help you with that. I have a few things I want to check out.' he said, then sat back in his chair again. His hands still gripped the desk, as if he needed to hold on for dear life. 'By the way, how's your head?' he asked, his usual humor returning. 'It's better, thanks.' the aspirins he'd given her had definitely helped. She scowled at him and then stood. 'Any idea where I can find those two agents?' she asked, but before Mulder could answer, they popped up outside the office, as if they'd just been waiting for their cue. Scully turned around. She looked from one agent to the other, shook her head and asked them if they'd like to help her out. Both agents nodded their heads quietly and followed Scully out into the hall. Mulder watched them go, then collected his coat, car keys and gun. He exited the building feeling much better than he had in the last week. he thought. ------ Dana Scully pulled off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She and the other two agents had been reading through all the material they could get their hands on, from the archives of the bureau. She glanced around and saw that Alyssa Graves and Glen Wireton were just as sick of the plain text in the medical journals. She sighed and got out of the hard chair that she'd been sitting in for the last three hours. She glanced at her watch. It was almost ten in the morning. That was a far cry from when she'd first awoke at six. She yawned, hiding it behind her hand, then walked around the table to where the other two agents sat. Alyssa turned in her chair and looked up at Scully with somewhat hooded eyes. Scully thought it was strange, but ignored it. 'Anyone up for some coffee?' Scully asked, leaning on the table. Graves shook her head but Wireton nodded. He began to get up, but Scully waved him away. 'Not to worry, I'll get it.' she said and wandered off, down between the rows of books. She frowned as she scanned some of the titles. Most of which she could not recognize. She touched the spine of one of the books and felt a wad of dust come off onto her fingertips. She squashed the dust between her thumb and forefinger, feeling the grittiness of it. She wiped the dust on the inside of her blazer and wrinkled her nose at the action. She must really be tired if she was wiping dust on the inside of her clothes. she promised herself as she wound her way through the archives. Finally she came to the door and exited out into the hall. She found the coffee vending machine, inserted some coins and filled up two cups with the steamy brown liquid. She'd forgotten to ask Wireton what he took, but she thought about it for a minute and put cream and sugar in. For her own, she put a bit of cream but no sugar. She turned around and headed back towards the doors, when she noticed a familiar person walking her way. She set the cups down on top of the vending machine and walked over to the man. 'Dr. Penbrook. Hello.' she said, falling into step beside him. 'Oh, hi Dana. Please, call me Alan. Especially after last night.' he said and his face brightened. 'By the way, how were you feeling this morning?' he asked. 'I was okay. A few aspirins and I'd never felt better.' she said and looked away from his smiling face. She had to ask him a few questions relating to their case. Perhaps he'd be able to help her out. 'What's on your mind?' he asked, noticing her troubled expression. She stopped in the hall and looked him in the eye. 'I need some help on a case we've just opened.' she said, detailing the case and the conclusions they'd drawn so far. 'Sounds pretty gruesome. Tell you what, I have a few books on DNA testing that are by some local doctors, I'll lend them to you for a few days to see if that'll help.' he said and she nodded. She wanted to kiss him, he looked so handsome and happy. She restrained herself and left him with a simple thank you and a promise that she'd drop by soon to pick up the books. He smiled and said goodbye. Scully made her way back into the archives with the two coffee's. She explained that she'd forgotten to ask what Glen took. He laughed at her and said that she'd guess perfectly right. 'And I thought Mulder was the one who was the good judge of people.' he teased. Scully nodded and sat down at her previous spot, across the table. She took a sip of the brew and welcomed the burning sensation as it slid down her throat. 'Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve too.' she finally replied. She placed her glasses back on and delved back into the book. She and Wireton were way too busy reading to notice the horrid stare that Alyssa held in Scully's direction. If they had seen, they might have thought it a very bad case of jealousy. ----- Doctor Alan Penbrook dug through his file folder, looking for the files on his recent experiments. He smiled when he pulled them out. He didn't like the idea of Dana Scully and her partner snooping into DNA testing, but he knew that they would get nowhere on that line, so he didn't mind lending her his medical texts. For now, though, he would have to hide these files. The fact that it was incriminating evidence was not what drove him to it, it was the fact that he hoped to see a lot more of Dana Scully. If she was to be hanging around his office, then he wouldn't want her to accidently come across these. He shuffled through them and didn't notice when one of the pictures fell to the ground and slid beneath the garbage pail which was beside the desk, where he now sat. Only a corner of the picture was revealed. He pushed them into a plain envelope and walked over to the Mona Lisa which was hung upon the wall. He peeled up the backing and delicately placed the envelope underneath. Then he replaced the backing and sealed it with a touch of tape. He smiled. he thought, walking back to his desk and lowering himself easily into the chair. He felt his mind relaxing and his thoughts returned to Scully. He pictured her all dressed up nice in her dress pants and blouse. The two of them at the bar, her in plain clothes. These thoughts made him smile and he closed his eyes. ----- Mulder pushed open the doors for the archives and walked down one row of books. He looked left and right and still could not find Scully and the others. He wondered if they were still here. He unconsciously put a hand into his hair and brushed it away from his face. He chose another isle and walked quickly down it. When he reached the end, he saw three heads poking out of books at the far side of the room. He smiled and made his way over. He took a seat beside the dark haired woman and cleared his throat. Scully looked up at him through her lenses and the look she gave him, reminded him of a librarian he'd once seen. A picture of Scully with her glasses right on the end of her nose and a stern look on her face, saying 'Shhh!' came into his mind and he couldn't help but smile. Suddenly, Alyssa slammed her book shut and everyone jumped. 'Sorry.' she said, sheepishly. She pushed back a lock of hair and smiled. Wireton looked at Mulder and questioned him with his eyes. 'Uh, I talked to a few friends and got some names of doctors that have been studying the uses of DNA sequences. There's a few that work for the FBI and a bunch that work for other organizations. There are only a few that deal specifically with children.' Mulder paused and looked at his audience. Scully had pulled her glasses off and was focussed completely on him, Wireton was staring off at a row of books but appeared to be listening and Graves was looking at him as well. A cool look on her face. He thought it was peculiar, but ignored it. He listed the doctors and each agent decided they could talk to two each. Shortly after Mulder met up with them, the agents broke up to search for their doctors. Scully looked at him from across the table. He stretched out his arms and they reached halfway across the table. Scully turned in her chair and got up, walking slowly around the table to look at him. 'Where did you get that information so quickly, Mulder?' she asked. 'I talked to Mr. X. He was not impressed, but I guess a few of my own games sometimes work.' he smiled. 'Don't worry, Scully. It's only public information, nothing serious.' 'Right.' she said and looked out the window that was located beside the table. It was sunny out and still fairly early in the day. 'Well, I better get looking for my doctors. I'll go down and see if I can call some friends to see if I can get addresses on these doctors.' she looked at the list in her hand. Something bothered her about one of the names. She'd seen it somewhere recently. Where? She couldn't put her finger on it. She saw Mulder look at her strangely and realized that her expression must have been bizarre. 'Something wrong?' he asked and she shook her head. He nodded and stood. They both went their separate ways, Mulder remaining in the archives for a few minutes longer. =========================================================================== From: lazydark@aol.com (Drakkar) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: Unfortunate Deceptions Part Four by Charleyne Hall Date: Sat, 09 Sep 95 17:10:11 GMT *Author's Note: I am sorry about the format of this one, my editor has chopped the hell out of it, so if you have trouble reading it, just download and try various viewers. One warning, I didn't do any research for this one, so there is no real scientific fact. I made it all up! Yee! Okee, enjoy. As always, comments, questions or suggestions are welcomed. lazydark@aol.com Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and the X-Files are copyrighted to FBC, 1013 and Chris Carter. I have not meant to infringe upon those copy rights. And so forth. Excuse any incorrect information. Unfortunate Deceptions Part Four of Five By Charleyne Hall ----- Dana Scully knocked on the office door but no one answered. She put her forehead against the wall and sighed. she thought, then felt foolish. she hated her logic, sometimes. She frowned and tried the knob, maybe she could wait for him inside... The knob turned and she was relieved. She slipped into the office and shed her coat. She took a seat in the doctors chair and leaned back, patiently waiting. While she waited, Scully scanned the office a bit more. She looked around at the floor, noticing the garbage pail and papers that were overflowing out of it. She was about to redirect her gaze when she noticed a piece of paper sticking out from underneath the garbage. Except it wasn't paper. She lifted it up and looked at the backing. Kodak film company. That meant it was a photo. Slowly she turned it over in her hands. She gasped and sat forward, staring at the photo. It looked exactly like the crime scene photo's they had for the children. This one, however looked like it was taken in a laboratory. Her eyes widened at the realization and she remembered where she'd seen the name of the doctor on her list. Right here in this office! Scully got out of the chair and took no more than two steps around the desk when the sound of the door handle turning, shot through the office that seemed somewhat quiet. Scully gasped and held the picture behind her back. Alan Penbrook walked through the door a very hard and cruel look on his face, but it suddenly softened and turned charming like the look that she'd liked. He smiled when he saw her. 'Dana, come to get the book?' he asked, but his expression changed again. He must've picked something up from the air of the room. Or perhaps Dana was not doing such a good job at hiding her discomfort. 'What's the matter?' he asked, stepping towards her. 'Nothing. I just don't feel too well.' she said, and looked away from him. 'What have you got behind your back?' he asked. 'It's-' she paused, trying to come up with a good excuse. 'It's a gift.' she said, then the word welled in her head. 'Oh.' he said and walked another few steps towards her. 'But you can't have it yet.' she said, smiling. He saw through it all and lunged for her. Scully yelped as she dodged the man. He growled and recovered. Instead of going after Scully again, he turned and locked the door, pulling out his gun at the same time. Scully had been unable to draw her own weapon in time. 'What have you really got there, Dana?' he said, sweetly. It made her feel sick. He took a step toward her, she stepped back. Her back came against the wall and she couldn't move back any more. He swept a hand towards her, stopped short of her face and then tenderly touched her cheek. She grimaced and tried to sidestep away from him, he was too quick however and she did not succeed. Instead he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face the wall. He grabbed the photo that she held in her hand, then he turned her around again. He reached into her blazer and removed the weapon from it's shoulder holster, then he left her to stare at him in an awed fashion. 'So, where did you get this?' he asked as he looked at the picture as if he'd never seen it before? 'I found it outside on the street.' she said, barely able to control her rising temper. 'Hm, interesting. You know, I have only one problem.' he said and he turned to face her. 'What's that?' she asked. 'You're too old for the experiments.' he replied a crooked grin crossing his handsome face. Scully wondered how she could still think him handsome after what she'd just discovered. She looked away, unable to believe that she had spent an enjoyable evening with this very man last night. She set her jaw and glared at a spot on the carpet. 'Dana, why don't you look at me? Do you think I'm some sort of monster?' he asked, his voice showing a large amount of hurt. 'Monster doesn't begin to describe it.' she muttered, raising her eyes to meet his finally. Her bottom lip began to quiver and the anger radiated from her body in spirals, she wondered if he could feel it. He smiled at her reaction and opened his desk drawer, searching for something. 'So, how do you suggest we go about this?' he asked. 'I can't exactly just let you go and you're an FBI agent so it would be difficult to get you out of here if you happened to accidently die. Perhaps you'll co-operate and we'll walk out together.' he said. 'I'll go with you. You must show me all about your experiments though.' she said and relaxed a little. She had an idea but she'd have to get him to trust her again. 'I'd have to kill you then.' he said. 'What do I care, you'll kill me anyway.' she said and smiled icily. 'There's only one problem with that plan.' he stated. 'Oh?' 'Yes, what if you decide you want to scream bloody murder while we're on our way out?' he asked. She raised her eyebrows in an I-wouldn't-do-that way. She shrugged. 'I have a better idea.' he said and pulled a syringe out from the drawer. Scully gasped and watched as he went to a cabinet across the room and pulled out a chemical. He drew half a syringe of the chemical and walked over to her. Being the kind and tentative doctor that he was, he rolled up her sleeve gently and rubbed alcohol over where he would soon be inserting the needle. Scully could only watch in horror. Not that it mattered, the drug soon took effect and she went out like a burnt out light-bulb. ----- 'Damn!' Mulder cried. He pounded the dashboard with his first, after throwing his cellular phone on the seat next to him. He squinted in the sunlight at the road and drove quickly. He'd just gotten word that a doctor on Scully's list was part of the FBI and might be the man they were looking for. So far he'd been unable to reach Scully. ----- Agent Alyssa Graves looked at her partner. Glen Wireton was looking down at his list of doctors and frowning. He stroked another name off the list. He had gone through almost half the list and there was still no leads. He glanced up at her, from where he sat in the drivers seat. 'How's your list coming?' he asked. She stood outside the car and leaned her palms on the half open window. 'It's going okay.' she said. 'But I have one more that I have to check.' she said and frowned. 'I haven't come up with anything yet, either.' 'Okay, listen, why don't you tell me your cellular phone number and I'll give you a call when I'm through with my list?' he said. 'Okay.' she gave him the number and then walked slowly back to her own car. She watched as he drove away and smiled at herself. she thought and got into her car. She revved the engine a few times, then squealed away. One thing she loved to do was drive like a maniac, but she was not going to see any doctors, she was going to the one she knew was really responsible for the murders. ----- Alan Penbrook wheeled the body, shrouded by a white sheet, on the gurney down the hallway. It was normal to see a doctor wheeling a body around, after all this was the autopsy ward of the FBI building. It was also normal to see one being loaded onto a van and driven away. The only thing that was not normal about this body was that it was breathing and not dead at all. His plan was fool proof and perfect. No one would ever know what happened to Dana Scully. He acquired the assistance of a medical student and loaded the body into the van. Then he swung himself into the drivers seat and was on his way away from the FBI headquarters. It felt strange to him, he hadn't wanted to hurt Dana. He'd even felt himself getting attached. Even though he had only met her the day before, there was something about her. Perhaps it was her strong feminine nature. Perhaps it was the fact that she had been investigating his case. Whatever the feeling was, he was saddened that he'd have to kill her. It wasn't that he'd not done it before, it was more like a remorse for something that could have been great. He shrugged his shoulder and drove the van across town, steadily towards the Lower's storage facilities. There he would be able to revive her and talk to her once more before he killed her and disposed of her body. ----- Dana Scully succumbed to the urge to wake up. She hadn't wanted to come out of her blissful, dreamless state, but something drew her to the surface. Her telephone. It was ringing and she needed to answer it. She groaned, not knowing where she was. Had she gotten drunk again? She tried to clear her head but it was misty and very confused. She struggled trying to sit up, eyes still glued shut. Her muscles weren't working, she couldn't sit up. Slowly she opened her eyes. It was a darkened room, only a little bit of light was shining from a lamp somewhere else. She focussed in on the ceiling and realized what was going on. Slowly her memories faded back into the light. She struggled and thrashed. Her muscles were working, it was just that she had been tied down. She raised her head off the table where she lay to look down. She saw her feet protruding from underneath a white sheet. Across her legs, abdomen, chest and wrists were large black leather strips. It reminded her of the table Frankenstein had been attached to in the old black and white movies. Fear had still not registered. She was not afraid, but still confused. She wiggled her unclothed toes. She knew that the sheet was the only thing that was covering her. Anger raged through her body and the fear that might have been there before her confusion subsided was pushed away. A shadow slowly moved across the table and she realized that he was still in the room. She groaned again and lowered her head back to the table. She stared into the eyes of her abductor. He had the most evil look on his face right at that moment that Scully wondered what she'd ever seen in him. Then the look softened. She stared at him wide eyed and then turned her head away, not wanting to look into his hideous face. 'Good afternoon, sleeping beauty.' he said. She did not reply, but rather continued to stare away from him. Her whole body shook with anger, embarrassment and shame. She felt his icy fingertips touch her cheek and she thrashed her head back and forth, her eyes coming to rest on his face. They were so wide with anger that he could see the whites all around. 'Don't touch me!' she cried. 'Okay.' he said, backing away and holding up his hands. The phone that had stopped ringing before started again. He looked over at a desk that was near the table, on which she lay. 'That thing has been ringing off the hook. I almost had the urge to smash it.' he said softly. Scully closed her eyes and droned out his voice for a few moments. She needed to think. >From what she could see, there would be no escaping this torture. And she was sure he was going to torture her. From the slashes on those poor children's necks, she knew it would be horrible. Yet, from the way he was talking, she almost thought that he had a thing for her. Scully was not one to believe in love at first sight. Perhaps obsession would be a good word. She could hear the whining of machines somewhere nearby and she wondered what kind of a laboratory this was. She knew it had something to do with DNA but it was unclear what kind of experiments were really going on here. The phone had stopped ringing again. she thought and that's when the fear really came into perspective. He couldn't save her, like he always had in the past. She'd have to deal with this one herself. She gathered all the courage she could and tried not to think about the real situation. She heard a faint giggling of keys and cracked open her eyes. He was leaned over her, slowly unlocking each of the leather straps which was held into place by a metal strip bolted to the table and a lock. She thought about how to escape once he had them undone, but she noticed that he had her gun in his other hand and her stomach knotted. 'I'm releasing you, only because I want you to see my work with your own eyes and see what good it is doing.' he breathed into her ear as he undid her right wrist. The gun was now dangerously close to her temple. 'What if I don't want to see it?' she asked. 'Believe me, you do.' he said and walked around the table, carefully keeping the gun pointed at her head. 'You see, the best thing about it, is that I have protection.' he said and a grin that would scare anyone, crossed his face. 'Protection?' she asked, as he released the final bind. 'Yes. Government protection.' he said and smiled wanly. Scully suddenly came into the realization that she and Mulder had stumbled into something far worse than they had at first anticipated. The government knew about his involvement in the murders. No wonder Skinner had given them the case, he didn't want someone in violent crimes to cover it up. He knew that she and Mulder would find the truth at all costs. 'Why would you kill those innocent children?' she asked, subconsciously inspecting his nails. They were short, not long enough to cause the wounds on the necks. She frowned. 'I didn't kill them.' he said. Then his expression turned to one of sorrow. 'I never meant for them to be hurt. I just extracted their blood and...' his voice trailed off and he backed away from her. His expression seemed to liquify, then turned solid again. 'Sit up!' he ordered. Scully grabbed the sheet that had been her cover and wrapped it more securely around her naked body. She had to wonder what he had done to her while she'd been out, but pushed the thoughts away from her head. She hoped that he was at least decent enough... No, he was not. Anger flooded her cheeks again. Tears began to stream down her face and she looked away. He threw a medical scrub suit at her and a white smock to wear. She changed, hiding as best she could behind the sheet, into the starched, green outfit. Having done that, she threw the smock over her shoulders and slid off the table. 'Stay where you are.' he commanded. She stood by the table, her bare feet cold on the concrete floor. She looked around the room. The walls were lined with computers, high tech ones by the look of it. DNA sequencer's, she assumed. There were rows of beakers and flasks on work benches along another of the walls. She shivered. This was the type of hidden laboratory that you only saw in the movies. She leaned against the table to gain strength, feeling her knees begin to wobble. 'Do you like it?' he asked, after a long while, sweeping a hand around the room. 'It's a fully funded government project.' 'Oh.' Scully choked out. She'd never seen such a terrifying doctor in her life. Usually they were dedicated to the work of the good, but occasionally, she guessed, there was a bad seed. She couldn't believe she'd gotten drunk with this bad seed just last night. She set her jaw and pushed away from the table. She noticed another door at the far end of the fair sized room and wondered what was inside. 'Show me what you've done.' she nodded towards the computer terminals. He smiled, delight growing in his eyes. He was going to get to show off. He nodded and slowly lowered the gun, obviously believing that she was not a threat, and walked toward a computer. She followed closely, waiting for a chance to get the upper hand. He sat pulled out a chair and pushed her into it, leaving his chilling hand on her shoulder. She felt a shiver travel down her spine but ignored it. 'This is the blood sample purifier. We remove any unpure agents and filter it through the system.' he said, pointing at a strange looking machine. He told her about how they had found a way, from young children's blood, that adults could remain younger looking. It was an odd thing, something very minuscule that needed to be mixed with the child's blood. A chemical of some sort, Scully was having trouble following him, even thought she understood a lot of what he was saying. He finished explaining and then leaned back against the work bench on which the machines had been set. 'I just wanted you to know that I never wanted to hurt you.' he said after a few minutes. He glared at her and she saw a passion there that burnt deep into her soul. Why did she always end up in these situations? She had no luck whatsoever. He reached out and caressed her cheek again, she did not pull away, but gritted her teeth and tried to ignore his cold fingers. It was not exactly working so well, but something changes that. The door swung open with a hard crash and Scully saw Agent Alyssa Graves standing in the light. She stepped through the door, holding her gun in front of her, one hand clasped around the wrist of her other. In an instant, a shot rang out and Scully watched as Alan Penbrook sank to his knees, a large red stain spreading quickly across his chest. 'Arghle!' he said, then fell forward onto his face, still clutching his chest. Scully glanced at the agent, relief coursing through her body. 'Thank god you're-' 'Shut up!' Alyssa hissed and slowly swung the gun towards Scully. Scully was surprised by this but the trauma was enough to make her feel numb all over. She really didn't feel anything except the knotting pain in her stomach. Somewhere along the way, Scully's phone had begun to ring again. Alyssa glanced angrily around the room and saw the phone lying on the desk. She grabbed it with her free hand, threw it to the floor and smashed it beneath her foot. 'Agent Graves, what's going on here?' Scully asked. She was standing now, looking between Graves and Penbrook, who was dead on the floor. 'That's Doctor Graves.' she corrected, then continued. 'He was mine until you came along!' Scully could only stare at her, stunned. 'Your's?' she asked. 'Hell, you can have him.' she said, her lips thinning into a humorless line. 'You made me kill him. I loved him.' she sobbed and the tears that streaked down her face would have emitted steam because her face was so red and distorted by anger. 'You know, I thought for some reason you would have caught on to me. I don't act like an agent, I know that.' she said and stepped toward Scully, shaking the gun slightly. 'You fooled me.' Scully replied. 'You're just an idiot. Along with Mulder and Wireton.' she laughed at that name. 'Wireton, what an stupid jerk. They wanted me to pretend I was an agent, so they signed me up with him, but he's just too dumb!' she hissed and closed the space between herself and Scully. Scully couldn't find anywhere to dodge that might protect her from a bullet. She was trapped against the row of equipment. She would have moved sideways, but Penbrook's body blocked the one side and the chair blocked the other. Graves jabbed the gun into her stomach and Scully doubled halfway over, just by the force. Graves looked into her eyes and stared, cold fury crushing Scully. The eyes alone felt like little daggers slashing out at Scully. Then the woman held up a hand and Scully noticed what she was meant to see. The fingernails were long, long enough to create the damage to the child's windpipe. 'You,' she gasped. 'You killed those children?' 'I couldn't help it with the first one. He thrashed too much and I accidently slashed his neck with my nails. He bled to death when we kept him locked up.' she sighed, boring of the game. 'That first one was an accident, but the others, well they were a craving. I needed to kill those children. Alan didn't like it, but I forced him to do it, because he loved me. That was until you came along, I could tell he was going to slip away from me, so I needed to kill him. I could see his passion for you. Could feel it burning in his soul, whenever he touched me.' she spat. The gun pushed further into Scully's stomach and felt like a foreign lump, she tried to move back. 'Stay put!' Graves cried. 'I never meant-' 'Of course not. No one ever does.' Her eyes glazed over and Scully knew that the end was coming. She could only watch in fear as Graves' hands tightened on the gun. Dana Scully heard two shots but felt only one. The heat seared through her stomach like a hot poker would melt a marshmallow. She looked down at herself and saw the red spot growing near the right side of her stomach. She was amazed that there was no pain, just a heat that could almost become unbearable. Her knees began to wobble and she sank to the floor, clutching her stomach. She pulled her hand away and looked at it, blood ran down through her fingers and down her wrist. She wiggled the red fingers and smiled. It was the weirdest smile anyone would ever see. It was as if she'd just met an angel. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped the rest of the way over. =========================================================================== From: lazydark@aol.com (Drakkar) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: Unfortunate Deceptions Part Five by Charleyne Hall Date: Sat, 09 Sep 95 17:11:49 GMT *Author's Note: I am sorry about the format of this one, my editor has chopped the hell out of it, so if you have trouble reading it, just download and try various viewers. One warning, I didn't do any research for this one, so there is no real scientific fact. I made it all up! Yee! Okee, enjoy. As always, comments, questions or suggestions are welcomed. lazydark@aol.com Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and the X-Files are copyrighted to FBC, 1013 and Chris Carter. I have not meant to infringe upon those copy rights. And so forth. Excuse any incorrect information. Unfortunate Deceptions Part Five - The Conclusion By Charleyne Hall ----- 'Shit!' Glen Wireton cried. He rushed over to Agent Scully and caught her just as her eyes rolled back and she fell forward. He hoped the wound was not enough to do any major damage. He'd arrived in the doorway to see his partner tighten her grip on the gun that was buried in Scully's stomach, he fired once and hit the woman in the back, but she had squeezed off a shot before she hit the floor and had hit Scully at an odd angle. He'd never seen so much blood in his life. There were pools around a man that had obviously been shot earlier. A red spot had soaked across Scully and he had watched in fear as she'd put her hand over the wound, then pulled it back to look at it. Then that odd smile. He shivered and pulled Scully carefully away from the other two bodies. He knew you weren't supposed to move injured people, but he couldn't be sure that Alyssa was dead, and in order to make sure, he had to move Scully out of the way. He half carried, half dragged Scully out of the mess of red and laid her down on the floor in the center of the room. She groaned and he knew that she was still alive. Her eyes flickered back and forth, but did not open. He gazed at her for another moment, then walked over to the other two bodies. He checked each for a pulse, in case. Neither had one. Both were dead as doornail's. He wiped his forehead and felt his knees begin to wobble. This was a hell of a first case and he knew he was going to be knee deep in shit. He dragged out his cell phone and placed two calls, the first to the paramedics, the second to Agent Fox Mulder. ----- There were sounds flooding into her ears. She heard sirens in the distance, voices nearby. She moaned. She couldn't feel anything, couldn't move. Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself in a darkened room, staring into a very welcoming face. Fox Mulder smiled as he looked down. Dana groaned again and tried to move. He put a hand on her shoulder and gently told her not to move. She smiled very weakly and drifted back out of consciousness and into the bliss beyond. ----- It had been two days since his partner had been shot. He walked down the hospital corridor and turned into the private room which served as her living quarters for the next couple of days. She was doing considerably better, they had needed to perform surgery for a pierced appendix. When he entered the room, he was surprised to find Agent Glen Wireton sitting in the guest chair. He smiled and nodded to the agent, who got up to leave. 'Please, don't leave.' Mulder said, and motioned for him to sit back down again. Until now, Scully had not looked at him. She turned her head on the pillow and glanced up at him through blue eyes. Her face was still white as a ghost but that was slowly being repainted. Her mouth turned up at the corners into a half smile, then she looked back at Wireton. Mulder leaned against the wall and watched. Wireton and Scully chatted neutrally for a few moments, but Mulder knew Scully was curious about something, he could see it in her eyes. She reached up from under the blankets and brushed her auburn hair to the side. Then she tactfully turned the discussion where she wanted it to go. 'How did you know where to look?' she rasped. 'It's a long story.' he said, then as if asking permission, he looked at Mulder who nodded and then pulled up another chair. If Scully had noticed the exchange of glances, she did not show it. 'Well, I was at our new office looking for something I knew I'd put on the desk and I came across a... It was a journal of some sort. She must've left it out by accident. The first thing it gave was an address. I mean, isn't that the stupidest thing for you to do if you've been committing murders?' he shrugged and leaned back. Scully nodded and struggled to prop herself up against the pillows, so she wasn't laying down. She winced at the pain in her stomach and waved a hand as Mulder began to get up. Finally she settled into a more comfortable position and fired another question. 'Did you read the journal?' she asked, her voice slurring a bit because of the antibiotics. 'I read only the first few lines, to know that I had to go there and see if there was any truth in it. When I got there, I stood outside the door and listened as she called me an idiot. I should have shot her sooner, but I wanted to hear more. That was before I saw the look on her face change and she tightened her grip. I shot her, but I wasn't quick enough. She squeezed off one last round.' he said and looked down at his hands that were twisting uncomfortably in his lap. 'You did just fine.' Scully said, firing a winning smile at him. He looked at her with liquid eyes and turned away. 'At least I'm alive.' she said. 'That you are. I hope you make a quick recovery.' he said and got out of his chair. He leaned over Scully and kissed her on the forehead then nodded to Mulder as he left the room. 'He's a sweet guy.' she said, when he'd left. 'I agree, but I hope Skinner realizes that when he reviews the papers on Agent Graves death.' Mulder said, taking the chair that was closer to Scully's bed. 'Well, if my own reports on the incident don't help him at least a little, then I'd be forced to think that Skinner has something against him. I hope things work out for him.' she said as she looked out the door. A silence fell for a moment. Then Mulder watched as Scully shrugged back into the bed. She was tired, he could see her eyes beginning to droop. 'Tell me, Mulder,' she said finally. 'What was really going on?' 'I'm not sure. I mean you know the parts about the killings and the experiments, but about the government involvement, there's no proof. If there was any, it's well hidden. They've done their jobs, covering their tracks. I suspect that agent Wireton will take a lot of heat on this. That's probably part of the reason he was assigned to it.' Mulder glanced away, anger flashing in his eyes. Scully had seen that look before. She knew it only meant that he was sorry innocent bystanders had been dragged into the muck again. 'Well, at least you're not the one.' she said. 'For once. But I bet I'll still have to explain myself to Skinner.' he said. Finally he looked back at her. 'So, for the truth, we're no closer to really finding out what's behind this case than we were when we started?' she asked. 'That's right. The only thing we are sure of is that the killings will stop. The experiments will not. Hell, there's not even any proof of there ever being experiments. That whole facility went to flames last night.' he curled his hand into a fist and glared angrily at it. 'Perhaps it's for the better, Mulder. Some things are better left unknown.' 'Perhaps.' he stood to leave. 'You're tired. I'll come back.' Mulder got to the door before Scully spoke again. 'Don't I get a kiss?' she joked, touching her forehead where Wireton had planted his lips. 'No. Only the hero's get to give the victims kisses. I'm not the hero this time.' he said and ducked out the door. Scully watched his back disappear, then she smiled. Mulder had indeed saved her many times, perhaps he was willing to allow the spotlight to shine on someone else. Not willing but maybe thankful. She rolled onto her side, with much effort and fell quickly asleep. Neither of the agents were aware that the evidence still existed where it had been expertly hidden within the Mona Lisa print. Perhaps they were better off not knowing. END There, that's it. Now, remember to send comments and suggestions, or flames to lazydark@aol.com Thanks. Hope you enjoyed this one. Some things cannot be explained. Most things need to be explained. The truth is out there, that's why Chris Carter created Fox Mulder. The truth is out there but so are the lies, that's why Carter created Dana Scully.