From: kzingirl@my-deja.com
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 03:22:37 GMT
Subject: NEW: Vindication (1/2) PG-13

Title: Vindication
Author: kzingirl

Distribution: Go for it. Just tell me.

Summary: A father passes out from a migraine. A daughter falls into a
coma. A mother dies from a brain annuerysm. Mulder and Scully
investigate.

Spoilers: A few references to older eps and the movie. The last half of
season 7 never happened.

Rating: PG-13 for a few choice words.

Category: Case-fic w/ a little MSR thrown in for good measure.

Disclaimer: Not the creator! (Insert frying pan blow here)

Feedback: Have at it. kzingirl@hotmail.com

Author's note at the end.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"No man choose evil because it is evil; he only mistakes if for
happiness, the good he seeks."
-Mary Wollstonecraft
A Vindication of the Rights of Men

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-Teaser-

Santa Maria, CA
12:27 p.m.


In the darkness of their van the two agents watched and waited. This
was it. Years of planning and preparation were going to pay off. Now it
was merely a matter of waiting for the right moment.

They wouldn't have much longer to wait.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

One look at Ian Colby would tell you absolutely nothing about who he
was. A nicely tanned and well-toned middle-aged surfer, he still
dresses like he did when he was in high school, with the only exception
being his OP shorts, which now come down to his knees. Nothing at all
like a physicist who pays the mortgage on his typical two-story
suburban home with checks from the DoD.

He walks through the sliding glass door from the backyard into the
kitchen where his wife Lori Tyson is cooking chili beans. Like him,
she's in her early forties with a slim build and a warm inviting face
that makes Ian smile every time he sees it. Also like him her relaxed
demeanor hides an intelligence that helped her earn a degree in
neurology and a job on the same project as her husband.

Sensing his approach she asks, "How's it coming?"

Ian wraps his arms around her waist and begins to kiss her neck as he
speaks, punctuating each word with a kiss.

"Just...a...few...more...minutes."

She enjoys this at first but by the end of the sentence she's pushing
him away with playful annoyance.

"You're going to make me burn the beans."

Her playfulness only encourages him to come back for more. This time
however she doesn't wait before pushing him away. This time she does it
a little harder. He gets the point.

He throws up his hands and says, "Alright. Alright. The tri-tips
probably done anyway."

As he walks out he calls back.

"Did you send Zane out for some ice cream?"

"Yeah he should be back in a few minutes."

Satisfied he turns his attention towards upstairs.

"Ashley lunch's almost ready. Come down and get the drinks."

He's about to step outside when Lori stops him.

"Ian, have you noticed how she's been spending a lot of time locked up
in her room lately?"

"Yeah but what teenager doesn't?"

"I know. I'm just a little worried that's all. She seems so
preoccupied."

"Look it's probably nothing. Still I can try talking to her if you want
me to."

"Maybe we both should talk to her. Just to make sure everything's okay."

"After lunch."

With the matter settled for the moment he walks back out into his well-
groomed backyard with its large brick grill perfect for cooking tri-
tip.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Upstairs Ashley, a tomboy with dark hair and even darker eyes, sits on
her bed watching her father check on the meat. After a few seconds she
turns away to stare at the mountain of debris covering her floor.
Moby's Everything is Wrong is playing in the background as she gets
into a meditative position. Closing her eyes she takes a deep breath
while her father takes the meat off the grill below.

He moves toward the house when suddenly his brow clinches and he drops
to his knees spilling the tri-tip onto the ground. Clutching his head
in pain he's unable to stand and is forced to crawl his way back into
the house.

Once inside he uses the counter that separates the dining room from the
kitchen to stand up and work his way into the kitchen. It takes a few
seconds but finally his bleary eyes focus on the body of his wife lying
on the floor.

"Lori!?!" he cries, before losing consciousness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Outside, oblivious to what's transpiring in the house, the two agents
watch as a dark blue Chevy Nova blazes past them and into the driveway.
Zane Tyson who's slightly older than Ashley and is wearing his usual T-
shirt, baggy shorts, and baseball cap occupies the car.

He gets out of his car, taking a brown paper bag from the passenger
seat with him, as he walks into the living room.

"I'm back."

Nothing.

"Mom? Ian?"

He rounds the corner into the kitchen, eyes widening in surprise when
he sees Ian passed out on top of Lori on the kitchen floor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-Act One-

Alexandria, VA
4:08 a.m.

Special Agent Dana Scully used to love to sleep in. As a child she can
remember eagerly looking forward to Saturday mornings spent blissfully
in bed watching cartoons until her mother made her get up.

Now, after being partnered with a hyperactive insomniac for eight
years, she's overjoyed whenever she gets to sleep past six. This
morning she is decidedly not overjoyed.

Checking her watch and visibly wincing when she sees how early it is
she knocks on the aforementioned partner's door.

Usually Fox Mulder has the ability to make puffy eyes and bed head look
positively gorgeous and silence any protest Scully may have. However
this time when he answers his door in slacks and an undershirt looking
wonderfully disheveled and wearing an irresistible grin Scully is
simply too tired to be swayed.

His greeting doesn't help.

"Mornin' sunshine."

"It's four o'clock in the morning Mulder. This better be one hell of a
case."

His smile fades a little as he steps aside to let her in.

Mulder picks up a stack of files from his desk as he leads Scully into
the living room. She sits down and glares at him as he sits next to her.

He is practically giddy with the possibilities of his new case and with
the flare of a proud papa he places the first file in front of her.

"Ian Colby. Forty-one year old husband and father in perfect health and
a resident of Santa Maria, California. Yesterday at about 12:31 p.m. he
suddenly developed a severe migraine and passed out."

Scully unenthusiastically picks up the file, looks at it and sets it
aside, before looking back up at Mulder, asking for more. He is only
too happy to oblige and produces another file.

"Ashley Colby. Ian's 14 year old daughter also in perfect health.
Yesterday at 12:31 p.m. she inexplicably fell into a coma."

Once again she looks at the file, puts it down, and looks back at him
expectantly. So he places file number three in front of her.

"Lori Colby. Ian's forty year old wife..."

"Let me guess, also in perfect health?"

"Ohhh...you're good."

"So what happened to her at 12:31 p.m."

"Massive cerebral hemorrhage. She was pronounced at the scene."

"And..."

"And what?"

"And this is it? This is what you dragged me out of bed for?"

"What, you don't find this a little odd?"

"Of course it's odd. But it isn't even close to being as urgent as you
made it sound on the phone. And it certainly doesn't warrant a federal
investigation."

She stops and considers something.

"So who called you?"

"What makes you think someone called me?"

"Because there is no way Skinner would have assigned you this 'case'
this early and it's too soon for you to have discovered it on your own."

She had him there.

"Peter Ljubenkov. He's an agent in the LA Field Office and he's friends
with the sheriff in Santa Maria and..."

"And they thought you'd be perfect for this case."

"Something like that."

"So what's your angle on this?"

"My angle?"

She gives him a "cut the crap" look.

"You mean like the fact that they both work at Vandenberg Air Force
Base for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency?"

"So you think this is another of our government's insidious plots that
employs absurdly complicated measures to use and abuse the American
people for their own nefarious purposes?"

"We won't know unless we go."

"Oh that was cute."

"I like to think so," he replies with a leer.

Finally she smiles.

"Give me my ticket."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Santa Maria, CA
3:17 p.m.

Two flights later Mulder and Scully drive up to the Colby house. Before
they can even get halfway up the walk Sheriff Jim Stone meets them.
He's in his mid-fifties, with short gray hair, a perfect smile, and a
fit physique that come together to make what some might call a "damn
good looking man." It also helps that he looks amazingly like Harrison
Ford, a fact that doesn't fail to escape Scully's notice as they
exchange handshakes and introductions.

"You know it really is nice to finally meet you two," he says as they
make their way into the house. "I mean after all the stories Ljubenkov
has told me about you I was beginning to wonder if you weren't just
some figment of his deranged imagination."

"What kind of stories," Scully asks.

"Oh you know stuff about liver-eating mutant, six foot long intestinal
worms, giant trash monsters...that sort of thing."

"That sounds about right, doesn't it Scully?"

"Don't forget the giant underground killer fungus."

Stone just shakes his head.

"Damn. I guess I owe that son of a bitch twenty bucks," he says under
his breath. "Anyway Mulder, what's your crazy theory this time around?"

Mulder shrugs.

"I'm not sure yet. Did you talk to neighbors to see if they had any
similar symptoms?"

"Not even a headache."

His question answered, Mulder begins looking around at the various
pictures. One in particular that catches his attention is of a younger
Ian and Lori with an Air Force pilot. He asks Stone about him.

"Oh that's Donnell Tyson, Zane's father. He died back in '82 in some
sort of training accident. Apparently even Lori doesn't know the exact
details since he was working on a top secret project at the time."

Watching Mulder listen to Stone's answer, Scully can almost literally
see the wheels in his mind turning as he comes up with some conspiracy
laden scenario that she'll have to refute. Before he can take this
tangent any further she turns to Stone.

"Have you found anything to indicate what may have caused this?"

"We've been through the whole house and haven't found a damn thing.
Hopefully when Connors finishes up with the autopsy we'll have
something a little more concrete to go on."

As if on cue, a silver Volkswagen Jetta comes screaming down the
street. Out of it steps a young man that looks like he should be
playing Dungeons and Dragons in his dorm room instead of cutting up
bodies in a morgue.

Quickly and without an iota of grace he runs up to the Sheriff and
stops, panting as if he'd run all the way from the hospital.

"Agents Mulder and Scully meet Max Connors, the local medical examinar."

"Thank God you're here cause I just...I don't even know where to start
with this one."

"What do you mean," Stone asks. "What did you find?"

"Well the cause of death seemed straightforward enough. I mean it
looked like she just popped an aneurysm or something. But when I did a
complete examination of the brain I didn't find any evidence of
anything like that. Instead I found a large concentration of
neurotoxins that seemed to point toward a sudden breakdown of the blood-
brain barrier and a rise in the ICP."

Mulder and Stone look at each other in confusion before turning to
Scully.

"Intracranial Pressure," she says in response to their unspoken
question before turning back to Connors. "But her records don't show
any previous symptoms."

"I know. That's what's confusing me. ICP simply doesn't spike like
that. It takes weeks sometimes even months for something like this to
happen. Still that's not the weirdest thing I found."

They all watch him as he pulls a small vile out of his pocket. When she
sees what it contains Scully's hand unconsciously moves to touch the
back of her neck. Maybe this does have something to do with the
conspiracy.

"Where did you find that," Mulder inquires, his voice low and serious.

"It was located behind the optic nerve. It looks like it's been there
for a while."

Mulder and Scully look at each other in confusion. Next to them Stone
can't help but feel the tension each of them radiate the second Connors
pulled out what appears to be a tiny computer chip.

"Something tells me you guys have seen this before."

An indecipherable look passes between them before Mulder answers.

"We've seen similar devices. Just not implanted at that location."

Scully reaches out to have a closer look at the chip.

"Has Lori ever been missing for an extended period of time?"

Stone's heard enough 'Spooky' stories to know what she's implying.

"You mean like has she ever been abducted by aliens," he asks with
enough humor to prevent offending her. "No, as far as I know she's
never been reported missing."

"What about their work," Mulder asks. "They're involved in some kind of
research for the Air Force aren't they?"

"Yeah but whenever I asked about it they just laughed and gave me
that "If we told you, we'd have to kill you" line. Why, do you think
their work has something to do with this?"

"I'm not sure. I'll need to talk to Ian first."

"Well he's down at the hospital right now if you want to talk to him."

"Great, let's go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they walked outside to get in their cars they gave no more than a
passing glance at the plumbing van parked across the street. In
contrast the occupants of that van were closely scrutinizing them.

"Damn, who called them in," the tall dark haired agent asks.

"Probably the Sheriff. Think we should call this in," the shorter blond
agent responds.

"Definitely. The boss is gonna want to know about this one."

"Yeah but he sure isn't going to be happy about it."

"That's why you get to call him."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the car on the way to the hospital Mulder gets a call.

"Mulder."

"Hey Kolchak. I gotta tell you, you sure know how to pick 'em."

"What do you mean? What did you find out?"

"That's the problem. I busted out my best kung fu and I still couldn't
find anything on these guys. The only lead I've got is that the chick
used to be married to some guy assigned to the 6571st before he died."

"Donnell Tyson?"

"Damn. How did you...?

"We saw his picture at the house. So what's the 6571st?"

"It's the Air Force's Aeromedical Research Laboratory. They're most
famous work is part of Project Pandora."

"That's where they used to zap people with microwaves to control them
or kill them right?"

"Yeah, some pretty cool shit if it wasn't being done to you. Some
reports say they were even able to read peoples thoughts by monitoring
the electric signals in their brains."

"They wouldn't happen to have done that by placing a chip behind the
optic nerve, would they?"

"That's one of the methods. Why?"

"Lori Colby had one."

"You think someone's trying to spy on her?"

"Maybe. I want to talk to her husband first to see if he'll tell us
anything."

"You want us to keep looking on this end?"

"Yeah. Try and concentrate on Donnell. See if you can find out more
about him. Especially how he died."

"Will do. Oh and don't forget to give Scully a kiss for me."

"No offense Frohicke but if I give Scully a kiss you can bet your ass
it won't be for you."

On that note he hangs up and turns to Scully expecting a raised
eyebrow. Instead she appears to be distracted as she just sits and
stares out the window.

'She's probably just tired.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Following behind them at a discreet distance is a plumbing van driven
by a man that looks nothing like a plumber. His boss' instructions had
been very clear: Follow them. If anyone can figure out what's going on
and where the subject is, it's them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Santa Maria Memorial Hospital
3:55 p.m.

Deputy Dong Lee had only been on the job for a few days when he was
assigned to sit outside of Ashley and Ian's rooms. It's not the most
glamorous of jobs but Lee treats it with the utmost seriousness,
although you wouldn't know it by looking at him. His almost constant
expression of surprise and uncertainty hides the confidence and
intelligence that earned him a spot on the force only months out of
high school.

Still this is only his first week so when he sees the Sheriff and two
very serious looking individuals in suits step off the elevator his
expression becomes a little more uncertain than usual.

He stands and nods toward the Sheriff, who's forced to suppress a smile
at his young deputies obvious nervousness.

"Afternoon, Sheriff."

"Afternoon, Dong. These are Agents Mulder and Scully. Anything new?"

"No sir. The doctor is still having trouble with the equipment so
they've been unable to make any progress."

"Do they know what's wrong with the machines," Scully asks.

"Um...not exactly. The maintenance guys are still working on it. Sorry."

"It's okay Dong. Do you know if Ian is up?"

"I think so. He went to see Ashley about an hour ago," he says
indicating Ashley's room across the hall. "Zane's in there with her
right now."

"How's he doing?"

Zane had been in Physics with Dong a couple of years ago and he'd
always been a bit of a class clown, constantly bouncing off the walls
doing and saying anything for a laugh.

"I'm not sure. I mean all he does is sit there and watch her. I think
the nurses were able to get him to eat but other than that I haven't
seen him do much of anything."

Stone nods. He remembers doing virtually the same thing as he watched
his wife slowly lose her battle with cancer.

"Good job, Dong. I'll get Bartik in here to relieve you in an hour or
so."

"Thank you sir."

Dong sits down again, this time with his back a little straighter, as
Stone knocks lightly on Ian's door.

"Come in."

The man that occupies the bed in the center of the room is not the same
man Scully saw in the photo. That man was relaxed and cheerful. This
one looked tired and pale, his normally bright blue eyes dull and
rimmed with dark circles. Still he manages a weak smile when they come
in.

"Ian Colby, meet Special Agent Mulder and Scully."

They all shake hands. Stone turns to Mulder and Scully.

"I'm going to go back to the house and wrap everything up. If you need
anything just call the station and they'll get a hold of me."

With that Stone leaves and Mulder and Scully sit in the chairs next to
Ian's bed.

"Thank you so very much for coming," Ian says weakly. "I-I honestly
didn't know what to do. I mean yesterday everything was fine and now..."

He stops unable to articulate his emotions.

"We're more than happy to help, Mr. Colby," Scully reassures him. "How
are you feeling today?"

"All things considered...not too bad. I still get a little dizzy whenever
I get out of bed. That's why I'm here instead of with Ashley and Zane.
And then there's this pounding headache that I've had since I woke up.
The doctors gave me a bunch of medication but it just won't go away."

Scully glances at his chart but without the benefit of an MRI or a CT
scan it's hard to even guess at a cause.

"Have you been able to remember anything more since you gave your
original statement," Mulder asks.

"Unfortunately no. All I can remember is getting hit with that horrible
migraine, crawling into the house, and collapsing. Then I woke up here.
That's it."

Scully puts his chart down and asks, "Before this did any of you
experience any kind of headaches, vision problems, disorientation...
anything like that?"

"No nothing like that."

That's when Mulder decided to make his move.

"What about your work on Project Pandora?"

Up until this point Ian's face had maintained an expression of
controlled concern, but at the mention of the project a look of barely
contained panic rages across his features. To his credit though, he
quickly recovers.

"I'm sorry I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on Mr. Colby, I'm just trying to find out what happened to your
wife and daughter."

"And I can assure you that our work had nothing to do with it."

"Unfortunately we won't be able to share your confidence unless you
tell us what exactly it is that you do. In which case we'll have to
assume that you may somehow be involved..."

Ian sees where he's going with this and jumps to his own defense.

"Where the hell do you get off suggesting that I would do anything to
harm my family? You're federal agents for Christ's sake, of anybody you
should know that there are some things that I simply cannot discuss."

In response Mulder takes out the chip that Connors had given them.

"You mean like why you're wife had a computer chip implanted in her
brain?"

This gets Ian's attention and he knows there's no use lying about it.

"That was part of our research. But it's just an interface. It doesn't
possess any sort of offensive capabilities. It doesn't even have the
capacity to handle enough energy to hurt the subject."

"Do you know of any other projects that might have had such
capabilities?"

"No but things are so compartmentalized that they could be building a
cold fusion reactor down the hall and we wouldn't even know it. You
don't honestly think the government did this to us do you?"

"I wouldn't put it past them. Have you threatened the project in any
way, given them any reason to do this to you?"

"No we wouldn't have need to. The stuff we're working on is designed to
save lives not end them."

This exchange has left Mulder disappointed and uncertain of where to
proceed. Scully however has simply been too preoccupied to give a damn.
Ever since they arrived at the house she's had a headache that's only
been increasing in intensity. While it hadn't been that bad when they
first arrived at the hospital, now all she wants to do is to go back to
her hotel room, pull the shades, and sleep it away.

Unaware of this Mulder asks, "Would you mind if we were to ask Zane a
few questions?"

Ian considers this for a moment.

"Actually I would. He's having a real hard time with this and seeing
that he wasn't actually there when it happened I don't see what that
would accomplish outside of upsetting him further...But if you think that
it's absolutely necessary, I'll allow it."

Mulder is about to say that it is when Scully suddenly rejoins the
conversation.

"No I'm sure we can hold off on that for now."

Mulder gives her a "what the hell do you think you're doing" look. She
ignores him.

"Thank you. He's already been through so much," Ian says with relief.

Scully nods with satisfaction. Finally she can go back to her room and
take care of this headache.

"We understand."

She then leaves making it very clear to Mulder that they are done. He
hesitates before following her into the hall, not at all pleased with
her decision.

"We can hold off?"

"I didn't think that we needed to question him."

"Oh sure we can just talk to one of the many other witnesses we have."

Noticing that they're beginning to attract the attention of Dong and
the other hospital staff they quickly duck into an empty room down the
hall.

"Mulder that poor boy has already lost him mother and there's a
possibility that he might lose his sister. Now what could you have
possibly asked him that you couldn't have asked Mr. Colby?"

Unable to answer her, he looks away in frustration.

"Do you even have a theory?"

Like Scully, Mulder has also been battling a headache since they got
into town and in a flash of frustration he demands, "Why am I the only
one that always has to have a theory? What about you, do YOU have a
theory?"

Scully is slightly taken aback by his tone but she quickly recovers and
responds in kind.

"No I don't. But then again I'm not the one that dragged our asses
across the whole damn country because I heard the words 'top secret
government project' and immediately had to stop everything and check it
out."

"Well excuse me for trying to help out a friend. And besides if you
think that this is such a waste of your precious time then maybe you
should just go back to D.C. and stop wasting mine."

"I didn't say I didn't want to be out here. I'm just waiting for them
to fix the damn equipment so we can start dealing with some actual
evidence instead of going off on some paranoia induced snipe hunt for
government conspiracies."

Before Mulder can say anything three quick shots ring out down the
hall. They both share a concerned look while they draw their weapons
and move cautiously into the hall, where young Deputy Lee is lying
unconscious on the floor outside of Ashley's room.

Hugging the wall, they advance toward the two rooms. He takes up a
position outside of Ian's room while Scully covers Ashley's.

At the end of the hall a young nurse nervously peeks around the corner.
Mulder motions for her to get back and call 911. She nods and leaves as
Mulder turns back to Scully and motions that they'll go on three. He
counts down on his fingers.

One...

Two...

Scully suddenly fills the doorway of Ashley's room, gun drawn, sweeping
the room. Surprisingly the room is empty with Ashley's various tubes
and electrodes strewn about.

From the other room she hears Mulder yell.

"Freeze! FBI!"

Scully wastes no time running across the hall to back him up.

Over Mulder's shoulder she sees the back of the shooter standing over
Ian' s lifeless body.

"Put the gun down and turn around slowly," she commands.

Following her instructions the shooter carefully places the gun on the
floor and turns toward them, as they stand mute with shock.

It's Ashley.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-Act Two-

Interrogation Room
Santa Maria Sheriff's Station
11:21 p.m.

Ashley is sitting at a stainless steel table looking down at her
handcuffed hands in her lap. She's been allowed to change into a pair
of jeans and a T-shirt. Scully is standing if front of her actively
questioning her while Mulder stands in the background, still nursing
his headache which has gotten to the point that's it's becoming hard to
concentrate. His expression and her terse tone indicate that they've
been at this for a while.

"Why Ashley," Scully asks for what seems like the thousandth time.

"I don't know," she mumbles in response.

"You don't know? Three shots point blank to the chest and you don't
know?"

Mulder's headache isn't the only one that hasn't gotten any better.

"I already told you, I can't remember what happened."

"That's convenient."

Mulder looks at Scully with a mixture of confusion and concern as she
turns away from Ashley and rubs the bridge of her nose. He decides to
deal with it later and instead approaches Ashley.

"I know we've already gone over this but what exactly do you remember?"

"I was in my room getting ready for lunch and then I...well the next
thing I know I'm in the hospital and my dad..."

Her voice trails off under muffled sobs, inducing Mulder to come over
to comfort her, completely convinced that she remembers nothing more.
Scully however is not so convinced. Actually she's pissed.

"Oh come on stop wasting our time with this crap. We've been at this
for four hours and we'll be here for four hours more if that's what it
takes to get you to tell the truth."

Ashley is still a little choked up but she's beginning to get angry.

"I AM telling the truth."

"Oh right you just happened to forget knocking out the deputy, taking
his gun, and killing your father."

In frustration Ashley cries, "Well if you're not going to believe me
why don't you just tell me what you want me to say so I can say it and
we can all get the hell out of here."

Mulder can see that the situation is quickly getting out of hand so he
moves over to Scully and gently places a hand on her arm.

"Scully," he pleads.

In response she pulls her arm away, an act that surprises and angers
him.

"Outside now," he commands.

Scully gives one last look at Ashley, who has her eyes, closed deep in
thought, before storming out of the room. In the hall Mulder is
standing with his arms crossed waiting for her.

"What the hell was that?"

"Her 'story' is an insult to our intelligence. And I for one am not
going to sit there and let her give us some bullshit about how 'she
doesn't remember.' I mean if she's going to lie to us she could have at
least come up with something a little more creative than that."

Mulder just sighs and rubs his temples in frustration. He's just too
damn tired to argue with her. Scully apparently comes to the same
conclusion and leans up against the wall completely drained of energy.
After collecting herself she moves toward him.

"Hey," she says, touching his face to get his attention. "We're both
tired and frustrated with this one okay. Maybe it would be better if
took a break from each other. You can stay here and keep trying to talk
to her and I'll go down and start on the autopsy."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Of course I am."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Interrogation Room

Ashley is still sitting at the table, eyes closed in meditation when
Mulder bursts into the room. His fight with Scully had left him edgy
and with little patience. It doesn't help that his stomach is getting
louder and louder and his eyes are getting heavier and heavier.
Finally there's his damn headache, which still hadn't let up.

"Alright what are you going to tell me that you couldn't tell her?"

"What are you talking about," she asks, surprised at his fierce tone.

"Cut the crap. You remember something else. I can tell. What is it? And
don't make me ask you again."

Reluctantly she answers him.

"I woke up and it was like I was in a dream or something. I mean I was
awake but I wasn't in control. Something else was there, in my head,
telling me what to do...and I just couldn't stop myself."

"So voices in your head told you to kill your father?"

"I know it sounds crazy but I don't know what to tell you. It all just
seemed so...unreal. Like it was me but somehow it wasn't."

"What about on Sunday when you passed out? What happened then?"

"That was weird too. I was just sitting there listening to my stereo
when all of a sudden there was this burst of static and then it was
like the static extended into my brain or something. Finally it just
got so bad that I passed out."

"And that's all you can remember?"

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Still you do realize that until we can prove your
story you're going to have to stay in here."

"Yeah I know. I just wish I could talk to Zane. Make sure he's okay.
At least he was up at the vending machines when I...well you know."

"I'll check up on him and see if I can arrange a visit."

"Thank you so much, Agent Mulder."

"Don't worry about it. And if you remember anything else or if you hear
the voices again I want you to give me a call okay."

"I will."

When he left the room he stopped and leaned up against the wall.

'Scully is going to love this.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Santa Maria Memorial

Sheriff Stone was standing in the hall when Fox Mulder came walking up
to the crime scene.

"Damn you look like hell."

"I missed you too. So, find anything?"

"That's the problem. We checked all the security cams and talked to all
the staff and all we could come up with is that Ashley got out of bed,
knocked out Lee, and shot her dad."

"Is there any evidence of anyone else leaving the scene?"

"Not unless you saw someone. Unfortunately the individual rooms don't
have cameras so we can't know for sure but all the windows were locked
and none of the videos show anyone but Ashley entering the room."

"What about Lee? What did he say?"

"He said he was just sitting there when Zane walked out of the room to
go to the vending machine and then someone hit him on the head from
behind and he was out. Fortunately he's only got a minor concussion.
What did Ashley say?"

"You really don't want to know."

"That bad, huh?"

"She said voices in her head made her do it."

"Well I certainly haven't heard that one before. You think she's
telling the truth?"

"Let's just say I'm not ruling anything out. Hopefully Scully'll find
something in the autopsy that will help us make sense of all of this.
Do you know if they've gotten the imaging equipment working? I really
want to get a look at Ashley's brain activity."

"Last I checked they were pretty much done."

"Did they find out what was wrong?"

"Yeah that's another weird thing. They said the circuits inside looked
like they'd been fried by some sort of EMP."

"What? Were they able to find out what caused it?"

"Nope. Whoever or whatever did it fried the cameras in there too. But
they said everything should be working now if you want to bring Ashley
in."

"Yeah do you think maybe you can get one of your men to bring her over?
Hopefully by the time we're done Scully will be finished with the
autopsy."

"Sure no problem. Oh and just so you know we put Zane up at the same
hotel as you and Scully."

"How's he doing?"

"It's hard to tell with him. But he's a strong kid. I'm sure he'll
handle this as well as anyone can be expected to."

"I hope so."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mulder is already in the MRI room when they bring Ashley in. She looks
apprehensively at the large machine in the center of the room.

"They're going to put me in that?"

"Don't worry about it. I get these things done virtually once a month.
There's nothing to be afraid of. Now if you need anything I'll be right
in here where I can hear you."

She still looks a little scared as he steps out into the observation
room. Finally after all the techs finish prepping her they slide her
into the machine and begin the scan.

Only seconds after the machine starts Ashley begins to give out this
blood curdling scream of pure terror. The tech next to Mulder shuts the
machine off as Mulder runs to her side. The instant she's out of the
machine she latches onto Mulder and begins to sob incoherently.

Then without warning she tries to escape from his grasp and run out of
the room. He's taken off guard and she manages to make it halfway down
the hall before the deputy that brought her in can catch up to her. Not
far behind her is a nurse with a syringe ready to sedate her. It takes
a few seconds for the drugs to begin to work but finally she stops
moving and they're able to bring her back in for the scan.

There's only one problem: the machine isn't working again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mulder is pacing around the outside of Ashley's room as the doctors and
nurses begin to hook her up to the various pieces of monitoring
equipment. Finally they're finished and the doctor begins to check the
readings. A look of surprise comes over him as he looks at her brain
activity.

"What is it," Mulder asks.

"I'm not sure. There's nothing necessarily unusual, her brain activity
is just a little higher than it should be under this kind of sedation."

The ring of his cell phone cuts off any further comment he may have.

"Mulder."

"I've got some more goodies if you want 'em."

"Give it to me straight 'hicke."

"Well I didn't find anything on your flyboy but I did find something
out about that girl that went veggie."

"What?"

"Turns out she wasn't exactly born au natural. Apparently the Colby's
had a little trouble birds and the bees and they had to seek a little
outside help from your friendly neighborhood fertility clinic."

"So? A lot of people have to do that."

"Yeah but not many of them have doctors that used to work at the Center
for Reproductive Medicine in Lehigh Furnace, Pennsylvania. AND are in a
directory at the Lombard Research Facility."

"Those bastards. Do you have any details?"

"We're working on it right now. What about you, has Scully checked out
her records?"

"Nothing. All their records were normal."

"Okay well we'll keep looking. You have any more leads?"

"Just out of curiosity what do you know about people who claim to have
been commanded to kill by voices in their heads?"

"You mean the CIA's favorite pastime? What happened?"

"Ashley killed her dad."

"And said the voices in her head told her to? Well there has been
evidence that by using certain electrical signals at the right
frequency you can make a person "hear" voices inside their head. There
was this researcher back in the sixties named Allen Frey who used
extremely low average power densities of electromagnetic energy to
induce the perception of sound in deaf people. Then there's Dr. Jose
Delgado's stimoceiver which was a small three-channel stimulator
implanted in the brain that supposedly was able to manage a person's
behavior. He even said that one day they might find an electrical
correlative of a persons thoughts and behaviors. Of course that was
back in '69 so who knows what they have now."

"You know Frohicke with all you know I just don't understand why the
women aren't falling at your doorstep."

"People in glass houses, G-man."

"Hey at least I have Scully."

"Yeah and I'd love to see you try and convince her of all that crap I
just told you."

"Haven't you heard? She's finally coming around to our side."

"Are you sure you want that?"

Mulder stops. He hadn't really thought about it yet. Ignoring the
question he continues.

"You know the drill, give me a call if you find anything else. I'll
talk to you later 'Hicke."

Looking at his watch he figures Scully should be about done so he goes
over to speak to the deputy stationed outside of her room.

"Make sure the doctor does an MRI on her as soon as the machines fixed.
And then give me a call."

He hands the deputy his card and heads over to he morgue to check on
Scully.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, what killed him?"

Scully turns around to see her partner standing over Ian Colby's
covered body, fixing him with an incredulous look. Slowly she makes her
way across the room and with a slight flourish removes the sheet.

"I'll give you three guesses, Sherlock."

"That obvious, huh?"

"You were expecting more?"

"Not really. So were you able to get a good look at his brain?"

"Yep. Perfectly normal. What about you? Were you able to get anything
out of Ashley?"

"Uh-huh. She confessed...sort of."

"What do you mean sort of?"

"Promise you won't get mad?"

She sighs and looks at him expectantly.

Before she starts tapping her foot he explains, "She said the voice in
her head made her do it."

"Oh that again," she says with mock exasperation.

"You don't believe her?"

"This time you'll only need one guess."

"Come on Scully think about it. We both know our government is
experimenting with the effects of electromagnetic radiation and
microwaves on the human brain right? Well what if they succeeded?"

"An underground antenna that disrupts the workings of the inner ears is
a far cry from producing voices in someone's head."

"How does hearing work? Your eardrum picks up the sound wave and turns
them into electrical signals that the brain interprets right?"

"Roughly yes. But how does that apply?"

"What if they figured out a way to bypass the eardrum and send the
signals directly into the brain? It's not entirely unheard of. I just
spoke with Frohicke and he was telling me about a researcher back in
the sixties that was able to use an electromagnetic signal to induce
the perception of sound in deaf people."

"The perception of sound, Mulder. Not a clear voice. And certainly not
one that could influence a persons actions."

"That was almost forty year ago though. They've almost certainly made
advances."

"I suppose it's possible. But why use Ashley? And why not kill Ian the
same way Lori was killed?"

Mulder's a bit surprised by her willingness to accept what he's telling
her.

"So you admit that Lori was killed?"

"The brain doesn't just do what her brain did. Something had to cause
it and hypothetically that something could have been some sort of
electric signal. Still I'll need more evidence to be sure."

"Of course."

"But you still haven't answered my question?"

"Maybe it didn't work the way they wanted it to. Maybe they were
realized it couldn't be controlled as precisely as they thought and
that's why it only killed Lori and knocked out Ian and Ashley."

"That all sounds plausible but what about Ashley?"

"It does?"

"Look Mulder what you're saying is a bit of a stretch but it's not any
harder to believe than any of the other crap we've seen. And besides
it's not like we have a mountain of evidence to work with so virtually
any conclusions we reach at this point are pure speculation. So, what
about Ashley?"

"That was the other thing Frohicke found. Turns out Lori had to go to a
fertility clinic to conceive Ashley. A fertility clinic run by a doctor
with ties to the Lombard Research Facility."

Scully stops to process the implications of what he just said.

"But...but I checked her medical records. There's nothing to indicate
that she's anything but a normal child."

"Yeah but has anyone ever run tests on her brain?"

She sees where he's going with this.

"But I checked her readouts when she was comatose. There didn't appear
to be any anomalous brain activity."

"Maybe the coma was affecting it somewhat."

"Maybe. Do you know if they ever figured out what was wrong with the
MRI?"

"It was neutralized with an EMP. They fixed it this morning but when we
tried to scan her she came unglued. By the time we'd sedated her it was
busted again."

"Something else is going on here."

"It's her Scully. She's the key to this. I know she is."

"Did they say how long it was going to be before they fixed the MRI
again?"

"No but I figure it's gonna take 'em a couple of hours so maybe we
should head back to the motel and get some food and some rest. It's
getting to the point where I don't know what's louder: my stomach or my
head."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Motel Six

Zane had spent most of the evening locked in his guarded hotel room
lamenting his current situation. Everything was falling apart and there
wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. It was entirely up to Ashley
now.

He was in the middle of this train of thought when there was a knock on
his door.

"Come in."

It was Agent Mulder.

"Hi Zane. My name is Agent Mulder."

"I know."

"I just saw the light on and thought I'd come check on you. What are
you doing still up?"

"Can't sleep."

"That's understandable. So other than that how are you feeling?"

"Alright I suppose. But...well, you know."

He stops, not wanting to dwell on it and decides to switch gears.

"Do you really think she did it?"

"I hope not."

That was not the response Zane was hoping for, although for different
reasons than Mulder suspected. Realizing that Zane wasn't exactly in
the mood to talk he gets up and gets ready to go.

"You sure you're alright? Because if you want to talk about it..."

"That's okay. I'll be fine. Nothing a few years of therapy won't fix,
right?"

Mulder chuckles lightly at this but there's something in Zane's tone
that makes him wonder if there isn't something more. Still he figures,
whatever it is, he can wait until morning.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Motel Six
12:27 a.m.

The two agents had been monitoring the case with renewed interest since
the arrival of Mulder and Scully. One thing was for sure wherever those
two went interesting events followed and that was perfectly fine by
them. It was about damn time this case got interesting.

Still they were starting to get restless again. They had called their
superiors a few hours ago and received the same instructions: Watch and
wait. We'll tell you when to move in. But now that Mulder and Scully
are both in their rooms sleeping they were stuck staring at the facade
of a small motel just off the freeway.

Fortunately for them, that was about to change.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mulder is shocked when he rolls over and notices the time. He hadn't
meant to sleep that long and the fact that Scully hasn't come over to
wake him means she's either still sleeping herself or decided that he
needed the rest. With a quick peek through the adjoining door he sees
his first instinct was right.

'Must be getting old,' he thought. 'We can't jet off across the country
without sleep like we used to.'

He laughs at this thought as he goes to the bathroom to relieve
himself. He's still laughing when, as he's washing his hands, he hears
a door open.

Assuming it's the adjoining door he calls out, "Hey Scully, can you
believe how long we both slept? Either we're getting older or the
jetlag's just starting to accumulate."

When she doesn't respond he goes out to take a look.

"Scully?"

Nothing.

He checks her room and there she is still sleeping peacefully.

'That was odd.'

Shaking his head he walks back into the bathroom to splash water on his
face.

'Why am I still so tired,' he wonders as he notices the dark circles
that hang heavily from under his eyes.

He only looks down for a second to splash water his face but when he
looks up, he sees someone standing behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Scully is deep sleep when all of a sudden there's a faint bang followed
by the breaking of glass. She stirs. Then, slightly louder, there's a
thud. She's almost awake. Finally there's a huge bang against the wall
adjoining their rooms followed by a larger crash than before. Now she's
up. She grabs her gun and tries to open the adjoining door but it's
locked.

Quickly she darts out of her room to the parking lot hoping to go
through the front. Once outside the sight of a badly parked police car,
lights ablaze, stops her in her tracks.

'What the...'

Before she can even finish that thought. Mulder comes flying through
the large glass window at the front of his motel room.

Scully's initial shock is almost immediately turned to worry.

"Mulder!?!"

She rushes over to help him, ignoring the shards of broken glass around
his bruised and battered body as they tear into her bare feet. First
she checks his pulse, desperate for any sign of life. Then she notices
something in her peripheral vision.

It's Ashley, sitting on Mulder's bed, shaking uncontrollably.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

To be continued...

Vindication (2/2)
by kzingirl

-Act Three-

Santa Maria Memorial Hospital
2:05 p.m.

Dana Scully watches as a group of nurses slowly clean and dress the
many wounds covering his back. He'd only been wearing a pair of boxer
when he'd done a bad Superman impression out his window and the results
hadn't been pretty. Almost every inch of him is covered with some sort
of scratch or cut. The beating he'd taken before hand also accounted
for a number of his injuries including a minor concussion and an
unsightly black eye.

Scully had also come away from the incident with a few scrapes. Her
feet had suffered a number of cuts, although fortunately none as
serious as some of the ones that marred Mulder's back and chest.

She's watching them gingerly turn him over when Sheriff Stone calls
from behind.

"How is he?"

"He's stable but he's still out cold. The doctors don't expect him to
wake up until later tonight."

"What about your feet?"

When the Sheriff had arrived at the hotel she'd been resisting the
attempts of the paramedics to take her back to the ambulance and check
on her feet. That would have meant leaving Mulder's side and there was
no way in hell she was going to do that until she was certain he was
okay.

Finally he regained consciousness for a few seconds, during which time
he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. This was enough to convince her
to allow the paramedic to tend to her feet even though she still
demanded to ride to the hospital in the ambulance with him.

"They're fine. I've already been pacing on them. So did you find
anything at the hotel?"

"Just Ashley and Mulder's prints."

"What about the deputy stationed outside of Zane's room? Did he see
anything?"

"Well at the time of the incident he wasn't outside. Apparently Zane
was feeling a little lonely so he asked the deputy to come into his
room. They were watching TV when Mulder took his swan dive."

"Damn. What did you find out about Ashley?"

"The deputies outside of her room said one minute she was there and
then the next minute she was gone. From the tapes I've seen it looks
like they just let her walk right by them. After that she simply
strolled out to the parking lot and took their car."

"Didn't anybody see her?"

"Yeah although on the tapes none of them seemed to care and they didn't
remember it when we interviewed them."

This scenario is all too familiar to Scully.

"What does she say?"

"You mean you didn't hear?"

"What?"

"She lost consciousness on the way to the station."

"Did you do an MRI?"

"We couldn't. The damage this time around was much worse and they don't
have the parts they need to fix it. Still considering everything that's
happened I'm having her transferred to the county hospital in San Luis
Obispo. They have a secure wing there for prisoners. The transfer's set
for tomorrow morning so we'll be able to use the equipment they have
there."

"Well then I suppose I'll just hang around here until Mulder wakes up.
Maybe he can tell us something."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first thing that Dana Scully sees when she wakes up is his face.

He's lying on his back but his face is turned toward her, peaceful and
relaxed under the intoxicating effects of a deep, dreamless sleep. His
hair completes the picture, sticking out in every direction virtually
demanding to be ruffled. And yet it's chaotic style looks completely
planned, like an entire team of stylists worked for hours to give him
the perfect 'bed head.'

It's not a bad sight to wake up to and it's certainly one that she
wouldn't mind getting used to it. Rolling over in bed every morning,
slightly earlier than usual just to watch him sleep contentedly. The
time, and he, would be hers to enjoy, and no one else's.

A stolen moment in their hectic lifestyle, she wouldn't have to think
of all the horrible events that dotted the landscapes of their lives.
He would make up the entirety of her existence and all other concerns
would be forgotten, even if just for a few minutes. Just like baseball.

And then on occasion they could switch places and she could wake up to
find him smiling down at her, beaming with happiness and
contentment. 'Oh yeah,' she muses. 'I could definitely get used to
that.'

'Except for the black eye and the bandages,' she adds. 'Those would
have to go.'

It's these injuries that eventually break her train of thought with the
memory of the previous night.

Slowly she begins to take stock of her current surroundings.

She's in a chair next to Mulder's bed waiting for him to wake up. She
must have fallen asleep sometime during the afternoon and is surprised
to notice that it was beginning to get dark outside. It had taken the
doctors nearly three hours to clean and dress his many cuts and
lacerations and once they were finished she was surprised at how tired
she still was.

It's at this point that the Sheriff knocks lightly at the door.

"Is it okay if I come in?"

"Sure."

"How is he?"

She picks up his chart and scans it quickly.

"He's doing good. All he needs right now is lots of rest and even more
pain medication."

"Glad to hear it. I was just coming by to tell you that Ashley's up if
you want to talk to her."

Scully glances at her partner before she decides.

"Good. Where is she?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zane is not happy with his sister.

"Damn it Ash, what the hell were you thinking?"

"You know damn well what I was thinking."

"But they're FBI. Do you know how much trouble you could get in for
this?"

"And do you know how much worse it would be if they found out the
truth? I already told you; they're not to be involved. I have to get
them out of the way before I can do anything."

"How? By killing them?"

"No. I'm not that stupid. I just need to make them understand that they
should leave."

"What if they could help? I was talking to Dong and he said that
they're from some special unit or something that handles these kinds of
situations."

"I said no okay. We'll just stick to the plan and everything will out
okay."

That's when Scully knocked on the door.

"Ashley?"

"Come in."

She opens the door and notices Zane.

"Oh hello Zane. Would you mind leaving your sister and I alone?"

Zane glares at Ashley as he gets up.

"No problem. I'll just be out in the waiting room."

Before he leaves he stops at the door.

"Think about what I said, Ash."

"Only if you remember what we talked about."

Frustrated Zane leaves the room closing the door behind him.

During their exchange Scully had been looking at Ashley's charts and
readouts. They all seem perfectly normal.

"How're you feeling, Ashley?"

"Come on Agent Scully we're both too damn tired to waste each other's
time with meaningless pleasantries. Why don't you just get to the point
and save us both a lot of trouble."

"Fine. Why?"

"I had to."

"You had to?"

"Yes. Although for reasons you wouldn't understand."

"Are these the same reasons you killed parents?"

"Didn't Mulder tell you? The voices in my head made me do it."

"And these same voices told you to defenestrate Agent Mulder?"

"Like I said, you wouldn't understand."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Fine. If you knew that the survival of Agent Mulder would mean the
death of countless others, could you kill him?"

"Excuse me?"

"It doesn't even have to be countless others. It could be just a single
innocent life. Could you do it? Are you willing to do whatever it takes
to protect the lives of people that you don't even know, people that
will never know what you've done for them?"

"Is that what you think you're doing?"

"I'm just doing what everyone else does."

"And what's that?"

"What I think is right. Now if you don't mind I'm still very tired and
I'd like to get some sleep."

Scully knows she won't get anything else out of her and frankly she's
too tired to even try. With one last warning look she turns and leaves
the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On her way back to Mulder's room she passes Zane and fixes him with a
accusing glare.

"If you know anything..."

"I'm sorry Agent Scully I don't know what you're talking about," he
says without conviction.

"You know you're not helping her."

"Maybe."

Without looking back he returned to his sister's room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By the time Scully gets back to Mulder's room she's alternating between
livid determination and exhausted frustration. That is until she sees
Mulder awake and talking on the phone. His eyes settle on hers and she
gives him a reassuring smile. At least he's okay.

"Thank again, 'Hickey," he says before hanging up.

She looks at him with mild surprise.

"When I don't answer the phone he calls the local hospital."

"Good plan."

"So what exactly happened to me," he asks before she can inquire about
what Frohicke said.

"You were thrown around your room and out the window."

Mulder grimaces and asks, "How bad?"

"Unfortunately you were only wearing your boxers so you've got scrapes
and bruises over about 85% of your body"

He gingerly pulls up the collar of his hospital gown and looks down at
his bandaged body. He grimaces again.

"How many stitches?"

"You were pushing a hundred. It took them nearly three hours."

Mulder's dry humor kicks in and he manages a smile.

"A new record."

After a beat he adds, "I suppose I should be thankful that I don't
sleep naked, huh?"

Scully smiles at this in spite of herself and shakes her head.  She
then turns serious.

"I think you were right. Ashley is the key to all of this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well she was the one that attacked you. And when I went down to talk
to her a few minutes ago she was definitely hiding something."

"It wasn't her Scully."

"What? We found her in your room after you came flying out of your
window."

"I don't even remember her being there."

"Then who did it? I mean you didn't throw yourself out the window, did
you?"

"No."

"Then who?"

He pauses reluctantly.

"Donnell."

"Oh I see. A man who's been dead for almost twenty years threw you out
the window. Okay fine let's say that that's true we still have the
question of what the hell Ashley was doing there?"

"I don't know. Like I told you, I don't even remember her being there."

"Maybe because she didn't want you to."

"What do you mean?"

"The Sheriff said that on the security tapes she just walked right out
without anyone stopping her. Sound familiar?"

"Did she have a little piece of paper with 'Pass' written on it?"

"Mulder I'm serious."

"So am I. I know what I saw Scully. It was Donnell."

"How do you know that what you saw wasn't just what she wanted you to
see?"

"Yeah while all one hundred pounds of her threw me around the room."

"At least that's more plausible than a ghost."

"I didn't say he was a ghost."

"What?"

"While you were gone Frohicke called. He did some research and found
out that Donnell died under some rather suspicious circumstances while
working on a top secret project."

"But we knew that already didn't we?"

"Yes but what we didn't know was that Lori and Ian were in charge of
the project up until a few months before his death when they were
transferred to an entirely different project in an entirely different
part of the country."

"And so you're thinking that maybe he didn't die at all? That the Air
Force arranged his death and wanted to make sure that no one that gave
a damn would be around when they did?"

"It makes sense."

"Maybe."

He looks at her expectantly but she just pinches the bridge of her nose
and looks away.

"What, no rebuttal? I'm sure I left a few gapping holes in there for
you to point out. And I didn't even touch Ashley."

"Look Mulder I'm really not in the mood for this. I'm tired. I have a
pounding headache and frankly I don't know why I even bother come in
the first place. It's not like you ever listen to me. I mean why would
you, you're always right anyway. I should just shut up and trust your
instincts."

With a sigh she sits on the side of his bed and in a surprising rush of
emotions he reaches out for her hand to get her attention.

"Scully don't you...Listen I appreciate the sentiment but I don't want
you to trust my instincts."

She looks at him.

"What?"

Mulder looks away trying to figure out how to say this.

"Until I met you no one had ever really cared enough to challenge my
theories or question my ideas. They either believed what I said without
question or dismissed it without consideration. But from the second you
walked into that office I knew you were different because you actually
listened to what I had to say. Even if you didn't agree with my
theories you at least considered them and even more importantly you
actually took the time to come up with an argument against them."

The look on Scully's face shows that she's having a hard time
processing what he's just told her.

He stops again and tries to translate his tempestuous thoughts and
emotions into something comprehensible.

"Let me try this again."

"Despite all the stupid, sarcastic remarks I make and all the bitching
I do, I need you. I need you to question my every move, thought,
theory, everything. But what I really need you to do is realize that I
listen to and think about every argument, every objection, every
rebuttal you've ever given me."

"Don't you understand? When I said that your science, your strict
rationalism, saved me, I was talking about how every challenge you put
in front of me, every objection you made, only made me try that much
harder."

"Without you I'd always wonder if I'd covered everything, if there
wasn't something I'd missed. But now I don't have to worry. I know that
even if I do miss something that you'll be there for me, watching my
back, making sure all my bases are covered. You don't see me as just
the boy genius of the BSU or that spooky guy in the basement. You
see and accept me for who I am: someone who's doing whatever they can
to solve the case. And that's what makes me try even harder. Because I
know that someone cares about who I am and what I believe,
imperfections and all."

Mulder's sincere words have rendered Scully effectively speechless,
just like they did in his hallway nearly 3 years ago. At first he's
afraid. Maybe he's said too much. Maybe she doesn't believe him. But
when he finally gets the nerve to look into her eyes he doesn't
see any of that, all he sees is exactly what he was talking about:
acceptance.

She sees his obvious insecurity and gives him a reassuring smile.
Message received.

Finally she speaks.

"Mulder I had no idea."

"Yeah well it wouldn't be fair for me to expect you to. I mean it's not
like I'm Mr. Expressive right?"

She smiles again. Neither of them are experts at conventional forms of
communication.

"I may be right 99.9% of the time," he continues with a smug grin that
barely hides his uncertainty. "But there's still that .1% when I'll be
wrong and I'll need you to call me on it."

"I love you too."

A flash of surprise passes across his features and Scully's reminded of
her earlier remarks. Now it's her turn to correct some misconceptions.

"Did you know that for the past eight years I've had a standing
invitation to go back to teach at Quantico for twice the money I'm
making now?"

"What?"

"If I'd wanted to I could have left years ago. But I didn't. Because
despite all the stupid, sarcastic remarks I make and all the bitching I
do, today not withstanding, I honestly do want to be with you. So wipe
that surprised look off your face and start believing what you just
told me. Remember, 99.9% of the time you're right and this isn't an
exception. I do care about you. I do accept you; imperfections and all
because I know you're out here busting your ass trying to solve these
cases just like I am. You just do it a little differently than most.
And I wouldn't trade what we have for anything else in the world."

"Scully I don't...I...um...Thank you?"

Lifting up a leg she starts to get into bed with him.

"Your welcome. Now scoot over and shut up. I'm tired of talking. I just
want to enjoy the moment."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile outside the hospital Ashley Colby walks up to a random car in
the parking lot. The doors unlock at her approach and the car starts
easily enough, especially considering she doesn't even have a key.

Driving out of the parking lot she only gives a passing glance at a
plumbing van whose two occupants don't even notice her leaving. They
lost consciousness before she even left her room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

During the day the jungle gyms and swings at Wilson Park are filled
with bus loads of children laughing and playing. But those children
have all gone home and all that remains is a single solitary figure
sitting on the swings.

He's a slightly shorter than most with a strong compact build. His hair
turned gray nearly a decade ago even though he was only in his mid-
thirties and his eyes are surrounded by wrinkles and deep dark circles.
This man has not had an easy life.

Neither has the young girl approaching from the parking lot down the
hill. She's spent a majority of her life amidst fear and confusion,
uncertain of who and what she was. Too afraid to reach out and confide
in anyone she's given herself over to the world of comic book
superheroes and science fiction novels. The characters that inhabit
them have always been closer to her than any person she's ever met in
the real world, somehow they understand what she's going through even
if they're creators do not.

Except now she's finally found someone who understands the pressures
she deals with every day, the problems inherent to their unique
abilities. It's too bad then that only one of them will survive to see
the sun rise.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at the hospital Mulder and Scully are blissfully unaware of all
that's transpiring at the park merely a few miles away. It's not their
fault though. They aren't supposed to be involved and those that are
have been making a concerted effort to keep them out of harms way.

Zane however has other plans.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It takes him a few seconds to focus on his surroundings but when he
sees the three deputies lying on the floor he immediately remembers
where he is.

Somehow he knows exactly where she's going and he decides that this has
gone on long enough. He's tired of following her lead and he's finally
going to do something about it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at the park Donnell Tyson watches as Ashley slowly walks up the
hill. She's practically radiating a kaliedescope of anger, fatigue, and
fear and he's genuinely disturbed by her current state of mind.

He never intended for her to be the one to do it and he hopes she can
understand why things had to turn out the way they did.

"Ashley," he says as he steps toward her. "Before you say anything I
just want you to know how sorry I am that you had to do what you did.
Still I am proud of you. You need to know that. You need to know that
what you did had to be done."

"You bastard why don't you just say it. I killed my parents. People
that loved me unconditionally. People that made countless sacrifices
for me. And I killed them for it. But at least I didn't do it for the
reason that you were going to do it for."

"Damnit Ash I thought we'd worked past this. This isn't just about us.
We simply don't have time to fight amongst ourselves. That's just what
they want us to do and we can't forget what's at stake here. We have to
remember that we have a greater responsibility here."

"A greater responsibility than your wife and best friend?"

"This is bigger than them and if they knew what was at stake they'd
understand."

"But we didn't give them that chance did we?"

"Do you think I wanted this? If there were any other way I would have
taken it but we simply cannot take care of them and still get done what
we need to do. You've spent the last few days trying to handle your
brother and those two feds so you should know better."

"But together..."

"No. This discussion is over. They are loose ends, obstacles to our
objective and if you can't bring yourself to look at it that way than
maybe you shouldn't come with me."

"What about you son is he just a loose end to take care of too?"

He looks away and she knows.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are watching television when Zane comes
running in.

"She's gone."

Scully's up and out of bed the second he finishes the sentence leaving
Mulder to fend off the various tubes connected to his body on his own.

"When," Scully demands.

"I'm not sure. Maybe a few minutes."

"Do you know where she's going," Mulder asks as he finally frees
himself and begins rummaging through his overnight bag in the closet.

"And where the hell do you think you're going," Scully interjects.

"Look Scully we don't have time for this argument right now. We both
know I'll end up going with you so we might as well save some time and
get to the important stuff. Like where Ashley's going."

Scully briefly considers objecting to his comments but she decides
against it. He's probably right. Once he sees that she's not going to
fight him on this Mulder heads to the bathroom to change.

"I know where she's going," Zane says. "But I'll only tell you if you
take me with you."

"Zane come on we don't have time for this," Scully points out.

"Exactly so let's go."

"Zane..."

"If they see just you or a squad of cops they're going to freak and
this will all end badly. But if I'm there we might be able to do
something to stop this before it gets worse."

"What do you mean they?"

Before he can answer the question Mulder comes out of the bathroom and
grabs his shoes, socks, and gun.

"I'll tell you in the car," Zane says as he moves out into the hall.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I thought we decided that he could come with us."

"I know and I'm sorry. It was the only way I could think of to get you
to come with me but...it's just...We can't protect him," Donnell admits,
looking away in shame. "I can't protect him."

"You could at least try. He's your son for Christ's sake."

"I know that," he yells in frustration. "But I also know them. If they
find him, if they take him...it's all over. I could never walk away from
him."

Ashley sighs and some of her anger abates.

"But you could walk away from me?"

He looks up at her, his eyes filled with sadness.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to. That if they ever caught you, you'd
know what had to be done."

"What if you were wrong?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"She's going to meet Donnell isn't she," Mulder asks as Scully pulls
out of the hospital.

"Just make a left and keep going down this street. It's gonna be on
your right," Zane tells Scully before turning back to Mulder.

"Yes."

"He's her father isn't he?"

That question's from Scully and Mulder turns to her with mild surprise.

"It makes sense if you think about it," Scully says with just the
smallest hint of a smile.

Mulder just turns back to Zane.

"How?"

Zane then goes on to explain that Donnell's death was faked so that the
Air Force could experiment on him without the fear of reprisal from his
family. Apparently their experiments were a success. It wasn't very
long before Donnell realized what they were doing and why. When he did
he killed all the doctors working on the project and trashed enough of
their records so that the experiment could never be repeated.

"But they still had a sample of his genetic material," Mulder chimes in.

"Right. But they couldn't figure out what exactly the doctors did to
change him and they couldn't track him down to get at him themselves..."

"So they created Ashley," Scully concludes.

"He hates them and he's spent every moment since his escape getting
ready to take them down. They couldn't get to him so they needed
something they knew he'd want. To lure him out in the open."

"Are they here now," Mulder asks.

"Yeah but Ashley took care of them."

"How?"

"Both her and Donnell have the ability to read and influence the
electronic signals in the brain. It's simply a matter of hitting the
right frequency. She didn't kill them but she made sure that they
wouldn't interfere."

"But she did kill Lori and Ian didn't she," Scully asks him softly.

Zane looks away.

"If she didn't Donnell would have. And she couldn't get to him and
protect them at the same time. She felt it was best to make the first
move."

His tone let's them know how much he agrees with that idea.

Mulder asks, "Is that what she's gone to do? Get him?"

"She won't make it. He's too strong," Zane says, as Scully pulls into
the parking lot at Wilson Park.

Without warning he jumps from the car and begins running up the hill
towards the playground.

That's when Mulder and Scully notice the gun he's pulled out of his
waistband.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Up on the hill Ashley watches in horror as her brother charges toward
Donnell with a gun from one of the guards she knocked out.

"No," she screams, desperately trying to concentrate enough to stop the
inevitable.

But she's too late. Scully has already leaped from the car and charged
up the hill after him, her gun drawn. Ashley frantically tries to focus
but ultimately she can only watch in horror as Scully pulls the trigger
twice in quick succession hitting her brother in the chest.

Behind her she hears Donnell let out a quiet sob while his mind rages
to gain control over the emotions that wage within.

In front of her she sees Scully's face turn from shock to horror as she
realizes what she's just done.

Further in front of her still is Mulder, who barely had time to get out
of the car before his partner's actions.

Then she feels it.

Donnell regains his focus and in one instant she knows exactly what he
has planned.

Mulder quickly runs from the car, his gun trained on Scully, calling
her name in desperation. She doesn't answer. She simply turns and aims
her gun at him stopping him in his tracks. He too raises his gun and
they both are left to stare at each other in fear, the situation
completely and utterly out of their control.

In the playground Ashley turns to Donnell.

"Damn it Donnell, they're FBI Agents! You kill them and it'll only
attract more."

"They know too much Ashley."

"They knew too much before they even got here. Can't you see they're on
our side. They want the men that did this to us as much as we do."

"That's not what you told Zane. Besides it doesn't matter. We can't
protect them any more than we could your brother or your parents."

"Maybe we won't have to. His abilities are still there. They just need
to be accessed again."

"But what about her? If something happens to her you know he'll do
whatever it takes to save her even at the expense of our objective. And
then there's that chip and her condition."

"None of that changes the fact that we can't kill them without blowing
the whole mission."

Donnell stops thinking through the various possibilities. She's right
and he knows it but he simply can't come up with an alternate strategy.
And then it hits him.

"We won't kill them."

Despite what he says Ashley knows that this is far from what she
intended.

"He can do it," Donnell continues. "We can make it look like a
murder/suicide. Half the people he knows think he's crazy anyhow right?
Sure people will question it to a certain degree but there will be no
other evidence to the contrary and they'll just have to accept it."

Mulder and Scully look at each other, shear panic radiating from every
pore. He's plotting their deaths and try as they may they simply can't
change their current situation. All they can do is hope and pray that
Ashley will somehow find a way out for them.

"What about me," Ashley asks.

For a moment Donnell looks at her in confusion but then he understands.

"They'll be looking for you."

"I know."

The thought tears him apart. He'd planned this as perfectly as
possible. With her parents and Zane gone and no other family to speak
she could easily go missing. Certainly there'd be some sort of
investigation but with the combined lack of evidence and family
pressure the authorities would soon lose interest and they would be
free to bring the men responsible to justice.

Ever since he'd formulated his plan he'd been able to comfort himself
with the fact that at least Ashley would survive. At least he wouldn't
have to be alone in his fight.

And it would have all worked out too if she hadn't killed her parents
herself and attracted theattention of those two FBI agents. Now he was
foced to consider leaving her behind too.

This is exactly what Ashley wants him to do. He thought he'd finally
figured out a way to make it work despite the two federal agents but
now he wasn't so sure and his thoughts were consumed with indecision.
It's this momentary lack of concentration that allows Ashley to act.

Down below Mulder's arm moves up and to the left as his fingers pulls
the trigger.

Donnell turns just in time to see Scully go down and Mulder turn to
face him. And now it's his turn to desperately scramble to focus his
thoughts, an attempt that ultimately ends with the sound of a single
gunshot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-Act Four-

Wilson Park
8:26 a.m.

Mulder walks up the hill towards the playground where a collection of
law enforcement officials and forensic specialists are picking apart
the scene. On his way up Sheriff Stone meets him.

"How is she?"

"She's in recovery. Fortunately I only hit her shoulder."

"How are you?"

"Oh I'm fine. Just a slight headache."

"That's not necessarily what I meant."

"I know," Mulder says before moving on. "How's it going?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

In response Stone points toward the two men in suits standing by the
swing set. One of them is tall with dark hair while the other is
slightly shorter and has blond hair. Both of them look like the
previous night had not been easy for them.

"When," Mulder asks.

"They showed up about an hour ago just after I got a call from the
State Attorney General saying that the case was going to the
military."

"Did they give a reason?"

"The possible involvement of an AWOL Air Force pilot."

Mulder nods knowingly.

"I read your statement by the way," Stone adds.

"And?"

"It was...interesting."

He thinks for a second before he continues.

"But hey I should know better than to call out Spooky Mulder and expect
a normal resolution right?"

Mulder smiles weakly and asks, "Any news on Ashley or Donnell?"

"Nope. There wasn't anything here when we arrived, not even Zane's
body. And as far as I know nothing's been found. Still with these
jokers we could've had a Bradley tank up there and they would have
found some way to cover it up."

"Maybe. But I still doubt that they'll find anything."

"You think she took care of things?"

"I sure hope so."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at the hospital Scully is happily drifting in and out of
consciousness. That was the one good thing about being hurt: plenty of
morphine. The pain and fear of the previous night have disappeared in
an analgesic haze leaving her happy and content. That is until Ashley
Colby arrives at her bedside.

"Hey how're you feeling," Ashley inquires.

"Don't you already know," Scully says with a knowing smile.

Ashley smiles back.

"Yes well I was just trying to make conversation and the somehow the
weather just didn't seem appropriate."

"Well in that case I'm feeling fine, all things considered of course."

Ashley knows Scully's lying but she doesn't push it.

"Of course."

They sit in silence before Ashley broaches the subject they're both
thinking about.

"You know it wasn't your fault right?"

"I assumed as much."

"You still feel guilty though?"

"Somewhat."

"Sorry I wish there were something I could do but..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"You always are," Ashley says with a hint of knowing sarcasm. Scully
gives her a warning look, raised eyebrows and all.

"Sorry it's a reflex."

"The intrusion or the sarcasm?"

Ashley just laughs and shakes her head.

"I should probably go. I have some loose...some details I have to take
care of. Just remember, everything that's happened, the arguments, the
fatigue, Zane, all of it was entirely my fault and completely out of
your control. You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I know."

"Then act like it," she says as she stands to leave.

"Ashley wait. When you say everything..."

She stops at the door and turns back to Scully with a large smile on
her face. She knows exactly what Scully wants to ask.

"Except for that. That was all him."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at the park Stone is still talking to Mulder.

"How long do you think you'll be sticking around?"

"Maybe a day or two. It depends what Scully's doctor says."

"Well if you have time head up the coast to Lompoc and stop at
McClintock's. They have the best damn rib eye you have ever tasted. Ask
anyone around here and they'll be able to tell you how to get there."

"Where'll you be?"

"I am going on a nice long vacation. Somewhere peaceful to help me
relax after this case. I'm thinking Mammoth. You and Scully are welcome
to join me."

"That's okay we don't believe in vacations."

Stone just laughs.

"Well if you don't need anymore help here I'm going to go back to the
hospital and check on Scully."

"Go for it. I'm sure the men in black have it covered and what they
don't...well I'm sure it will be very soon. See you around Mulder."

And with that Mulder turns around and walks to his car. It isn't until
he has the motor started and he turns to back out of his spot that he
sees her.

"Hey Mulder."

"Hey Ashley."

They sit in silence for a moment while he pulls out onto the street.

"Just so you know, almost everything's been taken care of."

"Almost?"

"Well there's still you."

"What about me?"

"You still feel guilty."

"I shot her."

"No. I shot her. And I'm sorry. I needed to distract him so I had you
pull the trigger. I tried to move your arm...but it wasn't far enough."

"Yes it was," he says quietly, contemplating the alternative.

"Just so you know it wasn't you. None of it was."

"I know."

"No you don't. But that's okay. You'll survive. You always do."

He stops at an intersection and another moment of silence falls between
them.

"I'm sorry I can't stay to help you. I know what I am."

"Don't worry about it. You're doing the right thing."

"That's what he thought."

Mulder doesn't respond.

"You will get them. You know that right? If anyone can it'll be the two
of you."

"I hope you're right."

"Take care of her okay. And let her take care of you."

"I'll try."

He stops again and Ashley moves to get out of the car.

"Wait..."

Ashley sighs and sits back down. Under her breath she mumbles, "Damn I
swear the two of you are the most repressed people I have ever met."

He goes to ask a question but she cuts him off.

"Every word. Now get off your ass and do something about it."

Before he can say another word she climbs out of the car and walks off
into the morning fog.

FADE TO BLACK

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's notes: It's been a while since I've written a fic (damn
college!) so I'm sorry if I'm a little rusty.

The conspiracy information in the story was obtained from 2 main books:
Jerry Smith's HAARP and Jim Keith's Mind Control, World Control. The
neurolgy information came from a number of large and imposing neurology
encyclopedias. All mistakes are mine.

Just so you know Santa Maria is a real city near Vandenburg AFB on the
central coast of California. There is no Wilson Park though, that's in
LA. McClintock's is also a real steak place and a very good one at
that. If you're ever in the area you should check it out.

Finally remember: "...you don't have to be a strange person to write
strange stories. All you need is a good imagination and a belly full of
ham." -Chris Carter