From kevinm@pixi.com Mon Apr 07 06:05:11 1997 Subject: When The Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves 08/14 by Kevin Matsumoto From: kevinm@pixi.com -------- TITLE:When the Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves PT: 08/14 AUTHOR: Kevin Matsumoto EMAIL ADRESS: kevinm@pixi.com SPOILER WARNING: Slight spoiler for Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man Heavier spoiler for Tunguska/Terma. RATING: PG-13 CONTENT WARNING: A few curse words, Some violence. CLASSIFICATION: C SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully are surprised by the expansion of the X-files and the addition of two new agents. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 I want to thank my beta readers Eddie Edora and Casey Carpenter, any mistakes you might find are mine, not theirs. They did a great job of constructive critism and I owe them big time. :) Sorry, I just realized what I did, the correct title of this part is "Opening moves." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When the Truth is Found I: Opening Moves By Kevin Matsumoto Pt 08/14 As Mulder knocked on the motel room door, Scully decided to peek through the window. "It doesn't look like anyone's home." "No one is," Jason replied as he joined them. "According to the manager, they drove off sometime yesterday afternoon and he hasn't seen them since." "Ask him to open this place up." Mulder replied, "I want to know where they went." Inside the motel room, Mulder slowly went over everything. "Scully, is there something missing here?" "You mean like clothes, luggage. Things like that?" Mulder nodded, "It's like they didn't even bother to unpack." Ann's phone began ringing. "Agent Loengard here." After several seconds, Ann put the phone away. "Mulder, they just found William Ashford's rental car. It was abandoned about an hour's drive from here." "Perfect," Mulder muttered, "They beat us again, Scully." "We don't know that Mulder," Scully replied. "Yes we do Scully. They got to them before we did. Now we're right back where we started." "No quite, Mulder," Jason interrupted. "We still have the pictures and the negatives. Not to mention Miss Lyons' blood sample." Mulder didn't respond to Jason's remarks. Instead he simply leaned against the wall and stared into space. Back at the hotel, Scully gave a sigh of relief as she fell on the bed. They had gone over the motel room and the entire region around the abandoned car before Mulder had given up. If it hadn't been for the fact that it had gotten too dark to keep searching, Mulder would probably still be out there. Scully decided to keep an eye on Mulder for the night, just to make sure that he didn't do anything rash. She never realized it when she fell into a deep sleep. Inside his room, Mulder sat on the bed and stared at the walls. Too keyed up to sleep, he had decided to go for a run. Before he could get changed, Mulder heard the phone ring. Picking it up he heard a familiar voice. "Agent Mulder, do you want to know what's going on inside area 51?" "Where are you?" Mulder asked his contact *X*. "Look outside your window." Mulder turned and looked out the hotel window. There in the parking lot, he saw X standing next to a nondescript black sedan. "What are you doing in this part of the country?" Mulder asked. "Offering you some help," X replied, "I can get you access to area 51 but we have a window of only a few hours." "All right," Mulder replied, "Just let me tell Scully." "I don't have time for you to explain things to Agent Scully." X stated. "Meet me down here in 5 minutes or forget it." Mulder deliberated for several moments before coming to a decision. Leaving his room, he quickly made his way to the elevators. X was waiting for him in the parking lot as promised. "You made good time, Mulder." The large black man stated. "Here, take these." "What are they?" Mulder asked as he accepted several laminated cards. "Those are your passes into Area 51. They're good for the next several hours and will allow you access into just about every part of the base." "What will I find there?" "Part of the truth." X replied. The main base sat in the dead center of the restricted zone called Area 51. Mulder was shocked how easy it had been to get into the base. Once he had passed the fence, his car had been stopped only once. The security guard had given the ID provided by X only a cursory glance then had allowed him to proceed. After that it had been a monotonous drive along a worn dirt road. The base itself consisted on a single airstrip and several warehouse like buildings. Mulder parked the car outside one of the buildings and peeked through one of the windows. What he saw inside cause his eyes to widen in shock. Looking around he saw several people exiting another of the buildings. Walking over, Mulder again peered into the window. Mulder thought as he stared at what was going on inside the building. Hearing a sound behind him, Mulder turned around and just managed to catch a glimpse of a guard, a moment before the buttstock of the guard's rifle knocked him senseless. Dana Scully was roused out of a deep sleep by the sound of her phone ringing, grabbing it she answered with a yawn. "Agent Scully here." "Agent Scully, this is Colonel Greyson. I'm calling about Special Agent Fox Mulder." "Say that again..." Scully said in disbelief. "I said, I'm calling about Special Agent Fox Mulder," Colonel Greyson said slowly, "He was knocked unconscious by a security guard in a restricted area. We want you to meet us at the main gate in about an hour to pick him up." Scully was tempted to tell Colonel Greyson to keep Mulder but then thought about how she'd explain that to Skinner. "I'll be there," She replied. Heading out the door, Scully walked right past Jason and Ann without a pause. The determined look on her face caused Ann to turn and wonder, "Where's she headed?" Jason turned to see Scully disappear into the elevator. Thinking about it, he quickly headed over to Mulder's room and hammered on the door. Receiving no reply, he turned back to Ann and said, "I have a really bad feeling I know why Scully looks like she's ready to spit nails." Ann leaned against the wall and rested her forehead in her right hand. "Mulder broke into Area 51 and was caught." Jason nodded, "And Scully just got word of it. No wonder she's mad." Scully pulled up in front of the main gate and waited. She suddenly realized that this might be the perfect way for their enemies to get rid of both of she and Mulder. Scully thought to herself, The real problem, Scully realized, was that she had gotten so used to being able to rely only on Mulder that it hadn't even occurred to her to tell the others where she was going. Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a Humvee with Military plates. A familiar figure stepped out of the Hummer. Scully relaxed as Mulder casually walked over to the Explorer. "Going my way?" he asked nonchalantly. "Get in," Scully said in a tight voice. Mulder thought as he saw the look on Scully's face. The drive back to the hotel was totally silent. Mulder kept glancing over at Scully, trying to gauge the depth of her anger. Scully for her part, simply ignored her partner, concentrating instead on the road. As soon as they got back to the hotel room, Scully vented all her anger in one sentence. "Dammit Mulder! What did you think you were doing!?" "Trying to get the truth." Mulder said quietly. "How? By breaking into a restricted area!?" Scully was nearly shouting now. "You could have been killed. As it is, we'll be explaining this to Skinner for a month." "I didn't break in, Scully." Mulder got up and began pacing. "They wanted me to see what was in there." "And what was in there?" Scully asked exasperated. "Nothing," Mulder admitted, "It's all smoke and mirrors. They put on this huge front of a secure *top secret* location and there's nothing there." "Why?" "It's the ultimate shell game," Mulder responded. "The more the government insists that Area 51 doesn't exist and that there's nothing at that Nevada base. The more everyone is sure that they have something to hide." "And in the meantime, their real facilities remain hidden from view." Scully finished, "Mulder are you sure about this?" "Scully, they didn't bother to hide anything. You know what all those people at that base are really doing? They're watching videos or playing poker. The warehouses are all empty or are being used as basketball courts." "So why show you?" Scully asked skeptically. "I mean why you and not some other..." "Some other UFO nut?" Mulder asked with a smile. "You said it, not me." "My contact arranged it for me." Mulder admitted sitting down on the bed. "I don't think he cares if anyone finds out that the base is just a decoy. Besides most of the people who believe in UFOs won't believe me if I told them the truth." "Mulder, why did you risk your life like that?" Scully asked quietly, "You know he could have been setting you up. He could have been arranging to have you shot while trespassing in a restricted area." "I know Scully," Mulder replied just as quietly, "But I needed to find out what happened out there. We were so close to finding the truth." "The truth about what, Mulder?" Scully stood in front of him looking down into his eyes. "Samantha?" She guessed, "Mulder even if those people were kidnapped there's no proof that the same..." "No, not the truth about Sam," Mulder interrupted, "The truth about what happened to you." Scully's eyes softened, "Mulder we already know what happened to me." "No, we think we know what happened to you," Mulder replied, "I need to know, Scully. I need to know you're going to all right." "Mulder..." Scully said in the softest voice Mulder had ever heard. "I'm fine, I get regular exams to make sure I'll stay fine. I'm not going anywhere." She brought her head down until she and Mulder were touching foreheads. She stared into Mulder's eyes, "You don't have to worry about me." Mulder managed a wan smile, "Try and stop me." "Mulder, I just got word from A.D. Skinner..." Jason's voice caused Mulder and Scully to jerk apart. Jason had walked in without knocking and now stood staring at the two agents. "Sorry," he said backing out. "Wait," Scully said quickly, "this isn't what you think." Even as she said those words, Scully wanted to wince. A guilty denial if she ever heard one. "It's none of my business," Jason replied, "So long as it doesn't affect your work, I don't want to know. That way I can't say anything." "Very funny, Masters," Mulder said in a deadpan tone. "What's the message from Skinner." "Huh?... Oh yeah, he said that Military Intelligence has claimed official jurisdiction, so we're supposed to catch the next plane out." "Figures," Mulder replied, "they win again, Scully." "What else is new, Mulder." Scully replied as Jason left the room. Ann flipped through the pictures for a third time as the Explorer headed down the dark road. "What I still don't get is if it is the government, why would they use a top secret aircraft to kidnap people?" "What better way to make any residual memories seem even more fantastic and unbelievable?" Scully replied from the front seat. "Makes about as much sense as anything else in this crazy case," Jason muttered. "This case was actually pretty tame compared to some..." Scully stopped speaking as a bright light appeared ahead of them. "Son of a bitch!" Mulder cried out as he yanked the wheel to the right and slammed on the brakes. The car fishtailed for a moment then came to a stop. Outside, Mulder could see a black helicopter landing. Several men in paramilitary uniforms jumped out and approached the Explorer. "Get out," one of the men ordered. He held up a MPK sub-machinegun to emphasize the point. "We'd better do as he says," Mulder told the others. Jason and Ann looked at each other and nodded, following Mulder's lead they stepped out of the car. Once outside, each of them was quickly searched. "Where's the film and the disk.?" The leader of the men asked Mulder. "I don't know what you're talking about." Mulder replied. The leader gave Mulder a cold stare then slammed his weapon in Mulder's gut. The blow caused Mulder to drop to his knees in pain. As Mulder regained his breath, he saw one of the men pull a tape out of Jason's coat. The man smiled as he held up the tape like a trophy. Turning back to Jason, the man pistol whipped him with sudden vicious backhanded motion. Jason crumpled to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut. Mulder staggered to his feet, only to be stopped by the sight of the leader holding a pistol to Scully's head. "I want you to watch this very carefully, Agent Mulder." "NO!" Mulder was prevented from lunging forward as the man squeezed the trigger. The sound of the hammer falling on an empty chamber sounded as loud as a cannon to Scully's ears. Her face pale, Scully glared at the men holding her. "Remember that sound, Agent Mulder." The leader of the men was saying. "Because the next time you get involved in one of our operations, it will be replaced by a loud bang." With those words, the men headed back to the helicopter. The four agents watched as it disappeared into the night sky. "What do you have to say now, Masters." Mulder asked as Jason staggered back to his feet. "I just wonder if it's too late to request a transfer back to VCS" Was all Jason said as he checked his face for blood. End part 08. Kevin Matsumoto Kevinm@pixi.com If you love something let it go, If it doesn't come back Hunt it down and kill it. |The NightCrawler Visit my homepage at http://www.pixi.com/~kevinm From kevinm@pixi.com Tue Apr 08 09:29:09 1997 Subject: When The Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves 09/14 by Kevin Matsumoto From: kevinm@pixi.com -------- TITLE:When the Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves PT: 09/14 AUTHOR: Kevin Matsumoto EMAIL ADRESS: kevinm@pixi.com SPOILER WARNING: Slight spoiler for Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man Heavier spoiler for Tunguska/Terma. RATING: PG-13 CONTENT WARNING: A few curse words, Some violence. CLASSIFICATION: C SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully are surprised by the expansion of the X-files and the addition of two new agents. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 I want to thank my beta readers Eddie Edora and Casey Carpenter, any mistakes you might find are mine, not theirs. They did a great job of constructive critism and I owe them big time. :) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When the Truth is Found I: Opening Moves By Kevin Matsumoto Pt 09/14 Mulder and Scully stood there as Skinner went over their report. By a mutual agreement, they had left the incident in Area 51 out of their report. Now they waited for the inevitable reprimand. Skinner put the papers down and glared at Mulder. "Mulder, what in the name of God did you think you were doing?" "Sir?" Mulder looked startled. Masters and Loengard didn't know about the incident at 51 and... Mulder's face went pale as he reached the only conclusion possible. "If its about what Agent Masters claims to have seen occurring between Scully and myself..." "What?" Skinner looked puzzled, "I was referring to your little excursion into a classified area." "How did you find out about that sir?" Scully asked, slightly shaken. Skinner leaned back into his chair and turned his glare on Scully. "I was contacted by US Marine Colonel Joshua Greyson. He wanted to make certain that Mulder was all right. He told me there had been a misunderstanding and wanted to apologize again for the incident." Now Skinner leaned forward, "Naturally, I was concerned why a Marine Colonel would be calling about Agent Mulder, so I sent a discrete inquiry about any Colonel Graysons in the Nevada area through official channels. I just got back from being reamed out by my superiors. The only Colonel Adam Grayson in the US Marines that fits the criteria is on a classified list, they wanted to know where I heard that name and why was I inquiring about him." "Sir, I didn't break in. I was invited..." Mulder began. Skinner cut him off. "I'm aware of that, Mulder. I'm also aware of that fact that the people who want you stopped aren't above killing you to do it. Did it even occur to you that it might be a trap?" "That was a risk I was prepared to take." Skinner gave up. "Get out of here before I decide to finish their work for them." As the two agents turned to leave, Skinner stopped them. "By the way Mulder... what did you mean by what Agent Masters claims to have seen?" Mulder and Scully paled as they realized the implications of what Mulder had blurted out to Skinner. "You see, sir, Agent Mulder and I were discussing the previously mentioned incident. And I'm afraid that it turned into a rather heated debate. Agent Masters walked in at the moment when Mulder and myself were pretty much nose to nose. I believe he came to the wrong conclusion." "He doesn't mention it in his part of the report," Skinner flipped back to Jason's paperwork. "Although I am curious how you managed to get Agent Masters on your side so quickly." "Sir?" Mulder was truly confused now. "His wording is almost verbatim to yours. Right down to his belief that members of the US government are involved in the kidnapping of US citizens for unknown purposes." Now Skinner pulled out a small package from his desk. "Both Masters and Loengard confirmed your story about the unknown assailants. They did manage to save some of the evidence." Skinner dumped the contents of the package onto the desk. An audio cassette tape and several photographs fell out. Mulder stared at the photographs. Masters had been trying to tell him something all through the flight but he had been so wrapped up in worrying about Scully that he hadn't listened. "According to Agent Loengard, they made a dub of the tape and duplicates of the photos and hid them in their holsters. They figured if they were searched, the duplicates would be overlooked. Congratulations Mulder, in just one case you managed to make two more top agents paranoid." Mulder picked up the tape and the photos and nodded. "Thank you sir." Skinner watched the two agents leave the room with something that almost resembled a smile on his face. He thought. Inside their office, Mulder noticed that he had several messages on his answering machine. "Mulder this is Frohicke, call us back when you get the chance." Picking up the phone, Mulder dialed the number to the Lone Gunmen's offices. "Lone Gunmen." "Langly, turn off the recorder." "Mulder, that you?" "Yes, its me now turn off the recorder." "Ok, its off. Where have you been? We've been trying to contact you for a couple of days now." "We were on a case. What's so important?" "We think we might have more on Loengard. One of our contacts knew John Loengard during the time he was on the run from the government. He's willing to meet with you and Agent Scully. He's currently staying at the Holiday inn, room 109. The password is Dark Skies." "Dark Skies," Mulder wrote the words down, they were appropriate somehow. "Got it. Thanks Langly, I owe you guys big time on this one." "So what little tidbit of paranoia do they have for us this time?" Scully asked as Mulder ripped the paper from the pad. "They have someone who can give us more information on John Loengard." "Mulder, I think after this last case, we have no reason to doubt Agent Loengard or her partner." "Maybe Scully, but I still have some questions about John Loegard that I want answered." Mulder paused, "Scully if you'd rather not come along..." "Why?" Scully began then she understood. "Mulder, there's no way I'm going to let them scare me off." Mulder nodded. "Right, let's go." Mulder knocked on the door to room 109. Scully stood slightly off to one side, ready in case of trouble. "Who's there?" A hesitant voice asked from the other side of the door. "This is Special Agent Fox Mulder. Langly said you were willing to speak to me." "How do I know that?" The voice asked "Dark Skies." Mulder replied. The door opened and an elderly man waved them inside. "Hurry up, get inside." Mulder entered the room and looked around. Calling this place a dump would be a understatement. Faded, worn wallpaper and dingy furniture showed just how cheap this room had to be. The only thing of any value in the room was a small laptop computer sitting on the dresser. The grey haired man sat down on the bed and took off his glasses, "Sorry but I've been a little on edge recently." "That's perfectly all right, Mr...?" Scully's voice trailed off as she realized that they didn't know this man's name. "Marcell, Jesse Marcell." Mulder nodded. "I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder and this is my partner Dana Scully." "Pleased to meet you," Jesse said as handshakes were exchanged. "Langly speaks very highly of you, Agent Mulder." "Very well Mr. Marcell," Scully began, "You claim to have information about John Loengard?" Jesse Marcell smiled, "I don't *claim*, Agent Scully, I *have* information about John Loengard." "What sort of information?" Jesse gave Scully a long look. "What do you know about the UFO conspiracy theories, Agent Scully?" "I know that it supposedly started with a crash at Roswell and there are claims that the government has suppressed evidence of the incident for years." "That is the story, but that's only part of it." "And what does Roswell have to do with John Loengard?" Scully gave Jesse the *look* she usually reserved for Mulder. "Everything has to start somewhere, Agent Scully." End pt 9 Author's notes: Just a word of explanation here. When I began writing this story I had no idea that Jesse Marcell was a real person. He was shown in the Dark Skies episodes as one of the people involved in the coverup. He witnessed the crash and then was ordered to lie about it. I'm using the Dark Skies version of what happened, so please don't send me any email telling me I got it all wrong. Kevin Matsumoto Kevinm@pixi.com If you love something let it go, If it doesn't come back Hunt it down and kill it. |The NightCrawler Visit my homepage at http://www.pixi.com/~kevinm From kevinm@pixi.com Tue Apr 08 09:30:04 1997 Subject: When The Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves 10/14 by Kevin Matsumoto From: kevinm@pixi.com -------- TITLE:When the Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves PT: 10/14 AUTHOR: Kevin Matsumoto EMAIL ADRESS: kevinm@pixi.com SPOILER WARNING: Slight spoiler for Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man Heavier spoiler for Tunguska/Terma. RATING: PG-13 CONTENT WARNING: A few curse words, Some violence. CLASSIFICATION: C SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully are surprised by the expansion of the X-files and the addition of two new agents. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 I want to thank my beta readers Eddie Edora and Casey Carpenter, any mistakes you might find are mine, not theirs. They did a great job of constructive critism and I owe them big time. :) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When the Truth is Found I: Opening Moves By Kevin Matsumoto Pt 10/14 Jason Masters and his partner walked through the darkened room with their guns ready. They quickly scanned their sections of the room. Each relying on the other to cover their respective backs. Ann turned quickly to the right. She had just seen something move out of the corner of her eye and in this situation, if it moved, it was the enemy. Firing, she put a bullet right into the head of her target. Jason pointed his gun at a figure that suddenly appeared in the doorway. His finger tapped the trigger twice. The first bullet hit the figure just below the Adam's apple and the second struck it square between the eyes. Now the room became a chaotic swirl of figures appearing and disappearing. In the center of this insanity, like a ship in the eye of a storm, were the two agents. With an almost single minded determination, they moved to the exit, firing on the furtive figures as they appeared. "Lights!" A voice rang out suddenly. Jason blinked for a moment as the sudden glare of the overhead flourescent lamps stung his eyes. The figures, mannequins dressed in various kinds of clothing, stopped moving. "Not bad," a man dressed in Marine fatigues with sergeants stripes appeared. Reading from his clipboard he said, "Twenty-three out of a possible twenty-five, almost all head shots." Putting the clipboard on a convenient table, he gave the agents a puzzled look. "Haven't you ever heard of going for the largest part of the body? A center shot will drop just about anyone." Ann reloaded her gun and activated the safety. "Have you ever been on a mission against the Hive, gunny?" "Nope, not yet." Now Jason smiled, "You hit a hive member in the chest and you aren't guaranteed a kill. The Ganglion in charge of the host can override the shock and pain. Head shots the only sure way to drop one." "What about the new Tranq guns?" "Oh, they work," Ann agreed as she grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from her face. "The new neuro- toxin affects both the Ganglion and the host, but the range is too limited to use them all the time." "Not to mention the fact, that a single shot pistol is not exactly the weapon of choice when dealing with the Hive." "I get your drift." The sergeant nodded. "Any other tips?" "Yeah," Jason replied just before they left the practice range. "if you ever see a Ganglion outside it's host. Kill it. Don't bother trying to capture it, just kill it." John Loengard finished reviewing the final report on the Area 51 case as Jason and Ann walked into the briefing room. "You wanted to see us sir?" Jason asked as he and Ann stood at attention. "At ease, Jason," John said as he handed the report to the other man sitting next to him. Nodding to the a pair of chairs in front of the main table, the other man lit a cigarette and began talking. "I have only one question for you," he began, "why did you make copies of the tape and photographs? And why did you give the copies to A.D. Skinner?" Jason and Ann exchanged glances, finally Ann shrugged. "Sir, our orders were very clear. We were supposed to gain Agent Mulder and Scully's trust, then keep them from interfering with or gaining information about our organization." "I am aware of your orders, Loengard," the man said quietly, "that doesn't explain why you gave Mulder proof." "Proof of what, sir?" Jason asked. "All Mulder has is a couple of photographs that could have been faked, with no negative to prove that it wasn't. The tape is inconsequential, there have been too many `I was kidnapped by Aliens' stories out already." "All right," John nodded, "so Mulder doesn't have any concrete proof. Make sure it stays that way." "There's something else I'm curious about," the other man asked Jason. "You mentioned walking in on Mulder and Scully and catching them in a slightly compromising situation. Do you believe they're intimately involved?" "If you mean in a romantic sense, no sir." Jason replied, "It just doesn't feel like that. I think that they're closer than most partners. You can see the respect and caring in their eyes when they talk to each other. If you were ask me whether they were in love with each other... I'm not sure... Maybe?" "I see," the man leaned back in his chair. "Too bad, emotional blackmail is usually the best weapon against peopled as dedicated as Mulder and Scully." "Sir?" A young naval officer interrupted the meeting. "What is it, Lieutenant?" John asked as the officer saluted. "Sir, the men assigned to watch Jesse Marcell just checked in. Two people matching the description of agents Mulder and Scully went into his hotel room about a half- hour ago." "Mulder and Scully?" John turned to look at Jason. "I thought threatening agent Scully would get Mulder to back off. That's what you put in your profile, isn't it Jason?" "No sir," Jason replied evenly, "I stated that we could manipulate agent Mulder into doing what we wanted through his obsessions. The first being his desire to discover the whereabouts of his sister. The second being his concern for the safety of agent Scully and the last being his desire to find the truth." "So why is he poking his nose into our business?" The other man growled. "We warned him that..." "That we'd kill agent Scully if he didn't back off." Ann nodded, "The mistake was, you did in front of Scully. She won't back down anymore than Mulder will. More importantly, she won't allow Mulder to back down either." "Ann's right," Jason agreed, "what happened in Nevada just pissed Scully off. I don't think we can use that avenue now. She'll figure it out if Mulder starts backing off from cases without a good reason." "What about the other options?" "They're still viable sir. I've outlined a series of scenarios we can use to keep Mulder out of our operations. The trick is use someone he trusts to initiate each scenario." "Well, Leroy is still acting as Mulder's informant right?" "I don't think Mulder trusts him," Ann stated, "He knows that Leroy has his own agenda. He'll trust some of the information that Leroy gives him but not enough to deter him from digging. Even Ronald couldn't do that." "Whatever it takes," John said curtly, "Mulder and Scully must never gain any proof of our existence." Ann and Jason nodded, standing up they headed for the door. Just before they left the office, Ann paused. She turned and asked, "Frank, what happens if Mulder does discover the truth about Majestic?" Frank Bach leaned forward and stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray on the table. "Then we deal with him." Ann stared at the man who had run Majestic for nearly 40 years before handing the reins over to her father. Finally she nodded and followed her partner out the door. "She could be a problem, John." Frank said as the two men began double checking the latest reports about Hive activity. "Can you blame her for caring about agent Mulder?" "No, but I hope she understands how important it is that Mulder never discovers the truth." "Don't worry Frank," John sighed. "She understands all too well just how important this is." End part 10 Author's notes: Folks, I think I need to explain a couple of things in this one. A while back I read an article in which the actor who plays X mentions that he thinks his character's name is "Leroy Williams" since they never mention X's name I'm going with that one. Ronald of course is the name you hear CSM saying in "Musings." Kevin Matsumoto Kevinm@pixi.com If you love something let it go, If it doesn't come back Hunt it down and kill it. |The NightCrawler Visit my homepage at http://www.pixi.com/~kevinm From kevinm@pixi.com Tue Apr 08 09:30:24 1997 Subject: When The Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves 11/14 by Kevin Matsumoto From: kevinm@pixi.com -------- TITLE:When the Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves PT: 11/14 AUTHOR: Kevin Matsumoto EMAIL ADRESS: kevinm@pixi.com SPOILER WARNING: Slight spoiler for Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man Heavier spoiler for Tunguska/Terma. RATING: PG-13 CONTENT WARNING: A few curse words, Some violence. CLASSIFICATION: C SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully are surprised by the expansion of the X-files and the addition of two new agents. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 I want to thank my beta readers Eddie Edora and Casey Carpenter, any mistakes you might find are mine, not theirs. They did a great job of constructive critism and I owe them big time. :) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When the Truth is Found I: Opening Moves By Kevin Matsumoto Pt 11/14 Scully watched calmly as Jesse Marcell paced the floor. Several times he stopped and it looked like he was trying to figure out exactly what to say. Finally he picked up a small photograph and handed it over to agent Scully. "What would you say this is, Agent Scully?" Scully looked down at the picture in her hand. It was identical to the photograph that Mulder had shown her on one if their early cases. "This looks like a photo of the unknown craft that supposedly crashed near Roswell in 1947." "That's exactly what it is, Agent Scully," Jesse smiled as he handed Mulder a worn negative. "And this is the negative of that photograph." Mulder took the negative from Jesse and held it up to the light. He could clearly make out the triangular shape of the ship, everything in the negative seemed to correspond with the photograph that sat in one of the many files on his desk. "Where did you get this?" Mulder asked intently, "The photo I have is a copy of someone else's copy. And not even the gunmen have heard of the existence of the original negative." Now Jesse smiled. "The reason I have that negative, Agent Mulder, is I took it. I was there July, 1947. I watched the ship come in and took that photograph. That night, I watched as the order went out to shoot the craft from the sky." Seeing the shocked look on Mulder's face, Jesse almost smiled. "That's right, Agent Mulder. I was there, I helped to cover up the crash. And I've been trying to prove that ever since." "But the negative..." Mulder began. "Only proves that an unknown ship appeared over New Mexico in 1947. Look at the photo Mulder. For all anyone can tell, that's a flying wing prototype. At least, that's what the government is going to say." "You still haven't explained what John Loengard has to do with a crash that occurred when he was a child." Scully stated in her no-nonsense tone. "I'm getting to that," Jesse replied. "I didn't find this out until the 60's when I met John, but the aliens, the grays, gave Truman an ultimatum. Unconditional surrender, or else." "Or else what?" Mulder asked. "How should I know," Jesse shrugged, "Total annihilation I guess." "And Truman decided to fight back?" Scully looked skeptical, "Against a technologically superior opponent?" "Because someone pointed out that if they had the capability to destroy us, they would have." "That still doesn't explain what Roswell has to do with John Loengard," Mulder said evenly. "Why don't we skip to that part, and you can fill in the details afterwards." Jesse nodded as he sat down next to the dresser. "You know that John worked for Congressman Pratt? And you know that he was involved in doing a viability study of Project Blue book right?" Mulder nodded, "We got that from John Loengard's records." "What you don't see in the official records is the fact that John was one of the first people to interview Betty and Barney Hill." "One of the first heavily publicized abduction reports," Scully noted. "I can see where that might be significant to the Gunmen but..." "Not just to the Gunmen, Agent Scully," Jesse interrupted. "This was before the words UFO and Roswell became buzzwords for Conspiracy buffs. Back then, certain people still believed that they could suppress all the information about the existence of alien life. On his way back from the Hills, Loengard had an encounter that changed his life." "Let me guess," Mulder looked intently at Jesse, "He was intercepted by a group of men dressed in nondescript black suits and threatened." "And his tape recording of the interview with the Hills was taken away," Jesse nodded. "That's just where it begins. After that, John began digging. Finally he came up with a name to match the face of one of the men that threatened him that night. Captain Frank Bach, head of an organization called `Majestic'." "Wait a minute," Scully looked at Jesse in disbelief, "Even I've heard of Majestic 12. It's a fiction. A group of 12 men whose job is the keep the public from..." Scully's voice trailed off as she realized that she and Mulder had discovered evidence of a `shadow government' many times before. Mulder smiled at Scully's sudden silence, "So, John Loengard discovered the existence of Majestic. That's the reason he went on the run?" "No," Jesse shook his head quickly. "Captain Bach recruited John into Majestic and for a while John did as he was told." "Then what happened?" "I only have pieces of it, but it has to do with wife , Kim. Apparently she was taken by Grays and implanted with a creature called a `Ganglion'." "Ganglion?" Scully interrupted, "A Ganglion is a group of nerve cell bodies, not a some kind of parasite." "I didn't name it Agent Scully, someone at Majestic did. My guess is that they believed the creature attached itself to the brain via the ganglia." "You guess," Scully looked at Jesse in pure disbelief, "You've never seen one?" "No I haven't, but I have seen what they can do to a person." "Which is?" Mulder prompted. "They take over, the grays aren't our enemy. The Ganglion controlling the Greys are. Majestic refers to them as the Hive." "So what happened to Kim?" "John managed to get her back. But he realized that Bach would sacrifice anyone to stop the Hive. John couldn't live like that, he wanted to tell the country the truth about Roswell." "And that's when he went on the run." "That's right, he and Kim spent the next 10 years running from both Majestic and the Hive. Occasionally, John would help Majestic to keep the Hive from advancing their plans." "So why didn't Bach just have John arrested on the spot?" Scully asked skeptically, "After all, John must have been a security risk." "I think that Bach might have been using John to sniff out the Hive. John seemed to be able spot Hive activity from a mile away. Plus, I think Bach might have liked John." Mulder suddenly remembered what the Cancerman had told him once. "What does Bach look like?" Mulder said in a tight voice. Jesse thought about it. "Tall, broad shouldered. He was a Navy man and still has a military bearing. He'd be about seventy now. But he still looks like he's in his fifties. Dark hair, maybe 220. On the stockyside without being heavy." "It isn't him," Mulder whispered. "Cancerman?" Scully said, guessing what Mulder had been thinking. "Yeah," Mulder turned back to Jesse, "So why did John return to Majestic?" "I wish I knew," Jesse shrugged, "All I know is that in June of 73, John called me and told me that he believed that a group of men within the government were working with the Hive and that he thought one of them was getting cold feet." Now Mulder stiffened, "Did he give you a name?" "No, he just said that he was going to check it out. I didn't hear from him again till December. That's when he told me he was rejoining Majestic. He didn't sound too happy about it." "So why did he rejoin then?" Scully asked. "I think it was to protect his family," Jesse replied. "I only met Kim once, and I never met either of their children." "Wait," Mulder frowned, "according to FBI records, Ann is an only child." "Officially yes, but Kim did deliver a boy earlier. From what I could piece together from other sources, the Hive managed to get that child and John and Kim never saw him again." Mulder's eyes closed in sympathy as he realized that John Loengard knew how it felt to have a family member taken without hope of return. Any anger he had been building over John's betrayal of the truth vanished. He knew how far he'd go to protect the people he cared about, how far he'd go to protect Scully and he couldn't blame John for wanting to ensure his family's safety. "So that was the last you heard from John?" Scully asked. She could tell how much the news of the Loengard's lost child had affected Mulder, but she also knew that Mulder still wanted the truth. "Yes," Jesse nodded, "I'm sorry Agent Mulder, I wish I had more proof of what I'm telling you but I can tell you this. Somebody has tried to bury the truth, but if you dig hard enough and fast enough, you'll unearth it." End part 11 Kevin Matsumoto Kevinm@pixi.com If you love something let it go, If it doesn't come back Hunt it down and kill it. |The NightCrawler Visit my homepage at http://www.pixi.com/~kevinm From kevinm@pixi.com Wed Apr 09 08:10:12 1997 Subject: When The Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves 12/14 by Kevin Matsumoto From: kevinm@pixi.com -------- TITLE:When the Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves PT: 12/14 AUTHOR: Kevin Matsumoto EMAIL ADRESS: kevinm@pixi.com SPOILER WARNING: Slight spoiler for Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man Heavier spoiler for Tunguska/Terma. RATING: PG-13 CONTENT WARNING: A few curse words, Some violence. CLASSIFICATION: C SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully are surprised by the expansion of the X-files and the addition of two new agents. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 I want to thank my beta readers Eddie Edora and Casey Carpenter, any mistakes you might find are mine, not theirs. They did a great job of constructive critism and I owe them big time. :) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When the Truth is Found I: Opening Moves By Kevin Matsumoto Pt 13/14 Ann pensively watched her partner out of the corner of her eye. Jason hadn't said a word since they had left of the Majestic compound. Finally she asked, "Jase, what'll you do if Mulder breaks our cover?" Jason cocked his head to look at Ann, "Probably recommend recruitment." Ann snorted, "Oh, Frank would just love that idea. The person who's given Majestic the worst trouble since John rejoined and you think he should be recruited?" "No, I said I'd recommend it, *if* Mulder figured out what we're really up to." Jason corrected, "Otherwise, I'd say keeping him out of the loop is best." "Maybe," Ann nodded, "But think of what he could do with Majestic's resources." "Think of what he'd do to Frank's blood- pressure." Ann stared at Jason's smiling face for a moment then broke out laughing. Scully sighed in exasperation as she and Mulder entered the hotel's elevator. "Something wrong, Scully?" "Mulder, I can't believe you're falling for that man's story." "In this case," Mulder smiled, "There's a reason why I believe Mr. Marcell." "And that is?" "Well, a *Major* Jesse Marcell was the one who first found the *weather balloon* at the Brazel ranch near Roswell." "And this is the same Jesse Marcell? And you knew who he was all along?" "Not really," Mulder admitted, "I didn't recognize him until he said his name. After that I didn't want him to know I knew who he was." "Because you wanted to hear the complete story?" "Because I wanted you to hear the complete story," Mulder said smiling. "I have to admit, it does sound a little crazy." "A little?" Scully shook her head in silent bemusement. As the elevator doors opened, she asked, "Mulder, what about Jason and Ann? What do we do about them?" "Nothing for now," Mulder replied as the they headed through the lobby, "Whoever got them assigned to the X-files will pull strings to keep them there." "That's assuming someone had them assigned to the X-Files in the first place." They made it to the car before Mulder finally answered her comment. "Considering what I just heard back there and the low opinion most of our superiors have about the X-Files. I'd say that was a pretty safe assumption." Scully sighed softly at Mulder's remarks. She hated to admit it but he did have a point. The X-files had been relegated to the basement because someone had wanted it buried. That had been the one thing about the expansion of the X-Files that had truly bothered her. "Although," Mulder continued, "if they are part of Majestic, they might be here to help." When Scully turned to stare at him in disbelief, he grinned. "Think about it, Scully. Why would the consortium send agents in to help us? At least Majestic has a reason." Scully couldn't resist her reaction, grinning she asked, "Mulder, are you feeling all right? It almost sounds like you think we can trust them." "I'm not sure, Scully," Mulder smiled, "I just have this feeling that someone is pointing us at the consortium like a weapon." "And Jason and Ann are here to keep us pointed in the right direction?" "Something like that," Mulder agreed, "I think they're here to keep us from finding out about Majestic. Everything else is secondary." "So you do think we can trust them?" "As far as it goes, yes. Just remember to watch your back at all times." Scully sighed as she put the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot. Mulder frowned as he entered the X-Files offices. Sitting on his desk was a Manila envelope with his name on it. Inside Mulder found a standard looking report file. Stamped on the front of the file was the words, `Subject Profile, Your eyes only.'. Opening the file he began reading. Scully watched Mulder out of the corner of her eye as Mulder opened the file. Gradually she began paying more and more attention to the way Mulder was glaring at whatever he was reading. When Mulder slammed the file onto his desk and started staring at the ceiling, Scully decided it was time to get involved. "Something bothering you, Mulder?" Mulder simply handed her the file in reply. Taking the folder, Scully leaned against the desk and began reading. "Majic Profile; Subject M" Scully puzzled over the word Majic for a moment, then realized that it was probably just short for Majestic. Looking up at Mulder, she noticed that he was still staring up at the ceiling as though it contained the Truth he was searching so hard to find. Sighing she went back to reading the file. "Subject M may prove to be a serious problem to Majic security. His obsession over his job and his willingness to overstep his authority makes him a wildcard and uncontrollable by the normal chain of command. On a plus side, M's actions often belie his high intelligence. He responds on an emotional level, resorting to quick action in a crisis situation, instead of stepping back and thinking things completely through. A loner, M hides behind a facade of calculated coldness combined with a cutting sense of irony." Scully lowered the file and stared at her partner. "Mulder this sounds like..." "Someone profiled me," Mulder finished, "I know, keep reading." Scully nodded and went back to the file. The next part read, "Possible counter-measures." "Since outright elimination of M is not a viable option at this time, I have put forth several possible alternatives for use against M." "Option one; Discredit him: Not recommended; True if done correctly this will end the threat caused by M. The problem with this option is that it commits too many of our resources to the removal of one man. The more people involved the greater the risk our exposure." "Option two, Blackmail: Unfortunately, M seems to have no real skeletons in his closet. His one addiction while repugnant to some is in no way illegal." Mulder squirmed a little at Scully's grin as she read that particular passage. "Option three, Distraction; two scenarios. The first is also not recommended. Scenario one; Assign an operative to M to act as an assistant or liason. Said operatives only goal would be gain M's trust. At a later date we could use this trust to totally undermine M's goals." Scully stopped reading again and quickly turned to stare right into Mulder's waiting eyes. "Mulder you can't believe that..." "No," Mulder managed a smile, "I don't. This is just another attempt by the Cancerman to break us up." Scully momentarily returned Mulder's smile and again returned to reading the file. Turning the page she started to read and then stopped. "Something wrong?" Mulder asked when he noticed Scully's eyes hadn't moved from the top of the page. "Mulder did you bother to finish this file?" "No," Mulder shrugged and started staring at the ceiling again, "I got to the end of the first page and threw it down in disgust." "You should have kept reading," Scully replied. She began reading the file outloud. "The problem with attempting to insinuate someone into M's trust is the fact that M has no regard for human life. He will sacrifice anyone to achieve his goals." "What!?" Mulder literally fell backwards out of his chair when he heard those words. Scully managed suppress the laughter that threatened to escape at the sight of her partner flat on his back looking completely stunned. From his vantage point on the floor, Mulder looked up into Scully's grinning face. "I figure it's safe to assume that this profile isn't about me after all." "I'd say that's a safe assumption," Scully replied. "The last parts the most interesting." "What does it say?" Mulder asked as he got to his feet. "Second Scenario: recommended. Distract him with a new security risk. Subject F has made several inquiries into opening the X-files. I suggest giving F the X-files and limited protection. This should distract M without threatening any of our assets." "They're talking about Cancerman," Mulder said flatly. "So Majestic wanted the X-Files opened." "No, I'd say they wanted exactly what you thought they wanted. A weapon to point at the consortium." Scully turned the second page and noticed a set of handwritten papers taped to the back of the file. Extending the file she said, "Mulder, I think you should read this." Mulder took the file from Scully's outstretched hand and began reading. By the second line he knew exactly who it was from and he could almost hear the voice of one of the few people in the world that he trusted speaking to him. "Agent Mulder, If you are reading this then I can assume that I have been dead for at least two years and the X-files are still open. I congratulate you on that. One of my associates, who has no doubt already contacted you, was instructed to leave this on your desk. Having read this file, I can also assume you have many questions. To begin, the story I told so long ago about being one of five men to execute an alien lifeform is true. An executive order in accordance with UN security council resolution 1013 mandated that any Extraterrestrial Biological Entity that came into American hands was to be eliminated immediately. At the time, I was already aware that the group I worked for was conspiring with a group of aliens called the Hive. I didn't know that the alien we had captured wasn't part of the Hive. Physically they were identical, but apparently a few of the Greys managed to escape the Hive's domination. This was one of them. Do your remember what I said about looking into the Alien's eyes? The Greys had outgrown the need for weapons until the Hive took them over. I killed it, Mulder. I killed a being that had no concept of the deliberate termination of another's life. Until that moment I could hide behind my belief that what I was doing was for the good of everyone. What I saw in that alien's eyes shattered that belief. I resolved to do what I could to destroy the Hive and the Consortium." Mulder stopped reading for a moment as he digested what Deep Throat was telling him. "Why is he telling me this now?" "Maybe because, now he's not here to help us." Scully suggested. "Or maybe because he's had a timetable setup from the beginning." Mulder nodded and began reading again. "For several years, I could do little to stop my former compatriots. Then I was approached by a man named John Loengard. He recruited me into Majestic. Mulder no matter what you may have heard about Majestic, they do exist and they are just as powerful as the consortium. At first all I did was pass information onto Majestic about the Hive's activities. Then a new assignment was given to me. A young FBI agent was trying to open the X-files and Majestic wanted me to help guide him. I knew that this could mean my death but as I got to know you, I began to realize that you could very well be the key to breaking the consortium once and for all. Your willingness to believe and your desire for the truth made you a formidable adversary for them." "Now for the final truth, Neither the Consortium or Majestic can do anything to me now. It's you I'm concerned about. One of two things has happened, either you've joined one of the two organizations or you've somehow managed to steer your own course. Knowing you it's the latter." Mulder smiled faintly at the praise. "I waited this long because I know that if the Xfiles are still open then you've managed to be your own man. Majestic might tolerate this but the Consortium won't. Sooner or later, they'll act decisively against you. In the hopes of forestalling this, I've left you a small insurance policy. The real names of every senior member of the consortium and enough proof to hang all of them have been placed on a computer disk. I secreted the disk in a small cave about 1 mile north of a summer cabin I own in California. The address is 1343 NW Pinecrest way. Follow the compass straight north and you'll see the cave. The disk is sealed in plastic and hidden under large rock in the underground stream that runs through the cave. Look carefully and you should find it. I wish you luck, Mulder." Mulder stopped reading and put the paper down. "What do you think, Scully?" "It could be a trap." Scully replied. "It could be our only chance too," Mulder answered. "Then let's go," Scully decided, "Just remember we have to watch our backs on this one." "Has there ever been a case we didn't?" Mulder smiled as he grabbed his coat. End part 12 Kevin Matsumoto Kevinm@pixi.com If you love something let it go, If it doesn't come back Hunt it down and kill it. |The NightCrawler Visit my homepage at http://www.pixi.com/~kevinm From kevinm@pixi.com Wed Apr 09 08:10:27 1997 Subject: When The Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves 13/14 by Kevin Matsumoto From: kevinm@pixi.com -------- TITLE:When the Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves PT: 13/14 AUTHOR: Kevin Matsumoto EMAIL ADRESS: kevinm@pixi.com SPOILER WARNING: Slight spoiler for Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man Heavier spoiler for Tunguska/Terma. RATING: PG-13 CONTENT WARNING: A few curse words, Some violence. CLASSIFICATION: C SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully are surprised by the expansion of the X-files and the addition of two new agents. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 I want to thank my beta readers Eddie Edora and Casey Carpenter, any mistakes you might find are mine, not theirs. They did a great job of constructive critism and I owe them big time. :) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When the Truth is Found I: Opening Moves By Kevin Matsumoto Pt 13/14 Jason and Ann were still smiling as they entered the X-Files office. Ann looked around before heading to her desk. "Wonder where the duo got to this time?" "Beats me," Jason answered, "I'd have figured that after talking to Marcell, Mulder would have a few questions for you." Ann laughed, "I'm surprised he isn't here with a spotlight and a bottle of sodium pentathol." She suddenly became thoughtful, "Very surprised. That isn't like Mulder at all." Taking out her cell phone, she quickly dialed a number. "This had better be important." A gruff voice growled over the phone. "Leroy, this is Ann. Did you happen to leave anything for Mulder today?" "Yes, Ronald left a file to be given to Mulder under certain circumstances. I wasn't too thrilled about giving it to Mulder but Frank approved it." Ann put her hand over the phone, "Jase, call Frank and see if he approved some file from Ronald." "Hold on," Ann said quickly into her phone as Jason dialed Frank's number. After several seconds someone answered. "Frank, this Jason. Was Leroy approved to give Mulder a file from Ronald? Uh huh, right... WHAT!? Never mind, thanks." Jason switched his cell phone off. "According to Frank, Ronald left my profile on that Cigarette smoking S.O.B. that runs the consortium's security section." "A Majestic document?" Ann look shocked, "has Frank flipped out?" Jason shook his head, "According to Frank, the file's had all evidence of it being a Majestic Document removed. Plus it doesn't give out any names. Ronald showed it to Frank just before they killed him." "Did I just hear him correctly?" X interrupted over the phone, "Did he just say the approved file was edited?" "Yes," Ann replied, "why?" "Because that's not what I gave to Mulder." X answered clearly upset. "I took a look at the files before I gave them to Mulder and has Majestic written right on the first page." "Did you make a copy?" "Sure, Do you have a secure Fax line?" "Yes, the number's 555-3101," Ann replied. "Ok, I'm sending it now." Jason walked over and watched as the file was downloaded into Ann's system. Pulling it up on the screen, he began reading. "How the hell did Ronald get this out of Majestic without Frank's approval?" he muttered. As he continued reading, Jason eyes suddenly widened. Hitting the print command, he turned to Ann and almost shouted, "Give me the phone!" Without a word Ann handed the cell over to Jason who had turned back to the screen in shock. "Leroy? Where are you?" "At home, where do you think I am?" "Where did you get this file?" "From a dead drop that Ronald told me about. He said that the file had Frank's approval and that I was supposed to give it to Mulder in the event of Ronald's death and Mulder speaking to some guy named Jesse Marcell." "Get out of your house! Get to Majestic ASAP and if anyone tries to stop you, kill them!" "What the hell is going on?" "This isn't the file that Ronald left for Mulder. It's been altered. They've probably already made you, so hurry!" "Damn!" The phone disconnected as X hung up. "How do you know that the files have been altered?" Ann asked as Jason grabbed the printed sheets and began erasing the file. "Because Ronald said that John recruited him into Majestic." "What's wrong with that?" Jason grabbed his coat and headed for the door. Ann was two steps behind him when Jason answered. "Ronald never met John. Frank recruited him back in the late 70's." "Shit!" Ann swore as she struggled with her coat. "They're being setup." "It gets worse," Jason said as the reached the elevator. He began pushing the button. "C'mon... C'mon hurry, you stupid piece of junk." "What gets worse?" Ann asked. "Whoever wrote this told Mulder that a computer disk containing the names of every member of the Consortium is hidden in a nice out of the way area in California. Three guesses what's going on." "It's a trap." "You got it on the first try," Jason answered as the elevator doors opened. "We gotta get there before they do." Ann yawned as the fighter she was in began it's landing run. Jason had made several calls enroute to the closest Air Force Base. The results of that call, two F15 Eagles, had been waiting on the runway when they arrived. It had simply been a matter of climbing into the flight-suits and they had been on their way. The fighters barely made it to a complete stop, before Jason jumped out. With a wave to the pilot, he ran for a waiting car. Ann released her harness and quickly followed him. Inside the car, Jason was already talking into a phone. "Gunny, I want a full strike team ready when we get there," Jason was saying as Ann buckled herself into the passenger's seat. "I don't want any screw ups on this one." "Anything?" Ann asked as Jason hung up the phone. "Yeah, first off, Mulder and Scully were last seen boarding a plane to California by two of our people. We've got about a 4 hour head start on them." "So they're on their way here." "Uh huh, second, the address that Ronald supposedly left in his message to Mulder? One mile north of there is a box canyon." "Perfect place for an ambush." Ann growled as she removed the clip of regular ammunition from her Sig. Clearing the remaining round from the chamber, she reloaded with a clip of what were originally called `Black Talon' rounds. These rounds had become the ammunition of choice when dealing with the Hive. Working the action to put a round in the chamber, Ann watched Jason doing the same with his weapon. Nodding to her partner, she leaned back into her seat and tried to mentally prepare herself for the firefight that she was sure was about to happen. A young corporal saluted as the two agents arrived at the ambush site. Ann smiled at the girl's nervous salute. "First mission?" She asked sympathetically. "At ease corporal," Jason said at almost the same moment. "They get younger every year," Sergeant Morgan said as he tossed each agent a sub-machine gun. "No, gunny," Jason sighed, "we're the ones getting older." Then with a nod he asked, "Is everyone set?" The sergeant nodded. "Our scouts say that the valley's clear. I've got our people positioned at the mouth of the valley ready to hit anything that enters. Perfect crossfire situation." Pulling out a map he pointed to the positions of the men. "Good," Ann said as she examined the map. "What's the terrain look like?" "Forrest on either side, The floor of the valley is mostly rock and some scrub brush. The fire zone's about 200 feet. We couldn't ask for better conditions." "Let's get in position then." Jason said as he headed into the valley. Picking up her own gear, Ann followed him in. Jason sat, leaning against a tree and tried to find a comfortable position for the long wait. Less than five feet away, Ann was doing the same thing. Ann managed to catch Jason's eye and began grinning, this was the third time in the last hour that Jason had shifted position. He hated stake-outs of all kinds and couldn't sit still for more than 15 minutes at a time. "Jase, if you don't stop squirming, I'm going to have the medic slip you a tranquilizer." "I hate..." Jason's voice trailed off as Sergeant Morgan interrupted them. "Would you two keep it down!?" he hissed as he arrived next to them. "The scouts just radioed in. I think the opposition just arrived." Jason nodded, "About time." "Everybody in position?" Ann asked as she cradled her smg in her arms. "Ready and waiting," The sergeant replied. "Good," Jason said as he slid into position behind some brush. "As soon as they hit the middle of the firezone, open fire. I don't want any of them to get away." End part 13 Kevin Matsumoto Kevinm@pixi.com If you love something let it go, If it doesn't come back Hunt it down and kill it. |The NightCrawler Visit my homepage at http://www.pixi.com/~kevinm From kevinm@pixi.com Wed Apr 09 08:10:37 1997 Subject: When The Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves 14/14 by Kevin Matsumoto From: kevinm@pixi.com -------- TITLE:When the Truth Is Found I: Opening Moves PT: 14/14 AUTHOR: Kevin Matsumoto EMAIL ADRESS: kevinm@pixi.com SPOILER WARNING: Slight spoiler for Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man Heavier spoiler for Tunguska/Terma. RATING: PG-13 CONTENT WARNING: A few curse words, Some violence. CLASSIFICATION: C SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully are surprised by the expansion of the X-files and the addition of two new agents. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 I want to thank my beta readers Eddie Edora and Casey Carpenter, any mistakes you might find are mine, not theirs. They did a great job of constructive critism and I owe them big time. :) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When the Truth is Found I: Opening Moves By Kevin Matsumoto Pt 14/14 When the Truth Is Found A X-Files/Dark Skies Crossover by Kevin Matsumoto Pt. 14/? Jason watched the approach of the consortium's forces through a set of high powered binoculars. Scanning the small troop of camouflaged soldiers, he stopped at a very familiar face. "Well, well..." "What?" Ann whispered as she picked up her own binoculars. "Look at the tenth man from the right. Does he look like anyone we know?" "Sonofa..." Ann cut herself off. She stared at the person that Mulder and Scully knew only as the Well Manicured Man. "Miles Alexander Sheltan." "Who the hell is that?" Sergeant Morgan's voice came over the radio link. "The head of the Consortium's Research division." Jason whispered. The throat mike picked up the almost silent whisper and amplified it so that the others could hear him through their earpieces. "He must have gotten tired of Morley's failure to remove Mulder and Scully." Ann whispered. "We should have guessed that Morley didn't have anything to do with it." Jason nodded as he picked up the zoom mike and listened in on the Sheltan's conversations. The sudden guttural language that came from Sheltan almost made him drop the mike. "What's the matter?" Ann asked from her position. "Gunny, do we have any of the new long-range tranq guns here?" "Sure," Sergeant Morgan replied puzzled. "why?" "Who's got one." "Our best shot, Corporal Torres." "Torres, you there?" "Yes sir!" The voice of the Corporal that had greeted them earlier replied. "I hear you're our best shot with a Tranq gun." "Yes sir!" "Good, you see that grey haired bastard in the middle of the squad? Do you think that when they get into kill position, you can drop him with the Tranq?" "Not a problem Sir." Torres' voice was confident. "Good. The rest of you, as soon as he drops, you kill everyone else." Ann steadied her gun against the tree as she waited for the consortium squad to reach position. Slowly she watched as the squad cautiously entered the canyon. In a few seconds they were in position. "Now." Jason whispered. There wasn't even a sound as the Tranq dart appeared in Sheltan's arm. With a stunned look on his face the grey haired old man fell to ground unconscious. His body had barely hit the ground, when every member of the Majestic squad opened fire. To say that their opponents were surprised by the ambush would be an understatement. Most of the Consortium's troops weren't even able to bring their guns up before falling to the deadly crossfire. As Jason watched the last body hit the ground, he shouted, "Cease fire!" It took a moment for the soldiers to realize that they didn't have anymore standing targets. And a few more moments before Jason's command sank in. But gradually the gunfire faded away into a eerie silence. His heartbeat pounding in his own ears, Jason surveyed the scene below. Not a single member of the Consortium's squad was moving. With a sigh, Jason nodded. Slinging his SMG over his shoulder he said, "Ok, Gunny. Let's make sure there are no survivors and then let's get Mr. Sheltan to Majestic." Sergeant Morgan nodded and began barking out orders to the rest of his men. They walked to the floor of the valley and began checking for any signs of life. Ann and Jason knelt to double check on Sheltan's life signs, when one of the privates yelled out. "I've got a live one here!" "You know what to do with him, private." Sergeant Morgan responded. The private nodded and switched his MPK over to semiautomatic mode. He aimed and fired two rounds right into the survivors chest. Ann looked up just as the survivor sat up. "Hive!" she yelled as she scrambled to draw her pistol. Her hands got tangled in the sling of the SMG that she had strapped to her back. Fumbling with straps, she stared in horror as Jason turned and tried to bring his weapon to bear. Time seemed to compress as the Hive infested soldier pointed his weapon at Jason. Ann freed her own pistol and managed to aim it at the soldier. The two shot rang out as one. Ann's shot hit the soldier just below the throat and exited out the back in a spray of red. The soldier's shot hit Jason just to the left of his sternum. Jason fell backwards with a shocked look on his face. "Dammit!" Ann cursed as she turned to her partner. "Jase, don't move. Let me see how bad it is." "I'm fine," Jason groaned as Ann opened his shirt and started to remove the tactical vest he was wearing. "The bullet didn't get through the vest." Jason howled as Ann gently prodded the area around the bruise the bullet had left. "Like hell you're fine. You've got a cracked rib from the impact. You're lucky he aimed at your chest instead of your head. Thick as it is, that skull of yours wouldn't have faired so well." Now Jason managed a weak smile. "Hey, I'm alive that's all that counts." Ann managed to return Jason's smile. They both had to stifle slightly hysterical giggles as they heard Sergeant Morgan repeating almost verbatim the advice they'd given him only a day before. "When dealing with the Hive, a body shot isn't guaranteed to stop them. Always go for a head shot." Sergeant Morgan was telling his men. "And watch out for any Ganglion outside a host. If you see one, just kill it." Ann helped Jason to his feet and they headed for the pickup point. A clean up crew was on it's way in to remove the bodies and any evidence. By the time Mulder and Scully were supposed to get there, the place would be clean. Jason watched the men carrying the unconscious form of Miles Sheltan away. Still smiling he managed to catch Sergeant Morgan's eye. Morgan managed a slightly sheepish grin and removed his throat mike. "Hey, all that matters is they think I know what I'm doing." Ann grinned, "Works for me gunny." Later that evening Jason was sprawled on his motel room bed trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. His rib had only been bruised not fractured but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. He didn't want to take the pain killers that the medic had given him but he really needed the sleep. Finally giving in, he was reaching for the pain pills when the phone began ringing. Picking it up, he answered, "I really hope this is important." "Mulder and Scully are back in D.C." "What!?" Jason pulled himself into a sitting position, then fell back onto the bed with a groan of pain. "Never mind, I'll talk to you later." "See what happens when you don't take the doctor's advice?" Ann scolded as she entered the room. "I give up," Jason said, reaching for the bottle of pain killers. Ann laughed as she grabbed the bottle and opened it. Shaking out two of the white pills she handed them to Jason. Filling a glass of water, she placed that in his other hand. Waiting until he finished swallowing the pills, she ran her hand lightly over his forehead before leaving. "Get some sleep partner." Jason heard as she left the room. Once they were back in D.C., Jason had spent the remainder of the weekend relaxing. By the time Monday rolled around, the pain in his side had lessened to the point where he thought he could get by without the painkillers. Walking into the X-Files office, Jason nodded a greeting to his partner. "So where's the Duo?" "Talking with Skinner," Ann replied, "I got in here and they were acting like nothing's happened." "Did they ask you about Jesse Marcell or your dad?" "Nope," Ann shrugged, "maybe Marcell didn't tell them everything." "Considering how long Marcell's been waiting to tell someone the complete story. I'd have to say that's really unlikely." "So why hasn't Mulder requested we be transferred?" "I'm not sure," Jason admitted, "Maybe he thinks he won't be able to get us out." "Skinner would move Heaven and Earth to get us out if Mulder went to him with his suspicions." "Yeah, but Heaven and Earth won't faze Frank. And I think Mulder knows that." "You think Mulder knows about that?" "Yeah, but I don't have proof," Jason replied, "And as long as I don't have proof. I'm not going to report in to Frank. So long as I don't tell Frank that Mulder knows, Majestic won't move against him." Ann stared at her partner for a long time. Smiling she nodded, "Thanks partner." "No problem," Jason returned her smile before heading over to his desk to finish his paperwork. Assistant Director Skinner stared at Mulder in disbelief. "Let me get this straight, Agent Mulder. You suspect that Agents Loengard and Masters are working for a shadow organization, but you don't want me to have them reassigned?" "Reassignment wouldn't solve the problem, Sir." Mulder replied, "All that would happen is they'd find some other way to interfere. I don't believe that Loengard and Masters have been assigned to sabotage the X-Files, just to spy on us. Knowing that I also know not to take anything they say at face value. Or to put it another way, better the devil you know..." "All right, Agent Mulder," Skinner agreed, "in this case I'll go along with your request." As the two agents turned to leave the office, Skinner asked, "Just out of curiosity, Mulder. Why didn't you go and get the disk your informant left you?" "Scully reminded about something sir." "What was that?" "That in all the time I knew him, my contact never just up and gave me any information. He usually left me a few bits and pieces to whet my appetite and let me do all the work. This just didn't feel right, somehow." "I see... So you think it was a trap?" "Maybe," Mulder answered, "If it isn't then that disk will still be there later." Skinner nodded, "That will be all." Skinner watched as the two agents headed out the door. Then he allowed himself an amused smile as the memory of his last meeting with that Cigarette-smoking S.O.B. Cancerman had walked into his office just before closing and began demanding information. "On whose authority did you expand the X-Files?" He asked in an angry tone. "I'm not sure," Skinner had replied smugly. He handed Cancerman the original orders to expand the X- Files. "For awhile I thought it was you. It came through channels from someone high up in the Justice dept." Cancerman read the orders and his face went paste white. Skinner grinned, he hadn't seen that bastard so shaken since the incident with the Navahos. "We'll see about this," Cancerman said as he left the office. (I'll bet we will,) Skinner thought to himself. That had been three days ago, whoever Loengard and Masters worked for, Cancerman had nothing to do with them. And from Cancerman's reaction, the two new agents were a threat. Skinner thought about the old saying, "The enemy of my Enemy is my friend." He hoped for Mulder and Scully's sake that this would turn out to be true. The end. That's all for this section. With any luck I'll have the next part ready to go before the end of the week. (If Real Life doesn't interfere.) Kevin Matsumoto Kevinm@pixi.com If you love something let it go, If it doesn't come back Hunt it down and kill it. |The NightCrawler Visit my homepage at http://www.pixi.com/~kevinm