THE WITNESS scene 13 Interrogation room B 10:40pm Sam was not having a good evening. His present situation did nothing to ease the growing confusion this leap had engendered. First, he had these mysterious beheadings to deal with. Then he had not one, but two people to save--two people who not only refused to be in the same place at the same time, but who appeared to be enigmas unto themselves. Scott Edwards, for example. Ziggy had nothing on him or his family except that sometime tonight they would all disappear. Not to mention that fact both he and his father could see Sam and Al for who they really are. Which Sam was at a total loss to explain. Then there was this Robert Greene aka Russell Nash. The man he and Agent Scully were attempting to interrogate...with very little success. Sam was at a loss for why God/Time/Fate or Whatever it was that was leaping him about would want to save this guy. He looked, well, dangerous. Maybe it was that scowl. And his total refusal to be at all cooperative. Sam had pretty much given up on asking him any questions, mainly because the answers he received were on the order of "Maybe he had a shaving accident and cut off his own head." Scully appeared to have marginally better success. At least he didn't snap at her when she asked him a question. Instead he just glared back. Sam had no doubt that this guy was guilty, at least of the murder which Scott had witnessed. The fact that a search of his person had revealed an ancient Japanese katana, very sharp, coupled with his association with the New York incidents made it look like an open and shut case. But Sam somehow wasn't convinced he was involved in the other murders that had occurred here in Toronto. After all, someone would remove Greene's head later on this evening. Unless Sam could stop them. Which meant there were others involved. To compound matters, Al had returned with very little useful information. Instead, he seemed intent on making suggestive comments about Agent Scully. Wonderful. This was giving him a headache. He was about to embark on the probably futile task of asking Greene another question, when the door opened and Agent Mulder's head appeared. "Scully? Can I see you out here for a second?" "How's Scott? He wasn't seriously hurt, was he?" asked Sam. "No, he appears to be fine, Detective. Your partner is tracking down a lead on the man who attacked him. Do you think you could get Mr. Greene here ready for a line up? Since Scott is here..." Sam nodded. He wasn't particularly thrilled with the thought of dealing with Greene by himself, but he couldn't come up with a reasonable objection. As Scully exited the room with Mulder, he shot a look at Al. "I take it you want me to follow them and see if I can get any useful information? You don't have to ask me twice...that Scully...." Sam gave him his best imitation of Greene's scowl. Al rolled his eyes, then followed the Agent's out. "Okay, Mr. Greene. You heard the man. Line up time." Greene just glared at him. But Sam was becoming desensitized to that look. He took Greene by the arm and led him out of the room. "Okay, Mulder, what's going on? You didn't call me out of there just to assure me Scott was okay. I can tell you're just dying to tell me something," Scully noted as she and Mulder made their way back to the main room. Al tagged along behind. For Sam's sake he tried to keep his mind on the conversation at hand and not other...distractions. "Ever since I talked to Scott Edwards something has been nagging at the back of my brain. Something about Scott that I just couldn't put my finger on," Mulder answered. He stopped and looked at Scully. "And now I know what it is." "Is there something wrong with his testimony? Do you think he's been lying to us?" "Oh I'm sure he told us everything he saw exactly as he saw it. And I also know he _has_ been lying to us." "I'm confused. What do you mean?" "That's what I'd like to know as well," said Al. "His name isn't Scott Edwards. I didn't put it together until I met his father," Mulder answered (though not, of course, to Al). "And..." Scully said. In response, Mulder indicated that she should follow him back toward the main room. As they rounded the corner, Mulder stopped. He indicated the group in the far corner--Natalie, Scott and Paul. Scully looked for a few seconds, confused. Then suddenly she gasped. "I take it you recognize him?" Mulder asked. Al, meanwhile, was chomping on his cigar in frustration. Something important was obviously going on, but no one was saying anything he could use. "It's Paul Forrester! And that means that Scott Edwards is...." Scully began. "...Scott _Hayden_," Mulder finished. Al began to punch the names up in his handlink. The name 'Paul Forrester' sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He also wondered what the significance was. Mulder, fortunately, was about to answer that question. "Guess this means we're going to investigate extraterrestrials after all." That got Al's immediate attention. Extraterrestrials? What did a...he looked back at the handlink, which was beginning to toss out information in response to his inquiry. Aha! That's where he'd heard the name! What did a pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist and his kid have to do with extraterrestrials. Mulder couldn't possible mean... "Mulder, you don't seriously believe that that man is what George Fox claims," Scully said. "Look at the evidence, Scully. The remains of a man positively identified as Paul Edward Forrester were found on top of Mount Hawthorne where they've been buried since 1986. Which is when Paul Forrester supposedly miraculously survived a helicopter crash, then immediately disappeared into obscurity. We're talking about a man who made a lifetime out of being famous and reasonably conspicuous. That same man hooks up with Scott Hayden, Jr, supposed son of a Wisconsin housepainter of the same name but who was born more than a year after Hayden, Sr. died...and almost exactly nine months after a UFO was apparantly shot down near the vacation cabin the Hayden's owned." "Maybe the dental records were wrong--or faked by someone who wants you to believe this guy is an alien. Mulder, you've been set up before. And maybe Forrester hooked up with Scott because he _is_ his father, and the near death experience of the helicopter crash made him decide to take responsibility for the boy," Scully countered. "Then why hide? Why run away and change his name?" "Because George Fox wouldn't leave him alone. I looked up the psych report on that guy. He was obsessed--even worse than you are. Forrester probably came here to get away from that guy. Besides, he hasn't done anything wrong. And we _need_ Scott's testimony on this case." Mulder didn't appear convinced. "What if he killed the real Paul Forrester?" Scully sighed. She obviously was used to this. "Let's say you're right. Let's say he is some sort of glowing blue energy being from whereever who cloned the body of Paul Forrester. From the photos you showed me of the remains that were uncovered on top of Mount Hawthorne, whoever that was probably died in the crash. And you told me that whomever walked off that mountain, Paul Forrester or an alien clone, risked his life to save the pilot. That's hardly consistent with his being a homicidal alien." Mulder nodded. "Okay, I won't say anything about it...yet. But when we wrap up this case, I have a few questions for Mr. Forrester. Now did you get anything from Greene...." Al had heard enough. Crazy as it sounded, he believed Mulder's theory. Because it explained why Paul and Scott could see them. And it explained why they might have disappeared...either on their own, or at the hand of someone who knew what they were and wanted to get rid of them. Or study them. The handlink was telling him now that he'd hit a major red flag. Someone in the upper levels of the government or the military didn't want him finding out anything else about Forrester and Hayden. Which was fine, actually, because he had a sneaking suspicion he didn't really want to know. "Gooshie, center me on Sam. NOW!" Sam had managed to delegate responsibility for setting up the lineup to one of the other officers on duty that night. Seemed everyone else was having a quiet evening. He headed off in search of the FBI agents and Scott to let them know things were being taken care of. As he headed down the hall, he Al appeared in front of him. "Sam, we need to talk. I just learned something that's going to knock your socks off." Sam glanced around, making sure no one was near enough to catch him apparantly talking to himself. In a hushed voice, he replied, "Please tell me Mulder had some important information about this case. Like the identity of the man who attacked Scott who may be linked to his disappearance. Or better yet, some answers about these beheadings and who else might be involved." "Ah, no. Not exactly..." "Then _what_," Sam said in exasperation. "Well, for one thing I found out why Ziggy can't get a lead on the Edwards." "And why's that?" "Because 'Edwards' isn't their real name." "What?!" "Our witness is apparantly really named 'Scott Hayden' and his father is known as 'Paul Forrester',a rather famous _American_ photojournalist who's been hiding out with his family here in Toronto." "Hiding out? Who's after him and why?" Sam was beginning to feel a bit more hopeful. Maybe whomever was after Paul had gotten to him and his family this night. At least that would solve one mystery. "Ah, well....you're not going to like this part. I know I don't. Then again, I don't even know if you'll believe it..." "C'mon Al, spit it out!" "Well, according to Agent Mulder, this Paul Forrester isn't the real Paul Forrester." "Okay, if he's not Paul Edwards and he's not Paul Forrester, than who is he?" "Mulder thinks...he's...an..extraterrestrial. Who's wanted by the US government." Sam groaned. *It just keeps getting better!* "That's crazy, Al. You told me Mulder's a little bit...out there. Maybe this is just part of his obsession with aliens. I don't for one minute believe that that man is some little green man...." "Glowing blue light," Al corrected. "What?" "According to Agent Mulder, a federal Agent named George Fox believes..or believed..that _this_ Paul Forrester was actual some sort of glowing blue energy being from wherever that cloned the body of the real Paul Forrester. _And_, before you say anything else, let me also add that apparantly the body of the _real_ Paul Forrester was discovered on top of Mount Hawthorne a few months ago, where he's been buried since 1986. Some sort of helicopter crash. Ziggy verified that Forrester had been thought to have been lost on top of the mountain after his chopper crashed when he was taking photos of the volcano's eruption in 1986....but that he resurfaced a day or so later, apparantly unharmed." "So supposedly this...alien...duplicated his body? That's the most ridiculous..." "Now you sound like Agent Scully. I thought you believed in extraterrestrials, Sam. You told me that it's perfectly possible for other intelligent beings to come to our planet and check us out or whatever." "Yes, Al. I believe that there are other beings out there that have been trying to contact us and exchange knowledge about science and art and civilization, etc. But I find it _very_ hard to believe that some alien energy being is going to travel millions of miles to, to..come to Toronto and run a camera supply shop!" "Well maybe that's not why he came here but that's what he's doing until until the heat's off or whatever. Besides, that would explain why he can see us! _And_, even if he's not really some alien, as long as someone in the US government _believes_ he's an alien and has the resources to do something about it, he's in danger. And so is his family. When I asked Ziggy to run a check on those names, we triggered a red flag like you wouldn't believe. Ziggy had to do some really fast talking to make sure no one tried to find out _why_ we wanted the information. I'm telling you, Sam, this is the key to why Scott and his family disappear tonight. Ziggy thinks there's a 95.7% chance that I'm right." Sam thought for a minute. Al had a point. Whether or not Paul really was an alien (an idea Sam found difficult to swallow), as long as someone in a position of authority suspected he might be an extraterrestrial he and his family were in danger. Wait, he and his family... "Al, if Paul's an extraterrestrial, what does that make Scott?" "I was afraid you'd ask that...." As Al related the information he'd overhead from the FBI agents, Sam started to get a sinking feeling. It was definitely turning into one of _those_ leaps. scene 14 Payphone, Metro station 10:45pm "Mac, you know I can't tell you that! Besides, I know that guy, and believe me he's not the kind to go gunning for some kid just because he happened to see a beheading!" Joe was emphatic. "Well I don't know who else it could be...what other Watcher would have a motive to attack the witness," replied Duncan. Joe had been more than a bit upset to learn that a member of his organization apparantly had tried to kill someone who'd been unfortunate enough to witness a beheading. But he'd been even more upset when Duncan asked for the identity of Connor's Watcher, whom Duncan thought was the most likely suspect. Well, Duncan couldn't blame him, really. Joe often bent alot of the Watcher's rules in order to help his friend out, but even he had to draw the line somewhere. "There are renegades, as you very well know..." suggested Joe. "Yeah, but I doubt a Hunter would go after a witness--in fact, you'd think they'd _want_ one of us to get jailed. Especially if they can figure out a way to go after him." "You're right...I was just trying to come up with a reasonable alternative. You're absolutely sure it was a Watcher who attacked this Edwards kid?" "No, not 100%...but Scott's father claimed that the attacker mentioned the Game _and_ he had a tatoo on his wrist..." "A Watcher tatoo?" "Well I couldn't very well stick around and look over Mr. Edwards shoulder while he drew the picture. Remember, I'm not supposed to know anything about this. But inner wrist tattoos aren't the most common thing in the world, either." "Look, if you're right, this is pretty serious and there're others in my organization who'll want to know about this...and put a stop to it. Is there anyway you can get a description of this guy for me?" Duncan thought for a second, then replied, "Maybe I can talk to Mr. Edwards--he seems like a pretty friendly guy. I just have to think of a good excuse..." "Maybe you can tell him it might have been one of Connor's antique dealer friends or something. I really need to know who this guy is if he's one of us. I know of a few Watchers in that area, but none of them are the type to pull a stunt like this." "Okay, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for your help...Oh, wait, there's something else I wanted to ask you. Um, this is going to sound kind of weird, but I figure since you guys keep alot of records, maybe you'll know something about it....I saw this guy today, one of the detectives, who I _swear_ I've met before...a _long_ time ago." "And how long, exactly, would that be?" "Say, 1863?" "And he's not one of you, right?" "I wouldn't be asking if he was." Joe paused. Then he answered, "I don't know, MacLeod. We only watch your kind of Immortals. If there are other kinds out there, I don't know if I want to know about it." "Well could you check on it, please? Maybe someone's heard rumors or something..." "Why don't you just ask this detective?" "I plan to talk to him, but if he's got something to hide I don't know how successful I'll be. You're my backup, Joe. Can you help me out?" "Okay, I'll see what I can do. Where can I reach you if I find out anything?" That was a tough question. Where would he be? He planned to stick around here for a little while...at least to find out what happened to Connor as well as to see what he could learn from Paul Edwards and Nick Knight. And he really didn't want Anne wondering why on Earth Joe Dawson was trying to reach him. "I'll be here for a few more hours. I'll give you the number." "And what should I tell them if I call for you there." "Just say you're my lawyer." "Are you planning to get yourself arrested, too?" "No, but I have a feeling someone is really trying to make a case for it. Say, you don't happen to have any Watchers in the FBI, do you? Because someone there's got an awful lot of information about our activities. You wouldn't believe this guy I've had to talk to...." scene 15 The Raven 11:00pm "You have something to show me?" LaCroix asked as soon as he arrived. Janette nodded and led him into the back room where Gregory was still unconscious. LaCroix looked him over for a few minutes, then turned to Janette. "And Nicholas says a _mortal_ did this?" Janette nodded again. "Apparantly Gregory attacked the mans' son, who happened to be the only witness to one of these beheadings everyone is so concerned about. Nicholas thinks Gregory knows what is going on, and hopes he can get some answers from him." "Hmm. Nicholas is not the only one. Though I'm more interested in who..or what could do this to one of us. Ah, Nicholas, Nicholas. Where is your sense of loyalty? This is not something that can be kept secret from the rest of us. You were right to call me, Janette. I think it's time Gregory answered some questions." With that, LaCroix bent down next to Gregory and whispered in his ear, "Gregory...oh, Gregory..." The vampire began to stir and mumble. Suddenly, LaCroix grabbed him by his neck and heaved him against the wall. "WAKE UP, YOU FOOL!" LaCroix's eyes glowed yellow and his teeth were bared at the younger vampire, who was now fully awake. "LaCroix?! I...I..." "_You_ have put us _all_ in danger by your ill-conceived, foolish attack! What were you thinking?" "But it should've worked! They were alone, I didn't know...he wasn't _human_. There was a blue light...." "Not human? Then what was he, hmm? What light?" LaCroix slowly eased Gregory back down into a sitting position on the couch and relaxed the pressure on his neck. But he didn't release him..not just yet. And he never relaxed his gaze. Gregory licked his lips nervously, his eyes darting back and forth between Janette and LaCroix. "I..I don't know. I knocked the older man out of my way, and I had the boy. Then, just as I was preparing to feed, I was...slammed..against the wall by this...force. I was surrounded by this blue light. I swear, it came from the older man. It was so strong...I couldn't move. Then it got very strong and I couldn't bear it anymore. That's it, that's all I remember...." LaCroix considered this for a second. He released Gregory's neck as he rose and strode across the room. Then he suddenly turned and looked at Gregory again. "And _why_ did you attack the boy in the first place, hmm?" Gregory hesitated. Janette could tell he didn't want to tell LaCroix his closely guarded secret. Foolish. He was no match for LaCroix. "He witnessed a murder. One of the beheadings." "And why does this concern you?" "They provide...entertainment. You know how dull things can get at times? I find watching these foolish mortals destroy each other to be amusing. And if there's a little blood missing from the victim, well, it just adds to the mystery for the police. No one associates beheadings with vampires..." "So you risked exposing all of us for your own entertainment. Foolish, Gregory, very foolish. Because now there's something out there that not only is able to incapacitate at least _some_ of us..." It was obvious LaCroix didn't believe whatever it was could harm _him_, "...but also knows we exist. And we can't have that, now can we?" As he said this, LaCroix opened the door to the room. Outside stood the Enforcers. Gregory quailed. "No, LaCroix!! I can identify him...I can lead you to him...he can't defeat several of us if we gang up on him. It's not my fault, please...." Gregory backed into the corner, pleading and whimpering as the Enforcers advanced upon him. One of them held a stake in his hand. LaCroix turned his back and motioned for Janette to follow him as he left the room. The heavy door cut off the sound of Gregory's pleas (and subsequent screams) as it shut behind them. Just as well, since Janette didn't want anything to disturb her patrons. "LaCroix, do you believe Gregory's story? About the beheadings?" Janette asked. She had the feeling Gregory was still hiding something, though _why_ he would do so was really beyond her. "There was some truth to what he said, I feel. He was mostly motivated by the need for...entertainment. But no, he didn't tell us the whole story." "Then I'm surprised you let the Enforcers take him before you found out what he knew." LaCroix smiled as he replied, "Even though I don't approve of Nicholas's interest in 'repaying society for his crimes', I trust that he will be able to find the answers to this case himself. After all, he does have a suspect who Gregory was trying to protect. And it's so much more amusing to extract information from Nicholas. Gregory disgusted me." "You also hope Nicholah will lead you to this...thing...that defeated Gregory." "My dear, I'm _counting_ on it." scene 16 Metro Police Station 11:30pm Scott rubbed his eyes wearily as he sat down in front of the window that opened into the room where the lineup would be. He hoped that this would be the last thing they wanted out of him tonight because he was really beat. Fortunately, Detective Knight had been able to take care of the vampire who attacked him, so that was one less thing to worry about. Of course, the idea that one of these detectives sitting next to him was a vampire was hardly a comforting thought. But Paul was sure he was a "nice" vampire, so Scott tried to relax. *Okay, so Detective Knight is a good vampire, Detective 'Schanke' is a time-traveling physicist from the near future, and I'm here to identify some wacko who runs around cutting off people's heads...people who then emit some sort of weird electrical field when they're dead. Great.* Of course, that wasn't all, oh no. There were also two FBI agents here, who'd been giving him odd glances ever since they'd called him over to look at the lineup. Almost like they _knew_. Wonderful. _And_, to top it off, Paul had informed him that the guy Mulder had been talking to, what was his name...MacLeod, also seemed to be a bit on the odd side. Paul had gotten some sort of feeling from him as well...not quite like the feeling he got from vampires, but definitely NOT what he normally felt when he shook someone's hand. Scott was seriously beginning to wonder if there was one normal person in this entire station. "Are you ready, Scott?" Detective Knight asked. Scott wished he'd had more time to talk with him when Knight had returned, but he'd been cornered by that MacLeod guy, then by Mulder and Sam. "Yeah, I guess so," Scott replied. "Okay, send them in," Nick spoke into the microphone behind him. Scott felt his father's hand on his shoulder. For some reason, no one had objected when Paul insisted on coming into the room with them. Which was good, because Scott really felt the need for some familiar strangeness in the midst of all this new strangeness he'd encountered that evening. He watched now as the men entered the room. He identified the man he saw instantly. "Do you recognize any?" asked Sam, who was seated on Scott's other side. "Yeah. He's number three." "Are you sure?" asked Mulder from where he and Scully stood in the back of the room. Scott turned to face him. "Yes, I'm sure." The detectives and the agents exchanged glances and nods. "Okay, that confirms it," Nick said. He got up and opened the door, speaking to the officer outside. Scott climbed wearily to his feet. His father looked at Agent Mulder and asked, "Is that all you need? I really think Scott should go home and get some rest." Mulder shot a glance over to Scully before replying, "I think so. I don't see why Scott can't go home...though I'd really like to ask you some more questions about the assailant you described to Detective Knight." "I told you everything that happened. And Detective Knight said he's taken care of it." "I know, but maybe you can look at some pictures I have...see if anyone looks familiar." "Well...Scott, are you okay to drive home? Or should I call Jenny..." Was his father actually planning to _stay_ here? This fed sure acted like he knew something was going on, and Scott wasn't too sure he liked the idea of Paul staying here on his own. He looked uncertainly at his father and saw the familiar 'trust me' look. He nodded, "Um, I think I can make it home without falling asleep at the wheel. Mom's probably worried sick right now, even if you did call her." "I'll walk you out to the car. Detective Knight told me where he parked it. Then, Agent Mulder, I'll come back inside and look at your pictures." Mulder seemed unsure about this answer, but he obviously couldn't come up with a reasonable objection. Paul and Scott took there leave of Sam, Scully, Detective Knight and Dr. Lambert, who was in the hall talking with MacLeod, who for some reason was still hanging around. Scott wondered what he was up to...and what he knew. As they made there way out to the car, Scott voiced his concerns, "Dad, are you sure it's such a good idea staying here and talking to Mulder? I get the feeling he's suspicious..." "Yes, Scott. I agree--I think he knows. But I don't think he's like George Fox...I sense that we may be able to trust him if I can convince him that I mean no harm to anyone here. If he really does know, that is. But just in case, I want you to tell Jenny to start packing. If all else fails, I might be able to delay him a bit. I want to make sure you and your mother are safe..." "But what about you?" Paul smiled. "Hey, I can take care of myself. Besides, what can he do with everyone else around? I don't think they're going to let him jeopardize this case to go on a wild duck hunt..." "That's 'wild goose chase'" "..wild goose chase...I knew that...hunting aliens. I get the impression Agent Scully isn't quite as convinced as he is." They reached the car. Paul handed Scott the keys. "Are you _sure_ you're awake enough to drive. You were yawning pretty hard back there." "I'll be fine, trust me. Hmm, wait a second...you're not staying just to talk to Agent Mulder, are you? You want to find out more about vampires, time-traveling physicists, and whatever else is going on in there, don't you? That's the real reason you're staying." Paul shut the door and grinned as Scott gunned the engine. Scott rolled down the window, waiting for a reply. Paul shrugged and answered, "You know me, Scott. I always like to learn knew things." Scott just shook his head and laughed as he pulled away. He waved at his father as he headed for home, watching in the rear view mirror as Paul headed back into the station. He then turned his attention back to his driving. Therefore, he didn't see the dark van that slowly pulled out of the station behind him and began to follow. scene 16 Holding Cells Metro Police Station 11:40pm Dressed in the uniforms of one of the many people's whose job it was to keep the Metro Homicide Station clean, the man known (most often in a less than affectionate manner) as Murdoc carefully began planting the first of many explosive devices he planned to use on the station. Police station bombing was a big comedown from the sort of things he'd done in his heyday as an international terrorist, but it was step back in the right direction. Besides, the drug kingpin who hired him was paying very well. And it gave him a chance to hone his skills that might, just might, have gone a bit rusty during his hiatus. When he'd been learning what it meant to be Immortal. For several years, Murdoc had assumed that his continued survival in the face of the calamities that always followed when his schemes were foiled by a certain member of the Phoenix Foundation was due to his own tenaciousness and skill. But after the last incident, he'd been found by another Immortal who'd planned on taking his head. Murdoc _should_ have been an easy target--after all, he didn't know the first thing about swordplay. But that Immortal had apparantly totally failed to take into consideration the small automatic pistol Murdoc happened to have on his possession. And it was easy to take the head of someone who was, temporarily at least, already dead. He still remembered the rush his first Quickening had given him...and he wanted more. So he'd sought out someone who'd teach him what he needed to know. And once he'd learned all he wanted..., well let's just say Murdoc could hardly be considered one of the good Immortals. But now he wanted to get back into his old career. After all, an Immortal terrorist definitely had something going for him. This was just small potatoes. He'd been less than impressed by the security here at the station. It was certainly adequate to catch the ordinary terrorist, saboteur and what have you...but not someone of his caliber. He settled down to set the first of his little toys. Suddenly, he was interrupted by what a sudden pain in his head...a sort of buzzing pain. Another Immortal was close. He rose slowly, and walked over to the cleaning equipment he had as part of his disguise. Hidden amongst the mops was a long saber, very sharp. He wheeled the cleaning cart quietly to the end of the hall. Grabbing his sword, he peered around the corner. The guards were escorting a blond-haired man into the cell block. The man in the center was the other Immortal, who was now glancing quickly around for the source of the buzz in his own head. Murdoc smiled...he doubted anyone being thrown into jail was likely to have a sword on him. And a Quickening might be a nice bonus on the side. Of course, it would probably attract alot of attention and might even curtail his plans for the evening. No matter---he could come back in a week or so once the excitement had died down...and explain to his employer that something else had caused the station to temporarily beef up security. Of course, there was the matter of the guards. Then again, a sword wasn't the only thing Murdoc was armed with... Connor was just not having a good evening. Oh, it had started out okay--he'd gotten Stayde out of the way before Duncan could come to any harm, he'd met Duncan's new girlfriend (it was tragic what had happened to Tessa, and a shame--he'd really liked her), and had met her fascinating friend. Of course, who could've guessed she'd turn out to be in on the case of the murders Stayde had committed...and that there'd be a witness to the only beheading by Connor. He really couldn't blame either Scott Edwards or Natalie for what had happened--they're reactions in the situation were certainly understandable. It was just rotten luck. Connor hated police stations, and he wasn't particularly fond of police either...or the FBI. And he'd let them know it. Now, however, he was going to have to spend at least one night in this jail...unless Duncan could come up with a really good escape plan and help him out. The worse thing was, they'd taken his sword. He hadn't had a chance to hide it since he'd been caught totally offguard. He had no alibi, and as soon as forensics compared the metal in his katana to fragments found in Stayde's body, he'd be on his way to a real jail. Not a good situation at all. And it was about to get worse. As he was led down to the stations' block of cells, he got the buzz that indicated another Immortal was nearby. That spelled trouble--big trouble. Though he hoped whomever it was would be cautious about taking a head in the middle of a crowded police station. Or not so crowded, as the case may be. The presence of the cops might actually be his only protection now. Because as good as Connor was, he didn't have a prayer, unarmed as he was, against someone with a sword. scene 17 Metro station, main room 11:35pm Duncan was meeting with marginal success in his objectives for that evening. He'd managed to talk to Detective Knight, but it was hardly a productive conversation. Instead, it had degenerated into one of those skits from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" where the contestants had to improvise a scene by conversing entirely in questions. No answers had been forthcoming, and Knight seemed to be taking advantage of the fact that he was the detective, after all, and Duncan could very easily become a suspect if he wasn't careful. They'd been interrupted by Mulder, who'd given Duncan a more than suspicious glance before hauling Knight away to consult with him about something on the case. So next he'd tried Paul Edwards. That had been a bit more fruitful. He used the excuse Joe had suggested, indicating that he might know Scott's attacker as a mutual acquaintance of his and "Robert Greene"'s. Paul had hesitated a moment, looking at him again in that odd sort of way that Duncan found more than a bit disquieting, before giving him a description. As he'd expected, it wasn't anyone he knew, but he hoped Joe would recognize the man. Now he just had to wait for his Watcher friend to return his call. So now he was talking with Natalie as everyone else was involved in the lineup. He'd gotten off to a shaky start at first, but managed to turn the conversation to the topic of Anne and what a nice person she was, etc. Natalie had been cautious at first, but had managed to open up once Duncan effused a bit about Anne...and really turned on the charm. He'd gotten Nat to reminisce a bit about the old times, though she kept glancing worriedly at door behind which everyone had disappeared. She was still probably upset about Connor's not turning out to be quite what she expected. He wished he could convince her that Connor really was as nice as she'd thought...but that was the problem they all faced when the Game interfered with their lives. Well, those of them for whom the Game _wasn't_ their life. Suddenly the door opened and Nick stuck his head out to speak to one of the nearby officers. From what Duncan could gather, Scott had positively identified Connor. Duncan knew that Connor would be counting on him to help get him out of this mess. He wished he had some idea how to do that. Paul and Scott left the room as well, and Scott at least seemed to be on his way home. They eventually came over to where he and Natalie stood talking. Scott took his leave of Nat, while shooting Duncan a quizzical look. *He's probably wondering what I'm up to and why I'm still here. Kid, I'm kind of asking that question myself. I really don't know if there's anymore I can learn here tonight...and if I stick around I'll have to talk to Mulder again.* As if on cue, both federal agents appeared. Agent Scully held Connor's katana, carefully wrapped in plastic, in her hand. "Doctor Lambert, I know you're probably tired, but I was wondering if you feel up to finishing our autopsy on tonight's victim. I'd like to compare the metal samples from the victim with the metal in this sword, in order to confirm it as the murder weapon. I'd also like to see if we can match it to the fragments from some of the other victims. If you'd rather go home, I can take care of it...." Scully began. "No, no...I'm alright. Well, maybe not alright. But I'd like to get this taken care of. And it'll take my mind off things," Natalie replied. "I think you should also compare the metal in the sword found at the scene to anything you pull out of the previous victims," Mulder suggested. "I'm not convinced Greene alias Nash was in on this alone." "Do you still think there's some kind of conspiracy going on here?" asked Scully. "That's what I'd like to find out," Mulder replied shooting a meaningful glance at Duncan. "Mr. MacLeod, what do you make of this?" Mulder indicated the sword. "Looks like a sword," Duncan replied sarcastically. "A very sharp one. Are you saying you didn't have any idea this was in his possession?" Mulder replied. "Agent Mulder, I've told you all I know..." Duncan began exasperatedly. "Then why were you so keen to ask Mr. Edwards about the man who attacked Scott? I overheard you getting a full description from him. Do you know something about this tattoo and what it means?" Mulder held up a picture of the Watcher tattoo Paul had described. Duncan shook his head negatively...but he could tell Mulder didn't believe him. This was the most tenacious law enforcement official Duncan had ever had to deal with, and he was beginning to think he wasn't going to get off as easily as he had in the past. He had an uncomfortable feeling that Mulder already knew or guessed more than any mortal short of the Watchers knew about the Immortals. As Scully and Natalie left for the Coroner's office, Paul Edwards reentered the room. "Agent Mulder, I'm ready to look at those pictures with you," Paul said as he approached. Duncan noted that Mulder regarded Paul in a manner not unlike the way Paul had looked at Duncan earlier. *Something very strange is going on around here.* "Actually, I think you should come along with us as well, Mr. MacLeod. Maybe you'll recognize some of these people as well," Mulder said. Duncan groaned...the man had _more_ pictures? As Mulder turned to lead them over to the desk he'd been using, Knight and Schanke approached. "We have some questions for them as well," Knight said as he approached. Duncan got the impression, though, that Knight was more interested in asking _him_ questions than in asking Paul anything. Though the detective gave Paul an odd look--just like Mulder had. So did Schanke. Duncan found that very odd. Sam held back a bit as Mulder asked Paul to go over the description of the attack on Scott and tried to figure out his next move. Al had had a fit when he'd returned only to find out that Scott was leaving the station and Greene was being sent down to the holding cells. But he really couldn't think of a way to keep them both where he could watch them. And he couldn't send Al to check on both. He'd reassured Al that Paul, at least, was still here, so no one would be able to grab him. And if what Al and Mulder said was true, Paul was the target of the abduction or disappearance of Scott's family. Sam watched the man now, wondering if any of it could be true. It seemed very hard to believe--though obviously he was hiding something if he was going by an assumed name. At any rate, he'd sent Al to keep an eye on Greene, with instructions to come back and warn him if _anything_ looked suspicious. Then he'd have to concoct a good excuse to go down to the cell block. Maybe if he claimed he suddenly had an inspiration and needed to talk to the suspect. It wasn't the best excuse, and Sam desperately hoped he wouldn't need it. Mulder was now showing some pictures to both MacLeod and Paul. Sam wondered who these people were supposed to be. Paul asked his unvoiced question. "Who are these people?" "Some of them are suspects from other cases around the world," Mulder replied. "Other cases around the world? How often does this happen?" Paul sounded confused and more than a bit horrified. Mulder stared at him for a brief second before replying. Unfortunately, Sam didn't catch what he said because suddenly, there was Al in front of him, his face wearing a very alarmed expression. "Sam! You gotta get down to the cell block, now!! There's some guy down there who just took out the guards and is getting ready to open Greene's cell. And he's got a sword!!" Sam opened his mouth to use his rather paltry excuse, but it was unnecessary. Almost before Al could finish, the desk sargeant yelled across the room. "Detectives! Someone just set off the silent alarm in the cell block where they just took your suspect!" "What?!" yelled Nick and Mulder. But Sam was already running. He reached for his gun and pulled it out of its holster as he made for the steps--fortunately Al was there to indicate where he needed to go. He heard Knight and Mulder, and possibly MacLeod and/or Paul as well, behind him. He raced down the steps and flung open the door to the cell block at the bottom. Two of the guards leaned against the wall, unconscious. One looked like he'd been shot. Sam barely took note of them as he entered the cell block. Al called out and pointed toward one of the cells. There he could see Greene kneeling on the ground, his hands clutching his stomach. Another man stood over him with a raised sword. As Sam approached, he heard the man say, "There can be only one, MacLeod!" "Drop it! Drop the sword! Now!!" Sam yelled as he took aim. The man ignored him and began to swing. There was no time to think. Sam fired twice at the man. The sword fell to the ground as the man toppled, hit squarely in the chest by Sam's shots. Mulder and Nick rushed past him into the cell as he slowly lowered his gun. "You got him, Sam!" Al said as he looked at the fallen assailant. Meanwhile, Greene had also collapsed to the floor. Al, Mulder, and Nick all rushed to check him out. "Uh, oh...." Sam heard Al mutter. "Are you alright, Sam?" Sam turned. Paul was looking at him in concern. Sam nodded. He always felt pretty bad about having to use his gun. He was surprised that Paul had noticed...then again, if he was an alien... Nick stood up and shook his head. Sam was concerned, now. Was Greene okay? Had he been injured before he could get there. "How is Greene?" he asked. Both Al and Nick looked at him regretfully. "I'm afraid he's dead..." Nick began. "What?" Sam rushed over to the cell. Mulder was still kneeling by Greene's inert form, pointing to a massive wound in his chest. "I think Greene was as good as dead when we arrived," Mulder said, as he looked back at Sam. Sam and Al exchanged horrified glances. They'd failed to save Robert Greene...failed one of the objectives of the leap. "Ohmigod...I'm too late...." scene 18 Holding cells 12:10am "It looks like your conspiracy theory may be right, Mulder," Scully said over the phone. Mulder had called her as soon as other officer's arrived to deal with the mess. He'd been rather surprised to learn that the guards weren't as seriously, well, _dead_ as he thought they'd been. They'd been taken to the hospital, but one of the officer's who'd examined them had sworn the wounds looked almost superficial. Mulder wondered if Paul had anything to do with that. Some of George Fox's reports had mentioned an ability to heal, though Fox hadn't dwelt much on that facet since it sort of contradicted his premise that the alien was a threat to all of humanity. At any rate, he'd wanted to let Scully in on what had happened so she could prepare for when the bodies arrived. And prepare poor Dr. Lambert, who probably would not take finding out that Greene...or whomever he was...was now dead. "There's something else that might interest you, Scully. Just before the assailant was going to cut off our suspect's head, he said something very interesting...and familiar." "'There can be only one?'" "Close--'There can be only one, _MacLeod_'" "MacLeod? What do you think that means?" "I think it means I need to have another talk with Mr. _Duncan_ MacLeod. And now I have something more to go on. I have a feeling we're really close to solving this one." "And when we solve this one, I take it there's something else you want to look into?" Mulder glanced over to where Paul 'Edwards' was talking with the somewhat shaken Detective Schanke. Mulder thought it also somewhat suspicious that Schanke was so affected by the incident. True, it wasn't pleasant, but he was sure Schanke had seen alot of unpleasantness in his years as a homicide detective. He wasn't sure what to make of it. "Let's just say I have a few questions for Mr. 'Edwards' that don't necessarily have to do with beheadings." "Just as long as you don't do anything to jeopardize this case. I really think you're off track here, Mulder. Paul and Scott seem like a pretty ordinary father and son...about the only ordinary thing we've seen since we got here. I still think someone's trying to set you up. Maybe in order to distract you from finding out what's really going on with these beheadings. If it is some kind of conspiracy of some kind, it may involve people with the wherewithal to pass phony UFO information on to you." "Scully, are you suggesting that there's a goverment conspiracy to cover up mysterious beheadings? You're starting to sound like me." Scully sighed. "Maybe I have been working with you to long. What do you want me to look for when these bodies arrive here?" she changed the subject back to the case, which didn't really surprise Mulder. "I think you should take a look at our mysterious assailant first. See if he has any marks indicating prior experience in sword fights, etc. It's a dangerous pasttime, after all, and there might be some scars. Actually, me and the detectives will be coming over as well. I think Knight wants to make sure Dr. Lambert is okay..." "Not surprising...there's something going on there...." Mulder smiled. "Hey, this isn't Love Connection here. Unless, of course, you think it has something to do with the case. I think I'll bring Mr. Duncan MacLeod along so I can talk to him while you're going over the autopsy. Maybe he'll know something about the other victims or the other swords...and maybe this time I can get him to talk. Especially about why the assailant called his friend 'MacLeod'. I hardly think he mistook him for Duncan MacLeod." "Unless Duncan MacLeod isn't his real name...." "Oh, I think that's his real name alright, or at least an alias he's stuck with a long time. I did a check with Interpol, and you'll never guess where else his name has turned up." "I'm afraid to ask..." "Paris, France. Yet another city where the occassional mysterious headless body surfaces now and then. It appears that MacLeod intermittantly owns a houseboat on the Seine." "Intermittantly?" "Well, for unknown reasons, MacLeod shows up at the same time every year and buys back the same houseboat he sold the year before. I don't know yet what to make of _that_. Anyway, we should be over there shortly. I'll tell you more when I get there." With that, he hung up his flip phone and scanned the room. Knight had finished talking with the officers who'd arrived to help sort out this incident and was now talking with a disgruntled looking Captain Cohen. MacLeod was being questioned now by Schanke. Mulder thought the expression on MacLeod's face was more like a "oh no, not again" look than a grieving look for the death of his friend. Of course, that could be due to the fact that his friend had turned out to be some sort of homicidal maniac, but Mulder suspected that "Greene"'s activities were well known by MacLeod. In fact, he was counting on it. Because with "Greene" and his assailant dead, MacLeod was the only real lead they had. Unless someone caught the man who'd attacked Scott, but he couldn't count on that. "Agent Mulder?" Paul's voice caught his attention. He turned and faced the man he was sure was an alien, more than a bit nervous at speaking with him. He really wished he could wrap up this other case so he had a chance to confront 'Forrester'. To ask him the question that had haunted him for 22 years--what had happened to Samantha. He didn't even consider that Paul might not know. "Um, yes Mr. Edwards?" "Do you know what's going on here? It seems that the man Scott saw was not the only man who cut off people's heads. Do you think there're more of them? Do you think Scott will be safe? I don't want another...person ...to attack Scott because of what he saw." "I wish I knew the answer to that. But I think we're pretty close to finding it out. The autopsies might tell us more..." "Autopsies?" *Let me guess--he doesn't know what an autopsy is* "Yes...Agent Scully will examine the bodies and see if she can find anything that gives us clues to this case." "That sounds interesting. May I come with you?" Mulder was caught a little off guard by that request. Not something _most_ people would ask, especially in such a gruesome case. Then again, Paul 'Edwards' was not most people. Besides, it would keep him where Mulder could see him. Why not? "Okay...I don't have any objections. Just don't get in the way." At that moment, Knight signalled that they were ready to head over to the Coroner's office. Mulder motioned for Paul to follow him. Both Knight and Schanke seemed a bit surprised to see Paul coming with them, but neither objected. Which saved Mulder from having to come up with a good explanation. scene 19 Coroner's Office 12:30 am Scully was glad when Mulder and the detectives finally arrived, though she was somewhat shocked to see Paul Edwards tagging along as well. She'd been a bit worried about Natalie Lambert, who hadn't taken the news of Greene's death very well. Scully couldn't blame her--it had probably been an emotional roller coaster of a night. Though she was a bit confused about why someone like Natalie would be attracted to someone like Greene...of course, she hadn't really seen his good side that night. Knight and Lambert made a much nicer pair...though she really shouldn't be indulging in matchmaking at a time like this. Though seeing how well Knight seemed able to talk to Natalie... Mulder showed her the sword the assailant had, which was an altogether different type from the one found at the scene of the incident earlier that evening or the one found on Greene. No similarities there. However, there was something interesting Mulder needed to know about the first two swords...and their connections to the murders. As she motioned for the body of Greene to be temporarily stored in the morgue adjacent to the examining room she intended to use, she called Mulder over. She and Mulder made their way to the examining room where the unidentified assailant was being prepped as she revealed the findings she'd made earlier. "Mulder, we just got the lab results back comparing the metal fragments in the bodies with the metallic contents of the swords..." "So soon?" Scully paused...now that she thought about, it was quite an amazing turnaround time. In fact, it was downright incredible. Hmm. That was odd. Oh well... "Anyway, the fragments from tonight's victim match the metal in Greene's sword, which in combination with Scott's testimony, proves he did kill that man. However, the fragments from the bodies of the other victims matches the metal in the sword found at the scene of tonights' slaying. The sword Scott claims belonged to the victim." "So that means that Greene killed the man who killed the other victims..." "Maybe he is...or was...the good guy," Scully suggested. "That's a pretty scary thought, you know...someone cuts off someone else's head and that makes him a _good_ guy?" "Well, let's face it Mulder. We really don't know what's going on here." At that point they arrived in the examining room. The mysterious assailant's body was laid out on the table. The assistants had just finished up and were on their way out. One of them informed the agents that Greene's body was in the adjoining room, along with the first two swords, in case they needed any of those...items...later on. Scully nodded and proceeded to glance over Greene's body. "Do you have everything you need? I'm going to go back and see if I can get MacLeod to tell us anything more. I think the detectives are as fed up with his silence as I am, given that we _all_ heard Greene referred to as 'MacLeod'. Maybe with the three of us there we'll break his stubbornness." Mulder grinned mischievously. "Maybe I can get Paul to give us some help as well." "Why exactly did you bring him along?" "He wanted to come--said it sounded interesting." Scully just shook her head. She knew perfectly well why Mulder had permitted him to come along. He didn't want to lose track of his 'alien'. She turned to look over the body in front of her as Mulder made to leave the room. Suddenly she gasped. "What is it, Scully?" Mulder asked as he came up behind her. "The chest wounds...where Schanke shot him...they're gone!" "Gone?" Mulder asked. He looked at where she was pointing. She turned to face him. The movement exposed her gun, which the Canadians had somewhat reluctantly let her keep. Suddenly, the arm of the supposedly dead man on the table reached up and grabbed her gun. Before the stunned agents could do anything, the man leaped off the table and grabbed Scully around the throat with his other arm. Mulder reached for his own gun, but didn't get very far. The man shot him at close range..in the stomach, however, since Scully's struggling made him miss his aim. Mulder staggered back against the wall and crumpled to the floor. "Mulder!" Scully screamed in horror. Suddenly, the door to the adjoining room burst open. The apparantly not-quite-so-late Robert Greene stood in the doorway, brandishing his own sword. "Let her go, Murdoc! This is between you and me!" Greene said as he slowly advanced on them. The man apparantly called Murdoc backed toward the doorway of the room, holding Scully against his chest. From her vantage point, Scully couldn't tell if Mulder was still alive or not. She feared the worst. Murdoc laughed as he pressed the gun against Scully's temple, confirming her fears that her own life was also in danger. "Forget it, MacLeod," Murdoc said. "I don't stand a chance against you in a _fair_ fight, and I know it. So I'm not going to play fair. She's my ticket out of here. I'll just have to deal with you later....because I really _hate_ people named 'Mac'." "We're not very fond of you, either," said a voice behind them. scene 20 Downtown Toronto 11:45pm In order to overcome the sleepiness that kept threatening to overwhelm him, Scott rolled down the windows and turned up the radio. He tapped his left hand along with the music as his right hand controlled the steering wheel. He was glad that he was _finally_ out of the station. Now he could try and make sense of the evening's events. On second thought, maybe he'd better not dwell on it too much. It'd just end up keeping him awake all night. He had to think of what to tell his mother, though. He was sure she'd be worried. Especially when he told her that they should begin to pack. He hoped his father would be okay. Agent Mulder seemed alot different from the other federal agents he'd met--okay, most of them had been associated with the obsessive/compulsive George Fox who'd dedicated his life to hunting them down. If Mulder did suspect who they were, Scott was sure he was the kind of man who would listen to reason--and would understand why his father was really here. At least, Scott hoped he was. As he turned the next corner, Scott glanced at the rear view mirror. There was a van some distance behind him. Hmm. Scott had a thing about vans--after all, Fox had a van. And given the events of the evening, it would probably be a good idea to be careful. And over the years he'd acquired a pretty good sense of when someone was following him. He was a bit suspicious. It was probably nothing--his nerves were probably shot. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful. Scott carefully took the next turn, deciding to use the old "turn the block" trick. The driver of the van behind him consulted the map taped to the dash board. This street Hayden had taken was not enroute to the apartment registered to Paul and Jenny Edwards. He turned to the man in the passenger seat. "I think he may be on to us. He's turning the block." The man nodded. He spoke into a portable radio. "Unit One to Unit Four, do you read?" "Yes Unit One?" "Hayden may be on to us. We're abandoning our tail. If he heads for the apartment he should be passing you in five. He's driving a blue Toyota Corolla, license RIW 269. Pick up the tail when he passes you. You know the drill." "We copy, Unit One." As Scott made the next turn up ahead, the dark van drove straight on. At the next light, they turned left and headed for the rendezvous point. Scott sighed in relief as the van continued on at the next turn. *You're just too jumpy tonight, Hayden. Gotta get some sleep!* He made his way back to the apartment. On one corner, a small truck with the logo of a local video store sat, looking for all the world like another parked vehicle. As Scott drove past, the headlights came on. The truck pulled out behind him, careful to let two other vehicles between it and the blue Corolla. After all, it already knew Scott's destination. Jenny Edwards waited impatiently by the window of their second story apartment adjoining her husband's business. She hoped Scott and Paul would finish their business at the police station quickly. Even though Paul had called and told her they would be delayed, she was worried. So many things could have happened. Things she didn't want to ponder. It was close to midnight now. As she peered anxiously out the window, she spotted Paul's car approaching. *Finally!*. From her vantage point she could see only one occupant--Scott. She wondered where Paul was...perhaps he'd stayed at the station for some reason? Not surprising, really. She'd caught the tone in his voice that told her there was something going on there that had piqued his rather ample curiosity. She tried not to think about the axiom regarding curiosity and the cat. As the car pulled into a vacant space near their apartment, she left the window and hurried to the door, hoping to meet Scott outside. As Scott parked the car, he rubbed at the wounds on his neck. They'd stopped hurting a while ago, and even the numbness was fading. Maybe nothing would come of that after all. Though he really dreaded trying to explain _that_ to his mother. They'd avoided going into specifics about the attack on Scott earlier. It wasn't the sort of thing guaranteed to comfort an anxious wife and mother. Scott opened the door and got out. As he did so, a video truck pulled up beside him. The driver called out, "Hey kid? Can you give me a hand here? I'm kinda lost?" "Sure. Where're you headed?" Scott asked as he came closer. The driver looked to a clipboard he held in his hand. "Um, 136 Decapent Avenue." "Okay, you just got a little turned around. If you go down this way," Scott turned to point down the street. Suddenly the driver grabbed him tightly by the arm. "Hey!" Scott yelled. At that instant, two man came around the side of the truck. One had a gun. Scott reached for the sphere in his pocket, but another man grabbed him from behind. He dropped the sphere and saw it roll over to the curb. Someone put their hand over his mouth as the two men grabbed his arms and dragged him to the back of the truck. As he was swung around to face the back, he caught sight of a familiar face. "Hello, Scott," said George Fox as Scott was hauled into the truck. The driver pulled out quickly as the back of the truck closed on the captured young man. Jenny Edwards watched the proceedings in horror from the doorway of the apartment building. She didn't recognize any of the men in the truck, but she was sure they were government...or military. And from the US, no doubt. Unless someone had managed to convince the Canadians to get involved. She was surprised they hadn't come after her as well...unless... they'd _wanted_ her to see. And wanted her to tell Paul. It was just like them, using Scott as a bait for the bigger catch. Paul Forrester, the alien himself. Not, of course, that they didn't want Scott. They wanted them both. What should she do? She had to tell Paul, of course. But then what? They'd be waiting for him. As she walked slowly out to the street, her mind in a daze, she caught a glimpse of silver by the curb. Scott's sphere. Her eyes clouded with tears. How could Paul even _find_ Scott without that? She picked it up slowly and cradled it to her chest as the tears flowed freely. *Not now, not yet--you can't break down now. Paul will know what to do...* She hurried back into the apartment. It was likely they wouldn't be able to stick around once Scott was rescued...she didn't consider the possibility of failure. She spent the next 15 minutes tossing as many essentials as she could into suitcases. Then she carefully made her way out the back to her own car, half expecting to be grabbed at any time. She tossed everything into the back seat, then drove as quickly as she could to the Metro Police Station. As she drove, she prayed for Scott's safety...and for help to get him back. scene 21 Coroner's Office 12:25 am Duncan considered his next move. He should've left when he had the chance. Now the situation was totally out of control. He didn't recognize the Immortal who'd attacked Connor and couldn't figure out why he was here. Had he known about Connor's imprisonment? That would make Connor a target, of course, since without his sword he was almost defenseless. Almost. Though in a small cell with not much manuevering room and no makeshift weapon, even a fighter as skilled as Connor would be hard pressed against anyone with a sword. Duncan was almost grateful that the alarm had been pulled and Detective Schanke had moved quickly enough to save Connor's life...though, of course, Schanke didn't _know_ he'd done that. He thought Connor and his attacker were both dead. But Duncan could sense them both...well, he could sense the presence of at least one other Immortal--the two were too close together for him to identify them as seperate Immortals. And if he could sense them, they were awake. And waiting... Which lead to another problem. How to get Connor out and neutralize the evil Immortal who'd attacked him. And how to get these policemen and the FBI off his back. With Connor "dead", he was the only lead they had on what was going on. And the fact that Connor's attacker had made a point of addressing Connor as "MacLeod" really didn't help Duncan's situation. He was under no illusion that that remark had been missed. He doubted Agent Mulder missed much of anything. And he _knew_ Knight, whomever or _what_ever he was, wouldn't let the opportunity to question Duncan further slip out of his grasp. So now he'd been dragged to the Coroner's Office with them. Mulder had gone with Scully down to examine the "body" of the assailant, but Duncan knew he'd be back. And then they'd all be after him with more questions. And his arsenal of evasive answers was rapidly wearing thin. Even now, Schanke and Knight were shooting him suspicious looks. Even Edwards...whose presence here Duncan was at a total loss to explain...was eyeing him strangely. Duncan eyed him back...and got a raised eyebrow in response. Now Nat was giving him looks. Knight was probably relaying the other Immortals' words to her. Great. On top of everything else, he'd probably have to come up with a really good story to tell Anne. "Okay, MacLeod. Do you mind telling me what this is all about?" began Schanke, obviously not interested in waiting for Mulder's return in order to begin the questioning. So much for his breathing space. Knight also approached, leaving Edwards with Natalie. "Yeah. I think it's about time you gave us some answers. Let's start with your friend's _real_ name..." Knight added. Duncan backed up a bit towards the door. Compared to these too, Mulder might be easier to deal with. He searched his mind for an explanation, meanwhile wondering what Connor and the other Immortal were up to. As if in answer, a gunshot rang out. *Uh oh* thought Duncan, even as he turned to race down the hall. He had a bad feeling about what had happened. Even as he ran to the examining room where the FBI agents had gone, he reached into his long coat and felt for his katana, glad for the mysterious "katana-space" that concealed it except for when he needed it. He hoped he wouldn't need it. This was NOT a good place for a beheading, especially not in the midst of a group of people already very suspicious of him. What a lovely evening _this_ was turning out to be. As he reached the doorway, ahead of the detectives, the very sight he feared greeted his eyes. Agent Mulder lay in a heap against one wall, blood coming from a wound in his stomach. The other Immortal held Scully against his chest with a gun to her temple. Connor stood in the far doorway, his own katana in his hand. He heard Connor challenge the other Immortal, Murdoc. But Murdoc refused, obviously intending to use Scully as a shield in order to escape. What to do....obviously Murdoc had no intention of letting Agent Scully live, and Duncan had no doubts that she wouldn't be the only other casualty of the evening if Murdoc escaped. There wasn't time for any other option. Duncan pulled out his own sword as Murdoc said, "...because I really hate people named 'Mac'" "We're not very fond of you either," Duncan answered, as he heard the detectives arrive behind him. *Better act quickly, before this turns into a standoff.* At the sound of his voice, Murdoc turned quickly, shoving Scully into Connor's arms. He tried to aim the gun he held at Duncan, but Duncan was already swinging. He looked right into Murdoc's eyes for an instant before his sword connected with Murdoc's neck and separated his head from his body. "What the..?!" exclaimed Schanke behind him, as Murdoc's body fell. He knew their guns were now pointing right at him. He'd _really_ have a hard time explaining this. Or what was going to happen next. "Everyone, get _down_!" Connor yelled, even as Duncan felt the first touches of the Quickening. Paul hurried down the hallway behind everyone else. Duncan MacLeod had been the first one out of the room when the gun had gone off. Sam had been behind him. Nick had turned to Paul and Natalie with the orders "Stay there!" before turning to follow. Natalie had paused for less than a second before muttering, "Forget _that_" and heading out herself. Paul decided he'd better follow, partly out of curiousity and partly out of concern for whomever might have been shot. He might be able to help the victim, as he had the guards in the cell block. He gripped his sphere as he arrived at the examining room. Everyone else was frozen in shock...apparantly Duncan MacLeod had just beheaded the man Schanke had earlier shot. The man who was supposed to be already dead. Paul's was stunned...not only by the fact that this supposedly dead man was alive but at all the violence. Duncan MacLeod had not seemed to him to be the kind of man who'd go about cutting off people's heads. He hoped this behaviour wasn't contagious. Paul noted all this in a fraction of a second. He also noticed something no one else did--Agent Scully. She was hanging limply in the arms of another supposedly dead man, Robert Greene. Unlike everyone else in the room, she was not looking at Duncan MacLeod and what he had just done. Her attention was focused on the other side of the room. Paul followed her line of vision and saw Agent Mulder leaning against the wall of the room. He'd been shot...and from the look in Scully's eyes, he was sure it was fatal or nearly fatal wound. He couldn't help the man who'd lost his head, but he could do something for Mulder. He gripped his sphere tighter in his hand even as he heard Greene tell everyone to get down. At that moment he felt...something. Some sort of energy. He recalled what Scott had said had happened after the murder he'd witnessed. Paul crouched down as Green pulled Scully with him to the floor. Nick and Sam stayed standing, with there guns aimed at Duncan MacLeod. "Drop the sword, MacLeod...," Sam began. Before he could get any further, the lights above him shattered. Sam dove to the floor. Nick grabbed the stunned Nat and pulled her down as well. Paul noted the eerie blue haze rising from the headless body even as he crawled quickly to where Mulder lay. The glass door of a medicine cabinet nearby shattered as well, and Paul felt the energy force rising. Sparks of energy now seemed to come out of nowhere, and bolts of apparant lightening began to strike MacLeod, who dropped to his knees. Paul pulled his attention away from the spectacle around him to concentrate on the dying Agent in front of him. The energy force coming from the body would interfere with his healing, but at least he could keep Mulder alive until the energy had dissapated...or done whatever it was going to do. He activated his sphere as he reached Mulder. He pulled the unconscious Agent's body toward him and attempted to shield him from the debris that was beginning to fly around the room. As he touched him, he could sense Mulder's dwindling life force. If he could just keep Mulder from slipping away... He decided to try something. Paul mentally spoke. Paul was confused. He sensed that Mulder desperately wanted to know the answer to that question, that the need to know what somehow the driving force of his whole existence. But he didn't understand why Mulder was asking _him_ about it. In response to this query, Mulder's mind dumped a confusing array of images. Some were recognizeable as other species he'd encountered. He was amazed at the number of extraterrestrials this agent had encountered. And he understood why Mulder demanded answers of him. He just wished he had the answers to give. And he also understood now why George Fox had been so insistent on pursuing him. If what Mulder had seen, had heard, was any indication, there _were_ others who wanted to do exactly what George Fox had accused _him_ of--colonizing the Earth and eventually taking it over. He felt dismayed that there were those who would want to do something so wrong. No wonder there were humans who were so frightened. Paul told Mulder his own story, the reasons he'd come the first time and what had brought him back. He hoped the agent would believe him. Mulder mentally laughed ironically. Their conversation, taking place at the somewhat faster speed of mind-to-mind communication, had lasted the duration of the Quickening. As Paul felt the interfering energy die down, he began the healing process. Sam huddled on the floor as the force of the mysterious energy storm grew in strength. Peeking out from the arms that covered his face, he saw MacLeod drop to the floor as the bolts of lightening began to strike him. *What the heck is going on around here!* Sam thought. He barely heard the sound of the imaging chamber door open as Al reappeared after trying to figure out there next course of action after Greene's death. He clearly heard Al's gasp of shock, and turned to see Al's cigar drop out of his mouth as he gaped at the scectacle before him. "Sam?! What the hell's going on here? What happened...oh," Al noticed the headless body on the floor and the sword that was slipping from MacLeod's grip. "Al, can Ziggy get a read on this....this disturbance?" Sam hissed at Al. Al shook himself out of his stupor and began to type on his handlink. He shook his head negatively. "Ziggy hasn't the faintest idea what this is. What happened...wasn't he, " he pointed at the body on the floor, "supposed to be dead already?" "Yeah, well, so was he!" Sam replied nodding his head in the direction of Greene and Scully. Al strode over to where they were also crouched on the floor, giving MacLeod a wide berth. Even though he was hologramatic, he flinched every time something shattered or blew past. Even though Sam thought it was impossible, Al's eyes widened further as he recognized Greene. He turned to stare incredulously at Sam again, and Sam recognized that look of panic. It reminded him of Al's reaction when he'd leaped into...into...darn, that swiss cheese memory. Anyway, he'd seen that look before. Al scanned the rest of the room, trying to ascertain who was also there. His eyes froze as he looked off towards the side wall. "Oh, no...Sam..." Sam tried to focus on where Al was pointing to. The storm, or whatever it was, seemed to be dying down. He raised his head a little bit, and caught sight of Mulder and Paul in the corner. There was blood down the front of Mulder's shirt, and Paul was cradling his inert form, apparantly trying to protect the agent from flying debris. Apparantly, Mulder had been the one who'd been shot. And judging from the amount of blood, it didn't look good. But there was something else....now that the lightening was dying down, Sam swore there was another bluish light coming from that corner. Coming from Paul's hand.... He slowly rose to his feet, distantly noting that MacLeod seemed to collapse to his hands and knees. Knight and Natalie beside him were also getting up. "What was that?! What's going on...I want some answers..." Knight began. Sam glanced back at Knight, then at Greene, whom Knight seemed to be addressing. But neither Greene nor Scully were looking at him. They were, like Al, mesmerized by what was going on along the side wall. Greene released Scully, as he replied to Knight, "What I want to know is...what's going on over _there_". Sam had to agree with him. Because now the eerie blue glow was getting even brighter. And there was no doubt now where it was coming from---from the small sphere in Paul Edward Forrester's hand. {Author's note: Special thanks to James Holman for the video truck idea. I know I didn't use it in _quite_ the way you'd suggested. And extra special thanks to Lisa Kadlec, my "creative consultant", for discussions on katana space and all things Highlander...and for putting up with my rantings about this story so far... I'd also like to mention that the idea that Starman is familiar with at least some of the aliens believed to have visited our planet is an idea I borrowed from the excellent Starman fanfiction written by Lynda Sappington. Specifically, a story called "The Visit", where Scott and Paul meet up with one of those aliens you always see pictures of--the ones that apparantly terrified George (sp? pronounced: "Hor-hay") in the X-files episode "Little Green Men". Anyone interested in finding out more about this and other great stories, let me know.} scene 22 Downtown Toronto 12:45 am Jenny drove quickly but cautiously down the streets of Toronto, constantly brushing away the tears that brimmed from her eyes and threatened to obscure her vision. Her mind kept replaying the scene of Scott's abduction over and over while trying to come up with what she should have done to help. But she knew that if she'd tried anything, they would have taken her as well. Her only recourse was to find Paul. Anger, grief, and frustration swept through her because she realized that this was exactly what _they_ wanted her to do. What they expected her to do. She knew they'd be waiting for Paul to show up to rescue Scott. But she wasn't even sure he would be able to find their son...not if Scott didn't have the sphere. She rubbed the small silver orb with her left hand as she drove. What would they do? Could they get help? Perhaps the police detectives would help. Scott was an important witness after all. That thought sparked a glimmer of hope. They didn't need to know _why_ Scott had been abducted...not that they would believe it anyway. Unless the Canadian government was also...no, she wouldn't think about that. She pulled into the parking lot of the Toronto station and hurried inside. She looked around, hoping to see Paul nearby. But he wasn't there. Instead, she went over to the desk sargeant, hoping her voice would hold steady enough to ask him where Paul was. "Excuse me..." "Yes, ma'am....Ma'am, are you alright?" the man seemed to realize she was upset. "Yes..ah, no...please, can you help me? I'm looking for my husband, Paul Edwards? He was supposed to be talking with two of your detectives..." "Yeah, Schanke and Knight. Is something wrong...." She nodded, trying to hold in the sobs. She gasped out, "Someone's...someone's kidnapped my son....Please, I need to talk to Paul and the detectives..." The desk sargeant handed her a kleenex as he replied, "They're at the Coroner's..." Jenny gasped, and the sargeant hastened to reassure her, "No one's been hurt...well, someone has been hurt, but it's no one you'd know. Your husband's fine...he just went along with the detectives.." his voice trailed off, as though he was unsure _why_ Paul had gone with them. Jenny smiled weakly. Paul had a way of being "invited along" to places that other people sometimes found disconcerting. "Thank you...is that far? I really need to talk to him." "It's right down the street, you can't miss it...Look, maybe you should talk to someone here. I can call over there..." "No, please, I really need to speak to him as soon as possible. And I'd like to talk to the detectives as well...in case it has something to do with the case. Thank you...for your concern. I'll come back to make a full report once I talk to Paul..." The desk sargeant nodded as she hurried out. To the Coroner's Building. scene 23 {aka the WHAT?! scene} Coroner's Building 12:45 am Nick followed the direction of Greene's pointing finger, but even before he _saw_ what was happening he _heard_ it. Heard the rising hum coming from the glowing ball in Paul's hand. And heard the sound of Agent Mulder's heart getting stronger. He froze in amazement. The blue light--it was the same as the one he'd glimpsed when he'd tried to make Paul forget about Gregory. And now it seemed to be doing something. To save the dying Agent. It was enough to almost make him forget about what he'd just seen moments before. Almost. His curiousity about who or what Paul Edwards was vied with his professional and personal need to know the secret MacLeod and Greene were hiding. For several minutes no one moved as the blue light enveloped Mulder and Paul. Well, almost no one. Scully cautiously made her way over towards them, kneeling down beside Mulder as the blue light finally faded and Paul closed his hand over his little sphere. At the same time, Mulder began to stir. "Mulder?" whispered Scully tentatively. "He'll live," Paul said, smiling tentatively. And more than a bit nervously, as though he realized that now the proverbial "gig" was up. As though suddenly waking from a trance, or perhaps shock, Nat stumbled forward until she was almost touching Nick. She clutched at him tightly for support and reassurance. Nick could tell she was frightened. And he didn't blame her. He didn't feel so secure himself. "Nick...did you _see_ that...and," she said as she pointed to Greene,"..._that_..." pointing now to Paul and Mulder. "Well, it was kind of hard to miss...in both cases," Nick whispered back, unsure of the next move. At that moment, Mulder seemed to come awake. He blinked, then suddenly grabbed at the area on his stomach where he'd been shot. There was blood, but no wound. He then looked at Scully, who smiled weakly back at him. Nick thought she was crying. "Did you see....he healed me?" Mulder said. "I guess I owe you and George Fox an apology." Scully replied. "No, I think George Fox and I both owe _him_ an apology. Thank you," Mulder said as he reached out to shake Paul's hand. Paul took his hand and smiled widely, seeming more reassured. Schanke meanwhile, had approached the trio cautiously. The expression on his face was one Nick had never seen before. In fact, it didn't seem like the kind of expression that belonged on Schanke's face. It was like awe, mixed with excitement. "Oh my God...Al, it _is_ George Fox's alien!" Schanke said, seeming to talk to mid-air. An alien? That was incredible...but it explained so much. But who was Al? Paul looked around slowly at the group that was staring in stunned fascination at him. He obviously realized that since everyone had seen him do what he just did he couldn't hope to conceal his secret any longer. He looked at Schanke and replied truthfully, yet cautiously, "Yes...but not '_Fox's_ alien'. My name is Paul." Schanke nodded. Then he and Mulder both said, "God, there's so much I want to ask you..." They stopped and looked at each other in confusion. Scully apparantly saw an opening. "Mulder? Detective? Remember the case--the _real_ reason we're here. We're supposed to be investigating a serial homicide case, not aliens. We can do aliens later. I don't think Paul is going anywhere for now." "But..." "_Mulder_" Mulder sighed. He took stock of the situation, and suddenly became aware of the post-Quickening devastation around him. "Ah...did I miss something?" Scully nodded, then replied, "Oh no, nothing much. Our John Doe wasn't the only one to come back from the dead. Greene also came back to life." "Just in time to cut off the other mans head?" "Ah, no, MacLeod did that...and for some as yet undetermined reason, that was almost immediately followed by some kind of energy storm, which destroyed this examining room. Sound familiar?" "Oh good, glad I didn't miss too much," Mulder answered as he motioned to Scully to help him up. Paul also assisted, which earned him a nervous glance from Mulder. As Mulder was getting up, Nick decided to steer the conversation back towards the things that were bothering him. "Which leads us to my original question...what's the deal with the beheadings and the pyrotechnics display. And how are _you_," he glared at MacLeod, "involved in all this? I take it you two are related, since _he_," nodding now at the body, "called _you_," pointing at 'Greene' "MacLeod just before Schanke shot him. And why are you still alive?" That was directed to both MacLeods. "Wait a minute! Why are you staring at us? That man over there just admitted he was an extraterrestrial. He just healed Agent Mulder....," _Duncan_ MacLeod replied trying to find a way out of having to explain himself. "Yes, but he doesn't go around cutting off people's heads. And I might point out that Agent Mulder wouldn't have been shot if our mystery man here had stayed dead like _normal_ people do after they've been shot in the heart," Nick replied, starting to get frustrated. "Besides which, the whole reason we're here is because of a _homicide_ investigation, and as one of the detectives involved in this case, I'm currently more interested in getting some answers from _you_," Schanke added, apparantly glad the conversation had turned back to the MacLeods before Nick could ask him how the heck he knew about the alien. Not to worry...that was next on his agenda. However, Paul helpfully provided the answer to _that_ question. "But you're not," Paul's voice stated calmly as he looked at Schanke. "Not what?" Schanke replied, taken offguard. "You're not a homicide detective named Don Schanke. You're really a quantum physicist named Samuel Beckett who, through no fault of his own, leaps around through time pretending to be people he's not." "WHAT??!!!" shouted Nick, Nat, Scully, and the Macleods. Suddenly, everyone was staring at 'Schanke'. Both Nick and Nat exchanged confused looks. *Though I have to admit, it explains a bit about his most recent behavior*. "Who the heck is Samuel Beckett? And don't tell me he's an early 20th century Irish playwright," Nick demanded, looking at both Paul and 'Schanke'. He was suddenly more worried about his partner...and friend...than he was about mysterious beheadings, aliens, or the undying MacLeods. "He's won the Nobel Prize in Physics a few years back. I'd heard he had some interesting theories on time and was working on some secret government project. I _knew_ it! The government _is_ involved in covert time travel experiments." Mulder said as he approached 'Schanke', who was backing up, cowed by the combined glares of just about everyone in the hallway. Everyone shifted their gaze to Mulder, though, as his last sentence sunk in. "What??!!!" Nick, Nat, Scully and the MacLeods asked. "I once read a treatise on Dr. Sam Beckett's rather interesting theory on time travel in The Lone Gunman. Even though it was supposed to be classified. Even I never dreamed he'd actually get it to work," Mulder replied. "Ah, well, I wouldn't say it works, per se..." 'Schanke', or Beckett, as his name appeared to be began. "Where is Schanke?!" Nick demanded as he advanced on Beckett. If his partner was in any danger because of this, this..._physicist_ Beckett backed up a bit more and held up his hands as if to ward off Nick. "He's fine, really. He's just in the, uh, the waiting room...." "Waiting room?" "Back at Project Quantum Leap." "Fine. Send him back." "Um, I wish I could, really. I _really_ wish I could." Beckett looked meaningfully at the devastation in the room. "You mean you're not in control of this project?" Mulder asked. "Ah, well, no. See, things went a little, um, ca-ca." "Ca-ca?" both Mulder and Nick asked. "Yeah. See, we believe that the Project's been taken over..." "By the government?" Mulder suggested. "Um, no. By...God. Or Time. Or Fate. Or, whatever. Schanke can't come back...leap back in...until I 'leap out'" "And when will that be?" Nick asked suspiciously. "When I do what I came here to do. To fix something that went wrong here." "I see. And what exactly is that?" "Um, well, first we thought..." "We? Is that who you meant by 'Al'?" "Yeah...he's from my time. You can't see him, only I can...and apparantly Paul and Scott...he's how I know Schanke is alright. Oh, and when Schanke comes back he won't remember what happened...which is, I guess, for the best. And, hopefully, I won't remember this either. I really hope. See, the leap 'swiss-cheeses' the memory...look, it's all hard to explain..." "You were saying you were here to do something?" Nick wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. But he was more reassured. Beckett didn't seem to be lying to him, especially now that he could look him in the eye. He hadn't needed to use his...persuasive...abilities just yet. Just as well--people might get suspicious. With so many other odd happenings, Nick didn't think they'd have trouble believing in vampires on top of it all. "Ah, well, we thought I was here to keep him," he pointed at 'Greene',"from being beheaded. I thought I'd messed up when he got stabbed instead, but it seems that beheadings are somehow more fatal..." Scully seem to decide it was time to get back to the _real_ case at hand. "Which brings us back to these strange murders..." All eyes returned to the Macleods. Duncan MacLeod shifted weight nervously. He and his friend exchanged glances, as though still trying to find some way to weasel out of their predicament. Nick walked back to where Natalie stood, staring intently at the pair. Scully, Mulder, and Beckett also approached, until the two of them were surrounded. "We're waiting. Why don't we start with your real name." said Mulder, pointing at Greene. He glanced at the agents, the detectives, and finally at Nat. Then he sighed and took a deep breath before announcing, "I'm Connor MacLeod of the clan MacLeod..." He seemed about to continue before Duncan stopped him and whispered something in his ear. Nick rather clearly heard him say, "I don't think _now_ is the best time for your favorite pickup line...and I don't think she's going to go to bed with you anyway so you might as well drop it. _I'll_ handle this." It certainly didn't do much to improve Nick's opinion of Connor. "Um, well...it's kind of hard to explain," Duncan began. Connor, however, appeared to decide that they might as well just get the whole thing over it. "We're Immortals," he stated matter-of-factly. Duncan glared at him. "You're what?!" asked Scully, Nat, Mulder, and Beckett incredulously. Nick just nodded. That explained how Duncan Macleod had been around in 1863. Of course, there was always the chance Duncan might feel the need to point out that Nick had also been there. Or that Paul might feel the need to get another secret off his chest... "Immortal--as you may have noticed, we can't die unless you cut off our heads," Connor pointed at the motionless body of the John Doe. "If Duncan hadn't beheaded friend Murdoc here, he'd still be trying to kill you. He really was not a very pleasant person. And for some reason he really hated people with Scottish names." Connor shrugged, "Anyway, Duncan killed him because if he hadn't he would have killed me...or Agent Scully. The same with Stayde, the man Scott saw me kill. I didn't kill those others--that was Stayde." As Nick, Sam and the two FBI agents noted the names Connor had supplied, Paul asked, "But why did Stayde kill those others? And why did Murdoc want to kill you?" Mulder added, "And what does all this have to do with 'There can be only one'? And the lightening?" Connor hesitated. Duncan, apparantly having concluded, rightly, that they weren't going anywhere until the whole story was out, picked up the explanation. "It's called 'The Quickening'--it's the source of our power. Whenever one of us kills another, the victor gets the loser's Quickening--his or her power and knowledge. In the end, there will be only one of us left. That one gets 'The Prize'--we're not sure what that is, but it may be the accumulated power and knowledge of all Immortals. Something almost everyone wants. People like Stayde actively go after other Immortals and don't really care who gets in there way. Connor and I, well, we just try to stay alive. And occassionally take care of those Immortals who are too dangerous to mortals and Immortals alike. We try not to get too involved in the Game..." "Speak for yourself," muttered Connor. Mulder nodded. "It all makes sense now... But where do you come from? Are you from another planet..." "NO!!!!" both MacLeods shouted with a vehemence that took everyone aback. Connor continued, "No one knows were we come from...or why we're must fight each other for this Prize. All we know are the rules of the Game...and that all Immortals have to play." "The Game? The vampire that attacked Scott mentioned something about the Game...,' Paul observed. Nick silently wondered if Paul was _trying_ to make things more complicated or if he managed to do so entirely by accident. "The _WHAT_ that attacked Scott??!!" exclaimed Sam, Mulder, Scully, and the MacLeods. Scully rubbed her temples. Nick had to sympathize. this was getting to be a little bit too much. "Wait. Are you saying that a _vampire_ attacked your son?" she asked. "Yes. At least, that's what Scott said it was." "And why does Scott think it was a vampire that attacked him?" Mulder asked. "It could have been someone dressed up to look like a vampire..." "He didn't have a cape. But he _did_ fly. And his eyes changed color when I stopped him. And he had fangs--after all, he did bite Scott, " Paul pointed out. "He _bit_ Scott? You didn't mention that before..." Mulder continued. "I didn't think you'd believe me." "Um, aren't vampires supposed to have superhuman strength or something? How did you stop him?" Nat asked. Nick stepped on her foot, then glared at her with a look that said, 'You're _not_ helping!'. Paul replied, "I'm an alien. I have these...powers." Mulder shook his head, "I'm sorry. I just don't buy it. Vampires?" Scully was shocked, "Mulder? Since when are you the sceptic?" "I'm sorry, I just don't believe in vampires. Vampirism is really a psychological condition..." "Told you it was all in your head," Nat whispered to Nick. He stuck out his tongue in reply. "I don't believe you, Mulder. You'll believe that an energy being from outer space cloned the body of a dead photojournalist and is now running a camera store on the outskirts of Toronto. You'll believe that there are people who can't die running around having swordfights all over the world, cutting off each others' heads. You'll even believe that some physicist has developed a method of time travel that allows him to jump about in time impersonating homicide detectives or whomever..." Scully began. "...but I don't believe there are undead people running around sucking out innocent peoples' blood and living forever. I can't help it. Everyone has to draw a line somewhere. Besides, we already did vampires this season. You just missed it," finished Mulder. "Living forever...That's it!" Duncan suddenly exclaimed. He pointed an accusing finger at Nick, who groaned inwardly. He'd been waiting for Paul to say something incriminating about him and had neglected to keep an eye on Duncan. The Immortal continued. "You! You're a vampire! _That's_ how you were around in 1863. And that's why you were the only doctor available at night!" "What??!!!" exclaimed Scully, Mulder, Connor, and Sam. "Wait a minute. Now I'm getting a headache," continued Sam. "Are you saying that you met Nick in 1863? And on the basis of _that_, you think he's a vampire? How do you know he's not one of you?" "We can sense other Immortals. Nick's not one of us, and the only other explanation I can think of is that he's a vampire," answered Duncan defensively. Sam paused and considered. "Well, that would explain why he only works at night and never eats anything..." "Do you seriously expect me to believe that Knight here is some sort of vampire cop? An undead blood-sucking homicidal homicide detective?" asked Mulder incredulously. Scully was still shocked by Mulder's inability to accept vampires given all the other startling revelations of the evening. "Hey, that's not fair! Nick hasn't killed anyone in over 100 years!" Nat replied, so confused by the evening's events that she didn't realize that Nick's vampire status hadn't been fully confirmed. Until her statement, that is. "Thank you for coming to my defense, Nat," Nick remarked, as realization dawned on Natalie. Now everyone was looking at Nick. Embarassed, he said, "I've reformed?" Mulder and Scully exchanged incredulous glances. Then Scully realized what had just happened. Mulder had been in error. "Aha! For once you were _wrong_. I have to write this down in my calendar!" Mulder shrugged. "Even Man O'War lost one race. To a horse named Upset." Scully shook here head. "Okay, what do we do now? There's no way we can report this to the bureau." "Or to Captain Cohen for that matter," added Natalie. "We don't have to tell them anything, you know. Connor and Murdoc are already supposed to be dead. Why not keep it that way? Case closed," suggested Duncan. "And if we all work at it, we can clean up this mess." Nick sort of doubted that. The room was a complete disaster. "That solves _this_ case, but not the X-file," replied Scully. "X-file?" asked Duncan. "Your...'Game' tends to attract attention every so often. We have several hundred related unsolved cases on the files. Guess they'll just have to stay that way. Of course, I could write up my theories on the case and the Bureau'd just chalk them up to more of Spooky Mulder's weird ideas. And if anyone asks, well, I can always...deny everything," Mulder said with a smile. "Okay, that settles it, then..." began Nick. He was cut off by a distraught sounding voice calling "Paul?!" He turned to see a woman with light brown hair enter the room. She stopped as she saw the devastation around her and gasped in horror. Paul Edwards raced to her side. "Jenny? What is it? Has something happened?" The woman who was apparantly Paul's wife (the alien's wife...) and Scott's mother shook herself, then collapsed sobbing into Paul's arms. "Oh Paul...they've taken him...the government...Fox...they've got Scott..." scene 24 Metro Police Station 1:30 am Al was not happy. He was confused...and worried...and really tired. And he had a headache. A really strong, solid headache that had Excedrin, Advil, AND Tylenol written all over it. In capital letters. In the five years that Sam had been leaping around through time, he'd seen alot of things. An angel, something he swore was Satan incarnate, ghosts, psychics, and a 3000 year old mummy that had come back to life and actually killed someone (he shuddered in horror at that memory). He'd even run into a vampire and a UFO before. But never so many strange people in one place. Immortals, vampires, aliens, AND the FBI? He kept fighting the urge to yell for Gooshie to open the imaging chamber door so he could run off and gibber in a corner somewhere. Sam still needed him. Especially now that Scott had been kidnapped. According to Ziggy, unless he and Sam came up with something brilliant soon, Scott would never be recovered. Paul and Jenny would also disappear. And now it seemed that Schanke, Mulder, and Scully's careers were in jeopardy as well. Nick Knight disappeared and Dr. Natalie Lambert's own career went into a tailspin because of "personal difficulties". New information coming in pointed toward a failed rescue attempt that landed everyone involved in a heap of trouble. Which, of course, meant that the US government...or at least some part of it...had to be involved in the kidnapping. Not good. Not good at all. Al wondered what they could do about it. At the moment the group...Al wondered when he'd begun to think of them all as a group...was split. Connor, Duncan, Mulder and Natalie had stayed at the Coroner's office. Al had been flabbergasted when Duncan MacLeod had actually offered his assistance in rescuing Scott Edwards. After a thoughtful pause, Connor MacLeod had offered his assistance as well. They'd both pointed out that perhaps none of this would have happened if it hadn't been for their Immortal activities and that it really wasn't Scott's fault that he'd seen what he'd seen. Odd as it seemed, Al was beginning to think that those MacLeods weren't so bad after all. All things considered, of course. The MacLeods had also offered to help Natalie clean up the godawful mess that had been made of the examining room. Mulder also offered to help after it was pointed out that he couldn't very well go back to the station with his shirt in _that_ condition. At least without having to come up with a _very_ good explanation. Sam (and Al), Nick, Scully, and the Edwards had headed back to the station in order to see what information they could dig up on the kidnappers. Jenny, once she'd calmed down enough to deliver a coherent statement, had mentioned that she was an artist and was pretty sure she could draw a reasonable picture of one of the men involved in the kidnapping. Which was something, at least, to start with. And Nick was sure that Captain Cohen was going to want some explanation. So now they were at the station. Jenny was working on the drawing, trying to keep herself together long enough to do a good job. Al felt really sorry for her--she hadn't asked to be dragged into any of this. He also kind of felt sorry for the ali...for _Paul_. He looked pretty devasted by the news as well, and had been extremely grateful for everyone's offer of assistance. Al decided he didn't care where Paul was from, in his book he was an okay joe. Even if he _had_ blurted out Sam's identity (studiously ignoring the violent "shushing" motions Al had been making at the time). He had, after all, gone out of his way to save Mulder's life, even though it meant revealing his own oddness to the rest of the group. And Al had to admit that having everything out in the open made things alot easier. No more having to come up with lame excuses for odd behaviour. In fact, with their pooled resources they _might_ be able to lick this situation yet. "Detectives, we've just gotten some information on the man who murdered Greene tonight. Seems he was a wanted terrorist. We just got this fax from an American organization known as the Phoenix Foundation. And, in case you hadn't heard, we discovered quite alot of explosive material in the janitorial cart found near the holding cells. Seems this Murdoc was planning a little terrorism of his own right here. Any ideas on why he might have attacked our prisoner?" Captain Cohen asked as she came out of her office and handed a fax to Sam. "Well, we're not quite sure of the motive yet, but Agent Mulder has a theory that they were part of some sort of secret society," Sam ad-libbed. "Where is Agent Mulder?" inquired the Captain as she glanced around the room. She caught site of the Edwards as they conferred with Nick and Scully while Jenny worked on her sketch. "Are you two taking on this kidnapping as well? It's a little out of your field..." "Agent Mulder is, um, going over some evidence with Natalie. He thought Scully might be a bit more, ah, helpful in talking with the Edwards. Especially with Jenny--you know, the, um, maternal..sympathetic thing..." Sam floundered a bit before hitting his stride again with the second part of his reply, "As for the kidnapping, well, since Scott is _our_ witness, and given the attack earlier this evening, ah, Nick and I thought it might tie into the case." Al sincerely hoped the Captain would believe it. Apparantly she did. She nodded and headed back to the office. Sam looked at the fax, then took it over to where Nick, Paul, Jenny and Scully were. "Hey Nick--look what just came in. It's about Murdoc...I don't know if it has anything to do with...anything, but Captain Cohen seemed to think it was important," he handed it to Nick. "Thanks Schanke...ah, Sam. Hmm, international terrorist? Boy, we've got everything here but the kitchen sink...any idea what he was doing here. Besides head-hunting, of course." "Captain says they found some explosives in his janitorial cart.." Nick just rubbed his eyes. Al sympathized. "Okay, okay. Never mind. We've got more important things to worry about now, I..." Just then the desk sargeant (a different one...the other one went home) called out, "Knight? Schanke? There's a call for you on line two. Someone named Thorton. Says he's from the Phoenix Foundation?" Nick and Sam exchanged glances. "Okay, I'll take it," Nick offered, as he headed towards his own desk. Al indicated to Sam that he was going to follow and Sam nodded. Al wasn't sure he really _wanted_ to find anything else out tonight, but he figured it couldn't hurt to do some more eavesdropping. And any information that _might_ help them solve this kidnapping and rescue Scott would be invaluable. "Detective Knight here," Nick said as he answered the phone. He paused, listening to the voice at the other end. Al wished he could here what the other person was saying. *Maybe this isn't the best idea....* "Yes, Mr. Thorton, we received your fax. I must say I'm quite surprised that we received word so quickly. I'm sure it must be rather late, even on the West Coast....yes, so I understand. In fact, we have reason to suspect he might have been involved in planning some sort of terrorist attack here. We found explosives....what happened? Well, you might find this hard to believe, but he attacked a prisoner we had and he was shot by my partner....yes, we're quite sure he's dead....honestly, Mr. Thorton, he's really dead....we checked several times.....I really don't think he's going to come back and bother anyone.....you don't say....off a mountain?....an exploding truck?.....no, no, I believe you....I see...._yes_, we're absolutely one hundred percent positive he's really and truly dead...Mr. Thorton, in all honestly, I don't know of anyone who can survive what happened to Murdoc." With that Nick hung up and shook his head. "Anything important?" called Sam from across the room, addressing both Al and Nick. Both shook their heads. Al could pretty much gather the gist of what Mr. Thorton had said. In reply to Sam's inquiring look, he said, "I think he was working a little to late," at almost exactly the same time as Nick said it. Sam rolled his eyes. At that moment, Jenny announced, "Okay....I think I've got it. This is the man I saw talking to Scott..before...." her voice trailed off. Paul gave her a reassuring hug as she handed the picture to Scully. As Al returned to where they were gathered, he heard Scully gasp. "I've seen this man before!" Scully looked at the picture in her hand again. Yes, she was sure she'd seen that man in the FBI building on any number of occassions, usually going into or out of the Deputy Director or Director's offices. Apparantly an important man. Who smoked. That's what she could remember most distinctly about him--he was always sheathed in a miasma of cigarette smoke. As a doctor, she found it truly repugnant. Then again, there was something else about the man that was, well, not repugnant exactly. But sinister. It certainly came through in the sketch Jenny had made. Of course, Jenny was a bit biased. "Do you know this man?" Paul asked. Scully looked into his concerned face. He had been extremely upset by the news his wife had brought, and Scully didn't blame him. She still had alot of trouble believing that this man was some sort of extraterrestrial. Though her mind was having a very difficult time coming up with some sort of rational explanation for his ability to heal Mulder like he had. Her mind was having alot of trouble with most of what had happened that evening. "I've seen him before...at the Bureau..." "Then he _is_ from the government?" she could detect fatigue, and a hint of despair in his voice. "Probably. But that doesn't give him the right to kidnap your son!" "No, it doesn't. Especially in _this_ country. Okay, we've got a picture, now we need to find this guy. Any ideas?" Nick Knight said. *A vampire? Not even Mulder believes that....* "Scott dropped his sphere....if he doesn't have it, I can't find him..." "And even if you could, they'd be waiting for you. I have a feeling this was very carefully planned by someone who knows alot about you," Schanke...no, _Beckett_...*Do I _really_ believe that? Does it matter?*... pointed out. "Probably George Fox. Or someone who read George Fox's files. Hmm...Mulder received a copy of those files the night before we left to come here..." Scully began. She got up and went to Mulder's briefcase to look for the file. It was gone. She slammed the briefcase shut. "What's wrong?" asked Beckett. "It's gone...I don't know how, but it's gone!" "But who could have taken it?" Knight sighed, "I have a sneaking suspicion. But it's not important now. What _is_ important is how to find and rescue Scott. If it is some covert governmental organization that's behind this we can't wait for ransom notes or demands because there won't be any." Scully agreed. "But what do we do? Even if we do find Scott, we won't be able to convince them to let him go. They believe he's half-alien, and from what I saw of that file and what you've told us, Paul, they're not going to let him go just because we ask nicely. They truly consider both of you a threat. Though, from what I've seen, they're way offbase." "Thank you," Paul said quietly and sincerely. Jenny smiled at Scully in a way that also said 'thank you'. Scully smiled back, hoping she looked more optimistic than she felt. "Therefore, we have to kidnap him back!" Beckett said. Something in his voice caught Scully's attention. "You have a plan?" she asked. "I've got a plan to find him _and_ rescue him. Look, these guys are expecting Paul, whom they believe to be a dangerous extraterrestrial, to come along and do something weird and alien in order to rescue his son. They've probably talked to Fox or brought him along or something so they've got some idea of what Paul might do. But they _aren't_ expecting two Immortals, a vampire, a time-traveling quantum physicist, a hologram, two FBI agents, _and_ an extraterrestrial." "Would you be?" Scully replied. "No. And that's the point--there's no way they could be expecting us." "Are you suggesting that we basically out-weird them?" Knight asked, looking a bit sceptical. "Do you have a better plan?" replied Beckett. "So how do we find Scott?" asked Paul. Beside him, Jenny Edwards looked totally confused. Scully didn't blame her one bit. Scully knew some of what was going on, and even she was confused. Jenny was probably better off not knowing. "I'll tell you once we get back to the Coroner's Building," said Beckett. As they headed out the door, Scully thought to herself, *Oh, I _know_ Mulder's just gonna love this!* Seated at Nicholas's desk, LaCroix watched the whole exchange in mild amusement. No one, not even Nicholas, was aware of his presence {though if Paul hadn't been so distracted, LaCroix might have been a bit surprised....} which was how he wanted it. He flipped through the file he'd found in the FBI agent's briefcase, so carelessly left where anyone could find it. An alien...how interesting. LaCroix's curiousity was piqued. This was something new...and things new were so _rare_ these days. Especially to someone over a millenium in age. All this talk about Immortals and physicists and holograms sounded interesting as well, but one thing at a time. LaCroix had at first been planning to confront Nicholas about the beheadings and Gregory's attack, but had failed to find Nicholas at the station. Of course, it would have been a simple matter to track Nicholas if he'd felt it necessary, but he knew he would return here eventually. So instead, he decided to wait...and do some investigating of his own. It had been most enlightening. Now he knew, or at least had some idea, of what had happened to Gregory. He was almost tempted to try his strength against this alien, this intruder into his world, but wisdom won out. LaCroix was supremely confident of his own abilities, but he wasn't stupid. If this being could overcome Gregory so easily, he was a force to be reckoned with. But from what he'd gathered from the file, inspite of what George Fox and the others believed, this being just wanted to be left alone. With his family. And LaCroix could respect that because he felt much the same way. However, he..or it...knew about them, because of Gregory's...and Nicholas's...carelessness. And so, apparantly, did some of these others. The situation wanted careful watching. LaCroix might have to take... measures. He carefully closed the file as Nicholas and the others made their way out again. He followed, deciding to keep the file. It might prove useful someday. scene 25 Coroner' Building 1:45 am Mulder surveyed the examining room. It looked, if not totally spic and span, certainly much better than it had earlier. The combined efforts of Mulder, the MacLeods' and Natalie had managed to return it to some semblence of order. Mostly by sweeping everything into heavy duty garbage bags. The same bags that also contained Mulder's clothes. He didn't want to think too much about where his current outfit (sweats and a t-shirt) had come from. This was, after all, also the morgue. Nat had also managed to "discreetly" return Murdoc's body to it's bag, along with his head (yuck). They figured that since Natalie, the detectives, and the FBI agents were probably the only ones who'd be _looking_ at the bodies in this case, it was safest to pretend nothing had happened. Unless someone for some reason actually _wanted_ Murdoc's body. Now Connor MacLeod was assisting Natalie in identifying the other victims since he apparantly knew more of them than Duncan. Natalie had assured them that she'd record that a "Mr. MacLeod" had helped her with ids...and whomever read the report could draw their own conclusions. At any rate, that left Mulder with Duncan MacLeod. Again. This time, however, there was considerably less tension between them. They were both doing some "finishing" touches on the room. Mulder decided to try and find out more about these Immortals. Then perhaps he could figure out what he could reasonably report to his superiors. He had a sneaking suspicion, however, that the final answer would be 'nothing'. Maybe Scully could come up with some medical/scientific/genetic gibberish to explain the Immortals. She was pretty gifted in that area. "So, Mr. MacLeod..." "Call me Duncan..or Mac. I don't think 'Mr. MacLeod' really suits me," Duncan replied as he straightened one of the tables. "Okay, then. Duncan. How long have you been around? I take it you've met some pretty interesting people, seen alot of sights, etc...." "Well, I was born in 1592 in Scotland. I've travelled pretty extensively. Most of us have to move around alot. People start to get a little nervous when they've known you for, say, 30 years and you apparantly haven't aged at all...." "Aha! That explains Dick Clark," Mulder quipped. "So, I bet you know...or knew...some of the great names in history." "Yeah. I met a few. Funny thing is, though, you never know that they're going to be great historical people when you know them. I mean, you can go drinking with Wolfgang Mozart every night for a year and have no idea he's this great composer until 100 years after he's dead. That sort of thing. It's kind of weird. And you always have this urge to correct the tour guides and museum curators." "I bet. So, you can't die at all unless you lose your head? Does another Immortal have to take it or can anyone do it?" "Why? Are you planning to give it a try?" Duncan asked with mock menace. Mulder held up his hands as if to ward the highlander off. "Don't look at me. I have a hard enough time keeping hold of my gun--I'd probably cut off my _own_ head with one of those swords. Hmm. So it's only beheading. You're immune to everything else. Gunshots, drowning, fire..." "Well, that latter is pretty unpleasant. We feel pain and actually temporarily 'die'--like Connor and Murdoc--but we revive after our bodies heal. And if we're out of the 'danger' area. Immortals buried under tons of rock, for example, don't revive unless the rock is cleared away." "So you wouldn't be fazed by, say, glowing green mites sucking all the fluids from your body or toxic fumes from alien blood that causes your own blood to congeal or red-asparagus-like silicon life forms inhabiting your body and feeding off of it or liver-eating mutants or projective pyromaniacs or...." Mulder trailed off as he saw 'the look' cross Duncan's face. It was a familiar look. It was the look seen on the face of anyone who talked with Mulder for any appreciable length of time. "Um, what sort of things did you say you investigate, Agent Mulder?" Duncan asked hesitantly. "Oh, you know, your basic run-of-the-mill paranormal-related serial murders, homicidal aliens, rampaging mutants, cults, UFO sightings, things that go bump, splat, and gurgle in the night. That sort of thing," Mulder answered with his best "spooky" smile. "And I thought _my_ life was a bit on the bizarre side." Suddenly, Mulder remembered something he'd wanted to ask earlier. He pulled out a drawing of the tattoo Paul had seen on the man...the _vampire_ that had attacked Scott earlier that evening. "Do you recognize this?" he asked as he handed the drawing to Duncan. He could tell immediately that Duncan did recognize it, but that he was hesitant to say anything about it. "Well, actually..." "Off the record. I just have this insatiable need to know. Gets me in trouble all the time. Like the cat in that proverb. Then again, satisfaction...." "Off the record, you say? I don't know...." "I could always tell Knight you know about it and let _him_ ask you." Duncan considered it for another minute, then sighed exasperatedly. "It's a Watcher tattoo." "And Watchers are?" "Mortals who...watch...Immortals. Keep track of their doings, who's alive, who killed who, etc. There's usually one watching just about every Immortal versus Immortal contest. Most Immortals don't even know about them." "They watch your fights? And Scully complains that _my_ tastes in visual entertainment are twisted." Mulder shook his head. At that moment, Connor and Natalie reentered the room. "Thanks for you help, Connor," Natalie said. "Oh, don't mention it. Always a pleasure to help out a beautiful lass such as yourself," Connor began. Duncan groaned. "What if, say, a vampire gets really mad at you because you're, oh, I don't know, hitting on his girlfriend and sucks all the blood out of your body? Would you remain an Immortal or come back as a vampire or be some sort of super Immortal vampire?" Mulder asked nonchalantly. "You know, I don't recall that that's ever happened. It would be _very_ interesting to find out," Duncan replied, pointedly staring at Connor. Natalie stifled a laugh. Mulder was glad to see her beginning to regain some of her normal composure--the evenings events had affected her more strongly than most of the rest of them. Most of the others had some sort of paranormal strangeness in their lives that sort of made them less sensitive to the bizarreness that had unfolded here earlier. For Mulder and Scully, it was their constant exposure for things that were on the far side of normal. Admittedly, they didn't usually encounter so much at once, but it was really all in a day's work. Well, only sort of. "I wonder if Nick and Shanke...I mean, Sam, have any idea what we should do now. About Scott's kidnapping, that is. He seemed like such a nice young man, I'd hate for anything bad to happen to him. Agent Mulder, you're a government man...." Natalie began. "That's what it says on the paycheck." "...what do you think will happen to Scott. If these are US government people who've got him," she finished, wisely ignoring his remark. "Do you want the truth?" "I'm not sure..." "Well, in my experience, there are certain elements in positions of authority in the US government who are, shall we say, not particularly enamored of tossing out the welcome mat to any and all parties from the rest of the universe who want to come and visit us. And I've run into a few other ETs myself....don't look at me that way...who are not the sort of people you'd really want stopping by for tea. Now, I'm pretty sure that Paul isn't anything like those other beings, but I don't think those governmental elements I mentioned are quite so discriminating. I also believe there are some in our government conspiring with the more malevolent ETs, and I don't think they'd be overly fond of Paul, who seems to be pretty powerful and pretty convinced of the evil of their activities. Apparantly, he's met some of these other ETs before and pretty much told them to clear out and leave us alone until we're ready to face them on equal terms." Duncan, Natalie, and Connor considered what he'd said. He was pretty sure that some of the implications of his little soliloquey disturbed them. Well, it disturbed him as well. "In other words, you're saying that if they get both Paul and Scott..." Duncan began. "...they'll put us in cages for the rest of our lives," finished Paul. He, Scully, Sam, Nick and Jenny entered the room. Scully was holding what appeared to be a sketch of some sort. She silently handed it to Mulder. He looked at the face--a very familiar face. His mouth tightened in anger. Now his suspicions, and his fears, were confirmed. He looked at Paul and Jenny, uncertain whether to voice his beliefs, knowing they were already very worried and frightened. But he also didn't want Paul deluding himself and trying to buy Scott time by giving himself up if worse came to worse. Because now he knew it would accomplish nothing. Nothing but Paul's death. "No. Not these people. If they catch you both....they'll kill you." Jenny gasped in horror as Paul's eyes widened in shock at Mulder's blunt statement. He continued, "I know this man and how ruthless he is." He laid the picture down on the table nearest him. "Who is he, Mulder?" Scully asked. "I know I've seen him around, but I wasn't sure..." "I don't know his real name. I just call him...Cancer Man." "Do you think he'll kill Scott?" Paul asked hesitantly. "No. Not yet. He's probably going to want to keep a hold of Scott so he can lure you into some sort of trap. Maybe make a deal, which he will, of course, immediately double cross you on." "It's happened before. So Sam and Nick were right--we have to rescue Scott ourselves." Mulder nodded in agreement. He just wish he knew _how_. These men were highly skilled and highly dangerous. And going up against them would not be easy. He looked around at the others gathered in the room. Sam was having a conversation with no one--at least, that's the way it looked. Mulder figured he was talking to 'Al'. Duncan and Connor were examining the picture. Suddenly, Connor spoke up. "I think I know this man." "You do?" Mulder asked, surprised. Oh no, he didn't mean.... "Yes. In fact, I'm sure of it. Agent Mulder, he's one of us! He used to go by the name of Hanson. He's got some kind of age makeup on so he looks older...though I guess you'd say he _is_ pretty old...but I know it's him. And we've got a score to settle..." Connor had that glower back in his eyes. "You might get a chance to do just that. Sam says he's got a plan that utilizes all of our...unique...abilities. Thinks that we'll just overwhelm them by sheer force of strangeness. That's why we came back here. He said he was going to reveal his plan when we were all gathered here," Nick said. Everyone looked expectantly over to Sam, who was finish up his conversation with his invisible friend. "Who is he talking to, Paul?" Jenny asked. "It's a little hard to explain...I'll tell you everything after we rescue Scott. We have to trust him," Paul answered. "But it's all so weird...." "Weirder than being married to an extraterrestrial?" Jenny smiled weakly at that. "Okay, Al and I checked out my plan with Ziggy," Sam began as he approached the rest of 'the group'. "Ziggy?" Nick asked. "It's an AI computer back at the Project. Anyway, Ziggy thinks there's a 87.6% chance that this will work." "Only 87.6?" said Mulder doubtfully. Sam shrugged, "It's better than what we had before. And I'm sure it will work. First thing we have to do is find Scott. Now, Paul says he can track Scott's sphere with his own, but Scott doesn't have the sphere. However, if we give the sphere to Nick, who can fly and has extrasensitive hearing......" Sam began to outline his rather complex, but somehow brilliant plan, Mulder began to smile inwardly. It sounded so crazy it might actually work. And he'd give anything to see the look on Cancer Man's face when it did. End scene 25