Disclaimers: See part 1 A M B I G U I T Y (7/8) by Missy missy@lexicon.net "I never agreed, Mulder, I just did not argue with you." Scully stated matter-of-factly. Mulder took one look at the defiant set of her chin and the cool blue eyes. He was familiar with *that* look. All that was missing was the hands placed on her hips or crossed across her chest. He shook his head in utter defeat. He knew when Scully was not going to budge and this was one of those times. He conceded her victory with a parting "The fire is going out here, come out as soon as you are finished. While you are at it, Scully, print out a copy for me of the documents on the disks from Kevin Sagan and Dr. Subanzki." As he said the name, Mulder realised that he had not told Scully about his call to Skinner. "I rang Skinner. He has given us orders to go back to D.C. tomorrow morning. We're booked on a 6.07 flight." Scully frowned "Why Mulder? We've only just begun the investigation into his disappearance......" She trailed off, not wishing to verbalize her own intuition that it was once again the shadow government. "No, Scully. Skinner's pulling us back himself. Dr. Subanzki was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital last night, the victim of a hit and run." Mulder grimaced as he continued knowing what her reaction would be "I did not obtain authorisation for this investigation from Skinner. He is going to be pulling me over the coals for my disregard of regulations again." "What! Mulder, you never told me that." Scully was shocked that Mulder had not disclosed this titbit of information a bit earlier. He knew she had previously supported him on his investigation when he had 'overlooked' getting Skinner's authorisation but he had always given her a choice in the matter. Mulder looked sheepish and gave her the best of his best whipped puppy looks in the hope that it may bring some sympathy and forgiveness for his oversight. "Scully, I'm sorry. It just slipped my mind plus the fact that my contact promised to obtain authorisation for my investigation." Scully sighed "It's okay, Mulder. At least this time round we have not incurred any medical expenses." Scully looked puzzled as Mulder stood shaking his head looking at her hand. She blushed and retorted "Well, not expensive one's at any rate." He gave her a smile and left her to continue with her report. He picked up his own case file and was going through what they had discovered trying to put everything into perspective, even though they were being pulled off the case, half listening to Scully's voice, distorted by the tape recorder she had used. Just as he heard her replaying the tape to check the contents of her report, his cel phone rang. "Mulder" he answered curtly. "Mulder, its Langly. Got the results of those tests Scully was after." Mulder sat up in readiness for the results "What did you find?" "Nothing for the samples she sent us. But the computer chip is another story. Mulder, you're being set up. The computer chip is a replica of the one that was implanted in Scully with the same lithiographics but any testing yields no results. Either it's been damaged or it's a dud." "How so?" "I compared it to the copy of the results you provided us with from Agent Pendrall did on the computer chip from Scully. Someone's yanking on Scully's chain, Mulder. You yourself said how it affected her knowing that someone has had access to her mind." "Thanks, Langley." "Mulder, do you need any more help?" "Not at this stage. We have been pulled off the case and are returning to D.C. tomorrow. Wait a moment, actually, there is something. I want you to see if you can get access to the medical reports of Dr. Charles Subanzki who's been admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital." "On to it right away." As he cut the connection, Mulder noticed Scully standing in the doorway with a querilous look in her eyes. Mulder did not even wait for her to voice her concern. "They found nothing in the blood samples and the computer chip is a dud. It's a set up Scully." "Mulder, the times when they have misled us in the past, it has always been when we are close to the truth." Scully voice was firm and sure. She was fed up with being led on wild goose chases. Mulder ran his hand through his hair, then letting his arm drop to his side in exasperation at their situation "Scully, it has to be the disk from Dr. Subanzki and Kevin Sagan. Have you printed out the files yet?" "I've only just finished my report. I'll start printing them out now." Scully and Mulder went back into the computer room and began methodically printing out the contents of all the files contained on the two disks they had in their possession. They appreciated the up-to- date and efficient technology the owner of the cabin had which sped up the process considerably. Each of them gathered up one half of the files to examine more closely in front of the fire which was still going strong. Scully sat in a cosy armchair, glasses perched on her nose and pulled her feet up under the dressing-gown for warmth, a hi-lighter in her hand to mark any phrases in the files which appeared important. Mulder stretched out on the couch, plopping a cushion behind his head and his legs dangling over the other end. After a couple of hours of reading, they both had garnered a vague idea of places and subtle references to a probable secret project being run by the government under the auspicies of the Human Genome Project. Due to the fact that the unencoded files were very marginal in their references, Mulder and Scully had to deduce a lot of the parts left out. They did not even attempt looking at the encoded files. Mulder sat up suddenly as he scanned the notes he had been writing down. "Hey, Scully. Look at this. There's a notation in several of these files to a Jan Berz and a telephone number which is in this district. I wonder....." His eyes took on that hazy look he got when his mind was twisting through the conundrums of all possible government conspiracies involving alien experimentation.. "Mulder! Stop. I agree that something is *possibly* going on here but there is no proof that it involves alien experimentation." As she spoke she untangled her legs from underneath the dressing-gown and leaned forward towards him. "What happened to Dr. Subanzki's dog then? How did a retrovirus causing internal irradiation get into its system without others being affected? How did our Government get access to the advance technology required to create such a retrovirus? Why were *you* being followed and why kill Marissa Jordan?" Scully didn't answer acknowledging that he had several very good points. Scully decided itt was a good time to put forward another thought which had been plaguing her. "Mulder, have you ever considered that the encoded document that Kevin Sagan had on his computer has nothing to do with the Human Genome Project. For all we know, he broke into some Government department and downloaded top secret data." "That is possible but a very unlikely coincidence." His eyes bore down into her's with a silent request to believe. Scully took off her glasses and massaged the bridge of her nose looking at her watch. "I think it's too late to continue this, Mulder. I need some sleep." She removed her slipped the papers into her file and pens neatly into her briefcase before picking up her coffee mug to return it to the kitchen. "I agree but I am fascinated as to how this Jan Berz is involved." Mulder was chewing thoughtfully on the back of his pen. "Alright, if we both want to get some sleep, I will link up to headquarters to see what information they have." Scully resigned herself to the fact that again she was not going to gain much sleep if she did not do this for him. "Thanks Scully." Scully picked up her glasses and they both moved to the computer in the next room. Mulder stood at her shoulder watching the screen with the fascination of the uninitiated as she logged on to the FBI Headquarters and sought information on Jan Berz. Luckily for her the name was not that common and she came up with only three positive finds. "Okay, here you are Mulder." She brought up all the first two descriptors onto the screen for comparison. Two had clear colour photographic images of the men with full details of family, current employment and various other details required for when the FBI had invesigated their background. Mulder took in the contents of the screen in a few glances. "What about the third?" Scully met a stumbling block when she attempted to access the third positive find. ACCESS DENIED flashed up on the screen. She went through several procedures to try and gain access but to no avail. "I can't get in Mulder. I need a clearance code which I may be able to obtain from Danny in the morning but it depends on what clearance is needed. For our purposes, I doubt that I'll be able to get access. Why don't we just give him a call when we get back to Washington tomorrow?" Mulder was already striding back into the lounge room to pick up his cellular phone, dialling again the familiar number. At this hour of the morning he was only expecting to get an answering machine and was surprised when Byers' voice answered the call. "What are you up at this hour for?" Mulder asked, surprised. "Since you're dialling at this time, I thought you would have expected us here to answer it Mulder. Actually, the information you asked for on Dr. Subanzki just came in and it's very interesting. What do you want - the cover story or the truth?" "What did you find?" "Superficially the good doctor is in a coma after a hit and run accident. Indepth information indicates that Dr. Subanzki is suffering from radiation poisoning of all internal organs as a result of a retrovirus." Mulder thought. "Byers could you get me some information on a Jan Berz. We have three on record on the FBI computers but one we can't get access to. I want all background information you can find on him. We have run into a blank wall from our end." "Mulder, there was a Jan Berz who escaped the Nuremberg trials and gained sanctuary in Amercia. It would not surprise me if this is the one you are after. I will get Frohike onto that right away. Beauty sleep would be lost on him anyway yet I could do with some shut-eye. As I am sure you and Scully could do. Frohike will e-mail the information to you as soon as it comes through." Mulder looked at his watch. The irridescent green dial showed the time at 2.13 a.m. Not a wonder he was feeling tired. He had been awake for nearly 24 hours and Scully was in almost the same situation. He *really* did need to take care of his partner. He went back to see her still in front of the computer massaging the muscles in her neck. She was e-mailing a message to Danny to provide her with information on Jan Berz and have it ready for her in the morning. "Scully, it's quarter past two. I think we should get some sleep." Scully had no arguments with him there as her eyes were feeling very sore after the long and intensive day which had also been loaded with a lot of emotional turmoil. Mulder suddenly realised that with Skinner's deadline for the early morning flight that it left them a maximum of two hours sleep. SMOKE FILLED ROOM WASHINGTON D.C. 2.46 A.M. The haze of smoke was not as heavy at this hour. Only two men occupied the room. One was immaculately dressed, his suit impecchably draped over his lean body and his tie perfectly central at his neck with not even a hint of a pucker. The other was more generously built, his grey- blonde head bowed as he listed to the voice down his cellular phone. The grim look on his face indicated his displeasure. "Mulder and Scully have been located in a cabin in Montmorency near our friend. Too close actually. I have just received word that they have been trying to access the FBI records on Jan Berz." "They *do* indeed have the disk." The well manicured man commented thoughtfully. "It is imperative that they are stopped. If this information should be released to the community, the likelihood of another project such as this is very dismal indeed." "I agree." The well manicured man had met with Scully and appreciated the intelligence in the woman. It was a pity it would be wasted. He had tried to protect her in the past but in this case, it would be too obvious to assist in anyway. He had warned her already yet she had not yielded to his advice. Any further interference on his part would lead to his own demise. The clean shaven man dialled on his cellular phone and started making the arrangements for the cessation of Mulder and Scully's investigation into the project. CABIN IN MONTMORENCY 3.36 A.M. Mulder's inbuilt clock woke him at approximately this hour each morning and just because he had not slept for virtually the last 24 hours did not make much difference. Mulder rolled out of the double bed heading for the couch in the lounge, which would at least give him the sense of being at hom. He had actually been sleeping in the bedroom just to appease Scully but it did not help him sleep any better. Mulder lay down in front of the fire missing his television which was the only piece of modern technology that was not in the household. It amazed him that the owner could afford everything else but failed to put in a television set. As he lay on the couch resting his eyes, he again ran through the happenings and documentation they had found in the last 24 hours. His eidetic memory assisted him a lot in this procedure and he knew it irked Scully sometimes that she would need to go through a file with a fine tooth comb to find details which would remain embedded in his memory to be brought up at any moment. Mulder sighed. Their friendship and partnership had been strained by the events of the past six months and he hoped that things would get better. They had both lost so much but they would lose so much more if they lost each other. He looked at his watch. 3.54 a.m. He supposed that he should wake Scully up to get ready if they were going to make the 6.07 a.m. flight to Washington. As he flicked his feet off the end of the bed, his cell phone squalled in the stillness of the night. Mulder scurried to silence the phone lying on the floor before it did wake Scully. The logic of this was not that good considering the fact that he had been about to wake her anyway. "Mulder" he said. His voice was still sleep encrusted and he ran his hand over his face and through his hair to clear some of the cobwebs. "Hi Mulder, it's Frohike. Is the lovely Agent Scully still asleep?" Mulder winced at the heavy overtures in those simple words. Frohike's lears at his partner earned him some very dangerous looks which would someday lead to some lethal action on her part. "What have you got, Frohike." "I have just e-mailed the up-to-date information on your Jan Berz. Interesting character you've got there Mulder." Frohike took a deep breath and began an overview of the indept information he had obtained. "Our sources can only speculate his background but it would appear that he was born in Germany in 1920. His early history is a bit ambiguous suggesting that it has been manufactured by *our* Government. Over the period of the Second World War, he was a Nazi SS Officer declaring Jews for Hitler's army to assassinate." "Nice guy" Mulder inserted. "Yeah, well he must have been more heavily involved than just a SS Officer because *our* Government gave him assylum from the Nuremberg trials and since then he has worked on various projects for our Government." "What types of projects." "The one's which he was involved in for sure have been the research into a cure for cancer, alzheimers disease and parkinson's disease. In more recent times, he has been heavily involved in the human genome project." Mulder's eyebrows sprouted up "The Human Genome Project." "Yeah. He has been based at the facility in West Virginia. He retired from the project four months ago at age 76 years." Mulder thanked Frohike for the information and cut off his incestuous comments that he wanted to be passed onto his Dana Scully. Mulder put down the cell phone and went to the computer room logging in for the e- mail Frohike had sent. End 7/8