"Scully?...Scully, are you there?.....Scully!....Damn!" Fox Mulder cursed softly to himself, shaking the phone a bit just to make sure the thing really had gone dead. A concerned look spread across his face and he put his cell phone back into his coat pocket and turned to Will, who was regarding him in abject bewilderment. "It went dead." He told Will as he fumbled in his coat for his handgun; his eyes simultaneously darting to the wrecked typewriter lying on the ground before them, then to the broken attic window it had come flying from.

"Relax, man. Reception's usually lousy around here." Will continued to stare at the man. Mulder nodded, though not looking completely reassured. He looked at the house thoughtfully; "Guess I get to go in alone for a change." He mumbled to himself resignedly. "Mr. Kipp?...."

".....Will."

"Fine....Well, Will, you'd better stay outside. Get to a public phone if there's one around and call this number." He reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out a small card. "Ask for Dana Scully and tell her I need backup." He handed the card to Will, who was still staring at Mulder intently. Will looked down at the details on the card.

"Kum Kwik massage parlour???" he stuttered.

Mulder hastily snatched the card back with an embarrassed cough and began rummaging in his pocket again for a few seconds before pulling out a second card, which he also handed to Will, who looked at it and noted the cell phone number written down, with the initial S scrawled next to it.

By now, Mulder had readied his gun and was approaching the house carefully. Will momentarily continued to stare at him slightly open mouthed, then broke himself out of his trance and ran up to Mulder, grabbing him by the arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked incredulously.

"It's possible she's responsible for what's been going on. I need to talk to her...it...and find out why she's here, but if that typewriter's anything to go by she's going to be hostile."

"She's here because she LIVES here!.....and she's always hostile this time of the month."

"You said....."

"It was a joke, man. A figure of speech. Look, when I said that she'd been replaced by an alien pod person, I just meant....oh forget it!" Mulder looked downwards with a mildly embarrassed smile, before collecting himself and putting the gun away, shaking his head slightly in amusement. He looked back at Will.

"Not Kim Basinger then?" Mulder muttered with a grin.

"Huh?" Will looked confused.

"Your stepmother isn't an alien?" he quipped.

"That's, er...cute." Will smiled nervously at Mulder, still painfully aware that this man had questionable sanity, a gun, and a government permit to use it....the gun that is. Will was dubious that the government had sanctioned Mulder to use whatever sanity he may have had. "See many aliens in your line of work?" Will asked Mulder, humouring him.

"Only out of hours." Mulder retorted back at him with a broad grin. "What about you?"

"Only the occasional illegal one. If it's aliens you're looking for, try Nevada....or California. This is Houma. Takes a lot just to get normal folks to visit here!"

"Quiet place then, Houma?"

"One horse town, and it went lame."

"Pretty much what Arcane said." Mulder commented. Will's face betrayed a tiny spontaneous frown at the mention of that name. Mulder picked up on it immediately. "Something I said? You don't like Arcane, I take it?" Will shifted uncomfortably.

"We just don't get on." was his only reply after a moment of thought.

"Any particular reason?" Mulder dug deeper. Will just shook his head.

"Nothing particular. Probably just opposite personality types. You know how some people just rub you up the wrong way?" Will countered, looking at Mulder. Mulder pondered this and contemplated Arcane. After a moment he just nodded his head in seeming acceptance.

"So Houma's pretty dull. No Panthers then?"

"Huh?"

"Or sub humans....or Swamp Sasquatches? You know, Will, there's been a lot mentioned about this place way before this current series of incidents. A lot of disappearances; a lot of deaths. You know this place is the Bermuda Triangle of Southern America!? Ever hear of a guy called Ian James, or Carter LaRoche....or an Alec Holland?" Will was silent for a moment as he did his damnedest to stay looking calm and cheerful. It wasn't easy.

"Yes. Yes. No....at least I don't think so. Was he guy who died about 12 or 13 years ago? Some lab accident? Maybe not?" Will gave a disinterested shrug.

"15 years ago. Yes, that was him. His body was never found, was it?"

"Before my time here. I only got in from Philly five years ago." Will said casually; "But it doesn't sound odd to me. If there's a body lying around, gators are bound to have got to it. Wouldn't leave a trace. Hmmm....'Louisiana Triangle'?....I gotta admit, it's kinda catchy. Maybe I ought to add that angle to the tours. Make a fortune....right?" Mulder just smiled and nodded. He started to open his mouth again, but Will decided to head him off at the pass, coming to the conclusion that the man couldn't ask any more irritating questions if he wasn't allowed to speak. "Made any progress with these things that have been going on?" He asked pleasantly.

"A couple of theories. Just following up a few hunches for now." Mulder said. "Are there any local stories of creatures in the area?" He got in quickly before Will could do anything.

"Sure. All swamps have their weird stories." Will said confidently; "And Houma's no exception. Just stories though. You really think that's got something to do with the explosions?" he countered the question with a question. Mulder shook his head.

"Just looking into a few other things while I'm here." He said. He began to open his mouth again.

"Look, why don't we go on that nice tour of the area that you want? But I'll tell you for nothing that you're not going to find anything causing these problems here in the swamp;" He gave an impish smile; "Just mosquitoes, snakes, gators and swamp gas!"

"Story of my life." Muttered Mulder. He seemed to consider for a moment. "Let's leave the tour for now, Will. Best get back into town and see what Scully's got."

"Great idea." Will said with utmost enthusiasm, ushering the man from the house and towards his jeep. "In fact, why don't I give you a ride into town?" He decided that coping with a few questions was preferable to having this man looking round the area.

"You don't want to get some clothes on?.....not that they're unpleasant on the eyes." Mulder's gaze drifted back to the shorts.

"Sure I'd love to get some clothes on...." Will stated; "...but that would mean going back into the house." They both looked at the shattered Silver Reed on the ground behind them. Mulder just nodded with calm understanding as he got into the jeep. Will started the engine and they drove off.

"Say, Will....where did you get them from, anyway?"

As the jeep headed off out of sight, Alec watched them from the bushes with concern spreading across his face.

"This is going to be a problem." He muttered in a less than optimistic tone. He just had that feeling that went right to the core of his mesophyll, and made his sap run cold.

Inside the house, Tressa was oblivious to all of this. She had stopped holding her head and was wiping the tears from her eyes. She was still in shock, but was slowly coming round. She began to remember events. Something had possessed her to write that horror story. It was like she was doing everything, but had no control of her own body. She remembered some advert for it on the Internet. She wasn't even ON the Internet for Chrissakes! How could she have remembered that? And why the hell was she writing about Alec? She'd never have done that in a million years! She looked down at her hands. The fingers were callused and blistered from the heavy typing she'd been doing. The speeds she'd achieved shouldn't have been possible. The story had flowed. Oh, It was poetry....It was grotesque, yet tragic...hypnotic. It was Keats, and Poe and Dunsany and Bronte and Shelly and...and...well, it was perfect: Quite the most flawless piece of literature she had ever seen. She couldn't have written that, could she? Then there was that...that...typo! One little typo; the only one in the entire piece...but what rage it summoned in her! That this little piece of imperfection had forced it's way onto HER work...her dream...her Geas! And that was when the papers all burst into flame and the table had exploded. The typewriter was hurled God knows where; and the manuscript gone. Gone, like ashes in the wind. Even now the memory of it was fading. One thing was for certain, she'd never be able to write like that again.

She finally stopped shaking and pulled herself together. "Just calm down!" She told herself firmly. "Everything's fine." She took the CD-R out of her pocket to make sure it was still all right. It was. She smiled a little smile. "Just you and me again." She said wistfully to it, as though it could hear, before pocketing it again. She took a deep breath and decided to venture downstairs to find the typewriter. The world suddenly seemed strangely calmer.

"I was only joking, Graham." Stella said with concern.

"I'm not!" Graham said with some determination as he threw the underwear into a metal waste bin and began pouring lighter fuel on them.

"They're not that bad, really.....actually, they're pretty cute." She managed a small smile despite her worried expression. Graham looked up at her.

"You...you think they're MINE, don't you?" He said, with an unusually defensive tone of voice.

"You said they were a fashion....." She looked confused.

"I was joking, Stella." He sneered, in a tone of voice unusually harsh for him where she was concerned. "They're a proven hazard. I'm just disposing of them. That's all." His intonation was now back to casual indignation. "They exploded on Will Kipp." Stella's eyes widened in shock and she began to regard Graham oddly. Graham noticed and looked suddenly embarassed. "No! No, THESE weren't HIS. Same type though."

"But....." she paused as Graham reached into his lab coat and pulled out a matchbox from his trouser pocket. Taking out one of the matches from it, he struck the thing and tossed it spitefully into the bin. There was a brief flare and flames licked up around the metal, causing a burst of intense heat. They both stepped back. Stella couldn't help giving the smoke detectors a brief but concerned glance. "Why are you burning them.....and what were you doing with them anyway?" She inquired mildly as she regained her original train of thought. Graham seemed to be struggling to think for a moment.

"I...I found them on one of the mutants, Stella, OK?" he snapped in an accusatory tone. She still looked perplexed. "It must have found them out in the swamp; or got them off somebody. Who knows? Who cares? I can't have Dr. Arcane's mutants threatened by volatile Taiwanese merchandise. I'm burning them BEFORE they explode. Making them safe. If there's going to be a fire, I'll choose when, where and how!" He stated indignantly, then gave a satisfied look as the fire began to burn down, leaving just the blackened and charred remains. "See? A nice, small, safe, controlled fire....and, Stella, I thought I told you to wake Dr. Arcane. You're wasting time."

As she headed off to the elevator she could have sworn she saw Graham give a slight facial twitch. He certainly was looking rather tense to say the least. Poor Graham, she thought. He really didn't react well to pressure, poor man....but then it had been a very trying day.

"Well, here we are!" Will said pleasantly as he stopped the jeep by the hospital entrance. Mulder thanked him as he got out.

"You know where I can find a Dr. Hollister in this place?"

"Could be anywhere. He's usually out doing house calls and arranged marriages, but try asking at reception. If he isn't there, Dr. Thomas will probably be able to help." Will gave a parting smile and drove off; finally allowing himself a well deserved sigh of relief before speeding back to find Alec.

Mulder paused briefly on his way into the hospital. Arranged marriages?? He thought, a perplexed look crossing his face for a second. He was beginning to wonder if he was the only sane person in this town!

"This had better be bloody good, Graham!!" Arcane snarled as he strode out of the elevator, in his haste almost shoving his way through the doors before they'd opened fully. It was a toss up between them as to who looked the more agitated. Graham had seen the Doctor in some pretty foul moods before, and while this probably wasn't the worst, it was still up there with the really good ones.

"Didn't Stella...well... explain?" Graham said falteringly.

"Stella just woke me up on the sodding intercom to say YOU wanted to speak to me!" The Doctor was just standing now, arms folded and glaring at Graham. He was looking haggard to say the least, and didn't appear to be wearing much other than a robe. His expression was fixed in a permanent scowl and his only movement a tiny tapping of his fingers on his forearm.

Elsewhere in the complex, Stella was busily feeding and calming down a restless group of mutants that had been scared by a small fire that had broken out previously.

"It's all right, babies." She purred, stroking a large scaly one on the head. "Everything's OK now." She put a small piece of chocolate into the hand of one of the more agitated ones: A tiny, wiry little thing with rodent-like features. "There you go, Ratboy. You like that, don't you?" She wondered briefly what Arcane and Graham would be talking about right now. No fool I ! She grinned to herself.

"Well!?" Arcane growled. "I'm waiting.....and what's that burning smell? What else has happened??"

"Nothing to worry about, Doctor. It was just a minor fire. It's all sorted out." He said nervously, sneakily sliding the waste bin under a bench with his foot.

"Then what did you bloody well wake me for!!?" Arcane's voice rose to an irate crescendo.

"Not the fire, Sir. The FBI lady. She's at the hospital. She's been snooping around and she's found something I knew you'd want to know about." Arcane's frown lessened somewhat, although not disappearing entirely. He seemed calmer.

"How d'you find out?" Arcane quizzed him. Graham smiled a little. It was a chance to show his initiative and defuse the Doctor's mood.

"Fontaine, in the path lab. She came to him from Dr. Thomas. She had something she wanted to check out. Anyway, she's been working with him and he thought you'd want to know." Arcane nodded.

"Good....Very good." Graham tried to made his sigh of relief barely audible. "Well?....What is she looking into then, Man?" Arcane snapped impatiently. This was the bit Graham wasn't looking forward to: The crunch that could decide Arcane's mood. He went over to the other end of the lab; to a group of test tube samples and a microscope.

"He described what she brought in. It could only be one thing, Doctor." He pointed to the rack of tubes, where one was missing.

"What the...!?" Arcane gasped. "How the hell could she have....."

"She couldn't, Sir. She was with us all the time."

"She didn't even suspect a thing. She was here about the incidents....and my genius, of course!"

"But HE wasn't, Doctor....and he was looking round an awful lot?" Arcane frowned. "And he was out of sight for a short while?" Graham added. He tensed inside. This was the crunch. Would Arcane blame him in general; blame him for not keeping an eye of the FBI man; or praise him for his initiative? No matter how much he could usually know and predict Arcane, these situations were always wild cards. Graham loathed uncertainly with a vengeance. Arcane wandered over to the rack of tubes and looked for the missing one. He appeared contemplative.

"Not good.....not good at all." He muttered; "But it could have been worse. She's bound to have some idea about what it is, at least in vague terms, but she's unlikely to deduce the implications."

"Then there's still time to get to her first to `help' her?" Graham added with a smile.

"Exactly, Graham!" He put his arm round the man, to Graham's utmost relief. "I think a visit to the hospital is in order, don't you, Graham?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yes, Doctor Arcane."

"Graham. Graham, I think I ought to be spending a little more time getting to know Agent Scully....Dana." He smiled; "After all, with such important work that she's doing, she's going to need all the guidance she can get from the world's leading expert."

"Absolutely, Sir! Will we be going immediately?"

"No. I'LL be going immediately. You can stay here and attend to things."

"You, you won't be wanting me with you there, Doctor?" Graham's face dropped noticeably.

"Why the hell would I want you with me, Graham? I need to get close to the woman!" Graham silently bit his lip.

"I...I just thought....."

"Try not to do that too often, Graham. It's not one of your more promising attributes. Now get my clothes ready, then bring my car round to the front; and try to make it quick." Arcane noticed that look developing on Graham's face. With a weary sigh, his voice lost the caustic aspect to it. "In any case, Graham, I'll need you here where you can be far more useful to me." He said, patting the man on the shoulder gently. Graham's face lightened a touch. "My clothes Graham? I will need my clothes." He gently reminded the assistant.

"Your jeans and the leather jacket, Doctor?"

"Er, no, Graham. I think perhaps the blue silk Armani, with a black shirt...and with the silver and black brooch. I think that would be more appropriate for Dana, don't you?.....Oh and I think the Porsche today."

"Yes, Doctor Arcane. The blue suit looks real great on you.....well...at least I'm sure that FBI woman will think so." There might just have been the merest hint of venom in Graham's tone of voice towards the end of his sentence.

"And see that Dr. Fontaine gets his usual fee, with an added bonus. And while I'm gone, do some digging into agents Mulder and Scully. I want dirt, Graham. Deep and interesting dirt. Dirt I can use." Arcane winced at little. "Oh, and Graham? Get me some bloody Tylenol while you're at it!"

"I'm looking for Dr. Hollister!" Mulder reiterated calmly for the third time. The receptionist looked at him in a friendly manner as she neatened the mound of papers on her desk. The phone rang.

"I'm sorry, Mr....er...."

"Mulder."

"Mr. Mulder. I'll be with you in a minute. Things are rather chaotic at the moment, I do apologise.....Houma General Hospital, can I help you?.....Yes.....No.....Well you could try putting a cold compress on it, Sir....Yes, you could try accidents and emergency, but I have to warn you that they're very busy at the moment and it could take a long time to see you.... I'm sorry about that......I'm sorry, all the ambulances are either in use or are out of action. Can you drive?.....You can. That's good.......But you can't sit down......oh.......Well maybe someone can bring you in?.....Yes, that would be fine, but you'll have a long wait. I do apologise......Oh! Oh I see.....well, under the circumstances and since it's you, I suppose we could see you early then, Sir......Yes, I can assure you that it will be treated with the utmost confidentiality. Goodbye, Sir." She looked up at Mulder again. "You were saying, Mr. Mulder?"

"Dr. Hollister?"

"Let me see." She looked through a large diary for a few minutes.

"I'll be getting a coffee and some sleep. Wake me when you know where he is." Muttered Mulder. He went over to a machine and put some quarters into it. He spent a moment checking the choices, before making his selection. A moment later he picked up a steaming plastic cup and put it to his lips. He grimaced upon tasting it, then looked at it quizzically. "Chicken Soup!?" He went over to the receptionist and showed her the cup. She shrugged.

"It's always like that." She said helpfully.

"With sugar?"

"Hmmm, it has been behaving oddly this morning." Just then there was violent shaking coming from the machine, followed by a deafening booming sound as the front of the machine fell off, and water, plastic cups and powdered beverages were hurled for a radius of about 50'. Mulder ducked reflexively, but still got spattered by a very generous helping of powdered cocoa and water. It dripped slowly down his face, coat and shirt.

"Guess I'll stick to tea next time." He gave a forced quip.

"Oh dear." The receptionist said casually, dialling numbers on her phone. "Is that maintenance? Reception here. Yes, we've had another one go. Thanks. Bye." She turned back to Mulder. "Dr. Hollister's on call at the moment, but Dr. Thomas is in. Shall I page her for you?"

"No. I'll just stand here and contact her by telepathy." The receptionist smiled and reached for the phone again to page Dr. Thomas. "Have you seen a red headed woman? Dark suit. She was also looking for Dr. Hollister." Mulder enquired on the offchance.

"Oh, the FBI lady! Why didn't you say so? She's in pathology with Dr. Fontaine."

Mulder just gave a forced smile. "Thanks, you've been helpful." He set off.

Will brought the jeep to a screeching halt outside the house.

"Alec! Alec!!" He called.

"I'm here, Will." Alec stepped out from a tree.

"There's trouble Alec. There's an FBI guy who....."

"Yes, I know."

"You saw?"

"Everything." Alec muttered.

"We've got to do something about him." "It won't be easy. I can't deal with him in the same way as Arcane and other menaces to the swamp. This man is basically good."

"The guy's a fruit loop, Alec!"

"Perhaps, but he's with the government, and his intentions are to help; not to cause harm. I can't justify causing him harm just to save my secret."

"He's after Arcane too, you know. I got that out of him in the car. Well, not the details, but he thinks he's onto something, and he doesn't look like the type to let things go."

"Then it's even worse than I thought. If he finds out about Arcane, he finds out about me.

"Well Arcane's also hardly the type to sit around doing nothing to stop that, is he?"

"I'm surprised at you, Will." Alec lectured sternly. "Arcane's methods are likely to hurt this man, at the very least."

"Well I'm sorry, Alec, but I don't know this Mulder guy, and maybe I don't wish him any harm, but my friends come first; and I don't want you becoming the target of every tabloid journalist, tourist and hunter in the world."

"There has to be another way, Will. Look, I'm certain I can keep him from me, but you must at least try to keep an eye on what Arcane is doing. There may be no cause for concern, but if he looks like he's going to harm Mulder, I want to know about it."

"Well what do you want me to do? Go up and ask him!?"

"Just stay a safe distance away, but keep a close eye on Arcane and keep me informed on what's happening. Don't try to interfere or you could be hurt. If Mulder is in danger, let me know."

Just then, Tressa came out of the house, still looking shaken, but calm now. Will stiffened in preparation, but she seemed benign enough for now.

"Will? Alec?" She just said.

"Look, Tressa, about earlier....." Will started to explain.

"I'm sorry about that, Will. I don't know what's been coming over me lately. I've been feeling strange for a while. Look, I know it wasn't your fault, OK? I'm sorry." Will and Alec just stared at each other.

"Don't say anything, Alec. Let's just make the most of it while it lasts." Will whispered. "Look, Tressa. I have to go back into town now. Something's come up and it's important. I'll try & get you some eggs and a shirt, OK? Alec'll stay and keep you company, won't you, Alec?" Tressa just nodded. Alec stared at Will in surprise and more than a little fear and anger; then grudgingly nodded too. Will grinned at him. "Turnabout is fair play!" He grinned cruelly at Alec before disappearing into the house, grabbing a new pair of jeans and heading out to the jeep.

"What happened?" Mulder asked Scully, after eventually locating her in the basement. It had taken him nearly half an hour of wandering around asking department after department for where Pathology was. The place was chaotic at the moment, badly signposted, and nobody seemed to have the time of day for anyone.

"I could ask the same of you, Mulder." She said evenly, with an accusatory, but warm smile as she regarded the congealed chocolate stains covering him from head to foot. "Drink problem?" She grinned.

"One day at a time, Scully." He retorted; "Anyway, what happened? We got cut off. A dropped signal...or another phenomenon?" Scully simply held up a shattered and fused piece of black plastic that might have resembled a cell phone in a previous life. "Still think it's an explosive device of some sort?" His tone of voice implied some forthcoming vindication.

"No, Mulder. This wasn't a device." She said. "It's been in my pocket all the time. I can't explain it....at least not yet. Put it down to another phenomenon to add to the list, I guess."

"You said you'd found something important. About said phenomena?"

"I don't think so, but it is remarkable nonetheless. That sample you took from Dr. Arcane's laboratory. It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it before....."

"...And nor are you likely to again, my dear!" Came a familiar voice from behind them. They turned to see Dr. Arcane, hands in pockets, sauntering into the laboratory. "Quite simply, a product of my genius." He turned to Mulder. "Stealing secrets, Agent Mulder?"

"Got any worth stealing, Mr. Arcane?"

"Only to my competitors, Mr. Mulder."

"And just who would your competitors be, Mr. Arcane?"

"I'm a businessman, Mr. Mulder; You're an FBI agent. I'm sure even you can work it out."

"I'd appreciate you telling me anyway, Mr. Arcane. Humour me."

"I'm doing my level best, trust me!....But, for the record, just rival scientists and the companies who employ them, and other lesser intellects; and that's DOCTOR Arcane."

"Well, since I'm not a rival scientist, or at least I wasn't last time I looked, I guess it's all right for you to tell me what's in the tube then."

"I doubt that a mind such as yours would be able to grasp it's complexity and the totality of it's brilliance, Mr. Mulder."

"Try me anyway. I love a challenge.....and that's AGENT Mulder....SPECIAL agent Mulder."

"I apologise for our unorthodox methods, Dr. Arcane." Scully interjected with an embarrassed look on her face, temporarily diffusing the situation.

"There's nothing to apologise for, dear lady. You were just doing your job. I realise that; But it's just a shame that you felt that you couldn't come to me with any reservations. We could have cleared all this up so simply. We have absolutely nothing to hide at Arcane Industries....well, at least not from our government friends, that is."

"Please excuse me for a moment, Dr. Arcane. I have something to attend to. I'll be back in a minute or two." Scully seemed to remember something and went to the far end of the laboratory where she began separating a green liquid that had been heating up into several phials. Mulder moved a little closer to Arcane.

"You got here awfully quick, DOCTOR." Mulder said with a suspicious smile.

"Not at all, SPECIAL AGENT Mulder. I was at the hospital anyway. Lucky coincidence, isn't it?"

"Isn't it just?"

"I found out you were here quite by chance when I arrived. I always make it a point to visit the children's ward every week or so. Do my humble part for the little ones, so to speak. So many orphans here. It's quite tragic. I find good homes for a lot of them, you know! Many of them make new and happy lives abroad. I even used to adopt some of them myself."

"Who'd have realised that your busy schedule would allow you to be such a devoted humanitarian, Doctor?" Mulder commented with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"I don't make a habit of publicising my magnanimity, Mr. Mulder." Arcane just smiled pleasantly.

"And you're clearly a man of many hidden talents, Dr. Arcane." Mulder gave a roguish grin, with a mere hint of seriousness in his tone.

"No hidden secrets of your own, Mr. Mulder? I find that hard to believe. Why, any man with the courage to wear drinking chocolate in public must have an interesting story, eh?" Arcane sneered as he surveyed Mulder.

"Well, I just kind of got the hunch you'd find your way here; and I knew someone of your obvious taste would appreciate my making a suitable effort to dress appropriately for the occasion." Arcane's smile broadened, although now developing a slightly forced and bitter aspect to it.

"Duly noted and appreciated, Mr. Mulder; and the next time I feel a pressing need to find a local branch of `Trench Coats R Us', I'll be certain to ask your advice."

"Anytime. I'll be sure to tell you exactly where to go. And while we're on the subject of advice and favours, I seem to have misplaced this month's issue of `International Male'. Any chance of borrowing yours?"

Arcane finally let the smile drop. He moved in close to Mulder. "Exactly what is your problem with me, agent Mulder?" He hissed. "I do believe that I'm the wronged party here, am I not? You did help yourself to my property: A sample vital to one of my most important projects.....a perfectly legal sample having no connection to your investigation, I might add. I don't recall either permission asked or a warrant shown. How would your superiors react to your methods, Agent Mulder?"

"Like I said earlier, Dr. Arcane. There's a few things I want to look into while I'm here. Let's just say that I get the feeling you're eminently qualified to help me solve a few loose ends."

"Naturally, I'll do my best to help you in your current investigation; but take my advice and don't waste your time following up every little distracting tabloid sensationalism."

"And there's an awful lot of those, aren't there? And it is my time to waste."

"Then take another piece of advice, Agent Mulder. Do be careful."

"That wouldn't be a threat would it, Dr. Arcane?"

Arcane visibly relaxed. A broad and friendly smile crossed his face. "Of course not." He laughed gently; "I don't make threats, Agent Mulder. You really ought to be a little less paranoid. Consider it a well intentioned and friendly warning. Houma can be a dangerous place to those who don't know it very well. As you pointed out, a lot of people have had accidents here. It would be quite tragic if you were to become one of them, wouldn't it?"

"Guess I'll just have to take extra care then. I appreciate the advice, Doctor. I....." His voice trailed off into silence as they both heard footsteps approaching. Scully had returned.

"Sorry about that, Doctor." She said, handing him a phial of the liquid. "You'd better have that back now."

"Feel free to keep it, my dear. I have more of it back at my lab. I'd just appreciate it's details remaining confidential."

"I'm not entirely sure what it's details are." She smiled.

"Then you must allow me to enlighten you.....say over dinner?" Scully seemed to contemplate for a moment, then looked at Arcane. She nodded pleasantly.

"Yes. That would be fine. There are a few things I'd like very much to discuss."

"Splendid! And do call me Anton. `Doctor' sounds so terribly formal, doesn't it?"

"Can we have a word?" Mulder interjected quietly, indicating that he wanted an aside with Scully. Arcane watched with a smile. Scully looked at Mulder, then at Arcane.

"Take as long as you want, Dana. I'll wait outside, shall I?" Arcane said softly, and made to leave the laboratory. Mulder raised his eyebrows, shook his head and smiled as he watched Arcane go.

"Dana?" He mused, both to himself and to Scully. "That didn't take him long, did it?"

"You're overreacting, Mulder. It's just a discussion I'm having with him."

"Over dinner."

"Yes. Over dinner. I don't see anything odd with that, do you?"

"Not a date then?" He goaded affectionately. "You know what he's after. You said it yourself. Still, at least it's not `Anton' yet."

"Contrary to popular belief, Mulder, I have a life. So his methods are a little....obvious. I'd say it's nothing more than a harmless game to him...an act....and hardly a crime."

"A game, perhaps....but harmless?......Hmmm."

"People act all the time, Mulder. Sooner or later, when he's more comfortable, he'll let the act go and I'll see the real Anton Arcane."

"That, Scully, should be a real eye opener." Mulder commented caustically.

"Mulder, if you suspect him of anything I'd appreciate you letting me in on it. Right now I'm concerned with these phenomena; and whatever else, Arcane has one of the finest scientific minds in the world, and some of the best research facilities. He's our best bet for solving these problems. I also want to know more about that formula you took; and since he intends telling me....."

"What he intends telling you is only what he wants you to know."

"That is likely; but it's more information than we have at the moment, and I'm pretty certain that I could easily ascertain if he is lying about anything or not; and if we want his assistance, going round insulting him isn't likely to get us very far."

"I get to play vinegar and you get to play honey? Come on, Scully. Look at the man. There was less oil on the Exxon Valdez than in just one of those smiles. He probably keeps Houma's hairdressers in permanent employment; and if posing were an Olympic sport, he wouldn't have enough room in that complex of his to house all the gold medals! And I'm betting he's at ground zero for a lot of things round here; which accounts for about 10 per cent of our filing cabinet!"

"Finished, Mulder? Maybe he is, or maybe not; but I don't believe he's anything to do with what's happening now, which is why we're here. Do you have any actual evidence that he's involved with something else?"

"Too many things started happening around here AFTER he came to the area. Just a hunch."

"Well, in that case we'd best send him to the electric chair right now. I can't argue with the solid damning evidence of one of your hunches, Mulder." She gave a little smile.

"You don't find his hostility suspicious?"

"His hostility, Mulder, has been aimed solely at you. And I don't find it suspicious considering that having your research taken could be construed as grounds for provocation. I'm not condemning your actions, Mulder; I'm just saying that it explains Arcane's behaviour towards you."

"You like him, don't you?" Mulder asked with a grin.

Scully thought about it for a moment and just gave a neutral shrug. "How would I know? I barely know the man."

"But you want to get to know him? Well, you do seem to be defending him."

Scully shook her head firmly. "What I'm defending, Mulder, is the focus of our investigation here; something you seem to have forgotten for the most part. Whatever happened to `Open yourself to extreme possibilities'? Back off from him, Mulder and let me handle it my way. We're far more likely to make progress, at least where Arcane's concerned. Besides, yes, I do want to get to know the man. I'll admit that I'm curious."

"Curious?"

"I read several medical papers of his a while ago. I've been following his work on and off. His theories are remarkable in the extreme. His methods are unorthodox and he has an unparalleled reputation in the scientific community. I can't say that I'm entirely impressed with the man so far, but I'll freely admit that I'm looking forward to any chance to discuss his work. To be honest, I've wanted to meet him for a while now....As I'd be interested in meeting any scientist of that calibre" She added quickly.

"Professional curiosity, Scully? Not turning into a fan by any chance?" Mulder smirked.

"Just professional curiosity. Even if it weren't, Mulder, that's nobody's business but my own." Her voice betrayed no anger whatsoever, but was nonetheless firm. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

"A lounge lizard with a brain is still a lounge lizard. Just be careful, OK?" He said gently. She nodded and smiled.

"I can take care of myself....but thanks. I'll be careful."

"I'll check us into a hotel while you're....er...continuing the investigation. The Houma Inn's the nearest, I think. I might go back out to the boat rental place if I get time after I've had a word with the police around here. I'll pick up another phone for you as well."

"Thanks, Mulder. I'll see you later then." She smiled.

"Better not keep `Anton' waiting then, had we?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Doctor." Scully greeted Arcane outside.

"Think nothing of it, Dana. Shall we go?"

She nodded. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Well, under less primitive circumstances, for such delightful company I'd have settled for no less than a candlelit table for two at Hugo's....the finest Oysters, Chateaubriande....and with a delightful vintage Rothschild...." Scully looked more than a little self conscious. Mulder looked like he was about to vomit. ".....Of course, as you well know, there aren't any restaurants open in town today, so I'm afraid the hospital canteen is about the best I can offer." He smiled warmly at her.

"Well, you'd best show me this canteen then, hadn't you?" She replied, smiling warmly herself. As they made to leave, Mulder took Arcane by the arm, gently, but firmly holding him back.

"There's just one other thing I'd like to ask you, Doctor." Mulder looked at Scully, putting his hands up in a gesture of innocence, and smiled. "There's nothing wrong, Scully. It won't take a minute. Just something I forgot." There were a few moments of just silence.

"I'll have a slow walk on ahead. Catch up when you've finished." She said evenly. The two men watched her go.

"You don't give up, do you Agent Mulder?" Arcane's frustration was beginning to show through the veneer.

"I guess that reputation of yours for genius isn't entirely unfounded then." Mulder smiled.

"What do you want?" Were Arcane's only words.

"I've worked with Agent Scully for some time now; and I've grown very fond of her. She's like a sister to me...." He looked downwards, as if saddened and brooding for a moment; before looking back up and staring Arcane straight in the eyes; "....And I really wouldn't want to see anything happen to her."

"And you think that I'd....."

".....I'm not thinking anything in particular, Dr. Arcane. I'm just saying that it wouldn't be a good idea to do anything that would hurt her."

"Is that a threat, Mr. Mulder?"

Mulder gave a cold smile. "Of course not, Doctor. I don't make threats. Just consider it a well intentioned and friendly warning."