[MD2, 1:30PM, on the road to World’s End State Park]
The drive back to World's End was uneventful. The gray Taurus was long gone, having apparently accomplished its mission, and no one had stepped in to take its place. Yet. And in addition to adding a new agent to the team, the trip had produced one new piece of information, even if that information did only raise more questions.
Kate was confident that Agent Foster was going to fit in very well. Her work so far, and in such a short time, had been exemplary. And it was thanks to her that they had this new clue.
A clue that was bothering Kate to no end. Government plates? In addition to the rumors of government activity in Sullivan County, things were starting to add up - but to what? How was the government tied in to the events at World's End? Why had Agent Cohen been put in the psychiatric ward? What happened to Dr. Noonan?
And how was that 'Ranger' Docker tied into it?
"Docker," Kate muttered as she turned off the main highway toward the park. She was also thinking that she should contact the team, get everyone together to meet September. As soon as they got there.
"Did you say something," September asked.
Kate nodded. "Docker," she repeated, and frowned. "I've heard that name somewhere before, but I can't quite place it."
"It does seem a little suspicious that he was the one to accompany Cohen to the hospital, but do you really think he's involved?"
"The more I think about it, the more convinced I am. Something about him.." It came to her suddenly.
*****
[Two weeks earlier]
Kate was in Delta's office. She'd come in early, wanting to get some paperwork done before everyone else arrived. She'd just gotten a cup of coffee and sat down at what she was now calling her desk, which would have belonged to the team's secretary, if they had one. And she'd heard voices in the corridor just outside. She hadn't intended to eavesdrop, but for one thing, as a trained investigator, she knew that listening to
conversations she wasn't meant to hear was one of the best ways to pick up information. And for another, right from the start, this conversation was too interesting to pass up.
"Zenya," a voice called out.
Kate glanced up from her work, and saw Agent Gorky just going into Zulu's office. They'd never actually spoken to each other, but who wasn't aware of 'the Russian agent'. There were some vague rumors about her background, which Kate had disregarded as idle gossip. Besides, if any of them were true, Gorky would never have gotten any kind of security clearance. All the same, she was glad that Gorky wasn't on her team.
The red-haired woman stopped in the doorway, waiting for someone to catch up to her, and was joined a moment later by Agent Jones. "I didn't expect to see you here this morning," he said.
Was it Kate's imagination, or had those few words carried a much more significant message than the obvious? There was something in the way they were looking at each other, too. Kate smiled. Love blossoms in the X-Files division.
*****
Zenya sighed. "What am I supposed to do? Sit next to his bed when he doesn't want me there?" She looked tired, to be expected considering all she had been through in the previous forty-eight hours. But there was nothing in her expression that would suggest that the man she'd been living with for going on ten years had been shot the night before, or that the man she was presently talking to was the one who shot him.
Leo looked at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry," she said before he had a chance to respond. "I didn't mean to snap at you."
"I know that. You have every right to be upset."
"Not at you, though." She took his hand and held it for just a moment before she realized what she was doing. She stepped into Zulu's outer office. Their secretary, Jenny, wasn't in yet. Neither was anyone else. "I want to thank you for everything you did last night. And for telling me about.. everything."
"It was nothing. Are you all right?"
Zenya shook her head. "No. We didn't even have a chance to deal with Docker, and now this."
"Don't worry, we'll get him. Sooner or later, he'll make a mistake, and we'll be waiting." He was pleased when that got a smile out of Zenya. He was a little worried about her. She looked so exhausted, and if she wasn't going to be at the hospital, at Valery's side, she should be home getting some rest.
"Of course we will," Zenya said, but without too much confidence in her own words. The memory of Boston came flooding back. Some of it she'd sorted through. Some of it she hadn't. Like the feelings she was experiencing for Leo, first stirred by the coldness and danger she'd seen in him, solidified by the kindness and warmth she'd found in him, and cemented by the fact that, even if she hadn't been aware of it at the time, all those years ago, he had been her protector. Fate works in strange ways. "We had him, Leo. Right there. It could have been over."
Leo started to reach for her, then remembered where they were. But Zenya stepped into his arms anyway and put her head on his shoulder, needing his strength for a moment. "At what cost," Leo asked. "He has to pay for what he's done. To both of us, and to so many others. But how much can we afford to sacrifice to make that happen?"
"Whatever it takes." She wouldn't tell him that she hadn't expected to survive the confrontation at MIT. Not right now. Besides, suddenly that thought seemed completely foreign to her.
"What is it you want to do, Zenya? Hunt him down like an animal?"
When she looked up at him, there was fire in her eyes. "He deserves it. He killed two little girls. Your daughter and my sister. If not for any of his other crimes, he deserves to die for that." Looking up into his face, she could see a question in his expression - 'do you know what you're saying?' She did. She didn't like it, but she knew exactly what she meant.
She saw something else there - or was it within herself? She knew why they hadn't killed Docker in Boston. This was a private matter. Boston was business, and for that purpose, it hadn't been necessary. When the time came, it had to be handled privately.
"We're in this together, you know," Zenya said. "It can't be one on one anymore, because I'm part of it, too. I share your pain. In a sense, it's not your family or my family anymore, but ours." That hadn't sounded quite right. She knew it, but she was too tired to figure out exactly what she had meant. The family of the dead, and those left behind united in their grief. Something overly poetic, along those lines. She could only hope that Leo would understand.
"Let's forget about Docker for now," Leo said. "You didn't sleep all night, did you? And only a couple of hours the night before?"
Zenya nodded. She realized that Leo couldn't possibly be in any better condition than she was. He'd been up later than she had their last night in Boston, and it had only been a few hours since she'd seen him at the hospital last night. But if he wanted to take care of her right now, she wasn't going to argue.
*****
"I'm going to take you home, and you are going straight to bed," Agent Jones told Gorky.
Still listening, Kate bit back a chuckle. Whatever was going on between those two, and whoever this Docker was, that was their business. She felt a little guilty for listening in on that rather.. intimate scene. But only a little.
It was fast approaching eight o'clock and the rest of the team would start arriving soon. If she wanted to get anything done before they arrived, she better get to it. But she didn't miss the final comment by Agent Gorky as she and Jones made their way down the hallway.
"Are you going to tuck me in and read me a story, too," she asked.
Kate didn't hear Agent Jones's response. Darn it.
*****
[1:45PM, World's End State Park]
When the team had arrived at World's End last night, it had already been dusk, and they left this morning before sun had come up over the mountains. Pulling into the park, Kate was getting her first daylight view of the place. The cabins were a little more run down than they'd appeared in the half-light of evening, but that was the only flaw she could find.
She glanced over at September, curious to see her reaction. After all, this part of the country was Kate's childhood home - for part of her childhood, anyway - and in her heart, it was still home to certain extent. She felt a sort of personal pride when others found it as beautiful as she did. She could almost imagine herself at six or seven years old, running through these trees, playing hide and seek with her grandfather. She'd never been in this particular park, but that scene had been played out in dozens like it.
September had been watching the scenery, obviously enjoying it. The woods were beautiful - but these woods held some kind of secret. And that was the reason they were there. As Kate pulled up in front of the cabin, the time for enjoying the view was over for the moment.
"We've only got two cabins," Kate said, "so I hope you don't mind rooming with me."
"Not at all," September said. They got out of the car and she went around to get her bag out of the trunk. She was looking around as she did. "This place really does feel like it could be at the end of the world. When do I meet the rest of the team."
Kate had already unlocked the cabin door and stood aside for September to go in. "I'm going to give them a call right now. If they haven't stopped for lunch yet, we'll probably meet them at the cafe in Forksville. That's the closest place to get a hot meal." She pointed September toward their room, then sat down on the couch, pulled out her cell phone and dialed Flynn's number.
[Woods.]
"It's Kate. We're back."
[Good. There's been another disappearance.]
"Where are you? We'll join you right away."
After getting the information from Flynn, she dialed the Hoover building and was connected to Zulu's extension. Their secretary answered.
"Jenny, this is Agent Calloway, from unit Delta. I need to speak with Agent Jones."
[I'm sorry, Agent Calloway. They're on assignment at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?]
"No, I really need to speak with him. Do you have a number where I could reach him?"
Kate jotted down the number Jenny gave her on the back of an envelope she found in her purse. As she ended the call, September was coming out of the room.
"Lunch will have to wait," Kate told her, and repeated the information she'd gotten from Flynn. She would contact Jones first chance she got.
- * - * - * - * -
Castle Rock Hospital, Day 1 (late afternoon)
Martin and Leo waited around for what seemed like hours for the doctor to take a look at Christopher Laughton. When the doctor came out of the examining room, he looked genuinely puzzled.
He looked at the pair of agents and shook his head. "I'm not sure what to tell you. He seems in perfect health, no signs of neurological damage, nothing to suggest any reason for his seizure and collapse. I'll be keeping him here for the night just to make sure, though."
Martin nodded and looked towards the room. "Would it be possible for us to question him? After all, he did try to kill an agent."
The doctor nodded and escorted them to the room. "Not too long, though. I want him to get a lot of rest. He seems to be overexhausted for some reason, but he won't say why or he can't remember why."
"Thanks doctor." Leo said as he entered the room.
Martin followed him in and went towards the bed where Christopher Laughton was laying in. While they were waiting in the hall, Leo and Martin had agreed to let Martin do the questioning. Leo was more than happy to obliged since he had a serious urge to shake some answers out of the scared looking kid lying in the bed in front of them. Leo went toward the desk near the bed to see the kids personal effects, which consisted only of a wallet, a couple spare bullet casings, a crumpled piece of paper and a pack of gum. Seeing the paper, Leo checked to see if he had forgotten his notepad, and found that he had.
"Chris, could I use this your sheet of paper for some notes?" Leo had asked, watching Chris' eyes for some sort of reaction.
"Sure, go ahead." he answered. "I'm not even sure what it was doing in my pocket in the first place."
"Thanks kid." Leo said, as he took out his pen and laid the paper flat, taking out the wrinkles as best as he could.
As Martin interrogated the kid, Leo made little notes as to how he should go about apologizing to Zenya and jotting a few points of interest that he picked up from the questioning. What interested him the most was the fact that (1) The kid never fired a gun before today, (2) He managed to travel a distance of two miles without knowing how he did it, and (3) today wasn't the first day he had experienced gaps in his memory. The kid had no idea why his memory was so spotty and he certainly had no idea who Leo and Martin was. After they had finished up, they waited for the rest of the team to pick them up.
- * - * - * - * -
Day 1, Evening at hotel.
>> "Don't forget that Thaddeus Cross is in town," Jim added.
>> "I'm not real sure what to do about him, but my feeling is that we shouldn't
>> wait for him to come to us. I also want to talk to Chris Laughton's dad
>> about his cows," Jordan said.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat." Martin said as he tried to stifle a yawn.
Jordan smiled and said, "It's been a long and weird day for everyone. Let's get some sleep and meet at breakfast tomorrow morning."
Everyone agreed that this was a good plan and they all headed back towards their respective rooms. After a few minutes, Leo left his room and made his way towards Zenya's room. Looking over his notes on the piece of paper he took from Chris' room, he knocked on Zenya's door. A moment later, Zenya opened up the door and with a half-smile, let Leo in.
"I had a feeling you'd be by." she said as Leo entered behind her and shut the door behind him.
"Really?" Leo asked.
"Yes." Zenya answered, as she walked towards the window to open it a bit. "So what's up?"
Leo shifted from one leg to the other, feeling uncomfortable, yet not knowing why he should be. "Well, I just wanted to ... ummm... apologize for what I did this afternoon. It was out of line and I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything."
Zenya smiled and was about to say something in return, but Leo's cellphone rang at that moment. Putting his note down on the bed, Leo answered the phone with a frown.
"Hello? Leo Jones here."
Zenya picked up the paper and looked at Leo's notes with a smile. As she read the notes he scribbled about what he would say, she gave off a small laugh.
[Hello, Agent Jones? This is Kate Calloway from Delta.]
Leo gave off a mock frown and answered, "Kate Calloway, Delta? How may I help you?" He looked at Zenya and gave off a shrug, not knowing who she was and how she would know him.
Zenya came closer and whispered, "Delta has the office across from us." Leo nodded as he listened.
[I'm sorry to be calling at this hour, but I was wondering if you would know anything about a Forest Ranger named Docker?]
"Docker?" At the name, Zenya looked up at Leo and wondered what was going on. "First of all, he's no Forest Ranger, he's a loose cannon who fancies himself an assassin. If he's there, then he's running interference for something that will wrap up in less than 5 days. I'd have any female members of your squad to keep your curtains shut or to look for bugs or cameras since he's been known to be a voyeur as well. Where are you?"
[We're investigating some disappearances at World's End National Park in Pennsylvania. How do you know that whatever's happening here will end in about 5 days time?]
"It would be less than 5 days, because Docker can't afford to stay in one place for any extended period of time. A lot of people, Agent Gorky and myself included, are trying to find him for various reasons. In all likelyhood, he's running static so whatever's happening there can wrap up."
[What's your interest in him?]
"It's personal. I have a file in my shared directory on the FBI mainframe with as much info on Docker as I could get. You're welcome to access it."
[Thanks. I will. Bye.]
As Leo hung up, he noticed that Zenya became extremely quiet near the end of the conversation. She was sitting on her bed reading whatever was on the other side of Leo's notes. When Leo got closer, he noticed that it was some kind of flyer, the sort that you might see hung up on bulletin boards at a high school. He wondered what had caught Zenya's interest so readily, so he sat down next to her and started to read the notice.
****** Welcome to ******
R P G U N I V E R S E
Totally Interactive - 24
hour access. Be whoever
you wish to be. Over 50
different games to play.
Castle Rock is only the
beginning! Your school
has been chosen to be
the first site to access
this realm of the human
imagination. Help us to
work out the kinks and
get a free computer in
the process!!!
Parents, you get an extra
added bonus also. Your
child will increase his/
her problem solving skills
and increase their grades
in school! Just 1 hour a
day and you should see a
significant increase!!!!
Leo turned and looked at Zenya. "This is how they're planting the suggestions in the kids."
Zenya nodded. "Yeah, but that isn't what got my attention.... read this."
Zenya moved her finger away from the bottom as Leo read the small print. It read "A product of Crucifix games. Sponsored in part by the Department of Education and Department of Defense."
"DoD is in on this." Leo whispered. "We better show this to Jordan."
He started to get up, but Zenya held him back with a hand on his arm. "Leo," she said. But then she wasn’t quite sure what she’d wanted to say. "I just.. There’s nothing to apologize for, but.."
"But don’t let it happen again," Leo ventured.
"No, I was going to say no more public displays of affection during working hours." She winked at him, stood up and walked to the door.
- * - * - * - * -
World's End National Park, Outside of Delta's cabins
MD 2, 11:00 pm (EDT)
Docker gritted his teeth as he overheard Agent Calloway's conversation with that damned Leo Jones. As he looked at the miniature display in his hand, he noticed that some of the green lights on the screen started to go red. Not too surprising considering Jones had warned them about the bugs he had planted in the cabins. Through his binoculars, he saw that new agent, what was her name.. something to do with a month.... go across to the other cabins to warn the others. A few moments later, all of the green lights had gone red as Delta got rid of the transmitters that he had planted.
He switched over to video, only to see that 3 of the 4 feeds had gone out as well. The only one to survive was planted in the bathroom of that agent Calloway's cabin. As he watched, he saw Kate enter the bathroom and started looking for the hidden camera. Another second or so later, Docker was totally blind.
"Doesn't matter." Docker chuckled to himself. "In 2 days, everything will be gone and they'll be leaving empty-handed. They're no closer now then when they first started."
His thoughts then turned to the recent kidnapping. As much as Docker loved to see people suffer, his feelings on this one was a little different. He thought that his employers were fools for snatching such a high profile kid like that, but then again, he wasn't being paid for thinking, just running interference. He knew that Delta would be stepping up their search, which means that Docker will have to keep on his toes. Eventually, they'd have to go back into the forest, since that's where their answers would lie. When they do, Docker would be waiting for them.
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