Disclaimer: (Ashlee is on the phone) All right, listen up Craig, Steve, and Chris. If I've told you once I've told you a bazillion times, I don't own them!!! Now will you quite rubbing it in my face or do I have to get out the pictures and mail them out?…Yeah, that's what I thought.
Author's Note: Okay I lied in my last note. This is nowhere *near* the end and the heavy action is still to come. Once again I extend my thanks to Gables (has anyone else noticed how often she's thanked in author's notes? Hmmm) who helped me with getting some peeps together, and to everyone who wrote and said they liked it. I'll throw Mallory in here and all who are going to in the future <hint hint> <G> Well, here goes nothing…..
Title - Feelings of Indignation Part Six
Author - Ashlee
E-mail address - zyp959@hotmail.com
Rating - PG
Category - Adventure/Alternate Universe/Pretender/X-Files Crossover
Series/Sequel - Part Six of Feelings of Indignation
Spoilers - tP - Donoterase (just mentioned in passing) XF- the ep. with Santa
Clause as the serial killer (season 7 - mentioned in passing)
Summary - When a girl is kidnapped by The Centre, Jarod and Miss Parker discover
that they have a bond deeper than either ever imagined.
"Feelings of
Indignation"
Part Six
by Ashlee
Mr. Parker's Office
The Centre
Wednesday, September 1, 1999
8:20 p.m.
Mr. Parker sat alone in his office rubbing his temples. Nothing was going as it was supposed to. First there was the blunder with the girl, then the involvement of Mr. Spender, and as if that weren't reason enough for his current migraine, he could just add in his own personal blunder, the one that could bring about his demise if anyone were to find out. He needed that girl back and he needed her now. Mr. Parker picked up his phone and dialed his son. When he was unable to reach him, he slammed down the phone, racking his brain for a solution.
***
Lakeside Inn
Room 62
Iron Mountain, Michigan
8:21 p.m.
Major Charles was sitting on the bed, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He saw the clone of his only remaining son working on the computer and walked over.
"What are you looking at Tye?" He asked looking at the screen.
"You're never going to believe this!" The boy exclaimed. "I've been communicating with this group of men, called the Lone Gunmen, about various conspiracies, and they just put something up on their website. It sounds a lot like the Centre!"
The Major looked incredulously at the screen, but had to agree.
"How soon can you get ahold of these people? Ask if it is the Centre, and who's involved, they don't have names."
"I can write them right now. We should get a response quickly, this e-mail address is the one they constantly monitor." Tye typed out a quick message and sent it.
***
5th
Floor
Portage Health Systems
Hancock, Michigan
8:22 p.m.
Miss Parker, Jarod, Chet, Merideth, and Ashlee all walked to the elevator, and were about to board, when Miss Parker interrupted their progress.
"Why don't you guys go ahead, I have to talk with Jarod." She said pointedly.
"Uh, sure thing." Chet said as he walked into the elevator, after Ashlee and Merideth, who was holding Catherine.
Miss Parker waited for the elevator to close before she spoke. She turned to Jarod, arms crossed, and demanded,
"What are we going to do?"
"Well, I don't think we have to worry about Lyle for a while…"
"That's not what I'm talking about!! Merideth, what are we going to do about Merideth?!" Parker asked exasperated.
"Oh, well…I think it would be best if we just came out and told her." Jarod said as he held the second elevator's door open for her.
Miss Parker stepped inside and stood facing him as he entered.
"Short and sweet, huh?"
"I think it's the only way. She has to know, and there isn't anyway to beat around the bush. I think we should tell her and show her the papers. She'll know the truth then, at least. It's obvious she's going to have problems accepting it, but with her inherited intelligence and her ability to experience the feelings of others, I suspect that she knew she was different, that she didn't quite belong, while growing up."
"Wow, that was touching. Maybe you should tell her that." Miss Parker replied sarcastically.
Jarod looked over at her and was about to reply when the elevator doors opened, and they were confronted by the teenagers.
***
LGM's Van
Outside An Associates House
8:27 p.m.
Langly stayed in the van as Frohike and Byers got the last item that they needed from a friend who owed them. He was monitoring his computer, surfing from site to site, when a familiar chime sounded, and a sultry voice spoke to him.
"Langly, you animal, you have mail."
Langly clicked on the picture of the woman and read the message.
LGM,
Tye here, heard the latest. The company that you describe sounds like the one who had me…The Centre. Let's just say I was employed against my will. Am I right about the company?
Write me!
Tye
Langly, to say the least, was shocked. They had been communicating with Tye since almost three months ago on various conspiracies and government projects and cover-ups. He always seemed to have the inside track, and now that he thought about it, a lot of the stuff that he had told them sounded a lot like the stuff that Marissa, or Miss Parker, had been telling them.
Langly hit the reply button, anxious to here the rest of his e-mail buddy's story.
***
Lakeside Inn
Room 62
Tye's alarm sounded again and he opened the mail.
Tye,
One and the same. What have you got? Just want some corroboration.
LGM
Tye looked at Charles, who only nodded. After attaching a picture Tye sent out his message.
***
LGM's Van
Langly reloaded his account and saw the new message. He opened it eagerly.
LGM,
I was made to work on projects, projects I thought were helping people, but after being rescued I realized that the opposite was happening. I was known only as Gemini. I have attached a picture. I'm assuming that you have files from the Centre, or you've somehow managed to find your way onto their mainframe. Run searches on the name and picture. I think what you find will be proof enough. Be careful.
Tye
Langly eagerly downloaded the picture, copied it onto a disk, and booted up each laptop. He ran a search on each with the picture. Then he added a second search using Gemini as the key word.
He sat back, and was waiting on the results when Frohike and Byers returned.
"Guys, you'll never guess what happened!" Langly exclaimed in greeting.
"What?" Frohike asked, sitting in another chair in the back.
"I've been talking to Tye, and you know that company that he worked for? Well, it was more of a forced employment," he paused, " at the Centre!"
Both men turned in shock.
"The Centre?!" They both exclaimed.
"Yup, and I think he want's to help. I haven't told him anything yet," he said in response to the worried stares he received. "I asked for corroboration, and he sent it. I'm running searches now." Just then four alarms went off from the laptops. Langly walked to the first computer, and decided to look at the results from the pictures first. As he looked at the original file date he was shocked by the time period in-between the two files, and the different titles. One was entitled 'Gemini' and the later one 'Jarod'. He opened the files side by side and nearly fell out of his chair. The two boys looked identical, but the pictures were over twenty years apart.
From the looks on Frohike and Byers faces, he guessed that they had had the same reaction.
"Gemini, it means twins." Byers said, sounding shocked.
"I think in this case, it might mean something a lot more sinister than that." Byers and Langly turned to Frohike. "I think we're talking cloning here."
Byers' mouth was agape.
"Remember why Marissa told us she was going to bring them down?" The other two nodded. "Because they had made a clone of her childhood friend. Jarod."
"I think we need to have them meet us." Langly nodded and began to type a reply.
***
Keweenaw Auto Body Shop
Calumet, Michigan
8:30 p.m.
Matt, the older man who had attended to Scully's needs, was doing as he had promised. He had already begun to burn her clothes in a trashcan, and was now heading towards her car to fetch the reward that she had mentioned. He opened the driver's side rear door and pulled out a duffel bag. When he opened it, he nearly fell over in shock. There had to be at least five thousand dollars in there! He looked around cautiously. Afraid that someone might see the large amount of money, he picked up the bag and headed back inside.
As he was heading back into the shop when he remembered the telephone number the young lady had talked about and the message he was to deliver. After locking the door behind him, he opened the bag and found a slip of paper near the top. Skinner, what kinda weird name is that? He asked himself, but faithful to his word, he picked up the receiver and dialed.
"Skinner," the man on the other line stated, after picking up on the first ring.
"Uh, hi Mr. Skinner, you don't know me, but I was told to call n' give ya a message." When the man on the other side was quiet, Matt continued. "She said that 'Agent Scully will be in contact, but times are stressful.'"
"Agent Scully?! Where is she? Are they in trouble?" Skinner yelled into the phone.
"Yeah, uh, I think so, well she was the only one here."
"Where?"
"Keweenaw Auto Body Shop in Calumet, Michigan. She came here to get a different car and a change of clothes."
"At an auto body shop?" Skinner asked increduously.
"Well, she said somethin' about a case got messed up, and she needed a new car. Said she was with the FBI." Matt was starting to worry about the young lady who had come in and how much trouble she was really in.
"Yes, she is. Can you give me directions to this 'Calumet'?"
***
National Mall
Washington D.C.
8:36 p.m.
"You got it hooked up?"
There was a pause on the line and some heavy breathing. Then came a stressed voice, as though he had been performing a task that took a lot of time and patience, but was also very hard.
"Yeah, can you see anything?"
"Yes! The picture's coming in loud and clear. How 'bout you Byers, you done yet?" Frohike asked from the back of their van, which had been converted into a sort of security headquarters.
"Just a second…yeah, is it coming in?"
"Yup, and Lincoln's looking a bit tired. Anyone got a *really* big blanket?"
"Ha ha, that was really original Frohike. Got any more?" Asked Langly, who was standing at the far end of the mall, where that path towards the Lincoln Memorial began.
"Hey Langly, why don't you kiss my white ass?"
"You wanna go Baldy?"
"Oohh, big words from mister bad comb over, punk rock reject!"
"Yeah, why don't you say that to my face?"
"All right, all right, cut it out. We have work to do before our company arrives." Byers interrupted before the battle got to far out of hand.
"Yeah, sure." Both Langly and Frohike grumbled, getting back to the job at hand.
***
Mulder's Room
Agent Fowley's Hideout
8:37 p.m.
Mulder still lay on his bed motionless, thinking of the things that had happened in the last few days, well, those events that he could remember, which were few. He remembered being with the red-haired woman in a car, then being here and then talking to Diana, and being angry at her about something, though he couldn't remember what.
Then there was when he had talked to the red haired woman. She was hanging from some weird structure, and was asking why he didn't remember her. And then there was the final piece of evidence, the one most vivid in his mind: the watch. He remembered distinctly looking at it and noticing the date: 9-1-99. The date was so clear that, even now, it seemed real. And as he thought back to the conversations that he had been having with Diana, even the most recent, not a half hour ago, he could distinctly make out the crinkling of Diana's nose, something that he had learned long ago to mean that she was lying. Something was definitely going on here and he was determined to find out what it was.
He just needed time…time to think. And from the look of things, he wasn't going anywhere fast.
***
Lakeside Inn
Room 62
Iron Mountain, Michigan
8:38 p.m.
Tye sat next to the Major at his computer. While waiting for the response the Major had been reading articles on the Lone Gunmen site. A tiny alarm went off and Major Charles clicked on the icon pulsing in the center of the computer's screen.
Tye,
Got your message. Know you're relationship with the Centre. Meet us at Houghton County Airport. ETA – 5 a.m. will let you know if plans change.
LGM
Major Charles turned to Tye.
"I think we need to get to Houghton County Airport."
***
Ground Floor
Portage Health Systems
8:39 p.m.
Chet, Ashlee, and Merideth all exchanged looks at the expression of the two people in front of them, who looked like they had just been caught in the middle of doing something that no one else was supposed to know about.
After an awkward pause, Ashlee spoke up.
"So are we all taking one car and leaving mine here, or are we taking two?"
Miss Parker, relieved at the distraction, spoke up.
"I think we should take two. At least that way if Lyle somehow manages to find us, there will be a better chance of at least some of us escaping."
"Alright. In that case I suggest that Miss Parker rides in one, and Jarod in another so that if one car does get caught, we have someone who knows the Centre well enough in the other." Merideth said as she started heading for the front exit.
"Right," Jarod said, "I think I should ride with Ashlee and the baby and you ride with Miss Parker and Chet."
Ashlee looked at Jarod and raised an eyebrow. It took a lot of self-restraint from yelling out a 'thank you God!' He was one *fine* looking man.
"Fine." Miss Parker said, her 'fine' sounding less forceful than normal. She was about to continue when she noticed a woman lying on the grass between the hospital's circular driveway and the parking lot. "Oh God." She whispered as she ran over, the rest close behind.
She slowly rolled the body over and Chet, Jarod, and Miss Parker gasped in unison.
"Agent Scully." They said it together, and then looked at one another, while Ashlee and Merideth looked on confused.
"You know her?" Miss Parker asked from next to the body. She was well aware that they knew her, but the question slipped out involuntarily.
"Yeah," Chet spoke up softly. "She came to investigate Merideth's disappearance, along with some guy named Mulder."
"How do you know her, Parker?" Jarod asked forcefully.
Miss Parker stood, and faced him.
"That's not important right now. Check her out, *doctor*, and then maybe I'll tell you."
For a moment it looked as though Jarod might argue, but he just shook his head and knelt down beside Scully's limp form and placed his fingers on her neck.
"Well, she's alive. We should bring her in…"
"No!!!" Miss Parker yelled, causing everyone to stare at her. "Look, just trust me, we can't leave her here, we have to take her with us." After getting another look from Jarod, she continued. "Fine, I'll tell you when we get back to the house, just trust me on this one, okay?"
Jarod nodded.
"Okay." He then focused his attention on Ashlee, completely back to doctor mode. "I need you to get a portable x-ray machine and a gurney."
"How are we going to transport her?" Ashlee asked.
Merideth looked around and spotted the old pickup in the parking lot.
"There, that's the one she drove in."
Ashlee looked at her shocked.
"How do you know that?"
Merideth held up the keys she'd been holding.
"The key says Chevy, and that looks like the only Chevy in this particular lot."
"Oh, well I'll go get the stuff then." Ashlee raced back inside to look for her mother while Merideth tried the key in the ignition, and it worked.
***
Ford, Lincoln, Mercury
M26
Houghton, Michigan
8:42 p.m.
Lyle had turned off his cell phone, fearing a call from his father. He hated the thought of having to tell him that he lost JP2 and some teenagers in a car chase. More than that he feared the Triumvirate. He knew that one more failure, especially on a case like this, could mean the end of life as it were, which, right now, didn't seem like such a bad thing.
"Alright, we can have the cars you brought in fixed in about four days." A mechanic said as he walked into the main office.
"We need rentals." Lyle said, staring at the man in an attempt to intimidate.
The man shrugged.
"Sure, but we don't have black town cars, just blue ones."
"That's fine! I want three." Lyle said as he threw a wad of cash onto the counter.
The man stared bug-eyed at the money and shook his head.
"Yeah okay, sign these papers and we'll pull the cars around."
***
Mr. Parker's Office
The Centre
8:46 p.m.
Mr. Parker was looking over the papers again and searching for an escape, something to get him out of this, and then it struck him. He would have to do this, blood may be thicker that water, but it was survival of the fittest here at the Centre. So if it meant that his son was blamed for this blunder, so be it, at least he was safe.
But what he didn't know was that there was someone watching.
***
The Vents above Mr. Parker's Office
Michael sat with a video camera as he took a close up shot of the paper that Mr. Parker was holding and then watched as he called in his personal computer technician.
"Curt, I want it to look as though this were Mr. Lyle's project, can you do that?"
"Of course Mr. Parker, but it might take a few hours."
"Just do it!!"
Michael turned off the video camera and raced back to the abandoned computer lab. He had to find those documents before Curt got a chance to delete them.
***
Highway
Between Delaware and Washington D.C.
8:50 p.m.
"Bart." Sam said from the passenger seat. "I think we need to ditch our clothes."
Bart looked at him for a moment, and then realized they were still dressed in their Centre-issued suits.
"Right, these things could be bugged."
Bart pulled off into the parking lot of a Kentucky Fried Chicken, pulled a bag from the back of the truck, and approached to bums that were sitting across the street.
"Hey guys." Sam greeted.
The bums looked at them suspiciously.
"Whatdaya want?"
"We want to give you our suits." Bart said.
"What the hell we gunna do with suits?" Asked the second bum, still eyeing them suspiciously.
"And three hundred dollars each." Sam added.
The bums jumped up and stuck out their hands, to give a shake on the deal.
"You got yourselves a deal!"
***
SL – 16
The Centre
8:53 p.m.
A man sat at a desk eating a doughnut and watching two blinking lights on a small screen, lined by streets. As he watched he noticed that the dots seemed to move in a weird fashion, and then stayed still for a moment and began to move again. The man shrugged and continued to watch. After a minute he hit the monitor. After all it was probably just a glitch in the computer.
"Dumb ass Accounting Department makes us take these shitty computers! Not enough financing my ass! The people upstairs get new computers every bleeding week!"
***
Diana Fowley's Hideout
8:54 p.m.
A man was sitting in a chair, asleep. Slowly he began to awaken and he looked at the screen that should be bleeping, and it was. He looked at his watch, and then realized that this bleep should be moving fast, but instead it was still. The woman was supposed to be flying, but instead she was still.
"Ah shit, I knew I shouldn't have taken this job!" The man said as he picked up the receiver and dialed Diana's cell phone number.
"Fowley."
"Ma'am, you might want to get down to the computer lab."
"Why?"
"Agent Scully never got on the plane." He said nervously.
The man could hear the vicious smile in her voice as she purred,
"Perfect."
***
Keweenaw Auto Body Shop
8:54 p.m.
Matt looked at the car that was sitting in his lot. If this lady was really in trouble and had him burn her clothes, he assumed for bugs, than that would mean that the money and car also had bugs on them, and there was no way in hell he wanted these people at his shop. Hell no. Matt made up his mind. He had lived in the UP all his life, in fact he had never been out of it. He had never seen a thousand dollars much less ten, and at sixty-five, he had never expected to. He was content where he was in the circle of life, and that's where he wanted to stay.
Matt put the money in the car and drove down Calumet Water Works road until he came to the Lake Superior shore. He put the car in neutral and pushed it over the side and watched it fall into the crashing waves below. Within a matter of minutes the car would be at least a hundred feet below the surface.
***
Outside
Portage Health Systems
8:55 p.m.
Ashlee exited the hospital carrying a heavy box, helped by Dr. Sarizon. Behind them, came Lorrene with a gurney. They brought them over to where Jarod was standing alone.
"Where'd everyone go?" Ashlee asked.
"They're making sure that the back of the truck will be able to hold the gurney." Jarod said, while looking around quietly. "We have to get out of here, I have a bad feeling."
Dr. Sarizon and Lorrene had ignored him, they were checking on the patient, and loading her onto the gurney. Ashlee, on the other hand, had heard every word and was beginning to regret this. Sure it had been fun, she had always wanted to be in a car chase, and helping Chet and Merideth escape from certain death made her feel good. But now, that tone in his voice was really starting to scare her.
Dr. Sarizon interrupted her before her imagination took over.
"She seems stable. Look I don't know who you are, but I have this feeling that you know what you're doing. I'm going to run and get some medicines that she might need and let you go, but I want to be kept informed."
"Of course." Jarod said.
"Alright, you load her up while I get the medicine."
***
Houghton County Airport
Hancock, Michigan
9:05 p.m.
Sydney, Broots, Debbie and Angelo exited the plane, only to be greeted by an empty terminal. It seemed as though the only life was in the tower. They walked, bags in hand, to the gate and opened the fence, which was never locked.
"Syd, what should we do? We don't even know where they are." Broots asked.
"I seem to remember her mentioning a number, but I can't remember it." Sydney said exasperated.
"438-269-2486" Angelo said.
"What?" Broots and Sydney asked.
"Daughter, 438-269-2486"
Broots looked at Sydney who nodded. Broots pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number Angelo had said.
***
Portage Health Systems
9:07 p.m.
Miss Parker pulled out her cell phone, which began to ring as seated herself inside the car that she and Jarod had driven down.
"What?" Parker asked, not quite as venomously as normal.
"Miss Parker, it's me. We're at the Houghton County Airport, but no ones here, we need a lift." Came Broots' voice, not sounding as timid as usual.
"Alright, we're headed up there anyway. Give us twenty minutes. There'll be two cars and a beat up truck. A lot is going on, and we'll need all the help we can get."
"All right, see you then."
"Bye Broots." She said and hung up, just as Merideth came and sat in the passenger seat.
"Everything's ready, we need to leave."
"Tell them we have another stop on the roster, Houghton County Airport."
***
Diana Fowley's Hideout
9:10 p.m.
"Everything is going as planned. Agent Scully has taken the deal and soon she will lead us to Miss Parker, Jarod, and more importantly to Merideth and the little something she…"
"Good to see that you have actually accomplished one of your goals. Now I want the girl. She is all that we need to takeover the Centre." Came the raspy voice of Mr. Spender over the phone line.
Fowley looked at the phone, her face filled with contempt, as a small plan began to form in the recesses of her mind. She smiled maliciously as she answered.
"I know sir, in fact, I'm counting on it."
***
FBI Headquarters
Washington D.C.
9:11 p.m.
Assistant Director Skinner hung up his phone and stuffed the papers he had been working on back into a file folder sitting on his desk. After picking up his cell phone, keys, and jacket he headed down to his car. After that he was headed to the airport. He needed to be on the next flight to Houghton, Michigan.
***
National Mall
Washington D.C.
9:12 p.m.
The three men who made up the Lone Gunmen sat in the back of their van, watching tapes and eating greasy burgers that Frohike had picked up from a bar around the corner. As they watched intently two men dressed in long black trench coats walked across the camera.
"Hey guys, look at this!" Langley said as he sat up straighter and watched the two men. "I think we have something here!"
The three gathered around the monitor as the men faced the camera.
"It's Sam and Bart!! They're early!!" Langley nearly shouted. Then, as an afterthought, "We'll have to tell Tye our ETA has changed."
"Okay, we have to approach them with out scaring them away." Byers said thoughtfully.
"Let an expert handle it!" Frohike called as he jumped out of the van and headed towards the two familiar faces.
"Is it just me, or are we in deep shit?" Langly asked Byers. They shared a look and both scrambled for the door.
***
National Mall
Washington D.C.
Same Time
"Good thing we got here early to check the place out. We don't know what these three guys look like." Sam said as he watched the crowd suspiciously.
Bart slapped him on the back.
"Don't worry buddy, we lost the Centre tracers and no one followed us. We're good to go. Now we just have to find these three guys Miss Parker was talking about and we're outta here."
"When it comes to the Centre nothing is 'good to go'." Sam said still looking about. Just as he turned his head looking south down the Mall he noticed a short balding man running towards them. "Bart, something's up."
"Huh?" Before Bart could finish wondering what was going on, Sam had pulled his gun and was pointing it at a short, partly bald man who had frozen in place and had his hands raised. Behind him, two other men where approaching.
"Leave it the expert! Way to go Frohike!" said a man with long, blond hair.
"I'd tell you where to shove it Langly, but someone's pointing a gun at me."
The man dressed in a suit spoke up.
"I believe we have a mutual friend, Marissa."
Sam slowly lowered the gun.
"You the guys we're supposed to meet?" asked Bart.
"Yes. I'm Byers, that's Langly and the man you were pointing the gun at is Frohike. We're friends of Marissa's. We've been helping her in a plan to take down the corporation that she works for."
"I have the stuff you guys are looking for in our truck, but first I think we need a plan of action." Sam asked, anxious to get on the move and out of the open ground.
Langly walked up to Sam and clapped him on the back.
"Don't worry man, we got it covered."
***
Jarod's House
Near Copper Harbor, Michigan
11:00 p.m.
After picking up Sydney and the people with him, they had all headed back to Jarod's house. Now as everyone, but Jarod, sat in the living room the chaos exploded. Everyone was trying to get the stories straight and the introductions completed, until one voice broke out above the crowd.
"Shut up!!" Miss Parker yelled, silencing everyone. "Now, we wait until Jarod gets back and we all talk. Okay?" Everyone nodded. "Until then keep it to a minimum. God what I wouldn't give for three aspirin and a tall glass of Vodka."
Broots spoke nervously.
"I think we need to get Debbie and Angelo to bed, they both look exhausted. Can anyone show me the bedrooms?"
Chet stood and stretched.
"Sure, no problem." Broots picked up Debbie, who had already fallen asleep on the couch, and Angelo followed as Chet lead them out of the room.
Ashlee, who had been quite since the ordeal at the hospital, was sitting in the corner thinking. Finally she spoke.
"Okay, now will someone please explain to me what the *hell* is going on? I've been thinking this mess over for an hour and I've got nothing. I go to the mall on a seemingly innocent task to get a book for English and I end up giving two strangers a ride and being chased by some thumb-less freak and his henchmen. Anyone care to explain?"
Merideth, Miss Parker and Sydney all exchanged looks. Merideth finally spoke.
"Okay. It all started when I took an IQ test on the internet, apparently at a site that a place called the Centre was monitoring."
Sydney spoke up from his leather easy chair.
"The Centre is a kind of research and development facility, except they don't answer to United States laws. They use people as lab-rats, so to speak, and sell the results of tests to the highest bidder. It was thought that Merideth was a Pretender, a person who can become anyone they want to be. They are able to simulate any situation, and give results, which, like I said, are sold to the highest bidder."
"Right." Merideth said. "So anyway, I get captured by the Centre, but I had already known who these people were because I had accidentally hacked into their mainframe, thinking that it was all a farce. I thought nothing of it until Miss Parker broke down my door. Well to make a long story short…"
"I think it's a little late for that," Ashlee muttered under her breath.
"Miss Parker found out she had a baby, we kidnapped it, left and joined up with Jarod." Merideth concluded.
"So then who's the woman down the hall? And how does everyone know who she is?" Ashlee asked, craving answers for this whole sorted mess. None of her friends were ever going to believe this.
"I'd like an answer to that question too." Jarod piped up from the living room entrance.
***
Mulder's Room
11:10 p.m.
Mulder awake from another bout of sleep that had been plaguing him since his convulsions. Now that he was awake once again his mind turned to the situation at hand. He knew now, for sure, that it wasn't November of 1990, but was September of 1999. Of this he had no doubts, the only problem was he couldn't remember a damn thing that had happened in the last nine years.
He tried to think of a method that could help him remember. Hypnosis was impossible, a psychologist was out of the question, there was no way for him to be the patient and the doctor simultaneously. 'Just face it Mulder, you're shit out of luck.' He thought to himself, getting more and more discouraged by the minute.
Then he realized what he needed to do. He latched onto the one thing he was certain had been prominent in the last nine years, the woman that Diana referred to as 'Agent Scully'.
What went with that name? A word association game began to form as Mulder rolled it around in his mind, letting his thoughts wonder. Dana, cross, aliens, captured, conspiracy, barren, guilt, pride, fear, best-friend, Skinner, FBI, Krychek, Tunguska, ass-kicking, X-Files, Cigarette Smoking Man.
And then everything began to flow more freely, and pictured began to form instead of words and Mulder shouted out in pure triumph as he remembered the last nine years of his life. And he made a vow; Diana Fowley was going to pay.
***
Diana Fowley's Office
Somewhere Outside Copper Harbor
11:11 p.m.
Diana Fowley picked up her phone and dialed the number that was scribbled on the white piece of paper that lay before her. The phone rang five times before she heard an irritated:
"This had better be fucking important or your ass is as good as horse feed."
"Mr. Lyle, I think you'll be pleased with what I have to offer."
Lyle, who was sitting in the back of his car, sat up attentively.
"Who is this?"
"As I understand it Mr. Lyle, you work for the Centre and I work for the people who can expose you. I know I'm not satisfied on my end, and I gather your more than frustrated. I think that, if we work together, we can both be satisfied. What do you say?"
Lyle was silent for a moment.
"What have you got in mind?"
***
Jarod's House
Just Outside Copper Harbor
11:15 p.m.
Miss Parker looked at Jarod in the doorway, startled by his sudden appearance, and the questioning look in his eye. She sighed heavily.
"Look I'll explain it all when Broots and Chet come back. I'm not going re-tell everything five thou…" the ringing of her cellular phone stopped her in mid-sentence and she reached for it. "Parker," she said sounding anxious. This drew curious looks from those around her.
She paused for a moment as the person on the other line talked.
"Byers!! Did you pick them up?…Already? Where are you?…Three more hours? Did Sam bring you the stuff?…Good. And you have the laptops?…Right. And no one followed?…Great. Three hours then. Bye." Miss Parker ended the call and was only greeted by more stares.
"So those were the guys that Broots copied the stuff for!" Merideth said. "So who are they?"
"Like I said, we wait for everyone." Just then Broots and Chet re-entered the room. "Alright. Here it goes." She took a deep breath and Sydney gave her an understanding nod. "A couple of months ago I made a decision, after we found Donoterase." She paused for a moment. "I decided to take down the Centre." She heard gasps from Broots and Sydney, but the loudest came from Jarod.
"What made you decide this?!" Jarod asked.
"The boy. I knew I needed to help him, to make up for not helping you. And the cloning and genetic research, it was just wrong. So I contacted three men known as the Lone Gunmen."
This time it was Broots who cut in.
"You don't mean *the* Lone Gunmen, do you?"
Miss Parker nodded.
"I read their newsletter on your desk and tracked them down. I gave them a false name and told them of my situation. After a few 'first hand' experiences, they agreed to help. So we came up with a plan, one that wasn't to go into effect until I had enough time to gather all that I needed, until we had enough information to take down the Centre completely. But then I was told my work was to be reviewed and I had to kidnap Merideth, so I did, thinking that after the police investigation was started it would be the perfect time to lay out my plan, but then there was another discovery…my baby. That was the final straw." Miss Parker broke off, rubbing her tired eyes, and closing them.
"Aaaannnnddd?" Ashlee asked. "Come on, don't leave me hanging."
Parker smiled and continued.
"Throughout my time with the Lone Gunmen, they told me of some other people in their line of work, people who worked on cases about the paranormal and conspiracies within the government. The X-…"
"FILES!!!" Merideth, Chet and Ashlee all exclaimed simultaneously. Miss Parker, and the rest in the room, stared at them.
"It's a late night TV show on SCIFI. These teenagers made a show about cases they hacked into on the FBI mainframe called the X-Files, except they won't tell us who the agents are. Do you know them?" Ashlee looked on with pleading eyes, a look reflected by both Chet and Merideth.
"Agent's Mulder and Scully. I contacted Agent Mulder about Merideth's disappearance, knowing that they would meet up with Jarod, who, thanks to Broots, I knew was in the area." Miss Parker sighed. "The last I heard of them, I called to warn them that someone, named Agent Diana Fowley, was looking for them. She said that they were missing, but according to Mulder, he had told her they were going on vacation. Later I tried to tell them where to contact me, but I couldn't get through. So I called the Lone Gunmen, told them to get Sam and Bart, and come here."
Miss Parker looked at Jarod, asking with her eyes whether or not they should tell about the other information they had found, but were cut short by a hoarse yell.
"Muuuuullllllllddddddeeeeeerrrrrr!!!!"
Everyone looked at each other.
"I gather agent Scully is awake." Sydney said calmly, as he followed Parker and Jarod out the door.
Broots was left with the three teenagers, who were all staring at the clock above the television set.
"Think he has cable?" Merideth asked, her eyes still not moving from the clock.
"Saw a dish outside." Chet said, in a monotone voice.
"Think they'd care?" Ashlee asked, her voice also the same monotone.
Chet looked at the two girls and said:
"To hell if they care, this is *important*!!" he picked up the remote, clicked on the television and selected the channel. The teenagers all sat down, but Broots remained standing, looking at the TV as the haunting music began to play. Another teenager appeared on the screen, his face shadowed just enough so you couldn't identify him.
"Tonight we bring you another tale from the FBI's most guarded and classified case files, better known as the X-Files. It's about Agent M's missing sister. In the latest case file he declares that a man posing as a Santa Claus killed his sister. Now, from all the other information that we have given you over the last six years, you tell us if it fits. We want your e-mails, opinions and theories, which will be forwarded directly to Agent M's account. If he replies we will post them on our site. Have fun, and remember to write."
The screen faded to black and the show began. The teenagers were glued to the screen, paying close attention to all of the details, from clothing, to people, and to the actual facts surrounding the case. After only a few minutes Broots too found a seat and was drawn in.
***
Mr. Parker's Office
The Centre
11:16 p.m.
Mr. Parker sat at his desk, going over some files when his door swung open. He was about to yell at the person who had just intruded when he noticed who it was.
"Well, if isn't my cigarette smoking colleague."
Mr. Spender walked in and stubbed his cigarette out on Parker's cherry oak desk.
"I am not your colleague, Mr. Parker, I suggest you keep that in mind."
Mr. Parker nodded.
"Of course."
"I'm here to check on your son's progress."
"I haven't heard from him. I assume he's in hot pursuit." Mr. Parker sat behind his desk, attempting not to look intimidated.
"Assumptions are dangerous things, Mr. Parker." Mr. Spender stood and headed for the door. "Just as it is to count your chickens before they…hatch." Mr. Spender looked back as he said the last word, putting extra emphasis on it. After locking eyes with Mr. Parker he walked out.
Parker nearly fell out of his chair after Spender walked out. He couldn't possibly know, could he? Mr. Parker picked up his phone and dialed his son's number again. This time he answered.
"Lyle."
"Lyle, I want that girl, NOW!!" Mr. Parker yelled, looking about the room nervously, hoping that Craig had done his job.
On the other side of the line, Lyle smiled mischievously, but didn't let it show in his voice.
"Of course. I'm on the trail as we speak."
"Good." Parker hung up and relaxed in his chair. Maybe this would work. Because if it didn't…he didn't even want to think of the possibilities.
***
Mr. Lyle's Car
US 41,
Headed to Diana Fowley's Hideout
11:18 p.m.
Lyle hung up his phone and smiled viciously. If his father could have his secrets, so could he. He had never played for anyone but himself, and he wasn't about to start. He had gotten a better offer, an offer that would put him in charge at the Centre, and his father out. The one goal he had been working toward since he had started there. If it meant betraying his father, so be it. It was survival of the fittest, and by god, he was going to win. It was all to perfect. He smiled again, sat back, and thought of all the glorious possibilities.
***
Scully's Room
Jarod's House
11:19 p.m.
After running down three hallways, Sydney, Jarod, and Miss Parker filed into the downstairs room Agent Scully was currently occupying. They entered expecting a dazed and confused Scully, but instead found her still asleep, the pain medication obviously still working it's magic.
Miss Parker walked over and brushed some of the hair off of the agent's forehead.
"She must have just had a bad dream." She sighed and looked at the other men who stood across the bed from her. Jarod was checking her vitals while Sydney stood beside him. "From what I've heard, she and her partner are close."
Jarod nodded.
"Good that means she has something to hold onto. From what I can tell there was some sort of burning to her internal organs. Not enough to kill, but they are serious. I'm going to have to watch for signs of internal bleeding and organ damage. From the burns on her stomach, I'd say that's where the source entered. All I can do know is keep her sedated and give her body time to heal."
"But without her we won't be able to find Agent Mulder, and if they're willing to do this to her, than what's he being put through right now?" Miss Parker exclaimed, worry blanketing her every word.
Sydney looked thoughtfully at the woman on the bed.
"There's no way she could have escaped on her own, if what you say is true. If she were being held in this area, there is no where that a large group could hold her." He paused, "but why would they let her go? They would have had to have known that she would try to save her partner. Why risk it?"
Their eyes lit up as they all reached the same conclusion. Jarod was the first to voice it.
"They want her to lead us to them, so we can be caught!"
This time it was Miss Parker's turn to have the curious expression color her features.
"But why now? I mean they've always been after us, but why draw more people into the mix? Why not leave it to Centre operatives? There has to be something more here, something we've overlooked."
"Well, so far the operatives haven't been able to catch me," Jarod said, "and now that there are more Pretenders roaming about, maybe they got nervous and looked outside for help."
Miss Parker sighed.
"The whole damn Centre could be at risk of being compromised and they wouldn't send for outside help. No, there's definitely something more sinister going on."
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Miss Parker on this one Jarod." Sydney said, an authoritative tone Jarod knew all to well accompanying his words. "The Centre, in all the time I have worked there, has never called for outside help. They've gone outside for funding, but never for help."
"Then I guess we had better find out what they want, but we can't do anything about it now. Agent Scully will be out at least until morning, and the people Parker called aren't due in until three in the morning. I think we should all get some rest, and start working on a plan in the morning."
***
The Living Room
Jarod's House
11:25 p.m.
All four people sat on various pieces of furniture, their eyes glued to the television, until the screen faded to black and a commercial came on. They all sat back into comfortable positions. They had a max of five minutes before the show returned.
"Oh my God, what the hell is this about?! Agent M's sister did *not* die like that!! After everything that has happened, after all of these years she could not have possibly just died like that!!" Merideth said, completely irritated with the way that this file was turning out.
"What about the clones? There were clones of her! CSM brought one of them to Agent M!!" Chet was nearly yelling in frustration. He wanted to kill Agent M for being such a complete idiot.
"So much for I freaken' believe! This ruins the whole thing! Agent M…er Mulder's whole reason for hunting aliens and tracking down government conspiracies has been completely skinned away!! Urg, if he were here I'd smack some sense into him!" Ashlee angrily punched the couch she was sitting on. Broots just continued to watch in amazement how worked up these three people where getting over a simple TV show.
"Smack who?" Miss Parker asked from the doorway. All three teenagers paused.
"Agent Mulder is a moron!" Ashlee finally declared.
Jarod, Miss Parker, and Sydney all looked shocked.
"Excuse me?" She said.
"He actually believes his sister, who was abducted by aliens in a huge government conspiracy, was simply murdered by some cheesy serial killer who liked to pretend he was Santa Clause!" Merideth spat out in contempt.
"Oh, well gee, when you put it that way, he does sound like a moron." Miss Parker's words were dripping with sarcasm as she gave an unbelieving look to the men next to her.
Chet spoke calmly.
"Look, we've followed this show since the beginning, at least me and Mer have. We don't know if it's real or not, we'll have to ask Agents Mulder and Scully, but with all they've told us, all the conspiracies they've set up, they can't just sit here and tell us SM, Agent M's sister, was simply killed by a serial killer. It just doesn't fit!"
Jarod looked at them curiously.
"You do realize that this is just a TV show, right?"
"Yes, of course!" Ashlee said exasperated. "But you would be frustrated too, knowing that someone set you up for this big breaking conspiracy, and all you got was a lame tabloid heading!"
Jarod gave up.
"Look. We should all get some rest. Parker is going to sleep with Catherine in her room, and I have mine. There are only three rooms left. Does anyone volunteer to camp out in the living room?" Chet and Merideth were the first to raise their hands. "Good. Syd, you can take my room. It's the third one on the right upstairs. I'll take the one next to Agent Scully's. Broots, why don't you take the one next to Debbie's, and Ashlee, you can take the one next to Parker's, upstairs second one to the left. Okay?"
"Sure." She replied, but just then the show returned. "Just let me finish this."
Jarod, Miss Parker and Sydney all heaved a sigh and headed off to their rooms. Broots, however, stayed behind, now permanently addicted too.
***
Diana Fowley's Hideout
1:00 p.m.
Agent Fowley sat in an office drinking some strong coffee and contemplating her next move. She had a new partner now, someone with as many morals as a rabid lion, and the connections in the underworld that they might need someday. Because if all went as planned they would be starting their own facility with the perfect Pretender. Or maybe they could forget all of the hassles of actually raising one and training it and sell it to either The Centre or the Syndicate, depending on who was willing to pay more.
These thoughts of greed and power were interrupted by one of her guards, and a man standing behind him. She stood and gave a brilliant smile.
"Mr. Lyle! I'm so glad that you found your way! Have a seat."
Lyle stepped past the guard and took a seat across from Fowley.
"Diana, right?" He asked, and she nodded in response. "This plan is good for both of us, but there is one flaw, how are we going to find them?"
"Well, we have discovered that Agent Scully has outdone us. The tracers that we placed on her clothes have completely disappeared and after looking at the coordinates of the others, well unless this car is a submarine… they're in Lake Superior about a hundred thirteen feet down."
"So how do we find them?" Lyle asked, more relaxed than he had been in days.
Fowley smiled.
"Remember that girl you said helped them?"
Lyle nodded, but then shook his head as he realized what she meant.
"Jarod would have taken her with him, in case I found her."
Fowley looked at him.
"I know that! The girl was obviously a resident here. They are going to ask her where the most likely hiding place will be, she'll say an old copper mine. I've looked to see if they have any on the Internet, and the answer is no. So what this girl is going to do is go to the library and get the maps."
Lyle opened his mouth in realization. It made perfect sense.
"And the biggest library around here would be the Michigan Technological University library."
"Exactly! So we go there tomorrow morning and wait."
As both were patting themselves on the back for a job well done, a man entered the room, different from the last.
"Miss Fowley, I think you should see this."
"Not now!" Fowley growled.
"It's about Agent Mulder."
This caught her attention and she stood. She followed the man out the door, Lyle close behind. As they entered a room full of monitors, the man lead them to one corner with seven monitors dedicated souly to a single room, apparently Agent Mulder's. He turned up the volume to the highest level. At first all you could here was static that was so loud you wanted to cover your ears, but after adjusting a few knobs and listening closely they could hear his whispered words through clenched teeth.
"If she so much as laid a finger on Scully I am going to tear her from limb to limb! 1990 my ass! Diana is going to pay for this! Her and that cigarette smoking freak! I swear to God…."
Diana turned the volume off and shook her head.
"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this." She turned to the man. "Dirk, give him another dose of Solution Exoneration."
Dirk nodded and headed out the door.
A few minutes later, with Fowley and Lyle watching the monitors, Dirk entered the room, causing Mulder to raise his head and look at the man, then a look of horror passed over his usually deadpan features.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Dirk smiled.
"Just something to help you forget."
Mulder leaned back, hoping that there was something that could help him, anything, but there was nothing he could do, he was strapped down. As the needle entered his vein he willed himself to remember and let the memories take him over.
Fowley smiled.
"Soon he will forget everything after 1990 and we'll have him on our side, making my life easier, and yet another thing we can sell to the Syndicate, for the right price of course."
Lyle smiled and looked back to the screen. The man lay still on the bed.
***
Houghton County Airport
3:25 a.m.
The Lone Gunmen, Sam, and Bart climbed off of the plane they had been confined to for the last five hours. They walked stretching their legs, and looking around at their unfamiliar surroundings. They saw a light on in the terminal and walked towards it. Inside stood a man, wearing a red vest declaring him as a Houghton County Airport clerk. Next to the tall, blond man stood an older man and a teenage boy. The older man had gray hair, but they had no doubt that in his younger years he had had dark hair, just like the boy next to him. He had a build that indicated military service and his clothing choice of pressed dress pants and a short sleeved white dress shirt, reflected that hypothesis.
The boy next to him was clothed more casually, along the lines of popular dress, wearing a pair of semi-baggy jeans, a white T-shirt with a flannel overtop.
The party of five, who had just exited the plane, entered the terminal. Byers walked up to the teenager. He stopped and extended his hand.
"Hello, Tye?"
The boy turned and looked at him.
"You the Lone Gunmen?" The boy asked, taking the hand, but still tense. Just then Tye saw the men behind the three unfamiliar men, and started to back away, heading toward a pre-determined out, just in case. As he slowly backed away, so did the Major. "This is a trap! I don't know who you are, but you're not…"
The three Lone Gunmen looked around and realized that the boy and his older companion had their eyes fixated on the two sweepers behind them. A look of realization came over them, but before they could speak, Sam piped up. "Look, we aren't sweepers, I mean we were, but we're working to help Miss Parker now. She's trying to take down the Centre." Sam sounded as though he were telling the truth, but the words did nothing to reassure Tye or Major Charles. They continued to back away. "It's the truth!" Sam said, almost pleadingly. "You can call Miss Parker if you want, and ask for Jarod, he's with her!"
Tye and the Major stopped. They exchanged a look, then looked to see were the clerk was, perhaps he could help. That, however, fell through when they realized that he had slipped away while they had been talking. The Major contemplated the situation. He pulled out his cell phone.
"What's the number?"
Byers spoke.
"438-269-2486"
The Major punched in the number and let it ring.
***
The Living Room
Jarod's House
3:30 a.m.
The phone rang causing all three occupants to jump. As they looked around and rubbed their eyes, they realized, with great relief, that it had only been a phone. They all looked at the screen, which portrayed the characters they had been watching for the last four hours. They hadn't realized that a marathon would be on after the new episode. They had finally fallen asleep, Merideth and Chet on the couch and Ashlee on the floor. Ashlee jumped to locate the ringing while Chet and Mer attempted to untangle themselves from the blanket they shared.
After the phone rang twice, Ashlee located it in the leather jacket that Miss Parker had left downstairs. She pushed the send button and put the phone to her ear cautiously. She had never used one before.
"Hello?"
"Who is this?" came a male voice over the line. He sounded harsh, but Ashlee remained calm.
"Well, I'm Ashlee, but this is Miss Parker's phone. Can I take a message?"
"Where is she?"
Ashlee shrugged at the questioning looks she was getting from Merideth and Chet, and continued.
"Sleeping."
"Is Jarod there?" The voice continued, unrelenting in tone.
Ashlee was getting sick of this. The least this guy could do was give his name and be a little nicer. Ashlee bit out a reply.
"Well, gee, if I had known I was going to be quizzed I woulda studied!"
The man on the other side of the line sighed.
"Sorry. Look I just need to know if Jarod's there. My names Charles."
"Apology accepted, and yes, Charles, he is here."
"Thank you." She was about to say 'your welcome' when a new voice came over the line.
"Hello?" It said.
"Hey." Ashlee was starting to get confused, but that was just par for the day, so she stayed on. Now Merideth and Chet were also listening in.
"I'm Byers, of the Lone Gunmen, we are supposed to meet Miss Parker. Can you give us directions?"
"Oh! So you're the guy who called earlier!" Merideth had already acknowledged that she knew the name by nodding to Ashlee.
"Yes, I did." The voice was calm and sturdy.
"Alright, well here it goes. Gotta pen and paper?"
***
Jarod's House
5:00 a.m.
Jarod awoke to a knocking on the door, it was more of a pounding actually. He shot up out of bed and ran out into the hall. At the bottom of the stairs Sydney and Parker joined him. Everyone else had apparently slept through the racket. They walked out to the living room, and were greeted by three very tired teenagers, three odd looking men, and the rest were well known among everyone but Chet, Ashlee and Merideth.
"Major and the boy?! What are you doing here?" Parker and Jarod exclaimed at the same time.
The Major entered and gave his son a hug.
"His name is Tye." He said, referring to the boy.
Jarod smiled at him, and shook his hand.
"So we meet again." They both grinned. That's when he noticed that Parker and the five other men were missing. "Do you know what Sam and Bart are doing here?" He asked his father.
"They're helping Miss Parker. They said that they gathered information for her and brought it to the Lone Gunmen. Then they came here. Tye here was surfing their web site," he pointed indicating the Lone Gunmen, "and saw the update. He's been talking to them for a while, so when he said that the place they were describing sounded like the Centre, and a little convincing, they agreed to let us help."
Jarod nodded and led them into the living room where, in the far corner, Miss Parker, the Lone Gunmen, Bart and Sam were talking. In the other corner, furthest from them, sat Ashlee, Chet and Merideth on the couch, looking like they had all gotten less than the required amount of sleep.
Jarod walked in and cleared his throat loudly, gaining everyone's attention.
"I think introductions are in order." The people emerged from their corners and all stood together and completed their introductions. "Now that we got that out of the way, what do you say we talk about what exactly is going on here?"
They all nodded and went to sit down. The Lone Gunmen sat together on a couch, Chet and Merideth on a love seat horizontal to the couch, Jarod, the Major, Miss Parker each occupied the remaining chairs, so Ashlee and Tye were left with the floor. Soon they were in deep discussion, filling in the Major and Tye to what had happend over the last forty-eight hours. The Lone Gunmen had also taken out some time to check on their friend.
It had been three hours of discussing details and meaningless chitchat when Broots, Debbie and Angelo arose and came out. They decided to break for breakfast and then discuss what they should do about the missing Agent Mulder. They had already decided that Parker's plan to take down the Centre would come in second.
***
Mr. Parker's Office
The Centre
8:00 a.m.
Mr. Parker was at his desk. He had left at midnight and had just returned. He now sat and awaited his impending doom. He was certain that it was only a matter of time before everyone knew what he had done. Playing God had its consequences, and he was sure that they were about to hit full force, and there was nothing he could do to stop them. Just as he was contemplating his fate, there was a knock at his door.
"Enter," his baritone voice boomed. He was glad that his worry didn't show.
Craig entered, a smile gracing his features.
"It's done."
Parker smiled. He opened his desk drawer and pulled something out. Before Craig's brain could send his muscles the command to run, he had fallen dead to the floor, his gray matter spattered on the glass doors behind him. Mr. Parker calmly picked up the phone and called for a team of Cleaners.
He looked down at the man, a cold expression on his face. It was survival of the fittest here at the Centre, and he had done what he had had to.
***
Jarod's House
9:00 a.m.
After a hearty breakfast of pancakes and waffles, and getting cleaned up, they congregated in the living room, ready for some serious planning. Jarod started the conference.
"Well, we do know that Mulder was kidnapped, we assume by Agent Fowley. We know that Agent Scully was allowed to escape with major injuries, and how she got any distance is still a mystery. She's sure to know where her partner is, but she's unconscious. We'll have to wait for her to wake up."
"How long will that be?" asked a concerned Frohike.
Jarod brow frowned.
"It's hard to say. I've had her sedated since we found her yesterday, to make sure that her body started to heal. She's stable, and everything looks good, so I was hoping that when the medication wears off in a couple hours, we could talk to her."
"We don't have a couple hours!" Langly said impatiently.
After a few uncomfortable moments, where everyone's thoughts grasped the reality of that statement, Tye's eyes lit up.
"Ashlee's been here a while, right? Where's the most likely place that Fowley would be hiding out?"
They locked eyes, and for a moment neither could look away. Ashlee shook herself out of it, an awkward feeling sweeping over her, as a blush rose on her cheeks.
"Well," she paused for a moment thinking. "The best place to hide out up here would have to be the old copper mines. This place used to be totally reliant on them, but it got too expensive and they all shut down. The only problem is that there are tons of them and they're hard to find."
They all sat and thought for a moment.
"What day is it today?" Ashlee asked.
"Thursday." Sam said, he himself trying to think of a way to rescue Agent Mulder.
Ashlee thought for a moment.
"I know someone who can help us out! Brandon, he works at the Tech library. They have all the old maps of the copper mines there!"
Jarod nodded, a plan formulating in his mind.
"Alright. Why don't you go down and get them, take Tye with you. But first…" Jarod went on explaining the details as everyone listened.
***
Mulder's Room
9:30 a.m.
Mulder awoke slowly, a fog clouding his mind, and a killer headache preventing any thought processes. He sat with his eyes closed and slowly tried to lift his head again, with the same results. After deciding to keep his head on the pillow, his headache receded and he was able to think again. There was something nagging at him from the recesses of his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it. The more he thought about it the more frustrating it became, so he refused to think about it at all, deciding that it would come to him when it was meant to. Instead he opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. Nothing was familiar. He tried to sit up again, and then realized he was strapped down. This screamed 'bad day'.
He heard the door open and lifted his head to see the person who had just entered.
"Diana?! What are you doing here?"
Diana smiled.
"I came to see you, Fox."
Mulder smiled, and then frowned.
"Where am I?"
"In the hospital. You collapsed. Do you know what year it is?"
Mulder rolled his eyes.
"Of course! 1990."
All right, that's all I've got for now. I'll try and write more ASAP, but you know how it is, damned nice weather keeps distracting me! But the more replies I get, the more you boost my ego, the faster the next part comes out. So write and tell me if you liked it, hated it, why you hated/liked it, whatever.