Disclaimer: Steven and Craig, I still like you so I'll admit that I don't own the characters belonging to you. However, when it comes to you Mr. Carter. I'm not going to admit they're yours and should you sue me I'll say you drove me to kidnapping them because you mistreat your characters and that it was my duty to save them from you.
Author's Note: So it took me like 6 months and a total rewrite to finish this thing, but I got it done! Yay! I just want to say thanks to Andi, Schuyler and all those people that still read this thing. It looks like there's only one more part, but then again we've heard that before, haven't we? Oh well, thank you for being patient and enjoy!!
Title - Feelings of
Indignation Part Eight
Author - Ashlee
E-mail address - zyp959@hotmail.com
Rating - M
Category - Adventure/ Alternate Universe / Pretender/X-Files Crossover
Series/Sequel - Part Eight of Feelings of Indignation
Spoilers - N/A
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 Eight
By Ashlee
Lorrene's Car
Downtown Houghton, Michigan
5:35 p.m.
Lorrene and her daughter, Amber, sat in the car watching the green Ford truck they had been following for the last thirty minutes three cars ahead. They sat in silence until Amber spoke aloud.
"Mom, something weird is going on with dad, he said he was here for a funeral, but while we waited for you he was smiling."
Lorrene nodded in thought.
"I agree. He would never let you come visit me, especially not on a school week. Something is definitely wrong."
Amber grinned mischievously.
"What do you say we keep following him?" Lorrene returned her look and smiled.
"I say that's an excellent idea." Lorrene said as she drove after her ex-husband.
***
Unknown Address,
London, England
5:40 p.m.
All the members of the Syndicate were sitting in a well-furnished room, with antique furniture and what was sure to be extraordinarily expensive pictures. They all sat lounging in various pieces of furniture when the man who had called the meeting arrived. The last member entered and took a large puff of his cigarette before extinguishing it in a glass that a servant was carrying past.
"I'm glad you all could make it." C.G.B Spendor, better known as the Cigarette Smoking Man, said in a calm voice as he walked over to stand facing his colleagues.
"What is this all about?" Asked one of the men.
"This, my friend, is about our work at the Centre."
"You said you had that taken care of." Came a deeper voice from one of the plush over-stuffed chairs.
"A slight miscalculation. It seems that Agent Fowley wasn't trustworthy, but that situation is being remedied as we speak. No, our problem is much worse."
"Has our work been compromised?" Asked the youngest of the men. Spendor took a long drag of the cigarette he had lit during the conversation and blew it out slowly.
"Our project has been taken out of the holding facility. Thankfully its captors didn't discover it's importance, but it seems inevitable that if the project isn't secured soon, it will be compromised."
"How could you let this happen?" Spendor glared at the man.
"I was instructed to keep a low profile, if you recall, in case this should happen so there would be no link to us. I did as instructed. Unfortunately these instructions were flawed and now we must deal with the consequences."
"What do you suggest?" Spendor took a long puff and smiled around the cigarette.
***
Jarod's House
Near Copper Harbor, Michigan
5:50 p.m.
Merideth cautiously peered around the corner, spotting the two gunmen, Mr. Lyle and the back of a woman with brunette hair, though obviously not Miss Parker. She walked carefully behind one of the gunmen, going unnoticed by all of the bad guys in the row. Chet, however, noticed her approach and locked his eyes on her. Before she could make her move the man she was about to hit turned on her. The best she could do was deflect the man's arm as he shot.
In her still groggy state Merideth was able to do little, but fortunately for her he didn't shoot her, instead knocking her out with the butt of his gun. The rest of the group stood still, unwilling to risk the life of the baby that Agent Fowley still held in her arms. And while Jarod had hoped that this might be distraction enough for him to make a quick move on Lyle, he was wrong. In fact Lyle barely flinched, never removing his gun or eyes from the collection of people in front of him.
After assuring himself that Fowley had a gun trained on their prisoners, Lyle finally looked down at the girl, and nodded as to affirm that it was she.
"Take her, tie her up. We're going to wait here until the firing squad outside decides to come in here. Then we take them out and we leave with her and the baby."
The other gunman nodded in affirmation and did as he was told.
"As for the rest of you," Lyle indicated to Chet, Jarod, Miss Parker, Scully, Sydney and the Major. "I've decided not to kill you." From the doubtful look on Parker's face he smirked. "No, not because I like you all, because, quite frankly you've killed all my men. Which you would think would make me want to kill you all the more. However, if I took the time to do that my plan would fail, you'd catch me and I'd end up empty handed. So, what I'm going to do is sit here and wait for Sam and Bart and that other little brat to come back here and try to save you. Then I'll kill them all, making me happy, and then leave with the girl and the baby and we, well at least me and Diana, can live happily ever after. The end."
Jarod growled at him.
"You know it won't be that easy Lyle. I won't let you get away."
Lyle looked over at Fowley and smiled.
"He won't *let* me get away?" He and Fowley laughed. "Jarod, you and your little band of merry men can try to hunt me down for the rest of eternity for all I care. By the time you manage to find us we'll be long gone."
Parker smiled at him.
"You can't do your own dirty work, can you? You need some dumb fuck sweeper to take care of it for you!"
Lyle raised his eyebrow at his sister and pointed his gun at Jarod, aiming carefully. Jarod flinched a little and Lyle pulled the trigger.
***
Outside
Tye had determined that there had to be two more sweepers outside. The only problem was finding them. By now they had to realize that their other colleagues were dead and that there were two gunmen. As he approached the corner of the house, he paused hearing a noise. Slowly, while holding his gun in the ready position, he turned the corner and found himself face to face with Sam. They both quietly sighed in relief.
"How many did you get?" Tye asked in a whisper.
"One. I can't find anyone else, how about you?"
"Two." Tye's bloodstained shirt giving proof of his ordeal. Sam just nodded. He opened his mouth to say more, but the crack of a gun being fired caused him to turn his head, and as he did a bullet struck him in the center of his forehead. At first there was nothing but a small round hole, then blood poured from the wound as Sam, eyes still open, fell silently to the ground.
Tye looked into the woods, where the shot must have come from in silent shock. He turned his gaze from the woods back to the now lifeless body lying at his feet. The sweeper who had killed Sam knew not to kill the boy – they had been shown pictures and told to prevent it if at all possible, so before firing a round at him, he shouted at the shocked individual.
"Drop your weapon!"
Tye turned from the body to once again stare at the woods. He made no other move. Loosening his grip on the gun he let it fall to the grass with a thud. The sweeper quickly descended on him and took him, without opposition, inside where the rest of his team was waiting.
***
US 41
Highway between Hancock and Calumet
5:55 p.m.
Lorrene was thankful for the rush hour traffic that allowed her to follow Ken without being noticed. She had stayed at least three cars behind, but had varied her distance based on traffic density. As they neared the exit that would either lead him to the airport or to his friend's house, Lorrene slowed falling further behind. She and Amber watched as Ken turned to the right, leading to Houghton County Airport. Amber looked aver at her mom, and she looked back. This was definitely suspicious.
"I'm going to go through the back way, in case he spotted us." Lorrene explained as she drove past where Ken had turned and took the next turn. It took them a few minutes longer, but they reached the airport and found Ken's abandoned truck.
Lorrene looked at Amber for the decision.
"I say we wait out here and go see what's up after he leaves." Her mom agreed. They pulled off to the far corner of the parking lot and waited.
***
Jarod's House
6:00 p.m.
Jarod fell to one side as the bullet grazed his upper thigh, cutting just enough to cause bleeding and pain. Grabbing his now injured leg, Jarod fell back on the couch that sat behind him. Lyle turned back to his sister as the Major and Scully tended to Jarod's flesh wound, the bullet had just grazed his leg.
"Don't test me sis." He stated venomously. "Or next time I won't take the time to aim so carefully."
Parker just kept staring, not willing to give Lyle the satisfaction of her running to Jarod's side.
Before anyone else could make any comments they heard a door open. They looked up simultaneously, but were hit with shock and disappointment as a sweeper dragged in Tye, who wasn't even bothering to fight. Tye was thrown into the crowd roughly, but didn't fall. Parker, while still staring at Lyle, walked over to the boy, and put her arm around him comfortingly. Looking into his eyes she knew that he would be fine, he just needed a few minutes to regain his bearings. She also noted the blood on his shirt, but from the look on his face, and the coloring of his skin, it wasn't his.
Parker and the rest of the group all listened as the sweeper informed Lyle that he and his partner were the only ones that had survived Tye and Sam's sniperfest and that somewhere along the way both Sam and Bart had been killed. The faces of all the hostages fell as the man continued to talk. The only people they had left were far from heroes. There was Angelo and Debbie, somewhere outside who had obviously not been captured, and the LGM and Broots who were probably on their way back from town by now, but the minute they walked in they too would be captured. They were up shit creek without a stick much less a paddle.
It was at that moment that Lyle and Fowley decided to wrap up their mission.
"Let's get the girl and the baby out of here." The six remaining sweepers nodded in affirmation as one took the baby from Fowley's arms and four others grabbed the still unconscious Merideth. Chet's jaw visibly set as they carried his friend out the door, but he didn't dare make a move, nor did the others. They would be able to save her later, but they'd have to remain alive to do so.
Fowley smiled at the group.
"Well, we're off. But before we go, I'd like to congratulate Dana on her impeccable evasion skills. You almost made me give up hope."
Lyle nodded and added in his two cents.
"As for your lame attempt at tracking that Ashlee girl. Nice try, but you forgot Jarod, I know who I'm dealing with." They both smiled and waved goodbye as the one remaining sweeper stayed behind until he got a call on his radio. He slowly backed out of the house and purposely headed in the opposite direction of where Lyle and Fowley had gone. He would now go to the airport and hop the next flight out, as to not lead anyone to the hideout.
But nobody followed.
***
Diana Fowley's
Hideout
Near Copper Harbor, Michigan
Ashlee's Room
6:01 p.m.
Ashlee awoke slowly, a fuzzy feeling restricting her eye sight and brain function. She lifted her head and to her immense relief, didn't have a headache. She slowly looked around and realized that the fuzziness that greeted her was the absence of her glasses. Swearing softly she saw that they had merely fallen onto her lap, but might as well be in another room. With her hands tightly bound behind her and to the chair she was sitting on there was no possible way that she would be able to put them back on. Not that it mattered. There were bigger issues at hand.
Closing her eyes, Ashlee leaned her head to rest against the back of the chair. This would definitely have to go down on record as her worst day ever. Living with her dad had been hell. He resented her for being like her mother, independent and unwilling to put up with his derogatory attitude towards her. Because of it she had gotten smacked around, but had eventually been able to leave. But none of that even held a glimmer of a flame to this.
But what was worse, if that was even possible, was that for some reason Mr. Lyle, of all people, was scared of her father. Yes Hannibal the Cannibal himself was afraid of some no name nothing from some hick town in Wisconsin. Now if that wasn't something to tear at one's mind, what was? And how the hell did Lyle even know her father, he worked at a water treatment plant for Christ's sake! But that's not what scared her, what was scary was that if Lyle was scared of Mr. Ken Lau then Ken had to be one sick mother fucker. And that scared the shit out of her.
***
Houghton County
Airport
Hancock, MI
6:05 p.m.
Lorrene and Amber had been sitting outside for a good ten minutes before Ken exited and got into his car. As he was driving off Lorrene and Amber both noticed he was talking on a cell phone.
They looked at each other for only a split second before they both exited the car and walked into the airport.
"Let me talk to the clerk, okay?" Amber nodded in agreement and stood tentatively by her mother's side as they approached the car rental clerk. Playing on a gut feeling Lorrene approached the clerk smiling.
"Can I help you?" Sara, the man who had given Lyle the old rusty van, asked.
"Yes, I'm looking for a man that would have arrived two days ago. He goes by the name of Lyle. He's about six foot two with brown hair, brown eyes and a lean build. He's really arrogant." Lorrene said, basing her description on what Jarod had told her of the man.
Sara nodded in recognition.
"Yeah he's a real asshole. Seems a lot of people are looking for him too. A man was in here not ten minutes ago asking about him, wanted to know where his hotel was and what type of vehicle he was driving."
"That is weird." Lorrene agreed. Then she plastered on a worried face. "This man who was asking about Lyle, he wasn't about six two, gray hair blue eyes, mid fifties was he?"
"Yeah that's him all right, why?"
"Damn! That's my ex. Lyle, he's my new boyfriend. I know he can be arrogant and obnoxious, but he's really sweet once you get to know him. My ex is determined to rip Lyle limb from limb. We haven't been married for ten years and he's just as jealous!! Damn!"
Sara looked shocked.
"Well, I didn't tell him anything if that helps. Lyle didn't leave any information, and the car he rented was returned to us earlier today."
Lorrene smiled, feigning relief.
"Thank you."
Amber and Lorrene walked quickly out of the airport. After they had gotten back in the car Amber frowned at her mother and gave her a bitter look.
"I think I had better be filled in on this whole fiasco."
Her mother only nodded.
"I have to make a phone call first. Let's get to a pay phone, and after I make the call I'll explain everything."
***
Jarod's Residence
6:20 p.m.
Lyle and company had left ten minutes ago, but everyone had basically stayed where they were minus Tye and Jarod who had gone to bring back Angelo and Debbie, maneuvering them so they wouldn't see the bodies that were now scattered around the lawn. They knew that something would have to be done with the bodies, but at the present they had other business to take care of. Not only were Ashlee and Agent Mulder missing, but now so were Merideth and Mercedes. Luckily for their potential rescuers the baby and Mer had probably been taken to where Fowley and Lyle were holding Ashlee and Mulder.
Chet, who paused from his pacing, was the first one to speak.
"So what are we going to do? We have four people missing and here we are up to our eyeballs in dead bodies and no closer to finding the first two."
Jarod responded in a voice that barely concealed his anger.
"We go ahead with the original plan. We wait for the Lone Gunmen, Scully points us in the right direction and we go save them all."
"Lyle's a dumb ass Chet, he'll bring Mer and the baby to where he has the others stashed. We can save them and this time we'll make sure he doesn't get away." The calmness in Miss Parker's voice and the way she was loading her gun was enough to reassure Chet that Lyle wasn't making it out alive they next time the two of them met. The same, he could see, went for Agent Scully and the Major. Tye wasn't looking all that thrilled either.
Sydney, it seemed, was the only one concerned.
"You can't go in there with this state of mind. If you're too consumed by your desire for revenge you're not only risking the chance of success but the chance that they get out alive."
Jarod shook his head.
"You don't get it Syd. They have my daughters, one of whom they impregnated and another who's only a month old. I refuse to put them through the hell I went through. I got all of them into this, and I'm getting them out. Killing Lyle will just be a bonus."
Just then they heard a vehicle pull up outside. Tye went to the window and sighed in relief.
"It's just the gunmen."
The Major nodded.
"Ready Agent Scully?"
She nodded in agreement.
"Let's get that bitch."
"Syd, you staying here?"
"Yes. Someone has to keep and eye on Debbie and Angelo. Go ahead, but be safe and remember what I said. Keep a level head."
Jarod nodded as he left, his mouth and eyes speaking aloud the determination that he held in his heart.
Sydney sat quietly down on the couch. Knowing that Angelo and Debbie were resting comfortably in the bedroom down the hall did very little to comfort him. Three of the people who meant the most to him were out risking their lives on a mission he wasn't sure they would accomplish. He knew Jarod and the Lone Gunmen had the ability, but he was worried that the anger Jarod was feeling would impair his judgement, putting all their lives in danger.
He was so deep in thought that when the shrill ring of a cell phone sounded he jumped. Climbing out of the chair he quickly recovered Jarod's cell phone from behind a chair.
"Hello?"
"May I speak with Jarod?" Came an unfamiliar woman's voice.
"I'm afraid he's stepped out, can I take a message?"
"This is important. My ex husband's looking for Lyle."
"Who is this?"
"I'm Lorrene, Ashlee's mother. My ex came up for the weekend saying he was attending a funeral. I followed him to the airport and found out that he was looking for Lyle."
"Do you know why? What's his name?"
"How the hell should I know?! I just met you people." She responded angrily to the first question, but calmed herself. "His name is Ken Lau."
Sydney thought for a moment.
"The name doesn't mean anything to me. And without Broots here to hack into the Centre mainframe I'm afraid I can't check his name without giving away our locaation. Does he know anything?"
"No, the woman at the airport didn't have any information to give."
Sydney nodded.
"In that case we won't worry about it for now. Jarod is away, but I do think that you should come up here." She agreed to be up there tomorrow, she would have to run home and get some things. Sydney gave her instructions and hung up the phone to wait.
***
Fowley's Hideout
6:40 p.m.
Ashlee was sitting calmly in her chair when she heard the door open. She turned slightly to see a familiar person being shoved in the room. She would have jumped to her feet had it been possible. Instead she looked on amazed.
"Mer! Are you okay, what happened?"
Lyle, who had been the one enforcing the girl's entry into the room, spoke for her.
"I took what's mine, and in the process took care of a few annoying sweepers. All in a days work. And should they try to retrieve you I may have a chance to rid myself of a few more pests." He smiled evilly.
Ashlee was getting mad. This asshole had the nerve not only to kidnap her, but to blatantly threaten her friends right in front of her, almost guaranteeing they were going to die as a result of trying to help her.
"What about my dad scares you Lyle?" She asked calmly.
Lyle paused, shocked, then anger returned to his features as he slapped her hard across the face. Ashlee just stared back at him, unwilling to let him see how much the slap had stung.
"Nothing. You have a new roommate." He roughly shoved the still injured Merideth into a chair and tied her. Leaving them with nothing more than a glare.
As soon as he left Ashlee turned to her friend.
"Are you all right Mer?"
"Yeah, I just hope everyone else is. I was out until a little before they came, I was still drugged and then I tried to help but a sweeper knocked me out."
Ashlee nodded.
"I guess all we can do is pray, and with the way it's going it ain't looking good."
***
Fowley's Hideout
6:50 p.m.
Lyle and Diana stood over the baby talking to one another.
"There's more to this baby than it's being a Pretender Lyle, why else would the Syndicate want it? I'll tell you why. Because it's the first alien/human hibrid *born*. This is proof that they can make them, breed a new race if the aliens attack before expected, before the vaccine is complete. This baby is the key to our survival."
Lyle looked on incredulously.
"How can you be sure?"
"I heard the smoking man talking about it to someone on the phone, about a project at the Centre. It was a while ago, before he hired me to take care of Mulder and Scully. I had almost forgotten about it until you came."
"Is there some kind of test that we can do? There has to be something, some way to prove it."
***
Lone Gunmen's
Van
US 41 Cross Section
6:55 p.m.
They had pulled over at Scully's insistence and were setting up their equipment. They knew that the building where the people were being held would have a security system, one that was probably on line, not to a police station but on a network of computers. As Broots and Frohike worked on getting connected to the system, Byers and Langly were hooking up Parker, Jarod, Tye, Chet and Charles with electronic communication equipment so they could communicate with one another and with the van, as well as some other necessary equipment.
Agent Scully would stay in the van with the Gunmen and Broots giving instructions as she remembered them while Broots and the LGM kept a look out for sweepers and guards. And if any of the four got into trouble on their own they would be able to direct another member over to help.
After they were suited up the five left quietly walking the mile to the building and testing their equipment as they walked. When they approached the quarter mile mark they separated in order to approach from separate angles, covering all four sides of the building as Scully had described it. Parker from the rear, Jarod from the front, and the Major and Tye each took a side. Chet would stay outside and wait for them. Since the building was an old copper mine, the vents that lead out of the building were huge, allowing proper ventilation and a perfect entrance for four people on a rescue mission.
Jarod waited patiently outside until the rest had gotten into to the vents before making his move – walking right into the building. After getting the signal he adjusted the sling that allowed his rifle lie over his shoulder, and held the handgun in his right hand nonchalantly as he entered. Surprisingly no one was there. He continued to walk cautiously taking his instructions from the LGM.
Parker crawled through the vents and regretted not wearing less clothing. It was hot as all hell in the shaft and breathing was a task in and of itself.
"Now I know how Bruce Willis felt in Die Hard," Parker mumbled as she continued to crawl until the voice in her ear instructed her to stop. She did and cautiously removed the cover of the vent leading to the room below – the one next to agent Mulder's. She landed on the floor in a crouched position barely making a sound. Byers' voice informed her that there were two men in an observation room two doors down the hall to her right. She nodded, and cautiously opened the door – the hallway was empty just as the Gunmen had said. Still she walked gun ready to the observation room. She knew that Jarod was seconds from joining her so she made her move. She knocked on the door and waited her gun, complete with silencer, pointed where the man's head would be when he opened the door.
She didn't have to wait long – within a few seconds the man opened the door and didn't have enough time to register that the person had a gun to his head before it was blown off. The other man in the room looked over in time to see his colleague drop to the floor and the woman standing behind him before he too was shot. Parker stepped over the body and looked into the surveillance room to see if Mulder was present, when another gunshot rang out and Jarod entered.
"'Nother guard," he whispered.
Nodding Parker pointed.
"He's there. You take care of him – I want Lyle."
Jarod considered arguing, he wanted a piece of Lyle too, but in the end he knew that he wouldn't win. Lyle had done more to her than Lyle had even done to him so in the end he gave in.
"Okay. Just be careful. The bastard is probably waiting."
It had taken a while and some good instructions from the three men sitting in the van but Tye had eventually maneuvered his way so that he was in the air duct above the room where Merideth and Ashlee were. He wanted to jump down and untie Ashlee and haul her and Merideth to safety, but he couldn't see if anyone else was in the room and he knew he would have to wait for his father before he could rescue them. There would have to be someone keeping vigilance while the other got ready to transport the other two. Tye didn't have to wait long however, soon the voice of Frohike sounded in his ear telling him it was a go.
The Major stood outside the door, holding his silencer-clad gun at the ready. He had already killed two guards, one of which took him by surprise, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with yet another, and according to the Lone Gunmen he wouldn't have to. After one last look around he entered.
"Major Charles!" Both girls cried in unison. A few seconds later Tye dropped from the ceiling.
"Tye!" Ashlee exclaimed. "Is everyone okay?"
"Bart and Sam were killed, but everyone else is safe. C'mon I want you girls to follow Tye out." The major instructed pointing back towards the air duct.
"But Mulder…" Ashlee started.
"Parker and Jarod are getting him right now." Ashlee and Merideth both nodded. Anxious to get them out the Major brought the chair so it stood under the duct and boosted all three back into the vent allowing them to crawl to safety.
Just as he got the vent cover back on he heard footsteps approaching. Charles quickly jumped from the chair and crouched on the floor waiting. The footsteps stopped outside the door and after a short pause the door slowly creaked open. The major waited for his shot, but nobody entered. He stood, and a shot rang out. The bullet catching him in his upper arm and throwing him off balance. As he fell he saw the face of some unknown sweeper. Aiming as he fell Major Charles put a bullet straight between his eyes. He waited for more people to come through the door, but none did. He slowly stood and inspected the wound. The bullet had gone clean through and he was bleeding. He ripped off a strip of his undershirt and tied it around the wound and used his belt as a tourniquet above the wound. After he was done he went out in the hallway and followed Scully's instructions as to find Parker, who was the only one of the four still in the building.
***
Another Room
"This is the only way," Fowley said as she tapped the syringe she had filled with a dark liquid.
"But you said that this could very well kill her, we need the baby." Lyle said, looking uncertain.
"As long as we have Merideth and her baby we have all we need. And even the dead baby is worth a lot to us. We can examine her genetic makeup and clone her, or even make her better." Fowley was now hovering over the baby, syringe in hand. She glanced at Lyle, who nodded, and plunged the needle into the baby's arm and slowly administered the liquid.
***
The Air Ducts
Mulder followed Jarod through the maze of ducts according to the experts who sat in the van.
"So who are you?" Mulder asked in a whispered voice.
"You don't remember anything?" Jarod asked.
"I remember someone with red hair. That's about it. I know that Diana lied to me."
"I'm Jarod and I'll have to check you out when we get back, but right now we have a more pressing matter at hand, getting the hell out of here."
"Where are we going?"
"There are some people in a van ready and waiting to take us back to my house."
Mulder nodded and they raced through the air ducts until they reached the end of the tunnel, where they met Chet, Tye, Ashlee and Merideth. Chet took hold of Merideth, slowly helping her along and Jarod did the same for Mulder. Ashlee was able to walk on her own, but the bruises on her face and her now black eye caused Tye to worry. Jarod took one look back and hoped that his father and Parker were all right. After one last glance they were in the woods and heading back to the van.
***
Inside
Parker walked down the hallway silently, her gun at her side but still at the ready. She was listening intently to the instructions being transmitted to her earpiece.
"Okay you should be meeting the Major at the next intersection," came the familiar voice of Byers.
"All right," Parker whispered back. She walked to the next intersection of halls and waited. A few seconds later the Major met her. They smiled at one another. "Are you okay?" Parker asked as she saw the wound.
"I'm fine. Lyle and Fowley are two rooms down. I'm not going to be able to be on the front line, but I'm sure as hell going to back you up."
Parker hesitated then nodded. Together
they walked to the room. Major Charles stood behind the door, while Parker crouched
next to it. He mouthed to three, then yanked open the door as Parker stood,
pointing her gun. As she looked in she saw Lyle and Fowley standing next to
a gurney where her baby laid still, too still for her comfort.
"What the fuck did you do to her?" Parker yelled.
"The baby was an alien-human hibrid. We injected her with the vaccine." Fowley explained.
"But because the alien DNA is intertwined with her DNA the outcome is unpredictable." Lyle continued, staring down the barrel of his sister's gun. From the corner of his eye he saw the major enter and gasped.
"Check her pulse," the older man ordered Fowley, who complied. "Well?" he asked when Fowley failed to tell him the result.
Shaking her head, she responded.
"She's alive."
Parker nodded.
"Well, you're not," and with that Parker pulled the trigger killing Fowley. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lyle tense.
"Now for you Lyle," she adjusted the gun so it was pointing at him, "I personally don't think you're worth the cost of the bullet I'm about to use on you, but you've fucked me and the people I loved over one too many times. I warned you Lyle." When Lyle didn't respond, she shot him and slowly lowered her gun. She stood still for a moment, as if contemplating her actions, but after a few seconds she stepped over the body of her fallen brother and grabbed her daughter. Together, she and Major Charles raced from the hideout to the van where everyone waited.
***
Jarod's House
11:00 p.m.
It had taken Jarod a good hour to check everyone out and give confirmation that all were well. It had been especially hard to convince Tye and Chet that Merideth and Ashlee were both in the clear, aside from the bruises that had formed on Ashlee's face. Merideth was alert and talking, but Ashlee, one the other hand was more quiet, she had spent the whole night sitting next to Tye on the love seat, his arm wrapped protectively around her.
Mulder, on the other hand, had been hauled away by Scully into another room. He was promptly put to sleep, and Scully followed suit after getting Sydney to promise to help her get Mulder's memory back.
There were only small bouts of conversation after they had explained what happened to Sydney, and Sydney filled them in on Lorrene's situation. Ashlee lifted her head for a minute her eyes lighting up, but then her head dropped again and the conversation continued. Jarod, Broots, and the Lone Gunmen agreed to get to work on the Ken situation tomorrow morning, but now the adrenaline rush was wearing off and everyone was tired. Miss Parker slipped off soon after Sydney's update with the baby to sleep. Not long after Merideth decided to get some rest, and Chet, refusing to leave her side, followed. Next the Lone Gunmen and Broots headed off deciding to get an early start at cleaning the yard tomorrow, with Jarod's help, who had also decided to go to bed. Soon only Tye, Ashlee, and Sydney were left in the living room.
"Ashlee, are you all right?" Sydney asked in his doctor voice.
"I'm fine, just tired that's all." Ashlee replied. She had known that this was coming, she was just surprised it had taken this long. Right now all she wanted was to get to the laptop that sat on the card table in the middle of the living room.
"Well, I suggest that you and Tye get some rest."
"I agree Ash, it's been a long day and you need to get some sleep." Tye encouraged with a squeeze.
Rubbing her forehead Ashlee looked up.
"I have too much on my mind to sleep. I just want to be alone for a little while, just stretch out on the couch and maybe watch some TV."
"But…" Tye said but was interrupted by Sydney.
"All right Ashlee, we'll leave you alone, but I want you assurance that you're okay and that you won't do anything rash."
"Sydney, I've been through worse. I agreed to be kidnapped, I knew the risk and he only hit me two or three times, no big deal I swear. I just want to be alone. Like Tye said it's been a long day."
Sydney nodded and stood, turning to leave. Tye stood to follow, but after a seconds hesitation stooped and kissed Ashlee on the cheek.
"Good night," he whispered and then they both left the room.
Ashlee turned on the television and waited a minute before walking over to the card table. She admittedly knew nothing about hacking, but Broots had written down instructions on how to access the Centre mainframe for the LGM, and the history of the computer was still intact. Thanks to these resources it took her only fifteen minutes to access the mainframe. She quickly ran a search for her father's name. As it searched she leaned back. According to her mom, who had followed her dad, he was looking for Lyle, who was now dead thanks to Miss Parker. But why was her dad looking for Lyle? Why was Lyle scared of her dad? Why did her life have to be so fucked up? She sighed in frustration as the computer ended its search. There were two files.
Ashlee stared for a moment, the realization hitting hard. Her dad was on the Centre mainframe; this could in no way possibly be good. In fact it had to be the most horrible thing that could have happened. Feeling sick to her stomach she opened the first file and read. It was a biography. It told her father's name, birth date, marriage date, children's birthdays, that information didn't bother her. What bothered her was the rest of the information. Her father was an…assassin. She couldn't believe it, never ever could she have ever imagined this. Listed beyond that were the jobs that he had done. There had to be at least a hundred, dating back to the early seventies.
Okay, Ashlee thought, okay he's an assassin. I can deal with that. I'll just copy this file. She popped in a disk and downloaded the file. She then returned to the previous page and opened the next file. As she read her face turned slightly paler with each paragraph. Each line reinforcing her hatred towards her father. After reading the file she sat silently for a moment, gathering her thoughts. With a nod of self-determination Ashlee downloaded the file. Standing, she put the disk in her jeans pocket and walked over to the end table at the other end of the room where the handguns from the sweepers had been placed. Grabbing one, she checked the clip and put it in the waist of her pants at the small of her back. She grabbed her car keys off the card table and with one last look she left. She was going to find her father, and then she was going to kill him.
Well, that's all for now – let me know what you think!!
Part Nine - coming soon