By Clover Blue
glassrain@hotmail.com
 

Date: 23 Aug 1998
Rating: PG
Category: XRA-X-File/Romance/Angst
Spoilers: Unusual Suspects
Keywords: Mulder/Scully Romance
Summary:  After a rash of unusual murders in Great Britain, Mulder
          and Scully are asked to help a former classmate of
          Mulder's, now a Scotland Yard Inspector, with his
          investigation that leads back to America.
Disclaimer: Agents Scully, Mulder and their cohorts are, of course,
          the Property of Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and Fox.
          Eh, so much for originality.

Note: Feel free to ARCHIVE, all I ask is a little note telling me where
it will be.  Thanks!

Feed back welcome. Enjoy!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Achilles' Sentiment
By Clover Blue

Part 1/7

The FBI sweeper team, lead by Assistant Director Skinner, came to a
padlocked door. The abandoned warehouse was as cold as an ice box, and
smelled of mildew.  It seemed that the rear of the building, where the
team was located, was the locust for the scent. The sweeper team were
poised ready to enter the room with deadly force as a member of the team
cut the lock with a pair of bolt cutters.  Kicking the door open, the
team surged into the room, guns drawn.

What greeted them, was staggering.

Assistant Director Walter Skinner had experienced a great many things
during his career with the FBI.  He'd seen and done things that would
make other men turn away in disgust and horror. Things that woke him up
in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Those experiences, however,
did not prepare him for the sight before him now.

Lying on the floor beneath a dark trench coat, were two unclothed,
intertwined bodies.  Upon further inspection. Skinner deduced that the
two bodies, belonged to Dana Scully and Fox Mulder.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Basement
Five days earlier
1:05 PM

"Look, Scully.  I know this doesn't mean much to you, but it means a
hell of a lot to me.  If working on this case insults your intelligence
that much, maybe I should work it by myself." Mulder snapped.

"Mulder," Scully countered, "that's not what I'm saying at all."

Mulder placed his hands on his hips and leaned over Scully where she sat
in the chair in front of his desk. "Then what are you saying?"

"Mulder, I just think there are some obvious things you're over looking
here." She said.

"Like what?"

"Like Mr. Dodworth.  The man who claimed to have seen the object."

"What about him?"

"Mulder," she said, looking up at him, "Mr. Dodworth is a very ill man."

Mulder shrugged his shoulders. "So?"

"So, he's taking some rather powerful medication.  Which could account
for his description of the object he reported seeing."

Mulder rolled his eyes and sighed.  He turned his back and moved away
from her as she continued speaking. "Mr. Dodworth's description of this
object could be attributed to some hallucinogenic side-effect of the
drugs." She explained watching him sit down behind his desk.

"Okay, Scully," he said, "so how do you explain the humming noise he
reported hearing?"

"The man lives near a power station, Mulder." She said. "He could have
been hearing the sounds of the plant."

"Scully, that plant has been closed for more than a year."

"Alright, Mulder," she said a little exasperated."What do *you* think it
was?"

"You know what I think, Scully." He said flatly.

Folding her hands primly on her lap, she sighed deeply.  "Yes, Mulder.
I know what you think." She conceded mockingly.

It had been like this for almost a week.  The battle of wills began the
week before, after Mulder returned from a meeting with Skinner.  What
the meeting was about, Scully had no idea.  All she knew was when he
returned, Mulder was in a foul mood.  Which meant he needed an outlet
for his anger.  A target.  Which, meant Scully.

It started out small.  A small disagreement here, a quick sarcastic
remark there.  Before long, it became full blown provocation. Now as
they sat in silent contempt of one another, Scully wondered at how
quickly they had come to this point and how easy it was to get there.
That thought unnerved her greatly.

The sudden ringing of the telephone snapped them out of their sullen
mood.

Mulder picked up the receiver.  "Mulder," he answered.  Scully watched
Mulder from the corner of her eye, as he responded to the voice on the
other end of the receiver.

"Uh, huh. Yes." Mulder answered the voice in short replies. "When?
We'll be right there." Hanging up the phone and looked at her. "Skinner
wants us in his office ASAP."

<Perfect,> Scully thought. <Just, perfect.>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Assistant Director Skinner's Office
1:15 PM

Skinner was tapping his fingers on his desk, as was his habit, when
Mulder and Scully entered.

The two agents stood in front of the AD's desk, almost at attention.
"You wanted to see us, sir?" Mulder asked.

"Yes." Skinner said, then motioned to the chairs behind them. "Please,
have a seat agents."

As soon as they were seated, Skinner folded his hands on his desk and
began. "In the past ten days, there has been  reported rash of unusual
homicides in the London area of Great Britain.  The first three victims
were found dead in their homes.  The last two were found dead in their
places of business.  Five victims in all.  All of them dead from some
unknown source. Scotland Yard thinks they have a serial killer on their
hands."

"A serial killer? Based on what?" Mulder asked Skinner.

"When an autopsy was performed, all five of the victims were killed by
the same MO"

"Which is?"

"All of their organs had been liquefied." Skinner answered.

Mulder raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Liquefied by what?" Scully asked.

"That has not been established yet. What we do know it that there is are
very pronounced effects of the body that accures. That's were you two
come in."

"What are the connections between the victims?" Mulder asked.

Skinner shook his head.  "At this point, they're not sure.  The first
three victims and the last two have no discernible profile. That's were
you two come in."

Mulder nodded his acknowledgement. "So, Scotland Yard wants us to
profile their killer?" He asked.

"Yes," Skinner said. "Also they have reason to believe that the killer
may have left London and may now be in the States."

"On what do they base that assumption?" Scully asked.

"Apparently," Skinner said, "the last victim tried to spell out a word.
He got out a few letters before he died." Skinner pulled out a photo
from a file on his desk and passed it to Mulder.

It was a picture of a bloodied hand upon a white linoleum floor.
Scrawled across the floor in bright bloody letters where the letters A M
E R I.  There was another letter the victim began and never had a chance
to finish.

As Mulder studied the photo he pondered the thoughts of the victim's
mind as he wrote his final words in his own blood all the while his
internal organs were turning to mush.  The thought bothered him as he
hand the photo to Scully.  She glanced at it and passed it back across
the desk to Skinner.

Taking the photo, Skinner continued. "We believe the victim was trying
to tell us something about the killer.  Perhaps the killer is an
American."  Both the agents nodded their heads. "Scotland Yard is
sending one of their men here." Skinner said. "It will be your
assignment to assist the Inspector with whatever he needs during this
investigation."

"Have the police been notified?" Scully inquired.

"Yes," Skinner nodded. "We put out an APB for the Washington and eastern
seaboard areas to be on alert for any suspicous deaths that resemble our
victims."

A gentle tapping on Skinner's door drew their attention. The door
opened, and in walked a man who, at first glance, looked very much like
Daniel Day Lewis.  He seemed to hover somewhere around six foot tall
with a lanky build, not unlike Mulder's.  He looked at Skinner through a
pair of thin wire framed glasses of his own.  "Am I interrupting, sir?"
He man asked in a deep voice laced with an seductive British accent.

"No, Inspector.  We were just discussing you." Skinner said and stood
up. "Please come in.  I'd like to introduce you to the agents assigned
to assist you in this case." Scully and Mulder stood to be introduced.

"Inspector, this is Special Agent Dana Scully."

Scully raised her eyes to meet the Inspector's hazel ones, and took the
hand he offered her.  A twinge of electricity shot through her when they
touched.  The mutual attraction was obvious.

"Agent Scully." He greeted.

"Inspector." She replied.

Then Skinner turned to Mulder. "And this is-"

"Special Agent Fox Mulder." The Inspector finished, looking directly at
Mulder.

"Christian." Mulder acknowledged.

With a confused look on his face, Skinner asked, "You two know each
other?"

"Yes," Mulder answered. "Inspector Duncan Christian and I studied at
Oxford together. I guess you can say it's a small world after all."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Page Turner's  Book Shop
3:15 PM

Edgar Simms noticed her immediately.

He watched the long pair of high heeled legs walk into his
establishment.  His eyes moved up her black short skirt above her well
fitted jacket to the face that belonged to those legs.  She wore a dark
pair of sunglasses which hid her eyes. Which was added to by her short
blond hair that moved about her face with each step.

Edgar could feel his blood rushing through his veins as he realized she
was heading straight toward him. "Um, good afternoon, ma'am," Edgar
croaked. "Welcome to Page Turner's.  What can I help you with today?"

Her face was expressionless. He had the feeling that, though he could
not see her eyes through her dark glasses, she was staring straight into
his soul.

"I'm looking for a very specific book." She said in a husky voice.

"Well, we carry a vast variety of titles ma'am." Edgar announced
proudly. "What the name, and I'll see if I know what it is."

"Phobic Subjugation Trials As Exercised Among The General Populous."

Edgar froze.  For a moment he thought his heart had stopped. All he
could do was stare openmouthed at the woman before him.  He hoped he
hadn't heard what he thought he did. "Uh, excuse me?" He asked shakily.

"Phobic Subjugation. By Edwin Roue." She said, her voice monotonous.
Her face unreadable. "I'm sure *you've* heard of it...Edgar."

Edgar's mouth went dry.  He could hear his heart pounding in his ears.
His chest suddenly felt tight.  Edwin Roue. The name echoed in his head.

"No." He said, his voice anxious. "No, I don't know that book.  I don't
know what you're talking about."

"Really?" She asked calmly.  "I was under the impression that you knew
exactly what I'm talking about, Edgar."

Edgar shock his head violently. "No.  I don't, now would you please
leave my store?"  He said almost frantically.

She raised an eyebrow as she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out
what looked like a business card.  "Well," she said, holding the card
out to Edgar. "In case you do happen to remember."

After a moments hesitation Edgar reached out with a shaky hand and took
the card.  He held the card in his hand, but did not look at it.  His
complete attention was on the woman in front of him.

She leaned forward so that he face was but mere inches apart and
whispered in a lover's voice, "Goodbye...Edgar."  With that she turned
on her heel and headed for the door.

Edgar watched her leave his store and realized he was holding his
breathe. He released the air in his lungs and looked at the card in his
hand. Written on it was single word:

Revindicare

As he stared at the card he broke out in a cold sweat.  Then, the pain.
It started in his belly as a dull ache, and within seconds he felt as if
his stomach were eating upon itself.  The agony in his abdomen began to
spread to his lungs.  With every breath he took he felt like he was
breathing fire.

This was followed with the sour taste of bile in his throat
which accompanied the excruciating pain that racked over his body in
waves. Finally, dropping to his knees, convulsing and writhing on the
floor of his book shop, the last thing Edgar saw was the small white
card with one word written upon it: Revindicare.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Basement
4:07 PM

With his arms folded across his chest, and leaning against the door jam,
Inspector Duncan Christian regarded Agent Mulder. "Well Mulder, I always
knew you were going places.  I just never thought it be a place like
this."

"Wait until I put some curtains up." Mulder replied from his desk.

Christian pushed away from the door and strolled over to Mulder is desk.
It was something that always annoyed Mulder about Christian.  For a man
his size, he was uncommonly graceful.

"I brought you the case files of the five victims." Christian said as he
dropped the stack of files on Mulder's desk.

"Gee, I didn't get you anything." Mulder said dryly. Christian turned
his attention away from Mulder and onto examining his office.  Meanwhile
Mulder grabbed the stack of files and began reading them.

After several minutes had passed, and while in the midst of reading Dana
Scully's senior thesis 'Einstein's Twin Paradox: A New Interpretation',
which he just happened upon in the middle of a stack of papers on
Mulder's filing cabinet,Christian's concentration was broken by Mulder's
inquiries.

Mulder did not raise his eyes from the papers in front of him when he
asked, "There was no forced entry?"

"No." Christian answered. "The homes of the three victims' showed no
sign of forced entrance."

"So...the killer knew his victims?" Mulder pondered out loud.

"That's what we think," Christian said coming to stand by Mulder's desk.
"However, with the initial profiles of these three victims we can't seem
to find any connections which would allow our killer to enter his
victim's home so easily."

"Pushy Avon Lady?" Mulder quipped.

Walking through the door Scully came to a stop in the middle of the room
and announced, "There's been another murder."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Page Turner's Book Shop
5:10 PM

Mulder, Scully and Christian pulled into the nearest parking spot amid
the sea of police vehicles.  The small book store had already been
closed of by police tape.  Flashing their identification to a patrol
officer, the trio entered the shop.

No matter how many times she witnessed it, Scully was always impressed
by the artistry of processing a crime scene by the Forensic team.  The
forensic techs stirred and milled about the room and, as meticulous as
ants, collected trace evidence.  Scully watched as Mulder headed over to
a white sheet which covered a lumpy mass on the floor.

Taking a pair of latex gloves from one of the techs he squatted by the
sheet.  Mulder reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pen, and
with it raised the edge of the sheet with it.  He looked at the body of
a middle aged man, his skin color already becoming pastey with the lack
of blood flow through his body. Mulder took note of the contorted
expression of pain on his face, and the yellowish residue around his
mouth. Then his eyes fell to the man's hands. "Hey, Scully," he called.
"Check this out."

Scully moved away from Christian as he talked to the homicide detective
in charge of the crime scene, and moved over to Mulder crouched by the
sheet and gave him a questioning look. "What am I looking at Mulder?"

Pointing to the dead man's hand he said, "That."  Scully's eyes followed
Mulder's motion.  Clutched in the victim's hand was a white card.
Turning over the card in the victim's hand, Mulder read the inscription
on the card.

"What is it, Mulder?" Christian asked over Scully's shoulder as he came
to join the team.

"Revindicare." Mulder said.

"Revindicare?" Scully repeated.

Mulder raised his face. "Revenge."

"The victim's name is Edgar Simms." Christian read from a notebook, as
Mulder rose to his feet. "He owned the store."

"Are there any witnesses?" Scully inquired.

"One," Christian answered. "But, she's quite shaken." Christian looked
over at an elder woman standing next to a uniformed officer. "However,
thanks to modern technology, we don't need her." Christian held up a
video cassette to Mulder and Scully. "Ladies and gentlemen, witness the
miracle of video surveillance."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Huddled together in a small room, located in the back of Page Turner's
Book Shop, Mulder Scully and Christian prepared to view the surveillance
tape.

The room was only large enough for a desk, two filing cabinets and the
store security system setup.  Mulder slid the tape in the VCR and took a
step back.  In doing so, he bumped into Scully throwing her of balance.
Christian opened his arms a split second before she tumbled into his
embrace.

"Oh!" Scully said, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Inspector."

"Anytime, Agent Scully." Christian grinned, still holding her.  She
returned his grin with a  blush on her face as she stepped out of his
embrace.

Mulder watched their exchange and found it hard to find the humor in it
that they obviously did. Scully glanced over at Mulder just in time to
see him shot her a biting look.  She was perplexed by Mulder's accusing
look, but was down right perturbed at his tone of voice.  "Whenever
you're ready," he said pointedly to her. She then shot him an agitated
look of her own.

This little head butting exchange was not lost on Christian. He tried
hard to hide his smile.

Turning back to the VCR Mulder pushed play.  After watching several
minutes of tape, Mulder almost jumped out of his skin. Lunging  forward,
he rewound the tape to the point right before Edgar Simms dropped to his
knees on the floor, and played the tape.  He then rewound it again, and
played it again just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on
him.

It can be seen quite clearly on the tape that Edgar is speaking to
someone just before he falls to the floor.  However, the person he is
speaking to had cleverly hidden themselves out of the camera's eye. But
not totally.

Pressing the pause button, Mulder walked up to the screen as close as he
could. He stared at the image on the screen as if he had seen a ghost.

Scully saw the look on her partner's face.  "Mulder?" She said quietly.
"Are you alright?"

He said nothing.

"Mulder." Christian entreated.

"Mulder...who is that?" She asked with concern in her voice.

He seemed completely oblivious to her.  He ejected the tape from the
machine and headed for the door.

"Mulder?" Scully called after him. "Where are you going?"

Mulder turned toward her as though suddenly remembering she was there.
"There's some people I have to see." That was his only explanation, as
he exited the room leaving Scully and Christian to stare at the empty
doorway in confusion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Office's of the Lone Gunmen
7:20 PM
 

Shoulder to shoulder the three members of the Lone Gunmen stared at the
TV screen in shock. Frohicke adjusted his glasses on his face as he
stared wide eyed at the screen. "Is that who I think it is?" He asked.

"It can't be." Byers said, equally as wide eyed.

"We saw her kidnapped right in front of our eyes." Langly added.

Watching these men, Mulder couldn't help but draw a modern day Three
Stooges comparison. Only these Stooges were more paranoid and could
cripple National Defense with a few key strokes.

Byers turned to Mulder where he leaned against the work table in the
middle of the room, his arm folded over his chest.  "Where did you get
this, Agent Mulder?" he asked.

"From a book store surveillance camera downtown."

"When?" Byers inquired.

"Today."

"Today?" Byers said incredulously.

"Langly shook his head. "That's impossible."

Mulder gave a half grin and said, "Okay then, boys.  Who is that?  The
Easter Bunny?"

"But it just can't..." Langly trailed off.

Turning back to the screen, Byers peered intensely at the image on the
screen. "It's her." He concluded. "It's Susanne Modeski."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Laboratory
8:45 am

Inspector Christian folded his arm across his chest as Scully lifted the
test tube to his face for inspection.  She gently swirled the amber
colored liquid and it glistened in the sunlight.

"Very impressive, Dr. Scully." Christian said, "But what am I looking
at?"

Scully grinned at him.  "You tell me *Dr.* Christian."

He held up a hand. "I'm merely a psychologist.  You're the M.D.," he
grinned back.

"It' a chemical solution of the residue found in and around the mouth of
the victim from the book store," she explained.

Christian raised on eyebrow. "Lead on, Macduff."

"Apparently, it's some sort of biological compound."

"And this is unusual why?" Christian asked with a quizzical look.

"It's unusual because it's not a compound found naturally in the body."

"Then what is it?"

Scully let out a little sigh.  "I don't know." she said looking at the
amber liquid. "The lab should have more information in a few hours. Now
all we can do is wait."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Basement
11:20 am

Inspector Christian stretched his legs out as far as he could in the
chair in front of Mulder's desk.   He folded his hands loosely on his
lap as he crossed his ankles. "Too bad you left so early last night,
Mulder." Christian chatted. "I had a rather nice time with your
partner."

Mulder looked up from his case file he had been reading with a
suspicious look on his face.  Christian smirked at Mulder's expression.
"She's brilliant ,Mulder.  Brilliant."

"She's a scientist." Mulder said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I know that." Christian said brightly. "A doctor.  She told me
last night.  I must admit, Mulder, you know how to pick them."

"What do you mean ,Christian?" Mulder asked cautiously as he leaned
forward slightly on his desk.

"You know what I mean." Christian eyed Mulder. "Agent Scully.  Beauty
and brains, a dangerous combination.  A combination, if I remember
correctly, you find hard to resist."

"We're partners." Mulder replied flatly.

Christian raised his eyebrows ,shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
"Pity...for you that is.  Bully for me."

Mulder shot him a contemptuous look and leaned back in his chair.
Christian's grinned deepened as he noticed the hard set of Mulder's jaw.
"So you wouldn't have any problems if I , say, invited her out for a
drink?"

"Like I said, Christian, we're partners." Mulder repeated. "What she
choses to do with her spare time is her own business."

Mulder's words rang hollow to Christian. What ever his mouth was saying,
the rest of his body spoke volumes.  His body language told much more
than he admitted.  Maybe, even to himself.  The fact remained, Christian
was enjoying Mulder's apparent discomfort immensely.

<Ah, Achilles,> Christian thought about Mulder. <Looks like we finally
found your heel. And a red headed one at that.>

"Well, Mulder," Christian said slyly, "I have to say, if she were my
partner I'd have a problem.  I mean a brilliant beauty like her, having
a drink with a dashing, charming foreigner, and all."

A small smile touched Mulder's lips. "Well, Christian, seeing as it's
only you, I have no problem at all."

Christian opened his mouth to say more but was halted by the sudden
appearance of Scully, file in hand.  "I got the reports back from the
lab," She stated.  "It seems as though our biological compound isn't so
biological after all."

"Really?" Mulder mused.

"Then what is it?" Christian asked.

"The residue we found is similar to stomach acid.  Highly acidic."

"So?" Mulder shrugged. "The man exuded his own kidneys through his nose,
Scully."

"So," she added, "that's not all we found.  We also found trace evidence
of a chemical we can not identify.  It's some sort of enzyme that was
bonded to the residue.  There's something else too, Mulder."  She had
Mulder's complete attention which, she had to admit, always gave her a
little rush.  She also noticed  that the Inspector had not taken his
eyes off her mouth.  She instinctively wet her lips with her tongue.
And from the corner of her eyes she saw the Inspector involuntarily
swallow.

Returning her focus back to Mulder, she continued.  "The forensic team
reported the same residue on the victim's hands.  And guess where else?"

Mulder shook his head in confusion, "Where?"

"On the card Edgar Simms had in his hand."  Scully watched as bells went
off in Mulder's head.

He grabbed the files on his desk and pulled out five photos.  Mulder
placed his hands on his desk and pushed himself up.  "That's it," he
breathed. "That's what we've been missing."

Confounded, Christian asked, "What?"

"The cards."  Mulder pointed to the photos spread out on his desk.  "All
of the victims had them around them.  Until now, we assumed they were
just some sort of business card."  Mulder looked as if he had just had a
revelation.  "And I'm willing to bet that you'll find the same residue
on the other cards and victims as well."

Looking at Scully Mulder spoke, "Scully, we need to contact Scotland
Yard and-"

Scully cut him off in mid sentence. "I already contacted their lab, and
they're looking into it as we speak."  A small smile played on her lips,
as she saw the amazed expression on Mulder's face. "After five years
Mulder, I think I can read your mind."

"Spooky," Mulder grinned.

"That's your name." Christian chimed in just before his cellphone rang.
A split second later, Mulder's cellphone rang as well.  The two men
answered their respective calls as Scully looked over the lab report.

Christian was the first to finished his call.  "That was my superiors,"
he told Scully.  "They want to meet with me for a briefing on the case."

"When?" She asked, as she watched Mulder finish his call.

"Now.  If not sooner."

"Fine," Mulder said. "We'll meet you later.  Right now Scully and I have
some people to talk to."  Grabbing his jacket from the back of his
chair, Mulder brushed past Christian and Scully and right out the door.

With a look of apology on her face, Scully explained, "He does that."
Then she followed her partner out the door.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Achilles' Sentiment
Author: Clover Blue
Email address: glassrain@hotmail.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2/7

En Route
12:45 PM

Mulder's concentration was entirely on the road ahead of him when Scully
spoke. "Mulder? Where are we going?"

He said nothing as he looked over his shoulder to change lanes.

Scully took his silence as a bad sign. "Mulder?" She said his name and
still he said nothing. Scully began to feel aggravated at his refusal to
answer.  Closing her eyes she prayed for patience.

"It's a surprise." Mulder finally said, flatly.

Scully shifted her eyes to him.  "I don't like surprises, Mulder."

"I know." He replied.  His eyes never left the road in front of him.
Scully knew from experience that further conversation with him was
pointless.  So, she folded her arms over her chest and stared out her
passenger side window.

An eternity of silence seemed to stretch out between them as she watched
the passing scenery. Then suddenly he spoke. "Christian...," Mulder
cleared his throat.  His voice creaked out as if he hadn't spoken in
years. "Inspector Christian is very impressed with
you."

Scully said nothing and continued to stare out the window.  Mulder knew
from experience that further conversation with her was pointless.  And
he only had himself to blame.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The Watergate Hotel
1:00 PM

Three middle-aged men in dark suits sat quietly in the spacious hotel
room.  Their omnipresence, undeniable.

The room was furnished in a 18th century French style of rich reds and
creams.  Standing on the highly polished marble floor, Inspector
Christian prepared to give his report to the panel assembled before him.
What he had to report, would not please them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The Offices of The Lone Gunmen
1:05 PM

The pale glow of the TV monitor illuminated Scully's face as she studied
the freeze frame on the screen.  "Susanne, who?" Scully asked
bewildered.

"Modeski," Mulder offered. "Susanne Modeski."

Scully turned from the monitor to face the three members of The Lone
Gunmen as they stood huddled together in the middle of their office.  To
their left was her partner, Mulder, his hands resting on his hips.

"You know this woman?" Scully asked Mulder.

"Yes."

"How?"

Mulder glanced side long at the other three men, as they glanced back at
him.

"Mulder?" Scully gently prodded.  She watched as he shifted his weight
from foot to foot. She could tell that Mulder was choosing his words
carefully.

"In 1989," Mulder began, "while I was still part of the Violent Crimes
Unit, I was assigned the Modeski case.  The case file on this woman
included a history of extreme violence. Under that assumption I was
dispatched to seize Ms. Modeski with all due force and caution. However,
during the course of my investigation, I came to the conclusion that Ms.
Modeski was not what the case file reported her to be.  Rather,
something to the contrary."

"Which is?" Scully inquired.

"I believe Susanne Modeski was the unfortunate pawn in a rather large
scale conspiracy against the public." Mulder dropped.

"What?" Scully let out a bit flabbergasted.

"Agent Scully," Byers intervened, "I know how this must sound.  But
believe me it's the truth. We met Susanne in 1989 under some rather
unusual circumstances."

Scully raised her eyebrows, "We?"

"She's the reason we exist." Frohicke put in.

"Yeah," Langly put in his two cents worth, "without Susanne there would
be no Lone Gunmen."

"I see. Ah, Mulder, can I see you over here for a moment?" Scully
indicated with a nod that she  wanted to speak to him privately in a
corner of the room.

After a vexing car ride with Mulder, which included pregnant silences
and loaded glances, Scully was less than receptive to Mulder and his
cohorts little'conspiracy-against-the-people' theories.

Mulder noted her ambivalence as they both stepped into the far corner of
the room. Leaning toward her and in a voice only she could hear Mulder
began, "Alright Scully, here's the thing. This woman has been missing
since 1989. According to eye witness accounts, she was literally taken
off the street in broad daylight, because of something she knew. And I,
for one, would like to know what that information is."

"Mulder, this is ridiculous," Scully whispered a bit testily.

"Look, Scully just hear me out. Susanne Modeski was kidnapped for
something she knew almost ten years ago, and now she's suddenly
returned."

"And apparently killing people." Scully added. "Mulder, there's
something you're keep from me about this."

Mulder placed his hands on his hips and drew a deep breath. "Scully, I
think there's more here than we think."

The sudden chirping of Scully's cellphone interrupted their
conversation. Mulder looked at the floor as Scully reached for her
phone.

"Scully," she answered with a tinged of annoyance in her voice.
"Inspector Christian." Scully saw Mulder snap to attention at the sound
of Christian's name. "What can I do for you, Inspector?" Scully watched
Mulder watch her as she spoke to Christian. "Uh, huh. Yes.
I can be there in thirty minutes."

No sooner had she hung up her cellphone when Mulder began, "So, what did
he want?"

"Inspector Christian has some new information he wanted to pass along to
you, and some new data from the autopsy on Edgar Simms he wanted me to
review with him." Scully explained.

With a slightly puzzled look on his face Mulder asked, "So why didn't he
just call me?"

"I don't know Mulder."

A quick look of disgust passed over Mulder's face. "So what's this new
information?"

"Apparently," Scully said, "the card that Edgar Simms had when he died
was a very specific type of paper.  It's only made in two parts on the
county.  One in San Diego, California.  The other, right here in
Washington."

"What's so special about this paper?"

"It seems as though this paper is used in some type of biological animal
testing."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Examination Room
2:15 PM

The overwhelming smell of formaldehyde swirled around Christian as he
walked over to where Scully stood, looking down into the open chest
cavity of Edgar Simms. Christian watched Scully's face as she stared
into what looked like biological mush.

Christian swallowed hard. "Hmmm...I hope my lunch won't be making an
unexpected appearance."

A small smile touched Scully's lips, as she reached for a box of latex
gloves that sat on a metal tray next to the autopsy table. "This is
amazing," she commented as she snapped on a pair of gloves.

"Well, I'm glad you're impressed, Agent Scully."

"Look at this," she mused, "It's as if all his internal organs just
dissolved."

"How could this happen?"

Scully shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea.  Exposure to toxic
fumes, ingestion of some kind of acid.  What does the report say?"

Christian had almost forgotten about the heavy file he held in his hand.
He flipped through the pages until he came to a yellow colored page.
"According to this, 'No discernible explanation can be given to the
cause of death of one Edgar Simms.'"

"What do the toxicology reports say?"

Christian flipped through some more papers. "The tox report list
negative for any and all illegal narcotics.  However, there is something
quite strange..."

Scully moved to get a better look at the report, and read the place
where Christian's finger rested on the paper. "Extreme amino acid
depletion?" Scully read aloud the words on the page.

"Isn't that," Christian spoke, "rather...odd, Agent Scully?"

"Yes, Inspector.  Extremely."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

GACT Pharmaceutical
3:20 PM

Mulder surveyed the thirteen story building and saw it for what is was;
an architectural wonder. He felt the sunlight reflect upon the spotless
glass and metal and onto him.

The inside of the building was equally as impressive, it was outdone
however, by the sheer amount of security the place seemed to have.  As
he walked up the security desk, which was located just past the metal
detectors, he was greeted by three armed guards. That made a total of
six armed guards he had seen just walking into the building.

The smallest of the three men at the desk spoke to him. "Can I help you,
sir?"

"Yeah." Mulder said, slowly, pulling out his identification badge. "I'm
Special Agent Mulder of the FBI.  I'm here to speak to a Mr. Edwin
Roue."

Mulder held up his badge as each one of the guards examined his
identification in turn. "Just a moment Agent Mulder.  I will need to
confirm this first."

"Sure." Mulder said, a bit annoyed.  He watched the guard picked up the
phone and made a quiet call.

"Uh, huh," the guard spoke low into the phone. "Yes, sir.  I'll send him
up right away." Hanging up the phone the guard turned to Mulder. "Agent
Mulder, you may go up now. Mr. Toy, here will escort you to Mr. Roue's
office."

Mulder looked at Mr. Toy.  Mr. Toy, the obvious largest of the three
men, was six foot five and about two hundred fifty pounds, to Mulder's
best estimate.  Mulder came to the conclusion, that Mr. Toy, was not
someone to play with.

Mr. Toy lead Mulder into a hallway that had three elevators and a door
without a doorknob.  Mr. Toy directed Mulder to the knobless door and
pressed his thumb to a small metal pad located to the left of the door.
The door silently opened to reveal a completely mirrored room.

"After you, Agent Mulder." Mr. Toy motioned Mulder into the little room.
It didn't take Mulder long to figure out that this was an elevator, and
an express one at that. The control panel consisted of two buttons: up
and down.

After a awkwardly silent ride to the top the doors slide noiselessly
open and into a rather large room.

"You may get out now Agent Mulder.  Mr. Roue will be with you in a
moment." Mr. Toy informed Mulder.

Mulder stepped out of the elevator car and into the spacious room.  He
heard the doors slide shut behind him.  He looked around at the lavishly
decorated room of glass, wood, and highly polished metal. Mulder noted
the massive oak desk and the large inlaid television in the wall. He
noticed a large metal door that looked to be a vault.

Mulder placed his hands on his hips and let out a deep breath. "Damn.
I'm in the wrong business."

"Well, it's never too late to come over to the dark side, Agent Mulder."

Mulder turned to the voice behind him.  He saw a rather distinguished
looking middle-aged man.  He was about as tall as Mulder, with an
athletic build and graying hair at his temples.  Mulder could feel the
air of authority that illuminated from the man.

Mulder pulled out his ID and briefly flashed it. "Mr. Edwin Roue, I
assume."

"That's what it says on the door." Edwin smiled. He walked passed Mulder
to stand behind his desk.  He motioned for Mulder to sit in one of the
two large wing back chair that faced his desk.

Edwin watched Mulder take a seat as he sat down too. "What can I do for
you Agent Mulder?"

"I'd like to ask you a few questions about one of your products, Mr.
Roue."

"Of, course."

"Mr. Roue, what can you tell me about Genesis Parchment #3101?"

Mulder saw a flicker of something run across Edwin's face. "Well, I can
tell you that it is highly experimental, and highly classified."

"How highly?"

"How high? We're talking nosebleed, Mr. Mulder."

"Maybe I can ask you a few question without bloodying my nose." Mulder
quipped. His joke was lost on Mr. Roue. "What is this paper?"

Edwin leveled his gaze on Mulder and spoke with great care. "The Genesis
Parchment is a new type of genetic marker medium."

"Genetic Marker?  For what purposes?"

Edwin folded his hands neatly on his desk. "That I can't tell you Agent
Mulder."

"Mr. Roue, before I waste both our times, why don't you just tell me
what you can tell me."

A small smile curled Edwin's lips. "Alright, Agent Mulder.  I can tell
you that 3101 is the first step into a new universe for the genetics
field.  3101, will take geneticists in a direction that they never
thought they could go before."

"All because of a sheet of paper?"

"Yes. All because of a sheet of paper," Edwin answered simply.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Basement
7:20 PM

In a quiet corner of the office she shared with Mulder, Scully poured
over the reports she had just received from Scotland Yard on the
analysis of the cards that were found on all of the victims.

She noticed it right away.  All of the victims blood work came back the
same as the man from the bookstore, Edgar Simms. All of them had
'Extreme Amino Acid depletion' that was not explainable.

Scully pulled out the copy of Edgar Simms' blood results and compared
them to the first two victims.  Then to the last three.  Though all of
them had an unusually low amino acid contents, she noted something else
which connected the first two victims to Edgar Simms.  All three of
these victims were males, their ages ranged from early forties to late
fifties, and all three of them were being treated for some sort of heart
disease.  The first victim, Carl Jensen, was being treated for
congenital heart failure.  The second victim, Claudio Marez though to a
much lesser extent, suffered from a clogged artery, and Edgar had just
had a pacemaker surgically implanted into his heart. But the
similarities stopped there.

As Scully compared the other three victim's reports something else
jumped out at her. The third victim, Angela Newmen, and the fourth
victim Albert Moore both had some sort of eye reconstruction surgery.
Angela had major cataract surgery and Albert a new type of lens recovery
treatment.

It was the last victim, Gustav Toussaint, that intrigued Scully.  He,
unlike the others, had no major medical occurrences in the last fifteen
years.  He did ,however, suffer from a mild case of asthma that he
treated with an inhaler. Gustav was the youngest of the victims at
thirty three and apparently the healthiest. That's why
Scully had such a hard time explaining the depth of damage done to his
body as compared to the other victims.

Scully was in the midst of contemplating this when a sudden tapping
echoed through the office.

"Hello?" The voice called.

"Hello. Over here." Scully answered as the smiling visage of Inspector
Christian appeared in the door way.

"Working late, Agent Scully?"

She returned his smile. "Yes.  I just received this new information from
your friends at Scotland Yard on the other victims."

"Find anything significant?" he inquired.

"Actually, yes," she said. "I was just about to call Mulder and tell him
about it."

Looking around as if just noticing his surroundings for the first time
Christian said, "So where is Mulder?"

"He's questioning the manufacturer of that paper we found on Edgar Simms
and doing some follow up work."

"So why aren't you with him?"

"I needed to wait for this information from Scotland Yard." She inhaled
deeply. "Besides, he can handle that by himself."

Christian studied Scully for a moment. "Agent Scully, when was the last
time you had fun?"

"What year is it?"

Christian laughed. "Is this information something Mulder can review
tomorrow?"

Scully pondered the question and noted the hour. "Well, there's nothing
we can really do about this new information until the lab opens up
tomorrow.  So yes. Mulder can wait."

"That's just what I wanted to hear." He beamed at her. " Special Agent
Dana Scully, how would you like to show this foreigner around your fair
city?"

"Ah, Inspector-"

"Don't say no." He cut her off. "I mean you wouldn't want to be the
cause of some international incident now would you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "An international incident?"

"Why, yes.  You know how we English are about bad manners, now. I
wouldn't want to have to tell Assistant Director Skinner that you
refused to help out international diplomacy." Christian rationalized.

Scully smiled and shook her head. "How would I be able to live with
myself after that?"

"Exactly," Christian grinned. "So...where do we go first?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Headless Woman Bar
9:54 PM
 

The room was filled with noisy patrons and jovial laughter. In the
center of the room were two figures speaking quietly to one another.
Apparently, enjoying themselves completely.

"...so then I told him, 'look sir, I'm a Scotland Yard Inspector, not a
fashion consultant.  If you want to know if those heels go with that
wig, then you have to ask someone else.'"

Scully laughed softly at Christian's anecdote. "That's very funny."

Christian grinned at Scully's approval of his story. "As you Americans
say, 'I have a million of 'em'," Christian said as they exchanged
smiles. "You know Agent Scully, you have a very lovely smile."

"Thank you," Scully said softly.

"Sorry.  Didn't mean to make you blush."

"No, it's not that.  It's just," she paused, "well to tell you the
truth, it's just been a very long time since I've done any of this."

"What? Enjoy yourself?"

"You could say that."

"So are you trying to tell me, life's is not a laugh a minute with
Mulder?" He joked.

"Let's just say that Mulder has other things on his mind than whether or
not I'm entertained."

"Perhaps I can help him out on that part." Christian said, noting Scully
blush again. "However, I find it hard to believe that Mulder would not
take an interest in his partner."

Scully knew where he was going. "We're partners, Inspector.  That's
all."
 

"Funny," Christian raised his glass to his lips and spoke to her over
the rim, "that's what he said about you."

She raised and eyebrow.  "Looks like someone has been telling tales out
of school."

A sultry smile played on Christian's lips. "You can't blame a guy for
inquiring about a woman he finds rather intriguing."

"No. I guess you can't."

"So tell me, Agent Scully," Christian began to inquire, "am I stepping
on anyone's toes by being here with you tonight?"

Scully shook her head slowly and gazed at her almost empty drink. "No."

"Not even a rather protective FBI agent?"

"Agent Mulder's interests in me are purely...professional."

Christian gave Scully an assessing look.  Just as her partner before her
had tried to deny any feelings between them as 'purely professional',
Christian could clearly see there was much more there.  All Christian
had to do was watch them together, or see their faces when either one
was mentioned.

Christian saw that both Mulder and Scully hid their emotions behind the
protective shield of 'professionalism'. A rather weak shield at that.
Christian knew Mulder well and if Mulder held true to what he remembered
about him, he presumed it wouldn't be long before the Fox came out of
his den. And for some reason he felt that Scully wouldn't put up much of
a fight.

<oh, Bully> Christian thought to himself with a smile.

"What are you smiling about Inspector?" Scully asked.

"Oh, nothing," Christian said. "Just thinking to myself."

"Dare I ask what that may be?"

Christian opened his mouth to answer Scully when her cellphone went off.

Reaching into her jacket pocket Scully pulled out her phone. "Scully."
She answered.

"Scully, it's Mulder.  I've been trying to reach you all evening," he
said a bit frantically. "You weren't answering your phone at home."

"Uh, yeah Mulder," Scully squirmed a bit in her chair. "I had my
cellphone off until just a few moments ago, I'm not at home."

"Well, where are you?"

Scully looked at Christian and saw that he was watching her. "Uh...I'm
at the Headless Woman Bar."

"You're where?  What are you doing there?" Mulder said a little shocked.

"What do you need Mulder?"

"I need you to look at something for me."

"Okay.  When?"

"Now.  I'm a few blocks from you.  Just stay put.  I'll be right there."

"Mulder-" She heard hear cellphone click off when Mulder hung up.

She slowly hung up her phone and placed it back in her jacket pocket.
"That was Mulder." She informed Christian.

"So I gathered.  What's going on?"

"He wants me to look at something for him."

"When?"

"Now." She answered a bit disappointed.  "He's just around the corner."

Christian leaned slightly on the table. "Does he always keep such close
tabs on you?"

"He's my partner Inspector." She tried to explain. "He needs to know my
location at all times, in case he needs help."

It was Christian's turn to raise and eyebrow. "Even on your personal
time? Didn't know that was part of the Bureau's policy.  But then again
it is Mulder, and quite frankly he needs all the help he can get."

Scully laughed softly. "Mulder and I have a...unique relationship."

"Agent Scully...that is an understatement" He grinned.

Scully looked up in time to see Mulder walk into the bar.

He was wet from the evening rain and held a manila envelope in his hand.
He shook off some of the rain from his hair and surveyed the room for
his partner. He noted a few colleagues from work, and few of the more
attractive blondes in the bar.  As appealing as they were, Mulder was
only interested in redheads. One in particular.

That's when Mulder spotted her and 'Him' sitting cozily together in what
he decided was an rather intimate table.

Scully watched Mulder cross the room with great purpose on his face.  On
his way to the table where she and Christian sat, a few people greeted
him, Mulder didn't seem to acknowledge their existence.

<This is not good.> Scully thought to herself.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Achilles' Sentiment
Author: Clover Blue
email Address: glassrain@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 3/7

Fox Mulder's Apartment
11:20 PM

Mulder tossed his keys on the table closest to the entrance of his
apartment, and shut the door.

He headed into his small dark living room while slipping out of his
coat.  He tossed it on the arm of his couch and plopped himself down.
He slid halfway down the couch and with a deep sigh ran his hands
through his hair.

He couldn't believe how he had reacted tonight.  As a matter of fact,
Mulder couldn't believe how he'd been reacting ever since he found out
about Christian's arrival.

Earlier that week Skinner had called Mulder into his office to discuss
the possibility of an Scotland Yard detective being assigned and
international case which would lead them to Washington.  Skinner had
informed Mulder that with his Oxford background his assistance, if
needed, on this case would be vital.

Mulder was intrigued, and yes, even a bit excited at the prospect of
what type of case a Scotland Yard detective would follow that would lead
to American soil. Mulder always found Scotland Yard detectives worthy
colleagues. All of Mulder's little optimistic theater of the mind came
to a crashing halt the minute of found out the detective he would be
working with would be Duncan Christian.

>From that moment on, Mulder was in a foul mood. Unfortunately, his ire
was misplaced on to the most convenient of targets: Scully.  He knew she
did not deserve to be his outlet, but he couldn't seem to stop himself
either.

Mulder anticipated the arrival of Inspector Christian as one might
anticipate the arrival of an unwanted relative.  Mulder knew that with
the arrival of Christian would come all the ego of a Scotland Yard
detective, plus a suitcase full of old memories he would rather not
unpack.

Even with all that lingering over his head, none of it compared to the
eventuality of Christian meeting Scully.  That alone turned Mulder's
stomach. The thought of Christian being...'Christian' with Scully was
enough to agitate Mulder in a way he tried not to think about.

Of all the things Mulder knew of Christian one thing about him was
abundantly clear, he had a definite way with women.  It was his way with
women which impacted Mulder's life in a way he didn't care to remember.

It was because of this knowledge, Mulder assumed, he acted as he did
when he saw Scully and Christian sitting together at the Headless Women
Pub.

Mulder had entered the pub wet and tired from a long day of interviews
which all seemed to come to dead ends.  After his discussion with Edwin
Roue, Mulder came away feeling a little dirty.  Maybe, it was because he
thought Edwin Roue to be 'dirty' in his dealings.  That compounded with
the pat down the security officers gave him on his way out the GACT
building for 'security reasons' just added to Mulder's already wire thin
grasp on his anger.

Mulder, not satisfied with the answers that Mr. Roue had supplied him
with, decided to talk to a few of his contacts about what they could dig
up about this Genesis Parchment #3101. This included a friend from the
State Department, someone out at Qauntico and of course his three
cohorts, the Lone Gunmen.

He had made a few phone calls around Washington, trying not to arouse
too much suspicion with his questions.  If what Mr. Roue said was true,
and given Mulder's propensity for attracting trouble, he was a willing
to play it a bit down key.

It was late in the evening when his contact at Quantico had called him
and gave him the little information he had pertaining to the Genesis
Parchment. He had told Mulder that he would fax over a few sheets of
what he gathered on it to his office.

Upon reviewing what his contact had sent him, Mulder came to the
conclusion that he needed Scully's medical opinion on what he was
seeing.  It, being still relatively early, Mulder called Scully at home.
He made numerous attempts to reach her there and on her cellphone, and
when she didn't answer Mulder became worried and decided to go to her
apartment to check on her.

On his way to her apartment he tried her cellphone again.  When he heard
her voice, Mulder was relieved.  Until, he found out where she was, then
he was just plain surprised.  Scully was never one to drink alone, which
left him a little concerned. His concern turned to a feeling of dour
upset when he reached the pub and saw that Scully was in fact not
drinking alone.

Not only was she not alone, she was with Christian. Mulder's fragile
grasp on his anger slipped as he stalked his way to the table where
Scully and Christian sat.

"Hello, Mulder," Christian beamed at him. "Have a seat."

Mulder stared at Christian and said, "No, thanks.  I won't be here that
long."

Scully cleared her throat. "So, what's this thing you want me to look
at?"

Mulder swung his eyes to Scully where she sat.  She felt as if he was
drilling a hole straight to her soul.  "I have some information on that
card, which is why I tried to contact you earlier.  However, you weren't
at home. " He said very deliberately.

For a brief moment Scully looked as a guilty child caught with her hand
in the cookie jar.  But, only for a brief moment.  Sitting up straight
in her chair she said, "No.  I wasn't at home."

Christian watched Mulder and Scully speak volumes to each other, though
neither one of them opened their mouths to speak.  As much as Christian
was enjoying this little display of 'professionalism' he was curious to
know what Mulder deemed so important he went out on the street searching
for his partner.

"So, Mulder," Christian interrupted their silent conversation, "what is
this new information you have?"

Mulder turned his eyes to Christian, and although he was more than a bit
annoyed with his presence, Mulder was a bit thankful for his
interruption. "A contact of mine faxed me over some information about
the paper that was found on Edgar Simms."

"What is it?" Scully asked.

"That's what I'm hoping you can tell me." Mulder said as he handed the
folder in his hands to Scully.

She pulled out the two typed sheets of paper and looked over them as
Christian and Mulder watched her read the report.  "Mulder, is this for
real?" She said astonished

"You tell me."

"If what this says is true, this could change genetics as we know it."
She said in a hushed voice.

"What?" Christian asked.

"Perhaps this is something we shouldn't be discussing here, Mulder."
Scully said.

Mulder nodded his head. "I agree." He was on the verge of offering that
they return to their office and do some research on this new information
and he saw that she was thinking the same thing. It was then he suddenly
seemed to remember about Christian, and that Scully was here with him.

"Ah, I guess this can wait for tomorrow." Mulder said.

"But, Mulder..." She began to protest.

He reached out to take the folder from her hands. "Tomorrow, Scully." He
glanced at Christian and Scully. "Goodnight."

Mulder turned and walked away from them.  He didn't look back at the two
of them. He doubted that he could.  What he wanted most of all at that
moment was to go home.

Now as Mulder sat in a deep state of contemplation of the evenings
events he was ripped out of his reverie at the sharp knocking on his
door. It was now hovering somewhere close to one in the morning.  From
Mulder's experience nothing good ever came at this hour.

All the lights were out as he reached for his gun and the knocking
became louder, more insistent.  He crept up to his door with his gun
drawn.

"Mulder!" A voice whispered on from the other side of the door. "It's
me, Byers."

Mulder peered through the peep hole in his door to confirm who it was.
Seeing that is was indeed Byers, looking rather anxious and agitated,
standing outside his door, he unlocked the door and opened it.  Pouring
into his apartment was not only Byers, but Langly and Frohicke as well.

The three men proceeded to go about Mulder's apartment shutting window
blinds and checking phones for taps and other listening devices as they
had done before when venturing out of the sanctity of their warehouse.
Feeling satisfied that they were 'alone' they took their places, Byers
and Langly on opposites sides of Mulder's
window, Frohicke pressed against a wall.

"Gee,  boys do your parents know you're out this late all by
yourselves?" Mulder quipped.

"Agent Mulder, we've come here with some very important information for
you." Byers said from his side of the window.

Mulder stood in the foyer of his apartment, his hands resting on his
hips. "What do you have?"

Mulder watched as Frohicke extracted a manila envelope from inside his
jacket. Mulder took the envelope from Frohicke as Byers talked.

"After you left us this evening Agent Mulder," Byers began, "we began to
wonder about the sample of paper you brought us.  So I had Frohicke do
some tests on it."

"And?" Mulder asked.

From against the wall Frohicke chimed, "And...what ever you got there
Mulder, is some really kick ass stuff."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Basement
11:35 AM

Mulder sat at his desk staring off into space when Scully walked in. She
had just spent the morning debriefing the case with Skinner. He raised
his eyes to meet hers and an awkward silence ensued.

Scully, always the one willing to talk things through, spoke first.
"Mulder-"

"Look, Scully," he cut in, "if this is about you and Christian-"

"Yes, Mulder," she cut in herself, "this is about Christian."

Mulder slouched in his chair and stared at the top of his desk knowing a
'discussion' was about to take place about a man he didn't care to
discuss.

Scully, noting Mulder's body language, walked over to the chair in front
of his desk and sat down.  She folded her hands on her lap and looked
down at them.  "Mulder, what is it with you two?"

"Scully, have I ever told you about my time at Oxford?"

"A little.  Some."

Mulder lifted his eyes to Scully. "There's a reason for that."

"I'm assuming this has something to do with Phoebe, right?"

Mulder flashed a lopsided grin which was laced with sadness. "Yeah.
Phoebe." He leaned forward on his desk and stared at his hands folding
loosely on top.

Scully watched him silently.

"When I left for Oxford, things with my parents weren't
exactly...peachy," he revealed. "So when I was accepted, I couldn't pack
my bags fast enough."

"There was a point in my education," Mulder began, "when I started to
become extremely interested in criminal profiling and the criminal mind.
It was during this time that I met Phoebe...and Christian.  Phoebe and I
were teamed together in a joint research paper on profilers and the
effects of becoming psychologically entangled with their subjects."

Mulder leaned back in his chair. "Before then I had never met Phoebe.  I
had noticed her in some of the psychology classes that we had been
enrolled in together, but I had never spoken to her prior.  Needless to
say, she made a rather lasting impression on me."

Scully watched Mulder shift uneasily in his chair.

"During the course of our research she and I began a relationship that
was," he paused to look at Scully, "quite intense."

Scully tilted her head and raised her eyebrow slightly in response.

Mulder swallowed involuntarily. "It was during the presentation of our
findings to the psychology board, that I met Christian.  He was
finishing up his work in the study of higher brain functions and their
relationship to human mating habits."

Scully tried to hide her expression, but failed miserably.

"They obviously knew each other. However, it seemed more of a rivalry
than anything else." Mulder said almost as if trying to rationalize.
"Later that night she confessed that she likened Christian to bacteria
in its more primitive form."

Mulder laid his hands on his desk and studied them. "That's why I didn't
see anything wrong when Christian asked Phoebe to join his research
staff.  The fact of the matter was, Phoebe was always looking for
another notch on her resume."

"Later I found out that they were doing more than just research in the
lab."  Mulder said with a ironic laugh.

Scully's heart went out to him. "Mulder-"

Mulder sprung from his chair and began pacing the floor anxiously.
Scully watched him from where she remained in the chair in front of his
desk.  She understood that he had just revealed more about himself than
he had ever had.

"Mulder, that was over ten years ago.  You were young, they were young."
She cocked her head to the side. "Mulder, you don't feel threatened by
Christian do you?"

"No! Mulder spat out as he ran his right hand through his hair the other
hand rested on his hip. "No," he repeated with less emotion, "of course
not. But from the beginning Christian rubbed me the wrong way. His
attitude towards me has always been competitive. He always seemed to
have a need to outdo me."

"Is that why you have a problem with the Inspector and I having a
drink?"

"No." Mulder replied. "Yes."

"Which is it Mulder?" Scully questioned a bit confused.

He took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. "Look Scully, in all the time
I've know Christian one thing is clear.  He seems to crave nothing more
than if it belongs to..."

What ever he had meant to say died on his lips as Scully and Mulder
gazed at each other from the room, leaving what wasn't said to hang in
the air.

"So," Scully said breaking the tension, "what have you learned about
that paper sample?"

Mulder, thankful for Scully's steadfast professionalism, reached for a
stack of papers that lay on his desk. "Last night I was the lucky
recipient of, what can be called, the strangest menage a troi known to
man."

"What?" Scully said bewildered.

Mulder took his seat again behind his desk. "About one o'clock this
morning I was greeted with the faces of our favorite paranoids."

Scully nodded her head in understanding. "Ah, I see."

"Earlier in the day," Mulder continued, "I had dropped off a sample of
the paper that we found with Edgar Simms.  They ran some tests on the
paper and did some research of their own and came up with this."

Mulder passed the small stack of papers across his desk to Scully.  She
took them and began to read the documents, then, she reread it, making
sure her first impressions were correct.

"This can't be." Scully shook her head.

"What?"

"If what this document says and the information you gave me last night
is correct, then everything we've been told about genetics is a lie,
Mulder." She said a slightly aghast.

Mulder sat up straight in his chair. "Meaning?"

Scully leaned toward the desk. "Meaning, that according to this, not
only have we mapped complete human DNA, but we have had this nowledge
for more than ten years."

Scully had Mulder's full attention. "This also claims that we have the
ability to isolate specific nucleopeptides and given the right medium
are able to decimate them."

"How is that possible?"

"It's not." She stated, "At least not according to everything I've read.
That type of knowledge can only be researched by technology we haven't
even discovered or created yet. What this is, Mulder, is Science
Fiction. Experimental theories yet to be approached by science."

"Yet, this claims that your science fiction, has become a science
reality." Mulder replied.

"Mulder, do you know how crazy this is?  The logistics alone would be
astronomical to create then to implement.  Not only would you have to
map a persons entire DNA, you would have to create a specific toxin for
that person, then find a way in which to administer that toxin. Not to
mention finding a way to somehow set it all into motion."

"Not anymore crazy than having your sister abducted in front of you and
finding out you're the center of a global conspiracy." Mulder joked.
"Okay, Scully, let's say for a moment that this is possible.  That it's
possible to isolate a person's DNA what do you do with that kind of
information?"

"Genetic cataloging?" Scully guessed.

"Maybe.  Or maybe, you use it as a weapon."

"A weapon?"

"Think about it, Scully." Mulder said. "Imagine being able to create a
method of targeting a specific person by their DNA.  It would be the
ultimate assassin.  You could kill a man from a thousand yards out while
he is sitting in the middle of a stadium full of people by releasing a
DNA specific toxin that would harm no one but the target."

"Are you saying this is some kind of new bioweapon?"

"I'm saying Scully," Mulder leaned toward her, "that we have seen
something like this before."

"Mulder, but we have no proof that we are dealing with the same thing."

"Maybe not the same weapon, just a more highly refined one."

Scully decided to play along. "Okay, Mulder, say you're right  Say, that
we are able to target a person based on their DNA and create a
biological weapon that is genetically engineered to kill them, what does
that have to do with our victims?  And, where does the paper fit in?"

"I don't know," Mulder confessed. "the only link we have to our victims
are their continual treatments of their ailments.  However, there is not
substantial enough similarities of their therapies to link them."

Scully stared off into space as she wrapped her mind on what Mulder had
just said. "Mulder, let me see the medical reports on the victims."

Mulder handed her the case files on their victims.  She flipped through
the pages until she stopped at what she was looking for. "That's it,
Mulder."

"What?"

Scully raised her eyes to Mulder. "Our link."

"You found one?" Mulder said excitedly.

"Found what?" Christian said.

Mulder and Scully looked up at Christian as he appeared in the doorway.
A mischievous little smile played on his lips.

Scully gave a quick sideway glance at Mulder. "Ah...we think we found a
connection between our victims."

"Ooo," Christian chimed as he strutted into the room. "Do tell."

"When I had initially reviewed the profiles on our victims," Scully
said, "I had noted that all of our victims were being treated for some
sort of ailment. The problem was that they all suffered from different
types of sickness, some ranging from the severe heart problem to an
extremely mild case of asthma."

"Yes," Christian said as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned
against the file drawers near Mulder's desk, "that's why we immediately
dismissed any theory of medical tampering."

"Perhaps we shouldn't have jumped to such a hasty conclusion." Scully
stated.

"What do you mean, Scully?" Mulder queried.

"At first glance it seems as though none of these victims have anything
in common, medically.  However, there is one little thing that we over
looked. Acetometaphine."

"Aspirin?" Mulder quizzically.

"Yes." Scully affirmed.  "I know this sounds odd, but think about it.
Aspirin is so commonly prescribed to patients that is now become
imbedded in our psyche.  Who would ever question the presence of a
bottle of aspirin?  And all of these patients would have been prescribed
some sort of dosage of it."

"Then it's possible to somehow introduce this 'designer toxin' into a
person by combining it in small undetectable doses in aspirin?"

"Theoretically, Mulder, yes." Scully admitted.

"Okay so, theoretically, how does the paper fit in?" Mulder asked.

"Well, according to the information you gave me," Scully surmised, "I
would say that the paper is the medium in which activates this chain
reaction. That would go a long way in explaining why no one else who
touched the paper was affected."

"A specifically targeted enzyme ingested by an unwitting victim, which
is triggered off by the most uncommon of detonators." Mulder summarized,
than shrugged his shoulders. "Death by paper cut."

"Are you saying that these people died because they touched a piece of
paper?" Christian asked unbelieving.

"Yes," Scully contended. "As strange as it sounds, Inspector, at the
moment it's the only plausible explanation for the deaths."

Christian placed his hands on his hips and sighed. "Agent Scully, I
think you've been around Mulder too long.  However, if this seems like
the most possible theory you have, then I'm in."

Scully tried to bite back a smile, but failed.

Christian beamed a smile at the agents. "So.  Where do we start?"

Mulder stood up and grabbed his jacket from his chair. "Edwin Roue."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Fat Phil's Diner
12:38 PM

In the otherwise empty greasy spoon, stood an mismatched group of three
men.

"Geez, Byers." Langly said impatiently from behind him. "They only serve
two items. Burnt or raw, pick one and let's go!"

Byers turned around to face Langly. "Look, it's my lunch and I'm going
to take all the time I need to pick out what I want.  Just because you
ordered your heart attack inducing meal doesn't mean I need to."

"Yeah." Frohike said from the other side of Byers. "Leave him alone
Langly.  He has a tender tummy.  Come on Byers, order something already.
Me and Pamela Anderson have a hot date."

Langly leaned forward on the counter to get a better look at Frohike.
"Hey, Frohike didn't you mother ever tell you that if you keep doing
*that* you could go blind?"

"Speak for yourself four-eyes." Frohike retorted.

"You want a piece of me, little man?" Langly challenged.

"Look," The waitress from behind the counter said, "are you gonna order
something or what?"

"Yeah, Byers" Frohike agreed. "Order something, so we can get out of
here and so I can kick Langly's ass."

Langly stood up to his full height and looked down at the much smaller,
Frohike. "Ohhh, in your dreams, you little..." Langly trailed off as he
watched someone enter the diner door.

"Oh yeah, well-" Frohike began to respond when he caught sight of what
Langly found so interesting.

Byers, still trying to decide what he wanted to eat, felt both Langly
and Byers touch his arm. "Wait!  I'll be done in a second."

Still he did not turn around until he felt Frohike jab him in the ribs
with his elbow. Annoyed now, Byers turned around. "What?" Was all he
could get out when he found out what it was his cohorts wanted him to
see.

Standing before him in technicolor was Susanne Modeski. The three men
stared at her open mouthed.

"Hello, John." She said with a grin. "Miss me?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Achilles' Sentiment
Author: Clover Blue
email address: glassrain@hotmail.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 4/7

FBI Building
12:35 PM

After going through the usual paper work needed to request a vehicle
Mulder, Scully and Christian were stopped in the hallway by Assistant
Director Skinner who wanted an update on how the case was going.
Following the appeasement of Skinner on the status of the case they
headed out to interview Edwin Roue again.

As they trio prepared to pile into their government assigned vehicle in
the parking structure of the FBI building, the sound of a muffled
cellphone floated through the air. Christian pulled out his chirping
phone from his jacket pocket. "Inspector Christian," he answered. "Yes.
Yes, sir. I shall be there immediately."

Christian finished his phone call and placed his cellphone back in his
pocket. "That was my superiors.  I need to meet them now, if not
sooner."

"Alright," Mulder said. "Scully and I will check out Roue.  Contact us
as soon as you can."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Offices of The Lone Gunmen
1:26 PM

Byers, Langly and Frohike stared at Susanne Modeski like hereto unknown
life form that had some how magically appeared. A mythical creature that
had once entered into their lives, but for an instant, and changed their
collective lives permanently, then vanished.

They three men huddled against a worktable in the middle of the room.
Each lost in their own thoughts of a heroine from their past that was to
forever be held upon a pedestal of myth and legend. A legend to daydream
of, but never to materialize.

Now there she sat, crossedlegged on a low office chair very much real.
Very much alive.

"Aren't you boys going to say anything?" Susanne inquired.

They looked at each other in question, then Frohicke finally spoke.
"Yeah...what the hell happened to you?"

"That is the question now isn't it?" Susanne smiled a lopsided grin and
sighed. "After I was...taken I was held in a small building somewhere in
the country, as they decided what to do with me. It was during this time
that three men in dark suits came to see me. They asked me a few
questions and left.  It was later that I was told I was going to be
moved and that I should consider myself lucky."

"Lucky?" Frohicke asked.

Susanne nodded her head. "It seems because of my research I was much
more valuable to them alive.  I had done most of the most critical work
on the P.H. project."

"That stuff in the inhalers at the warehouse?" Langly asked.

"Yes. They couldn't kill me, you see. They had plans for me."

"They?" Byers asked. "Who are they?"

Susanne looked into Byers eyes.  "I think you already know the answer to
that, John."

Byers said nothing to her comment as she continued with her explanation
of her whereabouts these last nine years. "I was given some kind of
knockout drug.  When I came to, I was laying on cot in a small gray
metal room.  To be honest, it was a cell. I stood there for what seemed
like days, until I was taken to see a man, whose name I was never told.
He was obviously someone of power.  He took me to a room that looked
like something out of a biochemist's dream. State of the art technology
and everything else you would need to work for years."

Byers stepped closer to Susanne. "What was the room for?"

"He then told me that this room was were I was work." She explained.
"They found my work on the P.H. project to be impressive and that they
would not want to waste my talents. I was told that I would be working
with other chemists' and their work, but not directly with the
chemists themselves."

"What kind of work?" Byers queried.

"Bioweapons."

A collective silence came over the room, and a sudden feeling of deja vu
set in.

"I was told," she continued, "that because of my trouble with the FBI,
among other things, it would be to my benefit to do the work they were
offering me. I toyed with the idea of sabotaging the experiments,
however, any thoughts I had about that were quickly erased after a bit
of," She looked down at her hands, "...convincing. It was at this point
that I concluded that refusal was not an option."

It didn't take much for them to understand what she meant by convincing,
the three men exchanged knowing glances.

"I worked, at first, by myself." She related." I was never told what
part of the project I was working on just that it was integral. Each day
a messenger would deliver a stack of data that I was to work on. As I
leafed through the papers I noticed a deep impression on one of the
sheets. The more I looked at it the more it became apparent that this
was a signature. So, remembering my Nancy Drew novels, I rubbed a pencil
over the impression, and sure enough there it was.  Edgar Simms. A year
had gone by and I had almost completely given up hope about ever getting
out of that place," she confessed, "until one day I saw something. A
name."

"A name?" Langly repeated.

"Edgar Simms." She said almost whistfully. "It was then I found it..."

"Found what?" Byers almost whispered.

Susanne stared off into space. "Hope," she smiled with a sad little
grin. "Everyday after that I looked through each and every scrap of
paper I came across, hoping that I could find something, anything, that
would help me. Meanwhile, I kept working. It was almost six more months
before I got another break.  This time I not only got a name, but
another piece of the puzzle as to what it was I was working on."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

GACT Pharmaceutical
1:32 PM

The massive building of steel and glass, that had so impressed Mulder
before with its beauty and level of protection, was strangely silent.
The parking lot that had earlier been a beehive of activity was now
almost completely empty save for the few scattered pigeons and stray
dogs that littered it.

Mulder and Scully stood in front of the entrance to the GACT
Pharmaceuticals and gazed around at the strange emptiness of this
magnificent building.

"Why do I have the strange feeling we walked into a ghost town?" Scully
said flatly.

"Maybe there's a showdown with Wyatt Earp we don't know about." Mulder
replied.

Mulder and Scully walked into the foyer of the building that was
unlocked.  The first thing that struck Mulder was the complete lack of
security.  The next thing he noticed was the complete lack of any sort
of furnishings.

Mulder lead Scully over to the elevators and pushed the up button.  The
doors slid open and the two agents stepped in.

"What floor?" Scully asked.

"The top, of course."

Scully pushed the top floor button. "Mulder, this isn't exactly what I
pictured when you briefed me on the way over here."

"I don't get it either, Scully," he conceded. "When I was here before,
there was a plethora of suits and security."

"Are you sure you just weren't imaging it?" Scully grinned.

"I don't think one can imagine the powerful, yet surprisingly, gentle
hands of Mr. Toy, Scully." Mulder grinned back.

A few seconds later the elevator dinged announcing they had reached
their floor.  Scully and Mulder stepped out into a long hallway that was
dimly lit. The hallway was lined with several doors that had no
identifying name plates of any kind. Mulder looked left as Scully looked
right.

"Which way?" Scully asked.

"This way." Mulder responded as he headed off in the left direction.
They walked for what seemed more than just a couple of minutes.  As they
walked they tried to open some of the other doors along the hall only to
find them locked.

Then they came upon a set of large brass doors. "The penthouse I
presume." Scully tossed out.

Mulder reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open. What greeted
them left Mulder more than a bit puzzled.  The elegant office that he
had walked into not long ago was now a mere shell of what he remembered.

No longer were there elegant paintings lining the wall.  Nor was there
the immense oak desk that had been the center piece of the room.  All
that was left of the once impressive office was a few scattered pieces
of paper that littered  the floor.

Mulder placed his hands on his hips and turned in a slow circle. "Damn,"
he said. "They even took the TV."

"What happened here Mulder?"

Mulder simply shook his head in reply.  Scully watched Mulder as he
walked over to the large metal door that was embedded into the wall.
Mulder placed his hand flat on the door and felt its cool surface.  "I
wonder what's behind door number one, Monty." He said as he felt around
the edges for some way to open it.

Scully came to stand beside him. "What is it Mulder?"

"It's wielded shut is what it is. That's very anti-Architectural Digest
if you ask me."

Scully leaned forward to the door to get a closer look for herself.
"You're right. It is wielded shut.  But, why?"

Mulder stepped back and stared at the door as if trying to call upon
some sort of x-ray vision.  "You got me.  However, I have the feeling
that behind door lies something very interesting."

"Okay, Mulder," Scully sighed from beside him, "Why would these people
just up and leave this building?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Scully.  But I think we'll
have all the answers we need as soon as we find Edwin Roue."

"You mentioned you thought Mr. Roue was withholding information from
you." Scully said seriously. "What do you think he was hiding?"

"Apparently, whatever it is, it's important enough to pack up an entire
office building and vanish."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

En Route
1:50 PM

Inspector Duncan Christian drove on autopilot as he replayed the meeting
with his 'superiors' in his head.

Christian had met with them in another posh hotel, which always made him
feel like some sort of high priced whore.  As before 'they' were
assembled in the most elegant of the rooms.  The three men formed a
semicircle as they sat in their matching wingback chairs.

The older of the three men sat in the middle.  The other two simply sat
backed and gazed at Christian as if he were some kind of specimen.  The
middle man, the one Christian referred to in his mind as the 'Alpha
male' since he was the only one that ever seemed to speak, leaned over
to hear the man at his right whisper something to
him.

Christian had dubbed the man to the right of Alpha, as Hush.  The few
times that Hush did say anything, was when he whispered in a hushed tone
to Alpha.

Alpha, glanced over to the man at his left, and simply nodded.
Christian had named the man to the left the Judge, because it seemed
that any questions that arrived needed the approval of this man, with a
simple nod yes or no.

The meeting was short, as were their tempers concerning the case.
"Inspector we are not pleased with the progress of this case." Alpha
commented.

"You were assigned this case because of your previous involvement with
Agent Mulder." Hush added.

Christian said nothing quite shocked to hear Hush had a voice.

"Agents Mulder and Scully have greatly jeopardized our research." Alpha
said. "Our main base of operations has been compromised due to Mulder's
inquiries. Inspector, you were sent here with an agenda that we fully
expect you to follow."

"I'm doing what I can, sir," Christian offered. "However, Agent Mulder
is not easily manipulated.  There is also the added problem of his
partner, Agent Scully."

Alpha eyes squinted almost imperceptibly. "Have you been able to win any
loyalty from her?"

"Agent Scully has proven to be..." Christian paused, "a much more
difficult subject than we had initially anticipated."

"Inspector," Alpha leaned forward in his chair, "I need not explain to
you know the significance of this investigation to our plans.  It is
imperative that you stop them from finding out anything else."

"I will do my best, sir."

The Judge lifted his eyes to Christian. "You will need to do better than
that, Inspector."

Now as he drove to meet Mulder and Scully back at the FBI building, he
had made up his mind.  He now knew exactly what he had to do.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Basement
2:15 PM

Scully felt Mulder lean over her where she sat in his chair behind his
desk.  His eyes followed her fingers as she ran them along the text of
the paper. The quietness of the room and Mulder's proximity to Scully
allowed him to hear the small sigh she released.  Companionably they
searched the case files, again, for something that would connect their
victims, The Genesis Parchment #3101, Susanne Modeski and perhaps Edwin
Roue, together.

After the suspicious discovery of the deserted GACT Building Scully had
received a call from Christian informing her that he had finished with
his superiors and scheduled to met them back at FBI Headquarters.
Mulder was, of course, was perturbed by this.  Saying
that going back to headquarters was a waste of time.  However, Scully
had convinced him that they would make more headway if they and
Inspector Christian got together and discussed the case in more depth.

Once back in the office, Mulder found a two fax sheets sitting on his
desk. He lifted them off his desk and read it's contents.

"What's that, Mulder?" Scully asked.

He shook his head. "I don't know." He replied as he continued to eye the
document in his hand.  "Maybe you can make something of this Scully."

Scully took two steps and gathered the faxes from Mulder's hand. "Looks
like more information on the Genesis Parchment, from the lab."

Mulder let out a little breath of agitation.  This case was beginning to
wear on his nerves.  Under normal circumstances, the abnormal
circumstances of a case like this would add a little sunshine to
Mulder's day.  With Christian added to the mix, it turned a decidedly
intriguing case, into something else entirely.  Not only did Mulder
have to contend with the Inspector and all the memories he brought with
him of Mulder's youth, there was also the added trouble having to deal
with Christian's interest in his partner.

After five years of working with Scully, Mulder thought he knew his
partner fairly well. He thought he knew her well enough, to believe she
was a good judge of people and would not let Christian charm his way
through this investigation the way he charmed his way through everything
else in his life.  At least he thought so, until he found them sitting
'cozily' in a bar.

Mulder had seen many things throughout his work on the X-Files that he
would deem unexplainable.  Alien abductions, cloning, global
conspiracies, flukemen, and even the occasional killer cockroach. Seeing
Scully and Christian drinking at a bar together, had to be right up
there with the best of them though.

Mulder felt Scully brush past him as he ran his hand through his hair.

"However," she said slowly, "there is something else here."

That got Mulder's attention. "What is it?"

Scully walked around Mulder's desk and sat down in his chair and laid
the papers back on the desk top and kept reading.  "I'm not sure, but
this seems to state that the Genesis Parchment, is a enzyme based
material."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning," Scully said, "this paper is almost completely biological in
nature."

Mulder stared at Scully trying to comprehend what she had said. "Are you
saying that the paper could quite possible be organic?"

"What I'm saying, Mulder, is that this paper has all the characteristics
of skin." Mulder and Scully fell quiet as what she just said settled in.

The sullen silence of the room was suddenly broken by the whimsical
voice that floated into the room. "I believe it was Professor Plum in
the ballroom with a candle stick, personally." Christian announced from
the doorway.

Mulder and Scully looked up from their respective places and watched
Christian swagger into the room, a smirk on his face and a manila
envelope in his hand.

"I'm rooting for the Scooby Doo ending, myself." Mulder jibbed as
Christian came to stand next to him.

Christian very deftly forced Mulder out of his way and looked over
Scully's shoulder at the papers on the desk.  "What have you got?" he
asked.

"We've been going over this new information from the lab about the
Genesis Parchment." Scully replied, her gaze still transfixed on the
paperwork in front of her as if willing the answers she was looking for
to jumped off the paper.

"Anything in there that might help us?" Christian asked.

"Yes and no." She replied honestly.

"Well, then," Christian announced, "perhaps this will help you."

Christian placed the manila envelope in his hand on the desk.

"What's that?" Mulder asked.

"Just a little something that could move this case along."

Scully flipped through the pages. "Mulder, look at this."

Mulder tried to move closer to Scully with great effort of having to
maneuver around Christian first. When finally he did, Mulder did not
turn to see the small smile that played on Christian's lips.

Mulder leaned over Scully's shoulder and brushed her shoulder with his
tie as it fell forward.  The papers were marked 'TOP SECRET: AUTHORIZED
PERSONNEL ONLY'.

"Where did you get this?" Mulder asked.

Christian turned a sly smile to Mulder. "Let's just say a little bird
gave me this."

Scully pointed out a passage for Mulder to read.  When he did so, he
straightened up and looked at Christian who was leaning his hip against
the edge of Mulder's desk, his arms folded loosely across his chest.  A
smug grin on his face.

The Documents that Christian had supplied them with revealed that Edwin
Roue was not only looking over the Genesis Parchment project but was
also involved in the ARK PROJECT. The ARK PROJECT were top secret
genetics experiments by a group of researchers in 1947
who believed they could extract human DNA, therefore, purifying it.
They, in essence, tried to create a master race.

In the late sixties, their initial experiments were deemed inhumane and
shut down by various groups of scientists.  However, the work done by
the ARK PROJECT, was too valuable to just toss away.  It was widely
theorized that the project never really stopped. What Mulder held in his
hands was proof of that.

According to the documents, Edwin Roue along with other scientists,
continued the work that the original ARK PROJECT had set out to do.  In
doing so they had been able to find a complete map of human DNA.  Not
only did they find the DNA map, they were also able to isolate specific
genomes of an individual person.

The documents also listed several names of those who worked on the ARK
PROJECT and their alias such as: Gustav Toussiant, Carl Jensen, Claudio
Marez, Angela Newman, Albert Moore, Edgar Simms. The names of all the
victims.  Including the name of Susanne Modeski.

"In all our background checks on these victims," Scully said, "we never
found that they were all scientists."

"Camouflage, Agent Scully." Christian said. "You see, these people were
charting undiscovered country that would change the world of genetics as
we know it.  So changing some birth certificates, licenses, and other
documentation would not be difficult."

Scully nodded in agreement.  "If what this says is true, these people
were under some kind of secret witness protection."

"Apparently, not that secret," Mulder said. "They're dead."

Scully and Christian watched Mulder as he began to pace the small space
of his office. "Okay," Mulder began, "So now we know that all of our
victims are connected in some way, and that they were all murder the
same way, according to autopsy reports."

"So where does Susanne Modeski fit into all this?" Scully asked.

Mulder stopped pacing and turned to Scully. "Susanne was part of the
research team on another experiment called the PH Project.  They dealt
in the creation of bioweapons. We had assumed her dead until we saw that
video surveillance tape from the book store. She is the only one alive
from this list, other than Edwin Roue."

"Mulder, do you think Susanne Modeski are killing all these people?"
Christian asked. "If so, why?"

"I think Susanne Modeski is quite capable of anything, Christian."
Mulder replied. "As for why, we won't know that until we find Edwin
Roue. If he's still alive that is."

Scully leaned forward on the desk. "You think Edwin Roue is in danger,
Mulder?"

Mulder placed his hands on his hips. "I think, Edwin Roue, should watch
his back."

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Achilles' Sentiment
Author: Clover Blue
E-mail address: glassrain@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 5/7

FBI Basement
4:25 PM

After receiving the lab reports from the FBI Lab and with the
information supplied by Christian on Edwin Roue and the Genesis
Parchment, Mulder had contacted Scotland Yard and asked them to do some
background checks on the people on the list. As he did this, Scully went
back to the FBI Forensic Science division with some vague 'hypothetical'
questions for the boys at the lab concerning the 'theoretical' ability
to map human DNA and its purpose.

At first the lab boys just looked at her with blank stares.  "Agent
Scully, what you are proposing is not possible within the realm of
science we are capable of," said Paul Ages, one of the older
criminalists.

"Yes, I know." Scully said flatly. "However, if this were possible, what
kind of biological hazard are we looking at?"

Paul thought for a moment. "If the activating medium is handled by
anyone other than the person whose DNA it is designed for, I see no
hazard at all."

Scully nodded. "Yes, that's what I thought. Thanks, Paul"

Scully had turned to leave the lab when Paul called out to her. "Agent
Scully, I think there is something you may be overlooking here."

"What is that?"

"Though everyone on the planet has their own unique DNA pattern, we also
share many of the same genomes."

"Meaning?" Scully asked.

"If there was a way to map out human DNA completely," Paul began, "even
isolate it for a specific person, it would not be difficult to isolate a
common DNA strand in all humans. So, not only would you be able to
narrow your spectrum to one person, the reverse would
also be true.  You could broaden your spectrum to a strand common to
just about everyone."

This was something Scully had not taken into account. She relayed this
new theory to Mulder who was busy on the phone with Scotland Yard when
she walked back into their office.

"Yes. Yes...I see." Mulder answered the voice on the other end of the
phone.

Christian stood leaning against Mulder's filing cabinets, case file in
hand.  His concentration was aimed at what he was reading when Mulder
hung up the phone. "That was Scotland Yard," Mulder announced as he
leaned back in his chair, "with the background checks on our victims.
Apparently they were all declared dead October 13, 1985."

"What?" Scully said with surprise as she came to stand in front of
Mulder's desk.

Mulder looked up at Scully from where he sat. "According to Scotland
Yard they were all killed in a fire while attending a symposium in
London.  Though none of the London city coroners nor any of the
surrounding hospitals seem to have any record of ever receiving the
bodies. Neither is there any paperwork of any autopsies ever being
preformed on any of these people. They were, however, registered as DOA
at the London Metro Morgue."

"But, Mulder," Scully said, "these people didn't die until recently."

"As I said before, Agent Scully," Christian interjected, "a few pieces
of paper versus scientific breakthrough is hardly a match.  What Agent
Mulder is really saying, is that these peoples deaths were faked."

"For what purpose?" Scully asked.

"For the ARK and Genesis Parchment Projects." Mulder concluded. "Think
about it, Scully. These prominent scientists all die on the same day, or
so we are lead to believe. But in truth they are very much alive,  and
free to work unconstrained by any outside influences."

Scully raised an eyebrow. "Mulder, are you saying that there was a bunch
of dead people working on a dead project?"

Mulder nodded with a grin.  "Yes, Scully.  That's exactly what I'm
saying."

Christian let out a heavy sigh and shrugged his shoulders . "Makes sense
to me."

"What about Susanne Modeski?" Scully asked.

Mulder stood up. "That's what we need to find out," he said.

"How?" Scully asked.

Mulder smirked mischievously.  "Are you up to a little visit to our
favorite trio of paranoids?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Offices of the Lone Gunmen
7:25 PM

Frohike cocked his head to the side and squinted. "Hey, Mulder, who's
the stiff?"

"This is Scotland Yard Inspector Duncan Christian." Mulder said with a
loopsided grin.

"Why'd you bring him here?" Langly asked suspiciously.

"I just thought his trip to the states just wouldn't be complete without
seeing America's most paranoid men all in one room." Mulder quipped as
the trio of Mulder, Scully and Christian entered the room.

Now Mulder, Scully and Christian stood in the middle of the dimly lit
offices of the Lone Gunmen. The three men stood in a huddle looking at
Christian with apprehension.

"To what do we owe the honor?" Frohike said dryly.

"I need you to tell us everything you know about Susanne Modeski."
Mulder declared.

Mulder watched the three men glance nervously at each other. He placed
his hands on his hips and squinted at the guilty looking group.

"What do you mean?" Byers said with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Is there something wrong?" Mulder asked.

"Wrong?" Frohike said nervously. "Nothing's wrong, ah, right Langly?"

Langly bobbed his head in agreement, which made him very much like one
of those little dogs people put in their back seat windows. "Yeah.
Nothing wrong here."

Mulder shot Scully a sideways look, who in response shot up an eyebrow.

"Okay boys," Mulder said skeptically, "what's going on?"

They said nothing, but shifted about uneasily. Mulder took a step closer
to Byers who looked the most tense.

"Byers," Mulder said, "do you want to tell me what's going on here?  Why
do you all look like your mom just caught you reading Playboy?"

"Wha..what do you want to know?" Byers stammered.

"What do you want to tell me?" Mulder replied.

Mulder and Byers hung nose to nose in silence.  It was quite obvious
they were hiding something.  What that was Scully didn't know.  Mulder,
did, however.

"She's contacted you.  Hasn't she?"  Mulder asked in a matter of fact
tone.

"Who contacted you?" Scully asked.

Mulder did not move his eyes from Byers as he answered. "Susanne
Modeski. Isn't that right Byers?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." Byers retorted.

"Yes, you do.  What did she want?" Mulder drawled smoothly.

Under Mulder's cool gaze Byers said, "Nothing. I mean..."

"You've seen her?" Christian finally spoke.

Byers became more nervous. "Yes.  I mean no!"

"Which is it Byers?" Mulder continued to stare unblinking at him.

Byers turned to look at Frohike and Langly for some sort of reassurance
and saw that they were as nervous as he was.  Byers turned back to look
at Mulder staring him straight in the eye.

"Okay." Byers finally broke down. "She was here."

Still Mulder's gaze did not waiver.  "What did she want?"

"She wanted our help." Byers said deflated. "She said she was being
hunted down."

Mulder finally stepped away from Byers, much to his relief.

"Hunted down, by who?" Scully asked.

"By the same men that had kidnapped her before." Byers said.

"What else did she say?" Christian questioned.

Byers looked at his cohorts, then back to Mulder.  "She said that there
were men following her, trying to kill her."

"Too bad she failed to mention she was the one doing all the killing."
Mulder said coolly.

"No!" Byers countered. "She said she was only doing what she needed to
protect herself."

"Do you call killing six defenseless people trying to protect herself?"
Mulder's voice was laced with anger.

"That's not what happened!" Byers snapped.

"She's using you!" Mulder barked. "Can't you see that?"

Byers shook his head violently. "No!" Byers burst. "Susanne wouldn't do
that."

"She, wouldn't?" Mulder said mockingly. "Byers, Susanne Modeski has
already killed six people, and is quite possibly on her way to kill a
seventh.  What will it take to convince you?" Mulder bit out.

Byers shook his head absently. "She wouldn't..."

"Look," Scully snapped, "we don't have a lot of time here.  If we don't
find Susanne now, she'll commit another murder.  A murder you could
prevent."

Langly and Frohike looked at each other in unspoken communication.
"Look she's right, Byers." Frohike stepped up.

Byers jerked around to look at Frohike. "What do you mean?"

"Byers, if what they're saying is true, Susanne has killed and will
probably do it again.  I don't want that on my hands.  Just tell them
where she is."

"Byers," Mulder lowered his voice, "I know what Susanne means to you,
but what she's doing is wrong. You know that.  Help us."

All eyes were on Byers as he lowered his head.  Byers was between a rock
and a hard place.  He lifted his head and directed his stare to Mulder.
"She went to one of GACT's warehouses on north side of town." Byers's
said in a hushed defeated tone.

Mulder nodded his head, understanding what Byers had just given up.
"Thank you."

Mulder, Scully and Christian turned to leave.  "Mulder," Byers called
out when they reached the door, "don't...don't hurt her."

"I won't do anything she doesn't make me do." Was all the assurance
Mulder could give.  For Byers that was enough. It would have to be.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

GACT Pharmaceuticals Warehouse
8:45 PM

After navigating through drizzling cold rain Mulder parked the car
beside two other empty vehicles, that sat on the otherwise deserted
warehouse parking lot.

"Looks like we're late to this party," Mulder commented as the three of
them exited the car.  The chilly wind kicked up, and whipped at them
with rain.

Christian motioned to the main door that was slightly ajar at the
entrance of the warehouse.  Mulder, Scully and Christian made their way
over to the open door, stopping for a brief moment to check out the
other two cars.  A small gray colored four door sedan, very similar to
the one that they drove, was parked next to a very large, very expensive
looking black Mercedes Benz.

Satisfied that there was nothing of importance in either of the cars,
the small group continued on their course to the door.  A few yards from
the door, Mulder put up his hand up as a signal to halt.  Mulder
listened for any sounds coming from the inside of the warehouse.

"I hear something."  Mulder said in a whisper.

Scully and Christian strained to hear the noise for themselves, when the
sudden sound of crashing rang through the night rain.

Instinctively, the trio went for their weapons.

"I'll check around back." Christian whispered.

Mulder nodded as he and Scully watched Christian disappear around the
corner of the building.  Mulder and Scully exchanged glances as they
prepared to enter the warehouse.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Christian stepped stealthily as he rounded the corner out of Mulder's
and Scully's sight.

The side of the warehouse was dark.  In the rain he could barely make
out the outline of the building. Christian flattened himself against the
wall, his weapon drawn and made his way slowly along the cool wet
surface.  Careful not to slip in the slick mud that pooled around his
feet, Christian squinted his eyes against the darkness trying to see.

From somewhere ahead of him he heard the sound of movement.  He stopped
in his tracks and listened and heard the sound again.  Inch by inch
Christian crept his way toward the sound of the noise.

A quick movement in front of him caught his eye, and he froze.
Christian raised his weapon and leveled it in the direction of the
movement.  All of his senses were tuned into the sound and movement in
front of him, so he didn't have time to react to the sudden
blow that came to the back of his head.

Christian slumped forward onto his knees and fell silently into the cold
mud.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mulder slipped quietly into the warehouse.  With his eyes he made a
quick sweep of his parameter, before signaling to Scully to enter.

Upon entering the room, the first thing they noticed was the cold.  The
rain outside had increased as well as the howling wind, dropping the
temperature.  The rain pelted the metal warehouse producing a hollow
ring that echoed throughout the room.  Mulder turned to look at Scully
and saw her chilled breath hang in the air about her face.

In the vast darkness of the room they could make out a high ceiling.
The concrete floor seemed smooth and unmarked.  Just beyond the
threshold lay four large unmarked crates. Beyond the crates a dim light
glowed from a door partially blocked by the crates.  Checking their
surroundings Mulder and Scully saw little else in the gloomy
room besides the crates, some scattered papers and a few rats.

Scully and Mulder glanced at each other when the sound of scrapping came
from the obscured door.  Mulder and Scully drew their weapons and walked
cautiously toward the scrapping noise.

As they drew closer to the door the scrapping became louder and more
persistent.  Mulder and Scully stopped behind the crates for cover.
They pressed themselves against the wooden crates.  Mulder leaned out
from behind the crate just enough to peek into the room.

Light shone from a naked light bulb that hung in the middle of the small
room.  The rays fell upon a lone figure strapped into a chair, their
back to the entrance. The figures hands were tied behind the back of the
chair, feet tied to the legs of the chair and a gag tied around his
head.  Mulder watched as the figure made guttural
noises in his throat as he strained to make a small thrust forward.

"There's someone in there." Mulder whispered.

Scully leaned around Mulder to peer into the room and saw the figure
struggle against his bonds.  Scully turned to Mulder and nodded a silent
agreement to enter the room.

With Mulder in the lead, they enter the room their weapons ready.
Mulder walked around the figure in the chair and stared into the
terrified eyes of Edwin Roue.

Mulder holstered his gun. "It's Roue."  Mulder informed Scully as he
began to work at his bonds.

Scully tilted her head to confirm it for herself. She heard the muffled
cries coming from behind his gag and watched as tears of relief streamed
down Edwin's face.

Mulder loosened Edwin's bond's from his hands and was working on his
feet when, Edwin reached up and wrenched the gag from his mouth.  He
inhaled in gasps like a man who had been held under water too long.

"Thank god!" Edwin whispered hoarsely. "Thank god, you found me!"

"Mr. Roue," Scully whispered, "who did this to you?"

"She's mad!" Edwin whispered back in a tone bordering on mad himself.
"She was going to kill me!"

"Who?" Mulder said in a low voice. "Who was going to kill you?  Susanne
Modeski?"

Edwin nodded his head to upset to say anything more.

"Where is she Mr. Roue?" Scully asked.

"I don't know.  There was a noise outside and then she disappeared. I
don't know where she is!"

Scully looked Mulder.  "Christian." She mouthed.

Mulder simply nodded.  "Mr. Roue," he said, "you need to get out of
here.  Right now."

At this point Edwin would agree with anything.  "Do you still have your
keys, Mr. Roue?" Mulder asked.

"Yes! Yes, I do." Edwin stammered.

"Alright, Mr. Roue, this is what you're going to do," Mulder instructed.
"We are going to walk you to your car, and you are going to get in and
go get help. Do you understand Mr. Roue?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Mulder said, "you are going to follow Agent Scully, out of here
until we reach the entrance.  I'll be right behind you."

Scully took point as Edwin and Mulder brought up the rear.  The sound of
the rain's tempo seemed to increase as they reached the door.  Scully
looked around to see if everything was clear.

"Alright, Mr. Roue," Scully said over her shoulder, "I need you to run
to your car. Can you do that?"

Again he simply nodded his understanding.  "Good." She said.  Taking one
more look around she said, "Go!"

Scully and Mulder watched as Edwin raced across the slippery ground to
his car.  He fumbled in his pocket for his keys for what seemed like an
eternity until he finally pulled them out .  He opened his door and
almost immediately  started his car. They were watching Edwin pull away
from the warehouse when Scully felt something pressing
against at her temple.

"Mulder," Scully said in a low voice.

Mulder turned to see Susanne Modeski, with a gun held to Scully's head.
 

Part 6/7
 

The rain sounded like gunshots as it ricocheted off the metal building.
The sharp ringing played havoc on Mulder's nerves as he watched Susanne
grab Scully's gun from her hand and threw it as far as she could. With
one hand on Scully's arm and the other on the gun aimed at Scully's
head, Susanne Modeski looked over Scully's shoulder at Mulder in cool
regard.

Mulder felt a rush of emotion wash over him as he stared at his partner
with a gun to her head.  Scully saw Mulder's eyes widen ever so
slightly.

"Put your gun down." Susanne said in a low deliberate voice.

Mulder did as he was told and placed his weapon on the floor.

"Now, kick it away from you."  Susanne said in the same low tone.

Scully watched as Mulder kicked his gun savagely. "You're not going to
get away with this, Susanne," Scully gritted.

"Quiet," Susanne whispered angrily into Scully's ear.

Mulder began to walk toward Susanne painfully slow as he spoke in a
neutral tone, "Okay, Susanne. My gun's gone. Now, let Agent Scully go."

"Stop, right there."  Susanne commanded. "Put your hands above your
head."

Again Mulder obeyed and froze in his tracks.

"Okay, now," Susanne said evenly, "we're all going to walk over to the
room behind those crates."

Susanne stared at Mulder unblinkingly. "After you, Agent Mulder." She
said motioning with her head toward the direction of the room. "Slowly.
And keep your hands where I can see them."

Scully felt Susanne's grip on her arm increase, as well as the pressure
of the gun barrel at her temple.  Mulder noticed it too.

The wind outside had began to pick up again as Mulder made his way  for
the small room where they had just released Edwin Roue,  Susanne and
Scully in tow.  The wind groaned against the side of the building in a
eerie agony as Mulder reached the door.  He stopped, and turned
sideways.

"Don't turn around,"  Susanne commanded and pressed the gun against
Scully's head sharply into her tender flesh.  Scully let out a small
gasp.

Mulder ceased all movements. "Ladies first." Mulder said dryly over his
shoulder.

Susanne stared at his profile.  "It's the nineties, Agent Mulder.  Try
to be a little more politically correct."

"Sorry," Mulder said sarcastically, "I don't quite know the proper
etiquette for a gun being pointed at my partners head."

"Alright, Agent Mulder," Susanne said, "I want you to walk straight into
the room and face the opposite wall.  Do not turn around until I say
so."

Mulder walked into the small cold room.  The light from the bare light
bulb lit the room harshly as he marched across the concrete floor to the
gray metal wall. As he faced the wall he was pushed from behind and
pitched forward.  He braced himself against the wall and regained his
balance.  He turned to see Scully crumpled on the floor.

He quickly reached down to help her up. "Are you okay?"  He asked with
some worry in his voice visually examining her for any wounds.

"I'm fine, Mulder." Scully reassured him as he pulled her onto her feet.

Mulder turned and accusing eye at Susanne, who now stood in the doorway,
her gun leveled at them.

"I apologize for that, Agent Scully," Susanne said, "but you were about
to make a play for my gun, and I couldn't allow that."

Susanne regarded the pair as they hung shoulder to shoulder in the
middle of the cold room. Then her eyes centered on Mulder.

"How could you do that?"  She asked.  "How could you let him go?"

When Mulder said nothing she became visibly agitated. "Do you have any
idea what you just did?" Susanne sneered.

"Yes," Mulder said in a smooth calculated voice. "I let a innocent man
go."

"Innocent!"  Susanne screeched from the doorway as a sudden snap of
thunder rang threw the warehouse. "That man doesn't know the meaning of
the word.  Edwin Roue is the most evil man alive."

"Why do you say that, Susanne?" Scully asked calmly.

Susanne fixed her gaze on Mulder. "The last time we saw each other,
Agent Mulder, you were writhing on the floor in another warehouse. You
were babbling incoherently from the effects of the chemical I helped
create.  What you were exposed to was meant to be distributed to the
general population.  Do you remember that?"

"Yes,"  Mulder replied. "I also remember you killing two men."

"They were going to kidnap me," Susanne raised her voice. "They would
have killed you too."

"Why did you kill those people, Susanne?" Mulder snapped. "Why do you
want to kill Roue?"

"I didn't kill them." Susanne voice was deadly calm. "I stopped them."

"Stopped them from doing what?" Scully asked.

Susanne turned her cool gaze to Scully. "Creating death."

"So this is some sort of hobby for you?"  Mulder said sarcastically.

Susanne snapped her head in Mulder's direction. "Do you have any idea of
what they were doing, Agent Mulder?" Susanne said, acid dripping from
her voice. "They were on the verge of making the perfect bioweapon.
Clean, quiet, almost completely undetectable. Then something happened."

"What?" Mulder asked.

"Me." Susanne said.  "I found out what they were doing and I escaped.
Almost immediately after I left, the project completely shut down and
relocated.  With me out on the loose they had a big breach in security
they couldn't afford to be found out.  They were too close to the end
results they wanted.  And what they wanted was too unspeakable for me to
let happen."

Susanne's jaw tightened as she inhaled deeply. "I had been gone for
almost a month before they found me.  By then I had a plan to stop them.
I knew from prior experience, that going through the 'proper' channels,"
She said eyeing Mulder knowingly, "was not the way
to go.  So I decided what better way to stop them then by using their
own 'work'?  What better irony?"

"So you admit you killed those people?"  Scully asked.

"It didn't start out that way," Susanne explained. "I did in fact warn
them, all of them, of the ramifications their experiments would have on
them.  It took me a year before I found out where they had moved the
project.  During this time I was doing my own 'work'.
I had been integral in their research enough to be able to recreate, on
a much smaller scale, what I had been working on.  After a few years of
research, you pick up on a few things."

The wind howled outside and blew through the little room.  The light
bulb began to sway back and forth from the wind that pushed at it
through a small opening in the roof.  The air brushed over them, sending
chills through Scully and Mulder.

"Later,"  Susanne continued, "I found that they had disbanded the
scientists working on the project.  They had changed their names and
occupations and placed them in the general population until I was found
and brought in.  They believed if I blew the whistle on them
that at least this way no one could find out any information from the
researchers. This gave me the perfect opportunity to find them
myself...and do what needed to be done."

"What you are talking about is pre-meditated murder," Scully said.

"What you call pre-meditated murder, Agent Scully, I call taking
precautionary steps" Susanne said rationally.

"What does Edwin Roue have to do with any of this?" Scully asked.

"Edwin, was in charge of it all."  Susanne answered.

As Susanne gave her dissertation, Mulder was acutely aware that
Christian was no where to be seen.  Mulder assumed something had
happened to him, or he would have arrived by now.

"What did you do to my other man?"  Mulder asked.

Susanne cocked and eyebrow.  "Oh, he's lying around here somewhere."

Mulder and Scully took that as a warning, and as on cue thunder crashed
violently overhead.

"Well," Susanne said, "this has been fun, but I must go."

"So what happens now?" Mulder asked. "Are you going to kill us?  That
won't accomplish anything."

"I agree, Agent Mulder," Susanne said nonchalantly. "There's too much
death in this world. However, I can't have you chasing after me, either.
So instead of taking your lives, I'll take your clothes."

A smirk settled on Susanne's lips as she watched the confusion that ran
across Mulder and Scully's faces.

"You heard me. Strip."  Susanne ordered as she flashed her gun in
emphasis.

Hesitantly Mulder and Scully glanced at each other and began to remove
their clothing.

"Just so you won't think I'm total bad, I'll allow you to keep your
underwear." Susanne watched as they slowly and methodically removed each
article of clothing from their bodies.

Susanne cocked her head to the side and said, "You know I think there's
a show here. 'When FBI Agents Strip.  Next on the Fox Network'."

Mulder and Scully both shot her scathing glares.  "I see that you are
not amused." Susanne said flatly. "Ah, hell. I'll even let you keep your
trench coat Agent Mulder."

Backing out the door, Susanne tossed Mulder his coat.  "Oh, by the way
Agents, I hear it's going to a real chilly night.  Do try to keep warm."

As Susanne prepared to close the door she turned back to Mulder and
Scully standing in the middle of the room wearing only their underwear.
"You know," Susanne said, "I heard somewhere that the best way to
recover body heat is to climb into a sleeping bag
naked with some else who's also naked."

Susanne saw the expressions of shock on their faces. "Well...just a
thought."  With that she closed the door, slid the lock into place and
was gone.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mulder and Scully stood frozen in place, their eyes riveted to the door
Susanne Modeski had just existed through.  With a mixture of anger,
fear, adrenaline and embarrassment they turned to look at each other in
their mutual state of undress.

"Boy,"  Mulder looked down at Scully, "I'm glad I took my mother's
advice to put on a clean pair of underwear when I left the house this
morning."

"Mulder," Scully said a bit shakily, "we're locked in."

"Uh, Scully," Mulder grinned, "I think that is the least of our
problems."

Mulder glanced up at the ceiling and Scully followed his gaze.  They
stared at the gaping hole in the ceiling that was slowly but surely
leaking into the room creating a puddle not far from where they stood.
They watched as the wind gently swayed the light bulb to and fro
lighting the room like some sort of twisted disco ball.

The wind outside howled angrily as it whipped the rain savagely against
the building. A sudden burst of cold air mixed with the icy rain sprayed
into the room over Mulder and Scully.  Scully wrapped her arms
protectively around herself the best she could as stood in her pale pink
lace bra and matching panties.  She looked up into Mulder's face and
watched a shudder run through him as he received the brunt of the cold
blast on every part of his body that his black silk boxers didn't cover.

"Mulder,"  she said, "we have to get out of here, or we'll die of
hypothermia. Do you  have your cellphone in your coat?"

Mulder did a quick check of all the coats pockets. "No," he said in
resignation. "She must have taken it."

He assessed the small room, and seemed to come to a decision.  He
stepped behind Scully and gently placed the trench coat Susanne had left
them over Scully's shoulders.

"Mulder-" she began in protest.

"No arguments, Scully."  He said in a tone that broached no further
discussion.

Scully gave him a weak smile as gratitude.  "What are we going to do,
Mulder?"  She asked.

He crossed his arms tightly over his chest as he eyed the steel framed
door.  "I'm going to see if I can break down the door."

Scully looked at him disbelieving.  "Mulder, that door must be made of
solid metal.  There is no way you can break that down."

"What should I do then?" Mulder snapped. "Offer you a game of 'Twister'?
I have to try something, Scully."

As if his anger directed the turbulent storm raging outside, the winds
began to howl and groan with increased intensity. The malevolent winds
blew in another jet stream of frigid air and water across the room,
sending a vicious chill through Mulder.

Scully saw his face contort against the terrible onslaught his body and
mind were experiencing. "Mulder," Scully said gently, "you're
shivering."

Mulder gazed down at her worried face and tried to calm his emotions.
"I'll be alright," he tried to reassure her. "I just have to find a way
out of here, and find Christian. That's if he's still alive."

Scully noticed the goosebumps begin to pop up on Mulder's skin.
"Mulder, our first priority is to stay warm."

Mulder gave a quick nod in agreement.  He looked at the floor and picked
a spot as far away from the blowing air and water puddles as he could
find. "The bad news is," he said through chattering teeth, "it's not
raining sleeping bags.  The good news is, we have a trenchcoat and a
nice patch of cold concrete slab." He walked stiffly over to the spot he
had chosen and motioned for Scully to follow.

Mulder sat on the cold concrete floor and leaned his back against the
freezing metal wall and opened his arm to let Scully settled in next to
him.

Scully stared at him for a moment. "I know this goes against male and
female agents consorting together, Scully, but I think the bureau might
make an exception in this case."

Scully slipped the trenchcoat off of her shoulders and gingerly sat next
to Mulder as close as she dare and rested her head against his shoulder.
Though he tried not to, Mulder couldn't help but steal a quick assessing
glance over her when she sat next to him. He placed his arm lightly
around her and pulled the coat up as far as he could, trying not to make
Scully any more uncomfortable than she already was.

For a long moment they sat thi