By Mulderache
teresa_warrick@yahoo.com

Spoilers: Anything Xfiles

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Chris Carter and
1013 productions.

Note: Written and submitted to the fic of the month contest
at Mulder's Refuge.Though not a winner...it sure was fun!

May 15,2003

~~~

He had spent most of the day working a a horrific case
involving a serial killer,who had a propensity for killing
pregnant women in their third term. He had seen enough grueling
pictures to last him a lifetime. His head hurt and he felt tired,
but he knew that sleep would not come too soon.He needed a drink,
an old habit he learned in VCS after a bad day at work, one he
had given up when he had taken over the Xfiles.

He exits the cab and hands the cab driver a twenty and walks
away, a small tip for the driver who wisks away hurriedly,
screeching his tires to show dismay of the small gratuity.

He enters the dark smoked-filled bar and wonders if there
are any of the VCS agents still hanging around awaiting his
profile, which he had just finished thirty minutes prior.
Refugee's Tavern has always been a great hangout for the
VCS team.  He remembers coming here quiet often when he was
working for Bill Patterson. He would drink and smoke with
the best of them. When he had drank enough to get nice and
intoxicated, or just plain ole flat ass drunk, they would
send his sorry butt back to his apartment in a taxi to sleep
it off and have the worst hangover ever invented the next
morning.

He walks up to the bar, throws his jacket over a vacant stool
and orders a drink. The bartender is a middle-aged, prematurely
graying man with a beard and glasses. He pours the Vodka into a
shot glass and hands it to Mulder.  "It's been a while.  Been on
the wagon?"

He shakes his head and grins,"Don't drink unless I'm feeling
like shit and today I feel like a big pile of maneur." He
downs the glass and holds his hand up for a refill, same
thing vodka straight.

The bartender readily prepares the glass and Mulder feels the
quick effect of numbness as he swallows the second glass.

"Son, be careful with that stuff, you'll be suffering more
than a hangover in the morning." The bartender warns.

"Then give me a beer from the fountain, Michelob if you have
it." The bartender busily gets another glass and prepares the
drink.

Out of the corner of his eye he can see the VCS group watching
him, afraid to ask Spooky Mulder if his profile is ready or if
he can find their killer.He turns around to face them; the only
sound in the bar is the rusty sqeak of the barstool as it turns.
Mulder faces towards the agents and their curious faces.

They are almost afraid to ask the ace profiler the question
but Anderson feels braver than the rest after a couple shots
of liquor. He smirks at Mulder and asks the big question,"Well,
Mulder do you have it? The profile?"

He grins and shakes his head, "Anderson it's at the bureau.
You'll find it underneath that big pile of crap on your desk.
If you have any questions ask me tomorrow, unless you get a
lead."

The men at the table almost knock their chairs to floor
scrambling for the door. Who would get to read Spooky Mulder's
profile first?

He shakes his head and faces the bartender, who seems put
out at Mulder, "You sure know how to clear a bar mister."

"Yeah, it seems I have a knack of either ticking people
off or scaring them away." He shrugs his shoulders.

He drains the last bit of beer from the glass and lays a fifty
on the bar table and is almost out the door when he hears someone
call him by his first name 'Fox'.His head quickly turns to see
an older agent that he recognizes from his Patterson days.
"Mark Long, is that you?"

The older man stands and meets him half way and grabs him
into a brief hug and shakes his hand. "I wondered what had
happened to you boy! You are still as skinny as a rail. What
are you up to these days?"

He was taken aback by the man's friendliness and thought
better of saying anything derogatory,"I'm working in the
basement on old cases that have been closed. It's called
the Xfiles division."

He smiles knowingly and looks around suspiciously, "I know
you are a busy man Fox but do you have a minute to talk?"

He nods and follows the man to his table, the smoke- filled
room is almost empty except for a few straglers. He did not
trust anybody with the VCS and hated being the brain they
liked to pick like vultures on raw meat.

"Mulder, is it true that you chase monsters and ghosts?"
The elderly man asked ,his voice and demeanor genuine, not
hateful or mean.

"Something like that. My partner and I work old cases and
find new cases that have similarities or we take a cold case
and work it just like it happened yesterday." He answers
with some degree of suspicion.

"I have a case, that I think you would be interested in Fox.
To be honest I actually followed you here to be able to talk
to you about this case that I have been working on for the
VCS. They, my superiors, want me to hide it,forget about
solving it, but a few of the VCS agents have said that it
could be solved by you Fox."

"Get to the point Mark, just say it. It is ridiculous enough
to be an X-file? Does it have Spooky Mulder written all over
it Mark?" He did not want to do anything else for the VCS for
free or as a favor so he came across angry and frustrated with
his treatment of profiler first and friend naught.

"Fox, it's actually just up your alley. We have had several
murders in the past two months,all of which were customers
of this establishment, four total. All seen last here at this
bar prior to their demise. We have named the perpetrator the
'Beer Monster', because his victims are vulnerable due to their
intoxicated state. Their blood levels atest to that fact. Their
bodies are chewed with their brain mater gone completely,
according to the autopsy reports." Mark looked at Mulder to
see if the interest was there but he was perplexed by
the fact that Fox was really showing an actual disinterest.

"Mark, please quit bullshitting me. The truth of the matter
is you want a profile on this son of a bitch and you are
afraid to ask for it without looking foolish." Mulder pushed
his chair back and gathered his jacket again into his right
arm and shook his head, "I'm tired of being the golden boy who
gets locked in the closet after he performs. Forget it Mark,
no interest." He felt sick and tired of always being boy
wonder for a day then stuck back down in the basement and
totally ignored for his hard work.This had never mattered
in the past but today it was really bugging him and he let
Mark know it by brushing off the case.

Before Mark could utter another word he was already out the
door.Beer monster his ass. Who in the Hell made that one up?
His thoughts were interrupted as a taxi pulled up to the curb
and Mulder slid into the back seat. He gave the address and
leaned back into the acrid smelling seat, closing his eyes
and allowing the buzz from the liquor to relax his mind.

0400

Mulder's apartment

He had been asleep for just a few minutes when he heard a noise
from his kitchen. It was the clatter of glass then a shattering
noise. He grabbed his gun and pushed back the silk sheets.His
bare feet touched the carpet, after making a swift clearance of
his work shoes with one sweep.

He moved towards his bedroom door, cautiously aiming the gun
downward until he could visulized something or someone in the
darkness of his apartment.He could spot a shadow but that was
all and as quickly as he thought he had seen something, it
disappeared.

He flipped on the living room light and looked around,a quick
glance to the kitchen revealed a broken mug lying on the worn
linoleum floor. He would need to keep vigilant the
rest of the night,something was not right;it was just
a feeling.

His mind could not help but to wonder about a 'Beer monster'.
Was it possible or just a joke? Was it real or just a way
to get to Spooky Mulder. Mark never seemed to play the games
of the other agents; actually he seemed more like a nice guy.He
would give him a call in later in the morning and apologize.
He flipped on the television, placed his weapon on the coffee
table and lay down on his leather couch. Sleep would escape
him the rest of the night.

X-files office

He had called VCS for the fourth time and Mark Long had not
yet shown up for work, he wouldn't think much of it normally
but for some reason he had a bad feeling.

"Mornin Mulder,I missed you yesterday." Her voice cut through
his morose thoughts like a knife through butter.

He looked up and saw his suit clad partner staring down at
him and smiling. "Hey Scully. Glad you missed me, you're
running late this morning."His voice sounded almost business-like.

"Mulder, write me up. I had to stop by Quantico this
morning and do an autopsy.According to the results that
I just got in a few minutes ago it turns out that it is
one of our fellow agents." She picked up an envelope from
the stack of inhouse mail."Maybe you know him Mulder?
Mark Long?"

Mulder looked up at her with a bit of apprehension mixed
with fear,"What happened to Mark?"

Scully lay down the folder hearing a raw emotion in Mulder's
voice rarely ever heard when talking about a VCS agent.
"Mulder, was he a friend?"

Mulder's mouth dropped open,he needed to know how the man
died. "Scully,what happened?" Now he felt like he had been
stabbed in the heart. My gosh Scully I brushed this man off
last night, why didn't I listen, he might still be alive.
Just give me the answers, his mind screamed as he awaited
for his partner's scientific response.

"Mulder, the autopsy results are just preliminary right now
but one thing for sure is that he died of a brain hemmorhage.
" She was staring down at her partner who was now nervously
playing with his bottom lip.

Mulder shook his head, "What about the body Scully? What
kind of shape was it in?"

Scully did not know Mulder's relationship with this man
but if she was guessing possibly he was an old friend. He
had never mentioned Mark Long before though."Mulder, his
body was almost unrecognizable.It was like he had been
chewed, his brain mater was missing. Possibly a case of
the occult or an act of revenge but we are awaiting some
other test results."

Mulder reached up and grabbed his coat and jacket and started
for the office door, "Scully, call me when you get more
results. I will be over at the VCS office." He opened the
door then turned around,"Scully, one more thing. Could you
look in the files to see if you can find anything similar
to Mark's case or the term 'Beer monster'?

She was concerned about Mulder's odd request but she nodded
and smiled,"Sure Mulder. I'll call you."

Quantico

Mulder had quickly made his way over to the VCS office.
Mark's fellow agents were mourning the loss of a fellow
agent and the quiet whispers were more about how he lived
than how he died.

Mulder spotted Anderson in his office and walked across
the short distance, gathering stares from his ex workers
and even from some nonfamiliar faces. He knocked on the
door and Anderson waved him into the office. "Guess you
heard what happened to Mark?"

Anderson, who usually was usually stoic had a tear-stained
face with swollen, red rimmed eyes.

"I'm sorry about Mark, he was an excellent agent. Scully did
his autopsy this morning. Are there any leads?" Mulder asked,
knowing that this was a difficult thing to ask but it needed
to be asked to find Mark's killer.

"He was investigating a case Mulder. It was labeled the
'Beer Monster' case because of the similarites in the victims.
"He picked up a large file and handed it to Mulder.

He took the proffered file and sat down. He quickly flipped
the file open and started reading it, he was going to tell
Anderson about his meeting with Mark in the bar last night
after he had left but he thought better of it;it would
probably make no difference in the case.

He knew the similarites from his talk with Mark the night
before but he listened as Anderson continued to speak.After
all the facts were given to he started making notes. He
wanted to get Scully involved, she could make all the
scientific connections. He looked up at Anderson who
seemed intrigued with Mulder's scribblings. "I need to
talk to my partner. Can I get a copy of the file?"

Anderson agreed and called out for his secretary to make
a copy of the file for Mulder. Mulder pulled out his cell
phone and dialed his partner, but no answer so he left a
message for her to call him back.After the file was copied
Mulder headed out of the building towards his car. His
cell phone started ringing."Mulder." He answered.

"Where are you Mulder?" Her voice seemed anxious.

"Quantico parking deck. What's wrong Scully?" He stepped
up his pace just a little to get to his car.

"I just got back some results that I thought you would be
interested in Mulder. Mark Long was killed at his apartment.
He was actually at a bar earlier in the evening, a Refugee's
Tavern located at one hundred forty four Moseley Drive,
near the state capital building."

"The street named after that famous representative from
Illinois, I am familiar with it Scully." He rolled his
eyes, he knew exactly where it was, he had been there
and had totally ignored Mark and his rantings of a
'Beer Monster'. He felt bad because he had treated him
exactly how people treated him at times.

"Anyway Mulder, I found an old case dating back to nineteen
fifty three, it makes references to a 'Beer Monster'. Mulder
and it has certain similarites to Mark Long's death. It
describes the victim as intoxicated, his last known place
to visit was at the Refugee's Tavern, he took a taxi home
that night, called by the owner himself, Carson Black.The
autopsy report states that he was chewed on but the dental
marks were not made by a human or animal, and DNA wasn't
really used in cases in the crime lab yet. And Mulder the
weirdest thing that I am finding is that all of the recent
murders with this same MO occurred during this same time
frame fifty-three years ago."

"Has a Tooms ring to it doesn't it Scully?" Mulder opened
his door and turned on the engine, the car was steaming.

"Mulder, Victor Tooms is dead.But it does have a certain
Tooms flavor. I guess he had a father though and it could
be possible that there is a hereditary factor there Mulder.
There could be a connection or a link." Her voice seemed
rather analytical about something that she really never
believed completely.

"I'm on my way to the office Scully. See what you can
find out about that 1953 murder case. And see what you
can find out about Carson Black." He closed his cell and
drove out of the parking deck and towards the Refugee
Tavern.He needed to make a quick stop to speak with Carson
Black.

He had a sick feeling to his stomach,maybe it was that feeling
of daja vu or maybe it was just another gut feeling. Nobody was
going to believe that the murders were related to the Tooms case,
nobody believed it then and nobody would believe it now. He
concentrated on the road and placed his foot on the gas, he
needed to talk to Carson Black.

He arrived in front of the busy tavern, he placed his cell
phone into his pocket and exited his car. He walked to the
back of the tavern and looked around, not really thinking
he would find anything but at least hoping. He spotted a
locked building behind the tavern, probably a cooling unit
for extra beverages and a crate of dirt with purple plants
or flowers blooming. That looks out of place, he thought to
himself as he made his way back to the front of the building.

As he walked inside the tavern he noticed that a different
gentleman was behind the bar serving drinks and pretzels. He
walked up to the bar and ordered a glass of water, drinking
on duty was a firable offense.

"Where's the bartender from last night?" Mulder asked casually,
trying to avoid bringing too much attention to himself.

The older man smiled and poured the glass of water,"You're
talking about Carson. He had some business to take care of
so I'm pitch hitting for him today.I do that for him sometimes.
" He sits the glass in front of Mulder.

"He'll be back tomorrow though but then he will be going out
of town for a while?" His voice more nervous sounding than
that of just a few minutes ago.

He is thirsty so he takes several drinks of the cool,bitter
tasting water and can't help but to make a face as he drains
the glass. Where do they get they get their water, a sewer?
Mentally noting not to drink water here again.

He stands to leave but is hit with a bout of dizziness. He sits
back down and takes his seat, rubbing his face,trying to rub
away the feeling of nausea that comes with a rush of dizziness.
What the Hell? Maybe the lack of sleep last night? His mind was
trying to reason the sudden onset of symptoms when he felt strong
arms moving him from the stool and taking him into a room
behind the bar.

A deep voice came out of nowhere,"Thanks guys, I will let him
sleep it off here. Hate it when they pass out at my bar,
especially this time of day." The room cleared except for the
voice. He could not open his eyes. His head was bursting and
his mouth felt very dry. His vision was blurring and he was
extremely lethargic suddenly.His tired mind was questioning
what was happening? He was overcome with an overwhelming urge
to sleep and that is what he did, sleep.

X-files Office

She was typing up her report when the phone rang, she picked it
up and before she could answer the voice on the other end,Agent
Sothers from the crime lab started to read off his findings.

"Agent Scully, you will never believe what we found. I don't
know how we missed it the first time but the victims were
drugged."

"What? What did they miss?" She asked excitedly.

"They were drugged with a combination of passionflower and
an MAO inhibitor, Stadol. Passionflowers were used by the
Aztec Indians as a sedative and analgesic. It constituents I
nclude harmine.Harmine was originally known as telepathine
because of it's ability to induce a contemplative state or
a mild euphoria. It was used in WWII AS A "truth serum".
Harmine and related compounds can inhibit the breakdown
of serotonin in the brain, therefore their use with 5-htp
would cause an additive effect. They found a large amount
of this in Agent Long's blood sample. We went back and checked
for it in our other victims and found it also, but in less
quantities. The combination of a stimulant and a depressant
can be fatal but of course but that is not what killed him.
" Agent Sothers spouted off the brief description and findings
for Scully.

"So they were all drugged with this passionflower and Stadol?
That could make sense, because none of the victims fought
the perpetrator. They looked like they had been submissive.
Maybe the alcohol covered up these findings?"Scully was trying
to comprehend what she had jsut been told."This is amazing
stuff Agent Sothers."

"Actually Agent Scully, alcohol could actually perpetuate
the effects of the Harmine and the Stadol, creating confusion
and multiple other symptoms, including depression of the
respiratory system. One could possibly die from the
combinations." Sothers seemed proud that he had impressed
his colleague.

"I'll call you back Agent Sothers, I need to call my partner
and give him this information. Thanks for all you hard work."

"Anytime Agent Scully, anytime." He hung up the phone.

Scully hit her speed dial and waited for an answer, she left
a message on his voice mail that she was going to the Refugee
Tavern to do some investigating and that she would give him
details when he called her back." She hung up and grabbed her
jacket and started to walk out the office door.She turned to
see if any information had come over the fax on Carson Black
but the tray was empty.She opened the door and left and seconds
later a note came over the fax,Carson Black, born in 1803,
married to a Penelope Tooms and had one son named Eugene Victor
Tooms Black.

Refuge Tavern

As she drove up to the bar she spotted her partner's car
parked across the street. Mulder must have gotten her message.
She parked the car and stepped out, noticing the closed sign
on the door. Her investigative mind went into suspicious mode.
Why would a bar be closed at two in the afternoon? She pulled
out her gun and made her way to the back of the tavern. As she
approached the back entrance she noted the crates of flowers,
passionflowers. She glanced into a side window and saw someone
lying on a cot but could not make out who it was but she also
spotted something larger,nonhuman-like also standing over the
man in the cot.

Her FBI training kicked in as she kicked down the door and pointed
her weapon at the creature."Freeze!" She shouted at the hideous
monster before her but it did not listen and bent down over the
unconscious man on the cot.

Two shots and the monster now lay on the floor, bleeding bright
red blood. It's bright green eyes were still staring up at her
and she hesitated to move towards it until she recognized the
man on the cot as her partner.

Her aim stayed on the dying creature, but she needed to know if
Mulder was okay. "Mulder! Are you okay Mulder?" She yelled as she
made her way across the small room.

A slight moan slipped out of his supine body on the cot and
that was good enough. She reached into her pocket and pulled
our her cell and made a quick call that an officer was down and
that she had shot the suspect. She could not help but to notice
all the glass mugs lining the shelves of the wall. There had to
be hundreds. She knew immediately what the killer had taken as
his trophy from his victims,glass mugs.

Within minutes police surrounded the small building at one hundred
forty four Moseley Drive. The creature had died and was going to be
sent to a morgue for an autopsy.

The paramedics had loaded Mulder onto a gurney with an oxygen mask
over his semiconscious face. Scully was holding his hand and trying
to wake him up. "Mulder, you are okay, the creature or whatever he
was, did not get his meal."

He opened his eyes and tried to smile through the plastic but
was finding that difficult so he reached up and pulled it down.
"Was it a monster?"

"You could call him that Mulder. How are you feeling?" Her gentle
voice crept through his drugged haze.

"I am dizzy, nauseated and I feel like I have the worst hangover.
" He muttered.

That was aweful truthful coming from somebody who never complained.
Then it hit her, he was under the influence of the passionflower,
a natural truth serum and the Stadol was probably making it even
more potent.This gave her an idea. "Mulder,can I ask you
something?" She smiled knowing her intentions weren't all that
honorable.

"Sure, what is it Scully?" His eyes were closed as the
paramedics moved him across the parking lot.

"Mulder, do you have a love in your life?" She almost whispered
as the paramedics started to load the gurney into the ambulance.
She felt almost guilty asking him such a personal question.

"No Scully." he answered as they were about to shut the door.

She smiled and felt a small tug of disappointment and walked
back towards the scene of the crime, she would go to the hosptial
after she spoke to Anderson.

"Except for you." He whispered right before he dozed off.

The paramedic smiled,"Guess she won't get the truth today buddy
but if I were you I would get to work on it because she is a
knockout." He spoke to his unresponsive patient as he hung the
IV solution. Within seconds the ambulance pulled away.

Final report

Last paragraph:Carson Black, father of Victor Tooms, also had
a propensity for eating humans. Instead of feeding on livers
and hibernating for thirty years, the father feasted on the
brain mater of his victms and hibernated for longer periods of
time,fifty years. His fraternal twin,Larson Black took care of
his brother and his habit by drugging his patrons and providing
their addresses from the directions he would give the taxi drivers.
Larson is incarcerated and awaiting trial and also undergoing
lab tests . Carson Black's body has been turned over for
scientific research.Case still pending review.

Agent Dana Scully