Hostage Situation
By Jenna Caplan
ZzariarazZ@aol.com
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998
Rating: PG-13
Category: Action/Adventure
Spoilers: All Seasons
Keywords: Mulder/Scully UST
Summary: During a hostage situation, Mulder is specially requested by
the terrorists. When Mulder and Scully arrive and negotiate, however,
things take a turn for the worse. Introduces Kristen Steele.
Archive: Gossamer. Anywhere else, please contact me for permission.
Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, Skinner and all related parties are owned
by 1013 Productions, Chris Carter and Fox Productions. Any copyright
infringement is unintended. Kristen Steele, Dennis Kauberg, and all
parties unrelated to The X-Files belong to me. Please contact me for
permission before using them.
Author's Note: This is my first attempt at fanfiction, although I have
read a lot of it. In lieu of this, feedback is greatly welcome, but
please be gentle!! Storywise, I would love to see Mulder and Scully get
together, but there would certainly be some heads rolling at Fox if
they consummated their romance before the last season. There isn't any
romance in this story, just UST, but only because it doesn't fit in the
plot. Constructive criticism is welcome and greatly appreciated!
***********************************************************************
"Hostage Situation", part (1/3)
Washington, D.C.
11:47 A.M.
The Burger King was bustling with activity. Lunch hour was in full
swing, and employees took orders from behind the counter before yelling
them into a microphone. The cooks in the kitchen frantically tossed and
packaged food before handing the meals to the cashiers. Mothers tended
to their children, and kids ran around the crowded restauraunt yelling
and laughing.
Suddenly, the double glass doors in the front flew open and three
men in black ski masks burst in, waving semi-automatics and screaming
at the tops of their lungs. "Get down! Get down! NOW!" They motioned to
screaming customers and horrified-looking employees to get down on the
floor.
Once everyone was down, one of the men began to speak. "We are tak-
ing this restauraunt hostage. Do not move unless I or one of my men
tells you to do so. If you do, we will simply shoot you." he paused for
a moment. "Is that clear?"
The frightened people nodded hesitantly. "Good. You there," he said,
motioning to one of the employees. "Call the police. Tell them the sit-
uation, and inform them that if they are not here in ten minutes, we'll
execute a hostage for every minute they are late. Understood?" the teen
at the register nodded and picked up the phone.
The man turned to the rest of the people huddled on the floor. They
looked back at him with fear smothering their features. "Now," he said,
"We wait."
A child began to cry.
X-Files Office
12:11 P.M.
Mulder sat at his desk, absently reading a case file. He was so en-
grossed in it that he didn't even hear Scully asking for it.
"Mulder, can I see the file? I need to find my autopsy notes for my
report," she said, her fingers clicking away at the keyboard.
No answer.
She stopped typing and looked at him. "Mulder, did you hear me?" He
sat as still as ever in his chair, staring at the file. She tried again,
this time raising her voice a notch. "Mulder! I need that file."
Still no answer.
In one fluid motion, she stood up, threw a pen at him, and yelled,
"MULDER! Listen to me!"
It was like a bomb hit him in the face. He jerked in his chair and
almost fell backwards, catching himself on the desk just in time. Mean-
while, the file flew up in the air, scattering papers and photos all over=
the
floor. He looked up at her in astonishment.
"Scully? What's wrong?" he asked incredulously.
She sighed, shaking her head. "I needed the autopsy report," she
explained, bending down to retrieve it.
"Well why didn't you just ask for it?"
Mulder was saved from sure death by the phone. Scully stopped the
expletives surging from her mouth and picked it up. He breathed a sigh
of relief.
"Yes?" Scully paused for a moment, listening. "Yes, sir. We'll be
right there." She replaced the phone and looked up at Mulder. "Alright.
What'd you do this time?" she asked Mulder witheringly.
He gave her a joking grin and raised his eyebrow suggestively. "Why
do you ask?"
"Skinner wants us in his office right away. No doubt it's to chew
us out for whatever new expense to the Bureau you've presented."
Mulder placed a hand over his heart. "Scully. You wound me. How do
you know it's something I did?"
"Because when Skinner says, 'You two haul your asses up here this
instant!' I can pretty much ascertain that we're to be reprimanded."
Mulder shrugged. "Well, if we're gonna get the pee yelled out of us
anyway, we might as well be on time." He stood up and headed for the
door. "C'mon, Scully, off to the lion's den," he said as he exited.
"Meow," Scully said, walking after him with dread.
12:13 P.M.
Mulder and Scully nervously sat on the small couch outside Skinner's
office. Scully had gone over every single thing that Mulder had broken
or lost during their last case, and she couldn't think of anything that
Skinner would spare his famous "inconsiderate" lecture over. She was
actually beginning to think that maybe the meeting wasn't due to Mulder
and his tendency to 'misplace' things when Skinner stuck his head out
of his office. One look at his grim expression and Scully made a mental
note to throttle Mulder when they got back down to the basement.
"Mulder, Scully, come in, please," Skinner said, then held the door
open for them as they stepped into the room. As soon as she saw who was
in there Scully knew that this was not about a lost flashlight.
The room was filled with higher-ups in the FBI, as well as several
VCS agents and assorted SWAT members. Scully gave the room the quick
once-over, noting that her longtime friend and fellow agent Kristen
Steele sat in a chair, looking every bit as nervous and apprehensive
as she. Kristen was known as being the best hostage negotiator in the
VCS. What the hell is she doing here? Scully wondered as she glanced
at Mulder. Confusion was written all over his features.
"Mulder, Scully, please have a seat," Skinner said, motioning to
the table. They sat in the nearest two chairs, which put Scully between
Mulder and Kristen. Skinner took a few moments to converse with the few
men in suits seated around the table. Scully nudged Kristen and looked
at her questioningly. Kristen raised her eyebrows and shrugged, as if
to say, "how the hell should I know?"
Skinner turned to them. "Agents Mulder and Scully, Agent Steele, I
suppose you're wondering why you're here." They nodded. Skinner glanced
at the SWAT general and continued.
"Approximately twenty-five minutes ago we recieved a call from the
local PD that three armed terrorists had taken a Burger King hostage.
About five minutes after the police arrived and surrounded the building
a female hostage came out, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the arm.
Before she passed out she informed the police that the terrorists were
threatening to kill a hostage unless they spoke with the FBI immediate-
ly. I recieved the phone call a few minutes later." Skinner cleared his
throat. "The terms are these: they want six million dollars and safe
passage to the airport. We've got three and a half hours to comply with
these demands, or they will kill every hostage in the building."
Skinner walked around the table. "Now, there is a slight stipulation
in this plan of theirs. The terrorists have requested that they speak
to Agent Mulder of the FBI while arrangements are being made."
Scully looked at Mulder in astonishment. "Did they say why they want
him?" she asked.
"They didn't give any reasons, but they are threatening to kill a host=
age
if they do not speak with Agent Mulder." Skinner gave Mulder and Scully a=
grim look.
"We have arranged on-site phone communication for Agent Mulder, as
well as Agent Steele. All conversations will be recorded," said the
SWAT general. "We're ready as soon as you are."
"I guess that doesn't leave us much choice, does it?" Mulder stood
and adressed the general. "Show me the way."
Ten minutes later, Mulder, Scully and Steele were positioned inside
a large black surveillance vehicle parked outside the Burger King among
dozens of other police cars, ambulances, and equipment vans behind the
police tape. From their vantage point they had a good view of the glass
double doors in the front. The activity inside was obscured due to the
many ads on the tinted windows, and while a phone line was being set up
they found themselves with nothing to do but wait.
"So, Kristen, we're finally on a case together, huh?" Scully said.
"Yeah, I knew that after five years they would find an excuse to
get us together," Steele answered, laughing.
"You two know eachother?" Mulder asked, confused.
"Oh, Mulder, I forgot. Kristen, this is my partner, Fox Mulder."
Mulder and Steele shook hands. "Kristen and I were in the same class at
the Academy. We've been friends for a long time," Scully explained.
"Nice to finally meet you, Mulder," Kristen said. "I've heard so
much about you from my friends in the VCS."
"Yes, I'm sure you have," Mulder said wiht a groan.
Kristen smiled. "Oh, it's not all bad," she said, seeming to take
pity on him. "There are some agents who actually look up to you. They
don't all think you're...spooky."
Scully smiled. Kristen was treading on dangerous land, and she knew
it. But Kristen knew how to, at the right moment, turn on the charm,
which usually got her out of any messy situation she dug herself into.
Mulder was visibly unnerved by that last remark, but he pulled him-
self together to fire one right back at Steele. He scooted closer to
her, invading her personal space in a way that usually left everyone
except Scully stammering and nervous. He shoved himself into her face,
looked her straight in the eye, and said quietly, "Do you think I'm
spooky?"
Steele, however, was just like Scully- she could tell when someone
was trying to unnerve her, and she knew how to turn the tables. She
scooted herself even closer to Mulder than he would have thought possi-
ble, placed a hand on his thigh, and said breathily, "I'm not sure, but
I would...love...to find out, Fox..."
Scully chuckled.
Mulder pulled back from Steele, smiling and shaking his head.
He was saved from having to think of a good comeback by the SWAT
general, who opened a door to the van they were in and climbed inside.
"Agents, I don't really think we've had the chance to meet. I'm
SWAT General Allstadt. We've got the man who seems to be the leader on
the line." He flipped a few switches and started a tape recorder in the
equipment that was jammed into the small space. He then lowered his
voice and handed Mulder a headpeice with a microphone on it. "He's
asking for you. He won't speak to anyone but you. What we want is for
you to try and get him to let the children in the restauraunt go."
Mulder nodded and took the headphone away from Allstadt. "Don't try
anything rash. Just give him sweet talk now, make him your buddy, and
try to earn his trust. Then ask for the kids. Understood?" Allstadt
told him. Mulder nodded again. "Okay, go at it."
"Hello?" Mulder said into the headphone.
"Who is this?" a raspy voice came over the speakers in the van,
audible to all four occupants.
"My name is Mulder. Who is this?"
"This is Dennis Kauberg," the raspy voice said.
"Hello, Dennis. I understand you wanted to talk to me?" Mulder said
cautiously.
"Yes, yes. Agent Mulder. I've been following your work, and you
seemed to be the best person to talk to, under the circumstances."
Mulder glanced around the interior of the van. "What circumstances
are those?"
"I don't want anyone telling me what to do. I call the shots here,
you understand?"
"Yeah, I understand, Dennis," Mulder said resignedly. "Why are you
doing this?"
No answer.
Mulder looked around the van. Scully and Steele were sitting tense,
listening. Allstadt looked impatient. "Dennis? Are you there?" he said.
"Yes."
"Why are you doing this, Dennis?" Mulder said carefully.
"I want my money. If I don't get it, someone's gonna die."
Click.
"Dennis?" Mulder said into the phone. "Dennis? Dammit!" he ripped
off the headphone and turned to Allstadt. "I want to know everything
about this guy. What he looks like, where he went to school, his job,
his mother's name, everything." Allstadt nodded and backed out of the
van, running over to the van full of VCS agents.
Twenty minutes later, Allstadt burst back into the van with a file
in his hand. "We got it, Mulder," he said. "The naked truth on this guy
starting from birth." He handed Mulder the file, who opened it quickly
and began to read. Scully peered over his shoulder, reading aloud.
"Dennis Carson Kauberg, age thirty-eight. Graduated from Cornell in
1987 with a degree in psychology, started private practice in Baltimore
in 1991. Was sued for...malpractice in 1994, lost the suit, and discon-
tinued his practice in 1995. Three months later, the patient who sued
him, a Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Donnelle, was murdered in her home. After
two months of investigation the case was made inactive due to lack of
evidence. Kauberg was suspected but never arrested. Three months after
the case was declared inactive Kauberg disappeared. He hasn't been seen
or heard from since." She looked at Mulder with huge eyes. "Jesus, we
completely underestimated him!"
"He's one smart son of a bitch," Allstadt said. "We've got snipers
on the rooftops of every building surrounding the Burger King. Of
course, we can't get a clear shot yet. There are too many hostages in
there and we can't risk hitting one of them. We need you to get him to
let the kids go. A connection is being made as we speak."
Mulder nodded and reached for the headphone. Allstadt's cell phone
rang. He picked it up, mumbled an affirmation, and hung up. "Okay, the
connection's been made. I'll put it through." Mulder started to turn
away, but Allstadt grabbed his arm. "Listen, Mulder...your top priority
is to get the kids out. Okay?"
Mulder shrugged off his hand. "I understand. Put the call through."
Allstadt turned away and began flipping switches. "Alright, here
you go," he said quietly. The tape recorder began turning.
Mulder heard a click, then silence. "Hello?"
"Mulder. There you are again. Are our terms being met?" the raspy
voice of Dennis Kauberg became audible.
"Dennis, I want your terms to be met. But I can't tell them to give
you your money until you do something for me," Mulder said carefully.
"What's that."
Mulder took a deep breath. "I need you to let the kids go," he said
slowly. Scully held her breath.
"No," Kauberg said simply.
Steele swore under her breath.
"Why not, Dennis? You'd still have plenty of hostages. I just need
the kids."
No answer.
Allstadt nodded at Mulder and said, "Go ahead, but be very careful.
Don't push him too hard."
"Dennis?" Mulder ventured. "Dennis, you still there?"
"You got a partner, Mulder?"
Mulder looked frantically around the van. Scully looked shocked.
Allstadt whispered, "Tell him only what you have to."
Mulder looked at Scully in a silent question. She nodded at him.
"Yeah, Dennis. Yeah, I do."
The raspy voice became louder. "What's his name?"
Scully nodded at Mulder.
"Um, her name is Dana Scully, Dennis. Why?"
"A woman! Do you like her, Mulder?"
"Yeah," Mulder said carefully. "Yeah, I like her a lot."
Silence. It sounded like Kauberg had his hand over the phone and was
talking to his counterparts. The inhabitants of the van sat tensely,
all eyes on Mulder, who was looking at Scully in fear. He thought he
knew where this was going.
"Mulder." the raspy voice startled him.
"I'm here, Dennis," Mulder replied casually.
"Alright, Mulder, here's the deal. I'll let the kids go. But on one
condition: your partner comes to the door to get them."
Mulder jerked his head up and Scully and Steele gasped.
"What do you mean, Dennis?" Mulder breathed.
"She comes, alone, and opens the door. That's all. She doesn't get
hurt and neither does anyone else."
"Dennis. I've got to get back to you on that, okay?" Mulder said.
Kauberg laughed. "I've got all the time in the world, Mulder."
Click.
The four people in the van sat for a moment in silence. Then Scully
broke the ice.
"Can we do it?"
Allstadt frowned and looked grim. "All you'll do is open the door,
point to the police tape and lead the kids out. No contact, it seems,
with Kauberg. But we can't be sure that he'll keep his word not to try
something."
"It doesn't seem like we have much choice, does it?" Steele said.
"No," Allstadt sighed, "it doesn't."
Scully looked at Mulder. "Let's do it."
Five minutes later, Scully had a bulletproof vest on over her thin
blue cotton t-shirt. Her suit jacket had been removed, and she had a
wire on under her shirt. One agent was briefing her on what to do while
another inserted a tiny speaker in her ear.
"Your balance may be slighly affected by the speaker. Your hearing
will remain the same." The agent came to stand in front of her. "The
microphone under your vest should be undetectable. It will pick up any
sounds within twenty feet. Should it be detected, the speaker will work
without it."
Allstadt came over, flanked by Mulder and Steele. Scully turned to
look at them.
"Okay, Scully. Here's what to do. You'll walk across the police
tape to the double doors it front." Allstadt pointed to them. "We've
already made contact with Kauberg, so he'll know it's you. Knock three
times on the door, open them both, and let them know it's you. Then
lead the children out. They should be waiting for you by the door."
Scully nodded. "I understand."
"We'll be in the surveillance van talking to you the whole time,"
Steele added. "We'll also have a camera view of what's going on."
Scully turned and began to walk around to the front. Mulder grabbed
her arm and pulled her to him. "You don't have to do this, you know,"
he said softly.
Scully looked up at him, into his eyes. "I know," she said. "I want
to."
Mulder sighed and started backing away from her. "Be careful."
"I will," she said.
She turned and started walking to the doors. He looked after her,
fear gripping his heart.
Scully took a deep breath as she neared the doors. She walked right
up to them and knocked three times.
"Good, Dana," Steele's voice came to her over the speaker.
Scully opened the doors slowly.
The scene inside made her heart twist. There were about twenty-five
people huddled on the floor, some lying on their stomachs, some sitting
up and leaning against the walls or booths. A smaller group of thirteen
children were standing next to the doors, most of them crying. A large
man dressed in black held an automatic rifle, pointing it at the group
of kids.
The man looked her up and down, noting the Kevlar vest and the Sig
Sauer nestled in her holster. "Dana Scully?" he asked her gruffly.
"Yes, that's me."
The man turned around and yelled to a middle-aged balding man who
sat near the phone. "It's her!"
Kauberg, Scully thought.
Kauberg stood and motioned to Scully with his gun. "Get them out of
here," he said. His raspy voice sent shivers down her spine.
Scully turned to the children, who looked up at her with tears in
their eyes. She knelt down until she was their height.
"Hi. My name is Dana. I'm going to get you out of here," she said
to the group. "See that yellow line on the ground over there?"
She pointed through the wide-open doors and across the parking lot
to the police tape. The children nodded tearfully.
"I want all of you to walk over to it. Just walk through the doors,
across the parking lot, and across the tape. There'll be some people
waiting there for you. Okay?" she said gently. The children nodded at
her.
She stood up and held the doors open for them. The man with the gun
waved the children towards the doors, saying, "Go on, get out!"
The kids began walking out the doors, running to the police tape
and around to the vans. Scully watched them go. About five kids were
safely across the tape when Scully looked back and saw a woman in the
restauraunt inching on her knees toward the doors.
Her heart stopped.
"Ma'am?" she said loudly.
The woman was crying and moving forward. "I have to get out of here
now," she sobbed.
Scully raised her hand cautiously. "Ma'am, don't!"
"I have to go!"
Just as the last child was crossing the threshold, the man with the
gun whipped around and saw the woman. He growled and raised his gun.
"No!" Scully screamed.
The room exploded into machine-gun fire. Scully grabbed the one
remaining child and threw herself to the ground, sheilding the girl's
body with her own. The noise from the gun and the people screaming was
deafaning. The two glass doors shattered from the bullets, the glass
raining down all around Scully. Through the noise, Scully was dimly
aware of Mulder's voice screaming to her through the speaker.
Mulder, Steele, and Allstadt had been sitting tensely in the van,
listening to Scully talk to the gunman and the children. They had a
clear picture of Scully on the surveillance camera and had watched her
every move during the negotiation. Now they were sitting, watching the
children run out of the restauraunt, and waiting for Scully to shut the
doors and run back across the police tape.
"Keep going, Dana, just keep getting them out," Steele was saying
into the headpeice that connected her to Scully. She had been sending
positive messages to Scully for the past thirty seconds, saying it was
regulation, but Mulder knew it was to keep Scully calm. They both knew
she was scared.
"What the hell..." Steele's exclamation snapped Mulder out of his
reverie. He looked at the TV screen to see Scully looking at a woman
crawling along the ground. He could hear Scully's warning to the woman
and the woman's sobbing answer over the speaker. Fear coursed through
his veins.
"What is she doing?" Allstadt yelled. Mulder ripped the headpeice
out of Steele's grasp.
"Scully! What's going on?" he yelled. He heard Scully's warnings
become louder. The screen showed one child left in the restauraunt. She
was almost across the doorway...
"No!" he heard Scully scream. Mulder whipped around to the screen
and saw the gunman with his gun pointed right at Scully and the woman.
"Scully!" he screamed. "Scully, get out of there!"
end (1/3)
***********************************************************************
From: ZzariarazZ@aol.com
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 12:20:49 EDT
Subject: Hostage Situation II
Hostage Situation, part (2/3)
The surveillance camera was blown away by the first few shots, but
not before Mulder saw Scully and the woman fall. He could hear gunshots
and glass shattering over the speakers.
"Dammit!" Steele yelled. "What's going on in there?"
Allstadt was busy on his cell phone. "What's happening? We saw it!
What happened?" he yelled into the phone.
Mulder couldn't stand it any longer. He kicked the back doors of
the van open, running over to the SWAT van with Steele right behind
him. SWAT teams were already swarming around the police tape, all guns
aimed at the building. Mulder opened the doors to the van and he and
Steele climbed inside.
Skinner looked up in surprise from the TV screens lining the walls
of the van. "Mulder! Steele! What happened?"
"We lost visual," Mulder explained.
"We lost it too. But the SWAT vans in front have-"
He was interrupted by the burst of static coming over the speakers
from the SWAT teams around front. "Officer down! Gunshots continue."
"Can you see what's happening?" Skinner yelled into the headpeice.
"Negative, there's too much interference. Negative, negative! The
gunshots have stopped!" The SWAT member paused. Mulder, Skinner, and
Steele waited in sick apprehension.
"The last child has been recieved. Oh, shit!"
"What's going on?" Skinner said tensely.
Static.
"Dammit! What's happening?" Skinner yelled.
Allstadt's voice suddenly came over the speakers. "Bad news. It's
Kauberg," he said. "He's got Scully."
As soon as the gunshots stopped, Scully raised her head tentatively
and looked around. Glass surrounded her and the little girl she had
shielded. Scully's head hurt, but the girl seemed uninjured.
"Are you hurt?" Scully whispered to the girl. The sobbing girl shook
her head.
"What's your name?" Scully asked quietly.
"A-Allie," the girl said.
"Okay, Allie, I want you to get up and run to the same place the
other kids ran to. The yellow line. Can you do that?" Scully said.
The girl nodded again. Scully raised herself up on her arms and was
about to roll back on her knees when the unmistakeable sound of a gun
being cocked near her head made her freeze.
The girl's eyes widened in fear as Scully turned to look at Kauberg
aiming a gun at her head and grinning widely. He motioned to her with
the gun.
"Get up," he said. Scully stood, wincing in pain at the way her head
protested. Kauberg held the gun to her head and looked at the girl.
"Get out of here, kid," he said gruffly, motioning towards the door
with his other hand. Allie stood up shakily and ran out the door to the
police tape.
Kauberg moved to stand in front of Scully, smiling at her. "You, my
pretty woman, are going to stay with me. You will be quite useful." He
motioned to the gunman standing behind Scully. "Get her hands tied."
Mulder, Skinner, and Steele sat in the surveillance van, listening
to Kauberg talking to Scully in horror. After Scully had disappeared
with Kauberg inside the restauraunt, the three occupants of the van had
been joined by Allstadt and a few VCS agents, who briefed them on what
had happened and the situation.
"Do we know if she's injured?" Mulder asked Allstadt as agents
milled around them in the van, setting up a phone connection.
"No. We don't think so, because she stood up in front of Kauberg
with apparent ease."
"I can find out," Steele interrupted.
Mulder, Skinner, and Allstadt looked at her. "How?" Mulder said
eagerly.
Scully sat on the floor in front of Kauberg on the far side of the
restauraunt. He was talking to his counterparts so lowly that she could
not make out a word. How could this happen? she wondered. It was such a
routine operation, the negotiation of hostages. And now I'm a hostage,
she thought with a sigh.
Her arms were twisted painfully behind behind her back with duct
tape, and her head ached. She didn't know how bad the wound was, but
she wasn't sure it was superficial. She only wished she could get a
message to Mulder; she was sure the whole thing had been a setup, and
that meant that he couldn't risk trusting Kauberg anymore.
Suddenly she remembered. The wire! They could still hear everything
that was going on and even talk to her. She only hoped they had an idea
of what had happened and knew what kind of a situation she was in.
"Dana." Steele's voice rang in her ear.
How was she supposed to answer?
"Dana, if you can hear me, cough," Steele said.
Scully coughed, prompting Kauberg to turn around and look at her.
She looked back up at him innocently, and he turned back to the two men
he was talking to and resumed the conversation.
"Good, Dana, good. Now, we need to know if you're injured, and if
so, to what extent. When Kauberg starts talking to you, try to work it
into the conversation without being too obvious."
Scully sniffled a respose.
"Dana, do you still have the Kevlar vest on? Cough if you do."
Scully coughed quietly. This time Kauberg didn't look at her.
"Okay, he'll probably take it off of you. Don't worry, the wire is
under your shirt, so it'll still be undetectable. If he asks you if you
have a wire on, lie."
Scully waited for more; there wasn't any. She looked at Kauberg. He
was still talking to the two other men.
She glanced over near the doors, where she had been captured. The
woman who had tried to escape was lying in a pool of blood. Her chest
rose and fell still, but Scully realized that the woman would die soon
unless she got immediate medical attention. Kauberg either just didn't
notice the injured woman or he didn't care, but Scully didn't want a
single casualty in this negotiation. She decided to risk talking to the
men.
"Dennis," she said tentatively, causing him to turn around and look
at her. She took a deep breath. She hoped Mulder was getting this.
"What?" he barked, glaring down at her.
"See that woman over there?" she said, nodding towards the doors.
"She's been shot. She needs to get to a hospital now."
He came over to kneel directly in front of her. His closeness made
her shudder.
"I don't care," he said simply.
She swallowed and tried again. "She'll die unless she gets medical
attention soon," she said cooly. "Do you really want to add a murder
charge to your sentence?"
His reaction was swift. In one motion, he grabbed her chin in one
hand and smashed his fist into her stomach with the other. Scully cried
out in pain before the wind was knocked out of her, causing her to gasp
for a moment. He took hold of her face with both hands, forcing her to
look at him.
"I'm not gonna get arrested," he growled. His expression changed to
a questioning look. "Hey, you're not wearing a wire, are you?"
Scully pulled enough air into her lungs to gasp out, "No."
"Good," he said. He abruptly pulled her head towards him for a mom-
ent, looking at the long gash on her scalp that blood was streaming out
of. "Looks like you need medical attention, too," he said. "You've got
a big cut on your head."
"Dennis," she said painfully, "please let the woman go."
He pulled her head back up to look at her face. Then he dropped his
hands, stood up and walked over to the phone without a word. When he
got there, he paused and looked back at her.
"What's your partner's cell phone number?" he asked.
Hope fluttered in Scully's heart. "555-1013," she said.
Kauberg picked up the phone and dialed.
Steele sat with the headpeice on, listening intently to Scully. The
entire conversation could be heard by everyone in the van, who sat in
silence.
"See that woman over there? She's been shot. She needs to get to a
hospital now." Scully's clear voice rang through the enclosed space.
Skinner motioned to Allstadt. "Get an ambulance crew here now," he
said quietly. Allstadt picked up his cell phone and began to dial.
"I don't care," came Kauberg's raspy voice.
"She'll die unless she gets medical attention soon. Do you really
want to add a murder charge to your sentence?"
Steele bit her lip. Scully was walking on thin ice; the last part
could either be helpful or harmful.
It was harmful.
When Mulder heard Scully's cry of pain and then muffled gasping, he
clenched his fists and growled low in his throat. That bastard had hurt
Scully! He was about to punch something when Kauberg's raspy voice made
him stop.
"I'm not gonna get arrested." A pause. Then, "Hey, you're not wear-
ing a wire, are you?"
Mulder held his breath in fear. If they lost the wire they lost
everything.
He could hear Scully struggling for breath. "No," she gasped out.
Sighing in relief, he turned his attention to Skinner and Allstadt.
"Can we send someone else in there?" he asked.
"No way. I have a feeling this was a setup to get one of our own,"
Allstadt said. "We obviously can't trust Kauberg to keep his word."
Skinner nodded his agreement. "It's bad enough that Scully's in the
middle of this. We can't risk another agent."
"Oh, dammit!" they heard. They all turned to look at Steele, who'd
been listening to the conversation between Scully and Kauberg.
She looked at them with fear in her eyes. "Kauberg just said that
Scully's got a bad head wound. Coupled with the injury he gave her, she
can't be in good shape," she said grimly.
"She's not in any shape to keep up with Kauberg in there, that's
for sure," Mulder said. He turned to Skinner. "We've got to get someone
else in there."
"Hey, Mulder, quick!" Steele hissed. "Scully just gave him the num-
ber to your cell phone. He's gonna call!"
The sudden chirping of Mulder's cell phone interrupted her. Everyone
in the van grew quiet as Mulder picked up the phone and held it to his
ear. "Mulder," he said casually.
"Hey, Mulder. It's me." The raspy voice could belong to no one else.
"Dennis?" Mulder said in feigned bewilderment.
"The one and only. I see that little operation of ours went awry."
Mulder was seething. "You set us up, Kauberg!"
"Maybe I did. In any case, I've got your partner. What's her name
again?"
"Scully," Mulder spat at him.
"Oh, right. Miss Scully has informed me that the woman who tried to
escape will die unless we let her go."
"Do it, Dennis. Let her go," Mulder said quickly.
"I intend to. But first, I want to know if my terms are being met."
Mulder sighed in frustration. "We can talk about that later, Dennis.
We have to save that woman's life first."
"No!" Kauberg screamed. "You don't understand. I'll kill everyone if
I don't get my money! And may I add," he said dangerously, "now that I
have your pretty FBI woman in here, you might want to be more open to
my suggestions."
"Okay. Okay. Don't hurt her," Mulder said quickly. "We'll get your
money."
Steele sighed in frustration. Things had gone from bad to worse in
less that a half an hour, and it didn't seem like the situation was
going to get any better. Scully was officially injured, there was a
dying woman in the restauraunt, and Mulder had just promised an insane
man six million dollars. Steele knew that the only way for this to end
was for them to take control.
"Allstadt," she whispered, summoning the attention of the general.
He turned away from watching Mulder intently to look at her.
"Yeah?" he asked.
Making sure she had the attention of Skinner, Steele moved as far
away from Mulder as she could. Lowering her voice, she said, "Sir, I
don't think we're getting anywhere or are going to get anywhere. We've
got to take control of the situation before it's too late." Steele told
herself that she was talking about the dying woman, but they all knew
that she was referring to Scully's welfare.
Allstadt nodded, knowing she was right. "We can't break through a
wall because we don't know the placement of the people inside. And
I don't want to risk sending anyone else in because of what Kauberg
could do to them," he said.
"We have to take that chance. It's the only way we can end this,"
Steele urged.
"I agree with her. Can we send in an ambulance crew to take care of
the injured woman?" Skinner said.
"I think so. We just have to work it out with Kauberg." Allstadt's
voice conveyed his disapproval.
"Mulder!" Skinner hissed. Mulder looked up expectantly. "We want to
send an ambulance crew in to get the woman."
"Dennis? Can we get that woman out of there now?" Mulder said into
the phone.
Silence.
"Dennis?"
"Okay, Mulder," Kauberg rasped. "Send in two EMTs and a stretcher.
No more than that. And if you try anything, I'm gonna kill Miss Scully
faster than she can scream." His warning was followed by a click and a
dial tone.
"Okay." Mulder said as he hung up. "Let's do it."
The arrangements were made quickly. Two EMTs, their first aid kits
outfitted with tiny built-in cameras, carried a stretcher towards the
restauraunt. Skinner, Mulder, Steele, and Allstadt sat in a smaller van
parked around front, watching the scene via the cameras.
As the EMTs reached the half-destroyed front door, Allstadt spoke to
them through wires similar to the one Scully was wearing. "All right.
Knock three times and identify yourselves."
Three sharp raps were heard, then "Medical staff!"
The doors opened sharply, and they could see a tall man with a gun
waving the semi-automatic at the EMTs.
"Come in," the gunman said gruffly.
"Okay, go in slowly," Allstadt said through the wire.
The camera angle changed, and they could now see the inside of the
restauraunt. People were huddled on the floor, some lying down, some
sitting up. The camera panned over to a wall near the demolished doors,
where a bleeding, unconscious woman lay.
"Okay. We see her. Miller, you take care of her," Allstadt said to
one of the EMTs. "And O'Conner, show us the room."
One of the cameras stayed put, while the other elevated and made a
wide, slow sweep of the room.
"Hey, what're you doing?" they heard the gunman bark at O'Conner.
"Checking if anyone else is wounded," O'Conner answered carefully,
continuing his motions.
A picture of Scully seated on the floor on the far side of the room
came up on the TV screen in the van. "There's Scully," Mulder said,
pointing to her image on the screen. A shorter man stood next to her,
holding a large automatic rifle to her head.
"That must be Kauberg," Steele said before the camera moved again,
showing them the west wall of the restauraunt. That end of the room was
completely empty.
"There! The west end is clear!" Allstadt said excitedly. "O'Conner,
get the woman and get out of there!"
The camera swiveled back over to the woman, who by this time had
been loaded onto the stretcher. The EMTs each picked up an end of the
stretcher and hurried out of the restauraunt. Once they were out and
safely across the police tape, Allstadt got out of the van, ran over to
the SWAT vehicles and briefed him on the situation.
"The west end of the restauraunt is clear! We can break through as
soon as we're ready!" he yelled. The SWAT agent got on his cell phone
and began ordering the operation. Allstadt rushed back to the van and
got inside.
"Are we set to break through the wall?" Skinner asked him.
"Yes. Steele, I need you to get on that headset and tell Scully
what's going to happen," Allstadt ordered. Steele immediately went over
to the other side of the van and picked up the headset.
A bad feeling was beginning to form in the pit of Mulder's stomach.
"How can we be sure that Kauberg won't go crazy as soon as we get in?"
he asked Allstadt.
"We don't know if he will or not. But we've got to take that chance
before he takes this too far," Allstadt said.
"He already threatened to kill Scully. What if..." Mulder trailed
off uncertainly.
Allstadt put a hand on Mulder's shoulder. "She'll be okay. We're
going to get her out of there," he said, understanding the other man's
fear.
The burst of static from Allstadt's walkie-talkie caught everyone's
attention. "Sir! Ready to move in, Sir!"
"Copy that. Hold until I give the order." Allstadt opened the back
doors to the van and hopped out, followed by Mulder and Skinner. They
ran around to the side of the building, where the huge assault vehicle
sat waiting.
"Here we go," said Allstadt.
Please be okay, Scully, Mulder prayed.
The last half-hour had been hellish for Scully. She sat on the floor
next to Kauberg, who had a large gun pointed straight at her face. He
had repeatedly stepped on her and kicked her inadvertently as he paced
in front of her, and her entire body felt battered and bruised. She was
now sure that the wound to her head was most certainly not superficial,
as the blood was now streaming down her face and she felt like someone
was hitting her over the head with a hammer. Things absolutely cannot
get any worse, she thought miserably. Why not take a chance?
"Dennis," she said loudly. He turned quickly and looked down at her.
"What do you want?" he barked at her.
"Dennis, I can't feel my arms. Can you please take the tape off?"
she asked sweetly.
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" he yelled. She flinched visibly
but went on anyway.
"Please, Dennis. I'm really uncomfortable. Besides, I can't run away
very easily, can I?" she said, motioning with her head to the gun.
He looked at her for a moment, thinking. She bit her lip. Please,
she prayed.
"Fine," he said. "But you have to shut up."
"Of course, Dennis," she said happily as he leaned down behind her
to unwind the tape from her wrists. Suddenly he stopped.
"What is it, Dennis?" Scully asked, confused.
He was staring at the back of her neck. At the exposed wire.
Oh damn, she thought. That's it for me.
She felt Kauberg's fingers on the back of her neck grasping the wire
before he yanked up, pulling it free of the tape that attached it to
her body. She winced when the tape tore painfully at the seneitive skin
of her belly. Kauberg pulled it out of her shirt and stared at it for a
second.
Scully gulped as Kauberg came to stand in front of her, waving the
wire accusingly in her face. "What's this?" he screamed at her.
She couldn't answer.
"This is a wire! You said you didn't have one!" He was totally out
of control, yelling at her and waving his gun around. "You think you
can lie to me?" he yelled.
"No, Dennis! I don't. Dennis! Listen!"
"No! You can't lie to me! Shut up!" he screamed, grabbing her small
Sig Sauer off of the table where he'd left it after disarming her. He
pointed it at her and fired.
Scully was immediately rendered unconscious by the bullet that tore
into her left shoulder. Kauberg continued firing, aiming at the ceiling
and the walls. The horrified hostages huddled on the floor screamed in
terror, covering their heads with their arms. Plaster and glass rained
down on them.
At last, the clip in the gun ran out, and Kauberg threw the it to
the floor disgustedly. The two gunmen near the door raised their heads
cautiously. Kauberg walked over to where Scully lay, bleeding profusely
from the head and shoulder. Then he turned and glared at the hostages,
who shrunk back in fear.
"Nobody lies to me," he said menacingly.
Mulder, Skinner, and Allstadt were standing outside of the building
when the gunshots started. They immediately ducked for cover behind a
van while Allstadt yanked out the walkie-talkie and began yelling into
it.
"What's going on? What's happening in there?" he screamed.
"We don't know! We can't get a clear visual!" he was answered.
Three more shots were fired, and then the air was still.
The three men ran out from behind the van and back over to the side
of the building the SWAT teams were preparing to break through.
"What the hell just happened?" Skinner demanded.
Nobody answered him. They were all to busy running around getting
ready to break through the wall of the restauraunt.
"Mulder!"
Mulder turned to see Steele running across the parking lot towards
him.
He ran over and met her halfway. "What is it?" he asked.
"It's Dana! Kauberg found her wire and disconnected it. Right after
that the gunshots started," she explained.
Mulder almost fell over, he was so afraid. He managed to run back
over to Allstadt and yell, "We've got to get in there now! We think
Kauberg was shooting at Scully!"
"Okay!" Allstadt answered him. He picked up his walkie-talkie and
started giving orders. "On my mark!" He waited until the sharpshooters
behind the huge tank were in position, then yelled, "Go! Go! Go!"
The tank accelerated.
end (2/3)
***********************************************************************
From: ZzariarazZ@aol.com
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 12:24:13 EDT
Subject: Hostage Situation-- Epilogue
Hostage Situation, part (3/3)
Mulder, Skinner, Steele, and Allstadt ran behind a van and watched
as the tank broke through the wall of the restauraunt, sending glass
and plaster flying everywhere. As soon as the tank was through the wall
and into the restauraunt, sharpshooters followed it into the room. The
four heard gunshots and screams from inside, continuing for several
minutes.
And then it was all over.
A middle-aged, balding man was led out of the building at gunpoint.
He was immediately swarmed over by at least five agents, handcuffed and
led to a police car. Medical personell wheeled three gurneys through
the rough space created by the tank.
Allstadt and Mulder ran over to the ambulances. "Is everyone okay?"
Mulder asked an EMT when he got there.
"We were told that there were three wounded in the gunfire. There's
no way to tell if there are any dead," the man responded.
Mulder made his way past medical personell, sobbing hostages, and
a few stray SWAT agents, past the police tape, and into the destroyed
building. Most of the hostages had been taken out to ambulances, and
the room was being swept by a bomb squad. He could see blood on the
walls, and three groups of EMTs working on people. Steele was suddenly
behind him, her hand on his shoulder.
"Where's Dana?" she asked him, looking up at him with fear in her
large brown eyes.
"I didn't see her outside. I thought maybe she was in here..." his
words trailed off as a gurney was wheeled past him. Scully was lying on
it, an oxygen mask obscuring her face. There was a large gash on her
head, just above her hairline. Blood was also streaming out of a bullet
wound in her left shoulder.
"Oh my god, Scully..." Mulder whispered. He ran along next to the
gurney, outside and to the ambulance.
"Can I ride with her?" he said to one of the ambulance workers who
was loading Scully into the ambulance.
"Sorry, sir. Only medical personell allowed in here," the man said
gruffly as he slammed the doors.
"Come on, Mulder. I'll drive you to the hospital," Steele said.
The first thing Scully was aware of was a pressure on her hand. She
began to hear a steady beeping as her mind lifted out of the fog, and a
voice. The voice was tender and gentle, quiet, and it spoke to her in a
way that made her feel safe. She wondered who it was, and made the con-
nection that the hand grasping her own belonged to the person talking
so soothingly to her. The voice was asking her to come back, come back
to them. So she did.
Mulder sat in a chair next to Scully's bed, holding her hand and
whispering to her still form. He grasped her hand as if it were a life-
line. He knew she was only sleeping off the anesthetic from the surgery
on her shoulder, but something about seeing her so pale and still gave
him shivers up and down his spine.
Suddenly he was aware of a tickling feeling on his hand. He looked
down at it to see her fingers twitching in his palm. When he looked up
at her face, two spots of ice blue stared back at him. He smiled.
"How do you feel?" he asked gently.
Scully struggled to sit up, but the sharp pain radiating from her
head prevented her from doing so. "Hurt," she said simply.
"You've been unconscious for five hours. You had me worried for a
minute."
"Only a minute?" she teased, pouting.
He grinned. "Maybe thirty seconds."
She sighed and sank down into the pillows. "The last thing I remem=
ber was Kauberg finding my wire and shooting me. What happened?"
"Well, Steele had been listening to everything over the wire, and
she knew that he was shooting at you. When she told us that, we broke
through the west wall and apprehended Kauberg. His counterparts were
killed in the gunfire, and you were rushed here, where you spent an
hour in surgery getting the bullet out of your shoulder."
"Now we're twins," Scully said, looking at her bandaged shoulder
and referring to Mulder's gunshot wound in the exact same place.
Mulder smiled and got up to elevate her bed. "My head is pounding,"
Scully said, meaning it more as a question.
"Yeah, they think you cut it when you shielded that girl from all
the glass. And then Kauberg made it worse."
Scully shut her eyes, remembering the hellish moments when Kauberg
had been tripping over her.
Mulder gripped her hand. "They say you can get out of here as soon
as you want," he said gently.
Scully opened her eyes again and looked softly at Mulder. "Good."
They stopped talking, content to be in each other's prescence. As
Scully drifted off to sleep again, she thought she felt Mulder raise
her hand to his lips and kiss it gently.
end (3/3)
***********************************************************************
Now that you've finished the whole thing, do you think you could take
the time to send me some feedback? Please? Remember, this is my first
one, so be gentle. Should I write more? Should I stop?