Starve.Org White Noise Usenet Archive: "A Normal Life? (part 31 of ?)"

Stepping from the elevator together, both Doggett and
Reyes were more than a little surprised to be greeted
by a visibly furious A.D. Skinner. At his side stood one clearly
panicked and distraught Agent Pendrell, who appeared to be simply
beside himself and at a complete loss for what to do.

"Sir?" Reyes began with concern, taken aback by Skinner's deep scowl
and reddened face, "What's wrong?"

Brusquely moving forward despite the fact that both she and Doggett
were still in his way, Skinner bristled angrily, "A.D. Follmer!
THAT'S what's wrong!!"

Unaccustomed to seeing this wrathful side of Skinner, both Agents
jumped aside as he pushed his way through onto the elevator they had
just vacated only seconds earlier.

"What the hell happened??" Doggett interjected in perplexed confusion
as he wheeled around to face Skinner who said nothing as he stabbed a
finger angrily at the “door close” button. Shooting out an arm to
stop the elevator doors from closing, Doggett stared at
Skinner--wordlessly demanding an answer with his own exasperated and
implacable scowl.

Momentarily incensed by Doggett's audacity, Skinner's eyes narrowed
into a furious glare and his nostrils flared threateningly as he
impatiently exploded, "MARITA'S GONE!! Follmer took her to God knows
where and the longer you delay me here, the less time we have to find
her and get some answers!!” Then, degenerating into yelling at Reyes
as much as he was at Doggett, he sharply continued, “So, if you two
REALLY want to help Mulder and Scully, I suggest you both either get
back on this elevator or STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!!!”

Without a moments hesitation as they quickly exchanged nodding
glances, Doggett and Reyes moved as one back onto the elevator.

Pendrell, stunned breathless by the overtly hostile exchange he'd just
witnessed, stood dumbstruck-staring at the three of them with his
mouth agape.
Surely this wasn't how senior Agents interacted with their direct
superior on a regular basis.

After a moment, in response to Pendrell’s shocked gaze, Skinner,
Doggett and Reyes all turned to look at him quizzically.

"You comin' or not, Pendrell?" Doggett grimaced impatiently at the
young and inexperienced agent as the doors began to close.

Snapping out of his dumbfounded silence, Pendrell stammered, "Y-yes
sir," as he sprang forward onto the elevator before the doors slid
shut with a clang.

As the elevator began its slow descent to the fourth floor and the
A.D. office suite, Reyes turned to
Doggett with a growing lump in her throat as the practical meaning of
Skinner's words began to sink in. If Marita was actually gone, then
so were their chances of getting answers about what Spender was up to.
Glancing up into Doggett's eyes, she saw the same worried concern
behind them that she knew was in her own. Helplessly, Reyes' heart
sank into the pit of her stomach as she realized how, in the space of
a few short seconds, their prospects for helping Mulder and Scully had
shrunken considerably. If they didn't find Marita soon, the best they
could hope for was some new development that would lead them to the
truth-and considering the Syndicate, she knew that was about as likely
as them somehow finding Samantha Mulder alive and well after all these
years...

****************************

Dead silence reigned as Mulder steered the SUV away from the Shelby
Academy and toward the house that, from the day they bought it, had
always been their safe haven. Now, it was little more than a bleak
reminder of everything they'd lost in the past 24 hours. Scully
couldn't bring herself to say anything as she stared numbly out the
passenger window and tried her best to fight back the inevitable
tears. Likewise, Mulder couldn't find the words to express either his
feelings or where the three of them could possibly go from here. The
day's events weighed heavily on both of them and the emotional strain
was almost more than either of them could bear.

Only minutes earlier, they had reluctantly handed their only child
over to one of their most trusted friends. Russ had selflessly agreed
to transport their precious miracle boy directly to the safety of the
Hoover Building while they remained behind to risk returning home to
gather everything they would need during their indeterminate stay at a
Bureau safe house.

"Thanks for doing this, Russ," Mulder had sighed heavily as he moved
Will's car seat into the back of
Russ' BMW, "I can't tell you how much it means to us."

"I think I understand," Russ replied soberly, his gaze drifting
wincingly toward Scully who, some distance away, held Will close in
her arms like she never wanted to let him go, "If I even THOUGHT that
someone was threatening my boys, I don't know what
I'd do." Then, after Mulder finished buckling the extra car seat into
the "Beemer," Russ looked his friend directly in the eyes and gently
laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder, adding, "Don't worry Fox, I'll
get him there safe and sound. You have my word on it."

"I know," Mulder murmured softly, doing his utmost to keep the pain
and anguish from showing on his face as he stood from the car, "It's
just that I never expected this." Shaking his head in bitter regret,
he leaned heavily on the open car door and whispered in a voice tinged
with emotion that threatened to boil over out of control, "I truly
believed that it was all over-that the threat was neutralized and we
were finally free." Grimacing toward the park’s swirling fall leaves
before gazing almost forlornly at his wife and child, "But now I can
see that I was just deluding myself." Angrily berating himself, he
slammed his fist onto the top of the car and in a near sob, hoarsely
mumbled, "I should've seen it coming."

"Fox," Russ interjected with firm compassion, "Don't beat yourself up
about this. Hindsight is 100 percent but you're NOT a mind reader.
You CAN'T predict the future-no matter how much you want to. You did
the best you could with what you had. You had no way of knowing that
these...these 'people' would come back from the grave." Then, lowering
his voice to a sympathetic whisper, he continued, "Sure, if you knew
then what you know now, you would've done things differently.
Wouldn't we all? But you can't change the past. All you CAN do is
take steps in the here and now to protect Will's future-and from where
I stand, that's EXACTLY what you're doing. "

Russ' words were like the deafening thunderclap that precedes a
downpour. Hearing them forced the raging storm clouds in Mulder's
heart and mind to break-- making him acknowledge the fact that he
wasn't a superhero and couldn't have reasonably expected any better of
himself. With his simple and heartfelt speech, Russ was also telling
him not to waste time blaming himself-that he had much more important
things to worry about. Slowly, Mulder realized that Russ' words not
only absolved him of responsibility but also gave him permission to
forgive himself for making decisions that now seemed incredibly naive
and stupid. Quickly averting his gaze to hide the tears that sprung
unexpectedly into his eyes, Mulder nodded stoically as he bit his
lower lip, whispering, “Thanks, man."

"Don't mention it," Russ gently patted Mulder on the back, "you'd do
the same for me." Then, turning to gather the twins, he called to them
with a wide grin,
"Alright astronauts, who's ready to strap in for liftoff? T-minus 3
minutes and counting!!"

"ME!!" Jamal cried, racing toward his father as fast as his tiny feet
would carry him.

"No ME!!!" Tyler bellowed, doing his best to outrun his brother and
beat him to their father's waiting arms.

Watching this carefree and playful interplay between father and sons,
Mulder couldn't help but contrast it with his own situation.
Mournfully turning his gaze back toward Scully and their small son, he
saw how desperately his wife held Will close to her, as if she feared
she would never see him again. That sight sent a chill through
Mulder's heart and all the guilt and regret the Russ had all but
banished moments earlier came flooding back with a vengeance.

Now, as he wordlessly drove on toward their empty shell of a home,
Mulder could only wonder if Scully blamed him for all of this and now
hated him as much as he hated himself.

But, what Mulder couldn't know was that, as she continued to stare out
the passenger window, Scully was struggling with the same self-hate,
doubt and reproach that he was experiencing.

Scully’s mind kept being helplessly drawn back to her poignant goodbye
with Will. Having maintained a tightly protective grip on their son
as she walked him slowly toward Russ' car, Scully had honestly
wondered where she would find the strength to let their tiny boy
go—strength she hadn’t had before...

Softly, in a slightly quivering voice, she'd spoken to him about how
their plans had changed, "Now, you're going for a ride into the city
with Russ and the twins to meet some friends of ours." Smiling
weakly, Scully put on a brave front for Will's sake as she continued,
"So be on your best behavior, okay? We'll be along before you know
it."

"But WHY can't I go with you and Daddy?" Will tearfully pouted, as he
gazed pleadingly into his mother's guilt-ridden eyes, "I don't
understand."

As his innocent words stabbed at her heart, Scully's unwavering mask
of stoicism was the only thing that kept her from breaking down
completely. As it was, she had to blink back tears as an almost
imperceptible wince briefly flashed across her otherwise immutable
face. Pursing her lips, Scully did her best to sound excited and
cheerful as she stammered, "Well...because...Russ is taking Tyler and
Jamal to see a VERY special place and we thought you'd like to go
along."

"Where's that?" Will sniffled with a skeptical expression that bore a
heart-wrenchingly close resemblance to "the look" that had always been
her own trademark.

"To--to the FBI building," she replied hesitantly.

"What's so special 'bout THAT place?" Will dejectedly countered,
wrinkling his nose and rolling his eyes with a persistent pout.

"Well," Scully sighed, biting her lip as she desperately stretched for
ANY reason why Will should be excited to the Hoover Building, "It's
where Mommy and Daddy first met. So, just think, you might not even be
here if it weren't for that building."

"But I wanna go home with you and Daddy," Will wept as the tears
started to stream down his tiny face. Not understanding in the least
why he couldn't stay with his parents, he continued with a sob, "I
missed you all weekend, Mommy. Didn't you miss me?"

Unable to keep her own eyes from filling, Scully quickly pulled Will
in even closer to hide her tears as she hoarsely whispered, "Of course
I did. We both did. But that's not the point." Then, marshalling
all the strength she could muster, Scully again bit her lower lip,
took a deep breath and continued more firmly, "The fact is, you're
going with Russ and the twins right now and that's final. So, I don't
want to hear any more arguing about it. Do you understand me, Will?"

Pulling back to stare quizzically at Scully, who now sounded much more
like a stranger than his own gentle and loving Mommy, Will's lower lip
jutted out prominently and began to tremble as even more tears hung in
his tiny, wounded eyes. Softly, he whispered his acquiescence, "Yes,
Mommy."

Unable to bear the hurt confusion in her son's eyes,
Scully's stony facade crumbled and she could no longer keep her own
burgeoning tears at bay. As a single salty drop slipped over her
lashes to plunge down her face, Scully knew that, if Will pressed her
any further, she wouldn't be able to hold out any more. She would
lose control and break down completely—and there would be nothing she
could do to stop it.

Seeing the glistening drop wind its way slowly down his mother’s
cheek, Will quickly looked up into her now cloudy eyes in surprised
confusion. Gazing at her intently for a few moments, his mournfully
rejected expression suddenly disintegrated into one of empathic
concern and regret.

Immediately noticing the drastic change on Will's face, Scully's heart
stalled and her eyes widened slightly as she anxiously whispered,
"Will, what is it? What's the matter?!?"

"Mommy," he began slowly, with a profound seriousness that was well
beyond his short years, "Don't worry.
I'll stop. I won't make you cry anymore. I promise."

Taken aback by her son's astoundingly mature attitude and words,
Scully was stunned speechless for a moment. Quickly regaining control
of herself and suddenly but inexplicably able to blink back the
balance of her tears, she gently ran a hand through Will's hair as she
softly kissed him on the forehead and whispered gratefully, "Thank you
Sweetie." Then, resuming their short trek toward Russ' car, she
somberly continued in a voice laden with conflicting and tumultuous
emotions, "Mommy loves you very much. You know that don't you?"

Wrapping his tiny arms tightly around her neck as he tried desperately
to shut the now palpable fear out of his mind, Will softly replied,
"Yes, Mommy. I do." Then, pulling back from her again, he looked up
into Scully's eyes as he added with a tender smile, "and I love you
too."

"Oh, Sweetie," Scully mournfully rasped, already second-guessing her
and Mulder's plan and momentarily overcome with fear for their future
and Will's safety, "Daddy and I will be there to meet you as soon as
we can. I promise."

"I know, Mommy," Will replied matter-of-factly, as if there were never
any question about it, "Don't be afraid. Russ will keep me safe."

Staring at her son with her mouth slightly agape and wondering how he
could possibly know what she was thinking and feeling, Scully was
about to ask Will what he meant by that when she was unexpectedly
interrupted.

"Hey there, Slugger," Mulder grinned down at his precious son as he
tousled the boy's hair in a concerted effort to sound cheerful, "Did
you and Mommy have a nice talk?"

"Yes, Daddy," Will replied with a wide grin. Then, with a convincing
lilt of excitement in his voice, he stretched out his arms to his
father as he jubilantly continued, "I can't wait to see where you and
Mommy met!!" Then, with a little grin at his mother, he added with a
giggle, "You know, I wouldn’t be here without that building."

"Really?!?" Mulder raised his eyebrows in genuine surprise, expecting
there to be at least some resistance, on Will's part, to their plain.
Taking
Will from his mother's arms, Mulder kissed the top of the boy's head
as he put on a bright smile and laughed, "Well, then you'd better get
going, huh?"

"Yeah," Russ interjected with a wide grin from over Mulder's shoulder,
"Tyler and Jamal are already strapped in and ready for lift off. The
only thing we're waiting on is you, buddy."

"There. You heard it straight from mission control,"
Mulder grimaced slightly, doing his best to keep his face from
betraying his inner turmoil while, at the same time, wondering if his
efforts made any bit of difference in light of his son's newfound
abilities.
Reluctantly handing Will over to Russ, he continued,
"Time to lift off. We'll see you there, Slugger."

Giving his dad a thumbs up and a broad smile as Russ strapped him into
his car seat, Will giggled, "T minus 10 seconds and counting."

As Russ carefully shut the back passenger door, Will waved cheerfully
to his Mommy and Daddy, knowing full well that the two of them were
only putting on their brave smiles for his sake as they slowly waved
back. Although he didn't understand his parents' inexplicable guilt
and fear, Will instinctively knew that he shouldn’t ask about it and
figured that the only thing he could do was make it as easier on them
by blowing them kisses and smiling brightly.

For Mulder and Scully, however, the sight of their seemingly happy son
was melancholy and bittersweet. They knew only too well the horrible
danger that he now faced. The thought of it terrified them and made
it all the more difficult for them to smile and wave at him as if
nothing was wrong. When Russ finally stepped in between them and
Will's window, both were relieved that they no longer had to keep up
their valiantly brave, albeit stiff and brittle, front.

"Look, I'll take good care of him," Russ assured them as he read the
fear and anxiety behind their eyes, "We'll get there safe and sound.
I guarantee it." Then, glancing back at the car, he soberly added,
"After all, my boys are on the line here too."

Realizing for the first time the immense risk they'd asked Russ to
undertake with their seemingly simple request, Mulder and Scully
exchanged stricken glances before Mulder sputtered, "Russ, I didn't
even think about that. If you want to back out, we'd..."

"Just stop right there, Fox," Russ interrupted, cutting Mulder off
with a wave of his hand, "Will is like a third son to Julia and
me-just like Tyler and Jamal are to you two. Not only am I happy to
take the risk but there’s no question that I want to. So, it's
already decided." Then, with an upbeat chuckle and a sly grin as he
moved around to the driver's side of the car, Russ added, "Besides, I
have no intention of letting anything-including this cigarette smoking
fool-get in our way. So keep your chins up and I'll see you there in
a few."

In response, Mulder and Scully could only grimace thankfully and wave
to Russ as he got into the car and pulled away. However, as the BMW
disappeared from view and they were finally left alone, a strange and
awkward silence descended between them—like an insurmountable wall
that neither knew how to breach.

Although Mulder knew that he had to tell Scully about their son's new
abilities and the implications, he just couldn't find the words to
break it to her. Meanwhile, for her part, Scully couldn't bear to
face Mulder as her own guilt and terror threatened to overwhelm her
and rob her of her only defense—self control. Abruptly turning away,
she quickly retreated to their SUV, leaving Mulder, plagued by his own
self-doubt and blame, trailing slowly behind her.

Having reached the car, the two of them took their seats in silence.
As Mulder turned the key in the ignition, he stared straight ahead,
knowing he couldn’t continue to keep Scully in the dark like this.
Willing himself to tell her the frightening truth about their son, he
took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Putting the SUV into gear
and pulling out of the parking space, he hesitantly murmured, "Scully,
I think I know why Spender was monitoring Will."

"Why?" she replied evenly, remaining completely, almost unnaturally,
still—like a deer caught in the headlights. Although she manifested
no external signs of it, her heart filled with alarm and a terrible
sense of foreboding at what Mulder would say next.

"Because he can...," Mulder began tentatively as he pulled the car out
onto the open road, "Will is...well...he...I mean..." Faltering, the
words momentarily eluded him and his voice broke off before he could
tell her. Shaking his head, Mulder resolved that he had to get it out
one way or another. Just say it and get it out in the open once and
for all. Taking a deep breath and quickly exhaling it, he awkwardly
blurted, "Scully, Will can read minds just like Gibson Praise.
THAT’S what they want with him."

As the images of all the horrific things the Syndicate had done to
Gibson Praise flashed like lightning through her terrified mind,
Scully quickly turned to face her husband, her eyes flooding with
disbelief and fear.

But, desperately afraid of what he might see in her gaze, Mulder kept
his own eyes on the road ahead. Although he knew he was being a
coward, with all that was happening, he just couldn’t bear to see the
blame and condemnation that he believed her eyes would hold. After
everything else, that sight—confirmation of his worst fears—would
completely break him.

Meanwhile, taking Mulder’s refusal to look at her as a clear signal
that he blamed her as much as she did herself, Scully blinked quickly
in an effort to hold in check her tears of hurt rejection. Abruptly
turning her eyes forward onto the oncoming road, Scully squared her
shoulders and hid her pain behind a mask of scientific detachment.

And so it was that they settled far too easily into the detached and
uncomfortable professionalism that had so-often characterized their
interactions on the x-files whenever insecurity had come between them.
Just like when Scully refused to join Mulder on his crop-circle
hunting trip to England or when he continually seemed to favor Diana
Fowley’s judgment over her own, they both ignored the proverbial
elephant in the room in favor distancing themselves from one another
and retreating behind their long unused but tried and true individual
defense mechanisms.

As such, keeping her eyes stonily focused on the passing streets and
buildings, Scully finally sighed in skeptical disbelief, "But Mulder,
that's impossible. Will was genuinely surprised when I brought Walter
home. If he could read my mind, then he would have known when I left
for work that morning that I was planning to bring a puppy home."
Yet, even as the words of protest escaped her lips, she knew that
Mulder's revelation more than explained her earlier, seemingly
inexplicable interaction with their son.

"I don't think the ability is as fully developed with
Will as it was with Gibson when we first met him," Mulder sighed
heavily, as he carefully negotiated a left turn at a busy
intersection-all the while striving to control his own
self-reproaching thoughts, "Remember that Gibson was 12 years old then
and had several years to grow into his ability. Will's not even four
yet. Maybe his brain is just now developing sufficiently to let him
begin to use his natural abilities."

"NATURAL abilities?!?" Scully retorted in abject incredulity and much
more harshly than she'd intended, “What the hell is THAT supposed to
mean?!?”

"Well," Mulder stammered as he stopped the SUV at a
red light, "Remember that I DID have a similar episode just before you
went to West Africa--when we were investigating Solomon Merkmallen's
murder and Dr. Sandoz’s subsequent disappearance." Then sighing
heavily as the guilt started to overwhelm him, Mulder hoarsely
whispered, "Maybe it was passed on somehow, through my genes."

"Oh God..." Scully half gasped as her mask of stoicism cracked under
the pressure and she quickly turned to face the window in a last ditch
effort to hide it, "I don't want to hear any more."

So they rode on in silence, the chasm between them growing ever wider.
Mulder took her seemingly bitter words and refusal to talk as a
stinging indictment of his guilt, while Scully was more than certain
that Mulder blamed her for not anticipating this obvious eventuality
and taking the appropriate steps to keep their son safe. Both were
being completely irrational, but their own pain, suffering and
self-loathing blinded them completely to that fact.

Now, as they drew closer to their once happy home, helpless tears
flowed from Scully's eyes and she wondered if perhaps she HAD been
wrong to keep William all those years ago. Was it selfish of her to
want to raise her and Mulder's child given all of the dangers he faced
precisely because of who his parents were? While Mulder was in hiding
and in terrible moments of weakness, she'd actually contemplated how
Will might be better off with someone else. Adopted out to complete
strangers with no connection to her or Mulder, perhaps Will would've
had a real chance at a happy and normal life, free from the terrors
that his parents' world had to offer.

Yet, at the time, Scully had come to the conclusion that doing so
would be no better than sending lambs to the slaughter. After all,
supposed anonymity didn't keep the alien replicants from finding her
in Georgia, the Syndicate from knowing every intimate detail of her
life, or the alien cult from kidnapping him. So, why would it be any
different for otherwise anonymous adoptive parents? Scully told
herself that at least she knew exactly what they were up against and
could put up a real defense against it. The same could not be said
for some innocent couple who were completely oblivious to the
impending doom faced by the entire planet. No, the safest place for
Will was by her side. Although, deep down inside, she always knew it
was true, so many times it just didn’t seem like it.

Then, just when things seemed to be at their worst and Scully was at
her weakest, Mulder had returned and the issue was rendered moot. Once
they'd impregnated the world's water supply with magnetite, they were
all finally free from all the dark shadows that followed them. Or so
they thought...

Now, after everything that had happened, Scully wasn't sure of
anything anymore. Maybe she HAD been selfish to keep Will by her
side. Maybe she'd just been deluding herself and it really WOULD'VE
been better for Will if she had given him up. At least then he would
now be safe and secure instead of having to go into hiding and be torn
away from his home. As the tremendous guilt overwhelmed her, Scully
couldn't control the continual flood of tears as they ran down her
face and she strove to covertly wipe them away with her right hand.
Yet, despite her mask of stoicism, a barely audible sniffle still
betrayed her innermost turmoil.

However, that almost imperceptible sound was more than enough to seize
Mulder's full attention.
Hearing it immediately, Mulder glanced over at his wife as they turned
the corner onto their street.
"Scully," he whispered tentatively, putting his heart on the line and
taking a chance, "Russ will take good care of him. You know that."

"I know," came her hoarsely whispered reply as she stonily continued
to stare out the window in a futile effort to hide her tears.

Pulling the car into their driveway as the garage door opened, Mulder
looked at Scully with hopeful tenderness. His brow furrowed, Mulder
shifted the gears to neutral and engaged the parking brake before
turning to her with eyes full of worried concern.

Yet, Scully wouldn't meet his gaze. She just
couldn't. The guilt was too strong.

Suddenly at a loss for what to say and with his overture seemingly
rejected, Mulder quickly withdrew the keys from the ignition just as
he withdrew behind his own defensive wall. His eyes falling to the
floor, he broodingly murmured, "We need to move quickly." Then biting
his lower lip and grimacing at the overwhelming guilt and insecurity
he was experiencing for the first time in years, Mulder strove to shut
off his emotions just as he shut the garage door. Turning his
attention to his seatbelt, he quickly undid it as he wincingly sighed,
"I'll pack a bag for Will and get Walter ready if you'll get one
together for me while you pack yours."

"Sure," Scully replied numbly, almost vacantly, as she slowly exited
the vehicle. Would Mulder ever be able to forgive her weakness?
Would Will?

Without words, the two of them glided silently into the house. Scully
headed toward their bedroom as
Mulder first went to his office. Reverting to his worn, nearly
forgotten pattern of losing himself in
work, Mulder turned on his computer so he could divert his attention
with his University email messages. As he waited for the machine to
boot, he drifted to the back door to let Walter in. Opening it, he
found Will's weekend bag carefully stowed on the back porch where
Maggie had left it as
Walter came bounding up to him and into the house.
As the waggling puppy pranced about his feet, Mulder stooped to softly
pat him on the head, whispering,
"Hey boy," as he wistfully wished that their lives could somehow go
back to being as simple as they had been that morning. He would give
anything to have that existence back again.

Then, shaking his head to banish the pointless and hopeless desires of
his heart from his mind, Mulder moved slowly to Will's room where he
proceeded to gather up four or five days worth of clothes. Then,
unceremoniously dumping the contents of Will's bag into the laundry
bin, he briskly stuffed the stack of clean clothes into the empty
suitcase. Catching sight of Will's favorite teddy out of the corner
of his eye, Mulder couldn’t help but feel a tiny panging twinge as he
remembered the abject joy on Will’s tiny face the day that he and
Scully had given it to him. Snatching it quickly, he stashed into the
bag, out of sight and out of mind. His task completed, Mulder zipped
the bag shut and carried it with him back into the living room as
Walter trailed slowly behind him, sensing instinctively that something
was wrong.

Stepping into his adjacent office, Mulder quickly pulled up his
University email account and, after checking his messages, sent his
students a general mailing telling them that he would be incommunicado
for the next few days because of a family emergency. Finishing that,
he proceeded to download the small batch of late papers that remained
to be graded to a floppy disk. It was a lucky thing that he had
posted the grades the night before after he and Scully returned from
Mass, he mused silently to himself-almost managing to forget his own
swirling foment of emotions, otherwise he'd have a lot more to explain
to his department head than just an unexpected absence. Finished
downloading the files, he ejected the disk from the drive and shut
down his computer. Heading back into the living room, he carefully
slid the disk into the front pocket of Will's bag before taking it out
to the SUV.

Returning to the kitchen, Mulder set about gathering up Walter's
travel pack as Scully emerged from their bedroom carrying two
overnight bags. Still not meeting his gaze, Scully stared at the
floor as she softly murmured as she distractedly picked up the car
keys from the counter where Mulder had left them, "I'm gonna put these
in the car. You about ready to go?"

"Yeah," Mulder looked at her wincingly, his heart aching
uncontrollably to have her be so close and yet so far away, "I just
need a second to get Walter into his harness and put his things
together. I'll meet you out there in a minute or two."

Nodding stoically, Scully headed to the garage without another word.
Although she desperately wanted to run to Mulder, take him in her arms
and beg him to love her again, she didn’t. She couldn’t. After all,
how could she ever hope that he would forgive her when she couldn’t
forgive herself?

Meanwhile, finally finished gathering up Walter's travel supplies and
having just snapped on the pup's body harness, Mulder was about to
head out to the garage when the phone rang. Glancing quickly at the
caller ID as he moved to grab the phone, the LCD read "NO INFORMATION
AVAILABLE"

Although he contemplated just letting it ring, he was struck with the
thought that it might be Skinner or Doggett calling on their cell
phones with something important—so he really should answer it.
Reaching for the nearby cordless, he picked it up on the second ring
before tersely responding, "Mulder," as he made his way back through
the house one last time to make sure that he hadn't forgotten
anything.

"Ah, Mr. Mulder," came the all too familiar croon of C.G.B. Spender
from the other end of the line, "What a pleasure to hear your voice
again after so many years. It's been a long time hasn't it?" Having
vigilantly monitored his surveillance equipment from the moment he’d
sent out the computer signal, Spender was fully aware of Mulder and
Scully’s plans as well as the gulf of misunderstanding and
miscommunication that widened between them with every passing moment.

"Spender," Mulder growled, instantly recognizing his nemesis’ familiar
intonations as his own eyes narrowed in sudden rage, "You've got a
hell of a lot of nerve calling me after everything you've done to us,
you SON OF A BITCH!" He was about to give Spender a well-deserved
piece of his mind when he was abruptly cut off.

"We can skip the pleasantries, Mr. Mulder," Spender tersely
interrupted with a seemingly bemused snort, "This isn't a social
call."

"Oh really!?!?" Mulder bit snidely, about to toss off a sarcastic
remark when he was cut short a second time.

"We have no time to waste on your rapier wit, Mr.
Mulder. You and your lovely wife are in serious danger," Spender
interjected with just the slightest hint of impatience as he took a
short draw from his cigarette. Peering cautiously out the window of
his second story observation post as he waited for the inevitable
arrival that must be only minutes away by now, he continued, "Gather
up your belongings and leave immediately. You need to get out of
there as soon as possible"

Reaching his breaking point, Mulder snorted in sarcastic disbelief,
"Why's that? So you can have another chance at our son!?!? I don't
think so!!" Suddenly, in one fell swoop, all of the anger and
animosity Mulder had been directing inwardly at himself flared outward
at this ready and more than deserving target. With barely controlled
fury, he ferociously snarled, “You’d better hope and pray that I don’t
get my hands on you. So help me, it’ll make what the aliens put me
through seem like an Oriental massage in comparison.”

Looking out from his vantage point, Spender’s eyes widened in anxiety
as he caught sight of an approaching vehicle. Watching a long dark
sedan slowly wind its way up the street, Spender knew instantly that
that they were quickly running out of time. Eyeing it apprehensively,
he impatiently ordered, "As much as I’d relish hearing your plans for
me, there's no time for this right now. Suffice it to say that your
son will very soon be an orphan if the two of you don't do EXACTLY
what I tell you!"

"Oh, right," Mulder bit skeptically, "You lie at the drop of a hat,
have manipulated us for years, tried
to kill us both on half a dozen occasions--then return from the grave
to stalk my family and you expect us to jump whenever you call!!?!
Get real!!"

"It's a simple choice, Mr. Mulder," Spender bit, as his own emotions
momentarily got the better of him, "live or die. Do as I say and you
will both live. Disregard my instructions and you WILL die."

Exhaling heavily through flared nostrils, Mulder rolled his eyes in
skeptical disbelief as he bit, "Give me one reason why I should
believe ANYTHING you say."

As the long black car came to a stop in front of the Mulder household,
Spender jumped to his feet apprehensively. This would not do. After
all the years of hard work and sacrifice, he was not about to let it
all disappear down the drain just because of Fox Mulder's pigheaded
stubbornness.

Then, with a supreme effort, Spender managed to regain his composure.
He still had a few tricks up his sleeve and he simply pulled out the
most convenient one as he crooned almost sinisterly, "Because, not
only do I know what your son is, but I can also lead you to your
long-lost sister. That’s why."

A short pause, that seemed like an eternity, followed as Spender
waited for Mulder’s answer. "Sorry Smokey, you've played that card one
too many times,” Mulder quickly retorted with a snort. Then, with a
bitter laugh, he added, “Besides, I already know EXACTLY what Will is
AND that Samantha is DEAD. She has been for a VERY long time."

"YOU may THINK you know," Spender countered tensely as he watched a
large, imposing figure get out of the car and slip ominously up the
driveway toward Mulder's front door, "but you have no idea.” Even from
behind, Spender knew exactly who was paying the Mulders a
visit--knowledge Spender couldn't keep from coloring his normally cool
and collected voice with a stain of urgency as he fervently added,
“And your sister IS still alive, Mr. Mulder, but you WON'T be unless
you follow my instructions RIGHT NOW!!"

Picking up instantly on the unmistakable anxiety in Spender's voice,
Mulder couldn't keep a grin of smug satisfaction from playing across
his face. With a sarcastic lilt, he chuckled, "So what? After years
of trying to kill us or drive me crazy, you're NOW worried about our
safety, eh? How sweet of you. We had no idea how much you cared.”
Then, with an angry sneer, he continued, “To what do we owe this
miraculous change of heart? Don’t tell me that, in your twilight
years, you’ve finally found love."

“NEVER MIND THE REASONS WHY,” Spender frantically yelled as the figure
reached the door, “GET IN THE CAR AND GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!!”

At the unexpected arrival, Walter’s ears perked and he crept
stealthily to the door—but Mulder never noticed.

Thoroughly enjoying how the tables seemed to have turned, Mulder
smirked in gratification as he chuckled, “Wow, sounds like I hit a
sore spot, but don’t mince words, Smokey. Tell me how you really
feel.”

Then, as if on cue, the doorbell rang—eliciting agitated peals of
barking from Walter.

Hearing both over the phone and through his surveillance equipment,
Spender blurted in near panic, "Do NOT answer the door! Get out of
there now, before it's too late!!"

His interest and curiosity now piqued, Mulder moved with a grin toward
the front door, laughing, "Too late for what? For us to put an end to
your mind games, manipulations and conspiracies once and for all?"
Then more seriously, he narrowed his eyes and venomously added,
"You've never been interested in saving anything but your own sorry
ass. This isn't any different." With that, Mulder abruptly hit the
disconnect button on his cordless, hanging up on Spender as he quickly
moved toward the heavily carved oak of the beckoning front door.

Listening to the blaring dial tone, Spender acted quickly—moving
rapidly about his well-stocked and fortified observation post to
implement his emergency backup plan.

Meanwhile, as he stepped up to the door, a tiny voice in the back of
his mind warned Mulder that, despite Spender’s track record of
deception, he should still approach this situation with a healthy
degree of caution. Looking through the peephole instead of
immediately opening the door, Mulder's face suddenly fell and he was
thankful that he’d listened to that voice—for what he saw on the other
side completely horrified him. "Oh my God," he gasped as he backed
away from the door in disbelief, dropping the phone to the floor and
yelling, "SCULLY GET OUT OF HERE N...!!"

But before he could finish his warning cry, the heavy oak front door
exploded inward-blown off its hinges by an enormous force. Whatever
it, it was so strong that the door collided with Mulder, knocked him
backwards and pinned him to the slick tiles of the foyer floor.

Stepping imperiously through the now open doorway came the
unmistakable form of the alien bounty hunter. Immediately taking
notice of Mulder as he desperately scrambled to pull himself out form
under the weight of the door, the bounty hunter quickly planted a
large foot on it to keep his quarry trapped in place. "The boy," the
bounty hunter demanded flatly as he applied additional, exponentially
growing, pressure to the over 100 pound door and, de facto, to
Mulder's body ensnared beneath it, "where is he?"

In response, Mulder involuntarily cried out in agony as he suddenly
felt something snap in his chest under the ever-increasing pressure.
As searing pain shot through his body, he found himself having to gasp
for air as he hoarsely rasped, "He's not here!!!"
Praying to anything that might be listening that
Scully had heard his warning and was now making good her escape,
Mulder desperately tried to stall for time as he choked and coughed,
"and you'll never find him you son of a bitch!!"

Leaning in close and grabbing Mulder by the knot of his tie, the alien
bounty hunter frowned his displeasure as he hissed, "Tell me where he
is and I promise that you will die quickly."

"Bite me," was Mulder's thin and gurgled reply.

"Very well," the bounty hunter evenly retorted as he forcefully
gripped his immobilized victim's throat.

Then, at that moment, from the living room charged the almost
forgotten Walter—growling and barking with the fur on his back
standing on end as he bared his teeth menacingly at the alien invader.

Ignoring the adolescent pup altogether, the bounty hunter slowly
squeezed Mulder's throat in one hand as he stoically glowered down at
him, "Remember that I gave you the chance to end this quickly."
Instantly, Mulder’s labored effort to breath became a life or death
struggle as he could feel his airways slowly being closed off.

Unable to stand idly by as this foreign entity assaulted his master,
Walter instantly sprang forward, his jaws splayed open, ready for a
fight. Completely unprepared for this attack, the bounty hunter
instantly released his grip on Mulder as the ferociously enraged pup
sank his teeth deeply into the alien’s throat.

Defensively, the bounty hunter rolled off the door and onto the floor
as he grappled with the furious, seemingly rabid dog. With the
alien's weight no longer on top of him, Mulder quickly struggled to
free himself. Desperately he tried to pull himself out from under the
fallen door but it was to no avail. He couldn't seem to catch his
breath and oddly lacked the strength to budge the massive door or try
to move underneath it. Moreover, the pain in his chest was simply
excruciating—increasing exponentially the harder he tried to free
himself.

Finally getting a firm hold of Walter, the bounty hunter tore the
snarling dog away from his throat before hurling it full force into
the far wall. With a sickening snap and horrible yelp, Walter hit.
Both horrific sounds immediately told Mulder that the poor dog's back
had instantly been broken. Dropping limply to the floor with a
pitiful whimper, Walter still didn’t give up. Desperately, with his
front legs-his back ones now completely useless—he tried to pull
himself forward to help his fallen master.

Dispassionately regarding the wounded animal, the
bounty hunter stood and strode over to him before reaching down to
mercifully snap the poor dog's neck. Then, turning his full attention
back to Mulder who continued to hopelessly struggle under the weight
of the door and the sharp pains in his chest, the alien smirked in
seemingly malevolent bemusement. Leaping full force onto the felled
door, he growled in a near whisper, "Rest assured, your death will not
be so easy."

The impact of the alien’s full body weight forced a desperate cry of
agony from Mulder’s now numbed lips.

Standing over him menacingly with all his weight now on the felled
door, the bounty hunter again reached down, took Mulder by the necktie
and jerked him upright partially—as much as the door would allow.
Helplessly gasping in response to the searing needles of pain that
shot through his upper thorax, Mulder could barely catch his breath
and knew that he would soon pass out as his vision began to tunnel.
Then unexpectedly, from behind the bounty hunter, he suddenly saw a
shadowy figure charge forward quickly with a swift, almost desperate,
stabbing motion.

Instantly, the alien bounty hunter cried out in agony. Rearing up in
pain and spasming violently, he desperately grabbed at the back of his
neck. Then, seeming to give out, the alien collapsed forward as if
dead-his body falling diagonally across the door. All at once,
everything was eerily silent and still.

As his vision cleared and he was able to take in a few gasps of air,
Mulder strained to see over the bounty hunter's shoulder, desperate to
know just what had happened. Finally raising his head sufficiently,
Mulder could see a highly polished wood and silver handle protruding
from the back of the alien's neck. Then, raising and refocusing his
eyes, he thought he must be dreaming when he caught sight of a visibly
agitated Scully, her hands still shaking, behind it. Relieved beyond
words to see her, Mulder hoarsely rasped with a grin, "See...and
you...you thought... we'd never...use that ice pick."

Narrowing her eyes at him with a half-scolding, half-worried grimace,
Scully quickly moved forward as she stoically countered, "We can
apologize to Byers for all the teasing about his useless wedding
present later—that is IF we get out of this in one piece." Pushing
with all her might to get the bounty hunter's weight off her trapped
husband, Scully managed to roll the alien's body off to one side. As
it came to rest against the wall, Scully, her pulse racing, then
turned her full attention to her injured partner.

"Mulder," she whispered anxiously as she clinically assessed his vital
signs and condition with a physician’s eyes, "Are you injured? Can
you move?"

"I...I don't know," Mulder coughed as he struggled to catch his
breath, "I heard…something...crack…when he...jumped on me. It
hurts…like hell. I…think that ...maybe a rib's...broken." As he
spoke, Mulder noticed for the first time that a light misting spray of
warm fluid now accompanied his words.

Frowning deeply as she immediately recognized his symptoms, profound
concern colored Scully's blue eyes as she quickly wiped her fingers
across Mulder's moist face. Holding up her hand to show him the smear
of blood that now streaked her fingertips, she anxiously whispered,
"Mulder, you're aspirating blood. We need to get you out of here and
to a hospital as soon as possible."

"Well." Mulder coughed with a slight gurgle, "I
guess...on the...good...bad...scale...that's a bad...right?"

"Ssshhhh," Scully admonished softly as her eyes began to fill, "don't
try to talk. I'll get you free and then we can get out of here."
Knowing that Mulder had suffered from massive blunt trauma to his
chest,
Scully understood just how vital it was to get him to
a hospital immediately. Using her entire body weight to push the
heavy oaken door aside, Scully slowly but carefully inched it across
Mulder's battered body so as not to cause any additional damage.

Excruciatingly close to freeing him, with scarcely more than another
eighteen inches to go, the door abruptly came to a halt-accompanied by
an unexpected low groan. Looking up, Scully's heart froze as she
realized that the door was stalled hopelessly against the body of the
fallen alien. Craning his neck to look, Mulder saw the exact same
thing. Even worse, as they turned to stare at each other with widened
and terrified eyes, both Mulder and Scully instantly came to the
horrific realization that, since the sound hadn't come from either of
them, the bounty hunter WASN'T dead.

"Get...out...of here...Scully!!" Mulder vehemently urged in a choking
and panicked rasp, "You have to...protect Will!!"

"I WON'T leave you, Mulder!!" she retorted with a
frantic mixture of frightened anger as her mind raced to come up with
a solution and a single tear trickled helplessly down her face, "I'm
getting you out of here!!" Then, deciding on a course of action and
positioning herself at the edge of the door, she tersely continued,
"I'm going to lift this up and I need for you to pull yourself out
from underneath it. Okay? Can you do that?"

"Scully," Mulder coughed, desperately afraid for her safety as he saw
one of the bounty hunter's hands begin to twitch, "It's impossible.
GO NOW!!
We...don't have…time..."

"DAMN IT MULDER!!!" Scully shrieked in near hysteria as the tears now
streamed down her face unabated at the prospect of losing him forever,
"FOR ONCE IN YOUR
LIFE, JUST SHUT UP AND DO WHAT I TELL YOU!!!"

Truly stunned by her emotional outburst, Mulder could only nod in
silent acquiescence as Scully squatted down and prepared herself for
biggest physical challenge she'd ever faced in her life. Pausing a
moment as she swallowed hard, Scully looked deeply into Mulder’s eyes.

As their eyes locked, in that instant, all of the self-loathing, doubt
and personal insecurity they’d felt since leaving the Shelby Academy
disappeared. Their irrational fears about what the other now thought
of them simply melted away, replaced by the undeniable love and
self-sacrifice that each had just shown for the other. At that
moment, they both realized that they’d never had anything to fear on
that count. As that knowledge and understanding passed silently
between them, the look in their eyes said it all-communicating volumes
with words rendered completely unnecessary.

Then, blinking rapidly to keep her tears of relief from obscuring her
vision and interfering with the task at hand, Scully forcibly tore her
gaze away from Mulder’s eyes. Grimacing slightly as she softly
murmured, "Okay, let’s get you out of here. On the count of three."
Looking back at him for acknowledgement, she waited for a signal.
Then, in response to his silent nod, she continued, "Right.
One...Two...Three!" On three, she lifted with all of the strength her
petite frame could muster. Beyond all reasonable expectation, the
door moved significantly, rising several inches off the floor and
freeing Mulder's trapped body.

At that precise moment, Mulder used his arms to push himself slowly
out from under the massive door with every last ounce of strength he
possessed. The effort was so excruciating that he nearly passed out
from the pain but, somehow, he was able to keep inching his way to
freedom.

"H-hurry!!" Scully gasped as her strength, pushed to its limits,
rapidly began to give out and her face turned deep shade of red from
the strained exertion.

Slowly sliding the last few inches, Mulder was finally able to swing
his legs free with one final burst of exhausting effort. Finally
free, quickly, he coughed "I'm free...Scully...let it go."

Unable to hold it aloft for another second, Scully immediately let the
door drop and it fell to the floor with a crash as Scully collapsed
exhausted on top of it.

Then, looking weakly over at Mulder with a faintly teasing but totally
exhausted grin, Scully took a moment to catch her breath as she
smirked in relief, "See how easy…things would go if…you'd just do what
I say every once in a while."

Smiling back at her feebly, Mulder was about to answer with an equally
smart-ass reply when a second moan from the alien bounty hunter
reminded them that they weren't out of the woods just yet.

Stumbling to her feet, Scully quickly scrambled over to Mulder and
fervently tried to drag him toward the door. However, in her
exhausted condition, they weren't getting very far very fast.

"Help me up," Mulder wheezed as he turned in her arms, "I can walk."

Squatting next to him as she put his closest arm over her shoulders,
Scully wrapped one arm around his waist and, careful not to put any
pressure on his chest, pushed them both to their feet. With a groan,
Mulder managed to keep from falling forward onto his face but it took
a great deal of effort. The pain was so intense that Mulder was truly
afraid that he might black out. However, leaning heavily on Scully’s
shoulder and keeping his mind focused on Will, he was able to take the
few steps that now seemed like an expansive distance from the foyer
into the kitchen and toward the garage.

Hobbling this way as fast as they could, together, Mulder and Scully
finally made it into the garage.
As she helped Mulder to the car, Scully couldn't bring herself to tell
him that she could hear the alien bounty hunter struggling to his feet
as the door to the garage swung closed behind them. Quickly lying
Mulder down in the back seat of their SUV and carefully strapping a
couple of seatbelts across his body to keep him from making his
injuries any worse with movement, Scully barely gave him time to pull
in his feet before she slammed the door shut and darted into the
driver's seat.

“I love you Scully,” Mulder coughed in a hoarse whisper as she slammed
the driver’s side door shut.

Locking all of the doors with a touch of a button, she did her best to
keep the fear and worry out of her voice as she earnestly replied, “I
love you too, Mulder.”

There was no reply.

Glancing back at him quickly as she strapped on her own seatbelt,
Scully could see that Mulder had completely lost consciousness as a
small pool of blood began to form on the upholstery from where it
trickled down the side of his face out of his slackened jaw. Fumbling
frantically with the keys, Scully was acutely aware that time was not
on their side. Not only was it only a matter of seconds before the
bounty hunter came after them, she also had to get Mulder to an
emergency room fast. If she
didn't...Scully shuddered at the thought.

Finally finding the right key, Scully quickly slid it into the
ignition and started the car. She was just reaching for the garage
door opener when their luck ran out.

Like a bolt of lightening, the alien bounty hunter crashed through the
door they’d passed through just seconds earlier-his eyes full of cold
fury. For a stunned moment, their eyes met as predator and prey stood
stonily regarding one another--momentarily frozen in place. Then,
without warning, the bounty hunter pounced forward onto the hood of
their SUV. Simultaneously, Scully shifted the gears into reverse,
released the parking brake and floored the gas-sending their vehicle
crashing out backwards through the still closed garage door. In a
shattering shower of wood, metal and fiberglass, the SUV careened out
of their driveway and onto the road. In the hopes that it would
dislodge their unwelcome alien passenger, Scully gave the steering
wheel a hard turn to port as she hit the brakes, both of which barely
kept them from colliding with the other cars that lined their
otherwise quiet residential street.

Looking up with her heart pounding deafeningly in her ears as the
vehicle came to a stop, Scully was horrified to see that the bounty
hunter was still splayed out on the hood of the SUV, his hands
gripping the metal valley between the hood and the windshield. For a
split second, she sat in petrified disbelief, too stunned to move. It
was beyond her comprehension just how it was humanly possible for him
to have maintained his grip after all of that. But then again, he
wasn't exactly human...

Reading the shocked terror on his quarry's face, the bounty hunter
moved quickly to take full advantage of her momentary inaction.
Pulling himself so far forward that only the windshield and a few
inches of tense air separated him from Scully's astonished face, he
raised a fist and prepared to slam it into the reinforced glass before
coolly chiding her, "The boy. Tell me where he is and I will make
your death a swift and painless one."

Narrowing her eyes at him in silent fury, Scully said nothing as the
bounty hunter’s powerful fist collided with the glass, sending spidery
cracks shooting across the windshield in every direction. Snapped
back into action by the impact, Scully angrily slammed the SUV into
gear and floored it. As their velocity increased, it not only kept
the bounty hunter from blasting his way through the glass with any
more blows but it also forced him into the defensive position of
simply maintaining his tenuous grip. Moving from 0 to 85 mph in a
matter of seconds on a residential suburban road, the potential
dangers, consequences and eyewitnesses didn't even cross Scully's mind
as she snarled almost maniacally at the alien encroacher before
calculatingly slamming hard on the brakes.

Bucking forward from the extreme force as her tires skidded and
screeched to a halt, Scully’s seatbelt kept her body in place before
slamming it powerfully back against the bucket of the driver’s seat.
Immediately, she raised her eyes to see if her tactic had worked.

Completely unprepared for the abrupt stop, the alien bounty hunter
couldn't keep his grip. Scully's calculated maneuver had sent him
careening off the hood and onto the street in front of her.

Her eyes glittering venomously, Scully didn't waste a single instant
or give him a chance to recover as she quickly turned the tables on
him. Immediately, she hit the gas, deliberately plowing the SUV
straight into the startled bounty hunter who had only just begun to
right himself. After two sickening thumps told her that she'd already
passed over his body, Scully hit the brakes and looked over her
shoulder to assess the damage. Although he was obviously debilitated,
the bounty hunter was still moving—crawling toward the side of the
road. That was simply unacceptable.

Slamming the gears into reverse, Scully, with malice aforethought,
deliberately backed over him. In fact, she nearly chuckled in delight
at the two additional thumps that sounded under her SUV as it passed
over his body for the second time in as many minutes.

Looking over her steering wheel through the splintered glass of her
windshield, Scully surveyed the slimy green smear that was the alien
bounty hunter with almost inhuman satisfaction.

Shifting gears one last time, Scully now carefully steered the SUV
away from the quivering green mass that was already beginning to
reconstitute itself and headed toward the nearest hospital with an
emergency trauma team and medevac helicopter. "Hold on Mulder," she
whispered breathlessly as she pulled her cell phone from the front of
her coat, "We're all gonna make it. I'll make sure of it." Then,
hitting her speed dial, Scully impatiently listened to the ring on the
other end as she steered the SUV into the waning afternoon sun and
helplessly waited for someone to pick up.

*************************

Having borne silent witness to the entire bone-chilling events both
inside the Mulder household and on the open street, Spender was more
than a little surprised and impressed by the level of ruthless
savagery to which the mother of his grandson had been able to rise.
Striding quickly to where the alien bounty hunter had fallen and was
quickly recovering, he mused to himself with a chuckle, “Had I known
depths you were capable of descending to, Agent Scully, I might’ve
just recruited you into the Syndicate instead of simply using you as
an unwitting pawn.”

Finally reaching the injured alien, Spender glared down at him as he
bit in disgust, “So you’ve failed yet again. Although, I shouldn’t be
so surprised. Your people have never seemed to be able to fully grasp
the threat that Mulder and his family pose to your plans.”

Ignoring him with clear indifference, the bounty hunter continued to
repair his crushed legs as he coolly observed, “They were warned.
That much is clear. The boy was not there. The parents served only
as a decoy.” Then turning to glower up at Spender with obvious
suspicion and animosity in his eyes, he hissed, “Mulder is your child.
You have motive to protect him and his family. Clearly you are
responsible for their escape.”

Laughing out loud, Spender took a cigarette from his pocket and slowly
lit it before retorting, “Ridiculous. No man on earth has worked
harder nor sacrificed more to further your colonization agenda than I
have.” Taking a long draw from his cigarette and exhaling it slowly,
he continued, “Or have you forgotten that I gave up my own wife and
murdered my only legitimate son to keep your precious secrets safe?”

“That is immaterial,” the bounty hunter replied as he began work on
his shattered hips, “You were never as invested in that family as you
are in the Mulder family.” Then, popping one hip back into place, he
dispassionately continued, “I will report these conclusions to my
superiors and they will decide what is to be done with you.”

Taking another long draw, Spender grinned slightly in amusement before
pulling a small vial from the front pocket of his overcoat. “I
thought you might say that,” he crooned smugly as he slowly twiddled
the vial between his fingers and triumphantly eyed the brilliant blue
liquid inside. Pulling the stopper, he smiled victoriously down at
the temporarily stricken alien and murmured, “which is why I took
every possible precaution.” Pouring the vial’s contents over the
bounty hunter’s body, he laughed, “You won’t be reporting anything, my
friend. I’ll be reporting YOUR FAILURE.”

At first, the bounty hunter simply disregarded Spender and his puny
vial of insignificant liquid with a scoff. Yet, within a matter of
moments, he could feel that something was desperately wrong. Within
seconds, the alien had begun to scream in agony as his body
inexplicably began to dissolve around him. It operated so quickly
that even his cries never left his throat—his vocal cords melting
away. The last thing he ever saw was Spender’s malevolent smirk as he
took one last draw of his cigarette before tossing it onto the
brownish-red puddle that had been his body. Then the flames came.

Smiling wickedly as the remnants of the alien bounty hunter burned in
the middle of the street, Spender quickly turned to take his leave.
It was broad daylight and, even though it was the middle of the
workday, he knew full well that it was only a matter of time before
busy-body housewives looked out from their gingerbread windows to see
what was going on—assuming they hadn’t already. Striding quickly up
the street to his secret stronghold, Spender resolved to make good his
escape well before local law enforcement showed up to investigate.
His plan was all coming together and coalescing now. Just a little
more time was all he needed..…