From: <JEhrat2@aol.com> Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 16:32:06 EDT Subject: A Crying Shame Part 1/16 TITLE: A Crying Shame 1/16 AUTHOR: Janis (JEhrat@aol.com) RATING: Strong R, violence, some language and sexual terms CATEGORY: SXRA LOGGED: August 1998 TIMESPAN/SPOILERS: Minor references to Irresistible, Unruhe, Zero Sum. Current time (after 5th season). KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully, Angst, UST SUMMARY: Due to an error on Mulder's part, an abduction by a serial killer endangers and traumatizes Scully. They try to put their lives back together, including learning to trust one another again, and discover a unique connection exists between them. ARCHIVE: Anywhere you'd like as long as my name stays attached, as well as the disclaimer, and you notify me. DISCLAIMER: The X-Files and the characters of Mulder, Scully, Skinner, Maggie, and Karen (and anyone else you might recognize) belong to Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made from their use. All other characters in this story are mine! Please don't use without permission! AUTHOR'S NOTES: Some of this material may be disturbing to readers due to the nature of the content. I could not have written this without help from my husband (Thanks, honey!), and technical help from frogdoggie, alias Jay, thanks SO MUCH for your ever ready willingness to help and assist! Also, Jay has designed a dustjacket for this story. If you would like to see it: http://gfiles.simplenet.com/annex - this is Natasha's novel archive - a great web site for novel length x-file stories. Feedback is SHAMLESSLY pleaded for - we authors only write so someone else will notice! THANKS for sticking with the story. While it is long, I hope you, too, will think it is worth the read! SHAME Washington, DC Tuesday April 20 1:15am He couldn't look at her. He couldn't distinguish if the shame he felt was for himself, or for her. He had failed her. Again. He had found her cowering in the corner of the bedroom, naked and sobbing. There was blood everywhere, fortunately not in any large quantity. Her lip had been split by a blow to the face, and blood had flowed from her nose as well. He could also see blood on the carpet where she huddled. She was wearing a blindfold. He had torn it off of her, so she could see she was safe. Then he had pulled the sheet off of the bed and carefully wrapped her in it. He didn't want the other officers staring at her naked form. He had spoken soothingly to her, as if quieting a frightened child. She hadn't even recognized him. He brushed strands of blood-caked, auburn hair from her face, only to discover a large welt and more bruises under her eyes. Bastard! his mind raged. He hoped this guy had psychic abilities as he continued to think over and over: I will hunt you down and kill you in a hundred different ways. Know that. He had maintained his temper and emotions as he administered aid and comfort to her. "Call the paramedics," he had hurled over his shoulder to a female officer. She immediately began to comply with his order. Another officer touched Mulder's shoulder, admonishing him, "Don't move her." Mulder had looked back at him with contempt. His thoughts ranged from: I know that, to leave me the hell alone and get out of my way, as he picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the tiny, dirty, back bedroom. He wanted to get her away from the crime scene, to hold her, to comfort her, to shield her from prying eyes, to kill the bastard that had done this to her. She had squirmed in his grasp, feebly protesting, "No, no, please." Her voice turned to begging, "Please don't hurt me any more. Please!" she had wailed on and on. "Scully," Mulder tried to calm her, "It's OK, it's me, Mulder. His voice raised a level as she began to weakly flail her arms about to beat him off, "Scully, it's Mulder! It's OK!" She was lost somewhere deep in her mind and his voice still didn't register. She began to cry hysterically as he laid her on the stained and threadbare couch. It didn't look much cleaner than the floor. "No!" she begged, "Please, no more. Please!" she looked at him with tears cascading over her bruises and Mulder felt his stomach heave; he wanted to throw up as thoughts passed through his mind of what must have been done to her. "SCULLY!" He held her face with both hands and stared into her lifeless, but terrified blue eyes, trying to make contact with her mind. "It's me, Mulder. Mulder. It's all right, you're safe now." He again spoke soothingly and quietly as recognition filtered back into her eyes. They finally focused in on his pain- filled hazel eyes, glistening now, threatening to spill over from the agony of seeing her this way. "Mulder!" Scully's eyes widened. She sat up, flung her arms around his neck and clung to him as realization came to the forefront of her brain that the nightmare was truly over. Her grip was so tight around his neck she was nearly choking him. Fearful of hurting her, he carefully placed his arms around her. At the thought of being rescued, tension flowed from her body, and fresh tears of relief sprang forth from her. They stayed that way, Mulder kneeling on the floor and Scully sitting on the couch, rocking and crying for a time. The other officers quietly left the room, giving them some privacy, and began to go about the job of collecting evidence to nail this rapist. He was truly dead meat now, he had assaulted one of their own. Too soon Mulder felt gentle fingers prying he and Scully apart, and he turned to see who it was. The paramedics had arrived and been briefed that it was a rape/kidnap case. They were trained to be gentle, and to move slowly and quietly so as not to frighten the victim. But they also needed to move quickly to assess her medical condition and to begin collecting evidence of the crime. "I'm sorry, sir," one of them said, "but you will need to move back." Mulder looked at Scully to confirm it was OK with her. She gave a slight nod of her head, and released her life and death grip on him. Mulder stood up and moved back behind the coffee table. The two paramedics moved in. Mulder was glad now that he had covered Scully and given her something to hide behind. Not necessarily to keep her flesh from showing, but to give her some sense of control as she clung to the sheet around her. As the medics began questioning her about her condition, Mulder began scanning the room. His eye meticulously took in the filth on the floor, the trash thrown in the corners, and the food left on tables and chairs. Filling the room were broken pieces of furniture, a lamp with a single bare light bulb, and a decrepit Formica table littered with even more trash and newspapers than the floor. Mulder sifted through the newspapers, looking for anything, for nothing. At this point he heard the medics ask Scully to lie back down so they could do a pelvic exam. Mulder knew they needed to take samples of anything that might be evidence to definitely establish a rape case. He didn't want to embarrass Scully any more than she already was. He looked her way, planning to tell her he would step out of the room so she could have some privacy. The paramedics were trying to gently push her back down on the couch. He heard her softly protesting . The female paramedic was smoothing Scully's hair out of her face and making soothing noises to calm her. In Scully's eyes Mulder saw fear, humiliation, dejection, and something else he couldn't quit put his finger on. That's when he realized the shame he felt and simply turned away and left the room without speaking to her. As he entered the bedroom he realized what else he had seen in her eyes...the loss of her dignity. Her most prized possession. Mulder's eidetic memory went into overtime cataloging the shabby, squalor-filled bedroom. The windows were covered with brown wrapping paper. There were tiny holes here and there where the light from the outside filtered through. The blindfold lay on the floor where he had thrown it. The fitted sheet that was still on the bed was a dingy gray, and there were red scarves attached to each of the bed's four posts. Blood spotted the sheet here and there. He turned away from the bed, not wanting to see any more. It was then that he spotted the small hole in the wall next to the closet door, facing the side of the bed. Mulder pulled on his latex gloves and opened the closet door and looked inside. Situated in front of the hole was a video camera. Mulder's heart dropped into his stomach. The sick bastard had been video taping his exploits for future viewing. He opened the camera case, calling the officers over at the same time. He pulled out the half full tape that was still in the camera. There was one word on the spine of the tape, in large, garish, red letters: DANA. "Here, bag this," he said to an officer. "And these too," he said, pointing to a bookcase inside the closet holding nine or ten additional video tapes. Each of the tapes had a woman's name written on the spine in the same large, red letters as Scully's. Unfortunately, he recognized the names. Each was the name of a woman now lying in the morgue or a grave. "I suspect these little items will be just the nails we need to put this guy in a coffin," he said dully. He had no desire to sit through these tapes and relive these poor women's last moments of torture and rape before they were killed. His only sense of relief in this whole sick case was that they had found Scully before she had become a statistic. All he wanted to do now was go home, and take Scully with him. But he knew that wasn't going to happen. He was in for a long night. There was much evidence to procure, reports to be written, and, of course, the most important, getting Scully to the hospital and checked out. He needed to call Skinner and Mrs. Scully immediately. And he still had to catch this demented excuse for a man. He was still out there, probably looking for another victim. At least Scully would be invaluable as a witness and hopefully be able to give them much needed details about this lunatic's actions, habits, and perhaps even how and were he could be found. But first, she had to be stabilized. His thoughts were interrupted at that moment, "Sir, we're ready to transport Agent Scully to the hospital, now. Will you be going with us?" the paramedic was asking. "Yes," Mulder nodded, "I will." He paused and looked around; so much left to do, and all of it important if he was going to get this man, but Scully definitely came first. "Go ahead and take her down. I'll be right there," he added. Mulder turned to Detective Rob Williams. "I'll be going with the ambulance to check out Agent Scully and try to get her statement. It is imperative that you sweep this place with all you've got. I want this man, and I want him bad. Do you understand?" Mulder's eyes pierced Det. Williams. A cop for over 15 years, Det. Williams, while perhaps not as much as Mulder, wanted this rapist/killer off the street as well. He was a man who did his job well. Det. Williams' eyes were just as hard, "Don't worry, Agent Mulder, by the time I'm through here, you will know what this ass hole had for breakfast, and what time it was when he last used the bathroom." Mulder gave a curt nod of his head, and soft slap on Williams' arm. "Here are my keys," he said handing them over. "Could you have someone drop my car off at the hospital when you are through here? And please send a copy of your report over to FBI headquarters as soon as possible. The quicker we move on this guy, the better." Mulder turned on his heel and was out the door. He took the two flights of stairs in no time and was jumping into the back of the ambulance as they started the engine. After closing the ambulance doors, an officer banged on them with the flat of his hand to signal the driver it was clear to leave. Mulder sat down by Scully's legs and watched helplessly as the female paramedic did her job. "How is she, ah," Mulder glanced at the paramedic's shirt pocket for her name tag, "Ms. Weirman?" "Sheila," the paramedic replied, supplying her first name. Then without stopping for a breath she continued. "She's in a hell of a state. You can thank God there is nothing life threatening. I guess you can be grateful this guy's not into cutting or mutilating, or we could have a different story here." Sheila busied herself with contacting the hospital and giving and receiving information on Scully. Mulder supplied the pertinent data whenever Sheila drew a blank: Scully's name, age, blood type, and medical history. In between comments with Weirman, Mulder pulled out his own cell phone and called Assistant Director Skinner. Mulder knew he was waiting by the phone for his report on the raid, hopeful that he would be told that Scully had been found alive. Of course, after Mulder's good news, Skinner wanted details. "Sir, I'm in route to the hospital with Agent Scully now. I'll call you back when she is stabilized and checked in. I'll know more about her condition then." Mulder listened for a grunt of approval. When he received it, he added, "Sir, could you call Mrs. Scully and let her know that we are on our way to Memorial Hospital?" Mulder did not want to make that call. It would be hard enough to face her at the hospital when she got there. Mulder liked Margaret Scully, and he knew she liked him, too. He just seemed to have a nasty habit of being the one to inform her that her daughter was not well, or hurt, or missing. He was sure she dreaded seeing his name on the caller ID. She had never blamed Mulder for any of Dana's troubles, but he still felt bad for Scully's mother after all she had gone through in the last five years. The ride to the hospital was short. There wasn't much traffic at 2am. After arriving at the emergency room, Dana was whisked away to an examination room, a full compliment of doctors and nurses giving her their undivided attention, and thankfully, Mulder felt some of the responsibility lift from his shoulders as he knew she was in more capable hands than his now. He watched the action through the glass doors for a moment with sad eyes. He turned away and went to sit down in the waiting area for Mrs. Scully to arrive. She was clear across town, so he knew it would be some time before she arrived. He took that time to go over in his mind how he had come to be here in the first place. Beginning two and a half months ago, a total of nine women had been reported as missing; each turning up dead two or three days after being reported as missing. There had been on the average one killing a week, but always on a different day. It became evident over time that in each case there were similarities in their kidnappings and deaths that connected them to one person. On the surface, there seemed to be absolutely no connection between the women. They had been white, black, and Asian. Their hair colors ranged from pale blond to the blackest night. They had held various unrelated jobs, two had been college students. None of the women were even remotely linked to each other and there was no connection between the individual people they each knew. Most were single, two were divorced and one was married. There was no particular pattern in the location of their homes, or where they were found dead. The police had been working off their own profile of the kidnapper/rapist/murderer since the fourth killing. But it didn't seem to be getting them anywhere. So, they asked for the FBI's help. Skinner had called Mulder into his office after the seventh victim had been found, and asked him to come up with a profile of the killer. Mulder's background in criminal psychology and his ability to flush out and connect even the tinniest of details was well established and respected, in spite of his nickname, "Spooky". When Skinner had handed Mulder the profile assignment, he had almost apologized that it wasn't an X-file, knowing Mulder preferred to apply all of his talents in that direction. Mulder, of his own volition, had already been keeping himself informed about this case from the first moment a serial murderer was suspected, about victim number four. Serial murders were his specialty, and this guy had intrigued him from the beginning. He hadn't minded at all when Skinner had given him the case. The single common thread, besides the forensic evidence, that linked the women together, was that all had last been seen at the local nightclub, A Crying Shame. But that information had been withheld from the press. The police always liked to withhold a few clues to weed out the nut cases that came out of the woodwork to confess to such hellacious crimes for the notoriety it would bring them. The club naturally became the focal point for the investigation. It was a small nightclub in comparison to other, more famous clubs in town, and it was located in a northern section of DC. The police had checked it out thoroughly. It had been open about three years and had a steady clientele of mostly young people in their late 20's. The music was loud, rhythmic, and on the alternative side. The owners of the club were upstanding citizens, and there had never been any real trouble at the club before. As he read the file, Mulder had noted with a smile how the nightclub had gotten it's name. The two male owners were long time friends, and both had been taken to the cleaners by their ex-wives. One day over a beer, they were commiserating with each other how it was such a crying shame that they had so little money left after working so hard for so long. They hit upon the bright idea of opening a business together to help make ends meet, and named the club after their desperate situation. The club had become a moderate success over the last three years, and the men were no longer crying over their lack of income. However, other than the nightclub, there seemed to be nothing that connected the women with each other. Even Scully had been eager to pursue this man when Mulder told her about the assignment. After all, here was a real flesh and blood criminal, with concrete evidence her science could study and interpret, which would eventually lead to nailing this guy. She often grew weary of trying to solve cases that fell under the huge umbrella, X-files, that in effect had no solution. Yes, they were definitely interesting and different, and she was where she wanted to be, but she sometimes felt Mulder went out of his way to make some cases "spookier" than they really were. While indeed gruesome and heinous, here was a case that had real, tangible evidence to deal with. Forensics had lifted partial prints from spots of blood that had dried on the victims. In addition, hair and fiber samples had been gathered from several of the victims which actually correlated with each other and all pointed to the murderer as being the same man. This was corporeal proof that this murderer existed in human form and was real. A far cry from most of her cases, Scully thought. But in truth, that was something that had bothered Scully from the beginning. This guy seemed to be oblivious that he was leaving clues everywhere. Almost like he wanted to get caught. Or maybe he was just taunting the police with false evidence. Maybe he was just a stupid criminal. It happened. Who really knew how his mind worked at this point? Mulder had put together a profile and presented it to Skinner who passed it on to the local unit of police that was investigating the murders. Then Mulder and Scully had quietly begun to stake out A Crying Shame in hopes of linking their profile to an actual person that frequented the place. It was after the eighth victim that Scully had suggested she go undercover at the nightclub. As it was, either parked in a government car across the street from the club, or inside sitting at a table, Scully felt she and Mulder both stuck out when they staked out the club. She voiced the idea of trying to lure the killer to take an interest in her. "No," Mulder had argued strongly. "Let DC police risk their own policewomen, Scully." He knew that didn't sound very charitable, but this was not an X-file, and he was using that as an excuse to keep Scully from this very dangerous scheme. He had worked the Violent Crimes Division before, she hadn't. He knew this was not something to be done lightly. He had seen his share of under cover assignments go wrong. That's why he always preferred the direct approach for the X- files. He was not going to put her in danger like that. "If even just one thing went wrong, a microphone going down, backup not being able to find a parking space, visually losing sight of you at a critical moment," Mulder's voice hardened. "No." "Like you have the final say," Scully had responded flippantly. "I've already approached Skinner about it and he said if it is something that I am willing to do, he agrees it is probably the best approach to try at this point." She almost smiled in triumph, but she didn't want to rub it in too much. Her voice softened. "Mulder, I joined the FBI to make a difference. I am trained for just this sort of thing. Let me do my job." Scully had looked directly into Mulder's angry eyes, locking his gaze with hers and added in an even softer tone, "You don't have to protect me, Mulder. I'm a big girl." She had placed her hand on his arm to reassure him that all would be well, and hopefully to try and stave off some of his anger. Mulder had been furious that she had approached Skinner alone, without consulting him first. It didn't matter that deep down inside he knew the reason why she had done it that way; she already knew Mulder would say no. He almost stormed out of the room, but he knew it would do no good. And, even though he didn't want to admit it, he also knew she was right. It was her job, and he was being over protective. "Fine," was all he'd said in that tight voice of his. What else could he say? They had been going to the club off and on for several nights when victim number nine was reported missing, and then found in a back alley, 10 miles away from the club. That had been yesterday morning. Mulder had done his best to dissuade Scully from continuing. "Now will you call this charade off," Mulder had asked her. "This guy apparently isn't going to pick you. I saw this girl there several times." "No," Scully had countered. "I saw her, too. And the reason you and I both noticed her was because of the way she was dressed and how she acted." Mulder raised his eyebrows. He wasn't going to touch that statement. He knew what Scully meant. Scully continued, "She was dressed in a seductive, revealing manner, almost like a hooker, but with some class, though some might call it slutty." Before Mulder could put his two cents in, Scully ticked off on her fingers reasons why the rapist may use this criteria. "Maybe this guy gets off on that kind of thing, and then can't control his violent actions. He could even think he is giving them what they deserve if they are going to advertise themselves like that. Or the opposite may be true, their immodesty may infuriate him and he thinks he has to teach them a lesson." "What kind of lesson," Mulder asked, but he already knew where she was going. "That they shouldn't dress as they do...shamelessly," she finally came up with. "Maybe that's the connection. You know, the nightclub's name, "A Crying Shame", and the fact that in his opinion they dress shamelessly, revealing their bodies to the men around them." "Oh, Scully," Mulder said. "It's a pick up club. All the women are there to attract men. That's why they go." "Well, yes," Scully agreed, "but most of the women we've seen there, including myself while undercover, have been dressed modest by most standards. But I've been reading through the missing person reports on these women, and the clothing descriptions given by their friends, or witnesses at the club, is interesting, if not downright revealing." Scully allowed herself the little pun. Mulder didn't even blink. He did not want to encourage this line of thought with her. Scully continued, "Everyone seems to remember these women *because* of the outrageous clothing they were wearing at the time of their disappearance. And most of the witnesses make some comment about the flirtatious nature of the women, as well." "So, what are you proposing," Mulder had closed his eyes, knowing full well he wasn't going to win this battle with Scully either. He momentarily conjured up a mental picture of what he'd like to see Scully go undercover in. The image was extremely titillating! He quickly pushed the thought back to that little corner of his mind where he filed away all of his fantasies about Scully. He would bring it out again another day when he had time to contemplate it. "That we continue to visit the club, we stay away from each other, and that I dress to look," how did she want to put this delicately? "Yes," Mulder deadpanned. "Well," Scully paused. "That I look inviting and available, " she decided upon. Mulder knew her mind was set on this course of action. He might as well concede and make the best of it. As was his usual style, he tried to hide his fears from her with humor, "As long as I'm the one that gets to wire you," he said, a lopsided smile on his face. Scully rolled her eyes and picked up her purse to leave. "Hey," Mulder sat up straighter in his chair, "where are you going?" "Shopping," Scully replied, then added, "pick me up at 9:30 tonight, and bring the wire." Mulder's eyebrows shot up another inch as he watched her walk toward the elevators. TITLE: A Crying Shame AUTHOR: Janis (Jehrat@aol.com) PART: 2/16 Scully's Apartment 9:32pm Mulder stood outside Scully's apartment door. He had dressed appropriately for the occasion. He had chosen a black turtleneck, jeans, and boots. He had left his black sports coat in the car. And to fully compliment the dark look, he was wearing expensive, designer shades. He rang the doorbell. Scully promptly opened the door. At least he assumed it was Scully. Her face had more make up on it than he had ever seen before, but done expertly and attractively. If it was possible, her crystal blue eyes looked even more startling than usual. They had been rimmed with kohl eyeliner and framed by shimmery eye shadow from corner to brow. His heart almost skipped a beat when he looked at her lips. She had somehow added a beauty spot just above and to the right of her lip. It's sole function, and it did it's job successfully, was to draw the eye to that marvelous, luscious, pouty mouth of hers which tonight had been accentuated with wine colored lipstick. The contrast with her alabaster skin was breathtaking. It took all of Mulder's self control to refrain from acting on the urge to taste those lips at this moment. He forced himself to look away. As his eyes traveled downward, he couldn't help but let out a soft whistle of appreciation. "Scully," he breathed, "you've outdone yourself. Who would of thought all this was under those suits you wear to work?" he asked mischievously. He was extremely thankful he had chosen to wear his shades tonight, as he knew his eyes were bugging out as his photographic memory forever captured Scully on film. This was better than his fantasy in the office. "Can I go shopping with you next time?" he quipped. She was wearing an extremely low cut, red silk camisole top with spaghetti straps, and from the looks of things, the air conditioning was working in her apartment. The camisole topped a black leather mini skirt. She wore matching black silk stockings that disappeared into black, three-inch stiletto high heels. He couldn't believe the transformation. Prim and proper little miss control freak was freaking *him* out! Scully already appealed to him, but he had never had quite this kind of opportunity to assess her finer qualities and hidden attributes. He felt his already tight jeans getting more uncomfortable as he looked her up and down. He began to mentally contemplate square roots to distract himself. When he felt he had regained some control, he tilted his head down slightly so he could look over the top of his glasses. "Scully, you have truly met the challenge tonight! If that bastard doesn't pick you up and try to have his way with you tonight, I'll be glad to fill in for him," Mulder teased. At least, I *think* I'm teasing, he said to himself. "What, this old thing," she joked. Scully had taken the opportunity to eye Mulder up and down when she opened the door, and she was duly smitten with him as well. He cut a fine, lean, sexy figure standing in her hallway. She would never admit it, but she loved jeans on this man. She made a mental note to sometime sneak a peek at his ass. She smiled as her eyes rested slightly below his belt. "I'm glad to see that you approve." Her comment didn't even phase Mulder. He had learned long ago to quit making excuses for something he couldn't exactly control. "What can I say, I'm a visual kinda guy," he replied smiling. "Besides, that *is* the desired effect you were going for, wasn't it? Now you know for sure it works." Mulder stared at her face knowingly. Scully wisely let the subject drop. But she was glad to see the sparkle in his eye. Mulder carried so much of the world around with him, that she frequently looked for ways to lighten his load, to make him smile and enjoy life a little. She also knew in her heart, that she had not dressed just for the job tonight, but she had dressed with Mulder very much in mind, too. She hoped she wasn't blushing from the pleasure she derived from his obvious enjoyment of her body. She had her purse in hand and started to close and lock the door. "Let's go," she said as she turned her back on Mulder and started to pull the door shut. Mulder stepped forward and reached across her shoulder and placed his hand on the door just before it shut. "Wait." With eyebrows raised, and an unspoken question in her eyes, Scully turned to face him, only to find she was just inches from his body. It caught her a little off guard. She hadn't expected him to be so close. His arm was still outstretched, his hand on the door. In effect, she was blocked in. They weren't often this close. Privately, she believed both of them went out of their way to keep their distance from each other. She knew both of them were very aware of the electricity that sparked between them sometimes. Because of her heels, his lips were within kissing distance. His cologne filled her head. It was incredibly sexy. Her heart beat a little faster. When he didn't speak, she did. "Yes?" Mulder was having trouble breathing himself at this moment. He should have stepped back when she turned around. But he had stayed where he was, defying the odds of suppressing his natural instincts at this moment. He was desperately trying to think of something clever to say. All that came out was, "I need to wire you before we go." He pulled the small pieces of equipment from his pocket. Suddenly, he was wondering just *where* and *how* he was going to do this. She was wearing just a little bit less than he had expected. Scully, her hand still on the door knob, slowly pushed the door back open. They stepped back inside her apartment and she shut the door. Mulder held the equipment up higher and cocked his head at her, waiting for her to make the first move. Dana walked over to the couch and turned on the small lamp. She debated whether to pull her loose fitting blouse down from the top or up from the bottom for easier access and the least amount of exposure. There would be no avoiding revealing something to Mulder in the process, she was just trying not to be blatantly obvious about it. She decided to start with her back and pulled her top out from her waistband as she turned away from him. He carefully affixed a small, flesh toned, metallic "button" between her shoulder blades that had an extremely tiny, fine wire attached to it. He let the wire hang down her back for a moment. "OK," was all he said. She knew that meant he was ready for her to turn around so he could attach the second unit to her chest. Scully looked at him seriously. "Are you sure this second one is necessary?" She wasn't sure why she was stalling. Breasts were just breasts to her, and if she had a bra on, she wouldn't have thought twice about it. But breasts seemed to be a whole lot more to Mulder. There was no way to get around him seeing them. Mulder stared back at her, trying his best to look as detached as possible. He was sure she could hear his heart beating, it seemed so loud to him. "Scully, I don't even want you doing this job. If you think I am going to let you go in there with just one wire on, knowing the failure rate of these things, I'm out of here. I'm not going to endanger your life because a wire breaks, a battery runs down, or something dislodges the mic while you are dancing. If you aren't going to wear two, I'm not going to let you go." She knew he was right. This was the safest way to go. These wires were forever failing. You'd think if the government could spend $1000 on a toilet seat, they could put in a little extra for quality electronics, but it seldom happened. With a single finger Scully resolutely pulled her silk top down between her breasts as far as the material would stretch. Mulder again began calculating square roots as the underside of her breasts came into view. He pretended not to notice how round and firm they were as he deftly attached another miniature microphone to the side of her finger. The unit nestled snugly just under her left breast. Now came the really tricky part. He had to attach the wires from each mic so that they would hopefully rest undisturbed, and unseen, beneath her breast. He looked questioning at her. Scully felt a wetness spring up on her upper lip. "Maybe I should wear a bra with this outfit," she hedged. Mulder raised his eyebrows and slightly shook his head from side to side. "I think it will ruin the effect you are going for tonight," was all he said. Scully sighed in resignation. "Oh, all right," she mumbled. She carefully raised her top up from the bottom, exposing the bottom mounds of her perfect breasts. Her eyes shifted towards the ceiling. If Mulder sneaked a peek, she didn't want to know about it. "Hey," Mulder tried to lighten the moment, and keep his mind on his business, "it's not as if you haven't seen mine..." his voice trailed off. "Yeah, yeah," Scully answered, "but it's always been purely in the line of official business." "And this isn't?" Mulder countered. Scully felt his fingers brushing the underside of her breast as he hurriedly tried to connect the wires. "Sorry," he mumbled. Scully continued to turn her eyes heavenward, not answering. Mulder hoped she couldn't tell his hands were shaking. He had gotten a jolt clean down to his toes when her soft, firm flesh had made contact with him. His jeans were damn tight now. She jumped slightly. "What?" he pulled his hands away, guilt washing over him for this thoughts. "Um, your hands are cold," she could barely speak, "Made me jump." "Sorry," he mumbled again. "Almost done." This close, her scent was intoxicating, and he had just caught sight of a small coral colored area as she had moved beneath his touch. He continued to remind himself to breathe every now and then. "There, it's finished," he said, stepping back from her to give them both space. Scully dropped her blouse immediately. "Let's test it out," she said as she walked into her bedroom. She left the door slightly ajar. "I see now the attraction electronic surveillance holds for some guys," Mulder mumbled to himself as he placed his shades back on. Built into the ear piece of the sunglasses was a receiving station. He turned towards her bedroom door and waited for her test. In the barest of whispers she said, "Come here, Watson, I need you." Mulder sucked in a deep breath. For a moment, her low, sultry whisper had made his insides turn flip-flops. She was coming through loud and clear. He would be able to hear anything said to her within a five foot radius. Scully spoke in a normal voice now and said, "Just let me adjust my clothes and I'll be right out. Apparently she didn't realize the door was not completely shut. Mulder saw her stuff her top into her waistband, then raise her skirt to pull the ends down neatly inside. A big grin broke out on his face. Scully wasn't wearing pantyhose. She was wearing black garters. The contrast of their starkness against her white skin was overwhelmingly sexy. She was certainly going to play this part to the hilt! She smoothed down what little bit of her skirt there was. Mulder deftly moved out of sight of the door before she turned around to come out. For a moment he stared at Scully, and then glanced down at himself and a big smile broke out on his face. "What?" Scully asked uncertainly. Mulder's humor could be odd at times. She glanced down at herself, and then looked him over, trying to see what he saw. "Don't you notice that we're dressed somewhat alike? There's a "men in black" joke in here somewhere, I just can't put my finger on it." Scully smiled and gave a laugh as what Mulder said hit home. "I sure wouldn't mind working with Tommy Lee Jones tonight! But I guess you'll have to do," she said heading for the door. As Mulder opened the front door for her, the moment turned serious for him. This wasn't a game they were playing. It could very well be life and death. For her, his brain reminded him. If something goes wrong, she is the one that will pay for it. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Scully, you don't have to do this. In fact, I would prefer that you didn't, you know that." Scully appreciated his concern and knew it was real. But she knew the risk she was taking. She had weighed several different angles, and none of them looked good. But for the life of her, she couldn't think of how else to stop this lunatic. If she didn't do it, someone else would have to. This way, at least she felt in control of the situation. She wasn't just helplessly standing by. She was actively pursuing the devil. But she hadn't seen Mulder shrink from an assignment before. "What's wrong, Mulder? Really. And don't give me any crap about it being too dangerous. We've been over that." Scully wanted a straight answer. Mulder locked his green eyes on her incredibly blue ones. "Cut the crap, huh?" he repeated quietly. Without waiting for an answer, he plunged on. "OK. This is it, Scully. If something goes wrong tonight, I don't think I can live with myself." There, he'd said it, bared his soul. This might be his only chance to tell her the whole truth. Maybe she would see into his heart and change her mind. Fat chance. Trying not to chide him, Scully softly reminded him once more, "This isn't about you Mulder. This is about doing our job. This is about getting a dangerous nut case out of circulation before he kills again. I'm not Samantha. You weren't responsible for what happened to her then, nor me now. "We have a back up team waiting at the club. There will be three people there watching out for me. Not to mention, I will be watching out for myself. Those other women didn't have a clue. And even if they did, they weren't prepared, nor able to respond to the threat. "This is my life, Mulder, my decision." She said the words with no condemnation, no hint of anger, in fact, she had been touched by his admission. She knew she was important to him, in fact, she counted on that. It would make him even more diligent and alert on the job. "Whatever happens, you are not responsible," she stressed each word carefully. Mulder nodded his head, but only because he had no choice. She would accept nothing else but his acceptance of the situation. To cover his fear for her, he acquiesced to her wishes. It was her life. But it meant so damn much to him. Certainly more than his own did. Scully continued to talk. "You just do your job, and nothing will go wrong. Concentrate on that. OK?" She raised her eyebrows slightly, expecting an answer. "Yeah, sure," he responded. "Let's go." The back up team was waiting for them a few blocks from the nightclub to go over the plan once more. Agent Sarah Dunbar from the Violent Crimes section was the first to greet them when they got out of Mulder's car. She was 32 and had been in the field only two years, but had proven to be an extremely competent agent. She was tall and willowy and had short brown hair. Her eyes were a soft brown and they indicated she knew how to have fun. She had a talent for being able to move in and out of crowds without attracting undue attention, a valuable asset in tonight's job. She was cool and confident of her abilities, and perfectly reliable. Tonight, she was modestly attired and appeared completely at ease. Her partner, Lou Chininski, was a veteran field agent of four years. He was about 37, lean like Mulder, but did not share his good looks. He and Mulder had been on assignments together before, and Mulder trusted Chininski to follow orders, and stick to the job. Lou had a ready smile that belied the seriousness of his natural character. Dunbar and Chininski were to go into the nightclub first, as a couple, and find a strategic location where they could watch as much as the room as possible. Dana would arrive next, and Mulder would follow, and take up a similarly strategic point as Dunbar and Chininski. Dana's job was to flirt and be seen, hoping to draw the killer out, if he was even there tonight. Sarah and Lou both had a small ear piece placed inside their ear canal, set to Scully's frequency. In case something went wrong with Mulder's own hearing device, they would also be able to monitor her conversations In addition, Mulder and Chininski each had a small, light-weight, two-way radio, about the size of a deck of cards, but much thinner, that would allow them to speak to each other should the situation warrant it. Under no small circumstance were they to communicate with each other. The radio was to be a last resort measure to be used only in an extreme emergency. "Scully," Mulder asked while putting on his sports coat, "you've got your gun, right?" He tucked his own gun in his waistband behind his back where it would be covered by his jacket, and then placed his radio in his inside coat pocket. Scully opened her tiny red beaded purse to show him the contents: one gun, her driver's license and apartment key, two $20 dollar bills, and a tube of lipstick. Mulder grinned at the lipstick. Dana saw his grin. "Hey, it's my job to be alluring, right?" Suddenly, the tension grew thick. The moment was at hand. Everyone knew the stakes they were playing for: Scully's life. There would be no second chance, no reset button for this game. Someone out there was playing for keeps. "Everyone set?" Mulder asked one last time. With a nod of their heads, Sarah and her partner got in their car and drove off. Mulder and Scully were silent during the five minute interval they had agreed to wait. Both had thoughts that occupied them. Both were getting into a frame of mind that involved total concentration. In spite of the warm night, Scully shivered. It did not go unnoticed by Fox. "Cold?" "No," Dana tried to shrug off the feeling of edginess. "Guess someone just walked over my grav....," she stopped as she saw Mulder's face contort into disbelief at her words. She had said them without thinking. It was just a silly saying she and Melissa had as children. She corrected herself immediately, and said firmly, "No. I'm fine." With that she got in Mulder's car and he handed her his duplicate key. "Be careful, watch everyone," he was warning her. "I know, Mulder," she said slightly annoyed. She wanted to get going. She hated waiting. Upon seeing the pain of her sting reflected in his eyes, she said in a softer voice, "I'll be careful." Then all business-like she added, "See you in a few minutes." She drove off slowly. Mulder began briskly walking the three blocks to the nightclub. As he turned the final corner, he caught a glimpse of Scully passing through the front door. He hurried across the street and entered the building a few moments after her. He had heard the music from the nightclub more than a block away, but inside it was almost deafening. He paused just inside the doorway to let his vision and hearing adjust. Fortunately, the shades had been designed with not only the ear piece, but special lenses that allowed the wearer to see fairly clearly in low light conditions. He located Sarah and Lou at a table on the second level. They had chosen well. From where they sat, they could see the front door, the dance floor, and the bar. Mulder sauntered over to the bar to take a position directly opposite them. From this vantage point he could see the front door, the rest room doors, the dance floor, and the tables situated under the second level balcony were the back up team sat. He wished there were some sort of volume control for the glasses. The sound was overwhelming since it was fed almost directly into his ear from Scully's two microphones. In addition, he heard a cacophony of voices as she moved through the room. Mulder spotted Scully at the opposite end of the bar ordering a drink. He watched her pay, and then circulate around the dance floor. She needed to be seen by as many people as possible. As Scully passed by various groups of people, Mulder caught snatches of conversation. "...Hot shit..." "What a babe.." "Hey, baby, let's dance.." "...whoa, momma!.." And so it continued as the men in her circle were picked up on microphone. Mulder was grinning from ear to ear. He was sure this was new to Scully. While she was beautiful, and had surely been told so by dates and friends, she traveled in a circle of more sophisticated, not to mention, polite people. He had to admit it, she deserved every comment. She flashed her smile at everyone, trying to be as inviting and open as possible. What a switch for the Ice Queen, Mulder thought, as he contemplated the nickname she had earned at FBI headquarters. Scully's lack of openness with other people and the tight reign of control she kept on her emotions left many people believing that she was a cold person. Mulder knew them to be wrong. Sometimes when he needed it the most, and other times when he least expected it, warmth and compassion would fill her eyes and voice, and melt his heart. He watched Scully as she finally settled on a table near the dance floor and sat down. She sipped her drink and spoke to each person that came to her table. She accepted dance offer after dance offer. Mulder spent a great deal of the evening enjoying himself watching her dance to the raucous beat of the music. She had moves that amazed him. All through the evening, Scully had been talking to Mulder between suitors, giving him her assessment of them. Her conversations with Mulder had one distinct disadvantage; he couldn't answer her back. So far, no one had given Scully undue attention. Certainly no one had struck her as the serial killer type, what ever that was. Some of the men she knew right off the bat were just lookers. One or two of the men she had spoken with left her unsure as to their motives. It was Sarah's and Lou's job to keep track of those men after they left Scully's table. "I don't think this is working," she admitted two hours into the night. When she made eye contact with Mulder through the crowd, he could only shrug and look at his watch. Scully took that to mean give it a little more time. "My feet hurt," she droned on in his ear. "And I think if I drink one more diet soda, my bladder is going to burst." Mulder only smiled back at her and raised his glass in a mock salute. He glanced up at Sarah, who smiled back at him, acknowledging that she heard the comments. Scully began speaking again. "Look out, Mulder, bandit at three o'clock! Too bad you will have to shoot her down." Mulder saw her smiling from ear to ear. He returned her grin. All night he had been fending off women who kept approaching him and offering to buy him a drink. "It seems those jeans are doing something for ya, pardner," Scully teased him. He did not turn and look. He hoped that by not making eye contact, whoever it was would not make their move. While he needed to blend in with the crowd and appear to mingle with people, it was hard to try and listen to a stranger talk to him and keep up with the conversation on Scully's end. Even harder to take were Scully's comments in his ear when he did try to make conversation sometimes. She would make snide little remarks trying her best to make him laugh. A leggy blond dressed in as provocative a manner as Scully approached him from behind and placed her hands on his ass. "Hey, there, Tiger, what's your name?" TITLE: A Crying Shame AUTHOR: Janis (JEhrat@aol.com) PART: 3/16 A leggy blond dressed in as provocative a manner as Scully approached him from behind and placed her hands on his ass. "Hey, there, Tiger, what's your name?" Mulder, not expecting such a greeting, naturally jumped. He tried to shut out Scully's laughter in his ear. He hurriedly turned to face the woman, fearful that if she moved her hands a few inches higher she would discover his gun. As he turned, his eyes opened wide in appreciation of this natural beauty. He took his glasses off and laid them on the bar to stifle Scully's laughter in his ear. "Whoa!" Mulder had exclaimed. "That's a pretty interesting way of meeting someone," he said referring to her grabbing him. "I like to be direct," she purred. She brought one finger up to his lips and traced them as she spoke. Mulder began to wonder if someone had turned the heat on in the building. He could feel himself start to sweat. He glanced quickly upward at Sarah and saw her eyes glued on Scully, listening to her conversation. He decided to take a quick break. Purely in the interest of blending in, he told himself. Yeah, right! "Well," Mulder strained for a clever reply, but he was too busy being overwhelmed at the moment. "I guess that does get you to your destination a lot quicker, being direct, I mean." She smiled showing off her perfect teeth. Her tongue came out of her mouth and she licked her lips slowly, then she licked the finger that she had just traced Mulder's lips with, swirling her tongue around the tip. Damn these jeans, Mulder thought. I swear I am getting the next size up in the future. Any other time, and he would be relishing this encounter. But not tonight, not now! "I sure would like to take you up on your direct offer," he smiled his own charming smile, "but I'm with someone." He wanted to add, but if you give me your number I'll get back with you... She gave him a sly smile and gently shook her head. "No, you're not, I watched you come in alone, and I've been watching you all night. There's no one here with you." She pouted her luscious lips just a little. "What's the matter, don't you like me? Or, are you gay? You sure look like a hunk of a man anyone," she emphasized the last word, "would like." Before Mulder could respond, she continued. "If you are gay, that's OK," her eyes burned into him, "I like three ways, too." It was all Mulder could do to continue breathing at this point, as well as swallow the saliva he felt would drool out of his mouth if he opened it to speak. As he tried to regain control and be Mr. Cool, she placed her hands on his chest and slid them up under his jacket in a slow, circular motion. Then she leaned into his body, pressing hers fully against his. Mulder stood transfixed as her tongue slowly licked the outside of his lips before she kissed him. He allowed her tongue inside him and vaguely was aware of her hands exploring his body. Her actions caused little star bursts of light to go off in his head as he closed his eyes and lingered in the moment. He automatically placed his hands on her hips and pulled her even tighter to him, gyrating his hips in time to the pulse of the music. For some reason, it was important to him that she not think he was gay. For a few moments he was not on this planet. Suddenly, his brain got through to him and he realized he was working. And that Scully was here, perhaps even watching him at this moment. He pulled back from the kiss, and gently pushed her away from his body at the same time. "Whew," he breathed deep and flashed his smile at her. "You sure know how to take a guy's breath way." He shook his head to help clear it. "But, I really am waiting for someone, I guess she's just late. More importantly, she'd kill me if she saw me with you, especially right now." She looked Mulder up and down once again, regret in her eyes. "Well," she said, "if you're sure I can't change your mind..." she let her voice trail off, giving him one more chance. She could see traces of regret in his eyes as well. Mulder gestured with his hands, "Sorry." He continued to smile. I REALLY AM! his brain screamed at this moment. She started to move off, "I'll be watching you, and if someone doesn't show up soon, I'll be back," she grinned as she grabbed his butt once more before she sauntered off. Mulder reached up to wipe his forehead and turned back to the bar for his shades. He'd better get back to the job quick. That's when he first grew alarmed. They were gone. Damn! He looked up at Sarah and saw her and Lou staring wide-eyed at him. They must have seen the whole exchange. Mulder suddenly was eternally grateful that he had not been wired himself. They would have to guess at what actually transpired. He frantically turned back to the bar and began looking around him. The expensive shades weren't on the floor, or on either side of the counter where he was standing. He contemplated getting on the radio and asking Lou and Sarah if they had seen what happened to his glasses from their vantage point. It was at that moment he noticed that the bar had been wiped clean and all the empty glasses and trash around him had been cleared away. There was a girl sitting two bar stools away that had been looking for an opening to talk to Mulder for the last twenty minutes. She saw that opportunity now. "Hey," she called out. Mulder turned her way, and gave her an inquiring look. She smiled invitingly at him. Mulder just wanted his shades, he was not looking to get involved again! "Are you looking for your sunglasses?" she asked. Mulder leaped at the tidbit. "Yes! Did you see what I did with them? I thought I laid them here on the bar." She got off her stool and walked closer to be heard over the 100 or more decibels of music. There was no comparison between her and the last woman that had held his attention, but she was pleasant enough. She gazed into his distressed hazel eyes. "Someone who's eyes are as beautiful as yours shouldn't cover them up," she cooed softly. Yes, yes, Mulder's brain hurried on. He wasn't going to make time for this one, but he didn't want to put her off, either. She might know where his glasses were. He took a moment to look over her shoulder to check on Scully. His heart leaped five miles high. She wasn't at her table. When was the last time he had looked her way? 2 minutes, 5 minutes? Shit! Where was she? He anxiously scanned the dance floor. He couldn't spot her red silk top or auburn hair in the crowd. His brain shifted down a gear. He had to get those glasses back. He decided to play nice with this girl, but speedily. "Well, thank you," he dazzled her with a smile. "I am sorry to be so abrupt, but I have to leave now, and I really would like to find my glasses. Did you see what happened to them?" The girl leaned closer in the pretext of lowering her voice so only he could hear her. She really just wanted to get close enough to smell his cologne and hopefully, make him interested in her. "Actually, I saw the bartender take them when he was cleaning off the bar, and I saw him put them in his jacket pocket. I guess he hoped you would forget about them while that "cat" was pawing you." She smiled at him, proud that she knew what he wanted to know. "Bartender!" Mulder turned to shout at the worker behind the bar. He looked up when called and sauntered over to Mulder. "Yes, what can I get for you and the lady?" he asked politely. Mulder didn't have time to spar with the guy. Every moment that passed was precious. He glanced back at Sarah and Lou. They weren't at their table either! Something was up! "I want my shades that I left here. I believe you picked them up by mistake," Mulder was trying to be polite, but expedient. The bartender looked at him thoughtfully, "Shades? I don't remember seeing any shades." Mulder wasn't going to waste any more time on this guy. He leaned over the bar and reached for the man's coat pocket. "The other one," the girl said abruptly. Mulder grabbed at the man's other pocket and found his prize inside, just as she'd said. "Thanks for keeping them safe for me," he spat out over the excuses of the bartender. "Oh, those shades," he tried to sputter out. Mulder wasn't listening. He didn't care. From his own pocket he drew out a twenty dollar bill and laid it on the bar. "Get her anything she'd like," he said indicating his head toward the woman that had come to his rescue. "And thanks," he said to her. "I'm sorry, but I really have to go." Without waiting for her to speak, he placed his glasses on and strode off toward Dana's table. He couldn't hear anything. Just static buzzed loudly in his ear. Damn these things, he thought. They are never dependable! He briefly wondered if they had been damaged by the bartender. He headed back toward the rest rooms, looking for either Sarah or Lou. Where was everyone? He knew they hadn't gone out the front door because they would have had to pass right by him. They could have gone out the back door, but why hadn't Lou or Sarah come and got him if they were leaving? And why would they use the back door? It didn't add up. The crowd made it difficult for Mulder as he attempted to move around the room, trying to keep panic from taking him over. They definitely were not in the room. None of them. He had already had a woman check the Ladies' Room for Scully. She wasn't in there. He moved back to the rest rooms to check again. Time was passing. Too much, and too quickly. Five more minutes slipped by as he made his way back to the Ladies' Room. He decided to try the back hallway first. It was adjacent to the rest rooms and led to the back door. His brain tried to register something just before he opened the door leading to the outside. Mulder didn't bother to pay attention. He had to find Scully. He threw open the door and almost plowed into Sarah and Lou who were coming around the back corner of the nightclub, where the cars were parked, in a great hurry. "Where have you been?" Sarah almost screamed at Mulder. He ignored her agitated state. He didn't want to follow the logical conclusion of what it meant. "Where's Scully?" he almost shouted back at her. Lou shot back, "We don't know! Why the hell do you think we are out here? And why didn't you answer the radio? We have been calling you for five minutes while we searched the parking lot looking for her!" The heightened tension was getting to all of them. "I didn't feel it vibrate!" For emphasis, Mulder slapped his coat pocket where he had put it. His hand hit nothing but his body. Realization set in at that moment. His eyes opened wide as he pulled his jacket away from his body to physically look in his pocket for the radio. It definitely wasn't there. Shit. That Lolita hadn't been making a pass at him, she'd been making a pass at his pockets! She had deftly removed not only the radio, but some folded bills he had placed in the other inside pocket earlier before leaving home. He was thankful he had left his cell phone in the car tonight. He briefly contemplated what her reaction would be when she read "Property of the FBI" stamped on the radio. He hoped it scared the hell out of her. He suddenly comprehended why she had kept touching his ass. She was looking for his wallet. God, she was good. He hadn't felt a thing. He knew now she must have done it while they were kissing. His mind certainly hadn't been on where her hands were at the moment. His brain moved on; that problem would have to wait till later. Right now Scully was missing. "What happened?" he forced himself to be still and listen to the story so he could assimilate the facts. Sarah's eyes were blazing by this point. "Weren't you listening at all, Mulder? Or were you just a little occupied?" He knew what she was referring to. "Just tell me, damn it!" he was at the end of his patience now and time was still moving. The words spilled out of Sarah's mouth as Lou slipped off to use his cell phone to call Skinner and the local PD to inform them of the situation. "After the last guy left the table, Scully said she had to go to the bathroom. We watched her go back toward the rest rooms, but from our position we can't actually see them. We looked over your way to make sure you had her, and we got quite an X-rated scene from you and that harlot. We could see your glasses were off, so we tried to raise you on the radio. When you didn't answer the page, I got up to go after her, and left Lou to keep watch. "Because the room was so crowded, it took me a few minutes to reach the rest rooms. About that time, as I'm still listening to all the conversations around Scully from her wire, there's suddenly a very muffled sound, and then a soft sigh from Agent Scully's microphone, and then all sound just stopped. Lou and I both got only static then. "You were on the other side of the room still. It would have been a waste of time for Lou to get you first, so he headed off to meet me at the rest rooms while I began a search of the Ladies' Room. By the time Lou got to me, I had thoroughly checked out the area. We deduced that she must have gone out the back door from some reason. She didn't get by either of us." Mulder could hear sirens by this time. Obviously Lou had arranged for a team of officers to meet them and help out. He knew Skinner would also have called for road blocks to be put up within a 10 mile radius. It was imperative that Scully be found in the next few hours if they had any hope of finding her alive. Dunbar was still talking, "We came down the narrow hallway that leads to the outside." Sarah paused here for a moment. "Did you smell anything funny just before you got outside, Mulder?" Mulder thought back. There had been something niggling at the back of his mind just before he opened the door. What was it? "Yeah, he answered slowly, "I smelled something, but didn't stop to figure it out, and then I ran into you. Why?" She obviously knew and was further testing his abilities in view of the fact that he had utterly failed to impress her at this particular moment. He didn't care what she thought of him. He just didn't have the time to play games. She looked Mulder hard in the eye. "It was chloroform." She let the fact sink in to Mulder's mind. It was pretty clear what had happened. Apparently, the kidnapper had either waited in the hallway for Scully to go to the Ladies' Room, knowing that sometime during the night she would have to go, or he followed her when she went. He must have approached her from behind, grabbed her, and covered her nose and mouth with a cloth soaked in chloroform. That would explain the muffled sound followed by the soft sigh the two agents heard. Scully had been put out like a light. Mulder could not think of enough curse words to call himself at this moment. Fortunately, he had more than a one track mind, and his brain was already moving ahead toward finding Scully. Chininski went out to the front of the building to meet the police, and brought them back to Mulder, who was still the agent in charge at this moment. Lou didn't think that would be the case tomorrow after Skinner got a hold of him. But right now was what mattered. Mulder flashed his FBI badge as he introduced himself. After confirming that road blocks had been ordered, he divided the officers into two groups. He sent two officers inside to make an announcement concerning the kidnapping, give Scully's description, and ask if anyone had seen her leave or being taken out the back. He had the next two officers interviewing the people milling about the back of the parking lot, and the last two officers were to interview the people loitering at the front door. Perhaps someone had seen something, or could give a description of the last couple of cars that had pulled out from the nightclub. Mulder, Dunbar, and Chininski would search the parking lot and the back hallway for any clues that might have been left behind. Mulder found where Scully had parked his car and got a flashlight from the trunk. The street lamps were vastly under powered for this job. They immediately went to the empty parking slots to search. At the third empty space Mulder saw something positioned halfway in the open and halfway under the next car. He stooped down to retrieve it. He picked it up carefully and help it up high so the others could see. "Damn," was all he said to get their attention. They turned to see Mulder holding the wire Scully had been wearing. No wonder they had only static in their ear pieces. Mulder saw a large part of his back up plan going to hell in a hand basket. He had hoped Scully would be able to use the wire to let them know where she was. Obviously, the rapist wasn't overlooking anything. They weren't going to be able to count on him making an obvious mistake anytime soon. "Agent Mulder!" An officer was calling him from the front of the building. Fox handed the flashlight to Sarah. "Keep looking, see if anything else here will help us." He walked away from them to meet with the officer. The cop was not in uniform, so obviously someone with some rank. Mulder checked the name plate of the man when he got closer. It was Williams. "Yes, Det. Williams, what did you find?" he asked. Williams had a couple of young men with him, Mulder guessed their ages to be around 22-25. Williams spoke, "These guys said they have been out here for the last 30 minutes or so. They saw about five cars leave in that time period. Fortunately for us, they are fairly knowledgeable about cars. They feel the could at least name the kind and color of each car." Mulder raised his eyebrows, things were looking up. "Go ahead and get that list from them Det. Williams. Good work," he added. Never hurts to motivate, Mulder thought. The second team of officers sent to interview people in the back parking lot approached Mulder now. They had a man and a woman with them. "Got something?" Mulder asked hopefully. Officer Helen Bernaid spoke up, eagerness in her voice. She was obviously still new at this job, and was excited that she had found something she considered important. "Yes, this couple thinks they might have seen Agent Scully and the man she was with." This was news! Mulder gave them his full attention. He wanted to hear this directly from them. "Can you tell me what you saw?" The couple looked at each other, deciding who would speak. Somehow they silently chose the woman. "Well, we were taking a smoke outside, you know how these days you can't smoke inside any more," she could already see the impatience in Mulder's eyes. She realized he just wanted the facts. She hurried on. "Well, anyway, we were smoking just a few feet from the back door there, and this couple came out. We noticed them mostly because it looked like he was half dragging, and half carrying her." Mulder interrupted her story to make sure they had the right couple in mind. "What was the woman wearing?" "She had on a real short black skirt, and I remember she had on black high heels, and some dark colored blouse with spaghetti straps." Yep, they had the right couple. "Go on," Mulder prompted. The girl continued. "Well, she obviously didn't seem right. So we asked if she was sick, or needed any help. The guy just laughed, and said something like she was just drunk, and he was taking her home to put her to bed. "Well, that seemed like a normal answer to us, and he seemed calm and friendly, so we just went back to minding our own business." She stopped again. "Did you happen to see which car they got in?" This was going to be crucial to them finding Scully. Mulder held his breath for their answer. "Yeah," she answered. "Like I said, it was kinda weird, him having to kinda carry her, so naturally it held our attention. He got into a car parked over there," she turned and pointed to the spot where Mulder had found the wire. "Do you know what kind of car it was? Both of them shook their heads. "No, sorry, we didn't pay that much attention to details. Like, we didn't know something bad was happening, ya know." She shrugged her shoulders. The man with her spoke up, "I do remember it was a dark color, maybe a dark green, and it had two doors. I remember because he had a hard time getting her in the back seat, and I remember thinking it would have been easier if the car had four doors." That was all Mulder needed to hear. If he could corroborate this with the guys out front, maybe he could narrow down the search considerably. "One last question," Mulder said to them. "Did you happen to notice the license plate by any chance?" He tried not think about how dim the parking lot was. He hoped against hope that by some miracle of God he would get the most critical piece of information needed. The man nodded his head. "Yeah, I saw it. It was different from DC's plates, I guess that's why it stood out to me. I think it was a Maryland license tag, but I didn't get any numbers or nothing." Mulder was almost leaping for joy inside. "Thank you. You don't know what a help you have been. You may have saved a woman's life tonight. Thanks for coming forward." He paused to think a moment. "Could you wait right here for a moment while I check with Det. Williams about the car. I'll be right back. I'd like to get a description of the man that was with Agent Scully." He turned to Officer Bernaid and noticed she had been writing down everything they said. Good, he thought, this one is definitely on the ball. "Please take their names and addresses, and go over the information you wrote down one more time with them to see if they remember anything else." Bernaid nodded her head in affirmation. "Oh, and," Mulder touched her shoulder to emphasize how much it meant to him, "your doing a great job. Thanks." He turned on his heel to head for the front of the building. He wanted to see if the young men remembered the same kind of car going by them. "Det. Williams," Mulder spoke as he got closer. Williams looked up at him. "Have you got that list from them yet?" "Yes, sir," he said, holding it out to Mulder for him to see. Mulder did not take it. "Is there a green car on that list?" Williams pulled his arm back and studied the list. "Yes, sir. They said one of the cars they saw leaving was a dark green, 1998 Porsche. It turned, " he consulted his notes carefully, "left out of the parking lot." Mulder was feeling very encouraged at this point. "I don't suppose they got any license tag information?" Williams looked over his writings again. "Actually," hope rose in Mulder's heart as Williams continued, "they did. They remember discussing how much they liked the car and out of curiosity they glanced at the plate to see if it was someone from here or outside the state." He looked up at Mulder. "Of course, they don't have the number. But they remembered it was from Maryland." "Get on the phone and relay all that information to the road block patrols. That's the car we are looking for. Make sure they have an accurate description of Agent Scully, too. I'll get back to you on a description of the man. They are to search any Porsche that comes their way, regardless of the year or color. Got it?" Mulder didn't wait for an answer as he strode back to the couple waiting with Officer Bernaid. Dunbar and Chininski had finished their thorough search of the area and were waiting near Officer Bernaid and the couple, too, when Mulder returned. "Anything?" he looked at Sarah. He really didn't expect them to find anything else left behind. She shook her head. Lou was off to the side, talking into his cell phone again. Mulder turned his attention back to the couple. "I really appreciate your help in this," Mulder continued to butter them up and make them feel comfortable and important. People talked more freely under those conditions. "Can you tell me what you remember about the man you saw with Agent Scully?" He appeared to be waiting patiently for their answer. Inside he was screaming at them to hurry up with the information. The man spoke this time, slowly and with great thought. "He was a white man, and seemed in pretty good shape." "Why do you say that?" Mulder asked. "Because he wasn't having much trouble with carrying the woman. He wasn't struggling or anything. And I think he had dark hair. The light in the parking lot isn't that great, ya know." "Do you know what he was wearing?" "Um, no, just pants and a shirt. Jeans, maybe. It wasn't anything that stood out, like a suit or nothing. Just ordinary clothes." "When he spoke, did he seem to have an accent of any kind?" The man thought back, looked at the girl, and shook his head. "No, I don't think so." The girl was shaking her head, too. "Is there anything else at all that you can remember about him that might help us identify him?" They both shook their heads. "Do you think you could describe him to a sketch artist?" The guy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, maybe." "Would you be willing to try?" Mulder asked. The couple looked at each other, again silently communicating with each other. The guy looked back at Mulder. "Sure, I guess." "Great. Thanks." Mulder turned to Bernaid. "Would you please take them to the station, and have them work with your artist and see what we can come up with? Also, they can give their formal statements at the same time. And make sure the description of the suspect, Agent Scully, and the car goes out immediately. " The officers and the couple moved toward the squad car. "What now?" Sarah asked. Lou had finished his conversation and had joined the little group. Before Mulder could answer, Lou spoke up. "I just got off the phone with Assistant Director Skinner." He had an apologetic look on his face. "I think he wants to fry your butt and eat it for breakfast. He wants to see you like ten minutes ago." TITLE: A Crying Shame AUTHOR: Janis (JEhrat@aol.com) PART: 4/16 "I just got off the phone with Assistant Director Skinner." He had an apologetic look on his face. "I think he wants to fry your butt and eat it for breakfast. He wants to see you like ten minutes ago." "Fine." Mulder didn't care what Skinner wanted right now. But he couldn't exactly say that in front of them. "While I'm assuming the position in his office, I want you two to track down that car. How many 1998 dark green Porsches can there be registered in the state of Maryland? I want you to check out every name that comes up, and cross reference with a driver's license picture for anyone that might match this guy's description, such as it is, and get me a name and an address." Mulder's voice softened. "I think you know time is of the essence here. While most of the victims haven't turned up until 48 hours later, I don't want to assume we have that much time for Scully. OK?" The agents nodded their head in understanding. Whatever they may think of Mulder's performance tonight, another agent's life was still hanging in the balance. They would put their feelings aside for now and do the best job they could. Thirty minutes later, Mulder was being royally chewed out by Skinner in his office. Usually Skinner's tirades went in one ear and out the other with Mulder. He knew Skinner had to berate him for his methods sometimes, and it was just part of his job to try to keep Mulder on the straight and narrow. They both knew it was a hopeless cause, but they went through the motions every so often. By now, Mulder'd had enough, but Skinner continued. "What the hell were you thinking!" Skinner shouted at him. Mulder shifted uncomfortably in his chair; he was getting agitated. In addition to not having an answer to this question, he also wasn't allowed to yell back. "You were on duty, responsible for another agent's life." "Don't you think I know that?" Mulder spat out the words, each one leaving a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. After a few moments of Skinner starring him down, Mulder decided he had better add, "Sir." Unfortunately, Mulder thought gloomily, having no defense in this case might just cost him Scully. He was finding it hard to stay seated. He was wasting time debating this issue with Skinner. What was to be gained by it? Did Skinner think there was anything he could say to Mulder that Mulder hadn't accused himself of already? "I have no defense. No reason to explain why I took my eyes off Agent Scully, OK?" Mulder rose to leave and get on with finding Scully. "Sit down." Skinner stated authoritatively. He was standing in front of Mulder, leaning back against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. It was well past 2am. Skinner's shirt looked rumpled. His jacket was slung carelessly over the back of his desk chair. His eyes looked tired. Mulder clenched his fists, pursed his lips and closed his eyes. He mentally counted to ten, and then slumped back down into his chair. Fatigue was beginning to replace the adrenaline rush he had experienced earlier at the nightclub. He didn't want to fight with Skinner. He just wanted to actively search for Scully; to feel like he was doing something to right the wrong he had done her. He refused to follow the train of thought that tried to take over his brain. He would find her, and he would find her alive. "Special Agent Mulder." It was never good when Skinner used his title, Fox thought, like when your mother used your whole name, you were really in deep trouble. Skinner's voice was formal, but not harsh, "I am taking you off this case." Mulder's head snapped up. Skinner continued, "You are too close to the situation." Mulder opened his mouth to protest. Skinner continued, "In your haste to find your partner, and to rectify your mistake, I'm afraid you will cut corners and jeopardize Agent Scully's life along with your own, and possibly other agents involved in the search." Something inside Mulder snapped. He jumped to his feet and went toe to toe with Skinner. Totally ignoring the rule that he wasn't supposed to yell at his boss, Mulder shouted, "You can't do that!" knowing full well that Skinner indeed, could. Skinner wasn't phased by Mulder's actions or his shouting. He had intentionally goaded Mulder into this outburst. Not only had he seen Mulder's dejection and disgust for the consequences of his actions at A Crying Shame in Mulder's body language, he had seen the loss of hope in his eyes. Whether or not Mulder admitted it to himself, deep down inside, a part of him was already giving up finding Scully alive. It would take him over if it wasn't squelched right now. Skinner could already see Mulder assuming the blame and disgrace. Mulder put on shame and guilt like they were clothes, Skinner thought. He doesn't have a clue as to how to get through a day without mentally beating himself up over something. The fact that sometimes Mulder wasn't actually responsible didn't seem to matter. He just automatically assumed the guilt and wore it like a cloak. But woe to his soul if it was somehow his fault when something did go wrong. Like tonight. Skinner had seen Mulder spin into a depression over issues many times. It was doubly dangerous if Dana Scully happened to be involved. These two were uniquely connected somehow, Mulder and Scully. As unlikely a pair as anyone would ever find. Scully so proper, a firm believer in science and real evidence, almost militant in the control of her emotions. And Mulder, so irreverent, a firm believer in the fantastic and surreal, and on an emotional roller coaster ride. Yet, somehow, they completed each other. Their lives and souls intertwined to form a complete unit. And when one was hurt or in danger, the other was the one that had their guts ripped out of them. Skinner was an astute judge of character and motivation. He had to be in his job. Right now he needed Mulder to get in touch with that part of him that would never give up on Scully. The part that would move heaven and earth to find her before it was too late. So, he goaded him into thinking he was off the case. Skinner knew Mulder would argue the reasons he should continue on the case, and it would bolster his resolve to get the job done, or die trying. Mulder was still yelling at Skinner in complete abandon. "It's my fault Scully is missing and in danger, and I will find her. I am already this close," he put his thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart in Skinner's face, "to finding the car and the owner. We will have him traced within the next hour," he falsely boasted. Skinner just stared at Mulder, letting him run his course. Now was about the time Mulder would voice his guilt, Skinner knew. He wanted, no, he needed absolution from Skinner for his mistakes, so he could go on with new resolve and hope. Even though Mulder and Skinner were not that far apart in age, Skinner was Mulder's authority figure, a false father figure. And while he didn't always seek his approval, there were times when he subconsciously longed for this false father's forgiveness. To tell him things were all right, and that he was OK. In effect, to love and accept him as he was. Something his real father had been incapable of doing. Skinner just sat through the next outburst. "I know I fu.., screwed up," even Mulder in his agitated state knew some lines weren't crossed with your boss. "I probably cost Scully her life. And even if," he corrected himself, "when we find her, I doubt she'll ever trust me again." There, Skinner knew he'd said his worst fears and emptied himself of the guilty thoughts that had been plaguing him for hours. He was through yelling now, though the bitterness Mulder felt toward himself still came through in his voice. "But I can't just sit around with my thumb up my ass waiting for someone else to solve the case." He sat back down and lowered his head. Guilt is a self-feeding, energy-sucking parasite and Mulder had just spent the last bit of energy he had left. "I respectfully request that I be allowed to remain on the case," he said quietly, almost begging, from his chair. He looked up into Skinner's hard eyes. "I know I can find her, sir. And I'll find her alive. You know my case solve rate. I know this bastard's profile, his MO, and very shortly, I will know where he lives. I will get her back, sir." His voice was even, controlled now, and hard with resolve. Skinner did not answer Mulder, only gave him a short nod of his head. Mulder took that as a sign of agreement and dismissal all wrapped up in one, and took his leave. With Dunbar and Chininski's diligent work, Mulder had been true to his word. While he was in Skinner's office, they had been tracing the car and the owner down, and with relative ease, actually. The car belonged to a Matthew Seigler, age 25, a resident of Maryland. He had no past record with the police, not even a traffic ticket. When Sarah placed a call to his residence to determine if he was home, a surprise greeted her. The voice that answered the phone was not a machine, or a sleepy family member, but apparently a butler. He informed her that Mr. Matthew Seigler had gone out for the evening and had not returned yet, could he take a message? Sarah declined to leave one. Lou had been checking into Seigler's business affairs and looking for other residences and/or holdings. By 6:00am they had put together a complete history of Matthew Seigler, and it was impressive. Mulder had taken the opportunity to crash in his office while they did the records search. As much as he wanted to find this guy himself, he knew that he needed to run on something besides adrenaline when the time came. They woke Mulder when they felt they had the basic records necessary to find Matthew Seigler. He quickly read over the facts they had assimilated. "What do you want to do now?" Sarah asked when he closed the file he was reading. Even though he had screwed up royally in her eyes the night before, the pain she could see in his eyes more than convinced her she didn't need to be the one to confront him with it. He was doing a great job of beating himself up. "I'm going home to clean up and change. I want you to call the local PD and have them check out these four buildings Seigler owns on the west side of town. They are in that run down section, and unoccupied by businesses right now. Maybe he is hiding out there. "I just want them to check to see if his car is parked anywhere nearby. Under no circumstances are they to approach him or go in the buildings. Make that clear to them," Mulder replied. Sarah and Lou nodded their heads. Mulder continued, "If they find anything, I want them to call me. In the meantime, you two go home and get to bed. You have more than done your duty." Mulder paused a moment, "I just want you to know I appreciate your hard work on Scully's behalf. I know I have shown you a less than stellar side of myself, and I appreciate you following through on all aspects of this case in spite of what you may think of me." Sarah and Lou didn't speak for a moment. They had made mistakes themselves. The fact that Mulder wasn't making excuses for himself went a long way in their book. "You'll call us if something new develops?" Lou didn't really mean it as a question; he wanted to be kept informed. Mulder nodded his head. Sarah touched him lightly on the shoulder as they were leaving. "Don't worry, we are doing everything possible. He won't slip through," she said. Mulder got up to leave as well. Basement Office 12 Noon He had been back at the office for several hours. The police had not found Matthew's car at his residence, or at the buildings he owned. The road blocks had not turned up anything, and had been dismantled hours ago. A photo of Seigler had been sent out over the wires and was in the broadest possible circulation. Mulder had busied himself by continuing to search out information on Matthew Seigler. Most of the information he gleaned came from newspaper accounts over the last four years. Matthew had inherited his father's business, along with his wealth, at that time. Seigler Enterprises was basically an import/export business that contracted for other major companies in the world. They dealt with hundreds of different products by many manufactures. He seemed to have made wise business decisions while in charge, considering his young age, and the company had continued to prosper under his direction. He was frequently in the society pages supporting various charities and civic improvement groups. In most of the pictures containing Matthew, there was a lovely young lady identified as Lilly Townsend hanging on his arm. In one recent article, Matthew Seigler and Lilly Townsend's wedding engagement was announced. Mulder had made several calls to Matthew's house and office during the day trying to locate him. Each time he was given the same answer: Mr. Seigler was not in, and they didn't know when he would return. Would he like to leave a message? He had instructed the local PD to continue checking on the abandoned buildings every few hours for Matthew's car. So far, they had come up empty, too. Mulder decided to visit Seigler's company to try and get further background on him. It was located in DC, about twenty minutes from FBI Headquarters. Mulder looked up at the huge office complex building as he entered the front door. He flashed his badge and got immediate help from the receptionist just inside the door. A few moments later he was standing in the outer offices of Mr. Matthew Seigler, President and CEO of Seigler Enterprises. Matthew's administrative assistant held out her hand in greeting. "Agent Mulder, I'm Mr. Seigler's assistant, Suzanne Waters. What may I do for you?" Mulder took in her appearance and manner. She looked to be about 45, extremely professionally dressed in a dark brown business suit with a gold butterfly broach on her lapel. Her conservative gold earrings and delicate gold watch gave her just enough femininity to offset her business attitude. She wore her short brown hair softly around her face, and bright blue eyes met him from behind her glasses. Mulder shook her hand in return and noticed her pleasant grip. "Thank you for seeing me without an appointment," he began. It was always best to make people think they were doing you a favor, and that you were appreciative of their time. "I was wondering if I could speak to you about your boss, in private." That was all Suzanne needed to hear. Fear had already griped her stomach when the receptionist had announced the FBI agent. She had a sinking feeling she already knew why he was here. She tried to remain calm and poised. She could be wrong she tried to tell herself. However, she wasn't going to stand about discussing Matthew in front of the office help. She nodded her head and smiled. "This way, please, Agent Mulder." She led him down a short hallway to a door that specified her name. She pushed open the huge, solid door with surprisingly little strength. It was perfectly balanced and opened easily. It closed with a soft whisper. Suzanne indicated a leather chair in front of her desk for Mulder to be seated in. "Coffee, Agent Mulder?" "No, thank you." She sat gracefully in her own leather chair behind her large, cherry desk. It was perfectly clean of files and paperwork, as if she didn't work at all. There was a phone, a name plate, and a pen in it's holder. She smiled again. "Now." She leaned forward. "What exactly is it you want to know?" She certainly wasn't going to give out personal information without a pretty good reason. Suzanne was the perfect person to block all inquiries and personnel from Matthew. That was her job, to free him up for more pressing business. She hoped against hope that Mulder was here concerning the business and not Matthew directly. "In the last twenty four hours Mr. Seigler's most recent activities have come under question at the Federal Bureau," Mulder began. Suzanne's heart skipped a beat. She hoped she wasn't showing alarm on her face. "Right now, we would just like to question him about those activities, but we haven't been able to locate him at his home, or here at work. Do you happen to know where I can reach him?" "What kind of activities?" she asked carefully. Her mind was racing. How much did he know? She began to worry. Conflict was already raging inside her brain as to what she should do. "Well, that is confidential information at this point." Mulder did not want to put her off, so he gave her a dazzling smile. "I'm sure you understand. We are not accusing him of anything, we merely want to question him." Suzanne could see Mulder was going to be extremely tactful. "Well, I am sorry, but I have no idea where Mr. Seigler is at this moment. Actually, he hasn't called in today and touched base with me." "Is that unusual for him?" "A little," she said. "But I don't want to give you the wrong idea," she added. "Mr. Seigler occasionally goes off on his own and does business with clients." "I see." Mulder knew this line of questioning wasn't going to get him very far. Apparently Ms. Waters was loyal to Matthew. On the other hand, that said something in itself about the man. "Perhaps you could supply me with some information." Ms. Waters wanted to be helpful, but she didn't want to overstep her boundaries with Mr. Seigler, either. "I'm not sure," she hedged. "Oh, they are just general questions," Mulder hastened to add. "For instance, can you tell me if Mr. Seigler still drives a 1998 dark green Porsche?" She smiled, "Yes, he does. He's rather prideful about that car." That was easy, she thought. And certainly no harm was done by answering that question. Maybe this meeting wasn't about what she feared. Mulder continued. "And does he still live at this address in Maryland?" He handed her a piece of paper with the Matthew's address neatly typed on it. "Yes, he does," she confirmed. "Though, he sometimes stays here at the corporate offices when he has been working late. He has an apartment on the top floor of this building." Mulder raised his eyebrows, his interest picking up. "Does this building have an underground garage, too?" It would certainly explain how he had avoided the road blocks and where he might have parked the car for the night. "Yes, it does." "Do you know if Mr. Seigler was here last night?" "No, but I could check for you, " she said reaching for the phone. "Thank you." Mulder sat back in his chair and waited. Ms. Waters put the phone down after a few moments. "The Security Log states that he did park his car here for a short time last night, but he left again early this morning. He has his own private entrance. The cameras only record him coming and going from a distance." Mulder made a few notes on his pad as she spoke. "How long have you known Mr. Seigler?" he continued. "I've been here for fifteen years. I was Matthew's father's administrative assistant at the time he died from a heart attack about four years ago. At that time, Matthew assumed his father's position and kept me on. He had worked for his father in this company since before he graduated from high school. His father made him start at the bottom of the company so that he might learn all there was to know about this business. Matthew's mother died before I came to work here. Even before Matthew worked here, he would visit often. I would say I have known Matthew well for about ten years." "Have you noticed any changes in Matthew in the last few months?" Mulder wanted to hold his breath. This answer could be crucial. It would depend on how much Ms. Waters wanted to help Mulder, and how loyal she was to Matthew as to what kind of answer he would get. "Changes?" she repeated vaguely. Her mind flew to the recesses of her mind where she had been pushing information back to hide it even from herself for the last three months. "What kind of changes do you mean?" She knew her moment of truth was coming. She was going to have to choose sides, and very soon. Actually, she had known it for several weeks now, she had just been afraid to make the final decision. "Attitude mostly," Mulder replied. "Has Mr. Seigler seemed agitated, forgetful, more aggressive, or conversely, quieter than usual, for instance? Or has he changed any of his habits recently? For example, coming to work and leaving at the same time, informing you or not informing you of his where abouts. Just anything that has struck you as odd in his behavior or demeanor lately?" Suzanne settled back in her chair to think about how to answer this question. Matthew had been different lately. He had become secretive, distant with her and his staff, uninterested in the business and the deals that were on the table, and he had spent less and less time at the office. When he was here, he would often be explosive, or get agitated at the least little thing. He had begun to make remarks about the secretaries and female administrative personnel that he came in contact with. Some of the women had complained about his sexual harassment toward them. Suzanne had dismissed most of the complaints in the beginning. In this day and age, to some women just telling them they looked attractive in a new dress could be considered sexual harassment. She had taken the personal remarks about the women from him as a sign of the stress he was under. Not only was this a fast paced and cut throat business, but there had been the matter of Lilly. Suzanne felt Matthew was extremely distraught about the situation and that some of the fallout concerning the other women was due to this. The question now was, how much should she tell this agent? How much was relevant, and how much was gossip that didn't bear repeating? And how much of it was related to the fears she had been harboring, refusing to acknowledge even to herself? Mulder was waiting patiently. He could see her weighing information in her head. He was not going to push her to answer, as this would only make her close up immediately. He sat and waited. "Agent Mulder," she finally said, leaning forward again. "I'm not sure what you want to hear," she began. "Just the truth, Ms. Waters, I assure you." She paused again, reassessing her duty to Matthew, this company, and to herself. Her natural respect for humankind won out. If Matthew was behind what she feared he was, she could no longer indirectly help him hide. People's lives were at stake. She was having enough trouble sleeping nights as it was. She knew now she had to speak up. "I can say, that I have noticed a difference in Mr. Seigler in the last three months." Mulder intently watched her as she spoke. "But I think it is due to intense pressure from running this company, we are at a critical negotiation right now with Japan that could make this company the largest of it's kind in the world, but I won't rule out some of his behavior being influenced by his personal troubles, either." There, that should be honest enough, but also non-specific enough in case Agent Mulder was not here for the reason she was worrying about. Mulder leaned forward himself now. "Ms. Waters, I appreciate your loyalty to Mr. Seigler. Might I inquire as to what specific kind of personal trouble Mr. Seigler is having right now?" The crux of the trouble had been well-known news three months ago, so she didn't feel like she was divulging inside knowledge at this point. "Matthew had been engaged to marry his childhood sweetheart later this month. She broke off the engagement three months ago and is now involved with another man." She added off the record information now. "His heart was broken. He has loved Lilly since grade school, and he thought she felt the same way about him. He couldn't understand how she could fall in love with someone else. The worst part of the whole mess was that he actually caught her coming out of a nightclub with this other man before she broke off the engagement. She had been seeing him behind Matthew's back for some time apparently. "He was livid!" She widened her eyes for emphasis. "I remember the next morning in his office. He called me in to tell me the news and have me cancel all of the arrangements for the wedding. He threw a fit like I have never seen." She lowered her head to look at her desk. "He called Lilly some of the vilest names I have ever heard. I remember how much he scared me with his temper." Her voice had softened even more, and Mulder strained to catch all the words. "He was like a mad man. He ranted and raved, his eyes bulged out. And then," she stopped speaking, unable for a moment to go on. "Yes," Mulder prompted softly. "Then, what?" Suzanne raised her head to look Mulder directly in the eye. "And then he told me what he wanted to do to her for betraying him as she had." The color drained from her face. She wanted to tell Agent Mulder everything. She had longed to have someone to confide in. Somehow it seemed by sharing the awful things she knew, it would lessen the impact of the load she was carrying. She had felt this way the last two months, ever since..., she didn't want to think about it. She continued. "He talked about cutting off pieces of Lilly, and gouging out her eyes, and," Suzanne couldn't continue. She covered her face with her hands. Mulder stood up and walked over to Suzanne. He touched her shoulder in empathy. He realized how hard this must be for her. She was practically a family member herself. He knew she felt she was betraying Matthew at this point. She lowered her hands. "It's him, isn't it." "Who?" Mulder questioned, sure he knew now what she feared. "It's Matthew isn't it? He's the one that's been killing a different girl each week, isn't he. That's what you're here for, isn't it." It wasn't a question. It had cost Suzanne a lot to be honest with Mulder. He wanted to do the same for her. "Yes, that is why I'm here. But we're not positive it is him. That's why it is imperative that we locate him as soon as possible." He took a deep breath and plunged on. "We think it was Matthew who took my partner last night. We had A Crying Shame staked out..." He got no farther. "A Crying Shame!" Suzanne repeated. "That's where Matthew found Lilly and her boyfriend." She began to weep silent tears. Mulder pressed on with an urgency. "It is vital that we find Matthew, Ms. Waters. Can you think of anywhere we might look for him? Anywhere he might go?" She answered dully now, "Have you tried the old apartment building on Jefferson? It's been condemned for several years now. The company owns the building under another name, a holding company. I heard Matthew mention it once last month. He said he was going to have a look at it, but he didn't say why." "Can you write down the address for me?" Mulder couldn't sit still now. TITLE: A Crying Shame AUTHOR: Janis (JEhrat@aol.com) PART: 5/16 ---xxxxxxx---- Mulder called the police substation nearest to the address Suzanne had given him. It was in the same section of run down neighborhood as the other four buildings Seigler owned and that the police had been checking every few hours. He had the police patrol the area continuously now, combing the area for Matthew's Porsche. He had gone back to his office to wait for news. In the meantime, he called Sarah and Lou and brought them up to speed on the new information, and tried to do some paperwork to keep busy. Hours had gone by. Mulder's head had slipped down to his desk sometime ago, and he was asleep when the call from the police finally came through about midnight. They had located the Porsche, and it was indeed at the newest address on Jefferson street. Mulder arrived twenty five minutes later. He had located Skinner, and was surprised to find he was still in his office working, too. He informed his superior about the car, and that he was on his way to meet the police. Dunbar and Chininski had been sent home around 10:00pm. Mulder did not want to waste time informing them. He would catch them up later. When Mulder arrived, he drove past the building first, surveying the area, then rendezvoused with the police about a block away, around the corner from the address. His pulse went up when he didn't see the Porche. If it had left while he was in route...well, he didn't want to think about kicking himself any more. He recognized Det. Williams from the nightclub detail the night before and walked over to him. "Where's the car?" he asked in a worried voice. Det. Williams nodded his head in greeting. "Don't worry, it's there. Apparently Seigler has hollowed out a couple of the apartments on the first floor of this building, and made them into a garage. That's why we hadn't seen the car all day. One of our boys finally decided to get out and walk the beat, and when he looked in some windows, that's when he saw the Porsche. Apparently, it's been here all the time. Certainly since before you alerted us, which was about 3:00pm." Mulder nodded in understanding of this development. He called the team of seven officers together to discuss how to storm the building in the most effective manner. As he was speaking, his ears caught the sound of a car racing past. He turned just in time to see the Porche speed by for all it was worth. He yelled at the two officers closest to him, "You two, follow him! Don't let him get away. I don't care what it takes, stick with him!" He didn't wait to see the two officers and their partners jump in their unmarked cars and pull away from the curb in pursuit of the Porsche and Matthew Seigler. To the rest of the officers, Mulder waved with one hand while drawing his weapon with the other, "Come on!" He raced around the corner and down the block heading for Seigler's building. The other three officers were hot on his heels. They had fanned out and searched the first two floors fairly quickly. Most of the doors to the apartments were already standing open, previously forced by vandals. The other doors yielded easily to pressure. They found nothing. Mulder ran up the stairs to the next floor, all the while yelling Scully's name, praying in his own way that she was able to respond, praying she wasn't dead in the back seat of that Porsche on her way to being dumped somewhere. On the third floor they found an apartment with a newly replaced door that was securely locked. Mulder fired a shot at the lock, causing splintered wood to fly in all directions. He kicked at the door and it did not resist. He ran through the dimly lit rooms, frantically searching. Finally, he found her in the back bedroom, balled up like a frightened animal, and crying. Going over the events in his mind at the hospital reminded him that he hadn't heard from the pursuit cars yet as to the status of Matthew Seigler. The police didn't have his cell phone number and probably weren't able to reach him. An officer had delivered his car keys to him a half hour after arriving at the hospital and had informed him where he had parked Mulder's car, but he had not had any news on Seigler at the time. Mulder pulled out his phone and punched in the police substation's number. "Yes, this is Agent Mulder with the FBI. Has Det. Williams checked in yet concerning the kidnap/rape case he is working on with me?" The officer on the other end of the phone transferred him to Williams. "Hello?" he answered. "Mulder here. Any word on Seigler yet?" Mulder mentally crossed his fingers. "Yes," Williams answered, Mulder could hear the smile in his voice. "They just arrived at the station with him. Apparently he gave them quite a chase, but our men got him. He is being booked and finger printed as we speak. How is Agent Scully?" "I don't know yet, the doctors are still working on her. The paramedic said she would be all right though, nothing life threatening." He heard Williams grunt out, "That's good." "Send that report over as soon as possible, OK?" Mulder continued. I'll check in with you as soon as I've gone over it." He started to sign off, and then thought better of it. "And thanks for your help Detective. Please pass my thanks along to the other officers. Because of their help and diligence, Agent Scully is still alive to put this bastard away for good." "I'll tell 'em," Williams replied and hung up. Mulder put his phone away and stood up. It had been over an hour since Scully had arrived at the hospital. Surely, she was ready to be sent to a room by now. He headed down the hall to check on her status. "Fox!" He turned at the sound of his name. It was Mrs. Scully. She was coming through the Emergency Room door at a fast pace, purse dangling from one shoulder and a small suitcase in one hand. Her hair looked like it had been finger combed, and she didn't appear to have any makeup on. A coat was thrown over clothes he couldn't see. He turned and hurried down the hall in her direction. They met halfway, Margaret almost collapsing in his arms. He steadied her and led her to a bench along the wall where they both sat down. "Fox, where is Dana? How is she?" the questions tinged with worry fell out of her mouth. "Assistant Director Skinner called me and told me you had found her and were bringing her here. Is she all right?" she asked again anxiety creeping into her voice now. Mulder was nodding his head vigorously since he couldn't get a word in edgewise to try and reassure her that Dana was OK, and would eventually be fine. "Yes," he finally said when she stopped talking. "We found her in time." At these words Margaret broke down into tears, relief flooding through her body, the tears merely a sign of the deep stress she had endured for the last twenty four hours. She didn't apologize for crying, though, she knew Mulder understood. She leaned her head on his shoulder, glad to have someone to share her burden with. He put his arms around her. After a minute, she sat up. "I'm fine now, Fox. I want to see Dana." "They haven't assigned her to a room yet, she is still here in the emergency ward. I guess they are still working on getting her cleaned up." He tried to sound encouraging. "I still want to see her." She stood up, expecting him to take her to Dana. He took her hand and pulled her gently back down beside him. She looked questioningly into his eyes. She saw the pain reflected there, and slowly sat back down. "What is it?" Fear gripped her heart. Something must be horribly wrong. Fox chose his words carefully, trying to put the best spin on it. But he wanted Dana's mother to be prepared for what she was about to see. "Let me tell you about her condition first, so you don't think something is terribly wrong with her when you see her." Margaret tried to swallow, and gave a short nod of her head. She couldn't speak. "We did find Dana before Matthew Seigler seriously hurt her." He wanted to give her the good news first. "However," he spoke reasonably and calmly, striving not to alarm her, "Seigler did inflict some injuries on her." He rushed to add, "Nothing permanent. But there are bruises and contusions, and while they will heal, they look far worse than they are." Tears slipped down Margaret's cheeks. She needed to know the answer to a silent question, but she was afraid to ask for fear of the answer. She read the newspapers, she knew what this man did to the women before he killed them. She had to know about Dana. "Was she," Margaret's voice was so soft Mulder almost couldn't hear her. He waited patiently for her to try and finish the sentence. "Was she," she started again, her voice breaking along with her heart. "Did he," she couldn't even bring herself to say the word, but stumbled on, "Did he touch her?" She had put both of her hands in his, needing his silent support and gentle strength at this moment. Deep compassion was reflected in Mulder's eyes as he watched Scully's mother struggle with the issue of whether her daughter had been raped or not. He squeezed her hands gently before answering. "I don't know," he said honestly. Margaret found a pocket of strength deep within and called upon it. She let go of Mulder's hands, fumbled in her purse for a Kleenex to blow her nose and wipe her face. "It wouldn't do for Dana to see me looking so upset," she tried to make an excuse. Grim faced, but determined, she stood up again. "Please take me to her, now." Mulder walked her down the corridor to room number five. The door was made entirely of glass for easy monitoring of patients, but it was closed, indicating that they were not yet ready for outsiders. Margaret stepped in front of Mulder to view her daughter still being fussed over by nurses and technicians. They were moving at a steady pace, going through the routine, and not frantically bustling around as if it were life and death. Fox moved to stand behind her. Margaret finally caught a glimpse of her daughter when a nurse moved from the foot of the bed to Dana's side. She gasped and felt her knees buckle. So shocked was she by what she saw, if Mulder had not been standing behind and caught her, she would have hit the floor. Dana's face was swollen out of proportion from the beatings, not to mention displaying various arrays of colors from the palest yellow to the deepest black with several shades in between. Her arms showed the same painter's palette of bruises, as well as red, angry bands of torn flesh visible at both wrists, and on the leg that was not covered by the sheet. There were tubes running in and out of her body, connected to various machines and bags. Mercifully, they had given her something to make her sleep. Her eyes were closed and she was resting peacefully. Mulder noticed x-rays hanging above and behind her head. From his vantage point, he didn't see anything broken. He was glad they had cleaned off all the blood from Scully's face, and had pulled her hair back in a cap. At least Mrs. Scully wouldn't have to view and contemplate that sight, he thought. "Are you all right?" he asked as she steadied herself again. "Do you want to sit down?" "No," Margaret answered firmly. "I'm fine. It was just such a shock to see her so," tears filled her eyes again as she began to imagine what her daughter had gone through in the last twenty four hours, "vulnerable, laying there so still. For a moment I thought you had lied to me and she was dead." They stayed there watching from the other side of the door for another ten minutes. Finally, the nurses were convinced Scully was definitely stabilized, and they had gathered all the necessary information for now, and were ready to send her upstairs to a room. A half hour later Mulder was saying good by to Margaret. Scully was settled in a room, and Margaret was going to stay with her for what little bit of the night was left. Mulder was going home to get a few hours sleep before getting a start on nailing Matthew Seigler's coffin shut. Sleep! Yeah, right! Mulder had immediately gone to his bathroom upon arriving home, stripped down and stepped into the shower to try and wash off the filth he felt from Seigler and the apartment, but most of all, the shame he harbored for failing Scully. He stayed under the shower head a long time. Certainly longer than was necessary to wash his tall, lean body clean. Anyone that might have had an opportunity to watch his actions would never have been able to distinguished the tears from the water cascading down his face. He laid on the couch staring at the silent running TV. Thoughts raced through his mind, demanding his attention, not allowing him the luxury of sleep necessary to blocking out his ugly thoughts about Matthew, and the painful ones about Scully. A fitful rest did not come before 5am. Mulder's Apartment Tuesday April 20 7:00am Fox was glad he had set the alarm clock. He would never have awoken at 7:00am on his own. It was a chore to get himself up, dressed, and to the office. Despite his eagerness to get Seigler and close the case, his body's lagging actions told the story of his condition. Shortly after arriving at work, Mulder called Scully's room at the hospital to check in with Margaret. He had gotten the report he expected, Scully was still sleeping and the doctor had not been in to see her yet. He turned his attention to finding Williams' report. Bless the man, he must have worked most of the night. It had already been delivered to the FBI's reception desk. Someone was bringing it right down to him. Mulder perused the file, finding it extraordinarily complete for the short amount of time the case had been open. But he did not learn anything new of importance. He called up to Skinner's office and spoke with his administrative assistant, Sharon. She penciled Mulder in for an appointment in twenty minutes. ---xxxxxxx--- Thirty minutes later Skinner was up to speed on the case, with the exception of Scully's exact condition, which Mulder promised to update as soon as he knew. Mulder was informed that the case was now officially the Washington, DC police department's. The FBI's direct involvement was concluded with the return of Scully, and the capture of Matthew Seigler. Even so, Mulder made plans to go downtown and *visit* with Seigler after lunch. He spent the morning trying to go through the back-up of files on his desk and waiting for Mrs. Scully to call. She finally did around 11:00am. "How is she," Mulder asked with trepidation. Margaret Scully was her usual stable self now and answered with a firm voice. "She will be all right. Like you said last night, she mostly has bruises and bumps, no serious injuries. They want to keep her today and overnight again for observation. They will probably let her go home tomorrow." There was relief in her voice, too. "May I speak with her?" Fox asked. With the phone to her ear, Margaret turned to face Scully with her eyebrows raised. Scully knew Mulder would want to talk to her, and she knew that was what her mother was silently asking her. Scully moved her head slowly from side to side indicating that she did not want to talk to Mulder right now. Margaret hesitated in answering Mulder. "Mrs. Scully?" he said, wondering if she was still there. "Ah, yes, Fox. I was just checking on Dana. I'm sorry, but she's gone back to sleep," she lied. "Maybe you can talk to her later this afternoon." "Oh." Mulder was disappointed. He really needed to hear Scully's voice right now. "Um, OK." He began to think. "I'm going to the police station now to see Seigler, and then I'll stop by the hospital and check on you and Scully." "That'll be fine. We'll see you in a while." The connection was broken. Mulder stared at the phone for a few seconds, a frown on his face. He replaced the receiver and started out his door to head to the substation to meet with Williams and Seigler. When he arrived at the station he was directed to a small room in the back where he was told Williams could be found. He rapped on the door before opening it and stepped in. The room was dark except for a lit TV screen. He could just make out Det. Williams among the three people in the room. He motioned for Mulder to sit down next to him. Either there was no sound from the show, or the volume had been turned off. "We've been going through some of the tapes found in Seigler's closet," Williams said. His voice sounded unnaturally loud in the small room. "This one is from victim number seven, Alicia Newton." Fox moved his eyes from Williams' face to the screen. There was a scene of a woman thrashing on a bed. She appeared to be totally naked, but because of the angle of the camera, only the face and upper torso were visible. Mulder could see that her hands were tied to the bedpost by the red scarves he had seen earlier in person, and she, too, was wearing a blindfold. Apparently her legs were tied also, and she was struggling to break free. No one else was in the room. The tape ran for about two minutes, the scene not changing. Williams spoke again. "All of the tapes are pretty much the same. We have been skimming through them to see if Seigler is on any of them. So far he has been clever enough to keep himself off camera except for an occasional hand or arm that comes into view. He hasn't said much either. Only a word or short sentence here and there." Fox took his eyes off the screen. It was very much like watching a bug squirming on the sidewalk while it was being burned to death with a magnifying glass. "Is the whole tape like this?" "Mostly," Williams replied. "Except for when he comes in and beats her," he said dryly. "We have viewed parts of several of the tapes. We'll go over them in detail later. We're just trying to pin him to these right now." "How graphic do the tapes get?" Mulder needed to know how far Seigler had gone with Scully. But deep down inside, he didn't want to know at all. "Well, the actual rapes and murders aren't on tape if that's what you are asking. At least not yet," he added. He turned to the female officer running the machine. Mulder recognized her and gave a brief nod in her direction. "Put the next one in please, Helen." Fox looked at her face in the light of the video. It looked a little green. He could well understand her feelings. This kind of stuff was always hard to watch, and almost never left your brain. Helen turned off the tape that was in the VCR, ejected it, and picked up another tape at random from a small pile on her right. She put the just viewed tape to her left. She hit the play button and all eyes went back to the screen. Fox wanted to suck in his breath. It was Scully's tape. TITLE: A Crying Shame AUTHOR: Janis (JEhrat@aol.com) PART: 6/16 Fox wanted to suck in his breath. It was Scully's tape. She was lying perfectly still. He could identify her by her auburn hair and the soft rounding of her chin. Most of her face was covered with the blindfold. He saw her arms stretched out above her, held there by the scarves. She wasn't moving. "Apparently, she is still affected by the chloroform and hasn't woke up yet, " Williams deduced out loud for the benefit of Mulder who hadn't seen the other tapes. "Fast forward it please, Helen." Helen did as requested. After a few seconds, there was movement on the screen. Helen hit the play button again. Scully was writhing on the bed, Fox could see her mouth working. "Turn up the sound," it was a command, not a request. Helen complied. "Let me out of here!" Scully screamed at the top of her voice. "Hey! Somebody! Help me! Untie me! Let me up!" Scully continued to voice her objections and pleas for help. Fox felt his stomach turn as he watched helplessly. There was no response from anyone off camera. Scully continued to twist and thrash and shout. "Fast forward," Williams said. They had seen this pattern before. Helen fast forwarded the tape to where Scully was suddenly still. She resumed normal play of the video. "Shut up!" a male voice was heard off camera, but no one could be seen. Mulder sat forward in his chair. He wanted to take in as much detail as he could about this man. He strained to catch a glimpse of Seigler. Scully had stopped struggling when he began to speak. Her voice was calm now and began asking questions. "Who are you?" No answer. "What do you want with me?" No answer. "Are you there?" No answer. Scully struggled against her bonds for a few seconds more. Then she laid still. "Let me up!" she commanded. No response. "Untie me, you bastard and let me go!" Scully was angry now. Despite the totally uncontrolled situation she was in, she used her best authoritative voice without fear. Mulder had to admire that. Scully had always been gutsy, and never lingered on ceremony. What he saw next shocked them all. From out of no where a fist smashed into Scully's jaw. "Shut up!" was heard off camera again. Scully cried out in pain. With the blindfold on, she had not seen it coming, and had not had time to prepare for the hit. The blow caused her to bite her lip, and a small trickle of blood could be seen on her chin now. Fox clenched his fists in fury. His eyes opened wide with hatred for this man he could not see. Williams placed his hand on Mulder's shoulder. He knew this was affecting Mulder. "Shall we turn it off? Would you like to leave?" he asked softly. "No," Mulder replied quietly, eyes glued to the screen, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He had to know what happened next. "What do you want with me?" Scully weakly asked again. The blow had surprised her and reminded her she was not in control. No response. She began to struggle again against her bonds. "Stop," was all that was said. Scully did not obey. "Stop," was repeated. Still Scully could be viewed squirming, trying to detach herself from the bedposts. Different parts of her nude body came into view as she struggled. Again there was no warning. A fist came from no where and slammed into her face once more, just below her eye. Dana was stunned, and obviously in pain. She moaned. Mulder slammed his fist on the table in frustration and anger. He was taking deep breaths to control himself. The other officers pretended to ignore him, trying to give him a sense of privacy. Suddenly, fists seem to come from everywhere. Mulder saw them plunge into Scully's soft belly flesh, attack her face and head and beat about her shoulders. Scully was screaming now, begging him to stop between the moans of pain as each fist found it's mark. Mulder jumped to his feet, seething with anger, looking for a target he could hit back. His mind was reeling. He couldn't fathom how people could do this to others. Yet, here he was wanting to do the same thing to this man now. "Stop it," he called out, almost yelling. Helen was quick to hit the stop button. She turned on the light in the room. Mulder was pacing the tiny room, running his hands through his hair, mentally trying to wipe out the images in his mind that he knew would be there until he died. With a jerk of his head, Williams signaled the others to leave. They quietly left the room, actually glad for an excuse to escape having to watch the misery being inflicted on Mulder. It was bad enough that they had to watch these tapes. They didn't want to imagine what it must be like to actually know one of the victims, to actually feel her pain. Williams, too, stepped outside to visit the water cooler, giving Mulder a few moments to collect himself. He came back with a cup of cool water. He extended it to Mulder. Fox understood the gesture and sat down after accepting the liquid. He drank it quickly and tried to restore his breathing to normal. "Where is he?" Mulder asked tersely. "He's been taken down to court for arraignment," Williams answered. "He should be back shortly." "I want to see him." "No," Williams answered wisely. "Not now. Not in the state you are in. You'd kill him with your bare hands." Williams sat down and faced Mulder, waiting for him to calm down. Mulder knew he was right. But it didn't make him feel any better. "Turn the tape back on." "Are you sure you want to see the rest of this?" "Yes. I have to know what he did to her." Williams didn't think this was a very good idea. However, he saw the look in Mulder's eye and knew he wouldn't be leaving until he had seen the whole tape. Det. Williams got up and shut the door, turned off the lights, and pushed the play button. The tape started again. He turned the sound off. He fast forwarded through the next few seconds until the beating was over and then resumed normal speed. He turned the sound back up. Dana was crying. It tore at Mulder's heart. He had only seen her cry two or three times. It was a source of pride to her that she held up under difficult circumstances. She let out huge sobs of pain and grief. Her body underwent small convulsions each time she took in a new breath to cry again. After a few moments, she lay still. They couldn't tell if she had calmed down or if her crying had finally put her to sleep. The blindfold covered crucial evidence of her state of being. Williams fast forwarded the tape. A flicker went across the screen and he stopped it and backed up. There was just a hint of a figure crossing over to the closet before the tape went black. Williams interjected, "Apparently he turns the camera off and on at different times. At first we thought he just wanted to save film, but then each time the picture came back on, we noticed the woman would be in worse shape than before. He doesn't want to be captured on tape." He was trying to prepare Mulder for what he might see next. The tape flickered to life again, and Mulder almost jumped out of his seat. In front of him was a close up of Scully's beaten face. Seigler had repositioned Scully so she was on her stomach, facing the camera, and he had applied the zoom lens. There was laughter in the background, and it wasn't Scully's. "Jeez!" Williams winced at what he saw, too. Matthew had removed the blindfold from Scully's face, and was holding her head up by a handful of her hair. They could see the tips of his fingers at the top of the shot. Scully's eyes were half closed, as if she were trying to leave her mind and body behind. Her face was much like Mulder had found her: eyes swollen, her lip split, a small trail of blood ran from her nose, and bruises abounded on her face. Fox dropped his head and covered his face with his hands. He couldn't stand it. He thought he was tough enough to sit through it. He wasn't. He felt nauseous. His stomach threatened to empty itself right here on the conference table. Mulder felt sicker than he had ever felt in his life. Mercifully, the tape turned to static. Williams stopped it and hit the eject button. "I guess he didn't have as much time with her as the other victims. The tape isn't full." At this point, Williams himself was grateful the tape had come to an end. "I'll be at my desk if you need me," he said quietly. Williams diplomatically left Mulder to himself, quietly shutting the door behind him, leaving the light off. Mulder didn't know how long he sat there. When he finally regained control of his stomach, he found that his sickness had been replaced with anger. Deep, intense, hateful, hurtful anger. He would kill this man. The idea didn't even start out as a wish, or a thought. It was a fact from the first moment he had found Dana in the corner of the dirty apartment. It pushed it's way to the forefront of his brain. Mulder allowed it to consume him and he contemplated scenarios of how he would kill this man. He already knew it would be a slow death. He would make Seigler feel every ounce of Scully's pain ten fold. He knew of slow, painful ways to die: broken kneecaps, or a well-placed bullet in the stomach, to name a few. He was going to implement every single one of them on Seigler. Another thought pushed forward to his brain. He wouldn't even get the chance. Seigler was behind bars and would most likely stay that way the rest of his life. Still, Mulder knew there were ways to kill prisoners while they were locked up. It just might take a little more time to get to him, that's all. Mulder finally collected himself enough to stand up and turn on the lights. He thought about taking Scully's tape with him. He didn't want anyone else to see her degradation, humiliation, and pain. Hell, he didn't even want to see it! Williams chose that moment to check back up on him, opening the door a crack. He had seen the light go on in the room, and knew it was time to return. Unfortunately, he still had to view the other tapes. Mulder turned away from the tapes and the machine. "Is Seigler back from his arraignment yet?" he inquired. "No," Williams lied. He was not going to let this man near the suspect at this point in time. He stared directly into Mulder's eyes, trying to gauge the competency, and connectedness of this man to reality at this moment. The reading was not good. Mulder nodded his head. "OK." He paused. "I'm going to go see my partner at the hospital and get her statement then." "I already sent a man out to do that before you arrived. He's come back already. He didn't get to talk to her, she's still groggy. I'll send him out again tomorrow. When it's typed up I'll send a copy over." He didn't really want to, but knew there would be no getting around it now. Mulder was out for blood, and it could be seen in his face. In a half-daze, Mulder nodded his head again. "Good. I'll just go over to the hospital then." Williams moved out of the doorway to let Mulder pass. Mulder shouldered his way past him, and then turned back. "I appreciate all you are doing in this case. I know that I'm not officially on it any more, but I would like any information you get concerning Seigler passed on to me." Williams nodded his head in agreement. "And thanks for all you help," Mulder added before turning and walking away. There goes one sorry s.o.b., Williams thought. He's not going to let this one go. He made a mental note to keep an eye on Mulder and make sure he stayed out of this case. He knew what hatred could do in situations like this. He'd seen it many times before in his career. Memorial Hospital Early Afternoon Mulder pulled a chair up to Scully's bed. She appeared to be sleeping. Her head was turned away from him, facing the window, and her eyes were closed. He had talked with Margaret Scully in the hallway for a few moments to check on her condition. Margaret, concern written all over her face, looked worn out. She was obviously fatigued from the last twenty four hours of alternating between tension, worry and careful tending to her daughter. Mulder convinced her to go home and take a break. He told her he would stay with Scully for the next few hours while Margaret changed, ate, and then came back to spend the night again with Scully. It was not hard to convince her to leave. Margaret knew that Mulder was Scully's best protection against anything that might come up. And she was exhausted and bone weary from sitting up all night and most of today already. As she left, Mulder called Skinner on his cell phone and updated him on the tape, Seigler's arraignment proceedings, though he didn't know the outcome yet, and that he was going to stay with Scully while her mother went home for a few hours to rest. He stole quietly into Scully's room and had pulled up a chair to be near her should she waken. He realized he was half afraid she would wake up. He was afraid to face her right now. Besides his anger at Seigler, Mulder was consumed with guilt. It had been his fault he wasn't there to catch Seigler the moment he had chloroformed Scully and prevent all this from happening. He had blurted out his true feelings to Skinner yesterday in his office. He didn't know if Scully would ever trust him again. He was sure when she found out why all this had happened to her, she would hate him. He wouldn't be surprised if she asked to be transferred from the X-files to another division to get away from him. The other half of him silently begged her to wake up. He needed to hear her voice, to reassure himself that she would indeed be all right after this horrible affair. He needed to see her eyes light up, and to hear the lilt in her voice as she once more chided him for some childish activity he was indulging in. He needed her to be herself. He studied the tubes and bags of liquid suspended above her. He looked at the IV that was inserted in the back of her hand. Slowly his eyes wandered to where he had avoided looking. They went up her bruised and discolored arm and made their way to her face, or what little he could see from the side. As he looked at her jaw, his mind flashed back to the image of Seigler's fist hitting her face. Anger began to rise up in him again. Mentally, he allowed thoughts to abound in his brain cells concerning the severe cruelty he would inflict on Matthew Seigler. He then saw Scully's fingers twitch on the sheets. He briefly wondered if he had somehow awakened her with his thoughts. Slowly, Scully turned her head to face him. She didn't smile at him. Mulder wasn't sure she could smile given the condition of her face. Her eyes lighted on his, sleep was slowly leaving her, and recognition registered. She had been expecting her mother. "Hello," she croaked out, her voice dry and raspy. She blinked slowly. Mulder reached for a cup on her nearby tray/table and poured some water from a plastic jug. He held it out for her. She attempted to raise her arm, it was too much for her. Mulder saw it come up less than an inch before she gave up. She stared at him, not really comprehending. He stood up and gently placed one hand under her neck to raise her head up a little. He held the cup to her mouth and slowly tipped it as she drank. She drained the small cup. He removed his hand and sat back down. She managed to get "Thanks," out and then closed her eyes. "More?" he asked quietly. Her head moved slowly from side to side, indicating no. She opened her eyes back up and focused on his face. She wanted to say something to him, but just didn't have the strength. A nurse came in to check on Scully's new visitor. "I'm sorry, Miss Scully is not up to receiving visitors," she said politely, but firmly. He would have to leave. "I'm her partner," Mulder produced his FBI badge. "I'm just sitting with her until her mother returns." He tried to be polite in return and give a suitable answer that would placate the nurse. But irregardless, he was not moving from this chair. The nurse saw the look of determination in his eyes and mentally checked herself against further discussion about the matter. She busied herself with checking the IV, the bags of fluids and writing things on Scully's chart. "Is she OK?" Mulder asked quietly, as if Scully weren't in the room and couldn't hear him. "Her responses seem to be very slow or negligible." "Sir," the nurse patiently explained, "she is on a powerful muscle relaxer to keep her from moving. She is probably pretty groggy from the sedatives she's been given, too. We want to keep her as still and quiet as possible for a while. Too much moving around aggravates the contusions, and swelling, and ultimately causes her more pain. I would imagine she is quite woozy," she concluded. Turning around smartly, she left the room with no further comment. Mulder turned back to look at Scully. At least he knew it was drugs that was causing her lack of response, and not some neurological damage from the beatings about her head. He smiled reassuringly back at her for lack of anything to say. Scully promptly shut her eyes and fell back asleep. ---xxxxx---- When Margaret returned, she found Mulder asleep in the chair, his head fallen to one side. However, Dana was awake, and staring at Mulder. In the dim light of the room Margaret wasn't sure if her eyes were focused, or if she was just staring. A tray of food rested on Scully's table nearby. It hadn't been touched. Margaret gently touched Mulder's shoulder and called his name. "Fox. Fox, wake up." Mulder's head snapped up, and with it came a deep groan from Mulder. He raised a hand to massage the back of his neck as he straightened in his chair. He was embarrassed to have been found asleep when he was supposed to be watching Dana. He had watched her for hours and she hadn't moved except for the even rising and falling of her chest as she breathed normally. "I'm sorry," he said, standing up. "I must have dozed off." "It's OK." Margaret smiled. "It can be pretty boring up here with no one to talk to." She turned her attention to Dana. "How are you sweetie?" she asked as she touched Dana's forehead and gently moved some strands of hair from her face. Dana gave a tiny smile to her mom. "I'm much better," she whispered. And she meant it. She had been awake for some time now, the drugs having run their course and dissipated gradually, leaving her with full cognizance of her surroundings. She had spent the last hour contemplating many things, especially the last two days, and her future. She had also spent a great deal of time watching Mulder sleep. She knew how difficult it was for him to ever rest peacefully. She didn't want to wake him. Besides, she knew if she did, she would have to talk to him. He would want to know how she was, if he could do anything for her. But most of all, he would want to know what happened to her. She just didn't want to discuss it. It was too new, too fresh in her mind. Even just thinking about it brought tears to Scully's eyes. She hadn't dealt with it herself, how could she explain it to her partner? "Are you hungry?" Margaret continued mothering Scully. "There is some jello, a piece of chicken, mashed potatoes and peas up here on the tray." "No," Scully lied. She was hungry, but she didn't want to be fed by anyone, and she knew she didn't have enough strength to feed herself yet. "Maybe just some more water for my throat, please." Margaret busied herself with getting Dana a cup of water and helping her get it down. Mulder stood back against the wall, out of the way, just observing the easy give and take between Mrs. Scully and her daughter. He wished he had the same rapport with Scully. But Scully would never let him help her. She was too proud. "I'm going to get some ice for the water jug," Maggie announced and left the room with the jug in her hand. Mulder moved back over to Scully's bedside. He stared down at her. Scully couldn't take the scrutiny. She turned away from him. While she had been awake staring at him sleeping, memories of how he had found her had flooded back. She was embarrassed for him to have seen her broken like that. He will probably ask for me to be reassigned, out of the X-files, she had thought. He'll always wonder if I am going to crack under pressure in the future. He probably feels like he can't trust my work now. These thoughts plus others had plagued her from the moment her mind had been clear. Mulder placed a hand over hers on the sheet to get her attention as he spoke. "I'm so glad we found you in time." Scully turned back towards his voice. Mulder needed to confess his guilt, to apologize for what had happened to her. "Scully, I am so sorry this happened to you. I am sorry I let you down. I'd understand if you want to be transferred to another division. I don't want you to go, but I'd understand your decision." Scully was trying to analyze his words. She was confused. What was he saying? When Scully didn't speak, Mulder continued. "We caught the guy, Scully," he said trying to bolster her spirits. It worked. Scully's eye's widened and then filled with tears. But they didn't spill over. "His name is Matthew Seigler, and he's behind bars right now, and I'll tell you all about him when you are home and feeling better. I just wanted you to know," Mulder leaned in very close to her before finishing his sentence. He wanted her to really know and to feel his conviction about this next part. He continued, his eyes locked on hers as he watched the tears finally spill over the sides of her grotesquely swollen face, "that you will never," and he emphasized the word, "never, have to fear him again, because I am going to kill him." Tears flowed freely from Dana's eyes as Mulder's words sunk in. Deep within her heart, she, too, wanted Matthew dead. She would never have told anyone. The fear she felt every time memories came to her threatened to overwhelm her. Secretly she was glad for Mulder's words. Mulder placed a thumb at the corner of one eye and brushed her tears away, and then did the same with the other side, being careful not to press on her bruises. He heard the door almost silently swish open behind him and knew Margaret was back. Fox leaned forward and kissed Scully lightly on her forehead, about the only place that wasn't bruised. "I'm going to leave you in your mother's capable hands now. Get some rest, and I'll be back in the morning." He turned to face Margaret, nodded his head in her direction as she smiled gently at him, and said, "I'll see you in the morning. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." "Good night," she called to him as he walked out the door. FBI Building Wednesday April 21 7:00am Fox got to his office early the next morning. The first thing he did was call Det. Williams to find out about Seigler. He leaned back comfortably in his chair as the number was ringing. "Det. Williams," he answered crisply into the phone when it rang. "Det. Williams, this is Fox Mulder. I was wondering if you could tell me the status of Seigler, how his arraignment went yesterday." Williams had been dreading this call. Ever since he found out Seigler was being let out on bail this morning he had been trying to figure out how to break the news to Mulder. Obviously, he hadn't seen the paper this morning; it was front page news. He cleared his throat. "Ah, Agent Mulder. I was just going to call you. I'm afraid I have a bit of bad news." Mulder, alarmed by Williams' words and tone of voice, sat up straight in his chair. "What's happened?" Williams didn't mince words, and he didn't pussyfoot around. He knew Mulder would just want it straight. "Well, I think you know how much money he has. He's hired the best defense attorney in town, that would be Charles Crowley, and he argued successfully before the judge that not only was all the evidence circumstantial at this time, but that Seigler has no record, not even a parking ticket. He told the judge that because Seigler was well known, he wouldn't be able to leave town very easily, and in fact, that Seigler would definitely stay around because of his business concerns and the fact that he wanted to clear his name of this business. "The judge couldn't argue with any of those facts, but he did set the bail at 1 million. However, for Seigler, that is a drop in the bucket since only 10% is actually required for bail." Mulder felt his blood pressure rising. This couldn't be happening. He had promised Scully she would have nothing to fear. He had promised her that Seigler was behind bars and was going to stay there. Williams continued to give all the information he knew. "Crowley will be back here as soon as the banks open this morning with the bail money to get Seigler out. Haven't you seen the paper this morning? It's all there." Mulder was so stunned he couldn't respond. He had brought the paper with him from home, but hadn't opened it yet. He did so while still on the phone. He slipped the rubber band off and let the pages fall open to the front page. There is was, big as life, the headlines screamed "Business CEO, Seigler, Arrested for Serial Murders". "Agent Mulder?" Williams wanted to know if he was still there. "Yes, I'm here," Mulder finally answered. "I just got the paper. I'll call you back. Thanks." Mulder unceremoniously hung up on Williams. He scanned the story quickly for the highlights, then went back and read it more slowly, digesting everything it had to say. It was just as Williams had said, almost word for word. He couldn't believe it. In less than two hours, Seigler would be back on the street, and Scully wasn't even home yet. Sometimes the ways of justice were lost on Mulder. One thing about the X-files, the suspects almost never went to court, much less got bail! Mulder wasn't used to being betrayed quite this quickly. His head shot up from the newspaper as a thought pierced his brain. He had to get to the hospital before Scully or her mother read the paper or heard the news on the TV. He was out the door in flash.