UNTITLED PART II

The trees swept by as the dark, non-descript car drove on towards Washington, DC. Scully drifted in and out of sleep and thought. Although she knew that the work was dangerous, she couldn’t still the stirrings of excitement she felt. The only thing that quelled them was the thought of Mulder and what had happened to him. She wondered how she was supposed to tell her son that his father had been murdered in cold blood. Scully still didn’t know all the details, but she knew enough of these people to understand that it had all been made to look like senseless, random violence. But she knew. Skinner knew. It had been them. The Syndicate, the Consortium, whatever they were called, they had killed him. And she wouldn’t ever forget that.

The day had grown dark and forbidding. Steely-grey clouds streaked the overcast sky. “How far are we from the office, Frohike?”

“Only about twenty minutes or so.”

“Okay.” She looked up at the sky again, and blinked as a zigzag of lightning sliced the dark apart. Twenty minutes and her new life would begin. They had been driving for well over four hours now, and she longed to stretch her limbs. She would have the opportunity soon enough, however.

The J. Edgar Hoover building looked much the same as she remembered it. Frohike handed her a pass and clipped one onto his own front pocket. They passed through the metal detectors at the front entrance and walked down the hall to the elevators. Scully looked all around her. There were many familiar faces, but also some new. Several people stopped to offer her their condolences and to say hello, with the unspoken questions in their eyes and hovering on their lips. She accepted it all quietly and allowed herself to feel nothing as they spoke. The exchanges took several minutes, but they finally arrived at Skinner’s office. His secretary had left for the day, and Skinner himself was the one standing in the doorway to greet them.

“Scully. Welcome back.” He gave her a brief hug, and closed the door. The three of them sat down in the office.

“Thank you.”

“Now. Where should we begin...ah, yes, here we are...” He reached inside his desk drawer and pulled out several items. Among them was Scully’s service revolver, her badge, and assorted documents, credit cards, and other things any agent would need in the field. She was to re-enter the FBI as a special agent in the newest section dealing with spies and espionage. How ironic, she thought. I’m going to be hunting for the very people I’ll be working with... It was a strange thought. Her mission was to help these people, or at least the ones who were on Mulder’s side, and assist them with evading capture so that Mulder’s plans were easily carried out. It was a dangerous job. The sentences for treason were harsh, even in the U.S., so she knew that caution was of the utmost importance. Skinner had briefed her on her new official duties and her off-the-record duties as well. There would be times when she would have to be the one sneaking in and out of federal buildings, herself, but for the most part, she’d only be relaying messages and gathering or providing information. No one would know she was using all of them to over-throw the Syndicate’s rotten plans for their world. They went over everything in detail, until there was only one more thing to discuss.

“Skinner...am I to be assigned a partner?”

“I’m trying to avoid that at all costs, because of the sensitivity of your situation, but it’s a real possibility. There are already several agents in this section who have requested partners with your capabilities. I’m only telling you this to prepare you. And, unfortunately, we may have to go along with this to avoid suspicions and the like.”

She sighed quietly and nodded. She just hoped that there was no partner to deal with. “Skinner, there are several things that I want to know, still. It’s hard for me to even ask, but I want to know the details of Mulder’s death.”

“Scully...are you sure you want to know? It was a very hard case just for me to go over. Because he was one of my own agents, the only thing I was allowed to do was see the file. I can’t imagine the pain it will cause you. I think you should wait a little longer.”

“Skinner, the worst pain I have ever felt in my life has already been dealt to me. There is nothing worse than that, unless it would be, God forbid, losing William. I truly want to know how my husband died.”

Skinner closed his eyes for a second. Then, slowly, he began to speak.

“According to autopsy reports, Mulder died on September 23rd. The exact time is unknown, but we believe it to be close around 11:30 that night. He was on his way back to your old apartment. He had been doing some on-the-side reconnaissance work after leaving his office around 6 PM. According to what he told me before he left, he had received some exciting information from one of his sources and only the Lone Gunmen and I knew where he was going - back into the depths of the Pentagon. The Gunmen were going to get him back in there, but something didn’t go quite right and Mulder had to get the hell out of there. He did, and he only just made it. He had a bullet graze on his side, just above the left hip, but otherwise, he was fine when I last spoke to him. That’s what fucked up my head so bad when we couldn’t find him,” he mumbled. He stopped and rubbed his temples. “By that time, it was only around 10 PM. Somewhere between 10 PM and 1 AM, Mulder had disappeared without a trace. No one knew where he was. It wasn’t completely unusual, so I wasn’t too worried. You know how he always did that. But after 12, I started to wonder a little bit. He usually took off without saying anything, but he always called sometime after he left to fill me in on everything. No call came. I finally went to the apartment to check everything out. I passed the dumpsters and there was such a...a stench, that my eyes watered. I didn’t know what was causing the smell, but something wasn't quite right, so I wrapped a handkerchief around my nose and looked inside.” He looked up and saw how white she had become. “Scully...maybe I shouldn’t tell you any more...”

“No,” she whispered. “I want to know how they killed my husband.” She gripped the handles of her chair, knuckles turning white, leaned forward, and spoke through clenched teeth. “Tell me.”

Skinner sighed deeply. He was trying to be detached and accurate, as he knew she wanted him to be, but he was just too close to this case. Mulder had been like Skinner’s own child, just as Scully seemed, and it churned up so many emotions to tell this terrible story. He glanced up to see Frohike, his face troubled and saddened as he listened, the tear tracks on his cheeks clearly visible. “I looked inside, and there he was.” His voice broke and wavered, but he took a deep breath and continued with strength. “Those bastards made it look like a random shooting, but I knew. I called out the police and the bureau people, and ordered an immediate autopsy be performed, as soon as he was declared dead. It was just as I thought. There was some chemical on the body to make it seem as if he had died a long time ago, advanced decomposition...and that was what caused the stench. After he was thought to be dead, whoever it was shot him several times to complete the scene. The toxicology, however, reports that there was a poisonous substance present in the blood...and the autopsy shows an injection sight...the chemical they poured on him didn’t get all over his body. These people knew what they were doing, Scully. They weren’t messing around. The warning signs that this was not simple robbery are that his wallet was still on him, complete with cash, credit cards, and ID. His wedding ring was still on...nothing had been taken. The poison indicates that the murderer acted with knowledge, both of Mulder, as well as of his work, and Mulder’s short disappearance completes the picture. All this paired with what we already know about the Syndicate, as well as the suggestions we’ve been given through various sources, tells me that Mulder was on to something huge. He got way too close.”

Scully closed her eyes to compose herself and gather her thoughts. “But I thought that they were scared to kill him...”

“They were, but they almost killed him once before. The smoking-man has no fear except of his secrets being discovered. One man’s religion can become another man’s crusade. Mulder is that man, his work is that religion, and that rotten smoking bastard now has a crusade on his hands.” Skinner looked up from his clenched fists. “Agent Scully, it is now our duty to Mulder and his memory to make sure this man is brought to his knees. Along with anyone who works for him.”

Scully set her jaw and nodded. The burning, raging fire that used to urge her on to finding the truth was back. She had new purpose to fight: she wanted to do her best for Mulder, to make him proud, and to avenge his death.


*****************
One Week Later
*****************

She awoke to her alarm clock radio blasting in her ear. She smacked the off button and climbed out of bed. She went through her old morning routine - shower, brush teeth, get dressed, put on make-up, fix her hair, and leave her apartment. She even stopped for coffee on the way to work, almost ordering the second one that she always had. It was so much like old times that she felt a stab of grief as she remembered that it would never be that way again.

Scully finally arrived at the huge building where it had all started. She began walking up the steps, when she glanced at her watch. Seeing that she was fairly early, she stopped, turned around, and walked to the reflecting pool that she and Mulder had shared several moments by. She sat on their bench and closed her eyes, allowing herself to be absorbed by her memories...

“Is this seat taken?”

She looked up and what she saw made her gasp slightly.

“Mulder...?!”

He sat on the park bench next to her, taking her hands in his. “Scully...I know you’re nervous and that this is going to be a hard day for you, but I promise that it’ll get easier.”

“Oh, Mulder...I never thought I’d have to do this without you...” Tears sprang into her eyes and she fought to keep them under control. He smiled gently and brushed the ones that escaped off of her cheeks.

“Be strong, Scully. I told you I’d be here, watching out for you. I won’t leave you until it’s time for me to go...”

“When will that be?” A note of fear and slight panic came into her voice.

“When you and William are safe and when the work is finished. Then it will be time.”

She relaxed slightly. “Will you tell me when?”

“Of course. I could never keep anything from you, even if it meant eternal damnation.” He smiled at her.

“Mulder, I miss you so much...we hardly got to see each other these last two years...but I never felt that I was without your love.”

“I missed you, too. But now we have a little while to make up for that lost time." He drew her close to him, and closed his mouth down on hers.


He faded from her grasp as she slowly came back to reality. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sunny, but chilly day. She looked at her watch and was relieved to see that she still had some time left before she was to report to Skinner’s office. She began to walk, strengthened by Mulder’s presence, even though she thought she must have been dreaming. He was right, she didn’t believe in those things. But if that was the way she got to be with him, however short the time, then she would do her best to believe.



End, Part II