Gossamer | Story: "Generations 27: Naked Moment (2/3)" by Evenstar, Eowyn & MacspookyThe Gossamer Project Author - Title - Date - Spoilers - Crossovers - X-Files - Adventures - Stories - Vignettes Other stories by: Macspooky - Evenstar, Eowyn Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 09:34:24 -0700 From: eowyn7@ix.netcom.com (Gail Moore) Subject: The Naked Moment By Macspooky and Eowyn The Naked Moment Chapter Four "First Victory, New Game" By Macspooky and Eowyn At four am Tuesday morning Fox Mulder received a wake up call. Three and a half hours later he was sitting in the AD's outer office waiting for Skinner to arrive. Angela came in at seven thirty followed by Walter Skinner ten minutes later. He started to smile in welcome at his son-in-law but at the look on Mulder's face he stopped. Mulder was cold and angry. "May I have a word with you, Sir." "Of course, Agent Mulder." He turned to Angela, "Please hold my calls." He opened the door to his office and motioned for Mulder to proceed him in. Taking off his overcoat and putting down his briefcase he took time to examine his agent. Mulder was obviously furious and trying hard to control. He had circles under his eyes and a tautness to his body. After hanging up his coat the AD came to lean against the front edge of his desk. Tense and waiting, wondering if he was about to be bawled out. Theoretically of course a mere agent couldn't bawl out the AD but that had never stopped Fox before and he doubted that it would stop him now. He waited for the man before him to speak. "I don't know what the hell kind of game has been going on over the last couple of weeks but the stakes just went up last night. The Binford Research facility now has one researcher dead and Agent Smithson is in the hospital in critical condition. Agent Bothrington called me at four this morning to inform me. It seems that Smithson and a researcher named Reading were tieing up some loose ends last night, there hadn't been anymore incidences in over a week and a half and they thought that whatever the problem was had passed. Both and Smithson were hoping to move on to another case today or tomorrow. Both got worried when he hadn't heard from his partner by eight last night. He started looking for him and when he couldn't find him he set off the alarm. They started searching the facility and the area around it. Reading had played Russian roulette with Smithson's gun in his office. Course he apparently had it backwards, instead of one bullet and six empty chambers he had one empty chamber and five bullets. There was no sign of Agent Smithson in the building but his Bureau car was in the parking lot so they started combing the surrounding area. They found him near frozen to death in a snow bank an hour later. This freak early Spring snow storm nearly killed him. He's in critical now but they think he'll survive, they doubt that all of his toes will." Fox Mulder's voice had remained cold and unemotional throughout the rendition of the facts. He'd paced back and forth in front of his boss not looking at him. Now he turned on him. "I don't know what kind of game you've been playing, Skinner, but this is it. It has to stop. I might have been able to do something to stop this, we'll never know now, but I want this case. It's an X-file and despite the fact that I'm on temporary reassignment I am the head of the X-file division. Do you want any more lives on your conscience?" He stopped directly in front of his boss and stood there facing him, glaring. Skinner stood before Mulder trying to assimilate all that he'd been told. Finally meeting Mulder's eyes he nodded making a decision. "I have to meet with some individuals about this situation. Please make arrangements for two seats on an early afternoon flight to Logan." "I don't want a GD partner." Mulder's voice was loud and tense. "You're not going without backup, Mulder." "And who do you propose to send that I can trust?" "I'm going. I suppose you do think you can trust me?" Mulder stopped dead in his tracks a smile briefly crossing his face for the first time that day. "I'd love to see their faces when you tell them that." "Comedy ain't pretty," was Skinner's only comment. Fox Mulder nodded and left. Thinking, Skinner watched him go thinking that his leaving town was not going to please his wife. He was going to have to do something about the X-files, something to get more backup that could be trusted and that Mulder could live with for the future, because his own domestic experience was showing him that it wasn't going to be so easy for Scully to pick up and follow her partner to kingdom come at will and at Mulder's whim. Walter Skinner barely made the plane. He'd had to run at the airport and they were just shutting the door when he arrived. The stewardess gave him a nasty look as she tried to find room for his carryon and hanging bag. Meg had been a life saver packing for him and bringing his bag to the office. He was sad that he hadn't gotten to see her but he'd been fighting in meetings most of the morning. He promised himself he would call her later and tell her how much he loved her. Sometimes, he now remembered, he had forgotten with Annie. Maybe send her some flowers. She hadn't been happy when he told her about the out of town trip but seemed to understand and share his fear for Fox's safety, so she didn't protest his decision. He knew she loved Fox as much as one of her own children. The meeting that morning had gotten nasty, down right dirty and he'd almost punched Mr. Slime in the face but in the end he'd won. He owed Fox Mulder for that victory. If his behavior had been anything less than exemplary over the last two weeks they would have either insisted on another test or taken the X- files. But Mulder had followed the rules to the letter. Cancerman, he knew, had had Mulder watched closely and probably had had both their offices bugged but that was fine by him because that way they had proof that he had not in any way tipped the agent off. When Slime had insinuated that Skinner had, Walter had stood up ready to belt him. They stood nose to nose and Jones of all people had intervened pushing Slime down into his chair and telling him to be quiet. The look Cancerman had then given him had been hard to read. His words were a surprise. "If Assistant Director Skinner says he didn't inform Agent Mulder of this test then he didn't." He nodded at Skinner. "It seems we have underestimated your ability to control Mulder." Had he been able to read Cancerman's mind he would have been even more surprised. The smoking man was worried about the new and improved Fox Mulder. Loose canons have a certain reputation and can be counted on to act in a particular manor. Mulder had found a new respect for authority-- at least Walter Skinner's authority and that meant that he wouldn't be as easy to send off on wild goose chases anymore, and his reputation wouldn't be damaged by erratic behavior. This turn of events did not bode well at all. Bill's son, on his own, had been bad enough but with Skinner guiding, backing and protecting him he had become a formidable opponent. The boy had gotten the old bastards smarts but not his meanness, that was a dangerous combination. The old SOB had used money and brains to inspire loyalty... those type of individuals always had a price. The type of loyalty inspired by Skinner and now Mulder couldn't be bought off. Much harder to deal with. And this damn bond between them appeared to be unassailable. Walter had replied, "Good. The test is now over, I maintain direct supervision of the X- files and I'm assigning Mulder the case." Slime hadn't given up yet. "Why end the test now? If you want to prove that Mulder will follow your orders then keep him here and send someone else. He's not so special that someone else couldn't do just as well." For the second time that day Skinner wanted to hit the man. He tightened his fist up in a ball, moving right up into the man's face and replied, "That's bullshit and just shows your ignorance. I suggest the next time before you make such a patently uninformed statement that you research the history of the X-file cases. For your information Mulder is special. Before he assumed responsibility for the X-files these cases had a ten to fifteen percent solve rate. After he took them over the rate was well over fifty percent, and the addition of Agent Scully raised that rate to nearly seventy percent. All of that in itself is remarkable but merely by investigating a case even if they don't solve it the deaths involved stop over ninety percent of the time. "Well this isn't a game. One man is dead and an agent is in critical condition, I do not want anymore deaths on my conscience." He turned to look at each of the men around the table, "Do you? Agent Mulder is the best agent for the job. And I'm giving him the case." "Very well, Walter." His boss had conceded. "You've made your point. Unless the situation changes significantly you maintain the X-files under your direct supervision. Do you propose to send someone with Mulder?" Skinner wasn't happy with the 'situation changes' caveat but he'd have to live with it knowing that it was the best he could do. This next part was going to be tricky. "I'm accompanying Agent Mulder to Boston." "Is that really necessary? This case hardly merits the AD's attention." "This stupid test has resulted in one man's death and another's probable permanent disability. Agent Smithson will most likely not be able to return to work as a field agent. My failure to allow Agent Mulder to investigate this case may be in part responsible. I intend to give it my personal attention." They had argued with him over this for over half an hour but in the end he'd pointed out that he was well ahead on his paperwork and that it was his decision so they could just f**k themselves. He'd been a little more polite than that in the phrasing but not much. He was not in a good mood when he'd gotten out of the meeting and it had gotten even worse when he found that Meg and little Fox had already come and gone. She hadn't been able to wait because of a lunch date with Melissa. Things in that camp apparently weren't in the best of shape but Meg hadn't told him what was wrong with her older daughter. That was something that could definitely wait till later. He and Melissa were functioning in a truce state but any interference on his part into her private life would definitely open up the war again. She was Meg's daughter and he really wanted to like her but she was just so self centered and self absorbed that he could barely stand her. It amazed him how Dana could be so warm, open and caring in her own way, and Melissa be the opposite. Funny on first meeting them one would get the exact opposite impression. Dana came across as cold, rational and unfeeling, 'ice queen'; while Melissa appeared to be warm, open and caring. It was only upon closer acquaintance that the truth would be revealed. He knew from observation and some comments that Melissa had at one time been very interested in Fox Mulder. He also believed that the fact that Mulder wouldn't give her the time of day still rankled her ego. Fox had made a wise choice in the woman he had married, Dana loved and accepted him for who he was, Melissa would have tried to make him into what she wanted. He sighed... it really wasn't fair getting irritated at Melissa because he hadn't gotten to see Meg. Slipping into the aisle seat beside Fox Mulder he fastened his seat belt and sat back wishing that the government could spring for first class seats every now and then. Fortunately the shuttle up to Boston wasn't too long a flight. Staring straight ahead he said to Mulder, "Going to leave without me?" "You had my cellular number if you wanted me to wait you could have called. I kept it on until I boarded the plane ten minutes ago." From Mulder's tone of voice and attitude Walter could tell that he was still angry, most likely at him. Trouble was he really couldn't blame him. "So any ideas?" Walter asked trying to make peace. "A few." Mulder went back to reading the sheets of paper in front of him. Walter sighed stretching out his long legs into the aisle. Once the plane was airborne he leaned his seat back and tried to relax. Maybe even catch up on some of his lost sleep. He thought about telling Mulder what was going on but decided to wait until this case was over. His son-in-law was bound to blow a gasket about the test and he didn't want his anger distracting him from solving this case. They didn't need anymore deaths on their hands. Surprisingly, Walter Skinner drifted off into sleep. A few minutes later as the stewardesses made their rounds Fox turned and realized that Walter was asleep. He relaxed a little and smiled at his boss. The poor guy was dead on his feet. Fox didn't know what had been going on but sensed that the worst must be over. Walter was able to sleep, he was accompanying him on a case, and if gossip was to be believed he had been shouting in the conference room this morning. Skinner might be tired but his whole attitude indicated that he'd won whatever battle he'd faced. Fox ordered an iced tea and went back to making notes. This case had him puzzled. Other than all the victims having been in the same building at the time of their temporary 'insanity' they had nothing in common. If someone was drugging them the pattern seemed to be random, if it was something in the air, why hadn't it effected more people, same was true for the food and water at the sight. Also the entire building had been checked out now twice for any sign of environmental toxins. Fox took a deep breath and wrote down every wacky theory he could think of. Maybe one would lead him on the right track. As the plane was coming in for a landing Fox leaned over and shook his boss. "Come on, Dad, time to put your seat up." Walter came slowly awake, for once wishing that the flight was longer, he could have used the extra sleep. Still he felt better than he had for quite awhile, especially since Fox had apparently gotten over his anger. He sat up and turned smiling towards Mulder. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be such boring company. We should have been going over the case, I haven't had time to review it." "That's alright, you needed the rest. At this time of day the drive out to the Institute will probably take an hour and a half to two hours. I'll drive and you can either catch some more sleep or review the case. Agent Bothrington was supposed to have arranged for someone to meet us at the gate and give us a Bureau car. We're to head straight out to the Institute, by the time we get there he should be done with the initial interviews. As you can imagine the death last night has really shaken them up so he didn't expect to make much head way this morning. Also since I called and told him that I and my temporary partner would be coming the field office decided not to assign him any help." At Skinner's raised eyebrow, this was not normal procedure, Mulder shrugged and continued. "Hey that's just what he told me, it wasn't my idea." No one met them at the gate and no messages had been left. Mulder called Bothrington who said that he'd requested the car and someone to drop it off from the local office. The arrival times he had were right so that wasn't the problem. Both gave him the number and name of who to contact in the local office. Mulder had called the local office and sat on hold as he watched the Assistant Director getting angrier by the minute. Fox smiled to himself thinking that Walter had been out of the field too long. When he finally got a live person he held the phone so that Walter could hear the conversation as well. What he heard didn't make him too happy. "Mulder, yeah. Sorry 'bout that but no one was available to bring a car out. Guess you'll just have to come by the office and pick one up." "Someone might have called to inform us of that fact." "Yeah, sorry. I'm sure someone meant to but you know how it is..." "The trip down into town will add over an hour on to the commute, we'll just rent a car here." "No way will the ASAC authorize that. Those pencil dicks in DC are always screaming cost overruns at us. You'll just have to add the hour." Mulder was about to tell the jerk on the other end of the phone what he could do with budget overruns when Walter grasped his wrist and shook his head no. Quietly he said, "We'll take a cab to the office." Fox looked at him puzzled but decided not to argue. He told the guy that they would be there in forty five minutes and that they better have the car ready. After he hung up he turned to Skinner to ask why but before he could form the question Walter replied. "I'd like to get a look at this office. I'm not too sure I like how they operate." Mulder nodded and said nothing. The AD was used to royal treatment when he went anywhere if the standard of performance maintained this level there were some butts that were going to be kicked soon. He grinned at the thought, as long as the action wasn't directed at him Skinner was fun to watch. They arrived at Government Center about fifty minutes later, flashing their badges in order to enter the building with their guns. Fox noticed that the AD kept his hand over his name and title and wondered what he was up to. He soon found out. The ASAC was out of town so they went to introduce themselves to his assistant. Walter motioned for him to take the lead. "Agent Cross, I'm Fox Mulder and this is..." Skinner interrupted before Fox could continue. "I'm Agent Walter." Mulder's head turned swiftly towards his boss, a question in his eyes, his mouth falling open. Skinner's sharp look told him to hold his tongue and be careful. After the introduction was over Walter again let him take the lead. Deciding to protest their treatment thus far Mulder started the conversation. "We expected to be met at the airport. This will delay our arrival at the institute till after working hours today." "We didn't have anyone available to bring the car out and I like to at least meet any Special Agent who is going to work out of this office. You know develop an understanding. Staying within budget is very important here I wanted to reinforce that fact. A slight delay shouldn't hurt your investigation." "The serious nature of this case..." Mulder was interrupted before he could continue. "Hardly serious." "There's one man dead and an agent in the hospital..." "A suicide, while tragic, hardly constitutes a Federal case, and Smithson was a burnout who finally just broke." Walter interrupted for the first time. "If Smithson was a burn out why wasn't he either reassigned to office duty or off on medical leave?" Cross shrugged, "You know how it is. If you want to come in at budget you've got to have everybody working. He'd only got another six months to get his thirty in and we wanted to use him till then. Heck, the guy didn't want to retire. Refused last year's buyout offer. We figured he'd make it, guess we figured wrong." Skinner looked grim but said no more. Phil Cross didn't care what the two men in front of him thought. One was Spooky Mulder and the other older man must be biding time till his retirement to be assigned to help Mulder on this made up case. Well, he'd had 'em in, laid down the law and shown them who was boss, time to get rid of them. "I'm sure your car will be ready now." He stood up his message clear. Before Mulder could ask the AD what he was up to Skinner shook his head no to indicate for him to wait til they were alone. The sight that met them at the car pool was not a pretty one. At least ten years old, the car they were shown ran rough, it stalled every couple of minutes. Mulder wasn't happy and was about to protest when Skinner, who had reached his limit, interrupted. "That's it, Mulder. We're going to go rent a car." The man in charge of the auto pool spoke, "The ASAC won't approve that expense." Walter's comment was pithy and to the point, "Screw the ASAC. Come on, Mulder." When they were out of earshot Fox asked, "When?" "As soon as this case is over. Is this the kind of treatment you normally get?" Walter asked as he hailed a cab. Mulder shrugged, "Sometimes. It's normally not quiet this bad though. And I've never been issued a car in that shape." "I don't think they were singling us out. Did you get a look at the cars in that lot. None of them looked to be in any better shape." A cab pulled up and they stuffed their luggage into the trunk. Getting in Fox asked the question that was bugging him. "What was up back there, Walter?" Telling the cabby to take them to the nearest rental car lot Skinner leaned back and explained. "I really didn't want to bring attention to the fact that the AD has gone out in the field to work on a case. Plus after the treatment we received at the airport I was interested to see how the local office was run. I doubt I'd get a true picture if they knew who I was. This office has come in under budget every year for the last three years and while most offices have had at least a ten percent increase in annual expenditures this one has remained constant but since that time agent turnover has gone up by fifty percent and agent complaints have almost doubled. Their solve rate has also dropped slightly. The ASAC is pushing for a promotion to DC and I have the final decision. Needless to say I'm curious as to how the office is run." Mulder looked at Skinner and raised his eyebrow. Judging by the AD's expression that promotion was dead in the water and if things continued in the direction they were going he might not have his job when he got back. Mulder was glad that it wasn't him in hot water this time. Skinner looked like he could chew the guy's ass out until his belly button caved in from lack of support. Thinking about it Skinner hadn't even been this mad at him when he ran off to Puerto Rico. "Sorry we're late. The acting ASAC wanted to warn us to keep expenditures down." Mulder shook Dwayne Bothrington's hand. "This is my partner for this case Agent Walter." "Pleasure to meet you, Agent Bothrington." Walter Skinner said. Thinking that if Fox didn't quit making those faces every time he introduced him he was going to give the game away. "Just call me Both. Nice to meet you Agent Walter. I guess I should have warned you about Cost Cutting Thomas and his sidekick Cheap Cross." "How long has this been going on?" Skinner asked. "Since Thomas took over as ASAC over three years ago. He's on the fast track to Washington and since he can't make it on case solving ability or agent supervision he's determined to make it by budget cutting the office back to the fifties." "He mentioned that Agent Smithson was a burn out case but they still kept him working because they didn't want to lose his productivity." "Well I wouldn't go so far as to call Smithson a burnout. More like he can't really adapt well to all the changes in the Bureau. He's a good ole boy, pure and simple and Blacks and women make him uncomfortable. Actually I feel kinda sorry for him the whole worlds changed and left him behind. He doesn't fit anymore and that's a hell of a place to be. He is however a damned good investigator and what happened here has nothing to do with his stress... there is some weird stuff going down out here Mulder and I'm sure as hell glad that your hard assed boss finally assigned you this case." Mulder grinned and shot Walter a smirk. "Yeah he eventually came round... just took awhile to get through that hard head of his." The AD shot Mulder one of his watch it glances but it had little effect. He realized that Mulder was determined to make the most of the situation. "Have you eaten?" Both asked. "No, we came straight here after renting a car." "Shit, man, you didn't?" "We wanted to get here ASAP..." "No, Mulder, not that... I mean rent a car. The ASAC is going to blow a gasket over that." "Well he can take it up with my boss 'cause the piece of junk that they tried to assign us didn't look like it would make it here." "You sure do know how to win friends and influence people, Mulder. Well I hope your boss will absorb the cost because Thomas sure isn't about to." "Don't worry, Agent Bothrington, I'm sure the cost of a rental car will be paid by the appropriate division." Walter commented. Mulder thought to himself that he was sure it would too or it would come out of the ASAC's salary knowing Skinner. "Well let's get some dinner and I'll brief you on the case and what I found out since I talked to you this morning. We can go over all the interviews and then start at the institute tomorrow. Dr. Wilson, the director of the Institute, wants to talk to you first thing tomorrow. We're scheduled o talk with him at ten thirty in the morning." "Sounds good to me. After that I'd like to interview all the people who have been affected first and then work out from there." "I've got most of their numbers. I'll call and set up interview times for tomorrow. How much time should I give for each interview?" "At least an hour." "That'll take the whole day to do then. Smithson is still suffering from the effects. I'll let you two interview him tonight or in the morning, alone. Then you can see what he's like tomorrow night, he should have returned to normal by then and you can ask him for details about what happened." "You're not coming?" Walter was curious. "I'm tired of being called nigger. He's pissed off all the African American Nurses and one woman doctor. He's very descriptive of a woman's place and what she should do for him." Mulder was curious. "So do you think this has changed his personality?" "No I think it's just removed the restraints that he normally had on his tongue and now he says what he thinks. He's a good investigator and I've learned alot from him but he is one nasty male chauvinist bigot." Mulder saw the look on Both face. "What?" "I shouldn't admit this, Mulder, but god he's funny. He tells some of the best racial jokes I've ever heard. None of the stupid stuff like how many does it take to put in a light bulb but really funny stuff that you don't want to admit that you laughed at. You'll see in the morning. I think the guy's a closet standup comedian. Being black I've had to listen to alot of crap but his stuff makes me laugh. He's got a sense of humor about himself too. Three or four of the best redneck jokes I've ever heard... I wrote them down so I could tell 'em to my family next get together and don't start him on New Yorkers or his family for that matter or you'll never get out without laughing. Course if he keeps on going the way he's been going I'm going to have to post guards to keep half the staff at the hospital from killing him. Actually make that all the staff 'cause he doesn't spare anyone. And he's got quite a repertoire on doctors and nurses. On the other hand, the guards might kill him too." Both sighed shaking his head. "Let's go get some food. We'll take your car the heater's broken in my Bureau issue. Might as well enjoy having one that's not ready to break down." They spent most of the evening going over the case with Bothrington, and planning their strategy for tomorrow. When they got to the hotel they found a message from the ASAC's assistant, Phil Cross, to call him at home when they got back. "That'll be about the rental car. He'll make you turn it in and ride with me." Both explained. "How 'bout it, Walter? You want to call him or should I?" At the smirk on Mulder's face Walter raised his eyebrow. "I can see that you want to call." Skinner had replied. "I'm just not sure that I can trust you to be subservient enough. You tend to lose your cool in situations like this." "Very funny, Mulder. Try not to piss him off too much." "I'll be a model of politeness and decorum." He made the three fingered Boy Scout sign at his boss. "And if I buy that, you've got bridge real cheap." Skinner replied. Bothrington thought that it must be nice not to have to count pennies. He also wondered about Mulder's relationship with Walter. After having worked with Mulder, Both had done a little investigating. The sum of what he had found out was that the man was brilliant but with the exception of Dana Scully, nee Mulder, the phrase 'doesn't work and play well with others' fit him to a 't'. That's why the relationship he had with this new partner puzzled him, they seemed to be pretty close and on friendly terms. They entered Agent Walter's room and Mulder went straight to the phone. As he dialed the acting ASAC's number he asked Walter. "Do you want to listen in?" Skinner pursed his lips for a minute in thought but then shook his head no. "Cross's residence," a woman's voice answered. "May I speak to Agent Cross please?" "Hold on I'll get him. May I ask who's calling?" "Agent Mulder returning his call." Mulder waited a few minutes and heard Cross come to the phone. Fox thought he heard him make a nasty comment to the women, who Mulder assumed was his wife, to the effect that he had told her to take care of something. Apparently from the tone of his voice whatever she had done wasn't to his satisfaction. Mulder thought sarcastically to himself. Before he could say anything Cross laid into him. It was loud enough for both men in the room to hear both sides of the conversation. "What the hell do you think your doing renting a car? I'm not about to approve such an extravagant expenditure." "The car the agency provided stalled out every time it stopped... hell it would barely start. We needed a reliable vehicle for this investigation." "Well you can just turn it in and use Bothrington's." "There are three of us we will need more than one car. And his isn't in the best of running condition either." "I told you that I won't approve the expenditure. I don't know where you Washington boys come off..." Before he could continue Mulder interrupted. "Look we're keeping the car. If you don't like it you can take it up with AD Skinner." "I called his office already to complain about your disregard for procedures. He's currently out of town on business, as I'm sure you well know, but don't you think you're going to get away with this. I talked to my ASAC and he's going to complain to your boss as soon as he returns about this. We don't have money to burn in this office. AD Skinner and Thomas are in accord about cost containment. Besides, Agent Mulder, your reputation precedes you, and in this district we aren't about to put up with any of your spooky crap." At these latter statements Mulder looked up at Walter and grinned, raising his eyebrows. "Well then I'm sure you'll both be satisfied with the results of the conversation but until I hear from my boss directly Agent Walter and I are keeping the rental and the spookiness." With that Mulder hung up before Cross could start another tirade. Dwayne watched the interaction between the two agents in front of him. It was obvious they found the situation amusing. Hell, he was having all he could do to keep a straight face at Mulder's antics. Mulder was weird and spooky too, but there was something about him that was admirable... a longing for justice and truth and a total lack of concern about his ethnic origin. Also, there was something about this Agent Walter... an authority... He wondered..? "Did you catch all that, Walter?" At his boss' nod of yes he continued. "Seems the Assistant Director is out of town on business." Mulder's grin just kept getting bigger. "Imagine that... and I thought AD Skinner was a desk jockey." The look his boss shot him was pure Skinner at his most amusedly irritated and his voice as he replied was so dry as to be arid. "Contrary to popular belief most AD's work their way up through the ranks and do know how to function in the field." "You think so? Don't think that all that time behind a desk makes them soft?" Fox teased. If there was one thing he knew about his boss it was that he was definitely not soft. Skinner glanced at Bothrington before glaring at Mulder. "No I don't think sitting behind a desk makes an Agent soft. You've spent most of the last few months behind a desk and I don't see it affecting you. You've certainly lost none of your ability to piss ASAC's off." "We'll see.... besides it wasn't me who told the guy in charge of the auto pool to screw the ASAC." Now it was Skinner's turn to grin before replying. "True. Let's get back to the case, I'd like to get a full night's sleep for a change." "Wish I'd be able to but I miss Dana way too much when I'm away to sleep well." The grin he shot Walter told his father-in-law that Mulder didn't believe for a moment that either of them would sleep well without their wives tonight. Skinner sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked up to see Mulder laughing silently at him a look of understanding in his eyes. Walter shrugged and then they both started chuckling. Mulder realized he had been pretty darn lucky. His babies were on their way to sleeping through the night, and although they didn't make love as frequently, they hadn't been really adversely affected so far. He had a feeling based on a single night's experience with their baby brother that Walt hadn't been quite so lucky, and thought that it kind of served the AD right for naming the poor kid Fox. Both watched wondering how long these two had been working together? The smoothness of their interactions and their apparent silent communication would indicate several years but he knew that up until a few months ago Dana Scully had been Mulder's only recent partner, and according to scuttlebutt the only one that the eccentric "Spooky" would tolerate. Not to mention that Walter was older than Mulder which should make him the senior partner but Mulder seemed to be the one leading the investigation. In Bothrington's experience older agents tended to resent the hot young up and comers, yet Agent Walter seemed to like Mulder and not resent him at all. He wished Smithson treated him with half the respect that Walter treated Mulder, although it had gotten better since the Martha's Vineyard case and at least he could feel confident that Smithson would watch his partner's back, no matter what, between ethnic jokes. Well he decided he wasn't going to knock it, it would be nice for a change to work with agents who liked and respected each other and treated him as a respected colleague as well. He sat down by the phone to set interview times for tomorrow with the individuals who had been affected. End Chapter Four E-mail us at Eowyn7@ix.netcom.com CC: macspooky@erols.com. We both love mail. The Naked Moment Chapter Five "Discoveries" By Macspooky and Eowyn Wednesday Morning Sophia looked in the mirror... and found herself looking just as she wanted to. She chuckled. This was, apparently, a rare thing for a woman. Yes, the bright pink shirt with the long orange skirt was a perfect "mismatch" and the large purple beads set it off well. It all clashed magnificently with her blue tinted recently cut and perked afro circa 1970 something... The fake eyelashes and the orange lipstick did wonders. She skipped her large rings. She never wore them when she was around her babies. The clothing and beads were loud enough so that everyone would think that she was who she wanted them to think she was. "Thing, Mrs. T... you be good and don't kill each other... Pup Pup... in the kitchen with you." Dana and Fox had been appalled when she had wanted to keep the last puppy, but where you had two dogs you could have three, and she would just tape the paper up against the wall when he started lifting his leg. "Krycek, you watch that mouth while I'm gone." "Open your legs, Scully... peed on my shoe... peed on my shoe... goddamed dog..." "Now, what did I just tell you...." she laughed feeding him an orange slice. With that, she left the menagerie alone and went to collect her babies. It was a beautiful day. She was going to put them in their stroller and go and collect Margaret. The two of them could go for a walk to the park and gossip. "Hi, Dana... I'm here to collect my angels...." she called out entering the Mulder household. "Okay...." smiled Dana. As usual, Sophia was a sight. In the house, Dana knew, she usually wore soft jeans or khaki's and a nice conservative shirt... a different woman entirely as she sat in front of her whirring and clacking computers doing heavens knew what. They put Brenda and Patrick into the double stroller along with everything that a baby might require on a long outing on a pretty spring day. Patrick stared intently at his aunt. Brenda was a lot more conservative and preferred to check out the scenery. Sometimes it gave Dana a pang the way the babies loved their eccentric aunt so much, but she repressed it. They were lucky to have such a fine caregiver even if she was a bit "spooky" at times. Well, at least she knew where Fox had gotten it from. Sophia cheerfully waved to the neighbors, some of whom came out to admire the babies, others of whom just glared at her. There were two schools of thought among the Mulder's neighbors, those that were delighted when the young couple with their growing family had moved in and those that hated the fast mustang, the dogs and the kids, not to mention the loud and eccentric aunt with the New York accent. Then, making a note that they would soon have to plant some annuals, Sophia headed up the street toward Margaret's house. Of late, Sophia was happy with her life. Her decision to step into her nephew's life again had been a good one for many reasons although she had always kept track of him with a sense of pride. They needed someone to watch the twins, someone who could be trusted absolutely. She had grown tired of living alone, and it was nice to have the babies and the dogs and even that stupid bird which was, let's face it, a pain, although she adored it. She had known that Fox had always wanted a parrot. What had surprised her was that he had waited so long to get one. It was also nice to have other people to love besides Fox. She had never told him of course, but he was the only person in the world she had ever truly loved and trusted except for her mother, at least until now, until he had married Dana and had the babies and she had grown to love them too. There had been little Billy, but he had grown up like their dad, and the love had died. And then there was the other one. The cold, distant, sad, lonely one who had wanted nothing more than to please the old SOB. She shook her head in sadness. Like Fox, she had devoted her life to finding out the truth behind her family and what they had done, but unlike him, she had not been fortunate enough to meet a partner who would join her in the quest. Now, she could still seek the truth and finally love and be loved as well. Another bonus was Dana's extended family. They accepted her and seemed to enjoy her company and eccentricities. Well, for today, the weather was beautiful and it would be nice to sit in the park. Margaret wouldn't want to stay out really late as Walter was sure to call, but they would have an enjoyable morning anyway. She knocked on the door of her friend's new house. The moment she entered, Sophia knew that something was wrong. Margaret looked just awful. She knew there had been some stress in the marriage recently due to all the changes with the new baby and everything, but this had gone beyond that. The woman looked pale and exhausted with dark circles under her eyes, and Sophia knew from the way she was standing with her hand at the small of her back that she was in pain. The baby cried in the background." "Margaret Mary Skinner," she announced, "Why didn't you call me and tell me you were sick?" "I'm okay, Sophia...." said Margaret, "Just tired..." "Like hell! You sit yourself down on that couch. I'll go get the baby." Sophia went and got Little Fox and made a stop in the bathroom along with way rummaging until she found a thermometer. If this was rude, she never gave it a thought. "Open wide..." she ordered Margaret returning to the living room. "I'm fine, Sophia, honestly..." "Right... now open your mouth..." She shoved the thermometer into Margaret's mouth and glared. "I know you don't like a fuss made over you, but when I lived in Africa a number of years ago, my limited medical training was what passed for a doctor in some of the villages. I know sick when I see sick." In fact, Sophia actually had a medical degree from days of yore, a fact she didn't care to advertise but which had frequently served her well. Not even Dana knew. The thermometer beeped. "There now... you are running a low grade fever... the kind that creeps up on you and leaves you exhausted. I am calling Amy right now..." "It isn't necessary, Aunt Sophia... and I have to nurse the baby..." "Does he cry like this all the time?" "A lot..." she conceded. "Well, heavens woman, at your age and all you've been through, especially with this new illness, you probably aren't producing enough milk for him. I'll go warm him a bottle while I'm calling Amy. This isn't the third world, Margaret. Switch him to formula and be done with it. You'll sleep better." "Sophia..." "I'm not going to stand by and watch my best friend... the only woman friend I've ever really had... get sicker and sicker... now hush and do what you are told." Meg lapsed into silence as the woman headed for the kitchen. Was it possible that her milk was drying up and she hadn't seen it? She had always had the opposite problem in the past, but she was older now and her hormones were different. Hmm...? It took a bit of doing, but within moments Aunt Sophia had a doctor's appointment for Margaret and Dana was on the way over. She filled a nine ounce bottle with formula and popped it in the microwave for 40 seconds checking it carefully to make sure her little Fox didn't get burned. Had to watch it with microwaves and warming bottles. Too many parents got careless and burned their infants. Margaret placed the nipple near his mouth. He grabbed it and began to suck greedily. Sophia patted her friend's shoulder gently. "It's okay, Margaret. Dana is on the way, and we'll get you treated. The world will seem a brighter place soon." "Sophia, I've had seven children. Why didn't I realize that my milk was drying up?" "Now don't go and get the guilts on me, my friend. I think you have a lot on your mind just now. Being a new mother isn't easy at any age as you well know." "You know, I didn't think it would be like this... I mean... it seems that Walter works all the time, and here I am tied down with a baby again... and then he comes home tired and cranky and... I know something is bothering him at work but he won't talk about it. It's bound to have to do with Fox, you know, because he only gets this upset when something threatens him." She paused for a moment and sighed, "Honestly, he's so attached to that boy." "And Fox is blossoming under his and Dana's love. Skinner is the first male authority figure that Fox has really respected. He wasn't rebellious, mind you, just sort of disdainful, then as he got older he got distrustful. But he trusts and admires your husband more than I've ever seen him care for any man before. He's really grown a lot in the last year. Of course it worries me some. His new maturity is going to make him very dangerous to certain individuals. Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." They sat and chatted waiting for Dana to come over. "Well, Aunt Margaret, you have a urinary tract infection, the low grade insidious kind. I want you on these heavy duty antibiotics for 4 days just to make certain we knock it out. By this time you know the drill..." She laughed. "You know what you can't do until the medicine is finished." "But..." "No buts Aunt Margaret. Honestly, if this spreads into your kidneys you really won't be a happy camper, and I have to tell you I am inclined to agree with Sophia. I'm not a pediatrician, but I would say that your milk is drying up, this infection has just been too stressful on your system, and I would switch to formula. Talk to Dr. Peterson, of course, but you can't feed him what you don't have." "Thank you, Amy," sighed Margaret. "You're probably right." "You'll be fine Aunt Margaret..." Amy gave her friend's mom a hug. "Come back when you are finished with the meds and let me check you out. We might want to consider putting you back on estrogen replacement therapy after we get the infection taken care of. Tell you're husband not to worry it's very unlikely that you'd have another ovulation at this late stage. And, don't forget your 8- 10 glasses of water a day." Amy thought to herself that she sure hoped not anyway. Aunt Margaret might survive another pregnancy but she doubted that her husband would. The poor man had been a wreck the whole time. Margaret made a face a great deal like Dana's and Amy laughed aloud and shooed her out of the office. Meg didn't like to admit it, but she felt better already knowing there was a reason for her constant tiredness, and that soon she would be her old self. Now if only she didn't have to explain to her husband that they were on restriction... it had been far too long and he was going to be a nightmare to live with... or so she assumed. She paid her co-pay at the front desk and she and Sophia headed to the pharmacy. Over lunch that day the three agents sat down to compare notes. "What did you think of Director Wilson?" Mulder asked Walter. "He seemed fairly open and straight forward, if a trifle paranoid." Skinner replied. "Can't say I really blame him. They've spent years on this project. Now they're at the testing phase, everything's going perfectly and then suddenly all hell breaks loose for no discernable reason. They started out with a dozen scientists on the team and have lost two permanently and another three are on temporary leave. And on top of that there are absolutely no leads on what is causing the strange behavior, so no way to stop it. I'd be getting pretty paranoid myself." Walter chuckled and answered Mulder back. "Mulder, you're paranoid if a black cat crosses your path." Bothrington figured that Mulder would be insulted and so was surprised by his response to Agent Walter. "Hey, it wasn't me who suspected that a postpartum poodle was a plot by Cancerman to keep me from my dinner." Walter grinned at the comment and replied. "Okay so we'll concede that Director Wilson, as project head, is justifiably paranoid. The question still remains, is he covering up anything about the project that might be causing these breakdowns? How much of his explanation about the project did you follow." "Not near enough. No offense but this is one time I really wish I had Scully along. She's the one with the undergraduate degree in physics. Most of his explanations were way beyond my reading and training. Even after I spent an hour last night on the phone with Scully discussing the project summary that I was reading, I still couldn't follow a lot of what he was talking about." "Oh is that what you were talking on the phone about for half the night?" Skinner grinned at Mulder before continuing. "Funny, physics discussions don't normally necessitate cold showers in the middle of the night for me." Both's mouth dropped open, obviously the two agents kept the connecting door between their rooms opened slightly, as he watched Fox Mulder blush, he had to bite back a laugh at Mulder's reply to Agent Walter. "It wasn't me who said that abstinence makes the heart grow fonder. I heard your shower running for a quite awhile this morning." Skinner grinned and shrugged in reply choosing to make no comment. He missed Meg and hoped that she was feeling better by the time he got home. She had been really run down of late. Maybe he should suggest that she see a doctor when he got home. Both thought it time to change the subject. "So how was Smithson?" "Full of Spooky Mulder jokes." Walter replied. Mulder added, "Don't forget all the ones about the brass in D.C. Going to have to make note of a few of those myself." "Mulder." Was Walter's warning comment. While extremely funny the jokes Smithson told were definitely not PC. Mulder thought. "So, Both, any luck in contacting Dr. Paulsen?" "Nope. I think he's not answering his phone or returning calls. We may have to break down and go by where he's staying if we want another interview. He was pretty upset by his conduct." "Must have hated letting the wild child out like that." Mulder agreed. "We'll we start the interviews at one and should finish up by mid-morning tomorrow. Then depending on how things go here you or Walter can try and chase Paulsen down. In the meantime there are a few areas I want to concentrate on. Both, since you've already interviewed these people I'm going to send you off following up some ideas I have." As Both nodded Mulder went on to explain. "I want you to start asking around see if there are any new people working on the project or at the Institute. Also, snoop around, do some gossiping and see if you can find if there are any competing organizations that might want to either steal research or slow the Institute's progress." Walter interrupted, "So you think it's sabotage?" "I'm not sure but it's an area we need to examine closely. So far all of the people who have been affected have worked at the Institute or been in the building. I had Both put out a regional alert at hospitals and police stations asking for anyone with similar symptoms to be reported. So far nothing. It all comes back to the project. The vast majority of the people affected are project scientists so that Smithson and the secretary, Crenick, could just be accidents." "Then you think it's some kind of undetectable drug?" Both queried. "That would be my guess. Maybe the blood samples we sent back to DC for special analysis will turn up something. But until then lets see if we can find either a motive or a person with opportunity to have drugged the victims." Walter responded, "You're eliminating some kind of environmental toxin then?" "Not necessarily but if it is some kind of environmental toxin then it has to be related to the project and the experiments that are going on now. There haven't been any similar incidents described anywhere in the area or the country, for that matter, as far as I can determine. I've had the list of chemicals that Both sent me last week analyzed by some special people and as far as they can tell there isn't anything unusual in them... absolutely nothing suspicious." "Are you sure these people would spot suspicious?" Walter asked. Mulder snorted, laughing, trying to catch his breath. Sometimes he forgot that Walter hadn't met certain of his friends. Finally catching his breath he answered. "Remind me that I have some people I want you to meet when we get back, Walter. And trust me on this, if anything on this list of chemicals found at the institute were the least suspicious these people would know." Skinner found himself wondering about Fox's sources. He knew that he had some rather bazaar ones but from his reaction to Walter's comments these must be something out of the ordinary. And out of the ordinary for Mulder meant really far out there. "So what am I going to be doing, Mulder?" Fox felt like popping back with, 'Whatever you want, Sir.' But he held his tongue. He found it a bit strange supervising his boss... sortta like the five hundred pound gorilla. Skinner was however doing his best to let him lead the investigation and for that he was grateful. It would have been very distracting to have to constantly be getting Walter's okay before making plans. "I think you'll be most helpful backing me up in the interviews. You might catch something that I miss or you can take the lead if I need to sit back and watch. Hopefully we can coordinate our interrogation styles." Both was puzzled by Mulder's comments and asked, "You mean you two haven't worked interviews together before?" At their nod of no he continued, "How long have you been partnered?" Mulder glanced at Skinner and took the lead again, Walter was letting him do that alot on this case. "This is our first case together in the field. We normally consult at the Bureau. Agent Walter," here he grinned over at his boss, "Normally serves in a support and advisory function." Both turned to Agent Walter startled asking , "You mean you don't have any field experience?" "I have extensive field experience, just not recently. I've been confined to a desk in DC for several years." "So why send you out in the field again?" Mulder replied for Walter, "My boss needed someone he could trust to back me up. I've had some bad luck with replacement partners for Scully. So Agent Walter came along to make sure that I stay out of trouble." It was Skinner's turn to snort. "That would be an impossibility, Mulder. I'm just along to make sure you get back to Scully in one piece." As Both started to ask more questions Fox interrupted. "Time to get back to the institute our next appointment is in fifteen minutes." He found that he didn't want to lie to Agent Bothrington but respected Skinner's desire to observe the inner workings of the Boston office without everyone being on their best behavior. So it was best to stop the questioning before it got any further. The next question had to be 'What do you do in DC?' And the answer to that would either give Walter away or be a lie. He steered the conversation back to the case and their plans for the rest of the day on the drive back. It was four pm that afternoon and they were starting on their last Institute interview of the day. They still had to visit Smithson that night once the effects wore off. Walter was impressed by Mulder's skills. Being so much older he'd never gotten to work closely with his son-in-law before and had only heard reports about his abilities. First hand his skill was 'Spooky'. Walter, for the most part merely observed the interviews only throwing in a question occasionally. Being primarily an observer he was impressed by the way Mulder molded his whole being to each individual he was interviewing. His body language changed, the amount of eye contact, the words he used, even the speed and accent of his speech seemed to alter with each new person. He was the same man yet different in each interview... sometimes seeming to ramble and gossip, others straight to the point. With the secretary he was flirtatious, while with Dr. Bradshaw, the scientist who had just lost his wife a couple of months earlier, he was quiet, reserved, respectful and compassionate. In fact, the only interview he had allowed to run over it's allotted fortyfive minutes had been with Bradshaw. Fox really seemed to care and Walter felt like he had observed a grief counseling session once it was over. He was also startled by the fact that Mulder had the names and numbers of both private counselors that specialized in grief and a group therapy session that dealt with bereavement. Mulder had encouraged the scientist to talk to someone and it looked like he had succeeded in getting the man to agree when everyone else had failed. Skinner had seen Bradshaw to the door and turned to find Mulder slumped in his seat, head on his folded arms. "You alright, Fox?" "Yeah. Just drained. Could you write up the notes on this one, Walter?" He reached over to his briefcase and handed his boss the notes he'd done on the previous two interviews. "Here's what I've done with the other two and what I need you to make specific note of. Feel free to put down anything else of importance that occurs to you. I'm going to stretch my legs and probably call Dana." "This one really drained you?" "I just keep praying that I never have to go through what he has because you can bet I'd be in much worse shape than him." Walter walked up behind his son's chair and massaged his shoulder's briefly. "Take it easy, Fox, don't go borrowing trouble." Mulder smiled as he stood up rotating his stiff neck and shoulders. "Thanks. I'll try not to but I could use a Scully fix." "Go talk to your wife. I'll hold down the fort here." Walter smiled as Mulder left. Fox never seemed quite whole without Scully nearby. Mulder checked his watch as he headed back to the office they were using to interview the victims. A brief chat with Dana had sure improved his mood. Bradshaw and his loss had really gotten to him, and he hoped that he had convinced the man to get help. Knowing that if he ever faced the same situation, he'd probably eat his gun, the interview had unnerved him. But then again he had his kids to think about, and there was Walter, maybe he'd make it through... he shook himself to stop from going down that depressive road again. Walter had been a bit of a surprise. Fox guessed that he shouldn't have been really... but still... He had been an excellent support and his questions always relevant and to the point. Walter Skinner was a very secure man. Mulder wondered if he'd ever be that secure himself. He hoped so. Skinner had no need to prove himself, was happy to take a back seat and let someone else lead but confident enough in himself and his abilities that he would speak out when the need arose. He was not always trying to prove himself and seemed to actually enjoy watching when someone else could do the job better than him. Mulder knew that he was a top notch interviewer, one of the best, his ability to adapt instinctively to the environment and subject gave him quite an edge over most other agents. Scully appreciated that and she complimented his style but many had resented his skills, especially some of his previous bosses. Skinner had watched him carefully at first and then sat back and relaxed, ready to enjoy the show. The agent laughed at himself... he had given Walter quite a show. Hadn't even realized that he was doing it until a few minutes ago but he'd wanted to impress his boss so he'd gone all out on the interviews. Used a lot more skill than was really necessary for the situation, after all most of these witnesses weren't hostile and he didn't think they were trying to hide anything but it had been fun to stretch, he could use the practice And he could tell by Walter's expression on a few occasions that he had been impressed. Fox had been impressed with Walter as well. For so powerful and authoritative a man to remain quietly in the background took a lot of work and control. He'd also given Mulder an idea, through some of the few questions that he did ask, as to what was happening to these individuals... not what was causing it but what was happening. He didn't think Skinner had seen it himself yet... which, in a way, was a bit startling... it seemed that the AD was very instinctive and insightful as well. Able to ask questions based on gut feelings even if he didn't know the reasons why. Fox thought to himself, He laughed at the way his thoughts were running, with the kids the X-files could use a back up partner but he doubted the AD of the FBI would be allowed to serve that function. "Okay, Dr. Caulfield, could you go over the events just before you began to feel funny." Mulder asked. "How far back do you want me to go?" "Let's see... according to Agent Bothrington's notes your attack started around three that afternoon. Is that correct?" "I guess. I'm afraid the last thing I remember clearly is entering phase two of the test and that was around 2:30 give or take ten minutes. After that, although I remember everything that went on I'm afraid that I can't really relate the events coherently. It all starts to seem like a dream that I couldn't control." Fox Mulder leaned back in his chair seemingly relaxed but Walter knew him well enough to know that he was very alert. "That's fine. Why don't you start with when you came to work that morning and go from there. Maybe a little more detailed as you get closer to the event." And so the interview went on. Mulder guiding, Walter was not sure what he was going for but threw in a question or two of his own, a couple of times Mulder shot him a strange look but always followed up on the lines of questions that the AD started, finally after about thirty minutes the interview was over. Fox walked the man to the door, shut it and came back and sat down. "Well we've got Smithson tonight and another one set up for in the morning. Still no luck with Paulsen, I take it?" Skinner replied. "No answer, although Dr. Wilson assures me that he should be there." "You and or Both may have to go down into Boston to interview him. He might get away with not answering his phone but I imagine you can get him to answer his door." Fox changed the subject rather abruptly, "Damn good work today, Walt. Sure you wouldn't like to get out from behind a desk and join Scully and me in the X-flies?" "As much as I enjoy watching you work, Fox, I'm good at what I do and I think I can make a bigger deference right where I am." "I know, but you're a damn good partner. The best I've ever had, next to Scully, of course." "High praise. Trying to get that raise." "Yeah right. Our taxes this year alone are more than my salary. God only knows what they are going to be like next year. Probably more than what I paid for the damn house." Skinner laughed at Fox but he was flattered by his comments. His son-in-law had the reputation of leaving all his partners behind playing catch up, except for Scully that is, and for Mulder to consider him to be a good partner was quite a compliment. It was good to know that working behind a desk for so long hadn't diminished his skills. "So any theories, Mulder?" "What! Don't you have any?" "I'm out of my depth here. Haven't a clue. Shall we go over the evidence... what little there is of it?" "Well your questions gave me an idea as to what is happening to these people... not the how but the what. I'm surprised you didn't see it. You're very intuitive, aren't you?" Skinner stiffened a little at the comment. In his early days with the Bureau he'd had to fight off a bit of the same 'spooky' reputation that Mulder had. He'd worked hard to hide that aspect of his character behind carefully constructed facades. He still used it but made it appear to be hard work or accidental discoveries, rather than intuition. He'd almost forgotten that aspect of himself till Mulder brought it all back. "So, you going to go back and tell 'em that Skinner's 'spooky', too?" "Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me. I won't tell anyone, 'cept maybe Dana that you've got a spooky streak." "So what do you think is going on with these people?" "I'd say that secret desires and personalities are coming out. The normal restraints that everyone uses to control their behavior are being removed. Kind of like alcohol but much stronger. It's looking more and more like some kind of chemical or drug though." "Any ideas if it's deliberate?" "Not a clue. What do you think?" "If there's a pattern I can't see it. So you're saying that whatever this is is bring out hidden desires. Could make for good blackmail material, but a little farfetched. Don't you think?" "I suppose... but when you think about it only a couple of the people that have been affected actually revealed anything that they might pay to keep quiet." At Skinner's questioning look he continued, "Smithson, was already known as bigot before this but the last two days of comments if they became widespread at the Bureau couldn't help and then there is Paulsen. Now he was really upset. The stuff he revealed was something he had kept hidden. In fact the more I think about it the more I want you to do the interview." "Shouldn't you be doing it, Mulder? You're a better interviewer." "Not by much I'm not, Walt. No, I think he'd probably trust you more, and this interview is going to be key to proving at least this part of my theory. If you can confirm that he's secretly into B and D it will go along way to proving it. If you can't get it out of him you might have to do a little quiet investigating. The other victims didn't really reveal anything that wasn't already known about them they just took it to extremes. Johnson, who quoted Shakespeare, was known to be a fan. He never missed a play that came to the area or a showing on TV. Bradshaw loved his wife and the basic effect on him was that he could no longer control his grief." "What about Reading. Are you saying he had a death wish?" "No I don't think so. Both's been asking around about him. Seems he was a bit of a gambler. Liked to take risky chances and hit the casinos. Think about it... what's the ultimate gamble but Russian Roulette. The biggest stake of all is to bet your life. So his restraints are removed, what does he do? He plays the ultimate game, there's only one problem, his brain is so muddled that he gets the number of bullets backward, five in instead of five out. I don't think he wanted to die, he just wanted to play the game. Whatever is getting to these people it virtually destroys their judgement." "But what could do that... have that kind of effect? I didn't think our research into how chemicals affect the brain was far enough advanced to produce these kind of results." Walter was skeptical, Fox loved it. "My contacts agree with you. They've heard of brainwashing techniques and memory erasure techniques but nothing that would produce these kind of results this fast. Scully and I ran into an insecticide toxin once that increased paranoia and phobic fears but there haven't been any insecticide sprayings in this building in a couple of years and early spring in New England is not the time for outdoor spraying. Not to mention that those chemicals took a while to build up in the vvictimssystems." "I remember that report. That's when the X-files were supposed to be closed, wasn't it? And I seem to remember that you thought the government might be doing some experimental testing on the populace as a whole." "I'm still not sure that they weren't. Whether they were are weren't, they still should have done a lot more testing before using the pesticide." "Agreed but there doesn't seem to be anything like that going on here." Walter concluded. "Not that we've stumbled across anyway. We're just going to have to keep our eyes open. When's Bothrington supposed to return?" "I think he's on premises some place asking questions and snooping around. It's about five, so people should be heading for home and he'll probably meet us back here." "Let's wait till he returns and then get dinner and go over what we've got so far while we eat. Both says there's a great Greek place nearby. Want to try there?" "Sounds good to me. We can call and see if Smithson's returned to normal after dinner and go talk to him if he has." The two men got to work finishing their notes waiting for Bothrington's return. End Chapter Five E-mail us at Eowyn7@ix.netcom.com CC: macspooky@erols.com. We both love mail. The Naked Moment Chapter Six "Laid Bare" By Macspooky and Eowyn Rampart Memorial Hospital Wednesday Evening Agent Deke Smithson had been very subdued over the fortyfive minutes that Walter and Mulder had been interviewing him. Quite a change from the loud, raucous man they had talked to that morning. No jokes, no insults, not much of any emotion actually. Bothrington had told them to expect something like this. Once the affects of whatever it was wore off it seemed to leave the victim drained for several hours. Since they had caught him within a couple of hours of his return to normal, he appeared to be in this phase. He was, however, very thorough in his answers. Mulder summarized what Smithson had told them over the last hour to make sure that they hadn't missed anything. "Okay. You say you two started to feel hot just as you were finishing eating. Is that correct?" "That's right. Felt hot, really hot, nothing seemed to feel cool enough, couldn't get cool and my brain felt muzzy. You know like after you've been shot and they give you morphine or codeine, you haven't quite passed out but the pains gone and everything is disjointed, distant. Mulder and Skinner both nodded. Unfortunately they both had experienced the sensation on several occasions. "So you felt distanced from your actions, not in control?" "That's right." "And how did Reading get your gun?" "I'm not sure. I think he simply took it." At their shocked looks he explained further. "I was really hot and after half an hour I decided I just had to cool off, I got up excused myself and started to leave. Dr. Reading was on the other side of the table, between me and the door, he stood up right after me and sort of bumped into me as I was heading to the door. I guess he took it then. Can't think of any other time it could have been. Was so desperate to cool off that I wasn't noticing anything else." Walter asked a question that had been bugging him. "You'd been studying this and the symptoms of it's onset for almost two weeks, didn't it occur to you that the two of you were being affected?" "I've thought a bit about that, Agent Walter. And maybe in the back of my mind but the effects are hard to describe. Your brain sort ta focuses on one thing and nothing else is able to push its way in. So, maybe in the back of my mind I noticed, but the only thing I could concentrate on at first was trying to get cooler. Damn near killed myself doing it but it felt so good laying in that snow bank I didn't care." Mulder confirmed what Smithson had told him earlier. "Okay I want to make sure I have the food that you consumed down correctly." "I told you, Mulder, we had it checked... every vending machine in the place had all the food replaced and what was in there was tested. Nothing, nada, zip... and on top of that the sandwiches were take out from a deli down the street. You're barking up the wrong tree here." Walter sat back and waited to see how Mulder would handle this. Fox had a reputation at the Bureau for goading agents who were too quick to dismiss his theories. "Humor me on this one, Agent Smithson." Smithson sighed but answered in detail. "Reading had a ham and cheese on dark rye with mayonnaise, cheese cake for desert and a soda." "What kind of soda?" The agent being questioned rolled his eyes but answered anyway. "Plain Pepsi. I had a corn beef on an onion roll with horse radish." Here Fox raised his eyes and commented. "Not planning on getting any action that night." Smithson shot him a look but didn't rise to the bait. "I had a root beer to drink. No desert. Satisfied?" Mulder nodded trying to decide if he had any further questions. He really didn't want to deal with Smithson again if he could help it. Before he could ask anything else a nurse came in. "Mr. Mulder?" At his nod she continued, "Dr. Cartwright can see you now if you want to go over the test results with him." "Tell him I'll be right there." Walter and Mulder stood at the door, Mulder giving his boss some instructions. "Something's not right with Smithson. I can't stand the fellow and I know he can't stand me. Maybe you can get him to talk. Also see if he can remember anything else. As his mind clears more details might come back to him. I've been trying to catch this doctor all day to go over all the tests results of the cases from the institute. We can compare notes when we get back to the hotel. I'll meet you in the main lobby when I'm done. Walter nodded at Mulder as he left. He returned to Agent Smithson's bedside to see if he could find out anything else. Before he could continue questioning him, he agreed with Fox's opinion that there was more bothering this agent than two days of racial jokes. Suddenly Smithson slumped back against the pillow as though the last of his strength had been drained. "Are you alright, Agent Smithson?" inquired Skinner, "Shall I summon the nurse?" "Hell no... they're like to kill me as anything else. I've had a real big mouth for the last couple of days. Shit, even when I was drunk I could control it better than that." Finally the man sighed. "Jeez... it's a bitch..." "What's a bitch?" asked Skinner "Losing your god... ya know... Hell... Hoover was still in charge when you started at the Bureau I'll bet..." "Yes... toward the end...." replied Skinner wondering where Smithson was going with this conversation. Mulder's meeting with the doctor shouldn't take to long and Walter was anxious to leave. He wanted to get back to the motel room and call Meg. She hadn't been feeling well and he was worried. He also missed her more than he would have thought possible. He was beginning to feel like Mulder... not quite complete without Meg nearby. "Well, Hoover was my god... joined the Bureau as a young man and worshipped the ground he walked on. You ever see that old movie about how he started the FBI. Man when I was a kid that was my favorite movie. Went to see it a dozen times at least. Gonna clean up the Commie menace... keep America free for Americans... you know... then next thing you know you find out he was probably a faggot, suddenly there's no more Commie menace and ya got a nig... a black guy for a partner and woman supervisors. You see fair haired boys with degrees from fancy places get promotions... and everything passes you by. I mean what the hell is a guy supposed to think? You know. You've been through it... One minute the men in power are doing everything they can to keep blacks and women out and then suddenly you're being passed over for promotion so that the balance can be evened out. I never passed anybody over... I didn't set the policy, never had a say in the matter. Yet suddenly I'm watching people I know I'm better than move up the ladder simply because their fathers and mothers got the shaft. Well I didn't shaft them but I'm the one paying the price." Smithson raised his voice angrily. Walter sighed. This argument had been going on for the last twenty years and there was no easy answer. "I guess you just accept that times change, and that not everything's fair," said Skinner quietly. He was a bit torn. He didn't like guys like Smithson with their racist, sexist attitudes, and yet when push came to shove, Smithson backed his partner to the death. More than just his partner he backed any FBI agent. As much as he would like to, he couldn't forget that it was this man's loyalty and foresight that had saved Fox's life. If he hadn't called the paramedics and had them on standby his son-in-law most likely wouldn't have survived the gun shot wounds. The debt he owed this man could never be repaid. Contemplating what the last year, or the coming years would be like with Fox dead didn't bear thinking about. It left Walter Skinner feeling cold all over. Smithson watched Agent Walter's reaction to what he said. There was a sadness in his eyes that made him think that maybe he would understand. He started to talk. "Used to play with black kids when I was little, till one day my daddy set me straight with his belt...." said Smithson zoning out. He came back to reality again. "Well, no more field work for me I guess... do you think there might be a way I could do office work for awhile... somewhere anywhere... even in the mail room..?" "You must have your 30 in, Smithson. What's the problem?" Skinner wasn't about to allow himself too much sympathy for a man who could feel the way he did about agents such as Bothrington, good agents who just happened to be a different color. "Yeah, well... it's important. Ya know... I devoted my life to the Bureau and now... jeez...Walter... I was waiting for that buyout they promised is coming in a few months... holding out... thought the extra money might be nice... was gonna take a cruise... but now..." "Can you get by without it? Your pension should be good." "Could have until yesterday... Wife left me years ago. Wasn't much of a husband. Wasn't much of a father. Keep 'em barefoot and pregnant... just like my daddy did my mom. Give em a baby every year to keep their mouth shut. Well, she couldn't take it... couldn't take all those babies and me never being home so she divorced me. Raised the five kids herself she did... yeah... helped 'em all through college too. Well the youngest missed me Walter... a lot... we had something special, so to rebel she goes and marries a black man... Told her she was dead to me. Who the hell gives a flying f**k right?" Skinner shrugged in acknowledgement and waited for the man to continue. He couldn't see himself not caring for his daughter if he had one. Heck, at this point, he couldn't see himself not caring about his stepdaughters... even Melissa, if only because they belonged to his wife. He decided to tell Smithson how he felt. "I didn't have any kids till recently but I can't imagine cutting them out of my life." "Yeah it was stupid, but she was so bright and here she was throwing herself away. Hell, I wouldn't have wanted her to marry this man even if I wasn't a damned bigot." At Walter's raised eyebrow he defended. "The guy's an artist. You know what kind of life they live even if they become successful and most don't, it's only in their declining years that the art actually pays. And an interracial kid. Well you know what they are going to face. It's not just whites either. Both sides give them all sorts of grief. But she was determined... Stubborn little thing. Takes after me there. "But you know what? Out of my five kids she was the only one to come and see me... glad I was getting over it... cause Lord only knows I've been running my mouth... brought me a picture of the baby." Smithson reached over and handed it to Agent Walter. "A cute age..." "Yeah... except that the chemo isn't working anymore and he's going to need a bone marrow transplant... and she and her husband ain't got the money... Had to pry it out of her. Here she is, the only one of my five kids who comes to see me and didn't even want to tell me about her sick baby. He's in the pediatric ward down the hall, and the hell of it is, Walter, the kid looks just like me, like me with darker skin... Jeez... I went to see him... I..." Smithson collapsed back against the pillow. Walter Skinner realized that this man was shaken to the depths of his soul, was baring himself to a man that he hardly knew. Suddenly, more than just his career was gone. The very fibre of what had kept him together had been torn away and the man was not certain whether or not he could rebuild it. This was Smithson's reality, his naked moment, and it had not been brought about by any mysterious substance. No wonder he was so drained. "If I could just hold out for that buyout... she'd have the rest of the money she needed for the transplant for the kid... or the promise of it anyway. She's got insurance through her job but it only pays 80%" Smithson felt tears coming to his eyes and fought them, ashamed. Somehow, within the past 24 hours, color didn't seem so important anymore. His daddy would turn over in his grave. "Somehow, Agent Walter, it all left me behind, and it's too damned late to catch up." "Agent Smithson, the Commie menace may be gone, and Hoover's sexual orientation may have been called into question, but I think you underestimate the new Bureau. I know a few people in personnel who can help. I also think you should allow me to notify your colleagues, you should know how important it is to take care of your own. Agent Mulder's alive today because you lived by that creed. Would you mind if the Bureau set up a fund to help your grandson?" Smithson fought a silent battle with his pride. He hated to admit that he need help, that he couldn't provide for his family but medical costs today were so outrageous that he realized few could. He swallowed his pride and decided that his grand kid's life was more important. "Thankyou. I'd appreciate that." He decided to lighten the mood a little. "I figured you'd hold it against me that I saved Spooky so that you're stuck with him now." Walter laughed. "Only sometimes, Smithson. Most of the time I realize its a debt that I can never repay you for." Smithson was puzzled by his words but decided to let the matter drop. This guy apparently liked ole Spooky. Their interaction during his questioning had told him that. Skinner continued. "We should know about that buyout within three months. You maybe lagging behind in the race, but they haven't put you down yet." He stood up. "I'll let you rest now. Hopefully Mulder is done with the doctor. I'd like to get back to the motel and call my wife." How the hell could you totally hate a man who had just said what Smithson had said. The bottom line was that he hadn't been much of a husband or father, he'd been raised as a bigot and a chauvinist and didn't really know how to change, probably hadn't wanted to, but suddenly he was a grandpa, the grandpa of a little black baby, and the time had come for him to redeem himself. The time had come and the circumstances were such that he wasn't sure he could find the strength. How could you totally hate a man who was so desperate to save a sick child? "Yeah... guess you're right, Walter... You know that partner of mine... Both... he's an okay guy for a... black guy... kinda like Leon... my friend when I... before my father told me I couldn't be friends with nig... He'd like to get out of this office I think." Smithson chuckled, "You know he'd make a good partner for Spooky... two overeducated pretty boys who believe in ghosts, backup for that hot little red head... Quite a woman she was. Just kept on taking it up on the Vineyard... taking it and taking it, and never once whined or complained... Damned good agent... but don't tell her I said so. Go to her head..." Smithson's eyes closed. Walter realized that he had dozed off. He got up and left the room quickly with a lot more to think about than when he had come in... Jeez... he couldn't imagine little Fox needing a transplant and not having the money to pay for it. As soon as he could get to a phone, he was going to call DC and see what sort of actions Angela could put into effect to try to raise money for that baby. She was a genius at that sort of thing, and he would check with personnel to see what kind of light duty Smithson could be put on until that buyout came... if it did. He would have to have another talk with Smithson. Smithson was going to have to keep his racist and sexist remarks to himself in the future, but no matter what, he was still FBI, had still dedicated his life to the Bureau and was entitled to some help in an emergency like this. If everyone chipped in just a little, maybe he wouldn't need it after all. If all that failed, he would talk to his son-in-law who wanted to use his money for good. Before he went to meet Mulder, he stopped in pediatrics. There, lying in a crib was a baby boy with skin the color of coffee and cream and Smithson's face. He was sleeping peacefully., but you could tell he wasn't a well child. A pretty young woman entered the room with a tall black man. "Who are you?" asked the child's father. "Sorry," said Skinner softly. "Wrong room..." He slipped away quietly. That night on the drive back to the motel he told his son all about what he'd learned. Cooney's Inn Thursday Evening The three agents sat around the small table in Mulder's room discussing the information that had come out of the interviews the last couple of days. Mulder was leading the discussion. "Walter, I think you should go to Cambridge tomorrow and try to interview Dr. Paulsen. That interview should either confirm my theory as to what is happening to the affected individuals or send it to file thirteen." "You sure you don't want to do this interview, Mulder?" "No, I think you'll have better luck than I will on this one. Besides they are running phase two of the experiment again and I want to be here to observe." This was what really didn't set well with Walter. He didn't want to leave Fox alone while phase two was being conducted. Fox saw his expression and replied to his unspoken worry. "I've already agreed to have Agent Bothrington here with me observing. Don't worry." "Our investigation has shown only two conditions which were present for every affected person. One was that it was always phase two of the experiment running and the other was that all the affected individuals had been eating. I don't like leaving you here..." "Both will watch my back and I promise to be careful." "I might buy into that better if we had the remotest idea as to what was causing this. Those two conditions could merely be coincidence, it could be something else entirely." Both joined in the conversation. "I agree with Agent Walter. Phase two has been running about thirty percent of the time over the last six weeks yet we only have seven incidents of people being affected and a lot more people were eating that weren't affected than ones that were. I don't think we've pinned down the cause yet." "Agreed, but it's the best we've got. And I'm going to make sure not to eat anywhere near the institute just to be on the safe side. I think we all should for now." "Did you suggest that to Director Wilson?" Skinner asked. "Yes, but he pointed out what Both just did, that there wasn't a strong enough link to demonstrate that eating had anything to do with it and he feels that if they have to leave the premises to eat it will slow the project down. With all the people they've lost and that are out on disability they don't have enough researchers left to cover the equipment while everyone goes out to lunch." "We've had samples of all the food analyzed from the machines and even had a whole new shipment in last week under your advice, Mulder, and still Reading and Smithson were affected." "I know but look at the evidence. The night time incidences are pretty significant here. Both times that individuals have been affected it was within an hour of eating. If it's not the food itself maybe it's something the tests they are running do to the food to cause it to change." Mulder was grasping but he was sure he was on the right track here if only he could find the connection. By watching Mulder, Walter could tell that Fox thought he was on to something. "I'd say you're reaching here but you've had wilder theories that proved true so I'll go along for the ride. How do you propose we test your supposition?" "I've been thinking about that. I think we need to do two things. The first is to get everybody that was around for all the incidences to list what they were eating and drinking at the time, in detail, at least the best that they can remember. Maybe something in common will jump out. I took the liberty of calling Crenick and Bradshaw and asking them exactly what they had right before they were affected. Tomorrow morning before you leave, Walter, I want to take the same items to the test facility and have them sit for an hour. The tests start at seven so that you'll still be able to leave by eight. I've got a research scientist at MIT that some friends recommended who has agreed to take a look at the food samples under an electron microscope to see if he can spot anything. Maybe the gravity effects are causing a chemical or physical change. The scientist said that while he's checking it under a microscope a friend of his will do a chemical analysis. We should have the preliminary results by Saturday afternoon, at least for the major stuff. The more detailed work could take a couple of weeks." "The ASAC's going to blow a gasket at the cost of all those tests." Bothrington commented. Skinner looked at the man irritated. "Agent Bothrington." He said in a very firm voice, "I'd prefer not to hear another word about the costs involved in this investigation. If we can stop what's happening at the Binford Institute and prevent anymore deaths that is what matters." Bothrington shrugged and replied, "I hope AD Skinner will back the two of you up on this because otherwise Thomas and Cross will serve you up for dinner. From the comments that ASAC Thomas has made the AD is supposed to be a bigger cost cutting prick than the two of them combined." Fox watched Walter's jaw harden and the pen in his hand snap in two. Actually he was feeling a bit irritated himself. These two men had definitely given Skinner an undeserved bad name. Yeah his boss was careful of the budget, hell with half Washington breathing down his neck it was no wonder, but he had never known him to short change an investigation to avoid the expense. He defended his boss to Bothrington. "I don't know what they've been saying but I'll tell you here and now that they are wrong. Skinner would never trade lives to save dollars, nor short change an investigation because a project was over budget. If ASAC Thomas and his Assistant Cross told you that he encouraged that kind of behavior then they are lying through their teeth and the only reason I can think of is so that word doesn't get back to the AD as to what has been going on in this office. Well after this investigation it's too late." He looked over at his boss and gave him a small smile. "I hope you're right, Mulder, and it's not your head that rolls. I'm turning in. See you two in the morning." After Bothrington had left Mulder looked over at his boss. He could tell that Walter was upset. AD Walter Skinner was wondering if he really did appear to be ruled by the budget. Could Thomas and Cross believe that this was the way he wanted the field offices run? At times he felt like his life revolved around the damn budget but he never wanted to sell his agents out to save a few dollars. Fox saw the distress that Skinner was in and got up to sit on the bed next to Walter's chair. He reached over and squeezed his shoulder trying to get his attention. "Walter..." When he didn't respond Fox tried again. "Dad." At this his father-in-law looked up. "I've worked under you for several years. You've yelled at me for everything from incomplete paper work, to leaving my assignment, and yes even to cost overruns, but never once did I ever think that you wouldn't back me up fully, no matter what the cost, if the case and situation merited it. "Thomas is just doing this to keep the agents in this field office from complaining. Don't you see, he can't get the promotion based on investigative skills or personnel management so he figured this was a short cut to DC. But it wouldn't be much of a short cut if a string of agent complaints hit the AD's desk. So he covers his butt by implying that he has your blessing. That way agents just request reassignment and don't complain. You said it yourself, agent turnover is up fifty percent. And you can bet, from the looks of that car pool that he has been shifting funds around to cover normal increases in expenses. Whoever takes over from Thomas and Cross are going to have major budget overruns. The car pool alone for an office this size that's been neglected for three years will probably run over a quarter of a million dollars. I talked to Both a little earlier today and there used to be three full time mechanics on the payroll to maintain the cars. Now there is only one full time and one part time. Except for the ASAC's and his assistant's cars there hasn't been a new car purchased since Thomas took over. My bet is Thomas is pushing so hard for a promotion because he knows that the office is about ready to fall apart. If the cars are that bad think of salaries and equipment, he doesn't have much time." Walter nodded and finally smiled. "Well he doesn't know it but his time has just run out. I'm going to take the time between 7 and 8 am in the morning to make a few calls to DC and quietly arrange for some auditors to come up here. If he's been playing fast and lose with the budget like you are supposing he's in for it. Hell, after what I've witnessed first hand... now what was that expression you used... Oh yeah his ass is grass. Thomas is due back sometime tomorrow afternoon and Cross implied in our phone conversation earlier today that he wasn't planning on coming in but that he is so upset with our performance that he is changing his plans. I'd say ASAC Thomas is in for an unpleasant surprise." "You are going to wait till I'm there, aren't you? I'd really hate to miss the mowing." "If you can knock off early enough at the institute. I don't think he's due into the office until around four. We're under orders to make ourselves available." "Have you ever met Thomas?" "Yes, I've met him." "So one look and he's going to know." Walter smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. Fox thought to himself, End Chapter Six E-mail us at Eowyn7@ix.netcom.com CC: macspooky@erols.com. We both love mail. =========================================================================== The Gossamer Project Author - Title - Date - Spoilers - Crossovers - X-Files - Adventures - Stories - Vignettes Other stories by: Macspooky - Evenstar, Eowyn Please let us know if the site is not working properly. Set story display preferences. Do not archive stories elsewhere without permission from the author(s). See the Gossamer policies for more information.