Sadly Mistaken
This is my first X-Files fan fiction story. I hope you like it. Please let me know, all comments are read and for the most part answered back. Email me at:Email: drifter@mcleodusa.net
Disclaimer: Skinner, Scully and Mulder and any other characters you recognize belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and Fox Television. I'm only borrowing them and promise to return them relatively unscathed.
Disclaimer 2: Lisa Strassheim is real. She is my roommate and her dog, Mr. Magoo is also real but sadly no longer with her. She has relatives in Zieglerville so any information about said town, I received from her. I have never been to Pennsylvania and I have only visited Washington, D.C. once. Please forgive me for any errors in locations. All other characters you don't recognize, I created.
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Faster! He had to move faster or else they would catch him again. Every time he tried to draw in more oxygen into his lungs, he would slow down and cough deeply. Each deep cough caused his side to spasm. With each spasm, he would briefly close his eyes against the pain that generated from his injuries. Most of his right side radiated pain. The worst pain came from his hand, lower arm and shoulder. He had a vague memory of another time when he was hurt almost as bad as now. His face throbbed from the repeated beatings he remembered them giving to him and that also explained why his right eye kept wanting to stay shut every time he closed his eyes.
Faster! Another deep breath and another bad coughing spasm. This time, the pain was severe. He was still moving and never even saw the large tree root in his path. He tripped and fell, twisting his left knee. His first instinct was to put out his hands to stop his fall. His right hand hit the ground first. The already broken bones ground against each other painfully. The muscles in his right arm couldn't hold him up and they gave out completely. He gasped from the pain in his arm and then from the brief pain that radiated from his head as it hit the ground soundly. Blackness overtook his vision and then he was no longer in pain.
18 July 1996
3:15pm
Strassheim Property
Zieglerville, PA
Lisa Strassheim was out walking her tri-colored Boarder Collie, Mr. Magoo. Lisa's aunt had left her the house and property that she was now walking. Lisa was a very observant person. She loved art and nature and tried to mix the two loves together. Sometimes it worked beautifully.
Mr. Magoo was running ahead of Lisa and sniffing the ground like he was on the trail of a rabbit or squirrel. He came up to one of the few and far between trees on Lisa's property and started barking. Lisa called to him, "Magoo, come here boy. You find a rabbit, boy?"
She walked up behind Magoo and patted his back as she looked down to see what he was barking at. Lisa's eyes widened as she looked down upon a man. He seemed to be unconscious but Lisa still moved back from where he was laying. Lisa had a good hold on Magoo's collar as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911.
"911, can I have your name, address and phone number? Can you tell me what your emergency is?" the operator said.
"My name is Lisa Strassheim, I live at RR10, box 13, Zieglerville. My cell phone is 555-1225 and my home phone is 555-1031. There is a man on my property who appears to be unconscious. He looks pretty beaten up."
"Where on your property is the unconscious man located ma'am?"
"I'm near Willow Road, maybe a quarter mile north of it."
"I've dispatched a paramedic team and a patrol car to your location ma'am. Can you tell if the unconscious man is breathing?"
"I can see his chest moving but not very much. He only has a pair of dirty, bloody, ripped-up jeans on. No shirt, no socks or shoes."
"Can you see anything else from where you're standing?"
"His right hand, wrist, and arm are laying at a strange angle, not normal. His right shoulder and right side of his face are quite bruised up. It looks like the soles of his feet are scratched up badly, maybe even cut."
"Very helpful. Okay, ma'am. Paramedics should be there in about five minutes along with the Sheriff. What else can you tell me about the man."
Just as Lisa was about to speak, the man's body jerked. Magoo barked and seemed ready to attack. After a few jerky movements, he settled back down and didn't move again. Lisa brought the cellular back to her ear and said, "He just did some jerking movements, like coughing when you're half asleep."
"Did you see any fluid come out of his mouth?"
"I'm not near his head to be able to tell and I don't want to get any closer."
"All right Lisa, stay where you are. Can you hear any sirens yet?"
"Just now. I can see the ambulance and police car now."
"All right Lisa, I'm going to hang up now since the Sheriff is there. Thank you for all your help."
"You're welcome," Lisa said as she disconnected and shutdown her cellular. The Sheriff and paramedics came rushing up to her and asked, "Where's the victim?"
Lisa pointed to the other side of an exposed tree root and the paramedics went around to tend to their patient. The Sheriff stood next to Lisa and introduced himself.
"Hi, I'm Todd Lycos, the Sheriff of Zieglerville. I need to ask you a few questions, if I may?"
"All right Sheriff but I really can't tell you much."
"That's fine but I do need to get some information from you. Can I have your full name and address?"
"Lisa Strassheim and I live in Champaign, Illinois." Lisa spelled her last name for him. "My aunt passed away and left me her house and property. This is my first visit here since acquiring the property. I was walking my dog and wasn't expecting to find this." She pointed to where the paramedics were working.
"Did you notice anything suspicious out here while you were walking or hearing any strange noises last night?"
"No, nothing strange at anytime yesterday, last night or today. Why do you ask?" Lisa's curiosity was now peeked and she wanted to know why the Sheriff would ask these questions. "Does this kind of thing happen often around here?"
"Just standard questions, in case you might have seen anything like headlights out here on the property, that's all."
Both Lisa and the Sheriff then waited for the paramedics to finish preparing the man for transport to the local clinic or nearest hospital.
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When the paramedics went around the tree root, they didn't know what they would be up against as far as injuries to their soon-to-be patient. The two paramedics had been well- trained for all emergencies.
The first EMT around the tree was Judith Light. She was a five year veteran paramedic. Judith or Judy, as her friends and colleagues called her, reached the unconscious man first. She placed her equipment by his head and started to check his breathing. Judy found the man's breathing to be shallow, slow and partially impaired. She noticed that his throat area was badly bruised and swollen. She looked down at his chest and also saw bruising surrounding his ribs. She turned to her partner of three years and said, "Tell base we have a male, approximate late thirties with contusions over most of his chest, arms and face. Respiration is shallow and twenty-five. He also has a severely bruised and swollen neck which could be causing some of the breathing difficulties." She paused to listen to his lungs and heart. Judy turned back to her partner and continued, "His lungs sound congested but his heart sounds fine. Also, he has a possible broken rib, if not two, which could also be contributing to his shallow breathing." Judy continued to check the unconscious man's upper body. As she started checking both his upper and lower arms, Judy found more injuries. "Tell base that his right wrist is also broken and his left thumb is either dislocated or broken, possibly both. It also looks like this guy was held against his will because both his wrists are severely lacerated. His right shoulder also has what looks like a bullet entry hole in the front but so far no exit wound. The right side of his abdomen also has a similar bullet wound. I can find no exit wound either."
James Conover, her EMT partner nodded his acknowledgment as he set up the radio that connected them to the clinic in Zieglerville. Jim was a three year veteran paramedic/firefighter. He had been partnered with Judy within days of his graduation from paramedic training. Together, they had the best survival record of any paramedics in the state of Pennsylvania. Jim relayed to the doctor on duty Judy's information on the patient so far. He listened intently as the doctor relayed beginning instructions about the patient care.
Jim turned to Judy and said, "Dr. Wright says to start an IV with ringers and a five cc injection of Morphine. Make sure his airway is unobstructed. He also wants to know what other injures there are." Jim paused and handed Judy a cervical collar so she could place it around their patient's neck. As he bent down to pickup another piece of equipment, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. When he looked over in the direction of his glimpse, he saw that the patient's feet were torn and bleeding. He took a closer look and gave out a long whistle. Judy looked at him and gave Jim a questioning look. Jim shook his head and said, "This guy isn't going to be walking for a few days. The soles of both feet are cut to hell. I can see a piece of glass in one foot. I'll get his feet bandaged, do you need help with the IV?"
"No, it's in along with the Morphine but we'll need the backboard to transport him. We'll need a couple of splints too. Wrist and arm plus ribs. Also something to immobilize his shoulder. Looks like his entire right side is going to be useless for a while. Can you find anything damaged below his waist besides his feet?"
Jim nodded and started feeling both of the victim's legs. When Jim got to just below the left knee, the patient gave out a low groan and tried to move his leg away from Jim's hand. "I think we'll need a leg splint too. I don't think the leg is broken but the knee joint is pretty swollen."
"All right Jim, go get the splints and backboard and I'll bandage his feet and wrists for transport."
As Jim started heading back to the truck, Judy shifted the patient slightly off his back so that it would be easier to get the backboard under him. She placed her hand under the patient's right side and lifted marginally. She frowned when her hand came in contact with something wet and sort of sticky. She laid the man back down and pulled her hand away and was startled to see that it was covered in not-quite dry blood. Judy moved around the man and checked his back again. "Oh my God!!" she gasped. Judy turned and yelled at Jim, "Bring more bandages and plenty of gauze. His back is ripped to hell."
Jim turned and listened to Judy as she yelled. He nodded back at her and picked up his pace to the truck. He opened the back door and retrieved everything they would need and then ran back to the patient and his partner. Together they shifted the unconscious man so they could bandage his back, immobilize his right shoulder and arm, splinted his wrist and knee and finally finished bandaging his feet and wrists. They slid the backboard under him, strapped him to it and loaded him onto the stretcher. He was again strapped in for transport and rolled to the ambulance. Jim lifted the right side while Judy lifted the left side. The stretcher rolled into the ambulance with ease. Judy got in the back with the patient while Jim shut the backdoor and ran around to the driver's side. Jim got in, flipped on the flashers and sped away.
Judy was updating the patient's vital statistics when he started groaning. She spoke to him gently, trying to calm him by explaining what was going on. She said, "Sir, can you hear me? You're in ambulance heading for a hospital. I know you're in pain but try to remain calm. We'll be arriving in a few minutes."
The patient was groaning more and had started to mumble. Judy leaned closer to see if she could understand what the man was saying. She heard him mumble, "No more . . .please, no more . . .hurts . . .Scully . . .Skinner . . .help me . . .make it stop . . ." He grew quiet then and Judy checked his respiration. It seemed he had lapsed back into unconsciousness. She asked Jim what the ETA was to the clinic/hospital and Jim told her two minutes. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the patient would make it to the clinic alive. She knew that with all his injuries that he would be airlifted to one of the hospitals in Harrisburg. She sent up a silent prayer that he would recover from whatever ordeal he had been put through.
The ambulance reached the clinic in under the two minutes and the patient was unloaded and wheeled into the emergency room. The words in the room flew around fast and Judy and Jim added to what they had already described to the doctor via the two-way radio. The doctor did a cursory evaluation and had one of his other nurse's call for an airlift. He had another nurse call Harrisburg General Hospital and tell them that a patient was coming in by airlift in approximately thirty to forty-five minutes. He then stabilized the patient for transport. The doctor also changed the bloodied bandages on the patient's back, wrists and feet.
While the doctor was working, Sheriff Lycos asked to take the unconscious man's fingerprints. The doctor asked why and the sheriff explained that since the man had no identification on him, taking his fingerprints was his next choice since the patient showed no signs of being able to tell them who he was. The doctor agreed and the fingerprints were taken quickly and efficiently. Sheriff Lycos then left to run the man's ‘prints' through all databases and check into any missing persons alerts.
Approximately thirty minutes after the unconscious man was wheeled into the emergency room at Zieglerville Clinic, a helicopter touched down to transport him to Harrisburg General Hospital. The onboard EMTs were given all the information and procedures done to the patient as he was loaded onto the helicopter. The head EMT locked the stretcher into place, thanked Dr. Wright and then the helicopter flew off to Harrisburg with their patient. Everyone that had been involved with this unconscious man wished him ‘Godspeed' in the travel and his recovery.
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Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters
Missing Persons Department
5:00pm
18 July 1996
At FBI headquarter in Washington, D.C., an alarm sounded in a busy room. Agent Petersen walked over to the fax machine to check out the alarm. His eyes widened as the fingerprints came through the machine. For almost two weeks, his entire department had been told to keep a sharp eye out for anyone inquiring about this set of fingerprints. The ‘prints' belonged to an agent who had been abducted forcibly from his home. One of the Assistant Director's wanted to be notified immediately if any inquiries were made. Now he had one but he had also seen Assistant Director Walter S. Skinner leaving the building with Special Agent Dana Scully. He really didn't want to disturb the A.D. but he also had to follow orders. He reached for the phone and dialed the A.D.'s office.
Assistant Director Walter Skinner's secretary, Kim, was putting away the last of the paperwork on her desk when the phone rang. She sighed and reached for the phone and answered, "Assistant Director Skinner's office, how may I help you?"
"Kim, hi this is Kyle Petersen from down in Missing Persons. Is the A.D. in or can you get a message to him?"
"Yes, I can, but why? Has there been some news on Agent Mulder?" Kim asked anxiously.
"I believe so. Can you connect me to the A.D. or atleast have him call me? I'll be on duty until 10:00pm tonight," Kyle said breathlessly.
"Hold the line and I'll transfer you to him," she said. Kim pressed the transfer button and called A.D. Skinner's cellular phone number.
Assistant Director Walter S. Skinner and Special Agent Dana K. Scully, MD had just sat down to eat at a nice Oriental restaurant. They had left FBI headquarters after having spent another two days in the building without a break. Both were exhausted and had struck a deal to get something to eat and then to get some much needed sleep. As they talked quietly about the missing Agent Mulder, Skinner's cell phone rang. He politely apologized to Agent Scully for the interruption and then answered with his usual reply, "Skinner."
"Sorry to disturb you Sir but I have a transfer call from Agent Petersen in Missing Persons for you. May I put him through?" Kim asked tentatively.
"Transfer the call Kim."
Scully looked at the A.D. curiously and he replied, "Kim is transferring Agent Petersen of Missing Persons to me. Maybe it's some news about Mulder."
"Let's hope so. We could use any kind of news on his whereabouts right now," Scully said quietly.
Just then Skinner's attention was called back to his phone. The transfer was complete and Agent Petersen was on the other end stating, "A.D. Skinner, Sir? You left orders to be notified if any inquiries about Agent Mulder were made."
"Yes I did Agent Petersen and I take it there has been?"
"Yes Sir about five minutes ago, a fax came in with Agent Mulder's prints and a request for identification. We have the fax machine set up to sound when certain prints or names come through. We added Agent Mulder's when the Missing Persons report was filed by Agent Scully."
"Where did the request come from Agent Petersen?"
"A little town in Pennsylvania Sir. Zieglerville is the town and the local Sheriff is Todd Lycos. It seems an unidentified man was found unconscious on someone's property, they called 9-1-1 and since the man had no ID on him, his prints were taken in the hopes of finding out who he is."
"Do you have a number for this Sheriff Lycos, Agent?"
"Yes Sir. The number is 717-538-2297. That should get you directly to the Sheriff Sir. Is there anything else I can do Sir?" Agent Petersen asked tentatively.
"No Agent Petersen, not at the moment. That number was 717-538-2297, was that correct?"
"Yes Sir, that's the number. Sir, I hope Agent Mulder is alright and will be back to work soon."
"Thank you Agent Petersen, I hope he is too. I'll pass on your regards to Agent Mulder when I see him. Thank you again Agent," Skinner said again as he disconnected from his Agent. He took a deep breath and looked at Dana Scully. He could see the worry on her face and couldn't help but have feelings of sympathy for her. He took another deep breath and spoke quietly to her. "Mulder may have been found. A Sheriff Lycos in Zieglerville, Pennsylvania faxed a set of prints into our Missing Persons division. The prints matched Mulder's. I need to call this Sheriff and find out what's going on. You have a choice, I can call from here or we can go back to my office and get on the speaker phone. It's up to you Scully."
Dana Scully tried to keep her emotions in check. It had been almost two full weeks without word on her missing partner. All the anxiety and worry had taken their toll on her and she hoped that she could hold it together long enough to see Mulder well and back at work. She looked into Walter Skinner's eyes and said, "Let's call from your office Sir. We would have to go back there anyway to make arrangements to either go to him or bring him home."
"Good thinking Scully. Let's go," Walter said as he motioned for their waiter to bring him the check.
The short trip back to Walter Skinner's office was quiet, as both Scully and Skinner were lost in their own thoughts. Walter walked steadily through the halls of the FBI, escorting Agent Scully all the way to his office. His secretary, Kimberly, hadn't left for the day yet. She silently hoped that the AD and Agent Scully would return with good news about the missing Agent Mulder.
Walter looked at Kim and asked, "What are you still doing here Kim, you should have left a half-an-hour ago?"
"I was hoping that Agent Petersen had passed on some good news about Agent Mulder. I stayed in the hopes that either you or Agent Scully would return and fill me in. Has Agent Mulder been found Sir?" Kim asked with great concern. She really did like Mulder and sometimes felt very sorry for him when Skinner called him in to chew him out.
"I don't know Kim but we'll soon." Skinner handed her a piece of paper with a phone number on it. "Can you get this number for me and then transfer it to my office. A Sheriff Lycos should answer."
"Certainly Sir," she said with a slight smile playing on her lips. She then started to dial the number as she watched Skinner and Scully enter his office and close the door.
Sheriff Todd Lycos had just sat down at his desk, when his phone rang. He had sent the unidentified man's fingerprints to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in the hopes of identifying him. So far, no one had responded to his inquiries and he feared that the man would remain a ‘John Doe' until he could become coherent enough to tell the Harrisburg authorities who he was. Todd had called the Harrisburg Police Department and spoke to his friend of twenty-five years, Captain Lewis Halpern. Lewis was head of the Assault and Battery division and would be handling the ‘John Doe' case until it was determined to be something else. Todd was hoping the call was from Lewis with information about the unidentified man.
Todd Lycos answered his phone on the third ring and said, "Sheriff Lycos, can I help you?"
"Sheriff Lycos, please hold for Assistant Director Walter Skinner," said the female voice at the end of his receiver.
Approximately thirty seconds later, a deep male voice came on the line stating, "Sheriff Lycos, my name is Walter Skinner, I'm an Assistant Director with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Your office sent an inquiry as to the identity of an unknown individual. Could you please give me a description of said individual, his current physical condition and his current whereabouts."
"Well, I'd say the guy is about six feet tall, maybe weighed one hundred and sixty pounds at most. He's got brown hair as much as I could tell. He was pretty beaten up and it looked like he had a couple of recent bullet wounds but I could be mistaken on that point. According to the paramedics, his right shoulder, arm and wrist are basically out of commission for a long while and his left knee might be sprained. Judy said it looked like he had been held against his will because both of his wrists were torn to hell. His feet were cut up too but they weren't sure if that came from his captivity or his escape. There's some more damage but I'm not a doctor. They transferred the guy to Harrisburg General Hospital. We only have a clinic here and transfer all serious cases to either Harrisburg or Pittsburgh. Excuse me Mr. Skinner, but is this guy wanted for some reason?" Todd asked finally.
"No Sheriff Lycos, the man you described sounds like one of my Agents who has been missing for a little under two weeks. Could you give me the phone number for Harrisburg General, it would save me some time," Walter asked the Sheriff.
"Certainly Mr. Skinner. The number is 717-528-3987. He was airlifted in so just tell whoever answers the phone that info, they know where to direct you from there. I hope he is your man Sir."
"Thank you Sheriff, I hope he is too. I'll keep you informed as to what happened. Thanks again."
Skinner disconnected the speaker and looked at Scully. He read worry all over her face. He was worried too and immediately dialed Harrisburg General Hospital. A professional female voice came on the line and stated, "Harrisburg General, how may I direct your call?"
Skinner cleared his throat and stated, "My name is Walter Skinner, I'm looking for a patient that was airlifted in a short time ago."
The voice said calmly, "Oh yes, the young 'John Doe' is in the Emergency Room. I'll transfer you down there. One moment Sir."
Skinner heard the sound of a phone being transferred and then another voice said, "Emergency, Nurse Carlyle speaking. How can I help you?"
"Nurse Carlyle, I'm Assistant Director Walter Skinner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I was informed that a 'John Doe' was airlifted to you from Zieglerville just a short time ago. Can you give me the status of his condition?"
"Sir, I'm only allowed to give out information on patients to their immediate family members. As for the 'John Doe', unless I see your badge or a court order stating that I should give out the information, I can't divulge that information especially over the phone. If you wish to find out about him Sir, please come down to the Hospital in person. Good evening Sir."
Skinner stared at the phone in his hand as it emitted a loud dialtone. After a minute of staring, he finally replaced the handset in its cradle and looked at Scully.
"Well, what did the hospital say was Mulder's condition? How severe are his injuries? Can we get to see him? Can we bring him home?" Scully asked Skinner.
"The nurse, a nurse Carlyle, said she could only give out information to immediate family members and as for the 'John Doe', she would only give out information after I showed her my badge or with a court order. So Scully, fancy a trip to Harrisburg General Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania?"
"Yes Sir, I do fancy a trip and I might just give 'Nurse Carlyle' a piece of my mind, especially if the 'John Doe' is Mulder. So, when do we leave Sir?"
"As soon as I can arrange for a car and some directions," Walter said as he beeped for Kim and gave her instructions about requisitioning a car and directions to Harrisburg General Hospital.
End of Part I
Part II
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Email: drifter@mcleodusa.net
