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Written By: Chris Munn |
WASHINGTON, DC
11:23 PM
"They're here!" the man shouted into the night air. Several passers-by stared at the homeless man, who was staggering around the crowded street. He had been screaming nonsensical things such as this for about an hour, and had been causing quite a scene.
"Get a damn job!" a well-dressed man said to the homeless man as he walked by. The homeless man stared him down and began to scream again.
"It's already planned, your lives are forfeit!" he yelled. He was surprisingly clean-cut for a homeless man, but the stench and tattered clothing assurred that he was. "Everyone dies! Listen to me!"
He rambled on for a few more minutes, yelling about aliens and conspiracies. Eventually, he realized that nobody was paying attention to him. He staggered down the street, and entered an alley. The solitude comforted him, and he seemed at peace until a sharp pain in his chest made him double over.
He looked up from the alley floor, and saw a man standing a few feet down from him. The man advanced toward the homeless man, blocking the alley's exit. A look of recognition came over the homeless man's face when the second man stepped under a light.
"Obsidian?" the man asked.
Obsidian stood in front of him, looking the homeless man over. The man was obviously sick, with a cold sweat covering his face. Then, Obsidian noticed something moving underneath the man's skin. The Purity Virus had infected him, and the alien presence was inside his body.
"Another failure," Obsidian whispered to himself. He then pulled out the alien stiletto, extending the needle-like blade.
WASHINGTON, DC
2:32 AM
Mulder sat in his car, waiting patiently. He had been sitting for about 2 hours, not knowing what to expect when he finally met the man that had contacted him. He had taken tips from inside sources before, but this one was distinctly mysterious. The e-mail he received had simply asked him to be at a certain spot in DC between midnight and four AM. He would have disregarded the message, had it not been for a certain sentence. The letter had ended with a sentence, "I can tell what you need to know about the date. Purity has not stopped like you thought."
He had no idea who had sent it, so he kept quiet about it. He hadn't even told Scully, which wasn't a strange occurrence. He had always kept her in the dark about his sources. It wasn't a matter of trust on his part, he had put his life in her hands on too many occasions. But, if a source came to him, they might be fearful of Agent Scully's skepticism.
While Mulder was amidst in thought, the passenger side door of his car opened and a man sat down inside. Mulder hadn't seen him before, so the source's anonymity remained intact.
"I apologize for making you wait, Agent Mulder," the Anonymous Man said to him. "I had to make sure the area was secure."
"It's fine," Mulder replied. "What do you have to show me?"
"Tell, Agent, not show," the man responded. He looked around the car, making sure that there was nothing amiss, and then continued speaking. "A homeless man was found murdered here a few nights ago. Find the man's body, it will start your search for the truth."
"What? How is that relevant to anything? Homeless men are found dead on these streets every day. It's a pretty common occurrence," Mulder said.
"I'm sorry, Agent, but I can't tell you anymore," the Anonymous Man said as he opened the car door.
"Wait a minute! I'm not going to be jerked around with another vague lead from a source that I have no reason to believe! How is this important?" Mulder asked, agitated at the man's vagueness.
"Again, I'm sorry. I can't say anything else about it, only what I've been told to disclose to you. Find the man's body, Mulder. It will tell you more than you could ever imagine." With that, the man exited the car and briskly walked away.
Mulder sat in his car, angered at the lack of information the man provided. How many times had he done this to himself? He has been used so many times in the past, what makes this any different. But there was always the chance that this lead could be valid, and that he could grasp some of the long-sought-after answers that he wanted. He started the car and drove, determined that the homeless man's body would be found the next day.
FBI HEADQUARTERS,
WASHINGTON, DC
9:23 AM
Agent Scully sat in the office of Assistant Director Skinner, her immediate superior. He had requested that she and Agent Mulder meet him in his office at 9:15, but Mulder was late to work. She was sure he would have a valid excuse, but it probably wouldn't matter to Skinner. He was a fair boss, but a stern one. She turned toward the door as the Assistant Director walked through. He proceeded to sit down at his desk, facing the agent.
"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Scully asked.
"Yes, where is Agent Mulder?" he responded.
"I was unable to reach him at such short notice. I think he's following up a lead on a case," she told him in order to cover for her partner.
"Okay, then you'll have to catch him up on this," he said. Scully was surprised at the AD's willingness to accept her excuse. Mulder had already underwent an OPR Investiagtion after being suspected of Carl Kleitman's death not long ago. Why was he cutting him slack now of all times?
"What is it, Sir?"
"I have an assignment for you, one of utmost importance. A prominent Senator has disappeared, believed to be kidnapped," he told her as he slid a file toward her. "His name is Kyle McAlistaire. He disappeared from his home early yesterday morning."
"Sir, why are you giving this to us? Is it an X-File?" she asked, a little confused.
"I'm not sure, Agent Scully. The order came down from the Senate itself, that you and Mulder were to be the investigating agents. Keep in mind that the media has yet to learn of this. We would like to keep it that way, at least for now."
"I understand,"
"You're dismissed, Agent Scully. I trust that you two will solve this in ample time."
With that, Scully stood and walked out of the Assistant Director's office and proceeded to the elevator.
She reached the basement office within minutes, and was surprised to see Mulder sitting at his desk waiting on her.
"When did you get here, Mulder?" she asked. "Skinner was wanting to see both of us."
"I just got here, sorry," he said, "but what I've got could be worth missing Skinner's meeting."
"What are you talking about?" she asked, clearly confused.
"I was contacted last night by a man who gave me information on a murder. He told me that I needed to find the body of a homeless man that was found dead a few days ago. He told me that it would lead me to the answers I wanted." he told her.
"What answers are those, Mulder?"
Mulder laughed a little laugh, "I'm not even sure anymore."
"Mulder, homeless men are found dead every day. It's a sad, yet true, statistic."
"Oh, trust me Scully, I said the exact same thing,"
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but Skinner just gave us an official assignment. A US Senator has been kidnapped, and the order came down from the Senate that we are to be the investigative agents."
"What?" he asked intently.
"That's what Skinner wanted to talk to us about," she told him, "We're to start immediately in order to stay ahead of the press."
"Scully, I know that this information given to me is important. Tell Skinner that we're already involved in a case."
"I can't do that, Mulder. We've been given an order! Your 'source' comes secondary to an actual assignment, and you know that," she said with a harsh tone to her voice. "You need to tread lightly, Mulder. After all that happened with Kleitman recently, you're already on thin ice here at the FBI."
"Fine, Scully," he said while standing up and grabbing his coat, "YOU follow up on this Senator. I'm going to track down the lead given to me." With that, he stormed out of the office, leaving Scully alone.
Obsidian sat uncomfortably in his chair, being rather restless. He had just sat through a rather fierce chewing-out from his "immediate superior," because of his actions a few nights before. He had done what was necessary, but the group didn't seem to realize that.
He stood up and exited the empty room. "To hell with this," he muttered to himself as he walked down the stairs.
He flung the door to the building open and started walking down the sidewalk. He was too angry to notice that he was being watched, a mistake Obsidian would have kicked himself for if he had realized it.
As he walked away, the man watched Obsidian with steely eyes. "Gotcha," the man said while removing his fake beard and wig. Alex Krycek sat in his car, pleased at his discovery.
LANDOVER METHODIST HOSPITAL,
WASHINGTON, DC
2:28 PM
"What makes the FBI interested in a John Doe case?" the morgue attendant asked while leading Mulder through the room.
"I'm sorry," Mulder said, "I don't think I caught your name."
"Hermann," the attendant replied, "Hermann Plachek."
"Well, Hermann, it's kind of hush-hush right now. Sorry I can't tell you," Mulder said in a quiet tone, using it to exaggerate his statement.
"Oh...well okay," Hermann said with a sense of importance, "Whatever I can do to help the FBI, then."
"Is this him?" Mulder asked while pointing to a completely covered body.
"Yep, that's him. He hasn't been unwrapped for a few days, but he's been kept cool. So things should still be pretty intact."
"Can you leave me alone for a few minutes?" Mulder asked. Hermann nodded his head and walked away toward the elevator.
Mulder had been travelling to different hospital morgues all day, searching for the bodies of John Doe's that had turned up in the past few nights. He had hoped with each one that a clue would turn up, but all had been wrong. He pulled back the sheeting that covered the body, and was shocked at the discovery. The body had decomposed strangely, despite being kept cool. The skin had almost turned into a strange slime-substance. Mulder knew that this is what he was meant to find because he had seen it before. Scully had autopsied a body such as this a few years ago, the body of a man infected with the Purity Virus.
After a moment of shock and realization, he pulled out his cell-phone and flipped it open. But, before he could begin to dial, he felt the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of his neck.
FBI HEADQUARTERS,
WASHINGTON, DC
2:39 PM
Scully sat in the basement office, watching the television with complete concentration. She held the remote control hitting the play button. She had managed to get videotape of a speech Senator McAlistaire had made the day before he disappeared. There had to be something that would stand out, some kind of clue as to whom had kidnapped him.
She scanned the screen after pausing on a shot of the crowd that faced the Senator. Nothing seemed strange, no one out of place that would stand out to her. Mostly reporters, a few passers-by. Then, her gaze struck a familiar face.
"What the hell?" she muttered to herself while studying the screen. She hit the frame button, attempting to get a better look at the person she spotted. She finally stopped on a frame that showed the man's complete face. It was the man that had came to her in the hospital while Mulder had been comatose, the one who called himself Obsidian. Why was he there? Then she scanned her eyes up a little into the crowd, and her jaw dropped in surprise. Another familiar face, one that was completely unexpected. That of Alex Krycek.
She dropped the remote on the desk and picked up the phone. She had to inform Mulder of this, knowing that he would drop his lead to pursue this. She dialed his cell phone, but her partner didn't answer.
She slammed the phone down and raced out the door toward the elevator. She traveled to a higher floor and briskly walked toward Assistant Director Skinner's office.
"Yes, Agent Scully?" Skinner's secretary asked. Scully simply ignored her and barged into her superior's office, as she had done on more than one occasion.
"Sir, I need to speak to you right now," she said as she closed the door behind her.
"About what, Agent?" Skinner asked.
"Who gave us this assignment, Sir?" she asked with a harsh tone in her voice.
"As I told you before, Scully, I don't know. I was simply sent a letter by the Senate that you and Agent Mulder were to be the investigators."
"We were put on this case for a reason, Sir," she stated, "because I've found evidence that ties McAlistaire's disappearance to us. Why was he being watched by Alex Krycek?"
"What?" Skinner responded with surprise.
"I found him in a video, watching the Senator's last public speech. What the hell is going on?"
"That's what you're going to have to find out, Agent," Skinner replied with disdain. "You are dismissed, Scully."
Scully, obviously frustrated, exited the Assistant Director's office and proceeded down the hallway. She again attempted to call Mulder's cell phone, and again got no answer.
"Mulder, where the hell are you?"
WASHINGTON, DC
3:00 PM
LOCATION UNKNOWN
Mulder was shoved through the door of the warehouse, almost being knocked down. He had been taken, at gunpoint, to a car waiting outside of the hospital. The three men then shoved a bag over his head and drove. They had arrived at a location after about fifteen minutes, but Mulder had been unable to judge the time well.
The men walked Mulder to the back of the warehouse, who then made him walk outside to the back of the building. There, Mulder saw a man that he never expected to see again.
"Ah, Agent Mulder!" Senator Haley said, "It's good to see you made it."
Mulder stood his ground with a rush of memories overcoming him. It had been a little over a year ago when he and Scully investigated an assassination attempt on Senator Haley's life. Rousch Technologies had attempted to kill him with the alien Purity Virus, but Mulder had concluded that the Senator was nothing more than an innocent victim who had no idea what he was involved in. Now, it appeared to be much more than that.
"What am I doing here?" Mulder asked.
"You received a visit from a man last night," Haley responded, "he told you about the body of a homeless man that had been murdered. I sent him to you, in order for you to discover the truth."
"What is the truth?" Mulder questioned.
"I'm about to show you, Agent Mulder," Haley replied with a smile.
"Show me what?" Mulder asked with agitation in his voice.
"Something that is going to change your world,"
WASHINGTON, DC
CAPITOL HILL
OFFICE OF SENATOR RICHARD MATHESON
3:09 PM
Scully sat in the hallway, attempting to make sense of her earlier discovery. What could Alex Krycek and Obsidian have to do with McAlistaire's kidnapping? Had he stumbled onto something that marked him for death, or worse? She sensed that Skinner had more knowledge than he was sharing, but how could she confront her superior with an accusation like that? Lost in thought, she barely noticed the door to Senator Matheson's office open.
"Agent Scully?" Matheson asked while standing in the doorway.
"Yes, Senator Matheson," she replied as she stood up, "I need to speak with you. I'm Agent Fox Mulder's partner."
"Then please come in," he said as he beckoned her into the office.
Scully entered the small room, and Matheson closed the door behind her. He motioned for her to sit as he made his way behind his desk.
"How can I help you, Agent Scully?"
"Sir, Agent Mulder and myself are investigating the disappearance of Senator McAlistaire. I'm sure you've heard about his alleged kidnapping?"
"Of course,"
"I know that you have helped Agent Mulder in the past," she said while holding her breath, "and I was hoping you would be able to help us with this."
"How so, Agent?"
"Perhaps...through unofficial channels?"
"Agent Scully, I'm afraid that I can't help you."
"Senator, please hear me..."
"Agent," Matheson interjected, "Do you realize that I could be killed simply for giving you an audience? I think you need to leave right now, before I have you escorted out."
"Thank you, Sir," Scully stated firmly. She then stood and exited the room.
Senator Matheson sat in silence for a few moments. He then picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"Yes?" Krycek said on the other end of the call.
"It's Matheson. Agent Scully just came to visit me on the Hill. She was asking me about McAlistaire."
"What did you tell her?"
"Nothing, of course,"
"Good. Keep me informed," Krycek then clicked the cell phone off. He picked his binoculars back up and went back to watching Obsidian's actions.
Mulder was lead through the train yard behind the warehouse, surrounded by Haley's men. He knew that his life was in jeopardy, but how could he possibly escape? As he contemplated his situation, the men stopped him in front of a train car. Mulder had seen these cars before, as a part of the government's secret railway that was used to do experiments on people in efforts to make an alien/human hybrid.
"Get in," one of the men said to him. He then shoved Mulder up the train car's steps, into the car itself. Inside the car was an operating table and several peices of medical equipment.
"This is what you've got to show me?" Mulder asked with a laugh, "You're not showing me anything I haven't already seen before, Senator."
"Hold him," Haley said to his guards. They then grabbed Mulder, holding him in his standing position.
"You have only seen fragments of the work, Agent Mulder." Haley said as he sat down on the operating table and began to remove his shirt. "I'm about to show you something that, until now, you have only been told about."
Mulder watched as one of Haley's guards picked up a hypodermic needle, which appeared to contain a liquid of some kind. The guard then injected Haley and backed away quickly. Haley was then strapped to the table, but remained calm and calculated throughout. Suddenly, he began to convulse, and Mulder realized what happened. As he watched, Haley's skin began to move. The Purity Virus was inching it's way through out the Senator's body, until it reached his brain. His eyes began to swim with the black oil, and his convulsions then stopped. Mulder could only watch, confused as to the point behind Haley's apparent suicide.
FBI HEADQUARTERS,
WASHINGTON, DC
3:32 PM
Scully entered the basement office and slumped down in the desk chair. Her plea for help from Senator Matheson had been a bust, and now she was left with more questions and no answers.
"Agent Scully?" Skinner asked as he walked into the office, "Where have you been?"
"I had a meeting with another Senator, Sir." Scully said.
"Well, I've been trying to reach you. It seems that another Senator has disappeared from his home, Thomas Blackwood."
"Sir?"
"Scully, I need to inform you that, whatever angle you are investigating, time is of the essence. We won't be able to keep the media from finding out and turning it into a circus."
"How can I investigate with any efficiency when I am denied answers from every person I turn to?" Scully asked, frustrated. "We have two Senators gone, possibly kidnapped. Why isn't this being investigated full force by the Bureau? It doesn't make any sense, Sir!"
"As much as I would like to help you on this," Skinner said with disdain, "there is nothing that I can do. We all take orders from someone, Agent Scully." With that, Skinner turned and walked out of the basement office. Scully sat in the chair, fuming at her denial for help.
Mulder watched as the guards hovered over Haley's body, attempting to administer any help that they could. Mulder was still held by two of the men and unable to leave the scene of the Senator's obvious suicide. He looked to his left, and noticed that one of the men holding him also weilded the stiletto that was used to kill the aliens.
Suddenly, Haley sprung up and broke his restraints. This distracted the guards, who attempted to hold the Senator down as one of them prepared another hypodermic needle. Mulder used this to his advantage, slipping out of the grasp of the man on his right. His arm came up and connected with the face of the man on his left, knocking him unconscious. He then turned and punched the other guard in the face, knocking him down. He grabbed the stiletto and jumped out of the train car.
He ran through the train yard while some of the guards followed in pursuit. Shots ran out behind him, but none managed to reach their target. He made it to the front of the warehouse, where a taxi luckily happened to be passing by. Mulder flagged it down and jumped inside.
"Drive!"
"Where to?" the cabbie asked.
Mulder looked out the window and saw the men advancing rapidly. "I don't care, just go! I'm a Federal Agent, those men are trying to kill me! Drive!"
A bullet raced through the taxi's window, and the driver finally decided that he needed to leave as quickly as possible. He stomped on the gas pedal, leaving Haley's guards behind them in a trail of dust.
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, DC
3:57 PM
"Mulder, where have you been?" Scully asked as her partner hurried through the office door.
"I've got something to tell you, something that I just witnessed." he said in a rush. "I found my mysterious homeless man, Scully."
"And?"
"He was infected with the Purity Virus, just like the firmen in Dallas a few years ago. But, before I could examine him any, I was held at gunpoint and taken to a train car where I witnessed a US Senator infect himself with the Virus!"
"A Senator? Which one?" Scully asked, her interest enhanced.
"Senator Haley, the same one that we investigated a year ago,"
"Mulder, that may have more to do with the case Skinner assigned us than we thought," she admitted. "I scanned through a video of Senator McAlistaire's speech the day before he disappeared. Guess who popped up in it?"
"Who?"
"Alex Krycek, Mulder. He was there watching another man that I've come into contact with recently. The man who approached me in the hospital when Piora had poisoned you. They're responsible for McAlistaire's disappearance, and they probably have something to do with what you witnessed today!"
Mulder sat in silence for a moment. "Scully, do you have a picture of McAlistaire?"
"Yeah," she replied as she shuffled through the file. She pulled out McAlistaire's picture and set it on the desk. She looked at Mulder, who's eyes showed that he had made the connection she had looked for all day.
"Scully, that's the homeless man that I found this morning," he replied softly.
Suddenly, a knock came from the door, startling both Agents. Mulder walked to the door and opened it, but stood back in shock when he saw who it was. He backed toward the desk slowly, indicating to Scully that something wasn't right. They watched as Senator Haley walked into the office, closing the door behind him. Mulder had assumed that the Senator had died in the train car after he left, but now that he was standing before them it was obvious that he was suffering no effects of the Purity Virus.
"Agent Mulder, you look like you've just seen a ghost," Haley said with a slight laugh.
"What the hell is going on?" Mulder asked with agitation in his voice.
"I told you that what I had to show you would change your world," Haley said, "and now I'm here to explain myself."
"Enlighten us," Scully said sternly.
"I know that you are investigating the disappearances of Senator McAlistaire and Blackwood. Well, I hate to tell you that the investigation is all for naught. They weren't kidnapped, but volunteered to take part in the same experiment that you witnessed in the train car, Mulder."
"Why?" Mulder asked, a look of confusion on his face.
"The two senators, along with myself and a few others, are members of a secret governmental cabal. I realize that you two have had encounters with one such group in the past. We work at odds with this conspiratorial group, attempting to find a way to rebel against the oncoming alien threat. Unfortunately, we do not have access to large amounts of the Russian Purity vaccine that the other group possesses. Therefore, we have no immunity. The plan we had devised was to infect themselves, and to use a stolen version of the vaccine to make ourselves immune to the disease's effects."
"Then why did McAlistaire wind up dead?" Scully asked with a hint of disbelief.
"Unfortunately, Kyle broke free of his restraints and escaped the watch of his guards. When we finally found him, the virus' effects were too severe to admister the vaccine. He was too far gone, and therefore eliminated. Better to risk the death of a colleague than to be exposed."
"So is this what's happened to Senator Blackwood? What purpose does this serve? You state that you want to resist this alien force, yet all you do to prepare is attempt to save your own ass?"
Scully let out a breath of air, expecting Haley to respond. He simply looked at her and smiled.
"And besides," Scully continued, "The syndicate that you spoke of, the one you oppose, isn't active anymore. They all died in a fire, over a year ago!"
"Believe what you will, Agent Scully," Haley replied as he turned toward the door. "But be careful, what you think you know may come back to haunt you." With that, he opened the office door and walked out. Mulder and Scully simply sat in silence, absorbing the information given to them.
Obsidian walked in silence through the deserted parking facility. Things had begun to go wrong...very wrong. What had happened in the past 24 hours? The others had looked to him as a leader, not realizing that he, too, took orders from a superior. Perhaps things would have been better if he had let Mulder die a few months ago? Piora would still be alive, although a loose cannon. He had underestimated the terrorist's place in the project, and that estimation could now very well cost the human race it's existence. He knew that his position could very well doom him, the role of the fence-sitter was a delicate one. He helped create this new syndicate, this counter conspiracy. Had the Smoking Man learned of his defection? If so, then Obsidian knew to fear for his life. Although dying, the old bastard was still one of the most powerful men alive.
"Mr. Welsh?" a voice asked from behind. Obsidian turned quickly to see Alex Krycek standing behind him.
"Oh, it's you," Obsidian responded. "What do you want?"
"The truth," Krycek replied as he rose a pistol to Obsidian's chest. "What are you orchestrating behind closed doors, Welsh? He's on to you, and I've been sent to rectify it."
"You should know all about duplicity, Alex," Obsidian replied, "You were the one punished for selling secrets to the French and Chinese."
"That's the only thing that's keeping me from pulling the trigger right now, you smug son of a bitch. I need to know what's going on, especially if it deals with paying back the devil that I've unwittingly sold my soul to."
"You wouldn't be interested, there's nothing that I can tell you." Obsidian stated with a cold voice.
"Listen to me," Krycek said sternly as he pulled back the hammer on the pistol, "You will tell me what's going on. Don't leave me out of the loop!"
Obsidian stared at Krycek for a moment, but then suddenly extended his arm toward the gun. The weapon flew from Krycek's hand and landed on the asphalt floor with a clang. Obsidian's other arm then came up and connected with Krycek's face.
Alex staggered back, but then regained his senses and charged at Obsidian. He tackled him, sending both men crashing to the ground. Krycek then sat atop Obsidian, pounding on him with his own good arm. Obsidian kicked his legs, knocking Krycek off. Both men then looked over and saw the gun lying on the ground.
But, before either could react, the building's security guards began to enter the facility. "You'll regret this," Kryeck yelled as he began to sprint away. Obsidian said nothing as he, too, ran into the darkness.
WASHINGTON, DC
FBI HEADQUARTERS
8:03 PM
Mulder sat at his desk in silence. He still had yet to figure out the significance of Senator Haley's information. What did he have to gain by telling the FBI what had happened? He had no reason to fear, though. There was nothing Mulder could do to stop the events happening around him. But, he had come away with one piece of crucial information. The alien agenda had not ceased like he had believed, despite the Rebel faction's intervention over a year ago. The Cigarette Smoking Man had pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. Despite the fact that, according to Scully's encounter with him in her apartment, he was dying. He always seemed to be at the center of everything, of every conspiracy.
Mulder's concentration was broken suddenly by a ring from his phone. He flinched momentarily, surprised by the silence of the office being so rudely broken.
"Hello?" he answered.
"A gent Mul der," a voice said into the reciever, "I have in for ma tion for you." The voice was computer generated, making it impossible to know the identity of the caller. "You want to know a bout Sen a tor Black Wood? Go to the place you were ta ken to day. He is there. Good bye."
Mulder placed the phone back on the reciever. Someone was tipping him off yet again, but this time he would not be late for the party.
UNIDENTIFIED WAREHOUSE
8:59 PM
Mulder and Scully pulled up to the front of the warehouse, unsure of what to expect. Mulder had called his partner seconds after the anonymous caller tipped him off, and met with her as quickly as he could. The two got out of the car and started for the door, but when they reached it Mulder immediately noticed that the lock on the door had been broken.
The two pulled their guns and advanced into the warehouse. Mulder had not been given a good look at the interior when he was there earlier, so he wasn't exactly sure which way to go. The dark warehouse was illuminated only by the moon shining through the windows, and the small flashlights that the agents carried. Why had we ever gotten rid of our huge flashlights? Mulder thought to himself.
After a few minutes of wandering around, Mulder finally found the door to the back of the warehouse. The two exited the warehouse, and immediately came across the train car that Mulder had been taken to by Haley. The door was open, no need for a code to be punched.
Upon entering the train car, Mulder immediately saw Senator Blackwood's body lying on the operating table. The effects of the Purity Virus had ravaged his body, leaving him diseased and dying.
"How could someone do this to themself?" Scully asked, almost at a whisper. "This is inhuman."
"We have to get him out of here, Scully." Mulder said. "Even if we can't save his life, this is proof that we need. Haley told me that he had the answers I was looking for, and this is it. This alone proves that the alien agenda that we thought destroyed still has a chance of happening. This is what they plan for all of us!"
"But, Mulder, how are we supposed to help him? Yes, it would expose the virus to the public, with Blackwood being a public figure. There is no way to keep the men responsible from covering this up, Blackwood would be dead the minute we admitted him into a hospital!"
"Then what do you suggest, Scully? Leaving him here to die?"
Before Scully could respond, shouts of men disrupted their discussion. Three fully armed soldiers, equipped with gas masks, entered the train car. Mulder and Scully raised thier hands, and walked toward the men who had their rifles pointed at them.
"You are trespassing on government property!" The head soldier yelled. "Come with us, or we will be forced to shoot you!"
The agents walked toward the men, and were led out of the train car. More soldiers awaited them outside, and all had their machine guns trained on the doorway.
"You are to forget what you have seen here, do you understand me?" The lead man told them. "Take them away."
Mulder and Scully were led through the warehouse and taken back to their car. "Get in, drive, and don't look back," one of the soldiers told them. As they walked to the car, the sounds of machine gun fire pierced the air. The sound came from the direction of the train car. Mulder and Scully turned back toward their car, got in, and quickly drove away.
MULDER'S APARTMENT
WASHINGTON, DC
11:42 PM
Mulder sat on his couch, oblivious and lost in thought. His television was on, and although he was looking straight at it, he was paying no attention to it. His thoughts kept reflecting back on the events of the day. Haley had promised him answers, but all he had come out with were more questions...as usual.
RING! RING! RING!
"Mulder," he spoke into the phone's reciever.
"Agent Mulder, my name is Obsidian. We had the pleasure of meeting once before, even if you don't remember it."
"You're the one who sent me the e-mail about the Pentagon last fall, correct?"
"Correct, Agent. I am putting myself in jeopardy by calling you this night, but I feel that you are need of some clarification about tonight's events."
"You could say that,"
"I understand you spoke to Senator Haley today, and he gave you information about a group within the US Government? Blackwood was a member of this group, as am I. But, we had nothing to do with Blackwood's assassination. He had infected himself with Purity, as had Senator Haley. We have come to discover, however, that during this procedure Blackwood was kidnapped and his security killed. We believe that he was kidnapped by a man that you know very well, one that you have conflicts with in the past."
"The Smoking Man?"
"Yes. Blackwood was kidnapped in order to extract information from him. Information about us: thier upstart, rival, counter-conspiratorial group. When they discovered that you knew Blackwood's location, they sent in the Sweep Team to slash-and-burn the operation. We do not believe that they got their information, simply because if they had I would be dead already. As would Senator Haley."
"Then it was you who tipped me off to Blackwood's location?"
"No, we were unaware of the Senator's location. We had no inkling to look in our backyard...Senator Haley's injection site. I have no idea who tipped you off, Agent. But, whoever it was is probably already dead."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"We view you as an ally, Agent Mulder. But, that does not mean that we will allow you dig any deeper into this than we allow. Do not follow up on us, or you will be dealt with in a harsh manner. What you have witnessed today is only the tip of the iceburg, Mulder. We will talk again, soon."
With that, Mulder heard the click of the phone as Obsidian hung up.
Krycek walked through the halls of the office building, eyes straight ahead. He had walked these halls so many times he knew every office name plate by heart. But, he was only interested in one. He reached the door at the end of the hall, the one that bore the name "Spender" He turned the handle and walked in, knowing that the Smoking Man would be waiting for him.
"Alex," the Smoking Man said from behind his desk, "what do you have to report?"
"Our one time ally, Obsidian, is not who we believed him to be. He's been a busy boy today, meeting with people that he had no right to be meeting with. Our fears were right, he has defected."
"That's too bad," the Smoking Man said as he butted his cigarette in the ash tray. "Is he the one who alerted Mulder to Blackwood's whereabouts?"
"No, it was someone else." Krycek responded.
"Then I need you to find out, Alex. One leak in the group is enough, we have no use for two."
"Already done, already taken care of," Krycek replied.
Capital Hill was silent that late at night, with the offices abandoned until the morning. Bobby liked it like that, he could clean with impunity and sometimes take a look at the dirty dealings going on behind closed doors. Because to him, after hours, all doors were open.
He turned the key to the office of Senator Matheson. Now this guy was a rat if he had ever seen one. About a year ago, he had read a paper in the Senator's desk that said something about a machine that could enter a man's body and repair...or destroy...a man's cells. Now that was a secret project that sounded cool! he had thought at the time.
He entered the office and turned on the light. When he turned to face the desk, he recieved a shock. Matheson was sprawled out on his desk, blood trickling down from the hole in his forehead. He looked down to see a gun lying on the floor. He dropped his keys, and ran down the hall toward the security offices.
END NOTES BY AGENT FOX MULDER
CASE NUMBER X983882361
On another, yet related, note; the body of Senator Richard Matheson was found dead in his Capitol Hill office, the victim of a tragic suicide. Or, this is what we were lead to believe. Phone records have revealed that the phone call made to my office tipping me off to Blackwood's where-abouts came from an office on his floor. Senator Matheson, it would appear, paid the price for serving his country. More correctly, he paid the price for serving it in an honest way.
