Sun Behind The Clouds (pt. 3)
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SUN BEHIND CLOUDS (3/3)
By Olivia Severini
severini@atmos.ifa.rm.cnr.it
October 30, 1997
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Outside, everything was still and quiet. The street lamps gently
lightened the streets crossed only by a few passers returning home
from work. But they made no noise. Nothing seemed to make noise. Or
perhaps Julia wasn't able to perceive them over the storm beating in
her soul. They had cheated her. She had cheated her.
She bumped into an old man with a poodle on the leash. He coursed
loudly, but his voice was too far to reach her. It had been Scully
who had talked to her parents, to tell them about Alex. And now her
mum wanted her to go again to doctor Mackenzie, an idle fat man
hypocrite and sugary, interested only in her father's money.
*We are alone, Julia; selfish and indifferent just like the rest of
this world.*
* * * * *
Scully stared at the man straight in front of her. "When I was child,
among the other things I dreamed about having a strong ideal to lead
my life, Mulder. And you gave it me; the truth. Of course I know that
there are things that I'll never have: a wedding dress, a husband,
children or a desk of my own; but I don't regret any of my choices."
Despite the fact that she wasn't accustomed to talk about such topics
with Mulder, she had been able to speak clearly and firmly and,
thanks to God, her eyes were still dry. But a woolly voice inside of
her kept on telling her that, again, she hadn't been completely
sincere.
*Do you really regret nothing, Dana?*
The hint to her desk left the shadow of a smile on Mulder's face. She
was always able to make him feel better, to reassure him. He wasn't
sure at all that she haven't regrets, that the search for the truth
was really more important and gratifying than a wedding dress, a
husband and children. But all that he could do was to keep on
believing that there was a truth to find and a justice to pursue not
only for Scully, but also for his own sake.
He sat near her, grabbing her hand. Their eyes met for a brief moment,
then Scully rested her head over his shoulder. "Perhaps we could try
to steal Skinner's desk." Suggested Mulder, leaving her hand and
putting an arm around her shoulders.
Scully lowered her head and squinted at him. "Would you really do
that for me?"
Mulder smiled again and his smile turned quickly into a laugh. She
did the same, resting again her head over his shoulder. Some
capricious tears veiled her eyes, but Scully chose to ignore them.
She was too glad that they were still able to laugh, that they were
again together in spite of everything.
* * * * *
Proceeding along the narrow passage, Julia heard a burst of laughter.
She followed it to room 96, agent Scully's room, and stopped near the
ajar door.
They were there, laughing embraced. Julia's first thought was that
they were laughing about her, but then she realized that this was
quite unlikely. The truth was that she had no idea about what could
amuse them so much, nevertheless she felt to be in front of something
that she would never join. That they never would allow her to join.
Were they lovers? In any case they shared a deep bond, made of
friendship, care and absolute trust that Julia could clearly perceive
in their eyes.
Nevertheless the woman had betrayed her. Julia decided that Mulder
didn't know about his partner's chat with her parents and this turned
her instinctive dislike toward that woman into something similar to
hate.
Abruptly, Alex's voice crossed her mind like a flash. *That redhead,
with her cold blue eyes and her impeccable clothes is cheating both
of us!*
He was right. Mulder trusted her and she was betraying him. Now she
was sure of this, because she knew that Mulder would never shatter
their promise.
* * * * *
Mulder was about to leave Scully's room when his phone rang. It was
Julia who wanted to meet him as soon as possible. Concerned, he tried
to understand what was happening, but Julia replied that she had no
intention of speaking over the phone about such matters.
"Julia wants to talk with me." He explained briefly, meeting Scully's
inquiring glance.
"About?"
"I don't know, but she could be in danger. Perhaps Alex is
blackmailing her." He entered his room, searching for his coat.
Scully followed him. "Mulder, it could be a trap."
"I'll be careful" Mulder replied evasively. Now he was searching for
the car keys.
Scully took them from a night table and made them tinkle in her hand
to call his attention. But when Mulder was to grab them, she closed
her fist. "I'll drive" She said, slipping on her own light coat.
"She wants to meet me alone." He tried, with no real hope to dissuade
her.
"I'll wait inside the car. I've to finish Patricia Cornwell's last
book."
* * * * *
Julia was waiting for him on a bench in the small public garden of
Locust Groove. The moon shone bright and in front of her, the gushing
water of the fountain turned silvery, while the early crickets spread
their tedious chirping from the dark bushes.
It was almost ten. Mulder would be there at any moment. She hoped
that he would come alone as she had asked. She only wanted to know if
he really believed in her story, if he considered her mad and she
felt that that night she would have got the sincerity she needed. But
this didn't prevent her from being terribly scared.
* * * * *
Scully parked just outside the public garden. "Mulder, if you need
help I'm there." She said while Mulder got off the car.
He leaned slightly toward her, winking at the pocket book over the
dashboard. "I'm afraid that even if ET's space ship crossed the sky
while you're reading the last pages of that, you wouldn't pay the
slightest attention at it."
She couldn't help smiling. "Don't worry, you call me and I'll come as
soon as I end the book."
Mulder patted her shoulder and then shut the door. A moment later the
dewy air of the garden surrounded him. He went along the grave alley
till the center of the park, where Julia was waiting for him.
* * * * *
Alex knew well what he had to do. He had already written the message
and, though it was a risk, he had faith that Julia would have
understood it. It was time to change the game rules, time to make her
understand what she really wanted, what her real nature was.
Hidden in the shadow, he observed the car for less than a quarter of
hour, till the woman, clearly on tenter hooks, closed the book she
was reading and went toward a automatic machine of soft drinks that
was on the other side of the street.
The whole job only took a few minutes. He hit her in nape of the neck
with the gun butt and dragged her back inside the car. Then he took
charge of her gun, secured he in the passenger seat with the safety
belt and carefully placed the note on the ground.
Now he was really ready to leave.
* * * * *
"It was him." Julia said, observing the note.
Mulder recognized at once the fluttering handwriting. The bastard.
"He did this because I disliked her. It's my fault." Julia's voice
was flat and emotionless.
Despite the fact that he believed Alex had done everything by himself,
Mulder wasn't in the right mood to console her. He needed to think
quickly. First of all the note. He glanced over it again.
'I saw the sweetest flower nature yields, a fresh blown musk rose;
'twas the first that threw its sweets upon the summer: graceful it
grew as is the wand that queen Titania wields.'
"Does it mean something to you?" He asked finally.
Julia shook her head, staring at the piece of paper in Mulder's hands.
Raising her eyes till his face appeared like a prohibitive
undertaking.
Mulder rubbed his eyes. Why didn't he kill Scully at once, like the
other victims? What does he have in mind? Perhaps..."Julia, I think
that the note represents a message that Alex left to you, that he
wants you to understand where he took Scully." He said, squeezing
lightly her arm.
"But why?" She asked tearfully.
"I don't know, but..."
Julia abruptly interrupted him. "Beth Lancaster! It may be that he
took your partner to her place!"
Mulder involuntarily tightened his hold around her arm. "What do you
mean?"
"Old Beth is known in the whole town for the wonderful roses she
grows in her garden. She lives alone with her invalid husband and she
let a couple of rooms to carry on. I remember that once he asked me
about her."
Few minutes later they were driving fast toward the garden of roses.
Inside the car the silence was almost a physical presence and Julia
had the impression that, turning toward the back seats, she would
have seen Him grinning wickedly at her.
She always fought against silence and fear and often had been
defeated, but now was the time to win at least a battle. She had to
break the silence. "I'm really sorry for all this mess I did." She
whispered.
Mulder bit his lower lip. He was clearly in a fret, and Julia feared
that, if he hadn't heard her, she never would have been able to speak
again.
But he had heard. "It's not your fault, Julia. But keep up this mood,
please. Be angry with him for having done all this to you, for making
you lose your self confidence. I'm sure that you can defeat him."
"I'm the only one able to kill him, aren't I?" But she already knew
the answer.
"I think so. When I tried to shoot at him, this morning...He isn't a
common human being, you know."
Suddenly Julia understood everything. To gain a full independence,
Alex needed to affirm his personality over hers and to do this he had
to have her on his side. He wanted her to hate Scully, just like he
wanted her to hate the previous victims. He hadn't relieved all her
loneliness, he only made it more desperate. "I guess that it will be
like a battle against myself." She finally murmured, giving voice to
her thoughts.
Mulder nodded. "Julia, Scully has a cancer." He abruptly said after
another long gap of silence. He saw her open her brown eyes wide and
for a moment couldn't help wondering to himself why the hell he'd
told her about this. But then her eyes became so sympathetic, it gave
him a speechless answer to his question.
Meanwhile, they had to get to Beth's house. Mulder turned off the
engine, but getting out of the car, he felt Julia's hand around his
arm keeping him. "I was wrong about Scully. I'm just a stupid... I...
I don't want anything bad to happen to her."
"Be angry with him." Only repeated Mulder, freeing himself from her
grasp.
* * * * *
Beth Lancaster was right in the middle of a dream about her youth
when someone tapped at the door, awakening her. She glanced at her
husband for a moment, then went down the bed and left the room
tiptoeing. Who could it be? Crossing the hall her eye fell over her
old Victorian pendulum clock. After all it was only half past ten.
She turned on the light. "Who's?" Her voice was firm.
"FBI" Said Mulder
Beth unlocked the door.
"Hi Beth." Hailed Julia smiling uneasily.
"Julia, sweetie, what's happening?" Beth kept on shifting her blue
eyes from Julia to the tall dark clothed man.
"Did you let a room to a man called Alex?"
* * * * *
Alex couldn't understand why the woman kept glaring at him. He
couldn't bear those eyes sharp as ice, looking at him with a mixture
of arrogance and hostility. That wasn't supposed to be the mood of
the little bitch; she wasn't acting at all like the previous victims.
Why the hell she wasn't trembling with fear? Why weren't those blue
icy pools melting with tears or begging his mercy?
A car parked in front of the house.
"Our friend has come!" Cheerfully said Alex. "Are you happy to die in
front of your partner?" He added then, kneeling to graze Scully's
cheek.
Unable to move or to spit right in his face, she only raised an
eyebrow.
It made Alex lose a good part of his self control.
* * * * *
Alex had given Beth the name of Stewart Dupree. Reserved and polite,
he stayed in the little room upstairs. He had his keys and entered
from the back door, so Beth hadn't heard him returning home that
night, as happened each time that she was already sleeping.
Mulder and Julia went upstairs. A blade of light filtered from under
Alex's door. They were there.
Mulder turned to make a sign to Julia to remain behind and drew his
gun. It was too cold against his sweaty palm and heavy. He had to
stop a moment to swallow part of his fear, then flung open the door.
* * * * *
Scully's heart leapt up. He was there. Everything would be all right.
Other waves of emotions shook her, but she strove again to hide them
under the icy pool of her eyes. Whoever the hell he was, she would
never allow Alex to see her fear.
But she knew she wouldn't be able to deceive Mulder.
* * * * *
Alex held Scully in his grasp; a gun pointed at her head.
A little stream of blood soiled her upper lip, its redness in sharp
contrast with her pale face. Mulder saw the shadow of death impending
over her.
In a single moment, a tangle of memories unfolded in front of his
eyes. She entering his office for the first time, the two of them,
standing in front of an open grave, laughing, soaked to the skin from
rain. The night in the car when she told him that she wouldn't put
herself on the line for anyone but him. The telephone call in the
heart of the night, him holding her tightly in the hospital ward. In
a short time it would be nothing more than a few precious memories.
But that time hasn't come yet and if he couldn't tear away that
shadow, he could still banish it for a while. He ordered Alex to
throw his gun, aiming his own at him.
He smiled mockingly. "Come on FBI, you know better than me that you
aren't able to hurt me in the least!" Then, addressing to Julia, "Am
I wrong?"
Julia stepped forward. "No, you aren't." She turned toward Mulder.
"Give me your gun."
He gave it her.
Alex smiled again. "What are you going to do now? Shoot me? Very bad
idea,girl. Because you see, then you'll be alone again. For ever.
Follow your heart Julia. You want her to die, and I'm able to fulfill
your desire, leaving your hands clean. Then, I can simply disappear
and no one will believe such a story."
Mulder was certain that Alex would fade away, like he did in the high
school dressing room.
"I don't hate her, Alex." Said firmly Julia.
Alex voice became rougher. "Don't you? Don't you hate her self
confidence and her smartness? Don't you hate her wonderful blue eyes?
She is whatever you'll never be able to be and she looks down on you
for this."
Scully didn't despise her at all, but, since Alex had shut her mouth
with some adhesive tape, all she could do was shook her head.
Tears had begun to go slowly down Julia's cheeks. Mulder's words
echoed in her mind as she noticed the blood under her nose. *She has
a cancer* No, Scully wasn't perfect, she had her own fears. And she
was dear to Mulder. Scully was for him that strong mate that Alex
would never be able to be for her, but she couldn't hate her for this.
"Leave me in peace, Alex." Begged Julia.
"I can't. Soon you'll understand that I'm doing all this for you,
Julia."
Then someone shot.
* * * * *
Some days later, a summer storm fell over Washington.
Inside the office of the ad. Walter Skinner there was plenty of
electrostatic energy.
"So you shot that man to save agent Scully's life."
"Yes, sir." Mulder simply replied. That was the first and only lie he
would have told to his boss.
Skinner gave a last glance at the report, then stared at Mulder, half
closing his eyes as to better observe him. "Agent Mulder, do you
really believe that Alex was an entity created by the mind of that
girl?"
Mulder returned his gaze. "Yes sir. In spite of my deep researches, I
have succeeded in obtaining nothing about his identity; it seems that
that man was never existed."
Skinner shook his head wistfully. A thunder pealed from outside.
"What does agent Scully think?"
"She doesn't agree with my theory. She performed an autopsy over the
body and didn't find anomalies of any kind. She thinks that Alex was
a psychopathic obsessed with Julia Rawen."
"Where is the girl now?" Skinner asked.
"She's being evaluated at the Mental Health Institution. She's
getting the help she needs." Mulder replied.
The man behind the desk nodded slowly. "What about Scully's health
condition?"
Mulder shifted his eyes over the window furrowed with rain. "I don't
know. She is strong, but...It's like every day she loses part of that
strength. None of this should've happened to her." His voice was
fretted.
"I know; but there is still hope, agent Mulder."
* * * * *
"There is a message from Julia." Scully said, as soon as her partner
entered their office.
Mulder read the message on the computer screen from over Scully's
shoulder.
-----------------------------------
Dear Mulder and dear Scully;
The world is a good place and is worth while to fight for it.
In this summer night, to my eyes, the sky is clear. As it hadn't been
for a long time. The stars are no longer too far and their shine is a
promise of hope. I wonder whether rising on the tips of my toes and
stretching a hand I would be able to skim them. Perhaps I wouldn't,
but you try Mulder, maybe being taller...
I know this message could appear odd to you, but I only hope that,
among this mess, my thanks will reach you clear. Thank you for making
me understand a lot of things, for giving me the courage to dream
about being able to touch a star and to believe in the things that
make this life worthy of being lived.
The people here are very kind and have also helped me to see that
life is a beautiful thing. They say I can leave soon to be with my
family again.
Bye
Julia.
PS. A great hug from Beth. By the way, she thinks that there is a
sympathy between you two. You know how these old girls are...
-----------------------
Mulder cleared his voice. "Well...What do you know about old girls
loving roses, Scully?"
Scully smiled in amusement. "They are romantic and paranoid, Mulder."
"Very dangerous."
"No more than an imaginary friend with homicidal mania." Minimized
Scully. Then, after a short pause, "I'm really happy for Julia.
Whoever that Alex was, now she is finally free to live her own life."
"I'm happy too. I think she's better prepared to deal with life."
Said Mulder, sitting at his desk.
Scully dwelled over the 'I Want To Believe' poster. "Mulder, do you
believe this world is a good place?"
For a while, the only noise in the room was the soft buzzing of the
computer.
"Why the hell do you ask such questions when I've just come back from
Skinner's office?"
This time Scully didn't smile. "I'm speaking seriously."
"No, I don't."
"Why?"
Mulder shook his head, shifting his eyes to the sheets on the desk.
Scully reached him. "Why?" She repeated in a higher voice, putting a
hand over his shoulder.
"Because of what happened to my sister, of what I've seen over the
years and of what is happening to you, Scully. If I'm able to do
nothing against these injustices, what is the real meaning of this
search for the truth of mine? I began to feel like Don Quischote
fighting against wind mills."
Mulder eyes were still over the sheets, but Scully could all the same
see that they were red with tears. "Mulder, I know you'll find
Samantha, that you'll find the truth; and I'll be at your side as
long as I'm be able. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but
today I'm there and I'm happy to be alive." Said her, lightly shaking
his shoulder.
Mulder raised his head. "Can I call you Sancho Panza?"
"Only if you buy me dinner."
"Done!"
* * * * *
From somewhere the sun found a breach through the curtain of clouds
and in a short time its rays dried the rain fallen over the city.
* * * * *
THE END
Sun Behind The Clouds (pt.1)
Sun Behind The Clouds (pt.2)
Email: lathus@hotmail.com
