****************************************************************************** Oh no , Not me. I never lost control Your face to face with the man who sold the world ****************************************************************************** Journey from Midnight Part 5--Trust No One 2 weeks later Mulder walked into his office, he saw movement, was it . . . . " Scully?" Mulder said as he burst in the office. A dark-haired woman turned around from behind Scully's desk. " Who are you?" Mulder said angry and disappointed. " Well hello to you too, D.J., NSA" she said putting her hand out for Mulder to shake. Mulder walked away sitting at his desk. Ok, this is going to be fun, DJ thought. Mulder looked at DJ. Beautiful, lethal, the way the NSA made them. Long Black hair, big green eyes, smooth chocolate skin. Any other day he would be flirting unmercilessly with her, but not today he was enmeshed with thoughts of Scully " Look, I'm here about your partner." DJ said after a long silence. Mulder perked up " You found her?" " No, but we have information on her whereabouts." " Where is she, please tell me where she is?" "Whoa, slow down lover boy, I said we have information, not an address, and map to where she is." Mulder sat back down. Tough too, she was just his style. " We have information linking your partners disappearance with one CGB Spender." "I knew it, the Cancer man" " Cancer man??" " Uh, never mind, keep going." "An anonymous tip led to an abandoned car outside Pittsburgh, it had traces of blood which matched your partners." " Hold on, what is the NSA's interest in this? Missing Persons is FBI jurisdiction." " Ah, knew you'd ask, Spender has been using top secret facilities to make private deals with our enemies. Arms, drugs, people." "People?" "My thoughts exactly. We think he is going to trade your partner for secret missile plans from the Turks." "Scully, worth missile plans, that doesn't make sense." "The people they trade each have a special trait. They do tests on these Subjects, radiation exposure, etc. Your partner is special, she was taken before, when she got that chip put in her neck and her ova harvested. The cancer was to kill off those who found out about the experiments by removing the chip." " Where do they make the exchange?" " Pittsburgh. The people who are exchanged are usually lost track of after they reach Pittsburgh." "How long since you found the car?" " A day or two, WHY?" Mulder rose and put on his jacket. "We need to get going if we're going to save her." Then he ran out the door, cellphone to his ear as he called Skinner. D.J. smiled, this was easier than I thought. She grabbed her golden 9mm off the desk, much easier. Beeside Motel Mulder paced the floor in front of the TV " You need to rest, Your still recouping from those gun shots." D.J. said while cleaning her gun. Mulder continued to pace. There is something I'm missing, he sat down and looked at the picture again. He lightly brushed Scully's scared likeness with the tips of his fingers. Don't worry, I'll find you. D.J. noticed the brief show of affection, " So, How long you two been partners?" " Six years, working on our 7th." " That's a long time, you must trust her . ." "With my life." Mulder interrupted. She was gorgeous but very annoying. His sixth sense went off whenever she was around. He didn't trust her. She seemed too eager, too helpful. But she did have great legs, and he was lonely, so he kept talking. "I haven't told anybody at the bureau this . ." Mulder started tentatively "Don't worry, NSA, I won't tell." " We were more than just partners, we were supposed to get married the week she was kidnaped." D.J. sat up " Of course, another reason they took her. Maybe they knew you would come after her. Maybe they wanted you all the time. Tunguska, when you were infected with the Black oil. " Mulder whipped around suspicious, How does she know about that? The question lingered in his eyes when he said, " Maybe your right, but I still have to find her." " Is it worth your life?" " She would do the same for me, besides, if it's me they want, they'll find someway to get to me." "They already did obviously, or you wouldn't be here now." Mulder winced at the statement and the sudden shooting pain in his back. I don't remember forgetting to take my pain medication, but I guess I did. Mulder got up to take his pain medication, "Plus, your at a disadvantage, you're not at full strength, it will be easy to overpower you." Mulder emerged from the bathroom, and touched her shoulders lightly as he whispered in her ear, " That's why I got you for backup." D.J. secretly reveled in the touch, then said sarcastically, " I get to back you up in an obvious trap so you can try and save your girlfriend, I am fulfilled." " Fiancee," Mulder corrected oblivious to the sarcasm while he checked his gun. Then his eyes wandered towards hers, "Now that's a gun." "24K gold plated, 9mm, a special edition." "Standard issue?" " You wish." D.J. said snatching the gun from Mulder. She's almost as tall as I, Mulder marveled. I'm so used to looking down at Scully. He felt a desire burning in him, a desire he didn't have a minute ago, as he watched her place the gun back in its holster and strap it on. Before he could stop himself, he was moving towards her, cupping his hands around her face and going in for a kiss, when a strong knock destroyed the moment. What is Skinner doing here? Mulder thought when he opened the door and saw him standing there. " Mulder, you need to get out of here now" " But sir, Scully's here." " I know, you need to leave this room right now, the woman in there " Mulder and Skinner both turn quickly when they hear a gun cock. D.J. positioned her gun at Mulder and Skinner. " That woman is what Walter, not NSA?" Mulder stepped back disgusted with himself. How had he trusted her so completely? Mulder was about to go for his gun when he heard another gun cock. Mulder recognized the shape, it was the man who had carried Scully out of her apartment. As he stepped into the light, he saw it wasn't a man at all. " Fowley!?" Mulder said breathless, " Why?" " You didn't think I was going to let you marry her did you, Fox?" Then it became clear to Mulder, " So there is no Cancer man involved, there are no experiments, no human trading, you just didn't want me to be with Scully?" " No, we didn't want you to be happy." With that Fowley shoots Skinner and D.J. whips her pistol across Mulder's face. They loaded Mulder in the trunk of DJ's car and drove off. Mulder came to in the trunk, where are they taking me? The pain in his back was excruciating and was exacerbated by the tight confines of the trunk. Then the car stopped the two women got out, then there was a gun shot. D.J. opened the trunk and looked in on a hog tied Mulder. " Don't worry, I won't hurt you, Fox. I just don't like to share. She didn't want you to be happy, but I know better." Then she touched his cheek lightly. For some reason, Mulder relaxed and he actually liked the sound of his name off her lips. He smiled as she closed the trunk. When she arrived and pulled Mulder out of the trunk he looked around. It looked like a normal house, in a normal suburb. She untied him and looked her deep in the eyes. He wanted to run, break her neck and find Scully, but he couldn't. She grabbed his hand and led him inside. Scully sat on the couch watching a football game. Her hand was wrapped up and her eyes had dark circles under them. She didn't seem to notice Mulder when he ran to her and engaged her in a big bear hug. Mulder released her when her body didn't respond. He took her injured hand in her and carefully unwrapped it. Scully jerked it back " That hurts." " Let me see, you may need med . . " Mulder stopped mid sentence. There wasn't a scratch on her hand. What was going on? Mulder thought as he looked at Scully's vacant expression. It has to be some sort of mind control. Mulder stormed towards D.J. who had been watching the scene, amused. He grabbed her and shook her screaming " What did you do to her?" She threw him off her effortlessly. Mulder stunned by the remarkable strength, laid where he fell. What was he dealing with here? " Oh Fox, you were always so temperamental. It's a little experiment of mine. I pyschokineticly link with any one I choose, and make them do and believe what I want. Haven't you wondered why your pain in your back never seems to go away, even though it you take your pain medicine regularly. It used to." Mulder's eyes with realization. He decided to bait her a little, maybe she'll tell him more, " What do you plan on doing with this "power", little pain parlor tricks?" D.J. snapped, picking Mulder off the ground and slamming him flat on his back. She whipped out a six-inch Machete like blade and placed it at Mulder's throat. She's Psychotic, was all Mulder could think at the moment. " Don't worry about what I'm going to do. She will be released, but by the time she finds you, she'll never be able to bring you back." With that she released a terrified Mulder, sheathed her blade, went over to Scully, said a few words and walked away. " Scully?" Mulder groaned, the pain in his back now almost unbearable. Scully whipped around, " Mulder!!!" Scully ran to him " Are you okay?" She gathered him into her arms. " Well, I'm glad to see you too, but let's get out of here before that Freak comes back." Scully struggled to help Mulder to his feet, and they headed for the door, when they fell through the floor. They slid through a series of chutes, then landed hard on a dirt floor. " Ah" Mulder moaned, "Where are we Scully?" " I don't know, I think we're under the house. The question now is, Where under the house?" " Great, how do we get from under the house?" Mulder said standing up. Scully looked at Mulder. God it was good to see him, but he shouldn't have come. They need to get out of here before she finds us. He's the one she wants, he's vulnerable. He wants to believe, even though his motto is Trust No One. He has been conditioned through his parents neglect to try and please everyone, and if things go wrong, it's his fault. That's why he became a psychologist, profiling horrific criminals. It let him see his dark side, his demons nightmares and try to bring some meaning to them. If she gets inside his head, who knows what he'll do, what will happen, whom he'll become. "Come on Mulder, this way, there seems to be some kind of light down there." She grabbed his hand praying for it not to be a dead end or worse, a trap. A hole about the size of a manhole stared at them. " All right, I'll help you climb out and you pull me out ok." Scully said looking around. Mulder tried to reach up but the pain in his back doubled him in pain. I have to jump up there, she's counting on me. " Come on Mulder jump up or we'll never get out of here. Do you want her in your head." Mulder bent his legs to jump. He couldn't, he was glued to the ground. Then her voice came to him filled his head. "There's another way out, follow me." Then Mulder said to Scully " There's another way out come on.' Scully stared at him puzzled. How does he know that? Mulder ran ahead reaching for Scully's hand. When he didn't feel her behind him he ran back. "Scully!?" " Shh, up here, come on grab my hand." " But there's another way." " That's just her in your head, please Mulder grab my hand." Mulder reached up the pain unbearable but he couldn't lose her again. She grabbed his hand and pulled. Mulder inched off the ground, he reached up his other hand, helping her pull him up, then something tugged on his legs. Scully pulled harder, I can't lose him now, but it tugged him out of her grasp and plugged up the hole quickly. " Mulder!!!" Scully screamed, she broke down briefly tears running down her face, I tried, I tried. She thought. She pulled herself together. You need to get backup, mark this place, then go for backup. You need to get him out of there as soon as possible but you need help. She looked around to see where she was. This is a residential area?? How is it that they don't know what's going on ? She can't control the whole neighborhood, can she? If she gets in Mulder's head she could . . She got up and ran to the nearest house banging on the door. A confused old woman answered, "FBI, I need to use your phone." " Well ok, Honey." Scully blew by her running to the phone. Come on Skinner, pickup. " Skinner" "Thank God, I need help, I need back up, she's got Mulder." " Agent Scully?? Where are you?" Scully looked around confused, where am I, that's really good question. She looks at the old woman, "What state, and what city are we in?" " Harrisonburg, Pennsylvania 7701 Penny lane Woodcliff housing development." Scully repeated the information to Skinner. " Ok I'll be there in an hour with the sate police." " An hour? You're in town?" " Yes I'll explain later." Good, now how are we going to get him out of there before she does too much damage? Mulder woke up, where was he? Where was Scully? Why am I so cold? He tried to move a sharp pain went through his spine. He turned to look, more pain. A light flooded in momentarily blinding him. " Ah good, your awake lets start, what's your name?" " Fox Mulder" " Good, what's 2 + 2" " 4", Mulder answered confused by the relevance of the question. Before he could ask, the sharp pain coursed through his body again. He looked around quickly to see what was causing the pain. Smooth sharp nails where protruding from the walls of the extremely small space he was in. He couldn't move he could only stand up almost at attention, or the nails would eat into his flesh. "Wrong answer, try again 2+2" "4" the pain again. What did she want 2+2=4 every second grader knew that. This continued for what seemed like hours, till a tired, broken and bloody Mulder could hardly stand, not to mention speak. "Fox, your answer?" " I don't know, I don't know." Tears burning his cheeks " Just make the pain stop. Please." He looked toward the light with pleading eyes. The light shut off and the floor gave way, he was falling. " Good answer." He heard the deep mechanical voice say. It talked to him strange words that didn't make sense. He thought of Scully, so strong, that fiery red hair running through my fingers . . . more pain, DJ's face appears in his head, angry, screaming more pain, then everything went black. An hour huh, more like a day or two, Scully thought. Mulder please be ok, don't give up. She looked out the window to see Skinner driving up with about 35 police cars behind him. She ran to met him, noticing briefly his bandaged arm. "Sir, it's this way." They ran to the area Scully had marked. Scully entered first, her flashlight blazing. A piercing scream filled their ears and Scully's heart dropped, " Mulder?!!" Scully shouted " Mulder where are you?" " Scully!?" A strangled whisper came back. Scully's Mulder radar honed in on his location leading her to him she stopped dead in her tracks when she found him. He was handcuffed to the wall in his boxers, numerous puncture wounds, ribbons of torn flesh, blood seeping from the wounds forging rivers on his dirt splotched skin, patches of dried blood masking his face. His eyes were swollen shut, and his lips were split and bleeding from lack of water and constant screaming. " Scully, please you don't understand, you need to go, She'll kill . . ." Scully put down her flashlight and motioned for a cop to help her get him down. When released for the cuffs, Mulder fell to the round in a heap. " Just like me . . . Just like . . . " then he faded out of consciousness. As they stared to carry him away, a gun cocked. Scully whipped around cocking her Sig quickly pointing at the sound. She stood face to face, gun to gun with D.J. " Bad move." D.J. said. " No, Good Move." Scully said as she pulled the trigger. D.J. moved and the shot winged her, subduing her just enough to be taken down and put in cuffs.