Description/Copyrights/Summary/Stuff

Summary:  Mulder & Scully investigate the mysterious disappearance of a
fellow agent.

Copyrights:  The characters of Agent Fox Mulder, Agent Dana Scully, AD
Walter Skinner and The Cigarette Smoking Man belong to Chris
Carter/Fox/1013 Productions.  I'm just borrowing them for fun and promise
to return them washed in cold water & Woolite, blotted with a towel (not
wrung!!) and dried flat.  This story may be circulated freely, but please
keep my name attached to it.

Description:  No MSR, a little UST, lots of Scully angst and hopefully
enough action to keep you reading anyway.  WARNING:  This is a work of
total fiction, no scientific accuracy claimed.

This is my first time, please be gentle with me.  All comments are very
welcome.  

SLIP -- AN X-FILES FANFIC
By CiCi Lean, 1996

canny409@aol.com
***********************

Part I

Route 87
Talstat, Montana.

"Welcome To Talstat.  Where The Good Old Days Are Today."

"Mulder, slow down."

The white Ford Taurus whizzed by the illuminated sign at approximately 80
miles per hour.  The driver, FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder turned with a
wry grin to his partner Special Agent Dana Scully.

"No speed limit in this state, Scully.  Thought I'd see just how fast this
sporty little number could push it."

"You're pushing it.  For your information, Montana law states that cars
must travel at speeds considered *appropriate and reasonable*. So slow
down before I confiscate the wheel," said Scully with a stern look.

"God forbid," laughed Mulder, as he eased off the gas.  He took a moment
to sip the cold coffee that sat between them. He set it back in the coffee
holder with a disgusted grimace and tried to focus on the seemingly
endless black ribbon in front of him. The flight in from Washington had
been hours late with nary a peanut tossed their way.  Exhaustion was the
norm for these jaunts but this trip was something else.  At five p.m., he and
Scully were called into AD Skinner's office, briefed on the disappearance
of Special Agent Samuel Stanley, and by nine they were in the air after two
hours on the runway.  Flying didn't bother him, but it was too bad for
Scully that the pilot felt it necessary to hit every bump in the sky with
a couple of free falls thrown in for good measure.  It might be his
imagination, but his partner's knuckles still appeared a bit white when
they exited the airport and picked up their rental car.  As for Scully,
she sat beside him flipping through the file on her lap, her foul mood
apparent.

"Well, let's see," she sighed.  "Special Agent Samuel Stanley, Billings
office.  Disappeared while investigating an alleged bookkeeping/gambling
ring in Talstat on June 1.  Re-appeared briefly June fifth, disoriented and
incoherent.  Refused medical examination or treatment.  Disappeared again
on June sixth, hasn't been seen since."

"Any history?" Mulder said with a sunflower seed between his teeth.

"Nope.  Well-known straight arrow. Didn't drink, no history of mental
illness or drug abuse, never even a speeding ticket," she said with a
sidelong glance.

"Probably why he went crazy," he slid back.

"His partner, Agent Axel Koester was with him before the disappearance and
present for his re-appearance.  Said in his interview that Stanley was
conducting a search in a deserted barn about five miles from here, when he
disappeared.  The Billings and Helena offices sent down about 35 agents
who tore apart the barn and surrounding area.  They found nothing.
Koester said he saw a man wandering the on the highway on the fifth and it
turned out to be Stanley. He couldn't get any information from him; he
appeared distraught and confused."

"Didn't say anything at all?"

"According to Koester all Stanley did was keep asking the date and time
at least twenty times.  Koester insisted on taking him to the hospital
for evaluation and Stanley refused hysterically.  Koester then offered to drive
him back to Billings.  About five miles into the trip, Stanley screamed and
jumped from the car," read Scully from the file.

"While in motion?  Ouch."  Mulder reached for a Lifesaver in his pocket.
"Hope Koester was going at an appropriate and reasonable speed."

"Koester stopped the vehicle and ran back to look for Stanley.  He was
nowhere to be seen. The search continued for a month until the Billings
office called Skinner and asked if he had any agents with experience in
"unexplained disappearances". Take a wild guess who came first to mind."

Scully closed the file with a sigh and rubbed her forehead.  Sometimes
these inexplicable cases ended on too frustratingly cryptic a note to be
anywhere near fulfilling.  She wondered if this would end as just another
question mark. She leaned her head against the car window and wished for
bed.

Mulder looked thoughtfully at the road and then at Scully.  He knew with a
good night's sleep she would probably be raring to go.  He went over in
his head all the possible explanations for Stanley's disappearance.  Could
be an agent simply melting down under the pressure of work or,
perhaps, something else.

Suddenly, a figure seemed to appear yards in front of the car.  Startled,
Mulder began to hit the brake when it vanished.  The car jolted slightly
and Mulder eased back onto the gas.  Talk about a needing a good night's
sleep he thought,

"Mulder, do I have to drive?"  said Scully edgily, picking up the turned
over coffee cup.

"Maybe...wait Scully. There it is! Hold on!"  Mulder yelled.

In front of the car, now feet away, stood a figure.  Mulder slammed the
brakes and heard the squeal of the tires.  Too late, Mulder realized.
I've hit it.  With a sickening thump, something, someone, bounced off of the
windshield onto the car roof and over.  Scully let out a horrified shriek
as the glass cracked.  They both sat for a few seconds, hearts pounding and
Scully was the first to bound from the car.

Mulder ran behind the car and opened the trunk for their flashlights.  He
handed one to Scully and began to search.

"Hope that wasn't Stanley. Could be a quick end to the case," Mulder joked
weakly.

The flashlights cut through the dark to the deserted highway and then into
the cornfields that lined it's sides.  Scully peered under the car and
then ran back a few yards.  There was no blood, no marks besides the skid
marks of the tires and the broken glass. She looked uncertainly into the
cornfields.

"Could have flipped into there.  At the speed we were going someone could
have been thrown 50 feet. I'm taking a look," said Scully.

"All right, let's go."

Scully pushed a few stalks aside and began to search through a surreal forest.
Mulder moved to the left, his flashlight bouncing off of uniform plants higher
than his head.  A stalk straight ahead of Scully began to tremble.  She moved
quickly toward it.

"Mulder? Do you see anything?  Mulder, is that you?"

Suddenly, stalks began to move, almost of their own accord, in a straight
path.  A piercing whistling noise blew over the corn and surrounded her.
Scully started to push forward, yelling:

"FBI! Stop!"

She ran further into the stalks as the whistling grew louder...higher.
Scully instinctively put her hands over her ears.  The noise was
deafening, infinitely painful. It grew louder by the second and seemed to
take her breath away.

She couldn't hear her own scream.

Then, as quickly as it began, it was over.  There was a moment of complete
silence, almost as sickening as noise itself.  Slowly, Scully could hear the
chirp of crickets and her own ragged breathing.  She began to look for her
partner.

"Mulder, can you hear me?"  she called weakly.  Scully staggered back
toward the road, shining the flashlight from side to side.  "Mulder, answer
me."

Scully stumbled up onto the road.  During the chase she had moved down
from the car and she walked up toward it looking for Mulder.  She began to
yell in earnest for her partner, only to hear crickets and the click of
her shoes.  She found she could barely stand.

She forced herself over to the car and studied her surroundings and shook
her head.  The corn that had surrounded them gave way to an open
field.

"Mulder, could you please answer me?  Where are you?" she yelled
hoarsely.

She shined her flashlight into the field.  There lay a motionless figure.

Scully swallowed hard and walked toward it, reaching for her gun.
The light quivered slightly as her hand shook.  

The figure didn't move.

It must be my imagination she thought as she saw the suit and the dark hair
matted with blood. Scully tried not to run, but instead, keep a steady pace. She
drew her gun and held it up.

"Mulder?  Is that you?"  Scully felt like she was being strangled.

She was right behind the body now.  She knelt and began to choke.  There
was a bullet wound the size of a quarter in the back of the head.  All
sorts of prayers began to recite themselves through her mind as she
reached to turn over the body.  It was still warm.  She braced herself and
turned it over.  The eyes were open, hazel eyes that had just been
laughing with her a few minutes before.  Eyes she had seen a thousand
times dance with every emotion under the sun from the deepest despair to
astounding joy.  Eyes she had looked into for the courage and reassurance
she had so many times needed. 

They'd never let her down.

The tears started to flow, without a sound, but in a steady stream down her
face.  She made no effort to brush them away.

It was Mulder...

And he was dead.

***********************
Part II

Sheriff's Office
Talstat, Montana

The Talstat Sheriff's Office was located conveniently in the center of the
tiny town.  It had two offices, a receptionist with a computer, the town's
only fax machine and...a morgue.

Sheriff Joan Boylen sat sipping a coffee from a mug that read "A stitch in
time saves nine."  She liked these sayings, they never went out of style.
she told people.  She was a tall, broad shouldered woman, tough as any
sheriff in the surrounding counties.

She sighed.  The hysteria over the missing agent will be a kiddie party
compared to this.  She slowly rose to walk to the morgue.  Dead FBI agents
bring all sorts of trouble for the local law.  Bad for business too, she
thought grimly.

Outside her office stood a tall, bald man.  She stopped to greet him and
to size him up.  He was an impressive and stern looking man with glasses, an
obvious leader.  She held out her hand.  He ignored it and pulled out his
badge.  

Assistant Director Walter F. Skinner it read...FBI.

"Are you Sheriff Boylen?"  he asked curtly.

"That's me, and you're the head J. Edgar I assume," she smiled.

"I'm Director Skinner from Washington.  I'm here to speak to Agent Scully
regarding the murder of Special Agent Fox Mulder," he could barely spit
out the words.  How distasteful they sounded.

"Well, you can see them both, but neither are saying very much," said
Boylen with a humorless grin.

She walked down the hall and held open a metal door for him to go first.
A small steel staircase led down to the basement and he could hear his
footsteps resound through the hallway.  At its end sat Agent Scully in a
red plastic chair with her eyes closed and head slumping against the wall.

Skinner stood in front of her and put his hand on her shoulder.  She opened
her eyes slowly, they were red and hollow against a frighteningly white
face.  Skinner felt a terrible pang of pity sweep through him, but fought
it.  

There is no time for pity now.

"What happened Agent Scully?" he asked quietly.

She tried to begin to explain, but her voice failed her.  She looked up
imploringly at Skinner, trying to force out the words.  He knelt in
front of her and pushed the hair out from her eyes as if she were a child.

"OK.  Agent Scully, let's start from the beginning." Skinner said. "From
the day you disappeared."

Scully gave a start.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said hoarsely.  "Who told you
that I disappeared?"

Skinner looked surprised for a moment, but held it in check.

"Agent Mulder did," he hesitated a moment.  "Agent Scully, do you know
what day this is?"

Scully looked at him scornfully.  Asking her such ridiculous questions at
a time like this.

"It's Tuesday, July tenth, sir,"  she said with quiet anger.

Skinner looked squarely at her.

"Not quite Agent Scully. It's Saturday, July fourteenth.  And where exactly
have you been?"

***********************

Part III

Sheriff's's Office
Talstat, Montana

"That's impossible!!"

Scully's could feel her pulse in her ears as her heart pounded.  This is
not true...this is not true she repeated silently.  I will wake up any
moment she thought...

This is not happening.

"Shall I get the morning paper for you, Agent Scully?" Skinner said dryly.
"Agent Mulder reported you missing Tuesday night after you went into a
cornfield investigating the accident you had while driving into Talstat.
You never emerged.  We've had over 25 agents, local law, even bloodhounds
out for you.  Nothing, until today. And not only have you mysteriously
returned, but now..."

Skinner stopped.  This was a fiasco. One many people would pay for.

Scully cleared her throat.  She had to get her head together or this would
go nowhere.  She instinctively touched the cross around her neck and took
a deep breath.

"Agent Mulder and I were riding on Route 47 into Talstat when we hit
something.  We both got out to investigate.  I entered the cornfield and
saw something run past me.  I went to follow and..." Scully hesitated, not
sure how to explain.

"And?" Skinner asked.

"And I heard a noise; a terrifying noise.  It lasted no longer than a
minute, but it was very intense.  When it stopped, I had lost Mulder.  I went
back to the road and up to the car looking for him.  I saw something in
the field and..."

Scully felt her throat tighten and eyes burn. This has to stop. Not
now, Mulder still needs you, she reprimanded herself.  You are a
professional agent.  When you find the bastards who did this to him you
can cry all you damn please, she thought fiercely, but not before.  She felt
new strength in anger.  That was better.

Skinner looked at her with a combination of rage and pity.

"Agent Scully, you're going back to Washington.  On arrival you will
complete your report and take some time off. You are obviously in no
condition to..."

Scully cut him off with a withering glare.

"With all due respect sir, I am not leaving this town without finding
Agent Mulder's murderer, and the truth,"  Scully said through gritted
teeth.  "You may do as you please, but I'm staying."

Skinner shook his head.  He never could control either one of these
agents, no matter what he did or said; even if it was in their best
interests.

"All right, Agent Scully.  You can stay, but you won't work alone," said
Skinner.

"I don't need anyone else, thank you."

"Don't be so damn stubborn.  You'll need all the help you can get. Believe
me," Skinner said grimly.

Footsteps came down the metal stairs and a young man walked
toward them with confident strides.  His suit jacket was rumpled and open,
showing his weapon holster and badge.  He looked somewhat pale and tired,
but an obvious determination showed in his eyes.  Skinner motioned him
over.

"Agent Dana Scully, this is Special Agent Axel Koester."

**************

Part IV

Sheriff's's Office, Morgue
Talstat, Montana

"I'm sorry about your partner."

Scully sighed and looked over her autopsy tools.  She felt as if she could
drop from exhaustion, but refused to let sleep take time away from her.
The unwelcome intrusion by this agent only added to the stress.  She
wished he would just go away.

"Thank you," Scully answered emotionlessly.  "I'm going to be busy for the
next few hours, so maybe you'd like to get some rest. I'll keep you up to
speed."

Koester looked closely at Scully and sadly shook his head.

"I think you could use the rest more than I.  When I found out about your
disappearance..."

"Who told you about my disappearance?" asked Scully, whirling around.

"Agent Mulder.  He came to me for help.  He believed it was related
somehow to Sam's disappearance and he was quite desperate.  I know how he
felt," said Koester, with a bitter trace in his voice.

In the past few hours Scully had almost completely forgotten the reason
for this trip in the first place.  Mulder's murder became her complete
focus excluding all other thoughts.  Perhaps all this was connected
somehow.

"I'm sorry.  I had forgotten about Agent Stanley.  Have you found him?"
Scully asked.

"No," Koester sighed. "Not a trace.  We...Agent Mulder and
I...backtracked Sam's original investigation hoping it would give us clues
to where you might be.  Unfortunately what we found seemed so
mundane in comparison to two people vanishing into thin air."

"What did you find?"

"Only that the good people of Talstat are the luckiest bunch of yokels
this side of Riverboat Jim, with almost every one of them reported gambling
earnings in the thousands, some in the tens of thousands.  All on pony
racing, The IRS alerted Billings and that's why Sam & I came out here in
the first place.  And while the whole thing stunk, we couldn't find
anything that showed any type of criminal activity.  No mob involvement,
no race fixing, horse tampering, nothing," said Koester. "I was ready to
pack it in but..."

"But?" Scully quizzed.

Koester looked at her a moment.  If Sam was indeed dead, Koester didn't
want him to be remembered as some sort of nut, but...

"My partner is...well, -was- rather eccentric.  Don't get me wrong; he was
a brilliant and thorough agent, but his theories could really take off
into outer space sometimes.  Sam insisted that there was more going here
than what we thought and he became determined to find it.  I couldn't see
it, but I trusted him."

Scully nodded in empathy.  How many times had she followed Mulder on what
appeared to be some psychotic wild goose chase?

"So what did Agent Stanley think was going on?" she asked.

"He believed that the people could somehow predict the outcome of the
races and betted accordingly," Koester said.

Scully stopped cold. That was too much for her skeptical mind.

"Wait a minute, he thought everyone in this town can psychically predict
the winners?  Don't you think that's a bit of a stretch?" Scully scoffed.

"Sure, but it would explain a lot.  Sam began to ask questions in and
around the town to support the theory and that's when things really took
strange turns.  Doors slamming in our faces, our phones going
dead, strange people following us day and night...it was getting pretty
hairy.  On a tip, we ended up in an abandoned barn on the outskirts.  He
investigated upstairs and I was outside.  I heard him yelling and..." Koester
stopped.

"And?"

"His voice stopped. Just stopped in the middle of the yell, as though someone had
turned off a radio.  I ran inside to get him, but he was gone...vanished.
I called for help and -- well, you know the rest."

Koester sighed deeply.

"Sam was more than my partner you know, he was my best friend.  When I
found him on that highway and lost him again I felt as though a part of me
had been torn away.  Forever.  And along with him went the only trust I
ever had."

Scully's eyes started to burn again.  She understood.  Koester
continued.

"That's why I went with Agent Mulder to find you.  I understood his fear
of your loss.  He began to pick up where Sam had left off and the same
strange things started to happen.  Mulder became convinced that Sam had
been on the right track and he called me last night and told me he thought
he had figured it out but didn't want to tell me over the phone. That was
the last time I spoke with him," said Koester.

Scully said nothing and turned back to her instruments.  She began to mull
over what she had heard and decided her first priority would be finding
Mulder's killers.  She pulled on her latex gloves with a snap.  The
wondrous luck of Talstat's townsfolk could wait.  She took a deep breath
and went to the morgue drawer.  This would not be easy, but it had to be
done.  She mentally distanced herself from Mulder's memory and prepared to
do his autopsy.  She said a quick prayer, opened the drawer and slid the
tray out.

It was empty.

*************************
Part V

"I want to know where the hell he is!"

Scully stood in Sheriff Boylen's office with pure fury practically
steaming off of her.  Agent Koester stood behind her, his eyes never
leaving Boylen.

The Sheriff sat nonchalantly at her desk with square shoulders.  She
picked up her racing form and studied it intently.

"And I thought you FBI people were so smart," she drawled
sarcastically not bothering to look up.  "Hell, even I can keep track of
a corpse.  Why don't you look outside?  Maybe he needed some fresh air,"

It took every ounce of control in Scully's body not to reach for her gun.
Koester sensed it and stepped between them.

"You haven't been very helpful during any part of this investigation,
Sheriff.  Please don't force us to bring in every FBI agent in Montana.
They can get pretty pissed off, and we wouldn't want that.  Don't you
think cooperation is a better route?" Koester said quietly.

Boylen suddenly looked up at Koester with a flash of hatred.  Then she
seemed to change her mind.  Her body took a more relaxed stance.

"I suppose you're right.  It's just hard for local law like me to have a
gang of J. Edgar shoving their way around like a herd of snorting bulls.
We're used to handling things our own way around here," Boylen said as
she stood up.  "I'll put out the word to my deputies.  We'll close off the
inner and outer roads.  No one will be joy riding tonight, how's that?"

Scully was about to say more, but Koester stopped her.

"Thank you Sheriff that's just fine, let's go Agent Scully," said Koester.

"Wait, I want..." Scully started.

"I think we should go now, Agent Scully, really."  Koester looked
emphatically at her.  Scully hesitated a moment and the followed him out.
The Sheriff stood behind her desk looking after them, her face unreadable.

Once outside Scully furiously turned on Koester.

"All right; get this straight.  I don't take orders from you, I didn't
even want to work with you.  My partner is dead and I want answers.  And
no one is going to stand in my way. Not Sheriff Brunhilda in there and
certainly not you," Scully hissed.

"I've lost someone too Agent Scully," said Koester curtly. "And I want the
same answers you do.  But, I've been around here a little longer than you
and I can certainly say that badgering the locals is not only
fruitless, it's downright dangerous.  We're better off following what we
have on our own.  I suggest we take a look at Agent Mulder's lap top.  He
downloaded Sam's files along with some of his own.  It'll be a good
place to start."

Shaking her head, Scully followed him to the car.  

And noticed something strange.

"Where did you get this car?" she asked, looking it over closely.

"It's Agent Mulder's rental.  We were using his car," said Koester.

Scully examined it.  It was in perfect condition.  The cracked windshield
sustained the night of the accident was gone.

"Are you sure this is Mulder's car?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, why?"

"Umm...it's nothing,"

Koester looked at her a moment and then, tossed her the keys.  Scully looked
down at them in her hand.  She settled in behind the wheel and let Koester
in.

"Gee, this is a strange sight.  Mulder had to be unconscious before he
would let me drive," she said staring through the windshield and heaving
a deep sigh.

Koester laughed.

"That sounds just like Sam.  I guess I've been conditioned to turn them
over."

They took off from the Sheriff's office and down the dirt road into the
outer parts of town. A few minutes later Koester pointed her toward a flat
spread of bungalows. The neon sign out front identified it as the Time Is
Money Motel and Koester motioned toward the space in front of Room 7.

"That's Agent Mulder's room.  I obtained the extra key this morning."

The walked up to the door and Koester opened it.  He jumped back and
pushed Scully aside. He drew his gun and motioned her to do the same.  On
a count of three they burst in...guns drawn. 

It appeared as if a cyclone had gone through it.

"Jesus Christ, I guess someone beat us here, damn it," Koester groaned
putting his gun down.  "What the hell happened?"

Scully began to laugh.  She sat in the chair and rocked with amusement.
Koester looked at her with concern.

"No one's been here," she said, trying to stifle a giggle.  "Mulder's just
a slob."  Scully's giggles became louder and slowly gave way to sobs.
She buried her head in her hands and let go. Koester knelt in front of her
and held her. For a long time Scully's sobs were the only sound in the
room.

"I can't believe he's gone. I don't want to believe it," she moaned,
looking up at Koester.

"I know," Koester said sympathetically leaning back and brushing her hair
from her eyes. "Do you want to get some sleep? I think you need it. This
can wait,"

Scully took a long deep breath.  It couldn't wait.  She heard Mulder's
voice telling her she was all he had, she was the only person he could
trust in the world. She thought about all they had been through, the
sacrifices they had made for each other. The unspoken bond that even death
couldn't break.

No, it certainly couldn't wait.

Scully straightened herself, rose and went to the table.  On it was the
laptop.  She sat and booted it up, wiping her face with a shaking hand. A
box came on the screen asking for the password.  

Silently, she typed it in.

"TRUSTNO1"

********************
Part VI

Time Is Money Motel
Talstat, Montana

"This is strange," Scully said, as she wearily studied the computer. "All
that's in these files are Frank Patterson's dissertations of dimensional
anomalies. No mention of psychic abilities, gambling or the
investigation,"

Koester looked up from the files he was reading.

"Same here. Some nice writings on the shamanistic practices of local
Indian tribes too.  How good of Sam & Mulder to leave such clear clues for
us," said Koester with a slightly annoyed tone.

Scully nodded and continued to flip from window to window on the computer
until something caught her eye.  A document flashed on the screen headed
with the words TOP SECRET/EYES ONLY.  It appeared to have been hastily
scanned from a hardcopy and was dated June 18, 1953.  She read through it
carefully.

"Here, look at this." Scully turned the lap top around for Koester to
see.  "According to this, the government was conducting experiments in this
area regarding something they called an "Alice Stitch". They seemed to be
intensely interested in it. From this it's not clear what it is they were
looking for or what was found, but *where* they concentrated their efforts
is obvious,."

"Right here in the lovely town of Talstat," Koester finished for her .
He peered intently at the screen.

"They even cleared out the entire town for the summer of 1952 under the
pretense of holding war games here.  It was code named Project Slip,"
read Scully. "This is unbelievable.  What could be so valuable here that
the government would go to these lengths to find it?"

"Do you think it could have something to do with these 'dimensional
anomalies' or these other files?"

Before Scully could answer the lights suddenly went out.  As her eyes
adjusted to the dark, she noticed a figure by the window.  A faint
whistling sound could be heard in the distance. 

Her hand went to her gun.

"Someone's out there," she said. She and Koester went over to the
window.  He let out a gasp and ran for the door.  Scully watched as the
figure ran for the woods behind the motel, Koester in hot pursuit. 

She ran after Koester.

Koester seemed to be racing after the figure with every ounce of energy he
had.  Scully ran slightly behind and decided to make a statement.
Pointing her gun skyward, she let a shot ring out.

"HALT! FBI!" she screamed.

The unknown man slowed as  Koester caught up and  tackled him
to the ground.  Scully ran up and pointed her gun at the stranger.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What were you doing outside our room?"

The stranger was a bespectacled man of about 35 years of age.  His clothes
were torn and he was breathing hard.  Koester rose and helped him up.

"Put your gun away, Agent Scully, " Koester heaved, still gasping for air.

"Why should I?" Scully demanded.

"Because this is Special Agent Sam Stanley," Koester replied.

The young man took off his cracked glasses and carefully wiped them on his
ruined jacket.  He put them back on and turned to examine Scully.  She
stood staring with her mouth dropped wide open.  He looked back at Koester
distractedly.

"Say Axel.  You wouldn't happen to know what day this is, would you?"

***************
Part VII

Time Is Money Motel
Talstat, Montana

"Where have you been, Sam?"

Koester spoke quietly, trying not to disturb his confused partner.  He
gently pressed a wet washcloth to an abrasion on Stanley's forehead.
Scully sat across from him at the table in Mulder's motel room looking on
intently.

"Ummm, not sure.  It could be now, it could be later, it's hard to say,"
mumbled Stanley.  "These things can get out of control, there are no
parameters...that's the trick to this.  The parameters."

Scully sighed.  After over an hour it was clear this conversation wouldn't
go much further than this.

"What parameters, Sam?" Koester asked, while trying to examine Stanley for
more cuts.

"That's where you finally end up -- the entrances versus the exits and
lapses that occur.  Very unstable, completely unpredictable." Stanley
looked around the room with a renewed curiosity."It didn't look like this
the last time I was here.  The other decor was much nicer...better quality
too."

"When were you here?" Scully queried.

Stanley began to laugh, his eyes glittering strangely.

"If I could answer that question, I wouldn't be here," he said, still
chortling somewhat madly.

"I don't think we'll get anything tonight, Agent Scully," said Koester.
"He has to go to a hospital.  And not one around here, I don't trust
them."

Koester grasped his partner's shoulder and turned him around.

"Look Sam, you and I have to leave this place.  You are going with me
back to Billings and if you try to pull the stunt you did last time, so
help me God, I'll handcuff you to the car door.  Is that clear?"  Koester
said sternly. "Agent Scully, are you coming with us?  I'm sure when he
gets some treatment we'll have a clearer picture of what is going on."

Scully hesitated. Stanley turned toward her and began to laugh again.

"You're not driving I hope?" asked Stanley.

"Why?" Scully looked at him closely.

Stanley began to laugh so hard his shoulders shook.

"Because the last time I saw you in a car, you almost KILLED me."

******************
Part VIII

Time Is Money Motel
Talstat, Montana

"I'm staying"

Scully tried to revive after the short nap she took.  It wasn't a
refreshing one, more nightmares than sleep.  Nightmares of Mulder hanging
from the top of an endless abyss with her desperate grasp the only thing
keeping him from falling.  

Mulder's hand began to slip slowly from hers.

She fought to pull him up, but he just slipped further until, she woke
up...screaming.

"You bring Sam to Billings.  I can handle the investigation from here.  If
I have trouble, I'll call Skinner.  He'll send in the re-reenforcements," said
Scully with an exhausted edge to her voice.

"I really don't like leaving you here.  I believe these people have
something dangerous they're hiding and are willing to kill to protect
their secret," said Koester carefully.

"They don't know who I am yet, but they do know you and Sam pretty well.
It's better that you two go." Scully tried to stifle a yawn.

Koester didn't look convinced, but he picked up his bags.

"All right, you have my cell number.  It'll be on the rest of the day."
Koester walked toward the motel room door.  

He turned back. "Please be careful," he said simply.

"I will,"  replied Scully.

She watched as Koester entered the driver's side of the car.  Sam Stanley
turned and stared long and hard at her.  The car became smaller as it
drove away.

Scully put on her windbreaker and decided to take a ride out to where she
and Mulder first stopped.  She'd always been a firm believer in the "
go back to the beginning" rule when you hit a dead end.  Besides, a long
drive might clear her thoughts.  She got in her car and  pulled out of the 
motel's parking lot.

She didn't notice the two cars that pulled out behind her.

The evening air was very cool, as it can get in the country.  Scully opened
the windows further, letting the wind hit her face and began to think.

Anomalies, secret projects, gambling, what was it? What was she missing?
Agent Stanley's strange rambling echoed in her mind and suddenly, she
stepped on the gas, a light appearing in her eyes.  The car sped forward.
She still didn't notice the two cars that were following her until they were
nearly atop her.

The one on her left crashed into the door almost denting it through to her
leg.  The other rammed hard right, sandwiching Scully between both cars.  Scully
slammed the gas and raced forward.  Oh, these crappy rental cars she
thought furiously.  She was nearly at the spot where the accident
happened.  Just hold on she thought.  The tires of the intruder's cars
were screaming as the they careened around her.  

Almost there, almost...

Scully hit the brakes -- hard.  Her seat belt stopped her from going through
the windshield as the two cars squealed past her unexpected stop.  They
came to a halt about 50 yards up the road.  Scully quickly got out of the
car and began to run to the cornfield.

Out of one car came Sheriff Joan Boylen, a deputy and two drawn
rifles.  Out of the other car came someone Scully knew well.  A man still
holding a lit cigarette between his thumb and forefinger and three men in
black suits whom she had never seen before and probably never would again.
They pulled out their Smith & Wessons and began to fire.  She kept
running.

Scully entered the cornfield with a crash, shots ringing out around her and the
Sheriff and agents right behind.  She pushed stalks aside gasping
for air, a sharp pain searing through her side and running for her life.
She could hear the harsh breathing behind her.  She turned her head to see how
close they were, but...

They were gone.

And the noise began, the same terrifying whistling sound she'd heard the
night she found Mulder.  Or was it that night?  She covered her ears and
lay down.  It seemed to last longer this time, but how long was it last
time?  When was last time?  Was there ever a last time?

As quickly as it began, the noise stopped.

Scully gingerly rose up from the field floor.  She pulled her gun and
peered around her.  There was still some late summer light left so she
still had a view.  There was no one around.  She traced her way back to
the road through the rustling stalks keeping a close look to every side.
As she climbed up the embankment, Scully knelt down and tried to
catch her breath.

A voice to her left startled her.  She leapt up and pointed her gun toward
the sound.

"Scully, is that you?" a familiar voice said. She tried to focus
in the fading light, not daring to hope.  She bit her lip to keep from
crying out when she saw who it was.

It was Mulder...

And he was alive.

********************
Part IX

Route 87
Talstat, Montana

"Look who's back."

Mulder walked up to her.  His hand reached out and touched her face
gently.  He pulled his hand away and smiled. It was a sweet, relieved
smile, full of happiness.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist coming back to tell me what a lousy
driver I am," Mulder said delightedly.

Scully thought yes, I am going mad.  But this was a good madness. If this
is delusion, I don't want the real world.  She threw her arms around his
neck and buried her face in his shoulder.  He was incredibly warm and
safe.  She felt his arms tentatively go around her and gently stay.  I'm
never letting go she thought, and then she snapped back. She broke the
embrace with a jump.

"Hey, I showered," Mulder said, pouting.

"Mulder, what day is this?" Scully asked quickly.

Mulder face changed from humor to concern.

"Why do you want to know that Scully?"  he asked looking straight in her
eyes

"Mulder, it's important.  Please, what day is this? Why won't you tell
me?"

"That seems to be the $64,000 question around these parts. Only asked by
the loopy.  Are you sure you're all right?"  said Mulder.

"Yes, I think so.  Please just answer me."

"It's Friday June thirteenth.  8:37 in the evening. How's that?" asked Mulder.

Scully stopped dead.  Friday -- that was the night.  She looked fearfully
around.  Mulder watched her closely...he didn't like what he was seeing.

She turned back as behind him, a car was slowly approaching.

"Oh my God, it's them," she whispered, horrified.  She made a lightning
decision...

And ran back into the cornfield.

"Scully!  Don't go, Scully, come back!"  Mulder began to chase her
through the stalks.  "Scully, it's dangerous in there! Scully!"

She was nowhere to be seen. 

Mulder cursed under his breath, he had lost her again in the corn. 
He climbed onto the blacktop once more,  shaking his head. The 
car slowly rolled up besides him.

And out stepped Axel Koester.

"You just missed her Koester, damn it,"  Mulder said angrily, as the 
other agent joined him.

"Agent Scully was here?" Koester asked, looking carefully around.

"Yeah, ,but now I'm afraid she's having another tete'-a-tete' with Agent
Stanley," sighed Mulder, shaking his head.

"Are you sure?"  Koester asked, again placing his hand on his gun.

"Positive.  Why can't she go to Disneyworld like everyone else?  Well, I
think I should clue you in on what I found out," said Mulder.

"There's no need Agent Mulder," Koester pulled his gun and pointed it at
Mulder who gaped at him in response.  "Hands up please.  I'm very sorry.
But Sam and I have decided that this opportunity is too important to waste
on either the government or these idiots,"

Mulder raised his hands slowly.  Koester reached in Mulder's jacket,
pocketed his gun and motioned toward Mulder's ankle gun.  Mulder bent
down, pulled it out and tossed it to the ground.

"Start walking to that field."  Koester waved his gun up the road.

"Care to let me in on this?  This must be the part of the FBI manual I
skipped over," Mulder said while walking.

"Let's just say that Sam and I have seen the future and there's no place
for you in it. Hands behind your head.." Koester walked behind Mulder.

The field grew closer.  

"It's so typical of human nature. The most awesome power lives
within them, next to them, day after day and the only use they can
think of for it is gambling.  Winning at the races, if it wasn't so sad,
I wouldn't be able to stop laughing," said Koester.

"Have you thought of a better use?  I'd love to hear it." Mulder glanced
from side to side, thinking desperately of escape and stalling techniques.

"Sorry, Agent Mulder.  This information is now officially on a
'need-to-know' basis and I'm afraid you don't need to know anything
anymore."

They were in the field now.  A warm wind blew through the corn behind them,
quietly rustling the stalks.  Mulder thought furiously, but the man holding
the gun on him was a trained agent, the same as he.  The only thing a
struggle would result in would be a shot in the face versus one in the
back of the head.  This is ridiculous, he thought -- this can't be the way it
ends.  

Koester kept his distance behind Mulder, his eyes watching Mulder's
every step...every breath.

"Kneel," ordered Koester.

Mulder did as Koester said.  He started to resign himself to dying.  He
felt a moment of rage...then of peace.

"Don't I get a last word?" Mulder asked staring ahead at nothing in
particular.

"And that is?" Koester cocked his revolver with a click.

"My partner will come for me," said Mulder quietly.

"I stand warned," replied Koester holding his aim steady with both
hands. A single shot rang out throughout the field and its echo could
be heard throughout the corn and valley.

And Axel Koester dropped to ground, a bullet lodged in the back of his
head.

Mulder heard Koester's body fall behind him and turned his head slowly. He
saw Scully standing with her gun in front of her, still locked in a firing
stance. He rose and stared at the dead agent, as Scully's footsteps washed
through the grass toward him.  

For a long moment, neither spoke.

"Well, Scully, the only thing better than your timing, is your aim," said
Mulder breaking the silence.

Scully holstered her gun and exhaled in exhaustion.  She felt tears coming
to her eyes and with a tremendous effort forced them back.  Her vision began
to swim in and out of focus.

"Mulder, what...what is this place? What the hell is happening here?" she
asked, her voice cracking.  Mulder put an arm around her shoulder and led
her away from Koester and back to the road.  

God, how I want to run, she thought.

"I'm not sure.  Do you know anything about "worm holes", Scully?  The
Philadelphia Experiment?" he asked feeling her sag slightly as she walked.

He tightened his grip around her shoulders and steered her toward the
car. "The investigation into the ability to travel to various points in
time through a crack in this dimension?"

"That's a fairy tale, Mulder..." Scully replied, holding her hand against
her throbbing temple,"Time travel is not possible by any of the laws of
physics. The very nature of time demands..." 

She stopped and took a deep breath.  She had been hallucinating,
that was all.  A trail of waking nightmares.

"According to an old farmer named Charlie Mayo, there's one here, but not
everyone can access it.  Oral tradition has it the local Indian tribe used
it as a test to find out who would be their next shaman.  If you went into
corn, disappeared for a week and came back, you had the job.  It's said to
be very disconcerting at first, but you get the hang of it eventually, or
never return at all.  Mayo told me the army sent out twenty-two men into it
during the summer of Project Slip, out of those twenty-two, twelve came
back.  Out of those twelve, only three survived the experience mentally
intact."  said Mulder, as he unlocked the car door.

"And what makes you think this man is telling the truth?" Scully asked as
she opened the door and sat down wearily.

"Because Private 1st Class C.Mayo was one of the three that returned,"
said Mulder, pulling out a copy of another army memo marked 
TOP SECRET/EYES ONLY -- PROJECT SLIP/CODE WORD: LEPUS BLANC.

Scully stared at the memo.  She looked away, refusing to think anymore.

"So, Scully, what does the future look like?" Mulder asked, looking over at
her, his eyes filled with honest curiosity.  "Anything good up ahead?"

Scully turned and looked at her partner...her best friend.  

Whom she had almost lost.

"I think so," she said quietly.

Nodding, Mulder started up the car, and together they drove away, 
from the corn, the field and the wind.

************
FINI.

Any comments welcome, all flames used to light my next cancer stick as I
toil over my next story.  If you like it, hate it, please let me know!!

CiCi Lean, 1996
canny409@aol.com