Series | Stand Alones | Collaborations | In the Works

IN THE WORKS

Excerpt:

"With respect, sir, this was risky. The evidence that we left him - if
he'd followed it more closely, read between the lines - this could've
destroyed years of work. Years of trust...I just feel it was unnecessary."

"You handled it well. All the evidence that he could've reexamined has
been erased. He still trusts you, only now he thinks of you as gullible,
malleable, easily mislead by a sob story; someone he must protect.
Everything worked out for the best, don't you think?"

"But if it hadn't..."

"There's no sense in dwelling on the past. It's done and it was done
well."

A click of a cigarette lighter, the slow hiss of the paper igniting,
the whine of the tobacco sublimating.

"But you're still not satisfied."

"You told me this wouldn't go on much longer. First, it was three
years, then five. It's been over eight now."

"We still need you. You're a valuable asset to us."

"And if he had realized...where would that have left me?"

Ashes knocked into the tray.

"Or was that the plan all along? To let him find out and have him
destroy me so you wouldn't have to do it yourself?"

"This was a necessary exercise. It shows us the depth and breadth of
his trust and faith in you. He'll excuse even this, this traitorous series
of events, in time. And when that time has arrived," another long whine,
"we will terminate your assignment. Rest assured, our plan for you extends
beyond Fox Mulder. Your current assignment won't last much longer."

A hesitation; a deep breath. "Will you kill him?"

"You ask as if you cared, Dana."

<click>

The air is tense and still around us; silent save for the few cars on
the roads outside. Diana folds her arms and shifts her weight to her other
foot, angling her head and waiting for a reaction.

"Where did you get this?"

"It's one of several that I've collected over the years. This is the
most recent."

"You've been listening to her?"

"There's a device in every room in her apartment. You'd be surprised at
what I've heard." Her lips rise into a grin and the world turns a
little more red.

"Does she know?"

"No. If she did, I doubt she'd be so...overt."

I nod, still staring at the tape player.

"Fox, I know this seems incredible right now, but if you stop and put
all the pieces in place, it makes sense. How she was able to find you all
those times you ditched her, looking for your sister. How she's always been
able to supplement your theories with the right amount of science to propel
your theories. Why she's stayed with you all these years, despite all of
these tragedies she's endured."

I raise my head slightly, my eyes narrowing.

"You didn't actually think- Fox..."

"She was abducted. Her sister was murder. Her cancer, her daughter -"

"Punishments for doing her job too well. Would you like to see the
pictures?"

She tosses the folder onto the table, several black and white
surveillance photos spilling over each other, reaching towards me. Scully and the
Smoking Man in her apartment, in his office, in a car. One strikes me
as odd and I pull it out, holding it close to my face so that I can make
out the details in the half-light from the outside dusk.

At a restaurant, Scully in a formal black gown, her escort in his
standard suit.

"You can take them to the Gunmen if you want, but they'll tell you.
They're real, Fox. I took them myself."

"And why should I trust you?" I ask, not looking away from the tiny
smile on Scully's lips as she leans across the table to whisper something to
her companion.

"I'm trying to help you, Fox. You heard that conversation; they're
planning something against you."

"Then why come to me now? Why not tell me about this months ago before
you...disappeared?"

"I didn't have enough to convince you. And when I heard this...I knew
I had to act right away."

I put down the photo and close my eyes, rubbing them until I see white
fireworks in the darkness.

"Where are you going?" She asks as I stand and tuck the pictures back
into the folder.

"To have these analyzed."

"By who? Scully?"

I exhale sharply.

"Of course she'll deny it. Would you expect her to confess
everything?"

Shaking my head at the floor, I shift my weight from one foot to the
other. "What would you have me do, then?"

"Wait," she approaches me quietly, slowly. "For her to mess up. It's
bound to happen. Sooner or later she'll let something slip. She's getting
arrogant, overly confident. It's just a matter of time."

"And until then?"

She doesn't answer, slipping her arms around my waist and pressing her
lips to mine.