^*^
Scully bit back the urge to tell Diana to keep her goddamn hands to 
herself -- in a very loud and commanding manner. Her physical 
discomfort and lack of sleep long forgotten, she had moved on. 
Directly into outraged, angry and extremely frustrated by her 
inability to get herself and Mulder out of this ridiculously 
dangerous position.

Knowing that Mulder would be safe; at least until he decided to 
make an aggressive move, Scully took the opportunity to gauge the 
situation. 

The men Diana had referred to as Ward and Jorge were out of her 
line of sight, but she could tell they'd moved farther away; she'd 
felt their presence earlier, could smell their aftershaves mingled 
with the salty sweat of exertion. How far behind her they were, 
she couldn't tell.

Off to her left, she'd heard a soft scratching or rustling, but she 
wasn't sure whether it was real or wishfully imagined as it hadn't 
seemed to draw anyone else's attention. That she surmised was 
probably because everyone else's attention seemed trained on the 
newest member of the close knit group -- her partner. She fervently 
hoped that what she'd heard was the arrival of Mulder's back-up.

She fervently hoped Mulder had brought back up.

Quietly chastising herself for thinking an uncharitable thought 
about his ability to follow protocol, she knew in her heart that he 
would have done so. No matter that assistance would be foregone if 
he were alone in the situation; where she was concerned, he knew 
that her safety would be paramount and eclipse
his need to ride in like the knight in shining armor she knew he 
sometimes saw himself as. The knight she happened to cherish -- 
with or without his armor. 

Brought up short from her thoughts, she heard Mulder's rumbling 
monotone. "You've really set up quite the lab, Diana," Scully heard 
him tell the other woman as he moved parallel to the workbench 
area. Turning his head just slightly to his left to meet her eyes.

She searched his quickly, trying to ascertain what his next move 
might be, again feeling totally helpless.

Diana hadn't seemed to notice Mulder's wandering attention as he 
continued, "Care to fill me in on your work," he inquired.  'Good 
move', Scully thought. Diana was at her preening best when her 
partner showed interest. He was giving her exactly what she wanted 
and, from the wink he directed in Scully's direction before turning 
back to former Agent Fowley, Scully knew that he did indeed have 
a plan.

Plan or no, Scully was concerned and not a little distressed at Aja 
Sonjah's movements. The rather familiar looking vial containing 
equally familiar looking liquid that she held in one gloved hand 
drew Scully's attention. As if reading her thoughts, Aja glanced 
over in her direction, her deadpan expression heightening Scully's 
feelings of unease.

"Fox," Diana purred, her hand moving down his back, finally twining 
her fingers with his. Scully couldn't believe Diana hadn't bothered 
to turn them in her direction knowing just how much the brunette 
would gloat over her faux possession of Mulder. When it appeared 
that he hadn't paid her the attention she felt she deserved, Diana 
began again. "Fox," she whispered, her lips to his ear, "Aja has 
perfected the final transformation of the cumbersome and unwieldy 
paste. Let me show you..." Her words trailed off as she nibbled at 
Mulder's ear.

Scully saw the hand Diana wasn't holding rise quickly -- he was 
going to push her away. Much as she was loathe to admit it, she 
knew that he had to play the part, had to lull Diana to 
distraction. But that didn't mean the scene unfolding before her 
didn't cause the bile to rise in Scully's throat as her stomach 
clenched in horror and dismay. 

Biting back the rise in her gorge, Scully  saw Diana turn and 
focus somewhere behind the restraining seat. With a dismissive 
flick of her hand, it appeared that Ward and Jorge were being 
dispatched, the slight squicking sound of their rubber soles on 
the painted cement flooring. But to where, Scully had no idea. 

Delusional Diana...assuming that with Aja working for her, Scully 
incapacitated and Mulder in her thrall, she had the situation 
under control.

As the Fowley woman once again gave her attention to Mulder, Scully 
caught a flurry of movement out of her peripheral vision. Silent 
and stealthy, dressed head to toe in black, the shapes flowed into 
the antechamber at the back of the set of rooms, the two closest 
to her not ten feet away.

Feigning an interest only partially staged, Mulder had also noted 
the arrival of the back up team and sought to engage Diana and Aja.

He was only moderately successful.

"What's Aja preparing," he nodded toward the Asian woman who was 
now holding a capped syringe in her other hand as she turned toward 
Mulder and Diana.

Stroking his face as she guided him from the testing area, Diana 
Fowley led the FBI Agent over to Scully. Scully tried to keep her 
emotional invisible, although she was sure that her eyes had 
widened in anticipation -- and fear as the pieces started to fall 
into place.

Diana and Mulder flanked the left side of the reclining chair, 
Diana closer to Scully's head, Mulder near her midsection. Whether 
her partner had done any of the maneuvering, Scully couldn't tell, 
but the end result put Diana closest to the men in black behind her.

Meanwhile, Aja's heeled shoes clacked on the hard surface as she 
strode to Scully's right side. A saccharine sweet and 
all-too-knowing smile plastered to her face. Someone had a secret 
and Scully was sure she wasn't going to like finding out what it 
was.

Draping herself against Mulder, Diana drew his arms around her as 
she tried to position herself in front of him. With eyes only for 
his partner, he dipped his head imperceptibly toward Scully as he 
extricated himself from Diana, smoothly moving her back to his 
side. With an arm around her waist for good measure.

"All right, Fox, if you really want to wait until we're alone, I 
suppose I can wait a few more minutes. And while I can't see why, I 
also suppose I can understand why you wouldn't want to share our 
intimacy with poor Dana," Diana simpered, all but purring against 
his neck.

"In the meantime, I'm going to show you exactly what I've been 
working on and what Aja has all but perfected. It's ready for its 
first human subject trials." Scully's skin crawled as her 
suspicions were now confirmed. And she shivered involuntarily, 
unable to hold her physical reaction in check this time.

But Diana wasn't satisfied, Scully thought wryly as her eyes 
strained to follow the brunette's hand as it stroked her face just 
below the strap holding her head in place. Smiling through gritted 
teeth, her gaze directed in Scully's direction, Diana explained 
with a condescension Scully could feel, "Every scientist's dream...
I'm giving you what every researcher and clinician can only hope 
for...the change to make a name for yourself, to go down in history 
with the famous and nearly-famous. Aja," she swept her hand from 
Scully's skin and gestured toward the lab-coated woman across from 
her, "Aja will record the effects."

"No!" Scully couldn't help herself, now trying in earnest to wrench 
herself free of the bindings that held her tight. She watched in 
horror as Dr. Sonjah unstoppered the syringe and drew it close to 
Scully's bare neck.

Too much action. There were too many things happening at breakneck 
speed for Scully to process. Her partner had gone into full 
offensive mode, trying to shove Diana out of his way. An angry 
Diana, however, was a force to be reckoned with and her initial 
shock at what she must have perceived as 'Fox's defection' caught 
her off-guard. But only briefly. She then began trying to drag 
Mulder away from the unfolding scene.

Aja was having a difficult time positioning the long, slim needle 
due to the redhead's squirming and struggling.

Prying Diana's clutching hands and gripping fingers from his arm, 
Mulder managed to shove her in the direction of the now highly 
evident back up team. When it appeared that she was about to head 
for the main entrance, Mulder's foot shot out, quite neatly and 
effectively impeding her progress. Causing her to unceremoniously 
trip and fall. Two of the armed law enforcement officers dragged 
her to her feet and cuffed her.

Scully knew she was hyperventilating and couldn't risk passing out. 
Luckily, her adrenaline surged as her heart hammered in her chest. 
She tried to draw in some deep, steadying breaths, but to no avail.

Wasting no time, Mulder dropped his hands to the edge of the leg 
extension of the chair and vaulted over to the other side, grabbing 
for Aja's arm as he landed in a crouch, his thighs pumping to push 
him up to full height. Pinning her back against him, Mulder's 
fingers banded Aja's biceps while his other arm wrapped around her 
ribs, trying to pull her away from the chair. Two of the black-clad 
men were already in position, but her frantic and erratic motions 
were making it hard for them to get a hold on her. Mulder had 
nearly succeeded in getting the amber fluid-filled syringe from her 
when Scully saw her dig the heel of her pump into his instep, his 
resulting 'damnit!' letting Scully know that he'd almost lost his 
hold on her.

Then it seemed to end in with a flurry of activity. Aja had once 
again managed to position her hand dangerously close to Scully's 
neck. With mere seconds to spare, Mulder's hand clamped over hers 
and yanked her back. The upward motion and ensuing momentum -- a 
fast forward play of tangled arms -- succeeded. In the emptying of 
the syringe into Aja Sonjah's upperarm through the fabric of her 
lab coat and blouse. Scully wasn't sure whether her howl was more 
from pain or sheer indignation.

Now Aja would have the honor of making a name for herself in 
history...

"Call 9-1-1," Mulder barked to no one in particular as he dragged 
her to the nearest chair, "and don't let her out of your sight 
until they arrive."

It was a regular party, Scully thought, as both Skinner and 
Kimberley joined the cast of thousands in the now crowded space. 
Jorge and Ward were front and center, secured by four of 
Burlington's finest.

But the person to whom she gave her undivided attention was the man 
quickly undoing her restraints, taking time to gently massage the 
skin beneath each strap. As nice as the gesture was, all she really 
wanted was to be out of the damn chair; no, make that out of the 
damn building.

When Mulder tried to lift her from the chair, she smiled wanly at 
him and just as gently told him with her eyes that she could sit 
and then stand on her own. She expected the subsequent hovering; 
knew he wouldn't let her out of his sight until they were safely 
home. In D.C.  And that was perfectly all right with her at that 
moment. Standing on shaky legs, she allowed her partner to wrap his 
arm around her and draw her to him.

They had ringside seats as Skinner made his way over to Diana 
Fowley. Scully noted the imperious gleam in the taller woman's 
eyes, the way she held her head high even in light of rather 
condemning circumstances. But Assistant Director Walter Skinner's 
eyes told another story. Hard. Dark. Commanding. Tossing off his 
overcoat, he halted abruptly in front of Diana, nodding his head to 
one side, indicating that the two members of the support team 
should relinquish their hold on her.

Scully stepped out of Mulder's protective arm and moved up 
alongside her boss. After all she'd been through at the hands of 
this woman, this former Agent who had actually helped Scully set 
Mulder free once upon a time, she was not going to miss out on one 
minute of her downfall. If Scully were superstitious, she might 
admit to wanting to make sure that Diana Fowley didn't somehow make 
it out of the building with an escort. Of the most official kind.
 
"Diana Fowley," Skinner began his formal address, his words 
clipped. Scully knew that the tension in his jaw and the way in 
which only his upper lip moved was indicative of extreme anger 
being held in check. Just barely. "Ms. Fowley, you have the right 
to remain silent. Should you choose to --" He was stopped in 
mid-pronunciation of the Miranda Rights as Diana moved forward.

Without preamble, Diana planted herself directly in Scully's path, 
mere inches from her face. "You'll never have him, bitch. You know 
that, yet you still --"

Scully could feel Mulder almost before he tried to place himself 
between Diana and her, but she blocked his way. The subsequent 
sound of Scully's right hand connecting sharply with Diana's face 
clearly surprised the brunette. 

And angered her. 

Scully easily side-stepped Diana's attempt to spit on her. Scully 
let her own fury carry her from the room, only partially aware of 
Mulder's fingers lacing with hers as he followed her out.

Leaving Skinner to smoothly complete the recitation of Diana 
Fowley's rights and Mulder to follow at her heels.  

^*^