Mulder and Koskie watched the man stomp away.
�That could have gone better.� Koskie said.
�It�s too bad he didn�t like us.� Mulder replied. �I thought he was rather charming.�
�I don�t think he liked our refugee-on-the-run image.�
�You think?� Mulder asked as they began walking towards the house.
�Oh sure.� Koskie nodded. �It�s either that or the cloud of stench that�s hovering around us.�
Mulder shrugged. �I thought he was just jealous at how quickly I linked the two murders together.�
�At least you didn�t squeeze the underground party fiasco into your monologue.� Koskie said. �He probably would have had a melt-down right here.�
They both flashed their badges at another officer as they entered the house and made their way up the staircase. They took in the immaculate, sterile residence.
�Remember Ferris Bueller�s Day Off?� Koskie asked.
�Surely you�re not going to suggest we play hooky today and hit a Yankee�s game.�
�The way he described Cameron�s house. Like a museum.�
Mulder looked at his partner, wondering where he was going with this. �Yeah. What about it?�
�That�s what this place reminds me of.� Koskie shivered, looking around. �Blah, gives me the creeps.�
Mulder stood in the doorway of the bedroom, looking at all the people inside, his mouth open.
Koskie didn�t need to see inside the room to know why Mulder was so angry.
�What the hell is going on?� Mulder asked loudly. �I was told nothing would be touched until we got here.�
�We�re about to start stringing.� A female ATF agent said. �No one�s been near the body.�
�How do I know that?� Mulder asked, stepping into the room. �Who�s in charge here?�
�I�m in charge.� The woman said. �So I can tell you that the body has not been touched.�
�Who are you?� Mulder asked, knowing he was being rude, but really too tired and too angry to care.
�I beg your pardon.� She challenged him back. �But who are you?�
�Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI.� He said. �I believe you�ve been informed that I�ll be taking charge here. My orders came directly from the NSA so if you or anyone else here has a problem with me, you can take it up with the Attorney General or the President. Although I don�t think either one of them would like to hear their phone ringing this early.�
She was silent for a moment. �You�re Fox Mulder?�
�Yes. Now if you�d be so kind as to tell me who you are, we can get started here.�
�Agent Marie Koskie.�
He finally looked at her, confused.
She smirked. �Steven never mentioned you were such an arrogant asshole.�
Mulder looked over the woman standing before him. She looked young, possibly in her late twenties or early thirties. She was a brunette, her hair falling naturally past her shoulders. She was approximately five feet, six inches, with beautiful, deep brown eyes. She wasn�t too skinny, and she had a beautiful smile, which revealed striking, white teeth.
Mulder grinned. �I am sorry to say, that he left out the best attribute I happen to possess.�
�So it seems.�
�He never mentioned that he had a sister.�
�Doesn�t surprise me.�
�Why is that?� Mulder asked.
She finally grinned in return. �You�ll find out.�
�Confident, are we?�
�No reason for me not to be, Agent Mulder.�
�I don�t see the similarity between you two.� Mulder said sarcastically.
�Well, aren�t you a peach.� She smiled larger and tilted her head.
�Fresh off the tree.� Mulder grinned stupidly. �You aren�t too bad yourself, you know?�
�I have been told that a time or two.�
�I wouldn�t doubt it.�
�I am sorry, uh�� Mulder suddenly drew a blank and couldn�t remember her name.
�Marie.� She said bluntly.
�Yes, Marie. What-�
Marie cut him off. �Enough of the chit chat, is there something I can help you with Agent Mulder?�
�I was about to ask you the same thing. I thought if anyone needed help, it would be you. Thought I would do my good deed for the day, maybe earn my �kindness to those in need� badge and I think that door to door sales time is rolling around.�
�Well, well, well. You possess wit and undying charm as well. Is that a package deal?� She asked, mockingly.
�What have you discovered about the case?�
�Agent Mulder, why don�t you take a step inside, and have a look at the body.�
�You wouldn�t happen to have ordered an autopsy, would you?�
�Agent Mulder�� Marie began. �Please excuse me for a moment.� She walked away, towards a man that had caught her attention.
Koskie�s voice announced his arrival. �Hey, Mulder, I think I was right. Agent Anderson does not like our fugitive look. I say we go and grab a pair of shackles and hideous orange jumpsuits just to spite him.�
�What?� Mulder asked, turning around. �I think the outfits are cute. They make me look slimmer. Did you know that no major department stores carry them? Something about hysteria in the streets, I just can�t imagine.�
Mulder saw Koskie�s eyes fixated across the room, a huge smile spread across his face.
�Well, if it isn�t Maria Tortilla.� He said.
�Tortilla?� Mulder raised an eyebrow at his partner.
Koskie waved a hand at him. �A nickname from when were kids. Long story.�
�You didn�t tell me you had a sister in ATF.�
�Not something that really comes up during normal business hours, Mulder.� Koskie unbuttoned his coat so he could examine his wounds. �Not to mention we haven�t exactly been playing �Twenty Questions�.�
�Agent Koskie.� Marie approached the two of them.
Koskie smiled back and nodded at her. �Agent Koskie.�
�This is the new assignment you told me about?� She gestured her head at Mulder and he nodded in response.
�That it is.�
�Involved with the NSA?� Marie smiled. �My, you�re definitely moving up in the world.�
Koskie laughed and she looked him over. �My God, Steven, what the hell happened to you?�
�Ran into a chicken with an attitude problem, nothing to be concerned about.�
�Steven, you�re hurt!� She gasped and opened his jacket to look at his chest. �Must have been one hell of a chicken!�
�It�s nothing.� Koskie closed his coat back up. �Just some scratches.�
�And you reek.�
�Thanks, Tortilla.�
�What�s up with your partner?� She asked, looking over her shoulder.
Mulder was examining some scratches in the floor; he began to dig with a pen.
�He�s a bit�� Koskie searched for the right word. �Off.�
Marie tilted her head to the side and smiled at him. �Off?�
�Don�t get me wrong, he�s brilliant. But he�s still, off.�
�What is this business with the NSA, Steven?� She narrowed her eyes at him. �You aren�t getting in over your head again, are you?�
Koskie grinned. �Who, me?�
�That�s what I thought.� She replied as Mulder walked up to them. He held up a small, plastic bag.
�Recognize this?� He asked.
Koskie peered closely at the small object enclosed in the clear plastic. His eyes widened. �A claw?� He looked up at Mulder in surprise.
�Look familiar?�
�Holy shit.� Koskie whispered.
�Look like a chicken fingernail to you?�
Koskie smiled up at Mulder. �Winner!�
Mulder handed the bag to Koskie and pulled out his cell phone. �We need to get back to DC.�
�You going to take that to Quantico for comparison?� Koskie held the bag up again and Marie crowded close to get a better look.
�No.� Mulder said. �But I do need the results from the body we found in the shipyard so we can compare the two. Nice to meet you, Maria Tortilla, see you around.� He smiled at her.
She returned the grin and gave him a nod. �Count on it.�
Koskie looked over at Mulder as he began talking.
�Heads up, Frohike. I need to come down ASAP. Can you get some info from Quantico for me?�
Koskie was confused. �What are you doing, Mulder?�
�I have friends.� Mulder grinned at him, then walked away, speaking rapidly. �You need the case number? It�s X-2491573. We�ll be down in a few hours, can you get that for me?�
Koskie glanced down at Marie. �I guess it�s time to go.�
She put a hand on his arm. �Please be careful, Steven.�
�You know me.� He shrugged.
�Yeah, that�s what I�m afraid of.�
Koskie grinned at her. �I�ll call you tonight.�
�Yes, I said, �we�.� Mulder held the front door open for Koskie as he continued his conversation with Frohike. �I have a new partner, troll-man. You�ll meet him in a few hours.�
***
They drove down the freeway, heading to the Lone Gunmen�s place. Koskie could not remember the last time he�d been so tired. Mulder seemed fine and just kept sucking down the coffee. Maybe if he had an intravenous feed of espresso he�d be okay. He keep dozing off, kept jerking awake. The last time, his head hit the window and he looked over at Mulder to see if he�d noticed.
�Maybe you should take a nap.� Mulder suggested.
Koskie shook his head. �I�m fine.�
�We�ll be there soon enough.� Mulder looked over at him. �Unless you want me to take you home. I can go alone.�
�No, no. I just need something to keep me awake.� Koskie stretched, then leaned over and turned on the radio.
�The Otherside� by the Red Hot Chile Peppers was playing.
Mulder drew in a deep breath as his mind took on a life of it�s own. He was suddenly in Scully�s apartment, Krycek staring sadly at him as images collided in his head.
��How long, how long will I slide�Separate my side��
Scully and Krycek were sitting at a table across from Cancer Man and his sister, not too far away from a band which consisted of a banjo, a piano, a saw, a washboard, and someone playing the spoons. He could smell the jambalaya, smell the Morley Spender was smoking; he could feel the smooth, cold glass of Krycek�s bottle of beer against his palm.
The music was not only on the radio, it was inside his head as well.
��I heard your voice through a photograph�I thought it up and brought up the past�Once you know, you can never go back�I gotta take it on the otherside��
�Mulder!�
Mulder had no idea where he was. He didn�t know what was real. A small part of him screamed that he was in a car, driving on the freeway. But everything else he saw and heard was so far away.
Spender pulled out another chart and laid it on the table in between the two. 'This is the DNA of your unborn child.'
��Centuries are what it meant to me�A cemetery where I marry the sea�Stranger things could never change my mind�I gotta take it on the otherside��
�Mulder!� Koskie grabbed the wheel and slowly drove the car off the road.
The voice interrupted him. Mulder realized that he had his hands pressed against his face, covering his eyes. There were tears in his eyes. Krycek had just been told that he was going to be a father and Mulder was feeling everything he did all over again, for the second time in his life.
He suddenly stood up, in the restaurant, knocking over the chair in the process, and hastily walked towards the front door. He could still hear Spender�s voice, speaking to Scully. It followed him out to the street.
'If you compare the DNA charts of the two of you to the chart of the child, you'll see, the child has both.'
Mulder felt hands on his arms. He opened his eyes to see a freeway. Cars whizzing past, honking. On his right, Koskie was staring at him, concern in his eyes.
�Mulder?� Koskie snapped fingers in front of his face. �You there?�
Mulder let out a shuddering breath, his voice thick and shaky. �Turn off the radio.�
Koskie punched at the controls until silence filled the car. Mulder began to feel a little better.
�You okay?� Koskie asked. �You�I had to take the wheel and let us coast off.�
�Sorry.� Mulder barely managed to croak out the word.
�What happened?�
�I don�t know.� Mulder shook his head. �I can�t explain it.�
�Well try, Mulder.� Koskie replied. �You scared the hell out of me.�
Mulder hesitated, then wiped a hand across his eyes, sniffling. �You know Koskie, you and I are gonna have to have a talk someday. Not now, but someday.�
Koskie stared back at Mulder, at the haunted look in his eyes, at the tears on his face. He felt sorry for every bad thought he�d ever had of his partner. Felt badly for every joke he�d ever laughed at, every remark he�d ever made about Spooky Mulder.
�I assume it will be quite a story.� Koskie said, opening his door. �In the meantime, why don�t I drive.�
***
�Who are these people?� Koskie asked, listening to all the locks being disengaged. �You hanging out with a right-wing militant group?�
�I have yet to figure out what group to lump them into.� Mulder smiled. �I don�t think they can be described as any one thing or another.�
Frohike opened the door. �What�s up, freak?�
�Nice to see you too, Melvin.� Mulder stepped past him. �Meet Steve Koskie.�
Frohike glanced up at Koskie, distrust already in his eyes. �You prefer Steve or Koskie?� He asked. �We normally go by our last names around here.�
�Actually, I prefer neither.� Koskie followed Mulder into the room. �I�ve always been partial to Sugar Pants, Honey Lips, you get my drift.�
Frohike shut the door, already disliking Mulder�s arrogant partner. �How about punk ass?� He growled at Koskie�s back. �You�ve probably heard that one a lot.�
�Oh that�s perfect.� Koskie turned to grin down at him. �And I�ll call you my little pet bitch.�
�Don�t make me get the can out.� Frohike retorted.
Koskie grinned even larger at the response he was getting from the little guy. �Shouldn�t you be following the yellow brick road?�
�Enough.� Mulder intervened. He held out the plastic bag to Frohike. �Check it out.�
Frohike�s eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he held it up in front of his face.
�Chicken finger.� Koskie said out of nowhere.
�Doesn�t look like it�d be too good with honey mustard.� Langly�s voice came from behind them. �You smell maximum real, Mulder.�
�We worked hard at it. Meet Agent Koskie.�
Langly looked at him, sadness in his eyes. �You�re Mulder�s new partner?�
Koskie nodded. �Although after the day we�ve had, I�m not so sure I�ll live to see our next case.�
�Life around Mulder tends to be that way.� He replied. �I�m Langly.�
�You CIA?�
�As in my last name, not Langley, Virginia.�
�Bingo.� Frohike�s voice rang out.
�Whatcha got?� Mulder leaned over Frohike�s shoulder.
�This genetic make up. It�s matching on three case numbers. The one you had me get today, and two of your earlier cases.�
�How do you have access to all this?� Koskie asked, joining them at the table.
�You can say, it Langly.� Frohike grinned, looking tweaking an image on a monitor. �I have to say it all the time.�
Mulder rolled his eyes at Koskie and said it with Langly.
�My Kung Fu is the best.�
�Okay.� Koskie grinned despite himself. �We got us some hackers?�
�They cover a far broader range of illegal activities.� Mulder said. �Be careful you don�t offend.�
�His smell is already doing that.� Frohike said. �This claw definitely matches whatever you found yesterday morning.�
�You said there were three matches.� Mulder replied.
�Yes, some of it matches whatever organic material you found back in Phoenix all those years ago. And I don�t think this other match was from a case. It�s just records we have stored. Medical charts, DNA strands, lists of the genetic make up of something.�
Mulder peered closely at the monitor, searching for an indication of what it was in reference to. �Of what?�
�I�m looking for a name�� Frohike�s voice trailed off. �There. Gibson Praise. Mean anything to you?�
Mulder didn�t respond. He was speechless.
�I�ll take that as a yes.� Frohike said, indicating Mulder�s shocked silence.
�How could the chicken have Gibson�s DNA?� Mulder mumbled softly.
�Who�s Gibson Praise?� Koskie looked between Frohike and Langly, only to get shrugs and shaking heads.
Mulder tried to keep himself from shaking as he pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial.
�We�re sorry�The number you have dialed has been disconnected�Please hang up and try again��
�Damn.� Mulder impatiently pushed buttons, dialing the number to the house in Newport Beach. �How long am I going to keep calling her apartment? Newport is 714, right?�
�Hello?�
Mulder grimaced at the voice on the other end. �It�s me Krycek, lemme talk to Scully.�
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
�Hello?� Mulder asked sarcastically. �You suddenly develop swimmer�s ear from all that surfing?�
�Fox...� Krycek�s sad voice softly floated back to him.
The serious tone of Krycek�s normally cheerful voice confused Mulder for a moment. He heard a baby began to cry in the background and suddenly he remembered.
Scully was dead.
He had forgotten. He had automatically gone to call Scully to get her explanation on Gibson�s DNA. If anyone could have figured it out, it would have been her. But she was dead. He looked up to see everyone staring at him in confusion, pity, sorrow, as Krycek kept talking.
�I don�t know what to say, Fox.�
Koskie put a hand on his arm. The look on Mulder�s face spoke a thousand words.
Frohike reached for the phone and Mulder gladly released it. Koskie guided him towards a chair and he plopped heavily down and put his hands over his face. Scully was dead.
�Alex?� He heard Frohike�s voice talking. �Yeah, I know. I don�t think he has either, but he�ll okay. We�ll take care of him. I know, Alex.� The voice retreated as Frohike left the room.
�You okay, Mulder?� Koskie asked.
Mulder tried to block the image out. One picture always popped in his head when he thought of Scully. It wasn�t exactly his fondest memory, but it was the happiest he�d ever seen her. Covered in orange slime, squishing the pumpkin goop in her hands all over Krycek�s face. She was giggling like a teenager, pregnant, her blonde hair grown out. Why that image, he didn�t know. Maybe because it was the first time he�d seen the Scully he never knew.
�Mulder?� It was Langly now and he knew he�d have to do something before they all went into Mother Mode on him. He just couldn�t figure out what to do. Scully was dead. He took a deep breath and forced his hands away from his face. Both Langly and Koskie were staring down at him.
�You okay, Mulder?� The former asked.
He slowly nodded, he wanted to speak, but no words came to mind. Scully was dead. His face showed no emotion, his movements suddenly seemed sluggish.
Byers walked into the room. �Hey Mulder. When did you get here?� He stuck a hand out in Koskie�s direction. �John Byers.�
�This is Mulder�s new partner.� Langly said as Koskie accepted his handshake. �Agent Koskie.�
Mulder ran his hands through his hair, trying to collect himself. His face was pale and his eyes were dazed.
Byers took a closer look at his friend. �You okay, Mulder?� He got no response and turned to look at Langly. �What�s going on? What happened?�
�I�ll tell you later.� Langly said softly before leaning closer to Mulder. �You hear me, Mulder? You okay?�
Mulder nodded again, finally forcing some words out, the only words that came to mind other than Scully was dead.
�I�m fine.�
Byers and Langly didn�t say a word as Mulder suddenly burst into laughter.
He suddenly understood why Scully had been so fond of those words. They were so easy to spit out when you couldn�t say anything else. He put his hands over his face again and continued to laugh. After a few hysterical moments, his giggles turned to silent sobs.
Koskie was genuinely frightened for his partner. Maybe he was in need of some Thorazine and a straight jacket. �Mulder, what the hell is so funny?�
�I don�t think he�s laughing.� Langly said softly.
Frohike walked back into the room and held the phone out towards Mulder. �Alex wants to talk to you.�
Mulder shook his head. �I can�t talk to him.�
�Mulder-�
�I don�t want to talk to him!� Mulder said harshly, taking his hands away from his face and glaring at Frohike.
Langly took the phone himself and walked out of the room.
�Mulder.� Koskie put a hand on his arm. �Let me take you home.�
�I�m sorry.� He replied softly. �I don�t know what�s wrong with me.�
�Oh, I wonder.� Frohike replied. �You just lost Scully. Not to mention all this other crap that�s been going on, with Spender and Fowley and Alex.�
�Not to mention you haven�t slept in over twenty-four hours.� Koskie said. �Been chasing the chicken through sewers. Hit an underground party on the way. It�s been a busy couple of days.�
Byers glanced between Koskie and Mulder, not sure how much his new partner was aware of. �Mulder, if you need-�
�I�m okay.� He interrupted, forcing the next question out, directing it to Frohike. �How�s Krycek? I heard the baby crying.�
�He�s hanging in there, Mulder. He seemed worried about you.�
Mulder chuckled nervously to get away from any thought that Krycek might care about him. It was so much easier to pretend that Krycek still hated him. �Why would he care about me one way or another?�
Frohike threw a scolding look at Mulder. �Don�t make me state the obvious.�
