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When Mulder awoke,
a strange, seemingly random thought popped into his head. She read my
thoughts… He paused. Who did? And where am I? …Mercy. He looked
around. He was lying on a bed in a motel room. Verdugo. I have my second
chance. I know what I have to do. Captain Whitaker should be here soon.
He began to get ready. As soon as he got out of the shower, his cell phone
rang. He picked it up. “Mulder.”
“Agent Mulder,
this is Agent Watson at the FBI building in Lincoln.”
“Yeah?”
“We have the
results from the DNA test. If you would come down here to take a look at
it?”
“Um… I’ll be
slightly busy today. I’ll send a Detective Meredith Jenkins down to pick
it up for me.” I don’t have time for a 4-hour trip around Nebraska.
Besides, I know who the bastard is. He hung up and began getting dressed.
He got ready
as fast as he could. Timing was everything. Waiting to put the tie on last,
he picked up his cell phone and dialed the police.
“Hello, this
is the Verdugo Police Department, how may I-“ a voice began.
“Meredith Jenkins,
please.”
“Just a moment.”
“Meredith Jenkins
speaking,” a slightly familiar voice said after a few moments.
“Detective Jenkins,
this is Agent Mulder.” He realized suddenly that Meredith’s voice sounded
almost exactly like Mercy’s.
“Yes, sir, what
can I do for you?”
“Three things.
One, send some squad cars to my motel. Two, send a crew to search Captain
Whitaker’s house. Three, go to Lincoln and pick up the DNA test results
from the FBI building. You got that? Do these now.”
“What? Why Captain
Whitaker’s place?”
“That’s where
I’m sure you’ll find your partner and the other victim.” He peeked through
the Venetian Blinds. Right on schedule, Whitaker was walking towards his
room door. Wearing those idiotic alligator skin boots, no less. “Whitaker’s
just outside, wearing the same boots I saw Scully’s captor wearing. I’ll
elaborate later. After you get the results, try to come to where I’ll be.
I’ll give directions to one of the officers you send do he or she can radio
you. Got it?”
“Yeah. I’ll get
right on it.” They hung up.
Mulder took a
deep breath and began putting on his tie. Just then, a knock came at the
door. “Who is it?” he called, although he knew very well who it was.
“Captain Whitaker.”
Mulder unlocked
the door slowly, sat down in a chair, and got his gun ready. “Come in and
shut the door behind you.” He pretended to be fixing his tie.
Whitaker came
in and closed the door. Immediately, Mulder brandished his gun and pointed
it straight at him. “Freeze and put your hands on your head.”
The captain did
freeze, looking like a deer seeing headlights. “What the hell?!”
“Hands on your
head, bastard.” Mulder walked over to him. Whitaker obeyed.
“What’re you
doing?”
Mulder took out
his cuffs and slapped it on Whitaker’s left wrist. He then pulled both
of the captain’s hands behind his back and cuffed the right one as well.
“I know you and your twin brother did it. Make any sudden moves and I shoot.”
“You know I have
a twin brother?” he asked incredulously.
“I know everything
about what you’ve done to those women. What you’ve done to my partner.
And I’ll make you pay.”
“So? You’ll never
find her! Not without my help. And I’ll never tell you.”
Mulder hesitated.
Needing to know where she was could have been a good excuse to blow off
Whitaker’s toes again. And he really wanted to make this grown man
cry. No. There’s no time. And knowing our fucked up world today, he
could probably sue. “I already know, you bastard.”
“What? How could
you possibly know? I don’t even know.” Whitaker suddenly blinked. Apparently,
he hadn’t wanted Mulder to know that.
Voices outside.
The cops were here. “Okay, moron, let’s go.” Mulder opened the door and
pushed him outside. “Hey fellas. Get this guy into a nice cold cell.” Two
cops came forward and shoved Whitaker into one of the squad cars.
“Detective Jenkins
said you’d have directions for her?” one of the officers, a sergeant, asked.
“Yeah, tell her
to go south on the main road towards Vida Nueva. After about 50 minutes,
there’ll be a whole ton of tall grasses. Look for a small dirt road hidden
in it. The road will go on for about 3 and a half miles. A small house
will be at the end of it. That’s where we’ll be. Got it?”
“Yeah. I’ll go
radio her right now. I take it that’s where we’re going now?”
“Yeah. Tell everyone
we’re moving out. Oh, and have an ambulance meet us just before leaving
town. We need it to come with us.” Mulder finished putting on his tie and
got in his car. As soon as he saw that most of them were in their cars,
he pulled out of the parking lot and made his way south.
Scully hurt all
over her body, but it was the numb parts that she worried about. She was
so weak that she could barely move. Dirt surrounded her on five sides.
She wasn’t in the barn, she knew that much. She tried looking up. Wooden
boards.
A sharp pain
pierced her previously numb stomach. Have I been here before? she
asked herself. She shook her head, or at least tried to. Just a feeling
of déjà vu brought on by bloodloss, hunger, and lack of sleep.
She attempted to look at it, but then stopped. No. No point wasting
strength. You already know, Dana. That wound is fatal. It wouldn’t be if
it were treated immediately. But who knows when someone will find me.
Her train of thought stopped. He’s coming. Mulder’s coming. She
was totally certain. So soon? Last time, he came much later. And much
too late to save me. She paused, confused. What last time? But Mulder
is coming. She never felt so sure of anything in her entire life.
Mulder and the
others had been driving for nearly an hour. We should see the road soon,
he thought, gazing at the tall grasses. He looked at the clock. 10:03.
He smiled. Nearly 8 hours earlier than last time. I’m going to do it
right this time. I will do it right this time. He spotted the road.
Turning into it, he looked in his rearview mirror to make sure the other
cars and the ambulance followed him in. Just as before, the grasses parted
3 and a half miles in and a small house came into view. The same gray truck
was parked outside. “We’re going in…” he whispered as he put the car into
park.
He got out of
the car, drew his gun, and motioned for the sergeant, who was just climbing
out of his own car, to go around to the back. Mulder didn’t bother to shut
the door. Any sound may alert Whitaker. And they needed the element of
surprise.
He cautiously
approached the front door and tried the doorknob. He gave a small smile
as the door opened without a creak. He entered the house just as carefully,
sweeping each room he went into with his gun. At the corner of his eye,
he saw 2 police officers follow him in. Good, he thought, observing
that these two were different from last time. He entered the living room,
gun ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Captain Whitaker’s twin sat on
a couch, watching TV. “Freeze! FBI!” Mulder shouted. Whitaker jumped off
the couch and bolted through a nearby doorway. “I said ‘Freeze!’ Stop or
I’ll shoot!” Mulder ran after him.
They entered
the kitchen, then a hallway. Mulder easily caught up with his and tackled
him to the ground. “One of you cuff him!” Mulder yelled at the police officers,
struggling to keep Whitaker down. The cuffs locked into place. The man
stopped struggling. Mulder pulled him up. “You’re under arrest. Get him
out of here.”
“Well, don’t
you want to ask me where the last victim is?”
“No, I know already.”
“Oh.” For some
reason, he sounded disappointed. “How?”
“Doesn’t matter.
You’re under arrest. Somebody read him his rights. I have something to
take care of.” I have a feeling I’m forgetting something.
One of his fingers
twitched. “I’m afraid I’m not ready to go quite yet.”
Oh, that’s
right, Mulder remembered as he suddenly flew down the hallway, knocking
over the 2 officers behind him. The wind got knocked out of him as he landed
with a grunt. He looked up, desperately taking deep breaths to get some
air into his lungs. Whitaker had run off. Mulder looked at the cops getting
up, now in front of him. “Go after… go after him,” he stammered. “…I’ll
catch up.” They nodded and ran after their suspect.
Gunfire. Mulder
got up shakily and staggered through the hallway and out the open back
door. The sergeant lay next to the house, shaking his head as if to try
to stop seeing stars. The two cops were close to him, apparently unconscious.
Other police officers stood around, too shocked and stunned or unconscious
to do anything. And their guns were in a pile next to a rotting, old fence.
“Damn it…” Mulder whispered. Realizing that, once more, his gun was probably
lying somewhere back in the house, Mulder picked up a nearby wooden board.
He then ran up and whacked Whitaker across the face as the man whirled
to face him. Whitaker fell to the ground, unconscious.
Mulder walked
over to the sergeant. “You okay?” He nodded unconvincingly. Mulder then
took a gun from the pile by the fence, ran over to the large tool shed,
and aimed at the lock. “Scully! Scully, can you hear me? Scully?”