A Little Knowledge (7/7) ***************************** by Patti Murphy The Smoking Man nodded to her. "Agent Scully," he said. "Please come in and have a seat." There was an ashtray beside him on the table and an empty chair across from him. Scully sat down, never taking her eyes off his face, and she heard the door behind her close. The man lit a cigarette. There was a languidness about his movements, a deliberate slowing down of his actions and Scully felt herself tensing as she watched him. "I thought it was important that we talk," he said once he'd taken a long drag from his cigarette. "There's something that you and Agent Mulder need to know." He took another puff and then put the cigarette in the ashtray. "The man who has been acting as Agent Mulder's anonymous informant is trying to have you both killed." Scully held herself back, tried not to let her expression change. "I don't know who you're talking about," she said. "You're a poor liar, Agent Scully," he said, "so let's not waste time. Three hours ago, someone tried to kill Agent Mulder." She flinched. "Why should I believe what you're saying?" she said. He picked up his cigarette. "You have no reason to trust me," he said, "but your life and your partner's life are in danger, so I suggest that you listen to what I have to say." Scully studied his face, which remained flawlessly neutral. "Is Agent Mulder all right?" she asked. He nodded. "For now." Scully knew that this was a chess game he was playing with her, and decided to move a few pieces of her own. "Agent Mulder's informant has provided us with valuable information, in the past," she said. "He has helped you only insofar as it furthered his interests, but now too many people can connect him with you and Agent Mulder." He blew smoke into the air, watched it swirl. "His position has been compromised." He looked squarely at Scully. "Very simply, Agent Scully, you know too much. And a little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing." Scully's eyes were burning from the smoke and the pain in her head hammered at her, made her feel weak, but she kept her gaze on his face. "Who were those men who came to my apartment tonight?" she asked. "Does it really matter? They were there to kill you and we stopped them." "Were they working for him?" "No, but he has been using this situation as an opportunity to have you killed without getting your blood on his hands," he said. "How?" "Let's just say that he's in a position to know a great deal. He knew that there would be a clean up crew dispatched with the task of reclaiming the information and eliminating anyone who had found out too much." "Are you saying that he gave us that information so that some hit squad would come after us?" Scully asked. He picked up his cigarette and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. "It was in his best interest that you and Agent Mulder get to the bottom of this case as quickly as possible. Why do you think he made it so easy for you?" She pondered this a moment. "How do you know all of this?" she asked. The faintest suggestion of a smile crossed his face. "It is my business to know such things, Agent Scully." He puffed on his cigarette. "We've been watching him ever since he first contacted Agent Mulder." Scully's face reflected her scepticism. "I don't believe you," she said. There was at trace of disdain in his look. "Don't be stupid, Agent Scully. If I wanted to know out what your mother had for breakfast this morning, I could find out in an hour." He flicked the ash off the end of his cigarette. "All that matters now is that the evidence that was in your possession has been destroyed. With no proof to support your claims, you and Agent Mulder are no longer a threat to those people who would have been embarrassed by your continuing investigation." "You realize that whoever is responsible for the deaths of all those innocent people is going to get away with it," Scully said, angrily. "They're just going to walk away from this. Doesn't that bother you?" He looked at her through the haze of blue smoke between them and said nothing for the longest time. Then, he took a last drag on his cigarette and extinguished it in the ashtray. He got up, walked to the door and opened it. "You'll be escorted home, now, Agent Scully. I'm glad we had the chance to talk." "Why did you tell me all this?" Scully asked. "What do you get out of this?" "I have my reasons. And besides, I've come to have a certain respect for you and Agent Mulder." A wave of pain and exhaustion swept over her and Scully let herself sink back into her chair. The Smoking Man started to leave, but her words stopped him. "Who are you?" she asked. He turned and looked at her. He smiled and the expression seemed out of place on his face. "Think of me as your guardian angel," he said, and he left. Mulder was on the steps of Scully's building, watching federal agents and technicians flow past him, into Scully's apartment. Bright yellow crime scene tape had been erected, fencing off the entire building from the street and despite the rain, which continued to pour down, a crowd of curious neighbours had gathered on the sidewalk, talking quietly and staring at the building. The lights from several police cars strobed silently, bathing the onlookers, the lawn and the whole block with intermittent flashes of stark light. Mulder ran his hand through his hair, and fought the urge to scream at somebody. He desperately wanted to be doing something, anything, but there was nothing to be done, except wait for the experts to do their jobs, document the scene and hopefully turn up some clue which might help them locate Scully. He walked to the edge of the steps and looked up at the clouds. The sky was grey and bleak, and there were no stars. He rubbed his chin, and wondered if she was still alive. Bile rose in his stomach and he had to take a deep breath to steady himself. He couldn't start thinking like that. He had to concentrate on finding her. A movement across the street caught his eye -- there was something familiar in it. He peered through the rain and the darkness, shielding his eyes against the flickering police lights. The figure was limping and moving unsteadily, but he recognized the stride and the defiant tilt of the chin. He flew down the steps, pushed past the uniformed officers and ran across the street, stripping off his trenchcoat as he went. He descended on her, quickly wrapping his coat around her, and then holding her at arm's length to look at her face. She was drenched and shivering. There were dark bloodstains on her sweatshirt and her hair was plastered to her head. The right side of her face was scraped and swollen and a bruise was ripening around her eye, which was half-shut. She looked disoriented and she swayed a little on her feet. "Scully?" Mulder said to her, as he steadied her. "Scully, are you all right?" Her eyes searched out his face and she grabbed his arm. "Mulder, they're destroying all the evidence," she said. "We've got to take Dr. Hamilton into custody. She's the only one who can prove any of this now." "They already got to her," he said. "They burned the cabin, Scully. She's dead." He felt her sag. She looked around, rain pouring down her face and then her eyes met Mulder's again. "We've got nothing," she said. "We can't prove a thing." Mulder pushed wet bangs back from her eyes and gently cupped her face in his hands. He looked at her face, as if he was memorizing it, then said, "It doesn't matter, Scully." She tried to summon up a protest, fought to find the strength to object, but instead found herself teetering on the brink of tears. Her shoulders slumped. Mulder pulled the coat around her more tightly. "Come on. We need to get you to the hospital," he said. She nodded, numbly. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms and carry her to his car, but knew that she wouldn't allow it. He settled for wrapping his arm around her and leading her across the street, towards her building. She leaned against him as they walked, until he was supporting her. Mulder thought about what he'd just told her, and realized, to his surprise, that at that moment, nothing else did matter. EPILOGUE FIELD REPORT submitted to Assistant Director Walter S. Skinner Special Agent Dana Scully April 4, 1995 "...Both Agent Mulder's apartment and my own were searched, ostensibly to locate and remove any evidence pertaining to our investigation of the retrovirus project. The hard drives on our computers were destroyed, and the computer of Dr. Elizabeth Przednowek, a virologist at Georgetown University, was stolen from her office... "...Two bodies were recovered from the site where Agent Mulder met with Dr. Leslie Hamilton. Dental records were used to positively identify one body as that of Dr. Hamilton, but the other body, a male, 30-35 years of age, is as yet, unidentified. Autopsies of the bodies revealed little, owing to the fact that the human remains had been mostly destroyed by the fire... "...The investigation into the death of Dr. Joseph Costanza, of Phoenix, Arizona, also believed to have been involved in the retrovirus project, is now closed, and his death has been ruled an accident... "...The body of Peter O'Hara, a journalist with the Washington Post was found on the morning of March 27, in an alley. He had been shot three times at close range. An autopsy showed elevated amounts of cocaine and alcohol in his blood. A known drug trafficker pleaded guilty to his murder and several other unrelated charges, and is currently involved in negotiations for a plea bargain with the District Attorney..." Scully sat, staring blankly at the computer screen, the cursor blinking impatiently, waiting for her to finish. She didn't hear Mulder open the door to their office, didn't notice him standing in the doorway, watching her. Blue light from the computer screen washed over her face, but didn't disguise what remained of her black eye, or the puffiness around her cheekbone. Mulder wanted to wince whenever he looked at her, and he still felt some unexplainable guilt every time she rubbed her hand over the pain in her forehead. The headaches seemed better this week though and he was relieved. He wondered what she wasn't telling him. "You look like you could use a break," he said, as he walked across the office to her desk. She looked at him as if he had just materialized in front of her. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked. "You've been working at that all morning," he said. He pushed some files aside and perched on the edge of her desk. "Maybe it's time for a break." She slipped off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, then let her head rest against the back of the chair. "Having a hard time with the report?" he asked. She stared at the ceiling for a while before she answered. "I'm having a hard time believing just how big this is." She lifted her head to look at him. "Mulder, they managed to make everything disappear. Everything. Evidence, medical files, bodies. Just gone. And there's nothing we can do." She frowned and fiddled with the arms on her glasses. "What?" Mulder prompted. "I'm just wondering what they'll do next time we get too close," she said. Mulder's eyes were clear and intense, but his voice was soft. "I don't know what they'll do," he said, "but I know what we'll be doing." She raised an eyebrow. "What?" "Watching each other's backs," he said. She looked at him for a moment and then her expression softened. She nodded. "So," Mulder said, as he slid off her desk, "got any plans for lunch?" "No. Why?" "I was thinking we could go out. Someplace nice, you know, with tablecloths and real cutlery and everything." He'd been hovering over her like this since he'd met her on the sidewalk in the rain, over a week ago. But somehow, this time, she didn't mind as much as she usually did. "So, what do you say, Scully?" he asked. He was already holding the door open for her. She smiled. "You buying?" "Why not?" She saved the file she was working on and turned off her computer. The report could wait until after lunch. She grabbed her suit jacket off the back of her chair. As she passed him in the doorway, Mulder noticed that her eyes were sea-blue again. He smiled. ********************************** I hope this helps to fill the void until September 22nd and the season premiere. I would really love to hear people's comments and I am e-mail accessible at: 75271.3116@compuserve.com