-------------------- Title: The Conversation Before the Foxhunt (1/1) Author: Wendy Williams E-mail: wenwill@usa.net Archive: Please Summary: Mulder and Scully plan for their reunion with Modell. Spoilers: Kitsunegari Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and Fox TV. No copyright infringement is intended. Category: Pre-episode. THE CONVERSATION BEFORE THE FOXHUNT "A penny for your thoughts." said Scully, as she changed lanes to get onto the exit ramp. "I wish They would be more creative." Mulder mumbled, as he glanced at his file one last time. The two partners had headed for Lorton Penitentiary as soon as they heard the news. Robert Patrick Modell had escaped. "'They' who?" "They. You know -- the ever-present, all-knowing, and totally uncaring 'They.' That's who." "Oh," said Scully, getting as many syllables as she could into the two letter word. "That 'They.'" Scully stopped at the red light at the end of the exit ramp, and then turned and stared at her partner, willing him to continue. "The Fates -- The Big Guy upstairs -- God, or whoever's in charge." said Mulder. "Have you noticed that we seem to end up pointing guns at each other about once a year?" "Do you think that's what's going to happen?" asked Scully, as the light turned green and she continued driving. "Again?" "It only makes sense." said Mulder. "Modell's going to pick up right where he left off. Besides, it's been awhile since we've pointed our guns at each other. And there aren't any other cases coming up any time soon that would allow us to meet our very own special quota." Shaking his fist towards the heavens, Mulder yelled, "THIS IS GETTING OLD!" "MULDER! Be quiet!" shouted Scully. "I will not go into the prison with you if you're going to be like this!" "I'm sorry, but sometimes I wonder if the powers-that-be have any clue about what they are doing to the two of us!" Gently, Scully said, "If we're going to beat Modell at his own game, you need to be in a different frame of mind." When he was finally able to calm himself down, Mulder asked, "Scully, can you tell me the name of one agent - any agent - who has held a gun on his or her own partner?" She thought for awhile and then responded, "No, I can't." "Right. But off the top of my head, I can think of four times when we've done just that to each other." "I can only think of three." said Scully, as she made a turn into the entrance of the penitentiary. "Don't forget the time you shot me." "Oh. Okay, that's four." She pulled up the car to the gate and they showed their FBI credentials to the guard. They were told to proceed to hospital ward and were given directions. "What happens when we run out of luck?" Mulder asked, as Scully resumed driving. "We can't think about that right now." "What happens if there's no fire alarm this time?" he continued. Scully spotted the hospital ward and pulled into the visitor's parking lot. "Well, we know that a distraction can break Modell's spell." she said as she parked the car. "Oh, it's a 'spell' now..." said Mulder as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Mulder." groaned Scully. She turned off the engine. "What if we use some kind of vocal cue?" "What if he makes either one of us to say something against our will?" "We could make up a code. That way, we can assure each other, if necessary, that we're not under his control." Scully said, as she unhooked her seatbelt. They got out of the car. "I know!" he exclaimed, "You could say something like, 'You're mother is Thusnelda, and your sister is Samantha.'" "Thusnelda?" repeated Scully, as she walked over to where Mulder was standing. He leaned against the car. "Okay, I admit that it's kind of lame. But the point is, that instead of saying my mother's real name, you pick some other name - one that really doesn't fit her." "And that should be enough to break Modell's hold." concluded Scully. "Yes!" exclaimed Mulder "He should still be pretty weak. If he did learn my mother's name when he stole my personnel file, using the wrong name would be enough to distract him. And, by adding my sister's real name, I'd know that it was you talking, and not him through you." "Okay. And on the flip side, you would say to me -" "--You're mother is Maggie, and your brother is Bart." finished Mulder. "Bart?" "Would you prefer Bert?" "Nah." Scully shook her head "Bill is more like a Bart than a Bert." They looked around at all the other parked government vehicles. "Well," said Scully, "it looks like we're the last ones here. Are you ready to go inside?" Mulder nodded, "Let's go G-woman."