EMXC 1st Year fanfic- October 1, 1994 thru October 1, 1995 Archived: 10/01/95 ============================================================== Ok, this is my first attempt at an X-files story, so I hope you all like it. I have really enjoyed reading all of your stories! Special thanks to Mel for all of her support. :) This story is rated PG-13 for language, and teeny bit of violence. This story is based on the characters and situations created by Cris Charter, Ten Thirteen Productions and the Fox Broadcasting Company. No infringement of copyright is intended. Please send all comments to Brenan@AOL.com This story takes place after the X-files have been reopened. Freedom By. Brenan (© 1/30/95) Sacramento, California *** Mulder sat in the old cafe listening to Scully reminisce about a vacation her family had taken to Sacramento when she was twelve, although he wasn't paying attention to a word she said. Sometimes it was comforting for him to be able to sit with his own thoughts yet still be able to hear her, to know that she was there. Scully understood this about Mulder, and never demanded a response or acknowledgment from him. The case they had just wrapped up had been uneventful. Wife and brother in law have an affair, kill off the husband, and split the insurance money. Why the FBI was called in to a simple case like that was beyond him. Right now he just wanted to get home, put a tape in the VCR and crash on the couch. Their plane didn't leave for three more hours and Scully suggested grabbing a bite to eat instead of sitting at the airport all day, and Mulder had readily agreed. The place was empty except for an old couple in the table next to theirs and a teenage girl sitting in a nearby booth. She had long blond hair and was dressed in old jeans and a blue T-shirt. She looked nervous, always checking over her shoulder. Probably got into a fight with her parents and took off, Mulder thought. The girl, not paying attention to what she was doing, knocked over her glass of water. Mulder prepared himself for the sound of breaking glass, but it never came. Instead, the glass stopped in mid-fall and then righted itself onto the table again. Mulder's heart went crazy. Did I just see that, Mulder wondered. He blinked twice, and decided he hadn't imagined it. Then he looked at the girl. She looked around the cafe wildly, then her eyes met Mulders. She was stark white, sweat was forming on her brow, and Mulder could see the fear in her eyes. She had done it, and Mulder had seen. *** Shitshitshit. He saw. Oh shit he saw. Her hands began shaking uncontrollably and it became harder and harder to breathe. A large lump formed in her throat. I promised myself I wouldn't let that happen, and as soon as I get out what is the first thing I do, she thought. I gotta get out of here. Slowly she eased herself out of the booth. The man was still staring at her, his mouth wide open. He knew exactly what had happened. The woman sitting across from him turned to see what he was starring at. As the girl walked toward the door, she could hear him getting up from his seat and begin to follow her. 'Mulder, where are you going?' she heard his female companion ask. Her pace quickened. Maybe I can lose him, she thought. As soon as she stepped outside she tried to run, but it was too late. The man had her by the shoulder, firmly. She wasn't going anywhere. *** OK, he thought, now what. He looked into her frightened brown eyes and suddenly felt bad. 'I am not going to hurt you, I just want to talk to you.', he said calmly. 'OK?' He loosened his grip on her a little, but not enough for her to be able to pull away. Scully came out of the cafe and looked at the two of them with obvious confusion. 'I am Fox Mulder, this is Dana Scully. We just want to talk to you. What is your name?' The girl did not answer. That's a surprise, Mulder thought. Like I would have answered had I been in her shoes. 'Why don't we go back inside, get something to eat, and just talk.' 'Mulder, what in the hell is going on?' Scully whispered through clenched teeth. *** She figured she had two options; scream and make a scene, which is the last thing she wanted, or go inside with these two and try to convince this guy his eyes were playing tricks on him. Damnit, why do I always get myself into shit like this, she wondered. 'OK, we'll go inside, but just for a few minutes. I gotta be home soon.' she lied. 'That's all I want,' he said. He guided her to a booth at the far end of the cafe, waited for her to sit down, then sat opposite her with the woman. He was an attractive man, she thought. Beautiful eyes. He didn't look scary or mean, like the others. She almost felt like she could trust him. But she didn't. She couldn't trust anyone anymore. *** 'Are you from around here?' Mulder asked. 'Yeah, you could say that,' the girl said. It was a stupid question, he knew, but he didn't think he would get anywhere by starting out with, 'So, how long have you possessed telekinetic abilities?' Scully was frustrated. She was playing along so far, but soon she would lose her patience. 'What is your name?' was Mulders next question. 'Ashley' was the response. 'What a pretty name,' Mulder said, getting anxious about how he would handle his next question. 'Yeah, whatever. Look, I gotta go now. If I am late, my parents will get mad.' Ashley said as she started scooting out towards the end of the booth. Mulder, in a panic, grabbed her arm. 'We're not finished talking yet' he said in a tone of voice that frightened both Ashley and Scully. The girl settled back into the booth, obviously rattled. 'I saw what you did with that glass of water. How did you do it?' Mulder asked, regaining his composure. 'I don't know what you are talking about,' Ashley replied carefully. She was a terrible liar, even Scully could see that she was lying, although she didn't know what Ashley was lying about. 'Oh, I think you do.' Mulder was treading on thin ice and he knew it. Nothing was stopping this girl from getting up and leaving, except for her own fear. That was Mulders only hold. If she got brave and left, he would lose any possible evidence of the existence telekinesis, and he couldn't let that happen. He *wouldn't* let that happen. *** She could see the determination in his eyes. He wasn't going to let her go until she told him exactly what he wanted to hear. At first she thought she would be able to get the woman on her side, but now it was obvious she was loyal to him. Ashley was scared. Only two days since I left 'home' and already into trouble, she thought. She needed a plan. 'I have to go to the bathroom,' she said, knowing it wouldn't work. 'Fine, tell me what happened with that glass of water, and you can go,' Mulder said. She looked out the window hoping for some sort of divine intervention, when two black cars pulled up, each containing four men in dark suits. As soon as she saw them, Ashley knew they were coming for her. It was over. She put her head into her hands and began to cry. *** The girl's crying caught Mulder off guard. He gave Scully a 'What did I do?' look, and then reached over and touched Ashley's arm. Just as he was about to say some silly thing about it being 'OK', three men in suits walked up to the table. 'Hello Ashley. Have a nice vacation?' one said cynically as he pulled her out of the booth and started for the door. Mulder and Scully immediately jumped up and began following them. 'Where are you taking her? Who are you?' Mulder demanded, but was quickly cut off. 'This doesn't concern you. We can handle it ourselves.' With that the men forced Ashley into a car and drove off. Mulder noted the license plate numbers on both cars, but knew they would not be registered plates. He and Scully stood in the middle of the road and watched the cars drive away, helpless to do anything else. *** She was back in her old room again. She had sworn just two days ago that she would die before she let them bring her back. They would be watching her even more closely now, she would never get a chance to escape again. She would be punished severely for her 'little stunt'. The bruises and cuts on her back and shoulders had just started to heal, she wasn't looking forward to new ones. Ashley held her head in her hands and cried. Maybe it would have been better not to have escaped, not to have tasted freedom only to be brought back here. It just wasn't fair. She thought about the carefree children she had seen, the nice man who had offered her a ride to the cafe. That damned cafe. Why did she ever go inside? She should have known they would be waiting for her. If I ever get out...stop it, stop it, I am *never* gonna get out of here again, so I might as well just stop thinking about it, she told herself. She curled up into a ball on her bed and cried herself to sleep. *** Mulder's suspicions were right, the plates on both cars were bogus. That left him with nothing. Think, Think, he instructed himself. There had to be some way to figure out who they were and where they were going. *** Scully sat in a daze on the motel bed. She had made Mulder tell her the story of the girl and the water glass twice to make sure she heard it right. 'Mulder,' she had said, 'maybe you just imagined it all.' But that didn't explain the strange men who came to take Ashley away, or the way Ashley lied when Mulder asked about the water glass. Scully was slowly beginning to realize that Mulder could be right. *** The next morning *** She was awakened by someone sitting down on the bed next to her. 'Hello, Ashley. How do you feel?' the tall, dark haired man asked. 'Like shit.' Ashley responded. The tall man chuckled. 'You know the rules. You break them, we punish you. I don't understand why you can't grasp that simple concept. Do you think I *like* watching you suffer?' The punishment had been bad. They had waited until night time, then came in and began beating her with police batons while she was still half asleep and unable to defend herself. After what seemed like hours, they left her lying in a pool of her own blood and tears. The next morning she wasn't even able to feed herself. He spoke again. 'I hope you are ready for another session. Your little 'escapade' has seriously hindered our research. We will be doing double shifts until we catch up.' 'You are full of shit if you think I am doing any more 'sessions'. Find another guinea pig to poke. I quit.' 'It sure is cute how you think you actually have a say in the matter,' the man mused. 'I've always admired your strong will, but here it will only bring you grief. The sooner you learn that, the sooner you will start to 'fit in'. The attendants will be here to get you soon, get dressed.' The man gave her a pitiful look, then walked out of the room. *** Mulder had reached the breaking point. After questioning the people at the cafe about Ashley, he had been up all night using every contact he had trying to figure out who the men were, who Ashley was, and where she had been taken. His friends at the Lone Gunmen offered many theories, but like Mulder, were clueless. There are a lot of military bases in California, but he didn't think the guys who took Ashley were from the military. Deep Throats' words echoed in his mind, 'There are limits to my knowledge, Mr. Mulder. Inside the intelligence community there are so called 'black organizations', groups within groups conducting covert activities unknown at the highest levels of power.' Could this be what was going on here? Some kind of secret government group experimenting with telekinesis? If that was it, he doubted he would ever see Ashley again. *** Ashley was buttoning the last button on her shirt when they came to get her. Two men walked into the room and each took an arm, while another followed behind. She was met in the testing room by Davis, head of the project. She had known Davis since she was first brought here five years ago. He was a short, round man with gray curly hair that seemed to be thicker in his ears than on his head. In all the time she had known him, she had never seen him smile. The testing room was a small room with a large table in the center and mirror on one wall. Behind the mirror was an observation room where others would sit and watch the experiments. Ashley had never been back there, but she was frequently given instructions by the scientists in that room through a speaker mounted on the wall. 'Good Morning Ashley,' Davis said. Ashley was strapped into a chair in front of the desk and facing the mirror. Oh, bad hair day, she thought cynically as she starred at her reflection. Two scientists immediately began placing electrodes on her head, while another fiddled with the recording machine. 'OK, let's begin.' Davis said, sitting down opposite her. Ashley wanted to make a snippy remark and refuse, but she was too tired to deal with his anger. *** Mulder was just about done packing his bags. Skinner was furious at both he and Scully for staying in California an extra day, despite Mulder's insistence of substantiated evidence of telekinesis. Mulder sat down on the bed, exhausted. Again his thoughts returned to Deep Throat. If only he were still alive, Mulder kept thinking. The shrill ring of the telephone snapped Mulder out of his thoughts. Probably Scully telling me to hurry up, Mulder guessed as he picked up the receiver. 'Yeah,' Mulder answered. 'I understand you are looking for a young girl named Ashley,' the voice on the other end said. *** The small block moved across the table, stopping just before it reached the edge. 'Good, good. Now the ball.' A rubber ball followed the same path as the block, but when it reached the edge, fell over. Davis gave Ashley a look of disgust. 'I am so tired. I can't do it anymore,' Ashley whined. 'You will continue until I tell you to stop. Now bring the block back.' Ashley did what she was told. 'Her Theta waves are extremely high, and her Beta waves are off the scale!' a scientist in the observation room said as he studied the readouts from the EEG. 'Yes, she does seem to be getting stronger. Today blocks and balls, who knows what she'll be able to do tomorrow,' another answered. Ashley's nose started bleeding, and her head felt like it was about to explode. 'I can't go on anymore. Please, can't we stop now?' Ashley pleaded. Davis looked at the only other man in the room who immediately stepped toward Ashley, clenching a baton in his hand. Ashley put her head down and waited for the blows when a voice spoke over the speaker on the wall. 'That will be all for today, Jerry. Take her back to her room.' The man disconnected Ashley from the equipment and took her back. *** The knock on the door startled Scully. She was still trying to absorb all that had happened in the last twenty four hours, and wondered about the future of science if telekinesis was a proven phenomenon. She was frustrated that they were leaving with nothing, and sad for Mulder. He had come so close so often and always seemed to get screwed in the end. 'Mulder, where are your bags? We have to leave in ten minutes,' Scully said as she opened the door. 'We won't be going back to Washington today. Get Skinner on the phone and tell him we have a new lead on the case.' Scully was surprised by Mulders enthusiasm. 'What have you got?' She asked. 'Fifteen minutes ago I received a call from someone who claims to work at the lab they are holding Ashley at. He says he is willing to help us get inside. We have to meet him at a restaurant in Loomis in thirty minutes.' Mulder said excitedly. 'And you believe him,' Scully said carefully. 'Of course!' Mulder exclaimed. 'Mulder, this guy could be yanking your chain. Or worse, he could be setting you up. Remember what Deep Throat said? 'Trust no one'.' 'What choice do we have, Scully? This is the only opportunity we will probably ever have to obtain solid evidence of telekinesis. Besides, who knows what else they have at that lab. I have to go. If you want to stay here, fine.' Mulder said heatedly as he walked toward the door. 'Wait! Of course I am going to go, I was just making a point that we should be very careful.' Scully said quickly as she grabbed Mulders arm. 'Good, OK. Let's go.' *** He couldn't believe he was doing this. If they ever found out, he would be killed instantly and his family would get the speech about how Michael was such a gifted scientist, what a shame his accidental death was. He knew the routine well, for he had given similar speeches to grieving families in the past. But he was a trusted partner in the project and, unlike the others, wasn't considered a security risk. They had no reason to suspect him. Or so he hoped. He spotted the agents immediately. Loomis was a small horse town, and two people walking around in business suits had 'out of towner' written all over them. Michael chuckled to himself nervously. Here goes nothing, he thought. *** As soon as Mulder and Scully walked in, a man sitting in a booth in the back stood up and waved them over. He was a tall, thin man in his early fifties with salt and peppered hair. He had deep set eyes that looked scared and tired. 'Can I get you anything?' the man asked. 'No thank you,' both Mulder and Scully answered. 'I suppose you are curious about why I called you down here.' the man asked. 'Yes, actually we are,' Scully replied. 'My name is Michael Garrett. I have been working on the Prodigious Project for almost twenty years now. It originally began as a group of scientists employed by the federal government to think up new ways to develop the perfect human.' Michael explained. 'You mean you were continuing the Litchfield experiments?' Mulder asked, astonished. 'No, no. That was given up years earlier. The scientific community had already established that playing with genetics was too sophisticated a science. It would take decades to get it right, and the federal government wasn't willing to wait that long. We were hired to think of something else.' 'And in so doing you somehow were able to create a person with telekinetic abilities.' Mulder commented. 'No! That is what is so strange about Ashley's case. We had disregarded telekinesis and weren't even looking in that direction when we discovered her.' 'Discovered her?' Scully asked. 'Yes. In 1989 we heard a report about a sixth grader who was able to move small objects telekinetically in some dumpwater town in Nebraska. Of course we dismissed it as Inquirer material, but sent someone to check it out anyway. Come to find out it was true.' 'Then what happened?' Mulder asked, moving closer to Michael. 'One day when little Ashley was walking home from school, a van pulled up beside her, someone grabbed her, and she's been with us ever since.' Michael said. 'That is terrible!' Scully said angrily. 'Yeah, but that's what happened. When you two ran into her the other day, she had just escaped our, uh, facility. The men who brought her back are our security. Highly trained and *very* good at their jobs.' 'So you are saying that for no known reason, Ashley is telekinetic?' Mulder asked. 'No, I am not saying that at all. We know exactly what caused Ashley to become telekinetic, but we have been unable to reproduce it in the lab.' 'What was it? A bump on the head?' Mulder asked curiously. 'Ashley's mother was taking an experimental drug during her pregnancy. This drug has since been banned because of its serious side effects, especially in pregnant women. In the late 70's a bunch of seriously retarded babies were being born, and later it was discovered that all of the mothers had been taking this drug. But Ashley's mom was also taking Phenobarbital for her epilepsy. We believe that somehow these two drugs in combination caused Ashley's telekinesis. We've tried different combinations of the drugs and gave them to pregnant woman as vitamins, but no luck.' 'What do you mean, 'no luck',' Scully questioned. 'All of the babies were either stillborn or severely retarded. We don't know why Ashley was different.' 'And now you keep her in a lab and experiment on her like a dog.' Mulder said softly. 'Yeah. And that is why I called you. I want you to get her out.' *** Michael was beginning to relax a little. He was surprised to hear that Mulder knew about the Litchfeild project- he obviously had a source somewhere. He was also surprised that the agents weren't shocked to hear about the 'vitamins' the government was handing out to pregnant women. He wondered if they knew about other things the government did, like inoculate small children with alien DNA. They probably didn't have a clue, he thought. 'I can get both of you into the facility, but it will be dangerous. If our security finds out who you are, you will be killed immediately'. 'What exactly do you want us to do?' Scully asked. 'I want you to get in, and with my help, get Ashley out and to safety- even if that means taking her to another country. She is treated terribly in there, and I don't want to see it go on anymore. I have kids of my own about her age, and I couldn't stand to see them treated that way.' 'She's been there for five years and you are just now developing a conscience?' Scully asked sarcastically. 'You have to understand- when Ashley first came to us, we believed what we were doing was for the good of the country and for science. But it is five years later, and we have nothing more than a frightened girl and a million EEG readouts. We don't know anything more about it than we did five years ago, and we can't reproduce it. She has been forced to work so hard that she has developed several hematomas on her brain which are causing her severe pain as well as internal bleeding. She doesn't deserve to spend the rest of her life like this.' 'But that is exactly what she will do, because the government would never let her out into society again.' Mulder said. 'Exactly. Will you help me?' *** Mulder was so excited about getting into the lab he could hardly think straight. Not only would he have evidence of telekinesis, but there was a possibility that there were other experiments going on in there too. The only drawback was that Scully seemed to want to go also. He had to find a way to convince her to stay in the hotel room. It wouldn't be easy- Scully could be very stubborn at times- but he had to try. *** Scully's head was spinning. There had been many times in the past where evidence had slipped though their hands before they could study it. Now they being *given* a girl who definitely possessed telekinetic abilities, and Scully didn't know what to do. Part of her just wanted to get on the next plane back to Washington and forget all about Ashley, Michael and the lab. But the rest of her was intrigued. The only problem was that she saw that look in Mulder's eye that meant he was worried about her. Oh great, not this again, Scully thought. *** The next morning *** Mulder was all dressed and ready to get Scully. Michael had told them that he would pick them up at the hotel the next morning and drive them to the lab. 'We have government officials coming in all the time and checking our progress. I'll just tell the secretary you two are from the lab in Redding. There shouldn't be any problem. Just remember to stay with me and do what I say, and don't let security see you', Michael had said. 'Hey Scully', Mulder said cheerfully as Scully met him at her door. 'You know, I was thinking, maybe it would be best if you stayed here. You know, just in case anything went wrong at the lab, you could call for back up or something.' 'I don't think so, Mulder'. Scully said firmly. She had been expecting this and was not about to let him leave her behind. His over protectiveness was cute at first, but now it was getting irritating. Mulder could see the determination in her eyes. He had once seen a bumper sticker that had read, 'I am woman, hear me roar', and had immediately thought of Scully. 'OK, but just be careful. I am tired of visiting you in hospitals, although I must say you do those skimpy gowns justice', Mulder replied with smirk and a wink. Scully was about to say something back when Michael's car pulled up. *** Michael immediately saw the two agents. They were standing in the foyer of the motel room smiling at each other playfully. Ain't love grand, Michael mused to himself. As soon as they saw him, they left the room and walked out to the car. Mulder sat shotgun while Scully scooted into the back seat. Michael put the car into gear and headed for the facility. *** The reality of what they were about to do finally hit Scully as she sat in the back seat, her head leaning against the closed window. She was beginning to get scared. Maybe it would have been better to stay at the motel, she thought. And then she looked at Mulder. Scully would have followed Mulder to hell and back if that is where he wanted to go, and this was probably the closest to hell they were ever going to get, she thought fearfully. *** Mulder was getting excited. His brain raced with possible scenes they might witness and the secrets he might learn that day. He didn't underestimate Michael's warnings, he knew what they were doing was dangerous, and he wished Scully had stayed behind. But he also knew he needed her there. Not only for her medical expertise but for her support as well. Scully had become Mulder's 'security blanket', and the thought of her being hurt again terrified him to no end. After almost two hours of driving through back roads and byways, Michael turned on to a bumpy dirt road decorated with 'No Trespassing' signs every hundred yards. After a few miles, they stopped in front of a huge metal gate guarded by two gun carrying men. As Michael rolled down his window, one of the men peeked in and asked about his passengers. 'This is Dr. Ryan and Dr. Taylor. They are government officials from Redding'. Michael said. Mulder and Scully pulled out the fake visitor ID's Michael had made for them the previous day. The man nodded and signaled to the other guard. The huge metal gates opened with a terrible creaking noise, and the car drove through. 'That was the easy part.' Michael sighed. *** They drove for what seemed at least another mile before seeing the actual building. Michael parked the car and the three stepped out into the sunshine. Scully took a deep breath and prayed silently. Michael lead the two agents toward the big white building. He slid a card through a device on the door, waited for the beep, opened it and walked in. Mulder and Scully were right behind him. It took a moment for Mulder's eyes to adjust to the dim light. The hall they walked through was long and narrow, the white paint new, the floors spotless. They were greeted at the end by a middle aged brunette sitting behind a large desk. She smiled at Michael, but looked questioningly at the strangers. 'This is Dr. Ryan and Dr. Taylor from Redding,' Michael offered before she had a chance to ask. 'I didn't get any memo's about visitors today,' the secretary said in confusion. 'But you must have, I sent it out Friday afternoon.' Michael responded impatiently, hoping she would believe the lie. The secretary looked nervous. 'Of course, I must have lost it. Let me clear their names through the computer and you can be on your way.' Beads of sweat started forming on Michael's forehead. Mulder realized that Michael hadn't anticipated this happening. Great, Mulder thought. We are going to get caught before we even see anything. The secretary reached over and turned on the computer. 'Oh no', she sighed. 'Danny! Didn't I ask you to look at my computer last week? It is doing it again'! The secretary yelled over her shoulder. 'It keeps giving me this 'command structure truncated' message, and I don't know what to do with it,' she said to Michael. 'I'll get to it in a minute,' a voice floated back from behind a closed door. 'Look, we don't have a minute.' Michael said. He could hear his heart beating in his head. 'OK, go ahead. I'll get their passes as soon as Danny fixes this darn thing.' Michael, Mulder and Scully walked past the large desk, going deeper into the dim hallway. *** After waking for a long time through a cataombs of hallways, the three ended up in front of a large white door. Michael again ran his card through a device and waited for the beep. They stepped into a small, dark room filled with computers and white coat wearing scientists. 'Everyone, this is Dr. Ryan and Dr. Taylor. They are from the Redding lab and are here to observe our progress.' Michael said to the others in the room. Mulder and Scully took turns shaking the scientists' hands and exchanging pleasantries. 'Where are their passes?' one of the scientists asked suspiciously. 'The computer locked up. The secretary said she'd get them to us as soon she got it fixed.' Michael said quickly. 'You got here just in time,' an older man interjected. 'We were just starting.' Everyone gathered around the window that looked into the lab. Within seconds Ashley was escorted in and seated at her usual place at the table. Ashley sat down and looked directly at Mulder. He knew that window looked like a mirror on Ashley's side and that she was probably just looking at her own reflection, but it was still a creepy feeling. *** Goose bumps covered Scully's body as she stared at Ashley. Her color was very bad, and she had some bruises on and around her face that concerned Scully. She wished she could get Ashley, hold her in her arms, and tell her everything was going to be OK. Soon, Scully thought, soon. Mulder wondered what was taking so long. He noticed Ashley looked a little pale, but figured all she really needed was some sunshine. The attendant took for ever hooking Ashley up to the monitor's, and Mulder was growing impatient. He started fidgeting and caught Scully's glance, and quickly stopped. He didn't think he could stand much more waiting when finally they were ready to begin. *** Ashley was sitting at her usual spot in front of the long table. She was exhausted and hungry and didn't want to be doing this now, but was too tired to protest. She saw her pale reflection and shuddered. Davis came into the room after Ashley had been hooked up to the monitors and sat opposite her. He reached under the table and brought up a ten pound iron square and placed it on the table. Ashley had just started working with the ten pound square two days earlier. It was much harder to move than the five pound blocks she was used to, and she whimpered when Davis motioned for her to begin. Ashley squinted her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. Slowly, the large block moved across the table, stopping at the end. Her head started throbbing and she became light headed. Davis motioned for her to bring the block back and again she complied. *** As the block moved across the table, the small room that Mulder stood in suddenly became almost too loud as at least ten different machines began processing and printing information. Mulder glanced at a few, but was more interested in what was happening in the lab. It looked unreal, as if there might be a small string pulling the block across the table. But he knew better. He stood in awe watching the block move back and forth. Suddenly Ashley collapsed onto the floor. The observation room immediately became silent as the electrodes broke contact with her. Davis quickly got up and went to her, although he didn't seem the slightest bit concerned over her condition. 'Ashley, don't fuck around with me today. I don't have time for your shit. Now get up so we can continue.' Davis demanded. Ashley didn't move. Scully gave Mulder a panicked look, and Mulder returned it. One of the scientists lifted a microphone to his lips and said, 'Take her back to her room for now.' The attendants complied. 'Dr. Taylor is a medical doctor. I'll have her look at Ashley- to make sure everything is all right,' Michael said to the others in the room. 'OK, just make sure she is well enough to continue this afternoon. We are already behind.' Another scientist said. Michael led Mulder and Scully out of the observation room and down another dimly lit hallway toward Ashley's room. *** Ashley lay on her bed, experiencing the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. Her head felt like it was going to explode, and the right side of her body felt numb. 'God,' she said softly to herself, 'If there *is* a God, please, let me die. I can't live like this anymore. I know I'll never have freedom, so please, let me die.' *** Scully could not believe the callus disregard for human life she had just witnessed. She remembered Michael mentioning that Ashley had been suffering from severe headaches and nose bleeds. Ashley could have just had a brain aneurysm, and the only thing the scientists were concerned with was how soon she would be able to get back to work. For the first time since this whole ordeal had begun, Scully knew they were doing the right thing. *** A young security officer passed the three in the hallway. He recognized Dr. Garrett immediately, but didn't know who the others were. Something about them seemed familiar, though. They had probably been there before, he thought. Scientists and government people were always coming through to observe the girl. He noticed they weren't wearing passes, but thought nothing of it. Why should he, they were with Dr. Garrett. *** Danny finished his donut and coffee and headed out to fix the main computer. It was such a silly thing, and he had no idea why the secretary couldn't do it herself. Women, he thought cynically. *** The three reached Ashley's door and after Michael punched in a code on a numbered security pad on the wall, entered her room. She lay silently on her bed, barely conscious. As soon as she saw them she tried to sit up and speak, but collapsed back onto her bed. 'Sshh,' Scully said, going to Ashley and brushing the hair off of her face. 'We have to get her to a hospital. She needs medical attention right away.' Scully said. 'We don't have time for that! We will continue with our original plans.' Michael said, walking over to Ashley. 'Ashley, we are going to get you out of here. Can you walk?' Michael asked. 'Yeah,' Ashley said in disbelief. 'Good, let's go. We are running out of time.' *** Danny finished with the computer and the secretary immediately got to work on the visitor passes. Dr. Garrett had seemed to be in a bad mood, and she didn't want to be on his bad side. She entered Dr. Taylor's name in the government database. 'File not found', the computer responded. Maybe I spelled it wrong, she thought. She re-entered it as Dr. Tailor, but again the computer did not find the file. She tried Dr. Ryan's name, but the file that came up definitely didn't belong to the young, handsome man that she had seen this morning. What the hell is going on here, she wondered. *** With Mulder's help, Ashley stood up and slowly began walking toward the door. This is it, Mulder thought as he crossed his fingers. The group left the room and began the long walk down the hallway and out the front door. They were going to tell everyone they were taking Ashley to the medical building, which was about 100 yards from the main building. On the way out they would hide her in the trunk of the car and drive away before anyone was the wiser. A risky plan, but with only the three of them they couldn't think of anything else. Hopefully they would disappear before anyone figured out what had happened. Michael had bought a home in Mexico under a false name, and he planned to take Ashley there. Beyond that, he didn't have a clue. *** 'Danny!' the secretary called in frustration. 'Yeah,' he responded. She couldn't have screwed things up again already, he thought in disgust. 'You did something to the computer when you fixed it. It has affected the databases.' the secretary accused. 'What?' The secretary told him about had happened when she tried to get visitor passes for Dr. Garrett's guests. When she saw the look on Danny's face, she realized what he was thinking. 'No, Dr. Garrett would never,' she said as her hands began to tremble. Danny reached for the alarm. *** A deafening ring blasted through the building, startling everyone. Armed guards immediately broke off into small groups and searched the hallways or guarded the exits. Mulder and Scully exchanged terrified looks while Michael simply closed his eyes and hung his head. Within seconds they were surrounded by several officers with guns. Years of practice took over and Mulder and Scully quickly drew their own weapons, despite the fact that they were out gunned three to one. 'Drop your weapons and release the girl,' one of the guards shouted above the ringing. Mulder knew they had no choice. Had he been there alone he might have tried something else, but with Scully just a few feet away, he gently placed his gun at his feet. Scully did the same. The guards kept their position while one spoke into his walkie talkie. Ashley looked down at the pair of guns and smiled. She held out her arm, and as if by magic, Mulder's gun flew into her waiting hand. Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused on Ashley, too scared to move. 'I guess there is a God,' Ashley said as she lifted the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. *** Mulder and Scully sat nervously in a small room with two armed men. When asked about Michael the guards would respond, 'Oh, you'll be joining him shortly,' and smiled knowingly at each other. Mulder knew Michael had been killed, and figured he and Scully were in for the same fate. He had spent so much time protecting her from outside evil's, and now she was going to die and it was all his fault. A lump formed in his throat as he stared at her. She was scared too, but in usual Scully style, did her best to hide it. He reached over and took her hand in his and held it as tight as he could. *** 'Yes sir, I understand sir. Of course, right away sir.' Davis Bullock, head of the project, said into the phone. Davis placed the receiver down and looked at the phone with rage. 'Shit!' he yelled, as he picked it up and threw it against the wall. *** As Mulder sat contemplating how he would tell Scully how much she meant to him and how sorry he was, the door flew open and a short, round man entered. Mulder recognized him immediately as the scientist who had been in the testing room with Ashley. It was obvious he was furious. He walked over to Mulder, knocking over everything in his path, and got right in Mulder's face. 'Do you know what you've done, Agent Mulder? Do you realize you have completely destroyed everything I have worked for all of my life?' Davis asked. Mulder wanted to make a snide remark, but held it in. 'Do you know how much it would please me to watch you die, Agent Mulder? In fact, I'd like to kill you myself,' Davis continued, 'but I can't. Seems you have some friends in high places. But let me tell you this. If word ever gets out about our facility here, I will come straight to you. To hell with your 'friends'. You and your partner will be watched, your phones will be tapped. Fuck the laws. I swear to God, you even mention this place in your sleep and I'll hunt you down like a dog. You hear me?' Davis snarled. *** X-file 00473-02 Field report by Special Agent Dana Scully After exercising all leads, both Agent Mulder and myself believe that the telekinetic girl was a hoax. Mulder's cryptic phone call was never followed up, and questioning of the locals revealed nothing. No one named Dr. Michael Garrett exists, for no birth, death or marriage certificates were found. Because of the extreme lack of evidence, this case is officially closed. The end