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Title: Memories Returning Summary: Mulder and Scully investigate a case of alien abduction that doesn't fit the usual profile. Archive: Yes I wrote this story because I had the idea on my mind for some time, but only in the last days I had enough spare time to do it. My only problem is that English is not my native language, and so I think you will encounter some mistakes as you read this story. Please don't blame me, this is not only my first attempt of writing fanfic, but also the longest English text I ever wrote. I would be very happy if some of you send me comments, critics, etc. on my story. Please send them to "Florian.Mehm@T-Online.de". Chicago The morning sun came through the hotel windows. The sounds of the city, that had awakened hours before, were lowered by the glass. >From the window, there was an almost panoramic view over Chicago. The hotel room was very well furnished and looked expensive. On the walls, there were beautiful wall-papers, chandeliers hung from the ceiling and there were only costly furnishings. >From the door to the sleeping room, there was a distinct trail of clothes. Right behind the door lay a jacket, the next piece of cloth was a tie. It was obvious that they were left in a hurry. In front of the sleeping room door, a shirt was thrown to the floor, on the way to the bed lay jeans and a pair of drawers. The shoes and socks were all over the room. On the bed, a man was sleeping. He must have been around 40 years old, had an expensive looking haircut and it was obvious he cared for his appearance. The bed he was lying on was very untidy. Suddenly, the telephone on the bed-side table started ringing. The noise slowly reached the man's mind and he started returning from sleep. He groaned while awakening and reached for his head after he had opened his eyes. At once, he raised and looked around. He breathed faster and wondered where he was, until he remembered that he was in his hotel room in Chicago. He had a bad headache, and he feared his head might have exploded every moment. Sitting on the bed, he saw the trail of clothes leading towards him. At first, he didn't remember why he had left the clothes on the floor, but then the memory of the last night returned. It all had started in that small bar, he was drinking a beer, and then SHE was there, the woman he had always dreamed of. She sat right next to him, they started flirting, and they ended up here, in his room.... Then he became aware of the ringing telephone. He tried to remember how long it had been ringing, and then got the receiver. He lifted it to his ear and said "Hello?" with a rough voice. He immediately recognized the voice on the other end. It was his wife. "Marc? Is that you?" He cleared his throat and then replied: "Yes, darling," she said with sorrow: "I was wondering what you were doing. I couldn't reach you yesterday. Where were you?" Marc hesitated. He couldn't possibly tell her the truth. Instead he said: "I, I had to stay longer. You see, we had some work that had to be done, and the convention was almost over." Lisa sounded more calm now. "Okay. So you're coming home tonight, aren't you?" It appeared that she didn't feel what was up. "I promise. I'll be home by five. I love you." He had hesitated again before he had said the last sentence. But she calmly responded: "Me too. Bye." Then he carefully tried to stand. Immediately, he felt sick, and it seemed to him his head had finally exploded. After he managed not to fall on the bed again, he stumbled a little bit drowsy to the bathroom and turned the lights on. Like the rest of the suite, the bathroom was very comfortable. There was a shower and a bathtub. He closed the door and stepped to the basin. He filled it with cold water and took a handful. Quickly, he washed his face, and with that, the headache disappeared for some seconds. His drowsiness was swept away, and he saw the writing on the mirror. It read: "I love you. 555-6424." His hands clenched and he cleaned the mirror as fast as possible. He just hoped he could clean his conscience as easy as this mirror. Washington, D.C. Outside, the sun had set hours ago. The house was in the outskirts of Washington. From the outside, it didn't look that expensive, but it was bigger than most of the other houses in the street. There was only the light of a television in one of the windows. That was the living room of the Keatons. Both of them were lying on the couch, close to each other, watching television. Lisa Keaton wore expensive clothes, like her husband. He could feel her warmth and her auburn hair on his skin. Marc could smell her and felt her soft breath on his face. She was about the same age he was and looked very beautiful. When he had arrived, he had tried to hide his secret from her. But she had had a hunch there was something on his mind. She had asked him what it was, and he had told her some lies about the hard work he did back in Chicago. Although he had been sure that she must have felt that he was not telling her the truth, she had accepted his explanations and hadn't bothered to ask him again. Now, that she was so close to him, he was more sorry for what he did the last night than in the morning. He hoped that she never found out what had happened. And as long as he remained careful, that would be the case. The film they were watching ended, and he got the remote control to change the channel. After he quickly switched through some of the channels they received, he saw a scene that he had seen before. Marc was caught by it. He felt like he wasn't just watching it on television, but also remembering it. On the screen was a dark room. There were some people in it. They were obviously scared and moved closer towards each other. Then a bright light came through the windows. A woman started to scream. Marc stiffened and watched it with growing fear. Then the door of the room started opening, slowly. The people in the room seemed to be more and more afraid of the light, but none of them tried to escape or even to move. Suddenly, Marc felt like he was paralyzed. He couldn't move anymore, even if he tried hard. He started to sweat and wanted to scream. But he couldn't. The persons in the room were just looking at what happened. In the door, there was the shadow of a person. It stepped into the room and approached the frightened people. The camera zoomed in, and then the shape turned into a man Marc recognized as "The stupendous Yappi". He suddenly could move again, and he became aware that he was still lying on the couch in his home. He heard Lisa asking him nervously what was up. He shook his head and said "I don't know. I must have blacked out." He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You didn't move, and you weren't breathing. I was afraid," she said. He calmed down more and assured her: "It's nothing, honey. Maybe I didn't sleep well last week." She nodded and said: "Yes, probably. I think we both should get some sleep." She quickly kissed him and stood up. He felt cold on the places where she had been resting seconds ago. He told her he would come right after her. She went to the bedroom. He shifted into a more comfortable position and looked at the television again. There still was the show starring "The stupendous Yappi". He was looking into the camera and said: "This could happen to any of us. Even to you! But there is one chance for you to make sure aliens don't come to you in the night and get you! My new book "Abductions to outer space" is available now for only 19.90 dollars. If you call 1-900-555-YAPP now, you also get the guideline..." Marc didn't watch any further. He was so tired that he fell asleep on the couch. When his wife came for him, she saw he was already sleeping and didn't want to wake him up. She carefully covered him with a warm blanket, turned the TV off and went to bed. One and a half hours later, after having gone through all stages of sleep, Marc stiffened. He sweated, and his eyes started to move quickly under their closed lids. The dream became more intensive, and after some minutes, he opened his eyes wide and awoke from the dream. He was afraid. Washington, D.C. Marc and Lisa had gotten up early in the morning and had decided to do some jogging in the almost empty park in their neighborhood. The morning sun hadn't fully risen, and over the grass, which was still covered with dew, fog hovered. The two of them were almost alone in the park. Only sometimes, they saw other joggers. Marc was happy because Lisa hadn't found out about that incidence in Chicago, and he had almost forgotten everything about it. Everything had returned to normal. Except these strange things that had started happening after he came back from Chicago. Every night since then, he had terrible nightmares, and the worst thing about them was, that he didn't remember them. Lisa was worried because he had started screaming in the middle of the night once. She had asked him to visit a doctor twice, but he had said it would be okay. But he wasn't that sure about that, either. Now she was jogging at his side. They weren't talking much, because it was too exhausting. At once, Lisa started running faster and soon was in front of him. He hurried to catch up with her and asked her: "Hey, what's up?" She turned to the left and ran away. Before he could react, she had disappeared in a small forest. He stopped and called her. She answered from somewhere in the forest: "Catch me!" He smiled and started running. As he entered the forest, he felt like he wasn't in the park anymore. The temperature had dropped some degrees, and the sun was blocked by the high trees. After a while of running, he saw her again. She was looking back at him, and started to run even faster when she saw him coming. Then she vanished again behind some trees. He followed her. The chasing continued for some minutes. He had seen her some times, but the next moment, she always had disappeared behind trees or bushes. Then suddenly he didn't see her again. He stopped running and walked. He thought to himself that she must have hidden somewhere. He sneaked forward. He walked around some trees, and when he was standing in front of a particularly large one, he could hear a sound. It wasn't loud, but he thought he heard a branch cracking. He stopped for a second and listened. Then he started rounding the tree slowly. After he was halfway around, he became afraid without any reason. He hesitated for a second, then told himself that there was nothing to be afraid of and stepped fully around the tree. He was shocked by what he saw. There was a creature standing behind the tree. It was smaller than him, had somehow reptile-like, gray skin, and its head was unproportionally big. Its eyes, that were very big, were like mirrors, and he could see his own reflecting in them. He opened his eyes wide and screamed loud. He wanted to run away, escape that creature, but he was unable to do anything than just watch and scream. Then the creature approached him and touched him with its hands. He could close his eyes suddenly, and when he opened them again, he could see Lisa, looking at him with sorrow in her eyes. She was holding his shoulders with her hands and shaking him. She asked him with a troubled look on her face: "Are you okay, Marc? What happened?" He gasped and shook his head: "I don't know. I..." She hugged him: "It's okay now. Let's go home," she said. They slowly went home. Washington, D.C. Lisa had gone to work some hours ago. Because he hadn't felt like work that day, Marc had decided to stay at home. He had called his firm and told his boss, who had agreed. He had noticed that Marc could use some rest. So he could spend the whole day at home. The strange things had happened even more often during the last week, and if they didn't stop, Marc decided he would visit a doctor, like Lisa wanted him to. Right now, he was lying on the couch, listening to some classic music and reading a book. He was happy because there had been no strange things that day, and he hadn't had a nightmare that night. At last he hadn't remembered any one. He was dressed lazy and just enjoyed doing nothing. Then there was a knock on the door. He grinded out a damnation on the person that disrupted him in reading, then went to the door to answer it. He looked at the screen showing the visitor in front of the door. Marc pushed a button and asked the man what he wanted. The man in front of the door got something out of his trenchcoat and held it into the camera. Marc didn't recognize it, but he guessed it was an identification mark. The man said in a deep voice: "NSA. Mr. Keaton, I have to ask you some questions." Marc wondered what the National Security Agency was doing here, but he opened the door. Now he could see the man from close distance. He was taller than Marc, wearing a black trenchcoat and sunglasses. His look was severe and he showed no emotions. He removed the sunglasses and Marc could see his eyes. They seemed to go through him as the man scanned him. He showed him his identification again, saying: "Agent Williams." Marc told him to enter and closed the door behind him. He asked himself again what that strange man wanted. They went to the living room and sat at the table. The NSA Agent was looking around all the time, seeming afraid of someone or something. The same moment Marc had that thought, he told himself he was making it up. He got a cigarette and lightened it. He offered one to the mysterious man. He shook his head and said: "I don't smoke. And you would better stop it, too." Marc nodded and asked: "So, what does the NSA want from me?" The man looked at him and seriously asked him: "You were in Chicago the 21. Of April. What did you do that night?" Marc looked puzzled, hesitated a moment and then replied: "I don't think that's the NSA's business." The man was even more serious now. "That's not just the NSA's business, there are more people involved than you may think," he said. Before Marc could react, the man continued to speak: "Mr. Keaton, have you ever suffered from amnesia, after an accident, for example?" Marc was a little bit angry, but inside, he was more and more wondering what this was all about. He said: "No... but, what do you want?". The man grimly looked at him. Marc stopped talking. "You are remembering it, aren't you? The memory wasn't taken from you." Marc thought for a moment. What did that man mean? What did he knew that Marc didn't? He thought for a second that he was maybe talking about the strange things that had happened, but he dismissed the thought. He grew more angry again. "If you don't tell me what this is about right now, I must ask you to leave." The man was still speaking in the deep, calm voice: "You can't hide from it, Mr. Keaton. And you are in great danger." Suddenly, he checked his watch: "I hope you change your mind on this. I have to leave now. We won't have further contact, Mr. Keaton." He stood and walked to the door. Marc also stood up and followed him angrily. He stopped the other man and asked him: "Damn it, what do you want? What the hell are you talking about, man?" He wondered why this man had so good control over his emotions. He still sounded calm when he said: "Good bye, Mr. Keaton." Marc couldn't find any more words. "But...." The man got his sunglasses, wore them and opened the door. Then he turned around and looked at the confused and enraged Marc again. He got something from under his trenchcoat. It was an envelope. He handed it to Marc and entered a car parking in front the Keaton's house. Marc looked at the envelope in his hands and called the man: "What....", but he didn't end the sentence. The car drove away fast, and soon it turned around a corner. Marc closed the door and decided to forget that meeting. He threw the envelope on the table and returned to his book. Washington, D.C. Every day, hundreds of tourists visited the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington D.C. They were told the history of the Building and the FBI, how Hoover had become director of the newly founded "Federal Bureau of Investigation" back in 1924. They saw the huge entry hall with the FBI logo on the ground. But none of them ever saw the sub-basement. But that was where one of the most interesting offices was. Special Agent Mulder's rooms' walls were covered with unsharp photographs of lights hovering in the sky, pictures of the earth taken from orbit, drawings of creatures with small bodies and huge heads, and a poster showing an UFO and the writing "I want to believe". Not any of the visitors would have imagined a room like that in the FBI Building. Agent Fox Mulder was sitting at the table, reading some X-Files. He was so captured by them that he didn't notice the telephone ringing at first. After two or three times, he looked up and got the telephone. "Mulder." At first, there was no sound on the other end. Mulder was about to ask who was calling him, but then he heard the voice of a man. "Is that Agent Fox Mulder of the FBI?" Mulder hesitated for a moment and answered: "Yes. Who's that?" Instead of answering him, the voice asked: "Do you know an Agent Williams, who's with the NSA?" Mulder was surprised and replied: "The National Security Agency? No. Anyway, who is there?" "My name is Marc Keaton", said the man. "What do you want? How did you get this number?" he was asked by Mulder. Marc waited for a moment and then said: "I had something strange happening. There was this man, Agent Williams, and he told me that I should remember something and that my memory was taken by someone and.... that I am in danger. He left an envelope with an newspaper report and your number." Mulder thought about what the man just said. Was he serious - or was that another effort to distract him? But he decided to continue the conversation: "Mr. Keaton, would you please repeat that?" Marc did so: "It all started when I returned from a congress in Chicago. I would have terrible nightmares, and on the days, strange things happen to me. And some days ago, that Agent Williams came." Mulder disrupted him: "Was he dressed in black?" The voice of Marc sounded surprised: "Yes! How did you know?" Mulder pretended: "I just guessed. Go on." "He was behaving very strangely. And he told me that I forgot something that happened in Chicago. And before he left, he gave me the envelope. And he told me that I was in danger. At first, I thought someone was making fun of me, but when the strange things happened again, I opened it. I found your card and a newspaper report from Chicago from the last day I was there. It was about some people being found confused in the streets of Chicago." Mulder was still not sure that this man was really telling him the truth. "You said something about strange things happening, Mr. Keaton. What, for example?" "They're like... visions. Sometimes I look at something or someone, and I think I see... something else.", he told Mulder. Mulder was more convinced now. "Like extraterrestrials?" Marc waited shortly and then surprisedly said: "Yes,... yes. You have to help me. You're the only person I think I can trust about this." Mulder thought what to do and then said: "Mr. Keaton, where do you live? What city?" The answer was: "Same city you live in. Washington. Why?" "I think we shouldn't talk about this on the telephone. There is a bar where we can talk. It's just a block away from the FBI Building. We'll meet there in half an hour.", Mulder told Marc. The latter disrupted the FBI Agent: "Wait a moment! Do you know what is happening here?" Mulder said in reply: "Maybe. I'll see you there." He dropped the receiver and thought about that call. Then he stood up and went to the door. He took his trenchcoat and opened the door. Agent Dana Scully did the same on the other side. The two of them ran into each other. Scully surprisedly asked: "Mulder, where are you going?" He looked into her eyes and said: "I'm taking a break." He started to walk down the hallway. Scully followed him. "What is it, Mulder?" He stopped, turned around and told his partner: "I'll tell you on the way." Side by side, they walked to the elevator. Washington, D.C. Mulder and Scully entered the bar. It was a favorite meeting place for FBI agents, because it was only minutes by foot away. At any time of the day, there were people wearing dresses, talking about their cases or just enjoying the atmosphere in the bar. When they entered, a shiver went down Mulder's spine. He remembered how he had met Deep Throat in that bar three years ago. He couldn't believe that that man was dead for so long already. Sometimes, when he was sitting at the bar, he hoped that a deep voice from behind would call him. But he had never seen Deep Throat again. Except.... Scully disrupted his train of thoughts: "So this man was visited by a "Man In Black"?" Mulder wasn't sure if she was serious as they walked to a table on the other side of the bar. "Yes. He identified himself as...." Scully finished the sentence for him: "Alec Trebec?" On her face, there was the look she always had when she made fun of him. Mulder had gotten used to it, and now he started to smile: "You remember, he just looked like Alec Trebec." Scully nodded smiling and they sat down at the table. From there, they could see the whole bar. After half an hour, Scully asked him: "So where is you abductee, Mulder?" Mulder corrected her: "I'm not sure that he was abducted. But he may be telling the truth. Anyway, he should be here every minute." Scully pointed at a man who just entered the bar: "I think that's him." Mulder turned his head and saw a man who was looking at them, and then slowly went towards the table. When he was near them, Mulder stood and asked him: "Mr. Keaton?" Marc nodded and shook Mulder's hand. Mulder introduced him to Scully and then offered him a seat. Scully took a close look at him. He was good-looking, but also a little bit confused. His hair was not properly combed, and he hadn't shaved for some days. She believed that wasn't his normal appearance. Mulder started a conversation. "Did you bring the envelope Agent Williams gave you?" Marc lay it on the table. "There was nothing more in it." Mulder opened it. Inside, there was a computer print of his address and number, and the copy of a news report. It was cut from the Chicago Daily and dated back to the 22nd of April that year. He quickly read it. It was about four people the Chicago Police found in the streets. They didn't know how they got there and claimed to have been "taken away". Mulder was surprised to find all the normal abductee claims like "loosing time" and a "test place". A doctor in Chicago had diagnosed some kind of trauma on the four. Scully looked at the report and then asked Marc: "Mr. Keaton, what were you doing in Chicago," he said: "I was on a congress." Mulder returned the report into the envelope and asked: "I'm curious: What did you do that night?" He pointed at the envelope. Marc hesitated and then slowly started to tell them: "I thought I had a small... affair." Scully raised her eyebrows. "Please, don't tell this to my wife. We ended up in my room. But I'm not sure that that is what happened." Scully was more curious: "What do you mean?" "There were these strange things... I'm sure Agent Mulder told you." Scully nodded. She remembered the humbug Mulder had told her. "And that NSA man told me that there was something I couldn't remember... that the memory was taken from me." "By whom?" Scully asked. She looked at Mulder. Her eyes seemed to tell him everything she thought. She didn't believe that man. "I don't know. But you have to help me find out that happened. He mentioned that I'm in danger. I want to live my old life again. Mr. Mulder, you said you had a theory." He looked at Mulder. "I'm not sure yet, but it may be that you have been abducted by aliens, and the memory was taken from you. " Marc's eyes opened wide, but he didn't sound that surprised. "I don't know. I don't remember anything. But these things I see... maybe they're aliens," Mulder said: "I think there is a way to find out. Would you agree to undergo hypnotic regression therapy?" "If this means I can find out what happened, yes.", the confused man said. Mulder got his notepad and said: "Just give me your number, and we'll call you.". Keaton gave him his number and left the two FBI agents sitting at their table. Scully's smile disappeared from her face and she asked Mulder: "Do you really think that this man was abducted by aliens, Mulder?" Mulder dropped the notepad on the table and said: "Yes. What do you think, Scully?" "Mulder, this man is obviously very confused. Maybe it was caused by this "adventure" in Chicago, or something else, but what this man needs is a doctor, not hypnosis!" She stood up and waited for him. "But what about this Man In Black, Scully?" She shook her head: "Maybe he made it up, like the rest." They left the bar. Washington, D.C. Mulder left his car and locked it. He approached the door of Dr. Heitz Weber's office. It was in the outskirts of Washington, and there wasn't as much traffic as in the center of the city. The office was on the second floor of an ancient house. He opened the door and saw the comfortably furnished interior. On his left, there were some chairs for the patients, but at the moment, there was no one sitting there. Mulder saw Dr. Weber's secretary behind her desk. She was writing something at the moment. When he went closer, she looked up and recognized him: "Hello, Mr. Mulder." She knew him because he had undergone regression hypnosis here for some years. In the sessions with the doctor, he had remembered how his sister had been taken from him. He was very grateful for Dr. Weber, because without him, he wouldn't have found out what had happened to his sister and to him in that night. He greeted her and asked her if Mr. Keaton was already there. Mulder had been unable to come earlier, because he wasn't officially investigating Mr. Keaton's "case". She said that he had been in the session room for an hour. He thanked her and went to the room where he had found out about his sister. He opened the door and entered. He was surprised because he didn't see Dr. Heitz Weber sitting in front of the hypnotized Mr. Keaton. It was a young man he had never seen before. He was facing away from Mulder. When he heard that the door was opened, he turned around and said: "Oh, Agent Mulder. I expected you... I mean, Mr. Keaton told me you would come. I'm Dr. LaBerge." He stood and shook the hand of Mulder, who was startled. He asked suspiciously: "Where is Dr. Heitz Weber? Who are you?" The young man answered: "Mrs. Evans didn't tell you? He had an accident and will be in hospital for some days." Mulder took a close look at the young man's face. Was he telling the truth? "Do you know what we're looking for?" LaBerge nodded and said: "Mr. Keaton told me of your... theories. But so far, I didn't find anything out about that. Have a seat, Agent Mulder." He pointed at a chair in the corner of the room. Mulder sat down and looked at Keaton. He was obviously hypnotized, because he hadn't reacted when Mulder had entered the room and had kept looking for a very distant point. He had seemed to look straight through him. Mulder watched the doctor talking to Mr. Keaton. He told them about his congress in Chicago. Mulder asked LaBerge what he had done during the last hour. He was answered that it had been hard to get Keaton into deep hypnosis. That sounded strange to Mulder, but he believed the young man. While he was continuing, Mulder looked around. The room was as comfortable as the rest of the office. There were some windows, but they were covered by curtains. Keaton sat on a comfortable looking couch, facing LaBerge, sitting in a chair like Mulder. There was a small table near the couch. Mulder took a second look. There was an ashtray standing on the table, and there were some cigarettes lying in it. He asked LaBerge: "Do you smoke, doctor?" LaBerge was surprised to be talked to, and then looked at the ashtray. He replied: "No. They're from another patient." Mulder stood up. Something was wrong here. "May I see your license, please?" The doctor looked a little bit nervous now. But he still remained calm. "Yes, sure." He got a small card from his pocket and gave it to Mulder. He quickly checked it. It looked okay. He returned it to LaBerge. "Can I continue now, Agent Mulder?" Mulder looked at his face. He still was calm, but he seemed to sweat. Mulder said: "Just one thing. Ask him what you have been doing during the last hour." Now Mulder could see that LaBerge swallowed. He hesitated and tried to sound surprised: "Why? It would be bad for the treatment." Mulder looked around shortly. He noticed that there was a tape recorder, but it wasn't recording. "Why is there no cassette in that recorder?" Before LaBerge could tell him another lie, Mulder drew his weapon and pointed it at LaBerge. The young man quickly stood and looked sinister at Mulder. He shouted at him: "Damn it! Who sent you, you son of a bitch?" LaBerge didn't look like a young doctor anymore. Now he was serious. "Mr. Mulder, put that gun away. I'm trying to save this man's life." Mulder got his cuffs and told the man to turn around. He didn't react. "Mr. Mulder, you're making a big mistake. Let me go.", he calmly told the Agent. Mulder shouted angrily: "You won't get away this time!" Suddenly, the door was opened. Scully opened her eyes wide and surprisedly asked: "Mulder...?" She saw him pointing his gun at a man she didn't recognize. Mr. Keaton was sitting on a couch. The unknown man at once started to run towards the door. Scully was so shocked by it that she didn't try to stop him. He pushed her away and ran outside. She fell to the floor. By the time Mulder, who had immediately started to pursue LaBerge, left the building, LaBerge (if that was his name) raced away with a car. Mulder didn't try to follow him. It was useless. He returned to the office. Scully was up again. Mrs. Evans had helped her up. He quickly told Scully what had happened. Then he asked Mrs. Evans about Dr. LaBerge while Scully tried to help Mr. Keaton. Mrs. Evans reported that Dr. Heitz Weber really had an accident two days before. The next day, Dr. LaBerge was sent to them as replacement. All his identifications and files looked normal, so Dr. Weber had accepted him. He would have been working in the office as long as the doctor was unable to treat his patients. After she was finished, Mulder asked if there had been a man in the office that smoked all the time and had a serious look on his face. She confirmed that there had been someone fitting that description in the office, but he had left half an hour ago. Mulder cursed and went to the session room. Mr. Keaton had awakened on his own after fifteen minutes. When he saw Scully and Mulder, he was surprised. He groaned and said: "What happened? I remember these men, and they were telling me that nothing had happened in Chicago. But I remember now. You were right, Mr. Mulder." Scully, who was sitting in front of Keaton, looked at Mulder surprised. Washington, D.C. Dana Scully knocked on the door. She could faintly hear Mulder's voice telling her to come in. He was sitting at his desk, reading something. When she entered, he lay the papers on the desk and looked at her. She asked him: "What were you doing?" Mulder pointed at the papers on the table and told her: "These are the reports of the four people mentioned in that news report." Scully came closer and looked at him asking: "What did these people say to the police?" Mulder said: "The reports all sound the same. They are all talking about loosing time, being unable to move, seeing a light, tests being performed on them and so on." Scully said sarcastically: "What's so special about that? You must have hundreds of reports like that down here." Mulder gave her a sheet. She took the sheet and asked him: "What's this?" while reading it. It was a list of names. She looked up, still waiting for his answer. "That's the NICAP list of UFO witnesses for Chicago 3 weeks ago. These are 10 times more names than usual.", he explained to her. She returned him the list and gave him a file. "I've also done some research. That's Dr. Stewart LaBerge's file." He opened it and saw a photo of the real Dr. LaBerge. It was obviously a different man than the one he had seen in Dr. Heitz Weber's office. Then he quickly read the file. He looked up and sourly said: "He died in 1989." He gave her the file and then asked: "Scully, how can they do that? They use the identities of people who have died long ago, and no one stops them!" Scully shook her head and said: "I don't know. What did Mr. Keaton tell you?" "He told me almost the same as these people. Scully, there is one thing that's not fitting the usual profile of alien abductions. All these people, including Keaton, claim that their memory was taken from them, but they also say that there was someone else who wanted them to remember it." Scully didn't understand what he wanted to tell her: "Mulder, what is this about?" Mulder stood: "I don't know. But I think we'll find out in Chicago when we get there." He gave her a flight ticket and waited for her to complain: "Mulder, we have nothing to investigate there!" Mulder shook his head and calmly said: "Three of the four people are dead." Chicago Scully entered the morgue with a young police officer. She was already dressed for the autopsies. She would have a long day, as she would have to perform three autopsies. Scully saw a normal morgue. On all of the walls, there were drawers with corpses lying behind closed doors. The only difference between them were the names of the people whose corpses were lying behind them. She said: "Let's start with the first victim found, Behr." The police officer nodded and turned to the right. He looked at some of the doors and then opened one. Suddenly he gasped. Scully couldn't see what was behind the door. He whispered: "That's impossible." Scully wanted to ask him what it was, but he already pulled at the bier the bodies normally lied on. Scully prepared herself for some grotesquely mutilated body, but then she saw something that shocked her almost more. There was no corpse. Just the shroud was lying on the bier, except it it was empty. She said: "Let's check the other corpses." They quickly searched for the other two victims, but they couldn't find them. Their bodies were stolen. Mulder was talking to Deputy Johannsen when he got Scully's call. He immediately heard that something was wrong. He asked the Deputy to wait a moment and then turned away. "Scully, what did you find out?" He could hear Scully sarcastically saying: "Nothing, Mulder. The corpses were stolen." Mulder couldn't believe this. "What? How could someone steal them?" "We don't know. Yesterday, the last of them was brought here. What did you do, Mulder?" Mulder thought for a moment about the corpses and then answered her question: "There were no traces found at any of the crime scenes. The weapon was always left, but we haven't found any fingerprints or even DNA samples. This is the work of a professional killer." He could feel that Scully was shaking her head. "Mulder, they are destroying the evidence. We have to find that last person." Before Mulder could answer her, he was disrupted by Deputy Johannsen: "Agent Mulder?" Mulder turned around and looked at the young deputy. "What is it? Have you found her?" Johannsen nodded and said: "She's brought to the hospital. She's shot and in bad condition." Mulder started to run towards the door and talked to Scully on the phone: "Scully, they found her. Meet me at the hospital!" Then he put the telephone into his pocket. Scully had hastily changed clothes and had driven to the hospital. She ran to the emergency section, but when she arrived there, she saw Mulder standing in the corridor. He shook his head. Scully immediately knew what was up. When she came closer, he disappointedly said: "She was shot like the others. But a neighbor heard the shot and called 911. They could bring her to the hospital, but she died minutes ago. And there is something else you should see." She didn't ask him, as they were almost at the barrow where the woman was lying. Scully could see that the fabric that covered the body was full of blood. Mulder stood in front of it, and removed the shroud from her head. Scully had prepared herself again, and this time she needed it. The woman had a big wound on her neck. Someone had cut away big parts of her flesh. Suddenly, she touched her own neck. She could still feel the place where she found an implant of unknown source. Someone was thoroughly destroying all the evidence. Scully looked at him shocked when she thought of something: "We have to get back to Washington." Washington, D.C. Their car stopped right in front of the Keaton's house. Mulder and Scully left the car in a hurry. They had tried to reach Mr. Keaton, but no one had answered the phone. When they ran towards the door, it was suddenly opened. A woman ran out of the house. She had auburn hair like Scully. Mulder catched her by the shoulders and asked her: "Mrs. Keaton? What happened?" Scully ran into the house. Lisa had left the door wide open. Mrs. Keaton appeared shocked and angry. Mulder could see that she had cried. She shouted at him: "That's no business of yours!" She freed herself from Mulders grip and ran away. She hastily unlocked her car and drove away. Mulder followed Scully. He saw her standing in the door of the living room, looking inside. She turned as she heard him coming. He went to her side and saw Mr. Keaton. He was sitting in the couch, looking at a tape recorder standing on the table in front of him. He was sobbing quietly and looked like his woman. They must have had argued. At first, Mr. Keaton didn't notice their presence. Then he looked up. Although he was looking in their direction, Scully could feel his look going through her. After a while, Mr. Keaton leaned forward and pushed the play button of the tape recorder. They could hear his voice. He was speaking slowly and it sounded strange. Scully thought about it and came to the conclusion that this tape was recorded during an hypnosis session. There was also another voice. Mulder recognized it as the voice of the man who had claimed to be Dr. LaBerge. He was asking the hypnotized Keaton: "Mr. Keaton, tell me where you are." Marc was answering slowly: "I am in a bar in Chicago." LaBerge demanded: "What are you doing?" "I am sitting at the bar and I drink a beer.", answered Keaton. LaBerge asked wether there was someone else there. "I see a woman. She is very beautiful. She has been looking for me all the time. I smile at her now. She stands up....". Keaton stopped it. Mulder asked him: "Where did you get this, Mr. Keaton?" Keaton started to cry, but gathered himself shortly after. He looked at them desperately: "My wife had it, when I arrived. I think it was brought by someone, but she wouldn't tell me. I.... she left me." Mulder looked at Scully and explained: "There was a tape recorder in Dr. Heitz Weber's session room, but there was no cassette. They must have recorded this before I arrived." Mulder approached Keaton and said: "We're sorry, Mr. Keaton, but they're just trying to confuse you." Marc suddenly got angry and stood up. He shouted at Mulder: "And they did a good job! Who are these people? What the hell do they want?" Scully came closer and tried to calm him down: "Mr. Keaton, we believe you may be in danger." Keaton looked surprised. Mulder continued: "The four people in the report were killed, Mr. Keaton, and we fear you may be next." Shocked, Keaton fell on the couch. "You have to protect me.", he whispered. Helping the despairing man up, Mulder said: "We will get you to a safe place. Let's go." Washington, D.C. The hotel room was comfortable, but Marc was used to bigger and more expensive rooms. There was a small TV on the other side of the room, but he didn't feel like watching TV right now. Mulder had assured him that he was perfectly safe. There were two guards standing in front of the room, and no one would kill him here. He was lying on the bed. After Mulder and Scully had brought him here and left again, he had calmed down. He had even started to accept that his wife had left him. And he had thought about the regained memory. He still couldn't understand what had happened. Now he was staring at the ceiling and tried to suppress the memory. But sometimes, it came again. Then he was lying in his room in Chicago again. He had just been sleeping, and he wasn't sure that he was awake. He was feeling fear, but also peace. Someone told him to remain calm. Then he saw the light. It fell through the windows of his room. He could neither move nor scream. He could just watch. He was lifted by some force he couldn't see, and hovered towards the window. He thought it would splinter, but he just passed through it. Then he was hovering, held by the light, 40 meters above the ground. He couldn't look down, but it was oddly silent. Almost as if the traffic and the wind had stopped. He could see where the light was coming from. There was something hovering above him. It made no sound, and he was drawn to it. He knew that he should be afraid, but he wasn't. There still was that voice in his head, that told him to stay calm. Suddenly he could move. All the sounds of the city returned. He screamed, and he felt the iron grip of gravity again. Marc saw the object flying away at incredible speed. Almost immediately, he didn't see it anymore. As he fell towards the ground, he could see the hotel's wall racing up. Then he hit the ground. He felt the pain, and then he opened his eyes. He was lying on his bed in the hotel room in Washington again. He was covered by sweat, and he breathed hard. He told himself that it had just been a dream. Then he heard steps in front of his room. They were coming nearer. He stiffened and got up. He could hear the guards talking to someone. Then the door was opened and someone entered the room. 8:11 PM When Mulder and Scully returned to the motel where they had brought Keaton, they saw a car racing away. They heard the tires screaming as it accelerated. They quickly got out of the car and ran into the hotel. Mulder turned around the corner first. He saw the guards lying in the corridor. He drew his gun and raced forward. Scully saw them seconds later and checked them. They were both dead. When she was done, she looked into the room. She saw Mulder standing over a man lying on the floor. She got up and came closer to them. He had a bleeding wound on his chest. She knew immediately that he would die. He was breathing hard and irregular. He gathered his remaining strength and started to speak. Mulder leaned down. He could hardly understand the man: "Mr. Mulder... it's him...." His eyes didn't focus anymore, and he stopped breathing. Mulder closed the man's eyes carefully and examined the body. He reached into the man's pocket and found an identification mark. He looked at it and then showed it to Scully: "Look. That's Agent Williams." Scully looked at the mark unbelieving. It was an NSA identification mark of an Agent Richard Williams. Scully looked at Mulder: "Where's Keaton?" Mulder pointed at the window and said: "He could escape. We have to find him. Scully, you'll check out his house." Mulder walked towards the door. Scully asked him, before he could leave: "And what will you do?" He turned around and said: "I'll try to find out who did this." Scully believed she knew what he was going to do. She nodded and said: "Be careful, Mulder." After he had left, she called the police and reported the murder. Then she also left, noticing the gun lying beside Williams. A professional again. 8:45 PM Mulder was sitting on a bench in the Botanic Garden of Washington, D.C. There were only some lovers enjoying the peace and silence of the garden. He could smell the different flowers in the garden. He looked around. Then he saw the man he was looking for. Fox stood up and started walking. The man approached him from behind. They walked into a darker part of the garden with more shadows. Then they stopped, and the man looked at Mulder. Due to his skin color, he almost couldn't see the man's face. "Mr. Mulder, I don't have much time. It's dangerous for me to meet you now," Mulder replied sarcastically: "Why? Do you have some... internal problems?" He could see that the man became angry as he asked: "You know, where he is, don't you, Mr. Mulder?" He waited for a moment and then continued: "He's our only chance to find the truth! We have to find him!" Mulder wasn't sure if that was what that man really wanted. "We? Since when do we work together?" "Mr. Mulder, this man is that important that I would risk loosing my cover to find him.", he claimed. Mulder was almost surprised by what he heard. Then suddenly he heard his telephone ring. He turned away and got it out of his trenchcoat's pocket. "Mulder.", he said. He had to try hard to cover his reaction to the voice from the man standing behind him. It was Keaton. "Mr. Mulder, you have to come right now." Mulder tried to sound normal and a little bit surprised. He just hoped he succeeded. "Oh, Scully, where are you?" Keaton sounded surprised: "Mr. Mulder, it's me, Marc Keaton. I have something you must see!" Mulder tried again to hide the tension from his voice: "I know, Scully. Go on." Keaton was still surprised: "I don't know why you are doing this, Mr. Mulder, but this doesn't matter. I'm in my firm, and I'm going to publish these files on the Internet in some minutes." Mulder looked at X and told him: "Scully is doing some research on that man we found shot in the motel." He looked for any emotions on X's face, but as always, there were none. He said to Keaton: "What files do you mean?" Marc responded: "That man, Williams, gave me a DAT-tape with top secret documents. He told me to publish them, and that's what I'm about to do. You have to come, Mr. Mulder." Mulder wanted to tell him to wait, but he had already broken the connection. Nonetheless he said: "Yes, I'll be there soon." Then he put the telephone into his pocket again. He turned to the waiting man. He asked: "What did she find out about Williams?" Mulder started to answer, but then he asked instead: "Why do you know his name?" The answer was: "I have my sources, Mr. Mulder." He looked around and then continued to speak: "It's too dangerous. Contact me as soon as you find him. He's in danger." Mulder nodded and watched X disappearing into the shadows. He was sure that Marc was in danger, but Mulder wasn't sure whom he had to fear. He hurried to his car and started driving. 8:51 PM Scully parked the car in front of Mr. Keaton's house. She looked outside and saw that the door was opened. She opened the door and got out of the car. She slowly walked towards the entrance. On her way, she drew her weapon and released the safety catch. Carefully, she entered the house. The lights were off, and she could hardly see anything. Scully sneaked forward, looking around every corner. But she saw no one. When she arrived at the living room door, she heard a sound from the inside. She hesitated a second and then quickly opened the door. Holding the gun in front of her, she quickly looked around. Like the rest of the house, the lights were shut off. She saw no one and wanted to search the rest of the house when she suddenly heard a faint sound. She walked forward and saw Mrs. Keaton lying on the floor behind the couch. She put her gun away and kneeled by Lisa's side. Scully quickly examined her. The only injury she could see was a wound at Lisa's head. She shook her carefully and asked: "Mrs. Keaton, what happened?" Lisa opened her eyes and groaned. She touched the wound at her head with her hands and saw the blood at her fingers. She looked at Scully: "I don't know. I.... wanted to look for Marc." Scully helped Lisa to sit down on the couch. She was still shocked. Scully asked: "Did you find him?" Lisa calmed down a little bit and then answered: "The door was open. I entered, and then I saw someone. He hit me. What's happening here?" I'd like to know that for myself, Scully thought for herself: But she told the wounded woman: "We believe that your husband is in danger." Lisa wanted to ask Scully more questions, but then suddenly a telephone started ringing. It took Scully some seconds to realize that it was her own. She got it out and said: "Scully." She heard Mulder's voice: "It's me, Scully. You have to get to Mr. Keaton's firm at once." Scully surprisedly asked: "Where are you, Mulder? I just found Mrs. Keaton in her house. She was knocked down by someone." Mulder's voice sounded impatient: "Scully, I know that Mr. Keaton is in his firm. He called me. He has the DAT-tape. I'm being followed. You have to get there and help him. I have to stop now." Scully was about to ask Mulder a question, but the connection was broken. She turned around and said to the shocked Mrs. Keaton: " I have to leave, Mrs. Keaton. You have to get a doctor. Do you think you can call 911?" Normally, Scully would have cared for Mrs. Keaton, but after Mulder's call, she understood how important it was to get to Mr. Keaton fast. Lisa seemed to understand and nodded as Scully was already on her way to the car. Some minutes later, something strange happened on the Internet. At first, a message was posted to every newsgroup entitled: "SECRET GOVERNMENT FILES - IMPORTANT". Those who read the message were told that the author had somehow gotten secret government files that were important enough to kill for. Further, he wrote that everyone who read the message should immediately download the documents from his server. The last line of the document was the HTTP-address of the documents. Most people who read the message thought it was nonsense and returned to their business on the Internet. But some people, gave it a try. Some hundred surfers started to download the documents from the server mentioned in the message. But seconds after most of them had begun downloading, the connection was broken. The fastest of them had hardly downloaded half a page. Most of them deleted the file from their hard disks after they read it. Only the first line made sense. It was reading: "TOP SECRET". But the rest was written in a language none of them understood. But some people tried to find out what it was. 11:15 PM Scully's car came to an halt abruptly in front of the building in which Mr. Keaton normally worked. Because it was late already, almost no one was in the building. She got out of the car and entered the large building by the front entrance. She saw a huge entry hall with expensive looking walls and floors. There was a desk, where the night-watch-man was sitting. She got her identification mark and held it in front of her. As she was getting closer, she told the surprised guard: "Federal agent. I'm searching for Mr. Marc Keaton." The man thought shortly and then said: "Mr. Keaton came here about an hour ago. Told me he had to do some important work. He should be in his office." "He is in great danger. We have to find him.", she quickly said. The guard was still surprised, but he left his desk and started to walk towards an elevator. He told her to follow him. She drew her weapon as they entered the elevator. When the doors of the elevator opened again in the third floor, they could hear a shot. They began to run down the corridor. The light of the guard's flashlight was shaking quickly in front of them. When they came to the door of Keaton's bureau, they saw someone at the end of the corridor. Scully looked inside. She could see Keaton lying on the floor, with a bleeding wound on his chest. She told the guard to follow the fleeing man. He quickly reacted and started running down the corridor. Scully lowered her gun and walked inside the room. There was a computer standing on a desk, but it was shut off. She looked again and saw, that someone had unplugged all the cables from the back of the computer. There was a streamer drive, but there was no tape in it. She kneeled down and looked at Keaton. He was in a worse condition she had thought on the first look. She tried to stop the wound from bleeding, but it was too late. Soon, her hands were covered with blood, and he breathed harder. She looked into his eyes and realized that he was almost dead. He seemed to gather all his strength and started to speak. She held her ear to his mouth and heard his faint voice saying: "You have to... continue... promise me!" He took a long breath and died. Scully closed her eyes and clenched her hands. Quietly, she said: "I promise." Then she heard someone coming from behind. It was the night-watchman. She looked at him hopefully, but he shook his head and said: "He escaped." Washington, D.C. Scully knocked on the door in the cellar of the FBI Building. She heard Mulder saying: "Come in." Suddenly she remembered their first meeting. After she had knocked, he had answered: "Nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted." She returned to the present and opened the door. She could see him sitting at his computer. She entered and closed the door. "Mulder, there were no traces found in the office." Mulder nodded. He hadn't thought they would find anything. These people were working too good to leave a trace. Fox signaled her to come. She walked around his desk and looked at the monitor of the computer. "This is the beginning of the document Keaton tried to publish. Because the connection was broken from the office, this is all that was transmitted. It was written in Navajo." He looked at Scully, and both of them had the same thought. Mulder continued: "Someone who downloaded the document has translated it. See for yourself." Scully looked at the monitor and started reading the translated document. Most of it were disclaimers telling that this document was top secret, that anyone who leaked the information provided within would be persecuted and so on. Scully recognized it. This was the document Albert Hosteen had translated months ago. At the end of the document, there was a headline: "Roswell, N.M. 1947". The connection had broken down at that point. Before Scully could tell him that she knew these files, he said: "I've checked out the files of the four victims in Chicago again. They all had access to highspeed internet connections." Scully asked: "What was this all about?" Mulder said: "I'm not sure, but I think someone wanted to unveil the truth. Someone who is in a powerful position. But others found out. Before this", he pointed at the screen, "could reach the public, all evidence was destroyed." "They get away with this, Mulder. Every time. They kill innocent people, and they get away. They will never be judged.", Dana said, with a trace of despair in her voice, remembering her sister's death. Mulder answered: "Some day, they will be." The End Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it. |