Reclamation, Part 12
phantagrae
AUTHOR: phantagrae
SUMMARY: See Part 1 for full headers
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Reclamation, Part Twelve
by phantagrae
Scully poured them each a cup of coffee while their frozen lasagna
dinner baked in the oven.
"So, Skinner got that couple out of Richmond?" Mulder asked as
she joined him at the table.
"Yeah," Scully answered. "When I called him just now about
William he updated me. He's got them holed up closer to DC.
There's a nurse staying with Mr. Clendenin, but he should be
recovering from the infection soon.
"Skinner wants us to come in tomorrow morning, to set up at the
safe house and..."
"Get ready for a showdown," Mulder put in.
"Are we ready?" Scully asked quietly.
"We can be. I've got the last of the ammo done. We can pack
and load up tonight and leave first thing in the morning."
"What about William?" Scully asked. "What was that all about?
He'd been crying."
"I think it's finally all hitting him--the grief
that he hasn't had time for. Now that he's settling
in here, he's feeling the loss and I think he's struggling
with transferring his familial feelings onto us."
"Do you think he'll be okay going into DC? With all that might
happen?" She didn't mention it, but she still hated the idea
that they planned to arm an eleven-year-old boy.
"I was thinking that if we have the time we can let him do a little
sight-seeing, since the Hoover building is just off the Mall.
Hopefully that will give him a chance to feel a little more normal."
Scully nodded her agreement. She rose and pulled a sheet from the
shopping list notepad that hung on the refrigerator door, took a pen
from the kitchen junk drawer and sat down to start making a list of
what they needed to pack and do before the night was over.
Mulder went up to call William down for dinner and found the boy
dozing in bed, the little dog pressed against his face.
As he sat on the bed William awoke and turned to look up at him.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," he said, reaching up to touch Mulder's stubbly
cheek.
Mulder took the boy's hand and kissed his palm.
"It's okay, son."
William sat up and wrapped his arms around his father, unable to
say all that he felt.
Mulder relished the feeling, the smell of William's slightly
damp hair, even the smell of his sweat. He kissed his
son's cheek.
"Dinner's ready, if you're hungry." Mulder didn't care if they ever
went downstairs.
William's grumbling stomach broke the spell and they both
chuckled.
"I guess I am hungry," William said with a smile.
After dinner Mulder pulled the car around behind the house and
began loading cases of ammunition, three Kevlar vests, and a case
of extra weapons from the storage shed out back, then brought up
some boxes of medical equipment from the basement.
Meanwhile, Scully took William upstairs to help him pack some
things for the next few days, making sure he packed extra
underwear and setting out an outfit to wear in the morning.
William had been quiet through dinner and she didn't want to press
him about what had happened outside or how he had felt. But as
she took up his backpack she realized it was full. Only then did she
notice that his laptop and the picture of the Van de Kamps were no
longer on the desk.
She didn't say anything, but simply set the backpack by the door
along with his suitcase.
"Mom," William stepped up beside her and touched her arm.
"Yes, honey?" She turned to him.
"I guess I scared you this afternoon. I'm sorry about that." He
looked down at his feet as he spoke.
"I was scared," Scully admitted, touching his cheek to bring his
gaze up to meet hers. "But it's okay now. I think I understand
what you were feeling and why."
"I'm fine now," William said, hugging her to assure himself.
"That's good, honey," Scully whispered. "You know you can trust
us with whatever you're going through, right?"
William nodded into her shoulder.
After everything was loaded and their suitcases packed, Scully and
Mulder came into William's room in their pajamas.
William looked up in surprise, but smiled when they came and
climbed into his bed. Scully had a scrapbook that she settled
across William's lap as they all sat up against the headboard.
"What's this?" he asked, opening the beautiful leather book.
"My mother--your grandmother--put this together a couple of
years ago," Scully began, turning the first page to reveal
pictures of herself and Mulder as children.
"Oh, man, look at that geeky kid!" Mulder laughed, pointing at
himself at age ten.
"I think you were kind of cute," Scully said, running
her finger along the picture.
William was fascinated as Scully slowly paged through the book.
There were a few more school pictures of his parents as teenagers,
some candid family pictures, mostly of Scully's family.
"Who are these kids?" William asked, pointing to a picture of
Scully and her sister and brothers.
"That's my sister Melissa," Scully said softly. "She...passed away
several years ago. And these are your uncles--my brothers
Charlie and Bill."
"Are they...still alive?" William asked, looking up at Scully.
"Yes," Scully said, smiling down at him. "Your uncles are both in
the Navy, so I don't get to see them often."
"And I have a grandmother?"
"Yes," Mulder put in. "I'm sure you'll get to see her soon. She'll
be so happy to see you."
"You also have a cousin named Matthew," Scully put in, petting his
hair. "He's your Uncle Bill and Aunt Tara's son and he's just a few
years older than you."
William turned the idea over in his head. He had family. He
thought back to the family tree he had on his laptop. This was his
family, too.
Scully turned a page to reveal small reproductions of her and
Mulder's official FBI Academy graduation photos.
Mulder groaned in embarrassment at the earnest expression on his
young face and they all began to laugh.
Mulder and Scully told William funny stories about how they met
and argued good-naturedly about how and when they'd fallen in
love, finally getting to the pages where there were photos of a very
pregnant Scully and then a little card with William's tiny
footprints in ink.
His first baby picture was the last thing in the scrapbook and they
fell into a happy silence as they looked at it.
"Our baby," Scully whispered, kissing William's head.
They lay there together talking quietly until William's eyes began to
close, and then stayed together a moment longer.
Washington, DC
Friday, October 12
"Have you ever been to Washington before?" Scully asked William
as Mulder negotiated the Beltway. Fortunately, it was midday and
traffic was fairly reasonable.
"No," William replied, looking out the windows on both sides of
the car, trying to catch a glimpse of any famous landmark or
recognizable structure from his social studies classes. "My parents
talked about someday taking a vacation on the east coast, going to
see some of the famous battlefields and coming to the Smithsonian.
But we went to Yosemite one year and to Yellowstone last year."
"Now, see," Mulder joined in, "I've never been to either
Yellowstone or Yosemite." He caught William's eye in the
rearview mirror.
"Neither have I," Scully said.
"You know, after this is all over," Mulder said, striving
for a casual, hopeful tone, "maybe we can take a trip out
there. *You* could show *us* around, Will." He looked
into the rearview mirror again, but the boy was looking out
the window, a frown clouding his face.
Scully turned around to look at him.
William looked at her briefly, then swallowed hard against the lump
in his throat as he turned back toward the window. Why did
everything end up making him cry?
Scully turned back to look out her own window to allow William
some privacy. She knew he was still struggling with his emotions.
Just when she thought he had made it past this particular bump, she
heard a muffled whimper from the back seat. She fished a tissue
from the package in the glove box and passed it back to William
without a comment.
William took the tissue and wiped his eyes and nose, grateful that
no one had made a fuss. He hated being such a crybaby, but he
couldn't seem to help himself. He was determined to pull himself
together before they got to the Hoover building. He didn't want
anyone at the FBI to think he was a baby, especially Mr. Skinner.
At last they were pulling into the parking garage. William was
suitably impressed by the security guards and how they recognized
his parents and greeted them by name, though they had to mention
Skinner's name to be allowed admittance.
Once inside the building they signed in and got Visitors' badges --
William thrilled to have his own official badge to wear. They
waited for an agent that had been sent to escort them and followed
him to Skinner's office.
William felt like his eyes would pop out of his head as he stared at
agents with guns on their hips, maps and charts on walls, official
seals here and there, including the huge FBI seal they'd walked
across when they first entered. They passed other agents and
workers in the hallways, William turning his head to look at almost
everyone.
They entered Skinner's outer office and were greeted by his
assistant, who smiled warmly at them.
"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully...I mean..." Kim realized her mistake,
but couldn't think of them any other way.
"Hi, Kim," Scully said with a smile, giving her a quick hug as Kim
came around the desk.
Kim stopped to look at William, who stood close to Mulder.
"Kim," Mulder began, "This is our son, William."
"Hello, William," Kim said, offering a handshake to the boy,
marveling that he'd been an infant the last time she saw him.
"Will, this is Kim Cook," Mulder said as William shook her hand.
"She's AD Skinner's assistant."
"He's expecting you," Kim said as she knocked once on the inner
door and opened it.
"They're here, sir," She said, pushing the door fully open and
standing aside.
"Come in. Have a seat," Skinner said, standing to usher them in.
He indicated the chairs around the conference table in his office.
"Kim, please hold my calls. We'll be leaving in a few minutes."
On the table were two thick, well-worn folders bursting with
papers, and one plain manila folder.
"Check it out, Scully," Mulder said with a low whistle. He opened
the file with his name on it--the thicker of the two--and
skimmed through a few pages.
"And that's just for the last few years you were on the job,"
Skinner put in with a wry smile.
"What is it?" William asked, taking a seat next to Mulder.
"My FBI personnel file," Mulder said. "Annual performance
evaluations, disciplinary actions..." He winked at Scully over
William's head.
Skinner had taken the seat at the head of the table and now opened
the manila folder. He handed Mulder and Scully each a small sheaf
of papers.
"These are the reinstatement documents," he said, handing each of
them a pen. "Sign on each of the flagged lines. The director and I
have already signed off on everything, so as soon as you're finished
here we'll go downstairs and get your credentials."
William noticed that his parents had suddenly become very solemn
as they worked their way through the papers. He looked at the
Assistant Director, who seemed both more serious and more
relaxed in these offices than he had when he'd been out to the
house.
Skinner caught William's eye and offered him a kind smile.
"How are you, William?" he asked. "I heard you were sick
recently."
William nodded. "I'm okay now."
"Oh," Skinner began, "I have something for you." He went over to
his desk, returning to put a slim vinyl wallet in front of the boy.
Skinner smiled at Mulder and Scully as William opened it.
"Junior Special Agent," William read. The simple wallet contained
a mock-up of an FBI ID card with a place for his signature and a
plastic gold-colored shield attached to the other side. "Look, Dad,
Mom!" he said, showing each of them in turn. "Cool!"
"What do you say, William?" Scully reminded him, smiling broadly
at his enthusiasm.
"Thank you, Mr. Skinner," the boy said with real joy. "Can I sign
it?"
Mulder handed him the pen he'd been using.
"Here you go, Special Agent Will."
As William pulled out the ID card and bent over it to sign his name
with care, Mulder and Scully pushed their signed documents back
to Skinner who tucked the papers into their respective files.
"That's it for the paperwork." He looked at the three of them in
turn. "So, let's go downstairs and then we can head out for lunch."
Skinner took a moment to let Kim know they were leaving, then
they exited his office through the doors that led directly
to the hall.
They made their way down toward the elevator, William almost
stumbling a couple of times as he studied his "Junior Special Agent"
badge.
Agent Peter Clark stepped out of the elevator and saw the four of
them approaching. He faked a small cough to cover his gasp of
surprise and kept his expression neutral as he passed them, nodding
at the Assistant Director as a normal courtesy to his superior.
Inside, his heart was pounding and he almost tripped over his own
feet when the boy looked up at him. He heard them get on the
elevator and he risked a look back, once again catching the boy's
eye just before the doors closed completely.
He almost ran to the stairwell, heading for his supervisor's office.
"Here?" Horne spluttered. "In this building? Are you sure?"
"Yes, sir," Clark answered, still trying to catch his breath. "Fox
Mulder and Dana Scully and a boy I assume to be their son William
were walking down the hall with Assistant Director Skinner."
"Do you know what they were doing here?"
"I haven't had a chance to ask around yet, sir. I came directly here
just after I saw them. I do think I overheard them talking about
where they might go for lunch."
"Does Skinner have any reason to suspect you? To distrust you?"
"No, sir," Clark replied. He had been a little unnerved by the
boy's direct stare, but Skinner had acknowledged him casually
enough. He hadn't had much interaction with the Assistant Director
and hadn't yet been assigned to the Hoover Building years ago
during what the gossips referred to as "The Purge."
"Well, we need to find out what's going on, and I need to make
some calls," Horne said firmly. "Be discreet, but find out
if they're here on a social visit or if there's more to it."
"Yes, sir," Clark replied, leaving the room as Horne picked up his
phone and punched in a number.
William watched closely as Mulder and Scully each took their turn
getting a new photo ID made, clipping on new laminated badges to
replace their visitor badges, signing their official FBI wallet ID
cards.
"Dad, can I see your badge?" he asked reaching out to touch the
real gold shield of Mulder's badge. He knew his own little badge
was just a kid's toy, but his father and mother had the real thing
and he was fascinated.
They went on to other offices where they were issued new service
weapons and finally new secured cell phones.
"William," Skinner said, beckoning the boy up to the table where
the cell phones had been laid out. "I have another surprise for
you."
He handed William a cell phone of his own.
"Really?" William squeaked. "My own cell phone?"
"It's not issued by the Bureau," Skinner replied, "but I thought you
might need one and I wanted it to be a secure phone as well, so I
bought it myself and brought it in to get it set up for you."
"Thanks!" William gushed. He turned it on and started exploring
the features.
Suddenly he stopped and looked up at Skinner. He stepped
forward and hugged the big man around the waist. "Thanks, Uncle
Walter," he whispered.
Skinner smiled down at him, a little embarrassed, and ruffled his
hair. "My pleasure, kiddo."
As William stepped back, Skinner cleared his throat and resumed
his usual stern expression, ignoring Mulder's barely concealed
chuckle. He knew Mulder had been the one to teach the boy to
call him Uncle Walter.
"Let's get some lunch."
They took Mulder and Scully's car out of the building and after a
light lunch at a nearby sandwich shop, they made their way to the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial. While William stood on the steps,
looking out over the reflecting pool toward the Washington
Monument, taking pictures with Scully's digital camera, the adults
retreated up a few steps for a little privacy.
"I've got a safe house set up for the four of us," Skinner began
without preamble.
"All of us?" Scully asked mildly. She hadn't thought about Skinner
staying with them.
"Yeah," he sighed. "I didn't want to intrude on the three of you,
especially since the only place I could get only has two bedrooms,
but I think it's going to be better if I'm not seen going back and
forth from my place to this one."
"It's only for a couple of days," Mulder conceded. "I guess we'll
manage."
"I've already laid in some supplies and equipment, so hopefully we
can avoid a log of coming and going." Skinner looked down at
William, who was still fascinated with his surroundings.
"How's he doing?"
"He had a little...outburst...yesterday," Mulder admitted. "But I
think it's a normal part of the adjustments he's had to make.
I think that the more he accepts us and his life with us, the
more he has to let go of his previous life and it's hard.
He's going to struggle with it for a while, I think."
Skinner nodded and waved as William suddenly turned to look up
at them.
"I'm going to go up there and look at Lincoln," the boy called as he
climbed the steps and continued past them to get a closer look at
the monument.
"Stay where we can see you," Scully called after him. It sounded
like what any parent might say, but it meant so much more for all of
them. She followed him with her eyes, smiling as he turned to wave
back at them.
"So, what's the plan for this afternoon?" Mulder asked.
"I'll give you the address of the house and you can use your GPS
to find it. I've got a few things to take care of and then I'll meet
you there." Skinner looked over the milling tourists with a
practiced eye, but saw no one that gave him reason to worry. Yet.
"I have no doubt that we're going to be followed," he continued, "if
we're not being followed already. Take precautions before you
head for that address and I'll see you there tonight."
He shook hands with Mulder and Scully in turn and then went up
the steps to where William was.
"Will," he said kindly, "I've got to go for now." He shook hands
with the boy and patted his shoulder. "I'll see you later tonight,
okay?"
William nodded and watched the big man make his way down the
steps, then went down to stand with his parents.
"Are we leaving?" He couldn't keep a tinge of disappointment out
of his voice.
Mulder and Scully exchanged looks and Mulder shrugged.
"No, not yet," Scully said. "We still have time to look around some
more. Do you want to go to the Jefferson Memorial?"
"Yeah," William answered with a smile. "This is really cool. Can
we go up to the top of the Washington Monument?"
"We'll see," Mulder said. "There's usually a long line to get inside
and we might not have time."
The three of them walked down the steps, William walking
between his parents, forgetting for the moment what might lie
ahead, enjoying the beautiful fall afternoon like all the
other families around them.
FBI Headquarters
The older men sat around the conference table in Horne's office,
their team leaders stood in a loose line off to one side.
Peter Clark stood off to one side.
They had already discussed keeping tabs on AD Skinner who had
been seen returning to the building without the others.
"We're pretty sure they're going to hole up somewhere in the DC
area," one of the older men said. "There isn't really any other
reason for them to risk coming here."
"I'm sure they're onto the test protocol," Horne said. "Our man in
Richmond confirmed that Scully saw one of the subjects who had
an adverse reaction. They may be planning to try to expose the
project.
"Whatever happens, we need the boy alive and uninjured," Horne
continued. "The others don't matter. We need the boy. We must
deliver him to our contacts in perfect condition in order for their
experiments to be carried out."
Clark's mouth went dry at the mention of the boy's fate. He had
known for some time that the search for the boy had to do with
experiments that were to be carried out on him, but as long as the
boy was simply a theoretical goal on paper it hadn't bothered him.
But now that he'd seen the boy with his own eyes he found himself
again doubting whether or not he had what it took to be part of this
group of men.
He was smart, but he'd never been as cold-blooded as his boss.
Having to eliminate the subjects who'd reacted to the injections had
almost destroyed him. Though he knew he wouldn't be among
those who would go after the boy, he knew he had already played
a part in the plan to capture him. He had reported the boy's
presence; he had helped set this in motion.
He couldn't believe what he was about to do. Horne would have
killed him with his own hands right in front of everyone else if he
even suspected what Clark was thinking. He would have to wait
for the right moment, but he had already made up his mind.
Continued in Part Thirteen