REPOST: Trace Evidence Coda: Penance and Lamentation (2/3) Saundra Mitchell (S/CRA)
Vampyres Incorporeal
Title: Trace Evidence Coda: Penance
and Lamentation (2/3)
Author: Saundra Mitchell
E-Mail: v...@netdirect.net
Rating: PG-13
The Waterfront
Munch sat at one of the back
tables, examining the pictures one by
one. He'd already burned the images
into his mind, now he was just trying
to think of a place to start. She had
faith in him, and he refused to let
her down.
A thousand thoughts swirled
around him as he tried to
concentrate. With that first kiss at
the Admiral Fell Inn, he'd been sure
he was the luckiest man on earth.
Scully was a beautiful woman, smart
and confident, with just enough
cynicism to make her his ideal, but
he never realized the darkness she
held inside her. He'd had clues- the
quiet terrors which tormented her
sleep, the haunted look in her eyes
when she was caught by surprise, but
they had seemed like such little
things at the time. Now, with her
whole story repeating itself in his
memory, he wondered if he wasn't in
over his head.
"I've been there."
He nearly jumped out of his
skin. He hadn't realized that Tim was
standing behind him. "Where?"
Sliding his fingers across the
scattered pictures, Bayliss stopped
at the one showing the false Scully
blowing out a candle on a cupcake,
surrounded by friends in what
appeared to be a bar. "It's one of
those theme places, up in New York.
Twins."
He stared over his glasses at
Tim. "When were you in New York?"
"I've been to New York lots of
times," Tim scowled. "But I went to
Twins maybe a couple of years ago. I
was supposed to meet someone."
"Oh really?"
Rolling his eyes, Tim started to
walk away. Munch grabbed his elbow
and pulled him back to the table.
"You're sure about this?"
"What are you doing with these
anyway," Tim asked, not answering his
question.
"Trying to divine the identity
of Dana's mystery double. Twins, huh?
The irony is downright palpable."
"That's coincidence, not irony,"
Tim said blankly. "Are you going up
there?"
"To New York?"
"No, to Montana" Tim hissed in
exasperation. "Yes, New York. Are you
going to New York?"
"Much as it galls me to set foot
in that Gomorrah, I will go there if
I have to, yes. Probably. Why?"
"When?"
Munch eyed Bayliss suspiciously.
"Why?"
"I wanna go."
Later
Home of Frank Pembleton
Leaning back on the couch, Frank
regarded Scully with a mixture of
pity and sorrow. "Is that why you
offered to watch my kids?"
Scully wrapped her hands around
her mug. "Part of it. My family is .
. let's just say even if they
lived nearby, it's not likely I'd see
them very often. I've enjoyed being
part of your family, even in a little
way."
"So what are you going to do
now," he asked.
"I don't know," she sighed. "I
put in for a transfer, but I don't
even know if I want to be in the FBI
anymore. I still . . . I look at my
time in the x files fondly, despite
everything that's happened. How can I
go back to kidnapings and bomb
threats after all I've seen and done?
I'm so far away from where I ever
expected to be . . . "
"You could go back to school,"
he offered. "I've considered it.
Thought about it a lot lately.
There's so much I don't know, so many
things to learn . . . "
"You mean you don't know
everything already?" She smiled
wryly. "I'm still paying off student
loans from medical school. I don't
know . . . there are no easy
answers."
"Nope." Their discussion was
officially over, the hurt and anger
expertly smoothed into a faint,
unhappy past. Frank leaned over,
propping his face in his hand. "So
where are we going to dump the body?"
She looked at him, confused.
"What?"
"Mulder's body. We are going to
kill him, right?"
She bristled, an innate sense of
protectiveness rising in her. "If you
sentence a prisoner to the death
penalty, they will not have the
opportunity to spend years suffering
for their crimes."
"He hurt you."
"He'll destroy himself. We don't
need to help."
The Waterfront
"No, I know he's not on duty
right now. I heard you very clearly
the first time. I need his home
number." Munch scowled, rolling his
eyes for Bayliss' benefit. "John
Munch. Munch. M-U-N-C-H. Munch.
Right. Baltimore homicide."
Vaguely amused by Munch's half
of the phone call, Tim wiped down the
bar, putting away glasses and
throwing away used napkins. "Show 'em
your badge."
Covering the mouthpiece with his
hand, Munch sighed. "You're very
funny, Tim. Very, very, very." He
stopped and dropped his hand. "Yes,
I'm here. Why not?! I've worked with
him before! No, no, no don't hang up,
let me leave a message."
"You tell her," Tim laughed as
he walked into the dining room to put
the chairs up on the tables. Grabbing
a broom, he attacked the filthy
floor, making a note to consider
hiring a cleaning crew at some point
in the distant future.
Munch dropped the phone onto the
hook. "Well that was fun."
"Do you think he'll call you
back?"
Nodding his head with certainty,
Munch leaned against the wall. "I
haven't the slightest doubt."
The Next Morning
New York City, New York
27th Precinct
A clattering of typewriters
punctuated the heavy buzz of
conversation in the squad room.
Bodies were everywhere, caught in a
choreographed display of efficient
motion. Phones rang, desk drawers
slammed shut, and doors swung open
and closed. Two detectives walked in,
locked in a deep discussion about
nothing. Heading for their desks,
they settled in, shifting files to
make room for paper cups of coffee.
Finding a pink "while you were out"
slip, a devious smile rose to the
older detective's lips. He held it up
for his partner to see.
"Munch? What the hell does he
want?"
Shrugging his shoulder, Briscoe
picked up the phone. "Maybe he won
back Gwen's affections and wants to
gloat?"
Baltimore, Maryland
Homicide Unit
"Howard, homicide," Kay muttered
tonelessly, answering the phone.
"Yeah, hold on a minute. Hey Munch,
for you."
Swinging around in his chair,
John picked up the receiver and
punched in the highlighted line.
"Munch. Lennie? Great, I'm glad you
called. I need a favor."
New York City, New York
27th Precinct
"He needs a favor," Briscoe told
Curtis, still listening to John's
monologue.
Curtis raised an eyebrow,
incredulous. "From you?"
Shrugging, Lennie turned his
attention back to the phone. "Yeah, I
know where it is. That's all? I can
do that, no problem, but what'll you
give me for it?"
Baltimore, Maryland
The Admiral Fell Inn
Scully was wakened by the
chirping of her cell phone. Rolling
over groggily, she fumbled for it,
finally managing to grab it on the
third try. Flipping it open, she sat
up.
"Scully," she mumbled, swinging
her legs over the side of the bed.
"I'm sorry to disturb you,"
Skinner's voice said brusquely, not
sounding sorry at all. "I just wanted
to let you know that your transfer
hearing is scheduled for tomorrow
morning at nine, conference room
seven."
"I'm sorry, sir, a hearing?" She
furrowed her brows. "I wasn't aware
it was necessary for a hearing to
transfer to another division."
Skinner sighed. "This is a
special case, Agent Scully. The x
files were reopened on part by your
request, so there is some interest as
to why you want to leave now."
"Oh."
"I'll see you in the morning."
"Yes sir." Closing the phone,
she stared down at it, and wondered
just what the interest could be.
Quashing a niggling thread of guilt,
she headed into the bathroom and
started the water for a shower.
(End Part Two)