REPOST: Forgotten Souls #7
ImAStinker
vagrants that had died over the last two weeks and one name kept
reappearing, linking these people into a common thread. They had all been
human guinea pigs for Vestor Laboratories. The afternoon went by quickly
and he set out down Franklin Street to meet Scully. Whatever was in the
tea had worn off several hours ago and he was beginning to feel pretty
ragged again but he was determined to conceal that fact from her.
She pulled the car up to the curb on Franklin Street, rolled up her window
and locked the doors as she sat impatiently awaiting his arrival. A vague
uneasiness had possessed her ever since she'd left him here yesterday
afternoon. He was late....she glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time
and then back down the street and sighed with relief as she saw his tall
figure moving in her direction. Something about him seemed different.
Even from a distance, she could tell his limp was more pronounced than it
had been the day before and his normal erect bearing was slightly hunched
forward in fatigue.... or pain? Why had she let him go through with this?
Face it Dana, you couldn't have done anything to stop him...not once he'd
made up that incredibly pigheaded mind of his. She got out of the car and
met him on the sidewalk.
"What happened to your face?" she asked with concern. "And what's with
the dark shades?"
"I tripped and fell," he lied guiltily.
"The glasses are from a friend...the sun was really bright today."
"Mulder, it's nearly 5:00...the sun is going *down*."
He purposely ignored the last remark and abruptly changed the subject.
Pulling the business card out, he handed it to her, saying, "Listen Dana,
I believe that this research company is somehow involved with all of these
deaths because the only common denominator that I could find was that all
of the victims were in one way or another connected to *this* research
company. I need to know *everything* that you can possibly dig up about
it...who owns it, what kind of research they do, what they eat for
breakfast if necessary. See if you can get a position on the "inside."
If you have to, talk to Frohike or Byer at the Lone Gunman. They can get
you an ID and forged credentials faster than the Bureau. Meanwhile, I'll
work on it from this end...meet Vestor Lab's *newest* guinea pig."
Without warning, she reached up suddenly and snatched the glasses from his
face before he could move to stop her.
"Jesus Christ, Mulder," she stared in shock. "That did *not* come from a
damn fall and you know it. What the hell *really* happened?"
"OK...I guess, I kinda got mugged, " he rasped, stifling a cough.
"*Kinda? I'd say from the looks of that....it was *definite* not
*kinda*... You need to get medical attention. That's a nasty cut."
"It'll have to wait. This is important and I have a feeling we're running
out of time."
"Do you realize what kind of infection you could get in this filth with an
open wound?"
"I'll be careful," he replied dryly.
"You mean like you were about getting mugged?" she fired back
belligerently.
"OK, fine..give me a band aid. Look I'm sorry, I'll take care of it when
I get the time....it's been an *experience.*"
"No, *I'm* sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just that you worry
the hell out of me sometimes and I don't like the feeling." She stepped
forward to embrace him but when he
retreated from her a couple of steps, she glimpsed at him in confused
surprise.
"Uh Dana, Hey I'm pretty *ripe* right now," he ventured in a flustered
tone. "Maybe you might want a rain check on the hug. At this point, I'm
beginning to gross *myself* out," he commented wryly as he ran his hand
over the stubble on his face.
She inched her way toward him, casually sniffing the air...".Fee, Fi, Fo,
Fum,"....she looked seductively into his eyes....".look out Mulder, here I
come." She slid her arms around him in a comforting embrace and softly
kissed his swollen lips. There was something persistently satisfying in
having him here, *safely* locked in her arms.... out of harm's way and she
secretly wished that she could keep him that way indefinitely, but knowing
that to be an impossibility, she settled for times like these to get her
through.
"You're right," she said ruefully, "You stink. After this is over, You're
definitely gonna need a sound scrubbing, so make sure you come back in one
piece....It's only fun, if your alive to enjoy it." She squeezed him
tightly and though the pressure caused his ribs to explode in pain, he hid
the grimace on his face in her hair and rested his cheek on top of her
head.
"I'll be careful...I promise, but I have to do this."
"I know. I'll hold up my end, get the information and hope the Lone
Gunman are as good at their job as you think they are."
He gazed at her longingly with his good eye and shuddered. He didn't want
to return to the cold, lonely darkness, but that's where he was needed, so
that's where he had to go.
"Gotta go," he muttered reluctantly. "Gotta get back before sunset." He
felt his face gingerly and stated in a droll tone, "being a creature of
the night has some real drawbacks in this area. Oh, Dana, can you loan me
a few bucks. Since my involuntary donation to the local gang population,
I seem to be without funds."
She eyed him with concern. "When's the last time you ate?"
"I had a couple bites of a hot dog last night before I threw them back up
about twenty minutes later in an alley. Why?"
"Just eat something....odds are ten to one, your blood sugar levels have
taken a nose-dive...don't think that I don't know why you eat those damn
seeds all the time. Speaking of which....." She pulled a bag of sunflower
seeds from her coat pocket and handed them to him. "Ragman says he
doesn't mind sharing either," she quipped with a mischievous grin.
"What a bird," he replied in mock admiration and chuckled softly.
He took her small hand delicately within his own and squeezed gently, then
turned and limped slowly down the street. She stood and watched his
retreating form until he was no longer visible. God, she didn't want him
to go back there.