L: This level of denial about your eyesight is really getting ridiculous.
L: Even for you.
L: Do you really think the others' perception of you will change if you admit that you need glasses?
J: Do you think "the others' perception of you" will change if you admit that you have 20/20 vision and only wear yours to look smarter.
L: ....
L: Nevermind
Credit where credit is due - blog inspired by @dailyromansanders. It looks super fun and i was (am) honestly obsessed with the yellow one. And there are quite a few drawings of him i want to (re)share
Aaaaaaa, i finally did it @tss-storytime! The story is complete massive thanks to @haunting-kind-of-high and @lickoutyourbrains for going over my story multiple times and for all of the feedback!
And an equally enormous thank you to @failing-at-failing for the beautiful amazing wonderful picture. (I am still looking at it so so so lovingly)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
AO3 link
Characters: Logan, Remus, Virgil
(cameos) Patton, Janus
(mentioned)Roman
Romantic Relationships: none
Summary:
Science is at the core of Logan’s belief system - his fundamental truth. It isn’t until he meets Remus and Virgil that Logan realises that neither science nor truth is as straightforward as he has imagined it and he finds himself on a journey discovering how fine the line between folklore, conspiracy and reality truly is. A task that would have been far easier if his coworkers would be as due-diligent in sharing their findings as they are to making them. Especially those relating to them.
or
Detective Logan gets sucked a bit too deep into solving the mysteries of not only the cases but the lives of his eccentric and enigmatic colleagues.
characters: Logan, Remus, Virgil
pairings: none
warnings: human experiments (mentioned sporadically), kidnappings (also mentions), murder and attempted murder, injury, alien abduction, paranoia, the story is a whole is mildly horroresque
length: 12,000 words
ao3 link
"Agent Scully, thank you for coming on such short notice. Please..." Bleevis said as he closed the papers he was studying and motioned for Logan to sit down, which he did, glancing briefly at the other man in the room. He didn't look familiar at all, which Logan doubted was a good sign. Whatever the reason for his summon was, it certainly wasn't a performance review and the possibility of this being a termination seemed to be growing.
"We see you've been with us just over two years."
"Yes, sir." Logan responded, trying to keep his voice steady as he mentally went over all of his possible offenses that could have let to his termination and coming up short. Up until this point Logan had always considered himself an above average, if not a stellar employee.
"You went to medical school but you chose not to practice. How'd you come to work for the F.B.I.?" The stranger asked.
"I was recruited out of medical school. I saw the F.B.I. as a place where I could distinguish myself." It certainly wasn't the only reason but Logan didn't wish to offer that information up.
"Are you familiar with an agents named Virgil Fox and Remus Mulder?" This question took Logan by surprise. He didn't recall his path crossing with either of them during his two years of employment at the agency. Though the latter certainly had a reputation even Logan was aware of.
"With Remus Mulder, sir."
The men shared an uncomfortable look with each other that made Logan feel like a student again, offering up the wrong formula at the whiteboard.
"How so?" Pressed the man Logan isn't familiar with.
"By reputation. He's an Oxford educated Psychologist, who wrote a monograph on serial killers and the occult, that helped to catch Monty Props in 1988. Generally thought of as the best analyst in the violent crimes section. He had a nickname at the academy... " Logan stopped himself, unsure if he should mention it. Then decides that he has already started the sentence and it would look more improper if he didn't finish it. "Spooky Mulder." And then, as if to redeem himself he added: "But that is as far as my familiarity with the man goes, sir."
To that the stranger actually smiled, which only managed to set Logan into more unease.
"Since your last encounter with his reputation was over two years ago what I'll also tell you is that Agent Mulder has since acquainting himself with Virgil Fox. Agent Mulder has joined the latter agent in his endeavors to developing a consuming devotion to an unassigned project outside the bureau mainstream. Are you familiar with the so-called "X-Files?"
Logan had the unpleasant feeling as if the stranger was spinning a web around him that he wasn't meant to escape. He responded truthfully nonetheless.
"I believe they have to do with unexplained phenomena."
"More or less. The reason you're here, Agent Scully, is we want you to assist Fox and Mulder on these X-Files. You will write field reports on your activities, along with your observations on the validity of the work."
"Am I to understand that you want me to debunk the X-Files project, sir?"
"Agent Scully, we trust you'll make the proper scientific analysis. You'll want to contact Agents Fox and Mulder shortly. We look forward to seeing your reports."
It took Logan a bit longer to find the office Bleevis mentioned, and it was only partially due to the convoluted floor plan. Something about the stranger in his supervisor's office has set all of his senses tingling and the Agent allowed himself ten minutes of fresh air to calm himself before venturing underground to actually meet, or rather assess, his new 'colleagues'. By the time he arrived at the door he had spent roughly half an hour navigating the confusing plan of the basement and his unease over the stranger had mostly warped into annoyance.
Still.
He had an assignment to complete. Logan tried pulling himself up straighter before finally knocking on the door.
"Sorry, nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted." Sounded a raspy voice on the other side, followed by a soft groan. Logan waited for a moment but when neither owner of the voices moved towards the door he twisted the handle and let himself in.
Agent Mulder sat, or rather lay on on the cluttered desk in the center of the room, lazily reading through what looked to be a report. The other man, Agent Virgil Fox Logan assumed, sat slouched over the desk Mulder lay on, meticulously sorting through what seemed to be photographs. Neither of them looked up from their tasks to face Logan.
"Agent Fox, Agent Mulder. I'm Logan Scully, I've been assigned to work with you."
A grin spread across Mulder's face as he closed the file and glanced at his companion.
"Oh, isn't it nice Virgie to be suddenly so highly regarded to get a secretary?" He said. Virgil grunted and Logan had opened his mouth to protest that he was certainly not a secretary when Remus turned to him "So, who did you tick off to get stuck with this detail, Scully?"
"Actually, I'm looking forward to working with you."Logan emphasized. "I've heard a lot about you."
That caught the men's attention who looked up from the photographs to glare at Logan.
"Oh, really? I was under the impression that you were sent to spy on us." Agent Fox accused.
Remus snorted.
"Are you surprised? They finally got fed up with Snakes refusing to even come down to the basement to check on us." He offered before Virgil elbowed him in the ribs.
"Snakes?" Logan questioned. Was there a third agent in this department that he wasn't informed about. Remus, as if sensing his question answered it.
"He's the supervisor of what the bureau refuses to call a department. Though i do think the higher ups were hoping he'd be spending less time slacking off and more time writing neat little reports about our misdeeds. They should have assigned a cute little nerd as our spy from the beginning if they wanted results."
"Or even an intern." Virgil scoffed, then smirked at Logan. "You don't have high standards to meet."
"If you have any doubt about my qualifications or credentials, th..."
"You're a medical doctor, you teach at the academy." Virgil interrupted. "You did your undergraduate degree in physics."
"Einstein's Twin Paradox, A New Interpretation. Logan Scully Senior Thesis. Now that's a credential," Remus smiled at him. "rewriting Einstein."
"Did you bother to read it?" Logan bit back, suddenly feeling rather annoyed at the last comment.
"I did. I liked it. Much less dry then the reports Virgie here makes me comb through." He emphasized his point by waving the one he was just reading before unceremoniously dropping it on the ground. Virgil gave him a brief glare before turning to Logan.
"Speaking of reports - Could I get your medical opinion on this?" He asked, walking past him to turn off the lights before pressing a control button that whirled up the view-screen. The face of a young deceased female casting a dim light over the room. "Oregon female, age twenty-one, no explainable cause of death. Autopsy shows nothing. Zip" Virgil pressed another button. "There are, however, these two distinct marks on her lower back. Doctor Scully, can you ID these marks?"
Logan stepped forward, taking a closer look at the marks. They looked like puncture wounds. They seemed too uniform to be mosquito bites.
"Needle punctures maybe. An animal bite. Electrocution of some kind."
Virgil changed the image to one of a molecular diagram.
"How's your chemistry?" Remus grinned at him.
"This is the substance found in the surrounding tissue." Virgil added, showing the next slide.
"It's organic, that much I can be sure off, though I don't recognize it." He turned to Virgil. "Could it be some kind of synthetic protein?"
Agent Fox shrugged.
"Beats me, I've never seen it before either." He added, switching the image to the next slide. This time a young man, laying face down on railroad tracks, his shirt lifted up showing identical puncture marks. "But here it is again in Sturgis, South Dakota."
He changed the picture once more showing another teen with the same mark.
"And again in Shamrock, Texas."
"Am I assuming correctly that you have a theory?"
Agent Fox smiled at him for the first time.
"I have plenty of theories." Virgil said but didn't elaborate further. Logan glanced at Remus in hope of an explanation. Instead he was only offered another question.
"Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?"
Logan was starting to understand why the bureau wanted him to monitor these two men.
"I don't find the existence of extraterrestrial life impossible, given how large the universe is. I would say it is quite likely that there are lifeforms that evolved independently of ours in other galaxies. But I believe the real question you meant to ask me-" He said, pointing at the poster on the wall. "is whether I would consider it probable that said extraterrestrials have entered the earths orbit. In which case I find it impossible with our understanding of science. Given the distances needed to travel from the far reaches of space, the energy requirements would exceed a spacecraft's capabilities th..."
"Conventional wisdom." Virgil scoffed and Logan opened his mouth to defend his point but Remus beat him to it.
"Conventional logic. He draws the right conclusions with all the facts available to him." Although in any other scenario Logan would consider these words high praise, he couldn't help but feel as if the sentence was undermining his knowledge instead. "I like him." Remus added.
"This Oregon female?" Virgil continued, as if he didn't hear his partner. "She's the fourth person in her graduating class to die under mysterious circumstances. Now, when convention and science offer us no answers, might we not finally turn to the fantastic as a plausibility?"
"What I find fantastic is any notion that there are answers beyond the realm of science. The answers are there. You just have to know where to look."
Remus snorted but Virgil seemed unshaken by his opinion.
"That's why they put the 'I' in 'F.B.I.' See you tomorrow morning, Scully, bright and early." He said, before squeezing past him and into the corridor.
"What's with him?" The question slipped from his mind through his mouth in an annoyed huff before he could stop himself. Remus laughed.
"He's not a morning person and he's already annoyed over tomorrow." He offered, though it certainly didn't explain Virgil's insistence on there being an extraterrestrial answer to a yet unsolved murder. If you'd had asked Logan he'd say that it seemed more lazy than mad. Remus seemed to sense Virgil's temper wasn't what Logan was annoyed about and added. "We leave for the very plausible state of Oregon at eight A.M. If you want to spy on us-" Remus winked as he hoisted himself off the desk, pulling multiple case files to the floor with him. "I'd suggest you meet us in the parking lot." He added, as he grabbed a jacket and followed Virgil out. Leaving Logan standing alone in the dark office.
What has he just agreed to?
Logan had expected to be delegated to the back of the car as soon as they landed but to his surprise Remus crawled onto the backseats and immediately spread his limbs all over the leather. Virgil sighed as Agent Mulder produced a pack of sunflower seeds from his pocket and started munching.
"I hope you don't mind sitting in the front." Virgil said, before climbing into the drivers seat and Logan soon found himself next to Virgil, reading through the file for the second time as they drove into Oregon slightly under the speed limit.
"You didn't mention yesterday, that this case has already been investigated." Logan said as he closed the file to look at Virgil.
"Yeah, the FBI got involved after the first three deaths when local authorities failed to turn up any evidence." Remus chimed in from the backseat. "Our boys came out here spent a week enjoyed the local salmon, which with a little lemon twist is just to die for, if you'll pardon the expression. Without explanation, they were called back in. The case was reclassified and buried in the X-Files, till Foxy here dug it up from the dump of an archive like a raccoon."
Virgil's face twisted into a grimace.
"Don't call me that."
"You do look like a raccoon with that all-nighters eye-shadow of yours."
"That's not what I meant."
Remus blew him a kiss.
"And you found something they didn't?" Logan asked.
"We wouldn't be here if Virgie didn't."
Virgil hummed, as if in agreement.
"The autopsy reports of the first three victims, show no unidentified marks or tissue samples. But those reports were signed by a different medical examiner than the latest victim." Logan concluded. "Is that what you wanted to investigate?"
"That's pretty good, Scully."
Logan tried not to feel irritated at the surprise in his voice. Remus however seemed to either sense his disgruntlement or chose to irritate both of them further. He wasn't sure which of the two was more likely.
"Better than you expected or better that you hoped?"
"Well... I'll let you know when we get past the easy part." He smiled to himself making Logan scoff. "I've arranged to exhume one of the other victims' bodies to see if we can get a tissue sample to match the girl's."
Logan could feel Remus grabbing his seat from the behind, hoisting his torso up so that his face was right behind Logan's left ear.
"You're not squeamish about that kind of thing, are ya?" Remus asked giddily his breath ticking his ear as he spoke. He willed himself not to turn around or give the man any other noticable reaction. If they planned to unnerve Logan he certainly wasn't about to give them them the satisfaction.
"I don't know. I've never had the pleasure."
Remus cackled, dropping back onto the seats just as the radio started flipping through the channels repeatedly. Trying to distract himself Logan reached to change the station but Virgil grabbed his wrist.
"Wha-"
The radio screeched loudly and Logan wrestled his wrist to cover his ears, Watching in confusion as both agents started to look towards the sky.
"What's going on?" Logan asked but instead of giving him an answer Virgil pulled to the side of the road, turned off the car, and got out. Remus scrambled to follow him. Not wanting to be left out Logan unbuckled his seat belt and got out just in time to see the two men searching for something in the trunk.
"What the hell was that about?" He asked as Virgil pulled out a spray can and drew a large, purple 'X' behind the car.
"Oh, you know... probably nothing." Remus grinned at him. "Don't worry your sensible little head about it."
Like hell he wasn't.
It was well past afternoon by the time they made it to the cemetery and Logan was grateful to see two men approaching them as soon as they arrived. Although he wouldn't admit it, he started feeling unnerved around the two agents. It wasn't so much their theories as the fact that they chose not to share them with him.
It wasn't surprising of course. Logan was sent to spy on them, even if he didn't want to admit to himself that that was his primary purpose, they had no reason to trust him. Still. He didn't enjoy being left out of a conversation.
Logan was pulled from his thoughts when the two men reached their party.
"Agent Fox, John Truitt, County Coroner's Office. And This is my assistant Vinnie." The man introduced himself.
"Yeah, hi." Virgil barked back, not taking the offered hand and instead showing his hands deeper into his pockets. "This is Agent Mulder." He gestured to Remus with his head. "And Agent Scully."
The man extended his hads towards Remus who seemed to grasp it a little too tight based on the man's expression before moving to Logan who shook it normally. The relief on the man's face was evident.
"Hello." Logan smiled politely as he shook the assistant's hand next.
"How soon can we get started?" Virgil asked.
"We're ready to go." Truitt said.
"Oh great."
"Okay, Vinnie!"
Vinnie started walking up the hill and the rest followed silently.
"Were you able to arrange for a, uh... an examination facility?"
"I think we got something for you..."
"Excuse me!" They turned to see a man running towards them. "Excuse me!"
More confused than intimidated they stayed in place as the man huffed up the hill.
"I just don't know who you people think you are." The man started ranting as soon as he reached them. "You just think you can come up here, and do whatever you damn well please, don't you?"
"I'm sorry, you are-" Logan began.
"I'm Doctor Jay Nemman. I'm county medical examiner."
Logan drew his lips into a thin line. Their suspect. He hadn't expected for the man to come to them.
"Surely, you must have been informed of our intentions to come up here." Remus smiled and the man's resolve faltered.
"No, uh, no. We've been away."
"Oh, oh. Well, that answers the question that we had. Why you hadn't done the recent autopsy on Karen Swenson." Remus explained happily and Logan snapped his head to stare at him. For a renowned FBI agent he had expected the man to be a little more tactile. "You're aware of the tissue sample that was taken from the girl's body." Logan felt his jaw dropping. What was Remus thinking. Virgil seemed to notice his distress and shot him a self assured smirk, which quickly boiled Logan's confusion into anger.
"Wha... wha... what is the insinuation here?" The Doctor protested. "Are you saying that I missed something in those other kids' exams?"
"We're not insinuating anything, sir." Logan chimed in, hoping to smooth the situation before either Virgil or Remus manged to irreversibly damage their investigation.
It seemed he was too late.
Nemman stepped forward and grabbed Remus' arm.
"Wait a minute, see, well I think you are. And if you're making an accusation, then you'd better have something to back it up." The doctor was almost a foot taller than Remus, and it was clear he was hoping to intimidate the short agent. Remus on his part looked delighted at the thinly veiled threat. His face twisted into a wide grin but before he could come up with a respond a voice called out from the bottom of the hill.
"Daddy, please, let's just go home." They all turned to see a young girl standing next to Nemman's car looking equally scared and embarrassed. "Let's go home, please."
Nemman gives Remus one last glare before showing him slightly as he lets go of his arm and stalks off to his car.
"Guy obviously needed a longer vacation." He said loudly, before lowering his voice so that only Virgil and Logan could hear. "Or a good fuck. I think he was comming onto me."
Virgil barked out a laugh that was quickly swallowed by the sound of the excavating crave whirling into life. He glanced towards it before motioning to everyone to walk towards it.
Logan opened the file and began to read loudly as the start climbing uphill again.
"Ray Soames was the third victim. After graduating high school, he spent time in a state mental hospital treated for post-adolescent schizophrenia."
"Soames actually confessed to the first two murders." Remus says. "He pleaded to be locked up but he couldn't produce any evidence that he committed the crimes. Did you happen to read the cause of death?
"Exposure. His body was found in the woods after escaping the hospital.
"Missing for only seven hours in July." Virgil mused. "How does a twenty-year-old boy die of exposure on a warm summers night in Oregon, Doctor Scully?"
Logan opens his mouth to reply but instead a loud snap pierces the air.
"LOOK OUT" Someone shouts and they all snap their head to see the coffin rolling toward them. Remus grabs Virgil and Logan's arm and pulls them all out of the way just in time. The coffin zoomed past them, breaking open on the tombstone on it's path of destruction.
"Thanks." Virgil says, dusting himself off. "Nearly got me."
But Remus pays no mind to the praise, rushing down toward the destroyed coffin. His hand is touching the wood when Truitt shouts at him.
"This isn't official procedure."
"Really?" Remus asked, grinning as he opened the casket. The smell hits them first and Logan is quick to cover his nose. His eyes water slightly but he's willing himself to look at the corpse anyway. The grayish looking body is all but mummified. What it is not, is human. He gasps, regretting it immediately as he accidentally smells the air again.
"It's probably a safe bet Ray Soames never made the varsity basketball team." Remus says, dropping the lid of the trunk with a loud thud and turns to Truitt. "Seal this up, right now! Nobody sees or touches this. Nobody!"
The Coroner nods in agreement. From the way he desperately holds a handkerchief over his mouth Logan doubts he would want to touch the body even without Remus' instructions.
It took a bit of convincing to get access to the mortuary and Logan was half convinced it was more the smell of the deceased than their badges that caused the director of the cementary to allow them to continue their investigation. Truth be told - despite having dealt with a fair share of corpses Logan was starting to feel queasy himself and was extremely grateful for the small bit of protection against the stench that his surgical mask provided. Agent Fox and Agent Mulder seemed far less affected.
Virgil was hoovering over the cadaver occasionally snapping pictures while Remus spread his limbs over the unoccupied autopsy tables and promptly fished out a bag of what looked to be massacred mini-pretzels out of his jacket. Which he, of course, began to inhale immediately.
The though of food only made Logan's stomach more upset and he did his best to direct his attention back to the corpse.
"This is amazing, Remus." Virgil says excitedly as he makes another photo, seemingly having forgotten his earlier caution at the sight of a rotten body. Remus looks utterly pleased with their situation and Logan begins to doubt how wise it was to agree to his reassignment. Even if he didn't have too much say in it. Perhaps he could ask Agent Snakes to relieve him of his assingment. That is - if the figure trully existed. After all, Bleevis did not mention them as part of the x-file team, nor did his coworkers since and Logan was starting to suspect it was just a prank. "You know what this could mean? It's almost too big to even comprehend."
Trying to distract himself from the unexplainable behavior of his coworkers Logan focused on what is explainable and starts listing his measurements.
"Subject is a hundred and fifty-six centimeters in length, weighing fifty-two pounds in extremis. Corpse is in advance stages of decay and desiccation. Distinguishing features include large ocular cavities, oblate cranium... indicates subject is not hu-" Virgil blinds him momentarily and Logan tries to glare in the direction he assumes Virgil to be. "Could you point that flash away from me, please?"
"Sorry." He mumbled, actually looking apologetic.
"What do you think it is, Doctor Scully?" Remus asks and somehow the question sounds both like genuine interest and mockery. Logan answers anyway.
"It's mammalian. My guess is it's a chimpanzee or something from the ape family, possibly an orangutan."
"Buried in the city cemetery in Ray Soames' grave?" Remus snorts. "Try telling that to the good townsfolk or to Ray Soames' family."
"What do you think it is?" Logan responded, feeling more than a little annoyed. Remus just smiled at him like he knows something Logan doesn't. Which, taken how the last 24 hours have passed, Logan is certain is true. It made him more irritated than he would like to admit.
"I want tissue samples and x-rays." Virgil interrupted his thoughts while pointing to the corpse. "I'd like blood type and toxicology and a full genetic work-up."
"You're serious?"
"What we can't do here, we'll order to go."
Serious then. Logan took a deep breath.
"You don't honestly believe this is some kind of an extraterrestrial?" He questioned, as he pointed exasperatedly at the mummy. "This is somebody's sick joke." That Logan was enjoying being part of less and less.
"We can do those x-rays here, can't we?" Virgil asks, looking at Remus who shrugs his shoulders.
"Ask Scully, he's the Doctor here."
"Is there any reason we can't do them right now?" Virgil turned to him, smiling when he notices Logan's frown. "I'm not crazy, Scully. I have the same doubts you do."
"My doubts regard your sanity." Logan mumbles under his breath. Not quiet enough apparently, as Remus cackling fills the air.
Logan voice flows from the tape recorder filling the motel room. Remus has spread himself over Virgil's bed, lazily scanning through a file he picked up. Most likely simply appearing busy than doing anything if the rest of their investigation was anything to go by. Virgil, after furiously scribbling for about an hour started pacing the floor, slowly driving Logan insane.
'Official laboratory inspection of the body and x-ray analysis confirms homologous but possibly mutated mammalian physiology. However, does not account for small unidentified object found in subject's nasal cavity. A grey metallic implant form...'
Virgil reachds over to the recorder, turning it off. Logan looked up from his notes to glare at him.
"I'm way too wired. I'm going for a run, you want to come?"
Remus snorts.
"Running for your life is your hobby, not mine."
"It's relaxing."
Remus gave him an amused look and Virgil huffed.
"Scully?"
"Hmmm?"
"You want to go for a run?"
Logan opens his mouth only to yawn in lieu of a response. He feels his checks blushing and he clears his throat.
"No. I believe I should go to bed."
"You figure out what that little thing up Ray Soames' nose is yet?" Remus asks from his spot on Virgil's bed."
"No." He yawns again. "And I'm not losing any sleep over it." especially since it seemed neither of these two were willing too. "Good night."
The next day started bright and early as they pulled up to the state psychiatric hospital in Raymond and headed inside. They were directed down the east wing where Doctor Glass was waiting for them outside the patient's room.
"Ray Soames was a patient of mine, yes. I oversaw his treatment for just over a year for clinical schizophrenia." The Doctor explained. "Ray had an inability to grasp reality. He seemed to suffer from some kind of post-traumatic stress."
"Is that something you've seen before?" Logan asked.
"I've treated similar cases."
"Were any of those Ray Soames' classmates?" Virgil added.
"Yes."
"Did you treat any of these kids with hypnosis?" Remus questioned
"No, I did not."
"Are you treating any of these kids now?"
"Currently? Yes, I'm treating Billy Miles and Peggy O'Dell. Both have been long term live-in patients."
They all stopped walking, turning to the Doctor in surprise.
Logan spoke up first.
"They're here at this hospital?"
"That's right, going on four years now." How come none of it was in the files?
"Would it be possible for us to talk to them?" Remus asked.
"Well, you might find it difficult. Certainly, in Billy Miles' case." The chuckle that escaped the doctor's lips made Logan slightly nauseous. But he followed the doctor with the others.
The boy, Billy Miles, laid on his hospital bed very still. His eyes were open but there didn't seem to be any kind of awareness regarding his surrounding.
"He's in a waking coma." Logan whispered and the doctor turned to him in surprise.
"Very astute, Agent." He praised before turning towards Logan's coworkers who looked to be a bit confused by the wording. "Functionally, his brainwaves are flat and he's persistent vegetative."
"How did it happen?"
"Both he and Peggy were involved in an automobile accident out on State road."
It was only now that Logan noticed the girl sitting next to the bed in a wheelchair. A book was placed on her lap and she was reading aloud.
"Peggy?" Remus asked asked softly.
The girl stopped reading, looking at the agent with confused eyes.
"Peggy, we have some visitors, would you like to talk with them for a moment?" The Doctor asked but she doesn't look at him, her eyes never leaving Remus' face she spoke up.
"Billy wants me to read now. 'It's not sand, it's dark...'"
Remus kneels down in from of her.
"Does he like it when you read to him?"
"Yes. Billy needs me close."
Remus waits for a moment before turning to Virgil. The two of the sharing a look Logan can't interpret.
"Doctor. I'm wondering if we can do a cursory medical exam on Peggy." Virgil asked. As soon as the words leave his mouth Peggy screamed. She hurled the book forwards, nearly hitting Logan in the face before she started wheeling around.
"Peggy? Oh, Peggy, what are you doing?" The nurse panicked as she tries to gently grab the girl
"Get an orderly!"
The Doctor and nurse jumped to her aid at once, trying to stop her suddenly bloody nose.
"No one is going to hurt you!" Remus assured.
Blood was streaming freely down the girl's mouth.
"This is an emergency. Get an orderly, get an orderly. Nobody is going to hurt you. The nurse is here." The Doctor was speaking furiously, trying to control the situation.
Mulder takes the opportunity to lift up the back of Peggy's shirt, showcasing the bumps with a grin at Virgil who nods. He quickly pulls the shirt back and stands up.
"I'm ringing for the orderlies now." The nurse shouted.
"Stop it! Stop!" Peggy screeched.
"All right, Peggy. All right. It's all right." The Doctor assured her with little effect.
"Peggy, honey, you're going to be fine. You've had these nose bleeds before, now calm down. Don't worry..." The nurse repeated, desperate to calm the girl.
Logan couldn't take this anymore and stormed out.
It didn't take long for the others to follow.
"You know, It's rude to just leave like that without saying goodbye whn you're visiting a patient." Remus chuckled.
Logan glared at him.
"How did you know that girl was going to have the marks?"
"Lucky guess?"
"Damn it, Mulder, cut the crap." He whirled around to glare at Virgil who walked past him. "Both of you. What is going on here? What do you know about those marks? What are they?"
"Why? So you can put it down in your little report?" Virgil bit back, not stopping his walk.
Logan huffed, speeding up to overtake Virgil and stands in his path. The man stops and stares down at Logan with what looks almost like fear.
"I'm here to solve this case." Logan hisses. "I want the truth."
Virgil just stared at him. Logan took a step forward, making the taller man square his shoulders.
"Well?"
"I think those kids have been abducted."
"By who?"
"By what." Remus grinned as he stepped from behind Virgil. Logan narrowed his eyes as he stared behind Virgil and Remus, looking for any indication all of this was a poorly thought out initiation joke.
The truth was far worse.
"You really believe that? You really think they were abducted by aliens?"
"Do you have a better explanation?" Virgil asked.
"I can see that the girl is suffering some kind of pronounced psychosis. Whether it's organic or the result of those marks, I can't say. But to say that they've been riding around in flying saucers, it's crazy, Fox, there is nothing to support that."
"Ah, ah ah." Remus waggled his finger. "Nothing scientific, you mean."
Logan shot him a glare before continuing.
"There has got to be a real explanation. You've got four victims. All of them died in or near the woods. They found Karen Swenson's body in the forest in her pajamas, ten miles from her house. How did she get there? What were those kids doing out there in the forest?"
"Well." Remus smiled as he leaned in closer, almost touching Logan's shoulder. "Only one way to find out."
Virgil had refused going to the forest at night under any circumstances and, as much as Logan hated leaving one of them unsupervised he had to make a choice and leaving Virgil alone at the motel seemed safer than letting Remus plunder the woods alone. He just hoped Virgil stayed put instead of having used Remus as a distraction to get them all into more trouble.
The walk at least was a nice distraction at least, making Logan focus on his steps rather than the excess of information pertaining to the ongoing case.
He began to be so engrossed in rhythm of his steps and back and forth of his flashlight that he didn't notice Remus is gone until he turns around to ask him a question and finds no-one.
He grimaced . He should have seen this coming.
Logan sighs deeply, turning back. Whatever games Remus was playing he didn't want to be apart of it. He makes a few steps before his feet lands on something that doesn't feel like solid ground.
He directs hid flashlight towards the ground and crouches down. It looks almost like ash or sand but when he touches it with his finger it feels like neither. He puts the flashlight on the ground and reaches inside his pocket taking out a small plastic bag that he fills halfway through with it.
As he is standing up something cracks uphill his and Logan points his flashlight upwards.
"Mulder?" The rumbling grows louder and Logan reaches for his gun, slowly walking backwards until a mirror light shines through the trees and into his eyes.
He squints,covering them with the hand that isn't holding the gun.
"Mulder, is that you? Mulder?"
A silhouette emerges from out of the light creeps towards him. Logan can see what he assumed was Remus raise a shotgun The man lifts up his shotgun and points it at Logan. The agent mirrors his move with his own gun.
"Special Agent Logan Scully, FBI, drop your weapon." Logan warns
The man steps forward, partially out of the light engulfing him but Logan is unable to make out his face.
"I'm with the County Sheriff's Department. You're trespassing on private property here."
"We are conducting an investigation." Logan explained, trying to shield his eyes from the light. He can hear Remus someone else rushing through the woods he glances to his side to see Remus approaching, gun at the ready.
"Get in your car and leave, both of you, or I'll have to arrest you. I don't care who you are."
"Hold on! This is a crime scene." Remus protests.
"Did you hear what I said? You are on private property without legal permission. Now, I'm only going to say it one more time, get in your car and leave."
Remus and Logan shared a look before lowering their flashlights and weapons and walk towards their car in defeat.
Logan lets out a sigh when he slumps against the passenger seat and closes his eyes. He's exhausted and all he can think of is closing his eyes and falling asleep for the short drive back to their motel.
His plan is cut short as Remus opens the door and leans against the roof the car. He doesn't speak but Logan can feel his eyes on him.
"What?" He asks, not opening his eyes.
"You're going to have to drive us back."
"It's your turn."
"Oh I don't mind. It's just that I don't have a driving license." Logan opens his eyes to stare at him in surprise.
"What?"
"Lost it three years ago. I'm prone to reckless driving."
"You're joking." Logan deadpans.
"If you don't believe me I can show you." Remus grins down at him almost maniacally. That is enough to leave Logan scrambling out of the passenger seat.
The first droplets hit the front window as Logan starts the car and soon enough the light drizzle transforms into pouring rain. He grimaced, gripping the wheel tighter as he strains his eyes to see the road.
"What's he doing out here all by himself?" he nearly doesn't register the question at first. Too tired and focused on the road.
"Who?"
"Mr. County Sheriff's Department"
"Maybe it has something to do with this." Logan says as he fishes out the handful of dirt he collected earlier from his pocket." Remus accepts the small container, turning on the light to look at it closer. "What do you think it is?"
"I don't know. Is it a campfire?
"It was all over the ground. I think something is going on out here, some kind of a sacrifice, maybe. What if these kids are involved in some kind of occult and that man knows something about it?"
Remus doesn't respond audibly but Logan can hear him searching for something in his own pocket.
"I want to come back here." Logan says, waiting for Remus to respond enthusiastically to his proposition. "You okay, Mulder?"
"Yeah, I'm just, er..." He mumbles distractedly. Logan takes his eyes off of the road for a moment to stare at him. He's looking out of the window again.
"What are you looking for?"
A bright flash blinds Logan and when he blinks the surprise away the car has turned off, leaving them both in darkness. Logan tries restarting the car but it doesn't bulge. Great. Just what he needed at the end of the day.
"Do you know what happened?" Remus asks excitedly.
"We lost power, brakes, steering, eve-"
"No, no." Remus grins, pointing to his watch. "We lost nine minutes."
"We lost nine minutes?" Logan asks but Remus doesn't answer, instead he opens the door widely, springing out of the car and into the pouring rain laughing.
Logan takes a deep breath before he opens his own door and steps out, getting drenched immediately.
"What do you mean?" He screams over the rain. "How did we lose nine minutes?"
"I looked at my watch just before the flash and it was nine-o-three. It just turned nine-thirteen."
Before Logan can scream back anything Remus starts off.
"Look, look" He screams, pointing to the purple X Virgil has marked the road with the other day.
"Oh-ho, yes!" Remus laughs, sinking to his knees in the puddle that formed over the X. "Scully do you know what this means?" He glances up at him and Logan's confused expression must be enough of an answer for he continues. "Abductees Scully! people who have made UFO sightings, they've reported unexplained time loss!"
"Come on." Logan snorts. "You don't actually believe it." He knew Virgil did, but Remus seemed more amused with the existence of extraterrestrials than convinced by them. At least until now.
"Gone! Just like that." Remus laughs as he climbs to his feet. He makes a motion to grab Logan but thinks better of it at the last moment. Spinning in place instead.
"No, what a minute." Logan protests. "You're saying that, that time disappeared. Time can't just disappear, it's, it's, it's a universal invariant!"
The car starts up casting them both in neon glow. Mulder's smile is wide and brilliant in the rain distorted light.
"Not in this zip code." He grins before skipping off towards the car. "Come on Scully." He laughs. "Before you get wet."
Despite his earlier exhaustion Logan couldn't bring himself to sleep before writing down Remus' 'discovery' in paper first. The words seemed so absurd that he worried they would leave his mind after a proper rest; one that cured him from any partiality to outlandish theories.
Agent Mulder's insistence of time loss due to unknown forces cannot be validated or substantiated by this witness
A thunderclap rings out and takes the power alongside Logan's progress out.
"Great." He grimaces, closing his laptop with a sigh. Than again he probably needed to go to bed anyway. He can worry about the unsaved report tomorrow. Alongside worrying about everything else.
He shuffles around the cabinets, pleased to find a candle and matches in one of them. Despite the implication that losing power in this hostel might be a frequent occurrence.
He grabs the now lit candle and heads into the bathroom, debating if he has the energy and time for a soak as he undresses and neatly folds his clothes. A nice bath would certainly relax him but he had stayed up late and knew that he would regret the exhaustion tomorrow.
His musing is cut short when his hand graces over the skin on his lower back and he feels two distinct bumps under his fingers.
Logan feels a slight panic as he slides his hand back. Taking a deep breath he convinces himself to turn around and check the bumps in the mirror before making any judgment. They look suspiciously like the victims. Panic raising in his throat he rushes back into his room and throws a bathrobe over himself.
Virgil is probably fast asleep but there is a chance Remus hasn't gone to bed yet. With no one else to look at the marks Logan blows out his candle and rushes down the hallways towards the man's motel room.
He feels ridiculous, standing in nothing but a bathrobe, his underwear and slippers on Remus' doorway but the bile in the back of his throat won't let him sleep until he convinces it that he became pray to Fox and Mulder's lunatic fantasies.
"I want you to look at something." Logan states before Remus has a chance to speak. Remus gives him a once over looking slightly amused at Logan's state before his eyes reach Logan's face and his expression turn serious.
"Come on in." He says, stepping to the side to let Logan in.
The agent takes an invitation and takes a few steps inside. He waits for Remus to close the door before slipping off his robe. Remus stumbles behind him and Logan looks back at his bewildered face before casting his eyes towards his own back.
"What are they?" He asks then twists his face forward not wanting to look at the marks until he has definitive judgment that they are something else. He knows they are something else but the stress and the hour make him want to hear it from someone else.
He can hear Remus crouching to the floor behind him. The silence seems to stretch on forever.
"Mulder, what are they?"
"Mosquito bites." Remus concludes as he stands up.
"Are you sure?" Logan can hear the panic in his own voice but he doesn't care. All he needs is reassurance.
"Yeah. I got eaten up a lot myself out there. And look, there is a third one right between these two." Logan let out a gasp in relief and when Remus opens his arms in invitation he takes it without second thought. Remus wraps his hands around him, raising one hand to stroke Logan's hair. "You okay?"
"Yes." He said, pulling away from the hug.
"You're shaking."
"I need to sit down." Logan announced, stumbling to the bed. Remus sits beside him, leaving enough room for Logan not to feel cramped.
"Take your time." Remus smiled.
He doesn't know how it happens but soon enough Logan find himself wrapped back in his bath robe and tucked into Remus' bed with the man sitting on the floor beside him telling him stories Logan doesn't quite believe.
"It was four years ago. Regular mission. We were having back and forth about the mission in his room late into the night. I must have dozed off at some point and when I opened my eyes he wasn't there.No note, no phone calls, no evidence of anything."
"You never found him?"
Remus shrugged.
"Tore the family apart. No one would talk about it. There were no facts to confirm, nothing to offer any hope." He rested the back of his head on the bed. "Everyone blamed me, though they would never say it to my face. Can't say I disagree with their statement. Not after how I handled it."
"What did you do?"
Remus laughs, a bitter hollow sound.
"I was lost. Hollow." He looks up at Logan. "I'm not sure I really lived for a year or two. Just existed."
"And then you found the X-files."
"And then I found the X-files."
"By accident?"
"Not really. I was all but a nut case thrown in with the rest of the files. It was Virgil that fished me out. You know-" Remus chuckled. "I thought it was all bogus at first too. Virgil hadn't started on the X-files much sooner than I did. At first, it looked like a garbage dump for UFO sightings, alien abduction reports, the kind of stuff that most people laugh at as being ridiculous. But he was fascinated. He read all the cases he could get his hands on, hundreds of them. Everything about paranormal phenomenon, about the occult and..." He stopped, staring right ahead of him, his face turned so that Logan couldn't see his expression.
"What?"
"There's classified government information we've being trying to access, but someone has been blocking our attempts to get at it."
"Who? I don't understand." He shifts in bed so that he can look at Remus fully.
"Someone at a higher level of power. The only reason I've been allowed to continue with my work is because Virge and I, we both had a reputation as competent Agents before the X files. And what our reputation doesn't solve gets sorted by Snakes and his connection with Congress."
Logan blinked. He had completely forgotten about that character until now and the mention of him unnverved the agent. From what he could tell Snakes wasn't part of the x-files as much as the force that kept it open. Remus mentioned that he had initially been sent to spy on these two, but it seemed he ended up more as a protector than an adversary. Logan wondered briefly if the man was simply terminated without the two Agent's notice but that seemed very unlikely.
No. He was certain Agent Snakes was still involved but they hoped to offset his help with Logan's report.
He was beginning to doubt that he would follow a different path than Snakes. He did consider himself one of the most logical agents in the F.B.I. and he himself couldn't be helped but see some form of reason in the madness.
Whatever their beliefs were, there was no denying that the two could easily spot patterns other agents failed to recognize. And at the end of the day ensuring the safety of the remaining young adults was their priority.
These two were the only ones solving cases that the bureau threw into the archives to be forgotten. And though their theories were outlandish at best, they were at least trying to bring help and closure to the victims. And Logan couldn't in good conscience condemn them for that.
But he knew why the agency did. It wouldn't be good if the public learned that two federal agents were on the hunt for aliens. It would bring ridicule at best. Never mind the mass panic that could come from it.
"And they're afraid of what? That, that you'll leak this information?" That had the be the most likely concern of the bureau.
Remus smiled at him sadly.
"You're a part of that agenda, you know that?"
Logan almost wished he was. At least then he would have an inkling as to what was going on.
"I'm not a part of any agenda." He argued. "You've got to trust me. I'm here just like you, to solve this."
Remus shifted from his position on the ground, keeling as he stares Logan in the eyes.
"I'm telling you this, Scully, because you need to know, because of what you've seen. In my research, I've worked very closely with a man named Dr. Heitz Werber and he's taken me through deep regression hypnosis. I've been able to go into my own repressed memories to the night my brother disappeared. I can recall a bright light outside and a presence in the room. I was paralyzed, unable to respond to my brother's calls for help." He shifts closer, speaking almost madly. "Listen to me, Scully, this thing exists."
"But how do you know..."
"The government knows about it, and I got to know what they're protecting. Nothing else matters to me. If there is any chance I could have my brother back alive I will do anything, Scully. And this is as close as I've ever gotten to it."
The phone rings, causing them both to jump. They shared a look before Remus chuckled and grabbed the phone.
"Hello? What? Who is this? Who is thi..." He grimaces as he puts the phone down. "That was some woman... she just said Peggy O'Dell was dead."
The road was a chaos of flashlights and spectators as they approached. Virgil parked the car slightly off the road before they all pooled out of the car with Virgil paving the way for them. Despite having protested at being woken up Virgil was the first to approach the man being questioned by a deputy.
"What happened?" He asks, interrupting the officer mid sentence.
"She ran right out in front of me."
"Now hold on, who are you?" The deputy protested.
Remus hurried toward the man and flashes his ID before continuing the questioning.
"She was running? On foot?" Remus asked, something almost like excitement in his voice.
Logan felt himself grimace as he turns away from the conversation and scouts the scene. He can see the body of the girl lying just a few feet away from where they are standing. Her neck is engulfed in a brace and what skin Logan can see is covered in blood. As he approaches he can see tubes going out of her nose. Despite the light it's clear her feet are soiled with mud to just below the ankle, she has been running. There was no doubt of it.
Scully crouches next to the body and his stomach sinks when he notices the cracked watch on the young woman's wrist. The face reading 9:03. He stares at it, wondering why he can't bring himself to believe it a coincidence. He's so transfixed by it that he doesn't notice Virgil approaching and when he is firmly grabbed by the shoulder he nearly jumps.
"Wha-"
"We need to go." Virgil says urgently, squeezing his shoulder tighter. "Someone trashed the autopsy bay in the lab and they stole the body."
"What? They stole the corpse? What for?"
"That, agent Scully, is what we need to figure out." Grimaced Virgil. "We're going to check it out."
"Wait." Logan said. "If they wanted the evidence gone they wouldn't have stopped at just the autopsy lab."
Virgil's eyes go wide as he realizes this too.
"Shit." He hissed, already turning on his heel to jog to the car. "Remus, we're going back to the motel."
They make it back in less than 15 minutes but it's clear that there is no salvaging any of their belongings. The fire has spread to the surrounding bushes, making the night air almost unbearably warm.
"There goes my computer." Logan grimaced as he watched all of his work go up in flames. Literally and figuratively.
"Damn it! The x-rays and pictures!" Remus hissed as he tries to run forward but Virgil grabs his forearm firmly, keeping him in place. "Virge the evidence-"
"Is gone." Virgil hisses back. His point is emphasized by a large blare up of the flames that leaves them scrambling backwards. Virgil let go of Remus who slumped to the floor.
"Damn it." He swore again, staring at the flames as the firemen rushed around them.
"Excuse me." The voice comes from behind them and Logan turns around to look at it's source. My name is Theresa Nemman. You've got to protect me."
"The coroner's daughter." Logan whispers. Why is she here?
"Come with us." Virgil says, motioning for her to follow before heading toward the car. "Remus?" Remus takes one longing look at the burning motel before collecting himself from the ground with a heavy sigh. Logan follows them into the car.
It's a short drive to the nearest dinner that, to Logan's surprise, is open. It lasts only until he notices the time being just after six a.m. It dawned on him how tired he is and he all but slumps next to Theresa in the booth. Virgil and Remus sit opposite to them as a waitress comes to take their orders.
Logan can't imagine stomaching everything so he just orders coffee and the others take his lead. He closes his eyes for just a second and when he opens them he's embarrassed to note that the coffee has already arrived and all three of his companions are sitting around him in silence. He reaches towards the mug, grimacing when he notes the drink has long gone cold. He drowns it in one gulp anyway before looking at the girl.
Theresa is squeezing her mug nervously between her fingers. The now cold coffee level raising and falling slightly as she searches for her words.
"This is the way it happens, I don't know how I get out there." She begins, her eyes darting briefly between the three of them before returning to stare at the liquid once more. "I'll just find myself out in the woods."
"How long has it been happening?" Remus asks. The girl squeezed her cup tighter.
"Ever since the summer we graduated." Her voice is barely over a whisper. "It's happened to my friends too. That's why I need you to protect me. I'm scared I might... die like the others, like... Peggy did tonight."
"That's why we got the call, isn't it?" Logan asks gently. "Your father is the medical examiner. You would have been the first to know she that Peggy O'Dell had been killed." Theresa nods. "Theresa, your father knows about this, doesn't he? About what happened."
She licked her lips, choosing her words before she speaks.
"Yes. But he said never to tell anyone about any of it."
"Why?" Remus presses.
"He wants to protect me. He thinks he can protect me," She looks up to meet Remus' eyes. "but I don't think he can."
"Do you have the marks, Theresa?"
She lets out a loud sob, squeezing her coffee mug until her knuckles go white. Her hands shaking until the liquid flows onto her hands.
"Yes. I'm going to die, aren't I? I'm gonna be next?" She sobed as Remus gently pried the mug from her shaking hands.
"No, you're not going to die." Logan tries to calms her as he reaches for the napkins. He's dabbing off her hands when he notices blood pouring out of her nose. "Oh, God!" He sits up to grab more napkins and Virgil follows but before they can give them to Theresa the girl's father walks in, looking concerned before his eyes land on their group and his gaze turns furious.
"Let's go home, Theresa. Theresa, come on." Not taking his eyes off of Virgil and Logan. When the girl doesn't stand up he walks towards them pushing Virgil out of the way. Fox takes a step forward but Logan put up his arm to stop him. Thankfully the agent relents.
They watch as the coroner takes out a handkerchief and gently dabs away the blood from his daughter's face.
"Come on, honey."
"I don't think she wants to leave." Virgil interjects
"I don't care what you think!" Nemman hisses as he takes a step towards him. "She's a sick girl."
"Your father wants to take you home." His companion prompts her. "He'll get you all cleaned up."
"I'm going to take you where you'll be safe, Theresa. Detective Miles and I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."
"Detective Miles?" Remus speaks up. "Wait. Now hold on a second. You're Billy Miles' father?"
"That's right." He sneers. "And you stay away from my boy."
With that final warning they collect the young woman and leave.
"Eh, you gotta love this place." Remus says, stretching out on the seats. "Every day's like Halloween."
"I think they know. They know who's responsible for the murders."
"They know something." Virgil muses. "And I've very much would like to know what that something is." He knees Remus, who has all but spread out on the booth couch, in the leg. "Don't sleep here."
"They were the ones who burned our evidence." Logan muses and Virgil and Remus snap their head toward him.
"Why'd you say that?"
"Think about it. Dr. Nemman's been hiding medical evidence from the beginning. He lied on the autopsy reports and now we find out about the detective. Who else would have reason to trash the lab and our rooms?" He turns towards them. "Do you think the Doctor purposefully told his daughter about the death? To lure us out?"
"You're not saying he was willing to burn us with the evidence, are you Scully?"
Logan shakes his head.
"No. No, I don't think he's go that far." At least he really hoped thet didn't.
"But it still doesn't make sense." Remus argues. "Why would they destroy evidence? What would they want with that corpse?"
Logan thinks for a moment before he speaks.
"That I don't know. But if they are ready to hinder our investigation they must be certain they can protect their children on their own." He huffs in frustration. "I really wish I took more notes of the corpse. I must have missed something. Then again, it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. My notes are burned."
"You know-" Virgil mused. "There are still two bodies these two couldn't have hid so easily."
The sky is a pitiful shade of unsaturated gray by the time they make it to the cemetery Logan had tried arguing that they should get some rest first but neither of his companions seemed keen on that idea. He had debated taking a nap in the car but he was acutely aware that if he knew these two were alone he would be running scenarios of what they were doing in his head and no sleep would be had anyway.
Which left him to begrudgingly trott after Virgil as Remus all but run towards the grave.
"You know. It's not like they will get up and leave." He argues before stifling a large yawn.
Virgil glances back at him, almost amused. Logan can't tell if its his words or his condition that had humored the agent but he's certain he doesn't like either probability. He opens his mouth to shoot some kind of retort when Remus comes running back looking furious.
"They're both empty."
"What's empty?"
"The graves."
Logan stares at him with his mouth open, waiting for him to reveal it's a joke. Remus does no such thing. It's Virgil who breaks the silence.
"I think I know who did it. I think I know who killed Karen Swenson."
"Who? The detective?" Logan asks.
"The detective's son. Billy Miles."
"The boy in the hospital? Billy Miles, a boy who's been in a coma for the last four years, got out here and dug up these graves?"
"Peggy O'Dell was bound to a wheelchair but she ran in front of that truck. Look, I'm not making this up, it all fits the profile of alien abduction.
"This fits a profile?" Logan huffs out something between a scoff and a chuckle. It's so absurd he can do little else. He looks at Virgil in hopes someone agrees but Fox seems more swayed with the absurd theory then reason.
"Yes. Peggy O'Dell was killed at around nine-o-clock, that's right around the time we lost nine minutes on the highway, I think that something happened in that nine minutes. I think that time, as we know it, stopped. And something took control over it."
Logan begins to laugh.
"You think we're crazy."
He laughs harder. Remus and Virgil exchange worried glances.
"What?"
"Peggy O'Dell's watch stopped a couple of minutes after nine. I made a note of it when I saw the body." He runs a hand through his hair. He's making absurd connection. He knows he is and yet he can't stop himself from thinking that in a weird, twisted way it does make sense. "It stopped at exactly three past nine. The exact time we 'lost' nine minutes."
"That's the reason the kids come to the forest, because the forest controls them and summons them there. And, and, and the marks are from, from some kind of test that's being done on them. And, and that may be causing some kind of genetic mutation which would explain the body that we dug up." Virgil concludes,
"And the force summoned Theresa Nemman's body into the woods tonight." Logan asks.
"Yes, but it was Billy Miles who took her there, summoned by some alien impulse. That's it!"
Logan can't help himself and laughs again.
"Oh this is delirious. All of it. I can't believe I'm considering your theory."
"Come on, let's get out of here."
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to pay a visit to Billy Miles."
Logan lets out a deep sigh. He really wished they would go find a motel instead but he knows by now he shouldn't expect reason out of these two.
The sky has turned a pleasant shade of blue by the time they made it to the facility and Logan briefly considers staying back at the car to rest for a minute but he doesn't. Whether it's hod own theories or the worry of leaving the two agents unsupervised that makes him follow them inside the hospital he can't say.
He isn't sure he would like the answer if he did.
Fortunately it doesn't take long for them to be directed to the wind Billy is held in and Logan allows himself a sliver of hope that after this impromptu visit he will have a moment to close his eyes. The hours and the chaos has drained him more than he would like to admit.
Still, as long as he is on the job he is commit to doing his best and so when the nurse leads them into the room he immediately scans the surroundings.
Billy doesn't appear to have moved at all but Logan isn't willing to dismiss that possibility outright. He takes a few steps towards the young man as the nurse begins to speak to the other agents.
"Now, we could stand here until the second coming, waiting for Billy to get out of this bed. It ain't going to happen. He blinks and I know about it." She states as she's changing his IV bag. Logan takes this opportunity to examine the boy's hands. The nurse gives him a strange look but doesn't comment on it as she turns to his fellow agents.
"I guess you changed his bedpan last night." Virgil prods.
"Hmm, nobody else here's gonna do it."
"You noticed nothing unusual?" Remus asks as Logan walks to the foot of the bed.. "Do you remember what you were doing last night around nine-o-clock?"
"Mmm, probably watching TV, yeah."
"Do you remember what you were watching?"
"Um, let's see... you know I don't really remember what I watched…Sir, what are you doing?" Logan paid her no mind as he flipped the blanket up. "Sir? What is he looking for?"
"Mulder, take a look at this." Logan said as he stepped back to let the other two agents take a look. Remus approached to take a closer look and Logan pointed to the dirt under Billy's fingernails.
"What in heavens are they doing?" The nurse has clearly became exasperated as she directs the question at Virgil as soon as Logan takes out an evidence vial and starts scrapping out the strange dirt.
"Do you know who was taking care of Peggy O'Dell last night?" Virgil questions instead.
"Not me, it's not my ward. Not my aisle of the produce section." She laughs. Virgil doesn't. She caught awkwardly before continuing. "I do have a job of my own to do... what is he doing now?"
"Thank you for your time, ma'am." Logan says as he closes the vial.
The nurse look at Virgil with confusion.
"I have no more questions either, ma'am."
"Okay."
"Good day." Virgil nods at her before leading them out. Logan can barely contain his theories and starts speaking as soon as Virgil closes the door behind them.
"That kid may have killed Peggy O'Dell, I don't believe this."
"Scully..." Virgil begins but for once it's Logan that pays them no mind.
"It's crazy! He was in the woods."
"You're sure, Skulls?" Remus smiled.
"It has to be." He holds out the little bag almost triumphantly. "This is the same stuff that I took a handful of in the forest."
"Okay, then maybe we should take it and run a lab test..."
"We lost the original sample in the fire. What else could it be?"
Virgil stops abruptly, nearly making Logan run into him.
"What?" He asks a bit annoyed. Remus grins at him before he speaks.
"All right, but I just want you to understand what it is you're saying."
"You said it yourself." Logan argues, suddenly very self conscious.
"Yeah, but I'm the 'nut job', you have to write it down in your report." Virgil said with a smile.
Logan huffed and Remus laughed.
"You're right. We'll take another sample from the forest... and run a comparison before we do anything."
The other two Agents grinned at him.
The idea seemed to be a good one until they pulled up to the forest and saw the Detective's van parked at the edge of the treeline.
Logan licked his lips in frustration. Whatever it was that was going on here he had to agree with Mulder and Fox on the point that it certainly looked like a conspiracy. Whether it was one involving aliens he certainly wasn't convinced yet.
"The detective's here. What do you think?"
Mulder and Fox don't have a chance to voice their opinions as a loud scream pierces the air. Remus is the first to sprint towards it. Virgil stands there frozen as he stares at the source of the sound. Logan doesn't wait for him to snap out of it as he rushes after Remus.
Logan's hopes of catching up to his are soon cut short as he realizes that despite Remus' shorter statue he maneuvers through the trees with surprising grace and alarming speed.
He is breathing heavily when Remus stops in the middle of a clearing, looking around. There is another figure behind him and Logan opens his mouth to scream but all that comes out is a ragged cough as the figure presses a shotgun to Remus' back.
Logan slows down, catching his breath as he takes out his own weapon and creeps forward in hopes of a clearer shot.
"You wouldn't listen to me. I told you to stay out of this." The man speaks loud enough for Logan to hear. His blood running cold as he realizes who the man is. "Hold it, hold it right there! You got no business out here."
"There were screams..." Remus protests.
"Down on the ground. Now!" The detective barks out.
"You know it's Billy. You've known it all along."
"I said down on the ground." The detective repeats as he shoves the gun deeper into Remus back. The agent stumbles forward.He turns his head briefly to glare at the man and as he does so his eyes seem to meet Logan's for a brief moment. He swears he sees a glimpse of a smile as Remus raises his hands and slowly sinks to the ground.
"How long are you gonna let it happen?" He asks, unnervingly calm. "He's gonna kill her."
The man looks off into the distance, his grip on the weapon tightening.
"He's gonna kill her!" Remus shouts again just before a scream pierces through the air. The man lowers his weapon and sprints around Remus downhill. Logan wastes no time, picking up speed as he chases after him.
"Billy, no! Let her go! Leave her alone!"
Logan curses himself at trying to take a shortcut. The foliage is thick and he can barely see through the leaves and branches, let alone squeeze through. He debates going back when his eyes land on Billy.
The boy is standing in the middle of a clearing, the girl, Theresa, is lifted above his head. Logan watches in horror as Billy's father raises the gun, taking aim. He opens his mouth to scream but the shot rings out first. Just as Remus tackles the detective to the ground.
Billy doesn't react, instead he lowers the girl slightly and looks up, turning his back towards Logan and giving him a clear view of the marks just before a blinding light takes his vision.
Billy's voice is the first thing that comes after the light's gone.
"Dad?"
Logan blinks furiously. His vision is still hazy as he scans the surroundings. Billy stands there, confused. Theresa is next to him on the ground, slowly raising herself up.
"Billy. Oh, god." His father cries as he takes a few step towards and pulls the boy into a hug.
"Scully!" Remus voice sounds from behind the small hill. He can just barelly make out the top of his head.
"Over here." Logan shouts back, waving from behind the bushes. Remus jogs up hill and Logan follows, meeting him halfway.
"Scully!" Remus laughs, pulling Logan into a hug and to his surprise lifting him before he spins them both around. "Scully!" He grins, letting go and stepping back, though his hands never leave Logan's shoulders.
"Mulder, what happened? There was a light and-"
"There was." Remus is grinning up at him. "It was incredible."
Logan can feel himself smiling back.
When Logan had first started on this assignment he thought it would be a quick one. As many brilliant Agents have walked these halls it wasn't uncommon, medically speaking, for these minds to develop trauma responses that led them to believe in odd conspiracy tales. His initial assumption was that the two agents had fallen victims to such stressors.
That had proven to be unlikely.
While both these men believed in the supernatural neither of them appeared unstable outside the perchance for the eccentrics. But these were hardly uncommon at the Agency. And even though Logan was still skeptical of aliens being an explanation for all of this, he had to admit that he failed to come up with a better one. Such an admission couldn't go on the report however.
Logan let out a sign of frustration as he slumped in the chair.
It was a touch choice.
The Agents were right. The truth was much harder to find than Logan anticipated.
He leaned forward and begin to type what little truth he knew.
characters: Logan, Remus, Virgil
pairings: none
warnings: human experiments (mentioned sporadically), kidnappings (also mentions), murder and attempted murder, injury, the story is a whole is mildly horroresque
length: 11,193 words
ao3 link
After the initial shock of their first assignment together things had settled into a routine. And while Logan still didn't feel completely welcome in the X-file department as the distrust of Virgil towards him was pretty clear, it was not tangible enough to not feel at ease in the basement office. Especially when Remus seemed to make it his mission to make up for the lack of Virgil's enthusiasm and treat Logan as a friend.
It wasn't infrequent for them to run into each other on the upper floors of the bureau and Remus tried to explain another theory to Logan. Today one's was rather personal and could only be described as a gross exaggeration of events from his teen hood if not outright lies. Logan was struggling to keep a straight face at the bizarre allegation.
His efforts of concealing this must not have been enough as Remus smile grew every time he glanced at Logan and turned into a full on grin that showed most of his teeth by the time they reached the office.
Remus was just reaching the climax of the story as he twisted the handle and slammed the heavy door open making Agent Fox jump in his seat.
Logan turned to him to apologies when his eyes landed on a man he hadn't seen before. He looked to be almost Fox's height but of a broader built. He was dressed too casually to be an agent but somehow Logan doubted that he didn't work in the Agency, even though he looked terrified to see them.
"Oh. Hiya Remus." The man mumbled. Remus just grinned in response, leaning against the wall. Logan cast a curious look at his companion. All of his previous amusement evaporating to make room for curiosity.
"Well, hello there Patton. Do either of you want to fill Logan and I in on what we missed?"
"We were just having a work conversation." Virgil said, pointing to the files. "Snakes send something to investigate through Patton."
"Really?" Remus grinned leaning on Virgil's desk. "Because the last time I walked in on your 'work conversation' it didn't seem work related at all." Patton's face turned an aggressive shade of red and the man cleared his throat. "Did it, Patton?"
"Well, I believe it's my cue to leave. It was lovely meeting you, kiddo." He waved a short goodbye to the man before rushing out of the room.
"What was that about?" Asked Logan.
"Yeah, Remus." Virgil glared at him. "What the fuck was that supposed to be?"
"Well, I assumed it was about you trying to fuck Patton again."
Virgil spluttered.
"Can you not?"
"You're right. Sorry," he said, reaching for the file on Virgil's desk before turning to Logan. "I don't want Scully here to have an impression you're easy. Don't worry. He's a real classy guy. I'm sure he will go for a blowjob first."
Virgil grabbed the file from Remus hand and smacked his head hard, sending the papers inside flying.
"Will you shut up," Virgil hissed the hue of his face almost matching Patton's. "May I remind you were are not alone?" The words left his mouth before he though them through then as soon as he said it he threw a panicked look towards Logan. The Agent kept a calm expression as he tried not to dwell at how uneasy that disclaimer made him feel. Virgil was right of course, his primary goal was to spy on them. Even if Logan seemed to forget it more frequently than Virgil did.
"I have no reason to report your sex life, Agent Fox." Logan said in what he hoped sounded like a disinterested voice as he bent down to pick up the scattered papers. "A jewelry store robbery? What does this have to do with us?" Logan questioned as he turned one of the files over.
"Robbing one is a federal crime."
"Thank you, Agent Mulder." Logan said, shooting Remus an unimpressed look. "But I was asking how it ties to the x-files. A jewelry store robbery isn't exactly-" He waved his hand, trying to come up with a word that would fit.
"A bone you throw the cuckadoos?" Remus grinned, making Logan sign.
"I was under the impression you followed up on cases from the x-files. Not reclassified ones from the general archive into this one."
"We don't." Remus grinned as he took two step forward and snatched the piece of paper from Logan's hand. "But I'm sure we can make an exception for you and keep the red string rolling, can't we Virge?"
"I'd really rather you didn't." Logan grimaced.
"Hey Virge," Remus said, turning the paper over so his partner could read the file. "Correct me if I'm wrong. But haven't we popped the champagne corks sometime last year when Johnny kicked the bucket?"
"That's a bit morbid," Scully interjected.
"It is," Virgil mused as if not really hearing Logan as he reached for the paper.
"Do you really think it's the same Johnny?" Remus asked.
"It has to be," Virgil said as he held the paper against the light. "Snakes wouldn't send it unless he was certain it's him. I'll call him to-"
The phone starts ringing, making them all jump. They watched it for a few seconds before Logan snapped out of the shock and moved forward to pick it up. He was promptly stopped by Virgil who put up his hand to stop him. He gave the agent a questioning look but the man just shakes his head, muttering that 'it's him' which did not clear things up in the slightest.
The ringing stopped soon enough and there was a distinct beep of the recording machine turning on before an oddly familiar voice filled the tiny room. There was a tilt of arrogance to it that Logan couldn't quite place.
Virgil, dear. I went through all the trouble of securing you that file and I was hoping to hear back from you by now. Though I suppose I should have known better than to send it through Patton. He does tend to be a distraction for you. The voice sounds almost bitter at the last sentence, which seemed oddly amusing to Remus who gave out a short snort and elbowed a very annoyed Virgil. Either way, I do have some additional information once you decide to grace my efforts with the time it takes to read them. I took the liberty of keeping the original note found at the crime scene, which I photocopied for your convenience. The ink was fresh when I got it. Less than twenty four hours. Ballpoint, which you would have no doubt noticed if you bothered to look at the file. A right-handed suspect, just like our little corpse friend. It was written by someone sitting down. It does match Brennett's to an alarming degree. The writing is sloppy. Some accents and descenders are heavier than they were five years ago.
"Maybe someone traced it?" Logan offered.
I'd say even if it was traced it is still a remarkable copy. Quite impressive for a human to reproduce.
"Well, that was creepy." Remus snorted.
My most likely theory is that he has lost some degree of mobility in his right hand. Which as we both know is true - his muscles have been rotting six feet under for six months now. This does however lead me to the conclusion that it is very unlikely it was him. But I'm sure that does not stop you from viewing him as your primary suspect. Either way. I planned to join you this afternoon but I'm afraid i will be delayed. It's possible he stayed in my area and I'd rather get to any new evidence before anyone else. I'm sure I'll be much more helpful in the field.
Virgil let out something between a snort and a sneer and Logan gave him a puzzled look, which the taller man ignored once more.
I'll fax you my location in case it's needed. Though we both know you're not likely to use that information unless someone else was in the room with you to point out I can be helpful in investigations.
The call ended and the three of them stared at the phone in silence until Virgil left out a loud scoff.
"Fucking show-off."
Remus snorted.
"That's why we love him."
"Speak for yourself."
"Who was that?"
"That was Janus." Virgil grimaced.
"Janus?"
"Our Boss. Snakes." Remus clarified. "The one who's super shitty at keeping Virgil and me from running head first into danger and conspiracies. Which is probably why they send you down here."
"Does he always debrief you… like this?"
"Usually he doesn't debrief us at all." Remus snorted, earning himself a dirty look from Virgil. "What, it's true. He's never been down here." He turned to Logan and dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I bet it's because he doesn't even know where our office is and at this point he's too embarrassed to ask."
"You don't need to say that in front of him." Virgil half hissed-half whispered, making no attempt of hiding his hostility.
"What's got your panties in a twist suddenly?" Remus rolls his eyes. "You've never complained about the basement being snake-free before."
Virgil cast a glance at Logan as if he wanted to say that it wasn't but before he could Remus crouched down to look at the papers and smiled at Logan.
"Found any love notes for Virgil in there?"
"No." He said, handing Remus the files that the agent started going through immediately. His eyebrows went up when he found something.
"Interesting love poem." Remus mused as he handed the piece of paper to Virgil whose face had gone pale.
"What does it say?"
Virgil handed him the paper.
"'Fox can't guard the chicken coop'." Logan read out aloud.
"Wonder what the fuck is that supposed to mean."
"I don't know," Virgil mused. "And that worries me."
Logan had tried to extract the facts from Remus as soon as they left the office but the Agent was surprisingly unforthcoming. Whatever understanding was there between them - it was clear now that the loyalty to Virgil came first.
In the two months he worked in the x-files (or against the x-files as Fox liked to proclaim) he began to see Remus as a partner he could trust. Perhaps even a friend. It was disconcerting to be reminded of the contrary. Both for personal, and worse, professional reasons.
He had decided to use this reminder to refocus on his actual objective and get his answers from Fox instead.
Logan was about to announce his presence as he cracked the door open when he heard that familiar voice again.
"Virgil I think that somebody is messing with your head."
"Barnett said he'd get me, you were there."
"Yes, but that was before he was inconveniently prevented from achieving that on the account of being dead, Fox."
"Apparently not."
A long sigh came from the receiver.
"You know what the bureau thinks of you, Virge."
"I don't see how that's relevant to the case, Jan."
"You were considered one of the better recruits before you all but threw yourself down those basement stairs. It is possible that resentment has transferred into threats."
"You think someone from the bureau is doing this?" Virgil asked, surprised. "You think the bureau wants me dead?"
"That's not what I said," Janus huffed. "Just that you shouldn't cast aside the possibility of this not being one of your supernatural cases. A murder attempt from a human might be just as fatal as one from a ghost."
"I didn't state he was a ghost, Janus."
"You are either stupid, or deliberately missing my point. It's probably both."
"Piss off."
"But fine. I'll humour you. Let's say it's supernatural. Wouldn't it be just as likely if it was some other monster pretending to be Barnett?"
"What monster could pull that off?" Virgil snorted. There was a long pause before the voice spoke up again.
There was another long pause before the man on the other end of the line responded.
"Shape-shifters?"
Virgil let out a long laugh.
"You make me sound almost believable by comparison."
"I don't see how my theory is less likely than yours." The voice huffed.
"Because I know it's him, Jan."
"You know? And how exactly do you 'know' it's him?"
"I just feel it." Virgil shrugged, causing his chair to rotate slightly and his eyes landed on Logan. His lips stretched into a thin line. "I'll call you later. I have a spy in our office."
"Wait. What sp-" Virgil turned off the connection before the man could finish his sentence.
"You know it's rude to listen in on private people's conversation." Virgil said. His eyes never leaving Logan's frame. "How much did you hear?"
"Not enough to answer any of my questions regarding this investigation." He said, crossing the room in six wide strides. He stopped at Virgil's desk, crossing his arms as he stared him down. There was a small sliver of satisfaction as he caught the man squirm in his seat just a bit. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Well I want answers."
"Don't we all, Agent Scully." Virgil snorted as he made a move to turn away from him. Logan grabbed both of the armrests of his office chair and spun him back.
"But I intend to get them." Logan almost growled at him before he took note of Virgil's expression. He lets go of the chair, taking a step back and clearing his throat awkwardly. "Agent Mulder was not particularly forthcoming with any information regarding the case and if I am to help solve-"
"Report." Virgil corrected and Logan rolls his eyes.
"If I am to help solve this mystery I need to have all of the facts."
"Well." Virgil said, standing up. "I suppose there isn't anything that the bureau doesn't know about John Barnett." He regarded Logan for a moment before he continued. "It was my first case at the bureau. Barnett was doing armed jobs all over D.C. and getting away with it, very trigger-happy. Killed several people. There was this big task force, Janus - Snakes was my ASAC. I was twenty-eight years old, right out of the academy. I had this theory on the case. Janus thought I was full of it. I was full of it."
"What was the theory? Your theory."
"That Barnett had an inside connection. An employee at the armored car company was tipping him off about large shipments of cash. Turns out I was sort of right."
"Sort of?"
"Yeah, we planted bogus waybills, manifests with the armored car company to try to set a trap but Barnett was way ahead of us. That's... when the notes started."
"Just like the one today?" Logan asked. Virgil nodded. "So you never caught him?"
"No, we did. We did, but not, uh," He pulled off nervously on his jacket before continuing. "Not clean." He turned his face to meet Logan's eyes. "An agent died because I screwed up."
Logan stared at him for a moment. Not sure what to say. Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn't this. It was hard to remember that Virgil existed in the bureau before joining, or rather creating, the x-files. That crime seemed too… ordinary for him.
"He avoided death penalty on a technicality. But he went down for every job he did. Consecutive terms, three-hundred-and-forty years. The judge promised me he would die in prison." He turned to Logan. "It feels like that again. Like they were given a second life."
"So you think he escaped."
Virgil shook his head.
"No, that's just it. He did die in prison, a year ago."
"You're sure?" He was certain Virgil had a theory of how the man had forged his death. He liked the implication that the agent most likely thought him reincarnated or otherwise returned to the living even less.
"I was paying attention. So was Janus."
Logan looks at him for a long moment.
"You don't actually believe it's him, do you? Barnett I mean."
"What other explanation could there be?"
"I believe the most obvious one would be that of a copycat." Janus seemed to think as much. Despite his insistence how accurate the forgery was.
"No, no." Virgil shakes his head. "I don't like to admit it, but if Janus says it's Barnett's writing, I believe him."
"He certainly didn't say he thinks him to be alive." Logan argued back. Virgil handed him a document. "What's that?"
"Our boss was kind enough to send me a copy of his death certificate. 'Name of deceased, Barnett, John Irvin. Cause of death, cardiac arrest. Date, September sixteenth, 1992.'"
Logan lowered the paper.
"This only proves my point. It must be a clever copycat."
"The note was written in the last forty-eight hours."
Logan was about ready to throw his hands up in the air and scream. He wasn't one for hyperbole but talking to Virgil felt like arguing with a brick wall. Only worse. Brick walls didn't give him any nonsensical arguments.
"Any prints?" He asked instead, doing a poor job of hiding his annoyance.
"No prints."
"Then you really have no tangible proof that he is alive."
"Nor that it's a copy cat."
Logan took a deep breath.
"Do you plan to excavate the body again?"
"Not quite."
Logan raised his brow.
"What is your plan then?"
"To find him." Virgil said matter-of-factly. Logan laughed. The sound stopping in his throat when he realized it wasn't a joke. "Fortunately for me, you agreed to help."
"I agreed to help find the culprit."
"Which you can't prove isn't Barnett."
"He's alive until proven otherwise."
"I am holding his death certificate, Agent Fox."
"It proves that he was considered dead."
"You really think there is some grand conspiracy behind this document?"
Virgil smiled at him, leaning in closer so that Logan had to arch his neck to meet his eyes.
"If you worked with the paranormal as long as I have you tend to notice things people aren't keen on sharing."
Logan crossed his arms.
"Are you implying something, Agent Fox?"
"Only that your recent reports weren't all that conclusive in terms of how legitimate our findings were."
Perhaps he shouldn't be surprised Virgil had read them. The man didn't seem to trust his judgment nor his motives and Logan couldn't argue that the sentiment wasn't mutual.
"I only wrote down the verifiable facts."
"Despite what you have seen?"
"Because of what I have seen." Logan responded, feeling himself growing irritated. "Despite your opinion of me, Agent Fox, I am committed to finding the truth and reporting the necessary parts. Which are your, and Agent Mulder's performance. And if you have read my reports with the intention of understanding its content instead of searching for the inclusion of your theories you would perhaps have noticed that I have described you both as capable investigators. Despite your childish efforts to refute my observations." Virgil stared at him wide eyed for a moment before his lips eased into almost a smile. Logan wasn't sure if it was genuine or a mockery. He suspected the latter. "Any other critique regarding my work?"
Virgil stared down at him for a moment before stepping away.
"No."
Logan huffed, slamming the door on his way out of the room. It wasn't until he was halfway down the corridor that he had realized he was still holding the death certificate. He briefly considered returning it, though he quickly dismissed that idea. Virgil certainly wasn't taking its validity seriously, and Logan wasn't in the mood to face the man just yet.
He glanced down at the paper. Could it be illegitimate?
He certainly didn't think so. It was very unlikely a medical professional would risk their career to help a criminal. Especially when there was most likely no monetary gain.
Except… what if there was some gain to be had from keeping a dead man alive? He shuddered, just thinking about it.
He was allowing himself to be caught up in the prevalence of conspiracy theories. Just looking for another explanation where there wasn't one.
Was there?
Logan had assumed the thought would at best be a dead end and at worse a progressing paranoia after having spent far too much time around Agent Fox for either of their liking. Still, he found it unprofessional not to follow up on a theory if it seemed at least a bit plausible and to his surprise this one couldn't be outright dismissed.
He wasn't sure if it was more out of a need to apologize or a sudden bout of pettiness towards Remus that he decided to tell Agent Fox of his findings first but as he didn't like either option he suppressed that train of thought as he gathered his notes to find the man.
It took a bit over half an hour to finally locate the elusive man in one of the computer labs, where he sat hunched over one of the monitors. The man stared at a mugshot with such focus Logan wondered if he was beckoning it to talk.
He wouldn't be surprised.
"I think I made some discoveries you'll find interesting, Agent Fox." Logan stated. Virgil looked at him in surprise.
"About what?"
"The only logical reason I could think for him to still be alive is if his death was faked. I don't know why going through that process would be beneficial to anyone but Barnett but I called anyway." He said, throwing the files to Virgil. "John Barnett died of a heart attack, right? At least that's what it says on his death certificate. Well, I had them fax me all of his medical records. Barnett was admitted to the prison infirmary for an infection in his right hand. There isn't any indication or diagnosis of coronary complications. In fact, on his physical six months earlier, he was given a clean bill of health."
Virgil smiled at him brightly.
"I knew you had it in you to find the truth, Scully."
Logan huffed, but he was sure he couldn't hide the small smile betraying him.
"That's not all. I managed to find some information on the Doctor, or rather former Doctor who signed Barnett's death certificate. Listen to this. According to the A.M.A., Mr. Ridley, who signed Barnett's death certificate, hasn't officially been a doctor since 1979."
"What do you mean?" Virgil asked.
"His membership expired and wasn't renowned after the state of Maryland revoked his medical license for flagrant research malpractice and misuse of a government grant."
He handed Virgil the paper and watched as he took them and flipped through the files, his brow furrowing further with every page.
"Where does it say that?"
"Right here." Logan pointed out, skipping to a few pages before. "In the federal journal for the National Institute of Health."
"What kind of research?
"Have you ever heard of progeria, Agent Fox?"
It was much easier to find Remus than it was to locate Virgil. Despite only being barely over half of the latter's height the man had an uncanny ability of being hard to overlook.
As soon as they collected him Logan began explaining his findings as he prepared the room to show the recording.
"It did happen a little while before I started at the academy." Logan explained as he inserted the recording into the cassette player. "But I have heard someone from the faculty mentioning him."
"Wow, you really keen on cataloguing everyone, huh?" Remus jested. "No wonder they assigned you to us."
The comment stung a bit and Logan felt the need to explain himself.
"I think it was the way they spoke about him that stayed with me. One of my professors - Doctor Nih used to be his lab partner in his youth."
"Probably not a promising choice for his career." Remus snorted.
"No wonder he holds a grudge against him." Added Virgil.
Logan shakes his head.
"That wasn't all. I think he was… almost afraid of him." He turned to them as the file loaded. "I mean. Who experiments on children for scientific benefit?"
The two other agents exchanged a look.
"Please don't say aliens."
Virgil crossed his arms and Remus let out a chuckle.
"So what kind of medical malpractice are we talking about?" Remus asked, and Logan hit play.
"She looks about ninety." Virgil said as he watched the little girl stumble forward. "I thought you said they were children."
"She's nine, Fox." The Agent stared at him as if not believing Logan and he felt a prickle of annoyance in his stomach so Logan turned back towards the screen. "Her stage is advanced. Only about a hundred cases have ever been reported so the disease is rare."
"But fatal?"
Logan nodded grimly.
"According to Doctor Nih he had started human trials on an out-patient basis."
"Some progeria patients make it to early adulthood but others become terminal at age seven or eight." The fact that the girl in the film even made it to nine years old was a miracle didn't need to be said.
"What's the cause of death?" Remus questioned, unusually subdued.
"Clinically, it's cardiac or cerebral vascular disease, in more colloquial words: these children die of old age."
Remus drew his lips into a thin line and crossed his arms. Clearly unhappy with the response. Logan couldn't say he didn't share the sentiment.
Still, there was little any of them could do and he pressed on to make any potential motives of Riley clear. He grabbed the remote and winded forward until the movie flipped , showcasing the ex-doctor. Logan paused the movie and turned back to his colleagues.
"Is that him? Ridley?" Virgil asked, narrowing his eyes at the blurry still of the man.
"Yes, in 1974. Joe Ridley thought that he could take their accelerated aging and slow it down. Initially, some of his lab work was promising but then... things got out of control."
"How so?" Remus asked.
"Most of his work up until this point was theoretical, with just enough lab work to make these theories sound. If he had gone through the proper channels he would have been approved for animal trials but Riley made it clear that this wasn't enough. If rumors were true he had a fight with the dean while backed by one of the sponsors for the research."
"So he was pulled from the research altogether for wanting to start human trials?" Virgil asked and Logan casts him a long annoyed look. The man squirmed slightly under his gaze. "I didn't mean to say I agree but medicine isn't always…."
"Ethical?" Logan asked, annoyed. Virgil had the decency not to answer so Logan gave him one instead. "It should be. And him testing on humans, especially sick children, would cross far too many lines. He hadn't met the criteria. It was all too hypothetical, too... dangerous. According to Doctor Nih he didn't care about those kids. He talked about them as if they were laboratory animals." Logan said, shuddering at the thought. "This terrible disease, progeria... he saw it as 'a wonderful opportunity'." He nearly spat the words out. "An opportunity to 'unlock all the secrets'. When they refused to allow the human trials, he became enraged."
"And that's when he opened his secret torture laboratory?" Remus added.
"Yes. The outright denial and ultimatum of termination from the Dean were not enough to stop him. Doctor Nih said it wasn't the first time the man had showed his disregard for the patients but he was an excellent scientist. The University had felt comfortable keeping him on a strictly laboratory position. That is until they learned he had learned of his private one. They terminated his grant and filed charges with the state medical boards. It's rumored he went to South America to continue his work. Most likely under a different name. The university was far more concerned in covering up this blunder than actually making sure the man would face consequences for his action." Logan would be lying if he said he hadn't felt extremely disappointing in his Alma Mater for the sum of decisions regarding Riley.
"So why would he use his old one again?"
Logan blinked, the question pulling him back to reality. He turned to face Virgil before speaking.
"I assumed your theory would be that he had found the solution." He was genuinely surprised it was not the conclusion Virgil had come to immediately.
"And you believe that?" Virgil asks, flabbergasted.
"No, I'm not fond of speculations. But I do believe he had a reason to come back. And that reason has something to do with John Barnett."
"It makes sense." Remus mused. "No one would bat an eye if he experimented on prisoners."
Logan looks at him, appalled.
"Are neither of you taking this seriously?"
"We are, Agent Scully." Virgil said, raising his hands in a surrender motion. "We are and I think you just handed us the most important piece of information."
"You mean your science fiction theories?" Logan bit back. He didn't want to admit but Virgil and Remus might have a point. A prison would give Riley the test subjects he wanted. Never-mind what Logan thought of such a practice. Criminals or not. No one should be tortured for scientific advancement.
Virgil shook his head.
"No, visual clues. We are not looking at a man in his late forties. He could be in his thirties. Or twenties for all we know."
"Fox, that's insane." Logan stammered out, flabbergasted. Thinking Riley had needed test subject, or even considering him having developed some way to slow the progeria process somewhat was one thing.But reversing aging? That was one leap in science Logan wouldn't believe without concrete proof.
"Only if it isn't true." Virgil exclaimed, already gathering his belongings in unfounded excitement. Logan glanced at Remus in exasperation but the man just shot him an amused look. "Great work, Scully. If you'll need me I'll be up in the computer lab." He added, whisking out of the office before either of them, or rather Logan in particular, can stop him. Logan turned to Remus again in disbelief making the Agent laughed.
"I mean, Sculls, what were you expecting?"
"Not that. It's science fiction, Mulder."
"So was gene splitting twenty years ago." Remus points out, clearly happy with his comparison. Logan crossed his arms.
"Gene splitting is well-documented. We can easily retrace each breakthrough and each scientist that had their input in it." Logan let out a sigh. "You can't expect a man to go into hiding for ten years, work with the bare minimum of equipment he can source and manage to cure an illness. It's lunacy."
"Not if the man is a genius." Argued Remus.
"I wouldn't call him one."
"No, you wouldn't." He grinned. "You'd call him a sadist. But a man can be both and it's dangerous to dismiss either attribute."
Logan stared at him for a moment. Remus wasn't wrong. It was a scary prospect, to have such a power without morality. How much of a monster could a man become if he thought himself above human nature and laws. He nodded slowly.
"I suppose you're right. A man can be both."
Remus' grin widened, as if the revelation was anything to bask in.
Remus' words echoed in Logan's mind as he tried to start on his report. The hour was already well past his preferred bedtime but his ugly habit of extending his responsibilities into the early hours of the morning when determination struck had hit him again.
Although it only felt to be partially that. As absurd as it was he couldn't help to think of Remus' comment as a foreboding one.
Logan shook his head and continued his account.
Ridley's notes from the human trials at N.I.H. indicate he didn't see aging as inevitable but as an opportunistic disease. A disease that could be prevented, reversed even, by changing the chemical cues that trigger certain genes. However, there is no evidence whatsoever that Ridley's work yielded any results or that his theories, all hope to the contrary, hold any validity.
He felt something cold wash over his back and silently cursed under his breath. Remus' comment must have rattled him more than he though.
According to the leading scientific journals, projections on this kind of genetic engineering are at best speculative and futuristic.
A door suddenly creaked making Logan jump put of his chair. Without thinking he reached for the gun with labored breath, pointing it at the sound before the shadows could make another sound.
The air felt impossibly still.
Logan swallowed and in the silent of the apartment it felt loud as a canon. The agent gave himself a minute to gather his wits before he slowly started down the hallway - avoiding all the creaky floorboards as he listened for any sounds beside his thundering heart.
Just as he passed the door someone rang the doorbell making Logan nearly drop his weapon. He scrambled to catch it mid-air.
He took a long silent breath before daring to speak but his voice still felt shakier than he would have liked.
"Who is it?"
"FBI's most unwanted." Remus grumbled from the other side of the door. Logan released a sigh, feeling his shoulders relax as he opened the front door. "Not that unwanted." Remus laughed when he saw Logan's gun. Logan let out another sigh.
"What do you want, Re-Mulder?"
"Some pickle-brine mixed with coke would be nice." Remus hummed as he stepped past Logan into the house.
"I meant why did you come here? I'm sure it wasn't for a drink of questionable taste."
"Well-" Remus popped onto the couch, propping his feet on the armrests with his shoes still on. Logan glared at him but the man ignored his silent warning. "-turns out our little corpse is alive and killing."
"What do you mean?"
"John Barnett tried to take out good ol' Snakes in his apartment by choking him to death earlier this day. Fortunately, the slimy bastard is like a cockroach and survived. Apparently John called good old Virgie about having left a little love note in Jan's apartment and Virgil flew up there to read and didn't think to bring me with him."
"So I'm acting as consolidation company for having been forgotten?" The question came out more accusatory than Logan had intended, which Remus apparently found very amusing.
"You're not jealous, are you? That I wanted to visit a friend who just had a smooch with the old Lady Death? Tongue down his throat, and all?" Logan grimaced.
"Not particularly." He lied. "I fail to see why you didn't just call?"
"Apparently good old Johnny is on the hunt for Virgie's friends."
"And you don't want to be alone?"It would be the most logical and straightforward explanation. Which is why he doubted that it was Remus' reasoning.
Remus stared at him as if he was tremendously stupid. Which Logan did not appreciate in the slightest. He crossed his arms which in turn made Remus snort and shake his head
"I don't want you to be alone."
Logan scoffed. If this was meant to be a joke it was extremely poorly timed.
"I'm not Agent Fox's friend. Nor am I helpless, Remus."
"Firstly, that's bullshit. Virgie likes you." Logan opened his mouth to protests but Remus shushed him. "Secondly, I didn't say you're helpless, but this maniac nearly took down Janus. And that old snake has a thick neck because this can't be the first time he survived someone trying to choke the shit out of him. Not with that personality. I'm half certain even Virgil tried."
"Am I to assume you too are choked on a regular basis to make such an easement?"
Remus let out a long wheeze as he brushed past Logan into his house.
"I wish. Nah, It's just that you're the easier choice." Remus pointed out. "You have a house with neighbors not near enough to hear a struggle, meanwhile my walls are thin enough that I'm sure good ol' Lady Wallace can hear me beating one out. Because I certainly hear when-"
Logan raised his hand, stopping him.
"I do not need details of your sex-life for the reports either."
"What sex life?" Remus let out a snort as he sauntered down the corridor and into living room. He looked around the space for a moment before his eyes landed on the couch and the agent unceremoniously plopped himself on the white furniture. Jacket, shoes and all. Logan stared at him, debating if he should kick the man out or test whether his neck is as strong as their supposed boss'. Before he could make up his mind the doorbell rang again. "You're expecting guests? And here I was hoping that gun was meant for me."
Logan motioned for Remus to be quiet. Fortunately, he decided to listen and made a zipper motion over his lips. Logan nodded, mentioning with his head towards the door as he raised his gun. Remus nodded and stood up silently, maneuvering towards the door with long silent strides. Logan followed suit, keeping his gun focused on the door as soon as it came into view. He gave himself a moment to calm his breath before speaking up.
"Who is it?" He inquired for the second time that night, feeling an unpleasant sense of déjà vu wash over him.
"Doctor Joe Ridley." The voice on the other side claims. Remus and Logan exchanged a glance before Remus silently stepped around him and put his hand on the doorknob as Logan readied his gun. He give the agent a short nod and Remus swinged the door open.
Logan watched with too much pleasure as the intruder's eyes widen in surprise.
"If you're really Joseph Ridley, where've you been for the past five years?" Remus asked. His posture seemed relaxed but Logan could see the tension in his hands. He was thankful the other Agent had taken on the questioning. As unprofessional as it would be on his part he wasn't sure if he could quite dismiss the 'scientific' approach of the other man long enough to focus on the case. Regardless of the results, Logan was a firm believer that testing anything on unwilling subjects was barbaric at best.
Still. His contempt of the former doctor has indirectly led to the injury of his superior and Logan wasn't willing to risk the abuse or death of his other coworkers. So he kept his opinions to a minimum and tried to listen as the man responded.
"I originally continued my research in Mexico but for the last three years, I spent my time in Central America. In Belize, to be exact."
"What about Barnett?"
"John Barnett is the only patient left. The only one who survived the experiments."
"What about you?"
The man lets out a hollow laugh.
"My appearance is deceiving. I have no more than a month to live as I am dying from a rare cerebral vascular disease."
"The same disease that kills those kids, right? Progeria?"
"That's right." He gives another short laugh. "An unfortunate side effect of the treatment. By using the genetic components of progeria, I was able to reverse the aging process in much the same way the disease expedited it. At the same time, I and my patients became genetically susceptible to the same ailments a child of six or eight would if he had the disease."
"And what about Barnett?"
"John Barnett. If I didn't so personally detest the man, I might call him my one triumph."
"Barnett's not dying?"
"Only his eyes, which for some reason do not respond to the gene therapy. Otherwise, John Barnett appears to be thriving."
"But how?" Logan interjected. He wasn't certain if it was curiosity or surprise that has broken his silence. If it was true - If Ridley had really discovered the cure for aging the medical industry could be transported decades ahead overnight. And while it wouldn't erase his obvious crimes it would be foolish to dismiss his findings now that they had a conclusion.
"I varied Barnett's treatment. Once I isolated the progeria receptors, I stumbled onto something quite unexpected... these same genes related to the production of myelin."
"The material that insulates neurons in the body." Logan told Remus, who started to look a bit lost at the explanation.
"Yes. You see, myelin is not present in the very young and by reversing the effects of aging, I found, with Barnett, I was able to regulate the production of myelin. Myelin being the material that prohibits you or I from, say, regenerating a new hand if we were to have ours cut off."
"Wait." Remus asked, smiling. "You were able to grow John Barnett a new hand?"
Ridley laughed. The sound fuller now. It made something twist unpleasantly in Logan's stomach.
"Not exactly. Not a human hand, anyway. I could never get the cells to divide or behave properly."
"I'm afraid to ask what that could mean." Logan grimaced.
"I'm not." Remus grinned. "Did you give him some mutant arm?"
"There had been some successful work done in London. By taking samples of what we call cell morphogins from an amputated salamander arm and applying them to the back of the creature, they were able to grow a new limb on a completely different part of the body. But only on salamanders."
"Until John Barnett?"
Ridley nodded and Logan slumped in his chair. Mumbling 'unbelievable' under his breath. The words seemed to be taken more as awe than disgust as the former Doctor continues.
"My work has cost me dearly. I'm an outcast in the medical community. I was called Doctor Mengele, Doctor Frankenstein but I didn't care."
"Because you knew that if your theories panned out..." Logan grimaced. "It would be worth the breach of morality."
Ridley smiled at him, those hollow eyes not quite meeting Logan's.
"The man who owns the fountain of youth controls the world. When the A.M.A. censured me, certain sponsors came out of the woodwork. One of them is the U.S. government."
"They financed your research?"
"You might be more surprised to learn just how high up the ladder this dirty little secret goes." The former doctor's eyes seemed to meet his and Logan felt a freezing cold run through his bones.
Remus, to Logan's dismay, insisted that both he and the former Doctor should 'stick around' in case Barnett would take their little impromptu meetup as a reason to take any of them out. He hated to admit it but his fellow agent was right, so he finally relented, even though sleeping with the mad-man of a wanna-be scientist seemed no less of a death wish.
At lest Ridley appeared to be more harmless than the mutant he created.
Still, it didn't exactly help Logan fall asleep and when the early rays hit his windowsills he felt himself slump into a particularly bad mood. He waited about forty minutes before dragging himself out of bed and into the living room.
Remus was sprawled on the floor in a position that couldn't have been comfortable while Ridley was wrapped in all of Logan's blankets on the couch, shivering slightly. It seemed the self inflicted ailment progressed faster than the former doctor hoped. Not that that was punishment enough for such a heinous crime.
Logan scowled and started towards the couch to wake the man wanting him gone out of his house as soon as possible. As he stepped over Remus to do so, something grabbed his leg. Logan screamed, kicking forward with the other, and loosing balance as his foot connected with something soft. He could barely register the groan that sounded very Remus before his arse hit the carpet.
He tried to scoot backwards and regain his footing but his leg was still trapped. He glanced towards it, only to see Remus looking at him bewildered while holding both Logan's calf and his own stomach.
"If you want to wake me up next time may i suggest a good morning kiss instead of a kick to the stomach, if you want to get physical?" The agent said, a bit out of breath. Logan narrowed his eyes. "But an alarm clock will do as well."
"I'll keep that in mind." He said, pulling on his leg to free it from Remus's grasp and glancing up at Ridley who was now looking at Logan with the same contempt Logan felt for the man. He narrowed his eyes. "You're awake. Good. We're driving you to the bureau."
"Don't dilly-dally." Remus snorted. "We don't want you to get kicked too." He added motioning for the ex-doctor to get up, which he reluctantly did and headed for the bathroom.
Logan huffed, sitting down on the now freed-up sofa.
Remus glanced at him, looking very amused for some reason.
"What?"
"It's not my place to critique bold choices but I think showing up to work in your pj's might do more damage than associating yourself with me." He grinned as he glanced at Logan. "So if you want us to leave fast you might wanna go change. Or at least put on a tie."
"I'll join you later." Logan said, to which Remus abruptly stopped.
"What do you mean?"
"I'll call a cab for you."
"It's fine. I have a car."
"You drove here?" Logan asked, flabbergasted.
"It's fine. I know how to drive."
"Not according to the DC DMV."
"I said I can drive, not that I drive well."
Logan groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on.
"Hey, if they do pull me over I still have Roman's licence."
"That is so much worse. He's a missing person. What-"
"Logan. It's fine. I have a learner's permit. And I will have an adult with me in the car. I'll be responsible."
"You didn't have an adult with you yesterday."
"I had Virgil on the line."
Logan pulled his lips into a thin line.
"That's worse."
"Logan. It's fine. I'm not that bad of a driver. The only reason I lost it was because we've poked a some monster nest in north Nebraska a little too hard with our sticks and they took offense. Unfortunately 'I swear it was a mind-controlling creature that stole my wallet and made the cops think it was me' doesn't go over well in court."
Logan stared at him in disbelief.
"I can't tell if you're serious or not."
"It's part of my charm." Remus grinned, blowing him a kiss.
"You know I don't like it, you staying behind." Remus whispered, keeping one eye on Ridley who was in the car. "It's not safe, what if something happens to you?"
"Remus, I'll be fine. I've received the same training you did."
"So did Roman." Remus mumbled under his breath, barely loud for him to hear.
Logan took a deep breath, feeling a little worse. He hadn't meant to upset Remus but this was an entirely different situation. Barret was just one man and Logan could handle himself.
"Fine, I won't stay long. Fifteen minutes and I'll head to the office too."
"That's fifteen too many. We could-"
"Remus." Logan interrupted firmly. "I need you to have faith in me." It was enough that Virgil treated him like an obstacle and Remus' worry, as well intended as it was, was doing nothing to ease his nerves. That coupled with having to interact with the former doctor had really pushed Logan to his limits. He needed at least half an hour to collect himself and feel at least a bit more human. Even if it uneased Remus.
"Alright. Fuck it, fine." The man raised his hands in surrender as he turned to walk towards the car. He made three steps before he turned back around. "But if you get killed I'm writing a complaint to management." He added, as he continued walking backwards.
That made Logan crack a smile.
"I appreciate it."
"Oh you won't. I'm planning on using truly foul language. Spell your name with at least one profanity inside it." He announced, as he plopped into the car.
Logan watched them drive off, feeling his shoulders relax as Remus' car disappeared around the corner.
He was running on adrenaline when he made it to the bureau. He quickly paged Remus that he was in the office before retrieving his answering machine from the back of his car with trembling hands. As he rushed to the forensics lab.
He was still shaking as he handed it over. To think he had been this close to death out of his own volition. It was stupid and he should have listened to Remus, but at the same time he couldn't get rid of the exhilarating feeling that the possibility of fingerprints provided.
As soon as he ensured that the lab tech had taken all of the fingerprints for analysis Logan grabbed the answering machine and practically ran to the basement, excited to share the news with Remus.
When he opened the door to their shared office he saw him sitting at Virgil's desk, his feet propped on it. Logan's mug was sitting next to Remus shoes and the Agent realised he had accidentally made his friend wait for him in the office for about half an hour.
"Sorry." He mumbled sheepishly. "I shouldn't have kicked you out of my house before I took a shower."
Remus choked on his coffee.
"Come again?" He spluttered.
"Your presence could have sped things up." Logan added. Remus expression grew even more bewildered. Logan raised the answering machine. "But the voice recording you left really pushed things forward." As he spoke the words out Remus mouth literally feel open. Logan gave him a worried glance but the man recovered quickly and shot him the biggest grin he had yet seen on the agent.
"That's a bit forward, isn't it?" Why Remus was so amused Logan couldn't tell. "But I can be there next time."
"That most likely won't help us with the case. I doubt Barnett would make the same callous mistake twice." Logan responded. Remus' grin turned into a confused expression once more and Logan rushed to explain. "It's my private answering machine. Or at least it used to be. When I ran the shower this morning I heard someone fiddling with this. Last night I was certain I heard someone in the apartment until you rang the door. It seems like I was right. This morning, I took this down to prints before I came here. John Barnett's left index oblique is on the underside of this unit."
"Oh." Mulder mumbled, disappointing. No wonder. They could have had this criminal in custody by now if Logan hadn't dismissed both of their concerns this morning. But there was little he could do beside contacting Agent Fox and relating to him all that they learned since he'd been gone.
"I suppose I owe you an apology, Mulder."
"No. That's not… never mind."
"No. I truly do." Logan insisted. "You were right about me being unsafe. I should have listened to you. We were lucky Riley agreed to share his findings with the government when he did. As much as I still don't approve of his method I can't say I'm not happy to learn of ways to reverse Barnett's supernatural strength."
"Riley didn't agree to share anything. He still thinks that knowledge will grant him immunity."
Logan's expression soured.
"I can't believe him. What would he have to gain by lying to us?"
"A lot." Remus grimaced.
Logan cast him a curious glance.
"You figured it out?"
"He told me."
"He told you." Logan said slowly. "And you believe whatever he told you wasn't a lie?"
"Lo-Scully. He is a vicious man who only cares about his resear-" Remus snorted when he caught Logan's face contorting at associating the word with that men. "about his ego. And what little left there is of his life. With how he spoke about Barnett did you think these two were friend?"
"No. But Fox still seems to be his primary target."
"Yes. And Riley was a good hook for you."
"Me?" Logan asked surprised. "I don't see why Barnett would need to send in Riley to kill me."
"I think you might have caught his attention too." Remus stated, making Logan rise his eyebrow. "I don't know how but it appears Barnett might have had some access to your medical university. He knows you went snooping, Scully. And he knows you found out more than he hoped for Virgil to find out. You're a damn good detective and that threw a wrench in his plans."
"I- I still don't see how Riley ties into this."
"I don't think he meant to kill you in your home, Logan. I think he wanted to drag you out. This wasn't a kill that was supposed to hurt Virgil. Well. Just Virgil. It was supposed to hurt you."
Logan felt cold sweat on the back of his neck.
"You left that message to distract him. You've saved my life, Remus." Remus always acted so aloof it was easy to forget how clever this man could have been. If it weren't for him Logan could long be dead. Or worse, tortured by Barnett and praying that he was. He swallowed the unpleasant feeling."I'm sorry, I shouldn't have dismissed your worries. From now on I will make sure to take all of your suggestions seriously."
Remus face split into a concerning grin after his words.
"Careful. You might just regret your decision."
Logan has just enough time to give him a smile in return when the phone rings. They share a look before Remus picks up the receiver.
"Yellow?" Remus says, as he pressed the loudspeaker.
"That was quite clever of you, Agent Mulder." The voice on the other end sounded cold. "You really cost me a perfect kill." They share a look as they both realize who is calling.
"Ridley." Remus hisses and the criminal laughs in response. Logan takes it as his queue to tap the phone.
"Aren't you clever. I really should have expected more out of Virgil's friends. But then again, the first one went down soooo easily. Oh never mind. Soon you will too."
"Yeah. I'd like to see you try." Remus hisses. Logan glared at Remus from the other side of the room conveying that he very much would prefer if Ridley would not try but Remus only waves him off.
"Oh you don't have to worry about it." The tone sends chills down Logan's spine. "The two of you are far too much of a nuisance to keep around. And when I'm done with you-" Logan can practically feel the smile on the man's face. "-I think playing fox and mouse with your friends will be far more fun."
"Careful." Remus warned. "He bites."
"So do I." Warns Barnett before hanging up. The silence hangs heavy in the air before Remus speaks up again.
"He has a plan." Remus states, turning to Logan. "What does Barnett know about your phone messages?"
"Uh, that my mother called for no reason and I'm meeting a friend before her cello recital."
"Where's that?"
"Before the performance and during, we're working at a disadvantage because we don't know exactly what Barnett looks like. Study each of these faces. Know them, particularly the eyes." Logan explained to the other agents.
"I'm sure the lizard hand will be a dead give-away." Remus chuckled. Logan turned to Remus to give him an unimpressed look. "But don't let that freak-feature distract you. I want all of your eyes on Scully, he will be the most likely target." Logan raised an eyebrow at the comment but continued his speech.
"I've included the maps of the building. Please note all of the entrances and staff passages - these are the most likely to be used by Barnett given his unusual appearance." Logan explained. "There are a combined ten entrances, six front ones and another four backstage. We have two hours before the start of the performance which should give you enough time to assess the surrounding. Do you have any more questions?"
There was a collective murmur of 'no's and Logan nodded in approval,
"Good. Get going with the sweeping." Remus grinned and the agents followed. Only when they were all out of earshot did Remus turn to him, his expression serious. "Relax." He said, bumping Logan with his shoulder lightly. "I've got you covered."
"What makes you think he won't go after you?" Logan asked. "He made it quite clear you're also his target."
"Easy, you're prettier and will make a better damsel in distress," Remus grinned. "Criminals love that shit."
Logan huffed.
"And I'm sure that means Agent Snakes was targeted for his looks as well?"
Remus let out a long wheeze.
"Don't let him hear you say that. It'll go right to his head and his ego is big enough as it is."
Logan was certain this could be said for his coworkers as well.
"I'll be sure not to repeat it around him."
Remus gave him another smile.
"You've got this, kid. Have you ever played the target before?"
"Hadn't had the pleasure." Logan said grimly. He didn't really like the idea but Remus was right, they knew Barnett would be after him. He had broken into Logan's apartment and hadn't mange to finish the job. From the way the two agents described his character he would be most likely to try and kill Logan first, before moving onto the next target. The only thing Logan could do was face the man on his own terms.
Remus must have sensed his distress as he put a hand on Logan's shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.
"We'll make sure you'll get to tell me your thoughts afterwards."
As the second hour dragged on the waiting area was filling up more and more with guests making Logan feel more and more on edge as he tried to scan all of the faces. His nervousness spiked to a new height when Virgil showed up, his face red and angry, ready to berate Remus and him for the whole operation.
"What were you even thinking?" Virgil hissed. "He threatened to kill you both today and you decided to give yourself up on a silver platter."
Remus rolled his eyes.
"I'm trying to plan for once and this is what I get."
"You're planning a suicide mission." Virgil hissed before turning to Logan. "And you're no better."
Logan felt his own face grew warmer. Virgil might have a point, did they really rush it in hopes of catching Barnett? Was he fueled by having survived one encounter and didn't truly think it through?
"Well what do you want us to do?" Remus huffed. "Go home?"
"Yes!"
"Oh. Okay. And then what? Wait months for him to show up? Time isn't something Barnett lacks now that he's immortal and I refuse to be a prisoner in my own home for who knows how long.
"Fortunately his patience is as bad as yours." Virgil hissed in return.
"It's good enough to wait for him here."
"Fine. Fine. Okay. If you want to be stupid at least do it somewhere smarter." Virgil groaned. "The stage room is still empty, I want you to go in early so I can keep a better eye on you."
Remus opened his mouth to argue but Logan cut him off.
"I think he's right Re-Mulder. It is empty for now and it will be far easier to spot him as the people come in one by one."
Remus drew his lips into a thin line, clearly annoyed but with both Virgil and Logan on the opposing side he could do little but relent.
"Fine. Fuck. Whatever, have it your way. I still think this is stupid."
"You can thank my stupidity when you're breathing tomorrow." Said Virgil and he grabbed Remus by the arm to push him towards the stage room. "Now please just go before I explode from stress."
Remus snorted but didn't object as he opened the grand door and walked inside, followed by Logan and Virgil who was nervously glancing around the room. It was empty save for the stage hand and another agents who gave them a thumbs up as she passed the man tuning the piano.
"All clear." She said, easing Logan's nerves somewhat. He passed Remus, then her as he slowly walked towards the stage, glancing up at the balconies in search of anyone else. He was by the second row when Remus joined him, glancing around as well. Logan paused, turning around to suggest they should start pulling other agents in to guard the doors when he felt something brush against his side chest and a pain explode throughout his torso. It wasn't until his body hit the floor that he realised he had been shot.
He stared wide eyed at the man they all ignored - the stagehand with clouded eyes who had Remus in a choke hold and the gun that just shot Logan pressed into his friends temple. Barnett's maniac laughter filled the air as he heard footsteps behind him.
"I'll kill him! Don't even think about it!" The criminal grinned. "I wanted to go at it all nice and slow, really make you feel. But I don't mind twisting the knife deeper now."
"That's kinky." Remus choked out, making Barnett press the barbell of the gun harder against his head.
"Just let him go." Virgil hissed.
"Go ahead and shoot. Go ahead, man. Shoot, Fox! What are you afraid of, huh? What, it's against regulations... huh? No, man. You need me alive, don't you? Because I'm the only one who knows where the research is! Huh? So I could shoot him! And you just to live with it, don't you, huh?
"Hate to interrupt, but I think he has a point." Said Remus.
"Shut up, both of you."
Logan could see the gun shaking in Virgil's hand.
"So how about it, Fox?" Barnett teased. "Just like old times, huh?"
The sound of a gun echoes in the room and Logan is on his feet, rushing towards Remus despite the thundering pain that fills his torso. His hands are reaching for Barnett, desperate to pull the murderer away when his body slumps towards the ground, leaving Remus standing and grinning. Without a second thought Logan wraps his arms around Remus instead, wincing loudly as he does. His knees give out but the agent manages to catch him.
"You alright?" Remus asked as he gently lowered Logan on the ground.
"I'm fine." Logan mumbled, making Remus chuckle. "I think it's the nerves."
"Or a cracked rib."
"Please don't try to diagnose me, Agent Mulder. You don't have the proper qualifications." Logan groaned.
"Yes of course." Remus snorted, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. "My apologies, Doctor Scully."
Remus, to Logan's dismay, turned out to be right. Despite the vest, one of his ribs fractured. The doctor gives Logan stern instructions which the agent has a feeling he won't be following.
To his surprise when he leaves the room it's a nervous Agent Fox whose waiting for him.
"Where's Remus?"
Virgil pulled a face.
"Wow, you really don't like me, do you, Scully?"
Logan felt his checks redden.
"He's the one that insisted on driving with me in the ambulance. Which I might add was unnecessary." And frankly a bit embarrassing even if Logan did appreciate the concern for his well being. "I'm simply a bit surprised by his absence now." And, though Logan wasn't going to admit it out loud, a bit let down as well.
"Well, Janus wanted to formerly meet you and Remus had snatched my car keys while I wasn't looking." Logan raised an eyebrow.
"And you let him?"
"What do you mean?"
"I was under the assumption Remus didn't have a driver's license."
"He doesn't." Virgil grimaced, the his eyes widened a bit. "Please don't put that in your report. Snakes would kill me if I got Remus into trouble for that. It wasn't actually his fault it was-"
"The mind controlling nest of monsters from Nebraska?" Logan smirked. Virgil looked at him surprised.
"You believe that?"
"I believe Remus wouldn't lie to me."
"Oh."
"You're wrong, you know?"
"About the theories?" Virgil teased. Logan didn't take the bait.
"About me. I'm not your enemy."
"Barnett certainly didn't think so." It was more of an admission than Logan expected. It was less of one than he hoped for.
"And what do you think?"
"That I might have treated you like a closed case too soon."
Logan felt himself smile.
"I'd like to hear your theories on it when you re-open it."
Virgil smiled back.
"Is Barnett conscious?"
"Yeah, but he's not talking." Virgil shrugged. "The Doctors are pretty sure he won't make the night. Despite the staff's best efforts."
"Are you…"
"Upset? Honestly, I'm not sure. I just want it to be over for real this time."
They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Virgil spoke up again.
"Let's go down to the parking lot. I'm sure Remus and Janus have made it back from their maniac drive by now.
Despite Remus' previous assurances that he was legally allowed to drive with another adult present Logan couldn't help but feel relieved when he saw the man practically jumping out of the passenger sheet before the car was fully parked.
"So?" Remus grinned as he jogs up to them. "What's the verdict? Will we have to put you down like a horse? I'd hate that terribly."
Logan rolled his eyes.
"It's just a rib fracture, Remus."
"I hope you at least squeezed the shrink for some sick leave."
"I'm fine, Remus. Really."
"As your new supervisor I really must protest." Logan heard the familiar voice again as the man slowly got out of the car. He turned towards their small group with what Logan was certain was supposed to be a charming smile but all he could feel was burning fury.
He knew that face. It looked about a decade older but it was unmistakeably him. The same pompous, backstabbing snake he had the misfortune of crossing paths back in med school. When the man spoke up again Logan really wished he too had lizard hands so he could strangle the bastard where he stood.
"You've nearly been killed twice today, if I may be so bold I do believe you deserve a break." The man spoke up again. "Agent Scully, it's a pleasure to meet you. Remus spoke only your praise as we drove here. I look forward to working with you. I'm-"
"I know perfectly well who you are," Logan spat out with pure venom. "Felt."
characters: Logan, Janus, (Remus, Virgil)
pairings: none
warnings: toxic coworkers
length: 2,222 words
ao3 link
However tense Logan thought the first months of his time in the xfiles to be it was nothing compared to the first week since coming back from medical leave. The argument in the parking lot made it clear that while Logan remembered who Janus Felt was very clearly the man didn't have the faintest recollection of who Logan was. Not that he should be surprised at that, the knowledge did nothing to appease him.
The worst indignation of this whole ordeal was that Logan was well aware that his anger was unfounded. Or at least misdirected. He was not the catalyst for all of the unpleasant circumstances of Logan's collage life. But he was undeniably connected to all of them and the face and person was really one Logan would rather leave in the past.
He thought he did, until Janus had showed back in his life again. Unannounced and unrecalling of Logan's existence.
This was how after carefully building his relationship with Agents Fox and Mulder Logan once again found himself in the same spot as three and a half months ago, nervous in front of Bleevis office. He had come to the man to surrender his biases against his now, technically, boss and ask for a transfer. He knew it was far from professional to stay in this assingment. Especially since his ill judgment of Felt might impact his descriptions of the archives and subsequently have serious ramifications for Virgil and Remus.
It was also the unprofessional part of him that urged him to stay for Virgil's and Remus sake. Whatever opinion these two held of Janus, Logan couldn't see him as reliable. If only for the sole fact that he was unaware of Logan's involvement in the archives for three months.
He was aware that if he were to resign someone else would be assigned to documenting the actions of these two agents and Logan had no way of knowing how open minded to their ideas the next person would be. Not that he could blame anyone for that initial reaction. He himself was very skeptical of even the possibility of supernatural, let alone to these explanations being so common.
He only wished the price for protecting his new colleagues from unjust condemnation wasn't encountering Janus Felt again.
The small consolation was that at least he wasn't particularly hard to avoid. Virgil and Remus were not exaggerating when they described Felt as unwilling to step foot in the basement and so Logan decided to cut his medical leave short, much to the protest of Fox, Bleevis, and Mulder. For someone who desperately wanted to avoid Felt he felt very uncomfortable at the idea of the man having unsupervised access to Fox and Mulder, even though these two seemed to trust him. Logan certainly didn't. Especially not after being nearly killed investigating the case Felt brought to their attention. Although the fault of his injuries should be attributed to anyone but Felt - especially Logan himself.
He groaned inwardly, shaking his head. He was doing exactly what he wanted to avoid - which was focusing on Felt. He should be completelly content going back to their undergroud office where he could focus on work and ignore the person who was, essentially, his new boss for another day.
That plan lasted for about twenty seconds as when he rounded the corner he spotted Felt on the other side of the corridor reminding Logan that he was very much not currently in the basement. Before he could make his retreat their eyes met and the false smile filled Janus lips.
"Agent Scully!" The man exclaimed happily, almost hiding the nervousness in his voice that seemed to grow with their every encounter. "Just the man I was hoping to speak to."
Logan promptly turned on his heel and started walking away as fast as his fractured ribs allowed. A pair of nervous quick footsteps chased after him.
"Agent Scully!" Janus half shouted half pleaded as he caught up to Logan, and when the latter ignored him once again he jogged forward, stopping right in his path so abruptly Logan nearly ran into him, the sudden movement causing an unpleasant ache in his abdomen.
"What do you want?" Logan asked, crossing his arms, already annoyed.
"You know. I hate to say it but i do think it is rather unprofessional it is you refuse to engage in any sort of interaction with me considering i am technically your supervisor." The comment was all the more infuriating for being partially true.
"Considering i was transferred without you being notified i doubt you have any professional sway over me." Logan bit back, feeling the corner of his lip twitch upwards when Janus jaw literally dropped and he stared at Logan in disbelief. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
At that Janus recovered, clearing his throat to hide his earlier surprise.
"Yes. Actually there is." He answered. Logan raised an eyebrow, waiting for the man to elaborate.
"Well?" He prompted when Janus didn't answer fast enough.
Janus glanced around quickly before turning to Logan again.
"I think we should discuss this in my office."
"You have an office?" Logan was taken off guard.
"What made you think I didn't?"
"I was under the impression you didn't work much."
This time Janus seemed far less surprised by the comment and burst out laughing.
"I see Virgil and Remus weren't wasting any time in slandering me."
"I made that assessment myself." Long ago, and Felt wasn't doing a good job of disprooving it.
"Hmmm." Felt hummed non-noncommittally. "How about I rectify it? Shall we?" He stepped next to Logan and started walking slowly which made the doctor begrudgingly follow. Thankfully their stroll wasn't too long as the room was just around the corner, not that far from Bleevis' headquarters.
The office was, to put it mildly, a rather large mess - even by Logan's recent standards brought by sharing an office with Virgil and Remus. The basement at least had an organized air about it, while Janus' office looked like it wasn't used in the last three month. Or longer, judging by the layer of dust on everything.
It seemed Janus was realizing the state of his office at the same time as Logan did if the sour expression on his slightly red face was anything to go by. The man didn't voice it however but simply cleared his throat and with no apology for the state of the room walked towards the guest chair and placed all the files that were on it on the floor instead before plopping down on his own chair.
"Please make yourself comfortable."
Logan eyed the chair with a grimace before turning to Janus while making no move towards it.
"For that I believe I would need a cleaning service."
Janus cracked a quick smile.
"Well in such a case I'll keep it short then and, as much as i hate it, honest." He began, expression turning serious. "Agent Scully, you have made your animosity for me quite clear and frankly I have come to the conclussion that I won't change your mind about me in the foreeable future." Logan crossed his arms. " However, your opinion of me isn't my priority as long as I can ensure that we will agree on a more pressing issue."
Janus stared at him for a moment before Logan understood he was waiting for a response. He grimaced, not wanting to play the man's game but also not being particularly willing to make this encounter any longer than necessary.
"Which would be?"
"Keeping Virgil and Remus out of trouble. And I believe I needn't explain to you what that entails."
"I believe you do."
"I want you to think very carefully about what you put in your reports."
"Is this a threat?" Logan raised an eyebrow, surprised in himself that he hoped it was.
"It's a warning, Agent Scully, that you have far more sway about their careers than you might realize."
"Contrary to your belief I can understand clear instructions from my supervisor." Logan huffed out. "Bleevis." He added quickly, before Janus could claim himself as Logan's boss. "And I understand the role he assigned to me perfectly clear."
"Oh, but it wasn't just Bleevis, was it?" Janus gave him a smug smile as he leaned forward. "Nor did it came from Bleevis immediate supervisor, did it? You would have recognised her. No, there is too much you don't know, Scully."
"Am I to understand that you posses the knowledge you imply I lack?"
Janus smile grew unsettlingly wide.
"What do you think?"
"That we wouldn't have this conversation unless I know or control something you don't." Logan concluded. "And I am rather curios what that something is."
"You have the trust of the bureau. At least for now."
"And you want me to break it?"
"No." Janus shook his head. "I want you to trust me."
Logan let out an angry snort.
"Right. Because you give me every reason to trust you."
"I trust you." Janus stated matter of factly. Logan looked at him in surprise. "Or rather I can trust you. Not because I want to, but because I'm forced to. I told you, you have a far bigger influence than you know. I tried to let Virgil and Remus dig as deep as they want but it was only a matter of time before they let someone in to spy on them. You, at least, seem to have faith in them and regard them as friends. But you also must know staying on their side won't leave you in your position for long and I doubt your replacement, even accounting for your horrible bedside manner, will be more paletable to me."
"I'm not sure what you're implying."
In lieu of answering Janus grabbed one of the folders from the ground, skimming it quickly and nodding to himself before giving it to Logan.
"What's that? Scully asked, not taking the file from Felt.
"It's not an x-file. In fact, as far removed as possible. Very public. Very big team. In fact, they are short staffed."
Logan scoffed.
"Are you trying to transfer me?"
"No. I want you to convince Remus and Virgil to be modern participants."
"Why don't you do it yourself."
"I could." Janus mused, as he propped his feet on his desk. "But I don't think the bureau sees me as all that trustworthy when it comes to Fox and Mulder."
"I'm not surprised." Logan mumbled. "You hardly appear to be present enough to be 'in control' of them."
"I have managed to keep Virgil and Remus operating uninterrupted for nearly two years, haven't I? And you already had your first disciplinary hearing before three months were up."
"I wasn't a disciplinary hearing."
"Oh really?" Janus smirked. "Mind sharing the praise they gave you?" Logan's lips drew into a thin line, which was clearly enough answer for Janus to continue. "You don't have to think I'm trying to help you, because I don't but-" He pushed the files into Logan's direction for emphasis. "-I am trying to help Virgil and Remus, and that involves helping you."
"I'm still unwilling to trust you." He said, eyeing the file distrustfully.
"I'm willing to settle on cooperation." Janus shrugged, dragging himself off of his chair lazily. "Especially since we are each other's best option right now." He added, as he leaned over the table to press the file into Logan's chest.
Logan grimaced.
It felt like his first semester of uni, in the worst possible way.
"What if I refuse?" He asked, grabbing the file and taking a step back. "You can't force me to do your work for you." Not this time, at least.
"No." Janus' response surprised Logan. "I can't." He added as he walked around the desk until he was right in front of Logan. "But I can dismiss you." He added with a smirk as he pointed to the door. "Thank you, Agent Scully, that would be all."
Logan's blood begin to boil as he realized Felt has said it purely to get on his nerves. He grabbed the file he was holding tighter, trying to think of a rebuttal but the truth was he really didn't want to be in the snake's office any longer than necessary. He scoffed, turning on his heal sharper than his ribs would have liked and walked towards the elevator in slowly subsiding fury. By the time he had reached their underground office the file Janus had given him sat crumbled and forgotten in his hand.
"Did that piece of paper kill your firstborn or something?" Remus snorted as he saw him walking through the door."
Logan blinked at him, confused by what he meant until Virgil pointed at his fist.
"Oh." Logan said, a bit of color returning to his check. "No it's… " They never had that conversation did they? Over where the four of them stood. There were still pieces of this place Logan couldn't put together on his own and if he learned anything from the last three months was that all he needed to do was ask the right questions.
He turned to his friends, willing himself to stay open minded.
"I want to know the truth. Do we trust Janus Felt?"
sorry but someone assuming you have "left a fandom" when you don't post about it a lot anymore feels like bilbo coming home to the sackville bagginses having him presumed dead and selling all his stuff. girl i was just on a little quest????
Finally back to writing sanders sides fics with @sandersidesbigbang and satisfying my star trek obsession all in one go.
Pairings: None
Summary: The enterprise under the command of Captain Roman T. King is transporting Federation ambassadors to a conference which goal is deciding the fate of an unprotected planet rich in natural goods. During the journey to a better future the Captain learns of the clouded past of his first officer Janus and a ploy to stop the peaceful mission.
It is up to the Captain and his crew to save not only the future but rebuild Janus past as well.
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