The X-Files Episode 12x08: RepRap
This could be my craziest fanfic yet in this series; a bit far-fetched, and I just hope that it doesn't look too rushed at the end.
I'm not sure how well the JFK stuff in this one will go down.
Episode 12x08: RepRap
WASHINGTON, DC
Special Agent Jeffrey Spender climbed out of his car; he looked around and saw that a lot of people had showed up for Senator Richard Matheson’s funeral. He wasn’t surprised; the old man had been well-liked.
He could see crowds of people in black mourning suits, and several others in military attire, all heading towards the church.
“You’re an F.B.I. agent, right?”
Spender turned and saw a woman with long, dark hair.
“Professor. Lisa Ianelli” she introduced herself, grabbing Spender’s arm; “I need to speak to someone, someone who knows Agents Mulder and Scully”.
“I don’t have time” Spender snapped, letting go, and walking away.
“If you don’t listen to me, you won’t know the truth about the Senator” Dr. Ianelli shouted.
Spender ignored her, but he could hear a female police officer asking Dr. Ianelli who she was and whether she was invited to the funeral.
Spender acknowledged Senator Matheson’s sister; she was ninety now, and frail, and the only living family of the Senator, who had never married or had children.
“I’m sorry for your loss” he told her.
“Thank you, Jeffrey” she replied; “I hear my brother was very fond of you”.
Spender watched as she took a seat near the front, and he respectfully sat closer to the back.
As the mourners settled into their seats, they turned to watch the Senator’s coffin being bought into the church. Everyone was silent, and bowed their heads, including Reverend Dawson, who was officiating.
Spender recognized the song playing as Sheep May Safely Graze; the Senator had loved Bach and his music.
He watched as the coffin was laid in at the front of the church; one of the pall bearers reached over the open the lid, so that the mourners could see the face of their departed friend.
The next thing that happened seemed to happen in slow motion, as a deafening shot rang out across the church; it shattered the stained glass window at the back, which bore an image of Jesus walking on water.
People began to panic, some began to run for the exit as another shot rang out; this one just missed the coffin, and knocked over a candlebra.
There was one more shot, and more people began to run for the exit. Spender began to make his way out too; luckily it seemed that no one had been hit.
Spender expected there to be another shot fired, but all went silent. He noticed a side door opening, and a figure wielding a shotgun fleeing.
“Stop there” shouted a man in military gear, as several younger marines began to run after the man.
It seemed that the would-be-assassin had gone; Spender turned around, and saw where the final bullet had ended up.
It had made a hole in the side of Senator Matheson’s coffin, right around the head.
Whoever the shooter was, they had not picked an ordinary target.
XXXXX
Charles Scully managed to outrun his pursuers easily; this had not been an easy task, but a necessary one anyway.
He climbed into his car, and drove to the edge of the Potomac River; he climbed out of the car, and threw the gun into it.
After that, he drove away.
XXXXX
“You, wanted to see me, Sir?”
Agent Scully stepped into Deputy Director Kersh’s office, and saw Special Agent Jeffrey Spender already seated opposite the desk from Kersh.
Both men looked very stern; Scully entered, feeling the eyes of the large Donald Trump portrait on the wall, as though the man himself was in the room.
“Take a seat, Agent Scully” said Kersh, gruffly; “Agent Spender asked for you”.
“May I ask what this is about?” Scully asked.
“Agent Scully” said Kersh, getting straight to business; “I take if you are aware that a US Senator, Richard Matheson was murdered recently?”
“Yes, Sir” replied Scully.
“Agent Spender was attending the funeral” added Kersh; “there was an unexpected occurrence”.
“I heard on the news that someone fired shots at the congregation” Scully replied.
“That’s the thing” Spender said; “it became apparent to me that the mourners were not the target”.
“So, what was?” Scully asked.
“Apparently, the coffin itself” Spender replied.
“Why would anyone do that?” Scully asked.
“That” said Kersh, “is the million-dollar question”.
“Is this something you want me and Mulder to investigate, Sir?” Scully asked.
“I asked that Agent Mulder not be invited to this meeting” Spender explained.
“I was all too happy to oblige”, Kersh gave one of his very rare smiles.
“Agent Mulder will make all sort of ridiculous claims as to why the Senator was shot” added Spender; “he’ll probably come up with a theory based on having watched far too many episodes of The Walking Dead”.
“Agent Spender hopes that, with your rational mind, you can debunk any possible claims that Agent Mulder might make” added Kersh.
Scully nodded; she understood. Jeffrey Spender did not exactly see eye to eye with his half-brother, Fox Mulder.
“Well, to begin with” replied Scully, “is it possible for me to view the body?”
“I might be able to arrange for that” Spender replied.
“Meanwhile” added Kersh, “I’d recommend not telling Agent Mulder about your investigation; we all know how he likes to stick his nose in where it doesn’t belong”.
XXXXX
Mulder was alone in his office; Scully had given him a quick call, saying that she had been called away, but didn’t give any details.
Mulder texted her, but she didn’t reply; whatever this was, it must have been a serious business.
Mulder hadn’t been expecting visitors, especially a woman who he had not seen in just over two decades.
He had first met Dr. Lisa Ianelli back in the 1990s when she became the target of an assassination attempt straight out of the Terminator franchise. The would-be assassin was her colleague Dr. Jason Nicholls.
However, he was Dr. Nicholls from the future.
He was using time travel in an attempt to stop it from being invented, by attempting to kill Dr. Ianelli, and also his younger self.
Dr. Ianelli had survived the assassination attempt, and had evidently continued with her research.
Mulder did not recognise the man who was with Dr. Ianelli.
“Agent Mulder” said Dr. Ianelli, “it’s been too long; I never got to thank Agent Scully for helping to save my life”.
“Dr. Lisa Ianelli” replied Mulder; “it’s an honour, and I take it your older self hasn’t come calling yet?”
“Actually, it’s Professor Lisa Ianelli” she replied; “and no. This is my new partner, Professor Brian McGuane”.
“The famous Special Agent Fox Mulder” Professor McGuane smiled, reaching out to shake Mulder’s hand”.
“So, did you discover time travel?” Mulder laughed.
“Yes, we did” replied Professor Ianelli, calmly; “several years ago, now”.
“We perfected it” added Professor McGuane.
XXXXX
Scully knocked on Skinner’s door; if anyone would be a useful source of information, it would be her former Assistant Director.
“Stay out of it! I don’t want to hear anything from you!” she heard him shout as she waited; it sounded like he was having a heated phone conversation.
“Agent Scully” he said, opening the door; “what can I do for you?”
“I presume you heard about Senator Matheson?” Scully asked.
“Yes” Skinner replied, gesturing for Scully to come in; “it was a great shock”.
She noticed him glancing at an empty corner of the room as she entered.
“Are you wondering if I would have any idea who would want him dead?” Skinner added; “as great a man as he was, he certainly had a lot of enemies. I don’t think his support for President Trump did him many favours”.
“Actually” Scully replied; “I’m wondering why someone would apparently want to kill him again; did you hear about the shooting at the funeral?”
“It was on the news” Skinner replied.
“What they probably didn’t tell you” Scully frowned; “is that the target was apparently the coffin”.
“I’m guessing you’re looking for someone who could give you a more rational explanation than Special Agent Fox Mulder?”
“Yes; and so is Agent Spender”.
“Agent Scully” Skinner replied; “as you know, I served in Vietnam; I have seen people do some things you wouldn’t believe. I think we can possibly assume this was not the work of a sane individual. I also believe that it is possible whoever did this could do it again, and therefore the F.B.I. should be stopping him, or her”.
“I had a theory that this person was after something that was on the body” Scully replied; “maybe they’re one of these people who likes to collect trophies”. She remembered her tormentor from many years ago, Donnie Pfaster, the death fetishist, who had tried to kill her for the sake of taking her fingernails and hair.
“You mean they might have wanted to clear out the church building so they could steal something off the corpse?”
“It might even have been something like a gold filling in one of his teeth” Scully mused; “even illegal organ transplants; it would be interesting to see if Senator Matheson had agreed to donate organs after his death”.
“You’re reaching, Agent Scully” Skinner replied; “I don’t think many people would be interested in the vital organs of a man Senator Matheson’s age”.
“Nevertheless” Scully replied; “I am going to see if I can take a look at the body; see if it has been tampered with”.
Skinner seemed to be staring at the empty corner of the room again.
“I’ll let you know if I find anything” Scully added; “I’ll show myself out”.
“Thanks for dropping by, Agent Scully”.
XXXXX
Mulder sat in the back seat of Professor Ianelli’s car; apparently she had checked that it was free of listening devices. Thankfully, it was also large, and air-conditioned.
“The real reason we’re here is because of the late Senator Matheson” Professor McGuane explained.
“I tried to approach one of your colleagues about him” added Professor Ianelli, but he wouldn’t listen; “Special Agent Spender”.
“He wouldn’t listen to you” Mulder muttered.
“I should have gone straight to you” Dr. Ianelli continued; “you were very open minded about my old friend Dr. Nichols, and his future self”.
“I’m surprised you came to me at all” Mulder replied; “it seems like a straightforward shooting”.
“There is a lot of stuff that they’re not sharing with the public about this, Agent Mulder” replied Professor McGuane; “for example, the shooting incident that took place at the funeral, where the target was the coffin itself”.
“You mean - they’re coming to get you, Barbra!?” Mulder replied, attempting to put on a sinister voice”.
“It’s even more bizarre than that” Professor Ianelli replied; looking Mulder directly in the eye, she added: “What would you say if I told you that wasn’t Senator Matheson who got shot outside the Senate?”
“A shape shifter?” Mulder wondered, “a replicant?”
“We have stumbled upon evidence that Senator Matheson was murdered about a month before the shooting” added Professor McGuane.
Mulder was spellbound by this point; it was as though his friends John Byers, Melvin Frohike and Ringo Langly were right there in the car with him.
“We believe the Government has been covering up deaths of powerful officials that they deemed a little - let’s say - embarrassing” explained Professor Ianelli; “things they didn’t want to get leaked to the press”.
“With Senator Matheson’s death, we also think something went wrong” added Professor McGuane; the shooter acted alone, before a planned assassination attempt could take place”.
“This talk of planned assassination puts me in mind of the biggest conspiracy theory of all time” Mulder mused.
“Kennedy” Professor Ianelli finished Mulder’s sentence; “that’s who we were going to mention, but for what we are going to do next, we will need to catch a flight to Dallas, and change our outfits”.
XXXXX
Scully’s phone rang; when she answered, she heard Agent Spender on the other end.
“Agent Scully, it was a difficult job, but I think I can sneak you in to take a look at the Senator’s body” said Spender; “you’ll need to get over at the county morgue - right away, really. It’s where they returned the body, prior to rearranging the funeral”.
Scully smiled: “I’ll be right over”.
Whatever I find, she thought; it won’t be what Mulder would be expecting.
There had to be a rational explanation to this.
XXXXX
FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
DALLAS, TX
Professor Ianelli’s long orange dress, white gloves and beads suited her. Mulder was less sure about Professor McGuane’s chinos and striped shirt, or the tartan jacket that he wore over a pair of navy blue trousers and lighter blue shirt.
“So, we told you that we perfected time travel” explained Professor Ianelli; “well, this is where you get to try it for yourself”.
“We thought at first the time travel would only last a few seconds” Professor McGuane added; “but we’ve developed it further, and now we can stay as long as we like, and then use the same process to send us forward in time again”.
“This won’t hurt, much” said Professor Ianelli, holding out a stylus.
“Open your mind” Mulder muttered, just as he felt the stylus being jabbed into his hand, and he felt a strange, cold sensation, as though he were turning into a popsicle.
The next thing he knew, everything around him had changed; everyone around them was wearing 1960s fashions. It was drizzling very slightly, and a few people were carrying umbrellas.
“Welcome to Dallas” said Professor Ianelli; “22 November 1963; the morning before the Dealey Plaza incident”.
She seemed to choose her words carefully because there were people around; after all, it wouldn’t do to be dropping ‘spoilers’.
XXXXX
FORT WORTH AIRPORT
23 NOVEMBER 1963
The group walked outside to the airfield, where a plane had landed. Crowds of people stood watching, and suddenly Mulder realized why.
This was the plane that John F Kennedy and his first lady were arriving in, and they were getting ready to disembark. Mulder noticed one man near the front, who seemed strangely familiar, and was wearing a military uniform. He looked suspiciously like a younger version of Special Agent Jeffrey Spender.
As they joined the crowd, a bearded man who looked strangely familiar turned to Mulder. He was standing next to a woman who was noticeably heavily pregnant.
“Isn’t this a momentous day?” he smiled; “our best President of our lifetimes has just arrived”.
“Yes” Mulder nodded in agreement; “he certainly… “ he stopped; he almost said was “… is a great man”.
The man reached out his hand and shook Mulder’s. “Bertram Byers” he said “very pleased to make your acquaintance; and this is my wife, Joan”.
“Oh, Bertram, do you have to introduce us to everyone whom you meet?” Joan Byers asked, chidingly.
“Very nice to meet you, ma’am” Mulder replied, “Frank Spotnitz”.
“Better not say that name out loud” Bertram whispered; “they might think you’re - you know - a Russian”.
Of course, communism was a watch word in the 1960s.
It all made sense to Mulder; these were the parents of his late friend, John Fitzgerald Byers, who was right now just feet away from him, still inside his own mother. That was a weird thought, and then Mulder remembered another thing; hadn’t his friend been born on the day of the Kennedy assassination?
“If you don’t mind me saying, Ma’am” Mulder said, politely; “congratulations on your impending motherhood”.
“That’s very perceptive of you” Bertam replied; “her due date is just five days away”.
At this point, there was a loud cheer, and they saw several people emerging from the plane. Mulder recognized JFK and his wife; Jackie was holding a bunch of red roses. JFK was waving to the crowds, clearly pleased to see them.
Nobody seemed to be minding the slightly damp weather; everyone was just pleased to see an American hero.
Professor Ianelli whispered to Mulder: “What would you say if I told you, that wasn’t JFK?”
Before Mulder could reply, Joan turned to her husband.
“Bertram, my waters just broke”.
XXXXX
COUNTY MORGUE
2018
Scully stood over the body of Senator Richard Matheson, while Spender watched. He had managed to get her security clearance, and they had snuck in; Scully felt like she was on some covert operation. Mulder would have probably loved to have been there.
“Agent Spender” she said; “this doesn’t make sense”; she pointed to the corpse’s naked chest.
Spender and Scully both stared.
“If he was shot four times in the chest, where are the bullet wounds?” Scully asked.
Spender was at a loss to answer this question; Scully suspected that even Mulder would have been confused.
Scully also looked at the bullet hole that had been made in the side of the Senator’s head. Why kill him again after he is dead? It didn’t make any sense.
“I’m going to have to ask you both to stop what you’re doing right now, and leave”.
A burly man wearing a military uniform had entered the room.
“We’re with the F.B.I.” Scully explained; “I’m a medical doctor; Special Agent Dana Scully; I was asked to investigate the shooting that took place at Senator Matheson’s funeral”.
“Well” the man said, gruffly, “I’m asking you both to stay out of it; now, will you leave, or am I going to have to use force?”
Scully mouthed to Spender that they should leave, and he nodded. The man watched as they left, and made sure they did not try anything.
“You’re Agent Mulder’s partner” he added; “I’m surprised he isn’t digging his nose around here”.
Scully and Spender did not answer; they kept walking.
XXXXX
FORT WORTH AIRPORT
23 NOVEMBER 1963
As the couple he had just met left the scene in an ambulance, largely ignored by the crowd, Mulder scanned the other people, but couldn’t see the Spender lookalike.
Could it have been? he wondered, and realized that it was very likely he had glimpsed his own father, the Cigarette Smoking Man, reputed to have been the real killer of President Kennedy.
As he contemplated how one of his best friends was soon going to be born, a man would die in an act of self-sacrifice less than forty years later, Mulder thought how he’d love to shout a warning out to JFK.
There were only two problems.
First off, he probably shouldn’t interfere with the course of history.
Secondly, apparently this was not JFK.
Professors Ianelli and McGuane were beckoning to Mulder to follow them.
“So, if that’s not JFK, where is he?” Mulder asked; “are you suggesting that they knew about what was going to happen, and he used a double to fake the whole thing”.
“Actually” said Professor McGuane; “we believe that JFK died a few weeks ago, in Baltimore”.
“We also believe” added Professor Ianelli; “that they repeated the same cover-up with Senator Matheson”.
“So, let me guess” replied Mulder; “we’re going to Baltimore”.
“Correct” replied Professor Ianelli, “and then we need to travel again”.
Mulder knew what she meant.
They would be travelling two weeks further back into the past.
XXXXX
F.B.I. HEADQUARTERS
2018
Scully pulled Spender into the women’s restroom, and locked the door.
“Agent Scully, what are we doing in here?”
Scully quickly turned on the tap before she said anything; she had been learning from the expert: Mulder.
“You said the gunshots fired at the coffin came from a distance?” she asked him.
“Yes” Spender replied; “from the back of the church.
“That makes this case even more bizarre” she replied; “I could see unburnt grains of gunpowder in the Senator’s head wound, even stippling. I’ve done enough autopsies that I could tell straight away”.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Spender asked.
“Agent Spender, you need to brush up on your knowledge of munitions” Scully answered him; “that would indicate that the gunshot wound was fired at a much closer distance; it would have to have been at point blank range”.
“That, and the missing chest wounds” replied Spender, “that doesn’t add up”.
Scully nodded; Mulder would have had several theories.
Someone knocked on the door, loudly.
“Just coming” Scully called.
As the two agents emerged, Scully recognized her colleague Holly.
“Agent Scully and Agent Spender” she said; “I never would have guessed”.
“I guess I can’t help myself” replied Scully; “I trust you won’t tell Agent Mulder”.
“To be fair, I’ve always had a crush on Agent Spender” Holly replied.
It looked like Scully had gotten away with that.
XXXXX
BALTIMORE
9 NOVEMBER 1963
The street definitely looked seedy; Mulder was familiar with some of the less pleasant parts of Baltimore.
“If you want to know the truth” said Professor Ianelli, “you’re going to have to go in here”.
“If we’re right” added Professor McGuane; “you will only need to wait about five minutes”.
“See if you can do some snooping” added Professor Ianelli.
“Snooping is my middle name” Mulder smiled; he almost immediately realised what the place he was being directed to enter was. He had only once been into a brothel before, and that was during his days with the violent crimes unit, and strictly on business. A modern-day Jack the Ripper had been murdering prostitutes.
He was sure he could do this; he walked through the door, into a large atrium, full of old-fashioned furnishings. A few men were standing around, watching as women in short skirts milled around, often approaching their prospective clients.
“Do you see anyone you like?”
A tall, skinny, moustachioed man, stood near the entrance; the pimp.
“I’m just looking” Mulder blushed.
“Take your time” replied the pimp; “all the girls are hand-picked for me, and will give you a time you won’t forget”.
This was a little overwhelming for Mulder; he sat down on one of the easy chairs.
“Your first time too?” and older man asked him.
The man was bald, and came across as a bit slimy, a bit like someone who had been to places like this all of his life.
“Uh, yes” Mulder replied.
“It’s Melvin’s, too” the man replied; “Frohike; Herbert Frohike”.
Mulder glanced at the younger man who was also sat with them. Glasses, slicked-back hair, acne ridden face; what were the chances of him bumping into another old friend of his?
Melvin Frohike would grow up to be the man who Scully should possibly have put a restraining order on, as he constantly talked about how ‘hot’ she was. Luckily, Scully had never seemed to mind too much. Mulder also knew that Frohike, along with John Byers and Richard “Ringo” Langly, would also pass away in the early noughties, all in the same heroic act. It was strange that Mulder had not been around at the time, and had been told by Scully about a month after the event.
“My dad took me to my first brothel sixty years ago” added Herbert; “now it’s my turn to do the same for Melvin”.
Mulder nodded; he might have guessed that an obsession with women’s bodies ran in the Frohike family.
“Frank” said Mulder; “nice to meet you both”.
Melvin Frohike was nervous at first, then replied: “Nice to meet you, Frank”. He then got distracted by a prostitute with a particularly short skirt as she passed by.
He pulled off his steamed-up glasses, and started cleaning them. Giving Mulder the smile that he was so familiar with, he added: “She’s hot; buy I saw her first”.
“That’s my boy” Herbert smiled; the similarity between father and son was uncanny.
“Do you gentlemen want to see a good time?” the same woman asked, passing by again.
“Take the lad” Herbert insisted, practically shoving Melvin to his feet; “he’s the virgin here”.
“Don’t look so nervous” the prostitute laughed; “step this way”.
As Mulder’s old friend slowly followed, Herbert called out: “She’ll put hairs on your chest”.
At this point, their attention was drawn to a man entering the building; he seemed to be intent on hiding his face, as he whispered to the pimp and was quickly taken to somewhere towards the back of the building.
“You know” Herbert whispered; “if I didn’t know better, I’d swear that was President Kennedy!”
XXXXX
“I’ve heard of famous people using body doubles to pose as them” Spender mused; “but it doesn’t make sense, unless neither of these bodies is the real Senator Matheson.
“You sound like you’re turning into a conspiracy theorist” Scully replied.
“We should sleep on this” Spender suggested; “maybe it will seem clearer in the morning”.
Scully nodded; “I hope you sleep well, Agent Spender”.
Talking of conspiracy theorists, there were some people she needed to speak to.
Scully began to head to the basement car park; as she got in the elevator to go down, she thought she felt someone jostle her. It was quite crowded in the elevator, and she couldn’t tell who it was. If this happened again though, she might have to storm into Kersh’s office and rant about sexual harassment at the bureau.
On the next floor, the lift emptied out, and she realized she was alone. As the doors closed, she noticed that something had been placed into the side pocket of her jacket; it was a note, folded up. As she opened it, it felt like the writing was starting to fade.
MEET ME AT THE WATERGATE HOTEL, MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.
COME ALONE, I DON’T TRUST AGENT SPENDER YET.
Watergate Hotel, Scully thought; what a cliché.
She looked at the note again; the writing was completely gone. Whatever ink had been used to write this must have been made using technology that would have made James Bond jealous; they presumably did not trust her to dispose of the note carefully.
XXXXX
Mulder let ten minutes pass, then turned to Herbert. If he was going to do any snooping, he should do it now.
“Do me a favour” he whispered; “and distract that guy for me”; he indicated the pimp.
“Anything for a fellow gentleman” Herbert smiled; heading over to the pimp, he asked: “So, which of the girls would you say was the hottest?”
The pimp seemed bemused by the question, but his attention was diverted long enough so he could sneak down the corridor that the newcomer had disappeared along.
The newcomer, who was almost certainly President Kennedy.
Mulder tiptoed along the corridor; he had lost sight of Kennedy, and decided to let his own instincts guide him.
In one of the rooms, he could hear Roy Orbison’s Only the Lonely playing on a gramophone; it was one he recognized, and enjoyed.
Only the lonely,
Only the lonely
Mulder glanced in some of the rooms he passed; they were mostly empty, although one contained an older prostitute, who grinned at him. Her face put him in mind of someone he’d rather forget: Ma Peacock.
Only the lonely,
Know the way I feel tonight,
Only the lonely,
Know this feeling ain’t right
It was at this point that Mulder heard the scream; it was coming from up a flight of stairs.
There goes my baby,
There goes my heart,
They’re gone forever,
So far apart
Mulder didn’t stop to think; he began to run up the stairs; his F.B.I. instincts had taken over.
But only the lonely,
Know why I cry,
Only the lonely,
Only the lonely,
Only the lonely
On the floor above, Mulder heard another scream, and he ran in the direction it had come from.
Only the lonely,
Know the heartaches I’ve been through
Doors on either side of them, and prostitutes appeared out of the doors. Most of them looked shocked. A young man also appeared at one of the doors; he was completely naked, and was making no effort to hide his very stiff dick. Instead, he grinned at Mulder: “Hey, Man, choice babes here!”
Mulder gave an awkward smile back, and kept running.
Only the lonely,
Know I cry and cry for you
He arrived at the door of the room where the scream had come from; some of the prostitutes craned their necks to see around Mulder, at the sight before them.
Maybe tomorrow,
A new romance,
No more sorrow
A half-naked man lay on the floor, in a pool of blood; Mulder could just about recognize him as President Kennedy. The blood was pouring from a wound in his lower torso, just where his liver would have been.
A scantily-clad prostitute cowered in the corner, looking hysterical.
But that’s the chance,
You gotta take
Mulder glanced around the room, but he already sensed that he knew what he was looking for; the small, but noticeably open, ventilator shaft, with a trail of blood leading into it.
If your lonely heart breaks,
Only the lonely
The ventilator shaft was too small for anyone to get through.
Anyone, that was, except for one man.
Eugene Tooms.
Back in 1963, Tooms would have been searching for his next five victims.
XXXXX
2018
“So, you think Senator Matheson used a body double?” Yes asked.
Scully had visited the new ‘Lone Gunmen’ to see if she could get a response that would not have come from Mulder, something rational. Jimmy Bond stood in the corner, making himself useful in the best way he could: preparing burritos for his friends.
“I presume you heard of all the fake Melania Trump stories?” Kimmy asked, turning away from his computer.
“I read that the she had a kidney operation, and while she was recovering a fake Melania was used in her place” replied Scully.
“You read our last edition of our magazine then?” Jimmy asked, not noticing that he was making a bit of a mess as he filled up the burritos; “one for you, Agent Scully?”
“No, thanks” Scully replied; she had to go around to Leyla’s house and ask her to look after Tena for a few more hours.
“Where’s Agent Mulder?” Jimmy added.
“He left me a note saying that he might be gone for a short while” replied Scully; “but that if he’s already back, please ignore the message. Yves, has a double ever been used to cover up the fact that a celebrity has died?”
“April Lavigne” replied Yves; “apparently some people believe she died in 2003, and that she has been replaced with an imposter to cover up the death”.
“It’s a theory that’s been fuelled by her forgetting lyrics to her own song” added Kimmy; it was apparent that he was googling the information on his computer.
“You’re certainly giving us a good potential cover story” Yves smiled; “Byers, Langly and Frohike would be proud”.
“Maybe it’s the lizard people” Jimmy suggested; “taking the place of all of these celebrities. Apparently there are those who believe the British Royal Family have been lizards for many generations”.
Scully rolled her eyes; at least Mulder had not yet suggested that conspiracy theory.
“Away from all the David Icke stuff” said Kimmy; “it looks like you may be on the right track”.
“I have a meeting to make at midnight” replied Scully; “I may be able to provide more information for you”.
“I’m starting to see why Frohike thought she was so hot” Jimmy grinned, moments after Scully had left the room.
XXXXX
1963
Mulder glanced at the prostitute, who was still in shock.
“Don’t worry” he said; “it will be okay”.
“The man - he came out of the wall” she gibbered; “he killed him”.
“I know” replied Mulder; he heard a man’s voice in the corridor; it sounded familiar somehow. Could it have been Cancer Man again?
Nope, not him, Mulder thought; not that fucking S.O.B.
He glanced out of the door; the man was at the end of the corridor. The music on the gramophone had stopped, or had been turned off.
He seemed to be sending the prostitutes and their clients into their rooms; all except one.
Trying to stay out of sight, and warning his companion to be silent, Mulder saw the man ask the prostitute something.
Mulder saw the man pull out a gun, and shoot the prostitute in the face; the gun had a silencer, so it made a sound like a sonic boom.
Mulder thought quickly; they had to get out of here, or they might be next; he could hear the man knocking on another person’s door. He closed the door, and spotted that it had a latch on it, which he quickly closed.
“Do these windows open?” he whispered.
The prostitute nodded.
Mulder opened one of the windows; the ground was only one floor below, and underneath was what appeared to be a seedy back alley. Nobody was around to see.
“I’ll jump first, and then I’ll catch you” Mulder said.
He jumped; he landed on his feet, and then he turned to the window.
The prostitute was looking nervous; she wasn’t keen on jumping.
“I’ll catch you” Mulder beckoned.
She shook her head; she was still scared.
Mulder heard the man banging on a door; was this the door of the room that they had just been in?
“Trust me” Mulder pleaded.
The prostitute hesitated, and then finally, she leaned out of the window, and jumped.
As he caught her in his arms, Mulder heard the sound of the door being kicked down, the latch broken.
Run, Mulder mouthed.
They ran through the alley, and did not stop until they were some distance away; Mulder wondered where his companions were. He realized Frohike was going to make it out alive; he was going to meet Mulder, almost thirty years later.
“That man” the prostitute gasped; “he looked like President Kennedy”.
Mulder thought quickly; so, it would seem that Kennedy really died at the hands of Eugene Tooms, one of his five chosen victims before he went back into hibernation. The fact that he died in a brothel might mean that some people would want the witnesses silenced.
“Take my advice” Mulder whispered; “get as far away from here as you can, start a new life. Don’t tell anyone”.
The prostitute kissed Mulder: “I’ll remember you…”.
“Frank” Mulder smiled.
With that, she ran away.
Mulder staggered around the next corner, and almost collided with another man.
“Hey, Fella” the man said, nonchalantly.
It took him a while to realise that the man was Eugene Tooms, possibly because he had just figured out who the man who had turned trigger-happy in the brothel was.
He had been a young Senator Richard Matheson.
XXXXX
WATERGATE HOTEL
2018
Scully was certain she was alone, as she arrived by the hotel. She stood in the cold, wondering if her contact would show up; was she being hoaxed.
A shadowy figure stepped out of the shadows, and she realized it was a woman who she had met a couple of times.
Marita Covarrubias.
“Agent Scully” said Marita.
“Ms Covarrubias” Scully replied.
“I understand you’re looking into the Senator Matheson affair”.
Scully nodded: “It is becoming apparent that the body that I saw did not belong to the man gunned down outside the senate”.
“You’re right” replied Marita.
“So, whose body did I examine?”
“I am fairly certain that was Senator Matheson” replied Marita; “but what you might not realise is that when the gun incident took place, the Senator was already dead”.
“You mean” Scully replied; “someone wanted us to believe he was still alive?”
Marita nodded: “A lot of people wanted to cover up the nature of the Senator’s death; it was scandalous to say the least”.
“What politician isn’t corrupt these days?” Scully asked, rhetorically.
“I don’t know how much Agent Mulder told you about his former friend” Marita added; “but one thing that not many people knew was that he was homosexual. He was shot in the head by a woman named Sandra Dickey, who caught him receiving oral sex from her husband, Dan. My understanding was that she came home and found them both naked in the master bedroom”.
“Those names sound familiar” Scully mused.
“The Dickeys died when their car exploded” Marita replied; “it seems that someone wanted to keep them from talking about what had happened.”
“So, let me get this straight” Scully replied; “a body double was bought in to pretend to be Senator Matheson”.
“A body double was bought in to be shot in public” Marita replied; “but the shooting that occurred was unplanned; the killer acted alone, and it messed up a few plans, particularly since the Senate weren’t able to keep the incident from going to the press”.
“So, let me get this straight” Scully replied; “they replaced the double with the real Senator’s body for the funeral. No one would have noticed that he’d not been shot in the chest because his funeral clothes would have covered that up, but they had to come up with a seemingly motiveless shooting to make sure no one questioned why he had sustained a gunshot wound to the head”.
“Very astute of you, Agent Scully, particularly since the Senator had expressly said that he did not wish to be cremated, which would have been a convenient way for them to hide the evidence”.
“But are you suggesting that someone pretended to be Senator Matheson, knowing that it had been arranged for him to be assassinated?” Scully asked, incredulously.
“It’s a bit more than that” Marita replied; “I suggest you go to this address; I’ve got two fake IDs here; one for you, and one for Agent Spender, assuming you trust him”.
Marita handed over a slip of paper and two ID passes.
“The access code is 1013” she added, as she walked away into the shadows.
XXXXX
BALTIMORE
1963
Eugene Tooms was wearing overalls over another layer of clothes; it occurred to Mulder that he had hastily put them on to hide the fact that his other clothes were covered in the blood of President Kennedy.
Mulder reached for his gun, and pointed it at Tooms.
“Whoa, Fella” Tooms replied, nervously; “I’m just doing my job”.
“Really?” Mulder asked, “so, you’re saying I shouldn’t shoot you right here?”
“Animal control” Tooms protested; “I got a report that there was an infestation of rats down that alley you just came out of”.
“Well, I didn’t see any” Mulder replied.
His hand shook on the trigger. Could he do it, I wondered, could he change history, kill Eugene Tooms back in 1963, and at the very least save all of his victims from thirty years later, people like George Usher, from the same fate?
Would it make much of a difference to the course of history? Mulder wondered. He had already probably saved a woman who should have been killed by the young Senator Matheson, assuming that she wouldn’t have jumped out of the window without Mulder’s effect.
Was she already having a ripple effect on the future that he would eventually be going back to?
Tooms was starting to panic: “You’re crazy, Fella” he protested.
Mulder aimed his gun, and pulled the trigger.
The gun jammed; this was not a good time to me screwing up.
Mulder tried again, and the gun still wouldn’t fire, but then he remembered his ankle holstered gun. Slowly and steadily, he reached down to get it…
Plucking up some courage, Tooms punched Mulder hard in the face, and then started to run. By the time Mulder had recovered from the blow, his quarry was out of sight.
As Mulder reeled, a car pulled up, and Professor Ianelli looked out of the window: “Thank goodness we found you” she replied, “get in”.
Mulder reluctantly climbed into the car, and they sped away; just in time, as when Mulder turned back, he saw his former friend running along the alleyway that Mulder had been in just minutes before, his gun cocked.
“I trust you were able to see for yourself what happened to JFK” said Professor Ianelli.
“His real killer was Eugene Tooms” replied Mulder; “and I’m guessing the fact that he was visiting a brothel wasn’t good for his reputation”.
“Not something he’d want in his obituary” observed Professor Ianelli.
“That man who assaulted you” said Professor McGuane “that was Tooms, wasn’t it? I remembered seeing his face in a true crime programme”.
“You are correct” replied Mulder; “and then there was the man who arrived very fast on the scene to eliminate the witnesses, a man who will later become Senator Matheson. It seems that my friend the Senator had a past as a government goon for hire”.
XXXXX
2018
BALTIMORE, MD
“I hope this isn’t a wild goose chase you’ve dragged me out at this time for, Agent Scully”.
“I thought you enjoyed being my temporary partner” Scully smiled.
The building that they had arrived at seemed nondescript; she glanced at the fake ID passes. However Marita had gotten hold of these, she must have had all the right connections; the passes even had pictures of the agents on. Scully’s identified her as ‘Sara Charno’, Spender’s as ‘Howard Gordon’.
Scully keyed in ‘1013’ on the keypad, and they opened the door.
When Scully reached fort the lightswitch, the agents saw that the inside of the building did not reflect the shabby state of the outside; the place was state of the art.
“Feels like we’ve stepped into 2001: A Space Odyssey muttered Spender; “we just need to find HAL”.
“I’ve had my fill of HAL-type killer computers” Scully muttered; many years ago, a computer with a mind of her own had killed a CEO and one of their fellow F.B.I. Agents, Jerry Lamana, and almost killed Scully herself.
“I must keep reminding Mulder to switch on the lights” Scully smiled; “we’ve been dependent on our torches for way too long”.
“After you, Dr. Charno” Spender replied.
The two of them followed a long, straight corridor, with doors either side, which led to empty rooms; an ominous-looking door stood right at the end, and seemed to beckon them towards it.
Another keypad sat by the side; Scully keyed in ‘1013’, and opened the door.
Inside the next room was what appeared at first to be a large pair of soccer goalposts, which Scully quickly realized was in fact a large mechanical device.
“It looks like a giant 3D printer” said Spender; “what do you suppose they are printing? Firearms?”
“They would be printing very large firearms, Agent Spender” Scully replied.
There weren’t many other items of interest in the room, but a waste paper basket caught Scully’s eye: “Looks like someone needs to take out their trash once in a while” she remarked.
“What have you found?” Spender asked, as Scully leaned into the trash basket.
Scully held up several photographs: “They are all of Senator Matheson”.
“You’re suggesting the person who did all of this, he was a stalker?” Spender asked, incredulously; “do you think this was John Lennon all over again?”
“I’m not sure” replied Scully; “I may have to introduce you to some friends of mine, against my better judgement; assuming they’re not asleep yet”.
XXXXX
Jimmy and Kimmy were not asleep yet; they were managing to recreate and better one of Ringo Langly’s highscore at a role-playing game. Langly had not been pleased when Frohike had pulled the plug on his game, to stop Jimmy from shredding what turned out to be a valuable document.
“Pause the game” said Kimmy; “no, PAUSE!”
“Okay, Dude!” replied Jimmy; “I’m not too familiar with all these controls”.
“Are you guys still up?” Yves asked, appearing with a dressing gown on; “oh, hello, Agent Scully”.
“This is Special Agent Jeffrey Spender” Scully replied; “and I hope that you can trust him”.
“Didn’t I hear that he’s the son of some shadowy government chain smoker?” Jimmy asked.
“As is Agent Mulder” Yves reminded him, “and you will remember that my father is a Man in Black”.
Yves was the daughter of Morris Fletcher from before when he settled down with his wife Joanne.
“How far have you got on the Senator Matheson case?” Kimmy asked, as Jimmy started to make coffees
.
“We’ve found what appears to be a giant 3D printer” replied Scully; “and pictures of the dead Senator”.
Kimmy and Yves looked at each other.
“Do you realise there is only one logical explanation?” Kimmy asked.
Jimmy had stopped filling up the kettle, and was listening in, eagerly.
“What would this explanation be?” Spender demanded; “what are you suggesting they printed?”
“It’s not a what” replied Yves; “a who”.
“Wait” Scully replied; “if you’re about to suggest what I think you’re about to suggest…”
.
“They used it to print Senator Matheson” Kimmy cut in.
It was precisely what Scully feared they were going to say; Mulder was missing out on one of the craziest conspiracy theories she had ever heard.
XXXXX
1963
BALTIMORE, MD
Mulder didn’t ask where his companions had acquired the car they were driving; he suspected that desperate times had led to similarly desperate measures.
“We long suspected that there was more to the Kennedy Assassination than met the eye” said Professor Ianelli, “but we needed Agent Mulder to see for himself”.
“It’s falling into place” Mulder said; “they needed a fake Kennedy, to hide the real nature of his death”.
“Being killed in a brothel wouldn’t be good for his reputation” replied Professor McGuane; “not something that would look good in the history books”.
“So, the shooting was a set up” Mulder conceded; “to preserve his reputation”.
“We believe something similar happened with your former friend, Senator Matheson” added Professor Ianelli.
“There’s something up ahead” Professor McGuane muttered.
Ahead, they saw a small crowd; it was watching a figure get out of a presidential car.
To all intents and purposes, this was President Kennedy.
Mulder of course knew that it couldn’t possibly be.
“I need to get out of the car” he said.
XXXXX
2018
“Wait for me, Agent Spender”.
Spender was walking very quickly down the stairs.
“These people need to be locked up!” Spender shouted, ignoring an old lady who was staring out of a flat, looking annoyed at having been disturbed at this hour. It was funny, Scully had never seen any of the Lone Gunmens’ neighbours before.
“You say they’ve helped you and Agent Mulder in the past?” Spender asked, incredulously.
“I must admit” said Scully as they stepped out into the street; “some of their theories are a bit eccentric”.
“Eccentric?” Spender shouted “they’re suggesting that Senator Matheson was replaced by a sentient piece of origami”.
“Keep the noise down!” shouted someone from an upstairs window.
“I’m sure if we sleep on this, we can find a more rational explanation” said Scully, trying to avoid raising her voice.
“I’m starting to wonder if involving you in this was a good idea” Spender muttered.
At this moment, Scully’s phone rang, and she answered it.
“Are you Dana Scully?” a woman asked.
“Yes” Scully replied.
“Do you know a Fox Mulder?”
Scully nodded, and listened carefully to what the woman had to say next.
XXXXX
1963
BALTIMORE, MD
Mulder peered over the small crowd that had gathered, as the man who appeared to be President Kennedy walked towards them, shaking their hands. Women were passing their babies over to the imposter so he would kiss them. He was flanked by two bodyguards.
“We love you, President Kennedy” someone shouted.
The atmosphere was a happy one, until Mulder interjected:
“I know you’re not President Kennedy”.
The crowd turned to face Mulder; so did the fake President Kennedy; people started to boo and hiss.
“Now, now” said Kennedy; “let’s hear what this man has to say”.
“Maybe we should be getting away from here” said Professor Ianelli.
Mulder ignored her, and shouted again: “You’re an imposter”.
Kennedy came closer to Mulder: “I assure you, I’m not”.
Mulder came right up close: “I don’t know who you are, but I am certainly going to find out”.
“Sir”, said one of the bodyguards; “I’m going to have to ask you to back off”.
“Let’s go” said Professor McGuane.
“I know this is the start of a big conspiracy” said Mulder; “a cover up”.
“I’m not going to ask you again”.
“This man clearly is disturbed” said Kennedy, “but he’s an American citizen, and he has the right to speak”.
People started booing again.
“When I find out who you are” said Mulder; “I’ll make sure I expose every person who is behind…”
As the security guard fired his gun, everything seemed to go into slow motion.
The bullet hit Mulder in the shoulder; the pain was searing.
Mulder felt another sensation in his arm, and realized that Professor Ianelli had jabbed him with a syringe.
The scene swam in front of Mulder’s eyes; it was like he was falling into a deep pit, and the crowd’s booing was getting more and more distance.
Then, he lost consciousness altogether.
XXXXX
2018
Charles Scully sensed something was up as he arrived at his apartment. He had followed the Cigarette Smoking Man’s instructions as well as he could regarding Senator Matheson’s body, and covered his tracks.
He looked around; he couldn’t see anyone, but it definitely felt like someone was watching him.
XXXXX
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
WASHINGTON D.C.
Mulder opened his eyes to see Scully looking back at him; she held Tena in her hands.
“Scully? Are you in 1963?”
“You’re delirious, Mulder; this is the present day. You’ve not travelled in time, but you have been shot.”
“I know; I was confronting a man who claimed to be President Kennedy”.
“You have some vivid dreams, Mulder, but that’s all they are”.
“Wait a minute; the clothes I was wearing …”
“A very nice outfit, Mulder; sixties fashion. You looked like you were going to a retro party”.
“Professor Ianelli, the woman who invented time travel; she and her partner…”
“Yes, I remember Agent Spender said a Professor Ianelli spoke to him, but I’m certain she’s delusional, and you’re having a case of folie a deux”.
Mulder sighed; he should have realised that convincing Scully he had travelled in time would be impossible.
“Agent Spender and I have been investigating the Senator Matheson case” said Scully.
“I saw Senator Matheson too” Mulder said, woozily.
“You should get some rest” replied Scully.
XXXXX
A few days later, Mulder was discharged from hospital. Scully arrived to drive him home, and helped him to walk to the car; he was a little unsteady on his feet.
“Is Tena with Leyla?” Mulder asked.
“As usual” Scully replied; “she says…”
“I remember you” a voice interrupted.
An old lady in a wheelchair outside the geriatric ward was smiling at Mulder; then she looked confused.
“Sorry, you look so familiar; like someone I met back in the sixties, only you’ve not aged”.
“She gets like this sometimes” said a male nurse, who was attending to her; “she claims she saw President Kennedy murdered while working as a hooker. Come on, Nancy; let’s get you back to your bed”.
Mulder looked at Scully: “Have you seen All the President’s Men?”
“Where are you going with this, Mulder?”
XXXXX
Mulder switched on the computer as they got home, and put a Vivaldi CD on, loudly; the music made it hard for him and Scully to think, but he ushered her to the computer, and opened a Word document.
Mulder began to type:
Sen. Matheson and Kennedy both replaced by doubles.
Grabbing the typewriter, Scully added:
I have to agree, based on my observations, that there must have been a fake Sen. Matheson.
Where does Kennedy fit into this?
Mulder: I think Tooms was the real killer.
Scully: Eugene Tooms? The ‘liver eating mutant’?
Mulder: What more can you tell me about Sen. Matheson?
Scully: Apparently having an affair with a married man; shot dead by the man’s wife.
Kimmy had a theory about 3D printed clones.
Spender wasn’t too impressed.
Mulder: It makes sense, Scully. Kennedy died while visiting a brothel.
Scully: In your dream, Mulder.
Mulder: It really happened, Scully.
A lot of people would want to cover up the circumstances in which both these men died, so it would make sense for someone to go to great lengths to save their reputations.
Thus, they created copies of them, which were due to be killed in less embarrassing situations.
I’m guessing the man who killed Sen Matheson was just a random shooting?
3D printing never occurred to me though, Scully.
Scully: Mulder, I need to show you something.
XXXXX
Scully drove Mulder to the building that she and Agent Spender had found, only now she could see families outside it; parents were talking excitedly.
Scully was sure she had the right building, but according to the sign on it, it was now a Kindergarten.
Scully wasn’t going to be defeated; she led Mulder into the building, and spoke to one of the teachers: “New parents; we’re looking for somewhere to take our daughter when she is younger”.
Mulder held up his mobile phone, which had an image of young Tena on the wallpaper.
As Scully looked around, the place was nothing like the building that she and Spender had visited.
“It all looks very nice” she said, walking towards a door at the back.
“That doesn’t really lead anywhere” said the teacher.
Scully opened the door, and found no sign of a 3D printer, just a storeroom for game equipment.
“We’ll be in touch” Mulder smiled.
XXXXX
As they sat in the car, Scully told Mulder: “It was here, Mulder; your giant 3D printer”.
“I believe you” Mulder replied; “I know these people we are dealing with, and if you and Agent Spender were were, they probably got wind of it.”
“You’re probably right” Scully sighed; “though I will maintain that this printer was definitely not creating people”.
Mulder smiled: “I must be in the realms of fantasy, as usual”.
“I completely forgot” Scully added; “Charles has invited us around to Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, and you’ll be pleased to know that Bill Jr. is unable to attend”.
“Let’s crack open some champagne” Mulder smiled; Scully knew all about the long-standing feud between her partner and her older brother.
XXXXX
The next day, Senator Matheson’s funeral was rescheduled, and things went without a hitch.
As Spender left the church, an old man approached him: “I loved that man”.
“As did we all” Spender replied.
“He was my on-off lover” the man whispered; “he spared my life, I thought he was going to kill me in the brothel that day, but I think he found me attractive. I was naked when he arrived with his gun, and I heard him shooting the hookers.”
“This is Senator Matheson we’re talking about?” Spender asked, confused.
“Yes, back in 1963, before he got elected to the Senate. He asked me, had I recognized the man who had just come in; I think he’d been killed.”
“When I said no, he told me to get dressed, and get away from there, and he slipped his address into my pants pocket. He was such a wonderful man”.
“What are you saying to Jeffrey, Uncle Pat?” a woman asked.
“He’s just telling me about how he knew Senator Matheson” Spender smiled.
It seemed that he had not known the man so well, after all.
XXXXX
Charles Scully greeted the agents that Sunday with a warm smile.
“Look at little Tena” he gushed; Mulder and Scully had dressed Tena up as a pilgrim.
He ushered them inside, and led them into the sitting room, where pictures of the late Bill Scully Sr., Maggie Scully and Melissa Scully decorated the mantlepiece. The gathering was smaller than they had expected, but at least some of them were there.
Family was important.
“Is it just me, or is Tena giving Charlie a really odd look?” Scully whispered to Mulder.
“It’s almost like he was an imposter” Mulder joked.
They soon forgot about this, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. Scully was just glad that Mulder had dropped his latest conspiracy theory.
THE END.
I'm not sure how well the JFK stuff in this one will go down.
Episode 12x08: RepRap
WASHINGTON, DC
Special Agent Jeffrey Spender climbed out of his car; he looked around and saw that a lot of people had showed up for Senator Richard Matheson’s funeral. He wasn’t surprised; the old man had been well-liked.
He could see crowds of people in black mourning suits, and several others in military attire, all heading towards the church.
“You’re an F.B.I. agent, right?”
Spender turned and saw a woman with long, dark hair.
“Professor. Lisa Ianelli” she introduced herself, grabbing Spender’s arm; “I need to speak to someone, someone who knows Agents Mulder and Scully”.
“I don’t have time” Spender snapped, letting go, and walking away.
“If you don’t listen to me, you won’t know the truth about the Senator” Dr. Ianelli shouted.
Spender ignored her, but he could hear a female police officer asking Dr. Ianelli who she was and whether she was invited to the funeral.
Spender acknowledged Senator Matheson’s sister; she was ninety now, and frail, and the only living family of the Senator, who had never married or had children.
“I’m sorry for your loss” he told her.
“Thank you, Jeffrey” she replied; “I hear my brother was very fond of you”.
Spender watched as she took a seat near the front, and he respectfully sat closer to the back.
As the mourners settled into their seats, they turned to watch the Senator’s coffin being bought into the church. Everyone was silent, and bowed their heads, including Reverend Dawson, who was officiating.
Spender recognized the song playing as Sheep May Safely Graze; the Senator had loved Bach and his music.
He watched as the coffin was laid in at the front of the church; one of the pall bearers reached over the open the lid, so that the mourners could see the face of their departed friend.
The next thing that happened seemed to happen in slow motion, as a deafening shot rang out across the church; it shattered the stained glass window at the back, which bore an image of Jesus walking on water.
People began to panic, some began to run for the exit as another shot rang out; this one just missed the coffin, and knocked over a candlebra.
There was one more shot, and more people began to run for the exit. Spender began to make his way out too; luckily it seemed that no one had been hit.
Spender expected there to be another shot fired, but all went silent. He noticed a side door opening, and a figure wielding a shotgun fleeing.
“Stop there” shouted a man in military gear, as several younger marines began to run after the man.
It seemed that the would-be-assassin had gone; Spender turned around, and saw where the final bullet had ended up.
It had made a hole in the side of Senator Matheson’s coffin, right around the head.
Whoever the shooter was, they had not picked an ordinary target.
XXXXX
Charles Scully managed to outrun his pursuers easily; this had not been an easy task, but a necessary one anyway.
He climbed into his car, and drove to the edge of the Potomac River; he climbed out of the car, and threw the gun into it.
After that, he drove away.
XXXXX
“You, wanted to see me, Sir?”
Agent Scully stepped into Deputy Director Kersh’s office, and saw Special Agent Jeffrey Spender already seated opposite the desk from Kersh.
Both men looked very stern; Scully entered, feeling the eyes of the large Donald Trump portrait on the wall, as though the man himself was in the room.
“Take a seat, Agent Scully” said Kersh, gruffly; “Agent Spender asked for you”.
“May I ask what this is about?” Scully asked.
“Agent Scully” said Kersh, getting straight to business; “I take if you are aware that a US Senator, Richard Matheson was murdered recently?”
“Yes, Sir” replied Scully.
“Agent Spender was attending the funeral” added Kersh; “there was an unexpected occurrence”.
“I heard on the news that someone fired shots at the congregation” Scully replied.
“That’s the thing” Spender said; “it became apparent to me that the mourners were not the target”.
“So, what was?” Scully asked.
“Apparently, the coffin itself” Spender replied.
“Why would anyone do that?” Scully asked.
“That” said Kersh, “is the million-dollar question”.
“Is this something you want me and Mulder to investigate, Sir?” Scully asked.
“I asked that Agent Mulder not be invited to this meeting” Spender explained.
“I was all too happy to oblige”, Kersh gave one of his very rare smiles.
“Agent Mulder will make all sort of ridiculous claims as to why the Senator was shot” added Spender; “he’ll probably come up with a theory based on having watched far too many episodes of The Walking Dead”.
“Agent Spender hopes that, with your rational mind, you can debunk any possible claims that Agent Mulder might make” added Kersh.
Scully nodded; she understood. Jeffrey Spender did not exactly see eye to eye with his half-brother, Fox Mulder.
“Well, to begin with” replied Scully, “is it possible for me to view the body?”
“I might be able to arrange for that” Spender replied.
“Meanwhile” added Kersh, “I’d recommend not telling Agent Mulder about your investigation; we all know how he likes to stick his nose in where it doesn’t belong”.
XXXXX
Mulder was alone in his office; Scully had given him a quick call, saying that she had been called away, but didn’t give any details.
Mulder texted her, but she didn’t reply; whatever this was, it must have been a serious business.
Mulder hadn’t been expecting visitors, especially a woman who he had not seen in just over two decades.
He had first met Dr. Lisa Ianelli back in the 1990s when she became the target of an assassination attempt straight out of the Terminator franchise. The would-be assassin was her colleague Dr. Jason Nicholls.
However, he was Dr. Nicholls from the future.
He was using time travel in an attempt to stop it from being invented, by attempting to kill Dr. Ianelli, and also his younger self.
Dr. Ianelli had survived the assassination attempt, and had evidently continued with her research.
Mulder did not recognise the man who was with Dr. Ianelli.
“Agent Mulder” said Dr. Ianelli, “it’s been too long; I never got to thank Agent Scully for helping to save my life”.
“Dr. Lisa Ianelli” replied Mulder; “it’s an honour, and I take it your older self hasn’t come calling yet?”
“Actually, it’s Professor Lisa Ianelli” she replied; “and no. This is my new partner, Professor Brian McGuane”.
“The famous Special Agent Fox Mulder” Professor McGuane smiled, reaching out to shake Mulder’s hand”.
“So, did you discover time travel?” Mulder laughed.
“Yes, we did” replied Professor Ianelli, calmly; “several years ago, now”.
“We perfected it” added Professor McGuane.
XXXXX
Scully knocked on Skinner’s door; if anyone would be a useful source of information, it would be her former Assistant Director.
“Stay out of it! I don’t want to hear anything from you!” she heard him shout as she waited; it sounded like he was having a heated phone conversation.
“Agent Scully” he said, opening the door; “what can I do for you?”
“I presume you heard about Senator Matheson?” Scully asked.
“Yes” Skinner replied, gesturing for Scully to come in; “it was a great shock”.
She noticed him glancing at an empty corner of the room as she entered.
“Are you wondering if I would have any idea who would want him dead?” Skinner added; “as great a man as he was, he certainly had a lot of enemies. I don’t think his support for President Trump did him many favours”.
“Actually” Scully replied; “I’m wondering why someone would apparently want to kill him again; did you hear about the shooting at the funeral?”
“It was on the news” Skinner replied.
“What they probably didn’t tell you” Scully frowned; “is that the target was apparently the coffin”.
“I’m guessing you’re looking for someone who could give you a more rational explanation than Special Agent Fox Mulder?”
“Yes; and so is Agent Spender”.
“Agent Scully” Skinner replied; “as you know, I served in Vietnam; I have seen people do some things you wouldn’t believe. I think we can possibly assume this was not the work of a sane individual. I also believe that it is possible whoever did this could do it again, and therefore the F.B.I. should be stopping him, or her”.
“I had a theory that this person was after something that was on the body” Scully replied; “maybe they’re one of these people who likes to collect trophies”. She remembered her tormentor from many years ago, Donnie Pfaster, the death fetishist, who had tried to kill her for the sake of taking her fingernails and hair.
“You mean they might have wanted to clear out the church building so they could steal something off the corpse?”
“It might even have been something like a gold filling in one of his teeth” Scully mused; “even illegal organ transplants; it would be interesting to see if Senator Matheson had agreed to donate organs after his death”.
“You’re reaching, Agent Scully” Skinner replied; “I don’t think many people would be interested in the vital organs of a man Senator Matheson’s age”.
“Nevertheless” Scully replied; “I am going to see if I can take a look at the body; see if it has been tampered with”.
Skinner seemed to be staring at the empty corner of the room again.
“I’ll let you know if I find anything” Scully added; “I’ll show myself out”.
“Thanks for dropping by, Agent Scully”.
XXXXX
Mulder sat in the back seat of Professor Ianelli’s car; apparently she had checked that it was free of listening devices. Thankfully, it was also large, and air-conditioned.
“The real reason we’re here is because of the late Senator Matheson” Professor McGuane explained.
“I tried to approach one of your colleagues about him” added Professor Ianelli, but he wouldn’t listen; “Special Agent Spender”.
“He wouldn’t listen to you” Mulder muttered.
“I should have gone straight to you” Dr. Ianelli continued; “you were very open minded about my old friend Dr. Nichols, and his future self”.
“I’m surprised you came to me at all” Mulder replied; “it seems like a straightforward shooting”.
“There is a lot of stuff that they’re not sharing with the public about this, Agent Mulder” replied Professor McGuane; “for example, the shooting incident that took place at the funeral, where the target was the coffin itself”.
“You mean - they’re coming to get you, Barbra!?” Mulder replied, attempting to put on a sinister voice”.
“It’s even more bizarre than that” Professor Ianelli replied; looking Mulder directly in the eye, she added: “What would you say if I told you that wasn’t Senator Matheson who got shot outside the Senate?”
“A shape shifter?” Mulder wondered, “a replicant?”
“We have stumbled upon evidence that Senator Matheson was murdered about a month before the shooting” added Professor McGuane.
Mulder was spellbound by this point; it was as though his friends John Byers, Melvin Frohike and Ringo Langly were right there in the car with him.
“We believe the Government has been covering up deaths of powerful officials that they deemed a little - let’s say - embarrassing” explained Professor Ianelli; “things they didn’t want to get leaked to the press”.
“With Senator Matheson’s death, we also think something went wrong” added Professor McGuane; the shooter acted alone, before a planned assassination attempt could take place”.
“This talk of planned assassination puts me in mind of the biggest conspiracy theory of all time” Mulder mused.
“Kennedy” Professor Ianelli finished Mulder’s sentence; “that’s who we were going to mention, but for what we are going to do next, we will need to catch a flight to Dallas, and change our outfits”.
XXXXX
Scully’s phone rang; when she answered, she heard Agent Spender on the other end.
“Agent Scully, it was a difficult job, but I think I can sneak you in to take a look at the Senator’s body” said Spender; “you’ll need to get over at the county morgue - right away, really. It’s where they returned the body, prior to rearranging the funeral”.
Scully smiled: “I’ll be right over”.
Whatever I find, she thought; it won’t be what Mulder would be expecting.
There had to be a rational explanation to this.
XXXXX
FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
DALLAS, TX
Professor Ianelli’s long orange dress, white gloves and beads suited her. Mulder was less sure about Professor McGuane’s chinos and striped shirt, or the tartan jacket that he wore over a pair of navy blue trousers and lighter blue shirt.
“So, we told you that we perfected time travel” explained Professor Ianelli; “well, this is where you get to try it for yourself”.
“We thought at first the time travel would only last a few seconds” Professor McGuane added; “but we’ve developed it further, and now we can stay as long as we like, and then use the same process to send us forward in time again”.
“This won’t hurt, much” said Professor Ianelli, holding out a stylus.
“Open your mind” Mulder muttered, just as he felt the stylus being jabbed into his hand, and he felt a strange, cold sensation, as though he were turning into a popsicle.
The next thing he knew, everything around him had changed; everyone around them was wearing 1960s fashions. It was drizzling very slightly, and a few people were carrying umbrellas.
“Welcome to Dallas” said Professor Ianelli; “22 November 1963; the morning before the Dealey Plaza incident”.
She seemed to choose her words carefully because there were people around; after all, it wouldn’t do to be dropping ‘spoilers’.
XXXXX
FORT WORTH AIRPORT
23 NOVEMBER 1963
The group walked outside to the airfield, where a plane had landed. Crowds of people stood watching, and suddenly Mulder realized why.
This was the plane that John F Kennedy and his first lady were arriving in, and they were getting ready to disembark. Mulder noticed one man near the front, who seemed strangely familiar, and was wearing a military uniform. He looked suspiciously like a younger version of Special Agent Jeffrey Spender.
As they joined the crowd, a bearded man who looked strangely familiar turned to Mulder. He was standing next to a woman who was noticeably heavily pregnant.
“Isn’t this a momentous day?” he smiled; “our best President of our lifetimes has just arrived”.
“Yes” Mulder nodded in agreement; “he certainly… “ he stopped; he almost said was “… is a great man”.
The man reached out his hand and shook Mulder’s. “Bertram Byers” he said “very pleased to make your acquaintance; and this is my wife, Joan”.
“Oh, Bertram, do you have to introduce us to everyone whom you meet?” Joan Byers asked, chidingly.
“Very nice to meet you, ma’am” Mulder replied, “Frank Spotnitz”.
“Better not say that name out loud” Bertram whispered; “they might think you’re - you know - a Russian”.
Of course, communism was a watch word in the 1960s.
It all made sense to Mulder; these were the parents of his late friend, John Fitzgerald Byers, who was right now just feet away from him, still inside his own mother. That was a weird thought, and then Mulder remembered another thing; hadn’t his friend been born on the day of the Kennedy assassination?
“If you don’t mind me saying, Ma’am” Mulder said, politely; “congratulations on your impending motherhood”.
“That’s very perceptive of you” Bertam replied; “her due date is just five days away”.
At this point, there was a loud cheer, and they saw several people emerging from the plane. Mulder recognized JFK and his wife; Jackie was holding a bunch of red roses. JFK was waving to the crowds, clearly pleased to see them.
Nobody seemed to be minding the slightly damp weather; everyone was just pleased to see an American hero.
Professor Ianelli whispered to Mulder: “What would you say if I told you, that wasn’t JFK?”
Before Mulder could reply, Joan turned to her husband.
“Bertram, my waters just broke”.
XXXXX
COUNTY MORGUE
2018
Scully stood over the body of Senator Richard Matheson, while Spender watched. He had managed to get her security clearance, and they had snuck in; Scully felt like she was on some covert operation. Mulder would have probably loved to have been there.
“Agent Spender” she said; “this doesn’t make sense”; she pointed to the corpse’s naked chest.
Spender and Scully both stared.
“If he was shot four times in the chest, where are the bullet wounds?” Scully asked.
Spender was at a loss to answer this question; Scully suspected that even Mulder would have been confused.
Scully also looked at the bullet hole that had been made in the side of the Senator’s head. Why kill him again after he is dead? It didn’t make any sense.
“I’m going to have to ask you both to stop what you’re doing right now, and leave”.
A burly man wearing a military uniform had entered the room.
“We’re with the F.B.I.” Scully explained; “I’m a medical doctor; Special Agent Dana Scully; I was asked to investigate the shooting that took place at Senator Matheson’s funeral”.
“Well” the man said, gruffly, “I’m asking you both to stay out of it; now, will you leave, or am I going to have to use force?”
Scully mouthed to Spender that they should leave, and he nodded. The man watched as they left, and made sure they did not try anything.
“You’re Agent Mulder’s partner” he added; “I’m surprised he isn’t digging his nose around here”.
Scully and Spender did not answer; they kept walking.
XXXXX
FORT WORTH AIRPORT
23 NOVEMBER 1963
As the couple he had just met left the scene in an ambulance, largely ignored by the crowd, Mulder scanned the other people, but couldn’t see the Spender lookalike.
Could it have been? he wondered, and realized that it was very likely he had glimpsed his own father, the Cigarette Smoking Man, reputed to have been the real killer of President Kennedy.
As he contemplated how one of his best friends was soon going to be born, a man would die in an act of self-sacrifice less than forty years later, Mulder thought how he’d love to shout a warning out to JFK.
There were only two problems.
First off, he probably shouldn’t interfere with the course of history.
Secondly, apparently this was not JFK.
Professors Ianelli and McGuane were beckoning to Mulder to follow them.
“So, if that’s not JFK, where is he?” Mulder asked; “are you suggesting that they knew about what was going to happen, and he used a double to fake the whole thing”.
“Actually” said Professor McGuane; “we believe that JFK died a few weeks ago, in Baltimore”.
“We also believe” added Professor Ianelli; “that they repeated the same cover-up with Senator Matheson”.
“So, let me guess” replied Mulder; “we’re going to Baltimore”.
“Correct” replied Professor Ianelli, “and then we need to travel again”.
Mulder knew what she meant.
They would be travelling two weeks further back into the past.
XXXXX
F.B.I. HEADQUARTERS
2018
Scully pulled Spender into the women’s restroom, and locked the door.
“Agent Scully, what are we doing in here?”
Scully quickly turned on the tap before she said anything; she had been learning from the expert: Mulder.
“You said the gunshots fired at the coffin came from a distance?” she asked him.
“Yes” Spender replied; “from the back of the church.
“That makes this case even more bizarre” she replied; “I could see unburnt grains of gunpowder in the Senator’s head wound, even stippling. I’ve done enough autopsies that I could tell straight away”.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Spender asked.
“Agent Spender, you need to brush up on your knowledge of munitions” Scully answered him; “that would indicate that the gunshot wound was fired at a much closer distance; it would have to have been at point blank range”.
“That, and the missing chest wounds” replied Spender, “that doesn’t add up”.
Scully nodded; Mulder would have had several theories.
Someone knocked on the door, loudly.
“Just coming” Scully called.
As the two agents emerged, Scully recognized her colleague Holly.
“Agent Scully and Agent Spender” she said; “I never would have guessed”.
“I guess I can’t help myself” replied Scully; “I trust you won’t tell Agent Mulder”.
“To be fair, I’ve always had a crush on Agent Spender” Holly replied.
It looked like Scully had gotten away with that.
XXXXX
BALTIMORE
9 NOVEMBER 1963
The street definitely looked seedy; Mulder was familiar with some of the less pleasant parts of Baltimore.
“If you want to know the truth” said Professor Ianelli, “you’re going to have to go in here”.
“If we’re right” added Professor McGuane; “you will only need to wait about five minutes”.
“See if you can do some snooping” added Professor Ianelli.
“Snooping is my middle name” Mulder smiled; he almost immediately realised what the place he was being directed to enter was. He had only once been into a brothel before, and that was during his days with the violent crimes unit, and strictly on business. A modern-day Jack the Ripper had been murdering prostitutes.
He was sure he could do this; he walked through the door, into a large atrium, full of old-fashioned furnishings. A few men were standing around, watching as women in short skirts milled around, often approaching their prospective clients.
“Do you see anyone you like?”
A tall, skinny, moustachioed man, stood near the entrance; the pimp.
“I’m just looking” Mulder blushed.
“Take your time” replied the pimp; “all the girls are hand-picked for me, and will give you a time you won’t forget”.
This was a little overwhelming for Mulder; he sat down on one of the easy chairs.
“Your first time too?” and older man asked him.
The man was bald, and came across as a bit slimy, a bit like someone who had been to places like this all of his life.
“Uh, yes” Mulder replied.
“It’s Melvin’s, too” the man replied; “Frohike; Herbert Frohike”.
Mulder glanced at the younger man who was also sat with them. Glasses, slicked-back hair, acne ridden face; what were the chances of him bumping into another old friend of his?
Melvin Frohike would grow up to be the man who Scully should possibly have put a restraining order on, as he constantly talked about how ‘hot’ she was. Luckily, Scully had never seemed to mind too much. Mulder also knew that Frohike, along with John Byers and Richard “Ringo” Langly, would also pass away in the early noughties, all in the same heroic act. It was strange that Mulder had not been around at the time, and had been told by Scully about a month after the event.
“My dad took me to my first brothel sixty years ago” added Herbert; “now it’s my turn to do the same for Melvin”.
Mulder nodded; he might have guessed that an obsession with women’s bodies ran in the Frohike family.
“Frank” said Mulder; “nice to meet you both”.
Melvin Frohike was nervous at first, then replied: “Nice to meet you, Frank”. He then got distracted by a prostitute with a particularly short skirt as she passed by.
He pulled off his steamed-up glasses, and started cleaning them. Giving Mulder the smile that he was so familiar with, he added: “She’s hot; buy I saw her first”.
“That’s my boy” Herbert smiled; the similarity between father and son was uncanny.
“Do you gentlemen want to see a good time?” the same woman asked, passing by again.
“Take the lad” Herbert insisted, practically shoving Melvin to his feet; “he’s the virgin here”.
“Don’t look so nervous” the prostitute laughed; “step this way”.
As Mulder’s old friend slowly followed, Herbert called out: “She’ll put hairs on your chest”.
At this point, their attention was drawn to a man entering the building; he seemed to be intent on hiding his face, as he whispered to the pimp and was quickly taken to somewhere towards the back of the building.
“You know” Herbert whispered; “if I didn’t know better, I’d swear that was President Kennedy!”
XXXXX
“I’ve heard of famous people using body doubles to pose as them” Spender mused; “but it doesn’t make sense, unless neither of these bodies is the real Senator Matheson.
“You sound like you’re turning into a conspiracy theorist” Scully replied.
“We should sleep on this” Spender suggested; “maybe it will seem clearer in the morning”.
Scully nodded; “I hope you sleep well, Agent Spender”.
Talking of conspiracy theorists, there were some people she needed to speak to.
Scully began to head to the basement car park; as she got in the elevator to go down, she thought she felt someone jostle her. It was quite crowded in the elevator, and she couldn’t tell who it was. If this happened again though, she might have to storm into Kersh’s office and rant about sexual harassment at the bureau.
On the next floor, the lift emptied out, and she realized she was alone. As the doors closed, she noticed that something had been placed into the side pocket of her jacket; it was a note, folded up. As she opened it, it felt like the writing was starting to fade.
MEET ME AT THE WATERGATE HOTEL, MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.
COME ALONE, I DON’T TRUST AGENT SPENDER YET.
Watergate Hotel, Scully thought; what a cliché.
She looked at the note again; the writing was completely gone. Whatever ink had been used to write this must have been made using technology that would have made James Bond jealous; they presumably did not trust her to dispose of the note carefully.
XXXXX
Mulder let ten minutes pass, then turned to Herbert. If he was going to do any snooping, he should do it now.
“Do me a favour” he whispered; “and distract that guy for me”; he indicated the pimp.
“Anything for a fellow gentleman” Herbert smiled; heading over to the pimp, he asked: “So, which of the girls would you say was the hottest?”
The pimp seemed bemused by the question, but his attention was diverted long enough so he could sneak down the corridor that the newcomer had disappeared along.
The newcomer, who was almost certainly President Kennedy.
Mulder tiptoed along the corridor; he had lost sight of Kennedy, and decided to let his own instincts guide him.
In one of the rooms, he could hear Roy Orbison’s Only the Lonely playing on a gramophone; it was one he recognized, and enjoyed.
Only the lonely,
Only the lonely
Mulder glanced in some of the rooms he passed; they were mostly empty, although one contained an older prostitute, who grinned at him. Her face put him in mind of someone he’d rather forget: Ma Peacock.
Only the lonely,
Know the way I feel tonight,
Only the lonely,
Know this feeling ain’t right
It was at this point that Mulder heard the scream; it was coming from up a flight of stairs.
There goes my baby,
There goes my heart,
They’re gone forever,
So far apart
Mulder didn’t stop to think; he began to run up the stairs; his F.B.I. instincts had taken over.
But only the lonely,
Know why I cry,
Only the lonely,
Only the lonely,
Only the lonely
On the floor above, Mulder heard another scream, and he ran in the direction it had come from.
Only the lonely,
Know the heartaches I’ve been through
Doors on either side of them, and prostitutes appeared out of the doors. Most of them looked shocked. A young man also appeared at one of the doors; he was completely naked, and was making no effort to hide his very stiff dick. Instead, he grinned at Mulder: “Hey, Man, choice babes here!”
Mulder gave an awkward smile back, and kept running.
Only the lonely,
Know I cry and cry for you
He arrived at the door of the room where the scream had come from; some of the prostitutes craned their necks to see around Mulder, at the sight before them.
Maybe tomorrow,
A new romance,
No more sorrow
A half-naked man lay on the floor, in a pool of blood; Mulder could just about recognize him as President Kennedy. The blood was pouring from a wound in his lower torso, just where his liver would have been.
A scantily-clad prostitute cowered in the corner, looking hysterical.
But that’s the chance,
You gotta take
Mulder glanced around the room, but he already sensed that he knew what he was looking for; the small, but noticeably open, ventilator shaft, with a trail of blood leading into it.
If your lonely heart breaks,
Only the lonely
The ventilator shaft was too small for anyone to get through.
Anyone, that was, except for one man.
Eugene Tooms.
Back in 1963, Tooms would have been searching for his next five victims.
XXXXX
2018
“So, you think Senator Matheson used a body double?” Yes asked.
Scully had visited the new ‘Lone Gunmen’ to see if she could get a response that would not have come from Mulder, something rational. Jimmy Bond stood in the corner, making himself useful in the best way he could: preparing burritos for his friends.
“I presume you heard of all the fake Melania Trump stories?” Kimmy asked, turning away from his computer.
“I read that the she had a kidney operation, and while she was recovering a fake Melania was used in her place” replied Scully.
“You read our last edition of our magazine then?” Jimmy asked, not noticing that he was making a bit of a mess as he filled up the burritos; “one for you, Agent Scully?”
“No, thanks” Scully replied; she had to go around to Leyla’s house and ask her to look after Tena for a few more hours.
“Where’s Agent Mulder?” Jimmy added.
“He left me a note saying that he might be gone for a short while” replied Scully; “but that if he’s already back, please ignore the message. Yves, has a double ever been used to cover up the fact that a celebrity has died?”
“April Lavigne” replied Yves; “apparently some people believe she died in 2003, and that she has been replaced with an imposter to cover up the death”.
“It’s a theory that’s been fuelled by her forgetting lyrics to her own song” added Kimmy; it was apparent that he was googling the information on his computer.
“You’re certainly giving us a good potential cover story” Yves smiled; “Byers, Langly and Frohike would be proud”.
“Maybe it’s the lizard people” Jimmy suggested; “taking the place of all of these celebrities. Apparently there are those who believe the British Royal Family have been lizards for many generations”.
Scully rolled her eyes; at least Mulder had not yet suggested that conspiracy theory.
“Away from all the David Icke stuff” said Kimmy; “it looks like you may be on the right track”.
“I have a meeting to make at midnight” replied Scully; “I may be able to provide more information for you”.
“I’m starting to see why Frohike thought she was so hot” Jimmy grinned, moments after Scully had left the room.
XXXXX
1963
Mulder glanced at the prostitute, who was still in shock.
“Don’t worry” he said; “it will be okay”.
“The man - he came out of the wall” she gibbered; “he killed him”.
“I know” replied Mulder; he heard a man’s voice in the corridor; it sounded familiar somehow. Could it have been Cancer Man again?
Nope, not him, Mulder thought; not that fucking S.O.B.
He glanced out of the door; the man was at the end of the corridor. The music on the gramophone had stopped, or had been turned off.
He seemed to be sending the prostitutes and their clients into their rooms; all except one.
Trying to stay out of sight, and warning his companion to be silent, Mulder saw the man ask the prostitute something.
Mulder saw the man pull out a gun, and shoot the prostitute in the face; the gun had a silencer, so it made a sound like a sonic boom.
Mulder thought quickly; they had to get out of here, or they might be next; he could hear the man knocking on another person’s door. He closed the door, and spotted that it had a latch on it, which he quickly closed.
“Do these windows open?” he whispered.
The prostitute nodded.
Mulder opened one of the windows; the ground was only one floor below, and underneath was what appeared to be a seedy back alley. Nobody was around to see.
“I’ll jump first, and then I’ll catch you” Mulder said.
He jumped; he landed on his feet, and then he turned to the window.
The prostitute was looking nervous; she wasn’t keen on jumping.
“I’ll catch you” Mulder beckoned.
She shook her head; she was still scared.
Mulder heard the man banging on a door; was this the door of the room that they had just been in?
“Trust me” Mulder pleaded.
The prostitute hesitated, and then finally, she leaned out of the window, and jumped.
As he caught her in his arms, Mulder heard the sound of the door being kicked down, the latch broken.
Run, Mulder mouthed.
They ran through the alley, and did not stop until they were some distance away; Mulder wondered where his companions were. He realized Frohike was going to make it out alive; he was going to meet Mulder, almost thirty years later.
“That man” the prostitute gasped; “he looked like President Kennedy”.
Mulder thought quickly; so, it would seem that Kennedy really died at the hands of Eugene Tooms, one of his five chosen victims before he went back into hibernation. The fact that he died in a brothel might mean that some people would want the witnesses silenced.
“Take my advice” Mulder whispered; “get as far away from here as you can, start a new life. Don’t tell anyone”.
The prostitute kissed Mulder: “I’ll remember you…”.
“Frank” Mulder smiled.
With that, she ran away.
Mulder staggered around the next corner, and almost collided with another man.
“Hey, Fella” the man said, nonchalantly.
It took him a while to realise that the man was Eugene Tooms, possibly because he had just figured out who the man who had turned trigger-happy in the brothel was.
He had been a young Senator Richard Matheson.
XXXXX
WATERGATE HOTEL
2018
Scully was certain she was alone, as she arrived by the hotel. She stood in the cold, wondering if her contact would show up; was she being hoaxed.
A shadowy figure stepped out of the shadows, and she realized it was a woman who she had met a couple of times.
Marita Covarrubias.
“Agent Scully” said Marita.
“Ms Covarrubias” Scully replied.
“I understand you’re looking into the Senator Matheson affair”.
Scully nodded: “It is becoming apparent that the body that I saw did not belong to the man gunned down outside the senate”.
“You’re right” replied Marita.
“So, whose body did I examine?”
“I am fairly certain that was Senator Matheson” replied Marita; “but what you might not realise is that when the gun incident took place, the Senator was already dead”.
“You mean” Scully replied; “someone wanted us to believe he was still alive?”
Marita nodded: “A lot of people wanted to cover up the nature of the Senator’s death; it was scandalous to say the least”.
“What politician isn’t corrupt these days?” Scully asked, rhetorically.
“I don’t know how much Agent Mulder told you about his former friend” Marita added; “but one thing that not many people knew was that he was homosexual. He was shot in the head by a woman named Sandra Dickey, who caught him receiving oral sex from her husband, Dan. My understanding was that she came home and found them both naked in the master bedroom”.
“Those names sound familiar” Scully mused.
“The Dickeys died when their car exploded” Marita replied; “it seems that someone wanted to keep them from talking about what had happened.”
“So, let me get this straight” Scully replied; “a body double was bought in to pretend to be Senator Matheson”.
“A body double was bought in to be shot in public” Marita replied; “but the shooting that occurred was unplanned; the killer acted alone, and it messed up a few plans, particularly since the Senate weren’t able to keep the incident from going to the press”.
“So, let me get this straight” Scully replied; “they replaced the double with the real Senator’s body for the funeral. No one would have noticed that he’d not been shot in the chest because his funeral clothes would have covered that up, but they had to come up with a seemingly motiveless shooting to make sure no one questioned why he had sustained a gunshot wound to the head”.
“Very astute of you, Agent Scully, particularly since the Senator had expressly said that he did not wish to be cremated, which would have been a convenient way for them to hide the evidence”.
“But are you suggesting that someone pretended to be Senator Matheson, knowing that it had been arranged for him to be assassinated?” Scully asked, incredulously.
“It’s a bit more than that” Marita replied; “I suggest you go to this address; I’ve got two fake IDs here; one for you, and one for Agent Spender, assuming you trust him”.
Marita handed over a slip of paper and two ID passes.
“The access code is 1013” she added, as she walked away into the shadows.
XXXXX
BALTIMORE
1963
Eugene Tooms was wearing overalls over another layer of clothes; it occurred to Mulder that he had hastily put them on to hide the fact that his other clothes were covered in the blood of President Kennedy.
Mulder reached for his gun, and pointed it at Tooms.
“Whoa, Fella” Tooms replied, nervously; “I’m just doing my job”.
“Really?” Mulder asked, “so, you’re saying I shouldn’t shoot you right here?”
“Animal control” Tooms protested; “I got a report that there was an infestation of rats down that alley you just came out of”.
“Well, I didn’t see any” Mulder replied.
His hand shook on the trigger. Could he do it, I wondered, could he change history, kill Eugene Tooms back in 1963, and at the very least save all of his victims from thirty years later, people like George Usher, from the same fate?
Would it make much of a difference to the course of history? Mulder wondered. He had already probably saved a woman who should have been killed by the young Senator Matheson, assuming that she wouldn’t have jumped out of the window without Mulder’s effect.
Was she already having a ripple effect on the future that he would eventually be going back to?
Tooms was starting to panic: “You’re crazy, Fella” he protested.
Mulder aimed his gun, and pulled the trigger.
The gun jammed; this was not a good time to me screwing up.
Mulder tried again, and the gun still wouldn’t fire, but then he remembered his ankle holstered gun. Slowly and steadily, he reached down to get it…
Plucking up some courage, Tooms punched Mulder hard in the face, and then started to run. By the time Mulder had recovered from the blow, his quarry was out of sight.
As Mulder reeled, a car pulled up, and Professor Ianelli looked out of the window: “Thank goodness we found you” she replied, “get in”.
Mulder reluctantly climbed into the car, and they sped away; just in time, as when Mulder turned back, he saw his former friend running along the alleyway that Mulder had been in just minutes before, his gun cocked.
“I trust you were able to see for yourself what happened to JFK” said Professor Ianelli.
“His real killer was Eugene Tooms” replied Mulder; “and I’m guessing the fact that he was visiting a brothel wasn’t good for his reputation”.
“Not something he’d want in his obituary” observed Professor Ianelli.
“That man who assaulted you” said Professor McGuane “that was Tooms, wasn’t it? I remembered seeing his face in a true crime programme”.
“You are correct” replied Mulder; “and then there was the man who arrived very fast on the scene to eliminate the witnesses, a man who will later become Senator Matheson. It seems that my friend the Senator had a past as a government goon for hire”.
XXXXX
2018
BALTIMORE, MD
“I hope this isn’t a wild goose chase you’ve dragged me out at this time for, Agent Scully”.
“I thought you enjoyed being my temporary partner” Scully smiled.
The building that they had arrived at seemed nondescript; she glanced at the fake ID passes. However Marita had gotten hold of these, she must have had all the right connections; the passes even had pictures of the agents on. Scully’s identified her as ‘Sara Charno’, Spender’s as ‘Howard Gordon’.
Scully keyed in ‘1013’ on the keypad, and they opened the door.
When Scully reached fort the lightswitch, the agents saw that the inside of the building did not reflect the shabby state of the outside; the place was state of the art.
“Feels like we’ve stepped into 2001: A Space Odyssey muttered Spender; “we just need to find HAL”.
“I’ve had my fill of HAL-type killer computers” Scully muttered; many years ago, a computer with a mind of her own had killed a CEO and one of their fellow F.B.I. Agents, Jerry Lamana, and almost killed Scully herself.
“I must keep reminding Mulder to switch on the lights” Scully smiled; “we’ve been dependent on our torches for way too long”.
“After you, Dr. Charno” Spender replied.
The two of them followed a long, straight corridor, with doors either side, which led to empty rooms; an ominous-looking door stood right at the end, and seemed to beckon them towards it.
Another keypad sat by the side; Scully keyed in ‘1013’, and opened the door.
Inside the next room was what appeared at first to be a large pair of soccer goalposts, which Scully quickly realized was in fact a large mechanical device.
“It looks like a giant 3D printer” said Spender; “what do you suppose they are printing? Firearms?”
“They would be printing very large firearms, Agent Spender” Scully replied.
There weren’t many other items of interest in the room, but a waste paper basket caught Scully’s eye: “Looks like someone needs to take out their trash once in a while” she remarked.
“What have you found?” Spender asked, as Scully leaned into the trash basket.
Scully held up several photographs: “They are all of Senator Matheson”.
“You’re suggesting the person who did all of this, he was a stalker?” Spender asked, incredulously; “do you think this was John Lennon all over again?”
“I’m not sure” replied Scully; “I may have to introduce you to some friends of mine, against my better judgement; assuming they’re not asleep yet”.
XXXXX
Jimmy and Kimmy were not asleep yet; they were managing to recreate and better one of Ringo Langly’s highscore at a role-playing game. Langly had not been pleased when Frohike had pulled the plug on his game, to stop Jimmy from shredding what turned out to be a valuable document.
“Pause the game” said Kimmy; “no, PAUSE!”
“Okay, Dude!” replied Jimmy; “I’m not too familiar with all these controls”.
“Are you guys still up?” Yves asked, appearing with a dressing gown on; “oh, hello, Agent Scully”.
“This is Special Agent Jeffrey Spender” Scully replied; “and I hope that you can trust him”.
“Didn’t I hear that he’s the son of some shadowy government chain smoker?” Jimmy asked.
“As is Agent Mulder” Yves reminded him, “and you will remember that my father is a Man in Black”.
Yves was the daughter of Morris Fletcher from before when he settled down with his wife Joanne.
“How far have you got on the Senator Matheson case?” Kimmy asked, as Jimmy started to make coffees
.
“We’ve found what appears to be a giant 3D printer” replied Scully; “and pictures of the dead Senator”.
Kimmy and Yves looked at each other.
“Do you realise there is only one logical explanation?” Kimmy asked.
Jimmy had stopped filling up the kettle, and was listening in, eagerly.
“What would this explanation be?” Spender demanded; “what are you suggesting they printed?”
“It’s not a what” replied Yves; “a who”.
“Wait” Scully replied; “if you’re about to suggest what I think you’re about to suggest…”
.
“They used it to print Senator Matheson” Kimmy cut in.
It was precisely what Scully feared they were going to say; Mulder was missing out on one of the craziest conspiracy theories she had ever heard.
XXXXX
1963
BALTIMORE, MD
Mulder didn’t ask where his companions had acquired the car they were driving; he suspected that desperate times had led to similarly desperate measures.
“We long suspected that there was more to the Kennedy Assassination than met the eye” said Professor Ianelli, “but we needed Agent Mulder to see for himself”.
“It’s falling into place” Mulder said; “they needed a fake Kennedy, to hide the real nature of his death”.
“Being killed in a brothel wouldn’t be good for his reputation” replied Professor McGuane; “not something that would look good in the history books”.
“So, the shooting was a set up” Mulder conceded; “to preserve his reputation”.
“We believe something similar happened with your former friend, Senator Matheson” added Professor Ianelli.
“There’s something up ahead” Professor McGuane muttered.
Ahead, they saw a small crowd; it was watching a figure get out of a presidential car.
To all intents and purposes, this was President Kennedy.
Mulder of course knew that it couldn’t possibly be.
“I need to get out of the car” he said.
XXXXX
2018
“Wait for me, Agent Spender”.
Spender was walking very quickly down the stairs.
“These people need to be locked up!” Spender shouted, ignoring an old lady who was staring out of a flat, looking annoyed at having been disturbed at this hour. It was funny, Scully had never seen any of the Lone Gunmens’ neighbours before.
“You say they’ve helped you and Agent Mulder in the past?” Spender asked, incredulously.
“I must admit” said Scully as they stepped out into the street; “some of their theories are a bit eccentric”.
“Eccentric?” Spender shouted “they’re suggesting that Senator Matheson was replaced by a sentient piece of origami”.
“Keep the noise down!” shouted someone from an upstairs window.
“I’m sure if we sleep on this, we can find a more rational explanation” said Scully, trying to avoid raising her voice.
“I’m starting to wonder if involving you in this was a good idea” Spender muttered.
At this moment, Scully’s phone rang, and she answered it.
“Are you Dana Scully?” a woman asked.
“Yes” Scully replied.
“Do you know a Fox Mulder?”
Scully nodded, and listened carefully to what the woman had to say next.
XXXXX
1963
BALTIMORE, MD
Mulder peered over the small crowd that had gathered, as the man who appeared to be President Kennedy walked towards them, shaking their hands. Women were passing their babies over to the imposter so he would kiss them. He was flanked by two bodyguards.
“We love you, President Kennedy” someone shouted.
The atmosphere was a happy one, until Mulder interjected:
“I know you’re not President Kennedy”.
The crowd turned to face Mulder; so did the fake President Kennedy; people started to boo and hiss.
“Now, now” said Kennedy; “let’s hear what this man has to say”.
“Maybe we should be getting away from here” said Professor Ianelli.
Mulder ignored her, and shouted again: “You’re an imposter”.
Kennedy came closer to Mulder: “I assure you, I’m not”.
Mulder came right up close: “I don’t know who you are, but I am certainly going to find out”.
“Sir”, said one of the bodyguards; “I’m going to have to ask you to back off”.
“Let’s go” said Professor McGuane.
“I know this is the start of a big conspiracy” said Mulder; “a cover up”.
“I’m not going to ask you again”.
“This man clearly is disturbed” said Kennedy, “but he’s an American citizen, and he has the right to speak”.
People started booing again.
“When I find out who you are” said Mulder; “I’ll make sure I expose every person who is behind…”
As the security guard fired his gun, everything seemed to go into slow motion.
The bullet hit Mulder in the shoulder; the pain was searing.
Mulder felt another sensation in his arm, and realized that Professor Ianelli had jabbed him with a syringe.
The scene swam in front of Mulder’s eyes; it was like he was falling into a deep pit, and the crowd’s booing was getting more and more distance.
Then, he lost consciousness altogether.
XXXXX
2018
Charles Scully sensed something was up as he arrived at his apartment. He had followed the Cigarette Smoking Man’s instructions as well as he could regarding Senator Matheson’s body, and covered his tracks.
He looked around; he couldn’t see anyone, but it definitely felt like someone was watching him.
XXXXX
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
WASHINGTON D.C.
Mulder opened his eyes to see Scully looking back at him; she held Tena in her hands.
“Scully? Are you in 1963?”
“You’re delirious, Mulder; this is the present day. You’ve not travelled in time, but you have been shot.”
“I know; I was confronting a man who claimed to be President Kennedy”.
“You have some vivid dreams, Mulder, but that’s all they are”.
“Wait a minute; the clothes I was wearing …”
“A very nice outfit, Mulder; sixties fashion. You looked like you were going to a retro party”.
“Professor Ianelli, the woman who invented time travel; she and her partner…”
“Yes, I remember Agent Spender said a Professor Ianelli spoke to him, but I’m certain she’s delusional, and you’re having a case of folie a deux”.
Mulder sighed; he should have realised that convincing Scully he had travelled in time would be impossible.
“Agent Spender and I have been investigating the Senator Matheson case” said Scully.
“I saw Senator Matheson too” Mulder said, woozily.
“You should get some rest” replied Scully.
XXXXX
A few days later, Mulder was discharged from hospital. Scully arrived to drive him home, and helped him to walk to the car; he was a little unsteady on his feet.
“Is Tena with Leyla?” Mulder asked.
“As usual” Scully replied; “she says…”
“I remember you” a voice interrupted.
An old lady in a wheelchair outside the geriatric ward was smiling at Mulder; then she looked confused.
“Sorry, you look so familiar; like someone I met back in the sixties, only you’ve not aged”.
“She gets like this sometimes” said a male nurse, who was attending to her; “she claims she saw President Kennedy murdered while working as a hooker. Come on, Nancy; let’s get you back to your bed”.
Mulder looked at Scully: “Have you seen All the President’s Men?”
“Where are you going with this, Mulder?”
XXXXX
Mulder switched on the computer as they got home, and put a Vivaldi CD on, loudly; the music made it hard for him and Scully to think, but he ushered her to the computer, and opened a Word document.
Mulder began to type:
Sen. Matheson and Kennedy both replaced by doubles.
Grabbing the typewriter, Scully added:
I have to agree, based on my observations, that there must have been a fake Sen. Matheson.
Where does Kennedy fit into this?
Mulder: I think Tooms was the real killer.
Scully: Eugene Tooms? The ‘liver eating mutant’?
Mulder: What more can you tell me about Sen. Matheson?
Scully: Apparently having an affair with a married man; shot dead by the man’s wife.
Kimmy had a theory about 3D printed clones.
Spender wasn’t too impressed.
Mulder: It makes sense, Scully. Kennedy died while visiting a brothel.
Scully: In your dream, Mulder.
Mulder: It really happened, Scully.
A lot of people would want to cover up the circumstances in which both these men died, so it would make sense for someone to go to great lengths to save their reputations.
Thus, they created copies of them, which were due to be killed in less embarrassing situations.
I’m guessing the man who killed Sen Matheson was just a random shooting?
3D printing never occurred to me though, Scully.
Scully: Mulder, I need to show you something.
XXXXX
Scully drove Mulder to the building that she and Agent Spender had found, only now she could see families outside it; parents were talking excitedly.
Scully was sure she had the right building, but according to the sign on it, it was now a Kindergarten.
Scully wasn’t going to be defeated; she led Mulder into the building, and spoke to one of the teachers: “New parents; we’re looking for somewhere to take our daughter when she is younger”.
Mulder held up his mobile phone, which had an image of young Tena on the wallpaper.
As Scully looked around, the place was nothing like the building that she and Spender had visited.
“It all looks very nice” she said, walking towards a door at the back.
“That doesn’t really lead anywhere” said the teacher.
Scully opened the door, and found no sign of a 3D printer, just a storeroom for game equipment.
“We’ll be in touch” Mulder smiled.
XXXXX
As they sat in the car, Scully told Mulder: “It was here, Mulder; your giant 3D printer”.
“I believe you” Mulder replied; “I know these people we are dealing with, and if you and Agent Spender were were, they probably got wind of it.”
“You’re probably right” Scully sighed; “though I will maintain that this printer was definitely not creating people”.
Mulder smiled: “I must be in the realms of fantasy, as usual”.
“I completely forgot” Scully added; “Charles has invited us around to Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, and you’ll be pleased to know that Bill Jr. is unable to attend”.
“Let’s crack open some champagne” Mulder smiled; Scully knew all about the long-standing feud between her partner and her older brother.
XXXXX
The next day, Senator Matheson’s funeral was rescheduled, and things went without a hitch.
As Spender left the church, an old man approached him: “I loved that man”.
“As did we all” Spender replied.
“He was my on-off lover” the man whispered; “he spared my life, I thought he was going to kill me in the brothel that day, but I think he found me attractive. I was naked when he arrived with his gun, and I heard him shooting the hookers.”
“This is Senator Matheson we’re talking about?” Spender asked, confused.
“Yes, back in 1963, before he got elected to the Senate. He asked me, had I recognized the man who had just come in; I think he’d been killed.”
“When I said no, he told me to get dressed, and get away from there, and he slipped his address into my pants pocket. He was such a wonderful man”.
“What are you saying to Jeffrey, Uncle Pat?” a woman asked.
“He’s just telling me about how he knew Senator Matheson” Spender smiled.
It seemed that he had not known the man so well, after all.
XXXXX
Charles Scully greeted the agents that Sunday with a warm smile.
“Look at little Tena” he gushed; Mulder and Scully had dressed Tena up as a pilgrim.
He ushered them inside, and led them into the sitting room, where pictures of the late Bill Scully Sr., Maggie Scully and Melissa Scully decorated the mantlepiece. The gathering was smaller than they had expected, but at least some of them were there.
Family was important.
“Is it just me, or is Tena giving Charlie a really odd look?” Scully whispered to Mulder.
“It’s almost like he was an imposter” Mulder joked.
They soon forgot about this, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. Scully was just glad that Mulder had dropped his latest conspiracy theory.
THE END.