Weak in the Knees; chapter eleven
Title: Weak in the Knees
Author: Dhamphir
Fandom: X-Files
Pairing: Scully/OFC
Rating: umm... NC-17 eventually
Please see previous posts for disclaimer/summary/notes. Thanks to
celievamp for the beta.
Chapter 11
When Scully and Morgan arrived at work there was a message waiting for Morgan. She picked up the note from her desk.
“The Director wants to see me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“There’s something I need to take care of this morning. If I’m not here when you get back I should be back soon.”
“Alright.” Jess left to go meet with the Director.
Meanwhile, Scully opened her laptop and typed up a short letter. She printed it out and left to go see a certain Assistant Director.
***
“Good morning, Jessica. Have a seat.”
“Good morning, sir.”
“Have a seat.”
Morgan sat in one of the chairs in front of the Director’s desk.
“So, why did I have to find out about what happened in your hotel room last night by reading about it in a report?” he asked frowning. “Don’t you think it’s important for me to know that some killer is stalking you?”
“There’s no evidence that he’s actually stalking me, Lou. He just broke into my hotel room.”
“And wrote a note on your wall in blood.”
“I know. I was there.”
He shot her a look. “Alright. Tell me what you’re thinking. What’s going on with this guy?”
***
“Agent Scully, have a seat.”
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, sir.”
“What can I do for you?”
Scully handed Kersh her letter. “I wanted to give you this.”
He took the short letter and quickly read it. He looked up at her. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“You realize I can’t act on this until after your current assignment to the taskforce.”
“I know.”
“I respect your work, Agent Scully. While I will miss your skills and insights in the field, I have no doubt you will make an outstanding contribution at Quantico. I will forward your request for transfer with my endorsement.”
“Thank you, Assistant Director.”
“May I ask, Agent Scully, would it make a difference if I were to assign you a new partner?”
“No, sir, it wouldn’t.”
“Very well.”
***
Morgan was reading a case file when Scully returned. She looked up and quirked a dark eyebrow. “What’s got you smiling?”
“You know that feeling you get when you finally do something that you’ve put off too long? And you wonder why you didn’t do it sooner?”
Morgan smiled. “Yeah. Accomplishment mixed with relief with a touch of amazement.”
“That’s it exactly,” Scully replied with a smile. “So, what did the Director want?”
“He wanted to know about last night and my thoughts about it.” She picked up a folder and tossed it towards Scully at the other end of the work table. “Forensics report.”
The redhead opened the folder and scanned the report. “No prints - not even yours or any employees. He wiped everything down.” She paused. “Bovine blood. So he didn’t use blood from any of the victims.”
“No. I’m not sure what the significance of cow’s blood is, other than it’s fairly easy to obtain.”
“What are you working on?”
“I’m going through the interviews of all the friends and family of each of the victims.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Anything.” Morgan sighed. “Anything that could be a lead that might have been overlooked or dismissed as not important.”
Scully reached toward the pile of case files on the table and grabbed one. She opened it up and started reading.
The women spent all day reading the case files. Each one that Scully read she put into a pile. Morgan did the same. Then they switched piles. It was after dinner time when they got through the files.
Morgan tossed the last file down on the table in disgust and frustration. She closed her eyes and rubbed them with the heels of her hands. “Well that was a damn waste of time.”
Scully stood up. “Come on, Jess. Time to get out of here.”
“I’ve got to be missing something!”
“Let’s go, get something to eat, have a couple of drinks, get a good night’s sleep, and come at this fresh in the morning.”
Morgan looked at the redhead, debating her next move - do as Scully suggested, or stay and try to find something in the files. Her eyes were burning and her head hurt. And she and Scully had already been through all of the case files. “Alright,” she sighed.
***
Morgan followed Scully in her rental car. They made a stop to pick up some barbeque chicken for dinner, and then headed to Scully’s apartment.
Morgan was holding the bag of food as Scully unlocked her door. As soon as the door opened a few inches Morgan knew something was wrong. She smelled it - the blood. Before Scully knew what was happening, Morgan grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door, moving her aside and against the corridor wall. The redhead was about to ask what was going on but then she saw Morgan already had her weapon pulled and a finger to her lips indicating to be quiet. Scully pulled her own weapon and started to tell Morgan to follow her, but the other agent was already inside the dark apartment.
Morgan’s eyes shifted to black as she entered the apartment. She didn’t see anything until she got into the living room. The blood was still wet. He had been there very recently. She whipped around at a faint sound. She made her way to Scully’s bedroom. She went to the window and saw someone running away from the building.
“Call for backup and don’t touch anything!” she yelled to Scully as she opened the window and stepped out onto the fire escape. A leap over the railing and she landed on the snow covered ground two stories below. She took off running in the direction she’d seen the person go.
Scully, unable to see in the pitch dark of the apartment, had slowly and carefully made her way to the kitchen where she silently slid a drawer open and retrieved a flashlight. She had no idea where Morgan was or how she could possibly move around her apartment in the dark. She had just turned on the flashlight when she heard Morgan’s yell from her bedroom. She rushed to the bedroom doorway. The only evidence of anyone’s presence was the open window. She looked out the third story window and saw what she thought was Morgan running away from the building.
“How the hell did she get down there so fast?” she murmured to herself. Scully pulled out her phone and called for backup, reporting her partner was in pursuit on foot. She then quickly checked the rest of the apartment, making sure no one else was present. In the living room Scully turned on a light and saw the blood on her wall.
SORRY I MISSED YOU
Scully opened her cell again and called AD Taylor.
***
Morgan ran, tracking her quarry by following the slight sounds of his footfalls. Just as she closed in, about to finally get a look at him, he got into a car and drove off. Her run brought her out on the other side of the woods and onto another street. The car was already around the corner and accelerating away. She let out a yell of anger and frustration. She really wanted to hit something, but it wouldn’t accomplish anything. She holstered her weapon and headed back.
By the time she got back to Scully’s building, backup had arrived. She told the agents at the front door of the building what she’d seen and where she chased the possible suspect to. Unfortunately, without a description of the suspect, or his car, there wasn’t a lot that could be done. Before going up to Scully’s apartment Morgan made a call.
“Sir, it’s me. He was just at Scully’s apartment... No, I didn’t get a good look at him. I chased him, but he had a car waiting... He left another note in blood. Lou, it said, ‘Sorry I missed you’... Yes, I know! You’ve got to pull her off the case... No... Dammit, you know why!... Then put her somewhere and put a detail on her... I don’t care what she thinks... Lou-... Alright. Fine.” She hung up and took the stairs up to the third floor.
When Morgan entered Scully’s apartment she found Taylor already there. A couple of techs were taking samples and dusting for prints.
“Morgan, you alright?” Taylor asked.
“Yeah. But he got away. He had a car waiting.”
“Did you get a look at him?”
“No.”
Taylor’s phone rang. He answered it and stepped into the kitchen for some privacy.
Morgan turned to her partner where she was staring at the blood on her wall. “I’m sorry, Dana. I couldn’t catch him.”
“Not your fault.” She looked at Morgan. “How the hell did you know?”
“I smelled it - the blood.”
“All I could smell was the barbeque.” She shook her head. “If I hadn’t called in our order on the way, we wouldn’t have gotten here when we did. He would have come and gone without us seeing him. And why-”
“Pack a bag, Agent Scully,” Taylor said when he reentered, cutting her off.
“Why?”
“Because you’re not going to stay here. You and Morgan both are going to a safe house.”
“There’s no-”
“Orders from the Director,” he stressed. “You don’t have a choice.”
It was clear Scully wasn’t happy about it, but she went into her bedroom and started to pack.
Morgan turned to Taylor. “I spoke to the Director - I’m the one that requested Scully be taken somewhere safe. But there’s no reason for me-”
“His orders were explicit. You’re to go too, Morgan. Agents are already at your hotel getting your things and checking you out.”
***
Taylor had arranged for Morgan’s rental car to be returned, so when she and Scully were escorted downstairs they were ushered into a Bureau SUV with darkened windows. As their vehicle pulled away, so did two others that were identical in appearance. The vehicles would head out in three different directions to throw off anyone who might want to follow.
Scully wasn’t pleased about the situation, but it was obvious to her that Morgan was even more upset by it. However, she didn’t press her to talk about in the car, with the other agents present. She simply observed her partner.
Once they arrived at the safe house, Scully and Morgan were taken inside. Morgan’s things from her hotel room were already there. There were agents unobtrusively stationed outside in the area around the house. Scully and Morgan would at least have the inside of the house to themselves without other agents under foot.
Scully dropped her bag in one of the bedrooms. After changing clothes she went to the kitchen. She was looking in the refrigerator for something to drink when Morgan joined her. “There’s not much to choose from - there’s milk, coke and orange juice. What’s your pleasure?”
“Vodka.”
Scully turned and looked at her partner. “Not that I wouldn’t mind a drink myself, but that’s not one of the choices.”
Morgan smirked and set a bottle on the table.
An auburn eyebrow arched. “Where-”
“My stuff from the hotel.”
“I thought wine was your drink of choice.”
“It is if I want to enjoy a drink. Vodka is for getting drunk.”
“And you intend to get drunk?”
“I’m seriously considering it.”
“Well, they say it’s best not to drink alone, so pour one for me,” Scully said as she turned and put their delayed meal in the microwave. Once the barbeque chicken was done heating up she set the plate on the table and joined Morgan.
***
After finishing their meal, and a few shots, Scully pinned her partner with a pointed look. “Alright, Jess, spill.”
“What?”
“Something is bothering you - and I know it’s more than just the case. So what is it?”
Morgan sighed. “The note on your wall.”
“What about it?”
“The timing for one thing. You said it yourself - if you hadn’t called in our dinner order, he would have been in and out without a trace. We got to your place before he expected us to.”
Scully thought about it a few moments. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“He knew we stopped, but expected us to take longer than we did.”
“He followed us,” Scully realized.
Morgan simply nodded and poured herself another shot. She offered to pour Dana another, but Scully shook her head. She was trying to think, put some of the pieces together. After a few moments she spoke again.
“Why would he write ‘Sorry I missed you,’ when he didn’t intend to be there?”
“Because the son of a bitch is baiting me.”
“What do you mean, Jess?”
Morgan downed the shot she’d poured. “‘Sorry I missed you.’ It’s the exact same thing Devon Conrad wrote on our wall - in Toni’s blood.”
Chapter 12...
prologue| ch 1| ch 2| ch 3| ch 4| ch 5| ch 6| ch 7| ch 8| ch 9| ch 10|