Strange Encounter - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Valerie Jones
Last updated: 04/26/2007 02:10:46 AM

Chapter 2

The door opened and Dana Scully walked in. She was carrying a stack of books and manila folders in one arm and a bag of bagels in the other.

"I brought breakfast," she said, setting the bag down on his desk.

"Thanks." Mulder tried not to grab the bag. He was starving. He had occasionally taken to wondering what would happen to him if Dana weren’t there to feed him when he got involved in something. But that led to several paths of thought that he’d rather not travel down, so he pushed the question away. He sniffed the top of the bag, smiling. The bagels were still warm, and smelled of good things.

"Did you find out anything new?" he asked through a mouthful.

Dana set the stack down on her desk with apparent relief, and picked up the topmost book. The title was indecipherable, and Mulder concluded that it must be a medical text.

"Not really," she answered. "There have been a number of incidents of people surviving collisions, plane crashes, jumping off of building, et cetera over the years, but not one of them evidenced characteristics similar to Jane’s. Most of them suffered severe, often crippling, injury. Most of those who survived with little or no injury were inside some kind of vehicle-namely an airplane-and almost all were children." She settled in her chair and tossed the book back onto the desk.

"Well, I put in a call to the experts-" Mulder began.

"Oh? And what did Frohicke and company have to say?" Dana’s opinion of those three was significantly lower than Mulder’s. Of course, the fact that they all tended to act like adolescents around her didn’t help.

"Not much." Mulder reached for a second bagel. "He wouldn’t admit it, but I think they’re baffled."

Dana’s reply was cut off by a knock at the door. They exchanged glances. Visitors to their dank corner of the basement were rare.

"Come in," Mulder called.

The door opened onto what Mulder would have to call a startling sight. The woman in the doorway stood a full six feet in height, which was unusual enough. She was of African-American descent, with a very rich though not particularly dark hue to her skin. But her hair was white. Not white-blond or bleached. It was simply white. And cut oddly in a sort of shoulder-length bob, except for two waist-length streamers at either side of her face. She surveyed the room from the doorway, and Mulder had the feeling that she was evaluating everything she saw.

Eventually, he found his voice. "Can we help you?"

She stepped into the room, and her gaze came to rest on him. "Are you Agents Mulder and Scully?" She glanced briefly at Dana.

"Yes."

"And you are?" Dana wisely did not rise from her chair. Their visitor would have towered over her.

The woman’s expression didn’t change. "A friend of the woman you found in Iowa," she replied.

Mulder sat up abruptly. "How did you find us?"

"You are listed as the agents of record." She glanced around at the small room. "And this is your office." Her tone implied that it was perfectly normal for anyone to look up the agent of record on an active case and then waltz into the FBI building and up to the agents’ door. He was beginning to be very curious about how she had gotten past security. She certainly didn’t have an appointment with them. And she wasn’t wearing a visitor badge.

"What’s your name?" Mulder asked. He had the feeling that he was going to have to stay on the offensive with this one, or she would walk right over him. She radiated a sort of regal arrogance.

"Ororo Munroe." She crossed to his desk and held out her hand. Mulder rose to shake it.

"Fox Mulder. This is Dana Scully." He indicated his partner. The woman-Ororo-nodded in greeting. She seemed to have warmed up a tad at the exchange of names. But her expression remained solemn as she turned back to Mulder.

"How is she?" She glanced between himself and Dana. "Was she badly injured?"

Scully pursed her lips in that way she had when she was deliberately not saying the first thing that came to mind. Mulder always hated to see that expression. Dana was always so full of surprises when she spoke her mind. "No," she answered. "She did have a concussion and was still unconscious when I examined her, but that was the only sign of injury."

Ororo’s stiff posture relaxed slightly.

"What happened to her?" Mulder had to ask the question. He was fairly certain this enigmatic woman wouldn’t tell him anything useful, but it never hurt to ask.

Ororo considered the question. "She was involved in a... midair collision." She took a breath, changing subjects. "Now, may I see her? Where is she?"

Mulder and Scully exchanged glances. "We don’t know," he finally admitted.

"What do you mean?" Ororo’s eyes narrowed, and Mulder sensed a sudden menace from her. It was unintentional, he was certain, but he had the impression that she did not feel even the least bit threatened by either of them.

"He means that another agency took jurisdiction over your friend’s case and had her moved to a different facility for care. We don’t know where that is." Dana drummed her fingernails lightly on her desktop.

"Is that true?" Ororo seemed to be asking the question to the air.

"It is," said a new voice, and Mulder whirled, drawing his weapon. He found himself staring down the barrel at an Asian woman who seemed to simply step out of the shadows in the back corner of the office. She noted the two weapons aimed at her with cool indifference, and looked to Ororo. It was at about that point that Mulder noticed that her hair was purple.

"Who does your hair?" he cracked.

"Mulder!" He could hear the anger in Scully’s voice. Then she turned to the purple-haired woman. "How did you get in here?" she demanded.

The woman ignored her entirely. She told Ororo, "They do not know where Rogue is. NSA agents took her from the hospital. They have not been able to locate her."

Mulder tried not to let his surprise show. This lady knew an awful lot for someone he’d never met. But at least now he had a name for their Jane Doe. He lowered his gun, feeling like it was fairly useless to keep it aimed at two people who truly didn’t seem to care. Plus, they weren’t behaving in a threatening manner. After a moment, Dana copied him.

Ororo turned to them. "Then I am sorry to have disturbed you." She nodded to them, making it seem like a bow. "We will make inquiries elsewhere." And with that, she turned, and the two of them left the room. The Asian woman closed the door behind her with a soft click.

Unable to help himself, Mulder jumped up and went to the door, throwing it open. As he had suspected, the corridor was empty in both directions.

Mulder glanced quickly at Dana as he turned the knob on A.D. Skinner’s door. She only stared back at him, expression neutral, and Mulder knew that she was expecting the worst. As was he. Standing in front of this door always reminded him of one of his favorite short stories, and he invariably found himself placing a silent wager as to whether it would be the lady or the tiger that he met on the far side.

He opened the door and they both walked in. There were three men in the room, and Mulder’s stomach immediately tied itself into a knot. One was Skinner, looking uncomfortable as always. The second was a man Mulder didn’t recognize. But he fit the mold of government-trained slime. The third man sat some distance behind the other two, his features hidden in shadows despite the fact that he sat right next to a table lamp. Cigarette smoke drifted lazily above the lampshade. Mulder knew no name for him, even now. In his own mind, he had dubbed him "Cancer Man". He was the one person in the world that Mulder truly hated.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Mulder asked the A.D. as they approached the table at which he and the unknown man sat.

In response, Skinner reached into the open briefcase that sat before him and pulled out an 8x10 inch photograph. He slid it across the table toward the two agents.

"Who is she?" Skinner sounded angry, but Mulder knew better. It was his only means of conveying a warning to them-- that they were on very dangerous ground and should walk carefully.

Mulder picked up the photo and studied it, tilting it to allow Scully to see it as well. It was a security camera photo, fuzzy and gray. But the woman was unmistakable. The contrast of her dark skin and white hair gave her away, no matter how poor the quality of the picture. Mulder guessed that the photo had come from one of their own building security cameras. He set the photo back down on the table.

"She claimed to know the woman who crash landed outside of Paine, Iowa eleven days ago."

The man Mulder didn’t know shifted ever so slightly. "How did you meet her?"

Mulder met his stare. His kind no longer scared him. "She came to our office yesterday afternoon, asking about the Jane Doe."

"What did she want to know?"

Mulder shrugged. "Basically, the same things I’d like to know: Where is she, and what kind of condition is she in?"

The man’s lips thinned and Mulder knew he’d succeeded in annoying him. But he mastered it and replied, "That is not your concern, Agent Mulder."

Mulder’s temper flared. "So whose concern is it?"

Skinner glared at him and Mulder subsided. He wouldn’t push too hard when the flak would most likely hit the A.D.

"Did she give you a name?" Skinner asked.

Mulder nodded. "Ororo Munroe." The mystery man scribbled on a white tablet.

"Do you have any plans to meet her again?" he asked.

"No." Although it was the truth, he doubted that the mystery man would believe him.

The mystery man stared at him in quiet menace. "This woman spent a considerable amount of time inside the FBI building, yet this is the only picture we were able to obtain of her. Do you know why that is, Agent Mulder?"

"Maybe she’s shy."

The man considered Mulder and Scully for several moments, and then focused his attention solely on Dana. "Is there anything else, Agent Scully?"

Dana stared at him in silence. Mulder knew she was debating how likely it was that this was a trick question. A trap. Dana had been assigned to the X-Files primarily as a spy, because she was both honest and a true disciple of science. And though Mulder knew she would never betray him personally, she also would not hide things from their superiors. Usually. It was that honesty that had allowed her to lie to them on one or two extremely important occasions and be believed.

"There was another woman," she finally answered. Mulder had the supreme satisfaction of seeing the mystery man twitch in surprise. He leaned forward in his chair.

"Tell me about her."

Dana shrugged. "There’s not much to tell. She didn’t give a name."

"What does she look like?"

Dana fought down a smile. "She is approximately five foot eight and, I would estimate, weighs about 125 pounds. She is of Asian descent, probably Japanese." Dana paused. "From her accent, I would guess that she is a British national."

The mystery man’s gaze narrowed suspiciously. "There’s something you’ve left out."

Dana nodded and cleared her throat. "Yes. Her hair is purple."

"Purple?" That was Skinner.

"Yes, sir."

Mulder hid his grin. Coming from Scully, they had to accept that. No matter how silly it sounded to them.

"Is that all?" Skinner split his gaze between the two of them.

Dana nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Then you’re dismissed."

Mulder left quickly, with Dana right on his heels. Now, more than ever, he was determined to find out what had happened to their Jane Doe-- to this "Rogue"-- who had even the Cancer Man in a tizzy. The only problem, he reflected, was that he didn’t have the faintest idea where to start.

Fox Mulder drained the last of his drink and contemplated the glass. He was slouched on the black sofa that was, by far, the nicest piece of furniture in his apartment’s living room. It was also the most comfortable, which was an important thing to the slightly insomniac federal agent. Mulder closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his head back. He was tired, but his mind refused to stop whirling.

A car passed by outside, its tires hissing against the wet pavement. Mulder opened his eyes and glanced involuntarily toward the window. The two strips of masking tape he’d put there earlier remained unchanged, a shadowy "X" backlit by the desk lamp. The only man Mulder knew who might respond to that signal was dead, and he had no idea if there might be another out there. It was the only thing he could think of, but a little voice inside him kept telling him that he’d have just as much luck using a batsignal from the rooftop.

A soft knock on the door startled him out of a light doze. Groggily Mulder got to his feet and walked to the door, drawing his gun. He was mostly awake by the time he got there. He peered through the peephole and, to his surprise, into the distorted image of Ororo Munroe’s face.

She nodded in greeting when he opened the door. "Agent Mulder."

Mulder ran a hand through his hair, suddenly aware of how unkempt he probably looked. She was definitely the kind you wanted to impress. "Won’t you come in?" he asked, and stepped aside. He could at least be polite.

Ororo walked into his living room as if she owned it. Her blue eyes scanned the entirety, eventually coming to rest on the "X" taped to the window. Then she turned to face him.

"Why did you want to see me?" she asked.

Baffled, Mulder could only stare at her for a moment. "Excuse me?"

She gestured toward the window with one slim hand. "You signaled me." Then she tilted her head to study him. "Though I am very curious how you knew... " She trailed off, almost as if her attention had suddenly been taken up by something else. But after a moment, she came to herself and her blue eyes focused on him once again.

"Have you learned anything else about my friend?"

Quickly, Mulder ran through his options. He had no idea who this woman was or what she wanted, other than to find this friend. But he was sorely tempted to help her no matter, for several reasons. The first was simply that he was curious, and by helping her he stood a good chance of learning more about what was really going on. The second was that she had put a pretty good twist in the Cancer Man’s undies already, which earned her some consideration from him.

"Maybe." He tucked his gun into the back of his pants. "I’m not sure it will do you any good, but I can tell you that the interest in your friend goes pretty high up the ladder."

One white eyebrow arched as she listened. She was silent for several moments, but Mulder wasn’t completely certain if she were thinking or just... blank. Her eyes were slightly glazed, her gaze unfocused. But then her expression sharpened and he couldn’t deny that a considerable intelligence lurked inside that rather lovely head.

"Could you take me to one of these higher people? Someone who would know where she is?"

Mulder let out a breath. "Not really. The man you want isn’t someone I can find." He flashed her a wry smile. "He has a habit of showing up whenever I get too close to something important."

She nodded. "I understand. I would not ask you to risk yourself."

Mulder swallowed a chuckle. She’d sunk the hook deep with that one. And with all the finesse of a true professional. He crossed his arms.

"If I’m going to help you, I’m going to have to know a little more about you. And your friends."

"Agreed-" Her head jerked up, as if she had suddenly seen something beyond the confines of the room. Then she turned toward the door. "I must go."

"Wait! How will I find you?"

Her hand on the doorknob, Ororo turned to look at him over her shoulder. "Just choose a place. We will find you." And with that she was gone.