"Scully."
"Mulder? Where are you? The connection sounds scrambled."
"I'm on a flight back to D.C." Mulder replied. "Listen, I need
you to run a check for me. His name is Xavier Martin, Jr. He's
a Marine. Do you think you could do that for me? I know it's
Saturday..."
"Sure. No problem," Scully answered. "Can you tell me what this
is all about?"
"When I get there. Thanks, Scully. I'll meet you at your place
in two hours."
"Okay."
Mulder replaced the air phone and looked at the sleeping form
beside him. Andrea looked so peaceful all snuggled up in the
blanket. She hadn't spoken much since they made love. He
wondered how she felt. Heck, he knew how she felt. She thought
he was a jerk! Plain and simple. But, he'd make it up to her.
He'd find her brother. Alive. Somehow.
*-*-*-*-*-
The ride from the airport to Scully's place had been quiet.
Neither of them knew what to say, so they both continued to say
nothing. Now, they sat side by side on Scully's sofa, going
over Zave's credit card and bank receipts.
"Well, it looks like he was in Russia about two weeks ago,"
Scully said.
"But...?" Andrea inquired.
"Judging from this, an airline ticket was charged to his Visa
card," Scully said, handing the statement to Andrea.
"He's back in the United States," Andrea said. "He's been back
here for a week. He's not dead."
Andrea smiled and let a sigh of relief. Maybe her deepest fear
wouldn't be realized after all.
"May I see that?" Mulder asked. Mulder's inability to quite
reach Andrea's eyes was not lost on Scully and she wondered what
happened between them in Los Angeles. She had noticed some
tension, but she assumed that it had something to do with Mr.
X. Now, she wasn't so sure.
"This doesn't necessarily mean that he's here..." Mulder began.
"But, that receipt says that a plane ticket for Chicago was
charged on his credit card. He's in Chicago." Andrea replied
impatiently.
"Andrea, we don't know who purchased this ticket. His credit
card may have been stolen. We can't be sure by looking at this,
that your brother was on that flight," Mulder answered softly.
He hated saying those words to her, but he hated the look of
sadness that came over her even more.
"How can we find out?" Andrea asked quietly.
"We can have the airline fax us a copy of the signed receipt,"
Scully said.
"Couldn't that be forged?"
"Maybe, but..."
"Agent Scully I appreciate all of your help, so please don't
take offense, but I need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt.
I've already lost a father and if I've already lost a
brother..." she faltered, but continued. "Look, is there any
way possible for you, the F.B.I, or someone to find out whether
or not my brother did in fact purchased the ticket and if he
flew to Chicago? I really don't know how much more of this I
can take."
Mulder gave her forearm a squeeze and stood up.
"There is a way," he said as he pulled out his cellular.
Reading the numbers off the statement, he quickly punched in the
telephone number.
"Yes, this is Special Agent Fox Mulder of the F.B.I. I need to
see a copy of your surveillance tape for the 10:00 a.m. flight
from Moscow. The date was November 5."
"You're sure that's your brother?" asked Scully.
"Yes." She turned from the screen to face the two agents.
"What happens now? Do we go to Chicago?"
"No. We don't go to Chicago. I'll go," Mulder replied.
"I don't think so. He's my brother. I need to be with him. I
won't let him do this alone anymore. He was my father, too."
"Andrea, this could be dangerous. You don't know what we're
dealing with here. You should just wait for us here. You could
stay at my place."
"No..." Andrea began.
"He's right. The men who killed your father are not to be taken
lightly. By going to Chicago with us, you could put yourself
and your brother in great jeopardy," Scully said.
"I can take care of myself. I'm going with you."
*-*-*-*-*
Sunday, November 17, 1996
Chicago, IL
The frosty Chicago air couldn't compare with the chilly tension
among the trio. Scully was convinced that something was going
on between Mulder and Andrea and as soon as she could, she
intended to find out what it was. Looking for Andrea's brother
would be hard enough without the internal conflict among the
three of them.
While Andrea was getting settled in her room, Scully decided
that now was the time for her to have a private talk with
Mulder. She knocked on his door.
"Come in."
Scully walked into the room. Mulder sat on the bed. He had
papers all around him.
"Come here. I think I've found something. Look at this. There
appears to be a pattern here.
"Mulder, we need to talk."
"Scully, I believe Zave may be onto something here. What if
Krycek was behind X's death?"
"You've already checked that out. He wasn't in the States when
X was killed. You know that."
"He didn't have to be here to be behind it," he replied as he
stood and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To ask Andrea if she can remember anything Zave might have said
about Krycek."
"Wait."
"What?" Mulder asked somewhat impatiently.
"What is going on between you and her?" At Mulder's sigh, she
continued. "I noticed the tension. Is it because of her
father?"
"Scully, this is not something that I really want to go into
with you."
Then, realization dawned on her.
"You slept with her, didn't you?"
"Scully, it wasn't like that."
Mulder walked out the door and headed to Andrea's room.
*-*-*-*-
"But I don't remember anything else. Why can't I remember?"
Andrea asked.
Mulder gently grasped her shoulders in his hands. Looking into
her eyes, he said, "We will find him."
A hundred emotions flashed through her as he looked into her
eyes and reassured her. God help her. She still wanted him, but
something held her back. The timing was wrong. Her brother was
the most important person in her life right now. Her love life
would have to wait.
Andrea pushed herself away from him and grabbed the phone.
(Oh, yeah. She hates me.)
"Who are you calling?"
"My voicemail. Maybe he's checked in with me. I know it's a
long shot, but still..." Andrea said.
Mulder watched the mixture of emotions that flew across her face
as she listened to her messages. Wry amusement. Annoyance.
Boredom. Until finally, he saw hope.
"Zave. He called," she whispered as she smiled the most
beautiful smile Mulder had ever seen.
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