From: mrkeller829@gmail.com   
      
   =====o============================o=====   
   "Chermera" by Mary Ruth Keller Part 15  of 45   
   E-mail: mrkeller@eclipse.net, mrkeller829@gmail.com   
   PG-13   X-File: Myth-arc   Disclaimed in Part I   
   Already sent to Gossamer   
   =====o============================o=====   
      
   Mayer Hall 4132   
   University of California at San Diego   
   Tuesday, June 9, 1998   
   5:03 pm   
      
   Jerry Donato glanced over at his partner. They had been watching Sandra frown,   
   sigh, check search engines, pace, then scribble lines on her whiteboard for   
   several hours. Perhaps there really was nothing here worth pursuing, so they'd   
   have to start again.   
      
   The chestnut-haired woman capped the dry-erase marker before replacing it in   
   the molded Styrofoam tray with six others, all black. "Okay, I think I see   
   what's going on here." She reached into her desk drawer to remove a red, a   
   green, and a blue marker.    
   Uncapping the red one, she drew a long line from a column of names in the   
   upper left corner to the bottom center. "These four corporations are the first   
   level of subsidiaries to Osaka. You can tell-" She sealed off the red felt,   
   then the green tip was    
   exposed. "-by the family relationships between the presidents of the five."   
   Now she wrote in hiragana beside the corporation name. "The four are married   
   to second cousins of the president of Osaka." She capped the green pen to rest   
   it on the low bookcase    
   in front of the whiteboard.   
      
   "Oh, okay." Jerry frowned at the lines and arrows.   
      
   She exposed the red marker again. "Now, these eight corporations-" She paused   
   while she drew a series of lines. "-are subsidiaries of Tomayasu Holding   
   Corporation." She switched to the blue pen, writing out more hiragana.   
   "There's no familial    
   relationship here, but the presidents are protegees of Doctor Sukirib set up   
   with businesses of their own after two decades of apprenticeship." She circled   
   the remaining three company names. "I can't work out how these three fit,   
   though. There's no    
   personal connection to any of the heads of the other corporations. They   
   produce medical equipment, and have a strong research branch in genetics,   
   which is something the other companies are completely divorced from. Hunh."   
   She crossed her lanky arms, her    
   hazel gaze flicking over the lines on the board.   
      
   Jerry Donato had to suppress an urge to bounce over to hug the tall woman, who   
   was twirling a strand of chestnut hair in her fingers idly. "Sandra, we've   
   stared at these sheets and names for hours, and we couldn't get anywhere close   
   to this."   
      
   "Oh?" Puzzled, she glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, sorry, I have Japanese   
   colleagues, so they've explained how corporations in their country work to me   
   several times." Her dark eyebrows drew together. "I thought everybody knew   
   this."   
      
   Richard Gonzales stood to approach her. "Doctor Miller, thank you. If you   
   wouldn't mind, could you come to the District tomorrow and show this to our   
   Sergeant? We'd like to have our presentation straightened out before we go to   
   ASAC Nichols."   
      
   Jerry nodded as he joined the pair. "We'd also like to make your involvement   
   in this case a bit more official, Sandra. The Sarge wants to give you a   
   deputy's badge."   
      
   Gonzales chuckled. "As long as the furniture stays intact, Professor."   
      
   She sent them both a lop-sided grin. "Not a problem. This has been something   
   different." She looked from one to the other. "Can I interest one or both of   
   you in dinner? I like to celebrate the end of the semester, and it would be   
   fun to do it with    
   friends."   
      
   Donato smiled back. "Will Judy be joining us?"   
      
   Sandra tossed her long curls. "If she wants to. She finished her last exams   
   yesterday. Let me ring her at her office. It's been a long time since either   
   of us have felt like stepping out on the town with two handsome gentlemen."   
      
   Richard prodded Jerry with his elbow. "Not a bad brain in that head, Old Man."   
      
   Donato chuffed back. "But not anywhere as good as hers."   
      
   --o-0-o--   
      
   Apartment 5           / Elizabeth Hill Rest Retreat   
   Alexandria, VA      / outside Chatsworth, New Jersey   
   Tuesday, 8:23 pm   
      
   Mulder was staring down at the plain black numbers, then, with a sigh, tapped   
   the phone buttons. Best to get this over with. "Maria Alvarez, please." He   
   waited while the night receptionist transferred him.   
      
   "Fox? Fox is that you?"   
      
   "Maria." He lapsed into a growl. "You know..."   
      
   "And you know, too." They both found themselves smiling at the old argument.   
   "I haven't heard from you in a while. Are you okay? Is Dana okay?"   
      
   He tilted his head toward the sound of running water, then twisted on the sofa   
   cushions. "Yeah, we're both okay. I'll catch you up later." He started poking   
   the piping on the back of the couch. "Listen, Maria-"   
      
   "Okay, I am." Laying aside the latest Lillian Jackson Braun, she sat up in her   
   bed as she was adjusting her pillows. "Talk to me, Fox."   
      
   "I need your help." He blinked, thinking of no simpler way to start.   
      
   She shoved the covers off her legs. "Okay, I can be there in four hours, three   
   if the cops aren't out. I'll have to make some arrangements for my patients,   
   but that's no problem."   
      
   He waved his hand, aware the gesture was invisible to her. "No, no, not like   
   that." He blew out a breath. "I mean, I need you to regress me. We, Scully and   
   I, found some documents of my Dad's, and it's triggering memories about my   
   sister." He would wait    
   until they were communicating without electronics to offer all the details.   
      
   Maria slid back under the covers. "Okay. But, I thought you were looking for   
   her? Langly said something about Africa and San Diego the last he was up here   
   to work on our computers and security systems."   
      
   He set himself upright to start bouncing around the room. "We found her,   
   Maria. Scully and I, we found her."   
      
   She practically threw the covers off the bed. "You did? Is she alive? Where is   
   she?"   
      
   He crossed his arm over his stomach. "She's in San Diego. She's a professor   
   there, by the name of Sandra Ann Miller."   
      
   She was pacing as well, ignoring the gooseflesh appearing on her legs from the   
   air conditioning. "But, have you seen her, Fox? Have you gone out there?" She   
   was flipping through her day planner as she spoke.   
      
   He grunted. "No, not yet." He glanced anxiously at the wall between the living   
   room and the bathroom. The water had stopped running, so he knew his partner   
   was up to her chin in lavender-scented soap suds.   
      
   Maria rested her hand on her desk. "Fox, why not? What's the matter?"   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)