From: mrkeller829@gmail.com   
      
   =====o============================o=====   
   "Chermera" by Mary Ruth Keller Part 36  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=====   
      
   Dulles Airport   
   Dulles, Virginia   
   Wednesday. July 15, 1998   
   4:03 pm   
      
   "Still no luck?" Sandra Miller turned to Mulder. After passing through   
   Customs, they were waiting at her departure gate.   
      
   Lowering the black unit from his ear, he shook his head. "I've left her more   
   voice-mails than I should admit." He stared out the window at the red and blue   
   tail of the waiting jet. "This isn't like her. She had said she wanted to see   
   you again before you    
   took off."   
      
   The chestnut-haired woman found herself smiling. Her brother, as an adult, was   
   more of a fussbudget about many things than she hazily remembered from their   
   childhood, but, it was generally for a good reason. "It could just be the   
   traffic, Fox. Jerry    
   warned me it could be excruciatingly bad, even in comparison with the Los   
   Angeles area."   
      
   He bit his lower lip. "Yeah, maybe." He focused on her canted eyebrows, then   
   grasped her arm. "No, you're probably right, Sandie, it's the traffic. One   
   fender-bender on the Access Road and, blam!, gridlock." His arm around her   
   shoulders, he guided her to    
   a nearby bank of seats. "I hope the past couple of weeks didn't put you too   
   far behind in your research." After they sat, he slid his duffel bag under the   
   bench.   
      
   She twisted her curls around her hand, then flipped them free. "No, having to   
   get these papers out the door did that, so, no worries. As hot as Santorini   
   could get in the afternoon, it was a break, which I've needed, after Tom's   
   death." She reached for    
   his fingers. "Hey, big brother, don't worry. Dana can handle herself."   
      
   His forehead was deeply creased. "I know, but, with - " He fiddled with the   
   phone again, then lifted his hips off the plastic to slide the unit into his   
   jeans pocket. "No, no. If she were here, she'd be giving me her Look right   
   now." He turned to his    
   sister to offer a shaky grin. "Ah, I'm still not used to having you back, you   
   know, Sandie."   
      
   She nodded. "I'm still not used to a brother and a mom and a stepdad, so,   
   we're even." The flight attendant called the arrival of the shuttle bus in ten   
   minutes, disrupting their quiet conversation momentarily. "We should have   
   spent more time together,    
   you and I, but, maybe for Christmas, you and Dana can come visit, hum?"   
      
   "Yeah. Scully would like that. She hates the cold." His hazel eyes began   
   scrutinizing her face, trying to memorize all her features.   
      
   She burst out laughing. "Fox, I'm not going anywhere, at least not for another   
   fifteen minutes. Don't look so deadly somber."   
      
   He let out a bark. "Sorry. Bad habit." They lapsed into silence, he clutching   
   her hand.   
      
   When boarding was called, she reached out to hug him. "Okay, that's me. I'm   
   going to leave you to your John Drake existence, Fox. I'll call you when I'm   
   home, right?"   
      
   He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Yeah. Sure." One final clutch, then   
   he stepped back to take her face in his hands. "Take care, Sandra. I love   
   you." He gently kissed her forehead, prompting a lop-sided grin from the   
   chestnut-haired woman as she    
   stepped clear. He watched until she disappeared around the turn of the jet   
   way, his eyebrows doing a complicated dance as his face alternately reddened   
   and softened. With a sigh, he punched the first speed dial button again, but,   
   after the automated    
   commands to voicemail began, terminated the call.   
      
   "Sir, would you step back please? We need to leave the gateway clear for late   
   passengers." The boarding attendant, a stack of passes in her hand, had moved   
   into his view.   
      
   "Yeah, sure." He used the disruption to return to his bag before sliding a   
   flip book out of one pocket. He punched out a number from a taped-in slip of   
   paper, then waited. "Jerry? It's Mulder. Did I catch you at a bad time?"   
      
   The surprise in the detective's voice had the tall man's forehead crinkling as   
   he heard, "Agent Mulder? No, you didn't. Is there a problem with Sandie's   
   flight?"   
      
   "Ah, no. She just boarded. I wanted to be sure you were meeting her, that's   
   all."   
      
   "Of course. Are you okay?" The words emanating from the speaker conveyed a   
   degree of anxiety that surprised the dark-haired man.   
      
   He flopped on the bench. "Yeah, I am. I'm just waiting for Scully."   
      
   "Ah, then, my best to you both. I'll be there. Don't go all big brother on me,   
   okay?"   
      
   Finally picking up the glint of humor in his caller's phrases, Mulder grinned.   
   "Yeah. Sure." He terminated the connection. His thumb hovered over the first   
   speed dial button, before he tapped in the operator for the Hoover Building.   
   "Second floor    
   Evidence Lab, please." {Scully has all these numbers in her phone, of course.}   
      
   After one ring, he heard, "FBI Evidence Lab, Agent Arthur Pendrell speaking."   
      
   "Pendrell? Is Cynthia there?"   
      
   "Agent Mulder, ah, no, she's gone back to your offices." The tall agent caught   
   an undertone of discomfort in the red-haired man's voice.   
      
   {Not this. I thought a month of wedded bliss would have fixed this.}   
   "Pendrell?" The tenor dropped into a growl.   
      
   "Um, Agent Mulder, have you seen any news?"   
      
   His breath hitched. "No, I just landed. Pendrell?" The growl morphed into a   
   command.   
      
   "Agent Mulder, there was an attack at the British Embassy today, a gas attack.   
   Director Skinner is there right now. Cynthia went back to your offices to try   
   to help coordinate the search."   
      
   Now, the dark-haired man was on his feet. "Search? Pendrell? What are you   
   telling me?"   
      
   "Cynthia knew Dana had a meeting there at ten, which is about the time of the   
   gas attack. Apparently, someone flooded the air handling system with   
   anesthetic, and the entire staff was knocked unconscious. They're trying to   
   ascertain how many people were    
   there, or if some of them went home, or were on leave. It's been all over the   
   local news. No deaths, just minor injuries from falls, cuts and abrasions.   
   But, no one's found Agent Scully."   
      
   Mulder felt like the entire terminal had turned upside down, that he was   
   falling from the floor to the glass ceiling.   
      
   "Agent Mulder? Agent Mulder? Are you still there?"   
      
   He closed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm still here. I have to go." He grabbed his   
   duffel, then began running, flat out. A security guard called to him to halt,   
   but he waved his FBI badge in the air without breaking stride, not caring   
   whether it registered with    
   the uniformed man.   
      
   --o-0-o--   
      
   Islamic Center of Washington, DC   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)