Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 20:53:49 -0700 Reply-To: Naomi Hayashi Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Naomi Hayashi Subject: X-File #A274-D33 part 17 of 17 This is being posted for the author, who currently doesn't have internet access. Please direct all comments you want to be passed on to the author or requests for missing parts to nhayashi@sfsu.edu X-File: #A274-D33 Part 17 of 17 by Albert Low "Kominski's on his way. Backup should be arriving in ten minutes. Apparently, the closest units are busy responding to a robbery," Mulder told Scully. She'd convinced him to inform the police in case they would need help. Now he started to unwrap the bandages from his hand. "What are you doing, Mulder?" Scully asked, glancing over at him. "If I'm right, we're liable to run into a volatile situation. And I'm not going to be able to handle my gun with this oven mitt." He looked up. "I think that's it up ahead." Scully nodded. A few seconds later they turned into the drive leading up to the Franklin mansion. Mulder had gotten rid of most of the wrapping and flexed his hand experimentally. It felt as if someone had jabbed it with a red-hot poker, but he forced himself not to grimace, knowing his partner was watching him. She looked satisfied. "Mulder, look!" He looked ahead of them and saw a car parked in front of the house. A few seconds later they stopped just behind the car and got out to take a closer look. "Nobody's inside," Scully said, "and I don't see any lights in the house." Mulder nodded. "Listen," he urged. They fell silent and could hear faint sounds coming as if from a long distance. "That clanging. It sounds like it's metallic," she said. "Like swords," he suggested. They exchanged glances and started running around the house, towards the source of the noises. As they ran, they pulled out their guns, although Mulder carried his in his left hand. Despite his best efforts Scully soon pulled ahead of him. The rain that had been coming down made the footing somewhat treacherous and uncertain. Moreover, his chest throbbed unbearably with each step, and he was forced to slow down a little. When she reached the courtyard in the back Scully paused, giving him a chance to catch up. The metallic sounds had stopped, giving them no lead to follow. They looked around them but couldn't see anything unusual. Then the sounds started again. Scully pointed at the far end of the courtyard, and Mulder saw a dirt path leading into the woods. They raced across the grass, the clanging stopping as they reached the path. They were into the woods when they heard a roar of thunder, and white lightning exploded out of the woods ahead of them. The two agents stopped and shielded their eyes with their hands as crackling white bolts of electricity struck ahead of them in a dozen places. After about ten seconds the pyrotechnic display faded, and they lowered their hands. "What was that?" Scully asked, obviously shaken. "It means someone's dead," he answered grimly. "But we might still be able to catch the killer." And he bolted up the path as fast as he could, given his condition. Scully reacted quickly and passed him within a few seconds. He reached the end of the path in time to see her enter the woods at the opposite side of the clearing they'd entered. Mulder took a few steps in pursuit of his partner, then stopped. He'd never catch up with her, and he wanted to check out the body he saw lying near the fountain in the center of the clearing. Still, he couldn't let Scully go ahead alone. He was about to follow when he heard footsteps approaching. She walked out of the woods, breathing heavily. "Whoever it was got away. He must have had a car parked on a side road." Mulder nodded, already near the body which was, as he'd expected, headless. He pulled out his flashlight and bent down to examine the head which was only a few feet away from the body. He turned it over with a foot to get a look at the face and stiffened when he saw it. He'd believed in his theories, but it was something totally different to actually see it. Scully stepped up to his side. "Anyone we know?" "Take a look," he replied, flashing the light on the face so she could see it. She was silent for a long moment. "Stocker," she finally said. The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. Mulder resisted the urge to say, "I told you so," or anything similar. He had more important concerns at the moment, not the least of which was the pain in his chest wound, which seemed to increase every time he took a breath. "I thought I saw a sword over there," he said, pointing towards the fountain. "I'll stay and watch the body. You should go back to the house and guide the cops here. I want to have the area examined and the body autopsied as soon as possible. Maybe we'll find some answers." Scully nodded, looked closely at him, and left. The moment she was out of sight Mulder walked over to a tree and slumped onto the ground, wincing in pain. But that was overshadowed by a feeling of anticipation. Perhaps, for once, he would find the truth. "So it's over?" Richie asked, trying to move his sword exactly as he'd been shown. MacLeod nodded and slowly moved on to the next part of the kata. Their swords glistened in the morning sunlight coming through the windows. MacLeod's body had long since healed, but the exercise felt good as it tested his regrown muscles. "I wish I could have been there," Richie said. "I would have loved to have seen that smug son of a b**** get his." "Yeah, well, it's easier talking about it than it was doing it." "It was that close, huh?" "Closer than I'd have liked," MacLeod admitted. "I think that's enough for now. You're looking better." "Thanks, Mac," Richie said grinning. "I'll see you later." "How'd it go yesterday?" "Great! In fact, I'm meeting the guys in an hour." "Then you'd better get going," the older man said. Joe Dawson came into the dojo as Richie was leaving. MacLeod grabbed a towel and gestured for Dawson to follow him into the office. "Morning, Joe." "MacLeod." He smiled. "I heard you had a busy night." "You could say that. You weren't there?" Dawson shook his head. "I wish I had been, though. That's the second battle of yours I've regretted missing." "Which was the first?" the immortal asked, curious. "I left halfway during your fight with Grayson. I didn't think you were going to win," the Watcher admitted. MacLeod looked at his friend for a moment. "Neither did I," he said, reluctantly. "But life's full of surprises." "You can say that again." The phone rang, and MacLeod picked it up. "MacLeod." "So, I see you're back," Anne said dryly. "Anne, about last night, I can explain..." Dawson got up and headed for the door. "Good luck, MacLeod. I think you'll need it." And he was gone, but not before MacLeod saw the faintest hint of a smile. "For the record, the cause of death was decapitation. The deceased also had a severe wound in the stomach region that would have proven fatal within a very short time. In my opinion, the decapitation was unnecessary, and its use strongly supports the theory of serial killers or a deranged, ritualistic cult; possibly Stocker was killed by an accomplice. "Tests of the blood stains on his sword have revealed traces of Christopher Franklin's blood, confirming the deceased's complicity in the murder. Additionally, some of the other blood stains have linked Stocker to three other murders in the United States. "As of yet, there have been no definite conclusions reached on how Stocker survived my shooting him, only to die that night, showing none of the injuries being shot would produce. The only plausible theory is that he was wearing a bulletproof vest and some theatrical blood packs under his clothes. This theory is somewhat unsatisfying, as it assumes Stocker had planned to fake his death before we arrived, but Agent Mulder's theories about immortals and near instantaneous cellular regeneration, mentioned earlier, are even more farfetched." Scully paused a moment before continuing to compose her field report on her lap top computer. "Many of the facts about this case are similarly unusual. The autopsy on Stocker revealed cellular damage indicative of electrocution, yet there was no exterior indication of a taser, cattle prod, or other similar device having been used. Also, the traces of cellular disruption somehow faded away, tests taken four hours after death revealing no traces of electrical damage at all. Perhaps the strangest element of this case, however, is that, while Stocker's body originally showed evidence of having suffered electrical damage, his head showed no indications whatsoever of any such damage. "Meanwhile, no clues have been found regarding the identity of Stocker's murderer. The police have questioned Duncan MacLeod as to his whereabouts and activities last night, but, while he has no ironclad alibi, no evidence has been found linking him to the murder. "The local authorities have turned down Agent Mulder's offer to aid in the search for the murderer of Helmut Stocker, stating the case is purely a local matter. The exact nature of the events of the past few days remain a mystery, as do the series of decapitations that led us here. Our investigation has produced no definitive conclusions regarding these killings. However, we did find the murderer of Christopher Franklin, solving the case we came to investigate, so I must reluctantly declare this case, X-File number A274-D33, closed." Scully folded her lap top and put everything away, pausing only to contemplate the photo of the federal marshal identified as Mako. Then she packed everything into her portfolio and suitcase and left the hotel room. She saw no sign of Mulder near the car, so she went to his room and was about to knock when she saw him standing by the window. He noticed her and gestured for her to enter. She did so, noting his briefcase and bag were packed and waiting on the bed. "I've finished my field report. We should be leaving soon for the airport. Our flight back leaves in an hour and a half." "We were close, Scully," Mulder said disconsolately. "We were so very close. Another few days and we could have found proof, some solid, irrefutable evidence." He forced a smile, "Maybe even enough to convince _you._" "I know how you feel, Mulder, but it's out of our hands now. The police want to handle the case themselves, and we've got no jurisdiction. Besides, we found our murderer and solved three other cases in the process. Be happy. It's over." "Is it?" He handed her a piece of paper, then picked up his belongings, and walked out the door. She looked at the paper curiously after he'd left. It was a wire report of a murder in Toronto late last night. The cause of death was decapitation. Scully looked at the paper, not really seeing it, for a few moments and felt a slight chill. Then she shrugged it off, pocketed the wire report, and went to join Mulder in the car. =========================================================================