The Lambs: Part 1 (10/10)     
by Lamia (AKA so kiss me goodbye) 
                         
Rating: PG-13 (violence, strong language)
Category: S                             
Spoilers: Seasons 1-9, Fight the Future 
Keywords: William; Colonization 
Summary: Liam van de Kamp's life changes the day two 
FBI agents kidnap him and his parents.

Author's Note: The Lambs is a three-part story (with prologue).
 

Chapter 10 

August 11, 2011 
Old Hachita 
New Mexico 

Liam gritted his teeth; his ankle was throbbing but he 
forced himself to keep walking. 

*The pain is all in my head.* 

He marshaled his mental defenses, visualizing his own 
army of medic molecules marching their way down his 
leg. 

An arm's length away, his father whimpered; Liam fought 
an instinct to reach out. 

Walking had never been so difficult. He had never 
needed to concentrate so hard on staying upright. 

He had learned, these last two days, how deceptive 
distance could be. That things were not always as they 
seemed. Sure, the earth looked flat - until he tried to 
walk on it. Then the rocks slid under his feet and 
spiky scrubs poked at his legs. 

*At least I can see now.* 

The sky was growing lighter; the uneven ground was 
starting to cast shadows. 

The moon had set before dawn more than an hour ago; the 
only way to know where he was putting his feet had been 
with a pocket flashlight Shu had given him. Its feeble 
stream of light was better than nothing. 

Shu had taken pity on Liam when he tripped half a mile 
back. 

Squeezing tears from his eyes as he first put weight on 
his foot, but Liam didn't see any point mentioning the 
pain. They *had* to get his dad to safety. Liam could 
still walk, and they were already loaded down, so there 
wasn't much anyone could do for him. When he pushed 
himself up without making a sound or a fuss, he almost 
heard the collective sigh of relief. Even so, Shu, who 
was walking behind him, must have had an inkling of the 
problem. Wordlessly, he had slipped the flashlight into 
Liam's hand. 

It made Liam's steps more steady; it didn't tell him 
much about where he was. 

Back at the bus, the cookie-round moon had still been 
up. In a cloudless sky, it had lit Old Hachita's flat 
landscape. 

There had been enough light for the scientists to sort 
and repack their belongings. While they arranged 
themselves, Dr. Scully had started treating Liam's dad, 
using sugar, of all things. She was being helped by 
their guide, who had turned up with three others. 

This man was different. He had a long, pencil-thin 
moustache and long braided hair, but it wasn't his hair 
that set him apart from everyone else: Dr. Scully knew 
this man. 

*Where did they meet? When?* 

Dr. Scully had recognized him instantly when he had 
stepped on the bus. She called him Eric, her pleasure 
at seeing him as great as her surprise. He had returned 
her greeting and looked down at Liam's dad. 

"You shot him. I'm not surprised." His voice was a flat 
line. "Tell me what you want me to do." That was when 
Liam's mom had sent Liam outside. 

"Dr. Scully's doing everything she can for Dad, Liam. 
Right now she needs space to work in." Her soft hands 
propelled him off the bus. 

While he waited, he wandered away from the bus, 
scuffing his feet in the soil and trying to focus on 
trivial things to stop him worrying. 

Old Hachita wasn't much more than a few huts dotted 
between mounds of sagebrush and cacti. He forced 
himself to memorize the dimensions of one little ghost 
house, hoping the mental activity would distract him. 
An inside-out world beckoned from within the hut, 
tempting him to explore. A beam had fallen, blocking 
the door frame, but part of a wall had crumbled away, 
teasing Liam with the hut's magic interior. A tree grew 
inside. A branch, poking through a window frame, 
glowed; the leaves on its tips hung like hundreds of 
limp handkerchiefs. 

"Better not let Dr. Scully catch you going too far." 

Toby steered him back to the bus where everyone was 
ready to go. Shu and Alan were hitching large packs 
onto their backs. Liam's dad had been settled on a 
stretcher. Only the rise and fall of the blankets over 
his chest said he was still breathing. 

The doctor hadn't finished with the sugar. After lining 
the bottom of a rucksack with ice packs, she stowed the 
sugar packet on top. Then, as if she was strangling it, 
she tightened the bag's neck cord. 

Liam shivered. She was going to carry the finger on her 
back - that was the only reason he could think of for 
the ice packs. He wasn't squeamish, but the thought of 
the finger so close to live flesh was creepy. 

Eric waited for her to stand. When he had everyone's 
attention, he addressed them. 

"We face a six-hour walk. It's flat at first, but the 
ground is deceptive, so take it slow. Then we hit the 
hills - nothing we shouldn't be able to handle, but 
watch your footing. We're not following a marked trail. 
There are only six flashlights between us. When the 
moon sets we may have to stop until dawn breaks - but 
I'd prefer not to." 

He didn't elaborate and nobody asked him to. 

"The bus is leaving as soon as we set off, so this is 
your last chance to check your belongings. It's 
important you leave nothing to say you've been here." 

One of his companions - a stringy, gaunt man rolling a 
stem of grass in his mouth - would follow them to 
destroy any tracks they made; another man would scout 
ahead. 

He demonstrated how they were to take turns carrying 
the stretcher. 

"The camp knows our progress will be slower than usual. 
They're sending help, but until then ..." Eric hadn't 
been lying. 

When they set off the earth was flat and the scientists 
had been cracking jokes, but conversation flagged as 
the weight of the stretcher grew with each step. After 
setting out at a gallop, Eric had soon reined them in. 

"It's not how fast you start the race, but how fast you 
finish it." 

That had seemed like hours ago. 

Liam placed himself as close as he could to the 
stretcher without getting in the way. 

The morning light exposed the pallor in Liam's dad's 
face. Liam watched as his father started to thrash and 
shuck away the blankets packed around him. Liam wished 
he could do more - he just didn't know what. 

Despite their need to keep moving, Mr. van de Kamp's 
carriers were relieved when the doctor made them stop 
for her to re-organize her patient. 

No one was complaining, but the scientists hadn't 
planned on stretchering a large man a long distance 
through the desert. With backpacks loaded as heavily as 
they dared, they were taking turns, six at a time, to 
carry Liam's dad. 

Liam wondered what equipment earmarked for their 
so-called secret headquarters they had to leave behind. 
He had taken it on himself to carry water bottles and 
food for the group. His shoulders ached but not as much 
as his foot. 

They didn't break long - just time enough for the 
adults to rub and flex their hands while Dr. Scully 
checked Mr. van de Kamp's temperature and secured him 
again. Track pants his mother had found for him 
provided Liam some cover as he surreptitiously massaged 
his ankle. He could still poke a finger down the side 
of his sneaker, so he presumed the joint wasn't too 
swollen. His medic molecules must be winning. If only 
he could use them to help his father. There was little 
talk when they set off again. They were closer to the 
hills, but Eric was taking them south, parallel with 
the range. The sky was much brighter and the ground was 
starting to heat up. When he could stand it no longer, 
he stopped, pulled off the baggy pants and stuffed them 
into a pack he had been given. When he looked up, two 
pairs of eyes gazed down on him; neither woman said 
anything, but Dr. Scully pulled a hat from thin air, and 
his mother told him not to take it off. 

The landscape gave little clue to their destination and 
their guide said little - even when Dr. Scully probed. 
"Where exactly are we going, Eric? Not ruins, surely?" 

That sounded exciting. Liam had seen pictures of 
pueblos in school books. 

Only when they turned into the hills and their path 
began to rise, did Eric open up to the doctor. "No, not 
ruins, Agent Scully. An old military installation." 

Dr. Scully stopped. "What?" 

A chill passed through Liam. 

"No - no. A *decommissioned* military installation." 
Liam saw the man's eyebrows draw together in 
consternation. 

"None of us is going any further until you explain." 

The stretcher bearers lowered Liam's dad. 

"It used to be an Air Force base," Eric said. "But it 
hasn't been used for more than fifty years, Agent 
Scully, I swear. It's the perfect place. Parts were 
demolished or dismantled, but the underground bunkers 
remain, as well as barracks and hangars. A private 
developer bought it about fifteen years ago but died 
before he could do anything. It's been on the market 
since then." 

It struck Liam that Eric was upset because he had 
disappointed the doctor. Feeling had risen in his voice 
for the first time. The doctor made no effort to put 
him at ease. Her fists were clenching at her sides. 

"Why was it decommissioned?" It sounded like she was 
crushing the word in her mouth. 

"That's the interesting part - and part of why it's so 
perfect. At its biggest, the base never had more than 
900 personnel - including non-military personnel and 
families. But it did have more engineers than usual." 

"So?" 

Her iciness made Liam feel sorry for Eric. 

But the man didn't need sympathy. His voice hinted at 
reserves of steeliness Liam hadn't expected. He 
recovered his unreadable expression again. 

"The Air Force used it to test experimental aircraft - 
the base's remote location made it an ideal place to 
conduct experiments away from watchful eyes. But for 
some reason they stopped using it. They didn't give it 
an essential runway upgrade in 1961. We think its 
closure had something to do with the merchandise deal." 

Liam heard her breath sharply. 

"There's something interesting about the base, Dr. 
Scully. Something I know you're going to appreciate. 
The base is built over a bed of iron sand - *that* kind 
of iron sand." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Positive." Dr. Scully would brook none of his 
satisfaction. 

"If the military knew that - what, fifty years ago? - 
they won't have forgotten. And why on earth would they 
give the land up? This base is the last place on earth 
we should be heading to. There'll be *some* sort of 
surveillance ... how can we be safe there?" 

"Actually, Agent Scully, it's the perfect place to 
hide. Sure, the Air Force knows it's there - in fact, 
that's probably why they have supersoldiers patrol in 
the area - but I bet they don't think we'd move in. For 
one thing, they've managed to keep sensitive geological 
data about the area suppressed for half a century. As 
far as they know, no one else is aware of the iron 
sands. As for them watching the place - maybe they are 
- but they also have to keep their distance, if you 
catch my drift. So long as they don't know we're there, 
they're not going to do anymore than -" 

"This is insanity." 

"- patrol," Eric continued. "And we are being *very* 
careful not to let them know we're there. That's why 
we're not using the road that passes the base. And 
there's our secret weapons." 

Dr. Scully shook her head. "Secret weapons?" 

Once more Eric's face morphed into emotion, taking 
years off his face. Liam wondered how old the man was. 

"But you must know - Mulder's been arranging it." He 
stopped in confusion. "The insider. The government 
insider Mulder's been accessing classified information 
from. It's how we found out about the base ..." 

Liam heard someone whistle. 

"Makes sense," Toby said under his breath. 

The doctor was dumbfounded. "How do you know this isn't 
a trap? Jesus." 

Liam's mother must have been as mesmerized by the 
struggle as everyone else - she didn't tell Liam to 
cover his ears. 

"Whatever happened to trust no one?" 

Eric's nostrils flared as he regarded the doctor. "You 
know the problem with that mantra of Agent Mulder's?" 

Whatever expression she gave him only fueled his 
annoyance. 

"You only win when you're the last one standing. 
Everyone else - friends, family, enemies - has been 
wiped from the board. To win the war sometimes you've 
got to be prepared to put something at stake - lay it 
all on the line - risk the queen to protect the king. 
Win the war. I'd rather go down fighting with my family 
than alone like a beaten dog." 

The doctor scoffed. "I never took you for much of a 
chess player, Eric." 

"My teacher's a real master." 

Her head snapped back. Some of the heat seemed to drain 
away from her. For a moment Liam thought the bomb had 
been defused, but the doctor wasn't finished with Eric. 

"You said weapons." 

"Yes." 

Her silence was his cue to continue. He refused. 

It was a relief when Alan stepped in to break the 
stalemate. "Dr. Scully?" 

Until then the scientists had stayed out of the 
conversation. Alan cleared his throat. "If not here, 
then where?" 

It was a good question. Was there really nowhere else 
in the country for them to turn to? In the world? That 
didn't seem right. The world was huge - there had to be 
hundreds of places they could use to hide out in. But 
more immediately, what about his father? They needed to 
get to the camp so Dr. Scully could treat him properly - 
she had said so. 

Sweat dribbled down Shu's face; Toby was drinking 
deeply from a water bottle. Only Eric and the other 
guides stood to attention. 

The doctor shook her head. "I don't like this." 

"I wouldn't take you there if I thought it was a trap." 

"You could have said exactly the same thing to Mulder 
nearly twenty years ago." 

Eric winced. "That was not fair." 

"No, it wasn't, but I'm not going to apologize." She 
spoke from that faraway place she sometimes went to. "I 
have nothing left, Eric. I put everything on the line, 
as you so euphemistically put it, a decade ago." 

He reached out, taking her hand. 

"Please," he said. "Trust me." 

Dr. Scully sighed. "Against my better instincts." 

She stooped to take up one corner of the stretcher. The 
others scrambled up. Liam could almost hear the weight 
settle on their backs as they jiggled their packs to 
get comfortable; some of them were carrying metal 
containers or instruments. 

"Who knows?" the doctor said. "Maybe if we could fire 
laser beams the way you toss out cliches, we'd have a 
chance - but you've got a long way to go if you plan to 
match your grandfather's talent for riddling." 

Eric wasn't ready to let the doctor have the last word. 

"You were much nicer when I was a kid. I even kind of 
*liked* you back then in spite of you being a fed." 

Dr. Scully chuckled, alleviating some of the tension. 
Liam reclaimed his place beside the stretcher. Now that 
he could see properly, he was able to keep a hand on 
it, offering whatever help he could. 

Resigned to the situation, Dr. Scully pressed Eric for 
details on the camp as they fell into a rhythm. 
Listening to them talk took Liam's mind off the heat 
and his father. 

"Eric, just how many people are coming to the base?" 

"We've planned for between eighty and a hundred and 
twenty people for the first month - we're up to 
thirty-seven. We'll expand as we can. Our first 
priority is to get the labs running. This isn't the 
only base being set up, Dr. Scully, but it is the only 
one in the US so far." 

"What about utilities? Water? Power? Sanitation? You 
can't plan to hide all these people in the desert?" 

"Artesian wells pump fresh water into the camp. Power's 
been trickier, but we managed to get ourselves online 
just last week." 

"You don't just hook into a power grid." 

"You can when you have one of the original air base 
engineers helping you out." 

"Is this engineer your government insider?" she asked. 

"No." 

Once he got started on the subject, Eric had plenty to 
say about the base. There were scientists - and 
laboratories - and medical rooms for Dr. Scully. Some of 
it would be underground, and you could only move about 
above ground at certain times of the day or night which 
kept changing, so everything had to be timed. Liam 
wouldn't be the only kid. He'd have his own room, next 
to his parents, but food was cooked in a communal 
kitchen. 

Liam had no idea how long they had been walking when 
Eric guided them through a narrow chasm that curved 
into a wide space behind the rock face. It opened on a 
secret rock garden. The area was large and marked with 
naturally-formed, broad stone pillars and steep walls 
on all sides. Eric directed them behind a massive 
boulder, which provided some shade. They would rest for 
half an hour. 

"They can't see us here," he told Dr. Scully. "We're 
guarding the entrance, but if anyone does get in, the 
rocks will provide protection." 

She nodded, shrugging off her bag and untying it. 

"Help me, Eric," she said. "I need to check Harry." 

They stripped away the layers covering Liam's dad. When 
Mr. van de Kamp's hand was freed, Liam reached out for 
it, wishing he could command the cells in his father's 
body the way he thought he did to himself and his 
ankle. 

"Dad?" 

His father groaned. 

*Why do I feel as if I'm supposed to do something?* 

Liam knew why, but there'd be little point trying to 
explain it. It was like that time the van had struck 
Sparky. His inability to help frustrated him. Just now 
his hands had gone out involuntarily as if they knew 
something he didn't. 

He spread his fingers in front of him; it was bad 
enough there were things about himself he would never 
know - he didn't expect his body to know things that 
*he* didn't. 

Whatever his hands could or couldn't do, perhaps they 
weren't needed now, anyway. His father's breathing was 
slow and deep. If he was in pain, it didn't show on his 
face. Not like that morning. 

His mother bathed his father's forehead while Dr. Scully 
did something with the sugar again. When the doctor 
caught Liam looking at her, she frowned. 

"Why don't you get something to eat?" Liam knew he was 
being dismissed. He ached too much too argue. He looked 
at his mother and she nodded. 

After one last squeeze of his father's hand, Liam 
picked himself up and joined the others, who had moved 
around a corner to give Mr. van de Kamp some privacy. 

Liam didn't taste the apple as he munched on the fruit 
Alan gave him. His jaw worked mechanically, mashing 
each bite to the point where the pulp slid by itself 
down his throat. Whatever Dr. Scully was doing, it was 
taking time. 

He was startled when one of Eric's guides - the one who 
had been following them - slipped around a boulder and 
beckoned another guide, thrusting his jaw and pointing 
with the twig in his mouth. Making no noise, the other 
guide rose, and the pair started pulling themselves up 
a small rocky wall, just feet away from the snoozing 
group. 

No one else noticed or seemed to care, but Liam thought 
it was odd. 

It was easy to work out where they had gone - there was 
only one way to go - up a fissure in the rock. Liam 
hauled himself up, biting back on the pain in his 
ankle. He nearly grabbed a foot as he pulled himself 
over the lip at the top. The guides lay on their 
stomachs, looking over the edge. 

They turned when Liam's hand scrabbled in the loose 
rock for a handhold. 

"Get down!" 

Liam did as he was told, dropping next to the man who 
had barked at him. He crawled to the edge. 

"It's too late to send you back now - look!" 

Liam peered down. They were overlooking the gap Eric 
had guided them through; they were over the entrance of 
the hidden canyon. A flash of movement caught his eye 
and he gasped. "A super -" 

A jab in the ribs shut him up. 

Down in the chasm, a shape in fatigues slipped through 
the gap. It stopped and scanned the area, its head 
moving from left to right. Liam gasped when he saw the 
blond ponytail. It was a woman. She held a small 
radio-like device and appeared to be running it over 
the rocks. She took two steps - in the direction Eric 
had led them - and repeated her motions. 

"We have to warn -" Liam tried to turn but found 
himself pinned under the weight of an arm. "I said shh. 
Look!" 

Liam had to blink. At first he thought the sun was 
playing tricks on him because the supersoldier below 
was shimmering like a mirage. He couldn't tear his gaze 
away. The woman seemed unaware her body was rippling 
and wavering; she took one more step - and started 
pulsating so fast Liam's stomach knotted just looking 
at her. Then she vanished with a bang. 

The ground under Liam vibrated. Shingle slid off the 
ledge. When he looked out again, a cloud of dust was 
shimmering. He searched for the woman. "Where'd she 
go?" 

"Come on," the man with the grass in his mouth said, 
letting himself down the fissure. 

Below, Eric was fending off the scientists. "Well?" 

The twig in the guide's mouth bobbed as he spoke. "Just 
one. She won't be beaming onto the mothership tonight." 

"You're sure?" 

"As sure as I'll ever be." 

"What's going on?" Dr. Scully pushed forward to confront 
Eric. 

"A supersoldier, Dr. Scully. We don't know if it was 
deliberately tracking us, or if it was just curious." 

"Where is it now?" 

The guide next to Liam was smug. "Dust." 

Dr. Scully's glance fell on Liam. "You didn't let Liam 
watch, did you?" 

The guide's jaw jutted out, but the twig drooped. 
"Couldn't stop him, could I?" 

Dr. Scully was on the point of saying something but 
stopped. She spun about and hurried back the way she 
had come. Eric ran to follow her. 

"Dr. Scully?" 

"The finger," she yelled over her shoulder. 

Liam tugged on the guide's t-shirt. "What happened to 
that woman?" 

The guide waited until the retreating doctor 
disappeared before answering. "Torn to bits. 
Sup'soldiers got iron in 'em. Iron in the rock acts 
like a magnet. Unzips the atoms in their cadavers, 
breaks down the weak forces and sucks the iron out of 
'em. Not much left after that." 

"Are you another scientist?" 

"A scientist?" His laugh was hollow. "I look like a 
scientist to you? No, boy. I just like to know my 
enemy." 

The man strode away with the other guide, ignoring the 
scientists' entreaties for more information. Liam 
watched him spit out the remains of the grass stalk. He 
stooped and plucked another without breaking stride. 

"You saw what happened?" Alan asked, incredulous. 

Liam found himself surrounded. He felt important as he 
tried to recall what he had seen. "From now on, I'm 
sticking with you, kid," Toby said when he finished. 
"You get all the adventures!" 

When they regrouped, ready to set out again, Eric 
brought them up to date. 

"Bad news first - we're running behind time. Good news 
is we're confident there won't be any more supersoldier 
encounters today. 

"We can be so sure" - he put his hands out to forestall 
concern - "because these guys usually sole patrol. If 
that *thing* thought something strange was going on 
here, it would have radioed home base. We'd be 
surrounded by now. We're not." 

Some of their party didn't look convinced but they had 
no option to argue. Eric told them to put their noses 
to the ground to make sure they left nothing behind. 

As Dr. Scully cast another look over her patient, Liam's 
mother bent beside her. 

"Is the treatment working?" 

"His breathing isn't as labored and his temperature is 
manageable. Looking at him now, Marie, I'd say he was 
in much better shape than he was this morning." 

"Thank God." 

"Yes." Liam didn't doubt Dr. Scully meant it, but there 
was a catch in her voice as though she had been 
surprised to deliver good news. 

When they fell into formation again and headed out 
through the chasm, Liam remembered the finger. He asked 
the doctor about it. His interest amused her. 

"You're very curious, Liam." She didn't say it as 
though it was a bad thing. "The finger is still intact, 
if that's what you're asking." 

"Shouldn't it have been sucked into rock like that 
other supersoldier? That's why you were worried, 
weren't you? You want to study it, don't you? If you 
put it under a microscope, will you let me look, too?" 

She made a face, and he was afraid she'd jumped to the 
wrong conclusion like Mrs Linkletter had when he was in 
the third grade and she had called his parents because 
she was worried about his habit of poking at dead 
animals in the school yard. 

"There's nothing wrong with studying things," he said. 
"I like studying things ..." 

"I'm glad." Dr. Scully sounded it, too. "You can help me 
in the lab any time you like - if that's okay with your 
mother." 

Liam's mother was quick to give her approval. "That's a 
very kind offer, Dr. Scully. What do you say, Liam?" 

If his ankle was sore after that, he didn't notice. His 
father remained peaceful, and the ground under Liam's 
feet was as springy as a trampoline. His pack was 
lighter, his dad was getting better, and they were 
nearly at the end of this journey. The supersoldier's 
demise in the canyon marked a turning-point in spirits. 
They were on the home stretch. 

Less than half an hour later they were met by the 
relief party from the camp. Chatter among the 
scientists grew. Young men off to summer camp - that 
was his mother's description. Liam could see what she 
meant. 

When Eric announced they would be able to see the camp 
once they reached the top of the next ridge, everyone's 
pace quickened. Alan and Toby got there first; despite 
the packs on their backs, they broke into a whooping 
dance. Shu was puffing by the time he caught up to 
them. They stood in a circle, giving each other 
high-fives. 

Liam felt a thrill when he overlooked the broad basin 
expanding to the south. 

Although still far away, a series of uniform dots 
bisected by a long line marked the site of the former 
air force installation. The land surrounding the camp 
went on for miles. It was so flat Liam could make out 
the shape of the incredibly long fence that enclosed 
it. 

Neither his mother nor the doctor let on her emotions. 
Only her pressed lips hinted at his mother's feelings, 
while Dr. Scully seemed to be calculating the distance 
left to travel. 

Eric led them down an easy slope to the basin's edge; 
the only thing in their way were the cactus plants. 
Almost before Liam could believe it, they had walked 
themselves to a high wire fence. 

Hand on chin, Dr. Scully studied the fence. "Is this 
it?" 

Eric nodded. "There's another fence around the 
barracks, but this is the main perimeter." 

There was no gate. Eric and another guide rolled up a 
section of wire. Mr. van de Kamp's stretcher was dragged 
through first. 

Liam hesitated before scrambling in the dirt on his 
hands and knees. He had given up everything - the farm, 
his animals, his friends, his life - to come here for 
reasons he didn't fully understand. Were they doing the 
right thing? There were answers waiting for them beyond 
the fence. He couldn't explain why he was so certain of 
that. Were they the answers he wanted? Would they 
really be safe here? 

The fence and the openness of the camp wasn't 
reassuring, yet Eric seemed certain. The place was 
perfect, he had said. 

Liam closed his eyes as he ducked under the wire; it 
was like jumping from the high diving board for the 
first time - there was only one way to go but he had no 
idea what to expect. When his eyes opened again, things 
looked just the same - even though he knew he'd 
traveled an unfathomable distance. 

He held out a hand to help up his mother and then the 
doctor. 

Half an hour later, the outline of the second fence 
became visible. The dots of the barracks got bigger. Dr. 
Scully had hung back with Liam and his mother, but when 
excitement overflowed among the scientists and they 
called to her, she moved forward. 

Liam strained to see what the fuss was. He tugged his 
mother's sleeve. "Look, Mom!" 

They were close enough now to see a gate rolling aside 
and a mass of people flooding out from the inner 
compound. At the head of their welcome party was a 
tall, dark-haired man, with a familiar lanky stride. 

Liam's mother gasped. "Is that ...?" 

It was. 

"Mulder, how did you get -" 

Dr. Scully didn't get to finish; she was wrapped in Mr. 
Mulder's arms before she could get the words out. 

"There are some people here who want to see you, 
Scully." 

Startled, Dr. Scully looked up. The crowd behind Mr. 
Mulder parted and a gray-haired woman stepped from it. 

A small cry escaped Dr. Scully. 

"Mom," she said, pulling the woman into an embrace. 

Liam gawked. He couldn't help it. Powerful, bossy, Dr 
Scully had a mom? Of course, he knew she had to have 
one, but the word sounded strange coming from her 
mouth. 

"Got enough hug left for an old colleague?" A bald, 
bespectacled man made his way up to them. Dr. Scully put 
her hand to her mouth. 

"Skinner?" She swung around, peering through the crowd. 
Around them, people were disentangling the scientists 
from their packs. "John and Monica, too?" 

Liam and his mother kept out of the way, but Mr. Mulder 
hadn't forgotten them. 

"There's a one-legged friend waiting for Liam inside." 

Liam knew immediately what he meant. 

"Jerry!" He yelled without meaning to. "He's got one 
leg already? And I missed it?" 

Mr. Mulder put an arm about the doctor's waist to guide 
her toward the camp gate. "Come on," he said. "If 
you're fast enough you'll see him pop out another!" 

"Mulder? Are John and Monica here too?" 

"Scully, we can talk about that once we get you to 
safety." 

She struggled to stop. "No. Tell me now." 

The bald man - Mr. Skinner - answered, keeping his voice 
low. "Dana, Agent Doggett hasn't been seen for three 
weeks." 

She rounded on him. "What?" 

Mr. Skinner looked uncomfortable. "He was on leave - 
supposed to be back last Monday. He never clocked in." 

Dr. Scully stared at him, studying his face. 

"There's more," she said. "What aren't you telling me? 
Where's Monica?" 

Mr. Skinner looked away, his eyes falling on Liam. They 
flickered before passing over him. 

"I don't know. I'm sorry, Dana. She went to check up on 
him when he didn't turn up at work. No one's heard from 
her since. I'd have gone after her, but there was 
barely any time to get to your mother." 

On the other side of the doctor, Mr. Mulder shifted. His 
expression was grave, but he forced a smile. 

Her forehead furrowed. 

"Who heard from John last? He must have been in contact 
with Monica. She wouldn't just let him take off without 
checking on him regularly. They both know better!" 

"Monica and John haven't worked as partners for several 
years," Mr. Skinner said as though he was reminding her 
of something she should have known. "We all agreed 
minimal contact was the best course of action. 
Whatever's happened - and we will find out, Scully - we 
have another problem. What started this off - the 
break-in at the records department in DC - that can't 
have been coincidence." 

He watched her digest the implication of his words. 

"You think either Monica or John betrayed us?" She was 
shaking her head. "No. That's not possible." 

"No one's pointing fingers - yet. But whoever rifled 
that records office knew exactly what they were looking 
for. We're certain whoever did it didn't know about 
this place. I hate saying this, but if it wasn't one of 
them, then who else?" 

"No." Dr. Scully shook her head again. "I'll buy into 
the hollow world theory before I accept that either one 
of them could have betrayed us. They must have gone 
into hiding - they could even be on their way here. We 
got directions - why shouldn't they?" 

When Mr. Skinner spoke again, it was to change tack. 
"There's something else you might be interested in 
knowing." 

The doctor wasn't in the mood for guessing games, so he 
went on. "The X-Files have been re-opened." 

Her eyebrows rose. 

"It seems our alien friends are discovering a few 
paranormal mysteries of their own on earth." 

"Excuse me?" 

"I guess there's more to Earth than meets the 
extra-terrestrial eye. Sentient sea algae for one thing 
- that's got them really concerned. They've even taken 
over your old office." 

She seemed unsure what to make of this remark. 
"Seriously?" 

He nodded, his mouth twitching. 

"Little green G-men?" 

He nodded again, full on grinning. 

Liam watched in amazement as the doctor fought to 
control herself. She had a pretty laugh. Even though he 
didn't understand the joke, he wished she laughed more 
often. 

"That can't be good, surely?" Dr. Scully wiped a hand 
across her eyes. "Our old case files - we removed what 
we could, but there are still sensitive files down 
there. Van Blundht, Darren Oswald - Mulder spent hours 
salvaging those files - better that they had burned 
than fall into the wrong hands." 

Mr. Skinner frowned. "Do you fear information in those 
files being used against you?" 

"It can't have *not* crossed your mind." 

"Scully, I know it's worrying, but think for a moment. 
They've had nearly ten years to go through those files. 
This is something different." 

"Scully's right to be concerned," Mr. Mulder said. "But 
we can worry about it tomorrow. Until then I'm just 
going to enjoy the irony that is little green Feds." 

Liam and his mother trailed the group into the base; it 
didn't seem to right to intrude on Dr. Scully and her 
mother and her friends. Liam's mom gripped his hand as 
they stepped over the threshold. They were the last to 
pass through the large gateway. It slammed shut behind 
them. Ahead, Liam's dad was carried into a plain, 
concrete building. Mr. Mulder waited at the door for 
Liam and his mother. As quickly as they had appeared, 
the welcoming crowds were disappearing. 

It seemed a sign that they should not tarry. 

They were the last to make it to shelter, but when the 
skin on the back of his head tingled, Liam turned 
around. 

A short, stooped figure was staring at him. 

There was no welcome on this man's face and when Liam 
stared back, the man's scowl deepened. The man's leg 
dragged as he limped away to a lonely cabin on the edge 
of the compound. 

Liam watched him jerk open a door and vanish into it. 

At his mother's urging, Liam stepped inside. 

End of Part 1