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La Vérité Nous Sauvera (The Truth Will Save Us) By Char Chaffin and Tess Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Epilogue Text Only Chapter One San Diego, California Value-Save Rent-a-Car Montgomery Field Sunday, 11:30 a.m. Dana Scully stood in line and used one foot to nudge her suitcase forward as the person at the front of the line stepped up to one of the two Value-Save counter clerks. Waiting patiently, she indulged in a moment of sheer feminine pleasure as she admired the tips of the glossy black boots peeking out from beneath the cuffs of her jeans. Outrageously expensive, made of buttery-soft leather and lending a generous three inches to her height, they were at distinct odds with the well-worn jeans that encased her slim legs. Their purchase had, sadly, been one of the high points of her trip. The funeral of Captain Thomas Quinn, retired from the Navy for fifteen years and an old Scully-family friend from the days when their father had been stationed at NAS Miramar, had been combined with a family visit. Two days into the visit and Scully had begun counting the moments until it was time to fly back home again. Bill's less than subtle digs at the apparently stagnant state of her career and marital status had been countered with Tara's relentlessly cheerful remarks on how wonderful her sister-in-law looked since their last visit a year prior. On the other hand, one-year-old Matthew had been a delight. Toddling around the house on unsteady legs, he had charmed his way into his aunt's heart within seconds of the first wet and generous kiss he had pressed to her mouth. She had spent much of her visit on the receiving end of his flirtatious gap-toothed smiles and sticky- handed hugs, and he was the reason she would make a more concerted effort to visit her brother and his family in the future. Scully swung a black leather tote from her shoulder and popped open the center snap. She dug out her cellphone as she inched closer to the counter, dialed and pressed it between her ear and shoulder. She listened distractedly to the ringing of the phone as she continued to dig through the oversized purse for her car rental contract and a slow smile spread over her face when a sleep-roughened voice greeted her. "Did I catch you napping?" In her mind's eye, his long length was sprawled over his sofa, a gray T-shirt stretched across his muscled chest and strong, bare feet emerging from the frayed cuffs of his favorite jeans. "S'okay." Mulder's sleepy response was accompanied by the squeaking of leather as he made himself more comfortable. "Where are you?" She nudged her luggage forward another step. "I'm at the airport - returning my car." Both clerks became free within seconds of each other as two customers stepped away from the counter and headed toward the doors and the shuttle van waiting to drive them to their terminals at the nearby airport. The woman ahead of Scully walked to the closest clerk and Scully carried her bag to the other. The clerk, whose nametag identified her as Brenda, held up one finger and leaned away from the counter to replace the toner cartridge in the printer between the two workstations. "My flight is scheduled to leave on time," Scully said into the phone. A contented smile flirted with the corners of her mouth as she listened to him describe the myriad of ways he had planned to celebrate her return home. The smiled widened into a full grin when she realized that most of his plans revolved around divesting her of her clothes at the first possible moment. Six years together as partners, the last three months of which had been spent in the blissful throes of a blossoming romance. God, she had missed this man! Her cheeks flushed and her heart pounded when Mulder lowered his voice to whisper a particularly inventive suggestion into her ear. She choked back a moan and felt her cheeks heat again as the other customer and clerk both glanced her way with knowing smiles on their faces. Scully stammered a hasty goodbye into the phone and dropped it back into her bag. She let her hair swing forward to hide her face as she pretended to rifle through her purse for something. She watched Brenda kneel on the floor to wrestle with the printer and idly listened to the other clerk and customer exchange pleasantries. "Our computers are terribly slow today, ma'am," the clerk apologized to the other customer. "Perhaps, you would like a piece of cake while you're waiting?" She nodded toward a gaily-frosted pound cake sitting on the counter. "It's my birthday," the clerk continued to chatter as she entered the woman's credit card data into the recalcitrant computer for a second time. "Happy Birthday... Mary," the customer said with a discreet glance at the clerk's name tag. "Is the cake a gift from your co-workers?" she asked. A self-satisfied smile crossed Mary's face and she lowered her voice. "There was no card," she said confidentially, "but I'm pretty sure that my boyfriend sent it." She nudged the cake closer to her customer. "Go on, take a small piece. You can't say no, it's my birthday!" Her grin widened to include Scully in the offer. Several pieces of cake were already missing, undoubtedly pressed upon Mary's customers throughout the morning. "What a considerate man he must be," the other woman said. She handed a small piece of cake to Scully on a paper napkin and took a bite of her own slice. Brenda cursed softly under her breath and slapped a vicious hand against the printer, which immediately sprang to life. Scully's phone rang and she popped a morsel of cake in her mouth as she fumbled for the phone. She grimaced as the cake melted over her taste buds and saw a similar expression cross the face of the other customer. There was an unpleasant, slightly bitter taste to the cake. Mulder's voice filled her ear. "Hey, Scully, you hung up before I could ask if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight. I can make reservations for Milano's," he suggested the name of a casual neighborhood restaurant, "or we can just order in when we get home." Scully sidled toward the nearest trashcan to discreetly dispose of the rest of the cake while she mulled over Mulder's dinner plans. "I love Milano's, but getting take out has a certain appeal of its own," she said. Mulder's husky laugh echoed hers. Ordering out would give them about thirty minutes to work up an appetite... Mary set the invoice on the counter. "What do you think of the cake?" she asked as she handed the other woman a pen. "I just know he made it himself. It's been so busy around here that I've only been able to grab a bite here and a bite there!" The customer gamely made a show of taking another bite. She swallowed hard and wished for a cool glass of water to wash the taste of the cake from her mouth. "It's delicious," she lied with a polite smile. The words were barely out of her mouth when she began to cough and gag. Her hands clawed at her throat and Scully turned her attention from Mulder to the commotion taking place a few feet from her as Mary let out a shrill scream. "Mulder, I've got to go!" she said urgently. She was dimly aware of his shouted, "Scully!" as she disconnected the call and rushed to the woman's aid. She wrapped her arms around the woman and pulled her back against her body, locking her hands over the other woman's midsection to apply the Heimlich maneuver, but to no avail. The woman sagged unconscious in Scully's arms, and she lowered her to the floor. "Call 911!" she shouted to Mary while she pried the woman's jaw open and swept her fingers into her mouth to clear it of any food before beginning mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Scully was dimly aware of the frightened murmurs from the staff and customers who stood impotently over the two women. She lifted her head, panting, and shook her head in frustration. It wasn't working. She tried tilting the woman's head back further to clear the airway. She leaned down again, and ran her fingers over the woman's swelling throat, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt the pulse growing fainter beneath the skin. Scully looked up at the small crowd of people surrounding them. "Does anyone know CPR?" A young man nodded and she yanked him down onto the floor next to her. "Her heart isn't beating," She settled his hands over the woman's chest. "You start compressions and I'll keep up the mouth-to-mouth. Okay?" He nodded again, locking frightened eyes on hers. "Go!" She waited as the young man counted under his breath with each chest compression. "One-and-two-and-three-and-four-and-five..." Scully took a deep breath and tried to force the air from her lungs into the dying woman's. After what felt like hours, she heard the wail of a siren and was shouldered aside to allow room for the EMTs to work. Scully sat down heavily on the floor, and watched in exhaustion as the medical technicians frantically tried to save the woman's life. Long moments passed and Scully knew that they were wasting their time. Grim-faced, they finally acknowledged what she already knew to be true. "She's gone." A piercing shriek rent the air and Scully spun around to find Brenda staring in horror at the dead woman. Tears streamed down her face and her mouth worked soundlessly. Wildly, her gaze darted over the dead woman and the clutter of paper napkins on the counter. Confused, Scully watched Brenda whirl about and race toward the doors. She tripped over a piece of medical equipment and went sprawling across the floor. She scrambled to her feet just as a beefy-looking security guard ran over and moved to assist her; at the touch of his hand on her arm Brenda screamed and jerked away, bringing her loafer-shod foot up between his legs and catching him square in his crotch. The guard grunted in surprised pain and sank to his knees, clutching at himself. Brenda kicked at him again, this time connecting with his upper shoulder and forcing a groan of pain from the guard as he slipped to the floor. Shaking, Brenda curled into a ball and wrapped her arms over her head. "It's not my fault!" she sobbed piteously. "This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen!" Dimly, Scully became aware of the shrill ringing of her cell phone. She fumbled in her bag and pulled out the phone. Without looking at the display, she thumbed it on. "Mulder... I'm not going to make my flight." Continue to Chapter 2 |
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