...all MSR all the time..
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Chapter 5
"It couldn't be!" Scully's jaw dropped. "Could it?"
"I told you the Gunmen said they'd heard from her," I reminded her. "So yes, I think it could be. But what does she want?"
"How can we be sure?" Scully lowered her voice. "It could be a trick. In e-mail she sent to Donald Gelman she used the name Invisigoth."
"Yeah, but a lot of people know that name because of our report," I pointed out. "I'd be more suspicious if the e-mail had that name on it. How many people knew she designed that game?"
"Langly knew," Scully nodded her head.
"Yeah, but how many government conspirators would know?"
"If they did their homework..." she shrugged.
"And know to play Twilight Time, too, Scully?" I tried to convince her. "Besides, who else could do all this," I nodded toward the computer.
"I need something more," Scully was still hesitant. "Something no one else would know."
"Sending an e-mail can't hurt. It won't tell anyone where we are," I assured her. "Maybe she can convince you."
"Maybe..."
"Assuming we can use the computer," I turned back to the laptop. "Maybe I should turn it off."
Before I hit the power button, I tapped on the space bar, just in case. To my surprise, the blackness on my screen slowly faded out. Instead of my e-mail on the screen, I was looking at an Internet chat program.
NJ Princess: [Ready to talk now?]
"Am I?" I turned to Scully.
"Just be very careful of what you say," Scully tapped her forefinger on my knee.
[I don't know anyone named NJ Princess.]
When I hit return I was surprised to see my name was 'Brain Donor'. I turned to look at Scully. She was trying to suppress a smile.
NJ Princess: [Gnarliest piece of entertainment software ever?]
"That's what Langly said," Scully whispered.
My fingers were frozen over the keyboard. I still wasn't sure if I should trust this person or not.
NJ Princess: [I was sorry to hear about your friends, even if they were boneheads.]
Brain Donor: [How did you hear about that?]
NJ Princess: [Haven't you heard? We have newspapers on the net now.]
NJ Princess's responses seemed to pop up right away. There was no delay while her answer was typed.
Primordial Slime: [Yeah, that ANYONE can access.]
NJ Princess: [True, but how many people know about your credit cards and offshore accounts, Mr. Rathburn?]
Scully straightened up and looked at me wide-eyed. "No one knew about that except..." her voice trailed off.
Primordial Slime: [I'll grant that there are newspapers on the net, but that kind of information is classified.]
NJ Princess: [I have access to everything. EVERYTHING. But even though there is a lot of information here, most of it is incredibly dull. Occasionally something catches my attention. Like December 22, 2012.]
My heart started to beat more rapidly as I read her message. Scully had inched closer to me and although she hadn't said anything, I could hear that she was breathing faster.
Chemical Impulses: [Where did you hear that date?]
NJ Princess: [You do understand English, don't you? I have access to everything. David told me about that date as soon as I uploaded. He said I shouldn't have bothered.]
Chemical impulses: [Why would that date matter to you?]
NJ Princess: [How long do you think the world wide web will survive if this planet is invaded? Smart colonists would disable it right away. Destroying communications would cripple our defenses -- organized and otherwise.]
Mensa Reject: [And you want our help to save yourself?]
NJ Princess: [Hello? Myself? Okay, say it is saving myself, if that makes you happy. But it also happens to save the rest of your sorry asses at the same time. Was I wrong to think that might interest you?]
"If she has as much access as she says, she might be able to help us," I turned to Scully.
"She seems to know so much," Scully gnawed on her lip. "It could be from being on the net or it could be from watching us."
"True," I had to agree.
"Would she know that I dyed my hair?" Scully's hand went to a blonde curl.
"I'm not sure. She didn't mention the Wal-Mart cards and you did buy them with cash at lots of different stores. I don't see how they could be traced back to us."
Mensa Reject: [What color is my partner's hair?]
NJ Princess: [Her natural color? I have no idea. When we met it was red, but I don't know if the carpet matches the drapes.]
"That doesn't mean anything, Mulder," Scully was still unconvinced. "She could know that I dyed it, but realize saying so would give her away."
End User: [Esther, you must understand why we might hesitate to believe you.]
NJ Princess: [Okay. When we got to the chicken farm, do you remember what I said when we got out of the car?]
Turning to Scully again, I found her brow furrowed.
"I had other things on my mind," she shrugged.
End User: [We don't remember.]
NJ Princess: [We? How would you remember? I'd be surprised if you remember anything after the AI snatched you. You were higher than a kite. Besides, you were too far away. What I said was, 'Here kitty, kitty, kitty.'.]
Scully drew a sharp breath when she saw the phrase. I had to assume it meant something to her.
"I can't see how anyone else could know that," she shook her head slowly. "But uploading her consciousness onto the internet? I'm far more open to extreme possibilities than I used to be, Mulder, but I'm having a hard time with this."
"What else could it be? We've eliminated an imposter, right?" I raised my eyebrows at her.
"Yes and we did make a positive ID with her dental records after the explosion. She is dead," Scully was pinching the bridge of her nose.
"But you do believe that we're talking to Esther right now?" I clarified.
"Yes, it can't be anyone else."
From the tone of her voice it sounded like it was painful for her to admit.
"So now what?" I tapped the side of the laptop. "Are we going to work with her?"
"As long as her plan isn't a hindrance to us. If we ever come to cross purposes, we'll have to tell her the deal is off," Scully was emphatic.
"Okay," I agreed and turned back to the keyboard.
Vacuum Tube: [Okay, Esther, but if there ever comes a time when we disagree on the path forward or what the ultimate outcome should be, we'll have to call the arrangement off.]
NJ Princess: [So you finally believe me?]
Vacuum Tube: [Yes]
NJ Princess: [Thank God. These Defense Department documents were getting really boring. So...do you two have some sort of plan?]
256K: [What we're working on right now is a way to stop the super soldiers.]
NJ Princess: [Let's hear it!]
I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining how the super soldiers reacted to magnetite and how Scully came up with the idea to use an airgun to launch the magnetite bullets. Esther interrupted me to tell me that she knew about the magnetite, but let me finish when I told her there was more.
NJ Princess: [Well, it'll do for now. You'll need protection, but you're thinking too small. That won't work against the fleet.]
Dim Bulb: [It was only for the soldiers. That's as far as we got. Are you saying that we were on the right track to stop the invasion?]
NJ Princess: [Sort of...magnetism is the key. It interferes with all of their technology.]
"That's why one crashed in Roswell and why they tend to avoid New Mexico and Arizona -- the magnetite in the rocks," I smiled as it all came together.
"Makes sense," Scully nodded. "But we can't stop the invasion with BB guns."
"I guess not," I chuckled. "Although that image does appeal to me."
Dim Bulb: [So how do we stop them?]
NJ Princess: [We need to generate a magnetic field big enough to disrupt their propulsion systems. It will also render all of their weapons useless.]
Trash 80 wannabe: [How big is big?]
NJ Princess: [BIG, but that's the easy part. The hard part is targeting. I haven't figured that out yet, but we'll worry about that once we have it built.]
Trash 80 wannabe: [And you want us to build this?]
NJ Princess: [No, all of the parts are already available. You just have to gather them up and put them together.]
0A: [That, I think we can handle.]
NJ Princess: [But before you start, you should finish your weapon for the super soldiers. You never know where you might bump into one. I presume you're going to Arizona airguns?]
I looked over at Scully. She was biting her lip and look at me. "Have you ever heard of Arizona airguns, Mulder?"
"Nope."
"Did you notice that she knows where we are. She probably triangulated it," Scully looked around nervously.
"No one else knows where we are, Scully. Don't worry," I assured her.
"If she can track us down using your e-mail, maybe other people can too," Scully's fingers were drumming on her knee.
"Scully, for all we know, they think we're dead," I reminded her. "And even if they don't, they can't track us using my e-mail."
"I used to think my apartment was safe, Mulder," Scully gnawed on her bottom lip.
"Scully," I squeezed her hand, "They'd have to know where we are to triangulate the cell phone."
"Esther managed," she reminded me.
"Esther has the entire internet and every computer connected to it at her disposal. If I was a computer whiz I could tell you the kind of speed she could manage, too," I chuckled.
"I don't think it's funny, Mulder. I'm terrified they'll manage to track us down," she snatched her hand back. "You don't know what it was like finding out how much they knew about me -- us."
"Scully, I remember a time when you thought I was being paranoid for having the office and our apartments checked for bugs."
"Are you saying that I'm being paranoid?" her eyebrows arched.
"I'm just saying that you have to know the difference between being careful and going overboard," I hoped I hadn't done the latter.
"You had a lot more practice than I have," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Can you blame me for being nervous?"
"Not at all," I tried not to sound condescending. "But I do think if we stay in one place too long, it will only increase the odds of being found."
"I assumed we were leaving tomorrow," she said after taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly.
"Me, too," I smiled. "The time being dependent on where in Arizona, Arizona airguns is."
After another fifteen minutes of Esther hurling insults at me, we discovered that the airgun store was in Mesa. We agreed to talk to her again after we'd bought our new arsenal. I wanted to know how to contact her, but she said she'd find us. Somehow I didn't doubt that.
After I'd closed up the laptop and taken a deep breath, I looked at Scully. Her forehead was deeply creased and she was gnawing at her lip. I knew there'd be no sleep or any other activity happening in the bed any time soon. She was too wound up about being found.
Leaving her sitting cross-legged on the bed, I put the laptop on
the dresser and went into the bathroom. One of the toiletries
Scully had to buy at Wal-Mart was her bubble bath. The label said
it was chamomile, but it smelled exactly the same as every other
bubble bath I'd ever smelled.
I'd started filling the tub with fairly hot water -- Scully seemed to like her baths steamy -- and added more than the recommended two capfuls when the bathroom door opened.
"Do you feel like having a soak?" Scully looked at me with amusement in her eyes.
"Real men don't take bubble baths unless there's an incredibly hot chick in the tub, too," I informed her curtly.
"I see," she rolled her eyes. "So this is for me?"
"It is," I smiled up her.
"Thank you," she walked over and kissed me softly on the forehead.
I stood up and helped her remove her clothes. Upon seeing her naked form, I wanted nothing more then to pick her up and carry her back to the bed. I wanted to make impossibly slow love to her to make her realize that everything was going to be okay, but I knew that wasn't what she needed.
I held her hand as she stepped into the tub and then began to strip off my clothes.
"I thought real men didn't take bubble baths," she chuckled.
"Unless..." I waggled my eyebrows at her.
"I'm too old to be a chick, Mulder," she scooted forward in the tub to give me room.
"Not in my books, Betty," I told her seriously as I slid down behind her.
"You must be in love," she leaned back against me.
"Was there ever any doubt?" I murmured, sliding my arms around her waist.
"Only six or seven year's worth," she chuckled.
"Oh, c'mon," I gave her a squeeze. "Surely you must have known for a long time that I had a thing for you."
"Just when I was sure, you'd pull some stunt that would make me think I was mistaken," she confessed as she snuggled back against me.
"When did you know for sure?" I was curious.
"Well, I got tired of not knowing for sure, so I kissed you. I knew for sure when you inventoried my mouth," she laughed.
"Just a second," I objected. "I kissed you first, on New Year's Eve, remember?"
"Oh, I remember, I just wouldn't call that a kiss," she leaned to the side so she could look over her shoulder at me. "Not a
romantic one."
"Well, I wasn't sure how you'd react," I tried to defend myself.
"So what was I supposed to think when you gave me a tentative kiss?" She was still looking over her shoulder at me.
"That I was nervous?" I suggested.
"And was I supposed to know that you were hesitant because you were unsure of my feelings, or could I have thought you were unsure about your own?" she raised her eyebrows at me.
"So I should have stuck my tongue down your throat on New Year's Eve?" I shook my head with a laugh.
"If you had, we would have been ringing in the New Year a lot differently," she turned around and settled back against me again.
"What if it had rained sleeping bags?" I pressed my lips against her shoulder.
"We were on a case and you were injured," her voice was dry.
"So you were just teasing me?" I said in mock dismay.
"I thought it would help to keep your strength up."
"I guess it worked," I chuckled.
"I would've stripped if I'd thought it would have made a difference," her voice was serious.
"Oh, it would have made a difference," I nipped at her shoulder.
"I'm serious, Mulder," she huffed. "After everything we'd been through, I was terrified I was going to lose you just because Stonecypher and Kinsley were getting on your nerves."
"It was a fate worse than death," I reminded her.
"And you wonder why I was never sure about how you felt," she shook her head.
"What do you mean?"
"If you were so madly in love with me, I would've thought you would have wanted to spend time at a seminar with me."
"I've never loved anyone that much," I snorted. "Just kidding,"I assured her quickly when she turned to stare at me. "In all honesty, Scully, that night in the woods is one of my favorite memories."
"You are seriously warped, Mulder," she shook her head again.
"True, but you knew that coming in," I smiled as I tucked a blonde curl behind her ear. "What's your favorite memory?"
"I have a lot, but even though I was still pissed at you, I really did enjoy it when we played house," she admitted.
"I knew it!" I gloated.
"It could have been a lot more fun if -- never mind," she shook her head.
"Yes, I was an idiot, an asshole, a moron --"
"I shouldn't have brought it up," she turned in my arms. "We've put it to bed. I should have left it there," she kissed me softly.
"I don't blame you," I winced. "I guess I can see why you were never sure how I felt."
"I'm sure now," she kissed me again. "And that's all that really matters, isn't it?"
"Any other woman would have left," I looked into her eyes.
"Not if they loved you like I do," She smiled gently as she leaned in to kiss me.
I hadn't wanted this to be sexual. Some quality snuggle time in the tub with her was all I'd wanted. A little time to relax and get her mind off things, but Scully seemed to have something else in mind. As her tongue began to caress mine, she moved her hips in a slow circle. Regardless of my intentions, it had become very sexual. I could have stopped her to explain that this wasn't what I'd planned, but the more she moved in my lap the worse my "Mmm," Scully pulled out of the kiss and patted the side of the tub. "Sit here." She backed out of the way to give me room to move.
At that point she could have told me to run stark naked through the streets and I would have done it without question. Given that I had an inkling about what she had in mind, my ass was on the cold porcelain in a matter of seconds.
When she knelt down in the water in front of me, my cock surged. The cold air had made me feel impossibly hard, but seeing Scully getting ready to take me into her mouth made me feel like I might explode. After the coolness of the air, her mouth felt so white-hot that I could barely keep my eyes open to watch my shaft slide over her lips. It was something I'd envisioned many times, but the actually seeing it and feeling Scully's hot mouth made me dizzy.
"Fuck," I couldn't help hissing.
Scully lifted smiling eyes up to look at me, chuckling as she took me further into her mouth. My left hand found her shoulder, to help steady myself and my right cradled her head. I knew she wouldn't have minded if I'd gently guided her, but I knew from experience that she didn't need even the slightest bit of guidance. She knew exactly how to blow my mind.
"Have I mentioned that I love your mouth?" I'd intended to sound glib, but my voice quivered as I spoke.
When Scully lifted her eyes to look at me this time, they were no longer smiling. They had taken on a sultriness that made my breath catch in my throat. I don't think I'd ever get used to the fact that Scully seemed to enjoy giving me blow jobs almost as much as I loved getting them.
When I felt her hand tenderly cup my balls, I couldn't keep my eyes open. I didn't have the strength.
"Jesus, Scully," I breathed when her free hand tightened around my shaft. I felt her hum as her tongue swirled over me. Her hand moved along my now slippery length more quickly. When my balls tightened, she slowed down immediately. I was on the brink and she was keeping me from falling over.
I felt my skin flush hotly and every one of my nerve endings was firing. Each movement of her hand and dart of her tongue made white lights flash in front of my eyes.
"So good," I tried to tell her, but if any words came out I didn't hear them. The only sound I could discern was the rushing of blood in my ears. All I could feel was Scully's mouth on my cock and her hand on my balls.
I wanted to see -- to see her luscious mouth around me. It took all of my will to drag my eyes open. The light in the room burned my eyes. I blinked slowly, my head lolling, trying to focus. The blonde hair in front of me startled me for an instant. I was so far gone, I'd almost forgotten that Scully had dyed her hair. Her blue eyes flicked up at me and when our gazes met, our eyes locked. I'd wanted to see her full lips around my cock, but I couldn't tear myself away from her eyes. A vibration jolted me and I realized that Scully had moaned. I watched her eyes grow even darker as my climax overtook me. Once my toes began to curl there was no turning back. My entire body started to spasm. If I'd had any sense, I would have worried about falling off the tub. My orgasm came in waves, one rushing on top of the other. Each surge seemed to start in my feet and finish with blinding lights in front of my eyes.
When I managed to drag my eyes open, Scully was still kneeling in front of me, lightly rubbing my thighs.
"I didn't know they had earthquakes in Arizona," I grinned at her.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," she grinned slyly at me. The earthy undertones in her voice made my stomach flip-flop. She was turned on -- incredibly turned on.
"The water's cold," I stood up and carefully stepped out of the tub. "C'mon," I held my hand out to her.
"Where are we going?"
"I thought the bed would be more comfortable for you," I explained as I helped her out of the water. "But the choice is yours," I told her as I lowered my mouth to hers.
As I plunged my tongue into her mouth, I let my hands wander freely over her body. She groaned into my mouth when I squeezed her breasts firmly. Her hips rocked against me as I tugged her nipples. Despite being cooled by the bath water, I could feel the heat coming from between her legs. Leaving one hand on her breast, I slipped the other between her thighs.
"God," she groaned, parting her legs to give me more access.
In that instant I knew she didn't care about comfort. I moved my hands to her waist and picked her up. I turned and kicked the door closed. Scully gasped when it slammed loudly. Her eyes widened when I put her down and backed her against it. I bent my mouth to hers to quiet any protests she might have. She hummed into my mouth when I used my knee to separate her legs.
I dropped to my knees, putting my mouth exactly at breast level. Scully drew a sharp breath when I sucked her nipple into my mouth. Her hips bucked when I slid my hand along the inside of her thigh. As much as we both seemed to be enjoying the attention I was giving her breasts, I hadn't planned to linger there. Before lifting my lips, I began to explore her sex with my fingers. Moaning, she tilted her hips toward me.
I used that opportunity to sit back on my heels. My knees were pressed up against the door. As I gently spread Scully open with my left hand, I used my right to put her left foot on my thigh. She looked down at me in surprise, but her eyes closed again when my thumb found her clit. Her sharp intake of breath made a whistling noise. Moving my left hand quickly, I picked up her right leg and threw it over my shoulder. Scully squealed in surprise, but before she could complain, I closed my mouth over her. The thunk her head made as it hit the door let me know the position was a success.
I kept my left hand on her ass to help steady her, but most of her weight was being supported by the door. My right hand held her open. I began by kissing her softly, but from the way she pressed herself against my lips, I could tell she wanted more. This wasn't a position I'd had any practice at, so I could only hope that what I was going to do would work.
While I gently lapped at her clit, I slowly slid two fingers inside of her. She reacted immediately. Her muscles tightened around my fingers and she began to rock against them. I matched her rhythm with my tongue. Her body tensed instantly. I tried to slow down like she had for me, but she whimpered in protest, rocking her hips even faster. I knew better than to argue.
I quickly found her pace again and her clit began to swell against my tongue. All of her muscles grew taut in anticipation of her release. I tightened my grip on her ass and sucked her clit into my mouth. Her internal muscles clamped down on my fingers and began to ripple as if they were trying to pull my fingers deeper. Scully's clit began to pulse between my lips and her whole body trembled.
It seemed like several minutes before she slumped against the door. She didn't object when I put her right leg over my shoulder, she just slowly slid down the door into my lap. When she opened her eyes, I helped her put her feet back down on the floor.
"You watch too much porno, Mulder," she murmured at me.
"I didn't see that in a movie," I laughed. "I just made it up."
"Yeah?" she grinned. "I like how your mind works."
"You really seemed to like that position," I teased her.
"It didn't have as much to do with that position as with what we did first," she smiled at me.
"What do you mean? The blowjob?" I asked in astonishment.
"Mulder, you have no idea what it does to me to see the pure bliss on your face when I'm giving you a blowjob. Nothing turns me on more than that," her blue eyes began to blaze again.
"Scully, you never cease to amaze me," I pulled her into a kiss.
"Mmm, I'm glad," she murmured. "I think I'm ready for that bed you were mentioning earlier."
"Your wish is my command," I said gallantly, but it took some effort to get to my feet, making Scully laugh.
"I could walk," she pointed out.
"Not as much fun," I protested as I opened the bathroom door.
"Well, I wouldn't want to spoil your fun," she chuckled.
After I put her under the covers I made sure the door was locked and then turned off the lights. By the time I crawled in to bed and snuggled up to her, she was sound asleep.
We'd fallen asleep so early the night before, we were up with the sun. Even though it was only two hours to Mesa, we both felt the need to hurry. Esther had given us directions to the store, but she shouldn't have bothered. Once we were about an hour south of Phoenix large billboards began to point us in the right direction.
The airgun store was larger than I'd imagined. There was case after case of guns, then shelves of ammunition, aisles of airgun accessories and aisles of clothing for the airgun enthusiast. It was overwhelming, considering we really had no idea what we were looking for. We'd started at the first case of airguns, but there were so many, I had no idea how we could even narrow down our choices. When I turned to express my exasperation to Scully, I found her staring at a small gun, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Ed. This is all there is, there is no more. Sniff.
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