Archive: Yes to CounterMeasures Spoilers: Jump the Shark (US9x15) Rating: PG Classif: V Keywords: Lone Gunmen Summary: The latest volume of Miss Manners does not contain any references on the etiquette of greeting those persons whose funerals one has previously attended. Please note that although this story takes place in the near future, there are no spoilers for any episodes that air after JtS. Resume Play by Martha marthalgm@yahoo.com a Friday afternoon Monica Reyes checked her watch as she made her way from the bedroom to the front door of her apartment to answer the doorbell. The cab that she had reserved to take her to the airport was not due for another hour, and she was only halfway through her packing. She gasped in shock when she peered through the peephole and fumbled for the deadbolt latch several times before actually catching and turning it. Opening the door, she stood frozen, facing three men whose funerals she had attended not quite a year and a half earlier. Byers broke the silence. "Agent Reyes, can we come in?" "What? Oh, sorry," she mumbled and waved the trio into her apartment. Turning after relocking the door, she continued to stare and shake her head at the Gunmen. "How?" Frohike was already in her living room, checking out the decor. "Long story." "I've got time." She checked her watch again and started to make her way back to her bedroom. "No, wait, actually, I don't. I'm flying down to New Orleans in a few hours, and I'm still packing." Langly sat down on her couch, checking out the pieces of artwork on her coffee table. "Damn, we didn't figure on that." "Why? What's this about?" "We wanted you to deliver a package for us," Byers explained. "Is it possible to get Agent Doggett to drop by?" Reyes reached into her jacket pocket for her cellphone. "I can probably catch him before he leaves the office." Frohike walked over to her as she dialed and put his hand gently on her forearm to caution her. "Just don't tell him about us. Not over the phone." She nodded in agreement to his warning without noting that Doggett would never have believed her in the first place. "John, can you come over to my place? I've got some notes on our new case that you're going to need to see before I leave." ~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~ Reyes led Doggett towards the living room and then sat down on the couch next to Langly. "Here are the notes," she said, nodding towards her other three guests. "Well, I'll be damned." Doggett stood just short of the oriental rug, his hands on his hips, and surveyed the room. Byers, Frohike, and Reyes had assorted teacups and saucers within easy reach while Langly appeared to be nursing a glass of lemonade. In the middle of the coffee table was a half- empty package of Double Stuff Oreos. "I don't know what else to say except that I never expected to find the Lone Gunmen having an afternoon tea." Frohike raised his teacup. "No beer." "An unexpected guest does not drop in empty handed," Reyes admonished. "Touché." Byers spoke up. "Well, we did bring some news." Doggett, unamused, sat down in the last empty chair. "You mean other than `how the hell did you get out of that room with that virus' which, by the way, I'm still waiting to hear." "We'd love to spend the time catching up, but we need for you to do something. Tomorrow. We need for you to get word to Mulder and Scully for us." Doggett looked at each of the Gunmen in turn and shook his head in bewilderment. "So this is all about Mulder and Scully?" "It usually is," deadpanned Frohike. "No offense." "Why don't you just call them? Or go see them?" Doggett leaned forward when no one answered him, not believing the implication of their silence. "Now, don't tell me that they don't know you're alive?" Langly picked up his glass and quickly made his way over to the other side of the room, to the farthest point away from Doggett. "Okay, we won't." Byers offered an explanation. "The truth is, Agent Doggett, they don't know, and we're somewhat hesitant to go anywhere near them or to contact them ourselves. They're being watched, and we can't be sure we'll get through undetected." Doggett was skeptical of where the conversation was leading. "Watched by whom?" Langly tried to be helpful. "The FBI. The Consortium. The Shadow Government. Them." "We have no reason to believe that the surveillance that has been done on them over the years has ever stopped. Both of them would be fools to think otherwise." Frohike reached for another Oreo. "Just because they have a house in the suburbs and drive an Expedition and live a reasonably normal life doesn't mean that that family is of no interest to anyone." Doggett shook his head and leaned back in the chair, contemplating his past history of discussions with Mulder. "I haven't talked to Mulder in months, probably closer to a year. The last time I called him about some background information I needed on an old case he brushed me off. Was downright rude in fact." "There's a reason for that." Frohike expertly twisted the cookie to expose the sugary filler. "You mean, he knows someone's listening in?" "Or at least suspects," Frohike answered before popping a cookie half into his mouth. Reyes checked her watch again and began gathering up the empty cups. "How do we tell him anything if he won't let us contact him?" Byers stood and fished a card out of the inside of his suit jacket, handing it to Doggett. "He goes by a coffee shop at this address every Saturday morning, usually between 7:45 and 8:00." "And you want me to just run into him there." Doggett looked at the address and the small locator map on the card. "Something like that," Langly chimed in, still a safe distance across the room. "We came here to ask Reyes to do it, but she's leaving town." Byers dug into another pocket and handed the square packet to Doggett. "Give him this envelope. It's a cd with everything we've gotten so far on who is doing the surveillance." Doggett held the cardboard packet up by one of its corners, gesturing with it to make a point. "And when he asks me where it came from, what do I tell him?" "Tell him it's from Dorothy's companions. Nothing more. Don't mention any of us by name. Don't confirm any suspicions he might voice." Doggett stood, pocketing the envelope. "Let's hope he doesn't pitch it into the garbage on the way home." "If you get the message across correctly, he'll know it's from us and he won't." Langly made his way back to the coffee table for more cookies. "Langly, have you finally cut your hair?" "Yeah, well, it was getting in the way." Langly absentmindedly ran a hand over his head, from his forehead to the nape of his neck. "And besides, I'm trying to change my look." Frohike snickered. "Translation - he's balding and needs to do something different." "Hey, I can't help I had a high forehead to start with. And from this vantage point, you're losing way faster than me." "What can I say? What ain't going gray is falling out." Frohike shrugged his shoulders and tipped his head towards Reyes. "Doesn't make me think I'm any lesser of a man." Byers signaled his partners and began moving to the door. "We've detained you long enough. We had better be on our way." "Now wait." Doggett stepped in-between the space to the front door and the departing Gunmen. "I'm serious, here. I'm not letting you go without an explanation. What the hell happened with you guys?" "It's a very long and detailed story, still being edited as we speak," Byers wearily replied. Langly, sounding like the voice-overs in the old black and white serials, added, "The Lone Gunman rides again to strike terror in the cold hearts of evil men." "Your paper. So you're no longer broke?" Doggett finally cracked a smile. "They have some new funding." Reyes broke the news that they had shared with her earlier. "Yves." "When do we get to read it?" Byers, already at the front door, turned and smiled at them. "You're on the mailing list. Both of you." "What about Mulder and Scully?" "We're still working on how to approach them without setting off an alarm. We're not quite ready to resurface." Byers checked the hallway before venturing out and motioned for the others to accompany him. Doggett placed a hand on Frohike's shoulder to prevent him from following his colleagues out the door. "You can't leave them hanging like this. If they know that this cd is from you . . ." Frohike looked out into the hallway before turning back to the agents. "Page 51. It's a signal thing we have worked out from way back. Mulder knows to go to that document page first. He'll find his answers there. Just make sure that he takes that cd." He glanced back in the hallway again. "Thank you for the tea, Monica. I'm buying the beer when next we meet." Doggett watched as Frohike rounded the corner to disappear back into their underground world. "So, Monica, I always thought that you and Langly would hit it off." end ===== ========================================== "That guy's so paranoid he makes us look normal." - Frohike, TLG "Diagnosis: Jimmy" ==========================================