When Conspiracies Collide:
Governing Bodies

Disclaimers

Jane is mine. As is the character of Father, AKA Alex Thompson, Micheal Bentley and a few others. Although, in both cases, I don’t own all of their identities.

Duncan MacLeod, Richie Ryans, Joe Dawson, Methos, AKA Adam Pierson, Amanda, Nick Wolf, Immortals, the Game, Watchers, Joe’s bar and the Dojo all belong to Rysher’s and their creators.

Jarod, Miss Parker, Sydney, Broots, Mr. Raines, Mr. Lyle, Angelo, Brigitte, Kyle, Mr. Parker, Mrs. Catherine Jameson Parker (ever notice she's about the only one with a first and last name on the show?), Sweepers, Cleaners and the Center belong to their respective owners, such as NBC. I expanded their universe to include the Assassins.

Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, AD Walter Skinner, Cancerman, the Lone Gunmen, the Well Manicured man, Mighty Morphin’ Bounty hunters, Giant Fluke men, Eugene Tooms, William Mulder, Mrs. Mulder, Samantha Mulder, Mrs. Scully, Melissa Scully, Bill Scully, the X-files and it’s associated conspiracy all belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and all those guys.

This is a work of fiction that I’m not making any money of off so don’t sue me. It’s not like I have any money in the first place. Just talk to all the people I owe money too, including the Bank. I’m just a poor, starving student, who’s soon to be a poor, starving working stiff trying to pay of student loans. Of course, that hinges on me actually finding a job when I graduate.

Continuity

Just forget about it and call it an AU; it doesn’t really fit in anywhere. But if you want to get picky, the series could start before the season finale of the 97-98 season for Pretender (Season 2) and X-files (Season 5) and so before XF: Fight the Future. It then spins off from there. I do mention in passing various things that have occurred in various X-Files, but nothing too major and it’s not like you have to have watched every episode to get what’s gong on. For Highlander, just ignore the season 5 finale. Maybe I should take out membership in Clan Denial… RICHIE LIVES!!!! As for the Sentinel, it’s just a cameo, after the end of the series, and all you need to know is that Skinner and Ellison are old army buddies.

This is the forth and final installment of When Conspiracies Collide, a multi-show crossover. The first three installments: Auspicious Beginnings, The Fountain of Youth and Center of Attention really should be read in order for you to make any sense about what in heaven’s name is going on.

Personal notes

Well, it started well enough. The first few scenes pretty much wrote them selves. After that… Well, things rapidly degenerated from there.

Rating

I think I could get away with calling this one a PG 13. Not too many bad words and no violence as of yet.

Now, onto the story

***

Prologue

She was sitting at the kitchen table, having just finished the dishes and now enjoying a cup of coffee. She reached up a slim hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. There was getting to be a lot of silver in those strands nowadays.

It used to be a rich, strawberry blond but time was making its presence known. She’d considered dying it, but the truth was, she didn’t mind getting older. It wasn’t like she was actually OLD or anything. Besides which, every silver hair was a triumph of another day survived, despite of the odds against them.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the urgent calls of her daughter from the living room. Emily was visiting and they’d spent over half the previous night catching up on missed news and the latest happenings. Getting up, coffee cup in hand, she wandered into the room wondering what was so important.

“…investigating the corporation known as the Center. According to the information we’ve received, they’ve been in operation since the mid fifties and among other things exploited children in their research…”

The coffee cup fell from her fingers as she saw the screen. In the corner of the screen was a still picture of the place she hated more than anything. They stole her children and though she tried, she hadn’t been able to get them back.

“…footage from their archive that shows some of the simulations they performed on the children.” The screen quickly shifted to a black and white scene, showing a young boy in a glass sphere, wires trailing from his head, sweat beading on his forehead as he restlessly shifted in the confinement. Thankfully the audio track was left off, as the reporter continued her ramblings about the investigation being performed by the FBI, IRS and Federal Department of Justice.

“Jarod?” She could barely force the word beyond her lips and couldn't quite make herself believe what she was seeing.

“Mom, are you okay?” Emily came up beside her, pulling her away from the broken cup that was still being ignored on the floor.

“It’s over. It’s finally over.” She sat down on the couch; eyes still locked on the screen. It was just starting to sink in. No more hiding, no more running. She could see her children again, with no fear of the Center finding her. “I have to find them. We have to find them.”

“Mom?” The hand placed on her arm pulled her away from the screen and she finally looked at her daughter. Tears blurred her vision to the point she almost couldn’t see any more.

“We have to find you’re brothers.”

Chapter 1

AD Skinner was not in the best of moods. The budget was being overhauled for his department and every unclear expense for the last two years was being questioned. Since Mulder and Scully were under his jurisdiction, that meant there were a lot of questions. The medical expenses alone were enough to make the accountants think there was some creative number crunching going on. He’d spent the afternoon looking up their medical reports (and files) to show the bean counters that yes, each reported incident did occur and that it was a justifiable expense.

He was still wondering if it was a justifiable expense, personally. His life would be a lot simpler if they had just died at some point in time, instead of constantly going to the brink of death, only to spend at least a few weeks in some hospital. Mulder’s supposed death was another sore spot for the financial department.

If he was dead, why was he still sending in expense vouchers? Next question, that made how many times he was supposed to be dead?

Skinner reached into his desk, pulled out a bottle of Tylenol and shook out two pills. To top off his day, his two *favorite* agents were coming to see him this afternoon. He had no idea what about, only that they asked for a private meeting and that they were bring someone to see him.

He wasn’t sure whether to be ecstatic at their discretion, or to try and find out who they were and what they did with the real Mulder and Scully. A glance at his watch revealed that they were due any minute. That should give him at least another half-hour considering their track record for punctuality.

A knock at the door and his secretary’s head informed him that he should start checking for pod people. They were on time. He eyed them over quickly, looking for new wounds, someone holding a weapon on them, alien mind control devices, anything to explain their unusual behavior. The last few months had been weird enough. Mulder actually smiled at work and his paper work was readable. His theories were still up to par, but he was presenting them better.

At first he though Dana was writing his notes up again, but their styles were too different. Scully was acting different too, more at ease. He finally pinned it down to the fact that something major had happened in Mulder’s life and now  whatever was overshadowing his life was gone; ever since he got back from the case in Seattle.

When a few weeks ago, Mulder returned to his old habits, eventually disappeared for a week ‘with the flu’ Skinner was almost relieved. But only almost. When Scully called in later that day with the same excuse, he knew something was up.

Then this week, it was back to happy, sunny Mulder and it was only Tuesday. Not finding any obvious clues to the continuing conundrum of the duo known as Mulder and Scully, he turned his attention to their guest.

She stepped in behind them, only a little shorter then Mulder with dark brown hair twisted up into a knot at the base of her head with a few tendrils curling down artistically to her shoulder. Her slightly pale face was calm and lightly made up to accentuate her wide, brown eyes. She looked faintly familiar, but Skinner was fairly certain he hadn’t seen her before. Considering how she looked in the short skirt and suit jacket, he was certain he’d remember if he had ever seen her before.

“Mulder, Scully.” He stood up, acknowledging his agents’ existence and waited to be introduced to the stranger. The two of them moved to the side and let the woman make her own introduction. She spoke with a soft, calm alto and as her words penetrated his skull, he knew exactly why Mulder had been so easy to live with the last few months.

“Mr. Skinner, my name is Samantha Mulder.”

***

From the shell-shocked expression on Fox’s boss, I gather they hadn’t told him of my existence yet. He looked like he’d seen a ghost, but from what Fox had told me, that would probably have less of an effect. I sat down in the chair and tugged down on the skirt I was wearing.

It was tighter than I’d like and showed off altogether too much of my legs for me to be comfortable. I put my foot down on the high heals. I don’t need the extra height and the shoes Jarod looked at when we were shopping for this little expedition had me heading over to the tender tootsie aisle.

But even I had to admit the over all effect was… not what I was expecting. I actually looked good for a change. I even turned a few heads while I was walking down the hall with Fox and Dana. The best was Jarod’s face this morning as we left. If he looked at me like that just once more, I could die a happy woman.

Back to business. I was as nervous as all get out, and my mind flitting all over the place was evidence enough of that. I hadn’t said anything since I introduced myself and I waited while Fox explained about my reappearance. His boss got a steely look in his eye when he realized how long Dana and Fox knew about me and hadn’t told him, but he kept his mouth shut as they continued with the rest of the story.

He didn’t explode until they mentioned the Center. Then I found out why they had warned me about this guy. If looks could kill, they’d be week old corpses. The main gist of the conversation had to do with illegally obtained evidence, media leaks, and missing informants. Apparently the FBI weren’t totally ignorant of events happening at the Center.

Fox countered by wondering if the FBI were so conversant with the evils of the Center,  why had they been allowed to operate for so long. Dana just glanced in my direction during this and gave me a shrug that said ‘boys will be boys.’ Fox finished the rest of the tale and now it was my turn.

“That brings it all down to me.” I started. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to do this, but like the Center, this Consortium and the conspiracy behind it had to be brought down. And they won’t be so easy, either.

All attention in the room riveted down to me, Fox knew what I was going to say, I’d already told him all this last night with Jarod, but Scully had already left. Skinner looked at me with those hard eyes and I had no idea what he was thinking except that it wasn’t good. I wasn’t think all that clearly myself. I took a breath to calm myself and started my story. That’s why I was there after all.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with how I was originally taken.” At Skinner’s brief nod I continued, trying to distance myself from the memories, trying to keep it impersonal. “When I was originally abducted, I was taking to a facility. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about the tests performed there. They were painful, and extensive.”

“Can you be more specific?” Skinner interrupted me. He didn’t seem to be very receptive to me but Fox and Dana wanted his help so I had to convince him. Another deep breath, let it out, don’t let the fear show.

“Not much more. They mostly consisted of a series of intravenous injections with varying results, usually nausea and a feeling of … fire running through me.” I felt the shiver run down my spine and tried not to let it show. “They continued for days, weeks, I’m not sure. It could have been months. When it got very bad, I was allowed to heal. Then they’d start up again. I’m not sure what they did, or were trying to do but after about 4 years, I was released.”

“How clearly do you remember your time there?” Again, another sharp question. He was trying to find holes in what I said, to trip me up.

“The memories are very clear, sir.” I snapped. I took another deep breath trying to remember that the man sitting across the desk wasn’t the enemy.

“But Agent Mulder mentioned that you had suffered from amnesia.”

“Up until a few weeks ago. Before that I couldn’t remember my name let alone anything else.” That was mostly true, he didn’t need to know the details, though he had most of them already, heavily edited of course. I slapped a lid on my wandering mind and looked up at Mr. Skinner. “The difficulties I encountered with my memory were the cause of a chemical that blocks neurotransmitters in the brain. Those blocks have been removed and I can remember everything that has ever happened to me. Like Fox, I have an eidetic memory.” So much for keeping an eye on my tongue. At least I didn’t insult the guy. I just snapped at him.

“How can you be sure that what you remember actually happened and wasn’t induced?” Skinner leaned back in his chair and waited for my answer. And boy did I have an answer for him. You don’t work with shadow conspiracies and not pick up a trick or two.

“I’m familiar with induced memories and the clarity that can be added to the false memories. I’ve induced a few myself. There are signs if you know what to look for. I have none. What I remember is real. It happened.” I said coldly. Fox owed me BIG time for doing this.

“Then please, finish your story.” He said, like he was indulging me. Arrogant little bastard. That attitude was not going to make this go any quicker. Just tell the truth about what happened; if he’s too anal retentive to see what’s staring him in the face, he can go down with the rest of them.

“Thank you.” I replied in the same tone of voice he used. Then I took up my narrative. “I was handed over to the Center with my memory blocked and began training, much as Fox has already explained. After my training was completed, I was handed back to the Consortium. That’s the only identifier we’ve been able to place with them. There were a few more tests, but then I was sent out. There were a few hits that I performed, no one too important, but I can give you all the details later if you want.

“I was called back a year or so later and sent to see a man. I’m sure you’re familiar with him and his liking for Morley’s.” That got me my first honest reaction out of the man. He stiffened and leaned forward ever so slightly. I was probably going to blow it with the next part, but what the hey, Fox believed me. “I was taken to a large room and ordered to take out the man waiting for me in a specific manner, a single stab to the base of the skull. He looked like an accountant but he was very strong and during the encounter, he… shifted. I had sliced across his arm, and his face slid for a moment. That’s the only way I know how to describe it.  He also bled green so I would have to guess he wasn’t exactly human.”

The reaction was not what I was expecting. Scully gasped when I mention I had wounded my target, and Skinner leaned forward onto his desk. His eyes widened and his hands clutched into fist. That was not the face of a disbeliever, despite what Fox said. It was the face of a man who just got hit in the gut with the truth. Dana whispered softly to Fox and I caught part of his reply. From the glare Skinner gave them, so did he.

“…She only told me last night, there wasn’t enough time to…” Fox let the sentence trail off.

“I’m sorry for the interruption. If you’re comfortable, please continue.” Skinner was a lot nicer about it, this time around. I have to admit I needed the breather.

“I eventually completed the kill and the body… didn’t last long.” Completed the kill, that’s a nice way to say I practically had to rip the guy’s head off to get the stiletto in the back of his skull. Thinking of the fight was still enough to make my stomach queasy. I was very glad I’d skipped breakfast this morning, but the coffee I did have wasn’t sitting too easily. “Afterwards I was allowed out of the room,” After they washed me down and put me through full decontamination procedures. “And was introduced to another group of men. They had been watching from a closed circuit camera and apparently were pleased with the results. They were all happy their little experiment was so successful.” The bitter tone in my voice was not what I wanted to have there. Another deep breath.

“After that, the mission profiles changed. I went after the shifters. Many of them were identical to each other; there were about seven different types. I think they were clones or something similar.  The method was always the same, puncture to the nape of the neck. Some fought more than others…” Not another memory we want to deal with right now. Let it go, move on.

“This continued for some time, a little over two years. When I wasn’t on assignment, I was housed at a main complex. I got curious.” That would get me killed one of these days. At least my stomach wasn’t threatening anymore. “I’d taking to wandering around the buildings, looking at things. I made people nervous so they usually left me alone and I was free to look around. I would go through the computer systems, go through files. I started to piece things together.” I could still feel the satisfaction I got out of putting all the little notes and memos together, how the lab reports told me more than anything else did. Now I could get at them. Now I could hurt them.

“I had most of it figured out, by the time they realized what I knew. But I was apparently too valuable to simply dispose of. My memory was again blocked and I was sent back to the Center to keep me out of the way. When one of my trainers at the Center saw what happened to me, he helped me to escape. Since then the Center tried to kill me, and the Consortium tried to get me back. They both almost succeeded.” I’m gong to have to talk to Jarod more about anger management. I wanted to crack a few skull at the moment. 

“To the Consortium, I’m very dangerous. I know some of their secrets. I know their faces and I know their names.” As I finished, I just smiled my blood thirsty little smile. Skinner flinched when it hit him.

***

I don’t EVER want to do that again. Last night was bad enough, telling it all to Fox and Jarod. I started shaking halfway through and couldn’t stop. I went into more detail, telling them everything I could remember about my time with the Consortium, spending more than a few hours going over everything, trying to find a way I could relay the story without coming apart at the seams.

Skinner asked me a few questions once I finished and then asked me to wait outside while he talked with my brother (he didn’t actually use those words) and Dana. I waited in the reception area of his office, too nervous to sit down so I wandered around the small room and looked at the art on the wall. It wasn’t bad considering it was hanging on the walls of a government building.

I found myself going over what I had said in the room and my mind went over the memories. Not something I wanted to do, but I’d opened the door to them already and they weren’t about to be denied. They went round and round my head. My hands started shaking so I clamped them together in front of me.

When my stomach started in the act with a particularly nasty thought, I asked the receptionist where the nearest bathroom was and hightailed it out of there. A cold, wet paper towel on the back of the neck helped for a little while, but not long and the cup of coffee I’d accepted earlier decided to come back for a visit. Dana found me rinsing my mouth out.

“It finally hit you, didn’t it.” She put a supportive hand on my shoulder and pulled the tendrils of hair that were now wet, out of my face. I gave her a grateful glance and put the wet paper towel back on my neck.

“You could say that.” It hit like a ton of bricks.

“Are you going to be okay?” She put a hand on my forehead and looked me in the eyes, trying to tell if I was going to lie to her.

“It’s not as bad as yesterday so I should be fine if I don’t eat anything any time soon.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Skinner’s wanted to talk to you some more, but it can wait if you want.” She left the decision up to me and I figured what the hey, in for a penny, in for a pound.

“Might as well get this over and done with.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked, giving me another out if I wanted to take it.

“Enough questions already, I said I’ll do it, so I’ll do it. How else can we find out how deep this goes?” I wiped my mouth off again and dabbed at my eyes, making sure the little bit of make-up I’d put on this morning was still there.

“That doesn’t matter, what matters is that you don’t pass out in there,” she said. I guess I looked worse than I thought.

“I don’t pass out,” I growled.

“No. You just faint because you haven’t eaten or slept in over 24 hours.” She had a point. A very valid one. Not that I was going to concede it.

“I’ll live.” At that moment I just wanted to get it all over and done with so I could get out of there.

“Mulder will kill me if something happens to you. And then Jarod will take his revenge.” She looked at me through the mirror, a smile tugging at her lips. “Do you really want to leave me to their tender mercies?”

“If I drink something will you leave me alone?” I asked, almost desperately.

“I’ll get you another cup of coffee.” She turned around and left me alone for a few minutes. I took the opportunity to straighten out my skirt, and brush off the water droplets from the jacket. My hair was still pretty much okay, but I took the sopping wet tendrils and wrapped them around the bun, tucking the ends out of sight. They were driving me nuts anyway. By the time Dana came back in I felt almost ready to face the world.

“Am I still presentable?” I asked, taking the hot drink out of her hands.

“You look great.” She laughed as I took a sip and then made a face.

“How much sugar did you put in here?” To say it was sweet would put me up for understatement on the year. It was also about 50% cream.

“You need it.” She took my hand and led me out of the bathroom.

Chapter 2

This time when Samantha entered, Skinner noticed a few more things. Like the fact her eyes shifted back and forth more than necessary and her knuckles where white as she clenched her hands together. Her face was still as calm as ever, but Skinner realized that pale was probably not her natural skin tone.

The first time he heard her name, he was suspicious. She was the fourth ‘Samantha’ that he’d heard of and some of those were, as she put it, not exactly human. When she started talking, she was very cold. It was like she was relating a prepared story, a made up story. She was too smooth, too impersonal.

As she continued, she got a hard gleam in her eye that Skinner knew all too well. He’d seen it in his own too often. It was the look of someone who’d seen too much and it changed them. It was the look of someone on the edge of losing their humanity.

He’d asked her questions, trying to get her to trip up. Try to get some sort of a reaction out of her. She delayed in answering a few times, but for the most part she kept up the cold front. When she mentioned the Cancerman, he knew she knew something. He was still reserving judgment on whether or not she was Mulder’s sister.

But he didn’t actually believe her until he saw the look in her eyes as she left the room. When she smiled as she finished her story, he became more than a little scared. Skinner asked her a few questions and then asked her to leave so he could yell at his agents in privacy. When she glanced back into the room as she shut the door, Skinner felt the panic in her eyes and the pain she’d been hiding hit him with full force.

Instead of immediately tearing into the source of his current headaches, he let Mulder start talking. The agent was trying to convince him to help them in their investigation and while Mulder talked, Skinner went over the entire conversation in his mind, this time looking at this Samantha through new eyes and saw her actions for what they were. A front.

She was scared stiff, but she covered it very well. If he hadn’t seen the panic in her eyes, he wouldn’t have even suspected. Coming to a decision, he cut Mulder off.

“I’ll do what I can, but I need to know more. I want all the files, every single, little piece of information you have on these people, and I want to talk to Ms. Mulder again.” He could already see the protest forming in Mulder’s eyes and continued before it could be voiced. “I won’t eat her, but I want to ask her a few questions. Alone.” Mulder backed down, perhaps coming to a decision of his own.

“Thank you sir.” Was all he said.

“For what?” Skinner was at a loss as to why.

“For believing her.” Mulder got up and opened the door for his partner, who had wisely kept out of the conversation.

“Now go find her and get her back here.”

While he waited for Samantha to come back, he thought over this revelation. He’d known for a long time that things were going on, strings were being pulled that covered things, hell, he’d been part of a few cover ups of his own.

Until he’d started working with Mulder and Scully, he didn’t have a clue as to what was actually going on, but the last few years have opened his eyes in a big way, not only to the horror of what this conspiracy was doing but at the scope they were accomplishing it. The Center was one example of how this conspiracy covered its tracks.

As Samantha entered and sat down, Skinner glared at Scully until she left, then examined the girl in detail. She wasn’t really a girl but at this moment she was sitting there, staring at her feet like a child sent to the principal’s office.

“Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t killed anyone in here yet.” His comment had the hoped for effect and she looked up at him, her eyes first betraying surprise and then a glimmer of mischief.

“Isn’t there a first time for everything? You where about ready to take off Fox’s head when I left.” She was very good at hiding whatever was going through her mind, but her eyes seemed to be the window to her soul. At the moment, they were dancing, albeit with shadows in their depths.

“I figure there are so many people after you’re brother’s head, I don’t have to bother.”

“So you believe me then? That Fox is my brother?” Only her eyes betrayed the anxiety she must be feeling. Her voice was as calm as before.

“I still have my doubts. You’re the fourth person to be taken as his sister since I met him.” He stared at her, waiting to see some sort of chink in her armor at this revelation. “It’s the third time that’s supposed to be the charm.”

“Well, discounting the worker drone, who looked like me when I was ten, I am the third so I have to be the real one.” She must already know about the others then. From who? Mulder or some other source. She smiled up at him coyly as he struggled to find something to say. Somehow he’d ended up on the defensive. Instead of another question, he just chuckled, a sound rarely heard in the confines of his office.

“You have a way with words.” His voice still held his mirth.

“And it usually gets me into trouble.” She said this dryly and from the look on her face, she and Mulder had the same affliction of foot in mouth disease.

“That’s altogether too easy to believe.” He looked at her eyes again, trying to gauge, with little success, what she was feeling. She seemed to have pounced on the change in topic.

“You should have seen Fox’s first reaction to me.” Her eyes lit up, and Skinner decided to let her have the mental distance.

“This is a story I definitely have to hear.”

***

She stepped up to the door with trepidation in her heart. Miss Parker could already feel the buzz of another Immortal in the building, and while she was expecting it, that didn’t ease the uncomfortable feeling that was in the pit of her stomach. Girding up her courage, she pushed open the door and walked into the Dojo.

It was empty at the moment, and the buzz in her head got stronger as she heard footsteps on the stairs. The figure that sauntered out of the stairwell was not who she was expecting. For one thing, this person had a figure too feminine to be Duncan MacLeod.

“If you’re after Duncan’s head, you’re going to have to wait.” The woman stepped into the light, her obviously bleached, platinum white hair was plastered to her skull, and her outfit left Miss Parker wondering just were she hid her sword.

“If I was after a head, I’d take yours.” Stepping further in, Miss Parker glanced over the rest of the room. It wasn’t a bad set up.

“That’s not as easy as it looks.” The blond wench stepped in front of Miss Parker, blocking the view with a coy smile on her face.

“If you say so.” Miss Parker just arched an eyebrow “So where is MacLeod?”

“Out.”

“He should be expecting me.” Miss Parker turned away; the sweet perfume wafting off the other Immortal was starting to give her a headache.

“Oh you’re the Newbie! I would have thought you’d have more respect for your elders.” Instead of taking the hint, the woman moved back in front of her, again, invading her personal space.

“If they deserve it, they’ll get it.” Miss Parker gave up on being nice and leaned into the other’s face, her voice low and threatening.

“Ouch. Duncan said he was expecting you. What did he say your name was…” the woman backed up, not intimidated but picking a new game. “Oh I remember. It’s  Maggy, isn’t it.”

Miss Parker was ready to kill Jarod. Again.

He was the only one, short of her father who was currently rotting in jail, who knew her first name. If he thought his practical jokes were bad, he should try living with a 5000 year old Immortal who had a slightly twisted sense of humor. She tucked a few revenge tactics in the back of her mind and returned to the conversation. “Only to friends, acquaintances and people I run into on the street. You can call me Miss Parker.”

“So Maggy, why are you here? If you’re looking for a mentor, keep looking.” The blond smiled with fake sweetness and waved her hand in an airy manner.

“I don’t need a mentor. I could kick your ass across the room so fast, your head wouldn’t have time to follow.” Miss Parker returned her smile and mimicked her tone of voice exactly. She was rewarded by the smile freezing on the Immortal’s face. Now she knew who she was; the hair threw her off for a while, but the rest of Adam’s description was on the nose.

“Well, that’s one way to loose your head, but I wouldn’t try it any time soon, you might find you took on more than you could handle.” The woman, Amanda was her name if Adam was telling the truth, was trying to be intimidating. But Miss Parker had come up against scarier invalids.

“From you? I doubt it.” The two of them were  so intent on their quarreling they didn’t even notice the buzz or the door opening until a voice called out.

“Ladies, try not to kill each other on the hardwood. I had to refinish it once this year already.” Duncan walked up to them and was about ready pull them apart when they each backed up a step.

“Well, it’s about time you showed up. I’ve had the most interesting time trying to point out the finer points of etiquette to this boor.” Amanda smiled her little, superior smile again.

“Not bad coming from a French whore.”  Score another point for Miss Parker, as the smile completely left Amanda’s face.

“Amanda, why don’t you wait for me up stairs. I’ll talk to you later.” Duncan was starting to wonder what in heaven’s name he’d gotten himself into and was hoping he’d come out of this with at least his head still attached. He forced a smile on his face and hoped for the best.

“I’m not about to let this baby start pushing me around like some…” Amanda took exception to his request.

“Cheap floozy?” And Miss Parker wasn’t helping things in the least.

“Duncan…” Hearing the warning note in Amanda’s voice Duncan  gave up on playing nice and snapped at her.

“Later.” On one hand, Amanda was an old and dear… friend. But on the other hand, Methos was quite attached to Miss Parker, even if he won’t admit it, and Duncan had no desire to piss him off. It could end up rather painful.

“I won’t forget this.” Amanda continued to stare daggers at Miss Parker as she backed up to the stairs. Miss Parker just smiled in response, turned her back on the ancient Immortal and used the moment of peace to calm down a bit. She almost jumped when Duncan came up beside her.

“You like to play dangerously, don’t you.” He had a smile tugging at his lips, but there was also a squiggle of something else in his eyes.

“She was irritating.” So she wasn’t as calm as she’d tried to delude herself into thinking.

“She’s my friend.” He said it like he was chastising a child. Well, to him she probably was a child. A person could get a headache comparing relative age to apparent age.

“Sorry.” She turned to look at the man who might know so much about her mother. Yeah, piss the guy off by arguing with his girlfriend, always a great way to get information. Thing was, a year ago she wouldn’t have cared what this guy thought of her as long as she got her answers. A lot has changed since then.

“When Jarod called to say you’d be stopping by, I wasn’t sure why.” He waved her to the general direction of his office. There wasn’t anyone else around, but the chairs were more comfortable.

“You knew my mother.” She said it simply, trying not to let the myriad of emotions flying around her head to seep out.

“I did,” he admitted, “But it was a long time ago.”

“Please, I never had much of chance to get to know her. I was sent to boarding school as soon as I was old enough.” Miss Parker swallowed against the lump in her throat. “When I was twelve, we were going to go to Paris, but before she could even tell me, she was murdered.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know.” From what little he’d heard from Jarod and Sam, he wasn’t that surprised though.

“For the longest time, I was told she killed herself. I thought she was weak and I tried to forget everything about her. But I was so wrong. Everything I’d thought, everything I’d been told were lies. I want to find out the truth.” Her eye’s were large with an old hurt and unshed tears as she looked at Duncan, no begging in her eyes, just a simple request to be told.

Three hours and many memories later, she leaned back in her chair, her mind full of her mother as a young woman. From fresh out of leaving the convent, to entering University and meeting her father’s colleague, to falling in love with Daddy and her marriage. At least, she was happy in the beginning.

“You’re lucky you know.” Duncan got up and wandered into the kitchen refilling his coffee cup before bringing the pot back to top hers off.

“Why?” Miss Parker was still a little hesitant around Duncan as he was only the third immortal she’d had any actual contact with.

“Almost all of us are foundlings. We never knew our parents; some were adopted while others grew up on the streets.”

“What about you?” Hesitation aside, she was curious.

“I was taken in by the Chief of my clan, and raised as his son. Till my first death.” His eyes were hooded as he said this, the bare facts still enough to hurt him after all this time.

“That doesn’t sound good.” As the words popped out of her  mouth, Miss Parker wondered if that annoying habit of speaking before thinking was contagious. Maybe she’d just been hanging around Mulder and his sister for too long.

“Lets say it was pretty graphic and I was run out of the clan when I came to.” Duncan didn’t seem to mind and his unfocused eyes were lost in the past. Miss Parker could see the emotions flitting across his face, and few of them were of the happy variety.

“I’m sorry.” Again, she was surprised as the words slipped out, but she didn’t mind as much this time. It didn’t take much to put two and two together and come out with what most likely happened.

“For what.” Duncan came out of the past and seemed almost surprised at her sympathy.

“For the look in your eyes when you said that. I guess I am lucky. Nobody accused me of being in league with the devil, or some other such thing.”

“I never said that’s what happened.” But he wouldn’t look  her in the eye when he said that.

“I know my history. If it wasn’t a miracle, it was the work of the devil.” Her dry comment seemed to amuse him and the lines around his eyes changed to crinkles as he smiled.

“That comment has more validity than you’d think. I was lucky; I was simply banished. My cousin on the other hand, left under a heavy rain of rotting vegetables.”

“Gross!” She couldn’t quite figure out how they’d ended up on the topic and would be more than happy to change it.

“He’s lucky they hadn’t butchered a cow before that.” Duncan had laughed at the expression on her face as she envisioned being pelted with dying veggies, so he upped the ante and was pleased with the results. She actually went a little pale.

“That’s positively disgusting.” And on that note, she quickly changed the topic.

Nothing feels so good as letting down your hair after it’s been piled on the top of your head all morning. It’s not something you could understand if you’ve never had long hair and at that moment I reveled in the feeling. I had the bobby pins pulled out by the time we hit the parking lot, and in the car back to Fox’s apartment, I shook the mass out and finger-combed the slightly damp strands.

The ride back was quiet with us all lost in our own thoughts.  I mulled over everything and thought about how I could expose what I knew. I had my word and that was about it. I had no physical evidence beyond the money trail we documented from the Center and that wasn't exactly concrete or legally obtained.

They moved often and left little trail to follow, often covering their tracks with the military or some other governmental institution. Skinner could give us some leads and would be invaluable for finding out the extent of the corruption. The first step would be to gather information. Get as much proof and incriminating evidence to climb the latter and find all the pieces of the puzzle. It all sounded so easy.

The question was what to do with the information. Just exposing them won't be enough. Much as I would like to go after them with a high powered rifle, objections raised by Jarod aside, I could only take them out one at a time, and they'd just find other people to fill the gaps. People I wouldn't know.

I had to stop them at the top, and to do so I'd have to find out who was the top. Even I knew that the people who were running things weren't the people who wanted these things done. I wanted the Powers that Be behind it all.

From what I could tell, there was also some sort of double cross going on. The Consortium was letting the PTB’s think they were cooperating, while doing their own thing on the sly. I have a good idea of what their official goal was, trying to combine Human DNA with something else. I know Fox would say they're trying to hybridize us with aliens and Dana would say it's more along the lines of advanced genetic engineering. Personally, I don't care. I just want it to end.

I guess you could say that I'm proof of the gene tinkering. I'm still human but I have a few funky things going on with my blood chemistry. Immunity to the retro virus in the Shifters’ blood is just one of them, I'm sure. I think Scully is just drooling over the opportunity to drag me into a lab. She'll be in for a shook if she tries to take a blood test.

To say I don't like needles is a bit of an understatement.

Dragging myself back to my lost train of thought, my eyes skipped over the passing scenery. We had to get everyone involved with this conspiracy at once. We had to destroy their entire power base. Since I'm feeling particularly melancholy, I'm thinking that might entail taking down most of the US government. And then there are the people outside the country who are involved. 

The scope of what needed to be done was mind boggling. It reminded me of this joke Mom told me about how to eat an Elephant. An impossible task you say? Not if you eat it one bite at a time.