Gambled Parts 1/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 8:02 PM St. Frances Medical Center " Damn it Mulder, wait for me!" Dana Scully called as she watched her partner, Fox Mulder run on ahead of her. They had been following a lead from one of Mulder's sources. It had led them to an abandoned medical lab. Scully quickly followed Mulder into what looked like the records room. Mulder was searching through the file cabinets. "Mulder, what are we looking for? These files are over 20 years old." Scully asked pulling open a drawer to the file cabinet next to him, coughing as she released a thick cloud of dust. "I don't know, Scully. I just have a feeling that we're going to discover something important here. We'll know it when we see it," Mulder was paging through the bottom drawer. "Hey, I wonder why these files are blue instead of manila colored like the others," Mulder mused, " I think that this is what we're looking for. " "They probably ran out or something, or maybe they were placed in the wrong cabinet by mistake," Scully sighed. Mulder was always so ready to believe in anything and everything. It was always up to her to play devil's advocate and ground him in real life. "No, I don't think so, Scully," Mulder replied as he took out the blue folders, "Look, they're not even alphabetical, Danners, Samuel, Karlson, Nicole, Caine, Peter, Mu..." "So what does that prove? Their file clerk couldn't alphabetize? Mulder?" Scully continued paging through the drawer in front of her. Mulder was silent. That was trouble. Mulder was rarely silent When Mulder was silent, Scully was worried, because when he was silent, she knew that somewhere in the near future, he was planning on leaving her behind, and she was determined cancer or not, this time, she was not going to be left behind. Scully turned around. He was staring at the folder in front of him. She peered over his shoulder, "What is it, Mulder?" Mulder turned the folder sideways so that she could read the name on the label. On the thin yellowing sticker it read: Mulder, Fox. "Oh my god," Scully gasped, "What does it mean?" "I don't know, Scully. I just don't know," Mulder looked at her solemnly, "But I mean to find out." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 2/17 by Debbie Eng (Wan-Ping@juno.com) 9:25AM 101st Precinct The precinct was full of tension. Two nights ago, another corpse had been found in Chinatown. This time it had been missing a heart. Last time it had been missing both lungs. No body knew what was going on, not even Peter's snitch, Donny Double D. "Detective Caine, I need to see you in my office! " Peter Caine looked up from behind the mountain of paperwork on his desk to look at the woman calling him. " What did you do now, partner? " Detective Mary Margaret Skelany asked as she put down her coffee cup. "Nothing, what makes you think that I've done anything? I haven't even been here for an hour yet, " Peter protested as he got up and passed her desk. " For you, that's plenty of time for anything, " she replied as she turned back to her reports. Despite his protests of innocence to his partner, Peter had a strange feeling as he walked into the captain's office. " What's up, Captain? " Captain Simms closed the door to her office, standing behind her were two people, "Agent Scully, Mulder, this is one of our best detectives, Peter Caine, Detective Caine, meet Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder from the FBI " Peter nodded to Scully then to Mulder, " Pleased to meet you, what can I do for you?" "Agents Mulder and Scully think that one of their suspects from one of their cases might be running some kind of organ transplanting ring in Chinatown. That could be the reason why some of the corpses lately have been missing a few items. I want you to go with them and see what you can find out. " " An organ transplanting ring? " Peter asked skeptically as he and the agents left the captain's office. " Yes, we stumbled upon one of them at a different Chinatown. We saw that you the seemed to be dealing with someone with the same MO, so we came down to help." Muler replied. "How did the other one work?" Peter asked. He wasn't too sure about these two. He was still getting a funny feeling. " Apparently they are running some kind of gambling game. They pick your name, and then I believe that you're supposed to pick a tile from a vase. The tiles tell you what you're going to lose, like an eye, a kidney, etc. Then your organ goes up to the highest bidder," Mulder explained. " I see, and you think that is what we have here? " " Its possible, " Scully replied, " Let me take a look at your autopsy reports. " " Hey, whatever helps, " Peter smiled as he searched through the pile of paperwork on his desk, " Hey, Skelany, have you seen the autopsy reports that forensics sent up a couple of days ago?" Mary Margaret looked up, " They're over there, by your left elbow." " Thanks, Skelany, these are Agents Mulder and Scully from the FBI, Agents Mulder, Scully, this is my partner, Detective Skelany. " " Pleased to meet you, you guys here to help us crack this case? " " Well, we can try, " Scully said as she reached for the reports. " Scully, how about you stay here and take a look at those reports while Detective Caine and I see what we can dig up in Chinatown. " Scully knew that Mulder was being protective of her again. She had had another nose bleed the night before while they were driving to their motel from the airport. She knew she needed to look at the reports and at least this time, he wouldn't be going alone. After all, didn't Captain Simms say that Caine was one of her best detectives? " All right, Mulder, butbe careful. " " Aren't I always? " he grinned. " Oh yeah and that's why your health insurance is so high, right? " " Don't worry, Agent Scully, I'll look out for him, " Peter grinned as he shrugged into his jacket. " Now is the time to worry, " Mary Margaret said as the two men left. " I was afraid of that, " Scully sighed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 3/17 by Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 9:55 AM 101st Precinct Parking Lot Mulder looked at Peter's Stealth, "Hhmmm... maybe I should become a cop instead. " Peter unlocked the doors, " Or maybe you should stop buying those Armani suits and start saving for one of these babies." " Naah, if I had one of these parked in front of my building, it would get stolen in a heartbeat," Mulder got into the car, " So where in Chinatown are we off to? " " My father's place. If he's there, I want to ask him if he's heard anything. " " If he's there? The cops don't give you a phone? Why don't you call him up first? " Mulder reached into his suit pocket and brought out his cellular phone. " I can't, he doesn't have a phone, " Peter replied, " I even offered to pay for it and all, but he says he 'does not need one.'" Peter laughed, " Of course once we get to Chinatown, it shouldn't be too hard to track him down. " They drove in silence for a couple of minutes the only sounds in the car was the static from Peter's CB radio, " So are you really here to help us track down those organ thieves? Or are you here for something else? " " What do you mean? " Mulder was startled from his thoughts. He had been quietly observing the young man next to him. He had had the Lone Gun men run all of the names that he and Scully had found through their computers. Apparently the only ones out of the six that were still alive were Caine and himself. That wasn't much to go on. " I have this feeling that there's something you're not telling me," Peter tried to use his powers to broadcast a trust me attitude. He had never tried to do something like that before and he didn't even know it would work, but there was no time like the present to find out. Mulder wondered whether or not he should mention finding Peter's name in one of the files he and Scully had found. In his quest for the truth, he had never found trusting easy. It always seemed like everyone was keeping things from him, even his own parents. In fact the only person he trusted right now was Scully and himself. But for some reason, he wanted to trust the detective. " Detective Caine..." Mulder started out. " Call me Peter. " " Call me Mulder. Nobody calls me by my first name, not if I can help it." Peter grinned, " OK, Mulder it is then. " he signaled to make a right turn, " Continue with what you were saying." " Peter, have you ever heard of the St. Frances Medical Center? " " No, should I have? " Peter was now concentrating on parallel parking in front of a kung fu academy. " St. Frances was closed down years ago. However while following a tip from one of my sources, Scully and I discovered that my name was in their files. " " So what has that got to do with you being here? " Peter stopped the car and opened the door. Mulder looked at him from across the car, " Your name was there too. " -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 4/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) * Note: Words in single quote ' ' denote mind speaking 10:32 AM Caine's Kung Fu Academy Peter's mouth was hanging open, " MY name is in those files? Are you kidding me? " " No, " Mulder replied as they headed into the academy. As he walked in, he noticed that there were candles burning everywhere. What kind of father did Peter have anyway? No phone, no electricity. He wondered if there was even running water in this place. " Hey, Pop! You here? Pop? " Peter called out. A very old man came out to greet them. Mulder looked at him, wow, maybe Peter was one of those miracle babies that came later in life. " Hello, Lo Si, " Peter greeted the old man. " Hullo to you too, Peter, your father is not here at the moment, " Lo Si walked towards Peter, " You should not need to ask. The bond between you is very close. " Lo Si smiled, " And you are after all a shaolin cop. " " What's a shaolin cop? " Mulder asked, " I've read about shaolin priests, but I've never heard of a shaolin cop. " " Aahh, young Peter, who is your friend? " Lo Si asked finally looking at Mulder. What Mulder didn't know was that Lo Si had already sensed someone with Peter before he had entered the room. " Oh sorry, Lo Si, " Peter said, " This is Agent Mulder from the FBI, Agent Mulder this is the Ancient. " " I am called that because I am so ancient, " Lo Si laughed. Mulder bowed his head in respect, " Neih hou. " Lo Si grinned and patted Mulder on his back, " Aahh, he speaks Chinese too, and with such respect. " Lo Si took his hand away from Mulder's back. " No, I only know a couple of words. Just enough to get my take out delivered, " Mulder grinned. Lo Si looked into his eyes, " You are searching." " Yes, " Mulder was bewildered, how did this old man know? " I've been searching for my sister. She was taken from my family when I was 12. " Lo Si nodded wisely. Saying nothing as Mulder eagerly asked him questions. Meanwhile Peter had been concentrating on his father. This mind talking was still pretty new to him. ' Father, are you there? Come in. Peter to Pop, Peter to Pop, come in Pop. ' God, I feel like Captain Kirk trying to raise the starship Enterprise, Peter thought. ' Enter..prise? ' came his father's voice in his mind. Then he felt a slight slap on his cheek, ' I thought I told you not to call me, Pop. ' ' Po...Father, you gotta show me how to do that, ' Peter felt his father shrug. ' Did you need something, my son? Or were you just practicing your shaolin powers? ' ' I need to talk to you, in person. ' ' Aahh, this is about the recent deaths in Chinatown then? ' his father asked. ' Yes, how did you...forget I even started to ask, so can we meet somewhere? ' ' Yes...I can meet you at the Red Flower Tea Shop. ' ' All right, we're on our way then, I'll see you soon, I'm signing off ' Peter felt his father's curiosity at his odd words as he let go of the mental link. " OK, Mulder let's go, " Peter said, " My father said he'd meet us at the Red Flower Tea Shop. " "Huh? But how? Are you telepathic or something? " Mulder was puzzled and disappointed. The ancient hadn't told him anything. However, he was always open to strange and exciting things. After all, he wasn't head of the X-files division in the FBI for nothing. " I guess you could say, or something, I'll explain about this shaolin cop thing on our way there. Come on." " See you later, Lo Si, " Peter called as he opened the door. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 5/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 10:30 AM 101st Precinct Scully had by now settled at Peter's desk while she read the autopsy reports. Skelany got up to refill her cup of coffee, " Would you like a cup, Agent Scully? " " Sure, " Scully put down the report, " You can call me Dana." Skelany turned from the coffee machine, " Mary Margaret here, how do you take your coffee, Dana? " " Just a little cream, please, " Scully reached for the coffee that Skelany was holding out to her. " So any progress so far? " Skelany sat back down at her desk and leaned forward. " As far as I can see, its the same thing all over again, everything including the frogs in the body. I'll need to pull up copies of my autopsies f from the case Mulder and I did last time to be sure though, " Scully took a sip at her coffee. It wasn't bad. Of course after drinking coffee that Mulder made in their office, nothing was really bad. Scully motioned to the computer on Skelany's desk, " Can I borrow your computer to access the files? Or do you have someplace that I can set up my laptop? " " I'm afraid mine doesn't have a modem, the only here that has one is Detective Griffin's, and he's not here at the moment. " " Do you think I can borrow it? It won't take more then a couple of minutes. And he'll never know that I was there. " Skelany thought back to what happened to people who borrowed Kermit's computer without his permission, " Trust me, you want to wait. He'll know that you were there. He's probably got more security on that thing then Fort Knox." Scully was a little surprised at that. More security on a computer then Fort Knox? Skelany had to be kidding her. That sounded as bad as Mulder's friends the Lone Gunmen. " Frogs in the bodies, huh? You must be used to this kind of thing from the last case. " Skelany leaned back in her chair, " Or is this something that you normally come across? " Scully grinned slightly to herself, " You'd be surprised at what I've come across in the line of duty. " Scully thought about the past couple of years that she had been working with Mulder. Man eating crocodiles, clones, her kidnapping, all of Mulder's disappearances for the existence of extra terrestrial life. The list just went on and on. " Maybe not, " Skelany said as she thought back on everything that she had seen Peter and his father do. Mind reading, healing, heating guns with one little hand motion, visiting other dimensions. The list just went on and on. The phone on Skelany's desk rang abruptly disrupting both women's thoughts. Skelany answered it and with a curse hung up. Then she picked it up again. " I'm going to beep Peter and tell him to meet us there. " " What is it? " Scully asked. " They found another corpse behind the Mei Mei grocery store, " Skelany started dialing the numbers. " Let me try and reach Mulder first, if he remembered to bring his phone, it'll be quicker, " Scully reached for her cell phone and hit the speed dial button. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 5/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 10:59 AM Outside Kung Fu Academy As they exited the academy, Mulder's cellular phone rang. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he was jostled on either side by the people walking down the street. "Excuse me, " he said to Peter as he opened the phone, " Mulder. " " Mulder, its Scully, " came the voice on the other end, " They've found another corpse. They found it in a dumpster behind the Mei Mei Grocery Store. Detective Skelany and I will meet you and Detective Caine over there." " All right, we'll meet you there, " Mulder shut off his phone and put it back in his pocket. Then he turned to the man next to him, " Peter, they just found another one. " " Where? " Peter asked as he unlocked the car doors. " In a dumpster behind the Mei Mei grocery store. Your partner and Scully are on their way there now, " Mulder said as he got into the car. " I guess that talk with Pop will have to wait then, " Peter said as he attached a magnetic siren onto the roof of the car and started off towards the grocery store. As they left, neither of them noticed a man stepping back into the shadows. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 7/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 11:16 AM Behind Mei Mei's Grocery Store Skelany and Scully pulled up and parked behind Peter's car. The crime scene had been roped off with bright yellow plastic ribbons. There were people all over. Some cops, some just curious about what all the fuss was about, and one was there to watch and observe so that he could report back to his boss. A young traffic officer came up to them, " I'm sorry but you'll have to leave, this is a crime scene..." Scully and Skelany pulled out their badges, " We're the ones working on this crime. " " Sorry officers, " the young man was plainly embarrassed, " I didn't know, go on right through." Then he left to continue has job of trying to keep the curious away so that they would not disturb the crime scene. Skelany and Scully ducked under the yellow ribbon. A police photographer was standing from a fire escape, busy clicking away with his camera, which was focused on the body in the dumpster below him. After he had finished getting all of his pictures, he nodded. Two men went and took the body out and placed in on a stretcher. Peter and Mulder were examining the area around them looking for clues. Scully went to the stretcher kneeled down for a closer look at the unclothed body. There was a patch around the corpse's right eye and stitches around his upper right chest area. " You find anything? " Mulder came up to her from behind. " I won't be sure until I cut him open, but I'm pretty sure that when I do, frogs are going to be coming out, " Scully said as Mulder gave her a hand up. " Better coming out then raining on our heads though, wouldn't you say, Agent Scully? " Mulder grinned. Scully just sighed. Skelany went to her partner. He was acting a bit strangely, she thought. Peter had been wandering around with his arms wrapped around himself, as if he were trying to keep himself warm. She walked up to him. Peter jumped into a kung fu stance as soon as she got within a foot of him. Then relaxed with a sigh of relief as he saw who it was. " What's wrong, Peter? " Skelany asked. " I don't know. I just feel so cold, " Peter started rubbing his arms. " Peter, its at least eighty-five degrees out, maybe you're catching something. " " That's what I thought, but then I'm only cold when I'm...." Peter froze. Skelany and the rest of people had disappeared. Day had turned to night. What the hell was happening over here? He heard two men coming towards the alley. They were speaking in Chinese. " Faai dee liuh, faai dee liuh," the man was urging the one who was carrying a large bundle. " Wai, hie umm hie neih yeil joe a? " the large man asked the smaller one. The smaller one rapidly shook his head. He hurriedly opened the dumpster and the large man threw the bundle in. Then they turned and started to leave. " Hey! Wait! " Peter shouted, " Moe jao a! Ngoh sih go ging chock a! Tihng a! " Peter started to go after them. All of a sudden, he started feeling weak and dizzy. The ground seemed to be rushing toward him at an alarming rate. Oh god, what the hell was going on? was his last thought as darkness closed in. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 8/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 11:25 AM Behind Mei Mei's Grocery Store " That's what I thought, but then I'm only cold when I'm...." Peter froze. His eyes had glazed over. Mary Margaret looked at him, " Peter? Peter what's wrong? Come on Peter don't do this to me here. " Hell, she thought, I should be used to this by now, I mean with a boyfriend like Kwai Chang Caine and all. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. No reaction. This had already started off as being a crappy day since she got up. She had been fifteen minutes late for work because her alarm didn't go off , those federal agents had shown up without any warning, and now this. She vowed to herself to keep an eye on the agents. She didn't like the way they had both been looking at Peter before. Where were those two anyway? Mary Margaret looked around. Agent Mulder was looking at the dumpster in a way that reminded her of Peter, however he was still talking or at least arguing, and gesturing to his partner. She turned back to her own partner who seemed content to be imitating a stone statue. All of a sudden Peter started to fall. She quickly reached out to catch him. But his weight and momentum was too great. Where the hell was Kwai Chang when you needed him? A tan colored arm shot out and eased some of Peter's weight from her. " I am here, Mary Margaret. " They gently eased Peter to the ground. " Caine! " Mary Margaret was relieved, he would know what was wrong with Peter, wouldn't he? " What's wrong with Peter? " " Hey, are you two all right? What happened? " Mulder and Scully came running towards them. Caine bent down to examine his son. He did not yet know what had happened to Peter. For the past few minutes, he had been feeling Peter's anxiety. Caine sent a brief surge of energy to Peter's chi. As he did so, Peter's eyes slowly opened, " Thanks for the jump start, Pop. I mean Dad." Peter started to sit up. Two paramedics came over with their equipment. " What seems to be the trouble, sir? " Peter waved them off. " I'm perfectly all right. " He turned back to Skelany. " Skelany, one of the men, he left fingerprints when he opened the dumpster. Tell someone from the evidence team to dust the left hand corner, near the large spot of rust, the shape of New Jersey. " Everybody looked at him. " Look, just trust me on this one, ok? " Bracing his hand against Caine's shoulder, Peter got up. If they weren't going to tell someone, he was. Scully stopped him, " Are you sure you're ok? " Peter looked at her, " Yeah, I'm fine. I just have to tell them to..." Peter broke off his sentence as he looked past her shoulder to where the dumpster was located. A man from the evidence team was already dusting at the exact spot that he had seen in his vision. " How? " Peter asked confused. " Mulder was just living up to his reputation of being Spooky Mulder as usual, " Scully replied to his look of confusion. " Yes, " Caine said slowly, " You have grown quite a bit since last I saw you, Fox. " Everybody looked at him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 9/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 12:19 PM JoJo's Cafe They had all decided to stop for lunch in the cafe across from Mulder and Scully's motel. They had been put in a booth with Caine sitting in the extra chair at the head of the table. After the waitress had come back with their drinks, Scully looked at her partner. He had been so quiet after he had seen Caine. She put her hand on his arm and silently asked him if he was alright. Mulder patted her hand and nodded. He was mentally searching his memories. He knew that he had seen Caine before, but the name did not ring any bells, and considering he had a photographic memory, that worried him a bit. Caine looked up from his cup of tea to see Fox staring at him again. He sighed and took a sip of his tea. It had been a very long time since he had seen Fox. It had been just after the temple had been destroyed and he had been searching for the essence of his son. He looked up into Fox's eyes, but instead of the confusion, he now saw recognition. " I remember now, " Mulder said as his photographic mind finally found the bit of memory it had been searching for. He flashed back to when he was twelve. Days before his sister, Samantha had been abducted from their home. He and Sam had been in the school yard playing basketball. Sam would always miss the basket because she was so short, but she had always been willing to keep trying. Some older kids had stopped and started to tease Sam, but he was Sam's protector. He had just stepped in front of Sam when he heard a man shout. The older kids had left and Fox had turned back to dry Sam's tears. The man had come up behind him. " Peter, " the man had said softly. Fox had turned around. Caine looked at him in confusion and then sadness. " Peter? Who's Peter? I'm Fox William Mulder, and this is my sister Samantha. Thanks for the help before. " Fox had stuck out his hand. His mother had taught him to be polite. The man had clasped his hand briefly and then turned away, muttering to himself. something about the essence had been so like Peter's. Fox had never gotten the name of the man who helped him nor had he ever seen that man again until today. Mulder took himself back to the present. The others were looking at him. " What do you remember, Mulder? " Scully asked. " I remember when I had meet Peter's father. It was you, wasn't it, at the schoolyard. " he looked at Caine. Caine nodded, " Yes. " " Schoolyard? " Peter asked. " It is a story for another time, " Caine replied, not really wanting to think about the times he had spent grieving and searching. Peter looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. " Before, you said that you needed to talk to me? About the deaths in Chinatown, I believe?" " Yeah, " Peter said as he was gathering his thoughts, the waitress came and placed their orders on the table. She smiled at Peter and Mulder and then left. " Pop do you know what's going on? Agents Mulder and Scully thinks that its similiar to a case they had a while back. Something about people gambling away their body parts for money? " " Yes, that would explain it then, " Caine said. " Explain what? " Skelany asked as she was eating her fries. " Why I have so many more people coming to me for help. It is usually because of an infection from their wounds. Yet they would not tell me how their wounds had been acquired. " Caine nodded to himself. The people in his community were very proud. They did not ask for help unless they truly needed it. Yet, more and more people with patches and bandages had come. " We have to find out who's running this and stop him, " Peter said as he finished his roast beef sandwich. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 11/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 2:45 PM Pine Avenue After dropping off his father, Peter and Mulder had started to drive around. Mulder was staring out the window watching the crowds of people bustle around buying fruits and vegetables from the stands outside the markets. Mulder turned to Peter, " What happened before? At the crime scene? " " I'm not sure, " Peter hedged. After all, he didn't know how Mulder would deal with some of the things he's had to since his father had shown up back in his life. As they passed The Golden Dynasty restaurant, Peter quickly pulled over. Mulder looked at him with a question at the tip of his tongue as Peter quickly got out of the car. Mulder followed him as Peter went to the alley next door. Peter was talking to a man dressed in a suit. As he approached, Peter handed the guy some money and went towards Mulder. " What was that all about? " " That was one of my informants, Danny Double D, " Peter explained, " He just got a hold of some new information for our case, like who's who is running this show. " " And? " Mulder prompted, " Who is it? " " You won't believe who it is. Her name is Li Chao. She's the niece of one Detective Jimmy Chao from San Francisco and she used to be a medical student, but she dropped out so that she could join the ring in San Francisco, the one you and Agent Scully encountered. She was one of the ones who helped with the transplanting. And she was the reason why Detective Chao had agreed to cover for that ring in your last case. " " Did you find out where this game was taking place? " They had started to walk back out of the alley. All of a sudden, Peter felt a brush of air go past him and he watched as Mulder collapsed to the ground. "What the--? " Peter got his gun out as he bent to examine Mulder. There was a dart sticking out from the side of his neck. Six men in black sprang from the shadows. Peter swung his gun around and was just about to fire, when one of the men threw a Chinese star and hit him in the arm holding the gun. Peter dropped the gun and pulled the Chinese star out of his arm. Shit, Peter thought. Why the hell do I bother trying to shoot anyway? It never works for me. No wonder Pop always tells me to leave my gun. Peter threw the star at the man with the wooden tube, but the man moved out of the way at the last minute. The star hit the brick wall behind him and fell to the ground. Well, guess I'll have to practice some more when I have time. Then he went into a kung fu stance and tried to ignore the pain radiating from his arm. . He blocked punches and kicks from two of the men. In the corner of his eye he saw two others pick up Mulder. Pop, where the hell are you? I could use some back up over here, Peter thought as the guy with the tube shoot another dart, hitting him in the shoulder. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gambled Parts 12/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) * Reminder words in single quotes denotes mindspeaking 2:52 PM Inside the Kung Fu Academy Kermit Griffin bursted into Caine's academy full of energy, " Mulder? " Caine came out from behind the paper wall, " He is not here. " " Hullo, Caine, " Kermit replied, " Do you know where he is? " " I believe that he and Peter are --" Caine froze in midsentence, " Quickly Kermit, I sense great danger heading towards them. " " Where are they, Caine? " Kermit asked as they rushed out of the door and into green car parked at the curb. " I do not know, " Caine said. Then all of a sudden he heard Peter's cries for help. ' Peter, where are you? Peter? ' In his mind he saw the images that Peter was sending him as he was fighting men in black. Then darkness shrouded Peter's vision. Kermit had already started the car and was waiting for Caine's instructions. He didn't know if he completely believed in all of this mystical stuff, but it seemed to work. And if Peter was in danger...Kermit turned his attention back to Caine as Caine snapped out of his trance, " Where to? " " The alley, by the Golden Dynasty restaurant. " Before Caine had even finished the sentence, Kermit had quickly pulled out into traffic. In no time at all, there were there. But Peter and Mulder were nowhere to be seen. Kermit and Caine quickly got out of the car. Kermit drew his gun. He wanted to be ready for anything. Caine walked around and then bent to examine something. Kermit scanned the area around them as he went to join Caine, " Find something? " " Yes...," Caine picked up the bloody shurkin that Peter had thrown. " What now? " Kermit asked. " Blood calls to blood. This blood is Peter's, " Caine replied, " I can use it to follow his essence." Caine closed his eyes and concentrated. He knew that Peter was alive, but he wasn't awake, so he could not communicate with him. So instead he concentrated on finding the aura of Peter's chi. There is was. At the meat packing plant just outside of town, " Come, Kermit, we must hurry. " Gambled Parts 13/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 3:39 PM Better Beef Meat Packing Plant Cold. It was the first thing that Mulder thought as he gradually woke up. What the hell happened? he asked himself, one minute he had been talking to Peter, the next minute he had woken up here. His head ached as he slowly moved into a sitting position. It wasn't easy to do since his hands were tied behind him To his right, he heard a low moan. " Peter? Is that you? " " Oh god, what the hell was in that stuff? " Mulder heard Peter's voice complaining in the dark. He heard some shuffling noises and then a curse. " What happened? " " Just had a painful reminder that this isn't a dream, " Peter muttered back under his breath, " God its like an ice box in here. Where are we? " " The smell is sort of familiar, but I can't quite place it yet. My thoughts are a bit scattered. Did I get hit in the head or something? " " No, some guys jumped us, and hit us with some drugged darts. " " Great. At least that's something new that I can tell Scully, " Mulder sighed, " I don't think that's happened to me yet. " " Get hit a lot, do you? " Peter asked as he looked around. There was almost no light at all, but that didn't stop him. With his inner eye, he was able to see that they had been locked into a small room. On the shelf above Mulder were stacks of square foam plates and rolls of plastic wrap. The important thing, Peter thought was to get his hands free so that they could get out of there. God, the last time he did this trick was when his father had first come back and Tan had captured him. Ignoring the pain that was already in one arm, he started to struggle with the rope until he could feel more blood flowing. Finally, he pulled his ropes apart. He quickly stood up and wished that he hadn't. I could kill for some Excerdrin. He crawled over t o Mulder. Mulder sensed the movement near him, " Peter? " " Yeah, its me, I managed to get free, " he looked at Mulder's bonds. His wrists were already throbbing with pain, but he had to get Mulder free. " Can you reach my jacket pocket? " Mulder asked, " I've got the pen knife Scully gave me for my birthday in there. Its attached to my key chain, and I know its there because I rolled over it when I sat up. " Peter quickly got the knife out and freed Mulder. Feeling for the wall, Mulder used it for support as he slowly got up. " Alright, now what? " " Now we get the hell out of here, " Peter said, " Come on, the door's this way. " He led Mulder to the door. Then silently thanking his father for finally teaching him this trick, he raised his hand to the lock and with his chi, he convinced it to open for him. The light momentarily blinded them. When they're eyes finally cleared, they saw haunches of meat hanging from the ceiling. " I knew that smell was sort of familiar, " Mulder said, " We're at a meat packing plant. " " You visit them often? " Peter said Then he felt his father's presence. " My pop is here. " " So is Scully, " Mulder replied with a grin. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 14/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 3:43 PM Outside of Better Beef Meat Packing Plant She had tried dialing Mulder's cell phone, but he wasn't answering. That either meant that something had happened to it while he was following a lead or he had forgotten to turn it on. Considering that she had managed to reach him before, she opted for the other choice. While doing the autopsies she had discovered something new. Under the corpses fingertips was evidence from this meat packing plant. Scully arrived in her and Mulder's rental car just as a green car screeched to a halt. To her surprise Caine and a man she did not recognize stepped out. " Caine, what are you doing here? " she asked as she walked towards them, " And who is that? " she pointed to Kermit who had taken out his non-regulation gun. " Kermit Griffen, at your service, " he said as he checked his gun clip. " Griffen, the guy with a lock and key on his computer? " Scully asked. " The same, now let's go free the guys. " Caine spoke for the first time since they had gotten there, " They have just finished playing the game. We must go now, while they are all still inside. " As he spoke a group of men dressed in black fanned out around them. " What the hell? " Scully asked as she trained her gun at one of them. Then as if the sound of her voice had been a command to attack, the men in black started to attack. Kermit shot one as he dodged a kick from another. Scully wounded one on the shoulder. As she brought her gun up for another shot, one of the men knocked it from her hand. She used a karate kick and knocked the guy down. Good thing the FBI made all of the field agents learn some hand to hand combat she thought. She looked around to see Kermit finish dispatching the guy in front of him and Caine take down the last of the three guys that had surrounded him. She bent down and picked up her gun. " Come, " Caine said, " Peter is very near. " ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 15/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) * Note: Moe a! Moe a! Gow mang a! = No, no, help! 3:57 PM Inside Better Beef Meat Packing Plant " How do you know that Agent Scully is with them? " Peter asked as he looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear. He quickly ducked back in as he heard the sound of a gurney being wheeled towards them. A man was strapped on the gurney. And he was shouting, " Moe a! Moe a! Gow mang a! " Peter peered out, " We gotta rescue him. " Mulder looked out, " Yes, but they got our guns. " " So we'll need to distract them somehow, " Peter said. Then he had a thought. Why not, it worked before. Mulder didn't like the look in Peter's eye. He liked it even less as he heard what the idea was but he didn't have any better ideas. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a bit more fighting, Kermit and Scully rounded up the group that had been cleaning up the game. Scully placed the jade vases aside for evidence. Caine continued down the hallway and stopped in front of a locked door. Scully watched in amazement as Caine placed his hand on the lock and the door swung open. Kermit and Scully rushed in with their weapons in a ready position. Then simultaneously their jaws dropped. Kermit removed his shades, " Peter, I don't think I've ever seen you in that outfit before. " Scully tried to ignore the fact that her partner was naked. Caine just sighed, " Peter...Was it really necessary to share your other Persian flaw with your new friend here? " " Hey, it worked, didn't it? " Peter asked as he read their rights to Li Chao and the rest of the operating team. Mulder put his pants back on as Scully freed the man on the operating table, " You were right, Peter. Jumping naked in front of Li Chao and the team did startle them enough so that we jump them. " Then he grinned," Hey Scully, you think if I did it in front of Cancerman, he'll be startled enough to tell me the truth? " Scully just shook her head. Caine took off his tan jacket and placed it around Peter, " We must work on this flaw of yours, my son. " ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 16/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 6:21 PM Chandler's The group had decided to meet for drinks afterwards. Caine had just come in with the man that they had rescued. He spoke in very rapid Chinese to Caine. Caine bowed slightly, " Mr. Ngor would like me to convey his thanks to all of you for rescuing him. He was there because he was trying to find out what had happened to his younger brother. " " Younger brother, what younger brother? " Peter asked. " I am afraid that, that body we found in the dumpster was Sun Ngor, this man's younger brother, " Caine replied. " Well, that clears up our John Doe, " Skelany said after they had expressed their sympathies to the man and he had left. She took a sip of her drink. She looked over at the bar where Kermit had taken Mulder aside. Scully followed her look. " I wonder what they're talking about. " Scully grinned slightly, " With Mulder you never know. It could be aliens, mutants, clones, you name it. " " Oh, any recent visits to Shambala in there to? " Skelany asked. " Shambala? " Scully raised an eyebrow in a perfect imitation of Mr. Spock. All of a sudden, Scully's nose started bleeding. She grabbed for a napkin and excused herself to go to the restroom. Skelany went with her. Scully went to the sinks while Skelany got some paper towels. " How do you do it? " " Do what? " Scully asked as she wiped up the blood. " Keep up with your partner? " " I have to. Otherwise he would use my cancer as an excuse to dump me back at the office. He's my partner. Its my responsibility to watch his back. " " But couldn't they assign him another partner to work with? " " The X-files division isn't exactly on the top ten list for transfer requests and when I was kidnapped a couple of years ago, they did find him a nother partner. A double crossing spy that's now our enemy. Besides, Mulder says he doesn't trust anyone except me. " " Wow, " Skelany said as they started to walk back out of the bathroom, " Any tips to share on managing your partner? " " Yes, " Scully said with a grin, " If he doesn't listen to you, shoot him. Worked for me. " Skelany didn't know whether Scully was kidding or not. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kermit was waving his glass around as he was talking to Mulder, " What the hell do you think you're doing? I thought that you said you were quitting last time I saw you. " Mulder looked at the beer in front of him, " I'm no longer the guy that you met in England. I did quit. I quit the Violent Crimes Section. I don't have to profile killers any more unless they're desperate. I'm head of the X-Files division." " You're still looking for her, aren't you, " Kermit said. " Yes, but now, I'm also searching for the truth, " Mulder picked up his beer and swallowed. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around. It was Peter. " This morning, I believe that you mentioned some files? Can I take a look at them? " " Sure, they're in my motel room, " Mulder said as he got off of the bar stool. He told Scully that he was leaving with Peter. She nodded distractedly as she continued to listen to Skelany. She continued to listen to Skelany's story about Peter and his father. She couldn't tell if Skelany was still suspicious of her because Skelany was telling some story about them being in an alternate dimension. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gambled Parts 17/17 By Debbie Eng (Wan-ping@juno.com) 7:47 PM Sleep A While Motel Peter pulled the stealth to a stop with a low whistle. Mulder started cursing. They were fire engines every where. Smoke was billowing out from the back section of the motel. Firemen were busy doing their duty. They were evacuating all of the guests and spraying water everywhere. They got out of the car and flashed their badges when someone moved to prevent them from getting any closer. " Chief Crocker, what happened? " Peter asked the guy who was directing men. " From what we can tell, someone fell asleep while smoking a cigarette. It fell to the carpet and whoosh, it started spreading like crazy, " the chief shook his head and excused himself. Mulder looked as the flames engulfed the rest of his room, as he turned he saw a man smoking in the crowd of people gawking at the fire. When he saw Mulder looking at him, he raised his cigarette in salute then turned around. As Mulder started towards him, the man disappeared in the crowd. Peter caught up as Mulder started to chase him, but it was no use, Cancerman had disappeared. " What was that all about? " Peter asked. " The fire, it wasn't an accident, it was done deliberately to destroy the files, " Mulder said dejectedly. Peter looked at the fire behind them, " Guess you must have been getting too close in something. " " Yeah, just like always. Close but never there. " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The End?