FF: "Firstborn." (Chapter 3/?)

["Elaine Dalier'" <ellie_dee@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

3 June 2001
0347Hrs.

Morning List Breathren,

As usual I've got insomnia and with all the feedback you guys have
been sending me for Chapters 1 and 2, I may never be able to get to
sleep again. Not that I'm complaining, I'm overwhelmed, overjoyed
and to be blunt, scared sh*tless!

I had no idea "Firstborn" would be anywhere near this popular. Believe
me, I was as happy as anything just to get short one line replys.
But when I started getting 1 and 2 paragraph replys I thought it was
a joke.

To paraphrase Salley Fields: "You like it, you really like it!"

Well, thank you. Your very kind replys have warmed this scriblers
heart more than you can immagine.

I would like to say that I hope all of you enjoy Chapter 3, but as we
use to say in the Girl Scouts: "A good time is not had by all." This
chapter borders on the dark and depressing. Sorry, no rainbows and
bunnys in this one. :(
Peace and love,
Ellie Dee ;)

TITLE: "Firstborn." (Chapter 3/?)
AUTHOR: Ellie Dee
EMAIL: Ellie_Dee@xxxxxxxxxxx
CATEGORY: X-Files/Buffy the Vampire Slayer X-over.
RATING: PG13-R
SUMMARY: A pair of murders and a kidnapping in Sunnydale strikes close
to home with Agent Scully and the Scoobie Gang. Can they work together
to solve the case before a young girl dies?
SPOILERS: Consider anything up to and including Season 3 on BtVS or
Season 6 on the X-Files fair game.
DISCLAIMER: Any characters you've heard mentioned on TV were created and
owned by Joss Whedon, Chris Carter, Fox, and WB. They just decided to
come visit and play with the beings inhabiting my rather warped mind.
ARCHIVE: Anywhere, just please let me know where it goes and try to keep
my name and Email on it.
FEEDBACK: PLEASE!!!!! This is my drug of choice and I really need a fix.



"Firstborn." (cont.)
By: Ellie Dee

Chapter 3.


During the flight Scully spent most of her time looking out the window
gathering her thoughts. Whereas Mulder had occupied his time lounging
across both his seat and the one between them while working on his
laptop.

The relief that she had felt after being assigned to the case was
short lived. It had been replaced by an intense anxiousness. She
wasn't scared, she just wanted to get started, and this flight wasn't
helping.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was glad Mulder had joined her.
For as long as she could remember, she had found it difficult to rely
on others for help. If you didn't rely on anyone, they couldn't hurt
you.

They also couldn't help you. And right now she needed Fox Mulder's
help more than anything.

She would never tell anyone this, but she admired Mulder. Yes he was
aggravating, idiotic, sloppy and a general pain in the ass. But, he
was also kind, caring, loyal and ....strangely good looking.

But what she admired the most about him was his mind. Though knowing
Mulder, he would probably be disappointed she didn't admire another
part of his body.

Scully often thought that Mulder should have been a scientist. With a
mind like his, able to assimilate seemingly random facts and organize
them in almost no time at all. God, he would have made an excellent
researcher, thought Scully as a smile spread across her face. Even if
many of his theories dealt with aliens and the paranormal.

Thinking of aliens, Scully looked up at the stars that had begun to
show. Seeing them, she remembered how Ahab would tell her of sailors
using the stars to guide their ships home. And how he would often call
them the Lights of Heaven.

With that thought, the smile left her face. Emily, I love you baby,
she thought. I'll always love you and I'll never forget you.

At that moment, Scully felt a tapping on her leg. "Hey Scully," said
Mulder. "You've got to see this."

"What is it Mulder?" she asked trying to hide the sadness in her
voice. "Did you get a new high score on Dungeon Quest?"

"You know I don't play that anymore Scully. Star Fighter Commando is
the IN game this month. Anyway, I was going over some files related to
the case when I found some things you might like to see."

Turning in her seat to face her partner, Scully looked at the screen
of his laptop. Trying to see what it was that Mulder thought was so
interesting took her several seconds.

"Mulder," said Scully as her eyes widened in surprise. "That's Agent
Brenner's FBI personnel file."

"I know Scully."

"Those are confidential records," she continued.

"I know."

"Well how did you get a hold of it."

"I asked Frohike to hack into the headquarters personnel records,"
replied her partner.

"You had Frohike hack into the FBI mainframe," said Scully her voice
rising somewhat. "Are you out of your mind?"

"I don't think so."

"Well I do. Look Mulder, I like the Gunmen as much as you... Ok, I
like them, sort of. But there is no way I'd let those idiots into the
Bureau's database."

Waiting for Scully to finish, Mulder looked at her with that same calm
almost mocking smile she knew so well. "Look Scully, I didn't let them
into the system. You know as well as I do, if the Gunmen want into a
system they'll get into it. They hacked into the Bureau's mainframe
only after I asked them to, as a favor to me."

That made Scully stop and think. To be honest, she thought, Mulder was
right. Those three loonies had gotten into some pretty high security
systems. And if they had wanted to access the FBI mainframe, there
wasn't very much that the Bureau could do to stop them.

So, resigning herself to being an accessory to yet another felony,
Scully continued reading aloud. "According to this Brenner served in
the Army as a Military Policeman and left the service as a Captain. He
spent five years on the Houston Texas Police Department, the last two
as a Homicide Detective."

"He joined the Bureau ten years ago and has served in everything from
Major Crimes to the Hostage Rescue Team." Pausing to collect her
thoughts, Scully then commented, "Well Mulder, he does seem to have
had a very well rounded career."

"Not to mention," added her partner, "he also earned a Doctorate in
Criminology and a Masters Degree in Psychology."

That surprised Scully. When she had first heard Brenner on the speaker
phone, she had thought he sounded more like a longshoreman. But you
don't earn a PhD, especially in Criminology, by just showing up for
class.

"Look here," said Scully as she pointed at the screen. "It says that
Brenner has been brought up on charges over a dozen times."

"Insubordination, Misconduct, Unauthorised Procedures, Violating the
Civil Rights of a Suspect." With something approaching awe in her
voice she continued. "Mulder, he assaulted a Public Defender and
threatened to kill the SAC of the Hostage Rescue Team."

"I know Scully, you've got to admit, the guy's got style."

"Mulder I don't see how we can work with him. He sounds like a loose
cannon, completely unpredictable. I have no idea how he's stayed in
the Bureau as long as he has."

"Well did you happen to notice that Brenner has been cited for Heroism
and Investigative Excellence more times than I care to count?" her
partner countered. "Or that his solve rate is almost as high as ours?"

"But Mulder, he beat up a Public Defender," she almost pleaded.

Seeming to change subjects, Mulder asked, "Do you remember the Alvarez
kidnapping case?"

After a few moments Scully remembered the case Mulder was talking
about. "That was almost ten years ago," she said. "Wasn't he the son
of a Columbian businessman?"

"Luis Alvarez was visiting Chicago with his parents when he became the
victim of a kidnapping. The father agreed to pay the $3 million ransom
and to not notify the police. The ransom was delivered by the father,
but the eight year old wasn't returned. That was when the mother got
in touch with the Chicago Police who then called in the FBI. The case
was assigned to a senior agent in the Chicago field office and his
rookie partner, Special Agent Mike Brenner."

"Brenner and his partner worked the case for almost two weeks till the
partner suffered a heart attack."

"Did he survive?" asked Scully.

"Yeah, but he was medically retired. The local SAC was going to
reassign the case to a new team when Brenner refused to be removed. He
said he didn't care who he worked with or who got credit but no one
was going to take him off HIS case."

"That takes guts," said Scully. "There aren't many experienced agents
who would stand up to their SAC, much less a rookie."

"Well the SAC agreed to personally work with Brenner on the case. Less
than a week later they were able to pull in one Michael Chilson, white
male, age 27. He was a janitor at the Alvarez's hotel."

"So they were able to charge him?"

"No they weren't. They knew he was guilty and had enough to bring him
in for questioning..."

"But not enough to get a conviction," Scully finished. "I know Mulder,
Been There Done That."

"Anyway," continued Mulder, "they interrogated Chilson for the better
part of a day. The local SAC, Brenner and the lead detective were all
working on Chilson and all he did was sit there and smile."

"Finally Brenner lost it, he grabbed Chilson by his throat and pulled
him across the table. That was when the lawyer got up and tried to
pull Brenner off his client. Brenner hit him once and the lawyer ended
up on the floor unconscience."

Inspite of herself, Scully had to smile. Like almost every law
enforcement officer in the world, she had wanted to do that more than
once to a lawyer.

"Brenner then proceeded to repeatedly bounce Chilson off the wall of
the Interrogation room all the while demanding to know where the boy
was."

"What happened?" asked Scully.

"It took the SAC, the detective and another agent to pull Brenner off
Chilson. As they were taking Brenner out of the room he told Chilson
that Luis had better be alive and well. Chilson just sat on the floor,
blood running down his face, laughing."

"Brenner and the SAC found the boy's body about four hours later. It
was in a storage shed that Chilson had rented. He had been dead three
days and had been tortured and sexually assaulted before he died."

"I remember they were able to get a conviction," she said.

Scully noticed Mulder paused before speaking, "Scully, Chilson had
taken photos before, during and after. That plus the other physical
evidence ensured that he was convicted."

"But..." she prompted.

"But the jury couldn't agree on the death penalty question, so Chilson
ended up with Life Without Parole."

"Damn."

"Yeah I know what you mean. Anyway, Brenner personally escorted Chilson
to Joliet and introduced him to all of the cons on his cellblock."

Looking confused, Scully commented, "I don't see what..."

"Scully," Mulder added, "Brenner introduced Chilson as a kidnapper and
a child molester."

"Oh my God," replied Scully in a very small voice.

She and Mulder both knew that even the most hardened criminals viewed
those who harmed children as being far less than human.

"Chilson lasted four days before he was found dead in a storeroom. He
was hanging by his neck from a bed sheet. But he had been put there
only after every bone in his body had been broken."

As a doctor, Scully was suppose to view all life as precious. But try
as she might, she could find no sympathy for Michael Chilson.

Wanting to lighten the mood Scully decided to change the subject a
little. "Mulder, did you ever find out what the connection was between
Skinner and Agent Brenner? They seemed awfully friendly earlier."

Smiling that same irritating, "I know something you don't know" smile.
Mulder answered almost cheerfully. "Yes I did. Once upon a time they
worked together. You get three guesses and the first two don't count."

Deciding to play along, Scully thought about it. And then the answer
came to her, it was so obvious. "Chicago. Skinner was Brenner's SAC
in Chicago."

Seeing her partner nodding agreement Scully continued, "So Skinner
told you about this after I left?"

Chuckling lightly Mulder replied, "That's a good one Scully. Skinner
telling me something personnel about his life."

"Well how did you find out about all this?" she asked.

"Frohike."

"Where would Frohike come up with this story? Wait a minute, I don't
think I want to know."

"Spoil sport," replied her partner.

"Did Frohike happen to mention how Brenner was able to keep from being
kicked out of the Bureau?"

"Well it goes back to the Alvarez case," Mulder began. "After they had
found the boy, Brenner insisted on being the one to notify the boy's
parents. Skinner went along with Brenner to the hotel where the couple
were staying."

"When they got there Brenner broke the news to the parents. Then he
went on to say that he accepted full responsibility for what had
happened to their son. And that although it wouldn't change anything
he would do everything possible to see that Chilson was punished."

"A week later Skinner received orders from the Director that all
charges against Brenner were dropped. Apparently the President had
received a letter from the boy's grandfather praising the work that
Skinner and Brenner had done. "

"Well that's very touching Mulder, but how does a letter from a grand-
father influence the President?"

"I forgot to mention that Luis Alvarez's maternal grandfather was the
President of Columbia."

Scully could think of nothing else to say, so she turned away from her
partner and resumed looking out her window. Obviously Special Agent
Michael Brenner was a complex man. She just hoped that together they
would be able to find her daughter.

*****

When Willow Rosenberg had come to she had felt miserable. Nauseas, her
head had also been killing her and there was a strange metallic taste
in the back of her mouth. Other than that she felt the way she had
when she'd had too much wine at Aunt Sophie's wedding.

Willow had no idea where she was or how she had gotten here. She could
remember going to sleep in her bed. Her dreams had gone back and forth
between being with Buffy and smoochies with Oz. Two of her favorite
subjects. Though lately she had been wondering what smoochies with
Buffy would be like.

Bad Willow, Bad Willow, skanky thoughts.

Getting up from the cot she had woken up on, Willow had walked
unsteadly to the sink near the metal door of her cell. Running cold
water she washed her face and put water on the back of her neck
soaking the top of her pink cow jammies. This seemed to lessen her
headache, so she began to drink her fill.

After several handfuls her stomach had begun to calm down and the
taste in her mouth began to lessen.

Resting her head against the wall, Willow tried a Wiccan meditation
technique. If it worked it would clear her mind and help her to learn
about her surroundings.

Her mind had only just started to reach the second meditative level
when she had recoiled to full consciencesness. Something dark, evil
and incredibly frightening was watching her from the other side of
the door.

"Hello? What do you want with me?" she asked her voice shaking.
"Please, why did you take me?" Then as she slowly slid to the floor
she whispered, "I just want to go home."

> > From the other side of the door a man and a woman watched the young
redhead on a video monitor. Hands before her face she tried to hold
back her tears.

"You're sure the Summers girl will come after her?" asked the woman.

The man next to her said nothing at first, then realising he had been
addressed he turned to the woman in the lab coat. "Yes of course. The
two are tied almost as close as lovers. Harm one and the other will
come running to her rescue. Though, I believe this one could prove
interesting to examine in her own right."

"I can't imagine why sir. There's nothing special about her. I mean,
it's not like she's the Slayer."

"I sincerely hope for your sake Doctor, that your other observations
are not as myopic as this." Said the older man as he reached into his
pocket pulling out a pack of Morleys. Lighting one, he took a deep
drag from the it and continued, "She knows we're here. Through two
inches of steel, she can see us. I have a feeling she could prove to
be even more valuable to the Consortium than her little friend."

"Begin the tests immediately Doctor, but make sure she isn't harmed
permanently."

"Yes sir."

Taking one last look at the girl in the monitor, Cancer Man turned and
began walking back to the main part of the complex. "Valuable indeed."


End of Chapter 3.



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