From: martin@PROBLEM_WITH_INEWS_GATEWAY_FILE (Michele Martin) Newsgroups: alt.tv.quantum-leap.creative Subject: XOVER: The Witness pt2 Date: 14 Mar 1995 19:55:37 GMT Organization: Duke University, Durham, NC, USA Message-Id: <3k4sbp$qcl@news.duke.edu> (scene 3--*The X-files*) FBI Headquarters Washington, DC 1:00pm, Sunday "Mulder, it's Sunday," Dana Scully began as she entered the X-files office. "This better be pretty important." In response, Mulder turn on the slide projector. *Oh goodie, another slide show. We need a popcorn popper in here to go with this--maybe I'll ask for one for my birthday. Then again, considering what he usually shows me pictures of, eating might not be the best accompanying activity*. Dana settled into her chair as Mulder began outlining this newest case. "These are pictures of the victims of a series of murders in Toronto that currently have the police up there baffled. Any guesses on the cause of death?" Mulder began as he flipped through a series of four pictures. The answer was rather obvious. "Well, I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I'd say they all died of acute decapitation." "Very astute, Dr. Scully." "So what's the catch?" "Catch?" Scully sighed. He was in one of _those_ moods. "I admit it's a pretty bizarre and somewhat gauche way to go around killing people, but other than that it seems like a standard serial homicide case. Unless there's some other extenuating circumstances that have attracted your attention, I can't see why you're interested. Especially since, regardless of the fact that the Blue Jays are in the _American_ League, Toronto is out of our jurisdiction." "As a matter of fact, there are some interesting oddities about this case. Firstly, no one has been able to identify the victims. No ID on the bodies, the fingerprints don't match any records anywhere, and no one has come forth to identify the bodies. Secondly, although there are no witnesses to the actual crimes, people in the vicinity of where all four of the bodies were found have reported seeing unexplained flashes of light--lightening or pyrotechnics of some sort. And the crime scene is usually looks like a tornado swept through it--anything that could remotely be considered breakable in the vicinity has been shattered. Thirdly, Dr. Natalie Lambert, the medical examiner, recorded finding scorch marks on the body--usually at the neck and extremities. In three of the cases she reports that the body showed signs of having been in some sort of struggle, possibly a sword fight of some kind as evidenced by multiple wounds of the kind that could be inflicted by a sword. Not to mention the fatal blow itself." "Sword fights in modern day Toronto? Coupled with freak and destructive lightening storms? Well, that certainly sounds strange enough, but doesn't answer the jurisdictional problem," Scully pointed out. She was intrigued, however. Mulder never chose dull cases. "I'm coming to that. The reports about the lightening or whatever reminded me of something I'd seen in one of the X-files." *Here it comes* Scully thought. "These beheadings in Toronto aren't isolated incidents. In the past 10 years a number of such cases have been reported all over North America, though very few have over such a short period in the same area. In fact, there's been a string of these in Seacouver..." "Wait, where's Seacouver?" "What?" "You said 'Seacouver'. I've never heard of Seacouver, where is it?" Mulder looked briefly confused. "Seacouver? Sorry, I meant Seattle. There's been a string of similar incidents in Seattle over the last three years. No suspects, no witnesses, and no identification of most of the victims. No reports of the mysterious lightening, but the description of the crime scene and of the bodies is almost exactly the same as in Toronto. There are also individual reports from several different states of unsolved murders with similar MOs. Going back a little further to 1985, there was a string of four beheadings in New York. This time there were witnesses and suspects. However, both of the suspects ended up dead-- one of whom, a Victor Kruger, ended up beheaded. The other suspect, Russell Nash, was killed in a car accident the same night Kruger died--too far away for Nash to have been Kruger's killer." As Mulder described the other incidents, he showed slides of some of the past victims. He also flashed photos of Kruger (post-decapitation) and Nash (police mug shot). "Any suspects in the other crimes?" "Well, that brings me to another oddity. Yes, there have been suspects in some of the incidents, but on more than one occassion the suspect in one case turns up as the victim in another case...sometimes years and miles apart. In the New York and Seattle cases, police have found swords with the victim's bodies...though they don't think the ones they found are the murder weapons--the traces of metal found in the body usually don't match the weapon found at the scene. Though in two cases the traces in the body match the weapon found at the scene of a later crime." "So what do you think is going on?" "I really have no idea. Maybe a chapter of SCA gone out of control? It certainly looks like there's more than one person involved." "Could some of these be copycat crimes?" "Possibly...but the only really publicized cases are the New York string and the current Toronto string." "Speaking of which, how do you plan to get in on the investigation?" "Fortunately for us, the Toronto Metro Homicide Department has already asked for our help. They're stuck." "Well, I don't know if we'll have anything more to tell them. I take it we're flying up to Toronto tomorrow?" "Our flight leaves at 2pm. I didn't want to get there too early since the detectives we need to talk to work the night shift. Besides which, it'll give you time to go over the cases. See what else you can come up with." "Well, I appreciate your confidence in my abilities, but don't get your hopes up," Scully replied as she took the folder Mulder handed to her. "Anything else?" "Guess that's it. See you tomorrow." (scene 3b...and *Starman*) Washington, DC 7:00pm Having spent most of the afternoon digging around FBI archives for any other reports of unsolved beheadings, Mulder returned to his apartment for a late dinner. He'd run across four or five other cases in the files, each bearing at least two or three of the unusual earmarks he'd mentioned to Scully earlier that day. As he entered his apartment he nearly tripped over a fat envelope lying on the floor. An envelope that hadn't been there that morning. He turned on the light and cautiously picked up the envelope. He opened it, revealing a thick file with the words "Case File 617W. Top Secret, Priority Clearance Alpha" scrawled in black marker on the front. *Priority clearance alpha? Puh-lease--who comes up with this stuff? Looks important, though* Mulder thought as he opened the envelope. The first few pages were part of a report dated September, 1994. It included several photos of what looked like a human skeleton and an x-ray photo of dental records, matched to another set dated almost a decade ago. The name on older records was "Forrester, Paul Edward". A quick skim of the report revealed that a tremor on top of Mount Hawthorne, a volcano in the Cascades, had shifted tons of ashes and lava deposited in a 1986 eruption of the volcano. The wreckage of a helicopter had been partially exposed, and further excavation of the site had uncovered the remains. The next item in the folder was a newspaper clipping from the time of the eruption--the headline read: "Photojournalist Paul Forrester Miraculously Survives Helicopter Crash". *But if these records are correct, he _didn't_ survive....* Mulder flipped through other pages in the file to try to make sense of it. There were several reports from 1986-1990, all signed by a George Fox. Several pictures were attached, many of Paul Forrester and a teenaged boy named Scott Hayden. Then the reports jumped back to 1975, detailing attempts to trace the whereabouts of a Jennifer Hayden and her son, Scott. The reports went back till 1972. The last few pages made Mulder's eyes widen and his heart beat rapidly--apparantly the file he held in his hands related to a UFO investigation, which had started with the crash of an unidentified craft in Wisconsin. Mulder hastily reached back into the envelope to see if there was anything else in there before he sat down to study this file. He found one small sheet of paper with a note written in block letters: "617W IS IN TORONTO." scene 3c Unmarked Office Pentagon Washington, DC 7:00pm Even as Mulder was beginning to browse the files left under his door, the originals of the files' contents was distributed somewhat haphazardly across a desk. A phone and an ashtray filled with cigarette butts were the only other items on the desk. The man who occupied the chair nearby was perusing a recently received letter from an associate who had just returned from a vacation in Toronto, Canada. As he scanned the letter, cigarette in hand, the phone rang. The man picked it up, and addressed the party on the other end. "Talk to me." "Our operatives have learned that Agents Mulder and Scully are booked on a flight to Toronto, Canada tomorrow afternoon," answered the voice on the other end. "For what reason?" "They've been asked to help with the investigation of a series of unusual murders in the area. Beheadings, to be exact." "Beheadings, you say....Interesting..." "Should we..." "No. But we should send someone to keep an eye on them just in case they get too close to what else is up there." "I'll send Jones...." "No. I'll take care of arrangements." With that, the man hung up. He snuffed out his cigarette and carefully collected the files on the desk. He placed them back in the envelope from which they'd come, along with the letter he'd been reading. Then he reached for the phone. Scene 3d Dana Scully's Residence 11:21pm Dana Scully groaned as the sound of the ringing telephone dragged her out of the bed she'd just snuggled into. She glanced at the clock. 11:21 PM. *A case of sunflower seeds says that that's Mulder. I wonder if he has anything more on this case in Toronto*. She picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Scully? It's me, Mulder." "I went over the casefiles you gave me, but I haven't come up with anything..." "I actually called about something else." "What's up? You sound excited." "I found a very interesting envelope full of information waiting for me when I got home this evening. Looks like mysterious beheadings and electrical storms aren't the only interesting thing going on in Toronto." "Oh?" "Ever heard of Paul Forrester? Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist?" "Let me guess--he got this great shot of a UFO in Toronto which the government promptly confiscated..." "Close. In 1986, Forrester miraculously survived a helicopter crash on Mount Hawthorne in the Cascades. Or so everyone assumed, except for an FSA agent named George Fox, who was convinced that the person everyone thought was Paul Forrester was really an alien who'd cloned his body. Fox chased Forrester and a boy named Scott Hayden for almost five years, until the pair mysteriously disappeared. Fox ended up being committed to a mental institution because of his...obsession...with Forrester. No one seemed to know where Forrester and Hayden went, and the whole case was covered up." "Well, I don't blame Forrester for wanting to disappear. I take it he's turned up in Toronto? Mulder, the last thing this man probably wants is another crazed g-man obsessed with aliens knocking on his door." "I resent being called a 'g-man'. Anyway, I haven't told you the interesting part yet." "Oh?" "A few months ago there was an mild tremor in the Cascades that released some of the lava flow covering up that crash site from 1986. Apparantly the government secretly authorized a dig. You'll never guess what they turned up...the remains of one Paul Edward Forrester." "Are they sure it's Forrester?" "Only two people were on that helicopter--the pilot and Forrester. The pilot was apparantly carried off the mountain by someone...or something...and ended up being taken to a hospital by some folks who found him on their doorstep. He's still alive and well. Besides which, I have copies of Forrester's dental records and they exactly match the one of the remains recovered from the mountain." "Okay, then who or what do you think Fox was chasing..." "Ever heard of the Wisconsin UFO sighting of 1972?...." As Mulder began his narrative, Scully settled down for what promised to be a rather long phone call. Fortunately, their flight didn't leave until afternoon.... -- Michele Martin martin@abacus.mc.duke.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evil Guest Immortal: "I have you now, MacLeod." Duncan MacLeod: "I admit it. You're better than I am." EGI: "Then why are you smiling?" MacLeod: "Because I know something you don't know..." "..._I_ am the star of this show." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------