Written by Phil Colvin, Tue Jul 28 11:02:43 US/Pacific 1998
Chapter 8
“I’ve climbed with the strength I have, right to this mountain top. Looking out, the cloud’s getting bigger now, It’s time to get ready now.” (Sanctify, Deliriou5?)
JACKSON SQUARE OVERLOOK
Gabriel had gone, taken away by his friend. The man stepped over to the railings and took the talisman from his pocket. He turned it in his hand, admiring the beauty and symbols on it. Had he been wrong to confiscate it? Probably not. But it looked like Gabriel Knight would not be giving up his fight yet. Maybe he should have expected that, anyway, the Ritters had fought for a long time without this talisman. It was too late, though. Soon there would be no need for this talisman, or any other means of fighting evil. Soon the land would be cleansed, white as the snow. Time was on his side. At last, time was on the good side.
WAREHOUSE, DOCKS
11:38 AM
Mulder could hear the clinking of glasses and muffled laughter from downstairs. The reception was well in progress, speeches were being made. Fortz’s timetable worked to complete precision, Mulder had watched the welcoming on the docks earlier that morning. It had gone exactly how Fortz described in his briefings. Not even a few seconds was wasted. It just underlined how much in control everyone was around here, and how out of control Mulder had been trying to find proof of a conspiracy. He was alone at the moment. Scully had been called outside, apparently somebody had been injured in some trouble. Mulder wondered if that was part of the timetable as well. He lay back and began to doze off when footsteps cold be heard walking up the stairs. He looked up, Scully was back. She had a strange look on her face, as if she’d been accosted by a man in a black suit with a lightsaber who’d announced he was her father.
“Are you OK, Scully? What happened?”
“A man was just brought in with injuries sustained in a fight, it’s not serious physically. But I still think we have a problem.”
“Why?”
“It’s Gabriel Knight.”
In a back room was the small amount of first aid kit that Fortz had deemed necessary for this place to have. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing other than a few bandages and maybe a little antiseptic. After all, injuries weren’t part of his timetable, Gabriel Knight was sitting on a chair controlling a nose bleed. Grace Nakamura was here too, with him. Mulder shook his head in disbelief.
“How does one idiot get himself into so much trouble?...”
“The injuries aren’t too bad”, said Scully, “He claims that he was approached by the murderer who beat him up and stole his talisman.”
“My heart bleeds for him”
“Look, Mulder. You don’t have to believe his stories. But a crime has been committed on top of a murder....”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just that I think the only real crime around here is his criminal dress sense.”
Mulder went over and sat on a chair opposite Gabriel. He pulled a half opened packet of sunflower seeds from his pocket and began munching. Gabriel was watching him, inquisitively. Mulder offered the packet, Gabriel refused.
“So, Gabriel. I hear you were at the look out when you were attacked....Looking at anything nice? President’s parade route? Looking out for killers or was it the chest of the lady in the front row?”
“Just doing what you said, Mulder. Keeping well out of your way....”
“You know, Gabriel. Most people in this city satisfied themselves by having a great party. Yet you seem to have this ability to find trouble in any place....Just make sure you never go to Orlando. I don’t fancy having to investigate the first cult killing in Disney World.”
“I knew it was a mistake coming to you....”
“So why did you come here instead of telling the police?”
“I thought we owed you”, said Grace.
“Owed us?”
“Without those co-ordinates Scully gave me, I would have never have found Gabriel so quickly and he might be in a far worse state.” She saw Mulder’s eyes narrow. He turned to Scully, who shrugged,
“A private word, if you please, Dana”, said Mulder. He got and, walked over and grabbed her arm and practically dragged her out of the room.
“That’s your idea of telling her to jump off a cliff, is it?” Mulder was livid. Scully just stood, arms folded. She didn’t seem sorry for her actions.
“I just wanted to help, Mulder. I didn’t think it would come to anything!”
“You revealed classified information to a pair of people who are one brick short of a house! You betrayed my trust!”
“Well we didn’t have any use for those co-ordinates! Isn’t it a good thing that they played some part in saving a man’s life?”
“Not when it’s Gabriel Knight’s.”
“And anyway, Mulder. We may have just advanced this investigation forward....”
“How?”
“Those co-ordinates were found on the body of a man from Krojan. It was in that exact spot that we found the mysterious prophet. That links Krojan to Celia Keller’s death!”
“Scully, I didn’t want to suggest that link because I know you’ve been discounting it all week....”
“It’s a girl’s purgative to change her mind.”
“So when I do that, it’s just lunacy?”
“That’s right.”
“Well here’s something even more idiotic, I want to take this right back to John Keller.”
“Why?”
“Don’t forget which pin-up that Krojan official was carrying. I think we’ve provided the solid link between the two that I’ve been wanting for ages....Somehow, the events at John Keller’s church are linked to a greater plot involving the murder of his wife, and Gabriel Knight. Maybe they’re not related to the military, or to Krojan’s weapon, but I think that this man is involved in another agenda which could upset everything going on here.”
“So maybe this man could unwittingly start World War III....”
“Precisely. Some sort of religious extremist who found out classified information and has acted stupidly....and now we know that he is linked to a religious leader in this city who has got more publicity than is healthy....I think we should go and see Mr. Keller.”
“I agree.”
“And so do I!”, Mulder and Scully spun around to see Gabriel and Grace in the doorway. It was clear that Gabriel had been listening to the full content of the discussion.
“So then, Mulder...” smiled Gabriel, putting his arm around the agent, “What’s this weapon you’re talking about?....”
WAREHOUSE
12:01 PM
Everyone was in stunned silence. Mulder had just finished his account of the past few days. His discoveries, Krojan’s weapon, Fortz’s plan to invade Kroajn to protect the USA. The pieces which had slotted into place so readily in Germany now formed a picture. And one to Grace, which she was saddened to see. Throughout everything she had proclaimed John Keller’s innocence, tried to convince Gabriel, even fallen in love with the man. Now he was involved, and seriously. Mulder still wasn’t convince by and of Gabriel’s dubious historical relation to 1918, but he was interested that the murderer had been in John Keller’s church only yesterday. Perfect timing to be in the morning’s papers right next to the Krojan affair. And to Scully, the discoveries came not as revelations. She had stopped being surprised or shocked at things many months ago. But merely as ammunition to the minds of Mulder and Gabriel.
“We’ve got to question John Keller”, said Gabriel, “He knows something.”
“Thank you Mr. Genius”, sighed Mulder, “But you two are staying here, out of trouble.”
“Like hell, Mulder!”
“Actually, I want to speak to John Keller”, it was Grace who spoke. Her words came as a surprise to all considering her previous lack of input into the discussion.
“No way...”, began Gabriel.
“Why, Grace?”, asked Scully, “Why do you want to be the one to ask?”
“Because I know him, or at least I think I know him. And I don’t want him being accused of anything he’s not guilty of. I don’t think either Mulder or Gabriel is in a state to question him properly.”
“All right, Grace”, said Mulder, “It might sound better coming from you. He hasn’t killed you in the past, maybe he’ll give you some straight answers.”
“And remember, Gracie, he might have my talisman. If he gets dangerous, give us a call”, said Gabriel. Grace nodded, not knowing what to expect anyway, and walked out of the warehouse.
“What about us?”, asked Gabriel. Mulder thought for a few seconds.
“I think the issue here is this weapon. Now we know Fortz’s plan is to invade Krojan and make that weapon safe. So therefore we must stop any opposition to him. Even though that means allowing a Government to lie to its people and to betray their trust.”
“Well I reckon that this prophet guy will be trying to interfere”, said Gabriel, “He keeps talking about his plans.”
“Therefore he is the man we must stop”, said Mulder, He looked at Scully who shrugged. She knew she’d just be following a couple of madmen anyway. She would be glad when this was over and it was back to alien implants.
“You found this man at one of the co-ordinates....so it makes sense he’ll appear at another. So let’s head for both the two remaining sites before the parade starts so that we can eliminate this problem before it gets near the President.”
“Sounds fine”, sighed Scully, “Let’s go.”
“She doesn’t sound too keen”, whispered Gabriel to Mulder.
“That’s because she knows that she’s got to hang around with you for the next few hours”, smiled Mulder.
KELLERS' RESIDENCE
Grace rang the bell. The street was quiet today, there was no service and most people had gone down to see the parade. Grace wondered whether John had joined them. The garden was looking a lot worse today, without due attention everyday it was beginning to wither and die. Much like Grace’s trust in herself, and in everything else over the past week. Her fears that John wasn’t home were soon alleviated by the door opening.
“Grace, I wasn’t expecting to see you today....”
“Likewise....but I have to speak to you.”
“Did you find him? The killer?”
“I wanted to ask you the same thing.”
Grace wasn’t sure if she should be sitting in John Keller’s living room drinking coffee. After all, she was accusing him of having something to do with his wife’s death and with a conspiracy to murder the President of Krojan, who actually wasn’t dead yet. She just couldn’t bring herself to make accusations. And maybe she owed John the benefit of the doubt, especially after the kind way he’d handled their misunderstanding.
“I really don’t know what to say”, he sighed
“I just want the truth, John.”
“What if everything I’ve told you is the truth? What if I’ve never lied to you?”
“I’m afraid that things which have happened today cast doubt on things you’ve said...on everything, actually.”
“But has anything happened? You’ve said that this alleged prophet attacked Gabriel and stole his talisman and that the site was one linked with military data about Krojan....but what does that have to do with me?”
“Along with that data was found a picture of you and some sort of contract....Mulder and Scully assumed someone was trying to kill you. Now they think that you might have written that contract, maybe exchanging classified information and trying to subvert today’s event.”
“That’s their opinion. What do you think, Grace?”
“I don’t know what to think. But I can’t deny that they have evidence....”
“Not all the truths we seek are written down so plainly.”
“Then explain it to me!”, said Grace, “You seem so keen to make sure things are explained then why not do me the courtesy you do the rest of your congregation!” Grace didn’t have to look into John’s eyes to know immediately that he was hiding something, or at least that there was something he wasn’t telling her. He took a deep breath before continuing.
“That man has been a part of my congregation...he came to be baptised.”
“Did he tell you what his plans were?”
“No, he didn’t actually tell me anything....and I didn’t even baptise him.”
“What?”
“He came up with the others on that day. He told his prophecy and waited as others gave their testimonies. But when the time came for he himself to be baptised, he told me that he wasn’t ready yet and that he would be back soon. That was the last time I saw him until yesterday.”
“So he wasn’t even religious....”
“I’m not religious, Grace. There’s a difference between that and Christianity.”
“Sorry, I just meant that he wasn’t....well.....fulfilling the rites of passage.”
“Oh, I believe he did. And I think that’s why he came back that day Celia died.”
“Did he tell you that he was going to kill her?”
“No, but as soon as I saw how she died I knew the truth.”
“What is the truth?”
“That man did not murder my wife, Grace. And if Gabriel believes that, then he is making a grave mistake.”
BROWNING AVENUE
NEW ORLEANS
12:45 PM
The excitement of the crowds betrayed any speculation as to whether the parade was coming their way. It was, no question. Mulder and Scully stood at the back of the crowds, looking around them. Gabriel was a little way to the side, doing his own thing. This was the site of that third co-ordinate, between the overview and the city centre. The throngs of people were beginning to become a mass, trying to analyse threats was becoming difficult. Luckily for all concerned, Gabriel’s description of the man they were looking for had improved substantially since the attack. Gabriel never forgot the face that beat him. Now was a short wait before the President arrived.
“Do you think we’ll find him?”, asked Scully.
“Who knows”, sighed Mulder, “I still don’t think that this guy is necessarily going to try and murder the President, it could turn out that all he wanted was Gabriel’s talisman. It has great spiritual meaning to certain groups of people.”
“Gabriel seems desperate to get a better view”, observed Scully. Gabriel was attempting to climb on a nearby fire hydrant.
“He’s taking this very seriously”
“So would you if a guy beat you up and took your necklace”, replied Mulder, “We’d better keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t go mad and commit ritual suicide or something.”
The parade was coming, Gabriel could hear it. And Mulder and Scully were doing nothing! Just standing there, with the other crowds. Probably in some conversation about the state of Gabriel’s mind. That wasn’t good enough! What if the killer was sitting in a sniper’s nest right now! Gabriel knew he had to get closer....then he saw something in the shadows of a nearby house. It was a man, in a uniform. He was observing things and making reports through his walkie talkie. But that wasn’t an NOPD uniform. Gabriel went towards him for a closer look.
“Hey, where did Gabriel go?”, asked Scully. She had turned her head for a few seconds and he was gone. Mulder shrugged.
“Abducted by aliens?”
Now this was weird. Gabriel had snuck around the back of this uniformed man. He was a soldier, and he was making reports into his walkie talkie about ‘positions’ and ‘ranges’. Hadn’t Mulder and Scully said something about a military conspiracy? But it was the uniform which was giving Gabriel ideas...the sort of ideas that landed him in lots of trouble. The sorts of ideas that found him in voodoo conclaves or on the stage of an opera. But that uniform looked a nice fit...
“Hey, bud”, smiled Gabriel to the soldier. He spun around, looked worried.
“Sorry, sir. Can’t talk now, I’m on guard duty. I’m going to have to ask you to stay with the others in the crowd.”
“Yeah, OK”, smiled Gabriel. He then put on his serious look, his T-1000 look.
“Say....that’s a nice uniform....”
Mulder stood on tip toe to look over the heads of the crowd. A car was coming into view. Nice model, open top. He began waving. Scully raised her eyebrows.
“C’mon, Scully....get into the spirit of things!” He smiled as he scanned the crowd. then he stopped smiling.
“What is it?”, asked Scully.
“Oh no”, breathed Mulder, “You cannot be serious....”
It really was a nice fit. Gabriel especially liked the cap. Somewhere in a back street, a young soldier had just learned that it never paid to argue with a Schattenjager, or ex-Schattenjager, Gabriel still wasn’t sure which. And it gave him the perfect opportunity to slip right through to the front of the crowd, in fact he was almost right beside the car. Now that he was looking for them, Gabriel could see that there were quite a few armed soldiers around here. Gabriel was right beside the car now. This was perfect, he could see the tops of all the nearby buildings. And from the look of it, no snipers. Right beside him he could just make out the President waving from the carriage. Probably the most fun that old guy ever had. Looking around, Gabriel’s eyes rested on Mulder and Scully’s position. And he could see Mulder clearly, especially the blaze in his eyes and the numerous swear words coming from his lips. Gabriel just smiled, couldn’t wave back, not when he was on duty.... The radio on his belt was crackling, Gabriel decided it might be wroth listening to what the military was doing at the moment.
“All units....prepare for action on my mark....”
Now that sounded interesting. What Gabriel also noticed was interesting were the soldiers. They had all taken their guns from their shoulders. In fact, they were all holding the guns very clearly. The radio was picking up a lot of static, Gabriel could hardly hear the instructions. Maybe a threat had been spotted, or this was just a drill. Whichever it was, Gabriel quickly gave the radio a quick knock, just to try and hear what was going on. He didn’t hear the next instruction fully, but he was sure he heard the words, ‘operation is go.’ And then, all hell broke loose.
Mulder tried shouting obscenities at Knight, waving at him. But nothing was working. He went back over to Scully.
“That man is a danger zone”, he sighed. He got out his weapon and pulled out the rounds.
“Mulder, Fortz said no guns....”
“Sorry, Scully. But I’m afraid this calls for drastic measures...I’m not loading it. I just want to make sure Gabriel gets the message.” Before Sully could argue that the gun might cause panic, Mulder had disappeared towards the car. Scully wasn’t quite sure what to do, maybe she should follow him before he did something stupid....then it came. Above all the whoops and shouts, above all the flags and the banners. The distinctive sound which sent Scully off her mark and into the crowd. The sound of gunfire.
Gabriel impulsively dived downwards. To his side, the slow moving car screeched to a halt. Then he dived back up again, his brain registering where those shots would be aimed for. Without any second thoughts he grabbed a handhold on the car and pulled himself upwards. For a second, he wondered if he would get hit but there was no going back. He hoisted himself over the side and flung himself into the car and almost into the lap of the President. Quickly Gabriel grabbed the man and forced him back into the seat. Not out of any line of sight, but just out of the way of any well aimed shots. The President yelped, Gabriel just kept pushing. Suddenly there was a second of silence, Gabriel’s head came up expecting to see a neat bullet hole in the head of the man next to him, or a neat bullet hole in his own head. Instead he was looking into the face of a very bemused man.
“Hi”, smiled Gabriel, “I’m Gabriel Knight, personal guard for hire.”
“The novelist?”, the man’s accent was well fined and very confused.
“That’s right.”
“I've read your books...very graphic.”. Well, even if he had never met this man before, it was always worth saving the life of one of his loyal readers.
“Get down!”, shouted Mulder. He pulled his gun above his head. People scattered, people fell. It was a mad house. The shots kept coming. Mulder almost lost sight of the car. Then he saw it....and the man climbing in. It was a soldier, and he was diving onto the President. Mulder pulled a bystander out of the way, took aim....damn! His gun wasn’t loaded. This man was about to die because he’d been chasing a mad novelist! Quickly he slipped the clips in his gun, the shots had stopped now. People were everywhere, swarming like bees whose hive had just been smashed. Mulder vaulted over the smallest of them and pushed his way past the highest before grabbing onto the car and hoisting himself up. No time for second thoughts. He swung himself into the car and took aim and the quivering heap in front of him.
“FBI! Don’t move! Drop your weapon!” It was then that Mulder realised that the heap was the President of Krojan, with Gabriel Knight lying on top of him. A perfect photo opportunity if ever there was one.
“Put the gun down!”, shouted Gabriel, “Did you fire those shots?!”
“No, not yet...”, rasped Mulder. He knelt down beside the President, checking for injuries. Amazingly, the man seemed unhurt. He actually seemed surprisingly calm considering he had two stranger sin his car and there had been shots firing off somewhere. It was then that Mulder noticed the presence beside him, Scully. She had managed to fight her way over here too.
“Check him over”, said Mulder “He says he’s OK....” Scully nodded and jumped down into the car. Gabriel had picked himself up and stood beside Mulder. The scene was one of total bedlam. The shots didn’t appear to have hit anything, but the panic was as if every person had got a bullet up their rear end. There were screams of terror, confusion. People were lying on the ground, maybe shot, maybe not. Mulder didn’t have time to make judgements. He wanted to know where the shots came from. He spun around to Gabriel.
“That was a stupid thing to do, Knight. You could have been killed!.....But nice work, you may well have saved that man’s life.”
“I dunno”, shrugged Gabriel, “There don’t seem to be any bullet holes.” Mulder glanced at the back of the car. There were no traces of bullets having hit wither the President or the car itself. He turned to Gabriel.
“Wait a sec...where did that uniform come form?”
“Our friendly neighbourhood military guys....I found one of them over there”, he pointed to the back street. Mulder looked, then looked back at Gabriel.
“Give me that radio”, Gabriel passed it over, Mulder listened. There was as much confusion and noise on the other end as there was all around him. But he was picking up a few words:
“Shots missed.....interloper....FBI”.
Someone was relaying a running commentary back to all the other soldiers. Mulder examined the radio.
“Were there any other transmissions just before the shots?”
“Yeah, that’s why I jumped in here, I saw soldiers in the crowd! I thought they were going to kill him!”
Mulder got back down into the car. Scully was with the President, he was sipping something alcoholic she’d found under the seat.
“Is he OK?”, asked Mulder.
“I think he wants to know what the heck just happened”, sighed Scully, “But physically, he’s fine.”
“We’re going to have to stay here and guard him, Scully. He’s still in danger.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Those shots didn’t come from any prophet, Scully. They were fired by the military. Almost definitely under Fortz’s orders. I think we’ve made a major mistake right from the start, Scully. We’ve been assuming that we were brought on this mission because it was in the best interests of the USA to have representatives of different agencies and that General Fortz was chosen to lead this because he’s the best for the job....”
“And now?”
“Now it’s my opinion that Fortz is going against his orders....that instead of playing escort and neutralising a threat, he’s taken a course of action none of us could have guessed.....he’s taking Krojan the weapon for himself and this little black ops unit who’ve been stockpiling weapons in that warehouse......he’s a traitor, and if he is heading towards Krojan, he might not be trying to disable that weapon....he might be trying to use it.”
BUILDING ABOVE BROWNING AVENUE
Fortz watched with some amusement the chaos below. Mulder and Scully had got to the President, BIG surprise! He had known from the beginning that somehow, despite all the security, those agents would be there when his plan started. And there was that other man, the one who he had arrested a few days ago on Mulder’s orders. He’d lost track of what exactly this Gabriel Knight had been doing this week. Last he heard, he had been bound on a plane to Germany. But he was back now, and with Mulder and Scully in the car. The crowds around it were dispersed, people had run away. Those who had fallen had been crushed, tip of the iceberg. More death to come before the day was done. Beside him, one of his soldiers was blaring out orders into his walkie talkie.
“Sir, are you certain that you don’t want us to finish the job? We could take out all of them from up here....”
“Quite sure”, murmured Fortz, “I’d rather let Mulder think he’s saved the President rather than having him martyred. And I think this scene should draw just about every law enforcement officer in the city.”
“What about that other man?”
“He shouldn’t be a problem, he’s only a civilian. Just leave him here to face the music as well. We’ve got a boat to catch.” The solder nodded and barked more orders. Fortz put on his jacket complete with full medals and honours. He kept one eye on the scene below, just making sure everything was in check. The plan was proceeding far smoother than he ever imagined. And now he could take it into Krojan and leave the FBI to deal with the consequences of this shambles.
“You’re good, Mulder”, he sighed as he looked out of the window, “You’re the best. But I don’t think you’ll be getting out of this one in a hurry”, and with that his troops departed and headed for the docks, and to Krojan.
BROWNING AVENUE
13:03 PM
Police were swarming all over the road. Paramedics raced between them, towards the screams and sobs as victims and those closest to them did all they could to get attention. Mulder was out of the car, now. As was the President, he was in the back of an ambulance. Scully was treating him and some of the others. It was shocking. Casualties and fatalities, and not a single gunshot wound to anybody. Just shock, riots and a crush. Among the new arrivals were policemen, secret service agents and in particular, Assistant Director Skinner. He was stepping through the crowds towards Mulder.
“What the hell happened, Mulder?”
“I was hoping maybe you knew more than me. All I know was that shots were fired and their were armed soldiers swarming over this location.”
“That’s not the story I just heard.”
“Surprise, surprise...”
“All I heard was that there were shots fired and that you were seen with your weapon drawn...which incidentally was directly against General Fortz’s direct orders.”
“I think you should ask Fortz about ‘orders’. Particularly why his troops were given orders to fire their weapons.”
“Well I can’t. Fortz has taken a number of his special forces down to the docks, probably trying to clear up this mess.”
“Or more likely getting in the nearest boats and heading off to Krojan right now.”
“Excuse me?”
“This incident was organised and instigated by General Fortz. And I think he’s using the opportunity to take a course of action nobody could have expected.”
“Can you prove it?”
“I can prove that I didn’t fire those shots.”
“Well that might be useful...considering the fact that Fortz has put you under military arrest...”
“What?!”
“His last order was to take you in with Agent Scully.”
“On what grounds?”
“For disobeying direct orders and maybe causing this incident!”
“I can prove my innocence....”
“You’ll have to do that down at the police station. There’s nothing I can do.”
“Don’t you see what they’re doing!”, shouted Mulder, “They’re using me and Scully as scapegoats! Whilst our asses are being hauled over the coals, Fortz is right now heading to Kroajn to fire the weapon which could blow this city sky high, along with the rest of the world!”
“And why on Earth would General Fortz, one of America’s greatest war heroes, take such a course of action?”
“Because he’s a freak?”
“Or maybe because he has an accomplice”, Gabriel Knight had heard the conversation. He’d been standing with Mulder watching the scene and listened to what had been said.
“Who are you?”, asked Skinner.
“This is Gabriel Knight”, said Mulder.
“Aren’t you the man that was brought in for questioning after that murder this week?”
“That’s right.”
“So what does this have to do with you?”
“We’ve been perusing a killer”, said Mulder, “On a seemingly unrelated murder.”
“But it’s possible that he’s working with Fortz”, butted in Gabriel, “Maybe convinced him that an armageddon is a good course of action.” Skinner looked at Mulder and rubbed his eyes, this was worse than one of Mulder’s alien abduction theories.
“Do you concur with this....theory, Agent Mulder?”
“Not at this time. I see no evidence that the murderer we were hunting has anything to do with the shots fired here.”
“But he is around!”
“That maybe true”, said Mulder, “But this investigation has taken a leap, Gabriel. A leap beyond religious crime and into a conspiracy against the American people and, for that matter, the Government too!”
“Your speciality, huh?”
“We were looking for the murderer assuming he would try to kill the President. He hasn’t and I think it was a false lead all along. Maybe laid by Fortz to put us on the wrong track. Perhaps the death of Celia Keller was instigated by him all along!”
“I don’t think so...”
“It doesn’t matter either way, Gabriel. Now we have a different path you are no longer a part of this investigation....”
“And neither are you”, said Skinner, “You’re still under arrest.” and with that he took Mulder’s arm and led him away to the nearest police car, ignoring all the agent’s futile pleas of innocence. So once again Gabriel was alone. No sign of Grace, no help from the FBI. And no talisman either. He needed to work out where this murderer fitted in to everything that was going on. Maybe he was working for Fortz, or maybe working parallel to Fortz...maybe using Fortz! Maybe that man had given Fortz these co-ordinates for the incident so to set up Mulder and keep the FBI out of the way, and was now waiting in Krojan for his pay master! It made sense that he would be with the weapon, he had told Gabriel many times that he was more than just a messenger...a history maker couldn’t make history without the tools. But how to get to Krojan? One thought entered Gabriel’s mind. It was big, round and he was going to have to beg to use it.....Mosely.
NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
Mulder banged his head against the wall a few more times. It seemed to be the best course of action considering that he was now incarcerated. Scully was with him, after tending the wounded she had been dragged away as well. She watched her partner pace around the cell. The same cell that they had been imprisoned in three years ago along with Gabriel Knight after they had trespassed on the location of a salvaged UFO and the territory of a certain Cigarette Smoking Man....those were the days. Now, instead of the clear cut division between right and wrong was this blur in which they found themselves and General Fortz. A man so regaled for his actions, but now turning against everyone and everything for an interest nobody could fathom. But there again, that was only Mulder’s theory. Scully hadn’t had her say yet.
“Are you absolutely certain?”, she asked, “I know we’ve met cases like this before, but General Fortz is a diplomat as well as a soldier!”
“I had my doubts, Scully. We all did. But now there is no doubt in my mind that Fortz is behind all the goings on in this city and that his final act will be greater and more terrible than any other.....and we’re stuck in this cell unable to do anything about it.”
“Well, Gabriel Knight is still free. I know he’s a disturbed man, but things do work out for him. Maybe he’ll stop Fortz.....”
“He’s still obsessed with a prophet who isn’t a prophet. His great uncle’s suicide made him believe he was a holy warrior, now losing his talisman has made him certain he has to regain God’s favour.....we should have had him locked up when we had the chance.”
“That wouldn’t have solved anything, Mulder. Even if we had impounded him for the murder of Baron Von Glower, he would probably be out by now....”
“Well, it’s not as if he’ll be a problem any more....not when the Judge is one beyond corruption and human weakness.”
“I still find it hard to believe that you seriously consider our deaths to be imminent, yet you display no fear, feeling or even remorse for your failings like any other human being!”
“After everything we’ve seen over the past five years, I don’t see any need to fear my own death. Not after staring it in the face so many times....maybe I feel like I’ve been through some form of judgement and that it’ll just be a quiet, final bow....And from what we know about this weapon, it’ll be pretty quick, anyway.”
“What’s going to happen?”, asked Scully quietly, “If this weapon does fire? How exactly does it kill us?”, it was a sobering question. One which Mulder wasn’t even sure about.
“I don’t know, Scully. It’s not a blast weapon, not like an atom or hydrogen bomb. It uses laser technology and the explosive force of anti-matter particles...at least we’ll be wiped out by state of the art weaponry.”
“But will we feel it?....Pain?”
“Scully, we’ve been through so much. You, in particular, have been so close so many times. After your abduction, your cancer. You probably already know how much is pain and how much is....”
“Rapture? The joy of knowing that we’ll be in a better place?.....Yes, I’ve felt things. And I have seen death more times than I care to mention....But it terrifies me, Mulder. It never stops.” A few more seconds of silence
“Well, gee....I feel kinda bad about making you do all those autopsies, now.” It was enough to make her smile, even if all Mulder was doing was putting an end to the discussion. He was as scared as she was, but just as intelligent and so knew that there were times to talk and times to be alone. Maybe there would be the pain as if dying from disease, or just the sudden taking of life like in the case of Celia Keller....but the waiting and the thinking did more harm than anything else. But perhaps Mulder had just gotten to used to being a realist instead of an optimist. Mind you, it was a pity he hadn’t been more optimistic about their current predicament, for at that moment the cell door swung open and a police officer walked in.
“You’re wanted in the interrogation room....”
“Don’t I get to make a phonecall?”, asked Mulder.
“You watch too much television”, sighed the overworked police woman and led them down the hall.
INTERROGATION ROOM
14:00 PM
It was quite obvious that although taking place in a police station, this little ‘event’ had been organised by General Fortz. The interrogation was in a standard military style. Glass of water, pack of cigarettes and a hard nosed official. Both Mulder and Scully knew how this went. The interrogator would have been briefed as to whether be ‘nasty’ or ‘nice’. He would keep questioning them until they broke, at which point he would either change tack or a new interrogator brought in to finish the job. And from the expression, this guy was in ‘nasty’ mode.
“If it’s all right with you, Agent Scully”, he said, “I would like to speak with Agent Mulder first”. Scully sat down on the seat away from the table. Clever strategy leaving her out, the Government knew full well that Mulder was the outspoken one, and therefore the one who would most likely crack under pressure.
“Good afternoon, Agent Mulder. My name is Colonel Jackson, I’m representing General Fortz who is unable to speak to you himself at this time.”
“Too busy with his ‘diplomacy’?”
“General Fortz is proceeding with today’s schedule to the highest degree of responsibility and respect...which is more than can be said for you.”
“Yeah, sorry if my actions caused a slight diplomatic problem....it’s just a reflex reaction of mine that when I hear bullets fired I try and save the life of the target.”
“Hear the shots? Agent Mulder, reports have stipulated that you yourself fired those shots.”
“Oh, really? Perhaps you can tell me about this report...”
“Eye witnesses say that the parade was proceeding when an FBI agent, fitting your description, ran into the crowd with his gun raised. Some witnesses report hearing you shout something. All heard gunfire, then you were seen running towards the President’s car, followed by Agent Scully....Do you have an explanation to debunk over thirty witness statements?”
“No, I just have a better one.”
“How so?”
“If you check my gun, which I handed in at the desk, you’ll see all my clips are full and accounted for. I could not have fired any shots since my gun was not loaded. In fact, the shots came before I raised my weapon.”
“Why did you raise your weapon?”
“To try and get to the President as fast as possible....your witnesses claim I fired the shots as I was the only person in that area who could be seen to be holding a gun. The shots actually came from an unseen source and were aimed at an unknown target.”
“An unseen source? In a crowded street?”
“These people...are professionals.”
“Agent Mulder, do you realise how ridiculous this sounds?”
“Of course I do. That’s because it’s the truth. Remember truth? It’s that little thing that you guys used to deal in before guys like General Fortz came along with hidden agendas.”
“None of this stands up, Agent Mulder.”
“Fine, I don’t care. I just want to get out of here. If you’re holding us here because of your claims, an examination of my weapon will clear my name and will allow myself and Agent Scully to go free....Oh, and by the way, in case General Fortz hasn’t already dismissed us, we would like to resign from this mission. Not really our scene, diplomacy.” Mulder could see Jackson flicking through his file. He hadn’t prepared for the eventuality that Mulder had cast iron evidence proving his innocence. There were no post-it notes from Fortz with orders, now. It was up to Jackson himself. He was actually going to have to judge fairly for once....correction, he was actually going to have to make a judgement, period. He closed the file.
“We’ll check your claim, Agent Mulder. It may take some time....”
“Just enough time for Fortz to reach Krojan, I’ll bet”
“...But if it checks out, you and Agent Scully will be free to go. Until then, I’m going to have to ask you two to remain in your cell.”
“This is ridiculous!”, shouted Mulder, “You’re putting us in a cell whilst General Fortz is plotting to wipe out billions of lives! You’ve got to let us go! Stop following Fortz’s lead and make your own decision!”
“This is my decision, Mulder....And with a lack of anything further to charge you with, this is the best I can to keep you locked up where you belong.” And without any further struggle, Mulder and Scully were led out back to their cell.
NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
FRONT DESK
Like the street, the front of the police station was chaos. People running too and fro, reports coming in from the scene of the incident. Families in tears trying to find out about their loved ones...or hearing the worst. Gabriel managed to get through the crowds to the front desk. Frick sat there, and it wasn’t a surprise that he wasn’t very happy.
“Well, well.....Mr. Knight....”
“Hi, Frick. Big crowd?”
“Listen, Knight....I ain’t got time to chat with you. Believe it or not, things have happened round here and I’ve got real work to do...”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t want to keep you from helping these people. But is Mosely here?”
“Yeah, he went out back to try and escape this lot....poor buggers, half of ‘em don’t know what’s going on and the others....well, they’ve got some unpleasant days ahead.”
Gabriel nodded and walked towards the back to the station, he only hoped that this scene wouldn’t be repeated with an even greater disaster.
MOSELY'S OFFICE
The detective was sat looking at the picture of his wife. Mug of coffee in his hand, untouched doughnut on the desk. The noise was filtering in and the chaos could be observed calmly through the two way mirror. He knew it was Gabriel, the smell, probably, and didn’t look up.
“It’s a frickin’ catastrophe, Knight....I ain’t seen anything like this before.”
“Yeah, it was chaotic back there, too.”
“You seen it?”
“I was there when it happened. Even had time to get up close and personal with the President of Krojan.”
“We’ve got Mulder and Scully here now...they’ve got a lot of explaining to do for their part in this....”
“Actually, it wasn’t their fault.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“No, really! They were helping me try and find this killer....”
“Oh I see, couldn’t quite manage it alone, could you?”
“Umm...sorry about all that....”
“I’m too busy to worry about your tantrums now, Knight. I’ve got reports to write, phonecalls to answer.....and some visits to make to some poor frickin’ families....” he put down the photo and moved some papers away. Gabriel sat down and ran a hand through his hair. It was turning out to be one of those days. Mosely waited expectantly for the latest insight from the great detective opposite.
“I need your help, Mosely.”
“Oh, really?”
“This shooting and riot, it was planned by the military....at least that’s what Mulder and Scully think. I reckon it was the prophet guy, maybe he’s been working with the military to set all this up.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s some sort of guy who has weird powers and who is obsessed with ‘fulfilling a prophecy’ and now I know how he’s going to do it. There is a weapon, in Krojan. I don’t know much about it, but I do know that it’s deadly. Today’s event has been organised so that the military can get to this weapon, maybe to stop it.”
“You’re right, Knight. This does sound like the crap I get off Mulder and Scully....”
“I think the prophet guy wants to get to this weapon, too. It’s all part of the ‘great plan’ he rants and raves about. And I think he’s going to use it.”
“So what? Can’t you zap him, or something?”
“It doesn’t work like that, Mosely....and I don’t have my talisman. He stole it.”
“Oh yeah, I noticed the shiner....you’ll need some steak for that.”
“Anyway, I need to stop him and I think the only way to do that is to get to this Krojan place. And I need to get there right now.”
“So, what do you need from me?”
“A helicopter?”, asked Gabriel hopefully. Mosely rolled his eyes.
“Gabe! Look at this place! I’ve got over a dozen fatalities, maybe a hundred injuries and you want me to get you a helicopter?! Why don’t you just ask for an elephant sandwich and be done?!”
“You know I wouldn’t ask unless I was desperate!...And anyway, if you don’t help me then you might have more than just a dozen fatalities on your plate.....or you might have a lot less to do period, I don’t know which.” Mosely sighed and looked at the photograph of his family, or what had once been his family. He didn’t owe Gabriel any favours, it was the other way around, but Knight had this habit of getting things done and generally resolving things for the best. And anyway, at least it would get Gabriel out of his office for the afternoon. He opened a black book on the desk.
“I know a guy, whom owes me a favour, who has a mate who knows a guy who might possibly be able to get his hands on what you’re after....”
“Mostly, my man....you’re a genius.”
“Yeah, I frickin’ know....” He found the number and began dialling.
PRIVATE AIRFIELD
OUTSKIRTS OF NEW ORLEANS
15:25 PM
Mosely’s collection of friends had produced the goods. Gabriel was standing on the tarmac of the airfield with the detective, watching a group of men pouring fuel into the tank of a helicopter. Gabriel checked his watch, he had no idea exactly how the prophet intended to get to Kroajn. But from previous encounters who expected nothing less than for the man to just walk water all the way out of New Orleans. In the man’s own words, he could well be God himself. Gabriel wasn’t in any position to question those credentials. This man was able to appear and disappear, to frighten and to kill. He was insatiable, untouchable. And like a Terminator, he had a mission and was letting nothing get in his way. Gabriel didn’t know if he was no longer Schattenjager, it was best to assume he wasn’t rather than to rely on powers who might not be able to call upon. He’d seen Celia Keller’s body, broken like a rag doll. Gabriel had long ago concluded that this suspect wasn’t human, but whether he was some sort of human enigma or inhuman force also remained to be seen. He just knew the face, the manner and the duty. This man had gone to hell and high water to ensure that he had got rid of Mulder and Scully, turned Gabriel against his closest friends and humiliated the Schattenjager. Maybe it was already too late to stop him, but it was worth a try.
“Looks like this show is about to get on the road!”, shouted Mosely over the sound of the rotor blades, “They’ll take you to Krojan and fly you back, but I don’t think they want to tackle any murderers!”
“So what do I do?”
“Well, I can’t help you either. I have no jurisdiction outside New Orleans! But if you can somehow disable the guy then maybe we can send the special service guys in to clear him out!”
“All right then, I’ll do what I can. And Mosely, I’ll need you to find Grace and tell her what’s happening! She might be with that John Keller guy again....and if he tries anything, you’ve got to stop him! I don’t know exactly how he’s involved in all this....but I know he is!”
“You can count on me, Knight!...And listen, Gabe. I know you ain’t got your talisman any more. Now I don’t know what freaky powers it gives you or whatever, but if it is important then I guess you’re weak...So what I’m really saying is, you take care of yourself, you hear me?”
“You know me, Mostly, always the very image of discretion!” He gave a joke salute and walked over to the helicopter. It took him another five minutes to work out how all the seatbelts worked. Mosely gave the pilot a final briefing and reminded him where Krojan was. It was so small, he might probably miss it. Then, with a final whirring and roaring, the helicopter rose into the air. Gabriel felt his body rise but his stomach stayed resolutely on the ground.
“Oh great...I’ve just suddenly developed a fear of flying....” he groaned as the helicopter roared off towards the coast and out past the city.
Mosely watched the helicopter disappear into the distance. He was a brave guy, Gabriel Knight....and also a stupid one. Mosely didn’t care to speculate as to what would happen next. The sound of the helicopter’s roaring was replaced with another, Mosely turned and saw a taxi drive up towards the tarmac. It stopped with a squeal of wheels and two people got out. One of them was a man, Mosely couldn’t see who it was...he certainly had seen him somewhere before. Then he saw the other, a woman. It was Grace. She was hurriedly throwing money at the driver in the vain hope he could comprehend the fact that she was paying him. Finally, Grace and her partner were able to run over towards Mosely.
“Grace! I was just about to call you....”
“No time for chit chat, Mosely. Where’s Gabriel?”
“I’m afraid you just missed him....how did you know we were here, anyway?”
“We heard about the shooting on the news, and when we got to the station, Frick told us to go here.....now where the heck is Gabriel?”
“Like I said, he’s gone. Just got into a helicopter and flew off to this frickin’ Krojan place...”
“Krojan?....Oh no!” Grace groaned. The man with her shook his head. Mosely was confused.
"What’s going on, Grace? Who’s your friend?”
“This is John Keller....”
“Oh, right. Sorry about your wife, Mr. Keller. But Gabe seems sure he’s going to catch that killer!”
“He’s making a huge mistake”, said John, “Nothing it going to turn out how he expected.”
“I don’t understand.....He seemed so sure!”
“He is sure”, sighed Grace, “And he’s also very, very wrong....”
“Did you find the man elsewhere, then?”
“No, we know for a fact that he’s in Krojan.”
“Well....isn’t that a good thing? After all, if Gabe is in Krojan too then he can stop him...”
“But that’s the whole point! As usual, Gabriel has rushed into this and has come to the conclusion that something is in danger! If he had just sat down for five minutes and considered all the evidence like we just did....maybe he might have solved this case too.”
“You’ve solved it?”
“We’ve found out something Gabriel has ignored. He’s concerned with whether this prophet man is in Krojan, we asked ourselves the question ‘why’”
“And you found the answer?”
“All the answers....” Grace almost came across as a sobbing teenager. Yet again all her great detective work was about to be ruined by Gabriel, and this time it was going to result in millions of deaths! But she never gave up, and now was no exception.
“Mosely, we have to get over there.” she said, firmly.
“Over where?”
“Krojan. We need another helicopter....”
“ANOTHER helicopter!? Twice in one day!? That’s more than some people need in a lifetime!!”
“This is an emergency, Mosely. Gabriel’s life and the lives of many other people depend on us getting to Krojan....”
“Look, Grace. I dunno if we can find anything else at such short notice.”
“You have to try”, shouted Grace, “For everyones’ sake, you have to try!” She stood with John, his arm around her looking towards the horizon. And she watched, with tears in her eyes, as Gabriel's helicopter dissapeared into the distance. But not tears for Gabriel, for everyone who would suffer if the wrong judgements were made, if Gabriel did the wrong thing. And this time, like all the others, she just didn't know if he himself was capable of making those judgements.
If you have any comments, you can email Phil Colvin at sculder_mully@geocities.com.
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