Falling Chapter 27 Disclosures in Previous Chapters:I make no money from this and the obvious characters are certainly not mine! See previous stories... would be helpful, but not necessary: Quantum The Road Less Traveled Falling For those of you that have stuck this out, thanks! I apologize for the long times between chapters, since that is really uncharacteristic of me! My last surgery was last week, so I am on the mend and ready to write! Thanks again and enjoy! **************************************************** Chapter 27 "You are here for a consult?" Scully swallowed hard. "Yes, I am meeting with Dr. Jenson at 2:00pm. Research and development." "Please wait here." the security guard replied as he leaned back and picked up a phone in the gatehouse. Scully recognized the guard speaking German on the phone, only ratcheting her anxiety. Scully quickly looked behind her and flicked the laminated badge that hung around her neck as it stuck out of her coat. There must be some Newtonian law that undercover assignments could not happen in the Spring. The freezing temperatures were only adding to Scully's nerves and she wasn't sure she would ever be completely warm again. "You are on the list. Go through the front double doors, third floor, Dr. Pelham. Welcome to Krizikova." the guard replied quickly, his eyes remaining on the control panel in front of him. Scully nodded curtly and proceeded to push the Bronco up the ramp into the parking area. She blew out a puff nervous air as she slid into a space and sat in the warm cabin for several moments before she screwed up enough courage to even leave the security of the truck. Scully felt the vibration against her pants pocket and slipped the cell out and placed it to her ear, hoping she would look inconspicuous as she entered the fortress. "How's it going?" Mulder breathed into the phone. Scully smiled, despite the situation. "I'm not going to be able to answer the phone every five minutes." "I know, just wanted to make sure you got through." he said quickly. Scully heard Brian yell "Of course, she got through!" in the background. "Yeah, Im heading to the elevators now. I will get a clearance card and snap the pictures we need and head back. I'm going to need some tissue samples, Mulder." Scully huffed into the phone, keeping her eyes as un focused as possible. "Well, hopefully the clearance card will grant us access tonight. Brian is still working out the kinks." "Dr. Pelham, I presume?" a thick slovian accent bellowed behind Scully as she waited at the elevators. Scully spun and came face to face with a squaty, round man, his silver glasses catching the light in the marble atrium. "Dr. Jenson?" Scully asked, extended her right hand in greeting and sliding her cell phone in her pocket with her left. "Yes, my dear! I was so glad to hear the university was sending over some fresh eyes! We are so short staffed because of the weather!" he replied warmly, his beefy hands clasping Scully's small one. "You must be freezing! You would think we kept the bodies down here! Please, after you." he gestured to the dinging elevator door and followed her into the car. "Dr. Jenson, I am afraid I have been sent with very little background information, since I was sent as a replacement. I know that it is an honor to work with you. I have read a great deal of your research with the carcinoma studies." Scully said sincerely as she followed the man down a long corridor. As they arrived at two glass sliding doors, the age and stoicism of the building transformed into a state- of-the-art laboratory. Dr. Jenson slid a lead card into a key slide and a green light flashed, causing the glass doors to slide open with a "hush". "Well, the flattery is wonderful but there are a team of wonderful doctors that deserves it as well." he said sincerely as he picked up a clip board and passed it back to Scully. "Dr. Pelham, we will be mainly taking samples from subjects that have been returned from war-torn areas, mostly African nations, and run vaccine tests. That is pretty standard procedure, yes?" Scully glanced down at the clipboard in her hands and shucked her down coat. She adjusted her lab coat and glanced up at Dr. Jenson. "Piece of cake." she replied quickly, a smile on her lips. "Ha! You Americans and your sayings. As long as it is easy for you, it can be a piece of anything you want! I will be in my office if you need me. The other students should arrive shortly." he said as he began to disappear down a darkened corridor. "Thanks." she said as she went to sit on a stool at a long, dimly lit table. "Oh! I almost forgot. Dr. Pelham, just use my key card to get to the storage room down the hall. But, you will have to make sure you stay on the schedule and avoid the far door on the right. My card will not work for that door... you have to have security clearance for that room." Scully nodded quietly. "What is held in that room?" "Of course you would be curious! If I say dont look, you'll want to look! There are classified projects, nothing to concern yourself with." he said, continuing down the hallway. "Enjoy your day!" Scully's eyes followed him down the hallway and smiled as he looked back before he slipped into another glass door. She proceeded to look on the sample log that she held in her hands and made the simple decision to get her hands on some tissue and familiarize herself with the layout of the lab. She wasn't going to get anywhere she wasn't supposed to be while Jenson was buzzing around. Scully looked around the room and leaned back to make sure that Jenson was safely tucked into his office. Feeling as secure as she could in the sit- uation, Scully took a deep cleansing breath and slid the low profile camera out of her lab coat pocket. She powered on the device and made sure that the flash was not operating. She casually began to walk around the room, keeping the camera hip high and snapping shots of the entrance, file cabinents, cameras, computers...everything that Brian need to be able to see in order to disarm the system that secured the facility after hours. She leaned into the computer bay, touching several mouses so that the screens would come to life, showing a passcode screen bearing the Krizikova emblem. A few clicks later, several usable shots, and she found herself staring down the hallway that Jenson had flitted down. She moved down the hall, her camera clicking the entire way, the clicks sounding louder in the silent, charged environment. She snapped Jenson's office door, several other accessable closets and storage rooms. Finally, she arrived at the final two doors at the end of the corridor. To the right, a glass bay bearing the same Krizikova emblem, a key card slide sitting at it's side. The door to the left, however, was completely different. It was a heavy steel door, a complex key pad jutting out from the embuttment on the wall. Scully snapped a few close-up pictures of the 'forbidden' key-pads and, what she assumed, was a hand scanner. "Can I help you?" Scully's breath caught in her throat and her body froze at the voice, her back the only thing protecting her camera from the intruder. As she spun, she slid the camera back into her pocket as she met the dark, black eyes of a woman in a lab- coat with a serious, questioning look on her face. "Um, yeah. I was just looking around." Scully lied, extending her hand as much as it was a distraction as it was automatic. "I am Dr. Pelham, from Berlin. I am filling in for research samples for Dr. Jenson." The two women stared at each other for several beats, each slowly gracing into their own smiles. "Oh! My apologies! That is fine. He tends to throw the new ones to the wolves before they even know where the bathroom is." the girl said, a wide smile that lit up her eyes on her face. Her voice was a rich caramel of Arabic tones and her thick, rich hair made Scully, for not the first time that day, regret being a redhead. "Yeah, I am not exactly sure how I am going to even get into the computer system to log my findings." Scully said, giggling and relaxing instantly. "No problem, Dr. Pelham. I am Paloma, Dr. Jenson's lead assistant. I will go put my things down and I can get you access to everything you need." she said, squeezing Scully's shoulder and disappearing back into the main research bay. Scully smiled genuinely and followed Paloma down the hallway, electricity and adrenaline pumping through her veins. Bingo.