"Manifest Destiny" by Kelida Flynn & Slippin' Mickeys Part 4 "Mulder. Mulder!" Invictus' intense whisper cut through the haze of Mulder's deep sleep. "What?" Mulder replied in a voice that almost echoed in the walls of the cell. "Shhh! Be quiet!" Invictus said, close to his ear. "Put these on. And hurry!" He shoved a bundle of clothing in Mulder's lap and sat down on his bunk to quickly lace up a pair of high-ankle leather hiking boots. Mulder wiped the sleep out of his eyes and unwrapped his bundle, spreading the contents out over his bed. A pair of boots identical to Invictus', a pair of long johns, a pair of blue jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, a milk chocolate brown, wool sweater, a brown leather belt, a pair of boxer shorts with red stars on them, and a black, down vest. He gave the clothes the once-over and glanced at Invictus, impressed. "Friend that works at the Gap?" Mulder asked, in a hushed voice. Invictus smiled, glancing up at Mulder from the backpack he was rummaging around in. "Close. Friend who *looted* the Gap. Now. Get. Dressed." "Yes sir." Mulder proceeded to take off his scrubs and put on what Invictus had given him. He was surprised to find how well everything fit him. He finished dressing and proceeded to lace up his own boots, throwing a glance up at Invictus. "So, do you have a plan? And if so, are you going to tell me what it is?" "Yeah," said Invictus, his attention still focused on the items in the pack. "I'll brief you in a minute. Ah!" he said, pulling out a smaller pouch. "Here we go!" Mulder watched as the older man unwrapped the leather surrounding the items inside. Mulder's eyes widened when he saw what was within. "Here," Invictus threw him a large handgun in a shoulder harness, a clip of ammunition, a long, sheathed hunting knife, an expensive looking black Casio G-Shock watch, and a small, compact compass. Mulder picked up the gun out of its holster and weighed it in his hand. It held a vague familiarity, almost a sense of deja vu. It felt customary, somehow, to hold a gun. He processed this thought for a moment, and put the gun back in its holster, attaching the harness to his back. "Am I supposed to know how to use this thing?" he asked. Invictus pushed a clip of ammo into his own gun, looking Mulder in the eye, the whole time. "It's like a cheap camera, Mulder," he said, pointing the gun to the floor and squinting one eye to look down the sight. "Point," he then cocked the gun, and shoved it into his own holster, "and click." Mulder snorted quietly, as he attached the knife to his belt and the watch to his wrist. "You sound like a bad action movie." Invictus snorted back. "This whole scenario is like a bad action movie." He strapped the pack snugly to his back and checked his own watch. "Now let's get to it, and hope we fare as well as most action heroes. Though I could do without the seemingly uninhibiting gunshot wounds." Mulder nodded and moved over to sit next to Invictus on his bunk. "Alright, shoot." "Okay," started Invictus. "Here goes." "In exactly five minutes, at 5:37am, a guard is going to come to our door. He's a good guy. His name is Dice Powers, and he's the son of a close friend of mine. If all goes well, he's going to take us to the sub-pod that will take us to the surface, come back here, 'find' that we've disappeared, and sound off the alarm. We've got a 35 minute window to get that sub-pod to the surface, where there should be a boat waiting for us. "The way the pods work is that, when one goes up, another goes down. They're looped. When we get to the surface, we have to haul ass, because I guarantee you that they'll be on the pod at the bottom, hot on our tails. Dice assured me that he's got the system worked so that they can't call the pod back, or stop it, but they're sure as hell going to follow. "When we get to the surface, we'll either head to Mackinaw City, or St. Ignace, whichever looks more promising, and get our asses to Lansing as fast as possible." "What's in Lansing?" Mulder interjected. "The vaccine is." Invictus continued, "The government had an elaborate set up at Michigan State University. The university has acres of land right on campus that were being used for agricultural research. Considering the school's reputation, no one questioned their presence. They've been right there for years, purifying and working on the vaccine until they got it right, and no one was any the wiser. They even tested it on some of the animals down there. The veterinary school was the perfect set-up. We've got to get down there and find the finished product. From there, we've got to get it to people that can and *will* reproduce it and spread it out to the masses. "I hope you're prepared for some action, Mulder, because this is do or die." Mulder blew out a long breath and gathered himself. "I guess I don't have much of a choice." Invictus winked at him. "That's the spirit!" He then grabbed Mulder's left arm and held it next to his own. "Let's synchronize our Swatches." "Casios," Mulder corrected him. "Details," said the man, dismissing his comment with a flick of his hand. That done, Invictus looked at his watch, bending it down to catch the half-light the room was illuminated with at night time. He took a deep breath and threw his head to his left and right, cracking his neck. "Showtime." Just as the words were out of his mouth, the door latch pulled back, and a large, young black man in military fatigues stepped into the room. "McCloud," the man said, "if you're really going to do this, we've got 25 minutes. Let's go." Invictus got up off of his bunk and walked quickly to the door, giving the man a brief hug. Mulder followed suit, sans hug, and they headed out of the cell, Dice taking the lead, Mulder in the middle and Invictus taking up the rear. "What ever happened to 35 minutes, Dice?" Invictus asked so quietly, Mulder worried the young man wouldn't hear him. "Think of it this way," Dice said, putting his hand on Mulder's chest to stop their movement, and glancing up to his left, and then to his watch, "you had 35 minutes 10 minutes ago." He then started up again, giving a quick tug on Mulder's vest to get him moving. He nodded his head up to the security camera who's operating light was curiously not on as they passed it. "The best I could do was a 10 minute window." They continued on that way, Dice stopping and pulling Mulder along every 20 or so feet until they reached the door to a large chamber. Dice swiped a card threw the lock next to it, and led them quickly inside to the pool where the sub-pod was waiting. "You've got 25 minutes to get to the surface McCloud," Dice said, "and five to get the pod en route, before I pull the alarm. Now go!" Invictus gave a curt nod and walked up to the young man, taking him by the arm. "Thank you Dice. Thank you for everything." Dice nodded and gave Mulder a sideways glance before looking back at Invictus. "I believe in my father, and I believe in the cause. I did what I had to do. Now cut it with the sentimental shit and GO!" Invictus jumped down onto the top of the pod and cranked the hatch open. He threw the pack down into the belly of the sub. "Come on Mulder, get in!" Just as Mulder jumped down onto the top of the sub-pod, a loud siren began to sound, and the red light above the entrance to the room began to flash. "Shit!" Invictus shouted, "what the hell is that?" "It's the alarm!" Dice shouted above the siren. "Someone must have found the glitch in the surveillance systems! If they find me here with you gone, they'll kill me!" Invictus took in the panicked expression on the young man's face and then reached out his hand to him. "Then come with us!" he shouted. "I can't!" The man shook his head. "I'm the only inside source left! You *need* me here!" Dice bit his lip and drew his own weapon, pointing at Mulder and Invictus, "Shoot me!" Invictus, momentarily startled, realized what the man had in mind and shook his head violently. "No! No way!" "It's the only way! If they find me here shot with my gun drawn, then at least I can say that I found you trying to escape and took the necessary actions," Dice shouted, "now do it! And hurry the fuck up about it! Just don't hit anything important!" Invictus grabbed Mulder by the arm and shoved his gun into his hand. "You do it. There's no way I could do it in clear conscience." Mulder opened his mouth to protest, but Invictus wouldn't let him. "There's no time! Now DO IT!" "Do it!" Dice shouted at him, reinforcing Invictus' instruction. Mulder raised the gun, hesitated a little, hoping to God he really *did* know how to fire a gun with some accuracy, clenched his teeth, and fired. He saw the man slump to the floor with a fresh wound in his left shoulder. Invictus shoved him toward the opening to the sub before he had a chance to see if the man would be all right. XxXxXxXxXxX Walking in the dark, she pondered how fate had the ability to throw together a group of strangers and force them into what would almost be called destiny. Fate. The word tasted strange on her lips as she mouthed it. Nat and Elspeth had spoken of fate once back before their sudden new twist of situation. She could not decide whether or not she believed it in now. Scully swore to herself. Had she ever really believed in it? Had she ever given herself the option of even considering something so fantastical--something so . . . unscientific? Suddenly she felt herself tumbling forward, her feet rolling on stones. Elspeth came up behind her and helped her up. "We should all rest, it's been a long day." There was a weariness in her mahogany eye, a finger tracing down the worry lines on her face. Richter walked slowly toward a clearing, whistling them to come over toward the sound. Guided by Elspeth, Scully walked out of the woods and found herself letting out a small, although happy, gasp. Richter had found a shelter. Carved out of stone and overhanging vegetation, they settled themselves down. The nearby pond, thin and still, seemed carved out of the silver moon. "I would kill for a sleeping bag right about now," Richter grumbled as he pried small stones out of the dirt to make himself a spot to sleep." Involuntarily, Scully chuckled and thought instantly of Mulder. "Good memory?" Elspeth eyed her, a smirk curling at the edges of her mouth. "Very good," she laughed. "Although it could have been so much better if only . . ." She stopped, blushing. "I won't ask. But may you have sweet dreams about it, Dana." XxXxXxXxXxXxX They woke up not to the sound of birds calling in the early morning, but rather to the biting of bugs taking their last fill of blood before death and winter. "We're never going to make it to Michigan at this rate," Richter commented as they washed off as much grime as possible in the pond. "We need to move faster." "We'll steal a car then," Elspeth said matter-of-factly. She twisted the remainder of the water out of her hair, her tresses in clumps wet on her back. "Steal a car?" Richter shot back, questioningly? "Since when are you up for obeying the rules, boy?" Elspeth snorted and walked over to him, her hand curling on his arm like ivy. "It's not a big deal. Who do you think is going to mind?" Her voiced dipped. "Who is really left to care?" "Well let's go," Scully said. "Mulder's not the type to just sit around waiting for me." "Right. He wouldn't wait for you." Surprised, she stared back at Elspeth who spoke as though she had the wisdom of the world at her disposal. "He'd head right back in this direction like a rage, looking for you until he found you again." Although she made no response, she turned and found herself smiling. Yes, he would do something like that, she thought. Yes, he would. XxXxXxXxXxXx "So . . ." Richter said, his arms spread out like a gliding bird, "what's your pleasure?" The three of them stood in used car sales lot, a virtual cornucopia of selection at their disposal. Always pragmatic, Scully asked, "Would anyone happen to know where we can find some keys?" "Don't worry about that. We can just hot-wire it or something." "You're the regular criminal, aren't you Elspeth?" "Why yes I am!" she responded, sauntering off over to a newer looking Saturn. "What do you think? Red?" Scully walked over to the passenger side. "Locked over here. Do you happen to have a coat hanger handy?" Then, like explosive surrounded sound, sirens began blasting from what seemed like every direction. "Where's Richter?" Elspeth shouted over to Scully, her eyes now large and panicked. "Where the hell did he go? We have to get out of here. They know we're here!" "Who? Who knows that we're here, Elspeth?" "Richter!" Spinning, Elspeth broke into a run, hands still slammed shut around her ears. "Richter!" Then, like a ghost out of a corridor, Richter flew in from behind Elspeth and grabbed her by the waist, his face pressing against her neck. He whispered something to her and she visibly calmed. In his hands, Scully would see a pair of keys shining in the afternoon sun. Motioning her towards them, Scully ran over to Richter and Elspeth. The flew over and taking the key, Richter jammed it into a navy blue Honda Accord. His hands fidgeted nervously, but they all cried out in relief when the door opened and they jumped in. "We gotta go, NOW!" Elspeth yelled. "NOW!" Just as she was about the close the door, Scully saw a leather wallet on the ground. She grabbed it and slammed the door shut as quickly as possible, and just as Richter floored the car out of the lot. "Find cover as soon as possible. They can't know where we're going. They can't find us or we're dead!" Elspeth slumped into the backseat of the car. "You almost lost your wallet, Richter," Scully said. She was about to close the wallet when she noticed something odd on his license. "They would have known . . . ." She peered at it again, her eyebrows raised in half-moon arcs over her inquisitive eyes. "They would have known that you had here . . . Marin." Richter turned and looked at her opened-mouthed, but he turned back and drove on, the sirens still blasting away from behind them. XxXxXxXxXxXx Mulder dove into the opening of the sub and was quickly followed by Invictus who swung the hatch shut and latched it quickly. They shuffled to the front of the small craft and took up the two seats behind the controls. Invictus, who sat on the left, gave the control panel a quick once-over, and then looked over to Mulder. "So," he said, a nervous smile on his face, "do you know how to drive one of these things?" "No," Mulder said, confused at first and then suddenly overly-anxious, "you mean you don't?!" "Well," said the older man, "we kind of skipped over that part." "Oh, Jesus," Mulder groaned, throwing his head back against the seat rest. "I don't *believe* this!" "Hey Mulder," called Invictus from the other seat, his hand poised on one of the switches. Mulder cracked open one eye and rolled his head to look in Invictus' direction. "Only kidding!" With that, he flicked the switch and the pod hummed to life. Mulder looked around at all the blinking lights and strapped himself in. "That," he said, grabbing onto the sides of his seat as the sub-pod lurched down into the water a few feet, "was NOT funny." Invictus just smiled and flipped on the exterior lights that highlighted the cable the pod was attached to. He worked it up, going slower than Mulder was comfortable with. "McCloud, huh," Mulder asked, throwing out a question to break the silence that had enveloped the craft, "and all this time you were telling me your name was Invictus…" "What," the older man said, shaking his mane of silver out of his face, "you don't like the name Invictus McCloud? I think it's got a nice ring to it." Invictus looked over to Mulder for confirmation, but Mulder just stared at him. "Okay look, my real name is Curtis McCloud. But I *prefer* Invictus… Don't you know what it means in Latin?" Mulder shook his head. "It means 'Unconquered.' Do you know the poem?" Without waiting for an answer, Invictus broke into poetry. "Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever Gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud, Under the bludgeonings of chance, My head is bloody but unbowed. In this place of wrath and tears, Looms but the horror of the shade And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how straight the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll," At that point, before he could finish, Mulder interrupted him and finished for him. "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." "Well," Invictus said, looking over at Mulder, impressed, "I guess you were right. *Some* memory stayed intact." Mulder pursed his lips and nodded, slightly troubled. He didn't know how or where he'd read and remembered that poem, but it was there somehow. Maybe his other memories, the ones that were completely absent, would come about in much the same way. At least he *hoped* they would. He rubbed his chin with left hand, feeling the long stubble and realizing for the first time that he'd actually grown a beard. He scratched it with both hands and looked through the small windshield of the pod at their slow progress. The water was utterly black, he could barely make out the floor of the lake in the weak light of the pod. "Can't this thing go any faster," he asked with anxious impatience. "No," Invictus replied, "we've got to let this thing pressurize, or it'll be . . . oh, just a *little* uncomfortable. For now, let's not worry about how fast we're going, let's just keep our fingers crossed that there won't be anyone on the surface waiting for us. We'll have three minutes to get everything in the boat that should be up there and off before this thing goes back down. Why don't you go grab the pack and strap it on. We're going to need to bust a move when we get to the surface." Mulder unhooked himself and started to make his way into the back of the pod when Invictus' voice caught his attention. "Oh!" he called, "and look around and see if you can find anything handy that we can take with us." Mulder nodded and made his way around the small vessel opening some of the smaller hatches and through the covered equipment that was stored in the back. They must have just brought a shipment down to the station and not unloaded it yet. He pried open one of the crates with a crowbar that was hung loosely from the top of the shipment. He went through the contents quickly, grabbing some food, water, a VHF, and a small portable radio. He went through each of the crates in the same fashion and also managed to find other small items that might be useful in the future. Then, down at the bottom of the last crate, he found a small package, addressed to General Darwin. Ripping it open, he found a small, cylindrical metal tool. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but when he pushed the button on the side, a long, needle-like protrusion shot up and nearly took his eye out. He tucked it safely in the inside pocket on his vest, packed up the other things in Invictus' backpack, strapped it on, and made his way back up to the front to see how they were progressing. "How close are we," he asked, sitting down precariously on the edge of the seat, the backpack making it difficult to get comfortable. "Close enough to the surface to start going up fast," replied Invictus, punching a few buttons that caused the pod to lurch upward. Less than two minutes later, they were at the surface. Mulder headed for the hatch and just as he was reaching for it, Invictus grabbed his arm. "Let me go first," he said, pulling Mulder back behind him. "That way if they're up there waiting for us, you'll at least have a chance to fight back." Mulder nodded, and Invictus threw open the hatch. He took one step up and paused in the opening, letting the dusty orange-gray of early dawn shine in thin rays around him to the floor of the sub-pod. He stood there, stopped, and just as Mulder was about to open his mouth to ask what was wrong, Invictus spoke. "Oh, sweet Jesus. . ."