Fox Hunt
by
Travis S Wheaton
25 July, 1998/2009


FBI Headquarters
Washington DC
9:20 AM

Fox Mulder sat in his chair, feet resting on his desk, nibbling on sunflower seeds from a paper bag. If you didn't know the man, you would never even imagine that he mighy be waiting on a call that could lead to the end of a life long quest. The door opens moments after being rapped upon, and admits his partner, Dana Scully.

She comes to a halt in front of his desk, and simply raises her eyebrows. She was used to this part. Or so she thought. "What were you doing on August 1, 1986?" Fox asks his visitor.

"Getting a perm?" she replies.

"So, you don't remember the Tenth Planet cruising on into the Solar System, drifting over to join us in our orbit around the Sun, and then exploding without explanation?" His question almost appears rhetorical, but she decides to answer it with the respect it deserves.

"Oh, that August 1. I thought you meant 1987, when Marvin the Marstan shot Daffy Duck."

"Ha, ha, no, I'm serious, Scully. It was in all the papers; the planet was even visible with the naked eye, and yet within days of it fissling away into nothing, everyone just forgot it ever happened." Fox tries to draw her in, and is at least rewarded with a reply.

"Like Chernoble? Are you sure you're not thinking of Halley's Comet?"

"Actually, it's pronounced Hall-ee, and yes, I'm sure. Here, look at this." He hands over a copy of a newspaper dated July 31, 1986. "NEW PLANET ENTERS SYSTEM", the Global Press proclaims.

"Oh, well, that changes everything," Scully replies.

Fox shoots her a dangerous look. "For some reason all the serious tribunals destroyed their archives from July 31 - August 2, 1986. Or, they've been altered to hide the truth."

"So you're telling me 13 years ago a planet came by, exploded, and then we, the whole world, forgot about it?" The sarcasm is almost disguised in her voice.

"In a word, yes."

Scully raises her eyebrows again, with reason now. "So, what's that got to do with us, other than raising questions as to our sanity?"

Fox grabs the remote to his slide projector. Scully is sure he spends more time loading slides to back up his stories to her than writing reports for Skinner. Scully turns off the light, and Fox begins his story.

"England, 1959." A slide of a rundown holiday villa appears. "Two US secret service agents were sent to England to find a crashed spy satellite." Fox ignores Scully's interjection at the term "secret service". "It was found at a holiday resort in Wales, and coincided with a report of a misplaced police telephone booth."

Scully turns to Mulder. "Is this a lost property case?"

Mulder continues. "November 1963, England." A slide of a British school pops up. "Two well respected teachers disappear along with one of their students. Two years later the teachers reappear without any explanation for their absence, nor for the whereabouts of their student."

"Forgot to get a tardy slip from their mothers?" Scully asks.

Still ignoring her, Fox clicks a button, and the picture moves on to that of a scrap yard. "Eyewitnesses claim the teachers disappeared inside this junk yard, and never came out. A constable had patrolled the area that evening, and reported seeing an old police telephone booth inside the yard. When it was followed up the next day, the booth was gone."

Scully eyes Mulder out of the corner of her eye. She is prepared to give him some room to come up with a case, but so far she was hearing nothing that could interest the FBI. Another picture. The same junkyard, but in ruins. "This was taken just a few days later. The whole Coal Hill area was evacuated, supposedly due to "a rat plague"."

"That's some mighty big rats..." Scully comments, looking at the slide.

"The officer sent to check out the police box was never seen again. Approximately 10 soldiers died on active duty during the evacuation, with no cause of death recorded. Locals insist they saw aliens land at the school, controlling the headmaster and even some of the children."

"Mind controlling alien rats? How does this concern us, Mulder?"

Fox presses on regardless. "The agents in Wales attributed their success in finding the satellite to a person known only as "the doctor". The missing student's only known gaurdian, was a "Doctor Foreman". And when the junkyard was destroyed - a man called the Doctor signed for receipt of several anti-tank rockets!"

Scully listens to Mulder carefully but belies her attention. "Not a doctor of medicine then," she quips. Mulder rolls his eyes.

"1965 - guess where another report of a strange blue box turns up?" he asks full of seriousness.

"The Empire States building?" Scully replies mockingly, and groans inwardly when Fox replies -

"Exactly! A tourist from Alabama reported not only seeing the police box, but also spoke to aliens that match those seen in England in 1963."

"Atop the Empire States building?" Scully asks incredulously.

"Yes," is Mulder's simple reply.

"And no one else noticed?" Scully's voice escallates.

"Well, no. But there's more. Have you ever heard of UNIT?"

Scully considers the possibilities. "Unidentified Nostalgic Intergalactic Telephonists?"

Fox shakes his head. "United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. It's a hush-hush arm of the British military who did the footwork for Project Blue, and continue to this day investigating alien reportings and unexplained phenomenon."

"You'd better watch yourself then, Fox," Scully retorts. "They might run you out of business."

"This is serious, Scully. They're part of it. They have people all over the globe listening, not to mention a large group of specialist soldiers ready to act. We've probably encountered some of them already."

"So it's not just the US government now? It's the United Nations who are covering up the existence of extra-terrestrial life?" Scully is no longer sure how much credibility to put in her voice.

Another slide brings more from Mulder. "In 1971 a storm of meteorites landed in Sussex, along with a familiar blue box. Reports were that some kind of alien bacteria from those meteorites made their way into plastics across London, and made them come to life. The story was covered up by UNIT, in possibly their first major operation, though some believe they played a part in averting an invasion plan by alien beings living in the sewers of London several years earlier."

Scully scowls. "Sewers under London?"

Click, brought up a slide of a blurry silvery creature in a dark tunnel. "This photo was taken by a young photojournalist."

"Oh c,ome on, Mulder. That is the most fake looking picture I've ever seen!" Scully is fast approaching her limit.

"Maybe so, but the story that goes with it, and the conviction of the lady…" Mulder's voice trails off slightly.

"Is this the strength of your case?"

"My case hasn't even started yet. The blue box — police box — for much of the 70’s was connected to numerous reports of unexplained phenomena in the UK region alone."

"Ok, so it all ties in around this box. I still don't see the connection to us, now." says Scully exasperatedly.

"Ah, well that's where it gets interesting! I've been following this case for years, since I first opened the X-Files. As more and more files become de-restricted, and people got older and more willing to talk about things they've seen, more and more stories have been revealed. But one thing has kept me baffled.

"I've tried to make a dossier on this "doctor", but he's very elusive. Some say he is short with dark hair, others say he is tall with silver hair. Another report indicated a strange man with thick curls, and a 6 metre long scarf!"

"Sounds like you're looking for more than one person," Scully tries to resolve the confusion.

"I thought so too, but it seems he is the same person." Fox leans closer to Scully. "That leads me to what I heard last night. A traffic cop reported sighting a British police telephone box, in San Fransisco, only four months ago. His report stated that his bike was out of control due to brake failure. He was headed for a blind alley, expecting to hit the wall, but at the end of the alley — "

Scully interjects — “Let me guess — a blue box.”

Fox smiles back at her. "Yes! And there were two people standing next to it. They had just opened the doors in time for him to hurtle inside. This is the weird part - he claims he found himself inside a large library or theatre. He had enough room to turn around inside and come speeding straight back out again on his bike."

Scully closes her eyes for a moment. "This was on New Year's Eve? Are you sure he was fit to be riding his bike in the first place?" her eyebrows return to their raised state.

Again Mulder ignores her skepticism. "New Year's revelers then reported sighting the box on the other side of the city only five minutes after the bike incident."

"Well that's impossible, if it is the same box." Scully speaks her thoughts aloud, then kicks herself mentally for biting into the story.

"The same night, a body was stolen from San Francisco County Hospital. The body was a John Doe with several bullet wounds - his identity never confirmed. Two nurses claim his x-rays showed he had two hearts. And then a morgue attendant says he saw a man wearing a corpse shroud emerge from the freezer where the John Doe had been interned. The surgeon who operated on Doe was fired around 9pm on New Year's Eve. She was summarily blamed for Joe's death. She has since disappeared off the face of the planet."

"You think this mysterious Doctor turned up in his blue box... was shot, died, resurrected, and then kidnapped his surgeon?" Scully isn't sure if she is just going along with his story now, or not.

"Back in England," Mulder says, "medical records from a military base, possibly UNIT’s HQ, reported the complete physical change of the base's scientific adviser. "Though for some reason no photos were ever taken of the man, there was a detailed written description of "Doctor John Smith" - obviously an alias - But the description was later crossed out, and re-written by the base's Chief Medical Officer, describing a totally different man."

"Plastic surgery?" comes Scully's obvious answer.

"Of that calibre, in the 70’s? Able to change his entire identity? I don't think so."

"What do you think, Mulder?"

"I think he's an alien. The blue box must be some kind of disguised space ship. And every time he shows up, there is some kind of alien activity, which he seems to spearhead. Mostly his activities have centred around the UK, but now, just four months ago, he was here!"

"San Francisco. But surely now it's too late? I mean, if he keeps disappearing without trace."

"He's changed form again, and now I think I've tracked down an eye witness. Doctor Grace Holloway, the heart surgeon who operated on him."

The phone rings loudly.

Mulder picks it up in a flash, and listens. "Thanks," he says into the handset before crashing it down and jumping up. "Come on, Scully. We're off to San Francisco."

"Wait, hold on, Mulder. We can't go jet-setting chasing one of your pet subjects on Federally funded money."

"Who said anything about that? A woman in San Francisco claims she just gave birth to the Devil's spawn. I have a similar case which dates back to 1904. I think it's well worth checking out considering the National threat to security."





Residence of Dr Grace Holloway
San Francisco
10.45 AM

Mulder knocks on the door, with Scully by his side, a disdained look on her face. The door opens a few moments later, revealing a tall blonde woman. "Doctor Grace Holloway?", Agent Mulder asks, waiting a moment before flashing his FBI ID. "May we come in? We'd like to talk to you about a patient of yours," he says, half edging himself through the doorway, trying to see inside.

"You must have the wrong doctor, I don't have any patients. I'm no longer practicing, anywhere." Grace replies, trying to block Fox's view.

"How about Doctor John Smith? Is he inside?” Fox studies the lady's face for a reaction. There is none. “It's awfully chilly out here. Could we come in, please?" he adds, hoping to gain some kind of reaction.

Her face shows her annoyance, but then relents. Grace steps back. "Fine, come on in, have a..." she looks around her living room as the two agents enter; there is nowhere to sit other than the floor. "Floorboard?" she eventually offers.

"It's ok, we can stand," Scully says. "This shouldn't take long."



"On December 31 last year you operated on a John Doe, originally identified as "John Smith", is that correct?" Fox asks, already having surveyed the room.

"Yes, exporatory surgery," Grace corrects him.

"And that endoscopy resulted in the patient's death, is that also correct?" he asks, looking at her closely.

"Yes," is all she will say.

"You were subpoenaed to appear in court over the matter of shooting at official police property on New Year's Eve, as well as the Coroner's court over the death of Doe. But that subpoena couldn't be served, as you were no where to be found." Scully stands near the door, listening to Mulder. "Is that also correct?" Fox continues.

"Look, what are you doing here? I've already explained to the police, I was out of town. Losing one's job, boyfriend, and shooting at a police officer all in one day was a bit much, you know? I needed a break." Grace sits herself on the stairs leading upstairs.

"A break with whom? Where were you for the first quarter of this year?" Mulder asks the reticent woman.

The former heart surgeon looks back with contempt. "What I do in my personal time is my business."

Mulder takes a step forwards. "Not if that involved harboring, or traveling with a known felon." Grace's face turns to surprise, and then incredulity.

"Look, the Doctor is no felon! He saved the whole planet - ", she stops herself saying any more, but knows shes said too much. Scully's mouth falls open just a little at the revelation. Grace finally continues. "You don't know anything, Mr - " she stares into space for a moment, "Mr Whoever you are. You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

"I wouldn't count on that," Scully says quietly.

Mulder fixes her with an intense gaze. "My job is to explain the unexplainable. Try me."

Grace sits down. "I'd rather forget the whole thing. I've a hard enough time keeping my sanity, without having to relive what happened again." She rests her head on her hand.

"Were you with him? Did he take you somewhere in his police box?"

Grace lifts her head to face him. "How do you know?" Fox smiles.

"I've been following his trail for years. Do you realise he's been involved in more alien conspiracies than the US Government and Kremlin put together?"

A momentary lapse of concentration, and Grace answers, "It wouldn't surprise me..."

"Then you know he's an alien!" Fox exclaims, but Grace has had enough.

"Four months ago I turned down the chance of a lifetime! Something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. The things I could have seen, could have done. In the space of one night I went from heart surgeon to unemployed to felon, only then to be possessed by an alien life force, fall to my death, be brought back to life, and help save the planet from destruction. I don't think I have any questions to answer to!"

Scully, clearly making her own conclusions after hearing Grace's outburst, asks, "You were possessed by an alien being?"

Irritated by Scully's obvious disbelief, Grace retorts, "Yes. You ought to try it some time. Might put a smile on your face."

"Come on, Mulder," Scully chides. "I think we have the answer we came here for."

But Mulder isn't convinced. "You still haven't answered my question?" he says.

"Where was I? I was in Ireland," Grace finally confesses.

"What were you doing there?" Mulder asks.

Grace's eyes cloud over. "Looking," she says softly.

Mulder presses further. "For him?"

"Yes," Grace whispers. "It was foolish really. He said he came from Gallifrey, and I thought it must have been in Ireland. Of course, he showed me - it's on the other side of the galaxy. Can you believe that? 10 minutes' ride, he said. 10 minutes in his Type 40 TARDIS, and I could be anywhere in the Universe."

"TARDIS?" Mulder is eager now, on the edge of his proverbial seat.

Scully closes her eyes and sighs.

Grace continues. "Um... Oh, I forget what it stands for. It's his Time machine."

Mulder's face lights up. "I knew it!"

Scully opens the door. “Mulder, I’ll wait outside.” She leaves the house, though Mulder barely notices.

Grace shakes her head. “Time, and space.”



Outside Scully watches as Mulder exits the house alone and walks to the car. She raises her eyebrows at him, then gets into the car. Mulder sits in silence for a moment as she drives. “Well?” Scully finally asks.

Mulder sighs. “She had me til she started talking about kissing him. Classic romantic delusion. She wanted to believe he was an alien.”

Scully smiles at Fox. “That makes two of you.”