Subject: NEW: Odyssey 3/12 Sent: 31/01 11:16 AM Received: 31/01 6:14 PM From: Sharon Nuttycombe, avalon@terranet.ab.ca To: dobbo@c031.aone.net.au Odyssey part 3/12 Sharon Nuttycombe avalon@terranet.ab.ca August 8, 1996 *********************************************************** This is a Scully and Skinner action/adventure story. It is not related to my former story, Crossing the Line. (There will be a sequel to Crossing the Line, but this is not it). It is not NC -17 but is rated R for violence. There is a hint of romance, and a GBSS - gratuitous boxer shorts scene. ;) SUMMARY: When Mulder disappears in the Caribbean, Skinner and Scully are drawn into a web of intrigue and danger. SCREENPLAY FORMAT. I am a permanent resident of the State of Denial -- Avatar never happened. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Alistair Maclean's "The Golden Rendezvous". OK - I shamelessly stole his ideas, but I made lots of changes. Honest. Besides, Alistair is dead. Hopefully he won't too mind much... I apologize for any medical discrepancies. If I got anything wrong...blame my friend Linda. (Just kidding, Linda). I would appreciate any comments or criticism. Many thanks. Acknowledgements: Thanks to Linda Campbell for racking up a huge phone bill helping me plot this monster. Disclaimer: Scully, Skinner, and Mulder belong to Chris Carter. I don't own them, I'm only borrowing them for a while (Do I have to return Skinner? Can I keep him, huh Chris? Please...?) *********************************************************** Odyssey part 3/12 TUESDAY, EARLY EVENING THE ODYSSEY The Odyssey has departed Eleuthera for Long Island. Scully is alone in her cabin. She removes her gun from the holster which is lying over the back of a chair, and takes her ID from her jacket. She puts them both in a small black dinner purse which she slings over her shoulder as she leaves the cabin. Scully and Skinner meet at the entrance to the dining room. Together they wind their way through the crowd to an empty table for two near the back of the room. Scully is about to sit down when he pulls her chair out for her. She casts him a startled glance, then sits. Skinner takes his seat and looks idly at the menu. SKINNER: Have you thought of anything else? SCULLY: No. What about you? SKINNER: Nothing yet. You're right about the crew though. They're definitely not civilians. SCULLY: (Staring at her menu) I think we need to get a look at those areas that are off-limits to passengers. SKINNER: The bridge, the engine room... SCULLY: And the cargo hold. SKINNER: Yes. I wonder... He is interrupted by a sudden gunshot. All conversation ceases and somebody screams. Scully and her boss automatically reach for their weapons. At the entrance, two dozen men in black combat gear and armed with semi- automatic rifles fan out along the walls, their guns aimed at the sitting passengers and crew. For a moment nobody moves. Then the man who fired his gun at the ceiling steps forward. He is tall, blonde, well-built, and is dressed in black like the others. There is an air of authority about him, though, and it is evident from the way the others defer to him that he is their leader. His voice holds a trace of a German accent. LEADER: Please, everyone remain calm and no one will be hurt. Keep your hands where we can see them and make no sudden moves. He gestures to his men, who begin to move through the room toward the various crewmembers. Scully and Skinner's eyes meet. As one they slowly ease their hands away from their weapons. Behind them, the officers and passengers sit stiff and frozen at the Captain's table. Suddenly, the Captain pulls a gun from within his jacket and aims at the terrorists. Several other officers also begin to draw hidden weapons. Skinner, seeing what is about to happen out of the corner of his eye, and realizing that he and Scully are directly in the line of fire, launches himself out of his seat, bringing her crashing to the floor beneath his weight and upending their table. The terrorists open fire and all hell breaks loose. Several people are shot, including both the Captain and the First Officer. One terrorist goes down in the gunfire. People scream and everyone dives for cover. A glass window behind the Captain's table is shot out, and shards of glass shower over everybody. Skinner instinctively covers Scully's body with his own, keeping her pinned beneath him. The terrorists yell at the passengers and crew in German while loosing a hail of bullets. Finally, the leader of the terrorists takes control. He shouts some orders and the gunfire subsides. Silence falls. The camera pans around the dining room, which is now a shambles. It is impossible to tell who is alive and who is dead. Then, slowly, people begin to stir. Half-hidden by the overturned table, Skinner eases his weight off Scully. Shards of glass fall from his back. As he moves, pain shoots up his left leg and he rolls to the side, clutching his thigh. Scully, looks down and, seeing blood welling up between his fingers, realizes that he has been shot. She reaches for the tablecloth and, prising his hands away, presses it to the wound. Instantly it turns bright red. She wraps it as tightly as she dares around his upper thigh, trying to stop the bleeding. Desperately, Scully glances around, holding the makeshift bandage against Skinner's leg. She spies her handbag lying half hidden beneath the next table. Guessing her intentions, Skinner seizes her wrist. SKINNER: (Quietly, pain evident in his voice) Leave it. (She hesitates.) You wouldn't stand a chance. Reluctantly she nods and turns her attention back to his injury. Meanwhile, the terrorists are moving rapidly through the room, concentrating on the crew, but searching everybody, and driving those still able to walk toward the far wall. The leader steps forward again, gazing alertly around the room, once more in control of the situation. LEADER: You may call me Josef. Remain calm and no one else will be harmed. At that moment, the terrorists reach Skinner and Scully. They pull her away from him and coldly but thoroughly search her. Ignoring her protest, they do the same to Skinner. He says nothing when they find his gun and ID. Scully's eyes flicker once more to the bag with her own weapon, then she hastily averts her gaze. One of the terrorists calls to Josef, who arrives quickly. He hands Josef the gun and ID, saying something in his own language. Josef tucks the gun into his belt and opens the badge. When he looks up again, his eyes are cold. Skinner levers himself into a sitting position, bracing himself against a table leg. JOSEF: FBI. What are you doing here, Secret Agent Man? SKINNER: (gritting his teeth against the pain) I'm on vacation. JOSEF: Vacation. Right. (Turns to Scully.) And you. Are you FBI too? SCULLY: No...I'm a doctor. (gestures toward her boss.) Please - let me help him. JOSEF: (To his men) Have you searched her? TERRORIST: Yes. We found nothing. Josef's eyes roam around the immediate area. Scully stiffens as she realizes he may see the incriminating handbag. Desperately she tries to distract him. SCULLY: This man may have a severed artery. He could bleed to death within minutes. You have to let me get him to sickbay. JOSEF: What is he to you? Do you know him? SCULLY: (With no hesitation) No. We just met this afternoon. SKINNER: It's true. I asked her to have dinner with me... TERRORIST1: Just kill him now. SCULLY: (Urgently) You said you wouldn't harm anyone else. Prove it. JOSEF: Very well, Doctor... What is your name? SCULLY: (Pauses only momentarily) Doctor...Kimble. At that moment, another terrorist arrives and speaks agitatedly, pointing toward the door where the injured terrorist lies slumped on the floor. Josef tenses, hurries over then calls out an order. One terrorist drags Scully forward with him. Skinner voices a protest but falls silent as the other trains a gun on him. He watches helplessly. JOSEF: (To Scully). One of my men has been shot. You say you're a doctor - prove it. SCULLY: The ship's doctor...? JOSEF: If uniforms are anything to judge by, I believe that was the doctor. He points toward the Captain's table where several people, including the doctor lay unconscious or dead on the floor, then shoves Scully toward the injured terrorist. Scully kneels beside him, searching for a pulse. After a tense moment... SCULLY: He's still alive. But I need to get him and the rest of the wounded to sickbay right away. Josef nods and calls out some rapid orders. SCULLY: And I'll need some help. JOSEF: You'll get it. SCULLY: Make it fast. JOSEF: Doctor. SCULLY: (Looks up impatiently) What? He crouches down beside her and grabs a fistful of her hair, forcing her head back. He draws Skinner's gun from his belt and holds it to her throat. Across the room, Skinner tenses and makes an abortive movement. Once more the terrorist guarding him threatens the Assistant Director with his rifle. JOSEF: (In a chilling whisper) I do not care about the rest of these men, Doctor. But Dietrich must not die. Is that clear? SCULLY: (half-choking) Yes. JOSEF: Good. (He tilts her head back even further.) Because if he dies, so do you. * * * END OF PART 3 Sharon Nuttycombe avalon@terranet.ab.ca celtic@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca "Knowing's easy. Everyone does that ad nauseum. I just sort of hope." -- Doctor Who Sharon Nuttycombe avalon@terranet.ab.ca --"I have as much respect for the chain of command as the next guy. --Only if you're standing next to Fletcher Christian." -- Adderly