Fight the Future Read Free Page A

now."
    Mulder looked at her impassively. "How's that?"
    "You've got to quit looking for what isn't there. They've closed the X-Files, Mulder. There's procedure to be followed here. Protocol ," she added, giving the word a threatening emphasis.
    Mulder nodded as though weighing her advice. Then, "What do you say we call in a bomb threat for Houston," he suggested, tilting his head to one side. "I think it's free beer night at the Astrodome."
    Scully set her mouth and gave him a look, but it was no use. Sighing, she hurried past him up the stairs, took the last few steps until she stood at the top, and grabbed the doorknob. She twisted it, once, twice, futilely; and looked back at Mulder.
    "Now what?" she demanded, her face grim.
    Mulder's impish expression vanished. "It's locked?" he asked edgily.
    Scully looked at him and wiggled the knob again. "So much for anticipating the unfore-seen…"
    She squinted up at the sun, then gazed at Mulder. Before she could say anything else, he lunged past her, yanking her hand from the knob. He turned it, and the door opened eas-ily.
    "Had you." Scully smirked, leaning against the wall.
    Mulder shook his head. "No you didn't."
    "Oh, yeah. Had you big time."
    "No, you didn't— "
    She slid past him into the stairwell, ignor' ing his protests as she headed for the freight elevator. She punched a button and waited for the welcoming ping as the doors opened.
    "Sure did," she said smoothly, still grinning as Mulder shouldered into the elevator before her. "I saw your face, Mulder. There was a moment of panic."
    Mulder stood with forced dignity as the ele-vator dropped. "Panic?" he said, and shook his head.
    "Have you ever seen me panic, Scully?"
    The elevator drew to a halt. Refreshingly chill air pooled around them as the doors opened on to a busy lobby: suits with brief-cases and sheaves of paper, deliverymen, uni-formed couriers, and a bored-looking security guard.
    "1 just did," Scully said triumphantly as she sailed into the lobby. Before her a group of schoolchildren parted, heads turning excitedly at sight of her FBI jacket.
    "When I panic, I make this face," said Mulder, staring at her completely deadpan.
    Scully glanced at him. "Yeah, that's the face you made. You're buying."
    Mulder followed her, heedless of the teacher now trying futilely to herd her charges into an adjoining elevator. "All right," he said reluctantly.
    Scully stood with her arms crossed and stared pointedly at a door crowned by a sign that read SNACKS/BEVERAGES. Mulder dug in his pocket, fishing for change as he asked, "What'll it be?
    Coke, Pepsi? A saline IV?"
    "Something sweet." She flashed a victory smile. Mulder rolled his eyes and headed for the lounge. He walked slowly, sorting through a handful of change, as someone else elbowed by him on his way out of the room. A tall man in a blue vendor's uniform, hair close-cropped. His gaze passed briefly and casually over Mulder. Mulder glanced back, then hurried inside to catch the door before it closed.
    Inside the windowless room he bypassed the ranks of snack and candy machines for a large, brightly lit monstrosity displaying soft drinks. He counted out the correct change and one by one plunked the coins through the slot, waiting for the reassuring chunk as each one hit bottom. Then he hit a button, leaned back on his heels, and—
    Nothing.
    "Oh, come on ," groaned Mulder. He beat his fist against the front of the machine—still nothing—and finally rummaged through his pocket for more change. Slid it into the machine, stabbed the button—nothing.
    "Damn it."
    He stared at the cheerfully glowing display of cans, then pounded it with both fists; after a moment he gave one last jab at a button.
    Nothing.
    Swearing under his breath, Mulder stepped away from it, glared, then moved around to the back of the machine. There was perhaps a hand's-span of space between it and the wall. He crouched and peered there, frowning.
    On the floor snaked a heavy black electri-cal