From Laurama142@aol.com Thu Jan 30 20:51:03 1997 Queequeg Gets Even by Laura Maher laurama142@aol.com Summary: Queequeg is alive, and Queequeg is not happy. Queequeg is bent on revenge.... Spoilers: Lots of spoilers from "Quagmire". Lots and lots of spoilers. Disclaimer: Not a single one of these characters belongs to me. I'm just borrowing them for a minute and promise to return them promptly. They do belong to Chris Carter, Fox and 1013 Productions, and have been used without permission. I really, really intend no copyright infringement. Rating: PG-13 Classification: H XXXXXX Dana Scully closed the case file and dropped it onto her desk with a loud sigh. "Mulder, please tell me you don't believe this is the work of Big Blue. These autopsy reports indicate that the bites were inflicted by a very small animal, probably a large rodent or some sort of feral cat. They are definitely not the work of a large, prehistoric lake monster." Mulder smiled at his partner. "I know that, Scully. But the fact remains that there have been four killings at Heuvelmans Lake since our little visit there, and Sheriff Hindt has called to ask for our help." Scully glared at him. "Mulder, this is not an X-File. There is nothing vaguely paranormal about these murders. There were no mutants seen in the area, no UFO's reported. There is absolutely no reason in the world for us to investigate this. I'm not going, Mulder. No. Nada. No way." "Okay, Scully, but there's something I haven't told you that isn't included in the case file." Mulder smiled knowingly. Scully continued to glare at him. He could almost feel her glare on his skin. It felt scary. Really, really scary. "Mulder, stop toying with me. Tell me the whole story." "Okay. Sorry, Scully. The last victim, Jack Miller, aged 35, was an entomologist studying the local insect population. He was still barely alive when the sheriff found him in the forest. He was pretty torn up, not much left of his face, or any of the rest of him for that matter, but he managed to whisper a description of his attacker to the sheriff before he died." Scully looked skeptical. "And?" "It was very dark, but he did see the eyes of his killer. Eyes that glowed red, Scully. Red. He also felt something stroking his face. Something soft. He was terrified, talking about the 'monster', begging the sheriff to get him out of the forest before the 'monster' came back..." Scully rolled her eyes. "So what are you saying, Mulder? Do you think this is some new Bigfoot breed? Some previously unknown little compact version of the yeti?" Mulder's eyes opened wide. "I know you're not serious, Scully, but yes, it could be some heretofore unknown animal species. Whatever this thing is, small as it may be, it's vicious. In every case, it's bitten clean thorugh the victim's jugular vein. This thing has intelligence, Scully. It knows exactly what it's doing. It's killed four men so far, and somebody's got to go down there and stop it before it kills again." "And why, Mulder, does that somebody have to be us?" "Because A.D. Skinner, after receiving a call from the his honor, the Governor of Georgia, has already approved the expense request. Get your rubber boots, Scully, we've got a new lake monster to discover!" Scully put her head down on the desk. "I'll get you for this, Mulder. I swear it." XXXXX Queequeg was pissed off. Queequeg had been pissed off for months, and his attitude wasn't improving as the cold weather started to settle in. He entered his cave and sat down out of the rain. Okay, it wasn't a cave, just a hole in a pile of rocks, really, but he liked the idea of living in a cave. It worked well with his new self-image. His coat had become thicker and denser as the seasons changed, and he liked the way it made him feel. It made him feel big, and it made him feel fluffy. He was the meanest, softest dog in the forest. He curled up on his bed of leaves in an attempt to keep warm. He knew that he was partly to blame for his current living conditions. He *had* run away, and Miss Dana *had* called him, and he'd been too interested in what he was chasing to go back. He also *had* gotten himself lost in the woods after fighting with that alligator (who'd slithered away from his devastating fighting technique, the big reptilian wimp), but he'd expected that Miss Dana would look a little harder for him. Apparently, she assumed that he was dead, eaten alive. Just like that. No search parties, no nothing. Apparently, she didn't have much faith in him or his ability to survive against all odds. He was tougher than he looked. Few people realized that. And he had learned to use that to his advantage. Queequeg slept the deep sleep of the self-righteous. XXXXXX Mulder turned on the windshield wipers. The rain had continued on and off most of the way from the airport, something he'd noticed because it had been very, very quiet in the car. He looked over at Scully, who was re-reading the autopsy reports. She looked over at him. "You know, Mulder, I was just thinking about something. All of these victims are remarkably similar in appearance. All of them are males between 35 and 40, all are over 6 feet tall, and they all had dark hair." "I don't know if that really means anything, Scully. That description could fit half the male population of this country. That description could fit me!" Scully looked at him thoughtfully. "It certainly could, Mulder. I think you'd better watch your step around this mini-Godzilla. It sounds like you're exactly what it likes to snack on." Scully turned to hide her smile and looked out the window in time to see the first of the "Big Blue" billboards beginning to appear. She leaned her head against the cold glass of the window and closed her eyes. She wondered what was happening to her life. XXXXXX Queequeg dreamed. He dreamed of his home with Miss Dana. He loved Miss Dana. She was really nice to him - took him for walks, brushed his fur, gave him treats when he did those inane tricks she liked so much. Sit. Yeah, that was a tough one! He was willing to do it though, for her. She was away a lot, working on her FBI cases, but when she was gone, he got to stay with Miss Dana's mother, who was also very nice. She did talk baby talk to him, which he hated, but he was willing to put up with it. Miss Dana's mother let him sleep on the foot of her bed, which was very soft and warm. He liked Miss Dana's mother. Then, unfortunately, there was that man. Miss Dana's Partner. Queequeg growled in his sleep. It was obvious that Miss Dana's Partner didn't like him. He called Queequeg "that thing" and looked at him with disgust and disdain. Queequeg blamed Miss Dana's Partner for his current predicament. He knew that Miss Dana's Partner had probably discouraged her from looking for him more thoroughly. He was probably glad to be rid of him. He hated Miss Dana's Partner. He was pretty sure that Miss Dana's Partner wasn't completely sane. In his dream, Queequeg snuck up on Miss Dana's Partner from behind. When he turned around, Queequeg jumped up and ripped that smug smile off his face with one quick and vicious bite. Miss Dana's Partner, who could not hope to defend himself against such a quick-witted aggressor (a regular fighting machine, really) screamed a weak girly scream and fell to the ground dead. In his sleep, Queequeg smiled. XXXXXX Their arrival at the Sheriff's office was greeted with a round of handshakes, back slaps (though this particular greeting was reserved exclusively for Mulder) and heartfelt welcomes. Sheriff Hindt was genuinely glad to see the two FBI agents. This whole 'monster' thing was giving him the creeps and he was happy to hand over control of the case to the two agents. They had, after all, solved the last "lake monster" case, and he wanted this new one over with as soon as possible. The sheriff ushered the two agents into his office, offering them coffee and crime scene photos. He looked at them curiously. Agent Mulder was excited, almost childlike in his interest in the case, in the strange possibilities of what might have caused the deaths. Agent Scully was another story. She looked annoyed, and she looked a little bit sad. "Agent Scully, anything else I can get you? Maybe some tea?" Scully smiled at the sheriff. "No thanks, Sheriff, I'm fine." Sheriff Hindt tried again. "Didn't you have a little dog with you the last time you were here? Didn't you bring him along this time? He sure was a cute little fella." Out of the corner of his eye, Sheriff Hindt thought he saw Mulder actually wince. Scully turned to the sheriff. "No, Sheriff, I'm afraid that the little dog was a victim of your man-eating alligator." Hindt blanched, somehow feeling guilty. "Gee, Agent Scully, I'm really sorry to hear that. I didn't know...." "It's all right, Sheriff, it's not your fault." Mulder gave Scully a weak smile and handed her the autopsy reports that she'd already read a hundred times before. She took them and pretended that she still found them interesting. XXXXXX Queequeg woke, every fiber of his being filled with tension, expectation. He heard a noise - someone walking in his direction. He peered out of his cave, growling quietly. Any man or animal that thought they could sneak up on him was just asking for trouble. Queequeg was a predator of the forest, a vicious beast - always ready for a quick and deadly attack. As the footsteps grew closer and closer, Queequeg saw a man approaching through the trees. The man was tall. So tall, in fact, that Queequeg could barely make out his face. The man wore a hat with a picture of a moose and a flying squirrel on it and carried a long stick. Queequeg had seen sticks like that before. They were used to torture and kill the slimy yet innocent creatures of the lake. Queequeg felt at one with the wild creatures of the lake and the forest, and didn't like people coming in and destroying the delicate ecological balance. The man stopped and removed his hat, wiping the perspiration from his forehead with the back of his hand. Queequeg glared at him. That hair, those eyes. It looked just like him - it was - Miss Dana's Partner! Queequeg growled a little deeper but still quietly, his teeth showing now. Queequeg wondered for a moment why, no matter how many times he was sure he'd gotten rid of Miss Dana's Partner for good, the man kept coming back. He wasn't surprised, just because he knew how devious the man could be. It was just like him, really, but Queequeg wondered about it just the same. He found the whole situation very, very annoying. He especially hated the fact that the man always pretended to be nice to Queequeg at first just so that he could distract him. The man always tried to carry Queequeg away somewhere, saying things in a fakely endearing voice to trick him into trusting him. Queequeg wondered what would happen if he ever let the man take him all the way to wherever it was he went. Would the man take him back to Miss Dana? Nah, the man wanted him gone. The man hated him. The possibility of the man doing something nice for him wasn't even worth thinking about. The man couldn't be trusted. Queequeg was a vindicated dog because he knew he had no options. It was time to begin. This time, he'd get rid of him for good. "Easy, boy," he told himself. "You know what to do. Stay focused! Don't let him get away this time...." Queequeg dug deep inside and forced himself to calm down. He pushed down the hateful thoughts, pictured Miss Dana's smile in his mind and put on his sweetest, kindest, most pathetic doggy face and stepped out of the cave. The man, startled by a flash of red fur, jumped slightly and looked over at Queequeg. Queequeg let his tongue hang out of his mouth and tilted his head in that extra-cute way he had that always made Miss Dana laugh. He trotted up to the man and sat down at his feet. He looked up into the man's face and gave a sad little whine. "Hey, little fella!" The man looked surprised to see him. Queequeg looked as pathetic as a dog lost in the woods could look. "Hey, fella, what are you doing out here by yourself? Are you lost?" "Duh," thought Queequeg. The man reached down to pat Queequeg on the head. He felt around his neck. "I don't see a collar. Did you lose your collar?" Queequeg snickered to himself. This guy was a real idiot. "I'll tell you what, little guy - why don't you come back to the cabins with me and we'll ask around to see if anybody's lost you. Okay, boy?" "Yeah, right!" Queequeg thought. "You just go ahead and believe I'm that gullible!" Queequeg looked sweetly into the man's eyes as the man lifted him into his arms. Queequeg whined again and attempted to lick the man's face, as if in hysterical gratitude. He snuggled under the man's chin. The man laughed delightedly. "You're sure a sweet little guy, aren't you?" Resting under the man's chin, Queequeg smiled. As they began to walk away, Queequeg bared his teeth and attacked. XXXXXX Sheriff Hindt sighed. He had fed the two agents lunch, shown them the locations where the bodies had been found, and gone over the case files and autopsy reports with them a thousand times. These two were nothing if not thorough. Yet, after all the investigations, all the discussions, they still weren't sure what kind of monster they were looking for. As they returned to his office, the phone rang. Hindt picked up the phone and, listening, looked at the two agents, a horrified expression crossing his face. "We'll be right there," he mumbled into the phone and then hung it up slowly. Scully looked at him, concerned. "What is it, Sheriff?" "There's been another death. Come on, I'll take you to the crime scene." XXXXXX Mulder stood over the body, his nosed wrinkled in disgust. "It appears to be the same as all the others," Scully said. "Same general physical description, jugular vein torn, small animal bites all over the head and neck. It is interesting, though." Mulder looked over at her. "Interesting?" "Well, the animal is clearly quite small. I'm beginning to wonder if you may have a point about this thing being some sort of new animal species, Mulder. Whatever this animal is, it's clearly smart enough to know exactly how to take a large man down without much of a struggle. It seems to be quite proficient at being able to surprise its victims, or somehow convince its victims that they're not in any danger. I can't think of any animal with that kind of intelligence." "How in the hell are we going to catch this thing?" Hindt asked, scratching his head. "I don't know, Sheriff. But we'd better do it soon." Mulder looked puzzled. Scully looked up at him. "You know, Mulder, maybe we're looking in the wrong direction here." "What do you mean?" "Maybe we need to focus more closely on the victims themselves. Maybe their similar physical appearance is more than just coincidence." Mulder smiled. "What are you saying, Scully? Are you implying that some sort of wild animal is picking out its' victims based on their appearance? As if the animal holds some sort of a grudge? Doesn't sound very animal-like or very scientific to me..." Suddenly, at the edge of the clearing, there was an ominous rustling noise in the bushes. Mulder, Scully and the Sheriff looked at each other with trepidation as they pulled their guns. The rustling noise became more pronounced, closer, more ominous. Sweat broke out on Mulder's forehead. He felt a mixture of dread and excitement. The possibility that they were about to encounter a totally new life form, something never before seen by man, something for the record books was almost too much. The lowest branches of the bushes began to shake. The trio waited, guns ready. The suspense was killing them. Then, suddenly, the bushes parted, a flash of red fur.... "My God, Scully..., " Mulder pointed. "Isn't that..." "Queequeg!" Scully shouted joyfully. XXXXXX Queequeg yawned and stretched. He was the happiest dog in the universe. He stood up on Miss Dana's legs and reached his head out the car window, loving the feel of the wind on his tongue. He could barely remember the reunion, he'd been so ecstatic. Miss Dana had come back for him! He had been certain that he'd heard her voice nearby, but hadn't dared to hope that it could really be her. He had used his finest skulking techniques, perfected through months of practice, to sneak up to the clearing and see who the voices belonged to. Miss Dana had scooped Queequeg up in her arms and hugged and kissed him. It was just the best thing in the world. He was so happy that it didn't even bother him that Miss Dana's Partner seemed to have reanimated yet again. Well, it bothered him a little, but it was something that Queequeg could deal with later. They'd hung around the lake for a few more days, going for walks, playing by the water, sitting on the pier looking at the boats. Queequeg didn't really understand what was going on, but he heard Miss Dana say that their reasons for being at the lake were over, nothing had happened for days, and it was time to go home. Miss Dana called it an "unsolved mystery". Now that he was a happy passenger on the way to the airport and back to Miss Dana's house, he turned from the window and glanced at Miss Dana's Partner. Queequeg just could not figure it out. How was the man still alive? Queequeg was almost tempted to have renewed respect for the man - he was really a survivor! Maybe Queequeg should give him another chance. He *had* seemed really, really happy when he saw Miss Dana's reaction to Queequeg's return. He *had* patted Queequeg on the head and said "Queequeg! You're back!". That was something, anyway. Okay. It was decided. Queequeg would give him another chance, but he'd be watching. He'd be watching very, very carefully, and if the guy stepped out of line just one time, Queequeg would be ready. After all, he'd been the meanest dog in the forest, and he could just as easily be the meanest dog in Washington D.C.. Queequeg hung his head out the window and smiled. The End