The X-Files: The Truth Revealed

Chapter 24

Ocean Vista Drive - Cape Code National Seashore, MA 

Later that day along an unpopulated stretch of Ocean Vista Drive, the Gunmen pulled their forty-foot mobile unit off and onto the side of the road hoping that when the time came to leave, they wouldn't get stuck in the sandy roadbed. They set up house as tourists do, awning out, lawn chairs and grill beneath, donning Bermuda shorts, tropical shirts and sun screened covered noses in the event anyone questioned their reason for being parked there. The land was posted with a no trespassing sign which Langly quite conveniently took down. Frohike made him promise he'd replace the sign when they left. He did promise and as soon as Frohike wasn't looking, Langly shrugged his shoulders and Frisbee-tossed the sign into the woods. 

Shortly after their arrival, Doggett pulled in beside the mobile unit, which Langly had appropriately entitled the RAT. When asked what RAT stood for, Langly gave a wicked grin and replied, Really Awesome Toy. How Skinner had pulled this one off, he'd never know, but the man definitely had learned a few tricks in his years with the FBI. 

Doggett was starving and looked forward to inhaling the take-out he was carrying from a local Chinese restaurant. Climbing the stairs of the RAT, he punched in the code and entered. At first glance, the RAT looked like an ordinary luxury bus. But away from the entrance and moving to the rear, cabinets hid highly complex computer, satellite and surveillance equipment just to name a few things. The rest of the stuff, Doggett had no idea what the hell it was for and quite frankly, he didn't care. This unit was the Gunmen's dream come true - not his. 

"Guys, great news," he said, closing the door securely behind him. 

"Elvis is giving a free concert at the Melody Tent tonight?" Langly asked with anticipation. Frohike balled up a piece of paper and beaned it off the top of Langly's head. "Frohike, you toad. That would be awesome news," Langly said. "Be better if it were the Ramones but ..." 

"Well, I don't know if this quite measure's up to the King's return," Doggett set the bag of Chinese food on one of the tables, "but Mulder's alive." 

"What?" Byers questioned. 

"Skinner just called. Said it was a damn miracle, but Mulder's okay, and get this... his son's with him." 

"Go Mulder!" Langly danced around. 

"This calls for a drink," Frohike moved towards the refrigerator and broke out the beer. 

"I'd give you more specifics, but they were getting ready to board a flight on their way here. What'd you get from that tanker truck one of your snoops broke into?" he opened the bag and distributed the food. 

Byers rolled his chair over to one of the computers and pulled up the images on screen. Doggett, container and chopsticks in hand, followed while eating. 

"Top sheet on the manifest was a set of orders stating pickup of hazardous materials. So they're going into the mausoleum empty. It wasn't much help. However," he said advancing to the next image, "it appears the manifest is their high tech filing system. There were numerous pages showing destinations to various military installations throughout the country." 

"Our snoops confirmed it. Each one's headed to a different base," Frohike added. 

"Did it list what they were hauling?" Doggett asked. 

"No," Byers frowned, digging into his container of Crab Rangoon. 

"What the hell kind of hazardous materials would they be hauling?" Doggett wondered. 

"Maybe none," Frohike proposed, gnawing on some teriyaki. "Maybe it's just a cover for something totally unrelated." 

"But what?" Langly questioned.