Title: Perfect for the Job
Author: Susan 
E-mail: touchstone98@tx.rr.com
Classification: story
Keyword: Mulder angst
Spoiler: Redux II
Archive: No archive without permission.
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine: it's that simple.  
Dialogue used in the latter part of the story is taken directly 
from Redux II.

Author's Notes at the end.

Summary: "You have a special gift, 34, and I want you to use 
that gift tonight."
*****************************************************************

Perfect for the Job
by Susan 
~~~~

An unknown facility
7:20 p.m.


"Number 34, please report to the fifth floor immediately.  
There's someone here who would like to speak with you." 

"Okay, just give me a few minutes," I replied, pressing the 
intercom button on my bedroom wall.  

"No...he wants to speak to you NOW," the voice insisted. 

"All right, I'm on my way."  

I wonder what he wants this time, I thought as I quickly put 
my shoes on.  Last month when he came here, he asked to speak 
to number 21 and my roommate.  

I never saw either one of them again.

Nervously running a brush through my long curly hair, I checked 
my appearance in the mirror, and headed up to the fifth floor.

~~~~

After observing her for the past two weeks, I had decided that 
number 34 was the best choice for this particular assignment.  
Yes, she looks exactly like all the others, but there's one 
thing she's able to do that none of them can. 

She knows how to show emotion.

~~~~

He was smoking a cigarette when I first saw him, although I 
don't know why I was surprised.  The few times I have seen 
him, he's either had one in his hand or in his mouth. I don't 
understand the appeal of putting a foul smelling stick inside 
your mouth over and over again, but he sure seems to enjoy it.  
Perhaps it makes him feel powerful, perhaps it comforts him, 
I don't know...but what I do know is that I hate the smell of 
it and so do the others. Whenever we talk about him, we refer 
to him as Disgusting Cigarette Man or DC-Man for short, but 
we're always careful not to ever call him that when he's here 
at the facility.

In his presence, we always call him "Mr. Spender."

"Ahh...34, it's so good of you to meet with me," he said, a 
long cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth.

Yeah, like I had a choice.

"Mr. Spender...I was told you wanted to see me."  He blew out 
two puffs of smoke right into my face, and it was all I could 
do not to reach out and grab that worthless white stick right 
out of his mouth.

"I have an important assignment that needs to be carried out, 
and after careful consideration, I've chosen you to do it." 
He walked over to the desk, sat down behind it, and motioned 
for me to sit down too.

"What kind of assignment?" I asked, anxiously rubbing my hand 
up and down the arm of the chair.

"One to which you are very well-suited," he replied matter-of-
factly.

There were still over twelve of us here, and my mind immediately 
began to race through all the possibilities as to why he needed 
me and not one of the others. 

"You have a special gift, 34, and I want you to use that gift 
tonight."

Although most of the time I found him to be quite repulsive, 
I had to admit I was rather curious, not to mention proud of 
the fact that he had finally requested me for an assignment 
out in the field.  "What exactly is it that you want me to 
do, Mr. Spender?"

"I want you to have a meeting with Fox Mulder."

~~~~

If I had any doubts before, I don't have them anymore.  The 
moment she walked into the room, I saw a myriad of emotions 
cross her face...contempt, apprehension, curiosity, eagerness...

She was perfect for the job.

~~~~

Taking yet another puff of his cigarette, he handed me a folder.  
"Assignment FM34" was printed at the top and a photo of Agent
Fox Mulder was attached to the side with a paper clip.  "You 
want me to meet with Agent Mulder?" I asked, my curiosity 
growing stronger by the minute.

"In approximately two hours, I will take you by car to a 
restaurant, where you will sit down with Agent Mulder and 
convince him that you are his sister and I am your father."  
He tilted his head and stared at me, studying my face to see 
how I would react to his request.

I knew quite a bit about Fox already.  After all, I had been 
studying him for the past few months, but getting the chance 
to actually meet him in person, to sit across a table from 
him...the thought both excited and scared me.  

How could I ever convince him that I was his sister knowing 
full well that I wasn't?  And as for DC-Man, the idea that 
he could be my father turned my stomach.  Still, this was 
just the kind of challenge I'd been hoping for.

Taking a deep breath, I focused my eyes on his and stated, 
"Okay, I'll do it."

"A lot is riding on this, 34."  He stood up from behind the 
desk and walked over to me, then put his hand on my arm. 
"Don't disappoint me."

Having his hand on me made my skin crawl, but I refused to 
let him know that.  Concentrating on my breathing instead 
of the coldness I felt in his touch, I quietly replied, "I'll 
try not to."

~~~~

Although I could tell she was intrigued by the assignment I 
had just given her, I also sensed she had some doubts about 
whether or not she could successfully complete it.

Perhaps a little extra incentive was in order.

~~~~

Finally letting go of my arm, he put his cigarette out in the 
ashtray on the desk, and promptly lit another one.  

"34, I realize that this assignment is unlike any other you've 
been given, but let me assure you...if you succeed, or should 
I say *when* you succeed, you will be duly compensated." 

"What do you mean, Mr. Spender?"

"Let's just say you won't have to worry about any more trips 
to the basement."  He tilted his chin up and blew out a long 
thick trail of smoke, causing me to cough.

"Does this habit of mine offend you?" he asked, knowing full 
well that it did.

"If I say yes, what are you going to do to me?" I sarcastically 
answered.

"Ahhh...a clone with some spunk.  I like that," he stated with 
a smirk on his face.

"Are you saying that if I successfully convince Fox Mulder that 
I'm his sister and you're my father, I won't have to go through 
any more tests?" I asked, trying to clarify what I thought he 
was implying with his earlier statement.

"That's what I'm proposing, yes..."

Even though I hadn't been subjected to as many tests as some 
of the others, the idea that I wouldn't have to be poked and 
prodded with any more needles, tubes, or lasers was extremely 
appealing.  Still, I didn't trust him.  After all, he's lied 
to me before. "How do I know you won't go back on your word 
after the job is done?" 

"I guess you just have to trust me, don't you?" he arrogantly 
replied.

Smug bastard.  He had complete control over me, and there wasn't 
a thing I could do about it.  

Lowering my head in defeat, I softly replied, "I guess I do."

~~~~

I knew she'd see things my way.

They all do eventually.

Three hours from now, she will have carried out this assignment, 
and Mulder will be ready to come over to my side.

And as for number 34, maybe I'll keep my word to her.

Then again, maybe I won't.

~~~~

Knowing that I had a lot of work ahead of me, I asked, "What 
time will you be picking me up to go the restaurant?"  

"I'll be back here in one hour.  That should be a sufficient 
amount of time for you to prepare.  Put on a nice outfit for 
me...and your brother."  He leaned in towards my face, and 
pressed a kiss to my cheek that was much too long for my liking.  
The feel of his lips against my skin disgusted me, his breath 
smelled of tobacco and beer, and all I wanted to do was get 
away from him. 

And he knew it.

"Surely you realize that in order to convince Mulder I'm your
father, we have to be affectionate towards one another.  I'm 
just trying to help you, *Samantha*," he said, pulling me into 
an unwanted embrace.  "Mulder must believe that we love each 
other and that we have for a very long time."

My body immediately stiffened, but I forced myself to put both 
of my arms around him.  Just when I thought I couldn't stand 
there holding his decrepit old body any longer, he abruptly 
pulled away from me and started walking toward the door.

He let out a big sigh and said, "See, there's nothing to it.  
Now go back to your room and prepare yourself, and 34..."

"Yes?"

"A lot is riding on this," he reminded me again as he stood 
in the doorway.

"I know, Mr. Spender."

"I'll pick you up at about 9:15 by the back entrance.  Don't 
keep me waiting."  He lit his third cigarette, studied me for 
a moment, then headed out the door.

"I won't," I answered, glad to finally see him leave.

I waited for a couple minutes to make sure he was really gone, 
then quickly took off my jacket, trying to rid myself of the 
foul odor he had left on my clothes when he hugged me.

As much as I had wanted this assignment when he first told me 
about it, I wasn't so sure anymore.

~~~~

Despite her uneasiness around me, I still believe that 34 can 
accomplish this task, and after she does, Mulder will surely see 
that my intentions are honorable and that he could greatly benefit 
by coming to work for me, just as his father did.

I don't know why I didn't use her before.

~~~~

I had been studying all the information that was in Mulder's 
file for the past half hour, and I was feeling much more 
confident about what I was about to do. Most of the information 
was stuff I already knew - his childhood likes and dislikes, 
his college years at Oxford, his years as an FBI profiler, 
Samantha's "abduction" in 1973 and his relentless search for 
her, the years he's spent working on the X-Files...but there 
was one piece of new information that I found to be extremely 
interesting.

His FBI partner, Scully, has cancer. 

Since I've been working at the facility, I've done a lot of 
research work, but I don't really know much about the black 
cancer.  I wonder if the type of cancer she has is the same 
thing.

Whatever cancer she has, I'm sure that Agent Mulder is feeling 
rather emotional and preoccupied with thoughts of his partner 
these days.

That should make my job that much easier.

I'll just say and do all the right things to play on his current 
emotional state, and it shouldn't be too difficult to convince 
him of who I am and who my father is.  Then once the assignment 
is done, I can come back here to the facility, and I won't have 
to worry about going through any more tests.  

And who knows?  If I do the job well enough, maybe 'ol DC-Man 
can get me out of the research lab and give me a job out in 
the field.

As I pondered all the opportunities this assignment might bring 
me in the future, I went to my closet and picked out a casual, 
yet nice outfit to wear to the restaurant.  I didn't think Fox 
would really care what I was wearing, but I wanted to look good 
for him anyway.

After all, he is my brother.

~~~~

I drove past the diner a little before 9:00, and just as I had 
suspected, Mulder was already there.  He was sitting hunched 
over at the counter staring at his cup of coffee.

I had told him to meet me at 9:30, but it didn't surprise me 
that he was here this early.

Nothing he does surprises me anymore.

~~~~

9:20 p.m.

He had told me not to keep him waiting so I made sure I was 
standing outside the back door well ahead of time.  I wasn't 
sure if I was supposed to bring anything with me or not, but 
I had Mulder's file in one hand and a purse in the other...just 
in case.

As I stood outside in the cool night air, I closed my eyes and 
thought about everything I was going to say to Fox and how I 
was going to say it.  I also tried to think about various 
questions he might ask me and about possible answers I would 
give him.

By the time his car pulled up a few minutes later, I felt 
completely prepared, and there was no doubt in my mind that 
I *was* Samantha, Fox Mulder's long lost sister.

"You look lovely, 34," Mr. Spender said as he leaned over the 
seat and opened the car door for me.

"Thanks," I mumbled.  The smell of stale cigarette smoke hit 
me with the force of a jackhammer the moment I got inside the 
car, causing my eyes to water and my nose to itch.  Quickly 
rolling down my window, I took in several breaths of fresh air 
as the car began to move. 

"Would you like me to put this out?" he asked, inhaling, then 
blowing a puff of smoke out of the side of his mouth.

"What do you think?" I sarcastically replied.  I knew it was 
a risky response, but I also knew that it was way too late in 
the game for him to cancel the assignment.

"Still got that spunk, I see.  Good..." he remarked, taking 
his hand off the steering wheel and placing it on my arm.

It was all I could do not to slap his yellow-stained fingers 
away.

"Are you prepared for any and all questions Mulder might ask 
you tonight?" he inquired, still holding onto my arm.

"I've gone over several possible scenarios, and I'm confident 
that I've sufficiently prepared myself, yes." I wish he'd take
his hand off me.  It was really making me feel uncomfortable.

"What if he asks you about the night you were abducted?"

"I tell him that I thought something had happened to him, but 
that I couldn't remember much."

"What if he brings up the subject of your mother?"

"I pretend that I didn't know that she was still alive, and 
I make an excuse to leave."

"What should you do if he tries to get you to go with him 
somewhere?"

"Tell him that I have a new family and a new life and that I 
can't deal with all the painful memories of the past."

"Good, good...I knew you were the right one for this job," he 
commented, finally removing his hand from my arm.  "You do know 
why I've chosen you, don't you?"

"Because of my 'gift', as you called it, the ability that I 
have to show human emotions.  You think that somehow I'll be 
able to connect with Fox Mulder on a deeper level, right?"  

I wasn't sure if that's why he had chosen me or not, but I'd 
had a chance to think more about it, and it was the best reason 
I could come up with.

He looked over at me with a smug expression on his face and 
said, "Not only do you have a talent for expressing emotions, 
but I see you're good at forming conclusions as well."  We 
pulled up to the next stoplight, and he took out another 
cigarette, yet surprisingly he didn't light it.

"There can be no slip-ups on this assignment, 34. It's important 
that you understand that.  Do you?"

"Yes," I quietly answered, leaning my elbow on the inside door 
handle.  "How much longer until we get there?" 

He turned off the main road, then pointed to his left.  "The 
diner's right over there. I drove by it earlier, and I know 
that Mulder is already inside waiting for you."

I had been looking forward to this assignment, but now that 
it was actually about to begin, I suddenly felt a barrage of 
negative emotions rushing through my system.

Nervousness, uncertainty, panic, fear...

What if after all my careful preparation, Fox doesn't believe 
one word I say?

~~~~

When we pulled into the parking lot, I could tell by the way 
34 was gripping the door handle that she was starting to panic.  

She had seemed so confident just moments ago, yet now her skin 
looked pale, and I could actually see a thin layer of sweat on 
her forehead.

Could I have been wrong about her?

~~~~

Restaurant parking lot
9:32 p.m.


"Get yourself under control," he demanded under his breath as 
he grabbed my left wrist. "You can do this, 34.  You *will* do
this."

His bony fingers squeezed my wrist even harder, bringing moisture 
to my eyes. Don't cry...don't cry...I thought to myself as I took 
a few deep breaths and tried to gather my composure. 

"I'll be fine if you just let...me...go," I whispered under my 
breath, twisting my arm and trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"You'd better be," he threatened, suddenly letting my wrist go.

My legs were shaking and my wrist was throbbing and all I wanted 
to do was to forget the whole thing and go back to the facility 
where I felt safe.  

But it was too late for that.

Now standing in front of the car just a few feet away from me 
was the man I had come here to meet, the man I had studied for 
years, the man I was going to lie to.

My brother.

With the headlights shining on him, he looked even taller than 
I had imagined him to be.

And tired.  He looked really tired.

My eyes wouldn't blink, my heart was pounding, and my brain felt 
like it was on overload.

"It's time," he quietly said, knocking me out of my trance-like 
state.  

With trembling fingers, I opened the car door and got out, never 
once taking my eyes off of him.  

"Samantha?"

My emotions went into overdrive when Fox said my name and my 
knees felt like they were going to give out on me at any moment.  

*Just calm down...calm down. He's only a man...only a man...*

He didn't take his eyes off of me either as I slowly walked 
towards him, and then before I knew it, I was standing right 
in front of him.

After briefly looking down at the ground and collecting my 
thoughts, I looked right into his eyes and said, "I was afraid 
I'd never see you again.  He always told me something had 
happened to you that night."

With those few words, I could already see that I had confused 
him. 

"Who?  Who told you that?" asked Fox.

I guess I'd better get right to the point. 

"My father," I replied, looking back at DC-Man, who was lighting 
another cigarette as if right on cue.  

Smug bastard.

~~~~

Ahhh, emotional manipulation...it's a beautiful thing to see.

Mulder's looking at me right now with an expression I don't 
think I've ever seen on his face before, and 34 just seems to 
be getting warmed up.  

I knew she wouldn't let me down.

Now all she needs to do is take him inside and finish the job.

~~~~

10:04 pm

The longer I sat talking to Fox, the more I liked him. He was 
so honest and sensitive and when he looked at me, I could tell 
that he truly had feelings for me.

I've always been able to control what emotions I want to feel 
and when I want to feel them, but now my emotions were all over 
the place, and I found myself feeling things for Fox that I 
never felt before.

Things I'm not supposed to feel.

He had just asked me what I remembered about that night in 1973, 
and as much as I didn't want to lie to him now, it was time for 
me to tell him the story that I had been rehearsing for the past 
hour.

"I never really knew what happened. I could never put the memories 
all back together, but as much as I tried to remember, I tried more 
to forget."

"Why?"

"I was eight years old, and frightened to death.  And they told 
me that I was an orphan," I added, making sure to emphasize the 
word 'orphan.'

"But you called that man your father," remarked Fox, trying to 
understand what I was saying.  

Briefly glancing back at Spender, I continued, "Some time later, 
I don't know how long, my foster parents took me to a hotel room 
and said that I was going to see my father."

"But you knew who your father was."

"I thought I knew, but he told me that it had all been a secret, 
and that he and Mom hadn't told anyone to protect the family."

"And you believed that," Fox said, still trying to clarify things 
in his mind.

"He was so kind to me, and he was the only one I could remember 
from before what happened."  

I knew that this assignment would be a challenge, but I never 
realized just how hard it would be to actually look into his 
eyes and tell him all these things I knew weren't true.  

"You don't remember anything about that night?"

"I remember...you..."
 
Those three words immediately got his attention, and for one 
brief moment, he actually smiled.  It was only a half smile, 
but at least it was something. 

Tightly squeezing my eyes shut, I continued in a shaky voice, 
"I remember something...men and...and then nothing."

There I said it.  Tears stung at my eyes, not because I was 
trying to convince him anymore, but because I was really 
beginning to cry. 

I never should've agreed to do this.
 
"I can help you. You were abducted, Samantha, I can help you 
to remember," he quietly suggested.

"I don't want to, Fox. I don't."

"Then why come here at all?"

"My father told me that he'd found you...you wanted to see me 
very badly, that you'd been looking for me for a long time. 
Is that true?"

I knew before I even said those words that they would hit him 
hard.  I knew that he'd been looking for his sister for over 
twenty years, and I began to feel sick to my stomach as I watched 
him desperately try to keep his composure.

Wanting to help ease the pain for him somehow, I placed my hand 
over the top of his and softly said,  "I'm so sorry, Fox. And 
I wish that I'd known how to find you."

~~~~

This is going even better than I'd hoped for.

Mulder appears to be on the verge of an emotional breakdown, and 
34 is doing everything exactly the way she's supposed to.

Perhaps I'll let her live after all. 

~~~~

From what I had read about Fox, I knew that he was a highly 
emotional and sensitive person, but seeing so many emotions 
in his eyes all at the same time was like nothing I had ever 
experienced before. 

He bowed his head for a moment and shifted in his chair. 
"What you've been told...I want you to listen to me, okay? 
What you've been told by that man may not be true."  

I knew that DC-Man had lied to me and the others before, but 
I wanted to believe that he had been honest with me with the 
facts about this assignment. 

Still I wondered if Fox was right.  Would he have lied to me 
about something as important as this? 

"Why do you say that?" I asked, really wanting to hear what 
his answer would be.

"Because the man that brought you here has known where I've 
been for a very long time," Fox firmly stated.

"I don't understand. Why wouldn't he tell me?"

I really didn't understand.  At the facility we were told all 
sorts of things about Agent Mulder, but we were never told 
where he lived. I had always just assumed that he was difficult 
to track down because he kept moving from place to place. I 
never realized that he had been living near the facility all 
this time.

I thought I had come into this assignment fully prepared, but 
now I felt as if everything that I had been studying and planning 
for was all one great big lie.  

"I don't know, but I think he's kept a lot of things from you."

Although I was upset about what Spender was making me do to Fox 
tonight, I still felt an odd sense of loyalty to him.  Yes, he 
had put me through the occasional test at the facility, but he 
had also made sure my needs were well taken care of, and he had 
given me access to numerous scientific opportunities I never 
could've found somewhere else.

"I don't believe you. He's been a good father to me. He's given 
me a life and he cared for me when there was no one else," I 
stated, saying the words with conviction as if I really was his 
daughter.

"Then I want you to come with me. Come with me to see Mom."

Damn it.  I was hoping he wouldn't bring her up. I really didn't 
want to have to discuss her unless it was absolutely necessary. 
According to what I'd read about her in Fox's file, it sounded
like she had done nothing to stop the real Samantha from being 
abducted all those years ago.

I know I'm not human, but even I know how heartless that is.

I just knew that if I got into a discussion with him about her, 
I'd end up letting my true feelings about her be known, and I 
couldn't risk that.

"Mom is alive?" I asked, pretending to be surprised even though 
I knew she'd been living in a big house somewhere in Greenwich 
for the past several years. 

"Yes. And I know she'd like to see you very, very much."

*Please Fox, please don't push me on this.*  

He reached over and gently touched my hair, and it was all I 
could do not to spill the truth about everything right then 
and there.  "I can't," I blurted out.

"Why not?"

"It's too much. I didn't want to come here at all, Fox. I was 
afraid to see you."

*Please don't make me do this anymore.*

"I have another life now.  I have children of my own," I said 
in a shaky voice as I stood up from the table.  I tried to move 
towards the door, but he grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go. 

*Please don't touch me, Fox.* 

"No, please, don't go," he pleaded.

*Please don't look at me that way.*

"I can't stay here right now."

"Alright, just tell me how I can find you," he begged, desperation 
beginning to creep into his voice.

*Please Fox, don't talk to me like that.*

"I need some time," I said, my own voice wavering. His hand held 
mine even tighter, but unlike the grip Mr. Spender had on my wrist 
earlier, Fox's hand felt warm and soft, and I knew he would never 
hurt me.

"Just ... just tell me where to find you."

*Please...I can't take this anymore.  I have to get out of here.  
I have to get out of here NOW.*

"Please don't, Fox!" I shouted, startling both him and myself, 
and I felt his grip immediately ease up on my hand.  

"We will do this on your time, just..." he pleaded one last 
time, but more calmly than before.

Looking into his eyes just then made my heart physically ache, 
and if I didn't get out of there in the next few seconds, I 
was most certainly going to end up telling him the truth about 
who I really was.

"Please...please let me go. I can't stay here right now," I 
said in a weak voice.  

Finally realizing that he couldn't and shouldn't stop me from 
leaving, Fox slowly let my hand go. 

"I promise you, I'll think about it," I reassured him, then I 
hurried out the door as fast as I could. 

~~~~

It doesn't get much better than this.

It appears that Assignment FM34 is now complete, and Mulder...
Well, Mulder looks a bit stunned.

I'll let him think about things for a while, and then tomorrow, 
I'll arrange for the two of us to have a little chat.

And as for 34, I'd say her trips to the basement are over with.

For now...

~~~~

I could hardly open the car door my hands were shaking so hard, 
but somehow I managed to lift the latch, sit down inside, and 
pull the door closed.  Turning to Mr. Spender, I quietly said, 
"Take me home." 

He reached over and touched my hair, but I knew he wasn't really 
doing it to comfort me; he was just doing it to upset Fox more.

"I knew you wouldn't let me down, 34," he proudly remarked as 
he started the car and began to back out of the parking lot.

*No, I just let myself down.*

Knowing for certain that I'd never see Agent Mulder again, I
looked up at him one last time as we pulled away, then closed 
my eyes and whispered to myself, "Goodbye, Fox."


~end~

*I have to confess I was a bit nervous about writing this story,
especially since it's completely different from the usual MSR 
stuff I write.  If you liked reading this type of story from 
me, I'd really appreciate knowing that.:)
touchstone98@tx.rr.com


possibilities
http://possibilities.bravehost.com/

Originally posted September 2000.