Quest Compound, Maine - 12:00 am - present day
Jonny Quest awoke abruptly. Was he hearing things, or was someone crying? He listened intently. The sound of soft, broken sobs seemed to be coming from the hallway. Jonny got up and opened the bedroom door. An eerie light was coming from a doorway down the hall. With a start, he realized it was his dad’s room. "Dad?" he called. At the sound of his voice, the light vanished, along with the crying. All was quiet.
Three days later - morning
"Dad, who’s been in your room these last few nights?"
Dr. Benton Quest looked at his son oddly. "No one, Jonny. Why do you ask?"
"I keep hearing the sound of someone crying at night, and it’s coming from your room. And there’s this strange glow, too."
"I think you’ve been watching too many scary movies, Jonny," Jessie said, laughing.
"I agree," Hadji added. Race was shaking his head.
"No, I’m serious! I heard the crying and I saw that strange light! I know I did." Jonny looked around at their faces. He could see that they didn’t believe him.
That night
When Jonny heard the crying again, he simply sat up in bed and waited, hoping someone else would be awakened by the sound. About ten minutes later, his door opened. "Jonny?" Jessie whispered. The crying stopped.
Jonny turned on his bedside light. "See, Jess, I told you."
Jessie nodded, her face pale. "I saw the light, too. You were right , it is coming from your dad’s room."
Even with Jessie’s support, Benton, Race, and Hadji still didn’t believe Jonny’s story about the crying and the eerie light. The disturbance continued, night after night, for the next week and a half. The two weren’t getting much sleep, woken by the crying and unable to go to bed afterward, wondering what it was. "I think we need professional help," Jonny said. Jessie started to laugh. "I don’t mean like that! I mean we need someone else to help us figure out what’s going on."
Still laughing, Jessie said, "I think so too, and maybe you need the other kind of professional help."
"Jessie!" Jonny said, but he was laughing too.
Jessie was suddenly serious. "So, who do we call?"
J. Edgar Hoover Building - 9:00 am - Mulder’s office
When Scully walked into Mulder’s office, she could see that familiar little grin on his face. What was going on now? "Mulder?" she asked cautiously.
"Ever been to Maine, Scully?"
"No. What’s in Maine?"
"The high-tech home of a Dr. Benton Quest."
"I’ve heard of him. Conducts experiments that are years ahead of modern science. So?"
"His son, Jonny, claims to have seen and heard something at night for the past two weeks, the sound of someone crying and a strange light."
"And you’re suggesting what?" Scully asked, skeptical. "Ghosts, aliens?"
"Don’t know. Possibly ghosts. But the Quest Compound, as it’s called, doesn’t seem to be a place for a haunting. No one’s lived there except the Quests, and nobody’s died there, either." Mulder was enthusiastic, as usual. Scully sighed.
"How fast do I have to pack?"
Quest Compound, Maine - that afternoon
"Not bad," Mulder said, driving up to the house. "Looks roomy."
A blond, teenaged boy came out of the house, followed by a teenage girl with long red hair. They watched as the agents got out of the car and walked up the steps. "Are you the FBI agents?" the girl asked.
"Special Agents Mulder and Scully," Mulder said.
"I’m Jonny Quest, and this is Jessie Bannon," Jonny replied. They shook hands. Jessie had to fight the urge to giggle when Mulder gave her a half-smile. He was so cute!
They walked into the house and went up the stairs. "This is my dad’s room," Jonny said, opening the door. "It’s where the sound and light were coming from." The agents walked in and looked around.
Scully noted the PC sitting on a table beside the door. "Are you sure your father wasn’t running some kind of computer program?"
Jonny shook his head. "He would’ve told me if he was doing something like that, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it."
The agent examined the room, then went on to Jessie and Jonny’s rooms. "Mulder, can I talk to you?" Scully said, holding him back. Jessie pushed Jonny out of the room.
"What’s up, Scully?"
"I think this is some kind of elaborate prank. They’re teenagers, after all."
"They don’t seem to be the type to play pranks."
"We’ve found absolutely no evidence of anything, paranormal or otherwise. And their rooms are a distance from Dr. Quest’s. If they were woken up by the so-called crying, why didn’t it wake him, too?"
"Scully, the paranormal doesn’t often leave evidence. Besides, what if the crying was meant for only them to hear?"
"Mulder--" Scully began, sighing heavily.
"There’s something going on here, Scully. I can feel it."
That night
Jonny woke suddenly. It was happening again. He quickly slipped out of bed and out into the hall. Jessie met him there. They looked toward Dr. Quest’s room. "It’s just like before," Jessie whispered.
"Yeah," Jonny said. "I’m gonna go wake them." He walked away from the light, to the guest rooms. He disappeared inside Mulder’s room.
"Jessie." Jessie turned around. It sounded like her dad’s voice.
"Dad?" she asked aloud, momentarily forgetting that loud sounds made the light vanish. But this time it didn’t.
"Jessie, I need your help." She walked toward the light. In the middle of it, she could see her father, Race Bannon, suspended like a marionette. "Jessie, help!"
"Dad!" she shouted.
Race came out of his bedroom, joined by Mulder and Jonny. Jessie was reaching a hand toward the light. "Jessie, no!" Mulder and Race yelled. She turned to look at them just as her fingers touched the glow. They saw her eyes widen in surprise, then abruptly she was gone, along with the light and the crying.
Quest Compound - 11:21 am - next morning
"Are you sure that’s what you saw?" Dr. Quest asked.
"That’s what it looked like, Doc." Race sat on the couch with his head in his hands.
"What about you, Dr. Quest?" Mulder asked. "This phenomenon seems to be originating from your bedroom. You haven’t noticed anything odd?"
"No," Dr. Quest said, shaking his head. "I’ve slept soundly. No disturbances at all."
"So what happened to her?" Jonny asked. "Where did she go?"
"I don’t know," Mulder said, "but we’ll do our best to find out." He got up and walked over to Scully, who was standing at a window. "Still think it’s a prank?"
"No, Mulder, I don’t still think it’s a prank, but I don’t think it’s ghosts."
"I don’t think it’s ghosts, either."
"So what do you think it is?" Scully asked, looking at him.
"I don’t know," Mulder said. "I just hope she’s not in danger."
Somewhere - the same morning
Jessie glared at the man in the wheelchair. "I should have known," she said softly. "We all should have known."
"Well, now you do know, not that knowing is going to help you any. My plan for revenge is foolproof this time," the electronically generated voice said.
"What is that thing, anyway?"
"It’s an instantaneous transport device that works through any computer, even if it’s turned off. The generator creates a field of electronic disturbance that emanates from the monitor and cuts through space. You step into the field, one moment you’re there, the next you’re here. I also programmed it with each of your personalities, so it knows just how to draw you in."
"So what are you planning on doing?"
"Drawing each of you through the portal and systematically eliminating you." He chuckled dryly.
Jessie struggled against the rope tied around her wrists and ankles, but they were bound tight. "You’ll never win, Surd!" she yelled.
Jeremiah Surd looked at his young captive. "I think I’ll have my revenge on Race Bannon first."
"I want to see this machine work again," another voice said. It was the man that Jessie had seen when she’d come through the portal, a tall, thin man with a long face and a cigarette hanging from his lips. He was always wearing a dark suit. "I want to see it call someone not programmed into its memory."
Surd turned the wheelchair to face him. "The transport machine is mine to use as I please! You can’t order me around!"
The dark-suited man remained calm. "I know of people who would pay millions for such a device, but they won’t want to take the time to program in whatever you need to program. I have a disk," he said, holding it up, "that should give your machine enough information to call the person I want."
"Julia," Surd said. She took the disk and put it in the drive. The drive whirred and the image of a young, dark-haired girl came up on a screen. "A child? What’s so important about a child?"
"Not just any child. This particular child. She should be quite a draw for Agent Mulder."
Quest Compound - night
Mulder jolted awake. He had to have been hearing things-- "Fox!" came the call. He bolted out of bed and into the hallway. The light was back, and that’s where her voice was coming from.
Scully sat up. She hadn’t been able to sleep, and now she heard the stealthy sounds of something moving in the hallway. She picked up her gun and went out. The light drew her attention, along with an odd crying sound. She saw Mulder walking toward it. "Mulder, stop!" she said, running toward him. She couldn’t hear or see what he did, but she could guess. "Mulder, it’s an illusion! She isn’t real! Stop!"
"Fox!" came the voice again. "Fox, help me!" Mulder could see her, hanging there, looking at him, pleading. "Fox!"
"Samantha," he tried to shout, but it came out in a whisper. He could hear Scully calling his name. He turned and looked back at her, anguish in his eyes.
"It isn’t real," Scully said.
Mulder turned back to the light, to his sister, Samantha. He stared at her. "Fox," she said again. Then he turned back to Scully.
"I--I have to, Scully. I just have to." He stepped into the light.
Scully lunged forward, trying to grab his hand, but Mulder was gone. "Mulder!" she cried aloud, then slumped against the wall.
Surd’s hideaway
Mulder couldn’t breathe. His chest heaved, but no air entered his lungs. The light was so bright he closed his eyes. Then he hit the ground hard, and he was gasping and coughing and trying to stand up. Where was he? Suddenly he was attacked from behind. He struggled, but the men had the advantage, and in a short time Mulder was tied up and thrown next to Jessie.
"You’re so impulsive, you’re predictable, Agent Mulder."
Mulder knew that voice. "You’re behind everything, aren’t you?" he said, looking up. Holding a cigarette between two fingers, the man only smiled and walked away.
"You know that guy?" Jessie asked.
"Yes and no. I know he’s behind most of the government conspiracies, but no one knows exactly who he is. We call him the Cigarette-Smoking Man, or Cancer Man sometimes."
"We?"
"Agent Scully and myself." Mulder sat upright and looked around. "Who’s the guy in that fancy wheelchair?"
"Doctor Jeremiah Surd," Jessie said. "He made that machine."
"Sounds like you know him pretty well."
"He’s crazy, and he hates Dr. Quest, Jonny, my dad, all of us. He invented that thing just to get revenge."
"And Cancer Man wants to buy it, I bet."
"I think so. He said something before about people who’d want to buy it."
Surd rolled up. "I assume you’re talking about my marvelous device." His partially paralyzed lips twitched upward at the corners. "I’ve already told Miss Bannon about it; would you like to know what it is, Mr. Mulder?"
"I can guess," Mulder said. "I have a question, though. What is that crying sound?"
"What crying sound?"
"When the light comes and the portal opens, there’s this funny sound like someone crying," Jessie said.
"You’re right! It’s nothing but the sound of the machine working, but it does sound delightfully like someone crying. An added bonus--do-gooders like yourselves would be attracted to it just by the sound it made, trying to help whoever’s in trouble." There was no mistaking the smugness in his voice. He turned and rolled away, muttering, "Delightful, delightful."
Quest Compound - 10:13 am - same morning
Now Scully was the one on the couch with her head in her hands, worrying about Mulder. "I wish he’d waited for me to go along, at least," she said at last.
"We don’t know if two people can go into--whatever it is--at one time," Race pointed out.
"We could’ve found out," Scully answered, slightly snappish. Then she sighed. "If it had been anyone but Samantha, he wouldn’t have gone in there." Then she blinked as a new thought crossed her mind. "Or maybe he would have." She looked at Race. "He might have done it just to see if he could find your daughter."
"I’m going to stay awake tonight and see if I can find out what’s going on," Dr. Quest said. "There must be a logical explanation for all this."
"I think we all will tonight, Dad," Jonny said. "And we need to keep tabs on each other so somebody doesn’t go walking into that thing."
"I agree," Hadji said. "We’ve already lost two. There’s no need to cut our resources any more." Everyone nodded and stood up, the meeting over.
As the group dispersed, Scully said, "Mr. Bannon?" Race turned around. "Wherever they are, Mulder will find a way to get back, and if they’re together, he won’t leave Jessie behind."
Quest Compound - that night
Benton was sitting up in bed, waiting for something to happen. Abruptly, the monitor on his PC began to crackle and glow. He walked over to it, but the power switch was off. Odd, he thought. What’s going on? The air in front of him began to shimmer and seemed to expand. He looked out his door and could see the others standing down the hall. Jonny began to walk toward him, but Hadji pulled him back. Agent Scully stepped forward. "Dr. Quest?" she said. It sounded like she was yards away, not just feet.
"Yes," he called back.
"What do you see?"
"Nothing. Except for an occasional little gleam now and then, it doesn’t look like anything is between us." Then he added, "My computer screen is glowing."
"Smash it!" Race shouted.
"No," Agent Scully said. "It might cut off all connection to Jessie and Mulder. We have to let this continue."
Abruptly the monitor went dark, and the rest of the group joined Dr. Quest. "So," Jonny said, "how do we beat this thing?"
"I have an idea," Agent Scully said.
Quest Compound - the next night
Scully stood lightly on the balls of her feet, ready to go. Instead of her usual suit, she’d opted for jeans and a T-shirt, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore no jewelry except for her gold cross. A sturdy rope was tied around her waist; the other end anchored by Jonny’s bed.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Dr. Quest asked for the hundredth time.
"I don’t know," Scully replied, also for the hundredth time. "I hope so."
Suddenly the light appeared, and Dr. Quest witnessed it for the first time. "Amazing," he said.
"You’re confident you know how to work that thing?" Race asked Scully. She lifted the explosive she held in her hand.
"Based on how long it took me to go wherever, when we’re ready to return, I set the timer and then we hurry back. Assuming there’s something to blow up there."
"Yeah, assuming," Race agreed.
Despite Scully’s outward calm, she was very nervous. Her 9mm made a comforting hard spot against her stomach. "The unknown awaits," she said, the words bringing a smile to her lips. "Mulder would be proud of me." Then she stepped into the glow.
Surd’s hideaway
"I didn’t even set it!" Julia exclaimed. "Someone’s coming through!"
Their attention fixed on the portal, no one was watching Mulder and Jessie. Quickly they moved back to back and fumbled at each other’s bonds. Mulder finally got Jessie’s free, then she turned and untied his. "I have a feeling..." Mulder said.
"That help is on the way," Jessie finished for him. They grinned at each other. At that moment, Scully burst through the portal.
"Close the portal!" Surd cried.
"I can’t! It won’t close!" Julia answered, panicked. Then they saw the rope attached to Scully’s waist and the gun she held in her hand.
"Mulder!" Scully called, looking for him. Mulder and Jessie ran forward from the shadows along the wall.
Mulder suddenly stopped and made an automatic but fruitless grab for a weapon that was sitting on his dresser in his room at the Quest home. "Scully, behind you!" She spun around and fired, striking two of the men in the chest. The others skidded to a stop, then picked up their wounded comrades and fled back the way they came.
"Cowards!" Surd screamed through the speaker. "Get back here!"
"NO!" Mulder shouted. Scully wheeled back around at the anger and fear in his voice. She raised her gun but was struck immobile by what she saw. The Cigarette-Smoking Man was holding a gun to Jessie’s head.
"Agent Scully, I’m rather impressed. Unfortunately, you seem to be at a sudden disadvantage."
Scully’s eyes narrowed. "That’s what you think." Unhesitatingly she fired, hitting the Cigarette-Smoking Man in the shoulder. He dropped the gun and Jessie struggled free, kicking it away before she ran to Scully. Mulder joined them.
"C’mon ladies, let’s get out of here," he said.
"One second," Scully said, attaching the explosive to the machine and setting the timer for six seconds. "Now let’s get out of here," she said, pushing the button that started the countdown. The three of them ran into the portal.
"Julia, we must leave now!" Surd yelled. They hurried out a secret passageway hidden behind a wall panel. The Cigarette-Smoking Man had already disappeared, along with his gun. The timer reached zero and the instantaneous transport machine blossomed in a ball of destructive fire. There was nothing left but scrap.
Quest Compound
Race clutched Jessie to him, ecstatic that she was safe. Jessie was equally delighted that she was back where she belonged. Mulder put an arm around Scully and pulled her against his side. "Not bad, Scully," he said.
"You’re welcome, Mulder," she replied, smiling up at him.
Later
"Do you really have to go?" Jessie asked as Mulder and Scully put their suitcases in their car.
"They have other work to do, Jess," Race said.
"It certainly was nice meeting you," Dr. Quest said, shaking their hands. "Feel free to come visit anytime."
"You better be careful; we might take you up on that," Mulder said, laughing. He went to Jessie and ruffled her hair. "Think about the FBI; I bet you’d make a good agent." She blushed.
The agents shook hands with Race, Jonny, and Hadji, then got in their rental car and headed for the airport.
Somewhere
Surd added two more names to his revenge list. "Someday, Quest. Someday, Bannon. Someday, Mr. Mulder and Ms. Scully. Someday."
"Someday," a new voice said. The Cigarette-Smoking Man walked out of the darkness, his arm in a sling. "Someday isn’t good enough. We’re through." He walked back into the darkness and away. Surd’s eyes narrowed, and he added a third name.
"Someday."
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