CENTRAL PARK
SATURDAY, JULY 17
1:24AM
“Alex, dammit, slow down!”
“I can’t!”
“We’re not missing anything!”
“How do you know, John? Com’on, hurry up!”
John grimaces as he trips over a rock, running through the underbrush, “You little fucker! If you’re dragging me out here for nothing, I’ll kill you and leave your remains the raccoons and squirrels to squabble over!”
“Hush!”
John grumbles something else in response to Alex’s rebuke but we can not hear it. Apparently, Alex can’t, either.
They reach the top of a hill and, finally, Alex stops.
“This is it!”
“This? It’s just an open field in Central Park!”
“The last time I saw Danny he said that this was where he saw it!”
John rolls his eyes and sighs, “Fine, great... Now what do we do?”
“We wait... Danny said it comes here every night at 1:26AM.”
“Why 1:26? Why not 1:25 or 1:27? Hell, why not 1:30? Make it a nice number.”
“Stop being a smart ass and shut up!”
“You afraid that I’m gonna scare your little green friends off?”
“They’re gray and, no, you won’t scare them off!”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” John throws his arms skyward and walks foreword, all the while yelling, “Forgive me, Martian men!”
Alex runs after him and tries to stop the display, “Don’t make fun of them!”
“Why not? I’m here in the middle of the night, following you on your alien hunt. You know, the only reason I’m here is because your sister, my lovely wife, was worried that you would end up getting yourself hurt so she made me come!”
“You know it’s people like you that allow the government to get away with letting these creatures come here and test on innocent humans!”
John walks back to Alex and looks him in the eye, “This is insane. I’m going home. Goodnight, Alex.”
“John, wait!”
“I will no-”
Suddenly, there is a tremendous crash and the earth shakes. John is throw back into the bushes. The last thing he sees before he blacks out is a white light engulfing the field.
CENTRAL PARK
SATURDAY, JULY 17
2:04PM
A lanky, brown-haired man in a black trench coat stalks around the open field that Alex and John had been in just over eleven hours before. A short, red-haired woman stands nearby, looking exasperated.
“Mulder, why are we here again?”
“Scully, a man disappears in the middle of the night under mysterious circumstances. In a field in which two other people have turned up missing- don’t you think that’s worth investigating?”
She doesn’t bother to answer her him and, instead, gazes at the oak tree branches just above her, “Who were the other two?”
“The first was Melissa Gilbert, 17 of Brooklyn, New York. She went missing two months ago. The last time she was seen was by one of the Park police officers. She was heading toward this field where reports of UFOs were coming in almost every night for a week prior to her disappearance. She told the officer that she was hoping to see the UFO.”
Scully gazes across the field and, then, shakes her head, “Poor girl.”
“Five weeks later, Daniel McCormick, 28 of Queens, New York, came here three days in a row. He reported that he had seen the UFO on all three nights. On the fourth night, he went out and never came back.”
“And who is our latest missing person?”
“Alexander Leary, 27 of Manhattan, New York. He came down here with his brother-in-law after being told by Daniel, before he went missing, about the UFO.”
“What happened to the brother-in-law?”
“A pair of joggers found Jonathan Shore, 30 of Manhattan, New York, in the bushes just off the path. He’s staying in Manhattan General for next few days. He said that there was a loud noise and something knocked him backwards. The last thing he saw before he was out cold was a bright light.”
“Great...”
“We need to go talk to Mr. Shore.”
“Wait!”
Mulder turns back, “What?”
“Did you notify the local authorities that we are here, investigating?”
Mulder averts his gaze from her’s.
“You didn’t, did you?”
“I did not believe it was necessary.”
“Maybe not but it would have been the polite thing to do, especially if we need any help from them in the future.”
They’re striding along the very path that Alex and John had taken so early that morning, back to their parked car.
“Don’t worry- they’ll help.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I just know... Call it a hunch.”
APARTMENT OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DA JACK McCOY
SATURDAY, JULY 17
2:29PM
A man in his late-50s with graying hair lays in bed, staring at the ceiling of the bedroom. He yawns and, then, gets up. Rubbing his eyes, he walks over to a desk at the other side of the room and flips through a file.
“Gary Arthur, here’s hoping the jury gives you what you deserve.”
Somewhere in the apartment, a phone rings. He puts the file down and goes to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Jack, it’s Jamie. The jury is asking to have part of Jamison’s testimony read back.”
“What time?”
“3:30.”
“I’ll meet you down there.”
“Alright.”
Jack hangs up and, then, heads off to take a shower and get dressed.