"Ok, Mulder, let's have it. Why did you drag me out to some park on the outskirts of town in the middle of the night?"
"C'mon, Scully, you know you have nothing better to do than creep around in the dark of night with yours truly," he said with a smirk as he handed her a cup of coffee.
"Uh, let's see, I could be reading or catching up on my email or...sleeping!" she said sarcastically as she took a sip.
Mulder also sipped his coffee as he stared out into the park and towards the woods. Their rental car was parked about 30 yards from the playground equipment and picnic tables that lined the wooded area.
Scully recognized that glint of hunger in his eye and reverted back to questioning him. "Seriously, why are we out here?"
"Well, I was talking to a local detective...."
Scully cut him off. "Uh oh."
"What?"
"You don't think we have enough work to do on the case that we're here to investigate? You have to go searching the local police departments for more?"
"Do you want to know why you're out here or not?" he asked with a smile, raising one eyebrow to taunt her.
Scully looked down and pursed her lips. Taking a deep breath in, she finally looked back up at him and answered, "Yes...please."
"Okay, so when I was at the precinct this morning questioning that perp, I started talking to this detective. He told me about a case that he was assigned to recently involving the rapes of several women in this park across town."
"Ahhh, so am I to assume that this is the park in question?"
"Can't get anything past you, can I, Scully?" Mulder said as he flashed a wicked grin.
"So, what's the case about?" she asked, unaffected by his adorable grin.
"Seven women...all raped here, in this very park. The rapes have occurred on July 29th every year for the last seven years in a row."
"Why didn't they tie the cases together before now?"
"Detective Wagenbach mentioned something about 'misplaced' evidence that 'accidentally' resurfaced recently. He wasn't terribly forthcoming with all the details."
"Well, those are some very odd coincidences, but I've got to ask: how is this an X-File?"
"How did I know you were going to ask that?"
"I'm predictable?"
Mulder couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Well, you see Scully, some of the evidence that was 'misplaced' included the DNA samples from the rape kits taken from each victim."
"Okay...and?"
"And, the DNA was finally processed...the results came in yesterday."
"Andddd?"
"Andddd...it's not human DNA."
"What do you mean it's not human DNA? What kind of DNA is it?"
"Unknown. It can't be matched to any identified DNA...neither plant nor animal."
"Don't you think we should be concentrating on the case at hand, though? We were supposed to get up early and go over to the Coroner's office."
"Scully! Don't you see how huge this could be?! You and I may be on the verge of discovering a new species!"
"Mulder, you're getting a little ahead of yourself, don't you think? There could have been a mix-up at the lab or the hospital might've made an error when the samples were taken. Not to mention, it's been seven years since the first sample was taken...."
"A mix-up with ALL seven samples? Seven errors at the hospital?"
"It's possible. And besides, why would a nonhuman, nonplant sub-species want to rape women once a year on July 29th? For what purpose? And where are these women that get raped? I wouldn't think there'd be too many women out running around a park in the middle of the night."
"Well, I guess we'll find out in a couple of hours."
"A couple of hours?"
"What's today's date, Scully?" he asked, without answering her question nor missing a beat.
Scully looked down at her watch. The hour hand had ticked past the one and the minute hand was on the four. The tiny little date box showed a 29. "It appears to now be the 29th of July."
"Exactly," he said, sipping his coffee. "Today's the day."
"Mulder, you really expect to sit out here all night and wait for some unidentified creature to rape someone in this park?"
"Well, if the past seven years in a row are any indication, then yeah, that's exactly what will happen."
"Mulder, I don't think...."
He cut her off, continuing with his own thoughts as usual. "The rapes didn't occur until after 2 a.m. each year."
"Then what are we doing here so early?!"
"To do some preliminary investigations, of course! C'mon, Scully, let's go check out the area before the 'monster' shows up," he said with a wink as he exited the car.