#Scully ducks out of her normal above-and-beyond work acts of service

[alittlemissfit]

The Bodyguard Ch. 12

Here’s the latest in @contrivedcoincidences6 and my multi chap AU craziness. Enjoy!

“What are you doing?” Mulder asks, hobbling over to the front door of his apartment where Scully is standing on a chair. Attaching something right above his doorway.  “Putting up a camera so we can see who's at the door,” she says, as if it’s a perfectly normal thing to be doing.  “And why do you need to do that? I have a peep hole!” Mulder exclaims, pointing to the door with one of his crutches.  Not looking away from the task at hand she answers him. “Peep holes can only offer a narrow view of whoever is standing outside. It’s easy to trick someone into opening the door that way. When we install this camera we’ll be able to see from every angle. Better safe than sorry.” “This is insane,” Mulder groans. “You guys have been in my apartment making all kinds of noise and moving my things around for two days now. All those cameras outside? It seems like overkill.” Ducking her head inside the doorway Scully looks at him, annoyed.  “I was hired to keep you safe, Mulder. All these cameras and security devices, they’re needed for me to do my job.” “I thought all you needed for your job was a Glock and a pair of sunglasses.” “If I was Secret Service in a bad action movie that’s all I’d need,” Scully snorts. “You know most people who hire a bodyguard don’t need to be convinced how important it is they stay safe,” she says, resuming her work. “Well I wasn’t the one who hired you. And I’m not exactly thrilled you’re turning my apartment into some kind of fortress.”  “Too bad,” she shrugs, clicking the camera into place.

Moving over to his window Mulder looks through the blinds at the street. Rolls his eyes at the men installing devices and milling around the entrance to his building and the street. 

He knows Bill paid his landlord off so the surveillance equipment could be put in, along with a new, more secure doorbell that involves him getting a visual of whoever is at the door before he can buzz them in. He’s also discovered his father rented an apartment just down the hall for her to sleep in at night and Carter to sleep in during the day. It also functioned as their own little home base. Mulder felt surrounded.  Throwing his head back he groans, flops back on his couch as Scully climbs down from the chair, folds her arms over her chest. “I know that you don’t like this but you’ll be happy when it saves your life,” she says, sounding exasperated.  “I thought it was your job to save me,” Mulder scoffs, staring at the ceiling as Scully rolls her eyes. “That’s what I’m doing by setting all of this up.”  “Not sure I trust someone who depends so much on technology.” “What if I had a Glock and a pair of sunglasses?” she asks with a smirk, sitting in the chair across the way. Unclipping her Sig Sauer from her holster she sets it on the coffee table, then reaches for a gun cleaning kit from a lockbox on the floor. Feeling Mulder’s eyes on her she smiles. “My Ray Bans are in my purse if you’re curious.”

“I have some friends that have been wanting to come over but they won’t come if their faces will be on camera.” Mulder whines, watching her clean her gun and slightly annoyed she doesn’t look up from what she’s doing to look at him. “You have weird friends.” “They’re also work associates,” he says as she snorts.  “May I ask what kind of work?”  “We consult,” Mulder says with indignation. The smirk she’s wearing should annoy him but instead he feels his insides twist a bit. “I’ve asked them to look into the accident, too. They think that they have some helpful information.”  Now she looks up at him with dryly. “You think they have better access than we do?” “They're hackers. They've got more access than your guys will ever see.” At that Scully scoffs, arches a brow. “They sound like a really good group.” “Because they are,” Mulder says defensively. “Their illegal activities wouldn’t have anything to do with the threats against you, would they?” Rolling his eyes Mulder shifts in his seat, not doing a convincing job of not appearing uncomfortable. The last several months he and the Gunmen had been investigating businesses in known association with his father’s company, Roush Industries. Mulder held a long standing belief that what happened to Samantha was a result of bad blood between his father and some of his associates. Proof of illegal activity within Roush surfaced a few weeks back, prompting Mulder and the boys to dig deeper.  After a lot of research and a fair amount of hacking, they learned that in December of 1969, Roush partnered with an organization called Pruitt Suppliers. To the public, Pruitt was a reputable defense company known for their breakthroughs in military weapons technology, but on closer look, Pruitt had longstanding associations and trade agreements with arms dealers, as well as a toe in drug smuggling and human trafficking. Mulder wasn't convinced Bill knew about the Pruitt’s’ heinous side hustles, but his gut told him his father knew on some level that the company wasn't legitimate.  His gut also told him that anyone with the success and wealth of his father didn’t achieve it by playing by the rules. But his own flesh and blood working with people on the level of these dealers was cause for concern. Knowing Roush and Pruitt had been intertwined since the early seventies, meant Bill had associated with them for some time when Samantha disappeared. Considering Pruitt’s penchant for human trafficking, Mulder had to force himself on a daily basis not to dwell on what could have happened to his sister.  Ever since their conversation on the swing at the estate, he was debating how much of the information he had could be shared with his bodyguards. Scully seemed legit but he’d learned in recent years he could trust no one. How was he to know she wasn’t working for his father and Spender? Maybe she was being paid off by Roush to spy while she guarded him.  Sitting up straighter Mulder narrows his eyes at her. “You seem to have a lot of questions,” he says with a frown as her brows knit in confusion. “Mulder, I need information to protect you. The dossier we have on you is limited. Any knowledge you have of what kind of people are coming after you-” “It’s not your job to know those things,” Mulder interrupts. “Your job is to keep me safe. Everything my friends and I work on is sensitive. I don’t know if I can trust you what we know.” Her face changes from one of confusion and irritation to barely concealed humor. “What?” “Nothing. You just seem to think a lot of yourself and this ‘work’ that you do.” His temper flaring up at her patronizing tone, Mulder shakes his head, looks at her accusingly. “At least I’m not some second rate spy!” “Spy?! Is that what you think?” Scully laughs. “My only job is to make sure that no one hurts you, Mulder. Beyond that I don’t care. You and your friends can get back to your work when my job is done. Until then, I’m not allowing them access to you.” “You don’t have total control over my life, Scully. I’m a grown man, this is my apartment, and the Gunmen are allowed in here any time, whenever they want,” Mulder says, trying not to sound childish but not entirely succeeding. “Well, if you’re insistent on maintaining access, I’ll call your father and get him to sign off. He knows all about your friends and the work you do, right?”  Trying not to wince, Mulder shakes his head. “He knows we’ve worked with the police and the FBI.”  “Does he know you’re looking into his company?” Looking down at her feet for her briefcase, Scully unlatches it, retrieves a folder. “Roush Industries, correct?”  Mulder fumes, realizing she’d been playing dumb this whole time. He also wants to know how she found out.  Scully on the other hand is relieved he hasn’t called her bluff. She’d done her homework on Roush Industries and came to the conclusion they had some shady business partners. When Mulder accused her of being a spy she’d made the connection. Watching his face she knows she’s right on the money.  “Why would we be looking into my father’s company?” Mulder scoffs. “I have stock in Roush. My dad’s been pestering me to take a position there for years. If I wanted to find out about them I could just work there,” he says, flapping his hand around in the air and not meeting her eyes.  “That wasn’t a no.” “No, I’m not interested in the day to day at Roush,” he snaps. “I’m not talking about the day to day. I’m talking about their association with some less than respectable businesses. Pruitt Suppliers for one,” Scully says as Mulder looks up, watches her closely. “If you’re so connected to Roush surely you know about them.” “I’m sure most corporations have associates that aren’t exactly kosher.” Scully just hums in response, puts the folder back into her case. “So, just to be clear, you’re not going to let me do my job?” Mulder asks. “Your friends can come over,” Scully says begrudgingly. “After we run background checks,” she adds, knowing full well he won’t approve. “They won’t like that.” “Well, good thing I’m not working for them.”  Mulder wishes he could quickly walk out, make a dramatic exit, but even after a week on the crutches he still has trouble getting upright. Moving forward on the couch, Scully goes to help him but he wards her off with a glare. Instead she watches in veiled amusement as he struggles to stand. “C’mon Mulder, I can help you. It’s not embarrassing to need help when you can’t walk on your own,” she says after a minute of watching him, earning a glare.  “I don’t need your help,” he spits.  “So this is how it’s going to be then? You’re going to act like a child and refuse to let me do my job or even help you? It’d be a lot easier on both of us if you just let go of your pride while I’m here, Mulder. Otherwise we’ll just be butting heads the whole time and trust me, I will always win.”  Mulder, finally upright, doesn’t respond as he makes his less than dramatic exit.  Letting out a sigh, Scully pinches the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a long assignment.