"I bet our bastard President was behind this," Sang said. "I knew he was a weasel."
"We can spend all day trying to figure out who to blame here," Frederick said, "but the truth is, there is nothing you can do. There is nothing that I can do. Everything has been organized this way for a reason, and that's that. The best thing that you can do for yourself is to move on and go home."
"I think you're a spineless weasel of a man if you're willing to just bury all of this."
"Weasel of a man!" Frederick thundered. "Who was the man who fought to keep you employed with the CIA when you were facing serious charges for dereliction of duty? Who was the man who tried everything in his power to keep this operation afloat? Who was the man who stood up and made sure that you, Neil, O'Hara, and the nerd didn't end up in prison for your extra-legal activities involving government property? You call me a weasel, but I have done far more for you than you could ever realize."
"I appreciate those things," Sang said, "I really do, but you can't throw this in my face as a rebuttal for choosing to let the truth be buried."
"Who's to say the truth is even a good thing for the world to know? I would trust the opinions of the higher-ups over whatever hippy, libertine opinion you might have rattling around in your head," Frederick said. "Make no mistake, Sang, my conscience is clean. I am doing the right thing by hiding this, and you… you should get out of here while you still have a chance."
"I don't want to walk away so angry with you," Sang said. "I recognize that you did some real good in my life, but at the same time… you're choosing to get rid of me and Neil for the crime of serving our country. How can that possibly be fair?"
"I don't know what to tell you, Sang," Frederick replied. "I will do whatever they tell me to do. Regardless of the personal cost, the discomfort and the suffering, I can trust them far more than I can trust my own instincts. The world is still spinning, isn't it? Who do you think told me to start this project to begin with?"
Sang frowned. "They told me you were poisoned. Was that true?"
Frederick shook his head. "I don't have to answer that. There's a car outside with enough money to compensate you for what you have done. Take Van and go home. Never speak of any of this again, to anyone, and live the rest of your life as best you can."
"So that's it, then?" Sang asked. "Just like that, you're going to throw me in the trash?"
"You saved the world; what did you think you'd get, a medal?" Frederick asked. "Be out of this place in ten minutes or I'll ask Neil to move you."
He turned and walked off to inspect a few file cabinets that were by the receptionist's desk. Sang felt her blood begin to boil. He'd probably known that things were going to end like this from the very beginning. Frederick has used her.
Sang rushed out from the secret base and into the hot sun. Neil and O'Hara were sitting on the hood of a blue Subaru station wagon.
"Hey," Neil said. "You ready to cash out and get the hell out of here?"
"Change of plans, guys," Sang said as she walked up to them. "There's still an adventure to be had."
"What are you talking about?" Neil asked. "Fredrick officially relieved me and O'Hara ten minutes ago."
"You should have heard all of the swear words I was finally allowed to use on that guy!" O'Hara said. "It was great!"
"There's a pod in there that contains the mind of our strongest ally, the Xevov named Jet," Sang said as she pointed to back where the base was.
"So?" Neil asked.
"So, we're gonna go back in there, steal it, and get the hell out of here," Sang said. "The Xevov are still enslaved. Just because we killed the Draco leader doesn't mean the war is over. It's just beginning. It's just no longer defense – it's an offensive operation."
"But what about being mercenaries in South America?" O'Hara asked as she crossed her arms.
"And the Swedish men!" Neil protested.
"Swedish men and living the rough-cut life of a mercenary can wait!" Sang replied. "We still have a shot at really making a difference."
"And you want our help?" Neil asked. "That is a shock. I'm guessing Van is in, too?'
"Damn straight, he is," Sang said. "Now, do you two chuckleheads want to jump in on the real action or do you want to retire early?"
Neil paused for a moment to consider her words. He glanced over at O'Hara. "What do you think, Red? Do we rip off the government and high-tail it to some country where they'll never find us?"
"How is that any different from what we were planning anyway?" O'Hara asked. "The way I look at it, the more we can learn about these aliens, the better. I sure as hell loved the X-Files and I want to keep living it out."
"Neil?" Sang asked.
Neil shifted a little as he leaned up off of the hood of the car. "All I've ever wanted to do was help people. I know I'm violent and angry, prone to intense outbursts of threats and savagery, but honestly, it's all for the goal of doing good. Do you really think we can help that race?"
"I can guarantee it," Sang said.
"And… will it be a violent way to help them?" Neil asked.
"Absolutely," Sang replied.
"Then count me in. Come on, let's go knock Frederick out, steal the pod, gut-punch Van, and then get the hell out of here."
"Um, we're only doing three of those things," Sang said as she followed after the frenzied Neil. She was hoping they would formulate some kind of a plan before just charging back into the base, but Neil seemed to know what he was doing. At least, she hoped he did.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Van still couldn't believe what had happened. They were all crammed in a Subaru with a large silver pod sticking out of the back, driving frantically across the desert. Everything had moved so quickly. At first, he had been talking to Cindy and asking her to join him, and the next thing he had known, the world was in chaos. People were shouting, guns were being fired, and Van found himself reeling from an intense gut punch as Neil burst in, grabbed Cindy, and slugged Van in the stomach and told him to get to the car before someone got shot.
How they'd managed to load the pod into the vehicle and avoid the CIA guards would forever be a mystery to Van, but he was pretty sure that most of the guard detail was only pretending to chase after them. Even the cars that had given chase had stopped after a few miles of driving. Now they were all crammed into the car, heading to some undisclosed location.
"So, you're positive it's here?" Neil asked as he checked his map again.
"Yes," Cindy said. "The repository should be seven miles to the north."
"Ohhhh, man," Neil said, rubbing his hands together. "Things are just getting better and better."
"I'm still not following any of this," Van said. "And, Neil, why did you punch me?"
"Because I'm not a government man anymore, and your threats of complaints to my supervisor will no longer restrain my wanton urge for violence!" Neil replied. "And that was a congratulatory punch. You did a crazy-good job on saving the world, and I appreciate you."
"Why are you so insane?" Van asked.
"Because I'd be boring as hell if I weren't!" Neil replied. "Now, listen up: Cindy here disclosed to me a few hours ago that there's some kind of place they call a repository. It was designed to be a safehouse in case things got really bad for the Draco representatives down here. This repository contains enough gear for us to make contact with the Draco mothership."
"Interesting," Sang said. "That mothership is full of dead Draco now."
"Exactly, so it's most likely going to be relatively easy to break into. Once we get in there, we can hook up the pod to the satellite thing and see what we need."
"What about the government?" Sang asked. "They're going to be looking for us."