WRITTEN BY
Spookygirl1
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RATING
Rated G
PUBLISHED ON
November 23, 2017
WORD COUNT
5,121
READ TIME
26 minutes
SUMMARY
This X File goes into a bit more detail in the day of the life of a young Agent Spender and reveals how Mulder and Fowley discovered the X Files together...
The X Files: Origins, In the Beginning…
This X File tells the tale of how the X Files were founded by Agents Fox Mulder and Diana Fowley. CSM also spies on Spender as Spender starts his FBI career.
Also from Shapes- the first X File of a werewolf by J Edgar Hoover.
Disclaimer: I do not own the to show X Files. X Files and this story’s characters Agents Mulder, Scully, Fowley, Spender, Krycek and CSM all belong to 20th Century Fox and Chris Carter. This story is entirely fictitious from the author.
Chapter 1
FBI Headquarters
28th February 1998
Monday
FBI bullpen
Agent Jeffrey Spender stopped at the doorway of the FBI bullpen and surveyed the room. Today was an important and monument day for him, as it was his first day as a Special FBI Agent. Spender said hello to one of the other agents who briefly nodded back before he left the busy room.
Spender felt a little nervous but was sure he could handle it. He shrugged off his jacket and made his way to the computer that the man who had just left the room had shut down, so Spender was free to use it.
As he waited for the PC to start up, Spender noticed someone looking at him. He turned to see a female FBI agent smiling at him.
She had long, dark hair and seemed to be in her forties. She wore a dark blue business suit and she sat at her PC typing away.
“Hi,” she said, and Spender managed to reply, “hey,” as he was quite nervous talking to FBI agents. The woman held out a hand for him to shake which he did. “I’m Agent Fowley,” she introduced herself.
Spender smiled a tight smile. “I’m Agent Spender,” he told her, and she smiled again. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around. Is this your first day here, Agent Spender?” she asked. Spender nodded. “Yeah. Kind of nervous,” he confessed. “So was I when I started work here five years ago,” Agent Fowley told him, “but like any job, you’ll pick it up in a few days,” she told him before going back to her typing. “Except of course, you’re working on the X Files,” she said with a little laugh.
Spender looked at her, a little confused. He had never heard of the X Files. “X Files?” he asked with a frown. Agent Fowley looked up from her PC when she heard the question.
“You’ve not heard of the X Files?” she asked him in surprise. Spender shook his head. “Would you like to hear about it?” Agent Fowley asked.
Spender nodded. “Sure,” he replied, “fire away,” he added. Agent Fowley grinned. “It’s a long story, so I’ll tell you at lunch if you like,” she offered.
Spender smiled. “Okay- lunch it is then,” he agreed, and the two agents smiled at each other before going back to their typing.
A few minutes later, Fowley’s phone rang and she answered it quickly. “Yes sir,” she said after a pause before hanging up and logging off her PC. She stood up and made her way to the office exit. “You okay?” Spender asked her. She smiled back at him.
“It’s fine. Just got to see the boss- don’t worry, I won’t be long. Save my desk will you please, Agent Spender,” she asked, before Spender nodded and she exited the office.
Agent Fowley made her way to the fourth floor. She bit her lip nervously as she stood alone in the upward going elevator, wondering what her boss wanted with her. The last time she had seen him was when he had given her her job at the FBI and that was seventeen years ago. She didn’t know that much about him, other than he had called himself her patron and he had pulled some strings to get her into the FBI.
The elevator pinged and the doors opened to reveal the busy 4th floor corridors. Once she left the elevator she made her way through the hallway and towards a room at the end, a door that had no name on it. She knocked lightly on the door and waited for an answer.
“Come in,” a voice called, and Fowley did so. The room was slightly darkened as the window blinds were shut. There was a big conference table in the middle of the room where a man sat in the darkness, smoking cigarettes. Another man Fowley didn’t know was standing in the corner of the room.
“Agent Fowley,” the smoking man said, keeping himself in the shade. At once Fowley knew and remembered him as the man who got her the job at the FBI. They hadn’t spoken properly before and she hadn’t seen what he looked like either as they had met once before in the same way as this.
“Have a seat, please,” the smoking man said, gesturing to the empty seats in front of him.
Fowley nervously sat in one of the chairs and tried to calm herself down. “You look tense, Agent Fowley,” the man observed. “Why am I here?” Fowley asked. The man chuckled as he put out a cigarette. “Can’t an old friend say hello?” he quipped.
Fowley watched him suspiciously. “I know you got me my job here, but that was a long time ago. Why are you talking to me now?” she asked. The smoking man chuckled again. “I see you’ve made a new friend downstairs. What’s his name- Agent Spender?” he asked. Fowley looked at him quizzically.
“Yes, why?” she asked. The smoking man lit another cigarette. “I want you to keep a close watch on him, Diana,” he told her simply in a curt tone. “I want you to know what he does in and outside work. You are to tell him everything about the X Files. Make him see what we want him to see. And keep him away from Fox Mulder,” the man told her. “Mulder? Why?” Fowley asked.
“All will be revealed in due time,” the smoking man said after a pause. “Now you may go Agent Fowley and make sure my orders are carried out, or you will be looking for a new job, am I clear?” The man asked, making sure his face stayed in the dark so she could not see what he looked like now.
“Yes sir,” Fowley answered through gritted teeth. She didn’t like being ordered around like this. “Good. Off you go,” the smoking man said. After one last look at him Fowley turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Chapter 2
Same day, lunchtime
FBI canteen
12:30pm
“Okay,” Spender said as he sat at a table in the busy canteen with Agent Fowley sitting opposite him. “What’s the story? What are the X Files about?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Fowley took a bite out of her sandwich before replying, “right, down to business then is it, Agent Spender?” she asked. Spender grinned and nodded.
“Okay,” Fowley said as she put her sandwich down and rubbed her hands free from any crumbs. “Most people hear know that they started when I was working with Agent Mulder. I trust you’ve heard of him?” Fowley asked with a smile.
Spender shrugged as he took a bite out of his sandwich. “I think I’ve heard talk of a Spooky Mulder before I graduated from the Academy,” Spender told her thoughtfully. Fowley smiled and nodded.
“That’s him,” she told him. “Okay, I’ll start from the top,” she said and Spender nodded, munching his sandwich as he listened. “The very first X File was written by J Edgar Hoover himself in 1946. I found that first file in the FBI archives and there was something about it that made me want to keep it,” Fowley told Spender, thinking about that fateful day she was assigned to update some of the files in the archives. Spender raised an eyebrow and couldn’t stop himself from smirking. “What was the file about?” he asked her skeptically which Fowley picked up on. The guy definitely wasn’t like Mulder she thought.
“Werewolves,” she replied thoughtfully, waiting to see Spender’s reaction. Spender was taking a sip of his coffee and nearly chocked on it in disbelief when he heard Fowley say werewolves.
“Seriously, Agent Fowley,” he said, “Are you telling me that J Edgar Hoover wrote a file on werewolves?” he asked with a smirk.
“Before storing it away in the archives, yes,” Fowley said evenly. She was beginning to understand how Mulder must have felt with people laughing at his theories, like what Spender was doing with her, and she didn’t like it.
Spender just gave her a look. “So you believe him? Spooky Mulder?” he asked. Fowley nodded. “I have a background in parapsychology so I tend to agree with Mulder’s theories. It’s also why I dated him as we had the paranormal in common,” she told him. “You were Mrs Spooky?” Spender asked to which Fowley nodded and grinned as she finished her sandwich.
“Then after working together Mulder and I found some odd cases in the FBI archives that hadn’t been solved. They were filed under X and there was a whole cabinet full of them which was marked “Unsolved.” Mulder and I took some of the fils down to the basement when no one could see us and we studied the Files.
Mulder found them interesting and instantly asked his superiors for an office and the authority to investigate the cases thoroughly again, to which they agreed and the X Files were opened,” Fowley summerised.
Spender nodded. “So are you still working with Mulder?” he asked. Fowley shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee. “I left after investigating a few cases to work on an assignment in Europe with the FBI’s foreign counter- terrorism unit,” Fowley told him.
Spender nodded again. “So does Mulder know you’re back now?” he asked her. “Not yet. But I’ll pay him a visit. You can too, if you want to talk about aliens,” she told him with a grin, hoping he’d take the hint and not come, so she would be fulfilling her task of keeping him away from Mulder.
Spender shook his head. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass,” he replied, much to Agent Fowley’s relief. Spender then looked at his watch. “It’s 1:30, I gotta get back to the bull pen. Thanks for the talk and lunch, Agent Fowley,” he told her as he got up to leave.
“No problem,” Fowley replied with a grin before she watched Spender nod and leave the canteen. Fowley decided she was going to spend more time with Spender in his first week, so he would trust her and not Mulder as the smoking man asked her to do. Fowley smiled to herself as she sipped the last of her coffee. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship, she thought as she herself left the canteen.
Chapter 3
FBI Headquarters,
Bullpen,
Next day, 5pm
The next day Spender was very busy getting himself into a routine and settling down at work. He was starting to get used to where things were now, and he and his friend from the academy Agent Bob Stanton who started working at the FBI the day before was around to keep him company. Though he worked in the Criminal Investigations Devision they agreed to always have lunch together whenever they could. They had been best buddies since college and Spender spent a lot of time with him.
After a busy day at the bullpen, Spender was just about to turn off his computer and go home when a familiar face looked at him over the monitor.
Agent Fowley was not in the bullpen that day so Spender didn’t see her. He grinned at the smiling face that appeared in front of him. “Cut it out, Bob,” he chided his friend who stood up properly and grinned. “Lighten up, Jeff. You take work too seriously you know,” he said. Spender switched off his computer and stood up to stretch his aching arms after typing for most of the day.
“So you keep telling me,” he replied as he got his things together and grabbed his coat. The bullpen lights were dimming as agents began to make their way out of the room and towards home. “Fancy stopping for a beer on the way back?” Stanton asked him. “I feel like I need one after the day I’ve had,” he said as he tiredly ran a hand through his dark brown hair.
Stanton was s little taller than Spender, he was six feet one inch and was thin and skinny. As long as Spender had known him, no matter how much he ate Stanton was one of those people who could never put a lot of weight on. Lucky guy, Spender always thought to himself.
“Yeah, okay. Let’s go to the bar. It’s your idea, so you’re buying,” Spender told him with a grin as they walked together out of the emptying bullpen offices.
Just as they were about to walk out of the door a lady appeared. She looked at Spender in surprise. “Hey Agent Spender,” she said. The woman was Agent Fowley. “Hey Agent Fowley,” Spender replied, also a bit surprised. “Are you all right? I haven’t seen you in the bullpen all day today,” he said.
Fowley smiled. “I also sometimes work at the Human Resources branch, part time. No biggie,” she said with a shrug before patting Spender on the shoulder. “Thanks for your concern. I’ll be here tomorrow. Are you settling in okay?” she asked. Spender nodded a little awkwardly at her touch. “I’m good thanks. Agent Fowley, this is my buddy Agent Stanton. Agent Stanton, this is my colleague Agent Fowley. We work together here in the bullpen,” Spender said. Stanton and Fowley smiled awkwardly at each other as they shook hands.
“Nice to meet you, Agent Fowley,” Stanton said with a polite smile. “Likewise, Agent Stanton,” Fowley replied with a smile. “Agent Stanton works in the Criminal Investigations Department,” Spender explained.
“Yeah. It’s where the action is,” Stanton said with a wink at Fowley. Spender rolled his eyes as he saw the wink and Fowley looked down at the floor for a moment.
“Right well, guess we better go,” Spender said breaking the silence. Fowley looked up again. “Have a good evening. I’m just going to check through some emails and then I’ll be off myself,” she said. “You sure you don’t need a lift back?” Spender offered.
Fowley grinned. “No thanks Agent Spender, Im fine. Well, see you tomorrow,” she said. “See you,” Stanton said and Spender nodded at her before they went their separate ways.
Chapter 4
FBI Headquarters
Bullpen offices,
5:30pm
Agent Fowley sat at her desk and sighed as she read what was on her monitor screen. She was reading Spender’s FBI file, trying to get as much information on him as possible so she could present it to the smoking man. She didn’t like the task but she didn’t want to lose her job at the FBI either.
She had been at Human Resources all day, just reading files. Her curiosity had pressed her to find out who her mysterious boss, the smoking man, actually was. Since she met him, Fowley had no idea what his name was. He wasn’t forthcoming with information about himself either, which made her think he may be someone very important in the hierarchy of the FBI.
Spender’s file wasn’t out of the ordinary. She read how he had graduated to the FBI from the academy like Mulder, but unlike Mulder he was working on background checks.
Fowley wondered why the smoking man was so interested in Spender. All day she had been trying to find files on the Smoking Man but she had found none. Who the hell is he? Fowley asked herself. She looked at the time. It was now 5:45pm. She had to go to a meeting at 6pm. Fowley switched off her computer and grabbed her coat before leaving the darkened office.
She made her way down to the FBI garage and waited for a while before a dark black non descript car arrived and parked just a few spaces away from her. Fowley started walking to it. The inside of the car was pitch black, even more so now that it was in the darkened garage.
But Fowley could see a small spark of something being lit, and she could tell it was her boss who was sitting at the back of the car, smoking a cigarette.
With a sigh, she made sure no one was following her before making her way to the black car before opening the back passenger door and getting in the car. The smoking man grinned in the dark. “Agent Fowley,” he acknowledged her. “I hear you have information for me on our new friend Agent Spender,” he began.
Fowley nodded. “He has a friend working here, another agent called Stanton. I bumped into them when I returned to the bullpen from Human Resources,” she told him. CSM nodded. “Good, good. What does his friend do?” he asked her.
This time he was in the light and a Fowley could just about make out her boss’ withered old face in the dark.
Wordlessly, Fowley handed him a file folder that she had been compiling about Agent Spender that week. “He works in CID. They were best mates since college. Spender’s history is in that file you’e holding, and Stanton’s,” Fowley told him. Fowley bit her lip nervously again as the smoking man opened the file and began reading from it. There was a long silence as Fowley waited for him to give her his verdict on whether or not she had done well so she wouldn’t lose her job.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the smoking man took one last puff on his cigarette before putting it out and throwing it out of the window. He then closed the file before finally nodding at Fowley.
“Good work, Agent Fowley,” he said, much to Fowley’s relief. “You have been a great help. Now I need you to keep an eye on what goes on in that X Files office down in the basement without Spender knowing,” he said calmly. Fowley felt herself feeling annoyed and frustrated. She had already done what he had asked her to do, why was he giving he more tasks? This wasn’t what she’d signed up for.
“I’m sorry, sir, but what do you want me to do? Hang around the X Files office after hours? I need to go home sometime and I don’t like this cloak and dagger stuff, or going behind Spender’s back either. Tell me, why is Spender so important?” she demanded.
Smoking man gave her a look as he thought about her words. “That is for me to know and you not to find out,” he replied sternly. “Now, Agent Fowley, you will carry out my orders to the latter and you have no right to question them. If you have a problem with that I’m sure we can make other arrangements,” CSM said with a threatening emphasis as he said the word “other”. Fowley sighed in defeat.
“Yes Sir. I will do as you order,” she told him, before he smiled in the dark and lit another cigarette. “Good. I look forward to seeing what you have for me in a weeks’ time,” he told her evenly. “Is that all Sir?” Fowley asked.
CSM breathed in a deep breath of cigarette smoke before replying casually, “yes, Agent Fowley. You may go,” he said, and gestured to the driver to unlock the doors. Fowley just scowled at him before she opened the door and exited the vehicle. She then made her way back to the elevators without looking back as CSM’s car drove away behind her.
Chapter 5
Mowgli’s Bar
Later that evening
Downtown Washington, DC
Stanton was laughing with Spender as they sat at a table of their favourite bar that they always went to, Mowgli’s. A handful of FBI agents went there too after work and sometimes Stanton and Spender would chat with them at the weekends.
“So, that Fowley chick. Do you work with her?” Stanton asked a little drunkenly as he was in his third pint. Spender was a light drinker so he was only on his second. They were catching a cab to take them home as it was a week night so they wouldn’t stay long enough to drink much anyhow.
The work at the FBI could involve a lot of pressure and deadlines so they needed a break to let off steam once a week.
Spender was feeling extra tired that night after his second day in his new job so he really needed this break. He took another swig of his beer before replying, “yeah, kind of. She sits next to me in the bullpen,” he told him.
“You got an eye on her, have you?” he asked Stanton with a grin. Stanton grinned back. “Maybe,” he said cautiously before drinking more of his beer. Stanton was in his mid thirties and as still playing the field. As long as Spender had known him he’d never stayed with a girl too long. He wasn’t a player but he liked to keep his relationships casual as he wasn’t ready to settle down yet.
Spender however, was the opposite. He had just broken up from his long term girlfriend Amy Canter, as after five years together she was getting fed up that Spender still hadn’t popped the question yet as his work was always in the way. She always felt second best after his work and in the end, even though Spender wanted to be with her she was right, work will always come first for him.
So they broke up after Spender began his last year at the Academy, and since then Spender just wanted some time to himself and have a break from dating. Stanton was always trying to set him up with girls since they broke up last year but Spender always declined as he wasn’t ready for another relationship yet.
“Forget it, pal, she’s way out of your league,” Spender replied as he finished his second pint. “Oh really? How do you figure?” Stanton asked with a raised eyebrow. “Hold on a sec. More booze?” Spender asked as he got up from his seat. “Don’t mind if I do,” Stanton said before Spender made his way to the busy bar and ordered two more beers.
After ten minutes Spender got their drinks and sat back down at their table again. “So, you were saying?” Stanton prompted him as he took another swig.
“Yeah, Agent Fowley’s worked in parapsychology, so I doubt you’ll be smart enough for her to date, pal,” Spender told him with a grin.
“Oh yeah?” Stanton asked. “We’ll see about that,” he added. Spender rolled his eyes. Stanton thought there wasn’t a chick in the world he couldn’t have, and he loved a challenge. “What are you gonna do?” Spender asked as he took another swig.
“I’m gonna ask her out,” Stanton told him finally. Spender nearly choked on his drink. “What? When?” he asked.
“Tomorrow after work,” Stanton said with a shrug. Spender got his breath back. “All right,” he replied. “I bet you 20 bucks that she’ll say no,” Spender told his friend. Stanton grinned. “Now you’re talking,” he said as they reach over the table and shook hands on it. Afterwards, Stanton and Spender both finished their beers and decided to call it a night as they were both beginning to slur their words.
So Stanton called them a cab and they waited outside the bar in the street. It was a cool night and the lampposts were on lighting the streets. The cab came five minutes later and they both got in. Spender was dropped off first and tipped the driver before giving Stanton his share of the fare.
“Remember you gotta ask her tomorrow,” Spender said drunkenly as he leant against the car for support. “I know. Don’t worry bud, she’ll say yes,” Stanton replied, equally drunk. “In your dreams,” Spender replied with a grin before he closed the door and tapped the cab roof so the driver knew he could go.
Spender stumbled back to his apartment across the road and managed to find his key after five minutes of looking. He grinned to himself as he got in, locked the door behind him and went straight to his bed. He really needed that drink and felt better now. He fell into a deep sleep, hoping his hangover won’t be too bad in the morning.
Chapter 6
FBI Headquarters
Later that evening, 7pm
X Files office
Agent Fowley stood by the closed door of the X Files office, hoping that Mulder wasn’t there. She had just come back from her meeting with CSM and thought she may as well look around the office before going home later.
When she was satisfied that it was quiet, Fowley took a deep breath and gingerly unlocked the door with the spare key to the office that she still kept from when she was working their with Mulder. She breathed a sigh of relief when the key still worked and the door unlocked.
Looks like Mulder hasn’t changed the locks then, she thought a little smugly, realising that this must mean he still thought about her.
She proceeded cautiously as she slowly opened the door. To her relief, the office was dark and empty. Mulder must have gone home early. She entered the office before flicking on the light switch and closing the door behind her. As she made her way over to the X Files cabinet, she wondered if Mulder had any information on her mysterious boss. She may as well kill two birds with one stone and look for Files on him too while she was at it.
Fowley rummaged through the X Files, and after ten minutes or so she found what she was looking for- a file on CSM. Mulder mentioned him a lot in a file named Dana Scully. In the file, Fowley read he blamed CSM for her abduction and that his partner Agent Krycek had double crossed him by helping Duane Barry give Scully away.
Fowley raised an eyebrow. Mulder wrote that this Agent Krycek also worked for the CSM. How many others are working for him and why? Fowley asked herself.
Fortunately, from Mulder’s notes it appeared that Mulder didn’t know much about him either. When he confronted him he was unable to kill CSM due to his importance in the government.
Fowley shook her head as she got a notepad and pen from Mulder’s desk and jotted down what she had found out so far about the CSM and Mulder and Scully. She also made a note to track down this Alex Krycek and find out why he chose to work for her shady boss the CSM rather than Mulder.
She also made notes about Scully and her condition in the hospital after CSM had returned her to Mulder. When she finished writing for now, Fowley looked around the office and made note of where to put a CCTV camera to help her keep an eye on Mulder and Scully as the CSM had told her to.
She found a place after looking for five minutes- behind the shelf at the top of the office an old lamp that shone down on Mulder’s desk. The lamp was big so she could hide the small camera that CSM had given her in the dark corner behind it. She planned to do this tomorrow when she had more time.
She gazed thoughtfully at Mulder’s name plate and picked it up from his desk. She remembered him and her starting work on the X Files, all those years ago. She remembered the laughs they had when they began dating, and how she loved listening to Mulder’s alien stories and theories.
She would help Mulder by finding Files in the FBI archives that back up his theories, and she would also contact UFO groups such as MUFON and NICAP for any updates of UFO hotspots.
She smiled as she remembered one evening after work when Mulder surprised her with a weekend trip to one of the satellites in California. It was a massive white dome and she and Mulder just spent the evening against their car, gazing at it and the night sky above them, wondering about all the possibilities of alien life that could be trying to contact that satellite right at that moment.
With a sigh, Fowley put the name plate back down on Mulder’s desk and began to leave. She took one long, lingering last look at her ex boyfriend’s desk before flicking off the light switch and leaving the office, carefully locking the door behind her.
Finally, she went back to the FBI garage and to her car before driving home at 7:30pm. She stopped at a drive through and got a quick takeaway pizza for dinner before carrying on driving home in the clear evening. She hoped CSM would be pleased with her progress so far. If he wasn’t then he will have to deal with it, she decided. She already felt bad for entering Mulder’s office behind his back, how was she going to feel like when she placed that CCTV camera on him? She wondered, feeling angry towards the CSM for putting her in this position.
When she arrived home half an hour later, Fowley locked her car in her garage and entered her apartment in Georgetown. Once inside, she flopped down on her sofa and began to eat her pizza. She hoped Mulder would understand why she did what she did.
After dinner Fowley went straight to bed. For some reason, as her head hit the pillow, she found herself unable to stop thinking about Fox Mulder…
The End
HISTORY
No history.