In The Realms of the Unreal

Chapter 3

A few days later, Mulder and Scully touched down in Exeter Airport. After collecting their bags, they proceeded to get a taxi towards the hotel. The hotel itself had existed for quite sometime, but in the 70s it was particularly notorious for being as one guest described "The crummiest shoddiest worst-run hotel in Western Europe" Eventually after an incident involving a health inspector and a rat being kept as a pet, it was closed down and later brought and reopened by new management.

As the taxi pulled up, Mulder and Scully both stared. If the letters they'd received were true, then this simple hotel in the corner of England was to be the beginning of a plot to save the entire universe. Although Mulder believed it, Scully being the sceptical type was less convinced. Surely it would have made more sense to send the letter to the heads of government for the most powerful countries on earth, then some random nobodies. But all would be revealed soon enough. At this point she was just jet lagged and wanted to lie down.

When the two of them walked into the hotel lobby, Mulder walked over to the hotel desk and began the usual procedure to get the two of them booked in. While both of them chatted, Scully glanced behind her. Sitting on a chair up against the wall was a middle aged heavily muscled man reading a paper. On the front page were the usual reports involving the Barlet presidential administration. However, just for a second Scully could have sworn the man was looking at her.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
A second later, the man realised she was talking to him and looked up from his paper
"Oh sorry" he said in a rough new yorkish accent "I just couldn't help overhearing your accents. It's great to know I'm not the only guy from the other side of the Atlantic here"
He then held out his hand "John Mcclane."
Scully shook it "Dana Scully"

"So" Mcclane asked "What brings you guys here anyway? Are you....you know"

"Oh no, nothing like that!" Scully laughed "We're just friends on vacation"

"Same here" Mcclane replied before clarifying "I mean the vacation part, not the friends"
"So why'd you come to Torquay then?" Scully asked "You look like you're on your own"

"Is that a bad thing?" Mcclane replied with mock offence "Nah. I'm just taking a little break and thought I'd try somewhere a bit different. Work's a bit tough at the moment if you understand?"

"Really?" Scully raised an eyebrow "What sort of work do you do?"

"I'm a cop" Mcclane told her "Lemme tell ya, it ain't nothing like what you see on TV. Especially when your turf is New York City, ya know with gangs, drugs and all that shit. So I figure I gotta take a break every once in a while before I go nuts. But enough about me, what do you do?"

"I just work for the government" Scully replied.
Mcclane grinned "That's a little vague. You a spy or somethin?"
Scully shook her head "Oh no. Nothing like that. I'm just a bureaucrat. It's probably the dullest job in the world. Why do you think I took a vacation in first place"

"Hey Scully. Who's your friend?"
Scully and Mcclane looked up to see Mcclane looking over them
"Oh hey" Scully said "Mulder this is John Mcclane. He's a New York cop on vacation"
"Nice to meet you" Mulder shook Mcclane's hand
"You too." Mcclane replied "Your friend here says she works for the government. You do the same or..."
"Yeah" Mulder replied "We spend most of our time covering up the government's top secret UFO program. You know, harvesting alien bodies, storing away crashed spaceships, that sort of thing"
Mcclane laughed "Well if you ever need someone to round up little green men, I'll be sure to apply"
"Sorry" Scully interrupted "But we've got to go. Is the room sorted"

"Yeah" Mulder handed her a key "We're room 301."

As the two of them walked away, Mcclane spoke again.
"Hey it's great seeing you. If we get the chance, I'll treat you guys to some dinner"

A few seconds later, Mulder and Scully had managed to get their suitcases upstairs and settled into their room. As soon as they had done so, Scully had flopped down onto the bed
"Feeling tired?" Mulder asked her
"What do you think?" Scully replied "I haven't slept since we took off"
"Look on the bright side" Mulder sat down on the bed "At least we've got a nice change of scenery"
"That's just it" Scully said "We've come halfway around the world for an anonymous letter claiming that we're the only hope in saving the world from some dark fate. Forgive me if I'm not a little grumpy"
"Hey there's still a chance that the whole thing isn't a gigantic hoax and is in fact the start of a great adventure. Didn't you always dream of doing something like that when you were a child?"

Scully rolled her eyes "Yes-when I was a child! But I'm an adult now with adult responsibilities. I can't just abandon my work to go after an alleged heroic quest when I've got bills to pay"

"Well if you're gonna be miserable about it, I'm gonna go for a little walk" Mulder replied "Maybe when I come back, you'll be in a better mood"

Mulder then got off the bed and walked over to the door. He then opened it and paused
 "And by the way, if you take anything from the minibar, they charge you extra"



A little later, Mulder made it downstairs to the hotel lobby. Mcclane had since disappeared, presumably to his room, but he'd left the newspaper behind amidst a pile of papers and celeb magazines which were weeks out of date. As Mulder thumbed through the pile, a voice behind him said "Good evening to you"
Turning around Mulder saw a grinning man with curly hair, wearing a long scarf standing behind him.
"Have we met?" Mulder asked
"I don't think so." the man replied "Of course there's a chance we might have done years ago, but I don't remember. That sort of thing tends to happen in my line of work"
Mulder stared at him blankly
"Sorry. I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Doctor John Smith. I'm here for a meeting of sorts"

Mulder raised an eyebrow "You don't say?"

"Let me guess" Dr Smith grinned "You're doing the exact same thing"

"I might be" Mulder decided to play it cool "But I'm not sure if it's for the same reason as you
"
"Don't trust me eh?" Doctor Smith laughed "Don't worry. It's perfectly normal."
"Yeah" Mulder nodded 
"Well don't worry" Doctor Smith patted Mulder on the back "I'm a nice guy"

"Look, sorry if I sound rude" Mulder decided now was a good time to get away "But my friend is waiting for me in my room. I really should be getting back"

"Of course" Doctor Smith smiled "We mustn't keep our friends waiting. But I'm sure our paths will cross again someday"


Mulder then walked away "What a weirdo" he thought to himself
Of course, if he'd had any idea what types of characters he would soon be dealing with, Doctor Smith would look very sane by comparison.

Notes:

In case you hadn't guessed, the hotel is actually meant to be Fawlty Towers from the BBC sitcom of the same name

The Barlet administration is a reference to the TV series The West Wing