TITLE: Alia Iacta Est AUTHOR: Michelle Roy EMAIL: missmr94@aol.com RATING: 17+ CATEGORY: Scully/Krycek romance story KEYWORDS: Scully/Krycek sex DISCLAIMER: These characters belong to God…er, umm I mean Chris Carter, 1013 productions, and Fox blah blah blah. No monetary gain will be made from this (yeah right. Then I woke up.) TIME FRAME: This takes place shortly after "The End" (season 5 finale) and before the movie. Spoilers abound. SYNOPSIS: A completely inconceivable situation between Scully and Krycek. Be aware it is an 17+ situation for graphic m/f sex and some harsh language. I make no claims for the plausibility of this story (it would NEVER happen) but it sure is fun to let the imagination take hold. POSTING: Feel free to post this anywhere with due credit given to the author They had him again. Alex was positioned directly under the consortium's thumb and he knew it. By all rights he should be dead right now, but for some inconceivable reason the well-manicured man never pulled the trigger on the Star of Russia. He threw his head back and let the shot of whiskey burn its way down his throat, grateful to feel the pain. Leveling his head, he took a look around the bar he'd found his way to. Low lifes, petty crooks, whores. He smiled, thinking that some would think he was in his natural element. Perhaps they were right he thought, but in his own eyes Alex always saw himself as a survivor, true only to himself. How many times had he cheated death? How many situations had he found a way out of? He possessed cunning, guile, instinct and razor-sharp senses. He had needed them all to stay alive. Alex wondered if those who thought him scum would feel that way knowing all he had been through. He wondered if those who held themselves high above him wouldn't do the exact things he did in order to survive. Alex closed his eyes. Knowing what he knew made him valuable and dangerous, either an asset or a potential threat. This was how the consortium saw him. He opened his eyes and saw a reflection of himself in the mirror behind the bar. "They'd better concentrate on the threat," he thought, throwing back another shot. He'd had enough slumming for the night. Digging in the pocket of his jeans, he produced a wad of money and threw it on the bar as he walked out. The chill of the night air hit him full in the chest and Alex absorbed it, inhaling deeply. He looked up and down the lonely street, as he was prone to do. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary he turned and headed towards the hotel he'd gotten a room at. Thankfully it was only a few blocks away as the leather jacket he wore did little to keep out the wind that blew right through him. Walking through the parking lot, Alex noticed that the lot was full. The whores must be doing good business tonight he thought. Walking to his door, something made him stop short. Nothing specifically was wrong that he could see. There was just something…He pulled his gun from his shoulder holster and cautiously opened his door. Nothing. Lights from the parking lot shone through the window onto his bed. Nothing moved inside. There was no sound. Alex threw the switch that turned on the lights. Still nothing. The bed was in perfect shape. Nothing out of it's place. No latent prints in the deep carpet. He made his way to the bathroom, pausing to check the space between his bed and the wall. In the bathroom Alex approached the bathtub with caution, knowing from experience the threat that could lurk there. Gun trained on the shower curtain, he ripped it aside. Holy shit. What the fuck? There was a gun pointed directly at the middle of his forehead. Alex in turn pointed his directly at the forehead of the redhead who stood in his shower. "What happened Scully? Get lost on your way to Mulder's apartment? Or just feel like slumming tonight?" "Don't give me a reason Krycek." Alex laughed. "Seems to me that I'm the one with the reason tonight. Breaking and entering is more than enough reason for me to pull this trigger." "And murder isn't?" "Prove it." Something in Dana Scully faltered and Krycek saw it. He also saw her red, glassy eyes. This might be very bad for him if she had been thinking of her sister and had decided to take matters into her own hands. But how in hell had she found him? Scully's voice took on an exhausted tone. "I can't prove it Krycek, and that's what has saved your ass." Her eyes welled up, staying hard on him. "I can't prove it." Quietly, voice quivering, " I've got nothing." Alex was confused beyond belief. "So why are you here then? To kill me? Not like you Dana. To bring me to justice – sure, I could buy that from you. But to murder me in cold blood? You'd have to jump off that pedestal you've put yourself on." The gun she had pointed at Alex fell to her side and out of her hand as she came to the realization that she had no idea why she'd decided to come here. She knew that in lowering her gun she took the very real risk of being shot by Krycek, but at this point she hardly cared. All seemed lost. The X Files were burned. Mulder's ex-partner, whom he still seemed to carry a torch for, lie in a hospital near death. Her sister was dead. Her daughter was dead. It was more than she could bear. Feeling her legs weaken, she grabbed at Krycek to keep herself from falling. Alex saw the blood drain from her face and watched in amazement as the gun fell to the bathtub. She began to sway, and suddenly lunged toward him. Alex's arm stiffened as he beaded the gun directly at her in anticipation of an attack. Instead, she fell into him, nearly passing out. He caught her with his right arm and silently cursed his useless left arm. "OK Scully, you're going to have to help me out here. I can't carry you, so stay with me." He threw her arm around his shoulder, grabbed her waist, and lifted her out of the bathtub. She was still with him, not having passed out, but seemed to be in a trance-like state. Alex led her to a chair near the bed and sat her down. He walked to the window, glanced outside, and closed the drapes. Tears streamed down Scully's face, although she wasn't crying. Alex was at a loss as he stared at her. He poured her a shot of vodka and offered it to her. The sight of the drink seemed to snap her out of it. She took it and even managed a half smile. "Thank you Krycek." She threw it back and immediately began to hack violently. Alex smiled. "It's not Stolichnaya by a long shot." She looked up at him between coughs. "Obviously." Alex sat on the bed. His instinct told him that she posed no threat to him, but he kept the gun in his hand regardless. "Scully, why in the fuck are you here?" Scully was quiet for a long time. She seemed to truly ponder this question. She looked right at him and very matter-of-factly blurted out, "Krycek, I wanted to see you bleed. For all you've done to my family, to Mulder's family, to me. But seeing you standing there – seeing your, umm, your arm - I realized that the consortium has used you. This place is a rat hole, and I'm sure it's not the worst place you've ever stayed in. You have nothing. You have no one. You live in fear. Who would choose to live their life like that? You're a liar and a murderer and deserve to die for the crimes you've committed. But I can't be the one to do it." She reached for the bottle, and poured herself another shot. He was suspicious. Where Scully was, Mulder couldn't be too far behind. "Where is Agent Mulder?" Scully drank another shot and managed not to hack as the firewater went down her throat. "Agent Mulder is at the side of his ex-partner Diana Fowley who was shot and is comatose." Alex took a swig from the bottle. Diana wasn't dead. Goddammit! He'd beaded a shot right to her heart. He took a long pull of vodka and began choking. Dana stood and walked to Krycek as he tried to catch his breath. His arm shot up, gun pointed right at her chest. "Alex, relax. I could've shot you in the bathroom. I didn't. I won't." Alex fought every instinct he had and lowered the gun. He could feel the vodka and whiskey from earlier in the bar clouding his thoughts. He fought it. And yet he took another drink from the bottle. "Are you going to drink that all, or are you going to offer me some more?" He handed her the bottle and watched her take a sip from the bottle. He watched her lips curl around it. He watched the clear liquid disappear between her lips and travel down her throat. Dana felt herself getting warm from the liquor. She felt herself begin to relax. As she looked at Krycek she came to a decision. Krycek tried to look away but couldn't. Scully began to drink too fast and vodka spilled out of her mouth and all over her white blouse. "Shit." She stood there trying not to let the wet fabric touch her skin. She looked at Krycek exasperatedly. Krycek walked to the dresser, searching through a drawer. "I think I have something that you can change into. It's not the silk that you're used to I'm afraid." Scully rolled her eyes. She made a conscious effort not to slur her words. "Krycek, I am not the princess you seem to think I am." He handed her the shirt, a grungy white button-up. "Here you are your highness." She snatched it from his hands and walked to the bathroom to change. Once there she removed her blouse and bra and put on Krycek's shirt. "To hell with it" she thought. "To hell with it all". Before she opened the door, she retrieved her gun and put it behind her in the waistband of her pants. She walked out with the shirt buttoned only at the navel. Krycek sat in a chair and watched her every move. He seemed to have anticipated this. "Give me your gun Scully." "What gun?" "Jesus Christ, give me some credit." He pointed his gun at her "Give me the fucking gun." Scully would admit it. She was definitely buzzed now. She walked to the dresser and grabbed the bottle. "Come and get it yourself Krycek." Goddamn it. She was teasing him. Well, he was taking control right now. He stood quickly, keeping the gun trained on her, and pulled her into him. He dropped his gun, put his arm around her and lifted the shirt. Feeling the gun there, he looked at her knowingly. "What gun?" She looked up at him silently. Alex took the gun from her waistband and threw it to the floor. His hand went to the bare skin of her back. "Ah, fuck it" he whispered to himself as he brought his mouth to hers. He kissed her with abandon and hunger, overpowering her and losing control. He pulled her sharply into him and heard her muffled gasp in his mouth. His arm released her only so he could pull the button from the shirt she wore. Her hands went to the swollen appendage that was nearly bursting the seams of his fly. Her fingers expertly undid the buttons and slid his pants down his legs. She marveled at the obvious strength of his legs. She also noticed a lack of underwear. "No underwear Krycek? How nasty of you." She reached around him and ran her hands over his smooth ass. Krycek slipped the shirt from her shoulders and cupped his hand over her right breast, catching the nipple between his fingers, squeezing. He lowered his mouth to her left breast, taking the nipple, sucking and biting it. Scully moaned deeply. Krycek felt her pulling away. He opened his eyes only to see her drop to her knees in front of him. He felt his penis enter her mouth. "Jesus Christ" he managed to groan. She took him into her throat and closed it around the length of him. As she pulled him out she sucked on the head, raking her teeth gently on it. Her hands cupped his balls; her fingernails tickled them slightly. Krycek's hands gripped her hair and guided her to the rhythm he liked. Scully tasted the sweet precum that began to egress from the tip of his penis. She took it out of her mouth, lay it on her tongue, and squeezed the shaft so that a drop fell to her tongue. Krycek watched it all, not believing that the woman he once thought to be an ice queen was capable of such carnality. Pulling her shoulders up, he brought her up to him and kissed her ears, neck and shoulders, enjoying the taste of her flesh but craving another taste. "Lay down" he said to her in a commanding tone. Scully was all too happy to comply. Krycek knelt in front of her and deftly undid the button and zipper of her slacks. Sliding them off, he noticed that she also wore no underwear. "And you call me nasty. Shame on your purified soul." "Panty lines are a most unattractive sight." Alex saw nothing unattractive in his field of vision. He ran his fingers along her flat stomach, tracing a line to each thigh, then from her bellybutton in a straight line to her crotch. His finger disappeared into her. Alex removed his finger and placed it on her lips, moistening them with her flavor. He bent to her mouth, letting the tip of his tongue glide along her lips, tasting her. Unable to resist any longer, Krycek fell to his knees and buried his face in her crotch. Scully moaned and let herself be taken by the waves that overcame her. She undulated against his persistent mouth. Before she realized that he had stopped, she felt his penis enter her. Krycek slid slowly in and out of her, all too aware of Scully's closed eyes. He could only imagine that in her mind's eye she was fucking someone else. "Open your eyes Scully" he managed to blurt out. Scully's eyes slowly opened and Alex saw that no surprise registered in them. He felt her close her muscles around him. God, he wasn't going to last long. Alex began to pick up the pace of his thrusting and met with the same rhythm in Scully. He rested himself on his knees and pulled her into his lap. Scully still lay on her back as Krycek plunged into her again. She sat straight up into his lap and began to roll her hips against him. Alex gripped her waist tightly, thrusting upwards into her. He paced himself for about five minutes, feeling her tighten around him, feeling her hands in his hair. He held back, held back…. Until he felt her begin to shudder. As her back arched away from him, his eyes clamped shut and with a growl he released a flood into her. Scully sat on his lap for a few moments catching her breath, arms draped around his shoulders. Realizing what had transpired, she felt an instant need to wipe it from her memory. "Krycek, this never happened. If you tell anyone, I will deny it until my dying breath." Her reaction didn't surprise him. It only added ammunition to his already vast arsenal. He rested his head against her chest. "Tell me who's going to believe me." A sigh of relief. "I'm glad you realize that." She caught her fingers running themselves through his hair and found it impossible to stop. Her analytical mind began to attempt to pick apart her illogical feelings for Krycek, but she banished all thought from her mind. She just sat there, on his lap reveling in afterglow. Alex held her close and smiled to himself at his good fortune (finally). He'd never considered Scully. He always figured she was Mulder's territory. He closed his eyes letting himself relax for the first time in as long as he could remember. A thought drifted in his head and one eye shot open and focused itself on the closet opposite the bed. A small red light glowed. Alex smiled, knowing his ass was covered. The camera rolled on… End Part 1 Part 2 Krycek fought his body's immediate demands for air. The jump from the pier had been an idiotic thing to do but what choice did he have? Meet his maker courtesy of a bullet to the brain from one of the two Russians he'd managed to slip past initially, or take a swim in the freezing waters of the Potomac? He hadn't hesitated. The water that surrounded him wasn't only freezing; it was completely black. The single, feeble streetlight at the end of the pier provided no light whatsoever in the murky depths. The 2am sky only reflected the darkness of space back into the water. Alex struggled to keep his bearings and wondered how long he could hold his breath before his lungs would burst. He'd been under for about a minute and a half and clung to a column of the pier. Bullets had zipped past him after he initially had jumped, but there had been no activity since. Letting go of the column, Alex swam further under the pier and cautiously surfaced. He fought the urge to take loud, gasping lungfuls of air knowing that his pursuers were probably nearby. Krycek still felt the small bulge pressing against his chest from the inside pocket of his leather jacket. A small miracle it hadn't fallen out. Filling his lungs with air, Alex dove back under and began swimming, hoping he could swim far enough with that one breath to escape the sight of his pursuers when he surfaced. The fog that had settled over the river would help. The frigid water began to play with his consciousness. Alex fell wearily against the wall of the warehouse, letting water pool around his feet. He shook uncontrollably, cold piercing every fiber of his body. But he'd made it. He had surfaced about a quarter mile away in a marina and was unable to see the pier through the fog. He'd managed to run a few blocks from the marina to an industrial area where he'd felt safe enough to rest for a moment. Alex slowly took out the object he'd put his life in danger for. He stared at the two vials in the clear case. One contained a black fluid, the other an amber hued liquid. "Life and death" he thought to himself as he walked toward a main thoroughfare. He had to rest, but where? He could think of only one place and that place held risks all it's own. But it was the only place he could think of that might offer him the possibility of seeing another sunrise. Once he reached the crowded boulevard, Krycek hailed a cab. He ignored the stare of the cabbie at his drenched clothes. "Georgetown" he commanded through chattering teeth "as fast as this fucking car can go" **************************************************************************** *** The soft rapping on the window by her bed startled Dana Scully out of a sound sleep. Instantly awake, she grabbed the gun she kept in the nightstand drawer and approached the shaded window cautiously. The voice she heard softly calling her name made her cringe. Alex Krycek. A few months ago they'd had a tryst that defied logic. While she immediately known she'd made a mistake, in the months that followed she couldn't bring herself to regret her rendezvous with Alex. She lifted the shade, keeping the gun in her hand. Alex was standing there wet from head to toe, unable to stop shivering. She motioned him to come around to the front of the building. Walking to the panel to buzz him in, she felt a little uneasy at the thought of letting this criminal in her apartment. After all, it was here that he might have taken part in the killing of her sister. Banishing that thought from her mind, she shifted to her doctor mode. She buzzed the door until she heard it open. Opening her own door, she was shocked at the sight of him - soaking wet, shaking and skin so pale as to be a light blue color. He staggered toward her, taking the arm she offered him. "Krycek, my God what happened to you?" She led him to her couch, grabbing an afghan from a chair and wrapping it around him. "You may be suffering from hypothermia. You have to get out of those clothes." Alex managed a smile and continued to shake as he slid out of his jacket. He watched her disappear into another room. "Miss me that much, did you?" "Don't start with me" she managed to blurt out forcefully as she came from her bedroom laden down with blankets. She watched him peel off the remainder of his clothes and instantly wrapped the blankets around him. "I was in a state of psychological shock that night." She struggled to get a pair of her small socks on his rather large feet. "I have since come to my senses." Alex rolled his eyes. "Whatever makes it easier for you Dana. You should try being honest with yourself." "You're hardly one to be talking about honesty Krycek." He could feel the shivering beginning to subside. "Touché." As warmth began to penetrate his skin, he was unable to fight the overwhelming exhaustion that was taking hold of him. Seeing that he was unable to keep his eyes open, Scully resigned herself to the fact that he was going to have to stay at her apartment tonight. Sighing heavily, she helped him get his feet onto the sofa. He was out before he was horizontal. Scully picked up the pile of soaked clothes and walked them to her washing machine. Refusing to do Krycek's laundry, she threw all of them except the leather jacket in the dryer, removing his wallet from the jeans first. She grabbed the jacket on her way back to the living room and patted it down. "Not like him to not have a weapon" she thought. She came to the inside pocket and felt a bulge there. Reaching in, she produced the clear case. Scully eyed the contents of the case in horror knowing all too well what it contained. She looked at the sleeping figure of Krycek and wondered what in the hell he was doing with it. She wanted to take this to a lab immediately for analysis, but wouldn't dare leave Krycek alone in her apartment. Scully picked up her phone and dialed the numbers she could recite in her sleep. "Pick up Mulder, damn it." She let the phone ring until she was cut off. She called his cell phone. After several rings, "Mulder" She sighed in relief. "Mulder, it's me. Where are you?" "I'm in Michigan." What the hell? "Why are you in Michigan?" "I'll tell you later. What's wrong?" Scully told him the events of the evening. Fox excitedly stammered out that she should hide the case from Krycek and that he'd be there as soon as he could. "Scully, do not let him know that you have that case. Shoot him if you have to." Mulder paused. "In fact, shoot him please." Scully hung up after telling Mulder not to tempt her and hid the case. She settled into a chair opposite Alex. She couldn't even bring herself to trust him while he slept. **************************************************************************** *** Scully awoke with a start, momentarily unaware of why she was sleeping in a chair in her living room. Seeing the empty blankets across from her brought it painfully back. She quickly looked at the clock on her VCR – 5:00am. Still dark. Where was he? She heard Krycek's muffled voice coming from her utility room and walked slowly towards him. Before she could get to the edge of the doorway, she heard him hang up her phone. She peered quietly around the door and saw him getting dressed. Turning, Scully quickly made her way back to her chair. Krycek emerged wearing his dry, wrinkled clothes. " "You can't leave Alex. You may need medical attention." He strode toward her, lifting the jacket from the chair. "I'm leaving Dana. Unless you're offering to examine me personally." Scully said a silent prayer that he wouldn't realize the case was gone. "Let it go Krycek. Looking past the fact that you will never be touching me again, you still have to contend with the fact that you are in no condition to physically exert yourself in any manner. You need rest and an electric blanket." He put the coat on as he approached Scully. He stood too close to her. "Let me be the judge of that. Besides, I know a better way to generate heat Dr. Scully. Care for a demonstration?" Anxiety, lust, fear, denial; they all pummeled Scully, competing for dominance. Had he noticed that the case was missing? Was he just playing with her? She looked up at him trying to disguise all the emotions that she knew were playing across her face. Alex could not believe she wasn't shoving him out the door. Hell, he wouldn't have been surprised to be facing the business end of her gun. (He'd been cursing himself for dropping his during his foot chase with the Russian idiots) She looked at him with eyes clouded in confusion. Something began to gel in Krycek. A calm overtook him. He touched her smooth cheek. She didn't pull away, didn't flinch. Krycek felt himself begin to disappear in her liquid eyes. Did he see trust there? He moved slowly to kiss her, letting his lips graze hers tentatively. Dana met his lips with her own, warm and inviting. She drew him into her, encouraging his kiss. This was unimaginable, unthinkable, and she cursed her lack of will, but still this was utterly impossible to deny. Alex kissed her with a tenderness he hadn't known he was capable of. If she could bring this out of him, what else was she capable of? Could a woman get to the core of a desperate man, right to the brutal center of his soul and reverse the course of that man's life? The answer held too high a price. Krycek broke the kiss slowly, trying to hold on to it for as long as possible. Scully held the potential to become a dangerous force in his life. But he knew she was beyond his grasp. He chose his path; one to be walked alone. Letting his lips graze hers, he whispered against her mouth, "Never say never Scully." He broke the kiss and quickly walked out the door, leaving Scully a mess. She felt relief immediately – he hadn't realized the case was missing. Still there were her undeniable feelings for the probable murderer of her sister to contend with. The workings of the heart were foreign to Dana. How could you have feelings for someone you could honestly say you loathed? She knew that she had to get out of there as soon as possible and get the vials to the FBI lab. She quickly threw on some shoes, ran her fingers through her hair and relegated her thoughts of Krycek to the back of her mind. Grabbing the case from the freezer and throwing her gun into her coat pocket, she dashed out the door. Right into the arms of Alex. He grabbed hold of her upper arm, twisting slightly. Fire burned in his eyes. "Dana I think you have something of mine." "Krycek, I don't have time for this. Skinner called. I need to get down to the Bureau right away." She struggled. "Let go of me Krycek!" Alex's eyes had gone black and cold. His voice was low and filled with fury. "Make no mistake Agent Scully, I will kill you where you fucking stand. Give me the goddamned vials now" "I have no idea what you're talking about Krycek." Scully winced as he gripped her tighter. Deuce card time. "I have a videotape that says you do." He's bluffing. He has to be. God please let him be bluffing. She knew he wasn't. Krycek saw panic spread across her face. Time for the kill. "I'd hate for it to end up on AD Skinner's desk. Or perhaps in Mulder's private video collection? From what I hear, it would fit right in." He had her boxed in. He knew it. That smug, self - satisfied look on his face said it all. She wanted to take her gun and blow it off. "What's in the vials Alex?" "A version of life and death that not even my cigarette smoking friend knew existed until tonight. I'm sure he's being filled in as we speak by a few very perturbed Russians." His hand went to her throat and he shoved her against the wall. "I don't want to kill you Dana. Give me the fucking vials." Resigned, she reached in her pocket and gave the case to Krycek. "Thanks sweetie." He grabbed her by the back of the neck and forced her mouth to his in a violent kiss. Turning on his heel he walked through the front door of her apartment building, turning only to say with a vicious smile "have a good day at work hon." Scully ran to the front door and put her eye to the peephole, hoping to see which way Krycek was heading. At that moment, a car pulled silently up to the curb in front of Scully's building and stopped just long enough for Krycek to get in. She ran out as the car sped away and saw the license plate was US government but the car sped around the corner before she could get numbers. "Damn!" Mulder pressed down on the gas pedal a little further than he should have. But speed was the name of the game tonight. From literally running to make the plane at Detroit Metro Airport to dashing to retrieve his car at National Airport and now speeding down the street adjacent to Scully's, he hadn't stopped yet. Screeching around the corner, he saw Scully running from the front yard of her apartment building toward the door. He saw her look toward him and reverse directions, running straight toward him. He stopped and she threw herself in the car. "Go Mulder! Krycek called someone from my place. They just left!" "He got the vials?" "Yes." Scully hesitated and closed her eyes, grappling with her conscience. "He found them in the freezer and left as I was waking up. I was too late." Mulder turned a corner and saw a car not far up the road from them. He pushed his car as fast as it would go. "Did he say anything at all that might indicate where he's going?" Scully had her cell phone out and was dialing. "He did tell me something that you should be aware of. He told me that what the vials contain is a new strain of black oil and a new antidote. I think he stole it from some Russians. Mulder, he said that his cigarette smoking friend was unaware of its existence until tonight." The car in front of them began speeding up. Mulder was going dangerously fast. His mind raced. New strains? What did Krycek want with them? "Scully, why did he come to you?" Scully disconnected the connection on the cell phone and dialed another number, eyeing the road in front of them with not a little terror. Mulder was going near 90 miles per hour and the car in front of them was actually losing them "I have no idea why. The only reason I can think of is that he knew he needed a doctor and couldn't go to a hospital. Mulder, he was soaked to the bone and near hypothermia. I didn't even get a chance to ask him why." The cell phone finally connected with the FBI. "Gary, this is Scully. There was a phone call placed from my apartment about 15 minutes ago. I need to know where." A minute passed before Scully got her answer. She shut off the cell phone and from the look on her face, Mulder knew it wasn't good news. "I bet he didn't call the pizza boy." She sighed, defeat dripping from every word. "We'll never know. The number isn't registered to anyone. The number must've been disconnected since Krycek called it." "Damn Scully, why am I not surprised?" The car in front of them, now visible just by the taillights, braked suddenly and turned left. Mulder turned when he got to that point and saw the car parked alongside one other in front of a church. All was still. "How long has it been since you've been to confession Scully?" If only he knew how badly she felt the need to go. "Too long Mulder. Too long." Mulder parked the car around the corner from the church. They approached the side door of the church cautiously, guns drawn. Both agents tensed up as they reached the door. Mulder opened it tentatively. Krycek had tried smoking when he was in college but found it repulsive. The smoke that was being blown in his face made him want to retch, but he fought the urge. Smoke curled around the cigarette smoking man's head and his voice echoed through the empty church. "You've made some very serious enemies tonight Alex." "Well, I'll just add them to the list." The cigarette smoking man allowed himself a smirk, admiring his one-time protégé. Alex Krycek was a survivor with good instincts and at one time had all the potential to become a true force in the consortium. His conflicting loyalties had put an end to any plans for leadership the cigarette smoking man had for him and very nearly had cost Krycek his life on more than one occasion. But he knew that behind it all self-preservation and revenge drove Alex Krycek. "They told me of an important discovery. Something new that they accuse you of stealing from them. Something that I'd be very interested in retrieving for them." Krycek looked at him with disgust, hate burning in his stomach, bile rising in his throat. "That's why were here isn't it." "I'm sure there's something you want." "Brilliant deduction." Krycek eyed the burley man who the cigarette smoking man had dispatched to drive him. He stood just shoulder to shoulder and just in front of him, taking most of the smoke right in the face. "Since I can't have your fucking head on a platter, I want in." The cigarette smoking man looked at him in bemusement. "In? The loop? Alex, do you honestly think the members will ever allow that? You're an ally of Mulder's." "I'm an ally only to myself. You've seen to that. But I believe in the work and I have something that would protect us." Krycek took a step closer and saw the bodyguard stiffen, stepping between the two of them. The cigarette smoking man motioned him aside. "Get me in – equal status with all the members - or I rule the world alone." The cigarette smoking man dropped his Morley and twisted his shoe on it, crushing it. He turned, followed by his bodyguard. His voice filled the church as he walked down the aisle. "We'll be in touch." The bodyguard turned and looked at Krycek who made eye contact and nodded imperceptibly. From their vantagepoint behind a column they could see them both. "Scully, we could take both of them out right now." Scully had to strain to hear him. She looked at him incredulously. "In a church Mulder?" Mulder shrugged. "Too melodramatic?" They stood in silence and listened to Krycek make his demands. Mulder looked at Scully with bewilderment when the opinion of Alex's loyalty to Mulder was brought forth. She was a bit astonished herself. They watched as the cigarette smoking man left with his companion and Krycek stayed behind. He stood in the middle of the aisle staring at the altar then at the cigarette butt. As he began to stoop down, Mulder beaded his gun on Krycek, stepped forward and motioned to Scully to do the same. Krycek bent to pick up what was left of the cigarette and saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking up and seeing the agents, he closed his eyes and silently cursed. He stood slowly as they approached him. "It's about time you got here. You missed the party." Mulder stopped about five yards from Krycek and Scully stayed slightly further back. Mulder's raging eyes betrayed his even voice. "Really? I think we got here just as the keg was being tapped." Scully kept back of Mulder for fear that her own eyes might betray her. She watched Alex closely and kept her gun hard on him. Krycek glanced at Scully and lingered a moment too long. Mulder took notice of the eye contact between the two of them and made a mental note to ask her about it later. Alex switched his attention to Mulder. "Mulder, you'd be doing yourself a great disservice if you fuck this up. I am this close to being in a position I've been working towards for God knows how long." Mulder scowled. "And I should care because…?" "I'd be working with you." Mulder laughed out loud. "Krycek you ignorant piece of filth, your delusional mind must've hit a new high if you think that I could actually believe that." "You head him Mulder. They think I'm your ally. Something must've made them think that." "If they do believe that it's because you want them to, you manipulative son of a bitch." "What would I possibly have to gain by having them think I was your ally?" "Your life?" Krycek sighed in exasperation, his voice rising. "Jesus Christ Mulder, the fact that they think I'm an ally to you has damned fucking near cost me my life! It's cost me everything! I'm out of the loop because they think I'm sympathetic to your cause. Well Mulder, I'm this close to getting back in and getting in at a higher level than I ever thought I'd be. Goddamned it, if you fuck this up you'll never be this close to not just knowing the truth, but being able to do something about it." Mulder looked at Krycek and confusion clouded over him. Krycek saw his momentary lapse of steadfast hatred and pounced. "Think about it Mulder. I came to you when the alien craft crashed. I gave you the information necessary to save the survivor." "You turned me over to the Russians in Tunguska." "And you were injected with a serum that made you resistant to the black oil. Mulder, I saved your life." Krycek searched for the words that would convey the entire scope of what was at stake. "Time is short Mulder and you have no idea of the danger that's coming. The sky is going to open up and rain fire. I can give you the truth Mulder – your precious truth – but it won't mean a fucking thing if I'm not in a position to interrupt the plans. You have no choice but to trust me." Scully listened intently to their exchange. Mulder was beginning to cave. She could see his hesitation from his stance. His shoulders sagged slightly. Scully stepped forward and went with her instinct. She lowered her gun. Mulder looked at her, shocked. "Scully what are you doing?" She looked at Mulder. "I believe him." Alex looked at Dana with relief. "Mulder, you have to believe me." Mulder struggled with his memory. The memory of watching his father die. The memory of Scully's tears and rage when her sister was murdered. How was he supposed to trust this assassin? He looked at Scully pleading for guidance, needing help to do the impossible. Scully reached up and softly put her hand on his, pressing down and lowering gun. Mulder sprung toward Krycek and grabbed him by his jacket, shoving the gun under his chin. "If I even suspect that you might be considering betraying this misguided trust I've placed in you I will hunt you down and make you bleed." Krycek steeled himself against Mulder. "I'll add you to that list." The burley bodyguard entered the bank vault with the teller and proceeded to open the safe deposit box. He shot a look to the teller that told her to get lost. Once alone, the bodyguard removed a small, clear case from his pocket and placed it in the safe deposit box. He called out to the teller and she returned, putting the box back into the thick, steel vault and taking his key and hers, locking it safely away. A tall, lanky man followed the burly man into the bar and sat down next to him. The television behind the bar had a Redskins game on. They made conversation about the game. The tall man bought a round. The burly man bought a round. When the burly man hit on him, the tall, lanky man endured it as a means to an end. The two men left the bar and headed to a secluded park. Two men went into the park. One came out. The tall man walked to his car fingering a key he'd taken off the burly man's key ring. Krycek entered the wood paneled room to meet with the revolted stares of all the older men. He had expected nothing less. He walked around the room nodding to a few of the men, knowing that they all wanted him dead. Despite their best efforts he was alive and now he was one of them. Alex caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror and wondered how long it had been since he'd last worn a suit. Too long. Krycek knew he was a marked man. As soon as the Syndicate got the information they needed they'd attempt to discard him. He'd hold back, give misinformation, and stall for as long as possible. He'd bolt only when he felt the noose tightening. Strolling casually to an empty leather chair he sat down and opened a newspaper, settling in and making himself comfortable. A tall, lanky, man strode purposely into the bank vault followed closely by a teller. She took a key from the young man and, pairing it with her key, opened small safe deposit box. The young man took out the only item in the box and slid it into his pocket. The teller eyed him suspiciously. "Sir, this is highly unusual. May I please see your badge again?" The man produced his badge for her, and satisfied, the teller put the safe deposit box back in its vault. Walking through the lobby, the man eyed all the patrons and all the cameras, staying well out of their view whenever possible and turning his face from them when he couldn't escape their glare. Once outside he looked up and down the crowded street clogged with pedestrians and traffic. Jeffrey Spender turned and headed into the fray. End part 2 Part3 With each passing moment another bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. Every breath he took seemed to solidify in his throat. Alex Krycek stared at the computer screen, the glare of which cast an unhealthy blue glow on his face. His eyes darted from the white bar on the screen that was slowly turning blue to the clock on the wall. He was expected at a meeting at 2pm and was going to have to fly to get there on time. The elders of the consortium looked at tardiness as some sort of sin. Alex wiped his brow and allowed himself a quick smile. If only they knew the sin that was being committed against them right now. Alex stood in the middle of the most fortified building in New York City, but from the appearance of it's exterior it looked to be just one of many condemned eyesores on that particular street. Unknown by all but a chosen few was that behind the walls of that offensive structure was the nerve center of an international syndicate. It housed the main frame computer on which was stored the details of a plot so heinous and vile one would have a hard time believing it's planners were human. And indeed some of them weren't. A short, squat bald man who had been called a dirty old man more than once had gotten them past the security measures of the building itself. Frohike loved a challenge and this certainly had been one. He'd studied the information that had been provided to him for seven days straight, but as usual he'd found a way to either bypass, eliminate, or temporarily discombobulate all that was meant to keep them out. A man with stringy, rather greasy blond hair who wouldn't look out of place at a Lollapalooza concert had found a way in those seven days to slip unnoticed past the internal security systems of the computer itself. Langly was sure that this would go down as the ultimate hack of all time. Unfortunately he could tell no one. A rather dapper looking man who looked as if he could recite the Dewey Decimal System while putting away library books stood behind Langly preparing for the task of deciphering all the information being loaded onto the disc. Byers had the key that had been provided to him for breaking the code, but there was so much information here. It may take months (nay years?) to take it all in. But Krycek was looking for only one thing. Alex stood crouched behind the seated Langly watching the download proceed millimeter by millimeter. He knew they only had so much time - Frohike said 15 minutes tops until the motion detectors would come back online. Ten agonizing minutes had passed since they arrived to the core area where the system was located and began the download. The silence was deafening. "Download complete" Langly read from the screen. Instantly Krycek ejected the disc, put it in a black case and handed it to Byers. "That's only the future you have in your hands. Your life is worth fucking nothing compared with it. I need it decoded and the information I listed within 24 hours." Byers jaw hit the floor at this request. "Krycek that's impossible. You have no idea…" Krycek's eyes glowered at Byers and he felt impaled by their cold, vicious gaze. When he spoke it was with the stammer of barely contained rage. "That was not a request. The locations will be in my hand in 24 hours. If they aren't, in a very short while you'll have some very absorbing information to print in the rag you publish. Unfortunately, there might not be anyone around to read it. Are we clear on this? Byers swallowed. Hard. "Crystal." Langly finished his work and they began their hurried exit, Frohike stopping momentarily along the way to release the security measures he had tied up. He left only the cameras on the outside of the building and the ones on the buildings surrounding it impaired temporarily. They slipped out the side door that led into an alley and paired off, each pair going in a different direction down the alley. Krycek and Byers headed deeper into the alley, while Langly and Frohike walked to the street. Frohike's van waited for Krycek and Byers. Krycek climbed into the back and Byers took the wheel, backing out of the alley into the street parallel to the one Langly and Frohike exited to. They drove wordlessly for about 10 minutes, the tension stretched tight between them. Once they reached a street clogged with pedestrians, Krycek climbed into the front seat and straightened out his suit. "Drop me here." He paused; grasping for words that rarely escaped his lips. "Tell Langly and Frohike I am duly impressed. I have the same degree of confidence in your abilities. I'll see you in DC tomorrow." Krycek jumped out and immediately became one of the faceless throng of people. Byers stared off in the direction that Krycek had headed and as soon as he felt he was safe to do so he uttered a word that had never escaped his lips. "Dickhead." **************************************************************************** **************** The heavy, dark clouds that had been threatening to unleash their wet bounty all day decided to open up over the head of Jeffery Spender the moment he was to have been meeting with the man who called himself his father. He looked out from a safe distance at the man pacing near a park bench and smoking his Morleys as if his life depended on them. He had done his "father's" bidding - he had retrieved the mysterious case from the safe deposit box. He had killed a man for it. Spender took the case from his pocket; stared at it and wondered what about it made it more valuable than a human life. He had come here with every intention of turning the item over to the man like they had agreed but at the last possible second he decided to forego the meeting. He couldn't quite put his finger on the reason why he'd decided to follow his instinct. Maybe the thought that there might be something in this for him was too strong a temptation. Perhaps it was an unconscious attempt by the son for dominance over the father. Maybe he just wanted to say, "Fuck you Dad." Spender let the cold rain drip from his hair and run down his face. The minutes passed. As he watched his "father" flick his cigarette in the small lake and walk tersely away, pulling his overcoat tightly around him, Spender felt emboldened. With each step that the man put between himself and Spender the feeling increased exponentially. By the time the man was out of his sight Spender felt as if he finally had the fortitude and the will to take on this man he had regarded with so much contempt. He could hardly wait. Shaking the rain from his coat he turned and headed back towards his car, lighting up a Morley as he dodged the raindrops. **************************************************************************** **************** Krycek had taken many precautions to assure that no one would follow him and was convinced that no one had. He knew that from the moment he had blackmailed his way into the upper echelon of the consortium the elders had been having him tailed, but if Krycek knew anything it was how to disappear. Still he was on edge as he followed the teller back through the thick steel doors to the safe deposit box. He had been meaning to put a certain videocassette of an encounter he'd had with a certain red head in the box. Time was running short and it was today or never. Alex had been having second thoughts about the video. While having it in his possession gave him leverage beyond his wildest dreams with Dana Scully, the feelings that he tried so hard to ignore - that he was so sure would dissolve - seemed instead to only strengthen. Krycek was determined not to let thoughts of her distract him from his objective. In the end the video was too valuable an asset and outweighed any pathos Krycek might've been experiencing. Resignedly Alex flung his briefcase on the small table, spun its combination and took out the video. He stared at it momentarily, wishing he could watch it just once more. He opened the safe deposit box and nearly gagged. Empty. The black oil and antidote were gone. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as pure, unadulterated panic swept across his face. He felt instantly awash in sweat and a high pitched ringing suddenly started in his ears. Rage, violent and raw, churned inside him. One thought screamed through his mind: "I AM A DEAD MAN." His mind began racing with frenzied thought of who, what, when, but his razor sharp instinct for self preservation quickly took control and he realized that he had to get out of New York City now. Leaving the empty box on the table, Krycek grabbed his gun out of the briefcase and slid it in his pocket. He put the video in the briefcase and tried to compose himself. He walked out quickly, flashing his old FBI badge to the teller and telling her as he passed that he wouldn't be needing the box any longer. Something the teller said made him turn and walk anxiously back to her. "What was that you just said?" The teller was visibly agitated at all the mysterious comings and goings of this box. " I just said sir that every time this box gets entered it's by a different FBI agent. What's in there anyway - girlie pictures of J Edgar Hoover?" Krycek tried to keep calm. Slowly, "Who was the last one to enter?" The teller grabbed the sign in sheet for the box. "It's right here sir, but good luck in making the name out. It's pretty bad handwriting." She crinkled up her nose a little. "I don't think he was a signer for the box, but he did have a court order." A fabricated court order. "Did he show his badge?" "Yes sir he did, and before you can ask he was tall with dark hair, kind of thin and lanky. Kind of nondescript beyond that." Krycek was shuddering with rage as he left the girl. Guardedly, he headed straight for Grand Central Station wishing he had eyes in the back of his head. His thoughts went to the phone calls he'd made in the previous week. Innumerable in quantity but every one of them a necessary step in the evolution of the plan he had formulated. He'd been forced out of necessity to swallow his pride and associate with people he'd sworn never to deal with again. Thankfully what information he'd shared with his "allies" played to their ingrained paranoia. Krycek hoped that everything had been taken care of. There was just one more phone call he had to make. He'd once told Mulder that if you lived in the gutter you had to learn to live with the rats. Krycek couldn't help a grin from spreading across his face as he dashed onto the train. The rats were about to have their day in the sun. **************************************************************************** **************** The passage of time was a subjective thing in Byers' mind. Although the clock in the cramped office that was used as a headquarters for the Lone Gunman indicated that it had been nearly 25 hours since he began his dissemination of the files, Byers was sure that at least a week had passed since he'd slept. Krycek's demand for the information had proved daunting, but as Byers looked bleary-eyed at the computer screen he felt like he'd accomplished the impossible. Unfortunately most of the information had to be passed over and decoded properly later. The only way to get the data needed was to scan the files for key words and locations. His list contained several sites in mainly the United States, Russia, and Canada. What little Byers had managed to pick up regarding the consortium's work had shook him to his foundations. Mulder lay sprawled out and sleeping on what may at one time passed for a sofa. Scully slept peacefully in a cot set up next to him. Langly was slumped against a wall and snoring fitfully. Frohike was the only one who managed to stay with Byers, although he had a hard time pulling his attention from the sleeping Scully. "Look at her Byers. God she's hot." Byers rolled his eyes and rubbed them wearily. "I'm done. I have the list. Wake Mulder Frohike." "Can I wake Scully too?" "Jesus Christ Frohike, just wake everybody." Byers instantly regretted snapping at Frohike, but found it impossible to fight the inevitable irritation that comes with lack of sleep. In minutes they all were gathered around Byers eyeing the list of geographic sites that he had gathered. Mulder's eyes lit up like beacons, the excitement in his voice irrefutable. "Scully, I think someone's been following us around. This list looks like an itinerary for a trip down memory lane." He paused, adding sarcastically, "I'll take 'Places to Avoid' for 1000 Alex." Scully recognized some of the sites as well and she was concerned. "What does Krycek want with this data? Mulder, in the wrong hands the information contained at some of these places could be tremendously dangerous." Mulder recognized the potential for the exploitation of the data and agreed that Krycek should probably not be in possession of it. But he had made a deal with the devil. A deal to trust the man who had murdered his father. He figured he finally had fulfilled many predictions and gone certifiably insane. But as much as he fought it, his instincts told him he was right to believe Krycek. Mulder glanced at Byers, who was having a hard time keeping his eyelids open. "Byers, how long would it take you to translate the rest of the disc?" Byers shot him a look that caused him to add, "after you get some sleep?" "Do you want the abridged version or word for word?" "Just the dirty parts." Byers was intensely anxious to dig into it, but his zeal was overruled by his body's insistence that he give it a rest. "Let me sleep for a few hours and I can have it for you in a couple of days." He stressed, "Mulder, be aware that this disc contains plans of an unimaginable scale and design. What little I've been able to pick up so far would, if it were to be made public, shake civilization right down to its core beliefs. So when you come for this data, come with an open mind." The entirety of the group looked at Byers incredulously. Frohike managed to remind Byers, "Remember, his ideas are weirder than ours are. I don't think you have to worry about an open mind." Scully's cell phone began it's high - pitched chirping and she answered it before it could ring a second time. For some reason, she wasn't surprised at who the caller was. For some reason she was relieved to hear his voice. "I need to see you now Scully." There was no mistaking the anxiety in Krycek's voice. "I'm in trouble and I have to move fast. Does Byers have the information?" "Yes. What's wrong?" "Just get here and I'll tell you. Have Byers make a copy of the disc. Bring that and a copy of the list and make sure you aren't followed. It's imperative you're here within 45 minutes." Krycek told Scully his location and cut the connection. She turned to find all eyes on her. "That was Krycek. He's in some kind of trouble and needs the list now. He wants me to bring it to him." She looked at Mulder who was already grabbing his jacket. "Alone Mulder." Mulder stopped short and stared at Scully. "No way Scully. There is no way in hell I'm letting you go to him alone." Scully became insistent. "Mulder, he stated specifically that he wanted me to bring the list to him and for me to come alone. I don't think, given the number and severity of things that could go wrong if we piss him off, that it's a good idea to come storming in on him demanding to know what his plans are." She paused, letting her rationalization sink in. "I will find out Mulder. And I will be fine." She touched his cheek. "Trust me." Mulder's emotional reaction had been calmed by Scully's logic once again. He'd lost track of the number of times she had done this. Her rationalizations didn't diminish his concern for her safety and though he'd let her go he wouldn't be far behind. **************************************************************************** **************** The man exhaled the smoke slowly and inhaled it back through his nose. The Surgeon General could kiss his ass; he could think of worse ways to die than by cigarettes. Far worse. He stood at the window of a bar across the street from the bus station in Washington DC. He was intently watching his son. The walls of the station were made entirely of glass and made his job an easy one. In a perverted way he was proud of his son. He had double- crossed his father by not turning over the black oil and antidote, but after his initial wrath had subsided he looked upon his son with a new respect. He held potential that heretofore had been obscured. It was too bad that Jeff had picked the wrong person to screw with. He watched his son walk out of the doors and glance up and down the street before getting in his car and driving away. Throwing the cigarette to the floor he briskly proceeded across the street to the bus station. Discreetly he slid a narrow metal object into the keyhole of a locker and turned it slightly this way then that, applying just the right amount of pressure to the tumblers inside the lock. He felt the door release, opened it and found what he expected to find. Patiently he slid the case into his pocket and walked out of the station, resolved to do what had to be done. Nobody screwed with him. Nobody. **************************************************************************** **************** Scully walked through the doors of Union Station knowing that Mulder had followed her there. It had been a foregone conclusion that he would and she allowed herself to take some comfort in the fact that she wasn't alone. Yet. The very fact that Krycek wanted to meet on a train rather than just in the station told her that she was going for a ride. She glanced behind her. No Mulder. Well, she couldn't see him back there, but she knew that he was there somewhere. Probably having a cow seeing her picking up a ticket and walking towards the trains. "Trust me Mulder" she thought to herself and hoped that he did. She hoped he would understand, knowing he couldn't possibly. How could he understand when the reasons for her attraction were lost even to her. She loved Mulder; there was no denying it. She wouldn't even try to deny it if he were to confess his feelings of affection to her. Their lives had been intertwined to the point that it had become impossible for something that affected one not to affect the other. He brought out the best in her, made her feel whole, and uplifted her soul. And then there was Alex Krycek. God, she didn't even want to start psychoanalyzing the reasons why she found him impossible to resist. She didn't want to know what irrational hungers lurked in the dark corners of her soul that he seemed to satisfy. If she thought about it for too long it only sickened and repelled her and made her wonder about her own demons. Scully closed her eyes and shook her head, refusing to analyze that which was impossible to understand. Just let it happen. She took one last look around before boarding the train. No one seemed to be paying any attention to her and there was no sign of Mulder. The door was marked "423". She knocked, quietly said her name, and found herself being pulled quickly through the door. Krycek shut it behind her and didn't hesitate. "Give me the list Scully." He was agitated and distracted. Before she had it completely out of her pocket, he grabbed it and looked it over. A smile spread over his face and he let out a whoop. He grabbed her by the shoulders. "I've got 'em covered! There's more objectives than I thought, but I'm gonna set the goddamned project back decades. I can't kill it but I can make the son of a bitch bleed!" He was absolutely ebullient. "Scully, wait here. I'll be back." Krycek pulled a gun from his pocket, pulled the recoil back to put a bullet in the chamber and walked determinedly out of the car. Scully pulled the shade back from the window and saw Krycek at a bank of payphones. He talked for only a minute or two, hung up and immediately dialed another number. While she watched, Krycek made nine phone calls, each lasting only a few minutes. She knew what was happening. She could see it coming and had no doubt that Krycek could make it happen. She jumped as her cell phone began ringing. She quickly answered it knowing without a doubt who was on the other end. "Scully, what the hell is going on? Get the fuck off that train now!" She tried to sound irritated that he knew where she was. "You followed me?" Now Mulder sounded irritated. "Don't act surprised, you knew I would. Now get off the train or I'm getting on." He lightened his stance a little. "C'mon Scully, you don't really want to eat train food do you?" She didn't fight the anger that was rising in her voice. "Mulder stop it! Krycek is in a position to be an unbelievably important asset to us, or he could just as easily be in a position to do great harm." She put force behind each of her words. "I WILL BE FINE. I will call you when I get to wherever I'm going. Maybe I'll need a ride." Mulder didn't like it, but he grudgingly agreed. Suddenly the train began moving. Scully watched as Krycek slammed the phone down and ran towards it, hopping on just as it cleared the platform. As he entered the cabin Scully could see that his enthusiastic glee had been replaced by stoic resignation. And indeed it had. While he still felt exhilaration knowing that what he had planned was indeed possible and was finally going forward, he knew that there would be a price to be paid for the revenge he exacted. At the extreme he'd pay it with his life. And even if it didn't reach that final outcome, his would be a nomadic existence at best. Not much different than it had been over the past few years really. He'd planned for this. What he hadn't planned on was Dana Scully. "So what's going on Krycek? What's so wrong that we have to meet on a moving vehicle?" "The black oil and vaccine are gone. They were taken from the safe deposit box I'd kept them in." Just speaking the words started his stomach churning again, gave new life to his rage. "They were taken by a tall, lanky man who flashed a court order and FBI badge. I couldn't make out the signature and didn't have time to check the tapes from the security cameras." Bewildered, Scully regarded Krycek with concern, for he was in tremendous danger. "An FBI agent took the case? That makes no sense Krycek. No one but Mulder and I know about the case." She paused, suddenly remembering the phone call she intercepted in Spender's office. It had been the cigarette smoking man. She did the math. "Spender. That goddamned little weasel. Alex, I'd bet my life that the case has fallen into hands that mean to do you no favors." Krycek's eyes locked onto Scully's. When he spoke it was with a quiet, firm resoluteness. "Dana, I'm going to have to disappear soon. I can't tell you where I'm going. I won't be able to have any contact with you or Mulder after today." A sudden, acute sense of loss washed over Scully. The realization of the depth of the consequences that Krycek was about to face hit her like a slap in the face. The sacrifice he was willing to make in the name of revenge was appalling. She could never understand hatred of that degree. As she looked at him she sensed a vaguely sensual light pass between them. His eyes bored into her with silent expectation. He drew her in like a magnet. They hesitated for a few expectant moments, their lips only separated by a breath. Krycek whispered against her lips, "I may never see you again." Scully found herself trembling; the prolonged anticipation of him - of his kiss - made time seem to stand still. Before allowing desire to overtake her she heard herself whisper into Alex's mouth, "Never say never Krycek." She sensed a grin as he reclaimed her lips, crushing her to him. His kiss was hard and burned with hunger and carnality. She matched his craving, losing herself in him. They tore at each other's clothes, unable to shred them fast enough. As the train traveled rhythmically across the tracks, Krycek and Scully moved in an exquisite rhythm of their own making. She exalted at his strength, at his passion and the beauty of his body. Krycek marveled at the way she seemed to drown in her desire; blocking out all except him, except them. Krycek hovered above her, feeling the satin of her thighs wrapping around him and he realized that more than her legs held him to her. As they became one he realized that the threads that truly lashed them together wove through their souls. They took what they needed from each other and gave each other all of themselves. Erotic musings were uttered in the heat of passion. In the end Krycek took Scully with a force she had never known and she surrendered to him, allowing his complete domination. He in turn did all that needed to be done to see to it that she found complete fulfillment as wave after wave of bliss washed over her. His explosive release flooded her with fire and filled her with his essence. Alex collapsed on her, completely exhausted. Their bodies were writhed in sweat and breathless, each gasped for air. Scully's eyes were closed as she savored the afterglow, not wanting him to move a muscle. She luxuriated in bearing the weight of his body. Krycek lifted himself up on his elbow and looked down at her. Her hair was wildly fanned out under her and sweat beaded on her forehead and lip. He felt his own sweat rolling down his face. This was how he wanted to remember her. Scully looked up at him through the drops of sweat that lingered on her eyelashes. He was the most confident, capable man she'd ever known and at the same time he was untrustworthy, his allegiance was questionable, and his motivations were strictly of the worst kind. She began to feel a deep, desolate ache develop in the pit of her stomach. They reluctantly got up and pulled themselves together, barely speaking, afraid of the words that might escape. He did manage to mutter a request to pass along an apology to Byers and complimented his work. As they neared the station in Philadelphia, Scully slipped him the disc knowing that it may be the only insurance he had. They embraced passionately. She touched his cheek and he felt it sear into his soul. He brushed the hair from her face and she knew she'd always feel his fingers in her hair. Their lips met one last time in a tender kiss that neither wanted to let go of. As Scully walked down the hall of the train on her way out, Krycek stepped out of the cabin. "Never say never Scully." **************************************************************************** **************** It took Spender a couple days to determine exactly what he'd ask for in return for the case. He could've asked for money, he could've asked for power, but he settled on something far more valuable. He sat impatiently in his car on a rural road near Mount Zion, Maryland just outside DC. In determining the place to bargain with his father he eventually chose someplace where no one could possibly see them together. A crowded street corner would've provided added safety, but Spender wasn't about to take any risks with his reputation. His father was late and Spender had anticipated he would be. Turnabout was fair play right? That was fine with him - it gave him more time to compose himself. He sat huddled in his car, his nerves on edge but overall Jeffrey Spender felt great. This was the night he finally broke free of his father's domineering grip. It had been his father who engineered his takeover of the X Files and his father who fed him pertinent information on certain cases. But it had also been his father who demanded complete control over nearly every aspect of Spender's life. Spender was becoming embroiled deeper and deeper in his father's line of work. He'd had enough. Enough of being the lackey. He was ready to break free and complete the course of his life on his own terms. The headlights flashed in his rear view mirror and instantly Spender snapped to life. He checked his gun, secure in his shoulder holster. He checked his key ring for the locker key. If all went as planned he'd be a liberated man within the next few minutes. The car pulled ahead of him and he stepped out of his car and leaned casually against the hood. When the door of his father's car opened, he emerged as if from a cloud of smoke. It seemed to cling to him, wispy contrails bound to him and reminded Spender of how death might look lurking near it's victim. The first thing his father did was light up and offer the cigarette to Spender who, though he longed for one, refused it. His father inhaled deeply and let the smoke settle in his lungs. "A strange choice of locales Agent Spender." "I wouldn't want anyone seeing us together. It might damage my reputation." The cigarette smoking man smirked. "Your reputation? You think you carry a high reputation? A bit out of touch Jeffrey." He wouldn't let his father get to him. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction. His voice was steady as he spoke his demands. "I want to make a deal. For the case and the contents of it I want you out of my life forever. I don't want your intervention or involvement in my career. From this night forward I don't ever want to see you again. Anything less and there is no deal." His father stared at him and didn't speak for an agonizingly long time. All he did was drag on that goddamned cigarette and bore holes through him with his gaze. Spender matched his stare with a steely one of his own and tried to keep his nerves from showing. His hand went to his pocket when it began to shake. He watched his father throw the cigarette to the ground and reach into his pocket. Immediately Spender reached for his gun, drew it and had it trained on his father's heart in the span of a second. What he saw his father take from his pocket caused him to feel as if a bullet exploded inside him. His father held up the case. "Checkmate Jeffrey." Spender began to tremble uncontrollably, knowing the danger he was in, knowing what his father was capable of. He tried in vain to keep the panic from spreading to his face. Keeping the gun steady on his father, he fought the urge to just pull the fucking trigger. It was a position the cigarette smoking man had been in many times before, and every other time he savored the look of horror that took over his opponent's face. But this was his son. He took no pleasure in this. "Son, I don't do deals. You have obviously underestimated the lengths to which I will go, the means I will take to achieve the end." A car with its lights turned off pulled unnoticed about 100 yards behind Spender's car. Spender grappled for words. "Alright, fine, you win. I made a play and I lost. But you can't begrudge me that. It's right out of your play book isn't it Dad?" Maybe he shouldn't have added the sarcasm. "Yes I actually gained some respect for you. But Jeffrey your judgement regarding who to screw with is fatally flawed." He paused to drag. "You held much potential. It's too bad it won't see culmination." The car that had inched up slowly so that it was just behind Spender's came alive, lights blazing as it screeched past Spender's car. Jeffrey spun, aiming the gun and managed to fire two shots before a bullet ripped into his heart. As he collapsed to the road the gunman threw the weapon out the window. It landed near Spender's head. The last thing that Jeffrey Spender saw before death came for him was his father walking calmly to his car. **************************************************************************** **************** The coffee she sipped wasn't helping the unsettled feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Scully sat at Mulder's desk taking a break from doing background checks. Earlier in the day she had gone to the basement to see Spender and found him not in. When she inquired she found that he hadn't been to work in nearly a week and that he was considered a missing person. The FBI had just assigned a couple agents to the case. Both Scully and Mulder knew the people that Spender associated with and neither of them held out much hope for him if he had indeed gotten on their bad side. Scully had told Mulder of her suspicion that Spender had taken the case containing the black oil and vaccine from the safe deposit box in New York City. They had checked the surveillance tapes, but nothing concrete could be seen on them. If he had been murdered for the case then Krycek had better have found a good hiding place. Scully bowed her head and fought back the feeling of helplessness that came over her every time she thought of Krycek. Mulder sat with his feet propped on his desk, his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. Scully sat next to him but faced behind him. She was watching the television on top of the file cabinets. It was continually on CNN and something caught her eye. A "special report" cut in came on and scenes of smoldering ruins of buildings in several different locations played across the screen. Seeing the name of one of the sites flash across the screen Scully virtually sprinted to the TV to turn it up. Mulder turned at the commotion and sat spellbound listening to the report. "This is Lou Waters and if you're just tuning in there have been a series of explosions across the US and one, perhaps two explosions in Canada and in the Tunguska region of Siberia. The explosions we can confirm at this time are of a scientific research facility in Mattawa, Washington, an abandoned coal mine owned by Strunghold Mining in West Virginia where there are reports of massive cave ins of the tunnels in the mine, a farm in western Canada where I believe ginseng and bees were cultivated and at another research facility in the Tunguska region of Russia. More reports are coming in as we speak, the most recent is, inexplicably of an explosion that has imploded an abandoned missile silo is Bismarck, North Dakota. There is no official word of anyone claiming responsibility, although local authorities in North Dakota have mentioned possible ties to a militia group that has ties to the area. Could this militia group have subsidiaries in Canada and Siberia? Only time will tell." While the anchorman had been speaking Scully had walked trance-like back to Mulder's desk where he too was fixated on the television. As the news broke for a commercial they turned to each other speechless. Each tried to say something but found their mouths dry and they could force not sound from their throats. A smile began spreading across Scully's face, one she found impossible to halt. It spread to Mulder who took the smile and ran with it, pumping his fist in front of him. For the first time in Mulder's memory, Dana Scully began laughing her ass off. What neither of them could know was that thousands of miles away Alex Krycek was doing the exact same thing. End