X-Files M/K
Title: Chisli VII - 219
Author: Nicole S.
Rating: NC-17 for bad language, violence and m/m sex.

Archive to Allslash, Archive X, TER/MA, All Things Rat Series/Sequel: Sequel to 7002, 7243, 1015, 7-11, 911 and 2218 Webpage: http://members.tripod.com/~ter_ma

I crave feedback like Mulder craves Krycek! oscar204@aol.com

Spoilers: All Krycek episodes up to and including SR819, Two Fathers, One Son and Biogenesis

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, they belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and Fox. Please don't sue me, I'm broke.

Summary: Krycek can't seem to shake his past.

Comments: Thanks to Aries and Orithain (wielding her big comma and tense stick) for awesome beta and being great pals. Well, Fox. did it again. They left me with a season cliffhanger and a six month wait. Well, I'm sick of it! It's as if they're ASKING me to write fic...so I did.

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Chisli VII: - 219 by Nicole S.
(6/99)
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The Lear jet's engines started up with their familiar whine as Alex Krycek sat back in his leather seat and tried to get some sleep. He hadn't slept in the past 48 hours and was exhausted. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but they snapped open and refused to close again.

He sighed and looked out the window. All airports looked the same, even here in Africa. Africa, it was amazing he could even remember where he was half of the time. After leaving New York three months ago, he had first gone to Chile, where he had found everyone at the Consortium facility dead; they were all crispy critters, burnt by the rebels. Then he had gone to Bolivia, where he had found the same thing. Then Iceland, France, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Tanzania and now the Ivory Coast. He didn't find many of the Consortium's operatives alive, and the ones that had managed to escape the rebels didn't know anything; they were mostly peasants who were hired to keep the other locals away. Alex did have to quickly and neatly *take care* of a few people, however.

Alex fastened his seat belt as they started to taxi down what was supposed to be a runway. There were cows and people along the sides of the pot-holed piece of concrete, as if it were just another road. The plane lifted gently up into the air and swiftly carried him away from the heat and humidity of the jungle. He was supposed to go on to Thailand and a few other places in the South Pacific next, but they would have to wait. He had to return to the U.S. as soon as possible.

Once they had reached their cruising altitude, he settled back in his chair and forced himself to close his eyes. He had been practically living on this plane for three months, not an easy thing to do. When his benefactor had suddenly died, Alex had been left a substantial amount of cash and a mandate on how to carry on his work. He had also been given a key to a safety deposit box, which contained specific instructions and information on his new mission. It had taken him a few months to wade through the boxes of documents, the pictures and 8mm movies that he had found, but now everything made sense, and that scared the hell out of him.

When the faceless rebels had burned everyone they could get their hands on, they left the planet instead of taking over. Alex had thought that they would invade, but he was wrong. He speculated that they had probably regrouped and were now carefully plotting their next course of action. It sounded like a bad sci-fi movie, but from the information his benefactor had left him, he knew that these ones were smart. They were going to bide their time until the people on this planet let their guard down, then they'd strike.

So Alex went on his little *world tour* and made sure that everything the Consortium had was destroyed and that the black oil had pretty much been wiped out, except for a few places he hadn't visited yet. Alex had to make sure that everything was gone, so hopefully, neither race had a reason to come back.

He had visited his old hangout in Tunguska, which had been now abandoned. The one-armed peasants that lived nearby had too terrified to investigate the old gulag, even with the people gone. Alex had walked through the hallways flanked by the cells that had held so many people, until he had come to the one that he and Mulder had shared for a day and a night. Dim light had crept through the tiny window at the top of the cell, barely illuminating the dark walls. He had closed his eyes and remembered how he and Mulder had huddled together for warmth that night while Alex waited for the right moment to save his own ass.

He had sighed and opened his eyes; he had came and seen, and now it was time to go. He had turned and started walking back out to the entrance. He couldn't think of all the pain and grief that had happened there, all the horrors that he had inflicted on innocent people, the pain of losing his arm fuelling his rage. The beatings, the torture, the tests, that poor boy Dmitri, Alex had not wanted to come back here, not wanted to remember. He had struck a match and lit the rag in the top of the bottle that he had earlier filled with gasoline, then thrown it in the doorway of the building. He had turned and run like hell until he was on top of the hill, the hill where he and Mulder had first stumbled upon this place. He had watched as the gasoline ignited and started a raging fire before a loud explosion had nearly burst his eardrums. He hadn't needed to place explosives; there had been a cache of TNT in one of the rooms that would finish the building off. He had turned and walked through the woods and up to the road to his jeep, the explosions rocking the ground as debris had fallen around him.

Alex looked at his watch. He wouldn't be in the US for another 15 hours. He should really settle down and get rest, put all of the past out of his mind. He grabbed a pillow and went over to the couch on the other side of the small jet. He lay down and closed his eyes, determined to get some sleep this time.

The instructions for the Ivory Coast were very specific. He was to talk to Solomon Merkmallen and only Solomon Merkmallen, get the piece that he had, dispose of Dr. Merkmallen, bring the piece back to the U.S. and match it up with the piece that Alex had. Unfortunately, Dr. Merkmallen wasn't privy to Alex's paperwork, because Dr. Merkmallen was gone when he got there. Alex had found the people very personable and willing to talk about Dr. Merkmallen's discoveries. They had told him that he had taken the pieces and left for the U.S. They had also conveniently told Alex of Dr. Sandoz and his work at the American University in Washington. Alex already knew of Dr. Sandoz, but the instructions said that they needed Dr. Merkmallen's piece first; they had to be arranged in order.

Alex had left the little building in the Ivory Coast without killing a soul; he had been quite surprised. He had been just about to get into his jeep and high-tail it back to the airport when it had hit him. They had said *pieces*. He had run right back in there to ask the nice people again if they meant piece or pieces. They had definitely meant more than one, and they would show him where they had found them if he liked; it was just 5 kilometres up the road. Alex had smiled at them and said that he'd be delighted to see where they had found these treasures.

Alex had walked along the sand, his heart beating hard in his chest. He knew there was a ship buried somewhere in the Atlantic, could it be here? He had looked out into the sea, the waves crashing on the shore, the hot sun beating down on his back. A part of him had wished that he could just stay here, build a little hut and live on this beach for the rest of his life. // I could. I could just say *fuck it* and not care about what happens, not care that the world is going to hell.// He had walked into the surf, the cool water lapping at his ankles. He couldn't see a thing right now, the tide was in. When it went out in another five hours, he could walk out and see if anything else was there. Unfortunately, he didn't have five hours. He had to leave and intercept the pieces and join them with his own. // God, this is nice. I could kidnap Mulder and bring him here, and we could lie on this beach all day...// Alex had stopped that thought. While it was nice to dream, it could never happen. He had had to keep his mind on the task at hand and not daydream about Mulder, even though he thought about him every single day.

Alex groaned out loud on the plane. He had to concentrate on something else; he needed to be fresh for D.C., which he anticipated to be an exhausting visit. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on his breathing until he felt himself go limp. Finally, after two days of no rest whatsoever, he drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He had a car waiting at the airport, but he wasn't quick enough; by the time Alex had gotten to the university, it was too late. Someone else had probably already taken the pieces as Dr. Merkmallen's body was being zipped into a bag and carried away. // Wait one fucking minute here! Who the hell is that?// Alex watched as two of the killers remained to wipe up the blood. Suddenly, one of them yelled, "Time, let's go!" and they all scurried off like mice. Alex drew his gun and was just about to enter the office when the police came around the corner. He ran out of there, just in time to see a white van screech around the corner and into the night.

Alex swiftly went back to his car, started it and left the campus. He didn't want to hang around and be questioned by the police. He drove down the dark D.C. streets, not really driving anywhere, thinking, wondering who that was. // It can't be//. Suddenly, as if on cue, his cell phone rang.

"Yeah."

"Alex, so nice to see you're back in town."

Alex bristled at the sound of the Smoker's voice; he was right, it was his people. He pulled over into a McDonald's parking lot so he wouldn't crash his car due to the rage that welled up inside him. "What the fuck do you want?"

"I see your travels have not gained you better manners."

Alex clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes; he only wished this were a face to face meeting, so he could shoot the son of a bitch. "Cut the crap, old man."

"We have a mutual interest, you and I, Alex." The Smoking Man paused, and Alex could hear the flick of a lighter and a draw of breath. "We should be working together, not against each other. We could certainly use your help, and I know you could use ours."

"No way, forget it."

"You can't do all of this alone, Alex; you're going to need help sooner or later."

"I don't need your help." Now it was Alex's turn to pause. "How many pieces do you have?"

"Thanks to Dr. Merkmallen, at the present time three, but we could use your piece, Alex."

"Hmph. No."

"You can't do much with a single piece, Alex."

"It must mean a lot to you if you want it so badly."

"It is a puzzle, Alex. You do need all the pieces to solve it."

"What about Sandoz? You got his piece, too?"

Alex could hear talking in the background and the mouthpiece on the phone being covered. Spender was soon back talking to him. "Well, it seems that the police have a situation on their hands regarding our poor Dr. Merkmallen from the Ivory Coast. Dr. Sandoz is the prime suspect. They have called in the FBI and are going to hand the case over to Skinner tomorrow."

"Skinner?"

"At my request."

Alex's voice darkened. "What are you doing?"

"I am simply utilizing services that are at my disposal."

// He thinks Mulder's going to lead him to Sandoz.// Alex grunted.

Spender paused again. "Consider my offer, Alex. I won't be offering a partnership again..."

"Go fuck yourself."

Alex pressed end on his phone and sped out of the parking lot. Why the hell did that smoking bastard tell him that Mulder was going to be on the case? "What are you up to, old man? You're not powerful enough to be gloating yet." Alex looked at the clock. 1:30 a.m., he now knew what he had to do, but unfortunately he didn't have much time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A long time ago, Alex had wired Mulder's apartment, office, gym, Skinner's apartment, and various other points around DC with video surveillance connected to a hub that only Alex knew of. There were motion detectors on the video cameras so they only recorded when someone was in the room. There was also a modification that Alex had recently added. He had installed transmitters for the nanobuggers right beside the cameras at the beginning of this year. Now if Alex needed to, he could activate them remotely.

Skinner's office, however, had a standalone unit that the Smoking Man had used to tape people. After all this time, it was still there, right in Skinner's cabinet when Alex had last checked a few months ago. This was unfortunate, as Alex wanted to watch Skinner from his control room and ensure he was being a good little boy. He had no doubt Skinner would be good; the AD certainly didn't like pain.

Alex drove his car down the sleepy streets of D.C., dread filling him as he thought of what he had to do now. He didn't want to do it, but it was for Mulder's own good. If they got to him first, or if he got the pieces somehow, lord knew what they would do to him to get them. If Alex could get the pieces and match them up with his own, he'd have a very large bargaining tool, one that could set him free forever.

He parked his car a block away from Mulder's apartment and walked down the back alley toward the building. He was light on his feet, looking around for anyone lurking in the shadows. There was one thing that smoking bastard was right about; it wasn't easy doing all of this himself. He was going to have to get some help. Thing was, how? He couldn't put an ad in the paper, *help wanted, someone to the dirty work of a triple agent*. No, he'd have to renew some of his old contacts and call in some old favours.

Alex entered Mulder's apartment building and stole up the stairs quietly to apartment 42. He got out his lock picks and very quietly, with an angel's touch, picked the lock. Before he knew it, he was inside. Mulder was sleeping on the couch.

He silently closed the door behind him and stole up to the couch, the television flickering blue light over the room. // God, he's beautiful.// Alex sat on the coffee table and watched him sleep, his chest rising and falling with every breath. // His hair grew back. I like it.// He took his gloves off before he reached his hand out to touch the sleeping man, but he pulled it away sharply.

// Just inject him with the nanobuggers and leave, Alex.//

Alex pursed his lips together. He didn't want to do this, he didn't want it to come to this, but he felt as if he didn't have a choice. He had to protect Mulder from the truth; if he didn't, then he would certainly be killed. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, Alex did feel for Mulder. // Love.//

He shook his head and reached inside his jacket for the syringe that was in the pocket. He hesitated, then drew his hand out, empty, and reached out, this time stroking Mulder's hair away from his face. He moved the lock of hair off of his forehead and brought his lips down to Mulder's forehead // Just one kiss.//

Suddenly, he was being thrust backward and over the coffee table to he land with a thud on the floor. The next thing he knew, he was looking up the barrel of Mulder's gun.

"Stay where you are," Mulder commanded. "Don't move, or I'll blow your fucking head off."

"Relax, Mulder."

"Alex?" Mulder squinted into the glare coming from the television before reaching over and turning the light on and the TV off.

Alex's heart filled with warmth when Mulder said his first name. "Yeah, it's me."

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Mulder still had the gun trained on him.

"I want you to put your gun away."

"Are you armed?" Mulder asked.

Alex fought the urge to say something sarcastic but instead, simply said, "Yes."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No."

"You've tried before."

"Mulder, if I was going to kill you, I would have come up the fire escape and shot you through your open window. Need I remind you that last time, you were the one trying to kill me."

Mulder thought about it for a minute before he put his gun away. "I wasn't trying to kill you; I was merely emphasizing a point." Mulder smirked down at the triple agent sprawled on the floor before offering his hand to help him to his feet. "What are you doing here?" Mulder asked again, his hand lingering on Alex's hand before pulling it away, his thumb stroking along the inside of his hand.

Alex could feel his pulse quicken as Mulder looked at him seductively. // Oh god, please make him stop doing that.//

"I was in town, thought I'd stop by and see...and say hi."

"At 3 in the morning?"

"I have a very tight schedule."

"I see. Are you still on a mission to save the world?" Mulder said half-jokingly as he sat down on the couch. Alex moved to sit beside him.

Alex laughed, "Yeah, I just put my order in for my super-hero costume." He looked away then back at Mulder. "Things are very complicated right now."

"I bet." Mulder cupped Alex's face in his hand and stroked his thumb over his lower lip.

It took every ounce of will Alex had not to take his thumb into his mouth and suck on it. "Mulder, don't."

"Why not? We always seem to, anyway."

"I don't...I didn't come here for that."

"No? Why then?"

"To see you. To make sure you were okay."

Mulder caressed Alex's cheek with his hand. "I'm a big boy; I can take care of myself."

Alex fought the urge to lean into Mulder's touch. "At least you didn't shoot at me this time."

Mulder moved his hand away, looked down, then back up at Alex. Alex swore he could his gaze dig down into his soul. "I could shoot at you now, if it'd make you feel better."

Alex snorted, "You remember what happened last time you did that?"

"Oh god, don't remind me. I'm sure they're still laughing about it down at the police station."

Alex looked down at the floor for a second. He should have just injected him and left; now he was going to have to find another way to get the job done. He traced the outline of Mulder's fingers with his own, feeling his cock, his heart and his stomach jump all in one move. "I've been thinking about you, Mulder."

"I've been thinking about you too, Alex."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, thinking about us. Thinking about your offer."

"My offer for you to come with me?"

"Yeah," Mulder sighed. "I really want to, Alex. I want to be with you, to help you. But I've got my own work to do."

"I know." Alex squeezed Mulder's hand

Mulder brought Alex's hand up to his lips and kissed it, then moved his hand up and brought Alex's head to his own.

// Get out of here, Alex. Don't do this right now.// Alex didn't heed his own advice; instead he threw all he had into that kiss, lingering lazily on Mulder's lips, before nibbling on the lower one. He delicately pushed his tongue into Mulder's mouth, feeling Mulder's arms come around him more tightly to squeeze them closer together. His tongue was being sucked on and his body caressed by the man that he was going to betray, to hurt in a matter of...whenever this was over.

Slowly, he moved his hands up to caress Mulder's back, amazed at the dexterity of the prosthetic limb that he had. He swore he could feel Mulder's muscular back beneath the rubber, plastic and machinery. Mulder was tugging at his shirt, wanting to pull it free. Alex pulled back and caressed Mulder's face with his real hand, amazed at the heat that he felt.

"You still got that bed?"

"Yes." Mulder stood and grabbed Alex's hand, leading him into the bedroom.

Alex noticed that everything was still very neat; the sheets were clean, and the bed looked like it was just waiting for someone to sleep in it.

The two men stood before each other, just looking at each other bathed in the light that streamed through the window. Alex brought his arms around Mulder in a tight embrace before his hands wandered down to cup and caress Mulder's ass through the sweats he wore. Alex started to kiss Mulder, melting again into his touch, his lips nearly hurting he kissed him so hard. His tongue moved forward into Mulder's mouth, running along his teeth, dancing with the tongue inside. After awhile, he pulled away and moved his hands up to take off Mulder's shirt. His fingers skimmed the front of his torso, delighting to hear him suck in his breath when his nipples were brushed then teased. He then placed the fake fingers over Mulder's left nipple and squeezed hard, watching Mulder close his eyes and groan with pleasure.

Mulder helped Alex shrug off his jacket before draping it over a chair. Mulder then unbuttoned the black shirt Alex wore, pausing to lick the skin as it was exposed, nipping at the few chest hairs that were revealed. Mulder pulled Alex's shirt off and began kissing between the straps of his prosthesis, making Alex sigh and forget, temporarily, the real reason that he was here.

"I keep forgetting this isn't real," Mulder said as he gently ran his hand over the rubber-like coating on the limb.

"Well, it isn't," Alex said flatly.

"But you're real, Alex. You're real, and you're here with me, and I want you to make love to me." Mulder cupped his chin and kissed him. "You are very real," he whispered, as he nuzzled Alex's neck, then kissed his way down his body to the waistband of his jeans.

Alex swooned. The sex between them wasn't just getting hotter; it was also making them closer // Lovers.//

Soon, Alex was naked, his cock jutting out from his body, ready and leaking. He reached for Mulder's sweats and tugged them and his underwear down and off with one pull. He bent down to pull them off, nuzzling Mulder's cock and balls with his chin. He took Mulder's balls into his mouth and gently sucked on them before releasing them and licking them, pulling on the fuzz with his teeth. Mulder's hand came down to stroke his hair as he licked up Mulder's cock and used the back of his tongue to caress the head. He then stood and grasped their cocks in his hand and started stroking them together.

Mulder leaned forward and kissed Alex again, nibbling on his lower lip, until he pulled away. "I want you to fuck me, Alex. I need to feel you inside me."

Alex kept silent, but inside his heart beat a little faster at those words. He let Mulder pull him down on top of the bed, where Mulder immediately began licking, sucking and pinching his nipples. Alex's hand was down playing with Mulder's balls, keeping him on edge. Slowly, Mulder made his way down to Alex's cock, biting and nipping at the scarred skin of Alex's torso. When he got to his destination, he took the member in his mouth and sucked on the head, swirling his tongue around and over, slowly teasing the slit with his tongue.

"Oh god...Mulder...Fox...please...I'm...."

Mulder pressed his thumb on a spot just below Alex's balls and pulled off his cock to keep him from coming. He moved back up to lay beside Alex, kissing him again for awhile until he was able to go on.

Alex reached over to the bedside table and got out the tube of lube that he knew would be there. He then knelt between Mulder's legs and began to prepare him. When Alex had the FBI agent whimpering and bucking back, digging his fingers deeper into his body, Alex knew he was ready. He lubed up his aching cock and positioned himself over the panting man. Mulder held his legs up and wide, out of the way, the anticipation nearly making him shake.

Slowly, Alex pushed into Mulder, making both men immediately moan. "Fuck, you're tight, baby," Alex breathed as he gained another inch.

"Please, Alex, pleaseGodpleasefuckmenowpleaseAlex..." Mulder babbled as Alex slowly entered him a small portion at a time, finally imbedding himself with one last shove.

Alex leaned over Mulder and looked at him; bliss and sweat showed on his face, his lips were kiss bruised and his pupils were dilated. This was how he liked Mulder, under his spell. He moved his arms up so they were gripping Mulder's hands over his head. Ever so slowly, he pulled out, then thrust back in, keeping his eyes open, meeting the agent's gaze. He moved his hips with great control, digging his knees into the bed, moving in and out as well as side to side. Their gazes stayed locked together as Alex moved, slowly gaining speed and intensity. Finally, he was thrusting inside Mulder, moaning every time he did. Mulder let out a whimper to Alex's moan, his eyes fluttering but not closing.

Alex reached down between them and grabbed Mulder's cock. It only took a few pulls before he arched his back, let go of his legs and dug his hands into Alex's shoulders, coming in long streams over their bellies and Alex's hand. Alex grabbed Mulder's legs and hauled them over his shoulders, then drove into Mulder, coming a half dozen strokes later deep into his ass. He collapsed forward, his real arm giving way and his prosthetic one just simply there, bracing him. He relaxed and moved it out of the way so he could wrap them around the other man and nuzzle his chest as the aftershocks ran through his body.

Reluctantly, a few minutes later, he pulled out and rolled to the side, allowing Mulder to clean them both up before he returned to Alex's embrace. Alex kissed his hair, squeezing him tight.

"That was intense, Alex," Mulder said as he kissed Alex's chest.

Alex didn't say anything as he lay there, the task that was at hand coming back to him. He wondered why Mulder let him fuck him, why he seemed to like him when Alex had treated him badly in the past and would certainly treat him just as badly in the future? Alex also wondered why he, himself, cared that Mulder seemed to care. Little did Alex know, but when Mulder had gotten back from the last time they met in New York, he had taken off the sweatshirt he had given him and put it in his bottom dresser drawer, not washing it to keep their smells mingling together forever.

"I've missed you, baby," Alex whispered before he kissed the soft hair again.

They lay there, embraced until they dozed off, Mulder contently falling into a heavy slumber, while Alex remained lucid and almost awake. When he was sure Mulder had drifted off, Alex got out of bed and dressed silently. He looked at Mulder sleeping peacefully on the bed, a pang of guilt running through him as he slipped the syringe out of his pocket. He quickly injected the contents into Mulder's hip and put the syringe back into his pocket. Mulder didn't even flinch.

"Spokoyno noch tovarish," Alex said he kissed Mulder on the forehead and walked away. He had a heavy heart as he left apartment 42 and went down to his car.

Alex drove along the empty streets to his *control centre*. This was the perfect place for a person like him; it was an old bomb shelter from the '50s that had been abandoned for some time. It was two stories below a numberless, faceless warehouse by the airport. The Consortium had long forgotten about this warehouse and its outdated bomb shelter; they had built new ones during the Cold War in the side of a mountain in Colorado. This place was quite homey, actually, rather large. Alex had furnished it himself with comfortable furniture, new appliances, a bed, and everything he could ever want when the inevitable happened. It also afforded him a place to stay while he was in town where he could keep his eye on the goings on around him.

He went into his control room, where his bank of television monitors were, and looked at the one of Mulder's bedroom. Mulder was still sleeping. He had kicked the covers off and was lying on his stomach, his muscular legs sprawled out. // God, he's got a nice ass.// Alex kissed his fingers, then touched the screen before he went to the bedroom and got a couple of hours sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting into the J. Edgar Hoover Building was a piece of cake. Alex had the sort of pass that the guards didn't ask questions about; they just let through. He used his magnetic card to let him into a private stairwell that hadn't been used in a long time. He went up the stairs and out into a narrow corridor with doors that didn't have any markings on them. // Third from the left.// Alex went through the door and found himself in the ante-room just outside of Skinner's office. There was a one way mirror that looked through the picture of Bill Clinton and a speaker so things could be seen and heard. The room had also been built so any noise made in the ante-room couldn't be heard in the office. Alex watched Skinner do some paperwork, then Mulder and Scully came in. Alex could feel his cock twitch as he saw Mulder in his Armani suit; he looked devastating.

Alex shook his head and brought his mind around to why he was here; he couldn't get distracted no matter how fuckable Mulder looked. He watched as Skinner reached over and got a rubbing of the pieces out of a file that the police had given him. Alex had already been through that file and knew what was in there already. There was the crime scene report; a statement from a maintenance man, who didn't see anything; and a rubbing of the piece that had been tacked to Sandoz' wall. // Every time Mulder gets near that thing, I'm going to activate the nanobuggers, like on Scooby Doo when Shaggy and Scooby looked at the haunted...whatever it was and got scared and didn't want to solve the case anymore.// Alex sighed to himself as Skinner passed the rubbing to Mulder. // Here goes the Scooby Doo.// He turned the controller on, locked onto Mulder's signal and put it on extremely low, just enough so that he knew something was wrong but not strong enough to make him feel sick.

When Mulder and Scully stood to leave, Alex left the ante-room. The controller had a long range, and a few minutes later, he turned Mulder's nanobuggers up a couple of notches, just to put the fear of god into him. He waited a minute then turned the controller off // That should give him a good buzz// and descended the stairs, then left the building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That afternoon, Alex waited for Mulder and Scully at the university. He lurked in the shadows before he donned his disguise as a maintenance man. He was getting good at this disguise bit. He made his way down to the lab and inside, hiding in the back, watching as Mulder and Scully talked to Barnes and the cops. He turned on the controller and activated the nanobuggers and waited for it. As if she had heard him, Scully pulled out the rubbing and held it out to Dr. Barnes.

Mulder looked ill; his face turned green, and he looked like he was going to puke any minute. He ran out of the lab and into the hallway, where he washed his face in the drinking fountain. Alex watched him through the window in one of the doors. // It'll be okay, baby, trust me.// Scully made sure he was all right before she went back into to the lab. They lingered for awhile. Scully got most of the facts while Mulder stood in the hallway, leery of returning to the room. // Drop the case, Mulder, you'll only get hurt.// Scully soon came out of the lab and rejoined her partner, then they left together.

Alex left the lab and went out to ditch the disguise, before he made his way to his car. He was going to have to check into this Barnes guy; he sure hated Dr. Sandoz. He probably knew where Sandoz was. Unfortunately, there were too many people around that would see them; he'd have to lure Barnes out somehow to get him to talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex was up early the next morning. He didn't know which time zone his brain was in, but it sure wasn't the one that his body was in. He was trying to keep his sleeping patterns to this time zone, but it wasn't working. He looked at the clock, 5:15 am. He groaned; what the hell was he going to do at this hour? He had spent most of yesterday afternoon running errands and getting a few supplies for the bunker, including updating the CD collection. He then cleaned his firearms and took a nap.

He got up and put the coffee on, then some music, Foo Fighters. He then made his way to the shower and stood under the warm spray for a long time before he washed himself and got out. This place may be old, and it might not be state-of-the-art, but at least everything worked.

After his shower, he padded down the hall to the bedroom and put on his boxers, a pair of faded jeans, and a black, ribbed t-shirt. He checked the clock, 5:45. // Mulder should be up by now.// Alex poured himself a cup of coffee and a bowl of Cornflakes before he went into his control room. He sat down in his chair and watched the morning come alive on his television screens. The gym had a few people in it, the pool was empty, Scully was reading the paper and eating breakfast, and Skinner was just leaving his apartment, gym bag slung over his shoulder. Mulder was still sleeping.

Alex frowned; Mulder was usually at the pool by now. He had hoped Mulder would be swimming; he wanted to check out the colour of his Speedo these days. So far, Alex had seen him in a red one, a blue one and a black one. He smiled as he remembered the first time he had seen Mulder in his Speedo; he had nearly fallen to his knees and worshiped his cock right then and there beside the pool. He remembered himself then, young, naive, dressed in a really bad suit, and too much gel in his hair. He shook his head and laughed; he was much better dressed and was much smarter now, although he still had a fixation for hair products.

Mulder's alarm went off, and Alex watched as an arm shot out and a hand hit the snooze button before flopping down the side of the bed. Mulder let out a groan, then fell back asleep. The alarm went off again, fifteen minutes later, and the same hand came up and turned it off. Mulder groaned again, then turned on the light and flopped over onto his back; he looked awful.

"What the hell?" Alex checked the controller, it was off. He'd never had anyone react this way to the nanobuggers before; they couldn't do you any harm unless they were activated. // Unless Mulder has the flu, there is something definitely wrong.//

Alex finished his Cornflakes and sat back in his chair, coffee mug cradled in his lap. He watched Mulder's pathetic attempt at waking up fail for a few minutes until he woke with a snort. Mulder sat up in bed, reached for the remote and turned the TV on. Alex could hear a Little Rascals episode in the background. Mulder sank down into his pillows and spent about three minutes watching the program before he fell asleep again.

Alex bit his lip as he watched Mulder sleep, zooming in and adjusting the resolution on the picture, so that Mulder's face filled the entire screen. He wanted to go over to Mulder's apartment and cuddle with him in front of the flicker of the television, then make love to him all day. His cock jumped at the thought of them together, drenched in each other's sweat, moaning each other's names. // Down boy.// Alex watched Mulder sleep for about an hour until the news came on. Mulder woke with a start, looked over at the clock, then shot out of bed, cursing the whole time until he got in the shower. After the shower, he quickly got dressed, then flew out the door.

Alex switched his gaze over to the office, where Scully was starting her day, checking her e-mail. She must have gotten a good one because she squealed, typed furiously for ten minutes, then squealed again. Alex had never heard Scully squeal in his life; he had been sure she was incapable of making such sounds. He had rarely heard her say anything except for work jargon. This was a refreshing change; there was a girl under that facade after all.

After Scully had her squealing session, Alex saw her expression harden into her usual look as she got down to work. Alex used this time to brush his teeth and change into his black jeans and put his boots on. He had to be ready to go at any minute. When he got back to his control room, he found Chuck in Scully's office, obviously excited about what was going on.

"You mean he goes all funny when he looks at the thing?"

"Yes, he is in some sort of distress when he looks at the rubbing."

"Just the rubbing, not the actual piece?"

"Yes, just the rubbing. We have not found an actual piece yet."

"This is very, very cool." Chuck twitched with delight then started out the door, "I'll be right back."

Alex watched Scully sit down in her chair and tap away at her computer for a few minutes until Chuck came back. Alex had met Chuck years back when he had first graduated from Quantico. He was another guy that the Consortium had kept an eye on. Fortunately, Chuck didn't have Mulder's will or ambition; he just did his job and went home at the end of the day. Alex had spent three months tailing Chuck and found out that he was a kinky little bugger, he had a foot fetish, and spent most of his paycheques on women's shoes and hookers. He'd get the hookers to put the shoes on, then he'd fuck their feet and come all over the shoes and feet before licking it off. Alex had a few kinks of his own, but Chuck beat him in that department.

Chuck soon came back with various magazine clippings and articles that he shoved into the overhead projector. He was talking a mile a minute and was very excited as he showed Scully his papers. Then Mulder dragged his sorry ass into the office. He still looked like shit, and unfortunately for Mulder, he was going to feel worse in a few minutes.

Alex held his breath as he activated the nanobugger controller, this was the first time he was to use the remote option, and he hoped it worked, or he would have to reconfigure everything. A pang of guilt swept over him as he kept his hand on the controller, he didn't want to do it, Mulder looked so ill. He waited until Chuck and Scully had the rubbing up on the overhead and then he turned it up. He watched as Mulder brought his hand up to his head in pain. // Well, at least it works.// Chuck had a look of utter joy on his face, finally witnessing what Scully had told him. Alex watched as Scully led Mulder away and out of the office. She returned a few minutes later and told Chuck she was worried about him and after they went to Sandoz apartment this morning, she was going to schedule him for a MRI.

Alex turned the remote controller off, stood and readied himself for a day on the road. He was going to spend the day following Mulder and Scully around and had to get over to the Hoover within the hour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex had followed Mulder and Scully to Sandoz' apartment and waited for them to do their business. Alex had been in there yesterday and found nothing, except for the body of Dr. Merkmallen that Spender's people had planted sometime between the first Police search and yesterday morning. He left when the Police and Coroner showed up to meet Mulder and Scully, he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself. After that, he went to the gym and worked out and thought about what he should do next.

That evening, Alex went to visit Skinner. He entered Skinner's apartment block with trepidation, the last time he was here...he didn't want to think about it. This time would be different, however, // You're my *boy* now, Walter//. He dug the palm pilot out of his pocket as he ascended in the elevator to Skinner's floor and turned it on. The tiny computer ran a scan for Skinner's frequency then locked on. Cool thing about the nanobuggers, is that they lock on to your DNA and using the electrical current from your brain, they emit a signal that's yours alone. With his new controller, Alex could control up to six people at one time.

Alex turned it up as he approached the door, picking the lock quickly and stepping inside. He heard groaning from the upstairs bedroom. He followed the noise, until he was at Skinner's bedside; the man's knees were up to his chest, hugging them as he rolled around in pain.

"Hey, Walter." Alex sat beside him on the bed.

Skinner only moaned.

"You've been working out, I see." Alex ran his gloved hand up Skinner's thigh then stopped to slap him on the ass once. Alex then turned the frequency down to what he called a *low hum*, it was strong enough to make the person weak, but still it allowed them to talk.

"What do you want?" Skinner groaned, "I thought we were finished?"

"Well, Walter, something came up."

Skinner groaned again.

"You know that surveillance equipment in your office? I need you to tape all the conversations that you have with Mulder and give them to me. I also want you to call me when something important happens." Alex tucked a card with a phone number on it into the waistband of Skinner's underwear.

"Why?"

Alex turned up the frequency on the nanobuggers which made Skinner writhe in pain. "Because." Alex spat at him, before he turned the controller down to a low hum again.

"Is...is that all you want?" Skinner whimpered.

Alex looked down at Skinner, he was such a strong man, such a gruff man, yet a little pain made him into a wounded puppy dog. "Walt, you would make a lousy bottom. You cave in too easy, you should embrace the pain, use the pain to get off. The bottom actually controls all the actions, you know. If you have a few hours, I could show you what I mean..."

"Just tell me what you want, and get the fuck out of here."

"Temper, temper. I may need you to do some things for me in the future, but for now, that's it. Is that okay, Waaaaalter?" Alex leaned over and looked into Skinner's eyes and saw fear and hate in them. Skinner nodded at him but sneered at the same time. Alex smiled at Skinner, stood, patted the AD on the head, then left the apartment. He kept the controller on and active until he got out to the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Alex let himself into the ante-room outside Skinner's office again and took his place behind the Bill Clinton picture. Skinner was reading a file and looked like he hadn't slept at all. Alex smirked as he took the palm pilot out and activated both Mulder and Skinner; he wasn't going to take any chances. He slipped the controller into his pocket and opened the door of the ante-room. It gave a whoosh of air, yet the hinges made no noise.

Skinner was startled; he hadn't seen anyone come through that door in years. He covered it well, though, and went back to reading the file. "What do you want, Krycek?"

"Did you sleep well last night, Walter?"

Alex took the controller out of his pocket and brushed his thumb across it. He saw Skinner's face flush, and he swore he saw him start to shake. Skinner looked up and sat back, his menacing look upon his face as he tried to mask the fear. "I've got work to do."

"Fine, fine, go about your day. What time are Mulder and Scully supposed to be here?"

Skinner's eyes narrowed. "Soon."

"Good. You don't mind if I watch, do you? I'm a bit of a voyeur."

"You've already got me taping our conversations, why do you need to be here?"

"Because I can be."

Alex turned and went back through the door to the ante-room. It locked automatically behind him with a snick. He watched Skinner look over at the picture of Clinton and frown before he stood and readied the VCR in the cabinet. A few minutes later, Mulder and Scully came into the room.

Mulder's looked seriously ill. Alex looked down at the controller. He hadn't even turned them up; they were just resting there, humming in his body. Something else was going on here; he shouldn't be so sick.

"So you think Dr. Sandoz is innocent?" Skinner asked.

"He's afraid of his life because of what he knows and what he has," Mulder answered.

Skinner pushed the rubbing of the artifact to Mulder. "This."

"Genuine artifact. One of several pieces of an unknown whole. Dr. Barnes has one now, too. That's why he killed Solomon Merkmallen."

Alex nearly gasped. Doctor Barnes had a piece as well? How very interesting. Spender had lied to him; he didn't have Merkmallen's pieces after all. He was using Mulder to get to the pieces, just as Alex was.

He listened to Mulder and Scully talk about Sandoz, how Sandoz was set up and framed for Merkmallen's murder. Alex knew it was Spender, but he cursed him just the same.

Alex knit his brows together as he turned the nanobuggers up a notch. // I'm sorry, baby.// Alex watched them banter back and forth about the case, explain the cosmic galactic radiation. Alex turned the notch up even more when Mulder started in on Skinner and how someone else must be on this case. Scully finally helped him out of the room. He watched as Skinner checked the hallway, then took the tape out of the VCR. Alex silently went into Skinner's office, his face expressionless as he took the tape. He wanted to have some fun with Skinner, but he didn't have time right now; he had to make a call to the good Dr. Barnes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex had an appointment with Dr. Barnes that evening. He had called him and tricked him into believing that Alex was interested in giving him some research money. He rounded a corner at the university and stopped dead in his tracks. There before him was Mulder. Alex sighed. // What the hell is he doing here? He's supposed to be at home, sleeping, where I saw him an hour ago.// He watched Mulder go down the hallway to Dr. Barnes' office. // Fuck!// Alex didn't want it to come to this, but he had to do it. He took the controller out of his pocket and activated the nanobuggers. He locked onto Mulder's signal, then set it on medium-hum. He then walked down the hallway and peered into the lab. Mulder was having the Scooby-Doo all right; he looked like he was in severe pain.

// I'm sorry.//

Alex snuck back around the corner again just as Dr. Barnes came out of the office, Mulder following after a minute. Alex turned up the frequency and watched Mulder's face change and turn an even more sickly shade of green. He thought of them in bed a couple of nights ago, their bodies covered in sweat, sucking and nipping... // Come on, Alex, get it together.//

He watched Mulder wobble through the hallway, nearly knocking a few students over, trying in vain to stand upright. Alex kept his distance until Mulder got to the stairwell, then he closed in. He turned up the frequency and watched Mulder collapse on the floor.

// I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry, Fox.// Alex said to himself over and over again as he stepped over Mulder and followed Dr. Barnes up to the roof.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Barnes was not very cooperative. Alex had taken him to the warehouse and made him comfortable, given him a cup of coffee, shown him the videotape and asked him where Dr. Sandoz and the piece were. He wouldn't say a word, so Alex had no choice but to cuff Barnes' hands behind his back, seal his mouth with duct tape and lock him in a trunk for a little while.

Alex went down to his control room and checked the console filled with television monitors. Nothing was happening. Scully's place was dark, Skinner was watching television, Mulder's apartment was empty. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He would rest for a few minutes, then go up and *talk* to Dr. Barnes again.

A few minutes turned into more than a few hours as Alex slept on. Finally, one of the machines woke him as it had started to squeak. It was the machine taping Mulder's apartment. He looked at the counter; it had taped for half an hour, five hours ago, then started taping again. He leaned in closer; there was something going on there. Alex moved his gaze around to the small black and white monitor of Mulder's bedroom. He was just waking. He let out a gasp as he saw the drama unfolding on the screen focused on the living room and switched the feed to the large monitor; Diana Fowley was there.

"What the fuck?" Alex said as he turned up the volume. He watched as Diana made her way into the bedroom with a mug of what appeared to be tea. She then sat down beside him and brushed the hair from his forehead. Mulder groaned.

"There, Fox, you'll be okay," she said as she still stroked his hair.

Alex immediately looked at the frequency on the master control pad; Mulder's nanobuggers were inactive. Something else was wrong; why was he so groggy? "What are you up to, Diana?" Mulder looked like shit; dark circles were under his eyes, and he still looked green. "What are you doing to him?" Alex almost screamed at the monitor.

He watched as Diana left the bedroom and went into the living room, where she turned on Mulder's computer. Alex watched the monitor intently, taking in everything she was doing, watching as she went through his e-mail, computer disks and hard drive. She obviously didn't find what she was looking for because when she turned around to the camera's direction again, she had a frown on her face. Then the phone rang.

Diana answered the phone. Whoever was on the other end must not have been who she wanted to talk to because she had a look on her face as if she had just smelled something bad. She went into the room and gave the phone to Mulder.

"Agent Scully to the rescue," Alex whispered as he listened to Mulder's half of the conversation and watched as he tried to wake up a little bit. He hung up, and Diana left him alone again, taking the phone with her into the living room. She activated the phone again and dialed a number. "Fuck," Alex said as he tried to read the numbers that she was pressing.

>From the tone of her voice and the way she was talking, there was only one person she could be talking to. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck. Diana, you bitch, what are you doing?" Alex said to the television monitor. He watched as she hung up her phone and started taking off her clothes.

"Oh no. No way, honey, you aren't fucking my Mulder." Alex reluctantly activated Mulder's nanobuggers. "I'm sorry, baby," Alex said as he turned the frequency to a low hum.

Alex watched, helpless, as Diana disrobed then started to undress Mulder. She removed his sweats, underwear and t-shirt, kissing the skin as it was exposed, just as Mulder had done to Alex recently. Nanobuggers or not, Mulder was responding to her touch as she crawled in bed beside him and started kissing him on the mouth. Mulder's arms came up around her.

She kissed his neck, then up to his chin, then lingered on his mouth again. Mulder let out a soft sigh that pierced Alex's heart and left him clutching the side of the console desk, his knuckles showing white. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, he and Mulder had just had sex two nights ago, for Christ sakes!

"You slut!" Alex yelled, not really sure who his epithet was directed at. He turned the nanobuggers up a notch.

He was mesmerized as Diana moved down to suck on Mulder's nipple, tugging at it with her mouth, the same nipple that Alex had squeezed with his prosthetic limb and left quite a bruise around. // You think she'd notice.//

Mulder had his eyes closed, and his lips were parted slightly as Diana moved her mouth lower and lower. Her tongue dipped into his navel, then nuzzled the hair on his belly for a minute, and her hands moved up and massaged Mulder's chest.

Alex's hand clenched, his prosthetic fingers jerking violently from the energy he was expending. Alex was furious; he didn't want that bitch anywhere near Mulder. He reached over and turned the nanobuggers up one more notch, not wanting to, but he felt he had to. He gritted his teeth as Diana reached down and pulled back the sheet to reveal Fox Mulder's flaccid, limp cock resting comfortably against one thigh.

Alex threw his head back and laughed, "Too bad, honey." He watched as she tried in vain to arouse him but had no such luck. Mulder sighed and rubbed his forehead with his fingers, "I'm sorry, Di. I've still got that fucking headache."

Those words carved a canyon into Alex's heart. Mulder wanted this? He actually wanted that skanky bitch in his bed? Diana frowned at Mulder's cock, then moved up to cuddle with him. Mulder put his arm around her and closed his eyes.

Alex turned the nanobuggers down a notch, although he wanted to put them on full and blow Mulder's fucking brain across the room. He sat in his chair and looked at Diana and Mulder, him sleeping, her just lying there. Alex felt betrayed, felt jealous. He had always chided Mulder for getting emotionally involved with him, always pushed his buttons, always told him he didn't care. The truth was, Alex did care; he cared too much. He loved Fox Mulder; he realized that he always had and always would.

Anger quickly replaced sadness as he watched Diana in the place he wanted to be. He turned the nanobuggers off, then stood; he had some other business to take care of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Barnes would suffer the wrath of Alex Krycek's anger, not Diana Fowley. Dr. Barnes should have cooperated and given Alex what he wanted and not pissed him off. After all, Alex had *tried* to be nice to him and let him live a little longer, but Barnes was stubborn. No, it wasn't until he was handcuffed naked to an exposed pipe that Barnes spilled his guts, in a matter of speaking.

It was unfortunate for Dr. Barnes that Alex was so very angry that he had to put the Scooby Doo on his... // Lover?//...Mulder...and then had to watch him almost get raped by an oversexed slut with large, saggy tits. If Alex had not seen that this morning, he might have killed him sooner. Instead, he prolonged his torture, carving an intricate design into his human canvas. A few cuts here, drops of blood there, pooling and coagulating on the cold concrete floor, had Barnes babbling non-stop within minutes.

"Embrace the pain, Dr. Barnes. You know what? I know another guy who cries like a baby when he's hurt. We're men! We should be tough. You ever practice S&M, Barnes?"

"N-n-n-no."

"Hmph. Well, maybe you should, it makes you stronger. You go into this zone, and you don't feel the pain anymore; it turns itself into pleasure. It's not burning, hot wax dripping between your ass cheeks, it's something totally erotic and pleasurable. You should try it some time."

Alex moved in and studied the pieces of flesh he had left hanging off of Barnes' chest. His knife gleamed in his hand as he made one more cut. This time, he pierced a nipple with the tip of the blade and watched the blood drip down and join the rest in the pool on the floor.

"See, it's good pain. Doesn't it make your cock hard, Barnes?" Alex grabbed the man's crotch, disappointed to find him soft.

"Hmph. Well, I guess it's not for everyone." Alex put his knife away and got out his Glock. "You got anything else to say, Barnes? You told me about Sandoz, you told me about the pieces, where they came from, what's on them, where yours is. Thank you very much, you know what? You have maybe just saved a life with that information."

"Please, don't kill me."

"I have to."

"No, you don't. I won't talk, I swear, I'll never breathe a word to anyone."

Alex sighed, "Well, there are other people looking for the pieces too, and if I let you live, you may tell them where they are."

"No I won't, honestly, I won't tell another living soul."

"Sorry." Alex raised the gun and put three shots into Barnes' head, then watched him die. After that there was nothing to do but go to the airport and head for New Mexico.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex sat on his plane, yet again, the large box containing his pieces stowed in the hold. After what he had heard from Scully about the radiation, he wasn't taking any chances. He had purchased a large radiation proof box to hold the pieces. Limited exposure would not do him any harm, but prolonged exposure to it made him nervous. He had found Barnes' piece right where he left it, in his house under his mattress.

It had taken him a long time to get to New Mexico. There were delays taking off due to weather, then they had to divert to miss a large storm. Once he had gotten to New Mexico, he had rented a car and gone to where Dr. Barnes had told him Dr. Sandoz would be. Well, if Dr. Barnes hadn't told him the truth. There was Sandoz right there in front of him. He was shocked; if that had been Alex and he'd known he was going to die anyway, he'd never have told him the truth. Alex walked over to Sandoz, who was on the phone with someone. Quietly, he shot him in the back of the head and stuffed him in the trunk of his car before taking the piece and leaving.

// Too easy.//

Once back in D.C., Alex took the large box with the pieces and put it in the trunk of the car. He was just going to drive back to his control centrecenter when his cell phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"It's Skinner."

"Hey, Wally, what's up?"

Skinner ignored the remark and continued. "Something's happened with Mulder."

"What?"

"He's been committed."

"Committed? Where?"

"He's in the hospital. Georgetown Memorial, in the Special Psych Unit. Fowley's with him."

"Fowley? Fucking bitch. Skinner, you don't let that bitch out of your sight, got that?" Alex turned off his cell phone, then sped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex arrived at the hospital to find Skinner waiting for him. He stopped him from going down the hallway.

"What are you doing? Where is he?"

"He's in cell 219."

"Cell?"

"They have him in there for his own safety. He just went nuts, started babbling, started screaming for Scully."

"Where is Scully?"

"I don't know; she stormed out of here a few of hours ago. Diana Fowley is down there."

"Cunt," Alex said under his breath.

Skinner's expression remained stoic. "Krycek, why do you care what happens to Mulder? I'm not going to let you kill him."

"I didn't come here to kill him." He sighed, "I don't know why I care." Alex let his gaze drift off for a minute. He was tired, god he was tired. Tired of the games, of the bullshit.

Skinner fidgeted nervously beside him. He didn't know what to do with Krycek if they weren't fighting each other. "I'm going to go home if that's okay with you."

Alex's head snapped up, his expression hardening back to his *game face*. "Yeah, go." He watched Skinner walk away, his coat flapping behind him as he rounded the corner. Alex turned and made his way down the corridor until he got to the heavy steel doors of the cells at the end of the ward. There, in a small room hosting various video monitors and chairs, was Diana Fowley.

"Hello, Alex," she smiled at him.

Alex didn't say anything; instead he looked up to the video monitor, where Mulder was seen sitting in a corner of a small room, his knees up to his chest, rocking back and forth. Alex turned to face Diana, his eyes narrowed into a glare. "What did you do to him?"

"It was for the best, Alex."

"What the fuck are you playing at, Diana? Let him out of there."

"I don't think so, Alex."

Alex was about to reach out and throttle her when his phone rang. His eyes narrowed at her even more as he brought the phone to his ear, "Yeah?"

"Alex, I see you have found more pieces."

"Drop dead, motherfucker, they're mine," Alex seethed. He thought of killing Fowley and storming the door to Mulder's cell. He'd done things like that before; he'd get away with it.

"Yes, and he is ours."

"Excuse me?"

"Agent Mulder. He belongs to us now. Unless you would like to make a trade."

Alex's face fell. He turned to look at Fowley, who wore a smug look on her face. This time, Alex did reach out and put his hand around her neck, shoving her up against the wall.

"And I have your girlfriend, you black-lunged fuck."

"Careful, Alex. She is the only one who can get him released and the only one who has the antidote to the drugs we gave him. If anything should happen to Ms. Fowley, the staff are instructed to move Mr. Mulder to a facility where he cannot be found very easily."

Alex looked at Diana; her hands were clawing at the soft plastic of his prosthesis. He wanted to snap her neck so bad...but he couldn't take that chance. "Bitch!" Alex said as he threw her to the ground, leaving her gasping for air. "You can go to hell if you think I'm giving the pieces to you."

"I'm dismayed to hear that, Alex. Agent Mulder does not seem to like his new home, yet he will be in there a long, long time."

"Why do you think I care?"

"You are not the only person to have surveillance cameras in Agent Mulder's apartment, Alex. I've learned quite a bit about you in the past few days."

All the colour drained from Alex's face; it felt as if he had been kicked in the groin. "What do you mean?" Alex whispered, knowing full well what Spender had seen.

"When did you become lovers, Alex? It looks like you two have been in a relationship for quite some time; you know each other's bodies quite well." Spender paused. "It does not matter to me; what I do want are the pieces, however. You relinquish the pieces to me, and Agent Mulder gets released and the antidote administered. If you do not, however, Agent Mulder will simply become another person wandering aimlessly at an expensive, out of the way, very private institution. I can tell you this, Alex, you would never, ever find him."

Alex shut his eyes and leaned his head against the wall, a million things running through his mind. He did love Mulder; he knew that much, although he had no idea how the hell that happened, and he should be pissed at him for enjoying that cunt trying to fuck him. So he loved Mulder, yet he couldn't let all this hard work go to waste. He let his breath out slowly; what was he going to do?

"Alex?"

"What?"

"You have 30 seconds."

"How do I know that you're going to let him go?"

"Ms. Fowley does not want any harm done to Agent Mulder, unless it is absolutely necessary. She can be counted on to keep her word."

"What about your word?"

"I always keep my word."

Alex cursed under his breath again and surprised himself when the answer formed on his lips, "Yes."

"Yes, what, Alex?"

"Yes, you can have the pieces. But I want Mulder out of here as soon as possible."

"As I said, we will administer the antidote, and he will be released and free to go home."

"I want him released to me."

Alex could hear a cigarette being lit. "As you wish. Bring the pieces to New York; Ms. Fowley will give you the address." With that, Spender hung up. Alex turned around to find Diana standing right behind him.

"You're doing the right thing, Alex. We need those pieces to save us from the rebels."

"Is that what he told you? You're even dumber than I thought."

Fowley's eyes narrowed, but she held out a card to him just the same. Alex looked up at the video monitor. Mulder was lying in a fetal position on the floor, humming to himself. He put his hand up to the monitor and touched it a minute before leaving to fulfill his part of the bargain.

Diana waited for Alex to leave before she got out her cell phone.

"Yes?"

"He just left."

"Is he going to bring me the pieces?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. Arrange to have Agent Mulder transferred at once."

"Yes, sir."

Diana Fowley hung up and smiled to herself before making the necessary phone calls needed to finish the job.

To be continued.
16