Dominion Over My Soul - 3
Mulder handed his Amex card over to the smiling receptionist at the Hertz counter. She swept the card through the reader, checked the signature he provided on the resulting paperwork and then she handed him the keys to one of the rentals parked outside.
Minutes later, Mulder was slamming the tailgate shut having placed his suitcase into the trunk. He glanced around the almost empty lot, his eyes raking across the power-dressed woman who was fiddling about with another rental parked just along from his. Once behind the wheel, Mulder peeled away heading straight for the nearest, most direct route for Springfield.
Flicking on the radio, he was pleased to note it had been pre-set to one of his favourite stations and was playing a song he was very familiar with. His grin widened and he sang out at the top of his voice, immeasurably pleased with himself; patting himself on the back, mentally, as he rewarded his own ingenuity. The only thing missing that would make this moment perfect was Dana Scully by his side. He paused in his singing, pursing his lips in thought. It was high time he told her how much he needed her; how much he loved her and wanted her with him, always.
He turned his attention back to the road ahead. Within a few hours he would arrive in Springfield and then he could start investigating a *real* case.
********************
The Bounty Hunter smiled into the driver's mirror, pleased with his current disguise. The female form seemed quite slight in comparison to his favourite figure; the dark eyes and mousy hair fairly nondescript. Mulder had glanced right at 'him' but had failed to see beneath this disguise. He looked back up the road. Just a few cars ahead of him, in a red Taurus, was his quarry; Fox Mulder. He smiled. Mulder was so predictable. The human was playing right into their hands just as his 'brother' within the body of Alex Krycek had predicted.
The morph frowned. His 'brother' had arrived onboard the so-called meteor that landed within the Tunguskan forest back at the turn of the century. He had been living in the carrier form since then even though he had been given a body; for some inexplicable reason, preferring to remain a rider rather than gestate into Grey form. But why? What could be gained using such a crude vessel? As a Grey he would have the ability to metamorphose into *any* human configuration that took it's fancy... including the one that he rode. So why did his 'brother' want to have this body
undergo hybridisation? What was it about that particular body that called to it?
For the first time the Hunter wondered if there was something more to these humans than he believed. He had never been given the opportunity to ride a human. He had incubated within the very first member of the human race that had stumbled across him. Another frown. He wondered whether the memories of that human were still tucked away in some forgotten corner of his mind. Perhaps he ought to seek them out and rifle through them. See if humans were some kind of noble savage.
The morph grimaced, the scowl destroying the soft, roundness of the female face. He had lived amongst these human creatures for decades and had yet to see anything noble about them. Perhaps his 'brother' had gone insane from the long years without tactile and aural sensation.
"Yes, maybe he is insane."
The female voice sounded strange to his ears being so different from the usual baritone he preferred. He dwelt on the sound for a moment before his attention was brought back to his quarry. Ahead of him he saw Mulder's vehicle indicate and move across the lanes to follow the signs to Springfield. He smiled. Mulder had made no attempt to hide his trail... apart from suborning a young human male into taking his seat on the LA flight. Perhaps he truly believed he had outsmarted and outmanoeuvred those who would try to keep him from this investigation. Well, it mattered little and Mulder's complacency would make it all the easier for his people to discredit this thorn in their side.
********************
Lone Gunmen's HQ
Scully knocked several times and was starting to get a little miffed when there was no response. She knew they were in there, she could hear them scurrying about like rats behind the skirting board. Eventually there was the sound of movement drawing closer.
"Are you alone?"
"Just let me in, Langly."
She waited as half a dozen different types of locks and bolts were opened and then shoved as the door opened a sliver, pushing passed the surprised man.
Langly swept the mass of straggly, golden hair from his face, closed the door securely behind them and followed the petite figure into the main room.
"Where's Frohike?"
"Out and about."
"So, what brings you to our door, Agent Scully?"
Dana took in the smarter dressed of the two with his neatly trimmed beard and gentle eyes.
"I need to run some tests on some bloodwork but I can't go through official channels."
She held out the samples of dark red, viscous fluid.
"We have a contact who has access to what you need... Who's blood is it?"
She wavered for a moment, unsure how wise it would be to reveal that information and then realised it would be a waste of time. They would find out as soon as the DNA results came back anyway.
"Alex Krycek's blood."
"That Rat? Does Mulder know about this?"
Scully looked a little chagrinned and they took her lack of response as a negative.
"When can we get going?"
Langly glanced significantly at his companion and received a nod in return.
"I can take you there straight away."
********************
The laboratory proved to be quite close by and Dana Scully looked around at all the modern equipment wondering who had paid for it all. There had been no company logo above the door. A tall, slim-built man stepped out from behind one of the long benches, answering her unspoken question.
"It's one of the secret labs for an offshoot of the CDC. I'm sure Dr Cassian won't mind you using the equipment."
Cassian? That name rang a bell but Scully had more important things to do than spend her time trying to relocate a memory. She moved over to the powerful microscope and placed the sample in the receptor.
"I suppose you kept Mulder out of the loop because of his problem with Krycek."
"Hmm?"
Scully glanced up from the second sample, her mind preoccupied momentarily.
"Mulder... why he's not around."
"Mulder's in LA profiling a serial killer."
"Then where's Frohike?"
Scully raised both eyebrows as if to say 'how the hell should I know'. She stood up and stretched to ease the kinks out of her spine.
"I've got what I need to know for now. Can you supervise the remaining tests and let me know the results?"
"Sure. I'll bring them over personally."
Langly watched the tired FBI Agent thank the laboratory assistant and walk purposefully towards the door. Once he was certain she had gone he leant over his friend's shoulder.
"Garry... I've a got a few other tests I'd like to run. Mulder said this guy Krycek was taken over by an alien once."
********************
Scully's Apartment
Skinner looked into the bathroom mirror with eyes hollowed in fatigue. The past 24 hours had been a living nightmare. His body was still trembling from the shock of having the nanocytes reactivated not once but twice. Even though they were now dormant once more, his body had yet to recover from the viciousness of the torture inflicted upon it. Watching Dana struggle beneath the vile creature controlling Krycek's body had been a different type of torture. Her near-rape; his killing of Krycek, watching him reanimate like some crazed creature in a horror movie; their escape. These had all taken their toll on what remained of his strength. Desperately, he needed to sleep; needed to regenerate his strength and untangle his thoughts but it was not to be.
They had arrived back at Scully's apartment to discover the package was none other than the real Krycek; a very sick and brutally damaged Krycek.
He dragged one hand over his head. He had not expected to do anything more than sit in the comfortable lounge, reading one of Scully's books, and listen out for movement from the sleeping man, instead...
Skinner remembered the way his mouth had descended upon the blue-tinged lips, forcing life-preserving air into the oxygen deprived lungs; watching the rise and fall of the bruised, battered and bitten chest. It had taken several minutes before he was certain Krycek had taken back control of his own breathing and Skinner had decided, there and then, that he could not afford to leave the man's side until he was positive there would be no relapse. That had been several hours ago and the forced inaction had given his mind plenty of opportunity to study the man on the bed.
Walter Skinner thought he had left all his desire for another man's body behind in Vietnam. He had come home to a world gone mad; had put the 'war of shame' behind him and had married Sharon. This had not stopped him from noticing other males, but he had taken his marriage vows seriously and had never even considered acting upon any stray desire that rippled through him on occasion. Since his divorce he had started, and ended, only one affair. The rest had been one night stands mainly for payment and all had been heterosexual encounters.
He sneered, wondering whether Mulder had been speaking from intuition or from knowledge when he had scornfully implied Skinner liked anal sex... 'taking it up the tail pipe'. It was true. In Vietnam he had bent over many a time, enjoying the exquisite sensation of a thick cock ramming up his ass; scraping against that hidden, secret spot that sent him climbing to the stars, proving to him that he was still alive. But he also liked to be on top. Back in the real world, since his divorce from Sharon, he had survived on fantasy alone. He wondered if he could explain to Dana how first Fox Mulder and then, later, Alexei Krycek had played so many roles in those fantasies.
While he watched over the sleeping man those erotic scenes came back to haunt him. The earliest was finding some poor excuse to keep Mulder's new partner behind, taking the young, blue-flamer across his desk, watching the papers float to the floor as he rammed his cock into that tight hole. Later ones stemmed from his need to revenge himself on that rat-bastard; handcuffing more than just one hand to the balustrade on his balcony, forcing apart those long legs, prising those firm asscheeks apart with his thumbs and sliding his cock into the restrictive heat.
How many other fantasies had starred this man? Shower scenes, the backseat of his car, the lockers in the gymnasium where he sparred. In *every* one his actions had been that of the aggressor. It was Krycek who had lain in submission beneath him, consensual or not. A fitting retribution.
He sighed, rubbed tired eyes and then splashed water on his face before returning to his self-appointed vigil by Krycek's side.
********************
When Dana Scully returned from the laboratory some time later it was to find Walter Skinner seated by the bed watching Krycek intently.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, it is now."
"What happened?"
He looked across at the petite, red-haired woman that he had taken into his life and into his bed. Not so long ago he thought they might stay together... forever, but there was something missing for both of them. Scully never seemed to truly belong with him, as if part of her heart had already been handed over to another and he, well, he had experienced doubts the moment Krycek re-entered his life.
She was still watching him, expectantly; waiting for an answer to her question. Momentarily, he considered brushing off Krycek's near-death experience but realised she needed to know all the facts if they were to figure a way out of their current situation. As to the rest... He wondered if he would be able to explain how his blood warmed, how his senses heightened... how his cock twitched whenever Alex Krycek was near.
"We almost lost him. He stopped breathing but..."
He trailed off, watching a frown mar the pretty features.
Scully sat down on the bed next to Krycek and brushed the sweat-matted bangs from the tall forehead. There was no reason why Krycek should lose an autonomous function such as breathing. None of his injuries were life-threatening, even the tablets he had swallowed to appease the sick Oilien were relatively harmless. They were herbal, called Valerian, purporting to aid restful sleep. The worst they could have done is increase the cramps in his stomach. There had to be something else wrong; something not so obvious but she was limited on the tests she could perform in her apartment.
"Has he been asleep all this time?"
"Pretty much so. On the one or two occasions he became more animated he could barely raise an eyebrow let alone..."
Scully nodded. The frown marring her forehead didn't let up even as she tried to explain away her doubts.
"I suppose it's to be expected after all his body has been through."
Skinner reached for her hand as she gazed down at a man she ought to hate. He wrapped his fingers around hers and squeezed gently.
"What did you find out?"
She looked back up at him, capturing his dark eyes with her own.
"The blood sample from the attempt on Kimberley contained an oil-based contaminant. The sample I took from Krycek a few hours ago is clear in that respect, but shows traces of what could be the vaccine."
"So he was telling the truth when he said it had gone."
She nodded. "I believe this presence of the vaccine is the reason why the alien has left. The small amount I managed to inject into him has been gathering momentum throughout his body."
"So the alien had to leave or die."
"Yes."
"So he's free."
Scully swallowed.
"I've been thinking about that. This creature has gone to extra-ordinary lengths to repair Krycek's body when it could have so easily discarded it and claimed another. The question is why? Is there some kind of symbiosis that we are unaware of? Or has this creature, somehow, become fixated upon Krycek's body?"
Skinner's dark eyes widened in realisation.
"If that's the case the it hasn't abandoned him. It wants him back."
"Walter, I think *it* brought Krycek here. I think it expects me to heal the body..."
"Bring Krycek back to full health so it can reclaim him. But what about the vaccine in his blood?"
"Yes. That's a poser... unless it plans on ridding him of the vaccine once the body is healed."
Skinner looked down at the sleep- softened face, gazing at features that were so childlike and innocent in repose. The image of a sleeping angel returned to the front of his mind, chasing away the demons that begged him to make his fantasies come true. The man who lay on this bed had suffered a hundred times more than he; had been violated on so many levels... mentally, physically, sexually. A wave of tenderness swept over Skinner, taking away the last of his aggression towards this man. He still desired him; still wanted to fill this body with his own flesh; kiss those inviting lips with lust foremost in his mind but the all-consuming hatred that fuelled many of his fantasies had gone.
"So what do we do now, Walter?"
"*You* take care of him while I contact the Rebels and warn them."
"And what about... *it*?"
"We've no idea who it's taken over. " Skinner's face became grim. "But you can bet it will return to claim Krycek. All we have to do is figure out a way to kill it without killing it's new host."
********************
Cassian's Laboratory
Langly stared at the results in surprise. When he asked his friend to cross-reference Krycek's DNA against the main blood index in the hope of finding other alien carriers he had not expected to be see these particular names roll across the screen amongst many others: Jeffrey Spender and Fox William Mulder.
"What's the connection between these three DNA samples? Have they all been taken over at some point?"
Garry tapped a few more keys.
"No, their DNA is a close match. They share a parent."
"What?" Langly leant forward and double-checked the information for himself but, there it was. He sat back and thought hard. When Mulder had asked them to investigate Jeffrey Spender all those months ago, before the man disappeared, they had checked out what medical details were available. Jeffrey Spender was definitely the son of Cassandra Spender and Langly knew that Teena Mulder was Fox Mulder's mother so... if Jeffrey and Fox were half-
brothers then it had to be on the paternal side. So where did that leave Alexei Krycek?
"Why, the old dog."
Langly shook his head as he thought of the man Mulder had labelled Cancer Man. It seemed that man might have had his fingers, and other parts of his anatomy, in more than just pies. He took a hard copy of the data and then said his goodbye's to Garry. Scully was waiting for the results of the other tests but he was certain this piece of news would be of far more interest, but first...
Langly headed out towards Mulder's apartment in Alexandria. Frohike had left earlier today saying he was going to share a pizza and a video with their friend. No doubt, on finding Mulder not at home, Frohike had decided to go through Mulder's extensive porn collection by himself. Well, playtime was over.
The door to Mulder's apartment was open just a sliver; not enough to catch anyone's attention as they passed along the hallway but, this close up Langly could see where the frame and door did not sit tight. He pushed gently and watched the door swing open. There was no sound from inside. He wandered into the lounge and called Frohike's name. Nothing. On impulse he decided to check out the bedroom. Mulder had mentioned wanting to open an X-File on his bedroom having come home one day to find it had been decorated with ceiling mirrors... and with a waterbed installed. The waterbed had gone now having been replaced by a standard bed after developing a leak.
His mouth fell open as he took in the dried but obviously recent bloodstains and... other recognisable stains on the mussed up bed. Rumpled sheets hung from the mattress. The cloying scent of sex and vomit was thick in the air, merging with the smell of diesel oil; the closed door keeping the smell from weakening.
Backing out of the room, Langly glanced around in fear, hoping that, whoever had caused this was long gone. He forced himself to check all the rooms just in case Frohike was lying somewhere, injured... or dead.
Langly shut the door firmly behind him when he left the apartment. He raced down to his car and was barely able to keep within the speed limit as he headed back to the Gunmen's headquarters having decided to pick up Byers on route to Scully's apartment.
********************
Scully's Apartment
Skinner and Scully glanced at each other in concern as a knock on the door sounded through the apartment. He nodded once to her, slipping his gun out of its holster and motioned for her to answer the door.
"Who's there?"
"Langly and Byers."
After a quick glance through the spyglass to confirm who it was she unbolted the door. She glanced along the short corridor and then motioned the mismatched pair inside. Langly didn't wait before launching into speech.
"Mulder's apartment... blood... vomit... oil... Frohike..."
"Slow down! What about Mulder?"
The two men turned as one as the gruff voice cut through the babble. They hadn't expected to find anyone else here except Dana Scully... and certainly not expected to see AD Skinner.
"Is he cool?"
Scully's eyes rolled heavenward momentarily before she answered.
"Yes, Langly, he's cool. Now what about Mulder?"
"Not Mulder; his apartment. Frohike went over there earlier today. Didn't come back. I thought he might be playing hookey... you know, Mulder has this great video coll..."
"Get to the point."
"Hey, man. I'm getting there." Langly turned away from Skinner in semi-disgust at having his story interrupted. "Anyways. The door was ajar. TV off. Thought I'd check the bedroom just in case Frohike was taking a nap and..." He swallowed hard as the memory of what he found returned in full technicolour.
Skinner and Scully turned to each other as the same thought crossed both their minds. They already knew, from Krycek, that he had been in Mulder's apartment, throwing drugs down his throat to appease the sick Oilien.
"Frohike."
Scully announced the name as if it were a death knell. Now they knew who the Oilien had taken control of. All they had to do was figure out a way to oust the creature from its new host... and then kill it.
"There's more."
They all turned to look at Byers. Langly nodded his agreement for the other man to continue.
"Langly ran some DNA tests on the blood sample you gave him. We wanted to do some comparison checks. See if anyone else carried certain markers that may or may not prove they had been in contact with extra-terrestrial beings." He paused. "The tests threw something else up."
The stunned silence continued for several minutes as Scully and Skinner absorbed the new information regarding Krycek's possible ancestry.
"Half-brothers?" Skinner glanced back towards the bedroom where Krycek slept fitfully. "I wonder if Spender knows."
"If he doesn't then perhaps we can use this information to get more of the vaccine out of him." The determination in Scully's eyes made him shake his head.
"Only if we can find him. He's gone to ground... and I don't think we have enough time to find out where." Skinner turned to the other two men. "It looks as though we're going to have to trust you two."
"Why?"
"Because we need your assistance... and you can't give that without knowing what we're up against."
Skinner glanced at his watch. He was expecting to meet with the Rebel Council tonight. No matter what, he had to be there and, even if it cost him his life, he was going to make sure they knew it was all a trap. The lives of countless millions were at stake.
"I'll let Scully fill you in and then we can put our heads together and try to figure out what to do next." He glanced at his watch again. "But later. I have a meeting and barely enough time to make the rendezvous point."
********************
Deserted Warehouse
Skinner shivered as he watched the lengthening shadows. He should have asked Scully if she had an oversize jumper hanging around in her apartment somewhere.
As he waited for the Rebels to show, his thoughts returned to the dark-haired man that had turned his whole world upside down. For so long he had hated that man, believed him incapable of any decent emotion or action only to find that some of his darkest deeds were beyond his own control. Now, Skinner might have a chance to meet the real Alexei Krycek and he was uncertain if he would like what he found. Krycek had been no innocent caught up in this nightmare. There had been a before; a time before infection when he had been quite prepared to punch a defenceless man in a hospital stairwell.
Skinner wondered whether those had been the actions of an overzealous thug... or of a man following his orders to the letter. Neither were particularly good traits but then, Skinner thought, he had been a soldier once; he had followed orders that seemed ludicrous on occasion, his only solace being that it was for the greater good of his country. Was that how Alex had seen his actions? Was he a patriot?
Whatever his thoughts on the mental aspects of Alexei Krycek, Skinner could not deny a strong attraction to the physical. Alex was a work of art; like Michaelangelo's David. Strong, firmly muscled... ivory skin as soft as velvet, pink bow-shaped lips that begged to be teased and kissed and eyes... eyes like a turbulent green ocean, tantalisingly hidden beneath a curtain of long, thick dark lashes. Skinner licked suddenly dry lips as a vision of a naked Krycek thrashing beneath him in ecstasy filled his mind. He could almost taste the salty persperation dotting his skin; feel the steel of muscle moving beneath that soft, warm flesh.
A bright light halted the flow of images and Skiner pulled his attention back to the task at hand. Beyond the light moved man-size shapes, gradually drawing nearer. He waited with bated breath, poised between fear of the unknown and a need to complete his task. Skinner tried not to show the fear that crept across him as a dozen faceless men came to a halt around him. Another figure came through the circle but this one bore a human face. Skinner decided this must be their mediator.
"I have been sent to..."
"We know why you are here."
"Then you must also know that the information I am going to hand over will lead you into a trap."
Silence descended momentarily. The other smiled.
"Yes. We know."
"Then why did you agree to this meet?"
"Because we want the samples and the information regardless of the *other's* intentions."
Skinner nodded.
"I'm to give you a sample of my blood. It contains the nanocytes. I have a sample of the vaccine in this tube. It's not enough to reproduce for yourself... just enough to test.... and..."
"We are not as technologically disadvantaged as the Colonists believe."
Skinner frowned.
"You are wondering why I should reveal this information. I believe that you and I can be allies against the Colonists. I believe that you could successfully head up the Human resistance."
A thought crossed Skinner's mind.
"Then a show of trust. If you can develop the vaccine from this sample then do so and give me..."
"No. We *can* reproduce the vaccine. It will take a few days but we will not hand it over. To do so would be to confirm to our enemy that our technology is highly advanced... and we would prefer to keep this a secret."
"I don't want a large amount. Just enough to kill *one* of them. The one that set up this meeting; the one recently infecting Alexei Krycek."
"No. It is too great a risk. He is but one of the enemy..."
"One who knows far too much. If I can eliminate him before he can tell the others..."
"No."
"You want me to ally myself to you. You trust me enough to reveal this much about yourselves so trust me a little further."
"The son of Spender is that important to you?"
"The son..? How did you..? No, never mind. Yes. Alexei Krycek is important to me... and so is the man currently being used by that creature. All I know is that this... Colonist wants Krycek. He *will* return for him and once he does I want to be in a position to kill it before it retakes him."
"Two days. You will return here in two days. We will supply the vaccine... if you can offer a workable plan."
"Thank you."
Skinner waited as the alien rebels turned and walked away then made his way back to his car. They had two days in which to formulate a plan.
********************
His dreams were strange, full of weird images of a nightmarish quality. He was running through dark corridors whose roofs grew lower and lower until he was crawling on hands and knees,then slithering on his belly. Eventually, the space became too small and he was trapped, unable to go forward, terrified of going back. The darkness closed in around him and he began to scream.
Alex Krycek opened his eyes and groaned softly as the light stabbed into him. He closed them quickly then tried to raise his head but it felt too heavy and throbbed with the effort. Someone was holding him, talking to him in a deep, calm voice.
He swallowed, his lips felt so dry he was sure they would crack if he moved them; his throat seemed even more dry... and sore, as if he had screamed it raw. The presence moved away and he felt the panic start to rise again but then the voice returned.
"Here, drink this."
He was pulled against a strong chest and gulped greedily of the cool water from the glass placed against his lips. He mewed softly in protest when it was taken away.
"Enough. I don't want you to be sick."
He tried to re-open his eyes as he was placed back on the soft pillow, trying to focus on the face as the strangely- familiar voice soothed him back to sleep.
His dreams this time were fuelled by the caring in that deep voice. He was lying on a comfortable bed. Sunlight bled through the open window, warming his skin; the slight breeze moving the delicate muslin curtains, caressed his body. He stretched, luxuriating in the bright airiness of a beautiful summer's day. He knew, without seeing, that another contented body lay beside his own. He could feel the heat along his flank. The air was heavy with the smell of sex and a masculine scent of cologne that was so familiar. Strong fingers tangled in his hair, drifted down his sun- kissed body. A tongue annointing his nipples with velvet smooth licks and tender nips, trailing from one to the other until both were raised into peaks. Soft sighs of warm breath ignited a slow burning fire in his groin and he moaned when a hot, wet heat engulfed his aching flesh. That clever tongue twisted and curled around the head, flicking into the slit, rubbing against those sensitive nerve endings interspaced with a suckling that gradually drove him to the brink. He fell over the edge, sighing as the last tremors fled from his satiated body, curving himself around the firmly, muscled body that cradled him in strong arms.
He opened his eyes and fell into the warm brown ones of Walter Skinner... and smiled, falling back into sleep with the image of a raised eyebrow within a heated face.
Skinner fussed over Krycek for a moment longer, his cheeks still burning from the obvious sexual aspects of Krycek's dream. The beautiful smile that lit the angelic face seemed as if it were for him alone and he felt a momentary joy that Krycek might actually want him the way he wanted this fallen angel. As he leant forward to place a kiss on the sweet lips, he came back to his senses.
It was a dream. As far as he knew Krycek was smiling up at some vision; some image playing across his sleepy mind.
He drew back and straightened the covers,turning slightly when he heard the sound of the door opening behind him. His cheeks heated again in embarrassment as Scully glanced into the room. Everytime he saw her he felt like a heel. She was a beautiful woman and he was toying with her feelings but he couldn't help himself. Everything about this man lying before him called to his blood. He wanted to taste his skin; kiss his lips... cradle the vulnerable form in his arms. How could he explain the raging fire that engulfed him when his thoughts turned to Alexei Krycek?
She motioned for him to come out. They had so much to discuss and so little time remaining. He nodded his head and moved to the door, unable to resist a final backwards glance before he closed the door behind him.
********************
Scully's Apartment
One Day LaterScully returned from Krycek's bedside.
"I've given him a light sedative. He's asleep."
"Good."
They had tried to limit their discussions for those times when Krycek was out, afraif that if he overheard their plans then he might unwittingly pass them on to the Oilien as soon as the creature touched him. It was far better to leave him in the dark.
Langly looked up eagerly at his three companions.
"I've got it."
Skinner looked back at Scully in exasperation, expecting another one of Langly outlandish ideas.
"We cover Krycek's arm in pseudo skin to hide a false vein. When the alien comes back we convince it that Krycek is no longer carrying the vaccine by letting it test the false blood Scully extracts from the false vein."
"Yes." Byers continued, his eyes showing a little excitement. "The creature leaves Frohike to return to Krycek. We all get out of the way. The creature gets stuck in Krycek - who's carrying a healthy dose of the vaccine... It dies."
Scully looked to Skinner, her eyes distant as if deep in thought. She refocused on him.
"I think it might work... *if* we can get hold of more vaccine."
"Where would the clean blood come from. A short tube isn't going to hold enough..."
"No. I'll need to draw off at least 10 milllitres."
Langly interrupted.
"The tube is attached to a small bag hidden under his armpit. A short-sleeve t-shirt should be enough to hide it from view."
"And who's gonna supply the fresh blood?"
"I will." Everyone turned to Byers. "I'm the obvious choice. Skinner's blood contains nanocytes. Scully was vaccinated in Antarctica... and Langly... well, he can't stand needles."
"This could work."
Skinner smiled. Finally, they had a plan.
********************