Terminal Intensity
Writers:
Nicole - Czara18@aol.com
Laurie - Eag987@aol.com
Susan - SDjedilover@hotmail.com
Jo B. - purplefox@uswest.net (Lead Writer)
Cerulean Blue - Cerulean_Blue@juno.com
Kiyoko - GHB00253@nifty.ne.jpRating: NC-17
Spoilers: Biogenesis
Keywords: M/Sk/K SLASH
Disclaimer: The X-Files characters Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Alex Krycek, Walter Skinner, Jeffrey Spender, CSM, the Lone Gunmen, etc. are the property Chris Carter, 1013 productions and Fox Broadcasting.
Summary: Another take on what might happen after Biogensis.
Warning: This story contains sexual interaction between males. If the subject matter offends you do not read any further.
Feedback is always welcome. Any constructive suggestions are appreciated.
Okay to Archive: please ask first.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Terminal Intensity
Hospital in Georgetown
Psychiatric WardThe young man's dazed hazel eyes peered out from an ashen, tormented face as he shuffled around, and around, in frantic circles pressing his hand over his mouth in agony. The softness of the padding beneath his bare feet was a distinct contrast to the acute pain coursing though his brain. No, pain wasn't quite the right word. It was more like an invasion of his mind. The thoughts and emotions of all those around him were bombarding him, it was unending, and try as he might there was no way to block them out. Oh, how he tried. He tried clamping his hands over his ears and humming loudly as a desperate attempt to drown it out, but no. He even tried inflicting pain on himself, hoping, but the pain only added to his overall discomfort. God, how he longed for some brief respite.
Mulder felt Skinner's presence. His boss's worried thoughts stood out from all the others as if Skinner was standing right beside him. The A.D. was racked with guilt. He blamed himself for his agent's present condition, and as much as Mulder wanted to reassure him that it wasn't his fault...
"AAUGH!" he screamed suddenly and his body jerking violently. *Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!* Skinner was working for Krycek. How could Skinner betray him, too? So soon after Diana. He couldn't even form words to curse his outrage at the man because the drug that Diana had given him after she used a stun gun to incapacitate him had done something to his ability to talk. It was impossible to get his mouth and tongue to work together, and the voices in his head were making it hard for him to form a rational thought. It felt like trying to talk while wearing a pair of headphones that were blasting some loud rock song into his ears and at the same time being totally wasted from an all night bender. Ah, Oxford. At least his memories were still there despite of the extreme agony and disorientation he was experiencing.
Scully! He could feel her nearby. If anyone could help him, it was his partner. Scully would get him out of here. She would know that he wasn't crazy. His partner would believe him when he told her that Diana had drugged him and confined him here against his will. God, he had to get her to hear him. "AAUGH!" he screamed desperately.
No! Scully was worried about him, but she wasn't listening. She was turning and leaving him. "SCUULLY!" he shouted into the surveillance camera with every ounce of willpower he had left in him. Oh God, she believed them when they told her that he was insane. A silent tear made its way down his cheek as he felt her presence fading further away. How could she abandon him here?
He had no one left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skinner watched his agent pacing, madly around the white cell, and he glared at Diana. "You make me sick," he hissed and started to follow Dana Scully out the door.
The soft, cultured voice stopped him. "He is expendable, Skinner. The project is not. Don't be a fool because he is lovely, and you are in love with him." Diana raised groomed brow with disdain evident in her face.
Skinner moved closer to the elegant, deceitful woman. "Don't presume you know anything about me. Don't think you can guess my feelings. As for you! You had his love. And you chose to throw it away. For what?"
She gave a small laugh and looked at the man in the straight jacket. "I had his love? No, I never had that." She turned a small, mischievous smile to the big, angry man. "I did have everything you dream about, though. But I am realistic. Sure he is good…no, great in bed, but what is that when it comes to the promise of power?" At Skinner's disgusted look she tilted her head, sending a shock of silky dark hair over her shoulder. She placed one hand on his powerful shoulder and gave the smallest squeeze. "I would have preferred you, Walter." At his shocked look she smiled. "He is too sensitive…too eager to please." She paused and looked into the fiery brown eyes. "Oh I'm sorry. Those are the qualities you wanted from him in bed. Would it make you feel better to know that you aren't the only man who has lusted for those very same things?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skinner was startled. What was Diana talking about? He hated her with a passion, but her knowledge was invaluable.
"Do you mean to tell me that someone is after Mulder?"
Diana smiled mysteriously. She had told Skinner that Mulder was expendable. Nothing was farther from the truth, but there was no reason he needed to know that.
"All I can tell you is that you are not the only man who has lusted after him. Perhaps it will work to Fox's advantage, perhaps not. At any rate, he is incapacitated right now, and that is the main thing," Diana responded cryptically.
Skinner had lost his patience with Diana's evasions and was sick to death of her callousness. He was continually fed a diet of half-truths and lies, and he was tired of it.
"Perhaps, Walter, we can continue this discussion later, over dinner?" Diana asked in a deliberately sultry tone.
"I'm busy! And it's A.D. Skinner to you!" Skinner snapped.
"Ah, Mr. Skinner, you do tend to chomp at the bit no matter what, don't you? You will meet me at my apartment at 7:00, and we shall dine at a cozy, little place in my neighborhood. Is that understood?" Diana smiled coldly.
Skinner wanted so badly to tell her to go to hell that he felt like he could taste the words in his mouth. It was a bitter thing indeed to have to nod curtly in acquiescence at this heartless woman.
Diana's face broke into a bright smile. "Fine. I shall leave you now, and see you tonight. I suggest you leave too, Mr. Skinner, there is no point in torturing yourself!"
You should be the one in that cell, Skinner thought angrily as he watched Diana primly march off. He took one last look at Mulder on the screen, and the sight nearly broke his heart. The agent was screaming, sitting in a corner of the padded cell, seeming hopelessly insane.
As Skinner entered the parking garage, a shadow fell over his path. He looked up to see another enemy, the one who had bound him so tightly to his plans that Skinner despaired of ever having free will again.
"What do you want, Krycek?" he snarled in the most unwelcome manner possible.
"So you've been to see him?" Krycek sneered, uncaring of Skinner's manner.
"Yes, I've been to see him! You and your little creampuff of a girlfriend made short work of him!"
"Creampuff? I've never heard Diana described like that!"
"A creampuff laced with arsenic!" Skinner retorted angrily.
"Never mind. Has the drug worked?" Krycek continued.
Skinner sighed. Why did he continue trying to fight these people? It was a futile effort.
"According to the doctor, he is terribly disoriented, and they are seeing some very unusual brain activity, so I'd have to say yes, it did work!" Skinner said with a pained expression.
Krycek looked edgy and distracted. "I'm going to go check on him, and then I'll join you at your car." With that Krycek walked purposefully into the building, as Skinner watched him leave with a combination of anger and frustration.
Once inside, Krycek was able to enter the locked cell with no trouble at all. He was dressed in an orderly's outfit and had a passkey, but the people who mattered knew well enough not to hinder him. Mulder was writhing on the floor, hoarse from screaming, when Krycek sat down beside him and gathered him into his arms.
"Scully!" Mulder cried out frantically.
"Ssshhh! It's all right, love, I'm here! Just a little while longer and then we can be together! Just relax and don't struggle so hard. It is not the way to fight it…you'll need help…and when the time comes, I'll be the one to help you!" Krycek tried to reassure him as he lovingly kissed Mulder's cheek.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No! No! No! Mulder's mouth struggled to form the words. He knew this person, knew he was dangerous. Krycek's presence could only mean trouble. He had to warn Scully. She was the only one left, the only one he could trust, the only one who mattered. Mulder struggled to move, to speak, to get away from the man who held him. As all his attempts failed, his panic rose, choking him. The voices whispering in his mind turned to screams, and he thought the noise would shatter his very soul.
Krycek started, sensing Mulder's distress despite Alex's attempts to soothe him. He realized his Fox could not last much longer. The change was difficult, even for those who had been prepared. Not all survived with their sanity intact. Krycek knew that bitch Diana was hoping that Mulder would be one of these "casualties," and would have to be eliminated. "Stupid fool," Alex muttered. She had taken the syringe he had given her and administered it to Fox, no questions asked. The injection Mulder received had contained the drug, as Diana assumed it would. However, it also contained a little something extra, courtesy of Alex's benefactor. Being "dead" had not slowed the WMM down, nor had it hampered his preparations. Krycek's musings ended as the body in his arms started convulsing. It was time to ease his love's pain.
Mulder's mind was on fire. His pulse was racing so fast he could not tell one heart beat from the next. Soon the heat would consume him. He did not have energy enough to even try and ask for help. Suddenly, a blessed coolness washed over his body, starting with his mind and moving downward. Breathing was no longer a nearly impossible chore, and his heart was slowing. An intoxicating sense of calm spread through him, and he realized that the voices that had been screaming in his mind were silent. All that was left was a seductive whisper, a voice he knew he should not trust, but was inexorably drawn to. "It's all right love, just relax and calm yourself. Close your eyes, I will keep you safe." Mulder knew he should not listen, he knew he should turn away, but he could not. In truth he did not want to. He wanted this feeling to last. Mulder felt a set of lips caress his own, and desire spiked along his nerves. The last thing he heard as his exhausted mind slowly slipped in to sleep was the word "soon" uttered as only a promise could be.
Krycek slowly disentangled his mind from Mulder's. The agent was sleeping peacefully, and would remain so for a while. Alex softly kissed the sleeping man again. "Soon Fox," he vowed, "soon everything will be in place, and we will be together." Krycek rose to leave the room. As he reached for the door, he glanced back one last time. His gaze softened as it rested on the agent. He then left the room and moved down the hall. Things were moving quickly, and he had things to take care of. As his mind turned to those who were a danger to himself, and more importantly, the man he had just left, his visage hardened. He had some people to "take care of" as well. Soon the echo of footsteps was all that remained.
Krycek's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the parking garage as he headed toward Skinner's car. He knew he had to keep the man guessing and fearful of his life until the time came to clue him in on what was going on.
He slipped into backseat of the car and said, "Drive."
Skinner furiously backed out of the parking space and headed for the garage exit. "What do I look like? Your chauffeur?"
Laughing at Skinner's anger, Krycek said, "Just be glad you're alive. I can easily arrange a change in circumstances for you . . . remember that."
"Remember it? How the hell can I forget it?" He slammed on his brakes and said, "Now get the hell out of my car. I have an appointment with your friend the whore tonight."
"Ooooh . . . are we having an attack of morality? Just lay back and enjoy it . . . I hear she can be pretty creative," Krycek teased as he climbed out of the door.
"If you're recruiting a bed warmer for your associate, you're looking in the wrong place. I have no intention of sharing a bed with that bitch and in case you see her before I do, I suggest you tell her that." Skinner snapped, driving away and almost knocking Krycek down in the process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skinner stepped into his apartment and went straight to the liquor cabinet. After pouring himself a scotch, he sat down on the couch trying to decide what to do.
Fowley might be a bitch and a whore, but she was also an astute judge of people. Everything she said was right, he was in love with Fox Mulder. He had realized and accepted that almost a year ago.
Choosing to betray Mulder was the hardest thing he had ever done, but he thought that by going along he would be able to stay alive to protect Mulder longer. He now realized that wasn't the case, he realized that unless he did something quickly, Mulder would be forced to spend his life locked in insanity as a guinea pig for the Consortium.
Now was the time to make a choice. He had to decide if saving Mulder was worth sacrificing his own life. Could he go on living knowing that Mulder paid the ultimate price?
When he truly opened his eyes and looked at the situation, he realized he couldn't. So, finishing his drink, he checked the time and was relieved to find he still had a few hours before he was due at Fowley's apartment.
He went upstairs, changed into running clothes, and set out for a nearby park where he knew there were numerous public payphones.
Entering the park at a slow jog, he made a couple of circuits around the jogging trail in order to make sure he wasn't being followed. On the third circuit, he veered off to the bank of telephones in the middle of the park.
Picking up the receiver, he inserted the change he brought with him and dialed the number. A number he had memorized a year earlier.
After ringing five times, the answer came abruptly. "Yeah."
"Yes, I'm a friend of a certain FBI Agent. It's an emergency, but I can't discuss it over the telephone. Can someone pick me up at this location for a meeting? I don't think I'm being followed, but there is that possibility."
"Okay. Are you the man we met in a certain hospital room almost a year ago?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Someone will be at your location in 15 minutes. Go to the South side of the park."
"I'll be there."
Skinner sighed. His course was set now; there was a good chance he'd be dead before he ever saw Mulder again. Finally though, he knew he was doing the right thing.
Fifteen minutes later, he was waiting on the south side of the park when a dark panel truck pulled up and the back doors were flung open. He quickly climbed in, the doors were pulled shut, and the van sped off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mulder didn't notice when Krycek left the room. In his sleep, Mulder felt no pain, which mattered to him most right now. He wanted no pain, no heartache, and no betrayal. As if given a strong medication, his sleeping mind was numb and floating. Suddenly, his body grew hot. Mulder cringed, for fear of being brought back to the painful reality.
Unnoticed, his arms searched for an invisible presence, which would protect him. Do I want Krycek? No way . . . he was a dirty traitor. Still, there was a tinge, that something buried and hidden deep within him, craving for the triple agent. What was happening to him? Before, when he had been still so ignorant, and when all these dirty lies, he'd had certain feelings for Krycek. But not anymore.
A funny, warm feeling gushed inside him and made him moan. Krycek, Diana and now Skinner. The thought of the AD pained his heart even in his sleep. Mulder had thought the older man had been an ally. For the past six years, Mulder had seen how Skinner had helped him and Scully, sacrificing so much.
The image of a guilt-ridden Skinner came back to his mind. Secretly, Mulder cared for the AD. When Scully's cancer had gone into remission, Mulder almost confessed it to Skinner.
Why? Why did you betray me? I wanted to believe you. Why the regret after you betrayed me? I'll never forgive you. Somehow, Mulder felt so sad in cursing the man.
There was no sign of Skinner. The man must have been gone, probably with Krycek and Diana. But it didn't matter anymore. Strangely, it was eerily silent around him. Mulder felt his limbs became cold, and his heartbeat slower. It was as if . . .
A jolt shook Mulder's body. A deep breath escaped his mouth and next moment, his heart stopped beating – for ten seconds or so, when the second, and massive change took place in his brain. Then, slowly, Mulder's body came back to life.
In his brief "death", Mulder saw a bright light. In awe, Mulder saw everything, as his memory rushed backward, until it reached the crucial moment. The light he had seen when Samantha had been taken all those years ago. They had taken both of them, Sam and himself, to some place, where something had been planted inside his head. Alien implant. He had been returned home, without any memory, but they had kept Sam.
That night was the beginning for everything. Retrovirus, Tunguska, Dr. Goldstein, and now this. Like Gibson and Cassandra Spender, he was also one of the test subjects, that was why they hadn't killed him.
Another convulsion and Mulder fell into a deep coma, with his eyes still open.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The panel truck kept driving in a silence. Skinner felt uneasy being scrutinized by Mulder's eccentric friends – a.k.a. the Lone Gunmen. The man called Langly was behind the wheel, so Skinner sat face to face with Byers and Frohike. For a moment, Skinner had his doubts if he could trust these bizarre men, but he had no other option. When he had called them, Skinner had made up his mind to throw everything away for Mulder's sake.
"I need your help to rescue Mulder." With this resolution in mind, Skinner began.
Frohike stared at the larger man with his mouth agape. He quickly closed it, asking anxiously, "What do you mean rescue Mulder? Where is he? What happened to him?"
"He's in the Psychiatric Ward at Georgetown. He supposedly went crazy and tried to attack another agent. She had him restrained and taken to Georgetown for observation," Skinner said brusquely.
"By she, do you mean Diana Fowley?" Byers asked.
"Yes. I think . . . Agent Fowley did something to Mulder. I'm meeting her later at her apartment, and I intend to find out what," Skinner growled. He was too ashamed to admit his part or to tell them about the hold Krycek had on him.
"If Mulder attacked her why didn't the *bitch* just have him arrested?" Frohike snarled the question.
Skinner hesitated; he didn't know how much information he should give these men. "Mulder's been acting strangely over the last couple of days . . . he says he's been hearing voices in his head. His condition seems to be tied to an artifact that is part of a case he and Scully are investigating," he said guiltily.
"What type of artifact?" Langly asked, looking back at Skinner in the rearview mirror.
"Several shards of metal have been found inscribed with pre-phonetic Navajo, they seem to be pieces from the same object. A Professor Solomon Merkmallen was murdered presumably for the piece in his possession. The professor's body showed signs of Cosmic Galactic Radiation. Mulder believes the radiation comes from the artifact, which he theorizes comes from outer space," Skinner replied.
"Hmm, CGR is only found outside our solar system," Byers said thoughtfully. "Professor Merkmallan is from Africa, how did he get his hands on an artifact with Navajo phonetics on it?"
"He found it on the Ivory Coast," Skinner answered.
"It must be a fake," Byers asserted.
Skinner met his eyes. "That is what Agent Scully thinks, but I'm not so sure. Mulder isn't usually wrong, and if he says it's from outer space, I'd place my money on it. Besides Mulder is being affected by whatever it is and has been locked up to keep him quiet."
"Okay, Okay, Okay!" Frohike interrupted. "Let's see if I got this straight. Mulder and Scully are investigating Professor Merkmallen's murder, and Mulder gets his hands on one of these Navajo artifacts, which he believes comes from outer space. It causes him to hear voices, and then that bitch Fowley has him committed to a nuthouse."
"Not quite, we don't have any of the artifacts. Mulder was affected by a rubbing taken from the piece Merkmallen had." Skinner pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt the onslaught of a tension headache, he then continued. "Scully brought in a Doctor Charles Burk to examine the rubbing. He had a theory that it was some sort of a magic square that was used to trap and store potential power for the person whose name or numerical co-relative is contained on it," he said.
"That sounds like Chuck, he has even weirder theories than Mulder," Byers chuckled, then sobered. "I wonder what this artifact would do to Mulder if he came in physical contact with it?"
"I want to make sure that doesn't happen," Skinner sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Will you help me get Mulder out of the hospital or not?"
"Mulder's our friend, Mr. Skinner. Of course we'll help you. Do you have a plan?" Frohike asked.
"I can't be directly involved. My life would be over instantly if it was discovered that I had a hand in his escape. I need you to do it on your own. Take Mulder someplace safe, where no one can find him, and take care of him for me. I'll reimburse you for all of your expenses, cost is no object, just get him out of there." Skinner's gruff façade cracked slightly as his voice caught.
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Skinner, this one is on the house," Byers smiled reassuringly.
"Be careful, guys, Mulder is important to them for some reason, and they are not likely to let him go without a fight," Skinner said as the panel truck stopped at the exact spot where it picked him up. Skinner climbed out and glanced back meeting Byers' eyes.
"We'll keep in touch, Mr. Skinner," Byers said.
Skinner nodded then started back toward Viva Tower. He scowled; he needed to shower and change for his date with Diana Fowley.
Frohike turned to his two companions and said, "He has it bad."
"What do you mean, Melvin?" Byers asked.
"Skinner's in love with Mulder," he replied.
After Langly stopped laughing, he turned around in his seat to look at Frohike. "God, Melvin. Maybe we should kill two birds with one stone, spring Mulder, and commit you. What do you think, John?"
"Hmm, Melvin might be right. How many Assistant Directors would go through as much trouble as Mr. Skinner does for Mulder? I don't know if it's love, but there is definitely something more to Mr. Skinner's feelings than just friendship," Byers replied.
Langly started up the truck and pulled away from the curb. "There is no way that Skinner is gay! For God's sake, the man was a marine and married for seventeen years. This has to be one of your wildest theories, Melvin," he snorted, stopping for a red light.
Frohike gave him an evil grin. "Some of us can be attracted to both genders, Ringo, it's known as being bisexual."
Langly turned around and stared shocked at Frohike, he ignored the green light and the honking horns. "Hey man, I've known you for over ten years and now you decide to tell me that you're bi?"
"Well, the subject never came up before," Frohike said shrugging his shoulders.
"Langly, I've known that Melvin was a bisexual for years. Now let's get back to the matter at hand. We need a plan to get Mulder out of that Psychiatric Ward. Melvin, do you think we could borrow your cousin's ambulance?" Byers asked as the three men started to develop a plan to rescue Mulder while Langly drove them back to the Lone Gunmen headquarters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Skinner dropped him off at the curb Krycek flagged down a taxi to take him to airport. He then hired a private jet to take him to New Mexico. Time was of the essence. He had discovered where Professor Sandoz was, and he needed to steal the piece of the artifact that was in his possession. Krycek already had the piece from Doctor Barnes, which the good doctor had murdered Professor Merkmallen for, but the triple agent needed to find all of the shards. Mulder's life and future depended on it.
He had been lucky that the WMM had left him as his successor and in a position to help Mulder. He had learned through reading secret documents about the small group of people that had been altered by the aliens so that an artifact would affect a change in them when the time was right. Mulder was part of that small group as were his sister and Cassandra Spender. Krycek was shocked to find out that the aliens had had this planned for millennia and that the artifact was actually a part of their spaceship. Somehow one of them must have crashed and only now its pieces were washing up from the depths of the ocean. He chuckled sadly, what were the odds that one of the few people on Earth that *could* be changed by it, had inadvertently come in contact with a rubbing from it? Only Mulder.
Krycek couldn't allow any of the pieces to fall into Fowley's or C.G.B. Spender's hands. He knew his cohorts would use it on Mulder to completely change him and with the change came unspeakable power. It had already started to change Fox, and the agent hadn't even touched it. Krycek was trying to help ease him through the initial change, but he didn't want the man he loved to experience the full force of the artifact or the powers it would unleash inside of him.
He had to protect Fox and that meant getting all the pieces of the artifact. Krycek stared out the window of the jet into the darkening sky. When he returned from New Mexico he would take Fox to a secret hideout and with Skinner's help nurse him through the first stages of the change.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diana made him wait for fifteen minutes. She had answered her door in a short silk robe and a crystal glass filled with a shot of scotch and two round ice cubes.
"For starters," she had purred as she gestured him in.
Skinner had prowled restlessly over the soft white carpet until she had finally appeared. Her tall frame was well-suited to the just below the knee ice-blue skirt and matching jacket. The lacy shell beneath the jacket was loose enough to move with her as she bent to slip into the strappy blue sandals. Skinner tore his eyes away from the strategically-exposed cleavage and set his drink down with a decidedly impatient thud.
"Walter? Are you that anxious to go?" Diana made her way to the bar and poured herself a tumbler of Southern Comfort. She smiled to herself as the big, incredibly sexy man growled in frustration. She knew he’d be panting if Mulder were the one intending a slow, or for that matter, a quick seduction. "I love Southern Comfort on ice…especially on a hot, humid night." She moved away from the bar. "Don’t you, Walter?"
Skinner sighed heavily and picked up his glass again. "Fowley, what exactly do you think you are doing?"
Diana took a slow sip of the sweet whiskey and pondered one of the more interesting chess pieces in the game. "You are wondering about what I am doing with you…or, wait, are you wondering what someone else is doing to our pretty Fox?"
Skinner glared. "He's not 'our' anything!"
Diana took another small sip. "He's interesting, but don't you want to know what he found so very fascinating about me? Or is it that you can't imagine him with anyone else?" At the lovely scowl he gave her she laughed huskily. "Oh, Walter, you do amuse me. If I were to guess, I'd say that seeing your precious agent being driven insane was a bit too much for you. If I know people, and I think I do, you are even now cooking up some wild plan to rescue him from the greedy clutches of some dark enemy."
Skinner's expression remained blank but inside he damned this woman's perceptiveness.
"I really should make a call to assure that security around our pretty guinea pig is tight, but I am, so far, too entertained by you." Her tone was inflected with just the right amount of threat.
She saw his eyes burn, so richly warm, so stern and passionate. She knew she could make him forget Mulder for the night if just given the chance. Mulder! How she was sick of hearing his name. He breezed in and out of rooms unaware that he caused havoc and temperatures to rise. How many men and woman had fallen for him in an instant, and he not even noticed? He had used her like he used everyone. He was ruthless and selfish, and he didn't care about anyone but himself. He had feigned pain when they parted, but she knew that he hadn't cared. She had loved him once, but no more. She wanted him to suffer...no she wanted him to be undesirable…wanted him to be an object of pity, not of lust.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At that moment Mulder was shivering in the bright light of the white room. Men were coming in, and he smelled smoke a moment before he felt a strong hand running through his hair. The finger tightened and pulled back with a painful jerk. His mouth gasped silently in pain, lost in confused images of his father and small men with sharp metal tools. A nicotine-flavored finger slid into his mouth and gagged him, before slipping out to pinch his lower lip painfully. He tried to move his head away but suddenly his mouth was filled with smoke, and he choked desperately.
CSM stared at the wide, hazel eyes, so confused and lovely. He pinched the tempting lips again, perversely enjoying the helpless whimpers and darting eyes. He scraped a yellowed thumbnail over the mole that painted itself in seductive suggestion on the pretty face.
"Inject him," he whispered softly moving away from the lovely thorn in his side. He nodded to one of his men who moved forward and placed a long needle at the pulsing, tender skin of Mulder's neck.
"Soon, Mulder. Soon you won't want to stop us…you will be with us."
He allowed himself one last brutal caress of those haunting lips and then he left the room in a haze of bluish smoke. As the door closed behind the men the video cameras began to record once more.
Mulder sobbed in confusion. A little girl was singing in the corner of the room, as she played hopscotch in slow motion. Her dark hair and eyes were lusterless…dead. Mulder cried out for her. Cried out in hoarse misery for the first female who had broken him. "Samantha!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Krycek checked his watch impatiently. Time was short. There were too many people involved. His cell phone rang and his green eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
"Krycek?"
"Yeah."
"The old man delivered a package."
Krycek's jaw began to dance in fury. "Understood." He slammed down on the end button and allowed himself a small scream of rage. That old bastard was almost as eager to get his slimy paws on Fox's tight body as he was to make Fox into the first ambassador of the last stage of colonization. Just the thought of that smoke-covered, evil man alone with Fox, when Fox was unable to protect himself, made Krycek's skin crawl. He was looking forward to killing that bastard. He could only hope that Smokey was able to keep his paws off. Unlike the other times when Fox had been mentally manipulated and brainwashed.
If he knew Skinner, he had already arranged for some sort of escape for his agent. Krycek was counting on it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was very late when a small ambulance arrived at the hospital. The emergency room was practically empty except for a mother and her son, who was waiting for a few stitches, and an old man with chronic chest pain. The two ambulance drivers bypassed the Check In desk and headed straight for the Psychiatric Ward.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, where do you think you're heading?" a burly nurse confronted them in the hall.
"We're on orders to transfer a patient to another hospital, psychiatric case," muttered the blond ambulance driver. "Here are his discharge papers."
The nurse quickly checked the papers. Everything seemed to be in order. She didn't work in the Psychiatric Ward, but the head nurse had just gone on break.
"Right this way, gentlemen," she said, leading them down the hall.
Once she was at their destination, the nurse slid in the master passkey. She stood there as the men quickly bundled their mostly comatose patient onto a stretcher and wheeled him outside.
"Pretty bad shape, that one," she offered. "What a shame, he's such a handsome boy!"
"C'est la vie!" countered the smaller man. He uttered a loud "Ouch!" when he received a painful jab in the ribs from his partner, as the nurse stared at him wide-eyed for his callous attitude.
As they quickly wheeled Mulder down the hall, Langly glared at Frohike. "C'est la vie?"
"I couldn't help it, she made me nervous! Let's just get out of here and get help for Mulder, he's a mess. Byers better be ready when we get out there!" Frohike responded.
Byers was waiting. Luckily no other ambulances had arrived in the time they had been inside. Springing Mulder had all been surprisingly easy.
Once they loaded Mulder into the ambulance, a black car with tinted windows pulled up behind them. Frohike immediately jumped into the back of the ambulance along with Mulder and gestured for Langly to do the same, slamming the doors shut behind him. His intuition had warned him that the sudden appearance of this vehicle was not a good thing. Sure enough, several thuggish-looking men leaped out of the car and started pounding on the doors.
"Hit the gas, Byers!" Frohike screamed, as the men pulled out their guns.
Byers did as he was told as they heard the ching of bullets bouncing off the metal frame of the car. He exited from the Emergency Drop Off area and hit the street at warp side. As Frohike and Langly looked behind them, they could see the men getting back into the car and start following them.
"Take West Clarendon!" Frohike cried.
"West Clarendon? It's shut off for construction!" Byers exclaimed. His heart was pounding as he checked his rearview to see the car was gaining on them quickly.
"Just do as I say!"
Byers turned onto West Clarendon. There was a construction barrier in the middle of the road, blocking it. Frohike leaned over to grab his steering wheel and guide him up on the sidewalk, sending people screaming and scurrying out of their way. Mulder moaned unhappily on his stretcher.
"You've confirmed it, Melvin! You're a nut case!" Langly yelled, as they narrowly missed a middle-aged business man.
Once they were on the other side of the barrier, the road was unpaved but completely clear. Byers pressed the gas pedal to the floor and sped off at top speed. As he checked his rearview, he saw a police car detaining the black car in its attempt to follow them along the same sidewalk.
The Lone Gunmen cheered at their success. "Give me five, bro!" Langly said to Byers and Frohike as they slapped hands.
"Yes," said Byers gleefully, "Leave it to you, Melvin, your obsession with movie car chases finally paid off!"
They were interrupted from their celebration by the sound of Mulder moaning. Frohike and Langly turned worriedly to their patient. His face was gray and listless, his eyes glazed and faraway. He was still strapped to the stretcher so he hadn't moved hardly at all during the car chase. However, it was obvious Mulder was in bad shape and that he needed help as soon as possible.
"Sam!" he cried hoarsely.
"Hold on, buddy!" Frohike sighed half-heartedly, clutching the agent's hand. Mulder managed to grip it weakly. "Just hold on, Mulder, we're taking you to get fixed up, buddy! Not to worry!"
Frohike only hoped that he was telling Mulder the truth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skinner was sitting in La Bouche, across the table from Diana and wishing he were anywhere but there. She kept trailing her stocking clad foot up his muscular calf. He glared at her and finally growled, "Are you trying to turn me on, or make me angry?"
She narrowed her eyes. "I want you, Walter. I find you to be one of the most sexually stimulating men I have ever met. I never *ever* fail to get what I want." She smiled at the big, scowling man. "I mean, every pretty piece…male and female…was panting after Mulder, and I got him. I can have you, too. You just haven't accepted it."
Skinner set down his napkin. "Okay. We've danced around this long enough, Fowley. You better shoot straight with me. I know you think you have something on me…which tells me that you know more about what's happening to Mulder than you have admitted."
She raised an elegant brow and said nothing.
"If you do anything, and I mean *anything* to hurt him, I will hand over my badge…my position will mean nothing…I promise you I will kill you…and all your friends. As for me sleeping with you….like some whore to save him…I think you know me better than that. I don't need to fuck some bitch to protect him." He stood and towered over her like an enormous, glorious God. "You were right about one thing, Fowley. I do love him. And I would rather die then let him be hurt…and I'd kill my own mother to keep him safe…so you tell that to your bosses."
She sipped her wine and smiled at him coldly. "If I wanted to Skinner, I could help him…and you. In fact…I could arrange for you to have him right now…I know you want him. He wouldn't even know, you could do what you have been lusting for and then please me in gratitude."
Skinner was a man who had seen bodies torn apart in front of him as a young man. He'd lived through several horrible things…psychotics, gun fights, terrorists, you name it…but that someone would offer the use of Mulder's body when he was so helpless…it floored him as nothing had ever done before.
She mistook his silence for temptation. "He is so out of it right now, Walter, you could…what is it? Grease him up and make love to him…he'd never know the difference…" She gasped as her arm was grabbed in a tight grip, and rich brown eyes burned near ebony.
"You sick bitch! If you think that is what I want…what I would accept…you are twisted!" His face changed then and the look of rage turned to sickness, before rage took over again. She gasped again as he shook her slightly. "Tell me now, bitch! Is this something that has already happened to him?"
She glared angrily at him. "No! I mean not this time…there have been other times, the bastard has quite a few fans!"
Skinner's mouth fell open even further.
"Don't be surprised, Walter. You want him. Don't you think others would, too? What do you think happens to him when he can't remember…"
Skinner had never struck a woman in his life, and he never would…but this one deserved it. He spun on his heels and stormed out.
She watched him leave with hatred in her eyes. Hatred that burned for Mulder. He seemed to have everything. Everyone loved him…even while hating him. She was a beautiful woman…the men should be panting after her...not some wacked out dreamer!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Krycek got in contact with his employer. "I have information!"
The sound of smoke being hissed into the receiver was a prelude to the confident tone, "Yes?"
"Mulder is going to be rescued by his three friends…Skinner is involved."
"Yes. We know."
Krycek smiled to himself. He knew the bastard would know…it was part of the game…had he not volunteered the information, CSM would not have trusted him.
"What should I do?"
"Why should I include you, Krycek?"
"We want the same thing." Krycek almost could hear the old man get hard. The breath rasped excitedly. "We could have everything together…you know how he responds to me."
There was silence on the line, and Alex knew the old man was imagining the scene that would have him taking both Alex and Mulder.
"Skinner has a beach house just north of Virginia Beach. He will take Mulder there. Kill Skinner and bring…Fox to me."
Alex's grip tightened painfully on the phone at the lust in the old bastard's voice when he whispered Fox's name.
"And we can both have him?" Alex inflected a whine in his voice.
"If you do some…other...things for me, my little assassin."
"As long as I can fuck him."
"Oh, we both will."
"Deal. I kill Skinner and take Mulder. Easy as pie."
"Skinner won't die easy, little assassin. He is very resourceful."
"I'll take care of it." Alex disconnected and promptly threw the phone into the sewer. He walked toward the waiting helicopter. He had arranged for Fox's care here, and once the helicopter was in the air, he slid close to the pilot and with one quick motion broke the man's neck and tossed him out of the helicopter. He took over the controls and headed toward the nearest airport.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After he had stolen a cell-phone from a young businessman he made a quick call. He boarded a plane heading to the Ronald Reagan Airport in D.C. He had to move fast to save Mulder, and he could only hope that Skinner was as determined to help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skinner was at the meeting spot when a black van arrived, and Langly slid out.
"Dude, you better do something, Mulder is flipping!"
Skinner pushed past the flaxen haired man and went to the sliding doors. He ripped them open; his breath caught in his throat. Mulder was writhing in agony, and for a split second Walter wanted to cry in pain. Decades of strength came to his aid, and he reached in to gently scoop out his beautiful agent. He cradled the long, lithe body in his strong arms and, not caring what the strange little friends thought, he kissed the ripe lips chastely. "I promise you, Mulder, I will keep you safe."
Fox heard the husky, soothing tones of his boss, and he opened his eyes to see the strong face above him. "Skinner?"
Fox's voice was so soft, yet so hopeful that Skinner had to concentrate hard not to devour those sweet lips again. Instead he held the lean body closer to his, "Yes, Mulder."
A soft sigh greeted his words as Mulder relaxed in his arms...as if satisfied and happy. Walter placed his precious burden in the passenger seat of his SUV and bid the Gunmen a brief, but appreciative goodbye.
He was driving toward his friend's beach house…where no one would expect he would take Mulder...when his cell phone rang and the hated, yet somehow soothing voice of Alex Krycek captured his attention.
"Don't go to the beach house, Skinner. Men are waiting there to kill you and to capture Mulder."
"Screw you, why should I trust you?" Skinner was petting the long, lean thigh of his pretty, brilliant agent.
"Because we both love him."
Skinner was silent for a few moments trying to decide what to say to Krycek. He was even more worried now than before. What if Krycek was telling the truth and there were men waiting at the beach house? What if he believed Krycek, and Mulder was hurt because of that?
"Skinner, you still there?"
Skinner sighed, shoving the thought of shared love to the back of his mind. "Yes, I'm still here. I'll ask you again, why should I trust you?"
"Other than because I love him, too? Hell, I don't know. We don't have time to debate the trust issue, here. Mulder's life is in danger and so is yours. Use your head, Skinner! I know where the beach house is, I can give you detailed directions to prove that to you. If I wanted to kill you and get my hands on Mulder to harm him, why wouldn't I just wait until you get there and then kill you when you least expect it? It would be much easier to do it that way than to convince you that I'm trying to help you."
His heart told him that Krycek was being honest, so he asked, "Where do you suggest we go? The beach house is the only place I could think of that would be safe."
Krycek relaxed, one of the most difficult parts of this was accomplished. "I have a place that is secure. I've already set everything u,p and it's ready for you . . . and him."
"Where?"
Krycek said, "Meet me at the airport. I have private transportation that will take us there."
Skinner reached over and touched Mulder's face tenderly. He hoped that he was making the right decision and not leading them into torture or death. "I can't just carry him through the airport. That would draw unwanted attention."
"That's true. Meet me at the economy lot on the south side of the airport. I'll have a wheelchair to help us."
"Krycek, if you're setting us up, you'll wish you were never born. I'll kill you," Skinner snarled.
"Don't forget, I could have killed you a long time ago if I really wanted to. You can trust me about this. We're talking about Mulder's life and that's one thing I wouldn't risk," Krycek vowed.
Skinner growled, "I have no choice but to believe you. We'll be there in about an hour."
"Don't worry. I'll be there."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Krycek ditched his telephone, he continued back to the airport where he had rented the small private plane for the trip.
Arriving in a mere fifteen minutes, he talked to the pilot and made sure he had everything ready for the flight. Afterwards, he checked the private cabin and carried the medical supplies and other items on board that would be necessary for the flight. Unlike the helicopter pilot he had been forced to kill earlier, the pilot of this plane was lucky, he was only going to fly them to an airport a few hundred miles away. They would go by car to another airport where Krycek would take the controls of another small plane and would fly them to the airport where he had stashed the stolen helicopter. From there, they were home free.
He had planned this very carefully. After he, Mulder, and Skinner left this plane and before they boarded the next one, they would disguise themselves. If someone happened to track down this pilot, they would only be able to trace them as far as the next airport.
It would be a relief when all of this was over and he had both Mulder and Skinner in the safe haven he had prepared. He was thankful that he was trusted enough by the Consortium to be involved in this operation. That limited trust allowed him access to the drugs that would counteract the drugs Mulder had been given by the Consortium, Fowley, and the Smoker.
Checking his watch, he realized forty-five minutes had passed and he needed to get the wheelchair and get over to the economy lot where Skinner would be meeting him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diana Fowley slammed into her apartment angry with Skinner and Mulder, but mostly with herself. She had underestimated Skinner's feelings for Mulder. She thought he was looking for a quick fuck and committed a huge miscalculation when she tried to tempt him with an unconscious Mulder.
Her telephone rang, and she moved to answer it, hoping it was word that Mulder had taken a turn for the worst.
"My dear . . . do you know where Walter Skinner is right now?" the raspy voice of the Smoker whispered.
Diana clenched her teeth and said, "Well, obviously he's not here or I wouldn't have answered the call. No, I don't know where he is. I assume he's back at his apartment by now."
"Now, now, did he turn you down? Anger and jealousy doesn't become you. Since you failed so miserably in your attempt to distract Mr. Skinner, I'll tell you that I know precisely where he is. He is on his way to a friend's beach house with Agent Mulder as we speak. Not to worry, though, everything is under control and this will be taken care of by morning," the Smoker gloated.
"With Mulder! What the hell is he doing with Mulder?" Diana screamed.
"Relax, my dear. He had three of Mulder's friends remove him from the facility earlier while you were trying to seduce him. I would like to say that we were on top of the situation and allowed it to happen; however, I honestly must say that our people came upon the end of the so-called rescue and were unable to stop it. I have since realized that this is a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. When our people retrieve Mulder, Skinner will be killed in the process, and Mulder will become mine."
Diana snarled, "I want Skinner before you kill him."
"Sorry, it's too late for that. The wheels are in motion, and he'll be dead before the night is over."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Skinner steered the car into the economy parking lot and hoped that Krycek would be waiting. Mulder had been getting increasingly restless. Sometimes struggling in the awkwardly-buckled seat belt, and other times mumbling and striking out at something only he could see. At times, Skinner believed he was waking up, but his eyes remained closed, and he remained unconscious.
Skinner spotted Krycek at the far end of the parking lot and pulled into an empty space near him. After turning off the car, he got out and approached Krycek, eyeing the wheelchair and blanket sitting in front of him. Meeting his eyes, he said, "I meant what I said, Krycek. You're a dead man if you're lying to me."
Krycek sighed. "I'm not lying. The Smoker knows that you're the one who was behind those three geeks rescuing Mulder. He also knew immediately where you'd take him. This is the only safe alternative. Besides, I have all the medications that will stop this. I love . . ."
"I don't want to hear it! Just drop that line of conversation right now. Give me that wheelchair. I'll get him out of the car and into the chair," Skinner said forcefully.
Skinner took the wheelchair and moved to the passenger side of the car as Krycek followed him. Unlocking the door, he reached in and unbuckled the seat belt that held Mulder securely in place. Mulder, lost in foggy memories of terrible events, began to struggle violently when he felt Skinner's hands.
Krycek stepped closer so that he'd be in place to help Skinner if it were necessary. Just as he was going to offer his assistance, Skinner surprised him by pulling Mulder into his arms and into a firm embrace.
Whispering tenderly, he said, "Fox, calm down, it's me . . . Walter. I won't hurt you. Just open your eyes for a minute, and you'll see that it's me."
Krycek watched as Skinner lightly brushed his lips on Mulder's forehead then pulled away to look into his face. He was shocked to see Mulder's eyes open and focus on Skinner and even more surprised to see the looks of tenderness that were exchanged in that brief moment before Mulder's eyes closed again.
Suddenly, Krycek felt alone and bereft. Could it be that Mulder loved Skinner as much as Skinner loved him? Would he be the one left out of this triangle? As much as it hurt, Krycek was determined to do the right thing for both Skinner and Mulder. He'd save their lives and Mulder's sanity, even if he ended up alone in the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skinner lifted Mulder into the wheelchair and buckled him in, covering his legs with the blanket. Glancing up at the silent Krycek he saw the fear, sadness, and love in Krycek's eyes and realized that he might have misjudged the younger man. He would have liked to erase the sadness from those beautiful green eyes, but he knew the only thing that would do that would be if Mulder returned Krycek's love. Skinner couldn't help but fear that things would end up that way. After all, why would Mulder want a balding, middle-aged man like him when he could have the young, sexy, beautiful Alex Krycek? He was determined to stick by Mulder and hide his insecurities even if, in the end, the man he loved chose Krycek.
"Where to from here, Krycek?"
The younger man took a deep breath, "To the back hangers where the private planes are stored. I have the plane ready and we can take off shortly after we're aboard."
Skinner moved behind the wheelchair and started pushing, "Okay, lead the way."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skinner was sweating profusely and had finally caved into the heat and removed his shirt. After the plane had landed, they had driven with Mulder into New Mexico a few miles from the unknown landing strip to a location near the Chuska Mountain Range, far away from the Navajo reservation and civilization. Mulder was lying motionless inside a Navajo hogan as several of the tribe membersperformed the blessing way ceremony. Skinner and Krycek stood watching as the Navajo chanted.
"He has to be cured, Skinner. Otherwise, he will become a tool for either the aliens or the consortium to use against us," Krycek replied. "If Fox changes, it may be more humane to kill him, then to let them use him."
Skinner knew one thing and that was that he would never be able to kill Mulder, even if it were for his own good. "He'll be healed, I won't even consider the alternative."
The tribe elder rose and walked over to them. "Mulder is standing between two worlds. He will be healed if he chooses to stay in this world, but for that he needs your help. You have to make him want to remain here and not journey beyond to find his truth."
"How do we do that?" Skinner asked tentatively, looking anxiously at Mulder who was now writhing on the earthen bed.
"You both must talk to him. He will be able to hear you, and see you inside his mind, as you will him," the elder said.
Mulder turned around in a full circle, he was standing on a precipice between two worlds, one familiar and the other totally alien. One wrong step, and he'd become lost forever. He looked out at the red alien landscape and off in the distance he saw a small girl with pigtails. Samantha? He raised his foot to take a step toward her, but a voice held him back. The voice was strong and reassuring, he had always trusted that voice. He turned, facing away from the alien world to look for the owner of the voice. He saw a deliciously wet and very naked Walter Skinner standing next to a shimmering pool with his hand held out beckoning for Mulder to join him.
"Fox!" The frantic cry from behind him had him turning away from the delicious vision. "Fox! Help me, Fox!" He spun back toward his sister's frightened voice. Samantha was floating in the air away from him. He needed to save her.
"It's a trap, Mulder! That is not your sister, look at her!" Skinner's voice commanded inside his head.
Mulder looked closely, and the image shimmered and changed instead of his sister a little gray alien stood there hungrily looking at him. His blood ran cold at the creature's wanton thoughts.
"Come to us, Fox. The truths you've been searching for all your life we can give you," the alien said.
"Don't listen to it, Mulder. Come back to us," Krycek shouted franticly. He was standing beside Skinner and water glistened off both of their naked muscular bodies, causing Mulder's throat to go dry.
Mulder glanced from the alien back to Skinner and Krycek. This was too hard of a choice. The alien could tell him what happened to Samantha, but he wanted to join the two men at the pool. He was so hot and wanted to swim so badly and then he wanted … //Don't go there Mulder,// he chastised himself, not wanting to explore his feeling for the two beautiful men standing before him. Instead he sat cross-legged on top of the precipice to contemplate his choices.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scully had arrived back in Washington, and from the airport she had gone directly to the hospital to check on her partner. She was shocked to find him gone, he had been sent to another facility that specialized in cases like her partner. She had rushed across town only to find that Mulder wasn't there either. She sat angrily on a chair in the lobby to reason out her options. She didn't trust anyone in the FBI to give her answers as to where Mulder had been taken. Skinner had lied to her, and Fowley was working for them. Scully sighed, she had the evidence that her partner had been searching for his whole life and no means to get it public. Who could she trust? Of course! The Gunmen. They weren't much, but they were loyal and trustworthy.
Scully stood and rushed out of the care facility, climbing into her car. As she pulled out of the lot, a black sedan two blocks back pulled into traffic to follow her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Gunmen were frantically packing up their offices. It was no longer safe for them to remain at this location. They were carrying the last of their equipment down to the panel truck, when Scully's car pulled up behind it.
"Guys, what's going on?" she asked.
"Agent Scully, where have you been?" Byers asked an edge of anger in his usually calm voice.
"I went to look for a means to help, Mulder," she swallowed nervously, afraid that the reason they were packing was that something had happened to her partner. "Guys, where is he? I was at the hospital and all they could tell me was he wasn't there any longer that he had been transferred to another facility, but when I went there they said he had been checked out."
"We were the ones who checked Mulder out of that *consortium* run facility. He was in serious danger! How could you ditch him like that, Scully?" Langly growled, slamming the doors closed on the truck, he waited with his arms crossed for her reply.
"I didn't ditch him! I was trying to help him … I found something that might help him … I'm not sure, but I do know that it will change this world forever," she said quietly, glancing around nervously. "Oh shit," she swore, spotting the sedan down the block.
The three gunmen turned and noticed it as well. "C'mon, let's get the hell out of here," Frohike shouted and climbed into truck.
The others followed quickly with Langly taking the driver's seat and rapidly pulling out of their parking space.
Scully drew her gun and kept an eye on the sedan as it raced toward them. "I'm sorry, guys, they must have followed me from the care facility," she said.
"Well, as long as we're not doing anything else right now, why don't you tell us what you've found that would change the world?" Frohike asked, peeking out the panel truck back window. He ducked as a hail of bullets hit the truck.
Scully glared at the little man. "Langly, they're trying to shoot out your tires," she shouted, alerting the long-haired gunman to the danger.
"Chill, Scully, it can never happen. The tires on the fox mobile are bullet proof! Same with the windows and the metal," Langly informed her proudly.
"The *fox* mobile?" She looked at them incredulously. "Does Mulder know you call it that?" she asked, pushing a box out of her way so she could see out the back window.
"Ah, no. I've never mentioned it to him, have you, John?" Langly asked, racing the truck around the corner and onto the entrance ramp to the freeway.
"Are you nuts?" Byers snorted.
"Yeah, Scully, what do you want to do get us killed?" Frohike said. "So, are you going to tell us what you found or not?"
"An alien spaceship," she mumbled.
"What? Where? When? How?" the three gunmen rattled off.
"The Ivory Coast, Africa. Two days ago. I was following a lead on a current case Mulder and I are working on," she said. "The ship is totally intact, we just have to figure out how to get it in front of the public without it being taken away from us."
Scully looked at them harshly and said, "Now, I want to know where the hell my partner is?" She was thrown to the floor as the sedan rammed the side of the panel truck.
Langly looked out his side view mirror and muttered, "Not wise, dude." He swung the steering wheel and plowed the heavy truck into the lighter vehicle forcing it off the road. The sedan flew over a steep embankment, hitting the ground hard and crushing its front, and breaking its axial. "Yea, another kill for the fox mobile. Fro, remind me to paint another sedan on the side," Langly cheered.
Byers rolled his eyes. "Mulder's with A.D. Skinner," he said, helping Scully to her feet.
"Skinner? No, tell me you didn't turn Mulder over to *Skinner?* He's working for them," Scully groaned.
"No, he's not, Dana. If he was working for them, then why would he hire us to rescue Mulder from them?" Frohike asked.
Scully frowned. He had a point. "Okay, where did Skinner take Mulder?"
"Ah, we don't know. We were going to try to find out once we got our new headquarters set up," Frohike said embarrassed. Everything had happened so fast that they had not had a chance to ask Skinner where he was taking Mulder.
"Amateurs," Scully muttered.
"Hey, don't worry, we'll find them," Byers said as Langly drove them toward their new hideout.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The smoker slammed down the telephone receiver. He would kill that sneaky, little, Russian rat! He couldn't believe the sly beauty had tricked him again. No wonder Alex wanted Fox so badly, he was one himself -- a sly, sneaky fox. When he captured Alex, he'd make the brat pay dearly for his betrayal.
He'd chain the traitorous rat bastard to a post and make him watch as he took Fox hard, fucking him again and again. Alex didn't have him fooled. No, not any longer, he knew now how much Fox must mean to him. After all, Alex placed Fox's welfare ahead of his own life. "Sloppy, Alex, very sloppy," the smoker muttered. "But, they do say that love makes people do strange things."
"Sir, we have a trace on the tracking device implanted inside Fox Mulder's brain. However, we're not the only ones. There is a large spaceship heading toward Earth, its trajectory will place it here in under thirty-six hours," the Airforce colonel told him.
"How the hell did they find out so soon?" the smoker growled. "Where is he? We need to disable that tracking device!"
"New Mexico, sir," the colonel replied.
"Damn! How could I be so stupid! Of course they'd take him to New Mexico. The Navajo are the only people that could help Fox," the Smoker replied. Alex was smarter than he'd given him credit for and he'd never make that mistake again. So, it would be a race against time to see if they could get to Fox before he was healed or before the aliens arrive to claim him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fox shuddered as the medicine man bathed his nude body with gentle and calm hands. Walter concentrated hard to reach Fox's mind. He loved him so much and couldn't imagine losing him, not like this, not now.
Sitting beside the AD, in a strikingly similar pose, was Alex Krycek. He stared at Mulder but his thoughts were elsewhere, trying to find Mulder's mind…his soul.
Mulder heard the sound of beating drums…slow steady, but chasing each other, more like a fugue. He was soothed by it, drawn by it. He knew somehow that they were heartbeats…human heartbeats. He drifted away from the cliff, away from the red horizon, and toward the love he knew was waiting for him. He cried out as hands grabbed around his waist and held tight.
"You belong to us…not to them." The voice wasn't speaking in any language he had ever heard, but he understood it. "You are above them now. Wait here and decide…take your time…think about it. The knowledge you seek is here…with us."
Mulder relaxed into the cold embrace. "What is happening to me?"
"Wait…wait here and all will be revealed."
He heard the sound of the heartbeats fading and almost followed the advice of the strange thing behind him. However, the hands around him were stroking his chest and touching his nipples, when he looked down he saw that the hands were clawed. He screamed as he realized just what he was to become…not human…a killer of humans…he struggled but the hands held him tightly. He saw that the hands had become strikingly human.
"No, no that isn't what we are…what you are…wait and find out…we are coming for you, pretty brother."
On the pallet Mulder began to scream and thrash. Albert looked to Skinner and Alex. "Who is the one he will respond to? Who will he obey?"
Skinner shook his head, "He wouldn't obey either of us!"
Alex rolled his eyes, "Skinner, he always obeys you…when you make sense to him."
"That isn't what he means...he means someone who Mulder *obeys* not just humors."
"For Christ's sake, Skinner, he listens…"
"Argue about it later…we're losing him…to them."
Skinner blanched and took one look at the struggling man. "Mulder! Mulder, you get your butt back here!"
Alex jumped at the booming voice, the voice that sent agents scurrying in its wake, the voice that even had, on occasion, cowed the smoking bastard.
"Open your eyes…listen to me."
Mulder felt the grip about his waist tighten and the voice in his ear was joined by others, just as alien and just as seductive. However, the bark of his boss, the absolute strength in that voice brooked no denial and he heaved away from the cold arms. He ran toward that voice, but his sister's voice again stopped him.
"Fox, don't you want to find me?" Her eyes, so dark, captured his and pleaded with him.
He shook his head and accepted something that had been true for decades. "My sister is dead. You…killed her."
Albert nodded, "Now, Skinner, again…his spirit is responding. If we are to cleanse his body of this infection he *must* be conscious."
Skinner grabbed Mulder's hand. "Agent Mulder, answer me! Wake up and explain yourself."
Mulder's eyes opened and he blinked in confusion. "Sir?"
Walter beamed at Mulder and ran a hand, gently over the tired face.
Krycek leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. That wasn't at all what he had expected…he had expected the cleansing…not some freaky alien version of The Poltergeist. He couldn't fight villains on some odd spiritual plane, but he was more than ready for the men who would be coming to claim Fox. If they were lucky, he and Skinner would get Mulder out of this dry, hot place and take him far away from the grasping plots of the evil men and their alien masters. Given enough time, all the remnants of the alien seed would be eradicated, and if they could do that…then they could do much more. They could prove to the would-be conquerors that any infected human…even the most highly prepared could be cured. The devastation to the invasion plans would be made obvious…to all involved. If they could only cure Fox.
Skinner pulled a blanket over Fox's naked form. "Mulder, what…where were you?"
Albert shushed the big man and moved him out of the way. Skinner was a bit disgruntled as he was shunted off to the side.
Skinner sat back by Krycek. "This isn't over is it, Krycek?"
Krycek was staring at the beautiful face that was now relaxed in sleep, a dreamless sleep. "No, no it isn't but if we can just have a few more hours here with the Navajo…we have a chance."
Skinner had no idea what was going on, but for some reason he trusted the green-eyed bastard, as he had never trusted him before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CSM sat in the cool interior of his private plane and he stared at the burning end of his Morley. His thoughts were with his green-eyed enemy. What did the young man know? How much did he suspect? Did he realize the potential for disaster, that curing Fox would unleash on the Consortium's plans…to say nothing for the Colonizers? Fox was the golden child of the aliens. He was the first human who could resist the cancer's propensity to turn humans into incubators for the…unfortunate genetic freaks…that had to be destroyed. Why the human DNA resisted to the point that the alien DNA mutated and created the violent creatures was still a mystery to alien and human scientist alike. Mulder was the success that they had nurtured from a young age…his DNA a perfect match for their plans. His sister had not proved so lucky, and the gestation of a mutant had killed her frail body. What a beautiful success too. He would be studied and his DNA copied, but he was too valuable to harm. Even the aliens knew this. They would take him away, before anything could harm him. CSM had never seen the aliens…only the gray servant class. He suspected that they were not what he expected. The ancient drawing he held on his lap…drawn by Navajo a thousand years before the white man plundered the land. It showed radiant, beautiful beings who came from the sky and plundered the worthless crystals that grew in the ground. These beings looked surprisingly human.
He stared at the depiction of the pretty people in the drawing. He traced the long, lean limbs of the people from the sky, and he imagined that they all had full, tempting lips. His eyes closed. It was a dangerous game they were all playing. Mulder was not to come in to his destiny until he had played his complete role. Now, CSM was unwilling to let him go to the aliens until he had spent himself in that taut body…again. This time he preferred the sexy eyes to see and know him, not to be glazed and unseeing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where do we go after this?" Skinner asked of Krycek.
Krycek sighed. "If we get through this we go to Mexico. I have a safe place there. We need to stay in warm, dry climates…until Mulder gets…gets, well, better. He will be hunted Skinner…hunted hard. The men, who have long commanded us both, want him as a bargaining tool with the aliens. There are men in those ranks who want to exploit him…you *know* how I mean, and the aliens themselves will be coming for him…are probably already on their way."
"Aliens? Secret plans? This is crazy!" He ran a hand over the hairless dome of his head, the gesture somehow incredibly erotic on this big man.
Krycek leaned back against the log that he was propped up on. He spread his legs tiredly and he shook his head. "And yet you know it is all true."
Skinner paced past the sitting man. "Yes, it is true. Crazy, but true!"
Krycek's lazy eyes were mere slits under lush black lashes. "Mmmm hmmm."
Skinner eyed the man and saw that he was falling asleep. What a pain the man was, but as always the physical appearance made even the hardest heart sigh in appreciation. Pink lips fell apart as soft even breaths came slowly and steadily. How could Fox not want this man? He was absolutely gorgeous, and his body was worthy of any that graced the magazine covers. Skinner sighed and sat down near his pretty rival and odd cohort.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
200,000 miles out from Earth's orbit
"We are drawing near, Terl, should we take the normal tactics?"
"No, we don't have time. The First is being attacked, and soon he will be cast into the gutter of humanity. We must claim him before that happens."
"We will be visible to all the devices the human debris use to watch the skies."
"Let them look. We will take our brother and then we will be gone. Let them see the face of their judgement."
A group of small, gray workers came in and handed their master a cold cup of liquid. They didn't dare look into his eyes as they scurried to make everything perfect. They cleaned the room of non-existent clutter, worked the controls of the ship and did every other chore necessary.
He leaned back and sighed, trying to contact the mind of his pretty brother. So paranoid, so sure he would see monsters like those violent mutants that grew inside humans. So many races, so many thousands of races over the millennia had the required DNA to create the docile gray race of slaves…they had to find the way to make the stubborn human race become the same…slaves died too quickly and they were too necessary for life. Creatures like the paranoid Fox were too rare and too valuable, their DNA, a hybrid, could be used to stimulate the change in others…could be instrumental in finding the missing data needed to mutate humans into the gray slaves. He couldn't touch his brother's mind and he frowned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While Krycek slept, Skinner kept watch. Exactly what he was watching for, he didn't know, but despite his exhaustion, he couldn't relax.
It had been three hours since Mulder made his choice and came back to him . . . to them. Albert had continued ministering to Mulder non-stop. Earlier Krycek had said a few more hours were needed to finish healing Mulder. He couldn't help but wonder if enough time had passed. He was starting to feel restless and apprehensive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The silence of the night was interrupted by screams from Mulder. Skinner rushed into the hogan to Mulder's side, followed by an awake and alert Krycek.
Mulder was in a full-fledged panic, attempting to fight off the restraining hands of Albert and the man who had been helping him. Skinner reached his side first and asked, "What the hell happened? Has he slipped back to where he was before?"
Albert shifted his hold to allow Skinner and Krycek to reach Mulder in hopes that the touch of their hands would convey their presence. "No, he is in the midst of a dream . . . he is not back in that place again. Speak to him, hopefully your voices will be enough to wake him."
"Mulder . . . calm down, it's a dream. You're okay. Wake up!" Krycek said as he softly rubbed Mulder's arm to convey the other emotions he was feeling.
Mulder's struggling calmed and Skinner bent closer to Mulder's ear, cupping his cheek and whispered, "Mulder . . . it's time to wake up. Come on . . . we need to know what's running through that brilliant mind of yours. What has you so distraught?"
Mulder's eyes flickered as he came out of a deep sleep following the familiar voices of the men who had saved him from the abyss. His eyes finally opened and he looked up into Skinner's concerned eyes and whispered, "They're coming for me."
"Who's coming for you, Mulder?" Krycek asked, wondering if he really saw something or if it was truly just a dream.
"The aliens . . . they're coming. We have to leave here. There isn't much time!" The panic in Mulder's voice was obvious.
Skinner reached over, touched Mulder's face, and turned his head to look into his eyes. What he saw there was enough to convince him. He looked at Albert and asked, "Has it been long enough? Can we move him? Is he healed?"
Albert nodded and then spoke to the other man in their native language. Then turned to Skinner, "Yes, he can be moved. I will give you some herbs that you will need to use to continue treating him. They will help him regain his strength."
That news sent Krycek into action. "Okay, I'll go get the plane ready. We need to get out of here immediately. Can you get Mulder dressed and over to the airstrip? It's not very far."
Skinner nodded and helped Mulder sit up. "We can handle it. Go ahead and get everything ready."
Mulder was still extremely weak and had trouble focussing on what Skinner and Krycek were saying. All he knew was that he had to hide . . . that he had to escape before the aliens took him and never let him go.
Seeing Mulder's confusion and fear, Skinner reassured him. "Don't worry Mulder, we'll get you out of here. We just have to get you dressed and get over to the airstrip. We'll be in the air in less than thirty minutes."
"We need to hurry. They're really close." Mulder raised his arms and helped Skinner pull a sweatshirt on him. After Skinner slipped his sweatpants over his feet, he allowed himself to be helped to his feet in order to pull his sweats up. Quickly Skinner helped him sit back down and slipped on his socks and running shoes.
Helping him back to his feet, Skinner led him out of the hogan. "Okay, Mulder. Let's go. I know it's hard, but as soon as we're on the plane, you can relax again."
A few steps away from the hogan, Albert met them with a heavy pack. "This contains the herbs and instructions on their use. It also contains food to help you begin your journey. Remember, although he is healed, he is vulnerable. His health is fragile, and he is weak. Until he regains both his health and his strength, he will remain at risk."
They were interrupted by a young man who looked worried. "Our lookouts have spotted a car headed this way. It should be here in twenty minutes."
Albert nodded. "Your time has run out." He waved to a group of men standing near a shed. One of them opened the door and went inside. A few minutes later a motor was heard, and he drove out in what looked to be a converted golf cart.
Skinner laughed and looked at Albert, who shrugged and said, "You never know when it might be useful! Mulder cannot walk to the airstrip, and you cannot carry him. This will be easier."
Mulder, who had stood passively the entire time, smiled and said, "Thank you . . . I don't remember everything that happened, but I know you and your people saved my life again."
"We are not the only ones, Mulder. We could not have done it if it had not been for your friends. Remember that, it will be important to you soon."
After shaking hands, Skinner helped Mulder into the cart and then slipped on back for the ten-minute ride to the airstrip.
When they pulled up at the plane, Krycek was waiting at the door. "I was getting worried. I'm glad to see you had transportation. I got a lift from a kid on a motorbike."
Handing Krycek the pack, Skinner moved to help a groggy Mulder out of the cart. "Is everything ready? A car was spotted heading to the camp. It's probably only five minutes or so behind us."
"Yeah, we're ready . . . can you get him on board by yourself?" Krycek asked heading into the plane.
"No problem." He turned to the man who was still sitting in the cart. "Thanks for the lift. Get away from here quickly. Go a different route back to the camp, that way you won't run into the car that's headed this way."
As the plane revved up, Skinner helped Mulder on board and to a seat. After buckling him in, he took his own seat and buckled up. "Okay, Krycek. We're buckled in!"
Krycek started making his way down the runway and then said, "Oh shit . . . look who's here. Directly in front of the plane, driving down the runway toward them was a 4-door sedan. The only thing that could be seen clearly in the darkened interior of the car was the glowing end of a cigarette.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~