Double Indemnity
Round 2, part 2
Ursula

Mulder saw the plam flicker out. "Wait," he said to Alex. "You don't know."

"I'm going to see," Alex said. He knelt on the bed and extracted a hand from the ball of flesh curled around itself on the bed. He pricked a finger deftly and stared as the red blood welled from the violated skin.

Anson jerked his hand away with a whimper. He lashed out, stopping as his eyes and brain came into play. "Alex, my Alex," he whispered, before closing his eyes again. His hand had caressed Alex's cheek leaving a bloody streak from the small wound Alex had made.

Mulder moved forward to get a closer look. The man had to be either some new type of clone, a perfected version, or Alex had a twin that he didn't seem to know about. Alex might be a creature of deceit but Mulder strongly felt that Alex's earlier reactions were genuine. He could tell when Alex was lying. God knows, he and Alex were like mirror images of each other, closer than twins and joined by their dual nature. He believed that Alex was surprised by this creature's appearance.

The man on the bed was a little heavier than Alex was. His complexion was lighter, almost pearl white as if he had spent a long time out of the sun. A crude tattoo marked his arm.

Spotting the man's jacket on the floor, Mulder said, "I'm going to have a look. Alex, you don't happen to have any disposable gloves around here?"

Alex was still frozen in place. His eyes were wide and he was pale. Mulder had never seen the man so stunned. Usually, Alex's reactions were hair trigger.

"Alex? Gloves?" Mulder repeated.

Going to a chest, Alex produced a well-stocked first aid kit. He pulled out a box of gloves and handed a pair to Mulder.

"Thanks," Mulder said, snapping the latex over his hands.

The jacket wasn't something Alex would ever have worn. It was a well-used cloth jacket in lumberjack plaid. Mulder pulled out a handful of small bills, some change, some candy wrappers, an assortment of condoms, and some small packets of lube. In another pocket, Mulder found a bloodstained switchblade. He said, "Looks as if this guy is responsible for the killing you've been accused of."

Glancing at the switchblade, Alex said, "Guy must be an idiot. He should have made an effort to remove the blood and disposed of it where no one could find it."

"Not up to your standards?" Mulder commented. "Gee, too bad, your brother isn't as well trained a killer as you are."

"Fuck you," Alex retorted, "He's not my brother. I don't know him."

Sweat pooled above Alex's lips. His eyes darted around the room as if looking for an escape. He looked as near breaking as he had when Mulder ran into him in Hong Kong. Mulder wondered what was going on. Why wasn't Alex handling this situation in his usual calculating manner?

"Seems to me that we could solve a lot of your problems by turning this guy in," Mulder said. "You might even be able to pin some of the other things you've been accused of on him."

"No!" Alex said, whirling around to stand between Mulder and the bed where his twin curled. His lip curled in a savage snarl. His eyes narrowed. He looked like a mother lioness standing over her cubs.

Softly, every profiling instinct kicking in, Mulder said, "Look at yourself, Alex. Why do you want to protect him?"

"I don't," Alex claimed, shaking his head.

"Alex...don't lie to yourself. You can lie to me, but when you can't even admit the truth to yourself, you're in real trouble," Mulder said. He glanced at his watch to make sure he was going to make it to Skinner's meeting before the deadline his boss had given him.

"I don't know him," Alex said. He glanced at the man on the bed and said, "But I feel connected."

"He called you 'Alex' and he certainly knew you," Mulder said. "He said his name is Anson. Think about it. Have you heard that name?"

Brow furrowing, Alex sat on the bed. Anson gravitated toward him in his sleep, his hand making contact. After he touched his twin, the stranger who looked like Alex sighed and uncurled from his protective knot.

"Maybe," Alex said. "I remember when I was young. I used to spy on Spender. I was hiding in Spender's office. Some woman reported to him. She said that Anson was in the children's hospital and what did Spender want done with him. Spender was pissed off. He said she should do nothing. He muttered about 'defective gene pool wasn't his' and told her to keep an eye on the boy."

"Defective gene pool?" Mulder repeated. "So Anson might be a clone after all? A failed experiment?"

"I don't know?" Alex replied. He twisted to look at Anson again.

Mulder's cell phone rang. Glancing at the screen, Mulder saw Skinner's number. "Shit," Mulder exclaimed.

"Yeah? I still have twenty-nine minutes," Mulder said. "I'll be in."

"You better be," Skinner said.

With a toss of his head, Alex said, "Walter likes to keep you on a tight leash, doesn't he?"

"What's the problem?" Mulder asked. "Jealous? Don't worry. If I wanted to fuck with my boss, he'd be my bald bitch at the end of my leash, not the opposite."

Alex smirked at the thought.

"Just make sure that Anson stays put," Mulder said. "I'll search the FBI data base for our little friend. Maybe he makes a habit of stabbing strangers on the street."

"All right, Mulder," Alex said.

"I really mean it. Stay put. I know you don't trust anyone, but it's in your best interests to let me help you," Mulder said.

"Okay, but why is it in your interest to help me? You think I'm that good a fuck?" Alex asked.

"I think you might be," Mulder said, thinking with disappointment about what Alex's connection with Anson interrupted.

Alex's eyes flickered again. He said, "I won't whore myself to you to get you to help me."

Repressing his anger at that comment, Mulder said, "I didn't get the impression that you were reluctant back there. If that's what you think, don't worry. I won't touch you again until you ask me for it. I'm helping you because I believe in justice. I know you didn't kill Spender."

"Mulder?" Alex said. He lowered his eyes and his shoulders slumped. "Mulder, I didn't mean what I said. Thanks for helping me. If there's anyone in the world that I want to trust, it's you. It's always been you. I'm just not good at it. Spender taught me when I was barely old enough to go to school that everything has a price. That if you hurt someone enough, they'll do anything, say anything to make it stop."

Shit. What kind of life had Alex Krycek led? Mulder suddenly was grateful for his own miserable childhood. Perhaps it hadn't been the Brady Bunch, but he had the semblance of a normal life.

A quicksilver connection ran through Mulder's brain. He said, "Alex, wait a minute. You said barely old enough to go to school? You told me that you grew up in a boarding school. What's the first thing you remember? When did you meet Spender?"

Alex's eyes darkened as he thought. He finally said, "I don't know. I always lived at the school. Spender was always showing up to inspect me."

"Nothing before that? Nothing before five or six?" Mulder probed.

"No, but it's not a big deal. Lots of people can't remember their early childhood," Alex said.

"Do you remember a mother? A father?" Mulder asked.

"I..." Alex begin. He stopped. His expression twisted as if he was in pain. "I can't. I don't know. I never met them. Never knew them. Who the fuck needs a mother? They just hurt you."

"Listen to yourself," Mulder said. "There's something there. We can find it."

"Leave my brain alone! Don't profile me!" Alex shouted, standing up and shoving Mulder so hard that he nearly fell head over heels.

There was not much room to run in the small hiding hole. Alex looked as if he was about to scuttle away out the door. Mulder shook his head. Damn, if there was just more time, he felt sure that he could get those buried memories out.

Mulder looked at his watch and said, "Fuck."

"Alex, I'll be back. Stay. Stay here," Mulder said to Alex's back.

"Yeah," Alex said as he turned around. He avoided Mulder's eyes as he went to sit on the cot with his brother.

Other than handcuffing Alex to his twin and chaining them both to the bed, that was the best that Mulder could do.

OooOooO

The familiar routine of entering the Hoover building calmed Mulder. He wore his usual mask by the time he entered Skinner's office. Scully was already present, a file folder open on her lap.

"You're five minutes late," greeted Skinner.

"Caught in traffic," Mulder said. "I didn't realize that so many people would be on the road this early in the morning... and I haven't been to bed yet..." / Though it wasn't for want of trying / ... and, you know, I was supposed to be on my own time."

"When you signed on as an FBI agent, you lost the right to say that," Skinner said. "Your time is only your time until we need you."

"I knew I should have joined something with a union," Mulder quipped.

"Where have you been?" Scully demanded, sounding more like an irate spouse than a partner.

"Meeting with an informant," Mulder said.

"Another of your mysterious men in black?" Scully asked.

"Black does suit my informant," Mulder said. "Looks damn good in it."

Scully's frown was Mulder's reward. He wasn't sure what she would do if she knew whom Mulder had been meeting. Whom he had been kissing, Mulder thought, still tasting Alex on his lips.

"Agent Mulder, Alex Krycek is in the city. He's already killed again. Killed a man whom we both know. You could be in danger," Skinner said. "The man's obsessed with you."

"Krycek's had plenty of chances to kill me," Mulder said. "Why don't you fill me in?"

"Spender called and said that he had important information for me," Skinner said. "He said that you were in over your head again and that he would explain what he meant in person."

Shit. Mulder blinked and composed his face again. He immediately suspected that Spender was onto Alex. He must have found out that Alex was supplying him with information. Who else might have known? Even Alex might not be able to evade the FBI, the DC police, and the Consortium looking for him.

Mulder smiled as he thought 'Krycek, everyone want him and I have him.'

"Something amuses you about this?" Skinner asked in the voice of a teacher about to keep an unruly student after class.

"No, sir, I was just thinking that anything Spender wanted to tell you was not in my best interests," Mulder said. "Why would you listen to a man like that?"

"Because he had the power to screw with our lives," Skinner replied.

"Why don't you just tell Mulder what happened?" Scully said.

Eyes flickering between Mulder and Scully, Skinner finally gave into Scully's urging. He said, "We had only exchanged a few words when I saw Alex Krycek. He walked right past us as if he didn't know us. I ran a few steps after him, yelled at him, and he turned around. I wasn't sure what was going on, but Spender seemed surprised and angry to see him. Spender grabbed at him. Krycek went wild, drew a switchblade, and butchered the old man before I could stop him."

Mulder didn't quite buy that. He knew how fast Skinner could and did react. Desk work hadn't slowed the man much. He said, "That's not very like Krycek, Sir."

"What are you saying? Is this another of your theories? You think this was one of your clones or shape shifters?" Skinner asked, his voice disdainful.

"Think about it, Sir. Has Krycek ever committed a crime in front of a witness? The man we know could handle an old man like Spender without killing him. What did this man you saw say?"

"I don't know," Skinner said. He scowled. "Nothing. He just panicked when Spender grabbed him. The knife came out and he killed him. What makes you think it wasn't Krycek?"

"I know it wasn't Krycek and I can prove it," Mulder said.

"I thought you would be the first one to want Krycek," Skinner said.

Skinner's voice almost sounded hurt. Mulder knew that Krycek had screwed with Skinner at every opportunity. Now he thought that Alex must have had a reason, but that would be difficult to explain to Walter Skinner.

"Walter," Mulder said, putting as much warmth as possible into the words. "As much as you want to see Krycek punished for things that he has done, do you want him punished for something he didn't do? Put me on this case. Let me find the truth."

There was a long silence as Skinner processed the request. At last with a ragged breath, Skinner said, "All right, it's yours. I haven't identified Krycek by name so far. I didn't want to alert his friends that we looking for him. You can have the case, but the FBI isn't the only agency looking for Krycek. The murder falls under the jurisdiction of the Washington DC police. It's a matter of time before they put a name on the man I described."

"Thank you, Sir," Mulder said. He knew Skinner tried to do the right thing. However, he also knew that Skinner had his reasons for hating Krycek. It would be a test of Skinner's friendship to see how far he would support Mulder in this case.

"I'm going to check the FBI database," Mulder said.

Scully's brisk heel steps trotted down the hall after him. "Mulder, Mulder, wait up!"

Mulder stopped, stared at the floor, and shook his head. He cared about Scully, but this was not something she would ever understand. Hell, Mulder had never wanted too look closely at the passion he felt for Alex Krycek. Now the truth was kicking him in the balls. He knew what he wanted. He knew whom he wanted.

"What, Scully?" Mulder asked, staring down at his partner's concerned face.

"I don't understand," Scully said. "If Skinner was an eyewitness to Krycek killing Spender, why are you questioning him?"

"The truth, Scully, that's what we're about," Mulder said.

"Does this have something to do with your informant?" Scully asked.

"I have a lot of research to do before I'm ready to answer any more questions," Mulder answered. "Do me a favor, Scully. Make sure that the man who was killed was Spender, not a clone or a look alike. We have blood samples preserved from when he was shot. Compare them with the blood from the victim."

Scully looked as if she wanted to argue. Mulder said, "Scully, you know nothing is as it seems when we're dealing with men like Spender. Do it for me."

His earnest request worked its wiles on his partner. Scully said, "All right, Mulder, I just hope you know what you're doing."

Mulder shared the sentiment. He was the last one to trust his emotions. At least, not any emotions that impelled him toward a relationship with his old enemy. His intelligence told him to keep away from Alex. His rage reminded him that he had been betrayed before, but he couldn't repress what was between them any longer. There was no hiding from the connection, from the inextricable relationship as Mulder had once described it. In fact, Mulder didn't want to resist. He wanted to give in to his fervor, but first he had to prove that Alex hadn't killed Spender, hopefully without betraying that Alex was his source. If the project knew for sure that Alex was talking to him, Mulder was afraid that he would go the way of Mr. X and Deep Throat. There had to be a way to clear Alex without betraying his recent role in Mulder life.

Thinking of Alex's reaction to Anson, Mulder was sure that he couldn't just get Alex out of this by accusing Anson. Krycek had become irrational at the suggestion that they turn Anson into clear his name. Although Mulder was sure that Anson had killed Spender, he wanted to know why. From the scene that Skinner described, Anson must have known Spender. Mulder felt it had to be a connection to the early childhood that Alex could not remember.

Logging into the FBI database, Mulder set up the search perimeters. Anson was not a common name. Between that and the clear physical description, Mulder was sure he could find a record for Alex's twin if he had one.

OooOooO

Back at Alex's hiding place in the historic home, Alex felt his skin crawl. He usually endured the necessity of cramped quarters better than this despite his experience in the silo. Although he had always been claustrophobic, a condition that had worsened after being left to die in the darkness, Alex had used behavior modification and desensitization to learn to combat his hysterical reactions to being confined in cramped quarters. His money had bought the services of a psychotherapist who could deliver the behavior modification he needed with no questions asked. Damned if Alex would allow a weakness that Spender and the other kindly old men could and would use against him. Still, he hated this inactivity and worried that Mulder would change his mind. Once Mulder was in the cool light of the FBI and in the company of Skinner and Scully, he would change his mind about helping Alex.

Alex wouldn't count on sexual attraction preventing Mulder from betraying him. Up to now, Alex's experiences were that the sooner a lover got what he or she wanted from him, the sooner they would betray him. If he let Mulder in his pants, the FBI agent wouldn't have any more reason to help him. Alex knew that was the way the world worked. Despite feeling that Mulder was different, somebody incredibly special, Alex didn't trust the man to continue to help him.

Anson stirred on the bed, waking with a whimper. He looked frightened and dangerous until his frantic eyes found Alex. He smiled when he saw him.

"You going to tell me who the hell you are? Why you look like me?" Alex said.

His twin gazed at him as if devouring him. Anson's hungry looks at Alex were familiar but didn't seem sexual. The guy was nuts, Alex decided.

"What did the bad man do to you that you don't remember me?" Anson asked.

"Why should I remember you?" Alex said. His head burned and he felt as if he needed to get as far away from Anson as he could. At the same time, Anson felt so familiar, like a missing part of him. Alex rejected the thought. If he could recover from losing his arm, he sure in hell did not need some lunatic as baggage.

"Man, he must have really worked a number on you," Anson replied. "You're my brother."

"Bullshit," Alex said. "Yeah, I see we look alike, but there are plenty of reasons why that could be. You're probably just some long forgotten cell sample that shouldn't be walking around on its own."

"If that's what you think, they have you on the wrong meds," Anson said. "You're my twin brother. You should remember that. I remember it perfectly. You have to remember Papa! You loved him just like I did. He was a fireman. I was going to be a fireman and you were going to be a cop. Don't you remember the time we ran away from Mom when Dad was working? We went to find the firehouse, but it was too far away. The nice policeman found us. We had ice cream and candy. The policeman gave us toy bears and we stayed with him until Papa came."

That all rang a bell now. Alex remembered that he had a bear at one point. Spender had taken it and thrown it in the fireplace, saying he wasn't a baby anymore. Alex had kept the one eye that had fallen on the floor and hadn't been burned. He still had it someplace.

Feeling sick, Alex asked, "So what happened? How did we get separated? What happened to our parents?"

"Our Papa died in a fire," Anson said, brushing away a tear. "Mama... Mama wasn't right in the head. Don't you remember?"

Nothing clicked in Alex's head, but he felt visceral fear, a bone deep terror in response to his brother's words. As hard as he tried, Alex couldn't recall any part of his early childhood.

"The man I killed used to visit Mama when Papa wasn't home. He was her father, but he wasn't like the grandfathers on the TV shows. He wasn't very nice," Anson said. "Papa didn't like him. He hated the cigarettes. After Papa died, Mama let the bad man take you. She wanted him to take me too, but the bad man said I was weak, not strong like you. He left and, after I didn't have you anymore, it wasn't safe. I had to...the man Mama married did very bad things to me, Alex. I had to do it."

"Do what, Anson?" Alex asked.

Before Anson could answer, the security monitor that Alex had installed blinked fiercely. Alex said, "Shit, someone's looking for us. I thought no one knew about this place. Anson, you need to do exactly what I say. Come on!"

OooOooO

Mulder put his glasses on after the first ten minutes of checking through the database. Although he had never met anyone named Anson, it was more common than he thought it was.

There was an Anson who was a teacher and musician in Portland, Oregon. Another worked with literacy projects. Yet another played professional hockey.

Finally, Mulder found the correct search terms and the screen brought up an Anson who was a dead ringer for Alex. Only this Anson had supposedly died in a fire at a state hospital for the criminally insane. The man had been suspected of shooting his mother and stepfather when he was eight. Too young to put on trial, the boy had been placed in a children's psychiatric hospital until pronounced cured as a teenager. He had managed to enlist in the marines, but was given a dishonorable discharge after assaulting a noncommissioned officer. He had disappeared into mediocrity for a brief time other than some interventions due to mental health episodes, followed by violations of a restraining order placed on him by his ex-wife. A few years ago, Anson had killed a cop. Later, still fleeing that charge, Anson Green had held an entire locked psychiatric ward hostage. After killing an attendant during the incident, Anson had been put on trial for the cop killing. He had collapsed in the holding area and had gone catatonic. Recently, the hospital had caught on fire. Several patients had died including supposedly Anson Green.

Mulder assumed it was a cover-up. The hospital was under investigation for safety violations and probably didn't want it known that a dangerous inmate had escaped. In any event, he knew who Anson Green was now.

Standing up, Mulder grabbed his coat. He had to get to Alex and protect him from Anson Green.

As Mulder pulled up to the historic house, he saw men in suits lingering outside. He had parked in an alley and as he hesitated, he heard a hiss and Alex's voice said, "Mulder, Mulder, let's go. Let's get the hell out of here."

Given the choice, Anson Green didn't seem as dangerous as the men stalking Alex. Mulder got back in the car as Alex and Anson jumped inside. He drove like hell.

Given the situation, his father's house was a poor choice for a hiding place, but Mulder couldn't think of anyplace else to go. Hopefully, no one would realize that Alex was with Mulder. As for Anson, well, he was with them and there was nothing Mulder could do about that for now.

OooOooO

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