Well, no-one ever said life was easy!
He was extra alert then, when finding his way back to his apartment. And
he was satisfied to note that certain markers he had left on the outside
of his apartment door were undisturbed. Nothing obvious, a hair stuck
across the join of door and frame, and the piece of paper stuck in the
crack of the door, next to the hinge. A careful rat lived to get even, a
fool didn't even get to first base. So he knew there could be no-one
in the apartment, and he was quite relaxed and cheerful, when he walked
in.
"Krycek!" Mulder's soft tones shocked him so much, he dropped the
cartons he was balancing on his prosthetic arm, and they slithered with
a sad crash, to the floor. Krycek swung round towards the sound, his
other hand reaching automatically for his gun. In the semi-darkness, he
couldn't see Mulder for a moment, then he made out the agent's outline
in a deep armchair near the window. "Leave the light off!" Mulder
sounded odd, there was something in his voice that Krycek couldn't
identify. Well at least he wasn't beating up the younger man this time.
Alex squinted in the dark room, trying to see if Mulder was pointing a
gun at him, but it was just too dark, and his eyes weren't quite
adjusted to the dim light in here yet.
It seemed safer to play the surprised, but harmless-at-the-moment, ex-
partner.
He put his gun away into its' holster and sank onto the couch opposite
Mulder. He still couldn't make out whether Mulder was holding a gun. He
gave a sudden chuckle. Hadn't he played this routine in Mulder's own
apartment, not so long ago. And got quite carried away at one point.
Well Mulder had looked so tempting, lying there like a pagan sacrifice,
as helpless and vulnerable as Krycek had ever seen him.
"You don't look like a Consortium assassin!" Alex said, trying to add a
note of humour to his voice. "You know that they're out there on the
streets tonight? Settling a few old scores!"
Mulder continued to sit silently for a few minutes, which Alex found a
little unnerving. Then he gave a pained little laugh. "Yeah! I kind of
figured that!" Alex sensed his scrutiny, though he sat in the darkest
corner of the room.
Alex persisted in trying to figure out what was on Mulder's mind. "How
did you get in anyway? I thought I had the place sealed, and you
certainly didn't come in through the front door! You come for any
particular reason, or is this just a social call?"
Another of those disturbing silences. "I don't remember how I got here.
But I came to ask you something." Alex quirked an eyebrow at his
unwelcome guest. "Did you kill my father, Krycek?"
That again. Would the man never give it a rest?
"You needn't answer Krycek. I know you did!"
Alex glared at Mulder. "Yeah, I did! The bastard deserved it for all the
things he did. And you know it! So go ahead and shoot me now, why don't
you? Or get out!"
"I haven't got a gun." Mulder's voice was little more than a whisper.
"And nothing's that simple any more, Krycek...."
Alex drew his gun again. "Get out before I use this. I don't want to
hurt you...." A sigh was the only response, and Mulder didn't move.
"Why are you still here? You want to fight me? Fuck you Mulder!"
"Krycek." Mulder sounded oddly resigned. "Don't you ever listen? It's
got more complicated tonight. I walked into my apartment and found three
assassins lying in wait..."
"You're looking for a place to hide? And you come to me? Mulder, you
must be crazy!"
"Krycek. Remember how I once swore never to rest until I brought my
father's killer to justice! Well I guess I'm never going to do that
now.... So you'll have to live with it for the rest of your life!"
"What?" Alex was confused by Mulder's abrupt change in subject.
"I'm not crazy Alex, I'm dead! And it looks like you're stuck with me!"
"Like hell!" Alex snarled. "I'm putting an end to this charade right
now!" He rose to his feet, and moved over to the light switch. Turning
towards Mulder, he flicked it on. And for the briefest moment, he was
looking at a transparent grey figure that sat in his armchair, watching
him resignedly. Then he was alone, in the middle of an empty apartment,
staring at an unoccupied void where his former partner had been. With a
yell of pure terror, Alex Krycek leapt for the door and fled, slamming
it behind him. And for the first time in an eternity, he didn't bother
to set his little safeguards.
Behind him, he didn't hear a soft sigh. Well no-one ever said death was
easy.....
It was impossible of course. Mulder couldn't be dead. Couldn't be lying
somewhere, his body wrecked by a hail of bullets. An odd little shiver
ran up Krycek's spine at the thought. Maybe Mulder had been
experimenting with holograms or something, and had decided to give him a
scare. The trick with the door markers was a good one though. He must
have had an accomplice to pull that off. So why did Krycek find himself
driving towards Mulder's apartment like a crazy man. And pulling in to
the side of the road to watch the ambulance crew loading the shrouded
body into a coroner's van. Scully was there, her eyes red with weeping,
and a grim faced Skinner was directing his subordinates. A flicker of
grey caught the corner of his eye.
"Told you!" A voice said irritatingly in his ear.
"Shit!" Alex nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned his head to stare
into the semi-transparent, grinning face of Fox Mulder. Only Fox Mulder
could actually enjoy a situation like this. Mulder leaned his elbow on
the side of the seat, seemingly able to interact with the world around
him a little. He rested his head on it and studied Krycek's face, which
was almost as pale as his own. Alex desperately came up with the only
question he could think of. "Why aren't you haunting my apartment
still?"
Another extremely irritating grin. "Because I'm haunting you Krycek.
Not very quick, are you!"
Anything Alex was about to say was interrupted by a knocking on his car
window. Krycek rolled it down and stared into the face of a cop.
"Can I ask you to move on sir! This is a crime scene." He looked
straight at Alex, and didn't even blink, as Mulder reached over, and
waved an investigative hand in front of the cop's face. Alex blanched
even further. "Are you all right sir?" The cop enquired. Alex tried to
keep his face straight as Mulder poked his hand into the cop's shoulder
and it passed straight through.
"Fascinating!" He said in his best Spock voice. "It seems to depend on
whether I want it to be solid or not. My hand doesn't go through the
seat like that!"
"Yes officer. I'll move on now." Alex hastily drove off, and found a
quiet spot in an alley. He turned off the ignition, and turned to look
at his unwelcome guest. "He didn't see you!"
"I'd guess you're the only one who can Krycek. Now isn't this an
interesting situation!"
With a yell of mingled anger and stress, Alex lunged at him, his one
fist swinging out to connect with Mulder's jaw. And it passed straight
through the ghost at his side, and impacted with the metal strut along
the edge of the car window.
Alex howled in pain, and protectively clutched his hand to his chest.
"Having a good day Krycek? Mine was worse. Still, we've got all the time
in the world to discuss it, so I think I'll be kind, and give you some
time to cool off. See 'ya later." With that, the ghost faded into
nothing.
Alex leaned his head against the steering wheel, and closed his eyes.
Some part of him felt oddly desolate.
Alex Krycek drove round for most of the night, then finally decided to
do what he should have done days ago, when he first heard about the
Consortium hit squad. He would do a quick run to his apartment, collect
his stuff, then head for the hills. Or in his case, a motel somewhere.
With his luck at the moment, Norman Bates would run the place.
He pulled up in the alley next to his apartment block, then hurriedly
dashed up the fire escape. He didn't want to be in this damned town any
longer than necessary, and maybe if he put some distance between him and
Mulder's.... corpse...., his little problem would go away. The
alternative was to check himself into a quiet little sanatorium
somewhere, and explain to a sympathetic doctor how his dead ex-partner
was following him around, because the stress of his job as an assassin.
He reached into his pocket for the key to his apartment, and extended it
towards the lock. He remembered that he hadn't set any safeguards, but
it was too late to worry about that now. And for once, his mind wasn't
focused entirely on survival.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Mulder's voice sounded softly next
to his ear. Damn him! Why did he have to keep doing that! Alex Krycek's
nerves were rapidly becoming shredded. He turned to snarl a reply at the
annoying phantom, and heard a clatter and a muffled curse from inside
the door.
"Shut up, you idiot!" A man hissed to his unseen companion. "I tell you,
that was his car that went past! He'll be here soon!" Alex Krycek cast a
frightened look at Mulder, who shrugged.
"They weren't as careless earlier!" He leaned forward, and his head and
shoulders passed through the door. "Looks like the same three that got
me. You'd be better off, if you ran off and hid, like always." He
sounded bitter.
"Fuck you!" Alex mouthed the curse silently, then knocked at the door
and flung himself to one side, as a hail of bullets sounded, blasting
splintered holes in the door.. It crashed open and an assassin emerged,
gun ready. Alex shot him in the head, then flung himself through the
opening, his body low down and close to the floor. He was quite
economical with his bullets, he moved so fast that he only needed one
shot to finish each of the other men.
Mulder looked impressed, despite himself. "You just crazy, or you
feeling suicidal tonight?" he muttered.
"I thought you were the one keen on justice," Krycek retorted. He flung
some stuff into a bag, then headed towards his car. "You coming, or you
want to stay here and kick their ghostly asses?" A flicker of surprise
crossed Mulder's face, then he shrugged and followed.
Alex Krycek drove through the night, and ended up in the proverbial
roach central. His companion was silent, and as the sun came up, he
gradually seemed to fade into the brightening air, and eventually
disappeared. Alex Krycek found himself breathing a sigh of relief. A
Mulder he couldn't beat up on, with his wiseass remarks and weird sense
of humour, was definitely way down on his list as a choice of companion.
He was so tired that he had absolutely no trouble getting to sleep. And
woke up ten hours later, clear headed and with the memory of the oddest
dream. Alright, so Mulder was dead. He felt a momentary sadness. But why
had his mind conjured up Mulder's ghost. Surely he didn't care that
much? He felt a lot better after he had showered and shaved, and had a
big breakfast. Then he moved on, heading towards the address of a
contact from his Consortium days, about fifteen miles away, who owed him
a favour, and would tell him how the power struggle had played out.
It was just growing dark when he arrived. Keeping his gun ready, he
entered the building through a window, and snuck into the kitchen behind
his ex-lover and former friend, Danny. He pointed his gun at the young
man's head. "Danny! How's life treating you?" The smaller man turned,
startled, and winced when he saw the gun Krycek held to his head.
"Alex! I heard you were still alive. A lot of people were expecting you
to go out in the first round!"
"Yeah well, you know what they say about rats. They get to survive when
a ship sinks!"
"I've missed you Alex! No one was ever as good as you." The young man
slid his arms round Krycek, feeling the stiffness of his muscles. "Relax
Alex. There's no-one here but us. How about it, for old time's sake?"
His fingers slipped under Alex's shirt, feeling the firm muscles of his
waist. Alex was tempted so much. Danny had always been enthusiastic and
athletic in bed. And Alex felt so empty. He leaned forward and wrapped
his one arm around Danny's body, pulling him close, and kissed him. He
buried his face in the dark hair, wishing desperately for a moment of
peace in the storm.
Danny was more than enthusiastic. After all, compared to some of the men
he had tried to please for the Consortium, Alex was a veritable banquet.
Alex could understand that. Before he had lost his arm, his services had
been in demand for the same cause. Thankfully, one armed men found that
there wasn't a great demand for their bodies as high class bait, the
only plus his injury had brought. Alex closed his eyes and sighed as
Danny slithered down his body, ending up on his knees. There was no love
in it, of course, but Danny, like him, understood the system of favours.
Please Alex, and gain advantage when he moved up in the world.
Danny pulled down Krycek's zipper, and pulled out his already engorged
cock. Well, it had been a long time. He busily applied his mouth to
the swollen head of his prize, licking the pre-ejaculate
enthusiastically. Alex groaned in pleasure. Then Danny deep throated
him, the mouth that had brought countless targets an expert dose of
pleasure, before they found out how stupid they had been when the
photographs landed on their desks. And tonight the young man was all
his. He couldn't deny the thrilling sense of power the sex brought, but
that too was one of Danny's special illusions.
He began to thrust urgently into the luscious mouth, and as he did so,
his partner squeezed down on him, wringing a gasp from his mouth as his
eyes flew open. And he saw Mulder there, his own eyes wide with
disbelief, as the ghost watched him have sex. If a ghost could have
blushed, Mulder would be crimson with embarrassment. In fact, Mulder
looked like a frightened virgin who had just discovered that the big bad
wolf didn't just want to eat her. A background in Russia occasionally
threw thoughts like that into his head. Mulder's eyes locked with his,
then Alex was coming explosively, his fingers wound in Danny's hair, as
the younger man brought him to merciful release.
After that he and Danny went into the bedroom, and began to tug each
others clothes off. Idly, Alex wondered if Mulder would follow them and
watch. Maybe he would learn something else new that night. That thought
brought a shiver of uncertainty to him, it was somehow so tempting, yet
contemptible too. Then his lover pulled him down, and distracted him
from those disturbing thoughts. And because Alex had been alone for so
long, the desire that welled up inside him could not be denied. For just
a few hours, he would have this.
Hours later, Alex lay in Danny's bed, the younger man sleeping next to
him quietly, Alex's one arm wrapped round his waist. Once, during the
night, as he had buried himself deep within his lover's body, Alex had
seen a flickering grey shape in the doorway. Alex found himself feeling
oddly guilty. Sure, the sex with Danny had been good. He made sure that
the younger man enjoyed himself, when Alex fucked him. Which probably
set him apart from most of the man's other partners. Not that it was
anything but a means of gratification for him. But he just knew Mulder
would have a sarcastic comment ready.....
He did, and he made an appearance when Alex slipped to the bathroom in
the early morning.
"I've got to admit, I never knew that about you, Krycek!" What Alex
heard in Mulder's voice was more puzzlement, rather than anything else.
"That you got your kicks out of using someone like that! No wonder you
fitted in so well with the Consortium." For the first time since he had
been shot, Mulder looked perturbed. "I thought you were better than
that...."
"Shut the fuck up, you damned voyeur. You didn't have to watch us, you
could have faded out, or whatever you do to go away. Or maybe you just
wanted to get a little entertainment watching me?"
Mulder glared at him, anger making his eyes shine.
"What you choose to do for cheap sex is your own business, Krycek, but I
don't exactly have a choice here. I have to stay near you. I've tried
to go away, but I can't! I just wondered if you had to pay him
afterwards, that's all!"
"Shut up!" Alex flushed red in fury.
Mulder gave a cold smile. "Make me!"
"Alex?" Danny walked into the bathroom, naked and blinking the sleep out
of his eyes. "Who're you talking to?"
Alex shook his head. "No-one!" Danny stared at him, evidently wondering
whether he had lost his mind. Not uncommon in his profession. The two of
them got ready in silence, Danny obviously picking up on the older man's
moodiness. Danny made a few phone calls after breakfast, and came back
grinning. Evidently there was good news on the way. Mulder just sat
watching Alex unnervingly, all the time he was eating, occasionally
making some barbed comment that Alex did his best to ignore.
Damn Alex Krycek! When had his feelings towards the man ever been so
confused? Alex had stunned him last night, when he had started to kiss
the young man. Alex, gay? And what he had done with the all too willing
Danny after that! Mulder had watched his share of porn films over the
years, but he had never considered taking part in that particular form
of recreational sex. It had been quite an education in many ways.
Stunning, in fact, maybe because it had been Alex Krycek that was doing
it.
But what had bothered him more than anything else had been the barely
disguised boredom and contempt on the younger man's face when Alex
wasn't looking at him. The sort of look a whore reserves for his/her
clients. Mulder had felt disgust for Danny. Couldn't Alex see what he
was? Or did Alex know, and just use Danny anyway?
"The Boss won out, Alex. He wants to see us both as soon as possible. He
has promotion in mind for one of us, I think." Alex saw Mulder rise to
his feet, a look of sudden interest on his face. Of course, he would
want to know all the things that were kept secret by the men who had
arranged his death. But something in the way Danny said that last part
made him feel a slight unease. If his boss had arranged for Alex to be
targeted, then he now knew exactly where to find him, thanks to Danny.
He turned to the younger man.
"I'm sorry. I have to go now. I don't feel safe here We can meet up
later!" He turned to leave, and saw Mulder's face suddenly light up in
warning. Instinct took over, and he flung himself to one side, so the
iron only crashed into his good shoulder, not his head. Danny had chosen
who he would be loyal to, and his bosses future plans didn't include one
Alex Krycek.. Through the white hot agony that told him he had broken
something, Alex moved, using his left leg in a classic martial arts kick
to Danny's stomach. A follow up caught the smaller man under the chin,
and crushed the cartilage of his throat. Then he stared at his lover's
body, and for a moment Mulder saw a sense of desolation reflected in the
green eyes.
"Why do they all die?" Alex whispered.
Mulder had seen the younger Consortium man suddenly pick up a weighty
iron and swing it at Krycek's head, and his F.B.I. instincts had taken
over. His attempt to warn Krycek had only been partially successful, but
it was enough to save Krycek's thrice damned life. And as the rat
bastard had staggered towards his car, and Mulder felt the inevitable
pull that always drew him after Alex, he wondered at his own motives.
Why had he saved Krycek, when he felt such hatred for him sometimes?
Twice now! Because he was a fool, of course.
Somehow Alex made it out to the car, through the waves of blackness, and
found his way back to the motel. Struggling with his prosthetic arm to
pull off his shirt took about fifteen minutes of pure agony. He stared
dully at the purple contusion marking his skin. He guessed that his
collar or shoulder bones were broken. Dizzy with pain, he fumbled some
Tylenol into his mouth and lay on the bed. As he drifted into a pain
filled sleep, Mulder's face seemed to swim before his eyes. Strangely,
he looked concerned. But when had Mulder ever treated him with anything
but contempt?
"You're dead. Go away!" he mumbled.
"And you're in trouble Alex."
"Yeah. Tell me something I don't know," Alex whispered. "God, I feel so
dizzy....." His voice trailed away as sleep claimed the exhausted
Krycek. Mulder stared in consternation at the white faced young man.
Slowly, he reached out and trailed his fingers over Krycek's hair,
tousled and messed up by the fight. To his surprise, it stirred faintly
under his hand, as if a breeze was ruffling it.
So he could affect the physical world, if he wanted to enough!
He froze, reconsidering what had just gone through his mind. Why did he
want, so much, to touch Alex? It was probably just that he was suffering
from a lack of human contact. Wasn't it?
Yeah, sure. What else could it be?
Mulder looked at the younger man's face, even now, shadowed with pain.
In his sleep Krycek was curiously vulnerable, he looked innocent and
insecure. The big, bad Consortium assassin moaned restlessly, and a
shiver ran through him.
He looked so pathetically wretched and lost, in fact.
"Alex, you idiot!" Krycek didn't hear the note of anxiety and regret in
Mulder's words. "Don't worry Krycek. I'll watch your back. I don't have
much else to do at the moment."
Krycek and Mulder (Deceased)
by Megaera
It was a normal sort of evening for Alex Krycek. That is, if any evening
can be, for a less than honest former Consortium assassin who was
permanently on the run from his enemies. As he walked towards his dingy
apartment building, he was anticipating a carton of Chinese food and a
baseball game repeated on the t.v. It had been a long time since Alex
had felt comfortable around strangers, so live sport wasn't the sort of
entertainment he preferred. At least not the batting kind. He wouldn't
call his state of mind at the moment depressed. He had lived a lonely
existence for so long that he was accustomed to it by now. If he was
very lucky and very safe, he would risk the occasional night of sex with
a stranger. It gave his body release, but seldom gave him any sense of
fulfilment. Not tonight though. The word was that there was a shake up
coming, and certain parties may not live to see the weekend out. Krycek
nourished the secret hope that a certain cigarette smoker might fall
prey to the assassins he knew would be on the move.
