Well Kept 3: Metal and Bone
Author: Mice
Email: just_us_mice@yahoo.com
Category: LGM, Doggett/Byers 
Rating: NC-17
Summary: After Doggett and Byers return from New York, our 
Agent brings an X File to the Gunmen. Things go terribly 
wrong.
Archive: Basement, Lone Slasher, Countermeasures, XFMU, LGM 
Fanfic Bunker, Glass Onion, FHSA, WWOMB, all others ask.
Feedback: Feed me, Seymour!
Website: Mice's Hole in the Wall -- 
https://www.squidge.org/mice
Mirror: http://mice.inkpress.org

Spoilers: Do they even have those anymore? JTS does NOT 
exist.
Disclaimer: We deserve 'em more than CC does. They still 
belong to him, though.
Author's Notes: This is AU for the XF universe. Mulder wasn't 
dead when he got back, and he's medically retired from the 
FBI now. Scully was never pregnant. This series departs from 
canon/timeline about the time Mulder was abducted. Thanks to 
Amazon X, SallyH, CaroDee, and Reyes-beta SciFiNerdGrl for 
beta help above & beyond the call of duty.

LONE GUNMEN OFFICES
TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND
MID-AFTERNOON

"So, Byers," Langly asked, "how's it feel to be a kept man?"

Byers rolled his eyes and sighed, vaguely annoyed. "Well, 
I'll get to dress a little better anyway. It's not like you 
guys were keeping me in a style to which I'd like to become 
accustomed." At least they'd waited until he gave them the 
information about Rohrer before the harassment started.

"Yeah, but having to put out on demand?" Frohike shook his 
head.

Byers grinned an evil grin. He crossed his arms over his 
chest and leaned back into his chair. "That's not what's 
going on, and don't tell me you wouldn't do it for Scully."

"Oh, low blow, Byers, low blow." Frohike scowled at him.

"Yeah, and Dogbert's no Scully," Langly snorted.

"What makes you think I'd want him to be?" Byers asked, 
eyebrow arched.

Jimmy watched as the conversation shot back and forth around 
him.

"What the hell do you see in him anyway?" Frohike asked. "I 
mean, aside from the money and the decent clothes?"

"Amazing sex?" Byers offered, "Broadway shows? Good food?"

"Well, aside from that?" Langly asked.

Byers laughed. "He's been good to me. I mean, trust is hard, 
but he really has treated me well."

Frohike shook his head again. "Mister clenched jaw and a buzz 
cut? Sorry. I just can't see it."

"I think he doesn't want other people to see it," Byers said. 
"No matter what he says about it, he doesn't want to be outed 
at work."

"He's, like, got a pole terminally shoved up his ass," Langly 
said.

"Sometimes," Byers said. "Besides, you can't tell me Skinner 
isn't that way. Anyway, he's not like that when we're alone."

"No," Frohike said, grinning like some perverted demon, "then 
he's got a pole shoved up your ass."

Byers blushed bright red. "Can we not go there please?"

"Uh, guys --" Jimmy started.

Langly looked over at him. "Byers is datin' Doggett, dude."

"Well yeah, I got that part," Jimmy said. "But why are you 
giving him such a hard time about it?"

"It's Doggett who's giving him the hard time," Frohike 
smirked.

Jimmy frowned as Byers' blush intensified. "Really, Frohike. 
Can't you guys lay off just a little?" He turned to Byers. 
"You look pretty tired."

Byers nodded. "I was up late last night, and up too early 
this morning because we had to catch the plane."

Langly bared his teeth in a wise-ass grin. "Yeah, and I can 
bet on why you were up late, too."

Byers sighed. This was getting old -- and embarrassing -- 
very quickly. "How much do I tease you about Walter, Langly?"

Langly laughed. "Not much now, but you sure gave me hell at 
the beginning."

Langly had him there. He had, in fact, given him just as much 
shit as Frohike had when Langly began seeing the Assistant 
Director for things other than hacking consults about the X 
Files division. This was probably just karmic retribution, or 
something equally ludicrous.

"Look, guys, I think I need some lunch." Byers rose from his 
chair, rubbing his eyes. "I'll see you in a little bit."

"Aw, come on Byers. We're just giving you shit," Langly said. 
He stood and slid an arm around Byers' shoulders. "You look 
too tired to drive. I'll take you."

Byers sighed and nodded. In private, Langly was less likely 
to poke him about it, and he really did feel too tired to 
drive the old VW microbus. He wanted to talk to Langly 
anyway. "Okay."

"Denny's?"

Byers chuckled to himself. Back to reality, where he was 
broke and lived in a warehouse. "Yeah. That's fine. Thanks."

"Can I go too?" Jimmy asked, starting for the door with them.

Frohike grabbed Jimmy's wrist. "No way, kid. I have work for 
you here." He shooed Langly and Byers out the door with a 
motion of his hand behind Jimmy's back.

Once they were in the van, Langly asked, "So how long has 
this been going on? It must have been a while, if he's taking 
you away for a weekend in New York and shit like that. I 
mean, why didn't you tell us?"

"About a month."

"That's it?" Langly blinked and stared at him as he started 
up the microbus. "When the hell have you two had time to do 
much of anything in the last month, John? And what's he doing 
taking you off for some expensive vacation and buying you 
stuff like that suit, when you've only been together for that 
long?" Langly pulled out of the alley into the street.

"I was pretty surprised, too, Ree."

Langly kept his eyes on the road. "Are you sure you're okay 
with all this? With Dogbert and the way he's treating you? 
How fast this is moving?"

Byers thought for a while, watching the passing buildings. He 
kept an eye on the traffic as well, checking for tails. "I 
think so."

"You're not sure." 

"No, I'm not," Byers said, shaking his head. "Will you stop 
asking me those questions?" He paused for a moment. "How did 
you learn to trust Walter?" he asked. "We both know the kind 
of messes he's been in, the compromises he's had to make."

Langly sighed. "It took a while. Mostly it was just getting 
used to each other, really. There was a lot of talking before 
we started playing with the serious stuff." He cast a quick 
glance at Byers, concerned. "Is that what you guys are doing, 
playing?"

Byers nodded.

"You really are moving a lot faster than I'd have expected, 
dude." Langly turned back to the road ahead of them. "Like, 
be careful, okay?"

"You know I am," Byers said.

"How many times you guys been... well... you know?"

"Ree!"

"Hey, it's a legit question. Like I said, it took a while for 
me and Walter to get past the whole negotiation thing."

Byers looked away, vaguely embarrassed. "Twice." He glanced 
back over at Langly.

Langly blinked. "Twice? Like, before he took you to New 
York?"

"No. That includes New York."

Byers could see Langly blanch. 

"You mean he took you to New York and bought you that fuckin' 
Armani for your *second fuck*?" Langly shook his head in 
disbelief. "Jesus, John, what's next? A trip to Amsterdam and 
a ring?"

Byers' mouth hung open for a moment. Composing himself again, 
he said, "It's not like that, Ree, and it's not like we're 
playing the kind of games you and Walter do. I'm having a 
hard time with all this. With trusting him. With... with 
being treated like I'm sane and rational."

"You've been playing with him. You let him haul you off to 
another state for a long weekend. That sounds pretty trusting 
to me." Langly turned the microbus into the Denny's parking 
lot. "How long after you started seeing each other did that 
happen, anyway?"

Byers blushed. "The first time," he said quietly. Logically, 
he knew he'd taken reasonable precautions but in looking back 
on it, he could see how it might appear reckless, even 
foolhardy. 

Langly parked the microbus and slammed the emergency brake 
handle up. "The first time?" Langly's eyes went wide. "I 
don't... what the hell got into you? You're not like that. 
You fell real hard for Modeski, but you didn't shag her."

"It wasn't likely that he'd hurt me, Ree, and I really don't 
want to talk about Susanne. You know that was an entirely 
different situation."

"Well why didn't you say anything to us? You should have at 
least let me know so I could get you some backup if anything 
bad went down. You know better than to take off and play 
somewhere with somebody you barely know without taking 
precautions, dude."

"It wasn't at his place, or anywhere dangerous," Byers said. 
"It wasn't really heavy stuff. And you guys were gonna be 
home in a few hours. It wasn't like I was taking a big risk."

"When was this, anyway?" Langly grimaced, annoyed.

Byers reached for the door handle. "You remember the night 
you and Frohike did that funky poach for the TREYNOR file?"

Langly stared at Byers, eyes even wider, then just shook his 
head. "Man, I never even guessed. You must really be falling 
for him, dude." He opened the door and got out. Byers 
followed closely as they went into Denny's and got seats. 
Nothing further was said about the situation until after 
their orders were in.

Byers shook his head. "I think it's more just... a matter of 
convenience, really. It's just the sex."

"I kinda doubt that, if he's treating you like this." Langly 
paused. "You just let him tie you up?" he finally asked.

Byers nodded. "Yeah, but he was careful. Nothing happened 
that I didn't want."

"If you didn't trust him, you wouldn't have let him do that. 
I know you. Don't lie to yourself. "

"There's more to trust than that, and you know it."

Langly sighed and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But, really, 
there's more goin' on here than you think, John. It ain't 
just sex."

"He's a decent man, Ree. I know I can trust him with my body; 
that's the easy part. It's not like he needs any scandals 
around him, and you know as well as I do that he needs our 
help with the X Files. Kersh is gunning for him as it is. 
It's... it's just..." Byers reached out and brushed his 
fingers over the back of Langly's hand. A soft, momentary 
touch, it was over as quickly as it began. "I don't know if 
I'll ever be able to trust anyone as much as I trust you and 
Mel."

They looked at each other for a long moment, both of them 
sharing private regrets.

"It's hard, ain't it?" Langly asked.

Byers nodded.

"He's treating you okay, then?"

The two leaned back from the table a bit as their food 
arrived. Once the waitress was gone, they resumed their 
conversation.

Byers smiled softly for an instant, then lowered his eyes. 
"Yeah, he's been good to me, and could you just lay off with 
the paranoia? I'm not some 18-year-old kid, Ree. I don't need 
a babysitter or a chaperone. He's been careful and respectful 
and hasn't pushed to try to make me do anything I haven't 
wanted to." 

"You're not just saying that 'cuz of the suit, right?"

Byers looked up and pinned Langly with an annoyed glare. "I 
resent the implication that I'm that shallow, Ringo."

"Sorry, dude. I just worry about you sometimes. I guess I 
don't wanna see you get into this over your head. Besides, I 
thought I was gonna have to buy you a polyester tie to go 
with that thing." Langly's face twisted as he tried to 
suppress a grin.

Byers snorted. "Polyester! God, Ree, that's a mortal sin." He 
started in on his sandwich.

"Like, you think you wanna stay with him?" Langly asked 
through a mouthful of burger.

"Stay with him? That's a little premature, don't you think? 
I'm not sure what I want," Byers said, "and it's way too soon 
to be asking a question like that." He took a breath. "But 
I've been alone for a long time." They looked into each 
other's eyes.

Langly swallowed his mouthful. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We knew what we were doing when we decided it 
would be this way."

Langly nodded. "Yeah, but still..."

"I'll certainly be seeing him again, but from what he's said, 
nothing really seems to last for him. And you know the lousy 
luck I've always had." Byers sighed and poked at his salad 
with his fork. "I figure I'll just enjoy it while it lasts, 
you know? After this, who knows how long it'll be before I 
meet anyone again. Who would want me, anyway?"

"Someday it'll be right for you, John. And, like, I think 
anybody with a brain would want you. You'll find somebody; 
you're a decent guy. I mean, it worked out with me and 
Walter, and you know how much everybody laughed about that at 
first."

Byers gave a small, ironic chuckle. "That's true, but you 
guys went into it looking for more than just somebody to play 
with." 

Ringo and Walter had seemed like the least likely combination 
he could have imagined when things started out between them. 
Langly's fascination with the burly, bald Assistant Director 
had seemed more like a farce than a potential relationship. 
Byers had never believed that Walter Skinner would give 
Langly anything more than the time of day, unless he wanted 
some hacking done. Then again, Byers still couldn't believe 
he'd just spent an astonishingly good weekend with John 
Doggett. Stranger things than these were constantly happening 
in their lives.

He closed his eyes and let his mind drift back over the best 
parts of the weekend.

"Yo, Byers, eat your sandwich before the cheese congeals, 
dude."

Byers blinked and looked down at his plate. Langly was almost 
done eating, and, yes, the cheese in his sandwich was 
starting to develop that telltale plasticky look of the 
almost-too-cold.

"You look like you're half asleep," Langly said.

Byers stretched, yawning. "I think you're right. I'm tired." 
He was barely keeping his eyes open, even after having 
consumed two cups of bad coffee with lunch.

"Finish that up so we can go home already."

Byers looked at the sandwich and picked it up. The next time 
he looked back at his plate, it was gone. He had no idea when 
he'd eaten it.

Langly hassled him at the counter about who was going to pay. 
They split the bill. Byers was unsurprised, and too tired to 
argue much.

Back in the microbus, Langly asked, "So what kinda stuff did 
you do over the weekend?"

Byers looked over at Langly. "He took me to a club."

"In the scene?" 

Byers nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"Which one?"

Byers shook his head. "I don't think you'd know it. It was a 
private club. Seemed pretty exclusive. Lots of rich guys."

Langly's eyebrows vanished into his hairline. "Did you, like, 
know anybody else there?"

"Not really, no," Byers said. 

"You went to a private club with him, where he was the only 
person you knew? You guys were only watching the scenes, 
right?"

"Well, we played a little, but it... it was safe. 
Controlled." Byers swallowed, distracted, remembering Doggett 
and Brentali touching him, and the men watching them. He 
could still feel their hands on his skin, the hot, damp 
traces of their mouths.

Langly stared at him hard for a moment, then looked back to 
the street, jamming on the brakes before he ran the red 
light. They were both thrown forward against their seatbelts.

"You might try watching the road, Langly," Byers snapped.

"Jesus Christ, John." Langly shook his head, ignoring the 
blaring horn behind them.

Byers was convinced that one of two things was happening. 
Either he was suicidally insane and stupid because he was 
horny, which seemed to be Langly's impression, or he really 
did trust Doggett more than he realized. Much as it scared 
him, he hoped it was the latter. 

He genuinely believed that Doggett could be trusted with his 
body. Doggett had demonstrated that. He'd shown he could keep 
a promise, that he would be there if things got a little 
weird after a scene. The way Doggett had treated him after 
the club Friday, then Saturday morning, left him feeling a 
little more certain of himself and his situation. 

"Any other stupid shit I should know about?" Langly asked, 
getting the van into gear again as the light went green.

Byers snorted, irritated. "No, I think that's all for 'stupid 
shit'. We went to see the Statue of Liberty and the New York 
Public Library. We saw The Cloisters and went for a walk in 
Central Park, then he took me to see 'Cabaret'. We ate at a 
bunch of fancy, expensive restaurants. He bought me a suit."

Langly seemed somewhat mollified by the mundane list of 
tourist activities. "You know, Byers, you're either a total 
moron, or you've got something good goin' and you just don't 
realize it." He cracked the crooked half-smile Byers liked so 
much, then chuckled. "For your sake, I hope it's the good 
thing."

"So do I."

***

Home at last, Byers crawled into his small bed, alone. Though 
he'd napped on the plane, it hadn't been restful, and he was 
grateful for the chance to sleep now. He fell asleep quickly.

His dreams were erotic. 

He could feel the weight of his Master's body on his back, 
feel Doggett enter him, taking him with strong, slow strokes. 
It was hot and intense. He heard Doggett whispering desire in 
his ear. He tossed restlessly on the bed, moaning quietly. 

Brentali was there too, watching. 

The Italian was naked before him, arousing and magnificent. 
There was dark, curly, graying hair on his chest. His cock 
was standing high and hard. He held Byers' bound wrists, his 
grip tight and powerful. 'Suck, boy,' he ordered. Doggett 
kept the slow, intense pace he'd set. Their hands were on him 
everywhere; scratching, pinching, tugging his hair, stroking 
his cock, twisting his nipples, caressing his skin. He could 
taste Brentali's hot shaft, smell his musk. He swallowed him 
deep, desperate for more.

Byers could see himself from near the bed as they took him. 
He watched the two men fuck him, restrain and dominate him. 
Seeing and feeling it at the same time aroused him utterly. 
It was exquisite.

'You're mine, Johnny,' Doggett whispered fiercely in his ear. 
'Mine.'

"Master," he mumbled in his sleep.

'I own you, slut.' Doggett's voice was harsh. Byers' Master 
thrust harder into his body, the thick shaft filling him with 
every rough, deep stroke. Brentali pumped faster in his 
mouth. Byers gasped, near the edge. 'Take it, slave,' Doggett 
rumbled, fucking him hard and fast. 'You want it. You want to 
be taken. You want to be mine. Beg for it.'

Byers heard himself plead with them for more, though his 
throat was still full with Brentali's long, slender cock. His 
Master and the Maestro answered his need with incredible 
force, pain and pleasure twined in a rich, wanton mix. He 
looked into his own glazed, half-closed blue eyes, overcome 
with bliss and desire.

With a muffled grunt, Byers came, then slid below the 
threshold of dream.

*** 

DOGGETT RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
THREE DAYS LATER, EVENING

Doggett heard the wheezing VW microbus pull up near his 
house. Byers had called earlier in the day, asking to come 
over and talk to him. He refused to discuss anything on the 
phone, only insisting that it was urgent, and extremely 
important. Doggett suspected it had something to do with 
Rohrer, but, considering how many pies the Gunmen had their 
fingers in, it could have been just about anything. When he 
got home from work, he'd tucked a condom into his pocket, 
just in case. Lube had gone into a drawer in the living room 
for easy access.

A moment later, he heard Byers come up the front steps and 
opened the door to him. Byers looked around, then ducked 
inside. Doggett opened his mouth to ask what the visit was 
about but Byers put a finger to his lips, gesturing for 
silence. He went to the front window and drew the curtains 
closed, then pulled an electronic device out of his pocket 
and started checking the living room.

He watched as Byers scanned silently for several minutes, 
then sighed. The tension in the bearded man's body melted 
visibly away. "I think it's safe to talk now," Byers said.

"Okay, what's the big hush-hush?"

Byers sat on the couch. "The guys and I have been running 
down info on Knowle Rohrer since we got back."

Doggett nodded, taking a seat next to him. "Sorta figured 
this would be about him. What did you find?"

"Apparently, there *is* some sort of super soldier operation 
happening in New York City," Byers said. "It has something to 
do with the TREYNOR files we found for you last month. We're 
not sure what yet. Details have been very hard to come by, 
and we're not sure who the players are yet. We've got an 
approximate location, though not an exact address. Langly's 
pretty sure it's on the docks in Queens, and that to get much 
more, we'd have to find and crack the facility and do the 
hack from inside. It would require a pretty complicated funky 
poaching expedition. My guess is that this is why Rohrer was 
tailing us. He may have believed we were onto the facility 
and looking for it."

Byers pulled a disc from his jacket pocket. "What we found is 
all right here. You need to look at it."

"Am I gonna be able to understand what's on here?" Doggett 
asked.

"Probably, but if you need help interpreting it..." Byers 
said. 

Doggett took the disc from him, their fingers touching as it 
passed between their hands. He saw Byers close his eyes for a 
moment and shiver minutely. He smiled to himself. "Yeah," he 
said. "You should stay in case I need any help. I was pretty 
lost in the TREYNOR files until you guys explained some of it 
to me."

"I thought that might be the case," Byers said. A smile 
crossed his lips. 

Doggett took a slow, deep breath. Damn, Byers looked good. 
He'd found he had missed the man's quiet presence in the last 
few days, wanted him around more often. The more he got to 
know Byers, the better he liked him. He wondered if Byers was 
in the mood to play, or if he'd only come to discuss the 
files. He slipped into his Dom role for a moment to see if 
Byers would respond. "Get us a couple beers from the fridge, 
Johnny."

Byers nodded. "Yes, Sir." He rose and went off to the 
kitchen. Doggett grinned and pulled the lube from the drawer 
where he'd put it earlier.

He went into the dining room and booted his laptop. He didn't 
want to take the disc to his office upstairs unless he had 
to. This was a more casual, comfortable atmosphere, and there 
was more room for both of them to look at the screen. He 
heard the hiss and clink of opening bottles, and it wasn't 
long before Byers found him.

"Here, Jack," Byers said, handing him one of the cold 
bottles. He took a sip as Doggett watched him, then leaned 
one hip against the table. Byers crossed his arms over his 
chest, the bottle dangling from one hand.

"Thanks," Doggett said. He was having a hard time focusing on 
their work with Byers standing next to him like that. The 
man's slender frame was a powerful distraction. He took a sip 
from his beer and set it on the table. "Come here," he said.

Byers swallowed, licking his lips, then nodded and set his 
beer down. He stepped forward. Doggett took him in his arms 
and heard Byers' almost inaudible sigh as his sub's arms slid 
around his waist.

"You wanted this, didn't you?" Doggett asked.

Byers nodded against Doggett's shoulder.

"You could have come over any time, you know," Doggett said. 
He stroked Byers' back gently with his fingertips.

"We were too busy," Byers said. "This occupied pretty much 
all our waking time over the last three days. It was a tough 
hack. The information was tightly guarded and we had to be 
really careful. It was too important to let slide. We pushed 
back this week's publication by two days in order to get the 
work done."

Doggett nodded. "Yeah, I understand." He nuzzled Byers' hair, 
then ran his lips along the curve of Byers' ear. Byers 
shivered. He held the slight man tighter, heart beating 
faster. It was making him hard. "God, what you do to me," he 
whispered.

Byers rumbled "Mmmmmmm," and raised his face to Doggett's. 
Their lips met and they kissed slowly, with growing heat. 
Byers tasted slightly of bitter hops and alcohol, but it was 
good. Doggett pinned his hips against the table, and put his 
weight into Byers' body. They ground together slowly for 
endless minutes, breath coming faster.

Byers pulled back. "You really need to look at these files," 
he said, breathless.

"It can wait half an hour, " Doggett said. "Can you stay 
tonight?"

He could feel Byers' pulse quicken at the question.

"I- No. I'd like to, but I can't," Byers said. "Not tonight. 
There's too much work left to do if we're going to get this 
week's issue out, and I'd never hear the end of it when I got 
home."

"You *will* spare the half hour, though, right?" Doggett 
asked, a demanding edge in his voice.

Byers nodded, smiling. There was excitement and arousal in 
his eyes. "Of course, Sir. It would be my pleasure."

Doggett grinned. "That's what I want to hear." His hands slid 
along Byers' back and sides, taking in the lines and curves 
of Byers' muscles. He'd wanted this since they'd returned 
home. The few nights they'd spent together hadn't been 
enough. Thrusting his hips against Byers' trapped body, he 
took his mouth again, kissing deeper this time.

Byers moaned into his mouth, hands moving along Doggett's 
body, pulling his hips into him. Byers' hands on his ass felt 
good and he held the man tight. They were panting together, 
and Doggett wished Byers had more time. He leaned back a 
little and pulled the knot from Byers' tie, still pinning him 
against the table. Byers leaned his weight back on his hands, 
eyes half closed, lips parted. Doggett felt a tightness in 
his chest, heart hammering.

He tossed Byers' tie aside and started unbuttoning the man's 
shirt. He wanted to feel skin under his hands, but was 
frustrated when he found Byers was wearing an undershirt.

"You're wearin' too many clothes," he grumbled, raking the 
fingers of one hand down the center of Byers' still concealed 
chest. Byers whimpered and tilted his head back, exposing his 
throat. Doggett leaned in, taking the soft, hot skin into his 
mouth, licking and sucking. The flesh under Byers' chin was 
scratchy with stubble and he ran his teeth along it, feeling 
his sub groan in response. It wasn't enough, but it helped. 

Doggett couldn't wait any longer. He fingered Byers' 
undershirt for a moment, then took it firmly in both hands. 
The urge was too strong to resist. With a sharp, powerful 
movement, he tore it. He felt wild, like some cougar, totally 
in control of the man under his hips. It was an incredible 
aphrodisiac.

"Aaah!" Byers gasped and his eyes went wide. His chest heaved 
and he jerked back. Doggett saw the flash of fear and 
astonishment in his face, and kissed him hard. His hands 
slipped into the ripped fabric, playing with his sub's chest. 
Byers moaned into his mouth. After a moment, Doggett pulled 
back and ripped the undershirt completely open.

"Take off your jacket and shirt, Johnny," Doggett commanded. 
He kept his hips braced against Byers, maintaining his 
control of the man and the situation.

Byers was panting, his eyes darkened in desire. Doggett could 
see it had aroused him even more. "Yes, Sir." 

Byers' hands shook as he moved to comply, and Doggett pulled 
the tail of Byers' shirt roughly from the waistband of his 
pants. He slid his hands up under the clothing even as Byers 
pulled it off. Doggett watched, hungry, as more of the man's 
flesh was exposed. He traced the lines of Byers' ribs with 
his fingertips, nipping at his collarbone.

"Please, Sir, more," Byers whispered. Doggett loved the sound 
of want in his sub's voice. It made his rod throb as he 
trapped Byers' hips with his own.

"Oh, yeah." Doggett's heart thudded against his ribs, shaft 
aching as he ground himself into the man's groin. Byers was 
just as hard as he was. "So hot," he muttered. Bending down, 
he sucked and nibbled at Byers' chest and shoulders. 

Byers tossed his shirt and jacket aside, then leaned back to 
brace his hands on the table again. He spread his legs, 
inviting Doggett to slip between them. Doggett took one thigh 
in his hand, raising it as he bit at one of Byers' nipples. 
He slipped his hips between Byers' thighs as he let the man 
wrap the raised leg around his ass.

"Uhhhh..." Byers slipped onto his elbows, leaning further 
back on the table. His head lolled back, body stretched in an 
elegant arc that made Doggett lightheaded with desire. He 
thrust his hips hard into Byers, wanting desperately to be 
inside him. Reaching down, he unbuckled Byers' belt, and 
opened his pants.

Tugging at the waistband, he pulled the pants and Byers' 
boxers down off his hips. He backed off just a bit and 
growled, "Roll over, wanna fuck you." He reached into his 
pocket for the condom.

Byers whimpered, but rolled onto his stomach, his raised ass 
exposed.

"Gonna give it to you deep," Doggett said, his voice low and 
excited as he slipped the condom over his heavy, thick rod. 
"Gonna make you beg to come."

"God, yes," Byers moaned. "Please, Sir." He held the edges of 
the table tight, bracing himself, then spread his legs as 
best he could with his pants around his ankles. He looked so 
hot. Doggett ran a hand softly over the smooth, pale ass 
before him, played his fingers along Byers' dangling balls. 
Byers moaned again. 

He loved the way Byers felt, loved the heat and tightness of 
him when they fucked, loved how soft the man's skin was. More 
than anything, he loved how Byers responded to him. It was as 
though the shy man had been waiting for years for the right 
key to open him up. The raw sensuality hidden within him was 
delicious and tempting. He could see Byers abandon himself to 
it. Doggett wasn't going to venture any guesses as to why, 
but he was glad he was lucky enough to be the man who'd 
brought this out of him. Seeing Byers like this only left him 
wanting more.

He ran his fingernails up from Byers' thighs to the base of 
his spine, leaving quickly fading pink trails behind on the 
pale buttocks. Byers trembled under him, breathing hard.

"You're so hot, little cub," Doggett growled, his voice 
quiet. "Such a sweet ass." Taking the cheeks of Byers' ass in 
both hands, he kneaded them, caressing them. Byers relaxed 
completely into the moment, groaning happily as he panted in 
his arousal. Parting the mounds of muscle in his hands, 
Doggett leaned down and blew gently on Byers' opening, 
leaving the man gasping, eyes clenched tight shut. He grinned 
as he watched Byers thrust helplessly under him, his cock 
leaking. The sight made him even harder. His dick ached with 
his need.

Raising his hands, he slid them up Byers' back, stroking 
gently from hips to shoulders, then down along his sides to 
the hips again. He repeated the process over and over, 
leaning his weight into Byers' body, the slip of skin under 
his palms hypnotic and sensual. After a while, Byers was in 
an erotic trance, eyes half closed and glazed over. 

Doggett slicked the fingers of one hand, letting the lube 
warm before he applied it to Byers' opening. The soft caress 
drew an almost purring sound from his sub, and Byers' shaft 
twitched. He slicked himself and pressed his hardness up to 
the man's pucker.

"Relax, Johnny. Take it slow," he mumbled, sliding in with 
firm but gentle pressure.

Byers' voice trembled as he moaned deep in his chest. Doggett 
reached up and took Byers' wrists, pulling his hands from 
their tight grip on the table's edge. He brought them 
together at the small of Byers' back and held them tight with 
one large hand. 

Byers panted and whimpered. "Yes," he groaned. "Oh, God..." 
His skin glistened with a fine slick of sweat as his body 
responded to Doggett's penetration.

Doggett's eyes swept over Byers, gently restrained and 
writhing beneath him. He watched his rod slide into the 
nearly nude, vulnerable man to its root, felt Byers' tight 
muscles grip him hard as he moved. It was sweet and slow and 
nearly unbearable. His heart thudded fast and hard, and he 
gasped as he slowly pulled back until just the head of his 
cock remained in Byers' body. The glacial pace of his 
penetration was exquisite agony, and he closed his eyes as 
his head fell back, mouth open, panting. He listened to the 
animal sounds Byers made while he moved in and out, and his 
hand tightened around his sub's wrists.

Byers was trembling hard now, near orgasm and incoherent. 
Doggett could feel it in the way the man's muscles gripped 
his shaft, see it in his hot, flushed frame. He released 
Byers' wrists  and covered him with his body. He braced 
himself against Byers' shoulders and thrust deeply, 
forcefully. He heard groans and shouts of pleasure. He didn't 
know whether it was Byers' voice or his own as he moved 
frantically inside him. The friction of his clothed chest 
against Byers' naked back left him hypersensitive. Doggett 
felt his balls tighten, sweet and hot, and they cried out 
together as he pumped home hard and fast, riding Byers with 
all his might. 

"God, Johnny..." He wasn't close enough to Byers. Even inside 
him, he wasn't close enough. The thin layer of clothing felt 
like a wall between them. He wanted them to melt into each 
other's skin. Even like this, it was intense. It was 
indescribable.

He felt Byers jerk and come hard under him as he shot his own 
load. The salt taste and musky scent of Byers' skin left him 
high and dizzy. He could hear Byers' breath sob in and out as 
he gasped under the force of their orgasm.

Slowing again, his motion gentler, he held Byers. After long 
moments, their breath began to slow, falling into a rhythm 
together.

"Oh, God," Byers whispered.

Doggett nodded.

"Needed that." Byers' voice was unsteady.

Doggett raised himself on shaking arms. "You okay?"

Byers nodded, his eyes still closed. "Yeah."

"Can you move?"

"Uhhhh... no."

Doggett chuckled, breathless. He let one hand slip along 
Byers' side and come to rest at his waist. He'd have to clean 
the rug before it dried. He leaned down over Byers again, 
kissing the curve of his jaw under his ear, then rose and 
carefully pulled out of the man's body. He was still 
tingling.

"Come on. We need to get cleaned up."

Byers slid his arms underneath him and raised his still-
shaking body to a nearly upright position. He nodded.

Doggett reached down, grabbed Byers' pants from where they 
lay around his ankles, and raised them to his thighs. Byers 
took them and pulled them up around his waist. Doggett 
slipped an arm around him and they leaned on each other as 
they wobbled to the bathroom.

Byers rested against the sink once they entered the room. 
Doggett looked up, seeing them both in the mirror. He 
laughed. "God, Johnny, we are one hell of a pair." Byers 
looked up and started chuckling as well.

They both looked utterly debauched -- hair mussed, clothing 
wrinkled, skin flushed red and sweaty, still breathless. 

"God, you're hot," Doggett said, then leaned in and kissed 
Byers briefly. He handed him a washcloth. "Clean yourself up, 
then go clean up the mess you left on the rug." Doggett 
pulled off and discarded the full condom then grabbed a 
washcloth of his own.

Byers nodded as he washed himself. "Yes Sir," he said, his 
voice and breathing finally normal. When he finished, he 
zipped his pants. "I don't have an endless supply of 
undershirts, you know," he said with a smirk. He turned to 
go.

"Hey, c'mere," Doggett said. He reached out and took Byers in 
his arms. They held each other tight for a long minute.

"Okay," Doggett said finally. He patted Byers' ass. "I'll get 
you some new ones. Let's go. We got work to do."

"I really need that beer," Byers said, licking his dry lips.

HOOVER BUILDING
A.D. WALTER SKINNER'S OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
NEXT DAY

"Thank you for coming, Agents." Skinner gestured to the 
chairs in front of his desk, and Doggett and Agent Reyes sat 
before him. He shuffled some papers and handed them each a 
file folder.

"What do you have for us, Sir?" Doggett asked. He opened the 
file in front of him to a photo of a mangled body, the head 
severed and lying nearby. Underneath was a photo of a second 
body, similarly mutilated.

"They appear to be two ritualistic murders: one in 
Connecticut, the other in Rhode Island," Reyes said, 
examining her own copy of the file.

Skinner nodded. "The similarities of the two murders are what 
brought them to the attention of the FBI. The inexplicable 
ritualistic elements landed them in your lap. I've already 
sent Agent Scully to Bridgeport to autopsy the first victim. 
Your tickets are in the files you've been given, and I expect 
you to join her this afternoon."

"Of course, Sir," Doggett said. "I don't see any notes here 
about who the victims are."

"Right now, they're John Does," Skinner said. "Their wallets 
were missing, and their prints either weren't in the system, 
or they were removed. This really has my red flags up. The 
murders took place yesterday evening within less than an hour 
of one another. The bodies were both found within minutes of 
the murders. We may be looking at some kind of conspiracy, 
with two murderers acting in tandem."

Reyes nodded. "Providence and Bridgeport are over 120 miles 
apart. There's no way one person could have killed them both 
within that timeframe."

"That's what the local departments said," Skinner replied.

Doggett shook his head. "I don't like the sound of a possible 
conspiracy." 

"There could be some astrological or numerological 
significance to the fact that both murders apparently took 
place at nearly the same time. There could be cults with 
branches in both cities that consider the date significant. 
The beginning of August does have some Pagan religious 
significance." Reyes asked.

"That's your specialty, Agent," Skinner said. "I want you to 
get right on this. Your plane leaves in four hours for 
Hartford. You'll meet Agent Scully in Bridgeport."

"Yes, Sir," Reyes said. She and Doggett stood.

"I'll expect a report regarding that autopsy by tomorrow 
morning," Skinner said. "Then I want Scully in Providence for 
the second victim's autopsy."

"We'll tell her when we see her, Sir," Doggett said. He and 
Reyes turned and departed for their basement office.

They were silent until they entered the elevator. "I don't 
like the looks of this," Doggett said.

"I agree, John." Reyes nodded, frowning. "I've got a very bad 
feeling about it."

"I'm sure Scully'll have something for us by the time we get 
there."

Reyes nodded. "You take a quick look through the files to see 
if we've had any cases like this in the past, and I'll run up 
a couple of astrology charts."

The elevator door opened onto the basement hallway. "Yeah, 
lookin' through the files is a good idea, but I'll need to 
make it quick. You really think we're gonna need that 
astrology shit?" 

"John, you may not believe in it, but enough people do that 
it could be significant."

Doggett shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, okay. Whatever. We won't 
have much time to get the plane. You got a bag ready in your 
trunk?"

"Constantly," Reyes said.

Doggett nodded. "Me too. At least we won't have to try to 
pack first."

"You going to fax Mulder a copy of those photos?"

Doggett snorted. "He's retired." The idea of getting Mulder 
involved annoyed him.

"He knows these files inside out. He could tell us if he 
remembers anything like this much more quickly than you could 
look things up. And he'll know the files that were destroyed 
a few years ago that we can't access anymore as well."

Doggett rolled his eyes. He started rummaging around the 
office, gathering the things they'd need for their 
investigation. "Yeah, right. Him and that memory of his. But 
if he tells me it's about aliens, you're buying dinner 
tonight."

CITY MORGUE
BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT
LATE AFTERNOON

"I can't believe it's blunt force trauma," Scully said, "but 
that's what all the evidence suggests. To decapitate someone 
with a blow like that, the object would have to be moving at 
an incredible speed." She had just stripped off the surgical 
scrubs. 

"Blunt force? That was no baseball bat, Scully." Doggett 
said.

"Whatever hit him struck at the base of the jaw," she 
motioned to her own throat, "at the carotid artery and blew 
right through."

Reyes fidgeted. "That's bizarre. Was this near a construction 
site? Maybe the body was moved?"

Scully shook her head. "No, the blood spatter on site was 
consistent with it being the place of death. The body wasn't 
moved. We should go out to the site so you can examine it 
before too much of the evidence is destroyed."

"Good," Reyes said. "Has anyone found anything large enough 
to do damage like this?"

Scully frowned and shook her head again. "No. No one found 
anything that could be a potential murder weapon, and the 
woman who found the body didn't see anything either."

"You're gonna need to head for Providence tomorrow morning, 
Scully," Doggett said. "Skinner wants that second autopsy 
report tomorrow. If this one's done, fax it to him before we 
head over to the scene."

"Naturally," Scully sighed, and nodded. "Not yet. I'll do a 
quick examination of the site with you, then finish up the 
autopsy report and get on the road tonight."

"I don't think you gotta be quite that fast," Doggett said. 
"The guy'll still be dead when you get there. You should at 
least join me and Monica for dinner before you head out. 
She's buyin'."

Scully looked over at Reyes and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Aliens," Reyes said.

Doggett chuckled, smug. He crossed his arms over his chest 
and leaned on a cabinet.

Scully's eyebrow climbed a little higher. She crossed her 
arms as well. "Would you mind explaining that cryptic 
comment?"

"Before we left, she wanted to ask Mulder if he'd seen 
anything like this before."

Reyes rolled her eyes. "He said if Mulder said it was aliens, 
I had to buy dinner." She paused.

"Aliens," Doggett and Reyes chorused, looking at each other.

Scully laughed. "You two head on over. I'll meet you there 
shortly."

ROGER WILLIAMS NATIONAL MEMORIAL
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
NEXT MORNING

"Residual footwear impressions at the Bridgeport site turned 
out to be combat boots," Scully said. "The victim was wearing 
loafers." She handed Reyes a copy of the report results.

"The lab really got the results back quickly," Reyes said.

Doggett sipped his coffee as he and Reyes stood with her, 
examining the second murder site. "And this site?" he asked. 
It was already looking like a long day.

"Same thing," Scully said. "More combat boots, victim wearing 
something else."

"But not the same pair, or even the same size." Reyes puffed 
at her Morley Light. "Couldn't have been the same person."

"Maybe it really is a conspiracy," Doggett said, hoping he 
was wrong. "Military job?"

Reyes crouched, looking at the blood-spattered grass. "What 
kind of weapon could do this? Blunt force trauma to the 
carotid, decapitating both victims, apparently effortlessly."

Doggett's stomach tightened. "I've got no idea. Never seen a 
weapon that could do anything like it, but we know the 
military's been doin' some weird shit lately." He thought 
back to the TREYNOR file and the information Byers had 
brought him. God, it made sense even though a lot of the 
material was still confusing. He looked up at Scully. 
"Rohrer. I wonder if he had anything to do with it?"

"Even if he's a supersoldier, he can't be in two places at 
once, Agent Doggett."

"And not in two different sizes of combat boots," Reyes 
added.

He shrugged. "Well yeah. But we know there's more than one of 
'em."

"How could they do this?" Reyes said, gesturing at the mess.

"I don't know, but they're a hell of a lot stronger than a 
normal person. No normal human could pick me up and toss me 
like some toy like that Billy Miles kid did. Who knows what 
they're capable of? God, I hate this. I wish I knew what the 
hell we were messin' with."

"They may be stronger," Scully said, "but the next question 
is why would they do this? Who were these men? Until we can 
identify them, how do we know where to start?"

"Why weren't their prints in the database?" Doggett asked. 
"Somebody has to want these guys to stay unidentified."

Reyes stood. "Maybe they were removed, like AD Skinner 
suggested."

"Maybe," Scully said, "they were never there."

Doggett looked at Reyes. 

"Aliens," she mouthed.

LONE GUNMEN OFFICES
TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND
TWO DAYS LATER

"But I really do think they may be able to help," Scully 
said, as Doggett waited impatiently behind her. He didn't 
need convincing, but he'd let her talk. Byers opened the 
door.

"Agent Scully," Byers said, "Agent Doggett. Come in." He 
looked at Doggett. There was an odd expression -- discomfort? 
-- on his face.

Doggett looked at Byers for a moment, then nodded, keeping 
his distance. "Hey, Byers." Scully didn't know about them, or 
about his relationships with men, and he really wasn't keen 
on her finding out. He was concerned about the look on Byers' 
face, though. 

"Well, hello pretty lady," Frohike said, swooping in to greet 
Scully.

"Frohike." She smiled at him. "Byers. Where are Langly and 
Jimmy?"

"Jimmy's upstairs doing the laundry. He'll probably join us 
shortly--" Byers said.

"--And Langly's off with his gaming buds," Frohike finished. 
"What do you have for us today, Agent Scully?"

Scully held her hand out to Doggett. He pulled the manila 
envelope from his jacket and handed it to her.

"We need these two men identified." She pulled the photos out 
of the envelope and showed them to Byers and Frohike.

Byers went green. He slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Ugh. Don't show these to Langly," Frohike said, disgusted.

Byers shook his head vehemently and hurried out of the room.

"Jeez," Doggett said, "is he gonna be okay?"

"I think so," Frohike said, dubious, looking back toward the 
bathroom. 

"He's seen worse than that before," Scully said, "and hasn't 
been that upset. I would have expected it from Langly. Are 
you sure Byers is all right?"

"He said he was feeling a little queasy when he got up this 
morning," Frohike said. "He thinks dinner last night didn't 
agree with him." He rested his hands on his hips.

"I should have a look at him when he gets back," Scully 
offered. "What did he eat?"

Doggett nodded. "Yeah, maybe you should." 

"If he'll let you," Frohike said. "He had chili, same as the 
rest of us. I don't know why it would bug him. Everybody else 
is fine."

"There's been a stomach flu going around," Scully said.

Doggett fidgeted. "Yeah, Bernie Maddox over in VCU has it." 
According to Maddox, it didn't last long, but it had been 
pretty nasty.

Frohike shrugged. "If it's a flu, it's probably some EBO 
biotoxin test. They usually are. I think this one's only been 
lasting a day or two."

Scully snorted. "Biotoxin tests? That's ridiculous, Frohike. 
It's just a flu. They go around every year, and you know it."

"That's because They have seasonal tests. Influenza is an 
EBO. Everything since at least Roswell has been connected." 
Frohike gave her a determined look.

Scully shook her head. "Right, Frohike. Nobody ever gets the 
flu for natural reasons anymore." Doggett could see the 
amused annoyance on her face. "Well, I'll have a look at him 
when he comes back anyway. In the meantime, can you deal with 
this project for us?"

Doggett looked toward the bathroom, then back at Frohike and 
Scully. "These two guys are murder victims killed a couple of 
days ago. One in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the other in 
Providence, Rhode Island. We got no ID on them, no prints in 
the system, no dental records, no apparent motive, no real 
idea what killed 'em. We ain't got jack."

"At a guess, I'd say they lost their heads," Frohike said. He 
looked back at the photos and sighed. "Yeah, we'll see what 
we can do. I'll try to put together some cleaner photos so 
that Langly can cope, and I'm gonna make Byers go to bed when 
he comes out of there." He looked over at Doggett.

Doggett looked back toward the bathroom. He could hear the 
muffled sounds of retching coming down the hall. "Sounds like 
a plan." He'd have to call later, when Scully wasn't around, 
to check on Byers. 

"Why don't you two have a seat," Frohike said. He waved in 
the direction of the bathroom with his thumb. "I'm gonna go 
check on the narc. Be right back." He waved Scully into a 
comfy chair and pointed Doggett at their ugly, whorehouse-red 
couch. He set the photos near a scanner and hurried back 
toward the bathroom.

"You think he'll be okay?" Doggett asked, looking over at 
Scully. 

Scully nodded. "The current round of flu is pretty mild, 
comparatively speaking. 24 to 48 hours, mild fever and 
chills, nausea, muscle pain, a few other symptoms we won't 
discuss in polite company. Byers doesn't seem to get sick too 
often, so I imagine he'll be fine in a day or two as long as 
he rests and stays warm and hydrated."

Doggett nodded. "If it's just Langly and Frohike, it'll take 
'em longer to do this." 

Scully shrugged. "Probably, but they're all very good at 
these things. It'll get done, whether or not Byers is in bed 
for a couple of days."

A moment later Frohike was back, bringing Byers, now wrapped 
in a faded Army blanket. "Sit there," he said, pointing next 
to Doggett. "Scully's gonna look at you and make sure you're 
okay."

Byers sat, shivering slightly. He looked lousy, pale and 
drawn. Doggett didn't allow himself to put an arm around him. 
"How you feelin'?" 

"Miserable," Byers muttered. There were dark circles under 
his eyes that Doggett hadn't noticed earlier. At least, if 
Scully was right, this wouldn't last long. Byers looked up as 
Scully approached.

"Frohike, do you have a thermometer?" she asked.

"Yeah, be right back." He scurried off.

Scully knelt in front of Byers. "Let me take a look at you." 
She made him open his mouth, checked his eyes and his pulse, 
and felt his forehead before Frohike got back. He handed her 
the thermometer, and she put it in Byers' mouth.

Byers sat, slumped into himself. He leaned back, dropping his 
head to the back of the couch, obviously exhausted. Byers' 
fever was apparent, even through the blanket that wrapped 
him. 

"100.9," Scully said. "Congratulations, Byers. You have the 
flu. You have just won at least two days of bed rest. Take 
some aspirin to get your fever down. Get lots of liquid, stay 
warm, and --" she looked over at Frohike, "-- just rest."

"But --"

She shook her head at Byers. "I don't want to hear it. And 
you," she looked at Frohike, "make sure he doesn't get up if 
it's not necessary."

Frohike sighed. "Yeah, I think we can manage that. We may 
have to tie him down, though, or get Jimmy to sit on him. You 
know what a workaholic the boy is." He smirked. 

"There's too much to do," Byers said. "I can't afford to be 
sick."

"Shut up, Byers," Frohike said. Byers glared back up at him, 
or rather, he tried to. It wasn't very convincing.

Doggett did his best to ignore Frohike's 'tie him up' 
comment. "You two get started on the photos," he said. "I'll 
help him upstairs."

Scully and Frohike nodded. Scully turned back to the 
computers, and Frohike gave them a grin before he turned away 
to help her.

"Thanks," Byers mumbled. "I got really dizzy all of a sudden. 
Those photos," he grimaced, "were a little much. God, I ache 
everywhere."

Doggett slipped an arm around him and helped him stand. He 
spoke quietly to Byers. "Yeah. I'll make sure you get some 
aspirin. You got 7-up? My mom always gave me some for my 
stomach when I was a kid." 

Byers wobbled to his feet, leaning heavily on Doggett, an arm 
around his waist to help steady himself. "No. I'll ask Jimmy 
to get some ginger ale later." They started for the stairs.

Byers was shaky. He moved slowly as they climbed the stairs. 
Doggett tightened his arm around him a little, letting his 
fingers subtly caress Byers' side. By the time they got to 
Byers' room, he looked utterly drained. Doggett eased him 
back on the bed and pulled his shoes off.

Jimmy peeked in the doorway. "What's up? Byers, are you 
okay?"

"Scully says he's got the flu," Doggett said.

"Oh, wow. Bummer."

"Would you grab a couple aspirin and somethin' for him to 
take 'em with?" Doggett asked.

"Sure," Jimmy said. "What do you want, Byers?"

Byers groaned. "Just water. I'm not sure I can handle 
anything else right now."

"You got it, buddy." Jimmy hustled out.

Byers sat up, though it seemed to be quite an effort. He 
pulled at his tie, loosening the knot.

"Lemme help with that," Doggett said.

Byers shook his head. "Not with Scully here. I don't want her 
getting any ideas."

"She's the one who sent you to your room, and it's not like 
she's right here. You look like you could use some help."

"Thanks, Jack, but no. You can hand me my pajamas, though." 
He gestured to his dresser. "They're in the top right-hand 
drawer."

Doggett nodded and pulled them out, then handed them to 
Byers.

"You should go back downstairs. I'll be fine. Really."

Doggett sat on the bed next to him. He put a hand on Byers' 
forehead. "You sure? You really don't look too good." The 
fever wasn't that bad, but it was enough.

"I can ask Jimmy for what I need. There's nothing unusual in 
that. If you stay up here too long, she's going to wonder 
where you are." Byers was quiet, his voice not quite right. 
"I know you don't want people at work to know."

Doggett sighed. "Yeah, okay. You're right. That wouldn't do." 
He squeezed Byers' shoulder, then caressed his flushed, 
overheated cheek. "I'll check on you later, when she's not 
around. You keep your ass in bed and get better, Johnny. 
You'll only be down a couple days."

"I hate staying in bed. I get bored."

"So read or somethin'. I hear you got up before you were 
supposed to and tried to work, I'll kick your ass."

Byers looked at him, a half-hearted smile on his face. 
"Promise?" He shivered a little. He pulled his jacket and 
shirt off. Doggett hung up the jacket in Byers' closet. 

Doggett snorted. "You gotta be kidding. You're not in any 
shape for anything but sleep." He went back and sat next to 
Byers again. "Put your damn pj's on before you get a chill."

Byers slipped his pajama top on and buttoned it. He reached 
out and stroked Doggett's face slowly with the back of his 
fingers. "Thanks. Go work. I'll be fine."

"Rest, Johnny. Stay in bed. I mean it." Doggett took Byers' 
hand and gave it a squeeze, kissed him softly on the cheek, 
then headed back to join Scully and Frohike. He nearly ran 
into Jimmy as he headed back for the stairs. "Hey, be careful 
where you're goin'. And you take care of him, you got it?"

"Of course." Jimmy smiled. He raised the water glass at him. 
"Don't worry, Agent Doggett. We'll make sure he's okay. He'll 
be better soon."

Doggett heard Scully and Frohike talking quietly as he 
descended the stairs.

"How's it goin'?"

They looked up at him. "We're gonna have to do a bunch of 
photo database searches," Frohike said. "It'll take at least 
two days, is my guess. This is gonna be slower without Byers 
helping, but Langly's damn good at it. We've got face 
recognition software that should help. If their prints and 
dental records were removed from the databases, we'll find 
out when and how."

"As soon as you find anything," Scully said, "anything at 
all, let us know."

"Always, Agent Scully. You know I can't deny you anything."

"Can it, Frohike," Scully said. "All I want is an ID for 
these victims. You get any ideas and I'll sic Mulder on you."

"Mulder? You think he scares me?"

"He should," Doggett muttered.

Frohike laughed. "He may disturb me, but he doesn't scare 
me."

"We gotta be goin'," Doggett said. He looked over to Scully. 
"Those DNA results come back yet?"

"Not until late this afternoon, if they show up today at 
all," she said. "I need to get back to Quantico, though. Will 
you drop me off?"

"I'll call you when I know anything," Frohike said. He 
followed them to the door.

"Thanks, Frohike," Scully said.

Doggett slipped a hand behind her, escorting her as they 
walked out the alley and down the street. The guys lived in a 
dirty industrial area. It wasn't exactly safe, even during 
the day. He knew they'd been there for ages, but really 
wished Byers lived in a better place. "Sure, I'll drop you 
there before I head for the Hoover. Wonder what Monica's 
got?"

"I hope it's more than those astrology charts she was playing 
with yesterday morning."

Doggett snorted. "I didn't think that was gonna come to 
anything. Waste of time and money, that stuff."

"While I understand your reservations, Agent Doggett, I do 
think it was reasonable of her to check this. We didn't have 
anything else to go on, and if it did turn out to have some 
kind of astrological significance, we might have had a place 
to start. Occult groups, extremist religious cults --" she 
shrugged. "At least she eliminated some possibilities. Right 
now, that does help."

"Yeah, well, I'll run down some more of those fiber results 
when I get back." They climbed into his truck and headed out.

LONE GUNMEN OFFICES
TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND
NEXT EVENING

Frohike let him in this time.

"How's Byers?" Doggett asked as the door closed behind him.

"A little better, still not great."

Doggett nodded. "You findin' anything?"

"Well, Langly found when the prints were removed," Frohike 
said, leading him into the work area, "but we can't trace the 
records to who removed 'em, or who the prints belonged to. 
Same with the dental stuff. We're thinking it's an inside 
job. As to an ID, not yet, but we're close."

"Got anything I can take back to Scully later?"

Frohike shook his head. "Maybe in a few hours. Byers was 
asleep when I checked him a while ago, but if you wanna go 
look in on him, feel free. He's been a bitch to keep in bed."

Doggett chuckled. "Figures," he said, and headed up the 
stairs.

"Hey, Jimmy." The big blond was heading for Byers' room from 
the kitchen.

"Oh, hi, Agent Doggett. How ya doin' today?"

"Fine. How's Byers?" He followed Jimmy across the living 
room.

"He's still asleep. I was bringing another cup of ginger ale 
for him, for when he wakes up. He's getting a little better, 
but I think it'll still be a day or so before he's ready to 
get up again."

"Why don't you let me take that in to him? I'm gonna sit with 
him for a while. Frohike said they might have something for 
me in a few hours."

Jimmy handed him the cup. He nodded. "I think he'd like to 
see you if he wakes up. Maybe you can get him to stay there. 
He tried to get up like three times today, and Frohike and 
Langly both yelled at him."

Doggett chuckled. "Yeah, I bet. Thanks. I'll talk to him if 
he wakes up."

Jimmy grinned and hurried off toward the stairs. "Hey guys!" 
he called, "What do you want for dinner?"

Doggett entered Byers' darkened room. There was a chair near 
the bed that hadn't been there before. He set the cup on the 
small bedside table next to a half-read book, then sat in the 
chair. He thought about the first time he'd been in this 
room, a little over a month ago now. So much had changed 
since that casual encounter.

He felt uncomfortable seeing Byers like this. The bearded man 
looked pale and fragile in the dim light coming through the 
door. He was restless as he lay there. Doggett laid a hand on 
Byers' forehead. He felt feverish.

"Wish you felt better," he muttered. Actually, he really 
wished Byers was awake. Sitting and watching him like this 
felt awkward. Watching Byers sleep in his illness seemed a 
little too intimate. Doggett had never done anything like 
this with the other guys he'd been with. He hadn't actually 
spent much time at all with most of them when sex wasn't 
involved. And the ones he'd tried to get closer to, things 
just never seemed to work out. Vulnerability when you were 
fucking was one thing. Like this? Most guys didn't like it, 
or want it. Then again, nothing about Byers was like any of 
the other guys he'd been with.

An hour or so later, Byers rolled onto his side, facing 
Doggett. He moaned in his sleep. Doggett reached out and 
stroked his cheek slowly. He still felt too hot.

"John. Wake up, little cub, you need to drink somethin'."

"Hmm? Mel?" Byers' eyes fluttered open, not quite focused.

"No," Doggett said, his voice soft. "It's me, Jack."

"Jack? Uhh. When... when did you get here?" Byers started to 
sit up.

"Hey, hey, easy. You're all feverish. You're gonna get dizzy 
if you sit up too fast. Take it slow."

Byers nodded, easing himself up. Doggett tucked his pillows 
behind him to support him. 

"Thanks."

"Here." Doggett held the cup out to him. Byers took it 
carefully and sipped. "How you feelin'?"

Byers took a few more sips. "I'll be fine," he said.

"Not what I asked."

Byers leaned back into the pillows. He closed his eyes, and 
Doggett took the cup from him. "Shaky," he said.

"You still got that fever."

"Hate this. I should get up. Work to do."

Doggett snorted. "Damn, Johnny, you're a fucking idiot. Can 
you even see straight?"

"Too much to do," Byers mumbled, trying to sit up again. 

Doggett put a hand in the middle of his chest. "You're 
staying right here. Frohike and Langly, they got it covered. 
Said it would probably only be a couple more hours."

"No, gotta help."

"Jesus, Johnny, give it a rest." He wondered if he was like 
this when he was sick. "You lay there, and you don't move. 
I'm gonna be back in just a minute, okay?"

Byers nodded. He looked like trying to sit up had taken 
everything out of him.

Doggett got up to look for aspirin. He could hear Jimmy in 
the kitchen.

"Hey," he said, poking his head in the kitchen door. "When 
was the last time somebody gave Byers some aspirin?"

"Oh, uh," Jimmy looked at his watch. "He probably should have 
some more. It's in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom." He 
pointed.

Doggett nodded. "Thanks." The bathroom was a pit, but he 
managed to find the aspirin anyway. He took it back to Byers.

"Hey, you need to take these," he said.

Byers was barely awake. Doggett sat with him on the bed and 
helped him. He was surprised to find Byers was shivering. A 
hand on his bare skin was enough to reveal that he'd taken a 
chill. Doggett looked around the room and saw a couple of 
crumpled blankets sitting on the dresser. They'd obviously 
been needed before.

He was just tucking the second one around Byers when Langly 
came in.

"Damn, he's chillin' again, isn't he?"

Doggett nodded. "Yeah. I just gave him some aspirin."

"Oh, good. That was part of why I came up." He helped finish 
tucking Byers in the blanket. "You might wanna call Scully 
and Moronica."

"You mean Agent Reyes?" Doggett said, annoyed.

"Hey, she stops givin' us 'tude, and we'll start makin' with 
the Agent Reyes. In the meantime, she's just Moronica."

"Quiet," Byers mumbled. "Head hurts."

Doggett ran his hand over Byers' forehead again. Chill and 
clammy. Byers was supposed to be alert, competent, witty. He 
was supposed to be healthy. This was all wrong, but 
thankfully it would pass soon. Doggett looked up at Langly 
and sighed. "So what have you got?"

LONE GUNMEN OFFICES
TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND
LATE EVENING

"Zeus Genetics?" Scully asked. She sounded uneasy. Reyes 
watched her, curiosity in her eyes.

"Sure looks like it," Langly said. "Assholes."

Doggett looked over at Langly. "You guys run into 'em 
before?" It looked like Scully was uncomfortably familiar 
with the name.

"You might say that," Frohike said. He crossed his arms and 
leaned back against the desk where he stood.

Scully looked up at Doggett and Reyes. "Mulder found what he 
said was a cloning facility in one of their storage 
warehouses some years back," she said. "By the time we could 
get anyone there to verify his story, everything was gone. It 
was as though the place had never even existed."

"Like, they're way too good at that shit," Langly said. 
"Total sanitation crew." He shuddered.

Frohike nodded. "And those cloned bastards are dangerous. Cut 
'em and they bleed green acid, just like the bounty hunters. 
They're toxic."

"Genetic experimentation could explain a lot," Reyes said, 
"but bleeding green acid?"

Doggett buried his face in one hand. Clones. Aliens. He 
supposed it wasn't any more bizarre than the whole 
supersoldier thing and Billy Miles, but that didn't make it 
any easier to swallow. Byers was convinced it was all 
connected. Doggett wasn't, but he didn't really know what to 
think about any of it.

"The Kurts did try to help, though," Scully pointed out.

"Yeah, but they all still bleed green toxic goo," Langly 
said, a look of disgust on his face.

"That's not exactly their fault, or their choice, Langly." 
Scully gave him the look of death.

Langly just shuddered. 

"Kurts?" Reyes asked. She shifted her weight. "Who are the 
Kurts?"

"A series of clones," Scully said. "The one Mulder met was 
named Kurt Crawford. Mulder says he met several of them while 
I was hospitalized in Allentown, Pennsylvania a few years 
ago. They were doing genetic research at a fertility clinic 
nearby. They claimed... they claimed that the women who'd 
been kidnapped -- 'abducted' -- and implanted with chips were 
their genetic mothers. The project involved harvesting 
women's ova, apparently to produce clones."

Reyes shuddered. "Harvesting ova for genetic experiments -- 
that's... how awful. Like the chip you --"

Scully nodded, silent, her face hard.

"Don't go there," Langly said, soft and threatening. Reyes 
lowered her eyes.

"So what the hell does all this mean?" Doggett asked. "You 
suggesting there's some connection here?"

"Both of these guys were scientists working for Zeus Genetics 
at different facilities," Frohike said. "Both of 'em killed 
on the same night, right about the same time. Damn right I 
think there's some connection here, and I think it's about 
those damned clones again." He looked to Scully with concern 
in his eyes.

"Yeah," Langly said, pacing in a small clear area between a 
couple of desks, "but the bounty hunters, dude, they don't go 
poppin' people's heads off. They just kill 'em with one of 
those ice pick thingies. Or strangle 'em. Or something." 
Langly looked vaguely queasy. Doggett hoped he wasn't coming 
down with the flu too, but suspected it was just the hacker's 
infamously weak stomach.

"And we have their bodies," Scully said. "If the scientists 
were clones of some sort, they'd have dissolved before they 
were found, just as the various clones we've encountered 
did."

Reyes shuddered. "Dissolved. Ugh."

"Well, maybe the clones killed them?" Frohike offered.

Scully shook her head. "Unless they have powers we're not 
aware of, I don't think that's likely. The Jeremiahs can 
apparently heal through some unexplained means, but I don't 
think they have the strength or speed necessary to kill 
someone in that fashion."

"I remember reading about it in the files," Reyes said. "Do 
they have other psychic abilities?"

Scully said. "I don't think the Kurts did. The Jeremiahs can 
shapeshift as well as heal, from what I understand. I think 
different sets of clones were designed for different 
purposes. From what Mulder gathered, the Jeremiahs, and a 
series of Samanthas -- allegedly based on his sister's 
genetic patterns -- were intended as colonists. They were 
later hunted down and most of them were killed."

Doggett was sure he was getting a headache. Everyone was 
wandering way too far from reality for his comfort. "Nobody 
has that kind of speed and strength. Nobody human, anyway."

"That's what we're saying, Dogbert." Langly gave him one of 
those looks, his mouth screwed into an annoyed expression. 
"The clones are alien hybrids, dude."

"Damn it, Langly, this is nuts." Doggett wasn't in the mood 
for any of this alien crap. "You guys seriously want me to 
believe in aliens and green-blooded clones and all that 
shit?"

Scully lifted an eyebrow at him. "Agent Doggett, some of 
these things I've seen with my own eyes. I can't explain 
them, but I don't have any better theories about what they 
are. Nothing human can do what any of these creatures do."

Reyes nodded. "Some of what we've encountered has been pretty 
strange, John."

"Yeah," Langly said, petulant.

"Can't you people do anything without arguing?" The voice was 
Byers'.

Doggett turned. Byers was descending the stairs, looking 
miserable, with Jimmy in pursuit.

"Aw, c'mon Byers, you gotta get back in bed. You're sick!"

Frohike took a couple of steps toward the stairs. "Get back 
in bed, Byers." Langly turned from his pacing to face the 
two.

Reyes held up a hand. "Don't come too close. I don't want 
your flu."

Byers kept walking. He was a little wobbly, and his voice 
wasn't very strong. "Honestly, Agent Doggett, you've seen 
some strange things in your work with the X Files. Are you 
sure you're ready to dismiss it all just because you haven't 
seen it yourself?"

Doggett sighed and closed his eyes. "No. I'm ready to dismiss 
it all because it's... it's... Come on, Byers, it's aliens, 
for God's sake!" He looked back over at Byers.

"Try to have an open mind about this, John," Reyes said. "We 
haven't got a better explanation just yet."

"No, but there's got to be one," Doggett insisted.

"When I find it, I'll let you know," Scully said.

Jimmy caught up with Byers at the foot of the stairs and 
grabbed his arm. "Please, John, go back to bed."

Scully hurried over to them. "Byers," she said, looking 
annoyed, "I told you to stay in bed for at least two days 
unless it was necessary. What are you doing up?"

Byers swayed and leaned into Jimmy. "I can help," he 
insisted.

"You'll help by gettin' your ass back in bed," Doggett said. 
He started over toward Byers, stepping past Frohike.

"What they said," Frohike added.

Reyes nodded. "The best place for someone with the flu is in 
bed. Have you tried any herbal remedies yet?"

"Is Nyquil an herbal remedy?" Langly said, snorting. 

Reyes looked at him. "Garlic. Echinacea. Goldenseal. Things 
like that. He needs to support his immune system during 
something like this, or his recovery will be much slower."

Scully already had a hand around Byers' other arm when 
Doggett got there. "You've got a chill, Byers. Being up right 
now is really not good for you. You need to rest."

"What did you find?" Byers asked, looking at Frohike.

Frohike sighed. "Zeus Genetics. Both our headless horsemen 
here were scientists working for them. This stinks of Old 
Smokey's work."

"Who's Old Smokey?" Reyes asked Doggett quietly, coming up 
behind him. 

He shrugged. "The old guy Mulder talks about in the files, I 
bet," he said. "The chain smoker." 

Reyes nodded. "That would make sense."

"Score one for Dogbert. And Smokey ain't dead," Langly said, 
poking a finger at Doggett. "No matter what Krycek told 
Mulder, I ain't buyin' it. That cancer-suckin' geezer is 
still around pulling strings."

"You got that right," Frohike grumbled. He looked uneasy.

"I'm sure it's all connected," Byers insisted, struggling 
weakly with Jimmy and Scully. The longer he tried, the worse 
he looked. "It has to be. Those supersoldiers have to be 
coming from somewhere. They're not natural. It's, they're..." 
He looked like he'd lost the thought in mid-sentence.

"Dammit Byers, go back to bed," Doggett snapped. "You're not 
doin' anybody any good here. You're just gonna keep yourself 
sick. That's no help to anybody."

Jimmy and Scully started muscling Byers back up the stairs.

"Wait a minute. ZG. The TREYNOR files," Byers said as they 
pulled him along. "Remember, there were references in them to 
ZG, guys. We were trying to figure out who ZG was. It's not a 
who, it's a what."

Doggett's eyes widened. The initials in the files had been 
puzzling, but it had been overflowing with acronyms and coded 
phrases to begin with. They'd only deciphered a few, and 
TREYNOR wasn't among them. "Zeus Genetics... Shit. I think 
you're right." The pieces were starting to fall into place. 
He wasn't sure of the picture yet, but shapes were beginning 
to manifest.

Byers sagged against Jimmy, looking exhausted. The jock's 
arms were around him before he could slip too far, and he 
picked Byers up. "You're goin' to bed, buddy," he said.

"They're coming from Zeus Genetics," Byers muttered. "Put me 
down."

"No way," Jimmy said. "Bedtime."

"I can walk, damn it." Byers' protest was heartfelt but 
feeble.

Jimmy shook his head. "Yeah, right. If I let you fall over 
and get hurt, Frohike'll kill me."

"So will I," Langly snapped.

Scully followed Jimmy up the stairs, Doggett close behind 
her. He wanted to hear more.

"I have a very bad feeling about this, John," Reyes said 
quietly falling into step behind him. "Something's really 
wrong."

Doggett shook his head. "It stinks."

"Men," Scully muttered. "If they're not trying to pretend 
they're not sick, they're whining like it's the end of the 
world."

"Hey," Doggett said. "Where the hell do you get that idea?"

"Look at him," Scully said, nodding her head at Byers. "He's 
as stubborn as Mulder."

Doggett was willing to give her that one. He chuckled.

"Nobody's as stubborn as Mulder," Byers muttered.

"Come back here, Dogbert," Langly said. "We're not done yet. 
I think the narc's right."

Doggett stopped and turned to look at Frohike and Langly. 
Reyes almost stepped on him.

Frohike waved him back. "Come on, Doggett. Jimmy and 
Scully'll put his ass back where it belongs and we can get on 
with this. It's not like everybody's gonna fit in his room 
anyway."

Doggett sighed and went back to join them. Reyes followed 
him, leaving a respectable buffer against another sudden 
stop. He watched Scully and Jimmy disappear around the corner 
with Byers as they got to the top of the stairs, then leaned 
down to speak to Frohike and Langly privately. "Damn it," he 
said, quiet, "I wish he'd keep his ass in bed."

"Been like this every time he wakes up," Langly said. "Jimmy 
has to keep draggin' him back to bed."

"Christ, is he always like this?" Doggett shook his head, not 
quite wanting to believe it.

Frohike nodded. "Yep."

Reyes joined them. "What's the big secret?"

"Just talkin' about how big an idiot Byers is," Langly said, 
smirking.

Doggett turned to her. "That bad feelin' of yours, Monica. 
What's up?" 

She sighed. "I'm not sure yet. It just feels like it's going 
to get ugly." She turned and looked up the stairs, then 
looked back at the Gunmen. "I don't think you should be 
involved in this case. You're civilians, and it's not safe. I 
think someone's going to get hurt."

"Hey babe," Frohike said, his annoyance clear on his face, 
"right now, we're your official only hope."

She crossed her arms and looked down at him. "Oh, great. 
We're doomed."

Doggett put a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, come on, Monica. 
They're helpin' us out here. What they've been saying, it 
makes sense, aside from the whole alien thing. This Zeus 
Genetics, if it's the ZG in those files the guys found for us 
last month, it could be big. This could blow a whole bunch of 
stuff open. We might be able to figure out what the hell's 
really goin' on with Knowle and with that Billy Miles kid. 
Maybe figure out what the hell the military's up to, how they 
did it, and why."

"Right now, John, I just want to find out who killed those 
two scientists without anyone else getting hurt," Reyes said.

"We're workin' on it," Langly said. He glared at her. "Those 
assholes need to be stopped, man, and nobody else is doin' 
it."

"We're doing it because it's the right thing to do," Frohike 
added. "Somebody's gotta keep the people informed and try to 
stop those bastards from fucking over the people. Not to 
mention coverin' our own asses."

"And you guys are going to save the world?" Reyes asked. Her 
disbelief was plain as she leaned back against the desk.

"Nah," Langly said. "We're just tryin' to get the truth out."

Frohike nodded. "If we don't, who will?"

"I think that's our job, guys," Doggett said. "That's why 
they put the I in the FBI, you know." He grinned and shook 
his head.

Langly laughed and Frohike elbowed him. 

"Hey!"

"Hippie jerk." Frohike looked back up at Doggett. "Mulder 
said that once. You guys, you may look for the truth, but can 
you really put it out there if you find it? You got Kersh on 
your ass all the time. You know he's not gonna let you tell 
the truth. He'll find some threat that'll keep you quiet. 
There's always that old nut, 'national security.'" Frohike 
gestured to himself and Langly. "We don't have to deal with 
crap like that."

"No," Langly said to him. "We got other crap to deal with. 
Like not bein' able to pay for getting the next issue out. 
Shit like that."

"You also have to deal with no weapons and no legal backup, 
boys. You walk a real thin line," Doggett said. That was 
something he worried about. He respected the guys for their 
determination and dedication, but was afraid it might get 
them seriously hurt or even killed someday. "Sure, 
investigate this stuff with us, but, damn it, stay the hell 
away from the field."

"I don't got any plans for funky poaching in the near future, 
dude," Langly said. He shook his head emphatically.

"Depends on what we find," Frohike said. "What if you guys 
find stuff you're not equipped to deal with? We've backed up 
Mulder a lot over the years. He trusts us. He's been coming 
to us since before he got assigned to the basement.  We've 
got time depth here, Agent Doggett; been doing this stuff for 
years."

"You got some kinda suicide wish is what you got," Doggett 
said. "You guys and Mulder. You push it too far." He wished 
it wasn't true, but he'd seen that sharp edge of madness in 
Byers' eyes once. He might respect the guy, but it didn't 
change the fact that Byers was really weird sometimes.

"Like you don't?" Langly raised an eyebrow at him. "You chase 
around bat-things and pull sluggy parasites out of Scully's 
back, and you think that's normal?"

"Sanity is relative," Reyes said.

"Now you listen here, sister," Frohike said, a finger raised 
in her face. "We document everything we possibly can. We run 
one hell of a tight ship. Byers would have our butts if we 
printed stuff we couldn't at least bring some evidence to 
bear on."

"Well, I'd like to see some of it." Reyes reached down, 
picking something up from a pile of papers on the floor, and 
looked at Frohike. She held up an old issue of 'The Lone 
Gunman', with the headline TELETUBBIES = MIND CONTROL. "Your 
evidence for this, for example."

Doggett didn't dare comment, especially after his own cracks 
about the aliens. He wanted to defend Byers and the guys, but 
Reyes wouldn't get it. She was about the last person he 
wanted to figure out that he was seeing Byers, anyway. Even 
though she knew he'd been seeing a guy again, she disliked 
the Gunmen. He was sure she'd urge him to dump Byers, and he 
didn't want to hear her insult the man he was more and more 
coming to care for.

"Our narc's got a good head on his shoulders, and if you tell 
him I said that, I'll be forced to kill you," Frohike said.

Langly nodded. "Yeah. What Frohike said." He looked more 
upset at Reyes' charges than Doggett expected. The whole 
situation smacked of the 'he's my brother -- only I can 
insult him' sibling thing.

Reyes opened her mouth to object, her nostrils flaring with 
anger. 

"Look, can we get back to this search?" Doggett asked, 
cutting her off before she could start. "We still have to 
find out what the hell is going on here. Do we know where 
these Zeus Genetics offices are that the victims were working 
in?"

Scully returned from Byers' room. "Okay, guys, what's the 
rest of the news?" She settled herself against the desk where 
Frohike had been working and looked at them expectantly.

"The Providence guy, Aaron Sprague, was working in a small 
office in Narragansett --" Langly said.

"-- and Trevor Linden McCrae, Mister Bridgeport, was working 
in a lab in Bridgeport, not far from where he was killed," 
Frohike said.

"McCrae was a geneticist. Sprague was a biostatistician," 
Langly continued. "We can't tell yet what project they were 
working on, but they were in communication on a pretty 
regular basis. They might have been working on the same thing 
in different offices."

"Statistics?" Reyes said. "I can't imagine anything more 
boring."

Scully nodded. "A geneticist and a biostatistician. It seems 
likely they might be working on the same or a related 
project. Sprague might have been crunching McCrae's numbers. 
But the fact that these facilities aren't located in the 
usual circuit for the big labs with access to Cray time is 
really suspicious. Even if I didn't know Zeus was on the 
shady side, I'd suspect it just from that. I wonder why they 
were killed?" The blue of her eyes intensified in the dim 
light, and Doggett knew her mind was working overtime.

"Maybe they learned something they weren't supposed to," 
Reyes suggested. 

Doggett shook his head. "If they were researchin' the 
project, they're supposed to be learning things, aren't they? 
What would they learn that they weren't supposed to?"

"The purpose of the project?" Scully asked.

"Who's really behind it?" Reyes added.

"Could be," Frohike said. He sat down at the computer again. 
"I don't know if these guys knew each other before Zeus 
Genetics, but we haven't really had time to chase anything 
down on 'em from their past. Just the immediate work history. 
Now that we have their identities, we can crack their 
background checks and personal records and see. At least, if 
those records haven't been wiped too."

Langly nodded, sitting next to Frohike at another terminal. 
He threaded his fingers together and cracked his knuckles.

"I don't want to know," Scully said, turning her face from 
the Gunmen. "I don't see anything."

Reyes nodded. "Do you have anything else for us before you 
get into that?"

Frohike shook his head, not bothering to look back at them. 
"Not right now, but Langly's still trying to figure who 
pulled the prints and dental records from the system."

Langly looked up. "Yeah, that's what I'm dippin' into right 
now."

"Let's get out of here and see if we can catch some food," 
Reyes suggested. "I haven't had dinner yet."

Scully nodded. "Yogurt with bee pollen for lunch wasn't 
exactly filling."

"And who's supposed to be payin' for this?" Doggett asked.

Both of the women looked up at him. He sighed and shook his 
head.

"What didja expect, Dogbert?" Langly asked. He snorted. 
"Chicks."

"Okay, okay," Doggett said, heading for the door. 

Scully laughed. "Next time, it's my turn."

~~ end chapter 1 of 4~~