Well, technically, November first, but people hadn't seemed to notice in
this area. Witches, werewolves, vampires, and the living dead were all
still shambling up and down the street, some weaving drunkenly, not quite
willing to give up the costume just yet this year.
Samhain for the ancient Druids. Just the first day of a three day party
where wearing dead livestock was all the rage. All Saints Day for the
Roman Catholic Church. Mulder's saint was obviously out partying, because
he was getting the feeling he was out of luck tonight. He had been
looking for hours. He knew he had seen him leaving that bar, and that was
no costume. Short, dark hair. Leather jacket. Tight jeans.
Not that he was looking.
He seemed to have a sort of sixth sense when Krycek was near. Something
in his guts tensed and warmed at the man's proximity. Mulder didn't want
to think too much about what that meant; he was just glad to have some
advantage.
His body's glimmer of recognition, right out of the blue, impeded him this
time. He lost precious moments stunned in immobility at being so close,
so suddenly. He just sat, gaping, as the red light went green, then back
to red, watching the other man retreat.
Knocking back a few beers with the gunmen earlier hadn't helped his
reaction time, either. But how could he turn down an evening of watching
Frohike cursing and bleeding as he carved the 'official' jack-o-lantern
for the front porch. It had been a bang up job, though, the frozen scream
carved into it's shell almost completely detracted attention from the
camera mounted inside. Those boys really brought paranoia to a whole new
level. "You just never know who's behind the mask, Mulder." A tipsy
Langly had taken him aside to impart that little bit of wisdom.
The old, hardwired, response kicked in soon enough. To follow, to find.
Unfortunately, by then he had lost sight of him. The throng of costumed
bar-hoppers closed ranks around him as soon as he had passed. All he had
now was Krycek's general direction. He hoped that would be enough.
It wasn't that he was going to arrest Krycek. He'd had a few too many for
that tonight. He simply wanted to know what the man was up to. Yes, that
was it, Mulder told himself. Just wanted to know how his Halloween was
going, whose house was he trick-or-treating at this year, that sort of
thing.
He was approaching yet another dimly lit block of buildings that had seen
better days when a blur of activity caught his eye.
Two teenagers, one donning a pirate costume, the other wearing a Spiderman
outfit, were chasing after a white ball of fur, one hurtling rocks and
missing by a mile, the other egging him on with "Yeah! Get it!". The cat
took a quick turn into an alley, with them right behind it.
Mulder sighed. "Why does this always happen to me?" His hopes of finding
Krycek fading, he did a sloppy job of parallel parking at the opposite
curb, got out and jogged over to the alley.
The lone streetlight didn't quite catch the alley, and there seemed to be
a shadow on the moon, filtering the already inadequate light. He
crouched, using the wall for cover, while he got a visual on the
situation. He could see the rock-chucker on his knees by a large trash
bin, shiny pirate pants creeping down his wide ass. The other one was
hunkering down beside him, removing his mask to get a better view. The
small amount of light in the alley gave his acne a gruesome glow, and
shone off of his greasy hair.
The pirate seemed to have the cat by the tail, tugging with ruthless
abandon as he attempted to yank the cat out from under the bin.
"C'mon, you fuckin' hairball, come on out and have some fun with us."
The skinny, greasy Spiderman deftly produced a switchblade from his
pocket, and flicked it with a practiced ease. "Yeah, come on kitty.
We're going to have a GOOD time." He punctuated this statement with a
bray of laughter.
Great, he thought. These two couldn't be any older than sixteen. The way
they were going after that animal it certainly wouldn't take them any time
at all to mature to a taste for their fellow human beings. Well, time to
nip this in the bud. Mulder was in the middle of rising to advance on
them, when movement on the other side of the alley caught his attention.
"Well, what the fuck do we have here?" Those low, gravelly tones were
unmistakable.
As Krycek stepped out from the darkness, Mulder's guts fluttered
violently, almost as if they were trying to catch up from being so
startled. The two junior thugs mirrored his reaction almost
simultaneously, dropping the cat's tail in surprise. It scrambled to
relative safety further under the garbage bin.
Krycek loomed over the two punks, who were still on their knees. He was
leaning back on his heels, arms crossed, all menace. Mulder swallowed
with a suddenly dry throat, waiting for this to play out.
Spidey turned his attention, and the switchblade, on the intrusion. He
seemed to pale a bit as he got his first good look at his challenger.
"This ain't your business," he squeaked out.
The pirate gained his feet as well, giving his southbound pants a sound
yank on the way up. "Yeah, none of your business, fag. Why don't you
find another alley to sell your ass in."
Krycek's bored expression cracked for a moment, as he grinned at their
implications. He caught himself quick enough, and got back to business.
"No, boys, unfortunately for you, I have an entirely different reason for
being in this alley. You see," Krycek took a step closer, "I am a
founding member of the... 'Association for the Care of... Kittens'." He
stopped for a moment to compose yet another smirk.
Mulder rolled his eyes. He would like to see the stationary for that
organization. 'ACK'. I guess that whole 'dork' persona earlier in his
career hadn't been a total sham. He entertained the notion of Krycek
running around town with a big ladder, fetching cats out of trees for a
moment, then tuned back in as Krycek continued.
"It is my sworn duty to protect felines everywhere from stupid dickheads,
like yourselves. By using any force I deem necessary."
While Spidey seemed to be buying what Krycek was selling, the pirate was
unimpressed. He raised a meaty fist, lumbering towards Krycek slowly. "I
mean it cocksucker, get the fuck out...."
That was as far as his threat got as Krycek took one final step towards
his prey and brought his knee up squarely into the pirate's groin. The
kid gave a high-pitched whimper, folding to his knees, his hands clutching
his abused privates.
Spidey took that opportunity to attempt to stick Krycek with his knife,
taking a wild, sweeping lunge at his side. Krycek fended off the attack
with his left arm. It made a solid 'thwack' as it came into contact with
the boy's hand, effectively causing him to drop the switchblade. Krycek
countered with an impressive right, knocking the greasy head back against
the alley wall.
Krycek took a moment to retrieve the blade at his feet, then gave the kid
on the ground a hard shove. There was no resistance as he fell, still
writhing in pain. Spiderman was cowering against the wall in abject
terror, clutching his bleeding nose.
Krycek placed his foot on the head of the prone assailant, and directed
his attention to the one against the wall.
"You see," he began in an ordinary tone, as if he was discussing the
weather, "our association is very dedicated to the protection of this
species. And we are everywhere." The punk was shaking in his shoes as
Krycek pinned him to the wall with his left forearm. "There isn't a place
where we don't exist and protect. There is nowhere to hide from us."
Mulder jumped at the shrill squeal coming from the pirate. He had been so
enraptured by Krycek's little speech he had almost forgotten about the
other boy, who had foolishly attempted to roll out from under Krycek's
boot, causing even more pressure to be applied to his cranium.
"Don't move, lard-ass, or I will pop your head like a grape."
The kid whimpered in submission, and remained still.
"Now," Krycek returned his attention to the one pinned to the wall, "so
you won't forget, and so the rest of my 'association' will know you by
sight." He moved so quickly, Mulder wasn't even sure what had happened,
until piercing shrieks bounced off the dirty bricks of the alley. Krycek
pulled back to admire his work, giving Mulder an excellent view as well.
Krycek had carved a bloody "K" in the center of the kid's oily forehead.
The shrieks continued, until Krycek belted him in the solar plexus, and
the screaming stopped immediately. As he attempted to crumple, Krycek
once again pulled him up square, taking another look at his handiwork.
"Perfect."
He gave the pirate's head a little farewell shove, then removed his arm
from Spidey and stepped away.
"Now, you boys remember what I said. We have eyes everywhere. You even
look at another animal and you'll be even sorrier than you are now.
Understood?"
Spiderman had gone fish-belly white, his head jerking in assent, as much
as it could with him still clutching his forehead. The pirate had gotten
to his feet, finally, and gave a piteous "Yes, sir."
"Good. Now blow."
They staggered away as quickly as they could, not noticing Mulder, who had
been crouching in the same spot since this little drama began. He watched
them until they were a good distance away.
"Enjoy the show, Mulder?"
Mulder jumped at Krycek's voice. In all the excitement he had almost
forgotten what he was here looking for in the first place. He stood,
stretching his legs for a moment, although no more than minutes had passed
since he had first spotted the cat.
Krycek favored him with a little smirk as he got down on one knee and
leaned over to peer under the bin. "You can come out now, cat. They're
gone. Here kitty, kitty."
Mulder was still trying to get his head around the recent turn of events,
but that didn't stop him from admiring the view Krycek was offering. The
leather jacket had rucked up a bit, giving him a great view of those tight
jeans he had told himself he wasn't noticing earlier. He was about to ask
what Krycek had really been doing in this alley, and possibly inquire what
twenty bucks would get him—just for the sake of pissing Krycek off, when
the cat decided to make an appearance.
She sidled out from the opposite end where Krycek was kneeling,
dramatically arching her back and rubbing herself against the edge. She
looked to be of Persian descent, well fed, with a rhinestone collar, too.
Other than being dirty, she seemed no worse for wear.
Krycek righted himself, and leaned over to pet the cat, when she hissed
indignantly, and twitched her tail at him. Having decided that she had
made her point, she slipped off behind a few dilapidated boxes.
Krycek stood, watching the cat depart. Mulder watched Krycek. "What?"
"Krycek. What you just did could almost be considered...um...nice. I
guess you just never know, huh?"
"Know what?" With a quick flick of his wrist Krycek returned the blade to
the handle. While Mulder was mildly impressed with the fluidity of the
motion, his cock was absolutely entranced with the action. Jesus, he
thought distractedly, the things that will blow your skirt up.
"What's really behind the mask." Although this train of thought made
perfect sense to Mulder, Krycek seemed perplexed, and he really didn't
feel like explaining the bit of wisdom Langly had imparted earlier this
evening. He changed the subject. "So... what were you doing here?
Besides your duty for the 'Association', that is."
"Nothing, just thought it was a good place to spend Halloween. You never
know what is going to jump out of the garbage cans."
Mulder regarded him shrewdly. "Not meeting anyone?"
Krycek gave him that wide-eyed innocent look that had been so popular back
when he was an agent, "Me? Meeting someone? No, not at all."
"Uh, huh. Lets say, hypothetically, if you did meet someone, and they had
some information for you, wouldn't it be easier to tell me now? It would
save you from breaking into my apartment. Again." Although I can't say I
wouldn't mind a visit, Mulder finished mentally.
Krycek smiled, "Mulder, Mulder, Mulder. You know if there was anything, I
wouldn't hesitate to tell you. I'm just out here, celebrating in my own
style. I could ask you the same question. What's a fine agent like
yourself doing in an alley like this?"
"Just doing my part for 'ACK', same as you." Krycek's brow furrowed at
this for a moment, then his expression lightened, as he got the joke as
well. It was kind of nice, Mulder thought, just the two of them, shooting
the breeze, almost normal. The beers he had drunk, and Krycek dealing
with the scene earlier had put him at ease. He noticed Krycek looking
across the street at something.
"Well, if you're going to arrest me, I guess those guys stealing your
hubcaps will just have to get in line."
"What? Hubcaps?" He turned to see two clowns with crowbars beginning to
effectively strip his car.
Mulder bolted from the alley, gun drawn, yelling "Federal Agent! Drop the
crowbar!" The clowns took off, their big shoes flopping noisily on the
pavement.
Mulder returned a few minutes later, slightly out of breath and hubcap in
hand, to a deserted alley. He stood for a moment wondering if he should
try to catch up to Krycek. Suddenly feeling very tired, he sat on the
curb, elbows on his knees, hands in his hair.
He looked up in time to catch the cat as she made her final appearance,
trotting by Mulder, her prey dangling limply from her jaws.
"Well, at least one of us got their rat." Mulder sighed heavily, got up
and returned to his car. He contemplated returning the hubcap to it's
proper place, shrugged, and tossed it in the back seat instead.
He climbed in and sat for a moment, and gave some serious thought to
getting a cat.
This Is Halloween
Boys and girls of every age
Come with us and you will see
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
I am the one hiding under your bed
I am the one hiding under your stairs
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
In this town, don't we love it now?
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can
Scream! This is Halloween
Aren't you scared?
Well, that's just fine
Everybody scream, everybody scream
I am the clown with the tear-away face
I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the shadow on the moon at night
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Tender lumplings everywhere
That's our job, but we're not mean
In this town
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
Our man Jack is king of the pumpkin patch
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
In this town we call home
Behind the Mask
by Kashmir
Mulder glanced at the glowing numbers on the dashboard. Nearly 2:30 a.m.
Halloween night.
Danny Elfman
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
This, our town of Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It's our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise
Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll scream
Red 'n' black, slimy green
Say it once, say it twice
Take the chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night
In our town of Halloween
Here in a flash and gone without a trace
I am the wind blowing through your hair
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween!
Life's no fun without a good scare
In our town of Halloween
Don't we love it now?
Everyone's waiting for the next surprise
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everyone scream
Won't ya please make way for a very special guy
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
