I prop my head up on many pillows before opening my binder of material for
the case I'm working on; it's complicated and requires attention, attention
I'd rather be lavishing on Alex. I hate it when he goes to bed before me;
it makes me feel like he's being cheated somehow. I love falling asleep
with him in my arms, his head on my chest. I hate coming to bed at 1 am,
with another hour of two of reading work material to go.
He shifts again and settles on his other side. He's snoring now. Lightly.
I pry my eyes from the profile I'm reading and look at him. His back is now
towards me, and I can see the little hairs at the back of his head damp with
sweat. He's wearing those pajamas again; that's why he's so hot. Those
flannel pajamas with the green stripe. I gave them to him at Christmas as a
joke, and he tore them out of the package and put them on right away. He
never wore underwear, never mind pajamas, but he loved them. I bought
myself a pair, too, and put them on. We sat there on the floor opening
presents and laughing while coffee brewed in the kitchen. Then we were
making love in front of the tree, soft and sweet. Afterwards, we put them
back on and lounged around the apartment, watching videos, eating popcorn
and Christmas candy. We kept them on all day, except for the times we
ripped them off of each other to make love. He put them on when we went to
bed, rubbing the flannel against my naked body, making me squirm. I had
enjoyed taking them off of him as much as he had putting them on that
morning. I had gone away for a few days after that, and when I came home,
he wore them to bed again, explaining how he slept in them when I was away,
as it made him feel close to me. I then removed them carefully and explored
his body with my tongue.
Sometimes I can't believe he's here. I can't believe I have Alex Krycek in
bed beside me; it's just not fathomable. But here he is. My lover. My
friend.
He came to me nine months ago. I remember it well, because it was hot, way
too hot for October, and I had been shooting hoops at the park. It was
dark, but I was on a roll, and I didn't want to leave until I missed. I was
up to 75, and I kept making shot after shot. The sound of the ball swishing
through the air and the jangle of the chains as the ball went through the
hoop were music to my ears. I was hoping someone would come by and witness
my feat, but no such luck; my perfect game was seen only by me. Finally, on
shot 129, I missed. I groaned and threw my hands up in the air and gestured
to the audience that wasn't there. That's when I realized how late it was.
The traffic had slowed to a trickle, and the streetlights were burning
bright under the dark sky. I picked up my ball and bounced it a few times,
intending to break my record but decided to head home instead.
I had just walked in my door when he got me. One minute, I was throwing my
keys on the dining room table, and the next I was under it, cuffed to the
strong supports with Alex Krycek leering into my face.
"That was some display down in the park, Mulder," he said. "I was about to
call the NBA when you missed."
I was having mixed feelings right then. Part of me was surprised and pissed
off that Krycek had done it again and tackled me in my own home, but part of
me was elated that someone had seen my perfect game. But this was Krycek,
and I couldn't be friends with him no matter what.
"What the hell do you want, Krycek?" I snarled at him, his name leaving my
mouth like a bad taste. I squirmed in my bonds, realizing that my own cuffs
were holding me.
"Just came by to say hi. Nice weather we're having."
His voice was as smooth as silk, all deep and dark, like he was trying to
intimidate me or something.
"Cut the crap, Krycek," I said, giving him a good glare. His green eyes
flashed in the dim light of my apartment, giving me an amused look.
I remember the last time he was here, when he'd given me that information
about Wiekamp. As with this time, he had totally caught me off guard and
pulled my own gun on me. I was slightly amused that he had done that, and
when he had told me all about the war starting between the alien races, I
didn't believe him. Well, I let him think I didn't believe him; truth
was, I knew Krycek was telling me for a good reason and absorbed every word
that he had said. Then something really weird had happened—he kissed me!
That move totally threw me off. I sat on the floor of my apartment confused
and wondering just what had that smooch on the cheek meant? Was it the kiss
of death? Did he like me? Was he just fucking with me? After great
internal debate, I put it down to a mindfuck. When Scully came over and
found me sitting on my floor, I was still wondering if mindfuck was really
the right answer.
For a week I had thought about that kiss and what it meant. I was half
hoping he'd come back so I could ask him just what the hell he was trying to
do. I mean, he'd given me this tip, this great tip about the rebels, and
then he left...but by then I didn't know what to believe. What made him
think I'd believe him? Then again how did he know I'd stopped believing?
Later, I had given myself a mental slap in the head and moved my thoughts on
to something else. Gradually, he began to slip from my mind, and just when
I thought I'd never think of him again, here he was in my face, although
this time it didn't look like he was in much of a hurry.
"I'm here to help you, Mulder."
"I don't need your help," I sneered.
"You do but you don't know it. And I need yours."
"Well, too bad, you're not getting it." I turned my head and looked at my
fish tank. This had to be one of the more stupid conversations I'd ever
had. It was clear I didn't want him here, wasn't it? I was curious, but
this was Krycek, and he was still a rat bastard. I couldn't just give in
and say, 'Yeah, sure, tell me everything'.
I turned my head back and watched as he leaned over to grab a knapsack on
the floor; that's where I saw my opportunity. I kicked him as hard as I
could. I got him in the left shoulder and sent him sprawling backwards onto
the floor. He let out a cry as he fell to the hardwood. He lay there for a
minute, whimpering in pain. I was quite proud of myself. If he was going
to fuck with me, I was going to fuck with him. He slowly sat up, and I
could see tears in his eyes. I hadn't kicked him that hard, had I? He
glared at me and moved away out of my reach.
I tugged on my cuffs, and an uncomfortable thought ran through my mind.
This was a pretty solid table; it was an antique and built to last. The
cuffs were also strong. If Krycek chose to, he could let me stay here like
this for a very long time. I tugged again as if they'd magically be
released, but they still held.
I looked over to Krycek; he had pulled off his leather jacket and winced in
pain as he laid it on the floor. He was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt
underneath, and I could see that something was not right. His left arm
seemed to be just hanging there in the sleeve. Had I done that? I couldn't
have ripped his arm off with just one kick. Gingerly, he took the shirt
off, and I saw the reason for the strangeness; his arm came right off with
the shirt! I actually gasped out loud when he took the shirt off and I saw
that most of his left arm was missing.
He looked over at me, still glaring before his lips turned into a half leer,
half smile. "You didn't know about this, did you?"
The small, tapered stump was covered by a mesh-like sock and was pulled
forward and didn't look quite right. He shrugged his shoulder, and when he
relaxed, it was back where it was supposed to be.
"This is just a little souvenir from our trip to Tunguska. Remember when
you drove me away in that truck? You remember the people who had cut their
own limbs off? Well, they welcomed me with an open arm."
That hit me like a ton of bricks. I had just assumed that when Krycek had
fallen from the back of the truck, he'd gone back to his little 'comrades'
at the gulag. I sort of felt sorry for the guy, but in my honest opinion,
he got what he deserved.
"That wasn't my fault."
"Of course, it's not your fault, nothing's ever your fucking fault.
Dragging my ass half way across the world's not your fault." He then
mumbled something about earning Fox Mulder frequent flyer points.
"You only get frequent flier points if you drag me halfway across the
world. It doesn't work the other way around."
Krycek didn't answer, as he had reached over with his right hand and was
massaging the small stump, squeezing it and letting out a little groan. The
stump fluttered as he moved it around.
He then inspected the prosthetic lying in his lap, looking for any damage.
Once he was satisfied, he reattached it to his body. He clenched the
mechanical hand, bent the elbow, then wiggled the fingers. Then he shot me
another half glare, half smile. "You're lucky, Mulder, this model's
durable. You would have broken the older one I had."
I remained silent, not knowing what to say. I wasn't going to apologize to
him, fuck that. Instead I rolled my eyes and said, "Should I feel sorry for
you?"
His eyes glittered a deep green, but they had a look in them that scared me.
What was he going to do to me now? He stalked towards me on all fours,
grabbed my ankles and tied them together with his belt so fast that I didn't
even know what the hell was happening to me.
"No, Mulder. You should feel sorry for yourself," he purred and sat on my
legs.
So there I was, cuffed to my dining room table, a shirtless, one-armed
assassin sitting on my legs to keep me still while he rummaged in his
knapsack. He pulled out a flashlight, then picture after picture of the
people involved and the places they were located, like some sort of
Consortium slide show. He had documents, he had proof, and he was telling
me the most extraordinary tale.
The people that were killed at El Rico weren't those people at all; they
were clones, decoys to throw the rebels off the scent. The Consortium knew
they'd be double-crossed, so they produced clones for every one of their
operatives and their families. The real people were holed away in a bunker
in the side of a mountain in Utah. The rebels were invading, the aliens
were getting worried, and the only thing left to do was colonize. The
Consortium was planning to release the black oil into the general population
in a few weeks. They had been going to use the honeybees, but that would
take too long. Instead, they were going to spread the black oil by air.
Planes would be launched, and the black oil would be sprayed into the air,
where it would fall to the ground and cover everything with a microscopic
film. The unsuspecting public would breathe it in, swallow it, touch it,
and gestation would be only a week or two away. Alex knew how to get
inside, he knew how to stop colonization, he had ample amounts of strong
vaccine, and he wasn't afraid to use it.
"How do you know all of this?" I asked. "How do I know you're telling me
the truth?"
"I've showed you the proof. What more do you need?"
I didn't say anything; he had proof all right. I also knew he was telling
me the truth, and that scared the hell out of me. "Why are you here,
Krycek? Why are you telling me all this?"
Krycek shifted; my feet were falling asleep. I took my first good look at
him and noticed how good his body was, how tight his black jeans were. When
we had worked together, he was all bad suits and geeky hairdos, now he was
all dark and sexy, and I wondered what had made him change so much? I'd
never noticed him before, never paid attention to him; I hated him for
Christsakes. But there was something; something I didn't like that was
stirring inside of me. I put it down to loneliness and the fact that the
last time I had been with a man was five years ago and I always wanted what
I couldn't have.
"I need you to help me get these bastards. We have to stop them, or we're
all going to die."
I laughed at him. "You just took it upon yourself to save the world?"
"Someone has to." The look on his face was dead serious.
"Why me? I'm sure you've got a dozen cronies who would just love to help
you."
He twitched but remained silent.
"Isn't there a local double, triple agent union or something you could
call?"
He looked at me calmly, his chest rising and falling with his breaths. He
twitched again and shifted. My feet were almost numb, and my arms ached. I
could see some sort of answer forming, but he didn't want to say it.
"You're the only one I trust," he finally said, softly, almost wincing as
the words left his mouth.
I snorted, "I don't trust you."
He looked at me with a disapproving glare, as if I had farted or something.
"Well, you're gonna have to if we want to do this."
"I didn't say I was going to help you."
"You..." he started then stopped. He took a breath and looked down at me in
what could be called a seductive glance, but I don't think that's what it
was. "I need you, Mulder."
I nearly laughed out loud. "Are you begging me, Krycek?"
He glared at me again; he was sure letting his emotions show tonight.
"You're the only person I know who gives a shit about what's really going
on."
I shook my head as best as I could, "You're wrong, I don't give a shit."
Now that was a lie; I wouldn't have followed mystery trains halfway across
Texas or frozen my ass off trudging to fucking Antarctica if I didn't give a
shit. And he knew this, bastard that he was. He was good, but I wasn't
giving up so easily.
"What's in it for me? Give me one good reason to help you."
He rolled his eyes; I was really starting to piss him off. "You're not just
helping me, you're helping the entire human race! If we don't do
something, we're all dead!"
He then let out a frustrated huff and got up off my legs. As the blood
rushed back to my feet, pins and needles shot through them, making me wince
in pain. I tried hard not to groan out loud.
He stood and put his shirt back on. Then he bent down and looked at me
again as he put his papers back into his knapsack, a smirk in his eye. "So
what is it, Mulder? Yes or no?"
"Fuck you," I said, still not wanting to give in.
He smirked at me, "See you around, Mulder." He then picked up his leather
jacket and knapsack and turned towards the door.
He was just going to leave me here cuffed to my table! Goddamn it, I really
didn't want to give in; I wanted him to beg me to go with him. Shit,
that wasn't going to happen.
"Wait," I said and he stopped. "Don't leave me here." I felt defeat in my
heart as he just stood there, hand on the doorknob. He waited then turned.
I could only see his legs from my position under the table, and he just
stood there tapping his foot.
"Are you going to help me?"
"Yes," I whispered, regretting it as soon as I said it. The stupid idiot
Mr. Know-it-all in me had to do this.
He bent down and looked at me, a blank expression on his face. "We have to
leave tonight," he said seriously, as he started undoing my bonds. "I'm
giving you twenty minutes to shower and pack, and then we're gone. I don't
want you to call anyone, not Scully, not Skinner, we can't trust anybody."
He reached up and uncuffed me then looked down at me and added, "But we're
going to have to try and trust each other."
I nodded at him, then sat up, the blood returning to my limbs. He helped me
to my feet, and I looked him in the eye. I could fight him, I could fuck
with him, I could go into my bedroom, get my Sig and blow his head off, but
no. My goddamn curiosity had overpowered my ego, and I was going to do this
come hell or high water. If he was going to save the world, I couldn't
let him take all the glory.
I turned on my heel and had a shower, then went into my bedroom to pack, not
believing that I was actually doing this. I noticed he was sitting on my
couch in the semi-darkness save for the light in the dining room. Had it
been anyone else, I would have offered him a beer or told him to turn on the
television. I packed and made a quiet call to Scully, leaving a message on
her voice mail telling her where I was going. He said not to call her, but
I needed some back up, just in case. Then I went out into the living room,
a small bag loaded with bullets, gun clips and a change of clothing in my
hand.
We left my apartment silently and went down to his car. We drove to a small
airport, boarded a private plane and flew for a few hours until we reached
what I thought was our destination. It turned out to be California. We bid
the pilot goodbye and got into a car and started driving. He told me to
sleep while he drove; we didn't talk much.
I was shaken awake some time in the morning; we were changing vehicles.
This time to a 4 wheel drive truck. We switched positions, and I drove
while he tried to get some sleep. I wanted to ask him if all this cloak and
dagger stuff was necessary but didn't. Instead, I looked at the map he
showed me and followed the route he had indicated, agreeing to wake him when
we got to our turnoff.
After about an hour, I looked over at him. He was asleep and his face was
peaceful, but I knew that any slight motion of the truck turning off the
road would wake him immediately. I could see his senses taking everything
in and on alert as he slept.
I couldn't believe he trusted me like this. I could have just driven to the
nearest town and put his ass in jail, but I didn't. Somehow, a part of me
knew that this was very important. That importance was felt even when he
was in my apartment last night. This was some serious shit. But at the
same time, I could also sense that he was holding something back. There was
something he wasn't telling me.
Four hours later, I pulled off the road; he was awake immediately.
"We here?" he said, shaking off his drowsiness.
"Yeah."
"Pull into the service station and gas up," he said. "I'll go across the
street and get some supplies at the store. Meet me there."
I nodded my head as he exited the cab of the truck. Through the rear-view
mirror, I watched him walk across the street. Just your average day, a
one-armed assassin going grocery shopping in a small town somewhere in Utah.
I shook my head at the absurdity of it all. I gassed up the truck, and 20
minutes later we were back on the road, Alex driving.
We took a few turns until we were at a dirt road. I knew we were close to
our destination; his ears had kind of perked up, and he was leaned forward,
almost over the steering wheel as if he was looking for something. We
rounded a corner and came to a modest cabin. There was something strange
about this place, however. The trees were covered in claw marks, and there
were strange prints on the ground. Alex stiffened in his seat when he saw
the overturned shed and downed trees. The cabin, however, was untouched.
"Goddamn it, they're still getting loose," he said as he put the truck into
park. He looked at me. "Open the door, grab some supplies and run to the
cabin; don't stop whatever you do."
"What's here? What's gotten loose."
"I'll tell you later."
I got out of the truck, grabbed a bag and box of supplies and hurried into
the cabin. Alex followed behind, knapsack strapped to his back, machine gun
ready and waving around. // Machine gun! Where the hell did he get that?//
Once inside, Alex flipped a switch, and a low hum was heard. He propped the
gun up beside the door and looked out the window.
"Fucking bastards, I told them they'd have to reinforce their system, or the
nasties would keep getting loose."
"What are you talking about?" I said. "What's that noise?"
"It's a security system. If anyone tries to break through the electronic
field, they get zapped like a big bug zapper."
I nodded, not really sure I wanted to hear what nasties were, but I had an
idea.
"They must have been looking for a warm place; they don't like the cold.
But they know better than to try and come into here." He looked up at me.
"Aliens. They're crafty buggers. I've spent the better part of this summer
hunting stragglers, ones that have gotten away from the containment
facility. They're strong, they're smart, and they don't like getting
caught. They like meat, too. You can't blame all those sheep killed in
Colorado on coyotes." Alex stopped and stood to look out the window.
"They're killable; you can shoot them dead, and they'll just wither up on
you and die. Their blood's not toxic, not like the shapeshifters'. Thing
is, you gotta get them in the head. Through one of the eyes is your best
bet. If you stick them with some vaccine, that works even better; they
practically turn to dust before your very eyes."
I was horrified. "You mean they're getting loose and just roaming the
countryside looking for food?"
"That's why I was called in this summer. I told the men what they needed to
do to make their containment stronger, but it looks like they didn't listen
to me." He snorted, "I guess they figured it's no big deal. But you know,
what can get out, can get back in."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing; this was unfathomable. I stood
there, my mind reeling at the fact that they were just letting this happen
like they were breeding puppies. I didn't notice Alex had left the room,
but soon he came back with a device which, when turned on, made a whining
noise, then stopped. That's what made me look over at him. He also had a
roll of blueprints in his hand. He motioned to the couch, and we sat down.
"The aliens born in the lab are microchippd so they can be monitored and
tracked." He fiddled with a knob on the top of the machine. "The range
isn't that good, because of the mountains, but you can tell where they are
before they try to attack you. They like to sleep during the day when it's
warm and keep moving at night so they don't freeze to death. That's an
advantage. If you can find their den, you can kill them in their sleep."
Alex spread the blueprints out before me and studied it for a moment.
"For the past few months, after what happened at El Rico, truck after truck
has been arriving and dumping their black oil into the containment unit.
The Consortium decided that they had better upgrade the oil that was meant
for the bees and make it more potent so it would act faster. With the
weaker strain, you get any of that shit on you and you're in isolation with
a vaccine drip in your arm for a few days. If they catch it in time, your
little friend won't gestate and you'll just shit out black goo for a week.
But if they don't catch it in time, they move you to another facility where
they let the alien gestate and, once it's hatched, microchip it and perform
experiments on it."
Alex paused then breathed, "Do you remember what it's like to have that
inside of you?"
I shrugged.
"It's like part of your soul is leaving when you inoculate it. The black
oil is like a drug, like heroin. It makes you feel good, so powerful, so
you don't want to get rid of it. When I had it in me, it was a different
strain, a different source. This stuff they got now." He shook his head.
"It's fucking deadly."
"No," I said. "I don't remember. I try not to remember that particular
incident."
Alex looked up at me and flexed his mechanical hand. "I'm reminded every
day."
I looked at him. I didn't know what the hell he was fishing for, but that
dig wasn't going to go unnoticed later. He looked back down at the
blueprints.
"There's a large supply of vaccine here," he pointed to a part of the
blueprints. "They produced tons of that shit, not only to protect
themselves, but to use as a killing agent in case something went wrong.
We're going to strengthen that vaccine with a more potent version that I
have, and use that surplus to destroy the black oil."
He pointed to another part of the blueprints. "There is a secure system
that can be triggered to lock the entire bunker down so it can only be
opened from the outside. They designed it that way so when they were doing
tests and something went wrong, they could lock whatever nasties they had
produced inside. To tell you the truth, a monkey could have designed a
better security system. It's easy to breach. It has to be since we've got
all these aliens running around." He laughed, "Jurassic Park on a budget."
"Once we contaminate the black oil with the intensified virus, how do we get
out of there?" I asked.
"There's an access door that leads to a service hall and out to an emergency
hatch. I've used it a few times," he said.
"Won't the whole place lock down once the contaminant is detected?"
Alex shook his head, "No, I'm reprogramming the sensors to think that it's
just a drill, and the system should ignore the lock down procedure."
"You seem to have thought of everything," I remarked. "If this is such an
easy task, why do you need me?"
Alex's lips pursed together for the briefest of seconds. "There are some
people that are in there that I'd like to get out."
"People? Your cronies? No way." I shook my head; now I knew why he really
needed me here, and I wasn't going to do his dirty work.
"The Consortium has been in that bunker for some time. They feel their only
chance to survive colonization is to become hybrids. Once they perfected
the process with Cassandra Spender, they fast-tracked all the top level
people to go first. They're all full alien hybrids. Now that they're
finished their families, they are starting on the prisoners."
"Prisoners?"
"Some officials were taken against their will and cloned. Their clones were
sent back to assume their identities. We need to get them out of there
before they start hybridization and colonization. You'll see, Mulder;
you'll want to help these people very much."
I doubted that. What I was hearing was still making me sick. It was the
things Hollywood movies were made of. "Are you a hybrid?" I asked.
Alex snorted and shook his head, "No. I don't want any part of that."
"But you are part of it. You've been doing their dirty work for years."
"I did what I had to do to survive. But I'm not about to have transfusions
of alien blood and operations on my fucking brain just to please those
assholes. They've double-crossed me time and time again, thrown me out,
used me to get information. Not anymore." Alex gave a short laugh, "You
know, they think they'll be able to control these creatures once they've
been released. There's no way in hell you can control these things. The
aliens are predators; they're untamable. It's going to be Armageddon."
Alex stood and went to the window; the mountains around us made it dark
early. He checked the security system then looked at me. "I'm tired. You
can bunk here on the couch; I'm going to take the bed. Rest well, you're
going to need it."
I lay down on the couch and mentally went through our tasks for tomorrow.
The first thing we had to do was get into the security hub and re-activate
all security codes with Alex's swipe card. He was ready with a palmtop
loaded with the necessary software to do so. Then to the containment unit
and the silos holding the black oil, and the "infirmary" where the poor
souls who had been infected "recovered". It wasn't going to be easy getting
in there to that cache of vaccine they had. After I had thought about it a
few times, I realized just what was at stake. If we didn't do this, the
consequences would kill everyone on this planet. I went over things again,
and, fortunately, my exhaustion outweighed my still spinning mind, and soon
I drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly, I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes, looked up at Alex and
yawned. Dim sunlight tried to press through overcast clouds, but it was
still quite dark for daytime outside. Fitting for what had to be done
today.
"Mulder, we'd better get a move on."
I looked up at him, clad in a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans. His hair was
wet.
"You can take a shower if you like. Breakfast will be ready in ten." Then
he walked away.
I nodded at him as he left the small living room and heard him clattering
pans in the modest kitchen. I went into the tiny bathroom and relieved
myself before hopping in the aluminum shower stall. Alex had left a fluffy,
blue towel out for me. I adjusted the water and let the hot water spray
over me for a minute then started to soap up. For some reason I wondered if
Alex owned stock in long sleeved t-shirts and if he now only owned things
with long sleeves? I wanted to ask him about his arm, how it worked, but I
knew I wouldn't. I wondered why I cared, why I was suddenly distracted by
thoughts of Alex Krycek of all people? I barely knew the man. But there
was something about him ...
I stepped out of the shower, toweled off, and put on the clean clothes I had
brought with me. I went out to the kitchen, where bacon, scrambled eggs,
toast and coffee were waiting for me. Alex had waited for me to eat,
content to sip his coffee. My stomach growled as I sat down in the vacant
chair, and we both dug into our breakfasts.
"We probably won't eat again for a while, so I thought we should eat a lot
now."
"Thanks, it looks great," I said. Gee, wasn't this nice, having breakfast
with Alex, formerly known up till now as "Rat Bastard". I nearly shook my
head at yet another absurdity that had happened in the past two days.
We ate in silence until he spoke. "Thank you. Thanks for helping me." He
looked me in the eye and went back to his breakfast.
I looked at him. I knew it was totally killing him to say that, but I had
to hand it to him, he had balls.
"I haven't done anything yet," I said.
He looked back up. "But you believed me."
I shifted in my seat; I wasn't sure I wanted to go here. What was I going
to say, "I always believe you?" I wasn't going to admit that to him. Hell,
I wasn't going to admit that to myself! Instead, I said, "You're welcome."
And left it at that.
After breakfast, I offered to wash the dishes while he got our gear
together. What the hell was this? I had a sudden burst of friendliness for
some reason. I don't even do dishes in my own home. He gratefully left me
to it. After I finished, I went into the living room and stared at the
cache of firepower before me. We each had a knapsack with the concentrated
vaccine, extra ammunition, stun grenades and a gas mask. There was also a
first aid kit and an Uzi.
"We each have a kevlar vest. I suggest you wear yours."
Then he undid his jeans and pulled them down. I raised my eyebrow at the
glimpse of him standing there in his black boxer briefs. He then filled a
hypodermic with some amber liquid and shot it into his hip before pulling up
his jeans. Then he came over to me.
I had a comeback prepared if he'd asked me to take off my pants, but he
didn't.
"Roll up your sleeve," he said. "We need a booster shot."
I rolled up my sleeve as instructed, and he prepared a clean needle. It
pinched as it went in.
After my shot, we geared up and were ready to roll. I could feel adrenaline
shoot through my veins. We were going to do this—we were going into the
Consortium's headquarters and thwart their plans to take over the world! I
waited for the ominous music and maniacal laughter to start. It was very
James Bond. Or Austin Powers, at the very least.
We started out from the cabin, knapsacks on our backs, machine guns slung
over our shoulders, sensors scanning. We walked through a trail in the
woods for about two hours until we came to a steep grade. We climbed up
mostly on our hands and knees until we came to a metal culvert. Alex pulled
the already loose grate back and stepped inside.
It was dark, but we didn't put our scope lights on, for fear of alerting
anyone to our presence. There were light sensors in all the walls, but no
motion detectors for some reason. There was one camera in the culvert, but
Alex had already taken care of that. He had told me that the last time he
was in this facility, he had prepped it for his return visit. The people
inside, however, weren't expecting Mr. Krycek to return.
We gingerly picked our way through the dark tunnel, feeling with our feet.
This tunnel was basically a service entrance for emergencies only. I was
sweating, the exertion of trying to keep calm overwhelming me. I had to
stop and close my eyes for a second and refocus on what we were doing; I
couldn't let anything catch me off guard. Finally, we came to the door, a
small red light twinkling in the darkness. We were away from the light
sensors, so I turned on my small Maglight and shone it on the lock
mechanism. Alex took his palm pilot out of his side pocket that had a swipe
card attached to it. He inserted the card and pressed a few buttons on the
palm pilot, then the door opened with a click.
He put the machine back into his pocket, and we stepped through the door,
guns ready. I let it close gently behind me with a soft click and beep.
This hallway was narrow, and we had to walk single file down it. There were
pipes above our heads, and I could hear some sort of liquid swishing through
there. I hoped it was just water.
We reached another door; this one had no lock. Alex turned the handle. He
looked at me, and I nodded. This was the actual entrance to the facility.
He peeked through the small opening then opened the door wide. We silently
went through the doorway and fell to our bellies on the floor. The adjacent
wall was made of plexiglass. Below this transparent office was a huge
loading bay, where Alex had told me the tanker trucks would be loading up
with the enhanced version of the black oil next week. We had to get to the
other side of that cavern.
We crawled on our bellies, until the plexiglass was solid wall again. We
stood and crept stealthily down the corridor, guns ready but hoping we
wouldn't have to shoot anyone. I checked my watch; we were making good
time. We turned a corner and narrowly missed being seen by someone. We
pulled back and waited, but no one came after us. There weren't too many
people around, and I started to wonder why. A sense of uneasiness filled
me. We reached another plexiglass wall, this time on the other side of the
corridor. I peeked through the window and found myself looking down about
50 feet into a bright, cheerful dining area with real trees and a fountain.
I gasped as I saw entire families sitting around quaint tables eating their
midday meal. Babies, children, mothers, fathers...
Alex tapped me on the shoulder, and I pulled back. We then crawled past the
window and made our way down to the end of the hallway. Alex produced his
swipe card, and I got two needles ready. These needles administered a
fast-acting sedative which would give us more than enough time to do what we
had to do and get out of there. On three, Alex swiped the card, and the
door opened with a click.
Two people turned their heads to look at who had come inside but were unable
to react as we got them with the needles, the small feathered ends sticking
out of their necks. Alex acted quickly and uploaded the security bypass
program, so no alarms would be set off when we counteracted the black oil.
Then he programmed the security cameras along our escape route to loop for
the past 20 minutes, so no one could see us, should someone come in to this
office.
After he was done, we left the little office and went down the stairs to the
containment facility. A chill ran through me as we walked past the many
tanks that I knew were filled with the black oil. I tried not to think of
the consequences of the thousands of gallons of liquid that could destroy us
all. We got to a door, and Alex swiped us inside. This was where the
vaccine was held. There were only four tanks inside this room! I quickly
did some math and realized it wouldn't be enough.
Alex looked up at the tanks. "Shit!" He stroked his jaw and cleared his
throat. "There were two more tanks in here a few weeks ago." After some
internal debate he said, "It's gonna be tight, but I think we can do it."
We took our knapsacks off and got out our canisters of concentrated vaccine.
We divided the contents up between the four tanks via a small hatch in the
top. Alex then went to a control panel on the wall and pressed a few
buttons. He waited then pressed a few more, and a great, sucking sound was
heard.
"While we were upstairs, I rerouted the tanks in here and out there into the
big holding tank in the middle," he said. "It's not supposed to happen, but
the pipes are all interconnected in case they had to abandon ship, so they
could destroy their evidence."
I checked my watch; it would take at least 10 minutes to mix the vaccine
with the oil and pump it back into the tanks so all of the virus would be
destroyed.
"That's it," Alex said some time later.
"That's it? Kind of a letdown."
"This isn't the movies," he snorted. "Now we have to get our friends out of
here."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Alex was already stalking through the
door. I didn't want to help his goddamn cronies; they could rot in hell for
all I cared. I followed him anyway, curious as to who was actually held
here.
We went up the stairs, but to a higher floor. We crept down the hallway,
and Alex swiped us through a set of doors. We ended up in a long corridor
with what looked like heavy doors down both sides. A small, square windows
was set in each door. From the look of it, it seemed as if it were a prison
of some sort. I looked in one window and was shocked to see a shapeshifter
sitting on the floor, his face and body changing every few seconds like some
sort of cartoon. I stood back and looked in another window. There was a
frail person in there on the floor, in the fetal position, shivering.
Alex came up to me and pulled me along. "There's nothing we can do for
these people. They're too far gone." He checked his watch. "We have to
hurry; we've only got a few minutes left. Our people are in the next ward."
I followed him to a double set of doors and got another round of knockout
needles ready. We burst through the doors and easily took out the two
nurses on duty. I noticed I had scraped one of them with the needle as I
put it in her neck. There was something going on here; instead of red
blood, dark green jelly oozed out of the small wound. I pulled my hand back
as if she had bit me.
"They're all hybrids, Mulder. Everyone in this facility is a hybrid. All
those kids you saw eating grilled cheese, all the guards, these nurses, the
people down the hall. That's why we have to get these people out of this
ward; they're the only ones left that weren't transformed."
Alex turned and walked towards the end of the ward. I walked behind him, my
heavy boots clomping in the sterile silence. Bed after bed was empty, their
occupants long gone to whatever fate awaited them. We came to the end, and
what I saw made my blood run cold.
"Dana. Dana, can you hear me?"
I was watching Alex Krycek stroke the cheek of....Scully! But it couldn't
be Scully; I saw her at work the other day. This person was frail and thin,
and...it couldn't be her.
// What the...//
"What the fuck is going on here, Krycek?" I demanded. "Who is this person?"
The person in the bed suddenly sat up straight and looked me in the eye.
Holy shit, this person could be Scully's twin.
"Mulder?" she said.
"Yeah, that's Mulder, Dana," Alex said. "We've come to take you home."
"Wait a minute, who is this person?" I demanded.
Alex stood up and walked over to me. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell you.
I knew that you'd go off half-cocked if I did, and I couldn't jeopardize the
mission."
"Tell me what?"
Alex breathed in. "When you saved Scully from that alien ship last summer,
you didn't save Scully; you saved her clone."
"What!"
"When you were given the coordinates and vaccine, you were given these
things to rescue her clone and introduce it into her role. The real Dana
Scully was brought here and held as captive. They were going to make her
into a hybrid, but as I said, they had other priorities. I found Scully
here a few months ago. I came by every day for the three weeks I was still
here to see if she was okay. I told her that I was going to bring you here
and we were going to take her home. If the others were here when we came,
we'd get them out, too."
Alex turned to the seemingly real Scully. "What happened to Jeff and
Marita?"
She shook her head, "Gone."
"Gone? I just left them here three weeks ago."
"They came to get Marita, but she didn't want to go through any more of it.
She decided to end it."
"She killed herself?"
The person nodded.
"And Jeff?"
"They got him. He's down the hall."
"Shit!"
"Wait a minute," I pulled him aside. "You expect me to believe that the
person I've been working with for the past year has been a clone? That's
total bullshit, Krycek. How do I know this person isn't a clone? And how
the hell would they have cloned her so fast, anyway?"
"They started just after they abducted her at Skyland Mountain. Why do you
think they took her in the first place? They knew she was devoted to you;
what better way to convert you than have your partner and best friend do it?
They just waited for a good opportunity to make the switch."
"I don't believe it," I said. I didn't know what to believe.
"Well, you're going to have to, because we have to get her out of here now;
we're running out of time!" Alex went back to her bedside, removed some
jeans, a sweatshirt and some running shoes from his knapsack and gave them
to the woman, then pulled the curtain closed so she could have some privacy.
"Mulder, it's hard to understand, but it's true. I only found out myself a
couple of months ago. If I had known earlier, I would have come to you
sooner. When I found her, I knew I couldn't just leave her here, at the
mercy of their sick experiments."
I looked him in the eye. This was some sort of sick joke or dream I
couldn't shake off, I was sure of it. But I had to ask him, "Why do you
care?"
"I'm not a monster."
The curtain pulled back, and the woman came out toward us. I gave her a
weak smile.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again, Mulder."
I just nodded at her. She looked at me with hope in her eyes, but I gave
her a blank look. She looked like she was going to cry for a minute, and I
really hoped she wouldn't, because I couldn't deal with that right now. Was
this really Scully? How could I know what to believe?
"Mulder, I know it's hard to comprehend, but I really am Dana Scully." She
reached for my hand and squeezed it, but I didn't squeeze back. Then she
left me alone.
The clothes were way too baggy on her, but they would do. We exited quietly
and made our way back to the door that we had come in. No one saw us, and
no one stopped us. This was too easy; I didn't like the feel of this. We
got to the dark tunnel, and Alex took out his palm pilot and pressed a few
buttons then swiped his card again. Then the ground rumbled.
"What the hell was that?" I asked.
"I've rigged the place to implode. It took me two months to smuggle enough
explosives in here, but I think it'll do." He started out of the tunnel and
out to the light at the entrance.
"You what?"
"We can't just leave them in there, alive. We have to kill them. It's the
only way."
I grabbed Alex's arm. "Wait a minute! You didn't say anything about
killing people. There're fucking children in there!"
"Mulder, they're monsters. They're all hybrids."
"But... They're just... How do I know you're telling me the truth?"
"You're just going to have to trust me! There isn't time to argue."
This was not what I wanted to do. I didn't want to kill people...little
kids...babies. I shut my eyes for a second and willed the images away of
what I thought was happening in there. I opened them quickly, however, when
the ground shook again.
We made our way out of the culvert and down the steep slope into the woods.
The air was chilly, like it was going to storm. The woman who professed to
be Scully held onto my arm as we picked our way down the incline. We got to
the bottom and started through the woods and to a road that would lead us
back to the cabin, when we were met by three people I'd never expect to see
together in my life.
"I see you've found the clone, Mr. Mulder," the smoking man said.
"She's not a clone, Mulder," Alex said. "That woman standing beside Diana's
a clone."
I looked at them standing there then looked at the woman to my left. Except
for the weight and brightness of hair, they looked exactly like the same
person.
"Diana, who's the clone?" I asked.
"She is, Fox." She pointed to the woman beside me.
"Mulder," Scully said. "Mulder, this is me. I have no idea who that woman
is, but by the looks of her, she needs some medical attention. We should
take her to the hospital. Bring her to me."
"They're lying, Mulder; don't listen to them," Alex said. "They're fucking
with your mind." He pointed his chin at the trio.
"I'm not a clone," the woman beside me said. "Alex knows the truth; why
won't you believe him?"
They stared at us, and we stared at them. I didn't know what to do; I
didn't know who to believe. All I knew was that the woman standing beside
me was shivering violently in the cold, and I couldn't just let her freeze
to death. I looked down at her, and she looked up at me, and that was when
Alex opened fire.
My mouth dropped open, and a scream left my throat as I saw Diana and Scully
hit the ground. "NO!" I smacked the machine gun out of Alex's hands and
cracked him against the jaw. "What the fuck are you doing? You asshole!"
I rushed up the hill toward Scully and Diana. I got to the top, and what I
saw made my stomach turn. Green jelly-like blood oozed from the missing
parts of their heads. All three of them were dead, Alex being an impeccable
shot. Then they started to wither up like leaves on the ground during a hot
day. I backed down the short hill slowly and went back to Alex and...
Scully! It really was Scully.
"They were all hybrids?" It was more of a statement than a question.
Alex rubbed his jaw where I punched him. "I wouldn't have blown their heads
off if they weren't. The Scully was a clone hybrid; Diana and the smoker
were themselves but had gone through conversion already."
The ground rumbled around us. I turned to Scully and didn't know what to
say.
"It's okay," she said. "I honestly didn't expect to see you again."
"No. No, Scully, I should have known; I should have rescued you." I
reached out and squeezed her hand, and this time it was she that gave me a
blank stare.
Alex interrupted us. "We'd better get a move on."
He started up the path, Scully followed him, and I took the rear. We
trekked through the woods, more slowly than we had come, as we had Scully
with us. She tried to keep up the best she could, but she was weak. I'd
taken my sweater off earlier and given it to her, but she was still
shivering. Two hours later we were almost back at the cabin; we had less
than a mile to go, and I was feeling a little weary. All during our walk,
the ground rumbled as the cavern inside the mountain collapsed.
I couldn't help thinking about those people inside... hybrids or not, a lot
of them were just kids. It didn't feel right. I also thought about the
Scully that had been my partner for the past year. I couldn't believe she
was a clone, that she wasn't the real Scully. We'd been through so much
together with Kersh and Skinner, and now I had to explain the past year to
the real Scully, and I wasn't sure how I was going to do that, or where to
start. Mind you, the whole Scully being a clone thing did explain a few
things, such as the sappy, Christmas present swapping Scully that seemed a
tad too sappy for me.
I watched Scully walk in front of me; she was holding on to Alex's knapsack
to pull herself up the last hill. We got to the road with a sigh of relief;
it would be easy walking from now on. I was looking forward to a cup of
coffee and hopefully a strong shot of some sort of alcohol if Alex had any
in his little cabin. It was getting dark; the clouds had brought dusk
early, and it was getting colder. Suddenly, Alex's monitor went off, and we
all stopped in our tracks.
"Oh shit, we've got a visitor fifty feet to our left." He looked down at it
again. "And to the right....and behind us. Fuck, there's three of them,
and they're surrounding us." Alex held his weapon at the ready and motioned
to Scully and me. "Take her and get to the cabin; I'll hold them off."
I hesitated for a brief second but then began walking briskly. Scully was
weak and tired, and I started pulling her along by the arm like a child.
She was having a hard time keeping up with me, so I picked her up and slung
her over my shoulder amidst her protests.
"Mulder, put me down," she said, angrily. "I can do this."
"Scully you're in no position to argue." I heard gunfire then footsteps
behind me. From the speed at which they moved I knew it couldn't have been
Alex. I ran as fast as I could, my lungs screaming for oxygen in the cold
air until I got to the cabin. I heard a growl, and then Scully wasn't on my
shoulder anymore.
I turned and saw her sprawled on the ground. She just lay there on the
gravel, not moving. I pulled my gun and shot twice at the two aliens
standing there over her, but it was dark, and I missed one and hit the other
in the leg. I grabbed Scully around the waist and hauled her inside the
cabin, activating the security grid as soon as I got inside. I could hear
the squealing and groaning of the aliens as they fried in the electric
current.
I searched frantically through the window for any sign of Alex. I shone my
flashlight out the window but didn't see anything. Then I heard gunshots,
after which it was silent. I stood there for a good ten minutes, watching
for Alex, but I couldn't see him anywhere. Then I remembered Scully.
I knelt down beside her sprawled out on the floor and grabbed her wrist.
She had a pulse, but it wasn't that strong. I left her there and went into
the bathroom to get the large first aid kit I had seen this morning. I
cleaned the large gash across her shoulder and neck and was grateful to see
the blood flow red and not any other colour. I bandaged her up and carried
her to the couch and put a blanket over her. She looked older, like she had
been away a long, long time. I was so angry; they had hurt her to get at me
again, and it wasn't fair. God, she was so skinny; I could see her
collarbones through the rip in the sweatshirt and sweater she wore. This
was all my fault, and I'd never forgive myself.
I sat there beside her until she woke up a few minutes later.
"You okay?" I asked.
"I...I think so."
Impulsively, I gave her a hug. She stiffened in my embrace. and I pulled
away. She had a look about her that I'd never seen before. Gone were the
blue eyes that were serious but joking at the same time; she had been
broken, and they now had a hard look to them. An untrusting look, a look of
disappointment. "I'm sorry, Scully. If I had only known, I would've gotten
you out of there sooner."
"It's not your fault, Mulder," she said and looked away.
// Yes it is.// "I followed you to Antarctica. I rescued you from the
ship....I rescued you, dammit!" I stood and punched the log wall and looked
outside, and that's when I saw it....staring at me.
Scully didn't say anything. I knew our relationship would never be the same
again.
I moved closer to the window and shone the flashlight outside again. The
alien backed away slowly to lurk in the shadows; he wasn't coming near this
place with the system on. We stared at each other, mesmerized by each
other's strange features. Now, I had a dilemma. My partner and best friend
was weak and in need of care, and if this thing attacked us, she wouldn't
survive. But Alex was outside. And although Alex was a rat bastard, he had
helped me find Scully. And even though he had kept the real truth of our
mission from me, he was right. If he had laid it all out in the beginning,
I would have barreled in there and jeopardized everything...
The alien moved. It shifted its stance, and I swore it sneered at me before
it backed away slowly into the shadows. I knew it had to keep moving, or it
would freeze to death. I don't know how long I stood there at that window,
but what seemed like a few hours later, I brought a kitchen chair over so I
could sit down. I only averted my gaze once, and that was to check on
Scully, who was sleeping on the couch.
Dawn came with pink streaks in the now clear sky. I hadn't slept, and I was
feeling the toll of the past two days' activity weigh heavily on me. Then
something fell out of a tree and landed with a groan. It was Alex.
Very quickly, I turned the security system off and ran outside. It was Alex
all right, but he was cut and scraped, and he had bruises along his jaw,
which I remembered came from me. I helped him up, and we went as quickly as
we could to the cabin, he hopping on one ankle. As soon as we got inside, I
flipped the switch, and the now soothing hum of the electric current made me
feel safe. I sat him down on the chair.
"What happened? Were you in that tree all night?" I reached for the first
aid kit and started cleaning his wounds.
"I can do that," he said as he snatched the cotton swab from me. I sat back
on the floor and let him tend to himself.
"I climbed up there after I shot two other nasties that were out there.
That big bastard chased me for a mile. There were five in total. I saw
that one, the big one, looking at you through the window. He waited for me
until dawn broke, and then he went away. My leg had fallen asleep, and when
I tried to climb out of the tree, I fell."
"Do you think it's broken?"
"No," he shook his head. "It's just a sprain; I'll live."
I nodded.
He motioned to Scully, who was still sleeping. "How's she doing?"
"She's shook up and needs some nourishment desperately. We need to get her
to a hospital."
"Let's wait an hour, then we'll go. I want to make sure the nasties are
sleeping when we leave."
I nodded at him and settled into the comfortable chair beside the couch.
Alex got up and went into the bedroom. The next thing I knew, there was a
pounding on the front door. I jumped up out of the chair and looked
frantically for my gun. I then looked out the window and saw that it was
very bright outside, and Skinner was at the door.
I went to the door and opened it. "Sir."
"Agent Mulder, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
He had a team with him, and they swarmed inside the cabin. My mind was all
fuzzy. I must have been sleeping; that would account for it being almost
noon by my watch. But how did he get past the security system?
"All clear, sir," one of the men said. "There's no one else inside."
I was confused. "Wait, Krycek should be here."
"Krycek?" Skinner said, a growl in his voice.
"Yeah, he's the one that brought me here; we eliminated the black oil; he
saved Scully..." I drifted off as the look the AD was giving me was a
familiar one, one that said he'd really like to believe me but wasn't going
to.
"Let's get you and Agent Scully to a hospital; you can explain everything
then."
I let myself be led away from the cabin, confused and wondering what had
happened to Alex. He was right there, in the bedroom; I was sure of it. I
turned my head and watched the small building through the back windshield as
we drove away, hoping he was all right.
For the next two months, I wondered about Alex and where he had gone. My
conclusion was that he had called Skinner and had taken off before anyone
could accuse him of any crimes. I wrote my report and gave it to Skinner,
who read it and signed it and gave it back for filing. I don't think he
wanted to know. I wanted to poke him with something sharp to see the colour
of his blood, but I thought that might be a good way to shorten my career;
although, I've done much worse to him. I was relieved to see he had cut
himself shaving a few weeks later and the blood was indeed red.
Scully didn't come back to the X-Files. She was in the hospital for a
month, rehabilitating and putting some weight on. She said they had started
the conversion process, but test after test was done, and nothing could be
found wrong with her. She had had enough adventure and decided to go back
to teaching at Quantico, where she could have a nice little 9 to 5 job and a
normal life. I didn't blame her. She had been through so much that I was
surprised that she called me every second day. I was sure she would hate
me; she went through all this shit for me. She's one hell of a woman.
I miss her a lot. Scully was my rock, the only one that ever understood me.
She even laughed at my bad jokes. Now I work alone in the basement, and if
I want to fuck the dog all day and throw pencils at the ceiling, I can do
that without her glaring at me. I need that, though. I need someone in my
life who will put up with my shit but keep me in check when I need it. She
still calls and laughs at my bad jokes, but it's not the same. I asked her
about Alex, and she told me that he had sent her a note wishing her well,
but other than that nothing.
I'd been thinking a lot about Alex. I saw a side of him I didn't know he
had. When he was with Scully, he was gentle and compassionate; gone was the
double crossing son of a bitch I thought I knew. I hoped he was okay and
wanted him to call me. I mean, I at least had to thank him for saving
Scully.
It had been a pretty shitty day. Skinner was all over my ass about a case I
didn't want to take. It had to do with voodoo, and I was in no mood to
become a walking zombie that weekend. I didn't want it, but he said I had
to take it. Then he told me I was going to get a new partner. I objected;
I didn't want to work with anyone but Scully. I tried quitting my job, but
he wouldn't accept my resignation. Stubborn bastard. I was in no mood for
anything except a hot shower and a healthy dose of porn.
I walked through the doorway to my apartment and flung my keys on the dining
room table as I kicked the door shut with my foot. I was thinking about
Christmas and how it was only days away, but it didn't really mean that much
to me anymore. My mom was off with her friends. Scully was out at Bill's.
I decided to keep a tradition and sit here on my couch and quietly drink
myself into oblivion. Suddenly, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.
I pulled my Sig and pointed it in the direction of the motion.
"Don't move," I said, as I reached behind me and flicked on the light. Alex
Krycek blinked back at me in the harsh brightness.
"Alex!" I was trying to hide the smile in my voice but didn't do a good job
of it.
"Hey," he said.
God, he looked good, all husky voiced and stubble with leather pants //
leather pants!// and a black shirt with black leather jacket and his ever
present black leather gloves. I just stood there like a dork and stared at
him in all his splendour and waited for him to say something, but he didn't.
"Would you rather carry on this conversation under the dining room table?" I
joked. "You know, if it'll make you feel more comfortable." I smiled at
him. He smiled back.
"No, I'm fine right here. I, uh, I just wanted to see how you were." He
looked down on the floor.
"I'm okay." I took off my overcoat and slung it over a chair, then went
over to him, sitting beside him on the couch.
He looked at me. "You look good," he said.
"You look..." // terrific, fuckable, incredible, amazing, sexy, wonderful,
did I mention fuckable?// "pretty good yourself. How are you doing?"
He shrugged. "I'm all right."
"What happened to you, Alex? One minute you're bleeding on me, the next
Skinner's hauling my ass out of there."
"I never bled on you," he smirked. "You two had to get out of there; it
wasn't safe. I was in no shape to drive."
I was right. I knew he had called Skinner. "But where did you go?"
"I had to take care of some business," he continued. "I wanted to find out
where that big alien was."
"And did you find it?"
"It took me three weeks, but I got him. Then I kept finding more of them,
and I had to make sure they were all destroyed. They're all gone now."
I shuddered inwardly at remembering all the people that were now buried
under that mountain. If the black oil did gestate inside them somehow and
escape, we'd have them running all over the place! "And then you decided to
come see me?" I asked.
"I decided to travel a bit, drop in on some old friends. But then I
realized I didn't have any."
I looked at him, his green eyes filled with a look I'd seen back when he was
junior G-man wannabe all those years ago. That look that said he was
feeling sorry for himself, like some stray kitten in need of attention. I
wanted to say to him that he had a friend right here and I had been thinking
about him and I wanted to get to know him. Instead, I put my hand up and
caressed the side of his face. He leaned into my hand, and I expected him
to purr. Then I kissed him.
It was electric, that kiss; I felt it all through my body, down to my very
core. He responded favourably and kissed me back, his tongue coming into
contact with my own. He shrugged out of his jacket to make himself more
comfortable, and we stayed there for a long time on my couch, just kissing
each other. My hands rubbed along the leather of his pants, and the silk of
his shirt, wondering if anything was so erotic as he dressed in leather. I
took my tie off and flung it away, not caring what happened to it. I
wondered if we could take it further, so I looked him in the eye, and what I
saw told me that he was in this for the long haul.
I stood and took his hand without question, then led him into the bedroom,
where I began to undo the button on his pants. He stopped me and began
undressing me instead. Very slowly, he removed my clothes until I was
naked, taking care to caress every part of my body that was free. He pulled
my jeans off and laid them aside, then just knelt there, his arms around my
legs, his head at my groin, kissing my cock lightly. I didn't know what to
do with myself when he started doing that. He just kissed it over and over
until I was visibly shaking all over. Then he used his tongue and licked
the head and down to the shaft before taking it in his mouth.
I moaned then whimpered as he released my cock then came back up to kiss me.
I cradled his head in my hands and kissed him deeply, tasting myself on his
tongue, wondering if this was a dream or it was really happening.
I moved my head down and kissed his neck, my tongue reaching out to lick the
salt of his skin. My hands were trembling as I started to unbutton the silk
shirt, my mouth not leaving his body. I had just realized that Alex Krycek
and I were going to make love, and that was scary for some reason. I
reached down and took off the gloves that he wore, revealing the plastic of
his fake limb. He seemed embarrassed at first, but then I kissed him again,
and he relaxed into my touch.
I removed the rest of his clothing, noting that he wore no underwear under
those leather pants, and stopped at his groin as he had done to me. He
smelled of leather and musk, and I wondered if I knelt there long enough,
would I get drunk on it? I licked his cock, watching it twitch. When he
couldn't take it anymore, he put his hand under my chin and brought me up to
meet his lips again.
I pulled away and raked my eyes over his now naked form. He reminded me of
a Greek statue, beautiful and perfect, yet broken. Thing was, his
prosthetic arm somehow looked in place on him; he carried it well, like it
wasn't fake at all.
I pulled him close to me and kissed him gently, my tongue entering his mouth
for a brief moment before pulling away. We lay down on the bed, he on top
of me. His naked skin felt so good against mine; I could stay like this
forever. He kissed me as his hand roamed all over, tweaking my nipples and
running his fingers through my chest hair. Lower his hand went, his mouth
still clamped to mine sucking on my tongue and nibbling on the corner of my
mouth.
My hands were caressing his back and went down to cup his ass. I was losing
myself in him. I could feel my heart pump faster as his hand trailed over
my body again and again. He ran the tips of his fingers over my balls, and
I nearly melted from his touch. I ran my fingers over his ass and down to
drag my thumbs across where thigh met body. I needed to touch more of him,
to taste him, to be inside of him.
Gently, I rolled him over and started to kiss down his neck. I wanted him.
I needed him. He knew this, because he just let his legs fall open, his
cock and balls on proud display for me. I reached down and cupped them in
my hand, feeling their weight in my hand, watching his eyes flutter with
every stroke of my thumb. I reached over and got a condom and lube from the
table beside my bed, hoping neither was too old to use. I prepared him
gently, my long fingers probing inside, stretching him, and spreading the
slick over the smooth walls. Then I got myself ready and got into position.
I was nervous; I hadn't done this in so long; the last man I had was ages
ago. I entered him slowly. God, he was tight. Velvet heaven surrounded my
cock as I pushed deeper inside. He was so hot, and I was sweating so much
that I thought we would spontaneously combust. I gained another inch, not
sure just how far I could go without coming. I stopped and reached forward
to play with his nipples, but his hand grabbed my wrist to stop me.
"No," he moaned. "Wait. No. Wait..." His eyes were squeezed shut, and he
was biting his lower lip. He was also panting as if he had just run a
marathon. I watched as his abs shuddered and his cock twitched. He let out
a moan and bit his lip harder. The grip on my wrist got tighter, and I saw
a bead of precome glisten on the head of his twitching cock. Finally, after
a few minutes, he calmed down and allowed me to continue.
I was grateful for that little break. I knew just what he was going
through; he didn't want to come too soon, yet it felt so good. I pushed
inside him to the hilt then started to draw back. A little gasp left his
mouth as I dug into him again, and he opened his eyes and looked at me. His
eyes were so beautiful; I was lost in them as I pumped in and out, moans
from me matching the gasps that left his lips.
"Yessss, oh yessss," he sighed as I leaned over him and increased my pace.
I kissed him, hard, my hips pounding my cock into his ass. I reached down
and grabbed his cock and pulled him to completion as I spent myself deep
inside of him. Then I collapsed on top of him, and he was kissing my hair.
He spent that night in my arms and has been here ever since.
Alex moaned and I was snapped back to the present. I turned my head to look
at him. His eyes opened for a second then clamped shut again. He put his
hand up and caressed my arm. "Go to sleep," he mumbled.
I stared at my profile again, I wasn't retaining anything, and this was just
a big waste of time. I had the gist of what this case was about, and I
could go over it one more time in the morning. I put the binder on my side
table, turned off the light and snuggled up to Alex. He took my hand in his
and kissed it before putting his head on my chest and falling asleep again.
I held him close and kissed his head, smelling his smell, caressing his
back. I thought about all we had been through and all we had overcome, and
I realized that all that mattered was right now. Soon I joined him in the
land of nod, grateful that I had him beside me.
THE END
Nod
by Nicole S
He's sleeping on my side of the bed again, sprawled over, hugging my pillow.
I smile as I get undressed and try to move him over so I can get in. He
moans and frowns, but finally my prodding pays off, and he rolls over with a
huff. The sheets are a tangled mess, wrapped around his feet, and
completely untucked. I manage to gather some of them and spread them out so
I can at least garner a corner. He sighs and mumbles something before
settling down again. His face is smushed into the pillow, and I wish he'd
open his eyes just so I could look at them.
First appeared in "Leather and Armani" March 2000
