Before they had a chance to do anything, Spender appeared before them, Marie at his side.
Scully and Krycek both reached for a gun before realizing they didn�t have one. A very old Cheap Trick song was slowly and eerily winding its way through the house.
��Time runs out�Time ran out�Make it turn around��
�What the hell?� Scully yelled in frustration.
Marie already had her own gun on them. �Let�s all relax for a minute. Nothing bad is going to happen here.�
�Kinda hard for you to say that nothing bad is going to happen when you�re pointing a gun at us.� Krycek said. He turned to look at Mulder standing behind him. �I�m assuming this is Marie? Great taste you have in women, bro.�
��Would you like to go to heaven tonight�Would you like to go to heaven tonight��
Mulder sighed, his face completely wrecked.
�Cooper, you were in on this all along, weren�t you?� Scully asked, her face red. �And here I was believing that you were Mulder�s friend.�
�I am.� He replied, standing next to Marie. �That�s why I agreed to do this.�
That threw Scully for a loop. �Do what?� She asked.
Krycek looked down at the ground, shaking his head and closing his eyes. �I knew it wasn�t the drugs.�
�My, my, Fox.� Spender took a heavy drag off of his cancer stick. �You certainly do deliver as promised.�
Scully�s jaw unhinged as Mulder walked over to stand in between Marie and Spender. The sun may as well have set in the east, because her world had just turned upside down.
��Down�A line�Couldn�t get much�Couldn�t get much�Higher if you tried�And tried�And tried��
�Mulder�� She began to say, but trailed off.
He held up his hands. �Let me explain for a minute. I�ve made a deal.�
�What?� Scully asked. Her mind was doing somersaults. �What do you mean, �a deal�? Our escape was staged?�
�For the benefit of everyone else.� Spender said. �So they would believe the Verein is responsible.�
�Spender�s agreed to let both of you go.� Mulder said, his eyes pleading for understanding. �This is the only way. It�s fine. It will work.�
�Let us go in exchange for what?� Scully asked in a whisper.
�Cade.� Krycek replied, putting has hands over his face. �They need Cade.�
Mulder held up his hands again. �Listen to me-�
�Mulder, have you gone insane?� Scully�s voice was high and thin.
�He won�t be harmed.� Mulder replied. �I will take care of him myself.�
�There�s no way in hell I�m letting you take my son.� Krycek glared at him. �I don�t care what you�re trying to do.�
Mulder closed his eyes. �Wait-�
�No.� Krycek said.
�Hold on-� Mulder tried again.
�No.�
�Alex-�
�No.�
�Mulder, you�re crazy.� Scully said. �You know what this man is capable of.�
�It�s not him.� Mulder said, pointing his hands towards himself. �It�s me. I�ll be taking care of it�
�Say�s who?� Krycek asked, nodding his head towards Spender. �Our father?�
Mulder was silent.
�I�ve lived with this man�s lies my whole life.� Krycek shook his head. �You should know by now that he deals in deception. He has to look up the word �truth� in the dictionary. What the hell are you thinking?�
�I�m thinking of you.� Mulder replied. �This is the only way.�
�The only way for what?� Scully asked, tears in her eyes. Krycek may be used to being betrayed, but she wasn�t and didn�t know how to process what was happening. �We were in the car, you didn�t have to bring us here, we could have got Cade and left. Mulder, what are you thinking?�
�We just need a blood sample, Scully.� Mulder said softly, pleading. �That�s all we need, then all this will be over. The vaccine will work. Without the vaccine, we have nothing.�
�We?� Scully stared back at Mulder, covered in disbelief. �What do you mean, we? Who�s we?�
�This is the only way.� Mulder said again.
�There�s nothing you can say.� Krycek said. �You�re not taking my son. Not with my permission.�
�You�re always so brave, Alex.� Spender said, flicking ashes. �Are you prepared to die for that statement?�
Krycek didn�t hesitate. �You know I am.�
�I was afraid of this.� Mulder said, turning towards Spender. �Didn�t I tell you? This will end badly.�
Scully put a hand over her mouth. Her mind rolled in disbelief. She could only think one thought:
I should have listened to Alex.
�I�m telling the truth.� Spender said. �You�ll be released, you can stay with Cade, all we need is his blood to create the vaccine. It�s the only way to stop colonization.�
Krycek and Scully looked at each other. She was trembling violently. �No Alex, not Cade.�
He swallowed and bit his lip; his eyes teared up. He took a step closer to her, not knowing what to do. He was helpless. He couldn�t save the day. He couldn�t do anything. They were almost certainly going to die. They wouldn�t give Cade up and they would be killed because of it.
He silently apologized to her.
I�m sorry, Dana. I�m so sorry.
Scully took his hand and met his eyes, letting him know that she was the one who should be apologizing. She should have listened to him in the car. She should have listened. She should have believed. He tightened his fingers around hers in response and she looked over at the four people standing across from them.
�You�re not taking our son.�
�It�s the only way to save the world. To save us all.� Mulder�s face was crushed as he watched them accept the fact that they were going to die for Cade. How odd, he thought, Scully and Alex Krycek, making a last stand together, them on one side, and me on the other.
Life never quite works out the way you think it will�
Mulder tried one more time. �Scully, think about this for a minute-�
�I�m not going to subject him to tests and laboratories.� She said in a shaky voice. �I don�t trust that he or any of us will be released. I don�t believe that they only want him for awhile. Even if the vaccine is created, it�s only a temporary solution��
Her voice hitched in her throat and Krycek slipped an arm around her waist, squeezing her against his side.
�I�m sorry, Scully.� Mulder said. �It�s the only thing I could do.�
�You�re getting awfully shifty-eyed, Alex.� Cancer Man said, squinting through the smoke of his cigarette. �I didn�t forget that you�ve had the best training the world can offer. ICT, Recon, Foreign Legion, BI��
�Gymnastics, roller skating, tap-dancing, origami, basket-weaving�� Krycek said sarcastically before raising his voice. �What�s your point old man?�
Cooper�s cell phone rang and he snatched it up. �Yes.�
He listened for a few moments and then hung up. �Koskie said they�ll be here in ten minutes.�
�He has the boy?� Spender asked.
Cooper nodded. �He has them all.�
Krycek took the only chance he had, which was the distraction of them talking to each other. He knocked Scully back and reached for Cooper�s gun. He got the gun in his hand just before Marie fired a bullet off and it tore through his chest.
Scully gasped. �Alex!�
�Damn.� Krycek said, meeting her eyes for a brief moment. �I always get shot.�
The gun he was holding clattered to the floor. Scully clutched at him as he fell, trying to hold him as she snatched the gun up and pointed it towards the four people standing across from her. She knelt next to Krycek and put her hand over the blood on his chest. Her eyes were so wide they could have simply popped out of her skull.
�My dream, Alex.� Scully sputtered through her terror as the memory suddenly stole into her mind. �Oh my God, my dream.�
�I can�t go back to sleep.� She had said softly, standing in the doorway of Krycek�s bedroom. �I had a horrible dream.�
�You wanna tell me about it?� He sat up in his bed, leaning back against the headboard, and patted next to him, inviting her to sit down.
�Spender was there, and Mulder was there.� Scully replied, easing down on the bed. �They were working together. They were trying to take the baby. Someone shot you.�
�We both know that Mulder would never try to hurt you or the baby.� Krycek said. �And he completely despises Spender.�
�I know.� She had said, her voice a bit shaky. �But it seemed so real.�
Lying on the floor, short of breath, Krycek grinned through his pain. �And you say you�re not psychic.�
Seeing the pain on his face and the blood seeping through his shirt, Scully struggled not to cry.
�Jesus Christ.� Mulder said, coming forward. Scully forcefully pointed the gun at him and he froze.
�I�m okay.� Krycek said softly, looking over at Scully. �I�m okay.� He was silent for a moment.
�Don�t you do that, Alex.� Scully struggled to say over the music as the melody grew louder. �Don�t you dare give me your good-bye�s.�
��Would you like to go to heaven tonight�Would you like to go to heaven tonight��
�Alex.� She whispered. She couldn�t call an ambulance. She couldn�t put down her gun. She couldn�t do anything but sit next to him and watch him bleed. Her tears fell onto his face. �Alex?�
�I�m okay, Dana.� He said, staring up in her eyes. �I�m okay.�
Heedless of the gun that wavered in his general direction, Mulder kneeled down next to Krycek. Scully scrambled back away from him, into a corner, the gun jumping erratically in her shaking hands.
Mulder looked Krycek over and rested his hands on his arm. Cheap Trick was still whining away.
��You can never come down�You can never come down�You can never come down��
�Total wipeout, bro.� Mulder said, struggling to make his mouth work, struggling to grin, struggling to lighten the horrible moment.
Krycek looked up at Mulder, his eyes became cloudy, his breathing eased up, became more regular. He slowly let his head fall to the side to look at Scully.
I�m okay, Dana. It�s okay.
She felt his thoughts slip away as his eyes closed.
��Down�Inside�You�re getting nervous�You�ve never felt this high before��
Alex?
There was nothing.
�Alex!� She yelled out loud.
There was nothing.
He was gone?
Scully desperately searched for a trace of his mind and found nothing.
He was gone.
For the first time in all her life, Scully�s normal, rational grip on sanity completely slipped from her mind and she totally freaked out.
�What are you doing, Mulder?� She yelled. �What the fuck are you doing?�
Mulder stood up. �Wait a minute, Scully. Just wait. Everything�s going to be fine.�
�What are you doing?� She was yelling incoherently, tears streaming down her face. �Alex�You shot Alex. Your brother. You just stood there, while she shot him. What are you doing, Mulder? What the fuck are you doing?�
Scully, wait. Mulder thought at her with all of his might, but he had none of their abilities. He was only hoping that she somehow managed to pick up on what he was trying to say as he took a step towards her. Scully, it�s okay. It�s fine, Alex is fine. Everything�s going to be fine.
�Liar!� Scully screamed at him, pressing herself even further into the wall.
Scully, it�s fine. Everything is fine. I promise.
�Liar!� She began to sob, overwhelmed by confusion and fear. Alex couldn�t be dead, she thought desperately. Not after all this. He couldn�t be dead. He couldn�t be. He couldn�t.
Scully, Alex is fine. I promise.
Scully stared at Mulder. He returned her gaze for a moment before her eyes drifted down to look at Krycek. That was all the distraction that Mulder needed. He knocked the gun out of her hand and grabbed her arms. She screamed in hysteria at the thought that Cade was on his way over to be delivered into Spender�s hands. She couldn�t believe that it was all ending like this.
She felt the prick of a needle and her mind was immediately overcome with drowsiness. She felt herself being lowered to the ground. She struggled to keep her eyes open; she tried to focus on Alex, lying next to her. She gathered her remaining strength and used it to scoot closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as her eyes disobeyed and closed. When she put a hand on his chest, splaying her fingers across it, she could feel his heartbeat.
Relief flooded through her. He was alive.
Dana�
I�m here, Alex.
It�s okay�Krycek�s thought was faint as it hazily spilled into her head.
She couldn�t open her eyes, could barely concentrate, she could only hear.
�Good Lord.� Cooper said in a trembling voice. �What a fucking mess.�
�You promised.� Mulder said. �You swore up and down. I have your word.�
�Yes, Fox.� Spender�s voice assaulted her senses. �Everything will go according to plan. You have my word on that.�
Time stretched out. She didn�t know how long it had been. People came and went. She didn�t think she had been moved. She struggled to climb out of the darkness. She struggled to sense Alex. She heard Mulder talking.
�Are you sure he�s going to be okay?� Mulder�s voice was strained.
�I got him in the shoulder.� Marie sounded like she was crying. �Not a chest wound, a shoulder wound.�
This is perfect, she thought hazily, this is fitting. I�m lying here next to Alex Krycek while Mulder has betrayed us both. Who would have thought? The tricks that life plays on you�She could only sense one feeling coming from Mulder.
Relief.
Darkness overtook her.
***
Scully tried to climb her way out of the black hole.
When she finally managed to wake up, she realized she was in the back of a van. She had short, fuzzy memories. Being moved around, the overwhelming sound of being in a large plane, Mulder�s voice, Spender�s voice, Cooper�s voice. She knew she�d been kept heavily sedated, but she didn�t know for how long or where she was.
Scully struggled to keep calm as the memories came back. Alex being shot, Cade being taken�
She craned her head far enough to see the driver and another man sitting in the passenger seat.
They were young and looked like military. They were listening to a rap song that had every fifth word bleeped out. She grimaced. Although she liked to think of herself as someone who loved all music, she never did understand the whole gangster rap thing. She wouldn�t normally mind it except for now it felt like her head was going to explode with the heavy thumping of the bass.
She glanced out the window. All she saw were trees. Pine trees and a gray sky. She sighed. She could only be in the Pacific Northwest. With her luck, she was probably in Alaska.
Scully slowly sat up and the man in the passenger seat turned to her, gun in hand.
�We gonna have any trouble with you?�
�My head hurts.� She replied. �Can you turn it down?�
He turned it up even louder.
��Oh yeah, throw your neighborhood in the air�if ya don�t care��
�Thank you.� She replied dryly.
They pulled up into a park and Scully looked out the window to see two other cars parked in the small lot.
�Where are we?� She asked. �What is this?�
�This is where you get off.� The driver put the gear in park and turned off the engine. �Follow that gravel path down there, towards all those trees. Go through the small trail and you�ll head right onto a pier.�
The passenger opened the door for her and she shivered in the breezy weather. He pulled out a radio. �She�s on her way.�
�Confirm that. We�re waiting.�
The voice sounded like Cooper�s, but she couldn�t be sure.
The passenger grinned back at her. �They�re already here. Go on.�
Scully debated on making a run for it, albeit briefly. She had no idea where she was, and they had Cade. She had no choice but to comply.
Her shoes crunched the gravel. She was still in her suit from however long ago that was and her heels were killing her. Her hair was still up, but she was sure it was mess. She wrapped her arms around herself, her breath blowing out in front of her. She entered the trees, leaving the normal world behind. There was a path to the left and she took it. The ground on either side of the path became swampy and the foliage thickened. She turned a bend and saw the wooden pier. It jutted out over a large lake. Three men were at the end.
She could recognize Cooper from fifty yards away. The cloud of smoke hovering around indicated Spender. She knew the third man, but she couldn�t grasp what it meant. She couldn�t put him in with the company of these men. It made no sense. Her two separate worlds collided and she stopped walking.
�Bill?�
�Hello, Dana.� Her brother approached her and smiled while hugging her tightly. �It�s been a long time.�
�What�� She looked up at him as she hugged him. �What is this?�
�Mulder asked me to come.� He replied. �To make sure you were okay. To reassure you that everything�s fine.�
�Mulder?� She asked in a whisper. �How did Mulder�� She trailed off in confusion.
�Bill�s been our man in Naval Intelligence.� Cooper said. �He was who alerted us to the chicken at the Naval Shipyard.�
�What?� Scully�s hands went to the side of her face. Nothing was making sense.
�It all really started with the Navy.� Spender blew out smoke. �Back in World War II, when a submarine was sent down to recover a crashed UFO.�
�Zeus Faber.� Scully whispered.
�Excellent memory.� Spender said.
�I told Mulder that Bill was our contact with NI.� Cooper said. �I thought it might be helpful if they talked.�
�I never knew anything about all this.� Bill shook his head. �I was just tracking.�
Scully was bowled over. She had no idea what any of this meant. She knew that was probably one of the ideas behind this. To confuse her so she wouldn�t come flying at Cooper and Spender with a full frontal assault. Kicking, screaming and swearing like she had originally planned. Her mind was spinning too much to be angry just now. He mind drifted to Bill�s eternal hatred of Mulder. He had probably disliked him so much because he knew that whatever Mulder was dragging her into was dangerous.
�Cade is fine.� Bill said.
Spender smiled. �Just as I promised.�
�How do you know?� Scully asked her brother.
�I saw him myself.� Bill smiled. �Mulder is watching over him like a hawk. I think Cade likes him.�
Tears filled Scully�s eyes. �I know he does.�
�We have the vaccine.� Cooper said. �It�s done.�
�Then where�s my son?�
�We have to test it first.� Spender said. �We need to make sure it�s effective, then Cade can go.�
�Mulder is taking care of him.� Bill said. �Mom sees him everyday.�
�Mom?� Scully asked, struggling for composure, still standing in Bill�s arms.
�They�re both in protective custody.� Spender said. �They�re both fine.�
�We�re turning down the homestretch.� Cooper said. �It�s almost over.�
�Why am I here?� She asked.
�That was the deal.� Cooper said.
�Mulder said he would deliver Cade in exchange for your safety.� Spender said. �On the condition that Cade would be returned to you as soon as the vaccine was finished.�
�There aren�t that many people who know you�re alive.� Cooper said. �The three of us, your mother, Mulder, Steve and Marie Koskie, and Skinner.�
�Where�s Skinner?�
Spender smiled. �Working with Mulder, same as Steven Koskie.�
�You�re going to need to disappear as soon as you get Cade.� Bill said. �But until then, you need to stay here, and wait to be contacted.�
�Where�s here?�
�Seattle.� Spender grinned even larger. �Where all of this first started.�
Scully shook her head. �All of this started a long time ago.�
�See that small cottage over on the other side of the lake?� Cooper pointed. �That�s where you�ll be staying. It�s very private here. This whole lake area is actually a greenbelt for all these homes.�
�Inside the top dresser drawer in the bedroom is a cell phone.� Spender said. �That�s how you will be contacted on where to meet Cade.�
Scully stood shaking in her brother�s embrace. How was she supposed to make it through this? She was going to be stranded up here, all alone, without her son, without anybody, and she was just supposed to wait and hope that the phone rings?
�How long?� She strangled out.
�I don�t know.� Spender replied. �Not long.�
�Day�s? Month�s?� She raised her voice. �How long?�
�Weeks.� He said. �At the most.�
Scully buried her face in Bill�s chest and tried not to cry.
�There�s all the money you need in the top drawer with the cell phone.� Cooper said. �A fake identity, credit cards, a gun, a passport. Just in case. We�re going to walk away, wait until we�re out of sight before walking over to the cottage. The back door is unlocked. Instead of where you made a left, you could just continue on and the trail will take you past the house.�
�Bill?� Scully asked as he moved away. This was surreal, she thought, this was totally surreal.
He smiled at her. �I�ll see you soon. I promise.�
�Scully,� Cooper said, �it�s been, interesting knowing you. To say the least.�
She stared back at him in silence and he went on. �You haven�t asked about Alex Krycek.�
�I don�t need to ask.� She said softly, tears springing to her eyes. �I know he�s dead.�
He tilted his head. �How did you know that?�
She swallowed. �I just know.�
�Your contact will help you decide what to do, after.� Spender said. �He is the expert on disappearing. Fox took the liberty of choosing him because he knew you�d be well taken care of.�
�Who is he?� Scully asked softly, meeting Spender�s eyes.
Spender smiled. �He�s never had a name.�
Bill released her hand and they began to move away.
�I do believe this is goodbye.� Spender said. �It�s been an honor. You�ve been a worthy opponent. I wish we could have been on the same side.�
Scully watched them walk away, trying really hard not to chase after them.
�Oh, Miss Scully.� Spender got halfway down the pier and turned back. �I believe it was John Barrymore who said: Happiness often sneaks through a door you didn't know you left open.�
She made sure that Cooper was still walking away, then she gave Spender a small smile.
***
