Disclaimers in Part One.
'Who are these people?' Koskie asked, listening to all the locks being disengaged. 'You hanging out with a right-wing militant group?'
'I have yet to figure out what group to lump them into.' Mulder smiled. 'I don't think they can be described as any one thing or another.'
Frohike opened the door. 'What's up, freak?'
'Nice to see you too, Melvin.' Mulder stepped past him. 'Meet Steve Koskie.'
Frohike glanced up at Koskie, distrust already in his eyes. 'You prefer Steve or Koskie?' He asked. 'We normally go by our last names around here.'
'Actually, I prefer neither.' Koskie followed Mulder into the room. 'I've always been partial to Sugar Pants, Honey Lips, you get my drift.'
Frohike shut the door, already disliking Mulder's arrogant partner. 'How about punk ass?' He growled at Koskie's back. 'You've probably heard that one a lot.'
'Oh that's perfect.' Koskie turned to grin down at him. 'And I'll call you my little pet bitch.'
'Don't make me get the can out.' Frohike retorted.
Koskie grinned even larger at the response he was getting from the little guy. 'Shouldn't you be following the yellow brick road?'
'Enough.' Mulder intervened. He held out the plastic bag to Frohike. 'Check it out.'
Frohike's eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he held it up in front of his face.
'Chicken finger.' Koskie said out of nowhere.
'Doesn't look like it'd be too good with honey mustard.' Langly's voice came from behind them. 'You smell maximum real, Mulder.'
'We worked hard at it. Meet Agent Koskie.'
Langly looked at him, sadness in his eyes. 'You're Mulder's new partner?'
Koskie nodded. 'Although after the day we've had, I'm not so sure I'll live to see our next case.'
'Life around Mulder tends to be that way.' He replied. 'I'm Langly.'
'You CIA?'
'As in my last name, not Langley, Virginia.'
'Bingo.' Frohike's voice rang out.
'Whatcha got?' Mulder leaned over Frohike's shoulder.
'This genetic make up. It's matching on three case numbers. The one you had me get today, and two of your earlier cases.'
'How do you have access to all this?' Koskie asked, joining them at the table.
'You can say, it Langly.' Frohike grinned, looking tweaking an image on a monitor. 'I have to say it all the time.'
Mulder rolled his eyes at Koskie and said it with Langly.
'My Kung Fu is the best.'
'Okay.' Koskie grinned despite himself. 'We got us some hackers?'
'They cover a far broader range of illegal activities.' Mulder said. 'Be careful you don't offend.'
'His smell is already doing that.' Frohike said. 'This claw definitely matches whatever you found yesterday morning.'
'You said there were three matches.' Mulder replied.
'Yes, some of it matches whatever organic material you found back in Phoenix all those years ago. And I don't think this other match was from a case. It's just records we have stored. Medical charts, DNA strands, lists of the genetic make up of something.'
Mulder peered closely at the monitor, searching for an indication of what it was in reference to. 'Of what?'
'I'm looking for a name…' Frohike's voice trailed off. 'There. Gibson Praise. Mean anything to you?'
Mulder didn't respond. He was speechless.
'I'll take that as a yes.' Frohike said, indicating Mulder's shocked silence.
'How could the chicken have Gibson's DNA?' Mulder mumbled softly.
'Who's Gibson Praise?' Koskie looked between Frohike and Langly, only to get shrugs and shaking heads.
Mulder tried to keep himself from shaking as he pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial.
'We're sorry…The number you have dialed has been disconnected…Please hang up and try again…'
'Damn.' Mulder impatiently pushed buttons, dialing the number to the house in Newport Beach. 'How long am I going to keep calling her apartment? Newport is 714, right?'
'Hello?'
Mulder grimaced at the voice on the other end. 'It's me Krycek, lemme talk to Scully.'
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
'Hello?' Mulder asked sarcastically. 'You suddenly develop swimmer's ear from all that surfing?'
'Fox…' Krycek's sad voice softly floated back to him.
The serious tone of Krycek's normally cheerful voice confused Mulder for a moment. He heard a baby began to cry in the background and suddenly he remembered.
Scully was dead.
He had forgotten. He had automatically gone to call Scully to get her explanation on Gibson's DNA. If anyone could have figured it out, it would have been her. But she was dead. He looked up to see everyone staring at him in confusion, pity, sorrow, as Krycek kept talking.
'I don't know what to say, Fox.'
Koskie put a hand on his arm. The look on Mulder's face spoke a thousand words.
Frohike reached for the phone and Mulder gladly released it. Koskie guided him towards a chair and he plopped heavily down and put his hands over his face. Scully was dead.
'Alex?' He heard Frohike's voice talking. 'Yeah, I know. I don't think he has either, but he'll okay. We'll take care of him. I know, Alex.' The voice retreated as Frohike left the room.
'You okay, Mulder?' Koskie asked.
Mulder tried to block the image out. One picture always popped in his head when he thought of Scully. It wasn't exactly his fondest memory, but it was the happiest he'd ever seen her. Covered in orange slime, squishing the pumpkin goop in her hands all over Krycek's face. She was giggling like a teenager, pregnant, her blonde hair grown out. Why that image, he didn't know. Maybe because it was the first time he'd seen the Scully he never knew.
'Mulder?' It was Langly now and he knew he'd have to do something before they all went into Mother Mode on him. He just couldn't figure out what to do. Scully was dead. He took a deep breath and forced his hands away from his face. Both Langly and Koskie were staring down at him.
'You okay, Mulder?' The former asked.
He slowly nodded, he wanted to speak, but no words came to mind. Scully was dead. His face showed no emotion, his movements suddenly seemed sluggish.
Byers walked into the room. 'Hey Mulder. When did you get here?' He stuck a hand out in Koskie's direction. 'John Byers.'
'This is Mulder's new partner.' Langly said as Koskie accepted his handshake. 'Agent Koskie.'
Mulder ran his hands through his hair, trying to collect himself. His face was pale and his eyes were dazed.
Byers took a closer look at his friend. 'You okay, Mulder?' He got no response and turned to look at Langly. 'What's going on? What happened?'
'I'll tell you later.' Langly said softly before leaning closer to Mulder. 'You hear me, Mulder? You okay?'
Mulder nodded again, finally forcing some words out, the only words that came to mind other than Scully was dead.
'I'm fine.'
Byers and Langly didn't say a word as Mulder suddenly burst into laughter.
He suddenly understood why Scully had been so fond of those words. They were so easy to spit out when you couldn't say anything else. He put his hands over his face again and continued to laugh. After a few hysterical moments, his giggles turned to silent sobs.
Koskie was genuinely frightened for his partner. Maybe he was in need of some Thorazine and a straight jacket. 'Mulder, what the hell is so funny?'
'I don't think he's laughing.' Langly said softly.
Frohike walked back into the room and held the phone out towards Mulder. 'Alex wants to talk to you.'
Mulder shook his head. 'I can't talk to him.'
'Mulder-'
'I don't want to talk to him!' Mulder said harshly, taking his hands away from his face and glaring at Frohike.
Langly took the phone himself and walked out of the room.
'Mulder.' Koskie put a hand on his arm. 'Let me take you home.'
'I'm sorry.' He replied softly. 'I don't know what's wrong with me.'
'Oh, I wonder.' Frohike replied. 'You just lost Scully. Not to mention all this other crap that's been going on, with Spender and Fowley and Alex.'
'Not to mention you haven't slept in over twenty-four hours.' Koskie said. 'Been chasing the chicken through sewers. Hit an underground party on the way. It's been a busy couple of days.'
Byers glanced between Koskie and Mulder, not sure how much his new partner was aware of. 'Mulder, if you need-'
'I'm okay.' He interrupted, forcing the next question out, directing it to Frohike. 'How's Krycek? I heard the baby crying.'
'He's hanging in there, Mulder. He seemed worried about you.'
Mulder chuckled nervously to get away from any thought that Krycek might care about him. It was so much easier to pretend that Krycek still hated him. 'Why would he care about me one way or another?'
Frohike threw a scolding look at Mulder. 'Don't make me state the obvious.'
Mulder looked down at the floor, feeling defeated. Frohike was talking about the fact that Krycek was his brother. No one knew except Krycek, Skinner and Frohike. Scully knew too, but of course, Scully was dead.
He reinforced the delusion. 'Krycek can't stand me.'
Byers shrugged and turned to frown at an image on one of many monitors before walking over to see what Frohike was messing with. 'Maybe he was just being polite, Mulder.'
Krycek had been nothing but nice to him since this whole mess began. He had tried to get Mulder to see his side of the story, and when Mulder refused to deal with it, Krycek had given him the space that he needed. He had even told Mulder that he needed to pull his head out of his ass when it came to Scully. He had reacted stupidly, jealously, sensing that Krycek had feelings for her that maybe he wasn't aware of. Krycek had ignored Mulder, insisting that Scully was in love with him so it didn't matter what kind of feelings he had. Krycek pushed him towards telling Scully how he really felt, that he was running out of time. Mulder never did. He had hesitated, and now it was too late.
He still hated Krycek. Still blamed everything miserable in his life on him. If Scully hadn't been pregnant with his child, she'd probably still be here today. Not that the child was Krycek's fault, but still. He needed to blame someone and Krycek was just as good as anyone else.
Koskie leaned over to speak softly in Mulder's ear. 'Someday you're going to have to tell me what the hell is going on with Alex Krycek.'
'What do you mean?' Mulder didn't look at him. He was vulnerable and didn't want anyone seeing it.
'Last I heard he'd been killed, ran off to work with the CIA, became a double agent for the Russians, the British…Mostly I heard that he was your nemesis, that he was specifically working against the X-Files. But the night I was watching Scully's apartment, you were all there. And he and Scully didn't exactly seem to hate each other. I just want to know, if I'm going to be getting involved in any of this in anyway, what the hell is going on. Doesn't seem fair for me to fight for something I know nothing about.'
'I told you, Koskie.' Mulder said softly, still trying to shed the weird soggy blanket that had fallen over him. 'When the time is right, you'll get your bedtime story. Right now I'm more concerned with the chicken.'
'Where did you find this?' Byers asked, looking at the claw and the monitor.
'New York. It's from an EBE.' Koskie said, managing to maintain a straight face, it sounded so stupid.
'Thus, the chicken reference.' Frohike said.
Byers glanced over at Mulder. 'Anywhere near where they took you after you were abducted?'
Mulder stared back, his mouth open. He shook his head. 'I never even thought about that.'
Koskie sighed, letting his head fall back. 'I'm seeing the Manhattan skyline…'
*************************
They entered the building through the back door of the basement.
Mulder pulled out his flashlight and swept it over the room, searching out a path amongst the pipes, machinery and ducts.
'Mulder, do you have any idea what the hell we're doing?' Koskie asked, swatting at a spider as he ran into a web.
Mulder grinned. 'Well, it's got a nice beat you can dance to.'
'Always the smartass.' Koskie said.
'I've reserved that title for you, Sugar Smacks.' Mulder said, ducking under some pipes. 'Watch out for those-'
Koskie ran into the piping and grabbed his head.
'Pipes.' Mulder finished.
'Thanks, Fruity Pebbles.' Koskie said, wincing. 'Oh, damn, that hurt.'
Mulder stopped and shined the flashlight in his face. 'You okay, Cookie Crisp?'
'I'm fine, Captain Crunch.' Koskie said, holding up a hand at the light. 'Get that outta my face.'
'Sorry.' Mulder mumbled, continuing ahead. 'Grape Nuts.'
'Whatever.' Koskie replied. 'Count Chocula.'
They walked in silence for a few minutes, sweeping the flashlights from side to side. Koskie suddenly began to sing softly.
'When you find your life's in danger, when you're threatened by a stranger, when it looks like you will take a lickin'.' He clucked like a chicken before continuing on. 'Bok, bok, bok, bok. There is someone waiting who will hurry up and rescue you, just call for super chicken. Ba-KAK!'
Mulder picked up. 'Steve, if you're afraid you'll have to overlook it. Besides you knew the job was dangerous when you took it.'
'Ba-KAK!' They both clucked before continuing on together.
'People drink his super sauce and throw the bad guys for a loss and he will bring them in alive and kicking. Bok, bok, bok, bok. There is one thing you should learn, when there is no where else to turn, just call for super chicken. Bok, bok, bok, bok. Just call for super chicken. Ba-KAK!'
They continued walking on in silence before Mulder shook his head. 'I must be losing my mind.'
They both laughed softly in the darkness as they came to a ventilation shaft. Mulder looked around the room, then put the flashlight in his mouth so he could remove the grating.
Koskie shook his head. 'Always sticking your hands in weird places…Now you're shoving things in your mouth. Whenever will you learn?'
Mulder hoisted himself up into the shaft and reached his hands back towards his partner.
Koskie handed him the bag he'd been carrying. 'You're insane, Mulder. You know that?'
'Certifiable.' Mulder said, squeezing his legs into the shaft. 'If we wait too long, we'll never find the chicken.'
'Yeah, that's what I keep hoping.' Koskie said, looking up at him. 'You've been running off on suicide missions since I was assigned to the X-Files, Mulder. One of these times, you're not going to come back.'
Mulder grinned. 'Yeah, that's what I keep hoping.'
'Oh great.' Koskie shook his head. 'Partnered with Martin Riggs.'
'Koskie.' Mulder looked down at his young partner, uncharacteristic sympathy on his face. 'You don't have to come with me.'
Koskie sighed and shook his head, planting his hands on either side of the shaft. 'But then who will sing all those lovely TV Tune duets with you? I was hoping we'd move onto The Love Boat.'
*************************
Mulder hesitated before making another right.
'Sewers, chickens, and raves, oh my.' Koskie said softly, shaking his head. 'Now you've got me cramped in a heating duct. What is next? A harem of cross-dressing Wookies?'
'You made a career mistake when you joined the Bureau.' Mulder stopped again at another fork. 'Hallmark was probably hiring.'
'The next time you stop like that, I might accidentally crawl halfway up your ass before realizing you've quit moving.'
Mulder hung his head and laughed softly. He couldn't help it. 'Such a way with words.'
'I care enough to send the very best.' Koskie said. 'What the hell did I just stick my hand in?'
Mulder kept moving, suddenly sure of where he was going. The insistent 'you're on the right track' alarm was blaring in his head. Spooky Mulder. Not so spooky, the words entered his mind without his permission. Just alien. He shook his head. He hated when Krycek was right.
Thinking of Krycek always led to thinking of Scully. And he really didn't need to be thinking about her right now.
'Hold up there, Speed Racer.' Koskie said.
'Shhh.' Mulder whispered. 'I think we're close.'
'Close to what?' Koskie whispered back.
'I don't know.'
They crawled for another minute before Koskie's voice drifted up to him. 'The chicken must have a cold.'
'What?' Mulder asked softly.
'I keep crawling through slime.' Koskie said.
Mulder didn't stop. 'I don't feel anything.'
'You're probably immune to feeling slimy substances.' Koskie said. 'With all the weird places your hands regularly visit.'
'Koskie, does anything you're saying have any direct importance on what we're doing?'
'It's important to me, considering the new hair gel I'm covered in. I'm starting to feel like Sigourney Weaver should be running around.'
Mulder stopped at another intersection. 'And that pun was entirely on accident?'
'Ass, Mulder, ass.' Koskie said softly. 'You need to warn me before you slam on the brakes.'
'Sorry.' He muttered. Mulder tried to think about which way to go. He couldn't. Nothing came to mind.
He could almost hear voices. They were faint, but they were there.
Koskie leaned over Mulder's shoulder to look down to the left, then to the right. 'Where to, Stupendous Yappi?'
Mulder glared at him.
'Ouch.' Koskie said, shining his flashlight in Mulder's face. 'Look at that lovely expression.'
'I hate that guy.' Mulder said. 'He was rude to me.'
'Oh waaaah.' Koskie said. 'Did he have poppy pants?'
Mulder stared back at Koskie for a moment. 'I must be getting soft in my old age. I never would have let anyone get away with the crap I let you slide by with.'
'Got me shaking in my boots, Mulder. But you still haven't decided where we should go.'
They both shined their flashlights in one direction, then the other.
'I'm thinking right.' Koskie said.
Mulder shook his head. 'I'm almost sure it's to the left.'
They both scooted out into the duct and the bottom gave out. They fell through the vent, through the ceiling, and landed on a table, sending it and them crashing to the floor.
Mulder tried to sit up and shake his head. His ears were ringing. He felt someone's hand on his shoulder and knew it was Koskie's.
Mulder opened his eyes and looked up to see several men staring down at them. He scanned the faces, some familiar, some not, before landing on one man in particular.
'Agent's Mulder and Koskie.' Dale Cooper said, staring down at them. 'Nice of you to drop in.'
Mulder couldn't respond. How many loops could he be thrown for in a year?
Apparently Koskie was at a loss of words too; otherwise, several colorful metaphors and clever comments would be spewing from his mouth.
'Gentlemen, if you could excuse us, please?' Cooper said, never breaking eye contact with Mulder.
Everyone filed out of the room and Mulder straightened up to a sitting position, Koskie behind him.
'Well, Chip.' Mulder said. 'For the first time in our courtship, I'm at a loss for words.'
'That's a first. I figured you'd at least have some guilty comments ready to throw my way.' Cooper smiled and crossed his arms. The posture reminded Mulder of Krycek's mellow slouching and he looked away.
'In order to have guilty comments thrown at you,' Mulder said as Koskie pulled him to his feet, 'you would have to had done things to feel guilty about.'
'You of all people should know about compromise, Mulder.' Cooper said. 'Most people want to do the right thing, but sometimes we have to think of the bigger picture. Means to an end, you know.'
'Why am I sensing another diatribe of self-serving righteousness masked as what sounds noble and true?'
Cooper raised his eyebrows at him. 'That was quite a cluster of words, you just hurled my way, Agent Mulder. Have you been waiting to use that somewhere?'
The three men stood staring at each other. A silent minute stretched out.
'I need a bedtime story.' Koskie suddenly blurted.
Cooper creased his forehead, looking at the younger partner oddly.
Mulder shook his head. 'I don't think this is quite the time.'
'Well I need some kind of tale.' Koskie said, glancing between the two. 'I'm totally lost. All I know is there's a chicken on the loose.'
Cooper smiled. 'Not anymore.'
Mulder and Koskie stared at him. 'You caught the chicken?' The latter asked.
'The chicken came to us.' Cooper replied. 'We called it.'
Mulder pressed his lips together and nodded. 'Must've been one hell of a phone bill.'
'Damn.' Koskie shook his head. 'ET was probably really pissed when he found out you could just phone home like that.'
'Oh, the poor little guy.' Mulder looked at his partner. 'After all the trouble he went through…'
'It gets ya right here.' Koskie put a hand on his chest over where his heart was.
'Are you ever serious?' Cooper asked, trying not to crack a grin. 'You just fell through the ceiling of a building you really, really, really shouldn't be anywhere near. Some of the men I was with are probably assuming that I'm disposing of you right now, you've been told the chicken's here, and all you can do is joke?'
Mulder tilted his head, deep in thought. 'You know, Chip, I'm very impressed. Placing international calls is bad enough, but inter-planet calling? Now that's getting tricky. What kind of area code would you use for something like that?'
'NCC-107?' Koskie asked.
'THX-1138?' Mulder threw out another one and they were both silent.
Cooper cracked a grin. 'Are you finished?'
Mulder and Koskie pointed at each other.
'R2D2!' They both exclaimed.
*************************
The three of them sat in chairs around the demolished table.
'Exactly how many chickens are out there?' Koskie asked, sipping a horribly bitter cup of coffee that Cooper had supplied them with.
'It's really hard to say.' Cooper replied, grimacing after taking a sip of the foul brew. 'Since there's so many groups operating independently, there's no way to tell.'
Mulder sighed. 'How many organization's are we talking about?'
'It's really hard to say.' Cooper smiled, repeating what he'd already said. 'Since there's so many deals that have been made.'
Koskie raised his eyebrows. 'Deals?'
'So many people with divided loyalties.' Mulder said, thinking of Diana, of Spender. 'Not to mention my brother.' He said aloud softly.
'Huh?' Koskie asked.
Cooper leaned forward. 'I didn't know you had a brother.'
Did he just say that out loud? Mulder shook his head and looked down at the coffee in his hands. He really needed to get to sleep if he was starting to lose it that bad. 'I don't…I just meant, man in general, my brothers.'
'Oh come on.' Koskie said. 'I don't even know you and can say that you're not that hokey.'
'Bed time.' Mulder said, looking at him.
'Well, I'm getting pretty damn tired.' Koskie replied, taking another swallow of the horrid Java.
'I think we're about to get a tall tale from Chip, ol' buddy here.' Mulder looked at Cooper pointedly. 'Whaddaya say, Coop? Wanna sit a spell?'
Cooper smiled. 'Is that your ever-so-eloquent way of asking me what is going on?'
'That would be it.' Mulder nodded.
'What do you want to know?'
Mulder and Koskie glanced at each other. Koskie shrugged. 'Have at it, Cocoa Puffs.'
Mulder faced him. 'Who are you working for?'
'The National Security Agency.'
Mulder seemed surprised. 'That's the only boss you have?'
Cooper nodded.
'So, what are you doing here?'
'Oh, a little of this, a little of that.' Cooper smiled.
'I don't think that's quite the answer I'm looking for.' Mulder replied.
Cooper looked meaningfully at Mulder. 'I'm not sure that we should talk about this in here.'
'Well. I really don't care who hears what we're talking about.' Mulder said. 'If they have a problem, they can come discuss it with me directly.'
'It's nice that you think so, Agent Mulder.' Cooper said, tilting his head to the side. 'But I have certain standards that I am expected to meet. Certain parties to protect. Certain qualifications to rise up to.' He hesitated, then grinned. 'If you get my meaning.'
'I'm sorry, Chip.' Mulder said. 'But did you just threaten me?'
Cooper sighed, shaking his head and looking down. When he looked back up, Koskie had a gun pointed in his face.
'Because, that would reflect badly on the NSA.' Mulder went on. 'I am, a Federal Agent, merely following up on a case that I was assigned to. I'd hate for anything BAD or politically INCORRECT to happen between the FBI and NSA simply because I stumbled upon some bad doings of the US Government while investigating a series of murders. In the interest of public safety, of course.'
'The NSA and FBI have incredible similarities.' Koskie smiled. 'We have certain standards we're required to meet as well. Certain qualifications to rise to.'
Cooper stared back for a long moment, then smiled. 'It's about time to call it a day, gentlemen. Who wants to get a drink?'
*************************
Slap Happy's was a small, seedy bar that permanently reeked of alcohol and smoke. A pool table in the middle of the room fought for space with scattered tables and chairs. A jukebox stood in the corner; a drunken man was making a pathetic attempt at hitting on a woman as she searched through the lists of songs. Mulder, Koskie and Cooper crowded around a small table in the back corner and ordered a round of drinks as 'Far Away Eyes' by The Rolling Stones blasted towards them.
'…Much to my surprise, there she was…Sitting in the corner…A little bleary…Worse for wear and tear…It was a girl…With far away eyes…'
'Here we are.' Mulder said. 'No bugs.'
'Not the electronic kind, anyway.' Koskie looked around in disgust.
Mulder picked up his bottle of beer. 'And I doubt any of your illustrious sidekicks are going to frequenting this fine establishment.'
'There you go again with the four syllable words.' Cooper shook his head. 'I think you must do it when you're nervous or insecure.'
'Ah, shit!' Koskie cursed softly and bent down to look under the table. 'I think I just stuck my hand in gum.'
'For a field agent he seems so concerned about his cleanliness.' Mulder said.
Cooper smiled. 'Nothing wrong with a little Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder.'
Mulder nodded his head at Cooper. 'You planning on starting this sometime tonight, Chip?'
He sighed and took a sip of his gin and tonic. 'I could never have possibly conceived of the scale of things when they brought me in the NSA. I knew nothing about the chickens or the whole colonization mess. I thought it was a project like Paperclip or Bluebook. You know, just the search for extraterrestrial life. I had no idea that we were communicating with them and had been for years. I didn't know they were trying to make deals, trying to fool them, trying to lull them into a false sense of security while we were down here, plotting their demise.'
'I'm sorry.' Koskie said, confusion plastered on his face. 'I'm a little in the dark here. Can you start at the beginning.'
'I was getting around to it.' Cooper replied. 'I'm trying to summarize. And let me remind you, I don't know the big picture.' Cooper said. 'Just what I've had experience in.'
Mulder gestured with his beer. 'Go on.'
'Let me think for a minute.' Cooper took out a pack of cigarettes and Mulder's eyes widened.
'First the gin and now cigarettes?' Mulder shook his head. 'The unshakable Dale Cooper only indulges in nasty habits when he's really nervous.'
'Nasty Habits, Oingo Boingo, Only a Lad, 1981.' Cooper held the pack out towards Mulder. 'I can spot your own disenchantment with the situation. Don't forget that I know you too, Mr. four-syllable-word-man.'
Mulder eyed the pack for a moment, then helped himself to one.
Koskie shook his head. 'Damn smokers.'
'Oh you be quiet, Koskie.' Mulder said, leaning into the lighter Cooper was holding out. 'In case you haven't noticed, our days haven't been whimsical and peaceful.' He blew out smoke. 'I'm allowed a certain amount of self-destruction.'
'Yeah.' Koskie crossed his arms and tilted his head at Mulder. 'I notice you've been allowing yourself a lot of that lately.'
Mulder took a swallow of beer. 'What are you trying to say?'
Koskie just shook his head, watching Mulder take a drag of his cigarette and blow out smoke. This was going to be bad, Koskie thought. If Mulder, when Mulder, finally cracks, it probably wont be pretty. He stared back at his partner and softly sang along with the music.
'…So if you're down on your luck…I know y'all sympathize, find a girl with far away eyes… And if you're downright disgusted and life ain't worth a dime…Get a girl with far away eyes…'
Mulder didn't like the way Koskie's eyes were boring through him. He felt vulnerable again. Draining the rest of his beer, he looked away and turned his attention to Cooper.
*************************
An hour later, Koskie's mind was spinning. He was overwhelmed by everything he'd just heard.
'Let me clarify.' He said, getting weird looks from Cooper and Mulder, as if they'd forgotten he was even there. Must be all that alcohol, he thought wryly to himself.
'The chickens are newborn aliens.'
'The grey ones.' Mulder said.
'Okay.' Koskie said. 'The grey ones want to colonize this planet. Obviously we don't want this to happen. So the Syndicate was the organization dealing with the grey ones. An organization made up of government officials from all over the world.'
Cooper nodded. 'That's right.'
'And there's another alien race. The Rebels as you so charmingly call them. They're trying to stop the colonization because the grey ones are tyrannical, taking over the galaxy. They want to make alliances with us, against the grey ones, and stop any more control the little grey men are acquiring.'
'Yes.' Cooper nodded again and Koskie held up a finger.
'The Syndicate breaks in half. Some wanted to remain in negotiations with the grey ones; the others wanted to side with the Rebels against the grey ones. This tearing of opinions ultimately leads to the destruction of the Syndicate. So now that the Syndicate is gone, who's left to fight?'
'The NSA, the CIA has a group, not to mention what's still left of the Syndicate.' Cooper smiled. 'There's always going to be governments within governments. The Verein, which means 'the truth' and is shortened from Verein der Wahrheit, has grown fairly strong. The Verein is a remnant offshoot of the Syndicate that has recruited people from the FBI, CIA and some highly placed government officials. They don't do much in the way of science, no experimenting on humans or aliens. They are more about finding out what the grey ones are doing and stopping the unnecessary risks the unknowing public is exposed to from the less human organizations.'
Mulder hoped that nothing was revealed on his face. Cooper was referring to the group that he was working for right now with Diana and Marita.
'Let's talk about the Chicken Run for a minute.' Koskie said. 'The chickens were originally brought here to try to create a vaccine?'
'Against the black oil.' Cooper confirmed.
'This oil is the alien life force?' Koskie narrowed his eyes. 'It chooses where, or who, it wants to hang out in and when it decides that this must be the place, gestates into the chicken.'
'Apparently, the chicken's blood is the black oil.' Cooper said. We've lost quite a few scientists that way, not to mention the security measure's we've had to develop. Lot's of chickens flew the coop.'
'Which is where the hybrids come in.' Koskie held up his hands, pausing to collect his thoughts. 'You create people specifically to find the chickens?'
'The hybrids were created for a number a reasons.' Cooper replied. 'Most importantly, we need people who can withstand the virus, in order to create a vaccine. But also, it has been suggested by almost all of the parties involved that if an acceptable hybrid can be created, the colonization can take a very different course. Some of the hybrids can communicate telepathically so it's very convenient for us when one of the chickens decides to head south for the winter.'
Mulder knitted his eyebrows together. 'What happens if the chickens ever reach the grey stage?'
'Apparently, we simply give them to the grey ones. But I don't know for sure.' Cooper said. 'Most of my job is to cover the project's ass. I try to follow what is going on, I report back. I try to make sure that nothing is getting out of hand, I try to catch backdeals and leaks. I follow the project's progress, I find out what else is going on outside of the project. I don't spin anything or kill anyone. I just gather data.'
'For the project?' Koskie asked. 'Not the NSA?'
'We are a project within the NSA.' Cooper replied, lighting another cigarette. 'We are not mainstream knowledge, for obvious reasons. But we act specifically with the National Security Advisor's knowledge and approval.'
'Project.' Mulder repeated.
'Yes.' Cooper nodded. 'Purity Control.'
'Purity Control.' Mulder whispered. 'Haven't heard that one in ages.'
'And this project is responsible for…' Koskie trailed off, waiting for Cooper to pick up.
'The same as everyone else, I'm afraid.' Cooper smiled. 'We try to create a vaccine against the virus while trying to preserve the natural order of the world. We want to keep our race and our planet as pure as possible throughout this. We try to control as much of the change as we can. We need to keep the others from making a mess of our ecological system while creating the purest solution we can.'
'Aye!' Koskie jerked his feet up and looked down at the floor. 'Cucaracha!'
'Damn OCD.' Cooper shook his head as Mulder drank some more of his beer.
The silence that came with the ending of 'Road House Blues' was deafening and the three of them waited until an Eagle's song kicked off.
'…All alone at the end of the evening…When the bright light's have faded to blue…I was thinking about woman who might've loved me…And I never knew…'
Mulder winced at the song. The lyrics seemed too familiar. He didn't have time for this right now.
'…You know I've always been a dreamer…Spend my life running around…And it's so hard to change…You can't seem too settle down…But the dreams I've seen lately…Keep on turnin' out…And burnin' out…And turnin' out the same…'
'What about Gibson Praise?' Mulder interrupted. He leaned closer to the two of them, symbolically disassociating himself from the music.
Cooper shook his head. 'I don't know who that is.'
'Little boy. Telepathic. Chicken has the same DNA.'
'There are actually several 'subjects' as the Company calls them.' Cooper said, grimacing at his use of words. 'I've seen a few. Their DNA is used to try to create the ultimate hybrid. A human with alien powers or an alien with a human thought process. A couple of them have come close.'
Mulder thought of Krycek. He wondered how many people knew that he was half alien. He couldn't have hid it his whole life. Spender knew, of course, but did anyone know that he had such amazing abilities? Would they have let him loose if they did? And how much did Spender know? Krycek could have kept a lot of secrets.
'They just what, live at the lab?' Koskie asked. 'Are they tested, do they exercise whatever telepathy they have? Or do they just stay there…getting blood taken. I don't understand…'
'Neither do I, Agent Koskie.' Cooper said.
'It doesn't seem, worthwhile, to just keep these people wasting away when they could be used for far better purposes.' Koskie said. 'For them to be wasting away in a lab, having tests run and blood drawn, when they could be communicating with the aliens, gray, rebels or chickens…Or even doing something else. As much as it sickens me to think this way, we could be trading them with the aliens for time or information or something. It makes no sense.'
'I don't even know how to qualify any answer for that.' Cooper said. 'They've been trying to create the perfect hybrid, as I've said. The perfect hybrid can be the solution to all of our problems, or the beginning of a horrible catastrophic chain of evens. And I know they've come close, but beyond that, I don't know much about the dealings of everyone else. The whole thing gives me a headache. I just try to keep a clear mind of everything that's going on while Purity Control tries to find ways to keep this as painless as possible.'
'I thought Gibson was the solution'. Mulder said. 'I've always got the impression that he was the child we were all waiting for.' Mulder held up his hands and made quotation marks in the air. 'I thought he was 'the one'.'
'Maybe they thought that at one time.' Cooper said. 'But he's not the one.'
Mulder stared back at him, a horrible thought beginning to take shape in his mind as Cooper shook his head.
'Not anymore.'
*************************
Mulder couldn't reply. Memories were crashing into his head. He and Cancer Man were sitting at the table in Scully's apartment. Spender's soothing, elegant voice floating to his ears.
'So then you know why Alex and Scully were chosen to be the parents of this child?'
Mulder hesitated. 'No, they didn't tell me that. I know that Krycek is supposedly the perfect alien-human hybrid.'
'And Scully has the perfect genetic make-up to resist the virus. Thanks to the vaccine you injected her with. The two of them are very important to the human race. They are very important in every way. I have no doubts that Alex can care for himself.' Spender smiled. 'And I don't know if you have noticed, but Alex has become very protective of Agent Scully. Which is perfect, she needs all the protection she can get, considering what is at stake. With those two DNA strands, the child is the next step in human evolution.'
Mulder suddenly stood up from the small table in the bar, fatigue, alcohol and memories making the room spin around him.
He remembered waking up on the beach, the whole bottle of Scotch he'd killed making everything fuzzy and disconnected. Skinner in jeans, sitting down next to him in the sand and asking him if he really thought Scully was dead.
'When all this first started,' Skinner had said, staring out over the ocean, 'Alex had said that Scully and the baby were very important. That she wouldn't be safe. And Scully had said that she was warned by Cancer Man that she needed to go into hiding, that her physiology was changed, that she carried an anti-agent.'
Mulder stared back at him. 'Of what?'
'The virus.'
Mulder walked out of the bar while fumbling his cell phone out of his pocket and dialing.
'Hello?' Krycek's voice sounded tired and defeated.
Mulder couldn't say anything. He tried to force something out, but no words would come.
'Hello?'
Mulder swallowed a lump that had risen in his throat. 'It's me.'
'Fox?'
'Yeah.'
There was silence for a moment before Krycek broke it. 'You okay?'
'I'm fine.'
More silence. 'Where are you, Fox?'
The sympathy and pity in his voice caused Mulder to shove away any comfort, however slight that came from hearing Krycek's voice. 'I'm only calling to tell you that I think the baby might be in danger, Krycek. I've been having a conversation with someone from the NSA. I used to think that Gibson Praise was the child they needed, but now I'm thinking it's yours. There was an alien and we followed it and it had Gibson's DNA and-'
'Fox.' Krycek softly interrupted.
'It's killed so many people, Krycek.' Mulder babbled on, knowing that his level of anxiety was climbing as he spoke faster and faster. 'It was in a naval shipyard, a naval shipyard, Krycek, what the hell would it be doing there?'
'Fox.' Krycek tried to interrupt again.
'And it killed Senator Fletcher and we followed it to where I've been working with Diana and the NSA was there and I've been told that Gibson wasn't the one, Krycek. So I'm thinking it's yours. I'm thinking he's talking about Scully's baby.'
'Where are you, Fox?' Krycek asked sharply, urgency evident in his voice.
'I just wanted to make sure you knew.' Mulder said, snapping his voice shut against his rambling. He took a deep breath as the silence stretched out. He felt his emotions spiraling out of control and was powerless to do anything about it. The psychologist in him analyzed his actions. That he would begin to crack while talking to Krycek, how very odd. Detached, viewing himself from far away, he thought maybe he felt comfort from Krycek. Knew that Krycek loved Scully too, so he could understand what he was feeling. Or maybe he'd been cracking all along and hearing Krycek's voice brought back bad feelings, worsening his already thin stability. More likely, it was a combination of both.
The fact that he didn't mind Krycek calling him Fox was another oddity all together. He couldn't begin to explain that one.
Mulder reminded himself that this was the reason he didn't hang out with Skinner, that he didn't call on the Lone Gunmen or Scully's mom, or even Krycek when the strange desire to hear the man's voice suddenly popped in his head. It was so much easier to ignore the whole thing if they weren't around.
'Maybe you should come spend some time out here, Fox.' Krycek's voice interrupted the diagnosis he was spinning for himself. 'I don't think it's a good idea that you're involved in all this right now. Maggie's still here. You can meet the baby, get a tan, and drink some margaritas. It'd be good for you, Fox.'
The offer sounded good. He could hang out on the beach, play with the baby in the sand, and visit with Maggie… Mulder hesitated. He was too stubborn, had too much pride, and he knew it.
'Fox, it'd be so much easier if you'd just give in.' Krycek said softly.
Mulder sighed, head bent towards the ground. He shook his head and stared at a crack in the sidewalk. He hated that Krycek always knew what he was thinking. That he probably knew more about was going on in his head than Mulder himself did. 'I don't know, Krycek.'
'We can all get through this together, Fox. There's no need for you to be alone.'
Mulder smiled. Evil Krycek, the voice of reasoning, the picture of compassion. Krycek was looking out for him, worried that he was alone in the big, bad world. Mulder began to shake. He was alone.
He had made damn sure of that.
'I really don't like the thought of you alone on Christmas.' Krycek said.
Mulder quit breathing for a moment. Tears suddenly filled his eyes. Christmas? When was that? What was the date? He was losing it and it scared him.
'Come on, Fox.' Krycek was making it hard for him to say no. 'Go get on a plane.'
The thought of heading straight to the airport and hopping on the next flight to California was very appealing. He could leave this cold, icy place and head out to the beach. Maybe Krycek could teach him how to surf. That'd be a sight, the two of them surfing together. They'd be bound to get into trouble. They had misbehaved enough at Thanksgiving dinner. It had been fun, acting like children. Probably because neither of them had ever had a brother before.
That thought ended it all. Krycek was not his brother.
'I can't.' Mulder said softly, voice trembling as the tears threatened to fall. 'I'm sorry.'
'Fox-'
'I just wanted to tell you to be careful.' Mulder said, hanging up before Krycek could say another word.
He turned to see Koskie staring at him, surprise and confusion sweeping his face.
Mulder put his phone away, hoping desperately that Koskie wouldn't see the tears in his eyes. 'You always sneak up on people?'
'Mulder, you ran out of the bar, looking like you'd seen a ghost.' Koskie said, sympathy clear on his face. 'I wanted to make sure you were okay.'
'I'm fine.' Mulder snapped, walking past him back into the bar.
'Oh yeah.' Koskie replied, following close behind. ''I'm fine'. That was real convincing. Hearing you talk to Krycek about his baby, Scully's baby. What the hell is going on?'
Mulder spun around and pointed a finger in his face, his face dark with anger. 'I told you before, Koskie. Don't say her name. I don't want to talk about her'
Koskie flinched back, this sudden viciousness from Mulder totally unexpected.
'Does that make it easier to accept all this, Agent Mulder?' Koskie asked softly. 'If we don't talk about her? If we pretend she never existed?'
Mulder stared back at his partner face, sad with empathy. He put his hands over his face and lowered his head. Keep it together, Mulder. Just keep it together. Counselor, counsel thyself.
Hearing Krycek's voice had definitely not improved the situation. Hearing that compassionate, calm and collected voice. Krycek seemed to be able to express his sympathy and sadness with such ease, while Mulder found it difficult to think at all.
'Let me take you home, Mulder.' Koskie said. 'You need some rest. We both do.'
Mulder sighed and hesitated before nodding. 'Let's at least finish up with Cooper. Then we'll go home.'
'Actually.' Koskie said as they headed back towards the table. 'Since we're in New York, maybe we should get a hotel. It's a long drive back to DC.'
'Either way, I don't care.' Mulder said as he sank back down in his chair.
Cooper was returning to the table with another round of drinks.
'Must have read my mind.' Mulder said. 'I'm thinking I need to get drunk tonight.'
'Now.' Cooper said, setting their drinks on the table. 'Where were we.'
Mulder raised his beer. 'We were about to make a toast.'
Koskie and Cooper followed suit, the latter looking surprised. 'And what are we toasting?'
To family, to friends, to the future. To Scully. Mulder shrugged. 'I was just looking for a salut.'
'Salut.' The other two said as the three of them clinked glasses.
They were silent as they drank and Mulder thought of Krycek, of Scully, and their baby that may or may not save or destroy the world.
'What is on our table?' Koskie asked, picking up his napkin and scrubbing at something. 'Is that food?'
Mulder smiled before noticing Fleetwood Mac on the jukebox.
'…Time cast a spell on you, but you won't forget me…I know I could have loved you…But you would not let me…'
Mulder's smile faded away. How many chances did they have that he decided to throw away? Because of his pride? And when it counted, when she was pregnant and running away to safety, what did he do? He hid. Hid in his work, hid in the X-Files. He never went to visit her. And why? Because he was jealous of Krycek? Because he was wrapped up in the Verein? What a crock of shit.
When he was in California, Krycek had warned him.
'Where have you been, Agent Mulder?' Krycek asked. 'What is important enough that you give up a woman like Dana?'
'I'm not giving her up.' He said softly.
'But you are. The more time you keep away, the more she doesn't need you. The more you ignore her, the more she questions your relationship. This is the most important time in her life and you are missing it.' Krycek looked away and resumed his cleaning. 'And you are losing her.'
'What would I be losing her to?' Mulder had asked.
Krycek huffed in exasperation, looking up at him. 'How can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time?'
The music kept playing, bringing Mulder back to the present. To the dingy little bar he was in.
'…Time cast a spell on you…But you wont forget me…I know I could have loved you…But you would not let me…'
Mulder put his hands over his face, trying to get away from the feeling that Scully was speaking to him from the grave.
'…I'll follow you down till the sound of my voice will haunt you…You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you…'
Scully, blonde and pregnant, covered in orange slime and giggling.
'Mulder?' Koskie asked, placing a hand on his arm. 'You okay?'
He nodded in response.
Scully smiling at him in the candlelight as he reached over to wipe some marinara sauce off of her cheek.
'Mulder.' Koskie was insistent. 'Are you okay?'
Mulder didn't take his hands away from his face. He could hide in them. They were his comfort.
Scully drunk and giggling over a carafe of sake they were splitting in a Japanese bar.
'Mulder, you're shaking.' Koskie's voice was far away as the music pounded into his brain.
'…I'll follow you down till the sound of my voice will haunt you…You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you…'
Scully, in a white robe, face drawn and pale in the hospital, telling him that Penny Northern has died.
'Mulder!' Koskie's voice was alarmed, but Mulder couldn't respond, the darkness spun around him.
'…You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you…'
Scully, frightened and trembling as she threw herself into his arms years ago in Bellefleur, Oregon.
Strong hands grabbed his arms as he felt himself falling. Koskie and Cooper were saying his name, asking him if he was okay.
Mulder grinned through the hazy image of Scully, smiling at him and asking, 'Oh, is that what you were extending?'
'I'm fine.' He whispered before giving in to the blackness.
*************************
'Mulder, what are you doing?'
He turned and looked at her as he walked back into the kitchen. 'What?'
She hesitantly walked in his direction, arms crossed. 'You're not making pipe bombs in there, are you?'
He feigned hurt. 'Why Scully, I'm cooking you dinner.'
She stared at him, not sure what to say.
He smiled. 'How am I supposed to take that?'
'Mulder, I didn't think you knew what the kitchen was really used for.' She said, gesturing towards the refrigerator with her head. 'I thought you used it to store beer and magazines.'
He stopped. 'Magazines?'
She reached down and opened one of the drawers by the stove to reveal a stack of magazines that he probably didn't want her to know about.
'Oh those.' He grinned at her.
'I know, I know.' She walked over to stir the marinara sauce. 'They're not yours.'
He smiled and stood close behind her. 'You know me so well.'
Scully tasted the sauce and turned to Mulder, her eyes wide. 'You did not cook this.'
'I did.' Mulder laughed at her surprise.
'You're lying.'
'I'm not.'
She glanced in his trash. 'Where's the jar? Prego, Newman's, Sutter Home, Classico…'
Mulder laughed. 'I cooked it myself. I made it this morning. It's been simmering all day.'
Scully gave him a look and he nodded in response. 'I used the Joy of Cooking book.'
She burst into laughter and he joined her.
*************************
'Mulder, I cannot tell you how good this manicotti is.'
He smiled back at her. Really wanting to do something about the smear of marinara on her left cheek. 'You didn't think I could cook?'
'Mulder, I know you can't cook.' She said, taking a sip of Chianti. 'So, it leads me to wonder where on earth you got this wonderful marinara sauce.'
'I made it, Scully.' He said, glancing again at the spot on her face. 'I've been slaving all day and instead of praise, I get berated.'
'You have been busy today, that much I'll give you.' She glanced around at his apartment again. It was picked up, clean. They were having dinner by candlelight. He had even managed to get some flowers for the table. A wonderfully mellow song that was one of her favorites by U2 was playing.
'…Love is blindness…I don't wanna see…Wont you wrap the night…Around me…'
She narrowed her eyes at him playfully over the rim of her goblet as she took another sip of wine.
He nearly choked on his food trying not to laugh. 'What's that look for?'
'Fox Mulder, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were trying to seduce me.'
He stopped chewing, blinked at her, and swallowed his food. She giggled and he grinned in response.
'…Love is clockworks…And cold steel…Fingers too numb to feel…Squeeze the handle…Blow out the candle…Love is blindness…'
'Miss Scully, I do believe you've had too much of the red stuff.'
'You can never have too much of the red stuff.' She replied, holding out her glass so he could refill it.
'I seem to remember a time or two that you've had too much of something.' The wine gurgled out of the bottle. 'And it wasn't pretty. Not that night or the next day. As a matter of fact, you weren't very amiable at all.'
'Four syllable word, Mulder.' She said. 'Nervous about something?'
'Scully…' He leaned back in his chair and grinned at her. 'Have you ever known me to be nervous? This is me we're talking about. Sly Fox.'
'Uh huh. Sly Fox.' She nodded, mock sternness on her face as she lifted the glass up to her lips. 'That's right, I must have forgotten.'
'Are you making fun of my high school alter ego?'
'No, not at all.' Scully shook her head. 'I just figured you'd be more the kind of guy that would rather have something like Big Daddy Fox.'
Mulder nearly sprayed her with wine. 'And where would you get that amazing deduction?'
'Your Oscar-winning movie collection.'
'Really.'
'Oh yes.' Scully said, nodding seriously. 'All sorts of education to be gained by viewing.'
'Oh, I never got that impression at all.' Mulder said smiling. 'I guess we'll have to watch them together sometime.'
Scully gave him a dirty look and they were both silent.
'…Love is drowning…In a deep well…All those secrets…And no one to tell…Take the money…Honey…Blindness…'
Mulder reached over, towards her face. She stared back at him, eyes slightly widening. He brushed his thumb across her cheek and grinned at her.
'Marinara.'
Scully released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She smiled at him as the flickering of the candlelight played across her face.
'Tease.'
Mulder smiled. Ever since they'd gotten a bit closer, she was much more playful with him. The few kisses they'd shared, they couple of 'dates' they'd managed to head out on, it had been interesting, to say the least. Their relationship was being redefined and neither of them was sure if it was good or bad.
'I'll help you clean up.' She said, picking up their plates and walking towards the kitchen.
He grabbed their glasses and the bottle of wine off of the table. 'Just leave them on the counter, Scully, I'll get it tomorrow.'
They passed each other as she walked out of the kitchen. He set the empty bottle of wine and their glasses on the counter. When he turned back, she was two feet away, staring up at him.
The silent moment stretched on, feeling like an eternity had passed. It was as if an unspoken signal had transpired between them. She reached her hands up towards his face as he tangled his hands in her hair and their lips crushed against each other.
She backed him up a couple of steps, until he was against the wall. Mulder put his hands on the small of her back and pulled her against him. Their kiss intensified and Scully slid her hands under his shirt, letting them rest on his chest.
He smiled against her lips, and walked her in the direction of the couch. She giggled, her sweet, warm breath flooding his mouth, and fell back. Mulder sprawled the length of his body on top of her, loving the way her tongue curled around his.
MTV popped up on the television and 'Living Dead Girl' by Rob Zombie filled the room.
'…Crawl on me…Sink into me…Die for me…Living dead girl…'
Mulder pulled the remote out from under her and pointed it towards the television.
'Leave it on.' Scully whispered breathlessly into his ear.
'…Blood on her skin…Dripping with sin…Do it again…Living dead girl…'
Mulder smiled down at her, loving that his face was a mere inch away from hers. 'You like this?'
She grinned evilly and began to sing along as she threw one of her legs over his.
'…Crawl on me…Sink into me…Die for me…'
Mulder dropped the remote.
End Part Three
Continued in Part Four.
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