R4 pt3 Cerulean Blue
Fowley raged as she watched the helicopter pick up Mulder and Krycek. She completely ignored the dying man writhing in pain just several feet from where she had hid.
"Damn, damn, damn! Those sons-of-bitches!"
The whole enterprise threatened to come clattering down around their heads. Their alien masters were far from forgiving, especially of so many slipups, but even more frightening was the prospect of telling her boss of their missed attempt at terminating Mulder and that traitor Krycek.
"Diana Fowley."
Fowley whirled around. Before her stood the morph. His sudden arrival chilled her, but it also filled her with fury.
"And where have you been? So much for your superior tracking skills! They got away, and you know where they're headed!"
The morph sneered at her. "And where would that be, Diana Fowley?"
"The spaceship, you fool! His little red-headed partner paid a trip to Africa, and I guarantee you that that's where they're going. Very soon they'll be putting two and two together, and years of planning will be blown right to smithereens!"
The morph frowned angrily at her. "I'm not interested in your emotional human reactions to such a trivial inconvenience, Diana Fowley. What interests me more are your intentions regarding Fox Mulder."
Cold dread pierced her soul. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. I warned your bosses specifically not to harm the hybrid, to try first to ensure his cooperation, but none of you would listen. You are here to do just that, to assassinate him along with that worm, Alex Krycek," the morph responded quietly.
"No, that's not true!" Fowley lied. "We were going to take him back!"
"It is impossible to lie to me, Diana Fowley," the morph said menacingly, as he brandished the knife that he always held near. "My telepathic capabilities are fully functional. You have failed in your quest, Diana Fowley, but unfortunately for you, I do not intend to fail in mine!"
Fowley screamed as the knife came down, severing the artery in her neck. Her body dropped to the ground, and the morph calmly wiped off his blade as she lay dying.
He turned to watch the helicopter as it disappeared into the sky. He would finish off the other man who had arrived with Fowley and then hunt once again for his Fox. Fowley was probably correct, the group must be headed to the abandoned spaceship in Africa. He laughed to himself. They would certainly get some surprise once they arrived there.
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CSM frowned as he lit up a Morley. He hadn't heard from Fowley in several hours, and he was concerned at a possible hitch to their plans. The woman was a loyal operative, and he would be a bit perturbed if she had to be terminated.
His cell phone rang. "Yes?"
It was one of the Consortium's Alaskan operatives. "We found Fowley's body, sir, and the others, near the cabin that Mulder was staying. It looks like the morph got to them before they got to Mulder."
CSM tightened his grip on the phone. It wasn't so much regret he felt as rage at this unforeseen digression from the intended path.
"Have Mulder and Krycek escaped?"
"It appears that way."
CSM considered the options. Chances were that it was Skinner and Scully who helped rescue their alien hybrid friend and that traitorous rat. It never ceased to amaze him how those two would follow
Mulder to the ends of the earth if it were required of them. However, he was doubtful that their intent was to return to DC, as that would be the first place the Consortium would search for Mulder.
They still needed to get their hands on Mulder before the morph did. When it came to power, the odds were stacked in the favor of the morph, but perhaps Mulder could still be used as a bargaining chip. CSM might as well try to salvage what little remained of the Consortium's relationship with the aliens. Chances were that the morph would be furious if they terminated Mulder now, as the Bounty Hunter must already be aware of the extent of the hybrid's capabilities, which is probably why he killed Fowley and the others.
He allowed himself an evil smile as he pondered what else the morph might want Mulder for.
"Our plans have changed. Termination is no longer an option. Capture him alive and as soon as possible. Inform the necessary parties."
"Certainly, sir."
"I suggest you track Agent Scully's recent whereabouts as a start to finding Mulder," CSM said, exhaling a huge cloud of white-grey smoke as he concluded the discussion.
"We'll do that, sir," the operative gratefully responded.
After he hung up his phone, CSM mused on the unwelcome turn the project had suddenly taken. His problem, he decided, was consistently underestimating Fox Mulder and the loyalties of his friends. However, he was damned if he was going to let Bill Mulder's son ruin the years of careful planning. One way or another, Fox Mulder was going to pay.
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5:35 AM
MozambiqueSkinner mopped his brow with a large, cotton handkerchief. He could never get used to high temperatures. Even in his time in Vietnam, one aspect of the entire wretched experience was the feeling of living constantly in a steam box. He had stripped off his shirt and wore only his khaki shorts, but it still didn't help much as the sweat poured down his gleaming torso.
"Agent Scully, I hope those coordinates are accurate! We need to get to that ship as soon as possible," Skinner said, glancing over at her as they marched along.
"Believe me, sir, we should have no problem finding the ship again. Edokwe was the same guide who took me there before, and the site is well-known to the villagers. They have an extremely superstitious fear of the place, which was totally justified as it turns out!" Scully sighed, adjusting her pack as she walked.
Mulder and Krycek were hiking up ahead with the guide, Edokwe. Krycek peered off tensely into the undergrowth when Mulder grabbed his hand reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Alex," Mulder said softly. "It won't be long now."
"I know, Fox, but I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen."
Mulder had his own concerns about the situation but decided not to voice them. Dark, frightening images were coming at him almost constantly, so vivid that he could swear they were happening around them, but he refused to heed them and give into his fear. His visions of the future were not good, but he was damned if he was going to give up the fight already.
Suddenly the guide started to veer off towards a clearing on the right. Alex and the others were prepared to follow him when they noticed that Mulder had stopped dead in his tracks.
"Mulder, what's wrong?" Scully queried worriedly.
"Edokwe, that's not the way to the downed spaceship," Mulder said quietly, struggling to calm his rising heartbeat.
The guide turned and look surprised. "Yes, is this way. You, your friends, follow me," he responded in halting, strongly accented English.
"No, it's not!"
Suddenly the features of the guide blurred, while his body grew in bulk and height. Edokwe's body reformed into that of the Bounty Hunter. Scully screamed, while both Skinner and Krycek immediately drew protectively around Mulder.
The morph gave Mulder an evil smile. "You astound me, little one. So much talent and so soon! You'll need hardly any training at all!"
Mulder went numb with shock. He watched in horror as the morph grabbed Skinner and sent him reeling into a tree. When the A.D. was knocked unconscious, Scully immediately ran to crouch by his side.
The morph then seized Krycek by the throat. He practically lifted Krycek off his feet, smiling at the death-like gagging sounds the triple agent emitted.
"This is what I should have done during our last encounter, pretty one. You are way more trouble than you're worth! Fox Mulder is ours, and soon your body will be feeding the scavengers of the jungle.
Did you really think you could defy us? The future of your puny planet is in our hands, and nothing you can ever do will save it!" the morph snarled, as Krycek writhed spasmodically in his grip.
"No!" Mulder yelled. He saw the morph's hand tightening on Krycek's neck and knew he was only seconds away from crushing his trachea.
The morph turned to Mulder. "Your pleas are useless, my sweet. He will die, but perhaps more swiftly than I would have chosen. I do not wish to distress you unduly."
"I'll go with you! Let him go! I'll go with you to your planet. I won't fight you, I won't try to escape! But only if you let him live!" Mulder cried.
Suddenly he took out his gun and held it against his temple while Scully cried out in shock. "Let him go, or I'll pull the trigger, dammit!"
Krycek's eyes went even wider with fear as he struggled desperately for air. He could tell that Mulder was serious, and he was terrified that the love of his life would indeed kill himself.
The morph's eyes narrowed in anger. This was indeed an unpleasant development. He dropped Krycek to the ground with a thud, who started coughing and gasping for air. As the triple agent tried to recover, the morph held his hand out to Mulder.
Mulder handed him the gun, which the morph proceeded to twist into an unrecognizable shape and then throw into the bushes. He then seized Mulder by the arm and threw him roughly over his shoulder, completely oblivious to Mulder's horrified exclamations.
"Remember your promise, my sweet!" he growled in response to Mulder's futile struggles. He smacked Mulder hard on the ass. "And if you threaten me like that again, there will be hell to pay!"
The morph then turned and raced off into the clearing on the opposite side of the woods. He ran towards the true direction of the spaceship, carrying his prize quite effortlessly upon his back. He was impatient to get Mulder onto the ship and away from this wretched planet, but first he would stake his claim in the hybrid's delectable body.
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