Double Indemnity
Round 1 Part 4
Aqualegia

Immediately alert, Alex sat up straight and said warily, "What?"

"Someone tried to murder Spender and you're the main suspect." As he spoke, Mulder started to gather his things and put his coat on.

Krycek followed suit. "I didn't try to kill that old bastard, you gotta' believe me Mulder."

"I know," Mulder said, "We'll talk about it elsewhere, right now there's an APB out on you, we have to go."

Alex nodded in agreement. "Is your car here?" He asked the agent.

"Yes."

"Good, meet me out back, I know were we can go."

The men parted then, Alex going to the left and Mulder to the right.

-oo0oo-

Minutes later, Mulder drove up the darkened ally behind Trix. He could see that here, there were many men doing many illicit things in the semi-darkness. He tried not to look at them too closely; near the back door, a familiar figure stood. Leaning against the bricks of the old building with one foot up, Alex presented a very pleasing silhouette. Mulder tried not to think these thoughts about his traitorous, former partner, but they bubbled forth anyway; like an underground spring welling towards the earth's surface. He pulled over and Alex opened the door and hopped in.

"Dark or not, it's pretty public back here Krycek, aren't you worried you'll be recognized?" He checked his mirror then pulled away.

"Turn left at the street and keep going." Alex turned around in the seat and watched out the back window, just in case. "Nah... no one will have seen me, I looked like just another trick and you were my john in a dark coloured sedan. No one will remember more than that."

If nothing else, Krycek was confident in that dirty little fact.

Mulder turned and eyed the dark haired man sharply; wondering. But he did not comment on how Krycek knew so much about the world's oldest trade. Instead he said, "Did you have to leave your car behind?"

"Yes. But it doesn't matter, except that I'm out fifteen hundred bucks. I liked that piece of shit."

"We better go back for it, if it's found abandoned...."

"Don't worry, it was meant to be a throw away. I guess I'm lucky I got four good years out of it."

Even in the darkness, Alex could see that Mulder was puzzled, so he explained. "The car I took to the club has nothing in it. No insurance papers, no serial number, no prints... no nothing. I wipe it down if I drive it and I don't wear gloves. Tonight I had some on, and a toque for that matter." Alex pulled the items out of his pocket, to show the agent that he did wear the gloves and toque. "I parked four blocks from the club, by tomorrow morning, the tow truck will discover it and take it away.

Mulder nodded. "Wow, are you always so prepared?" he wondered out loud.

"With the people that I deal with? Wouldn't you be?" Alex replied comfortably.

"I guess so..." Started Mulder, but he was cut off.

"Turn left at Adams road and follow it to the end."

"To the old warehouse district?"

Alex nodded, "Yep."

After that, the two fell into silence, but it was not entirely uncomfortable, or unwelcome. Each man had his own thoughts to think about. Alex wondered what doctored evidence had been offered up that pinned him as the guilty party. No way was he going down for this, he always figured the consortium or the resistance aliens would kill him. Now it looked like he was going to go the way of Louis Cardinale instead; a nice tidy noose in a jail cell, or maybe they had something different in mind for him, like a shank to the right kidney in the shower.

As for Mulder, he kept wondering how it was that Alex was the suspect. This time, the little rat was innocent; he couldn't possibly have committed the crime. But there was that strange incident with Alex back at the bar. Mulder was determined to investigate Krycek's claims of feeling like he was in two places at once.

-oo0oo-

Mulder followed Alex's instructions and before he knew it, he had been guided to a fairly dark, almost abandoned factory district. He drove between two buildings, and cut through to the back ally way of buildings. Alex pushed a button on his key fob and a single garage door started to open.

"Turn left here," Alex leaned over, really close to Mulder, and pointed in the direction he had stated. Ultra aware of his former partners proximity, Mulder tried to concentrate where the man had pointed to. There, Mulder could just make out the darkened entrance, he swung left and pulled in; the door started to close automatically.

"Wait until the door shuts." Alex said, his body hidden by the dark.

With in seconds, the door closed and locked automatically, a dim light came to life when the heavy duty lock clicked over.

Alex opened his car door and stepped out; Mulder did the same.

Instead of going through the only door, which was heavily padlocked, Alex led Mulder to a large air vent on the far wall of the cement building and undid the chains that secured it. He turned to his former partner and explained. "This whole area used to be a bootlegger's paradise. There are underground tunnels below all of these buildings. I doubt that any one even remembers anymore."

He pulled back the large, re-bar covered grating, like it was a door and motioned the older man through.

Mulder climbed down a steel ladder about ten feet, then dropped a couple of feet to the ground. He looked around, amazed. There were tunnels everywhere, and it seemed, that where he was standing, was the hub for them all. Fox heard a noise and looked up. He watched Krycek's descent, noting that the man's beautifully rounded ass went extremely well with the tight blue jeans he was wearing; like butter and bread.

The agent smiled at that, and wondered briefly if his former partner knew of his bi-sexuality. Probably, shrugged the agent, why else would Spender had sent in such a pretty boy.

Agent Alex Krycek was placed next to Fox Mulder because Dana Scully, couldn't do the job, so to speak.

Krycek jumped down and landed next to Mulder, who was still staring up, unseeing of anything now, but merely lost in his private thoughts.

"What is it?" Alex asked, following Mulder's eyes to where they rested on an upper rung of the ladder.

"Nothing," lied Fox. He gave Krycek, barely visible in the dull lighting, a puzzled look. "Where to now?"

"Follow me, my place is actually down the block a few warehouses." He waited for Mulder to fall in next to him and then led the way.

"You don't leave anything to chance, do you?" Commented the agent as they walked.

"Not in my line of work," Alex said. "If I don't watch my ass, who will?"

'Me.' Mulder commented mentally.

-oo0oo-

Finally, after going through several more elaborate, hidden and entrances, Alex led Mulder to his real front door. It was large and steel, and as Fox looked around the upstairs entrance, he noted several motion sensors and three camera's. Alex wasn't kidding, he took his personal security very seriously.

Once secured inside Alex turned to Mulder and said, "This is my real home. Not the scuzzy little place down on Gilmour."

Mulder took a second to take in the large loft. The place took up the entire top floor of a long since abandoned warehouse. Judging by the décor, the former agent's taste could be described as minimal. The wide open space was done in simple, light coloured wood furniture and wooden accents, with several large area rugs covering the bare hardwood floors. The kitchen was done in unpolished stainless steel and was completely clean. Mulder frowned, how come he lived in such a dive and Krycek had a place like this? Krycek's bed, European in design, sat near a fall wall and the Russian had used Chinese blinds to separate his sleeping quarters from the rest of the area. A free standing shower, encircled by a round maze of thick glass bricks, a toilet and a matching pedestal sink made up the bathroom area, which was situated in the farthest corner of the living space. Away from everything else.

Strategically placed pot lights brightened the place and in the part of the apartment that had a couch and chair, there was a gas fireplace against another wall.

"I know what you're thinking," Alex interrupted Mulder's mental tour of the large loft.

"What is it that I'm thinking?"

"How come a worm like me can have such a great place?"

"Well, the word worm didn't come into play. But yeah, I'm curious Krycek, how is it that you live here?" Alex took Mulder's coat and hung them up, then he put their shoes away too.

He padded over to the kitchen and started to make a pot of coffee. As he did so, he told Mulder the story of how he came about finding his current living quarters.

"I stumbled on this place by accident. A few years ago, Spender planted a bomb in a car I was a passenger in, in an attempt to try and kill me. I took off running before it blew up and this is where I ended up. It seemed like a great place to lay low so I staked out this entire street for a week, just trying to get the feel of who was coming and going. I stumbled across the tunnels by accident; while I was exploring the area during the first week. Most of the buildings are held by a property company, they're hanging onto the land for re-sale... you know how it is, so that in ten years or so, they can build nice little condo's for all those up and coming Generation-exers. In the mean time, the buildings are used mostly for storage for the holding company. Three years ago, an anonymous buyer, representing a British business man, bought this place." Krycek winked and then shot Mulder a knowing grin.

That British business-man was now dead and along with him, the knowledge of the Russian's lair. Mulder knew that much himself.

Alex pushed the start button on his coffee maker and walked to where his former partner stood. "I didn't try to kill Spender." He said, looking the hazel-eyed man in the eyes directly. "I swear it Mulder, I'm not lying."

"I know." Replied Mulder, staring back just as intently. There was about three feet of space between them, and the agent took a step forward, closing the distance considerably.

"How do you know?" Alex stayed where he was, his breath, coming out just a bit quicker and slightly heavier.

"Because at the time of the attempt on Cancerman's life, you were with me. But Skinner swears it was you who stabbed him." Fox studied Krycek, watched closely as the Russians tongue peeked out to wet his lips.

"What was Skinner doing with Spender?" Alex asked, suspicious of his two former bosses.

"I don't know...." Replied Mulder softly.

Krycek's question started to sink in, what *was* A.D Skinner doing with such a snake? Hmmm... he'd have to find the answer to that one. And as that question left his mind an other thought came to him. All along Alex had denied killing his father and Melissa Scully. Forensics proved that it was Louis Cardinale who had killed Scully's sister. The Nicaraguan traitor had implicated Krycek in the crime, but there was no proof other than the desperate last words of a known killer; and that of his A.D.

Krycek was innocent, maybe of all the dirty deeds he'd been accused of... Alex was innocent. That knowledge completely changed things for the agent. Buoyed by the newly learned information, Mulder continued to watch his dark haired companion for a few seconds more and then he let his true feelings take him over.

"You weren't lying to me before," He said softly. "After all of these years of saying so, it's really true, you're innocent..."

Unable to curb his own actions, Mulder reached up with both hands and grabbed Alex roughly by the back of his head. The Russians dark hair felt soft entwined around his fingers. Mulder pulled the slightly shorter man forward and kissed him roughly.

A split second decision on Krycek's part and then, the raw kiss was returned. Alex parted his lips and invited his former partner's tongue inside. Mulder accepted the invitation, and slowly walked the man backwards until Alex's ass bumped into the breakfast island that separated the kitchen from the living area.

The soft jolt brought Alex to his senses, if only for a few seconds. "Mulder... I didn't kill your dad or Scully's sister, but I'm not so pure..."

"Shut up." Ordered Mulder huskily, his erection met with, and greeted Krycek's own hard cock. "Don't ruin the moment, we'll think about all that shit later." And then he leaned back in to reclaim Alex's soft mouth, this time, he wasn't as demanding as he was a few seconds ago. Mulder couldn't think of anything else at that moment but making love to the sexy green-eyed man; it was something he had wanted to do from the moment he had laid eyes on the younger agent.

For his part, Alex easily gave in to Mulder's persistent kisses. He'd worry about being set up for attempted murder later, right now, all he wanted to think about was Fox Mulder and making love. It had been a long time since someone had wanted him in such a raw and genuine way... and Alex was determined to enjoy every second of their love-making. In his business, one never knew what was going to happen next.

Not breaking their kiss, Mulder's hands released their tight grip on Alex's hair and he drew his fingers slowly down the Russian's bare arms. Smiling inwardly when goose-bumps sprang forth to pepper the heavily muscled limbs. He reached the hem of Alex's T-shirt and pulled it out from Alex's jeans. His fingers snaked under the clean cotton garment and continued their voyage of exploration upwards. Mulder gently caressed Alex's nipples and the Russian sighed....

-oo0oo-

Jennie... you're next.