Double Indemnity
Round 3 Part 3
Demi-X.

Mulder pressed his lips and kissed Alex's cold, scuffed knuckles gently. The door handle clicked behind his head, and as quick as a finger snap, Mulder dropped his lover's hand to the bed and stood up to face the door. It wouldn't do to get caught holding Alex Krycek's hand. The squeaky door slowly opened, cool air from the hall rushed in and stirred the soft hairs on Mulder's forehead as he stood waiting.

In walked Jeremiah Smith, answering the FBI agent's silent plea a few short seconds ago.

"Mr. Mulder, we have to hurry, they're on the way." Jeremiah check over his shoulder before closing the door behind himself.

~[###]~

1971:

"Anson... Daddy... please, let me go!" Alex's cries fell on deaf ears. Alex yelled, beating his tiny fists against the large man who was carrying him away from his house. As Alex struggled to escape, he looked up and saw his mother in the window upstairs, she was watching as the bad man stole him away from his brother. Alex could see a shadow behind his unemotional mother; he wondered who it was. It was at that moment that he understood that his mother didn't want him anymore, only Anson. But for the life of Alex, he couldn't figure out why that would be. Alex un-balled his fists and switched from pummelling the iron chest to scratching and gouging at his kidnappers eyes and face.

"OUCH... OUCH! You little fucker!!"

Alex smiled when he heard the bad words. He knew that escape was impossible, but he would never quit trying to run away, never quit trying to find his brother.

Before he knew it, Alex was in the back of a huge car laying face down. He couldn't see anything at all as he was stuffed face down into the soft leather car seat. But he could smell cigarette smoke and he could hear voices yelling and screaming at him, the loud voices were trying to get him to stop fighting.

"Settle down..." Instructed an unfamiliar male voice forcefully.

"Give the kid the god-dammed shot already Doreen."

"Hold him still then." Said the woman impatiently.

Long fingers scratched at his back and bum as someone struggled to pull his pants down. Then Alex felt cold air on his skin and a sting on his right butt cheek. Instinctually the little boy covered the assaulted spot with his hand. Defeated, he ceased all struggles and turned his head to face the voices. He saw a young blond woman, with light blue eyes wearing a nurses cap. Next to the woman was a man, old enough to be his fathers father.

Alex scowled at the two, exhausted, his breath came out rapid and panting. Suddenly, the first niggling of the narcotic settled over him, his bum didn't hurt anymore and he was sleepy and Alex wondered what that woman had done to him. As he lay there, Alex realized that the two were talking. He concentrated on sorting out the blurring voices.

"He fights like a wild kitten." The old man had said affectionately, lighting up a nasty cigarette. The limo pulled away from the curb and eased its way onto the street.

"He looks like an angel, him and his brother both. How can you even think of destroying their lives. Separating them like that is just cruel." The blond woman said, looking at Alex with very sad eyes.

The man blew smoke at Alex, but he didn't have the energy to wave it away, like he always did when his mother smoked.

That was something she only did when Daddy went to work.

"By the time we are done programming this little kitten's mind, he won't even know who he is let alone remember a brother."

"Still, it seems rather extreme to start him so early...."

"Better him than your Marita though, eh? Or would you rather it was your daughter that we took? Because that can be arranged Doreen."

The blond lady shook her head 'no' and Alex figured out that what ever it was that was going to happen to him, was bad.

"We all have sacrifices to make. My contribution to the cause is my grandson."

Nasty man put his hand on the sad lady's leg and squeezed. Alex saw her make a face; the nasty man was disgusting. "Do your part Doreen and don't make a fuss. And nothing bad will happen to Marita."

Alex tried hard, but he could no longer blink his eyes clear. His eyes fluttered closed and then he could no longer open them up again. The man and woman's words ceased to make sense to Alex anymore and he fell into the clutches of the narcotics that had been injected into his bum.

~[###]~

"Who's coming?" Mulder asked alarmed. He pulled his gun and went for the door.

"The colonists or rather, their damned blood hound the one you and your partner refer to as the Bounty Hunter. The colonists found out that it was Krycek who was behind the conspirator's massacre. By killing the majority of the syndicate, Alex Krycek set back invasion by another twenty years. Don't get me wrong, the colonists will wait the extra time complete their mission, it just frustrates them to have to do so."

As he spoke, Jeremiah gave the comatose patient a hasty examination. Mulder cracked the door and peeked out the tiny space. Watching for the bad guys thinking that the bounty hunter was going to appear from around the corner at any moment. Every few seconds or so, he'd turn back to look at Smith, making sure he wasn't trying to harm Alex.

"By killing Spender the colonists removed any further interruptions in their plans. He was never more than a poisonous thorn in their side."

"And killing Alex?" Mulder retorted angrily.

"...Will break the pipeline of information leaking from the Rebel camp to the human rebellion of which, Mr. Krycek is their captain."

"Holy Shit." Whispered Mulder turning his surprised eyes back to the hall.

~[###]~

1980:

"Mr. Spender, we've found pupil number 4691824." Two guards held a slouching Alex between them.

"Release him." Instructed Spender. The two men let go of the young student simultaneously.

Alex tried, but couldn't break his fall as he dropped to the floor. He landed in a crumpled heap at the feet of the smoking man; who had been called in from the States as soon as Alex's disappearance was noted.

The young upstart stared up malevolently at the smoker, green eyes shining bright between two severely blackened eyes.

There was no one he hated more in the corrupt school, than the old man.

"They wouldn't beat you up if you'd learn to behave Alex. The smoking man was the only one in the school who used his given name.

Alex was supposed to be in a Belgian boarding school. But in reality, the 'school' was nothing more than a military academy full of young male pupils of all ages and all from America. The fifteen year old Alex was intelligent enough to know that the pupil number was merely a method to assimilate the student body. To strip them of everything that was individual and replace that humanity with a robotic mentality.

Most days, Alex bought what the school leaders said and he would do exactly as he was told.

But on other days, after having had a nightmare the night before, Alex would remember stuff. Important stuff like his brother and all he'd have to do is look in the mirror to recall Anson's image and when that happened, Alex had to run.

Had to try and find a way home, somehow.

This time he had been gone for seven full days before he was captured while boarding a train bound for France.

"I want my brother." Hissed Alex.

The smoker dropped his cigarette butt to the ground and put it out with the toe of his high-priced loafer.

It was time, he'd put things off for too long.

Spender squatted down, and made himself eye-level with his rebellious grandson. "Alex, after today, the only memories you own, will be the ones that I want you to have."

"I'll kill you one day. Grandpa." Alex spit and hit his rapidly rising grandfather squarely in the middle of his tie with a gigantic mucous gob.

The old man immediately swung and struck his still kneeling grandson across the face with the back of his hand. Alex raised his head, blood dripped from his left nostril a large split divided his plump lower lip in half. He stared up and said nothing, letting his defiant eyes do his talking.

"Wipe his memory, completely then reprogram him using protocol 1, sequence numbers beta four." Said Spender using an expensive handkerchief to wipe away the offensive moisture. He stopped wiping for a second and glaring right back at his flesh and blood, he added in a cruel tone, "Then cane him and send him to the Siberian academy. Let the Russians teach him what he needs to know. See how he likes 'that'." Spender dropped the linen hanky to the ground and turned his back on his own daughter's son.

Nothing was too valuable to give over to the cause.

By the time the consortium doctors were done with young Alex Krycek, the boy had vague memories of parents, but nothing else of his past. All he knew was Russia and her cruel ways to create agents of the future. He thought he was Russian, no one ever told him different, he spoke the language fluently after all.

For Alex, it was like he woke up at the age of fifteen.

~[###]~

"Those memories are the real ones." Whispered Jeremiah when he felt the unconscious man begin to stir awake.

Alex heard those words inside his head, and suddenly, a storm cloud broke and he remembered everything. And what Anson had told him was true. They really were twins; Alex had been kidnapped for a sydicate project.

Programmed to fulfill the consortiums orders. Alex was nothing more than a soldier in an interstellar war he had no hope in winning.

"Mr. Krycek is awake. Help him to dress Agent Mulder and I will keep watch for us.

Mulder traded places with Smith without hesitation.

Lacking clothes for his lover, Mulder had snuck into the hall, and when he came back he had a surgeons set of scrubs for Krycek. Underwear and socks would have to wait until later. Alex slipped his cold feet into a pair of slippers and stood up on shaky legs. We wasn't healed, more like 'mended' just enough to get him up and moving. Mulder steadied his lover with a protective arm.

"Fox... I'm so sorry about..." Husked Alex, his throat dry, his voice was low. He wanted to apologize for taking off with Anson, and for putting him in the predicament they were in now.

"Shh... Alex..." Whispered Mulder to his lover. "I'm just so thankful that you're all right." He gave his vulnerable lover a gentle smile. "We can talk about it when you're better. For now, we have to get out of here. We're ready." Mulder said to the ever watchful Mr. Smith.

"Follow me." Smith said softly, pulling the door open.

-oo0oo-

Scully stepped out of the elevator into the dark underground parking lot. The place was deserted, but she took no notice, a mental list of stuff to do occupying all of her immediate thoughts. She found her car and pulled the keys out from her blazer pocket.

"Freeze lady, or I'll kill you." Menaced an unseen voice.

A strong arm snaked around Scully's neck and constricted tight. Somewhere, in the back of Dana's brain, she recognized the voice that had threatened her.

Well, sort of recognized.

She stilled for a second until the arm around her throat eased off, and then she slammed the heel of her expensive shoe into the top of the assailant's foot. The man, who was almost a foot taller than her was wearing only canvass runners, which offered no protection from her well made Italian leather foot wear.

"Shit!" The arm released its hold all together.

"Mother Fucker..." Bellowed Scully as she crammed her elbow into the man's stomach. "I'll teach you to pick on a woman!" Then she whirled around quickly, poked the hunched over mugger in both of his eyes, momentarily blinding him. The assailants reaction to that manoeuvre was too automatically shield his eyes with his hands. That was the move Scully had been waiting for; she grabbed the much larger man by his ears and pulled his head down while bringing up her knee, smashing him between his eyes, and bloodying his nose. The man yelped in pain and she very forcefully pushed him back from herself.

Landing in an un-coordinated heap, Anson struck his tailbone on the cold cement. He righted himself, cleared his vision and looked up into the startled blue eyes of the red headed lady he had intended on kidnapping. He had planned to use the tiny woman as a bargaining chip in order to get his brother back, but like most of his plans, it had gone wrong.

"What?" He scowled petulantly, trying to ignore automatic pointing at his chest.

"What the fuck?" Scully mumbled, not usually one to use such four letter words. "Who the hell are you?" She couldn't believe her eyes, she could have swore that Alex Krycek lay upstairs in a hospital bed, unconscious with her partner doting over his horizontal form. And yet, here she was holding her FBI issue Sig Sauer on the very same man. The theme to the Twilight Zone chorused through her head and she couldn't help but feel like she had entered the zone' herself. The man before her kept scowling but said nothing, "Or better yet, who is that laying in the bed upstairs?" She said, at a loss for words.

Anson scrubbed at his red, sore eyes. "I'm Anson." He said dourly, making a motion to rise.

Not wanting to lose her advantage, Scully motioned with her gun for the man to stay down as she hissed dramatically, "Give it up Krycek, I know it's you..."

"No, he's right Scully, his name really is Anson."

Scully whirled around and trained her gun on the voice that had come from behind.

It was Mulder who had spoken.

He was holding Alex up and tight to his side, as if to use his body to shield the still very hurt spy. The two continued at a slow hobble towards Scully and Anson.

A limo pulled up and the driver's side window slid down smoothly.

"Get in, there are enemies breaching the entrance to the hospital as we speak." Jeremiah was behind the wheel of the long car.

The four got in and the limo pulled away without so much as a tire squeal.

-oo0oo-

"Where are we going?" Asked Alex, exhausted and out of breath, he was still hurting.

"Back to your place I guess." Mulder said softly, ignoring the glares coming from Anson, who desperately wanted to cross the space between the seats and go to his brother.

"No... no." Alex protested. "No one but you can know about my place." His face was flushed and his skin was growing hot at an alarming rate. It was obvious that Smith had only patched Alex up just enough to get him mobile.

"I know where your place is." Said Anson softly; hurt in his voice.

"But Scully and Smith... they don't, it won't be my safe place anymore... I need to have a sanctuary, I can't always be on guard... I need a home to be my own. Promise me Fox..." Alex voice drifted in between determined and sleepy. But still, he wouldn't relent.

"Okay, I promise." Mulder promised, "Smith and Scully won't come with us." Mulder gently eased Alex over and settled him on the long car seat.

"What?" Scully demanded. "When in the hell are you going to tell me what's going on Mulder?"

Mulder shot his partner a stern look, "We can go to a hotel room, I'll tell you what I know so far, and Jeremiah can finish what he started in the hospital."

Anson sat back, he didn't like the look of his brother at all.

Smith pulled onto the freeway, and started to head toward the motel that was located near the freedom fighters loft. The alien knew all along where Krycek lived.

Ursula, you're next