Double Indemnity
Round 4 Part 2
Aqualegia

Smith went over to the window and peered out. "I concur, Agent Scully, I believe they could be looking for us."

"Shit!" Mulder exclaimed angrily, "How the hell do they keep finding us?"

The alien healer looked thoughtfully back and forth between the humans for a few moments, then said, "Since they can't possibly have followed us here from the hospital, I think that maybe one, or more of you may have a tracking device on, or in, them. If my supposition is correct then we have to get you all shielded as soon as possible."

"On the other hand," Alex broke in, "They could be on our side, or in the neighbourhood on another errand entirely, this isn't the most salubrious part of town, after all."

"While you may have a point there, Alex, I don't think we can afford to take any chances. We'll slip out the back way. Scully, you and Jeremiah take the lead. Anson and I will carry Alex downstairs between us." Mulder took one look at Alex's mutinous expression, and went on, "Save your strength for when it is really needed."

Realizing that this was not the time to pick a fight, Alex allowed himself to be lifted by the two men, carried out of the hotel room and down the fire escape into the car park. As quickly, and quietly, as they could they all got into the limousine. With Scully riding in the front beside him, Jeremiah drove the large car along the service road at the back, then turned left on to the road on the other side of the block.

Leaving Anson to care for his twin, Mulder let the privacy screen down between the front and rear compartments, then phoned the Lone Gunmen. He explained their predicament to Frohike. After confirming where they were and in which direction they were travelling, he gave them directions to another destination and assured Mulder that the Gunmen would meet them there with every counter surveillance gadget and bug detector at their disposal in an effort to protect them from further unwanted visitors.

For the next twenty-five minutes they travelled in tense silence with Mulder peering out of the rear window for any sight of pursuit. When they arrived at the location that Frohike had given them, they found themselves confronted by a large barn-like building.

As the car drew to a halt, Scully got out of the car to see if she could find a way in. She had barely taken two steps towards the building, when the garage doors opened and Langly beckoned them inside. Mulder, of course, was out of the car almost before it came to a halt in the huge garage.

As he pushed the button to close the doors again, Langly said, "Hey, Dude. We've set up a perimeter of jamming equipment which is designed to give us a dome of protection against all known types of tracking mechanisms while we try to find out how, or if, you are being traced."

Mulder grinned. "Thanks, guys, as I said, we're not absolutely sure that we are being tracked. They probably found us at the hospital by someone in the Police or FBI telling them that Alex was there - but when MIBs pull up in force outside your hotel... well, it seemed like a good idea to check."

"Sure thing, Dude."

Once the doors were shut behind them, Mulder introduced the Gunmen to Jeremiah, Alex and Anson. There was a moment of silence, when only the low hum of electricity through circuits could be heard as Frohike stared at the twins, looking back and forth between them, until Alex scowled at him and he nervously retreated a few steps.

Mulder grinned at his friend's retreat, then sidled up to Alex, and said, very quietly, "Try not to intimidate the help, Alex. We need their expertise."

Alex turned his head so that his lips were almost brushing Mulder's. "Sorry... but you'd think he'd never seen twins before the way he was looking at us." He licked his lips, then stole a quick kiss before turning his head to look back at Frohike.

While they had been talking, Langly started running his bug hunting equipment over the limo. Byers came over to where Frohike was standing and gave him one of the two bug-sniffers he'd been carrying. The touch of familiar equipment brought Frohike out of his funk, then he and Byers concentrated on checking the group for any sign of a tracer.

After having run all their gadgets over everything, and everybody, the Gunmen declared themselves satisfied that they were bug-free.

"Now what are we going to do?" Scully asked a pensive looking Mulder.

He shrugged, then gave her a lopsided grin. "Get something to eat?" She raised an eyebrow at him, his grin widened, for a moment, then he became serious again. "As I see it, we have two choices; one we accept that we are completely bug free; or, two acknowledge that one of us is carrying a bug which doesn't show up on any of this equipment." he gestured to the gadgets lying strewn across a nearby table. "If it's the former we have nothing to worry about, if it's the latter.... well, we'll soon find out."

He turned to the Gunmen, "Thanks for coming so quickly guys, I appreciate it."

"Enough to give me your video collection?" Frohike asked.

Mulder laughed, "Maybe.... Anyway, what I suggest is that you return home, while we find somewhere safe to stay-."

"The offer of the house is still open, Mulder." Byers interrupted him.

"Yeah, thanks, I think we will take you up that offer this time. Anson, do you still have my car keys?" When Anson nodded, he went on. "Okay, please give them to Frohike, as I want them to retrieve the car from wherever you abandoned it."

"It's in the hospital parking lot," Anson replied while digging in his pocket for the keys. Handing them over to the odd looking little man, he went on, "It's near the edge of the lot with a clear view of the main entrance."

"Thanks," Frohike pocketed the keys, then turned to Mulder again. "Do you need anything else from us before we leave?"

"I can't think of anything else at the moment."

"New identities would be good," Alex said at the same time. At Scully's frown, he said, "Well it would - We'll need food and clothing for starters... we don't know who is looking for us and we certainly don't want to leave a paper trail that even a boy scout could follow."

"We also need to find a way to placate Skinner and Detective Smith, get them on our side without immediately revealing Anson's existence." Mulder said, taking his phone out. He scowled at it for a moment, turning around to try to get a signal.

"Wait up, Dude, I'll switch the damping field off," Langly told him, a wide grin splitting his face. He flipped a switch and the background hum died away leaving an eerie silence.

"Thanks," Mulder muttered as the phone came back to life. He hit the speed dial to connect to Skinner's cell - as soon as it was answered, he said, "Sir, a friend arrived at the hospital and told me that we were about to be attacked at the hospital and despite what you told us about police presence on our floor, he hadn't been stopped on the way in and there was no sign of them as we left...."

He listened for a moment, then went on, "Yes, Sir, I appreciate that you need to be kept informed which is why I am phoning now. However; I felt it best to wait until I could check that none of us were carrying any known type of tracer, as just after the last time we stopped, what looked like MIBs turned up outside the motel. I was reminded that it could have been coincidence, but I didn't want to take any unnecessary chances."

Mulder listened some more, his silences interspersed with a few "Yes, Sirs" and "No, Sirs." Finally he interrupted with, "Excuse me, Sir, but we would like to get under way again. I have arranged for a safe house to accommodate us though friends that I trust. As soon as we're settled, I'll be in touch again over a more secure line...." He listened again. "Yes, Sir, I'll do that."

He pocketed the phone, then said, "Before we split up, I'd like to bring you all up to date. Skinner is going to contact Detective Smith about the cops having been missing from the hospital corridor when we left, he also said that, in those circumstances, we had done the right thing by acting on our friend's advice and moving Alex out of harm's way. They've got some more pictures from the security video of the intruder who killed Spender and he would like us, and Alex in particular, to look at them to see if we recognize him. Obviously he will also ask to see if they have any videos of the floor where Alex's room was, for the same reasons.  He wants a meeting with us, and I have said I'll contact him from the safe house as the Gunmen have assured me that the line from there is untraceable.

"If the Gunmen don't mind, when we do set up a meeting, I would like them to collect Skinner and check him over for bugs etc."

"Sure, Mulder," Frohike said, as the other two Gunmen murmured assent to his request.

"Thanks," Mulder grinned at them before continuing. "Skinner also spoke about his meeting with Spender. He said that Spender called him for a meeting at the reflecting pool, on the pretext that I was getting into trouble. At the meeting he persuaded Skinner to accompany him to an address where he could see some evidence for himself. Later, to satisfy his curiosity about the apartment, he sent two agents there to investigate. The apartment was empty save for two folding chairs and a card table, which yielded no clues as to why he was being lured there. Anyway, they had just arrived at the apartment building when he spotted someone he thought was Krycek - who in any case was with me at the time - and gave chase.

"At our meeting I had told Skinner that the assailant wasn't Alex, and that I could prove it. He now admits, that having thought further about the attack, and the lack of recognition on the attacker's part, he is convinced that it couldn't have been Alex that he saw... he has told the police who have removed Alex from their list of suspects, and re-opened the investigation although finding the original attacker is secondary to finding the murderer. He also has some other suggestions to make when we meet up, but taking up time now was contraindicated. So, let's get going."

The Gunmen started packing their equipment back into their van, while Anson and Mulder carefully carried a pale and tired looking Alex back to the car and made him comfortable under the watchful eyes of Scully and Smith.

When they were almost ready to leave, Byers came over to them. "We think it would be a good idea if I were to come with you. Since I know the area well and therefore the house's exact location, I could drive there by the safest route, and be able to help you with the equipment once we get there. I'll rejoin the others when you have your meeting with Skinner."

"That's an excellent idea, thanks." Mulder replied, gratefully. All his party were tired and it would be a relief to have someone fresh for the long drive to the safe house.

"Good," Byers replied, "There's plenty of canned and dried goods at the house, but we may want to stop and get some fresh foods-"

"Clothes," Alex interrupted from where he was lying along the side seats. "I'm not spending the rest of my life in these scrubs... and if someone could retrieve my leather jacket I'd be very grateful."

"I'll ask Skinner to get it for you," Mulder assured him

"I bet he'll love that," came the rejoinder.

"We'll make ourselves noticed if we buy too much clothing," Scully said, looking tired and worried.

"Nah, just tell 'em that the airline lost your luggage." Langly suggested. "If you do it close enough to DC it won't be thought of as unusual. There was an article about it in the Post a couple of weeks back."

"There's a mall and factory outlet a few minutes down the road. We could get everything we need there, and if we use lots of different stores the amount we are purchasing won't be remarked upon," Byers replied.

"Good idea." Mulder looked around. "Any more questions or suggestions?" After various replies in the negative, he went on, "In that case I suggest we get under way. I'd like to be settled in before nightfall so that we can take stock of our surroundings, and get some rest... we've all had a busy couple of days."

Langly turned away and opened the garage doors. Byers drove out and turned east, leaving his fellow Gunmen to lock up the barn, and go their own way a few minutes later.

-oo0oo-

They were all silent as Byers drove away from the rendezvous, each busy with their own thoughts. Anson was sitting by Alex's feet watching his twin who was dozing with his head pillowed on Mulder's lap. When Jeremiah came over to kneel beside them to check on Alex, Anson saw a chance to satisfy his curiosity about the strange man.

"Can I ask a question?" When Jeremiah nodded, he went on, "Why do you smell different? It's not a bad smell," he hurried to assure the man who had looked startled by the question. "I'm not explaining myself very well, am I? Most people I've met have the same basic smell, then one which is their own... like the smell of freshly dug earth. To me you smell like the warn metal of the kettle when mama was making tea." Anson's face was contorted into a scowl with the effort of trying to make them understand.

Jeremiah, although he looked very surprised, hastened to reassure the troubled man. "It's very astute of you to notice, I was born on another world," he began. "...And I believe you may be able to tell who is native to this planet and who is not. Tell me, who else has you met that smelled different?"

Anson looked relieved that he hadn't upset the... alien... no wonder he had been able to heal most of Alex's injuries. Then concentrating on the question he's been asked, he replied, "The doctor that mama sometimes used to take Alex and I to, he smelled funny too, not like you though... he smelled kinda like that black stuff you put on a roof. I remember that Alex and I didn't like him at all... he kept jabbing needles into us. Daddy wanted us to stop seeing that doctor and go to the health centre nearby - they had a loud argument about it."

Jeremiah had looked increasingly concerned as Anson's story went on. "A Colonist plant," he said when Anson stopped talking. "There's no doubt in my mind that the two boys were subjected to many tests before Alex was stolen from his home."

"It's equally possible that they had Peter Krajicek killed to stop him interfering with those tests," Scully stated, drawing what to her mind was an obvious conclusion.

Two pairs of green eyes looked at her with horror. Anson sought Alex's hand and held on to it tightly.

Mulder nodded. "You could be right, Scully. If he could give up his own wife to the tests, then I'm sure that getting rid of an inconvenient son-in-law wouldn't have troubled his conscience."

"I saw him kill mama and that man she married, they blamed me... told me I was bad... but it was grandfather," Anson announced, then added, "I'm glad he's dead, even though I didn't manage to kill him."

"I'm glad he's dead, too," Alex assured him, which earned him a happy smile from his twin.

Stunned by the magnitude of the old man's savagery, they rode in silence until the limo started to slow down and Byers informed them that they had reached the shopping mall.

At the mall, after a bit of persuasion from Alex, Anson accompanied Mulder to the store where they bought enough underclothes, jeans and shirts for the three men. Scully meanwhile stocked up on a few supplies at the pharmacy before getting some casual clothes for herself and some other essentials she thought they might need. Before returning to the car she used the ladies rest room to freshen up and change out of her work clothes. Byers meanwhile, went into the large supermarket and bought a cart full of fresh foods to stock the refrigerator.

Mulder and Anson had also changed, so when they all got back to the car, they loaded the food into the trunk and most of the new clothes, except those they would need for Alex

Trying not to jostle the sick man too much, they stripped off the hospital scrubs and dressed him in T-shirt and boxers, topped with a sweat-suit, and put socks and trainers on his feet.

Noticing a pained frown furrowing his brow, Scully made him take him another couple of painkillers. Once he was comfortably settled on the long side seat again, Byers started the engine to continue their journey, stopping off at the gas station to fill up the tank on his way out of the car park.

-oo0oo-

Three hours later they were driving though countryside where there were few vehicles on the road and even fewer signs of human habitation, when the engine cut out without even a splutter. Byers guided it to a halt at the side of the road and got out.

All the others, excluding Alex, got out too, to find out what was wrong. Mulder looked at his watch, the said, "My watch has stopped."

Even as he spoke large men stepped out of concealment from each side of the road, seven from the side nearest them, and eight from the other.

Mulder, Scully and Anson reached for their guns, ready to defend them, when Jeremiah said, "They're friends." He paused for a moment, then said, "I am needed elsewhere, but they will heal Alex completely before we leave."

The four humans stepped away from the car, but as the first alien went past him, Anson let out a cry and tried to pull him away. "He smells bad... like the doctor...."

The alien shook him off and stood at bay by the back door of the limo a fire-wand gripped in his hand, and those who had been moving towards him stopped in their tracks, waiting to see if they could gain some advantage... some way to overpower him before he could kill them. All the other aliens turned towards him, their human faces sloughing away as they concentrated their minds on the spy that had been in their midst. Time seemed to stand still as the battle of wills took place. Suddenly the spy crumpled to the ground, a scalpel protruding from the back of his neck, revealing Alex standing in the doorway of the car. They all watched dispassionately as the alien dissolved into a puddle of green goo. Only once all traces of the Colonist had bubbled way did the exhausted, grey-faced Alex relax and sink to the floor of the limo.

Jeremiah turned to Anson, and said, "That is a very useful talent you have there, his actions could have caused untold harm to us, and the Resistance."

"Will his presence mean that they could be able to trace us here?" Mulder asked, troubled that their presence could have been exposed.

One of the newcomers, who had resumed his human disguise, answered. "He had no tracer on him, and we were able to suppress his attempt to contact his brethren. Now we must help by healing our human colleagues and be on our way before our presence here is noticed."

Five of their number climbed in the car and held Alex's arms, legs and head, while the spokesman and one other approached Scully. When she backed away from him, he said, "While the chip inside you keeps the cancer at bay, it will be a liability in the future... we will dissolve it and make sure that no harm will be caused by it's removal."

Scully thought about it for a moment then nodded her agreement to undergoing the procedure. The speaker cupped her head in his hands, while the other placed his hands on her shoulders - they stood like that for nearly five minutes, then they returned where the rest of their party still waited.

Mulder looked at his watch and saw that it was working again. He wondered how slow it would be when he managed to check it, and looked up at the sun to see if he gauge how much time had passed... the sky was blue, the birds were singing and the insects were buzzing but he had no idea how much time had passed. Giving a mental shrug, he turned his attention back to the car where Anson was pressed up against the glass, as near as possible to his twin without being inside the vehicle.

Suddenly there was movement. The five aliens left the car and strode purposefully across the road into the trees, the others who had been standing nearby followed. Jeremiah paused for a moment at the edge of he trees and said, "We will be in touch." The he, too, disappeared from view.

Mulder immediately went to Alex's side. Now shirtless, the younger man was sleeping peacefully, all signs of stress and pain had vanished from his face... the scars that had marred his body had disappeared... and most wondrous of all his left arm was no longer an ugly, misshapen stump - in it's place was a perfect match for his other one. Mulder lightly ran his fingers across the baby soft flesh, almost unable to believe his eyes. The others drew round, gazing in wonder at the restored limb.

Scully, too, reached out to touch. Eventually she said, in a hushed voice, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen what it looked like before."

He words broke the spell. Mulder laid the shirt, and his jacket over Alex to keep him warm, then said, "I guess we'd better be on our way if we want to get settled in before dark.

Taking the hint, the others took their seats as Byers returned to the driving seat and set the limousine in motion again.

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