Chapter Thirty – Disarray II

Several hours earlier.

It had been some time since Krycek had visited Mulder in his home, a long time in fact since they had even been on moderate terms with one another. He found it amusing to think they had once been work acquaintances; it brought a small smile to his face. How long ago it had been, he thought, and yet not much had changed.

His eyes were drawn to the flickering emergency lights guiding the way through the darkness of each stairwell. The power had been out for much of the day throughout the city – here was clearly no exception. As to be expected, the apartment building was quieter than usual. Krycek held his weapon closely, refusing to accept that he was afraid. It was a precautionary matter - the past 48 hours had commenced under unusual circumstances - a government curfew had come into force following the fire and chaos across the city. It was the perfect guise to deal with the situation of Syndicate biological warfare on the run. However it had made his descent into the building difficult, every creak under his feet alerting any listeners to his presence. It was a nuisance. However it did little to hinder him - his attention was directed elsewhere. He was heavily armed and to some extent this calmed his unusually jittery nerves as he followed the Assistant Director 10 steps behind, gun pointed at the older man's back.

The men had said nothing to one another on the drive over here and had little to speak for now. Skinner had not come willingly. Aside from the blow to the head he had received hours earlier, the drugs in his system did much of the work in getting him to comply. It hadn't been easy, Krycek thought uncomfortably, recalling the bruise he had received in the attack. The old man hadn't gone down without a fight.

As they came to the top of the stairs, a little out of breath, Skinner paused. He felt the younger man's eyes on him, staring and calculating. Worst still, he felt the barrel of a loaded gun looming. He turned to look over his shoulder at him, the drug in his system urging him on despite the weakness he endured.

Krycek watched closely, waiting. It would only be a matter of time before the drugs wore off, he thought. He suspected as much that it was beginning to happen.

"Keep going." He mouthed to the Assistant Director, urging the gun in the direction of the corridor ahead.

Skinner paused, a moment too long for Krycek's liking, however he found his feet moving in the direction of Mulder's door without any negotiation from his own mind.

Krycek remained distant. It would be an instant failure if he was to be seen by Mulder, and so he waited in the darkness and allowed it to engulf him. He watched the Assistant Director go in the front door. It had been easy, he decided.

He braced himself for the next few minutes, listening carefully for the trigger to follow after. The corridor felt cold and he had begun to shiver, a combination of fear and excitement. He checked his watch continuously, over and over, impatient. Several minutes passed.

It was time.

Krycek entered through the unlocked door to the apartment.

He immediately recognised the acrid smell in the air – B-51 – which he had no doubt had been administered moments before on the FBI Agent out cold on the living room floor. It was a favourite weapon of his, highly effective and new to the Syndicate, although it had proven to be occasionally fatal. This was a particular nuisance when going to such efforts to get people to talk.

Nonetheless, it only took a moment to find what he was looking for. The man they had come to collect lay slumped across the living room floor, feet from the doorway. It hadn't occurred to Krycek that Skinner had disappeared, content in this moment that it had been so easy.

He stood over the body of Agent Mulder, his eyes closed, unmoving. He found himself crouched down at his side, checking for a pulse. It was there, despite the small risk of fatality.

It was in that moment that he heard the sound of movement coming from the bedroom, realising that the Assistant Director was nowhere to be seen. He stood up from the body of Agent Mulder, pausing momentarily. He had let down his guard, just for a second, a risk he kicked himself for taking. Taking the Assistant Director with him had been a hazard, a necessary one that came with great caution. Gun at the ready he took pleasure in stepping over the body out cold on the floor, following the sound he had heard moments before.

His adrenaline had begun to catch up with him by this point, hindering his previous efforts to remain calm and act accordingly. He was beginning to make mistakes.

He realised that the bedroom door balanced precariously against the catch, moving slightly on its hinges, something he'd failed to notice. As he walked towards it, the sound of a second voice came into focus, strained, asphyxiated..

A second intruder, he pondered the thought, surely to be expected.

Krycek paused reluctantly at the sound, an unexpected struggle neither had prepared for in the presence of B-51. Reaching for his weapon he pushed open the door, immediately meeting the eyes of the Assistant Director restraining a second person.

Upon closer inspection, he realised it was someone he thought to be dead.

But of course, she was very much alive and putting up a fight despite the B-51 looming at her face. Agent Scully had always been a difficult one to kill, he had tried and failed once before; it was a failure he had come to regret bitterly.

For a brief moment he was sure her eyes had met his, she had noticed him standing in the doorway. He sensed that she was frightened by his presence. He stood and watched for a moment enjoying the fear he believed he held in her, until he noticed that the Assistant Director had paused.

"Go on,"

He raised his gun at the older man.

"What are you waiting for?"

Krycek watched impatiently, his heart beginning to race with the possibility that the drug had worn off.

"I can't."

Scully felt the grip around her throat loosen momentarily, allowing some air into her lungs. The room was spinning.

"I think you can."

Again, the grip on her loosened. She realised he was giving up and yet despite her fighting effort moments before she simply laid there beneath the man who seemingly had tried to kill her. Surely if Skinner could no longer go through with it, she thought, Alex won't hesitate to finish.

She convinced herself she had a chance to escape there and then despite the size of the man restraining her still. They'd beaten him up quite nicely, forced him to come back and silence both his Agents for what they knew. It would only take a moment for her breath to come back, she thought, and then she'd punch him herself.

In that moment the sound of footsteps approached and brought her racing mind down to uncomfortable reality. She felt the cold metal of a gun against the side of her head, urging her to meet the eyes of the man who had killed her sister.

"Dana," the man spoke, looming over her.

It was dark enough in the bedroom that Krycek appeared as little more than a silhouette, a cold, yet familiar shadow that held power over her. She closed her eyes momentarily, attempting to create some sort of distance from him.

"I'm surprised to see you."

"Don't be."

She felt the gun push a little harder against her skin.

"I was misinformed," he murmured to himself.

"Aren't you always?" Scully replied weakly.

"Oh?"

She felt herself nod involuntarily, her neck aching.

"It's not the first time you've tried."

Krycek smiled, his eyes studying the red hair sprawled out behind her. He paused for thought, tempted with the prospect of killing her here and now on Mulder's bed. He truly hated to leave a job unfinished, especially one that would be so easy.

He watched her laying under their grip, eyes closed. It worsened the smile that had crept across his face.

"You look a lot like your sister, right now," he spoke, his eyes studying her closely. "When I killed her."

He watched as her eyes opened, the same shade of blue he'd extinguished several years ago by mistake. Her icy gaze remained intact despite his words, cold and without the emotion or response he had hoped for. Krycek expected no less.

He looked to the Assistant Director, restraining the female Agent just nicely for him... In the time since they had arrived, the bruise on the side of his face seemed to have darkened. The man had not come willing.

"Cuff her,"

The Assistant Director paused again, his reluctance to obey the younger man beginning to dwindle until a gun was raised at him; Krycek was beginning to lose his patience.

He waited until the order was obeyed, knowing full well the Assistant Director was fully equipped with government cuffs. The older man did as he was told.

"I'll deal with Mulder."

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