#simply because skinner got to finally kill krycek and THIS

[actual-changeling]

save me season 8 final scene, SAVE ME

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s6 episode 22 "biogenesis" thoughts

season finale time!!! 

i haven’t watched an episode in a week to avoid having to finish the season, but i have started working on my favorite moments list so i would be better prepared. and here we are!

mulder thinks that life began somewhere that isn’t earth… because of some metallic stuff… well. let’s investigate!

i hope we get some answers on his crankiness. but i’m expecting a ton of plot and little character development in this and the next one. but i can hope to be proved wrong! even if i don’t think we’ll ever beat the s2 finale. sighs… how good we had it.

(post-episode thoughts: i need answers. i need krycek's head mounted on the wall the way people display their ten point bucks. i need justice for skinner and to place both of the agents in a big cozy bed where they can have a sleepover.

this episode was actually pretty good! i'm a bit cynical when it comes to mytharc stuff because it is usually just TOO MUCH going on at once, but this one gave me lots to ponder. i love mulder whump and angry protective scully, so!! i was pleased. but also mad af at Certain Characters. i almost went right ahead and watched the next episode despite my system of rules, but it is a THREE-PARTER, and that is going to take me at least a week to get through ON TOP of still having to post my s6 favorite moments😭so i will just be stuck Suffering over here in cliffhanger land for the foreseeable future!)

anyway. back to the beginning!

ah. we open on the earth. i expect a monologue. oh! it’s scully this time!! i’m so used to mulder monologues on the nature of reality, this took me by surprise

scully is gonna tell us about single-celled life. from the sea. maybe that’s why she feels a kinship with the ocean. and then multicellular life comes next.

for a split second there, i felt like i was watching a nature documentary narrated in scully’s soothing voice. to be honest, i didn’t hate the experience. 

440 million years ago… mass extinction. no oceans. then plants. then bugs. WHAT? ANOTHER mass extinction after that? come on!! it was just getting good!

AND IT KEPT HAPPENING?? can you tell i’m not a science girly?reptiles showed up and then got killed off AGAIN? then birds and dinosaurs. and again. mass extinction.

okay, well i knew about the dinosaur one. give me some credit.

humans emerged 100,000 years ago. and this is the stuff i know. 

look at all of these very 90’s visuals. i feel like i’m in a bill nye episode.

“rising to a world population of over five billion people” well! it is still above five billion people. just… a lot more than that these days. 

ahh... i can just hear it. “you’re my one in eight billion, scully” (accompanied by a light forehead kiss)

she says we are all related to that one singular cell. which i don’t want to think about. but no one knows where that first cell came from. 

“is there a plan, a purpose, or a reason to our existence?” girl, you’re catholic! but i suppose even catholics who have a party line with all the answers to those big questions still muse on the nature of reality. especially if they are scientists and also named scully.

i don’t want to think about a 6th extinction… not of humans or all the birdies… and jaguars… no. we shall simply have to not die.

ah. now we have transitioned into the plot rather than musings on the meaning of life. men are shouting in swahili as something washes ashore. it is… a rock looking thingy.

intro time!!!!!! you can’t help but dance to such a spooky tune!! i still get nostalgic for watching season 1 last may sometimes! 

no special words on the intro this time… hmm! i thought we were due for some.

on the ivory coast, we see that krycek will be in this episode thanks to the opening credits. but other stuff is happening, too. the metal thing is here!!

it is taken to a university for studying. where a man (later revealed to be named dr. merkmallen) carefully unwraps another one!!! the two pieces look like they’ll fit together, but when he holds them next to each other, they merge into one and shoot across the room!

this guy’s office looks so cool. OH DAMN! the metal piece cut into his bible!!! a revelation indeed. and now it’s spinning???? and getting faster!!! he wraps it back up. 

ohhh, it cut into genesis as this fellow calls for an international operator… how… prophetic. 

three days later, the gentleman arrives at the american university in washington, which sounds like a fake name for a school, but it is a real place. he is looking for professor sandoz from the bio department. 

no! this other dude has monkeys!!! what is he doing with them??

sandoz is the monkey guy. and this other fellow is dr. merkmallen. sandoz welcomes him in and asks to see this mysterious object. merkmallen was almost detained for having it

ohhh, the monkeys do NOT like this mystery object. they are screaming terribly. i really do not like monkeys, bro. the pieces have merged together. 

oh shoot! when he asks merkmallen if he’s had any luck reading it, he realizes that is not dr. sandoz!! nooooo!!! leave him alone!!!!!!!

someone else hears the angry monkeys, and enters the room to find the metal piece missing. WHERE DID YOU TAKE MERKMALLEN? NOOOO!! he is dead on the floor!!!!!!!!!! come on, we just met the guy and you take him from us already?!

bow tie dude who found them dead seems freaked tf out

(we later learn that bow tie dude is the REAL dr. sandoz, and the other guy who dr. merkmallen was speaking to was named dr. barnes. i have to insert this note here because it makes sense when you're watching the show visually and can see the different characters, but typing this up can lead to some confusion. so. bow tie guy = sandoz. monkey guy = barnes. got it? okay)

hey! it’s skinner! polishing his glasses. saying he thought of someone, given the nature of merkmallen’s views. “i believe agent mulder is familiar with his work”

mulder is pondering. he looks good today. he usually does, but just thought i’d voice all the thoughts running through my head. scully reads his file- his body is missing. 

mulder says the word “panspermia”, which he says is a fringe theory.

OH! scully finishes his sentence. LMAO, yeah. she knows this concept: the idea that life began on another planet. mulder is watching her intently. 

skinner asks if it’s plausible, and she says it’s a theory. lots of scientific theories are plausible.

skinner hands her a rubbing of the mystery artifact that allegedly held the meaning of human existence. and dr. sandoz had made a similar claim in a SCIENCE (pointed mulder tone and look at scully) journal

but they can’t ask dr. sandoz anything… he’s missing!

scully thinks this is a police matter at best, but mulder says oh come on, skinner wants us on it!

this elevator is very crowded. yeah. force them into close proximity. hahaha!

oh… when he opens the paper, he can’t hear anything or anybody. scully thinks he didn’t want to listen to her say that she doesn’t understand his relentless pursuit of the truth, but he clarifies he couldn’t hear it!

OHHHH... scully with her arm up against the elevator….. yeah <3

“look, after all you’ve done, after all you’ve uncovered- a conspiracy of men doing human experiments, men who are all now dead- you exposed their secrets. i mean, you’ve won. what more could you possibly hope to do or to find?” “my sister”

oh, i GASPED! because at the end of the day, that’s really what it’s about. a boy looking for his little sister. sometimes we forget that with all the mothmen and slowburn stuff. but… man. my heart.

they head off to the university. where something is afoot, as shown by the shadow crossing the scene and someone snatching up crime scene evidence.

the police say they have a probable weapon with blood and prints, but no word of dr. sandoz.

dr. barnes, the head of the department, says there is plenty of speculation on what went down. “apart from his laughable ideas, my colleague was capable of almost anything to advance his rather questionable reputation” <- LMAO... so they did not like this guy or talk with him at faculty department meetings. got it.

he was speaking of a mystery artifact- scully shows him the picture and asks if he means this thing. and again, mulder hears a bunch of weird sounds!! scully watches as he leaves. and dr. barnes says that these men who claim life comes from elsewhere are embarrassments.

mulder’s trying to splash his face with water in a sad water fountain. aww. poor guy. scully asks him what it is. OH. she touches his forehead to look for a fever………… oh. see, that’s always gonna get me. he thinks it’s the thing making him feel terrible! 

she opens it and he hears it again. despite it just being a piece of paper.

scully is conducting some sort of meeting. “you’re late!” “i’m sorry, i thought this was my office” <- this is why you are being punished with evil ear noises

she called chuck to get an explanation. “you know me, this is right up my twisted little alley”, he says

chuck seems vaguely familiar to me, but not deeply. i'm sorry 💔 i guess i'm a fake fan

oh! the writing is a fake! it’s phonetic navajo, but it makes no sense in a literal interpretation. is it code?

maybe it’s a magic square? thankfully they explain what that means- it allegedly comes from god and is used for trapping and storing potential power. maybe that is what someone would want mulder to think it is.

change those projector slides. do not let the light hurt your eyes, scully! 

so barnes wrote an article exposing sandoz as a fraud. he made a career exposing science and religious fraud. but that was him at the beginning with the monkeys, right? and sandoz came in later with the bow tie? and then left?

why produce a fraud with navajo writing in africa? again! a great question! but when he puts the picture of the artifact on the projector, poor mulder's head hurts!!! 

OH!! she goes up to him and gently says “hey” and he groans….she leads him outside. so gently. could this pain have to do with what happened to him at the end of s2? where he was brought back from the dead with the navajo healing? and maybe somehow seeing the writing triggers something?

scully says she will schedule him imaging testing immediately- if nothing else, he should be home in bed! but he refuses, saying he knows what is causing this! he thinks barnes killed merkmallen! 

“well, i hope you’re not going to suggest that we arrest him on that rather baseless assumption” <- LMAO, she has time to be a little pain even when he is suffering

“no i’m not. not until after i show you what he did with the body” <-oooo, it’s getting juicy….

they go to visit sandoz’s place, where the landlord does not want to deal with them. DO NOT WAVE YOUR HANDS AT SCULLY, MR. LANDLORD! they’re searching about…. mulder finds some luggage from new mexico. 

OUR FRIEND ALBERT HOSTEEN!! pictured on the wall with sandoz!!! mulder says that maybe sandoz was using him to read the symbols… but scully says “or write them” <- now, albert is a good man!! do not accuse him of being involved in forgery!

i guess he could have asked albert to translate some stuff and then not explain what it was for... so he wouldn't have been in on the knowledge he was being used for forgery... but still. i think he would be deeply insulted at the thought of his culture being used to make forgeries of mysterious artifacts.

EUGH!! scully asks him to make good on his body prediction, and when mulder opens the trash, he does indeed find just this! it’s merkmallen!!! or just his head. NASTY!!!!!

the agents go to skinner, saying they think that sandoz is innocent and framed- just afraid for his life because of what he knows and has.

skinner asks him if it’s this (passes over the rubbing) and mulder is struggling….. “scully could you please tell…. what your medical exam found in the lab report?” he asks with his eyes closed. 

body parts were missing. all of which would show radiation. and they did find some radiation! cosmic galactic radiation! mulder insisted that they test for it!!!

OH SHOOT!!! he is getting worse… and says to skinner that he knows there’s someone else on the case that he’s not telling them about!!! “i hear it… in my head” “mulder, let’s go” 

ohhhh... she says he’s losing it!!! but he claims skinner is spying on them!! i do not think skinner would do this. scully banishes him home, saying she will look for the artifacts. and he doesn’t really put up a fight, which i know means he has something planned…

but shoot!! skinner closes his door…. and there was a camera in his closet!!! he pulls out the tape and hands it to KRYCEK!!!! NOOOO!!! because he has the kill switch!!!!!!! for his weird disease!!! nooo!!!

oh, skinner…. this is so sad. and how did mulder hear in his head that skinner had someone else on the case just from the rubbing of a piece of metal?!

krycek leaves after skinner and him stare at each other for a bit. 

scully heads down to a new mexico hospital, where she finds someone being rushed to another room. is that albert? there’s a translation of the writing on the artifact! IT’S A VERSE FROM GENESIS!! the same one that the artifact ran into at the start of the episode!!!

and it was mr. hosteen being wheeled out!! the nurse says she cannot tell her what is going on, but scully flashes the badge and says she knows him, and she confesses that he has cancer and is dying. :(

mulder is wearing casual clothes- one sleeve rolled to his elbow, one pulled down to his wrist, a bold fashion choice- in the university where barnes teaches. boy is doing some recon, i guess. he sneaks in somewhere he shouldn’t be…..

ah! he’s in his office!!! and barnes comes in…. realizes that his things have been touched…. and rushes back outside…. he goes to find the monkeys. where mulder was hiding!!! 

but mulder hears the stuff again!!!! and he keeps hearing it as he walks down the hall. bro is going to collapse in this hallway full of undergraduates. he tries to go up the stairs. but it isn’t working well. he’s crawling on his hands and knees and he falls!!!!! what is going on!!

meanwhile, scully is waiting for albert, who is rolled back into his room. but someone was watching him!!! and she chases after him!!! was that barnes?? where did he go??? the music is so creepy…..

she finds him!!!! it’s not barnes!!! it’s sandoz!!! she says she needs answers from him!!!

mulder is still on the ground, writhing in pain!! FUCKING KRYCEK FINDS HIM!!!! and just walks away!!!!! WHAT DOES HE KNOW?!?!

where is he going…….. he goes to barnes and says they are destined to be great friends, handing him the tape. why do they know each other....

back in new mexico, sandoz says that albert was the only translator that didn’t dismiss him- he recognized the importance of the artifact. but it was only one fragment. until merkmallen found two more. 

oh! he thinks the bible came from the aliens!! so would that make navajo the original language of the aliens??

scully is very skeptical. the newest section of writing on the artifact seemed to be just random letters, and albert was working on translating it when his health got bad. and it starts spinning in front of them!!!

phone call time. where is mulder??? he says he’s at home, resting. was he with marita? a woman answers...

scully is not pleased with his idea that aliens put us here. WHERE IS HE?? he says it explains everything. “mulder, i will not accept that. it’s just not possible” “well, then you go ahead and prove me wrong, scully” (cranky sick man hangs up)

HE’S WITH DIANA?!?!? I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE WITH THIS!!!! 

okay. so it is his apartment, which now has a bed. a very cozy looking bed, may i add. i'm happy for him in that regard. but in every other way, this situation is deeply unfortunate.

and diana is in his apartment. she’s calling someone, saying mulder is in distress, and she’s not leaving until she finds out. AND SHE TAKES HER SHIRT OFF???

GIRL, HE’S DYING!!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!

she was talking to CSM?!?

holy hell... is diana going to assault him........? what tf is going on.

scully narrates again… the big bang. an act of violence. who did this?

no! albert is being taken to a funeral pyre!! she looks at the stars above. 

wait! he’s not dead. it’s the healing tent! sandoz asks if she wants to come, but scully doesn’t think it’s right for her to join, as she doesn’t share their faith. this is very respectful of her.

skinner calls!!! mulder is in serious condition!!! she has to get here now!!! but she told skinner that sandoz is in new mexico!!! will skinner have to tell krycek?? how quick can you get to DC from new mexico?!

somehow she gets back, but he's not telling her what is going on. skinner calls her dana and grabs her hand….. (omfg... has he ever called her dana before?!) and he says he doesn't know what is going on, but he knew she would want to be here.

mulder’s walking around in a padded room!!! mumbling!!! screaming!!!! and diana is here, too!! 

he’s too violent for them to run more tests!!! he should be in a coma!! scully says to let her try talking to him!! he wouldn't be a danger to her! OH........ oh.... :( she thinks he wouldn't hurt her.... oh. my heart.

“can we speak in the hall?” “about what?” <- OH! she does NOT have time for diana’s tricks… but skinner says her name… and opens the door. and mulder looks up at the camera watching him. 

OHHH what is going on here…??? skinner says that scully has evidence the case is a fraud, and she turns and says “i never sent you that report” <- OH!!!!!!

diana is asking if she can help him- she asks scully to tell her whatever she knows... she says she found him in the stairwell and he could barely speak.

OH!!!! she tells diana she’s a liar and goes to leave. skinner grabs her wrist and she says “you’re both liars”

OMFGGGGGGGGGG….. treacherous skinner CONFIRMED…. but it isn't his fault!!! she escapes from his grip. and he stares at diana.

back in new mexico, more chanting is taking place around albert. sandoz is there.

scully runs into the office, looking for bugs. and she finds a camera in the smoke alarm!!!! but just as she does so, the phone rings. is she going to answer….?

sandoz calls her from new mexico…. she says it’s not a secure line. why did he call right then?! he says the stuff on the artifact, when translated, reads as coordinates for the human genome!! 

but the horses are stirring out in new mexico by sandoz… and there is a gunshot…. and krycek picks up the phone!!! the rat bastard!!!! so did skinner tell him where sandoz was?? or was krycek listening in on the line?!

36 hours later. back on the ivory coast. scully is here!!! trying to find more pieces of the artifact!!! she is led to one….. and she reached in the sand…… and it’s huge!!!!!

it’s some sort of spaceship?? space cathedral?!? huh???? vaguely churchy music plays as the camera pans out...

to be continued?????

girl…. WHAT is going on!!!

skinner is being manipulated by krycek. sure. that’s fair enough. and diana is using mulder for CSM. but to what end!!! did she drug him?? why did she take off her shirt??? can they cure skinner and get him to stop doing all of this?? how long have they been getting spied on??? did the syndicate get to watch their whole baseball flirting session through that smoke alarm camera? is skinner attempting to plot his own resistance? it seems like he is just going along with the whole thing! and that is deeply unlike him!!

UGH!!! how will mulder get better??? was he okay in the time that scully was away??? she must have felt so horrible flying to another continent while he was so sick...

i might break my own rules and watch the next episode tomorrow, and THEN edit my notes. and i’m usually SO principled. i think i’ve only done it once or twice in the entire time i’ve run this blog. but i NEED to know. because like. this diana issue must resolve itself. and what about albert!!!! and fucking krycek!!!

ahhhh!!!!!

oh, FUCK ME!!! i clicked onto the next episode, and i saw that this is a THREE-PARTER, not a mere two-parter!!! so i basically cannot do this plan of watching them all at once!!! because i would get super backlogged when it comes to editing my notes!!! and i still have to do my favorite moments list from s6!! i simply cannot bite off more than i can chew!!! FUCK!

AHHHHH!!! well. i guess that means i’ll get these notes up tomorrow and then start on the favorite moments list. and not have answers. sadly kicks a rock….

so, i have many questions, and i anticipate that few of them will be answered. why is krycek working with dr. barnes? are they trying to expose the x files as fraud? because that is what dr. barnes does- exposes people for fraud? but then why would dr. barnes kill dr. merkmallen? unless dr. barnes is part of the syndicate... there's a pretty big difference between writing a scathing academic article calling bullshit on your coworker's alien theories and actually committing murder. so he must know of the importance of the artifact but is trying to conceal it... because that is the only explanation as to why he would kill somebody over it. and krycek said they were destined to be great friends... and i can't tell if that implies if they knew each other already...

so clearly dr. barnes is lying, because he knew dr. merkmallen was coming, and he asked if the writing had been translated yet. so he knows that the thing is powerful. okay. it's not super clear how his interests correspond with that of the syndicate, but maybe he's an alien?

so. the artifact. the bible MAYBE comes from space, and the aliens use the navajo language. sure. why not?

if it means we get to see our friend albert again, that makes me happy. but he isn't doing very well. it's almost like the writing on the artifact made him sick... because sandoz said that he fell ill when she started to translate it. maybe whatever is happening to him is also happening to mulder? and mulder is in the early stages of whatever it is? and so if scully can find a cure, maybe she can help them both?

or maybe it's something totally different, because mulder was screaming and having his brain go wild, whereas albert was said to have cancer. maybe one progresses into the other?

i am so troubled by skinner working with diana and krycek and CSM. obviously he doesn't want to be doing this! but is he just going along because he knows if he doesn't, he'll die? but he made that promise on his death bed to do better and help the agents more!! is he somehow sabotaging them? did he call her "dana" to tip her off to the treachery? he knows scully isn't stupid...

and scully knew right away that this wasn't a matter for the FBI, but once again mulder got taken in and fully believed the promises of investigating aliens with no real evidence to support it... only that it was coming from skinner, one of the few people he should be able to trust, and the terrible aching desire to find his sister that keeps him up at night and makes him so easy to manipulate...

fucking diana. i thought she was gone!! i should have known better. what is she doing with him? he goes from hearing things to having crazy brain activity when she conveniently finds him? did he really call her and ask for help? i don't buy the story for a second! and she calls CSM and says she won't leave until she knows what is going on... and then she takes her SHIRT off... is she trying to manipulate him? or did she straight up assault him? he's dying!! he doesn't want to see your boobs!!

scully immediately clocking that diana and skinner were lying to her face... yeah. this is immensely satisfying to me.

well. now i have to edit my other notes before i can watch what happens next. and as i type this up on a sunday, i imagine that it will be tuesday at the earliest before i get to watch part two. and then goodness only knows when i will be able to watch part three! this is deeply unfair! but alas. i stick by my routine.

diana and krycek... you freaks deserve each other... although i still think krycek/spender is far juicier. even if spender might be dead. sorry. i will speak my truth.

[mulderist]

Wicked Game

Previous chapter || Read on A03 || tagging @today-in-fic

CHAPTER 9

Hegal Place

Alexandria, VA

My footfalls echoed down the hallway as I approached the front door. With a firm push it swung open and I descended the short brick staircase to the sidewalk. I surveyed the familiar rowhomes across the street; small front yards bordered by thin wrought iron fences. A small child was being led by the hand down the steps of one brownstone. I waited for the kid and her mother to walk up the block then I chose the opposite direction. An older model Packard chugged down the otherwise quiet street, coughing an exhaust smoke signal as it passed. That driver should probably see his mechanic sooner rather than later.

As I walked I felt my holster sticking into my right ribs, suppose that’s what I get for hastily slipping it on. It was enough of an annoyance to force me to focus on the task at hand; finding Alex Krycek. The steady afternoon breeze brought in clouds but not enough to predict rain. I still had a few hours before sunset and wished for a drier evening than my previous outing. I sighed and hoped Scully found herself a cab.

A dog bark caught my attention and I saw an excited yellow Labrador happily wagging a tail at an average looking man. As I moved to get a better view I saw the dog connected to a leash being held by a young woman. The average man gave the dog a gentle pat on the head and must have felt my stare because he straightened up and let the woman and her furry companion pass by. I knew it was him by the way he watched the woman walk away. Krycek slipped his hands into his pockets and stood firm on the spot. I ran through a dozen different scenarios of how I would approach him; close-quarters-combat, a strong right hook, or a simple shot to the leg. I honestly didn’t want to draw too much attention. The challenge was having a conversation without sounding like two territorial alleycats. Right as I finished my thought, Krycek took off around the corner.

I swore to myself and tightly gripped the butt of my gun as I followed in pursuit. A footrace was certainly not where I wanted this to go. My lungs burned while my feet pounded against the sidewalk, a stern reminder that I needed to resume my visits to the campus track. There was a flash of a jacket down what I assumed was an alleyway. I slowed my pace and found a proper hold on my gun. I pressed against the brick wall, careful to hide my position until the right moment. Like so many times before I took a deep inhale and with the exhale I glanced around the corner. I ducked back to avoid Krycek’s fist, then I charged forward pushing him farther into the alley. He stumbled and tried a quick jab to my stomach. I tightened up right as he made contact and in return I let my gun give him a kiss on the cheek. Krycek doubled over and spat on the ground. With both hands I grabbed him by the shirt I tossed him against the wall, the tip of my Browning wedged into his abdomen.

“You know as well as I do that a bullet to the gut is a slow way to go,” I said with my left arm braced across his chest, “So you better talk.”

“Well that’s a fine how-do-you-do,” Krycek grumbled with a crimson smile. I quickly frisked him, found his Walther and relieved him of it. I pressed my weapon back into his stomach then said,

“A little birdie told me you were at Washington General earlier today.”

“Is that so?” he mumbled.

“Cut the shit, Krycek,” I responded, applying more pressure to his chest, inching my forearm closer to his throat. He choked out a laugh,

“The redhead! Ah Mulder you sure can pick ‘em.”

“Leave her out of this!” My gun pressed harder into the soft surface of his abdomen. I saw him wince and I twisted my hand hoping I found a nerve,

“Damnit,” he hissed, “I only gave her some friendly advice.”

“Stay away from her,” I growled. He shook his head disapprovingly with a limited range of movement.

“Oh now I get it. You’re sweet on her, aren’t you --ah! -- jesus!” His assumption was cut short thanks in part to my weapon stabbing him in between the ribs. I cocked my gun and felt my jaw clench as he struggled.

“Red got herself involved when she worked on that autopsy,” Krycek sputtered.

I eased up a bit, put the hammer back down but still held my aim.

“What do you mean? Who was the stiff?” I asked, uncertain if I was going to get a truthful answer. He swallowed and licked his lips.

“A nobody by all accounts.”

“Then what’s the big deal?” I shrugged and felt like this was starting to become a waste of my time.

“The body wasn’t disposed of properly. He never should have ended up at the hospital morgue.”

Finally, some clarity. It’s as though the sea of confusion was at low tide, revealing an answer like shells on the shore. I witnessed it myself that night at the Navy Yard. They thought the cabbie would just float downriver and disappear. Now they wanted to cover their tracks as soon as that body washed up near the marina. Scully was just doing her job in the wrong place at the wrong time. Scully. I had to get back to the precinct.

“Are we done, Mulder?” Krycek asked, breaking my concentration. My attention snapped back as he was fixing his shirt.

“Not quite,” I said as I tentatively put my gun back in the holster, “I want to know one other thing; tell me your connection to Spender.”

“Spender?” Krycek’s voice was now hampered with a slur, “God, I am so tired of hearing that name.”

“Talk.”

“It’s like I told you before,” he gestured, “Spender was a hophead. Got a taste of the stuff when he was investigating Vincenti. Do you remember that tip I sold you about four months ago? Turns out your partner wanted to have a private meeting with Vincenti’s second in command. Detective Spender dealt himself right into the drug game on the government’s dime.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“Because,” Krycek coughed out, “Carlo Lodi told me.”

My mind worked like playing cards being shuffled, each revelation waterfalled onto another until the deck was stacked.

“You told Lodi to put the hit on Spender,” I said pointedly.

“I’m a snitch,” he stated a little too simply for my taste. “Frankly I had had enough of being the information errand boy, so I sold him out. Your partner thought he could muscle in on Vincenti’s pushers and try to expand the trade routes, so to speak. The elder Spender got wise and to keep things kosher with Vincenti and his boys, he ordered a hit.”

“Wait a minute. Did you say Spender’s father?”

“Who do you think helps keep the peace?” he replied rhetorically. I thought for a moment and chided myself for not seeing far enough up the ladder.

“Whose side are you on, Krycek?”

“My own,” he curtly answered, “I don’t care if the mob kills the whole lot of you.”

“As long as you get box seats to the show,” I said. He chuckled and spit a trail of red once again onto the pavement. There wasn’t much more I could add. No more interrogation to give. I returned his Walther and left the alley.

------

After a less than ideal cab ride, I arrived at the precinct and bypassed the front desk, heading straight for the stairwell. As I descended the steps I tried to think of how I would untangle this web I found myself in. I never fully trusted Krycek, apparently Spender did. The new information was swirling in my head and I needed to pin down the facts before I approached Skinner. But first I needed to talk to Frohike and the boys.

The door to their department was ajar, sending a quick surge of adrenaline to my chest. I pushed the door open further and entered the lab, relieved when I saw Langley flipping through a thick-bound book.

“You guys should really put a lock on that door,” I began, “never know what’ll wander in here.”

He chuckled and quipped that instead I should have a bell around my neck so they’d know when I was coming. I asked if Scully had arrived and he directed me around the corner where I practically bowled over Frohike, who clutched a blanket to his chest. I raised an eyebrow.

“I uh -- this was for our guest,” Frohike said softly. I reached over and he relinquished it, then I gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder. Scully was curled into the threadbare sofa, she looked exhausted. It surprised me to see an actual piece of furniture in the lab, though I’m sure they needed something other than an army cot for those overnight cases. I unfolded the blanket and gently laid it over her sleeping frame. The sudden weight caused Scully to stir, eyelashes fluttered against the makeshift pillow of her hand. I crouched down and heard a hum escape her lips.

“Glad you made it,” she said with eyes still closed.

“True to my word,” I replied. She turned her head away from her hand and slowly blinked open her eyes.

“Did you find him?”

“I did. We had a friendly chat and a smoke.”

“What actually happened?” she asked, voice heavy with sleep.

“He took a swing at me and I shoved him into an alley; he won’t bother you again. As it turns out, my former informant has his finger in just about every dish on the crime buffet.” I tried to adjust the blanket which had slipped down her shoulder but her arm snaked out, fingers pressed tenderly against my forearm.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Rest for a little bit. I’ll be back,” I left her with a kiss on the forehead then went to round up the boys.

Langley passed by and I gestured for him and Frohike to join me, moving towards the exam tables on the opposite side of the lab. Byers suddenly emerged from the front door with a binder in hand and I waved him over as he muttered something about a body coming in for autopsy.

“Mulder you look like something’s on your mind,” Frohike said.

“Krycek was the one who confronted Scully at the hospital,” I relayed, “After twisting some truth out of him, he told me the body she did an autopsy on should never have been found. He can’t be trusted.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Langley, scratching at a blonde temple.

“I need to give a report to Skinner, he needs to know it was Krycek that put the hit out on Spender.”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph it was all true,” Byers exclaimed as he folded his arms.

“We still need to find out who killed Lodi and his henchman,” I said, running a hand over my neck, “It had to come from whoever is at the top of the food chain.”

“Do you think Krycek could actually be pulling the strings? I mean he’s basically been lying to you from the start,” Frohike countered, pushing the bridge of his glasses back up his nose. I nearly laughed aloud but thought long and hard at the potential of Krycek being a crime boss. It would be a hell of a curve ball to try and take a swing at. Langley, Byers, and Frohike exchanged looks as I continued to ponder the question.

“No,” I said, “but I appreciate the creativity. He isn’t loyal to either the DCPD or Vincenti’s mafia family. The profile I’ve developed is that he’s a man who would just like to sit back and watch the city burn.”

The shrill sound of a telephone ring interrupted our conversation. It continued until Frohike broke away to answer it. I heard him agree with the party on the other line, then he shot a glance in my direction. He nodded then quickly hung up.

“The Captain must have a sixth sense or have a bug somewhere down here,” Frohike said as he walked back over.

“I certainly hope we’re not bugged,” Byers responded with a quick look up at the ceiling.

“He wants me upstairs?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Double time,” quipped Frohike. I rolled my shoulders and as I turned to leave I heard a new voice say,

“Leaving so soon.”

The boys seemed to scatter, save for Frohike who was glued to the spot when Scully stepped into the main area of the lab. Her stark white nurse uniform fit a little too perfectly amongst the shelves of science and macabre medical arts. She approached me and Frohike got the hint, trying to busy himself with tidying up the counter behind him.

“The boss is requesting my presence,” I told her, “And I’ve got a few things I’d like to say to him as well.”

“Is there anything I can do?” she asked, a look of concern in her eyes, “I could give a statement about what happened.”

“Sorry Scully, this invite is for a party of one.”

“Are you coming back?”

“Planned on it, unless they burn me at the stake.”

“So dramatic,” she shook her head and reached for my hand with slender fingers. With a quick squeeze she added, “As much as you hate to hear this, I’m involved now. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines. Let me help where I can.”

I saw Byers timidly approach out of the corner of my eye.

“Excuse me Miss Scully,” he said with a kind wave, “there is a body due to arrive for an autopsy if you’d like to observe.”

“I’m sure we could use her assistance,” Frohike piped up, “that is, if she wouldn’t mind.”

I tried to think of a jab but she silenced me. She gave a pleasant smile in their direction then leaned a little closer, the faint scent of her perfume hit my senses.

“Go. Don’t want to keep the boss waiting.”

I got caught in her blue eyes, only able to manage a simple nod of agreement. My hand slipped from hers and I left the quiet of the forensic lab, bracing myself for the roar of the bullpen and Captain Skinner.