Kindred Spirits
"Ellison! Sandburg! In my office, now." Simon leaned back into the doorway and apologized to the suited figure standing there. "Sorry about that, they don't always answer my phone calls but they can't ignore my bellowing."
The suited man smiled as he crunched a sunflower seed between his teeth. "It's all right, Captain, I can relate to that."
"Which side of it, Mulder? The bellowing or the ignoring?" asked the redhead with him.
Mulder didn't answer, just smiled at the redhead.
"You, uh, wanted to see us, Sir?" Jim tried not to draw back at the sight of the two federal officers in the room.
"I think I said in my office, Jim, not skulking around outside of it," he said, motioning the detective and his partner in. "Jim, I'd like you to meet Agents Mulder and Scully, they're on temporary loan to us from the FBI to help out with the Bender case. Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, this is Detective Jim Ellison. He's our lead investigator on the case. And this is Blair Sandburg, Detective Ellison's partner."
Jim sized up the woman first and then the man. *Cold fish workaholic,* he thought as he declined Scully's handshake, and turned his attention to the man. Mulder's suit was slightly wrinkled, giving him a somewhat casual appearance that was enhanced by the crunching of the sunflower seeds he pulled out of his pocket. *Jackass,* was Jim's reaction to Mulder.
Mulder chuckled. *Big balled son of a bitch,* he thought, watching Jim's reaction to Scully. "I get the feeling you don't like us very much, Detective," Mulder grinned.
"No, it's not that at all, I just don't like a couple of Feds coming in here and trying to fuck up my case."
Scully bristled as Simon sighed in the background. "Diplomacy, James? Remember what that is?"
"No, captain, it's quite all right. What I don't think Detective Ellison here realizes is that it's no longer his case. When Bender bombed the Federal Building on Olympia Street, that took it out of your hands and put it in ours. Now, we will be more than willing to keep Detective Ellison as part of the investigative team as a courtesy to your department, but as of now, this is a federal matter." Scully put a file of papers down on the table in front of Jim. "If you don't believe me, Detective, here, you can read for yourself. Here is a federal injunction preventing you from working the case without a federal liaison--in other words, us."
"Scully... I think that perhaps what Detective Ellison is saying is that he doesn't feel like we've earned the right to come in on his case. Maybe if we showed him the background work we've done on Bender, we can work together and then maybe Detective Ellison won't mind sharing his case with us."
Blair had been silent up to this point, but he was biting his lip to keep from chortling. "Oh, man." Jim did NOT like this woman; he was ready to strangle her. But the guy on the other hand, Blair really liked. "Hey, you know, that sounds like a great idea. I know there's some open interrogation rooms or maybe Simon will let us use one of the big conference rooms?"
Before either agent could answer, the woman's cell phone went off, and she quickly answered it. "Scully... yes, sir, we're here now." Then she looked up at Jim. "Really? No, no problem. I'll meet you at the airport and you can have my rental. See you in a few hours." She hung up and looked over at Mulder. "That was Director Skinner; seems he's had a request to pull us off the case. He's on his way out here to investigate, and he's sending me back to stall the brass while you guys work out here."
Jim held up his hands. "You can't pin this one on me, lady, you've been watching me the whole time."
"I just think it's a coincidence, that's all."
Mulder piped up. "Scully, aren't you the one who's always saying she doesn't believe in coincidences?"
Blair elbowed Jim. "Oh, I like him."
"Shut up," Jim glowered, and Blair snickered. Four sets of eyes pinned him as he snickered, and he tried to pull his face back into calmness. It didn't work, and he was fighting the grin that threatened to spill over.
Mulder smiled himself; that Sandburg kid looked to be a character. "Need some help to the airport, Scully?" He oofed as she shoved the briefcase she'd been carrying into his chest. "I take that to be a no."
"I'll call you from Washington, Mulder," Scully said, slamming the door shut behind her.
Jim sighed, and Simon looked over at him. "How did you do that?"
"Do what sir?"
"Get her yanked back to Washington after she just got here."
"I didn't sir, it wasn't me." Jim held up his hands in innocent protest. "I was in here the whole time."
"James, you've got more connections than a switchboard, did you call someone before you came in here?"
"Me, Sir?" Jim's look was just a little too blank and innocent for Simon to believe.
Simon caught the look and glowered at Jim, but the Sentinel didn't break. "All right... James, Agent Mulder is going to be your partner on this case, along with Sandburg," he added, stemming the protest that had welled up in both men's voices. "I want him with you everywhere you go on this case."
"Does that include the bathroom, Captain, because I have this thing about going when other people are watching," Mulder asked, watching the detective and the young man out the corner of his eyes.
Jim crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Simon. Blair doubled over laughing. Simon rolled his eyes before speaking. "I can tell this is going to be a great partnership. Get out of here, all of you."
Blair picked up the papers that Scully had thrown at Jim earlier, and handed them to Mulder. "Here you go."
"Thanks, man." He crammed the papers in the outside pouch of the briefcase. "Hey, you got vending machines around here? I'm starving."
Jim dropped down at his desk, and Blair smothered another laugh. "Uh, yeah, they're right down here, let me take you." He walked Mulder down to the break room as Simon sat on the corner of Jim's desk.
"James... be honest with me. Did you hear that woman in there and have one of your connections yank her off this case?"
"Would I do something as low-class as interfering in a federal investigation, sir? I tried to get both of them pulled back but no such luck."
Simon laughed. "Be nice to these guys. They're just here to help."
"Right, sir."
"You're kidding, a cross-dressing agent?" Blair's voice cut through the chatter as they walked back to Jim's desk.
"No kidding, man. I'm surprised they didn't send her up here instead of us. His name's Dennis but he prefers to go by Denise. Denise Bryson, it's even on her FBI ID card that way. She was involved in a bust up this way about six years ago; surprised you didn't hear about it. Implicated another Federal agent and she was sent in to look it over. Ended up she cleared the agent and made the bust," Mulder explained as he perched on the corner of Jim's desk. "You'd love her... just your kind of woman," he directed at Jim.
*** Author's note; this refers to David Duchovny's character Dennis/Denise Bryson on the 1990-1991 television show "Twin Peaks." Denise was a transvestite DEA Agent. ***
Blair laughed again, and then cleared his throat, smothering it as his lover glared at him. "Jim, come on," he finally choked out.
"Remember, James, diplomacy," Simon cautioned as he got up and left the three alone. "Blair... I'm trusting you to keep an eye on this situation."
"Me!" the young man protested. "I'm not qualified!"
"Yes you are," floated back to him. "I just qualified you." Simon disappeared into his office with a slam of the door, left Blair standing between Jim and Mulder.
"Well, come on, let's go find one of those empty rooms," Blair said with a smile.
"Make sure it doesn't have windows," Mulder said. "I have this thing about being spied on."
Blair skillfully maneuvered himself so that Mulder didn't see Jim's theatrical eye-roll. "No problem, I think we got one that's only got the big mirror in it, will that work?"
"Yeah, I can paper that over with the documents and stuff I brought. I know it sounds paranoid, but believe me, I have reason to be."
Jim snorted but followed Blair and Mulder to the interviewing room, and sat down. Mulder sat across from him, staring at him and not blinking for a few moments. Then he pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds. "Seed?"
Jim held up his hand. "No, thank you, I'm not a bird."
Mulder shrugged and offered the bag to Blair, who happily grabbed a handful. "Thanks, man!"
"No problem, they help me think." He started crunching the shells and laying them on the table as he pulled out papers. Finally, Jim got sick of seeing the spit-soaked shells and got up, bringing back two Styrofoam cups. He handed one to Blair and one to Mulder. "Thanks," Mulder said, sweeping the shells into the cup and not breaking his train of thought.
"Don't mention it," Jim said dryly. He picked up a surveillance photograph of Jack Bender. "You followed him to the strip club?"
Mulder raised his head. "Yeah, we were under a court order not to follow him outside the house, but I knew he'd be meeting someone. Check out the third photo in that series, down in the bottom corner."
Jim sorted through the photographs. "That's Klaus Zeller!"
"Yeah, you know him?" Mulder looked up again.
"We've crossed paths, but we could never prove that Bender and Zeller had been working together." Jim looked through the rest of the photographs. "Do you know who Bender hired him to kill?"
"No, we got a list of possible suspects, but there's no way we can keep them all under surveillance, waiting for Zeller to make a move."
Jim tapped the photographs as he talked. "Let me show these photographs to my captain and prove the connection between Zeller and Bender, and I'll share our list with you, and if we got names that show up on both the lists, those are the ones we'll get surveillance on."
"Great, and while you're doing that, I'll get a federal judge to issue a warrant to search Bender's house."
"Can you do that with illegally obtained evidence?" Blair asked as Jim gathered up the photos.
"Soon as I get the list from Detective Ellison, and we get those names linked, we'll have enough to get the warrant; the photos won't even have to come into it," Mulder explained as Jim grabbed his jacket.
"Which then means anything we find when we search can't be thrown out as an illegal search and seizure," Jim finished, and pulled the last photograph out of Mulder's hand. "Call me Jim. Come on, we've got to go and see Simon."
Blair was hastily pushing papers into the briefcase as Jim and Mulder were heading up to Simon's office. Blair caught up with them halfway there and passed the suitcase back to Mulder. "Thanks, Blair," Mulder said as they hurried.
"No problem," Blair answered. "Jim, want me to go and pull up our list of Bender's targets?"
"Yeah, that'd be great; it's on my computer."
"You got it; I'll bring it in as soon as I pull it off."
"Thanks, Chief." Jim turned back to Mulder. "You sure what we got is going to be enough to get the warrant without the photos?"
Mulder shrugged. "What do we have to lose?"
"A lot; if we go for the warrant and it gets denied, then Bender's going to get wind of it and he's going to get rid of whatever it is we're looking for. We got to know that it's set in stone before we get there, because this is going to be our last chance to get Bender before he dumps his connection with Zeller and the bodies start piling up." He reached out to knock on Simon's door. "Simon, it's Jim, we need to talk to you."
"Come in and make it fast!"
Jim walked in followed by Mulder on his heels. "Sir, Mulder and I have reason to believe that Bender's been working with Klaus Zeller."
"Tell me something I don't already know," Simon countered. "You've been chasing that angle for weeks and come up with nothing but rumors. I need something solid."
"Here, Captain, take a look at this rumor," Mulder said, reaching over Jim's shoulder to pull the photo of Bender and Zeller together.
Simon put his cigar down on his desk when he saw it. "Jim, where did you get this?"
"From Mulder, sir, the FBI was running their own surveillance on Bender and caught him and Zeller in the strip club," Jim explained, leaving out the part that it was an illegal surveillance.
"That's great. Now we've got something solid to link Zeller to Bender, we can get that warrant."
"No, Captain, you can't, see that photograph was taken as part of an illegal surveillance; in fact we were ordered to stay away from Bender whenever he was outside of his house."
Simon turned his glare on Mulder, and then back to Jim. "Now I see why you two are getting along so well," he said sarcastically. "Neither of you follow the damn rules!"
"But sir!" both men protested, and then looked at each other. "You first, he's your captain," Mulder said softly.
"Sir, Mulder's right, we needed solid proof that Bender's got a connection with Zeller and now we've got it. Sandburg's pulling up our list of potentials, and we're going to compare notes and see which names fall on both lists. I'd like to ask that we get surveillance teams on all the names that match."
"How many people are we talking here, gentlemen?"
"Well, there's twenty on our list, sir," Jim answered, and then looked at Mulder.
"Fifteen on ours," Mulder answered.
"You're asking me to set up at least fifteen surveillance teams? Jim, where do you think I'm going to get thirty extra men?"
"Captain Banks, if we can get the warrant from a federal judge, we can mobilize some of the FBI's local manpower to supplement your guys in the teams. If you can provide fifteen, so can we," Mulder offered. "But we need to get rolling and now. Jim thinks we need to wait and find more concrete evidence since we can't use the photographs, but I don't think we have that much time before Zeller makes his move."
Simon looked at Jim. "Jim?"
"Sir, we know that Jack Bender has connections everywhere. With what we've got right now, and just the implication of Zeller's involvement, I don't think it's enough to get a federal warrant. And we can't use the photos because they were obtained through illegal surveillance and it makes the whole warrant false and anything we get illegal S&S. Now, if we can lean on somebody we know, who can come up with testimony linking Zeller and Bender, then we can use that, and legally we'll be okay."
"Who can we lean on that we haven't leaned on before?" Simon said. "I'm sick of dealing with the same people and coming up empty."
"This guy," Mulder said, pointing to one of the guys with Bender. "He's one of us."
"What?" Jim demanded. "Why didn't you tell me that before? Haul his ass in here!"
"Now wait. If we blow this guy's cover and bring out that he's a Federal agent, we're up shit creek without a paddle, because Bender will blow this guy away. We have to be careful how we bring him in and how we lean on him. You've got to pretend that you don't know who he is, and lean on him just like any other suspect you'd bring in."
"I got the list," Blair said, poking his head in the door. "Here you go," he said, slipping the rest of the way inside when nobody told him to get out.
"Well, I heard from your Assistant Director, he's in the air and should be here in about six hours."
Mulder blanched slightly at that. "Thanks for the warning."
Blair noticed the blanch. "You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just the AD sometimes takes a small view of my going outside the regular channels."
"Then your AD and our Captain should get along wonderfully, Simon takes a similar view to when Jim and I have to work outside the established boundaries."
"Sandburg!" barked Simon, and Blair shut up as Mulder grinned.
"Even sounds like Wal--uh, Director Skinner."
Jim's eyebrow raised at the slip. "Sounds like they're two of a kind."
"Ellison!" barked Simon, and Jim shut up as well, looking chastened.
"Captain..."
"Mulder!"
Mulder shut up, accustomed to shutting up at the bellow of his name. Simon surveyed his three chastened officers. "Sandburg, Ellison, Mulder, listen up. Sandburg, you take this list and get Mulder's and bring me the list of names that are on both lists. Mulder, go and bring this guy in. Ellison, sit down. And stay." He looked at Mulder and Sandburg. "Why are you still here?"
Mulder and Blair almost trampled each other peeling out of Simon's office. "Is he always like that?"
"Oh yeah," Blair confirmed as they paused at Jim's desk, exchanging papers. "Hey, did Jim give you his cell phone number?"
"No, he didn't. I didn't give him mine either, now that you mention it."
"Yeah, well, you'll need his and he'll need yours. He's got a stack of cards somewhere...there." He opened the desk drawer and pulled out one of Jim's cards and handed it to Mulder, and then accepted the copy of Mulder's card and pocketed it. "Thanks."
"No, thank you. Hey, you want to come along and back me up on this?"
"Oh yeah, man, that'd be great. I can do the list in the car and call it in to Simon on the way."
Mulder checked Blair over. "Gun?"
"I don't have one," Blair explained. "I'm just an associate of the department; I don't get badges or guns."
"And you still ride out with Ellison?"
"Well, yeah. He does the hard work and I figure out the rest."
"Come on, partner," Mulder said, smiling as they disappeared into the elevator together.
"Jim..."
"Simon, I didn't do it. I swear."
"James."
Jim shivered. Simon didn't call him James unless he was in trouble. "Yes, sir?"
"James, if I'm not mistaken, you just admitted that you sometimes go outside the regularly established channels of operation," Simon said silkily.
"Yes, Sir, I did."
"If I catch you doing it again, you know what's going to happen."
"Yes, sir."
"And the excuse but sir, Mulder dragged me along is not going to get you out of it. And the same thing goes with Sandburg. That excuse is not going to get him out of it and if I catch him helping you the same thing is going to happen to him as happened to you."
"Yes sir."
"Why do I get the feeling I'm wasting my breath?"
Jim broke into a small smile. "Because you know who you're talking to?"
"James, don't make me break out the paddle."
Jim blushed furiously at that subtle reminder. The last time Simon had brought out the paddle his ass had been sore for a week. "I'll behave, sir."
"Yeah, right," Simon snorted. "Get to work, James."
Within ten minutes of getting into Mulder's rental, Blair had the list of matching suspects. All fifteen of Mulder's suspects had been on their list, and Blair called Jim. "Jim?"
"Blair? Where are you?"
"I'm with Fox, we're going to--"
"You're with who?"
"Mulder, the FBI guy. We're--"
"Blair, what are you doing with him!" Jim was trying very hard not to raise his voice because that would get him in even deeper with Simon, and he really didn't want that.
"If you'll shut up and listen, I'm trying to tell you!" Jim could hear Mulder's muted snicker in the background. "Look, Mulder needed some backup going in to get that guy of theirs that's working with Bender and he asked me to come along since you were busy. I've got that list of names for you; it's everyone on our list except for Mason, Jackson, the Sherrill brothers, and Cardini."
Jim was silent as he marked those names off the list. "Lemme talk to Mulder."
Blair passed the phone over. "Mulder."
"Dammit, what were you thinking taking an unarmed civilian liaison with you on a collar!"
"Hello, Jim, nice to talk to you too, I'm fine, thanks for asking," Mulder said in answer to Jim's tirade.
Jim growled. "I'm taking this list in to Simon. You get on the horn and talk to whomever you have to and get those suits down here to help out our guys. And so help me... if anything happens to Blair..."
"Calm down, kemo sabe! Nothing's going to happen to Blair, all we're going to do is go and meet this guy and pick him up! He's one of us--what could go wrong?"
Blair interrupted. "Don't ask and it won't."
"Give the phone back to Sandburg."
Mulder passed the phone over. "He sounds testy."
Blair rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Jim?"
"Chief, if Simon doesn't bust your ass for running out with Mulder then I'm going to! Do you know I already had a little talk with him and he's already said that using but Mulder dragged me along is not going to save either of our asses??" Jim kept his voice low so that his conversation didn't carry.
"Shit," Blair said aloud before he thought. "How the hell could he know?" The thought that he wasn't answerable to Jim didn't cross his mind; Jim wasn't serious about kicking his ass.
"Because, Blair, he knows us! And he's pulling out the big guns too, if you know what I mean!"
"Fuck, he wouldn't!"
"Oh yes he would!" Jim countered hotly. "He's been calling me James all morning, in case you haven't noticed, and he's threatened the paddle already!"
"Shit," Blair repeated. "Man, my ass is in for it now!"
"Yes, it is, so you better hope that your friend Mulder is right and nothing happens because you know how he gets when we go out and do our thing!"
"Can't you like, talk to him or something?" Blair could feel Jim's withering glare at him through the phone.
"No, I can't like talk to him or something! In case you haven't noticed, he is the captain and the man that wields the paddle!" Jim hissed. "It's not like I can tell him how to do his oh shit!"
Blair closed his eyes. "He's standing right there by your desk, isn't he?"
"Yes, I am," Simon's voice said over the phone. "And just where are you, young man?"
"Busted?" Blair ventured, for the moment forgetting the man in the car beside him.
"So far down you'll never see the light of day again," Simon confirmed.
"But Mulder--"
"Is not an excuse," Simon finished. "I will be waiting to talk to you when you get back to the station." He hung up the phone, and Blair looked at Mulder, who was gazing at him speculatively.
"The captain just figured out where I went," Blair explained.
"Let me guess, he's going to bust your ass six ways from Sunday?" Mulder guessed, not realizing he'd be giving away his own little secret.
"Like you wouldn't believe," Blair confirmed, and then clapped his hand over his mouth. "Shit."
Mulder gave Blair a guilty grin. "It's not easy being a brat, is it?"
"So THAT'S why you reacted that way when Simon told you that Skinner guy was coming!"
"Well, I knew it wasn't to tell me what a good job I've been doing," Mulder said dryly. "Your friend Jim in on it too?"
"Eyeball deep," Blair admitted. "He's trying to save my ass from getting busted and I think he just bought one for himself."
"Ooh, that's got to hurt his pride."
"Not half as much as it hurts his ass," Blair mused. Part of him couldn't believe he was telling Mulder these things and half of him was thrilled to finally have someone to talk to about it.
"I think we're all going to get along great. Let me guess; you got a warning that me dragging you off somewhere wasn't an excuse."
"Yeah, Jim just told me about it," Blair said, slouching down in his seat.
"Figures, because I got one from Walter before I left saying that you guys dragging me off into something wasn't going to keep me from getting busted either, so don't feel bad. We're all in the same boat. Let's just hope that your captain and my assistant director don't get the happy idea to compare notes." He sighed. "Alex is going to kill me for getting him into this."
"Alex?" Blair questioned. "Who's Alex?"
"Alex Krycek, the guy we got in working for Bender. See... Alex is sort of like Jim, and he's going to kill me for dragging him into this. As soon as Walter sees that photo and sees Alex in it, I'm going to get doubly busted for getting Alex involved and for disobeying him when he said let it go, AND Walter's gonna bust Alex for not saying no to me."
Blair nodded. That sounded just like Simon. "God knows how many times Simon's done that to Jim; busted his butt the first time for getting himself into it and then busted it again for getting me involved! And then I get busted for getting into it and not saying no, like you COULD say no to Jim Ellison!"
Mulder grinned at Blair. "I think we're going to be best friends. Cause you know why? You know in cartoons when they have the little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other, telling the guy what to do? These days I try, I really try, to listen to the angel. But with me, somehow the devil always wins anyway."
Blair broke into a grin. He found himself really liking this FBI agent. "You know, I think you're right."
Mulder pulled into a darkened side street, and looked around. "What time is it?"
Blair consulted his watch. "Three forty."
"Then he's not late; we're early. Alex isn't supposed to be meeting us until three forty-five." He looked around the outside of the deserted building. "Something's not right here. Stay in the car; I'll call if I need you."
"Mulder! I hate sitting in the car!"
"You'll be safer here," he said, closing the door. Mulder pulled out his gun and walked around to the back of the car, looking around, and then around Blair's side as he headed towards the door.
"Drop the gun!" called out another voice, and Mulder automatically dropped his gun to the cement as the figure stepped out of the shadows. "Mulder!"
"Alex! You scared the hell out of me!"
Alex craned his head to look over Mulder's shoulder as the agent bent to pick up his discarded weapon. "Who's the guy in the car?"
"Blair Sandburg, he's a cop here in Cascade. Don't worry, you'll love him." He walked over to Alex and put his arm around Krycek's waist. "Missed you," he said with a gentle nuzzle.
"I missed you too, Fox," Alex said, returning the nuzzle. "Where's Walter?"
"Oh, on his way here," Fox said, walking back to the car. Blair moved into the backseat, and Alex got into the front beside Mulder. "Alex, this is Blair. Blair, meet Alex."
"How you doin' man?" Blair offered his hand and Alex shook it firmly.
"Great, thanks." Alex turned back to Mulder. "Why is Skinner coming here?"
"I don't know the details but Scully and I were supposed to be pulled off this case and back to DC; Walter sent her back and is coming out himself to check on the way things are going."
"Did you tell him I was involved?" Mulder flushed slightly along his cheekbones. "You did, didn't you? Mulder, do you have any idea what he's gonna do to us?"
"I didn't tell him. There's just a picture that's got you in it."
"Pictures!"
"Surveillance ones," Blair added helpfully, passing a set up front.
"Great! Not only am I involved in this, now I'm involved in an illegal surveillance and Skinner's on his way here!" Alex flipped through one of the sets of photos, and grimaced when he saw himself. "Fox, he is going to put your ass and mine through the wringer when he gets a hold of these."
"So we just make sure he never sees them," Mulder said, pausing at the stoplight to pass the pictures back to Blair. "At least not the ones that have your face in them. We'll smuggle you into the station, get your deposition, take it to the judge and get the warrant, and then boom, you're out of it and Walter won't know the difference."
"Right, we'll help," Blair volunteered. "I mean, Mulder told me and Jim that you were one of us and we had to be careful about bringing you in and leaning on you, and I bet once we tell Jim what's going on he'll be happy to help."
"James... lunchtime. Come on, let's get Italian."
*Oh fuck,* Jim thought to himself. *He is taking me out of the office, my ass is dead meat. And he won't even let me bring a pillow.*
"James... don't keep me waiting," Simon chided gently, watching the jumpy detective as Jim dropped what he was doing and grabbed his jacket on the way to the door. "So, you want to try Murray's or what?"
"Uh, whatever you want is fine with me, sir."
"Good answer, James," Simon said, quietly enough that only a Sentinel could hear. "We have a bit of business to take care of before we go out. You do know what that business is, don't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good." He waited until they got to the car, and Jim got in on the passenger side. Simon closed the driver's side door, and looked over at his lover. "Now, James... what business might we need to conduct?"
*I fucking hate this part of it,* Jim seethed. "I... shouldn't have tried to call and warn Blair to keep him out of trouble because he knows the rules too."
"And?"
"I shouldn't have made the call to get the Feds pulled."
"And?"
"I should have been more diplomatic and nice to them when they got here. And I shouldn't have let Blair go out with Mulder alone."
"No, that part is my fault because I made you stay in my office and pushed the two of them out while I talked to you. I won't punish you for letting Blair go out alone, but I will punish you for the other things." Simon put his hand on Jim's knee. "We'll go back to the loft because it's closer. Did you bring your phone?"
"Yessir, I always carry it."
"Good, if it rings you will answer it and if it is Blair you will pass it over to me. I want to talk to him."
"Yessir."
Simon smiled. "Respectful. I like that. Not going to get you out of your punishment, but I like it."
Jim didn't dare make the face that was dying to get out. "I'm glad you do."
Simon allowed himself a small chuckle as he pulled into traffic. He loved Jim dearly, and Blair too; they were both just too damn reckless and headstrong for their own good. "Don't worry, James, nobody else will know."
"Think they won't notice when I don't sit down for the rest of the day?"
"And what makes you think you won't be able to sit down?" Simon asked, eyebrow raised. He hadn't intended to spank Jim that hard, just enough to make him regret trying to warn Blair and circumvent the rules. The other two things he would let slide but not tell Jim.
"Gee, Simon... I did three things, getting disciplined for each thing, that's what's going to make my ass sore."
Simon mulled it over. Jim did have a point. "I will make you a deal, Jim. Because I made a mistake too, I'm going to let the phone call to your DC contacts go. I wouldn't have spanked you for the lack of diplomacy; that's too much ingrained in you for me to ever hope to change that. All you have to worry about is making that phone call to Blair."
Jim sighed. "Thank you."
"You sound surprised, Jim. I'm strict, not inflexible. Besides, I make mistakes too, and I'm not above admitting it." He let his arm slide around Jim's waist as he pulled the Sentinel across the seat. "Trust me. I haven't let you down yet, and I'm not going to." Simon was slightly surprised that Jim still needed the reassurance, even after six months.
"You know I do," Jim said softly. "I just sometimes still feel awkward."
Simon squeezed Jim's hand. "A few moments of awkward is worth the benefits, don't you think? You're healthier, calmer, and safer. You look better and you feel better, right?" Jim nodded. "Then it's worth it, for both of us. I love you, Jim... this is the only way I can take care of you."
As Simon walked with Jim upstairs, Jim's cell phone rang. "Ellison."
"Jim, it's me," Blair said. "We got the guy."
"That's great, bring him on in. Hang on a second, Chief." Jim passed the phone over to Simon.
"Blair."
Simon could hear the young Guide's gulp over the other end of the phone. "Yeah?"
"Have your friends drop you off at the loft. Say that you're meeting Jim and I for lunch here. We will be waiting."
*Shit.* "Yessir," Blair said softly, hanging up the phone as Simon did the same. "Hey, guys, that was Jim, he wants to know if you'll drop me off at our apartment, he wants me to meet him and Simon there for lunch."
Mulder cast a sympathetic glance into the rearview mirror towards Blair. "Lunch, huh? Want us to come up with you?" He cast the same glance towards Alex, begging him with a hand on the thigh for silence.
"Nah, man, Simon'd be even more pissed if I did that." Blair ran his fingers through his hair, and started packing the papers he'd spread out in the backseat back into the briefcase. "Here you go, Fox. Thanks for letting me come along."
"Hey... sorry if it got you in trouble with the big man," he said, turning around in the seat. "Sure you don't want me and Alex to come in?"
"Yeah, I'm sure, thanks for offering." He gave Fox directions to the loft, and sat back, fiddling with the phone. "Wonder how much trouble I'd get in for not going at all," he said softly.
"Way too much," Alex said from the front seat. "I'm guessing that you're in the same boat as me and Fox?" Blair nodded, and Alex sighed. "I thought as much, from what Mulder was saying. You know, the big guys do love us, this is how they show it."
"Yeah, I know," Blair replied. "I just wish his hand wasn't so big."
Alex snorted. "Believe me, there are worse things."
"Yeah, hairbrushes and paddles."
"And belts, but that's only when we get in really deep shit, which thankfully is not that often," Mulder added quickly.
"You should meet Walter," Alex said thoughtfully. "Maybe talking to him will give you a better perspective."
"I don't need a better perspective, man, I need a tougher ass!"
Mulder and Alex both laughed at that. "Yeah, man, I hear you on that one," Fox continued. All too quickly, they'd pulled up in front of the loft, and Simon's car was parked in the first space. Mulder parked the car but left the engine running. "Stay here, Alex, I'm going up with Blair."
Alex grabbed his arm. "Fox, if Walter finds out you got in the middle of someone else's deal, you know what he'll do."
"Yeah, but that's not gonna stop me."
"Then I'm going too... no reason to let you have all the fun." He grabbed Mulder's keys out of the ignition and sprinted to catch up with them.
"Guys, he's not going to execute me!" Blair protested. "He's just going to be pissed off at Jim because Jim called me and tried to warn me and he's gonna be pissed off at me because I went out with you alone without telling anyone--which is most definitely a class-A no-no. Now, if I know Jim, he's already tried to lie to Simon about the fact that I didn't tell him before I bolted and he's probably in double trouble because of it."
Alex cast a halfway tender glance at Mulder; Jim's story sounded familiar. More than once, he'd done the same for Mulder, and it never worked. But it never stopped him from trying. "I'd like to meet this Jim."
Blair sighed. "You will. Come on, guys... you know that if you two come in with me Simon's going to think I'm trying to avoid getting busted and that'll just make it worse. It's great you guys want to help, but..."
Alex nodded; he understood, even if Mulder didn't. "We'll walk you upstairs, but let you go in alone."
"Thanks, man. This is the worst part for me, the anticipation. I know I fucked up, I know I'm going to get busted, and I hate the feeling of knowing exactly what's coming."
Mulder laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
Blair flashed a grin at Mulder. "You know, I think you're right. I think we're all gonna be great friends."
As soon as Blair hung up the phone, Simon did the same and turned to Jim. "Well now, one thing taken care of. Now for the second. Come here, James." Jim got up from his seat at the dining room table and moved into the living room, standing in front of Simon's seat on the couch. "Don't make me tell you what to do, James," the black man chided gently. "You should know by now."
*But that doesn't make it any easier!* Jim shouted inwardly, but he was touched by the depths of Simon's caring for him. If Simon didn't care, he wouldn't try. He looked down at his feet, unable to meet his captain's eyes as he unbuckled his belt, sat down to remove his shoes, and then up again to remove his jeans and boxers. He stood still a moment, folding his jeans, smoothing the wrinkles out and then laying them carefully over the back of the sofa. He did the same with his boxers and put his shoes together at the end of the couch.
Simon allowed this little ritual to go on for a few moments, and then his hand shot out, wrapping around Jim's wrist and pulling him over. He said nothing, and felt Jim's body relax slightly as the Sentinel allowed his body to bend over Simon's lap, resting his weight on the black man's legs. "You do know why you're in trouble?" Simon questioned.
"Because I made the phone call to Blair," Jim said softly. "I tried to help him circumvent the rules."
"That's right, which means that Blair could get hurt because of that. Every time you try and protect Blair's breaking the rules, you are going to get spanked. Blair knows the rules as well as you do, and while I know you love him and want to protect him, all you're doing is making it easier for him to get into more trouble, and I can't have that." He stroked the small of Jim's back, and then his bare bottom. "Don't worry, Jim, it won't be bad." Jim nodded, and relaxed; he'd learned the hard way it hurt more if you were braced for it.
Simon waited until Jim relaxed, and then brought his hand down across the Sentinel's bared backside. Jim jumped, then quieted as Simon's hand stroked his ass, soothing him. He watched Jim closely with the second strike, watching to see that the Sentinel wasn't zoning out; Blair had taught him what to watch for. He saw no signs, and continued. Three, four, and five, and on the sixth hard stroke, Jim's ass was red from Simon's hand, and the Sentinel was biting his lip. On the seventh and eighth, Jim's bitten lip was trembling, and the ninth and tenth strokes brought the first tears. "Sssh, now, it'll be over soon," Simon promised as he spanked. By the time he reached the end at fifteen, Jim was crying hard and his bottom was hot and red. Simon stopped, and rubbed Jim's fiery backside. "Sssh... it's okay, Jim, it's over," he said, stroking and soothing. "Stand up."
Jim stood, and Simon stood also, wrapping his arms around Jim and guiding him to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, Simon bent Jim over, running a cool cloth over the fiery backside before applying a cooling lotion to prevent marking. "There we go, baby," Simon said soothingly. "Blair should be here soon, I want you to go to your corner and wait. When he gets home, you will go upstairs and turn on the radio; do NOT attempt to listen."
Jim nodded, walking bare-bottomed to his corner, his tears slowly stopping as the throbbing in his ass receded to a dull ache. He wanted to lean against the wall, but knew better. Instead, he turned into the corner, closing his eyes to keep from staring and zoning out. This was the hardest part for him, trying to keep himself from zoning out when he was doing nothing. He concentrated on the pain in his backside, the smells coming in through the cracks in the window seals, and the sounds on the street below. He'd almost learned to make a game of trying to identify cars by the sounds of their engines.
He also listened to Simon moving restlessly around the loft, sighing heavily from time to time, the rattle of the fridge door as he got out a bottle of water, and brought it over to Jim. "Want something to drink, Jim?"
"Thanks," Jim said quietly, accepting the bottle and sipping from it carefully. It felt good against his throat. Then a familiar smell hit his nose, and he habitually took a deep breath. *Blair.* It was confirmed a few moments later by his heartbeat and tread coming up the stairs, but he wasn't alone.
Simon caught him listening. "Blair?"
Jim nodded. "Yes, sir, coming up the stairs." He didn't add that two others were with him, came with him to the top of the stairs, and then left him there to enter the loft alone.
Mulder and Alex walked up the stairs with Blair, nobody saying much. When they got to the top flight of stairs, Blair turned to the two that hand walked up with him. "Thanks, guys, but I, uh, I gotta take it from here."
Both Mulder and Alex gave Blair a sympathetic look, and Mulder offered his hand. "Anything we can do, just let me know."
"You could make that call for Jim," Blair said softly. "Get those suits here before he gets in deeper with Simon."
Mulder nodded. "I'll call from the station as soon as we get there. I'll have Alex put in one of the rooms and make the call from there, I don't want to leave him alone."
"Thanks, Fox." Blair shook Mulder's hand, and then did the same to Alex. "Jim'll love meeting you," he said with a smile.
"I can't wait to see him; I think he and I would have a lot to talk about... like the gray hairs we're getting and the rapid rate we're losing them," he teased Mulder.
"Hey, I am not giving you gray hairs," Mulder protested. "Or if I am you're hiding them quite well."
Alex herded Mulder down the steps with an apologetic smile thrown towards Blair. Blair waited for them to descend out of his earshot, then put his hand on the doorknob, knowing it wouldn't be locked. Steeling himself, he opened the door and walked in. He saw Jim standing in the corner, and Simon waiting by the table.
"Jim, go upstairs and turn on the radio as I told you to earlier," Simon said, catching Blair's eyes with his own. "Blair, go and sit on the couch."
Jim shook himself out of his thoughts, carrying his water bottle with him as he climbed the stairs to the bed and switched on the radio, tuning it to the easy listening station and turning up the volume to drown out the noise downstairs. He could filter it out, but Simon had told him not to.
Simon waited until the radio switched on and he heard music and then turned to Blair. "Jim and I have already talked about this and he has been taken care of," he said, turning a stern glare onto the young man fidgeting on the couch. "You are in trouble for one thing only; going out without Jim. Jim made the phone call on his own, and I will not hold you responsible for that. However, you do know that in situations like this you are not to go out alone; you are to wait for Jim and he will go with you."
"Yes, sir," Blair said softly. "I went with Mulder; I thought that it would be okay."
"Blair, do you or do you not know that you are at least to tell Jim or I where you are going before you go, if not take Jim with you?"
"Yes, sir, but you told us to get out of your office and you kept Jim," Blair argued, knowing it was going to get him deeper and deeper in trouble with the captain.
"And you couldn't have waited for me to get finished with Jim before you went out?" The red flush that came into Blair's cheeks answered that question for him. Blair mumbled something but Simon couldn't hear it. "I'm sorry, Blair, I didn't catch that?"
"You told us to get out!" Blair shouted. "You told Mulder to go get his contact and you told me to get the list and Jim to stay in the office! Mulder did go get the contact, I did get the list from Mulder in the car!"
Simon sighed. "Let me again point out that you know that if you go out like that with someone else, you are to tell Jim or I where you are going, correct?"
"Yes, sir," Blair mumbled, his arms crossed over his chest.
"And you did not."
"No, sir."
"Then the rest of the argument is moot." Simon leaned back and pointedly looked at the neat stack of Jim's clothing over the end of the sofa. "Do I need to tell you what's next, Blair?"
"No!" he said sullenly. Still, though, he got up off the couch and started to strip, tossing his jeans and shorts over beside Jim's. Once he was stripped from the waist down, he moved over to Simon, and he helped Blair situate himself over Simon's lap.
Once Blair was situated, Simon stroked Blair's back and ass, just as he had done to Jim earlier. "Relax, Blair," Simon whispered softly, his warm hands sliding over Blair's skin. "Relax. Calm down. You know what's coming."
After a few soothing touches, Blair couldn't help but relax. He knew what would come next, but didn't tense; he let himself relax into the caring arms of the man trying to take care of him. As he did, he felt the first hard spank land on his upturned bottom, and tried not to flinch. He was not as strong as Jim, and it only took five strokes to bring his tears, tears he always loathed himself for shedding and showing his weakness.
Simon heard the young man's tears, and paused for a moment, rubbing his back, offering comfort. He looked up as he saw Jim standing at the top of the stairs, his eyes on his crying lover. Simon almost nodded, but sent Jim back with a glance. "I will call you," he whispered for the Sentinel's ears, knowing Blair's would not hear. Jim nodded and disappeared back around the corner, and Simon resumed his spanking. Five more spanks is all he could deliver, listening to Blair's heart-rending tears. Jim's never touched him as Blair's did, and he sighed, softly calling Jim's name. Jim quickly descended the stairs as Simon held Blair.
Blair's arms wrapped around Simon's waist, and instead of Simon's arms coming back around him, he felt himself being lifted, and placed in another set of strong arms. He recognized the rumble in his Sentinel's chest, and he curled up against Jim's chest as Jim carried him upstairs. The Sentinel shot a glare at Simon, half reproaching him for his actions towards the gentle Guide and half understanding of them. It was the same look that Jim always gave him after disciplining Blair. And always the same look that Blair gave him after disciplining Jim.
Simon nodded in acceptance of the reproach, and stepped out of the way as Jim carried Blair upstairs. This was part of it; Jim soothing Blair but never condemning Simon; the man understood and yet the Sentinel revolted at the perceived abuse of his Guide would not allow anything less.
Once upstairs, Jim lay Blair carefully in the middle of their large bed, stroking his curls and murmuring soothingly to him. "It's okay, Blair, I've got you, it's going to be okay... yeah, I know it hurts, we're going to take care of that." He reached into the drawer beside the bed and pulled out a tube of ultra-healing lotion; it was what he'd found worked best on Blair's sensitive skin as well as his own. The dull ache in his own ass forgotten, Jim carefully tended to his lover, wincing at the small whimpers as he touched sensitive skin. "Sssh now, baby, it's over now," he said, unconsciously repeating Simon's earlier reassurance to him.
Blair rolled over onto his stomach, curling up against Jim as the Sentinel held him tightly. Neither man spoke and neither needed to; it was enough that they were there for each other.
Alex herded Mulder down the stairs of Jim's building. "Look, the last thing Blair needs right now us is hanging around, you know? I mean, would you want someone around?"
Mulder snorted. "That's not the point."
"Let me guess. The point is you like Blair and you hate to think of him getting his ass busted because of something you asked him to do?"
"Something like that," Mulder admitted ruefully. Before he could say anything else, his cell phone rang. "Mulder."
"Hello, Fox."
"Hi, Walter... how's the flight?" Alex cringed when he heard Mulder greet the AD.
"Oh, the flight is fine," Skinner said, silently declining the stewardess' offer of peanuts. "What I want to know is, why am I coming out here and why isn't Alex answering the phone at his place?"
Mulder's eyes darted over to his lover. "Because he's sitting in the car beside me?"
"Uh huh. And what, exactly, is Alex doing there?"
"He, uh..."
Fox didn't have a chance to finish before Alex pulled the phone out of Mulder's hand. "Came to see Fox," he said, putting his hand on Mulder's thigh as they sat on the foot of the stairs. "I missed him, figured he'd be working himself to death and I wanted to see him."
"Oh come on, Alex. You really expect me to buy that bullshit? I should spank your ass red for trying to pull it over on me... again." Walter's tone was disgusted. "I know better, young man."
"But, sir--" Alex's face fell; Skinner had seen right through him, but still, he had to try and protect Mulder--even if it was a useless gesture that would get him in deeper.
"Not another word, Alex, unless you want to add to what you're already looking at," Walter warned.
"Yes, sir." Krycek sighed as Mulder leaned against him.
"That's better. I'm going to be landing in a little over two hours; I want you and Mulder at the police station together and ready to leave when I walk in and not one word of protest. You understand me? You have Mulder ready to go when I get there."
"I understand. We'll be ready." Privately Alex was worried because he knew Mulder was in deep shit, but he knew Walter would be fair.
"Good. I'll see you in a couple of hours." Then the line went dead.
Alex turned off the phone and passed it back to Mulder. "Here you go, Fox. He's completely pissed off; he's landing in a couple of hours and he wants us to meet him at the station ready to go."
"Oh shit," Mulder said softly as Alex's arms came around him. "Alex... I am going to be in so deep, he's never going to let me out again."
"Hey... it's going to be okay, Fox. Walter's going to take care of us both; you know that, just like he always does. He's not going to let anything happen to us." He kept his arms tightly around Mulder's shoulders. "Come on, Blair said you had a phone call to make?" he reminded, trying to distract his lover.
"Yeah, I'm supposed to be getting some Federal agents out here to help with the stakeout."
"Who do you need to call?"
"The local guy is an agent named Cameron, in Spokane. He's the one who can dispense the officers we need."
"Do you know the number?"
"Call Quantico and ask for the Spokane office, they'll put you through." Mulder dropped his head into his hands.
"Yes, this is Agent Mulder, in Cascade WA, I need to be put through to Agent Cameron in the Spokane office, please," Alex said, in uncanny imitation of Fox's voice. "Relax," Alex said in his normal voice as Mulder's head shot up. He reached out, touching Fox on the shoulder. "I can do this."
Mulder chuckled softly and shook his head. "You're great, Alex, you know that?"
"I've been told that from time to time," the other man said dryly. "Yes, Agent Cameron, thank you for taking my call. Yes, I'm working on the Bender-Zeller connection under the auspices of the Cascade police department as well as the Assistant Director, Walter Skinner, and I need you to spare me about fifteen of your best surveillance men. We've got a list of names that we need to watch--of course, we'll provide that list to you as soon as we get back into the office. It's no problem? Thank you so much, Agent Cameron. Yes, the police office will be fine, just have them meet either myself--M-u-l-d-e-r," Alex spelled out, "or a Detective Ellison. Oh, you do know him? That's great. Just have them look for Detective Ellison and myself, and we'll get them assigned. No, thank you. Bye." Alex hung up to the sound of Mulder laughing. "What?"
"Oh, man, you knew just what I needed." He smiled at his friend and lover.
Privately Alex smiled. *Yeah, Fox, I do know what you need; to get your mind off what Walter's gonna do to you.* "All I did is make one simple phone call. Now, it'll probably take them all about an hour to get mobilized, which leaves us time to get to the station and you get my statement about the Bender mess, and have our work done by the time Walter gets here, because he wants us to go when he does." He put his hand on Fox's shoulder, reassuring him. "Come on, let's get busy."
Simon started up the stairs to check on his boys, and was surprised to hear his cell phone ring. "Banks," he said, climbing the steps as he talked.
"Captain, it's Brown... there are a lot of Feds here, saying that guy Mulder said they needed to show up for surveillance?"
Simon couldn't help but chuckle. "All right, get a head count of how many suits they sent, pull up that many uniforms off the street, set up the surveillance vans, and I'll get you the list when I get back to the office, which should be within the half hour. Until then, that should keep them busy. If you have to, go ahead and make the teams, but don't get your nose out of joint if I change them up once I get there." He stopped at the top of the stairs, looking at Jim and Blair together, and smiled softly. *God I love you both.*
There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone. "Yes, sir."
"And have that Mulder guy waiting in my office and have we heard about the Assistant Director landing?"
Simon could hear papers shuffling. "Yeah, he called here looking for Mulder a little while ago, he's landing in about an hour and a half. He said he's already got a hotel room and he's heading straight here."
"I'll be there to meet him; in fact I'll be there in half an hour. Hold things together until then."
"Yes, sir," Brown replied, and hung up.
Simon put the phone back on his belt and leaned against the corner. The bed was big enough for all three of them but Simon knew better than to try and move in on Jim when he was in his Blessed Protector mode. "Jim," he said softly, getting the Sentinel's attention. "Jim... time to go back to work; Mulder's got his suits down there and Brown's having a cow because they're all showing up. You got time to shower if you want."
Jim looked down at Blair. "You want a shower, baby, or just want to wash your face off?" Blair shook his head no to the shower and yes to the face wash. "I'll go get the washcloth, you stay right here and I'll be right back." He rolled out of the bed and Simon followed him to the bathroom. "I didn't think Mulder could really get the troops called in so fast," he said softly, not wanting to disturb Blair.
"Yeah, well, apparently he did cause they're milling around the department even as we speak," Simon said, watching as Jim dampened a soft washcloth under the cold water and wrung it out. "I'll go bring your clothes up and crank the car," Simon offered.
"Thanks." Jim moved back to the bed, and knelt on the mattress beside Blair. "Turn over and look at me, baby," Jim said softly, urging Blair to turn. Blair rolled over and let Jim gently wipe the tear tracks from his cheeks and then Jim ran the cloth over Blair's throat and shoulders, urging him to calm. He barely acknowledged Simon's laying their clothes on the foot of the bed, instead concentrating on wiping Blair down quickly. "There we go. Come on, let me see those pretty blue eyes," Jim whispered, and Blair raised his lashes, and his lips spread in a tremulous smile. "That's my baby." Then he heard the rumble of a car engine turning over. "Come on, its time to get dressed."
Under Jim's watchful eye, Blair quickly got dressed, and waited as Jim did the same. Together, they walked down the stairs, but as they got to the bottom and Simon was waiting by the door, Blair threw himself at the black man, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. "I'm sorry, Simon, I do love you." He offered his mouth to Simon for a kiss, which the captain gladly accepted.
Simon was careful though not to reach down and knead Blair's ass, which was his instinct. Instead he rested his hands on the small of Blair's back. "I know, Blair. I love you too," he said, when the Guide finally broke the kiss. "If I didn't, I wouldn't care."
"I know," Blair said in acknowledgement. Simon looked back at Jim, and their eyes met for a moment, Jim's look relaying the same words Blair had just spoken. Simon nodded in silent acceptance, and then Jim startled him by speaking.
"And I love you too, Simon."
"I know, Jim. And you both know I love you." Simon shifted Blair slightly and opened his other arm to Jim, who came to him after only a brief hesitation. He embraced both his lovers, Blair hiding against his right side as Jim leaned into his left. Simon luxuriated in their arms for a few moments, but practicality quickly won out. "We'll have more time tonight; we've got to get back to work right now. They'll be wondering where we're all disappearing to."
He disengaged himself from Jim first, but let Blair hold onto him until they got down to the car. Instead of sitting in the back with Jim, Blair slid into the front seat beside Simon, sighing as he sunk into the crushed velour upholstery. The soft surface felt wonderful to his backside as he leaned against Simon's shoulder. "I heard you guys in the bathroom; Mulder promised when he dropped me off that he'd make that call. I just hope it doesn't get him in trouble... Jim, you've got to meet Alex, you'll be surprised. I think you're gonna like him. He knows what it's like to have a wayward brat as a partner," he offered with a grin.
"Are you calling Mulder a brat?" Jim asked with a crooked eyebrow. "I didn't get that impression at all."
Simon watched this by-play with interest. "No, well, yeah, sort of. He admits to being a bit... impetuous at times," Blair explained.
"Too bad he doesn't have Simon there to reel him in line," Jim said with a smile directed at his captain. Simon returned it in the rearview mirror and Blair flushed. Jim caught the flush, and both his eyebrows raised into what was left of his hairline. "Chief..."
"What?"
"Would that flush on your face be the reason why I smelled a bit of nervousness on our favorite Fed when his boss was mentioned?"
Blair nodded miserably. "Don't tell him I told, all right?"
"Who am I going to tell?" Jim asked rhetorically.
"Wait wait wait. Let me make sure I'm getting this right," Simon interrupted. "Mulder and this Skinner guy?"
"And that guy Alex, Mulder's friend," Blair confirmed. "Sort of like us, I guess."
Simon shook his head, plainly amazed. "Maybe I should sit down with this Skinner guy after all, get some tips on how he handles his two."
"Blair!"
That was the first thing that the three men heard as they walked into chaos. Right in the middle of Major Crimes thirty people were milling around, bumping into each other, and above the crowd was a single hand waving, attached to the voice that was calling Blair Sandburg.
"Oh my God," Simon said softly as Brown barreled towards him. "Jim, I'm gonna need your help big time. Blair, go and see what your buddy Mulder needs, and chill him out until Jim can get in there and chat with the guy he brought in."
Jim reached into his pocket and passed a list over to Simon. "Here's the guys we're gonna be watching sir... excuse us, please, thanks... sorry, comin' through, thanks, out of my way, holy shit!" he finished, slamming the door of Simon's office behind them after having plowed the way through the solid mill of people.
"This is a mess. What the hell goes on when I'm not here!" Simon sighed. "Okay... Jim, get me a roster of FBI and a roster of our guys and we'll do some setups and get SOME of these people out of here! Send Brown in here right now, and get these people OUT of Major Crimes! Stick them in the briefing room; there should be enough room for all of them in there." He took off his glasses and rubbed his sinuses. "I can feel the headache coming on already."
Jim moved behind Simon and massaged the back of his neck with his thumbs. "Relax, sir," he said softly. "We haven't even got started yet. Wait half an hour, then you can have a headache."
Simon laughed. "Thanks for the concern, Jim."
"You're welcome, sir." He dropped his hands. "I'll be back once I get everyone herded into the briefing room. And don't forget, you got that Skinner guy coming in... his flight should be landing in an hour or so. By the way, you want me to grab Mulder and send him in here? You did say have him waiting in your office."
"Nah, too much to do right now, I'll yell at him later."
"Very good, sir." Jim fought the smile that threatened to upturn the corners of his mouth. He turned to leave the office, and Simon stopped him.
"Jim?"
"Sir?"
"You okay?"
Jim smiled; he could hear the concern in Simon's voice. "Fine, sir. So's Blair."
"Good. I'll expect to see you back in here before the end of the day."
"Soon as I'm done." He smiled at Simon again and opened the door, wading into the mass of people. "ALL RIGHT EVERYBODY LISTEN UP! CASCADE PD, YOU GUYS KNOW THE WAY, BUDDY UP TO A FED AND GET THEM DOWNSTAIRS TO THE BRIEFING ROOM! I WANT THIS OFFICE CLEARED OUT RIGHT NOW!" Jim bellowed.
There was stunned silence for a moment, and then almost a stampede as the cops hurried to follow Jim's bellowed dictate. The sound of pounding feet couldn't muffle the sound of Simon's laughter that echoed in Jim's Sentinel ears. Jim stood, hands on his hips in front of Simon's door, glowering until the last man had emptied into the elevator or pounded down the stairs. "Brown, Captain's office, he wants to see you. You got a list of either set of guys?"
"Just on ours, man," H answered, shoving the clipboard at Jim on his way into Simon's office. He scanned over the clipboard as he walked towards the elevator.
The elevator ride was quick, and he barged into the room. "All right, boys and girls, here's the deal. I need you federal agents on one side of the room, our guys on the other side, and then I need your names. Okay? Let's move." Jim leaned against the door as the people shuffled, and pretty soon the black and blue suits were against one wall and the uniforms were against the other wall. "All right, I'm starting with our boys in blue first, and once you're checked off get down to the command center and make sure your surveillance vehicle is ready and then I'll send the federal agents down. Pick your partner carefully, boys and girls, you're going to be stuck with them."
Jim walked down the line of uniformed cops, checking off their names on the list that Brown had given him. "All right, guys, split." Which left Jim alone with the Feds. *Great.* "Give me your names, and make sure you check in with dispatch and log in who you're partnered with." He sighed. "All right, let's get this done and fast." He scribbled off each name as they recited it. *Sound like a bunch of goddamned robots,* he thought to himself. "Great. Get out of here, get down to the command center, it's on the fourth floor. You can't miss it, soon as you get off the elevator there's a big door marked command central. Our guys should be down there waiting for you, if not, have dispatch call them back up." He paused for a beat. "Get out, dismissed, what are you waiting for?" He watched the Feds file out. *You guys make my skin crawl!* He picked up the phone in the corner, and dialed the dispatcher.
"Dispatch, Lacey."
"Lacey, this is Ellison in Major Crimes. You're gonna get a bunch of Feds and uniforms down there, once they're paired up and dispatched, send me up a list of who's teamed with who and who they're watching." He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought of the mess that they were gonna be getting.
"No problem, Detective. We'll send it up to you as soon as it's done," responded the dispatcher's cheerful voice. "Anything else I can do for you?"
*Curl up and die, you cheerful cunt,* he thought sourly, but then shook his head, dismissing the thought. *Just because you got your ass whipped and you're in a bad mood is no excuse for rudeness,* he chastised himself. "No, thanks, that'll be all." He hung up before the cheerful woman could say anything else. He picked up his clipboard and made his way back up the stairs to Simon's office, knocking on the door and waiting to be let in.
Blair darted and ducked through the people in the hallways, threading his way through towards Mulder's waving hand. "Coming!" he yelled out as he heard Mulder call out his name again. Finally, as he broke through the last group of milling people, he heard Jim bellowing at everyone to clear out. Mulder's arm fell around his shoulders and dragged him into the room with him and Alex. "Christ, what a mess!"
"You okay, man?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine." He looked at the hard metal chair in the room and almost cringed at the thought of sitting down. Instead, he paced. "I heard Jim say you got the suits here, thanks."
"Here you go," Mulder said, perching on the corner of the table as Alex sat quietly by the table. "Here's Alex's statement. I looked for Jim but someone said he went out to lunch with the captain."
"Lunch, yeah, that's one way of putting it," Blair said with a small grin. "Just don't bring it up, okay? He'd have a fit. He's back now, but Simon's got him working on something else; I'll call him and flag him down when he's finished."
"More likely he'll come looking for you," Mulder offered with a raised eyebrow as Blair scanned over the statement. He noted that there were several addresses mentioned, but he recognized none of them.
"Yeah, well, Jim does tend to get antsy if I'm not close by all the time," Blair said, flipping pages quickly. He also noted the list of dates, times, and places that Krycek had provided as Bender's meetings with Klaus Zeller. "Jim's gonna love this, man, thanks."
"No problem," Alex said with a smile. All were comfortably silent a moment, letting Blair read until Jim stormed into the room.
"Mulder, your suits are crawling all over the place!" he ranted. "Here, Simon said give you a copy of the list too." He shoved a copy towards Mulder, who picked it up and scanned it. "Great man, thanks."
Jim dropped into Mulder's chair and Blair moved to rub his shoulders. "Jesus, Jim... I let you out of my sight for what, half an hour? And you get tense on me."
"It's all these Feds, man, they're making my se--skin crawl," Jim said crabbily. "No offense," he said to Mulder.
"None taken, I don't like many of my fellow suits either. There IS a reason why they stick me down in the basement," Fox said dryly. "Oh yeah, introductions. Jim, meet Alex Krycek. Alex, Detective Jim Ellison."
"Charmed," Jim said, holding out his hand for Alex to shake. Alex shook it with a smile. "You're Mulder's friend, right?"
"Among other things," he said with a sly grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I've heard good things about you from Fox and Blair both."
"Yeah, well, anything they said is over exaggerated." Jim's eyes got a faraway look and Blair realized Jim was listening to something none of them could hear. "Company's coming, its Simon, and somebody else with him."
Fox straightened up, and Alex pulled his feet off the table as Blair slid Alex's statement over to him. "How did you know--" Mulder started to ask, but his question was cut off by the opening of the door and a quick hand signal from Blair.
"Gentlemen!" Simon said cheerily, observing the four men in the room huddled around the table. "Jim, Blair, I'd like you to meet Assistant Director Walter Skinner, of the FBI. Director Skinner, this is Jim Ellison and his partner, Blair Sandburg." Each man shook hands with Skinner as Simon introduced them. Blair was struck by the firmness of the man's grip and threw a sympathetic glance over to Mulder and Alex.
"Nice to meet you gentlemen," Skinner said, removing his glasses and polishing them as he stared Mulder and Alex down.
Simon watched with amazement as Mulder became more and more uncomfortable and finally started to shift back and forth as the Director finally cleaned his glasses and put them back on. "Nice trick, that," Simon said quietly to Walter. "I might have to try that sometime."
"Silence works every time," Walter said, not taking his disapproving glare off of Mulder but widening to include Alex as well, who had shifted to stand protectively beside Mulder.
Jim's eyebrow raised as Alex moved closer to Mulder. *If I didn't know better, I'd say that was a Sentinel instinct,* Jim mused. *But no way this guy's a Sentinel, I'd know it in a heartbeat. Just odd, to see someone else act like me!* Often he'd wondered what he looked like trying to protect Blair, and he realized he was getting a unique look at himself--through Alex Krycek. Blair flinched at the heavy gaze that Skinner was laying on Mulder, and Jim automatically stepped closer, then met Krycek's eyes as a flicker of recognition passed between them. Jim raised an eyebrow in questioning, and Alex gave a subtle nod of confirmation.
"Captain, I hate to break up this little party here, but Alex and Mulder and I need to get back to our hotel and regroup, and I need to be filled in."
Simon nodded in understanding. "Of course. If we have a big development we'll call you, but otherwise, we won't disturb you and we'll see you in the morning."
"Thank you, captain." Skinner smiled at Blair and Jim, and both men inclined their heads in acknowledgement of the Director's greeting. Then Blair moved to walk out beside Mulder.
"Hey, man, I just wanted to say thanks for letting me tag along," he said, loud enough for Skinner to hear as well. He ignored the warning headshake from Alex and Jim both as he continued. "I always wanted to see up close and personal how you FBI guys work."
Skinner shot Blair a withering glare that the young Guide skillfully ignored. "Blair, I need you to come with me for a minute and go over this statement," Jim said, just a little desperately.
"No problem," Blair said cheerfully. "Let me walk Mulder out and I'll stop by that coffee cart on the corner and bring us some coffee up."
Jim couldn't strangle Blair with all the witnesses around, but man, he was tempted. "That would be great," he gritted out, and Alex threw him a sympathetic look.
"Detective, did I give you my cell phone?" Alex asked, and Jim shook his head. "If you have any questions, you can call me," he continued, grabbing a scrap of paper and scribbling down his name and cell phone number. Jim nodded as he pulled out his wallet and slipped the paper into it.
"Gentlemen," was all that Walter said, but his voice was laden with warnings. Both his charges nodded in acknowledgement and Blair remained glued to Mulder's side. "Let's go, we have a lot of business to catch up on."
Simon and Jim traded looks as Blair followed the others out. "Sir... I'm going to strangle him."
Simon chuckled. "Not before I do, Jim. Hey, he's just trying to help."
"Yeah, sir, I know, and it's going to get him in deep one of these days," Jim sighed, sitting back down in the chair. "If that AD guy is as stiff as I think he is, I do not envy Mulder OR Krycek."
Simon sat down across from Jim. "You don't know what either of them's been up to."
"Yeah, maybe so." He sighed. "I'm going to be going through this report and cross-referencing stuff for about the next hour," he estimated. "Let you know what I come up with?"
"Yeah, and then we'll go out for dinner before we go home." Jim nodded as Simon got up to leave, then stopped as Jim called out to him.
"Hey, Simon... take a look at this."
Simon peered over Jim's shoulder. "I don't see anything strange."
"No, neither did I until you read this second section here, and look up; it's the same address for two different people. Then look down; the same address for the third person. Now, all three of these names are on our list, but who does the address belong to?"
"Don't know," Simon said, squinting at it. "I'll run it through the computer and see what we come up with."
"Go ahead, I'll see how many more times it pops up and who it's connected with; this Krycek guy has had to have been deep inside Bender's organization to get this information!" He held up the statement. "This has got to be fifteen pages long. It's going to take hours to go through all of this."
"Mulder said Alex would be thorough," Blair said, slipping back in the door. "You wanted details, you got it." Simon helped to take two of the three cups of coffee out of the young man's hands. "Thanks, Sy."
"Sy?" questioned Simon with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, Sy... short for Simon. Easier to say and it makes you sound cool. I mean, Sy's a cool name for a cool guy, right?" He looked to Jim for confirmation.
"You're on your own with that one, Chief."
Simon sipped from his coffee as he passed Jim his cup. "So what are you going to do with this, Jim?"
"Well, I'm going to finish going over Alex's statement, and when he's done with Skinner I'm going to give him a call and ask him about this address and why it kept coming up, and I'm going to track down who on the list the address belongs to."
"Keep me posted; I'm going to return some phone calls and clean up the rosters of who's watching who."
"No problem, sir," Jim said, burying himself and Blair in the statement as Simon left them to their work.
"All right, in the back seat, both of you," Skinner ground out as soon as they'd ditched Blair by the coffee stand. "And no way am I buying that crock your little friend just tried to sell me," he added as he cranked the rental.
"But sir, Blair was telling the truth," Alex protested as he kept his arms firmly around Fox's shoulders.
"Alex, I packed the paddle this time. You've already got a couple coming, don't make it a third with this defending Mulder stuff." He looked at Fox in the rearview mirror. "What happened?"
"I didn't know at the time Blair wasn't a real cop or anything like that, just that he was Ellison's partner. Captain Banks had ordered us to clear out of his office and kept Jim in there talking to him, so I invited Blair to come along and he jumped at the chance. Later I found out he wasn't really a cop, just an associate or whatever. But we were already on the way to pick Alex up."
"And you're telling me the whole truth?" Walter glared.
"Yes, sir," Mulder replied meekly. "That's everything."
"And the civilian credentials around his neck didn't give you a clue?"
Fox gulped hard. He hadn't even noticed them until afterwards. "I didn't notice them, sir."
"Well, you should have. So, as I figure it, here's what we've got for you. Getting Alex involved in this whole mess. Not dropping the case when you were told to. On top of not dropping it, you go on an unauthorized stakeout of the guy's strip club. Then you took Sandburg--A CIVILIAN!--on the meet with you to pick up Alex! On top of that, you called in MORE agents! What got into you, Mulder!" Walter parked the rental and looked back at Fox. "You had to know what was coming!"
Fox nodded miserably, clinging to Alex. "Walter, I made that damn phone call to the Feds!" Alex deliberately lowered his voice as he rubbed Fox's back and shoulders. "Mulder didn't make the call, I did. I called Cameron's office and impersonated Mulder so that he didn't have to do it! He was already in deep enough and I didn't want him getting in any deeper with you! He hates it, Walter, and you know it! He's miserable the second you raise your voice at him and look at him now!"
Walter looked over at Mulder. "Get upstairs. Room 435. Right next to yours, 433. 437 is vacant. I will talk to you both when I get up there. Move." He watched as Alex gently pulled Mulder out of the back seat, and put an arm around his waist, and the pair disappeared into the hotel lobby and then into the elevator. He passed the keys to his rental to the closest valet, then opened the trunk and pulled out his two suitcases. "I need to pick up my key, Room 435."
The woman behind the front desk passed Walter the key, and then looked up. "You are Director Skinner?"
"Yes, that's me." Walter had turned away from the desk, but at the call of his name turned back.
"There's a fax here for you from the police department, one moment please and I'll have to ask you to sign for it." The woman disappeared, and Walter waited impatiently for her to return. She finally did with a two-page fax. "Here you go, Mr. Skinner, sign right there please."
Skinner scrawled his signature on the indicated line and started reading through the fax as he waited for the elevator. Mulder and Krycek were nowhere to be seen in the lobby, and he entertained the fleeting notion that Krycek had secreted Mulder away somewhere, but when the doors opened onto the fourth floor, he saw them waiting outside his room. He opened his mouth to say something and then realized, he had the only key to unlock the door. Rearing back with his arm, he tossed the keys to Krycek, who unlocked the door and steered Mulder inside, leaving the door ajar for Walter.
Walter paused in the doorway for a moment, removing his tie as he silently watched his boys. Mulder was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Krycek was kneeling in front of him, whispering in a soft hum. He carefully stepped into the room, not slamming the door as he stepped over Alex to lay his suitcases on the second bed in the room. He started unpacking, letting Alex's whispers soothe him.
Alex's whispering was working until Walter pulled out the leather-covered paddle and lay it on the dresser. Mulder saw the paddle and started to panic again, and Alex sighed. "Mulder, you have to stop this, now," Alex pled. "You knew that you were going to be punished when you did those things, and so did I. I don't regret doing them, Mulder, I could have said no to you. But I wanted to be with you, I wanted to help you."
"I'm sorry I got you involved in this," Mulder said quietly, almost crying. "It's my fault you're getting spanked too."
"No, baby, it's not," Alex said, putting his arms around Fox. "Listen to me, Fox. Listen to what I just told you. I could have said no to you and not gotten involved but I chose to do it because I wanted to be with you and protect you. I don't regret the choice I made, and now it's time for both of us to take the consequences." He eyed Walter's paddle warily. "You know Walter loves you, he's not going to do anything that's not in your best interests."
"I know," Mulder admitted softly. "I just hate disappointing him."
"Hey, it's normal. We're both incorrigible brats, remember?" Alex said, trying to cheer his friend up. "Walter called us that the last time we got in trouble together. Mulder, all he cares about is that we're okay, that's all. He loves you no matter what you do." He flipped his eyes up to the man who'd walked over as he'd talked to Mulder.
Skinner slid his arms around Mulder's waist. "That's exactly right, Fox," Walter said, his voice stern but his eyes caring. "I do love you, no matter what you get into. And it's no more fun for me than it is for you, but if a hot ass makes you think twice before putting yourself at risk again, then I'll do it to make sure you're around a while longer, understand me?" Inwardly Walter sighed; Mulder had worked his way into the AD's heart, and now Walter wasn't sure he could envision a life without him. "I want you around, Fox." He looked up at Alex, and pulled Mulder's room key out of his pocket. "Go wait in Mulder's room, I'll call you when we're done here. Do not try to come in until you're called."
Alex accepted the keys and the rocked back onto his heels before pulling himself to his feet. "Mulder... I'll be here when you're done, all right?" he said, kissing Mulder's face softly. Mulder nodded, and Alex rose and walked out the door, closing it behind him and leaving Mulder and Walter alone together.
Walter pulled Mulder closer to him. "Fox, listen to me. The only reason I do this is because I love you and I care about you. I want--need--you, and this is one way that I can make sure that you are around for as long as I am. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. I love you, Fox, no matter how you misbehave. And I'm not going to stop loving you because I am upset with you. It doesn't work that way," Skinner reassured his trembling Fox.
"I just hate disappointing you," Mulder responded, turning around to curl up in Skinner's lap. "I know I do bad stuff but it's not like anyone cared before, and now I just do what I gotta do to get stuff done... I just want you to be proud of me when I get the bad guy."
"Fox! That doesn't matter to me! What matters to me is that you come home to me at the end of the day! When you take stupid chances and end up shot or worse... that's what disappoints me!" He locked his arms tightly around Mulder's waist, rubbing his back as he felt Mulder crying. "Come on, Fox... let's get this over with."
Mulder sniffled as he moved out of Skinner's lap and miserably started to strip. "Walter... it's okay," he said softly. "You have to do it, cause you'd hate yourself if you didn't and I don't want you hating yourself cause of me."
Walter reached out and gripped Mulder's shoulder as he picked up the paddle, and sat on the foot of the bed. Mulder came to him naked, and lay himself across Skinner's lap. Walter silently stroked Fox's back and upturned backside, then rested his hand on the small of Mulder's back. "You got Alex involved in this case. You went on an unauthorized stakeout. You didn't drop this case when I told you to. And you took a civilian with you on a meet." He closed his eyes. "Four different transgressions, Fox."
Mulder gulped. "Four paddlings," he choked out, knowing he was supposed to answer. He started to tremble, and hated that he couldn't control it.
"I am going to give you ten strokes for each one," Walter gritted out carefully. He couldn't stand to do more, not with Fox's confessions ripping at his heart. "Then I'm taking you directly to the bathroom to soak." Mulder nodded in acknowledgement, and Skinner felt him tense, and then relax. He didn't say ready, he didn't say anything as the paddle came down across Mulder's bare cheeks.
Fox cried out, and then bit his tongue as the second and third blows came down. He knew that Walter was pacing himself, not putting his strength behind it, but he also knew why. By the time Skinner had gotten to ten, Mulder was crying softly and scrubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "That's the first ten," Skinner said, rubbing Mulder's back. Mulder took a deep breath as the paddle came down to start the second ten, and his ass felt like it was on fire. Walter kept up the same pressure behind each stroke and Fox wept openly by fifteen and was quietly yelling by twenty. There was a brief pause as Skinner massaged Mulder's tender skin, and the younger man yelped and cried as his skin was manipulated by Skinner's strong fingers. "You're halfway done, my Fox, I am proud of you for not running," Walter complimented, quieting him with pats and touches. "Just hold on for me, baby."
Mulder clenched his teeth as the third set of ten started, and he could barely hear the wall being pounded next door as he howled softly with pain as the leather-covered paddle kept punishing him. By thirty, his throat was hoarse, his face was stiff with tears and his ass was burning and throbbing. "I can't, Walter, please stop," Mulder begged, and Walter kissed the back of his neck.
"Only ten more, Fox, then I can stop," he said, fighting off his own guilty tears. He'd never spanked Fox this hard or long before, but Mulder had never broken so many rules before. "I will make them fast," he promised. "Just hold on to me."
Mulder wrapped his arms around Walter's waist, burying his face in the older man's stomach. Walter drew back his arm, shaking it slightly before raining the last ten blows rapidly on Mulder's bright red ass. He felt the young man screaming into his body and was glad of the muffling. The last ten he delivered were weak and fast, barely qualifying as taps but he couldn't bring himself to add more punishment after Mulder had begged him to stop.
The paddle clattered loudly to the floor as Walter enfolded Mulder in his arms and cradled him close to his chest, stripping off his chair to let Mulder feel his skin against his own. "Hush now, my Fox, it's over," Skinner whispered as Mulder sobbed. "It's done, babe, please, it's over."
"God it hurts," Mulder whimpered. "More than anything I've ever felt!" He rocked against Skinner's comforting presence. He finally could hear the noise in the room next to them, the thunderous pacing and pounding on the wall as Alex raged next door. "Don't let me go, please don't let me go," he begged, and Walter drew him closer. "Stay with me."
"I'm here," Skinner said, touched that Mulder would turn to him for comfort instead of Alex. Usually it was the other man that Fox turned to, but he needed Fox now. To reassure himself. "I'm not going anywhere." He carefully levered Mulder to his feet and helped him into the bathroom. He started the water running, and left Mulder leaning against the wall as the tub filled up and Walter rolled up his sleeves. "Here, let me help you in."
"no, it'll hurt," Mulder whimpered, shaking his head.
"You need to soak, Fox, it'll help cool you off and you won't be sick like last time." He brought several towels, and one of the pillows from the bed. "Just lie here, Fox, and you'll feel better." He gently steadied Mulder as the young man lowered himself into the cold water, whimpering as his weight settled on his sore ass. As soon as Mulder was settled, Walter situated the pillow on the edge to cushion Fox's head as he sat the towels on the back corner of the tub, in easy reach.
He started to get up, but Mulder wouldn't let go of his hand. "What is it, baby?" he asked, kneeling beside the tub again.
"Look, this isn't Alex's fault," Mulder said, clinging to his older lover. "Don't blame him, all right? I talked him into doing it, it's all my fault! He's only here because of me, because I got him involved. It's not like he chose to do it himself!"
"But he did choose to do it himself," Walter said softly. "He could have said no to you, Fox, and let you go yourself, but he didn't. He chose to go with you and get himself in trouble."
"He did not! He came because I told him to, right? I mean, I told him I needed him to help and he came cause of me! It's not his fault, you can't punish him for something I did. Please don't."
Walter shook his head. "I can't do that, Fox, you know that. I'm just going next door to get Alex," Skinner reassured him, running his fingers through Mulder's sweaty hair. "I'll be back after I've taken care of him. I'll help you clean up and then we'll get in bed together."
Mulder shook his head. "Don't hurt Alex, please, he's only here because of me."
Walter gently disengaged himself from Mulder's grasp. "I will be back," he said, kissing Mulder softly. "You will be able to see Alex in the mirror." Mulder closed his eyes as Walter kissed him, then shifted in the tub to see the mirror. Walter helped adjust the pillows, and then squeezed Fox's hand. "See? You'll be able to see."
"Okay," Mulder said softly, shifting in the tub and whimpering as his weight redistributed across his ass. "Don't spank Alex, please."
Walter said nothing as he stepped out of the bathroom and picked up the paddle, dropping it on the bed and knocking on the wall. "Alex! Get over here!"
Alex raged in Mulder's room as listened through the wall. His tread was heavy on the floor as he paced. "This is my fault!" he shouted to the empty room. "I should have been watching out for Fox! Now he's getting himself paddled forty fucking times! FORTY!" He punctuated the shout with a pound on the wall.
"I should have stopped him," he fumed. "I should have told him no, should have made him drop it! But no, not me! Instead I let him go! I let him walk into this!"
Alex continued his tirade as he paced. "Not only did I get Fox into this unbelievable situation, I got myself into it too! Fox is in there getting himself beaten to death and I'm going to be next! Dammit, if it were just me it would be all right, but Fox isn't made for shit like this! I should have done better!" He ranted and continued to thump on the wall, shouting through the walls at Walter as he heard Mulder plead with Walter for no more.
"Dammit, Walter, stop it! He just told you he couldn't take anymore!" He pounded on the wall again, but that didn't stop the last spanking from happening.
"Fox, I am so sorry," he said, finally resting his head against the wall, allowing himself for the first time to truly consider what would happen to himself next.
It didn't take Alex long to make it over to the next room, and he literally kicked open the door when Walter didn't open it fast enough. "What the hell were you thinking, Walter! Didn't you hear him yelling for you to stop!"
"What do you think you're doing?" Walter asked, amazed. "You think you are going to tell me what I can and can't do?"
"Yes, I am, when you show total and complete disregard for Fox that way, you're damn right I am!"
"Who are you to tell me that I'm showing disregard for him! He knew when he broke the rules what was going to happen!" Skinner kicked his shirt out of the way and sat down on the edge of the bed. His eyes flicked to Fox in the mirror, who was slightly cringing.
"I'm the man who loves him!" Alex shot back angrily. "I'm the one that should have been protecting him and not letting him get into this situation in the first place!"
"Stop it, both of you!" shouted Fox from the bathroom, struggling to get out of the tub, but failing. "Stop fighting over me!" He curled up in the corner of the tub, putting his cheek on the pillow. "I hate it when you fight because of me! It's my fault, not yours or Walter's!"
Walter got up immediately and went to kneel beside the tub. "I'm sorry, I know you do, Alex and I... we both love you, we just have different ideas sometimes on how to take care of you." He rubbed Mulder's shoulder. "We won't fight anymore, I promise."
Mulder nodded and smiled at Walter when he heard the promise. "Thank you," he said softly.
"You're welcome. Just relax, Mulder, it'll be okay." Walter ran his hand through Mulder's hair as he got to his feet, and walked back out, pulling the door partially shut to muffle the sounds but not block Mulder's view in the mirror. "There now, are you happy?" Skinner hissed at Alex. "I had him calmed down until you came in here blasting all over the place!" He pushed Alex back to the bed, and then sat down beside him, wrapping his arms around Krycek and stilling his struggles. "Alex, listen to me. Nowhere down the line is Fox Mulder your responsibility."
"But--"
"That's in the past," Skinner said firmly, realizing that Krycek was about to allude to his past Syndicate connections and his assignment to watch and protect Mulder. "Right now, there is only two people responsible for Fox; himself and me." He moved the both of them in bed until Skinner was sitting with his back against the headboard, cradling Krycek against him. "You're not responsible for the things that he does. The only responsibility you have is to yourself; being responsible for your behavior, for the choices you make. Fox makes his own choices and pays his own prices. I love you both, Alex, you and Fox both are very precious to me. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to either of you." He kept a tight hold on Alex, rubbing his back.
"You shouldn't have punished Fox so hard," Alex whispered, still unable to shake the feeling of responsibility. "It wasn't his fault; I didn't talk him out of it."
"Alex, I wouldn't blame you for that. I'm not going to; don't you blame yourself. Like I just said, Mulder makes his own decisions and pays his own prices. And you make yours. It's admirable that you love Fox so much and want to protect him, but you can't always do it. Not this time."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Alex said softly. "I just felt like Mulder needed my help."
"Never against me, Alex," Walter chided softly. "He might need your help other times, but never against me." He nodded slightly when Alex started to undress. "I won't hurt you either; it's not what I'm here for."
Alex nodded in acknowledgement as Skinner picked the paddle up off the floor and moved back to stretch his legs out. He flicked his eyes to the mirror, and smiled at the reflection of Fox watching them, and was rewarded with a flicker of a smile across Fox's face as well. *I love you, Fox Mulder,* Skinner thought with a sigh. As Alex draped himself across his legs, Skinner had another thought. *I love you too, Alex Krycek.*
"All right," Walter said quietly. "You got involved in an unauthorized undercover operation. You lied to me on the phone when I called you from the plane and asked what you were doing there. And then you impersonated Mulder and called in Federal agents using authority that didn't even belong to you."
"And I yelled at you just now," added Alex softly.
"No, as I said before I won't blame you for that. You love Mulder and you were trying to look out for his interests. I won't punish you for loving him."
Alex nodded. "Three then. I'm ready."
"Ten each," Skinner said, and waited for Alex to relax. As soon as he did, Skinner brought the paddle down on Alex's upturned bottom. The paddle echoed with a load thwap as the young man stoically accepted the first ten blows without tears until he looked into the mirror.
"THIS IS MY FAULT!" Fox yelled out from the bathroom. "STOP IT!" He was curled in the corner of the tub again, with the pillow over his head. The sight of Fox's fears brought the tears to Alex's eyes doubled with the guilt of putting Fox in this predicament to start with.
Walter was surprised to see Alex's tears; then when he caught him looking in the mirror he understood why. He paused to rub Alex's red bottom, kneading it gently. "That was the first ten; you're almost halfway there," Walter encouraged, and Alex bit his lip, nodding to start the next paddlings. Walter watched in the mirror as Fox flinched with each resounding echo in the small room, and he wished that he had done Alex first, and then saved Fox for last. By the time Walter was finished with the second ten, Alex's entire ass was red and throbbing, and his cries had switched to whimpers buried in Walter's leg. "Only one more set to go," Walter said, stroking Alex's neck as he let the young man catch his breath. "Are you all right?"
Alex nodded and Walter resumed the last set of ten strokes. Alex's entire body flinched with each stroke and his whimpers became quiet screams as Fox piled the towels on top of the pillows in an effort to block out the sounds.
Walter drew Alex into his arms, cradling and comforting him as he cried. He acknowledged Fox's reflection in the mirror, but Alex needed him right now. Walter said nothing as he let Alex curl up around him and cry. "You're okay now," Walter finally whispered as his body shook with hiccups. "It's over now, you did great. Lay here, lay on your stomach; I'm going to get Mulder out of the water and move you in to soak."
Alex nodded silently as Walter turned his face up. "I love you, Alex, never forget that." He leaned down and kissed his lover softly as he slid off the bed and went into the bathroom. "Fox," Walter said quietly, kneeling by the tub once more. "Fox, baby, it's time to get out; Alex needs the tub." He reached up and unwound the towels from around his head, and peeled the tear-soaked pillowcase off Fox's cheeks. "Hey... time to get out."
"Is it over?"
"Yes, it's over," Walter said gently, getting a fresh towel to dry Mulder off with. Another towel appeared over his shoulder and Walter half-turned to see Alex standing there, pain etched on his face but determined to help care for Mulder. "See, Alex is here to help us," he said, knowing it was useless to argue.
Fox looked from Alex to Walter and back, and held out his arms to Alex. Alex went to him immediately, pulling him carefully to his feet as Walter wrapped the towel around Fox's waist. Fox flinched, but Alex soothed him best he could until Skinner had Mulder dry and wrapped in a blanket. "See now, we're both okay," Alex offered as a final reassurance. He looked down to see the tub refilling with cold water for his own soak and appreciated Walter's thoughtfulness. "It's my turn to kick back and relax in that tub," he said, trying to hide his pain from Fox. "Go on with Walter, he needs you." Fox surprised Alex by almost crushing him in a hug. "Come on, now, what's all this?"
"I love you Alex, I am so sorry I caused you all this."
"I love you too, Fox." Alex regretfully let Walter take Fox out of his arms as he lowered himself into the tub.
"Go and lay down, wait for me," Skinner said softly as he turned back to help Alex. But by the time he turned around, Alex was already situated in the tub. "Alex--"
"I know, but you need to be with him more than me right now," Alex said softly.
Walter nodded in confirmation as he didn't move. "He'll need to rest soon, when he does then I'll be back in here with you." But by the time he got back to the bed, Fox was already asleep on his stomach, curled around a pillow. He looked back into the bedroom, and Alex's eyes were closed, his body swaying gently in the tub. "I'll be damned," he said softly, leaning back against the headboard, moving Fox's head into his lap.
"Dammit, Blair, that's eight times that address has come up, each time in conjunction with a different name on our list!"
Jim was getting frustrated, and the Guide could feel it. He moved behind Jim, hands going to the large knot between his shoulders. "Calm down, Jim, getting frustrated isn't going to help here."
Jim threw the pen he was writing with down, taking small pleasure in the petulant gesture. "Frustrated isn't the word! In Alex's statement there is more than enough information to plow Bender six feet under and put Zeller right there with him, but we can't do it until we find out what that address is! Is it code, is it a meeting place, or what!"
"Relax... breathing... mantra..." Blair reminded. "Clear your mind and just think." His hands kneaded the hard knot in the back of Jim's neck. "Man, this has got you worked up!"
"I should be able to figure this out, man. I know there's a reason why that address keeps coming up, Alex wouldn't have put it in there if Bender and Zeller didn't keep bringing it up."
"Why don't you call Alex and ask him?"
"Alex is going to be busy for the next hour or so," Jim said pointedly. "In case you didn't notice, Skinner was furious with them. Unlike you, I have no death wish. I know better than to interrupt."
"Simon's running the address, right?" Jim nodded. "Then all we got to do is put together the rest of the case, and when Simon gets back to us with the address, then we'll have something to go on and we can wrap this thing up."
Jim leaned back into Blair's massaging hands for a few moments and then sighed heavily. "I'm going to go look for Simon, see if I can help rush this stuff along."
Blair sighed too. "All right, I'll wait here for you. Keep going through your notes and see if I can find anything."
"If you do find something, put it to the side and keep going, I'll wanna see it when I get back."
"Yes, sir," Blair said, throwing a salute to Jim as Jim left the room.
About a half-hour later, Blair looked up at a knock on the door. "Come in."
Simon poked his head in. "Where's Jim?"
"Uh, I don't know, he said something about going out to find you." He put his glasses down as he looked at Simon. "Haven't seen him in ... man, the last half hour."
"That's odd; I haven't seen him either and I've been in my office." He handed Blair a sheet of paper. "Here's the address he wanted me to run down; it ended up being an empty warehouse on 33rd."
"33rd?" Blair questioned, getting to his feet and grabbing his jacket. "Damn, I bet Jim went and checked the address out!"
Simon sighed. "You're probably right. Come on, let's go."
Jim looked down at the address on the sheet of paper, and then at his watch. Alex and Mulder would still be tied up with Skinner, and he was *not* going to get Blair involved this time. Sitting the paper on the seat of his truck, he put the vehicle in gear and pulled into traffic, making his way to 33rd and Lexington.
When he got there, Jim looked around. Across the street was a large parking garage, and Jim drove in, paying for his ticket and parking in the first available space. Then closing his eyes, he centered his hearing on the building across the street. Two voices; one he recognized from surveillance tapes as Jack Bender; the second from the Iceman case as Klaus Zeller.
"Where is Alex?" Zeller asked.
"Forget Alex; he's been picked up by the cops and probably made all of us--he was planted in the first place. Seems he was FBI for a while before disappearing off the face of the earth and turning up in our operation."
*Shit, they made him!* Jim grabbed up his cell phone and his wallet, still listening with one ear as he dug through his wallet for Alex's phone number. He dialed fast.
Alex was still dozing in the tub, the water having long ago turned lukewarm. He was awakened by the shrill tweeting of his phone ringing. He winced as he got out of the tub, but made it to the pile of his clothes in four steps and picked up the phone. "Krycek."
"Alex, it's Jim. You still at the hotel?"
"Yeah, Jim, what's up?" Alex was concerned; Jim sounded worried.
"I just followed up on the address in your statement; it's a warehouse on 33rd and Lexington and Bender just nailed you for being FBI."
"Shit, you mean he made me?"
"Yeah, somebody in the operation recognized you and made you to Bender, and he just blew your cover to Zeller."
"Fuck. Look, give me the address again and I'll get down there. You got backup?"
"Alex, you can't show up here a made man!" Jim argued. "You'll be shot first and questioned later, if there is a later."
"Aha, the redirect dodge. I am assuming you don't have backup and nobody at the station knows where you are. I'm calling Sandburg--"
"Don't! It's too dangerous and I don't want him involved in this!"
"I'm calling Sandburg," Alex repeated firmly, "and then I'm coming down there to back your stubborn ass up."
"Don't call Blair!" was Jim's final admonition as he hung up.
Alex sighed and pulled himself out of the tub. He went to the bed, and Walter had wakened as well and was looking at him. "That was Jim," Alex explained quietly, reaching for his clothes. "He needs my help; Bender made me and he's down there alone trying to investigate."
"Does his captain know?"
"I doubt it; he avoided my question and had a fit when I told him I was calling Sandburg." He continued to get dressed under Walter's watchful eyes, wincing as he pulled up briefs and jeans. "He needs backup, Walter, and he called me. He trusted me." He finally looked over at his lover, who gently cradled Fox. "Please, don't ask me to stay."
"Make the call to Sandburg here, and give me where you're going; Fox and I will follow you in about half an hour."
"Thanks, Walter." Alex sat on the bed, then immediately rolled onto his stomach as he went through his pocket and pulled out the card with Jim's number printed on the front and Blair's written on the back. He dialed Blair's phone.
As soon as Blair's cell phone rang, Simon looked over at him. "If that's Ellison, I want to talk to him."
"Yes, sir." He gulped as he answered his phone. "Hello?"
"Blair, it's Alex, I know where Jim is."
"Hi, Mom." Blair prayed that Alex would pick up on the hint.
"You're not alone, are you?"
"Nope, not at all, Ma."
"You know where Jim is?"
"I think so, yeah. Found it in those papers you sent me."
"Bingo. That warehouse address. Jim just called me from there, said that Bender and his crew made me. I told him I was calling you and that I was going down there to back him up."
"Man, Jim will hate to hear that. I know he was looking forward to your next visit; maybe Simon and I can meet him there instead."
"Shit. You and the captain are already on the way there?" Alex shook his head.
"Yep, that's exactly it," Blair said with a smile to Simon. "Been about fifteen, twenty years since I saw Joseph."
Alex pondered that. "You're about fifteen or twenty minutes away from the warehouse? That doesn't give me much time."
"You'll make it, Ma, I know you will. Ma, look, I gotta go, me and Simon are working right now, I'll call you later, okay?"
"I got the message, I'll see you there." Alex looked at Walter as he hung up. "Blair and Simon are already on their way; they're about twenty minutes away from the warehouse. I'm ten if I hurry."
"Go on, they'll back you up, Fox and I will still be there shortly." Walter smiled. "Be careful, Alex."
"I will." He gave Walter the card with Jim and Blair's phone numbers on it, and then quickly jotted down the address of the warehouse. "There you go. I will be all right. Damn... my car's still at the club. Fox picked me up and then you brought me here."
"Take Mulder's rental," Walter said. "Keys should be in his jacket pocket."
Krycek rifled and came up with the keys. "Thanks again." He disappeared out the door, and down the elevator to the car.
Blair turned off the phone and looked over at Simon. "I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure, but that wasn't Naomi. That was Alex; Jim called him from the warehouse. I... pretended it was Mom until I knew why Alex was calling and where Jim was."
Simon sighed. He really should be angry with Blair for trying to fool him but he had larger fish to fry. Namely, Jim's ass. "It's okay. I am more concerned with Jim right now. Why didn't he call you?"
"I guess he didn't want me involved and in trouble again."
"He's got enough of it to worry about for himself," Simon acknowledged. "At least he called someone. Is he going?"
"Yeah, Alex says he's going to back Jim up, and I bet Skinner and Mulder are going to be right behind him."
"Great, it'll be a party," Simon said with a long-suffering sigh.
Jim was standing outside his truck as Alex pulled into the parking garage. "Thanks for coming," he greeted the other man as he parked beside Jim.
"You been here the whole time?" Jim nodded. "How the hell could you hear them?" Alex demanded.
"Good ears," Jim countered with a grin. "Come on; we've got to be careful. Bender and Zeller both know me; I've dealt with Zeller before and I've been in Jack Bender's face so many times he probably dreams
about me," he continued as he led Alex across the street. Then he held out his arm as he heard guns. "Wait a second."
"What is it?"
"Sssh," Jim shushed.
"All right," Zeller said. "The cops have everyone on this list under suspicion; the target's not on it."
A rustle of paper and then Bender's voice. "Schiavelli's never gonna know what hit him. You know what to do, right?"
"I do. Vincent Schiavelli, shot with a Glock nine mil and bottle silencer with the special Teflon coated bullets."
As soon as Jim heard the name, he turned to Alex. "Call Blair and tell him to tell Simon the target is Vincent Schiavelli and to get a unit over to his house immediately and put him in protective custody. Call Mulder next and see if the FBI has any anti-Teflon armor or vests, and get one for Schiavelli."
"Jim?"
"Don't argue with me, just make the call!" He snuck through the back door as he left Alex to make the call.
Alex hit redial on his cell phone, and dialed Blair again. "Blair, no mother shit this time. Tell Simon that Jim knows who the target is."
"Here, you tell him," Blair said, passing the phone to Simon. "It's Alex, he's got more information."
"Banks."
"Captain, Jim asked me to tell you he knows who Zeller's target is, a guy named Vincent Schiavelli. Zeller's got the Teflon bullets, Captain, we got nothing to counteract that."
"All right, thanks. Get in there, back Jim up. We'll park in the garage and wait for your AD and Mulder to get here, and I'll call in backup in the meantime to surround the place."
"All right that would be... shit, I think Jim just got shot!" Alex hung up the phone and ran to the door, peering in. Sure enough, Zeller had a rifle trained on Jim and Bender held a gun that still smoked, and Jim was gripping his upper arm.
"Shot!" Simon yelled into the dead phone, but it was no use. Alex had already hung up and Blair was yelling.
"Shot, Simon, what do you mean, shot?"
"All he said was that he thought Jim just got shot!" He tossed the cell phone back to Blair and picked up his radio. "This is Captain Simon Banks, I need to send a unit to Vincent Schiavelli's house, as soon as possible; pull his address out of the computer. Pull all our stakeout units and direct them to 4112 33rd and Lexington. Get paramedics there too, we have a possible officer down call."
"God, this is turning into a nightmare!" Blair shouted. "We can't wait, we got to go in and get Jim out now!"
"Blair, we don't even know what the situation is yet. We're almost there; we'll scope out the situation when we get there and see what we can do."
Jim crept quietly through the ventilation duct as he looked down. Bender and Zeller were in the room beside him, and they were still discussing the fine details of Schiavelli's assassination. He dropped lightly to the floor, and was actually shocked to hear a gun firing through the flimsy wall that separated the two rooms. He ducked, but not quickly enough, and the bullet ripped into his upper arm.
"All right, Detective, come out please," called Zeller. "You do not want to be shot again."
Jim wondered how they'd seen him and then looked up; half the upper wall was missing at the corner and he hadn't realized when he dropped. "All right, I'm coming!" he shouted. He came around the wall with his good hand raised and blood pouring down his arm. At that moment, Alex walked in with a smile.
"Mr. Bender, Mr. Zeller... what's going on?"
Bender swung his gun around to Alex. "You! Traitor!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Alex protested, moving over to stand between Zeller and Jim, blocking the line of fire.
"This!" Bender dug through some papers and came up with a copy of Krycek's old FBI credentials, and threw them at Alex's feet. "You were planted!"
Before Alex could say anything, another blur pelted into the room, and landed beside Jim. "Blair?" demanded the Sentinel, struggling to his feet.
"Don't move!" Walter's voice rang out clearly as Mulder and Simon came in behind him. "You're covered; drop your weapons and nobody else needs to get hurt."
Bender and Zeller had the same idea, and suddenly guns were pointed at Alex and Blair. "No, gentlemen, you are covered. Drop your guns and nobody else will get shot."
Ignoring the pain in his arm from the gunshot, Jim tackled Bender as he turned the gun towards Blair. He was lucky that Bender had thought him out of the game, because if he'd been seen, Blair would have been killed. As it was, Jim's left shoulder connected with Bender's kidneys and he dropped, the gun hitting the ground and Jim kicked it out of the way. Bender's flailing legs kicked Jim's out as well, and Jim landed in a heap beside him. Soon there was nothing but a flurry of fists as Jim and Bender swung at each other.
Alex charged Zeller as he swung the rifle around to point at Jim, but as he charged, the rifle went off, cutting through the flesh of his upper arm and embedding in the concrete wall on the far side of the warehouse. He tackled Zeller, and the assassin grabbed for the fresh bullet wound. Alex screamed in agony as he pressed it down, and rolled off, cradling his arm as Walter's gun sounded and took Zeller down with a shot to the leg.
In the fight, Jim reveled. His instincts let go and suddenly he found joy in the dull meaty thuds of fists to flesh, the acrid metallic scent of freshly-spilt blood that grew in his nostrils, and the feeling inside him that grew as he defeated his enemy. He swung, over and over again, left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand. Each swing was rewarded with a thud on flesh and a cry from his victim. The few weak blows that Bender had been able to get in on Jim soon stopped, but the Sentinel didn't acknowledge it, simply continued the pounding.
"Jim, stop!" Blair's arms came around his, trying to pin them to his sides. "Stop it, now, it's over, he's done for!"
Simon came over and added his arms to Blair's until Jim's eyes cleared and he leaned back, panting. Just as Fox was putting the cuffs on Zeller and Walter was cuffing Bender, the room filled with cops and suits as the paramedics pushed their way in. "We're gonna need more ambulances," one said, and the other went out to call more as the first knelt by Jim. "You're lucky," she said, after examining the wound. "It went clear through. We'll bandage you up and send you home once we get you to the hospital."
"Go check Alex," was all Jim gritted out. Simon was still holding on to his waist and Blair was all but sitting in his lap. He looked over at Alex, who was being supported by Fox and watched over by Walter.
"You'll be fine too," the medic reassured Alex as he rested against Fox. "Yours is a little more damaging; they may keep you overnight but you should be fine, just like your friend." She smiled. "You'll have to share an ambulance, that okay with you?"
"No problem with me... okay with you, Jim?" He shook his head at Mulder as Jim raised his hand in a thumbs up. "I swear, Fox... there's something about him... he heard what Zeller and Bender said about me from across the street, he heard when they ID'd Schiavelli, and he heard the guns going off cause I saw him drop a second before the bullets hit... no way good ears can do all that."
"We'll worry about it later; right now we got to get you fixed up," Mulder said firmly. He slipped Alex's uninjured arm around his neck while Walter took the injured one. "We'll get you out to the ambulance."
Simon and Blair were doing something similar for Jim, but Simon was supporting Jim's good arm while Blair was wrapping his arms around Jim's waist, using his shoulder as a prop for Jim's injured arm. "When I get you home, Jim, I'm going to paddle your ass properly for running out like that," Simon promised.
"C'mon, you've got to let me recover from this afternoon!"
"Simon, come on, he just got shot, you can hold it, can't you, until he gets better?" Blair's eyes were pleading with Simon for leniency.
"All right, but only until that shoulder's healed," Simon agreed. "But after that, you're getting your butt blistered, young man."
Jim looked chastened as he got into the ambulance beside Alex, and Blair walked over to Fox. "You need a ride to the hospital? The big guys can stay here and we can meet them when they get things taken care of."
"Let me ask Walter first; he hates it when I run off without telling him," Mulder said with a grin.
"I'll tell Simon," and both young men approached their older lovers, and then came back.
"He said okay," they chorused, and then started laughing as they headed off.
"Fox!" called out Walter. "You'll have to get your keys from Alex!" he reminded.
"Oh yeah; wait here." He ran and got the keys from Alex, and stole a quick kiss as he went back to Blair and jogged alongside the young man to their car.
Simon and Walter stood side by side, watching their brats prance off to the car and their sensible ones ride off in the ambulance. Simon spoke first. "You want to share a ride to the hospital? If Fox takes his car, Blair's gonna need a ride home and I can drive us both."
Walter nodded; it sounded logical to him. "Your car got a radar?" he asked idly, knowing Mulder would more than likely be speeding. "Wouldn't hurt for Mulder to get his ass yanked."
Simon laughed softly. "I don't have one in the car, but if you really want him to get a ticket, I can call in one of our cruisers and make it happen."
Skinner shook his head negatively. "Nah, it was just a thought. I keep warning him about speeding but he never listens; he loves the rush it gives him."
"Jim's like that," Simon said, leading the way to his car. "Pedal to the metal and damn the torpedoes. Our station insurance policy refuses to cover him; he's wrecked about three cars in the last three years, and this '69 truck is the latest future addition to the local junkyard."
Walter had to give a laugh. "Fox does fine with cars, it's guns he has a problem with. Every other case, I'm reassigning him a gun. Why? He loses it, it gets taken, destroyed, whatever. It's terrible."
"You too?" Simon laughed as he unlocked the doors and let Walter into the front seat. "Jim's got a tendency to misplace his gun. You'd think somewhere down the line they'd teach them how to hang onto them."
"You think they actually paid attention in those classes?" Walter scoffed. "They learned just enough of the regulations to know which ones they could break and screw off and the rest of them they ignore."
"Amen to that. Sure you haven't been working with Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg?"
"Positive; you haven't borrowed Alex or Mulder before have you?"
"No, sir."
Simon drove quietly for a few moments, trying to think of the best way to broach the subject, and finally decided to gently dive in. "Blair tells me that you and Alex and Fox..."
"I get the feeling it's you and Jim and Blair," countered Walter with a raised eyebrow.
"See these gray hairs?" Simon answered, pointing to his temple.
"Note my entire lack thereof," Walter admitted with a grin. "It's coming, Captain Banks."
"Call me Simon, please."
"Walter, then."
"You got it. And yeah, I know it's coming, been noticing a few more strands here and there in the old hairbrush in the mornings."
"It's a good thing we're not vain about it."
"Yeah, just one more thing to give the guys credit for. Mine's giving me gray and making it fall out, yours have already driven you to tearing yours out." Simon smiled to soften the potentially offensive comment, but Walter just laughed.
"Joke about it if you will, but I bet you you'll find yourself in the same hairless boat as me," Walter bragged.
"At the rate these two are going, it will probably be sooner than later," Simon agreed ruefully, pulling into his parking space. "Come on, I'll get you back to see your kid."
"You might want to call the bullet back," he said dryly, pointing to Blair who was rocketing in ahead of them.
"SANDBURG!" Simon bellowed, and Blair skidded to a halt.
Fox unlocked the car and Blair piled into the car beside him. "Come on, we've got to see if we can get there with the ambulance, that way they'll let us back with them, otherwise we got to wait on Simon to bully his way past Nurse Ratchet."
"Man, I am going to kick Alex's ass; I told him not to have fun without me and Walter said he left to back Jim up! Jim called Alex, of all people!" fumed Fox.
"He probably didn't want to get me in trouble or you; he didn't want to get into your thing with Walter and he probably thought that Alex would be more able to back him up," Blair said from the passenger side.
"All right, that means you get to kick Jim's ass for not calling you and I get to kick Alex's for him not telling me and going out to get himself shot!" Fox's hand thumped angrily on the dash as he drove.
"Fox, chill out, man. You know Alex didn't intend to get shot any more than Jim did! It's not like he went, hmm... I think I'm going to get shot today because it'll be a fun experience!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you're right. But he called, you, and he told Walter, why couldn't he have told me!"
"Probably for the same reason Jim didn't call me and tell me himself; he loves you and wanted to keep you safe and out of trouble."
"Well, I don't need any help staying out of trouble!" Fox flared. "Man, Blair, what's going to happen if he's not all right?"
"Alex is going to be fine, just like Jim. They both got shot but you heard the paramedics, they're going to stitch them up and let them go. They wouldn't be letting them go if they weren't okay."
"They said they might have to keep Alex overnight!"
"Look, those Teflon bullets are bad news; they plowed through two friends of mine on one shot before embedding in a wall and almost shooting Jim! The good thing is, Alex was shot in the shoulder and they said it was clean so they'll bandage him up, clean it out, pack it, and send him on his merry way!" He reached out and put his hand on Fox's shoulder. "Calm down, man. He's gonna be okay."
Mulder sighed. "All right, if you say so."
"I do. I've dealt with this hospital as well as this shooter before, and Alex is in the best possible hands, as is Jim." He took a deep breath, trying to divert Mulder from Krycek. "So what, do you come chase serial psychotic assassins often?"
Mulder shook his head. "Actually no, I'm surprised I was pulled out of the basement for this one," he commented as he drove.
"The basement?"
"Yeah, the basement," Mulder explained. "That's where my office is, the X-Files."
"X-Files? Sounds kinky!" Blair said with a grin.
"No, no, not kinky, that would be the XXX-Files," he shot back, grinning at his friend. "The X-Files are supernatural files."
"Supernatural? Like psychics?"
"Yeah, like psychics. Also UFOs, alien abductions, mutants, the Bermuda Triangle, and oh yeah--Bigfoot."
"Wow," was all that Blair could say. "You got to have people falling over themselves to help you out there!"
Mulder snickered. "Whatever you're smoking, will you share it? Get real, Blair, nobody wants to have anything to do with the X-Files. I mean, would you want to admit to the existence of a governmental conspiracy with extra-terrestrials who want to enslave the human race while trying to double-cross them with firebrand-wielding freedom fighters all after your little sister was abducted when you were thirteen? You don't have to answer that."
"Oh, man." Blair could NOT believe everything that Fox had just laid on him. "Man, Fox, you have got to have the world's most INTERESTING job!"
"Interesting... that's one word for it." Mulder had followed the road signs, and finally pulled into the hospital parking lot, with a few pointers from Blair.
"Yeah, park there in the police parking, and then put the FBI thing on the dash--yeah, that's it, that and the plates should make 'em think twice before towing you. That's Simon's spot," he said, pointing at a spot two up from theirs. "Come on, there's the ambulance!"
Blair and Fox both raced out towards the ambulance, Fox heading for the vehicle while Blair bolted for the desk to head off any problems. He didn't see Simon's car pull in beside Fox's, nor did he hear the two men walking through the door; all he heard was Simon's voice bellowing. "SANDBURG!"
Jim leaned against the side of the ambulance, watching as Alex was carefully loaded in, then as Fox bolted for the keys and gave his lover a fast kiss. "You'll be okay, Alex, don't worry. It looks worse than it is."
Alex looked down at his shoulder. "Yeah, not the first time I been shot but definitely the most... ah... painful," he said, shifting his arm to a slightly more comfortable position. "They gave me a topical something or other to dull it till they get us there and can get me completely fixed up," he said. "Still hurts though." He gave Jim a good look up and down, seeing not the handsome man but more of himself inside. "I'm sorry we didn't get to know each other like Fox and Blair did," he said softly.
"I wouldn't say that's the case," Jim replied as the ambulance jerked into motion. He reached out and steadied Alex as they initially jolted but soon the ride smoothed out and he let go of the injured man's arm. "I kinda think we know each other fairly well." Jim raised a questioning eyebrow. "I thought that when I saw you at the station going to bat for Mulder. Wondered if that's what I looked like going to bat for Blair."
Alex's own eyebrow raised in response. "I bet it is; it's a well known fact that us responsible guys turn into pit bulls where the little guys are concerned."
Jim smiled, relieved. "It's a nice change, having someone who's not going to disappear on me at a moment's notice."
"Blair does that too, huh?" Alex asked, sympathetically. "I can't tell you the times Mulder's disappeared to Antarctica or the North Pole or the Bermuda Triangle!"
"Bermuda... Triangle?"
"Don't ask," Alex advised. "You really, really don't want to know. You get him started on it and he will take off and chat off your ear." Alex sighed. "Suffice it to say that he's got a unique job that usually entails chasing creatures OTHER than your normal assassin like Zeller and this was a refreshing change."
"You are going to explain that, right?" Jim asked. "The Bermuda Triangle thing?"
"Mulder took a little boat out looking for the Queen Anne and he got caught in a Devil's Triangle, which is the same type phenomenon as the Bermuda Triangle and he was actually on the ship and taking part in the historical events on the ship as Scully and a group of his friends were searching the rusted hulk. They found him floating in the water right outside the triangle coordinates and got him back to the hospital. Needless to say, Walter was less than pleased."
"I just bet." Privately Jim figured that Alex was getting a little confused on the details because of the pain and the anesthetic, but said nothing. "It must be fun tagging along with him."
"Yeah, when he bothers to let us know where he's going." Alex grimaced as they ran over a particularly large bump, and Jim reached out to steady him again. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. Tell me something, Alex, how did you get involved in this mess?"
He rolled his eyes at Jim. "How do you think? A certain small forest creature who shall remain nameless looked at me with a nice set of big hazel sad puppy eyes and said *Alex, please, I need your help to get this guy Bender.* And I of course agreed, and got shipped out."
Jim offered a half smile as they pulled into the hospital parking lot. "You know, a warm soak instead of a cold soak is really good at easing the stiffness," he said as they waited for the doors to be opened. The paramedics helped them out, and Jim turned to see Fox heading towards them and Blair pelting for the door. "Alex, your small forest creature is bounding this way," he said teasingly. Then he heard another, more familiar sound.
"SANDBURG!"
It was almost comical the way Blair froze in his tracks when Simon bellowed his name. Fox had almost reached Krycek and Jim when Simon bellowed, and he froze as well, responding to the bellow though it was not his name. Jim and Krycek traded a long stare and then both laughed as they watched Fox look back at Walter, who nodded and Fox continued over to the ambulance while Simon stalked in to join Blair and Walter followed the captain.
"Alex!" Mulder slipped his arm around Krycek's waist and held tight. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Alex said, wincing slightly as his arm was jostled by his enthusiastic partner. He tossed a pleading look to Jim.
"Yeah, Alex was just telling me how good he felt, how sure he was they were going to let him out with just a few stitches and some medication," Jim said. Over Mulder's head, Jim caught Krycek's eye. *Cover me with Blair too,* he whispered, and Alex nodded.
"Really? Great, come on, let's get inside. Blair said he's holding off Nurse Ratchet."
The paramedics had been wheeling two wheelchairs over to their patients, and yet when they heard the Nurse Ratchet comment, the man doubled over with laughter as the woman tried to fight it and ended up smiling widely. "Come on, fellas, into the wheelchairs, nice and easy."
"I can walk," protested Jim and Alex, almost at the same time.
"They'll take the chairs," Fox said, staring both big guys down.
Jim stifled a snicker. Nurse Ratchet indeed. The woman was a horrendously sour old biddy, and no matter how many times Jim and Blair came in together, she gave them hassles every time. "Have your federal badge out," Jim suggested as the paramedic helped him settle into the chair. "Feds back her off every time."
"Perfect," Mulder said, digging out his badge and ID card, handing them to Alex as he secured Alex in his chair. Blair, Simon, and Walter were waiting for them when they came in through the ambulatory exit, and Walter got on Alex's other side while Blair moved to push Jim's wheelchair, relieving the medic. "Everybody ready? Pull out the metal," he said, and everyone that carried a badge, ID, or credentials pulled them out and brandished them at the aforementioned Nurse Ratchet, who was overwhelmed by the brass and let the group pass without incident.
Blair cheered. "YES! We did it! We blinded her! We made it!"
Simon threw Blair a definite "shut up" stare, and Blair closed his mouth, instead concentrating on helping Jim into the first cubicle on the left and Walter and Fox moved Alex into the cubicle on the right.
Walter withdrew, leaving Mulder and Alex together as Simon met him in the hall with a finger over his lips. "Watch and see if they're the same," Simon whispered, as he pulled the curtain on Jim and Blair.
Blair had pulled up a chair and was sitting beside Jim, holding his good hand and using the other to stroke Jim's hair. Walter took a quick peek in at his two charges, and Mulder was sitting on the bed beside Alex, holding his hand and Alex's head resting in Mulder's lap. Both Mulder and Blair were speaking softly to their big guys, and the big guys were calming down and relaxing. "Amazing," Walter said quietly as Simon dropped the curtain. "Now I see why they got along so well." He paused a beat. "Us too."
Simon nodded. "Yeah, I knew from the first time I saw you stare down Mulder that we were gonna be great friends." Walter chuckled softly, and Simon continued. "It was a pleasure working with you."
"Indeed it was," echoed Walter.
"Don't take it the wrong way, but my two do NOT need to be in the same playpen as yours."
"Amen to that," Walter agreed. "Fox on his own is a handful; he does not need any help."
"Nor does Jim need any encouragement in the protect and serve area," Simon continued. "Blair's a big enough brat on his own."
"Alex is a bear where Fox is concerned." Walter paused, and then spoke again. "Oscar Wilde once said that sometimes it takes courage to give in to temptation. ... I think I'm gonna work on getting my courage up."
Simon and Walter shared a laugh at that, then Simon responded. "I just wish they had a little less courage."
"I know the feeling," Walter said with a look towards Fox and Alex.
"I've got a cabin in Silver Springs," Simon offered. "Fishing, forest, hiking, a lake, and quiet."
"Vacation in a couple months," Walter said after a pause. "We've got it coming."
"What a coincidence," Simon said after a few beats. "Jim and Blair and I have some vacation time that we need to take in a couple of months."
Walter didn't quite smile. "I'll call you with the date."
"I'll stock the cabin and make sure there are fresh sheets. Cabin has two bedrooms, one on either end."
"I look forward to it. Just don't tell them, they'll drive us nuts."
Simon did smile at that. "I won't tell if you won't."
Walter finally smiled and offered a hand to Simon. "Captain... it is a pleasure."
Simon warmly shook the offered hand. "Very much so. Got time for dinner? We can send the kids out to play and compare notes," he offered.
"That sounds like a great idea; we'll stop by our hotel and shower to give you guys enough time to get Jim back home," Walter suggested.
"See you soon, I hope," Simon said in agreement.