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Title: Croissant crazy –
Part Four In the corridor, Alex
stabbed at the elevator button, cursing softly in Russian as it counted the
floors one at a time. Fox walked out of the apartment and saw Alex
standing in front of the elevator. ‘Breakfast’s getting cold.’ Alex turned slowly. ‘I don’t
blame you for not trusting me.’ Fox laughed mirthlessly. ‘I
should break your neck.’ Alex scoffed. ‘Try.’ Even
hungry and tired Alex was more than a match for Fox and he blocked Fox’s
half-hearted lunge with ease, slamming Fox against the elevator doors. Fox
pushed back and both men stumbled. Moments later, they were both rolling on the
floor, yelling, struggling. Hearing the noise outside,
Walter opened the apartment door, looking towards the elevator. With a few
swift strides he was beside the two younger men, and grabbed Alex’s jacket
collar at the same time as hauling Fox to his feet by his t-shirt. ‘STOP IT!!
BOTH OF YOU!! QUIET!!’ Lowering his voice to an angry hiss, Walter snapped:
‘It’s Sunday morning. Do you want to wake the entire building?’ Alex sagged in Walter’s
grip, suddenly scared of the bigger man’s reaction to his behavior. What in the Hell possessed you? You could have had… Alex shook his head several times. ‘Shut up!’ Walter’s eyes widened.
‘What?!’ Ducking his head, Alex shook
his head. ‘Nothing.’ Shaking his head, Walter
dragged the two men back into his apartment. ******************* ‘Who were you talking to
Alex? It wasn’t me.’ Walter said, releasing Alex onto the couch, continuing on
to the armchair, dumping Fox there, turning back to Alex. ‘No-one.’ Alex flushed,
squirming uncomfortably. ‘Alex!’ Walter chided
gently. Alex glanced momentarily at
Fox then back to Skinner. ‘Sometimes…I hear…voices.’ Ignoring Mulder’s muffled
laugh, Walter said evenly: ‘It’s your conscience Alex.’ Alex shook his head. ‘Nah, I
don’t have one of those.’ Frowning Walter said gently:
‘Yes you do Alex. It just never got much of a hearing.’ Alex flushed, dropped his
head, his hand balling into a fist. Walter relented, getting up,
putting a large hand on Alex’s prominent collar bone. ‘It’s okay Alex. Why
don’t you watch TV with Fox?’ Reluctantly, Alex turned his
attention to the screen. Slowly, Walter walked into
the kitchen, pulling a beer from the cool interior. He smiled as his own
internal voice mocked: You’re too old for
this Wisk. Forget it. Two kids. Who hate each other. No way. Walter reached under the
counter, flicked the lid off on the bottle opener and took a deep gulp of the
cool liquid. His head up, he looked up at the clock. 11.45. Too early to be
drinking. He sighed, put down the beer and walked back into the living room. ‘NOOOOOO!!!’ Walter moved quickly,
steeling himself to break up another fight. Alex was sitting on the
couch, breathing hard. Fox was watching the news, shaking his head in
disbelief. ‘My…building…’ Walter recognized the
location. The fire was clearly out of control and the reporter offered the
opinion that the occupants – all of whom were accounted for except one – were
lucky to be alive in view of the swift spread of the flames. Speculation had
already begun as to the cause of the fire. Walter closed his eyes for a
long moment. Two kids. Who hate each
other. Who are homeless. No way. He wished he had finished the beer. ‘Okay. Fox, later, we’ll go
by your apartment, see if there’s anything left. Alex, find something else to
watch.’ Walter tossed Alex the remote and sat on the arm of the chair, his arm
around Fox. ‘Don’t worry Fox. The insurance will pay for…’ He felt Fox’s muscles tense
under his hand. Already knowing the answer, Walter asked tightly: ‘You *were*
insured Fox.’ Alex sniggered. ‘Oh poor
Foxy.’ Walter leaned across and cuffed
him upside the head. ‘Quiet Alex!’ Alex pouted, rubbing his
ear. ‘You’ve got a spare room.’ Fox brightened. ‘I won’t be
any trouble.’ Walter shook his head. ‘No!
We’ll book you into a hotel.’ Fox pouted. ‘Sir, don’t be
like that. I’ll help with the laundry, cook…’ Walter reached down the
Yellow Pages and tossed it at Fox. ‘Start looking.’ Alex looked across. ‘I know
some cheap places.’ Fox wrinkled his nose. ‘I’m
not staying in a fleapit Krycek.’ Walter went back into the
kitchen, picked up the beer and emptied the bottle in two large sips. Wiping
his mouth on the back of his hand, he took a deep breath, straightened his
shoulders and walked back into the living room. To be continued in 3 final parts
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