ONE

Scully glanced up from the file that she had been reading, over to her partner seated behind his desk.

He had been acting strangely all day, distant and preoccupied, well more distant and preoccupied then normal anyway.

Several times she had tried to draw him into a conversation, only to be absently rebuffed.

Finally she had given up, gong back to the reports that she had been reading.

Mulder sat, leaning back in his chair, his eyes distant, staring out into some middle distance, Scully had never seen him like this, not even when they were in the middle of a really difficult case.

Finally she stood up, pushing the paperwork to one side. "I'm going to grab something for lunch, do you want me to bring you something back?"

"Uh, what?" He glanced up at her. "Oh, no thanks Scully." He replied absently.

With an impatient shake of her head, she left the basement office, closing the door behind her.

Fox watched her leave, then slowly he reached over to his phone, picking it up, he called a number.

He waited until the phone on the other end of the line was picked up. A voice answered.

Fox spoke into the phone. "I need a number." He quickly explained what he wanted.

He listened for a moment, then reached over to grab his notepad and a pen. Quickly he jotted the number down, then satisfied, hung the phone back up again.

By the time Scully returned to the office with her ham and cheese salad and coffee, Fox had already left.

TWO

Fox sat on the leather couch, waiting. He had placed an X on the window and turned the desk lamp on it so that it shone out onto the street.

He had made the phone call, now all he had to do was sit and wait.

He had started to doze off, when there was a knock at the door, quickly he walked over and pull it open.

"Agent Mulder."

Fox stepped back, allowing Spender to enter the small apartment, he looked around, his cool pale eyes taking everything in.

"You wanted to see me Agent Mulder." He said, it was not a question. Fox nodded and indicated towards a chair.

Wordlessly Spender sat, watching as Fox Mulder, seated himself on the couch.

"Now Agent Mulder, it would seem that you have something that you wish to discuss with me."

"Skinner and Krycek." Fox replied. "Something needs to be done, now."

Spender smiled, his pale eyes remaining cold, appraising the younger man sitting opposite.

"I told you Agent Mulder, it's none of your concern, stay out of it."

"That's where you are wrong." Fox replied evenly. "It's every bit my concern, I have been dragged into it, so now, what are we going to do about it?"

Spender chuckled. "My dear young man, there's nothing that 'we' are going to do about it at all. After all, I thought that you would be pleased, seeing Krycek getting what he deserves, and you must admit, this side of Skinner...well who would have thought."

Spender chuckled as he pulled a packet of Morleys out of his coat pocket, pausing to light one.

"You know, if I had thought that Mr Skinner was capable of all this, I would have tried to recruit him myself. I always suspected that Mr Skinner was a man of, shall we say...interesting tastes."

Fox looked at the older man for a moment, then leaned forward in his chair.

"You are doing this merely to punish Alex, right?" He asked.

"Alex stole some things from me, and this is not the first time that this has happened." Spender replied quietly.

"I decided to choose a more, novel way of punishing him. It seems to have worked."

"So that's what this is all about." Fox replied. "Punishing Alex."

"That's correct, yes." Spender was regarding the younger man with curiosity now.

Fox nodded, just as he thought. He glanced up at Spender, his eyes sharp and canny.

"What if I were to offer you a better deal?"

"What?" Spender replied, amused. "Tell me what would you have that could possibly interest me?"

Fox returned his smile and began to speak.

THREE

Walter looked up at the knock on his office door.

"Come in." He called.

The door opened and Fox entered the office, closing the door behind him. Walter noticed that he had not brought Scully with him, he was alone.

"Yes Fox, what can do for you?" The older man asked, sitting back in his chair.

Fox seated himself in the chair in front of Walter's desk.

"Walter." He began. "I want to talk to you about Alex."

"I see." Walter replied. "Fox, we have been through all this, I have told you..."

"I am just trying one more time to appeal to your...your better nature." Fox replied.

At that Walter laughed. "Better nature?" He cocked an eyebrow at his agent. "Fox, right now, I don't have a better nature."

Fox drew a deep breath then plunged in, this was his last ditch effort to try and save Alex once and for all...and himself.

"Walter, I know that you more than anyone has the right to want revenge against Alex, for everything that he has done." Fox said, striving to keep his voice steady and calm.

"Both don't you think that enough's enough. Hasn't he suffered for what he has done?"

Walter tossed the pen that he had been holding onto the polished surface of the desk.

"No." He replied. "No, he hasn't Fox, he hasn't suffered nearly enough, he will never suffer enough as far as I am concerned. That little rat bastard is getting everything that he deserves, and as for me, well, let's just say that he is making me very happy right now."

"And if I ask you to stop?" Fox asked him. Walter smiled coolly.

"You know the answer to that." He replied simply.

"And if I do anything to try and help Alex...?"

Walter shrugged. "You know the answer to that as well."

Fox nodded thoughtfully. "Well that's that then."

"I guess so." Walter said. "But look at it this way Fox, think of the fun that we are going to have with Alex." He stood up and walked around his desk to where Fox was still sitting.

"Look at all the things we are going to be able to do Fox." He lifted the smaller man out of the chair, standing him up to face him.

He leaned down slightly to kiss Fox deeply. Fox returned the kiss, that familiar warm thrill shooting through him.

Damn, but the Assistant Director was a desirable man. Fox finally broke the kiss, stepping away from him.

"Okay Walter." He said huskily. "You win, I guess there's nothing that I can do to change your mind."

"Nothing at all." Walter said, his voice a satisfied purr.

Fox turned to leave the office, when Walter called from behind. "I'll be expecting you at my apartment tonight Fox, let's make it for dinner shall we?"

Fox stopped, his hand resting on the doorknob. "And if I refuse?"

Walter smile turned into a grin. "You won't refuse Fox, you can't. I guess I own you as much as I own Alex. Lucky me huh?"

"Yeah." Fox replied as he opened the door. "Lucky you."

FOUR

Walter arrived home a little later then usual. He had gotten caught up in a late meeting with Kersh that had seemed like it was going to on forever.

Finally he had managed to make his escape, and had left the office building to come straight home.

Whistling he rode the elevator up to the seventeenth floor, he was in a particularly good mood this evening. And why not, he had a very interesting line up of entertainment for tonight. Namely featuring a certain ex-assassin and his favourite FBI agent.

*//Who would have thought it possible.//* He thought with smug self satisfaction. *// A middle aged bureaucrat like me ending up with two gorgeous young men like Alex and Fox.//*

He chuckled to himself, he was giving Alex what he just deserved and Fox kind of got thrown in, into the bargain. Life did not get any better than this. And all because Spender had gotten so pissed of with Alex.

*//Revenge and pleasure, that's what made life so worth while.//*

Humming a tune softly under his breath, he walked over to his front door and opened it.

Fox had already arrived. He and Alex were deep in conversation, they started up almost guiltily as Walter walked into the neat living room.

He placed his briefcase down onto the floor and walked over to where they were both sitting.

He bent to kiss Fox's lips, gratified to see the younger man obediently lift his head up to allow himself to be kissed.

*//He's finally learning who's in charge around here.//* Walter thought, pleased. Then he turned to Alex.

"Come here boy." He said it indulgently, as though talking to a beloved pet dog.

Alex stood up and moved over to Walter, his green eyes shining, he looked happier than he had in days.

Walter kissed him as well, then slapped him lightly on the butt.

"Well boys, I think some dinner is in order, and then some recreation. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great Walter." Fox replied easily, he and Alex shared a glance. "I think that you are going to find that Alex and I have some really...interestng entertainment in store for you tonight."

"Good." Walter replied. He looked at them both. "I'm glad to see that you have both decided to stop fighting me. Things are going to be so much easier now that you have both accepted your fates."

"And our fates being?" Alex asked, his voice soft.

"Your fates being that you both belong to me." Walter replied. "Now, I am going to shower and get into some comfortable clothes while..."

Suddenly he stopped, feeling a slight prick in the back of his spine, he spun around, glaring at Fox, confused. "What the..."

Fox stepped away form the bigger man, holding up a small metal device, a horribly familiar one.

Walter stared at it, it looked like the device that was used to... he stared at Fox, stunned as a dreadful tingling stared through his body causing him to start trembling.

"What the fuck did you do?" He asked through numb lips.

"The only thing I could do." Fox replied, his voice calm. "I have just infected you with the new improved nanocytes, the same ones that Alex were infected with."

"What?" He stared wildly from Fox to Alex and back again, his face draining of all colour.

"But how...?"

Fox's lips quirked up in a grim smile. "You aren't the only one that can make deals with the devil Walter." He replied quietly. "I contacted Spender, Alex here told me how to get hold of him. It wasn't easy, but I managed. I told him that I wanted to make deal...a new deal regarding Alex. He agreed. Simple as that."

"A new deal." Walter sagged, then sat heavily down, he could not believe what was happening. "What new deal?"

"Simple." Fox replied, he watched as Walter's shoulder's had begun to twitch, the nanocytes were quickly dispersing themselves into his system now, very efficient these little buggers were.

"The deal was this." He crouched down so he was eye level with the pale sweating older man.

"I back off on my investigations for a while, and Alex returns what he stole. That's all there is too it. Alex called the Smoking Man and told him where he could find the discs and the files that he took, and I have promised back off on certain lines of investigation."

Walter shook his head wildly. "No, no...you can't." Suddenly enraged, he leapt to his feet, scrabbling in his coat pocket for the palm pilot. He pointed it at Alex, who merely smiled.

"Don't bother Walter." Fox said quietly. "Part of the deal was giving Alex the antidote to flush the nanocytes out of his system. He's clean. You press that button and you activate the ones in your own body."

"No!" Walter's cry was anguished. "Goddamn you Fox." He went to lunge at the younger man, but stopped. A palm pilot, identical to the one he was holding had appeared as if by magic in Fox's hand.

"Don't make me Walter." He said, his voice almost sad. "Please."

Walter stopped, staring at Fox. "You betrayed me." He whispered. "You betrayed me."

"No." Fox snapped back. "You betrayed me Walter, you betrayed me when you threatened to take the X Files away from me, when you threatened to have Scully transferred, when you threatened my entire career. You left me no choice Walter. No choice at all."

Walter opened his mouth to reply, then stopped. Finally he said. "What do you want from me?"

Fox smiled, regarding the defeated older man in front of him. "Things are going to change around here Walter." He told him.

"That's right." Alex spoke up, his face filled with grim satisfaction, he wrapped his arms around Fox's slender waist.

"First of all Walter, you are going to take early retirement, this is what Spender wants actually, he wants you to retire and told him that you would."

"No." Walter said, eyes widening. "Please..."

But Fox continued implacably. "You will get your full pension, your severance pay, everything that you are entitled to. And I am going to move in here with you and Alex. His lips quirked up.

"I always wanted to live in a condo." He added, looking around the neat well furnished living room.

"So did I." Alex replied with a chuckle. Fox smiled and kissed the younger man on the cheek with real affection.

Suddenly Walter leaned forward head in his hands, what had happened, how had his ruination come about this quickly? He shuddered, feeling the tingle as the nanocytes familiarized themselves in his body.

Taking pity on then older man, Fox knelt down and took his hands away from his face. Walter stared at him with red rimmed eyes.

"Why Fox?" He whispered hoarsely.

"Because you left me no other choice, that's why." He replied gently, then leaned forward to kiss Walter tenderly. "I gave you one last chance today, in your office, and you made it very clear that you were not going to relent. You've bought this down on yourself Walter, those that live by the sword, die by the sword."

Walter looked past Fox, straight into Alex's green eyes. "I suppose you'll want to exact your revenge." He replied bitterly. "Now that Fox has given you a means to do it."

Alex smiled down at the Walter, the other man had looked as though he had aged ten years.

"No Walter, no revenge. I think we've already been down at road once to often. But things are going to change around here."

"That's right." Fox said gently as he reached up to stroke the top of Walter's head. "Things are going to change around here."

FIVE

Fox sat on the couch, tenderly kissing Alex, every now and again he would place a morsel of food into the younger man's mouth. Watching with a grin as Alex licked Fox's fingers, the pink tip of his tongue flicking over his skin provocatively.

Suddenly Alex's head arched back a little as a tiny sound of pleasure escaped the younger man's mouth.

Fox looked down at the top of Walter's bald head as the older man first pleasured Alex's erect cock with his mouth, then he turned his attention onto Fox's own hardened penis.

Walter knelt on the floor in front of them, naked, sucking them both off in turn. Closing his eyes, Fox settled back, thoroughly enjoying the feel of Walter's hot hungry mouth wrapped around his shaft.

It had not been easy at first, Walter had struggled and protested every inch of the way, resisting his training in pleasuring both Fox and Alex, but the nanocytes and an expertly wielded strap soon had the older man learning what his new place in the greater scheme of things were.

Shortly the younger men would take him into the bedroom where they would take turns plunging themselves into the tight hot little asshole, feeling the bigger body of the older man writhe underneath them.

*//Deals with the devil.//* Fox thought to himself, then looked across at the aroused flushed face of his sweet young lover. Alex gave him a shining eyes smile. *//Sometimes dealing with the devil does have it's advantages.//*

SIX

Spender sat on the chair behind the plain walnut desk, listening to everything that was being said in the AD's living room. He was glad that he had the foresight to have a bug planted in Skinner's apartment, it had been there for several months now.

Everything had worked out quite well, he congratulated himself, even better than he had hoped in fact.

He had always known about Walter Skinner's rather unusual sexual tastes and he had always suspected the older man's attraction towards a certain young and very handsome FBI agent.

When he had first made his offer to Walter, he had not been sure that the other man would take it, but Walter was only human after all and the change to revenge himself against his enemy Alex Krycek had simply been to tempting to pass up.

But then the older man had gotten greedy, forcing Fox Mulder into his little games. Spender sat back in the chair, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

Mulder's chance meeting with Alex that fateful night at the bar could not had gone better if it had been planned, and Spender dropping that little bombshell in Walter's lap had worked beautifully.

Oh yes, he had played all of them right down the line, right down to knowing that Fox's sense of fair play would be outraged by what Walter was doing, and by the fact that Fox was attracted to the former assassin.

Not a lot escaped CGB Spender. He listened now to the obvious sounds of passion coming from the apartment. His smile turned into a grin.

Forcing Skinner into early retirement was his idea, Spender had been looking for a way for some time now to remove Skinner form the Bureau and replace him with someone a little more... agreeable to his ideas.

Yes Walter would certainly find retirement interesting, especially with Fox and Alex now being able to take hold of the reins. He had only made one sacrifice, having to give Fox the antidote for Alex, but what the hell, small sacrifices had to be made from time to time, and he had gotten his discs and files back, and he'd had the satisfaction of seeing Alex punished. If only briefly.

No, things were just fine, as far as he was concerned. He lit a cigarette, watching the smoke swirl around his head.

*//Turnabout is fair play Mr Skinner.//* Spender thought with a chuckle. *//As you are just beginning to realize.//*