Winning The War

Mulder's heart shattered when he heard Krycek's agonized shriek of pain, the bullet ripping through his soft skin. He threw a momentary look of pure despair at Skinner, hoping his boss would interpret his mask of dismay correctly and stop this torture now.

But Skinner's expression was one of bitter cruelty, each eye determined as a smouldering coal.

The double-agent lay groaning on the concrete, blood seeping from his mangled body. With his last strength he somehow managed to draw himself to one knee, and then up on his feet.

"Shoot Mulder" he hissed, his eyes an idiom of untainted sincerity, then collapsed as the bullet left the pistol with a blast heard by the heavens. Mulder had time to paste a look of disbelief to his face before the slug hit him. He fell to the floor with a thud, his lifeless eyes wide in shock.

Krycek let out a ragged sigh of relief. He forced himself to crawl towards Mulder, and laying an arm on top of the corpse, he let the emerald windows to his soul give up the fight.

The Assistant Director stared blankly at the scene, somehow sensing that he had made the right choice, that by killing Mulder, he had just saved thousands of lives. But that couldn't ease his pain.

He watched Krycek draw in his last ever breath, then his gaze fell on his slain agent, and Skinner felt his eyes welling with tears as he stared at a man he had esteemed, loved... and murdered.

He turned on his heels and left the picture of tragedy...

"We're investigating blood found in the underground parking garage." Agent John Doggett informed his boss the next day.

The latter raised an eyebrow.. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that last night I was on the phone with Agent Mulder. Our call was brutally cut off and by the time I got here, there was blood everywhere!" Skinner looked at him sideways, attentively: "What about Scully?"

Doggett quickly explained that she was now the proud mother of a William, that Billy Miles and his cohorts had abruptly left the scene of her delivery and disappeared into the night.

Skinner felt faint. "Stop this enquiry." He ordered, and in answer to Doggett's surprised look, he added: "They deserve to be left in peace at last."

High in the skies, Fox Mulder sat next to a peacefully sleeping Krycek. He let his gaze dance over the beautiful young man, and mutely thanked Skinner. Had he guessed in that last instant that in order to live, Mulder had to die?

He closed his eyes. Krycek had played it a little too close for comfort this time! But it was over now; Mulder let himself sink into deep slumber, letting the shallow breathing of his lover lull him into oblivion.

The plane shot on like a silver bullet through the clouds, it was taking its passengers as far east as possible. And they weren't coming back.