A Gathering of Scoundrels by Carla Jane Book V Three Points on the Globe Part One In the Southern Sun The change in environment was abrupt enough that even after two days it still startled Victor when he looked out a window. Within the matter of just over a week he'd gone from the cool drizzling weather of Atlantic City to the darkness of the frozen north and now the landscape had the nerve to show him spiny cacti and shimmering heat-baked ground. Maybe the others could handle the sudden shifts but it screwed up Victor's system and internal clock. When life heaped the drastic alterations on top of the situational changes it made for dragging exhaustion and sweeping mood swings. One of those mood swings had just hit him between the eyes not two minutes ago. Victor was practically wallowing in annoyance and self-pity. After all they'd been through over the last few years he couldn't believe that Li Ann would leave him to deal with this mess alone. Loosing Mac, their third partner should have bound the pair of them together even tighter. Instead it had torn them completely apart. The idea that she would leave with Agent Scully and Mulder, Christ. Victor shivered in reaction to thinking that name. He and Mulder had come so very close. They'd connected, at least Victor had felt a bond forming only to have it cruelly sliced to pieces. There was no way he could see himself standing beside the man who had murdered one of his few friends in the world even if the act hadn't been completely intentional. That Li Ann had chosen to depart with the pair of Americans rather than stay with him and Alex was mind-boggling. He realised he'd been curt with her the last time they had spoken but he'd been worried, annoyed at both her and himself for not looking after his helpless twin better and completely unaware of the toll his words had taken on his friend. He knew his attitude was partially to blame for the larger desertion. Damn, he should have hit Mulder harder, done more damage. If the man had been more severely injured then Agent Scully wouldn't have been so quick to move him. Victor would have had more time to talk to Li Ann. The three of them wouldn't have been so quick to flee the lodge in Alaska in search of legal backup and Victor wouldn't have been pressed into making a choice of his own so quickly. Not that he could have acted any differently under those circumstances. Mac was dead. Victor's blunt nails dug into his palms opening sores from earlier in the day. He hated those three words but he kept repeating them inside his brain, hurting himself anew each time. They echoed around shredding into his control like glass shards whirled by a tornado. Mac, his friend...one of his few friends in the entire world, was dead. One quarter of all that mattered in the world to Victor was probably laying under a snow covered pile of stones while a second quarter of his soul ran off with her lover, Dana, and the murderer. When things settled down they'd have to go back and collect Mac. Victor simply couldn't handle the idea that the younger man was laying in an unmarked grave so far north. Mac hated the cold. Surely Alex would be able to convince the women to tell him what they'd done with the body of Alex's lover and Victor's dear friend. Then the pair of them would go up and set things straight... assuming the FBI didn't now possess Mac's shell. Fuck! He hadn't thought of that before. He should have demanded they bring the body with them despite Nicola's protests that they lacked the time and space for such a thing. Victor intensely mourned that the frenzied activity of the evacuation hadn't even left him time to go down to the infirmary and say good-bye to Mac. Victor thumped his head absently against the warm glass, completely ignoring what lay beyond. Li Ann had chosen her side. She had decided to go with Dana Scully and the law. Li Ann had finally stepped completely into the light, as she had always wanted to do. Damn, it was rending to linger in the company of criminals and spies after working so hard all his life to do the right thing. Victor half wished he could join his best friend despite the pain of Mac's murder by a tool of the greater good, but he simply couldn't. Alex was in no state to be making life-altering decisions. Victor's twin had remained unconscious as the Romanov family erupted into evacuation activities. They would not remain in the Alaskan lodge to await the arrival of the FBI, which Agent Scully had fled to fetch. Small mercy they had even allowed the trio to leave rather than killing them. Victor wouldn't have put that contingency past a few of those women. Alex's foster family was well acquainted with quick exits however. They were packed and ready to leave an hour after Victor had been informed of Li Ann and the Agents departure. Everything from clothing, to laptops, to a few mementoes were loaded first into trucks then later onto a private plane. No doubt the lodge would be thoroughly cleaned out of any identifying trails before the law could find their way out to the remote compound. Victor's little sister, the baby she carried and his twin were leaving with the family. What choice did he have? Alice was dazzled by the wealth of intrigue and drama that the Romanov crime family represented. Her unborn child was dependent on the chemical supplement they were providing. Time and years of training bound Alex. So Victor decided to travel into the shadows so he could protect what all that remained of his family. Maybe 'shadows' was the wrong word for it. He couldn't equate the sun beating through the thick glass and trying to burn into his skin with that concept. "Hey Moose." A hand settled on Victor's arm and his sister leaned in to share the view. "I was on the patio for a while. It's brutal out there today." She rested against him, letting him support some of her increasing weight. Victor nodded absently and hooked his arm about her bulging waist. If there was one thing he had to admire about the Romanov's, and their effect on them, it was how much they encouraged casual physical contact. His sister hadn't been this tactile with him since Mother and Father started complaining about it when she turned five. It felt like reassurance and safety when she imparted these absent hugs on him. "You're getting soft, little girl." He teased, gently squeezing. "I'm sure you lived through worse in India." "Yeah, well, that was before this." She laid her hand over top of his, threading their fingers together on her belly. "I came to tell you that Alex was out of bed and in the gym." Allegra tightened her grip to keep her brother from bolting. "I'm sure he's not doing anything foolish, just supervising Peter and Riene." She qualified, knowing how upset she'd been when she first discovered that Alex was walking about so soon. "He should be in bed." Victor grumbled. The words made his sister giggle. "I thought you wanted him to take it easy. He'll never get any rest if he stays in bed." She tried to jolly the grimace off his face. "HA! HA!" Victor exaggerated. "I'm kidding. You know that." Allegra took a step, halfway disengaging from their embrace while still pulling her brother along with her. "Come on Moose. I was going to check up on him, make sure he's behaving himself and maybe coax him into eating a light lunch. He could use some solid food in his belly." She observed. "Nicola says he hasn't got any appetite but if YOU tell him to, he'll eat." Allegra's head tipped to one side, noting her brother's frown. "It's only Peter and Riene in the gym. Nicola is holed up in her study on the telephone with Olga trying to re-organise." She had observed that Victor was going out of his way to avoid the family's matriarch. "You should be grateful Nicola sent almost everyone out into the field or we'd be tripping over each other in this place." The hacienda was beautiful, as was the expansive property it was built on, but it was nowhere near as sprawling as the lodge in Alaska had been. If the whole family were still in residence it would be claustrophobic. The night when they'd first arrived Victor had ended up sharing a room and a bed with Alex. That situation sufficed when Alex was semi-comatose but there was no way Victor wanted it repeated now that his twin was recovering his energy. Too many complications were hanging like skeletons between them. The room that had been designated as the gym was far from ideal for the task. A wall of glass to the south made the air-conditioning work extra hard to keep this area at an acceptable temperature for exercising in. Tall plants were stacked next to the glass in an effort to block out some of the heat but that was only a little help. Riene had said something about a riding arena that they were going to convert if circumstances dictated staying here long term but that wasn't likely. Allegra slid the door sideways into a wall pocket then paused in the portal to admire the view, trapping Victor in the doorway. The three occupants of the room were stripped down to only the barest essentials of clothing but every one of them was still covered with a fine sheen of perspiration. Riene wore three or four scraps of fabric that formed a bikini of sorts while the men were dressed in only thin white pyjama-type bottoms that clung almost obscenely to their bodies. Riene and Alex's abruptly cut blackish hair was spiked with sweat as if they'd been scraping their fingers through it almost constantly. The shorter gold hair atop Peter's head was plastered flat while the blonde fall down the back of his neck was sticky and tangled looking. Hints of sunburn marked the two teenagers, highlighting exactly how pale all their skin was. Alexei's many bruises did the same service for him. A stranger would have thought that the trio had been chosen for the family on looks alone. All three were frighteningly beautiful. Alex was lean but muscled, a broad-shouldered man in the prime of his life. Even his fake arm couldn't detract from his classic physique. Peter's softer, coltish, not quite filled out form made for a nice contrast with the older man. Riene was a like a small, perfect gymnast standing behind the two taller males. Of course all three of them had faces gorgeous enough to stop traffic. Alex and Riene were all sharp angles and dangerous energy while Peter's beauty was more placid and inviting. Allegra pondered the scene. Strange that she'd never realised before how much Riene resembled Alex and, by consequence, Victor. The teenager looked more like their sister than she did if her reflection was anything to go by. Allegra always hated that Victor had inherited a cute, little tilted nose while her own was long and kind of wide at the bottom. Maybe Nicola did chose her operatives for their looks, at least the younger ones. The two eldest women in the family weren't really much to look at but as their ages decreased their physical attractiveness compounded. Then again, to be precise, the Catherines must have been 'bred' with beauty in mind since from all Allegra had heard the clones had been born into the family. A disturbing concept began to gnaw at the back of her thoughts with the realisation of Alex and Riene's physical resemblance but Allegra wasn't sure if she was ready for that particular truth. The pair in the door watched as Riene popped up behind Peter's back with a savage grin and seemed to slam something into the top of his spine. The young man winced but held firm against the thump. "I got him." She looked to Alex for confirmation only to see her mentor shake his head. "You missed." Riene puffed out an exasperated breath and shoved the shaggy mop of blonde away from the back of Peter's neck so she could point something out. "I got him." The tiny girl repeated, indicating a smeared marker line. "It's off centre." Alex's whisper never ceased to amaze Victor. It sounded so intimate when he spoke right at your ear but the tone carried across a room better than a shout. "It's dragged into the right spot, but that's not good enough." Alexei's hand ran up the young man's neck and caught a fistful of pale gold. "You have to hit the insert point on the first lunge. If you miss the target you'll be dead before you get a second chance. Look." With exaggerated care Alex lifted his new prosthetic and extended a finger to tap Peter's skin. "Here, exactly." The teenager shivered in reaction to the contact. It could have been due to the temperature of the artificial digit or that Alex had been too rough but the response snared the elder man's attention immediately. Dark brows lifted on either side of the blonde as Riene and Alex exchanged glances. The girl's chin jerked, a restrained movement, suggesting he press the issue. "You think he likes it, Bodkin?" Alexei asked, trailing his finger down and between Peter's sharp shoulder blades. Trickles of sweat made the movement smooth and gliding. The younger man shuddered once more. "How much can you feel now, Lexi-love?" Riene's glittering eyes tracked the motion. Her tongue flicked out to lick the salt from her lips. "Pressure." Alex frowned thoughtfully, absently continuing the motion up and down the teenager's spine. "The sensation of contact, but no tactile details." He elaborated. "This is an phenomenal hand, even better than the last one. It's amazing." His fingers spread and all five of the manufactured tips traced a convoluted caress. "I'm getting more from it now than I did when I first woke up this morning too. Olga said the nanites would continue enhancing the connections over the next week or so." Alex's realisation of what Olga's technology had achieved made him grin. Peter, bending forward at the waist under the pressing weight, let out a squeak of what might have been protest at the treatment. "You got a problem, Boy?" Alexei asked in a deceptively serene tone, pulling the other upright by the grip he had on Peter's hair. Alex shifted close enough to brush the teen's cheek with his lips. The downy beard that was only just starting to grow there tickled pleasantly. "Feel free to go speak with Nicki if you're unhappy about anything Riene and I are doing to you." He suggested sarcastically. "Alex." Victor levered himself past his sister and walked into the semi-barren room. "How are you feeling this afternoon?" He chose not to confront his twin over the scene before him but rather attempted to simply alter it. "I'm not sure you should be exerting yourself so quickly." Victor reached up and by resting his fingers on Alex's wrist he convinced his twin to release Peter's hair and turn away. "You certainly do heal quickly." "A happy side-effect of my jumped up metabolism, I suppose." Alex had completely dismissed the kid from his attention now that his twin was nearby. "Oh lucky me. I used to bruise so easily when I was little." The Russian stood quietly, seeming to await Victor's wishes. He also kept his hand just high enough so that his twin's touch didn't fall naturally away. "You've been through hell this week, Alex." Victor reminded as he drew his brother a few steps away from Peter by actually gripping the other's wrist and backing up. Alex had undergone what appeared to be several days of torture, then been beaten brutally by Mulder only to have a brand new arm grafted on while travelling by plane and still unconscious from the thrashing Mulder had given him. Any normal man would be flat on his back for weeks, Victor expected. "You're going to come and have some lunch with Alice and..." "Allegra." Alexei corrected playfully, glancing over to see their sister smirk. Victor sighed. Someday he'd get used to the fact she had changed her name. "You're going to come and have some lunch with OUR SISTER and me, then you're going back to bed." Riene snorted off to their right earning herself a stern look from Victor. "Alone." He amended. "You need rest. Cripes, Alex, you should be wiped out." He tilted his head to catch and hold the other's gaze. "Please." Another sigh escaped. "Behave. For me." Alexei's response was non-verbal. Instead he allowed his whole body to sag slightly forward against his twin. Victor felt his muscles start to tense at the intimate embrace and purposefully forced himself to halt the automatic reaction. Alex needed to touch others as much as he needed air or food. Denying him non-violent contact would be cruel so, with careful attention to Alex's vast array of injuries, Victor lifted his arms to pull his brother close. Alex let out a faint sigh of enjoyment. His face turned so his lips were almost touching Victor's ear. "I'm okay now, moi Vicka." Came the murmur. "That feels weird. It tickles." Victor shrugged then released Alex so he could put a bit of space between them. "You're done here. All right?" the words were somewhere between a request and an order. "I suppose." The other allowed. "What were you doing, anyway?" Allegra had crossed the floor and was looking curiously at Peter who stood with his arms crossed defensively in front of him. "Weapons practice." Riene held up a large, thick yellow pen. "Pin the ice-pick on the rookie." She laughed brightly then shot Peter a smile that invited him to share in the jest. "It's a marker." Allegra stated the obvious. Her long hair rippled as she shook her head. "I don't get it." "Space invaders." Riene flicked a finger up toward the ceiling. "Don't you know? Remind me to review the file with you later, Alla Honey. It's not information you can afford to be without, considering the little one." She indicated Allegra's belly. "There's something out there... and it wants what we've got." She grinned. "But our Lexi knows how to snuff them, don't you Lover-mine?" "Aliens?" Victor asked in a perfectly serious tone. "The ones I heard about before?" Alexei nodded. "Shapeshifters, among others." He elaborated. "Shooting them doesn't work. In fact it's lethal to the assailant. You need to stab them... with a pick." The Russian shifted sinuously to stand behind his twin. He used his real hand to illustrate. "In the back of the neck." Feverishly hot fingers reached, settling against the base of Victor's skull. "There's a sweet spot." The touch traced down with molten slowness. Alex was almost pressed against his brother's back they were so close. "Right about..." His breath puffed across the nape of Victor's neck. "Here." The feather light touch might have been either a fingertip or lips, Victor couldn't tell. What he did feel was Alex's crotch rocking forward to make contact with his ass. Those thin pants his twin wore did nothing to disguise his erection. Victor shrugged, cautiously shaking the other off. "Don't. I told you Alex. That's not for us." He extricated himself from his brother in a firm but gentle manner. "What you need right now is food in your belly. Mrs Uritski has had a pot of soup waiting on the back burner since last night just for you. I tried for a taste and she whacked my wrist with a wooden spoon." Admittedly, that was an exaggeration, but the small fib did make Alex smile. "Okay." The Russian glanced over at his students and a chill flattened his expression. "Riene take him outside and practice with one of the Sigs. He can't shoot for shit." "Easy off, Alex." Allegra protested. "He's a software guy not a hardware pro." She couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the quiet teenager. From the little she'd seen over the last few days Peter needed someone to stand up for him. She and Victor had been trying to persuade the family to lighten up on the kid but their opinion held little weight with anyone but Alex. "No one in the family should specialise that much, Alla darling." Alex's voice was far less harsh when directed at her. "Being the Techie isn't proof against getting into a dangerous situation. Christ, Alla, I did one computer assignment a few years ago that was supposed to be a simple negotiational cakewalk. The thing was nearly the death of me. A bunch of fucking V.R. stormtroopers nearly atomised me." His eyes went distant for a moment then cleared. "I'm not being that hard on him, Alla. I suffered through worse and look how I turned out." "Alex." Victor practically blurted out the name as his throat tried to deny the cough of protest that wanted out. "Lunch." He reiterated. Despite objections that 'he didn't need it' and 'he wasn't tired' Alex surrendered to Victor's prompting that he lay down for an afternoon nap. Victor settled in a chair beside the bed and propped his heels up on the mattress while Alex lay on his right side and stared across at him. "I know this isn't what you pictured for us at this time last year." Alexei said with a regretful smile. "I'm sorry, Vicka." Odd that he should be the one laying down because he couldn't recall ever seeing his brother looking so worn out. It sent tiny pangs of guilt shooting through him, a complete unfamiliar sensation. If he'd foreseen this situation would he have walked away from the trio last Christmas, distanced himself from that newly forming and so addicting family atmosphere? If he had left them alone Victor would be living the quiet, honest life that seemed to suit him so well rather than being holed up with Alex's immoral family. Mac would be alive and maybe have found someone worth his time and love. Li Ann would still be with the guys, her best friends rather than cast away and dependent on the hateful Dana Scully's goodwill. For that matter, none of them would have even met Mulder and Scully, which appeared to be the point in time that everything started to go to hell, at least on a personal level. That was a lot to weigh against this need he felt for Victor's companionship. Still, Alex was honest enough to admit to himself that he would do almost all of it over again if that's what it took to keep his brother with him. This desperate craving for Victor's company didn't feel like his fascination with Fox Mulder. It was at once both more severe and yet less frantic. There were maybe one or two relationships he'd had over the years that had overtones of this kind of emotion but Alexei couldn't recall off-hand this kind of intensity. "You look like you're trying to puzzle out the meaning of life, Alex." Victor commented, breaking into the other's concentration. "Yes, some terrible things have happened." His head dropped back against the padded fabric. "But I don't hold you responsible for everything that's gone wrong over the last year. You shouldn't either." He scolded. "What matters right now is that you get yourself better. Once that's done we'll see about putting what things we can to right once more. Okay." Alex's stare felt hot enough to burn a hole through him. Victor shifted uncomfortably. "I love you, Victor." "Don't start..." "Let me, moi Vicka! Please." The Russian insisted. "Do you know how many times I've said those words?" A quick chuckle puffed out. "Too many times." Alex admitted. "But more importantly, is how many times I've meant them. Too few. God, so few times in so many years." He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. "But I don't think I've ever meant it more sincerely than I do right now." Victor heaved himself up out of his seat to move to his brother's side and lean over the prone man. Bracing his hands on either side of Alex's head, Victor captured and held his twin's stare. That was a feat to shake his soul. "I believe you and I'm quite aware of what you're saying, more aware than you are, I suspect. Don't think for a minute what I feel for you is any less powerful simply because it's not sexual. It's more." He insisted. "I'm going to teach you, Alex. Alice and I are going to get across to you that it's possible to find emotional satisfaction without offering yourself up like the main course at an orgy. You and I, Alice and the baby. You'll see. There's nothing in the world like a new baby to pull a family together. Holding an infant in your arms and knowing it's a part of you. When Alice was born it made the new family Mother had dragged me into tolerable for the very first time. You've never felt anything like it, Alex." "You might be surprised." Alex whispered in response. Victor's brows drew together and he pulled himself upright once more. "Later." He promised. "When you're better we're going to have a long talk and you're going to answer some questions for me." The promise was across Alex's lips without taking a moment to edit it. "I'll do anything you want, moi Vicka." Victor sighed heavily and dropped back down into the chair. "I want you to rest." He stated, noting the other's unspoken protest. "Let me tell you about Jenny." Surprisingly enough Alexei fell asleep after only a half hour of listening to Victor reminisce about some plain-faced girl he'd wanted to date in high-school that he'd never even managed to exchange three words with. A soft hand resting against his forehead woke him some time later. The action was soothing enough that he didn't startle, as he usually would have upon discovering someone coming so close while he was unconscious. "It's only about an hour to dinner time, Lover." The hand trailed down the side of his face. "Nicki's still busy so it's informal. Do you want me to bring you something?" Riene offered before breaking contact and sitting back. "I'm not really hungry." "Posh. You just want dearest Vicka to hover over you some more and baby you." She countered. "I see a dependency in the making here, Lover-mine. It's not a good thing. If Nicki notices..." Riene let the threat hang. "How did the gun practice go?" Alexei twisted upright, changing the subject. "A few hundred dollars worth of ammunition later... and he actually got inside the target area most of the time." Narrow shoulders shrugged. "While we were out..." Riene's fingertips settled on the mound his legs were making under the sheet. "Some stuff arrived from Olga. It was mostly medical things like a supply of that supplement that Allegra has to take for the baby and one of your inoculation kits." Dark eyes examined his reaction from under heavy lashes. "It's almost New Year's." She elaborated unnecessarily. Alex's chin lifted and his attention drifted to a spot above and behind the teenager. "She sent it in by courier? No one came with it?" "That's the way it is." Riene confirmed. "I was with Nicki when she opened the box. I asked who was flying in to do your shots..." "And Nicola slapped you down." Alexei guessed. "For daring to be such a nosy beast." "No." Riene inched closer, trying to catch his gaze once more. "No one is coming to take care of it. No one has time. Kate was supposed to but she and Marie are in the middle of a rather unexpected drug cartel power struggle and they can't afford to step back anytime soon." Her hand slid up his leg. Alexei was looking straight into her eyes now. His, widened to their full size by surprise, looked almost identical to what Riene was accustomed to seeing in the mirror. "I can't see Nicki doing your pheromone injection. I doubt she'd be able to handle you afterward... not at her age." For a few days after his yearly booster shot Alexei was a black hole of mindless need, at least that's what Riene had been told. She'd only ever seen him during the pheromone high once and that was only a month or so after Alex's arm had been hacked off. The Catherines had been under order to keep their distance that time because Alexei's mood swings were unpredictable and, as one servant found out, lethal. "So it's you and me, Bodkin?" He rumbled. "You won't be able to handle me." Alex observed arrogantly. "And Peter." Riene amended. "Although you might want to break him tonight if you're gonna be ramming him through the mattress the day after. I mean, rumour has it that you're not the most considerate lover when you're drowning in a chemical rush." She smiled fiercely. "Shall I lube and stretch him before I inject you or will you remember that small charity?" "Brat." Alex accused with a smirk. "Thug." The teenager retorted. Alexei's next cut was more vicious in its own way. "Novice." "Insensitive whore." "Child." Playful banter was nowhere in evidence as he spoke that word. Riene's nose wrinkled up and she clucked her tongue at the low blow. After a brief pause the girl lifted her brows and responded with. "Daddy." Alexei disregarded the verbal battle immediately and struck out with the back of his hand, knocking the teenager flat then diving after her. They tumbled painfully to the floor. Alex had Riene pinned to the rug in two heartbeats. Riene glared up at him briefly, breathing hard through bared teeth then her whole body arched sensuously, grinding her groin up to meet his. "Fuck, I missed you, Lexi-lover. You've been entirely too well behaved lately. That's Vicka's influence, I suspect. Come on, Love. Let out your nasty side for me to play with." "You should be careful what you ask for moi Bodkin." Alexei lowered himself until their lips almost touched, covering her slight body with ease. "There is no way that a couple of half-grown kids are going to be able to contain me after my shot without sustaining some significant damage." "So damage me, Lover." Her legs were parted and she was rubbing up against him in encouragement. Riene's breathing was shallow and fast. "Come on, Lexi." "Maybe later." With absolutely no warning Alex climbed to his feet and stepped away from the girl. "Where's Nicki? I have to talk to her." Riene glared up at her mentor. Her lips pressed into a thin line. The teenager made a point of climbing to her own feet before responding to the question. An annoyed scowl pinned him through the entire movement. "She's in the office. I'll take you there." When Riene finally turned to lead the way out the door Alexei pushed up hard against her back and snaked his arm around her to rest his hand over her throat. "If you ever try to manipulate me like that again I'll hurt you so bad you'll wish to die. Got that, little girl?" Her nod was only the tiniest movement. "You're my student. I call the shots. I'm in charge of you." He squeezed gently to prove his point. Riene stayed quiet and unresisting in his pseudo-embrace waiting to see what he would do next. Once Alexei had re-established his dominance he released her. "Take me to Nicki." His order was flat of emotion. The teenager swallowed once then cautiously moved away and out the door. Allegra picked through the carefully packed crate of vials in search of the concoction that Olga and Dr Vladovna had told her the baby needed. It only took a moment to realise the tubes she wanted were confined to the left side of the box but she couldn't resist peeking at the other labels and contents. A surprising number of the formulas had a decidedly greenish taint to them. Most of the labelling was obscure and beyond Allegra's knowledge but one set of tubes were bound together and marked 'Alexei's year-ends'. That lot held one of the green formulas as well as five other slim containers, including a vial labelled 'nanites'. She considered taking that collection along with her own but then decided simply asking about them would suffice. Victor was fidgeting impatiently by the time Alexei finally showed up in the dining room. He and Allegra had already eaten dinner and were lingering over dessert. "Sorry." Alex slid into the chair at the end of the table and set about serving himself from the remnants in front of him. "I had something I needed to discuss with Nicki." He explained. "Olga says the Alaskan lodge is swept clean. She's having the contents shipped to the back-up location that Nicki had been considering." Alex gave them no opportunity to interrupt. "She's also had a moving company in Atlantic City go into the townhouse and collect some stuff. Alla's should really stay where Olga and Daria can keep tabs on her until the baby is born... and of course you're gonna wanna stay near at hand, Vicka, so I think the movers grabbed a few of your things as well." He poured some half-melted ice water into his glass without pausing in his monologue. "Nicki's let the Security Company know that things are a little shaken up and you won't be coming back to work anytime soon. Stacey's dispatched someone to lend Li Ann a hand until she decides what she wants to do about the business. Li Ann's still not answering her phone so I left a message there and at Scully's place, though I doubt Scully will bother to pass on anything I say considering our history. The Bureau switchboard says Mulder and Scully are out in the field. I can't help but wonder if Li Ann is with them." "ALEX!" Allegra broke into the nervous sounding chatter. "Stop." The Russian's mouth opened as if he was about to protest the admonishment but instead he shovelled in a fork full of cooling cabbage and stared down at his plate. "I miss her too, Alex." Victor offered. "I'm sure that she'll be ready to talk to us soon. Li Ann's temper..." One corner of his mouth quirked into a sad smile. "Our Li Ann can hold a grudge." He shrugged. "Did you give her a phone number that she can reach us at?" Alex's head shook and he swallowed. "Nicki won't let me give her anything but a message box 'cause of Scully. We can't afford to give up another bolthole to the FBI. I WAS thinking that you and I should fly up there in a few days to see her face to face but I don't know if I'm going to have time." His eating slowed to a less frantic pace. "I've some shit to tend to so it might take a while before I can shake free. Nicki was wondering if you'd consider going down to Colombia with me. I need to give Marie a hand. She's having a lot of trouble with a knuckle dragging, jerk-off named Zamora and could really use some back up. "How long will it take?" Victor had taken a shine to Marie during the brief time he'd spend in her company. He needed to see Li Ann but the thought that tiny Marie needed their help was a powerful pull. "Not long." Alex guessed. "It's just that Marie has Kate down there with her and its hard to teach and protect while business is at it's most violent. Besides I've a bit of a history with Zamora that might ease the matter along. I should be able to distract him from fighting and quiet him down in a day or two, especially considering the time of year and all." Victor frowned. Marie's sphere of activity was heavily drug based and he didn't really want to get sucked into that end of the Romanov's business but Marie was such a doll. She barely came to his chest and she was as fragile looking as a bird although she had to be tougher than she looked to do the job she did. Besides which, Alex wasn't in any shape to be taking on drug-lords without proper support. "What about Alice?" "Allegra will be fine." Alex assured. "That boy will be here to keep her company and Olga should arrive in a few days, I think." He picked at his meat with his fingers. "Riene's coming with us. She needs time in the field." "Peter." Victor returned the favour of correcting a name. "Isn't exactly bodyguard material." "This place is secure, Vicka. Nicki's in the house and Nicki doesn't stay anywhere that's risky. You saw that." He glanced up briefly. "Either way I have to go and do enforcer duty for Marie. It'd just be better if you came with me. Please Vicka." "Yeah. Okay." Victor shoved his pudding away. It would be criminal to allow Alex to go out with only two of the Catherines and little Marie to aid him. "But as soon as we're done there we go to Washington." He qualified. "And we keep trying to phone Li Ann as circumstances allow." The smile Alex offered up was dazzling. Victor couldn't help but wonder if he could duplicate the expression because it would surely open doors if he managed it. It appeared the discussion was at an end. "Alex." Allegra leaned back from the table and looked inquisitively in his direction. "I saw some drugs with your name on them in the crate that had my supplements in it." She began. "What are they, Lexi?" He froze a second with a look of complete shock on his face before carefully setting down his fork. "It's a long story." Victor was looking from his sister to his brother in confusion. Alex and recreational drugs weren't a match that made sense. It had to be something much more serious. "What are you talking about?" "I suppose I should explain it instead of just springing the results on you." Alexei traced a snowflake pattern on the tabletop. "There were five vials of something in the box Olga and Dr Vladovna sent in this afternoon." Allegra repeated. "Are they something you're going to take?" Alexei's eyes shut, closing out Victor's puzzled frown. "When Nicola first got me she had an associate named Vasili Bodanovich." He began. Strangely enough Alex's Russian accent whispered across Victor's ears for the first time. It was odd hearing it come out of his twin after almost a year of listening to his twin speaking perfect English. "Vasili, he was a doctor of sorts. A scientist. A chemist for the most part." Alexei paused, his tongue flicking over drying lips. "Vasili started a long term project with my body chemistry. He introduced some experimental mixtures into my system in gradually increasing doses. The first phase took place over the course of about five years. Since then Olga has kept up the project." Alexei's eyes opened but he didn't look straight at either of his siblings. "It's gotten to the point where my system is even more fucked up than that baby you're carrying, Alla. I'm not properly human anymore either." Victor cleared his throat as if to object to that remark but Alex didn't give him the opportunity. "Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but I am different. Those serums, they help maintain the changes. I'm not even sure what all is in the mix. Although, I've a couple of copies of the breakdown printed out and hidden here and there just in case." "So we're definitely not talking recreational drugs then?" Victor asked with a certain amount of relief. The question provoked a brief snort of amusement from Alex. "Depends how you look at it I suppose. One of the cocktails does have a few 'odd' effects that I take a certain amount pleasure of in. But no, not really. I mean it can be enjoyable but it also hurts like a bitch. No, it isn't fun, not by a long shot. It's simply..." He scraped a hand back through his closely cropped hair. "I don't know." He sucked in a breath of air. "You're going to find out for yourselves I suppose. Nicki says I've got to take my shots tonight so the worst of the effects can burn through me before we head down to Barranquilla. She wants me properly hyped-up so I can deal with Zamora but not completely out of control. Allegra was shaking her head. "I don't get it. What do you mean exactly, Alex?" "Sukin syn!" He squirmed in his chair. "Well, the practical side of things is it kicks my metabolism into quick-time so it'll help me adjust to the new arm and take the sting out of some of my other injuries." Alex stalled. "My resistance to disease is almost phenomenal, which is invaluable considering all the travelling I do, and some of that crap is to jump up my reflexes and increase my memory capacity. Most of it is really practical stuff. Vasili was a wizard at chemical manipulations and fucked if I know where he scrounged up some of his raw materials all those years ago." He bit his lip and darted a quick glance at Victor. "But there's one of mixes that does some strange shit to me. I..." Alexei's brows were tight together. "It's a bit unconventional." His sister seemed to guess at his problem. "Put it bluntly, Lexi. I'm not a kid." "Bluntly? All right. I can do blunt." He nodded stiffly. "Here's the story. After my shots my sex drive shoots completely through the roof and it's an absolute frenzy for the first day or two. After that I'm still a bit pressed for self-control and leaking these really powerful pheromones for about a month before my body starts to level off. These fucking drugs soak in, keeping me cranked up for most of the year. So, that's why I'm such an absolute slut, okay." He tried a laugh, but couldn't quite pull it off. "Don't tell me you didn't think there wasn't something a little off about me, Vicka. We're twins. We shouldn't be as different as we are." Alex addressed his brother who was shaking his head in disbelief. "You remember last Christmas, don't you? Stacey gave me my shots Christmas Eve. You saw me. I was a complete basket case, crawling all over Mac..." Alexei halted in mid-sentence, choking on the name of his lover. He pushed abruptly away from the table. "I don't want to do this." He turned away. "If you want a nice calm explanation of what's going to happen tonight go talk to Nicola. If you don't want to deal with it then I'd suggest you both go to bed early and stick a chair under your doorknobs for the night 'cause I'm not really coherent while it's happening." "Alex." Victor climbed to his feet. "Don't walk away from us. You're our brother." "Let it go, Vicka." He continued to present only his broad back to them. "Riene, the servants and that boy will take care of me. Mrs Uritski's son, Nicki's driver, has a good strong constitution and the maid Nicola hired is quite the tasty morsel." "You haven't taken those friggin' drugs yet. Stop acting like a spoiled baby and talk to us, damn it." Victor crossed the room to physically twist his twin around. "Do you have to take them? Do you get sick if you don't? Do you suffer withdrawal or something?" Alexei blinked twice in surprise. "Of course I have to take them." His tone reflected complete disbelief of the concept Victor was suggesting. "Why? Will your blood turn to Jell-O or something if you don't? Or is this just another one of Nicola's little control games?" Victor kept his grip on the other, sensing he was considering flight. "How about you just skip them this year? We'll put them in your luggage and you'll have them if some physical need arises. If not, you trash them and forgot about being Nicola's whore for the rest of the year." "I've been taking them since I was twelve years old." Victor winced, getting a disturbing mental picture of a pre-teen Alex in the state his twin had described a few moments ago. "Just try it. Go clean for a month and see if it screws you up. You might not need that crap pumping in your veins, Alex. Have you ever even considered refusing these drugs?" Victor kept their gazes locked forcing Alex to absorb what he was saying. "Wouldn't it be nice not to be a slave to your desires? Wouldn't you like to control why you sleep with someone... who you sleep with? Wouldn't you prefer it actually meant something to you when you had sex with someone? God, Alex! You don't have to live like this." Alex's headshake was only the slightest movement. His throat was working at swallowing without success. "I wouldn't dare. It's how I function, Vicka. It's the way I work. I'd be useless without it." "Does Marie whore herself out like you do, Alex? Do Anastasia, Tatiana and Olga? Are the Catherines expected to? Or can they do their jobs just fine by using their brains and working hard?" "It's not the same thing." Alexei protested. "Their training was different. Vasili never laid a hand on any of them. They had different teachers than me. They... Nicki prefers that the girls don't prostitute themselves, not unless it's unavoidable." Victor didn't respond but continued to hold his brother's stare. He simply allowed what Alex, himself, had said to sink into the other's brain. "But..." The Russian was floundering, searching desperately for guidance. Sharp teeth cut into his lower lip drawing a drop of blood. "Is that what you want, Vicka? You know I'll do whatever you want." Alex closed the distance between them, almost touching mouths. His eyes were shining moistly even in the subdued light of the dining room. "I need you so much and I don't know why. It hurts." His fingers reached up to twist into the front of his brother's shirt and his entire body shifted forward bringing them into contact. "Will you love me if I refuse my injections? Is that what it takes?" His head tilted preparing for a kiss. "Alex no." Victor pulled away from the near collision while moving his grip to the other's flesh and blood wrist. "Alice and I will love you no matter what you do. I want you to do what YOU think is right for a change. I want YOU to make this decision not based on what I want or what Nicola wants but simply on what's right for YOU." With each emphasised word Victor squeezed his brother's wrist. "I don't know. I just can't." Alexei disentangled himself and drew back to just beside the doorway. He put his back to the wall. " My record sucks, Vicka. Anytime I've ever tried to decide something important for myself it makes things just go to hell." He confessed in a broken whisper. "I end up hurting the people who matter, the ones who care. Straight from Dickin right up to you and Mac and Li Ann." Alex winced and scrubbed violently at the bridge of his nose as if attempting to inhibit an internal wound. "I've damaged everybody who ever gave a damn. I can't trust my judgement in this, Vicka. Just tell me what you want me to do." "Victor." Allegra suggested softly. "Maybe you should worry about the ethical entanglements later." She rose out of her own chair and edged closer to where the twins were squaring off. "I think Alex needs simple direction right now not a moral dilemma." Alexei took no notice of their sister or her words. His entire being was still focused on Victor, who found the intensity of the concentration disturbing to say the least. It would be so easy to simply tell Alex what to do but that would be substituting one master for another. Still, maybe that was the way to go. They could work on building his twin up gradually until Alex could see the answers for himself. Victor's jaw clenched briefly. "Yes, Alex. It's what I want." He admitted reluctantly. Alexei's eyes drifted shut at the sound of those few words. He was halfway through an eager nod when Nicola appeared in the archway. The elderly woman assessed the situation in a lightening strike then without any change in her expression she lifted the needle she was casually palming and stuck it into Alex's arm just below his T-shirt sleeve. He let out a pained squeak of shock and immediately turned to look at Nicki but made no move to escape the hypodermic. Her glacial gaze locked with Victor's and held as Nicola pressed down the plunger. "I had a few moments between calls so I thought I'd get our precious Lexi started myself." She announced aristocratically. One thin white eyebrow lifted, daring the newcomer to the family to object. Riene ghosted out of the woman's slight shadow and offered up what looked like a little bouquet of needles. "Thank you, Dear." Nicola dropped the now-empty syringe into the teenager's empty hand and selected another needle at random. Alexei fell back against the wall, thumping his head harshly, turning his face away from the amazed audience and squeezing his eyes shut. It was Riene who finally acknowledged Victor and Allegra's protesting looks with a verbal response. "You two should retire for the evening." She advised in a low voice. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on our guy tonight." "You have no right to..." Victor began. Nicola's look of disdain froze him in mid-sentence. The woman appeared the very image of an ice carving. She was a statue of a dowager queen, deceptively fragile and frightening regal at the same time. The southern heat wasn't even denting her silvered perfection. Her thinning hair was immaculately puffed up and styled. Her fine-boned face was carefully made-up and she continued to wear a long-sweeping skirt despite the climate change. Her only concession seemed to be a switch to thin, pristine white fabric. "I have been seeing to my Alexei's welfare for over twenty years now, young man. The things I've taught him..." Long, elegant fingers pushed up a corner of his shirt and thrust another sharp point into side. "I have kept Alexei alive through situations that would have killed an ordinary man. He'd be laying discarded in a ditch outside of Moscow right now if I hadn't purchased him." Nicola continued on in that same moderate tone of voice ignoring the fact that Alex had started to moan and writhe against the whitewashed wall. "He'd be dead a dozen times over without the support I've given him in the past." She asserted; as yet another syringe was selected. "I have every right in the world, young man, and you have no idea what kind of far-reaching consequences would arise from you interfering with Alexei's duties to the Family." Her thin lips pushed into a small moue of annoyance. "Don't think I do this for my own amusement, young Victor. It's completely necessary for our Alexei's well being. You simply have to trust me for now but eventually you will be apprised of the entire situation, and you will understand and approve. I'm certain of it." "I don't believe you." Victor stated bluntly. "You're a liar." "Victor, don't!" Allegra hissed out a warning. But rather than taking offence, Nicola simply smiled. "Luckily for you I find your candour refreshing, young Victor." She shoved at Alexei's shoulders, turning him to face the wall then tugged the back of his trousers down. "But you shouldn't take my tolerance for granted, Child. It isn't unlimited." Alex let out a wail as yet another needle breached his skin. His hands were fisted and beginning to pound against the wall. His whole body was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane and a heavy sweat was beginning to paste his thin shirt to his spine. "You should leave, Vicka. Now!" Riene began to bounce nervously up and down on the balls of her feet. "You too, Alla, considering your condition. Lexi might hurt the baby if he gets hold of you." "Go." Victor flicked a hand at his sister but he made no move to leave himself. Allegra waffled only a moment before practically running out the door. The threat to her unborn child was enough to spook her off. Victor continued to stare at the scene before him as Nicole found a patch of skin to jab in the fifth hypo. The elderly lady then stepped back and considered the tableau. "You can send him along to me a few hours I should think, after the first rage dies down a little. I'll guide him through Peter's initiation. In the meantime I'll have Mrs Uritski send Pavel along to give you a hand with our darling." Nicola reached over to take the empty hypodermics from the teenage girl. "Victor. Go to bed. This part of Lexi's life is no concern of yours. Iíd prefer if you kept out of it." Riene gave up the needles absently. Most of her attention was fixed on where Alexei was twisting in place. "Is it hurting him, Nicki?" Her voice was strangely timid. "Oh really, Catherine!" The elderly lady seemed annoyed once more. "I should have realised you weren't up to this task. I should have insisted Olga come home immediately." The girl's back immediately stiffened. "I can do this." She asserted. "I've read the reports. It's all a matter of attitude to keep him under control." Riene paced purposefully over to her mentor and tugged at his displaced clothing. "Lexi! Look at me, Lexi." She was up on her tiptoes. "Christ he smells so blasted good." The tip of her tongue poked out to flick at some of the sweat on his neck." Alex groaned at the contact and Riene's mouth pulled into a grin. "Tastes sharp, a little metallic but delicious. What the hell is in that stuff you give him, Nicki?" "Mind your task and don't try to be subtle or coy with him, Child. Alexei's only going to respond on a rather primal level for the first hour or two." Nicola advised, turning away. "Come fetch me if you have trouble. I've a special little scenario prepared that I can use to entangle him if there's trouble, although I'd rather not rely on it if I don't have to. If you're going to leave, Victor, now would be the time. As soon as our darling realises you're still in the room..." She chuckled and walked out without finishing her thought. "Alexei." Riene was practically cooing his name now. She used his shirt as a handle and pulled herself against him, shivering in anticipation. "Come on, Lover. Let me see what this shit does to you firsthand." Alexei was sucking in deep breaths of air, almost gasping. "Hurts." He hissed out in a sibilant whisper. His body was bucking against hers now. "You want me to kiss it better?" The girl wiggled encouragingly against him. His eyes open a slit to reveal green fire. "I want." Every muscle in his body seemed to be straining against flying apart. Riene dared another small kitten-lick, this time along his jaw. The chemicals he was sweating out made her tongue tingle and her pulse race. "What do you want, my own? A ten-digit Swiss bank account, the address of a decent hairdresser or a bowl of chocolate pudding?" She teased, disregarding Nicola's warning about using the direct method. Alexei's snarl and sideways shove caught her completely off guard. Riene's prone form didn't even rate a second look as he stalked his twin brother. "I want you, moi Vicka." Pure instinct made Victor back away from the other man. There was something altogether too feral in Alex's expression. Only the heavy dining table halted his quick retreat. "Alex, think about this." Victor advised with a tremor in his voice. "Been thinkin' about it." The Russian closed the distance in three strides. "Been thinkin' about it for a year now but Mac and Li Ann said 'don't touch'. That's the first bloody rule they threw at me. 'You don't fuck around with Victor.' They insisted. Well they ain't here and we are. You picked ME." The last sentence was hotly murmured straight into the shell of Victor's ear. The sensation made Victor gulp in a deep breath of air despite Alex's looming presence right beside him. True to the information they'd given him there was a decidedly strong tang to his brother's perspiration that seared his lungs and made his head spin. "Jeez, Alex." Why did something that seemed completely unacceptable not fifteen minutes ago now seem like a prize? Victor's face tipped back, baring his throat and he bowed outward toward the other man. "We can't. We're related." Some part of his brain was protesting even as his body began to respond. "Don't care. Never have cared about that kind of garbage." Alex argued. His arms slipped around Victor and he ran his parted lips along his brother's cheek, coaxing. "I want what I want. Fuck moral conventions." He laughed to himself, grinding their bodies together. "Rather fuck you, though." "Alex no." "Okay, you do me. I like getting screwed. Like it more than's wise. Been called a slut 'nough times to enjoy the sound of it." He countered, shifting up and down to rub his crotch over Victor's hip. "Come on, Vicka. Please, please, please." Alexei shifted so he could catch the other's hand. "Stop it." The protests continued even as Victor trembled against the assault on his senses and unconsciously rocked his own erection against Alex. "No fucking. That's not us." "Lemmie blow you then, Vicka. Just a little taste. I'm top dollar at it. Swear to God. I can take it right down my throat. You've never had better." Alexei's mouth was nibbling now and soft whines of anticipation were underscoring his words. Strangely enough he'd picked up a slight Irish lilt somewhere over the course of the last few sentences. "Come on, Baby. I'll rim you. Bet nobody's ever done that for you, Love. I wanna shove my tongue into you. That used'ta make him scream. Made him come that way couple times." He alluded without clarifying who it was he spoke of. A wracking shudder tore through Victor. His mouth felt like it was stuffed with wool and his body was getting away from him, rutting against Alex. His accent shifted erratically once again. "Touch me, Vicka. Pazhaluysta. Ya liubliu tebia. Ya khachoo tebia, moi Vicka." Alexei's firm grip dragged Victor's hand forward and hard up against his crotch. The Russian's prosthetic was yanking at concealing clothing. Experimentally Victor squeezed the fabric straining against his palm and an absolutely wrenching cry broke from his brother's throat. Artificial fingers were digging into the flesh of his back and the noises coming out of Alex were intoxicating little whimpers of desire. Not daring to delve any deeper into his reasoning Victor let his hand continue to massage the dampening material under his fingers. So this was what Mulder saw in Alex, Victor thought, feeling a flush of guilt that still wasn't strong enough to stall out the action. It was addicting to have someone so desperately yearning for his touch. One of Alex's legs had lifted and attempting to hook around Victor in order to pull him even closer. Alex had given up on words in favour of a hungry keening noise. He was masturbating himself without shame against Victor's teasing hand. His face was a gorgeous mask of pleasure as it tipped back so he could drag in deep breaths of air. Victor watched in fascination at his twin's entire body coiled into a shivering arch of rapture. A scream of release echoed through the room and Alex practically convulsed against him, clutching frantically. Victor almost came from emotional sympathy as his brother clung to him, swearing his devotion. "Unless you're ready to go to the next level with this, Vicka." Riene appeared at their side. "I'd suggest you put him down and get the hell out of here before he catches his breath." She remarked. "Not that I wouldn't like to play along with this kind of game. You look simply breathtaking together." Victor shook his head attempting to clear some the fuzz away. "What have I done? Oh Jeez." He pushed Alex away with a harsh, jerky movement. "Vicka!" The Russian protested being shoved from the other's arms. "It's okay." "No. It's not." Victor's head continued to shake back and forth as he distanced himself from his twin. "We can't do this, Alex. It's wrong for so many reasons. You'll realise that if you think it through." "Wrong? Like I care about what's right or wrong?" Alexei argued, his voice growing sharper with every shallow breath. "Stop thinking so much, damn it." Victor's forehead crumpled up into a set of lines. His hands fisted at his sides and his mouth hung open. He couldn't leave Alex alone, but neither could he give into what his twin wanted of him. "Go." Riene interrupted. "I'll take care of him. Nicki doesn't really want you screwing our Lexi-darling anyway, Vicka." Victor had too much control over his brother already. There was no sense handing him another length of the leash. She flicked her fingers in dismissal then put all her effort into twining herself about Alexei, plucking at his thin clothes and pressing kisses on every bit of skin she could reach. "Lexi." Riene caught hold of his chin and forced him to look down at her. "You and me, here on the table. Come on, Lover. That would have barely taken the edge off for you." "No." Victor's denial broke them apart. "No." He repeated with more conviction. "I'll take care of him. That's what you want, isn't it Alex?" Riene was shoved away once more and Alexei practically flung himself against his brother's form. "Oh yesss, moi Vicka." A plan was consolidating inside Victor's mind. "And you'll do what I want?" "Anything." The other man promised without hesitation. "Okay, come with me." Victor wiggled until he had some slack then crooked his head, indicating a direction. "My room, Alex. Come to my room. Leave her here." Riene was making protesting noises that both men ignored as Victor drew Alex out the door and down the hallway. "Gonna be sweet, Vicka moi liubovnik." The Russian lost control momentarily, shoving Victor against the wall in order to grope him. "Gonna show you all my best moves. Gonna do everything I've always..." "Alex." Victor interrupted, laying his fingers across the other's lips. "What I want is for you to keep control. You said you'd do anything for me." He reminded when it looked as if Alex was break into objections. "I want you to try and work through this addiction. I'll help you. You won't have to do it alone." "Vicka, not that." Alex nuzzled into the crook of his brother's throat. "You don't realise. I'll do almost anything for you. I've already done things... but it's too hard, what you're asking. Anything but that. I need contact so bad right now it's killing me, boiling my blood inside me." He opened his mouth to suckle at the other's skin. Victor edged away and a few more steps down the hall, dragging his brother along. He needed to get them behind a safely closed door so they could work through this situation without the women interfering again. "You're stronger than you think, Alex. You're more than a stray cat in heat." "No. I'm not." Came the whining objection. "Want you. Need to touch you." Fingers were exploring, wreaking havoc with Victor's own self control. "Alex. Stop it." Victor gripped his twin's arms to hold him still so he could capture the other's attention. "Consider all you've gone through in your life. How can you let a little vial of drugs control you when with just a few moves you can tip the balance of world power? It's absurd. You're more powerful than a needle full of drugs. Let me prove it to you, Alex." His speech drew his brother just a little further along the route to Victor's room. "I'll help you get through the night. Please Alex. Do this for me. Go through the rest of the night without playing along with their mindless sex games. Prove to Nicola you're not a puppet." The beginning of a sob broke across Alex's lips. "I'm hungry." He complained. "I don't think I can do it." Victor smoothed his thumb across that trembling mouth. "Won't you at least try?" "If that's what you want." Alexei's head fell forward to rest his face against Victor. His whole body was shivering with restrained need. "I'll try for you my love." Out of the corner of his eye Victor caught movement at the end of the hall. He had to get Alex inside the safety of his bedroom. Riene was bouncing in front of Nicki like an impatient, over-eager puppy. The old lady, her face pinched into an annoyed frown, was towing Peter into sight. The teenage boy was done up in a rather strange fashion. His pale hair was tied back out of the way in a pony-tail and he was wearing ratty green army pants that looked just a bit silly on his slight frame. A pair of shiny silver dog tags lay against his hairless chest. Nicola shoved the young man forward, making him stumble. "Do what I told you, Child. I've work to get back to." She ordered. Peter swallowed nervously then called out. "Xander." "Dickin?" Alex's face lifted and he shot a disbelieving stare down the hallway. Upon sighting the teenager his lip curled up in irritation. "What the hell are you trying to prove, Boy?" Nicola cleared her throat and glared at Peter who paled under the intensity of that attention. "Xander." Peter tried again, attempting to keep his voice from cracking. His own English accent was laid on even thicker than usual. "C'mon, Sweet thing." He beckoned. "Come play. I need you to fuck me right now...against the wall, Xander Baby." The younger man moved to lean against the plaster, his legs spread in invitation. It was hard to tell if his body was trembling with fear or anticipation. "Alex no." Victor pulled at his brother's arm. A faint whimper of pain squeaked out of Alexei. "But I'm so hard." Riene eased up behind Peter and with a few practised flicks of her fingers had his trousers undone and down around his ankles. She skimmed one palm down his spine and over the curve of his ass while watching Alexei for a reaction. "Xander, please." The young man encouraged. "Just..." Alex disentangled himself from Victor's grip. "Just a little taste, just to take the edge back off. Just a quick touch." He rationalised, taking one step. "Alex come to my room." His twin countered. "I'll help you." "I'm gonna explode if I don't fuck someone, Vicka." 'Would Victor have sex with him?' was the unspoken question behind his statement. Everyone in the hallway understood that, even if it wasn't asked aloud. "I need it so badly." Victor hesitated, reluctance showing. "I feel it to, Alex, but..." His muscles were tightened to the straining point as he fought for control of himself. "That's the one thing I can't do that with you, but I do love you and I can help you get past this." "XANDER!" Peter's plea hit at exactly the right instant. Alexei shuddered violently and scrambled away from Victor and towards the body being offered up to him. Nicola distracted Victor from the sight by stepping around the young people and pacing purposefully over to the Canadian. "You don't grasp the situation." She began. When his head turned towards the trio, Nicki took hold of his chin and turned him back to face her. "Do you want our Dearest to go into seizures and die?" She questioned. "You're exaggerating." Victor accused. "I would tell you to interrupt and find out for yourself, but 'I' care more about our Lexi than that. How about you prove you're concerned for his health as well. Go to bed and stay out of this. We can get back to wrestling for his loyalty again in a few days when he's feeling better, all right?" Silvery brows lifted at the glare he turned on her. "Such a look of surprise." Nicola mocked. "You think, perhaps, I don't realise what you're up to, young Victor? I've played this game before. I've wrestled with other people for control of my Lexi's loyalties before and won every time. Luckily for you I've decided this time not to crush you for your insolence but rather to educate you." Her smile was tight. "You'll understand eventually and you will thank me." Nicki predicted before sweeping into a circle. "REINE! Herd those boys into a room before poor Mrs Uritski wanders down this hallway then see about distracting Lexi. I don't want my Petya damaged." Victor hesitated, wondering if he should test Nicola's threats but he could see enough of Alex and Peter's actions to realise that his moment had come and gone. The old lady was right, which was a disturbing revelation to say the least. He would have to let his brother burn out some of the fury that was upon him then renew his efforts. Victor turned reluctantly away. Victor was still staring at the ceiling, trying hard not to think when Riene let herself into his bedroom. It was a powerful indicator of how messed up he really was that the sight of a completely nude, extremely beautiful young woman made only the slightest impression on him. He glanced briefly her way then, swallowing a useless complaint about his lack of privacy, Victor continued his examination of the spider-web thin cracks in the plaster. Riene was just too much like her teacher in so many ways. "Go away." The order was flat, lacking any real emotional force. Riene padded across the wood-plank floor and sat down on the edge of his bed. "I didn't think you'd get much sleep tonight." She observed. Her voice was slightly ravaged because of the bruising on her throat. "No one is getting much sleep this evening." Victor reached up to grind the heels of his hands into his eye sockets. "I hope you're fucking proud of yourselves. You won this round. Save your gloating for someone who'll care." "You care." She giggled. "But I'm not here to gloat, Vicka Honey. I'm just on a break. Alexei is with Nicki and Peter. Nicki has one on a leash and the other one tied to the headboard." The teenager offered unwanted details with a gleam of mischief lighting up her dark eyes. "She doesn't want pretty Petya all torn up." Riene winced at the twinge from a pulled muscle and attempted to squirm into a more comfortable position, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her knuckles. "I thought I'd best check to see if you'd crawled into a bottle of Jack Daniels. There's some in the kitchen if you want it. Mama Uritski bought it just for you. Of course there's always vodka in the freezer or a bit of that rum Lexi keeps on hand for when he's gets into a especially melancholy mood." Riene absently spit on a corner of his sheet and used it to dab at an especially bloody bite-mark on her ribcage. "Not that you're really much of a drinker these days, but you used to be, according to your file." Victor rolled, offering her his back. "There's nothing wrong with having a set of values and attempting to live by them, Vicka Darling, but carving them into stone tablets..." She sighed. "That route isn't going to work if you're going to stay with us. You need to be a bit more flexible." She ran a finger over his shoulder only to have it shaken off. "Go away." A little more conviction crept into his tone this time. "It's your own fault. You could have kept him with you tonight if you'd just been willing to unbend a little and give him what he needed. I know it doesn't bother you that he's a guy. I mean, hell, you and the lovely Agent Mulder were going at it pretty hot and heavy." She acknowledged his growl of annoyance with another low giggle. "So it's got to be the brother thing." Riene's breath escaped in a slight laugh of amusement, making her cough immediately afterwards. "You're both consenting adults over thirty. Neither of you is liable to get knocked up from this and have a two-headed baby. You weren't even raised in the same hemisphere." She listed. "Ne pizdi, moi Lubimij. I know for a fact Alexei's fucked around with a few people that could be counted as more inappropriate than you could. That flatheaded bastard Arntzen, the man he called 'Father' for eleven years, screwed Lexi when he was eighteen. Our darling was trying to make nice with the old man while doing his term in the Russian army and that's the only thing the dolboy'eb wanted of Alexei. Well, that and a freebie assassination or two." Victor turned back to look at Riene. For some reason that information didn't really surprise him. "My point is..." She smiled despite slightly swollen lips. "You and Lexi are grown men capable of making informed decisions. What's the harm in a bit of carnal indulgence if both of you are interested?" "You don't understand." Victor admonished. "It's about more than just conventional morals. It's about teaching Alex that he doesn't have to somehow pay for every scrap of affection or approval he gets. It's about proving someone can still love him even if he doesn't sleep with them." He dropped onto his back once more. "Why can't any of you grasp how important that lesson is?" Riene paused, seeming to consider his argument. "But haven't you already taught him that lesson over this last year? He's got the concept, now he wants his turn to demonstrate how he shows love." Victor sighed. "But if that's the only way he can demonstrate how he feels about me then he didn't learn the lesson, did he?" He glanced over at her, his nose wrinkling as he re-absorbed her nudity and her general disarray. Her hips, breasts, shoulders were pressure marked and one of her cheeks was darkly bruised. Even illuminated by only the dimmest glow Riene's nipples looked almost raw. Most disturbing was the intoxicating aroma of Alex's sweat, sex and blood that clung to her like some kind of exotic perfume. "There's a shirt on the floor if you want it." Victor remarked. "I don't." Riene responded. "You're such a puritanical old lady, Vicka. You're hiding it behind all these complicated explanations, but basically that's the problem. YOU are a prude." "Am not!" He protested indignantly. "Are too!" The girl shot back with a playful grin. Victor offered up a put-upon expression. "Go away, Riene. I'm not in the mood to trade school-yard taunts with you." Her expression sobered and she ran an appraising look down his sheet-covered form. With no warning the teenager threw herself over top of him and locked her lips against his. The sheet was yanked away and a small hand dipped down to slip inside his boxer bottoms. He let out a muffled yelp of objection but the slim body squirmed as he tried to get a grip on her. "Too young!" Victor managed only a pair of words amid the sucking kisses she was inflicting. "Load of bull-shit." Riene crossed, her fingers working to arouse him as quickly as possible. "I'm more experienced than you, Vicka sweetie." Her tongue flicked the inside of his ear. "I know all of Lexi's best tricks." The body under her hands was responding eagerly enough even as he verbally denied her. The fact that she was fragrant with Alexei's pheromone-heavy sweat probably didn't hurt either. Victor groaned. Bad enough he was already tangled up with guilt over what had very nearly happened... what HAD happened with Alex. Messing around with a girl almost young enough to be his daughter was a horrible idea no matter how absolutely exquisite she was. "Riene, don't." "Nye byispakoytyiss, moi Vicka." The girl whispered. "You think too much. Let go. I've got you." She mouthed along his jaw then took another kiss. "Come on, Vicka-love. I know you're still simmering from your near miss earlier. Can't you just taste him on my skin?" She snuggled in, rubbing her bare body against his. The moment of surrender came quicker than she had expected when she'd first come up with this idea. Riene almost crowed her delight when he stopped pushing against her and ran a tentative caress up her side. "Mmm. Da, moi Vicka. Khorosho." She squirmed, inviting more contact. This was too perfect for words. First she'd had her beloved Lexi in an absolutely savage fury. Now she was going to follow it with a sweet interlude with the delectably naive Victor. After this she fully intended to go back to her mentor and see what would result from returning to Alexei while still reeking of sex with adorable Vicka. In all likelihood his talented tongue wouldn't leave her body until dawn. If she lived to be a hundred Riene was certain she'd never enjoy a night more satisfying than this one. "Nye pyiristahntye." She grabbed at his upper arms to keep them around her. "Jeez, Riene." Victor said faintly. If this kept up he was going to start getting an erection every time one of them spoke Russian around him, no matter what the words meant. "You're just a baby." Still, his fingers continued to skim her warm flesh. Allowing himself to touch his mouth to Riene, Victor discovered a distinctly Alex-like flavour to her. Christ, that was likely Alex's cum flavouring her kisses. To his embarrassment that faint, almost familiar taste was enough to make the blood race inside his veins. Shoving his more sensible thoughts to the back of his brain where he could worry about them in the morning Victor gave himself up to the sensations she was wringing out of him. Please be kind. My attempts at Russian are supposed to mean: Pazhaluysta—please Sukin syn—Son of a bitch Ya liubliu tebia.—I love you Ya khachoo tebia- I need you Ne pizdi, moi Lubimij—get off it, my beloved Nye byispakoytyiss—Don't worry Nye pyiristahntye—Don't stop doing that (?) Khorosho—good Part Two Hong Kong Re-visited So, Li Ann decided, the moral of the events that had unfolded over the last few days was 'never piss off the head of an international crime syndicate'. Nicola Romanov's version of a slap on the wrist was to drug them unconscious then dump Li Ann, her lover Dana and Dana's partner, Mulder in a foreign country with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They had no ID, no money and Li Ann's contacts in Hong Kong were all over four years old and pre-Chinese takeover. "I suppose the thing to do is to call in and grovel for Kersh." Scully's mouth twisted in annoyance. The Assistant Director in charge of both of them was more than likely already writing up their suspension orders. "We had authorization to chase Krycek up to Alaska, not to jaunt over to Hong Kong. We are so far out of our jurisdiction here it's frightening. He's going to be furious." "Nothing we could have done on this assignment would have pleased him. The man hates us, Scully." Mulder reminded his partner. "The only reason we're not wading through manure and paperwork right now is because Skinner tapped us for the bust that Krycek wandered into." He started to rub the back of his hand across the bridge of his nose but the action stalled out and he winced in pain. Bruises shadowed both his eyes and his nose, evidence of the fight he'd been in that precipitated this mess. "We'd be better off having the embassy call your Mother than we would contacting the Bureau at this point." "Manure isn't looking so bad right now." Dana finished her fruitless exploration of the room and settled down on the edge of the bed nearest to Li Ann. "There's nothing here that doesn't belong to the hotel." Small mercy they were still dressed, right down to the shoes on their feet. "Do you know where the American embassy is Li Ann?" Scully looked up at the oriental woman. Li Ann began to reach, intending to stroke that rich copper hair but she abandoned the movement before completing it, unsure if it would be welcomed. "As long as it hasn't moved since I left, yes." As a matter of fact she had done a few minor burglaries in that building back when she and Mac were still working for the Tang family. "It's a long walk from here but we should be able to make it without too much trouble." Dana's expression grew thoughtful. "Will your records hold up to that kind of scrutiny or are you going to be stuck here even if Mulder and I get out?" It took a certain amount of willpower not to react fearfully to that suspicion. The Romanov family had provided Li Ann with a complete background story that pegged her as a native New Yorker but there was the possibility that Nicola had withdrawn that courtesy as well. Her fingerprints, if they were taken, would name her a resident of Hong Kong; something Li Ann no longer had any desire to be. "There's no reason to think the embassy will dispute my alias." She announced the lie confidently. "We'd best be on our way as quickly as possible. I don't want to have to explain to the desk clerk that we don't have any money if someone comes collecting for the night's lodging." Li Ann barely got the words out of her mouth when the door crashed in with a screeching splinter of over-stressed wood. Uniformed men pointing guns poured in the breach shouting for the occupants of the room to throw themselves to the floor and put their hands behind their heads. Li Ann comprehended the curt Mandarin but Mulder and Scully simply stared in shock at the soldiers. The invaders responded to their inaction by roaring the incomprehensible orders even louder. Rifle barrels gestured and Mulder was thrown face first against a wall when he attempted to protest. The agent groaned in pain at the abuse to his already battered body. "STAND STILL, DANA!" Li Ann snapped a warning at her lover to prevent the same thing from happening to the redhead. "What do you think you're doing?" Scully was demanding of the soldiers who attempted to manhandle her up beside her partner. "Let go of him. We're American citizens. Who are you people?" A few words were screamed right into the female FBI agent's face. Seeing that action Mulder once again attempted to break free of the restraining hands with little success. "Leave her alone!" He cursed vividly. "For God's sake, Dana. Stand still and be quiet. I'll find out what's going on." Li Ann cautioned her once more. "Mulder stop struggling or one of them is going to shoot you." She translated another threat only to earn a gun shoved hard into her throat. Mulder's ineffective fighting came to an end as a pistol was dug into the skin behind his right ear and he froze, leaning against the wall. Yet another gun was placed tight under Scully's chin. In a matter of seconds the only sound in the hotel room was everyone's harsh breathing. "Much better." From the fractured doorway came a woman's voice. A slight, stern faced woman in an officer's uniform paced into the room and came to halt within speaking distance of the prisoners. A sharp command in Mandarin relaxed the soldiers enough so that the three could breath more easily but gun barrels still hovered ready for any twitches of resistance. The female officer reached inside her jacket and extracted a crisply folded piece of paper. "You are Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and Li Ann Tsei." She announced in accented English. Her attention was on Li Ann, waiting for acknowledgement. "Yes, we are." Came the cautious admission. The officer nodded. "You are all under arrest. The Americans for espionage. You..." She looked straight at Li Ann. "For treason." "We haven't done anything. We just got here." Mulder protested automatically. "You can't do this to us." The Major tapped the document she held absently against her open palm. She continued to concentrate solely on Li Ann. "I have it on the best authority that the three of you are responsible for the theft of extremely sensitive, classified documents." A faint smile crooked her mouth. "I intend to have you in front of a firing squad before their government even realises where Nicola has deposited you." Her smirk grew even more vicious as she indicated who was responsible for their predicament. "Major Chao?" Li Ann made a wild guess, recalling the name of a Romanov contact from the time when she had first met Alex in Hong Kong back in'95. The woman inclined her head slightly. "Yes." "Those two are American Federal Agents. This frame-up is political suicide." Li Ann countered. "I'll go with you but you'd best release them to the custody of the American Consulate immediately." Surely the woman wasn't willing to risk the consequences of falsely imprisoning a pair of FBI agents. "Orders are orders." The Major said blandly before raising her voice and switching to Mandarin for the sake of the soldiers. {If any of them give you the slightest bit of trouble you are expected to shoot without hesitation. Lethal wounds are not only allowed but also encouraged. Those are your orders.} She smiled once more. "You had best translate for your companions, Ms Tsei. There will be no further warnings given." Li Ann glared coldly at the officer as she spoke to her lover. "Dana. These people will take any excuse to execute us as escaping prisoners. Don't argue with me. Don't provoke them in any way, Mulder." She cautioned him especially. "I sincerely doubt this Major has the authority to actually do the things she's threatening." Li Ann challenged the officer with her stare. "But until this gets straightened out we all need to behave very carefully." "You..." Major Chao disagreed in a frighteningly flat tone. "Are not going to survive long enough to have your theory proven, young lady." Li Ann felt a lump of ice forming in her stomach as she realised that was almost certainly true. Possibilities were tearing through Li Ann's mind and being discarded just as quickly. They had to get away before they were locked into secure quarters but the soldiers were under orders to kill them at the first suggestion of escape. The window of opportunity was frightfully narrow. It had to wait until they were outside the hotel but before they were shoved into cars. On top of everything Li Ann had no way to warn Mulder and Scully of her intentions. Praying to every deity she had ever heard of the former thief slowed her steps just a bit as they neared the front door of the hotel. Through the windows the street looked crowded enough, not the kind of situation where the soldiers would fire wildly. Damn, Li Ann couldn't help but wish she were doing this with Alex, Mac or Victor at her back. She had no idea if Dana and Mulder were up to the kind of action she was about to demand from them. It being so soon after Mulder fought with Mac and taken a beating from Victor she wasn't even sure he would be able to run. Still, there wasn't any other choice. Once outside the wide doors Li Ann faked a stumble. When the man escorting her grabbed after her arm she whirled and tore his gun out of his grip. The Oriental woman then dropped and rolled on the hard concrete to take out the legs from underneath Dana's guard. Gratefully the Agents picked up on the proceedings quickly. Scully kicked someone hard, earning a grunt of pain, and Mulder slammed into the soldier holding him. "RUN!" Li Ann screamed the order at her companions and took off. Fighting was only a stopgap solution. These men were armed and they outnumbered the trio. If the footsteps clattering behind her were any indication Dana, at least, had listened to the command. There was nothing quite like the sound of high heels running on pavement. Hopefully the woman wouldn't break her legs trying to keep up. There was a cough of gunfire and Li Ann skidded around a corner and into an alleyway. She dared a brief glance behind her and was relieved to see both the Federal agents were following at her heels. Mulder trailed last, shielding his female partner with his larger frame. Of course there were also uniformed men not too far behind. As soon as they burst into another knot of humanity Li Ann jogged sideways into the thickest concentration of people in the hopes it would prevent gunplay. She tightened her grip on the gun she'd taken from her captor, not wanting to stop and fire but prepared to do it if it became necessary. Another cracking shot made her shoulder blades itch, but a vaguely familiar building lifted Li Ann's spirits slightly. She came to halt quick enough that Dana ploughed into her. "C'mon." The front door was flung open and Li Ann led them into the relative darkness. A set of stairs in the shadows to one side was her goal. She heard stumbling. As Li Ann had expected, Mulder seemed to be having trouble keeping up the pace. Pulling her lover by the wrist to keep Scully from slowing down to aid her partner, the oriental woman tore down the steps. A few seconds later they burst back out into the sunlight once more. Dana was breathing hard but Li Ann didn't dare to let up on the pace. She dragged the pair of Americans through a dozen half remembered short cuts and side paths in an attempt to shake off their pursuers. It was at least a half an hour later and her legs were starting to feel like lead weights before Li Ann chanced coming to a halt in the shade of a deep doorway. Dana immediately sagged against her, almost falling to the dirty ground. Mulder practically collapsed as well, biting back what looked to be a moan of pain. For the first time Li Ann noticed the dark red stain spreading along the side of Mulder's dark jacket. He shuddered and leaned heavily against the wall, every breath coming hard and his face scrunched with pain. "Oh crap." Dark eyes swept the area as Li Ann tried to drag up every memory of her youth running the streets of Hong Kong. "We have to get out of sight." "Mulder. You've been shot." Scully flared back into life at the realisation of her partner's new injury. She dragged herself across the divide and her hands started to pull off Mulder's jacket. "Just grazed." He ground out between pants. "Leave him be. We can't do this out here. We don't have time." Li Ann warned. "That building." With a wary look up and down the street, she led them a little further. No lock of any kind barred the entrance to the low apartment building. As her faded memories had suggested, the basement of the place was down a narrow hallway and the door's lock was still broken beyond repair. "Both of you stay quiet. Let me do all the talking." Li Ann warned the others yet again as her hand wrapped around the doorknob. Given a choice she would have preferred to leave the Americans somewhere safe while tending to this business but no such place existed. It didn't help that Dana was frosty and distant with anger. Li Ann had eeled through a crowded market area a few hours ago and picked a few pockets to get them enough cash for a meal, some supplies and other expenses. Maybe her mistake had been the gleeful grin she had displayed upon discovering how easily her fingers had recalled the delicate task. When her ill-gotten gains had been produced, Mulder had grimaced and looked away but Dana's scowl had been frightening to behold. Li Ann had to shove the sleeve of Mulder's jacket up to get a decent grip on the knob. The thing was a pain in the neck, far too large and still smelling of blood despite the rinse she had given it in the restaurant bathroom. Still, no other piece of clothing that they had between them would do the job of concealing the weapon she'd taken from the soldier and Li Ann insisted on carrying it. Bad enough they'd had to strain her stolen resources by buying the Agent a fresh shirt. {This is a private club!} The information snapped out in curt Cantonese. Li Ann herded Dana and Mulder to one side then yanked the heavy door closed behind them. The room was dim and the oriental woman's eyes adjusted slowly enough to make her edgy. {I'm looking for someone.} Li Ann stalled while she got her bearings. It was a cramped barren room. A single, wizened man sat behind a rickety old desk with his hands hidden under the desktop. No doubt a machine gun of some kind was pointed right at them. The only other visible door was right behind the sole occupant. It was metal with a sliding lookout hole in it. A bunch of hardcore porn magazines were scattered in front of the gaunt old guy. {I'm looking for Raka Hinn.} Li Ann took a shot in the dark. All the players had likely changed since back when she was an active member of the Tang family but she needed somewhere to start. {Raka's gone. Raka's been dead two years now. Go away.} He spat towards Mulder's feet. {We don't need their kind hanging around here.} The Agent's shoulders squared up as if he were about to protest. Li Ann waved a warning hand back at her charge, trying to keep him calm. {I've got money.} She lied. {I'm looking to buy papers.} Obviously the general purpose of this hovel hadn't changed. {I'm clean. You think if I were government I'd be dragging these two around like a tail of empty cans?} The ex-thief persisted. Mulder scowled at her tone of voice and the old man's actions but a gentle squeeze from Scully reminded him to hold his tongue. {Who are you?} Bright eyes studied her carefully, finally taking the time to examine her face. {You look familiar.} He admitted after a moment. That explained why such an old fossil was on the door rather than some muscle-bound shark. {Li Ann Tsei... Tang.} It hurt to have to lay claim to that affiliation after being free of it for so many years. {The Tang changed.} He crossed, but his hostility was blunted. {You're out of favour. I remember you now, girl. You don't belong here any more. Go away.} {I can't without papers.} She countered. {Please, just let me go inside. I'll work out a deal with whoever's jobbing passports.} {They're a lot of rough boys these days, little thief. You don't want to do a trade with the ones that work out of here. Let your foreigners take care of you.} His head jerked at the Americans. {They need papers too.} Li Ann dug out a handful of the money she had left. {I can handle rough boys.} She assured him after dropping the bribe on the desk. {Let us go in. All three of us.} She made her intentions clear. Grumbling, the guard pushed his wheeled desk chair over to a switch on the wall and flicked it a few times in sequence. In response, the spy hole slid open. Between the words he chose and his tone of voice the old man indicated that Li Ann and the others were something less than equals but more than supplicants. The inside guard grumbled. {Disarm!} Li Ann slipped out of Mulder's suit-coat and lifted the gun strap off over her head. She tossed the garment to Dana and sat the short rifle on the desk. {That's it.} The door opened a crack. {One at a time. Ladies first.} The order had to be translated. Dana nodded and finished helping her injured partner into his jacket. The inner room was slightly brighter but a haze of cigarette smoke assured that no one could be clearly seen at first glance. Everyone except the thug stayed distant, ignoring the newcomers while all three were frisked. Most of the men were seated around tables playing games or talking in low tones. "Behave, Mulder." Li Ann scolded when she noticed he was balking at the search. {Take it easy on his ribs. He's hurt.} She complained to the guard. Li Ann then ran an appraising gaze about the room. Not one of the men in the smoky bar looked familiar. It was a complete fluke that she'd even been allowed inside. Crooking her finger, Li Ann indicated that Mulder and Scully should follow her to the bar at the back of the room. Her swiftly dwindling stash took another hit as she ordered drinks but it was expected. {I'm in the market for some travelling papers.} She informed the bartender casually. {Who do I talk to?} The squatty, un-shaven man frowned before answering. {Depends on what kind. There's Yamagan, Amoto... or maybe the Major, if he takes a fancy to you.} He gestured vaguely. {How much you willing to pay?} {Most of my money is out of country.} It was no use lying about that. That would be any dealer's first concern. {The Major is your only option then.} The bartender's pointing finger grew more precise. A back corner with five men playing cards was indicated. {The Englishman. You can't miss him.} "Li Ann." Dana interrupted. "I think this is a mistake." Distaste for the place they stood in was clearly visible in her expression. "I know what I'm doing. You should be glad I do. Just, stay here and don't talk to anyone." Li Ann requested in a weary tone then stood up to pace back into the thickening gloom. True to the server's comment she picked out her target immediately. A head of pale gold stood out amid all the Orientals. Li Ann planted herself at his side and waited for acknowledgement. It was slow coming. All the other players took the opportunity to ogle her quite thoroughly before the Englishman finished the hand he was playing and leaned back in his chair. He took in her lovely oval face with a thin smile of pleasure, his attention seeming to linger longest on her dark lips. "Whacha want, Lass?" The man asked in a heavy northern-British accent. He was likely hoping to put her at a disadvantage with his choice of languages. If the man didn't know at least a smattering of Cantonese he wouldn't be in this hovel. Li Ann met his stare without flinching. "Passports, three of them." She responded smoothly. "Is there somewhere we can talk business?" Pale green eyes swept over his companions then up and down Li Ann's tall, athletic frame. "Yeah, that'd be an idea." He rose. "Come on." "I've some people with me." Li Ann took a quick step backward to avoid the hand he extended to catch her arm. He wasn't a very big man, shorter than most of the guys in her life and a bit on the lean side but the way he moved was intimidating. It reminded her of Alex when he was submerged in his assassin persona. She did not want the blond getting a grip on her. "At the bar." "Whatever. Fetch 'em over. There's an office through there." The blond shrugged fluidly and headed for the designated portal. The office was yet another grimy, dim room. This one had a table and chairs crammed into it. The walls looked damp, and the whole room smelled slightly mouldy. The blond straddled a chair and studied them with an intensity that made Li Ann want to twitch nervously. It looked as if he was waiting for her to make the opening offer. "I'm after passports and plane tickets. My friends and I need to get out of the country." She solicited. "We need someone with outside ties because our money is all in the States and we're having a little trouble accessing it." "So you've no cash." He observed in a dry tone. Li Ann resisted the urge to snap at him. She went for her most soothing tone, the one that usually bent Alex to her will. If it could coax the temperamental Russian it would likely work on this guy. "We do have money. It's just not at our fingertips. If it was then we wouldn't need you, would we?" "You're in big trouble." The Englishman deduced. "Otherwise you'd just plant yourself on the steps of the embassy and have them sort out your problems. I wanna know exactly who you're tangling with." He demanded. "I want some account numbers so I can verify you've got money and I want names, your real names. After all I gotta know what to call you and little Red over there when we wake up together tomorrow morning, don't I Lass?" "No way in hell. You keep your hands to yourself." Mulder growled out from his position near the door. "Touch them and I'll break you in half." The blond laughed out his contempt. "In your dreams, Suit- boy. It looks like you've already gone three rounds and lost big time." "Fuck you." The Agent snarled back. Li Ann sighed, knowing a straight line when she heard it but not having the energy to shield the American from what was coming besides it might entertain the jobber and that could only help them. The retort was more brutal than she'd expected. "I don't think so, Bitch. As much as you look like you could use a good fuck up the arse, you ain't anywhere near pretty enough for me." His mouth was twisted in amusement. Scully had to wrap both her small hands around Mulder's arm and squeeze hard to restrain him. Her lips pressed together and she shook her head, reminding her partner of their precarious situation. He had to settle for a glare powerful enough to make Li Ann wince and step away. The blond seemed completely unaffected. "Names, account numbers." The Major returned his attention to Li Ann, deciding that she was in charge. "And who are you ducking?" She perched on the edge of the table wanting more distance between her and the Americans. Scully was whispering urgently into her partner's ear. Whatever she was saying it wasn't to be shared with the jobber. "The authorities." The oriental woman finally admitted. "If you're willing to factor it into the cost, we could stand a safe place to stay while we do business." He nodded before he spoke. "I can provide that. What's your name, Lass?" "What's yours, English?" She countered, putting some flirty attitude into the question and crossed her long legs provocatively. It made him smile, that's what she was aiming for. "Richard Sharpe." "Li Ann Tsei." They exchanged. "These..." She inclined her head but didn't release the other's gaze. "Are Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. Do I know you?" Li Ann studied the blond more closely. For some reason his name seemed vaguely familiar even if his face didn't. His features were finely cut and, although a bit haggard he was very attractive. Li Ann wouldn't have forgotten him if they'd met before. "Can't say so." The Englishman was looking away from her, studying the FBI agents, who were still talking among themselves. His mouth was pressing into a thoughtful line. "Fox Mulder." He repeated the name loudly, snagging their attention. "Shite, this is just too sweet." A wide smile broke across his mouth. "You're a Yankee, Mull-der." Sharpe slurred the name as if turning it into an insult. "We're all Americans." Li Ann got up and sidestepped into the blond's line of sight. "If you can get me access to a safe phone or a computer I'll see about getting you some money." "I've studied your file, Mull-der. I know who you are. You're an asshole. You're a bloody international joke." The Englishman laughed to himself. "What the hell are you doing in Hong Kong, Agent Mull-der? Why don't you just call the Bureau to bail you out...again?" He emphasized the last word. Li Ann looked over to Dana, completely out of her depth at the exchange. Her brows lifted in supplication. "Last I heard you were fucking up a bust in New York." Sharpe continued. "I almost hopped a plane a couple days ago but it was already too late by then. Way to screw up." He commented. "That would make the pretty redhead, Agent Scully. Remind me to light a candle. Someone up there must really like me to drop the pair of you in my lap out here in the arse end of the world." A sinister laugh and cruel smile accompanied the observation. Scully tensed up and glared at the Englishman, ignoring Li Ann's attempts to catch her eyes. "Who are you?" She edged forward; unconsciously shielding her damaged partner from the looks of malice the blond was aiming at him. "I told you. Sharpe, Major Richard Sharpe. For all the fucking respect Major still gets me, her right proper Majesty could take the bloody title and shove it where...Come on." He climbed abruptly to his feet. "I've a web access at my place. I want your money, a lot of it...and want some information too or you can go stand at the airport, stick your thumbs out and wait for a lift." "What information?" Scully asked cautiously, shifting to keep herself between the Englishman and Mulder. "I want everything you know about a man named Aleksandr Nicolavich... Alexander Andrews... Krycek... whatever the bloody hell name he's using now." Sharpe muttered a curse. "I know the pair of you've run across him a few times including once about a week ago. Mulder's face tightened up and he looked as if he was about to launch into another blustering confrontation. "You forgot Dachakov." Li Ann added, purposefully dragging the Englishman's attention back to her. "He used Dachakov last time he was in Hong Kong." "I know." Sharpe nodded, surprise clear on his features. "You FBI too?" "No. I'm not." Li Ann grinned smugly. This was too good to be true. "But if you're interested in Alex I'm the very best person in the world to talk to." She bragged. "Now get us the hell out of this sweat-pit and give me access to a computer." Her confidence swelled and it was reflected in her voice and stance. "Right now." Li Ann repeated firmly. At first glance she decided that Sharpe had to be a bachelor. Li Ann couldn't see any woman putting up with the dirt and general disarray of his apartment but that conclusion didn't stick. On one hand there was the fact that soiled T-shirts were scattered here and there amid empty containers of take-out food but on the other hand the place seemed entirely too large for a single man. The furniture and decorations suggested a feminine influence. There were pictures of children on the wall and in one dusty corner Li Ann spotted a half-collapsed playpen full of toys. Recently divorced, she finally decided. "It ain't much but it ain't under surveillance." The Major surveyed the room as if seeing it himself for the very first time. His upper lip curled in distaste. "I swept for bugs just a coupla days ago and I haven't had a shadow bother with me for nigh on a month now so I doubt anyone noticed you coming in here." Scully walked further in. Her appraising gaze ran over the layers of dust building up on the table then ranged over to the well-used counter that seemed to be serving as an impromptu bar. "Imagine that, half way across the world and he's got the same maid service as you, Mulder." Her attempt at humour failed. Mulder continued with the scowl he'd been wearing since the meeting and Sharpe simply ignored the fact she'd spoken. "The computer's down the hall here." He spoke to Li Ann. "Let's see where your money is, Lass." His arm extended an invitation. "And you Yanks, don't touch nothing." The Major warned them. "I'm getting pretty sick and tired of hearing 'sit' and 'stay' all day long." Mulder grumbled. The head of steam he'd been building up all day looked about to erupt. "I want to take a look at your side." Scully jumped in to prevent another argument. "Do you have any first aid supplies, Major Sharpe?" She attempted diplomacy. "In the loo. Through there." The blond flicked a finger then led Li Ann deeper into the dim apartment. The room he took her to had the appearance of a child's bedroom. Behind a tall folding screen, which held a marked- up map of the world, small furniture was stacked haphazardly on and about a single bed. The walls were rich green with red-coated soldiers stencilled near the ceiling. A boy's room then, if the heaps of miniature cars and trucks could be believed. Li Ann frowned to herself. It was odd the mother hadn't taken the child's belongings along when they'd left. The map was interesting in itself. Tiny, bright yellow crosses scarred it. The majority of the 'x's were concentrated in Europe and the Middle East, but a fair number were penned onto the eastern side of the United States. A large red star indicated a point near St Petersburg and several blue rectangles boxed in areas with lots of yellow marks. Li Ann used her toe to shove at the papers littering the floor around the map. They appeared to be surveillance logs at first glance. Sharpe shoved the chair back towards his guest and bent over to bring up the screen he wanted on the computer. "Quit snooping and have a seat." Li Ann ignored the order and knelt down to pick up a handful of the discarded papers. It only took a glance to confirm what she suspected. "These are from Interpol." She dropped them back to the floor, squatting once more to shuffle through the mess. "How is it that you've access to these materials?" The Englishman reached down and pulled her upright. "I might be an English operative who's working the Hong Kong crime scene undercover." His shoulders shrugged slightly. "Or I might be a turncoat rogue who's just managed to convince my government that I'm still feeding them valuable information. Who the hell knows anymore? More importantly, who the hell cares?" He steered her to the chair and pushed. "All that matters is I can get you the best damned papers on the market IF you come up with your end of the bargain." "You're trying to track Alex." Li Ann studied the map. "It seems like a pretty comprehensive record but what's the point?" She asked. "You're a little out of the way to be the agent in charge of building a case against him. Alex has steered clear of Hong Kong since 1995." "You're here to answer questions, Lass, not to ask them." "I want to tell you this right up front." Li Ann looked up at him. "I'm Alex's friend." She reached across to keyboard and with a few flickering movements called up the program she needed and snagged an uplink. "I'm not going to help you lock him up." "I don't want to lock him up." Sharpe sat on the edge of the desk. "I just want to see him again." His eyes played across the scarred map. "We were..." There was a noticeable hesitation in his voice. "...friends a long time ago. I'm trying to catch up with him so..." The explanation died in mid-sentence. "Where's your God-damned money?" "New York." Hopefully the Romanov's hadn't blocked her access to the security company Li Ann and the guys managed. She doubted that Dana or Mulder had enough money in the bank to satisfy the Major's demands. "When did you know Alex? It must have been way before my time." A glance out of the corner of her eye at his face confirmed her suspicions that he was something more than an old war buddy trying to reconnect. She was all too familiar with the look on his face. "Just type, Lass." "I've been living with Alex for over a year." Li Ann divulged as she worked. Her mind was only half on the keyboard. Part of his brain was sifting through memories, trying to recall any mention of this man during her long talks with Alex. The Major didn't look like the type that the Russian normal chased after. "He's told me about a fair number of his old boyfriends." "Let's see a bank balance." Li Ann sighed and worked a little harder at supplying passwords to the computer on the other side of the Atlantic. Richard Sharpe, the name squirmed around, not wanting to drop into a memory box. Richard, Rick, Rickie, Sharpe, Blade. Variations of his name were tested and discarded. Damn, but Alex had engaged in far too many casual affairs for her to keep track of them all. Most of them didn't rate a second thought, let alone an in-depth analysis at 3 am when her occasional lover was in the mood to bare his soul. "When were you and Alex together, Major?" "That's a business account." Sharpe moved to look over her shoulder. "Roman Security? Shite, that's rich." He reached forward to tap a key. "In more ways than one. Is this really your money, Lass?" "Does it matter?" Li Ann countered. "I've the keywords to control it. That's all that's important." She turned her face to look at him, studying his rather handsome profile. "Alex doesn't normally go for blonds." The oriental woman tested. "Blond guys anyway, except the occasional drag queen." "He used to." Sharpe stated flatly, choosing to ignore the 'drag queen' remark. "But then I suppose his tastes have changed over the years. I never noticed him fancying Chinese back when we were together." Li Ann's lips pushed out in annoyance. "Mind your manners, Major." She warned. "I'm the paying customer here." She punched in a few more commands. "Why now?" "Pardon?" The blond pulled back a little, his pale, arched brows lifting. "Why are you searching for Alex now? Is it because your wife has left you?" She ventured. "He doesn't need a guy on the rebound." "My wife?" Sharpe backed away, crossing his arms defensively over his chest. "It's your turn to watch your manners, Lass. My wife and children were killed in a plane crash a year ago. Mention them again and I'll throw your ass out of here. Clear?" Li Ann nodded. "Sorry, I didn't mean..." She faltered, grimacing. "Whatever." He gruffly dismissed the sympathy. "You claim you live with Alexander. I find that bloody unlikely." It was her chance to take their interaction to a less hostile level. "If you want to be exact, I live in a house where Alex comes to stay on a regular basis. He actually sleeps with Mac, who lives a floor up from me, but Alex is a special friend of mine as well." She explained. "Mac? Yeah, that's more like my Xander." Sharpe nodded with a tight grin. "Get tight to a guy but keep screwing women on the side. Gender monogamy." The Major laughed dryly. "The kid granted me that for a while. I was flattered." His head shook. "And damned stupid too, not to realise what Xander meant by it." It hit her in a sudden rush. Li Ann's mouth dropped open and she pushed back from the desk to stare up at the Major. Her eyes almost glowed. "You're Dickin." An excited giggle escaped her at the realisation. "Aren't you? He's told me about you. Lordy! I thought you'd be prettier. You practically shone like new minted gold to hear Alex talk." Her lips snapped shut. "I meant. You are Dickin, aren't you?" One hand scraped back through flaxen hair and Sharpe threw an almost frustrated glance to the side. "Bloody hell." His jaw tightened up. "Whada you know, Lass? Who are you to Alexander? What'd he say about me?" More questions simmered in those pale green eyes but the Major bit them back. "I told you. I'm his friend." Li Ann intoned gravely. "If you'd asked me two weeks ago I would have said I'm his best friend." She sighed. "He told me about a beautiful English soldier that he fell madly in love with when he was just a baby." "He was twenty-two." Sharpe corrected with a guilty start. "Old enough." Li Ann's brows lifted at the defensive tone the other had taken. "He said it was the closest he ever came to defecting from his Family, just to be with you. I was intrigued and coaxed him into spilling the story one night." She ran her dark eyes up the Major, judging. "It made him physically ill trying to tell it to me but he managed to get a good chunk of it out." "I didn't hurt him." A guilty look flickered across his face. "Not after. I didn't end it, not the last time." Sharpe frowned. "I had a deal in place for him back in '92, signed and sealed by my government. Xander was supposed to meet with me. He didn't show up for the rendezvous but it was right on the heels of huge, messy fuck-up in Switzerland so I wasn't too surprised. Still, I never saw him again. Either he got cold feet or his boss clued in and talked him out of it." The blond studied the toes of his shoes. "Nicki, I mean Nicola Romanov, she found out." Li Ann provided. "She..." A shiver ran down the oriental woman's spine as she recalled Alex's chilling monotone as he described exactly how he was persuaded not to leave the Family. "She hurt him." Li Ann winced, not willing to repeat the details. "I was afraid it was something like that." Sharpe acknowledged her grim expression. "I poked around after him but he was invisible. After searching for about two years I gave up, let go, and got married again." A wry chuckle escaped. "I half expected that'd bring him out of hiding but Interpol had completely track of lost him. He didn't blip the radar again until '95 and by then I had a kid on the way." He glanced over at the child's furniture piled in the corner, frowned, and then moved to see the monitor once more. "I've an account in an American bank." Sharpe studied the balance in front of him. "I want half of that. I'll want more if you can't come up with some decent information for me, Lass." "Information isn't a problem. Order us some dinner, Major. It's gonna be a long night." Li Ann stated. Li Ann was walking a fine line. She didn't want to betray too many of Alex's confidential disclosures to Dana and Mulder but neither did she want to seclude herself away with Major Sharpe for the evening. Dana would resent the exclusion and Mulder would likely do something foolish if left to fret with nothing to distract him. Still, Sharpe was in no mood to be put off with promises that Li Ann would provide the information he was seeking later. The trick was to tell the Major enough to hold his interest without providing Mulder with more ammunition for him to use against Alex. "When I first met him back in '95..." Li Ann scooped a bit of rice into her mouth and swallowed, using the pause to help organize her thought. "He introduced himself as Aleksandr Dachakov." Sharpe nodded his recognition of that alias, a casual gesture. On a different note, despite the fact that Mulder's eyes were hooded, the Agent's attention was so concentrated that Li Ann skin was prickling in reaction. "I was with the Tang Family then." The oriental woman continued, carefully avoiding Mulder's stare. "Alex was setting up a business transaction with the head of the Tang family." "Selling guns, I know." Sharpe made a 'hurry up' movement with one hand. "I've dug most of that story out during my stay here in Hong Kong. I know the party line. It ended badly. The Tang turned on Alexander and he had to take off." Li Ann glanced sideways. Dana was sharing the couch with her but the redhead was keeping to the far end. "On a more personal level." She amended. "Alex and my friend Mac hooked up together for the night." That seemed a polite enough way to say that the Russian had picked up, and then fucked Mac through the mattress. "The next day I joined them for lunch and all three of us got along rather well." Li Ann couldn't contain the smile that particular memory brought to her lips. Sharing the bed with Alex and Mac at the same time had been both a revelation and a delight that she'd never gotten the chance to repeat. Dana sat aside the carton of vegetables that she'd been picking at with a frown of distaste. She looked as if she'd like to escape the discussion but she had nowhere to go. Li Ann attempted to gloss over the significance of the relationship that had ensued. "Anyway, after seeing each other for a few months a problem arose. As you heard, Alex had to leave Hong Kong rather suddenly. I found out later that Agent Mulder was the one who actually escorted him back to the States." "Then lost him." Sharpe interrupted. "That's when Alexander finally popped back up into official notice. A friend at Interpol had been watching out for him as a favour to me. I read your reports on the incident, Agent Mulder. It was dread sloppy work." The Major commented. "You should have phoned ahead and had assistance waiting for you at that airport instead of attempting to handle Alexander alone. It was your carelessness that allowed him to be taken from your custody." "We were run off the road." Mulder protested. "Besides which, that situation was far more complex than you could possibly imagine. You've no idea exactly what was going on with that case. The official reports were cleaned up." "Incompetence, if you ask me, seems like a simple enough concept." Sharpe snapped back. "How many suspects have slipped through your fingers, Agent Mulder? How many of your cases have you filed away still open? I'll tell you. Too many. I checked out your record when I realized how many times your name popped up in connection with one of Alexander's aliases. It's amazing that you still have a job with all the reprimands and complaints against you." "Major Sharpe!" Dana's voice cut into the argument like an icy sword. She'd had enough. "The kind of cases that my partner and I used to handle did not make for easy answers. Considering what we dealt with our record was remarkable. You must have uncovered that fact as well during your rather unethical explorations. Our Assistant Director was quite satisfied with our work on the X-files." She stated calmly. "While you, on the other hand seem to be in a completely disreputable situation and you're searching for a known criminal. All of this is assuming, of course, that you still are still a Major. Which, I doubt." The Englishman stared at Dana briefly then broke into an amused laugh. "Aren't you quite the little spitfire?" He leaned back in the easy chair he'd claimed. "But whatever I may be, I'm your best chance at getting out of here alive, Lass. So don't piss me off." Sharpe looked back to Li Ann. "So get to the part about where Alexander is now." The oriental woman shifted, bringing her legs up onto the couch and almost into contact with her estranged lover. "Mac, another friend and I connected back up with Alex over a year ago. The four of us have a place and a business in Atlantic City." "Your money source, Roman Security." He deduced, his tone growing impatient. "So Alexander's in Atlantic City?" "Not right now." Li Ann crossed. "This is where things get a bit more complicated. Nicola gathered the Family together up in Alaska a few days ago, right after that business you heard about in New York. That included our Atlantic City crew. That's the last place I saw Alex." She admitted. "There was a..." Her eyes shifted to lock on Mulder. "A disagreement." The word was strangled and her nose was wrinkled in disgust. "That's how we ended up in Hong Kong. Nicola Romanov had us drugged, tossed here, and told the authorities to wipe us out." "Alexander is in Alaska?" Sharpe remained fixated on his target. Li Ann grimaced. "To be honest, I'm not sure. It depends on how confident they are that we've been neutralized. They might have scattered or gone home or..." She floundered briefly then realising that the Major was beginning to look irritated Li Ann firmed her resolve. "Not that it matters. My friends won't let them simply vanish me. I'll connect with them as soon as we get home and Alex will be in contact with them." Mulder was gifted with another annoyed look. "Assuming Mac has recovered enough to return home." Mulder frowned up from his place on the floor. "It was..." He looked to Scully. "I didn't mean to shoot him." "I know Mulder." Dana acknowledged. "There were narcotics involved right from the start. Everything that happened was staged. You aren't to blame." "He's hardly an innocent either." Li Ann added maliciously, then almost regretted the statement when she saw the redhead's reaction. "I'm sorry Dana, but it's true. Mulder has no control over his temper around Alex. It's revolting." Sharpe seemed to study the other man. His mouth thinned. "Krycek asks for it." Mulder defended with the beginning of a pout. His bruised lips made the expression even more impressive than usual. "The bastard begs for it. If he were a dog he'd be humping my leg. Hell, come to think of it he's done that a few times. He's a whore." "Mulder." Scully's upper lip curled and she shifted bringing herself into contact with Li Ann. "Don't. Not now." She protested, eyeing the Englishman nervously. "I'd suggest, Agent Mulder, that you watch your tongue or I'll cut it out." Major Sharpe moved forward to the edge of his seat. "Do you honestly think you can find your way through that alcohol haze you seem to be swimming in?" Mulder challenged. "That's enough! It's getting late." Li Ann stood suddenly. "What are the arrangements for the night, Major?" She moved to stand in their sight line. "Are you taking us to a hotel or are we staying here tonight?" "I've room enough, I suppose." He frowned and turned his pale eyes toward the hall leading to the bedrooms. "I can dig out the bed in the computer room and there's another single bed in..." Sharpe returned his attention to Li Ann. "The couch pulls out into a double." "Dana and I can sleep on the couch." She counter-offered. "Mulder can take the single. Don't bother with the other." Li Ann attempted to judge Dana's reaction without making it clear that she was concerned about it. "If that's what you want." Sharpe climbed to his feet, still frowning at Mulder. "But before you crash I want another fifteen minutes." He grabbed a bottle off the counter; his chin was high as if daring any of them to comment. "I wanna kick on-line and you're gonna help me with a little trace work." "Sure, whatever." Li Ann sat aside her food. "You got a couple of t-shirts or something we can sleep in?" "You're assuming things, Li Ann." Dana returned from the bathroom and settled on the edge of the pullout bed. The other woman had to smother a smile. Dana looked even more petite than usual in one of the Major's large shirts. It gave the redhead a vulnerable air that normally couldn't be associated with the 'steadfast Agent Scully'. Li Ann kept her face carefully bland. "His spare beds are both singles and one of them is buried under boxes of toys and a couple of small dressers." She explained. "I just thought this would be easier. I'm not assuming anything, Dana. I know you're upset with me about..." Her fingers gestured absently. "Things." "Things?" The older woman repeated in a low whisper. "Are you sure you're not a man, Li Ann? You're normally so clever then out of nowhere you do something that makes me think you're thicker than a brick. You insist that you're staying legal but there's no way." She complained. "You're up to your neck in Krycek's plots and now you've dragged Mulder and I into this mess. I'm almost certain you were involved with the theft of those computer discs back in New York somehow." Dana listed. "You pick pockets, seemingly delighted with your expertise. You knew just where to go to hire someone to make illegal papers." She sighed. "I'm a federal agent, Li Ann." Li Ann blinked, absorbing the quiet rant. "I wasn't lying. I have been trying to stay out of Alex's business. IF I was involved in stealing the discs it was only to temper more despicable intentions from controlling the situation." Her pants were kicked off and tossed over the foot of the bed. Her sweater had been shed long ago due to the change in climate. "As for getting us dumped in Hong Kong. Mulder shooting Mac was likely a fairly heavy contributing factor. Hell, simply the fact that the pair of you found your way up to Nicola's base condemned us. We're lucky she didn't just shoot us and dump the bodies under the ice." Li Ann dropped down onto the far side of the bed and crossed her long legs. Her shirttails nearly cloaked the sight of her silverish, silken underwear. "As to the pockets I picked and dealing with the Major. The legal government here is trying to kill us. Any official move we make will get us killed. This is the best possible way to get us out of Hong Kong alive and I've no problem with doing anything I have to in order to get you home safely." Dark eyes drilled into Dana. "You matter to me." Li Ann insisted with quiet passion. The tone of her declaration caused Dana to draw in a sudden breath of air. "Don't. Not here." "When then? You never want to deal with what's going on between us." It was Li Ann's turn to protest. "You tell me I've a blind spot when it comes to Alex but what kind of denial are you in about the two of us? Why do you cling to me at night then shove me away when the sun comes up? Why do the all the lights have to be turned out before we touch?" She brought up one of the topics that bothered her most about their affair. "Not here!" "Who are you worried about? Are you afraid of offending the sensibilities of a criminal who's dealing in illegal passports or your partner who beat one of my friends to a pulp and shot another? God, Dana, neither of them has the moral high ground here." Li Ann spread out, taking the opportunity to stretch the tense muscles in her legs, back and arms. "You've changed the subject." The redhead accused. Her blue eyes were distracted, lingering over her companion's reclining form. "Whenever I want to know about what you and Krycek have been doing you always turn it around. Not this time." Dana concentrated her attention on the other's face. "Did Krycek steal those discs with the FBI's personnel files on them? Did you help him? These are simple yes or no questions." Li Ann let out a steady breath. "No. I didn't help him steal them." She sensed Dana's disbelief immediately. "And before you ask, he doesn't have them anymore. Someone grabbed Alex and took the discs from him. I don't know who has them now. I haven't committed any illegal acts since you and I started seeing one another... until today." Dana studied her occasional lover, attempting to discern whether or not she believed Li Ann. The younger woman's expressions were always so hard to interpret. After a pause long enough to pain them both she spoke. "I believe you." Tension seemed to drain out of the Oriental woman. "Thank you." Li Ann's movement was a graceful shift. She wrapped the smaller woman in her arms. "I will get you safely home then you and I will close the world out for as long as it takes to sort out this relationship. Can we do that, Dana?" "What about Krycek and the Romanovs? What about Victor and Mac?" "They can wait for once." Li Ann declared. "This is important." She placed a careful kiss on the back of the other's shoulder. Her hands smoothed across thin cotton tracing the curve of Dana's trim body. "You're important." Li Ann's breath tickled across her companion's ear. Dana squirmed and turned into the embrace. "Mulder's just down the hall." She objected in a throaty whisper. "We can't." "I'll be quiet." Li Ann promised. "You might have trouble though before I'm done with you tonight. Let's just hope he's tired." Dark lips dragged down pale skin. "I need a shower." "You smell wonderful." The younger woman argued back, nibbling just under Dana's jaw. "You taste even better." One hand lifted to trace the curve of the redhead's throat and shoulder while the other arm kept Dana from wiggling away. "That tickles." The complaint was a breathy whisper. Her hips shifted, unconsciously pressing against the other. "Don't." "I'm not trying to tickle you." Li Ann's palm smoothed down Dana's body until it reached a hip then her fingers slipped under the cotton of the borrowed T-shirt. Li Ann's hand splayed and inched back up against warm flesh. "Lovely." She spoke simply to give herself an excuse to move her mouth. Her fingers encountered the softness of a breast and curved to cup it. The younger woman's finger-tip brushed a coaxing circle about the other's nipple. Every move Li Ann made was gentle and steady. Dana wouldn't respond to anything more energetic this early in an encounter. Dana shivered and one leg hooked to pull Li Ann closer. "Kiss me." The Oriental woman purred her delight and did just that. "I'm your wife?" Li Ann examined the passports that Sharpe handed to her. "I didn't think you'd pass for my daughter. I'm only thirty-six." He responded dryly, taking them back and tucking them into his own jacket pocket. He led her out into the late afternoon sun. "We're all going to be travelling together anyway. I doubt anyone's gonna question the Yanks but you might raise a suspicion or two when we try to leave Hong Kong." They threaded their way through the crowd of homeward bound locals. "This way even if they suspect you're a native they won't think twice about you leaving with me." Sharpe dug into another pocket and produced a plain gold band. "Put that on." He shoved it into her hand with an absent gesture while continuing to scan the surrounding area restlessly. "How romantic." Li Ann drawled as she slid the ring onto her finger. "No wonder Alex loved you." The Major came to a dead stop in the middle of the sidewalk earning himself curses from the people around them. He scowled and pushed Li Ann into a narrow break between two tall, rickety buildings. "Now. While the Yanks ain't around." He began. "Talk. What did Xander tell you about me?" Li Ann's nose wrinkled, half from the urine smells in the narrow alleyway and half from Sharpe's harsh treatment. "This isn't the setting I'd choose. Let's go get some tea." "No. Now." He closed quarters, keeping her pressed tight to the wall in a mockery of affection for the sake of anyone passing by. "He loved me? He told you that? Does he still?" Sharpe's cold manner cracked about the edges. Li Ann was all too familiar with the mix of hope and desperation she saw burning in the back of his eyes. "How could you doubt he loved you? He was ready to defect for you. Do you realise how tightly entwined Nicola has him?" She let her tense frame loosen up, certain that he wouldn't harm her now. "The night he told me about you was so intense it hurt. Lexi ended up on his knees in front of the toilet vomiting." She met the Major's heated gaze. "Lord, but I envied you." Sharpe shivered once and his head tipped forward to rest against her's. "And now?" He whispered. "He loves your friend, Mac?" She could have lied. She could have said she didn't know. Li Ann closed her eyes and let her mind wander back to the last few times she and Alexei had shared private conversations in the dark. "No." The word wasn't really necessary. He couldn't help but feel the miniscule shake of her head. "Alexei's absolutely mad about Agent Mulder. Maybe he's in love with someone else too." Li Ann had her suspicions. "But Mulder for sure." A hard slam to his trachea wouldn't have shoved him off her any more effectively. The Major's back hit the other side of the cramped passage and he stared at her with eyes widened by devastation. "Agent Mulder." It wasn't a question merely a disbelieving echo of her statement. Sharpe's mouth opened but no words came out only a pained grunt as he breath was squeezed out of him. His head fell backwards, slamming into the wall and his fists curled over his gut as if protecting himself. She'd made a fatal miscalculation, Li Ann was almost certain. She could almost hear the rogue British agent shouting for the authorities. "But they aren't together." Li Ann attempted to salvage the fiasco. "Mulder and Alex can't be together. It goes against everything Mulder believes in and it's bad for Alex, the way Mulder treats him." She scrambled. "Alex needs something else, someone who doesn't have to hurt Lexi to get off." Sharpe had to swallow several times to prime his voice. "That piece of garbage hurts him?" Battle madness hovered so close by it was terrifying. Oh shit. Strike two. Li Ann flinched. "I meant...It's more than that." She grabbed after his sleeve when it looked like Sharpe was about to bolt. The situation had to be salvaged quickly or she and the agents were toast. "If you do anything to Mulder Alexei would never forgive you. If Lexi even suspected you had something to do with harming Mulder he'd kill you no matter what was between you back in England. Lexi is seriously obsessed." She blurted out. "But if you get the three of us home you've got his gratitude plus history in your favour. If anyone could make him forget about Mulder, you could." I'm sorry, Mac. Li Ann apologized internally to her friend. This was going to break poor Mac's heart no matter which way it went down. As if he needed more pain on top of a gunshot wound. Her hope, however, was that the reunion might mend some of Alexei's extensive damage. She swallowed once and gathered her courage. "After all these years you're looking for him again. Is it just because your wife died? Because if you're just going to leave poor Lexi for a woman in a year or two I won't play cupid for you. He can do without that kind of attention. Why do you want him?" Li Ann demanded. "I've buried three wives and two children." Sharpe gritted out, not looking at her. "I'm fucking tired of it." He blinked once, staring down the dim, dirty alleyway. "I've been in the field with Alexander at my back. I know what he's capable of. I've researched his file. I know exactly what he is and the kind of crap he's survived." His lip curled. "Yeah, I read about his arm too. It doesn't matter." The Major finally returned his gaze to the woman across from him. "I'm guessing I might even know better than you what kind of man Alexander is, Lass." "Your point." She prompted. "I want someone who won't die on me." Sharpe admitted. "I may not know him anymore but I saw what he was on his way to becoming before we broke apart. I need another survivor, like me. Someone who's seen hell and clawed his way back to the surface. I want Alexander." He declared in an intense undertone. "What about your country, Major Sharpe?" Li Ann put heavy emphasis on his title. "We're talking about a criminal here. I need to know. Is this illegal work you're doing just a cover? Are you still on the government payroll or not?" "I am." He disclosed. "But I don't need it. I'll walk away from my job for Alexander if that's what it takes. It's nothing but slag work lately anyhow. I've been written off as a burn out." The heat of his resolve was emotionally scorching. Li Ann shivered. "You'll have your chance." She said shakily. "You get us home and I'll see to it that you'll have an opportunity to tell Lexi all of this." It was the Major's turn to study her physical reactions to the conversation. "You're afraid I'm going to take him away from you." He guessed. "You're afraid I'll wrap him up, carry him off and you'll never see him again." Sharpe smiled. "I'd like to think I could." His expression was almost evil. "Bastard." "All that and more, Lass. That's why my Xander belongs with me." The four of them paced down the long pier towards a small ship. Sharpe had the lead so he could deal with the waiting sailors while Li Ann walked in the rear with her hand inside the light coat that the Major had given her. There was no way she was taking her hand off her gun until they were in international waters. Dana had argued in favour of taking a plane until Sharpe had taken her for walk near the airport and pointed out all the security measures from a safe distance. Not even their false papers would get them through the blockade considering how determined the army seemed to be about arresting them. The compromise was that a boat would take them to Japan and from there catching a flight shouldn't be a problem. The Major kept them on a short leash by refusing to give them much cash and standing behind Li Ann whenever the oriental woman accessed the bank account so she couldn't fiddle about and bring some money here, not that she was eager to walk into a bank. Li Ann was nervous about the long trip home. Mulder and Sharpe had barely avoided coming to blows over the last couple of days while it was optional for them to retreat to separate rooms. The pair of them snarled and feinted like a couple of territorial wolves whenever they were forced to be within a few feet of each other. Between the close confines of the boat and having to share a plane, she was fairly certain more verbal sparring would make the trip a living hell. "It's a death-trap." As if on cue Mulder's voice hissed out a complaint up ahead of Li Ann. "We can't take that bucket." "Well, yer more than welcome to stay behind and fend for yerself, Yank. I'll escort the ladies home and maybe the Red Army will be kind enough to mail us your remains." Sharpe snarled right back. "Stop it." Scully attempted to referee yet again. "Please, Mulder. The Major is coming along. I'm sure he wouldn't risk his life in something that wasn't sea-worthy." She assured her partner. "And Major. If you make one more snide remark about leaving Mulder behind I will personally plant my shoe up your butt." "Something tells me he'd like that, Scully." Mulder drawled out. "That's why you're sniffing after the Russian whore, isn't it, Sponge?" "That's it. Right now." Sharpe dropped his rucksack and spun around to face the taller man. His hand lifted and beckoned Mulder closer. "Come on, ya arrogant bugger. You and me right now. I'll pound you to the planks." "Will both of you just shut up." Li Ann stalked up to the imminent encounter and planted herself right in the Major's path. "We do not have time for this, Boys." She noticed Dana was keeping herself in front of Mulder and attempting to settle him down. "Can we just pretend to be grown-ups for two more days?" "He's a nothing but a punk-ass loud-mouth in a suit. One minute and I'll have him chewing wood through his broken teeth." The Englishman declared. "We got time for that." "I'll give you a hint Souse-hound. Out of the three hazy- looking guys you're likely seeing I'm the one standing in the middle." Mulder ragged back. Responding to his partner's dragging hand he said. "I can handle him Scully. Hell, a newbie out of Quantico could take him considering the shape this jerk's in. I think I saw him pouring rum on his oatmeal this morning." "But you're injured, Mulder. The last thing you need is to get into another fight. Victor nearly broke your nose. You're a mess of bruises and you've been shot." Dana attempted to dissuade her partner. "Don't worry about it, Scully. I won't even break a sweat putting this sodden bastard down." "Damn it to hell. I am so damn sick of this." Li Ann announced in too loud a voice. It carried alarmingly across the water. "I give up. Let them brawl it out, Dana." She motioned her lover away from Mulder. "You've got five minutes then I kick both your asses and we get the hell out here." That said Li Ann stormed over to the boat awaiting them to confirm their ride. "Stand back, Scully." Mulder shrugged out of his battered suit jacket. "This won't take long." "Don't do this. You're not healed up from your fight with Mac." She persisted. "Ramsey got in a couple of lucky shots. This drunken bastard won't." Mulder shook his head and arrogantly announced. "He's not going to lay a hand on me. " "Fine, behave like a child. I give up." The redhead threw up her hands and moved to join Li Ann at the end of the pier. Before Mulder even returned his eyes to his opponent Sharpe was throwing himself at the other man. The Englishman wasn't after any kind of orderly trading of punches. His fingers immediately flew to Mulder's throat. Dana winced and backed into her tall lover as the men fell to the wooden planks. Li Ann was fairly sure she heard cloth ripping as the pair rolled, each attempting to seize the dominant position. Mulder let out a strangled yelp and his elbows flailed as he attempted to pry the blond's hands off his throat. One of his elbows cracked into the Major's cheekbone causing a grunt of pain. Mulder knocked away the momentarily loosened grip. When he attempted to twist completely free, however, Sharpe caught a handful of thick brown hair and slammed the Agent face first down to the scarred pier. Li Ann laid a hand on Dana's shoulder. "If they don't get this out of their systems it will just start up again later." She offered an excuse. It was also gratifying to see Mulder knocked around after all the grief he'd caused lately, but Li Ann wouldn't dare give voice to that sentiment. It was impossible to make out exactly what was happening in the scuffle. Legs and knees tangled briefly and then the two men were thrown apart. Mulder rolled awkwardly. His fingers attempted to find purchase to keep himself from falling into the water. The Agent groaned and clutched one hand against his body as soon as he stopped. Both were already gasping for air. Blood was smeared the Englishman's pale face. Sharpe was hunched slightly, one palm flat near his groin. "Ya wanna play dirty, Yank. Will do." Again, Sharpe was the one to lunge first. Mulder let out a low groan of agony as the Englishman slammed hard into the joint between the Agent's neck and shoulder. Mulder lashed out and the men went into another chaotic, struggling roll. Somehow the Major ended up sitting on Mulder's back with one arm wrapped around the American's head and the other restraining his captive's neck. Mulder went dead still, quite aware of how close he was to having his neck snapped. Scully, however, had seen enough. She snatched the gun Li Ann was now holding out in the open and paced over to the prone men. The barrel settled right behind Sharpe's ear and dug in, making a point. "Let him go. We're leaving now." Her hand felt every heaving breath that the Major was taking through the metal length of the weapon. The blond growled and thrust Mulder away. "His name is Alexander. I hear you call him any more trashy names and as soon as your Mommy's not around I'll finish the job on you. Got that, Agent? I didn't slog through five years in the army and ten in special ops to let a pissant like you mouth off to me." Mulder didn't verbally respond. He simply glared as he dragged himself upright. "Time, Boys!" Li Ann prodded from her place near the boat. "Let's get a move on." Part Three The Lost Lamb FROM 'RE-ESTABLISH CONTACT' one of my older stories: "You..." Mac began, then choked off the rest of his curse. "You are supposed to be dead, Russian." Alex smiled over the rim of his mug. "So were you, I hear." He paused. "I've come to the conclusion... never to believe someone is dead unless you've killed them yourself, then cut their heart out...just to be sure." Mac had to admit to a certain amount of confused amazement. His brain seemed to working but it was like swimming through thickened water to put any order on the thoughts he wanted to grasp hold of. He'd expected pain, lots of it, and was surprised to discover only a dull throbbing in his midsection. The drugs they'd given him had to have completely shut down his nervous system because gut shots were supposed to hurt like nothing else. He'd seen evidence enough of that in his life. Yeah, that had to be it. It would explain all the things he was lacking right now. He expected anger to be pumping adrenaline through his system. Mind-numbing fury was, after all, the last coherent memory he had but that emotion was eluding him. Any strong emotion seemed beyond his reach right at this moment. He also expected someone to be hovering over him, but if they thought he was drugged senseless that might explain why they weren't waiting at his bedside. It was the last that bothered him the most. Okay, maybe Alex was distracted. He was all too aware that it didn't take much to distract his lover and no doubt everyone was in an uproar over what had happened. It pissed Mac off, but it was simply a cold hard fact of life, one that he'd been learning not to resent in a rather half successful fashion. Still, where were Li Ann and Victor? He'd come to depend on his partners being there for him over the last few years. It was the only constant left in his life it seemed. Sure they had differences of opinion and more spats than he cared to recall but Victor and Li Ann were rocks he could cling to when things got the roughest. One or the other of them should be looking out for him since he was flat on his back and defenceless in this place. Where the hell was he anyway? He should be in some kind of hospital. Strangely enough the décor wasn't exactly what he'd come to expect of a recovery room and he'd seen his fair share of those too, as both a visitor and an occupant. They were usually white enough to hurt the eyes with a rather distinct odour of disinfectant about them. The mattress he was laying on was far too thick and comfortable. The crisp cream coloured sheets draping him would be impossible to clean of blood and vomit. The modular, black lacquer furniture looked like it belonged in trendy upscale boutique not a clinic. Okay, maybe the Romanov ladies had laid him out in one of the lodge's bedrooms rather than the infirmary but why wouldn't they return him to the one he'd already been assigned. And where were Alex, Victor and Li Ann, damn it? His thoughts circled around yet again. He wanted his demon and his friends to come in. They should be coddling him if he was injured. What good was getting shot defending your lover if you didn't earn some major fussing rights afterward. Okay, maybe not that...keep in mind who you're dealing with here, Mac, but at least they should be explaining what happened after he passed out. Deciding he was on his own, at least for the moment, Mac decided to investigate his situation a little further. His coverings were light enough to brush back with little effort. Mindful of the IV needle sticking in the back of his hand Mac ran his fingers gently across the massive dressing that covered his stomach from hips to the bottom of his ribcage. The bastard really had shot him. He couldn't believe Mulder actually had to balls to pull the trigger. How the hell had things gone so far so fast? The only spot that actually felt tender to the touch was a palm-sized patch a little towards the left side. His lower back ached dully and his legs, when he tried to shift them, felt weaker than cooked noodles. That little bit of activity was enough to drop him flat on his back again almost immediately. His body felt completely wrung out, icy chills were crawling up his spine and his mind was halfway suggesting he just go back to sleep and worry about things later. Maybe he dozed off, Mac couldn't be sure with no clock anywhere in sight and the room completely unchanging. Well, not completely. A glass of water now stood on the night table beside the bed and it hadn't been there a moment ago. Okay, it was either ghosts were haunting this place or he'd nodded off. "Iz'anybody there?" His voice was a croak. So that's what the water was for. His throat was creaky from disuse. How long had he been unconscious, anyway? The offered water would help a little but he couldn't quite bring himself to go after it. "Hello!" Mac attempted to sit up once more without success although he did get high enough to see his baggage piled near the doorway. "Son of a bitch." He'd stowed everything in the drawers of the guest room they'd given him. What could it mean that someone had gone to all the trouble of repacking his gear and toting it along to this new location? "Li Ann? Victor?" He called. "Alexei?" Okay, the last request was a bit of long shot, but it couldn't hurt to try. When the door to his room finally opened and a rather striking form moved to lounge in the frame Mac almost fell flat onto his back again. His expectations shattered to a million pieces. He closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath then looked again, expecting the image to change but it didn't. "What the hell are you doing here?" "Well hello right back at you. Like that is so flattering. Nice to see you too." An arrogant smile punctuated the words. The blonde's drawl tore across Mac's nervous system. Jackie Janczyk had been the Director's rising-star when he, Li Ann and Victor had fled from the Agency. No doubt she was still rather high in the Director's favour. "Where exactly am I?" Mac asked in a weary tone. At first glance the thief decided he was in deeper trouble than he could comprehend right now. Best he get his bearings as quickly as possible. "Exactly?" The curvy blonde teased. "In bed, looking like death warmed over." Jackie giggled. "In a bedroom." She posed with every moment she made showing off her muscular body wrapped in expensive workout clothes. Mac closed his eyes briefly and counted to ten. "Don't fuck with me, Jackie. I've had a really bad week. Just tell me where am I and how the hell did I get here?" When he looked up again she had her lips pursed and her head cocked to one side as she tried not to laugh at him. Then again, Jackie always looked like she was about to break into smug giggles. "The Director says I'm not supposed to tell you where we are." She admitted. "As to how you got here. That was simply too jazzy for words." Jackie's eyes sparkled. "You arrived at HQ in a big box wrapped in Christmas paper. It was all antique-y looking with ribbon and flowers. It was like, so Martha Stewart, I nearly puked. There was a letter but the boss didn't share what it said with us mere mortals." Her shoulders shifted absently. "Where'd you come from, Sweetie? Last I hear you'd ran off to play house with Li Ann. Did she get sick of your old news lines and decide to send you back for rewiring?" The giggle escaped. "Or did those pretty twins finally catch up with you and the leather-boy got out of hand?" Mac fell backwards. "Just shut up." He requested in a gritty tone. "As if! You started this. I saw the dog licence you put on that Alex guy. That man, that absolute maniac..." Jackie growled, a seductive catlike noise. "Is wearing your badge of ownership, in his nipple, for Christ's sake. So, what's up with that?" She paced across the plush carpet and arrogantly dropped down on the foot of the bed. "What the hell have you been up to?" He shook his head gently but it didn't help to dispel the pain that was beginning to throb just behind his brows. The Romanov women had packed him up and mailed him to the Director as if he were an object to be discarded when he was no longer useful. How could Li Ann, Victor and Alex have allowed this to happen? Shouldn't they be tearing apart heaven and earth looking for him? Gathering all of his strength together Mac sat and dragged himself upright by using the headboard and his IV stand as a crutches. He ignored Jackie's wolf-whistle at his nudity and shoved off in the direction of his piled suitcases. He was leaving. He was going to find his friends if it killed him. He was going to find Nicola Romanov and riddle her scrawny old frame with bullets. All this was assuming he could manage to stay vertical long enough to dress himself. "The lock on the door is past your skill level. You'd need tools." Jackie provided negligently. "And the windows are bullet- proof glass so you're not gonna be breaking them, though being thirty odd floors off the ground it wouldn't do you much good anyway." The blonde rested her hand and chin on the footboard and took in the sights with clear appreciation. "The boss wants you to stay put here, Mac. Don't piss me off or Dobrinsky will be the one babysitting you instead. 'Kay?" After pulling the needle out of his arm he managed to get one suitcase open but then Mac collapsed down on the floor and catch his breath. The IV stand toppled over with a metallic clatter. "How long have..." The blood running down his arm from the needle's clumsy removal was distracting. He trailed off. "What day is this, Jackie?" "I'm not allowed to tell you that." She offered honestly. Jackie crossed back over to him and after a quick perusal of his possessions she selected a bit of cloth to stanch his wound. "You haven't had solid food in way too long." Concern helped to dampen down the annoying valley-girl attitude in her voice. "You're in no shape to be doing anything, Mac. Let me help you and I'll tell you everything she's given me permission to say, 'kay?" It wasn't like he had any other choice. Yet. A stomach full of soup, a pair of pants on and a closed door between himself and Jackie always made Mac felt a little better. He had discovered over the last couple of days that the blonde had been annoyingly accurate about his chances of escaping the apartment. There was no phone, no computer, and no balcony to step onto if he broke the glass of the windows. As near as he could tell the main lock on the door was on the outside. Information wasn't something he could get either. The television only worked as a monitor for the video player and the radios were disabled on both the main room's music system and the boom box in his room leaving Mac no way to tell what day it was. He had rummaged through his suitcases in search of his watch with the date function but couldn't find it. He hurt. Not only physically but that was a high factor. He missed his friends. He missed Alexei. Fuck did he miss his Demon. His body thrummed with need, craving the beautiful Russian's touch as it always did when they were too long apart and this time there was nothing to distract him. Li Ann wasn't here to take him out so they could loose themselves on the dance floor as they often did back home. There was no Victor to stare at and share a beer with. Distractions were completely absent. Mac wanted to scream and rage but he didn't have the energy. Damn, damn, damn. Mac leaned against the wall and looked at the mess he'd strewn about the floor. He lacked the energy to even stand, let alone pick up his scattered possessions no matter how depressing they appeared. His life was reduced to a pile of clothing and a few odds and ends such as a half empty bottle of cologne and a box of audiotapes. Mac extended his leg and poked the case of tapes with his toe. It certainly wasn't something he would have packed for himself. It took him a moment to figure out where they had come from. His Christmas present. Back at the lodge in Alaska before everything had gone insane he'd been given them as a gift. Using the side of his foot so he wouldn't have to move his weary body Mac dragged the case closer. The leather holder contained an even dozen unlabeled audiotapes. Strange that the present had been sent along with him into exile. He wondered if it had been an oversight or a purposeful action. Mac supposed the answer to that question depended on who had packed his things and what was on the tapes. For all he knew they were blank, intended as a prop in the drama that had unfolded Christmas morning. There was no way that the scene he and the others had played out had been out of Nicola Romanov's control. He couldn't picture a roach stealing a cracker crumb within a kilometre of that woman and her not knowing it. So by extension the old lady must have approved what had occurred, maybe even encouraged it. It was enough to make Mac's head throb. Allowing Mulder and Scully entrance to the Romanov Family hideout must have been on purpose. The act of dragging Mac, Alex, Li Ann and Victor down to Christmas room was obviously carefully staged. It was no coincidence that Victor had been removed from the room. He would likely have thrown himself between Mulder and Mac before their fight had got out of hand. It didn't make sense that Li Ann had wandered off with Agent Scully but then Mac wasn't sure what was going on inside Li Ann's head lately. He pulled out one of the tapes at random and turned it absently in his long fingers. It wasn't like he had anything else to do in this place. His stomach couldn't take any more food right now, the gym equipment Jackie was working out on was beyond him and he certainly didn't want to talk to the blonde. Mac hauled himself over to the bed and dragged a pillow and blankets down onto the floor. He settled himself into a nest near the tape player and popped the cassette he'd been toying with into the drive. The first voice Mac heard after the beginning hiss was unmistakeable. Alex's honey smooth voice was a salve for the pain in his gut. It was lowered into a seductive purr. "You awake, Beautiful?" There was a rustle of fabric and a faint grumble of someone coming around. "What time izit?" Li Ann mumbled a little further away from the microphone or still not completely conscious. "Late. Early. Does it matter?" More cloth whispered. "Mac passed out. Fuck, I hurt all over." His breath hissed out. "Damn, it feels good." A mechanical click was loud, having happened near the microphone. "Let me see, Lexi. Turn over." Li Ann's tongue clucked. "I'll never understand why you let him do this to you." "I do it because there is nothing on Earth like the complete satisfaction a really knock-down, drag-out fuck can give me. I know. I've looked." Alex chuckled softly. "The heat of another body holding me down like the world could end in the next few minutes but he could give two shits about it until he gets his rocks off." Mac squeezed his eyes shut tight to better appreciate the sound of his lover's voice whispering obscenities. "Knowing that my body is the only thing that matters to him at that exact second in time." Alexei was practically purring. "And the harder it is to drag a guy to that state... the more satisfying the pay-off is." "Alex." Her complaint was muffled as if her face were buried. "Does everything have to be about conflict? Hasn't there ever been someone that didn't have to practically rape you to make you react that strongly?" "NO!" The denial snapped out too quickly. Li Ann attempted to coax. "Come on, Lexi. Don't tell me no one's ever reduced you to a mindless puddle with plain old romance. How sad." "Don't." He warned in a deadly tone before laughing purposefully. "You want a 'Lexi as a mindless puddle' story?" He bribed. "I spent over a week with my brain fried out by a mating rut that would do an alley cat proud when I escorted Foxy to Tunguska." Despite the warmth of the brightly lit room Mac shuddered. He was tempted to slam his hand down and silence the tape at that moment but giving up the sound of his lover's voice was impossible even if Alex was going on about a hated rival. "Christ Beautiful, you wouldn't have recognised me. My combat training totally shorted out. My instinct for self- preservation completely vanished. It was glorious. Fox would growl and my throat would bare to him. He'd run his fingers down my spine and my legs would spread automatically. All he had to do was touch my shoulder and I'd drop to my knees without even thinking about it. I completely ceased to exist as a rational human being." "And how is that a good thing, Lexi?" Li Ann's voice was sharp. "Christ, Darling, how could you enjoy being nothing more than a living sex toy for that asshole?" She demanded. Alexei growled and she responded with a pacifying noise. The mattress squeaked a protest and it sounded as if something were knocked to the floor. "You don't understand! Sometimes I think you almost get it but it doesn't quite click in. You never seem to understand!" Alex accused in a snarl. "I've told you more than anyone but you can't seem to grasp it." Flesh thumped against material. "There are so many things constantly tearing into my brain. Numbers, names, faces... so much blood. Bits of information flying about like broken glass. Memories chewing at me like starving rats. So many plans to co-ordinate. Things I don't want to remember. Things I have to remember. Things...that wake me up screaming." He sounded tired. "It's the only sure way I can shut it all down and just feel." "Oh Lexi." "It was wondrous, Beautiful. It was like something I'd imagined in the middle of the night. He'd held himself away from me for so long but we went toe to toe in the storage garage I could tell by the way Mulder was breathing that he was ready to break. Scully was watching us like were some kind of science experiment gone wrong. Fox was barely holding himself back from throwing me down right there. He couldn't keep his hands off me. It was perfect." Alexei's breath was rapid and shallow. Li Ann's wasn't much more controlled. "In the elevator up to Skinner's place Mulder's face was practically buried behind my ear, sniffing me. He had to pass me off before he lost control in front of her holiness, Saint Scully. I was driving him insane." Alex bragged. "But Fox couldn't stay away. Then the plane ride. God, what exquisite torture that was. Both of us had erections the whole trip, asleep and awake. We'd brush against each other by accident and it would burn." He groaned. "Not two hours after we set down in Russia Mulder lost it. There was no Scully or FBI rulebook for him to cling to there. The hotel door closed behind us, I turned to look at him and he just exploded." Mac recognised the shivery, dark hiss Alex let out at that point. It was a noise he earned only when the sex between them was at its best. "Nothing I've felt since has matched that one instant. Fox's breath hot on my face. He was so fucking heavy like the sky had fallen on me and his cock was digging into me like a steel rod. He shut up, Beautiful. Just for a moment he was absolutely speechless as he stared down at me. Reality just froze. Miloserdie! He has the most astounding eyes I've ever seen, the depth, and the wealth of colours. Just for a moment it was like nothing else mattered. His fingers traced down my cheek and he kissed me." Alex murmured. "That's what I live for. Moments like those." "He kissed you." Li Ann prompted in a faint tone. "He destroyed me." Alexei elaborated in a tiny voice. "Our mouths opened and he wrenched something out of me. Something I thought I'd lost in England so many years ago. Something I've been looking for ever since. I don't know what Fox did with it. I think he gave it to Scully to dissect and she threw it away." He let out a sharp, brutal snort of pained amusement. "I thought for a little while Mac might be able to replace it or even maybe you had it. You don't. Mac's trying so hard but he can't quite reach..." A shuddering breath sucked in and an edge of tears tainted Alexei's speech. "Ebat'-kopat'. Mo'i pizdoi nakrylsja. Fuck, listen to this shit. I'm losing it tonight." He complained in an impatient whisper. Li Ann was nearly crying too by the sound of it. "My God, Alex." "Don't." His voice was a terrifying growl. "Don't you dare look at me like that." The bed protested sudden movement, bodies shifted loudly, sounds of damp suction and a breathy moan from Li Ann followed. "God damn. Oh mercy...Alex. Don't do this. We need to talk." She let out a groan of pleasure. "Your teeth, watch your teeth. Aaah!" Mac slapped his hand against the tape player and oppressive silence replaced the too familiar sounds of both Alex and Li Ann's bedroom noises. If this recording was a fair representation of what was on the audiotapes Mac now knew why they'd been sent along. It was part of his punishment for pissing the Romanov women off. Mac left the tapes buried inside his suitcase for the rest of the day and into the next. It wasn't like he had much else to do but considering how that first conversation had affected him he simply couldn't face another session so soon. He tried pumping Jackie for information but all he earned for his trouble were a lot of overdone blank looks and a few flirtatious come-ons that Mac doubted were sincere. Eventually boredom and hunger for his lover's voice drove him back to the poisonous leather case. In an attempt to hear something different Mac avoided the tape he'd already sampled and picked out another. This one had the distinct metallic sound of a wiretap about it and the contents were even more depressing in their own way. The first voice to speak was completely unfamiliar. "Hallo." Even with only one word to go on Mac decided the man's tone was sleepy and distracted. "Bonjour mon amoureux d'or." Alex's laugh spoke of back alleys and pitch black, starless nights. "How is my favourite bed-warmer feeling today?" So it was a tape of Alexei and one of his many lovers. Mac was tempted to yank it out and try another immediately but he steeled himself to listen. Things were messed up between Mac and Alex, whom he needed more than food and water. If he had to wade through every damned audiotape Mac was going to do it on the chance it would offer up some crumbs of insight into his lover's complicated psyche. Somehow he was going to drag something useful out of this mass of torments that the Romanov women had thrown at him. That would show those bitches his level of commitment. "Xander, Precious." That nickname immediately grated on Mac's nerves. He'd only seen it in used in connection to his Alex one time and that time had hurt, damn it. The letter Mac had seen 'Xander' used in was a declaration of love and possession that suggested Alexei returned the intensity of emotion. Mac composed a silent plea inside his head that this voice wasn't the writer of the letter that had so wounded him. "Where are you, Sweet thing?" "Sorry, my love. I'm in New Orleans. I just couldn't go another day without your accent tickling my ear." A rustling sound came from one end or another of the conversation. "I miss you so much. I went looking for a blond on the streets but I just couldn't stomach the thought of anyone but you tonight. You've ruined me for other men." "Good. I wanna own your pretty ass." The man yawned loudly. "Find a couple of birds instead. That'll distract you." There was a pause before Alex spoke again. "It's the middle of the afternoon there, Love. Don't tell me you were sleeping." "I was on a mission. I only got to bed..." There was a scrape of plastic against something hard. "...Three hours ago. Bloody hell." "I'm sorry, Gorgeous. Go back to sleep." Alex suggested. "I can't. Not now I've heard your voice, Sweet thing. Talk to me for a little while." The English accent coaxed. "It doesn't matter what you say, Baby. Make up a bedtime story for all I care." "You're in bed, me Darlin?" A mischievous Irish lilt threaded into the Russian's voice. "Tell me you're naked. I swear, one of these times I'm going to plant a camera in your bedroom before I leave." "Xander." The other warned. "You know I sweep for bugs every week. Don't waste your time." "Ah, but I might get a couple of days footage of you calling my name as you jerk-off before you trashed the camera. I think that would be worth my efforts." There was a creak of something that sounded like leather. "Is that what you do, Love? Do you think of me when you're stroking yourself off?" Alex's voice was thick with sexual suggestion. "Sweet thing. Don't tease. You're too far away. It's not fair for you to get me going." The protest was half- hearted. "Shite, I miss you." He admitted. "If you were here right now I'd..." When his partner trailed off Alex prompted him to continue. "What would you do, Love?" Only shallow breathing filled the silence so Alexei took up the thread. "You're sprawled out right now. That's how you sleep when you're alone. You've kicked off most of the blankets and your skin is cooling to match the air in the room. Such a body you've got, Love. It's a warrior's body, all lean muscles and covered with badges." "Scars." The correction snorted out. "Evidence you've survived. I love your scars, mon soldat d'or. I wish I were there to run my tongue over each and every one. I know if I touched you right now it would feel like I was branding you. You're cold, Love. Let me warm you up." He didn't want to react to the conversation but Mac couldn't help himself. With a will of its own his palm skated down his body and settled absently over his stirring erection. Listening to Alex talk in that taunting growl was impossible to resist even knowing the sly purr was aimed at someone else. The brief taste he'd received of Alexei's fine body on Christmas Eve hadn't been nearly enough. They'd been too long apart and Mac was physically craving the feel of his lover's pale skin against his own with an ache that painkillers couldn't touch. "You've a mouth like a blast furnace, Xander baby." Alex laughed softly at the compliment. "I want to put my mouth on you. Lick the salt of your sweat. Feel the blood throbbing in your cock with one hand while I thread the other into your shining gold hair. It's beautiful when it's mussed up from sleep, your hair is, moi soldat. You look like a debauched angel laid out for sacrifice after we fuck." A breathy groan cut into Alexei's monolog. "There's this spot right below your ear at the back of your jaw." He pressed on. "When I scrape across it your whole body shivers and your cock jumps against my palm. When I'm fucking you and I rub it with my teeth you clench up so hard it almost sets me off." "That's it. Keep talking, Sweet thing." A loud whimper, made more vivid by being book ended by two recorded voices, strangled out. If only the English accent would just shut up and let Alexei talk then Mac would be able to pretend the obscenities weren't aimed at another man long enough to ease his aching need. "You got your hand wrapped around yourself, Love? That's my Precious. Are you leaking enough, me Darlin, or would a little tongue action do you good?" Alex teased. "You know where I like to put my tongue, mon cher." Mac slid down flat, closed his eyes to block out the strange room and pulled his pants open. "Fuck." Alexei's words were so perfect. Sound and touch were the only senses he wanted to deal with right now. Anything else would betray his solitude. "Xander." The name gasped out. Shut up. Shut up, you bastard. Mac internally cursed the interloper and tightened his grip. "You like it when I fuck you with my tongue, don't you love? I'd push you right to the edge that way. Lick at you until you're so close it's nearly pain." Alex murmured suggestions. "Then just before you lost it I'd pull back, crawl up your shaking body..." The Englishman every breath was weighted with begging. "Please, my Precious." "Because nothing feels quite like riding you, Gorgeous. Sinking down on your stiff flesh. My body opening to embrace yours. Ya liubliu tebia, moi zolotoj soldat." "Xander, in English, Baby. I wanna hear you say it. I need to hear the words. Don't you hide them from me like that." Shallow pants fractured the demand. Alexei's chuckle was hoarse. "I love you." He repeated in that same thick purr. "I've never loved anyone more than I love you, my dearest Dickin. My beautiful golden soldier. I wish I was straddling your long, thick piece right now." Christ, Alex. You had to use that son of bitch's name. Mac sobbed and rolled onto his stomach. He wanted the pain it would cause his damaged gut. Maybe that would make him angry enough to reach over turn off the hateful tape. As it was he couldn't even bring himself to block it out and let his imagination help him to finish off. Fuck, what would he pay to have Alexei say words like those to him with such conviction? "Come for me, Gorgeous. I love the taste of your cream." "Bastard!" The word wrenched out along with a cry of release. The Englishman was slow to find his voice again but when he did the words he chose ripped a hitching whimper from Alex. "I love you too, my pretty Xander. I miss you. Come home to me." "Oh Dickin. I wish I could." Alexei's response was faint. "You're too good for me. I don't deserve..." "You deserve better." The other cut Alex off. "You deserve someone who'll never hurt you." Alexei's laugh was as sharp as a knife. "Love, I get off on pain." "You keep telling me that, Sweet thing, but y'know what? I'm having a harder time believing you about that every time it happens. You're just scared of the alternatives, Xander. You should be. Love is a damned sight harder to contend with than a strapping. I've finally learned that. I think it's time you did too." The Englishman stated. "No more rough trade for us, Precious. I don't want to hurt you anymore." "But don't you see, that's why it's so good. If you wanted to honestly hurt me I wouldn't love it so much. I wouldn't love YOU so much." The Russian reasoned vaguely. "This isn't something I can talk about on the phone, Gorgeous. The next time we connect, and as soon as we wear out the attractions of hot, sweaty sex, I'll explain it to you. Now go to sleep, mon amoureux." "I miss you, Xander." "I miss you more my 'widdle snugglebunny." Alexei teased then snickered. "Sorry." He apologized to silence the other's dramatic gagging. "Good night Dickin." The dead air that followed was a mercy. Mac reached and yanked the plug out of the wall before another tormenting sequence could begin. Unwillingly Mac mentally compared the steamy conversation against similar ones he'd had with Alex over the last year. Yes, he'd gotten 'I love you' out of the Russian but never so convincingly said, never with such playful sincerity, never without somehow prompting Alexei into making the declaration. Okay, think it through. Mac ordered himself. One of the Catherines had mentioned an Englishman named Dickin, had even pointed the man out in a photo. Mac had found some letters Alexei had received from the son of a bitch. This Dickin person was old news. For all he knew the Englishman was dead by the hand of the Romanov women or missing in action on some mysterious 'mission'. The affair had ended years ago. It only existed on paper and tape now. Mac's brain insisted on adding 'and in Lexi's memory' but he ruthlessly quashed that thought. The affair with the Englishman had become something Mac could learn from if he could just get past his jealousy and anger. Those last few sentences towards the end had been important, Mac just knew it. With exaggerated care Mac forced himself to sit up, reach over and plug the tape player back into the outlet. Mac was going to learn what it was that the blasted Englishman had given Alex. The method used to turn his casual playmate into such a devoted lover might be somewhere in these hateful tapes and if it was Mac intended to find and crack the code. The Romanov women might have meant these audio cassettes as a taunt, but Mac would turn the joke around and throw it right back in their faces. Mac had been both pleasantly surprised and disturbed to discover his and Alexei's affair was documented as well. He couldn't help but wonder who had planted the bug in their bedroom in Atlantic City and when exactly the surveillance had begun. Maybe on the second or third hearing he would be able to figure out the location of the microphone by the echoes involved but right now the visceral enjoyment he felt at hearing himself and Alex together was overpowering everything. Listening to the tape brought the scene to mind in every detail. Mac lived the night over again in his mind, revelling in it. Alexei's sweaty body bucked wildly and his head started to shake violently as Mac extracted the long, slippery black scarf from under the corner of the mattress. Alex's breath caught. "No. No. No. No." When Mac reached for the Russian's face the protests grew even louder and more insistent. "Not a blindfold, Baby." Alexei's real arm bunched uselessly. Bands of soft leather encased most of his wrists and forearms. More heavy strands of slick black restrained him to the metal frame of their bed. "I don't do blindfolds." Alex tossed his head as Mac's fingers touched his chin. "You do anything, Demon." The younger man countered in amusement. Mac knew the further he pushed Alex into the scene the more desperately his lover would cling afterwards, offering up phrases of devotion that the younger man desperately wanted to hear. That's the way it always happened. Mac shifted so he was straddling his lover in order to halt Alexei's thrashing movements. He held the scarf so that the ends dangled. Mac tickled the older man's already sensitised nipples. A bit of sandpaper had seen to it that Alex would feel every following sensation. The Russian whimpered. "But I'm ready now, Baby. Do me now." His knees rose as much as the weight on them would allow. "Enough playing." Mac laughed. "Liar. We've barely got started." He flicked the nipple ring he'd pierced his lover with a few months earlier. Keeping the smooth cloth of the scarf between his palm and Alexei's burning skin Mac caressed the prone man's face and chest. "I just want you to focus on what I'm doing to you, Demon." He explained his choice of the blindfold. When the fabric curved up Alex's chin and touched his face the Russian's whole body convulsed in reaction. "NO!" He strained and the bindings cut into the skin of his real arm. "NYET!" Strong teeth snapped and Alexei screamed his denial at Mac, shuddering all over. "ALEXEI, STOP IT!" Mac slapped the other lightly across the cheek with his wrapped hand. He squeezed his thighs together, restraining Alex further. The Russian went absolutely still. His green eyes were wide. The colour was almost swallowed by the black of his dilated pupils. "Calm down, my love." Mac bent to brush his heavy lips down the bridge of Alexei's small nose. "Settle. You can trust me. Good boys do what they're told. Calm down." "Da Ser." Alex went limp. "I love you." Mac declared. "I didn't mean to scare you, Pet." That particular endearment invariably rendered the Russian pliant. "Are you all right?" He stroked up Alex's temple and over his hair. "Easy down." Mac couldn't resist stealing a kiss from the plush lips parted below him. "God, I love you." He declared into the other's open mouth. "I just need... oh my lovely Demon. If you really don't want the blindfold it's okay." "Whatever you want." Alexei whispered meekly. He had ceased to struggle against the bindings. Mac smiled, nuzzling. He dropped kisses all over Alex's face. "I just..." His tongue flicked out to trace the older man's features. Alexei's eyelashes were left wet and clumpish. Mac tasted a hint of salt. "I just want to make you feel how intensely I adore you." "I know. I'm sorry." Alexei undulated provocatively, rocking his hips in encouragement. "Mmm. That's my pretty Pet." Mac's wrapped hand shifted, brushing over one of Alexei's eyes. The only reactions were a moan and a shiver. "Close your eyes, Love. Trust me." A few deft flicks later the silken cloth lay over Alexei's face. When no objection came Mac pulled the fabric tight, blacking out the Russian's sight entirely, and knotted it behind his lover's head. "Good boy. You just lay there and feel." "Yes Sir." Mac had to chuckle at the strangeness of it all whenever Alex used that title. His lover was the elder by years and could certainly pound Mac's face into the carpet if he wanted to. "Do you want me to hurt you, Pet? Do you want everything tonight, my Demon?" "Da, moi hozyain. Da." Alexei whispered. "In English." Mac corrected. Alex had to swallow several time to find his voice again. "Hurt me, Baby. I want white noise. Shut my brain down. Please." "If that's what you want." Mac's voice was thick with both threat and promise. "Well. Well. Well." A female voice slammed Mac out of his memories and back into the here and now. Mac was forced to once again acknowledge the reality of the black lacquered room he was staying in and the underscoring whir of the tape in the cassette player. "Isn't that so very impressive." The woman's voice shredded away the last of Mac's fantasy without mercy. The Director was leaning in the doorway of the bedroom looking quite the image of a biker chick from Hell in a black leather bodysuit that was only zipped up to her breastbone. "I must admit you surprise me, Mr Ramsey." She observed with a tight, arrogant smile that suggested she'd been observing him unnoticed for quite some time. "Didn't that just tread the fine line between consent and rape. You play lovely Alexander like a pro." Her hands clapped lightly together in a parody of applause rattling the delicate silver chains that decorated her shoulders. Mac glared up at the invader and jabbed out a finger to silence the sound of Alex whimpering as his cock was wrapped in bands of suede. "I was wondering when you'd get around to gloating over me." Mac's movements still lacked their usual grace. The pull of the tape on his dressing and the dull pain of his wound stiffened his movements. Mac scratched absently at the edges of the area where they had shaved him. "So do I get some answers now or are you expecting me to jump through some hoops first?" "Mac. Mac. Mac." The statuesque redhead sauntered over to the stereo on heels that would have crippled a normal woman and began looking through the tape box. "This isn't very informative, now is it?" One of the unidentified cartridges was held up by leather-encased fingers and examined. "Most men prefer videos these days but then you've always been special. Haven't you?" The tape was tossed nonchalantly to the floor. Her smile was predatory. "What day is it? Where are Alex, Victor and Li Ann? Why was I given to YOU? How long do you intend to keep me prisoner?" Mac rattled out some of his more urgent questions. He didn't bother trying to convey his emotional state. The Director wasn't likely to care. "It's January." The admission came only after she had studied him a few moments. "Happy New Year." Scarlet lips quirked, hinting at her glee. She picked up another cartridge with a slightly disinterested air. Mac physically reeled in shock. He sat down hard on the edge of the bed. Well, that did explain why his muscle tone was completely screwed up. Too long without solid food or movement had taken its toll. "Where are they?" He didn't have to list their names again. She knew whom he meant. Auburn brows lifted. "What do you intend to do, Mr Ramsey? Crawl out of here without a cent in your pockets, drag yourself to the airport so you can attempt to mug some poor man of his ticket and passport?" The Director dropped the tape she was toying with and leaned back against the cabinet, crossing her arms. Snug leather creaked as she moved. The smile she graced him with was infuriatingly smug. "They're gone. Their lives are quite full without you, as unbelievable as that may sound." She mocked. "Li Ann is with an FBI Agent named Dana Scully, I'm told by sources. She is apparently content to spend her life at the woman's side." The Director chuckled. "If I'd suspected her attraction to strong redheads I would have pressed dear Li Ann to take the next step with me rather than let her play you and Victor off against each other like the eager puppies you were." Mac glared. The Director continued on un-phased. "Alexander has informed me he's unavailable for assignment for the next few weeks, and no, he didn't even inquire about you." Her long ruby-red nails flicked. "He hasn't mentioned you at all. He's too busy raving on about Victor's oh-so-many virtues to be concerned about your welfare." She walked over, stopping beside the bed to survey Mac as if he were some interesting specimen of lower life. "Still, by an earlier agreement with Alexander and Victor I'm bound to offer you shelter and protection. I suppose when your health returns I could also give you some kind of employment." Mac's head shook. "You are an absolute queen of liars." He accused. "I don't believe a word you've said and I won't stay here." The Director looked unconcerned. "Fine. Pack. Leave. The locked door was for your protection not to confine you. If you don't want the Agency's help...." Her shoulders shrugged briefly, chiming faintly. "I'm sure the Romanovs are more than willing to finish the job on you. That is assuming you don't starve to death or faint in front of a bus before you even get out of this city." "Where am I?" Mac cut in with the demand. "Vancouver." "How did I get here?" He pressed. "You were delivered to the Agency building in a box and wired to battery operated life support. The letter that arrived with you called you a peace offering and was signed 'Catherine'. I'm assuming that whoever Catherine is, she'll expect a favour in trade sometime in the future." The Director reached out and touched her former Agent's chin, forcing him to look up and meet her gaze. "I wasn't lying. Alexander didn't mention you when I spoke to him last and I've had no reports of anyone actively searching for you." She tilted her head. "So you were with Alex and Victor all along. Li Ann was with the three of you as well. Wasn't she? Alexander is the most deceitful creature I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with." Admiration was clear in her tone. "Where is Alex?" Mac asked, his determination wavering slightly. It didn't help that the heavy scent of rubbed leather was invading his nostrils and making his already painful cravings for his lover intolerable. His head was practically swimming. "I don't know." The Director responded as if to a slow child. "I told you that already." His demand came out too much like a plea. "I'd like a telephone." Calling their joint home in Atlantic City should put him in contact with at least one of his friends. Mac could leave a message, if nothing else. "If you think it will help." The Director puffed out a snort of amusement. "Really Mac, if they showed no interest in your whereabouts while you were unconscious from a gunshot wound and in peril of your life..." She extracted a tiny cell phone from where it nestled inside a side pocket on her leg. "Whatever makes you think they care about you now?" Mac snatched the phone away. One after another he left increasingly urgent messages on Li Ann's, Victor's, Allegra's and his own machine. Alexei's cell phone number generated only a discontinued service message. An answering service Alex maintained for business contacts connected him to a bored sounding woman who grunted acknowledgement of his communication then hung up without a farewell courtesy. Roman Security's phone was answered by a girl he didn't recognise who politely informed him that all the owners were unavailable and answered his claim of being one of those people with 'as you say, Sir. May I take a message?' Through all the frustrating attempts to reach his friends the Director stood smiling in amusement. When it looked as if he might heave the cell phone across the room in frustration she took it away. "You've been disavowed, Dear." Her pity was brutal and shallow. "I suspect they've been told you're dead, a state you will likely find yourself in if you continue to persist in attempts to gain their attention." Gloved fingers ran down his cheek but he didn't have the energy to shake them away. "It's hardly a new experience for you however. This is what, your third death in the last five years?" The Director sauntered back to the bedroom door. "Now, to ensure this death remains as counterfeit as the others, I'm having meals sent in that have been prepared by a dietician. Some lighter-duty workout equipment has been installed and an Agency doctor will be by any minute to inspect your wound again. I'd suggest for the sake of your own best interests that you stop pouting in your room and avail yourself of everything I'm so graciously providing for you." She walked out with waiting for a response. The stationary bike was one of Mac's least favourite pieces of exercise equipment but the Agency Doctor had prescribed it so Jackie enforced it. Mac would rather have gone for Tai chi or a punching bag because those activities brought a cleansing mental blankness with them. It seemed all he did lately was think. Enough past mistakes were swirling around in his mind already. He didn't need a new batch to deal with so soon. The very last thing Mac needed to be thinking about while perched on the narrow bike seat was his lover, Alexei. Still, there was very little else to focus on lately. When the blonde Agent clumped into the room on clunky, impractical heels Mac was almost relieved to see her. Jackie's spandex encased rear settled on one of the weight benches. "I've news." She announced with a giggle. Her eyes were gleaming. "Keep peddling or I won't tell you." Jackie ordered in an imperious tone when it looked as if Mac was slowing down. "Spill it." "Like, so when did you become such a Grinch?" Her mouth didn't close all the way between words. "Ya know, I had a thing for you when we met." She ran an appraising look up him. "Your bod's held up but Gawd! What a old stick you've turned out to be." "News, Jackie?" Mac disregarded her order to keep at the exercise. The hem of his tank top was pulled up and he used it to blot some of the sweat from his face. "Oh yeah. Now this ain't from the lips of her Majesty." Jackie qualified. "I got it from Laura who got it from Nathan." Mac grimaced as he recognised the name of the Agency's rather odd archive keeper but he had no idea who Laura was. It wasn't worth interrupting over however. Considering the information's origin it was already suspect. Nathan was a genius at procuring knowledge but the nervous, bird-like man saw everything through a distorted film of suspicion and arguable sanity. "Just tell me, Jackie. I'm not in the mood for a game." "See! There's, like, the whole problem." The blonde stabbed out a finger. "You used to be up for games all the time. So, what's up with you? When did you get so old?" "I don't know. Recently." Mac scraped a hand back through sweat- curled hair. "Getting shot can do that to a guy." The last thing he needed piled onto him was the realization that Jackie had him pegged. "I am taking you out to party, Babe. You need to lighten up so bad. 'Course we'll have to be careful of your poor tummy but you SO need to hit a rave." "The news." Mac reminded. Her jaw tightened into a grin. "Will you go out with me tonight?" She bargained. "Yeah. Whatever you want." He could likely use the change in scenery anyway. "So talk." "Okay. Okay." Jackie shifted in place, striking a provocative pose. "Nathan's been on the lookout for awhile now." Her valley girl accent was laid on thick. "For some reason that only his weird little mind can conjure up he's been tracking after Victor and leather-guy Alex on his own time. He's yipping something about glow-in-the-dark royalty." She crossed her eyes theatrically and snorted. "Is that not like too bizarre?" Pale brows lifted in suggestion. "Anyway! He's got quite the stuffed file on those two but he wouldn't share with me for some reason. I saw it but he jammed it under his shirt, and like, gross out, there's no way I wanted to touch it after that." "Go figure." Mac commented sarcastically. "Yeah. Like what's up with that? So I even tried to do the macho posturing thing, which is SO not me. On the up side it turned out he confided in Laura some of what he'd found. Nathan turned up a record of Alexander, Victor and Catherine Roman entering Columbia." She bared all her teeth in a fierce smile. "As in South America?" "Well, DUH!" Jackie glared. "How many Columbias do you think there are?" Mac barely resisted the urge to reach across and strangle her. "I have to go there." He announced flatly. Jackie was up off the bench, across the room and had him thrown face first against the wall in seconds flat. "I was trying to be nice, sharing and all. Do I need to tell you how out of shape you are or does this..." She hiked his bent arm further up his spine. "Make the situation crystal?" "Let go." Mac demanded. "Say it." Jackie applied pressure enough to make him grunt in pain. "Say you're gonna behave yourself, Baby." "Okay." The admission came out in a frustrated snarl. "I'm not ready to chase them down yet." "Damn straight. I mean really. Ding dong! Passport, money, the ability to duck when someone shoots at you. Do any of things ring a bell?" She released him and stepped quickly out of range. "What you are up for is some recreation. Hit the showers, Mac. These walls are crowding me." He'd been avoiding the first tape in the box since listening to it. Mac knew in the back of his mind that Alexei sometimes went from his bed down to Li Ann's but having the evidence shoved in his face wasn't something he wanted. Still, the point came when that particular tape was the only one remaining. The contents of the others had ranged from casual, obviously one- sided flirtations to the very first session between Alex and Mac after they had reunited in the Vancouver safe house. The last had surprised Mac for several reasons. First of all he had no idea how or why the encounter had been recorded. It had been a rather spur of the moment coming together. It also illustrated exactly how quickly and firmly they had dropped into a dominant/submissive relationship. Considering it wasn't a game Mac had played often he thought he should have been more awkward and unsure of himself. Even after listening to the scene a fair number of times Mac couldn't hear any hesitation in his own performance. With each run through the voices became less personal and easier to pass judgement on. It was gradually dawning on him that the Director wasn't completely wrong when she suggested he manipulated Alexei. Wasn't that a kick in the head? Perhaps his lover's hesitations weren't entirely put on. Mac may well have pushed the older man too far on occasion and the precedent was set in the first session. They had set no limitations nor decided on a safe word. Mac was now afraid that his attempts to bind Alexei to him were the very reason that he and Alex couldn't seem to connect at a deeper level. The tapes were suggesting Mac had taken the wrong approach right from the start despite how powerfully Alexei's body responded to their physical relationship. Fuck but that was frustrating. Sex was the one thing that had seemed to work between them. Their bodies had never failed to quake with the perfection of the union. Even the thought of how perfectly they had meshed sent need resurging through Mac's frame. As the aches of his injury receded his cravings for his lover's touch were growing more intense. Having experienced missing Alex more times than he cared to recall Mac knew the desire was going to get even stronger until it was a uniquely painful sensation. Listening to Alexei's voice on the machine and stroking himself were becoming altogether too common during the course of Mac's day. "Sometimes I wondered if giants used to inhabit the manor." Alex was reminiscing for Li Ann about the compound in Russia where Nicola had taken him when he was twelve. "It certainly would have explained the ceilings... and the doorways. I couldn't reach the top of the doorways." He spoke absently; as if he were reciting some tale he'd read years before. It wasn't a tone of voice that showed up often on the audiotapes. "I think it used to belong to some branch of the royal family way back in the dark ages." Alex sighed. "You know what's weird, Beautiful?" "Lots of things." Li Ann murmured making the other laugh. "I don't even remember exactly when I started thinking of myself as Alexei. I mean, I spent twelve years answering to Mikhail and in a matter of months Nicki had me calling myself Alexei, even inside my own head." "Why Alexei?" Her voice prompted. "He was the only son of Nicolas and Alexandra, the last Czars. The baby of the family." Cloth rustled. "Nicola... I don't know if it's some whim of her's or if she's got some kind of tie to the old monarchy. None of us were born with the names we use. Nicki named us after that last royal family, at least 'till she ran out of names. The Catherines and that boy got names from other dynasties. Remember, I told you she picked up a boy in England. I think his name was Benjamin when she got him. She's named him Peter." "It's kind of cruel. Taking away a child's name like that." Li Ann observed. Alex's breath came out in a weary puff. "Nicki did it to all of us. It's no big deal." He shrugged off the violation as it were nothing. "It'd be different now. Nobody could do to me what Nicki did then. I'm stronger now. Mikhail was a mouse, a mewing infant who wasn't worth keeping." "You're Mikhail." Came the reminder. "I was, but I'm not any more. Mikhail Arntzen is just another alias now and it's not even one I like using. I'd never break as easily as he did. Nicki improved me." Listening, Mac couldn't help but feel a twinge of unease at how his lover dismissed the child he once was as a different, lesser existence. "Nicki hurt you, Love." Li Ann protested. "You don't deserve how she treats you. You didn't deserve any of the things she's done to you." A faint kiss sounded. "Or what Vasili did to you." "I don't want to talk about him." Li Ann sighed. "You never want to talk about him. I'm working with bits and pieces here. How can I help you like that?" She complained. "What happened, Love? Tell me what happened." "I can't." A whimper threaded into Alexei's tone. "Try, for me." She coaxed. "This time I need the rest. Tell me how he died." A silence extended for two long minutes. "Four years." Alex's voice was hard to hear when he finally spoke. Mac had to raise the volume on the machine. "I'd been there four years. Learned... all I needed. Nicola said I was ready to go out. She arranged to have me accepted for military training but Vasili was arguing with her. Not in front of me. Never in front of me. But I knew." His breath came out in a shudder. "The other three girls were out. Only Olga and I were still at the compound." He stalled out. "You don't like Olga?" "I..." Alex hesitated. "I worshipped her. She was so powerful. I wanted her so much it scorched my skin and made my fingers tremble whenever we were in the same room." He stated. "But she didn't think much of me. I was a baby. Olga sided with Nicki. Said I was just a kid and that I needed seasoning." The bed creaked. "I hadn't fucked her. She was the only one of the girls I hadn't been allowed to touch by then." Alexei's tone was almost malevolent at the moment and edged with anger. "She didn't want me 'cause I was just a child." Silence and the whir of the tape dragged out for a moment or two. "Nicki and Olga said I had to prove myself. I had to prove I was ready to take my place in the family." Alex laughed. "It was so stupid. How could I have been afraid? I was an idiot. It was easy." "What was easy, Lexi?" "I went to Vasili." Alexei's murmur was wistful. "I wore his favourite clothes. They were pale violet, too big and made me look so young. Christ, I hate that colour." The Russian hissed. "He had the most gorgeous room, Beautiful. This massive bed with high posts and blood red curtains that would close out the world. One time when he left me tied in there for hours, suspended just below the canopy. I counted the tassels around the top to make myself forget the cramps. One thousand, two hundred and nine little gold knots." A harsh breath was sucked in. "The curtains had tie-backs on them that matched the tassels. I used one of those to strangle him." Alex sighed. "Mama Uritski was furious at me 'cause it was so hard to match up. She insisted on replacing that tie. She said she couldn't get the blood out of the fibre. I twisted it too tight, tore his skin. Sloppy." The next pause was painful in length. "I think Vasili loved me in own way. He didn't want me to leave and join the army. He wanted to take me somewhere else where 'the ice queen' couldn't get us. Away from Nicki so he could show me how much he really loved me. He promised to pierce my nipples and cock, to weld a collar on me... to brand my chest. He insisted I would look exquisite." Alex laughed. "But Nicki wouldn't let him mark me at all. She got so angry when she realised he'd scarred my back even though they hardly show. You've gotta feel them to know they're even there. You've felt them, Beautiful." "Uh huh." Li Ann barely made a noise. "He thought I was a peace offering when I showed up in his room that night. That Nicki was going to let him keep me a little longer." Alex stated. "I wasn't gonna fuck with him that night. I wanted to save it 'cause Olga said I could have her finally when the job was done but I felt so bad when I saw his face that I had to spread for him one more time." A body shifted. "He called me 'moi komantnoe', that's 'my pet' in Russian. Mac calls me 'Pet' whenever he's about to hurt me really bad... just like Vasili did." "Fucking idiot." Li Ann let out a choked whisper. "Oh Lexi. Mac doesn't understand. He thinks it's just a game. He's never going to stop as long as you keep secrets from him. Why won't you tell him?" "Tell him what?" Alex sounded genuinely puzzled. "That it hurts." "I need it to hurt." The Russian's chuckle was strained with emotion. "My body needs it. I come harder for Mac when he whips me, when he torments me like Vasili used to do. That's the way it's supposed to be." "Coming harder isn't the point." Alexei hissed with delight. "Oh, but it is! It's the only thing that matters." "Have you tried anything else? Mac's good, Love. So talented." Li Ann spoke from experience. "He could make you feel so wonderful without hurting you if you just told him that's what you wanted." The denial was blunt. "I don't. That's not what I want from him." "There isn't anyone else." Li Ann's scolded. "You think Mulder would give it to you? HA! He'll damage you worse than Mac ever could and that bastard won't be feeling anything for you when he does it." Flesh pounded into fabric. "Damn it, Lexi. Don't you want to feel what it's like to make love?" "Sounds like a plan. Come're" This time skin hit skin. "You're not listening. You talk to me, but you never listen. Just once you should feel what it's like. You wouldn't want to go back to those stupid pain games." Li Ann was practically shouting. Alexei's roar overpowered hers. "I tried it with Dickin and you know what? The pain is a fuck of lot safer." "Who's Dickin?" A noise almost like a mortal wound had been dealt to him tore out of Alex. There was a flurry of physical movement and a door slammed below the sound of Li Ann attempting to call Alexei back to her. Faintly in the following silence Mac pieced out the scenario. Li Ann's front door crashed. Feet pounded up stairs. More thumping suggested another door, then louder than before muffled thuds of movement and muted voices came, one of which was raised in surprise. His own voice, if Mac guessed properly. Their bedroom in Atlantic City was right above Li Ann's. The tape cut out after a few minutes of listening to Li Ann first cursing, then crying. The Director kept casting sideways looks at Mac, disturbed by how easily he was acquiescing to her wishes today. When she'd arrived at the apartment and informed the ex-thief that it was time to earn his keep Mac had simply nodded his acceptance and followed her downstairs. This compliant mood of his was making her nervous, not that's she'd ever allow that to show. It had to be boredom. Still, it was a rather eerie flashback. His mood was playful. Mac had eyed her leather mini-skirt and sheer blouse with an appreciative leer, whined without sincerity when he wasn't allowed to drive to headquarters and shot a comment at Dobrinsky as they passed by the man about how the Director's enforcer looked liked he'd put on weight. Even stranger was the fact Mac didn't groan and object when the Director led him down the stairs to the archives. Research had always been one of the areas Mac had disliked back in his time under her command. He'd foisted off paperwork on Victor and Li Ann whenever the opportunity presented itself. "Nathan, my man!" Mac passed by the Director and stalked down one of the towering rows of shelves. "It's been a long time." The Agency's research drone let out a squeak of distress at the sight of Mac and backed into one of the precarious balanced stacks of books behind him. "Mr Ramsey." The Director spoke up. "I didn't bring you here to torment the staff. Nathan, calm down. Mac's here to work." "You look good, Nathan. Whad'ya see a coupla hours of sunlight this week? Look you've almost got a tan." Mac flicked his fingers near the librarian's cheek causing the skinny man to flinch away. "MAC!" The Director's voice raised. He backed away from the shivering man and offered up a grin. "I'm behaving." Mac held his hands up at his shoulders in a 'hands off' motion. "Nathan knows I'm just joking around with him. Don't ya, buddy?" "Yeah, sure." A nervous shiver contradicted the words. "Mac's here to do play catch-up." She stated with a warning glare at the young man in question. "He's been out of the loop for a while." The Director seemed to be evaluating Mac with every breath. "Fetch him the last year's worth of case files, the one's Jackie's done." She ordered. Nathan's head bobbed like an obedient puppy and he scrambled off into the depths of the cavernous shelves. "You will sit. You will read. You will not torment poor Nathan." The Director listed. "Jackie will come by to collect you later on. Keep in mind you are a year out of practice and she is now the senior Agent." "She's my boss. You gotta be kidding." Mac complained without force earning an examining look from the woman beside him. "Okay, okay. When do I get my own wheels?" "When you prove yourself and not one second sooner." The Director informed him. "I don't trust you." Mac mimed a shot to the heart, groaning in pain. "Wounded, you've wounded me. I'm never gonna get back to full strength at this rate." Her heels ticked on the shiny floor as she paced right up into his space. One bizarrely manicured hand lifted to swat him lightly on the cheek. "No nonsense. I'm am watching you, Mr Ramsey." A sharp blue and black painted nail lingered at his chin. "You've nowhere to go and you own nothing but what I allow you." "Just like old times." He grinned down at her. With one more narrowed glare the Director withdrew and walked out of the room. Mac's smile faded instantly. He swung around to peer into the corridor that Nathan had taken. Mac had a plan and a large part of it depended on a file that the meek librarian had stashed somewhere. Too many times in the past he'd been accused of acting without thinking. Everyone was now going to find out exactly how much getting shot had changed him. That's it for now. Milk and cookies time. A Gathering of Scoundrels VI: A Breaking Storm jimcarla@hotmail.com

Date: December 1999 Other websites—http://members.dencity.com/CarlaJane/homepage.html Email—yes please, Jimcarla@hotmail.com Rating: NC-17, Yeap. I've got male/male and male/female interactions in this one. Plus a mondo-big INCEST warning, with some slightly under-age players on top of everything else, goodness! Summary: X-files/Once a thief crossover. After some trouble at their last hideout Alex's crime family holes up... while Victor and Alex attempt to sort things out between them. Disclaimers: Chris Carter, Fox, John Woo, Alliance entertainment, and the various actors and writers own nearly everything. No profit. No harm intended. My beta reader, RazZadig, earns sloppy wet thank-yous for repairing this so quickly and making it a Christmas possibility instead of a New Years offering. You wouldn't believe I much work I made her do on this one. Thank you, Darlin'. Erika gets a different sort of thank you for helping to adjust the last part of the story so it worked a bit better. Background: Alex Krycek from the X-files and Victor Mansfield from Once a Thief are twins separated at birth and only re-united a year ago. In our last episode Mulder was very rude. He shot Alex's lover, Mac, fought with his own lover, Victor, and generally annoyed Alex's foster family forcing them to flee their previous dwelling. Scully and her lover, Li Ann, disappeared with Mulder. Victor chose to stay with Alex and the family. I hope you have fun with this one. Three Points on the Globe, a story in three parts: In the Southern Sun Hong Kong Re-visited The lost lamb back to top

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