тревожность разъединения

Scully surveyed the agents assembled in the room; 'tough crowd,' she thought, suppressing a snort. Skinner, Blevins, and some higher ups, men and women that she recognized on sight, but who's names she didn't know; and in the corner, that smoking, skulking figure -- all assembled in the Director's office to see her raked over the coals. She knew the drill, by this point; apology as policy or deny everything and feign ignorance. She had come prepared to follow the second plan of attack… but was almost startled out of her carefully placed composure to realize that neither would be necessary. They viewed her as a victim, and treated her solicitously – each superior taking turns to ascertain her emotional state or level of readiness to return to her job.

All except for that smoking bastard.

He sat reclusive in shadow as was his usual practice, chain smoking and eyeing her suspiciously. Throughout the meeting she would periodically glance in his direction and see his same flat, inscrutable expression. It made her feel …unclean. Or perhaps that was the smoke rapidly filling the room. She felt it permeating her skin, settling into her pores. Oh, she hated that man, almost as much as Mulder did.

Mulder. She wished they'd let her partner (no, Wallace is your partner, now) be in the room with her. She had so much she wanted to communicate with him; that she had established a contact, that this contact would be able to feed them information… she wanted to tell him of her strange findings, her hypotheses on these findings… tell him that she didn't think this mystery they'd begun unraveling had anything to do with anything otherworldly. But that it was their own government, hell, all the governments of the world, maybe that were running some kind of global game with average, unsuspecting people as the pawns.

"Agent Scully--," she looked up startled, realizing that Blevins had been speaking to her, "I said, are you sure that Krycek was heading for Argentina at the time he escaped from your custody?" She stored her thoughts and prepared to lie, full into his face, "Sir, I hesitate to attribute any sort of candor to Alex Krycek," she glanced about the room, "but if his comments to me were any indication, that was his intention." Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Cancer Man was eyeing her, still. Blevins turned back to Skinner, and the two bent heads in quiet conference. Skinner straightened and moved toward the smoking man, laying a protective pat on Scully's shoulder as he passed. He leaned down and began an inaudible dialogue with him.

Blevins looked around the room, "Gentlemen, ladies; we've accomplished all we came here to do today. The meeting is adjourned." He looked to Skinner's assistant, "Kim, will please have a copy of the notes on each of our desks by Friday?" The assistant gave an almost imperceptible nod at the Director and left the room, pulling the door softly behind her.

The senior members of the room began to file out the door in a gentle wash of hushed conversation and Scully glanced around her. She let her breath out and gathered her coat, preparing to leave the room. She couldn't believe she'd skated through this without at least a suspension. She was nearing the door, close to escape when she was halted, "Scully," the voice sandpapery and phlegmy, scraped her nerves. She turned slowly until her eyes met the smoking man's. "A word?" he said simply; it sent an involuntary chill up her spine.

Scully glanced in confusion toward Skinner looking for some indication of what was going to happen; Skinner, in turn, looked quizzically at the smoking man, and back at Scully. Evidently, he was surprised, as well. "Alone, please, Skinner," he said quietly. Skinner threw an anxious glance her way, but clenched his jaw and moved toward the door. As he closed it softly behind him, Scully turned to the enigmatic figure in the only dark corner of the room. She would not be intimidated. She stared back at him, silent.

"So, Agent," his mouth quirked, "Krycek seems to have slipped through your grasp." It wasn't a question. She took a breath, "So it would seem… sir," she replied evenly. He sat quietly for an eternity it seemed, staring into the fog created by his smoking. Scully wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her discomfort. She clamped her lips tight to keep from saying anything. Finally he spoke, "Just how did an unarmed man pass through all those experienced agents, Scully?" She bit back the snappish retort on her lips and replied, "Excuse me, sir, I assumed you heard my full report." He looked impassively at her. "I did, indeed, Agent," deep drag on his cigarette, "I am, however, concerned with certain…inconsistencies in the telling of what went on in that hallway," he looked into her eyes, "I think you know of what I speak."

She started to rise from her chair, "Sir, if you will excuse me-," he cut her off, "I find it hard to believe, Agent Scully, that Alex Krycek would indicate to you his plans of the immediate future," speculatively, he turned his cigarette between his fingers, "this business about Argentina…" Her chin tilted slightly up, "No. I don't think so, either," she said tiredly, "I suspect he'll be anywhere but Argentina, actually," she inhaled a long moment, "I think I said as much in the meeting." He looked directly into her eyes, the impression of his cold stare made her think of a snake, all cold blood and deadly precision. "It might be tempting to make alliances with people you assume possess certain knowledge," pausing to stub out his cigarette, "but volatile people pass unreliable information." He lit another, "you would do well to remember this, Agent Scully." Scully favored him with a tight smile, "Is that all, sir?" she asked. He regarded her a moment, "I'm sure I don't have to warn you that Alex Krycek is a very dangerous man, Agent." She almost smiled at the irony, "No, sir, you don't," she replied.

She glanced toward the door, "if you've nothing further, I have a report to file." As her hand grasped the door knob, he stopped her, "Mulder will no doubt be hearing of your incident, Agent?" She turned and nodded tightly, not waiting to find out if it was a legitimate question… or a threat.

Scully closed the door behind her, and headed toward the washroom. She gave a cursory glance into the small sitting room; good, it was empty. Sinking down into the worn cushion of the small couch, she allowed herself to think about what the smoking man had said. He knew that all was not as it seemed in Krycek's escape from the federal building. But did he suspect her part in it? Scully thought back over the whole of the incident, playing back every word of the exchange. Briefly, she sketched over the moment when she'd mentioned Skinner, and then Mulder – almost in the same breath. But no one, not Stinson, Grimes or Wallace had mentioned that. Well, Wallace and Stinson were both in Bethesda recovering from their gunshot wounds, but both had been debriefed, and, incredibly, neither had recalled that vital slip of incriminating dialogue. Nor did Grimes. Not that it was a huge concern; she'd already worked out what she would counter with if it was brought up – she had simply made a bad decision, and attempted to take him to Mulder – a partner she wasn't supposed to have any official contact with at present. She would be repentant and would likely get a suspension, but would be reinstated after a period of good behavior and continued desk work.

No, that angle would work out okay. Alex Krycek had seen to that with his actions in the hallway. God bless him, thought Scully, whether he meant it to my advantage or not. He'd taken control, and pulled all the focus upon himself – and in the confusion, no one had thought to shift any of it to her possible culpability in the matter.

So, there was no concrete anything that the Smoking Bastard had to hold over her… but he had a way of knowing things, and she suspected that he knew she wasn't as unsullied in this incident as she appeared to be. How? Probably just his duplicitous nature; always looking for the angles himself, he could easily see the game player in the most innocent of people. She would just have to deal with any fall-out in that quarter as it arose.

Back in her cubicle, she felt safer. She gave a surreptitious glance around and slipped her cell out of her pocket, pressing the single button. "Mulder," the short familiar greeting spilled even more calm upon her frazzled nerves. "It's Scully," she whispered into the phone, "have I got a story for you. Can we meet?" She glanced up; around her agents were busy hovering over computer terminals paying her no heed, "Scully – so clandestine," he chuckled, "careful, or they'll start calling you 'Spooky' in my absence." Damn, his voice was good for her, "Nah – it'll never happen; I'm too dour remember?… seriously, you up for some darts or something?" He answered almost before she asked, "Absolutely – but come prepared to lose. I'm feeling lucky." She felt the tension ooze out of her at his words, "You bet. But come prepared to listen… Spooky."

She snapped the phone closed and palmed it toward her pocket but almost dropped it when it chirruped at her. She looked at it quizzically; the number was unfamiliar but she recognized a Connecticut area code. "Scully," she answered tentatively. The pause on the other end set her oddly on edge. She tried again, "Agent Scully – FB-," he cut her off, "I got it the first time," he said, "I was pausing for dramatic effect, Agent," he chuckled, "don't you watch the movies?" She looked around, really nervous, now, "Krycek?" she whispered. "One and the same, Scully," his voice soothed congenially. She rose from her seat and walked to the stairwell door, "Bill!" she exclaimed, "can you call me back in five?" she lied. "Yeah, I'll head outside so we can catch up, but I'll lose the call in the stairwell," He chuckled again, "Okay, okay, I'll call you back in five minutes," and hung up. She continued on for a moment, issuing a hearty, 'okay, talk to you in a minute,' and rushed out the exit.

As Scully hit the bottom of the stairwell and pushed out the ground floor exit, her phone chirruped at her again, "Hello," she said quickly. "Okay, here's the deal," he started immediately, "I owe you one, and I don't like being in another's debt," he paused, "especially when I'm not aware of benevolent precedent in that other's behavior-," but she interrupted, "Alex, there is benevolent precedent, though," she took a deep breath, "I shot Mulder to protect you, don't forget that." He chuckled deeply this time, "Ahhh, yes – that. Well, I always considered that your protective measure was mostly for Mulder's benefit, not mine, Scully," he let out a long breath, "but I'll accept your version of the events, with my sincerest gratitude."

"Good," she said, "because he held a grudge for a long time after," she gave a little involuntary shudder at Mulder's hurt and anger… and pushed the thought out of her mind of what Mulder would think of the current set-up.

"Oh, I'm sure," he agreed, "I'm not exactly on his top ten 'Guys You'd like to Hang Out With' list," he snorted. "No," she retorted, "more like 'Guys You'd Like to HANG' list, I'm afraid." Their mutual amusement dried up quickly. Too much history hanging in the air between them to support much mirth.

"I thought you might need a contact number," he said abruptly, bringing them both back to the present, "you've got plans for our association, I'm assuming?" It was more a statement than a question. Scully was stopped short by the question. She hadn't even thought about that; if she was intending to exploit her hunch – that Krycek was no longer working for the Cancer Man and his ilk, and might be willing to help her as revenge for the attempt on his life by them – then she'd need a way to contact him! "Why- why did you call? I just set you on your way with no way to trace your movements," she asked incredulously, "and I'd have had no way to contact you…until the next time our paths inevitably crossed…" Yet again, she found herself reevaluating the double agent.

"Let's just say… I'm playing a hunch, Scully, and leave it at that." He let that hang in the dead air, then, "Listen, I have to move, so, just put this number into your call list. If I don't answer, assume it's a dead link, and I'll get back in touch with you by another route, when I'm able." She halted him before he could disconnect, "Krycek – thanks. I'm playing a hunch, too – but I'm a little out of my depth, here." He was silent for a moment, and then said, "Hey. This double agent stuff takes time, Scully," he chuckled, "you'll get the hang of it; you're a quick learner," and promptly hung up.

It was true. She was completely out of her element; she had a hunch that Krycek knew a great deal of information, or at least had access to a catalogue of evidence that would be useful to the work in which she and Mulder were now, unofficially, attached. What she didn't know was how to play the game. She had always allowed Mulder to do the unseen, darker work. Well, now, dark work was coming her way, and she would not hide from the duty, allow Mulder or someone else to take charge. She felt the time was at hand for her to get her hands a little dirty. And what better teacher than Alex Krycek?

AN: Okay, stop being dirty. When I say Scully is getting her hands dirty, I only mean working from the wrong side of the rules. That's it. She's not fantasizing about Krycek's anatomy and all the sinful things she can do with him (that's me, not her.) Desperate times call for desperate measures; she's only seen the effects of some of what Mulder is willing to do in his pursuit of the truth – now she feels it's her turn to bend a little. And Krycek? Well… he IS an opportunist, isn't he? And he's been living on the short end of a very long Consortium stick… feeling the end of the line coming, hard and fast. I'd take help where I could get it, too. Wouldn't you?