CHAPTER 16

MEDICAL COLLEGE OF VIRGINIA HOSPITAL

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th 1999

22.47 pm

Hours of trying to keep blood circulating around Skinner's increasingly unresponsive system was telling not just on him, but on Scully, too. Her nerves were raw. Screaming. Every muscle felt as if it were made of dried-out rubber moved by rusty joints. It was a battle in itself to maintain the treatment at all. His assigned doctor, Paul Beigner, was as old as his methods and had been against the continuation of an expensive and painful treatment that had no chance of success. He had ordered test after test, but aside from administering morphine for the pain, he didn't see what else could be done. He had only allowed the treatment to continue when Scully had threatened to pay for and carry it out herself, but when he could see marginal improvements in blood pressure and respiration, he had agreed to at least give her a little more time.

That had been up until around forty minutes ago, when the green and purple bruising of collapsed veins began to extend over a greater area. His blood pressure started to rise again as his heart was trying harder and harder to push thick, syrupy blood through ever narrowing capillaries.

He was dying in front of her eyes, and there was nothing she could do.

It had been over five hours since she had called Frohike. Every minute more that slipped by without her hearing from him ticked a silent, ominous reckoning in her chest. She began to wonder what else she could do if he drew a blank. She even contemplated trying to contact the Cancer Man if all else failed, especially as it was growing increasingly unlikely that Frohike would call back tonight. She felt increasingly desperate; all her training and experience, and she was reduced to little more than holding his hand and praying for a miracle.

'I'm going for some fresh air,' she told Krycek.

He opened his eyes briefly to acknowledge her and watched her leave before leaning back into his chair and closing his eyes again.

She walked the deserted, silent corridors that brought her some measure comfort and serenity, slowing the passage of time. She found an alcove with an open picture window overlooking a neat, floodlit garden that served as an oasis, a place of peace for people who needed somewhere that didn't hold the odor of death and sickness in the air, reminders of their own fragility and mortality. It probably would have held her attention for longer had the corridors been busier, but as it was, even one person passing disturbed the tranquility of the moment and she turned to see Cancer Man walking toward her.

It seemed he considered the hospital policy of 'No Smoking' beneath him, and continued to exhale white clouds. She knew it was only her imagination, but the corridor seemed so much darker now. As though a tangible, cloying malevolency was accompanying him, exuding from him like a thick velvet aura.

'Agent Scully. I must say, I'm surprised to see you out here, leaving AD Skinner unguarded. Anything could happen while you're out here soaking up atmosphere.'

Every word was spoken slowly. He ruminated on each syllable as if each breath used was precious and the supply exhaustible. A permanent smirk was ingrained into his heavily lined face, and eyes that may once have been bright and alive were now emotionless, glazed and impervious to all pleas for mercy and human compassion. His lips and thinning hair were as dry and desiccated as his soul, and the odor of smoke clung to him so thickly it made it difficult to breathe. She tried to see something of the man she loved in that face, but any connection that he may once have had with his son had died the day he'd asked the Mulders to choose between their children.

She had no intention of replying to his clumsily veiled threats. She walked past him and headed back toward the elevator.

'If you want to help him, Agent Scully, then I suggest you reconsider leaving so soon.'

She didn't stop. Nothing he had to say would be truthful anyway.

'Agent Scully!'

He was insistent. Angry. She hesitated, then turned around to face him. He was drawing on his cigarette with great satisfaction at what he probably saw as a victory in this small battle of wills.

'What do you want from us?' she hissed.

He exhaled smoke slowly. '"Us?" I see only you.'

'You know what I mean. Why did you send Krycek? Was it just to cause a distraction while you twisted the knife a little further?'

'I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Oh, go to hell,' she spat.

'I'd like to make you an offer, Dana.'

'It's "Scully", and I'm not interested in your offers.'

'Why don't you listen to what I have to say before you decide?'

The Cancer Man stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette on the tiled windowsill while he waited for her to make her decision.

'Stop this torture of AD Skinner.'

'What makes you think I can?'

'We both know you have a second device.'

He chuckled; a harsh, rasping sound that was more like a cough as he guided her down the hall with a hand at her back. It felt like being escorted by the Grim Reaper towards the River Styx. She had to stop herself from shivering with revulsion.

'You are in possession of something that belongs to us. We would like it returned, along with the results of any analysis you may have undertaken.'

'I'd like to know why you need it badly enough to kill for.'

He took out another cigarette and lit it. 'There is a great deal at stake here, Agent Scully. Far more than either you or Agent Mulder could comprehend. The reasons are of no consequence to you.'

'Perhaps I should be allowed to make that decision for myself. The life of a friend of mine is at stake.'

'You make the mistake of believing that I am concerned with what happens to the Assistant Director. Or to you. Let me assure you that I don't. We will have what is ours. With or without your cooperation.'

'That remains to be seen. Is your life in danger if you don't return it?'

He exhaled smoke that may have passed for a sigh of amusement in any normal person. His face, as ever, was impassive.

'You know, Agent Scully, you should consider yourself privileged that I came to you at all. I didn't have to. But I know that both you and Agent Mulder understand the larger picture here. I'd prefer not to have to use force.'

'You don't need me to tell you where the device is. You gave it to Krycek. What do you hope to achieve with all this?'

The Cancer Man raised an eyebrow at her. 'I'm not sure why you are so convinced that Alex is here with my blessing. Did he tell you he was?'

Scully didn't reply.

'He doesn't change. His agenda had always been his own. I'm afraid we've been rather disappointed in young Alex's lack of foresight. Unfortunately for him, it is a terminal condition. If we knew where the device was, I would not be here. That is not my only concern, however. Your partner took it upon himself to search for answers that were not meant to be found. My intervention was inevitable.'

'To manipulate us yourself? Don't trust Krycek to do the job?'

He smiled. 'Where is it, Agent Scully?'

'Stop what's happening to Skinner.'

'If AD Skinner dies, the only people his death will matter to are you and Mulder. His death would be on your conscience. But that appears to be the course you wish to follow. So be it. Good evening, Dana.'

Drawing deeply on the cigarette before discarding it on the linoleum floor, he walked away from her and pressed the call button for the elevator.

Desperation lacerated her. Skinner was going to die. And it would be her fault. Against her better judgment, she went after him.

'Look, you can have the device. It's not important to me. Agent Mulder and AD Skinner are. You should understand that, Mr. Spender. You must have loved him once.'

Ever since she'd known him, this man had carried with him an aura of superiority; worn a conceited, self-satisfied half-smile of one who could see the future and held its control in his hands. But in that second, the lines on his face seemed to fall away, his eyes cleared and she saw a glimpse of the humanity that must once have resided within him. But as soon as she was aware of the change in him, it was gone. Now, his face was harder than before and a new anger flickered deep in his eyes.

'I really don't know what you're talking about. If you'll excuse me.'

'I know about you, Mr. Spender. Mulder does too. Your continual denials don't convince anyone anymore, so why don't we both just stop wasting each other's time.'

The elevator doors whispered as they opened, and a triage nurse in her pink uniform smiled and moved aside for them to enter.

'I'm sorry. We'll wait for the next one,' he told her. The doors closed again. 'What exactly is it that you think you know about me, Agent Scully?'

She had no confirmed facts, but decided to run with what she had anyway in the hopes that her gamble would pay off. She had little else left to lose.

'I know that you are Agent Mulder's father.'

'Did Alex tell you that?' He chuckled. 'You should know him better than that.'

'Agent Mulder already knew,' she lied, and hoped it was convincing. 'He deserves answers from you.'

'Then perhaps he should ask me himself. Where is he?'

'You don't already know?'

'If I did, I wouldn't have to ask.'

Scully met his eyes. 'He's out there looking for answers. Why he's been fed lies his whole life by people who are supposed to care for him. Why a man can be so dispassionate, so hateful and cruel to his own flesh and blood. Why his friends and family have been made to suffer.' She paused, and faltered. 'Why did you order my abduction?'

'The past, Agent Scully, to paraphrase Hartley, is a foreign country. We do things differently there. I don't regard it without some measure of regret, but we all do what we deem necessary in the moment. I don't have the luxury of self-reproach.'

'That's all you have to offer me? After everything I've been through?'

'What would you have me say?'

She sucked in a shuddering breath. Fought not to let his casual disregard for her suffering and that of her family hurt her as much as he undoubtedly wanted it to.

'I deserve an explanation. I deserve some purpose to be assigned to this, not just for me but for Mulder, too. Dammit, he's your son! Why won't you leave him alone to get on with his life?'

'You plead quite a case, Agent Scully. I'm not so sure Mulder would thank you for it. Do you speak for him, or for yourself?'

She whispered, 'Do you acknowledge him as your son?'

He drew deeply on his cigarette. 'Yes,' he admitted, exhaling acrid fumes. 'Does this knowledge change anything for you? Was it quite the revelation you were hoping for?'

She wished she could feel…something, but she was numb. Beyond disbelief. 'Do you…do you have any feelings for him?'

'Of course I do,' he answered, pinching the cigarette between his fingers and rolling it. 'I suppose you want me to say that I love him. I don't think you believe me capable of it.'

'So what the hell are you trying to do to him?'

'You have such a narrow view. Mulder has a great destiny. Far greater than the mundane trivialities of a home with white picket fencing and roses around the door. I would say children, but sadly that appears to be beyond your capabilities now.'

'You unspeakable, unconscionable bastard.' She slapped him, hard, but he didn't even turn his head from her. 'How dare you.'

'The relationship, such as it is, between you and Agent Mulder must end. It will end now that he has discovered the whereabouts of his sister. He has a great future, and you have no place within it. The offer I have for you did not include the Assistant Director, although I can guarantee his safety as a goodwill gesture.'

'What did you just say to me?'

He guided her to a memorial bench in an alcove around from the elevator.

'I need you to end the relationship. It has to be you. If the issue is forced or suggested by me, he will not be receptive to it. If he believes you ended things, then he will be free to work for us. As has always planned.'

'You don't seriously expect me to do that?' She sighed and drew on the last reserves of defiance she had left. 'You can go straight to hell.'

'But you haven't heard what I'm offering you. If you do as I ask, and keep the truth from him, then I will restore to you what you thought was lost forever. I can give you the gift of life, Dana. Your fertility.'

She shook her head and tears began to form in her eyes. She didn't question the medical issues. If they could give a person cancer and then just as easily take it away, then their abilities were beyond question.

But such a gift without Mulder was meaningless.

'You are the most inhuman, callous, evil, sadistic bastard I have ever met. I will never help you to hurt him, no matter what you offer me. I would die to protect Mulder from you.'

'It doesn't have to be that way. My offer stands, but if you decide not to take it, then the Office of Professional Responsibility may discover evidence of your illicit meetings. Either way, Agent Scully, your relationship will end. Or both of you will lose everything. And Assistant Director Skinner will die. Should I give you more time to consider?'

She didn't reply because she didn't have the strength to speak. She had never felt so hopeless, so lost, so restricted that she could hardly breathe. What he was offering her was death or destruction.

'What I have planned for him will be the culmination of everything he has worked for,' he continued when he saw no answer would be forthcoming from her. 'Every case has been a test, don't you see that? He was always meant to join us. But he had to earn that right. The time has come for him to take his place. I'm offering him his sister, all the answers to every question he has ever asked. If you refuse to let me do that, then the only one being selfish here is you. You need to let him go.'

Skinner's life for her own. If that's what it came down to, then what choice did she have?

But there was still hope. Berkowitz and Frohike. They could still find a cure for Skinner, if she could buy some time. They needed to move Skinner from the hospital. Somewhere hecouldn't be found. Perhaps the device she still held could somehow slow the effects of the Nanites made active by Spender. If she succeeded, Skinner would be safe and she would have no need to hurt Mulder. She would forever lose any chance of having a child of her own, but it was a price she was more than willing to pay.

But how to buy the time they needed?

'What you're asking of me…is…hard. So many people could be affected by this decision. Please…I need some time.'

'I can give you until tomorrow. I'll return in the morning.' He got up, smoothing out the lines from his trenchcoat and dark suit pants. 'Goodnight, Agent Scully.'

Her whole body deflated as soon as he turned the corner. She shuddered as she tried to breathe out, freeing the tears she had fought so hard to suppress. Her hands were trembling, and she folded her arms across her chest to try and steady them, hugging herself against the chill that gripped her.

She would get through this. And so would Mulder and Skinner. She would not let Spender win now.

She sighed and shook off the nausea he had left enveloping her like a shroud and, with renewed strength and hope, strode towards Skinner's room.