Mulder was awoken by the distinct sensation that someone was touching him. At first he thought it might be a dream, until the first hand was joined by several others, tugging insistently at his trousers. Opening one eye slowly he saw approximately five men going through his pockets, pulling out their contents as they went. Next to him on the floor lay his badge, handcuffs, cell phone (which had been take apart none too carefully) and a handful of sunflower seeds. Opening the other eye, Mulder noticed that one of the men had managed to unclip his gun from its holster. Panicking slightly he sat up in one abrupt motion, causing the men to jump back a little.

"Hey buddy, I think you should let me have that, don't you?"

The man smiled menacingly, allowing Mulder a good view of the copious gaps in his teeth.

"Oh do yer now?"

Mulder nodded and smiled politely, holding out his hand to take the gun. The man exchanged looks with his associates before turning back to Mulder, taking a step nearer.

"So you want yer gun back huh?"

Mulder nodded. "Well that's too bad cause it's my gun now."

"Look just hand it over ok," Mulder replied forcefully, heaving himself up on his knees. Without warning the man swung his arm back, bringing it round and connected the butt of the gun with Mulder's jaw, which was still throbbing from the blow dealt by Scully earlier. The force of the impact sent him sprawling backwards, cracking his head against the wooden wall. Dazed, he reached up and put a hand to his mouth, wiping away a trickle of blood that had started running down his chin. Suddenly the man was in his face. He grabbed Mulder by the shirt, wrenching him forward.

"You may wanna learn some manners and watch that attitude if you're going to survive on this ship me lad." He let go with a shove which landed Mulder once again on his back.

"Ship? Goddammit!" Mulder muttered, cursing under his breath as he felt the familiar wave of nausea that accompanied sea sickness wash over him. He smiled wryly, gradually growing paler and paler as he lifted himself up onto his elbows.

"I don't suppose any of you guys have a Dramamine on you do you?" The men exchanged confused looks before one launched forward and kicked Mulder sharply in the ribs, causing him to fall back to the floor, groaning in pain and clutching his side. The same man then proceeded to rain a barrage of blow and kicks down on him. Writhing around in pain Mulder tried unsuccessfully to shield his body from the assault. After a few minutes a second man stepped forward. Fearing the worst, Mulder braced himself for another beating. But much to his surprise the man placed his hand on the arm of Mulder's attacker, ceasing his movements. They exchanged looks and the second man jerked his head over her shoulder saying,

"Better stop that mate. There're ladies present."
Mulder craned his neck to look past the men. Sure enough two women had indeed entered the room. As they stepped into the dim light he recognized them as the two girls Jack had been talking to in the bar, although their clothes were stained with dirt and possibly blood. Bruises peppered their arms and the skin around their wrists was raw; the dark haired one had the makings of a good shiner, while the red head had a deep gash above her left eye. They stood just outside the group of men, arms folded across their chests and stony expressions on their faces. His attacker then turned his attention back to Mulder, standing over his battered form.

"Best behave yourself matey," he warned, giving Mulder one last hard kick to the stomach before leaving the room, the rest of the men following closely behind.

Once the door was closed, Mulder heaved a sigh and then winced, clutching his ribs. He was no doctor but he was pretty sure they were badly bruised, if not broken. He glanced back over at the two girls and noticed that the dark haired one had started to walk towards him, talking to her friend as she moved.

"Mira Yelena es tu novio[Look Yelena it's your boyfriend!"

Yelena blushed furiously before replying,

"Cállate Soledad [Shut up Soledad." Soledad however seemed to disagree. She continued chuckling the rest of the way across the room and was still doing so as she knelt down beside Mulder. Closer to, he noticed a scattered set of finger print bruises around her neck, under her jaw. By this time Yelena had moved also and was hovering slightly behind Soledad.

"¿Piensas que esta bien [Do you think he's ok?"

"No estoy segura [I'm not sure," Soledad replied, reaching out a hand to touch Mulder's face. He flinched, expecting her to hit him. She simply laughed, grasping his chin gently and tilting it towards the light to get a better look at the injuries he had sustained during the beating.

"Esta bien señor, le ayudare. Yelena necesito agua, un paño húmedo y todo eso por favor [It's ok sir, I'm going to help you. Yelena I need water, a damp cloth and everything else please." Yelena complied with the request, crossing to the other side of the room and bringing back a bowl of water and a cloth, which she passed to Soledad before kneeling down on the other side of Mulder. For the first time since they entered the room Yelena spoke directly to Mulder, while Soledad busied herself with the task of cleaning him up. "Así que¿como esta venido aquí [So how did you get here?" Mulder stared blankly at her then winced as Soledad hit a sore spot on his face. Yelena paused for a second before repeating the question.

"I'm sorry I don't understand. My Spanish is pretty much non-existent," Mulder explained, trying his best to hold still so as not to impede Soledad's work. Yelena laughed and reverted to English.

"Well why didn't you say something? I asked you how you got here. Let's face it, you hardly look like you belong in this place."

"It's… complicated."

"Try us amigo, we might just surprise you," Soledad piped up as she got to her feet, wiping her hands on her trousers. Mulder took a deep breath before he began.

"My partner and I were investigating some missing person's reports in Haiti at an institute that was conducting time travel experiments when we were transported back in time to this place." Soledad stared at him while Yelena folded her arms in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow, an expression that automatically made him think of Scully. He wondered briefly where she was, what she was doing, and even if she'd realized he was gone. Yelena's voice broke through his reverie, bringing him back to the present.

"You don't honestly expect us to believe that do you?" Mulder shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to not being believed. It's actually rather comforting." Before Yelena could reply the door swung open and banged loudly against the wall. The girls span round to face the large figure entering the room.

"Halcón," Soledad whispered, just loud enough for Mulder to hear, as she and Yelena backed away slowly from the approaching man. He stepped forward into the light and smiled down at Mulder.

"Well, let's take a look at the new recruit then shall we?"
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Another cliffhanger lol. Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I moved up to Leeds to go to uni a while ago and have only just got internet access due to delays with the accomodation I was supposed to be moving into. Hope you enjoy this chapter and PLEASE review!!! It makes me smile!
Lily
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