Stockholm Syndrome

4. Antediluvian

Where do you get off copping this attitude? You don't even know the first thing about me. ~Alex Krycek (Sleepless)

Exactly. ~Fox Mulder (Sleepless)

"Why couldn't Raelyn do the autopsy?" Scully asked rather irritably. She and Mulder had been trying to question the museum workers, who didn't seem at all suspicious, when Pendrall called saying Dr. Anderovney couldn't come to the lab.

"She's going on vacation in Florida."

"Wish I was," Mulder added. The uneventful interrogations had lowered his hopes that this was an X File. It didn't help that they had to come back to work after 3:00 AM.

"I hope she's having an all right time now," said Pendrall, more to himself than anybody. "She didn't sound very happy on the phone."

"Who would at three in the morning?" Scully grumbled. "It is odd that she was out with friends this early…Maybe she has an early flight."

"Yeah, it's just…" Pendrall let the sentence trail off. He didn't want to look paranoid in front of Scully.

"Just what?" Mulder asked. Scully went in to do the autopsy alone and Mulder and Pendrall were left to talk in the hallway.

"She just acted really weird on the phone- like she does when she's nervous or…lying. What do you think?

"I'm not sure," the lanky agent replied. "People don't usually sound nervous before going on vacation or when they're out with friends. Of course, I've only spoken with Raelyn a few times, like on Dr. Tanner's murder."

"Didn't they end up ruling that an accident?"

"Yeah, can you believe that crap?" Mulder scowled. "He was so obviously run off the road. There wasn't a spot of alcohol in his system or rain on the road. They don't even have deer in that area."

"It seems like an awfully sloppy murder."

"Well, the men that killed him don't usually need to bother covering their tracks," responded Mulder grimly. "Others do it for them."

Pendrall shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't gotten quite used to Agent Mulder's offbeat ideas of the paranormal and conspiracies. It puzzled him how well he and Agent Scully got along. They were complete opposites.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Scully came out and told the two anxious men that they'd better come in.

"What's up?" asked Mulder. "You got some irregularities, Scully?"

"Just a few. The body is…abnormal."

"Abnormal how?"

"Well, take a look at the forehead. It protrudes much farther than an average human's does. Also, it's hard to tell with decomposition, but I'd say he was at least 7 feet tall. And his bone structure and teeth are just completely different than anyone I've ever seen. And Mulder, you remember how he had patches of what looked like hair on him?"

"Yeah, although it was hard to tell with the blood."

"It's animal fur, like pieces of a pelt. I think he was wearing it.
Pendrall furrowed his brow. "But Agent Scully, that almost sounds like your describing…"

Mulder finished his sentence. "A caveman."

"But it can't possibly be a caveman," Scully said. She sounded like she'd rehearsed. "This man has only been dead for approximately 48 hours. Not to mention he was found in the shaft of the Spy Museum."

Pendrall's jaw dropped. "No way! You guys got to go in the shaft? I've never even been to the Spy Museum!"

"Yeah, it was awesome!" Mulder exclaimed. "We got to see the phone shoe from Get Smart and all the cars from James Bond and-"

"Excuse me, gentlemen, are we forgetting the point here?"

"Yeah, the point is we found a caveman who only died a couple days ago."

"Mulder! He's not a caveman!"

"Call him what you will; we're going back to the Spy Museum. We'll need help…and I know just the trio."

Alex pulled the mini cooper into a parking spot, hitting the brakes a little too hard. Raelyn rocked forward, wincing from the handcuffs tugging at her wrists. Alex jumped out, ran to her side, and opened the door.

"Don't try anything," he warned as he unlocked the cuffs. As if she'd ever try to take on someone blindfolded. The only reason she tried to fight him at her house was pure panic. Raelyn was not a femme fatale. She was not one of those girls who could take on ten guys at once. She was a geek. In fact, she was probably the worst thing feminism had seen in quite some time. Oprah would be ashamed.

She started to get out of the car, with no help from her captor, and banged her head. The now annoyed coroner stooped low, causing her mane of auburn hair to fall completely over her face. After she stood up, Raelyn began whipping her head around, trying to get the locks off her face and out from behind the blindfold. Alex watched with an amused look on his face. She was so ridiculous; it was almost cute. No, not cute…gawky. And clumsy. Those were the words he was looking for.

Alex finally took off the blindfold once they were in his apartment building. Raelyn looked around. They were at the bottom of a flight of stairs. The building wasn't as rundown as she'd expected, but it sure wasn't anything to brag about.

"I'm on the top floor," Alex said, glancing around, like cops were going to pop out of the floorboards.

"Are we going to walk up all those stairs?"

"No, we're gonna skate up them."

"But that's a lot of stairs. Isn't there an elevator?"

"Are you serious? You've been kidnapped and you're whining about a couple stairs? The elevator's out of order."

So, they began their trek up the stairs, Raelyn resisting her natural impulse to whine. It was such a long and tiresome walk that even the obviously well-built Alex Krycek looked slightly winded by the time they reached his door. He prayed Raelyn didn't notice; it would only fuel her whining. In reality, she was too beat to make even the smallest complaint.

He opened the door and led her inside. Raelyn looked around. It was nondescript, with plain furniture and all the blinds closed. The kitchen and living room were connected and there was a slightly ajar door in the back that she assumed led to a bathroom or bedroom.

Ugh, better not think about that. There's still the chance he's a rapist. Who's to say those smoking bastards didn't tell him to torture me for information I don't have?

"You'll be sleeping in the living room," he said. Man, she's really freaked out. She must think I'm some kind of creep. The way she looks around is like she's looking for an escape. Like that's gonna happen.

He took over to a small coffee table facing the couch. Raelyn cried out in pain as he yanked her down. He quickly handcuffed her to the leg of the table.

"You can sleep on the couch if you want," he grumbled, obviously not giving a crap about what she wanted. He went into the back door she'd noted earlier and after a few minutes she heard him flop onto a bed. Raelyn smiled. Thank God he wasn't a very smart henchman. She went to pull the table up off the floor, but found she could. She struggled with it for a minute or so, becoming angrier by the second.

"All the furniture's bolted to the floor," Alex yelled from his bedroom, having heard her struggling. Raelyn thought she heard a twinge of laughter in his voice and silently swore to make sure he got the chair when he was arrested. For now, she'd settle for some sleep. But, when Raelyn tried to raise herself up onto the couch, she couldn't. The handcuff was too short and the couch was too far away. She writhed and stretched, but could not fit more than her legs. She sighed.

This is going to be a long abduction.

Author's Note: Woo-hoo! Finally put up the next chapter. I hope everyone liked it! I can't believe I just called Alex well-built…athletic seemed too sporty and strapping was just weird. I considered fit, but it just wasn't the same. I promise the Lone Gunmen shall be in the next chap! Keep reading and be sure to review! XD