The entrance into the alley was littered with trash and empty
boxes. The only light came from a flickering street lamp.
Apparently, even the homeless had qualms about this area as
there were none around.
The tires of the rental car made squishing noises as it pushed
through the slush and the nasty debris. Mulder parked the car
in the front of the abandoned warehouse. He reached under his
seat and pulled out a gun. He checked the clip and then handed
the weapon to Andrea who sat quietly in the backseat.
"Nothing's changed. You will stay in the car until we return."
Andrea looked at the gun and frowned.
"You do know how to use one of these, right?" Scully asked.
"Of course. But, I..." she began.
"No, buts. At the hotel, we all agreed that if you came with
us, you'd stay in the car. If you follow us in there..."
"Dana, I understand."
Scully checked her weapon and exited the car. Mulder and Andrea
did the same. He held the door for her as she replaced him in
the driver's seat.
"Fox," Andrea said, as she placed her hand over his, "be
careful."
He squeezed her hand and smiled at her. As he and Scully headed
toward the doors, he prayed that he wouldn't let her down.
*-*-*-*-*
The agents smelled the stale odor of cigarette smoke before they
actually saw him or heard his voice. But, they knew he was
there, too. As they ran down the decrepid passageways the sound
of screams reassured them that they were headed in the right
direction.
When they reached the next opening, Scully stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"Maybe we should call for back up."
"Scully, it's too late for that shit now. We've finally got
that cancerous bastard where we want him. We don't have time to
wait for back up."
Still, Scully hesitated. In the background, another painful
scream reverberated through the building.
"Dammit, Scully!! What's it gonna be? Does somebody else have
to lose a relative to that asshole?" Mulder questioned
passionately.
"Of course not," she answered as she moved pass him toward the
screams.
*-*-*-*
Waiting was a real pain, thought Andrea. Patience wasn't a
virtue she possessed. She was about three seconds away from
losing it.
(What was taking them so long?)
Desperate to remain calm, she decided to focus on something
else. Writing new material was out of the question as was
singing. She had also already recited every Bible verse she
could remember. She looked down at the gun that was on the
passenger seat beside her. She picked it up and inspected it
more closely.
9 mm hand gun. Semi-automatic. She disengaged the clip. Fully
loaded magazine. She slid the clip back into the chamber. She
smiled quietly on a past memory. Her father believed that basic
weapons training was a necessity for any child of his.
"Did you honestly think you could defeat me?" ranted Cigarette
Smoking Man. "Your father couldn't and that's why he's rotting
in a grave."
The agents silently entered the room. From their position, they
could easily see their nemesis, but whoever he was talking to
was blocked from their view by a large crate.
"Go around the crate," Mulder mouthed to Scully. "I want him."
Scully nodded and made her way around to the back of the crate.
From her new position, she couldn't see Mulder or CSM, but what
she could see sickened her. A badly beaten man was chained
between to a chair. Despite the blood, bruises and swollen eye,
she recognized the man as Zave.
"Am I supposed to be afraid of you?" Zave laughed. "My father
pegged you right. You're nothing but a coward. You weren't
even man enough to confront me so instead, you had your little
goons bring me here."
"Laugh now, but you won't be laughing for long," CSM sneered.
"You and your father are so much alike. You think you're so
smart, that you know everything. But, do you know who's going
to be there for your sister when you're dead?"
"You leave her alone you son of a bitch!" Mulder shouted, as he
aimed his revolver at CSM's head. "Put the gun down or so help
me, I'll kill you where you stand."
CSM lowered the gun to the ground.
"Kick it towards me."
CSM kicked the gun in his direction.
"Well, here we are again, Agent Mulder. What brings you here?
I didn't realize you and your deceased informant were so close."
"You're Mulder? You son of a bitch!!" yelled Zave as he
struggled with the chains. "My father would still be alive if
it wasn't for you!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Mulder shouted. "Andrea doesn't
want the same thing to happen to you."
"What do you know about her? You stay the hell away from her,"
Zave croaked as he began to cough up blood.
"Mulder, we don't have time for this. We need to get him to a
hospital. He may have internal injuries. Help me with these
chains."
Mulder finally had CSM where he wanted him, looking down the
barrel of his gun. But, he knew Scully was right. He'd made a
promise, and he had no intention of breaking it.
"This isn't over you black lung motherfu-"
"Mulder! Now," Scully shouted.
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