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crossoverfic2008-06-07 04:49 pm
fides.livejournal.com) wrote in crossoverfic2008-06-07 04:49 pm
Entry tags:
Fic: Time Out in Washington 13/18 [X-Files/Torchwood/The State Within/Dr Who]
Title: Time Out in Washington (13/18)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fides
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Mulder/Krycek (mostly UST), Mark/Nicholas discussed but whether there is any truth behind the suggestion is open to the reader's interpretation
Fandom: X-Files/Torchwood/Dr Who/The State Within
Rating: NC-17 overall (most parts PG/PG-13, only one part is NC-17 and that part can be skipped with minimum confusion if you want to read the plot but are put off by the idea of graphic sex)
Warnings: Spoilers for The State Within. Some violence and fantasy sexual violence
Disclaimer: None of the recognisable characters are mine, Santa has been really falling down on his job recently, but belong to their respective right holders
Sequal to 1. Plus Ça Change, 2. Hobson's Choice
Prequel to Interlunation
Previous Parts: Part 1 - Prologue -:- Part 2 - Sir Mark -:- Part 3 - Jack -:- Part 4 - Azzam -:- Part 5 - Mulder -:- Part 6 - Skinner -:- Part 7 - Scully -:- Part 8 - George -:- Part 9 - Alex and Fox -:- Part 10 - Doctor -:- Part 11 - William -:- Part 12 - Ianto
Summary: Finding out Jack's secret in the worst possible way (Hobson's Choice), Alex takes a break from Torchwood Three while he comes to terms with events and his anger towards Jack. To give him the time he needs, Jack arranges a secondment for Alex at the British Embassy in Washington working with the secret service to counter threats to the Ambassador's family. But with Mulder around things don't go to plan and Alex discovers that aliens aren't that easy to leave behind.
Notes: I know that the timelines don't quite fit so I decided to fudge things a little because it was too tempting to compare Torchwood and the Consortium. This story is set concurrent with the early part of X-Files season 6, during the second half of Torchwood season 1, during the time of the 12th Doctor (Doctor Who) and about a year after the events in The State Within. In depth (or indeed any) knowledge of the included fandoms isn't required so please don't let them put you off. Thanks tomoth2fic for the beta. Any and all remaining mistakes are own.
"So that's what's going to happen," Alex concluded his summary of the conversation for the benefit of his audience.
Dan frowned. "How do you know the girl won't react?"
"He doesn't," the Doctor answered for him. "He knows that his friend will. That's what your colleagues concluded, wasn't it?"
Alex nodded, disgusted with himself and with the whole situation. He'd travelled back in time to stand back and watch someone shoot an eight year old and torture her brother. Alex devoutly hoped that the artefact threw Fox for as much as a loop as Tosh seemed to think it would so that he would not witness, or at least not comprehend, what happened to his sister. It definitely explained why Fox never had a clear idea of what happened to her. Something else that Mulder and Scully would have in common; Alex watching their respective sisters die. Hardly a reason for Mulder to put aside his enmity and let Alex back into his life as something other than a suspect or a corpse.
"You knew how this had to end," the Doctor warned. "You can't change your own timeline."
"I know," Alex growled, putting the tea down harder than he intended so it slopped over the rim of the cup. He stood up, needing to move. Pacing out his frustration as much as he could in the small room, he took a deep breath. In more normal tones he recited, "Samantha has to vanish and Fox has to spend his life searching for her because that is what drove the Fox Mulder that I knew and resulted in my presence here."
"But that's it!" Dan exclaimed. "She wasn't killed - she vanished. So we make sure she vanishes."
There was silence for a moment as they all thought about the implications of that.
"You want to kidnap her?" Mina asked, shocked but giving voice to what they were all thinking.
"You want to leave her here to be killed?" Dan made a dismissive gesture. "We might as well pull the trigger ourselves."
"Of course I don't," Mina snapped, "but can we do that?"
She looked at him as if Alex knew the answer. He wasn't the one with the time machine. Although he was the one whose involvement with the family was causing problems.
"Mulder never remembered what happened to her," Alex admitted slowly, "At least he never said anything if he did. If we take her with us and I retcon him then nothing will change - no paradox."
"The TARDIS is hardly a place for a eight year old girl," The Doctor pointed out mildly. He didn't disagree, Alex noticed.
Dan gave the Doctor a hard look. "So we take her somewhere safe."
He was seconds from offering to take her home with him, Alex realised. Something about the situation was pushing buttons that Alex hadn't realised that Dan had. Unable to stop himself his eyes flicked down to Dan's leg. Whatever physical damage existed was covered by his clothes and Alex had never asked.
"And the assassin?" the Doctor reminded them.
"I can retcon him as well," Alex offered, "or you can help me dispose of the body. Probably a lot easier to do when you have a time-travelling spaceship..." The Doctor looked shocked at the thought. "So, retcon then." All of them looked a little stunned by his easy talk of murder, even if it was a matter of defence. That was why you never worked with amateurs, "You don't have to be involved in this. I can do it on my own."
"We want to help, don't we?" Mina insisted.
Dan nodded.
"Doctor?" Alex asked.
"No killing except as a last resort," the Doctor looked at him gravely. "And preferably not then. It's something of a rule around here."
"No killing," Alex agreed easily. It wasn't the first time that he'd worked with such constraints; in his experience they tended to become more guidelines than rules fairly quickly when the bullets started flying. "As long as I can bluff, threaten, lie and/or tell the truth as necessary. Especially the bluff. Trust me, appealing to their better natures will not work."
There was no way he was going to keep their opposing number in check if he didn't believe they were deadly serious.
The Doctor thought for a second and grinned. "I don't think I've kidnapped anyone in years. Tomorrow we go rescue your friend."
They were all insane; it was the only explanation. He could feel the laugh bubbling up inside him, half way to hysteria and picking up speed.
"Fox always claimed that Samantha was abducted by aliens," he told them crazily and they smiled with him, enjoying the joke without understanding the dark burn of irony.
It was the first time he had said their names since he came on board the TARDIS but on the wave of euphoria they just slipped out. It seemed right somehow. The boy was Fox rather than the man, Mulder, whom he knew. They discussed ideas, letting them brew with the tea until they were repeating themselves pointlessly and sleep was more imperative than strategies which, like a lover's promises, would come to nothing in the morning light.
Alex woke slowly. Nothing would happen until evening and the late night added a lethargy to his body that the promise of future adrenaline couldn't dispel. It was the calm before the storm, the deep breath before the scream and like any good soldier he had learnt to cherish the time when he had it. His mind drifted, as lazy and disconnected as his body.
Nicholas in surgery for three days and thirty years, Mark's frightened, red-rimmed eyes and Azzam's too quiet acceptance.
The first time that he and Mulder had kissed; not sure If he'd made that first move or whether Mulder had but knowing that between one second and the next there was a sudden feeling of tension, of expectation, and neither of them had pulled away.
The first time Mulder punched him, seeing the belief of betrayal in his eyes which almost hurt more than the blows. Wondering what the Consortium had made Mulder think. Tasting the blood in his mouth and in that moment realising that despite everything he'd ever said, despite everything he believed, he would go crawling back to Mulder no matter what he did.
Torchwood giving him hope that he could win the war even as they took away any victory from the battle.
Jack and Ianto waiting for everyone except Jack to die, Tosh and Owen trying so desperately to live and Gwen, untouched by understanding of the true darkness that lurked within Torchwood.
When he got up it was with a renewed feeling of resolve. Which was fortunate because he found Dan and Mina looking nervous, impatient and more than a little frazzled. He wasn't sure what all the words meant when he asked them what the problem was but, the few words he did pick up from his smattering of Arabic were distinctly uncomplimentary. While the day dragged on longer than Alex expected, he had a plan of action; he could let the time flow around him as he waited. Waiting was, apparently, not something they did much of in the TARDIS as a general rule, it being a time machine. Between them, the Doctor and he kept up a steady list of chores to keep the two younger occupants of the TARDIS busy. At least that was what Alex assumed the Doctor was doing when he decided that it was imperative that some obscure components of the operating system that Alex had never heard of before needed removing, cleaning and putting back in a particular and very important order. After Dan nearly broke one of the elements he was supposed to be polishing, Alex dragged him out to do a little souvenir hunting and scouting. They left Mina frowning in concentration at the pieces and totally unaware of their departure.
It was nearly eight when the front door opened and Bill and Teena Mulder walked the ten yards that separated their house from that of the Galbrands. Alex had read the official reports so many times he had them memorised nearly as well as Mulder did. He gave them ten minutes to be sure and another ten waiting for the children to get settled before he slipped in the backdoor, left trustingly unlocked, and grabbed the key from its hook. Seconds later the house was more secure than when he had arrived. It wouldn't stop anyone, it would barely slow a professional down but sometimes those extra seconds were all you needed. As prepared as they were ever going to get, the four of them settled into the hiding places that Alex had found for them and waited.
An hour later and the sounds of the television drifted into the night with news of Nixon and government conspiracy. Alex listened with half an ear, wondering what it must have been like to hear the news for the first time while the scandal was breaking. Oral sex with a White House intern really didn't have the same impact, they just didn't do political chicanery like they used to. Or maybe cover-up merchants like him were better at hiding the small stuff in the name of democracy and international standing.
The soft pad of feet and the quiet rattle of a door in its frame and Alex was ready. The Consortium agent was picking the lock of the backdoor when, using his concentration against him, Alex slipped in behind him and put his own gun to the man's head.
"I wouldn't," Alex whispered.
With slow careful movements the man out held his hands as spread as he could without dropping the lock picks.
"Good," Alex hissed. He backed off far enough that the man couldn't just knock his weapon away if he turned fast. "Against the wall, hands on the brick where I can see them. Don't turn around."
The man complied reluctantly. Black leather gloves on his hands and a balaclava rolled down over his head; he was anonymous and barely more than a shadow. Just another Consortium thug. Not wanting to take his eyes off his prisoner, Alex sensed as much as saw the others joining him.
"Search his pockets," he told them. "One of you, carefully. And relieve him of that bag."
It was the Doctor who stepped forward and Alex breathed easier when he saw that the Doctor was taking care not to block his lines of sight. Alex doubted that he found all the concealed weapons but he at least got the gun and knife that were in easy reach. Alex drew the key he had liberated out of his pocket and handed it to Mina. She walked around him and unlocked the door. He pretended not to have felt the faint tremor in her hands.
The kitchen was clean and polished to Good Housekeeping standards, as bright white as an operating room and almost as lifeless. A space age miracle of plastic and ceramic. Mina went to the doorway that led to the rest of the house, glancing through. She nodded, letting them know it was clear.
"Sit!" Alex ordered.
Dan pulled out one of the chairs and then stepped well back to allow the man to do as he was told. With little else to contribute to the scene Alex was creating, Dan retreated towards the back door to keep watch.
"I know what you are thinking," Alex purred, walking around the man. "That we don't care that you have seen our faces. You're right." He saw the slight jump of muscles under the dark cloth, the tension as the man prepared to go out fighting, "but not for the reason that you think," Alex stopped immediately behind the man. "We don't care because when this is over you will not be able to find us."
The man scoffed. "Kill me. They'll still find you and when they do..."
The cuff Alex delivered was automatic. The voice was rusty, the accent sparking something deep inside him that made him want to strike out.
"Believe what you want," he hissed harshly, "but if you want to convince me to kill you go right ahead. I'd say it was in your best interests to shut up."
The man shut.
Alex nodded to the Doctor. With a drum roll of pens, lock picks and other miscellaneous knickknacks, the bag flopped down on the table with more solidity than its external appearance suggested. As the Doctor went to open it the man surged forwards to stop him. He was barely half out of the chair before Alex had dragged him back down. A sharp smack to the base of his skull from the butt of Alex's gun and he slumped forward. Not trusting the pose for an instant, Alex grabbed him by the balaclava and tipped the head back. When no resistance was offered he carefully peeled back an eyelid and then slipped his hand under the thick material at the neck to check the man's pulse. Satisfied, he stepped back. The others were looking at him accusingly but he refused to be made to feel guilty.
"He should come round in a little while. I didn't hit him that hard." He'd wanted to though.
The Doctor gave him an odd look but chose not to comment. He undid the clasp of the bag and pulled out the contents: a manila folder and a sealed box. Alex immediately reached for the files while the Doctor went for the box. Their arms crossed above the table and they grinned at each other.
The papers were brutal in their clinical simplicity. Two forms, one for each child, names and personal information already filled in. A description of the protocol to be used in the experiment. It was all there, laid out in slightly smudged black and white down to the check boxes at the bottom of each form for what action was being taken in regard to each child. Alex looked at the anonymous Consortium agent and, all 'there but for the grace of God' feelings aside, wished he had hit him harder. He laid his finds out on the table for the others to read and turned his attention to the Doctor's acquisition.
As Alex had suspected the box held a strange looking metal fragment. He had no idea what the writing said but it gave him the creeps. Pushing the feeling aside he made a mental note in case he stumbled across anything similar in the future. He'd need to wait for the outcome of Tosh's simulation for confirmation but everything seemed to suggest that it, or something like it, and Mulder were a bad combination. The Doctor, however, suffered no noticeable ill effects as he examined it carefully, apparently intrigued. Alex rolled his eyes. Figured.
Mina and Dan edged closer to get a better view as the Doctor fished out the ubiquitous instrument that Alex had noticed he appeared to use for everything and began to do things to the artefact with it.
"What is it?" Mina asked.
The Doctor turned the thing over in his hand "Hmmm?"
"Can you put it away?" Alex broke in. "You can play with it later when we're done."
"It's really rather clever," the Doctor began.
"Not," Alex said distinctly, "now. Now, we put the thing back in its box and work out the best way to get the girl."
The Doctor opened his mouth to object but Alex held up a finger and then pointed emphatically at the box.
"Do you always get this grumpy?" the Doctor asked conversationally, but to Alex's relief he did as he was asked.
"Yes, every time I..."
Alex was interrupted by a groan from their prisoner. He was back behind him in an instant, gun ready and arm wrapped around the wool covered throat, pressed just heavily enough to make the threat clear.
"Don't," Alex warned, "unless you want us to start getting inventive."
"Who are you?" A young voice, not yet grown into its arrogant tone. "And what are you doing to that man?"
They looked over to the doorway from which the voice had come.
"Fuck," Alex muttered under his breath. The prisoner moaned pitifully, playing for sympathy.
Dan responded quickest. "Fox, that's your name, right?" The kid nodded warily. "My friends and I aren't here to hurt you or your sister. We're here to protect you."
It was a good line, Alex thought approvingly. It even had the added value of being truthful, although that was something of a personal preference rather than a necessity. He knew Fox's preferences though and doubted that had changed much between boy and man. It was best not to risk that Fox's irritating habit of jumping to the truth wasn't also present in the pint-sized version of him.
His skin prickled as Fox took in his threatening stance and weighed it against the outfit of the intruder. They could do this by force if they had to but Alex had been hoping to avoid that. Carefully and slowly he stepped back from the prisoner. He hoped that the man would have the sense not to try anything. The mission was blown by this point; the best result that he could hope for was to stay alive to set the hounds of hell on their tails by giving a full report.
"Fox" (And didn't the name feel like honey in his mouth even now?) "I'm going to show you something."
Still looking suspicious Fox let Alex gather the papers from the table and bring them over to him. Alex was surprised when Mina conspicuously took his place behind the prisoner as he moved away but he kept that surprise to himself not wanting to give away the bluff. Instead he used the moment when Fox's attention was split to make sure that, when he gathered them, the form with Fox's name on was hidden in the middle of the protocol instructions. He didn't dare put his gun away, but he was very careful to hold it in a non-threatening manner as he approached the child. Trying to remember every trick he had been taught to get Fox's co-operation he bent down on one knee to bring him down to Fox's level.
"We took this from that man." Alex held the form out so that Fox could see it and then looked at their prisoner.
Fox's eyes widened as he read what was being presented to him.
"You made this up," Fox accused but Alex could hear the edge of panic in his voice. Part of him believed and that was normally enough.
Alex shook his head sadly. "Ask any of them," he offered. "You see that box that the tall man with the big nose is holding? That has the object in that they wanted to expose your sister to."
Alex could see the Doctor's eyebrows go up and hoped that Fox thought it was a reaction to his description. Please don't blow it, Alex begged silently. To his relief the Doctor said nothing, which was a miracle in itself, and waved the container in which the ship fragment was cocooned.
Fox took a step towards the Doctor and the box. "Can I see?"
Alex's breath caught in his throat.
"No, sorry." the Doctor drew the artefact protectively closer to him. "The exposure would be too dangerous. Weren't you paying attention?"
Fox pouted. He hadn't run screaming which was a good sign but any moment he was going to start thinking again and demand his parents. That he hadn't, Alex put down to a combination of pride and conditioning not to bother the adults but it wasn't something that they could rely on for long.
"Fox," Alex said quietly, "we're here to help you and your sister."
His knee was getting stiff on the cold floor but he didn't dare stand. Fox looked back to him, searching his face for something but Alex had no idea what. He just hoped Fox found whatever he was looking for.
"You could all be lying," Fox pointed out logically.
"We could be," Alex admitted, trying to keep his voice reassuring, "but we aren't. We don't want to do any of these things. We came here to stop them happening."
Slowly Fox looked around the room again, taking them each in with those assessing hazel eyes. Alex's fingers tightened and loosened on the handle of his pistol. If Fox didn't believe them, if he tried anything...
Fox turned back to Alex again. "Okay," Fox said.
Alex bit back the urge to cheer and offered a silent thanks to anything that was listening. Kids really weren't his thing.
"Doctor, Mina, stay here with him." He nodded to the prisoner. "Don't let him move. Dan, you watch the door. Come on, Fox, let's go get your sister."
He'd expected the Doctor to pull out the gun that he had confiscated, forgetting in the heat of the moment who he was dealing with, but instead the Doctor held out his gadget in a menacing manner.
Alex went to the table to put the papers back and, as he did, stepped close to their captive.
"Do you know what that is?" he asked the still slightly dazed man. Alex thought the Doctor looked a little smug when the only response he received was a head shake from their prisoner. After the blow Alex had given him, movement probably wasn't advisable as the quickly hidden wince confirmed. "If you like living," he said quietly, not wanting Fox to hear, "you better hope for your sake that you don't find out. You've seen what alien tech can do." He winked at the Doctor as he straightened.
A half-finished game of Stratego lay scattered across the floor of the lounge. From Sam's slightly guilty jump as they came back in Alex suspected she had being taking advantage of her opponent's absence.
"Where's my soda?" she demanded, her eyes jumping from her brother to him as she realised he wasn't alone. "Who's that? You know you aren't supposed..."
"Shut up," Fox interrupted.
Samantha looked indignant and Alex could see a sibling fight brewing.
"Samantha," he broke in before Fox could respond, "my name is Alex. I know your father. He's the reason I'm here."
It was so much easier to lie with the truth. He saw Fox flinch at the mention of his father, flushing uncomfortably. Samantha stared at him with more suspicion than Fox had, his seemingly taking her brother's side in the argument counting against him more than his menacing a masked man in the kitchen had to Fox. Either that or Samantha was the naturally more distrustful of the two.
"What do you want?" The imperious tone was obviously a family trait. Or maybe it was a New England one; ditching the tea didn't necessarily mean ditching the attitude.
"I want to show you something." It made him sound like a dirty old man trying to lure her into the bushes. "In the kitchen. We can get your soda while we're there." Come with me, little girl. Do you want a sweetie?
Samantha stood up and led the way, Alex and the slightly sulking Fox following closely. From her gasp and the way she suddenly stopped it was clear when she could see into the room. A gentle hand on her back and she allowed herself to be encouraged forwards.
Alex knelt down again, hoping what had worked with Fox would work a second time.
"You see that man?" Since her eyes hadn't left the black clad figure, Alex thought it was a fair bet. "He came here to hurt you. We stopped him but he, or someone like him will be back and we won't be able to stop them."
"My dad will stop them." Alex wanted to laugh at the surety in her tone. Even Fox didn't look totally convinced. Alex wondered how much of his father's dealings young Fox had picked up. Twelve year olds weren't stupid and Fox less so than many. He forbore asking.
"He can't stop them either," Alex said, trying his best to sound sympathetic. It was something he understood better than she would ever know.
Samantha put her hands on her hips and glared at him defiantly. "He can, so."
"He can't." He probably won't even try too hard because he doesn't believe he can put his own flesh and blood above the fate of the world. That's why patriots are dangerous, Honey, you wouldn't believe what we are willing to sacrifice. "That's why he sent us," Alex lied. "We're here to take you to a safe place. Somewhere that they can't hurt you."
She looked at her brother who nodded. Alex wanted to get down on his other knee and beg for his forgiveness.
"Okay," she agreed. "What about Fox? Is he coming with us?"
"He has to stay here."
"Why?"
Because he has to be tortured by guilt over your disappearance for the next twenty years so that he and I can meet.
"So that he can tell your parents that we have you safe." The words rolled from Alex's mouth easily.
It shouldn't have worked. She should have known better than to go with strangers on a dark night and Fox should have known better than to let her go. No wonder years later Fox had suspected a darker motive in her disappearance. Alex spent most of his life working to keep people ignorant of the horrors that surrounded them, but what waited in the dark of space not the dark of the night. In some ways it was refreshing to be in an era where not every stranger was automatically a sexual predator but at the same time the defencelessness of that ignorance sparked an anger within him. He thought of the man sitting at the table and the betrayal of a child's trust.
"Mina, Dan, could you take Samantha back with you to the TARDIS?" It wasn't really a question.
Samantha gave her brother a quick hug. "See you soon, Fox."
"Not if I can help it."
"Buttmunch."
"Brat."
He'll miss you, Alex wanted to tell her, he'll miss you every day and never forget you but it seemed wrong to profane that particular truth by mixing it with his lies. It was the moment Fox Mulder's life went wrong.
He cleared his throat as they waved good bye to each other and stood up.
"Fox, why don't you go and gather some of your sister's things together?" He could put them back easily enough after the sedative in the Retcon took effect. "The Doctor and I can take them for her."
Fox looked from the empty space where his sister had been to the man who had supposedly come to hurt them and the two imposing men who held weapons. For a moment Alex thought he was going to say something, but at twelve it was a lot harder to stand up to adults compared to when you were one yourself. Alex wanted to reassure him that what he thought was about to happen wasn't but he couldn't guarantee that. He wasn't planning to kill the guy, he'd been given his orders, but this was the endgame and he couldn't let anything slip. If the agent thought for a second that he had one last chance then he would try something stupid and Alex would be forced to take him down. While Alex intended to try and keep any injuries non-fatal he wasn't ready to die in the attempt and he doubted that the other man would be so restrained.
"Doctor, why don't you help him?" And find where he gets Samantha's stuff from so I can return it
Alex didn't look at either of them as he spoke, his gun held loosely but pointedly at the man in the chair. Hazel-green eyes glared back at him defiantly from within the dark mask that covered most of the man's face and he didn't look away from them as the others left the room. Alex pulled a seat out on the opposite side of the table, laying the pistol within easy reach. He raised a challenging eyebrow at the agent, daring him to try for the gun. It was easier when it was just them, two professionals who understood how the game worked.
Alex pulled out the two forms and spread them before him. Picking up a heavy fountain pen from the heap on the table Alex began creating the lie that would dominate Fox's life. When he had finished he pushed the filled-in sheets of paper across the table along with the pen that he had used.
"Sign them," he ordered.
The man's eyes widened noticeably. Whether it was because of what he read or because he recognised the handwriting as being a good approximation of his own Alex wasn't sure. It didn't matter anyway. Alex knew what happened next.
The pen scratched over the paper, formalising the deal Alex was making with the devil. Without Samantha the agent would be suspected and without his memories he would be unable to defend himself when questioned. All that would be left as evidence of the night's events would be one missing girl, the holes in two memories and the signed statement that Samantha was the ideal subject for their project having reacted strongly to the now missing artefact. With their best hope against the aliens vanished there would be only one obvious suspect. Even if the Consortium found a way to ask the aliens if they were culpable, then denial would be both expected and disbelieved. It some ways it was the perfect method of sowing distrust between the supposed allies.
No one could stand against the aliens, and maybe it was the fact that he would survive both the alien's intervention and the subsequent Consortium investigation which would buy the agent his life. Or maybe they had been closer to legitimacy in those days and didn't try and kill their agents for one botched mission over which they had no control. But things could never be the same after something like that. It was the type of experience that broke men. Or at least their relationships with their families. Everything falling apart until, one day, the man whose house they were in would turn up at the door and demand a child in return for the one lost. Whether side effect of the interrogation or confused echoes of everything that had happened, the man would hand over the son who disturbed him so badly without a second thought.
In the way that all children do, Alex had blamed himself. Gun to the operative's head, Alex made him drink the retcon laced water and knew he had always been right to do so.
The retcon had done its work by the time Fox and the Doctor came back down with a stylish looking travel bag that Fox had almost certainly taken from his mother's room. Looking at the man sprawled across the table Fox paled.
"Don't worry," Alex told them both, "he's just asleep. Check if you want."
Fox threw a pleading glance up at the Doctor. Typical; Fox was already looking to someone else to confirm what Alex was telling him. Not that Alex could blame him in this case. The Doctor checked for a pulse and nodded confirmation of its existence but when he went to roll off the balaclava Alex stopped him. The Doctor looked at him quizzically but Alex just shook his head. Mulder had his search for the uncompromising facts; Alex much preferred the comfort of deniability.
"Doctor," he reminded, "can I have my ammunition back now? I assure you there is no risk of my accidentally shooting a comatose and retconned man in the head. Or anywhere else."
The Doctor pulled a face, "you knew," he accused, but he dropped the bullets, one at a time, into the palm that Alex held out.
Alex rolled his eyes but forbore from commenting as he shoved the handful of ammunition loosely into his jacket pocket. He weighed the second retcon pill in his other hand for a second. Fox's mind had been fucked with so many times, the least he could do was see if he could make the first time consensual. Turning, he looked the boy in his eyes and prepared to tell him the truth.
"Fox - we need to talk."
Next Part...
Author:
fidesPairing: Jack/Ianto, Mulder/Krycek (mostly UST), Mark/Nicholas discussed but whether there is any truth behind the suggestion is open to the reader's interpretation
Fandom: X-Files/Torchwood/Dr Who/The State Within
Rating: NC-17 overall (most parts PG/PG-13, only one part is NC-17 and that part can be skipped with minimum confusion if you want to read the plot but are put off by the idea of graphic sex)
Warnings: Spoilers for The State Within. Some violence and fantasy sexual violence
Disclaimer: None of the recognisable characters are mine, Santa has been really falling down on his job recently, but belong to their respective right holders
Sequal to 1. Plus Ça Change, 2. Hobson's Choice
Prequel to Interlunation
Previous Parts: Part 1 - Prologue -:- Part 2 - Sir Mark -:- Part 3 - Jack -:- Part 4 - Azzam -:- Part 5 - Mulder -:- Part 6 - Skinner -:- Part 7 - Scully -:- Part 8 - George -:- Part 9 - Alex and Fox -:- Part 10 - Doctor -:- Part 11 - William -:- Part 12 - Ianto
Summary: Finding out Jack's secret in the worst possible way (Hobson's Choice), Alex takes a break from Torchwood Three while he comes to terms with events and his anger towards Jack. To give him the time he needs, Jack arranges a secondment for Alex at the British Embassy in Washington working with the secret service to counter threats to the Ambassador's family. But with Mulder around things don't go to plan and Alex discovers that aliens aren't that easy to leave behind.
Notes: I know that the timelines don't quite fit so I decided to fudge things a little because it was too tempting to compare Torchwood and the Consortium. This story is set concurrent with the early part of X-Files season 6, during the second half of Torchwood season 1, during the time of the 12th Doctor (Doctor Who) and about a year after the events in The State Within. In depth (or indeed any) knowledge of the included fandoms isn't required so please don't let them put you off. Thanks to
moth2fic for the beta. Any and all remaining mistakes are own."So that's what's going to happen," Alex concluded his summary of the conversation for the benefit of his audience.
Dan frowned. "How do you know the girl won't react?"
"He doesn't," the Doctor answered for him. "He knows that his friend will. That's what your colleagues concluded, wasn't it?"
Alex nodded, disgusted with himself and with the whole situation. He'd travelled back in time to stand back and watch someone shoot an eight year old and torture her brother. Alex devoutly hoped that the artefact threw Fox for as much as a loop as Tosh seemed to think it would so that he would not witness, or at least not comprehend, what happened to his sister. It definitely explained why Fox never had a clear idea of what happened to her. Something else that Mulder and Scully would have in common; Alex watching their respective sisters die. Hardly a reason for Mulder to put aside his enmity and let Alex back into his life as something other than a suspect or a corpse.
"You knew how this had to end," the Doctor warned. "You can't change your own timeline."
"I know," Alex growled, putting the tea down harder than he intended so it slopped over the rim of the cup. He stood up, needing to move. Pacing out his frustration as much as he could in the small room, he took a deep breath. In more normal tones he recited, "Samantha has to vanish and Fox has to spend his life searching for her because that is what drove the Fox Mulder that I knew and resulted in my presence here."
"But that's it!" Dan exclaimed. "She wasn't killed - she vanished. So we make sure she vanishes."
There was silence for a moment as they all thought about the implications of that.
"You want to kidnap her?" Mina asked, shocked but giving voice to what they were all thinking.
"You want to leave her here to be killed?" Dan made a dismissive gesture. "We might as well pull the trigger ourselves."
"Of course I don't," Mina snapped, "but can we do that?"
She looked at him as if Alex knew the answer. He wasn't the one with the time machine. Although he was the one whose involvement with the family was causing problems.
"Mulder never remembered what happened to her," Alex admitted slowly, "At least he never said anything if he did. If we take her with us and I retcon him then nothing will change - no paradox."
"The TARDIS is hardly a place for a eight year old girl," The Doctor pointed out mildly. He didn't disagree, Alex noticed.
Dan gave the Doctor a hard look. "So we take her somewhere safe."
He was seconds from offering to take her home with him, Alex realised. Something about the situation was pushing buttons that Alex hadn't realised that Dan had. Unable to stop himself his eyes flicked down to Dan's leg. Whatever physical damage existed was covered by his clothes and Alex had never asked.
"And the assassin?" the Doctor reminded them.
"I can retcon him as well," Alex offered, "or you can help me dispose of the body. Probably a lot easier to do when you have a time-travelling spaceship..." The Doctor looked shocked at the thought. "So, retcon then." All of them looked a little stunned by his easy talk of murder, even if it was a matter of defence. That was why you never worked with amateurs, "You don't have to be involved in this. I can do it on my own."
"We want to help, don't we?" Mina insisted.
Dan nodded.
"Doctor?" Alex asked.
"No killing except as a last resort," the Doctor looked at him gravely. "And preferably not then. It's something of a rule around here."
"No killing," Alex agreed easily. It wasn't the first time that he'd worked with such constraints; in his experience they tended to become more guidelines than rules fairly quickly when the bullets started flying. "As long as I can bluff, threaten, lie and/or tell the truth as necessary. Especially the bluff. Trust me, appealing to their better natures will not work."
There was no way he was going to keep their opposing number in check if he didn't believe they were deadly serious.
The Doctor thought for a second and grinned. "I don't think I've kidnapped anyone in years. Tomorrow we go rescue your friend."
They were all insane; it was the only explanation. He could feel the laugh bubbling up inside him, half way to hysteria and picking up speed.
"Fox always claimed that Samantha was abducted by aliens," he told them crazily and they smiled with him, enjoying the joke without understanding the dark burn of irony.
It was the first time he had said their names since he came on board the TARDIS but on the wave of euphoria they just slipped out. It seemed right somehow. The boy was Fox rather than the man, Mulder, whom he knew. They discussed ideas, letting them brew with the tea until they were repeating themselves pointlessly and sleep was more imperative than strategies which, like a lover's promises, would come to nothing in the morning light.
Alex woke slowly. Nothing would happen until evening and the late night added a lethargy to his body that the promise of future adrenaline couldn't dispel. It was the calm before the storm, the deep breath before the scream and like any good soldier he had learnt to cherish the time when he had it. His mind drifted, as lazy and disconnected as his body.
Nicholas in surgery for three days and thirty years, Mark's frightened, red-rimmed eyes and Azzam's too quiet acceptance.
The first time that he and Mulder had kissed; not sure If he'd made that first move or whether Mulder had but knowing that between one second and the next there was a sudden feeling of tension, of expectation, and neither of them had pulled away.
The first time Mulder punched him, seeing the belief of betrayal in his eyes which almost hurt more than the blows. Wondering what the Consortium had made Mulder think. Tasting the blood in his mouth and in that moment realising that despite everything he'd ever said, despite everything he believed, he would go crawling back to Mulder no matter what he did.
Torchwood giving him hope that he could win the war even as they took away any victory from the battle.
Jack and Ianto waiting for everyone except Jack to die, Tosh and Owen trying so desperately to live and Gwen, untouched by understanding of the true darkness that lurked within Torchwood.
When he got up it was with a renewed feeling of resolve. Which was fortunate because he found Dan and Mina looking nervous, impatient and more than a little frazzled. He wasn't sure what all the words meant when he asked them what the problem was but, the few words he did pick up from his smattering of Arabic were distinctly uncomplimentary. While the day dragged on longer than Alex expected, he had a plan of action; he could let the time flow around him as he waited. Waiting was, apparently, not something they did much of in the TARDIS as a general rule, it being a time machine. Between them, the Doctor and he kept up a steady list of chores to keep the two younger occupants of the TARDIS busy. At least that was what Alex assumed the Doctor was doing when he decided that it was imperative that some obscure components of the operating system that Alex had never heard of before needed removing, cleaning and putting back in a particular and very important order. After Dan nearly broke one of the elements he was supposed to be polishing, Alex dragged him out to do a little souvenir hunting and scouting. They left Mina frowning in concentration at the pieces and totally unaware of their departure.
It was nearly eight when the front door opened and Bill and Teena Mulder walked the ten yards that separated their house from that of the Galbrands. Alex had read the official reports so many times he had them memorised nearly as well as Mulder did. He gave them ten minutes to be sure and another ten waiting for the children to get settled before he slipped in the backdoor, left trustingly unlocked, and grabbed the key from its hook. Seconds later the house was more secure than when he had arrived. It wouldn't stop anyone, it would barely slow a professional down but sometimes those extra seconds were all you needed. As prepared as they were ever going to get, the four of them settled into the hiding places that Alex had found for them and waited.
An hour later and the sounds of the television drifted into the night with news of Nixon and government conspiracy. Alex listened with half an ear, wondering what it must have been like to hear the news for the first time while the scandal was breaking. Oral sex with a White House intern really didn't have the same impact, they just didn't do political chicanery like they used to. Or maybe cover-up merchants like him were better at hiding the small stuff in the name of democracy and international standing.
The soft pad of feet and the quiet rattle of a door in its frame and Alex was ready. The Consortium agent was picking the lock of the backdoor when, using his concentration against him, Alex slipped in behind him and put his own gun to the man's head.
"I wouldn't," Alex whispered.
With slow careful movements the man out held his hands as spread as he could without dropping the lock picks.
"Good," Alex hissed. He backed off far enough that the man couldn't just knock his weapon away if he turned fast. "Against the wall, hands on the brick where I can see them. Don't turn around."
The man complied reluctantly. Black leather gloves on his hands and a balaclava rolled down over his head; he was anonymous and barely more than a shadow. Just another Consortium thug. Not wanting to take his eyes off his prisoner, Alex sensed as much as saw the others joining him.
"Search his pockets," he told them. "One of you, carefully. And relieve him of that bag."
It was the Doctor who stepped forward and Alex breathed easier when he saw that the Doctor was taking care not to block his lines of sight. Alex doubted that he found all the concealed weapons but he at least got the gun and knife that were in easy reach. Alex drew the key he had liberated out of his pocket and handed it to Mina. She walked around him and unlocked the door. He pretended not to have felt the faint tremor in her hands.
The kitchen was clean and polished to Good Housekeeping standards, as bright white as an operating room and almost as lifeless. A space age miracle of plastic and ceramic. Mina went to the doorway that led to the rest of the house, glancing through. She nodded, letting them know it was clear.
"Sit!" Alex ordered.
Dan pulled out one of the chairs and then stepped well back to allow the man to do as he was told. With little else to contribute to the scene Alex was creating, Dan retreated towards the back door to keep watch.
"I know what you are thinking," Alex purred, walking around the man. "That we don't care that you have seen our faces. You're right." He saw the slight jump of muscles under the dark cloth, the tension as the man prepared to go out fighting, "but not for the reason that you think," Alex stopped immediately behind the man. "We don't care because when this is over you will not be able to find us."
The man scoffed. "Kill me. They'll still find you and when they do..."
The cuff Alex delivered was automatic. The voice was rusty, the accent sparking something deep inside him that made him want to strike out.
"Believe what you want," he hissed harshly, "but if you want to convince me to kill you go right ahead. I'd say it was in your best interests to shut up."
The man shut.
Alex nodded to the Doctor. With a drum roll of pens, lock picks and other miscellaneous knickknacks, the bag flopped down on the table with more solidity than its external appearance suggested. As the Doctor went to open it the man surged forwards to stop him. He was barely half out of the chair before Alex had dragged him back down. A sharp smack to the base of his skull from the butt of Alex's gun and he slumped forward. Not trusting the pose for an instant, Alex grabbed him by the balaclava and tipped the head back. When no resistance was offered he carefully peeled back an eyelid and then slipped his hand under the thick material at the neck to check the man's pulse. Satisfied, he stepped back. The others were looking at him accusingly but he refused to be made to feel guilty.
"He should come round in a little while. I didn't hit him that hard." He'd wanted to though.
The Doctor gave him an odd look but chose not to comment. He undid the clasp of the bag and pulled out the contents: a manila folder and a sealed box. Alex immediately reached for the files while the Doctor went for the box. Their arms crossed above the table and they grinned at each other.
The papers were brutal in their clinical simplicity. Two forms, one for each child, names and personal information already filled in. A description of the protocol to be used in the experiment. It was all there, laid out in slightly smudged black and white down to the check boxes at the bottom of each form for what action was being taken in regard to each child. Alex looked at the anonymous Consortium agent and, all 'there but for the grace of God' feelings aside, wished he had hit him harder. He laid his finds out on the table for the others to read and turned his attention to the Doctor's acquisition.
As Alex had suspected the box held a strange looking metal fragment. He had no idea what the writing said but it gave him the creeps. Pushing the feeling aside he made a mental note in case he stumbled across anything similar in the future. He'd need to wait for the outcome of Tosh's simulation for confirmation but everything seemed to suggest that it, or something like it, and Mulder were a bad combination. The Doctor, however, suffered no noticeable ill effects as he examined it carefully, apparently intrigued. Alex rolled his eyes. Figured.
Mina and Dan edged closer to get a better view as the Doctor fished out the ubiquitous instrument that Alex had noticed he appeared to use for everything and began to do things to the artefact with it.
"What is it?" Mina asked.
The Doctor turned the thing over in his hand "Hmmm?"
"Can you put it away?" Alex broke in. "You can play with it later when we're done."
"It's really rather clever," the Doctor began.
"Not," Alex said distinctly, "now. Now, we put the thing back in its box and work out the best way to get the girl."
The Doctor opened his mouth to object but Alex held up a finger and then pointed emphatically at the box.
"Do you always get this grumpy?" the Doctor asked conversationally, but to Alex's relief he did as he was asked.
"Yes, every time I..."
Alex was interrupted by a groan from their prisoner. He was back behind him in an instant, gun ready and arm wrapped around the wool covered throat, pressed just heavily enough to make the threat clear.
"Don't," Alex warned, "unless you want us to start getting inventive."
"Who are you?" A young voice, not yet grown into its arrogant tone. "And what are you doing to that man?"
They looked over to the doorway from which the voice had come.
"Fuck," Alex muttered under his breath. The prisoner moaned pitifully, playing for sympathy.
Dan responded quickest. "Fox, that's your name, right?" The kid nodded warily. "My friends and I aren't here to hurt you or your sister. We're here to protect you."
It was a good line, Alex thought approvingly. It even had the added value of being truthful, although that was something of a personal preference rather than a necessity. He knew Fox's preferences though and doubted that had changed much between boy and man. It was best not to risk that Fox's irritating habit of jumping to the truth wasn't also present in the pint-sized version of him.
His skin prickled as Fox took in his threatening stance and weighed it against the outfit of the intruder. They could do this by force if they had to but Alex had been hoping to avoid that. Carefully and slowly he stepped back from the prisoner. He hoped that the man would have the sense not to try anything. The mission was blown by this point; the best result that he could hope for was to stay alive to set the hounds of hell on their tails by giving a full report.
"Fox" (And didn't the name feel like honey in his mouth even now?) "I'm going to show you something."
Still looking suspicious Fox let Alex gather the papers from the table and bring them over to him. Alex was surprised when Mina conspicuously took his place behind the prisoner as he moved away but he kept that surprise to himself not wanting to give away the bluff. Instead he used the moment when Fox's attention was split to make sure that, when he gathered them, the form with Fox's name on was hidden in the middle of the protocol instructions. He didn't dare put his gun away, but he was very careful to hold it in a non-threatening manner as he approached the child. Trying to remember every trick he had been taught to get Fox's co-operation he bent down on one knee to bring him down to Fox's level.
"We took this from that man." Alex held the form out so that Fox could see it and then looked at their prisoner.
Fox's eyes widened as he read what was being presented to him.
"You made this up," Fox accused but Alex could hear the edge of panic in his voice. Part of him believed and that was normally enough.
Alex shook his head sadly. "Ask any of them," he offered. "You see that box that the tall man with the big nose is holding? That has the object in that they wanted to expose your sister to."
Alex could see the Doctor's eyebrows go up and hoped that Fox thought it was a reaction to his description. Please don't blow it, Alex begged silently. To his relief the Doctor said nothing, which was a miracle in itself, and waved the container in which the ship fragment was cocooned.
Fox took a step towards the Doctor and the box. "Can I see?"
Alex's breath caught in his throat.
"No, sorry." the Doctor drew the artefact protectively closer to him. "The exposure would be too dangerous. Weren't you paying attention?"
Fox pouted. He hadn't run screaming which was a good sign but any moment he was going to start thinking again and demand his parents. That he hadn't, Alex put down to a combination of pride and conditioning not to bother the adults but it wasn't something that they could rely on for long.
"Fox," Alex said quietly, "we're here to help you and your sister."
His knee was getting stiff on the cold floor but he didn't dare stand. Fox looked back to him, searching his face for something but Alex had no idea what. He just hoped Fox found whatever he was looking for.
"You could all be lying," Fox pointed out logically.
"We could be," Alex admitted, trying to keep his voice reassuring, "but we aren't. We don't want to do any of these things. We came here to stop them happening."
Slowly Fox looked around the room again, taking them each in with those assessing hazel eyes. Alex's fingers tightened and loosened on the handle of his pistol. If Fox didn't believe them, if he tried anything...
Fox turned back to Alex again. "Okay," Fox said.
Alex bit back the urge to cheer and offered a silent thanks to anything that was listening. Kids really weren't his thing.
"Doctor, Mina, stay here with him." He nodded to the prisoner. "Don't let him move. Dan, you watch the door. Come on, Fox, let's go get your sister."
He'd expected the Doctor to pull out the gun that he had confiscated, forgetting in the heat of the moment who he was dealing with, but instead the Doctor held out his gadget in a menacing manner.
Alex went to the table to put the papers back and, as he did, stepped close to their captive.
"Do you know what that is?" he asked the still slightly dazed man. Alex thought the Doctor looked a little smug when the only response he received was a head shake from their prisoner. After the blow Alex had given him, movement probably wasn't advisable as the quickly hidden wince confirmed. "If you like living," he said quietly, not wanting Fox to hear, "you better hope for your sake that you don't find out. You've seen what alien tech can do." He winked at the Doctor as he straightened.
A half-finished game of Stratego lay scattered across the floor of the lounge. From Sam's slightly guilty jump as they came back in Alex suspected she had being taking advantage of her opponent's absence.
"Where's my soda?" she demanded, her eyes jumping from her brother to him as she realised he wasn't alone. "Who's that? You know you aren't supposed..."
"Shut up," Fox interrupted.
Samantha looked indignant and Alex could see a sibling fight brewing.
"Samantha," he broke in before Fox could respond, "my name is Alex. I know your father. He's the reason I'm here."
It was so much easier to lie with the truth. He saw Fox flinch at the mention of his father, flushing uncomfortably. Samantha stared at him with more suspicion than Fox had, his seemingly taking her brother's side in the argument counting against him more than his menacing a masked man in the kitchen had to Fox. Either that or Samantha was the naturally more distrustful of the two.
"What do you want?" The imperious tone was obviously a family trait. Or maybe it was a New England one; ditching the tea didn't necessarily mean ditching the attitude.
"I want to show you something." It made him sound like a dirty old man trying to lure her into the bushes. "In the kitchen. We can get your soda while we're there." Come with me, little girl. Do you want a sweetie?
Samantha stood up and led the way, Alex and the slightly sulking Fox following closely. From her gasp and the way she suddenly stopped it was clear when she could see into the room. A gentle hand on her back and she allowed herself to be encouraged forwards.
Alex knelt down again, hoping what had worked with Fox would work a second time.
"You see that man?" Since her eyes hadn't left the black clad figure, Alex thought it was a fair bet. "He came here to hurt you. We stopped him but he, or someone like him will be back and we won't be able to stop them."
"My dad will stop them." Alex wanted to laugh at the surety in her tone. Even Fox didn't look totally convinced. Alex wondered how much of his father's dealings young Fox had picked up. Twelve year olds weren't stupid and Fox less so than many. He forbore asking.
"He can't stop them either," Alex said, trying his best to sound sympathetic. It was something he understood better than she would ever know.
Samantha put her hands on her hips and glared at him defiantly. "He can, so."
"He can't." He probably won't even try too hard because he doesn't believe he can put his own flesh and blood above the fate of the world. That's why patriots are dangerous, Honey, you wouldn't believe what we are willing to sacrifice. "That's why he sent us," Alex lied. "We're here to take you to a safe place. Somewhere that they can't hurt you."
She looked at her brother who nodded. Alex wanted to get down on his other knee and beg for his forgiveness.
"Okay," she agreed. "What about Fox? Is he coming with us?"
"He has to stay here."
"Why?"
Because he has to be tortured by guilt over your disappearance for the next twenty years so that he and I can meet.
"So that he can tell your parents that we have you safe." The words rolled from Alex's mouth easily.
It shouldn't have worked. She should have known better than to go with strangers on a dark night and Fox should have known better than to let her go. No wonder years later Fox had suspected a darker motive in her disappearance. Alex spent most of his life working to keep people ignorant of the horrors that surrounded them, but what waited in the dark of space not the dark of the night. In some ways it was refreshing to be in an era where not every stranger was automatically a sexual predator but at the same time the defencelessness of that ignorance sparked an anger within him. He thought of the man sitting at the table and the betrayal of a child's trust.
"Mina, Dan, could you take Samantha back with you to the TARDIS?" It wasn't really a question.
Samantha gave her brother a quick hug. "See you soon, Fox."
"Not if I can help it."
"Buttmunch."
"Brat."
He'll miss you, Alex wanted to tell her, he'll miss you every day and never forget you but it seemed wrong to profane that particular truth by mixing it with his lies. It was the moment Fox Mulder's life went wrong.
He cleared his throat as they waved good bye to each other and stood up.
"Fox, why don't you go and gather some of your sister's things together?" He could put them back easily enough after the sedative in the Retcon took effect. "The Doctor and I can take them for her."
Fox looked from the empty space where his sister had been to the man who had supposedly come to hurt them and the two imposing men who held weapons. For a moment Alex thought he was going to say something, but at twelve it was a lot harder to stand up to adults compared to when you were one yourself. Alex wanted to reassure him that what he thought was about to happen wasn't but he couldn't guarantee that. He wasn't planning to kill the guy, he'd been given his orders, but this was the endgame and he couldn't let anything slip. If the agent thought for a second that he had one last chance then he would try something stupid and Alex would be forced to take him down. While Alex intended to try and keep any injuries non-fatal he wasn't ready to die in the attempt and he doubted that the other man would be so restrained.
"Doctor, why don't you help him?" And find where he gets Samantha's stuff from so I can return it
Alex didn't look at either of them as he spoke, his gun held loosely but pointedly at the man in the chair. Hazel-green eyes glared back at him defiantly from within the dark mask that covered most of the man's face and he didn't look away from them as the others left the room. Alex pulled a seat out on the opposite side of the table, laying the pistol within easy reach. He raised a challenging eyebrow at the agent, daring him to try for the gun. It was easier when it was just them, two professionals who understood how the game worked.
Alex pulled out the two forms and spread them before him. Picking up a heavy fountain pen from the heap on the table Alex began creating the lie that would dominate Fox's life. When he had finished he pushed the filled-in sheets of paper across the table along with the pen that he had used.
"Sign them," he ordered.
The man's eyes widened noticeably. Whether it was because of what he read or because he recognised the handwriting as being a good approximation of his own Alex wasn't sure. It didn't matter anyway. Alex knew what happened next.
The pen scratched over the paper, formalising the deal Alex was making with the devil. Without Samantha the agent would be suspected and without his memories he would be unable to defend himself when questioned. All that would be left as evidence of the night's events would be one missing girl, the holes in two memories and the signed statement that Samantha was the ideal subject for their project having reacted strongly to the now missing artefact. With their best hope against the aliens vanished there would be only one obvious suspect. Even if the Consortium found a way to ask the aliens if they were culpable, then denial would be both expected and disbelieved. It some ways it was the perfect method of sowing distrust between the supposed allies.
No one could stand against the aliens, and maybe it was the fact that he would survive both the alien's intervention and the subsequent Consortium investigation which would buy the agent his life. Or maybe they had been closer to legitimacy in those days and didn't try and kill their agents for one botched mission over which they had no control. But things could never be the same after something like that. It was the type of experience that broke men. Or at least their relationships with their families. Everything falling apart until, one day, the man whose house they were in would turn up at the door and demand a child in return for the one lost. Whether side effect of the interrogation or confused echoes of everything that had happened, the man would hand over the son who disturbed him so badly without a second thought.
In the way that all children do, Alex had blamed himself. Gun to the operative's head, Alex made him drink the retcon laced water and knew he had always been right to do so.
The retcon had done its work by the time Fox and the Doctor came back down with a stylish looking travel bag that Fox had almost certainly taken from his mother's room. Looking at the man sprawled across the table Fox paled.
"Don't worry," Alex told them both, "he's just asleep. Check if you want."
Fox threw a pleading glance up at the Doctor. Typical; Fox was already looking to someone else to confirm what Alex was telling him. Not that Alex could blame him in this case. The Doctor checked for a pulse and nodded confirmation of its existence but when he went to roll off the balaclava Alex stopped him. The Doctor looked at him quizzically but Alex just shook his head. Mulder had his search for the uncompromising facts; Alex much preferred the comfort of deniability.
"Doctor," he reminded, "can I have my ammunition back now? I assure you there is no risk of my accidentally shooting a comatose and retconned man in the head. Or anywhere else."
The Doctor pulled a face, "you knew," he accused, but he dropped the bullets, one at a time, into the palm that Alex held out.
Alex rolled his eyes but forbore from commenting as he shoved the handful of ammunition loosely into his jacket pocket. He weighed the second retcon pill in his other hand for a second. Fox's mind had been fucked with so many times, the least he could do was see if he could make the first time consensual. Turning, he looked the boy in his eyes and prepared to tell him the truth.
"Fox - we need to talk."
Next Part...