Go Ask Alice? (Part 8 of ?)

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Summary: Finally! Skinner leads his motley crew off to rescue Scully and Anna. (HERE THERE BE MAJOR ANGST!!!!! MulderAngst, ScullyAngst, SkinnerAngst, and a little AnnaAngst thrown in for good measure)

Thank you’s: Thank you to MulderAngst and all of you wonderful writers & esp. Susan Proto who inspired me by writing the ‘Abah’ series!

Disclaimer: You know it’s coming, and here it is! ALL of the characters, names, descriptions, places, etc. (except Anna & Austaur who belong to me) belong exclusively to Chris Carter and 1013 productions.

Skinner frowned as he pulled up beside the Gunmen’s van. He parked the car, thinking once again how insane he was for agreeing to this. Glancing over at Mulder, he found the agent solemn, almost morose as he sat rigid in the passenger seat. He wondered absently as he left him to greet the Gunmen if Mulder really understood what he was doing. It was bad enough to attempt to break into a secret government facility, it was outright ludicrous to do it with a blind man and three conspiracy geeks.

As the side door of the van slid open, Skinner just nodded to the men as they jumped out and went over to the car, and inwardly chuckled at their choice of apparel. The three of them looked like some sort of crazy knockoff of the A-Team.

Langly knocked on the window, startling Mulder momentarily before he gathered his thoughts and moved out of the car to stand beside them. They all stood silently for a moment, each of them waiting for the other to move before Frohike realized that Mulder wasn’t going to attempt to walk anywhere without some assistance. He grimaced as he took Mulder lightly by the arm and lead him over to the van. Byers swallowed heavily as he watched, his heart leaping into his throat. He hoped his voice was steady as he spoke.

“Ok Mulder,” Byers said, holding out a headset to Frohike. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. Frohike is putting this headset on you, and we each have one so don’t feel to special.”

Mulder smiled as he reached up to help Frohike settle the headset comfortably on him.

“This way, we can all keep an ear out on each other.” Frohike said, and Skinner noticed the extra effort he put into being tactful. Mulder jumped abit as Langly’s voice drifted into his ear.

“If we get separated for some reason, we can make sure you are safe.” Byers said, praying to anyone who was listening that that never happens.

“So, if Mulder loses physical contact with you, you can tell him where to move.” Skinner mused, admiring their forethought.

“Right.” Frohike replied. “So you don’t have to worry about getting lost.”

Mulder smiled as he turned his head towards the sound of Frohike’s voice. “Thanks.”

The Gunmen fell silent, each of them nursing a breaking heart at the sight of him as they questioned their sanity at what they were about to do. Skinner stepped into the awkward silence.

Krycek watched the security cameras as Skinner, Mulder, and the men called the Lone Gunmen crept up to the building. He didn’t quite smile as his eyes fell upon his old adversary, the emotional strain of the past hours and the sad state Mulder was in weighed heavily on him. He merely sighed in expectation as he began shifting the cameras to mask their approach.

Typing on the keyboard, he kept on eye on the screen as he mentally projected which way they were coming in and worked quickly to shut off the security alarms to the adjacent doors. He figured Skinner could deal with any of the posted guards as long as they didn’t have to worry about being rushed.

Krycek’s eyebrows rose as he watched Skinner motion to the others, leaving them behind to pursue an adjacent hallway while they went the other direction. He hadn’t expected this, and as he watched them near the room where he worked so diligently to assure their safe entry he smiled, wondering if he should go and welcome them.

Mulder almost fell as Langly and Byers jerked him to a stop, and his blood ran cold as he recognized the voice that carried down the hallway.

“Hey. Having fun?” Krycek asked slyly, his smile fading as Mulder lurched forward and tackled him, sending them both to the floor. He winced as Mulder got in one good punch before the Gunmen pulled him up.

“Mulder, shut up!” Krycek replied, rubbing his jaw annoyed. “Could you control him?”

“Gee, thank you Alex for turning off the alarm and unlocking the doors for us. Will you just get in here?” Krycek muttered opening the door and sighing heavily when they refused his suggestion. He narrowed his eyes as Mulder fought against Frohike and Langly, trying to get to him.

“Look. Either you can follow me or you can deal with the guards who will be here in about four minutes.

Mulder stood still until Langly & Frohike loosened up their hold on him; he knew the Gunmen were waiting on him to make the decision. Even with his current predicament, they still viewed him as in charge. He stopped the downward mental spiral towards self-pity with a small shake of his head and slowly nodded his assent.

Scully turned to see AD Skinner as she never expected to - he looked more like the people they were sent out for, than the Assistant Director of the FBI.

“Are you ok?” Skinner asked, glancing down the hall as he pulled her out of the room and shut the door quietly behind them. By the time he turned back around, she was gone.

“Shit!” He swore, running down the hall only to stop as he saw a door swinging shut out of the corner of his eye. Sliding up against the wall, he pushed it open and carefully peered around the doorframe.

Scully was making quick work of releasing the locks that held the restraints on Anna. Skinner ran over to them, intent on picking Anna up and carrying them both out of there, if needed, but before he could get near her, Scully stopped him, pushing him back against the wall as the room filled - and all guns were trained on them.

Anna felt the steel slid away from her skin, releasing her mind from the pain and allowing her to concentrate on clearing her body of the numbing toxin. The world came back to her in a rush; mentally she willed herself still as she focused.

“Krycek!” Mulder yelled as the ground buckled beneath him, sending him against the wall. He could hear the chaos as everyone struggled to remain standing and reaching out was relieved to find Langly’s hand in a firm grip.

Frohike shrugged as he helped Langly pull Mulder to his feet. The Lone Gunman looked over at Krycek who was smiling.

“Sounds like Alice just faced the JabberWocky.” Krycek said slyly, as he sprinted down the hall assuming they would follow.

Anna’s mind was clear as she sat up on the table and quickly surveyed the room and her memories. As she pulled more energy into herself, the ground shook, filling her with more power than she had ever had before.

Anna paused as she mentally followed the lines through the area, assessing who was there, and who she had to protect. She saw Jeremiah Smith and knew he was the one who healed her, she saw her Uncle Skinner, and Agent Scully, and from his mind she knew that Agent Mulder and her friends, the Lone Gunmen where here as well. Quickly, she turned to see Krycek enter the room followed by Mulder, Byers, Langly, and Frohike. She smiled over at them as the ground buckled again.

Smoke drifted up into the night air; The Smoking Man watched imapassionately from his car as the entire complex leveled before him. He didn’t even flinch as the passenger door opened and Krycek slid in beside him.

Ok, go easy on me, this is my first submission! ;)
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