From: xf_emily_sim@yahoo.ca   
      
   Title: S.N.A.F.U.   
   Author: Emily Sim   
   Headers: see pt 1   
      
   ********   
      
   Chapter 37   
      
   Diana shucked her jacket off and sank back onto the   
   bed   
   exhausted. It had been a grueling week with Hannah's   
   disappearance and Spender's insistence that she handle   
   the   
   investigation, quietly and on her own. She had put   
   enough   
   together to understand the others had not been alerted   
   to   
   recent events. Spender was hoping to have the problem   
   fixed   
   and thus eliminate the need for anyone to know.   
      
   Diana knew that at the very least her failure would   
   result   
   in her removal from the inner circle, the seat of   
   power. At   
   the worst it could cost her life. She didn't like   
   either of   
   those outcomes, which was why she was busy devising   
   her own   
   cleanup plan. She had invested far too much to lose   
   position now. If anyone was going to be blamed for   
   this it   
   would be Alex Krycek.   
      
   Alex had been given orders to keep Hannah safe. She   
   should   
   have known he wouldn't be able to keep his dick in his   
      
   pants when Marita showed up. That woman seemed to hold   
   sway   
   over Alex in a way no one else did. It was still not   
   clear   
   how Marita had become involved, and Diana doubted it   
   would   
   be clarified, at least not to her. She wouldn't have   
   put it   
   past Spender to set the whole thing up.   
      
   Marita, like Spender, appeared to float in her own   
   bubble,   
   unaffected by the shifts in power that seemed to be a   
   constant part of the inner workings of the syndicate.   
   Her   
   Uncle Jurgen had discouraged any questions she had   
   regarding either of them. Inherent in that   
   discouragement   
   was a veiled threat, and Diana knew even her uncle's   
   protection wouldn't help if she went too far. The   
   project   
   always came first. If she had one thing, it was a   
   strong   
   sense of self-preservation.   
      
   A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Only a   
   select   
   few knew this address so visitors were rare. She   
   pushed   
   herself off the bed and went to answer it.   
      
   Diana opened the door to find Spender waiting, a grim   
   expression on his face. "Nice to find you home."   
      
   "Where else would I be, Charles?"   
      
   He pushed past her, his steps slow and measured. "Oh,   
   I   
   don't know. Out, perhaps?"   
      
   Diana sucked in a breath. She had set up the meeting   
   with   
   Mulder on her own. He hadn't exactly told her to avoid   
   Fox,   
   but she knew he wouldn't have been thrilled about her   
   doing   
   so. He was always reminding her that Mulder was her   
   Achilles heel in spite of the fact that she had proved   
      
   otherwise on more than one occasion.   
      
   "What exactly are you getting at?" She decided   
   vagueness   
   might buy her some time.   
      
   He pulled a cigarette from the ever-present package of   
      
   Morleys and lit it. "Is that alcohol I smell, Diana?"   
      
   "I may have had a drink."   
      
   "May have? Come, come now. Do you take me for a fool?"   
      
   She didn't respond, instead meeting his calculating   
   glare   
   with one of her own.   
      
   "Your meeting, Diana."   
      
   "My meeting is none of your concern."   
      
   "Everything is my concern in this particular case.   
   Merchandise is missing Diana. What did you discover?"   
      
    Diana grimaced. His veiled reference to Hannah, and   
   her   
   own ineptitude, wasn't lost on her. "He had no new   
   information, nothing we didn't already know."   
      
   "Nothing?"   
      
   "It was a waste of time."   
      
   "Are you sure about that?"   
      
   Diana stiffened. "I'm sure."   
      
   "Because I think you still carry a torch for the man."   
      
   Spender stubbed his cigarette out and moved closer.   
   One   
   finger lazily stroked the area above her breasts.   
      
   "Don't."   
      
   "Oh, but I want to, Diana."   
      
   She closed her eyes as his fingers deftly undid the   
   buttons   
   on her blouse. She hated him for this even as her body   
      
   responded favorably.   
      
   "Mulder doesn't want you, but I do."   
      
   She gasped as he reached into her bra and twisted one   
   nipple. Tonight he would be rough and she was   
   grateful.   
   Pain and pleasure would be a good mix after seeing Fox   
   and   
   being reminded of all that was lost. At the very   
   least,   
   with his mouth and hands busy, he would relegate   
   Hannah and   
   her failure to the back burner.   
      
   "Open your eyes, Diana." The command was accompanied   
   by a   
   slap to her ass.   
      
   "I want you to keep them open. When I fuck you tonight   
   you   
   will know it's me."   
      
   She nodded. So this was to be her penance for her   
   mistake,   
   to be denied her fantasies as he used her.   
      
   It wasn't the worst thing that could happen. She   
   forced a   
   smile. "Do you want it here or in the bedroom?"   
      
   ***************   
      
   It was early morning when Krycek finally came to. It   
   took   
   him several minutes to realize that the night had   
   passed   
   with him blissfully unaware. He licked his lips, rough   
   with   
   dried blood. He could still taste the coppery tang in   
   his   
   mouth. Grunting and groaning he began to sit up,   
   stopping   
   when dizziness threatened to topple him again. He   
   gently   
   felt his ribs. It seemed that whoever he had the   
   pleasure   
   of meeting earlier had decided to have a little fun   
   after   
   he was knocked out. He wasn't sure if his ribs were   
   bruised   
   or broken. No matter, breathing would be difficult for   
   the   
   next few weeks.   
      
   God, his head ached and he had to pee. He used the   
   wall to   
   brace himself and stood up. Deep breaths, he kept   
   reminding   
   himself. Each one pulled painfully on his ribs but he   
   forced himself. Getting sick right now was not an   
   option.   
   He made his way to the bathroom, noting the mess in   
   the   
   apartment. It looked like his uninvited guest had   
   decided   
   to redecorate. It was of no concern to Alex; there was   
      
   nothing of note kept in this place and after today it   
   wouldn't be used again.   
      
   He was relieved to see no blood in his urine. Bruised   
   kidneys were a bitch. He threw cold water on his face   
   and   
   downed three Tylenols. He was still unsteady on his   
   feet,   
   and making his way to the kitchen was tricky. He had   
   to let   
   go of the wall when he reached the fridge. Rummaging   
   through it he grabbed a yogurt and juice. He had work   
   to do   
   and an empty stomach on top of feeling like shit   
   wouldn't   
   help. He sat at the table and forced the food down,   
   grimacing when he swallowed.   
      
   The first order of business was to determine where   
   Marita   
   had gone and who may have helped her. He mentally   
   kicked   
   himself for not anticipating her actions. He knew how   
   Marita operated, and running off with the girl was   
   exactly   
   something she would do. He replayed the events of   
   their   
   afternoon tryst. Did she initiate it? His head hurt   
   like   
   hell and it was hard to keep things straight. Did she   
   see   
   an opportunity for gain and decide to screw him into a   
      
   stupor?   
      
   Whatever Marita's motivation, it wouldn't help him   
   now. He   
   had to trust that even as heartless as she could be at   
      
   times, she wouldn't harm a child. Marita had her own   
   demons   
   to slay with regards to the breeding program.   
      
   Alex stood, forcing himself to take a deep breath and   
   straighten up. First he would tend to the dried blood   
   and   
   the cuts, then he would make his way to another of his   
      
   hideouts. He was a man with many contacts and means at   
   his   
   disposal. He had never been a victim and he wouldn't   
   start   
   playing that role now. He still had a job to do.   
      
   And Alex Krycek always completed his work.   
      
   *****************   
      
   con't in chpt. 38   
      
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)