Cabbages and Kings

Part 7/?


Krycek

I sat next to Mulder, allowing him to rest his hand on my leg. I leaned back against the wall so I could pretend to sleep and subsequently didn't protest when his hand began a caressing motion. I wondered if Mulder even realized he was doing it, as he was chattering excitedly about his experiences. Thankfully, he left out all references to Lexi.

As he wound down, Scully asked the million dollar question. "What do we do with Krycek once we reach shore?"

I was curious to hear his response as well.

Mulder's answer was quick and decisive. "We'll let him slip away at the airport and pretend we never saw him."

It wasn't until that moment that I decided to find the journal Scully had asked about. I hadn't intended to, but if Mulder was letting me go, it was only fair trade that I should return a favor.

I opened my eyes to look at him and realized Mulder was smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back.

The gunmen were whispering amongst themselves, and Scully sighed in resignation, but she didn't argue. I wondered why she was suddenly so tolerant of me.

Chapter

At the airport, Mulder literally bought me a ticket to a location of my choice. Then he left with Scully and the gunmen.

While on the airplane, I wondered if Mulder felt guilty for my experience of the last week, or if this was payment for 'services rendered.' I shook my head. It was very unlikely that the latter had even occurred to him. While he hated me for killing his father, and felt no guilt in beating me up, sex was another matter entirely. He didn't use people for sex, hence his celibacy. He wouldn't degrade me by paying me for something I had no choice in. Therefore, it was likely guilt, causing him to allow me my freedom now.

I could admit that sex with the Captain had been great, and surprisingly, the sex with Mulder, this morning was even better. But, I was still a prisoner, with no real choice but to obey. The rectal exam, courtesy of Scully, was made easier by Mulder's presence, if that made *any* sense at all; but also wasn't something about which I had a choice.

What this last week with 'Captain Fox' did clarify for me was that I wanted Mulder. Any way he wanted me, I would do it. If I could just convince him we were right together...

There is the matter of my having killed his father, but maybe we could work around that... and pigs would fly, but I decided to try anyway.

The next morning, I rented a car and drove to one of my storage units. After looking through half of the boxes, I finally found what I was looking for. The journal, just as Mulder had described it.

I brought it to my current residence, and with the help of an on-line translator, I transcribed the Russian writing into English.

~*~*~*

It started out as a letter to Lexi's older sister, detailing his different excavations and the people he met. Eventually, it went on to tell about his capture and enslavement. It described sex with Captain Fox in some detail and I had a feeling the letter was no longer intended to be sent.

As it continued, Lexi began to fall in love with his captor and the descent into his folly was described in detail. Fox never tortured him or anything, in fact, he got through to Lexi through kindness and caring. He kept him locked up, but it was more for Lexi's safety. Otherwise, the crew would consider him fair game. Fox even allowed him a weapon. The way Lexi wrote of him, Fox was intelligent and enjoyed long conversations with my ancestor.

Lexi wrote of Fox's Father and the fear Fox held for the man. From the tone of Lexi's entries, Fox had been inducted into piracy by the old man.

Lexi had the misfortune of meeting the father one day when he came on board to reprimand Fox for his lazy performance that year. I swear, his description of the man sounded a lot like Spender.

The father snuck into the room while Fox was away with his men, and threatened Fox's life, if Lexi didn't please him. Lexi wrote of the experience and his guilt, but he never told Fox of what happened.

The writing stopped for a month or so, but when it continued, Lexi again wrote of his love for Fox and his hopes for their future. It seemed that even as a prisoner, he felt Fox would eventually free him, rather than sell him.

Come to think of it, Lexi didn't seem to fear Fox at all. He didn't write of any of the threats Fox had made to me, nor did Lexi seem to react as Mulder had described.

The dates in the journal jumped again. I translated this part with interest, having heard some of it through family stories. I didn't know the whole story though.

Lexi was captured during a fight and taken away.

Fox then read the journal, wrote his apologies to Lexi's sister, confessing his love for her brother and sent it to her.

The next entry, over a year later, described the journal as being in Lexi's hands again. He had been captured and sold; but been lucky in that the buyer recognized him from years ago and freed him. He was on excavations again. With distance came resentment--anger that Fox hadn't done more to find him and he spoke now of Fox with hate and disgust.

One night, he caught Fox snooping around their sight and he brought Fox to his tent as a prisoner. He had every intention of turning Fox over to the authorities, to have him hung for his crimes. Until he heard what had happened to Fox that is.

It turned out that Fox, after reading about what his father had done to Lexi, had angrily confronted the man and eventually refused to continue on as a pirate.

His father punished him for his betrayal by hanging him. Fox was lucky in that he survived the ordeal, not so lucky in that his voice box was damaged and he would forever after have only a rasp to speak with.

Lexi then asked Fox to join him, and they went together on archeological digs, and basically committed themselves to each other.

The journal then went into more accounts of different digs and educating the reader on different customs and mores of the ancient and present cultures.

The last entry told of their journey to Egypt, to an area known as Valley of the Kings. They planned to excavate an old tomb.

*~*~*~

After this entry, I added in what I knew from stories told by my grandparents.

This is where they had disappeared. According to stories, they were cursed, and the bodies were never found.