by Robin

John Doggett fidgeted with his collar and glanced at his watch, wondering
for the thousandth time how his life could have gone so radically wrong. He
should have been out in the field, tracking serial killers and harassing
survivalists. Instead, he was cooling his heels at a run-down Dairy Queen,
eating a cone he didn't really want, slapping away cockroaches and waiting
to be contacted by yet another in a long line of anonymous X-Files tipsters.
The only thing that made this tip even marginally interesting was that the
email specifically requested he leave his partner, Monica Reyes, out of the
loop. Frankly, between her incessant smoking and her fatuous speeches about
her ability to "sense things" he was more than ready to leave her out of the
loop, out of his car, and out of his life. A cough at his side startled him
out of his reverie.
Doggett looked up from his double-dip softie (with extra jimmies) to find
three men staring at him nervously.
"Hey, aren't youse guys"
"Please! No names," Byers said. They slid into the booth with him, Frohike
sliding uncomfortably close to his side and peering up at him myopically.
Langley waved some sort of device around them and pronounced the area free
of bugs. Doggett slapped another cockroach and shot Langley a look laced
with irony.
"Look, I know youse guys had aworking relationship wit' Agent Mulder, but
I work alone, OK? I ain't interested in " Doggett was rising from his seat
when Frohike put a restraining hand on his arm.
"You're more alone than you know, Copper."
Doggett stopped and considered the Lone Gunman, each in turn. They might be
nutcases but they looked sober as well as serious and what would it hurt to
stay and finish his cone? He sat and sighed, wiping an ice cream drip off
his wrist.
"You have til I finish my softie." he announced, pointedly biting off half
the mound of ice cream from the cone.
"You've been having problems getting any support with the X-Files," Byers
leaned in, looking at him earnestly. Doggett swallowed his ice cream and
nodded.
"Yeah, well AD Kersh has issueswith the work"
"Exactly." Langley jumped in. "He's been blocking your every effort and
will continue to. You need help to get around him."
"Look, boys, I appreciate your offer but I got a partner. And how come you
wanted her kept in the dark on this meeting anyway?"
The Gunmen looked at each other, suddenly somber.
"How much do you know about Reyes, Agent Doggett?" Byers asked.
"I've worked with her in the past. Why? What are you gettin' at?"
"We got some disturbing information about Agent Reyes that led us to do a
little checking on her background. Did you know, Agent Dogget, that your
partner is a graduate of the Marie Leveau School of Medicine?"
"No. I never hoid of it."
"It's an unaccredited institution just outside of New Orleans. Funded by
wealthier members of the Santaria Church."
Doggett stared at them for a moment.
"Are you saying that Agent Reyes"
"Practices voodoo medicine." Byers finished gravely. "That's why we had to
see you alone and right away."
"Look, Agent Reyes is a fine FBI agent and a good person. Her personal
beliefs are her own business"
"Agent Dogget, we don't doubt Agent Reyes abilities or her loyalties to you
or the work. In fact, our concern is that she might be taking very foolish
risks in order to help you get around AD Kersh."
"Risks? What d'ya mean?"
Frohike leaned toward him.
"We got word from one of our sources that your little chickie friend has
been making the rounds of the medical black market, and dropping quite a
chunk of change, too."
"Why? For what?"
The Gunman looked at each other. Finally Langley broke the silence.
"Stem cells."

Across town, in a dingy makeshift laboratory, Agent Monica Reyes began the
final steps in her experiment. In the flickering candlelight she calmly
dispatched a squawking chicken, disemboweled it, and threw the entrails into
a sacrificial fire. Then she scrubbed up, removed her surgical tools from
the autoclave she got at a flea market in Pensacola and got to work. The
stem cells had developed just as she hoped they would. All that remained was
to insert them properly.
Two hours later she was finished. Stripping off her surgical gear she lit
up a celebratory Morely and sat back to await the results.
Without warning the door burst open and Agent Doggett strode in. She rose
to meet him defiantly.
"Agent Reyes. What in heaven's name are you doing here?" He looked
fearfully over at the operating table, eyes widening in horror. Reyes
turned, following his gaze. Her patient was moving.

"It's alive." She whispered in satisfaction.

On the operating table, Alex Krycek sat up and looked over at them

to be continued......

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