• 1-City of Angels
• 2-Bumps in the night
• 3-Demons and Lawyers
• 4-Only human
• 5-Identity of a Killer
• 6-Dance with me
• 7-Vampires
• 8-Investigating
• 9-Musings
• 10-Captive
• 11-Nightmare
• 12-The Hunter
• 13-Tea with the old woman
• 14-Truth stranger than fiction
• 15-Advice
• 16-November Rain
• 17-I will bring you the stars from the sky
• 18-Breakfast in bed
• 19-Complications
• 20-My evil plan

Rating: NC-17

Archive: Anywhere, just give credit where credit is due

Feedback: Yes, please! Send all comments to nightshade@catlover.com

Author’s Notes: This crossover diverges from the Angel storyline in season two. Lindsey MacDonald never left Wolfram and Hart. His hand was returned to him and he and Lilah Morgan are still co-running the Special Projects Division. Fred has joined the team and has adjusted to life back on Earth. Kate Lockely, by necessity, is still on the police force. I’m not sure where in the X-Files to place it, but sometime in either season 4 or 5.

Summary: Mulder and Scully receive a call that there are bodies turning up in Los Angeles, bodies of unidentifiable creatures, all killed by the same unknown person with the same weapon. Unknown to Mulder and Scully, the Syndicate sends Krycek to find out what he can about the mysterious creatures and their killer.

File 20: My evil plan＜p>

When Lorne finished telling Mulder the story, he sat back and watched the F.B.I agent’s reaction. The story pressed the limits of even Mulder’s imagination. Vampires alone he could deal with, but demons and demons hunters and everything else involved was just too much, let alone this bizarre family trait Lorne was insisting was real and not fictional.

“You’re asking me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth, so yes.”

Mulder stood, shaking his head. “I find it hard to believe that one month out of the year these women become both incredibly strong and weak at the same time.”

“The weakness only applies to men,” Lorne reminded him.

“So if she has that weakness, then why is she giving me the cold shoulder?”

“I can only think of two reasons, and you won’t like either of them.”

“Spit it out.”

“The first is that you aren’t her type. You probably don’t have the right smell or whatever it is that attracts human women to potential mates. The second and least appealing is that she already fell for someone. From what I’ve seen, women who have someone in their life often behave the way she has been towards you.” Lorne swallowed nervously.

“What is it?”

“I have a sneaky feeling that I know which of the two it is. She hasn’t said anything outright, but a few of the things she’s said in the last couple days makes me wonder.”

“Such as?”

“I’m not really at liberty to tell, as it’s her business and not yours. Besides,” he said with a wry smile. “She’d kill me if I told anyone.”

Mulder leaned back in his seat. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Now what?”

“Now I suggest that you leave her alone and let her get on with her life. If she has indeed found someone compatible, then she deserves to be happy after the things that have happened in her life.”

Mulder slammed his fist down on the tabletop. I’m not going to give up that easily!”

“Boy, you’re a sucker for punishment,” Lorne observed. “I’ve seen what happens to people who annoy her.”

“That’s not going to stop me.”

“I didn’t think it would.” He sighed. “Fine. Don’t listen to reason, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The Blade’s Edge

4:33 pm

Riley sat down at the table in the backroom of the store and waited impatiently as her friend flipped the sign in the window from open to closed. The older woman joined her shortly afterwards. She sat in the chair opposite from Riley, resting her hands on the tabletop.

“So what is so important that I needed to close the shop?” she asked.

“Cara, there’s something I need to do, but I have to leave town for a few days. I might be back, but if this goes wrong, I won’t be because I’ll be dead.”

“What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time? Does it have anything to do with that F.B.I agent that was by here?”

“No. This is about something else entirely, a guy named Alex Krycek and the
Syndicate that he works for.” Riley ran Cara through a brief sketch of what had happened.

Cara stared at her young friend. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You? Considering a relationship? A real one with a man? Have you lost your mind?”

“In a manner of speaking. It’s November. You know what happens in November, during the Hunter’s Moon.”

“Oh,” Cara replied weakly. “I forgot.”

“Clearly.”

“So this Krycek fellow is compatible?”

“Apparently. At least, that’s what both Lorne and my grandmother seem to think. I also can’t get his face out of my head, which is a bit of a problem.”

“Is he good looking at least?”

“Well, yes, but that’s not the problem. It’s distracting. If I tried to hunt under these circumstances, it could be fatal. Even more of a problem is that I need to go out tonight.”

“Not good.”

“No, it’s not. And on top of everything else, he works for a group of people who’re trying to get their hands on me for some reason. They heard about the demon bodies and sent him to look into it, bring back whoever was responsible and the like.”

“I can see how this would be problematic. What are you going to do about it?”

“I have an idea, but for it to work, I need to vanish.”

“That’s not going to go over well in some quarters.”

“I’ll need your help.”

Cara leaned forward. “I’m listening.”

Wayside Motel

5:36 pm

Krycek woke with a start. He hadn’t intended to fall asleep, and hadn’t even realized he’d done so until he woke up. He sat up and rubbed his face, looking at the clock. If Riley were going out Hunting, she likely wouldn’t be doing it until the sun went down. That meat that if she was going to show up, she wouldn’t be doing so for several hours at least.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood, walking into the kitchen to get a drink. He poured himself a glass of water from the sink and took a sip as he walked towards the table. A folded sheet of paper caught his eye. He set the glass down and picked it up, unfolding it. Written on it were two simple words in neat handwriting:

Trust me

Krycek froze. Trust me? Who would leave me a note….Riley!

He ran for the door and threw it open, looking frantically for Riley’s car. Not seeing it, he put his shoes on and headed for the rental office and asked if the manager had seen either her or her car. He hadn’t, so he headed back to his room to grab his keys.

What the hell is she doing? he thought as he got into his car and started the engine, hoping that he remembered how to get back to Riley’s apartment.

Riley’s apartment

6:17 pm

It took some doing, but he managed to get into the building without being seen and into the elevator. The door to Riley’s apartment was unlocked, so he let himself in.

Nothing.

The furniture was gone; the furniture, her clothes, her books, all of it gone as if it had never been there in the first place. Krycek stood in the middle of the living room, staring around in shock.

This can’t be happening….

“I was wondering when you would show up,” a voice said from behind him, followed by the sound of the door closing.”

Krycek spun around, charging at the speaker. “What did you do with her you son of a bitch?” he snarled in Mulder’s face, slamming him into a wall.

Mulder glared at him, breaking his hold and shoving him backwards. “I didn’t do anything with her. You’re the one who did something. Didn’t you? Took advantage of her feelings and killed her.”

Krycek stared at him. “What the hell are you talking about? I would never do anything to hurt her. Where would you get a crazy idea like that?”

“A police report came in three hours ago. Detective Lockely told me about it. A body was found with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The woman looks like Riley. I came here to see if there was any evidence of her murder, but then you showed up. Highly suspicious.”

“I tell you-“

“Enough of this, you two,” a stern female voice interrupted. “This is getting you nowhere.”

“You! You’re the woman from the sword shop,” Mulder said. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here because I was asked to,” Cara told him.

“Riley?”

“Yes.” She turned to Krycek. “You were told to trust her. So what do you do? Come here. I honestly didn’t believe her when she called this one. Clearly, you are as paranoid as she said. As for you, Agent Mulder, you obviously know nothing about Riley or anyone in her family. The chances that she would be killed by a bullet are slim to none.”

“But her mother-“ Krycek started.

“That was a fluke, a freak accident. Besides that, Riley has a very unique identifying mark. That corpse the LAPD found didn’t have it.”

“How would you know that?”

“I have my sources,” she replied. “I also happen to know where Riley is. Well, not exactly, but I know where she’s going and roughly where she is at this moment.”

“Where is she?” Krycek demanded.

Cara narrowed her eyes. “You were told to trust her. I’m only here because she figured that neither of you would sit still and let her do her thing.”

“What thing? What are you talking about?” Mulder demanded.

Cara waggled her finger at him. “All will be made clear in due time. Just trust in the Hunter. She knows what she’s doing. Or, so she claims.”

Krycek left the building, heading down to his car; he was feeling confused and depressed, feelings he wasn’t really used to. He bent to unlock the car when he felt the muzzle of a gun press into the base of his skull. Shortly afterwards, he detected the scent of cigarette smoke as a voice told him to back away from the vehicle. He figured it was the voice of the guy holding the gun to his head. Not wanting to risk dying, he did as he was told and backed away with his hands up. The gunman forced him into a car parked beside his and then climbed into the front passenger seat.

Krycek looked beside him to see the Smoking Man. “You could have just asked nicely,” Krycek told him.

“I doubt that very much, Alex,” he said over the cigarette clenched between his lips. “You haven’t made any progress reports back to us on this assignment. What’s going on? The Syndicate is getting worried.”

“I didn’t think anything could worry you cold, heartless bastards,” Krycek sneered.

“You are being taken back to headquarters and you will make your report, or so help me I’ll have you dead!”

“I was ready to head back anyways,” Krycek said, cursing inwardly. I’ll go with them and make that report and I’ll come back for you Riley, I swear!

“So, Alex Krycek,” First Elder said, glaring at the much younger man. “What have you to tell us?”

“Is this killer a threat to our organization or not?” Well Manicured Man demanded.

Krycek snorted. “Oh, she’s a threat alright, but only if you infringe on her territory. At the moment, that seems to be Los Angeles. If I were any of you, I’d avoid that city altogether.”

“She?”

“Yes, she. Not that a gender seems to have any meaning to her.”

“What’s her name?” the Smoking Man asked.

He shrugged. “I have no idea. She never mentioned it. I only know her as the Hunter. That’s what the things she kills refer to her as.”

“What are those things anyways?” another member asked.

“Again, I’m not sure, but some of the people in L.A call them demons. It seems to be an accurate description. They aren’t alien, or, if they are, not a species we’re familiar with.”

W.M.M leaned forward in his chair. “This Hunter you speak of. Tell us more. Could she be persuaded to join us?”

“You’d have to ask her that,” a mocking female voice told him from the window. They all turned to see a figure sitting on the window ledge. It was night, so with the dim light in the room, no features could be made out.

“You’re the Hunter?” C.S.M asked, laughing. “I doubt that very much.”

Before anyone could blink, she was in the room with her long sword blade against C.S.M’s neck. “You may want to reconsider your opinion,” she hissed, drawing a small trickle of blood.

Immediately, everyone who had a gun drew them and aimed at her. “That’s not a good idea,” Krycek warned them. “She doesn’t care for guns.”

“If you kill him, you’re dead,” First Elder warned her.

“If I’d wanted any of you dead, you would be already,” Riley said, smirking. “Are we all clear on that or do I need to prove my point?”

“What are you doing here?” W.M.M asked her.

“Just business. I have no desire to join your little organization. Frankly, I have better things to do. Normally, I would have just sent a postcard or something, but as I figured you wouldn’t get the message unless I gave it in person, I came. I want you to leave me alone. All of you. Never come after me again. If I get word that any of you is anywhere near my territory, you’ll live just long enough to regret it. Am I understood?”

They looked between her and Krycek. C.S.M glared at Krycek. “You failed, Alex.”

“Oh, and one more thing. Should you retaliate against him for anything I’ve done, you’re just as dead.”

“Why?” W.M.M asked suspiciously.

“That would be taking your anger at me out on someone who, for once, is innocent and undeserving of it. If there’s one thing I can’t stand its people attacking those who don’t deserve it. Besides, if anyone gets to get rid of him, it’s me, as he’s given me more than enough reasons to lately.”

“Exactly how do you plan on keeping us from killing him once you’ve left?” C.S.M asked her.

“Now that,” she said with a sly smile, “would be telling. If I told you, it would take all the fun out of it.”

“I have no intentions of sticking around once she’s left,” Krycek added. “I’m leaving the Syndicate.”

“Oh really now,” F.E laughed. “And where will you go? If Mulder or Skinner gets their hands on you, you’re as good as dead.”

“If I told you, it would just make it easier for you to come after me, now wouldn’t it?”

“You’re not going to get away with this,” C.S.M warned him. “No matter where you run to, we’ll find you.”

Riley snorted. “You severely over exaggerate your connections. I know people ho could send him into any one of the hundreds of demon dimensions out there as well as some of the non-demonic ones. Trust me. If I really wanted to make him vanish, it wouldn’t be hard.” She narrowed her eyes. “It wouldn’t be hard to make any of you vanish. I hear that Pylea is nice this time of year, though none of you would survive the labor they put humans through, though it would amuse me greatly to see such mighty men being referred to as cows.” C.S.M blanched and closed his mouth. “Now, then, I’ll be going. That nest of vampires better not have gotten any bigger in my absence or I’ll be mightily peeved.”

“Vampires?” W.M.M scoffed. “Oh really now!”

“They exist,” Riley told him flatly. “I know a couple by name.”

“There are vampires out there that you haven’t dusted?” Krycek asked, amazed.

“Well, you met Angel. He’s basically harmless while under his curse. Spike, up in Sunnydale, has this chip in his head, so he’s also harmless. There are a few others that I keep bumping into but for some reason I never quite manage to stake them.” She shrugged. “Frankly, I think I’ll just let the Slayer deal with those. That’s more her thing anyways.”

“I see.”

Riley turned to the elderly members of the Syndicate and mock saluted. “Good day, gentlemen. I trust that we’ll have no further issues,” she said, leaping out of the window.”

Krycek pulled his weapon and headed for the door. “I’ll be taking my leave as well.”

W.M.M stopped a guard from going after him. “I’d prefer not to risk the wrath of that young woman just yet,” he said, letting Krycek leave. “Krycek is of no consequence at this time. We can track him down and dispose of him at a later date.”

Outside the building, Krycek looked around, trying to find Riley. The street was crowded with people, making it difficult to see anything. No one was wearing a long black coat either. Wherever she is, I’ll have to find her later. I don’t trust those old men to not come after me. I’d better get out of here.

Krycek headed to the tiny motel room he’d rented in town. He moved around so much that there wasn’t much use in renting an apartment. He never knew what the old men were going to get him to do next. He grabbed his meager belongings and headed out to search for Riley.