Immortal Cascade 10 Immortal Phoenix

by Carol Roi

  She finally pulled back to arm's length and looked at him. "Oh, shit, Lobo, you're wet to the skin." At her words, he felt himself begin to shiver uncontrollably. She pulled his jacket off of him, hanging it on a coat rack a little further into the foyer. Taking his hand, she led him up the stairs and he caught a glimpse over the banister of living room furniture and a kitchen beyond that, then she was pulling him after her onto the second floor landing. A short walk down the hallway, and she entered a bedroom, crossing it swiftly to the bathroom. Flicking on the light, she began to undress him.

  "Dee, I can do that myself," he mumbled between shivers. She stepped back, watching for a moment as his numb fingers fumbled with the buttons, then turned away to start the shower running. When she glanced at him again, Blair's hands had fallen to his sides, and he was gazing at her with a look of abject misery on his face. His shirt was still buttoned. "Help me," he whispered.

  Giving him a tender smile, she set to work on his shirt again. "All you have to do is ask, baby." He stood there quietly as she took his clothes off, unable to move for fear of collapsing to the floor, feeling the fire on his skin everywhere her hands touched him. Now naked, he was guided under the running water, the shower door closing behind him after her promise to return quickly.

  Closing his eyes, Blair leaned into the hot spray, slowly feeling warmth returning to his body. The realization that tears were running down his cheeks startled him then he went with it. He braced his hand against the tiled wall, turning his face so that the water sluiced down over it, washing away the pain, the stress, the despair of the past week. With it went the past 15 years of his career, the life he had thought he wanted swirling around his feet and down the drain. His new life, the one that really mattered, started now.

  Shutting off the tap, he stepped out of the shower into the huge fluffy towel Dee held out to him. Their hands touched, and in that moment Blair felt her love wrap around him, through him, encompassing all that he was, all that he would be. For a moment he saw himself through her eyes, and the vision was so blindingly beautiful it took his breath away. Nothing he could ever say would adequately express how he felt at that moment, so he simply hugged her, whispering a soft "I love you," in her ear.

  Dee smiled at him, draping the second towel in her hands over his head, beginning to dry his hair.

  "So we're okay, right?" Blair asked her. "All that stuff from the past, it's processed and locked away somewhere it can't ever get out again?"

  She nodded. "I don't think I realized how much I needed you to come after me, until I opened the door and saw you standing there." She rested her hands on his shoulders. "All of a sudden, nothing else mattered, except that you loved me enough to follow me. Not Naomi, not the pain she caused, not the havoc she could play with our lives now. All that matters is you." Leaning forward, Dee's lips met his in a gentle kiss.

  And all Blair could think was "I'm gonna really like this new life."

  Part 3

  A few nights later, Dee was propped up in bed reading a book. Blair was asleep beside her, one arm thrown over her hips, his cheek pressed against her side. The case the FBI had wanted Dee's help on was stalled, and they had spent the five days since Blair's arrival basically goofing off, and sleeping late. When they did venture out, they kept it simple, a visit to the Smithsonian one day, the Cherry Blossom Festival the next, followed by dinner at some place relaxed and casual, like the Cactus Cantina. They'd ended up one night at the Uptown Scoop, an ice cream place run by a former flower child who, as it turned out, knew Naomi. They'd ended up sampling about every flavor and listening to stories about their protest days. Blair at first had been a little uncomfortable with the subject of Naomi cropping up, but she had reassured him with a smile and a squeeze of his hand, and he had relaxed and enjoyed the tales.

  Gazing down at him, Dee ran a hand lightly through his hair. Things were finally returning to a semblance of normal. Blair was sleeping soundly through the night, and the dark circles of worry were gone from under his eyes. It hadn't hurt a bit that here in the District no one gave a damn about what had happened 3,000 miles away, and he had been able to roam freely without a pack of media hounds on his tail. They'd even visited a couple antique shops and art galleries, gathering ideas to toss around for the business she was still interested in starting with him.

  She was just getting ready to turn out the light and join Blair in sleep when the phone rang. She snatched it up on the first ring, not wanting to wake him. "Hello."

  "Dee, it's Dana. We just got a tip that Bowman is holed up in a warehouse in Falls Church, VA."

  "Are you sure it's legitimate?"

  "No, but it's one she's used before. Mulder wants to go check it out before we call for reinforcements. You and I both know it's better if we do it this way."

  Sighing, Dee replied, "You're probably right." She reached for a notepad and a pen. "What's the address?" Jotting it down, she said, "Okay, give me about ninety minutes and I'll meet you there." Hanging up the phone, she crawled out of bed and began getting dressed.

  Blair stirred, rolling over on his back and blinking sleepy eyes at her. "Dee? What's going on?"

  Pulling a t-shirt over her head, she tucked it into her jeans. "Dana called. They have a lead on their fugitive." He got out of bed and grabbed what he'd been wearing earlier off a chair. She stared at him. "Where do you think you're going?"

  Blair glanced up from tugging his jeans over his hips. "With you." He cut her off before she could protest. "Don't argue with me, angel. You're not going to win this one. You need me there to help you with your senses."

  Crossing the small space between them, Dee cupped his cheek with her hand, then bent down to brush her lips against his. She quirked a smile at him when they parted. "Okay. But if after I check it out I want you to stay outside, you'll do it. If she can do one tenth of the stuff Mulder claims I don't want you anywhere near her."

  Blair nodded. "You got it. I don't want anyone poking around in my head."

  Five minutes later, they headed out the door.

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  Dee pulled her rented SUV to a stop behind Mulder's FBI issue sedan. Both vehicles were in the parking lot of what appeared to be an empty warehouse. Dee got out of her car, followed by Blair, and they met up with the two agents at a fence surrounding the building. "Got anything?" she asked.

  Dana Scully shook her head. "We just arrived ourselves."

  "And even if we had seen any activity, we're dealing with someone who can manipulate peoples' minds. We can't trust that anything we experience is real," Mulder said seriously.

  A tight smile crossed Dee's face. "That's where we come in. Lobo?" Nodding, Blair rested his hand on Dee's shoulder, grounding her as she stretched out her senses. A single heartbeat leapt at her from echoing silence of the large building. "Someone's there, that's for certain. Whether or not it's Linda Bowman, I can't tell."

  Mulder raised an appraising eyebrow at her. "Some day you're going to have to tell me how you do that."

  "What? My being immortal isn't enough for you?"

  He shrugged. "I figure you're an x-file about 12 times over, Dee."

  Scully looked up from checking her weapon. "Do we want to call for back up?"

  Dee shook her head. "I think the less people involved in this, the less chance of someone getting hurt. And the two of us have an advantage. Mulder's the only one in any real danger, since Blair is staying here." She gave him a warning glance.

  He raised his hands in surrender. "You hear me arguing with that?"

  "Just wanted to make sure we're clear on that, Lobo. What's the best way to approach this? Split up and try and surprise her?"

  Mulder nodded. "Makes sense to me. You're the wild card. Hopefully her psychic abilities won't work on you. Scully and I will try to distract her, and you take her out from behind. If we come at her from three different directions at once, she won't be able to deal with
us all. I hope."

  "Right," Dee agreed. "Okay, let's do it." Reaching under her trenchcoat, she released the strap on her Desert Eagle automatic.

  Blair caught her arm before she headed toward the warehouse. "Use your senses, Dee, just in case you're affected by her illusions. They won't lie to you."

  After pressing a kiss to his cheek, she followed Mulder and Scully into the darkness.

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  Climbing back into Dee's rented Cherokee, Blair closed the door quietly, not wanting to give the team away. He hated this part, always had. It damn near killed him most of the time to watch Jim rushing into danger while he stayed behind, but he understood the reasons. He wasn't a cop; he wasn't trained for this kind of situation, and he had no desire ever to learn. This kind of thing was better left to people who could make the split second decisions the situation required. Oh Blair had no doubt he wouldn't hesitate to protect Jim, or Dee for that matter, his battle with Lee Eolia had taught him that. But it was a situation he never wanted to be in again, having to decide whether someone lived or died by his hand.

  He rolled the window open a crack, listening to the stillness. The warehouse was in a mostly rural area, and no familiar traffic noise reached his ears. Instead, he heard the sharp bark of an automatic weapon, then silence. Shit!

  Slipping out of the car, Blair walked a few paces toward the darkened building, then stopped, straining to hear anything that would let him know things were all right. Nothing. Damn it. He was going to have to go inside.

  Keeping to the shadows, he trotted across the broken asphalt toward the door Mulder had entered. Turning the knob slowly, Blair felt the door open inward, and he edged into the blackness. A light was burning deeper inside the building, and he headed toward it, careful not to make any noise. Despite his best efforts, his foot snagged on something soft, and he tumbled to his hands and knees with a muffled grunt. He glanced back at the object he'd tripped over and found himself staring into the cold, dead eyes of Agent Scully, a bullet hole neatly placed in the middle of her forehead. He nearly bit through his tongue in his effort to control his urge to cry out.

  Now what was he supposed to do? He knew she would come back, but head wounds always took longer, and due to her youth in immortal terms, she wouldn't revive nearly as quickly as Dee would. If Linda Bowman thought she had taken out Scully, then she would go after Mulder next. Hell, from what Mulder had told him of their last encounter, she had set Mulder up to shoot his partner by making Scully appear to be Linda. I really should get out of here. But something was telling him he needed to stay. Spying Scully's Sig Sauer lying next to her, Blair picked it up, then continued on toward the light, figuring Bowman was egotistical enough to want a showdown between herself and Mulder.

  When he reached the light, Blair saw Mulder standing in the middle of the pool of illumination, his gun drawn. "Linda Bowman! I know you're here! This is between you and me now. Show yourself!"

  Blair decided staying hidden was a good idea. But his body thought otherwise. He stepped into the light, pointing Scully's gun at Mulder. Oh, god! What in the hell was happening to him? With that thought, he became aware of another presence in his mind, controlling his actions while he was shoved aside, helpless. In horror he realized Bowman was using him, was making him her weapon against Mulder.

  He fought to open his fingers, to drop the gun, but Blair was caught fast in her mental grip. If only he could warn the FBI agent...he tried to speak. "Mulder, run!"

  The other man spun toward the sound of Blair's voice. "Blair? What in the hell are you doing here?"

  "I don't want to shoot you, man. She's gonna make me shoot you!" He was trembling under the strain now, every muscle, every cell trying to make some kind of movement on his own. Anything but pulling the trigger, anything but that!

  Mulder's eyes blazed in anger as he yelled to the vast warehouse, "Linda! He's an innocent! He has nothing to do with this! Let him go!"

  Blair's arm came up further, so the automatic was pointing squarely at Mulder's chest. "Damn it, Mulder, get out of here! Or shoot me! She can't use me if you shoot me!"

  The other man shook his head vehemently. "No, that's what she wants. She made me shoot Scully, now she wants me to kill you. I won't do it. You hear me, Linda! I won't do it!"

  Blair felt his index finger tightening on the trigger. The Sig Sauer barked once and the recoil knocked him back a few steps. "NO!" he screamed as Mulder staggered, then dropped to the ground. He heard another shot behind him, then Blair collapsed like a broken marionette, the foreign presence gone from his mind.

  Dropping the gun, he crawled to Mulder, oblivious to the blood soaking into his jeans, his fingers searching for a pulse at the agent's throat. He couldn't find one. No. No. "NO!"

  Then strong arms were encircling him from behind, pulling him away from the fallen man. He started to struggle, then recognized Dee's calm voice in his ear. "It's okay, Lobo, it's okay."

  Blair twisted in her arms, trying to break free, to help the man he knew was already dead. "No, Dee, you have to help him. Oh, god, oh, god, I shot him! I didn't want to! I told him to run...why wouldn't he run?"

  Diandra's grip tightened on him. "Shh, shh, it's okay, Blair, really it's okay."

  No, it wasn't okay; it would never be okay. He'd killed someone. He'd killed a friend. That thought knocked all the fight out of him, and Blair went limp against her, his chest heaving from his previous exertions.

  Scully chose that moment to wander into the light, one hand held to her head. Her eyes took in Mulder's still body, Blair's distraught appearance, and Dee's calm demeanor. "Fuck." She knelt beside her partner, checking his pulse. Just as she pulled her hand away, Mulder's eyes snapped open, and he inhaled.

  Blair was so stunned he jerked in Dee's embrace, smacking his head into her face.

  "Ow!" She let go of him, one hand cupping her nose.

  "He's Immortal!" Blair was stunned.

  "I'm Immortal?" Mulder sat up with Scully's help. "Cool." He frowned. "But does coming back always hurt this much?"

  "Sorry, but yeah," his partner told him.

  He shook his head, rubbing his hand over his chest. "God, I feel awful. Bowman! What happened to Linda?"

  "She's dead," Dee spoke up. "Sorry I didn't get to the party earlier. The door I tried to enter was blocked and I was delayed." Blair felt her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I couldn't prevent you having to go through that."

  Blair just shuddered, still unable to wrap his mind around what had happened to him. Another shiver ran through him, and he wondered if he was going into shock. Dee must have sensed his discomfort with the whole thing, because she pulled him to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I'm taking Blair home. You need any T's crossed, or I's dotted, you know where to find us."

  He walked toward the entrance with her, passing the body of a thin, blond woman lying on the cement floor, blood pooling underneath her head. Blair barely made it outside before losing the contents of his stomach. He felt Dee's hands on him, holding him up as he retched pitifully into the sparse grass next to the building.

  When he was finished, Dee helped him to the car, opening the passenger door for him. Climbing into the driver's seat, she started the engine and pulled out onto the road. Her hand found his, and she held it tenderly the whole way back, but it didn't help. Blair doubted anything could erase the memory of what he'd done. Leaning his head against the window, he closed his eyes, wishing he were anywhere but here.

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  Dee stared at the ceiling above her bed. Blair lay beside her, his back to her, curled into a tight ball, sleeping fitfully. This was wrong. It was all wrong.

  Once they'd reached the townhouse, she'd tried to talk to him, tried to comfort him, tried to reassure him that what happened was not his fault, that he had been under Linda's control. He'd stalked into the bat
hroom and shut the door in her face. She'd tried once again to be there for him after he'd come out, but he said he wasn't ready to talk about it, that all he wanted to do was go to bed. She didn't blame him. If she were Blair, she'd be pissed at her, too. She'd gotten him into this, and then hadn't been able to protect him. That seemed to be the story of their lives, lately. No matter how much she wanted things just to be normal, for them to live an uneventful, boring life, disaster continued to strike. How much more could he take? How long until he said enough, that their love wasn't worth the pain that seemed to come along with it?

  Never mind the fact that she'd not told him about her vision, about Artemis' warning. Something was coming for her, and Diandra wasn't sure she'd be ready for it. And what if Blair's caught in the crossfire again, champion? What will you do then?