"This Isn't Over"
Anna Renick

Story Rating: PG
Category: Post-Ep (Existence), Skinner POV
Spoilers: Existence
Archive: I'd be honored.  Just let me know where.
Disclaimers: The X-Files are owned by Fox Television,
Ten Thirteen Productions, Inc. and Chris Carter. 
Skinner belongs to Mitch Pileggi.  No infringement
intended.  Don't sue.  Some of my best friends are
lawyers....
Summary: What happened in that parking garage.
Feedback: Yes, please.  Send to limecityprod@aol.com
Author's Notes: Thanks to Lorri, as always, for a
speedy beta read. More notes at the end.


I aimed, fired, and that was it.  The bastard was
dead.  For a moment, I think Mulder was scared I was
another one of those BillyMilesAliens.  I wasn't.  I
was an assistant director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and I had just shot an unarmed, (hell,
one armed) man in the parking garage of the J. Edgar
Hoover Building.  I don't know what kind of human that
makes me, but I'm damn sure I'm not an alien. 

I told Mulder I'd take care of it.  And I did.  I
pulled the body (I wasn't thinking names or history
at that point) to one of the fleet cars.  Went to my
Blazer and grabbed a tarp out the back and walked back
to the car.  No point in running.  It was too late for 
that.  I was either on the surveillance camera or I
wasn't.  Popped the trunk, wrapped the body in the tarp
(which was somehow easier than I imagined it would be),
dumped it in the trunk and slammed the hatch shut. 
I wasn't thinking about how those blue eyes had already
started to glaze over or the way the blood had dripped
down his cheek like an errant tear.  

I cased the area for any stray evidence.  There was
blood on the concrete.  A little bit of oil from the
spare can in the Blazer took care of that.  It's a
parking garage.  You expect oil drips, right?  Besides,
I didn't think anyone was going to be filing a missing
persons report.

One of the advantages of being in law enforcement - you
know where the bodies get dumped.  One of the
advantages of watching the world from my position
the last six years - you know where the bodies get
dumped and don't get found.  That's where Krycek is. 
And hopefully, where he'll stay until hell freezes
over.  Or erupts.  

Mulder hasn't asked what I did with the body.
I won't tell him if he does.  That's one secret I'm
taking with me to my own grave.  It's gonna be kind of
crowded in there, me and all my secrets, but as they
say, you make your own bed....

Which brings me to the bed I haven't slept in since
that night.  The couch works better these days. 
Sleep can just kind of sneak up on you there.  That
way I don't have to think about what I did that night
or why.  At least that's what I tell myself.

Truth is, I know why I did what I did that night.  I'm
just not sure if I like the reason.  It's been a long
time since I simply reacted, since I was forced to face
one of those do it or die decisions. Sitting behind a
desk insulates you that way.  But out there in the
garage, I looked at Krycek and it was as if everything
was finally clear.  I saw what he had done to me.  I
saw what he had done to the people I care about.  What
he would do if I didn't pull the trigger one more time. 
He was all the evil and lies in the world at the
moment. So I shot him.  So Mulder could go save Scully. 
And maybe save mankind in the process.  

But still when I shot him, he was just a man.  An
unarmed man, lying on the cold concrete of a parking
garage, bleeding from the two bullets I had already
pumped into his body.  At that moment, he wasn't a
threat to anyone.  I know that now and I knew it then. 
I tell myself that what I did was right and necessary. 
Wrong to kill, but right to save.  I tell myself that
and I believe it.  I have to.  Because I have a feeling
this isn't over.


The End.  


Author's Notes: This was generated by a discussion on
Scullyfic regarding Skinner's shooting of Krycek. 
While Skinner's coolness when he fired was more than a
little unsettling, I believe that what Skinner did he
did because he believed it was necessary.  But I do not
believe that means he would walk away from that night
and never look back.  He isn't perfect, but he is
human.