Descent by JiM (R)

[lapillus]

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Alex Krycek/Walter Skinner
Author on LJ: jimpage363
Author Website: Coffeeslash
Why this must be read: Because JiM writes lovely stories that perfectly combine edges, angst and domesticity and are just the thing to curl up with on a cold winter's evening.  Trying to choose which of hers to recommend was quite a struggle since I have so many favorites.  I went with this one because it's a little harder edged than most of hers. Also,  I love watching Skinner deal with something he can't beat and because watching Krycek shift from cool professional to something more over the several month period of the story is delicious.

When you think you have nothing left to live for, how do you fill your time?

It was in late April that Walter Skinner began to trip over things that were not there. By mid-May, he had begun falling down for no good reason and it annoyed him. In early June, the doctor was jovial and reassuring. By the end of July, he was grave and offering options that weren't truly options and they both knew it. In October, Skinner began using a cane and by Thanksgiving, he had come to terms with the fact that his retirement fund wasn't going to get a chance to mature.

He hated the tremor in his hand as he reached to dial a phone number that had cost him a very large amount of money to obtain. It was the same damned tremor he now felt in his leg. But his voice was steady as he said into the receiver, "I have a business proposition for you. If you're interested, meet me at my place in an hour." Then he hung up and went home to meet a man he'd hoped never to see again.

---

Krycek was punctual; there was an automatic pistol pressed against Skinner's skull 57 minutes after he had made the call. "OK, Skinner.What are you trying to pull?"

Skinner didn't flinch, although the hand holding the coffee mugs hook slightly. "Just trying to hire the right man for the right job."

The gun didn't move from his temple. "Which is?"

"I want some people killed." His calm words shocked Krycek enough that the weapon dipped, then slid away entirely.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"No. How much?" Something in his too-calm tone convinced the assassin that he was serious. Krycek stepped away and sat down in the other chair at the kitchen table. He stared at the other man for long moments before saying, "It depends. Who are they and how well protected are they?"

Skinner put his mug down and slid a handwritten list of names across the table. Krycek picked it up, read the first five and whistled softly. "You've set your sights high here, Skinner. These will cost. A lot." He read a grim kind of determination in the deeply shadowed eyes that met his in the empty kitchen. "Thirty thousand a piece for the top five. The others will be less."

"Twenty." Skinner's voice was hoarse. "No collateral damage."

"Twenty five," Krycek countered, watching Skinner's fingers quiver against the tabletop. "I won't subcontract on these. It'll be precision work."

Enjoy Skinner's Descent. Oh, and there's an epilogue from Alex's POV, Formerly Unsuspected.