pTo Catch a Thief. /p
pBy Cherub. /p
pDisclaimer: X-Men and related characters belong to Marvel, no $ being made here...sigh/p br
br pThe woman towered over her partner in a way that could only be described as majestic, looking down to meet his eyes she said simply, but in a tone of severe warning, /p p"Logan."/p p"Munroe." The hairy little man retorted, not one to be outdone./p br pIt was a kind of ritual for them, two detectives, unsure of what dangers the night may hold. It was their own little way of saying "be careful" and an unspoken reassurance that one had the other's back if anything should go wrong./p pLeaving the side of the unmarked vehicle, the two walked the remaining 3 blocks to what they hoped would be the fruit of months of labor. Detectives Ororo Munroe and John Logan were on the trail of a burglary ring. Normally the work of the "footmen" as Logan called them, they had been called on to the case due to the fact that a reasonable pattern had yet to be spotted in the locations of the heists, and because of the unusual nature of the criminals themselves. Out of the myriad assortment of guns, knives and the usual weapons involved in these sort of crimes, the criminals in this case chose crossbows that attached to their forearms and had no compunctions about using them on anyone unfortunate enough to stumble across their path.. An oddity in itself, it was discovered through autopsies of their victims that the arrowtips were laced with a rare and deadly venom, making even a flesh wound fatal. Over at St Vincent's, Dr Henry McCoy had been searching frantically through hospital records, textbooks, even internet sites for the anti-venom, but had found nothing as of yet./p pLogan and Munroe had received an anonymous tip that afternoon that indicated the site of the next crime. Undercover agents had been crawling over the area for the better part of the evening. /p p"You got your men on the exits?" Logan askd the young undercover officer as he adjusted his shoulder holster../p p"Yes, sir."/p pLogan removed his cowboy hat and in one smooth motion wiped his brow with the arm of his shirt and replaced the hat, flicking away the remains of his cigar with the other hand. He looked to his partner, studied her expression, winced at the way her snowy hair was pulled severely away from her face in a tight knot at the nape of her neck. Were it not for her soft blue eyes, it would have made her look cruel. "Front door, Munroe?"/p p"Why not, Logan. Today is as good a day as any to die." She was only teasing him. Her suggestion would have been no different. It was safe to assume the burglars didn't go in that way. From her own experiance she knew that oftentimes criminals seem to forget that a front entrance exists. They never use it, after all./p br pThe two moved cautiously through the dark entrance until the building forked off in different directions. Logan took the left. Munroe the right./p pFrom outside the crack of gunfire echoed. The inside soon became chaos. Munroe spotted movement around the corner and purued it, finding a young auburn-haired man in a leather duster at the end of her gun barrel. /p p"Do not move."/p pThe man wasn't listening, he was watching the figure behind her as he grabbed her around the waist and flung her to the ground under his arm./p pHe wasn't fast enough./p br pIn the sudden confusion Munroe fired her weapon and missed, the bullet lodged impotently in the wall above the strange man's head./p pThe shot aimed at her did not miss. Picking up the gun she had dropped on the floor the stranger fired two rounds at her assailant. The first shot caught him in the gut, the second in the knee cap. The thief wasn't dead, but he wasn't going anywhere either. The young man picked up Munroe's radio shouting into it,/p p"Officer down! Ground floor near the stairs...Hurry!"/p pWithin seconds, Logan was there ordering the stranger to step away from Munroe. Once again he raised his hands, but not before dropping a small scrap of paper beside the prone detective. Logan glanced down at his partner and when he looked back up the young man was gone./p br pAt St Vincent's it was discovered that the slip of paper the odd man had dropped had scrawled upon it the name of the anti-venom./p pLogan's head spun with unanswered questions, had this man been the informant? What was he doing there, and if, as it would appear, he was also a criminal, why would he help them?/p pThe answers would be forthcoming, but not in the manner Logan expected./p br pDet. John Logan sat impatiently in one of the hospital's many waiting rooms until he was told he could see his partner./p pLogan opened the door with an expression on his face that seemed to be a curious mix of relief and anger. Stepping into the room, it turned to one of rage. At the foot of the bed stood the stranger, still clad in the dark brown duster, gazing over the sleeping form of Ororo with a sad little smile playing on his lips./p p"You." Logan growled. "What the hell are you doing here?!?"/p p"Jus' wanted t'see if she was okay, Detective."/p
p"Look, bub, you're comin' with me. I got some questions and I'm pretty damn sure you've got the answers."/p p"Sorry, m'suir, in a hurry jus' now. Some other time, non?" With that the stranger moved to the open window and leaped out to what would have been certain death, but as Logan ran to the window and looked out, the man was nowhere to be seen./p pLogan turned back to his sleeping partner, sat on the edge of her bed, and more tenderly than anyone would have expected him capable of, he ran his fingertips over her soft brown cheek./p p"Munroe." He whispered./p p"Logan?" She asked groggily, opening her eyes./p pHe leaned down towards her face and said with deadly seriousness, "Don't EVER scare me like that again."/p p"Why, Logan." She taunted him, " You do care after all."/p p"Just don't want some punk straight out of the academy for my new partner."/p p"Of course."/p pTo avoid Ororo's mocking eyes, Logan glanced around the drab little room and spotted the note the stranger had left behind. /p p"What is it with this guy and notes?"/p br
br
pBy Cherub. /p
pDisclaimer: X-Men and related characters belong to Marvel, no $ being made here...sigh/p br
br pThe woman towered over her partner in a way that could only be described as majestic, looking down to meet his eyes she said simply, but in a tone of severe warning, /p p"Logan."/p p"Munroe." The hairy little man retorted, not one to be outdone./p br pIt was a kind of ritual for them, two detectives, unsure of what dangers the night may hold. It was their own little way of saying "be careful" and an unspoken reassurance that one had the other's back if anything should go wrong./p pLeaving the side of the unmarked vehicle, the two walked the remaining 3 blocks to what they hoped would be the fruit of months of labor. Detectives Ororo Munroe and John Logan were on the trail of a burglary ring. Normally the work of the "footmen" as Logan called them, they had been called on to the case due to the fact that a reasonable pattern had yet to be spotted in the locations of the heists, and because of the unusual nature of the criminals themselves. Out of the myriad assortment of guns, knives and the usual weapons involved in these sort of crimes, the criminals in this case chose crossbows that attached to their forearms and had no compunctions about using them on anyone unfortunate enough to stumble across their path.. An oddity in itself, it was discovered through autopsies of their victims that the arrowtips were laced with a rare and deadly venom, making even a flesh wound fatal. Over at St Vincent's, Dr Henry McCoy had been searching frantically through hospital records, textbooks, even internet sites for the anti-venom, but had found nothing as of yet./p pLogan and Munroe had received an anonymous tip that afternoon that indicated the site of the next crime. Undercover agents had been crawling over the area for the better part of the evening. /p p"You got your men on the exits?" Logan askd the young undercover officer as he adjusted his shoulder holster../p p"Yes, sir."/p pLogan removed his cowboy hat and in one smooth motion wiped his brow with the arm of his shirt and replaced the hat, flicking away the remains of his cigar with the other hand. He looked to his partner, studied her expression, winced at the way her snowy hair was pulled severely away from her face in a tight knot at the nape of her neck. Were it not for her soft blue eyes, it would have made her look cruel. "Front door, Munroe?"/p p"Why not, Logan. Today is as good a day as any to die." She was only teasing him. Her suggestion would have been no different. It was safe to assume the burglars didn't go in that way. From her own experiance she knew that oftentimes criminals seem to forget that a front entrance exists. They never use it, after all./p br pThe two moved cautiously through the dark entrance until the building forked off in different directions. Logan took the left. Munroe the right./p pFrom outside the crack of gunfire echoed. The inside soon became chaos. Munroe spotted movement around the corner and purued it, finding a young auburn-haired man in a leather duster at the end of her gun barrel. /p p"Do not move."/p pThe man wasn't listening, he was watching the figure behind her as he grabbed her around the waist and flung her to the ground under his arm./p pHe wasn't fast enough./p br pIn the sudden confusion Munroe fired her weapon and missed, the bullet lodged impotently in the wall above the strange man's head./p pThe shot aimed at her did not miss. Picking up the gun she had dropped on the floor the stranger fired two rounds at her assailant. The first shot caught him in the gut, the second in the knee cap. The thief wasn't dead, but he wasn't going anywhere either. The young man picked up Munroe's radio shouting into it,/p p"Officer down! Ground floor near the stairs...Hurry!"/p pWithin seconds, Logan was there ordering the stranger to step away from Munroe. Once again he raised his hands, but not before dropping a small scrap of paper beside the prone detective. Logan glanced down at his partner and when he looked back up the young man was gone./p br pAt St Vincent's it was discovered that the slip of paper the odd man had dropped had scrawled upon it the name of the anti-venom./p pLogan's head spun with unanswered questions, had this man been the informant? What was he doing there, and if, as it would appear, he was also a criminal, why would he help them?/p pThe answers would be forthcoming, but not in the manner Logan expected./p br pDet. John Logan sat impatiently in one of the hospital's many waiting rooms until he was told he could see his partner./p pLogan opened the door with an expression on his face that seemed to be a curious mix of relief and anger. Stepping into the room, it turned to one of rage. At the foot of the bed stood the stranger, still clad in the dark brown duster, gazing over the sleeping form of Ororo with a sad little smile playing on his lips./p p"You." Logan growled. "What the hell are you doing here?!?"/p p"Jus' wanted t'see if she was okay, Detective."/p
p"Look, bub, you're comin' with me. I got some questions and I'm pretty damn sure you've got the answers."/p p"Sorry, m'suir, in a hurry jus' now. Some other time, non?" With that the stranger moved to the open window and leaped out to what would have been certain death, but as Logan ran to the window and looked out, the man was nowhere to be seen./p pLogan turned back to his sleeping partner, sat on the edge of her bed, and more tenderly than anyone would have expected him capable of, he ran his fingertips over her soft brown cheek./p p"Munroe." He whispered./p p"Logan?" She asked groggily, opening her eyes./p pHe leaned down towards her face and said with deadly seriousness, "Don't EVER scare me like that again."/p p"Why, Logan." She taunted him, " You do care after all."/p p"Just don't want some punk straight out of the academy for my new partner."/p p"Of course."/p pTo avoid Ororo's mocking eyes, Logan glanced around the drab little room and spotted the note the stranger had left behind. /p p"What is it with this guy and notes?"/p br
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