LOGAN'S ANGELS

CHAPTER ONE - LITTLE GIRL LOST

Jubilation

By now, I'm a familiar face in the Westchester County fire station. Most of the guys - firefighters and other people in the life-saving business - called out hellos to me as I walked in the door. I waved back.

Laura smiled when she saw me. Of course, her smile is so tiny that you have to know her pretty well to tell that it was there.

"Hi, Jubes," she said quietly. It took years of effort to finally convince Laura to call me something other than "Jubilation". Getting Laura to use a nick-name is like getting her to give you a big grin - it can be done, but takes time and it's not easy.

I looked Laura up and down and shook my head. "Only you could make a paramedic uniform look good."

Which is true. Laura is in her early thirties and still gets carded whenever she walks into a bar. Her blue uniform trousers and shirt should have looked like a particularly boxy and ugly tent on her. However, she'd apparently spent the money to have them tailored to better fit her lean body. That wasn't vanity. Laura has always put a premium on being able to move quickly and precisely. Clothes that got in the way are intolerable to her.

"Tell me about it," Laura's partner and boss - a balding, middle-aged, guy named Whitney - growled as he walked up to us. In addition to losing his hair, Whit was putting on a few pounds. It was a standard example of the middle-aged-spread and no amount of exercise seemed to help. As a former Marine, that was driving Whit crazy.

I like Whit. He's an old-fashioned kind of guy who likes to grumble that he doesn't think much of the twenty-first century - and back in the day was kinda suspicious of the twentieth. On the other hand, he doesn't seem to have a problem with a partner who's a mutant and her friend who's a vampire. Whit once told me that he learned to take people one at a time when he was a kid serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. He's cool.

"I'm not a paramedic. I'm an emergency medical technician," Laura corrected me - not for the first time.

I could feel my smile turn into a grin. Laura is way too serious. One of the reasons I was put on this earth was to mess with that part of her personality.

"I need to borrow your very precise partner," I told Whit. He's the senior paramedic - pardon me, "emergency medical technician" - for the county. So he calls the shots on scheduling decisions.

"Why?" Whit asked me warily. To be fair, he does have reason to be suspicious.

"Official SHIELD business," I said solemnly.

"Are you sure?" Whit persisted. "The last time you took Laura away on 'official SHIELD business' it turned out to be Rogue's bachelorette party."

I put a hand on my (unbeating) heart. "Attending Rogue's bachelorette party was a vital act of liaison between SHIELD and the mutant community. And this time I promise that the department will get its usual fee for loaning Laura to us."

Laura gave us both an exasperated look. "Do I have any say in this?"

"No," Whit and I said simultaneously. I needed Laura's talents and the county fire department needed the money. They were saving up for a new fire-truck, and the fee SHIELD paid the county whenever I "borrowed" Laura ran to five figures.

Rolling her eyes, Laura reached into her locker and pulled out her jacket.

Laura

Everyone likes the idea that I am now a life-saver instead of a life-taker. They believe that my new career is a sign that I'm finally leaving my past behind.

It's good that they believe that, but it's not really true. Jubes understands that. She knows that every now and then I need to go hunting.

Jubilation

We were at Laura's place. It's a modest, one-bedroom house that's located about half-way between the Jean Grey school and Salem Center. The interior is psychotically neat and a Spartan hoplite would have considered it to be a tad under-furnished.

"What's the mission?" Laura asked me as she changed out of her work clothes.

"Alexandra Strella is missing," I said quietly.

Laura paused and looked at me. She was barefoot and naked from the waist up.

"She can't be in too much trouble," Laura said slowly. "Otherwise, you'd be more upset."

I shrugged. "Alex had an argument with her mom. Then she stormed out of the house."

"So she's a runaway," Laura said as she unbuckled her pants.

"Looks like it."

"Then why do you need me? For that matter, why is SHIELD interested?"

I sighed. "We don't want Alex to be noticed. And given her abilities, tracking her down might not be that easy."

Laura didn't say anything as she tossed her pants into a laundry basket. She was down to nothing but a pair of plain white panties and I was trying to keep my eyes on her face. I was sort of failing.

Then Laura looked at me again. "You're hungry," she said.

I swallowed - and tried to hide it. "I'm fine," I said flatly. "I had some blood substitute before coming here."

"Do you want me?" she asked, her green eyes meeting mine.

Damn it, Laura.

Years ago, I was turned into a vampire. And vampires are evil, murdering, assholes. For a long time, the only thing that took the edge off - that prevented me from also becoming an evil, murdering, asshole like the rest of my kind - was Logan or Laura's blood. It has something to do with their regenerative powers. When I was on their blood, I could control myself better. I could even go out in the daylight if I just made sure to bundle up.

Eventually, I learned how to get by on my own. That's another story.

But back when I didn't have a choice, Logan and Laura helped keep me sort of human. Of course, Logan always kept his distance. I didn't take blood straight from him. Instead, there was a refrigerator and in it there were red-filled bottles. Neither one of us was comfortable with anything physically closer than that.

But Laura and I...

Well...

Back when I was still a newbie vampire, Laura looked me dead in the eye as she cut open the muscle at the junction of her neck and shoulder. She made me prove to her - and to myself - that I could stay in control. Instead of tearing into her with fangs and claws, I accepted what she was offering me as a friend, not as a monster.

That sort of thing is incredibly intimate and sensual. We kept doing it, and one thing inevitably led to another.

"We don't have the time," I told Laura. And that was more-or-less the truth.

She nodded and pulled a pair of black jeans out of her closet.

Laura

For Jubes, everything is about self-control. Given that she's a vampire, that's inevitable. Loss of control would be a disaster for her - and others.

Still, there are times when I'd wish Jubes would be less conscientious.

Nobody else can give me what she can.

Jubilation

The nondescript cargo-plane that flew us out to Wyoming didn't have any SHIELD identification. If anyone checked up on it, the only thing they would learn was that it was a owned by a private transport company based out of Chicago.

Likewise, the blue and black jump-suit that SHIELD agents wear is a bit too obvious for what we were about to do. So mid-way through the flight I changed into a gray business suit, complete with sensible shoes. In addition, there are a few tricks that I've learned to do with makeup that make me look older than the seventeen-year-old appearance that I'm permanently stuck with.

I call that my "Agent Scully" look.

Once I was done, I tossed Laura a leather wallet. She caught it neatly.

"My cover is that I'm an FBI agent," I told Laura as she examined her badge. "So congratulations, you're now a consultant for the FBI."

Laura nodded as she pocketed the badge. "That means no dress code, right?"

She was wearing jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, and a pair of black tactical boots. The older Laura gets, the more she tends to dress like Logan. I kind of miss the Goth look. It made undressing her a lot of fun.

"You're fine," I assured her. "Just don't run off to live with some wolves or something."

"That was just that one time. And I had to do it to complete the mission."

Laura

I enjoyed my time with the wolves. It was very simple and satisfying.

Jubilation

Mrs. Strella was trying not to cry.

We were in her house, which is near the downtown of Lander, Wyoming. It was a tidy, nondescript building that was over a century old. SHIELD and the X-Men set Mrs. Strella up in Lander when we found out who she was and that she had a daughter. It was decided that the best chance they had of surviving was if they remained anonymous and well off the grid.

"What did you and Alex fight about?" I asked quietly. There was a cup of coffee sitting in front of me. Of course, I couldn't drink it, but giving it to me had been something to do that was normal and orderly. Mrs. Strella needed that right now.

Mrs. Strella tiredly rubbed her face with both hands. "Boys. Makeup. Music. Clothes."

"That pretty much covers the usual mother-teenager stuff," I said with a sympathetic nod of my head. "Anything more specific?"

"There's a boy she goes to school with. His name is Jesse Harding. He's trash, but Alex worships the ground he walks on. He's missing, too. The police think he and Alex took off together."

"Tell us about him," Laura said as she drank from her coffee mug.

An exasperated expression appeared on Mrs. Strella's face. Reconstructive surgery had fixed the worst of it, but in the right light you could still see signs of the awful facial injuries she'd suffered.

"He's tall for his age, handsome, wears a lot of black, and rides a motorcycle. If you talk to him, he usually has something slightly smartass to say, but he's good at making sure it's never quite enough for you to call him out on it. He always seems to have this superior little smirk on his face. He's kind of smart, but not as smart as he thinks he is, which is why he's been in and out of trouble with the law since he was in middle school."

"In other words, he's a handsome, high-school, bad-boy straight from central-casting," I added dryly.

Mrs. Strella nodded her head worriedly. "Alex is having a hard time in school. She's smart and pretty in her own way, but since she has to be careful to hide who she is and what she can do, she doesn't fit in with anybody. Jesse latched on to her almost as soon as he saw her. He's the first boy to pay any attention to her."

Then Mrs. Strella said sadly. "It's going to kill Alex when she finds out that he's just using her."

"Does Jesse have any particular friends?" I asked.

Mrs. Strella smiled bitterly. "Oddly enough, not too many. There is a fellow named Robert Dennison. He and Jesse have known each other since they were little boys and you used to see them together all the time. But I hear they've had a falling out."

"How about family?" I asked.

"Jesse's mother took off years ago. The father is trying to take care of five kids, and it's actually working out better than you might think - except for Jesse."

Laura

Alex and I are much alike.

However, I've always envied her. Yes, Alex's father is a monster, but at least she has her mother. And Mrs. Strella is a wonderful woman.

It bothers me that Alex doesn't understand what she is throwing away.

Jubilation

Lander didn't have much in the way of a police force, but one of their detectives - a Sergeant named Mike Wiggins - was more than happy to talk to us.

"Jesse Harding?" Wiggins said slowly. "Yeah, that kid is trouble, but why do the Feds care about him? He's strictly small-time."

"Internet crime," I lied. "He might be connected with an identity-theft outfit. We'd like to talk to him."

Wiggins frowned, "Harding's into that? He doesn't seem the type."

I made a meaninglessly indeterminate gesture with my hands. "You'd be surprised how simple it is to get into that sort of thing. You don't even have to be that good with a computer - you just have to know someone who is. We don't know all the details, but we'd like to talk to him. But now we hear he's vanished with a local girl."

Wiggins made a disgusted face. "Yeah, they both disappeared around the same time. Personally, I'm hoping the girl comes to her senses and goes home. Jesse is the original bad influence."

"You said Jesse was small-time," Laura said. "What kind of small-time?"

Wiggins laughed, "You name it, but larceny and drugs tops the list. There are two reasons Jesse hasn't done real jail time. The first is because he's a juvenile and he talks a good line whenever he gets in front of judge. The second is that he makes sure that when something risky or illegal has to be done, someone else does it. We've put a few of his associates away, but he always seems to be one step removed from the crime. But I'd say his luck is running out on both scores. I'd be willing to bet that he'll celebrate his next birthday in a cell."

Laura

The fact that the local authorities distrust Jesse was not necessarily a mark against him. The authorities exist to maintain order. That's one of the reasons we mutants are so distrusted - our existence is a threat to the present social system.

However, Detective Sergeant Wiggins' analysis of Jesse does suggest that he is more than just another rebellious youngster.

He certainly has plans for Alexandra.

Jubilation

We caught up with Jesse's father at his job in a local sporting goods store. When we asked to talk to him, Mr. Harding took a break and we went out onto a back-porch that overlooked a small parking lot. Mr. Harding's hands shook as he lit a cigarette. He struck me as a very tired man who was pretty close to the edge - and maybe a bit over it.

He was also in very blunt mood.

"Seventeen years old and now he's in trouble with the FBI? Tell you what, if you see Jesse, you tell him to not come back. He doesn't have a home with me anymore."

I tried not to react. I hadn't walked the requisite mile in Harding's shoes.

"Jesse has been a pain-in-the-ass since he first started walking and talking," Harding continued angrily as he stared out at the mountains. "I've had lots of folks tell me that he's trouble because he doesn't have a mother. That's bullshit - he was a problem long before his mom took off. You know the old argument about whether people are born bad or learn to be that way? It's settled. Jesse was born bad. My other kids are fine. The only trouble they ever get into is when Jesse talks them into something."

Then Harding took a long drag from his cigarette. He had a look in his eyes that dared us to contradict him.

"Do you have any idea where Jesse might be?" I asked neutrally.

Harding shook his head, "If I had to make a guess, he's in Denver. He's always had the idea that he'd strike it rich if he could just get out of here and to a big city."

"He's supposed to be with a girl," Laura said.

Stubbing his cigarette out on the porch railing with more force than necessary, Mr. Harding nodded. "Alexandra Strella - a good girl with a taste for bad boys. She's fallen for Jesse pretty hard. Poor kid."

"Where does she fit in with Jesse?" I asked.

Mr. Harding hesitated before answering. "That's a good question. I'm sure Jesse has some kind of a plan for her. Probably turning tricks, or moving drugs, or some such crap."

Then Mr. Harding angrily flicked his cigarette butt out into the parking lot. "If I had to make a bet, they'll both be dead in a year or two. Jesse will come up with some crooked get-rich-quick scheme and then find out that he's not the big time operator he thinks he is. Do what you can for the girl. She may have a chance if you can just get her the hell away from Jesse."

"Do you know anyone besides Alexandra who's close to Jesse?" I asked.

The smile on Mr. Harding's was bitter. "Jesse's pissed away every friend he ever had. The last of them was a boy named Bobby Dennison. But they don't get along anymore."

Laura

I could sense the conflicted emotions within Mr. Harding. Until now, he still had some idea that he could save Jesse.

But he gave up on his son as we spoke to him.

It was a difficult thing to watch.

Jubilation

"Wow," I said softly as we walked back to our car.

Laura nodded as she glanced at me. "Nobody seems to have anything good to say about Jesse."

I shrugged. "Let's not make too many assumptions. And we still have one more lead to check out."

Laura nodded. "Bobby Dennison - Jesse's oldest friend. Or ex-friend."

"Let's go find him," I said.

Laura

I think we will find that Jesse betrayed Bobby once he was no longer useful.

How long until Jesse does that to Alex?

Jubilation

Robert Dennison no longer bothered with the educational opportunities offered by the local high-school. From what I'd read about him, his teachers were probably relieved. We ran into Bobby just as he was getting off-shift at the local McDonalds. Bobby looked frazzled, his work clothes were spattered with grease, and his manager was angrily yelling something at him as Bobby walked out the back door.

Ah... the glamorous life of the small-town social rebel. I hoped Bobby still had a job. Bravely rebelling against The Man works better when you can pay the bills.

I wrinkled my nose as we approached Bobby. One advantage of being a vampire is enhanced senses - including a detailed sense of smell. Aside from the delicate aroma of fast food, grease, and sweat, Bobby's body odor also stank of a pharmacopoeia of medium-hard drugs. If I had to guess, Bobby only had one leisure time activity.

Bobby was big for his age. And muscular. But I could already see and smell the first signs of decay.

"I haven't done anything!" were the first words out of Bobby's mouth after I showed him a badge.

"You're not in trouble," I said. "We just need you to answer some questions."

"I'm not under arrest?" he asked slowly.

"No. We just..."

"Then piss off," Bobby said as he began to walk away.

Laura wordlessly put a hand against Bobby's chest. Bobby froze in place, his face suddenly angry. Then he made the mistake of trying to shove Laura out of his way.

A few seconds later, Bobby had a bloody nose and was sitting on the sidewalk, looking utterly surprised. Some passers-by on the other side of the street were watching in obvious amazement. A roughly-dressed middle-aged gentleman was already half-way across the street. He'd seen a large boy take a swing at a small girl and was coming to the rescue.

I held up a badge. "FBI, sir. Please go about your business."

The older fellow nodded hesitantly, then went back to his family. Talking among themselves as they stared at us, they walked away. I heard the older man tell his wife that FBI agents were apparently getting smaller and meaner.

"Let's try that again," I said quietly to Bobby. "You're going to talk to us or I'm going to get a warrant to search everything searchable that you're even vaguely connected with. We both know what we'll find. So your choices are to tell us what you know about a guy I hear you don't even like anymore, or risk that a judge will decide that you're a dealer as well as a user and decide to try you as an adult."

"What do you want?" Dennison snarled.

"I want Jesse Harding. Where is he?"

Bobby started to talk.

Laura

Bobby is steadily wandering into harder and harder drugs, doesn't have what it takes to get clean, and lives in a part of the country that is unforgiving to addicts.

He will not survive.

Jubilation

It turned out that Bobby's falling out with Jesse Harding was a disagreement about money. Once upon a time, they'd been business partners. At first they just sold local ditch weed that they harvested from the outskirts of an abandoned ranch, but eventually they found a connection for harder stuff that went back to Cheyenne - and then to Denver. They didn't get rich at what they were doing, but they had more money than the other kids in town.

Then, a few months back, Jesse told Bobby that he was no longer a part of the business. Bobby objected. He objected enough to confront Jesse with a handgun.

That was when Bobby found out that Alex was more than just his former-best-friend's girl. She took away his pistol and knocked him on his ass.

That was a problem. Not only was Alex in the wind, but she was willing to use her powers in defense of her douchebag of a boyfriend. People would inevitably notice.

As a side note, it also meant that poor Bobby's ego had to be in free-fall. In between Alex and Laura, he kept getting beat-up by girls.

The list of people who might want Alex was pretty long. HYDRA, AIM, Weapon-X, and the Hellfire Club came immediately to mind. And then there were the militaries and intelligence agencies of something like two-dozen countries - including our own.

There was one more possibility. I didn't even want to think about that one.

If Alex kept using her powers, then someone would eventually realize what she was worth. That kind of information would get out quick. So the clock was ticking.

Our plane was waiting for us at a Riverton Regional Airport. I had it fly us to Denver.

Laura

Bobby was obviously Jesse's muscle. When Jesse discovered what Alex could do the same job, Bobby became unnecessary and was abandoned.

The situation with Alex is clearly out-of-control. She's using her powers carelessly.

It's only a matter of time before she's noticed.

Jubilation

Sitting in the back of the plane, Laura calmly pulled off my shoes and began massaging my feet. I closed my eyes and sank into utter bliss.

"If you keep doing that, I will perform any kind of sex you want, for as long as you want," I told her.

"You're going to regret saying that," I heard Laura say. Then she lifted my leg up and kissed me on the ball of my foot. I shivered in reaction.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked.

My eyes were still closed, but I could hear the amusement in Laura's voice. "Remember that club we went to in New York city?"

I cracked open an eye and looked at Laura. "Yes," I said carefully.

"We're going back," Laura said. "And this time you'll be the one wearing almost nothing but a collar and a leash."

"Damn it, Laura. You've caught me in a moment of weakness," I sighed.

"I've been laying in wait for a long time, Jubes. I'm a predator, remember?"

Laura

Bobby gave us a name and a phone number for Jesse's contact in Denver. Just after we landed at Buckley Air Force Base, a quick internet contact with the DEA gave us access to a computer file filled with more information.

After that, it was just a matter of following leads.

Jubilation

The neighborhood wasn't the best. The house we were standing outside of could have used some paint and a new roof. The few people I could see on the street made a point of walking directly to where they were going, without looking anywhere but straight ahead.

"We're here to see Joey Terrazas," I said. Then I popped my bubblegum.

I'd ditched the Agent Scully look. Since it was well after sunset, I didn't have to worry about exposure to daylight. So now I was wearing a purple tube-top, metallic-gold shorts, and a pair of calf-length, high-heel boots. A tiny, plastic, purse finished off my ensemble. Laura was all in black - bustier, shorts, fishnet stockings, and a pair of combat boots.

In other words, we were a monument to scantily-clad bad-taste. To be even more blunt about it, we looked like a pair of seventeen-year-old hookers. It's amazing how much tart-wear you can find in a typical second-hand store.

Look, it was a disguise. According to the DEA, Jose Terrazas liked 'em young. Also, Terrazas was known to be pretty slippery and I wanted to make sure we actually got to see him in person before any badges were flashed. Otherwise, me might find ourselves empty-handed while Terrazas headed for the hills. Literally. He apparently had a number of hideouts in the mountains west of Denver. Yeah, we'd track him down eventually, but time was an issue.

The guy watching the front door was in his twenties, but the amount of extra weight he was carrying suggested that he would probably die of a heart-attack well before he turned fifty. He frowned at us as he dug a cellphone out of his pants.

"Jose?" he said into his phone. "Did you call for some girls?"

Then he frowned as he heard the response. "Yeah... two of them. A Chinese chica and a Goth-looking babe. Both are kind of cute. If you don't want 'em, I'll take 'em."

There was more from the phone.

"Who sent you?" the fat guy asked us.

I sighed and yanked my tube-top down to my stomach. "Look, is Terrazas here or is he somewhere else?"

The fat guy went kind of cross-eyed in surprise. "Uh... he's here..." he said unevenly.

Laura did a very precise high-kick that caught the fat guy right under his chin. He went down immediately.

"Ouch," I said as I reset my tube-top. Meanwhile, Laura grabbed the fat guy, hauled him off to the side, and did a quick check of his vitals.

"Fractured mandible. He'll live," Laura said tersely as she popped her claws. Meanwhile, I opened the door the fat guy had been blocking.

Inside the front room was a fairly typical distributing operation. The only person not weighing product and filling bags was Terrazas himself. Except for Terrazas, everyone working there was an elderly woman. They're good workers and easier to control. Terrazas looked just like his last mugshot - big, ugly, a shaved head, and a scatter of jailyard tattoos on his face, neck, and hands.

Terrazas still had his phone to his ear. "Hello? Miguel?" he was saying into it. He looked deeply surprised when he saw us. Particularly Laura, since she had her claws out.

I grabbed Terrazas by one arm and swung him around until he slammed face-first into a wall. His phone and some of his teeth when flying. After plucking an automatic pistol out of his pants and snapping off the hammer, I put him into a headlock.

Laura was alert for any additional armed men, but the only thing we were facing was a half-dozen wide-eyed grandmothers.

"Ladies," Laura announced calmly. "The police will be here soon. Please divide any loose money up among yourselves and leave."

Laura

The ladies cooperated, although I did have to supervise the division of the cash after some disagreements broke out.

Just before she left, a sharp-faced women told me that I would never find a nice man if I insisted on dressing like a puta.

Jubes thought that was very funny. Which was more than a little irritating. She's the one who always wants us to dress that way.

Jubilation

Laura was talking with the last of the old ladies - it seems she didn't like how we were dressed.

"She makes me do this all the time!" I called out to the lady, doing my best to look violated.

Laura shot me an exasperated look.

Eventually the woman left, which left us alone with Terrazas.

Once he floundered his way back into consciousness, Terrazas tried to break loose, but that didn't fly. I'm a lot stronger than I look.

"Jesse Harding," I said slowly and clearly to him.

Terrazas spat a curse at us.

Laura shook her head and inserted the tip of one of her claws into Terrazas' left nostril. His eyes went wide.

"We're looking for Jesse Harding," I said.

"He's not here!" Terrazas gasped carefully, his eyes locked on Laura's clawed hand.

"We know you've talked to him," I lied. Letting Laura keep control of Terrazas, I released him and then stepped away so I could look Terrazas in the eyes.

Deep into his eyes.

Mesmerism is a vampiric talent that took me a long time to master. However, it can come in very handy. And it works best on people who've already given away their souls.

Apparently Terrazas met the qualification. He froze as our gaze met. And his will slowly leaked away and became mine.

"Jesse has something he wants to sell," Terrazas told us, his voice a monotone. "He was looking for an Asian contact. I'm supposed to get a commission if the deal goes through."

"What's he selling?" I asked.

"A mutant girl."

Laura

It was obvious that Jesse would eventually betray anyone who made the mistake of trusting him, but this was remarkable even for him.

I've noticed that Jubes doesn't use her more subtle vampiric abilities unless she has to. I think some of her control slips if she does that too often. The fact that she was willing to use mesmerism meant that she was getting worried.

Jubilation

The details were depressingly obvious. Jesse didn't really know what Alex was worth - his asking price was ludicrously low - but he undoubtedly thought he'd hit the big-time.

The problem was, he was right. Jesse was wandering into a realm so big-time that guys like him could get killed just as an afterthought. Jesse almost certainly wouldn't survive the transaction he was proposing. He'd end up being just a loose-end that needed to be cleaned up.

"Do you know where Jesse and the girl are?" I asked.

"A hotel on east Colfax," Terrazas continued tonelessly. his eyes still locked with mine. "Just before you get to Aurora. It's called the Covered Wagon Inn."

"When's the deal going to happen?"

"Tonight - ten o'clock. Jesse is supposed to drug the girl and some guys from the west coast are flying in to pick her up."

"Who's Jesse dealing with?"

"The Snow Tiger Triad. They're out of San Francisco. But..."

Then Terrazas hesitated - which was impressive given how deeply I had him under my control.

"But?" I probed.

"The word is that the Snow Tiger is really just a front for the Hand," Terrazas finished slowly.

Laura

Ninjas.

This will be interesting.

Jubilation

We handcuffed Terrazas and the fat guy to a support post on the porch and made a quick call to the cops.

"Post bail and then run," I told Terrazas after he came to his senses. "Run and don't ever stop. If the Hand figures out that you ruined their deal and catches up to you, they'll make an example of you. Believe me, you don't want that."

That was the best we could do for him. It was after nine and we had to get to Jesse and Alex before the Hand showed up.

As Laura drove, I made a call for reinforcements. SHIELD wasn't who I called first.

"None of the X-teams are able to get here in time," I told Laura. "But SHIELD is sending a tactical team from Fort Carson."

Laura shook her head. "They won't show up in time. It's just us."

I nodded. Calling the just-plain cops also wasn't an option. The Hand would slaughter them.

Laura

The motel was two stories tall and consisted of about two dozen rooms bordering an "L"-shaped parking lot. We parked the car on the street and walked into the parking lot.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The air stank of automobiles, decayed concrete, cleaning ammonia, and desperation. The motel was a place where people who didn't have many options spent the night. However, I quickly tagged Alexandra's scent. I'd met her before, when she was younger. She smelled like a tigerish human who had a taste for cinnamon toast and very rare beef.

After doing a quick scan of the rooms, I told Laura, "Second floor. Room twenty-one."

Laura nodded slowly as she carefully examined our surroundings. My senses are better, but hers are quite good. Vampires are adequate predators, and Jubilation is better than most of her kind.

Unfortunately, the Hand is also very good at what they do. I couldn't tell if they were present - and neither could Jubes. We probably wouldn't have much warning until they appeared.

As we began walking up the stairs, I could see the manager peering at us from the motel office. He was an older Indian man who was obviously unhappy at the presence of two young and under-dressed girls on his property. Using my body as best I could to cover what I was doing, I flashed my claws at him. He blinked and retreated from the window. There were so many ways that the situation could become violent. I didn't want him to be caught in what was coming.

Jubilation

I suppose I should have been mad at Laura for snickting the motel manager. After all, she might have blown our cover. But I didn't want the manager to get killed. I'm SHIELD. I'm supposed to defend people who can't defend themselves.

That's one hell of a job description for one of the undead, but life throws you some oddball curves. Suppose, a long time ago, I hadn't followed Ororo, Betsy, Rogue, and Blair back from that shopping mall where we'd first met?

Some would say that I might have been better off if I'd done just that. For one thing, I wouldn't have become a vampire. But that also meant I wouldn't have become Wolvie's friend and partner - which is really important to me.

Also, it's more than a little likely that I would have ended up dead pretty quickly. Anti-mutant feelings were in a lull back then. Today, it's all but impossible to imagine a thirteen year old mutant runaway doing lightshows in shopping malls for spare change. Pretty soon after that, things got seriously nasty and they've never really calmed down. If I had stayed where I was, the odds are pretty good that within a year or so I would have been picked off by someone. The list of possibile bad-guys was pretty long - it ranged all the way from Apocalypse down to the local neo-Purist street-gang.

We moved down the concrete walkway that connected the second-story rooms. At the door to room twenty-one, Laura and I paused and looked at each other.

We could tell that there were two people in the room.

But there was something else in the air. A distinctive chemical tang. And through the door, we could hear Alex's soft and steady breathing, while Jesse was anxiously pacing the floor.

Laura

"Alex has been drugged," I told Jubes. I could smell the heroin - lots of it. That's what it would take to knock Alex out.

Jubes looked at me. "Nothing fancy or tricky. We get Alex out of there. Take Jesse down, but don't hurt him"

Then she paused. "We'll leave Jesse behind," she added.

I could hear the regret in her voice, but it was the best move. Jesse's relationship with Alex made keeping the two of them together very problematic.

Jubes kicked the door open.

Jubilation

The doorknob and splintered wood from the frame went flying as the door crashed open.

Jesse stumbled backwards, away from the door, his eyes wide in shock. After hearing so much about Jesse, it was strange to finally get a look at him. You know what? He didn't look particularly evil. He just looked like a seventeen year old kid who had no clue that he was way out of his league.

Laura flowed past me, crouched low and moving very fast - like a leopard on the hunt. Jesse didn't even manage to draw the semi-automatic pistol he had in his belt. Laura piled into him, knocking Jesse flat. Then she drew his handgun herself and pitched it across the room.

Alex was laying on the rumpled bed, wearing nothing but a huge pair of Hello Kitty panties. I hurried over to her.

One look at Alex and you knew she wasn't the girl next door. Her hair was long and honey blonde, but had dark, linear highlights that weren't the result of hair-dye. She was over six foot tall and had a powerful build that was characterized by strongly defined muscles. If I had to guess, she was almost two hundred pounds in weight - and all of that was muscle. Seen from the back, you probably wouldn't even realize that she was a girl. You'd think she was a promisingly huge high school jock.

Alex's eyes flickered open as I sat next to her on the edge of the bed. They were dazed, dilated, and a strange shade of light brown that wandered close to being orange.

At first, Alex just blinked at me as she tried to focus. Then she smiled distantly.

"Miss Lee?" she asked.

"Hi, sweetie," I replied gently. "Yeah, it's me. Can you get up?"

Frowning in concentration, Alex then tried to sit up. A hand almost twice the size of mine grabbed my shoulder. The fingertip claws that were one of Alex's biggest secrets were still sheathed. I tried not to imagine what would happen if she suddenly extended them.

Behind us, Laura kept Jesse under control, with a hand firmly over his mouth. She was dragging him into the bathroom. I tensed as he let out a muffled moan, but Alex was so far gone that she didn't seem to notice.

I slipped an arm around Alex's body. Her body temperature was way up. I knew what that meant. Her healing factor was fighting the heroin. Then I hauled Alex up into a sitting position. Alex made a sound of protest and closed her eyes as she slumped against me. Even vampire-strong, that almost unbalanced me.

"Alex, honey, please listen to me," I begged. "We're in trouble. People are coming for us. We've got to get out of here."

Laura

Killing Jesse was not an option.

In fact, we didn't even want to hurt him. That might set off Alex.

I had landed a heel-hand punch on Jesse's temple that left him stunned. After dragging him into the bathroom, I kicked the door shut. Then I turned the sink and shower faucets on full. There was some shampoo on a shelf. I opened the bottle and hurriedly poured it into the tub.

I had Jesse out of sight and was masking his scent and any noise he might make. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best I could manage. I didn't want Alex to react instinctively to any stimuli involving him. The Hand might show up at any moment and we couldn't fight her and them simultaneously.

Jesse was stirring. I extended one of the claws of my right hand and put it in front of his eyes.

"We don't want you," I told him. "We just want Alexandra. Stay here and be quiet and you'll go free. Get in the way and SHIELD will make sure you spend the next twenty years in prison."

Jesse stared at me angrily, but said nothing. In his eyes, I could see calculation. Instead of being frightened, he was trying to figure out how to play the situation to his advantage.

I left the bathroom, closing the door behind me. Then I used a chair to wedge the door shut.

Jubilation

"Where's Jesse?" Alex asked as she blinked owlishly.

I winced to myself. Alex was finally on her feet. Even leaning on me for support, she towered over me. We were so close to completing the mission. All we had to do was get Alex out of the room, down the stairs, and across the parking lot to our car. That wasn't even two hundred feet.

"Jesse's okay," I told her reassuringly. "But we have to keep moving, Alex."

"H'okay, Miss Lee," she said dreamily.

Laura exited the bathroom and gave me a look that told me we didn't have much time. I kept Alex moving towards the door.

Then Laura frowned and quickly looped around to our side. She had her eyes on the room's door and window.

I knew what that meant.

Laura

They were very good. The Hand was almost on us before I caught a very faint scent of finely polished steel.

They were waiting for us to come out of the door.

Jubilation

I cursed softly to myself. All we'd needed was two more minutes!

I let go of Alex. She murmured something I couldn't make out as she collapsed bonelessly to the floor. Then I put myself between Alex and the door.

Laura

We had to go on the offensive.

I lunged through the window. Drapes and broken glass trailed after me as I appeared in the midst of the ninjas who were waiting for us outside.

As I decapitated the ninja who was actually behind the window, the ninja who was between the door and the window pivoted and lashed out with his weapon. As the hot blood of the dead ninja flooded over my hands and face, it mingled with a bright sensation of intense pain as a blade sank deep into my side.

Fast. They were very fast.

Jubilation

The hot and coppery scent of blood filled the air. It was like a slap in the face and I felt my fangs extend in response.

I could see that a ninja was in the gap between the door and the window. I saw the flash of his blade and heard Laura's sudden gasp of pain. And suddenly everything was visible only in shades of red.

Reaching through the door, I grabbed the ninja who'd just stabbed Laura by his shoulders and dragged him into the room. He quickly did a tricky reverse with his blade and thrust at me from behind. However, he misjudged my height and instead of spearing me through the upper chest, he grazed the side of my neck and sliced open my trapezoid muscle.

That was his last mistake. His neck snapped easily enough in my hands.

Laura

As Jubes dragged the ninja away from me and into the room, his blade slid loose from my side. That opened the wound even further and blood began pouring out.

I ignored that. It was within the parameters of what my healing factor could manage. Aside from the obvious advantages, there is also a subtle advantage to regeneration. Once you train yourself to not react to an injury, you can act decisively while your foe is instinctively waiting for you to hesitate.

There was a whisper of movement from my right side and I immediately threw a chest-high punch in that direction. It wasn't a very artful attack, but the ninja couldn't afford to ignore my hand-blades. He parried that blow easily enough, but missed the follow-up foot-sweep that was the real attack. I caught the femoral artery of his right leg and a spray of blood jetted out.

Like a good ninja, he ignored his impending death and came at me - trying to complete his mission. But he misjudged the stability of the leg that I'd just wounded and lost a precious fraction of a second trying to recover his balance. I slapped his blade to one side and removed his hand. Both the blade and his hand flew over the walkway railing and down to the parking lot below. A left-hand thrust penetrated his skull through his eyes, and I was free to deal with other prey.

Jubilation

Blood. Oh God, there was so much blood. I was starting to shiver in reaction to it all.

The dead ninja in my arms was still quivering. Swallowing hard to control myself, I threw the ninja through the doorway. There was a quick set of silver flashes as shuriken impacted into the body. They came from off to the left, which was the other side from where Laura was fighting.

Fundamentally, I'm not very good at misting. There are vampires - like that bastard Dracula - who can do it almost instinctively. However, I'm getting steadily better. And I needed to get past the door without making myself a target.

In mist form, I flowed out the door. By my count, we had three dead ninja, but I knew there were more of them in the area.

The ninja with the shuriken was readying more of them. He had his eyes on Laura and didn't notice me. I quickly flowed past him at ankle height. Then I rematerialized behind him.

Four dead ninja.

Laura

There was almost certainly a fifth ninja - the Hand usually deploys in groups of five. I put my back to the wall and scanned for him.

Something hit the walkway between Jubes and I and exploded.

It was a flash-bang grenade. I was immediately blinded and stunned.

Jubilation

He was on the roof, just above the room. But I couldn't do anything about it because the grenade had knocked me for a loop. I couldn't see or hear properly, my reactions were sluggish, and the half of my body that had been facing the grenade felt scorched.

I tried to mist, but I was too distracted. I couldn't do it.

Through the soles of my feet, I felt the thump of something landing on the walkway, right next to me. I lunged backwards, just before I felt the whisper of a quick-moving blade in front of my face. Instead of getting decapitated, I ended up flat on my back. Still blinded, I immediately somersaulted backwards.

Laura

The wound in my side hadn't closed yet, and that was slowing me down, but Jubes was in trouble. Even through the confusing array of input all around me, I could tell there was a moving target on the walkway, and that he was attacking Jubes. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good lock on his location.

The only thing to do was throw myself in Jubes' direction. Hopefully, I'd catch our attacker before he realized that I was on the move.

I took a few rapid steps and ran into something big and solid that was now blocking the walkway.

Jubilation

I kept scrambling backward as my vision slowly cleared. I was falling back along the walkway, but the sword blow that would end me never seemed to come.

Then my vision cleared and I could finally see what was happening.

Alex was standing outside the doorway to the room. She still looked dopey and confused, but at least she was on her feet. And she had the ninja by the back of his neck. She was holding him in the air at arm's length and was shaking him like a doll.

It was hard to tell because of the red hood that the Hand wears, but the ninja looked pretty surprised. Alex's attack was more powerful than sophisticated. Bits and pieces of ninja gear was flying out of the ninja's outfit as she shook him - a pair of shuriken, a dagger, another grenade, and a length of garrote wire clattered to the deck of the walkway.

Then Laura, with her claws out and blindly rushing forward into the fight, smacked right into Alex.

Alex screamed something rude and threw the ninja over the rail and out into the parking lot. He kind of splatted when he hit. Maybe he wasn't dead, but he was definitely out of the fight.

I ignored the damned ninja. He could leave and live, or stay and die, it was his choice.

Scrambling to my feet, I ran toward my girls.

Laura

I only stabbed Alex a little.

"Dammit shit fuck OUCH!" Alex yelled as she pitched the half-concious ninja down onto the parking lot.

I winced as I carefully retracted my claws. Fortunately, Alex could regenerate. She would be fine.

Alex gave me a dazed look. "Aunt Laura? Whyd'ja stab me?"

"Sorry," I said as I tried to get my eyes to focus. "Sorry, I couldn't see and I didn't know you were in the fight. Sorry."

Jubes ran over - jumping over the body of one of the dead ninjas - to check on us.

I kept an eye on the ninja that Alex had thrown over the railing. He staggered to his feet, dazedly flipped us off, and then limped away. He was using his sword as a cane.

All in all, that part of the fight really wasn't that professional. I felt bad about that.

Then the Hand backup team - five more ninjas - came at us.

Jubilation

I can remember Logan telling me about Hand tactics around the time of my fifteenth birthday.

The Hand has practices that are older than Western civilization. One of them is the two-team operation. Five ninjas do the actual attack, while five more hang back to isolate the kill-zone and watch for enemy reinforcements. With all due respect to ancient tradition, it strikes me as a dumb idea. If I were the Hand, I'd just hit the target with all of my guys at once.

The Hand also has a problem with losing fights - they don't think that's going to happen. So they always figure the first team will do the job. And in the highly unlikely event the first guys need help, the support team reinforces as necessary. But in this case, we'd wrecked the first guys so fast that the backup was actually just a second-wave attack.

So now we had two ninjas jumping down from the roof, two running along the walkway towards Jubes, and a fifth climbing up towards us on a walkway support column.

One of the guys from the roof dropped right on top of Alex.

Big mistake. Alex sort of turned into a blender. Red Hand robes and red Hand flesh and blood started flying in all directions.

Laura

Alex was a ferocious fighter, but not an experienced one. As a result, she was taking too much time with the ninja who'd jumped her. Although not dead, he was out of the fight. However, Alex was still preoccupied with him.

Another flash-bang grenade flew towards us, but this time I saw it coming. I back-handed it away - and towards the two ninjas who were running towards Jubes. It detonated just behind them.

The ninja who had been climbing up the column poked his head over the railing. He was obviously hoping that I hadn't seen him.

I cut his throat.

Jubilation

The two ninjas rushing me were stunned by their own grenade, but I didn't get off scott-free. I was woozy (again!) from the shock and there were sparkling white flashes in front of my eyes. For just a split second, that reminded me of my long-lost plasmoid pafs.

Grabbing the walkway rail, I used it as support to vault feet-first into the ninjas. They had their blades up defensively as they tried to gather their senses. I accepted a nasty slash on my right leg as I kicked one of them in the face. Something crunched, his black-and-red mask deformed badly, and then he collapsed.

Laura

The last ninja on the roof dove for me.

I dodged, but it wasn't necessary. Alex had grabbed the ninja's foot in mid-air. With an angry hiss, she swung him around and smashed him against the walkway rail. Both the rail and the ninja's back deformed. Then Alex picked the ninja up and threw him back onto the roof. A thin drizzle of blood flowed down the roof tiles and began spattering onto the walkway.

Jubilation

The last ninja thrust at me. I was too close to dodge, so I tried to catch the blade between my side and my arm. It sort of worked, but the blade rammed through my bicep, grating along the bone of my upper arm. I grabbed both of the ninja's hands, stomped on his leading foot, and went in for a head butt.

He beat me to it. My head recoiled back and suddenly I was blearily seeing white again.

Okay, maybe the ninja was actually a better fighter than me. But he definitely wasn't stronger than me. I spun him around and pinned him against the wall. And, yes, that the hurt like hell with his sword still stuck in my arm.

By then I was hurt, disoriented, and there was too much blood in the air.

I went for the ninja's throat with my teeth.

Suddenly, Laura was there. She slapped me on the side of my head - hard. That made me miss my bite.

Then Laura slammed her clawed fist over my shoulder and deep into the ninja's chest as she simultaneously yanked me away.

Gritting my teeth in pain, I dragged the sword out of my arm. Collapsing into the puddle of ninja blood, it was all I could do to not begin licking it from the concrete deck.

Laura picked me up and held me until I came back to myself.

Laura always picks me up.

Laura

Alex came over and grabbed us both.

"C'mon, c'mon, we gotta get out of her! The cops are going to show!" she said frantically. Then she began dragging us to the stairs.

"Dammit, Alex, get your boobs out of my face," Jubes gasped. "I'm suffocating here."

That was the truth. Alex is much taller than either Jubes or I, and she was almost naked. And she was holding us very close as she hauled us away.

She didn't ask about Jesse.

Jubilation

On the drive back to Buckley Air Force Base, my phone rang. My hand was still shaking a little as I put it to my ear. There was a deep voice on the other end.

"Agent Lee? This is Agent Coulson from Fort Carson tactical. We finally showed up at the motel. Sorry we were late."

I was bit surprised to be talking to Phil's boy. I didn't know until then that he was in Colorado Springs.

"Hey, Agent Coulson, don't feel bad. Everything developed pretty quick - you would have needed to teleport to get there in time. Sorry I didn't get back to you, but right now we're moving our principal to safety."

"That's okay, Agent Lee. We're basically just sorting out the mess. And it's a really impressive mess. We've got seven dead ninjas and blood trail indicating that three more crawled away. We also have some scared motel guests and a motel owner who tells me that a bunch of vicious girls dressed like hookers got into a fight with what he calls 'the bad guys from Japanese movies'. Oh - and we have a prisoner."

"What about him?" I asked, careful not to use any names. Alex was in the backseat of the car. She was still wearing nothing but her panties as she stared dejectedly out the window. She'd finally burned through the heroin and was more-or-less herself again. But the white noise generator on my phone made sure that even with her superb hearing, Alex couldn't make out what Coulson was telling me.

"We have that kid you mentioned - Jesse Harding," Coulson said. "What do you want us to do with him?"

That made me pause.

The simple answer was to have Coulson just let Jesse go. The Hand wasn't going to be happy with what had happened and they would want to have a talk with Jesse. The odds of him surviving that "talk" were pretty low.

You could make a pretty good argument that Jesse deserved that. And that would definitely get Jesse out of Alex's life. In fact, it would get him out of everybody's life.

But...

It's like this: years ago, I came back from one of my first missions for SHIELD and got in touch with Logan. I told him that I needed to talk with him.

Once we were alone, I told Logan that I'd killed somebody on my most recent mission.

Logan asked me if I was sure that it was necessary. I said yes - and that was true. Innocent people would have died if I hadn't killed that guy. Then we talked about the details of what happened. After I was done, Logan told me that I'd done the right thing. Those words meant the world to me.

Of course, I also saw something die in Logan's eyes when I told him that I was now a killer. He didn't want that. He didn't want it at all.

Ever since then, I've tried to be... careful.

Besides, we really couldn't bring Jesse in on any of the charges related to Alex. For their own safety, we were going to have to make Alex and her mom disappear again. They wouldn't be available to testify at a trial.

"Hold him for twenty-four hours," I quietly told Coulson. "Make sure he understands how much danger he's in. Then drop him wherever he wants."

I felt uneasy as I switched off my phone.

Jesse's luck seemed to be holding up.

Laura

I hoped Alex had seen the last of Jesse.

When my eyes met Jesse's in the motel bathroom... what I saw there still bothered me. No soul. No conscience. What Jesse was doing to Alex didn't bother him. And he'd been skillful enough of a liar to fool Alex - a girl with enhanced senses - for months.

I was worried that we were underestimating him.

Jubilation

Back at Buckley Air Force Base, the officer in charge let us wash up in one of the barracks. A hot shower was like a slice of heaven. The mess-hall was closed, but a sergeant called up his wife and she brought over some sandwiches.

Laura ate with her usual efficiency. I didn't have anything, of course.

Alex didn't seem to be hungry. She sat in a chair that was too small for her, dressed in a spare set of fatigues that were also too small for her, nibbling listlessly at a sandwich.

We'd told Alex what was going on as we drove back to the base. She didn't want to believe it, but I could tell that she actually did. You can only blind yourself to someone else's flaws for so long.

"What will happen to Jesse?" Alex finally asked us as she stared into her coffee cup.

"I'm not sure," I said. That was the polite way of saying that she'd never see him again if I had anything to say about it.

"Was he really going to sell me to those guys?" Alex continued.

Laura and I both nodded. It wasn't the first time she'd asked that question. But it ended up being the last.

Alex wasn't a loud and messy crier, but she finally began sniffling.

The sergeant's wife filled up our coffee cups and gave Alex a long and concerned look.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Alex just shook her head as she wiped her tears away.

"Broken heart," I quietly told the sergeant's wife.

She gave me an understanding nod.

Laura

We were flying back to New York.

Alex and Mrs. Strella were in SHIELD custody. They would have to be moved from Lander. SHIELD didn't dare assume that their cover wasn't blown.

Hopefully, the rift between Alex and Mrs. Strella could be repaired. I thought that might be possible, but I'm not good at understanding that sort of thing. Alex certainly seemed to know that trusting Jesse and leaving her home and mother had been a mistake. Perhaps she would learn from that. Perhaps admitting that to herself would help.

Jubes was in the very back of the aircraft. We were in a SHIELD cargo plane - a C-130. She was keeping herself as far away from the crew as possible, in the darkest shadows of the cargo bay, at the very back of the aircraft.

Despite the darkness, I could see Jubes clearly. She was slumped against the fuselage, a bottle of blood substitute in her hands. She looked exhausted. The stress of the mission - all of the blood and all of the violence - had hit her hard.

I sat down next to her. Then I took the bottle from Jubes' hands, screwed the cap back on, and tossed it off to the side.

Jubes curled up against me, her arms around my body. She was shaking slightly.

Something had to be done.

I unbuttoned my blouse and unbuckled my pants. Then I kicked off my boots. Jubes nuzzled her way even closer to me. Her hand slipped inside my shirt and up against my stomach, a thumb brushing up against the underside of one of my breasts. Then I felt her gently kiss me just below my ear.

"Go ahead," I told her very quietly.

In the darkness, Jubes' eyes went hot and red and there was a white flash of fangs.

Afterwards

Jesse couldn't believe his luck.

When those SHIELD assholes told him he could go anywhere he wanted, Jesse was sure it was some kind of a trick. Just for a laugh, he told them he wanted to go to Hawaii.

The next day, a SHIELD jet dropped Jesse off at Honolulu International Airport. Then the SHIELD agent who was his escort told Jesse that it would be best if he cleaned up his act, got a job, and lived a quiet life. Otherwise, the big bad Hand would find him.

Jesse gave the SHIELD agent his favorite talking-to-authority smile. It was just this side of a smirk, not enough to give the other guy an excuse to do anything, while wordlessly letting him know what Jesse really thought of what he was saying.

Then Jesse sauntered away - as free as a bird.

He spent the next few weeks robbing tourists on the beach - Jesse discovered pretty quickly that people on vacation tended to be careless with their valuables. Jesse wasn't exactly getting rich, and so far he was spending his nights sleeping on the beach, but he was getting by. He was even beginning to build up some operating capital.

The future was filled with possibilities. The plan was to eventually figure out the local trafficking scene, and get to know the key players. Then he would find himself a niche. That was where the real money was.

And maybe, just maybe, there was still a way to make a buck off of Alex. Surely she hadn't gone back to Lander - SHIELD would find a new place for her and her mom to live. But the fact she simply existed might be valuable information to someone. And maybe he could figure out where Alex and her mom had been moved to. That was an ace in the hole that Jesse had every hope of playing some day.

The only problem so far had been a dustup with the police a few days ago. The cops were wise to the recent uptick in beach robberies. A bike cop stopped Jesse and asked him some questions. But Jesse was a good liar and had a habit to never carry anything incriminating on him unless it was absolutely necessary. So the goods Jesse hadn't been able to fence yet were carefully stashed elsewhere. Jesse gave the cop a story about being a mainland kid on vacation and the cop bought it.

Of course, if that cop had filed a report, that meant Jesse's name was now in the system.

It occurred to Jesse that maybe he should shop around for a new ID. And maybe he should have done that right after he arrived - before he had that talk with the cop.

Whatever. He'd take care of it tomorrow.

Right now, he was going to relax and enjoy another night on the beach. The weather was perfect. He'd get a few hours of sleep and then check out some of the late-night parties. A couple of the local beach honeys were beginning to notice him. It was just a matter of time until he got lucky. Jesse had always had a talent with girls. It was just a matter of telling them what they wanted to hear.

Smiling up into the night sky, Jesse dozed off.

An hour later, something woke Jesse up.

A huge guy was sitting in the sand next to Jesse. He seemed to be watching the waves.

"Hi, Jesse," the giant rumbled. He didn't bother to look at Jesse.

"Do I know you?" Jesse asked cautiously - just to keep the big guy talking. He was pretty sure the big guy was looking for a hookup, but Jesse wasn't into that.

"Nah," said the giant as he kept staring at the waves. "We ain't never met. My name is Creed. Victor Creed."

The name didn't mean anything to Jesse, but he had the feeling that it should.

"But you know my daughter," the giant added. "You tried to sell her."

Jesse scrambled to his feet and took off at a dead run.

Sabertooth didn't move. He just kept watching the waves.

He wanted Jesse to have a head start.