Pack Hunters

"I'm Kitty's Boyfriend", the words continued to echo in my head. What was it that I was afraid of? Why didn't I like this guy? He seemed proper to me a perfect gentleman but then a gentleman won't invade the thoughts of the people around him. Is that why I didn't like him because he had tried to read my mind, see my memories, read my thoughts?

No, there was something about him that wasn't right. I wasn't a telepath but I could read a person well enough, I unlike others didn't need mind tricks to get to know a person and if anyone wanted to get to know me then they wouldn't do so by invading my thoughts and with that I brought up my veil to hide my thoughts.

The effect was immediate, the smile that he had been sporting until now disappeared to be replaced with a slight frown and brows furrowed in confusion. He couldn't see past the veil or should I say the memories the memories of all those people that I had absorbed over a period of time, those memories acted as a shield to protect my own thoughts and mind. The Disadvantage of being a telepath you start off with reading the memories floating at the surface and then make it to the core and before I knew it my fake smile had been replaced by a smirk of self satisfaction.

"What's it Rogue", asked Kitty her arm wrapped around her boyfriend's waist. She wasn't sporting a smile rather a questioning look. I knew what it was about, she wanted to figure out if approved of the guy or not and I the hell didn't know what to say so that's what I did.

"I don't know what to say Kit", I said as I walked towards her and opened my arms inviting her for a hug. She took the cue and walked away from Sean and into my arms. "I'm happy for you" I said in her ear "as long as you are happy." I wanted to be honest to her but at the same time I didn't want to disrupt her relationship on the account of what I thought and felt.

"Kitty speaks very highly of you" said Sean as Kitty and I held each other our arms wrapped around the other's waist. "She always spoke about how you were such a good friend to her, how much you cared and looked out for her even though she irritated the hell out of you and got you into trouble." He said with a glimmer in his eye when he spoke and looked at Kitty. I knew he liked her genuinely but there was something not right about him and that I definitely knew.

"Honestly speaking, when Kitty introduced us a moment back, I was taken aback" he said "And why is that" came a cutting retort from Gambit who had been standing in the corner with a wry smile on his face. "Well forgive me" Sean said with a smirk, "but I was expecting someone in Punk rock clothes and dark makeup" and then he looked at me "nothing on the contrary I suppose." I plainly nodded and looked at Kitty her face glowing, eyes sparkling with admiration for this guy I had no idea about but then five minutes wasn't enough time to get to know a person and you were bound to not like that guy if he invaded your thoughts. I looked at him one last time and I knew why I didn't like this guy, his eyes didn't reflect his soul.

I instantly knew that Rogue didn't like Sean. I know I hadn't seen her in a very long time but I could still read her somewhat. Although never a social person, there were only a few people Rogue didn't like. Her words although soft and full of warmth couldn't hide what she was feeling at the moment. She only wanted me to be happy.

I knew she wasn't comfortable in his presence and she and Gambit both needed to rest for sometime in peace. "Sean I think we should hurry if we need to get to the Capital building in time." I said to Sean while I stood besides rogue holding her close with my arm around her.

He simply nodded took his suit sheath from the sofa and headed to the bedroom, when he was out of sight I stood facing Rogue and held my hand towards her or should I say the finger tip of my index finger. She understood the gesture and raised her own hand, which I was shocked to see was bare.

She smiled when she saw the shock on my face and before I could say anything I felt as If I had touched a live wire, I felt as if every nerve in my body had just been mildly tasered followed by a dip in ice cold water but just as the feeling had come it had gone quickly.

When I opened my eyes; Rogue was standing before me, her face blank. She knew that I knew what was going on in her mind but then she sent my way a reassuring smile. The one she always gave me to tell me that whatever I did she was right behind me.

We were getting late. I knew this detour would put us behind on our schedule but it had completely thrown us off our schedule. I looked at the two girls, yes, girls. At the end of the day I had realised no matter how many years had passed they were still girls.

Rogue had taken quickly to the harsh living conditions that our job had forced her to live in. I mean the life of a spy/agent wasn't exactly comfortable. Can't stay at the same place for a long period of time, can't live without looking over your shoulder. Become too complacent and that's equivalent to inviting an assassination. No, life hadn't been easy but if there was something that had come out of it, it was their relationship.

He had never thought of himself as someone who could commit himself without being selfish but that's what had exactly happened he would give his life for Rogue and he knew she would do the same. She could have gone anywhere when she ran from Xavier's but she chose to come to him and live life with him. She knew he'd make her happy and so did he but he had never realised that it'd become difficult for him to be separated from her.

He looked at them with a genuine smile, his crimson eyes sparkling with an inner fire. "Yo Swamp rat. Ah think it's time we make a move." She said with that smile on her face that I'd fallen in love with.

I was glad that she was the one to bring it up. I was getting worried. The guy we were working for was an ex-SHIELD agent or that's what I had managed to find out and we were carrying sensitive information for him or should I say Rogue was carrying that information.

"Wait." Kitty said with her eyebrow arched and her arms folded, she looked pissed for some reason. "You are going" she asked, definitely pissed. Rogue sighed and walked up to her. She put her hands on her shoulders trying to calm her but Kitty was pissed, "I thought you'd stay" she said while moving away from Rogue. "You disappear in the middle of the night, Fine. You show up Five years later, Good but going off again to God knows where. NO." She said through her teeth. "This time you aren't disappearing or going off anywhere on your own" the petite valley girl said with her finger pointing at Rogue.

"Kit" Rogue said softly as Kitty walked to her room to get ready and before closing the door she turned and said with a threatening look, "And this time if you leave behind my back, I'm going to hunt you down and kick your ass." And I just couldn't help myself, I tried to reel myself in but I ended up laughing trying to masquerade it as a cough. I continued to laugh and snort at the valley girl's threat and not before long Rogue's tinkling laughter joined in and we both fell on the couch.

We knew she was serious but for some reason it just didn't seem right, a petite valley girl kicking my ass the imagery had made me laugh no matter how lame it seemed. "That's a fiery belle you have for a friend mon cherie." I said in between laughs. She just smiled thinking over the fact of how lucky she was to have such a friend even after such a long time.

When the laughing bout passed I decided to speak to Kitty to try and convince her that it was important for us to leave and I was about to move to her when my cellular rang. Shit! I cursed knowing that it was probably the contact calling to tell us that we could kiss half our fee good bye.

I took out my cell and looked at the caller ID, Jacob Blanc. Why in the world was he calling? Maybe the contact had informed him that we hadn't reached at the reconnaissance point as yet. After all Jacob was the one who brought in the customers and jobs for us. Rogue looked at me questioningly, "Jacob" was all that I said and I proceeded to the balcony to attend the call.

With the balcony doors closed behind me I took the call but before I could say anything, "You are running behind schedule." was what greeted me. Busted, this was the last time I ever took a detour that had plans involving a reunion between two best friends. "Jacob. Long time..." I said trying to sound enthusiastic but even before I could take off he shot me down, "Never mind and now listen carefully. You no longer need to come to Boston. Instead head for Manhattan. Once you reach there. Give me a call and I'll tell you the time and place for the drop." I didn't know what to say; rarely did the rendezvous point change. "Uhn, Sure. We will be there with the information. "Keep it. Your previous customer was killed in his bed. No use for that information, sell it to an information broker and get some money. Know what...I'll see you in about a week." And with that he hung up.

Jacob was The Man, he was a middle man but foremost he was an information broker. The reason he asked me to sell this information to someone else was because he knew he'd get the info from me anyways. He had just given us a chance to earn money as well as set us up with a new assignment as well as given us some time off.

He was like Colossus, hard on the outside and soft on the inside but if there was one thing you needed to take care of, it was the work you did. I went in to join rogue in the living room she had been waiting for me, she wanted to know why Jacob had called.

"So what did Jake say?" she asked. I sat down beside her and she kept her head in my lap. I ran my hand through her hair, I got lost in my thoughts as I continued to stare at her. She snapped her fingers before my eyes.

"Out with it Swamp Rat." She got up and sat cross legged beside me, "Well he said that our last contact has died and we are free to sell the info to anyone. Also he's asked us to meet up with him in Manhattan in a couple of days. So guess what?" but before I could complete the sentence.

"Oh my Gosh! You guys are staying then. Awesome." Kitty shouted happily from her doorway fully dressed in her black business suit, her hair up in an elegant knot and her coat hugging her curves at the right places. "Mon Dieu" and before I knew Rogue punched me on the shoulder. "It's not my fault if petite looks so good." I said with a smile playing on my lips, "Mon amour est magnifique." I said with adoration but this time I looked at the vision of simplicity in front of me.

Large brown eyes warm like melted milk chocolate. Had it not been for her, I would have always been a swamp rat I guess. Lost in a daze I was brought back to reality with a voice from behind me, "I guess you can come with us to Boston then." Sean said as he buttoned his coat.

I didn't like the guy. For one I couldn't make anything out of his emotions being a telepath he could hide his emotions well around an empath like me however mild my secondary mutation was; it was pretty useful when it came to judging and trusting people but a telepath was always risky business as they knew how to control their emotions around an empath.

I looked at Rogue for an answer and all she did was squeeze my hand. I looked at him with a passive face, nodded and gently smile in return. I just hope it ended well.

The drive to Boston took us a little over an hour and a half. I had slept of for the better part of an hour and I'm sure Remy had taken a nap as well; we were both very tired I guess. When I woke up we had already exited the Toll bridge and were nearing the city itself. Kitty and Sean were supposed to attend a meeting with the Head of Public Relations and a Research Scientist who worked for Biocorp, a company with its foundation deep in the fields of Bio-technology, Bacteriology and Genetics. If the rumours were to be believed, they had come up with a chemical that made the X-Gene dormant and a bio weapon that only infected mutants and killed them instantly.

If any one of the rumours was true then the company was prone to attack from not one but several mutant factions and the consequences might be worse than the Turtle Bay massacre. They didn't realise it yet but they could be the reason for an impending war.

We drove through the suburbs to the heart of the Financial District, the Prudential centre. Kitty seemed on the edge, she had the file in her hands tightly gripped and her lips were pursed in a thin line. She looked out of the window to distract herself, quietly taking in the sights not uttering a single word.

I had never seen her like this before. The kitty I knew was confident like hell and couldn't keep her mouth shut even in the tensest situations. She was a fighter and she still was but from what I could make out she had become more composed and not to mention quieter.

Sean pulled up in the parking lot of the Prudential centre from here on we were supposed to wait while they went for their meeting. Sean was the first to get out; he seemed pretty much the opposite of what Kitty was right now. He seemed at ease, not even a hint of nervousness.

Gambit put on his shades to hide his crimson on onyx eyes. Such precautions were mandatory now days, especially in public areas. We didn't want to spook them and cause a stampede that would end up killing people and then before you know it, we'd be blamed for it. Then one thing would lead to another and before you know it there's a full blown war that has broken out. No, precautions on our side were compulsory.

I followed him out and opened the door for Kit, who for some reason was still sitting in, lost in her thoughts.

"Come on Kit." I said trying to reassure her that everything was going to be fine. May be she just needed to be brought out of her thoughts, like a snap she was out of her trance. As she took in her surroundings she looked confounded as if she hadn't been there the entire journey.

"When did we reach here?" I looked at her stunned, "Kit we have been in the city for almost half an hour." "What?" she asked me, surprise written in bold across her face.

"Come on Kitty, we need to meet up with Hayden in about five minutes and you know how important punctuality is to him but Kitty couldn't make sense of anything. "I couldn't have spaced out." She said shaking her head trying to think everything over. "Not for that long." She looked pretty spaced out to me as if she had been absent throughout the journey.

"Kitty, come on." Sean said urgently as he came and stood beside her. He looked at her with what I could tell was worry, maybe he did care for her or maybe he was just worried about the fact that he'd be the only mutant attending the meeting. Either which way, he seemed worried.

"Come on Kitty." He said in a slightly deeper voice and his body going stiff, I could feel Kitty going rigid a well. What the hell was happening?

"What did you just do?" I asked Sean, my voice quivering I didn't know why. His voice changed back, "It's a telepathic technique that helps clear the mind." And the effect was immediate. Before my very own eyes I saw Kitty gain her composure and stand straight with a will to take anything head on.

"He draped an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, "You all right babe?" he asked her softly she took a moment too think before she nodded and then looked towards me trying to assure me that everything was fine.

"We'll meet you at the Starbucks down the street when we are free, probably in about an hour and a half but meetings like these do tend to take more time than anticipated." He sent one last smile towards us and steered her away to the Tower.

As Cajun came and stood beside me I watched them go, the tall man steering his petite companion down the busy street.

"Come on Cherie," said Remy a smile plastered across his face. "Let's take in the sights of this Up Town Street." And with that he kept a arm around my shoulders and I just couldn't help smiling as I walked down the street with King of Aces by my side.

As the two couples went their separate ways another figure hidden from sight previously, a girl probably in her late teens got out of her car. She wore a black business suit, her dark brown hair cut short with a flick above the right eye.

She walked with an air of confidence and followed Sean and Katherine to the Prudential Tower reception. She took out her cell phone and put it up to her ear to leave a quick voice message, "He's in sight and there are more with him."

She followed them into the grand foyer of the Tower and she headed to the reception desk of Biocorp, She tapped on the desk, "Excuse me." She said in a soft and pleasant voice. "Good Afternoon Ma'am. How may I help you?" asked the Receptionist.

"I'm here with Mr. Sean Shaw and Ms. Katherine Pryde who have an appointment with Mr. Hayden Matthews." The Receptionist checked her computer to prove the authenticity of my words and business.

She looked up at me with a smile, "Yes they were personally escorted a few minutes back by Mr. Matthews himself. Are you Ms. Isis Shaw" she asked me referring to her computer once again.

The girl nodded and slid her U.I.D. across the desk to prove authenticity, "Well then please wait her Ms. Shaw while I arrange for an escort." The receptionist said with a smile.

As she walked down the hall there was something about her that was different. She walked with confidence but her eyes were a different story. To put it simply she seemed lost, as if she wasn't there in person.

Author's Note:

I would like to apologise for the delay in posting. Again I'm posting this without getting it checked first by my Beta, but I'd get this across to her as well and then replace this chapter with the edited one. Thank you for bearing with me.

This chapter was kind of slow but I promise the next one is going to be worth it. Thank you for reading and please review.

OC's used.

Sean Shaw by me

Isis Shaw by deathbycupcakes

Jacob T. Blanc by Anonymous