Disclaimer: I don't own Sabertooth, Wolverine, nor do I own Canada or anything anybody else already owns.

Warning: Strong language in this chapter.

Chapter Four: Trouble in the Mine


"Come on Runt. That ain't even narrow," snapped Victor, as he frowned into the dark jumbles of rocks and broken lumber that was blocking the back of the mine. It'd collapsed during the night and they'd have to spend most the day fixing it.

"Yeah?" came Jim's cross voice, "Why don't you crawl through then? I'm telling you Vic, my shoulders are too broad to get all the way."

Behind Victor, Buck Miller chuckled and lifted the lantern a little higher. "The kid ain't so small no more is he?"

Victor frowned at Buck then looked back at his brother. "Jimmy, try go'n feet first," he suggested.

There was a scuffling in the dark as Jim turned around then he slid completely out of view. A splash of shallow water was followed by a disgusted shiver, "Blegh! Lot of cold water gathered back here, but Smitty was right. It only collapsed in that one spot, opens up again. Won't take long to repair"

"You need the lantern, Kid?" called Buck.

"I can see. Pass me some more lumber and I'll rebuild some supports this side, 'fore we start clearing this way."

"Yeh must have the eyes of an owl," muttered Buck then handed Victor the lantern, before turning to go back over to the shaft and get some wood.

"Jimmy?" called Victor, "Careful what yeh move 'round back there."

"Stop worrying 'bout me, Vic," came Jim's slightly irritated response.

It wasn't long before Buck came back and the ceiling on either side of the cave-in had been supported. Then they could start clearing out the rubble. Victor and Jim worked in the back, loading the dirt and stone into the pony carts, while Buck and the others worked at the shaft, heaving the rubble up out of the mine in buckets.

It was a small mine, one of many dotted over British Columbia, supplying coal to the Hudson Bay Company and Vancouver settlements. Low ceilings meant that most the men had to hunch and they were constantly plagued by water, ice and over-all dampness.

The cold weather and closed in space often discouraged the men from conversing much while they worked. However, this morning Victor seemed especially intent on a brooding, deliberate silence that was even moodier than usual. It was beginning to get on Jim's nerves.

Pushing his hair out of his face with a dirty hand Jim frowned at his brother as they worked, "What's wrong with you, Victor?" he finally asked, "You ain't hardly done noth'n but glare and growl all morning."

Victor's glare intensified and he slammed his shovel under the debris with more force than was necessary, "What's with you an Rose, Jimmy?" he finally growled.

Jim's face darkened. "What business is that o yers?"

"I saw yeh look'n at 'er and she blushes half the time yeh walk in the room," accused Victor.

Jim smirked and looked down at his shovel, "So what?" he asked coyly, "Ain't a crime fer a man te like a girl."

Victor stopped in his work and leaned close to Jim, poking a long-nailed finger at his chest. "You ain't a man, James. Yer a dumb kid and more than that, yer not like normal men and never can be," he said in a firm voice, "It'll never work out, believe me. We're not like them."

Jim glared and shoved Victor's hand away. "Maybe yer not Victor, but I've been getting along just fine. Yer just jealous is all."

Victor's eyes burned and he growled deeply, making the cart pony nervous where it stood. "You just stay away from Rose an stop pretending te be something yer not." He warned dangerously, "I know you, Jimmy."

"Do you?" snapped Jim, flicking his hair from his eyes and giving Victor a look of stubborn arrogance, "You ain't my Pa, Victor and I ain't like you. In fact, I'm getting sick o…"

"We're brothers Jimmy!" interrupted Victor angrily, "We belong together. We're the only ones of our kind. Yer not one of them, and yer not one o yer damn wolves. Yer with me."

Jim threw his shovel down and advanced aggressively, glaring at Victor. "Oh yeah? Maybe I don't want to be with you. Maybe I want to live my own life and not become a brooding freak like you are. Maybe you should just leave me the fuck alone, Victor!"

There was a stony silence between them and Jim was a little sobered, when he realized there was some stunned hurt and confusion mingled with the growing rage twisting his brother's face.

He was relieved when he heard Buck Miller come up. "You alright Jim?" Buck asked, looking nervously between the brothers and giving Victor's seething stillness a slightly suspicious and very nervous look. "What's going on?"

"Noth'n," growled Jim, picking up his shovel again, "Almost got the cart full."

Suddenly there was a loud clatter as Victor viciously threw his shovel against the wall, "You'll be sorry, Jim Logan!" he shouted, breaking out of his tense silence like a hurricane. Backing up, he pointing his clawed finger at his brother, "I'll fucking show you!" He turned with a billow of his fur coat and leapt through the mine like a panther, knocking Jud Norris aside, before jumping up, out of the shaft, in two agile springs.

As he disappeared, Jim took a hesitant step after him, looking a bit regretful, then glanced at where Buck was staring open mouthed with surprised. "What the hell happened between you two?" Buck asked.

Jim kicked a stone, "Said some things I shoudn'a," he muttered, "I didn't really mean it. It just Victor's been such a pain in the ass lately." He sighed and shoveled some dirt into the cart. "He just needs some time to cool off then I'll talk to him and set his dense head on straight."