"Sisters never quite forgive each other for what happened when they were five."
[xxxxx]
Chapter 3: Sisters
With angry strength, the door to Storm's office flew open and Logan appeared at the doorway. She stood up to yell at him for the intrusion, but he spoke before she could get a word out.
"Lenore's gone." He said angrily.
"What?" Storm asked, confused and angry. "You were supposed to be watching her 24/7! What happened?"
Logan growled. "She got snatched… by Warren…"
"Warren?" She asked sceptically and laughed before setting herself back down in her seat. "Warren can take well enough care of Lenore."
He glared at Storm. "He took her off grounds without permission from you or Hank." Not that he cared about Warren taking anybody butLenore off grounds, but he knew that she would.
"Wait," Storm said, her expression serious as she stood up. "He took her off grounds?"
"Why are you so suddenly interested?"
"We're taking my car." She said sternly and marched out of her office, grabbing her jacket on the way. Logan followed quickly behind her.
Within less than a minute they were in the car, Storm driving. Logan sat in the front passenger's seat with his window rolled down all of the way.
"Do you have their scents?" Storm asked as they drove along, well past the speed limit.
"I picked it up in the garage." He said with his nose stuck out the window. "It's impossible to lost track of that playboy's nasty stench."
Storm nodded and continued to drive, even going into the opposite lane in order to zoom past cars that were going too slow for her taste. "Make a right at this light up here." Logan commanded, and she did as told.
A while later, Storm's sleek black sedan pulled into the parking lot of Marge's Tailoring and Custom Design. They both climbed out of the car and walked toward the entrance, but Storm stopped as Logan did.
"What is it?" She asked.
"They're not here anymore, and I don't smell any trouble." He said with a growl, "Not like I know why the hell Warren'd bring her here in the first place."
Storm paused. "We should go inside anyway."
He shook his head. "No. It's a waste of time. We're movin' on." He turned around, but Storm stopped him with her hand.
"I think you're forgetting who's in charge."
"I think you're forgetting who's got the nose here."
Storm crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze, and Logan mimicked her. "Fine." She said reluctantly before turning away. As she reclaimed her seat behind the wheel, he smirked and jumped back into the car.
Within minutes they were back on the trail. Storm followed Logan's driving directions willingly, much to his delight.
"There," He said finally as they stopped at an intersection and pointed at a lonely building across the street. A neon sign that glowed in the cloudy haze and hung about the door read Annabelle's. "They're in there."
Silently, Storm pulled the car into the parking lot, which was for the most part vacant. Logan stepped out of the car, his nostril involuntarily flaring with annoyance and zeal.
[xxxxx]
"So, how do you like the wedding soup?" Warren asked with a smile, taking a sip of his own French onion dish.
Lenore slurped up another spoonful of brother and meatballs before wiping her mouth. "It's really good." She said quietly. "My mom used to make wedding soup all the time."
"Oh, really?"
She nodded, but didn't respond. Instead, her eyes drifted off to the window, where the grey sky had turned even darker and soft thunder could be heard from afar.
"Looks like there's a storm coming in, huh?" Warren stated as he noticed Lenore's direction of attention. Again, she nodded, but didn't really pay any interest. "I love storms, especially during the day."
There was a period of silence, and the only sounds that could be heard came from the restaurant's kitchen.
"Hey," Warren interrupted the silence angrily, and Lenore looked away from the window to see what his fuss was about. His gaze was out the window though. "Is that… Logan?"
She returned her eyes to the window and saw what her lunch buddy was talking about. Logan and Storm, the white-haired lady she had seen only a few times, were angrily trudging up to the restaurant. Lenore wondered if that storm was of nature's doing anymore.
They burst through the entrance of the restaurant, Logan first. He pushed past the hostess and over to their table, attracting the attention of all the other customers in the restaurant, and most of the staff. Storm fell in at his side.
"Lenore, let's go." She said rather sweetly. "Warren, we'll talk later." She said furiously, and thunder rolled outside.
"Look–" He didn't get a chance to protest.
"No excuses, bub." Logan interrupted, grabbing the blonde by his collar and pulling him to his feet. "We're going home."
Warren pushed away from Logan and straightened his collar. "Watch it, Wolverine. This shirt is cost more than anything you've ever worn in your life."
Lenore stood up and scooted close to Storm's side. "What's going on?" She asked nervously. "Am I in trouble?"
"No, sweetie." Storm assured her, and wrapped an arm around the redhead's shoulders. "C'mon, I'll take you home." She turned toward Logan and Warren. "I trust that you two can restrain from killing each other as long as the car ride home." She said strictly before turning and leaving, her arm still wrapped around Lenore's shoulders.
"Looks like we're taking your ride, kid… though I can't say that I'll be able to hold up 'Ro's proposition."
"You're not the only one." Warren grumbled before following Logan to the door. Before they could leave, though, a man dressed in a waiter's garb stopped them.
"Excuse me, kind sirs." He said politely. "But I don't believe you've paid for your meal yet."
Abruptly, Logan pulled back his fist and with one hard punch, knocked the wait out cold. "Keep the change." He muttered before turning and gesturing for Warren to follow.
[xxxxx]
When they got back to the mansion, Logan and Warren found out from a student that Storm was waiting for them in her office. By now, it was pouring outside and the window shook the trees ever so violently, providing the perfect backdrop as Ororo sat at her desk.
"Where's carrot top?" Logan asked as soon as he sat down at the other side of Storm's desk.
"I assume you're referring to Lenore, and she's with Hank." She said quickly as Warren took his seat next to Logan. "Now, to get down to business, I think you both know the subject that I would like to discuss with both of you." She said with an angry, almost acidic voice.
Neither of them replied.
"I'll take that as a yes." Storm said to herself, and continued. "Lenore is not a toy, gentlemen. I cannot seem to fathom what could be so interesting about a little girl that one person would bring themselves to quote, steal her."
"Little girl?" Warren interrupted. "Lenore is twenty-six, from what I've heard."
Storm sighed and stood up. She pulled out a lilac folder from a filing cabinet across the room and handed it to Warren. "I've told you about Control already, but what I haven't told you about her is her relation to Lenore."
"Relation?" Logan asked. "You mean like cousins?"
"Try again, Wolverine," Warren said as he flipped through the folder. "Sisters." He handed him a photo, and Logan's eyes looked over with interest.
It was of two little girls, one with brown hair and the other with bright red. They smiled wide smiles, melted ice cream cones in their hands and all over their freckled faces. He flipped it over, and two names were written –– Adrian and Lenore, .
"Why the hell didn't you tell us about this?" Logan asked furiously after handing the photo back to Warren, who was still flipping through the folder.
"Hank and I have been handling this whole ordeal." She answered calmly. "We decided that the less we told everyone, the safer they would be."
Warren closed up the folder and handed it to Logan, who only threw it onto Storm's desk. "And Lenore… she's not just a youthful soul, is she?"
Storm shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Warren. All the memories of Lenore's life after the age of eight are completely demolished. They were taken by Control."
"Why? What does she want?"
"There's not much more I can tell you. We don't know much. The authorities got hold of Control after she was temporarily weakened by the memory swipe, and they handed her over to us."
There was a silence in the room as Warren and Logan went over all of this sudden information in their minds.
"Do the others know?" Logan asked, interrupting the silence.
"Beast is talking to them right now. You can go join them in his office right now if you'd like. I'm sure he has more details to tell."
With that, she scooted both men out of her office.