Short story X page 4
Jamie was starting his own investigation around the mansion. He split himself into three and began to, as Bobby put it, question the locals.
Jamie number one went to see Wolfsbane. He went out to the grounds and whistled. A dog came running through the grass stopping a few feet away form him.
"What's up?" She asked scratching lightly behind her right ear.
"I need you to help me with something." Jamie one said, "got a minute?"
"I guess, but I'm not going to eat your homework again." The girl said morphing back into her human form and crossing her arms.
"No it's not that. I was wondering if you had noticed Kurt acting strange lately." He took out a note book to record the testimony like Drake had told him to.
"Well, no, actually, I haven't seen him much the past couple of days, but when I do he seems happy." The wolf girl admitted looking out over the grounds of the estate away from Jamie.
"So you would say…" Jamie looked up from his writing to find his witness was gone. "Huh?" He murmured scratching his head. "People come and go so quickly around here."
Jamie looked for his friend and sure enough her short attention span as a wolf had run out and she now was chasing a Frisbee across the lawn.
"Oh well," he shrugged, "better get back to Jamie, he will want the testimony."
"No." Jean said as she stood at the door of Jubilee's room. "What are you doing?" It was not a pretty sight, but it appeared that Kitty and her friend were amidst a showing of the power point style presentation on Kurt being an absolute stoner. "You can't do this, here, now, in front of everyone!" She finished, everyone in the room was silent and staring at her in amazement. A piece of popcorn dropped from Wolfsbane's hand onto the carpet and more uncomfortable silence followed.
"What do you mean?" Jubilee said slowly standing up from here place on the bed. She stopped the slideshow on the public laptop that every student shared.
"This is supposed to be a secret," Jean almost stammered, "not a movie. You can't just make it into a show. What were you thinking? That since Mr. McCoy found out now it is ok to have public showings?"
"Well," Jubilee began a touch of innocence in her voice, "we all knew about it already. It wasn't like we were telling anyone who didn't already know."
"Except me," Admitted Rahne with a slight blush, "I lied and said I did." Jubilee gave her a light scowl and put her hands on her hips.
"That is not helping Rahne."
"How does one person talk so much?" Jean sighed as she turned and left the room.
While Jamie's selves were scouring as far and wide as the institute went to get information on peoples reaction to Kurt, the great detective himself, Bobby Drake, was conducting the most important part of the investigation. Questioning suspects was the fist page in that book. It was apparent that you have to talk to a possible lead until you are on the verge of getting curtail information on the case and then waiting for them to die. He had seen it in half of the CSI episodes and mystery movies, now he knew how it would all play out in the end. Once he turned a corner or opened a door only to find a suspect dead when the case was fifteen minutes from being solved.
It is the best way to narrow them down, he thought to himself, talk to them and just before they can say anything important let um die. Then there is a pattern in the whole thing and you look for that to know.
Bobby walked towards Jubilee's room he passed Jean in the hall coming from it, she did not appear pleased. After Jean passed on in silence he continued looking for people to interrogate.
Spike was walking down the hall whistling a song that was playing on his walkman.
Perfect. Drake thought grinning then walked up to meet Spike after composing himself.
"Hey Evan."
"Oh, hey." Spike responded unhooking one of the earpieces so he could hear his friend. "What's up?"
"Well, I only have a minute," Bobby began, "but I was wondering if you had noticed anything strange about Kurt lately or how other people are treating him?" Evan frowned.
"I always though we treated him fine?" He said thoughtfully, "he isn't mad because I watched all of his movies a few nights ago?"
"No, I didn't know that, but he is being avoided by a few of the girls and it is starting to bother him."
"So the fuzzy man need chick advice. Who is he trying for?"
"No it's not like that," Bobby corrected,"this is something different they just don't want to be near him for some reason."
"Women can be that way." Spike ventured, "once I was going out with this girl and.."
Bobby stopped him firmly this time.
"He's not looking to pick anyone up he is having a different problem. People are avoiding him."
"You mean the people he is not trying to get in with too?" Evan's eyes opened a little wider.
"Yeah, those people to." Bobby said triumphantly.
"Wow, maybe the rumors are true."
"Well thanks for the help." Bobby said rushing off down the hall.
"Uh yeah," Evan called after him, "no problem." Then he went down stairs thinking Bobby was not quite finished when he had left.
Bobby rounded the corner and stopped. Evan is such a nice guy I can't bear to see him bumped off, but when I do I'll know his evidence was the real deal. Bobby looked up to see Jamie standing next to him or at least one of the Jamies.He handed one of the pages from his notebook to Drake and said he was going back to regroup.
"If we find anything else, I'll hand it in to you." He finished scampering off.
Drake read the paper.
Witness Rahne
Time 2:30
She said Kurt is not around for long periods of time during the day, but when she sees him he is very happy.
Very important, Bobby thought, Very important.
Scott turned the television off picked up his salad and headed down to the basement. Jean had asked him come with her and speak to Hank. She had predicted the problem, but underestimated how bad it would really be. Mr. McCoy had not only spread the word around the mansion, he hadn't only gone out of his way to tell anyone he met, he had been exacerbating the rumor.
Scott navigated the various twisting hallways and sets of stairs that made up the vast basement of the institute. Besides being home to Mr. Mccoy's lab it housed the hanger for the X-jet and a repair shop for the different danger room equipment that was smashed every training cession. He met Logan on the way down. From the look on his face Wolverine was not by any means in an agreeable mood.
"What's up?" Summers asked munching on his salad.
"Hank is up." Logan huffed walking straight past him towards the surface.
This was not, Summers thought, good news. Scott carried on across the corridor towards the lab. Then he met Jean, she did not look any happier than Logan had.
"Hey," he said, "so…."
"Just don't bother Scott! Just don't!" She said angrily
"What happened?" He said setting his fork down in his bowel.
"Nothing at all, I didn't even go in. I just heard a couple of thoughts he was having and I am so ashamed." She stalked off huffing and mumbling about the whole incident.
Scott took another bite of salad it was a big salad and made up of quite a few bites. He looked at the door thinking about what to do. Finally he went in.
Just as sure as he entered the Beast greeted him warmly like he always did.
"Hello Scott, has anything interesting been going on today?"
"Not really Mr. McCoy." He lied just to see what Hank would say.
Hank put down his book. Then his eyes lit up as he stopped doing his favorite thing and began to do his second favorite thing, gossip.
"Well I have heard the most interesting piece of news!" He declared lifting one hand in the air and pointing at nothing. Scott winced slightly and held his salad protectively against his chest anticipating the coming comment. "I found out where my socks were going!"
Summers sighed as Beat pointed to a rat in a cage across the room. Its feed bowel was most definitely full of ruined socks. Beast had a bottle of poison setting next to the rat's coming serving.
"I caught him in my clothes hamper. Oh, and Kurt is a cocaine dealer." He mentioned in passing. Summers reeled at what he had just heard.
"What!" Scott exclaimed, "How? Why?"
"It is the talk of the institute." Beast explained coolly. "To tell you the truth I was rather surprised, but it is the case."
"Mr. McCoy." Composing himself Scott sat down his salad and stood up straight. If you could have seen his eyes his expression showed a mix of anger and surprise, but you couldn't. "You have no proof of that and besides, your just spreading rumors."
"No," Persisted Hank, "It's a proven fact."
"It's just silly."
"I have very reliable sources." On Mr. McCoy's last remark, Scott took his salad and left.