A/N: Thanks to my reviewers!

storms_rose: Thanks for your encouraging comments. It's not me who thinks girls can't throw! ;)

Xiowolfe: I promise more will happen, but I like to spend time exploring characters and situations, they can get carried away sometimes!

Kerewin: Lol, I do know what you mean - but I'm going to play Logan 'straight' in this fic. Plenty of innuendo to keep your imagination busy though :)

I'm just having a little giggle to myself over some of the future chapters, but you'll all have to wait to read those…. Aren't I mean! Heehee :)

Cheers,

Apteryx

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Chapter 6: Wildlife

Charles knocked at the back door. Logan could sense that he was nervous again, but whether from seeing his parents again, or on behalf of his new acquaintances, she couldn't tell.

The door opened, and a tall, blond man casually dressed in jeans and sweats, stood there, surprise registered on his face, and then in quick succession, relief, happiness, worry and curiosity.

"Charles!" he exclaimed, still holding on to the edge of the door. Charles threw himself into his father's chest and hugged him, tears starting to leak from the corners of his eyes. Logan was suddenly reminded how young Charles really was.

His dad pulled him into an embrace, looking over the top of his head at the couple standing on the step.

"Is… is he all right?" he asked Xavier, whom he had picked right off as the one with the greater authority.

"He's fine. We'd like to talk to you and your wife about him, if we may."

The man released one arm and motioned them inside without word.

Lars Mavissen looked worried. He had accepted the fact that his son was a mutant with perfect equanimity, had accepted Xavier's credentials, and was more than happy that Charles would be going to study in a place that accepted mutants for what they were and trained them to control their powers. At that moment, his wife Helen was upstairs with Charles, packing up his belongings to take back to Westchester with them.

"I'll be frank with you," he was saying, "Shortly after Charles ran away, we had several strangers call us, wanting to know his whereabouts, questioning us quite aggressively at times." His jaw set; he evidently didn't like to see his beloved son threatened in any way. "I was able to be honest with them, as I had no idea, and I think that is probably the only thing that made them leave us alone after a while. I have a feeling though, that they will be watching the house – this quiet street has had an increase in traffic… Helen notices that kind of detail in her work. I have been trying to find out my own information from these characters my own way."

He got up and walked into a small room, what was once a sun room perhaps, but was now filled with computers and all their related paraphernalia. Xavier and Logan followed, crowding in behind the tall man. Logan found the room a relief after the heavy-handed decor of the lounge, and that was saying something given her antipathy with computers. The other areas she'd seen of the house had been filled with wildlife themes; fall-leafed rugs, drapes with flying ducks, moose throws over the furniture, timber wolf cushions, and even the light fittings had small bronze squirrels clambering up them.

Logan liked wildlife – but she preferred it outside. She shook her head to concentrate on the matter at hand.

"What did they look like?" she asked, "The strangers."

Lars glanced sideways at her with his blue eyes reflecting the light from the computer screen in front of him. "Nondescript. Apart from the first couple to arrive; they were in suits – kinda stands out up here." He glanced briefly at the Professor as he dug into a pile of papers on the desk. "Here, they gave me this."

Xavier took the business card, read it, and with a raised eyebrow, passed it to Logan. She read it silently: Simon Despardes, Special Education Services, Department of Social Welfare. She held the card to her nose and sniffed, to catch any scent still lingering, and filed it away in her head for future reference. She caught the odd look Lars gave her as she handed the card back to him, and smiled without comment.

Tapping away on a keyboard, Lars continued his story. "I've looked him up, of course, and found his name supposedly all legit and above board with a host of other names. However, I'm rather an expert at this, a real geek, so I dug about a bit, and found that his entry had only been updated that afternoon, two hours before he visited. Interesting that they put such a new employee on a delicate case, isn't it? Especially when the entry claims that Mr Despardes has worked for the Department for nine years…"

He spun the screen around to show them, then with a couple of keys tapped, showed them coded data proving his findings. Logan took him at his word – she had no time for computers.

"I've searched further, looking for information on Simon Despardes, and there is nothing, so I'm assuming it's a false name. I… I called a friend and got him to do a bit of digging around at Special Education Services, and he found that the fake information had been planted by authorisation of a different sort of Special Services - a discreet unit of a government bureau involved in national security…"

"Hacking, Mr Mavissen?" Xavier asked, straightening up from looking over the back of Lars' shoulder.

"I want to know why these people are so interested in my son!" He was clearly angry now. "This is far more than the usual mutant xenophobia, even I can tell that. Oh, we had a few of them around too, the FoH and other bigots, but this..."

He paused, then looked up at Logan leaning against the door frame. "I want you to track them down, find out what they want with Charles… my son…"

"Me?" she said.

"Isn't that your mutant power? Tracking?" Lars was confused.

"Logan's main mutation is an accelerated healing factor, but yes, her secondary mutation involves enhanced senses."

Lars watched Xavier as he moved to the doorway and looked down at Logan dispassionately. She knew he was planning something that involved her, and when Xavier nodded slightly, she knew he'd made up his mind.

He turned to Lars, still sitting in his chair. "Logan will stay here with you. We'll drop her off outside the city limits and she can make her way back here. She can be a visiting friend of your wife's."

Logan growled under her breath. Xavier ignored her.

"She'll do some 'tracking', as well as give you some protection. We'll take Charles back with us - it's obviously not going to be safe for him here - and do some searching from our end. I'll keep in contact with Logan."

Lars eyed the slouching woman dubiously when Xavier mentioned protection, but didn't say anything. Logan could almost read his thoughts; a small woman like that protect a six foot seven man?

"I'll give you my e-mail…"

"We've other, more secure means of communication," interrupted the Professor. "I think it would be safest to presume that your lines have been tapped."

The blond man turned even paler than his normal colouring. "Then they already know what I've found out about them?"

"Not necessarily, but take no further chances."

No more was said, as Charles came bounding down into the living area carrying a huge duffel bag. His brown-haired Mom, wearing pictorial sweats featuring timber wolves, came down more slowly, struggling with a sports bag and a large suitcase.

"We've left the unimportant stuff still in my room," the teen said, "to make it look as though I could be coming back."

"Smart lad," said Lars as he came into the lounge as well. He smiled at his son.

"We'll wait for you outside while you say your good-byes," said Xavier mildly. He shook hands with Lars and Helen, "Your son will be safe with us, I give you my word."

The tall man nodded. "I'm sure. Thanks for your help."

Xavier nodded back with a smile and left. Logan gave her own nod. "See ya later," she announced to the room, picked up the bag and suitcase with ease, and stomped out after the Professor.

She sniffed the air briefly – no one was watching them. "What was that about me stayin'?"

"You don't mind, do you Logan?"

"Nah. Some time away will do us all good." She grinned evilly. "Someone's goin' ta be in for a shock…"

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