Chapter 7
Busting through the door, Talon slid to a stop in the middle of Xavier's study, anger hitting him like rolling heat waves. Many of the X-men were present, all in uniform-- their X-men uniform.
"Are the students with you?" Scott asked.
Talon became wary, "No, they are not." He said with deliberate care.
"What is this all about?" Scott demanded, thrusting a small paper at Talon.
Talon took it and read…
"Impressive work Talon.
We'll complete our bargain tonight…"
"Why did you do this? What did they offer you as reward?"
Talon only half heard Scott, his mind numbed with shock, while conflicting thoughts whirled in his head. Then, like the X-van earlier that day, his thoughts spun in the air, and came down to ground, regaining traction. Talon felt his eyes dilate as his training kicked in. Assets, time tables, locations arrayed themselves before him. The pieces all suddenly fell in place and Talon nodded in argeement to himself. Reality snapped back and he heard Scott again, "You're no X-man!"
Scott grabbed Talon's jacket and shoved him against the wall.
Talon's back hit the wall hard enough to rattle his glasses askew. Scott glimpsed Talon's eyes. They where glossed over, the pupils narrowed to vertical new moons, but Talon shut his eyes tight and looked away.
Scott paused, something about that brief eye contact had stood his hair on end.
"Scott!" Xavier commanded from behind his desk.
Scott, realizing what he was doing, released Talon and stepped back.
Talon reset his glasses, and pushed off the wall with his shoulders. Stepping past Scott to Xavier's desk, he tossed the paper down in the waste basket. "Where did you find that?" Talon asked.
Xavier, sensing honest curiosity, answered, "In your room, on your bed."
Talon looked around and found most of those present, had already made up their minds.
"You want to tell us anything?" Logan asked from the corner of the desk he sat on. Of everyone present, Wolverine seemed to be the only one undeclared.
Talon looked at Scott, "I don't know anything about this, bargain," he faced Xavier, "but, I intend to find out."
Talon started for the door but Scott stepped in his way. "You expect us to just believe you?" Scott asked, his right hand hovering near his visor control.
Talon's apparently blank visage tracked Scott's movement, "No," he said and pushed past Scott.
Xavier looked up thoughtfully, and asked. "Where are you going?"
"To bed." Talon answered over his shoulder, and was gone.
Scott started after him, then whirled around when Xavier called.
"Are we just going to let him go?" he demanded.
Logan removed the toothpick from his mouth, tossing it, as he came off Xavier's desk. "Keep it cool Summers, we'll get to the bottom of this."
"Scott," Xavier spoke softly, "you may not have noticed, but in the Danger Room, Talon unconsciously placed himself between Kitty and harm, several times."
Scott looked confused, "What does that, have to do with this?"
Logan glanced at Rogue's questioning look, "Park the X-van, Kid," he ordered.
X X X
Rogue opened the door of the still running X-van and eyed the messy interior. Fast food was everywhere. In an un-opened bag, Rogue found two burgers un-touched. They were Kurt's favorite. She pulled the X-van into its parking stall and shut off the engine. Why had he done it? She had begun to trust him! Rogue slammed the driver's door hard and for the first time, noticed the scratches on it. There were leaves caught in the side view mirror, she realized, as she walked around the van and noted the damage. Talon hadn't mention all this! Come to think about it, Talon hadn't mentioned anything about what had happened... Or maybe...hadn't been given a chance... The thought kept nagging at the back of her mind.
