October 11

It has been a long hike through the so-called Algonquin Provincial Park so far, but the trip north into the woods has been a game of hide-and-seek with our attackers. Sentinels have been spotted south of us and are on our tail constantly, shooting when they can and missing when we hide. I don't know if we'll be able to outsmart and outdistance them, but we're coming closer to getting off their trail and nobody has been hurt. So far, we're several miles in and almost on the other side, according to Logan, and no robot has been in sight for an hour. The pace has been harder than ever before and there has no sleep since yesterday, but it is of no matter. We are together and that's all that matters to me (and Logan too, but he won't say that).

I can hardly write and walk at the same time and my legs and back are starting to ache. I'm turning back constantly to check the rear. Even though Devon is covering it with Rogue, I am uneasy. I don't know if we'll be able get away in time, but we sure as hell can try. It's been cold, oh so cold, and the run has turned our sweat into cold droplets that announce death at every corner. My stomach has been churning, but I cannot stop either. I have to keep running with everyone…or risk it all. Already, the price has been higher than expected and I can't bear to pay it anymore.

~00~

Ahead, there was a steady stream of smoke going in to upward direction, most likely from a house using wood as a heating source. By then, Logan stopped the group, sure that they were ahead of the Sentinels by miles. They hadn't been on their tails for a few hours now, but he had been cautious, ever since they started attacking in earnest. He didn't want them close by, but he could not sense them. For now, they were safe, but for how long remains a mystery. The smoke up ahead did not mean friendly forces either, but it also meant there were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Logan could hardly leave everyone behind and scout again, but he might not have a choice if he wanted to keep everyone alive. They could not run into a situation blindly.

Logan looked behind him and saw a group worse for wear and tired from a day without sleep and food and running for hours without respite. Danielle was the worst, he saw, now supported by Rogue and Mae on both sides. Michael and Riley's face were dirtied, but white underneath from their fears, hungry with whines on their lips (and Logan saw that coming). Devon still stayed in the back, his eyes glancing back and forth, watching for Sentinels. His staff was hardly finished yet (and had been carved some more on their last stop) and still quivered in his hands. Logan noticed that he still wanted a fight, had some adrenaline in his system, and was willing to go the extra distance to throw the first punch when those Sentinels came back.

Mae looked at Logan for some answers, but he had none. He only pointed west, feeling it the safest route for them, and then pointed to the smoke.

"Head that way," he ordered, as the sun started sinking in that direction. "I'll be checking that out."

"That way meaning follow the setting sun?" Devon asked, scratching his head.

"Yes," Logan confirmed. "And keep going. Don't stop, don't help anyone, keep on running. If it's safe where I'm going, I'll come back looking for you."

Without a goodbye, Logan darted north, sensing the others heading in the other direction as he told them to. He followed his nose to the source, sticking to the shadows in case someone was there. He then drew his gun from behind him, previously locked into his pack, and started climbing the nearest tree to him. Near the middle, he jumped to the next one swiftly, without making a noise, and continued that way until he reached nearer to the smoke. By then, he saw a clearing, stopping a few trees before it. It was a large house with a barn next to it, somewhere at the edge of the park maybe, but it was definite that someone lived there. Logan watched for some time, unaware of how much had passed, but just before the sun went down completely, he saw a man emerge from the doorway, an older man, by the looks of it, and one carrying a gun. He seemed familiar, but Logan could not place him.

Suddenly though, Logan saw the gun firing from the older man's hands and in his direction. Before he could move or even shoot back, the man had gotten to him first, the bullet hitting Logan right in the forehead. He dropped from the tree in surprise, healing as he went down, and hit the ground back first. Seconds later, when he was recovered, he was seeing the old man stare down at him, gun in his hands and amazement lining his face. Logan did not move, thinking it was not prudent yet to be reaching for a weapon.

"I never seen a man before take a bullet to the head and not die for it," the man declared loudly, studying Logan carefully. "But I only knew one mutant who could handle that…Agent Ten."

Logan blinked for a few seconds before realizing what he was just called. "Haven't heard that name in a long time," he replied carefully, feeling the bullet pop out of his forehead. "Do I know you?"

"I think you should," the man said, scratching his chin and putting the gun down. "I was a man who everyone thought was dead, along with my wife. Although they found the charred remains of two agents in Algeria, they said they were us…but only one jumped from that plane before it crashed and most unwillingly, I might add."

It took Logan a few seconds to recall who he was dealing with. Shaking his head in disbelief, he got up without fearing another shot and shook the man's hand. "Richard Parker…alive? I never thought to see this day. How did it happen? Last I heard, you and your wife were on a plane and it was hijacked by the Finisher, the assassin for Albert Malik. It was said you both committed treason."

"All in good time, my old friend," Parker answered, leading Logan back towards the house and wincing at the memories untold. "It will be explained in good time. Now you know where there is a friend. Perhaps you can find your own group and bring them here?"

Logan stopped right in front of the doorway with Parker. "How did you know?"

"A loner you may be, Agent Ten, but with a pack like that on you, you have some mortal friends behind you. Which direction did you send them off to?"

"West. Easiest route I could think so. Sentinels weren't going in that direction and it was safer."

Parker faced Logan, worry lining his face. "Sentinels?"

"Yeah, they've been following us for some miles."

"Good God, not again." Parker rubbed his forehead. "Bring them back here. I've got a way for you to be safe, at least. How many you bringing back?"

Logan had one foot to start running, but glared back at Parker, his voice sarcastically cheery, as always. "I've got two kids, one ten and the other six, two young adults, one eighteen and the other twenty-two, one middle-aged woman and a pregnant woman."

By then, without waiting for a reply, Logan was off and running. Parker only shook his head, this time wondering what his former co-worker had in store for him. Agent Ten was a mutant he had not seen in years, not since he had to retrieve him from Baroness and Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in the late fifties, some time before he went to Vietnam with his older brother. The man who was James Howlett had been all over the place in order to keep himself from seeing the animal inside of him. However, Parker knew that war always changed anyone, even one like Agent Ten. However, there was another change in him that Parker noted, something that he never had some fifty years before.

Caring…Agent Ten had cared about people. And Parker was about to find out who and why soon enough.

~00~

It was late at night. The kids had been off to bed hours before (amused and excited that their sleeping quarters had been a loft space above the second floor), Devon and Rogue snuggled together in a corner with Michael and Riley and Mae was watching over Danielle, sleeping in a guest bedroom on the second floor. Parker and Logan stayed in the dining room by the kitchen, sitting at a table drinking some bourbon. Logan had downed five shots quickly, but still did not feel the edge come off yet (and usually did for a brief time). He was still watchful, searching out the windows for a threat he knew was out there.

"The Sentinels won't come in here," Parker promised as Logan poured himself another shot, his sixth. "Department H has been nice enough to get me some equipment to keep the bad guys away."

"And keep you in the middle of nowhere?" Logan drank and set the shot glass down. "How did that happen? Seems to me you're dead and your charred remains were brought back by your son years ago."

"Who had no idea that it wasn't me in the first place and buried what was thought to be my final remains," Parker said, the regret in his voice evident. "CIA and Department H sent me and Mary to Albania to bring Malik down, as you know. Malik made it out that we were traitors and made sure the Finisher had us dead. CIA knew what was going on and tried to pull us out before we boarded the plane for Canada, but the Finisher got there first. He got on that plane, sabotaged it with another and jumped midair. He had left a man and the pilot behind to make sure the job was done and maybe jump at the last minute. That guy had us tied up in chairs, tortured us…and that was when he started taking Mary apart, piece by piece. He started cutting off her fingers and toes before me with a saw, ripping her clothes off and cutting through skin. She was a goner, even though I yelled at him to pick on someone his own size. I knew she was going to die as soon he started pulling her leg apart and cut past the bone. The screams…the screams were enough."

Logan noted a pause in the story. Parker then took another shot of bourbon, most likely to get his courage up, and stared at Logan with haunted eyes, most likely from the load he carried alone for over fifty years.

"I managed to get close enough to kick him by hopping on the chair and getting him away from Mary for a minute," Parker continued. "The guy dropped the saw. But by then, the plane had started to tilt. It was going to crash in minutes. Pilot had no control and refused to by then and was on a suicide course anyway, I would assume if there was no parachute for him. Guy recovered, came by to get me again with his second weapon, a knife, but I managed to move the chair enough at the last minute so his knife got the ropes, not me. I got up and managed to put his lights out."

"And Mary?" Logan asked, afraid of the answer.

"Dead by the time I got to her," Parker replied sadly, pouring himself another drink. "She lost so much blood, lost so many digits and limbs. I did the only thing I could. I found the spare parachute and jumped before the plane crashed. Pilot, extra guy and Mary were gone. I was in the middle of a desert, had no water or shelter, so I began the long walk towards civilization. I didn't know how I did it, but I got somewhere by the time night fell, lucky as I usually am. It was a caravan of travelers. Their leader allowed me in and was able to get me somewhere where I could contact the head hotshot. They flew me out of there within the day, but realized that news of my passing was given to my brother, Ben. Him and his wife had my son and the CIA and Department H thought it better that I was dead anyway. They gave me this little place, equipped it so everyone can't be detected and told me to keep watch. So, you, my friend, are going to be appealing news to Department H and the other people in the Ministry anyway, even if they aren't interested."

"I was looking for them to begin with." Logan's deadpan manner almost made Parker spill his drink before picking it up.

"Jimmy," Parker began.

Logan waved his hand. "I left that life a long time ago, Rich."

"Regardless," Parker continued. "What would you want with the Ministry and their Department H? It can't be about returning to their line of work."

"I sure as hell hope they don't think so." Logan had to clench his teeth to keep his sarcastic comments in. "It's the mutant issue in the States mainly."

"I was afraid of that." Parker took the shot and placed the glass before him once more. "Listen, Jimmy, the Ministry has been different these days, the past month really. While the older ones have been urged to step down, the newer, younger ones seem to like the whole 'mutants in camps' scenario. They get profit out of it. They join in with Trask and they get rewarded with money and a chance to be promoted. I mean, look at the Ellis family. With a few mutants helping him, Leon Ellis managed to get into Trask, worm his way into politics and appoint his cousin his successor…all because he and his cousin were along the same vein, you know."

Logan tensed at the mention of the Ellis family. He didn't even bother correcting Parker on the name, he was too pissed.

"I see you've been up against them a few times," Peter observed, getting up to signal that he was heading to bed. "Take some advice, Jimmy. Leave sleeping bears where they lie. It's best to keep that beast inside."

"And that beast almost ruined my life and it's spreading worldwide," Logan replied sharply. "It continues to. We need to get to Alberta, Rich, and talk with the Ministry. We can't delay."

Parker continued to be skeptical about Logan's mission, but decided to call it a night and let him stew over his refusal to help. He thought he could persuade the old agent into peace and quiet living, but that might not be an option anymore. He certainly needed it, Parker thought, but with the looming war over their heads, for all human and mutants alike, there was bound to be a bigger explosion…and it had yet to be detonated.

"We'll talk more in the morning," Parker promised. "I'm sure we'll find a way."

As Logan watched Parker leave, he started doubting his word, something he never thought would happen to an old friend. Somebody had told him to be quiet and keep people off the struggle of freedom, and it was much more than telling him to lay low and pretend to be dead. Somebody was hanging Richard Parker on a hook and hanging him out as bait. But for what it was, Logan could not see…but he was more than willing to find out more.

For all you comic book fans out there who are cringing, I am sorry. I thought it an awesome twist if that had happened to Richard Parker and his wife. :) For all those who do not know...Mary and Richard Parker were agents of Department H, originally sent out to rescue Logan from some enemies. However, the events described above were in the comics (save for the extra guy, pilot and Richard Parker surviving and some other things, of course). Their son, Peter Parker, went to Albania to finish up Malik and pick up his parents' remains, proving them innocent of treason and burying them. Peter Parker, of course, was best known as Marvel's Spiderman.