CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN:

The Game of Intimidation

/or/

Striking A Bargain

AN: Sorry this has taken so long, guys. I've had one heck've a bad week. My bike was stolen, I got in a little trouble at work, I washed my I-pod and now it's dead, I accidently dropped my bookbag in a toilet at Half Priced Books (and I am NOT explaining how that happened) I lost my phone and it's dead, so I can't find it by calling it, and my skirt fell in a public parking lot. All this happened in a series of four, five days.

Also, (whimpers) where did Risika Kiisu Seto, FleeingDawn, glove99, Catchfire, Lucklover and my Plot Bunny guest go? (sniffs pathetically) I haven't heard from them.

The fact that he didn't see any guards as he entered Nick Furys hellicarrier made Sabretooths ire rise all over again. What, did they think he was that pathetic that he didn't even warrant a few guns!?"

"Where the hell is everyone?" he growled gutterly, "*&^%$ vacation!?"

"I believe Captain Fury was trying to avoid a blood-bath." Agent Coulson said calmly. "You do have a reputation after all."

That definitely went a ways to soothing Victors ruffled feathers (…..or in his case, fur.)

Victor took in a deep breath through his nose, letting all his senses carry information to him, filtering scents (polish, metal, plastic, chemicals, cleaning agents, fear) …..FEAR? Ah, so Fury had his soldiers all tucked away and some of them were shaking in their boots.

Sabretooth let out a purr that had NOTHING to do with calming his mate or a cub down and EVERYTHING to do with how wonderful it was to be feared by his enemies; he had been beginning to feel a little too domesticated over at that school and it was good to be recognized for the predator he was.

The man infront of him—Coulson—walked calmly and his curiosity (he WAS a cat, after all) rose in him.

"Where'd you get that taser?" Victor/Sabretooth asked. "I didn't know the military made'em ta subdue ferals…..I didn't think there were that many of us around to warrant one." And anything—ANYTHING—that might be able to stun a class five (5) feral like him, he needed to know about it, so he could figure out how to get around it.

"It was a gift to me." Agent Coulson said smoothly, leading him through another door that he used his security card to open. "Tailor made by Tony Stark."

Victor snorted. "Iron Man." He said under his breath. "Have ta pay that tin-man a visit."

"I wouldn't suggest that." Agent Coulson said, opening another door with his card then stepping up so that a computer could scan his retinas. This was followed by a palm print scan and then they were in.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000

Captain Fury stood calmly in the middle of his platform, the picture of a spy in his long black trench coat with an eye-patch. "Ah, Victor. How kind of you to come."

Victors slight, low purr changed into a low, short growl. "Fury. I'm not here for a cuppa tea. How old are ya?" the last came out in an demand.

"Now Victor, don't you know it's rude to ask someone their age? Oh, no, my mistake," Fury said sarcastically. "That's just with women. And speaking of women, I hear you've found one that can actually tolerate you."

Victor surprised Fury by laughing, actually LAUGHING, lout and raucously as he made his way over to where the new kid, David, sat in his chair infront of his computer, actually SHAKING.

The feral shoved the newbie unceremoniously out of his chair, ignoring his cry of startled pain as he tumbled to the ground, and commandeered the rolly-chair as his own. The newbie kid was practically crab-walking to get away from him.

Victor smirked. Ah, the joys of being the bad-ass in town.

Then his face turned glacial, pure ice, stone-cold. There was not one trace of gentleness, not one iota of kindness. There was no hint of the feral man who hunted for the children he called cubs and purred his mate to sleep. This was Sabretooth the Killer, the Protector. "Now, you know better than to threaten my mate, Fury. Not if you expect to live your long, unnatural life."

Nick Fury was a hardened veteran of many wars (though not as many as Sabretooth) and he was not a man who was easily cowed, yet with Sabretooth looking at him like that, he still felt a fissure of fear, feeling a goose walk over his grave.

"Nah, that'd be too easy." Victor/Sabretooth waved a hand. "For someone who threatened my mate, I'd have ta…..draw thing out, if ya know what I mean." Victor leaned his arms on the back of the chair, claws dangling. "And I've learned a lot of 'techniques' over the years."

"You don't frighten me Victor." Fury said calmly, his face a mask of indifference.

Victor deliberately played up sniffing at the air. "Really? Cause that's not what I smell. Now, enough chit-chat. Howdya do it? And think carefully before you answer, Fury, cause I can smell a lie." He tapped the side of his nose, smirking.

Nick Furys mind was racing with a thousand and one scenarios, different ways his current predicament might play out, ways he could use this to his advantage.

"Tick-tock Nicky." Victor put in. "I don't have all day."

Still unmoving, Nick Fury tried for a different tactic. "She must be something, this mate of yours, to catch your attentions."

Victors warning growl grew in volume. "She's off limits, Nicky and unless you want the new kid over there—" Victor jerked his head towards young David who had stopped crawling across the floor and sat there looking petrified. "—to be strung up by his intestines, you'll quit stalling and cut to the chase."

Nick Fury was firm. No nonsense. "You touch any one of my men, Sabretooth, and you'll get nothing from me."

`Well, well, well…..` Victor thought in amusement. `So ole'one-eye considers these soldiers his pack…..`Then he smirked. The man wasn't a very good alpha. If someone had threatened one of HIS pack with what he had threatened, that person would be dead already. At least he had had the sense to hide most of his pack away, excluding the ones in the room with them (which were very few).

Victor wiggled his fingers. "You were born in World War Two, Nicky." He stated calmly. "Nineteen-thirty-nine. (1939) That would make you about seventy-five years old. You don't look a day over twenty. So, what's your secret? Pills? A diet of sunflower-seeds? Face cream?" He leaned forward, eyes burning with fire. "Now here's what's going to happen, Fury. You're going to tell me how you managed to stay this young all this time, and you're going to tell me now."

"Or what?" Nick Fury asked calmly.

Victor bared his fangs. "Do you really have to ask? I already told ya, Nicky. You'll lose everything. All your stocks, bonds, money, jewels. I've already sent two of your accounts in the Swiss banks down the porcelain pee-hole, and in another few seconds I'm about to send down another one. Then, once all your assets are gone, I'll begin on you yourself. So tell me. How do you stay young?"

"Perhaps we could make a deal." Nick Fury suggested, anger and fear warring with reason. When Victor arched a sandy eyebrow, he continued. "I'll share my secret if you come work for me."

Victor sniffed the air, discreetly this time, sensing a trap. `Yeah, I bet ole'one-eye wants me on his leash. So he thinks he can grab the tiger by the tail, huh.` He thought about it. If Nick Fury paid money, that would be nice, if he had any left once Victor was through trashing his accounts, that was. And hadn't that b*stard Steve said something about providing for his mate with a job?

Victor snorted. He couldn't believe he was even thinking on the fools words. Of course he could take care of his mate, no matter the circumstances. Then again, a job with Nick Fury could take care of some of his blood-lust.

Still, he sensed trouble. A feeling of Nick Fury wanting to get him under his thumb. There was also the matter of the cubs back in the school; providing for that many cubs was going to take a lot of work and, yes, money, but he didn't like the idea of leaving them alone for too long. At least, not until he had re-trained his little brother to watch them while he was gone. He had to admit the runt had been doing okay, but just okay. And he still had to get his mate comfortable with him.

He snarled. "You give me your secret and I'll consider it."

Nick Fury began to pace slowly back and forth. "You do realize that we can't just go around making everyone immortal. It would screw up the earths entire balance."

"Good thing I'm not lookin' to make a bunch of people immortal." Victor said snidely.

"No, just one." Nick Fury said calmly. "But if you have children, and they do not inherit your healing mutation, would you immortalize them too?"

"Hell yeah." Victor growled.

"And then they would have children and your children would have children, and if you made every single one immortal you could possibly over-run the world." Fury reasoned. "You are a natural predator, Mr. Creed, surely you understand balance and the eco-system."

Victor gritted his teeth together. Beheading the guy was looking better and better. "Fine, just my mate." Sabretooth/Victor growled. If his cubs didn't inherit his healing factor, he would find another way around it. Maybe replicate whatever old one'eye was using….or let nature take his course, no matter how much that hurt.

Victor shook his head mentally. One problem at a time.

"So you agree to work for me?" Nick asked.

"Doing what?" Victor growled, feeling cornered and not liking it.

"Oh, just the odd job here and there." Nick Fury said in a reasonable tone. "The ones that no other could possibly do."

"For how long?"

"Oh, as long as I need you."

Victor growled louder. "No dice, Fury. We agree on a term of service for how long, but I will NOT be your lap cat for eternity." His voice promised death.

Nick Fury shrugged, hands open, trying not to show his nervousness and yet feeling more confident. "I am not unreasonable. Let's say for fifty years, then you are free."

Victor growled. "I need to know about what makes you stay young first, Nicky. Whether or not it'll work on my frail."

"It's not a permanent solution, unfortunately." Nick Fury confided. "If it is not taken regularly every six months, the effects fade and time catches up. For instance, if I stopped taking it, I would age in fast-forward and be a crippled old man, possibly dead, in minutes."

Victor wondered if Nick knew how much information he was giving out at the moment. `…..He said 'If I stopped taking it' so that means it IS something like a pill….. Who is his supplier? What is it made of?` He was DETERMINED to find all of this out.

"And what about side-effects?" Victor asked, eyes burning into fury, scenting for truth and lies.

"Since this is not the original formula created, it does not increase strength and speed, but more like puts the body's aging on hold. I stay strong by diet and exercise. It's not a complete transformation like the other, so aside from immortality there are no side-effects."

And Nick was giving out more information. `The other…..` Victor pondered. `That means that there was a previous version of this…..this…..pill? I need more information…` But first, he would have to agree.

"Fine, but I have conditions." He cut into Nick Furys brief, triumphant grin. "I need to be ho—back at the school every night" –his mate needed her sleep after all—"I get triple the wages you pay your best officer, and after FORTY years of service, I still get whatever it is you use for my frail."

"I believe we can hammer something out." Nick nodded his head. "However, there may be missions that require more time to complete."

"No longer than two weeks." Victor growled. If he re-taught his brother well enough, he could leave his mate along for that long, right?

Nick Fury smiled, believing he had won. "I believe we can work something out."

"Great." Sabretooth grunted. "So what's your secret?"