The First Day of Class
It was 7:55am when Storm walked into room 1103 of the Social Sciences Annex – a lecture hall that seated close to 400 students. Though her heart rate was slightly elevated, it wasn't due to nervousness – quite the opposite actually…it was the thrill of teaching: turning eager young students on to knowledge and getting them started on their futures. The circumstances of her birth may have made her a warrior by trade, but teaching was something she always held dear – where she felt she could do the most good. It was nice to be back in a classroom again – though her last roster didn't have 354 college-age freshmen on it.
As she walked in, the nearly 6 foot tall weather goddess with hair just inches from the ground turned the heads of the 30 or so students already there, and immediately gained the attention of the ones coming in.
"Greetings students." she said once the class filled up - noting the excited young firecracker in the front row. "I'm Professor Arowlyn Montgomery. I'll be teaching Political Science 1 this quarter. We'll be discussing the basics of the American political system – including its origins and evolution."
"Professor!" an eager young male student asked from the third row. "Will you be having office hours today?"
"It's the first day!" she responded in shock. "We haven't even gone over the first readings yet. What questions could you possibly have at this point?" she asked.
"Oh…uh…" he replied – surprised at being put on the spot. "I just…wanted to…um…talk about…some individual help if I needed it this quarter."
The other male students in the class chuckled – knowing full well he had inadvertently vocalized what they were all thinking about the gorgeous professor.
"I see." Storm said with a smile while rubbing her hands together - bringing notable attention to her wedding ring. "Well I'll go over all of that when I discuss the syllabus." she replied. "As I said before, we'll discuss the basics of our political system this quarter. We'll have 2 exams, a final, and several quizzes in your discussion sections. For those of you thinking this will be an easy course to help acclimate you to the college setting – YOU'RE WRONG! This will be a very difficult course; but with a decent amount of effort, you'll do well…and yes, I expect to see many of you in office hours – but not today." she said to the slightly embarrassed freshman. "I suppose you want to know a little about me; and I'll definitely get to know you in your discussion sections. Let's see, I have a Ph.D. in genetics and a JD in Civil Rights law. I last taught at Sarah Michaels in New York, and am looking forward to my first quarter here at Davis. Any questions so far?"
A flood of hands went up – nearly all male.
"Professor Montgomery!" a high-pitched female voice squeaked.
"Yes?"
"While I'm sure all the BOYS in here want to ask you something important like what your phone number is or where you like to work out, I'd like to know if we'll be discussing civil rights this quarter."
"Very good question. What's your name?"
"Kim, Kim Lee."
"Well Kim, our constitution is based on civil rights, so yes – we'll have some pretty significant civil rights discussions. Also, my campus number is in the syllabus, my home number is unlisted, and I work out with my husband…the marine." The women in the class burst into laughter while the men remained unusually quiet…and took down their hands.
Storm fit into her role of Professor like she had been doing it for years. Even on the first day, the students responded to her very well. She had a passion for teaching and they connected with her immediately. It would seem teaching at the college level would be one more line to add to her already impressive and lengthy resume.
*****
Playing with Fire
The digital clock emitted a single pulse signifying the passing of another hour. At 2am, the clock was the only thing making noise in the giant warehouse-sized lab. The scientist watching over the mutant subjects that night was carefully going over some numbers he had received from the latest test results when he heard a motion alarm from one of the tanks go off. The faint beep only lasted a second so the short, early thirties man quickly refocused on his research. A few minutes later the alarm went off again – this time it kept beeping: one of the test subjects was actively moving. He jumped to his feet and looked at the monitors: it was UCD-4, and her vital statistics were off the scale. He immediately called for help from the guards and ran to the chamber.
The mutant inside was still unconscious but was starting to convulse. Her brain activity was off the scale and every couple of seconds her body jerked unnaturally. As the scientist studied her brainwaves and statistics, she started convulsing continuously. He had never seen anything like it. Her limbs jerked so fast he could barely see them. Had she not been completely submerged, she quite possibly could have broken the 2-inch plexiglass walls of her chamber. As it was, her suspended body just seemed to float and flail – stirring up the liquid in the chamber and pulling out some of her sensor attachments.
"What is it Doc?" 2 armed men yelled as they ran up to him. "What's goin' on?"
"It's UCD-4, I was warned about her earlier today – she's rejecting the treatment and starting to convulse. We need to get her out of there or who knows what'll happen – her mutant power is already starting to manifest itself uncontrollably."
"What do you want us to do?"
"Hold on a sec – I'll give her an injection of lydacane it should reverse the effects of the anesthesia and stop her from convulsing." he said as he punched the keypad. He could hear the slight hiss of the fluid being injected into her through one of the many tubes and chords that hadn't been ripped from her body. About a minute later her body stopped convulsing and calmed down. The scientist knew that it wouldn't take long before the lydacane fully kicked in though. He'd have to act fast if he wanted to protect all their research from being discovered.
"Quickly, get her out of there and put her on a stretcher." he yelled.
They wheeled a staircase up to the tank and opened the top of it. They then grabbed the woman by her armpits and pulled her out – severing the remaining connections between her and the sensors. After getting her out, they placed her on the stretcher and looked to the doc for further instructions.
"Hold on a sec – I'm preparing something for her." He said as he finished prepping a syringe. He injected a clear substance into her arm then with the depleted syringe, poked several more needle marks in and around her vein."
"What are you doing Doc?" one of the guards said.
"Covering our asses – we have to get rid of her and I don't want anyone tracing her back to this lab. I just injected her with trace amounts of cocaine. The other marks are to show a drug history."
He finished putting the needle marks on her arm and checked her eyes. "I don't know what effects the drugs will have on her. She may be fully conscious and aware soon or she may sleep for days. In any case, get rid of her."
"Wait a minute – nobody said nothing about killing no girls!" one of the guards said. "I ain't doin' it! You better…"
"Don't kill her you imbecile!" the scientist yelled – just get her out of here. She won't have any memory of this place – she's been unconscious for the last year and a half!"
"Oh…" responded the guard.
"Wash all that bio-fill off her, then dirty her up and dump her onto some road or something…she'll get picked up by the cops and that'll be that! They'll think she's just another junkie that had too much sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. Now hurry up and get her out of here before she wakes up."
The two men wheeled her out of the lab room and took her to the back end of the building where they kept all their vehicles. The building was actually a large warehouse near several aircraft hangars on an abandoned base. The base was completely empty when the scientist moved in which gave them the privacy they desired; and since they were operating near the hangers which were located on the most remote part of the base, even the surrounding community had no idea what was going on there.
The guards took her to a waterspout that had a large hose and nozzle attached to it.
"Go find some soap" one guard said. "I'll get started washing this crap offa her."
"Soap? Where the hell am I gonna find soap Jeff?"
"The hell if I know – try the bathroom – or check out the car supplies; they gotta have something ta wash the cars with right? It doesn't have ta be regular soap – just something to get this crap offa her."
A couple minutes later the other guard – Mike – came back with a couple large sponges and a bottle of Joy. By then, Jeff had already propped the young woman up against the wall and started rinsing her off with the hose.
"Got this in the kitchen. It's 'lemon scent.'" he said as he handed the stuff to Jeff. "It should work."
"Well don't give it to me – start scrubbin'!"
"Me? Why me?"
"Cuz I'm the senior guard – I've been here longer now hurry up, we don't have much time."
Mike soaked the sponge in joy and started washing the bio-fill off her. It took nearly 20 minutes for the two of them to clean her up enough to get the laboratory smell off of her body. Jeff took out a pocketknife and cut some of her hair off in odd lengths. When Mike questioned him about it, he said it would add to her junkie image – they always had lousy looking hair. After drying her off, they took a little dirt and rubbed it onto her skin in several places to give her the image of being a drifter. They then put her in the back of a van and took off. While placing her on the floor of the van, they noticed the first signs of consciousness – some slight moans.
They quickly drove her to the other side of town – which for this small town, wasn't very far. After searching for a few minutes they drove onto a frontage road between the freeway and some railroad tracks then parked the van and turned the lights off.
"We'll drop her off here – close to the freeway and railroad tracks. That way the police will think she was just drifting from town to town when she got left behind or something."
"Good idea Jeff." Mike said. As he climbed into the back of the van and started to pick her up. He then stopped and looked at her."
"What the hell are you doin' Mike?" Jeff said. "We gotta hurry."
"We want it to look like she's been into sex, drugs and rock-n-roll right?" Mike said as he started unbuttoning his pants. "Well, what better way than…"
"Are you crazy? What if she wakes up?"
"She won't – and even if she does – she'll be too stoned to remember me."
"Well I ain't watchin'" Jeff grunted as he got out of the van. "Hurry up and call me when it's over." He said as he lit a cigarette and walked around to the other side of the van.
Ten minutes later the door opened and Mike came out unbuttoning his pants.
"Jeff – hurry up, she's starting to wake up. I need help."
Jeff helped him pull the young woman out of the van and laid her on the side of the road. They weren't too far from an onramp to Highway 99 and were a little worried that she'd wake up and somehow stumble onto the freeway and get hurt. The risk of drawing unwanted attention to the area worried them so they decided an anonymous phone call to the police would be prudent.
It was coming up on 3:15 and both the frontage road and Highway 99 were completely empty. As they drove off, they noticed that the young woman had fallen asleep again – which eased their minds somewhat because they knew she wouldn't wake up and wonder off before they could get to a phone. Once on the freeway, they drove to the nearest callbox and reported seeing a woman wondering around by the freeway and railroad tracks. After that, they headed back to the hangar and told the nighttime scientist that everything had been taken care of.
The morning paper reported a small blip in the police section about an unknown woman picked up for suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and indecent exposure near the outskirts of town. Everything worked out exactly as the scientist predicted it would.
*****
Questions Questions Questions
A few days later…
"Logan" Storm said as she walked into their house. "You've been following up on missing persons reports? How is it going?"
"It's goin'"
"Found anything?"
"I've checked out all MIA's from the community colleges and high schools – nothin' came up unusual. I also checked up on all John and Jane Does in the area – none of them matched our the missing mutants."
"Anything else?"
"No."
"This is a longshot Logan, but also check hospitals and jails in the area for John and Jane Does. Maybe one of our missing mutants really did leave home and they just don't want to be found out. I'd like to eliminate that possibility. See if anything turns up. I have to check in with Beast."
"Will do Ro."
Twenty minutes later, Beast and Storm met for lunch in West Sacramento – an area just outside Davis.
"Harrison – what have you found out?"
"Plenty – but very little of it is useful I fear."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I inquired about some of the research projects going on and though most researchers were eager to talk about their work; the bulk of it had no bearing on our investigation."
"Do you have anything else to report?"
"Yes – your friend Hartford Ballister has his hands in quite a bit – he may be the Associate Dean, but he overseas several research projects. Unfortunately – those were the ones people were most tight-lipped about. As he seems to have taken a fancy to you, perhaps YOU can get more information out of him."
'I'll try…he knows I'm curious about his research and he promised to show me more of it. Keep looking around Beast. Let it be known that you are interested in mutant research and see if you get any nibbles."
"Sure thing…Professor Montgomery. Anything else…"
**Beep Beep** **Beep Beep** Storm's cell phone went off just as she was finishing her conversation with Beast.
"Hello, this is Arowlyn Montgomery."
"Ro – this is Logan. I may have a lead?"
"What?"
"A anonymous motorist called in a couple nights ago – a lady in her early twenties was found on the side of the road in a town called Atwater."
"By the Goddess – is she alive?"
"Yeah. They found her cold, dirty, naked and drugged up but they think she'll be okay. They don't have an ID on her yet and she ain't sayin' much but I'm headed down ta check it out."
"How can they not have an ID on her?"
"Something wrong with her prints…they came up funny – like they had been altered somehow. She's been fading in and out of consciousness so she ain't much help in tellin' what happened to her."
"Odd. Okay, keep me informed."
She disconnected and immediately called Bishop.
"Bishop – report."
"Got lots to report Storm. This thing is pretty big. I've either called or visited nearly every college in the State. I've found missing persons reports similar to those in Davis and Sacramento at nearly every State and UC school. A total of 53 – all the same M.O., and since the ones targeted were those that were least likely to be missed, that number could be higher. I haven't seen anything at any private or community colleges. I also haven't seen anything at any high schools."
"By the Goddess!"
"The bulk of the disappearances seem to be in your area though – 21 total from Sacramento and Davis. The other schools only reported 2 or 3 missing. Whatever's going on, I'd say you're right in the middle of it."
"Understood. Keep checking and report back at our next scheduled update." She turned to Beast and continued her conversation. "I have to get back to Davis – my class starts soon. I also need to talk with Hartford."
"Sure thing Professor Montgomery – I take it you'll pick up the tab for this lunch?"
"Me?"
"Well, you ARE a professor whereas I'm a lowly postdoc. Wouldn't it be most appropriate for you to treat? You wouldn't want anyone to become suspicious would you?"
"Okay you talked me into it – this time!"
An hour and a half later, Logan pulled up outside the Atwater Police Department. He straightened his tie and checked his suit – which was the worst part of the job for him. The Marine dress-greens weren't the greatest, but at least they seemed familiar…heck, they even made shaving three times a day almost worth it. This Private Investigator crap really got to him though, as he longed for the days of his leather jacket and jeans.
As he walked up to the reception desk of the police department he was greeted with the warm and friendly smile accustomed to small towns such as Atwater.
"Good afternoon sir – may I help you?" a cheerful lady asked from behind an inch of plexiglass.
"Yeah – I'm a private investigator" he said as he quickly flashed his credentials. "I'm looking for a missing coed from Davis – heard you guys picked up a Jane Doe..."
"Oh – you must mean our young Sleeping Beauty. Such a tragic case…she's so pretty, I don't know why today's youth want to waste their lives away on drugs. I really hope she gets her life together – who knows what might have happened to her if that fella hadn't called us from the freeway. She could have been hit by a car or a train or something."
"What fella?"
"You know…he didn't leave his name – he just reported seeing a lady on the side of the road then hung up."
"Did he call from a cell phone?"
"No sir, he called from a CHP callbox."
"Damn! Okay – where's the girl?"
"She's at MCMC right now…recovering from an overdose."
"MCMC?"
"Oh – that's the Merced County Medical Center. It's in the next town – just about 6 miles down Highway 99. You can't miss it – there are signs everywhere. Go to the west wing, 4th floor and ask for Sgt. Barnes. He'll tell you what you need to do to see her."
"Thanks Darlin'."
"You're welcome sir."
Logan quickly made it to MCMC and checked in with Sgt. Barnes. Since the only evidence they found on her was the group of track marks on her arm, they hadn't charged her with anything except public nudity. They were waiting for the toxicology report to come back so they could actually charge her with being under the influence of a controlled substance and send her off to jail. Because of that, Logan had no problems seeing her – even though they had put her in the ward with other junkies and the sorts…
When he walked into the ward, he immediately picked up on a weak but familiar scent. Sgt. Barnes ordered another police officer to assist Logan in finding her but it wasn't necessary – he let his nose lead himself right to her.
"Is this her?" he said as he stopped in front of a bed with a young and quite tattered woman asleep in it.
"Yeah – that's her…how'd you know?"
"How long has she been asleep?"
"Pretty much the entire time she's been here. She wakes up for an hour or 2, mumbles something about a tank, then falls back to sleep. She'll probably snap out of it in a couple days or so when the drugs are out of her system. How'd you know this was her?"
"Hold on a sec" he said as he lifted her arm and closely studied the track marks on it. The officer couldn't tell, but Logan was doing more than studying her arm. He sniffed the air several more times before figuring out what was going on.
"Her name is Lisa…Lisa Johnston."
"You know her?"
"Yeah – she's one of the missing kids I've been lookin' fer… Her parents have been lookin' since she disappeared early last year."
"Well, if her parents did a better job raising her maybe she wouldn't have ended up drugged and naked on the side of the road. – These kids these days…they have no idea what living responsib…"
"She didn't do this! Someone did it to her!"
"What? What do you mean?"
"Someone poked her arm with a needle to make it look like she had a drug history."
"How can you tell?"
"Let's just say I got a nose for these things Bub. There's something different about her too – she's too clean?"
"What? She came in covered with dirt – it took 3 sponge baths just to clean her up."
"That's not what I mean – she was covered with dish soap. The dirt was put on her to make it look like she'd been inta some bad stuff. This stinks ta high-heaven…she ain't no basehead, she's a victim."
"I better get Sgt. Barnes in here right away."
Sgt. Barnes came in and addressed Logan's concerns.
"What do you mean she's a victim? She's a victim of her own drug abuse…I've got the evidence right here" he said as he flashed a manila folder at Logan. "Her blood is full of drugs."
"Her blood may be, but she doesn't have a history of it."
"How can you tell?"
"Like I told yer deputy here…I gotta nose fer things like this. Did you do a drug test on her hair to see how long her drug history went back?"
"No – we didn't' have to – she had track marks all over her arm."
"Yeah – but a sample of her hair will prove what I'm saying…this was probably the first time she's ever tried drugs. There's something else here too – what did they wash her down with?"
"It was an alcohol mix – not very strong."
"I'm detecting another scents – dish soap and some sorta chemical - her whole body was covered in it."
"What? How do you know these things?"
"I been doin' this type of investigatin' fer years. Lemme see that tox. report." Because he was so knowledgeable, Sgt. Barnes allowed Logan to see it. "Says here they found traces of lydacane and anesthesia. She ain't gotta weak heart – no reason for her to take lydacane. Somethin' fishy is definitely goin' on here. Where exactly did you find her?" Sgt. Barnes showed Logan where they found her on a map of the area. He then called Janice Johnston to give her the news.
"Johnston residence." she answered.
"Mrs. Johnston, this is Lawrence Jacobs – do you remember me?"
"Yes I remember you…have you called to ask me more questions?"
"No – we found Lisa."
"What?!?!?!"
"Yeah – she's unconscious right now…been fading in and out since they picked her up a couple nights ago, but she should make a full recovery."
"Where is she?" Janice said with tears starting to form in her eyes.
"She's in a hospital in Merced, CA – take 99 down until you get to Merced, then just follow the signs…you can't miss it. Go to the west wing – 4th floor. I'll be waiting for you…it should take you about three and a half hours.
After informing Janice of the news regarding her daughter, he refocused on Lisa. He studied the track marks more to see if they could give him any more information. He noticed each mark looked like it either hit the vein precisely or missed completely – the mark of either a good junkie or someone with some sort of medical background trying to make Lisa look like a good junkie. He also studied the scents surrounding her. He picked up on the dirt rubbed into her to make her look like a drifter. He picked up on the alcohol solution the nurses used to hap-hazardly clean her up – the typical treatment drifters and junkies received. He picked up more of the chemical her body seemed to be covered in…he could smell it under her nails, in her hair, even in her ears. The smell was familiar, but only vaguely familiar because it had been mixed and masked by so many other chemicals at that point. He picked up on the injection of lydacane into her system. He also picked up a bit of her natural scent – the one he noticed back at her parents' house. With his senses working overtime, he even picked up on the slightest hint of carbon monoxide caused by the van exhaust they had driven her around in. Then he picked up on something else – something he wished he hadn't…the scent of another man – an unwelcome one at that.
"Did you check her for sexual activity?" he said as he turned to Sgt. Barnes.
"No…most baseheads have sex – it's a given. Why should she have been any different?"
"Like I said – she ain't no basehead…and she DID have sex recently. Though I don't think it was something she had in mind?"
"How can you tell?"
"I smell the cologne of another man…"
"So what – that just means she had sex – what makes you think it was forcible?"
"Well I don't know about you Bub, but when I make love to a woman…my scent ends up all over her…not just in a few choice spots. This fella obviously didn't believe in foreplay."
"You can sense all that?" Sgt. Barnes said in astonishment.
"Yeah, that's why I'm such a good investigator – the best there is as a matter of fact…cuz I can sniff out the clues." Logan said as he looked from Lisa up to Sgt. Barnes and back down again. "Somethin's wrong with her hair too."
"What's wrong with it?"
"It was cut recently – Probably right before you found her."
"So…"
"So – it was probably done to make her look worse than she was…like a junkie. What's the matter with you small-town cops…don't y'all ever watch Matlock?"
Four hours later Janice and her husband showed up and met Logan at the hospital.
"Where is she?" Janice yelled to Logan. "Where is my baby."
"She's in there. But before you go in, there are some things I need to talk to you about."
"What?"
"It looks like someone kidnapped yer daughter and cut her loose a couple nights ago. They tried ta make it look like she was a junkie – like she did this to herself, so she looks pretty bad."
"I want to see her…"
"This way…" he said as he led her and her husband into the room.
"Oh my God" Janice said as she looked at her daughter. Lisa was a lot thinner than the last time her mother saw her – which was saying a lot for her considering how petite she was to begin with. Lying there unconscious with a pale complexion and her hair cut the way it was; she looked pretty bad. Janice hugged her and started crying almost as soon as she saw her. It didn't matter what Lisa looked like – Janice was just glad to have her back. The hugging and crying woke Lisa and she weakly managed to open her eyes.
"M…mom?" she timidly said.
"Lisa? My baby – oh my God Lisa…it's so good to have you back." her mother said between hugs
"Where…where am I? How did I get here?"
"You're in the hospital." Janice said. "That man found you." She pointed to Logan; and so overcome with happiness she ran and gave him a hug. That gave Lisa's father time to slip in and give his daughter a long-overdue hug.
"Dad?" What happened?"
"I don't know Pumpkin…" he said as tears started forming in his eyes to. "All I know is that I've missed you so much. I love you so much Lisa."
"How long have I been gone?" Lisa asked - the sight of her parents giving her some much-needed strength.
"A year and a half." her father tearfully said.
"What?"
"A very painful year and a half…" he repeated.
"Do you remember anything?" Logan asked above her father's voice. "Do you remember where you were?"
"No. I…I don't remember anything."
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"It feels like it was so long ago. I…I was at Davis. I heard my door open. Someone grabbed me…that's all I remember. The rest just seems like one long dream."
"What was your dream about?"
"Do you have to ask these questions now Mr. Jacobs? Janice interrupted.
"Ma'am – there are a lot of other kids missing out there and I need to figure out what's happened to them. Yer daughter is the first of 'em ta be found and that means the others could still be alive. I gotta ask these questions."
"It's okay mom. My dreams were strange…I…I."
"Take yer time Darlin'…just relax."
"I remember being underwater – like I was SCUBA diving, but I couldn't go anywhere. I couldn't move or anything. I remember THAT in my dreams – not being able to do anything. I also remember hearing heartbeats…they seemed to be all around me, tiny heartbeats. I remember a man – I saw his face because he was on top of me. I only saw him for a second because I was so tired but he had a rough beard – I remember seeing it. I'm sorry Mr. Jacobs, I don't remember anything else."
"That's okay – you told me plenty Darlin'. When you're feelin' better, I'm gonna come back and visit. I'll introduce you to a friend of mine – a doctor. I want him to examine you and make sure nobody has done any permanent damage to you. Then I'll introduce you to another friend – she's a counselor so to speak…she's very wise. She'll help you get through this…she'll also help you with a few other things you may have questions about."
"What kind of counselor is she?"
"Let's just say she specializes in lost souls like you and me."
"What?"
"Never mind that…you just rest and get better." he said as he started walking out the room. Janice caught up with him just outside the door and hugged him again.
"Thank you Mr. Jacobs for finding my daughter."
"Yer welcome ma'am."
"And thank you for looking even though she was…a mutant" she said in a whisper.
"She's a person lady – plain and simple…with the same rights and feelings as everybody else."
"Yes, but I've seen how mutants are treated – you didn't look down on her at all."
"Of course not – I know what it's like ta lose someone ya love…that's something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Besides…" he said as his demeanor turned deadly serious and he popped out one of his claws and quickly withdrew it before anyone else noticed. "Your daughter and I have more than you think in common. I was once right where she is now – woke up without any memory of what happened to me and found out someone had done some things I didn't want done. Um gonna find out who did this to yer daughter…That's a promise you can bank on. History AIN'T gonna repeat itself if I have anything to say about it!"
"I'm so sorry" she said to him.
"Don't be…now's the time to be happy – you have yer daughter back. She's gonna need yer help Janice. She may not know what happened to her, but she knows someone did something to her against her will. That's gonna eat away at her. My friend'll be able to help her, but she's really gonna need you there for support."
"I'll be there for her…we both will."
"Good – you may wanna get her into a nicer room and tell the doctors ta keep a close eye on her…at least until the drugs are out of her system. I'll be back tomorrow morning with my doctor friend. He's the best there is – way ahead of the medicos they got workin' here. He'll make sure she's fine."
"Thank you Mr. Jacobs."
"Yer welcome…" he said as he walked off.
Three hours later he pulled into a camp sight at Lake Berryessa. It was the team's weekly meeting place outside Davis. The roads to area were pretty windy and slow moving which made it easy to tell if they were being followed. It also made it easy to tell if anyone was approaching them. The location was pretty familiar to Logan and Jubilee because he'd taken her camping there before. It was a new and welcome site for the rest of the X-Men as it allowed them a bit of recreation outside their X-Men activities.
Logan was the first to arrive – followed by Beast, Storm, Bishop and finally Jubilee. She was excused for being late because of her stable-cleaning duties – something she really didn't feel like being heckled about…which of course didn't stop the senior X-Men from really giving it to her. After a few good horse jokes, they finally got down to business.
"Logan – what have you found?" Storm inquired.
"You hit it on the money with that police report investigation. Lisa Johnston was found a couple nights ago by highway 99 in a town called Atwater. She's been reunited with her parents and is recovering well at MCMC in Merced. Me and Hank are goin' down tomorrow mornin' so he can do a through examination on her."
"Good – what have you discovered about her disappearance."
"Whoever it was kept her pretty clean and healthy. Outside losing a few pounds, she was in relatively good condition. Somebody went through a lot of trouble to hide her disappearance though. It was clear they didn't want to kill her, but they did a good job makin' her look like a runaway junkie. The shot her up with coke then dirtied her up ta make her look like a drifter. Somebody raped her too. There was something else about her…a scent I picked up that seemed familiar but I couldn't place it…it was covered up by all the other stuff she had on her."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah – she couldn't remember anything that had happened to her outside some strange dreams and wakin' up to some fella on top of her."
"What were her dreams about?"
"She said she was SCUBA divin' but couldn't move. That's all I got so far."
"Bishop – you're next." Storm said.
"I'm just about finished with my investigation on other schools. Fifty-three students have disappeared from CSU and UC schools in the last 3 years. They all had the same MO – they lived in the dorms, their roommates came home one weekend and found all their stuff gone. There may be more – I just can't tell."
"What about other schools."
"Nothing fishy going on at community colleges or high schools."
"You were saying something about the distribution?"
"Yeah – the further away from this area, the less missing students. Whatever's going on, UC Davis and Sac. State are right in the middle of it."
"Anything else?"
"No."
"What about the other people you mentioned? The ones that lived alone or had problems…"
"Too hard to investigate – there are too many of 'em."
"Okay – focus on Sac. State – check out all the drop-outs in the last 3 years and see if they are all accounted for."
"Will do Storm!"
"Beast?"
"Very little – I still haven't made any headway into Ballister's research – or any of the projects under him. It's highly unlikely that someone of his stature would be involved in such activity, but considering everything he oversees – I'm quite sure that if there is something suspect at UC Davis – it would be in his area."
"Leave Ballister to me – I've arranged a meeting with him on Monday and he's going to give me a tour of his labs and show me his research. I'll see if I can get a peek at some of the research the people under him are doing."
"Good – because I've gotten nowhere else. I put the feelers out that I was interested in what genetic researchers have done but haven't gotten anything back yet."
"Okay – keep trying." Storm Said." Jubilee?"
"Besides cleaning stables – I haven't heard anything."
"Okay – I want you to start letting your powers slip out."
"Slip out?"
"Yeah – I want you to subtly let it be known that you are a mutant – but be selective…not around your roommates or anything…talk with professors and teaching assistants in their office hours and let it slip then…also, try your resident director."
"Okay."
After a lengthy discussion about everything else, the meeting convened and the X-Men started heading back. Logan and Storm decided this would be the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time away from the mission so they stayed at the lake. Living at the mansion in Salem Center was nice because they were around all of their "family" members, but living alone in California definitely had its benefits. Sitting at Lake Berryessa and looking at the stars gave them peace that they rarely saw.
The trip to Berryessa also revitalized Wolverine who had just come from seeing Lisa and was in a piss-poor mood over the things he had discovered. The anger in him had built up pretty high. It wasn't to the point of his berserker rage, but for some unknown reason he was quite a bit madder than he thought he should be. Storm sensed it in him as well, which contributed to her reason for staying at the lake.
"Logan? Is something bothering you?" she said with a look of concern. Although he had his arm around her waist and was straddling her side when she asked him, it was obvious that his mind was miles away.
"What?" he responded as if he had just snapped out of a trance.
"You seem distant. What's wrong?"
"I dunno. This mission is really gettin' ta me. Somethin' about seeing Lisa really put me on edge."
"Did she look familiar?"
"No, it wasn't that…it was something else. Something just made me angry when I saw her."
"Well that's understandable – she's been missing for a year and a half, and when you find her you discover obvious signs of abuse…"
"Yeah I know, but it's more than that…I just can't figure out what it is – somethin' about this really stinks. That chemical she was covered in - I still can't place it but I know I've smelled it or somethin' like it before…recently."
"Well, let's trace your steps…it was obviously in California right?"
"Yah…"
"Do you think you came across it when you were talking to parents?"
"No – picked up on a lot of scents, but nothin' outta the ordinary…"
"Okay – maybe we're going about this the wrong way. Since it's some sort of chemical smell, let's start with that. Have you been around any labs recently?"
"Nope…not a one. The closest I came to a lab was yer friend Hartford, and that was the other day at…WAIT A MINUTE!"
"Do you remember?"
"Yeah – at that lunch, yer friend Hartford smelled like it, but it was real faint on him."
"Is it the exact same scent?"
"I couldn't tell…Lisa had so many other scents on her that clashed. But one thing's fer sure…I wanna get a closer look at yer friend's labs."
"And you will; but not now. I'll do the preliminary work and once I've checked it out, you can investigate. Okay?"
"Yeah…okay."
Having sensed his tension before the meeting, Storm planned ahead to do some things that would take Logan's mind off the mission and bring a little satisfaction back into his life.
"Will you do something for me now?" she asked in a romantically inquiring voice.
"Whuzzat Storm?"
"Whuzzat Storm??? There is absolutely nobody around for miles and you still call me Storm. Can't we be a LITTLE more informal?"
"Okay…whuzzat Ro?"
"Logan!" she snapped - as if he knew exactly what she was talking about – which he did.
"Alright already! Whuzzat…Snowflake." he said in a somewhat softer voice. Snowflake was his special name for her and she loved it when he used it because he was always in a good mood. He gave it to her during the winter season when the X-Men were engaged in one of Cyclops' training sessions – something everybody else decided to turn into a friendly snowball fight. She laughed a sigh of relief, which lead to a grunt and a smirk from him. With her continued smile, he started smiling, then held her closer.
"I brought your guitar. Will you sing to me?"
"I ain't in the mood ta be singin' right now Ro."
"Pleeeease" she said in her most affectionate voice…the one he could never resist. "Here I am at this beautiful lake surrounded by these beautiful trees and these beautiful mountains with the man I love and he doesn't want to sing to me."
"You don't want me to sing to you right now Ro, I…"
"Please, pretty please." she said, her fingers rubbing his chest and running along his hair.
"All right…he said, knowing full well he lost the battle right after she asked him to sing. "But um in a blues kinda mood."
"That's okay, I just want to hear your voice. You've barely touched your guitar since we came to California."
As she walked back to the car, he couldn't help but notice her swagger. She intentionally overemphasized her walk - giving her a highly seductive look.
"That's quite a HITCH in yer GET-ALONG!" he yelled as he whistled at her. She turned around and winked at him. She could tell his mood was already starting to change.
She pulled an old, haggard acoustic guitar case out of the trunk of her car. The case was due to be replaced, but it and the guitar inside were remnants from Wolverine's past. He didn't even remember knowing how to play it until he found it at the cabin where he buried Silverfox. It was covered with dust sitting in a corner but was still in relatively good condition. Logan took it back to the manufacturer - Pimentel out of New Mexico - to get it restored and see if anyone remembered whom the guitar was sold to. Though each guitar was numbered, the owner – who had now expanded the very popular business to "Pimentel and Sons" - couldn't remember who purchased it. The only lead he could give Logan was that it was sold some time between 1952 and 1953. Though the lead didn't amount to anything, Lorenzo Pimentel decided to restore the guitar for free. It was a momento of a period long gone…from the first couple years of his business. That, coupled with the story of how Logan came across it and what it meant to him, convinced Lorenzo to take on the task as a gift. When he got it back he was amazed at how well it looked and played – and at how well he played it. Though no particular song came to mind, it was obvious he knew how to play it – and how to play it well at that.
The discovery of the guitar told him that he played, but he didn't know (or care) about singing. It wasn't an issue until he started dating Storm. Occasionally on their wilderness outings, he would let his musical talent show by strumming a few notes for her – some romantic, but mostly blues. On one occasion she asked him to sing. He responded with a resounding grunt. "I take it that's a 'no?'" she inquired. "That's a HELL NO!" he responded. It wasn't until she told him she thought he was AFRAID of singing that he actually barked out a few lines – something she very much regretted. But after a bit more sweet-talking, she convinced him to continue in a softer tone. Although he opted to keep his day job, he actually became pretty good at it – good enough to please Storm at least.
The first song he played was true to form – blue and sad. It was called "Six Strings Down" – a tribute to all of the great blues singers that had died. Though it was a sad song, Storm's idea worked out really well. Singing had taken his mind off the mission and he was now thinking about other things; which pleasantly surprised her when his next song was "Pride and Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughn. It was the perfect mixture of manliness and brawn with enough romanticism to satisfy nearly any woman. It had also come to be one of Storm's favorites. She normally went for the smoother sounds of jazz, but ever since Logan introduced her to the intricacies of blues, she really took a liking to the more popular blues artists. She particularly became familiar with Stevie Ray Vaughn because he was one of Logan's favorites and he often sang his songs. Vaughn's songs were a bit more upbeat and his voice was almost as rough and raspy as Logan's. She loved the passion in Logan's voice when he sang it to her. She knew it was something he did just for her and knew it came from the heart.
You heard about love giving sight to the blind
My baby's loving causes the sun to shine
She's my sweet little thang
She's my pride and joy
She's my sweet little baby
I'm her little lover boy
I love my baby with my heart and soul
A love like ours will never grow old
She's my sweet little thang
She's my pride and joy
She's my sweet little baby
I'm her little lover boy
I love my baby long and lean
You mess with her, you see this man gettin' mean
She's my pride and joy
She's my sweet little baby
And I'm her little lover boy
I love my baby like the finest wine
I'll stick with her until the end of time
She's my pride and joy
She's my sweet little baby
And I'm her little lover boy
I love my baby with my heart and soul
A love like ours will never grow old
She's my sweet little thang
She's my pride and joy
She's my sweet little baby
I'm her little lover boy
They spent the rest of the night together at Lake Berryessa before heading back to Davis early the next morning. The time with Storm did Logan a world of good – he felt a lot more focused and was ready to attack the mission from a fresh perspective.
No matter what mood Logan was in, Storm could always make him feel better. The one thing that bothered her though was what brought him down in the first place. She knew that he was at times a moody person, but there was almost always a reason for it. Every now and then he just needed to blow off steam – usually when Cyclops did something that rubbed him the wrong way; but these slow-boiling moods were usually brought on by something big. She'd known him long enough to know that when he sensed something but didn't know what it was, something bad was about to happen.