Sniper-X: Chapter 3-Mornin' Sunshine
Morning came much too early for SX's liking. She glanced at her wristwatch, 6:30. 'Damn. Why the hell can't I get any goddamn sleep?!' She thought to herself, dragging her tired body from the bed to the bathroom where she could take a hot shower to wake her up.
Sniper-X came out of the bathroom, wrapped up in a towel, her short wet hair leaving a trail of water droplets on the grungy carpet. She tossed her backpack up on the bed and sifted through it, pulling out a black tank-top and some cargo pants. SX just stood for a moment with her hands on her hips, staring at the clothes she'd laid out on the bed. She cocked her head to the side and mumbled, "I just realized something..." Her eyes did a loop around the room and she tilted her head to the other side. "...I wear alot of dull colors." SX shrugged and began getting dressed, not thinking about her random thought for another second.
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By 7:15, Sniper-X was walking into the little diner that was next to the hotel, and just a few blocks down from the bar. She whipped her head to the side as she entered, to get her bangs away from her face. She scanned the pretty much empty diner instinctively, seating herself in a back corner booth.
While waiting for some service, SX took out her wallet, taking from it an empty crumpled piece of paper. She then reached into one of her cargo pockets and took out a ball point pen. SX carefully spread the paper out on the table, somewhat pressing out the creases as best she could. She then wrote 'LOGAN' in capital letters on the first line of the paper. She traced over the name many times with the pen until was very bold and clear. SX didn't really understand why she was doing this. Maybe to remember his name because he was one of the few people that had cared for her at the time of their meeting. Even if it was for a brief second or two, the man actually cared.
As if by some strange coincidence, Logan appeared out of nowhere and sat down across from SX at her booth. She cursed herself for being in a daze and not noticing him come in. Although SX was somewhat surprised by his entrance, she gazed blankly where Logan was sitting, without saying a word.
Logan half-smiled, a hint of a smirk on his face. "Mornin' Sunshine." He crossed his arms over his broad chest and just looked at her, waiting for her to say something...maybe get pissed, or answer in a 'hello'.
Sniper-X mimicked Logan's posture, crossing her arms. She glared at him. "What are you, some kind of stalker?" Was he trying to piss her off? Trying to annoy her? Why the hell was he so interested in her? SX was more than a little curious, but she tried not to show it.
Logan shook his head, a grunting laugh escaping his lips. He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward on the table, a serious expression on his face. "How do ya know I ain't a cop?"
SX leaned back, arms still crossed. She was not impressed. The man was definetly *not* a cop, she could tell. Who he was exactly, that she couldn't tell. "You just ain't a cop. I can tell." She paused, as if thinking of something else to say. "Besides, you don't have a southern accent. You ain't even from around here." SX's face remained stoic, but inside she was grinning, proud of herself.
Logan leaned back against the seat again, somewhat impressed and curious about her attention to certain detail. "What about CIA? How do ya know I ain't an agent and I'm checkin' up on you, Zoe Gibson."
SX rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're not CIA. First of all, if ya *were* a spook, you'd more likely be wearin' a suit...not faded jeans and a flannel shirt. Second of all, yer hair an' facial hair is all wrong for the part...attitude too." She watched as Logan raised an eyebrow and let out a low grunt. "Plus ya came in on a motorcycle with a saddlebag attached, and yer not even carrying a piece."
Logan nodded in a sense of approval from her evaluation. "Alright Zoe, "
SX shook her head, interrupting him. "And another thing, my name ain't Zoe Gibson. I'm not 23, as you guessed last night, and if you were after me specifically for any reason, you'd know my real name...or atleast what I'm most called by anyway."
Logan was curious, now more than ever. This kid, whoever she was, was running from something...or someone. He just had to figure out what it was in order to help her. "Look kid, I ain't with an agency, police team, whatever." Logan sighed. "I know a troubled kid when I see one, a kid with a secret maybe? Runnin' from somethin'? I'm jus' tryin' ta help ya out."
SX let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Look, I know you *want* to help me, but you don't know what yer gettin' into here Logan. You don't know me, I don't know you, and foremost, I don't even know myself. I've been in way too deep, way too long for it to be fixed."
Logan shook his head. "That's where yer wrong kid. We got somethin' in common you an' me...I dunno who I really am either." Why he was spilling so much to this kid, he had no idea. He wanted to help her, he truly did. For some reason, this kid had caught his eye. Logan usually kept to himself as he traveled, not really paying attention to the other people around him, or even caring really. This time was different. Professor X's philosophies must have rubbed off on him some how.
SX was curious now too. She didn't know why Logan cared, and now...she didn't know why she cared that he cared either. It was a confusing thought, but SX decided she'd go along with the flow this time. Maybe this was exactly what she needed. Someone was trying to help her, without expecting anything in return. Maybe this was her chance at a try for new beginings. "Okay."
Logan looked up, snapped out his thoughts by her voice. "Okay what?"
SX rolled her eyes. "If you wanna help me out..." She was cursing herself mentally for giving up so easily. "...I ain't gonna stop ya."
Logan nodded, feeling that he was finally getting somewhere with this girl.
"But first..."
"What?" Logan was expecting her to lay down some ground rules or something.
"...You're paying for breakfast." SX smiled contently.
"Heh, ahright kid, but after breakfast are ya gonna atleast tell me yer name?"
SX looked up at the ceiling, mulling the throught around in her head. "Eh....okay."
---------------
After leaving the diner, SX brought Logan to her hotel room. She walked over to the bed and sat down, cheking her backpack just to make sure everything was all there.
Logan remained standing by the door, hands in his pockets. "So, what's yer name kid?"
Once she was satisfied that nothing had been stolen, SX dumped all the contents of her backpack onto the bed.
Logan stared in disbelief at what the young girl had been carrying. He was more than a little shocked. Although the kid seemed strange to him, he never would've guessed what she had been doing most of her life, let alone the skills she'd aquired while doing so.
Morning came much too early for SX's liking. She glanced at her wristwatch, 6:30. 'Damn. Why the hell can't I get any goddamn sleep?!' She thought to herself, dragging her tired body from the bed to the bathroom where she could take a hot shower to wake her up.
Sniper-X came out of the bathroom, wrapped up in a towel, her short wet hair leaving a trail of water droplets on the grungy carpet. She tossed her backpack up on the bed and sifted through it, pulling out a black tank-top and some cargo pants. SX just stood for a moment with her hands on her hips, staring at the clothes she'd laid out on the bed. She cocked her head to the side and mumbled, "I just realized something..." Her eyes did a loop around the room and she tilted her head to the other side. "...I wear alot of dull colors." SX shrugged and began getting dressed, not thinking about her random thought for another second.
---------------
By 7:15, Sniper-X was walking into the little diner that was next to the hotel, and just a few blocks down from the bar. She whipped her head to the side as she entered, to get her bangs away from her face. She scanned the pretty much empty diner instinctively, seating herself in a back corner booth.
While waiting for some service, SX took out her wallet, taking from it an empty crumpled piece of paper. She then reached into one of her cargo pockets and took out a ball point pen. SX carefully spread the paper out on the table, somewhat pressing out the creases as best she could. She then wrote 'LOGAN' in capital letters on the first line of the paper. She traced over the name many times with the pen until was very bold and clear. SX didn't really understand why she was doing this. Maybe to remember his name because he was one of the few people that had cared for her at the time of their meeting. Even if it was for a brief second or two, the man actually cared.
As if by some strange coincidence, Logan appeared out of nowhere and sat down across from SX at her booth. She cursed herself for being in a daze and not noticing him come in. Although SX was somewhat surprised by his entrance, she gazed blankly where Logan was sitting, without saying a word.
Logan half-smiled, a hint of a smirk on his face. "Mornin' Sunshine." He crossed his arms over his broad chest and just looked at her, waiting for her to say something...maybe get pissed, or answer in a 'hello'.
Sniper-X mimicked Logan's posture, crossing her arms. She glared at him. "What are you, some kind of stalker?" Was he trying to piss her off? Trying to annoy her? Why the hell was he so interested in her? SX was more than a little curious, but she tried not to show it.
Logan shook his head, a grunting laugh escaping his lips. He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward on the table, a serious expression on his face. "How do ya know I ain't a cop?"
SX leaned back, arms still crossed. She was not impressed. The man was definetly *not* a cop, she could tell. Who he was exactly, that she couldn't tell. "You just ain't a cop. I can tell." She paused, as if thinking of something else to say. "Besides, you don't have a southern accent. You ain't even from around here." SX's face remained stoic, but inside she was grinning, proud of herself.
Logan leaned back against the seat again, somewhat impressed and curious about her attention to certain detail. "What about CIA? How do ya know I ain't an agent and I'm checkin' up on you, Zoe Gibson."
SX rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're not CIA. First of all, if ya *were* a spook, you'd more likely be wearin' a suit...not faded jeans and a flannel shirt. Second of all, yer hair an' facial hair is all wrong for the part...attitude too." She watched as Logan raised an eyebrow and let out a low grunt. "Plus ya came in on a motorcycle with a saddlebag attached, and yer not even carrying a piece."
Logan nodded in a sense of approval from her evaluation. "Alright Zoe, "
SX shook her head, interrupting him. "And another thing, my name ain't Zoe Gibson. I'm not 23, as you guessed last night, and if you were after me specifically for any reason, you'd know my real name...or atleast what I'm most called by anyway."
Logan was curious, now more than ever. This kid, whoever she was, was running from something...or someone. He just had to figure out what it was in order to help her. "Look kid, I ain't with an agency, police team, whatever." Logan sighed. "I know a troubled kid when I see one, a kid with a secret maybe? Runnin' from somethin'? I'm jus' tryin' ta help ya out."
SX let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Look, I know you *want* to help me, but you don't know what yer gettin' into here Logan. You don't know me, I don't know you, and foremost, I don't even know myself. I've been in way too deep, way too long for it to be fixed."
Logan shook his head. "That's where yer wrong kid. We got somethin' in common you an' me...I dunno who I really am either." Why he was spilling so much to this kid, he had no idea. He wanted to help her, he truly did. For some reason, this kid had caught his eye. Logan usually kept to himself as he traveled, not really paying attention to the other people around him, or even caring really. This time was different. Professor X's philosophies must have rubbed off on him some how.
SX was curious now too. She didn't know why Logan cared, and now...she didn't know why she cared that he cared either. It was a confusing thought, but SX decided she'd go along with the flow this time. Maybe this was exactly what she needed. Someone was trying to help her, without expecting anything in return. Maybe this was her chance at a try for new beginings. "Okay."
Logan looked up, snapped out his thoughts by her voice. "Okay what?"
SX rolled her eyes. "If you wanna help me out..." She was cursing herself mentally for giving up so easily. "...I ain't gonna stop ya."
Logan nodded, feeling that he was finally getting somewhere with this girl.
"But first..."
"What?" Logan was expecting her to lay down some ground rules or something.
"...You're paying for breakfast." SX smiled contently.
"Heh, ahright kid, but after breakfast are ya gonna atleast tell me yer name?"
SX looked up at the ceiling, mulling the throught around in her head. "Eh....okay."
---------------
After leaving the diner, SX brought Logan to her hotel room. She walked over to the bed and sat down, cheking her backpack just to make sure everything was all there.
Logan remained standing by the door, hands in his pockets. "So, what's yer name kid?"
Once she was satisfied that nothing had been stolen, SX dumped all the contents of her backpack onto the bed.
Logan stared in disbelief at what the young girl had been carrying. He was more than a little shocked. Although the kid seemed strange to him, he never would've guessed what she had been doing most of her life, let alone the skills she'd aquired while doing so.