Three ficlets have been added to the page: 'What You Didn't Know' by T'Girl, 'A Mother's Care' by MissNovelist, and 'Russian Roulette' by Maxwell Dark.

The addy is sorciere.freeservers.com / journey / index.html (without the spaces)

A/N 1: As in the previous chapters – ideas for fic and character development, questions, plotbunnies, suggestions, flames, character pictures, corrections, additions, comments, and everything in between can be mailed to hack_heaven@usa.net

A/N 2: VivaGlam: *smirk* I once told you that when this fic was done, nothing would be what it seemed. I'm starting to make good on that promise now.

Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

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Tenth Interlude: Art of Deception

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The girl entered the office silently, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. She cast a slightly nervous look around, then looked down, waiting for the man behind the large desk to speak. Everything about the room was designed to signal wealth and power, and to make any visitor feel small and insignificant. Judging by the girl's reaction, it worked admirably.

"I trust that the officials treated you well?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow inquiringly.

Rina raised her head hesitantly, not entirely comfortable in the man's presence. It wasn't that he looked threatening - middle-aged, and with a few gray hairs among the black, giving him a distinguished look that hardly spoke of danger. It was more the fact that she knew his reputation, and although she had done business with some of his subordinates on her way to New York, she had never met him in person before.

"Yes, Sir," she replied, trying to force her uneasiness aside. "They didn't really like working with a mutant, but they treated me nicely."

The man nodded, absently toying with one of the pens on the table.

"Good. Did everything go as planned?"

"Nobody got hurt, so...I guess so," Rina said hesitantly. "I just..." she trailed off, unsure of how far she was allowed to go.

"Da?" Sergey asked, prompting her to continue.

"It's just - I don't like it..." Rina confessed softly. "Helping the humans capture them...I thought mutants were supposed to stick together."

"We all do what we must do to survive, Rina," Sergey explained, much like someone would explain something unpleasant to a child. "I still have things I want to do with my life, and those plans do not include dying at the hands of the government."

Rina's head snapped up at those words, real worry visible in her eyes for the first time since she entered the room.

"Die? You mean they're going to get killed?"

"They're mutants and wanted killers, child," Sergey explained gently. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but they will only be kept alive for long enough to go through a faux trial. The public is demanding that the government does something about the mutant problem, and this will be just the thing needed to silence the masses."

"But---how can you help the humans like that?" Rina asked, torn between confusion and anger. "You're a mutant, too - how can you help them after all they've done to our kind?"

Sergey shook his head.

"You're young. To you, the world is still black and while, but it doesn't work that way in real life. Sometimes we have to compromise. I know what the humans did to you, Rina, and I agree that you have every right to hate them, but what you did today, you did for the greater good."

"What do you mean?" Rina asked confused.

"I am not one of God's best children, I readily admit that, but there are various levels of...'evil', so to speak," Sergey began. "Yes, I *have* ordered people killed, but only as a last resort, and I have never made a decision like that easily. My methods are not legal, I'll admit that as well, but I am not an evil person. If I *had* been, I would never have bothered to use my resources to help mutants out of the country, but would instead have handed them over to the government - you included," he added and sent Rina a pointed look.

The girl looked away, starting to regret her objections. He was right, wasn't he? He *had* helped mutants escape the FoH on several occasions - always for a fee, of course, but that was only to be expected. And he's saved *her* life as well - she had no right to doubt him...did she?

"Understand this, Rina," Sergey continued, catching the girl's attention once more. "Blade Heron is a killer. His skills are for sale to the highest bidder, no matter what kind of assignment it is. He doesn't care about the consequences of his actions - he kills for money, and even for pleasure sometimes. He deserves the death warrant the government has put on him, never forget that. By helping the humans capturing him, you have helped save the lives of the innocent people he would have killed in the future."

Rina looked at him and took a moment to consider the words. They made sense...in a way, she *had* helped saving the lives of innocent people. She hated the humans, always would, but in this case it had been more like bringing a criminal to justice than to actually betray her fellow mutants, hadn't it?

Yeah...it made sense.

"I guess you're right," she admitted a bit reluctantly. "It's just that...it seems wrong to help the humans."

"As I said, child, sometimes we have to compromise to get what we want," Sergey replied. "This world is run by favors - I got you out of that prison in New York, and in return you helped me. It's the same thing here, just on a larger scale - the police agreed to look the other way regarding this organization, if I could offer them something to compensate for their loss." He paused briefly, carefully considering his next words. "If I, as a mutant, had decided never to work with humans, I would have found myself in jail years ago. And if that had been the case, you would most likely not have been alive today," he added.

Rina frowned, trying to catch up with his words.

"So we have to look at the big picture, instead of just this one moment?" she asked. "I never really thought of it like that." She paused for a moment, biting lightly in her lower lip as she considered what had happened. "I guess you're right...and we *did* help the humans bring three killers to justice. I guess that counts for something, too."

"Three?" Sergey's head snapped up at that word, watching Rina intently.

"Yeah...the man you talked about, and then two women," Rina replied confused.

*Two* women?

"Did one of the women look Greek?" Sergey asked. Rina hesitated, and Sergey clenched his fist around the pen. "Well?" he demanded with badly hidden impatience in his voice.

"Yes," Rina replied, her nervousness starting to return. "Why? Is something wrong?"

Laetitia...

"No...no, nothing is wrong. I was just surprised," Sergey replied, taking a moment to get his temper under control. "You did a good job, Rina," he continued and handed her a heavy, white envelope.

Rina accepted it with a surprised expression on her face, then sent the man a suspicious look. "What-?"

"A plane-ticket to London, a new passport, a genetic ID-card identifying you as human, and a fair amount of cash," Sergey replied, having anticipated the question. "Nobody will bother you on the flight, you have my word on that."

"And I'm free to go - I don't owe you anything for this?" Rina asked, not quite believing what she heard.

"You're free to go if you want to," Sergey confirmed. "Or...you could stay here and work for me. You have an interesting mutation, child, and I have the feeling that it could prove to be useful."

"Work...for you?" Rina asked. "Why? I just got what I needed to get safely to Europe. I don't have any reason to stay here."

"Yes, you can get safely over there, but what about the future? What will happen if the governments oversea start to clamp down on mutants like they do here? Even with an ID-card identifying you as human, it would only be a matter of time before you were discovered."

Rina wanted to turn around and leave the room, but hesitated. Much as she hated to admit it, he had a point...she would never be completely safe over there, not with the mutant laws that had been suggested by several European governments.

Sergey noticed her hesitation and smiled faintly.

"Talk to Francis about it - I understand the two of you became fairly good friends during your stay in the safehouse. Talk to him, and then think about your options for a while. You know how to contact me."

Rina took her cue and left the room silently, looking thoughtfully at the envelope in her hand. The door shut quietly behind her, and Sergey smiled. The girl would be back, she just didn't know it yet. Her mutation was truly remarkable...it would prove useful, no doubt about that. And speaking of useful mutations...the Russian frowned, remembering what Rina had told him.

Three people, one of them being Nike.

He wouldn't be able to get her out of prison, not in this case - if he tried, the government would take it as a sign that he was backing out on his part of the deal, and the result wouldn't be pleasant. But he had to do something - if not for Laetitia's sake, then for her father's. The world was run by favors, and even Sergey had his debts to pay.

"Nike, you fool. Why did you come along on an assignment that was obviously a trap? Have you no common sense?" he sighed, silently cursing Laetitia's decision.

Yes...he had to do something, and soon. When necessary, the government worked fast - a week, two at the most, and Laetitia would stand trial.

Sergey could not allow that to happen.

He leaned back in his chair, considering his options. He couldn't just have her set free, not in this particular case, but he might be able to give her a chance to escape...yes. He picked up the phone, dialing a number from memory alone.

It would work.

It had to.

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