Chapter Eleven
Ororo landed in her room and stalked to the briefing room. Every line about her conveyed a potential for violence and the students instinctively took themselves out of her way. When she entered the door and took her seat she opened the discussion with a comment that expressed her mood perfectly.
"What in the goddess' name is wrong, and it had better be life threatening," she told them.
Jean gave her a concerned look. Normally this would be an appropriate response to the mood Storm was in, but something told the weather witch that there was more to it than that. Jean gave her a weak smile as Scott brought the meeting to order.
"First of all, I think that those of you who weren't on tonight's mission can already guess that it was a success." "Unfortunately there were no mutants at the scene." "It is possible they were tipped off, or the man who supplied this information could have got the details wrong." "Now, we're really here because Jean came across something in the mind scans from tonight when she was meditating," Scott told them. "We waited until you arrived, Storm, before we informed the others about exactly what is going on." "I think you deserve to be among the first told."
Ororo was beginning to get a very bad feeling from all of this. It was as if the entire team was hesitating to explain a crucial part of the investigation to her and the reason they were so tentative could hardly be good. "What is it, what is going on?"
Jean gave Scott a look that clearly instructed him to let her do the talking. He obeyed with a surprising lack of reluctance. Storm put that out of her mind as Jean's expression turned even more grave. "Ororo, I was cross-referencing the thoughts that I had gleaned from the kidnapper's minds when I ran across a peculiar conversation that was overheard by the man." Jean paused delicately, sensing that not only the weather witch, but also the other members of the X-Men were listening closely to her report. "It seems he overheard the leader of his group discussing a man with the main boss." "The man was complaining about having to deal with 'that blue freak' and the need to take care of him before he got above himself." Jean rushed on, as if she were afraid Ororo would try to speak before she could lay out all the facts. "He then remembers his superior suggesting they cut off his tail and then promising his superior that there was no way some mutant journalist would give them trouble." Again Jean paused, she had arrived at the part that she really didn't want to say. "Ororo, the man that I scanned seems to think that this blue, tailed mutant may be involved in the slave trade and is making waves in order to get a bigger cut."
It was at this point that Storm pushed herself roughly away from the table and paced across the room, apparently trying to get a handle on this new information. Finally she stopped and swept the assembled mutants with her gaze. "He didn't do it."
The silence that greeted this decisive comment was broken suddenly by Wolverine's claws sweeping out. "The evidence says he did." "There ain't that many blue-tailed mutant journalists in New York."
"I know Kurt, and I know that he would never have anything to do with something like this," Ororo insisted. "All we have is a criminal's sketchy memory of half of a telephone conversation that he happened to be eavesdropping on." "Besides, Kurt's an editor," she muttered to herself.
"You're letting your emotions cloud this issue, Storm," Wolverine growled. "You can't think objectively."
"And you're jumping to conclusions!" "I have spent a lot of time with Kurt, Logan," Storm replied angrily, "and I think my instincts are nearly as good as your own." She continued on, glaring at the hapless mutant. "Even if you don't trust me not to allow my emotions to overrule my intuition, you should at least trust your own." "During any of the many times that you came into contact with Kurt, did he ever come across as insincere or dangerous?"
"He's secretive," Wolverine said.
"Secretive!!" Ororo exclaimed. "He practically told you his life story."
"He left some things out, I could tell."
"So what if he did?" Ororo asked, glaring at the feral mutant. "The man has a right to privacy."
"That doesn't change the facts," Wolverine growled. "Jean saw the whole thing in that guy's head."
"The conversation could be interpreted in many different ways," Ororo replied.
Wolverine was about to retort when Scott smoothly stepped in. "We can't resolve this here," he told them. "We'll be doing a background search on him, Ororo," Scott told her in no uncertain terms. "Even if we think he didn't do it, we owe it to those children to check out every lead."
"Fine, I understand that you have to check up on him, but I don't want any of you to start threatening him." To her credit, she didn't cast any accusing looks at any of her teammates. "Though I expect an apology from Logan after we find out who is really behind this."
Wolverine growled at no one in particular, prompting Marie to speak up. "Hey, don't forget to tell them about the change in the delivery date."
"I was getting to that, thanks Marie," Scott said in an easy, if sarcastic, manner. "The date of the final transfer has been moved up, possibly because of our interference." "We were lucky to find out about it at all, very few people know about the date change."
Jean stepped in, smoothly picking up the train of thought. "The exchange will be made tomorrow around eleven, naturally we'll be there at ten." "They may be expecting us; we don't know what defenses they may have against mutants." Jean gave them all a stern look. "A mandatory training exercise will be held tomorrow morning at seven." She glance around, meeting each pair of eyes in turn to see if anyone wanted to speak. "All right, if that is everything, this meeting is adjourned."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Logan stalked to his room, ignoring the quick steps behind him as Marie hurried to catch up. He flung open his door and sank onto the bed. Sighing, Logan ran his hands through his hair and held back a grin as Marie hovered in the doorway. She was evidently trying to determine if he needed company or space; she must have decided the former because she had followed his lead and was settling on the bed next to him.
"Hey," she murmured, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against his back.
"Hey, darlin'," he replied. She waited patiently for him to speak. "Me and 'Ro never fight," he said suddenly.
"Well, sugar, Ororo's in love, and love make a woman act in peculiar ways."
"So you agree with me that Kurt could be involved?" Logan asked anxiously.
Marie grinned. "Of course not, sugar, I think you're suffering from a paranoid delusion," she said, her tone betraying her amusement. Logan growled, knowing that from her position she wouldn't be able to see the smile on his face. Thus he was able to completely surprise her when he turned and began to tickle her mercilessly.
Logan stared at the beautiful, flushed face lying just beneath him. "Do you give, darlin?"
"Not on your life!" she replied, attempting to squirm out from under him.
"You can't win," he told her, grinning at her determined wiggling.
"I don't have to win," she told him smugly, "I just have to outlast you." "You have to go start the search on Kurt before too long, otherwise we won't get the information in time."
Logan blinked. "I hate it when you use your brains against me," he complained.
"What's this, the mighty Wolverine laid low before the power of lil' ol' me?" She batted her eyelashes at him in an exaggerated manner.
Logan grinned before leaning down to kiss her. Perhaps they had a little time before he had to start the search.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ororo nervously picked up the phone and dialed Kurt's number. It rang three times before it was answered, the voice on the other end blurred with sleepiness. "Kurt?" Ororo asked.
"Ororo?" Kurt asked, his voice suddenly becoming much less fogged.
"Hey, Kurt, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our date for tonight," she told him, hoping her statement didn't sound as rehearsed to him as it did to her. "Jean needs me to stay here and watch some of the younger children."
"Ach, actually this is fortunate bad luck," Kurt said. "I just found out about a meeting with a source that I apparently arranged and forgot about." "I'll probably be gone most of the night."
"Really?" Ororo said, then winced at the suspicion in it. She was trying so hard not to doubt him. Kurt apparently didn't pick up on her tone.
"Ja," he said. "It doesn't even start until eleven."
Ororo felt her heart sink. "Well," she heard herself say, "I guess it was lucky." "I'll see you soon then."
"I love you," he added.
"I love you too," Ororo said, attempting to sound natural. "Good-bye."
Ororo landed in her room and stalked to the briefing room. Every line about her conveyed a potential for violence and the students instinctively took themselves out of her way. When she entered the door and took her seat she opened the discussion with a comment that expressed her mood perfectly.
"What in the goddess' name is wrong, and it had better be life threatening," she told them.
Jean gave her a concerned look. Normally this would be an appropriate response to the mood Storm was in, but something told the weather witch that there was more to it than that. Jean gave her a weak smile as Scott brought the meeting to order.
"First of all, I think that those of you who weren't on tonight's mission can already guess that it was a success." "Unfortunately there were no mutants at the scene." "It is possible they were tipped off, or the man who supplied this information could have got the details wrong." "Now, we're really here because Jean came across something in the mind scans from tonight when she was meditating," Scott told them. "We waited until you arrived, Storm, before we informed the others about exactly what is going on." "I think you deserve to be among the first told."
Ororo was beginning to get a very bad feeling from all of this. It was as if the entire team was hesitating to explain a crucial part of the investigation to her and the reason they were so tentative could hardly be good. "What is it, what is going on?"
Jean gave Scott a look that clearly instructed him to let her do the talking. He obeyed with a surprising lack of reluctance. Storm put that out of her mind as Jean's expression turned even more grave. "Ororo, I was cross-referencing the thoughts that I had gleaned from the kidnapper's minds when I ran across a peculiar conversation that was overheard by the man." Jean paused delicately, sensing that not only the weather witch, but also the other members of the X-Men were listening closely to her report. "It seems he overheard the leader of his group discussing a man with the main boss." "The man was complaining about having to deal with 'that blue freak' and the need to take care of him before he got above himself." Jean rushed on, as if she were afraid Ororo would try to speak before she could lay out all the facts. "He then remembers his superior suggesting they cut off his tail and then promising his superior that there was no way some mutant journalist would give them trouble." Again Jean paused, she had arrived at the part that she really didn't want to say. "Ororo, the man that I scanned seems to think that this blue, tailed mutant may be involved in the slave trade and is making waves in order to get a bigger cut."
It was at this point that Storm pushed herself roughly away from the table and paced across the room, apparently trying to get a handle on this new information. Finally she stopped and swept the assembled mutants with her gaze. "He didn't do it."
The silence that greeted this decisive comment was broken suddenly by Wolverine's claws sweeping out. "The evidence says he did." "There ain't that many blue-tailed mutant journalists in New York."
"I know Kurt, and I know that he would never have anything to do with something like this," Ororo insisted. "All we have is a criminal's sketchy memory of half of a telephone conversation that he happened to be eavesdropping on." "Besides, Kurt's an editor," she muttered to herself.
"You're letting your emotions cloud this issue, Storm," Wolverine growled. "You can't think objectively."
"And you're jumping to conclusions!" "I have spent a lot of time with Kurt, Logan," Storm replied angrily, "and I think my instincts are nearly as good as your own." She continued on, glaring at the hapless mutant. "Even if you don't trust me not to allow my emotions to overrule my intuition, you should at least trust your own." "During any of the many times that you came into contact with Kurt, did he ever come across as insincere or dangerous?"
"He's secretive," Wolverine said.
"Secretive!!" Ororo exclaimed. "He practically told you his life story."
"He left some things out, I could tell."
"So what if he did?" Ororo asked, glaring at the feral mutant. "The man has a right to privacy."
"That doesn't change the facts," Wolverine growled. "Jean saw the whole thing in that guy's head."
"The conversation could be interpreted in many different ways," Ororo replied.
Wolverine was about to retort when Scott smoothly stepped in. "We can't resolve this here," he told them. "We'll be doing a background search on him, Ororo," Scott told her in no uncertain terms. "Even if we think he didn't do it, we owe it to those children to check out every lead."
"Fine, I understand that you have to check up on him, but I don't want any of you to start threatening him." To her credit, she didn't cast any accusing looks at any of her teammates. "Though I expect an apology from Logan after we find out who is really behind this."
Wolverine growled at no one in particular, prompting Marie to speak up. "Hey, don't forget to tell them about the change in the delivery date."
"I was getting to that, thanks Marie," Scott said in an easy, if sarcastic, manner. "The date of the final transfer has been moved up, possibly because of our interference." "We were lucky to find out about it at all, very few people know about the date change."
Jean stepped in, smoothly picking up the train of thought. "The exchange will be made tomorrow around eleven, naturally we'll be there at ten." "They may be expecting us; we don't know what defenses they may have against mutants." Jean gave them all a stern look. "A mandatory training exercise will be held tomorrow morning at seven." She glance around, meeting each pair of eyes in turn to see if anyone wanted to speak. "All right, if that is everything, this meeting is adjourned."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Logan stalked to his room, ignoring the quick steps behind him as Marie hurried to catch up. He flung open his door and sank onto the bed. Sighing, Logan ran his hands through his hair and held back a grin as Marie hovered in the doorway. She was evidently trying to determine if he needed company or space; she must have decided the former because she had followed his lead and was settling on the bed next to him.
"Hey," she murmured, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against his back.
"Hey, darlin'," he replied. She waited patiently for him to speak. "Me and 'Ro never fight," he said suddenly.
"Well, sugar, Ororo's in love, and love make a woman act in peculiar ways."
"So you agree with me that Kurt could be involved?" Logan asked anxiously.
Marie grinned. "Of course not, sugar, I think you're suffering from a paranoid delusion," she said, her tone betraying her amusement. Logan growled, knowing that from her position she wouldn't be able to see the smile on his face. Thus he was able to completely surprise her when he turned and began to tickle her mercilessly.
Logan stared at the beautiful, flushed face lying just beneath him. "Do you give, darlin?"
"Not on your life!" she replied, attempting to squirm out from under him.
"You can't win," he told her, grinning at her determined wiggling.
"I don't have to win," she told him smugly, "I just have to outlast you." "You have to go start the search on Kurt before too long, otherwise we won't get the information in time."
Logan blinked. "I hate it when you use your brains against me," he complained.
"What's this, the mighty Wolverine laid low before the power of lil' ol' me?" She batted her eyelashes at him in an exaggerated manner.
Logan grinned before leaning down to kiss her. Perhaps they had a little time before he had to start the search.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ororo nervously picked up the phone and dialed Kurt's number. It rang three times before it was answered, the voice on the other end blurred with sleepiness. "Kurt?" Ororo asked.
"Ororo?" Kurt asked, his voice suddenly becoming much less fogged.
"Hey, Kurt, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our date for tonight," she told him, hoping her statement didn't sound as rehearsed to him as it did to her. "Jean needs me to stay here and watch some of the younger children."
"Ach, actually this is fortunate bad luck," Kurt said. "I just found out about a meeting with a source that I apparently arranged and forgot about." "I'll probably be gone most of the night."
"Really?" Ororo said, then winced at the suspicion in it. She was trying so hard not to doubt him. Kurt apparently didn't pick up on her tone.
"Ja," he said. "It doesn't even start until eleven."
Ororo felt her heart sink. "Well," she heard herself say, "I guess it was lucky." "I'll see you soon then."
"I love you," he added.
"I love you too," Ororo said, attempting to sound natural. "Good-bye."