Putting it All Together

A few calls, a few favors, and I find out where this McTaggert lives. It's a woman, apparently, and she's on the high side of town.

It was a short trip, and I knocked on her door. Her scent was warm and strong. "Dr. McTaggert?" I called. She smelled of fear and anger.

"I know you're there, doctor. Any chance we can do business with your formula?"

She didn't move much, but she moved a little. She was in the back of the house, and she held a large and nasty gun. I could smell the oil and had to hold back from charging right in after it.

To hell with this. I could probably come back later, find out where she was going, and get her to listen to me once she was convinced she was safe. I called out, "Thanks, doc. You're all heart."

My office smelled of Kitty. I came in and she was sitting on a chair, swinging her legs back and forth. "Logan!" She got up and said, "Guess what I found out?"

"Where's Dr. McCoy?" I asked, throwing my hat and coat to the side.

She frowned. "He lost me. But I searched his office at the university. You'll never guess what he wants the formula for."

I shrugged. "His own robot army?"

"No." She laughed. "He wants to make a telepathic clone of himself to help him get tenure at the university and other stuff like that. Spying on faculty meetings, figuring out which kids in his class are cheating on tests, that's what he wants it for."

I chuckled. Pathetic. "Well, Kit, you've done good work. Why don't you go home. I've gotta finish up here. The Bird didn't call in, did she?"

She turned gracefully and smiled at me. Good kid. "Not while I was here, Logan. Bye!"

"Kid, use the door this..." She was through the wall and out. Shaking my head, I lit one of my cigarettes and opened my small window in the back wall of my office. Sounds of traffic entered, and I thought about McCoy as a suspect. Was he desperate enough to kill for this formula? For a safe job at a university? Seemed stupid to me, but maybe he valued it that much.

I heard flapping, then rattling as the raven made her way through my window and flopped onto my desk. I smiled. "Hello, Blackbird."

The raven looked hard at me. She opened her beak and said, "Can't you make that window any bigger?"

I smiled. "Diet."

I got the feeling she was trying to glare at me, but in this form it was near impossible. "I've got some news for you. Your girlfriend just killed Dr. McTaggert."

I tensed. "Go on, bird."

The Bird told me she'd followed Red from her hotel room. Red seemed to be tracking somebody, and ended up at the doc's house. She called out that she was the doc's mom, and the doc must have bought it, because the door opened for Red. Red asked her for the formula and an explanation of it, but ended up getting really angry. Red used telekinesis to spin a huge safe around in the air and then dropped it onto the Doc. She didn't survive.

Red was really pissed, though, and had gone to Gambit's for some liquid courage. Bird had followed, switched to human long enough to tell the blond singer, Sean, to keep an eye on her, and then come for me.

I was getting ready to go through this whole story. Damn it. The classy broads are never trustworthy. I should know better.

"You loaded for bear, Bird?" She had switched to human form again and nodded. "I need your cuffs, though."

"Keep them." We headed down to Gambit's again. When we got there, I said, "Go in first. I'll go in after and see what I can get out of her. You go after her only if she won't crack for me."

The Bird looked up at me and straightened my hat. "Be careful," she said, and went inside.

I gave her a minute to find a good spot, then I walked in. The singer was doing a sound check, but his eyes were glued to table 4, where a certain pissed redhead was drinking scotch. I made my way to the table. "Hello, Red," I said, sitting down.

She looked at me and put on her seductive mask again. "Logan," she breathed. "What do you have for me?"

I managed to come up with a mask of my own. "That all depends on what you have for me, doll."

She leaned toward me. "Oh, I think I can come up with something if you have my formula."

"Sorry. I tried to get it earlier but no one was home."

She gave me a sweet lyin' smile. "Can you excuse me for a moment?" She headed to the ladies' room by the bar.

After ten minutes, she hadn't come out. I know this place, and there isn't a rear exit, so she must be giving me the brushoff. What a surprise.

I put a small device in my ear as I walked over to the Bird. Her black dress didn't betray where my cuffs were. I pinned a flower to her dress and whispered in her ear. "I'll be listening. You smoke her out for me."

I headed across the street and waited. Bird crossed the bar and went to the side exit door, heading into the alley. "Hey, where's your short friend?" I heard her call.

Red responded. "No friend of mine. I don't have friends of such low quality."

I heard my cuffs clink as Bird took them out. "He's pretty stupid, though."

"Isn't he?" Red sounded pretty bitter. "Ugly, low class, rough...and I had to let the brute touch me. Those horrid, dirty hands..."

I resented that. I had washed them last night! Or was it the night before?

Bird's voice rang with repressed anger, though no one but me would have known it. "Yes, I've suffered through it once or twice myself. But it can have its rewards." She tossed my cuffs, and Red laughed.

"At least you got something out of it. The bastard couldn't get my formula for me." At that, I headed toward the alley. If Red had been killing so far, she wouldn't stop now.

"Could you help me with this hairdo?" Bird was in danger. I hustled. I heard a scream from Red as I heard a scream from Bird.

I entered the alley, my claws out. Red was sucking her finger, looking down at my fallen Bird in anger. "You'll pay for that, you freak!" she said, and looked up at me. She tried to smile, but one look must have told her I wasn't buying.

"The only question at this point is whether you die quick or slow, Red," I said, quietly.

She sneered. "I can kill you, Logan. I've already nearly killed your lady friend here. I've killed six people so far in trying to get this formula. What makes you think I'll stop now?"

"You're already stopped, Red." I shook my head. "That pin my friend stuck you with? Poison. I trained her in the use of it myself. It takes about three days to die. Nice."

She gasped. The pin prick had already turned black.

"Of course," I extended my claws, "I would be glad to give you a nice, quick death...in return for proof of your guilt. That's your only choice, Red. Quick or slow. Which will it be?"

She tried to raise the fire escape ladder she'd wrenched out of place with her telekinesis and beaten the bird with again, but it trembled and fell out of her grasp. She glared at me. "You dirty animal. All right. You win." She fished a small key out of her purse. "Box 617 at the midtown bank. Has my diary in it. All the evidence you want. Bastard."

She was telling the truth this time. That undertone of lies was gone. I ended it quick, like I'd promised, just as a cop car pulled up.

"Logan!" Damn it. Summers had to be on duty again, didn't he? "I've got you dead to rights this time, Logan. You're going away for a long time."

Munroe stopped at the Bird's side and took her pulse. "We'll need an ambulance, Scott. She's fading."

Another car pulled up. As Munroe radioed for an ambulance, Charlie and Pete came up to where Summers was reading me my rights. Charlie cut him off. "What's going on, Logan?"

"I've got the murderer of the four scientists and the two cops right here," I said, nodding to the body of Red on the ground.

"Got any evidence?" Charlie asked, as Summer spluttered, "But sir! I caught him red-handed, killing this woman. He probably got this other one, too."

I saw red and broke the cuffs I had on. I was on Summers in a heartbeat, ready to murder the lying...as if I'd hurt the Bird...

Stop! Both of you. Now! Charlie froze my muscles in place, and probably froze Summers' hand, because the expected optic blasts didn't come. Detective-Lieutenant Summers, we WILL listen to Logan's evidence. Logan, tell it straight. NOW.

I gave it to them as I got it from Red. Charlie took my elbow. "Summers, you and I and Logan are going for a little drive up to the bank to check this evidence out. Munroe, you and Rasputin stay with the girl till the ambulance arrives."

We found her diary in the box at the bank. Apparently, Red was planning to use the formula to create "high-class" telepaths like herself. Poor little rich girl was lonely. Imagine that. I don't know why...other than that if anyone challenged her, she got angry and used her telekinesis to destroy them.

Summers was still arguing as Charlie drove up to the hospital and let me out. "You can't just let this man kill people, Charlie! The law is the law!" Charlie turned to him and said, "We're giving him a pass this time, Summers. And that's an order."

I went in and soon was sitting by Blackbird's bed. Damn it all. I caught Red but I might lose the Bird. It just goes to show you can't trust these classy broads.