Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X or X-Men, titles or characters. Evie is my character.

Chapter 16 - Figuring It All Out

It seemed no one was getting much sleep this night. At about 1:30 Jesse went to see the professor. Logan and the rest of his team were there as well. "I just finished going through the base files. It seems that there has been nothing that would draw attention to the base. It is a quiet, out of the way, almost forgotten facility. That is, it was until about a month ago. There was a new division started to study genetic engineering. Set up was handled quietly and seems to be an internal project. I don't think it was authorized by any off base superiors."

"That is very interesting. Perhaps the person in charge of the base was getting bored." Charles surmised.

"I also found that in the general records, Adam was listed as having been hired about 2 years ago. I had to do some digging but found records that show what was really going on. I downloaded everything they have and everything they did to him." He turned to look at Evie. "Medical records show that he was really hurt when they brought him in. They healed him and used a dermal regenerator to hide his injuries. After he was healed enough, they began memory blocks and memory implantation. They used behavioral modification in the hopes that it would prevent premature deterioration of the blocks."

"Is there any record of Eckhart?" Shalimar asked.

"Yeah, in the general records he's listed as Adam's immediate supervisor. On the other files he's listed as head of the division."

"If we didn't have help tracing him, he could have been here for years working for them. What do they want with him?" Evie wondered.

"They want his genius. Maybe they hope he'll discover something that would put the base in the limelight." Logan replied.

"That's not Eckhart's MO. He tries to keep out of the spotlight so he can do his own thing. I'm betting that he's just using the guy holding the purse strings." Brennan sounded very sure.

"And Adam is his leverage for whatever he has planned," Evie's voice became suddenly distant.

"The best way to stop Eckhart will be to get Adam out and exposed the base's unofficial activity to the proper authorities." Charles concluded.

At about the same time, a very cranky scientist walked into the lab after having been awakened by security and picked up from his apartment. "Who is she?"

"We don't know, Mr. Eckhart. We found her walking around section 2E. She didn't have any weapons or I.D. on her. She almost seemed lost but we didn't want to take any chances."

"Good. Move away from her so I can scan her." Eckhart read the scan then turned abruptly. "Is Adam Kane still secure?"

"Yes, sir. Security at the club checked in about half an hour ago. He was still playing in the poker tournament."

"Contact them, now. Tell them to bring him in, unconscious if necessary. It looks as if Mutant X has recruited some help."

Marie opened the door to her room and wasn't very surprised to find Adam sitting on the chair next to her bed. "You weren't kiddin', were you?"

"Hardly," he said as he stood and approached her. "I told you, I've been waiting for you for a long time now." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight kiss.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Ah think Ah should answer that." Rogue struggled to pull free from his arms.

"No, ignore them. Who ever it is will go away." Adam continued to kiss her.

The knocking persisted. "Doctor Kane? It's base security, Sir."

Adam stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Don't go away." He moved and opened the door. "What could possibly be so important that you should interrupt me, now?"

The young guard looked down ashamed but continued nevertheless. "My apologies, Doctor. There has been an incident at the base and we have been instructed to bring all the scientists back to the lab."

Adam turned and slowly returned to Marie. "I'm sorry. I'm going to have to go. When I find out what happened though, someone is going to have Hell to pay."

Rogue knew something strange was happening and didn't think that it was a good idea to let Adam out of her sight. "Oooo," she pouted. "You won't be coming back tonight now, will you? Ah was having fun playin' our little game and now it's over," she put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

"I will probably be stuck in my lab, cleaning up someone else's mess." Disappointment was clear in his voice.

"Could Ah come with you? Ah promise to stay out of the way. Ah've neva seen the base before." She pleaded and kissed him again.

"Well, I guess you can stay in my office. If I have to be there all night, I can at least have some company. Get a wrap." He smiled and turned to go.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't think it's a good idea to take a civilian onto the base at this time." The security officer was trying his best to not cause a disturbance. People were already looking out their doors after hearing the knocking.

"Look, you interrupted my evening. Either the lady comes with me or when we get back I have you switched from security to toxic cleanup." Adam stood straight and glared at the officer until he stepped aside and let the doctor and his escort pass.

Rogue pulled the wrap around her shoulders as she stepped into the hallway. For only a moment she made eye contact with Gambit, who like other curious onlookers, wondered why security was escorting out this seemingly nice couple.

He didn't have to wonder long. The look he got from Rogue told him enough to know the plans had changed. "Storm, we got trouble," he told her as he shut the door.

TBC