Chapter Two
It was dark and near freezing as Rogue crept soundlessly towards the compound. The weight of the gun felt comfortable in her hand, she felt somehow more connected to her surroundings when she had it with her. Mystique had trained her to use it shortly after taking her under her wing; would not accept any less than perfection in her skills. Rogue did not disappoint her.
Searchlights cut random paths through the night, eating the darkness indiscriminately. She kept to the blackness, allowing it to envelop her in its embrace like a lover providing warm solace on a long winter's night. She smiled to herself as a guard walked into her line of sight. He hadn't seen her, she was sure of that. She stopped and watched him briefly. He had his gun slung over his shoulder and was in the process of lighting a cigarette. Such an easy target but there was no need to eliminate him. She could very easily slip away without being noticed; and she had only twenty minutes before the next guard change and Momma was waiting. Sighing, she turned her attention to the more immediate task of getting into the compound. Moving forward quietly, she made her way to the perimeter fence and quickly scaled it, jumping soundlessly to the ground and running to the building that lay twenty meters from her.
She kept to the wall with her gun poised near her shoulder. Hearing voices, she stopped just before rounding the corner. Reaching into her jacket, she withdrew her silencer and screwed it onto her gun. No sense making any more noise than I have to, she thought. She could hear two voices, both male. They were talking about a local bar they had visited last night. A leer appeared on her face as she stepped into their view. Two shots, both were silenced. Both men fell to the ground with a thud, a small bullet hole in each of their skulls. She glanced down at them, then to the bloody smears on the opposite wall. She bent down and retrieved a key card from one of the guards. Not bothering to spare another look, she moved into the building and ventured down the hall.
The lights hummed softly, casting an artificial light on the dull gray walls. Doors lined both sides of the hallway, which held nothing, not one scrap of furniture or adornment. Each hallway that she entered looked identical to the last. If she had not studied the blueprints so thoroughly, or had spent so much time in the Pentagon with her mother in her guise as Raven Darkholme, Deputy Director of Defense, she would have been lost. As it were, she knew she was nearing her target. She checked her watch - only twelve minutes left. That gave her two minutes to get what she came for and get the hell out. The information she needed was in the center of the compound in a guarded room. The only way in was through the guards and she hoped that the key card she had liberated would help ensure easy access after that. If not, she would fall back on her original plan. She would have to blow the doors.
Finally, her goal was in sight. Peering cautiously around the corner, she counted four guards. Not a problem, not for someone like her. Straightening herself, she stepped casually into their view.
"Hey boys, lookin' for a good time?"
Their guns immediately locked onto her and began firing. She threw herself to the floor; her own gun responded seemingly of it's own volition and answered their shots with three of her own. Three guards fell to the floor lifeless, the remaining guard continued to firing on her. She lunged at him, not bothering to fire her gun. A stray shot ricocheted off a door jam and caught her in the side. Snarling, her vision suddenly turning red with rage, she threw her gun aside and planted a kick squarely in his stomach. He doubled over in pain, and she kneed him in his stomach and smashed her elbow into his spine. He fell to the floor, groaning. Bleeding from her side, but not yet feeling any real pain, she grabbed the guard by the hair and brought his face close to hers.
"Ya didn't answer mah question."
Confusion and anger showed visibly on his face. "Ah asked you if you were lookin' for a good time." Rogue clarified. Then she punched him in the throat.
Choking, he struggled to free himself from her grasp. Rogue grabbed him with her free hand around his neck. "Ah'm sorry, that hurt? Let me kiss it better." Forcibly, she raised him off his knees and indulged herself in a kiss. The guard tried to struggle out of her grasp, but almost immediately her mutant powers kicked in and she felt his mind becoming one with hers. His body went limp in her grasp, but she continued to hold on. His energy, his thoughts and memories flooded into her mind and she groaned in pleasure. She searched his memories and found what she wanted – access codes, strategies, military information her mother would no doubt find useful. Pleased with herself, she let the guard drop from her grasp, his body to heavy to hold onto any longer. She stood there for a moment, allowing the pleasure to ripple through her. Rousing herself from her side quest, she turned to the looked door. Using the key card she had liberated, she swiped it through the scanner on the lock. The lock beeped but the light did not turn green. Picking the code from the guard's memories, she keyed it into the keypad and the door opened with an audible hiss. Smiling, she picked her gun up off the floor and stepped inside.
Instead of finding a room full of computers as she had expected, she walked into a sparsely decorated cell. Standing in the center of the room, eyeing her nervously was a middle-aged man.
"Wha' the hell?" Rogue spit. She glanced around the room, and then turned on the man staring at her.
"Not w-what you were expecting?" The man jerked nervously and began slowly moving away from her. "I know why y-you're here, but you won't get away with this…"
"Really?" Rogue found this thought horribly amusing. She pondered this man briefly, and noticed that something was off about him. "What makes you think that…?"
Rogue suddenly fell to the floor from the force of an unseen attack. She let out an involuntary groan of pain as her side began to throb. Looking down, she noticed blood on the floor. Her blood. Blinding anger mixed with fear, propelling her to her feet. She managed to turn around and sidestep as a shot rang out from behind her. It passed harmlessly by her as she unsheathed her knife that she had strapped to her arm. She advanced on her attacker, surprising him with her agility. Moving behind him, she grabbed him by his hair and pulled his head back, exposing his neck to her. He moved to stop her, elbowing her in her injured side. She fell back in pain, howling despite herself. This wasn't going well, she thought. Momma's gonna be pissed. By now, she was bleeding profusely, and she knew she had to end this soon – before she passed out. She drew her arm back and let the knife fly from her grasp. It landed off target, embedding itself in his leg. Better than nothing, she thought. Pulling herself together, she lunged at him and, using his distraction, pulled the knife from his leg. She moved quickly behind him and pulled his head back. The knife slowly slashed a straight line across his throat. His blood spilled down the front of his shirt and he slumped against her. She shoved him away from her and looked at her hands. They were now covered in both of their blood. Holding her knife up, she turned to face the old man. He was gone.
"Shit, shit, shit," Rogue cursed. She spun around to see where he had gone and turned abruptly into a tall, well-muscled and sinister-looking man dressed in red. The next thing that her mind registered was a bolt of energy throwing her against a wall, sinister laughter, and then blackness.
"Rogue?" Nothing.
"Rogue? Chere, you listenin'?"
"Huh? Oh, Ah'm sorry Remy. Guess Ah was lost in thought. What were ya sayin'?"
"I was askin' ya if ya liked the movie." Remy regards her silently for a moment. She was unusually quiet since she had come back from the lake with Storm. He suspected that she was taking Peter's death harder than she had let on and for some reason didn't want the others to know how she was feeling. Usually when she was this quiet, it meant the hurt went deep.
"Well, hey what's not to like about Mel Gibson?" She flashes him a smile and he feels himself responding in kind. She loops her arm through his as they continue to walk the couple of blocks to the restaurant. Resting her head briefly on his shoulder, she sighs softly before she speaks again.
"So, ya gonna miss me Cajun?"
"Yep. But I still think I should be comin' wit' ya. Never know what kind of nasties ya gonna be runnin' into." He casts her a sidelong glance. "B'sides, who's gonna keep ya warm at night?"
She quickly glances up at him and, seeing his smile, groans inwardly to herself. "Don'tcha ever give up?"
He responds by wrapping his arm around her and drawing her in close to his side. "I would, but I think you like it to much!" He stops abruptly on the sidewalk and turns her to face him. "Chere…" he rubs his hands up and down the sides of her arms. Even through the fabric of her dress and jacket, he can feel the intoxicating warmth of her skin. "I should come with ya. I don't care about your power's mutatin'. We'll get through this together."
"No Remy, Ah don't wanna hurt you. Ah couldn't bear it if Ah hurt you. Mah powers are out of control thanks to that incident with Z'cann. What would Ah do if Ah looked atcha an' blew yer head off with Cyke's optic blasts?"
Remy chuckles.
"Somethin' Ah don't know about, sugah?"
"Jus' getting' a mental picture…sorry."
Sighing, Rogue steps out of Remy's embrace but he quickly pulls her back into his arms. When she does not struggle, he guides her head to his shoulder and holds her there. Bringing his face down, he rests his chin on the top of her head. The flowery scent of her shampoo fills his nostrils and his imagination. The thought of her laying naked on top of him suddenly overpowers his higher mental functions and he stands motionless with her as time slips away from them.
"We're leavin' tomorrow. Spain, I think. But Ah don' wanna think about it right now. Destiny's diaries can wait one more day." Rogue hugs Remy closer to her then pulls away. "Besides, Ah'm famished. Let's eat, then we can go somewhere an' be alone."
