Chapter 2

"Beep, Beep, Beep..." She awoke yet another day to that obnoxious alarm...she hadn't even set it, but there it went, ringing on and on, with that incessant "Beep..." Without thinking she rolled over to face the loud object of her loathing, and smashed it with her fist. Needless to say, it stopped.

Unfortunately, she was now wide-awake and she realized that there was no more sleep for her today. It was seven in the morning and she could have slapped herself for not unplugging the machine earlier.

Then the thought of the group coming together brought her to her senses. There was a problem... she didn't know how to contact them. She rummaged through her old address books and she looked up the last available address and phone number of each person excluding Johnny. She grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and began her search.

She started in alphabetical order, the first being Edis, and the last being Freddy.

She called the number for Edis, and she got an answering machine... "Hey, you've reached Edis, I'm obviously not here right now, or I'm busy entertaining the many women who love me, so leave your name and number and I'll see if I wanna get back to you..." "Beep." She hung up. She hadn't talked to any of these men for about five years. How could she intrude on their lives? But then the thought of Johnny brought another thought to the forefront of her mind. If he turned her in, then what was stopping him from turning in the rest of the group?

She called again, this time, right before the answering machine turned on, a woman answered who sounded kind of flustered. Obviously Edis had been busy since they last talked... "Is Edis, there?" she asked... "Sure sugah, one second...EDIS...there's someone on the phone for ya!" Jean heard a little bit of rustling on the other line and someone say "ouch," then his voice came on the line. "Hello??"

"Edis, hi, this is Jean...remember me?" "Jean! Hey Girl what's up?" He asked. "Uh, not much Edis, but I wanted to talk to you about something very serious...can you meet the old group up at the warehouse at midnight?" She asked him... "Sure what's goin' on Jean?" He asked, obviously confused. "Just meet at the warehouse, okay?"

Mike was next. It was always awkward talking to him. He was quiet and laughed very seldom, but he had a soft spot for Jean, and she was probably his only friend. "Hello?" came a deep husky voice. "Uh, Mike? Is that you?" Jean asked tentatively. "Yes," he answered. "Hi, Mike, It's Jean, can I ask you for a favor?" "Who is it, Jean?" He asked. "No, No Mike, I was wondering if you could meet me and the old group up at the Warehouse." She said, knowing what the answer was. "When?" He asked. "Midnight..." Click, he had hung up. "Soft spot, huh?" She said to herself.

Joe was next although she skipped over his name, with the intention of talking to him last. "The Brain" was next on her list. Of all the people in her group, she knew that Teddy would be a safe bet with not being in jail. So far she had the luck she didn't expect.

She dialed his number and listened for an answer. Then an automated machine answered... "I'm sorry the number you have dialed has been disconnected, or is no longer in service. Please hang up now."

"Damn it!" She yelled. She knew her luck was too good to be true. "I wonder where he is..." As she was contemplating her phone rang. "Hello?" She asked. "Jean, it's Teddy. Sorry I was screening my calls, and I wanted to make sure that it was actually you calling." Teddy explained. "Then why was your phone disconnected?" Jean asked. "Jean, I do that so it gives me time to trace your number and see where the person is calling from, and who is calling." He said. "Oh..." was all Jean could say. "So what do you need, Jean? You wouldn't have called if you didn't need something." "I need you to meet me and the old group up at the old warehouse this evening at Midnight..." Jean said. "Alright, but what do you have up your sleeve?" Teddy asked skeptically. "You'll see." They hung up after a short good-bye.

She should have guessed that he would pull something like that. Tony was her next call. She was pleased that she didn't get an answering machine with him. He was a huge flirt and he didn't give up, until of course the girl came home with him. Jean had seen it many times, and always laughed at the young naïve women who thought they were getting themselves into relationships. The funny thing with Tony is, that he never pulled that kind of stuff with Jean. It wasn't that she wasn't attractive enough, far from it, but he knew she could take him on, and not only that, but he had a respect for her that no woman was ever able to achieve with him. The conversation went well and he also agreed to meet.

The young one was next. Freddy was Jean's main concern. He had been somewhat careless in the group, and there was nothing to stop him from messing up again and ending up in prison. He was Idealistic, and he was very good at everything he did as long as he kept his mind on what he was doing. "Freddy?" Jean asked when an older sounding woman answered the phone. "I'm sorry, he went to the grocery store to pick up some food, he should be back in around 10 to 15 minutes. Can I take a message?" She asked. "Yes could you tell him that Jean called, he should have my number..." Then Jean hung up after thanking the woman.

Then it hit her, she was at the end of the list, and she still hadn't called Joe. She suddenly became nervous, and began getting weak at the knees. This happened whenever she thought about him. He was the man of her dreams, he had shown her many great things, and vowed that he would always be there for her. He was in a word perfect. When the group had split five years ago, she thought that it was best that they all try to stay as far away from each other as possible.

Questions began flooding her mind like a plague, and she began to feel sick with every question. How could she face him? What would he be like? Does he have a new girl? Did he forget her? Then she thought about it. "People change, Jean, it is a part of life." She said to herself.

She picked up the phone, took a deep breath and started dialing the number. It rang for a while and no one picked up. She was about to hang up, when a young woman's voice came to the phone. "Hello?" Jean's heart dropped to the floor. He did have someone else. She pulled the phone back to her ear. "Hello, my name is Jean Grey, is Joe there?" She asked. "Joe? No I think you have..." there was a pause, and then she said the one thing Jean wasn't prepared to hear. "No wait I think I know who you're talking about, yeah, Joe Lewis, right?" She asked. "That's correct." Jean answered, becoming increasingly worried. "Yeah, he went to prison about two years ago, for conspiracy to murder, and a long list of other crimes. You shouldn't mix with his kind..." She finished. "Thanks for the advice," Jean replied and hung up.

So Joe was in Prison. What was she going to do? She needed him there. She couldn't explain it, but now that she knew where he was, it became an issue of security. This was not good...She glanced at her wall clock; it said that it was 2:30 in the p.m. That meant that she only had 9 1/2 hours left until everyone met. Could she risk getting him out of prison, she was a telepath/ telekinetic after all. She decided that she had no other option than to try and help him escape...

"This is going to be fun..." She thought to herself. She couldn't help herself...