Disclaimer: Yadda, Yadda, Yadda, I don't own LXG. I don't own Tom Sawyer, Mina Hawker, Skinner, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde or anything else used in the fic, just so we're clear.
Sorry it took so long to be up-dated, there is a long and confusing story, which includes my computer going crazy. I promise, I will up-date sooner, but look, long chapter! :)
Clez:- Glad you liked part one. :P
Angharad:- I think we can safely say if Becky was in this, she would die. (So, good thing she's not in it eh?)
A. L. Nowicki:- Hope it still sounds interesting after this part.
Capt.Cow:- Don't worry, kicking evil guy butt will happen soon.
Angelic Katty:- It was nasty, killing all those girls... and he more evil in this part...
LotRseer3350:- Bitterness towards Mormons? No way! I'm a Donny Osmond fan! ... okay, let's pretend I never wrote that... ;) Though I am a fan of his...
Raven Silvers:- Woah, I scared You? Cool!
Just Me:- Thank you for all the comments. I ran the history bits past a friend of mine before I posted it, who has a degree in American history and he couldn't find anything wrong, so please tell me where I've made the mistakes so I can fix them. And yeah, the girls were pretty thick ;)
Windsinger:- And I've continued. Enjoy!
Tainted View.
~~~
Part 2:- Safe House Indeed!
~~~
The League reached America in record time. Captain Nemo pushed the Nautilus as hard as he could. During the voyage the Indian could often be found talking to the engines, muttering promises and coxing more power out of his ship, his 'lady'.
Tom spent the voyage pacing up and down his cabin, running his fingers though his tangled hair, trying not to panic. The thought that someone was attacking his home made him feel on edge, labile to snap at the smallest thing. In the hour before they docked at the American port Tom had managed to place himself on the hit list of half of the sailors, by getting underfoot and generally annoying them with his nervous tension. Even the more level headed and calmer of the sailors were reduced to hysterics and threats of Tom disembowelment if he didn't let them do their job.
The rest of the League had remained in there cabins, keeping calm and relaxing. In the last thirty minutes, after Tom had been chased out of the engine room, Tom had stood on the conning tower, watching the fuzzy and dull landscape becoming clear. With agonizing slowness the Nautilus eased into the harbor and the ramps opened, to let the League leave.
The League had reached New York, America at last.
They disembarked, Tom at the front, almost bouncing on his heels in his haste to help his country Mina came down the ramp next, a black veil over her face, disrupting her features. Dr. Jekyll was right behind her, rubbing at the skin on his hands. Skinner and Nemo left the Nautilus together, the former wearing only his coat and hat. The hat moved to the right and left, letting Tom know that Skinner was looking around.
"I thought someone was meeting us." Skinner said, throwing the question to the rest of the League.
"You thought correctly." A male voice said to their left. A tall thin looking man was standing on the docks, a sneer on his face as if he could not quite believe the company he was expected to meet.
"So you are the League." The man said, making it sound like an insult. His eyes reached Tom and his mouth twisted, the sneer becoming more clear, his nose twitching. "Agent Sawyer." He said. Tom gave the man a nod and the man turned, walking away from them, his shinny black shoes tapping on the wood.
"This way please." He said over his shoulder. Tom shrugged and walked after him, his rifle tossed lightly over his shoulder, his two pistols pressed lightly against his skin. They made Tom feel comfortable and ready for anything. The rest of the League followed. They rounded a corner, walking up to a dull gray building.
"In here please." The man said, opening the glass door and gesturing the group in. They entered and the man moved past them to stand in front of them.
"My name is Mr. Summers. I will be briefing you on the current situate." He said, his voice toneless. "If you will come in here." He added pushing open a door. Inside was a black table and six metal chairs. The room was devoid of any over furnishing, giving it a rather cheerless look and feel to it. Even Mina was not immune to the cold atmosphere, as she unconsciously pulled her thin silk scarf tighter around her neck.
They all sat down, Tom giving Summers an uneasy look, this was not what he had expected. He had hoped to see his old boss... but there might still be time. Summers passed brown folders to each League member. Nemo flipped open his folder, the whole front page a list of names. By each was the word, "deceased".
"We had fifty-seven girls working in that particular building. They were all murdered by someone we believe is called Roger Noir." Summers said. Tom flipped open his folder, moving past the list. The next page was full of images of the dead girls, though thankful they were only in black and white.
"How do you know his name?" Mina asked. Summers rolled his eyes.
"Page four." He snapped. Mina opened her folder to the indicated page, Nemo still reading the list of dead girls. Page four was another picture of a dead girl, her top pushed almost up to her breasts. Craved in her stomach was the name, 'Roger Noir'.
"Is this all your information on him?" Mina asked. Summers looked slightly put out.
"That, Madam, is something I am not at liability to discuss. I can only tell you that there was an incident about a week ago." He snapped.
~Flashback~
A group of scientists bent over a metal contraption, all working feverishly. The object was a metal cylinder, long and smooth, with a clear circle of glass at the top. It looked like a cross between a staff and an old fashioned wand. Suddenly one of them gave a shout, a smile lighting up his features. He began to wave his hands to get the rest of the scientists attention.
"I think I've found it!" The man said. He looked up, a huge smile on his face. At that moment, the sound of a crash came to their ears. As the scientists watched, gazing on stupidly, glass flew onto the floor, as windows exploded.
"What is g-"One started to say. He was never destined to finish his sentence however, as at that moment a bullet ripped through his chest. The man looked down at the tiny hole, his fingers probing the area automatically, before looking back up, flecks of blood on his fingers. Then his gaze became cloudy and he dropped to the floor. Behind him stood a man dressed completely in black, from his black boots to his black, wide brimmed hat, which cast a shadow over his face. He slowly removed the hat as he looked around the suddenly silent room, his eyes moving over everyone in a way that made their flesh crawl. Even his face was obscured by a silken black mask which fluttered as the man breathed in and out. His eyes burned with a queer intensity that made the people want to run and hide.
The man was flanked by more men, all dressed in the same black outfit as their leader. Roger Noir placed his hat back on his head, a slow deliberate signal. The man closest to Noir only had time to start to shout a warning before the bullets riddled his body.
That was when the slaughter started. It continued until each and every scientist was dead. It seemed that whatever Noir wanted, he didn't need the men to do it. Roger Noir stepped over the dead bodies, giving the odd one a kick to make sure that they were dead. He reached the table and stared at the metal object on it, picking it up and running his fingers along the smooth metal.
"Sir?" One of his men said, saluting Roger. "All dead." The solider said. Roger nodded and slipped the metal object into his pocket. Then they simply left, melting away as if they had never even been there.
In the far corner a metal grille attached to an air vent moved slightly. There was some shuffling sound before it fell to the floor and a scared young man peered out, gazing with horror at his dead friends.
~End Flashback.~
Summers sniffed loudly and stared down his long nose at Mina, as if she was dirt on his boots.
"The incident resulted in multiple deaths." He said stiffly and turned away to single that was the end of it. Mina however, remained unconvinced and stood up, her folder slipping to the floor. As it hit the ground, it opened, sending the loose sheets of paper flying.
"Was anything taken?" She asked. Summers froze and slowly turned back to her, looking every inch of a regal gentleman.
"The only thing taken, Mrs. Harker, was innocent American lives. No papers, no documents or records of any kind, no objects. Nothing." He said. Mina looked unsure but nodded slowly and sat back down, her boots on top of the paper.
Through out all of this, Captain Nemo had remained in his chair, his eyes following the list of the dead girls, as if he was committing every name to memory as a mark of respect. Now he looked up and fixed Summers with his burning black eyes.
"You say fifty-seven girls were in that building?" He asked. Summers nodded, his gaze sweeping the room.
"That is right. Fifty-seven innocent... American girls." He said, stressing the word American. He clearly wanted this to be finished as soon as possible. Nemo slowly closed his file and leaned back slightly.
"There are only fifty girl names on this list." He said calmly. "Where are the other seven?" He asked. The rest of the League looked up at his words, all waiting to see what Summers would say. The American looked more than annoyed.
"That is not your concern." He snapped, his fists clenched, the veins in his forehead throbbing.
"All you have to do is locate Roger Noir and bring him back alive to the American government. We will take it from there." He said. Tom stiffened and lowed his head, his blond hair covering his face. Mina looked faintly annoyed.
"We are not at the beck and call of the American government." She primly said.
"Agent Sawyer is." Summers replied. "We have allowed Agent Sawyer to remain part of this... League on the sole condition that you would help us what asked. Those were the terms made to Agent Sawyer after the Moritay incident and he accepted. If you refuse to help we will have no choice but to remove him from this team." He snapped. Tom's head sank even lower, a faint reddish tint on his face, as the League looked at him in surprise. They hadn't known about this deal.
"That is enough, Mr. Summers." A low voice said as the heavy doors were pushed open again. A man of about sixty stood there, a black armband around his upper arm, his silver hair shining from reflected light. Mr. Summers nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the League with this newcomer. There was a long pause as the League watched the man, and the man watched Tom. The young American Agent slowly lifted his head to stare right at the new man.
"Tom." The man said, a slow smile creeping across his face.
"Mr. Caliban." Tom said grinning. The grin froze, then faltered as he noticed the black armband. A look of shock came into his eyes.
"Oh no..." He whispered, grabbing his folder and flipping back to the list of names. His shacking finger ran down the column until he came across the entry he had been looking for;
43. Belinda Caliban. Deceased.
"Oh Sir... I'm sorry..." Tom muttered. Caliban shrugged, a jerky movement.
"It's all right Tom." He said, his whole body screaming that it wasn't. The older man turned to the rest of the League.
"My name, as you may have guessed is Mr. Caliban. I was one of young Sawyer's teachers when he was training to be an agent. My daughter -" Here he paused, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
"My daughter, Belinda was one of the girls killed." He said slowly. "I apologize for Mr. Summers. He is simply young and eager to get ahead in life - he just needs to learn that trampling over people isn't always the best way to do it." He said, giving every member of the League a steady glance - or in Skinner's case, looking in his direction.
!We quite understand Mr. Caliban." Mina said, the elected speaker for the League. "And I must extend my sympathies for your loss." She added. Caliban nodded.
"What was it you wanted to know?" He asked quietly.
"Where are the missing seven girls?" Captain Nemo asked. Caliban sighed, fingering a pocket watch.
"Ah yes. Those seven girls were not in the building when the attack took place. We had them moved here, to New York, for their own safety." He said.
"Then we should start by talking to them." Mina said. The rest nodded in agreement.
"Very well... I shall take you there myself." Mr. Caliban said, opening the door with a flourish. The League all stood up and walked through the doors, Tom Sawyer bringing up the rear. Caliban caught his arm as he passed.
"It is good to see you again Tom." He said. "I was sorry to hear about Huck." He added.
"So was I." Tom said, his voice thick with emotion.
~~~
The building which was the American safe house looked drab and unassuming from the outside. Caliban lead the way, the rest of the League right behind him. He reached the wooden door and pushed on it.
It slowly creaked open, the sound ominously loud in the quiet. By the confused and worried expression on Caliban's face, Tom knew that something was very wrong.
"Th-that door shouldn't open like that should it." Dr. Jekyll said. Caliban shook his head, as Mina pulled out her twin daggers. The others quickly armed themselves and crept up the stairs. Nothing moved besides them and the only sound was of Skinner's low breathing.
They reached the top of the stairs and looked around the empty landing. Only one door was open, warm light spilling out of it. They slowly moved towards the door, Tom positioning himself on one side, Caliban on the other. Mina stood in the middle. The rest were a few paces behind, ready to rush in. Mina looked at the two men and nodded. Tom pushed on the door and the three charged in.
At first glance the room seemed empty of people. It was only when they took a closer look that they saw the dead bodies of two young women. Caliban's face paled.
"Too late!" He said in anger as Tom crossed the floor and bent by them, staring at the cold faces. His gaze traveled down to their bodies which were littered with bullets holes. He took a long shuddering breath.
"Where are the other five?" Skinner asked, having come into the room after them. "Are they dead as well, in some other room?"
"Well, we know that at least one of the girls survived." Sawyer said grimly, standing up from where he had been crouched beside the dead girls, brushing his hands together. Mina looked down at the still bodies, a sudden understanding in her eyes. Caliban and the rest of the League however still looked clueless.
"How can you be sure?" Captain Nemo said, his voice cautious. Mina gave a sad smile and pointed at the faces and arms of the dead girls.
"Someone closed their eyes and crossed their arms after they were dead." She said in a soft voice, in an attempt to give the bodies peace. Shouting seemed wrong somehow in this place of death.
"Roger Noir makes a mockery of the people he has killed." Caliban said, looking at the girls with newfound hope. Beside him Dr. Jekyll gave a small start, as the pieces slotted together for him. Skinner let out a low whistle as he stared at the peaceful looking corpses.
"Exactly. Someone closed the eyes out of respect, so that means at least one of the five missing girls are alive... and out there with a madman after them." Tom Sawyer said, using his whole arm to point vaguely at the quiet city.
Then the quiet was shattered with the loud and jagged sound of gunfire as it tore through the streets and buildings.
TBC...
Now that you've read, please, please leave a review. Every reviewer will receive this lovely virtual masked Roger Noir plushie to injure in any way you wish. *flashes big smile* So, please, please, leave a review!
~Sethoz