A/N: There are some words that look like they're misspelled. Words like sayin, it's suppose to spell
saying. There are other words too. We did this because it's they way he talks. On to the story....
Part II: The Heart of the Matter
An hour later I found myself walking down a long alley, towards the back door of the bar. It was
raining hard, and the alley stunk. I tried to hold my breath as I stepped over strewn trash bags, and piles
of garbage, not to mention rats. Ugggghhh! I hate rats.
As I neared the back door of the bar, I saw a dim light illuminating from behind a windowpane. I heard
a couple people talking in low voices. Was it Todd? Or maybe, was Ms. Pryde there with him? I
hurried up to listen.
"Really? This is most disturbing news. You say he had silver…hair???" Though the voice sounded
slightly familiar, I couldn't put a finger on it, but I knew it wasn't Todd. They went on. "Sure, boss,
tha's what I said, silva hair." Said a man that spoke with a thick NY accent. The other man continued,
"All right, just make sure…no, let me know if he comes snooping around hear again. That's all. Tell no
one else of this discussion." "Sure, sure, wha'ever ya say. I knows ma place."
I then heard footsteps retreating back into the bar. Dang! I really wanted to know who it was that was
talking, but at the same time, if I ran out to see them, I might miss my meeting with Todd and ruin
everything. No. I had to stay here and worry about those guys later.
I then waited. First it was just a couple seconds, and then minutes went by. It must have been almost a
half an hour. Plus, I was now thoroughly drenched from head to foot from the pouring rain, it had not
let up.
Just as I was about to call it quits, I saw the glare of headlights up ahead. An old Chevy truck pulled
into the alley and stopped in front of me. A man climbed out wearing a large jacket, and a hat pulled
down over his eyes.
"Who's there?" I asked as the figure approached. He removed the hat to reveal it was Todd. 'That's
just great! Now he gets here, when I've practically caught pneumonia!'
"Are you still interested in the girl?" He questioned. I nodded at him, and he continued. "Fine. Then
get in the car. We're gonna take a little ride."
'Okay. But did I really trust his driving?' He is a bartender, not to mention the stank that was
protruding from him already. Oh well, this may be the only way to find Pryde for all I know.
"Here." He tossed me a large black beanie as we climbed in the car. "If you want to go anywhere, you
have to wear this."
"Ahh….okay." Then I muttered, "and I thought it couldn't get worse!"
"You say something Silver?" Todd glared at me with suspicion.
"Huh? No." I quickly replied. 'Man this guy stunk!'
We drove for who knows how long. Probably about an hour. Not that I could even see a clock or
anything. Aside from that, combining all the elements of the situation, and the fact I couldn't see
anything, I was beginning to feel quite carsick.
I held my stomach for a second, not sure whether to throw-up, or pass-out.
"Hey Quicks? Quicks? Boy you don't look so hot. Haven't ya ever been in a car before? Haha…" He
then kept driving.
After what seemed like an eternity, Todd stopped the car. 'Gosh, he hadn't even been speeding!'
As we got out of the car, I noticed the rain had stopped, and just an icy breeze blew by. I shivered as I
stood there. That's when I realized our destination. We stood in the driveway of what used to be two
stories home. By examining the outside of the house, you could tell that a fire from the inside had badly
damaged it, leaving burn holes through the wall. Amazingly, I could still smell the burnt pine. The fire
wasn't that long ago, or the heavy rain had brought out the fumes.
"Come on," Todd said walking towards the house, "Follow me. I wanna show you something."
We entered the house through the front door, which was so rotted, that it barely hung on the hinges. The
inside of the house was the mirror reflection of destruction. Everything was ruined the walls, furniture,
everything. Even the star well had collapsed into itself. Black ash and water covered every inch of the
room. The mere thought of being in such a place gave me chills. Or was that just the weather?
Anyways, I didn't like it. This house was creepy, not to mention silent. I hate places that are to quiet
for comfort!
Todd began, "Only a year ago, this place was alive and beautiful. The furniture was antique, the owners
were well off, not to mention some of the greatest people I've ever known, and I've known a lot of
people. This house belonged to the Pryde family. They always supported and loved Kitty, even with
her mutation. And even though mutants are illegal, they still had family dinners with Kitty and Pete,
every Sunday. But all that changed. Pete just had to visit some friends back in England, that's when the
problems started. Not too many people know what this is all about, me for one. But I know that it cost
Pete his life, and Kitty's family theirs. Whatever this cause was, they saw it important enough to die for.
And if you think that you're going to get involved in this mess, so should you."
"Why are trusting me with this?" I asked him. It didn't seem to add up. A couple hours ago, he was
about to throw me out of the bar, now, he was giving me details on something big, something
important…..
"Oh," Todd waved his hand. "I didn't. But I got in touch with my old pal Logan to check on you. He
gave me his word that you were trustworthy."
"Really? He said that?" I asked. That was cool, maybe Logan trusted me.
"Well, no" Todd shook his head, "He said, either you were trustworthy, or you were gonna get chopped
up to bite size pieces if he ever found out otherwise."
"Oh." Now that made more sense.
"Speaking of which, Kit means a lot to Logan, and I mean A LOT. So if I was you, I'd better be for
real. Ya kow what I'm sayin Quicks?"
I nodded. "Come on Todd, nobody's that dumb." I laughed at the thought. "So, can you tell me where
Pryde is?"
"What?" Todd said in a surprised fashion, "You really think I'm that special, that I know where she is.
Come on, if I knew that, Logan wouldn't have hired you."
"True." What a dumb question. Let me try this again, "Do you have any ideas of who might know
anything?"
"Here's the deal Quicks. Not too long after I heard about Pete, Kitty comes to the bar like she always
does. But she's not mornin, ya know? She doesn't seem sad, na the word is terrified. She tells me that
she's havin a little problem. So naturally, I ask if she wants me to take care of it. But 'na it's bigger this
time' is what she says to me. Something about that they should be her friends, allies, but it ain't workin
likes that. Those weren't her exact words, but ya get the picture. Next, she tells me to tell Logan that
she needs him, and that she'll contact him later. Which never happened! Ha, woman and their
promises, please. Anyway, she tells me she had to go catch the "J-Lee at the Dragon." Whatever the
heck that means, I don't know. So, what I mean by all of this, is the first place you should start lookin,
is the little apartment she was hiddin out at, in Chinatown."
"O…K…. That was a very interesting story. Ahh, can I get the address to that place?" I asked, still quite
confused at the moment.
"Ya sure, sure. Oh, and before I forget, you are gonna need help, and no one is gonna believe you,
unless, you have this." Todd reached in his pocket and pulled out a heart-shaped locket.
"Thanks…" I muttered, as I looked at the pictures inside. On one side was a picture of a guy, probably
Pete. He had jet-black hair, blue eyes, and very defined features. The other side had a picture of Pete
with Kitty. Wow, they really happy. Such a shame....
saying. There are other words too. We did this because it's they way he talks. On to the story....
Part II: The Heart of the Matter
An hour later I found myself walking down a long alley, towards the back door of the bar. It was
raining hard, and the alley stunk. I tried to hold my breath as I stepped over strewn trash bags, and piles
of garbage, not to mention rats. Ugggghhh! I hate rats.
As I neared the back door of the bar, I saw a dim light illuminating from behind a windowpane. I heard
a couple people talking in low voices. Was it Todd? Or maybe, was Ms. Pryde there with him? I
hurried up to listen.
"Really? This is most disturbing news. You say he had silver…hair???" Though the voice sounded
slightly familiar, I couldn't put a finger on it, but I knew it wasn't Todd. They went on. "Sure, boss,
tha's what I said, silva hair." Said a man that spoke with a thick NY accent. The other man continued,
"All right, just make sure…no, let me know if he comes snooping around hear again. That's all. Tell no
one else of this discussion." "Sure, sure, wha'ever ya say. I knows ma place."
I then heard footsteps retreating back into the bar. Dang! I really wanted to know who it was that was
talking, but at the same time, if I ran out to see them, I might miss my meeting with Todd and ruin
everything. No. I had to stay here and worry about those guys later.
I then waited. First it was just a couple seconds, and then minutes went by. It must have been almost a
half an hour. Plus, I was now thoroughly drenched from head to foot from the pouring rain, it had not
let up.
Just as I was about to call it quits, I saw the glare of headlights up ahead. An old Chevy truck pulled
into the alley and stopped in front of me. A man climbed out wearing a large jacket, and a hat pulled
down over his eyes.
"Who's there?" I asked as the figure approached. He removed the hat to reveal it was Todd. 'That's
just great! Now he gets here, when I've practically caught pneumonia!'
"Are you still interested in the girl?" He questioned. I nodded at him, and he continued. "Fine. Then
get in the car. We're gonna take a little ride."
'Okay. But did I really trust his driving?' He is a bartender, not to mention the stank that was
protruding from him already. Oh well, this may be the only way to find Pryde for all I know.
"Here." He tossed me a large black beanie as we climbed in the car. "If you want to go anywhere, you
have to wear this."
"Ahh….okay." Then I muttered, "and I thought it couldn't get worse!"
"You say something Silver?" Todd glared at me with suspicion.
"Huh? No." I quickly replied. 'Man this guy stunk!'
We drove for who knows how long. Probably about an hour. Not that I could even see a clock or
anything. Aside from that, combining all the elements of the situation, and the fact I couldn't see
anything, I was beginning to feel quite carsick.
I held my stomach for a second, not sure whether to throw-up, or pass-out.
"Hey Quicks? Quicks? Boy you don't look so hot. Haven't ya ever been in a car before? Haha…" He
then kept driving.
After what seemed like an eternity, Todd stopped the car. 'Gosh, he hadn't even been speeding!'
As we got out of the car, I noticed the rain had stopped, and just an icy breeze blew by. I shivered as I
stood there. That's when I realized our destination. We stood in the driveway of what used to be two
stories home. By examining the outside of the house, you could tell that a fire from the inside had badly
damaged it, leaving burn holes through the wall. Amazingly, I could still smell the burnt pine. The fire
wasn't that long ago, or the heavy rain had brought out the fumes.
"Come on," Todd said walking towards the house, "Follow me. I wanna show you something."
We entered the house through the front door, which was so rotted, that it barely hung on the hinges. The
inside of the house was the mirror reflection of destruction. Everything was ruined the walls, furniture,
everything. Even the star well had collapsed into itself. Black ash and water covered every inch of the
room. The mere thought of being in such a place gave me chills. Or was that just the weather?
Anyways, I didn't like it. This house was creepy, not to mention silent. I hate places that are to quiet
for comfort!
Todd began, "Only a year ago, this place was alive and beautiful. The furniture was antique, the owners
were well off, not to mention some of the greatest people I've ever known, and I've known a lot of
people. This house belonged to the Pryde family. They always supported and loved Kitty, even with
her mutation. And even though mutants are illegal, they still had family dinners with Kitty and Pete,
every Sunday. But all that changed. Pete just had to visit some friends back in England, that's when the
problems started. Not too many people know what this is all about, me for one. But I know that it cost
Pete his life, and Kitty's family theirs. Whatever this cause was, they saw it important enough to die for.
And if you think that you're going to get involved in this mess, so should you."
"Why are trusting me with this?" I asked him. It didn't seem to add up. A couple hours ago, he was
about to throw me out of the bar, now, he was giving me details on something big, something
important…..
"Oh," Todd waved his hand. "I didn't. But I got in touch with my old pal Logan to check on you. He
gave me his word that you were trustworthy."
"Really? He said that?" I asked. That was cool, maybe Logan trusted me.
"Well, no" Todd shook his head, "He said, either you were trustworthy, or you were gonna get chopped
up to bite size pieces if he ever found out otherwise."
"Oh." Now that made more sense.
"Speaking of which, Kit means a lot to Logan, and I mean A LOT. So if I was you, I'd better be for
real. Ya kow what I'm sayin Quicks?"
I nodded. "Come on Todd, nobody's that dumb." I laughed at the thought. "So, can you tell me where
Pryde is?"
"What?" Todd said in a surprised fashion, "You really think I'm that special, that I know where she is.
Come on, if I knew that, Logan wouldn't have hired you."
"True." What a dumb question. Let me try this again, "Do you have any ideas of who might know
anything?"
"Here's the deal Quicks. Not too long after I heard about Pete, Kitty comes to the bar like she always
does. But she's not mornin, ya know? She doesn't seem sad, na the word is terrified. She tells me that
she's havin a little problem. So naturally, I ask if she wants me to take care of it. But 'na it's bigger this
time' is what she says to me. Something about that they should be her friends, allies, but it ain't workin
likes that. Those weren't her exact words, but ya get the picture. Next, she tells me to tell Logan that
she needs him, and that she'll contact him later. Which never happened! Ha, woman and their
promises, please. Anyway, she tells me she had to go catch the "J-Lee at the Dragon." Whatever the
heck that means, I don't know. So, what I mean by all of this, is the first place you should start lookin,
is the little apartment she was hiddin out at, in Chinatown."
"O…K…. That was a very interesting story. Ahh, can I get the address to that place?" I asked, still quite
confused at the moment.
"Ya sure, sure. Oh, and before I forget, you are gonna need help, and no one is gonna believe you,
unless, you have this." Todd reached in his pocket and pulled out a heart-shaped locket.
"Thanks…" I muttered, as I looked at the pictures inside. On one side was a picture of a guy, probably
Pete. He had jet-black hair, blue eyes, and very defined features. The other side had a picture of Pete
with Kitty. Wow, they really happy. Such a shame....