Alistaire rattled down the road in his new government car. It was a gray and tan Mini-Cooper. Mostly gray – being the unpainted primer and all. And the tan being the one right front panel that covered the passenger side wheel. Originally it had disturbed him, but the thick, black cloud of exhaust bathed countless people in its wake, and without any other recourse, Alistaire had decided to enjoy the obnoxious-ness of it.
And so he did enjoy it, often slowing down to let people copy down his government marked license plate and once going out of his way to pass by his old office and wave cheerfully as he passed – swathing everyone in the nasty, murky vapor as the waited for the office to open in the morning.
I may have gone mad. He thought with a smile. But if so, then I imagine it's for the best.
And more than likely, he was right.
Only two of the three newspapers he bought at the stand mentioned Kurt at all. One on the bottom half of the front page and the other contained only a brief mention on page seven. Both however contained copies of the photo.
Dead give-away as a frame up. He thought. Two papers running the same shot like that on day one…
He shook his head. Amateurish, really.
He stopped the car out in front of the lighthouse and stepped out. He walked briskly over to the mailbox and pulled off the last two numbers and switched them. Then he climbed back in the car and smiled at himself in the mirror.
He had black exhaust in his hair and all over his face and coat.
He sighed as he motored up to the lighthouse. Maybe I can get in to the bathroom before I see Kitty… He hoped.
He slipped out of the car and knocked on the door twice.
"Coming!" Kitty called out.
Great! He shook his head. Alistaire, the stars themselves have it in for you!
And then the door swung open to reveal Kitty… Covered from head to toe in soot.
She beamed. "Oh, Hi Alistaire." She looked down at herself and then at him.
"Ahhh… Sleep well?" He ventured.
"No." She complained. "There was something in the hall that wouldn't creak."
"Aaah." He sighed compassionately. "I understand. I was attacked by a dominatrix in my kitchen." He countered.
Kitty looked perplexed and uncomfortable. "Ummm…"
"It was a rude means of introduction, I assure you." He added.
"What did she want?" Kitty shook her head.
"She wanted Mr. Wagner watched carefully for any signs of corruption but barring that she wanted that he succeed in his position, or so it seemed."
"Hunh." She looked lost in thought for a moment and then a light went on in her head. "I blew up our kitchen earlier!" She added.
Alistaire nodded as he slipped in to the lighthouse. "Well, good. I'm sure it had it coming."
She smiled and closed the door behind him.
"Kurt's just out of the shower. He should be ready in a minute." Kitty smiled. "I just finished cleaning up the kitchen… Ummm.. some. Sooo, please excuse me." She started up the stairs. "I'll be right back."
Alistaire nodded. And still a smooth entrance. He thought. Maybe it's not so bad a day after all.
Kitty was less than two steps up when it happened.
Kurt stepped out of the bathroom.
Alistaire's gaze from his position at the bottom of the stairs let him get a good long look at the Elf – from his head to the tip of his tail – and his mouth began fluttering in search of a scream.
Oh no! Kitty dove back towards him and clapped her one hand over his mouth, phased them both and pushed him right through the wall and back outside.
His eyes rolled around in his head and he began to scream in panic. Luckily she managed to stifle the sound.
"Alistaire, Alistaire, calm down. That was Kurt! Kurt uses a disguise to appear more human, okay? That was Kurt." She took her hand off his mouth slowly but kept it cupped to recover her hold if need be.
"Mister Wagner looks like The Devil?" He asked, his eyes wide.
"The Devil has red skin and wings in the states. I don't know how he dresses here. But Kurt is just an acrobat who made good. The tail gives him balance and his musculature is good for jumping and climbing."
"And the … the wall…" He looked around as if to confirm that they were really outside now.
"That's my power. I call it phasing." She searched his eyes for understanding.
"It's kind of…" His eyes met hers. "… intriguing." He said at last with a smile.
She smiled back. "Thank you." She let out a breath she had been holding.
"I had better get to work." He motioned back towards the lighthouse. "And thank you. I really don't need to be embarrassing myself in front of Mister Wagner." He smiled sheepishly.
"I think you're doing fine so far." She smiled. "But then, I don't really know what you're supposed to be doing either."
He smiled. "Since it's a newly created office there seems to be some indecision so far." But in the back of his mind, a gear turned. Somewhere there must be a job description not just for me but for Mister Wagner as well.
It was amazing to him that such a thing would be left out of his initial lot of documents.
"Kitty, Xavier knows what Kurt looks like, right?"
"Sure." She shrugged.
"Why do you think he left that out of the documents I was sent?"
"Well, in Bayville it was a secret. I don't know if other countries have laws about that or not." She searched his eyes again. "Why?"
"I'm probably just being paranoid." He suggested.
"When everyone is out to get you a little paranoid is good." She smiled. "Mister Logan used to say that back in Bayville, and he got it from WKRP – the old TV show."
"I don't believe I've ever seen it." Alistaire shrugged. "Although…" he reached in to his pocket and pulled out a notepad. "I have heard the name Logan before…"
He flipped through its pages until he found it. "Ahhh… Mister Wagner has a delivery due from Mister Logan at Pier 38 at 11 P.M. tonight. It's been moved up from …" He raised his eyebrows. "The morning after tomorrow."
"I don't know anything about a delivery." Kitty wrinkled her nose as they went back inside. "Must be something they set up earlier."
"Well the note indicates that you're supposed to be there as well." He caught her eye and frowned slightly. "Maybe it's a mutant thing." He shrugged.
"A mutant … thing…" She raised her eyebrows at him. "Smooth."
He shrugged again. "Well, how should I know?"
And he stepped in just in time to see Kurt standing on the stairs. He had been on his way down but froze when he saw Alistaire. He was wearing sweatpants and holding on to a towel that was looped over his bare, blue shoulders. He must have been looking for Kitty. His mouth went to drop open and the fear was obvious in his eyes.
"Morning Mister Wagner." Alistaire smiled and waved with a knowing glint in his eyes. "I brought most of what you asked for. Your crates are being held up in customs I'm afraid."
"Kurt looked down at him in disbelief. "T-Thank you." He said slowly.
"Yes Sir. And I brought the papers. We've been mentioned in two at the very least and we can expect some follow-ups as well as more people picking up the story as the day progresses."
Kurt nodded as he listened, becoming absorbed in the details. "I'll get dressed and we can get to work."
Kurt disappeared up the stairs.
"Good job." She told him.
"Thank you again." He smiled and started climbing the stairs.
Kitty dashed up after him and dove in to the bathroom to get cleaned up.
Alistaire joined Kurt in the upper rooms.
The lighthouse was awash in debris. Parts of the roof were weather damaged and some of the glass windows were shattered inward. But Kurt had managed to make a few of the rooms livable.
"So, tell me…" Kurt began. "Have you found something I can begin to establish myself with?"
"I have one thing I thought might interest you. It's an American Mutant being held in Scotland. They're looking to deport her but the American's are denying her re-entry and we've declined to imprison her on the grounds that we're not equipped to deal with a Mutant Prisoner. I thought that your contacts in America, or your experiences there might be of use and that you could leverage your title here to assert some influence."
"Is dat the file?" He reached out and took it. Than a wide smile tore across his face. "Yeah, I think I could control this particular prisoner if necessary."
"Sir?" Alistaire wondered what that head meant.
"We used to date." He shook his head. "Her name is Tabitha Smith. She likes carnivals. But… What did she do to end up in a Scottish jail?"
"Illegal entry in to the country, a smuggling charge that's mostly accidental, and a rather hefty theft charge." Alistaire summarized.
Kurt looked up at him and blinked. "What happened?"
Aistaire looked amused. "She robbed an English Museum, got drunk and ended up in Scotland with several thousand dollars worth of our art. She was… " He cleared his throat. "Looking for her contact to deliver the art to." He smiled slightly. "He was in Ireland."
Kurt burst out laughing and Alistaire joined him. "Ooohhh… Tabitha!" Kurt was smiling sincerely and his fangs sent an unintentional shiver through Alistaire.
Kurt didn't seem to notice. "I think Kitty's just about out of the shower." He said as the water stopped.
"I do need to clean up." Alistaire looked at himself and took two steps towards the bathroom just as Kitty phased out through the wall. They came almost face to face and both jumped, then smiled.
But Kitty's concentration was lost. And a part of the towel she had left wrapped around her – solidified as she jumped – and it became fused within the wall behind her.
She took three strong, confident steps away when she realized that the towel was only there for the first two.
She looked towards Kurt who was looking away, and then back towards Alistaire who couldn't hide his surprise.
"…eep!" She replied, scurrying away and out of sight, leaving the towel hanging out of the wall.
"I love my job." Alistaire threw his hands up in exasperation for the second time today. "God help me, I'm finally home."
