Chapter Eleven:

Union Station...

The train station was packed with travelers as the last wave of rush hour commuters fought their way home. The din of footsteps and mingling voices was like a soft roar hovering around the large central section of the building.

Charlie did not mind the crowds. It was easier to get lost in crowds, easier to stay out of sight. As she had walked through the city toward her destination, a heavy feeling of dread was growing in her mind. She had been on the run for so long; it had become easy for her to distinguish between moments of paranoia and a true internal warning.

However, as she made her way to the ticket booths, Charlie kept her focus entirely on her task at hand, and did her best to ignore her nagging sense of warning. She approached the main ticket window and glanced over the people in front of her to read a large electronic information board listing the times of departing trains. Her eyes locked on one word, one city, Toronto. She shifted her hands to her pockets to make sure the money she had 'borrowed' from an ATM a few blocks away was still secure and ready to be spent.

Again, Charlie felt a small twinge of alarm in her chest, but with her goal suddenly so close, her mind strayed to a land of cold and snow...and hopefully...peace.

As the minutes ticked by, she eventually found herself face to face with a smiling teller behind a think glass panel. Charlie returned the grin wholeheartedly, but her voice cracked slightly over a sob as she said five words...

"One...for Toronto, Canada, please."

Then, just to confirm her decision to herself, she added, "One way."


As two assassins entered the bustling train station, the shorter of the pair tilted his neck slightly until he heard an audible and satisfying crack.

Logan's face remained hard and calculating as he scanned the moving groups of people who passed him and Creed. He repeated the cracking noise with his fingers, one at a time, as if ticking off some kind of countdown.

Creed also stood and watched the pedestrians carefully, though compared to his teammate, he made no sound at all. Creed's expertise was in stealth and hunting, and even though he kept his unruly hair cropped short, his face still resembled that of a stalking predator.

If either man had known what the future would hold for them, they may have taken their actions and appearance with a different stride. Though their features made were a vague semblance to their chosen nicknames, it would be the events of the near future that would change them with finality into Wolverine and Sabertooth. But for now...they were simply soldiers with a mission...that each suddenly knew may be coming to a close...

"She's here," Creed said in a low, almost growling voice.

Logan nodded, but otherwise did not acknowledge the other man. He drew in a great breath of air through his nostrils and then ground his teeth over a satisfied grin.

There was the scent of fire in the air. Under the scents of a sweating crowd, under the lingering remains of cigarette smoke on peoples' clothes and the exhaust of cars outside, there was the scent of the flame. Of ash...sulfa and ash...same as on the charred bus they had found on a remote highway outside of the city.

"You check over that way," Logan said, indicating the direction to the right with a barely noticeable gesture, "I'll start over here..."

Creed nodded, and he separated from the leader of his team...in search of their target...in search of their prey...


Unbeknownst to the searching assassins, another individual entered the train station nearly on their heels.

Jay had hailed a cab to follow the black car from the airport, and he had been so impressed by the man's eerie ability to pursue Jay's requested target, he had tipped the driver twenty dollars. Then, taking advantage of the cabbie's dazzled state as he pocketed the large tip, Jay had asked him to wait for at the curb. No use losing a great getaway car, even if he might not need it...and even if it cost him whatever money was in his pockets.

Before he stepped through the station's front doors, Jay had closed his eyes and allowed his inner eye to open. He knew he would probably regret using his special vision in such a crowded place, but he knew he would have a better chance at following those two men if he kept a lock on their auras.

Jay took one long breath and then immersed himself in a sea of life lights.


Charlene McGee sat quietly on a bench in the middle of Union Station. While her body language may have been one of poise and composed patience, the expression of triumphant joy on her face was enough to make passers-by smile in return. Her ticket to Toronto was held firmly in her hands as she waited for her train to begin loading. She considered herself surprisingly lucky tonight. The next train departing to the Canadian city was only a half hour away. A few hours after that, she would be free.

She barely noticed as an elderly couple sat down next to her. The gray-haired woman nodded and spoke quietly to her husband before he rose and headed toward the ticket window with slow, slightly limping steps. The older woman glanced curiously at Charlie, and narrowed her eyes with delight at the young woman's contained exuberance.

"Going home, dear?" the older woman asked, chuckling with kind merriment when Charlie jumped slightly, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. It's just...well, you look so happy...I wondered if you were going home."

Charlie did not reply for a moment. Her heart was racing in her chest, but she smiled in return as the older woman continued to laugh softly.

"Yes..." Charlie finally replied, breathlessly, "Yes...yes, I'm going home."

"I knew it!" the older woman said, pointing at Charlie with one long finger, "You can always tell the one's who are going home. They always look the happiest. Do you attend one of the universities?"

Charlie started to shake her head, but paused, "Actually...I was at a university...in Colorado. But, it didn't work out."

The older woman pouted understandingly, "Ah, well. Not everything goes as we plan. Why did you leave? Do you have a young man waiting for you at home?"

Again, the older woman raised an amusedly accusing finger at Charlie, who could not help but laugh at the woman's tone.

"No..." she said softly, and politely changed the subject, "Are you and your husband on your way home too?"

The older woman smiled broadly but shook her head, "No. We are heading to New...York...City. Ask momma if she believes it...but these old bones are heading for the Big...Apple!"

She cackled again and clapped her hands.

"Actually..." the older woman continued enthusiastically, "My granddaughter and her husband just bought a new house in New York City," she stressed each significant word firmly as she spoke, "My daughter May, who is my granddaughter's aunt, if you follow me, has lived in New York City with her husband for quite a few years now. And do you know...this is the first chance I've been able to visit New York City since they moved? I can't tell you how excited I was when my granddaughter invited us. But, I was not about to take an airplane. No, I much prefer to keep my feet on the ground!"

Charlie continued to smile, but inwardly was moved by the older woman's innocent excitement. Here was a person who had lived her life, a long happy life by the sound, who was now having an adventure...traveling to a far of city, one she may have only seen before in the movies. Such a strange concept to Charlie McGee, who had been running from city to city from the time she was eight years old. She saw so much in this woman she envied...and suddenly realized she may still be able to find that kind of peace.

Then the older woman leaned closer, like she was sharing a secret, "Oh...and my daughter May told me, my granddaughter hopes to have a baby of her own in a few years. Oh! That would be a corker! I would be a great-grandmother! Though, of course, my son-in-law Ben already says I'm a great grandmother, but he's just trying to flatter an old...Why, my dear, am I really boring you to tears?"

Charlie had not felt herself begin to cry as the older woman spoke so casually of her kindred, and she quickly wiped her face.

"No, no, of course not," Charlie said, waving her hand with an embarrassed grin, "It's...allergies..."

The older woman patted Charlie's arm comfortingly and then sniffed once. She gave Charlie a critical stare, but her smile remained.

"Maybe you shouldn't smoke then, dear?" she scolded kindly, "Whew...I'm afraid the smell is still on your clothes..."

Charlie shrugged and smiled, wondering vaguely if the woman would be so kind if she knew exactly where the smoke had come from.

"Actually," she said, "I'm quitting today."


The scent was stronger now. He was sure of it.

Logan narrowed his eyes and inhaled again as he searched the crowd. The station was large, and he knew they might only have a limited time to acquire the girl before she managed to get aboard a departing train.

He spotted Creed on the other side of the crowd, but grinned as the taller man began to head toward him.

Logan ground his teeth, and moved forward.

They were closing in on her. He knew she was getting closer...


The minutes passed slowly until Jay spotted a flash of blue rising above the crowd. A wave of nausea hit him and he swallowed hard before making his way toward the source of that light.

Blue...blue...blue...

God, he hated that color. It was in the beauty of the sky, the majesty of the ocean, even in his own shining eyes...but he hated it.

Then, he spotted a familiar tall, blonde figure nearby. The man was marching toward the center of the station. His movements were smooth, almost graceful as he maneuvered through the people around him. It reminded Jay of a cat...or a lion...

He tried to follow the tall man's gaze, but closed his eyes painfully as a new light shone out above the rest. He covered his face, and choked back a scream. His inner vision suddenly felt like it was on fire, an inferno in his own head...

And then it was gone. Suddenly and completely, the lights disappeared. His inner eye had closed...but the afterimages were burned in his mind...

It's her, his battered brain insisted, in a voice that did quite seem like his own, It's her...she's here...

"But who is she?" he muttered, garnering some wary glanced from other travelers, "I don't even know what she looks like..."

That was when Jeremiah Malloy first spotted Charlene McGee.

Even without the help of his gifts...all he saw was her light.

And for a moment...time stopped.