(Twelve)
It was late that same evening when the Professor sat in his office, gathering information and trying to formulate some kind of plan. He had received some good news at least, the teams covering Cameron's building that night reported in that Kimble was seen flying in to Cameron's penthouse patio an hour ago, just as Gambit had predicted he might. He was with Kyle and seemed to be all right. He was talking and walking on his own although no one could hear what was said. They disappeared into the building and weren't seen again.
Charles immediately called a meeting in the War Room, gathering Fallen, Henry and the members of the Blue team that were not watching Cameron's building - Wolverine and Bobby sat at the table while Nightcrawler and Scott lounged against the back wall. He told them what was said.
"Oh, thank God!" Fallen said when she heard the news and covered her face to keep from crying. There were no words to describe the level of relief she was feeling. She couldn't wait to tell Seth his brother was okay.
"Guess our friend is more resilient than we thought," Henry said, a relieved smile on his face. "Although I can't imagine what a Med Scan of him would show. I fail to see how he came through something like that unscathed."
"Maybe Kennedy was wrong," Logan grumbled.
"I wasn't wrong," Kennedy replied smoothly, coming in the room with a grin. He was dressed in the usual leather and biker boots, but he smelled of cigarettes and the Club.
"Hey," Logan greeted with a smile, happy to see him.
Kennedy returned the smile, not the least bit offended by Wolverine's remarks. He tossed a pack of photos on the table. "Took them about an hour ago."
Kennedy was a regular not just at the sleazy bars he and Gambit visited, but also at some of the bases of the enemy, in this case Cameron's Club. His cooperation with the X-men was Kennedy's greatest secret, very few knew he was really Xavier's spy. He was in constant contact with the team and had gone inside Cameron's Club the moment Warren and Jean spotted Kimble arriving up top. He had managed to work his way upstairs just in time to take these pictures with a tiny hidden camera. He had kept out of Kimble's sight, but not out of range. They showed Kimble moving through the club and being led off by Melany.
"Nice pants," Bobby snickered. Kimble was dressed in the pajama pants and looked very much out of place.
"What happened to his jeans?" Fallen asked, squinting at the photos. "He always makes his own clothes. He wouldn't need these."
"Perhaps he was damaged, then," Henry replied.
"Maybe he's just got real bad taste in clothes," Bobby said, unable to resist.
"Where's he going?" Cyclops asked. He was looking at one of Kimble being led away.
"The Purple Room," Kennedy said with a smile. He laughed when he saw Gambit snicker and look away.
"What's the Purple Room?"
"It's a co-op for the multi-talented. Looks like your boy knows his way around," Kennedy replied, winking at Remy.
"Excuse me?" Scott said irritably.
Kennedy was quick to answer, and just as quick to tease, "It's a sex Club, Cyke. That's not a room for beginners. Not a place for you, I'm sure."
A dark scowl crossed Scott's face, but he got the point.
"How'd you get these so fast?" Wolverine interrupted. Arguing wasn't going to help here, although he smiled at Kennedy's comment. Any dig at Scott was fine by him.
"Had some friends cook them up for me and I gave Nightcrawler here a jingle. He 'ported me over here, saved me the cab fare," he explained with a soft chuckle at his joke.
Logan smiled at that, glancing at Kurt who gave him a small salute. It was true that Nightcrawler's ability to teleport had made things much easier, especially when it came to time critical deliveries.
Charles ignored the banter of his crew and looked over the pictures, frowning unhappily. Kimble seemed okay, he was smiling, but the Professor was still worried. He was concerned about what Remy had said about Kimble being naive. Clearly he was being coerced and manipulated, his sexual needs being used against him. More upsetting than that was how Cameron seemed to know so much about Kimble. He prayed Cameron didn't have a spy here and was using some other means to gain his knowledge. Betrayal was a hard thing to overcome.
"We should keep two teams in place until we can figure out our next move," Charles said wearily. "One team will watch the penthouse, another on the ground. We may have to use some of the newer recruits for this. It'll give them some field experience, but no fighting. If something goes down, the new people stay behind. I won't sacrifice any of the kids for this."
"We goin' in den, patron?" Remy prompted. He was abusing yet another piece of gum, unable to keep still in his anticipation. He was thrilled Kimble was okay and was impatient to bring him back.
"Yeah, that's real smart, Cajun," Wolverine growled. "That place is crawling with Cameron's people and we don't know where he is inside. Not a good idea."
"D'accorde. Den we sneak in."
"We're all too well known," Cyclops countered. "We won't get past his security."
"Fallen's got cloaks."
"Too risky," Wolverine said. "He's got people that can sniff us out. I like a good brawl as much as you, Cajun, but we need more than what we've got."
"Let's just have some patience, people. We can work this out. The main thing is to gather as much intelligence as we can," Charles said, nodding in agreement at Logan. He went on to say that Kennedy was a familiar face seen in all the clubs. He would be the inside man, inside the Club itself, watching the lower level to see if Kimble should leave. It would be best to try and take Kimble on the outside if they could get a chance. The stakeout teams were organized and shifts set up. Fallen, Logan and Remy would take the first shift in the morning.
The meeting broke up and the room emptied out. Remy stayed behind, leaning on the big table and staring at the Professor with his red, glittering eyes. "Sittin' on some rooftop ain't gonna be good enough fo' me, patron."
"Patience, my good thief. All in good time. We will bring him home. Once we've set a goal, there hasn't been anything we haven't accomplished. This will be no different."
Gambit nodded and walked out, his head down.