(Three)
Remy sat on the roof of the building opposite Cameron's little hideout. He had been lumped with Logan and Fallen on this spy shift. They each took turns watching in twenty minute intervals. He was using his down time to take a quick peek through Kimble's notebook. In it, Kimble had scrawled down brief notes about his near death experience. He had seen his creator, Sheyman, in the light. He had wanted so desperately to go into the Light with his former Master, but Sheyman told him he had to go back to the real world. He had a job left to do. An angel was going to come to him and he would know what that job was. In the meantime, he had been charged with learning his powers and building his defensive skills.
Kimble had written about how Zander was pressing him to learn, but at the same time was tormenting him with this girl child ghost. She was always complaining about being in pain and wanted Kimble to kill himself. Kimble thought it was a joke or some kind of stupid game Zander was trying to play. He found no humor in this and was a little put out over it. Remy closed his eyes and cursed softly. Kimble had already been feeling the effects of a shattered personality, but hadn't known what it was. He didn't trust anyone enough to talk about it, not even Remy.
"Somethin' wrong, Gumbo?" Logan growled. He was on watch and he spoke without turning his head. Fallen had dozed off at his feet and Logan left her alone even though it was already her turn to be looking out. She had been sullen and quiet and he was more comfortable with her out cold than staring blankly off into space. She had Remy's trench coat balled up under her head like a pillow.
"Kimble been 'earin' de voices and he didn' even say nuthin' to me."
This time Wolverine glanced back at him. Remy's voice was tired and strained. "How long?"
"Since he come out back on de Dragon. Firs' he be dreamin', den 'e be 'earin' dem talkin' to 'im. He t'ink Zander been playin' a game wit 'im. De voices sometimes say 'e should kill 'imself. Dis boy ain't been right, Wolvie. Not for a long time." The thought of a suicidal Kimble had Remy's hands shaking just a little bit. Again, Kimble was on his own with no guidance.
Logan saw Remy's concern and was quick to say, "Maybe it's not such a bad idea that the shrink lady come by. Maybe she can help with Kimble when we bring him home."
Wolverine heard Remy smile. "Got de word she real pretty, dis shrink lady of yours. Gambit's already 'earin' you got an eye for 'er, man. I ain't seen dis petite m'self, but I 'eard Jeannie goin' on an' on about it dis mornin'."
"Yer dreamin'."
Remy just laughed, knowing from Wolverine's posture that he had been right on the mark. He began to sing in a childish voice, "Logan an' Karen sitttin' in a tree...K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Firs' come love, den come marriage, den come all dese mutant babies clawin' outta deir baby carriage!"
"Asshole," Logan grumbled good naturedly. He was in too good a mood to let his obnoxious teammate bother him.
Remy snickered, but fell gradually silent as he read through Kimble's book some more. He read Kimble's mutterings about his wish for Remy to possess him and be his Master. It made Remy feel sick as much as it broke his heart to feel Kimble's loneliness. It felt odd to read about someone's sexual fascination with him, it had never happened before. It was creepy and sad. As much as Kimble tried to explain that this was all a Siskan thing, a part of being a Courtesan, it was still disturbing. Kimble wanted to be owned, he thought it was what love was. Fallen had been his owner and she had abandoned him for Seth, leaving him behind in a sense. This was Kimble's pain. She had never loved him for real and when he tried to push himself on Remy, he had been rejected again. Kimble was at a loss and his breaking heart was swallowing him whole. When he had been sneaking out, he was looking for more than just a good time, Remy realized. All it would have taken was for someone to come up to Kimble and call themselves his Master. Kimble would gone willingly, just to have a place to truly belong. Remy was flooded with guilt and his spirits tanked. He couldn't even deal with his own problems, how was he supposed to help his new little brother with his?
Gambit knew Cameron Bishop was dangerous. He was familiar with most of the mutant groups as part of his being an infiltrator and spy. Cameron was a master manipulator and con artist. He wasn't above a little murder or mayhem, just not as bad as Jael or the Brotherhood, another mutant faction run by freaks as violent as Sabretooth. Gambit had stolen from Cameron more than once while looking for information on people under his control. Charles may not have been aware of the extent of Remy's knowledge of Kimble's new benefactor, sometimes Charles would just say "Fetch," and Remy did, not bothering to explain his sources and the Professor didn't ask.
A while back, Remy had been in Cameron's penthouse and some of the more private floors of his building. He had gone looking for intelligence. He found what he was looking for, careful to liberate some lonely looking diamonds and gold coins along the way. A tip, yeah. That's what it was. A fringe benefit. He often gave most of his secret earnings to orphanages in the City under a fake name. It was a Robin Hood kind of thing and another small way Gambit would make up for his crimes. The rest he squirreled away for a rainy day. He was actually quite wealthy but used very little of it, saving it for something, he just didn't know what. When he finally got around to figuring out what it was he really wanted, the money would be there.
It was getting late and Gambit was running out of sunlight. He had good night vision, but not for reading. He closed the book filled with Kimble's tortured ramblings and closed his eyes. He was tired and only wanted Kimble home in the worst way. He missed that wayward pilot more than he could say. It was like a part of himself was missing.
He startled when he heard a thump beside him. Rogue had arrived with the next shift. She had come with Warren and another newbie named Thomas. Thomas was a junior telepath and just starting his training. This mission was not high risk so the Professor sent him out just to get some field experience.
Remy stood and stretched, not looking at his ex-lover as he walked past her. He was still bewildered that she hadn't come back to him. They had separated before, but never for as long as this. She usually took a few days before she got too lonely for him and wanted him back. Most of the time, the breaks were a relief to him. They would generally last just long enough for him to drink himself silly and whore around with few girls. He would get all of that out of system, that need to actually touch a woman all over, and then they would make up. This time, he figured it was her turn for a little side action and that she would come around eventually. So far it hadn't happened - he had fully expected her to grow bored with Manny's yuppy and sedate manner by now, but he was starting to grow afraid that if she hadn't by now, she wasn't going to. It did nothing to help his already falling spirits.
"Night, y'all," he mumbled and moved away, never seeing the odd way that Warren's eyes tracked him as he got ready to leave.
Logan saw it well enough and wondered what it was about. For the first time, Angel didn't look angry at the thief, only puzzled and in some way, sad for him. "Let's bail," Wolverine grumbled, giving Fallen a nudge to rouse her so they could get moving.
Fallen groaned and got up stiffly. They had been there all day and she was miserable. She hadn't been thrilled with Anya's prediction of Kimble's possible destruction and was afraid all this was a waste of time. She also missed Seth horribly. Her fears of never touching him again had returned with Kimble's absence, Kimble was her only direct link with Seth. She said nothing, but kept her eyes down and grabbed Logan and Remy, flying them down to the alley where the Jeep was parked.
(break)
Remy parked his Jeep in the garage of the Mansion and got out quickly, heading up to the house with his head down and not speaking to anyone. Logan watched him go with silent understanding. This whole day had been a waste. They had been there all day and had nothing to show for their time.
"What are we going to do?" Fallen asked softly. She hadn't even moved from the back seat. There were no words to describe the depth of her devastation and now she was going to have to go back to Seth empty handed. Seth would be crushed as well.
"We eat, get some rest, and go back out in the mornin'. Sooner or later, we'll find a way ta get a him, even if we have to wait the full two weeks. Anya's never wrong." He turned back to look at her tired, strained face. "Don't you worry, darlin'. Me and the Cajun'll bring him back home."
Fallen laughed softly and wiped at her face as she started to cry.
"What?" Logan asked.
"I was just wondering where exactly I lost him, you know? He's been right in front of me all this time, but he was gone the moment we stepped off the ship. I was a fool to ever bring him here."
"It's not yer fault. Yer better off here than back with the Clan. We'll get Kimble back, it's just a matter of time, darlin'. Why don'tcha go in and have some supper? I'll just bet Charlie's whipped up somethin' nice fer us."
They went into the house. Logan was correct in the food department, a nice roast awaited them with some cooked vegetables out of consideration for Fallen. It had gotten around quickly that she wouldn't eat meat and so accommodations were made. Gambit had made himself a plate and took it up to his room to eat alone, he wasn't feeling very sociable. Fallen ate quietly with Logan and went down to the ship to sleep, leaving Wolverine on his own.
Logan sat at the kitchen table alone, sipping coffee and smoking quietly. He wasn't supposed to smoke in the house, but with most of the staff gone from Jael's disease, there was no one to yell at him for it. He looked behind him when he heard someone coming and was surprised to see Karen. It was getting late and she was dressed in a large flannel nightgown with the prerequisite pink fuzzy slippers. He would never admit this to anyone, but something about an old fashioned flannel nightgown really turned him on. He grinned. Maybe this day wasn't going to be a total waste after all.
"Hey, darlin'. Didn't expect to see you still here."
"The Professor made me an offer I couldn't refuse," she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting down across from him.
"Really?" Wolverine replied, doing his best to keep his excitement out of his voice. Nothing could have pleased him more at that moment.
"Yes. It seems Mason left Molly quite a bit of money, naming Charles as her executor. He said he would pay me full time to stay and work with Molly. I really needed the break from my other job so I jumped on it."
"What were you doing?"
"I was working with emotionally impaired mutants. I've actually been working with Molly for some time. When I first saw her, she couldn't sign and was totally wild."
"Where did she come from?"
"Mason took her off of the streets. He was inspecting a building when it suddenly caught fire. She was homeless and living in the basement when it happened. She fled the building, but stopped to save him. In return he gave her a place to stay, but couldn't get through to her. He knew about me and asked me for help."
"That's all ya know about her? That she was homeless?"
She cocked her head at him. "You say that like you have something on your mind."
"Well, I got some suspicions, but nuthin' concrete."
"Spill."
He grinned, enjoying her directness. "Well, we had a guy here some time back, another feral guy like Molly. He was a real badass with claws. Big guy, blonde hair. He came here looking for help. He thought Charlie could help him not be such a killer and a loser. I knew about him for a long time before that, most of us did, and we weren't happy about it, but you know Chuck. He takes 'em all in, no matter what. Of course it was a disaster, just like I said it would be."
"You're that much of a smart guy, huh?" she teased.
"Yup," Logan answered smugly, pleased even more that she was flirting with him. "All hell broke loose, but that ain't my point. My point is that Henry's real thorough. He's got DNA on this guy. I got an idea that there might be a match there fer Molly."
"Really? And what makes you think that?"
"Well, other than the obvious shi–um, stuff...she's got the blonde hair and claws. She kinda smells like him."
"Hmm...Interesting. Maybe I can get Henry to draw some blood from her."
"It'd be a real good idea 'cause this guy's got a real nasty habit of killin' off his kids. I'll just bet Molly's mom was a prostitute that managed to get away from him. He usually slashes up his women."
"Why would he do that?"
"Well, one of his kids grew up to be Greydon Creed. He came out human but founded a group called Friends of Humanity, a vicious anti-mutant group. When ol' Saby found about it, he took after Greydon and killed him. He vowed never ta let none of his kids live after that."
"Saby?"
"Sabretooth. Victor Creed."
Karen gasped and sat back in her chair. "Sabretooth! Are you saying he's Molly's father?"
Logan raised his hand, asking for patience. "Easy, girl. I said maybe. Chances are he don't know about Molly and that's good. I just wanna make sure about it before we do anything rash, all right? If he is her dad, than she's in the right place." He paused when he saw a look of dumbstruck wonder on her face. "What?"
"Molly's dreams," she whispered in a daze, her mind still racing.
"What're ya talkin' about?"
Karen fixed him with her eyes and gave him another winning smile that almost took his breath away. "Molly has terrible nightmares. She has since she was small, she says. She dreams about the 'Lion Man'. He came when she was small, about four years old. He came and killed her mother. She tried to hide in a closet but the Lion Man sniffed her out. He caught her and then slashed her throat. When she told me this, I had always thought it was a metaphor, a child's way of dealing with a traumatic experience. Now I wonder if this was something that really happened just as she dreams it."
"Maybe if we showed her some pictures of Creed?"
Karen shook her head. "Not just yet. Maybe when she's had more time to settle in. I don't want to upset her while she's in a new place."
"Well, you don't have to worry about this Lion Man or Creed gettin' in here. Me an' Creed go way back. We useta work together in the military before he finally went over the edge and they couldn't take him anymore. He's a nut job ta be sure, but he ain't gettin' in here. I saw ta that a long time ago after he left here. This place is real secure. We'll keep yer Molly safe."
"As safe as Kimble?" she offered timidly, unsure of how he would react.
Cripes! Logan groaned inside. Why did it always have to come down to that stupid asshole? "Now we looked after Kimble just fine. It's not our fault he was sneakin' off. He was goin' out, sneakin' around an' askin' fer all kinda trouble."
"What was he sneaking out for?"
"What else? Whores. Probably lucky he wasn't down at Barney's."
"What's Barney's?"
"Local gay bar." Wolverine didn't elaborate further.
"You didn't like him."
"That obvious, huh? Yeah, well me an' him had different views on things."
"Was it because he was bisexual? You seem uncomfortable with homosexuality."
Logan groaned inside. He should have known better than to sit here with a woman who had a degree in psychology. "I ain't got a problem with...gays. I have a problem with Kimble."
"Why?"
" 'Cause he ain't really gay. What he is, is a guy who can't control his hormones. He don' discriminate, darlin'. If it's warm an' has a hole r' two, he's all over it," Logan said, his irritation making him speak more crudely than he normally would in front of a woman he was interested in. "He was all over the students as soon as he got here and couldn't control his powers. He didn't even try actually. He just did as he pleased and when he got in trouble, he couldn't handle it."
"He couldn't handle it, or you couldn't handle him?"
Logan stood quickly, his anger surging. He stood there bristling for a moment, then swallowed it. He laughed a little and looked at her with ice cold eyes. "You don' wanna be foolin' round inside of my head, girlie. Maybe you got an idea that you can come in here and psychoanalyze me, but yer dead wrong. Better folks than you have tried and it didn't work out so well fer them. Best be real careful."
She just smiled up at him, not the least bit afraid of his show of macho dominance and posturing. "I can see you have a problem discussing personal matters."
"Got it in one, such a smart little girl," Logan sneered arrogantly, no longer interested in pursuing someone who wanted to get that involved with his mind. Way too many locked doors best left that way.
Karen stood, meeting him at eye level. She stared him down, not willing to let him see her fear. He was very intimidating all tensed up and hard. She had seen this from a lot of the men she had worked with, including a brief run in with Creed herself. If she let Logan cow her, she would never get him to open up about anything. The truth was that Charles Xavier had asked her to stay not just for Molly, but for Kimble if and when he was ever returned. Charles was concerned at how badly things had turned out and how it disrupted the rhythm of the team.
"I hope you don't think that threats and aggressive posturing will work on me, Logan, because it won't. I've seen far worse from bigger losers than you. All I wanted was to talk to you and get to know you better. I'm sorry if that intimidated you, I didn't mean to frighten you," she said, deliberately making him feel foolish. "If you change your mind and want to have a real conversation about real things, I'll be around." She grabbed her cup and started to walk out.
"Wait! Wait... I didn't mean ta snap at ya like that," Logan apologized, cooling a little. "It's just that he really bugs me, that's all."
"Who? Kimble? From what I've heard, he wasn't that big a deal."
"Who didja talk to? Chuck? He don't know nuthin'."
"And you do? Enlighten me then. What did Kimble do that was so bad? Really, I'm very interested in your opinion."
"I ain't got time, it's late."
"Then write it down."
"What?"
"Write it down. You can write?"
He glared at her.
"Get a notebook from Henry and write it down. Just put down whatever comes to your mind. I promise not to let anyone else read it. It will be private between you and me."
"Why're you so interested in him?"
"What makes you think it's him I'm interested in? I'll just bet your opinions would tell me a lot about you. Might be interesting," she said, smiling at him flirtatiously.
Logan stood still, momentarily breathless. She was so beautiful standing there unafraid. "I'll think about it."
"I'll be waiting with eager anticipation," she teased, sipping her coffee. "I'll see you around." She left, walking slowly. She was very aware of his eyes on her as she walked away. She couldn't explain her attraction to him, it was so unexpected and wonderful. She was a workaholic without much time for dating. It had been a long time since she was this interested in anyone and the thought of it made her smile. Yes, it was going to be so much fun living here.