Chapter 3

They had both decided to stay home over the next few days, in case there may have been news that Luke had been found, or worse, a ransom demand.

Marie had spoken to her professors and they all agreed to allow her to send her papers and reports via email, but it was up to her to get class notes from other students.

Logan had decided to work from home, having any meetings scheduled through conference calls and any papers that needed his approval were faxed to him.

They both found it difficult to concentrate on their tasks as the house was too quiet, and anytime the phone or doorbell rang, they both jumped to answer, knocking into one another more than once in their haste.

Marie was in the kitchen helping Sophia, trying to keep herself busy and her mind off of things, while Logan decided to put in a video call to Germany.

Victor took one look at Logan and knew right away something wasn't right. "Hey bro! You look like hell, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Up late watching a movie last night." Logan replied trying to conceal the truth behind his tousled hair and the dark circles under his eyes.

"Oh. Uh...why aren't you at work? Did something happen at your company?"

Logan shook his head. "No, just took a vacation, that's all."

Victor stared at Logan for a moment. "I might not be able to smell you, but I can still tell when you're lying. Something wrong between you and Marie? Oh damn! Please don't tell me she left you!"

Logan's eyes got wide. "What? No! No, nothing like that. It's...just been a rough few nights, that's all. How are the kids doing?" He asked, trying to take the focus off of himself.

Vic's brow lifted. "Jimmy...you want to tell me why there's a tracer on your end of this conversation? Why is this being recorded?"

Logan's face fell in shock. "W-what...what are you talking about?"

Vic smirked. "My computer's government issue. I can see that there is a tracer on your end. Want to tell me what's going on or do I need to report this to my superiors and have an investigation run? You could face felony charges, you know...maybe even treason."

Logan shook his head. "Luke has been kidnapped."

"WHAT!" Victor hollered in shock. "Jimmy! When? Who? How the hell did this happen? Why didn't you call me sooner? Ok look, I'm gonna pack up right now and get the first flight to the states! I should be in Colorado no later than tomorrow morning and we'll get your boy back."

Logan shook his head. "The detective is already on the case, he has all of our phones and computers tapped, if someone contacts us for a ransom, they can trace where it came from."

"When did Luke go missing? Has there been a demand yet?" Vic questioned as Logan could see him writing something on a piece of paper.

"Three days ago, and no demand yet, but Dave...detective Mercer said that sometimes kidnappers wait a few days, a week even, to make their demands. He said that it prolongs the agony of the parents, to make them more willing to give in to get their child back."

Victor let out a grunt. "This detective, you hired him?"

Logan shook his head. "No. He was assigned to the case, a police detective."

Vic let out a disapproving huff. "No offense to the police, but these detectives are overloaded with cases, working a hundred or more at a time. I hate to say it but...in a month or two...Luke will just be another file number. We're better off doing this on our own, besides, he might not be so quick to help someone...like us."

Logan gave a small chuckle. "Dave is someone like us, and he's assured us that he's just as anxious to get Luke back home as we are."

Vic's eyes rolled. "They all say that." He muttered as he shifted around looking for something in his desk drawer. "I don't want to hear any arguments from you, little brother. I'm on my way to help, and that's the end of it. Period."

Logan ran his hand through his hair. He knew that when Vic set his mind to something, there was no sense in arguing about it. "Well...you can come visit, maybe bring Susan and the kids, it might help lift Marie's spirits having the kids around, but I won't let you interfere with Dave's investigation. Got it?"

Victor gave Logan a blank stare before a smile slowly crept across his face. "Would I ever interfere?"

"Shit." Logan huffed out.

~ooOoo~

It was a little before 4 a.m. when Victor's plane landed and Logan waited at the terminal to greet him.

The brothers hugged in a tight embrace as Logan looked around. "Where's Susan and the kids? I thought they were coming with you."

Victor shook his head. "Not this time, Jimmy. Before I left, I made some calls to a few of my contacts and thought it would be best if the family stayed home. Jimmy, I'm not going to sugar-coat this...the people I spoke to, they're willing to help, but we need to help them to help us. It could get dangerous."

Logan's brows shot up. "Vic...what kind of shit are you into? I never asked before, but if I'm being dragged into this...I need to know."

"I'll tell you everything, but not here. Right now, you need to go home and pack. We're going to New York."

Logan had his suitcase on the bed, throwing his clothes in, as Marie pulled the clothes back out, placing them back in the drawers. "This is insane! You can't just pack up and run to New York because Victor told you to!"

"I'm not running to New York because Vic told me to!" Logan barked back as he grabbed another armful of clothes, dumping them into the suitcase. "I'm going to help get our boy back home where he belongs!"

Marie scooped up the clothes and put them back in the drawer. "That is Dave's job to do that! What if something happens while you're gone? What if he finds Luke, or Kate? What if he needs to ask some more questions?"

Logan dumped more clothes into the case. "If he needs to ask me anything, or finds Luke, I'll have my phone. How hard is it to make a call? I know Dave is doing his job, but Vic's friends have resources that Dave doesn't."

Marie scooped up the clothes. "WILL YOU STOP THAT?!" Logan bellowed out to her.

Marie blinked at Logan as she let the clothes fall from her arms. "Fine! I'm going with you then."

"No you're not." Logan growled out.

"Yes I am." Marie continued to argue.

"It's too dangerous. You're not going."

"I'm going and there's not a damn thing you can do about it." Marie put up a hand to Logan when his mouth opened to protest. "Zip it! I'm going and that's final! You got me Mr. Howlett!"

A fiery ring of amber circled the hazel brown in Logan's eyes as he smirked and placed his hands on Marie's shoulders, speaking softly. "Damnit, mate. When I said I'd break you out of that timid shell of yours...I never thought that the day would come you'd use it against me. Ok...you can come to New York with me."

"No she can't!" Victor's voice bellowed from the living room down the hall.

Logan and Marie looked at each other in amused shock before yelling out in unison. "Stop eavesdropping, Victor!"

~ooOoo~

The three were on the private jet heading to New York as Logan took a look around. "Fancy. This how all you military people get around?"

Victor laughed. "I'm not a 5-star general...yet. This belongs to the guy that's gonna help us."

"Why is this guy so willing to help us? How do you know him?" Marie asked.

Vic leaned back in his chair to get comfortable. "It's a long story. This guy, he heads up a special team of mutants, and whenever there's an issue that involves mutants, like Jimmy here, he's pretty open to helping out. How I know him. He approached me back in the early 80's to join his team. At the time, he was just starting to put his team together, but since I was already in the military and working in the research section, I declined his offer, but I still help him out when I can."

"This guy military then?" Logan asked.

"No." Vic chuckled. "Just a very rich mutant who believes that if he can show the world that not all mutants use their abilities to do bad, then maybe people will start to accept us more, and that we do have a place in society, where our abilities could be very useful to make the world a better place."

Logan thought for a moment. "Is he the guy that helped Marie when her ex-husband was harassing us? Bret?"

Victor shook his head. "Bret and his guys are part of his team, contracted really, but where we're going today...you'll be meeting with the head honcho himself."

"So they're mercenaries then." Marie's eyes grew wide at the thought.

"No. No, like I said...he's just a filthy rich man with a personal cause, but the truth is...he's not above using mercenaries, military personnel or even paying for information through underground means." Victor gave Logan a thoughtful look for a moment. "Uh...Jimmy...all that said, he might seem like the polite, proper gentleman, and may look like a weakling, but don't piss him off. Ok?"

Logan crinkled his brows. "I don't have any intention to piss him off, but...what would happen if I do?"

Vic cracked a wide grin. "With his abilities...he'll make you think you're a 5 year old little girl wanting to play "dress-up" and skip rope, and you'll remember every bit of it."

Logan's eyes got wide. "He can do that?"

Vic nodded slowly. "Yep. And a whole hell of a lot more."

Marie busted out into a loud laugh. "You sound like you have personal experience with that, Victor."

"Don't remind me." Vic replied in a grumble.