Ten hours later she had arrived in Westchester, with its mansions and rolling green lawns. Thankfully it was cooler then Virginia, and from what she could tell from the surveillance photos, the school itself was actually a mansion several miles off the beaten track. It was surrounded by woods on three sides, and had all the perks of the filthy rich. This Xavier guy was from old money, his family having been in America from the time when it was still called The Colonies. So he could afford to have an Olympic sized pool, a basketball court, and tennis courts in the rear of his property. Approximately 50 rooms made up the sprawling building, including what appeared to be an indoor solarium/garden and a full restaurant sized kitchen. Oddly though the file reported that there were no records of any sort of housekeeping services, something that most mansions of that size routinely had. She guessed she'd be washing her own clothes for the short time she was there, though it would have been nice to for once, have someone wait on her.
The taxi ride to the school from the train station was spent mentally preparing, becoming Alexis and fortifying her cover in her mind. She assumed that Command made her story analogous to her own history in order to help her fool her way into the school. There were at least two alpha level telepaths on the school ground, one of them being Charles Xavier himself. If she had a completely bogus cover he'd discover her in a second and there would go her easy in to the school and access to her target. The file stated that infiltrating the school was high priority since Xavier very rarely left the school's grounds. Confined to a high tech wheelchair for most of his life he rarely left Westchester, the exceptions being when he had to go to Washington to speak in front of the House. If he had to give an interview he almost always did it from his office, which was located in the northern wing of the school. Xavier himself was also a teacher at the school, so he had classes to teach and little time for globe trotting.
When the taxi pulled up to the large iron gates and stone wall that enclosed the property a seed of doubt planted itself inside her stomach. It had been a long time since she had been in contact with so many other people, and she had never been around so many mutants before. If one of them even caught so much of a whiff of her plan she had no idea what they would do to her. But, she had been trained by the best, and she quickly quashed that flowering seed and raised her mental shields that said I am who I say I am. . .you can trust me. She paid the driver, and stepped out of the cab. Slinging her case across her back, and her well used backpack over her shoulder Alexis looked for the call box that would set her lie into motion.
--
The lies poured out of her mouth, as easily as the tears fled her eyes, telling the voice on the other end of the line her cover.
"My name is Alexis and I was told you could help me..."
They had opened the gate for her, the tiny security camera attached to the stone wall vigilant of her every move. The packed dirt driveway stretched before her, shaded by old growth maples and edged by a neatly cut lawn. It looked every bit the mansion she expected as the two story while building came fully into view. Even from the driveway she could hear the sounds of children laughing and screaming coming from the side of the house. No doubt many of the students were in the pool on a warm day like today. She climbed the four wide stairs to the double doors, but before she could knock they opened to reveal a short African American woman with shockingly white hair and a kind smile. Alexis had the good mind to look surprised and nervous, she was after all coming to a place she supposedly had never seen or heard about before a week ago when a "friend" had suggested it to her.
"Hello, my name is Ororo Monroe, welcome to Xavier's Institute for the Gifted. Alexis, isn't it?" The woman motioned her into the foyer, which of course was exactly what Alexis had expected it to look like, something out of a romance novel. Dark wood paneling lined the walls and a grand staircase took up the left side of the foyer. In front of her a hallway stretched as far as she could see, and to the left and right there were more hallways that stretched into infinity.
"Yes. Alexis Murphy. I was told that this was a school, that Mister Xavier could help me learn to control my power." The last words were said in a whisper. Alexis was supposed to know she was a mutant but not know that everyone who lived here was one too. It was always better to play dumb and shy when entering a situation this close, it made her more sympathetic and easier to trust. To them she was just a scared kid grasping at straws, hoping this Xavier guy could help her. So much for the adage what you don't know won't hurt you.
"Of course child, the Professor will help you learn to control your gift. And you needn't be afraid, we all are mutants here." Ororo had given her a kind smile and motioned for Alexis to follow her. They entered the hallway to the right of the foyer and Ororo started to give her the standard "welcome" speech. She already knew when the school was founded and by who, it was all in her file. She made herself look interested while she mentally tracked their progress into the building, along with possible exits. She always had a way to escape when it came to close ops. First if something went bad and she had to get out quick, like if Xavier suspected she was lying. But also in order for a quick get away once the job was done. She certainly didn't want to hang around this place any longer then she had to.
With the standard ooh's and ahh's in the proper places Alexis graciously took her tour of the grounds. She was slightly surprised by the number of people that she passed in the halls, and even more surprised at the obvious use of their mutations. Children seemed to fly around the halls at every turn, and she was sure she had seen a girl walk through a wall right in front of her at one point. A tiny part of her wished that she had found this place first, but then she felt the small daggers pressing into the small of her back and her ankle and she remembered that she probably had it better then everyone that lived here. She was free, could move where she liked and actually liked what she did. School wasn't the place for her, never was.
The tour finished back in the front hallway before a set of large wooden doors. A small brass plaque on the door read 'Charles Xavier'. The tingles of adrenaline started to surge to Alexis' fingertips and she was more aware then ever of the sharp blades hidden on her body. She could do it now, slit his throat, and no one would be the wiser.
"...professor won't be back for a few days." Ororo's voice cut into her thoughts.
"I'm sorry?" She dropped the hand that had been reaching for the doorknob back to her side.
"I said the professor won't be back for a few days. He's away on business at the moment. But I'm sure he will be eager to meet you when he returns." Ororo smiled kindly at her and opened the door, ushering her into the large room. "For now we'll have you fill out some papers and then show you to your room."
Alexis sat in the large winged back chair closest to the large mahogany desk which took up must of the back corner of the room. It was cluttered, but neat with stacks of papers covering most of the blotter. Disappointment at not being able to get in and out settled in as Ororo pulled a folder out of a file cabinet on the wall to the left of the desk.
She hated being this close. She hated the fact that she would have to stay here for the next couple of days even more. That meant being social, something she had grown unaccustomed to lately. Relegated to waiting she tried to look happy as she filled out the paperwork Ororo had handed her, easily spitting out her fake history onto the forms.
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