The next day, we set out for Vegas. Stryker loaned us the jet and a pilot. Apparently he trusted me now. As the jet touched down, I looked over at Victor. "Where are they?"

"John owns a boxing place. Fred comes in around 4."

"What time is it now?"

The pilot called back, "Almost 5."

"He'll still be there?"

"He should be. I should warn you, Fred developed a sort of eating disorder. He was really sensitive about it before he left. Whatever else you do, mention his weight."

"Oh, Victor. That's cold!"

He shrugged innocently. "I don't want to just kill him. He should put up a fight at least…unlike Bradley."

"Victor!" I growled.

He chuckled and poked me. "Lighten up. Come one."

We deplaned and climbed on a rented motorcycle. As we flew through the streets, I marveled at all the flashing lights and scantily clad women on the arms of their pimps. We skidded to a stop in front of a rather pleasant looking establishment that obviously advertised a boxing ring and training. My nose burned with the familiar smell of John and the strange smoky stuff that resulted from his transporting, but I couldn't locate the source. "He's not here."

"But he hasn't been gone long. Fred's still inside."

As we made our way to the door, I froze. "Do you smell that?"

"Jimmy," he stated coldly.

"He was here. I think he left with John."

"I think so to. We can only assume he's looking for me."

"Did Fred or John know anything?"

"Fred might have. Him and Zero were pretty close. Zero worked for Stryker after the team broke up like I did. I heard Jimmy took care of him."

"Why don't I hear these things? I'm so left out on the business around our little 3 mile island we call home."

"Figured you wouldn't want to know you were a co-worker with Zero again. I know you hated him. Hell, we all did! Minus Fred anyways."

I shrugged. "Ah, whatever. It doesn't matter. We got stuff to do." I pushed my way through the door and made my way to the center of the building where Fred's scent was emanating from. I walked in and stopped short. A mountain of a man…much larger than any man I had ever encountered…was laying in the corner of the ring, panting. He saw me and started trying to sit up to no avail. Remembering Victor's request, I said, "Please, Fred, don't get up. Not like you can anyway." He seemed to be slightly angered by that, but I could smell the fear on him.

"Elena…what are you doing here?"

My mind went blank. I couldn't come up with anything. Victor stalked in the doorway to save me. "Dukes," he said darkly with a nod.

"Victor! Uh, hey! What a reunion, huh? You two back together?"

"Yeah," I said. "We are."

"What'd you tell him, Dukes," Victor snarled, not interested in pleasantries.

"Who?"

"Don't give me that! What did you tell Jimmy?" Fred was shaking. It was hard to catch, but our heightened eye sight picked it up. That only encouraged Victor. He took a few slow steps towards the ring. "What'd you say, Dukes?"

"He, uh, he came here asking is we knew where you were. After we boxed it out a little bit, I didn't see any reason not to tell him what I knew." Victor took a few more steps and more words came tumbling out of Fred's mouth. "I said that you worked on the island with Stryker. He wanted to know where it was, but I don't know and I told him that. He got a little…persistent, so I told him about Remy LeBeau."

"Remy LeBeau?" I cut in.

"Yeah. He's a guy who escaped from the island a while back. He was a street hustler from New Orleans. The guards called him Gambit because he kept getting all of their money at poker. That's all I told him. I swear."

He was lying, and I could smell it. "No it's not, Fred," I said. His fearful eyes were flicking back and forth nervously. "What else did you tell him?" I asked with growing threat in my tone. He still wouldn't speak, and suddenly, I was annoyed. I jumped up into the ring and grabbed a fistful of his gross, grimy shirt. "I don't have the ability to break the skin," I said, extending my claws, "but know that I'll try as hard as I can."

He stuttered, "I…uh…I told him that Stryker was trying to combine powers and that's why he was capturing mutants and doing experiments on them. Him and John left out of here about half and hour ago to find LeBeau and convince him to take them to the island. That's all I know."

I retracted my claws and let go of his shirt. "Thank you," I said through clenched teeth. Looking at him though, it softened me a little. "It was good seeing you again, Fred. I'm sorry we can't stay and catch up."

"It's ok, Elena."

I heard Victor coming up behind me, his intentions obvious to me. I touched Fred's cheek and whispered, "I'm so sorry." His eyes got as wide as saucers as Victor dove at him and snapped his neck. I stood up straight and stared down at Fred's huge, lifeless body. "I'm sorry, Fred," I whispered again. I crouched down and closed his eyes, and stayed crouched by his form, my own eyes closed, remembering the laughs and fun times we had had all those years ago. I allowed one tear to leak out and drip down my cheek leaving a salty path behind. I thought it would disrespectful if I didn't.

"Elena, we have to go," Victor called quietly. I sighed and tried to make the sadness and empty chasm in my chest go away. I failed, but I stood and followed Victor out anyway.

We got out of the building and made our way back to the bike. I got on behind Victor and said, "So, we're going to New Orleans?"

"Yup. Stryker wants John's DNA for the XI."

"And he wants Logan gone."

"Yes…but I'm not sure that's what's going to happen."

"You would spare him?"

"The better question is will he spare me? He has the adamantium. I haven't gotten it yet. He could kill me with almost no effort." I was suddenly gripped by fear. Logan was no doubt pissed. Like, beyond talking pissed. There would be no calming him down. Unless… "And you better not tell him about Kayla, Elena Romanov. You keep your mouth shut." My last resort was crushed. I wrapped my arms around him as we sped off.

We flew down to New Orleans. When we got there, it was about 10 pm. "Logan and John were driving," I said. "They won't be here for quite a while."

"Yeah. We'll wait."

I had no want of intention of waiting on that plane…or waiting at all really. "I'll go stake out that Gambit fellow. See where his usual haunts are."

Victor glanced at me as if to make sure I was serious. Then he nodded. "Alright. Be careful…and hide your tags."

"Why?" I asked while tucking them under my shirt.

"That's the one thing he said he'd remember about me before I knocked him out."

"Oh, you're so cordial."

"Get outta here, chick."

I waved and jogged down the plane steps. As soon as my feet hit the tarmac, an undeniable sense of freedom washed over me. I could run away and not come back. I could escape this. I could…allow Nesha to die, and hurt Victor yet again. I could save John…and probably get killed by Logan in the process. There were too many cons and the pros weren't worth it. I mean, really. Where was I going to go? With a defeated sigh, I ran off. Honestly, I had no intention of finding Gambit either. I wanted a break from it all. The lively streets of New Orleans seemed like a good place to de-stress. People watch. Let my mind wander. I got into the popular part of town for the night scene, and placed myself on a bench outside a club. I watched some of the people, but I soon got distracted by the sounds of OOOOS and AAAAHHHS from inside. I went in and was totally taken aback when I saw the cause. A young man was at a poker table in the dealer's seat. He was flipping cards around in the air, holding them suspended as if with magic…or mutation. I moved around the crowd so I could more properly see him. He had a stylish hat on, pulled low over his eyes. He was handsome, and most definitely charming. His Southern drawl and way with words was quite alluring. As he wowed the crowd, someone teased, "You keep that up, you'll have all the ladies tonight, LeBeau!" I choked on my own spit. LeBeau? As in Remy LeBeau?

The man smiled up at his friend. "Remy LeBeau does not need magic to get a woman, Bill." I couldn't believe it. What was the chance that I would run across the one guy I was purposefully not looking for? I quickly made my way out, but not before carefully committing the club name to memory.

I left the well lit parts of town and made my way to a beach. I really hated sand, but the sound of the waves hitting the shore was soothing. With a streak of what the hell mentality, I kicked off my shoes/socks, rolled up my pant legs, and slid off my jacket. I made my way to the water and allowed the waves to lick my toes. The water was warm, so I went farther out, submerging my legs up to the knee. I was amazed at how good it felt. Usually, I hated the ocean, but it's vastness made me feel less important, and that was a good thing. There was something bigger than me, more devastating when provoked, and even more monstrous. Yet another streak of what the hell mentality hit, and I decided to just totally submerge myself. As the water covered my head, I imagined that the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico was washing away my guilt and pain. Surprisingly…it worked. I broke the surface again and brushed my now soaked hair out of my face. I felt refreshed, if not forgiven. A small weight was lifted off my chest and a smile touched my lips. With a lighter heart, I walked out of the sea and back to my shoes. I dried my feet and brushed the sand off, then put my socks and shoes and jacket back on. After that, I burst into super-speed back to the plane.

I jogged up the steps into the jet, wringing my clothes out. Victor was stretched out over a few chairs, looking extremely bored. He glanced up and visibly started when he saw me standing there, dripping. I grinned at him, thoroughly amused at his expression. "Why, Elena, are you dripping water all over the floor? That is water, I assume."

"Yeah, it's water. I went for a swim," I told him, still grinning.

He shook his head, not comprehending. "Why?"

"Because I felt like it!" I took my jacket off and slung it over a chair. "It made me feel better."

"Well, that's…good," he said slowly.

I nodded. "You didn't happen to bring any extra clothes, did you?"

"No."

"Ah, I didn't think so. Just had to ask." I violently shook my head, spraying him with water from my hair. He quietly growled in annoyance, brushing the droplets off. With a smirk, I said, "Lighten up."

"I liked you better before your swim," he muttered. I purred seductively and took slow, steady steps towards him. "NO! NO! Don't you bring your soaked ass over here!" he cried, falling over himself trying to get out of the chairs. "I don't want to get wet," he whined.

I simply laughed at him and jumped on top of him. "You're such a cat," I teased. "Fear of water."

"I'm not afraid of it," he responded with a dark look at the water seeping into his coat from my pants. "I just prefer to stay dry."

"Aww. Poor kitty," I said before leaning down and kissing him. He reluctantly moaned, not wanting to admit that he was enjoying it, but he eventually had to give up. He wrapped his arms around me and dragged me out of the seats to the floor.

"Might as well save the upholstery," he murmured against my lips. I laughed and his lips moved to the hollow of my throat. I laid there, my hands on his neck as his lips gently caressed mine. Oh, I would've given so much for that moment to last forever. I turned my head to look at the clock on the wall. It was in eastern time, but I worked it out to be almost midnight in New Orleans. Regretfully, I sighed. Victor leaned his forehead against my cheek and whispered, "What's wrong, baby?"

I ran my fingers through his beard for a minute. He purred and I could fell the vibration deep in my gut, like when a base drum is struck. "Nothing really," I answered. "We should probably get some sleep though."

"Naw. We'll get all the sleep we need when we're dead…which seems like a good possibility in the next few days."

I whipped my head around, dislodging his from my cheek. "Don't say that!" I cried desperately.

He rubbed my cheek with his thumb. "Don't be scared. Jimmy won't hurt you. You just tell him that you were forced because of Nesha, which isn't a lie."

I put my hands on the sides of his face. "It's not me I'm scared for," I said shakily.

He smiled genuinely, his eyes crinkling up a bit. "Don't worry about me. You shouldn't concern yourself with the lies of scary people."

I stared up at him, feeling at though I'd missed something. Finally, I shook my head to clear it of the strange comment and said, "You, Victor Creed, are my everything. If there is anything I should be concerned with, it's your life, for your life is my life. Your happiness is my happiness. Your pain is my pain. Your death…is my death."

"No. Don't you dare! If something happens to me, I forbid you from doing any harm to yourself."

"If something happens to you, you won't be around to stop me, will you?" Something happened then that totally blew me away. Victor's eyes roamed my face, and as they did, tears welled up, accentuating the blue-grey irises. I gasped when a warm, salty drop hit my nose. I reached up and touched it, disbelief making my hand shake. I looked at he wetness on my fingertips and started crying myself. I met his eyes, almost unable to hold his gaze.

I tried to speak, but he put a finger over my lips, shaking his head with his eyes closed, tears still leaking out against his will. He opened his mouth, and when he spoke, emotion was evident in his voice. "Elena…" he began. He had to take a steadying breath before he could continue. "When I think of losing you…and don't you say that if I'm dead I can't lose you because I intend to come back as a ghost and protect your reckless ass…it feels like someone has sliced my chest open and is poking my heart with fiery pokers. I try to fight back, and it only gets worse." Hic voice broke and he couldn't go on. He got off the floor and walked away, turning his back to me. I made my shocked nerves work. I forced my muscles to react to the signals my brain was sending them. I stoop up, but I was still unable to approach his gently shaking form. I could hear the quiet crying, but it just wasn't registering in my mind that it was Victor who was making the noise. I never knew he could. My feet started forward of their own accord until I was right behind him. I felt like an outsider watching everything happen because I couldn't remember telling my hand to reach up and touch his shoulder. I slowly spun him around to face me.

He tried to use his sleeve to hastily dry off his face, but I took his hands in mine. "No, don't wipe them off!" I said, still sounding a little far away. He sniffed and looked at me, his eyes now red and puffy. "I never knew you could…"

"Cry?" he finished with a half-assed chuckle. "Not a lot of people do. It doesn't happen often, and it takes…a lot…to evoke that kind of response."

I reached up and brushed a few tears off his cheek with my thumb. Then I said, "I almost want to bottle these. I may never see them again if I don't."

"Maybe," he said with a nod.

My lips irresistibly formed into a soft smile. "You never cease to amaze me. I'm not absolutely certain that's a good thing."

"It'll keep you on your toes."

"That it will." I dried his face with my own sleeves and let him wipe the last few drops out of his eyes.

He cleared his throat, trying to get his voice back to normal. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to," he mumbled. "About Jimmy and all."

"You didn't. Not really. I just can't see him cooling off very easily."

"No, he won't. I'm going to have to fight with him. And when I do, I want you to stay out of it."

"I'll stay out of it until I decide I'm needed. I promise." He gave me one of those sarcastic eyebrow arches. I ran my finger along it and thoughtfully said, "You know, I think these are the strongest muscles in your body."

"My eyebrows?" he asked.

"Yes! Haven't you noticed how much higher you can arch yours compared to everyone else?"

"Uh…no."

"It's one of your greatest features!" I laughed.

He just shook his head. "You're crazy."

"I know. Crazy about you."

"No! Nuh-huh! No more mushy stuff tonight. We need to go to sleep. The way I figure it, Jimmy and John will be in about this time tomorrow."

"I agree. I did happen to run across Remy LeBeau."

"Did you speak with him?"

"No, but I know where he hangs out."

"Good. We'll go there tomorrow night. Stick to the shadows and wait."

"We're not going to make scene with this, are we?"

"No. I thought we'd lure them into the alley. Preferably separately, John first."

"So you can get his DNA. Are you actually required to kill him for that?"

"No, but it's more fun that way."

"Just don't make fun of him like we did Fred. John doesn't deserve that."

"I'm not promising anything, but I'll try."

"Thank you. Now, off to bed with us. I'm going to sleep on those chairs. You can have the longer ones."

"You're not that much shorter than me!"

"No, I'm not. A whole 4 inches. I'm just being nice." We both climbed into chairs and promptly fell asleep.