I come bearing the second chapter! I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all.

Six years earlier

Chapter1: The Hook

"I like a man who grins when he fights."~ Winston Churchill

Remember the objective, I kept telling myself as I ground a permanent hole in the bar's wooden table with my fingernail. Remember the objective. Stay focused, I said to myself. Keep the objective in mind at all times. It was the only way I'd get through this-the only way we'd get through this. It was all I could do.

I pushed the long empty glass toward Carl, the bar tender, and handed him what I owed. It was just water from now on for me. The room spun about half an hour ago, signaling that it was time to call it quits for the night. Really, I've never been much of a drinker.

"What's with the long face, Kayla?" Carl wondered as he took the money, smiling at the tip I left him.

I shook my head, and glanced behind me. "Long day is all."

Carl, who looked old enough to be my father, smiled at me. "Pretty girl like you shouldn't have a long face, hear?" He took my empty glass and hid it under the bar; a magician's trick.

I pulled a smile up to my lips and gave him a salute. "Yes, sir."

"Pretty girl like you should have a man to keep under her thumb." Carl noted, gesturing toward the almost full bar. Really this was as good as it was going to get; most of the town was there that night and I could name every one of them. Paul and Delia were curled up in a corner to themselves. Robert and Jeremy were bringing the new guys into the fold by drinking them under the table. They all crowded together in one corner of the roughly hewn bar, their shadows shifting in the low lights as they laughed and joked and generally just made a ruckus.

"Don't see one to have," I laughed.

Carl just smiled. "He'll pop up eventually. Hey make sure you say hi to your sister next time you talk to her, huh?" He handed me a glass of water without another word as "Come Together" by the Beatles cackled over the radio.

"'Course Carl!"

I went to find an out of the way table to wait it out. I've already been here for a few hours and they said the bar would be the first place he'd stop by. I took a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm my rising fears and worries. When that didn't work, I started to chant my mantra: remember the objective, remember the objective. Form no attachments, nothing. Keep your head down and maybe we'll both get out alive.

"Just keep an eye out for him," the Colonel said with a smirk during the briefing. "You won't miss him."

He handed me a sheaf of papers; photos, bios, military papers. Most of the photos spilled out in an array of violence and destruction, his face angry and fierce and…sad. War had been his life, it looked like and he was very good at it.

But one photo caught my eye. Half hidden behind a few of the more violent ones, it was a slick black and white candid shot of him not looking at the camera. Someone must have snuck up on him; maybe it was a friend, maybe even Stryker. But he looked calm, even relaxed. There was just the hint of a smile in his face. Even though he wasn't even looking at the camera, I still wanted to see the whole of his face, it gave everything away. I kept wondering what he was thinking at the moment and why he was so calm in this particular photo and so angry in the others.

"This is him?" I asked, holding up the photo.

"That is James Logan," Stryker nodded. "That's your target."

The door clicked open and another man walked in, but this one's menace emanated from him. It was more palpable than Stryker's which came from his official military uniform and his cold smile.

But this man…monster, of the two I'm not sure which it is, but this one's terror oozed from his pores and his demon grin. He was taller, broader, just plain meaner than the man I was hunting for. But this one's stance seemed to exude a real threat. He sat across from me, a sarcastic smirk on his lips which revealed those horrible canines.

"And this is Victor Creed. Logan's brother." Stryker smiled. "He's going to be a real asset to you."

Victor scrutinized for a moment me like a mountain lion stalking a limping deer and then nodded in approval. "Jimmy likes brunettes. She'll do." He said to Stryker. Then to me, he grinned: "Just don't make it too obvious. Jimmy's got a good nose for liars. Make him..." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Work for it. It's no fun if there's not a bit of a chase involved."

I jumped as shadow hovered over my table. "Kayla…" I looked up to see Parker, an old friend. But he had a little too much to drink and he was wobbling a little. "How're you, baby?"

I rolled my eyes at him and leaned back in the chair. "Oh, Parker, honey…No." I didn't want to deal with this using….the other method. It could be a little ostentatious and that was the last thing I needed. "You've had enough…"

"Oh c'me on, Kalyia…" he stumbled over my name and placed his hand over mine. He leaned down until we were on the same eye-level. He swayed drunkenly forward and came close enough that I could smell the scotch on his hot breath.

Just as I was about to summon the will to instruct him to walk home, there was a low growling voice behind him: "I think the lady said she wasn't interested, Bub."

I let go of Parker and he stumbled away to reveal the man from the picture: a burly man who looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties. His dog tags revealed themselves and glinted in the low lights of the bar. Despite the menacing snarl on his lips and massive veined fists, he was the man from the picture.

"I…I…." Parker only stammered at him, mouth agape. When he couldn't find anything to say back, he scooted away, terror draining from him like a slowly leaking balloon.

I glanced up at my target. "I was handling that just fine, thank you." I sneered and flicked my hair back over my shoulder, feigning annoyance. While on some level it was nice to be championed every once in a while, Victor told me not to go too easy on him.

One dark eyebrow rose along with a cheeky half-smile that didn't fit with his other qualities. Especially with the memories of the pictures I remember. "Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

Without being invited to, he sat across from me. The Colonel was right, though, this man had a certain presence that couldn't or wouldn't be ignored. "And how were you going to handle that?" He asked, resting one thick forearm on the table.

I leaned back, arms crossed. "I was just about to tell him to walk it off. Parker's a friend."

He said "Yeah right," with a small chuckle.

"Really." I insisted, slightly stung by his smugness. "I'm good at dealing with people. Besides." I shot him a glance. "Not all problems can be solved with a show of force."

"Touché, Miss…" he paused for my name.

"Kayla. Kayla Silverfox. And you?" I asked even though I knew his name already: James Logan, part of Weapon X, half brother to Victor Creed.

"Logan," is all he said.

"So what brings you to my neck of the woods, Mr. Logan?" I let the sarcasm color my voice. "All the big city lights?"

His dark brown eyes flicked upwards to meet mine. "Retirement. Military. Wouldn't mind a quiet place for a while. And it's just Logan."

"No 'Major' or 'Colonel' or 'Captain' or anything?" I asked. I could see the catch when I said 'Captain' and I knew I had him.

"Nope. Just Logan."

"Fair enough," I shrugged.

"So, how did you get here Ms. Silverfox?" he grinned and it was infectious.

"It's Kayla. I've been here for about eight or nine years. I work at the school." He opened his mouth to say something but I got up, grinning like I'd just heard a private joke.

Always leave 'em wanting more! I remembered what my mother always used to say and stood up. "Actually, I have to go. I've got an early day tomorrow." All the while, I saw the slight fall of that cheeky half-smile. Check-mate. "I'll see you around, Logan." I grabbed my coat.

"Can I get that in writing?" I heard him call as I walked away.

I only half turned and gave him a matching smile. "Nope, sorry. No such luck."

I didn't look back as I walked through the shifting lights and out into the fall evening. Instantly the temperature dropped about fifteen degrees. Summer had definitely left for the season. Hiking my collar up against the cold, I headed for home.

Home, I realized for the umpteenth time since Mom died, has lost its homey feel. Sure, everything was where it should have been. The fridge quietly humming like a cat and the familiar flags fluttering in the draft from the partially open window in the living room. I flicked on the lights, afraid of my own shadow. Tonight of all nights, the shadows that I used to find familiar now lurk with the same threat from Stryker and Creed.

As I passed Emma's door, which had been closed since she left a few weeks ago, I pressed a hand to it, hoping to feel a little of sliver of her. But it was only a door.

"Kayla! Seriously! Paula'n'Delia are gonna be here any minute!" Emma called from the front door.

"Come on! Let me get one picture of you with all your stuff before you leave me!" I ran toward her, camera in tow.

Emma rolled her eyes, the way an eighteen year old should. "That is so lame!"

"Emma…" I tried the puppy dog eyes, it normally worked on her.

"NO!"

I reached a hand toward her. "I could do it the hard way..!" I threatened.

Emma sighed, having been the receiving end of "the hard way" all of her life. "Fine, take your stupid picture!"

"Pick up your suitcase and smile!" I held the camera up and looked through the lens, reveling my baby sister; eighteen, impossible and going away to college in less than ten minutes.

The flash ended and Emma relaxed.

"Now, we need one with me and you when Delia and Paul get here!" I trilled.

"But Kayla-!"

I hold my hand out, threatening her.

Emma rolled her eyes but smiled. She looked down at her feet for a second as she scuffed her sneaker toe on the porch before she cleared her throat. "You know…I'm gonna miss you." She stole a glance at me, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Oh, baby!" I enveloped her in my arms even though she was taller than I was. "I'm gonna miss you too."

"I love you, big sis." Emma muttered into my shirt. "Always will."

" 'Love you too, baby sis." I assured her. "Always have."

I hadn't opened Emma's door since she left. I didn't want to see all her things there, waiting for her to come back when I didn't know if she would.

But it wasn't the time to reminisce. I had a job to do. Trembling, I picked up the phone and took out the card with the number scribbled there. I dialed and waited for the ringing to start but it doesn't.

Instead the Colonel's voice enveloped the silence in the house: "Stryker here."

I twisted the phone cord around my finger. "It's Kayla. Contact's been made."

"Good." I could hear the smile in his voice and it made me shiver. "I'll check in a few days. Keep him close."

"Emma?" I whispered, barely able to let the name slip past my lips.

"She's doing beautifully, Kayla. There's really no need to worry. Just keep up your side of the bargain and everything will be all right."

I cupped my hand over my mouth so he wouldn't hear the sharp intake of breath as I tried not to cry.

"Can you do this Kayla?"

"I can." I had to. For Emma.

and so the plot thickens.....