CROSSING A RED LINE
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The guards had just completed their search for metal objects on Jack, before they'd allow him into the magnetic cage, even if though it would be turned off. He had already had his usual fight with the Colonel today, who had given him a new list of questions to ask.
Jack mused on the sheet of paper that he held in his hands. What does he need me for, then? When he tells me exactly what to ask? He himself could also ask the prisoner these questions, over the speaker.
Waiting three rooms before the airlock to the holding cell, Jack waited for the clearance to go over there. He was here early and they obviously needed some time to do… whatever. Waiting, he read the stupid list of questions once more. Every single one of these questions was aimed at getting some more information about other ones of his kind - mutants. Their hideouts. Logan would never answer that. What reason had he to give their names and hideouts away? Jack folded the piece of paper and put it in his trouser pocket. He didn't want to ask those questions and he wouldn't.
The door on his left opened up and two men came out, wearing a full ABC protection gear. Astounded Jack watched them as they took off their helmets and left the scene. He stood up and went into the adjacent room, one door closer to the holding cell. „Isn't that a little bit overprotective?", he asked the guard in there, referring to the body protection gear and the gas masks that those guards had worn. „And I go in there without anything on?"
The guard gave him the silent treatment. Jack was sure that he was instructed to do so, by the Colonel. „That's none of your concern."
Jack went one room closer to the holding cell. In here were the surveillance cameras. Five monitors showed every corner of the little white cell, in greatest detail. He watched their prisoner, sitting at the floor, in his usual position, arms cuffed into the unbreakable shackles. He didn't move and didn't rise his head. „Is he asleep?", Jack asked the guard.
„We are not sure.", the man answered. As he saw Jack walk over to the double doors to the cell, he quickly added „Captain, do not enter." A little pause, „yet."
Jack stepped back from the door „why?"
„The door is still locked."
„Why?", he asked again.
„The air inside the room is being cleared." As the guard answered, he saw on Jack's face that the third ‚why' was to follow, if he didn't serve him a better explanation. „Haven't you ever wondered how we get his hands into the shackles?"
Jack halted. Yes, he had thought about it, but at one point, he hadn't really cared. „How do you do it?"
„We're flooding the room with… an anesthetic."
Jack glanced at the guard. At the surveillance monitors. Back at the guard again. That little pause, before saying it was an ‚anesthetic', hat been just one part of a second too long to be believable. Murmuring okay, he turned away from the door and paced through the room. He felt the urge to interrogate not the prisoner but that guard over there to hear the truth. There was so much going on around here, around him, that the didn't know.
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meanwhile, in the manor
Storm found a thoughtful professor, as she came to him. „What's going on?", she asked as she worriedly stepped in front of him, „One doesn't need to be able to read thoughts to see that something's wrong."
Charles Xavier looked up. „Indeed.", he remarked and moved his wheelchair away from the large window, over to her. „I cannot connect to Logan."
„Maybe he's asleep?" Storm tried to find an easy solution, most of the times there was an easy solution for every little problem. She knew that the professor had tried to keep track of Logan's moves after he had left their team two months ago, to take some time out.
„No, my dear." Charles smiled at her everlasting optimism, though it was a sad smile. „I'd sense it if he was asleep. I'd be able to connect to his dreams."
„He's a big boy. He can handle himself, Xavier", she sighed.
But she didn't know what Xavier knew. He had kept track of Logan all the time, but he hadn't told the others that Logan had been on a killing trip, neither had he told anyone that their brother in arms had been caught and lay in chains by now, in a government holding facility for delinquent mutants. Logan wouldn't want the others to know. He had insisted in getting out of there without their help and without endangering any one of them. Xavier had respected his wish. But now, he was worried. He took a deep breath and made the decision „We'll find him with Cerebro."
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In the holding cell
Jack had waited another ten minutes before he received the clearance to cross the airlock into the cell. He had taken the time to examine the holding facility a bit closer. The airlock consisted of two thick metal doors - the inner one to complete the Faraday cage around the cell and the other one to complete the airlock system. That room in there was a hight tech facility, shielded perfectly from the outside. He considered the locks at the door unbreakable. A lot of electronic locks plus two conventional keys were used to keep their prisoner locked up.
The guards at the prison were damn afraid of him. Sitting at the plastic chair he examined the man opposite him. Why were they so afraid of him? Because of these claws? Both his arms were mounted into huge shackles and left him no inch to move his arms or hands. The file said that he had increased healing capabilities and could survive a bullet straight into his heart. That was for sure helpful - but not intimidating.
Although they had strictly forbidden to touch the prisoner, Jack couldn't help moving the chair another bit closer to the sleeping (or was he unconscious?) man. Just so close that he could kick him into the shin to wake up.
Nothing happened.
„Hey!" He kicked him into the shin once more - not to hurt him, but to wake him up because he didn't want forever to start their interrogation.
Logan slightly moved as his body came to life again. Weakly he raised his head, not abruptly like all the other times, when he woke from his nightmares. He slightly opened his eyes. Too bright. He blinked once and then he saw the legs of someone sitting in front of him. He looked up. Jack. Was that even his real name?
„Did you have a good sleep?" - he heard him ask. What a a sarcasm. Answering nothing, he straightened up and fought the nausea. He rarely ever felt this way. But today was an exception. „How long was I out?", he asked.
Jack shrugged. „I don't know. I've only been here for a few minutes."
Logan nodded his head. Bad idea. That made the nausea even worse.
„' you alright?" He saw that his prisoner wasn't in a very good shape. Whatever the ‚anesthetic' was, it definitely had served it's purpose.
„perfect.", Logan hissed back, derogatorily. He tensed his muscles and swore to himself that he wouldn't let it show how bad his condition was. They must have used a deadly concentration of the gas. It was a mere wonder that he had survived. So many people had died from this. Those pictures had gotten burned into his mind - remembering that was no pleasure.
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Cerebro
„I have to tell you something, before you see this, Storm", Xavier began, as he reached out to take the helmet, „I've been connecting to Logan many times in the past months."
His start made her curious. Was there something bad to come? „..aaaand?", she asked.
„He didn't only take time off. He wanted to do certain things… like revenge, and… I couldn't convince him not to do that."
„Revenge for what?"
„He hasn't been born with adamantium-coated bones and claws."
Storm walked a few steps down the bridge into the Cerebro shpere. „I know. He said he didn't even know what caused that- only that Stryker had something to do with it."
Xavier nodded. „Yes, that's true. As he joined us again, half a year ago, we spent several sessions in here to untangle the barriers causing his complete loss of memory." He didn't know how else to say it: „He didn't like what he saw."
„Why?", Storm watched him closely, „You're worrying me now, Xavier. What did he do?"
„He left us to settle some old scores with people out of Stryker's team and to find Sabretooth." It had always been a matter of time, when truth would come out. „He was caught and arrested."
„They cannot hold him."
„Stryker's team didn't only create him, Storm," Xavier shook his head, „they built him, so they also built precautions how to control him."
„You mean a prison?" It was outrageous that Xavier hadn't told her before. „For how long have you known that?! We have to get him out!", she shouted.
He didn't answer the first part of her question, but said „This is his war against a certain group of people. This is not our war. And I know he wouldn't want us to do that."
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In the holding cell
„What damn anesthetic was it that brought you down like that?" Jack was curious. Although Logan tried to hide it, he saw and sensed what was going on behind his rigid facade.
„Anesthetic?", Logan raised an eyebrow and felt his anger trying to push out the claws. „Are you really that stupid or do you still believe every bedtime story the Colonel tells you?"
Jack ignored the insults. „No. That's why I'm asking."
Logan looked at the grenade in Jack's hands. „I hope they cleared the air inside here well enough so you won't get a headache … or anything worse and drop that thing."
„From what?"
„Sarin."
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Cerebro
The past hours replayed before Xavier's and Storm's eyes, pacing quickly through the scenes. They found themselves again, standing in the middle of a white coated cell. First they saw him sitting at a blanket, in one corner of the room, as he suddenly jumped up and looked around, alarmed, searching the corners of the room for something that simply wasn't there.
„What is he doing?", Storm asked. She could see the picture but unlike Xavier, she had no access to emotions and sensations. That made it impossible to interpret the situation.
„They were filling the room with nerve gas."
A few moments later he broke down in the middle of the room. Two guards in ABC protection suits entered and fixated his wrists in special shackles, against the back wall of the room.
„What kind of a red line is this?", Storm asked, „the one parting the room in two?"
„A strong magnetic field parts the room. And keeps him quite immovable. Silence now.", Xavier reminded her, as they saw a man enter the room. He took a plastic chair, crossed the red line and sat down in front of the still unconscious Logan.
„Who is this?", Storm whispered.
„The interrogator. Jack Bauer."
„Why does he have a grenade in his hands?" An uneasy feeling overcame her. It could easily kill him if it went off so close.
„Security. The interrogator made them switch off the magnetic field so that Logan would talk to him."
They listened to Logan's and Jack's talk, eventually leading to the nerve gas.
Storm threw her hands up in horror - „we have to get him out of there, Xavier…" she breathed. „Now."
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in the holding cell
„Stop kidding me.", Jack hissed at hi. „How would you know that?"
„You asked me.", Logan hissed back, „Then don't complain about the answer. Trust me, I know this smell." It wasn't the first time that he had smelled this sour odor. 1944. Germany. He had seen so many people around him die - back then he had sworn to himself that he'd never forget the smell of this gas.
Jack almost couldn't believe it. He had read the Wolverine's file several times by now and knew that the guy opposite him had been in Nazi controlled area in WWII. That made it at least plausible.
This is not right and you know it. Xavier spoke.
This is not right and I know it. Jack thought. I have to do something.
Logan wondered why his counterpart was so silent. Didn't he believe his story? Or did he believe it and now he tried to make sure that the air in this room had really been cleared?
We're going to get you out of there, Logan suddenly heard Xavier's voice inside his head.
How? He asked back. The question almost answered itself. He followed Jack's eyes, to the shackles around his wrists. They could easily be opened up by him.
He will open up the cuff around you left arm, that's something that they won't see on the surveillance camera. He will drop the grenade. Kick it to the other side of the room and then attack him. They will switch on the magnetic field. It will keep the blast wave and the shrapnel away from you. The guard will confuse the controls and will switch off the magnetic field. I will guide you on your way out.
Logan tensed up as he saw Jack lean over to open up the shackle around his left hand. The surveillance camera was mounted behind Jack's back, so they couldn't see it on the outside that their own agent leant over and released the pin that kept the two parts of the mighty cuff around the Wolverine's left wrist. Slowly Logan let the claws come out, without making a single noise. A trace of bright red blood ran into the palm of his hand as the blades cut through his own flesh. He saw Jack remove the pin. It was time to act. Fast.
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Cerebro
Strung to the breaking point, Storm watched his getaway on the images inside the cerebro. She heard Xavier's calm voice, saying left, straight ahead, left, left, right, upstairs… ultimately he was guiding Logan away from this place.
„We did the right thing.", she murmured.
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