SAVING THE DEVIL

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Logan looked out into the dark, while Jack was driving. The buildings raced by quite fast.
"How far out are we?"

Jack knew the way by heart. "Ten minutes." He looked at his wristwatch. Half past seven. The sun was just about to rise. A light red glow on the horizon was not quite strong enough to bright up the surroundings, but it told him how late it was.
He knew exactly how late it was. He could tell from the sun and the twilight.
So many days had he come this way, at the exact same time. Seeing the run rise in the background, while he was waiting for Cheng to show up. The monster always came in a limousine, with a driver and another man, possibly his guard. Showing up at ten to eight, heading straight into the building.

It had taken him a few months to get into this ritual. He had found him by accident, one day, though he had hoped never to see this man again.

When he had first seen the monster, he had almost panicked. He hadn't even been able to put the anger in words that he had towards this man. The things that Cheng had done to Audrey weighed even more than the pain that the monster had caused him.
The wish to kill was there. Strong. It had been there from the first second on.

He had gone for months, suppressing this wish. He had given up fighting for good, after what had happened in Washington DC a year ago. He had managed to survive that day. Kim was back in his life, and even little Teri. That was worth more than revenge. He had sworn to himself not to mess up his life again, even if it meant that Cheng wouldn't die from his hands.

It was useless to come here almost every morning, watching the monster.

While driving, Jack glanced over at the glove compartment. One of his guns still had to be in there- Logan hadn't checked when they had boarded the car.
Not that he wanted to shoot Logan - but it was the gun that he'd always take out when he was watching Cheng.

Knowing, that he could kill him. That the monster's death was just one move of his hand away.

It brought no satisfaction to keep Cheng alive.
Every other morning in which he didn't just get out of his car to kill him, he felt like he had saved his life. At the same time this felt like failing.

He slowed down the car and looked at his wristwatch again, saying "We're here early. We've got ten minutes." to Logan. "It's just round the corner, right side."

Going at a crawl, he turned right at the next crossroads. The building of the Chinese Embassy appeared on their left, the massive white stone walls, the iron gates and the gold colored sign that said 'Embassy of China'. He couldn't read it from over here, but he knew every word by heart. He had spent hours and hours reading it.

A single car was parked on the roadside- Logan's old Jeep.

"Slowly", he said to Jack, as they approached the vehicle, stopping twenty yards behind it. "She's there.", he murmured. Marie. He could smell her from over here, just had to open up the door an inch. Anger. Bloodlust. He was just too familiar with that.

Silently they both watched the other car for a few moments.

"What would you do, if you were in her position?", Logan finally asked.

"I come here almost every morning.", Jack sighed as an answer. For a second he glanced at the glove compartment, then he turned to Logan, "I don't do anything when I come here."

The Wolverine slightly shook his head. "I don't believe a word you say. You don't come here to do nothing." He was not good at reading thoughts - but he could read his opponent's features very well. Suppressed anger. Old pain. After all, he had seen the scars on him. The Professor had told him that this man was very much like him. Then it just couldn't be that he came here to see his worst enemy and didn't do anything.

"I can't do anything.", Jack murmured, turning back. His eyes left the glove compartment again. The gun was of no use. And not needed. "It would be murder.", he added.

"And what would you do, if you could?", Logan probed him, again.

Dismissively, Jack shook his head, saying "nothing", as he got ready to get out.

Logan grabbed his arm and held him back. "If you hurt her, you die."

Their eyes met for a second.

"I don't care about any of these people that you're obviously too afraid to kill.", Logan made clear. For him, this was about Marie. Nothing else mattered to him.

Jack ripped his arm away from Logan's grab and got out. They had five minutes left before Cheng would show up. He wanted to be away from here again when the monster would arrive.

Slowly they approached the car that Rogue sat in, Jack on the driver's seat, Logan on the other.

She didn't even realize that anyone was coming. Her view was fixated at the other end of the street, because she knew from Jack's memories that Cheng would always approach from north, in a white limousine with a driver.

When she saw Jack appear next to her window, she jerked and let out a scream.

He stood there, saying nothing, doing nothing, just looking at her.

She stared back at him, unsure what to do. Go for him? Assault him? She didn't feel like doing so. Open the window and talk to him? What for. There was nothing he could say that she didn't already know. Touch him? No, it hurt too much.

Leaning away from him, she felt the cold metal of the gun which lay on the front passenger's seat touch her skin. Hurriedly she grabbed it and aimed it at him, shouting "Go away!"

Jack stayed there and slightly shook his head. "No. ... Put the gun down."

She couldn't believe it. Why was he saying this? There was no reason to try and stop her! "Get out of my way!", she shouted at him again. He should help her - not stop her.

Again, he just shook his head, while Logan crept closer on the other side. He just needed to distract her for a bit more time, until the Wolverine would be in a position to grab her.

"There's no sense in doing this.", Jack told her.

"There is.", she hissed back. "He has to pay."

"That won't make anything undone.", he hissed back. She really wanted to go for Cheng.
A car appeared at the horizon - two crossroads and two traffic lights away. Damn it, that was the monster. He was here a few minutes early today. It was time to get away from here, time to rip that gun out of her hands and get off this street. Not for anything in the world did he want to still be here, out on the street, when Cheng would arrive.
Logan had already opened up the right rear door and had positioned himself at the rear seats to pull her away from the steering wheel.

"It'll make peace. You're not the only one out there who he has hurt!", she angrily told him, while she had him centered on the iron sights. She had also seen the car arrive. She knew what car it was. It was time to choose between targets.

"It won't make any her better if he's dead!", Jack growled. She was talking about Audrey. This damn little girl had invaded his whole life, it seemed. It was highly discomforting to see how many details she knew. Just everything.

"You owe her!", she shouted back at him, unsure whether to aim the gun at him or already at the car.

He saw that she wasn't very used to handling a gun. Maybe she had stolen his memories, but not his skills.
Logan was also in position now, he saw.
Right as Cheng's car crossed the last traffic light, Jack dashed forward to open the door to the car. She was so focused on him that she didn't even realize that Logan's hands grabbed her from behind and tore her out of the seat. Screaming all the way, she fought to get free again, but he held her upper and lower arms so tight that she could neither touch him nor get a hold of the gun again that had fallen out of her hands.

Jack jumped into the car, started it and stepped onto the gas pedal. After only a few seconds they passed the white limousine which drove into the other direction, on the other street side.
He didn't dare look left. There was this one in a thousand possibility that he'd get a glimpse of Cheng's face - and that was unbearable right now.

You owe her!, he heard the girl on the back seats shout at him, while the Wolverine tried his best not to hurt her too much while holding her down.
He has to pay!
Coward!

She was so right with every word that she said. Cheng had to pay. He didn't deserve to live. Every second that he was still breathing was one too much. How should he ever look into Audrey's eyes again, telling her that he had had the chance to kill him and hadn't done it?

He tried to focus on the street and not to listen. Damn it, why couldn't Logan just make her shut up?

You owe her!

It was too much to take.

A few miles away, he abruptly stopped the car on the roadside and jumped out.

For a moment, Logan let go of Rogue's body and jumped out, too. "Where are you going?", he shouted, his claws out.

Jack said nothing and kept walking, just away from here.

In the few moments in which Logan didn't pay enough attention, Rogue managed to push past him, running after Jack. "How can you look at yourself in the mirror after so many times you spared his life?", she shouted at him.

He turned around to her, but kept yielding back, knowing how much the touch of her hands hurt.

She slowed down, too, when they were only a few yards apart any more. "You have to make this monster pay.", she said, silently this time, looking into a pair of eyes that was filled with sorrow.

"It won't make anything better.", he silently answered. "Stop messing up my life."

Eventually, she stopped walking towards him, and he stopped yielding away. "I'm trying to fix it."

"This is not the way to fix anything.", Jack sighed. He finally got back at least a part of his composure. "Is this what you call fixing things? Killing everyone who ever hurt you?"

She replied nothing for a while. Logan finally came over to this side of the street as well, standing protectively behind her, even though that was in no way necessary. That guy was unarmed while she could kill him with one touch of her hands.

"Let's go", he whispered into her ear.

"You have to take revenge.", she said to Jack, trying to appeal to his honor.

But he just shook his head, saying, "No, I won't. Stop messing up my life. Let me go."

Logan glanced at Jack. Actually, he was okay with letting him go. He had wanted to kill him first, but Marie had been right all the time. He was no danger. He hadn't been the one to torture him- he had even helped him get out of that military compound. He didn't want to have a captive. That would only slow them down for no benefit at all.
"Come on", he silently said to her, softly pulling her away, to get going.

Reluctantly she let him do so, glancing back at Jack once more. Looking into his eyes, she could see the hurt in them. She knew everything. She knew how that guy Cheng looked like. How he had treated him. She knew about Audrey. The state that she was in, now.
"You should be ashamed of yourself", she remarked, once more, as she finally turned away, leaving him back alone.

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