mi5-is the british group responsible is spying on home soil,
mi6- is the british group responsible for spying overseas.
XXX Home XXX
Charles stood out the front of the Circus. This was it. This was the worst of his fears. Erik stood in front of him clad in his usual charcoal suit and purple tie. An awkward space between them. Xavier would like to close the gap, but such affection wasn't proper in public. They are standing in the street.
"Don't do this Erik." He knows Erik has a plan. Xavier is certain he will not like its price.
Erik cannot speak. He has no words left. He wants to reach forward and take Charles' hand. He smiles small and sad. Regretful. Charles thinks his normally tanned face looks too pale. Erik loves Charles, he wants to take his hand, to reach out and reassure Charles that it will be alright, but Hank is watching them from the landing, and there are people on the street and the tension that stands between them grows. Behind them the statue of Anteros, is cast into shadow in the afternoon light. Erik's green eyes break away from Xavier's, they dim a little, before he topples sideways toward the cold cement.
In an instant Charles bridges the space between them catching Erik as he falls. Charles holds him. "Erik what have you done!" Charles says in an alarmed whisper.
Erik does not reply. Instead his eyes roll back in his head, his back arches and he foams at the mouth.
Desperately, frantically, he undoes Erik's collar, pulls down his tie.
"No." a guttural angry, "don't do this." but Erik had never been one to take orders and Charles knew it. Erik began to fit, his long limbs trembling. "Please." All he could do was beg and try to hold Erik close.
Hank bends down beside Charles, wrapping the smaller English man in his arms protectively. "You need to come away," he says softly.
Charles is weeping he staggers against hank's embrace. "No. Help me Hank! For god sakes what are you trying to do!" He tries to fight Hank off, but for a scientist Hank is quite strong and with little force he lifts Xavier to his feet.
Into his ear Hank whispers, "This is a sleep only like death. You must go now. He has done this to protect you." Xavier stops, wide blue eyes stare with disbelief into Hank's, who covertly nods in the direction of the circus. Framed against the white alabaster windows, hung the dark shadows of William and Toad, both keenly observing the street. "Don't let them see you. Now go!" Hank propels him down the street.
Xavier stumbles, almost falls, before slipping into a side street to vomit. A sleep like death? The words resounded in his head. He poked his head out of the ally. Erik is lying still on the path. A small crowd had gathered. Hank shakes his head slowly and then puts his coat down over Erik's face.
A sleep like death. Don't let them see you. He navigates the back streets until he finds a cab. He climbs in and weakly gives the man a destination.
X MI5 X.
Xavier stands in the parking lot. Rain hammers down outside, small leaks in the car park roof have created puddles. A black cab pulls up the ramp and stops in front of him. The door opens and Charles gets in.
"So Minister Kelly's been telling me all sorts of things about your lot, Charles and my question to you is", a pause for dramatic effect and to give Xavier an unashamed once over with warm brown eyes. The speaker smiled he liked what he saw, "how the hell does he know them hmm?" The man with his confident, flashing smile and long trench coat slaps him on the leg and squeezes affectionately. "And I heard about Control I am sorry." The man leaves his hand on his leg, a bit too long. Charles adjusts his legs. The man politely removes his hand with another confidential sort of smile. Xavier looked away, ran a hand through his hair, a sleep like death, the words made his hand tremble, the impossible image of Erik falling, and William and Toad hunting the windows like jackals. Slowly he regained his calm, he called on his years of experience, who could he trust? The man in the trench waited patiently for an answer.
"Jack. Control had a theory; he said there was a rotten apple in the Circus."
"Do you know who, or do you want my folks involved?"
"Keep MI5 out of it for now, Jack. Let them think that they have won. Leave them to me." The last words said with a cold calculation he rarely let creep to the surface. Jack shifted in his seat, everyone said that Erik was the dangerous one, they were quiet wrong about that. Still Jack thought, a little help never went astray, and his eyes narrowed as a small smirk graced his lips.
"You know Xavier. It was Shaw who spoke to Minister Kelly."
"I figured as much, Shaw's in this up to his neck, Jack."
"Sounds like you've got a plan; do you know who you can trust?"
Xavier gave a quiet chuckle, "I trust no one." Jack gave Charles a small frown that turned into a quirky grin, "not even me Charles?"
"Not even you Jack." Charles said returning the smile.
"You'll be fine, then." The cab dropped him off.