Chapter 14: Bishop Publishing And Wagner Investigations

The first week of the winter semester classes had been busy for everyone, though Kurt had been surprised when Kate didn't come right down to the drama room after his class was out like she usually did on Fridays.

He checked the archery ranges and a few other places before he found her in her office, with two laptops running, as well as her desktop — and papers scattered everywhere. She had her pen in her mouth and an expression that he knew meant she was deep in thought, so he made sure when he closed the door that it made enough noise to alert her to his presence.

She looked up when she heard it and then grinned around the pen when she saw him. "Is it that late already?"

"Yes, time flies when you're busy," he teased her gently before he teleported behind her to gently rest his chin on her shoulder to look over her various projects. "What have you been up to, liebchen?"

She turned her head so she could kiss his cheek before she gestured to the mess she'd made of her desk. "Oh, you know. Everything," she said, which got Kurt chuckling. She grinned and pointed her pen at one of the laptops. "I've been emailing Kamala. You know her next movie's out in a few months, and she wanted some advice on a red carpet dress. Which reminds me — I should get one too." She grinned at him impishly. "Won't be showing too much then, but we'll see."

"You'll look lovely no matter what," he promised her as he gently kissed her behind her ear.

She giggled her agreement before she gestured to the rest of the mess on her desk. "Trying to organize a buyout, too," she explained. "That movie production company that's been doing Kamala's stuff? I like their work. And I figure it's time to expand to more than just the printed word. The book on the real life story of the MRD guy ... that could probably be a summer thriller if we did it right…" She gestured over the scattered legal documents with a sigh. "It's not a bad deal; it's just a lot of paperwork."

"I can see that," he said without looking as he continued to kiss her.

She giggled again before she gestured to a pile of envelopes nearby. "And those — those are the checks from the pre-orders of JJ's book," she said, and this time, he stopped kissing her long enough to look her way in surprise. "Yeah, people are already interested," she said in answer to his unasked question. "I'm talking six figures."

He raised an eyebrow and let out a low whistle. "Already?"

She nodded. "Have you read it yet?" she asked. "I hate to say it, but I think… JJ might have been the perfect guy to write the story. He's got no love for our friends, but that actually kind of works in their favor. He's not pushing the victim angle or the dangerous ferals angle — just straight up facts. Let the reader draw their own conclusions. It's miles better than the dramaticized versions that have been cropping up everywhere. It's good."

"You sound surprised," he said with a small smile.

"Yeah, well." She let out her breath in a huff before she pointed at the envelopes again. "Anyway, I wrote it in the contract that anyone who was involved in the team gets part of the royalties — and those two as well. I didn't tell them, though." She took a deep breath. "So… they probably won't take it, but it's theirs. If they don't want it, I'm putting it into the school. This thing doesn't pay for itself with all the repairs we're always doing," she added in a lightly teasing tone.

He shook his head at her for a moment when she'd finished explaining. "You have been busy," he said at last.

"Well, you're not going to let me out in the field, so…"

"That's true," he had to admit, with a bit of a smirk.

"So red carpet parties, business deals — that stuff I can do. And if it helps pay for the school, and my arrows, and everything else, that's even better," she said.

"You don't need to worry about—"

"Kurt." She turned to face him with one eyebrow raised. "Kurt, do you know what my dad was worth before I took over? Do you know why JJ came after me? Why Fisk wanted it so bad? You married a futzing billionaire, Kurt. So let me help."

He blinked at her in honest surprise, entirely taken off guard.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't tell you," she said, waving his surprise off for the moment. "It was sort of… well, first rule of my house was you didn't talk finances, so ... I guess I never thought it would come up. But I'm looking at JJ's book… and this money… it should really go somewhere useful. Like the school. And to Clint and Nat for their little girl. Scott and Annie's kids… Wade and Eleanor… Logan and K and their kids… That's way better than letting it sit in my bank account."

He couldn't help but smile at her warmly hearing where her heart was set. "Those are good causes," he teased lightly.

"You bet." She gestured to her wreck of a desk. "Anyway… guess I got caught up in all the work. Didn't realize your class was out."

"I can see that," he agreed, looking over the mess before he saw the files open on the desktop and raised an eyebrow; he recognized them as surveillance footage. "And what's this?" he asked gently.

She followed his gaze and fell into another smirk. "Well, you're not gonna let me go in the field, but I can still run some investigations like nobody's business," she pointed out. "And with your dad hanging out below ground, I figured it would be a good idea to look into your mom's whereabouts. Since she's the one that was going after Krissy in that other timeline." She let out a long breath and leaned back in her chair. "Which, by the way, is the hardest investigation I've ever run. I can't find much of anything. But… it's something I can work on while I'm not allowed on the dangerous missions." She gestured at her cluttered desk. "Get used to this look, sweetheart, because Bishop Publishing and Wagner Investigations are going to get a lot more attention while I'm grounded."

The several weeks leading up to the book release were fairly stressful for not only Kate but just about everyone in her wake — and all kinds of trouble for the ferals, who still weren't entirely comfortable with their story being out there, even if it was all public record now. Scott was trying to field calls and doing everything else to keep the spotlight off of the two of them, even though both of them called him out on it. Multiple times. And they were sure to tell him that they didn't need him to do that for them.

And as stressed as Kate was, she was right there with Scott trying to run interference, but for an entirely different reason.

"It's my job to handle all this crap. I'm your publisher," Kate argued.

"So handle it for the good press you're getting with JJ," Logan told her. "I don't need it."

"I don't think you understand — it's literally my job to get you two good press too," she pointed out.

"I thought it was your job to make sure that the author and your company got good press," he argued. "Subject matter doesn't count in that."

"Most of the time, yeah," Kate admitted. "But not with people. When we do biopics, unless it's about scumbags or something, that's part of the job too."

"The problem is that they already pretty much believe it is about scumbags, darlin'."

"What? Bishop Publishing, the most mutant-biased company in the world of publishing, writing anything negative about mutants?" she teased.

"Mutant doesn't mean they're nice. It's fine. I know what I am." He stretched out a bit in his chair, hands behind his neck, and looked back at her as if this was indeed common knowledge.

"Yes. You know you're a hug magnet," she said with a troublemaking grin. "Doesn't matter what the rest of the world thinks."

"You have a slanted view of the world, kiddo," he told her.

"Me?" She placed a hand over her heart. "If by 'slanted' you mean right, then yes. Yes, I do."

"What do they want anyhow, Miss Delusional?" Logan asked. "Specifically."

"Oh, the usual. Do you want to do pre-release interviews. Would you comment on their emotional state. The tabloids want to know the real personal stuff too, since the two main subjects are married and all, but I won't tell you where I told them to stick those questions. I think you know enough about anatomy to figure it out yourself."

"What the hell are they expecting?" he asked, his nose scrunched up a little.

"They're not. They don't expect you to give them anything, and they don't expect any interviews. But they want to ask, just in case, because once-in-a-lifetime stories don't happen unless you ask," she said with a shrug. "So let me field 'em, because it's all just smoke anyway."

"You need to rest," he argued. "I can hang up the phone just fine on my own, and I don't think Scott's gonna let anyone close enough to get to the door."

"Logan, this company and my detective work are the only things I can do right now," Kate said with her arms crossed. "I'll go nuts if you do everything for me."

"Fine. Go do whatever it is that makes you happy," he said finally. "Just don't be surprised if K decides to help you if she thinks you're pushing it."

"She is my secretary," she teased, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Don't worry. Kurt's already given me the 'don't strain yourself' speech."

"I'm sure," he said before he cracked a little smile. "Twenty bucks says they wouldn't know it was her they had on the phone if she answered it."

"Fifty bucks says she has them convinced they're getting through to a deal with Mrs. Bishop-Wagner by halfway through the conversation."

He laughed. "Yeah, I'm not takin' that bet."

She giggled and leaned over to plant a kiss on his cheek. "You let me know if anybody bothers you about this book launch, okay? Even on the team. I'll hit 'em for you — and you know they won't hit me back."

"Nah," he said with a shake of his head. "Anyone bothers me, I'll hit 'em myself. Probably boost your sales."

"I don't want to make money off of you," she promised.

"You'd be the first then," he countered.

"I am pretty special," she said. She took a deep breath. "Hey. When you get a sec, you and K should stop by my office."

"Sounds serious," he said with a little smirk. "You're not firing my wife, are you? She'll just start picking on everyone else worse if you do. Might take Tony up on his offer just to harass him more regularly."

"Quite the opposite," Kate said with a smirk of her own. "Actually, I had a little something I wanted to show you for the school. I'm taking some of the royalties and setting them aside."

"Sounds like something better suited for a talk with Scott and Storm," he said. "I'm not really part of that."

"I know, but I just wanted to show you the good that's coming out of the book," she said. "Please?"

"Fine. When do you want us?" Logan said after a little stretch of silence.

"Anytime that works for you," she said.

"Gimmie an hour? Was gonna go shoot pool with Kurt a little later."

"Sure thing," Kate said. "I'm just gonna be upstairs fielding calls and reading Kamala's newest work of genius. I love that kid."

"She's a good kid, but she needs work still," he replied. "Another one relying too much on her abilities."

"We should have her over more often, then. Sounds like she needs the Wolverine Crash Course."

"Tried to invite her; she wasn't interested," Logan said.

Kate laughed outright. "You kidding me?" she asked. "She thinks you hung the moon! Ask her if she wants lessons with you, and I guarantee she'll make the time."

"I thought I already did," he replied.

"You asked her if she wanted to use the Danger Room."

"Whatever, same thing," he said with a wave. "You're fieldin' crap — you deal with it."

"Great. You're open on Tuesday evenings, right?"

"I think so," he said with a frown. "Thought Scott was gonna ramp up the team practices though."

"Yeah, but she gets out of classes before Tyler and Tammy do. You can fit in some training before they get home, right? Not a problem for the Amazing Wolverine?" It was clear she's already made up her mind.

"Don't do that," Logan growled. "Don't … just no."

"See you in an hour, Logan," she said, still grinning.

The two of them parted company, and Kate got to work as Logan went to find K. When he did, she'd just put James to sleep, and Elin was already playing quietly with Chance and Charlie. Annie was set to come in and read to the little ones to try and get them to take a nap too, so it wasn't a big deal to leave the quiet little ones to see whatever it was Kate had cooked up.

Neither of them were surprised when they came in to find that Kate had made a mess of her desk as usual and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Want us to come back some other time?" K asked.

Kate looked up and grinned at them both and quickly shook her head as she removed the pen from her mouth. "No, no, come in," she said, waving them over as she grabbed a stack of envelopes from the top of her desk. She shifted her weight from one side to the other as she rubbed her thumbs over the envelopes in her hand. "So ... we've been getting preorders for the book."

"Congratulations," Logan said flatly.

"And I wrote it into the contract that everyone involved — Clint and Scott and Wade and everybody — got some of the royalties," she continued. "So… you're on that list too. Both of you."

"Why?" K asked.

Kate took a deep breath. "Because I don't feel good about making money off of you. Because it's your story. And because you should get something good out of all this. Have a nest egg for your family." She held out the envelopes. "If you don't want it, put it in the school. But at least look at it first."

They both stared at her for a moment before she physically pushed the envelopes into their hands. "I don't know that I want to even know," K said.

"You're entitled to that money," Kate said.

The two of them shared a look and opened it up, just to pause at the number on the checks. "That's … a lot of people."

"It includes international preorders," Kate said quickly. "I… I can get you the breakdown if you want. A few colleges ordered a bunch for poli-sci and psychology classes too. Had a few calls from professors for studies of government overreach and trauma and that sort of thing. Really interesting stuff."

"That's … awful," K said quietly. "Why would anyone want to read this stuff?"

"Why would anyone want to read some of the really gaudy stuff English classes make you suffer through?" Kate replied, waving her hand. "Everyone has different tastes."

"Yeah, but making kids read about this crap for credit?" Logan said with a frown.

"You've read it. It pains me, but JJ did a good job. It's surprisingly… about as doable as possible."

"Yeah, he worked with what he had," Logan nodded.

"He did good," Kate agreed. "And he's a big name. It's a good book. And you should get some money for your kids. Please, just tell me if I make it out to you or the school if you don't want it."

"Let me think about it," Logan replied finally.

Kate nodded quickly. "Yeah, of course," she said. "If you want me to put it all in a trust fund for the kids, I can do that too. Just let me know."

"You just blindsided me," Logan admitted. "I wasn't expecting a dime. Not sure what to think."

"Right. Yeah. Gotta process, I get it," she said. "I just… I couldn't do what they did. I couldn't make money off of you guys. I've been saying that this whole time, but Logan, I meant it. So just… tell me when you figure it out. Whenever you're done processing."

"Have you seen Kurt?" he asked, clearly ready for a change of subject matter. Now.

"He's playing with Krissy and Sying," Kate said. "Jubes and Noh are still at gymnastics."

"Right," he said with a nod. "Tell him to meet me at Harry's, would ya?" He gave K a kiss and headed out, not really listening or paying attention to her response.

Kate stared after him for a moment before she let out all her breath. "Well, that went… about like I expected."

"Surprises, historically, are not good," K told her.

"Will you talk him down?" Kate asked. "I didn't mean to break your husband, I swear."

"He's not broken; he just can't believe anyone wants to hear about this crap," K told her honestly.

"It's a good story," Kate said.

"If you didn't live it," K pointed out.

"But that's not…" Kate sighed out all her breath. "That's not the point. People want to read it because you both are heroes now. It's… inspirational reading, honestly. Heroes out of the worst situations."

"No, but that's the point from his point of view," she said. "Once we got out of there, I can tell you the only thing on my mind was to put it in the rearview and try to never think about it again." She pointed at her own face. "Ten years in hiding."

"I know." Kate bit her lip. "Believe me; if it hadn't been for all the crap with the invasion and Congress… I'd've never pushed this story."

"No one would care still," she said. "And knowing how things work, give it a few months, and no one will care again."

"Yeah, most books peter out after six months," Kate agreed. "Give it a while. But you'll probably still get checks anyway — colleges, historians, that sort of thing. People that buy it because it's got JJ's name on it — or yours or Logan's — and never read it… But those are probably the biggest checks. The preorders and the initial rush." She ran a nervous hand through her hair. "I didn't mean to blindside you guys."

K shrugged. "That's what we get for not reading the paperwork ourselves."

"Matt thought it was a good gesture," Kate said with a small smirk.

"I'm sure he did," K agreed. "We just didn't know." She frowned a bit. "What kind of preorder numbers are you looking at? Copies."

"In the millions," Kate told her honestly. "Thus the six-figure check."

"Yeah. Don't ... tell him that, please."

"Okay." Kate adjusted her headband for a moment and bit her lip. "I meant what I said. About the inspirational reading. I hope he can get that someday — that we think he's amazing."

"Don't hold your breath," K replied. "It's pretty ingrained in the other direction." She leaned forward a bit. "It's all in the book."

"I've noticed," Kate agreed with a little sigh. "It's too bad. You'd think he'd figure out he's… I mean. He's the godfather to my baby girl and Nat's — and you're going to be godmother to this one," she said, resting a hand on her stomach before she seemed to realize what she'd said. "Oh. Crap. You didn't hear that. Kurt wanted to be there when I asked you."

"I'm sorry; I've gone temporarily deaf," K said before she signed out you are ridiculous.

Kate laughed. "It's been a day and a half," she said, shaking her head as she sat down on the edge of her desk. "I could use a burger," she said suddenly. "I really, really want a burger. Want to go with me?"

"Well. Annie's got my kids. Kurt has the other kids. Why not? We can go down to Harry's and rob Logan blind at the pool table."

Kate grinned and looped her arm through K's. "Sounds like a plan."