November 24, 1957
Moira shut her car door behind her. She'd been able to leave the office early due to her impending trip to Genosha the next day. It didn't mean that she wasn't exhausted though; she was practically dragging herself away from her car. In spite of this she was determined to spend some time with Rahne before she left. It hurt to know just how much she was away.
There was a duality to her life. Moira was invested in her work. Her trips to Genosha were important too, and not just because they furthered her work. It was pointless to pretend that she wasn't in love with Charles. Seeing him was nice, even though they would never acknowledge this out loud. It was out of limits.
However, she was also a mother. It was a responsibility she had taken in at an early age. Still, she had made the commitment and was determined to follow through with it. Juggling a child and a job had been tough and she'd been struggling even before her extra workload was dumped on her. Moira had no idea what she'd do if Kayla hadn't been there to babysit.
Luckily for her Kayla didn't work. The young woman had money apparently, money she had taken when she went to confront her father after her siblings died. She wouldn't talk about what happened next, although Moira had the feeling she hadn't let him go. Although Moira never let her in on her reports she knew that Kayla was keeping an eye on her. If she wanted to add her two cents in as a witness at the trials then it was fine, though Moira didn't know what good it would do.
Now that the families had made it to Genosha her top priority was trying to find out about the existence of the Mutant Response Division. There certainly wasn't a government organization called that. Moira hadn't taken McCone's word for gospel and found herself doing some extra digging. She'd turned up nothing.
Even so, she had her suspicions. If it was run privately then there were a few individuals she suspected. Several senators, including Senator Kelly, gave generously to what appeared to be a charity for underprivileged children. Moira had a hard time tracking down records for the charity though. She had to find a better link between them, but there were several irregularities.
Levine had told her that all of the big facilities in Pennsylvania checked out. He, however, had privately shared his own suspicions. The Three Mile Island nuclear research facility was trucking in unusual amounts of food and other chemicals not associated with nuclear research. All they had to do now was establish a link to it.
When she'd left Levine, working late as usual, he had just found out that Senator Kelly and a Colonel named William Stryker owned the majority shares in the facility. Stryker's name was a new one in their research, but not entirely unfamiliar. McCone was a friend of Stryker's. They would have to tread carefully, but there was no way they were about to rule him out simply because of his connections.
In the end there was quite a bit to report. Obviously they would leave out the part about Stryker; for now. The specific names would also have to be held back. Still, they could share their suspicions with Charles and Magnus. It would at least look like they had done something in the months since their departure.
Moira turned the key in the lock and stepped into her house. It was dark and she sighed in exasperation. Of course. Kayla still had Rahne. She shut the door behind her and locked it. Moira considered turning on the lights, but she figured it would just waste power. Even though her work had increased she was still on a budget.
There was no point in going back the way she came. It would be easier for her to go out the back door and get her. Kayla's house was the one behind them, and that was where she'd be. She figured she'd invite Kayla over to get a cup of coffee. Kayla was interested in the idea of Genosha and Moira knew that there was very little keeping her in the crummy little house next door.
Moira had just moved to the kitchen when she heard voices. Uneasily Moira moved behind the wall to the kitchen. There was a muted conversation and then a scraping of metal. She heard the door swing inwards and footsteps pound in. Moira slid to the floor of the kitchen, her back pressed up against the wall.
"She should be home in a few minutes," she heard a voice say.
"And her daughter?"
Her blood turned into ice before evaporating into fire.
"Who cares? She's not the bitch who's poking around. Now, just get ready. We want this to be quick."
Moira gritted her teeth in a mixture of adrenaline and rage. Did they really think it would be that easy? They had another thing coming. She'd been the daughter of a man who'd wanted a boy, who had played baseball with her. Her CIA training wasn't to be sneezed at either. Even though she wasn't specifically trained for field work she still knew how to defend herself.
She waited, shifting her legs. Her patience was rewarded when a man stepped across the threshold into the kitchen. Moira lashed out with her foot, dropping him to the ground. When he tried to get up she kicked him in the head, hearing his neck crack. His neck wasn't broken, but he would be out for a while.
As he toppled his gun skittered across the floor. It made a loud noise, drawing the other man's attention. Moira leapt for it, managing to get to the other side of the room before the shots were fired. When there was a break in the fire she inched into a better perspective. The other man was reloading; she could see his form moving.
Moira spent another second focusing, just to make sure she had his outline. Then she aimed for his shoulder and fired. The gun jerked to the left but it wasn't enough to kill him. He fell and Moira rushed forward. She pounded her foot into the man's injured shoulder. He cried out and Moira leveled the gun with his head, panting loudly.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded.
The man spat.
"Someone who thinks nosy bitches like you should keep to their own business."
Her hands were shaking as she held the gun, and she hoped he couldn't see that in the darkness. It wouldn't do to let him know that her grip wasn't perfect. It had been the first time that she had ever shot someone. Seeing that the man was planning on getting back up again though she brought her foot down harder. He cried out again. Moira could feel his flesh give under her shoe and she wanted to be sick. However, there was more she had to do.
"Be a bit more specific," Moira snapped, "I'm in a lot of people's business."
The man glared at her. He grabbed her foot and threw her to the ground. The gun went skidding across the floor. She reached for it but he was faster. Almost immediately Moira felt his thick arm wrap around her neck, choking her. He lifted her in the air, her legs kicking and fighting for breath.
Moira's hands scrabbled at her throat, but his grip just tightened.
"You should've left the mutie problem to us," he hissed.
Swallowing hard she let her hands fall down to her sides. Before he could register her change in posture she elbowed him in the gut as hard as possible. His grip loosened slightly and she repeated it, making sure to go for the same spot. The grip loosened more and she used her extra room to maneuver to where she could hit him in his injured shoulder.
He released her and she fell from his grasp. Kicking with her legs launched herself at the gun. It wasn't that far and she figured that she had a good chance of getting to it. At the same time Moira heard him going for his gun behind her. She felt the metal under her fingers and she grabbed it, turning as fast as she could. Her finger pulled the trigger.
A shot went off and she took a deep breath. The man fell to the floor, blood seeping from his head. Moira got up, rubbing her bruised throat. The gun felt heavy in her hand and a sick feeling turned her stomach. For a minute she just stared, taking deep breaths and trying to calm herself down.
The man lying on the floor was the first man she had killed. Moira had never been a part of field operations, never really been in a dangerous situation. Now that the adrenaline had run down she had to force herself to stop from becoming hysterical. The room was quiet all around her and it was becoming stifling.
The silence was interrupted when the back door opened suddenly and the light turned on. Moira jerked her head up to see Kayla rushing in, having kicked the back door down. A gun was clenched in her hand. She took in the scene, her gray eyes widening at the two bodies. When her eyes lit on Moira she hurried forward.
"I heard gunshots," she said, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Moira said, "Is Rahne alright?"
Kayla looked around the room.
"Who…what happened?"
"Is Rahne alright?" repeated Moira.
"Of course; she was taking a nap. It's late," said Kayla, "She heard a noise but I told her it was a dumpster that got turned over. All the doors are locked. She's fine. Now, what happened Moira?"
Moira looked down at the man she had killed and breathed out.
"They were coming to kill me," said Moira, "I don't know who they work for, but I can make a pretty good guess."
She looked up at Kayla and a slightly hysterical giggle left her throat.
"You have a gun?" she asked, "I don't even have a gun, and I work for the CIA. How did you get a gun?"
"I live a dangerous life," Kayla said.
"So do I apparently," Moira said.
She walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. She looked down at the man she had knocked out. Putting the gun on the counter she reached into a drawer for duct tape. To her surprise Kayla didn't say anything, just kept her gun trained on the man as Moira began to tape has hands and legs together.
"I'm going to take him back to the base," she said, "I'll explain what happened. They'll probably send a clean-up crew."
Moira wrapped another layer of tape around his hands before moving onto his feet.
"You can put him in the trunk," Kayla suggested, "It's hard to get out of there even if he does manage to somehow get out of his bonds. And put some in his ears and on his eyes so he can't see or hear where he's going."
She gave her friend a side glance.
"Like I said, I've lived a dangerous life," said Kayla.
Moira nodded and finished up with his feet.
"I need to get Rahne out of here," she said, "They know I have a daughter; they were talking about it. This neighborhood isn't safe for us anymore."
Kayla nodded, glaring down at the man on the ground. Moira finished with the last piece of duct tape and surveyed her work. The gravity of her words sunk in and Moira leaned back. Kayla crouched down next to her, still keeping one eye on the man on the floor. Hysteria was on the edge of her mind, kept at bay only by her furious attempts.
However, Kayla noticed it.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. The first one is always the hardest," said Kayla, "It was you or him. You've got a daughter. You'd let her lose you so a scumbag who kills people for a living can keep doing his job?"
"No," Moira said.
"Then you did good," Kayla said, "Now, you're right; this place isn't safe anymore. What are you planning on doing about it?"
Moira hesitated. She looked at the man on the floor and to his partner, whose blood soaked into the carpet. She had lived there for three years. Moira had met Rahne there, had raised her and come home there every night. Now, because of one night, she was going to have to leave her home.
Still, it wasn't worth dying over. She got up, the gun still in her hand. Moira took a deep breath, the thousandth she had taken since coming through the door.
"They were trying to scare me away," Moira said, "And…"
She paused, thinking of Levine.
"It's a good thing that Levine's spending the night at the office," she said, "We'll go there, Rahne and I."
"I'll come with you."
Moira looked up, surprised.
"You'll need an extra person in case something happens," Kayla said, "And I'm not that bad of a shot. Like I said, things get dangerous."
She looked down at her gun.
"God I miss being a teacher," she said.
"Sometimes I miss being in the typing pool," said Moira.
With a sigh she gave a last look around the room.
"I've got to go get Rahne," she said, "Think you could guard this guy for a few minutes while I get her?"
"No problem," Kayla said.
Moira went to the door. She hesitated at the frame and took a shuddering breath.
"I need to stay here."
Kayla raised an eyebrow.
"Not here, here. I mean with the CIA," Moira said, "I can't let them stop what I'm doing."
"You can't," agreed Kayla.
She swallowed.
"But I can't put Rahne in danger," said Moira, running a hand through her hair, "I can't believe that I didn't think of this earlier. God. I need to put her somewhere safe. I just…I don't…I don't know where."
Kayla tilted her head and briefly looked her in the eye.
"I think you know the where," said Kayla, "All you need to find is the will. I think you have it in you."
Slowly Moira nodded.
"I do," she said, "On both counts."