Storm locked her office door and settled behind the big desk, “Good morning. I haven’t slept yet, so forgive me if I’m a bit scrambled, but things have been happening through the night.” She tapped a folder on the desk, “I’ve been thinking about the attack on Logan, and some pieces of the puzzle that don’t fit together.”
The entire team exchanged glances as Storm spoke, Bobby noting Rogue and Logan in very close proximity to each other. Their body language screamed intimacy. He instinctively edged closer to Kitty who sat in silence, focusing on the discussion. Storm’s professional demeanor and knowing voice brought Bobby’s attention back to the subject at hand.
“How many people knew about the trip into town for supplies? Myself, you three,” she nodded toward Piotr, Rogue, and Logan, “and you, Jubilee, since you inventoried the supplies and made out the lists. Who else?”
“I knew, sort of at the last minute,” Bobby interjected. “Rogue asked the night before if I was going along, but I was on Blackbird duty that day with you,” his gaze met Storm’s eyes.
“Do you remember mentioning it to anyone else, even in casual conversation?” She searched the faces of both Bobby and Jubilee, but both shook their heads.
Jubilee posed a question, “Is it possible there’s an undetected telepath in the mansion? Someone who could ferret out and sell that kind of intel to the Brotherhood? Not having a telepath available to us makes it a lot easier for someone else to run in a ringer.”
“I’ve considered that possibility, but it’s unlikely,” Storm countered. “All the students here now are fairly well established, and we know their mutations reasonably well. The only new student is Angel, and as far as we can tell, his mutation is patently obvious.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’s not a telepath, we just don’t know if he is or not,” Logan muttered loud enough for all to hear. “What about the rat kid, Mike? He’s new.”
“Ah, that’s right! I told you I wasn’t very sharp-witted this morning. Who knows him well?”
Another round of glances were exchanged before Rogue quietly spoke, “I guess no one really knows him well, but I’ve spent a little time talking to him. He seems sincere, and mannerly; kind of at a loss sometimes, but he’s had a rough life. I guess we can all sympathize with that feeling.”
Bobby added, “Rogue and I met his family, saw their home, and if he’s a ringer for the Brotherhood, then I’m having my hat for lunch. Angel, I don’t know much about, but how rare is it for an obvious mutant to have a secondary mutation that’s not obvious, like telepathy?”
“I’ve got two mutations,” Logan commented flatly, “the healing and the enhanced senses.” He hesitated briefly before adding, ‘Okay, I ‘had’ two mutations.”
Bobby added, “But they weren’t physically obvious. What are the chances that Angel’s got wings ‘and’ telepathy?”
“Slim, granted,” Storm commented and hid a yawn behind her hand. “I want everyone to meet back here again during the lunch break, and in the meanwhile run over every possibility of how the information could have leaked out: conversations, casual comments that were possibly overheard, anything you can think of. And if no one comes up with anything, we’ve got to consider the possibility that the mansion is bugged. We’ll need to come up with a sweeping device of some kind, a detector. Do we have such a device?”
Logan spoke up, “We had one, but it got busted to hell in the raid. One of Stryker’s goons stomped on it in a closet while they were searching the place.” Logan seemed to grow more tense as the conversation proceeded, “I never got around to trying to fix it. I’d say it’s toast.”
“I know someone who has a chance of fixing it, if you’re willing to trust him,” Rogue offered, noting the expectant faces around her. “Mike. I suspect that boy can wire, solder, or electronically rig damned near anything.”
“Do we trust him?” Storm searched the faces of her team. No objections were raised. “Okay, we try it. Logan, you gather the remaining parts of the bug-sweeper and set up a workspace in the school’s electronics lab, just in case. We don’t want Mike knowing about the team’s underground area until we are more trusting of him. Rogue, you talk to him and ask if he can repair security equipment; recruit him on a ‘need to know’ basis to do this work for us. Kitty, see if you can find any schematics in our computer banks or online as a back-up. Jubilee, go back over the school’s inventorying process and see if you can figure out whether anyone could have gotten the knowledge about the supplies run beforehand.’
Logan cut her off, “It was more than just the supplies run, Storm. Whoever set me up knew my routine, where I went, what route I took through the park, all of it. They’ve been watching for a while to know that amount of detail, so it didn’t just happen off the cuff. It was planned.”
“I thought as much, and I’ve got one more bit of news that may put us in a position of advantage against the Brotherhood. We have a new guest in residence,” Storm spread her fingers on the desktop and took a deep breath, dreading the reaction to her news. “Last night one of the Brotherhood came here, offering to give up information on Eric Lensherr and his entire operation, in exchange for a few days of sanctuary. Revenge seems to be the determining factor; revenge against Magneto and his actions. We can use this to our advantage if we play the situation carefully to our advantage.” Storm noted Logan’s long fingers gripping the arm of the chair he occupied, the knuckles turning white with tension.
“Who is it?” His voice had gone steely.
“It is Mystique,” Storm stated calmly, “She has been given the cure vaccine, much in the same manner as you, Logan, against her will. Her mutation is gone. She is human, but she is alone now, with no support behind her. Magneto abandoned her after she gave everything to his cause. She turned evidence against him to the police, and now she wants to aid us in bringing down the Brotherhood, specifically Magneto, as an act of revenge. In essence, she wants to work with us.”
“The hell you say!” Logan exploded out of his chair, “No fucking way can she be trusted with anything! You think we’ve got a spy in our midst now? You might as well hand over the keys if you let her set one fucking foot inside this operation!” He brought one fist slamming down on the desk, and Rogue saw the wince of pain as he turned and hid it from the others. She knew for sure his hands weren’t completely healed.
Storm’s voice raised in agitation, “She has no power now, Logan. She’s human, she’s been cast out from the Brotherhood, she has nothing to offer anyone but information and her skills as an operative. You know what those skills are as well as I, and only you know how she feels now. You’ve lost your mutations, and so has she. Neither one of you chose to have that happen.”
Rogue swallowed hard, but focused again on Storm’s reasoned appeal to Logan, “She needs us, and we need all the help we can muster. We ‘need’ the help, Logan. We need trained bodies. We need advantages. We need intelligence. The X-Men are outnumbered, outgunned, and hanging on by a thread!”
Storm’s agitation was matched by Logan’s hostility as the shouting match continued, “And we’re talking about the fucking blue bitch, Storm! What the hell are you thinking, letting her in here?”
“It’s simple: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They have a ringer somewhere, watching us. We need a ringer who knows them! She walked through the front door last night.” Storm rose and faced Logan squarely, “You trusted me to handle this school while I trusted you to handle the X-Men team. I still trust you. Can you give me that same consideration?”
Rogue watched in wide-eyed fascination as Logan stood speechless for several moments. Finally he growled, “Don’t make me regret it. I’ll be in the electronics lab,” and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him hard enough to make every bit of glass in the room rattle.
An hour later, Rogue slipped into the electronics lab with a plate of sandwiches. Logan had gathered the remains of the bug-sweeper and shut himself into the lab, talking to no one but Mike MacKenzie, who was bent over the scattered pieces of the device, comparing it’s internal components with the schematics Kitty had downloaded from an underground site. Slowly the machine was coming together, and Mike occasionally scratched a few words for missing or damaged components on a list of parts to buy. Leaning over Logan where he sat on a stool, Rogue set the plate in front of him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
“You gotta be hungry. We didn’t exactly have breakfast this morning.”
Logan’s hand went around her waist and pulled her against him, “Thanks, babe, but I’m not hungry. You and Mike need to eat, though.”
“And you don’t?”
“Don’t feel like it - stomach’s feelin’ weird, I think...” he hedged softly, “I’m not really sure how my stomach feels. This is all still new to me.” He absentmindedly rubbed one hand over his flat belly.
Leaning tighter against him, Rogue whispered into Logan’s ear, “Maybe we overdid it last night. The food orgy or the sex orgy either one was fine, but maybe both was too much.”
“Never gonna be a problem, darlin’. I think I’m just allergic to the blue bitch that Storm’s got stashed away somewhere. Got a big dilemma goin’ on inside my head: follow orders, support Storm, and behave myself; or, kill Mystique quick, enjoy it, and get back to the business of the day. Guess which one tempts me the most?”
Mike grabbed a sandwich and cast a flirty wink at Rogue while Logan’s eyes scanned the schematics again. The boy was a born flirt, Rogue thought to herself, and gave him a pleasant grin before taking a sandwich for herself.
*
Shelly Hanson tucked the cell phone under her chin and fluffed her hair in the mirror as she regarded Toad sitting in his car across the parking lot from hers. “This was pretty smart thinking, honey. Innocent but still in touch; no one could spot us as being together.”
“Yeah, that late night call you gave me last night was killer. I never thought phone-sex could be that much fun. Can’t wait for the real thing, though... I’ve got a trick or two to show you.” Shelly saw the distinct length of his tongue waggle out the open car window, and she instantly shuddered in reaction.
“Now, now, I’m a good girl.”
“Yeah, right. The stuff you said to me last night shows just how good you are. I’m still all tingly.” Toad gave her a theatrical sigh before continuing, “How’s tricks in the big house? Has ‘he’ started back on the job yet?”
“Not that I’ve been able to find out. There was some conversation from ‘his’ room this morning about a meeting in the boss lady’s office - it sounded official, but no one’s left. I tried to get focused on the convo in the office, but some kids whined around about needing help with assignments and by the time I got them out of my hair, so to speak, it was over. I know there was a lot of yelling, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. It takes a certain amount of concentration.”
“Too bad, love, but at least you’re safe. Can you find out if ‘he’ is using their high-tech training room yet, or anything along those lines?”
“He’s been in there most nights lately, and some days. I shed a few hairs on him occasionally - they don’t stay long, but it gives me a little grasp on what he does. They don’t allow access to that room unless you’re on the team, or training for the team, which I’m not. But I do know that he spends a lot of time in there, occasionally mutters to himself, swears like a sailor sometimes, and I hear a lot of keyboard tapping and some paper shuffling occasionally. I’ll bet he’s writing software or something like that.”
“Probably trying to tone their programs down to sub-beginner’s level to compensate for the hit he took. And that, love, is exactly what we needed to know.”
“So, do you want me to stay there and keep at it?”
“That’s what the boss wants. You still feel safe there?”
“Yes.”
“Get out of your car and put the hood up, then walk around it and wait.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
As soon as the hood was up, Shelly paced one lap around the car and noted Toad striding across the lot toward her. She took note of his muscled thighs and smiled, then noted his damp, greenish skin, and shuddered again. The man truly was physically repulsive.
“Problems, miss?” His sluggish yellow-green eyes blinked twice before leaning over the fender.
“Are you nuts? We’re in public!”
“And you’re a damsel in distress, and I’m your chivalrous knight with a degree of mechanical aptitude. Chill out. After last night’s escapade on the phone, I wanted to see you in person again. It’s been days, love - weeks, I guess. Last night got me thinkin’ about you and me...” His hand reached toward hers where it rested on the fender, and before she could draw away, he was touching her. “When this mission’s over, I’m gonna be so good to you, baby.”
Shelly reacted by pulling away from Toad’s cool, slimy touch, and couldn’t stop the shudder again running through her. This time, he saw it. She saw his eyes narrow and his lips tighten, before he traced a few wires under the hood and stood up again, “It ought to start now. Try it. Good luck.”
Toad gently clicked the hood shut and turned without another word, walking away. He drove out of sight without as much as another glance toward her. Shelly sighed and drove away in the opposite direction.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
The X-Men have a strategy session, Logan and Storm have a shouting match, Mike gets to shine, and Toad gets a snub.