Logan checked his watch for the sixteenth time that hour. It was twenty-five minutes past four. Marie was late. She was *never* late. He took out his cell phone again and called her number. The same thing happened as it had the last eight times he had tried—it went straight to her voicemail.
Normally he would have got the Professor to check Cerebro, but he had gone to Washington two days ago for a conference. He was due back that evening, Logan hoped that he would find Marie before then.
He paced around the garage while he dialled another number. Becky’s. “Hello.” He smiled at the sound of her voice.
“Hey, kid. Are you still at the mall?”
“Yeah, I’ve just left Rach at the salon, getting her extensions fixed. Why?”
“Have you run into your mum? She was due back a little while ago, and I think she must have left her cell in her car.”
“I haven’t seen her. I parked under the mall. Mum always uses the underground lot a couple of streets away and walks. Do you want me to go over there and see if I can spot her car while I’m waiting for Rach?”
“Yeah. Call me back.”
“Dad, is everything ok?” He could hear the tension in Becky’s voice; it matched his own.
“I don’t know yet, Becks. Just go check and call me back.”
“Ok. Bye.” Hanging up, she put her cell in her jeans pocket and walked back to the elevator. Riding it down to the parking lot, she was getting increasingly worried. Her mother never went anywhere without saying anything. None of them did. It was simply too dangerous, the Brotherhood and FoH were everywhere.
She jumped in her new jeep and manoeuvred through the traffic to the other parking lot two streets away. Marie always used it because she liked looking at the little knick-knack shops on the way to the mall.
She drove round one level and then took the slope down to the next level. Pulling round the aisles of cars slowly, she suddenly hit the breaks. She smiled at the green VW with personal plates.
Leaving her jeep in the middle of the aisle, she got out and walked to the car. There was no sign of anyone. She tried the door and found it locked. Then she looked through the windows and couldn’t see her mother’s cell phone or anything else in the car. She walked back to the front of the car and inclined her head in thought slightly.
The hood had a dent in it. She inspected it closer. Yep, definitely a large dent. She was sure it hadn’t been there earlier. She looked around her and noted nothing unusual. Then on the ground a little forward from the front of her jeep were some large tyre marks. They had obviously been made by an SUV or a big jeep speeding away.
As she crouched down to inspect the tyre marks she noticed a slip of paper jut under the front of Marie’s car. She moved over to the car and pulled it out. It was a delivery receipt for a bouquet of flowers. The date was today. That meant she had been back to the car.
Quickly taking out her cell phone, she dialled he number on the receipt. Checking quickly with the shop attendant she confirmed that her mother had left there around one. She dialled her father’s number. She was shaking; this could be bad, very bad.
“Yeah?”
“I’ve found her car, but she’s not here.”
“Anything unusual?”
“Yeah, there a big dent in the hood, tyre marks from a large vehicle, a jeep or an SUV, I’m not sure an I found a delivery receipt from the flower shop around the corner. According to he woman there mum left about one.”
“Are there cameras in the lot?”
She looked up at the corners and at the ceiling. “Yeah, they sweep. There’s at lest two that would have caught her car.”
“Ok. Come home *now*. I’ll get Scott to tap into the CCTV and see if there’s anything to see.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Becks?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.” He broke the connection without waiting for her answer and ran into the mansion.
He passed Scott and ‘Ro in the main hall and yelled for them to follow him to the lower levels. Once in the security room which held their most advanced computer technology, Logan quickly explained the situation.
Scott immediately began to hack into the security camera at the parking lot, while ‘Ro went to call the Professor in Washington.
Logan paced anxiously behind Scott while he worked on the main computer. “Logan, you need to calm down. This may take me a while.”
“I can’t calm down, not until I find her.”
“Do you think it could be Magneto again?”
“I don’t fucking know, do I?! If I did, would I be in here? NO, I fucking wouldn’t!”
Scott sighed. “O-Kay. No calming down then!”
“Fuck you, Scooter!”
“Sorry, you’re not my type! I’m in. I’ll have to bring up the main entrance and then each camera in turn after that. It’ll take a few minutes.”
As he began to look through the cameras, ‘Ro came back in. “Charles is on his way home now. He has commissioned a private jet and will arrive in about two hours.”
“Good.” Logan began to pace again.
“Ok, I’ve got the camera nearest Marie’s car.” Logan and ‘Ro looked over his shoulder and saw the grainy image of Marie’s VW. “The security company stores all their camera files digitally in blocks of 2 hours at a time, so I can download the time block closest to when we think she would have been there and see what’s on it.”
“She left here at 9 and said she would be back around two. So she should have gone back to the car around 1 or just after.” Logan was on the verge of panic but tried to concentrate on the technicalities instead.
“Right.” Scott clicked on the download file for between one and three o’clock. As they were impatiently waiting for it to download, Becky and James flew into the room.
Beck looked pale, and so did her brother. She had found him in the grounds when she got back and had filled him in on the way down to the lower levels.
“Anything?”
“I’m getting the camera file up now.” It came up on the computer monitor, and Scott clicked around on a few things and brought it up on a big screen projector in the centre of the room.
They watched in silence. The digital clock in the corner read 13:00. Nothing happened, and Scott fast-forwarded the footage. When the clock showed 13:18:06, he stopped it as a black SUV came into the shot and stopped next to Marie’s car. Two large men exited and opened a rear door for a third man to exit.
The camera position meant that the third man had his back to the camera, but Logan had a sinking suspicion of who he was, and he crossed his arms over his chest. The SUV pulled away and left the three men next to Marie’s car. Another four minutes passed by.
Logan could smell the fear and anxiety coming off of his children. Becky’s heart rate was through the roof, and he wanted to tell her to calm down but he wasn’t sure he could get the words out without growling.
13:23:48 and Marie came into view; she was rummaging around in her pockets. “Marie.” Logan’s voice sounded hoarse, and his breathing was heavy.
All of them watched. Becky held her breath, and Logan flexed his large hands in and out of hard fists.
A conversation between the third man and Marie took place. It was short, only a few minutes before Marie lashed out at him. When the man back-handed her, Logan growled and James let his claws out, anger in his eyes. Becky jumped and whispered “Mum!”
Becky’s hand flew to her mouth when he licked up her cheek. The disgust and fear was evident on her mother’s face. Logan’s growl grew in intensity and filled the large room with feral anger. They watched as the man backed away from Marie and gestured to someone or something out of sight of the camera.
The SUV was driven backwards, and the two large men attempted to bundle Marie into the back. She struggled, and one of the men loosened his grip enough to give her an opportunity to attack. She punched one man and then back-kicked the other. He landed on the hood of her car but was soon on his feet. Both men grabbed her again and slammed her against the SUV.
They held her face forward into the SUV while the third man took something out of his pocket. It was a syringe and vial. Marie struggled while he filled the syringe and carried on struggling while he roughly pulled her hair out of the way and jabbed the needle into her neck. After a few seconds, she slumped to the floor. One of the men picked her up and tossed her in the back. They all climbed into the car and drove off.
Scott rewound the tape slightly. The third man had turned as he climbed into the SUV. He froze the footage and using a touch pad, highlighted the section of the man’s head. Then he enhanced it. As a clear picture of the man’s face filled the large screen. Logan clenched his eyes shut. “SHIT!”
“I’ll run the plates on the SUV, see if I can come up with an address. Then I’ll run his name.” Logan nodded at Scott.
“His name? You know who he is?” Becky turned to Scott first and then Logan. “Who is he?”
Logan looked at her, and he could see his whole world flying apart at the seams. He was breathing heavily and felt sick. He nearly laughed; he couldn’t ever remember actually feeling sick.
“Dad?” She looked from Logan to Scott to ‘Ro. ‘Ro simply shrugged, shock evident on her face.
‘Ro gestured to the screen. “Do the two of you know this man?”
Logan stood still, just staring at Becky, his breathing came in heaving breaths. Scott touched ‘Ro’s arm. “Um, can you give us some time, please? Call the Professor, tell him to cancel his jet. You and Jubilee pick him up in the Blackbird; two hours is too long.”
She was about to say something else, but he shook his head. “Ok.” She left silently.
The air in the room was thick. Thick with fear and confusion. Scott was the only one who seemed to be able to function. Becky and James just stood in shock at what they had seen, and Logan was in a complete daze.
Scott rubbed his closed eyes behind his visor and then spoke to Logan. “Perhaps now would be a good time to explain a few things.”
Logan glanced at him. “I can’t.”
“You don’t have a choice anymore.”
Logan ran his hands roughly through his hair and paced a little, then just stood with his head hung, eyes closed, hands on his hips. The heavy feeling in his stomach was getting worse.
“I’ll leave you alone for a while.”
“NO! I might no be able to get this out.” Scott nodded and leaned against the computer terminal desk.
Logan stood in front of Becky again. He smiled at her weakly, then dropped his gaze. “Dad?” The name rolled off her lips easily, but he knew it wouldn’t be so easy anymore.
He looked at her eyes; they were close to tears. He reached up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. It was dark brown and soft just like Marie’s. She smiled and grabbed his hand. Then she frowned. “Jesus, Dad, you’re shaking.”
“I want you to know…” He shot a glance at James over her shoulder. “I want both of you to know, that we love you.” He looked directly into Becky’s eyes. “That I love you, with everything. Me and your mother never wanted to lie to you, but we had to. It was…it was hard, um, and you were, er….” His voice broke with emotion, his mouth clenched in a grim line.
He sunk his hands into her hair at the back of her neck, brought her head forward, and rested his forehead on hers. She put her hands on his chest; it was heaving up and down. She could feel his whole body shaking with the effort to breathe.
“Daddy?” She was about to cry. She couldn’t take seeing him like this, so scared, so afraid of what was about to come out of his mouth. It made her scared too. “You’re scaring me.”
“I know, I know, darlin’, and I’m sorry. I am so sorry.”
He clenched his eyes shut, unable to meet her gaze any longer. He could actually feel his chest breaking into pieces, the metal in his frame weighing him down to the point where he wasn’t sure if he could stand anymore. He could feel the loss before it came. The loss of his little girl, when she found out he had lied to her, that he wasn’t who he had portrayed himself to be.
Behind them James had moved and stood in front of the screen. He inspected the man’s face, his features. He noted noting unusual about him. Then he looked at his eyes, their shape, depth, and even though the picture was black and white, he could tell they were light in colour. He looked at his sister. And it all fell into place.
A tear slid down Logan’s cheek, just one single tear, and he broke away from her instantly turning his back and rubbing his face with his hands. “I can’t. I can’t do this.”
Becky grabbed his arm. “Can’t do what? What the fuck is going on? Dad, please. I’ve never seen you like this.” She was so scared. So scared he was about to tell her that her mother would be dead. That there was no hope. What was the lie? What was so bad that it made her father, a powerful, dominant and dangerous creature, back away in fear?
He turned to Scott. “I can’t.”
Logan just stared at her. He stared into her deep eyes. He had often said that you could get lost in there and that’s what he wanted to do. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think, and he wasn’t sure if he was breathing anymore. He wanted to grab her and pull her into his chest and never let go. Never let go of this beautiful girl who looked to him for everything, and now, he didn’t know. That scared him more than anything did.
Scott stood and was about to speak. Becky put her hand up to stop him and turned back to Logan, her anger and frustration outweighing her fear. Then she angrily pointed to the screen. “Who is he, and why are you so scared of him?”
Logan just started at her, trying to breath, trying to make the words come out of his mouth. He couldn’t, he couldn’t do it. It would break his heart and hers. Marie would have to explain all the things that she wanted to keep hidden.
The fact that she took drugs, she attempted to escape from life, and she was vulnerable, tricked, cheated out of her control and used. Becky was the result of all that. Becky was the result of pain and suffering.
“He’s your father.” Becky turned to James behind her.
“What did you say?”
James pointed to the screen. “He’s your father. Isn’t he?”
She turned back to Logan. “Tell me he’s wrong. He can’t be right, I mean *come on*, that’s…that’s just ridiculous. Dad?” She angrily shoved his chest. “Tell him it’s ridiculous!”
As Logan watched her, her eyes began to cloud, the perfect brilliant blue dulled. The tears that had been threatening to come, now fell easily from her eyes. She didn’t even notice, her emotions in turmoil as her mind tried to comprehend what was being said.
He took a step towards her and reached for her arm. “Becks!”
She instantly stepped back. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” She clamped both hands over her mouth and sobbed. She rubbed her face and shook her head. “No. This is all wrong.” Gesturing towards the picture again. “That piece of crap is not my father; you are. You’re lying. Why would you lie to me like this? Why…oh God!”
He grabbed her wrist and tried to touch her face, but she violently shook his hands off of her. “Becky, please! It’s biology, that’s all. It doesn’t change anything.”
“Of course it changes everything!” Her face was wet and puffy, her tears rolling into her mouth as she spoke. “But…you’re my dad!” She calmed slightly and shook her head again. “How, why? Did mum have an affair, what?”
Scott walked past Becky and Logan and took James’s arm. He didn’t move at first, but Scott tugged at him slightly, and he dumbly followed him out of the room. Scott quietly shut the door behind them.
“She didn’t have an affair with him. She was seeing him.”
“And he left her?”
Logan sarcastically snorted a laugh, but she didn’t notice. “Yeah!”
“So what, you heroically stepped up to the fatherly plate?”
“I fell in love with her. She needed someone, and I wanted to be there. You know how much I love her.”
“Yeah, you would do anything for her. Including raise another man’s child apparently.” Logan hated the bitter sound in her voice. She smirked at him and ran her eyes up and down him, shaking her head. Logan felt sick at the hateful look in her beautiful eyes.
Logan’s anger flared. “You got no right to judge me, kid. You don’t know the half of it!”
Her anger matched his as she shouted at him. “SO TELL ME! Tell me the half of it, *dad*!” She pointed to Ethan’s picture. “What about him? Didn’t he want me?”
“He doesn’t know.”
She threw her arms up in the air. “Great, just great.” She looked at the screen again and wiped her face. Logan watched her. He could almost see the questions entering her mind and he wished that he never had to answer them, but he knew he would and afterwards he would want to run.
“I don’t understand. If he left her, why does he want to kidnap her, kill her, whatever the fuck he wants? If he doesn’t know, why does he hate her enough to do this?” Logan dropped his gaze from her. “What happened?”
“He got sent to prison. He blamed your mother.”
“Why, what did she have to do with it?”
“Nothing. He got picked up at some club. He was carrying. The security staff testified against him, and he got sent down. The drugs were planted. He blames her for it, but the Courts knew he dealt regularly.” Logan felt numb. He would probably tell her anything now. What else did he have to lose?
“Drugs. Did mum…use?” Her voice was quiet.
“Becky, I…”
“So that’s a yes then. Oh my God! She got loaded, then knocked up by her druggy boyfriend, how romantic!”
He closed the space between them in an instant and grabbed her shoulders, roughly shoving her against the wall. It didn’t hurt, but it shocked her. He had lost his temper and shouted at her and her brother before, but he had never laid a hand on her.
“YOU watch your mouth!” She started to shake, the tears falling down her cheeks again. “She didn’t want it, she didn’t want any of it, but the bastard didn’t give her a choice!” He shoved one last time and released her, suddenly realising what he had said and turning his back.
Brushing the tears away, she walked up to him and tried to pull him around to face her. “What do you mean, he didn’t give her a choice?” He turned and locked his eye with hers again. “Dad?” His eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and as she watched his face drain of nearly all its colour, they spilled out down his face.
She shook her head and put her hands over her mouth again. “No!” He grabbed her arms. She tried to struggle away, hitting his chest trying to run away, but he caught her wrists and held her to him, her loud, open-mouthed sobs only slightly muffled by his enormous chest.
He sunk to his knees taking her with him. Pressing his face to her hair, he sobbed as well. Sobbed for the humiliation his beloved Marie had suffered, for the danger she was now in, for the pain he had caused his little girl, and especially for the now rich smell of self-hatred pouring off of her as she shook and heaved in his arms.
**************END OF PART TEN
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Author's Chapter Notes:
*Hugs Gamma*
Summary: “Perhaps now would be a good time to explain a few things.”
Summary: “Perhaps now would be a good time to explain a few things.”