Chapter 6: Hello, Old Friend
“Find a color you like yet, darlin’?”
Logan heard the crunch of Marie’s sandals on the ground behind him as she surveyed the selection of motorcycles in the rear parking lot of Diego’s Beer & Billiards, which was the first building the pair had encountered after descending from the hills. Logan was holding their only witness silent and cooperative against the wall of the building as she considered her options, the loud beats from the salsa music inside having masked the sound of his body being slammed face first into the aluminum siding.
“Hmm…I kinda like this blue one.”
“Okay, blue it is.” Truth be told, Logan would have been happy with a three-legged goat if Marie had suggested it. Their hike through the mountains had been a long and hot one; early evening was upon them now, the sky turning a velvety shade of magenta as the sun started its slow dip below the horizon.
Logan reached into the back pocket of the quivering man in his grip and extracted his wallet. With one hand, he flipped through it, finally locating the man’s driver’s license and pulling it out. The leather billfold fell to the ground as Logan inspected the information typed on the card.
“You didn’t see us, right Enrique?” he snarled menacingly to the man. Enrique was taking a little too long to answer, so Logan gave him another firm slam to the wall. “Right, Enrique?” he asked again, his growl growing louder as his patience began to fade.
“Hey man, I didn’t see nuthin’.” he replied in broken English. “Nuthin’ at all.”
“Good,” Logan exclaimed with mock cheerfulness, turning the man to face him and sliding three claws toward his throat to emphasize his point. “`Cause the last thing you want is me showin’ up at your place for tea.”
The man literally gulped as Logan pocketed his identification.
“Logan, come on…let’s go.” A soft voice of reason came from behind, bringing an end to Logan’s testosterone trip. Darn…just when he was starting to have some fun, too.
Enrique had either walked to the pub that night or simply didn’t care about his vehicle at this point, because as soon as Logan let go of him he made a mad dash for the road, quickly disappearing out of sight. Logan turned and made his way toward Marie, who was now seated atop a blue Honda.
“Good choice,” he mused, removing the helmet from the bike’s handlebars and gently placing it on her head. “You look good on it.”
Logan caught her biting the corner of her lip at that last comment, suppressing a smile. After adjusting the strap of the helmet under her chin, he lifted his duffel bag from the ground and handed it to Marie, who placed her arms through the handles, securing it to her back. Logan swung a leg over the bike and took his seat in front of her.
“We don’t have a key,” she noted, snaking her slim, shapely arms under his powerful ones and hugging his midsection to her in preparation for the ride ahead of them.
“Oh yeah?” Logan popped the middle claw of his right hand and inserted it into the ignition. Seconds later, the engine was purring and the unlikely friends were pulling out onto the dirt road.
“Where are we going?” Marie yelled to him over the loud chop of the bike’s engine.
Lucky for them both, Logan had a plan – albeit a slim one – in mind. They were headed to a city a few hours from where they were now…a city where lived the only other person in the world who knew Logan’s name.
“Veracruz.”
And with that, a topless Logan and a bottomless Marie rode off into the sunset.
~*~*~
“Do you think he’s home?”
The question came quietly from Marie’s lips as she and Logan approached a beachfront villa in Veracruz four hours later. This villa, Logan had informed her, as well as the others on the beach of similar design were vacation units belonging to an acquaintance of his…and this particular acquaintance owed him a favor or two.
“Only one way to find out,” he replied as the pair made their way up the patio steps of the main villa. Marie leaned forward on the wooden railing of the patio. Looking out into the darkness, she couldn’t see the water of the Gulf, but heard its waves crashing to the shore. Logan approached the front door and pounded a fist on it.
“Who is it?” The muffled voice of an English speaking man was coming from inside the residence.
“Open up, Hector,” Logan yelled through the closed door. “It’s Logan.”
Marie walked to where Logan was standing and waited with him for a response. She heard nothing but silence for a few moments, then what she believed to be a quiet “Holy shit”. And after that, more silence.
“Prove it!” the man finally yelled from the other side of the closed entrance. Logan shot Marie an exasperated glance.
“Your mom’s a fuckin’ whore!” he yelled back.
Marie listened in amusement and looked at Logan as the unmistakable sounds of chair legs scraping on a wooden floor came from inside the villa. In seconds the latch was opened and a handsome young man with dirty blonde spiked hair and a goatee stepped out on the patio. The wife-beater that the medium built man wore revealed an impressive collection of tattoos on upper arms that were not quite as powerful as Logan's, but still deserving of their own attention. Marie watched with bated breath as the two men stood face to face on the patio, wondering what kind of reaction to expect
Then, without warning, Hector bent forward and rammed his head into Logan’s midsection, grabbing him around the waist as he stumbled backward and slammed into the railing. Marie jumped aside, hearing the loud crack of the wooden post as Logan’s body hit it. Logan growled as he grabbed Hector by the hair, pulled him up, and shoved him back into the villa.
Logan stormed inside after him, and Marie moved to the open doorway in time too see Hector jump up from the floor and give Logan a hard shove. Logan stumbled backward, a bit, then went after Hector again, eventually getting him into a headlock. Hector, struggling to get free, gave Logan a hard elbow in the stomach. Marie could see that this had caught Logan by surprise, but he recovered quickly and slammed Hector into the wall, his hand closing tightly around the younger man’s neck.
And then Marie saw something very strange happen.
Hector began laughing. And the corner of Logan’s mouth curled up into a smirk.
“Good to see you, man.” Hector said, breathing raggedly, bringing a hand up to give Logan a friendly slap on the cheek.
Marie continued to watch from the open doorway, not even trying to make sense of the strange welcoming ritual that had just taken place before her. It was as though her thoughts had been heard from across the room, because both men suddenly turned their heads in her direction.
His hand still around Hector’s throat, Logan introduced the man to Marie. Marie raised a tentative hand in greeting.
“We're gonna need a place to stay," Logan said, turning his head back to Hector. "And some help."
~*~
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000