The purr of the bike beneath Logan died quickly as he rolled to a stop in front of a tall, stately old brick building. The front yard was well groomed, flowers decorated the walkway, and two large stone lions sat atop the fence on either side of the gate.
Windows polished gleamed in the sun, the sound of children’s laughter filtering through the partially opened glass.
“This it?” Rogue asked sliding off the back of the bike.
“This is where Piotr said to come.” Logan nodded at the unobtrusive sign that rested amongst the greenery and vines near the corner of the front yard. “Dock’s House, home for street kids.”
“Let’s see if they’ll let us in.” Rogue said as she glanced around. Following Logan up the walk she waited impatiently for someone to respond to their summons.
The door slowly opened a crack and a small, scarred boy stared at them. “Yeah?”
“Uh we’re looking for Angel or Piotr.” Rogue smiled warmly at him.
His eyes cut from her to Logan who stared back at him with a closed look upon his face. The boy tilted his head slightly before smiling slightly, “They’s in a meetin’ at the moment. Come in.”
Sharing a glance, Rogue and Logan stepped through the door and came to a stunned halt. The walls were decorated with warm toned wallpaper, pictures of children and toys, and other ‘family’ oriented paintings decorated the stairwell. The fresh lemon smell that came from wood polish filled the air, along with the sounds of running footsteps and children’s voices.
Logan barely had time to catch her as a girl, no more then ten raced around the corner nearly running him and Rogue over. As soon as he grabbed her she tensed, her color bleaching from her face and he let her go.
A moment later two older girls and a young man stepped around the corner looked at them and smiled. “Sally, come along. You’re supposed to be helpin’ Dorine.”
“I don’t wanna.”
“Sally.” The young man injected a note of steal in his voice. “We all have to help out. Miss Angel needs all of us to pitch in.”
“Fine.” Turning the girl stomped up the stairs, her disposition more irritated and cross than welcoming.
“I’m…”
“I know who you are.” One of the girls said, walking up to him. “I saw you before. In Alberta, you came and dropped off some money.”
“Yeah.”
“They call me Witchdoctor. I’m the team leader for the Alberta E-Team.”
“Name’s Logan, this is Rogue.”
She smiled. “Angel and Piotr are upstairs in her suite. Trying to work out the situation. You’re welcome to wait down here amongst the kids or I can show you the way.”
“When are they leavin’?”
“Hard to say. Angel’s pissed even more than usual when it comes to one of her kids gettin’ hurt. Might be ten minutes, might be midnight.”
Logan nodded, glancing at Rogue who shrugged. “I haven’t been here before, would you mind showing us around?” Rogue asked.
“Not at all. Layout is pretty much the same in all her properties. There are four of them in Alberta alone. Two in Selkirk, one in Edmonton, and one up in a small community called Allegiance.” Witchdoctor said sidestepping a running boy. “Wally, remember inside we walk.”
“Sure, sure. I’m late for class though.”
“Well then plan your time a bit better. If you go flying around a corner you might get hurt, or hurt someone.”
The boy nodded and darted off leaving the small group with barely disguised smiles.
“How many kids are here in this building or do you know?” Logan asked.
“Considering this one is the largest in the New York area, until she gets that brownstone she’s after it varies. Most of her shelters house anyone from one hundred to two hundred and fifty kids. This one being so big has a steady population and then a rotating group that can be anywhere from one kid to a hundred. Angel’s pretty particular about providing everyone personal space.”
The stairs beneath them creaked as they walked up them. Once at the top of the landing, Logan looked around. There were a multitude of doors lining the corridor, as well as two doors marked Private. He could smell the hormones of the youngsters on the floor; at least half were at the tail end of their cycle. Along with the familiar smell of a barrage of feminine products.
“Kinda over powers you doesn’t it?” Witchdoctor chuckled. “Now try living with it day in and day out.”
“Why do you do this?” Rogue asked.
“Because,” she paused. “I used to be like them. The only difference was I chose to walk in those shadows. I chose to become disposable. I was three months pregnant when I met Angel, she got me off the street, gave me a home, a sense of wealth. She took care of me and my baby, how could I turn my back on her.”
“Doesn’t it bother you?” Logan demanded. “To see the depths humanity can plunge.”
“No, because we’re all human. Someone has to pay for the sins of those who won’t pay for themselves. All these kids are merely fallen angels; chosen by God to live a life that some will never understand. I’m no fool, I know what they had to go through was rough, I have never condoned it but at the same time I know what it is that they’re suffering for.”
“Wish you could explain it to me.” Logan ground out stepping over a Barbie. He picked it up and stared at the small black lines that marred the perfect body, the signs of an owner who wanted a doll to be as imperfect as she was.
“Come on, I think it’s safe to knock on Angel’s door about now.”
“You want us to come with?”
“No, John it’s okay. Take the boys outside to play ball. Angel wants to have a pizza night, figures it’ll help the boys deal with their strain of tests lately.”
“Gotcha.”
Following wordlessly, Logan and Rogue waited for their guide to knock before leaving. Rogue stared at Logan, catching the ticking muscle in his jaw, the anger in his eyes and moved closer to him.
Both jumped slightly when the door opened and Piotr stood there staring at them. He blinked and shook his head before stepping back and waving them in. As soon as they were inside he closed the door and moved to pick up his shirt.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt.” Logan grunted.
Piotr shrugged, “Angel we got company.”
“Who?”
“Logan and Rogue.”
“Be right there.” Angel called a moment before she appeared in the doorway, a towel wrapped around her head, and a thick white terry-clothe robe upon her body. “Hello again. Uh, I’m sorry I sorta forgot about your stopping in. I have some other business…”
“We’re not here for a tour.” Logan halted her words. “We’re here to help.”
Angel shook her head. “You can’t help us. You don’t know the rules; you don’t understand that what we’re going to do is…”
“Necessary.” Logan interrupted. “That kid didn’t deserve to be brutalized. You sit there and tell me what makes her so worthless that you…”
“We’re not out to see the men put into jail, Logan.” Angel snapped. “We’re going to pass judgment, blood will be spilt. Her pimp allowed them to do that, there is no mercy for that.”
“Good, there shouldn’t be. I’m very good at what I do, and it ain’t rescuing kids. Now you can let me help, or you expect me to get in the way. Which is it going to be?”
Angel looked from him to Rogue and back again before turning to Piotr. “They’re not trained, bring them up to speed. They’ll be with us.”
Piotr nodded and watched her slip back into the bathroom to finish dressing. The moment she was out of sight he turned back to Logan and Rogue. “This is how we do things around here, if you’ve got a problem with it don’t waste our time or your own. There’s the door, don’t slam it on the way out.”
Rogue tilted her chin at him. “What do you want us to do?”
“The teams all have their missions, we’re not out to just get one man. We’re going to take down his entire network. If you’re with us you’re gonna have to be prepared. Don’t think this is easy, there’s gonna be a lot of recon going on between now and dark. I’ll be giving the orders, they come directly from Angel. Once we have all the parties involved we’re going to pass judgment, and for that we’re going to the wharf.”
“What’s the penalty for their crime?” Rogue asked softly.
“Death.” Angel’s flat tone left no room for argument and they all turned to stare at her. Dressed from head to toe in black, she stood there with an expressionless face, her eyes filled with a hardness, a brutality that rivaled Wolverine’s. “We’re expecting an influx of kids of all ages after this. Most of the teams will be on rescue detail. Only a handful will be involved in our task.”
“What do you want us to do?”
“Be prepared to witness brutality.” Angel replied seriously. “I don’t have any mercy for those that would do to these kids what gets done. I have six kids in this house alone that have been infected with an STD. Not to mention that there are several shelters set up specifically for the children of those I’ve rescued. This isn’t like the X-Men, Rogue, this is business, and this is life or death. I don’t care if they’re mutants or not. As long as they’re being forced to walk in the gutters of this world then they’re worth rescuing.”
“Agreed.” Logan nodded, catching the look that passed between Piotr and Angel a moment before they turned back to him. “We’ll follow your lead.”
Angel cracked a slight smile before reaching for an intricate bracelet that lay on her desk. Slipping it on she shook out her wrist and listened to the musical tones before rolling her neck. “Alright, let’s get everyone interested in a ball game or something. I don’t want them to be any more involved they have to be.”
“I’ll order the pizza,” Piotr reached for the phone. “How about a couple of movies. I promised the kids some videos a few weeks back and haven’t found the time…”
“Take Logan and go to the video store. I’ll get everyone organized for the nights events.” Angel said pulling on a long sleeved blouse over her clothes.
Wordlessly, with only a squeeze of her arm, Piotr turned and headed for the door. A nod at Logan and the older man followed suit.
“So.” Rogue started as she turned back to Angel. “What’s the plan for me?”
Angel smiled, a cold, calculating smirk and Rogue shivered with fear. “You, you’re gonna keep Logan under control. Keep him a few feet away from me. I’m not that easily harnessed when I let go of my gift and I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone.”
Rogue nodded, a knot forming in her stomach as she realized that what was coming was worse than anything she’d ever seen. Someone out there was going to die a horrible, painful death and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Seeing the look in Angel’s eyes, Rogue wondered if she would even want to stop it. Something told her that she would be helping to make the kills tonight, and the thought unsettled her.
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