Once safely outside, by his truck he had the first chance to really look at the girl. Every bit sixteen, except her eyes. Hurt lingered underneath her youthful bravado. Fetching, yes. Forbidden, very. Well, it really wasn’t even purpose of this little trip to get laid.
“I’m sorry about my father. He’s…” She started when they sat in the truck. “He can be quite difficult at times.” “I noticed. Buckle up, kid.”
It didn’t occur to him before few miles later to wonder how she knew about the conversation he had had with her father. “Were you eavesdropping?” He asked. The girl kept looking out through the side window, and her voice, a mere whisper nearly drowned to the noise of the engine of his truck.
“I acquired an upgrade to my mutie package just recently… Enhanced senses.” She sighed and turned to look at him. “I guess it wasn’t included to my file, it really happened just few days ago. I was on my way home from the library when another mutant attacked me. I don’t know why, but he tried to grab me. It felt like it was very important for him to get me to come with him. He wouldn’t let go and I kind of… drained him. This is the longest that anything from the person I touch has stayed with me.”
He thought about it. And more he thought about it, the less he liked about the outcome of his thoughts.
“Who was he?” He asked. The girl shook her head. “I didn’t get his name. He was so scared and angry when he found out that I can hurt him, that his thoughts scattered all over the place. I guess he wasn’t expecting trouble from a little girl like me. Though he seemed to know about my mutation…” Her whispered words got even quieter. “And wanted to use me.” “Use you?” Logan asked disgusted. “Oh, not like that!” The girl exclaimed hurriedly. “It just felt like he had a plan how to use my mutation to something. Or somebody at least had the plan, and the guy who grabbed me knew about that plan.”
“Okay. This certainly changes my plan…” Logan muttered fished out his cell phone from the breast pocket of his jacket. “I was going to just drive and sleep in motels, but now it sounds like it would be better if I call to Summers and ask him to pick us up… As soon as I can find a decent clearing…” She glanced around puzzled. Clearing? There really were no trees to speak of. And what did having a clearing really mattered? Her confusion wasn’t lost from Logan. He cleared his throat. “Xavier has a jet. Summers, the guy who’s probably going to teach you history has a pilot’s license. I think it would probably be safer for you to fly to Westchester since there are people after you.” “A jet? We’d be… Flying?” The girl asked with quivering voice. From moderately comfortable to deathly scared in a matter of seconds.
“Something wrong with that?” He asked. “I don’t know…” The girl muttered. “I’m afraid of flying…” She finally whispered. “Want to know a secret?” He whispered, slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I nearly wet myself when I flew with Summers the first time.” The girl gave him once-over, her left brow raised. “And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” “Well, considering that it was nearly two years and numerous flights ago, yeah. I hate flying, but Summers is actually pretty decent pilot. There’s nothing to worry about.” “If you say so…” The girl sighed. The tone of her voice told him completely another story. He’d be lucky if he managed to persuade her to the landing site, let alone in to the jet.
“Fine. We’ll drive…” He started pocketing the phone, and immediately her face lit up. “But from the first sign of trouble I’m calling the cavalry. Got it?” The smile on her face faded a bit. “I have absolutely no urges to get in to a brawl with your daddy dearest, and he made it perfectly clear that he would try to take my head off if anything happened to you.” The girl smirked. “That’s my dad. But somehow I find it hard to believe that you’d be scared of him,” she said. Logan harrumphed. “Not scared. But I have spent quite some time avoiding the officials. Wouldn’t do to get arrested for murder…” The girl paled a bit, then dragged her teddy bear from the backseat and plopped it firmly between them on to the front seat.
“I’m not going to hurt you or your parents, kid,” he blurted, slightly annoyed from the faint trace of her fear in the air of the cab and more than just annoyed at himself for his poor choice of words. And as if to bring his blundering to a magnificent point he reached over to where she sat and squeezed her shoulder gently, trying to reassure her of his good intentions and she all but launched off from the truck, squeezing herself against the door now in full blown panic.
“Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” “Fine! I won’t!” He grunted. “Jeesh, you’re touchy. I meant no harm.” She looked at him for a long moment, her eyes scanning him from head to toe, once again. He felt like cringing. He hadn’t felt this… This dirty and cheap for long time, probably never.
“You’d be touchy too, if you had the power to drain dry the whole fucking world and no way to turn it off…” She finally whispered and relaxed a bit when he showed no signs of malicious intent. He leaned towards her carefully and popped open the glove compartment, his every move slow and deliberate. Picked out a box of cigars and lit one.
“Seriously, kid. You’re safe with me. I’m not afraid of your father or the cops either, but I do have healthy respect for the Professor. And I kind of owe him for this,” he gestured towards her. “I owe him enough to promise to you one thing. You’ll get safely to Westchester, no matter what it takes to bring you there.” “You lost at the poker table or something?” She asked slightly bitter tone in her voice. He shook his head. “I lost a life he trusted at my hands once. He’s decent enough of a man not to blame me, but nevertheless I still owe him for that.” “And this is… What? Atonement?” She asked. He shrugged his shoulders. Puffed his cigar.
“More of a penance than anything else, really…” He spoke with low, hushed tone.”But don’t take it personal, I’m just not… Comfortable with people.” She shifted on her seat, turning to look out from the window. “That’ll make the two of us, then…” He heard her whisper.
For a long while they drove in silence, the girl staring the passing scenery as if it held a great interest, some thrilling and staggering secret that only she could see.
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