She had to work fast. She had been able to hold them off for the past few months by explaining that they had to wait until everything died off, and she could set it all up for them again. There was no way they could just pick them off from the mansion grounds, not with both Scott and Logan lurking around. Xavier would sense them coming in no time. But her circumstance changed, and she only had a day and a half to set it up. She knew that if she was still here come this time in three days, Logan would hold good on his threat. She didn’t have much time to find the information they needed to get their prized project back.
The only consolation was the fact that Xavier had sent her away. She was somewhere the others didn’t know about, and, when she disappeared again, there would be no one around to miss her. It was fortunate that the people backing her didn’t want the other’s back. They didn’t care one way or another, but Rogue was special to them. Rogue was their key.
Xavier was gone, listening to some speech some idiot in Washington was giving. If she worked quickly, she could get the information she needed and be gone before he returned.
It was obvious that the old cripple didn’t know anything about what had transpired between herself and Logan that day in the library. He would have surely said something to her by now. It was amazing what a telepath as powerful as Charles Xavier could miss within his own home.
She pushed slipped quietly into Xavier’s office, careful not to get caught. She didn’t feel comfortable going through his office, but, if she didn’t get these people what they wanted, she might as well stay and take what ever Logan was planning for her. She would be as good as dead anyway. It was only a shame that she was no longer able to twist Logan around her little finger again like she did last time.
Going to the giant oak desk, she knelt before it, examining the lock. It was simple enough, and, with her abilities, she would be able to pick it with her mind.
Using her telepathy, she pressed her right hand against the drawer, concentrating on moving the springs. With a soft click, the drawer slid right open for her. She smiled to herself, happy with her work. Once the drawer was shut, it would lock again, and no one would know what she had been up to.
She quickly skimmed through the folders that had been locked into the drawer, looking for anything that might be helpful. There had to be something there that would tell her where the brat was. There was nothing on Rogue, so she continued her search, looking for anything that might reveal her name.
There were only a few options after that. And only three of them were female. Pulling them out carefully so as not to disturb the rest of the documents, she flipped open the first one and found exactly what she was looking for.
It seemed that Rogue was now going by the name of Hannah Deveron. She was living in a remote part of Ireland that shouldn’t be too hard to find.
She quickly made copies of all of the information she would need, including information about the people who may have been in contact with Mss Hannah Deveron.
Taking her cell phone from her pocket, she quickly dialed a number that she had mesmerized a long time ago.
“You got good news, I hope?” The voice on the other end was cold and collected, but she didn’t miss the under tone of impatience. “For your sake, of course.”
“I found her. I can fax you the information in an hour, once I get into the city.”
“Good. You’ve made a wise decision, and you will be rewarded.” The voice paused, letting her fill with relief. “But I don’t want another fiasco like the last one. She’ll be on guard, and I will need a familiar face to get her to keep her from being suspicious. You will accompany my people this time.”
“But…”
“You will or you will answer to me, Jean. I am not above coming to find you myself, and, believe me, you don’t want to see me face to face. I’ll give you more information after you’ve faxed me what you’ve found.” There was an audible click as the other woman disconnected the call. Jean felt her shoulders slump. This wasn’t supposed to happen this way.
~*~*~*~*~*~
She quickly left the office, the information she copied securely in her bag. She was careful not to be seen, but not careful enough and she missed the feral eyes that watched her leave Xavier’s office and stalked her to the garage.
She missed the low growl that ensued as she started her Porsche and drove towards the city.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“She’s up to something, Scott,” Logan said after cornering the man coming out of his room. “I don’t know what, but I got a bad feeling this has something to do with Rogue.”
“Do you know what she was doing in there?” Scott asked, his muscles tightening at the sound of that name. “Did you hear anything?”
“No. Not through those damn doors,” Logan replied sternly, “but I watched her. She seemed in a hurry to get out of here and get somewhere. She was carrying something special in her bag.”
“So you got X-Ray vision now?”
“Don’t be a smart ass, Scooter. I was starting to actually like you.” Logan replied with a crude smile. “No, it was the way she was clutching the bag, keeping it close like it would explode if she dropped it.”
“And how do you know it has something to do with Rogue, exactly?” Scott asked, exasperated. He was starting to wonder if times had been better when he and Logan hated each other.
“I checked.” Logan shot him a look that had Scott bite his tongue in case any more questions wanted to pop out. “After she left, I went into the office and found her scent all over that drawer he keeps locked up. So I popped it. And I the file that had her damn stink all over it was one on Rogue. Under the name Hannah Deveron. She’s in Ireland, Scott. There was a number, too. I need you to call it and warn her. She should know what is coming her way.”
“I can do one better,” Scott said with a grin, grabbing his cell phone off of the nightstand and flipping it open. “I can call her and tell her that we’re on our way. She’s not going to face this alone, and we’ll be able to catch who ever took her the first time.”
“I think I’m starting to rub off on you, Scooter,” Logan said with a sly grin.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“Shane, what the hell are you doing here?” Rogue asked, a little annoyed. They had met the night she had told Tom her story. He was Tom’s nephew (on my sister’s side, he had said), and had insisted on walking her home. It seemed that he hadn’t left since that night. She knew it had been a bad idea, and should have killed Tom for playing matchmaker. “I told you; I’m not interested in dating…”
“Courting, Hannah. It’s called courting when a man is interested in marrying the lass,” Shane replied, flashing her a goofy smile.
Rogue had to try hard not to growl at the man standing on her porch. He was trying hard, and, as much as she thought he was cute and sweet, she really didn’t want to let him down hard.
“Shane, why don’t you go find a nice Irish girl to settle down with? I’m just not that interested,” Rogue said quickly, congratulating herself on controlling her temper. “I told you, I’m not ready to get married.”
“ ‘Tis that Yank you told Uncle Tom about, isn’t it?” Shane asked sternly. “Well, why can’t you just forget about him. You already know he don’t love you in that way. He’s too blind to see it. We both know that I would make you a good husband, Hannah. Just let me show you by courting.”
“Shane, I’ve known you for a week. You know nothing about me.” Rogue couldn’t believe her luck. Only she would move from a mansion packed with mutants to a cottage in the middle of nowhere, three miles from the closest town, and get a stalker. She should have never told him he was cute.
“No, I don’t. But that’s what courting’s all about,” he replied brightly. It also seemed that he had an answer for everything. “I know you will make me a good bride, lass. I can see to your heart. You’re a good woman and will make a good wife. And my Ma will be happy with you, too.”
She opened her mouth to say something a little less charming, but she stopped when she heard the sound of a cell phone ringing. It was the phone Xavier had given to her before she left.
“I can’t do this now,” she said to Shane as she slammed the door in his face. Turning towards the noise, she sprinted to the livingroom, her blood running cold. She picked it up quickly, flipping it open and placing it to her ear. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Rogue?” Scott’s voice rang back at her. She felt a little relief. Surely if something was wrong, Xavier would be calling her himself. But then she realized that no one but Xavier was supposed to have this number. “Before you get mad, just listen. Jean’s up to something, and we think it has something to do with you and that place. We’re going to fly out to you as soon as I get off the phone. I’m just giving you fare warning to expect us.”
“Who’s we?” Rogue asked angrily, already knowing the answer.
“Logan.” She knew Scott was holding his breath, waiting for her to yell. At the same moment, though, she heard Shane banging on her backdoor, asking if he could come in.
Suddenly, she had an idea.
“Fine. Just hurry up. I have another problem that I think I’m going to need his help with.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
“Fine. Just hurry up. I have another problem that I think I’m going to need his help with.”
Chapter End Notes:
Ok, this is little different then where I've been going, but I really want to get this moving. FEEDBACK PLEASE :P