Scott safely tucked in to the guard tower and armed with a walkie-talkie and with strict orders to contact the rest of the team if he heard as much as a fart from the radar they took off. Logan didn’t know if the distance would help in hiding what they were doing from Scott, but at least it gave them the false sense of security.
“I still think that one of us should have stayed with Scott...” Marie grumbled.
“Yeah, you and me both, kid. But that’s just not an option right now,” Logan said, then turned to look at Jean.
“Or is it, doc?” He asked. Jean shook her head.
“I’m going to cut our bond for good. Scott will notice it. There’s no way of telling how he will react. It’s better to get some distance, just to be sure that he won’t harm any of us before he realizes that this is for the best,” Jean explained once more.
They had hatched their plan over breakfast. Scott had still been sleeping. The basic idea was simple. They’d get some distance to Scott and Jean would cut the cord that tied her together with Scott on psychic level. It would prevent Scott from getting in to her head, it would prevent her from wandering accidentally in to Scott’s head, all in all it would make things much simpler. But the catch was that she’d have to keep it as a secret from Scott until she was good and ready, absolutely sure that she’d manage to do it for the first try.
“And why are we all so sure that Scott would object if he knew about this?” Marie asked. Logan and Jean traded an uneasy glance.
“Kid...” Logan started, then fell in to silence, seemingly unable to continue.
“Scott will see this as a betrayal,” Jean said. Marie’s forehead crinkled in confusion.
“Why would he think like that if we explained it to him why it has to be done? From what I have understood from what you guys have told me, he pretty much understands that he’s losing his mind.” Logan opened his mouth, looking as if he was going to provide an explanation, then fell in to silence again, kicking small twigs and pebbles on his path.
“Logan?” Jean asked. Logan shrugged.
“You haven’t told her?” Jean asked.
“Didn’t seem that important. Didn’t feel like something I should share... Fuck!”
“Can I tell her?” Jean asked. Logan stopped and drew a deep breath.
“We fucked. Jeannie and me. Right before I left back to Canada. Scott found out,” he blurted out. It was Marie’s turn to stop and just stare at them.
“Classy, Logan, real classy. You couldn’t come up with a nicer way to say it?” Jean admonished him. Marie was kneeling on the ground, looking all as if she was going to either pass out or start crying.
“Marie?” Jean approached her warily. The girl turned to look at her.
“It’s alright, Jean... I guess I always suspected it...” She whispered, then straightened her stance and looked at Logan.
“And now?” She asked. Logan looked at her flabbergasted.
“What about ‘now’?” He asked.
“Are you two fucking now?” Marie clarified.
“No,” Logan and Jean answered in unison.
“Wouldn’t be right. Wasn’t right back then,” Logan grunted.
“In a nutshell, Scott will take this a sign that I’m cheating him. He needs time and space to adjust and put things back to perspective. Hence our little field trip,” Jean summed up their situation. Marie nodded. It stung, but perhaps she’d get over it. She adjusted the backpack she was carrying.
“We’re still okay?” Logan asked her with a lowered voice, falling purposefully behind and leaving Jean to lead their little squad.
“I don’t know. Ask again after this is over,” Marie said.
“Jesus, kid... It was before us. It’s not like I was cheating you. That doesn’t make it right, but the way I see it, you’re the only one who didn’t get hurt back then.”
“Well, now it hurts. Can we please forget this shit now? We can dig it up later,” Marie hissed and picked up her pace asking Jean to wait up.
At first they had planned to spend few nights in the village, but Logan had quickly realized that it would be the first place where Scott would search for them. The Blackbird would be safer choice. Fuselage would provide shelter and there were still unopened packages of rations and bottled water. They’d be just fine for few days, almost a week if the need arose. It would also be closer to home if Scott needed backup.
“Though I’m not all too sure if after that he’d be willing to take contact for any reason...” Jean whispered when they entered in to the jet, and it struck Marie how much the doctor was putting on the line. There was no telling what Scott would do. He could stay at the lumber mill, think things over and come to the right conclusion. He could think over things, come to a wrong conclusion and leave. Or he could come to a wrong conclusion and come after them. Jean might very well lose Scott for good. she was about to grasp Jean’s hand and offer her support, but the crackling of the walkie-talkie that Logan was carrying made them all freeze to their spots.
“Relax, guys. He doesn’t know. There’s probably a fucking bird on the radar...” Logan huffed and stomped out, leaving Jean and Marie to sort out details of their not so cosy retreat.
Once outside he clicked the receiver. Scott’s voice came through loud and clear.
“What took you so long to answer?” For a second Logan almost panicked. He was sure that he’d be unable to lie to Scott. He could see the other man sitting at the watchtower, and the radar blinking and bleeping in front of him, broadcasting their exact path to Scott.
“Couldn’t find the damn radio. Has something happened?” Logan asked.
“No. I just got bored. Anything new?” Scott asked.
“Nothing out of the ordinary yet. We’re at the village now. There seems to be a crypt of sorts underneath the church. We probably disappear from the radar when we go and investigate it.”
“What about the radio?” Now Scott sounded genuinely worried.
“It should work just fine. If it doesn’t, we’ll make sure that one of us stays near the exit with it, ready to alert the cavalry if anything goes wrong,” Logan prattled on, hoping that Scott wouldn’t notice how nervous he was and how elementary mistakes he made. A radio would work just fine but radar wouldn’t? Right.
“Cavalry?”
“You, Scott. If anything goes awry, we’ll contact you.”
“And leave the whole fucking mess for me to sort out? Gee, thanks!” Scott tried to sound less than enthusiastic, but Logan could practically hear how his words soothed his teammate’s fractured ego.
“Yeah... But hey, I better go now before the girls get too far ahead of me. We’ll call you if anything happens. Oh, and Jean asked me to tell you that she put some bread and jerky near the radar, and few bottles of water. Just in case you get hungry.”
“Found them already. Not hungry yet. But Logan...” Scott practically whispered his last words.
“Thank her for me, okay?”
“I will. Logan over and out.”
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