THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE SHOCKING
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LOGAN BELIEVED THAT HE HAD A GOOD IDEA OF WHEN TO BELIEVE HIS INSTINCTS AND WHEN TO THINK HE WAS BEING PARANOID. He knew that in order for him to survive on the battlefield that he needed to trust his senses so he knew when he was being snuck up on and if he knew the person or not. He knew that when he saw Bobby and Kurt with certain looks on their faces it was best to stay clear of any area that smelt of them recently. He knew that when Ororo got a certain look on her face he needed to follow her quick and find a place where they weren’t going to be disturbed.
So when he woken up that morning he didn’t know what to make of the feeling he had deep in his gut. It was the kind of feeling that he got when he was after Sabretooth and his body was telling him to watch his step because something was about to happen. After a search of the grounds, he found nothing out of the ordinary and decided that he was just being paranoid. He soon fell back into his usual routine.
A cup of coffee before making sure all of the kids were up before heading down to the Danger room to being an early morning training session before school. Only difference was that today was a Saturday so it took a little more persuasion to get a few of the teenagers out of their beds. By the time eight o’clock rolled around, Ororo had the eggs cooking and the Professor had finished with the sports section of the paper.
The day continued on like normal and by the time lunch rolled around Logan put the feeling he had felt that morning to the side and decided that it was just him being paranoid. He had just sat down for lunch when the phone rang. He didn’t even have to bother answering it because Kitty grabbed it on her way passed on its second ring.
‘Hello, Xavier’s School for the Gifted, Kitty speaking,’ Kitty said, in her usual happy voice.
Inwardly, Logan smiled. If there was anyone that could possibly market the school better then the Professor or Jean Grey than Kitty would be the person to do it. Outwardly though, Logan had a face of indifference.
That was until Kitty walked over to him and held the phone out.
‘Mr Logan, it’s for you,’ Kitty said.
Taking the phone from the girl he had nicked named Half-Pint; Logan got to his feet and walked out of the room so he wasn’t listened in to. Closing the door to the kitchen, Logan pulled out a stool as he began to speak.
‘Logan speaking.’
‘Hello, Mr Howlett. My name is Amanda Gyres, I’m from the Moses and Bros Firm,’ A woman said.
‘Yeah,’ Logan replied.
‘I’m ringing on behalf of our firm in Mississippi on behalf a Miss Irene Adler,’ Miss Gyres said. ‘Miss Adler died about a week ago in a car accident.’
‘I’m sorry for the family but I don’t know an Irene Adler,’ Logan said.
‘You might know her sister, a Miss Priscilla Adler,’ Miss Gyres said and Logan stopped moving.
‘What about her?’
‘It might be best if I talk to you in person. Is there any chance that I can meet up with you?’ Miss Gyres asked.
‘Yeah,’ Logan said after a couple of seconds.
‘Where would you like to meet? I can meet you here at the offices or I can come out to your own place, whichever is easiest.’
A couple of minutes later Logan walked back into the dining room with an appointment to see Miss Gyres in two hours time. Charles Xavier looked up at Logan and he sat down and sent him a questioning look.
‘Not now, Charles,’ Logan said and the Professor nodded.
TWO HOURS LATER, LOGAN FOUND HIMSELF SITTING OUTSIDE WATCHING THE YOUNGER CHILDREN PLAYING A GAME OF BASKET BALL AGAINST SOME OF THE OLDER CHILDREN AS AMANDA GYRES PULLED OUT SOME PAPERS. After a couple of minutes of silence, Logan turned his attention back to Miss Gyres, but kept watch on the kids from the corner of his eye. Miss Gyres looked up from what she was looking at and seemed to take Logan in for a couple of seconds before either started to speak.
‘What’s Irene Adler’s death got to do with Cilla?’ Logan asked.
‘Mr Howlett,’ Miss Gyres said. ‘Priscilla Adler went missing about four years ago and while I really can’t speculate on what happened, it is widely believed that her husband killed her.’
‘I’m still having trouble understanding,’ Logan explained.
‘Mr Howlett,’ Miss Gyres said.
‘Logan’ll do.’
Miss Gyres just nodded.
‘Logan, Priscilla Adler had a child. After her disappearance, her husband disappeared also which left the child placed with her only close relative, Irene Adler.’ Miss Gyres said. ‘Now that Irene Adler is dead the child needs a caregiver.’
‘And you think that because I have a past with Cilla, that I am the best candidate?’ Logan said and Miss Gyres shook her head.
‘Irene updated her will once she got custody of the child, stating that should anything happen that they were to refer to her sister’s original will when it came to the child,’ Miss Gyres said. ‘Priscilla Adler’s will states that should anything happen to Irene then her daughter is to be placed in the care of the child’s father.’
‘Than why don’t you find him then? I’m sure that he would come out of hiding if he knew that his child needed to be taken care of.’
‘Logan, Owen D'Ancanto is not Anna-Marie Adler’s father. He might have married her mother but he has no claim over her and from what I gather, there was no love felt from either of them to each other,’ Miss Gyres said.
Logan remained quiet.
‘We had to find Anna-Marie’s birth certificate in order to find out who her father was and then had it confirmed by Priscilla Adler’s Will and her diaries,’ Miss Gyres said. ‘According to all these Anna-Marie’s father is you.’
Logan was quiet for a few seconds as he processed everything before he started to speak.
‘What do you mean, I’m the father?’ Logan asked.
‘You did meet Priscilla Adler seven years ago and stayed with her for nearly eighteen months before you left, right?’
‘Yes, but-’
‘And during that time your relationship wasn’t that of roommates, right?’
‘Again yes, but-’
‘Well sometime during all that Priscilla fell pregnant with Anna-Marie,’ Miss Gyres explained. ‘You are Anna-Marie’s father. Of that Priscilla was certain.’
Logan just stared at Miss Gyres for a few minutes, not knowing what to say or what to do.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT WAS PRETTY MUCH A BLUR FOR LOGAN. He remembered getting the address where Anna-Marie was stay so he could go down and get her, and he also got the contact details of Irene Adler’s Lawyer so he could go over things when he got down there. He now sat in Xavier’s office, beer in his hand trying to work out the look on Xavier’s face as the Professor went over all of the information the Logan had just retold him. After a couple of minutes, the Professor linked his fingers together and then looked at his old friend.
‘What do you plan on doing?’ the Professor asked as Logan ran a hand through his hair.
‘Go down there,’ Logan said.
‘I take it that your relationship with Priscilla Adler was an intimate one,’ the Professor said and Logan raised an eyebrow.
‘Charles, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out. Hell I could tell Jamie the bare facts and he could figure out that me and Cilla were more than just friends just from that,’ Logan explained.
‘So when do you want to leave?’
‘As soon as,’ Logan said. ‘The sooner I get down there, the sooner I find out whether she really is my daughter or not.’
‘You don’t trust what you have been told?’ The Professor asked.
‘I trusted Cilla all the time I was with her, I don’t doubt that Charles. What I do doubt is the fact that this is coming out of nowhere. I don’t like being left in the dark and if the kid is my kid than I want to know why Cilla didn’t tell me.’
‘Logan,’ the Professor said. ‘You’re not the most contactable person when you’re travelling. It can take me days just to pinpoint your location using cerebro.’
‘Hmm,’ Logan replied and took and swig of beer.
‘Logan,’ The Professor said. ‘What are you going to do if you find out that the child isn’t yours?’
‘I don’t know,’ Logan said. ‘Truth is Charles; I have a feeling that it won’t come to that.’
‘I see,’ the Professor said and wheeled himself from around his desk. ‘I’ll speak to Ororo and tell her to get the jet fired up. I really don’t think that you need to be flying any heavy equipment the way that you are.’
All Logan did was grunt in return. As the door to the office closed, Logan got to his feet and walked over to the window. He stood there a long time just looking out at the grounds, taking in the sun set as it disappeared through the trees.
IT WAS HOT. That was the only way to describe how he was feeling right now. What he was doing so far from his cabin up in the Canadian mountains he had no idea, but that shot two day ride on his bike soon turned into two weeks and he now found himself walking through a small town in country Mississippi. His hat kept the sun from hitting his eyes but it did nothing for his arms that were unprotected from the sun’s light. He soon spotted a small diner not far away, and made his way over. The place may not sell beer, but it might just have a nice cool drink in there for him.
Opening the door, he walked in and took a quick glance around. The place was nearly empty, but Logan figured that had something to do with the heat more than anything else. He made his was over to the counter and soon ordered before looking around for a place to sit. He slid himself into a booth and didn’t bother to look up until a couple of minutes later when he heard the door jingle. He looked up at the person who came in and let his eyes roam her for a couple of minutes.
She had auburn hair that fell just below her shoulders. She was wearing a basic sun dress in a light blue colour and as she pushed her sunglasses on top of her head, Logan spotted a silver bracelet hanging from her wrist. She spoke a little to a couple of customers before she made her way over and sat in the booth beside his. He heard a little bit of shuffling before she stopped moving. He didn’t have long to try to figure out what she was reading because a couple of seconds later the waitress turned up with his drink. He thanked her and turned his attention to the paper he had just noticed on the bench top. Behind him he heard the chatter of the waitress and the woman who had just walked in.
‘I didn’t think that I would see you again until Christmas, Cilla,’ the Waitress said.
‘Mary, I wasn’t about to just sit around while my Mama was sick, besides Irene doesn’t need to worry about Mama and all the other things that she worries about,’ Cilla replied.
‘Well, it’s good to see you back here instead of you being up north with those Yankees,’ Mary replied.
‘Awe, now come on Mary, not all Yankee’s are bad,’ Cilla said.
‘Maybe you’re right, but I ain’t seen one who offers a lady a seat like a southern man,’ Mary replied and then walked off.
Logan heard Cilla laugh quietly to herself for a couple of seconds before she turned her attention elsewhere. Logan was halfway through reading an article about his hockey team’s latest win when he heard a thump on the ground beside him. Looking down he spotted a book lying on the floor. He recognised the title right away: To Kill a Mockingbird. Leaning down he placed his hand on it and picked it up, before turning around and taping the woman on the shoulder. She turned around and Logan came eye to eye with a pair of dark green eyes that seemed to sparkle. He held out the book.
‘I think you dropped this,’ Logan said and she smiled.
‘Thanks,’ she replied. ‘I didn’t even notice that it had fallen out of my bag.’
‘No problem,’ Logan replied and went to turn back to his paper when a question stopped him.
‘You’re not from around here are you?’
‘What gave it away?’ Logan asked smirking and she smiled back.
‘Well apart from the fact I have never in my life seen you in this town before, and I grew up here, you’ve got the wrong kind of accent,’ she replied. ‘I’m Priscilla, Priscilla Adler. But everyone calls me Cilla.’
‘Logan Howlett.’
‘Well it’s nice to meet you Mr Howlett,’ Cilla said.
‘It’s just Logan.’
‘Logan then,’ Cilla said smiling.
‘LOGAN,’ ORORO SAID. ‘The jet is ready.’
‘Ok,’ Logan said and turned away from the window. He looked at Ororo for a few minutes, trying to work out what she was thinking before giving up. If he knew Ororo, she wouldn’t ask anything until she thought it was the right time.
And now was definitely not the right time.