When Rogue stepped out of the diner there was an SUV parked outside. It was far too nice for this neighborhood and if she wasn't mistaken it was heavily armored. That last part she thought was some scrap of knowledge she picked up from Logan's memories.
No sooner had she made it to the sidewalk then two large men appeared in her path. She recognized them as customers from earlier in the week. They looked as dangerous now as they had then; Pamela hadn't even flirted with them.
She mentally made note of spots for attack; skin showing on the hands, neck, and face. Putting a hand in a pocket, she felt for the old folding knife a trucker had given her the first week she was on the road. The knife wasn't much, but it might give her an element of surprise.
The men blocked the sidewalk and didn't look like they were going to let her proceed. She might be able to slip past them, but then what would she do? Run to the motel? No one there would help her. Briefly, she thought about retreating to the diner, but she was leery of bringing whatever trouble was coming her way down on the wait staff.
"Mr. Falco would like a word with you." It was the man in blue who had come from the driver's side of the vehicle.
"No, thanks." Rogue was already skirting passed them.
The other man beside Blue held back his jacket so she could see the handgun in his waistband. "It wasn't a request."
She swallowed hard. She guessed this was the trouble Logan had talked about, had wanted to keep away from her. Her choices were limited, but she had two things to her advantage that they might not know about: her knife and her mutation. Of course, this had to be the trouble Logan had mentioned.
Blue opened the rear passenger door and indicated that she should get in. Rogue could see a petite blond in a tailored business suit sitting on the other side. The man with the gun, Rogue decided to call him Magenta to make this seem less threatening, flashed her a large grin that gave her a chill. He obviously needed to be the first one taken out.
Steeling herself, she climbed into the SUV. She seated herself next to the blonde in the rear-facing seat and came face to face with an older man in his seventies.
"Ah, Rogue. It is Rogue isn't it?" He smiled like a genial grandfather.
"Yes, sir." Just the look of him elicited a response like she would have given her own grandfather. The vehicle door was shut softly as if not to disturb their conversation.
"I'm Mr. Falco." He extended his hand and smiled again when she didn't shake it. "I understand. My men can be a little intimidating at times. However, I have been looking forward to our meeting for several days now."
Blue and Magenta seated themselves in the front, shutting their doors as quietly as possible. Rogue scrunched her brows in confusion. She had never seen this old man and had even less idea why he would want to meet her. Especially since his men might have been the ones that 'killed' Logan, or would have if Logan were an ordinary man.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Falco, I don't understand what you want with me."
"Of course, where are my manners? We will get to the specifics in a moment." Mr. Falco inclined his head toward the blonde. "Isabel has some Drops for you and then we will talk."
Isabel held up a blue glass bottle with a dropper in it. Rogue reached for the door and Mr. Falco nodded. The doors clicked with no visible locking mechanism for her to use when the door didn't open.
"I would prefer if you stayed? We have much to discuss." Behind her, Rogue heard the hammer of a gun being pulled back. Mr. Falco smiled, "Believe me, young lady, when I say that it is in both of our interests for you to take the Drops or things could get a bit unpleasant."
Him not wanting her dead was something to work with. She put a hand in her pocket, holding tightly onto her knife. Rogue acquiesced and tilted her head so Isabel could put the Drops in her eyes. Rogue blinked back the sting and glared at Mr. Falco who was keeping time on his watch.
Several minutes passed and he nodded to Blue and Magenta. Rogue heard the gun being uncocked. "Now my dear. It seems that you and I have a mutual friend. He goes by the name of Wolverine."
She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the older man. Lying would do her no good, but neither would telling him anything. "And?"
"He has been causing me some concern. Showing up where he is not wanted, causing a ruckus in an otherwise peaceful neighborhood, and generally been making himself a nuisance."
The scenery going by outside the window didn't help Rogue tell where they were going. This part of the city was full of old warehouses and riding backward added to her disorientation. She turned back to Falco, raising an eyebrow.
He smiled at her. "Our friend is keeping my men very busy, I believe that by having you as our guest during the negotiations would lead to a more positive outcome."
"You mean as your hostage," Rogue stated flatly. Whatever this man's trade was, she was sure it wasn't harmless.
Falco gave her his grandfatherly smile again. "Hostage sounds so barbaric. Think of yourself as an incentive for our mutual friend."
She gripped her knife for reassurance. Logan had said he would be back for her and she needed to believe that. But it would be up to her to stay alive for him to find her. Then Hades could bring hell on Earth to reclaim his Persephone.
It had been several weeks since he'd left Marie. He'd discretely checked up on her, surveilling her from afar. Logan had wanted to visit her, but it was best he kept his distance.
Using his time wisely, he'd quickly found the mainlines of distribution for the Drops. Several people had thought his argument persuasive enough to disappear. Others he'd had to help them make the decision.
He was getting close to the manufacturing hub; all he had to do was follow the now almost continuous flow of raw materials slowly being funneled to a central location. A line of workers would help, but he was beginning to think there was also some human trafficking happening in the form of forced labor. That idea he would confirm tonight.
In the meantime, he'd picked up word on the street that Tony was looking for him. It was odd; Tony didn't strike Logan as someone who would pursue a fighter past the initial invite. There were always fighters willing to prove themselves; he didn't need to seek out one in particular.
What the hell, Logan could kill two birds with one stone. He'd go get a beer and see what Tony wanted then he'd make a quick detour and check on Marie. Logan was almost finished with his beer, Tony was a no-show when Dog entered the bar and headed straight for him.
"Wolverine." Dog didn't even bother to sit down. Logan nodded in acknowledgment and drained his glass. "Tony wants you to know he didn't say nothin'."
Logan dropped his cash on the bar. "About what?"
"You ain't heard?" Dog asked then shook his head. "Damn, people are scared. Some grandpa set his thugs on Tony."
Logan knew Tony wasn't a fighter, but he was a tough man who was streetwise and didn't borrow trouble. "He okay?"
"Don't know man. He's in ICU, might not make it," Dog said with a shrug. "But he wanted you to know he kept his mouth shut. I got the feelin' his woman might have said something though, ta' save Tony's life."
Logan slowly nodded, mentally reassessing his plans. "When was this?"
"Four days ago. One of my fighters seen that armored SUV those thugs drive, goin' round the neighborhood. Been stoppin' over at Chet's Diner."
Logan's stomach dropped. Marie...
He was already out the door before Dog could say anything else. "Fuck," he swore under his breath, fighting the need to unsheathe the claws. He had a bad feeling about this.
Logan made his way to the hotel but Marie wasn't there and he could tell she'd been gone all day. At the diner, the feeling in the pit of his stomach grew worse as he confirmed that her shift had ended hours ago and she'd left as usual. They had seen those thugs but not today.
Several diner patrons jumped in their seats as Logan jerked open the door on his way out and it slammed into the nearest booth. He'd tried his damnedest and like in the other timeline, failed to protect her. Unlike before he wasn't going to let this slide; he'd brought this trouble to her. His only fear at the moment was that they might have done something to her, but he pushed that thought away. This drug lord's main objective was to take out Logan himself, not enrage him. Logan had to trust his instincts that if the man had Marie, she would be safe for the time being.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. Why he'd blinded himself to this possibility, he didn't know. No, he knew he didn't want to believe that he'd messed things up for her. He'd used her to fill his days and make himself feel good about being helpful. He fought the urge to release his claws and wreak havoc, but it would do no good and he needed to keep calm and controlled. The only chance Marie had was if he did what he was best at.
After leaving the diner he followed Marie's scent down the block. It stopped suddenly halfway and veered off to the street. He studied the area of the street, where her scent suddenly disappeared. The area also smelled of diesel, something a heavily armored SUV would run on, Drops and it was dripping oil.
He'd seen the SUV that Dog alluded to around the 'factory' he'd been watching. It went in and out of the factory, but he never got a good look at whom it chauffeured around. The dripping oil was easy enough to follow and the heavier diesel smell stood out. Sure enough, it led him straight to the facility he'd had under surveillance.
From a spot on the roof of an adjacent building, Logan could see that the factory was closed early for the day. It was just now sunset and the factory lights were off and no sound was coming from the building. He could see the wooden remnants of a broken chair among shattered glass on the roof of the factory. The window above was broken; it had been intact this morning when he'd been around.
Changing vantage points he could now see a couple of men taking up strategic positions. They were all carrying folding stock AK 47s and seemed to be loaded to take care of a small army. He watched them for a while longer, taking mental note of their positions and patterns of movement.
As the night settled in Logan slipped from the roof to the street. He'd done most of his planning on the roof and had little prepping to do. There was no need for a small army; he could take care of this himself.
~*~
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to Nebelwerfer42 for the helping hand going forward.