Sitting in the school cafeteria, back in their favorite spot, Marie and her friends try to enjoy their first lunch together since the most recent attempt on Jimmy. It’s been a hectic time since then, her schedule has been stacked with debriefings and security training. Even though the kidnapping happened off school it still shook the school faculty. The breach in security was stunning, especially considering that given his ability it should have been very difficult to track Jimmy’s movements. The entire school was in an uproar, and some serious concerns were raised about everyone’s safety.

By the time things settle down school has already started again. Meanwhile, Marie has been working with Kitty, who is back to behaving like her undercover persona, and they’re focused on finishing their course work early. Jubes is caught up in a totally different kind of preparation; still deep within the world of teen gossip and fashion. Marie decides to ask a question that had been on her mind for sometime.

“Kitty, I was wondering,” Marie asks between sips of her ice cold sweet tea. It’s a question that hits closer to home than she would like to admit. If Logan had asked her to do the same thing, she is not sure what her answer would have been. “Are you sure about, you know, about not going with him?”

“Not really, I mean yeah we going a ways back, but that’s a long time ago, I was a different person back then. Plus, I’m not really sure how exactly I feel about him.” Kitty looks up from her notebook and taps her chin with her pencil. “But I’m sure of a few things; I want to finish school here, I want to go to college, and I want to stay with you guys in our team.”

“It sounds kind of selfish and unfair to Johnny but I want to do something with my life.” Kitty closes the notebook she’s been scribbling in up till now and finally starts on her lunch. “And I know I won’t be able to do any of that if I left with him.”

“Well, I think you're better off without him,” Jubes pipes in after finishing her second cheeseburger. Then her eyes widen slightly and she leans in with a mischievous grin, “Hey Marie, guess who is here to see you…”

“Jimmy?” Marie sighs, there are only two names associated with her that would make Jubes grin like that, and she knows for certain that Remy is not in town.

“I think he’s finally worked up the guts to ask you to Homecoming.” Jubes’ voice has a delightful ring to it, usually it is associated with a large sale at the local mall. But recently she has taken to some wild theories about Marie’s relationships. As if right on cue Jubes covers her mouth with her hand, “What if Remy finds out!”

“Jubes! I haven’t even decided to go,” Marie protests in a whisper. She has been spending more time with Jimmy over the last few weeks, but she wouldn’t say they’re anything more than friends. As far as Jubes is concerned no matter what is actually happening, once she has a narrative in her head there is little Marie can to divert her from it.

“Of course you will go!” Jubes snaps the magazine she is reading shut and looks at Marie defiantly. “You already said you're going to miss Prom because of that corporate election thingie! There is no way we are letting you miss Homecoming too!”

Marie can’t help but agree with her, she would like to have gone to at least one of those dances, as Jubes would have believed the most critical part of high school. And if she absolutely has to go to homecoming, she would need a date. Otherwise, her ever disapproving grandparents and other members of her company's old guard would raise hell. With the deadline looming, Marie must admit that Jubes is entirely correct here, for the safety of the other students she really only has one option, and he is walking up behind her right now.

“Hi, Marie.” Upon hearing Jimmy’s voice she turns around with a slight smile and a small wave. He’s looking healthier and healthier now. Only bare traces of his ordeal in the labs can be seen, mostly it’s just in his demeanor. Jimmy can still be a bit twitchy and nervous with strangers.

“Hey girls.” And with him as always is the golden-hued Joshua. Joshua smiles at them before focusing his attention on Kitty, “Hi Kitty.”

“Oh hey guys, what are you two doing here?” Jubes answers for them all, her grin just getting wider.

“Umm.. well…” Joshua gives Jimmy a not so subtle nudge with his elbow, and it all comes flying out in one breath. “Will you please go to the dance with me, Marie?”

Jimmy is kind of cute, in a little brother sort of a way, and they have become pretty good friends recently. And honestly, she really can’t put off dealing with his crush on her any longer. Even though he is probably the only one in the world who she might be able to have a normal relationship with, her heart is just not in it. She flashes him a friendly grin, “Sure, Jimmy.”

To her surprise, Jimmy actually jumps up and lets out a yell. It is nice to see him so excited, Marie just wishes she could muster even a small percentage of that enthusiasm. Joshua smiles and starts pulling Jimmy away, “We need to go get him ready, see you girls at the dance.”

Ignoring the recent commotion, Jubes immediately turns to Kitty. Marie is pretty sure Jubes is going to ask the same question that is bugging her. “I could have sworn Joshua wanted to ask you to the dance.”

“He did, but I turn him down.” Kitty replies matter of factly while clearing up her part of the table before adding, “Bobby and I decided to try and work it out.”

“Oh.” From the shock on Jubes face, Marie can guess that Jubes’ mind is working overtime trying to catch up to this new turn of events. That is certainly a very effective way to derail these little stories Jubes like to make up.

Logan leans over his desk in the back office of a nondescript warehouse in the harbor district, one of hundreds that litter the area. He taps his cigars into the greenish glass ashtray and watches the men he requested assemble, some two hundred of them. These are not the men he normally hires and are far from the best, but they are veterans, more than suitable for his purpose here. These men also did not come cheap mostly due to the urgency of his request. Which is why he does not intend for them to lay idle. He’s already selected two separate targets for them to hit this very night.

“Those are a lot of men.” Sergi enters the office, a grin peeking through the bandages on his face. He sits down across from Logan, and looks at the map laid out on the table, “We hit Fisk, yes?”

“Not exactly, we’re hitting about a dozen of his places tonight,” Logan taps a few of the circles on the map and tilts his head towards the warehouse floor.

“I want ya and yer man to hit here.” Logan points to a red circle on the map, then waves his hands over the map. “While my men take the other sites.”

“You have over two hundred men…” Sergi’s voice fades as he recalls what is actually at some of those addresses, and a look of astonishment appears on his face. “His banks? You are hitting his banks?”

“His banks, money laundering sites, gambling dens,” Logan says with a smirk and snuffs out his cigar. “All those men need to be paid and I rather not keep on using my own money.”

“But those are real banks... Ha, I love it!” Sergi slams his hand down on to the table with a loud bang. “We fuck Fisk over with his own money! And the police will shit their pants!”

“Good.” Logan rises out of his seat, pulling on his balaclava and grabs his duffle bag on his way out. He gives out a command before leaving, “Get yer men ready, yer moving out in ten.”

With a Cuban clenched between his teeth Logan checks his watch one more time. Right on cue, he hears the faint explosions from across town, just as the heavily armed men with him kick open the door next to him. The shooting starts immediately, the roar of his men’s assault weapons interspersed with the screams of their victims. Logan waits till he finishes the cigar and pockets the stub. Pulling down his mask he steps inside joining his men. The floors are already slick with blood, the fight had been a one side one. An underground casino like this requires all patrons to turn in their guns at the door, not that they would have stood much chance even with their guns against his men armed as they are.

The men he hired are urban combat veterans and they clear this build exactly as Logan expects. One of the soldiers greets him at the check-in point. He can see two dead bodies riddled with bullets, neither man even had the chance to draw his weapon. The main door is in pieces on the ground, he can see pieces of steel reinforcements protruding out of the wooden shell. He looks at the leading soldier with a nod, “What's the status?”

“The main casino floor is secure as is the rest of the building,” Logan knows they’ve run into a problem, he can hear the noise from the back of the casino. So he waits for the man to continue. The soldier swallows as a bead of sweat rolls down his jawline, “A small group has barricaded themselves in the safe. If we use explosives we’re not sure if we can take the contents intact.”

Logan frowns, one big disadvantage of such rushed recruitment is the lack of specialists. Anyone can use high explosives to blow shit up. But it takes real skill to use it right. “Alright, show me.”

The safe is tall, at least eight feet and just as wide, it is not particular advance but it is enough, considering the allotted time. There’s no way his men can get it open without destroying what is inside. It’s times like these he almost wishes he had his adamantium claws back, almost. It’s not like he can use his claws without exposing his identity here. Logan paces back and forth a few times in front of the vault, stealthily gathering his ki, before slamming his fist into the vault door, warping the metal at the point of impact and smashing it open.

The vault door falls off its hinges and smashes on the ground with a loud crash shattering the concrete below. There might not be many people out there with claws, but super strength… that’s practically dime a dozen. It would take interested parties years to narrow things down enough to find him, by then it wouldn’t matter. Logan looks around at the shocked faces of his men then points his thumb behind him, “Kill ’em all and start loading.”

On the main casino floor, if the cramped room can even be called that, the survivors are huddled together in the center all on their knees. The stench of fear and anxiety is strong, mixed with other more feminine scents. There are hookers here, some still girls, forced to dress up in gaudy customs for the entertainment of paying patrons. The image strikes a nerve inside him and Logan curses to himself before barking out new orders. “Separate the girls.”

“And you,” Logan snaps his fingers towards one of Sergi’s men. “Get me the big fishes.”

A group of men are dragged away from the huddled mass of bodies. An older, obese man being pulled aside sneers at Logan, “You don’t know who the fuck you're messing with!”

“No?” With a look Logan lets the soldier dragging the man know to stop. He grabs the man by his throat and pulls him in close. “Why don’t you enlighten me then?”

“What? Cat got ya fucking tongue?” Logan shakes the fat man now dangling from his grip.

The mobster chokes in Logan’s hand before the vice-like grip is loosened. The older man takes in a few gasping breaths before sneering at Logan, “If you don’t know, then you're really fucked.”

“Who Fisk?” Logan remarks casually and the man’s eyes go wide. Before he can speak again Logan splatters his brains all over the walls with his Magnum. The women, and some of the men, start crying again. A decent man should feel sorry for them, the girls at least. But the scent of fear and blood are like a drug, and he fights back the red haze that threatens to overtake him.

Forcing himself to focus on the mission at hand, he points to the now separated group of mob officers, “Get it done.”

He watches as each of them is lined up against a wall and shot in the back of their head. This must look like more than just a robbery, he needs to send the message that the Russians are still around, to make sure both the authorities and Fisk stay focused on them so he has the freedom to get what he wants. Once the gunshots die down, and all the cash is packed, Logan taps a message into his phone, then signals for the group to depart. “Untie the girls, and leave the rest.”

One of his men walks up to him leering at the scantily dressed women and girls, “Boss, why not keep girls for fun?”

Several other men shrink away when they hear the question even the commander averts his gaze, all those men worked with him before, this one hasn’t. Rapes are common on the battlefield where these men come from, Logan’s seen it firsthand, as much as he hates it, stopping that in the middle of a war is a nigh impossible. This is not a war zone though and he can let his men know right now that anything of that type is not permitted on one of his mission. He gives the man an intense glare, and the bigger man wilts under his gaze, “Ya think I'm paying ya to fuck?”

The man’s eyes widen and he takes a step back, rapidly shaking his head, “N-no no.”

“Fuck on yer own time! Got that?” Logan looks at each and every man in the eyes till they all nod to him.

Logan stands watching as the men carrying bags of cash walk down the street where his vans are waiting. And the bags keep coming one after another, it looks so very impressive. He knows there is less money here than it looks, the bills filing those bag are small, he’ll be lucky if he can break even tonight. Soon sirens can be heard off in the distance, one of the girls he freed or maybe a bystander must have called the police. Just in time, the last bag of cash is loaded into a van. He climbs into the back and signals for his convoy to depart.

The group of vehicles soon break part at various intersection each charting is own separate course back to the base. As his shiny black van rolls through downtown New York every few minutes another police patrol zooms by sirens blaring. Logan scans the streets outside his windows hoping to spot a possible outlet for his urges. He needs a clear and calm mind for when he starts the hunt for Stryker and from experience he knows the urges are just going to get worse until he is forced to deal with it. It’s better that he chooses a time and place now. Then he sees her across the street, she is with her friends dressed to impress, walking into the lobby of Mandarin Oriental, with a boy that is far too close for Logan’s liking.

He wants to just keep going, but he can't, she is so close, and he can’t get the image of that boy with his arm around her waist out of his mind. Had it been anyone else he might have been able to convince himself to leave it be, not with that boy around, one of two men he knows that can actually touch his Marie. He needs to see her, to make sure she is okay. He orders the van to drop him off in an alley nearby. After retrieving a more appropriate wardrobe, it is a simple matter to slip into the hotel unnoticed.