Forge sat at the bar 20 minutes later, well past his second beer, nursing his third when his contact walked up to him. He turned to glance at the new comer, waving the bartender over to get them a drink. “Bout damn time you got here.”
The contact sat down, a skinny nondescript man with graying, balding hair. “You said twenty minutes. It’s been twenty minutes.” He eyed the empty beer bottles, staring pointedly at the one still grasped in Forge’s hand. “A little early for happy hour, isn’t it? Who could have inspired this deviation of behavior? Someone with white hair perhaps? Or maybe you’ve developed a thing for red-heads?”
Forge took a deep swallow of his beer. “Mind your own damned business.” He pointed the bottle at the other man in warning.
He held up his hands in surrender. “Just trying to make conversation, no need to get upset.” The bartender came back setting a fresh drink down for each of them before moving off. He reached out and snagged his drink, taking a sip of it before returning to the matter at hand. “So what’s the big emergency that you had to drag me down here away from my business? I have a very pissed off client I’ll have you know.”
Forge snorted. “Screw your client, they can wait. This needs taking care of now.”
“Fine, but this job is going to cost you extra. Especially if I lose my current client. I have expenses.”
Forge laughed derisively. “Expenses. What a laugh. Still trying to get that mutant army started are we?”
The other man’s face flushed slightly at the comment. “Just because you don’t see it as a worthwhile cause. You’d rather spend your time sucking up to them and kissing human ass. Well sorry, I ain’t built that way.” He jabbed a finger at the gifted mutant.
This time Forge laughed right out loud. “Worthwhile cause? So you’ve bought into that bullshit have you? More power to you. But me, well all I see is someone pissing into the wind. You and everyone behind you is likely to get splattered. I don’t see that happening to me; when the time comes, I’ll be on the winning side.” He drained his beer, slamming the empty down on the bar.
The other man snorted. “Can the shit Forge, I got things to do.”
“Oh let’s be honest, shall we. You have vendettas and petty wars to start. You’ll be damned lucky if I pay you at all. Besides, what I want you to do should be right up your ally.”
Intrigued, the other man leaned closer. “I’m listening.” As Forge began speaking, a maniacal smile appeared on his face. After only a few sentences, he was chuckling and readily agreeing to what Forge had planned. “Sounds like fun tonight all right. Count me in.”
Forge pulled out his wallet, throwing several bills down to cover the drinks and stood. “Fine, you just be where I told you when I told you, I’ll arrange everything else.”
The other man smirked finishing off his drink in one final gulp. “I never knew you had this shit in you Forge. You’re a bit of a ruthless bastard, did ya know that.”
Forge scowled. “I’ve got a meeting to get to. I’ll call after everything settles down to arrange payment.” He walked out of the bar.
Forge returned to the mansion, going directly to the professor’s office. He had been patient since his arrival, waiting on Charles to approach him about the information he’d given the telepath. But several days were now past and Charles seemed no closer to a course of action then he was on the day Forge came to the mansion.
Now with his plans for Logan in place, he needed to be sure that things would stay on schedule. It was time to stoke the fire a bit.
He knocked on the office door, entering quickly when Charles called out to him.
Charles looked up from his work and gave Forge a grim smile. “It is good to see you have completely recovered Forge. I trust that next time you will hesitate to enter the danger room without notifying its occupants.”
Forge bristled slightly at the censoring tone in Xavier’s voice. “Yes and perhaps Storm will have learned a bit more control.”
Xavier sighed. “Forge…”
Forge raised his hand, shaking his head. “No, wait, I apologize. I didn’t come here to rehash what happened.”
“Then what exactly have you come here for Forge?”
“I thought I explained that the day I arrived.”
“Forge…”
Again Forge interrupted him. “We are running out of time Professor.”
Xavier was silent for a moment, folding his hands as he gazed at the other mutant. “Forge, I understand how you must feel, but I need just a few more days.”
Forge shook his head. “The longer we wait the closer they’re going to get to perfecting this thing. Do you really want it loose in the world?”
Xavier sighed, shaking his head. “No, I do not. But you must understand my position. If I came to you with this information, what would you do?” Forge remained silent. “I must verify this information through my own sources.”
Forge was silent for several moments, never taking his eyes from the professor. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t trust me.”
Xavier sighed loudly. “It is not that; I simply wish to ensure that this information is accurate. More to the point, I wish to ensure that this information was not given to you to further someone else’s agenda.”
Forge could not hide his disbelief. “Do you honestly believe that’s what happened? This is occurring in the lab I work in for god’s sake.”
Again, Xavier tried to placate him. “I am asking you to be patient.”
Forge felt his patience snap. “We are running out of time.” His loud shout echoed loudly in the large room. Forge took a deep breath, calming himself as he ran a hand through his hair. “I can give you three days, max. If you don’t make a decision by then, I’m leaving to find help somewhere else.”
Xavier nodded glumly. “Agreed, we shall speak again in three days.”
Logan did not return to the mansion right away. His good mood over having finally made the decision to propose to Ororo pushed him to do anything and everything he could think of to make the event of his proposal as special and memorable as possible. So, he went to Ororo’s favorite restaurant, speaking with the Maitre d’ to make arrangements for a special dinner in three nights.
The Maitre d’, knowing Ororo quite well was only too happy to help Logan in any way he could. He arranged the menu, the music and even promised to send to a local florist for a center piece in Ororo’s favorite flowers. He promised Logan that the night would be perfect for the couple.
Pleased by his success with both Jean-Pierre and the Maitre d’, Logan went home. When he returned to the mansion, he went in search of the love of his life. He found her quite easily. She and Jean were in the nursery putting the crib together. The new addition wasn’t expected until around February, but they all had a motto of being well prepared.
Logan stood there for several minutes listening to them talking and laughing as they worked, hesitant to intrude. So he quietly walked away from the room without letting them know he was there.
With nothing else to do for the moment, he decided to wander outside, maybe smoke a cigar before pulling the bike out for a late afternoon ride with Ororo. He was surprised to see Charles sitting there, staring out over the gardens, his mind lost in thought.
He walked up to the older man. “Hey Chuck.”
Charles blinked, looked up and saw Logan standing there. “Ah Logan, you have returned. You were in quite the hurry earlier today, anything wrong?” He waved Logan to a nearby chair.
Logan sat, pulling out a cigar and lighting it as he answered. “No, just had an errand to run in town.”
“Oh, anything important?”
Logan took a deep draw on his cigar hesitating only a moment. “Can I tell ya a secret?”
Charles folded his hands, a slight smile on his face as he nodded slightly. “Of course Logan, I would feel privileged to share your confidence.”
Logan smiled, rolling the cigar in his fingers. “I went into town ta order an engagement ring. I’m gonna ask Ororo ta marry me.”
Charles smiled broadly, reaching out to squeeze Logan’s shoulder. “That is wonderful news Logan. Congratulations.” His joy at the news was clear to see.
Logan smiled wryly, surprised and touched at the professor’s gesture. “She ain’t said yes yet Chuck.”
Charles chuckled. “Be that as it may, I am more than confident what her answer will be.” Silence fell between them as Charles turned his attention back towards the gardens.
Logan watched Charles out of the corner of his eye, seeing the vacant, distant look come over the older man’s features once more. “Chuck ya okay? Ya look like someone just kicked yer best friend.”
Charles sighed as he turned his attention back to Logan. “I am concerned about some information Forge has brought to my attention.”
Logan puffed again on his cigar. The man seemed to be causing more problems than Magneto lately. “Pretty bad, huh?”
Again the older man sighed. “To say the least. But I must admit it is not just the information that bothers me. It is also the pressure Forge is putting on me to move forward.”
Logan finished his cigar, stubbing it out on the stones of the patio. “Whatta ya mean?”
Xavier took a deep breath, organizing his thoughts. “My own sources have promised to verify this information within the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. But what I have discovered so far has done little to ease the doubt in my mind.” He paused, folding his hands together, touching the tips of them to his closed mouth.
“The information is very disturbing on its own merit. If this were any other occasion, I would not hesitate to send someone in to discover the truth of it. I cannot explain my own hesitation on this Logan. Forge has never lied to us but there is something about this request that makes me wonder.”
Logan grunted softly, having a good idea of what would make Charles hesitate. “He’s pushing ya Chuck. If he was puttin’ pressure on me like he has been on ya, I wouldn’t trust him either.” He paused a moment, a new thought occurring to him. “Do ya think he’s tellin’ the truth?”
Charles nodded without hesitation. “Yes, I do. I sense no deception from him about the information he has brought me.”
Again there was a soft snort from Logan. “There’s a huge but in there somewhere.”
Charles sighed once more, his eyes focused out into the distance of the gardens as he spoke. “I sense a great deal of anxiety in him and I am unable to determine the source of it. While he is being honest about the dangers of the lab, I am afraid he is hiding something else from us and given the level of anxiety I sense coming from him, I fear that it may be something important.”
There was a long moment of silence and Logan wondered if the professor would continue speaking.
His voice when it came was soft and somber. “Logan, I wish to ask a favor of you?”
Logan nodded. “Name it Chuck.”
Charles turned his intense gaze to meet Logan’s steel grey eyes. “When the time comes once I have verified this information, I wish for you to go in and complete this mission.”
Not really surprised by the request, Logan nodded. “Then I’ll go.”
Charles nodded himself, turning his attention back to the gardens as silence fell between them once more.
Logan left the professor to his musings, his buoyant feelings somewhat deflated by the professor’s dark mood. He wandered down the hall, wondering if he should find Ororo again or if he should let her find him. He knew seeing her would lighten his mood but something inside him made him hesitate about sharing the dark thoughts swirling inside his head.
His nostrils twitched slightly as a faint and familiar scent came to him, breaking into his thoughts. He rounded a corner, to see Rogue standing in the hallway, contemplating the book in her hands.
He walked up to her, reading over her shoulder as she looked up. “Hey kid.”
She looked up, smiling as she closed the book. “Hey Logan. How ya doin’ sugah?”
He chuckled softly. “Pretty good. What ya up ta today?”
She shrugged. “Nothin’ much. Remy and Jimmy are playing ball out back; Ah thought Ah’d come inside and catch up on some stuff.”
He reached out to take the book from her, reading the title on the spine. “Quantum Mechanics for Beginners.” He handed the book back, surprise on his face. “Pretty heavy readin’, don’t ya think?”
She shrugged again. “Ah kinda like it. The professor said Ah have an aptitude for it.”
He shook his head wondering just when she had turned into such an egghead. “So ya ain’t doin’ nothin’?” He was hoping her answer would be no. They hadn’t spent a great deal of time together since she’d come back from the bayou and he wanted to rectify that as quickly as possible.
“No, why?”
He waved her down the hall. “Come on, I feel like gettin’ outta here. Why don’t ya keep me company?”
“Can we stop for ice cream?” Her eyes lit up at the prospect.
Seeing the look of sheer hope on her face, he chuckled and nodded. “Sure, my treat.”
They sat outside a local ice cream shop a short time later. She was nursing a hot fudge sundae while Logan had stuck to a plain vanilla cone. He watched her, resisting the urge to laugh as she meticulously pulled her sundae apart.
First, she twirled the spoon into the fudge, coating the bowl of the spoon. Then she would grab equal amounts of whip cream and soft serve, trying to ensure that she had a bit of each flavor in every bite. The cherry so far had been pushed to the side to be enjoyed with the last bite, a fact she had very carefully explained to him just a moment ago.
She studied him as he ate his cone slowly. “We haven’t done this in a long time.” Another carefully constructed bite disappeared into her mouth.
“What this?” He thought for a moment wondering if they had ever participated in this particular activity. He came up blank. “Have I ever taken ya out for ice cream?”
She shook her head as she tore her eyes from her nearly devoured dessert. “No, but we haven’t spent much time together since the accident. Ah’ve kinda missed it.”
Logan shrugged knowing just what she meant. “Ya’ve been busy with Remy. And I’ve been busy too.”
There was silence for a moment as she sat there in her own thoughts. She touched his arm gently, drawing his attention back to her. “She’s been good for ya Logan, Ororo Ah mean.”
He pretended to think about that statement for a moment, unable to resist the urge to mess with her head. “Ya think so huh?”
Rogue refused to take the bait, blatantly ignoring the innocent tone of his voice. “Yeah Ah do.” She paused. “You’re different then when ya came home. Ah can see it; you’re more relaxed, more at ease. And she’s been different too, happier.”
He smiled. Unlike with the professor, he felt no hesitation whatsoever in telling Rogue what he’d been up to that morning. In fact, he found himself eager to share his news with the young woman. “Well I’m ‘bout ta make her even happier.”
“Meaning?” She looked at him as she scooped up the last of her sundae.
He smirked as he kept the hints vague, hoping she would guess. “I went into town today and ordered somethin’ that’s gonna knock her socks off.”
“And that would be?” She waved him on impatiently even as the wheels in her mind continued to turn. In a moment, a light of realization flared in her eyes and she blurted out excitedly. “A ring, ya ordered a ring. Are ya gonna propose?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
She gave out a nearly supersonic squeal as she jumped up and gave him a bear hug. “Oh my God, Ah can’t believe it. Have ya got it all planned out? Please tell me yer gonna do something romantic and special. What are ya going ta do?” She released him suddenly and then sat next to him as she fired questions at him.
Logan was glad they were the only ones at the stand; she was making quite a spectacle of herself. “Relax, I went into town and made reservations at her favorite restaurant. The guy there’s arrangin’ everything for me; he’s even sending out for the flowers.”
“How soon are your reservations?”
“The ring’ll be ready in 3 days; I made the reservations for the same night.”
She stood suddenly, pulling Logan up behind her. “Well we’ve only got 3 days so come on sugah, we’ve got work to do.” She began dragging him towards the car, her jaw set.
Logan tried to resist but she was having none of it. “Work, what work?” He just managed to throw the rest of his cone away before she hauled him back to the car.
She jumped in the car and slammed the door. “We gotta find what yer gonna wear. Ya can’t propose ta Ororo in jeans and flannel.”
Logan sighed as he got in and buckled up. “Why do I even open up my mouth? I swear yer tryin’ ta turn me into yer own dress-up doll.”
She gave an exasperated sigh. “Do ya want my help or not?”
Logan started the car, chuckling as he did so. “I ain’t got no problem with it. It’s not like I got anythin’ better ta do.”
He and Rogue spent the rest of the afternoon picking out his clothes for the big night. Logan tired of the chore quickly but let Rogue go on until she was satisfied, knowing full well that she was nearly as bad as Jean and Ororo once she’d sunk her teeth into an idea. All the female residents of the mansion seemed to share that particular dog with a bone trait.
Later that night, he did his best to keep his excitement to himself; to keep Ororo from finding out about it before he wanted her to. He had to admit that it gave him a bit of a thrill to know
But keeping the secret, of both the ring and his plans, not to mention keeping his emotions to himself, was making him tense. And everyone was beginning to notice his odd behavior, from the secretive phone calls to the sudden disappearances to his interactions with everyone around him.
He was acting a great deal like Jean during one of her hormonal episodes. He was short tempered, snapping at everyone and everything. Despite his diligence in planning ahead, there seemed to be a fair number of road blocks suddenly in the way of his perfect night.
The first call came from the Maitre d’, saying that getting a hold of a bunch of orchids at such short notice would be difficult if not impossible and was there any way that Logan could change the date of the reservation, something to do with a minor fire in the kitchen.
Logan’s first reaction was to tell the man to take a flying leap off the nearest pier. But he resisted the urge and gave it a couple of seconds of thought. Realizing that it would actually take some pressure off him on the day he picked up the ring, he agreed and pushed the dinner back a couple of days.
The second call was from Jean-Pierre about the first of several problems with the ring. Jean-Pierre informed him that the original setting he picked out was too small and he was needed to come down and pick out something else. Logan readily agreed and headed down to the jewelers at the first opportunity.
Once he arrived at the jewelry store, however, a second problem arose. The setting that both he and Jean-Pierre agreed upon for housing the blue diamond was flawed and could not be used; something to do with the impurity of the platinum metal. Logan spent a very tense hour waiting to see if Jean-Pierre was able to locate a duplicate setting with one of their other stores.
Relieved that all the problems had been solved for the moment, Logan turned to leave. Only to be stopped by Jean-Pierre’s voice as he stood in the store’s doorway.
“Mousier Logan, zere eez one last zing dat we ‘ave not discussed.”
Logan turned feeling his temper rise again at the thought of one more thing that needed to be discussed. “And what might that be?”
Jean-Pierre smiled wanly at him, ignoring the flash of irritation in the other man’s voice. “Zere eez no inscription. Do you not want zis ring engraved?”
That stopped Logan’s anger, dead in its tracks as sheer panic replaced it. He walked back to the counter, running his hand through his hair as his mind suddenly began to race wildly.
“I don’t know, I guess I never gave it much thought.” He thought for several tense moments but his mind remained blank. He looked up at Jean-Pierre. “Do ya have any suggestions?”
Jean-Pierre gave his strange little smile, almost seeming to take pity on the shorter man as he leaned in close. “Zee inscription eez somezing zat eez meant to be special between zee two of you. Many couples choose a word or a phrase zat ‘as special meaning to zhem. Are zhere any words or phrases zat ‘ave special meaning to zee two of you?”
Logan laughed as he had a sudden flash of Ororo’s face that fateful New Year’s Eve in the club. “The night I told her I loved her, I told her she made me feel like a fighter pilot in a tailspin, just seconds from hittin’ the ground.”
Jean-Pierre chuckled. “An apt description of love mousier Logan, but I cannot fit zat on a ring.”
Logan chuckled himself even as he shook his head. “No, I guess ya can’t.” Again he fell silent thinking.
“If I may be so bold, might I suggest somezing?”
Logan shrugged. “Be my guest.”
“I need you to close your eyes and s’ink of madam Ororo. I need you to s’ink of ‘er very ‘ard. Now, I need you to let yourself feel what she makes you feel. Let zee love you feel for ‘er fill you up, wash over you and fill your ‘eart and soul. Now mousier Logan, I want you to open your eyes and tell me, what eez zee first zing you s’ink of when you s’ink of ‘er?”
Logan did as Jean-Pierre skeptical that it would work. But as the Frenchman’s words flowed over and around him, he found himself relaxing and doing exactly as instructed. And when he opened his eyes, he knew what he wanted the inscription to say.
He looked at Jean-Pierre, his face calm and sure. “Do ya have a pen and paper?” He watched Jean-Pierre rush off to find what he asked for. A moment later, having written down exactly what he wanted, he handed the paper back to the jeweler.
Jean-Pierre looked at it, murmuring to himself as he did so. “I must say, eet eez very beautiful mousier Logan, what does eet mean?”
“It’s Japanese. It means ‘my soulmate’.”
Jean-Pierre nodded, carefully putting the paper with the ring setting and the diamond. “I shall rush zis shrough myself; I shall call you when eet eez ready mousier Logan.”
“Thank you Jean-Pierre, very much.”
Jean-Pierre gave him a slight wave of his hand. “S’ink noshing of it mousier Logan.” He leaned over, giving Logan a wink and a whisper. “Just be sure to invite me to zee wedding.”
Logan chuckled. “Count on it Jean-Pierre.”
The next two days were thankfully uneventful for Logan and passed quietly and quickly. He received no more urgent phone calls or messages, no more urgent summons that needed his immediate attention. But given the trouble he’d experienced in only one day, the very day after he decided to propose to Ororo, he was not about to relax and let down his guard; that was just simply inviting trouble.
He remained tense, edgy even a bit nervous; if such a thing could be said about Logan, a man who had faced death down on more occasions than nearly any other man alive. And while he did manage to check his temper somewhat, those who knew him well were not fooled by his attempts.
When the phone call finally came from Jean-Pierre that the ring was ready, Logan felt a great sense of relief that the situation was finally under his control once more. He was so relieved at the prospect of picking up Ororo’s ring, he failed to notice a pair of eyes following his sudden departure from the mansion. Nor did he did he see that same person open a cell phone and begin dialing.
His errand was relatively quick; he simply parked his bike, ran into the store and picked up the ring. It was only a matter of minutes before he was walking back out, the ring tucked safely away in his pocket. But instead of heading back to the mansion, Logan decided to swing downtown and make sure that the Maitre d’ was prepared for the big event in just a another night.
He arrived at the restaurant a few moments later, leaving his bike squeezed between two cars as he ran inside to check on things. The Maitre d’ assured him that everything was set and, baring any unforeseen disasters, they were anxiously awaiting the next night. Satisfied, Logan stepped outside the restaurant and hopped onto his bike.
A sudden impulse took hold of him and he found himself heading further into the downtown area looking for a florist shop. A few minutes later he stopped in front of one, and went inside to make a quick purchase.
He was in the store for what only seemed like moments but was nearly a half hour. When he came out, a new live plant for Ororo clutched in his hands, he realized that he’d been gone from the mansion for a pretty good amount of time, somehow it’d taken 3 hours for him to get everything done. Swearing softly, he pulled out his cell-phone. He’d told Ororo his errands would only be a few minutes; obviously he was wrong. He just hoped she wasn’t annoyed.
Ororo was in the gardens, simply relaxing the afternoon away when her cell phone chirped, breaking the sudden stillness. “Hello?”
Logan’s much loved and gravelly voice filtered through the mouth piece. “Hey Darlin’”
She smiled, setting her tools aside. “Hello tough guy. I was wondering where you had gotten off to this afternoon.”
He chuckled. “I had a sudden errand ta run in town. I woulda asked ya ta come but ya were busy with Rogue.”
She sighed softly knowing that what he said was true but still wishing they could have spent the day together. “That is all right love, I understand. When do you expect to return?” She was hoping it would be soon; she had planned a nice, cozy dinner for the two of them.
“I’m almost done, should be back in a bit. I just wanted to call ta give ya a heads up so ya didn’t worry.” His tone softened slightly as he his voice dropped.
She shivered slightly at the heated promise in it. Only Logan could turn words meant to soothe and ease into a promise of sinful delights. “I cannot wait to see you. As I recall, I promised you a romp in the woods this evening.” She purred into the phone, deciding that two could play that game.
He chuckled again. “Yeah, ya did darlin’ and I’m holdin’ ya ta that.” The heat was still there.
She chuckled silently. “Till I see you then. I love you.” She kept her voice low and sultry and heard a slight intake of breath from him. The subtle noise caused her to smile.
“Love ya too ‘Ro.” In a moment, he was gone.
Closing the cell phone, she chuckled to herself as she gathered up her tools and walked back towards the mansion. She stowed the gardening tools quickly in the greenhouse and walked back to the house in very good spirits.
She opened the door into the kitchen, her mind already thinking ahead to the dinner she was planning to make for Logan. She was mentally going over the list of ingredients a third time when she noticed Jean sitting at the breakfast table for the first time.
She sat down across from her. “Afternoon Jean.” She then noticed the tissues and glass of juice in front of her friend and suddenly realized that Jean has been crying. “Jean? Are you all right?”
Jean shot her a shot, sad smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Ororo was unable to believe her. “You do not seem fine. What is wrong?”
Jean was silent for several moments and Ororo feared that she was simply going to ignore the question. Then, she took a deep breath and looked up at her friend. Her eyes were filled with such sadness, it nearly broke Ororo’s heart.
“Ororo, we need to talk.”
[Reviews - 127]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story |
Has been viewed 1780 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story | - Text Size +
You must login () to review.
