Detective Summers, or Detective Scott, as he had told her to call him, was so perfect it was nerve- grating. Logan wore jeans that had that three-day old look to them, a coffee stain on the thigh while Scott’s slacks were creased perfectly down the middle of each leg. His wire-rimmed glasses sat high on his nose, and though he was definitely leaner than Logan, he was just as toned.
And while Detective Scott sat with his back straight and stiff as a board, Logan reclined in his passenger seat and he leaned against the window.
Perhaps it was because she was in the car with them, but neither of them said a word to her, or to one another, for that matter.
As they neared the abandoned alley way and Ororo saw that no one had discovered the hotbed of crime, she didn’t hide her surprise. “I can’t believe they haven’t found it yet.”
Neither said a word to her.
"How long is this going to take? Do you know?"
"Just stay put." Logan climbed out of the car without so much as a backwards glance. Scott followed suit, before poking his head between the front seats of the car and gave her a small smile. "This will all be over before you know it, Ororo."
After they closed the doors, Ororo leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. They'd just located the body. Scott looked away and Logan spat. He squatted down next to the corpse and Ororo leaned back in the car and closed her eyes. She couldn't believe she was here and she couldn't believe that she was doing this but she had made this promise and the poor woman deserved it.
What if they had been lying about letting her go after this was over?
Of course they were lying! Weren't they a part of Blinder City's finest? When were any of those bastards ever honest? She didn't care that Logan was handsome or that Scott had warm blue eyes, she just wanted to go home.
Logan watched Ororo in the backseat of Scott's car and stood back up to his full height. "From the description she gave us, it could be any asshole in Blinder City. Call for back up and tell the captain we've got a witness and a fresh body. I'll talk to 'Ro and we'll find out if this woman has any next of kin or anything like that. Sick motherfucker." he took one more glance at the woman's body and walked towards the car.
“’Ro?” Scott mimicked Logan, the tone in his voice amused despite their surroundings.
“What?” Logan grumbled and turned back to his destination.
Ororo watched as Logan walked towards the car and she opened the door slowly, paying attention to the creak of the door. When Logan's eyes darted to the door, Ororo moved swiftly out of the car and turned her back to Logan.
"Don't!" He yelled at her retreating back. "Come back here, goddamnit! Come back here!"
The wind whipped through Ororo's hair and she kicked up her feet as high as she could. So what if the bottoms of her soles were nearly being torn with each step, it didn't stop her. Until she stopped hearing Logan and now Detective Scott's cries or the stomping of their running feet, she would not stop running.
"What are you doing? Why are you running? Fuck! We got a runner!" Logan started describing Ororo as she turned a corner. He was on her as best as could be.
Ororo turned into a throng of people with Logan still on her tail. She stopped for just a heartbeat and pushed through the crowd.
"Goddamnit, kid!" Logan stayed on her trail. She was fast, but she wasn't as fast she thought she was. Not that they had acquainted any type of relationship, friendly or otherwise, Ororo didn't know that Logan himself had spent many of his teenage years running from BCPD just like she had.
She ducked in a crowd of businessmen, sticking out like a sore thumb and cut a corner into another alleyway.
Logan liked to think that this kid had had her fill of alleys by now.
Ororo narrowed her eyes, her chest rising and falling and frustration bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She looked down at the frayed sneakers and shook her head. Traitors. They could have at least lasted longer.
"STAY PUT!" Logan's growl made her jump and she took off into a sprint. He was hot on her tail again but she reached a fire escape hanging in midair. She hated fire escapes, not as much as police officers chasing her, of course, and she went for it.
Ororo squatted and jumped in the air as high as her growing legs would allow her. Thankful for once that she had been underfed, her hands connected to the rusty steps of the ladder, easily pulling her frail body up. Her legs kicked as she begin to lift herself up one pull at a time, grunting each time she reached the next step.
Logan's hand slapped against the back of her sneaker, knocking it off. He swore as she cried out, but that didn't stop her from reaching the stairwell. And while Logan was stronger and probably faster if given a better advantage than Ororo, he just couldn't reach that rusty step to the fire escape as easily as she could. She'd gotten quite a distance on him by the time he eventually did, and he was swearing at that platinum hair when he caught sight of her.
The first thing that came to mind was when he used to chase cats as a child, trying to grab their tails. While he was pretty fast, the cats were always faster and always had a trick or two up their sleeves.
Reaching the roof, Ororo began to panic. Buildings were all around her, but how on earth was she supposed to reach them?
"Ororo, 'Ro, come on kid, give me a fuckin' break here. I want to help you." Logan was out of breath and his hands were resting on his knees. He was resisting the urge to shoot her right now.
She looked over her shoulder and back to Logan, she took a deep breath. "You helped me enough." She waved the wrapped sandwich at him and stuffed it into her back pocket. Giving him a big smile, she turned and ran to the edge of the roof and jumped.
Logan yelled and swore when he saw she'd landed on her feet on the next roof.
"Goddamn kid!" He shook his head, watching her get away quite successfully. How the hell was he supposed to explain this to his captain?
She ran until she could run no more, circling back around to her first encounter with the Blinder City Strangler. By now, the place was surrounded by nosy bystanders, police, and the media. She crept down an empty fireplace and watched Kitty Pryde, the most annoying television anchor in history, talk into a camera.
It was hard to believe that a little over two hours ago she had been standing down looking over a dying woman. She listened as Kitty told the camera that the police now had a lead in the case. Was that supposed to be her? She should have never gotten involved. She should have run when she had the chance.
Running would have been the smartest thing to do.
Her eyes caught sight of a tall man with unkempt hair talking with an even taller bald man. It was Logan and that had to be his captain. Logan's hands were moving around angrily and he pointed to the rooftops. Ororo bit her top lip and ducked even further into the shadows. It wasn't as if he'd see her. She was pretty high up and this building had been neglected for years now. Just hours ago she was running from him. It all seemed so strange that once upon a time she lived in a house, with a mother and a father.
And they had loved her.
This was all strange, and yes, it was unfair, but that was life and Ororo had learned that she would have to take her heartaches just like everyone else in the world. It could be worse. Right? She could be that murdered woman Kitty Pryde now spoke of in the news. She picked at her one destroyed shoe and shook her head. Her other shoe was now in Logan’s possession, in one of those angry flailing hands.
Dead bodies, serial killers, and running from the police. It was another day in the life of a street urchin. She stood slowly and limped her way back up the steps of the fire escape. It would be give or take two weeks before she’d have to hide from Logan again. For now, she would get food and she would go back to her friends. They would work something out. They always managed to.
