A Moving Target (Unexpected Occurrences 6/12)



“Heather?  It’s Wendy.”



“Hi.  Have you heard anything?”



“No, I was hoping you had.”



“I’d call you if we got any news.”



“I know.  I know.  We’re just going a little crazy

here.”



“I understand.  We’re very worried, too.  They may be

fine, but it scares me that they haven’t checked in.”



“And nothing on the news either, right?”



“No, but I tend to think that’s a good thing.  If

there had been an escape from their ‘impenetrable’

mutant prison, I don’t think the U.S. government would

be advertising that fact.  They’ve been assuring the

American public that they can contain mutants,

regardless of their powers.  And this administration

has no compunctions about withholding information, or

even outright lying.  We’ve seen that a lot lately.



“So, I think it’s not a bad sign – and maybe a good

one – that there’s nothing on the news.  If the

mission were a failure – if they were captured – we’d

be seeing that on all the front pages, I bet.  I’m

hoping that no news means at the very least that

they’re still out there, trying to get to Tabitha and

Rogue.”



“Or at best, that they’ve got them.  But either way,

why aren’t they checking in?”



“Our secure transmissions were breached; that much we

know.  That’s why we can’t contact them.  Jean-Paul

and Walter would have gotten the same warning signal

we did, so they knew not to contact us that way.  We

had lots of alternate communications methods lined up,

though, in case this happened.  We’ve checked all the

channels, looked for messages in all of our backup

methods and nothing.  But I don’t know.  They may feel

it’s not worth the risk, once we know the secure

channel isn’t secure anymore.  They may have decided

it’s better to just contact us when it’s over.”



“If Jean-Paul gets out of this alive, I swear I’ll

kill him.  Not worth the risk?  I’m crazed with worry.

  Plus I have to act like I’m not, so Adam doesn’t

spiral out of control.”



“He’s back from San Francisco?”



“Yeah, he got back day before yesterday.  I’m glad

he’s here, so we can at least talk face-to-face.  He’d

been calling here all the time for updates, and I

didn’t have any.  I assured him we’d hear soon, but

then a day went by.  And another.  And another.”



“He must be climbing the walls.”



“Oh he is.  And he wasn’t starting off in a good frame

of mind, even before he got the news.”



“What do you mean?”



“I don’t know, exactly – I’ve tried to get him to

talk, but he won’t say a thing.   It was clear

something was bugging him even before he heard we’d

lost contact with Jean-Paul, but I don’t know what.

Something must have happened at the conference.   When

he called here right after Jean-Paul left he wouldn’t

tell me anything about the conference or his trip.

And he seemed barely to listen to what I said.  Even

when I talked about Ezra, and you know how he is about

the baby.”



“Wow!  Well, maybe he was too worried because we

hadn’t heard from Jean-Paul to think about anything

else, even Ezra.”



“No, this was before we thought anything was wrong,

right after Jean-Paul and Walter left for DC.  I told

Adam they’d be calling in soon.  Well, I thought they

would!  I said I’d have Jean-Paul call him at the

hotel as soon as he checked in.  At that point we

didn’t think there was anything to worry about.  But

Adam was all agitated already.  There was something he

wanted to tell Jean-Paul.  Something he wouldn’t tell

me.”



“I wonder if he found something out there, something

about the War on Mutants we don’t know.”



“I don’t think so. Adam would tell me if he found

anything out like that.  And you guys and Charles,

too.  He knows we’re all in this together.  Adam

believes in teamwork.  No, this has to be something

more personal.  Something that had him upset, even

before he knew about the rescue mission...  So Charles

hasn’t made any progress on finding them?”



“Not yet.  I spoke to Charles a couple of hours ago.

It was overambitious to think he could get it working

so quickly, I think.  He’s still at our cabin.  Scott

and Logan, too.  I think it’s going to be at least a

couple more days.  Reconstructing Cerebro is a big

job.  The original was completely destroyed.  I sure

wish Charles hadn’t blown it up when the school was

evacuated.”



“He certainly didn’t want any government types having

a mutant tracking device.”



“Still, I don’t think it was necessary to destroy it.

It takes a strong telepath to use it.”



“I know, but who says they couldn’t brainwash or

threaten someone to do it for them?  We have no idea

what they’re doing to mutants they capture.”



“Yes, that was Charles’s argument, too.  He’s got the

original plans.  He brought them with him when they

evacuated.  I wish Walter were here to help – he’s

great with electronics.  Maybe we should have sent

someone else with Jean-Paul and kept him here.”



“Logan must be a big help.  He can fix anything, I

swear.”



“Yeah, that’s what Charles says, too.”



“But it’s not done.”



“No. They’ve got the basic structure built, but

they’re nowhere near finished with it.”



“Too bad Magneto isn’t around to help.  He built the

first one with Charles.”



“Yeah, well we’ll have to make do with the team we’ve

got now.  Scott and Logan will suffice.  At least

neither of them is trying to take over the world.”



“I was as happy as anybody, Heather, when Magneto was

captured.  Now, I’m not so sure.  The world could use

some taking over.”



“I know what you mean.  I’ll call you if we hear

anything, I promise.”



“Okay. Same here.”



********************************************



“Hello.”



“C’est moi.  Don’t say my name, mon amour.”



“What?  What are you talking about?”



“Or anyone else’s.  No locations.  No identifying

details.  I don’t know that this line is secure.”



“Where are you?”



“I can’t say plainly.  Let me think of a way to

explain... Do you know where I went while you were

gone?”



“Yes!  I’ve been worried sick.  I heard about the umm

the thing you were doing when I got back.  Uh, the

people here, they told me about it – where you were

and why.  We thought you’d be back three days ago.

I’ve been crazy with worry.”



“I’m sorry to have worried you. You probably wish I

had gone with you on your trip and stayed out of

trouble.  I wish that a little myself.   It was... not

completely successful.  There were problems. And

casualties. On both sides.”



“Are you okay?”



“Oui.  One of my team didn’t make it, though.  The one

who was mon ami.”



“Wal- I’m sorry.  Oh, no!  I am so sorry, love.”



“Moi aussi.  It doesn’t seem real yet.  I was right

there.  I saw it happen; I tried to save him. You have

to believe me; I did everything I could.  His blood is

all over me still.  But it doesn’t seem possible.  I

can’t believe he’s really gone.”



“Oh, love.  I know.  You’re okay, though?  Really?

You’re not injured?”



“Not too badly.  I’ll survive.  I need help, though.

Pour moi and for... for the one who is with me.”



“Only one?”



“Yes.  We tried, but we couldn’t get them both out.

The other one...  Mon pauvre ami died trying to save

the other one.”



“Where are you?  Can you tell me anything? Some way?”



“Yes, let me think.  I am chez la bête.  Comprends?”



“Yes!  How did you get in there?”



“I had the key.  My team leader gave it to me before

we left for this... job, just in case we needed

somewhere to go.  I think it’s still secure here, but

I can’t be sure.   I wanted you to know where I am.”



“Can I come to you?”



“I don’t know.  I don’t think so.  Not yet.  I can’t

tell if it’s safe to.”



“I don’t want to compromise you.”



“I know.”



“What can I do?  What do you need?”



“Medical assistance.  That’s most urgent.”



“Oh! How badly hurt are you?”



“I’m not that bad.  It’s the one who’s with me.  Lots

of blood loss, bad injuries.  She’s okay.  I’ve got it

under control for now, as well as any first responder

could.  But first aid isn’t the same as real

treatment.  We need a doctor.  Is the Professor there?

Can he send someone?”



“He’s not here now, but I know where he is.  I can

reach him right away.  He’ll talk to... the redheaded

doctor.  She’s in the same city as you, I think.  They

can speak in that special way they have.”



“Bien.  Tell them we need help fast.”



“I will.  Are you sure you’re okay?”



“I’ll be fine.  Send the doctor.  Now.  Je t’aime, mon

coeur.”



“I love you, too.”



****************************************



“Charles?  Adam Greenfield here.”



“Adam.  Is something wrong?”



“Yes.  I just heard from Jean-Paul.  He needs help,

medical assistance.  Jean is still in DC?”



“Yes, I’m in telepathic contact with her right now.

Tell me where he is and she’ll go there.”



“Hank’s old apartment.  Jean-Paul has one of them with

him – I don’t know whether Rogue or Tabitha.  He was

being careful and not using names.  He’s unsure the

line is secure.  Jean should be careful going there,

too.”



“I’m letting her hear everything you’re saying.  She

wants to know – what kind of injuries do they have?”



“I don’t know.  I should have asked more.  He just

said that there was a lot of blood and they’re both

injured.  Tabitha – or Rogue – is injured worse than

he is.  He said it’s under control for now but he

needs a doctor there.”



“What about Walter?”



“He died!  I don’t know what happened, just that he

died in the rescue attempt.”



“I’m so sorry to hear that.  Do they know at Alpha

Flight?”



“I don’t know.  I didn’t think to ask that, either.”



“Adam, Jean is on her way.  She wasn’t far from there.

  She’ll be with Jean-Paul in a few minutes.  She’ll

let me know as soon as she knows what’s going on and

I’ll contact you.”



“Thank you so much!  What can I do to help?”



“Inform the others.  Tell Wendy and Arthur everything

you know, and also call Alpha Flight headquarters.

Are you still going to Washington yourself?”



“I want to.  More than ever now.  Anjuli is expecting

me tomorrow.  Is there any reason I shouldn’t go?”



“I don’t think so. You have good documentation, don’t

you?  And you’ve been to the States recently without

incident?”



“Yes, I was at a journalism convention last week in

San Francisco.  I really will be working in DC.  I’ve

got press credentials, an assignment.  I’m not a

mutant, so there’s nothing on my passport to alert the

border guards.  There’s no reason it should be a risk

for me to go there.”



“In times like this, most everything is risky.  Still,

I think you should go.  We can use you there.  And

we’ll arrange for you to see Jean-Paul.”



“Thanks.  Okay, I’m going to get off the phone now and

compose myself for a minute.  I’ve got to pull myself

together enough to tell Alpha Flight about Walter...

Charles, call me as soon as you know how Jean-Paul is.

  Okay?”



“I will. I promise.”



*********************************************

“Charles?”



“Hello, Mac.  Adam reached you earlier?”



“Yes.  Terrible news.”



“I’m very sorry.  He was a good man.  How is your team

taking it?”



“Everyone’s in shock.  Me, most of all.  Heather’s

watching me like she’s afraid I’ll fall apart

entirely... I worked with him for years, you know.”



“I know.  It’s awful.  I remember how I felt when we

lost Hank.  And at least then there wasn’t a War on

Mutants going on and we could mourn properly.”



“Yes.  We can’t even retrieve his body.  At least I

can’t think of a way to.  Can you?”



“No.  And I think we’d better concentrate on trying to

retrieve the living.”



“No word on where they’ve moved Tabitha to?”



“Not yet. Adam is going to do some investigating while

he’s down there.  And we’re hoping we’ll be able to

find out a lot more about the detainees from Rogue,

when she’s well enough.”



“How is she?”



“Jean says she’ll be okay. Jean-Paul did a good job.

She says she’s going to talk him into medical school

when this is all over.”



“She’ll have to talk him into university first… It

must be tricky to treat Rogue, since she can’t be

touched.”



“Jean’s been her doctor for years now, she knows what

to do.  Besides, medical providers are accustomed to

working with gloves on.  It’s more surprising to me

that Jean-Paul managed – managed to get her to Hank’s

place with her injuries and without being followed and

managed to keep her alive until Jean got there.  All

that without ever being able to touch her. He’s quite

something, your Northstar.



“Don’t I know it.  No poaching, eh?”



“I wouldn’t dream of it.”



“Do we know much about how Walter died? My team is

asking.”



“I haven’t heard the whole story yet, but I’m sure

Jean-Paul will give you all the details when you see

him.  Jean’s bringing him and Rogue to an

out-of-the-way spot we know in Virginia, as soon as

they’re well enough to be transported.  We’ve used

this place before as a makeshift landing field.  Scott

will meet them there with the Blackbird.  We need to

airlift them out as soon as possible.  I don’t want

either of them in that country one minute more than is

necessary.”



“That seems wise.  How badly was Jean-Paul injured?”



“A bullet wound at least.  I’m not sure of everything.

  I know Rogue was more extensively injured.  But Jean

says she thinks they can both be transported in

another day or two.  They’re still in Hank’s old

apartment.  It seems like it’s still secure.  We’ve

got a non-mutant tenant as cover.  No one in the

building seems to have caught on.”



“That’s good.  About Walter – Jean-Paul and Rogue were

with him when he died?”



“Jean-Paul was.  I don’t think Rogue was.  They were

trying to get Tabitha out when they got attacked.  I

think Rogue was held elsewhere and Jean-Paul managed

to get to her when he escaped after Walter was killed.

  I know he was with Walter when he died.  Adam told me

Jean-Paul said he still had Walter’s blood all over

him when he called.”



“I was afraid of that.  Charles, there’s something

about Walter I think you ought to know.  Something

Jean-Paul doesn’t know.”











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