Further Crisis
I don't call her on her cell phone.
I just don't.
We arrange our trysts other ways. While we're together. Postcards. Letters.
The woman can figure out any puzzle I make for her, and I've been trained in codes.
There's only one reason to call her on the cell.
Unfortunately, I've got it.
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Three days ago, she got back to the mansion from "a trip upstate." Not a lie, not entirely. She had gone on a trip.
The trip had left her with more bites and nip marks, as usual. Victor had been unusually passionate this last time.
Luckily, she usually dressed in a formal fashion, and though it was spring, it was cool. She adjusted the collar of her turtleneck and listened to the parameters of the mission, as well as planning alternate routes, altering her course outline, and in the back of her head, tasting the exciting promise that next time, he would hunt her down in the wild North.
Just two more weeks.
Her cell phone rang. Startled, she answered it. "Tessa."
"I got a reason."
She paused. "Good."
"Same place as before. Ten minutes. I know you can make it."
She closed her phone. "Pardon me." She got up to go, putting the agenda in her briefcase and giving a brief nod to the other X-men in the room.
"Somethin' serious?" Logan had been following her closely, particularly after this last encounter. Perhaps she had not washed off enough of the blood afterward.
She projected her usual cool, businesslike demeanor. "No, but it requires my immediate attention. Excuse me."
She felt his gaze on her body, burning through her clothes, as she hurried to her room. Unfortunately, in order to be dressed properly, she had to wear shoes which restricted her movement. She kicked them off and threw the briefcase in a corner, slipping on an old pair of tennis shoes instead and tossing her jacket onto the bed.
Tessa
. Charles' cool mental touch came, as expected.
Charles
. She nearly ran down the hallway from the women's dormitory. Logan was standing at the stairs as she came, wild eyes watching her.
What is it?
Personal business. She infused her mental touch with some of the wild throbbing she felt inside, the urge to run on the edge, as well as a tinge of sexuality.
Nothing too serious, but I need to go now and bleed off some energy.
He withdrew, almost instinctively, as he always did when confronted with the intimate knowledge of his teammates.
I see. Please inform me when your task is complete.
I will contact you by the end of the day. If I do not, come for me. She broke off the link sharply and burst through the front door, nearly slamming it into Rahne Sinclair, who had been standing outside laughing with Jamie Madrox.
She did not apologize. She ran past the startled couple and heard their exclamations as she sped over to the motor pool. This would require greater speed than she could muster on foot.
***************************
I waited in the apartment. She had a few more things in it now. A chair in the living room. Microwave food in the freezer. Changes of clothes in the dresser. Strongly scented lilac and patchouli soaps and candles in the bathroom.
Couldn't have Logan finding out about us, now, could we?
I snarled, trying to keep from smashing something as I paced. Cataloguing scents was about all I could come up with.
She had to come soon. I'd given her ten. If she wasn't doing anything, she'd be here in two minutes. If she had been, she'd be out in seven.
Maybe I should eat something. I hadn't eaten for … well. Twenty four hours.
I fished out a packaged meal and read the instructions carefully, keeping myself from slashing it open with an effort.
Hm. Time was, I'd have slashed it wide anyway and ruined the place.
I sat, paying no attention to the sesame chicken that was scattering everywhere on the hard kitchen floor.
What was she doing to me?
**************************
She parked in the lot five blocks away and started running. No one, to her knowledge, had followed her. She did a quick and dirty telepathic sweep of the immediate area anyway. No suspicious blank areas where there should be people, no recitations of meaningless nonsense, and nothing but ordinary thoughts of ordinary humans.
She kept running and hoped she'd made it in time. She had no time to look at her watch. She vaulted the stairs, avoiding the broken second step, and flung her apartment door open.
He was sitting on the kitchen floor. Bits of rice and orange sauce surrounded him on the floor. A box of "authentic" Chinese chicken lay at his feet, with more rice and orange bits inside. He looked up at her approach. "Tessa."
She swallowed. "Victor." She locked the door, triple locked it, then moved forward, dropping her usual reserve. "What has happened to you?"
His eyes stopped at her shoes. "It's after Labor Day," he said, faint surprise in his tone.
She waved her right hand impatiently. "Why did you call?"
He rose to his full height, his own suit wrinkled from his former posture, his long blond hair settling down his back. He raised a hand, then dropped it with a sigh. "Why can't I kill you?"
She blinked. She hadn't anticipated a question like that. "Let's go to the bedroom. I need a drink."
**************************
I watched her open the Merlot, pour the ruby red liquid into a glass, and toss off half of it in one gulp. Her throat pulsed with life. Again, I tried to imagine ripping through it, drinking deep, but felt the same as I had earlier. Disgusted. Unhappy. Lonely.
She coughed a little, the alcohol stinging on its way down. "Now, tell me again, from the beginning."
I sat on the bed next to her, growling. "Like I said. Someone said something to me this morning, about being willing to kill anyone for a price. I started thinking about you. No price for you. I couldn't do it." I took her hand. She was shaking, her pulse throbbing loud in my ears. "I want to know why."
She closed her eyes. "I could delve into your mind to find out."
"That'd be fine." I let go of her hand. The idea of crushing it in mine disturbed me. Made me feel guilty. Ashamed.
What was wrong with me if I couldn't even do that?
She brushed into my head, smoky and wild. I held my hands together and pressed hard. I didn't like anyone in my head but me.
Still, she felt friendly. Soothing. How many people could I say that about?
She dropped down into my center. Her feelings swirled through mine as she searched. Fear. Anticipation. Curiosity.
Let's just hope this lady doesn't kill this cat.
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