More Than the X Can See

Chapter 27

Cable was watching Halo. John could almost swear that the normally stoic X-man looked concerned about her. She looked like a life size doll with her long blonde hair draped down her back and her long prissy white and blue floral dress. Her closed eyes, relaxed body and measured breathing made her look asleep.

Halo could list the contents of objects in other rooms, knew that the pendant that hung from Luke’s neck inside his shirt was a utility knife and could detect the metal apparatus in his own mouth. He’d sat in front of her unknowing while she had kept track of individuals on other floors and even outside the building. A mutant with telepathic ability might be able to do that by looking through other people’s eyes, but she had said that she couldn’t read minds. Either she was lying, and John felt himself to be a good judge of character and he didn’t think she was being duplicitous, or she really could see through walls.

Although it wasn’t until recently that she’d actually looked in the direction of the restaurant host as he rose up in the elevator. He wondered about her comment ‘I can do better than that’ when he’d asked if she could actually see the man. Very green of her. She would probably have explained herself if Cable hadn’t been riding herd on her. John deduced she had some sort of x-ray vision or radar. A useful ability, especially if it extended half a block down the street.

The silence was beginning to get deafening so John started a common conversation device to return them to normalcy, “Luke, what’s the name of the local baseball team?”

“There’s two, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics,” Luke replied. “They play at what used to be called Candlestick Park, but it’s now called SBC Park because it’s owned by the SBC Communications Corporation.”

“That’s a stupid name,” Steve said, “I like Candlestick. Gives it a more … I don’t know … home-style feeling.”

“It was called Candlestick because it sits on Candlestick Point.”

“Oh,” Steve sounded disappointed. “I thought there was some other reason. …” Steve and Luke kept the conversation up by digressing into other baseball teams and statistics.

John watched Angel and Nathan. Angel continued to look as if she was asleep, but Nathan’s chin-on-hand gaze had drifted to the center of the table and his eyes were slightly unfocused. John knew he could ask Nathan a question and the man was aware enough of his surroundings to be able to answer him, but his real attention was most likely with Logan up inside the air ducts.

XXXXXXXXXX

It hadn’t been easy or comfortable getting to a position where Logan could listen to the Host’s speech to the assembled workmen, but at least he hadn’t had to deal with a thick layer of dust since the air ducts had recently been upgraded. Not having to constantly suppress his sneeze impulse was a welcome respite.

He could feel Nathan’s presence in his mind, but knew he was only there to listen through his ears. It was one of the benefits of having a telepath as a member of their team. He could hear the workmen as they stood around wondering why the restaurant host had called for an assembly.

Sudden quiet told him that a signal had been made and the host began to speak in Arabic, “I’m happy to say that our sponsors are pleased with all of your achievements since your arrival here in San Francisco. Your hard work and loyal dedication to our cause have not gone unnoticed. It is the hour of prayer and the normal time for your meal break. Our sponsors and I sincerely wish you to enjoy this most beautiful day that Allah, praise be his name, has bestowed upon us and take the rest of the day off for reflection. I will expect you back after Maghrib. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful! Enjoy your day!”

The workers were obviously caught by surprise and their rejoinders in Allah’s name were dissonant words of praise and well wishes. As they began to make their way out of the room, they talked among themselves about the surprise time off and what they would do with it.

Logan waited to see if the host or any of the other workers remained behind and he was rewarded as an older male voice spoke in Arabic, “Why? What’s happened, Kutty?”

It was a few seconds before the host, named Kutty, responded, “It would be best if we didn’t discuss it here. Why don’t you join me in going to prayer at the Muhammad? I will tell you afterwards.”

The sound of Kutty and the other unidentified man leaving the room was the only sound Logan heard until the workmen greeted them in the hallway at the elevator. Since the elevator couldn’t take more than ten men down at a time, there were still a few of them in the corridor. The men began talking of what they had decided to do with their free time. When Kutty announced he planned on going to Mosque, many of them decided they would do so also.

*Get back here,* Nathan told Logan. He kept his link open with Logan’s mind so he would know what was going on as he made his way back out of the air ducts, “Something’s up. The restaurant host, one of the men called him Kutty.” He looked at John, “Check that out. He just got rid of his workforce for some reason. Can you check and see if SHIELD can get any men into the local Mosque. This Kutty character is headed there. He’ll be with another man.” He turned to Angel, “Angel, can you give me something on the man who was talking to Kutty alone? Any identifying characteristics?”

“Yeah,” she answered, straightening in her seat and opening her eyes, “but I better tell you that the waiter is coming with our food. He’s bringing the cart to the elevator. I don’t know if Logan will make it back here before he gets here. It’ll be close with the workmen using the elevator, too. It might be better if he stays up there until the waiter’s gone.”

“No,” Nathan said with a quick shake of his head. “The surveillance camera will show he never left the room.” He looked over at Steve and Luke. “Cover the door and give me your knife.” Steve rose and stood near the door out of view of the surveillance camera while Luke took the pendant out of his shirt and opened the screwdriver attachment they had used to open the vent cover. It flew out of his hand and smacked into Nathan’s open palm as he flew up to the vent.

The big man hovered in the air as the knife spun in his hand as he pressed it against the screws, opening the vent cover quicker than a power drill. He moved to the side and Luke caught the vent cover as it fell. Nathan squeezed himself into the narrow space until his eyes rose high enough to spot Logan’s feet as he moved through the ducts towards him. *Ready?* Nathan mentally asked Logan.

*Wait until I get my head free,* Logan replied as he lowered himself in entirety into the narrow crawl space. *Now.* His body half flew, half slid to the vent exit as Nathan lowered himself out and to the side to make room for the stocky Canadian. Logan plummeted out of the vent until he stopped, mere inches from the floor as Nathan halted his descent. Logan then dropped with a light thud to the thin carpet and sneezed several times to clear his nose of the fine particles of dust that had been disturbed by his rushed exit.

Nathan teke’d the vent cover from Luke’s grasp and the man turned to help Logan brush away the few white streaks that stood out on his dark blue shirt. Nathan quickly replaced the screws before dropping to the floor in a controlled descent. He tossed the knife to Luke as he took his seat. Steve moved away from the doorway and took his seat as he realized they had moved fast enough to not blow their cover.

Logan returned to his seat next to Angel and sat down. Taking in air through his nose to quickly slow down his breathing after the flume ride he’d experienced as the focus of Nathan’s telekinesis.

Angel, noting a cobweb in Logan’s hair, ran her fingers through the strands at his temple, startling him. A small thrill rushed through her body as the dark strands threaded through her fingers. She wanted to do more, so much more. Sit in his lap and wrap her arms around his neck, tangle her hands in his thick, dark hair and pull his head back so she could run her tongue up his neck, over the rough stubble that was beginning to form, along the edge where the sensitive hairs along the side of his face formed whiskers leading in an unerring line up to his ear. She wanted to tease the tender flesh of his earlobe with a gentle scrape of her teeth.

Logan watched Angel’s eyes get a sleepy look, his nose telling him it wasn’t sleep she was thinking of. “Angel?” he asked with a worried frown, now wasn’t the time for her to get amorous.

His question and the frown on his face snapped her out of her daydream. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had been thinking and where. Another blush infused her features and she pulled her hand away from his face, turning her palm up to show him the dirty white remains she’d pulled from his hair, “Web.”

Logan quickly ran his hands through his hair, glancing at them briefly to see if they’d caught any more debris before he wiped his hands on the legs of his jeans.

Already highly aware of his thick muscular body, his hands moving up and down on his thighs drew her attention to his cock trapped within his pants. She felt a sense of déjà vu as a tingling and then warmth spread across her skin, ending with a tightening of her vaginal walls and a hot surge of wetness cooling quickly as it hit her panties and soaked them.

She smiled disconcertedly as she had an epiphany; her body was reacting like it had when she’d been a teenager as her hormones raged out of control with the slightest of stimuli. The difference between then and now was that her own sexual experience and knowledge of the workings of the human body allowed her to know what was truly happening. But even surrounded by jocks as a cheerleader in high school, she’d never had such strong reactions that she could remember. Her ability to sense even the slightest detail usually rendered her immune to the physical aspects of those around her because they became part of how she identified them.

Feeling her gaze on him Logan asked, “What?” Worried he’d missed something that would betray his activities.

There was a brief rattle of pottery as Mo, the waiter, pushed their lunch-laden cart over the doorjamb and into the room.

Angel’s eyes shot to the waiter and then she shook her head and whispered, “Later.”

“I don’t care much for the Forty-niners,” Logan said nonchalantly into the tense silence as he picked up his hat and lightly tossed it further down the table to make room for the lunch dishes.

Angel wasn’t sure if it was the comment or the movement, which like a switch caused the men at the table to relax. If Angel hadn’t been present and seen how swiftly the men had moved or if she couldn’t tell through her senses that she wasn’t the only one who’s heart was beating rapidly, she’d think that nothing had happened in the room.

“Now the Raiders,” Logan continued with a smile, “I like their attitude.”

“What?!” Luke exclaimed, “You have got to be kidding me! They’re one of the worst teams in the AFC!”

“They’re getting better,” Logan retorted, “while the Forty-niners are just getting worse.”

“Where’s the Ladies Room?” Angel asked Mo as he put her plate in front of her. She needed to check her clothing for damp spots and get away from the men for a little while, especially Logan.

“Far end of the hall,” he replied motioning towards the other side of the building, “on the left. Just follow the signs.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. She could kill two birds with one stone; scan the other half of the building and get the privacy she needed. While Angel waited for the waiter to move out of the way, she felt a slight tension build back up in the muscles of the men seated at the table. Each one of them looked at her as she picked up her purse and pushed back her chair. Both Logan and Nathan tensed and bent forward, but a slight sideways jerk of Nathan’s chin stopped Logan who turned the movement into a casual reach for his drink while Nathan rose from his seat and followed her to the door.

“I’m just going to the bathroom,” she said quietly, over her shoulder. “You don’t have to follow me.”

“You’re not going anywhere in this building alone,” he informed her in a low whisper, “and we need to talk.”

She sighed, her plans thwarted with his words. He accompanied her to the door marked ‘Ladies’. She was surprised when he followed her in. “I was planning on using the facilities—”

“So was I,” Nathan said as he walked past her, opened the larger Handicapped stall at the far end and proceeded to unzip his pants.

“Nathan!”

“Use the opportunity when it’s presented, Sunshine. You’ll learn that maxim soon enough.” He heard her exasperated sigh followed by mumbling as she entered and loudly locked the stall at the beginning of the row.

He finished his business and left the stall. He stopped at the sink countertop and leaned a hip against it as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Are we clear?” he asked.

There was a brief moment and then Angel answered, “Yes. You know, for some sort of terrorist organization, this place is pretty normal.”

“What do you mean?” he frowned.

“Well, there are only a few extra surveillance cameras around the building, absolutely no listening devices that I can detect and, besides the registers, the only computer devices are in the office in the basement. Other than a few secret rooms that I think were added on around the time the hotel was built, I don’t see how anyone could think the owners are terrorists.”

“Anyone could be a terrorist,” Nathan stated tersely. “Arrangements can be set up on the Internet and through intermediaries. At most, they’d need a cell phone with a removable data cartridge. Cartridges allow them to add on scramblers that code their conversations and Internet access—”

“Just like yours,” she interjected, surprise tinged with a growing awareness and understanding.

“Yes.”

“So if I sense someone carrying a cell phone with a data cartridge …”

“Keep track of them and tell one of us. It could be serious,” a wry smile touched his lips, “or just a video game.”

“Great,” she muttered, “Now I’m going to start suspecting everyone I come across.”

“Only if they’re not one of us,” Nathan advised.

“And who’s us?” she asked irritably.

“The X-men. The staff at the Institute and anyone Logan or I vouch for.”

“Wonderful. When do I get to stop being paranoid.”

Nathan paused before replying to make sure his point was hammered home. “You don’t. The Institute has been attacked and even destroyed several times since its inception. As a member of the staff it will be one of your responsibilities to identify threats to security.”

“Oh. Well, that’s normal paranoia and a moral obligation to keep children safe from mental or physical harm. I have no problem with that.”

“Xavier will be glad to hear that.” He shifted his feet, he wanted to talk to her face to face and she still hadn’t come out of the stall. He looked at his watch, “Food’s getting cold.”

He heard her sigh, but she didn’t respond to his prodding. Eventually, he asked, “Angel?”

It took her a moment to respond. “Could you leave?” she asked quietly.

“No.” Nathan straightened up, concern on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“I need some privacy.”

Women. “You can do whatever you need to do with me in the room. I’m no stranger to women’s stuff. I’ll turn my back if that makes you comfortable.”

“No,” she said. “I need you to leave the area. Go back to the conference room or something. Just get away from me for a while.”

He walked over to her stall and placed a hand on top of her door, looked through the thin opening between the door and the wall, “Why?”

He was able to see that her face was bright red before she lowered it to look down into her lap and the bunched folds of her skirt. “I …” She let out a long sigh. “You know how my ability works. I can sense everything around me. Feel it, really. Like I’m touching it. The farther away an object is the less detail I receive, the less I feel.”

He wasn’t sure where this was leading. Why did women take fifty words to say ten? “I didn’t know it worked like touch.” She turned her head to the side, avoiding looking at him through the stall door. He watched as she bit her lip, the flesh turning from white to deep rose as she released it.

“I wanted to use the restroom, to get away from you men, to get to the other side of the building. From here I can’t feel your bodies as well and I could do the rest of the scanning that you wanted.”

“Why …?” It hit him that she was in Heat. The shape of the conference table had made them spread out in a circle in front of her, facing her. Where she could effectively FEEL them.

“Oath!” he exclaimed, stepping back from the door as if it stung him, letting his arm drop to his side.

“You’re ten inches erect,” she said quietly, “your sperm is viable and, if I knew you better, I’d be able to tell if you’d be a good father to any children I produce.”

“Ah, shit.” She’d already checked his fitness as a possible mate. Her words sunk in. “You can determine penis size?”

“Size of the cells in the penis combined with the amount of loose skin. I can even tell if you’ve had sex within the past twenty-four hours.”

He crossed his arms in a defensive manner, “How close do you need to determine this?”

“About ten feet or less.”

“I should’ve realized this when you could tell the difference between plastic and C4.”

“When you’re only allowed to use one of your abilities, you start finding new ways to use it. Hormones and teenage politics honed my … reproduction knowledge. I can tell where a woman is in her menstrual cycle or even if she’s in the early stages of pregnancy. I can tell someone’s stress levels and if they’re arteries are hardening. Blood clots, heart disease, tumors, cancer … I’m a regular diagnostic machine.”

“You didn’t go into medicine.” He could hear her moving around inside the stall.

“Too depressing, people don’t listen to their Doctors and I couldn’t explain to them the damage they were doing to their bodies without revealing my mutation.” She opened the stall door and headed for the sink. The change in topics and more clinical aspects of their conversation had cooled her ardor enough for her to feel comfortable in his presence again. She was seeing him as a leader, not a mate. At least, not at the moment.

“Speaking about revealing your mutation,” he began.

“I know, I know. The SHIELD agents don’t have clearance. I know I slipped up. I’m just so tired and now I’m horny, too. And you standing in front of me is not helping! I’ll try to be more careful.”

“Don’t try. Do.” If she’d been a kid straight out of the Institute he would’ve had more to say, but she was an adult. She knew she’d fucked up. If she did it again, he’d come down hard on her. He moved to place himself to the side of the entrance to the room where he could still watch the rest of the room and be able to attack the first person that came through the door. “Have the men left?”

“The workers and the restaurant host have left the building. Most of them walked over to a parking lot and are getting into cars.”

“The host?”

“In the parking lot. I think he’s speaking to some of the workers.” She turned on the water and pumped the soap dispenser.

“Good.” SHIELD would need time to get someone into the Muhammad Mosque. “When we leave here, we’re going to move out of our hotel and into a secure SHIELD facility. You can get some rest then.”

“Nathan?” She was rubbing her hands briskly under the running facet.

“I’ll have to talk to Logan about when you can have sex.”

“Thank you, but that wasn’t what I was asking. I was planning on discussing that in private with Logan. I was going to ask you if you were planning on washing your hands before we left the bathroom.”