Deception

Title: Deception

Rated: NC-17

Summary: Alternate X-Men Universe: Ororo Munroe, assassin, is hired

to kill Logan, (a.k.a. Wolverine) a former assassin and current

member of the mutant team X-Men.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Marvel does. :(

Though, I do like to have my fun with them. But it's just fun, so

don't sue...please.

Feedback: Yes, that would be lovely.









Logan slumps to the ground, his back against the wall for something

to lean against. He sighs and looks up at the ceiling. The lone light

hanging there, far too high for him to reach. He crosses his arms

over his chest knowing the only thing he can do is sit and wait. He

hates waiting.



Then the door opens suddenly and Logan looks down quickly. Light from

the hallway falls into the room and the hair on the back of his neck

stands on end in alarm.



"Storm?" he asks, unsure. Then a thick wave of air comes to him and

the scent is nothing like Storm's. A growl erupts from his throat and

he moves his body up.



"Don't get up. No need to stand on my account...Runt," Sabertooth's

voice penetrates his ears. A grating sound that draws sharply along

Logan's spine, making his body tense as if someone were running their

nails down a chalkboard. Sabertooth's large body looms in the doorway.



"What do you want?" Logan asks, releasing his claws. At the sound

Sabertooth chuckles darkly.



"Just you dead, small fry," Sabertooth growls.



"Knew you couldn't handle even the thought Magneto would need me

instead of you," Logan says.



Sabertooth walks in closer and Logan crouches, coiling his

back. "Keep talking runt, it's not gonna help ya none. See, Magneto's

got nothin' to do with this."



Logan's eyes narrow in confusion as he fights to get a clear look at

Sabertooth but can't because of the bright light shining in from the

hallway. The lights are only creating a great shadow, an outline of

the massive figure. He had to keep on his toes, Sabertooth couldn't

be underestimated and he wasn't his best physical condition. His body

is a bit worn from the few beatings he's taken here and lack of rest

and food. He doesn't know if he can take on Sabertooth right now and

win.



"You should be glad, Wolverine," Sabertooth smiles. With all this

shit goin' on around here, I don't got the time to kill ya slowly."

"Aww..Sorry ta disappoint ya, bub."



Sabertooth stalks closer still and Logan can make out the twinkle in

his eyes, the dark, menacing, insane sparkle that always warns of

something terrible.



"It would of been sweet. Could of kept ya livin' for

days...weeks...with that Healing Factor," Sabertooth says slowly, as

if he really will regret not being able to spend that time torturing

him. "But now, we'll never know how much fun we coulda had!"



Sabertooth roars and charges. Logan dodges but not in time to catch a

slice of Sabertooth's claws into his back. He yells out in pain and

swipes his arms in an defensive reaction, slicing open Sabertooth's

arm in the process.



"FUCK!! YOU HAIRY LITTLE RUNT!!" Sabertooth shouts angrily. He's

lost, in that zone he goes whenever violence is involved, especially

when he was fighting against Wolverine. Logan doesn't get another

chance to move before his throat is held in a tight, vice like grip.

He gurgles and reaches hand around his throat. He feels them moving,

hears Sabertooth screaming, smells the anger, the sweat, the fear.

The back of his head smashes into the wall Sabertooth pushes him

against. His vision goes blurry for a moment and his hands fall away,

claws sliding back into his fists.



"Ya should of stayed away from her, Runt!" Sabertooth

growls. "Everything I do, you are still there! You take everything

from me!! EVERYTHING!! First ya take my rep and now my girl, you

don't know when to quit do ya, chump?! With you gone, I won't be

called the "Poor Man's Wolverine" anymore!"



Logan tries to regain control of his body while still trying to

figure out what the hell Sabertooth is talking about. Finally, his

claws slide out of his fists. His throat is almost thoroughly

crushed, he can barely breath, but he roars and pushes both his fists

into Sabertooth's midsection. The larger man recoils in pain and

Logan falls away from the wall, clutching his throat.



Sabertooth begins laughing and stands, blood streaming from his

stomach, but it's healing, Logan can see it. He snarls but can't

breathe enough yet to do anything else.



"You didn't know did ya, runt?" Sabertooth asks. "Well, how's it feel

ta finally be second place?" he asks. "What? Who do you think Stormy

was with before you? I'm the one that taught her all those dirty

little tricks," he adds with a wink and feral grin.



Logan growls deep in his throat and pushes himself, running away from

the wall and at Sabertooth. He collides with the larger man and they

begin a close struggle. Claws, begin ripping at living flesh. Teeth

bared and tearing at whatever may fall into their path. Like two

large cats fighting, the Wolverine and Sabertooth battle.



Wolverine lets out a roar as Sabertooth's claws sink into his back,

then he elbows the man in the back of the head, and sends his own

claws into his side. More slashes are shared. Blood is soaking

through what clothes they both have left. Cuts slowly healing along

their backs, stomachs, arms and legs. Both looking for that vital

spot that will slow the other down.



"I wonder," Wolverine growls. "If Storm didn't kill me cause she knew

I was a better fuck then you ever would be!"



Sabertooth doesn't bother with an answer. His face twists into a mask

of sickening anger. His arm comes swinging around but Wolverine

blocks it but not in time to stop the second swing from his other

fists. It collides with his chest, knocking him down onto his back.

He grunts from the force then rolls just in time to miss the fist

aimed for his face. This gives him time to balance himself and wait

for Sabertooth's next move. It's a full on charge.



Wolverine dips just as Sabertooth reaches him. He gets three claws

into Sabertooth's chest before he's barreled over. The two of them

roll and end, to his luck, with Wolverine on top.



"I love this part," he says as he brings his fist down to begin

tearing into Sabertooth. But his fist stops mid swing and then his

body is fully thrown off of the larger man's. He lands against the

wall, sliding down it to stare up at Magneto. He's in the doorway,

arm raised and hard look on his face.



"Enough!" Magneto says loudly. Sabertooth picks himself off of the

ground and growls at Wolverine. "I have a greater need for you at the

moment, Sabertooth then finishing off some jealous debt of yours."

This makes Sabertooth even angrier but he looks up at Magneto.



"What is it?!" Sabertooth nearly shouts.



"I must leave to meet up with a few colleagues," he answers then

exits the room. Sabertooth stays a moment longer. He looks down at

Wolverine, wounded and defenseless on the ground and almost whimpers

regretfully. Then he stalks out of the room, the cold admantium door

slamming shut behind him.



Wolverine wipes his forehead clear of sweat and blood. He notices a

cut on his forearm he watches it begin to heal slowly and licks the

blood away. He cringes at the taste and smell of it and slumps down

into himself.



Storm had deceived him three times now. His body shudders at the

thought that he had been with a woman that had done anything with

that psycho. She will get hers, he thinks to himself. He owes her

three times now.



He growls as the light in the room sparks then goes out and he is

plummeted into complete darkness.



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



An Hour Later:



"Shh...come on," Psylocke says quietly and waves Storm ahead of her.

Storm moves softly across the hard floor, not wanting to draw

attention to herself. But they have to move quickly. The X-Men will

be here any minute now.



"Hurry," she says back to Psylocke who only nods and begins trotting

down the hallway. They reach the large door and halt. "Are you sure

nobody saw us come down here?" Storm asks.



"Yes," Psylocke answers without looking at her. Her attention is on

the pass code she was pressing into the keypad installed on the wall.

She curses as the things beeps as if it were angry and the door

doesn't unlock. "They've changed the pass code. I can't open it."



Storm puts a hand on Psylocke's shoulder, "Allow me," she says. She

steps up to the keypad and puts her hand against it. Then she opens

herself to the elements. Slightly, not wanting to gather too much

energy. A small bolt of lightening seems to pass from her hand to the

keypad and the things fizzles and sparks. The corner catches fire and

Storm blows it out. "Try it," she says to Psylocke.



"But you just fried the keypad," she says, staring at Storm.



"No, try the door," Storm says.



"Oh," Psylocke says then pulls the handle on the door. It creaks

annoyingly then gives in and opens under her strength. Storm smiles

triumphantly and steps into the dark room ahead of them.



She stops so suddenly that Psylocke bumps into her back. "Where is

he?" she asks.



"Logan?" Storm asks the darkness. There's a sound of shuffling off in

the corner and then the recognizable sound of claws being unsheathed.



"Logan!" Psylocke says sharply and steps forward quickly.



There's a pause then, "Jesus Christ! Betsy!?"



"Yes, Logan," Psylocke says. "We have to get out of here, let's go."



Logan emerges from the darkness, into the dim light from the hallway

and both Psylocke and Storm catch their breathes. He's beaten, his

shirt hanging onto his body by mere threads around his shoulders.

Blood is covering his body in large patches and sharp lines as if

there had been a cut there but now healed.



"What happened?!" Storm asks quickly, horrified.



Logan's dark eyes turn to her and he growls, "Why don't you ask your

boyfriend?"



Her eyes widen in shock, from realizing both that Victor had come

down here and fought Logan and that now Logan knew she had been with

Victor. But Logan doesn't say another word to her, he turns to

Psylocke.



"This plan of yours gonna work?" he asks.



Psylocke nods, "I believe so, if we get moving."



"Well, then lets get movin'!"



**********



Cyclops keeps his hands steady on the controls and stares out at the

dark sky. Flying the Blackbird has become almost second nature to

him. It never worried him. But what did worry him is this mission.



"I don't like this," he whispers to Jean who is sitting next to

him. "I don't like this at all."



"I know, but what else can we do?" she asks. "We don't have enough

information."



"That's what I don't like about it."



He frowns deeply at his own thoughts. He hated to admit it but he's

truly a pessimist. But then, you have to be if you are a leader.

You have to see everything from the worst possible situation first

before you can come out with a plausible conclusion. And this mission

had many worst possible situations.



"I hope they make it out," Rogue says softly behind him.

"Yeah," Jubilee adds. "What if they tortured him."



"Ahh...wouldn't hurt Wolverine," Bobby says, reassuringly. "He's

Wolverine! What can they possibly do to him?!"



Cyclops stops listening to their conversation and begins to dwell on

his own thoughts again.



He isn't going to assume anything good to come from any of this until

it happens. Logan can just as easily be for the Brotherhood as he

can be for the X-Men. No telling which way it will go when it came

to the behavior Cyclops had witnessed himself. Logan's attitude was

that of a careless, drunk, womanizer. He fought with them but with a

dark personality. Hiding away from everyone at the mansion.

Becoming a shadow and almost myth to the younger students at the

school. A lurking beast that only came out when they went to sleep.

And from what he had seen, that comparison didn't stray far from the

truth.



Logan had seemed to lurk around in the dark. He hadn't cared for

anyone's company except for the occasional flirting with Jean. He

approaches missions and situations with people's lives at stake with

a carelessness of a criminal such as a gangster maybe. His

philosophy, Kill first, ask questions later.



And just the look of the man. The dark eyes always penetrating. As

if he were constantly sizing everyone up in case he had to battle all

of them. Every instance he was sized and evaluated as if he were a

threat to Logan. Everybody was treated in the same manner. He never

talked about himself, his past, his thoughts, his hopes. Logan just

never seemed "human" to him.



And all this didn't sit well with Cyclops. He couldn't let himself

trust Logan. He couldn't. He wouldn't put the X-Men's lives at

stake for a supposed "friend" that had at one point been assigned by

Magneto to assassinate the Professor. He was going to approach this

situation as well as he could, always on the ready to get out of

there and back to the mansion.



"Approaching the Savage Land. Everyone get ready," Cyclops says in a

stern voice.



**********



Storm crouches against the wall in front of him and looks around the

corner. He places his hand on her back to balance himself as he

sniffs the air, then he hurriedly takes his hand away frowning. He

catches her glance up at him then she turns the corner and stalks

down the hallway. Psylocke waits a moment, pushing him forward so

he's between the two of them as if they are protecting him. He's in

no condition to argue though.



"Where is everyone?" Logan asks, his voice a low rumble.



"Magneto is meeting with some of his mutant associates from inner

city New York," Betsy answers him. "He's gone for a few hours."



"Oh, perfect timin'," he mutters. Storm laughs softly ahead of him.



"Let's hope time keeps on our side with your X-Men," she says.



Logan glares at her back, not exactly trusting her. He didn't even

like her talking about them.



"They'll be here," he growls. "How `bout we keep our luck with

nobody turnin' on each other?"



Storm stops in her tracks and turns to face him. "What?"



"You heard me," he says. Their faces are inches apart. Her eyes are

hard and blue. So cold looking they send a chill down his

spine. "Ya better hope this all doesn't turn ugly."



"That a threat?" Storm asks, standing tall in front of him.



"Sure is, darlin'," he says menacingly, claws sliding out of his

right fist.



"Who's getting you out of here, big boy?!" she asks angrily.

"Who got me IN here in the first place?!?!" Logan snarls, pushing

closer so his claws are next to their faces.



"Logan!" Betsy snaps in a harsh whisper, grabbing his

shoulder. "Storm, please! Save these arguments for later. We don't

have time for them!" She pulls him a step or two away from Storm then

pushes her forward. "Let's move Storm. We have to get out of here

quickly!"



Storm begins moving forward again. Logan sneers at her back, wanting

to push her. Wanting to test her.



"Watch your back, sweet cheeks," he says in a dark growl. Storm

turns on him so quickly she gets a good slap to his face before he

can try to defend himself. Another swing comes in and he snags her

wrist. But she gets a hard punch to his stomach. He hisses sharply

and he swipes his leg around, knocking hers out from under her. She

lands on the ground hard. Logan grabs both her wrists, "Ah-uh!

What?! What you gonna do, STORMY!?"



She flinches at the name but other then that shows no emotion. He

can see Betsy standing beside him, trying to decide to intervene or

not to.



"Logan! Stop this!" she says, grabbing his shoulder again. "She is

helping you!"



"I can kill you right now, Logan. You know that don't you?" Storm

says coldly. "But I choose not to." Her words stop him and he

stares down at her. He growls and releases her hands, knowing she's

telling the truth. That if she didn't kill him though, she could do

some serious damage.



"We must get out of here! Logan! Stop this!" Betsy says, pushing him

forward. She reaches down and pulls Storm to her feet. Logan

watches them for a moment, waiting for them to follow as a loud,

obnoxious beeping sounds through the halls. Red lights begin to

blink on and off slowly. Logan looks to Psylocke.



"Alarms. They are here! Move!" she shouts but not before a door down

the hall opens and Sabertooth comes barreling through the entrance.

He looks up at them, a snarl covering his face. Toad bounds out

after him and a long moment seems to pass as they all stare at each

other. Waiting for what's to happen next.



"RUN!" Storm shouts and that's the breaking signal. Logan, Storm and

Psylocke turn and begin running with Sabertooth and Toad in chase.



***********



"Do you see it?" Cyclops asks anyone.



Jean points and says, "There!" He looks in the direction she's

pointing and slows the Blackbird down, bringing her down toward the

huge building.



"I hope this doesn't turn ugly," he mutters so softly the only one

that hears him is Jean. She gives him a quick glance, smiling

reassuringly and then stares down at the rooftop of the building,

looking for Logan, Storm and Psylocke. That's another thing he

doesn't like about this mission. They are relying on members of the

Brotherhood. On their promise to turn against their own group. He

doesn't know if he can trust that.



They slow, growing closer and closer to the building and still no

sign of life. Nobody, not even things they can fight. He looks to

Jean and she only gives a soothing gesture to calm his impatient

nerves. He doesn't want to sit here waiting. He doesn't like that

they are hovering in the Blackbird like sitting ducks.



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



"Keep going!! Run!!" Logan screams as his claws sink into a mutant

who had just stepped around a corner, unsuspecting of what lay around

the corner. "Run!"



Sabertooth is roaring directly behind them, but they can't spare the

time to fight him, to take him down, so they continue to run.



"STORM!!! GET BACK HERE!!" he screams angrily. But she keeps

running at a push from Psylocke. She glances over just in time to see

Logan stumble and fall to his knees. Toad's tongue is wrapped around

his ankle, pulling him back.



"Slimy toad!" Logan shouts, raising his claws. Toad sees this and

his tongue retreats before he has the chance to slice it in half.

But the pause gives Sabertooth time to push his dying teammate to the

ground and catch Logan. He grabs him by the back of the neck.



"Logan!" Psylocke panics and the next thing Sabertooth flies back

into the air, slamming into the wall behind him. Logan scrambles to

his feet, and yes, he scrambles. His legs didn't seem to want to

carry his weight. The admantium proving almost too heavy for his

exhausted muscles. His healing factor not able to keep up with his

wounds.



"Keep going!" he shouts. Storm reaches to help get him going on his

feet, but he pushes her forward, catching his stride on his own.



"We're almost there!" Psylocke shouts and they turn a corner, running

into a shut door. She quickly presses buttons on the keypad but the

door doesn't open. "Damnit! Not again!" she curses.



Logan moves forward with his claws drawn but Storm puts a hand to his

chest, "No time!" She moves to the keypad and fills herself with the

power of the elements, placing her hand upon the keypad. Again, the

electrical current flows through her and into the keypad, shorting it

out. Logan, with a little effort, forces the door open. Psylocke is

the first to slip through the doorway.



Sabertooth turns the corner roaring.



"OH! Looky what we got here! The Whore and the Runt. How nice!" he

growls as he grabs hold of Storm's arm. She struggles in the tight

hallway but can't get free of his grip. Logan stands facing

Sabertooth, claws drawn and ready for battle.



"Let her go," he growls. Sabertooth chuckles and pulls Storm's back

to his chest, holding her close.



"Why would I do that?" Sabertooth asks. He puts a claw to her cheek,

scratching down it, leaving a shallow cut down her face. "I'm likin'

her right here."



"Sabertooth! Quit screwing around!" Toad shouts from the ceiling

above him. Storm hadn't even noticed him but intends to use the

distraction. But Logan is a step ahead of her. He lunges forward as

Sabertooth looks up and his claws slide into the beast's thick

torso.



Sabertooth roars and his hold on her is let loose. Logan grabs her

arm and pulls her harshly through the doorway. Then he quickly

follows. There are stairs and Storm hits them running. A small ways

up, Psylocke is standing, looking down at the door. It slams shut

once Logan passes through. Storm continues running upward though and

passes her on the staircase. There's another doorway right ahead

that leads to the roof.



**********



"They aren't coming! This is a trap, I know it!" Scott says harshly.

Jean grabs his arm as he begins to pull the Blackbird away.



"Wait! Nobody has come yet!" she says.



"Nobody's going to come!" he says.



"Just wait! They will! Give them time, Scott," Jean says, trying to

talk sense into him. Trying to save people's lives here. They can't

leave Logan or Storm here. Here where they may be killed. She

doesn't know the entire story of what's going on, if Logan had lied

to them all over the year he's been an X-Man, but she's willing to

give him the benefit of the doubt.



"We can't sit here and wait like a bump on a log any longer! It's

too dangerous! I'm pulling us out of here!" he says and begins

pulling the Blackbird away from the building.



"Wait!! Down there!! Look!" Jubilee screeches, leaning forward and

pointing. "There they are!"



"Scott, look!" Jean joins in, pointing to the rooftop. "They've made

it out."



:::Or they are just coming to knock us out of the air::: Jean catches

Scott thinking. She doesn't say anything though. Only taps him on

the arm and points again. Scott nods and lowers the Blackbird

again.



"Lower the hatch....I'm not landing here." Jean nodded and lowered

the hatch.



Jean watches as Storm and Logan come running through a doorway on the

far side of the roof, running toward them. Then the door bursts open

again and another woman comes running out. Followed closely by

Sabertooth and Toad. Hurry, she thinks to herself.



Logan halts and turns back. Storm slows too, looking back at him.

Jean curses and leans forward in her seat. Logan's screaming

something, in two directions. At Storm and back toward the other

group of mutants.



:::Logan?! What are you doing?! Run!!:::



"What's going on?! What's he doing?" Scott asks quietly.



***********



"BETSY!!!!" Logan shouts. "Come on!!" he stops completely.

Watching in fear as Sabertooth and Toad close in on her.

"Logan!" Storm shouts, he turns growling.



"Keep going!! Run!" he physically pushes her forward, toward the

hovering Blackbird. "GO!!"



"STORMY!! GET BACK HERE WITH YOUR RUNT!" Sabertooth shouts.

Psylocke is screaming now too.



"GO!! GO!!" she's shouting at him, waving with her arms for him to

go. Like he did to Storm, but he doesn't listen. She reaches him

and they begin running together and Logan curses as more of the

Brotherhood emerge from the doorway and are chasing them too.



:::Logan?! What are you doing?! Run!!::: Jean's voice is inside his

head. He growls and pushes his legs faster.



He feels a slimy something wrapping around his arm, and slices at it

with his other hand. It falls away quickly and they keep moving.

Logan looks up to see Storm jumping onto the Blackbird and waiting

for them.



Suddenly, Toad is in front of them, smiling devilishly. He spits and

the sticky goo hits Logan directly in the eyes. He hisses and grasps

at it, trying to peel it off. He struggles with it as he hears

fighting going on around him. Toad's screaming and then Sabertooth's

growl.



Logan's hit, hard. He falls to the ground, landing face first. The

impact cracks the now hard good and it falls away from his eyes. He

finds himself on the ground and a heavy weight on his back.



Then pain. Excruciating pain in his back. He roars and struggles

with the weight on his back. There are sounds of rockets or

something like that going off, and lights flashing, blind him.

Making it that more difficult to get his attacker off of him. Then

he gets the smell, and the sound. Sabertooth.



"I'm gonna finish this off right now, runt," he growls close to his

ear. And the pain seems to grow. As if Sabertooth has his claws

deep into his spine. Which is probably what he's doing. Twisting

into the bone and muscle.



"AUUGHHGHHGH!!" he screams in agony. The winds are howling around

him and maybe the flashing lights are lightning, he can't tell. He's

dizzy. He can't think straight.



"Say goodnight!" Sabertooth shouts, but before that last twist comes

the weight is gone. Hands are pulling at him, trying to get him up.

"Logan! Come on!" Betsy is shouting. He pulls himself to his knees,

looking around quickly. Toad is lying a bit away unconscious,

Sabertooth is lying on his back a few feet away but pushing himself

back up.



"Logan!" Psylocke shouts again. He gets to his feet and they start

running. Closer and closer to the Blackbird.



As they approach the open hatch, with Jubilee and Storm both there,

holing their hands out to be grasped. Logan and Betsy both reach it

at the same time, jumping up onto it. But in mid jump, Logan grasps

a hook in the doorway, pulling himself up. Psylocke grasps Jubilee's

hand, gets a good hold but falls backward. Losing her grip on both

the plane and Jubilee.



Jubilee screams and Logan lunges just in time to catch Betsy's arm,

stopping her from falling away from the Blackbird.



Sabertooth has a hold of her legs and his pulling her back down.



"NO!!" Logan screams, holding on as best he can. But he can feel his

grip failing on both her arm and his hold of the hatch doorway.



"Logan!" she screams. Sabertooth is growling, yanking on her legs

roughly.



Another roar escapes him as his fingers loose their grip and she

falls from his grasp, falling to the rooftop below. "ELIZABETH!!!"

Logan screams.



She's not moving on the ground, Sabertooth standing above her. But

the Blackbird is pulling away from the rooftop.



"No! Go back down!" he shouts. Jubilee only shakes her head. "We

can't just leave her here!"



He's torn between going to try and argue to get back down there with

the Blackbird or just going down there himself. The later wins and

he attempts to jump off the hatchway. But someone grasps his arm

tightly.



"You can't do anything, Logan. You go down there, they'll have you

again," Storm says. "You can't save her."



Logan stares into her cold blue eyes, white hair whipping around her

head like flames in the wind, like some kind of exotic angel. He

snarls at her and lets Jubilee pull him inside the Blackbird.



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



"He didn't lie to us, Scott," Jean says softly.



"Maybe....Maybe," he answers.



"Oh don't tell me you still think he's lying?! They won't go to all

this trouble and not have done anything yet!"



Logan stays silent, lying on the sick bed, listening to the

argument. Not letting them know he's woken yet.



"I just can't trust him! OK? I don't like him or Storm. They

shouldn't be here," Scott says angrily.



"We can't just throw them out on a hunch," Jean says.



"Well, they need to be watched. At all times."



Logan doesn't want to hear anymore of this argument. Now knowing why

he had felt all this tension and anger since the moment he had

stepped into the Blackbird. He groans and opens his eyes slightly.

Their voices die off quickly and Jean is at his side, checking his

injuries.



He smiles slightly and looks down at himself. "Healed, right?" he

asks.



She smiles and nods. "As good as new. Except you're going to need

some sleep."



"Sounds good to me," he says. Jean nods again then pulls the little

monitors and bandages off of his body. While she's doing this, Logan

watches Scott. The man stares right back. A hard, untrusting look

in his eyes.



They won't need to throw him out. He'll be leavin' on his own real

soon, he thinks to himself. Scott looks away from him to Jean then

leaves the room quickly.