Backdated. Remy and Betsy.

[x-psylocke.livejournal.com]

Remy doesn't receive good news and Betsy is lucky enough to stop by to find out what is troubling him. This log is summed up by this email here.



The explosion was the first thing that she heard, with the sharp crack of shattering glass and Remy's own distinctive crackle from his kinetic charges. Betsy ripped open the office door to find the man staring out the ruined window, his PDA gone through and reducing a tree branch to splinters. Remy finally looked over at her, the murderous rage in his red on black eyes, but not past the iron control.

"Bad news, chere."

"Really? Couldn't tell." Betsy deadpanned, entering the room fully and closing the door behind her. Her eyes never left Remy's tight expression. "What's going on?"

"Jake just finished running down de names from dat burnt out car upstate. De ones dey found Patches in." Remy took a deep breath, calming himself a little, locking in that control. "Coffee?"

"No, thanks," Betsy replied, taking a seat in the armchair across from Remy's desk. Besides, regarding his state, Betsy wasn't sure if the cup wouldn't accidentally go off while passing it over to her. "So, what did he find?"

Remy took a sip from the mug and sat down. "Names of de others in de car. One was one of Patches' creatures; hired muscle. De other two I figured dat I had seen de names before. Jake ran down where dey came up. Ever heard of Ellis Securities in New York?"

"Name sounds vaguely familiar," Betsy said. There was the nagging feeling that she had heard of the firm, but then she shook her head. "But, I can't place it."

"De company is a front." Remy's was staring past her, leaning back in his seat. "One of Wisdom's. He set it up while still working for de Brits, used it for support on random jobs when Xavier couldn't be involved in de slightest. Clearing house for some of his 'consulting' work and de cash flow. De two men dat were found at de scene were two of his stringers."

"I thought that Intelligence shut down all of Pete's houses once he took his leave of them." Betsy sat back in her seat, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her. "Could it be just coincidence that those two rogues were found at the scene? That they may not be conclusively linked to Pete?"

"Non, dis place is Wisdom's, outside of de mansion. Plus, it's just a holding company." Remy shook his head. "And de chances of it being coincidence? You should know dat pros don't show up together by chance, chere. So, de question is how was Pete involved wit' de kidnapping?"

"Didn't know Pete was so established he could manage to hold onto all his assets when he took his retirement early. Clever boy." Betsy said, the hint of a smirk on his face. Her eyes flickered over to Remy's stone face and she quickly removed the traces of approval from her face. "I don't know how he's involved, but I'm sure I can find out. That is, if you want to find out?"

Remy nodded. "De main question is how he's involved. Wisdom is de only person outside of de mansion dat knows 'bout Meggan's existance. He's also got ties to dis Patches character. So, dazzle wit' your analysis. How does it all tie together?"

"If you're looking for a show, I'm sure Alison would work fine in a pinch, " Betsy said, biting her bottom lip. Thoughts quickly cascading, working on various angles. "Give me a few days, if we have that long."

"Non, I don't need a full profile wit' all de backup data right now. You've been reading de materials, you know de situation. Tell me what you think is going on." Remy's voice hardened as he said it, and Betsy realized she was through her probation handling. She'd seen Remy grill Jake like this a dozen times, always saying that sometimes you don't have the luxury of time on an assessment. He'd demand an on the fly analysis, and then make Jake compare it to his final position later.

"Wisdom is in the thick of it," Betsy said without pause. Her gaze unwavering as she spoke. "He has direct line to the school. Something we've missed, which means that there is a possibility that we've been compromised. Best case scenario, someone within the Pack informed Pete of Meggan's disappearance and he acted on his duties as a paternal figure."

"Dat doesn't explain why two of his men are dead. Killed by a professional, not by Patches. How do you make dat fit?" Remy said, testing her.

Betsy kept quiet a moment, her eyebrows furrowed. It was a moment before she spoke and when she did, her words revertebrated. "Perhaps, they were killed to keep you off his trail. To allow his secrets to remain secret."

"So Wisdom executes two of his own employees just to keep us from thinking dat he is still willing to help de mansion?" Remy said, taking a sip from his cup.

"It does seem that way," Betsy replied, bringing her hands to her face. "And knowing Pete, he didn't just do that for our benefit either." Her fingers steepled over her mouth, as the thoughts percolated. "I'm sure his constituents would also be rather displeased if his allegiance comes into question."

"Considering dat Pete's already sold us out to de Hellfire Club, I having difficulty believing dat he's working out of noble purposes, especially dat it would extend to killing to perfectly innocent men if dat was de case." Remy shook his head. "Dere's one last problem. If Pete wasn't involved in de kidnapping, how did he know it was happening?"

"I can't answer that," Betsy replied, her expression grim. She wasn't going to throw out uncorroborated information. Betsy shook her head at him. "Not without more time."

Remy considered her analysis. She wanted to believe Pete hadn't gone bad. Interesting. "Alright, I want a full report next week. I want motives, reasons, and as near a timeline as you can put together. If you think Pete is de one dat saved Meggan, show me de logic."

Remy turned his chair so he could stare out the smashed window. "Because personally, Remy think he behind de whole fucking thing."

Betsy inched forward in her seat. Her elbows braced against her knees and her legs set firmly on the ground. "And why is that? Why are you so willing to pin Pete across the fucking stake? Because he's Hellfire? Well, I'm Hellfire. My family has had a member's pass for generations. There is the slim chance that the man did something right for his family. Slim, but it's still there."

"Why are you so adament 'bout saving him? De fucker was willing to let de entire school go to war for revenge, Betsy. I looked in his eyes, and dere was nothing there but hate." Remy said sharply. "Going after Alphonse like dat could have gotten everyone killed; children killed. So you'll pardon me if I don't share your unwarrented support for him."

"I don't support him and I'm not entirely loyal to the man," Betsy corrected. "But, I did entrust my life to him at one point." She sighed, pushing herself back into the armchair. "And it's because of this de la Rocha business, I know that Pete is a walking set of loyalties. To himself, to his family, to his career and goals." Holding her hands up in protest before Remy could respond. "Now, I didn't see his eyes or the wealth of emotion lying there. But I'm well aware that he's capable of fierce emotion. And all the times I've seen those emotions, it was in regards to Amanda and keeping her safe. It makes sense, Remy. In a sick, twisted way."

"Oui, but selling everyone else out to Shaw and his group to protect Amanda isn't right. And my loyalty is to keeping dis school safe. Dat makes him de enemy." Remy ticked off points on his fingers. "De only person who knew both of Meggan's existance and Patches is Wisdom. De two people at de car meet were Wisdom's men, and I don't believe he'd kill two of dem just to throw me off de scent. And three of de four were killed with a 9mm pistol. Wisdom has always prefered his powers, especially in a situation in which quick silent lethality is de most important thing. So either Wisdom let slip 'bout Meggan's and Patches existance, and somehow managed to lose both men in an inprobable rescue attempt, or Pete ordered it, and one of de other members of de Hellfire Club stepped in to deny him an asset."

"Saying that Wisdom letting something slip, is like saying the President has a preoccupation with keeping his pants on," Betsy scoffed. "Both of which are things that cannot be. But you have a valid point and this whole thing stinks of a job gone wrong. I can't explain it."

"I agree. And if Wisdom didn't slip, he set up de job." Remy said, leaning back. "Maybe his motives were to get de kid away from Xavier's, so dat if he has to trade de mansion for 'manda, dey have no leverage. Or maybe he thinks de little bit is a danger somehow. Or maybe he's going to sell her off for something. Good or bad, no one else had both de motive and de means other den Wisdom, or someone in de mansion working with him."

"You're not going to let this go?" Betsy asked, realizing the path this would lead. "Are you?"

"Depends what you mean. Are we going to simply thank fate and stop our investigation, non." Remy's eyes were still hard, the red glinting dangerously surrounded by the black. "It also doesn't mean dat I'm going to quietly shop Wisdom when I get de chance. De sticking point is dat parts of de kidnapping don't make sense. If Wisdom did order the girl brought to him, who intercepted her? If it was an intelligence slip, how did they get his own network to do it? No matter what, Wisdom just went up a few notches in de threat profile."

"Duly noted," Betsy said, grimly. "Do you want Jake and I to figure out if there is a leak within the school? " She questioned with some obvious reservation. "We'll probably have a better chance of following the trail if we start there."

"I already found and plugged de current leak. Unless you think one of de staff is supplying him wit' information, I think we're safe." Remy shook his head. "Play wit' dis material. Draft up as many different scenarios around de kidnapping as you can, from most to least likely. Maybe we see something we're missing."

She kept quiet, nodding her head absentmindedly. It would be easier for all of them if she simply took a scan of the occupants within the school and any other individuals that happen upon the grounds on a frequent level. But the Professor's rules about ethical guidelines and how not to search your neighbor's thoughts for plans of espionage.......She sighed. Back at S.T.R.I.K.E, lines rarely blurred. There were objectives that needed to be fulfilled and through questionable means were almost always resolved.

"Right," she said after a few minutes. "I'll find Jake and see what we can work up." She stood up, heading for the door. "Oh," Betsy stopped and turned back to Remy. "It took some time, but I've built a fairly comprehensive set of training specs down in the Obs. Deck. It's ready for review when you manage the time, in between redecorating, that is. And the file is under Braddock Omega One."

"Really? Looking forward to it, chere. Let's get it moving for tomorrow den. De sooner we going, de better." He swivelled his chair and leaned back, going into brooding mood. Betsy was almost out the door when she heard him.

"I hope you're right, chere. I hope Wisdom saved dat little bit. Because if not, wit' all de things that are happening, it's looking more and more like Remy going to have to put him in de ground sooner or later."

"I hope it doesn't come to that." Betsy muttered. "See you, Rem."

"Bon soir, Betts." Remy said, not looking over as she closed the door behind her.