Pietro and Scott, Sunday afternoon

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Scott catches Pietro's side of an argument with Val Cooper; afterward, the two men talk about Kansas City and how Pietro can help with--and be helped by--the situation there. Scott is veritably dripping with ulterior motive, but ssh, he thinks he's being sneaky about it.



". . . and I don't care that it's not been two weeks since the last time I asked for a break, nor do I care that I still haven't produced results for you. This is a courtesy, Cooper, not a negotiation." Even if Pietro's door hadn't been cracked slightly open, chances were that his voice would have carried well out into the hall. "I am going out there and I am going to help those people with or without your permission. The choice you have to make is between giving me that permission, or arresting me for parole violation in full view of several dozen people whose lives I have just saved. And you know I will not hesitate to make it as embarrassing a scene as possible." He paused to listen. "I'm only being as unreasonable as you are. And I have the moral high ground. And you damn well know it, which is why you're being unreasonable." Another pause. "A week. No more. And that's a hard estimate, not a baseless assumption; the little timer clock on my computer tells me so."

Out in the hall, Scott paused, tilting his head quizzically. Now, that sounds like an interesting conversation... He jumped to several, probably correct conclusions as he listened to Pietro's conversation with Cooper, an oddly enigmatic smile tugging at his lips.

In the suite, Pietro's voice continued. "Think of it as a work release. My god, woman, is there or is there not a long tradition of chain gangs in this country? It's a big sky, I'm sure your satellites can keep an eye on me in Kansas City just as well as they can here." Another pause, and Pietro's voice calmed "Now, was that so hard? Next time I propose something hear me out before you turn me down flat, it'll save ever so much time. Yes, yes, I'll be back here just as soon as the state of emergency is lifted. I'll even wear a hat and zip my jacket up; I know how much it would grieve you if I caught a cold." One last pause. "Always a pleasure talking to you too, Agent Cooper. Seven days it is." The click as he hung up the phone was almost drowned out by a long, frustrated sigh.

Scott reached out and rapped lightly on the door. "If I come in, am I going to be a substitute target?" he inquired lightly.

"Not unless you're going to be needlessly obstructionist at me. Come on in." Pietro was sprawled out in his desk chair; he rubbed his forehead. "How much of that did you hear? I suppose I should have kept my voice down, but Cooper's built a summer house on my last nerve."

"Just the tail end. Do I take this to mean that you're planning to go to the blizzard zone?" Scott asked as he came in. "I'm glad - you could be very helpful."

"I'm going to be on the first flight out, if possible, because I'd come to that very same conclusion. And I'm tired of this . . ." He waved a hand. "This sitting around, while everyone else goes out and does what they can. Believe it or not, this suite is not what I had in mind for the rest of my life."

"I hadn't actually been thinking that." In fact, he'd been wondering just when the frustration would catch up with Pietro, and what shape it would take. All things considered, this one would be better than most. "Nathan and Jean are going, too, for obvious reasons. So is Ororo. You could always coordinate travel arrangements with them."

"Ah? I will, then. And actually . . ." Pietro sat back, his eyes going slightly abstracted. "You know, it's going to be interesting, working with telepaths I don't have a vested interest in keeping out of my head. I'll have to collar Dayspring at some point, since I assume your wife will have her hands full with the medical end of things."

"You'll have to see what Jean's got planned, although that's probably a fair assumption." He'd have to talk to all three of the others, make sure they kept an eye on Pietro to see how he did out there. Given his far from idle curiosity. "This isn't a team operation, but tell Nathan to give you a little taste of the telepathic switchboard, if you want... it should be helpful with the sort of stuff you'll likely be doing."

"If I'm grasping the concept, yes, it very much ought to be. I had some other thoughts too, though I'll have to see how feasible they are." Pietro's lips quirked up. "You know, I might actually have to send Cooper a thank-you note for being such a cast-iron bitch about this. The argument gave me a little perspective, I think."

"Oh?" Scott inquired mildly. "How so?"

"Well, if she'd just rolled over--as unlikely as that is--I'm not sure I would have realized that this was worth breaking parole for. This isn't a whim, but . . . it might have needed a roadblock or two for me to realize that. I'm not saying I'm going to run right out and join the Red Cross as soon as my deal comes through, but I didn't want to wait any more before making some kind of tangible decision about what to do after I'm done being the editor of the Encyclopedia Magnetica." Pietro chuckled softly. "I'm bad at waiting, after all."

Scott's lips were twitching. "You're weird, is what you are. But I think you'll probably find Kansas... rewarding." He needed to watch what he said. If he came across as trying to make suggestions, or push Pietro in a particular direction, the other man was liable to balk simply because he was terminally stubborn.

"Well, I certainly hope it will be." Pietro smiled thinly. "I'd hate to think I wasted a perfectly good impassioned rant. That's a coin with rather sharply diminishing returns."

Scott laughed, rubbing idly at the scars on the side of his face. "It's too bad my powers really aren't of any use in a situation like that. I'd love to be there to see how it all goes."

Pietro favored him with a wry, knowing look. "I'm sure that between the three of them, Dayspring, Munroe, and your wife will give you a fairly accurate . . . report of events."