Razor's Edge

[x-penance.livejournal.com]

In Kosovo, the Elpis crew meets with Dr. Marcel, for a discussion of great importance.



The restaurant - and by extension, the hotel it was attached to - was a nice one. Obviously the school paid its staff well and took good care of its students, Dr. Marcel thought to himself with satisfaction. Although the stories of kidnappings and dinosaurs and the like worried him - he was still unsure if it was a young girl's imagination, or if life as a mutant carried perils beyond even the wildest dreams of an ordinary human. His musings were interrupted by the appearance at the door of the four young people he had arranged to meet, and he rose as they approached the table, leaning a little on his cane, a smile splitting his bearded face. "It is so good of you to join me," she said in his French-accented English. "Please, do sit down."

Angelo smiled at him as he pulled a chair out and sat, in full professional mode. "It's good to see you again, Dr. Marcel. How have you been?"

Jane nodded politely at the doctor, albeit somewhat distractedly. Her hands itched to grab a menu. At the table across from them, someone was having something served to them and it smelled delicious.

Dragging her thoughts from food, she studied the man critically. It hadn't been explained to her fully what the meeting was for, but Yvette was her friend and she really hoped that whatever he needed to discuss wasn't too serious. "Yes, it's very nice to meet you, sir."

John echoed the greetings given by the two and took a seat next to Jane.

Dr. Marcel waited until all four had sat down before seating himself again. "For those who haven't met me before, my name is Dr. Pierre Marcel. I am, I suppose, a friend of Yvette's family - I knew her and her mother when they were in the refugee camps during the Balkans conflict. I actually named Yvette, when she was born. She was so tiny..." His expression grew a little misty, and then he remembered himself, coughing a little. "Any way, I asked you here today so that I might ask of you your opinion on a matter that concerns Yvette."

Monet laughed softly. "She's still tiny, Dr. Marcel," she said and smiled at him. "Nice to meet you. I'm Monet St. Croix."

"And it is very nice to meet all of you. Forgive my lack of manners." The waiter appeared, asking for drink orders, and he waited until the man had gone before continuing. "I assume you are all aware of the circumstances of how Yvette came to be at your school?"

"My brother brought her there." As a snack. Well, that was one way of putting it. "And he... yeah, we know how she got there," said Monet.

Marcel looked at Monet, blue eyes keen, before looking around the table at large again. "After I had heard the story, of how she was taken from the state orphanage here, I got in touch with the local authorities, to assist with apprehending the ones responsible. We held out little hope of actually doing so. Until recently."

At hearing the news, John who had always been a little protective of Yvette leaned forward and rested his forearm on the table; now keen on getting Dr. Marcel's attention. "You mean to say you found the sons of a bi-"

He raised his eyebrows, realizing just who it was he was talking to and snapped his mouth shut. "Sorry," John murmured, looking slightly apologetic for the sudden outburst.

"They're going to be arrested?"

"The local police found the man responsible for removing Yvette - and several other children - from the orphanage, but at this stage they're unable to arrest him. They do know where he is - he's currently employed at a local war orphans adoption agency. It seems he has a particular modus operandi, where he finds employment, under a number of different names, in areas to do with children who are less likely to be missed if they disappear." Marcel frowned.

***

She'd been walking past the hotel's restaurant when she heard John's raised voice. Worried, she'd stopped, and caught sight of the little group at the table with Dr. Marcel. A smile crossing her face, she'd been about to go join them when she registered what was being said:

"...the man responsible for removing Yvette - and several other children - from the orphanage, but at this stage they're unable to arrest him. They do know where he is - he's currently employed at a local war orphans adoption agency..."

The words stopped her in her tracks. The man who had taken her, found? And not being arrested? Like a tidal wave, every memory of her slavery that she had came back, the fear, the feeling of being little more than an animal, the whispers among the captive children late at night, wondering as to their fate, waking up in the infirmary, with no idea where she was or what had happened to her...

Yvette's eyes blazed neon blue, her face hardening into an expressionless mask as she turned and headed for the exit. Perhaps the authorities did not care what happened to young mutant children, but she did. She knew of the war orphans facility of which Marcel spoke - she'd just go there and settle this herself, the way an X-Man would.

***

"Why", Angelo asked, voice flat with the effort at calm, "can't he be arrested? Especially if he's around kids he could do this to again."

"Two reasons." Marcel looked grateful at the effort to remain calm - it was a difficult situation. "Firstly, lack of evidence. The police are convinced he is the same individual, but they lack hard evidence connecting him to the child slave trade. None of those children who have been recovered - and it's far too few - are willing to testify in a court against the man. Which is what I wanted to discuss with all of you, to see if you think Yvette would be able to do so. The second reason is that this man is just a small part of a wider operation. The police have him under surveillance and hope to capture not only him in the act, but the rest of the gang as well."

"Are they close to catching them?" Jane asked, her brow creasing. It would be great to get these jerks arrested, but she didn't like that they had to put more children in danger to do so.

"The police believe so, yes. It seems these men are connected to Albanian crime syndicates, so they must be careful everything is by the book. Which is why having Yvette's testimony in court would be so helpful - an actual witness to what was done, with identification of the individuals, would do much for the case. I know it has been a difficult time for her - do you think she would be able to do so?"

"She's come a long way", Angelo told him. "An' I know she'd want to stop them. Yeah, I think she would."

Marcel beamed. "Excellent! Come, let us order and we can discuss the matter further over lunch. And I would very much like to hear about Elpis as well."

Monet shook her head. "That's going to take a while to go through, and I'm going to need a drink, Marcel. We've got a bunch of different programs going at the moment, and a few more which are still in the planning and feasabilty stages..."



While the meeting continues, Yvette runs into Angel and doesn't take "wait and talk to an adult" for an answer.




How could they?!

Yvette made her way to the front doors of the hotel, her hair visibly spiking as she went, face hardening into an blank mask in which blue eyes glowed like a welder's torch. That... that monster, free and still taking children and no-one was doing anything about it! Well, someone was going to do something and he was going to learn that every action had a consequence...

It was the flash of red that caught her attention. Angel was coming back from getting something to eat and turned a corner just as Yvette sped by. "Hey!" she yelped, startled, flattening herself against the wall. "Hey, where's the –" Angel stopped and got a good look at her friend. "Yvette? What's wrong? I haven't seen you this spiked up in ages!"

For a moment Yvette struggled to speak past the knot of fury. "That man, that..." She trailled off in a series of Albanian expletives that caused a passing old lady to gasp. "The one who is taking me and selling me. He is still taking the children and I am knowing where he is."

Angel gaped. “That’s just…oh god, no wonder you’re all poofed out.” A quick scan of the area told her that there were no adults in the immediate area but that didn't mean much. They were probably just a short jog in one or another direction. “Come on, I'll help you find someone you can tell. It’s awful that he’s still doing it but, hey, you know where he is and that’s great. Someone from the mansion or the police—“

"They already know," Yvette cut in, making a short, chopping motion with her hands. "The people from the mansion and the police. And they do nothing. They say it is not the right time." Her eyes blazed.

She had the realization that saying ‘Maybe they’re right’ would go over like a bunch of lead balloons. “Uh. I guess the next question is, where were you going?” Angel asked, though she could already guess. “There’s no one you can tell?” They lived and were taught by a bunch of superheroes! Someone should be able to do something!

"Everyone I could tell is already knowing." Yvette made the effort to stand straighter - her powers were effecting her posture. "And if they will not be doing something, I will be. I will be showing him I am not the victim any more." Her tone quite obviously left unsaid the 'and no-one can stop me.'

“But he could hurt you…” Angel replied quietly. Despite Yvette’s hardened skin, she could – probably – still be hurt. She shot a look over her shoulder, clearly torn by the entire situation.

"He is just the ordinary man. And I will not be letting him take anyone else." Yvette sized up Angel's hesitation and turned to head off again. "I will be back in the couple of hours," she said, over her shoulder.

For a moment, the only thing Angel could do was sputter in surprise, not really as prepared for that response as she might have thought. She watched her roommate as she headed off and looked around again, hoping that a responsible, level-headed adult would suddenly appear before her eyes. And of course, she’d left her cell phone somewhere else.

When no one appeared, she sighed and stared at the ceiling for a second, her own voice from a plane ride home echoing around in her head.

“Some hero.”

“Oh hell,” she muttered, unable to let the other girl go off alone. Angel broke into a fast jog, calling out, “Yvette, wait up! I don’t care if you’re off to do something potentially stupid, we still have a buddy system!”