xp_logs | Sarah M and Remy | Snow Valley Offices

Just another day in the life of X-Force. Sarah gets a new assignment, and is less than impressed.

The cubicle farm at the Snow Valley offices was a bit of a running joke. While seniority was jokingly the often cited reason for how the offices were allocated, the real reason was for those who managed assets remotely often and needed soundproofed space, where as those who focused on research and field work ended up in the cubicles.

Like Sarah, who was typing away as Remy walked up and placed a cup of coffee on the desk at her elbow.

"Got a minute?"

"Unless you have some insider information regarding the end of the world, I probably have more than one." She looked at him, and then at the coffee. "Or did you put poison in the coffee again?"

"With de coffee we make in here, poison might help de taste." Remy said wryly, taking a sip from his own. "Dere's a run through Europe dat I want you to take. But dere's a catch."

"Of course there is." Sarah pushed her paperwork to the side, finally giving him her full attention. "Can it at least be less unpleasant than last time? After the last one, I know more about the black market leech trade than I'm comfortable with."

"Dat I can't promise you. I need someone to put Cammie through de paces. Make sure she can handle de field." He folded his hands over his lap. "I'm serious, Sarah. I need you to put her to de limit. If she can be broken, break her. If you can run her into de ground, someone else can."

Sarah raised an eyebrow, and took a tentative sip of coffee. It tasted awful. "Why get me to do your dirty work Remy? Wasn't so long ago that you would take great pride in making new recruits cry."

"Dat's when we had Wisdom worrying 'bout all de intel side and de network. Now it's my responsibility." He gave her a wry smile. "But de reality is dat while I can scare Cammie, Remy can't make her understand just what dis world means in a personal sense. You can, because any of de life experiences she's got to whine 'bout, you've got de same times ten. You're also one of de best field people we've got, Sarah."

"You're full of shit." For most people, saying such a thing to one's boss is unheard of. For Sarah, it was just Tuesday. "I don't have sage lessons about life to pass on to anybody. My idea of career advice entails developing an unhealthy disregard for your own personal safety, because hell, it's not like they can actually kill you. Those the kind of lessons you want her learning?"

"Non, Remy serious. And if you skills were what you were describing, you would have already been dumped in a shallow grave." Despite her bluster and her healing factor, Sarah wasn't invulnerable. "If Cammie's going to have value here, it's going to be de same kind of assignments as yours."

"So really I should just kill her for job security." Sarah sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. "Look. I'll take her out, and show Cammie the ropes, because I don't want a repeat of North nearly getting me killed because guns are fucking scary. But I'm nobody's mentor. I can't even figure out how to effectively guide Artie, and I consider him to be my own fucking family."

"Dis is part of de job, Sarah. I don't expect you to be her big sister. But Remy does need you to show her how to operate in a way dat she can understand." He took another sip from the coffee. "She's not suited for approach or Jubilee's. And she's got physical advantages that Amanda or Marie-Ange doesn't have."

"And I said I would do it." Sarah was beginning to wonder when people had started trusting her to do more than just hit things and write memos. She wasn't sure she appreciated the vote of confidence. "I have trained to take Logan down when he eventually goes nuts. I'm sure you have somebody ready for me when it comes down to it. You should make sure you have a third ready, because you're going to need it."

"Remy always has someone." He said with a nod, knowing full well that at the end of the day, he wouldn't be sending others as his assassins. Not if it was his people involved. He trained them, he led them, and if they turned, he'd look in their eyes as they died. "I've got a long circuit ahead for you. Mostly Europe, North Africa and de Middle East. Twenty days, give or take. You'll take Cammie as far as Istanbul, and den finish de last leg youself. When you get back, it's going to be you decision whether or not she can handle it."

"Each stop will be more unpleasant that the last, and if I don't kill her before I get back she's on the team. Got it." Sarah spun her chair back around to her desk, and shook the mouse to bring her computer back up. "I'll keep working on this proposal to have you assassinated until you get me the itinerary. If I'm lucky, I'll get to hand deliver it during the trip."

"Don't be ridiculous. Anything as fun as having me killed you'd save for youself instead of farming out." Remy said as he walked away from her desk.

Sarah laughed, but he wasn't wrong. "Maybe you should just get me the damn itinerary."