Cruelty Is Bitter Bane Log 2

[x-dominion.livejournal.com]

The three X-Men arrive in St.Louis to help



There were advantages to a hotel bar. They tended to be overly loud with their music and television volume, sparsely populated with isolated drinkers, and contained few regulars to make any one stand out. So long as you could stand the football on a loop, listening to pop mashups of disco and getting past the one sad regular who propped up the edge of the bar every night and major holiday, you had an easy place to talk about anything without being overheard.

Garrison was waiting for them as they arrived, flipping through files on a tablet, bottle of Sam Adams half forgotten at his elbow. He looked up as they arrived and gave them a tired smile.

"The cavalry has arrived." He said, waving them to sit.

Kitty glanced over her shoulder at the others, then took a seat. She hadn't been involved in anything like this for years--and certainly not on the right side of the law. Folding her arms, she leaned back a little, eyeing Garrison. I wonder what I've gotten myself into.

"Bit early to be callin' us the cavalry, dont'cha think?" Logan clapped Kane on the shoulder before settling into the seat next to him and leaning back. He didn't know much about this version of Kitty but figured she'd probably hold her own just as well as the previous version. And Julian, was well Julian.

Julian stopped a waitress on his way to the table and placed an order for a pitcher of beer to be brought over, then joined the rest of the group at the table. "Beer's on its way," he took a seat next to Kitty. "What are we talking about?"

"Something very different." Garrison quickly outlined the briefing he'd received from the local police; two young male mutants kidnapped and sexually assaulted before being killed. Methodologies suggested a serial killer but didn't fit normal profiles. "Here's where it stops being academic. Another young man, a mutant, was kidnapped yesterday. He fits roughly the same profile as the others. Unfortunately, the local police took a pretty heavily hit on M-Day and as a result, care fuck all about whether or not he comes home. The parents were obviously threatened by the kidnapper and they refuse to cooperate with the Agent in charge from the Bureau."

Logan's eyebrows went up as Kane described the case. "So how'd this come to your attention? 'Cause it don't sound like either the cops or the Bureau are makin' much headway." When the pitcher arrived, he poured himself a tankard and took a gulp. "What're ya needin' us to do?"

Kitty slid the pitcher on when it came to her. She needed to be alert.

"What kind of threat did the parents receive? Is there any indication of that for sure or are they just not talking?" She leaned forward, her eyes on Garrison. I wonder how they felt about their child's mutation. The minute the thought crossed her mind, Kitty felt ashamed. It didn't make any difference to the case at hand...did it?

"They didn't specify, but if I had to guess, I'd bet on them being told the police were being monitored and if they got them involved further, their son would be killed." Kane shook his head. "Kidnappings have been the responsibility of the Bureau since the Lindbergh baby. The field office is in charge but with the mutant angle, Duncan wants me to check it out. The problem is that the police are stonewalling me from seeing the victims or getting the pathology reports, and the parents won't talk. I was hoping you and Kitty might be able to get into see the bodies and get some information from the server."

He topped up his glass and turned to Julian. "This is a little more of a shot in the dark, but the victim's named is DeMattis. His father is a pretty rich guy who serves on a number of boards with your father. I was hoping you might know the family."

"Of course," Julian tipped back his glass slightly before continuing. "Not quite on the same level as my family- newer money, but still very well respected...and very generous. I...I didn't know that Devon was a mutant though. They kept that out of the public eye, but given their high profile, that's to be expected."

He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message as he talked, "I assume you want a face-to-face, I'm having Hope call them to set up an investment meeting with our AP division." Text sent, he looked up at Kane, "New money can't resist that sort of opportunity, and if they're trying to keep-up appearances, we should be able to meet with them as early as this afternoon."

"Good. If they aren't willing to provide any details, we have very little to work with." Kane said, pausing after for a moment. "Look, I know this is outside of our usual comfort zone, but a serial killer targeting mutants is a new occurrence. In this kind of environment, they could use the police indifference and silent families to prey on people for years without getting caught."

Logan nodded. Everything Kane said was true and well, it wasn't like their schedules were busy right now. "And we're all about gettin' in where people don't wanna be lookin'. So let's get this serial killer caught sooner rather than later."

Kitty nodded, though her mind was whirring with another question. If this killer goes after mutants alone, how does he find us? She hoped silently that he was no mutant himself.

"So, when do you want me and Logan to go?" she asked. "Tonight?"

"If you can. Here's the address of the morgue. Get me what you can but don't leave anything behind. The local AG is just looking for an excuse to score political points on this." He said. "Julian, you and I will talk to the family tomorrow. Round table back here tomorrow night to figure out our play. Any issues?"

Julian shrugged and took another sip of beer, taking a second to what-he-thought-was subtly check out one of the servers. Bringing his attention back to the table, "Hmm, yeah, I'll get the meeting set for the morning...not too early though." The youngest member of the team took another sip of beer.

Kitty stared at the address in her hand, then smiled. "Thanks. I'll be ready to go."

Logan shook his head. "Nah, nothin' on my end. I'm good to go soon as we can." He finished off his beer. Definitely not his favorite label, which just meant he needed to do the ordering next time around.