Captives

Chapter Five: Gathering Information

Rogue knocked on the door of the Professor's office. She waited for a few moments until she heard the professor send her a message telling her to enter.

"Thank you, Professor," she said as she saw her brother and boyfriend coming down the hall.

"What has happened?" he asked, but something told her that he already knew.

"This," Kurt said and walked in. Remy was carrying the parcel with the two rodent corpses inside. "Someone sent this to Rogue and me."

"Dis is more den a sick joke," Remy said with a disgusted look on his face. "We gotta find out who's doin' dis," Remy demanded as Rogue turned away from that package.

"Do you have a suggestion?" the Professor asked.

"As a matter a fact I do," Remy said. "De P.O. box number on dis box is local, so I'll jus' break into it and see what I can find."

"Remy, that is against the law," the Professor said.

"And what dis asshole is doin' to Rogue and Nightcrawler ain't?" He had a point and the Professor had to admit that he was right. "I'm gonna go down dere and find out who owns dat box."

"Ah'm goin' with ya," Rogue said and looked over at Remy.

"Oh, no, dat's too dangerous," he said, but she had that determined look on her face.

"You ain't doin' this without me," she said with her hands on her hips. "Besides ah can hold my own. Jus' think of it as another job. I'll be your partner."

"Rogue, it ain't safe you to be out dere. What if dis lunatic attacks you again?" he asked.

"Ah ain't safe here either. He set that package, and for all we know he could be watchin' every move we make, so ah'm goin' with you"

"I'll go too," Kurt said. "Zhis guy is after both me and Rogue and I'm not going to stay here and wait for him to attack again. We need to find out who he is. We do zhat and we take away his power."

"Did I hear something about a mission?" Tabitha stood in the doorway.

"How's Jubilee?" Kurt asked.

"She's still a little shaken up, but she'll be okay," Tabitha said. "She’s playing her computer games right now, but I don't think she’s going to be so curious as to open someone else's packages... at least not for a while. Now, what is this about a mission?"

"There's no we," Remy said and he directed his words right at Rogue. "You're staying here."

"Ah already told you, if ah ain't going then you ain't," she said. "So, ya wanna find out who that PO box belongs to you're taking me with you."

"Then we'll come too," Tabitha said. "What do you think Professor?"

"There is safety in numbers," he said, rationalizing the situation.

"We can handle it, and there's no way ah'll allow Remy to do this alone."

"I ain't gonna talk you outta dis, am I?" Rogue shook her head and folded her arms over her chest. "Fine, but you all do exactly what I say."

"Whatever you say, Swamp Rat," Rogue said and walked out of the office.

"Rogue has got to teach me how she does that," Tabitha said and Kurt gave her a weird look. They walked out of the office and got ready for their mission.

Within a half hour they were all ready to go. Remy had just bought a new car and thought it would be safer to take that one since he believed it was most likely that whoever was stalking Rogue and Kurt knew what kind of car she drove.

Plus, he had a false license plate under a fake name, so even if this guy had the smarts to run his plates, false information would come to him.

He drove down to the post office and had Rogue come in with him, although they pretended not to be together. He had two box numbers, one under his name and one under a fake name. He gave her the key to his fake one so they would gain access to the box hall. Four eyes were better than two just in case anyone decided to make a trip to the box numbers that was printed on that package.

Kurt and Tabitha were left in the parking lot just in case anyone suspicious was hanging around. Bayville had its share of weirdos, being an openly mutant city.

Remy passed security and entered the box hall, while Rogue stood at the counter with some lame excuse about wanting to buy some collector's stamps.

She went on and on with the clerk about the valuable stamps that were in her collection, but in truth it was just a bit of information she obtained from one of the many psyches in her mind.

She never thought the knowledge if stamp collecting would ever be useful, but she was proven wrong.

"Oh, ah also need to check my box," she said to the clerk after paying for the stamps. She also pulled out Remy's key.

She walked through the glass doors keeping her cool and searched for Remy's box. Since they were here and someone could be watching them, it was best to keep it real. She opened his box and saw that he had several packages and some letters. One was from Henri. She took the contents out when someone sneaked up behind her. She almost screamed until she felt a hand cover her mouth.

"Don't scream," she heard a familiar voice whisper.

She was annoyed that her own boyfriend would frighten her like that. She turned around to see a satisfied look on his face. "Then don't scare me like that," she snapped back at him while keeping her voice in a whisper.

"What are you doin' goin' through my mail?" he asked.

"Well, I thought it would look weird if ah came in here and not check the box. You got some packages and a few letters." she handed him the letters that she still had in her hands. The packages she slipped in her bag.

"T'anks, been waitin' for dis," he said and slipped the letters in his back pocket. "Anyt'ing else?"

"Two packages," she said and looked suspicious.

"Well, hang onto dem but no peeking," he said and pointed a finger at her.

"My guess is they're for me," she said and smiled. He looked down the aisle and saw that there was no one around.

"Come on, chere. You're my lookout," he said and she followed him at a distance down the next aisle.

Remy reached the correct box and went to work. Rogue stayed down the aisle looking casual but still keeping her eyes open just in case anyone passed by. She looked back after a few minutes and saw that he had gotten the box open. He wasn't called a master thief for nothing. Just then someone came down the adjacent isle, someone Rogue recognized.

"Remy, hurry," Rogue whispered. She saw Kurt and Tabitha entered the box room and looking towards the young man who entered. Rogue tried to act casual as the young man approached. "Collen, what are ya doin' here?"

"Just picking up something for my brother," he said and came down the aisle.

Remy acted as casual as possible as the young man approached. Kurt and Tabitha approached Rogue, both having suspicious looks on their faces.

"Hey, Remy," Collen said as he tried to see what he was hiding. "I think you're blocking my box."

"Am I?" Remy said with a glare in his eye.

"Yeah, number 122," he said and held his key in front of him.

"You mean dis one," he said and grabbed a hold of Collen. He threw him up against the boxes his red pupils, looking more on fire than normal. "It was you, admit it."

Rogue looked on in horror and ran over towards Remy and Collen, while Kurt and Tabitha trailed after her.

"Remy, what the hell is goin' on?" Rogue shouted, trying to get him to release Collen.

"It was him!" Remy said and kept a tight hold on him. "Go ahead! Say it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he cried out.

"Remy, let him go," Rogue pleaded. "Beatin' the crap outta him here will only bring trouble."

Remy released him, and Rogue picked up the key that fell on the floor. Kurt and Tabitha moved to the other side to make sure he couldn't escape. "This key belongs to ya?" Rogue asked.

"No, it's my brother's," Collen said. "He asked me to check his box on my way home from my summer job."

"This box is Duncan's?" Remy asked, loosening his grip on Collen but still keeping a hold of him.

"Well, yeah," Collen said in a shaky voice. There was fright in his eyes as he continued, "Look Remy I know my brother hasn't been exactly civil to you and your friends but..."

"Civil? Dat psycho is stalking my girlfriend and her brother," Remy said and slammed the door to the box shut. "Don't worry, dare's nothing in dare."

"What do you mean stalking?" Collen asked confused by the whole situation.

"Kurt and ah were gettin' all these disturbin' phone calls and text messages," Rogue said and the fright returned to her face. "The caller practically said he was gonna kill us, and then today we got a package in the mail with two dead rats in it. It came from this box number."

"Rogue, I don't know anything about this," Collen said shaking his head. Remy finally let go of him. "I swear. I would never hurt you guys. Come on, Kurt is my friend."

"Ah know, Collen," Rogue said knowing he was telling the truth, "but if Duncan is the one whose doin' this then we have to stop him."

"I agree," Collen said and looked around. "I'll do whatever I can to help."

Just then one of the clerks approached them. "Is everything all right in here?" he asked.

"Yes," Collen said. "Just ran into some friends from high school."

The group left as casually as they could without drawing any more attention to themselves. Out in the parking lot Remy was still not very trusting of the Matthews kid. It was based more on his brother's actions than his, but where the welfare of his girlfriend was concerned he wasn't going to take any chances.

"So where is dat lowlife brother a yours anyway?" Remy asked him.

"He's in Chicago, but he's supposed to be back tonight," Collen said.

It hit all four X-Men that Duncan may have been part of the organization who were protesting against the Darby House and could have taken part in its mysterious destruction.

"The Professor should know about this," Tabitha said with a worried look on her face.

Remy looked over at Collin. "I'm gonna ask you a big favor," he said and a strange look came to Collin's face.

"What do you want me to do?" Collin asked, but by the expression on his face he knew exactly what Remy was going to say.

"What is it?" Collin asked.

"Find out what your brother is up to," Remy said and looked over at Rogue and then back to Collin. "See if he's workin' alone or is dere a bigger boss."

"Alright," Collin said and nodded as he said it. "I'm sorry about that package."

"Ah know," Rogue said in a quiet voice. Collin bid them farewell, and the four young X-Men prepared to return to the mansion.

The ride home was quiet. The radio wasn't even on, not that anyone wanted to listen to any music anyway, and the news was far too depressing.

Just as they were coming in the door, they could hear voices coming from the professor's office.

"Somethin's goin' on," Rogue said and looked up at Remy. She quickly walked over to the Professor's office and saw that it was open half way. She peeked in and saw that Logan and Storm were inside and there was a heated conversation going on.

"Why all the yellin'?" Rogue asked in a raised voice.

Logan looked straight at her, and the expression on his face wasn't a happy one. "You left the mansion."

"Yeah, ah did, but ah had to," she said and approached him. "Ya know about the little gift Kurt and ah got."

"Yeah, I know, but still... whoever is doing this is out there somewhere and you could have been..."

"I wouldn't let that happen," Remy said and came over and took Rogue's hand. "We know who sent it."

Logan’s expression became anxious as did the Professor's. "It was Duncan Matthews," Kurt said, his voice cracking a little.

"Dat ain't all," Remy said. The Professor, Storm and Logan could see the anger on his face. "Dat asshole is in Chicago."

"That's where Bobby, Jean and Scott are investigating the fire," Storm said and her face paled. She looked genuinely horrified that members of their team could be in some real danger.

"You want to make a bet he and dose FOH assholes are responsible for dat fire?" Remy said and Logan just looked at him long and hard.

"So how are we gonna keep an eye on him?" Logan asked as the Professor wheeled over towards him.

"Got dat covered," Remy said and looked over to the professor. "While we were at the post office, we ran into Collin Matthews. He agreed to help."

"Can we trust him?" Logan asked but looked skeptical.

"He's my friend," Kurt said with a hopeful look in his eye. "He's always defended mutants, so I trust him."

"We will wait and see," the Professor said. "Our team in Chicago will be checking in soon, so let's see if they have some new information."

"I agree, Professor," Storm said. "I have every reason to believe we will find out the truth."

"Ah'm still nervous about this whole thing, Professor, and ah think the person doin' that is targeting Kurt and ah because we're related," Rogue said, wondering if it could be Mystique. She didn't want to think that her mother would go that far, but there were several times in the past the woman almost killed her. "Ah don't think it's Duncan directly. He may be workin' for someone else."

"Rogue, please, try not to worry about this too much," the Professor said, trying to be sympathetic, but it didn't stop her.

She left his office and walked down to the kitchen to get something to eat. Remy followed her and offered to make lunch for the both of them. She agreed but still not convinced that this was over. In fact, she believed that it had only begun.