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Post by mystique on Dec 4, 2006 23:29:11 GMT -5
A deep breath. Bringing air in, letting it out through full lips.
Her eyes were closed, and her heart still. Many years of careful training allowed her that measure of self control. Many years, and many mistakes.
The phone rang.
"Hello," She said to the woman that answered. Candice. She kept her voice natural, with the soft German accent so familiar to her. "I wish to speak with Herr Wagner."
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Post by Nightcrawler on Dec 4, 2006 23:40:58 GMT -5
Kurt was in his office, trying to make his way through the legends from the north when the phone rang, the blinking light letting him know it was a forwarded call. It was a welcome distraction; he was having trouble even making out the long names without tangling his tongue. How did they expect him to say these names in class? Sticking a loose piece of paper between the pages, he set it down and lifted the receiver to his ear.
"Guten Tag, this is Kurt Wagner. How can I help you?"
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Post by mystique on Dec 4, 2006 23:59:36 GMT -5
Mystique slipped into a familiar dialect of German, one that told Kurt the caller knew more about him than most. If not that, then the coincidence was startling.
"Kurt, this is Mystique. Now- don't... hang up. You will want to hear what I have to tell you. Take a moment to make sure Forge is recording the call if you like." She knew their system too well, having been there nearly three weeks unchallenged. It was a feast of information for a woman like Mystique, so accustomed to surreptitiously acquiring data within minutes of entering a building.
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Post by Nightcrawler on Dec 5, 2006 0:15:02 GMT -5
Kurt didn't say anything for a good ten seconds, staring at the receiver. Too much was wrong, and he rubbed his temple absently, the memory of her elbow connecting there all too fresh in his mind.
She was speaking German, which was enough to throw him off, but she wasn't even speaking Hochdeutsch - High German, the standard variation throughout all of Germany - she was speaking in the dialect native to Bavaria, and it was enough to send his heart racing in shock.
He tapped his communicator and contacted Forge, asking politely - if a little coldly - to have the current phonecall to his office recorded for future listening. Then, swallowing his confusion and anger, he held the phone back to his ear.
There was no second thought - if she was going to talk to him in German, he was going to answer the same way. Besides, he knew how to swear in German much better than in English if it came down to that. "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't just hang up on you now."
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Post by mystique on Dec 5, 2006 0:21:14 GMT -5
"Hannah Creed."
Taking a moment to shift her paperwork in front of her, she memorized that voice. So rich, so sandy. Other times they had spoken had been in passing, when there were other things to see to.
But that moment in the hallway, with Hannah in his arms...
"The information I obtained from the Cerebro database while I visited," She said it with such ease, belying the truly neutral nature of Mystique's ethics. "I have pursued it. I have gained enough information on the Sombra Corporation to take to the government."
He had to wonder why she would wish to take that route rather than dealing with it herself or better, having the Brotherhood destroy the building.
Go on, my love. Ask.
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Post by Nightcrawler on Dec 5, 2006 0:30:32 GMT -5
It was enough to make Kurt pause. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself. There is good in everyone, Kurt. Give her a chance.
"When you infiltrated, Mystique. Don't forget that I know exactly what words you're using now." Still, her casual view of it all surprised him. She was acting as though she was welcome at the mansion whenever she pleased. He was willing to give her a chance, but not that much of a chance.
Still, something hitched in his mind. "Why are you taking it to the government? You've never wanted to work with them before. Don't you consider the humans in charge below you?"
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Post by mystique on Dec 5, 2006 0:38:17 GMT -5
"I consider what is available to me to accomplish my goals," She said simply, with a surprising lack of chill for how matter of fact she could be about her exploits. "Consider what might have happened had I knocked on the front door." She left that thought with little time to grow as she moved back to the subject at hand.
"The Department of Mutant Affairs will need to become involved in order to clear out the children, Kurt..." and with his name came a sigh that shot straight through her composure to the rage and sorrow beneath it over what Sombra had done, and her son become. "There are... sixty eight, Kurt. None of them over the age of sixteen. Most of then younger than ten. All of them without traceable guardians. Some of them lacking social security numbers."
"Put simply? I need your help."
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Post by Nightcrawler on Dec 5, 2006 0:46:37 GMT -5
Kurt shook his head. "There had to be another way, Mystique. You broke into our home, you imitated our students - that puts you against us again, no matter what you were trying to do."
Leaning back in his seat, his brow furrowed as she sighed. That was more personal than the Mystique he'd seen lately, even if it was something so small it was almost unnoticeable. He didn't have time to focus on it, though, as she began listing information to him.
Sixty-eight. Sixty-eight children who should be living happily being kept in a lab. His stomach turned at the thought, and as much as he didn't trust Mystique's motives - it all seemed too calm of a reaction for her, bringing in the government - he didn't see any other way around it.
"What do you need from me?"
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Post by mystique on Dec 5, 2006 0:53:57 GMT -5
"I want to send you the file I've compiled. You will need to take this to the DMA and have them intervene on the children's behalf. I trust you and the X-Men to be sure they are handled appropriately." They may have had their differences, and she may disagree greatly with their methods, but one thing she did know of the X-Men: they were decent people. And in her line of work, there were few she could say the same of.
"You're right in guessing that I have an ulterior motive here. While I need you to handle the children, and I believe the press will only aid the X-Men after the controversy at Baltimore... the files I will give you contain some direct links to the man that owns and began the Sombra Corporation, it's projects and motivations. I need him left alone. We need him unharmed. But you will have to trust me on this Kurt."
"I have computer records, emails, video footage and audio recordings of the employees. While there is less than I'd like of direct evidence, the records and emails will do more than suffice. The one thing I was not able to find was any information linking these children to their origins. Only one has any discernible birthplace or parental data."
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Post by Nightcrawler on Dec 5, 2006 1:09:47 GMT -5
Kurt thought for a moment. "You can mail any information to the school. Forge will probably want something for his computer so he can go over everything easier."
Listening quietly as she spoke about publicity and children, Kurt felt his mind grab at something as she spoke about the head of Sombra. Why was she so concerned? There was no doubt in Kurt's mind that the authorities were going to arrest whoever it was, and the X-Men weren't going to go out of their way to harm him.
One child with information. Kurt had a sinking suspicion that he knew exactly who it was. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Did you find information on Hannah? Is that why you're so concerned about her?"
Something else pulled at his mind again, and he frowned slightly. "Mystique... why are you even calling me about this? If you wanted to get us information, you could have just mailed it to the school, or sent it over email, or left it on the doorstep. There's nothing in it for you to actually tie yourself to this." He leaned forward in his chair. "What aren't you telling me?"
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Post by mystique on Dec 5, 2006 1:20:38 GMT -5
She had anticipated this question, had an answer on her tongue waiting for his question. And yet when he asked it, she fell silent, unprepared. She regretted for a moment having called at all. Such was the nature of a secret keeper- her own secrets were the most sacred.
"Kurt do you know why I was at the school?"
He took too long to answer.
"Do you know then why Victor Creed was at the school?"
She didn't wait for him to answer this time. She was becoming a little angry. Why hadn't they connected these things before?
"Has no one read the file Jennifer sent after she abandoned Hannah on the doorstep?"
It was maddening. And entirely beside the point. But it was something he should know, had he not already put the pieces together before.
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Post by Nightcrawler on Dec 5, 2006 1:28:47 GMT -5
Hannah Creed. Victor Creed.
Gott in Himmel.
"Are you telling me that Hannah is related to... Sabretooth?" Kurt asked quietly. It seemed almost impossible that someone so sweet could be related to that hulking brute.
He paused. Pieces were desperately rotating in his head trying to fit together. Mystique was obviously trying to make a connection between the reason Sabretooth was at the mansion and the reason she was as well.
Blink. Blink blink.
"Are you related to Hannah?"
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Post by mystique on Dec 5, 2006 1:33:49 GMT -5
"YOU are, Kurt."
She knew he would not believe her. And that she had to throw something out there for him to wrap his mind around before he caught on to her.
"Have Forge run the appropriate test to link you genetically. You will find the SNP markers in your DNA are a match. There is little more I can tell you... there is no time."
"I will send you the files by overnight courier. They will arrive tomorrow morning."
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Post by Nightcrawler on Dec 5, 2006 1:47:11 GMT -5
Kurt's mouth moved up and down methodically, although all that came out was a strangled sound.
Then he did something he would have never expected to do when told he had blood relatives, something he had longed for time and time again. He laughed.
His entire office was filled with the sound so unfamiliar to him lately, and he tried to choke it off, but it was just too ridiculous... he was related to Hannah? Creed and Wagner? Looking like they did? If there was a link there, he couldn't see it.
Wiping his eyes, he held the phone back to his ear, his laughter slowly dying. "I'll look for the files tomorrow."
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Post by mystique on Dec 5, 2006 1:50:13 GMT -5
Mystique listened to his laughter, knowing precisely how the thought would come back to echo in his head over and over and over in the coming days. Her jaw tensed even as she smiled tightly.
Let him drown in it.
Without a goodbye, Mystique hung up the phone, and threw it across the room. It narrowly missed hitting Aurora, and the girl looked at her with a mixture of shock and concern.
Lifting a hand to tell Aurora it was better not to ask, Mystique got up and walked out of the room.
[end]
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