The black custom van made it�s way through the streets, it�s engine purring as it splashed through the puddles the rain had created on the now silent streets of New York City.

�You sure she�ll give us the info we need?� the driver asked, his Ruby Quartz sun glasses hiding any expression his eyes may have held.

�She�ll give it to us,� the first passenger said from his seat next to the driver, �Trust me.�

�How you know we can trus her?� the second passenger asked in a thick Cajun accent, �How you know she not be in on it too? Ya can� trus de Broderhood, dey don� play fair.�

�Trust me Gumbo,� the first growled, �She aint with the Brotherhood. Never has been, never will be. She�d die before she joined them.�

�Just how well do you know her Logan?� the driver asked, glancing over at the man to his right.

�Well enough to know that she can be trusted with anything,� Logan said, his blue eyes focused on the street ahead.

There was a long silence, then it was broken by the driver�s voice once again.

�Why don�t you tell me about her,� he said, his voice slightly commanding.

�Cause it aint important,� Logan answered matter-of -factly.

The Cajun could feel the tension building in the silence that followed. It was always this way when Scott and Logan got together. They always had some kind of disagreement that usually ended up in a fight. Most times the fight was pretty much over before it started, but there were those rare occasions where they actually came to blows. He just hoped that this was not one of those times.

A short time later, the van pulled up outside the White Tiger; a night club that, for all intents and purposes, seemed rather normal. Logan knew better. He had been here several times, mostly to get info, sometimes just to relax. This particular club catered mostly to mutants, and mostly to the not so friendly kind of mutants. Every time he had been in here he had been in a fight, most times it was with �her� just to make sure that no one got suspicious. He had made her a promise a long time ago, and it was one he intended to keep, no matter how many times he had to let her beat him in a fight to do it.

�You two stay here,� he said, �I can do this alone.�

He started to get out of the van when he felt Scott's hand on his arm. He scowled over at the younger man.

�We do this together or not at all Logan,� Scott said roughly, �You know the rules.�

Logan glanced back at the Cajun, then nodded.

�Fine,� he said, �But when I tell you to leave, you leave. Got it.�

Scott didn�t respond. He released Logan�s arm and got out of the van then walked over to where Logan and Gambit were. The boom of the base from the club could be heard from outside, giving the three men only a hint of the noise that awaited them on the inside.

Without a word to the others, Logan started for the doors. He reached them and threw them open, the full boom of the music hitting all three of them. Logan didn�t even flinch, instead he walked inside and straight over to the bar. The others simply stared for a moment at the sight before them.

It was like most of the clubs they had seen, lit only by the colorful strobes that flashed in rhythm to the music. The music was the same, always loud and fast and a thin layer of smoke hung in the air along with the mixed smells of people and alcohol. The dance floor was packed with people of all kinds, some obvious mutants, some not. Scott didn�t see any he recognized off hand, but he figured it was better that way. They had come here for a reason, and the last thing they needed was any unwanted distractions.

He felt Gambit nudge him, then followed the man�s nod toward the bar where Logan stood talking to the bartender. Scott and Gambit made their way through the throng of people to where Logan was just in time to hear him ask the bartender a question.

�Where is she?�

The young man gave him a dumbfounded look and shrugged. Logan frowned, then with lightning fast reflexes reached across the bar and grabbed the man by the shirt pulling him across the surface toward him. He pulled the man up till their noses were almost touching, his eyes hard and cold.

�I aint askin twice,� he growled.

The young man swallowed hard, then nodded toward a set of stairs that led up to a door on the far wall. Logan glanced over at the door, then looked back at the kid.

�She alone?� he asked.

The man simply nodded.

Logan abruptly released the man almost causing him to tumble forward onto the concrete floor in front of the bar, but Scott reached out and grabbed him at the last second. He helped the man back over the bar, mumbled a slight apology and a thank you, then ran off after Logan who was already starting up the stairs. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he turned to Gambit.

�Wait here,� he said, �Don�t let anyone come up.�

Gambit nodded, then Scott turned and followed Logan up the stairs.

* * * * * * * *

She stood in her office, silently watching through the one way glass as the three of them walked in. She smiled to herself as the older one of the three went straight to the bar and questioned Mike. She shook her head, that was probably another bartender she had lost thanks to him. He always seemed to scare them. Every time he came to see her the bartender who had worked that day quit at the end of his shift.

She watched the tall man with him help the bartender back over the bar then follow the first out of sight. Almost immediately afterward, the door that led to the hall outside opened and she heard him walk in. She didn�t turn around, instead she shifted her attention to the other side of the room where her brother sat at a booth that was hidden in the shadows.

�That�s another bartender I have lost because of you,� she said with a smile.

Her voice was soft, almost like she was whispering.

�Sorry,� he said.

�No your not,� she said, finally turning around to face him.

Her green eyes smiled at him from beneath her crown of waist length golden blonde hair, a small smile playing across her full lips. Her arms were crossed across the front of the floor length crushed velvet dress she wore, and her right leg peaked out of a slit that Logan was sure not only went all the way to the hip, but also had a matching one on the other side. The smile on her face faded a bit as another man appeared behind Logan.

�Who�s your friend?� she asked, coming around to the front of the oak desk that stood in the center of the room.

Logan stepped further into the room, letting Scott get the door.

�Cyclops, meet Vengence,� Logan said, �Vengence, Cyclops.�

Regina looked the man up and down, then nodded to Logan.

�So this is the Boy Scout,� she said.

Scott shot Logan an evil glare, and Regina laughed. She could tell that he didn�t like the nickname.

Logan slowly made his way over to the window.

�Where is he?� he asked.

�In the usual booth in the corner near the stage,� she said, not taking her eyes off Cyclops.

�How longs he been here?�

�About an hour,� she sighed, then turned to him, �He probably smelled you as soon as you got out of the car.�

�Yeah,� Logan nodded, �Same here. Not even the smells of this place can hide him.�

�Who are you talking about?� Scott asked confused.

Regina�s gaze shot over to Logan, a look of disbelief on her face.

�You didn�t tell him?� she asked.

�Wasn�t important,� he said with a shrug.

Regina fought to urge to reach out and strangle him. Instead, she took a deep breath and turned walked over to the file cabinet, pulling out a folder. She walked back over and gave the file to Cyclops.

�Everything you will need is in here,� she said, �It should give you what you need to stop him.�

Scott took the file from her and flipped through it. He skimmed a few of the pages, his frown deepening a little more each time.

�Are you sure this is correct?� he asked.

Logan came away from the window and walked over to where the two of them stood.

�Trust me Cyk,� Logan said, �It�s the real thing. She hasn�t failed me yet.�

�And as long as I have access to the info I won�t� she said, �Anything I can do to help stop him I will, you know that.�

Just then another man opened the door and stuck his head in.

�Sorry, mon ami,� he said, his black eyes taking in the sight in the room, �But Sabretooth is headed dis way.�

Regina�s turned to Logan. She knew this was coming, and she also knew what came next. Her eyes met Logan�s for a bit, then she nodded to the other two.

�There is a backdoor at the end of the hall,� she said, �Take the folder and go. Hurry up before he gets here.�

�Go on Scott,� Logan said when he saw Cyclops hesitate, �I�ll be right behind you.�

Scott nodded, then he and the Cajun disappeared out the door.

�You too,� she said, �I can handle my brother without your help, trust me.�

�No,� he said, his hand pulling back her hair to reveal a set of bruises on the back of her neck, �You can�t.�

She hung her head, her smell suddenly tainted with shame. He hated seeing her like this when he knew they could help her. Yet every time he offered, she refused. And yet he continued to try.

�Come with me Gin,� he said, lifting her face with a finger under her chin, �We can protect you...I can protect you.�

�But I am of more use to you here,� she said, �And you know it.�

She could hear Victor�s footfalls on the stairs now, she was running out of time. She knew what she had to do, and she knew it would hurt both of them. She put her right hand behind her back and began to for a blue orb. She had to make this look real, otherwise Victor would never buy it. They had always had a signal before, one that cued when the fight would start, but Victor had never been here when he had showed up before. This time she wasn�t acting for the people at the club, this time she had to fool her own brother.

�I�m sorry,� she said, then took a step back from him.

Just then Victor burst in through the door with a growl. Logan moved his attention away from Regina and turned to face Victor, automatically popping his claws.

He didn�t even see the orb. It hit him full in the chest, throwing him back through the window and out above the crowd of people on the dance floor below. The sound of broken glass, coupled with the boom from the orb made everyone stop and look up. As if in a practiced move, all the dancers on the floor moved back out of the way, leaving a cleared area for Logan to land on. He landed with a thud, the shards of broken glass raining on top of him as he lay there stunned.

He recovered quickly, climbing to his feet. He looked up to see Regina floating down from the broken window above, a stone look on her face. The music had stopped, and everyone was now standing around them, waiting to see what happened next. He looked toward the stairs and saw Victor starting down them. This was not how this was suppose to go.

He looked back to Regina as she landed softly before him. He couldn�t read the look on her face, nor could he read her scent, her shield was masking it. She had never done this before, but then again Victor had never been here when he had come to see her either. He should have expected this, he knew that she would try to protect him from Victor, but he also knew what it could cost her.

Victor made it to the floor and came over to where Logan stood facing Regina.

�Let�s go runt,� he said with an evil grin.

�NO!� Regina said, her hand on Victor�s arm, �This is my fight Victor. Stay out of it.�

Logan could tell Victor was shocked, but he also seemed pleased. He stepped back and made a large sweeping motion toward Logan with his hands.

�Go for it,� he said, then stepped back into the line of people who were watching.

Regina looked at Logan, her eyes telling him everything her voice couldn�t.

�You don�t have to do this,� he said.

�Yes,� she said, �I do.�

She formed another orb, this one smaller than the first. She threw it at him and watched as he dodged and it hit the far wall, causing the whole place to rumble. He got back to his feet and retracted his claws, he wouldn�t use them on her.

�I won�t fight you,� he said, �Not like this.�

�Suite yourself,� she said, and threw another orb at him.

This one hit him in the chest again and threw him backwards, out the doors and into the street where Scott and Gambit were waiting.

He got to his feet and looked at her as she stepped forward, her eyes cold and unreadable.

�This isn�t over,� he said.

�Your right,� she said, �It�s not, but it will have to wait till some other time. I have a business to run.�

With that she closed the doors, leaving all three men standing out in the cold with bewildered looks on their faces.

�You alright?� Scott asked.

�Fine,� Logan said.

�What happen, mon ami?� Gambit asked, �Gambit tought da pettite wa� you friend.�

�It�s a long story,� Logan said, �And one I don�t intend to tell you. Let�s go, we gotta stop Magnito.�

The others silently went back to the van while Logan stood for a moment and stared at the closed doors. He would find a way to get her out of there one day, he had to. He couldn�t handle it if she ended up like the others, dead at the end of Creed�s claws.

* * * * * * * *

Back inside the club, Victor stepped through the crowd toward his sister as she turned away from the door.

�Why didn�t you kill him?� he growled.

�Shut up Victor,� she said, then blew past him and back up to her office.

She only hoped that Logan understood, and that he hadn�t given up on her.