Disclaimer: Hi there. Sabretooth, Logan and Jean Grey are all characters copyrighted by Marvel. Mulder & Scully belong to Ten Thirteen Productions, I believe, or Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Everything else is my own creation, except New York. Even the dolphins want nothing to do with it. Here There Be Tygers, part VI Sean Venning, December, 1996 New York 8:15 am, Thursday The mobile telephone rang shrilly from Mulder's pocket. He took it out and pressed the 'talk' button. "Mulder." The reply crackled tinnily in his ear. "Agent Mulder, I just thought you'd...." There was an embarrassed cry as Mulder collided with a tall, strikingly red haired woman. He reached out his free hand and grabbed her forearm before she could fall. "I'm sorry Ma'am, I didn't notice you there." "That's all right, my fault. I should have been looking where I was going," she smiled. "I'll live." "I'm glad. It'd be a shame if you didn't," Mulder smiled back at her as Scully looked heavenward. The woman looked over at Scully. "If you'll excuse me," she began, "I'm late as it is. Have a pleasant day." Scully forced a smile as the woman walked past her and away along the footpath. "'Oh dexterous one, you saved me'," she said wryly. Mulder looked innocently at her. "What?" "Just finish your call, Mulder." "Oh, right. Hello? I...oh," he put the telephone back into his pocket. "I guess they couldn't wait." "Who was it?" "I don't know, they didn't say. To the office?" "To the office." They walked up the stairs and into the police building. ************************************* "Well, that was interesting," Jean said, as she sat at the table where Logan had been waiting for her. Running her hand through her hair, she looked around the cafe, then picked up the laminated menu. "Coffee any good?" she asked. Logan grunted noncommitally. Jean turned around and signalled the waitress. "Cappuccino, thanks," she ordered. The waitress nodded and walked away. "Nice hat," Jean tried again. Logan gestured at the newspaper on the table. "We have to stop him." Jean turned the paper around, and read the headline. 'RIPPER BUTCHERS TWO!' She looked back up at Logan. "They knew little, other than his name. They had a description already. If I read Agent Mulder right, a security camera at the site of one of his kills caught him." "But no idea of where to find him." "Aside from a general area centred on the park, no." Logan took out a cigar and lit it, oblivious to the 'no smoking' sign behind him. "Jeanie, we're goin' ta have to flush him out. I'm afraid you're the closest thing to bait we got." Jean took a deep breath. "Well, it could be worse. I might not have you around to watch over me." Logan smiled. "It keeps me off the streets." At that point the waitress walked over to their table. "Excuse me Sir. This is a non-smoking establishment." "I'm happy for it." "Sir....." "Ok, Ok." He took the cigar from his mouth and twisted it out in the palm of his left hand. "Better?" A look of disgust crossed the girl's face. She turned and walked away. "Charming to the last," Jean said, as Logan brushed the ash into his empty cup then looked at the rapidly fading burn mark. Within moments it was gone. He put the now extinguished cigar back in his pocket. "You know Jeanie, some people just have no sense of humour." ***************************************** New York 9:05 am, Thursday "Agent Mulder, can't you come up with anything else?" "I'm sorry, but this killer doesn't fit any known serial killer profile, 'X' or otherwise. He's a whole new case." "Well I've got the Chief jumping on my back and the Mayor's jumping on his, so consider it passed along, Ok?" Mulder smiled wryly at Lieutenant Black. "I get the picture. My partner is on her way to the morgue now to have a look at last night's victims. Have you circulated the description we gave you last night?" "This 'Logan'? Yeah, the boys on the beat have it, along with instructions to call it in for you, rather than approach him themselves. Suspect?" "No, possible witness. I just feel it better that we approach him ourselves, instead of having him scared off." "It's your game for now. Just make sure you finish it. Fast." 1:15 pm, Thursday Scully stepped around the trolley bearing the cadaver and approached her partner. "Well, I have to say that that was one of the bloodier messes I've ever had to examine," she stated, as she pulled off her surgical gloves. "In what way?" "Both bodies showed massive signs of blood loss, all of which was accounted for in the immediate area. Our killer would have been absolutely saturated with blood. He is definitely not squeamish." "So both victims bled to death?" "No, only the female, a Sally Jenkins. The male, Jonathan Brooks, showed signs of four different injuries, any one of which could have been fatal. There were two slashes, along and across his body. Also both his spine and neck had been broken, separately. Creed is obviously physically very strong." "Or just very good at what he does." Scully glared at Mulder, who continued. "Is there any sign of cannibalism with these two?" "No. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Creed killed this couple just for the 'fun' of it. None of the wounds are random, as if struck in a frenzy, but three of the male victim's wounds were unnecessary." Mulder looked over at the covered corpses thoughtfully. "So there was no real purpose to this killing, except maybe the act itself," he mused aloud, frowning in thought. "Either way," he continued, "His picture has been circulated to every police station in the city, as well as the description of Logan, so there's little left to do but wait. Any word from the hospitals?" "No, nor the morgue. It appears that Mister Logan has access to his own doctor somewhere. Judging by the blood at the site, the doctor was nearby, or else there was someone else on hand to transport him. No one was going very far with a bullet wound like that." "Not even one who can sever a gun with one hand?" Scully frowned. "No," she said after a pause. "Not even someone like that." ************************************************ Logan hunched down further into his jacket and lit his next cigar. About him the crowd eddied and swirled, going to wherever. He looked about, seeing no one out of the ordinary. Glancing across the road to where Jean idled along, he pushed off from the wall, shaking out his match and discarding it. "Excuse me, Sir, I think you dropped something." Logan swore inwardly. "You're right, Officer, so I did." Not wishing any undue attention, he bent to retrieve the spent match, then stood and nodded to the patrolman. "Have a goodnight, Sir." Logan nodded again, then walked on. Behind him the police officer stared at his receding back, then reached for his handset. ***************************************** New York 9:20 pm, Thursday Scully reached over to lift the ringing telephone from its cradle without looking away from the copy of 'Come to Grief' she had picked up at a nearby newsagent that afternoon. "Scully here," she spoke absently. "Agent Scully, this is Sergeant Jacobson, down at the station house. There's been a report of your Mister Logan being seen near the Park. Thought you and your partner would want to know about it." "Thanks, we do." Putting down her paperback, she quickly wrote down the location of the sighting then thanked the officer and replaced the receiver. Within a few minutes she was outside her partner's motel room, knocking loudly. "Mulder, its me, Scully." The door opened, Mulder's concerned face looking out at her. "What's up, another murder?" he asked. "No," she replied. "Logan's been sighted. He's being kept under observation, but we'd better hurry. It's not far." Mulder stepped back to retrieve his coat and jacket, then grabbed the replacement pistol he'd been issued. "Let's get going." ***************************************** Logan kept to the sides of the path, using the shadows without appearing to, following Jean from downwind without actually watching her. He knew he could get to her fast enough, if needed. They'd entered the park about half an hour ago, losing the uniformed police officer that had been 'patrolling' a short distance behind him. Up ahead, Jean maintained the slow walk of one who was on their way to nowhere and in little hurry to get there. Heads turned as she passed, giving Logan cause to grin to himself. *keep this up and creed wont be our only worry jean* He took another long, thoughtful drag on his cigar, then started after her again. ***************************************** Creed stalked the night, revelling in the flood of information from his senses; the amber glow from overhead lights, the soft breeze against his skin, the scents and flavours of the night air. The hunt. About him he could sense people, cattle, wandering the park, oblivious to his presence. Oblivious to their predator. Oblivious to Sabretooth. He grinned, a sneer across his features. *I love a good buffet* He stopped for a moment, closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, tasting the air. Opening his eyes again he chose a direction. *dinner time* Creed started off through the bushes, making barely a sound as he went. He allowed night animals to scurry away as he passed. He wasn't hunting them. Up ahead he saw a couple walking hurriedly along one of the paths, although the male was obviously favouring one leg. He watched them for a moment, then followed. The couple kept up a brisk pace, obviously looking for something, or someone. Creed circled around them, moving downwind, not letting them get away from him, keeping alert for a chance to act. The couple paused to look around occasionally, all the while heading farther away from the busier sections of the park. The predatory sneer returned to his face. *just keep making it easy for me* Up ahead the path turned, finally positioning the couple clearly upwind of Creed. He took in their scent, freezing in place as he recognised a metallic taint. *gun oil* That didn't change anything. He started moving again, catching snippets of conversation as he stalked. "...I don't see him, Mulder." "The patrol officer said he saw him.....followed him for a while..." Creed nearly laughed out loud at the irony. Cops. They were hunting for someone as he tracked them. No wonder they never caught anyone. In a few minutes, these two would never have the chance to catch anyone again. He moved closer. ********************************************** Logan did a slow scan of his immediate surroundings, all senses striving to locate Creed. *nothing jean* He felt the telepathic equivalent of a shrug from Jean as she continued on her way. Waiting for a moment longer, Logan again looked around. Seeing no one, he turned back to the path. Standing his ground as a group of people broke around him, he waited for them to move around the corner behind him before moving on. *********************************************** Creed took another step forward and looked around. This was far too easy. He needed a challenge. Moving quietly along through the bushes he kept apace the couple as he looked for something to liven up his evening. Ahead on the path he could hear voices. As he loped swiftly ahead of the two he had been following, he looked through a break in the trees and saw several laughing couples, obviously on their way home from somewhere. Perfect. He could cross the path, take down three, maybe four of the people, then be gone before the cops could draw their guns. Six maybe seven seconds to clear the undergrowth, hit them all and get to cover. Child's play. He crouched, muscles taut, waiting. *********************************************** *I have him* Logan froze. *where is he jean* *back along the path* Logan had already turned and was sprinting back the way he had just come. *where* *about four hundred yards the way you are headed* All Logan could hear was his boots pounding along the path. Breathing deeply of the air about him, he still couldn't sense Creed. All he could sense were the people that had just passed him and... *jean* *yes* *those agents are near* *what do you want to do* *we hit creed nothing else matters* Logan kept running. ********************************************** New York 10:05 pm, Thursday Scully stopped and turned to her partner. "So you see him yet?" Mulder turned around, continuing to look through the thick foliage about them. He shook his head. "Nope. But he can't be far." "Perhaps he's not here." "He's here." "A hunch, Mulder?" Mulder looked down at her. "Something like that. Let's keep going." He started walking again. Scully looked down at her feet, shook her head, then turned and followed him. Around the nearby corner she could hear voices approaching. *********************************************** Creed looked back over his left shoulder. The cops chose that moment to come into view. Smiling broadly, he raked his fingers through the soil in front of him, then rolled his neck to loosen the muscles. *three* His eyes locked on the first target. *two* Muscles tensed. *kill* He sprang. Leaping out through the greenery he was on them in an instant. Screams filled the air. "Hey!" "What the..." "Noooooo!" Creed grabbed at the nearest woman, claws tearing through her throat, spraying her green jacket crimson. A man to his left stood transfixed. Next to him another tried to push another woman away, to safety. "Wrong!" Creed dropped the dying woman and ignored the stunned male, twisting on the spot to reach past both men to rake his claws down the second woman's side. "Gotcha!" Blood filled the air. Beyond the small group Creed could hear the cops drawing their guns. "F.B.I. Freeze!" This just got better and better. Creed leapt over the body of the first woman he had hit and blinded a cowering man with a casual back handed swipe. "Creed, we will fire!" Creed stopped in a crouch and turned towards the voice. *how do they know who I am* He bounded towards the cops. Gunfire filled the air. One of them even found its mark. *she dies first* Behind him he heard the sound of boots on the path, coming towards him. A voice bellowed through the night air. "Creed!" He turned again. Bearing down on him was a figure he shouldn't have seen. He knew now how he had been identified. Behind him the feds were moving closer, looking for a clearer shot, but he didn't care. "Logan?" This was not happening. The runt shouldn't have been here. This changed everything. Creed started to run towards Logan, closing the distance between them. Logan's eyes lit with a feral gleam. With a metallic 'snikt', sets of metallic claws sprang from the backs of his fists. Both men leapt at each other, teeth bared. Meeting briefly in mid-air they tore wildly at each other, scrabbling like wild dogs, then falling back to glare at each other. Neither stood unbloodied. "Freeze, both of you!" Mulder's voice broke through the suddenly still air. Both men continued to ignore him. Then a new voice sounded. "Give it up, Creed!" Creed looked back past Logan, seeing a woman surrounded by a glowing pink nimbus of light, floating just above the path. Jean Grey. Things had just gotten worse. He had to leave, now. Looking about he saw another of the original group he had attacked, still unscathed. Before Logan could move again, he slashed down, opening an artery. "Better save them, 'X-Men'. Next time it'll be you!" Diving sideways into the shadows, Creed rolled gracefully to his feet and started to run. Screaming furiously, Logan turned to follow. Jean called out to him. "No Logan, there's no time!" Logan ignored the cry and started into the dark after Creed. A pale glow appeared around him, stopping his pursuit. "We've gotta stop him, Jeanie!" Logan's growled. "We can't! These people need our help, fast!" "Damnit Jean, I've gotta stop him. Now!" Jean's power pulled him gently back to the path, where he could see Creed's victims strewn about. Looking closer, he could see the tell-tale pink nimbus of Jean's telekinesis surrounding several of them, slowing the bleeding, holding them together. "Logan. If we go after Creed now they'll die. I can't let that happen." Logan swore aloud. Jean had obviously made up her mind. "Next time I'm not stoppin'," he said quietly. Jean smiled bitterly. "Next time you won't have to." Logan retracted his claws with a quiet 'snackt'. Taking off his jacket, he crouched down by the nearest victim. Jean lowered herself back to the pathway, stepping briskly over to a whimpering woman. Mulder and Scully cautiously approached the carnage, weapons still drawn. After a moment Scully lowered her gun and put it back into its holster, before kneeling to inspect the wounded. Logan glared up at a speechless Mulder, then returned his attention to the injured man beside him. "Any chance of ya callin' an ambulance or two on that mobile of yours, Bub?"