He had to get a kitchen chair from the other room,though,because she only had the one desk chair for her computer,and he was sitting to her left,eating and scanning the papers while she searched online,and occasionally looked at the paper for embarrassing things unrelated to the fire,such as half naked women and stories about remarkably stupid people.So far,she had found more idiotic criminals than anything about the blaze.

"You're sure he's dead,right?"She asked,not for the first time."I mean,he couldn't possibly come back from a napalm enema, could he?"

"I couldn't,"he told her,between bites."And if I couldn't,Chimera couldn't.End of story.He's toast."Of course,he assumed he wouldn't survive decapitation and dismemberment,or at least he damn well hoped not.But that would be quite a trick with his adamantium skeleton in the way.

"Lovely,"she said,taking a sip of her homemade latte.After she set it aside,she stole the last bite of his spring roll,plucking it right off his plate."We make a great team,don't we?I'm the brains,you're the brawn.And the bomb maker."

He arched an eyebrow at her skeptically,but after a moment,admitted,"You did good,Spud."

Her violet eyes widened in surprise,and she smiled warmly."I can't believe I ever missed that."

"Me either."

She winked at him as she popped the last bit of spring roll in her mouth,and went back to surfing the web.After a moment of chewing,she asked,"Did you know you have a fan club?"

His eyebrow remained in its raised position,roughly half mast."Really?"This was a joke he didn't get.

Her smile became even slyer than before."I'm not kidding,I'm absolutely serious.Remember how I told you I saw some bootlegged security cam footage from the Statue of Liberty?"

"Yeah."He had a sudden bad feeling about this.

"Well,it hit the internet.What doesn't?Although,ironically,it first showed up on a radical anti-mutant site called 'No World Order'."

"What does that mean?"

"I have no idea.But it got jacked from there and started showing up all over the place,and even though there were no really clear shots of you-you and your damn camera avoiding-among the mutant lusters you became one of their hunky poster boys."

This had to be a joke.He didn't know where to begin."Mutant lusters?"

"You know,normals who really want to have hot monkey love with a mutant.Apparently a slightly blurry shot of your profile was enough to get their hearts a-thumpin'.See?"She pushed her chair back slightly,so he could have a better look at the computer screen.Leaning in curiously,he saw a slightly pixilated profile of him in a dark place (which had to be somewhere in the Statue,like she'd said,because it looked like he was wearing that goofy uniform) in the center of a black background,decorated with what looked like silver slash marks around the border.And up above,in some gothic,bloody red font,it read:"Welcome to the Claw Luvvers Homepage".

He felt slightly numb with horror."This is a joke,right?You made this,didn't you?"

She laughed,clearly relishing his shock."I did not!I don't have that much free time.Wait'll you meet the keepers of this page-they have their own egroup."She clicked the mouse on something,maybe the picture;he was no longer paying attention.

He sat back,shaking his head.This had to be a joke."No  thanks."

"Too late,"she announced,and gave him a big cheesy grin.

He frowned at her,knowing if he didn't look she'd tease him about being a coward.So he looked,and instantly wished he hadn't. "This is a  fucking joke."

She laughed uproariously at his consternation."Nope.These women-and a couple guys-love you,Claude."

"Claude?"

"They don't know your name,so they gave you one.Clawed,get it?"

The more he scowled,the more she laughed.She was enjoying this."Yeah,I got it.If you didn't make this up,how'd you know about it?"

"The mutant underground exists on line as much as anywhere else.And we like to view these kinds of sites with scorn and derision.I mean,these are people who,if they can't be mutants,want to fuck the next best thing.Come on!"

The online 'handles' of these people were unbelievable.Who in their right mind named themselves 'Socksnnoses',and what the hell was that supposed to mean anyways?Or 'Cakk'?'Nohands'?At least 'mutieluvver' and 'Clawsforme' were self-explanatory.

Looking at the 'picture gallery',he pointed out a pretty strange (and homely) photo,that supposedly belonged to the one calling herself 'Cakk' (now there was a horrible name if he'd ever heard one),and said,"She's not a normal.Look at her."

That made Srina really laugh.Once she had calmed down enough to speak,she replied,"Logan,that's the list moderator in her Klingon uniform."

He looked closer,and saw she was right.Srina was laughing so hard she was flushing a rather unhealthy shade of purple tinged brown.Oh god,this was so fucking sad.He felt humiliated,although he wasn't sure if it was for himself,these people,or both.

"I hear once you go Klingon,you never go back,"Srina stammered,before bursting out laughing again.

He felt his own face flush,probably from anger,but at this point he wasn't sure."I'm glad you're enjoying yourself.Can we please move on?"

She wiped the tears of laughter away from her face with the back of  her hand,and managed to start breathing almost normally again."Sure.Want to go to the fanfic section?"

"What?"

"Or no,first you have to see the bios.They ask what they would do to you if they met you.The Klingon wants to cover you in pie filling,while this other one is obsessed with your socks-"

"My socks?"He repeated in disbelief,which just made her laugh harder.He shook his head and got up."Okay,that's it,I need another beer."It was just a great excuse to leave the room.

"Wait,this one wants to tie you down with leather straps because you're a 'naughty boy',"she said between laughs,her voice following him into the kitchen."And this other one wants to blow you until you can't walk straight."

He paused as he opened the fridge,but then he dismissed the thought with a shake of his head.She was probably a Klingon too.
"Where's your fan club?"He shouted,cracking open a can.

Once she was through with her giggling fit,she said,"I'm a thief,love,remember?Not a hero."

"I'm not a hero either,"he snapped,that comment making him angrier than her derisive howls about his 'fans'.

She waited until he came back to the bedroom before she responded to that,her laughing jag well and truly over (at least for now). "Of course you are.You've always been the hero type,even when you were a hit man,or whatever you were."

It was actually an act of will not to sneer at her."Why do you say that?"

Srina gave him a look like he was threatening to try her patience."Because you never wanted to hurt people who weren't askin' for it.I mean,I'm not saying you don't like to kick ass,'cause obviously you do-you're extremely good at it.But you don't go around randomly smashing heads:you have a conscience,some sense of justice.You're not a bully or a complete psychopath.Isn't that why they wanted to replace you with Chimera in the first place?"

For a long moment he just stared at her,as what she had said had hit him like a cannonball right between the eyes.He sat down heavily in his chair,and asked,"Did I say they made Chimera to replace me?"

Her expression softened,as if only now she realized she had dropped a bombshell."No,but you didn't have to.I kinda figured that out for myself."

Only when he realized he was starting to grip the beer can so hard it was on the verge of collapsing did he put it on the table. "They wanted to replace me?But,I thought...."His thought petered out.He didn't know what he was thinking.He was their brainwashed little robot?The perfect killing machine?

She moved her chair closer to him,close enough that she was able to reach out and take one of his hands.When he looked up at her,she met his eyes,and he saw a kindness in them that he didn't think he needed or deserved."I got one more story I never mentioned.The night I let you pick me up at that pub,when we were walking back to my place,there was this group of kids tryin' to roll a homeless guy in an alley just a half block from the pub.When you heard what was going on,you told me to wait for you, then went back to the alley and basically just threw those five kids around like they were bags of trash.I heard you ask one of them:"What?You couldn't find a little kid to shake down for lunch money?"You beat the shit out of them,and then you came back, all in the space of two minutes,because five against you is still really bad odds for the other side,isn't it?But once I got to know more about you,that little incident didn't make sense to me.Why help that man?You're a hit man,for Christ's sake.So some kids wanna roll a wino for some kicks,why would you care?Why would you,Logan?"

It wasn't a rhetorical question;she wanted an answer.He could only shake his head."I don't know."

"I don't know either.But my guess is you don't like seeing people bullied.You don't like innocent people getting hurt.Which is why those fuckin' wankers wanted to replace you with someone who got their jollies off killing anything that moved;someone who wouldn't fight them every step of the way."She leaned closer,resting her other hand on his knee."You told me the brainwashing never took for long.Do you really think it all gave way at once?Or was it more like a slow collapse,one brick falling out of the wall,and then another?When I met you fifteen years ago,Logan,you were almost the man you are now.You were in there fighting to get out.If you weren't,I have no doubt I'd be dead.I fear you stuck your neck out to save me,and I owe you for that."

"No,you don't."he said,feeling swamped with too much information.But why?Was there anything new there?

Maybe.Maybe he wasn't always their complete puppet...but he worked for them anyways?

What else could he do?He was a man with no name and no past,a mutant only good for killing.Because that's what he did;that was his 'gift'.

"I never got what I wanted from them,"he told her,and he didn't know why.

She nodded,her eyes clear and sad."I know.But you're free.That's something."

"I'm not free,"he snapped,feeling an unexpected surge of bitterness."I won't be free until they're dead or I am."

Srina gave him a soft kiss on the forehead,which surprised him only because it seemed out of place."You are a pigheaded bastard, Logan,"she said,resting her forehead against his."Eventually,they will give up on you,because they will tire of constantly losing an expensive battle.The law of diminishing returns."

"Or they will find their perfect killing machine,making me redundant,"he agreed,but it still felt like wishful thinking.Not that they couldn't come up with a better killer than him;he had a sinking feeling they could,quite easily.What he was afraid of is that they wouldn't give up,not because he was so valuable to them,but because at some point this had become personal:a contest of wills between him and this behemoth entity,and they were determined not to lose,no matter the cost.Because no one 'left' them.
The more he thought about it,it was like some bad relationship that one person refused to let go of until they could have the absolute final word."But I still don't have my life back,"he pointed out,more resigned to it than disappointed.He hadn't had one for so long,he was getting used to it.

"It would sound flippant and insensitive to say 'make a new one',wouldn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Okay,pretend I didn't say that.But still keep it in mind."

He glared at her,but in truth he could not be that angry with her.She had a point,and she was one of those rare things-a person who used to know him.Admittedly,he was under the control of those people then (well,sort of),but she was still an oddity just for knowing more about him than he did.

She sat back,removing her hands,and said,"I know.It's not that easy,blah blah blah,but you have more of a chance than you did. You have to admit that.You even have people who want you in their lives."

"Where?"

She pointed at the computer screen."Well,these people aside,what about those other people on the security tape?Or were you fighting all of them?"

He shifted uncomfortably,not liking where this conversation was heading."No.But I just sorta ended up with them.They don't want me around,trust me."

"They told you that?"

"They didn't have to."

"Ah,sorry,I already used that one.Think up a new excuse or lose two points."

"I'm serious,Spud."

"So am I."She studied him a moment."You don't like them?"

"Not all of them,no,but that's not it.I don't belong with them.They're so squeaky clean it's like they live in a different universe. They have no idea what it's really like out in the real world,where you don't have a telepath with money to hide behind.They don't know how ugly it's getting,how much the normals hate us."

"Which is why they need you around.Someone has to show them how to cope with the real world before it smashes them over the head."

He scoffed."Someone to do the dirty work.Yeah,great,I'm used again."

"You're not gettin' something out of it?"

He looked at her curiously."Like what?"

"I don't know.You tell me."

He was going to tell her there was nothing,but that wouldn't be fair to her,and she'd know better than to accept it anyways.After a moment,he admitted,"I have a place I can always go back to."A safe place.At least so far.

She nodded."A novelty for you."

He shrugged."Recently,yeah."

"So what are you doin' hangin' around here,Logan?Go home."She said it gently,with a hint of a melancholy smile.

"You kickin' me to the curb?"

"No.I'm just beating you to the punch.Any minute you were going to tell me you had a flight to catch,I just know it."

He almost told her he didn't,because he didn't fly in:he was teleported in,and he really had no idea how he was getting back.But then he realized how insane that sounded,and thought better of it."You psychic now?"

"Only in the way all women are.You men are so predictable."She gave him a wink as she turned back to her computer."So are you gonna leave me a number or an email address,or are you just going to disappear and never darken my towels again?"

He knew the less she associated with him,the better;she was lucky to still be alive.Although maybe luck had nothing to do with it.
Her ability,combined with her natural wits,had probably kept her in one piece more than happenstance.He had to give her some credit as the survivor she was."I don't have a number or an email address."

"Liar.I saw the cell phone."

"It's not mine.I don't even know the number."

"Have you joined the twenty first century at all?"

"Hey.I...I've been busy."

She searched around the computer a moment,looking for something."You know,next time I go to the store,I need to remember to lift some Post-It Notes.Here."She hastily wrote something on the back of a business card,with a pen with some bank's name on the barrel.

"Do you ever just,you know,buy something?"

"Oh sure,"she lied,handing him the card."Does this place you go back to have a phone number?"

He glanced at the card.On the opposite side,it was a reminder for a dentist appointment last winter;what she had written on the blank side was her phone number,and what he presumed was her email address."Ghostcat?"He read with some amusement., before he tucked it into the front pocket of his jeans.

"I am the burglar who tries not be seen.A ghost cat.Especially since nightshade and invisiblegal were taken.So?Number?Make one up if you must."

He dug through his coat pockets until he finally found one of the cards for Xavier's school."I guess you could always call ,leave a message for me if you had to.I'm not always there."

She looked at it,amusement evident on her face."A school for the gifted?"

"It's a code for 'mutants'."

"Ah.I assume adults are included too."He simply grunted an assent.With a twinkle in her eye,she asked,"So are you a teacher?"

"Hell no.What would I teach?Dismemberment one-oh-one?"Okay,technically he had taught the kids a bit of self-defense,and how to use their powers to defend themselves,but that was just real world knowledge and common sense in a place that sorely needed it.It didn't make him a teacher.

"Hey,why not?It'd bring the Goth kids."She put the card aside,to the right of her keyboard,its near corner holding it down.

Hesitantly (but only because he was a little embarrassed),he said,"You know,if  you ever need a place to go,you're welcome there.You could come with me,if you wanted."

She shook her head,although she smiled kindly at him."What,and give up show business?Thanks,it's nice to know anyways.If I ever did crash there,would they make me give up the five finger discounts?"

He shrugged."Probably."

"See?I'd make a bad good guy."

"No,I think you make an interesting one."He gave her a warm smile,which she returned in kind.He felt comfortable with her,and perhaps this was why.As much as someone like Scott wanted a black and white world of good guys and bad guys,the truth was almost always in the middle,a grey zone where the good weren't always that good,and the bad weren't always that bad.He and Srina were lodged firmly in that strata,and probably always would be.And he didn't think he'd have it any other way.

"Maybe I'd better get goin',"he finally said.The sooner the better.If the Organization suspected he was in London,he didn't want them to find him within a radius of her.He supposed,since he doubted he had money for a plane ticket anyways (and surely the airports weren't safe,not for him),he was going to have to break down and call Bob for a 'lift'.Or a beam out,or whatever the fuck it was that actually happened.It made travel easier,sure,but it was bewildering.

And he could feel a certain inertia starting to set in.He didn't think staying here with Srina would be so bad,hearing her tell him little bits of minutia about the man he used to be,all contingent on whether or not she'd have him,of course.He thought she might,at least for a little while.But he could not shake the feeling that the longer he stayed,the more dangerous things would become for both of them.He didn't mind facing danger on his own;he did it a lot.But he would not risk her,not again.

"I expect at least an email from you soon,okay?Let me know you're okay,and I'll let you know if there's any suspicious fallout from all this crap."

He was going to ask her how he was supposed to email her when he didn't have a computer,but the school did.Even Bob did.It wouldn't be that hard to borrow someone's computer for a little while.He nodded,getting back to his feet,wondering whether he should call Bob.What time was it in L.A. now?"Sure.Thanks,Sri."When she looked at him curiously,he made a vague hand gesture that made him wonder what the hell he meant.Why were goodbyes so fucking awkward?"For everything,"he elaborated, although it still sounded weak.

Her smile remained kind and forgiving,and he suddenly wondered how old she really was:something in her eyes suggested she had seen and experienced more than he'd ever remember."Take care of yourself,Logan.Don't be a stranger.And don't give up, either.Although I think you're biologically inclined not to do that."

He shrugged-it was a sort of agreement-when she reached up,grabbed a handful of his shirt,and pulled him down for a kiss.The combined taste of beer and mocha latte was a really interesting one,and as good a kisser as she was,he didn't think he'd be having that mocha beer anytime soon.The comical face she made as they separated seemed to confirm she felt the same way.

"And I heard chocolate beer tastes good,"she said,continuing to smile.

"Don't believe everything you read,"he suggested with a smirk.

He was headed out the door when she said,"Oh Logan,maybe you should leave your socks.It'd give socksnnoses a thrill."

He scowled at her,and she just laughed,still getting a kick out of it.He left her laughing,and figured that was probably the best goodbye he could hope for.

He was half way down the stairs,leading to the bookstore and then out,when it occurred to him it might be best for her-and everyone-if he was not seen leaving the building.He doubted there were snoops in this part of London,but did you ever know for sure?

He sat down on the third step from the bottom,and pulled out the cell phone Bob had given him.Bob picked up on the third ring.

"Speak...to...me!"He cried in a hammy,over the top fashion before chuckling.Logan could hear the rock music in the background.

"You can't answer a phone like a normal person,can you?"He asked,rubbing his eyes.Amaranth was right-he was a spaz.

"Hey hey,Logan!I was beginning to wonder if you were dead."

"You wouldn't know?"

"Of course I would.But humor me here."

"No."

"Ah,you're no fun anymore.So how's London?"

"Foggy,crowded,infested with pigeons."

"Same old,same old,"Bob commiserated."Need some help?"

"Only to get back."

"Are you giving up?Or did you actually find something?"

He didn't really want to discuss it over a cell phone-the signal could be easily intercepted-but then he remembered this was Bob's phone.He probably put some kind of whammy on it,so any eavesdroppers would just hear pigeon Swahili with a touch of Esperanto."I found something.I'm done."

"You're not responsible for Hell."It was not a question.

"I know.Can you just...zap me out of here or whatever?"

"Say the magic words,"Bob replied cheerfully.

"Or I'll hunt you down and kill you."

"Nope,that's not right,"Bob replied,even more cheerful then before.But then everything around him shifted,the stairwell seemed to tilt,and suddenly he found himself sitting on his bed in the Mansion,Bob leaning against his dresser with a cell phone wedged between his ear and shoulder."Luckily,I'm not picky,"Bob told him,folding up his phone and shoving it back in his pants pocket.

Logan sighed,hitting the power button on his cell and tossing it towards Bob.He caught it easily."You live to be difficult,don't you?"

"I call it 'differently perspected',"he replied,putting Logan's phone in his other pocket.No leather pants today:although he still had the biker boots on,he was wearing dark green cargo pants,and a black t-shirt that read,in big white letters across the front:'Just assume I know everything.'

"You warn people now?"

Bob glanced down at it,then grinned at him,flashy all his pearly whites."I have about a dozen of these shirts,all from the grandkids.I think they believe they're doing a public service."

"But it's a stupid t-shirt and no one takes it seriously."

He shrugged a single shoulder."Yeah,but hey,they have to consider themselves warned either way."

Logan stood up,so used to teleporting now he didn't even feel disoriented,and then realized he heard music very distantly, probably near the back of the mansion."Havin' another party?"

"The atmosphere was too tense around here.Things are startin' to get ugly in the world."

"You just noticed?"

"Fine.Uglier."He paused briefly."A lot's happened since you've gone."

"Like what?"

Bob came right up to him,and said,"Brace yourself,Brigid."He then grabbed his shoulder,and it felt like a grenade exploded inside his brain.

"Fuck,"Logan shouted,pushing Bob away on reflex even though he couldn't see a damn thing.He stumbled back,sitting down forcefully on the bed after the back of his legs hit the edge,and he grabbed his head as the pain subsided and his vision returned.
"What the fuck-"he began,but then he realized he knew everything that had happened since he'd been gone.Well,from Bob's point of view anyways."What the hell was that?"

"My version of telepathy.See why teeps can't touch me?That'd put a permanent twist in their knickers."

Logan rubbed his left temple briefly,as a pinprick pain bloomed and faded."But my brain could have exploded out my ears."

"Nope.You're the only Human I've ever met who could actually serve as an emergency corporeal vessel for me if I ever needed one;your body doesn't even cave for me.Pretty bloody impressive."

"You don't need a corporeal vessel at all,"he grumbled,rubbing his eyes.

"Sure I do.How else would my pants stay up?"Bob said,giving him a grin that was equally hammy and sarcastic.

Logan scowled at him,not really appreciating either his sense of humor or his assumption that he could take the pain of his 'telepathy',or whatever the fuck it had exactly been.The information overload was a bit bizarre,and it took him a moment to make sense of it,and even then it felt like he had lived several days in the fraction of a second."The Organization kidnapped Scott?!"He exclaimed,then laughed. "How fuckin' desperate were they?"

"They wanted you,but they settled for him.He may be tighter than a sphincter dipped in lemon juice,but he's dangerous when you take his inhibitions and moral compass away."

"A sphincter-"he began,then shook his head.A weird metaphor,but an apt one."Shit.How many people did he kill?"He realized what he had said,then rephrased it:"Did they make him kill?"

"Thirteen in Maine.They haven't found Changan Junction yet,but my guess is maybe forty there."

Logan shook his head,feeling strangely sad for the people of Changan Junction.Those he knew were just the types who gravitated towards towns on the borders of snowy wastelands:drifters,losers,loners,criminals trying to escape or hide out from various charges,truckers and nomads on their way somewhere else.People no one would miss.

People like him.

"Scott can't be taking this well,"he finally said,and it felt like the biggest understatement  he had ever uttered.

Bob grimaced.If the physical shove had affected him at all,it wasn't apparent."Jean's helping him,and is a bit pissed at me 'cause she thinks I pushed him."

"You did,of course."

"Oh yeah.Otherwise he'd have gone completely bonkers."Bob paused,then jerked his head towards the right side of the room, towards the end of the hall where Scott and Jean's room was."You got good timing.They're about to leave,get away for a couple days.Jean thinks it'll do him some good.Actually,both of them some good."

"What do you mean?"

Bob grimaced again,this time with more uncertainty than pity."Their relationship was on shaky ground before you showed up,but neither of them knew it.This incident-and you-helped point out the screamingly obvious to them."

Logan smiled."She wants me."

"Well,duh.But truth be told,Logan,she wants something,anything,that might solve her problem."

"Sissy boy fiance?"

"Now now,Logan,that makes you sound jealous.What she really wants is to be happy.She's convinced herself she has everything she wants,so instantly-bam!-she should be happy.But deep down she knows she's not,and she doesn't know why."

"Again,sissy boy-"he began,but Bob scowled at him,and he stopped.He supposed,if he was to be honest,he knew what Jean was going through."Nothing's that simple,is it?"

"Happiness is a state of mind."

"Easy for you to say.Be a mutant,and try and be fucking happy when most of the world wants to kill you."He snapped,with surprising bitterness.Now where had that come from?

"I'm a demon.Believe me,I've been there."

He scoffed."You're a demon,and I'm Mother fucking Teresa."

Bob leaned against the door,crossing his arms over his chest.He didn't look angry,just thoughtful."We all suffer,although admittedly some more than most.But it's not only how we deal with it on the outside that counts.How we deal with it in ourselves counts more in the long run."

Logan shook his head,swallowing back most of the anger he felt because it was all wasted on the unflappable,unreachable Bob. "You can pretend to be us,you can hear our thoughts and know what we feel,but you can't really know what it's like."

"And I will gladly sling that one back at you."

Logan stared at him,not sure if he should be insulted or not."What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"You're not really like most mutants,are you Logan?You wannna cut the bullshit now?"

He stood up,so instantly enraged his hands balled into fists at his side,even though he knew they'd be useless against Bob."What the fuck are you saying?"

"I'm saying the old cliche is wrong.You know the one:'A coward dies a thousand times,the brave man only once.'Sometimes the opposite is true.That's certainly your experience,isn't it?"Bob shoved himself off the wall with a movement of his shoulder blades, and he let his hands drop to his sides.The look on his face was still thoughtful,but there was now an edge in it that looked quite close to impatience."You know why you don't feel any more at home with these mutants than with normals, Logan? Because they haven't been through what you have;they haven't died a thousand times inside,now have they?"

"Shut up!"He demanded,so furious he could suddenly hear blood roaring in his ears,and his claws were almost itching to get out of his hands.

(Why was he this angry?He didn't get it...)

"It's time to stop the self-pity party,Logan,as much as you deserve one."

He wanted to charged him.Not kill him,but plant his claws where they would hurt,but he couldn't move.Not a great shock, considering Bob probably knew what he wanted to do.Fight a telepath?Sure.But it still didn't work on Bob."Your greatest gift, Logan,isn't that you always heal-it's that you always bother to get up again.What these people need from you isn't your ability to do the dirty work they won't,although that's a close second.What they're gonna need from you most of all is your absolute refusal to give up,ever,no matter how overwhelming the odds against you,or how often you're hurt or even technically killed.Not that you don't give into despair now and then,or break down:you're still Human.But when it comes down to it,you have a "fuck you and the horse you rode in on" spirit that money can't buy.With most people ,it's just a 'tude that crumbles when the shit really hits the fan.But you and me have made chronic assholism a way of life."

The anger ebbed somewhat,as he realized it was a strange sort of compliment."Assholism isn't a word."

"But it should be,don't you think?"He then added,more seriously,"You know things are gonna get far worse before they ever get better.They're gonna need you to show them how to get through it,to survive the unsurvivable."

Logan pondered what he had just said,and then realized:"You know something's going to happen.What?"

Bob shrugged."I don't know.It's just a combination of logic and intuition.You look at the newspapers and tell me what you think."

"I don't need to,"he sighed,able to guess the headlines after all this time.He was also able to guess why Bob had brought this all up-he wanted him to stay here,at least for now,not run off to search for more answers.Something suddenly occurred to him. "Wait-the Organization's gonna make another move against me,aren't they?You don't want me to leave 'cause you think somethin' will happen to me out there."

Bob assumed an innocent look that didn't suit him at all."Why would you say that?"

Logan tried to sift through all the memories Bob had given him,and something floated to the surface."Cranial implant?"He exclaimed,not sure if he should be angry,horrified,or some combination of the two."Fucking hell,was he serious?"

"I wouldn't worry about it."

"No,you wouldn't,it's not in your fucking head!"

"I think it's destroyed."

That made him pause,confused.With Bob,it would neither be the first time or the last."How?"