Title: Vindicator
Author: Court (remylebeau@yahoo.com)
Website: http://www.lediableblanc.com/personal/fanfic/
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Vindicator 3
By Court
Hank raced down the hall and managed to catch the closing elevator doors with his large hand. He thanked the Gods above when the doors reopened. He held the door in place but was afraid to enter. Logan was standing with his back to the doors, his head resting on the wall, gripping the railing so tight his knuckles were white. Hank heard the Canadian's rhythmic breathing. He had heard Logan breathing this way during meditation. He realized that Logan was trying to calm himself down. The doctor wasn't sure he wanted to be in a moving elevator with Logan if the calming process had no effect. He stood there silently until Logan spoke.
"Get in the damn elevator or move so I can take the stairs." Logan slowly turned to face the doctor. He tried to calm his rage, but it was becoming difficult. Every time he thought about Remy, and the pain the kid was in, his anger would flare. Remy could deny the rape all day long if he wanted, Logan knew he was wrong. The Cajun didn't think like other people did, he knew the Cajun well enough to know that. Remy would take the blame for anything and swim in the guilt without argument. Remy also had an unhealthy urge to please everyone, no matter the cost to himself. Warren had to have played on one of these traits to be able to do this to Remy, and he was going to find out how... If Hank would get in the damn elevator!
"Logan, I cannot let you hunt Warren down and hurt him. Remy has said that Warren did not rape him. If Remy agreed to have sex with Warren it makes this a very difficult situation. You going upstairs half-cocked and taking it out on Warren will only make it worse. Let us go to the Professor and Scott and we will all talk to Warren first before taking action. We at least have to get his side of the story."
"I know his fucking side of the story! He's going to sit there and turn this around on Remy and ya all are going to fall for it. I don't care if Remy agreed to this! Hell, I don't give a shit if Remy started it! Warren took it too far! Remy could have died if I didn't find him! Would ya have given a shit if he did? Or would ya have done what you're doing now and let Warren get away with murder too? I'm not going to let that fly-boy off for doing this!" Logan moved to leave the elevator and take the stairs, only to be pushed back in.
Hank walked into the elevator and let the doors close behind him. As soon as the elevator began to move he hit the stop button. "Listen, he will not go unpunished for this. He hurt Remy unnecessarily, you are correct in that. He will be punished, but you will not be the judge, jury, and executioner."
"No that's your job!" Logan cursed himself the second the words left his mouth. Hank was not the one to be angry with for this situation. He looked up to apologize only to be stopped.
"It is alright, Logan, you are right, everyone on the Blackbird did play that role with Remy, and I am truly sorry for that. Seeing how much suffering that has brought Remy, I cannot have it happen again. I want to say that I have learned from my mistakes, not repeated them. We do not know Warren's side of the story. Remy says it was not rape, so there must be something we are missing here."
"Hank, ya just don't know Remy like I do. Even if it was rape he won't say it was. He doesn't think straight when it comes to things like this. When someone hurts him he finds a way to justify it. I know Warren played on that somehow. Going up there and talking to him isn't going to help. Remy is going to get hurt again by this, I know it." Logan ran his rough hands through his hair as he slid down the back of the elevator to the floor. All anger was gone for the moment. He knew it would resurface as soon as he found Warren, but right now all he could think of was Remy.
Hank knelt down in the cabin to look Logan in the eye. "Let me go upstairs and inform Scott and the Professor. Then we will speak to Warren. I will not let him go without punishment for this. In my opinion he has hurt Remy enough, I will not allow him the chance to do it again. If what you say is true I think it will be very hazardous for Warren to stay here. It could cause further breakdown on Remy's part."
"What about me? I want to talk to the bastard!" Logan stood from the floor, his anger flaring again. He wasn't going to let Warren get off lightly, like he knew the others would.
Hank stood with a sigh. "I will need someone to watch Remy. I think if he wakes up with you at his side it will calm him. He was very upset that you left after Warren. To see you there will reassure him that you have not gone and done something rash."
"Yet," Logan finished for the doctor.
"Yet," Hank repeated in understanding.
"Fine, I will watch Remy and ya talk to them. Just promise me one thing, Blue. If ya take Warren's side on this, don't come down on Remy. He has been through enough with this team. Even if Wings says it's not his fault, he's wrong."
"I have no intentions of taking anyone's side at this point. If I am partial to anyone right now it is Remy." Hank pushed the button again and the elevator began it's ascend. When the doors opened the main floor Hank stepped out. He feared for a moment that Logan would rush out and continue on his path to vengeance. The fear was banished when Logan leaned against the back railing and the doors closed again.
***
Hank took a deep breath and knocked on Scott's office. When he didn't receive an answer he looked at his watch and noticed it was still early. Feeling this was urgent enough, he made his way up to the room Jean and Scott shared. Before he got a chance to knock, Scott walked into view. He was obviously returning from his morning jog.
"Hey Hank, what going on?" Scott took Hank's distressed look as a bad sign.
"I need to speak to you and the Professor. Something has occurred that needs out immediate attention."
Scott was a bit thrown at the urgency in Hank's request. It had to be serious. "Fine, let me change my clothes and I will meet you in the Professor's office." Hank nodded at him and turned to leave. "Hank, is everything alright?"
"No, Scott, everything is very far from alright. I will explain in the office." Hank turned again and walked towards Xavier's office.
***
Scott hurried down to the Professor's office. He had taken a shower and changed in record time. Hank obviously needed to speak to them about a pressing matter, and that worried him. Normally Hank would go on and on about something, no matter the time or location. This time he seemed to want to talk in private. It scared and intrigued him all at the same time.
As he rushed around the corner he was stopped abruptly when he almost ran into Warren. He was surprised at his friend's early rising. Warren was one to sleep in due to the late hours he kept. Then he noticed Warren's rumpled clothing and the smell of alcohol. His friend wasn't up early, he was coming in late. "Hey Warren, you're home late. Must had a good night if you were out this long, it's six in the morning!"
A sly grin crossed Warren's face. "Yes, actually I had a very good night. Very... enlightening. So where are you off to so early?" Warren yawned. He didn't really want to start a conversation at this point, but he needed to keep track of everything in the mansion now. Soon enough the chips would fall and he wanted to have the upper hand. Even though he was sure everyone would be on his side, he had to make sure the Cajun didn't try to back him into a corner with his lies.
"I am going down to the Professor's office. Hank needs to speak to us about something. Not sure what. I should head down there, he sounded like it was urgent."
"Oh, well you better get going then." Warren mentally cursed. He wanted to know what Hank had to tell them. Had they found the Cajun so fast? Logan! Damn it had to be him. He became worried for a moment and then blew it off. Even with Logan on Remy's side that wouldn't be enough to hurt him. He might get an extra bonus and get Logan kicked out of the mansion too. The animal and the murderous whore would be gone!
Scott noticed the change of emotions in Warren's eyes and ignored it. He blamed it on the alcohol that Warren reeked of. "I will talk to you later, after you get some sleep."
"Sure thing, Slim." Warren walked away with a smile on his face. He would sleep well, finally rid of his pinned up anger. He still hated the Cajun, and wouldn't stop until he was gone, but there was a difference now. It wasn't eating him alive, he had his vengeance, even if it was only a fraction of what he was willing to hand out.
***
Xavier shook his head in disbelief at what Hank had to say. Many times he had felt the anger and rage Warren broadcast towards Remy. He never knew it went this deep. Xavier jumped when a knock fell on the office door. He was so caught up in his thought he did not even sense Scott's arrival. "Please come in, Scott."
Scott entered the room, closing the door behind him, he felt the tension as soon as walked in. Something was terribly wrong. "Good Morning. So, Hank, what is going on?"
"Please, Scott, sit. Hank was beginning to tell me of the incident that occurred earlier this morning." He shifted his attention back to Hank. "Please tell Scott what you told me, and then continue."
Hank took a deep breath. He knew he should have waited until Scott had arrived. It was bad enough telling this once. "Remy was found in his room bleeding and severely injured earlier this morning and brought to my lab. He has been brutally raped and we believe there was an attempt at suffocation..."
Scott couldn't help but interrupt, this was unbelievable. "Hank, there were no alarms, how could Remy have been attacked in his own room? Was it someone he brought to the mansion?"
Xavier stopped Scott. "Scott, let him explain and you will know why there were no alarms."
Hank continued, "When I ran the exam and found he had been violated, I took a rape kit. I ran the results and the semen matches Warren's DNA. When we confronted Remy about it, he denies that it was rape, but I find that very unlikely."
"If Remy said it wasn't rape, then what is the problem here?" Scott questioned.
Hank was beginning to understand why Logan didn't want this meeting to occur, Scott could be so dense sometimes. He was fortunate enough to be able to control his anger, unlike Logan. "Did you not just hear what I said. He was bleeding and was suffocated. He was brutally raped. Right now he is in my lab in so much pain that he cannot move without screaming in agony. He has stitches. Have you ever caused a person stiches by having consensual sex with them, Scott?"
"No," Scott whispered in shock.
Xavier felt the tension between the two and pushed the conversation back to the subject at hand. "I think you made your point, Henry. There is the problem of what Remy says though. If he denies rape, how does he explain this?"
"He has said very little about it. The short time he was conscious he stated that Warren did not rape him, that he gave him what he wanted. I fear that Warren manipulated Remy into this situation, but I am not sure how. I was hoping to get Warren's side of the story, it might shed some light on what happened."
Scott sat there taking it all in. This was hard. He considered Warren a good friend, this seemed so unlike him. Then he remembered the hallway. "Maybe he was drunk."
"What makes you come to that conclusion?" Hank was watching the situation move into the direction he feared. They were already making excuses. He wanted Warren's side of the story before any opinions were set.
"I just saw him on my way here. He was just coming home. He reeked of alcohol. Maybe he was drunk and blacked out?" Scott sighed, he realized he was being unrealistic. "He didn't really seem all that drunk though, but he smelled of it."
Hank shook his head in disgust at the detail he had forgotten. "He poured whiskey over Remy's body after the attack. He may have spilled some on himself."
Both Scott and Xavier looked at Hank in horror. Xavier was first to ask the question on both their lips. "Why?"
"Logan was first to find him. He thought Remy was having a nightmare and attempted to wake him. We believe Warren used the alcohol to mask his scent. That is speculation though, we will not know until we hear the true story. I fear we will not get that from Remy, his thinking is too distorted."
"I fear we will not get the truth from Warren either. I believe his hatred and anger has twisted his logic. All we can do is call him here and question him. The sooner the better." Xavier closed his eyes and mentally summoned his student. He woke him from his slumber and demanded he come to his office immediately. He was highly disturbed by his student's lighthearted response. It was as if the student was expecting to be rewarded for his actions. "He will be joining us soon, he knew we would be asking him here. We cannot draw conclusions or set a punishment until he has spoke his side of the story. I would like Remy's as well."
***
Logan sat in a chair next to Remy's bed, his feet carefully rested on its edge. He would glance up at the Cajun's face when he heard a moan or noise, every time he would wince. The bruising on his face was bad. The blackness had covered his eyes and cheekbones and across his nose. The swelling had gone down a great deal, but that didn't erase the ugliness of the wounds. Remy's face alone screamed for justice and that was minor compared to the other injuries. He hoped they wouldn't let Warren get away with this.
He glanced over his shoulder to the empty lab with the oversized computer, then back at Remy. The Cajun was soundly asleep for now. He quietly headed for the adjacent lab, leaving the door open, just in case Remy were to wake up, or someone entered the lab. He sat down at the keyboard and began using the hacking skills few knew him to possess. He may have taught Kitty almost everything she knew, but he picked up a few things from her as well. He hacked into the main security computer and put in the password Scott and Xavier were only supposed to know.
He had found when the mansion was built it had hidden cameras placed in every room and hallway of the house. Even after all the destruction over the years they all remained except two, his and Remy's rooms. He had found out about the small devices after hacking into the computers the first time and quickly removed his. After awhile he had found out he was not the only one that learned something from Kitty. Jubilee had found out about the little devices and was using Remy's room for her own personal peep show. Logan removed Remy's as a silent warning to Lee to stop what she was doing.
Scott nor Xavier ever said anything about the lost cameras, and they never had them reinstalled. His only guess was they didn't want to admit they were spying and thought it was better to keep it quiet like nothing ever happened. That didn't stop them from leaving the other cameras in place though, including the Professor's office. Now he had his own personal spying equipment into the conversation with Warren. He knew everyone in the room was Warren's friends and family, they would look over this in a heartbeat if Warren gave them the right story. He wasn't going to let that happen. If they didn't handle this situation well, he would handle it himself... his way.