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?"
(
geocities.com/soho)