Part Thirteen
They were taken to a small laboratory. Gambit
started to shake, but managed to control it quickly. *Non, dis not a
good time t' fall apart, homme. Get free, den get de shakes.* He
watched as his friends were placed in restraints against two opposite
walls and he was then led to the third.
Cadie was shaking violently by the time her
shackles were in place. *Mon Dieu, please; please don' let dis be happenin again.*
Wolverine appeared outwardly calm, but inside he
was seething. *Sinister's place. Why ain't I surprised? Little darlin'
tricked us good; I was startin to like her too.*
Scalphunter paused next to Cadie, an evil smile on
his face. He raised one hand and gripped her jaw, forcing her to look
into his face. "I hope Sinister lets me get hold of you when he's
finished. If there's enough left, that is."
She tried vainly to turn her head aside, but his
grip was too strong. "What's the matter, girlie? Don't you remember
how much fun we had last time?" He leaned in close. "You are going to
be mine again, girl. Count on it."
Gambit stared at her, his bitterness turning to
rage. "Arcadia, why? Why y' doin dis, hehn? You t'ink so little o'
Gambit y' have t' turn t' dese killers?"
"Don't waste your breath, Cajun. We at least know
what she is now," Wolverine ground out. He felt like someone had
plunged a knife into his heart. "Never should have trusted her. My
fault. Won't happen again, either."
Scalphunter released her and left them, and
Cadie's eyes opened slowly, to see Gambit and Wolverine staring at her
with a mixture of anger and loathing. She closed them again, too sick
in her heart to fight any more. Her voice was a bare whisper of sound,
but both men heard her words as loud as a gunshot. "It ain' what y'
t'ink. Arcadia don' work for dem, but y' not be believin dat, I know.
If I was workin fo' dem, y' t'ink I be chained like dis?"
"Why child, and I thought you enjoyed doing my
bidding," another voice purred from the darkness. Gambit's blood froze
in his veins at the sound. Sinister emerged from the shadows, his eyes
fixed on Arcadia, though his next words were for Gambit. "I told you I
would find you, boy. I do not take kindly to traitors."
"Didn't have no choice, y' bastard," Cadie spat.
"Y' take all I hold close, y' hold dem over my head, threaten t' kill
em if I refuse. What choice y' leave me, hehn?" Tears of rage and
shame began to pour down her face. "Y' made me betray everyt'in I hold
dear. An Arcadia make y' pay, non? Y' let me go an we see who's left, hehn?"
"Ah, but my dear child, I know everything about
you. And I still hold your friends here." Abruptly he turned from them
to check the settings on a large machine. "You will obey, or they will
die. It is that simple. Will you obey me?"
Tears continued to rain down her face as she
looked at first Gambit, then Wolverine. Neither of them would meet her
eyes. She slumped in her shackles, defeated. Her voice a bare whisper,
unheard save by herself and Sinister. "Oui. I will do as y' say."
"Good," Sinister purred evilly. He gestured, and
her shackles opened. "Then come here and help me with this."
She moved across the room, her step heavy, until
she stood by him. He smiled, and it chilled her to the bone. "I want
you to guard them. This device is analyzing their specific abilities;
when it is finished, I will be able to clone them successfully. And
the clones will be completely obedient to my commands." He fixed her
with a baleful glare. "If they escape, or you help them in any way,
then the boy will die. Do you understand that, girl?"
"Oui, je comprende," she whispered. Gambit
flinched at the pain in her voice. He only resorted to his Cajun
French when he was in emotional turmoil; and he guessed she was
feeling the same. *But dat don' change de fact she turned against you,
homme. Don' start feelin sorry for her an' get tricked again.*
Wolverine was watching her, his face impassive.
Inside, his thoughts were racing. *One thing I won't do, an that's trust her.*
She waited until Sinister had left the room, her
face showing so much pain that both men had to fight to keep from
feeling sorry for her. Then she walked slowly to Gambit, and there was
no mistaking the sorrow in her eyes. He forced himself to look at her,
knowing the collar would keep her power in check. He thought she would
speak, but she only stared at him, her eyes silently pleading for his
understanding. He looked away, angry.
She sighed, then moved to Wolverine. Again she
made eye contact, and again she was rebuffed. She cursed and moved
back toward the machine, her eyes on the dials. And cursed again; they
showed the program almost complete, which didn't leave her much time
to make a decision.
*How you get y'self in dis mess, hehn? Y' do
not'ing, your friends die; you help dem, de child dies. No choice, no
choice at all.* Tears coursed down her face as she finally gave in to
her grief. *Not'ing y' can do, girl. Got to help dem, dey trust y' or not.*
[ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 ]
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