A second chance...

[ihearyouthink]

Charles was spending some time in Cerebro, doing his daily search for new mutants. As his mind flicked over the thousands within his reach, he found himself wondering about the man he met a few days ago. Such a tortured soul, Charles couldn't help but wonder how he was doing

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[ihearyouthink]

That case seemed to be weighing Will down though. That line of work would do that to you. If he wasn't careful, it would likely be the end of him.

Charles remembers when that picture was taken, smiling faintly at the memory. Happier times....ones he couldn't go back to. One could only go forward. He hoped someday, Magneto and him could find common ground once again. But till then, he was going to help train mutants, teaching them how to deal with themselves and the world on equal footing.

The school didn't have a record of his house, only the apartment he stayed in while over in England. Him and his sister, Raven. If he did manage to track down a few of his college mates, they would likely tell him of how he was in college, his late nights at the pub, what a good mate he was. But not much else.

Charles didn't want him tracking him down to his house. No, that would expose the children. What he needed was middle ground if Will was insistent on meeting him again. He could do it long distance like this, but that might confuse the poor man more. And he really shouldn't spend that long of a time in Cerebro if it was going to be a long conversation.

He bides his time, waiting to see what Will would dig up next.

[eidetikerwill]

'Weighed down' was understatement. About ninety-five percent of his waking time was spent on it and about fifty of his sleeping. Time was running out. If he didn't do something soon, another family was going to die. After that, he'd have another three to four weeks, then another would die. And another.

This one wasn't going to stop. Will knew it. He liked feeling like god.

Saving the picture and printing out a copy, Will leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. He really did not need to be chasing some phantom person instead of keeping his mind on the Jacobi and Leeds families. If he didn't, another name was going to join the list.

That didn't stop Will from picking up the phone and putting a few cadets on chasing down the leads he had with name, college and the research paper. There might be an organization Xavier had belonged to like the AMA or the like. Those groups sent out newsletters and took in research papers. They might have an address, phone number or email address.

Making himself stop for now on that, Will dragged the vodka bottle over, poured a very generous amount in some soda and stared at the stack of photographs he didn't want to go through again.

[ihearyouthink]

An idea was forming for Charles. Will was extremely suggestible, that much was apparent. And since he had been trying to become Charles, it was a small matter for Charles to take over for a moment.

Having Will lean over and pick up the phone, dialing a number he won't remember later. Right before he leaves him to himself, Charles pulling back to turn off Cerebro. He lifts off the headset as Dr. McCoy in the next room asks if he should get the phone. "No, that's ok Hank, I'll get it."

He wheels out of Cerebro's room and into the corridor picking up the phone to answer it. "Hello. I believe you've been looking for me, Mr. Graham," he says, smiling into the telephone.

[eidetikerwill]

Finding himself doing something else when contemplating leaving hadn't been new to Will. He'd 'woken up' so far in the basement of the barracks, on the kerb outside the base and standing at the ten foot edge of the base pool. The last had been a little disturbing. Finding himself on the phone with his drink still at hand wasn't bad.

"Mr Xavier?"

He stared at the phone before him, utterly lost on how he'd gotten ahold of a number. Had one of the interns called back and told him? Had he found something? The idea that he'd had a conversation and didn't remember it didn't sit well.

"How did you know?"

A glance at his watch told him it was still the same day, so he hadn't blacked out for too long.

"Did I call you or you call me?"

[ihearyouthink]

"I could be completely enigmatic and say it was both, but that would take awhile to explain on the phone.

I would prefer if you stopped asking about me to my friends, they're going to start to wonder if I'm in some kind of trouble with the FBI." Charles doesn't sound upset in the least, he's quite genial about the whole situation. So long as it kept the FBI away from his school and the children.

"You have my attention now, what is it I can do for you, Mr. Graham?"

[eidetikerwill]

That confirmed some of what Will had suspected no matter if it didn't feel right: Charles was a government spook. He wasn't the first Will had met.

"I was curious."

No use in lying right now. Xavier could probably pull up all the searches he had done, the checked he had conducted with the guards, and most likely had access to the cameras even here in Quantico. There was no limit to resources they had.

"I wondered why you were here, really here."

What else was there to say?

"Who is your monster, Mr Xavier?"

[ihearyouthink]

He was bad as a cat, and you know what people said about cats and curiosity.

Charles is quiet for a moment before answering his question. "A very good friend of mine." Or he used to be.

"Perhaps I could satisfy your curiosity to a point. If you pick the time and place, I will make a point of being there." He's giving the choice to Will, simultaneously keeping him away from the mansion.

[eidetikerwill]

Will had heard that particular saying himself, the whole thing. He had always liked the conclusion that satisfaction brought the cat back.

But Charles was a spook, someone who made other people disappear. It was error on Will's part that helped Charles in a way. The question of the monster was too much to let go, apuupy that has his teeth in a rawhide and refuses to let go.

"What happened, Mr Xavier?"

He didn't name a time or place, didn't give in to someone who was clearly above him.

"Did he kill someone? Did he try to kill you?"

[ihearyouthink]

It was a can of worms Charles wasn't eager to open. The thing was, Will almost didn't even need him to answer, he had figured out quite a bit from only their first meeting.

It's just he hasn't spoken about Erik since the incident on the beach. Not to Moira, not to anyone. "I know you want answers. It's part of who you are, wanting to find out the answers to everything. But not all answers are worth hearing." A futile attempt, he's sure that's not going to let up on his curiosity one iota but it had to be said.

"If you don't give me a meeting place, I can assure you, you won't see me ever again. No matter where you look." Any attempts to find him will be cut off, one way or another. Charles knew taking away the mystery is a sort of blackmail, but he would rather that and keep their school hidden.

[eidetikerwill]

Will's eyes slid closed, his hand around his drink. The phone was cradled gently between his shoulder and ear, listening to the voice on the other end. The liquor slid coolly down his throat, swallowing the heat of it. A breath was drawn in, held and then slowly released.

"I'll meet you where you want, Xavier. I have to fly out tomorrow. I have to. Time is running out for a family, and I think you know that. I have to be in Atlanta tomorrow. If I don't find what I'm looking for there, then it's on to Birmingham to look over whatever there might still be there. I'll be leaving here within a few hours. My flight lands in Atlanta around four pm. I'll be there until about seven pm in the airport bar."

Will didn't say why so late, not wanting to explain that. He needed to go through the Leeds house in the dark, just like the Tooth Fairy had. The path that the other had taken before him had to be followed as much as he could to get behind this killer's eyes.

"Will you answer my question then?"

[ihearyouthink]

It was a good compromise. He didn't want to interfere with catching the killer.

"I will. You have my word." And Charles didn't give his word lightly. "Till then, Mr. Graham. Take care of yourself."

And then the phone clicks as Charles hangs up.

He'll be at the meeting, precisely at four. Charles did like to be on time.

[eidetikerwill]

It was the best compromise that Will could make. He had delayed as long as he could with leaving for one house or the other. The Leeds home was the site of the freshest kills, least likely to be compromised beyond his ability to decipher. The locals had been holding it for him.

Will could feel that press to slide into the blackness and forget about taking a trip start again. Draining his drink, he began the long walk through his mind of the pictures taken, as if he were there despite Charles' voice in his ear and then it being gone. Closing down all the windows that held his searches for 'Charles Xavier', Will poured himself another without anything added.

I am leaving tomorrow. I have to.

Like a man armed with only a sledgehammer, he began to tear away at the wall placed around his free will armed with his sense of duty and the picture of a family laughing with a cake that he needed to go investigate the deaths of.

[ihearyouthink]

Hank drives Charles to the airport in the Bentley, one that had been his fathers. The blue beast isn't sure about this meeting, what he knows of it, but Charles assures him if he needs help, he can signal him.

He switches from car to chair with practiced motions that were getting easier every time he did them. The chair was partially metal, which security wasn't happy about, but after they'd run every wand in the place over it and himself out of the chair, they finally let him through.

Charles wheels himself through the milling passengers towards the food court. Looking for the bar and the familiar figure of William Graham.

[eidetikerwill]

Will Graham was exactly where he said he would be although he was at one of the tables in the bar instead of right up to where the alcohol was the easiest to get. His plane had caught a tailwind coming in, letting him get here earlier. The intake had been limited to one, nowhere near how much Will could hold down when he put his mind to it.

Sitting on the table in front of Will was a plain manila folder that could only be his case file. There were no marks on it, but there were bits and flashes of paperwork and pictures from its edges. His pen was in hand, making a note or two although he didn't need to. All of it was already in memory. It was all too human, all too normal to take notes though, and so he did it.

Without knowing he was being watched, Will was removed from the world around him. He didn't bother to smile or put on his other masks, pretending to care about anything outside of his mind unless someone got too close. Then there was always a moment of suspicious as he expected an attack. When a stew heading to her next flight passed near to him, Will glanced up to watch her, catching sight of Charles. A hand raised in a half-wave as he shut the folder.

[ihearyouthink]

Charles gives him a nod of acknowledgement, moving towards his table. Very thoughtful of him as Charles wouldn't have been able to get up on the barstool easily. He parks his chair in a free space across from Will at his table. "Mr. Graham." His smile is genuine, taking in how Will has fared since he last met him. He still looks distracted but Charles knows that's from his singular talent. His eyes flick down to the folder. "I hope that's not for me."

[eidetikerwill]

"Mr Xavier."

Will looked a bit more hungover than usual, red eyes with darkness beneath them. The mental block had been broken down through the night, enough that he had managed to get on the plane. His hand stayed on the folder, keeping it closed and its contents hidden.

"No, of course not. It's... one of my case files."

There was a reluctance to talk about them. Molly had enough nightmares in their time together over the things Will would say when he'd had too much or just needed someone to talk to. Their marriage had been determined early by him learning not to bring up work at home. In retrospect, he wasn't surprised she left him.

"I'm pretty sure you know why I'm here in Atlanta. A week and a few days ago, a family was murdered here, the Leeds."

It had made all the papers. Who couldn't have heard about it. Shifting the file, a paper slipped in it, leaving a single sentence revealed: Shards of mirror were inserted into their orbital sockets post-mortem.

"I wasn't sure you'd come."