see disclaimer chapter 1

The bulging muscles in the man's arms and neck visibly twitched, briefly reflecting the blue moonlight and making Sonja's breath catch.  Again she was thankful that she had learned to protect herself, otherwise she might have been dead twice over in the same day.

A few moments later they crested a hill and Sonja was awestruck at what she saw.  Illuminated by a full moon, a huge almost boundless mansion was sprawled out in front of her in a small valley.  There were fields upon fields surrounding the gigantic building, along with some beautiful ponds and what looked like a basketball court.  It could have been a glorious estate plucked right out of old England.  She could see a few scattered lights on, but otherwise the place looked fairly deserted.  There were some horses in a field off to the left and she smiled when Maverick whinnied to them.

When her gaze was lifted from him and focused on the mansion, Logan took the opportunity to crane his neck around and examine the woman who thought she was holding him hostage.  She had a mass of long, gleaming brunette curls reaching to the middle of her back, cascading down from underneath the baseball cap settled firmly on her head.  Her face was finely shaped and lightly tanned, every element correctly proportioned, yet her face had a very unique look to it, almost exotic, but he couldn't quite place what made him think that.  There was a thin, mysterious scar about four inches long that started below her left ear and curved in a sort of crescent to just where her chin met her elegant neck.  Her body looked very fit, long legs easily clinging to the saddle and sculpted arms effortlessly keeping control of the restless animal.  When her face relaxed, the smoothness of her cheeks and the inviting fullness of her lips made Logan think that she definitely had potential.  At least he knew she had spunk.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Logan said.  Quickly she snapped back to full attention and leveled the gun at him.

"Turn around and keep going," she ordered once again.  Logan put his hands on his head and started walking down the hill, his feelings of annoyance pushing aside his thoughts of admiration.  Man, once the Professor gets into your head, Logan thought, he'll scare that gun right out of your hand then youl'l have nothing to stop me from taking a chunk out of your smart ass, missy.

"And here I was thinking you were relaxing a little," he said, shaking his head with a sly smile on his face.

"Not until I know where I am and you're far, far away from me" she retorted.  Logan pounced on her words.

"Aw, and pass up an opportunity of getting close to cute little you?" Logan spat out sarcastically.  A shiver went through Sonja's body and she wasn't completely convinced it was purely anger.  The man had definite appeal, but it was probably the danger she sensed in him that made her feel that way.  Sonja had always liked men that were never any good for her.  She shook her head violently.

"I swear if you say one more thing, you'll regret it.  When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it," she said, once more trying to gain control of him and her thoughts. Logan simply shrugged his shoulders and they kept walking.

After a few minutes they arrived at what seemed to be the main entrance.  The huge doors were closed and there was apparently no one around.  Sonja glanced curiously at the solid looking X that was engraved on the doors.

"So now what, missy?" the man said, talking over his shoulder to her.

"Now you find me the owner of this place, or whoever's in charge," she said, "so they and I can have a little chat.  And don't try anything funny, or you'll be half a man for the rest of your life, understood?"

He nodded and seemed to be suppressing laughter, but Sonja was too pre-occupied to notice.

Logan walked up a flight of stone stairs, then opened the huge doors with almost no effort at all.  He turned back around to face her, apparently waiting for her to follow him.  Sonja eyed him warily, not wanting to go into the house, but unwilling to let him go in by himself.  She jumped off of Maverick, quickly slid off his bridle so his reins wouldn't get in the way, and patted him on the haunches as he trotted past her, heading towards the other horses.  Never once did Sonja let her gaze wander from the man or let the gun's barrel move from the vicinity of him.

As she followed the man through the entrance, she was amazed once more at the beauty of the architecture.  All of the floors and walls were made of a warm, burnished wood and the rich, dark upholstery, which added to the feeling of exquisite luxury.  Even though Sonja was caught off-guard again, she didn't let her attention waver from the man for more then a second.  Luckily, he was still placidly walking along in front of her.  The entrance opened into a huge room where there were couches and walls lined with arcade games.  What kind of place is this? she thought.

Even though she knew she was cornering herself by following him into the building, for some reason she felt like it was exactly what she should be doing, and Sonja always relied on her instincts.

"Your horse isn't gonna chew up the front lawn, is he?" the man asked sardonically as they moved further down the hall.  Logan was doing everything he could to keep her attention focused on him until they got to the Professor.  A deep frown creased her forehead as she tipped the gun at him.

"He'll take care of himself," she answered. Again, Logan just shrugged.

"This way."