They'd been told to meet down in the basement dojo, where they could all speak without fear of being overheard, or spied upon by anyone. Carlton Xavier was a distinguished but singular looking older man with long white hair. He was one of those men who was born to organize and command, and thought nothing of doing so. He spoke with an educated Queen's English accent, and wore clothing that might have been seen commonly back in the 18th or 19th century adding to the impression that he marched to no one's drum except his own. Behind him stood his daughter Catriona, or Cat as she preferred to be called. In contrast to her father she looked like the young modern professional, but the accent and sense of command were the same. "Nothing I'm going to say here is any news to Bart or Denise. We've been up most of the night discussing this. They are in agreement with what I am about to put forth to you all." He stopped and took a drink of coffee, then cleared his throat. "I want to take you all out of here. Why? Because Xian is beginning to rumble uncomfortably. I've been intercepting their transmissions with the government here, and I've shown them to Bart. I fear if you stay here any longer, there will be problems for you that none of you want. They know you're close to finding out what they don't want you to know, in spite of the fact that Bart has been circumspect in what he has relayed to them because of my warnings to him on this matter." He stopped as they all looked at one another with puzzled expressions. "Have no fear my dears, you'll be going somewhere quite safe and secure, away from all this madness...to become, I should say, integral parts of my own little madness. My madness will be far more pleasant, I assure you. You can effectively retire from doing the dirty work and teach others how to do it. More about that in a moment. "I had a son once. It was through him that I first met Bart and Denise. They all went to the university together. Bart was everything I wished my son was - responsible, dependable, forthright and trustworthy." Xavier frowned here, looking down at the desk. "My son, although he was raised otherwise, decided to be an arrogant, impudent wastrel who wanted nothing but to spend as much money as he could having a good time and living it up. One evening, after indulging himself mightily, he got in his Porshe and apparently thought he could defy the laws of gravity if he went fast enough. He drove off a cliff, to put it simply. It was then that I took Bart under my wing and told him what I had planned. I offered to make him my assistant and eventually my heir in my companies. Catriona was barely a teenager at the time, and has little patience for the affairs of business. My daughter is a warrior, not a bean-counter. That is not to say Bart is a bean-counter, but he has a certain aptitude for managing things, as I'm sure you've all noticed." "What about the club?" Jed asked. "Are we just going to leave this all here?" Cat looked straight at him and smiled as if she didn't quite know what to make of him. It was that wig, is what it was. He just knew it. She reminded him of Cherry and he couldn't help but be attracted. "I've a team that will move in and not only take care of the club, but of the rest of this business as well. That team will be headed up by Cat. And yes, in many ways Cat is like Bran, if you were wondering. Their 'talents' are different but complimentary. The two of them could take care of the rest of this all by themselves, but I like to have back up. Once this is done, Cat and Bran will return home. The rest of the team will stay with the property until I can liquidate it and recoupe some of my expenses. And no, your meeting Bran was no fluke. I began building this block a year an a half ago, knowing that eventually you would end up here. I also had more than an inkling of why you would be sent here. I have a very thorough and complete intelligence gathering unit...and enough foresight to use it. I've no complaint whatsoever with the work you've done so far. This is not because I am unhappy with the team's performance. It is because you are all very good at what you do and I want you to train my own little army to do what it is you all do. Additionally, I'd like it if you all stayed alive to do so. Think of it as pulling you out of what has the potential to become a very large mess. I'm 'saving your bacon' as you say here." Xavier looked across their faces. Most of them were accustomed to packing up and leaving at short notice. Clay and Cherry in particular looked as if they didn't quite know what to make of this. At the same time he could see that Clay was not particularly averse to the idea. Xavier sweetened the pot further by adding, "I live on approximately 100 hectares of rolling forested hills that have been in my family for many generations. It is far away from this corruption, corrosion and filth your government and corporations have made of your land. The air, water and soil are some of the best anywhere. Wouldn't you like to take Cherry away from all of this? I could certainly use a man of your talents, Mr. Grey-Wolf. Wouldn't you like to be away from all of this...all of you? Why suffer in this oubliette when you can be somewhere pleasant? It's only going to get worse." tbc ***** It's an offer they'd be silly to refuse. I didn't realize it until I rendered him, but Mr. X looks like an older version of someone I know, whose hair is that long but is black with silver streaks (for real). I found it kind of amusing :) Thanks for stopping by dear friends. Your comments and faves are always appreciated!! Hope your Wednesday is wonderful! Ray