The room reeked of blood, which stained the living room carpet red.
Logan looked coldly at the two corpses on the floor, retracted his claws, turned calmly, and ran to the door of the private room, locking it. Then he went to the bathroom, washing the blood from his hands and clothes. As he wiped the blood from his face in the mirror, he saw a small window reflected.
The window was just the right size for a person to pass through.
Logan cleaned all visible bloodstains, slipped quickly through the window, and walked along the wall bordering the twelve-story building, successfully entering another empty private room and returning to the auction site.
The auction was still in progress; the sound of bidding rose and fell.
"Laura."
Logan left the auction room and ran toward the banquet hall, looking around. All the guests were in the auction room; the banquet hall was silent and deserted—even the servants had left.
A small hand suddenly emerged from behind a table. Laura looked up, her cheeks swollen and the collar of her suit covered in snack crumbs.
"We have to get out of here fast," Logan said, grabbing Laura's hand and noticing her reluctant gaze toward the table full of snacks. He took a handful of snacks, stuffed them into Laura's pocket, and whispered, "Let's go."
Satisfied, Laura patted her bulging pocket and followed Logan.
Following Notland's instructions, Logan found the warehouse on the fourteenth floor. However, a burly guard stood at the entrance. Standing at the corner of the hallway, Logan tilted his head slightly, deep in thought. The corner was more than ten meters from the guard; if he rushed out, the guard would have plenty of time to call for backup on the radio. He had to deal with him before the guard could contact anyone else.
Then, Logan saw Laura at his feet and instantly had a plan. He patted Laura. The girl tilted her head, a bewildered expression on her face.
"Go distract the guard," Logan whispered, pointing to the guard at the warehouse entrance.
Laura looked at him, then at the half-eaten chocolate bar in her hand, stuffed it into her mouth without hesitation, and ran toward the guard.
Hearing footsteps, the guard startled, turned quickly, and aimed his weapon. Seeing it was a little girl, he relaxed and holstered the gun. "Kid, are you lost?"
Laura silently tugged the guard's sleeve and led him toward the staircase. Looking at the adorable girl, the guard lowered his guard, letting Laura lead him. "Where are you taking me? Where are your parents?"
Laura didn't answer, leading the guard directly into the stairwell.
Thump.
A dull blow was heard, and a moment later Laura emerged, dusting off her hands.
"Looks like you've done this many times; you're very skilled," Logan said, ruffling Laura's hair. The girl remained silent.
The two stopped in front of the warehouse door, closed with a heavy padlock. However, such a lock posed no problem for Logan. With a snap, the adamantium claw pierced through it, and the chain fell to the floor.
Pushing the door open, they entered the warehouse. The massive space was packed with all kinds of auction items: antique paintings, precious jewelry—a dazzling collection whose prices could have bought half the city of Santa Fe.
Of course, Logan's target was none of these things. After searching for a while, he found the cage in the center of the warehouse, covered by a white cloth. Logan, anxious, ripped the cloth away in one tug.
However, as soon as it was lifted, Victor, who was inside the cage, leaped up, lunging at it and brandishing his claws through the bars. "You damn bastards, if I get out, I'll tear you to pieces!"
"Easy, Victor, it's me," Logan said quickly.
"Logan? What are you doing here?" Hearing the familiar voice, Victor startled and touched his dirty face. Seeing it was indeed Logan, he exclaimed excitedly, "Quick, let me out!"
Logan extended his steel claws and easily cut the cage and the chains holding him. The two embraced tightly. Looking at the haggard Victor, Logan asked with concern, "What happened? With your skills, those guys should never have been able to catch you!"
Notland might have some influence, but his gang of thugs could never compete with Victor.
Victor's expression darkened instantly. He cursed: "That damn anesthetic! Those thugs came for me, and I thought they were assigning me a task, so I wasn't on guard. Then they injected me with an anesthetic."
His eyes burned with hatred. "Why? I'm already so humble, obeying them like a dog, and why do they still treat me like this?! Logan, you know what? Those guys treated me like a wild animal in a zoo!"
Logan sighed and patted his shoulder. "We'll talk about that later. We have to get out of here."
"No!" Victor straightened up, fists clenched, a fierce glint returning to his eyes. "I'm going to kill that bastard Notland!"
Even though Notland had saved his life, his years of hard work had long since paid the debt for that piece of bread. Now, only the hatred of betrayal remained.
"No need." Logan gestured for Victor to calm down. "I already took care of those two. The bodies are still downstairs."
Victor looked a bit taken-back, then forced a wry smile and patted Logan's shoulder. "Thanks."
[Prestige +10]
Logan arched an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised. "Why are you being so polite? Let's go. If they find the bodies, it'll be too late."
Before the police could cordoned off the entire building, Logan ran out, getting Victor and Laura into the car.
"Are you guys okay?" Caliban, who had been waiting for a long time, breathed a sigh of relief seeing Logan and the others unharmed. He had been terrified when the patrol officers arrived.
"We're fine, let's go!" Logan saw the police backup cars heading toward them in the distance. The building was completely surrounded, with police tape cordoning off the area. He quickly urged Caliban to leave. The Las Vegas police were not like the useless ones in Santa Fe.
After leaving the building, they immediately returned to the hotel, picked up the Professor, and headed for the highway exit. After all, someone had been murdered there, and by mutants no less. Who knew if Dr. Rice and S.H.I.E.L.D. would go after them? In any case, they couldn't stay any longer; they had to reach North Dakota as soon as possible.
Perhaps it was time to leave the country temporarily.