So, here it is -- part 2 of my story!  Who'd have ever guessed that this
day would come? :)
Disclaimer:  Recognize them?  They belong to Marvel.
Thanks to Poi Lass for her opinion on this :)

Act As If (Part 2)
by Northlight

	I wake up, a scream caught in my throat even as the images from my
dream fade back into the recesses of my mind.  I lay motionless, save
for the uneasy shift of my eyes as they attempt to penetrate the
darkness enveloping us.

	Warren is curled up next to me, his warm breath a whisper across my
cheek.  I will not wake him.  I know that he would attempt to make this
lingering haze of fear hanging over me dissipate - and perhaps even
succeed in doing so.  But some things, I must deal with on my own.

	Gradually, my heart ceases it's frantic pounding, and I am able to
convince myself that no danger lurks in the shadows this night.  Now, I
can examine the wispy remains of the dream that awakened me.

	There is fear, and beneath that, a sense of... inferiority?  That does
not sit well with me.  It was my feelings of inferiority in the face of
Jean's power that left me open to the Shadow King's goading... and left
me in my currently psi blank state.

	But now?

	I don't know.  I have skills and resources beyond my caged telepathy. 
There is nothing to fear.

	An image of Alan Blackwell's predatory gaze flashes through my mind and
I shiver at the feelings his face evokes in me.  I push back those
feelings and banish the man's plump face.  There is nothing I can do
about the man now, and I will not worry about him.

	If there is truly a threat here -- I can deal with it.

***

	Warren sighs heavily, running a hand through his tousled hair yet
again.  "Nothing," he tells me, letting the pile of records he was
leafing through drop to the floor.  He shoots a hostile glare at them
before turning to me inquisitively.

	"I haven't been able to find much about Blackwell to confirm my
suspicions, either," I answer with a responding sigh.  Not that I had
actually expected one of his business transactions to just scream out
'I'm up to something!'.  Although that would have made this job easier.

	"What next?"

	I can't help but smile slightly.  Even after several hours of mind
numbing, eye straining, and utterly useless research, Warren is still
willing to go along with my gut feeling on an almost total stranger.  

	The only thing that struck me as odd was Blackwell's sudden withdraw
from direct control of his businesses.  "I think that it may be helpful
to confer with his business partners."

	"Sounds good to me," Warren replies easily.
***


	"So, what exactly is it that you wished to speak to me about, Ms.
Braddock?" Daniel Muybridge inquires as he spears a tomato from the
salad placed before him.

	I discreetly study the man seated across from me.  He is more
physically attractive than his partner, with a tanned, open face and a
trim form that speaks of treadmills and rowing machines rather than any
necessary physical labour.  But he possesses none of Blackwell's obvious
sense of mastery of his surroundings.  He looks almost uncomfortable as
he waits for my answer.

	"Alan Blackwell," I reply, smiling with all the charm I can muster. 
Muybridge's guarded smile fades altogether, and his eyes shift away from
mine.  I patiently wait for him to compose himself.  I am not about to
scare away a potential source of information with an impatient prodding.

	Muybridge settles his fork down next to his plate, still covered with
his barely touched salad before turning his attention back to me.  "What
do you need from me?"  he looks torn between the urge to bolt and the
desire to spill his worries to me.  I only hope that his desire to talk
overrules his instinct to flee.

	I tell him what I need in the form of the carefully constructed story
that Warren and I agreed upon.  He listens to my half-truth attentively,
his lips tightly compressed.  When I finish, Muybridge spends a tense
moment absently plucking at the sleeve of his pressed white shirt before
slowly nodding.

	"I'll tell you what I know, Ms. Braddock."  I nearly sigh in relief at
those words.  Things would have become more difficult for me had
Muybridge not cooperated.  "But not here," he adds, gesturing towards
the other dinners in our meeting place.

	I nod slightly.  "Let's go, then."

	***