First Story:
Logan hides in a tree, watching the interactions of those below him. Dumas is understandably nervous and wants to leave, but the Sheikh asks if maybe his master should sacrifice him in Corrigan’s stead. He insists that they stay there until he is certain of Corrigan’s fate. He asks Barrett what he thinks. Barrett reckons Corrigan’s dead all right. He holds part of Archie’s ripped up shirt and points out the bloody ground. He thinks that the ‘wild man’ must have torn Corrigan apart. He asks if they should search for a piece of him to show his master, Abdul Alhazred. Rhys thinks that they have enough, but Stump says that Rhys is afraid. The wild man doesn’t scare him.
Tyger Tiger, with her hands bound behind her back, fears for them all if Wolverine did indeed kill Archie. If he’s lost control of the beast within, he’ll toy with them and show them how helpless they are before he kills them. As she thinks, Logan drops Archie’s cap to the ground and the Sheikh looks up into the tree to see Logan hiding there. Everyone opens fire into the tree, but Wolverine is too quick for them and he uses his agility to dodge their fire. Barrett calls for a ceasefire once Wolverine disappears. Rhys reckons that he hit him with every round. Barrett feels that they should clear out.
Tyger wonders whether she should inform them who they face, but if she does and they survive, what is her fate? Freedom, or death as a sacrifice in one of Alhazred’s unholy rituals. She begins to ask the Sheikh a question, but the Sheikh interrupts her. He informs her that his master issues orders, not explanations. If she is silent her life will pass with pleasure. Tyger reckons that if that is fate’s decree, then she’ll let it be swift. It might as well be delivered by a man-beast who will release her soul, not destroy it. She pretends to trip over a branch in their path, hoping that Logan will hurry and attack before she runs out of tricks to delay the others.
The Sheikh calls for Dumas to come and assist the woman, but he hears a noise. He looks around and discovers that Barrett has disappeared. He asks Tyger where he has got to, but she replies that she doesn’t know. She heard a noise, looked up and he was gone! A scream from the forest scares them, and Rhys thinks that the wild man is killing Barrett. The Sheikh orders Scarface to throw Tyger Tiger on to his shoulder, but Scarface asks why. Barrett is already dead. The Sheikh replies that if he wants to share his fate, then he should run before the savage can return.
(fifteen minutes later)
The group is still moving, and Rhys believes that they are safe. The Sheikh tells him that they’ll only be safe when Tyger Tiger is in his master’s possession. As Rhys begins to reply, Wolverine reaches from the bushes and pulls him in, right under the noses of the armed gang. The Sheikh orders Scarface and Stump to shoot and they start blasting, only ceasing fire when Logan tosses Rhys’ pistol back at them. He then leaps at the brothers and slices Scarface’s machine gun with his claws. He does the same to Stump’s pistol. The Sheikh grabs a hold of Tyger Tiger and orders them to stop standing there and gawping. He offers to double their fee if they kill him. Tyger notes that the Sheikh’s grip shows that he is afraid.
The two brothers attack Wolverine, and Scarface manages to wrap his arms around Logan’s chest, trapping him. Stump then smacks him hard across the face and Scarface tells him to hit him again. They must have their revenge before they kill him. Logan shifts his weight and kicks Stump in the face. He then snikts his claws and plunges them into Scarface’s thighs, causing him to release his grip. Scarface pleads with Logan to spare them. It’s the Sheikh he wants. Logan doesn’t give a damn, and he metes out justice to his opponents.
Their cries are heard from a distance as the Sheikh realizes that his hired thugs have fallen. Dumas offers to run on ahead to ensure the path is safe. He doesn’t last long, though, as Logan has got in front of them and rendered him unconscious. “You!” exclaims Tyger. “Wolverine! Logan…?” The Sheikh realizes that he has failed his master, but thinks he might still be able to redeem himself. He opens fire at Wolverine and, despite the bullets hitting home, Wolverine approaches him without flinching. The Sheikh feels that Logan must have a charm or a spell to protect him. He decides to point the gun at Tyger’s head instead, and warns Logan that he must stop or his last cartridge will…
Logan doesn’t give him the chance to complete his sentence as he leaps at the Sheikh, slicing the gun in the same way he did with Stump and Scarface. He then punches the Sheikh hard with a right cross which puts the Sheikh down for the count. “Logan, you saved me,” cries Tyger. She thinks that the beast in him must be on control, but his growl makes her wonder otherwise. He holds his fist to her face and she worries that he might use his claws on her. However, a voice from behind causes her to turn with a start. “Snikt! You’re dead!” Tyger sees Archie standing there holding a rifle. He explains that Logan didn’t kill him. He rescued him and left him to guard the prisoners. Logan cuts Tyger free and sees Rhys, Barrett, Stump and Scarface paraded before them, hands bound.
Tyger is a little annoyed. She jabs Wolverine in the chest with her finger and says that he only pretended that his beast side was in control. “Very clever.” However, she feels that keeping her out of the loop was taking it too far. Logan disagrees. He feels that when she called him Logan, she compromised his plan which was working just fine until then. Incidentally, he adds, he couldn’t let them know he had anything at stake. He had to keep them guessing until he could get his claws on his pistol. “As for the rest… sue me.”
The thing is, thinks Wolverine, for a while there he was the beast. It was seeing Abdul Alhazred’s tattoo on the Sheikh that brought him back. The beast got scared and didn’t want to mess in his affairs. Worst part is, it’s got good reason. He turns to Archie and says that they need to take these yahoos to jail. The only thing worse than that is them being sent back to Alhazred, and Logan says he ain’t that mean.
