What If? Episode 907

Northwest Normal

It was a few hours past dawn Logan walked back into Starks' seaside palace with a smirk. He shook his head as he listened to Scott rushing to get himself upright— having fallen asleep on the couch with the tv on. "Got a place lined up," he called out to Scott. "And the job's gonna stick."

"Great," Scott called back, his voice thick with sleep still. "Then I can start working on my ... stuff."

Logan smiled to himself and shook his head as Scott tried to wake up in earnest. It would take very little time for the two of them to get their things together and get out of there. But considering how much neither of them liked the seaside palace, any time it took would be a bit too much for them.

While Scott was going over his room, stashing what little he had unpacked, Logan headed for Stark's bookshelf. There were many things that the man did that irritated the crap out of him, but one thing that he apparently could rely on Tony for was the simple fact that on the bookshelf there would be information about the area they were in. It had proven true at the mansion in New York anyhow. There, Logan had found volumes of information on all aspects of the city. It's history, books full of maps of geography before the city was built, the old subway lines through the ages, parcel information that broke down who owned what around the mansion, the tower, and all through the city ...

He paused as he found a book on the shelf at eye level that was very obviously exactly what he was looking for, and as he took it, he paused, realizing that perhaps it wasn't Stark that had the collection of books, but his amazingly organized butler. He shrugged the thought off. That wasn't the important part anyhow. What was important was that he had a book of maps of the entire Oregon coastal area complete with elevations and details on population. At least from within the past three years since the book had been made.

And he did note that it was made— not published. This was not a commercially created tome, no way. This was one that was updated. He took the book with him and stuck it into his travelling bag then met Scott at the front door. It was clear that the young man was in just as much of a hurry to get things rolling as Logan was.

Scott loaded up his things as Logan locked up, and within a few minutes, the two of them were headed down the road again. It had been raining that morning, so again, the roads were wet and the whole area smelled amazing with the pine and the ocean breeze.

The two track that led into where the rental cabins dotted in the forest was lined with tall pines, and Scott found himself smirking when he heard Logan let out a little breath and mutter "That's more like it, eh?"

"Yeah. Much better," Scott replied around his smirk, though he had to relax a little himself too. This was more secluded and hidden. Being this deep in the trees on its own made the whole place seem more secure. The first cabin at the end of the two track was quite clearly that of the owner. The man that lived there was proud ex-military, and three flags flew in front of his cabin. The stars and stripes, USMC flag, and a black and white POW flag. Those guys— the ex-marines in the woods— were always aware of what was going on around them and suspicious of anyone invading their turf. It was practically like paying to have someone on your six. And even Scott knew it. "Ex Marine corp?"

"Seemed like a nice enough guy," Logan replied with a shrug. "Healthy level of paranoia. Protective of his current tenant."

"Just one other?" Scott asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at the many cabins dotting the woods.

"Just one. Said everyone that stays here keeps to themselves, and we're expected to do the same. Sounded like my kind of neighbors."

Scott hid the smirk by looking out of his window as they went all the way to the end of the two track road. The little A-Frame cabin was bigger than the place they'd had in Wisconsin, but still somehow felt cozier inside, covered in wood and with the large open, windows and floor plan. "I like it," Scott said as he looked up and around himself.