Kyler sat in front of her laptop screen in a modest hotel room. She had checked into the hotel shortly after leaving Xavier's. She accepted the invitation for dinner. She had no choice. Xavier had information on Essex that she needed. She knew something was amiss when the strange guy with the stone in his forehead had retained her services. Some type of blackmail was usually involved when someone requested a dossier on a figure in the public light. Especially if said figure was wealthy as Xavier was. Normally she wouldn't touch such a case with a ten-foot pole but her curiosity about her childhood hero wouldn't let her walk away from it. She had always been cursed with insatiable curiosity. If she was a cat she knew she would have been road pizza by now.

She didn't feel guilty about betraying Essex as a client. After what Xavier had told her about the man she was more convinced than ever that he was bad news. She felt guilty about using him as an excuse to pry. Somewhere deep down she had to have known she wouldn't hand over a dossier on Xavier. She didn't set people up blackmail schemes. It wasn't her way. Unfortunately, from what Xavier told her, it might have been easier if Essex had wanted money. She was puzzled why he hired her. His resources must excel hers. Essex had a reason for placing her on the playing field with the X-men and her instincts told her she wasn't going to like it. She needed to find out the rules if she was to play effectively.

She had set up a satellite relay so she could have an access link to her computer at home. She had been checking various property listings in the Indianapolis area hoping to find something in Mr. Essex's name. A long shot, to be sure, but they occasionally paid off. The computer beeped at her. Kyler typed in an entry code to surpass security. She was able to find the signal and piggyback to the source that had triggered the alarm. It appeared the X-men were accessing data on her.

It didn't alarm her. If she hadn't found everything she could prior to meeting them she would be doing the same thing. She was slightly surprised that she had been able to hone into their signal. They had the latest technology at their fingertips. Someone was sloppy or they didn't care if she knew they were checking up on her. She would like to believe their technology was no match for her wily mind but she wasn't going to flatter herself.

Her clock on the bedside table indicated it was time to get ready for the up coming dinner. The little black dress she planned to wear was laid out on the bed. She was going to dress for success. She figured she would need a confidence booster. She hadn't figured out how to ask Xavier for the information she wanted.

He had made it clear he felt she was in over her head. Perhaps she was but she had never run away from a fight in her life and she wasn't going to start now. Sure, it might be smarter to turn the other check and let the X-men handle it on their own but she knew she couldn't. This Essex had the nerve to mess with her and she was going to find out why.