Ch.
22 – FOH Crisis
Slash was the first one in, and
X-Strike and X-Recon filled quickly in. Xavier gave them the situation briefing.
"This morning, the Friends of
Humanity seized Fort Monroe, a US Army installation in Hampton, VA. They have with them three anthrax-armed
missiles and five Legacy-armed missiles. They are threatening to launch both missiles if Norfolk and the
surrounding cities do not release its mutant population, and against the humans
who are harboring the mutants. They are
giving the city 24 hours to comply or the population would be destroyed." He made eye contact with every member. "This is our most dangerous mission to date. In light of Scott's death, I am not forcing
any of you to go." Slash looked at each
member, and then stood up.
"Professor, we knew the risks when
we signed up here. Unless I
misinterpreted people's glances, we are all ready to go. The FOH are the scum of the earth, and need
to be stopped. I think our best option
would be an airborne assault, land inside the walls of the fort, and establish
a base inside one of the barracks inside the base. I'm assuming that they sealed the fort shut."
"Not quite, but I don't think you
all will be able to get in via the front gate. I do believe an airborne assault will be the best option. The planning for this mission is up to
you. Remember, the clock is
ticking." Slash stood up, and
immediately began planning.
Jean and Wolverine were up in their
room, cradling Scotty (Scott Summers Junior's nickname).
"I know you are too young to realize
what is going on little one, but mommy and uncle Wolverine have to go save the
world; make it a better place for you when you grow up. We love you, and will be back soon." They picked him up, and both kissed him on
the forehead.
"Yeah, what she said." The passed Scotty off to Nurse, and then
slowly headed out to join the rest of the X-Men. Meanwhile Slash and Shadowcat had been doing the same thing with
little Laura.
"Daddy's got to go now, and mommy's
coming with me. We've got to take down
bad and mean people. Mommy and daddy
love you very much. We'll be back
soon." He kissed her on the forehead,
and Shadowcat did the same. Nanny
arrived, and Slash gave his little daughter to the robot. When they arrived at
the plane, Slash and Shadowcat were arm in arm.
"Alright. I've selected an officer's
house on the west side of the fort. It
will be our fort inside of the fort. Jean, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler are to man our base at all times. Is that clear?" They all nodded. "Ladies
and gentlemen, we have exactly twenty two hours, forty three minutes and ten
seconds to stop the FOH. I want them
taken down, and I want them taken down hard. Is that clear?" A resounding
"Yeah!" filled the hangar bay. "Mount
up then, and let's go save some mutants."
Slash fired up the airplane, and
Gambit and Psylocke made sure that the rope lines were secured for their zip
line exit. As much as they needed
Slash's leadership inside the fort, they more needed their most experienced
aviator to get them out of there when the time came. The mission was suppose to be a quick insertion, disable the
missile controls which intelligence pointed towards the old harbor command post
on the east end of the fort. The
reserve team would remain in the captured officers quarters to feed Slash
information on when to come in and pick them up. Wolverine would lead X-Recon, while Storm took her post as
commander of X-Strike. Slash brought
his MP-5 along, but didn't expect to use it that much because he was in on the
insertion and extraction. They
approached Hampton Roads and he stopped the plane. Rogue and Archangel would fly ahead to clear the LZ (landing
zone) and make one final check that the house was clear for them to establish a
base. Slash held position awaiting
Rogue's radio call.
"This is Rascal. The baby is sleeping." That was the code for the house was
empty. Slash flew the plane to the
fort. Gambit and Psylocke checked the
zip lines one final time. Slash had
drilled the X-Recon with this insertion method, and they were well trained at
this. The X-Strike were not, but Slash
figured they would be fine. As soon as
Slash got the plane in position Gambit and Psylocke threw down the ropes. Rogue and Archangel ran out to where the
ropes were to await their teammates. Within seconds, Jean and Beast were on their way down, followed by
Iceman and Shadowcat, Wolverine and Psylocke, and Gambit and Jubilee. Storm simply flew off, and Nightcrawler
teleported to the ground. They were off
toward their base inside the fort. Slash flew off, waiting for Jean's progress reports, and the order to
move back in and pick them up.
"Redd, this is Slasher. Do you read?"
"Redd here Slasher. I copy loud and clear."
"What's your status Redd?"
"The team just left. They are on their way to the object…" She
stopped as a shot was heard in the background. "Um…Slasher, I believe that the situation just went downhill. Gunfire has erupted."
"I know Redd. Stay calm. What is their progress?"
"Unknown. I just lost contact with Gambit, Rogue and Archangel. Now Beast has…oh my gosh…what's going on
outside?…"
"Jean, keep talking…"
"Slash, situation has been
compromised…" A crashing sound like glass breaking was heard and then Jean
returned. "They've thrown in some
kind…of…*cough! * …canister with gas. Must be knockout…*cough cough! *…" She stopped speaking, and then the
radio toggle switch went dead. Slash
hit the panel next to him.
"Damnit. We've…" He stopped dead in mid-sentence. The fury in his face began to grow until his
mouth opened with the explosion, "KAAAAAAATE!"
Getting
good again I hope? And just to let you
know, I grew up in the Hampton Roads area, so a lot of these places are true,
and that's why I know so much about them.