-10 Months

Proxy Blue stared from the monitor with her normal sarcastically knowing smile as if waiting for her audience to pay attention before launching into her diatribe. "It seems the Angels have fallen to earth and brought hell with them. Following on from last weeks shocking destruction of the California and Florida Nuclear Power plants, the rest of the US grid has had difficulty picking up the slack. Today, the plants in Dakota and East Virginia joined them, suggesting that the rest of the national grid look to its own before trying to stretch themselves too far. Add to that the Tsunami that hit Japan at the beginning of the month, earthquakes in Europe and Siberia, as well as anomalous hurricanes across most of the Southern hemisphere, and one could think something almost freaky was going on."

She cocked her head as if listening to something. "We all know that the media are blaming the Angels of Vengeance, but I wonder how many know that their leader is human? This reporter has it on the very best authority that DNA has been gathered that is one hundred per cent certainly from Mr. Big, and that he has no genetic deviations from the norm. Of course, there is the small matter of finding likely people to test for that DNA. It could well be quicker to grow a clone and see what it looks like. Hm, now there's a thought. Does anyone else wonder why the Senator with the foot fetish, and you all know who I mean, has suddenly bowed to a scandal and resigned? Never bothered him before. The plots thicken, gentle people, so keep on cluing me in."

*****

When Byrnes was forced to resign his senate seat due to those unfortunate pictures that mysteriously appeared on the web, alongside a little peer pressure, Eckhart was quietly confident that it would be he who would be taking the fat man's place as Morrisen's right hand. Byrnes had no business empire or influence to keep him in the Inner Circle, so his seat there was forfeit when he resigned. Knowing this, Eckhart had lobbied hard for the position and made no secret of his maneuvers against Byrnes, understanding that it was the way things were done in this particular political arena.

He was not disappointed.

He also had a strategy in place to usurp Morrisen and was quite sure that the other man knew it, such was the nature of the game. The trick was to use each other to the fullest, yet have things ready to oust the other at a moments' notice.

There was also another interesting development. One of Langley's pets had turned out to be an old friend of Adam's. A friend who was easily persuaded to do what was in her own best interests once a little pressure was applied. And a friend that Eckhart himself was embarrassingly familiar with. Adam would shortly be firmly under the Inner Circle's thumb, although Eckhart thought that Charlotte Cooke herself would turn out to be a threat.

Until Langley informed the circle that Ms Cooke would be dealt with. To demonstrate, she introduced her newest pet, Dale Smith, who until that moment had stood behind Langley in the guise of Charlotte Cooke. Then her features shifted to become a blank, curiously unfinished face. Another mutant then, and in politics, an extremely useful one.

*****

Sitting on the terrace in the sunlight, Adam enjoyed a rare moment of peace. Things were going well and, although he felt as if he were fighting a machine behind the faces, he was talking to more and more people who were listening, he'd already run a couple of seminars and presented a paper. Things still didn't seem to be moving in the right direction yet, but that would certainly take time because, for all that the mutants were the oppressed, the humans had good reason to fear them. For many humans, the only known encounters with mutants they'd had had been violent or violating and, like a beautiful white silk blouse that has a small red wine stain at the collar, people will view the entire garment as ruined. So they saw all mutants based on the few hostile ones they'd known. An enormous yet, to Adam, a not insurmountable hurdle.

On a lighter note, his four protégés were being remarkably successful in the areas they'd chosen to work, and with Jesse's team up and running, they had a central communication network and information exchange. Even working independently of each other they made a team to be proud of.

A shadow fell over the table, and he stood to greet his lunch guest with a genuine smile of pleasure. "Charlotte, I'm so glad you could make it."

"I couldn't refuse, Adam." She smiled sweetly, perhaps a little too sweetly, but Adam was quite certain that all that was behind them. She sat down and glanced at the menu before asking, "So what do I owe the honor?"

"Can't a friend just invite another friend to lunch?" he smiled. "Besides, I wanted to thank for your help."

"Anything to help the mutant cause," Charlotte replied, looking at him bemusedly. "You know that Langley wants you on her staff."

Adam nodded. "Yes, she's made her offer perfectly clear. But I can't be seen to throw my lot in with one senator, no matter how altruistic they may appear to be - which I don't for a moment believe she is, by the way. Not if I want to get enough support to reverse the course upon which we seem to be embarked."

Charlotte leaned over and gently, yet firmly, touched Adam's hand. "Oh, but I'm quite certain I can change your views on the matter," she said.  Adam was helpless to do anything but agree.

*****

Shalimar's Freedom Fighters were shaping up well and small groups went on regular patrols, extending progressively further away from their base of operations as, in dribs and drabs, others that had encountered Emma's group came to join them.

Inevitably, the one big group again became unmanageable and too central so, keeping the current base, Shalimar sent large groups further afield to set up small outposts. The further out these satellite bases sprang up, the more people came, the closer proximity making it easier to make the decision to join. The majority only ever pledged support from their existing lives, especially the humans, but those without permanent homes or decent jobs were more than willing to up roots and move into the bases. Shalimar was tired much of the time now, even her excessive energy running low, but Vernon and Ollie stopped her overworking, and at the end of the day, she was proud of every single one of the people she met.

The other, far more disturbing, reason that there was a significant influx of people joining arms was the AV's. The Angels of Vengeance were those mutants who wanted the humans punished and destroyed as much as the human extremists wanted the mutants destroyed. Initially, Emma had thought they were just misguided until she talked to one and found such a wall of pain and rage that there was no chance of making them listen. The mental violence had been so extreme the psionic had been physically sick, Jeff having to carry her away in his arms while Julie looked like thunder.

The sad thing was, the human extremists were those that had suffered at mutant hands, and likewise, the AV's were those that had suffered at human hands. And neither would ever give way.

Emma for her part, was finding it increasingly easy to find people who were willing to listen to her. No one, not human nor mutant, wanted their lives ruined by a war that was, despite what the politicians said, raging out of control. While she sent many to Shalimar, a few chose to remain with her and, taking notes from her feral friend, Emma soon split her own group up to work in tandem with Shalimar's groups. A handful of volunteers even went as ambassadors to the tiny groups in other countries, helping to form a united force and, more importantly, a united voice.

*****

Jesse was grinning as Shalimar signed off. She was clearly having a ball, and even though dark rings shadowed her eyes, her excitement was genuine and infectious. And Adam had been high as a kite last time they'd spoken too, convinced that in-roads were being made in establishing talks and turning opinion.

Jesse himself had a meeting with Brennan in a day or so, which he was looking forward to since it would mean he'd get out into the fresh air. He had his team in place in various locations, mostly in the States and Canada, although there were a couple of people further afield. With his borrowed paranoia in mind, only Jesse had met each one personally, vetting and setting them up, and they each worked independently with specific goals.

The computers Jesse'd had installed in those locations all fed back to his Central Control, but that meant that he barely set foot outside the basement flat he'd set himself up in. He was finding it increasingly difficult to get out of his control chair and take care of himself, even now making a mental note to shave before meeting with Brennan.

But it was all worth it. Money and information was diverted to areas that needed it most, whether it be one of Shalimar's teams or Emma needing flights and false ID for one of her team. Even sending it to those who would use it wisely in areas where governments or bandits or even revolutionaries were withholding aid for whatever reason.

It was like playing god in some respects and. daily, Jesse had to tell himself that he was not, that he did not need more power for self-gratification, although that too was becoming ever more tough.

His team's reputation was growing hourly, and where initially Jesse and his team had started out having to take hits while trading for snippets, now information was flowing almost non-stop. They had a policy of not paying for information, only trading byte for byte, so that what they got was pretty reliable, and Jesse sifted through the lot, putting bits and pieces together in order to see bigger pictures.

He was tough on his close friends too, making all of them, including Adam, trade information with him. Wouldn't want anyone accusing his team of favoritism, even though it was known that the Cyberteam didn't deal with extremists and AV's.

The Cyberteam's network had two faces, the topside dealing in information and producing cash and supplies while the underside appropriated it all, stealing via diverted funds and altered bills of lading. But, as all policy decisions were down to him, and especially with the rising frequency of conflicts of interest, that feeling of power just wouldn't stop growing.

*****

When Brennan met with Jesse at a café that was still running, an old generator powering the place and nailed up boards replacing once spotless chrome and glass windows, he really couldn't tell which one of them looked worse. Jesse was buzzing, probably on a caffeine high the way he was inhaling the stuff, and his disheveled and gauntly pale state behind his sunglasses was probably more to do with neglect than anything more dangerous.  At least he'd shaved.

He knew he looked bad himself, but his natural cynicism had taken a blow. Being cynical, even outrageously pessimistic at times, meant that he was rarely disappointed and mostly pleasantly surprised, which had previously helped him on his merry way through life. In recent weeks however, his by now cynical pessimism was being regularly exceeded by reality, and that was depressing him more each day.

Up until now he'd been one of Jesse's main sources of information, but he needed more than that, something to keep reminding him he was alive, that this wasn't all a nightmare that wouldn't go away. He needed something to give him faith in his own ability to make a difference.

He listened to Jesse's proposal, considered it, countered it and shook on a gentleman's agreement.

An agreement that meant Jesse now had a field agent that extended his appropriation section to the more physical acquisitions. as well as a mother hen that would pop in occasionally to make sure his fridge was stocked and that he saw sunlight. And Brennan now had many an opportunity to have fun with his own particular talents, which gave him a new lease of life and began to help focus his goals.

As he only did part-time work for Cyberteam, in order to maintain and expand his resources Brennan found himself running a lot of those resources himself. He built his own team of thieves with a strict code and traded goods and information in exchange for taking on Cyberteam jobs.

He quickly found that he'd taken too much on, couldn't be in more than one place at once and needed a lieutenant. One girl in particular came to his notice. Down to earth and an honest thief, only ever out to make money for herself, Kathy Lee became his Capo, taking charge when he was away on his solo missions and soon becoming a little more.

*****