NINE

[Command History:]

//Power failure in all major areas. Backup power sequence initiated automatically.

....

//Security breach. South perimiter fence

...

//Security breach. Main gate.

...

//Backup power failure. All areas.

...

//Lockdown sequence entered using override code: Danger room, lower levels. Elevator lockdown.

...

//Automatic enabling of alternate power source failure.

...

//Attempting search for alternative power sources.

Scott slammed his fist against the wall. "Dammit!! They must've used the power failure to get through the gate before cerebro was able to detect them! We had no security for those few seconds."

Sebastien looked at the computer screen and frowned, then looked at Scott. "The lockdown. Who initiated that?"

"Jean is the only one with the code for a full lockdown. The lower levels are all sealed now."

"How can the lower levels still have power if the rest of the mansion doesn't?"

Scott opened a steel cabinet and pulled out a grey metal visor. Closing his eyes, he took off his ruby glasses and slipped on the visor. "The proffessor designed the lower levels as a place of refuge in event of an attack. It is equipped so that it can be locked down and people can survive down there for years if need be. There is a massive water tank, food supplies and a limitless source of energy. That energy source is now powering the mansion's computer, because the computer's 'brain' lives below," He regarded Sebastien for a few moments, then smiled grimly. "We've never had to use it before now."

"So it's never been tested, in other words."

Chamber's words made them both turn. "Well, I geuss now's as good a time as any for a trial," Scott replied.

Chamber shrugged. "Helluva time to test your limits, wouldn't you agree?"

"It looks like we've been attacked," Scott said redundantly. "I dont know if Jean and Ororo are OK. Logan's gone, and these goons are probably already inside the mansion."

"Where is Logan anyway?" Chamber's eyes bored into Scott.

"Not...here."

Sebastien looked anxiously to Scott, then Chamber. "But we can't fight these bastards all by oursleves!"

Scott pulled on a jacket and handed similar ones to the boys. "We've faced worse," He said firmly. "You two should be with the other students, but we can't access the lower levels now. So for now you stick with us and stay as far away from these bastards as possible."

Ororo and Jean hurried down the corridor and emerged in the lobby, the only really open space in the mansion. Jean noticed their mistake too late, and as she grabbed Ororos hand and tried to run back to the refuge of the corridor, the glass roof shattered under a barrage of gunfire. Shards of polished wood flew up at their feet as they ran, the expensive oriental rug shredded instantly. Ororo could see Jean was heading for the stairs, and looked back quickly. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw four black clad men drop through the broken ceiling, aiming at them with their guns....She screamed at Jean a split second before the second barrage of gunfire thudded into the wall like thunder. Jean slammed into the stairs and covered her head, and yelled something at Ororo, which was lost on the unrelenting tattoo of bullets destroying everything.

Ororo took a breath and looked up at the open hole in the ceiling. Rain poured in from the gaping wound of plaster and glass and she could see the storm clouds brewing above. She closed her eyes and tilted her face heavenwards, calling on the winds to come to her aide.

The men below didn't know what hit them. The wind was like a solid wall, and it picked them up and sucked them through the hole they had made. Ororo looked down at Jean, who was holding onto the bannister for dear life, her hair a tangled mess of red. She touched Jean's arm softly and Jean opened her eyes. "They're gone," Ororo said. "We have to move before the others find us."

Jeremiah stood in the rain and watched as another wave of men went into the masion. They were being sent on in lines. Graydon Creed stood to the side, watching silently as others barked orders. Smoke rose up from different parts of the huge building.

"We dont know what they have up their sleeves," Creed said to one of the men beside him. He watched as fire licked at a window pane above. "The one they call Storm is still alive. She attacked a group of men when they breached the ceiling above the staircase."

"She'll be taken care of."

"What else do we know?"

"Judging by the infared scans, we're looking at a handful of mutants inside. Three in the upper levels and the two women on the stairs."

Creed nodded and clasped the other man on the shoulder. "Keep an eye on it. They could be hiding the others."

"Right."

Creed turned and looked at the line of men before him. "Right," He barked, causing Jeremiah to jump. Creed eyes slid over each man before he continued. He could have been gravely assessing his fighting unit, or just making sure he had everyones attention. He took a breath and continued in the same authorative boom. "Second wave. Your job is important. First wave have shut off security and smashed a way into the mansion. Now it's up to you to search the thing and flush out any muties hiding within. They will retaliate. Make no mistake. Just remember your training. Remember who is the superior race here." He took a breath as of to say more, but instead he leaned back and clamped his mouth shut. "Now go."

Thunder rolled overhead as the men roared and filed into the mansion, one by one, weapons held high over their heads like prizes. Jeremiah looked up at Creed quickly as he followed the others, and Creed looked down at him, his eyes burning intently. And as Jermiah emerged inside the mansion, one thought hit him like a house brick:

Why isn't Creed fighting with us?

The students flinched as another barrage of gunfire ripped through the silence, muted by the layers of steel and concrete between them and the battle above. Sam Guthrie looked at Bobby, who held one of the younger students to his chest as the child sobbed uncontrollably. "They can't get in here, right?"

Bobby looked up as another explosion popped and the walls vibrated. "I don't think so. Jean wouldn't have locked us down here otherwise."

Sam crossed the room to the elevator door, and examined the control panel. He pressed a few buttons randomly, but the panel did not activate. He looked back at the small group of scared mutants, and anger flashed in his eyes. "We should be up there with them. They can only hold out so long..."

Bobby scowled, and looked at the younger students, their eyes wide with fear. Sam was scared, he knew, but he was making the others just as anxious. "They know what they're doing, Sam," He replied with bravado, and a quick smile at the other students. "They'll be OK."

"Ah hope so. Because if they come down here looking for us..."

"Sam, just chill. Nothing bad is gonna happen. Rememebr what Logan always says? You have to deal with things one at a time, as they come up, or otherwise you'll drown in the what if's. Let the X-Men deal with this, and we deal with whatever comes our way."

Sam shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. He knew Bobby was right, and he was mad at himself for letting the cold grip of fear spread in his chest. He looked at the empty Danger Room and wondered how long it could contain them, and how long he could contain the fear swelling inside him, threatening to swallow him whole.

Cyclops held out an arm as he approached a corner, signaling for the two boys to stay put. Sebastien flattened out against the wall and Chamber slowed in front of him. Cyclops lifted his other hand to his visor, where a tiny button was set into it's side. One tap of the button would flip open the ruby quartz lens and release a devastating amount of energy from his eyes. The visor glowed hot red in pulses as he crouched and peeked around the corner. They were standing in the hallway outside the ready room, and just beyond was the staircase leading to the lower levels.

Just as Cyclops had expected, there were three operatives ducking in and out of rooms on the second floor, guns leading them as they swept the areas for signs of life. Smoke wafted up from the kitchen and some of the dorm rooms. A fire alarm clanged redundantly in the distance.

Cyclops looked back at the boys. "Three of them below us," He whispered. "We head for the stairs right now and we won't even make it to the second landing. They're sweeping each room systematically, so it's only a matter of time before they reach this level....'' He sighed and wiped a hand across his sweaty forehead.

"Is there any other way down?" Sebastien whispered back.

"No. The power outage also took out the elevators, and even if I did know how to re activate them, I wouldn't dare. They'd have the elevator doors covered."

"What now then?" Chamber asked.

Cyclops hesitated, then drew in a breath. Before he could answer, Chamber stood up and cocked his head to look below. "There are only three of them, you said."

Cyclops nodded. "You have an idea?"

"Yeah, but it's not a very smart one."

Cyclops' jaw muscles bunched. He was grinding his teeth. "What do you--"

Chamber stood and ran at the balustrade with astonishing speed. He grabbed the smooth railing and launched off it with effortless grace, landing without sound on the second floor seconds before one of the commandos emerged from an open door.

The commando had no time to react. Chamber struck with force and without mercy. The other man was felled by a sheer wall of energy. Cyclops watched on as Chamber quickly knelt beside the unconscious young man and took his weapons. Sweat slid from Cyclops' brow as Chamber stood up and checked the gun. Cyclops leaned forward and hissed at Chamber to go and hide. But his words didn't reach him in time; one of the other men emerged from a nearby open door with his gun drawn, its laser sight trained on Chamber's forehead. The commando moved forward just out of Chambers line of vision.

"Hey!!"

Both the commando and Chamber snapped to look up. Cyclops used the opportunity to strike. He pressed the release button on his visor and hit the commando square in the chest, knocking him back into the wall behind them. The sound forced the remaining commando to leap out of the open dorm room ahead of chamber. Chamber let off a short burst of gunfire, pumping the man's kneecaps with bullets. The young commando screamed, and Chamber crossed the floor quickly, kneeling before him, and in one savage motion, knocked him out cold with the butt of the gun.

Cyclops jumped down to meet Chamber on the second floor, followed by Sebastien. "You were right," Cyclops said as he looked at the fallen commandos, making sure each one was down for the count. "That wasn't very smart."

Chamber grabbed the gun lying next to the man he shot, and threw it to Cyclops, who regarded the gun as if it was tainted. "Where did you learn a stupid move like that?" He asked, looking up from the gun.

"One of Logan's stories." Chamber replied, his eyes meeting Cyclops'.

"Oh." Was all Cyclops had to say.

"Where do we go now?" Sebastien asked, looking from the unconscious militia men to Cyclops and Chamber.

Cyclops knelt next to one of the men and patted his uniform down in a few quick motions. He looked up. "No communication devices, no ID...We have no way of knowing where they are. Which means we have to tread carefully."

Chamber nodded. "Lets get out of here."

"Morgan, take a seat."

Captain Harry Kaminski motioned to a cracked leather seat in front of his desk. Morgan had been summoned to the Captain's office immediately upon his return to the station. He did as instructed and tried to make himself comfortable in the stiff backed chair, crossing his legs at the knee, waiting for Kaminski to speak.

Kaminski was a battle tank of a man. He wore his uniform crisp and clean at all times, even polished the brass nameplate on his desk. His brow sloped into an angry frown most of the time, and his thin lips and square jaw made him look like something out of Dick Tracey. Morgan had actually graduated the academy in Kaminski's class, but ended up nowhere near his league. This man made a career of politics, and showed something akin to distaste for the day to day mundanities of police work. He looked at Morgan now with hard little eyes, the same blue grey colour as his hair. "You're a good cop, Vic," Kaminski began as he took his own seat behind the desk, sighing as he did so. "Probably one of the best we have. One of a dying breed."

"Thankyou," Morgan replied. He was too polite to say what he meant. Almost as an afterthought, he added "Sir."

"This case you've been chasing, Vic. The one involving those kids..."

"Yes sir?"

"Vic, I don't think I've ever told you in the twenty years I've known you to leave something alone,because you do good work. You get results. But I don't think in the twenty years I've known you that a case has touched so many raw nerves."

Morgan picked at a loose thread on his jacket, and let it flitter to the floor. He knew where this was going, and he decided against righteous indignation. "You want me to leave the case alone sir?"

Kaminksi's straight eyebrows raised as he stared at Morgan. Something flashed in those dark eyes before he spoke. "Cases like this can get very sensitive, Vic, I'm sure you know that. And normally I'd say knock yourself out, follow this to its conclusion. But this is not a normal case. It has touched on a dangerous fringe group, and a very powerful family. We're taking a lot of heat from some influential people to leave this one alone."

Morgan drew a breath and laced his fingers over his belly. He gave the captain a smirk and shrugged. "In the twenty years I've known you, sir, I don't think I've ever told you how arrogant and self serving you are. I simply don't respect a cop who kisses a politician's ass to further his own career."

Kaminski rose from his chair, knuckles leaning on his desk. His jaw moved in a side to side motion, as if he were grinding the words up in his mouth before speaking. He glared at Morgan for a few interminable seconds. Morgan didn't shift from the other man's gaze.

Morgan shrugged. "Me, I'm sitting here wondering what possible reason you'd have for pulling the plug on a case like this. You've never shied away from high profile cases before. Why start now?"

Kaminski licked his lips and leaned forward as if about to impart some crucial secret to Morgan. His knuckles were turning white against the ink blotter on his desk. "This case was a wash up from the word go. I'm sure you smelled something off early on?"

Morgan shook his head. "The goal was to find the bad guys, maybe even make a wrong thing right." He uncrossed his legs and leaned his forearms on his knees. "I've seen more complicated cases."

Kaminski pointed a finger and curled his lips into the approximation of a smile. "How do you solve a crime without a victim? How do you establish what happened with suspect gone AWOL and a victim that may not even exist? This case ever gets to trial, the defence will have this laughed out of court. So tell me, Vic, what is it worth?"

Morgan sighed loudly and rubbed his face with his hands. "It's worth something," He replied behind his hands, "I know where to find the third suspect. But I need a warrant to find out if I'm right." His eyes were red rimmed when he looked up at Kaminksi. He was exhausted. His whole body looked as if it were running on nothing but hope.

Kaminski sucked in his breath and strode around the desk. He looked as if he were going to approach Morgan, then thought the better of it, and perched himself awkwardly on the edge of the desk. "Look at you, Vic," He replied softly. "What you need is some time off. You've been working solidly for god knows how long. When was your last vacation?"

Morgan shrugged, too tired to give a verbal response. Kaminski creased his brow in concern, and produced a stiff white envelope from his breast pocket. Morgan looked up and regarded Kaminksi as his hand stretched across the chasm between them, almost in slow motion, and offered it to him. When Morgan didn't move, Kaminski dropped the envelope in his lap. "I had to make a few calls, clear it with the union, but I was able to pull it off. I'm granting you extraordinary leave, effective immediately."

Morgan stared at the envelope and looked up at Kaminksi. "Extraordinary leave?" He echoed, eyebrow arched with suspicion.

Kaminski nodded. "I think you deserve it."

Silence fell quickly in the expansive office. Morgan still made no move to open the envelope. Kaminski spread his hands after a few seconds and shrugged. "Well, Detective, if it's a matter of money, I can assure you--"

Morgan stood up, and the envelope fell to the ground. His hands were bunched into fists and his face was twisted with fury. "I do not wish to take extraordinary leave. Sir." His voice came clear and seemed to strike something within Kaminksi, who stood bolt upright too.

"I don't think you understand....You do not have a choice here," Kaminski shot back. "It's either this or you take a suspension without pay. Now I think I'm being generous with this offer, Vic. Don't throw it back in my face."

"Suspension? For what?"

Kaminksi sighed heavily and walked back behind his desk, opened a drawer, and slid a file across the ink blotter. Morgan knew what it was without having to read the label. It was the Blacksmith file. Kaminski sat in his leather chair slowly, and tapped his hand on the file. "Nothing goes on in this department without my knowledge, Vic, you know that. When Ruby accessed the file, a flag went up on the retrieval system and a report was generated..."

"Ruby had nothing to do with this..."

"Now calm down. All I'm saying is that unless you take extraordinary leave, I will have no choice but to suspend you and Ruby pending an investigation by the integrity tribunal."

Morgan's face fell. Kaminksi had played this out liked it was scripted. In one conversation, he had threatened Morgan's future with the force, his reputation, and Ruby's too. Kaminski knew that Morgan would have to bend over and take it because his loyalty would always get the better of him.

"So I ask you again, Detective Morgan," Kaminski said, leaning back into his chair. "What is this case worth to you?"