Title: Duty's Call
Author: Crazy Ivan and Lady Bethia
Series: Sub Plot in the Ranger Next Door.
E-Mail: lady_bethia@yahoo.com, the_crazy_ivan@yahoo.com
Home Page:
Pairings: None
Ratings: PG
Warnings:
Disclaimers: The X-Men are not mine. I am making no profit from this
story. James Smith is my original character.
Summary: The X-Men get a clue that James Smith is in Two Hills. Prequel
to Ranger Chapter 2.
Duty's Call, II:
It was a quite time at the Two Hills State Park. The tourists had gone, the school kids were getting ready for the ordeal to continue. And, rumor had it a new Park Ranger was being hired. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was watching that one with some interest.
Logan was beefing about the new Ranger's coming in, and cramping his style. Just like the previous ones. The ones that made him nervous. Especially since the beginning of summer. Something was bothering him. He just didn't know what, and he did know that the Park Rangers were part of the problem.
So he chased them off. It had been easy. Youngsters, city kids looking to go back to nature. A little primal beast, and they'd run. It still made him nervous though. Not enough to overly worry the rest of the team about, but enough to make him even more irritable than normal.
And the rest of the team quietly ignored him.
Logan was paranoid by profession. Just this time, they didn't think it was anything important.
And, in the park, shadows flitted, animals moved, on occasion, a back packer would camp without paying their fees, and get away with it. The park was known for not having a permanent Ranger. And better was in poor repair.
And some of the shadows were more than just tricks of the light.
Some of the shadows were placing and monitoring ground surveillance radar, boom mikes, or at least one of them. And all the equipment was set for passive accumulation, and aimed at the Xavier Mansion. Logan was paranoid. But even paranoids can be right. There was a 'Ghost' in the works. Quietly watching, quietly monitoring the academy and its students, recording their comings and goings. And every few days, at no regular times and no regular places a high-speed laser squirt was aimed skyward. Another report filed. Another supply drop scheduled.
As a matter of course, Professor Xavier would send his charges out for security tests. Evaluations of their security, if you will, and they would come back, reporting nothing. He'd look concerned, he always did. Then go back to his office, to pull out a file, with some documents from a few of his old Air Force friends from Fort Eustis. And look more concerned. But this time, behind closed doors. Another little known secret of Professor Charles Xavier was exactly what he did while in the Air Force. Or that he still held a Reserve Commission in the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. If you didn't need to know, you didn't know. But some old friends, never forgot, and never talked.
Charles Xavier was reading reports on his own students, from Military Intelligence Files, within two weeks of those reports being filed.
Who ever this individual was, they were good. Very good.
And that worried him. It worried him even more that his old friends, and associates had Thought fit to tell him about this one. This Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Smith.
Impressive record. Someone the old army would have called a motivated individual. A truly motivated individual. Service in Vietnam, including making Staff Sergeant, 4 medals for bravery, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. A couple of gimme medals for participating in the South East Asian War Games. In service at 16, or face going to Parchmen Prison. Discharged at 20. Disaster as a civilian. Then back in. Special Forces Training, Para Training, Ranger Training, Black Sunday Training, Helicopter Pilot School, and then the coveted Fire Bird Training Program. Every time the U.S. Military was deployed Warrant Smith was there. Combat Medals, campaign medals, schools, NATO and WARSAW Pact Weapons Qualified expert, the equivalent of three black belts, the mans training files were boring.
An interesting file Warrant Smith had. And it got even more interesting after he died in a Helicopter accident during desert Shield. A Distinguished Service Medal, posthumously, for getting his bird down long enough to get the rest of the crew and his passengers out, then it flipped, and he was dead on arrival. After that, he got nasty. Joining the Chi Tau, and added his sense of motivation to that august organization. Him, and a select group of fellow Black Sunday trainees from the Fort Bragg area. The lot of them, motivated individuals. All of them, also having accidents, or dieing in the line of duty. Only to go on rosters as Chi Tau.
And this man was watching his school. Watching his students, and sizing them up for threat potential to the people and government of the United States.
Except for Logan's feelings of paranoia, they had no clue he was out there.
Charles Xavier steepled his fingers over the file, and brooded. Was this man a mutant hater?, or was he just watching and following orders. And feeding his information to other people that were mutant haters?
It would be so much easier if they could invite him in for a cup of coffee, and a quiet talk. But that wasn't going to happen. Not until they found him.
And that was not happening. Even with the file on his desk. Yet, he could not tell his students yet. Some of them would take it calmly; several would go on a rampage, looking for Warrant Officer Smith. And that could, would get ugly.
Finally, he reaches out his mind and finds Scott Summers, out enjoying a quiet picnic with his wife, Jean. Smiles to himself, and decides to wait. They need their time together as much as anyone. He'd send another student with a note for when they got back.
This had been on his desk for months, another few hours wouldn't matter.
In the forest, past the wall around the mansion, a shadow was focusing a sniper tele-photo lens at the happy couple. Calmly snapping away, then shifting the camera, quietly, patiently, pictures of the couple, other students, listing them by name as he caught their images on the camera. Rogue, good Mississippi Girl, Storm, Weather Witch, Blake, Robert, Ice and snow generator, "must be real popular at parties," he thought to himself, movement. Shift the camera ever so slight, refocus, short, bad hair cut, denims and cowboy boots, 'Eyup, it's the Rodent,'
'Time to move,' he thought to himself. 'Not ready to handle him yet.'
And he chuckled, as he slowly started moving from his position. Remembering the night he'd gotten photo evidence and thermal imaging of a bit of passion between Logan and Storm. 'The Rodent sure seems to have a way with the ladies.'
A quick, quiet chuckle, and more slow moving, back out of the tree, through the brush, stop long enough to erase his scent with a pheromone spray, and then down into the creek and with the stream to a pack up camp.
Better tomorrow was Sunday. He could let himself go to the diner on the old state highway, and get a good breakfast and some hot coffee. "Hot Coffee," he whispered, "From a pot, steaming, and fresh." He shut up again, and continued his moves. He'd be gone long before Logan even got around to shaking loose this piece of brush.
Logan stopped at the edge of the property, and looked into the state park. And smiled. Another chance to run a little, and give in to his animal instinct. That and maybe scratch his itch about being watched.
A long lazy stretch, then he kicked over the wall, and started hunting. Nose in the air, body tensed and ready to spring. He could spend hours hunting through this park. Sometimes he even took game.
When the need was on him, he took game.
And thought fondly of a bit of deer liver. Sweet, fresh and hot, and he ran a little faster, watching for sign.
Then came the surprise. He burst through the brush into a small clearing, and stopped dead in his tracks. He'd surprised a buck. This early in rut, and they surprised each other. Both staring at each other in shock and surprise. Logan took a good long sniff, the buck's nostrils quivered in response. Nothing. Neither could smell what their eyes told them they saw. The buck recovered first. And bounded off. Logan watched it go, confusion writ large on his face. How could he not smell that?
Then he stopped, and took a long sniff. He couldn't even smell himself.
Startled again, he looked around in surprise. This was wrong. Bad wrong. Yet how had it happened? If it had happened, hadn't it?
Back tracking, slowly, he found nothing. No scents, no tracks, no nothing. Once back at the Mansion, he immediately headed for Professor X's office. This was something for Charlie. Then a shower, see if that made a difference. Then suit up and go hunting for real.
Within minutes he found the office, and barged right in, only mildly surprised to find Scott and Jean already there. There and reading some papers that the Professor had set out.
"O.K., listen Chuck, something is wrong in Two Hills. I found a Buck."
"Logan, you didn't" comes the shocked response from Jean.
"No, I didn't. I found one, and we surprised each other. I couldn't smell him. He couldn't smell me. He broke from his 'Gore in the Headlights' stance and ran. Me?, I came back here."
"Call me anything you want Chuck. But someone or something is out there."
"And I don't like it."
Professor Xavier looked at his prized pupils, "Well Scott, given what you and Jean have just read, what do you think?"
Scott looked up from the file, "I think we need another security exercise."
"It is probably nothing. But if it spooks Logan, well, we could use the exercise."
Professor looks at Jean, who also nods her agreement, then turns to Logan, "Alright Logan, get cleaned up, and you lead half the students on a security sweep through the park. "Scott, you take the other half, and do sweeps of the grounds. Keep in touch. And let me know what you find."
Logan and Scott nod in agreement, and went forth to roust out the students.
Time for another security drill. Time for more wasted time tromping through the woods groused Bobby Drake, aka, Ice Man. "Why not do something fun at least."
Rogue looked at him, and grinned, "Good, you can go to the stowa, Suga. Turn about, an all a'that. I'll talk to Storm an the others, about getting' you a shoppin' list. Good enough."
Bobby looks at Rogue, eye brow raised, "Go to the store, that's it?"
Rogue nods with a grin, "Sure thing, Suga."
"Right, I'll go. Get the list, I'll but on something a little more normal. And valiantly go to the store."
Rogue giggled as Bobby left. "Sure thing, Suga. We got a little treat for ya, just wait till you get that list."
She giggled again, and started going through the X-Women, telling them what she was doing, and that Bobby had volunteered to go to the store for them. And the list grew.
Even as the search turned up nothing.
Another wasted exercise. Perhaps.
Logan didn't think so. But what it was he didn't know what to think.
Yet. But, what he did know, he didn't like it.
Duty's Call, II:
It was a quite time at the Two Hills State Park. The tourists had gone, the school kids were getting ready for the ordeal to continue. And, rumor had it a new Park Ranger was being hired. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was watching that one with some interest.
Logan was beefing about the new Ranger's coming in, and cramping his style. Just like the previous ones. The ones that made him nervous. Especially since the beginning of summer. Something was bothering him. He just didn't know what, and he did know that the Park Rangers were part of the problem.
So he chased them off. It had been easy. Youngsters, city kids looking to go back to nature. A little primal beast, and they'd run. It still made him nervous though. Not enough to overly worry the rest of the team about, but enough to make him even more irritable than normal.
And the rest of the team quietly ignored him.
Logan was paranoid by profession. Just this time, they didn't think it was anything important.
And, in the park, shadows flitted, animals moved, on occasion, a back packer would camp without paying their fees, and get away with it. The park was known for not having a permanent Ranger. And better was in poor repair.
And some of the shadows were more than just tricks of the light.
Some of the shadows were placing and monitoring ground surveillance radar, boom mikes, or at least one of them. And all the equipment was set for passive accumulation, and aimed at the Xavier Mansion. Logan was paranoid. But even paranoids can be right. There was a 'Ghost' in the works. Quietly watching, quietly monitoring the academy and its students, recording their comings and goings. And every few days, at no regular times and no regular places a high-speed laser squirt was aimed skyward. Another report filed. Another supply drop scheduled.
As a matter of course, Professor Xavier would send his charges out for security tests. Evaluations of their security, if you will, and they would come back, reporting nothing. He'd look concerned, he always did. Then go back to his office, to pull out a file, with some documents from a few of his old Air Force friends from Fort Eustis. And look more concerned. But this time, behind closed doors. Another little known secret of Professor Charles Xavier was exactly what he did while in the Air Force. Or that he still held a Reserve Commission in the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. If you didn't need to know, you didn't know. But some old friends, never forgot, and never talked.
Charles Xavier was reading reports on his own students, from Military Intelligence Files, within two weeks of those reports being filed.
Who ever this individual was, they were good. Very good.
And that worried him. It worried him even more that his old friends, and associates had Thought fit to tell him about this one. This Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Smith.
Impressive record. Someone the old army would have called a motivated individual. A truly motivated individual. Service in Vietnam, including making Staff Sergeant, 4 medals for bravery, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. A couple of gimme medals for participating in the South East Asian War Games. In service at 16, or face going to Parchmen Prison. Discharged at 20. Disaster as a civilian. Then back in. Special Forces Training, Para Training, Ranger Training, Black Sunday Training, Helicopter Pilot School, and then the coveted Fire Bird Training Program. Every time the U.S. Military was deployed Warrant Smith was there. Combat Medals, campaign medals, schools, NATO and WARSAW Pact Weapons Qualified expert, the equivalent of three black belts, the mans training files were boring.
An interesting file Warrant Smith had. And it got even more interesting after he died in a Helicopter accident during desert Shield. A Distinguished Service Medal, posthumously, for getting his bird down long enough to get the rest of the crew and his passengers out, then it flipped, and he was dead on arrival. After that, he got nasty. Joining the Chi Tau, and added his sense of motivation to that august organization. Him, and a select group of fellow Black Sunday trainees from the Fort Bragg area. The lot of them, motivated individuals. All of them, also having accidents, or dieing in the line of duty. Only to go on rosters as Chi Tau.
And this man was watching his school. Watching his students, and sizing them up for threat potential to the people and government of the United States.
Except for Logan's feelings of paranoia, they had no clue he was out there.
Charles Xavier steepled his fingers over the file, and brooded. Was this man a mutant hater?, or was he just watching and following orders. And feeding his information to other people that were mutant haters?
It would be so much easier if they could invite him in for a cup of coffee, and a quiet talk. But that wasn't going to happen. Not until they found him.
And that was not happening. Even with the file on his desk. Yet, he could not tell his students yet. Some of them would take it calmly; several would go on a rampage, looking for Warrant Officer Smith. And that could, would get ugly.
Finally, he reaches out his mind and finds Scott Summers, out enjoying a quiet picnic with his wife, Jean. Smiles to himself, and decides to wait. They need their time together as much as anyone. He'd send another student with a note for when they got back.
This had been on his desk for months, another few hours wouldn't matter.
In the forest, past the wall around the mansion, a shadow was focusing a sniper tele-photo lens at the happy couple. Calmly snapping away, then shifting the camera, quietly, patiently, pictures of the couple, other students, listing them by name as he caught their images on the camera. Rogue, good Mississippi Girl, Storm, Weather Witch, Blake, Robert, Ice and snow generator, "must be real popular at parties," he thought to himself, movement. Shift the camera ever so slight, refocus, short, bad hair cut, denims and cowboy boots, 'Eyup, it's the Rodent,'
'Time to move,' he thought to himself. 'Not ready to handle him yet.'
And he chuckled, as he slowly started moving from his position. Remembering the night he'd gotten photo evidence and thermal imaging of a bit of passion between Logan and Storm. 'The Rodent sure seems to have a way with the ladies.'
A quick, quiet chuckle, and more slow moving, back out of the tree, through the brush, stop long enough to erase his scent with a pheromone spray, and then down into the creek and with the stream to a pack up camp.
Better tomorrow was Sunday. He could let himself go to the diner on the old state highway, and get a good breakfast and some hot coffee. "Hot Coffee," he whispered, "From a pot, steaming, and fresh." He shut up again, and continued his moves. He'd be gone long before Logan even got around to shaking loose this piece of brush.
Logan stopped at the edge of the property, and looked into the state park. And smiled. Another chance to run a little, and give in to his animal instinct. That and maybe scratch his itch about being watched.
A long lazy stretch, then he kicked over the wall, and started hunting. Nose in the air, body tensed and ready to spring. He could spend hours hunting through this park. Sometimes he even took game.
When the need was on him, he took game.
And thought fondly of a bit of deer liver. Sweet, fresh and hot, and he ran a little faster, watching for sign.
Then came the surprise. He burst through the brush into a small clearing, and stopped dead in his tracks. He'd surprised a buck. This early in rut, and they surprised each other. Both staring at each other in shock and surprise. Logan took a good long sniff, the buck's nostrils quivered in response. Nothing. Neither could smell what their eyes told them they saw. The buck recovered first. And bounded off. Logan watched it go, confusion writ large on his face. How could he not smell that?
Then he stopped, and took a long sniff. He couldn't even smell himself.
Startled again, he looked around in surprise. This was wrong. Bad wrong. Yet how had it happened? If it had happened, hadn't it?
Back tracking, slowly, he found nothing. No scents, no tracks, no nothing. Once back at the Mansion, he immediately headed for Professor X's office. This was something for Charlie. Then a shower, see if that made a difference. Then suit up and go hunting for real.
Within minutes he found the office, and barged right in, only mildly surprised to find Scott and Jean already there. There and reading some papers that the Professor had set out.
"O.K., listen Chuck, something is wrong in Two Hills. I found a Buck."
"Logan, you didn't" comes the shocked response from Jean.
"No, I didn't. I found one, and we surprised each other. I couldn't smell him. He couldn't smell me. He broke from his 'Gore in the Headlights' stance and ran. Me?, I came back here."
"Call me anything you want Chuck. But someone or something is out there."
"And I don't like it."
Professor Xavier looked at his prized pupils, "Well Scott, given what you and Jean have just read, what do you think?"
Scott looked up from the file, "I think we need another security exercise."
"It is probably nothing. But if it spooks Logan, well, we could use the exercise."
Professor looks at Jean, who also nods her agreement, then turns to Logan, "Alright Logan, get cleaned up, and you lead half the students on a security sweep through the park. "Scott, you take the other half, and do sweeps of the grounds. Keep in touch. And let me know what you find."
Logan and Scott nod in agreement, and went forth to roust out the students.
Time for another security drill. Time for more wasted time tromping through the woods groused Bobby Drake, aka, Ice Man. "Why not do something fun at least."
Rogue looked at him, and grinned, "Good, you can go to the stowa, Suga. Turn about, an all a'that. I'll talk to Storm an the others, about getting' you a shoppin' list. Good enough."
Bobby looks at Rogue, eye brow raised, "Go to the store, that's it?"
Rogue nods with a grin, "Sure thing, Suga."
"Right, I'll go. Get the list, I'll but on something a little more normal. And valiantly go to the store."
Rogue giggled as Bobby left. "Sure thing, Suga. We got a little treat for ya, just wait till you get that list."
She giggled again, and started going through the X-Women, telling them what she was doing, and that Bobby had volunteered to go to the store for them. And the list grew.
Even as the search turned up nothing.
Another wasted exercise. Perhaps.
Logan didn't think so. But what it was he didn't know what to think.
Yet. But, what he did know, he didn't like it.