Now

New York City

"You know, there was a time when I would have paid to vote for Jack Kennedy."

Priest stood by the open window in an office space on one of the lower floors of the Flatiron building, leaning against the frame with his elbows and looking out at Broadway.

"That's hard to imagine." Said Lucy as she sat cross-legged on the couch inside, one of only two pieces of furniture, stroking the neck of a gray cat that lay on her lap.

"Yeah, apart from being a spy and a creature of the night I was a decent citizen back in the day. Things have changed, obviously. Today I'm a former drug-smuggler turned mercenary conspiring to keep the democrats from getting the presidency."

"Well… She's just in bed with the League. Her party-affiliation is of no importance."

"True… God, sometimes I think I fought on the wrong side in the cold war."

"That's random."

"I love communism."

"Eh, can we change the subject?" asked Lucy, "Like, where did this little kitty come from?"

Priest shrugged.

"It was by the door when we moved in. Someone let it in by accident, I suppose."

"I think we should keep her. I like cats."

"Funny, I had you pegged for a dog lover."

"Dogs are stupid. What should we name her?"

"Whatever you want, cupcake."

"How about Erica?"

"No."

"Erica is a fantastic name."

"It's also the name of my wife."

"You're married?"

"She slept with my brother at the behest of my father over two hundred years ago and I haven't seen her since. Don't ask."

"Okay. How about Sophia?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Oh, right. I forgot about that, sorry. What about Vivian?"

"Lucy, are you reading me for women's names?"

"No, I mean I'm not trying to. Who's Vivian?"

"She was the mother of my son. Again, don't ask. Don't name her Erica, Vivian, Sophia, Drucilla, Carmella or Lilith."

Lucy sighed.

"Okay. Did you have a catastrophic relationship with a woman named Ingrid?"

"I killed an Ingrid once. Nazi scientist, I don't feel conflicted about it."

"Oh, thank god."

"Seeing as the crisis of what to name the cat is behind us," said Sayid as he kneeled by a table in the other room, busy installing some electronic equipment, "Would one of you like to help me?"

"I wouldn't like it." Said Lucy, "Also, I shock easily, it's uncanny."

"Why don't you ask Mona; she used to do this sort of thing for a living before she became an assassin."

"Mona is with O'Brien at the pier, meeting Captain Nemo."

"Didn't he already leave?"

"I was under the same impression; apparently he had one more piece of equipment to deliver."

"We've got too much equipment already, with the hardware we got from Nemo and the toys that Q character gave us. In the old days all a guy needed was his gray matter, a piece of piano wire and a butterfly knife. I'm not sure what half of it is, anyway."

"I can walk you though it if you like."

"No, thanks. There's a reason I don't know much about what all this is, I can't be bothered. What about Shaun?"

"Exploring the neighborhood, he seems to be awe-struck by the city."

"Everyone is, the first time. Is this your first time in New York, Sayid?"

"No, I passed through here in 1998. I was looking for someone."

"Lucy?"

"Physically, yes. But I once was psychically entangled with someone her."

"I'm not sure what that means, but thanks. Doesn't Shaun seem different?" asked Priest, "Ever since he went to visit his wife's grave… I swear it's like he's changed."

"This is the same car I used when I went to meet Wayne, right?" asked Mona as she circled a jet black 2007 Dodge Charger with tinted windows. Nemo stood close by in the parking garage while O'Brien kicked the tires.

"It is indeed. O'Brien, what do you think you're doing?"

"Inspecting, boss. What kind of mileage does this thing get?"

"Infinite."

"Come again?"

"This car's never has to be filled?" asked Mona with widened eyes, "Jesus, Nemo. Where'd you get it from?"

"I could tell you, Miss Sax, but it won't make your life any easier."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it."

"It's armored, completely bulletproof and can even survive short-range missile attacks. It also needs to maintenance at all; no oil change, no tire rotation, it doesn't even get a flat tire."

"Okay, so maybe you can tell me what the hell when I'm doe using it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Said Nemo as he approached Mona, "Listen, the features I just mentioned are mostly secondary. There is something about it."

"What is it?"

"I want you to use it only for transport, that's the only way to be sure of it remaining stable. However, there may be a need sometime for a certain weapon, something unconventional. I assure you, this is a last resort type of thing in the strictest sense of the word, and I fear what may happen if you ever have to use it, I'm not sure it can be contained if it happens…"

"Nemo, you've lost me."

"Listen, in an event where the Minutemen find themselves in a tight jam where you have no hope of fighting your way out of it, when every solution has been exhausted, as a last resort you may activate a special feature in this car. To do so, simply say…"

Nemo leaned forward and whispered into Mona's ear.

"Nirvana and Shambala."

"Nir-"

"Shhh! Don't you dare say it aloud!"

"Alright, sorry. So I say the phrase and then what?"

"You get out of the way and wait for everything to sort itself out. You may say the phrase 'Shambala and Nirvana' to deactivate the feature. Remember, this is a doomsday contingency."

"Got it."

"Good." Said Nemo, looking over Mona's shoulder as O'Brien as he was jumping on the car's front grill, checking it for stability, "How are they holding up?"

"Pretty good, considering."

Nemo's watch suddenly beeped, he glanced at it and slightly curled his lip as if it signified a minor unpleasantness.

"I see." Said Nemo and tossed Mona a keychain with a single key attached, bearing an odd emblem before walking away.

"Wear your seatbelt."

"See you around, Captain."

"Hope so."

"Can I drive?" asked O'Brien.

"No." Said Mona as she eyes the emblem on the key, it was unlike any other she had seen before, certainly not one that belonged on a key of a dodge car.

"Hey, Nemo." Said Mona as she looked back to see no one. Nemo had disappeared completely among endless rows of cars in that underground parking garage where he couldn't have walked to the nearest exit since he left.

"Did you see where Nemo went?"

"Nope." Said O'Brien, "Are you sure you don't want me to drive? I'm a kick-ass driver."

"Not today, Eel."

Six of the minutemen sat around the table by in kitchen of their office, while Kroenen sat on an armchair in the corner, like some ominous empty suit of hellish armor, while Ingrid purred at his feet.

"So what are we supposed to do, boss-lady?" asked O'Brien.

"I'm not your boss-lady." Said Mona, "We're all equals in this."

"Um, I'm all for equality, but shouldn't someone be on top?"

"If it makes you feel better, I will always look down on you." Said Priest as he sipped his coffee.

"When we're in the middle of an operation, I'll be calling the shots." Said Mona, "Until then, we think everything through together. Alright?

"Now, elections are in November; that gives us little under four months to force McNeil to step down. Doing that won't be easy, and it won't be safe. We'll have to be patient, thorough and careful. We can do this, like Priest said; she's a politician and all politicians have something to hide. So, what do we do?"

"I've set up all the equipment," said Sayid, "We can begin surveillance on a massive scale as soon as we can plant a few bugs."

"I'm up for it." Said Priest.

"Count me in, too." Said O'Brien.

"Good."

"What about me?" asked Lucy.

"McNeil's going to be in the city soon, if we can get you close enough, can you do a reading?"

"The League would have given her a psychic barrier, wouldn't they?"

"That would require a significant amount of trust." Said Sayid.

"You're right. Though they might use some kind of barrier they can get around. It would be worth a gander, I also doubt they could have given her aids any barriers themselves."

"What about the New York cell?" asked Shaun, "I mean we have agents already here, right? Shouldn't we be working alongside them?"

"I imagine those have their own jobs to do." Said Sayid.

"Exactly, they're passing the intelligence they gather along to Mason who will be sharing it with us if he thinks it is necessary.

"Any questions? Any suggestions?"

The minutemen looked between themselves, there was no a word to be spoken. Mona stood up.

"I guess that's it, meeting adjourned. Have a nice night."

"Where are you going?" asked Shaun.

"Home."

"I thought we were staying here."

"This is the Flatiron, a New York landmark." Said Priest as he stood up along with the others and started walking toward the exit, "Using it as a residence is unheard of. If someone notices that we don't leave at some point to go home, they're going to assume that unlike what it says on our lease, we are not a small dot-com company that sells collector's comic books."

"Exactly. We'll room in twos, Lucy will be staying with me at my, Sayid and Jarrah, O'Brien and Shaun."

"Alright, want to have a bite before you turn in?" asked Priest.

"I don't think so." Said Mona.

"Come on, you're back in your old town. The cops have probably got tired of looking for you."

"Oh, alright."

"This'll be fun. We'll have a pizza, a couple of drinks, watch Lucy get hammered which is great for a laugh…"

"Hey!"

"…And I'll tell you all about the time Nemo and I broke Mona out of jail."

Alright, annotations. First of, Erika is the name of Priest's wife, she is a secondary character in Underworld. Vivian is the unnamed wife of Stagger Lee, the man of the eponymous folk blues song. I believe I explained who Sophia is early on.

Drucilla is a vampire from Buffy, Carmilla is a literary character created by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Priest's mom is named after the vampire of Jewish folklore and Mesopotamian deity.

Also, I'm sure you can guess what the car is about.

Next Chapter: Sayid and Priest head to Gotham to perform a favor for a friend of the opposition.