First Mutant
By David D. Amaya
Chapter 18
******************************
Inside the company Gulfstream IV Jet of the Lazy Q Dude Ranch,
Taxing Potomac Airpark, Friendly Hills, MD 1309 EST. Day 20
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Alamo 317 please come in, this is Potomac Tower."
"This is Alamo 317, loud and clear Tower."
"I there a Charles Block on board captain?"
"Speaking and flying, son."
"Captain, there is a phone call for you in the pilots lounge."
"Roger that Tower, I'll be right there," said Agent Block. "Here Rusty, you and Glen taxi this bird to her nest then go and have some fun on me," he said to his co-pilot handing his a corporate credit card. "I might have to stay in town a while so you might have to fly home without me."
Two minutes later.
"This is Charles Block."
"Your reservation is waiting at Assassin's Alley," a female's voice remarked. "Take a taxi cab, pay as before."
"Who is this!?"
///Click.\\\
******************************
Washington Hilton and Towers, Connecticut Ave, Adams-Morgan, 1420 EST.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"I hope you enjoy your stay, Mr. Block," the bellhop said as he left.
Not at these prices kid, he thought as he picked up the phone and dialed the front desk.
"This is Mr. Block calling. Could you have a taxicab waiting for me at the front entrance? I will be departing shortly."
"Of course, sir one will be waiting."
Reaching under the mattress covers, he found what that which he was looking for, a piece of paper, on which was simply typed:
Sniper Circle 2:45.
Buy calligraphy set,
second from the bottom.
******************************
Metropolitan Square, 1451 EST.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
When the facade of the National Metropolitan Bank was incorporated in the mixed use office-retail complex Agent Block was now in entering, Washington preservationists were not the only ones who complained about it's height.
The roof deck, where the note inside the calligraphy set told him to go next, cannot be used after 6 p.m. without the Secret Service being notified.
On the 15th Street side, clear panels allow for a clean camera shot of the White House, but not the more dangerous kind.
Buy a cheap 35mm.
Take a photo of the
man in the Klingon jacket
NO FILM
Leaning over to where he could see a man in a Boston Celtics jacket, Agent Block noticed he was carrying a picket sign. But unlike the signs that usually say "Impeach Parkman," this protesters' sign read;
Say hi to
Max von Sydow,
Buy a map.
******************************
3600 Prospect Street, Georgetown, 1608 EST.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The redbrick building at the corner of 36th and Prospect, owned by nearby Georgetown University, is one of the biggest movie-based tourist attractions in Washington, as the 1973 horror classic "The Exorcist" was filmed there.
As Agent Block walked down the steep steps to M St, where the title character met his fate, he saw a girl in a yellow trenchcoat complaining.
"This is a rip-off," she ranted. "I was hoping for some pea soup action at least. That's it I'm going to the IMAX."
Then she turned towards the Secret Service agent. "Hey mister, wanna buy a map to the stars? I don't need it. It'll cost ya a buck."
"Sure young lady."
As she skipped away, he opened the map to find an advertising flyer;
Buy your United season tickets now!!
Reserve your seats at
the Armory Hall box office today!!!
******************************
Box Office C, Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Southeast, 1701 EST.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"I'd like to buy some soccer tickets for next season," Agent Block.
"Of course sir," said the smiling man behind the ticket counter. "Here is an information packet with all the information on great season ticket packages." He said as he handed him an envelope.
Opening it, he found a brochure for Major League Soccer's DC United, and a small card;
You had enough sight-seeing for one day,
Why don't you go back to the hotel?
Take Blue line from Armory,
taxi from Hell.
Room service is waiting.
******************************
Charles Block's room, Washington Hilton and Towers, Adams-Morgan, 1759 EST.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Agent Block opened the door to his room and indeed, found a room service cart waiting for him.
As he lifted the cover he saw the skin of a baked potato, a half-eaten salad and an empty bottle of Avian.
The lone surviving piece on this expensive-looking meal, was a top sirloin, untouched, just as he expected it to be.
"Sorry I started without you, but I got a little hungry," said a voice from behind him. "I did leave you the slaughter though."
"You forget I like my steak with A-1 and salsa."
He then turned to find the most wanted man in the United States since CB Cooper.
"How is Maverick, Charlie?"
"Still hates Yankees. How's Cyrus, Lariat?
"He hates them just as much as I do, too," Kordel Nichols repied. "Sure took you long enough to get here."
"Don't start with me, it was your idea to take a cab from DuPont Circle." Charlie replied in his defense. "Can I ask how you pulled off this reappearing act, Kordel?"
"Yes, but you will forgive me if I do not answer just yet."
"Can I at least see Kilowatt for myself?"
"That I can do," he said as he strode to the door that connects this room to the one next to them.
Opening the door they found six people inside the adjoining room; a tall woman reading a novel. A man playing solitaire in the corner. A short, yet dangerous looking man, sitting at the table eating a steak. The blond man in the Celtic jacket from 15th Street taking on the phone, and the girl from the Prospect House, sitting on the floor in front of the TV playing a video game against the son of President Anthony Parkman.
Everyone stopped what they were doing at the sight of the two agents, except one.
"Take that you slime balls!" Cyrus shouted at the invading alien armada.
"Is that, like, any way to talk to the Feds?" Jubilee poked at him with her elbow.
"Everyone," Agent Nichols introduced. "This is my partner, Special Agent Charlie Block, 25-year veteran of the Secret Service. Charlie these are the good guys."
"Pleased to meet you. So Lariat, this is the surge of Fort Washington. Are you charging Lariat by the hour or by the day?"
"By the body, bub," replied Logan. "Another three dead mercs and we all owe him a dollar."
"Well if that's the going rate, who am I to argue. Do you need 'the Alamo,' Kordel? She's nesting at Potomac."
"Not anymore," Kordel informed him. "I already sent Glen and Rusty back to Odessa."
///Knock, knock, knock \\\
Instantly all six of the mutants in the room tensed, ready for a fight, as the two agents simultaneously drew their weapons.
"Banshee, get the door, Charlie this way," Kordel whispered.
The agents went back to the other room and perched at the hallway door.
"If I open the door, dump your revolver, Charlie."
"Got it, Lariat."
///Knock, knock, knock \\\
"Who is it?" Banshee called out.
There was no answer as an envelope slid under the door.
As per Logan's instructions, they all stayed where they were for five minutes until Storm called Agent's Block and Nichols back into the room.
Kordel picked up the envelope and opened it to find,
Nothing inside.
" 'Tis the signal," Banshee replied. "They're ready."
"Who's ready?" asked Charlie.
"The rest of the team," Storm answered.
"What team?"
"The Lone Star Private Security Company of the Van Horn Mountains, dude." Jubilee added.
"That's my protection firm!" exclaimed Charlie. "You got them involved, Lariat?"
"No mon frere, you jus' hire us, an' cheep too, non?"
"I wanted to break the news to him," Agent Nichols turned to his partner. "But he is right Charlie, or is that Boss."
"You know Lariat, I usually do a background check on all my new hires. Do they have any references?"
"Just ask anyone who was at the racetrack, bub." Wolverine unsheathed his claws for effect.
"I was wrong, Lariat, you did join the Service for all the charming people we meet," said Charlie. "Okay your hired, but the hours are lousy and I don't offer group dental coverage."
"You all heart, Bossman," Gambit replied. "Come on, we got t' meet de rest o' de team."
"Storm, Gambit, Banshee, will you please lead Agent Block to the van. We shall use the rear entrance, and join you shortly. Charlie, will you please drive?" he asked as he tossed him the keys to the rental. "We are headed to W32."
"Got it, Lariat." And Agent Block followed the three X-Men as they exited the room.
"Cyrus, Jubilee, Please collect everything as we discussed, and please do not forget to wipe everything with the Lysol to destroy any prints."
"Gotcha, Secret Agent, dude!" Jubilee replied as they reentered the room they used. Agent Nichols closed both adjoining doors, leaving him alone with Wolverine.
"Logan, I need to ask a very important thing of you."
******************************
Washington Executive - Hyde Field Airport, Clinton, MD, 2007 EST.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The rental van reached the edge of the airfield, just as Cyrus, Kordel, and the rest of the X-Men filled the veteran agent in on the events of the past 48 hours.
"You know I should ask you to leave enough of these scumbags alive to stand for treason." Charlie remarked from behind the wheel of the van.
"Maybe G-Man," Wolverine said from the passenger seat. "But what fun would that be?"
Just then a light shone upon the rented Astrovan, then another.
"The coast is clear," Agent Nichols, cocking his Sig Sower. "Cyrus, Jubilee please come with me. Stay here a minute, Charlie."
"You ain't tellin' me your stickin' to protocol after what you've been through, Lariat?"
"Well, we would not want to confuse Kilowatt now would we?" he replied as he, the young pyrotechnic and the President's son, all exited the van.
While Agent Nichols proceeded in front with his the automatic pistol at low-ready fearing any flaws in his plan, Cyrus and Jubilee crossed the tarmac to Cyclops, Phoenix, and the awaiting Blackbird.
"Um, Jean?" Kordel began as he took the MagLite from the X-Men leader. "Before I signal the team... Could you... Well... You know..."
One did not need psi abilities to know what the agent was struggling to ask of the telekinetic.
"I thought you said that you could trust him with your life, Lariat?" Cyrus asked.
"I still do, Cyrus, but I have you and the sake of the team to worry about now," he replied.
"And if you find out he's dirty?"
"I will fund a scholarship in his memory, and will think fondly of him often."
"I guess that's why you asked Wolvie to sit up front, huh?"
"You had better believe it, sister!"
"All right Kordel," said Phoenixas she did a psi-scan of Agent Block. "You can rest at ease Kordel. He isn't involved, in fact when he found out about Cyrus' kidnapping, he was hoping you'd call asking for his help and ... Oh my," she whispered.
"What is it, Jean?" asked Scott.
"Nothing serious," she replied. I just hope that he can trust Kordel like Cyrus does, she finished to herself. "You can call the rest of the team over now, Kordel."
"You see Secret Agent, dude. You were all worked up for nothin'!" Jubilee told Kordel as he flashed the light four times at the van.
*****************************
On board the Blackbird, En route to the Xavier Mansion, 2045 EST.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"That's your plan, Lariat?"
"In a nut shell, yes."
"In a nut farm is more like it!" exclaimed Agent Block. "What about the advance brief? If you stuck to protocol, and we both know you wouldn't screw up with Ziegler at the wheel, it's already been dissected back at HQ."
"When I was ironing the details of the protection layout, I suggested that the Professor needed some more security with real-world experience inside the Capital Building. I convinced him to list you as the security provider."
"And just when did you plan of letting me in on this little secret, Lariat?"
"Sorry Charlie," said Cyrus. "But you know kidnappers, they are just so inconsiderate when it comes to people's schedules."
"Do my new employees know the drill, Lariat?"
"I told them the basics of Lightfoot and Punch Bowl, but you know them better that anyone."
"But that plan of yours, Kordel," Charlie continued. "Don't you think those scumbags are gonna be waitin' for you to pop up on Capitol Hill?"
"That is the beauty of it, Charlie. With the heavy coverage by the Department there is no need to request anything special, and if you are calling the shots, no one will question your judgment. All we have to do is to get Dr. Xavier and Dr. McCoy in to testify. Then I can go and clear this up and if the bad guys to try to snuff me out, the good guys take avail themselves and initiate a takedown..."
"And save your worthless hide, Lariat?"
"Something like that, but I would not hold it against anyone if it is not necessarily done in that order, Charlie."
"We'll be landing soon," Cyclops' voice called out from the loudspeakers. "Strap in."
*****************************
Ready Room, Xavier Mansion, 2246 EST.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Lariat's right, Dr. Xavier, these badges and passports have got to be some of the finest work I've seen in my 15 years of counterfeit detection," Agent Block noted. "But there is a good chance they're genuine, not copies. This points very high up, but how does all this tie in with Cyrus' kidnapping and the hearing?"
"I have racked my brain, Charlie," Agent Nichols told his friend. "I was hoping your experience would have a fresh angle on the clues."
"Well the first question I'd normally ask is 'do you have any enemies,' but that list is forming around the block as I understand it."
"Quite the understatement, Agent Block," Hank chimed in.
"But are you all aware of the trouble you're facin' if this plan of Lariat's goes south? And that's nothing' to say of the shitstorm that'll hit the fan if word of your involvement gets out in the open, pardon my language."
"We were all aware of the potential risks involved in aiding Agents Nichols rescue the President's son," Professor Xavier informed the veteran Federal agent. "But we could not stand idle and do nothing. Nor shall we not help him in returning young Mr. Parkman home, stop this plot from reaching fruition, and clear his name."
"Gee," Cyrus mused. "And I thought I'd never make friends as First Kid."
"But Dr. Xavier, there is no way of knowing what that plot actually is," Agent Block remarked. "For all we know it could be the FOH trying to get the President to pass the Mutant Registration Act, he would have never allowed it before, but his camp is not openly opposed to it. Or maybe it could be a terrorist strike that is just using the 'mutant card' as a smoke screen to keep the nation distracted while they launch a strike against the United States. This smells like a Hydra move from their low-rent days, but from the sloppy job Kordel's been reporting, I'd have to rule them out.
"Without any solid proof, we have no way of knowing just who the bad guys really are in this and if the X-Men's involvement is widely accepted in any fashion it could cause an anti-mutant backlash no matter what the outcome. The risks are just too great."
" 'No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his body, well being, and his life in a great cause' -Theodore Roosevelt."
"Sure wouldn't mind having ol' Teddy help us storm Capitol Hill, Dr. McCoy," Agent Block remarked. "So I guess I can't talk you out of this, Kordel?"
"Sure you can, but you got from right now until we get to La Guardia to come up with a better one."
"All right, Lariat, count me in. But don't you think it'd be better if I take Kilowatt back to Castle?"
"The thought crossed my mind. I have only one last ace up my sleeve, but if you or I take Cyrus and that ace turns out to be the old maid... Well it is not a risk I am willing to except. Besides I need you to ensure the safety of those who are testifying tomorrow. You could imagine what they will be put through, the word 'McCarthy' seems to be a safe bet. Even if they come out shooting at me, at least you and the X-Men will see to it that Cyrus gets home and the team will be safe."
"If that is the last word on the issue, I suggest we all get some much needed rest. We have a very long day ahead of us."
End of Chapter eighteen
© David D. Amaya 2007