First Mutant
By David D. Amaya
Chapter 29
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Lobby of the Supreme Court Building, Washington, DC 1444 EDT. Day 21
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"McDaniels, secure the lights. You, Sloan, and Doyle are Alpha, sweep left. Ramirez, Westphal, Lewis, You're with me on Baker, Clear Right. We're ordered to keep the building secure so Viper can retire the principal. Weapons on full-auto. We're hot and free. Anything gets in here, KILL IT!"
"We gonna have company, mon ami," Gambit surmised as he ducked behind Cyclops at the base of the Supreme Court building's front steps. "Now, if you got the right good plan, you gonna share wit' 'dis 'ol Cajun, non?"
"We've got to hit them hard and fast so they can't call for any more back-up," The X- Men field leader responded. "Keep the damage to a minimum. This building may still have innocent civilians inside."
"Don't worry yerself, Sugah." Rogue replied. "I'll just waltz right on inside and let 'em waste their ammo on little 'ol me, then you two go in blasting away like Yosemite Sam."
"I don' t'ink 'dat be da great plan, chere. Whatdda t'ink, mon ami?"
"That's along the lines I was thinking, Gambit, but try not to get hit, Rogue. They may have more of those Sonic Disrupter weapons and we're going to need you. Once they give away their positions, we go in. Take out the shooters, then assist Storm and the others on the roof.
"Ready, Gambit?"
"Oui."
"Rogue?"
"Ah'm on it, hun."
"GO!"
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Anacosta Helicopter Facility, Bolling Air Force Base 1444 EDT
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"Dragonfly Lead, this is Bolling Tower, come in."
"Dragonfly reading 5x5, over."
"Dragonfly you are cleared for takeoff. Operation Flyswatter is a go."
"Roger, Tower. Dragonfly ETA to target, 60 seconds."
"Acknowledged, Dragonfly Lead. Good hunting, over and out."
"Alpha, Baker, heads up! Someone's coming up the stairs."
"Come on out boys!" Shouts a female voice from the doorway. She walks down the main hallway. "Alone in the dark, with plenty of men," she crones in a very sexy voice. "There is a God after all."
"Mow'er down!" Seven assault rifles angled Rogue in neared synchronized perfection and open fire, the slugs bouncing harmlessly off her body and ricocheting off the walls of the High Court.
"GAMBIT, NOW!" Cyclops and Gambit burst though the doors, optic blasts and charged cards cleared their entry and now was giving no quarter to their enemy, in the same manner they rescued the President's son only days earlier.
"Zombie, Tac 2-Lead," The ground team leader called on his LASH-radio. "We're taking on fire, but holding fast. Over."
"Tac 2 break off and fall back to Side Three Stairwell and support Tac 1 on the roof."
"Roger, Zombie. Baker, fall back to Side Three staircase." he commands his unit. "Hold position. Alpha, support Tac 1, Level 3, 1-2 corner! Move out"
"Come on, Rookie, let's dance!"
Wolverine's first kick hit the Forward Scout smack in the center of his jaw, crashing him into his Rear Guard and sending them both to the ground as wild shots ricocheted off the roof's wall and ducts as the X-Man jumped skillfully out of their line of sight while continuing his verbal barrage to go along side his hand-to-hand combat.
"Who the hell was you CO during special services training, Gomer Pile?"
"FUCKIN' MUTIE!" Rifle shots bouncing off the walls. The Element Leader is enraged. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
"Take a number and get in the back of the line, punk!" SKINT "If you live long enough!"
Viper lays prone behind the granite parapet of the nation's highest court. Weapon aimed at Professor Xavier.
His head rests on the stock of his rifle, his stomach racked with cramps as he adjusts the sonic beam's width. His observer shooting his .45 sidearm at the woman and man who are both flying just in the path to his target. He hears the sounds of automatic fire behind him and knows without looking away from his mark that this may be his last chance at his objective, and allows his training to take over his actions, oblivious to the sounds of battle around him and the scene of chaos on the streets of Capitol Hill bellow.
"Wait for it," he tells himself as the blond man begins to drift out of his scope. "Wait for it." Banshee clears from his scope.
"VIPER, FIREING!!"
The trigger is pulled.
The high pitch wail of an ambulance siren was a welcome sound to Special Agent Frank.
The man responsible for her career was wounded. The kind mentor who helped her rise above the poverty of Houston's Fifth Ward ghetto, to the Air Force Academy, then her acceptance to the Secret Service, had once again, stopped an assassin's bullet at the cost of his own body, willing to trade his life for the man in a wheelchair.
The shooter responsible was still perched atop the Supreme Court Building. Her endless training and decade of expertise keeping her emotions in check against her duty to protect the three mutants she and Agent McKey were assigned.
"Candlestick this is Sheepskin!" she relayed into her com-unit. "Horsehide arriving, repeat, Horsehide arriving. ETA to Tourniquet-"
Agent Frank never finished her report.
A high-pitched sound filled her head and the scene around Capitol Hill blurred. Spots formed in the backs of her eyes. The Nation's Capital spun around her like a top. She could see the EMS team swirling around in hazed bewilderment.
Then darkness.
"Goddess, no!" Storm cried out, seeing three of her fellow X-Men slump to the street on the other side of the Hill. With both telepaths and the two Secret Service agents knocked out, they were left unprotected.
Before she could decide upon flying to their side to protect them, her split-second distraction was more than enough advantage for the expert sniper to capitalize on.
The Wind-Rider was overwhelmed with the power of the weapon's sonic beam. The Washington skyline spun around her for what seemed an eternity before blacking out.
"STORM!" Banshee watched on horror as she spiraled into a full free fall for the ground and instantly raced to save his friend before the ground rushed to her.
"Zombie, two direct hits on Sonic beam. Repeat, direct hits on Sonic beam! Recalibrating for effect."
"Excellent, Viper, Tac 2 moving in to assist. Retire Amoebae!"
"Dragonfly Lead, Bolling Tower, what's your status?"
"Tower, Dragonfly Lead. ETA to target, 20 seconds."
"'RO!" Wolverine shouted from behind an air duct. He knew in his heart that there was not a thing he could do to try to save his friend but pray that Sean was fast enough to catch her.
Then he focused his terror into focused rage.
A low growl escaped from his throat and pounced like a jungle cat. Ducking his head low, claws extended, and breaking into a full sprint, he knew that he had to take down the sniper before he could complete his mission and kill his teammates.
His enhanced senses narrowed, focusing on Viper's triggerman who drew his Robar and yanked the bolt preparing another round to fire.
Viper's observer stood to one knee and fired at the advancing X-Man.
"FIRE GODDAMNIT!!" he bellowed between shots as he and now six automatic assault weapons made soft thew-thew-thew sound as the bullets spit out to stop Wolverine from killing their sniper.
Viper places the crosshairs in the center of the group near the Longworth Building and focuses on a slumped wheelchair-bound form of Charles Xavier looking dead and soon to be in fact.
"Die, mutie loving bastard," He slid his index finger to the trigger.
Using his sonic powers to cushion her fall, Banshee just stops Storm from slamming on East Capitol Street.
"Lass, wake up!" he shouted gently slapping her cheek as the roar of three UH-60 Blackhawk attack helicopters caused him to look up in worry. "Saints preserve us," he prayed to his teammate who was now alone to face these new attackers.
"Tower, Dragonfly Lead. Target acquired, repeat, target acquired."
"Dragonfly Lead, fire at will."
"Dragonfly 2 and 3 this is Lead," The front Blackhawk pilot ordered. "On my mark move into repel position." He placed the Heads-up targeting spotter icon on the mutant advancing on Viper. "Dragonfly Lead, ready to fire!" He flips the safety cover off the side- mounted machine gun's trigger with his right hand and made a gesture at the mutant with the other.
Wolverine's senses almost blocked out the sounds of the approaching helicopters as he continued to race for the Snipers position. He locked eyes on the lead chopper's pilot and him gesturing and mouthing something as he read the pilot's lips.
"DUCK, DAMN YOU! I CAN'T GET A SHOT!!" He screamed to the figure blocking his bead on their objective.
Wolverine leaped to his left and rolled into a ball on the ground to avoid the gunfire behind him...
And the firepower in front of him.
"Target cleared!" The pilot called. "FIREING!"
The twin guns of the UH-60 sliced through the six attackers on the roof.
"Cididel LZ cleared." The pilot called out. "Dragonfly 2 you are clear to move into repel position."
The second Blackhawk hovered over roof as the Secret Service Counter Assault Team repelled to the Nation's High Court. The third was landing with and a squad of SHIELD stormtroopers to retake the building's interior.
"RACE TRATORS!" Viper screamed turning his Robar to the Lead Blackhawk, now placing the scope at the heart of the pilot, about to shoot, until claws impaled his heart.
Viper's observer turned his handgun to the mutant, his sniper's blood dripping off his extended claws, but was stopped cold at the sight of targeting lasers in his eye.
"DROP THE WEAPON!" One of their owners ordered. "YOU GOT NOWERE TO GO!"
Locking onto Wolverine's feral gaze he pointed his handgun to his temple and squeezed the trigger.
"Cyke!" Wolverine's unmistakable voice echoed in to the X-Men's radios. "Roof's cleared and Chuck and the gang's all right. You're about to get some help from some SHIELD boys."
"Roger, that Wolverine! Banshee, Storm, Bishop, assist the Professor and the others," Cyclops ordered as five SHIELD troopers entered the building, with one taking position behind him.
"Sergeant Major Rebecca Hanson, SHIELD," the trooper informed him as her introduction. "What do you have?"
"Seven heavily armed men with assault rifles and some sort of disrupter weapon," The X-Man reported. "Four of them are near the rear staircase, the other three had broken off and headed for the roof."
"Didn't help them any," she replied. "Dragonfly, Hercules 2 Lead, three suspects along Side Three Stairwell. They're headed for the roof."
"Roger, Hercules 1 secure Level 3 and move in to intercept fleeing suspects. Hercules 2, maintain position and secure Level 1 inform X-Men leader-"
Sgt. Hanson nodded upon hearing her orders. "Copy, Dragonfly," she replied then turned to Cyclops. "I'm to relay a message from Colonel -"
Her response was cut short by a booming voice from the top of the staircase. "THIS IS THE UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE! WE HAVE THE BUILDING SURROUNDED! DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR! YOU HAVE NOWERE TO GO! COME OUT WHERE WE CAN SEE YOU AND YOU WILL NOT BE HURT!"
The ultimatum was met with gunfire both in the stairwell and the lobby, shots whizzing over everyone's position.
"They want to do this the hard way is it?" Sgt. Hanson asked. "Well they asked for it. All units, flashbangs up. I'll finished what I was saying," she said to Cyclops. "A message from Col. Fury; 'Get the fuck out of Dodge,' we'll handle things from here."
"Tac 2-Alpha, come in. Tac 2-Alpha, do you read? McDaniels, Sloan, Doyle respond! Damn, they're all dead! Ramirez, Lewis ready on the Sonic Rifles, narrow beam. Westphal cover the stairwell, we're walking outta here and we're gonna take those mutie protectin' pukes with us. Once they are knocked out, TAKE 'EM OUT!"
"THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!" shouted the voice from the top of the stairs. "DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND COME OUT WHERE WE CAN SEE YOU AND YOU WILL NOT BE HURT!"
"Ramirez, Lewis, Fire!"
"We appreciate that, Sergeant," Cyclops told the SHILED commander." But we're not leaving until-"
A high-pitched sound filled the room and the sounds of dropped weapons could be heard echoing from the staircase, then the sound of tumbling bodies.
"Shit!" She spat. "Hercules 1, this is Hercules 2, Come in. Hercules 1, come in. Damn it! We lost CAT." She snapped her fingers to get the attention of a trooper near Gambit. When he turned his head to her, she rubbed the top of her ballistic helmet, then pointed to both her eyes, made a cutting motion in front of her throat, then pumped her clinched fist in the air. He nodded then aimed his weapon towards the suspects.
"Translation," she whispered to Cyclops. "Cover me. We're going to breach'em right now!" She then began to move, leading with her weapon, up towards the back of the room, two other troopers fell in behind her.
They only made it halfway until a high-pitched sound filled the room again, then the three advancing troops began to stumble then collapse.
"That's it, LET'S MOVE!"
The four suspects then burst into the lobby, bent of an escape, firing upon the SHIELD troops.
Shocked as he is at the brazen escape of the four men, Cyclops feels a fury welling in him that he had never felt before, a feeling like --rage mixed with a deep sense of duty -- his mind racing to an image barely 72 hours old, of Special Agent Nichols.
He had no telekinetic shield, no healing factor, no optic blasts, taking a bullet meant for him, a mutant, an X-Man who had faced the likes of the Juggernaut, and lived. Yet no hesitation, no second thoughts, Agent Nichols just leapt and saved his life, prepared to trade his life for the X-Man leader while risking his to rescue the son of the President.
He was not about to let these men do any more harm this day. Reaching deep inside his being, he took those feelings of rage and duty and focused them, bent on stopping these terrorists here and now. "No!" he yelled, leaping from his defensive position and hit the leader square in the chest, throwing him into his teammates and sending them all flying backwards.
Gambit's charged cards and Rogue's brute strength took care of the weapons as the two remaining SHIELD troops inspected the bodies for any signs of life, though none was to be found.
"Dragonfly, Tango's neutralized! Citadel is secure! Repeat, Citadel is secure!"
Jean Grey slowly returned to consciousness as the form of Bishop began to come into focus. DC Fire Dept. EMT's were working on Agent Block, Agent's Frank and McKey as well as Dr. McCoy and Professor Xavier. The stun weapon's effects were clearing quickly and with slow, very deep breathing, Capitol Hill stopped spinning before the telepath's vision and took its correct seats on the Washington landscape.
Jean, she felt through her psi-link with her husband. Are you all right?
Yes, Cyclops, she looked around to see that everyone was indeed all right, then she felt the Professor's groggy voice in her head.
X-Men, status report.
The riffraff's being dumped off the roof, Chuck. Everyone up here's okay.
The lobby is also secured, only minor injuries to the SHIELD troops. We're fine.
Banshee and I are also unhurt, Charles.
Retreat to fallback position and regroup, the Professor ordered.
Wat 'bout de Secret Agent Block, Professor?
He shall recover from his injuries, Gambit. But first I will see to Agent's Frank and McKey.
Candlestick calling Sheepskin, sniper neutralized, repeat, sniper neutralized, do you read."
"Candlestick, reading you loud and clear." Agent McKey relayed. "Horsehide has received Agent Block. ETA to Tourniquet two minutes."
"Return Sheepskin to Lightfoot, repeat, return Sheepskin to Lightfoot, secure principal and await orders."
"Roger, Candlestick, out. Dr. Xavier, we are to escort you and your staff back to your hotel and-"
"You and Agent Frank are going to accompany Agent Block to the hospital," the Professor Xavier said, as he telepathically implanted the suggestion in the brains of the two Secret Service agents. "My staff and I shall be fine. We no longer require your protection."
"Of course, Dr. Xavier." Agent Frank droned mechanically. Then shaking her head, she turned to Agent McKey. "We're going to accompany Agent Block to Tourniquet, Dr. Xavier and his staff no longer require our presence."
The two agents followed the gurney holding Agent Block into the ambulance, then the ambulance raced down Independence Ave to the hospital.
On their way to there predetermined fall back location Storm noticed a small beeping emitting from Kordel's cell phone. Pressing the glowing button it activated the voice mail playback.
"Storm, It is Kordel!" The play back reports. "We have taken possession of a Green Ford Explorer and I am taking the kids and we are headed for the White House! If you get this, call the Director before SHIELD--"
"KORDEL LOOK OUT!" Jubilee's screamed warning comes only moments before the sound of one car hitting another. Several gunshots, scraping noises, and the sounds of high speed, could be heard in the background, until the unmistakable sound of a traffic collision.
The next several seconds passed, filling Ororo with the felling of worry, then the next sounds filled her with dread.
"Orkin calling Warlock. We have captured Parasite, repeat, we have captured Parasite, over."
"Oh please, merciful Goddess, protect them!"
End of Chapter twenty-nine
© David D. Amaya 2007