First Mutant
By David D. Amaya
Chapter 33
******************************
Capital Children's Museum, I St, Northeast DC 1641 EST Day 21
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Screeching to a halt, the hotwired Harley-Davidson and Corvette carrying Jubilee, Wolverine, and Agent Nichols came to rest next to the clocked Blackbird, which had landed only moments before.
Bloodied, battered and bruised, the trio boarded the jet and re-joined the rest of the X-Men. Upon seeing they had safely returned raised their sprits, despite the ordeals they had all faced, in the space of only a few scant hours.
"Y'all alright?" Rogue asked upon seeing the damage Senator Crain's men inflicted on them. "The three of y'all look like ya fell out the ass woopin' tree and hit every branch."
"Nothin' we ain't been through before," quipped Jubilee. "Remember the time we were in Hong Kong and ran across Alpha Flight?"
"Agent Nichols," Professor Xavier began. "We have began to scan the building in an attempt to acquire Cyrus' position inside the museum."
Before them lie the Capital Children's Museum. Closed for extensive upgrades and repairs, this place of learning and wonder is now being used for a more sinister purpose.
"Have you been able to pick up his GPS signal?"
"Nay," Banshee reported. " 'Tis still being blocked by that damn Inhibitor."
"Switching to thermal imagining array," Storm replied. "We shall use his body heat to locate him."
The Blackbird's main tactical display changed, showing the building's occupants in red silhouettes throughout the museum.
"More than 40 tangos this time," Agent Nichols reported. "And judging from the way they are holding their weapons everyone is armed with Uzis. It does not appear they know we have arrived yet."
"Hey, what's that funny shape in the middle?" Jubilee pointed out.
The shape was literally in the center of the building, horizontally as well as vertically. The object came up as blue on screen but there was a red spot in its center.
"That, Jubilee is the new Red Bike," Agent Nichols answered. "It's suspended 100 feet above the floor. You are supposed to cross a high-tension wire on it. Kilowatt is strapped to it."
"So if we try anything, they'll cut the cable," Cyclops added, and then turned to the rest of the X-Men. "The ONLY concern is the rescue of the President's son. Rogue, Storm and Banshee will go in through the skylight and extract Kilowatt. Gambit, Wolverine and I -"
"NO, Scott!" interrupted Agent Nichols. "Look at the floor plan, they are way too scattered to effectively secure the bike Cyrus is strapped to. And note that only one crosses under the cable? They are expecting an overhead drop. It's the most oblivious choice. If SHIELD were here this extraction would only take two minutes. No, they have something up their sleeve. Professor is there any way you can scan their minds to see what they have planed?"
"I shall try, Agent Nichols." Professor Xavier concentrated, attempting to read their thoughts, but was unable to see into their minds, save one, whose thoughts were open to him, revealing why his confederates were not.
"They all have on some sort of new inhibitor collar, but instead of rendering its wearer's mutant abilities null, it is relaying an inhibiting signal, which is also shielding their minds from mental probes. The only one unaffected is because his collar is malfunctioning.
"The roof has relay devices sending out a very powerful signal. They would have nullified their powers sending them to their doom if attempted to rescue him from via the air. These collars are relaying this signal to offer some measure of safety against mutant abilities. Cyrus has one on as well a standard inhibitor."
"Fucking bastard!" Nichols spat. "Crain was ready for mutants to attempt a rescue. If these collars are relaying the same signal, then there has to be a central signal generator. Is there any way to find out where they are coming from?"
"Aye, lad, I tracked the signals to the security office here," Banshee pointed out a room on the ground floor just to the right of the main lobby. It was the least guarded part of the complex.
Agent Nichols stared at the screen contemplating the next move and its consequences.
"I do not think you have ever walked into such an oblivious trap before. They are not prepared for a CAT entry, they are looking for mutants to rescue Cyrus. Crain believes that I am a mutant as well," he said pointing to the superfluous inhibitor collar. "After what happened at Capital Hill they are waiting for me to bring in a group of mutants without SWAT training to blast our way in to gain entry."
He then turned to face every one of the X-Men.
"The life of the President's son is in imminent anger," he began. "His death can change the course of this country. You have every right to say no, but I must ask anyway.
"Would you be willing to place your life in the hands of a stranger?"
"No," Jubilee replied. "Not for a stranger. But the X-Men isn't razor sharp claws or shooting lasers, or reading someone else's mind. It's the Dream, We're a team, we're family, we're the X-Men, and since the day you left through the mansion door to rescue Kilowatt, YOU became an X-Man.
"And we're always ready to place our lives in the hands of the X-Men."
The looks of the others to her speech said louder then any words that they agreed with every syllable.
Nichols then returned his attention to his new teammates, now more than ever determined to see them all safe despite the dangers they are all facing.
"Every agent of the Secret Service who earns Staircase detail makes a promise that the sitting President and all who follow shall never have to fear that the safety of their families will compromise the Excutice office. Cyrus Parkman *will* be returned to his family safe and sound, and I have always been a man of my word!
"Wolverine, Bishop, Gambit and I will go stealth entry through a tunnel under the building, the entry point is a block from here, they will never see us coming. We can insert here," He pointed at the monitor screens. "Every building connected to the network has an access panel in a janitor's closet. When I give the signal, begin the diversion and gain entry to the generator and disable it.
"Once we have inserted, we will drop a few DT-25's, then the rest of you can go in dynamic breech and extract Kilowatt. Once he is secured, EVERYONE PULL OUT! Forget about collateral damage, I shall just have Aunt Rose cut them a check."
Slowly and silently, the feral hunter, the accomplished thief, the battle-hardened solder and the well trained federal agent, crept through 100 feet of access crawlspace until they made their target, a small janitor's closet. Communicating only by hand signals, the four stood ready to face four dozen armed thugs.
Just as they are about to make their move Wolverine holds up his fist, signaling them to stop.
He leans to Agent Nichols ear and points to the top floor. "See it G-Man," he whispers. "They have a pulley holding the wire up. That asshole can kick it and drop the kid."
"All right, "Nichols whispers back, handing Wolverine a silver canister. "Change of plans."
For Ben Chambers, his small, yet important role in the death of they boy he shackled to the bike sitting on the high wire, will bring about the changes that he believes need to be undertaken in his beloved America.
Some rotten mutant mugged his beloved wife, Mindy, then erased her mind, leaving her worse than dead. A soul-less shell that was once so full of energy. Cold, lifeless eyes that were once so full warmth, staring back at him, until the day, just a week past, he mercifully released her to the next life.
Having nothing left to live for, but revenge, an old friend from his Navy SEAL days brought him here, to be a part of something that will rid the streets of those fucking muties.
He paces just a few steps to the left of the cable, then a few steps to the right of it. With one pull of the orange leaver he's guarding, the little mutie will fall to his death, and all muties will get blamed. Shortly new laws will make Gene Jokes illegal.
"If anything falls in through the roof, a mutie, SHIELD, ET or a falling star, you pull that lever and the tension wire will run down and Lil' Mutie Jr. drops like a bad habit," his old CO told him. "Don't worry about those X-Bastards. That's what those electronic dog collars are for. If any of them comes within ten feet, they'll be as helpless as, well as helpless as his mutie ass!"
"Everyone ready? Okay, hit the signal."
Wolverine taps his comm unit to signal for the diversion.
///Tap tap tap\\\
"Showtime!" Jubilee exclaims, hidden in the bushes only 100 yards away she lets off a fireworks display, much like the ones she does for her friends every Fourth of July, but this time her intended audience will not enjoy the free pyrotechnics show, but rather she intends for them to try to stop her.
"Don't worry about me, Wolfster," she thinks to herself aloud. "Secret Agent Dude knows what he's doing, I hope. Just think of him as a gun-slingin' version of Scott.
"No, wait a sec. I'd ignore the Fearless Leader, too if he'd've pulled a brain fart and spit out the plans for this suicide mission!"
The flash takes his focus away from his Mindy, Ben correctly assumes it is the work of a mutie, so he quietly draws back the safety of his Uzi. He paces, rubbing a finger between his neck and the metal collar on his itching neck.
Suddenly he sees two figures darting from the security office. He instantly brings his machine gun bearing down on the pair when an explosion knocks him off his feet.
Fucking mutie bastards, he thinks, quickly scrambling to his feet. He then hears the fire escape door burst open and a small silver can is thrown his way.
[Flashbang,] crosses his mind, the memory of having used them in service to his country. His training reminding him of the bright flash and the powerful concussion wave. He ducks down to keep from falling again, his eyes averted as the explosive device detonates. A blinding magnesium burst and a shock wave with enough force to make the untrained fall on their ass.
This mutie's messing with the wrong sailor! he thinks as the blast subsides, aiming his weapon at the hooded figure bounding towards him. He hears a shout, then he feels it. The small pain enters his right ear and his left eye explodes from its socket, almost instantaneously.
He knows he'll be dead before his hands will touch the ground, but the last thought that crosses his mind is that he will be with his beloved Mindy once more for all eternity. Who really cares about the mutant problem anyway?
Bishop and Gambit bounded out of the room. Ten well-placed cards, with enough charge to put a whole in the earth. The explosion signaling Wolverine to throw the DT-25.
Agent Nichols also throws two flashbangs shouting "Secret Service!" at the top of his lungs to gain their attention in the blast's path to blind them en mass. Wolverine's is the first to detonate, Nichols raises his weapon and fires at the Tango closest to the lever.
Head shot, he thinks allowing his training to take over his reflexes and with a single pull of the trigger, the figure slumps to the floor.
The first step, clear. Wolverine now must defend the lever protecting the President's son long enough to extract Kilowatt. Agent Nichols races behind a desk, taking automatic fire. The Uzis making a soft thew-thew-thew as the bullets spit outward. Two large explosions and bright light bursts, he then returns fire. Fourteen shots ring out from his weapon, he knows that only eight have found their mark.
Sloppy work, his deep consciousness chides him as he replaces a clip and prepares another DT-25. Another large explosion above him. Gambit tosses several cards defending Wolverine and taking out several gunmen. Two shots until a body falls. An explosion to his rear and glass breaking above him. Rogue, Storm, and Banshee enter through the skylight as the others enter through the opening Cyclops creates with optic blasts.
With the X-Men providing several moving targets for the remaining group of Tangos to aim for, Agent Nichols is afforded the ability to exit his cover perch to fire upon anyone with an automatic weapon, Often training his service pistol at an attacker with a clean angle at the back of one of the X-Men attempting to rescue the President's son. He moves from one vantage point to another, his extensive training now taking full control of his actions. Near-textbook Closed-Quarters-Combat reflexes, save the addition of the heroes risking their lives along side the Secret Service agent.
Wolverine fends off as many as ten attackers, all of whom are attempting to throw the leaver, taking gunfire by the way his body jerks before ripping a gunman to shreds. Gambit, Bishop, and Nichols firing in his direction, bodies spiral in death throes to the ground. Before him Rogue attempts to tear the Red Bike from its cable to rescue Kilowatt, with Banshee and Storm providing cover. Cyclops and the others were making short work of the rest of the attackers. Shortly they will win the day by elimination their adversaries.
A high pitch wine overtakes the sound of gunfire. A sonic rifle blast renders all the fliers' unconscious, Banshee, Storm and Rogue plummet a hundred feet crashing onto several exhibits on the ground floor.
The masked gunman sweeps the ground floor, knocking out Cyclops, Jean, Beast, and Gambit, leaving only Agent Nichols in the lobby, and Wolverine across the gunman on the third floor, only the wire holding the President's son between them.
"UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE!" Kordel shouts, his newly acquired Desert Eagle trained on the gunman. "DROP THE WEAPON, PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"
"Fuck you!" Came the reply, the weapon swinging from Agent Nichols to Wolverine as he slowly inches away from the rail. "You stay were you are, the both of you!
"To think all of those costumed creeps crawling around New York and I take out the fabled X-Men with one stroke!"
"DROP THE WEAPON!"
"Oh, you want to see a drop?" He reaches into his pocket and produces a small black box.
"Did you think we'd just let you take the little mutie whelp!? One press on this button and the First Mutie's gonna die! And once I kill the two of you, I'll say you helped these X-Fucks murder him! Oh, how the rich and infamous tumble!"
A glimpse of green moves in Agent Nichols peripheral view and Wolverine gets a whiff of a familiar sent.
"You don't think killing this kid's gonna change anything, asshole!?" Wolverine called out, buying time. "They'll be an investigation. You can't hide that shit so easily!"
"No? Well how do you think you kidnap a member of the First Family? We have supporters at the highest levels! How do you think we knew you were taking Kilowatt out of Castle to that shooting range, Rich Boy!? We had that guard on our payroll longer than you! You walked into OUR trap! All your do-gooder shit for mutant rights and you became the perfect patsy, Nichols! And your involvement bringing in the X-Men was the icing on the cake. Once the papers and the blogsphere, start running daily editorials on passing the Mutant Registration Act, this bastard's father will have no choice but to sign it into law!"
"That's right guys, keep this sleaseball yapping," Jubilee whispers as she slowly opens the fire escape door just mere feet from the gunman. "I'll blind him then you make Swiss cheese out of his dumb ass!" She holds the door open only the slightest crack to gain her shot at the masked thug.
"No way, asshole!" Replies Agent Nichols. "The White House knows the truth behind Crain's plan! You will be doing this for nothing!" Keep him on me, his thoughts now on keeping the masked man away from Jubilee's hiding place. He can fire a blind shot with only one hand but I have to keep him from pressing that button!
"No they don't Agent Moneybags. We have operatives in Seattle as well! What, you didn't think we weren't going to find his slant-eyed friend's E-mails!? Your little Jap snitch is dead already!"
"Please, no!" Jubilee fights back tears for 'Watt's best-friend, not knowing the President himself foiled that part of their plot with an Executive Order. "It's now or never!"
"So all that's missing is killing you three and the world is rid of mutants, once and for all!"
"TAKE THIS YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jubilee screams as she fires out her fireworks at him making him stager to the wall, but the impact makes him fire the sonic rifle whose narrow beam hits the wire, the immense vibrations making the cable unravel causing the Bike containing the President's Son to plummet to the ground.
"OH MY GOD, CYRUS!!"
End of Chapter thirty-three
© David D. Amaya 2007