Leverage: Something Returned
Feb. 6th, 2007 08:43 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsCable, Skin, Dominion and Wolverine are the first X-Men to reach the building where Madeline is being held. They quickly realize that this operation will require some finesse, but the most qualified negotiator on the team can’t bring himself to pick up the phone.
It had to be done carefully. They didn't know enough about the mutants in there with the girl, whether they might pick up on telepathic contact, whether it might frighten them into precipitate action if they did. So Nathan scanned the building, but delicately, carefully, barely brushing against the minds of the Magnetic North members and lingering only a moment longer on Madeline McKenna, 'whispering' encouragement and reassurance.
He withdrew gently, his eyes refocusing as he glanced sideways at Garrison. "They're not quite panicking," he related quietly, knowing that the Secret Service agents were listening. He would have to couch this carefully, so as not to touch off any precipitate action on their part. "But they know what happened with the other girl. They feel as though they've got their backs to the wall."
"Then we've got to talk about going in," one of the agents - Lane, a middle-aged woman from one of the girls' details, said immediately.
Garrison stared off at a middle point in space. They were holed up in an older converted office building, with a brick face and medium sized windows. That meant tight rooms inside, a little like the King's Gates situation in England twenty-five years ago. It would be smaller hallways, more rooms, tight access points; all the worst things you could have for a hostage operation. Plus, the HRT would be here soon enough, butting heads with the Secret Service agents on who does what and what team gets priority. All in all, about as bad a place for them to be in as possible.
Logan looked vaguely bored with the entire affair. "So remind me again what we're waiting on? We hit 'em hard and fast. Cable throws a bubble around the girl, anyone still standing is a tango and a threat. We take 'em down all peaceful-like and come out on top." he said, leaning against a wall lazily. "Piece of cake."
Nathan, who had been taking a look at the set-up inside through the eyes of the terrorists themselves and coming to much the same conclusion as Garrison, shook his head as he came out of the half-trance just in time to hear Logan's suggestion. "Not going to work," he said, #and I can feel our SS buddies getting hives at the thought. Stacking the speed of thought up against the speed of bullets is always a dicey proposition, especially when it's going to take us too long to get in there. Rushing the place isn't an option.# He eyed Garrison, wondering if he needed to make the suggestion or whether the younger man was coming to the same conclusion on his own. Nathan wasn't sure, after what had happened in Russia.
"So... more negotiation, then?" Angelo said, not looking entirely happy with the prospect. He knew as well as all the others that they might be running out of time.
The only one among the four X-Men present who was a father himself looked back at the building, thinking about what he'd sensed in Madeline's thoughts. "It's not going to cost us anything to try talking them down while we wait for the HRT," he said. #I can guarantee that jurisdictional head butting will not get in the way.# If it came to that and there was any flak after the fact, he'd step up and take the responsibility. All he cared about was getting that girl home to her parents. Saving the idiots holding her from their own delusions of grandeur was a secondary goal. Frankly, he thought they could do both. Have their cake and eat it too.
"Dominion," he said, looking sideways at Garrison, "if you're up to doing this, I happened to have picked up their cell phone number."
"No." Garrison said firmly. "Both the Secret Service and the FBI will rightly want our heads if we start mucking around. We wait for the scene commander and their negotiator to start from scratch. Anything else endangers that kid for no good reason." What Kane said was right and the smart thing to do, but it didn't remove the fact that there was another reason he wasn't going to get on that phone. He'd already gotten one woman killed. He wasn't about to add a kid to the total.
"Oh, and Logan? Make a move towards that building and I will fucking arrest you myself. You're not fast enough to drop both without giving them ample opportunity to kill the kid first. None of us are, unless one of our psionics can neutralize them both at the same time. One second would be enough time for them to make her a corpse." Some of the X-Men may have been surprised by the virulent undertone in the normally jovial Canadian. He wasn't here as an X-Man right now. The second the kid had been taken, the flip inside his head switched over to 'Cop' and wasn't moving.
Logan growled, but let the rather irritating order slide. It wasn't a question of speed, it was a question of position and opportunity. All-guns-blazing was a fun fantasy, but in an op like this he'd take the slow approach. Infiltrate, secure the kid, exfiltrate. "Strong words from the man about to shit himself in fear." he commented.
Nathan made a face at Logan. There wasn't anything particularly disapproving in it, though, just a certain amount of understanding mingled with irritation. His expression cleared as he looked back at Garrison.
"Dominion," he said, quietly enough that Kane and he were the only one with non-enhanced hearing who'd be privy to the conversation. If Logan heard it... well, that was okay. "You're not here alone. You've got the badge, the experience, and the connections, and trust me, we're all happy to let you use them and to follow your lead. We'll wait for the scene commander." A hint of steel crept into Nathan's voice as he went on. He knew what was on the younger man's mind and respected the baggage he was carrying into this situation, but there were some lines you didn't cross. "But shake it off. There's no room for losing it here, and you just threatened a teammate while in the field. Take a deep breath and settle down. You're not carrying the responsibility for this situation alone."
"And you don't have the training." Kane straightened up, and met the older man's gaze. "You're a fuckin' merc, Nate, and no offense, but you know less than nothing about any of this. The people coming in here have twenty or thirty years experience, which means that no matter what giant powers you think are important, they know better." Kane squared his jaw. "It's a little girl, and none of you are professionals. We wait for them. End of story."
Nathan held the younger man's eyes for a moment, then gave his head a brief, quizzical shake before he looked away. "Wolverine, Skin," he said quietly, sticking to the code names. "If we're sitting tight, we should at least cover the back alley out of here. I'll catch it if they decide to move, but having someone back there in case they do would be a good idea. If you've got no objections?" he asked, looking at Agent Lane - she seemed to be the senior agent here - who nodded. "I'll keep monitoring telepathically," he said to his teammates. "The minute anything changes in there, you'll know about it."
And the snark continues on this mission as Wolverine and Skin move to cover the back alley.
As soon as Logan and Angelo entered the alley, Logan reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigar and a lighter. Thumbing the lighter to life, he lit the cigar and took a deep drag from it. Smiling for just a moment, he looked over at Skin. "You get the west side." he told the younger man. The west side was the back door that had the dumpster next to it.
It, not to put too fine a point on it, stank like a Marseilles cathouse.
"If you say so", Angelo said with a shrug, moving to the west side. It did stink, after all, and Logan had that enhanced sense of smell.
"I do." he said with a grin around his cigar and moved around to the north side of the building to watch the other door. "Oh, and do try to stay away from the windows. If the kid gets capped because someone saw your mug through a window I think quite a few people would get pretty pissed." he offered by way of advice.
"I do know that", Angelo retorted irritably. "I've been in a hostage situation, remember."
"Well lah-de-dah." Logan said with a nasty little tone. "As the hostage?" he asked with a smirk.
"Close enough", came the terse answer as he moved over to the dumpster.
"Thought so. Watch your head." he said helpfully before moving to the north side to cover his own door. With luck he'd see a little action on this op - way too much thinky and not enough hitty for his tastes.
Magnetic North makes yet another demand.
Adam fingered the automatic gun lying in his lap, checking the modifications one last time. He'd already set up a series of alarms in the building and was really just checking the guns to keep his hands busy. Shit. This isn't how it was supposed to go. He glanced over at Arlee, the blonde looking almost happy with the change of plans, despite the fact that their friends were now in custody. Which left Arlee in charge. He shuddered despite himself.
Arlee was still on the phone with the HRT agent, her tone flat and bored. "How many times do I have to tell you, we don't deal with flatscans. Try and lie to me that you aren't one and I'll crush this girl's fingers one by one until you put a goddamned homo superior on the phone with me. You have thirty minutes or I start breaking them just for fun." She nudged Madeline with the toe of her boot, the girl unable to stop herself from whimpering. She would've been sobbing hysterically at the woman's words, except for the voice that continued to comfort her in her mind. Squeezing her eyes tight, she continued listening to the voice in her head.
Garrison is finally spurred into action, despite his reservations, when both Fred Duncan and Cable lay the facts out in front of him.
They were looking at the rough plans of the building when the call came through, and Lane cursed. Garrison and Nate looked up from the diagrams to see her storm in. "There's a problem." Kane said, only it wasn't a question.
"No. They won't deal with humans. How they know how someone is a mutant or a human over the phone is beyond me, but they do. The head of the Detail is coming down to take over; he'll be here in five, but we've got no one on the phone with them." Lane took a deep breath, and turned away, starting to bark orders at the other agents. Stepping past her, with the wave of his badge was Fred Duncan, obviously not far off of the main case, watching the HRT shift around to the Services' orders.
"Kane. How does it look?"
"Evening, sir." Garrison sighed. "It's bad. The building is old; tight spaces, old venting. It'll be a bitch to mic, much less assault. Brick construction, mostly, lots of small rooms. You blow the windows entering and you could kill the little girl by accident before you even know what happened."
"Well, it looks like that's going to be the situation. Lane told me they won't talk to humans, and if they won't talk..." Duncan let his voice trail off. It was right out of the rulebook. You didn't initiate action until they stopped talking or started shooting. Kane shook his head.
"Guess I was wrong again." He muttered, staring at the plans to avoid looking anywhere else.
"I know this is soon after Creed, but we might need some help from the X-Men here. Kane's right. This kind of scenario, a traditional penetration has one chance in three against fatalities. Less, if they happen to be powerful." Duncan turned to Nate, leaning closer to speak softly. "The Service won't like it, but they already owe you one. The odds are still against us getting her out alive, but it will be a damn sight better with you on board."
Nathan's left hand opened and closed on empty air; he'd left the psimitar at the mansion, since it was kind of alarmingly obvious to be carrying around a giant metal spear when you were supposed to be searching discreetly. He really wished he hadn't. It would have been useful right now.
"I'll be honest," he said quietly, low enough that only Duncan would hear him. "I can shield Madeline if need be. But I can't guarantee doing it in time if either of her kidnappers react too quickly, not from here." He was off his game, still recovering from the pneumonia, and in cases like this, split-seconds mattered. "If we need to go in, we can up the chances of her coming out unhurt, but we can't give any guarantees. If there's any way to solve this by talking them out, you need to try that first." His eyes flickered to Garrison, then back to Duncan. "But we'll be here if we're needed." I owe her father everything I'm capable of giving here, he didn't say.
"What about you, Kane? This is supposed to be your gig, isn't it? The Service has got a line on Dr Ramos and they're trying to get him down here. You're a mutant, and they could use your training on that phone." Duncan said.
"No. No way." Kane shook his head. "I can't talk them down, sir."
"Look, Kane, I heard about Russia. Hell, I watched it. Sometimes things go wrong." Kane opened his mouth, but Duncan's look shut it again. "Listen to me, Kane. You might be an Inspector in Canada, but this is not Toronto and you're under my watch. Things go wrong. Agents with twenty-five years in fucked up Waco like a bunch of rookies. That doesn't mean you get to toss it out the window because guilt is easier."
Duncan reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "There isn't a person here who cares what you're going through, or what doubts you have. Because an eight year old girl is having her life decided for her, and right now, our best odds still say she's coming out a corpse." Fred leaned in, phone in his right hand, and put his left on Garrison's shoulder. "She's the important thing, Garrison. Not your feelings or your doubts. Not right now."
Garrison met the other man's eyes for a long moment, before he picked up the phone and nodded. Duncan turned back to Nate. "Our HRT squad leader is out with Lane right now. Do you want to drop by, see what they've got on the go in case we need to force action?"
Nathan nodded, but looked back over his shoulder at Garrison, pinging on the telepathic switchboard quite deliberately. #If you need a read on what they're thinking, tell me. They're wide open, even if I don't want to risk shutting their minds down from this distance.# With that, he headed over to where he'd sensed Lane - and kept projecting comforting thoughts at Madeline, every step of the way.
#Keep the touch light. If one of them turns out to be able to sense a telepath, we're screwed.# Kane said, unnecessarily. He looked down at the phone for a minute, trying to control his breathing as he did so. All that he could see was the woman in Russia in his minds eye. The bullet, her falling, all in slow motion. Finally he pressed the on button and dialed the number. Duncan's phone was already linked into the phone bank, so the rest of the HRT team would be on the call as soon as it was picked up.
While her rescue is being worked on, Nate helps keep Madeline calm.
Madeline sat huddled in the corner of the room where the two terrorists had dropped her, threatening to kill if her she moved. The entire situation still felt surreal - she couldn't believe it was happening. Her guards were supposed to protect her, but one of them had suddenly changed his face and grabbed her and Madison, throwing them into the back of a van. And then they'd taken her older sister away, leaving her with the hardfaced blonde woman and the quiet guy with the big guns.
I want my mommy she thought, trying to curl up into as small of a ball as possible. She wished she could just sink into the floor. Are you still there? she thought, suddenly feeling panicked again as the mean terrorist laughed.
#Of course I am, sweetheart.# The voice was deep and soothing and somehow golden in her mind, like sunlight. #I promised I would stay, didn't I?# It was both hard and not to project nothing but reassurance to the girl; his attention was divided in too many different directions, some of them profoundly stressful, but the girl was there, and needed to be reassured, and he was a father too.
I want to go home. Madeline couldn't seem to help sniffling, but at least it was softer now. The rest of her thoughts were mostly incoherent, but were a mix of fear, anxiety and a desire to feel safe again.
#Soon, I promise,# Nathan projected softly, even as he fed more information to Garrison about what the terrorists were thinking, and spoke to Scott on a link founded on, but separate from the switchboard, because his team leader was still on the other side of the search zone. #You wouldn't believe how many people are out here working to make sure you get home this afternoon. Agent Lane's here,# he sent, reasoning that knowing that the head of her detail was on site would be helpful.
Lanie's there? she thought. She's gonna be mad at the blonde meanie. A sudden image of the agent punching Arlee in the face flashed through Madeline's mind. The girl's thoughts calmed slightly, though she didn't move from her huddled position.
#Right here. I can see her from where I'm standing.# If this went on too much longer, maybe he'd ask Lane if she'd let him link her to Madeline. #You know, I have a daughter too?# he projected, as he reached out, checking on each of the X-Men in the vicinity, feeding Garrison more information, adding the X-Men who were farther away to the switchboard - that was a strain, and nearly too much - and relaying the details on the situation to Scott. #She's a lot smaller than you, not even two yet. Her name's Rachel.# Some of the Secret Service agents were getting fractious. He smoothed down their anxiety - not removing it, just taking the edge off.
The conversation was beginning to take Madeline's mind off the dangerous situation she was in. My mom says I was impossible when I was two. I'd break all of Madison's toys.
#My little monkey flings things. With her mind,# Nathan said, offering an image of a floating Rachel sending Mr. Bunny on a ballistic course towards Cain's head. #It's really hard to keep up with her.# He checked in with Logan and Angelo, updating them. Scott was saying something to him down their link about keeping the rest of the team back, holding them in reserve.. not a good idea! Nathan protested, then turned all of his attention back to Madeline. #Your sister's safe,# he sent, feeling her start to slip again. #She's safe and on her way home, and you'll be with her and your parents very soon.#
Madeline sniffled again, but her tears had stopped. I'm gonna tell my mom she can't complain about me anymore. 'least I only threw things with my hands. She pictured her sister and her parents at home, wondering if Marshall was with them now too.
#They're all waiting for you. It won't be too much longer, and I'll be here the whole time, I promise.# Doing six things at once, but he'd be here. #I know your father, Madeline. He helped me and some friends of mine - helped us save some kids that were in a very bad place. So we've done this before, sweetie, taking kids back safely to their families. Today's going to be just like that, I promise.#
Garrison finally picks up the phone to begin negotiation with the terrorists. At first it doesn’t look like he’ll make much progress until he reaches out to one of the two’s softer side and calls in a little help.
"Hello?"
"Who do they have for me this time?" Arlee said, eyeing Madeline. At least the girl had stopped crying. "Another flatscan trying to tell me they know what it's like to be a mutant? Or trying to pretend to be one?" She ignored the nervous look Adam was giving her from his position by the door.
"How about neither?" Kane shut his eyes. He had to trust his instincts, or he was going to be worse than dangerous on the phone. What did they want? Who was he dealing with? "See what I did there? I'm never supposed to use the word 'no'. It limits options. That's what the little book they gave me says. I'm Agent Kane. I'm a mutant working for the FBI. Who are you?"
"I think I'll be the one asking the questions Agent Kane," Arlee said, though the way the man wasn't sniveling at her like the other had intrigued her. "All you need to know about me is that what I'm doing, I'm doing for all mutant kind. If they hadn't screwed up, we'd have made sure that little health care bill passed and then the girls could've gone home lickety split. But now they had to make things complicated."
"Sounds like they put you in a bad spot. A real bad spot." Kane looked up as the helicopter roared overhead. That would be the head of the Secret Service detail arriving. Which meant things were about to get a lot more complicated. "Are you both alright? Is Madeline alright?"
"The brat's just fine. Say hi to the nice man," Arlee said, her tone obviously derisive as she lowered the phone to Madeline. The girl barely had time to squeak out a word before Arlee had yanked the phone away. "Satisfied? Now me and Adam, we're doing just fine. Could stay in here for a bit...and the instant one of you bozos thinks to break in, well, either I could crush the girl's skull or one of these nice devices of Adam's could end her tragically short existence.
"Uhuh." Garrison said. She was the dangerous one, and she'd worked herself up into this situation. "Look, they say that isn't enough to let them deal with your demands. I don't know why. So I'm going to come up, take a look at the girl, and get what you want. Just me, in two minutes."
Arlee started to pace around the room, a touch of agitation entering her voice. "Oh are you? And why the hell would we let you in here? You're just trying to set us up...I let you in here, you try to pull the big hero moment and someone ends up hurt. I can guarantee you that won't be me...can't make the same promise for anyone else in here."
"Look, anyone else, that could be the case, but come on. That's the President's kid. Even if he wanted to have a Rambo moment, the Service wouldn't let him." Kane's voice was all empathy, the guy on their side. He hoped it was enough. "They aren't going to risk it on national television. You've won this one, as long as she's unhurt. Look, there's two of you. I try anything, shoot me in the head."
Arlee paused, turning his words over, before shaking her head. "No. Too risky. For all I know, whatever mutation you've got means you can go all Rambo in here with your hands above your head and a gun trained on you. You haven't done anything for me yet, why should I be doing you any favors? Or maybe I will let you have a small one. You want to make sure she's ok, fine, I'll put her back on the phone and the kid can tell you herself or you can ask ol' Adam over there. He made me promise not to hurt her as long as you guys don't do anything stupid."
"Sorry. The Service thinks you could do anything with your powers. Either we scope it out directly, or I have to get off the phone. I don't have any control over this either." Garrison was gambling, but she was in the same point of deadlock. "Plus, if I had those powers, why would I be on the phone in the first place, as opposed to doing it before you had a chance to settle in?"
Arlee covered the mouthpiece of the phone and moved to whisper into Adam's ear. They entered into a heated debate that came across the phone in muffled voices, one sounding angry the other almost pleading. A minute later, a male voice came across the phone. "Agent Kane, right? I talked her into it, but she's says you get five minutes and we're both gonna be behind the girl. You can take one step into the room, but no more than that, or Arlee'll...well, you get the idea."
"I'll be up in two minutes." Kane said, switching off the phone. He turned to find the head of the President's detail standing in front of him.
"You do realize you might have just given them another hostage. And you are not a priority in this case."
"Thanks for the reminder. I need a vest." Kane said, moving past him to strap on the bullet-proof vest with FBI on the back in yellow letters. He pulled his gun and badge out, moving them to the vest fasteners. He also took his phone out, and flipped on the movie camera function before clipping it to his belt. It would make a bad picture, but it was better than nothing to look at later. He took a breath and walked up into the building.
Adam's nervous twitch had grown worse during the wait for the FBI agent. The gun in his hand, however, was steadily locked on the only door to the room. With only one entrance (or exit) to the room, he was well aware that if things went bad there would only be one way out. And it was a way Adam wasn't too fond of exploring.
"Take another step and I start squeezing," Arlee said, her voice cold and flat as Garrison walked into the room. Her hand was wrapped loosely around Madeline's throat.
"You're the boss." Garrison said, putting his hand up. His gun was in his other hand, but he kept it pointed at the floor. "Madeline, you okay, honey?" The child just cried, desperately wishing she were somewhere else and reached out to the warm voice in her head again. She managed a teary nod, under Garrison's scrutiny.
"Alright, Madeline looks fine." He kept using her name, trying to make them see her as a person, and not just a tool. "What is it that you want?"
"We already told her dad," Arlee said, not moving her hand, but relaxing slightly. "We want that bill to pass. Of course, that would mean we'd be stuck here for a few days." Adam muttered something under his breath and Arlee cast a dark look at him.
"That means getting the entire elected government to agree to that. You're right, it will take a long time." Kane said, keeping an eye on the girl. "That means you're going to need food and blankets up here. That little girl will need them too. I know my nieces eat constantly. You have kids?" He directed the last question at the man, seeing more movement on his face.
"Two. They're with my wife," Adam said nervously. "Well, ex." He stopped talking at the glare from Arlee, which she then turned on Kane. "Blankets, food, fine. Get them sent up. I don't know how much longer you need to be here though. You've seen that she's alive and unharmed and all," the blonde said impatiently.
"You're right. I'm going to go back down, tell them Madeline is alright, and then let them know your demands. Then I'll call you, and we can arrange some food and blankets for you. You need to figure out what you want to eat, eh? After all, the government is paying." He said, and backed out of the room.
***
Garrison looked wearily at his tenth cup of coffee. He'd kept them talking, and the X-Men had helped keep the Secret Service calmed down. Over the last three hours, he'd flattered, argued and delayed, but they had no given no further ground. He'd finally learned their full names, and now was on the phone with Adam. That encouraged him, since Adam had been reluctant in tone and demands.
"I used to have a big dog too. One of those big Ridgebacks. What was your dog?"
"A Setter," Adam said, voice obviously tired. "Look, she doesn't like it when I get off on these tangents with you. When she finishes eating, she's gonna take the phone back."
"Well, she's less pleasant to talk to. Besides, we're going to be here a long time, man. When's the last time that Washington ever did anything fast, huh? Giving themselves a pay raise. The rest of the time, oh momma, things aren't going anywhere." Garrison had been working on Adam, teasing out bits of information. His partner was the fanatic, where as Adam had just believed. He honestly thought their actions would make the bill pass, and he had a way out. That was important, because it kept the trigger away from Madeline. "Look, I know you're bored up there. Do you want me to see if I can get a line to your kids? At least let you talk to them a little bit?"
"I...they don't know I'm here, what I'm doing. They think I'm on a business trip to Europe. I...I don't really want them to know. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. I thought I could make a difference for them. They're both mutants, did I tell you that? " Adam glanced over at Madeline, the sandwich they'd given her still untouched on its plate. "She's not eating...maybe you could send up something a little more kid friendly? When my son was her age, he'd only eat mac 'n cheese. Your nephews ever do anything like that?"
"They still do that. Only in their case? Hotdogs and ketchup. Makes taking them to the ball game easy." Garrison's tone changed, going a little softer. "Look, Adam, I thought what you were doing was for the good of mutants, right? For all our futures is what you guys told us. Why do you think you don't want your kids to know?"
"Because...I don't know. Because I don't want them to know that I'm in trouble now," Adam said quietly, setting his gun down on the table. "Gregor was just so...it just made so much sense when he said it. That we'd be helping all mutants and making Magneto proud. I didn't really care one way or another about the last part, but I thought, you know, how could I go wrong helping a bill pass that would help other mutants? Not everyone can pass like I can and I've seen some people have it real rough." Adam watched Arlee cautiously, the blonde standing on the other side of the room out of earshot.
"But that's not what you're doing here, Adam. What you specifically are doing is holding a gun to the head of a nine-year-old girl. Do you think that's what you don't want your kids to know?" Garrison let some emotion into his voice. "I mean, you're right. A lot of mutants get the shit end of the stick, especially if they look different. But if the way you're trying to fix it is something that you're ashamed to tell your own kids, is it really for them that you're doing it? Is it the right way?"
Adam was silent for a full minute, just watching Madeline huddled up in the corner, eyes flicking over to Arlee ever now and again. "I thought it was," he finally said, defeat in his voice. "I don't want her to get hurt."
"How likely do you think that's going to happen, once Arlee figures out that even if she gets what she wants, it's going to take weeks? What happens to Madeline then?" Kane said, already starting to shrug back into his vest. "A lot of people can sympathize with a man trying to do what's best for his kids, Adam. But a guy who kills a helpless little girl? You're not that man, Adam. Don't let anyone push you into that."
Adam reached out, picking his gun back up. For once, his head didn't start to twitch from his nerves and he fingered the trigger. "You might want to come up here now," he told Garrison, finding his voice strangely steady as he set the phone down and moved to stand between Madeline and Arlee. "It's over now," he said and it wasn't clear whether he was talking to the scared girl or his suddenly angry teammate. He could still make his kids at least a little proud.
"Shit!" Garrison hissed, and tossed the phone to Duncan as he started to run. Fortunately, few people could run like Garrison. His mutant physical abilities had him pounding up stairs in a flash, gun out and down at his belt as he cleared the hall.
#Guys, I hope you're ready. This could go ugly fast.# he said over the telepathic switchboard as he reached the room.
It had already started ugly, as Arlee turned her weapon on him the second he entering. Adam was standing with his gun pointed at her, directly in front of Madeline. All it needed was a flash point.
"You!" Arlee hissed at him, her finger tightening on the trigger. "Drop the fucking gun!"
"Alright." Garrison let his gun drop to the floor, holding his hands out placatingly in front of him. "Look, everyone calm down. It's all over."
Adam stared at him blankly, looking confused. This wasn't the heroic moment he'd expected. What the hell was the agent doing dropping his gun? Didn't he realize Arlee was dangerous?
"Adam, put your gun down." Kane said, more gently than before. He turned to Arlee, pleased to see her own weapon still trained on him. "Arlee, it's over. The President can't make 526 politicians vote the way he wants on something overnight, no matter what pressure is on him. You're totally surrounded by the Secret Service. It's time to stop this."
"You gonna risk the brat?" Arlee sneered, but it was Adam who spoke.
"No. I won't let you hurt her."
"You son of a bitch. I always knew you were the goddamn weak link in the group but I at least thought you had the balls to see this through." The gun switched back and forth between them. "I am not going to prison!"
Dammit, that was trigger phrase. Garrison knew as fast as Nate that she'd just made up her mind. There were only two favourables in this situation; that Garrison's empty hands were still outstretched, palms forwards towards her, and that electricity was faster than her trigger.
The neural blast arced out from Kane's palms, Arlee barely twisting out of the way in time. The distraction was enough to get her aim off of both Adam and Madeline, Kane moving instantly to take advantage of her distraction, diving to take both Adam and the girl down, covering them with his body. Even as they hit the ground, Garrison was screaming #Now!# over the link.
Arlee didn't wait for the three to hit the ground and started firing the minute she was steady on her feet, face twisting into a grimace as her bullets bounced harmlessly off the slightly shimmering TK shield that had suddenly appeared.
Nathan's snarl didn't make it onto the switchboard. Holding the rest of the team back to prevent deepening the conflict with the Secret Service that had been simmering throughout the last few hours had been a poor strategic choice, whatever Scott had said, and it left them with limited options.
#Nightcrawler,# he sent, flashing the images from Garrison's mind to Kurt and adding his own mind's eye view of the room and the positions of Garrison, the two terrorists and the girl. #Now would be good.#
Kurt didn't need telling twice, and with that perfect a view of the room so fresh in his mind... it was no trouble at all to appear in a clear space in the room, then dart forward and grab the woman. She was the danger in the room, after all, and with her gone, Garrison could handle Adam.
The next moment, they were gone again, back out to where the X-Men waited.
Once the threat has been dealt with, Garrison still has some work to do.
Garrison got up from the ground slowly, making sure that Arlee was gone. Adam started to rise, but was pushed back down, although not roughly. He looked over at Madeline, who had gone wide-eyed. "You alright, honey?"
"Uh huh," she said, taking a moment to think a big thank you to the man who'd talked to her in her thoughts. At his reassurance, Madeline visibly relaxed, though she still appeared too shaken to move. "Can I go home now?"
Adam, for his part, didn't struggle as Garrison pushed him back down. At least it was finally over.
"Alright, you just wait right there for a second." Garrison swiftly handcuffed Adam, and pulled off his FBI jacket and vest. He pulled the vest over Adam's shoulders, so it was up over his neck and arms, with the FBI letters in yellow clearly visible. Garrison pulled the jacket back on, hoping with the darkness that he'd still be taken for a regular agent. "Adam, we're going to walk out slowly. You keep your head down and stick close to me until I hand you over." He motioned for Madeline, and swept the little girl up with one arm, holding her against his chest. "You understand me?"
Adam nodded numbly, watching Madeline cling to Garrison and bury her head in his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said, directing his words both to the Canadian and the little girl he was holding. He bowed his head and took a defeated step forward.
"You should be, after the mistake you made. But here's the thing, Adam. You didn't make an even worse mistake." Garrison carefully navigated him down. He was worried. The Secret Service was notoriously dedicated to their charges, especially children. Add the danger off an unknown mutant, the shock of a kidnapping and the hours of slow boil, and even the best person started to think about revenge. An 'accident' would be almost tragically easy to arrange if someone was angry enough. "You can make up for almost anything except murder. Cross that line, you never get to come back."
Adam hunched over, his head ticking to the right as all his anxiety flooded back. "Do you think maybe I could call my kids now? Explain to them what happened?"
"Not yet, but I'll make sure you can once we're out of here." Garrison said as they exited the building. Fortunately, the press had been kept at a distance, and while the flashes went off on telephoto lens to catch him coming out, there wouldn't be any good shots of him, with the cap down over his eyes and the yellow of the jacket drawing attention.
Lane, likely from Madeline's own detail Kane thought, came up, and the little girl twisted around and held out her arms to her. That would be the shot in the morning papers, with her holding the child and whisking her back through the other agents to the waiting helicopter and then back to the White House. Garrison pushed Adam towards the cars, while several other agents came up to collect him. One of them grabbed Adam roughly, only to get shoved back by Garrison. The Secret Service were not in the mood to mess around, especially with some Bureau puke on their turf.
"Back off." Kane said, not relinquishing his grasp on Adam. The agents bristled, but one leaned his head to the side, holding two fingers against his earpiece.
"Boss says give them space. He'll take him in personally." The agent turned back to Kane. "The car is this way. You got him under control?"
Adam only shivered slightly and Garrison nodded. "Yeah. Come on." They walked over to the heavy black sedan, the back setup like a squad car with the bullet proof glass and restrained doors.
"Look, it's been a little tense." The agent said as he opened the doors. "We're all on edge."
"Hey, I know. But it's not an excuse, yeah?"
"Yeah. Mister Shea, please take a seat. You are under arrest, and will be advised of the full charges shortly. I'm going to travel with you and advise you of your rights. Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir,” Adam said, head hung low.
"Agent Kane, I'll take over now." He said, pushing Adam less forcefully into the car and sliding in next to him.
"Give him a chance to talk to his family." The agent gave him a weird look. "He got in the way of the other terrorist. Otherwise, Madeline wouldn't have made it out. Just let him tell his kids what's going on."
"I'll ask." The agent pulled shut the door. Two other agents, each heavily armed had taken up station by the car. Kane sighed and walked in the other direction. After no more than a dozen steps, his legs gave way, and he sank to the hood of another car, sitting on it and staring blindly at his hands, which trembled uncontrollably. He sat there for a long moment, until a big hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up into the face of another Secret Service agent; a black man built along the lines of a tank. What caught Garrison where the tears that ran down the man's face, and how he didn't seem even slightly ashamed by them.
"You the FBI guy that brought her out?" He said, in a deep rumbling voice.
"Yeah."
"Thank you." He gave Garrison's shoulder a shake. "I've been on that girl's detail since she was a toddler. Got three of my own at home, but after a while, you end up thinking of them as much as your own, you know?"
"I don't, but I guess I can understand." Kane said, a little helplessly. He was caught dumb by the open emotion, especially as he tried to feel guilty about what he saw as his own weakness and lack of control.
"Look, you stick around a bit. There's a lot of agents that want to talk to you, and make sure you don't pay for a drink tonight." He fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes. "Damn, I really thought we weren't going to see her again. I really did." He gave Kane a giant white smile, before he walked away, leaving him sitting on the car hood.
It was there that Duncan found him, another man in tow, after talking with the X-Men. The FBI agent sat down beside Garrison, hands loosely clasped. "You did good work, Inspector. All of you. This is Dan Murphy, head of the Secret Service detail."
Garrison shook the other man's hand, still conscious of the tremors in his own. Murphy looked tired; weary. The last twenty-four hours had encompassed the worst nightmares of every agent in the service, and it all fell to his responsibility. "Inspector Kane. I want to thank you. Duncan will tell you, I was resistant to your group's involvement to start. Hell, more than a few of the agents here were on the wrong side of your blue friend a couple of years ago. But you did good work. Really good work. The service owes you all a debt."
"It's the job, right?"
"Sometimes." He gave him a tired smile. "I'm going back up to the House, Fred. Kane, it was good to meet you." Duncan got up and followed Murphy away from the Canadian. "He looks pretty rattled."
"That's good. It means he takes it seriously." Duncan smiled. "Also, any minute now he's going to throw up on that car. Seen it in agents before. I hope your car washes are covered."
"I think we can manage it." Murphy said with a laugh. "Make sure he goes out with the agents tonight? It'll be as much for them as for him."
"I can do that. Bad night, Dan. We got lucky." Duncan said.
"Sometimes you have to be happy with lucky, Fred." Murphy headed for his car. "Those friends of yours get lucky a lot. I wonder if there's more to it, huh?" He grinned as he got in, leaving Duncan to stand and watch the car pull out. Well, time to check on Kane and get the scene wrapped up. A liquid noise behind him made clear that at least one of his statements had been proved absolutely true tonight.
It had to be done carefully. They didn't know enough about the mutants in there with the girl, whether they might pick up on telepathic contact, whether it might frighten them into precipitate action if they did. So Nathan scanned the building, but delicately, carefully, barely brushing against the minds of the Magnetic North members and lingering only a moment longer on Madeline McKenna, 'whispering' encouragement and reassurance.
He withdrew gently, his eyes refocusing as he glanced sideways at Garrison. "They're not quite panicking," he related quietly, knowing that the Secret Service agents were listening. He would have to couch this carefully, so as not to touch off any precipitate action on their part. "But they know what happened with the other girl. They feel as though they've got their backs to the wall."
"Then we've got to talk about going in," one of the agents - Lane, a middle-aged woman from one of the girls' details, said immediately.
Garrison stared off at a middle point in space. They were holed up in an older converted office building, with a brick face and medium sized windows. That meant tight rooms inside, a little like the King's Gates situation in England twenty-five years ago. It would be smaller hallways, more rooms, tight access points; all the worst things you could have for a hostage operation. Plus, the HRT would be here soon enough, butting heads with the Secret Service agents on who does what and what team gets priority. All in all, about as bad a place for them to be in as possible.
Logan looked vaguely bored with the entire affair. "So remind me again what we're waiting on? We hit 'em hard and fast. Cable throws a bubble around the girl, anyone still standing is a tango and a threat. We take 'em down all peaceful-like and come out on top." he said, leaning against a wall lazily. "Piece of cake."
Nathan, who had been taking a look at the set-up inside through the eyes of the terrorists themselves and coming to much the same conclusion as Garrison, shook his head as he came out of the half-trance just in time to hear Logan's suggestion. "Not going to work," he said, #and I can feel our SS buddies getting hives at the thought. Stacking the speed of thought up against the speed of bullets is always a dicey proposition, especially when it's going to take us too long to get in there. Rushing the place isn't an option.# He eyed Garrison, wondering if he needed to make the suggestion or whether the younger man was coming to the same conclusion on his own. Nathan wasn't sure, after what had happened in Russia.
"So... more negotiation, then?" Angelo said, not looking entirely happy with the prospect. He knew as well as all the others that they might be running out of time.
The only one among the four X-Men present who was a father himself looked back at the building, thinking about what he'd sensed in Madeline's thoughts. "It's not going to cost us anything to try talking them down while we wait for the HRT," he said. #I can guarantee that jurisdictional head butting will not get in the way.# If it came to that and there was any flak after the fact, he'd step up and take the responsibility. All he cared about was getting that girl home to her parents. Saving the idiots holding her from their own delusions of grandeur was a secondary goal. Frankly, he thought they could do both. Have their cake and eat it too.
"Dominion," he said, looking sideways at Garrison, "if you're up to doing this, I happened to have picked up their cell phone number."
"No." Garrison said firmly. "Both the Secret Service and the FBI will rightly want our heads if we start mucking around. We wait for the scene commander and their negotiator to start from scratch. Anything else endangers that kid for no good reason." What Kane said was right and the smart thing to do, but it didn't remove the fact that there was another reason he wasn't going to get on that phone. He'd already gotten one woman killed. He wasn't about to add a kid to the total.
"Oh, and Logan? Make a move towards that building and I will fucking arrest you myself. You're not fast enough to drop both without giving them ample opportunity to kill the kid first. None of us are, unless one of our psionics can neutralize them both at the same time. One second would be enough time for them to make her a corpse." Some of the X-Men may have been surprised by the virulent undertone in the normally jovial Canadian. He wasn't here as an X-Man right now. The second the kid had been taken, the flip inside his head switched over to 'Cop' and wasn't moving.
Logan growled, but let the rather irritating order slide. It wasn't a question of speed, it was a question of position and opportunity. All-guns-blazing was a fun fantasy, but in an op like this he'd take the slow approach. Infiltrate, secure the kid, exfiltrate. "Strong words from the man about to shit himself in fear." he commented.
Nathan made a face at Logan. There wasn't anything particularly disapproving in it, though, just a certain amount of understanding mingled with irritation. His expression cleared as he looked back at Garrison.
"Dominion," he said, quietly enough that Kane and he were the only one with non-enhanced hearing who'd be privy to the conversation. If Logan heard it... well, that was okay. "You're not here alone. You've got the badge, the experience, and the connections, and trust me, we're all happy to let you use them and to follow your lead. We'll wait for the scene commander." A hint of steel crept into Nathan's voice as he went on. He knew what was on the younger man's mind and respected the baggage he was carrying into this situation, but there were some lines you didn't cross. "But shake it off. There's no room for losing it here, and you just threatened a teammate while in the field. Take a deep breath and settle down. You're not carrying the responsibility for this situation alone."
"And you don't have the training." Kane straightened up, and met the older man's gaze. "You're a fuckin' merc, Nate, and no offense, but you know less than nothing about any of this. The people coming in here have twenty or thirty years experience, which means that no matter what giant powers you think are important, they know better." Kane squared his jaw. "It's a little girl, and none of you are professionals. We wait for them. End of story."
Nathan held the younger man's eyes for a moment, then gave his head a brief, quizzical shake before he looked away. "Wolverine, Skin," he said quietly, sticking to the code names. "If we're sitting tight, we should at least cover the back alley out of here. I'll catch it if they decide to move, but having someone back there in case they do would be a good idea. If you've got no objections?" he asked, looking at Agent Lane - she seemed to be the senior agent here - who nodded. "I'll keep monitoring telepathically," he said to his teammates. "The minute anything changes in there, you'll know about it."
And the snark continues on this mission as Wolverine and Skin move to cover the back alley.
As soon as Logan and Angelo entered the alley, Logan reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigar and a lighter. Thumbing the lighter to life, he lit the cigar and took a deep drag from it. Smiling for just a moment, he looked over at Skin. "You get the west side." he told the younger man. The west side was the back door that had the dumpster next to it.
It, not to put too fine a point on it, stank like a Marseilles cathouse.
"If you say so", Angelo said with a shrug, moving to the west side. It did stink, after all, and Logan had that enhanced sense of smell.
"I do." he said with a grin around his cigar and moved around to the north side of the building to watch the other door. "Oh, and do try to stay away from the windows. If the kid gets capped because someone saw your mug through a window I think quite a few people would get pretty pissed." he offered by way of advice.
"I do know that", Angelo retorted irritably. "I've been in a hostage situation, remember."
"Well lah-de-dah." Logan said with a nasty little tone. "As the hostage?" he asked with a smirk.
"Close enough", came the terse answer as he moved over to the dumpster.
"Thought so. Watch your head." he said helpfully before moving to the north side to cover his own door. With luck he'd see a little action on this op - way too much thinky and not enough hitty for his tastes.
Magnetic North makes yet another demand.
Adam fingered the automatic gun lying in his lap, checking the modifications one last time. He'd already set up a series of alarms in the building and was really just checking the guns to keep his hands busy. Shit. This isn't how it was supposed to go. He glanced over at Arlee, the blonde looking almost happy with the change of plans, despite the fact that their friends were now in custody. Which left Arlee in charge. He shuddered despite himself.
Arlee was still on the phone with the HRT agent, her tone flat and bored. "How many times do I have to tell you, we don't deal with flatscans. Try and lie to me that you aren't one and I'll crush this girl's fingers one by one until you put a goddamned homo superior on the phone with me. You have thirty minutes or I start breaking them just for fun." She nudged Madeline with the toe of her boot, the girl unable to stop herself from whimpering. She would've been sobbing hysterically at the woman's words, except for the voice that continued to comfort her in her mind. Squeezing her eyes tight, she continued listening to the voice in her head.
Garrison is finally spurred into action, despite his reservations, when both Fred Duncan and Cable lay the facts out in front of him.
They were looking at the rough plans of the building when the call came through, and Lane cursed. Garrison and Nate looked up from the diagrams to see her storm in. "There's a problem." Kane said, only it wasn't a question.
"No. They won't deal with humans. How they know how someone is a mutant or a human over the phone is beyond me, but they do. The head of the Detail is coming down to take over; he'll be here in five, but we've got no one on the phone with them." Lane took a deep breath, and turned away, starting to bark orders at the other agents. Stepping past her, with the wave of his badge was Fred Duncan, obviously not far off of the main case, watching the HRT shift around to the Services' orders.
"Kane. How does it look?"
"Evening, sir." Garrison sighed. "It's bad. The building is old; tight spaces, old venting. It'll be a bitch to mic, much less assault. Brick construction, mostly, lots of small rooms. You blow the windows entering and you could kill the little girl by accident before you even know what happened."
"Well, it looks like that's going to be the situation. Lane told me they won't talk to humans, and if they won't talk..." Duncan let his voice trail off. It was right out of the rulebook. You didn't initiate action until they stopped talking or started shooting. Kane shook his head.
"Guess I was wrong again." He muttered, staring at the plans to avoid looking anywhere else.
"I know this is soon after Creed, but we might need some help from the X-Men here. Kane's right. This kind of scenario, a traditional penetration has one chance in three against fatalities. Less, if they happen to be powerful." Duncan turned to Nate, leaning closer to speak softly. "The Service won't like it, but they already owe you one. The odds are still against us getting her out alive, but it will be a damn sight better with you on board."
Nathan's left hand opened and closed on empty air; he'd left the psimitar at the mansion, since it was kind of alarmingly obvious to be carrying around a giant metal spear when you were supposed to be searching discreetly. He really wished he hadn't. It would have been useful right now.
"I'll be honest," he said quietly, low enough that only Duncan would hear him. "I can shield Madeline if need be. But I can't guarantee doing it in time if either of her kidnappers react too quickly, not from here." He was off his game, still recovering from the pneumonia, and in cases like this, split-seconds mattered. "If we need to go in, we can up the chances of her coming out unhurt, but we can't give any guarantees. If there's any way to solve this by talking them out, you need to try that first." His eyes flickered to Garrison, then back to Duncan. "But we'll be here if we're needed." I owe her father everything I'm capable of giving here, he didn't say.
"What about you, Kane? This is supposed to be your gig, isn't it? The Service has got a line on Dr Ramos and they're trying to get him down here. You're a mutant, and they could use your training on that phone." Duncan said.
"No. No way." Kane shook his head. "I can't talk them down, sir."
"Look, Kane, I heard about Russia. Hell, I watched it. Sometimes things go wrong." Kane opened his mouth, but Duncan's look shut it again. "Listen to me, Kane. You might be an Inspector in Canada, but this is not Toronto and you're under my watch. Things go wrong. Agents with twenty-five years in fucked up Waco like a bunch of rookies. That doesn't mean you get to toss it out the window because guilt is easier."
Duncan reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "There isn't a person here who cares what you're going through, or what doubts you have. Because an eight year old girl is having her life decided for her, and right now, our best odds still say she's coming out a corpse." Fred leaned in, phone in his right hand, and put his left on Garrison's shoulder. "She's the important thing, Garrison. Not your feelings or your doubts. Not right now."
Garrison met the other man's eyes for a long moment, before he picked up the phone and nodded. Duncan turned back to Nate. "Our HRT squad leader is out with Lane right now. Do you want to drop by, see what they've got on the go in case we need to force action?"
Nathan nodded, but looked back over his shoulder at Garrison, pinging on the telepathic switchboard quite deliberately. #If you need a read on what they're thinking, tell me. They're wide open, even if I don't want to risk shutting their minds down from this distance.# With that, he headed over to where he'd sensed Lane - and kept projecting comforting thoughts at Madeline, every step of the way.
#Keep the touch light. If one of them turns out to be able to sense a telepath, we're screwed.# Kane said, unnecessarily. He looked down at the phone for a minute, trying to control his breathing as he did so. All that he could see was the woman in Russia in his minds eye. The bullet, her falling, all in slow motion. Finally he pressed the on button and dialed the number. Duncan's phone was already linked into the phone bank, so the rest of the HRT team would be on the call as soon as it was picked up.
While her rescue is being worked on, Nate helps keep Madeline calm.
Madeline sat huddled in the corner of the room where the two terrorists had dropped her, threatening to kill if her she moved. The entire situation still felt surreal - she couldn't believe it was happening. Her guards were supposed to protect her, but one of them had suddenly changed his face and grabbed her and Madison, throwing them into the back of a van. And then they'd taken her older sister away, leaving her with the hardfaced blonde woman and the quiet guy with the big guns.
I want my mommy she thought, trying to curl up into as small of a ball as possible. She wished she could just sink into the floor. Are you still there? she thought, suddenly feeling panicked again as the mean terrorist laughed.
#Of course I am, sweetheart.# The voice was deep and soothing and somehow golden in her mind, like sunlight. #I promised I would stay, didn't I?# It was both hard and not to project nothing but reassurance to the girl; his attention was divided in too many different directions, some of them profoundly stressful, but the girl was there, and needed to be reassured, and he was a father too.
I want to go home. Madeline couldn't seem to help sniffling, but at least it was softer now. The rest of her thoughts were mostly incoherent, but were a mix of fear, anxiety and a desire to feel safe again.
#Soon, I promise,# Nathan projected softly, even as he fed more information to Garrison about what the terrorists were thinking, and spoke to Scott on a link founded on, but separate from the switchboard, because his team leader was still on the other side of the search zone. #You wouldn't believe how many people are out here working to make sure you get home this afternoon. Agent Lane's here,# he sent, reasoning that knowing that the head of her detail was on site would be helpful.
Lanie's there? she thought. She's gonna be mad at the blonde meanie. A sudden image of the agent punching Arlee in the face flashed through Madeline's mind. The girl's thoughts calmed slightly, though she didn't move from her huddled position.
#Right here. I can see her from where I'm standing.# If this went on too much longer, maybe he'd ask Lane if she'd let him link her to Madeline. #You know, I have a daughter too?# he projected, as he reached out, checking on each of the X-Men in the vicinity, feeding Garrison more information, adding the X-Men who were farther away to the switchboard - that was a strain, and nearly too much - and relaying the details on the situation to Scott. #She's a lot smaller than you, not even two yet. Her name's Rachel.# Some of the Secret Service agents were getting fractious. He smoothed down their anxiety - not removing it, just taking the edge off.
The conversation was beginning to take Madeline's mind off the dangerous situation she was in. My mom says I was impossible when I was two. I'd break all of Madison's toys.
#My little monkey flings things. With her mind,# Nathan said, offering an image of a floating Rachel sending Mr. Bunny on a ballistic course towards Cain's head. #It's really hard to keep up with her.# He checked in with Logan and Angelo, updating them. Scott was saying something to him down their link about keeping the rest of the team back, holding them in reserve.. not a good idea! Nathan protested, then turned all of his attention back to Madeline. #Your sister's safe,# he sent, feeling her start to slip again. #She's safe and on her way home, and you'll be with her and your parents very soon.#
Madeline sniffled again, but her tears had stopped. I'm gonna tell my mom she can't complain about me anymore. 'least I only threw things with my hands. She pictured her sister and her parents at home, wondering if Marshall was with them now too.
#They're all waiting for you. It won't be too much longer, and I'll be here the whole time, I promise.# Doing six things at once, but he'd be here. #I know your father, Madeline. He helped me and some friends of mine - helped us save some kids that were in a very bad place. So we've done this before, sweetie, taking kids back safely to their families. Today's going to be just like that, I promise.#
Garrison finally picks up the phone to begin negotiation with the terrorists. At first it doesn’t look like he’ll make much progress until he reaches out to one of the two’s softer side and calls in a little help.
"Hello?"
"Who do they have for me this time?" Arlee said, eyeing Madeline. At least the girl had stopped crying. "Another flatscan trying to tell me they know what it's like to be a mutant? Or trying to pretend to be one?" She ignored the nervous look Adam was giving her from his position by the door.
"How about neither?" Kane shut his eyes. He had to trust his instincts, or he was going to be worse than dangerous on the phone. What did they want? Who was he dealing with? "See what I did there? I'm never supposed to use the word 'no'. It limits options. That's what the little book they gave me says. I'm Agent Kane. I'm a mutant working for the FBI. Who are you?"
"I think I'll be the one asking the questions Agent Kane," Arlee said, though the way the man wasn't sniveling at her like the other had intrigued her. "All you need to know about me is that what I'm doing, I'm doing for all mutant kind. If they hadn't screwed up, we'd have made sure that little health care bill passed and then the girls could've gone home lickety split. But now they had to make things complicated."
"Sounds like they put you in a bad spot. A real bad spot." Kane looked up as the helicopter roared overhead. That would be the head of the Secret Service detail arriving. Which meant things were about to get a lot more complicated. "Are you both alright? Is Madeline alright?"
"The brat's just fine. Say hi to the nice man," Arlee said, her tone obviously derisive as she lowered the phone to Madeline. The girl barely had time to squeak out a word before Arlee had yanked the phone away. "Satisfied? Now me and Adam, we're doing just fine. Could stay in here for a bit...and the instant one of you bozos thinks to break in, well, either I could crush the girl's skull or one of these nice devices of Adam's could end her tragically short existence.
"Uhuh." Garrison said. She was the dangerous one, and she'd worked herself up into this situation. "Look, they say that isn't enough to let them deal with your demands. I don't know why. So I'm going to come up, take a look at the girl, and get what you want. Just me, in two minutes."
Arlee started to pace around the room, a touch of agitation entering her voice. "Oh are you? And why the hell would we let you in here? You're just trying to set us up...I let you in here, you try to pull the big hero moment and someone ends up hurt. I can guarantee you that won't be me...can't make the same promise for anyone else in here."
"Look, anyone else, that could be the case, but come on. That's the President's kid. Even if he wanted to have a Rambo moment, the Service wouldn't let him." Kane's voice was all empathy, the guy on their side. He hoped it was enough. "They aren't going to risk it on national television. You've won this one, as long as she's unhurt. Look, there's two of you. I try anything, shoot me in the head."
Arlee paused, turning his words over, before shaking her head. "No. Too risky. For all I know, whatever mutation you've got means you can go all Rambo in here with your hands above your head and a gun trained on you. You haven't done anything for me yet, why should I be doing you any favors? Or maybe I will let you have a small one. You want to make sure she's ok, fine, I'll put her back on the phone and the kid can tell you herself or you can ask ol' Adam over there. He made me promise not to hurt her as long as you guys don't do anything stupid."
"Sorry. The Service thinks you could do anything with your powers. Either we scope it out directly, or I have to get off the phone. I don't have any control over this either." Garrison was gambling, but she was in the same point of deadlock. "Plus, if I had those powers, why would I be on the phone in the first place, as opposed to doing it before you had a chance to settle in?"
Arlee covered the mouthpiece of the phone and moved to whisper into Adam's ear. They entered into a heated debate that came across the phone in muffled voices, one sounding angry the other almost pleading. A minute later, a male voice came across the phone. "Agent Kane, right? I talked her into it, but she's says you get five minutes and we're both gonna be behind the girl. You can take one step into the room, but no more than that, or Arlee'll...well, you get the idea."
"I'll be up in two minutes." Kane said, switching off the phone. He turned to find the head of the President's detail standing in front of him.
"You do realize you might have just given them another hostage. And you are not a priority in this case."
"Thanks for the reminder. I need a vest." Kane said, moving past him to strap on the bullet-proof vest with FBI on the back in yellow letters. He pulled his gun and badge out, moving them to the vest fasteners. He also took his phone out, and flipped on the movie camera function before clipping it to his belt. It would make a bad picture, but it was better than nothing to look at later. He took a breath and walked up into the building.
Adam's nervous twitch had grown worse during the wait for the FBI agent. The gun in his hand, however, was steadily locked on the only door to the room. With only one entrance (or exit) to the room, he was well aware that if things went bad there would only be one way out. And it was a way Adam wasn't too fond of exploring.
"Take another step and I start squeezing," Arlee said, her voice cold and flat as Garrison walked into the room. Her hand was wrapped loosely around Madeline's throat.
"You're the boss." Garrison said, putting his hand up. His gun was in his other hand, but he kept it pointed at the floor. "Madeline, you okay, honey?" The child just cried, desperately wishing she were somewhere else and reached out to the warm voice in her head again. She managed a teary nod, under Garrison's scrutiny.
"Alright, Madeline looks fine." He kept using her name, trying to make them see her as a person, and not just a tool. "What is it that you want?"
"We already told her dad," Arlee said, not moving her hand, but relaxing slightly. "We want that bill to pass. Of course, that would mean we'd be stuck here for a few days." Adam muttered something under his breath and Arlee cast a dark look at him.
"That means getting the entire elected government to agree to that. You're right, it will take a long time." Kane said, keeping an eye on the girl. "That means you're going to need food and blankets up here. That little girl will need them too. I know my nieces eat constantly. You have kids?" He directed the last question at the man, seeing more movement on his face.
"Two. They're with my wife," Adam said nervously. "Well, ex." He stopped talking at the glare from Arlee, which she then turned on Kane. "Blankets, food, fine. Get them sent up. I don't know how much longer you need to be here though. You've seen that she's alive and unharmed and all," the blonde said impatiently.
"You're right. I'm going to go back down, tell them Madeline is alright, and then let them know your demands. Then I'll call you, and we can arrange some food and blankets for you. You need to figure out what you want to eat, eh? After all, the government is paying." He said, and backed out of the room.
***
Garrison looked wearily at his tenth cup of coffee. He'd kept them talking, and the X-Men had helped keep the Secret Service calmed down. Over the last three hours, he'd flattered, argued and delayed, but they had no given no further ground. He'd finally learned their full names, and now was on the phone with Adam. That encouraged him, since Adam had been reluctant in tone and demands.
"I used to have a big dog too. One of those big Ridgebacks. What was your dog?"
"A Setter," Adam said, voice obviously tired. "Look, she doesn't like it when I get off on these tangents with you. When she finishes eating, she's gonna take the phone back."
"Well, she's less pleasant to talk to. Besides, we're going to be here a long time, man. When's the last time that Washington ever did anything fast, huh? Giving themselves a pay raise. The rest of the time, oh momma, things aren't going anywhere." Garrison had been working on Adam, teasing out bits of information. His partner was the fanatic, where as Adam had just believed. He honestly thought their actions would make the bill pass, and he had a way out. That was important, because it kept the trigger away from Madeline. "Look, I know you're bored up there. Do you want me to see if I can get a line to your kids? At least let you talk to them a little bit?"
"I...they don't know I'm here, what I'm doing. They think I'm on a business trip to Europe. I...I don't really want them to know. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. I thought I could make a difference for them. They're both mutants, did I tell you that? " Adam glanced over at Madeline, the sandwich they'd given her still untouched on its plate. "She's not eating...maybe you could send up something a little more kid friendly? When my son was her age, he'd only eat mac 'n cheese. Your nephews ever do anything like that?"
"They still do that. Only in their case? Hotdogs and ketchup. Makes taking them to the ball game easy." Garrison's tone changed, going a little softer. "Look, Adam, I thought what you were doing was for the good of mutants, right? For all our futures is what you guys told us. Why do you think you don't want your kids to know?"
"Because...I don't know. Because I don't want them to know that I'm in trouble now," Adam said quietly, setting his gun down on the table. "Gregor was just so...it just made so much sense when he said it. That we'd be helping all mutants and making Magneto proud. I didn't really care one way or another about the last part, but I thought, you know, how could I go wrong helping a bill pass that would help other mutants? Not everyone can pass like I can and I've seen some people have it real rough." Adam watched Arlee cautiously, the blonde standing on the other side of the room out of earshot.
"But that's not what you're doing here, Adam. What you specifically are doing is holding a gun to the head of a nine-year-old girl. Do you think that's what you don't want your kids to know?" Garrison let some emotion into his voice. "I mean, you're right. A lot of mutants get the shit end of the stick, especially if they look different. But if the way you're trying to fix it is something that you're ashamed to tell your own kids, is it really for them that you're doing it? Is it the right way?"
Adam was silent for a full minute, just watching Madeline huddled up in the corner, eyes flicking over to Arlee ever now and again. "I thought it was," he finally said, defeat in his voice. "I don't want her to get hurt."
"How likely do you think that's going to happen, once Arlee figures out that even if she gets what she wants, it's going to take weeks? What happens to Madeline then?" Kane said, already starting to shrug back into his vest. "A lot of people can sympathize with a man trying to do what's best for his kids, Adam. But a guy who kills a helpless little girl? You're not that man, Adam. Don't let anyone push you into that."
Adam reached out, picking his gun back up. For once, his head didn't start to twitch from his nerves and he fingered the trigger. "You might want to come up here now," he told Garrison, finding his voice strangely steady as he set the phone down and moved to stand between Madeline and Arlee. "It's over now," he said and it wasn't clear whether he was talking to the scared girl or his suddenly angry teammate. He could still make his kids at least a little proud.
"Shit!" Garrison hissed, and tossed the phone to Duncan as he started to run. Fortunately, few people could run like Garrison. His mutant physical abilities had him pounding up stairs in a flash, gun out and down at his belt as he cleared the hall.
#Guys, I hope you're ready. This could go ugly fast.# he said over the telepathic switchboard as he reached the room.
It had already started ugly, as Arlee turned her weapon on him the second he entering. Adam was standing with his gun pointed at her, directly in front of Madeline. All it needed was a flash point.
"You!" Arlee hissed at him, her finger tightening on the trigger. "Drop the fucking gun!"
"Alright." Garrison let his gun drop to the floor, holding his hands out placatingly in front of him. "Look, everyone calm down. It's all over."
Adam stared at him blankly, looking confused. This wasn't the heroic moment he'd expected. What the hell was the agent doing dropping his gun? Didn't he realize Arlee was dangerous?
"Adam, put your gun down." Kane said, more gently than before. He turned to Arlee, pleased to see her own weapon still trained on him. "Arlee, it's over. The President can't make 526 politicians vote the way he wants on something overnight, no matter what pressure is on him. You're totally surrounded by the Secret Service. It's time to stop this."
"You gonna risk the brat?" Arlee sneered, but it was Adam who spoke.
"No. I won't let you hurt her."
"You son of a bitch. I always knew you were the goddamn weak link in the group but I at least thought you had the balls to see this through." The gun switched back and forth between them. "I am not going to prison!"
Dammit, that was trigger phrase. Garrison knew as fast as Nate that she'd just made up her mind. There were only two favourables in this situation; that Garrison's empty hands were still outstretched, palms forwards towards her, and that electricity was faster than her trigger.
The neural blast arced out from Kane's palms, Arlee barely twisting out of the way in time. The distraction was enough to get her aim off of both Adam and Madeline, Kane moving instantly to take advantage of her distraction, diving to take both Adam and the girl down, covering them with his body. Even as they hit the ground, Garrison was screaming #Now!# over the link.
Arlee didn't wait for the three to hit the ground and started firing the minute she was steady on her feet, face twisting into a grimace as her bullets bounced harmlessly off the slightly shimmering TK shield that had suddenly appeared.
Nathan's snarl didn't make it onto the switchboard. Holding the rest of the team back to prevent deepening the conflict with the Secret Service that had been simmering throughout the last few hours had been a poor strategic choice, whatever Scott had said, and it left them with limited options.
#Nightcrawler,# he sent, flashing the images from Garrison's mind to Kurt and adding his own mind's eye view of the room and the positions of Garrison, the two terrorists and the girl. #Now would be good.#
Kurt didn't need telling twice, and with that perfect a view of the room so fresh in his mind... it was no trouble at all to appear in a clear space in the room, then dart forward and grab the woman. She was the danger in the room, after all, and with her gone, Garrison could handle Adam.
The next moment, they were gone again, back out to where the X-Men waited.
Once the threat has been dealt with, Garrison still has some work to do.
Garrison got up from the ground slowly, making sure that Arlee was gone. Adam started to rise, but was pushed back down, although not roughly. He looked over at Madeline, who had gone wide-eyed. "You alright, honey?"
"Uh huh," she said, taking a moment to think a big thank you to the man who'd talked to her in her thoughts. At his reassurance, Madeline visibly relaxed, though she still appeared too shaken to move. "Can I go home now?"
Adam, for his part, didn't struggle as Garrison pushed him back down. At least it was finally over.
"Alright, you just wait right there for a second." Garrison swiftly handcuffed Adam, and pulled off his FBI jacket and vest. He pulled the vest over Adam's shoulders, so it was up over his neck and arms, with the FBI letters in yellow clearly visible. Garrison pulled the jacket back on, hoping with the darkness that he'd still be taken for a regular agent. "Adam, we're going to walk out slowly. You keep your head down and stick close to me until I hand you over." He motioned for Madeline, and swept the little girl up with one arm, holding her against his chest. "You understand me?"
Adam nodded numbly, watching Madeline cling to Garrison and bury her head in his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said, directing his words both to the Canadian and the little girl he was holding. He bowed his head and took a defeated step forward.
"You should be, after the mistake you made. But here's the thing, Adam. You didn't make an even worse mistake." Garrison carefully navigated him down. He was worried. The Secret Service was notoriously dedicated to their charges, especially children. Add the danger off an unknown mutant, the shock of a kidnapping and the hours of slow boil, and even the best person started to think about revenge. An 'accident' would be almost tragically easy to arrange if someone was angry enough. "You can make up for almost anything except murder. Cross that line, you never get to come back."
Adam hunched over, his head ticking to the right as all his anxiety flooded back. "Do you think maybe I could call my kids now? Explain to them what happened?"
"Not yet, but I'll make sure you can once we're out of here." Garrison said as they exited the building. Fortunately, the press had been kept at a distance, and while the flashes went off on telephoto lens to catch him coming out, there wouldn't be any good shots of him, with the cap down over his eyes and the yellow of the jacket drawing attention.
Lane, likely from Madeline's own detail Kane thought, came up, and the little girl twisted around and held out her arms to her. That would be the shot in the morning papers, with her holding the child and whisking her back through the other agents to the waiting helicopter and then back to the White House. Garrison pushed Adam towards the cars, while several other agents came up to collect him. One of them grabbed Adam roughly, only to get shoved back by Garrison. The Secret Service were not in the mood to mess around, especially with some Bureau puke on their turf.
"Back off." Kane said, not relinquishing his grasp on Adam. The agents bristled, but one leaned his head to the side, holding two fingers against his earpiece.
"Boss says give them space. He'll take him in personally." The agent turned back to Kane. "The car is this way. You got him under control?"
Adam only shivered slightly and Garrison nodded. "Yeah. Come on." They walked over to the heavy black sedan, the back setup like a squad car with the bullet proof glass and restrained doors.
"Look, it's been a little tense." The agent said as he opened the doors. "We're all on edge."
"Hey, I know. But it's not an excuse, yeah?"
"Yeah. Mister Shea, please take a seat. You are under arrest, and will be advised of the full charges shortly. I'm going to travel with you and advise you of your rights. Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir,” Adam said, head hung low.
"Agent Kane, I'll take over now." He said, pushing Adam less forcefully into the car and sliding in next to him.
"Give him a chance to talk to his family." The agent gave him a weird look. "He got in the way of the other terrorist. Otherwise, Madeline wouldn't have made it out. Just let him tell his kids what's going on."
"I'll ask." The agent pulled shut the door. Two other agents, each heavily armed had taken up station by the car. Kane sighed and walked in the other direction. After no more than a dozen steps, his legs gave way, and he sank to the hood of another car, sitting on it and staring blindly at his hands, which trembled uncontrollably. He sat there for a long moment, until a big hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up into the face of another Secret Service agent; a black man built along the lines of a tank. What caught Garrison where the tears that ran down the man's face, and how he didn't seem even slightly ashamed by them.
"You the FBI guy that brought her out?" He said, in a deep rumbling voice.
"Yeah."
"Thank you." He gave Garrison's shoulder a shake. "I've been on that girl's detail since she was a toddler. Got three of my own at home, but after a while, you end up thinking of them as much as your own, you know?"
"I don't, but I guess I can understand." Kane said, a little helplessly. He was caught dumb by the open emotion, especially as he tried to feel guilty about what he saw as his own weakness and lack of control.
"Look, you stick around a bit. There's a lot of agents that want to talk to you, and make sure you don't pay for a drink tonight." He fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes. "Damn, I really thought we weren't going to see her again. I really did." He gave Kane a giant white smile, before he walked away, leaving him sitting on the car hood.
It was there that Duncan found him, another man in tow, after talking with the X-Men. The FBI agent sat down beside Garrison, hands loosely clasped. "You did good work, Inspector. All of you. This is Dan Murphy, head of the Secret Service detail."
Garrison shook the other man's hand, still conscious of the tremors in his own. Murphy looked tired; weary. The last twenty-four hours had encompassed the worst nightmares of every agent in the service, and it all fell to his responsibility. "Inspector Kane. I want to thank you. Duncan will tell you, I was resistant to your group's involvement to start. Hell, more than a few of the agents here were on the wrong side of your blue friend a couple of years ago. But you did good work. Really good work. The service owes you all a debt."
"It's the job, right?"
"Sometimes." He gave him a tired smile. "I'm going back up to the House, Fred. Kane, it was good to meet you." Duncan got up and followed Murphy away from the Canadian. "He looks pretty rattled."
"That's good. It means he takes it seriously." Duncan smiled. "Also, any minute now he's going to throw up on that car. Seen it in agents before. I hope your car washes are covered."
"I think we can manage it." Murphy said with a laugh. "Make sure he goes out with the agents tonight? It'll be as much for them as for him."
"I can do that. Bad night, Dan. We got lucky." Duncan said.
"Sometimes you have to be happy with lucky, Fred." Murphy headed for his car. "Those friends of yours get lucky a lot. I wonder if there's more to it, huh?" He grinned as he got in, leaving Duncan to stand and watch the car pull out. Well, time to check on Kane and get the scene wrapped up. A liquid noise behind him made clear that at least one of his statements had been proved absolutely true tonight.
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