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xp_logsThe 'use the king as bait' plan hits a snag in the form of an overly protective Wakandan government. The X-Men reassess.
The knock on the door of the bedroom Marius and Alex were sharing in the guest house was followed by the door opening, without giving either of them a chance for so much as a 'hello'. Nathan, looking thoroughly disgruntled by the world, all but stomped into the room, eyeing both of them.
"Change of plans," he said. "We will not be using his Majesty as bait. Apparently his Majesty's loyal subjects have an issue with that."
Marius looked up from mid-push up. "You mean they've a problem with the potential imperilment of their local god-king?" the Australian asked, rocking himself back into a kneeling position to shake the hair from his eyes. "Shocking, that. But I imagined voluntary self-imperilment was a royal prerogative. Isn't the choice rather up to the Majesty in question? "
"You'd think," Nathan said, and the sarcasm in his voice was biting. "But apparently the Wakandan cabinet has informed T'Challa that if he goes ahead with this, they will be putting him into protective custody as soon as they can find someone who's both pragmatic and a good shot with a tranquilizer rifle. And yes, believe it or not, that's apparently verbatim from the head of the army's general staff." Nathan cracked a humorless smile. "T'Challa said he'd be touched if he didn't want to strangle the lot of them."
"Well now, can't let that happen now can we, dudes?" Was Alex's reply from where he'd been reading on his bed. He had swung his legs around and sat up when Nathan had entered, putting the book aside. "So, what the new plan now that His Majesty is out?"
"Well, they've offered us any other help we might desire," Nathan said, dropping the sarcasm. "It's been pointed out that Wakanda is not a big country, or at least, doesn't have that many foreign visitors. So it's not quite like looking for a needle in a haystack. Just mostly." It went without saying that they didn't have time for the slow and meticulous approach. Which raised some rather bleak possibilities concerning what would happen next.
Marius quirked an eyebrow. "So what is our alternative? And please let the answer not be directin' me to the highest vantage point. Mutant-detection an' basic powers assessment I can supply, but even should the enemy be so kind enough as to make a public appearance my talents are somewhat less forthcoming with details such as 'intent on regicide'."
"We need to find where they're holed up, or try," Nathan said. "Keep the security around T'Challa as tight as possible, because they are going to make an attempt, sooner rather than later."
"So how close are they going to let us be? Just in the building or are we playing Secret Service here?" Alex asked, idly cracked his knuckles. "I mean, I don't doubt his security is good and all but can they handle something as radical as this?"
"Oh, at least a few of us will be sticking to him like glue. You, for instance," Nathan said, pointing at Marius. "I'm sure I don't particularly have to explain why."
Marius sketched a brief bow from the floor. "As my leader commands, though I have heard certain rumours of the supposed protectee. In the event of attack, at the very least I be able to keep His Majesty appraised of the abilities of the men to whom he shall likely be in the process of issuing a sound beating."
Nathan's expression went stony, but the cold look wasn't directed at Marius or Alex. If anything, the look in his eyes was rather distant, suddenly. "They won't send a team to engage him hand-to-hand," he said, and his tone was definitely distance. "Energy-projectors. Psis. Ranged abilities. Probably several. They'll rely on overwhelming him and his security detail as quickly as possible."
Alex raised his eyebrows and sent a quick glance to Marius at the sudden mood change. But all the same he shrugged. "So we just have to stop the ranged guys before they can do much damage." Of course, finding them beforehand would be the ideal but there was such a thing as overly optimistic.
Marius responded to Alex's glance by furrowing his lowered eyebrow just a little more. Though he suspected he was missing something, at least he and Alex were lost together. He turned back to Nathan and shrugged. "No worries -- passive though my power may be, it does allow me to provide quite a credible impression of human shield. And if the long-rangers do not happen to be so fortunate as to possess an immunity to their own powers, well . . ." Marius grinned. "In such circumstances I like to consider myself one of Karma's lesser agents."
The knock on the door of the bedroom Marius and Alex were sharing in the guest house was followed by the door opening, without giving either of them a chance for so much as a 'hello'. Nathan, looking thoroughly disgruntled by the world, all but stomped into the room, eyeing both of them.
"Change of plans," he said. "We will not be using his Majesty as bait. Apparently his Majesty's loyal subjects have an issue with that."
Marius looked up from mid-push up. "You mean they've a problem with the potential imperilment of their local god-king?" the Australian asked, rocking himself back into a kneeling position to shake the hair from his eyes. "Shocking, that. But I imagined voluntary self-imperilment was a royal prerogative. Isn't the choice rather up to the Majesty in question? "
"You'd think," Nathan said, and the sarcasm in his voice was biting. "But apparently the Wakandan cabinet has informed T'Challa that if he goes ahead with this, they will be putting him into protective custody as soon as they can find someone who's both pragmatic and a good shot with a tranquilizer rifle. And yes, believe it or not, that's apparently verbatim from the head of the army's general staff." Nathan cracked a humorless smile. "T'Challa said he'd be touched if he didn't want to strangle the lot of them."
"Well now, can't let that happen now can we, dudes?" Was Alex's reply from where he'd been reading on his bed. He had swung his legs around and sat up when Nathan had entered, putting the book aside. "So, what the new plan now that His Majesty is out?"
"Well, they've offered us any other help we might desire," Nathan said, dropping the sarcasm. "It's been pointed out that Wakanda is not a big country, or at least, doesn't have that many foreign visitors. So it's not quite like looking for a needle in a haystack. Just mostly." It went without saying that they didn't have time for the slow and meticulous approach. Which raised some rather bleak possibilities concerning what would happen next.
Marius quirked an eyebrow. "So what is our alternative? And please let the answer not be directin' me to the highest vantage point. Mutant-detection an' basic powers assessment I can supply, but even should the enemy be so kind enough as to make a public appearance my talents are somewhat less forthcoming with details such as 'intent on regicide'."
"We need to find where they're holed up, or try," Nathan said. "Keep the security around T'Challa as tight as possible, because they are going to make an attempt, sooner rather than later."
"So how close are they going to let us be? Just in the building or are we playing Secret Service here?" Alex asked, idly cracked his knuckles. "I mean, I don't doubt his security is good and all but can they handle something as radical as this?"
"Oh, at least a few of us will be sticking to him like glue. You, for instance," Nathan said, pointing at Marius. "I'm sure I don't particularly have to explain why."
Marius sketched a brief bow from the floor. "As my leader commands, though I have heard certain rumours of the supposed protectee. In the event of attack, at the very least I be able to keep His Majesty appraised of the abilities of the men to whom he shall likely be in the process of issuing a sound beating."
Nathan's expression went stony, but the cold look wasn't directed at Marius or Alex. If anything, the look in his eyes was rather distant, suddenly. "They won't send a team to engage him hand-to-hand," he said, and his tone was definitely distance. "Energy-projectors. Psis. Ranged abilities. Probably several. They'll rely on overwhelming him and his security detail as quickly as possible."
Alex raised his eyebrows and sent a quick glance to Marius at the sudden mood change. But all the same he shrugged. "So we just have to stop the ranged guys before they can do much damage." Of course, finding them beforehand would be the ideal but there was such a thing as overly optimistic.
Marius responded to Alex's glance by furrowing his lowered eyebrow just a little more. Though he suspected he was missing something, at least he and Alex were lost together. He turned back to Nathan and shrugged. "No worries -- passive though my power may be, it does allow me to provide quite a credible impression of human shield. And if the long-rangers do not happen to be so fortunate as to possess an immunity to their own powers, well . . ." Marius grinned. "In such circumstances I like to consider myself one of Karma's lesser agents."
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