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xp_logs2009-06-09 12:37 pm
x-dominion.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2009-06-09 12:37 pm
Old Man of the Mountain: Siege
BACKDATED
Everyone finally comes together at the diplomat's hiding place. The trouble being that everyone includes Triads and the Imperial Guard.
"Oh shit." Tim 'Dum-Dum' Dugan's statement was flat and profound, as they pulled their cars off from the road at the sound of gunfire. Dugan threw the car into a bootlegger's turn, putting other vehicles between them at the scene that was in front of their goal. With the false identity and transactions of the diplomat uncovered by both groups, they had quickly tracked him to a small rented home deep in the morass of Lowtown. However, that home was now under siege as a cluster of Asians were firing on the house with an arsenal of weaponry. They could see two dead men already at the doorway of the house, and even as they left their vehicles, saw the last defender crumple as multiple shots landed on his chest.
"14K Triad. Franchise gang out of Hong Kong, available for hire." Dugan pulled his pistol from his holster and took cover behind the car. "Looks like your guy is a lot hotter than you originally thought."
"Great." Next time, Jake thought, he was riding in the rear car. Further from the shooting, and further from Adrienne, who was shooting him a death glare as she scooted out of the backseat behind him. He ducked against the rear tire, drawing his own gun. "Have I mentioned how much I hate Madripoor?"
Adrienne contemplated staying in the damn car, but she thought that would make her an easier target, so she crawled out and up to Jake so she could mimic smacking him upside the head. "What happened to fleeing, huh?" she growled. This didn't seem like a good time for it, though. She turned to Morgan and smiled sweetly. "Can I have one of your guns?" Morgan always had more than one.
Morgan glared at her friend but she didn't much mean it. Even if she did it was hard to properly convey annoyance or anger with Aoife's face. She looked too damned sweet. The metamorph reached down to her boot and pulled out a small handgun which she then offered out to Adrienne's handle first. "One day we're teaching you to get your own fucking illegal guns," she muttered with her eyes narrowing. Quickly her eyes moved from her friend to their rivals. She picked out the easiest mark quickly and two rounds closed the distance between her and him in a blink. One buried in his chest, the other in his head. She ducked down for cover before anyone could repay the favour.
"Watch it!" Betsy pushed both Jake and Adrienne to the ground, as a flurry of bullets marked their former position. Eyeing the pair, she assured herself they weren't injured before sending back a volley of bullets,
hitting two of their attackers and watching them go down. Turning her head, she called out to Dugan. "Behind you!"
Knowing he'd already seen his attacker, Betsy moved quickly to the nearest group of the 14K. She disappeared behind a pair of their cars and the sounds of bullets firing and men screaming in pain filled the air. A minute later, Betsy was moving towards the next group, clearing the path for the others.
"Oh fun. Triads." Garrison sighed, his own reactions far faster than the others. The Canadian had simply taken off over the parked cars, and thrown himself into the fray, moving faster than they could react in the confused melee. Dugan had turned and fired a textbook perfect round directly through the forehead of the man trying to attack him from behind, but he almost lost his head to the fighting hatchet of the other man that he hadn't seen.
A motorbike sailed over the car and caught the man square in the side of the head, crushing it like an egg and venting blood all over Dugan's Hawaiian shirt. he looked at it in disgust. "Man, do you know how much these things cost? I'm going to have to get it dry cleaned before Shelia sees it."
His comments were ignored, as Garrison swept a hole in the attackers with one of their own cars. It was unfair of him, but he deliberately slowed punches to allow them to be blocked, ensuring a non-lethal crushed arm or leg in the process against his enhanced strength. Kane had no problems using lethal force to protect himself or the others, after all he was a cop, but there was no point killing when he had other options. Another car unloaded a quartet of men, who braced the other position with fire.
"Head's up!" He called out in warning to them.
"C'mon," Jake said to Adrienne as he grabbed her hand to pull her around the back bumper of their car. There wasn't really much in the way of cover anymore, but at least Betsy and the others had their back from this direction. He leaned around her to return fire over the trunk of their sedan, spraying the most recent arrivals to drive them back, then taking a quick but careful aim. "Gotcha," he grinned as one of the Triads went down, then jerked back behind the car as a hail of bullets skittered across the trunk. "Son of a bitch!"
The bullet had grazed him just under the eye. He leaned back against the car, wishing he had the time to be rattled by how close the bullet had come to his brain, but instead he snapped off a pair of shots at one of the men approaching Betsy. "How's it look behind us?" he asked
Adrienne.
"Like a fucking picnic?" Adrienne suggested, not daring to look. She was much more concerned with the men shooting at them from the front. Not pausing for aim, she shot up and fired off a quick round, crowing in triumph as one of her shots hit a man in the shoulder. When she ducked back down, she focused on the other direction. "Another car's coming behind us!" she called out in a level tone in answer to Jake's original question, and for anyone else who was listening and was on their side. While reloading, she took a second to read into the future of the gun and the cartridge to try and get an idea of where she might aim to greatest effect.
Realizing Jake and Adrienne were being overwhelmed, Betsy double backed in time to see Adrienne shoot off three rounds into a man a few yards away. The telepath blinked in surprised and stared after the falling man before she realized a man held a gun to her head. Smiling, Betsy kept looking at Adrienne and Jake as she spoke. "You really don't want to do that." She offered herself a look with a quick shift of her eyes to the right when he pulled back the clip to his gun. "This will end so badly for you."
Two of the Triad made a rush for the doorway, but crumpled before making twenty steps. Garrison pivoted, looking for the threat, and was stunned as his father and Professor Farouk emerged from an ancient cab at the other side of the house. Christian had taken both men with expert pistol shots and was pushed Farouk ahead towards the house.
"Dad!"
"Son, you brought friends. Excellent." Christian grinned as they reached the doorway. "There's more trouble coming. Imperial Guard."
"What?" Garrison blanched. If the Imperial Guard was on the way, they were so completely outgunned that survival wasn't even an option.
"Don't worry. We'll think of something."
Garrison turned his attention back to the battle. He tossed a car into a mass of Triad who had been readying themselves to rush Adrienne and Jake's position.
The elder Kane called out before heading inside. "Betsy, Imperial Guard is on route."
"Go on," she yelled back. "We'll cover you for as long as you need." Throwing a flying star into the hamstring of a man fighting with Dugan. "But don't take too long."
Morgan had crept along and away from the others. It made her more vulnerable in a way but it also made it easier for her to get closer. One person didn't get noticed as easily as groups of people did, not even when your skin was a glaringly bright porcelain in the sun. She'd gotten near enough to see the remaining members of the Triad up close and personal. Then she opened fire, the shots sounding quickly in regularly spaced intervals. Some of them only needed one bullet, a couple took two, but a half dozen or so of them fell to the ground motionless before her clip was emptied. That, of course, meant she was screwed again as the people who were still standing opened fire on her and she took off running, trying to duck behind things for cover. Getting shot now would have been really inconvenient.
As much as Jake never, ever would have admitted it, the last car Garrison had thrown had caught the Triads off guard badly enough that they weren't able to regroup. Not that he was going to stop shooting them, mind. He emptied what was left of his clip in the direction of the last few goons that looked like they might still want to cause trouble, then ducked down behind the car again. "You know, we might not have to run away this time," he said to Adrienne.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Adrienne asked, taking careful aim and shooting in the pattern she'd watched herself use with her powers. Two of her four targets went down, just like the reading had shown- she considered that a victory, until one of the ones she hadn't hit started to return fire. "That we don't have to flee, we can stay here and keep getting shot at?" She only had two shots left, by her count, so she leveled her breathing and tried to pretend she was on the shooting range with Bishop, then rose from behind the car and hit both of her remaining targets. "Remind me to send Bishop a case of Makers," she grinned at Jake, pleased with herself despite her misgivings about their situation.
The retreating Triads were still trading shots, but their escape was full fledged. Garrison sagged for a moment against one of the cars near the house, tasting the coppery aftereffects of the fight in his mouth. Dugan came over, holstering his weapon.
"That was pretty impressive, tossing cars and shit. I was wrong about Betsy's team. You guys would be at least as hard to take down as her own STRIKE team." They both grinned at the backhanded compliment, and Kane was about to retort when fire tore at the vehicle around them. Garrison barely got them clear as the car exploded.
He looked up in time to watch the flying figures touch down in front of the house. The Imperial Guard had arrived.
***
The commotion outside picked up again and Farouk shook his head. "It's time like these I rather miss Esteban." He murmured softly.
Christian snorted as he swapped out the magazines in the snub-nozed German machine pistol he managed to pick up somewhere. "I am hurt. You don't trust me to keep your posterior in one piece?"
"Never have, never will." Amahl informed him kindly and sat down next to the slick-looking man cowering in the corner of the house. "So, the now-infamous Lhendup Rimpoche Lhatsun. We finally meet."
The diplomat looked (and was) rather young for his position. But advantages of sharing the right genes conferred certain privileges. Although Amahl was fairly certain that distant kinship would not prevent D. Ken from cutting his wayward cousin off at the knees. Possibly quite literally.
"Wh--who are you?"
Farouk chuckled, ignoring the battle outside, now fully in his element. "Those gambling debts do have the tendency to accumulate, don't they young man? And, let me guess, your honorable father has finally decided that you were a rather poor investment? Sent you off to stand or fall on his own?"
Lhatsun flared, momentarily forgetting to be terrified, "That old fucking bastard! I don't need his crumbs, anyway!"
"Yes, yes." Amahl nodded solicitously. "It's evident to us all that you are a capable and resourceful man."
The wall buckled as something or someone was thrown against it with enough force to leave a slight imprint. Lhatsun swallowed dryly, his Adam's apple working visibly under the skin.
"Help me. Please! I know things!"
"Indeed you do, my boy. Indeed you do." Amahl smiled, an incongruously avuncular impression.
"And I think it's time you shared them with me."
"Who are you? I need protection! He'll kill me. He'll do anything to get me!"
"I am Amahl Farouk." The old Arab's smile slid off his face leaving something cold and implacable in its place. "And I am the only thing that can help you."
The diplomat paled, his dusky skin taking on a sickly-bluish hue and he scrambled back suddenly, almost shrieking when he found his retreat blocked by the wall. Behind Amahl there was a soft snort, a click as the hammer was pulled back and then Farouk felt without turning the elder Kane leaving. Christian, after all, would know there was only one outcome, only one realistic end to the stand-off.
Amahl could hardly blame him for declining to witness it and instead leaving for the relative cleanliness of the fight with the Guard. Farouk's agate-like eyes focused unblinkingly on the Indian and the latter broke, the words coming out in a sudden, unending torrent.
It was amazing how much Lhatsun, for all of his fatuousness managed to learn about the plans of the would-be ruler of Asia. And yet, Farouk could feel the frustration welling up at the back of his mind. Everything the little man in front of his was saying was predictable - and predicted, often by Amahl himself.
Neramani's plans for Russo-Indian pipeline, an action that could only make sense if India was planning to annex natural gas and oil resources from Eastern Pakistan, and the continuing maneuvers against China which would see his native Sikkim state as the front line for any violent response from the nation. Lhatsun even managed to get the wind of the long-term plans for annexation of Pakistan and the discrete funding by New Delhi of the mujahadeen plaguing the UN forces there, and steps taken to neutralize any Western attempt to challenge them. But there was no proof but for the boy's word.
"... and then the American came and my father heard about it. About him warning them that you were coming to meet me. So I ran."
Farouk's head swiveled like a tracking battle-turret. "Tell me about the American."
***
It wasn't the whole Guard, but the power was considerable. Dacoit looked at the scene with distaste. It seemed he could attempt any mission without running into a group of American mutants. Normally, he'd have called for a surrender, or just destroyed the house and everyone in it, but his orders from the Prime Minister were to take Lhatsun and Farouk back to India alive. That didn't apply to this obstacle. Only four of them were on this mission, Oracle, Starbolt and Manta, focused on flyers to increase their mobility. After all, they were in Madripoor illegally.
He motioned his men forward, only to stagger as the flaming chassis of a car slammed into him, and was followed up by a kick to his sternum like an oncoming truck. Kane hadn't hesitated, knowing that they needed to buy some time, and the only way that could happen was to keep the more powerful Imperial Guard off balance. He dodged a haymaker and slammed a vicious knee into Dacoit’s groin, but the man only grunted and tossed him aside, cracking the brickwork of the wall as he hit it. Dacoit was stronger, Dominion was faster, but only one of them was virtually invulnerable.
There was only one way it could end.
Her right hand ignited the minute The Imperial Guard had shown themselves. A blazing amethyst sword appeared and Betsy had made sure not one would remember why they were here when she would be done with them. Nothing of this mission had been completely straightforward. Watching the rest of her team fight off their aggressors, Betsy regretted Jake and Adrienne's part in this but it was too late to lament over something now out of her control. She would fight, she would maim but if anyone came near her team, she'd kill. It was that simple. "Oh, don't run. That takes the fun out of this."
Perhaps, she was too focused on the latter as she'd missed the woman coming up behind her.
The glowing one had her eyes narrowed on Betsy's back. Morgan wasn't actually sure what she did other than glow but she wasn't willing to risk it. After all, that was her boss. Unwilling to possibly end up with a ricochet effect if she shot the woman, she instead ran up closer to her and socked her in the jaw. Manta stumbled, surprised and took a moment to get her bearings. It was long enough for Morgan to put herself between Betsy and the woman to ensure the telepath only had so much to handle at once. It did not, however, give Morgan enough time to prepare for the blinding light that shot at her. It was her turn to stumble and Morgan's hand was on her gun. The one with the emptied clip. She went searching for the other before remembering she'd handed it to Adrienne. Fucking hell. The next best thing was the throwing knives on her belt.
Morgan blinked away with bursts of light in her vision as best she could, took aim and let the small knife fly. It went wide and over the woman's shoulder. Fuck. Morgan managed to get another knife thrown before the next blast of light hit her. The knife sliced open Manta's arm but Morgan was stumbling around again, disoriented and blinded. Then the fist came. It was a weak punch, honestly, but it connected. It also gave Morgan a frame of reference to punch back at. She swung and heard a crack as her first connected with something a bit squishy, probably a nose. A sound of pain and some shuffling and then a kick came out of nowhere to Morgan's shin. She went down hard, reached out and just barely missed the ankle of the retreating woman. Scrambling after her, Morgan's vision was coming back when she was hit with another beam of light. This time Morgan went down and stayed down, the sensory overload of the blast forcing unconsciousness upon her.
Hearing the scream behind her, Betsy turned. "Morgan!" Within moments, she was at the young woman's side, fighting off her attacker. The two women fought in a symphony of limbs, all colliding, both intent on harming the other while Morgan lay on the floor beside them.
Jake was never going to open his fucking mouth again. Except maybe to say "No, Betsy, I don't want an all-expenses paid trip to Madripoor, but thanks for thinking of me." Lately, it seemed like all he'd done was jinx things, with disastrous results--like the guy flying above them who'd just started throwing fire. Because that's just what the world needed--another Shiro.
It was time to run.
He scrambled to his feet and managed to take a few steps from the car when something hot hit him in the arm. He cut to his right, away from the house, only to come face to face--well, face-to-toes, really—with what he'd started to call the Bargain Bin Yoshida, hovering just in front of him. "Oh fu--"
The plasma bolt caught him square in the chest, sending him tumbling ass over teakettles back towards Adrienne.
The annoying fucker with the fire or plasma or whatever the fuck it was was flinging it everywhere. Adrienne watched Jake get hit by a stray shot and decided she had to move. Her gun seemed to be doing nothing against these guys and she was a sitting duck out here in the open. "I'm gonna make for the house," she hissed when a plasma bolt knocked Jake onto his ass and within earshot. "We need a defensible position. Don't die," she smiled as he made a motion like he was going to scurry under the nearest car. She made a dash for the house as a bolt whizzed past her head, causing her to stifle a girlish scream. She actually did cry out when there was suddenly a man blocking the doorway, causing her to skid and nearly crash into him as she tried to stop. "Shit." The leader of the circus troupe who was attacking them. Her gun came up in an instant, but the chamber clicked over harmlessly. Out of bullets. Just like in a bad movie or Saturday afternoon TV show. "Shit."
A hand clamped around her throat and hoisted her in the air. He didn't even put any effort into lifting her weight, ignoring any danger around him. Invulnerability had its advantages. Dacoit moved his hand side to side, getting a good look at the woman, to make sure she wasn't anyone he had orders to take alive. After all, what was an extra few seconds when he could crush her throat at will.
What he did not expect was the hammer like blow beneath his bicep directly into the nerve cluster that lay there. While impervious to harm, that did not mean his body didn't operate under similar rules, and as the nerves were hit, his fingers spasm open involuntarily, dropping Adrienne.
Kane flung an arm around the man's chest from behind and pivoting, using his momentum and the man's lack of balance against him, to slam him into the concrete with a hip throw. Dazed, Dacoit caught Kane in the jaw with a punch, but he wasn't able to leverage his strength into it. His attack left him open, and Garrison smashed down with a double fist, driving Dacoit’s head into the concrete and creating a crater under them.
"Get out of here!" Kane had time to yell to Adrienne, before Dacoit clamped his hand on Garrison's arm, and started to lever himself out of the hole. Kane drove forward, nutting the man on the bridge of the nose with his head; a trick first taught to him by Eugene, and then perfected by Logan. It reeled Dacoit back enough that Kane could bullrush him, drive him back from the others and maybe buy some time to get clear. He had no illusions. As soon as he made a mistake, Dacoit would kill him, and then have a free hand with the others.
Stunned from having the breath choked out of her and hitting her head when she'd been dropped, Adrienne recovered when Garrison yelled at her. "What about you?" she shouted back. She wasn't entirely convinced Garrison's mutation would protect him from this guy, and she didn't really want more images of him being ripped apart in her brain. Hastily, she reloaded her gun and started shooting at Dacoit. The psychometrist doubted her shots would hurt Dacoit, but thought maybe they would distract him long enough to help Garrison. She was distracted herself when a plasma shot singed her side, however, and caused her arm to jerk. "Oops." The shot she'd been firing when she'd been strafed had gone off course and hit Garrison somewhere in the region of the ass. But he could heal a gunshot no problem... couldn't he? Thinking maybe he wouldn't notice where the shot had come from, Adrienne decided it was time to flee and this time dashed into the house.
Kane hissed in pain from the impact of the bullet, and with the distraction, Dacoit landed a massive blow that flung him back like a rag doll. The Canadian smashed through the side of the house, scattering bricks and wood with the impact. He wavered slightly from where he had stopped, trying to reach his feet, and then collapsed.
Lowering the hands she'd flung up to shield her face as the side of the house imploded, Adrienne winced when she noticed Garrison as the cause of the damage. "Did you beat him? Did I help?" she asked hopefully. "Are you alright?" She went to his side when he collapsed.
"I think you shot me. In the ass." Kane muttered, trying to clear his head. Shame that his new nanoskin wasn't fast enough to turn bulletproof, as the pain began to spread down his leg and across his hips. He waved her away when she tried to get closer. "No! No, no, no, no! You stay there and don't try to help. I don't need any more injuries."
Kane reached up and grabbed the shattered wall, pulling himself awkwardly to his feet. Dacoit had failed to follow up on his attack, instead listening intently to his earpiece and waving his men back from combat. Why would he possibly be doing that? Kane's mind was still a little fuzzy, but he imagined it had to have something to do with Farouk and his father. He hissed in pain as he shifted, and pressed his hand over the wound. Fortunately, the muscle had taken the round, and it didn't feel deep. Still, it hurt like a mother and blood seeped out from under his hand.
"Just stay over there and don't point any firearms near me, alright?"
"I... alright." Adrienne moved into the doorway and took a few shots at the Guard. If he didn't want her help, fine. If he wanted to be an asshole and yell at her when she was only trying to help, and do the best she could in this fucking mess, fine. This wasn't her world, she didn't know what she was doing. And now she was being treated like a child. Well, that was just fucking fine. "See if I try to help you out next time, you asshole," she muttered under her breath. "Not that I'm ever going anywhere with you once this is over, since going away with you always involves me being fucking shot at. You can just die for all I fucking care, as long as I don't have to see it." Jamming another cartridge into the gun, Adrienne scowled and refused to look back at Kane as she kept aiming for the Guard to try and help the others. Why had he come to stop Dacoit from choking her to death anyway, since he obviously didn't care about her?
The car Jake had crawled under went up in a gout of flame—literally went up, in that it was flipped back off of him with enough concussive force to leave him stunned and gasping. He flipped onto his back, scrabbling away from--well, he really didn't know at this point, he just knew he wanted to get away. His vision cleared in time to see the
fiery mutant pause, eyes snapping to what Jake assumed was their leader.
***
"But you promised! They'll kill me!" Lhatsun's wail cut the air like a knife. Farouk's face didn't change as he dragged the younger man out of the door and into the street with the ease that belied his bookish appearance. He had just gotten off of the phone, and Lhatsun had listened to the conversation with growing horror.
There was a movement from one of the Guardsmen but the mutant froze as Dacoit gestured suddenly, sharply - his head cocked, and eyes curiously blank.
Christian appeared behind Farouk seemingly out of thin air. "You got through to Lilandra and made a deal?"
"YOU CAN'T!"
Amahl glanced back briefly and Lhatsun suddenly found that his vocal chords were suddenly not receptive to the nerve impulses from his brain.
"Did you?" Kane the Elder repeated softly.
"No, I am out here because I enjoy playing human shield." Amahl snarled back then sighed and raised his hand in mute apology. Kane didn't reply; it was a stupid question.
Lhatsun was crying now, silent sobbing, his eyes terrified into utter mindless panic as he watched Dacoit commune with Lilandra only his communicator.
Amahl simply waited, waving off questioning looks from the X-Men. D. Ken's sister seemed receptive to his offer from the start, unusually so. And by the look on the Guard's faces it seemed likely that she was living up to the bargain.
But he was still uncomfortable standing in the middle of the war zone. Depending on the discipline of the people who spent the last week chasing him down like an animal. One stray shot, easily blamed on an accident is all it would take.
Dacoit nodded finally, decisively and there was a distinct change in the atmosphere - as if a charge of electricity was just diffused.
The former pit fighter stared at Farouk with calm, panther-like patience. "Give us the worm."
Amahl smiled back, "But of course."
He pushed Lhatsun out toward the Guard, ignoring the mute plea in the boy's eyes, keeping his own on Dacoit. "We are done here?"
Or are you going to double-cross us now and we go back to shooting?
"We are done."
"That's it? Gunfight to the death in the streets of Madripoor and now it's done." Dugan said amazed, looking around at the sudden secession of hostilities as the Imperial Guard pulled back from the fight. Dacoit held on to the diplomat, his grip unbreakable, and all four of them prepared to leave.
Morgan came to slowly, sitting up from where she'd landed on the ground earlier in the fight. Her hand pressed to her head which was throbbing and screaming from having smacked against the concrete when she'd fallen. Her eyes opened to the momentarily blinding light of the day. And the four invaders had their man. "What the fuck?" She looked around but everyone was just letting them do it. "I miss something?"
"Gift horses," Jake muttered from where he was still sprawled on the ground next to the flaming, overturned car. "Mouths. Don't." It was possible that he wasn't quite making any sense anymore; he couldn't hear himself think over the ringing in his ears.
Adrienne emerged from the semi-intact house and made her way over to Morgan and Jake, dropping unelegantly onto the ground next to Jake. "I think we won?" she mumbled to Morgan, eying her friend carefully to check for injuries. Her own side was singed, there were already bruises on her neck and her head was ringing a little from being dropped on it but she was otherwise unharmed, not counting her pride anyway. "Can we flee now?"
Farouk demonstratively turned his back on the Indians and strode back toward the house without another word. He needed time to think. Confirmation of Reisz's betrayal hit him surprisingly hard, despite all of his suspicions. In the heat of the moment he even considered trying to sell Lilandra on the idea that Jake has been playing both sides against the middle. The temptation of siccing D. Ken on him was almost irresistible.
Almost.
But negotiations were tricky as it was and last thing Alamut needed was a deeper involvement of the Neramani’s in their business. No. For now he would be content with the fact that India no longer had a price on his head. He would deal with Jake Reisz himself. In time.
Everyone finally comes together at the diplomat's hiding place. The trouble being that everyone includes Triads and the Imperial Guard.
"Oh shit." Tim 'Dum-Dum' Dugan's statement was flat and profound, as they pulled their cars off from the road at the sound of gunfire. Dugan threw the car into a bootlegger's turn, putting other vehicles between them at the scene that was in front of their goal. With the false identity and transactions of the diplomat uncovered by both groups, they had quickly tracked him to a small rented home deep in the morass of Lowtown. However, that home was now under siege as a cluster of Asians were firing on the house with an arsenal of weaponry. They could see two dead men already at the doorway of the house, and even as they left their vehicles, saw the last defender crumple as multiple shots landed on his chest.
"14K Triad. Franchise gang out of Hong Kong, available for hire." Dugan pulled his pistol from his holster and took cover behind the car. "Looks like your guy is a lot hotter than you originally thought."
"Great." Next time, Jake thought, he was riding in the rear car. Further from the shooting, and further from Adrienne, who was shooting him a death glare as she scooted out of the backseat behind him. He ducked against the rear tire, drawing his own gun. "Have I mentioned how much I hate Madripoor?"
Adrienne contemplated staying in the damn car, but she thought that would make her an easier target, so she crawled out and up to Jake so she could mimic smacking him upside the head. "What happened to fleeing, huh?" she growled. This didn't seem like a good time for it, though. She turned to Morgan and smiled sweetly. "Can I have one of your guns?" Morgan always had more than one.
Morgan glared at her friend but she didn't much mean it. Even if she did it was hard to properly convey annoyance or anger with Aoife's face. She looked too damned sweet. The metamorph reached down to her boot and pulled out a small handgun which she then offered out to Adrienne's handle first. "One day we're teaching you to get your own fucking illegal guns," she muttered with her eyes narrowing. Quickly her eyes moved from her friend to their rivals. She picked out the easiest mark quickly and two rounds closed the distance between her and him in a blink. One buried in his chest, the other in his head. She ducked down for cover before anyone could repay the favour.
"Watch it!" Betsy pushed both Jake and Adrienne to the ground, as a flurry of bullets marked their former position. Eyeing the pair, she assured herself they weren't injured before sending back a volley of bullets,
hitting two of their attackers and watching them go down. Turning her head, she called out to Dugan. "Behind you!"
Knowing he'd already seen his attacker, Betsy moved quickly to the nearest group of the 14K. She disappeared behind a pair of their cars and the sounds of bullets firing and men screaming in pain filled the air. A minute later, Betsy was moving towards the next group, clearing the path for the others.
"Oh fun. Triads." Garrison sighed, his own reactions far faster than the others. The Canadian had simply taken off over the parked cars, and thrown himself into the fray, moving faster than they could react in the confused melee. Dugan had turned and fired a textbook perfect round directly through the forehead of the man trying to attack him from behind, but he almost lost his head to the fighting hatchet of the other man that he hadn't seen.
A motorbike sailed over the car and caught the man square in the side of the head, crushing it like an egg and venting blood all over Dugan's Hawaiian shirt. he looked at it in disgust. "Man, do you know how much these things cost? I'm going to have to get it dry cleaned before Shelia sees it."
His comments were ignored, as Garrison swept a hole in the attackers with one of their own cars. It was unfair of him, but he deliberately slowed punches to allow them to be blocked, ensuring a non-lethal crushed arm or leg in the process against his enhanced strength. Kane had no problems using lethal force to protect himself or the others, after all he was a cop, but there was no point killing when he had other options. Another car unloaded a quartet of men, who braced the other position with fire.
"Head's up!" He called out in warning to them.
"C'mon," Jake said to Adrienne as he grabbed her hand to pull her around the back bumper of their car. There wasn't really much in the way of cover anymore, but at least Betsy and the others had their back from this direction. He leaned around her to return fire over the trunk of their sedan, spraying the most recent arrivals to drive them back, then taking a quick but careful aim. "Gotcha," he grinned as one of the Triads went down, then jerked back behind the car as a hail of bullets skittered across the trunk. "Son of a bitch!"
The bullet had grazed him just under the eye. He leaned back against the car, wishing he had the time to be rattled by how close the bullet had come to his brain, but instead he snapped off a pair of shots at one of the men approaching Betsy. "How's it look behind us?" he asked
Adrienne.
"Like a fucking picnic?" Adrienne suggested, not daring to look. She was much more concerned with the men shooting at them from the front. Not pausing for aim, she shot up and fired off a quick round, crowing in triumph as one of her shots hit a man in the shoulder. When she ducked back down, she focused on the other direction. "Another car's coming behind us!" she called out in a level tone in answer to Jake's original question, and for anyone else who was listening and was on their side. While reloading, she took a second to read into the future of the gun and the cartridge to try and get an idea of where she might aim to greatest effect.
Realizing Jake and Adrienne were being overwhelmed, Betsy double backed in time to see Adrienne shoot off three rounds into a man a few yards away. The telepath blinked in surprised and stared after the falling man before she realized a man held a gun to her head. Smiling, Betsy kept looking at Adrienne and Jake as she spoke. "You really don't want to do that." She offered herself a look with a quick shift of her eyes to the right when he pulled back the clip to his gun. "This will end so badly for you."
Two of the Triad made a rush for the doorway, but crumpled before making twenty steps. Garrison pivoted, looking for the threat, and was stunned as his father and Professor Farouk emerged from an ancient cab at the other side of the house. Christian had taken both men with expert pistol shots and was pushed Farouk ahead towards the house.
"Dad!"
"Son, you brought friends. Excellent." Christian grinned as they reached the doorway. "There's more trouble coming. Imperial Guard."
"What?" Garrison blanched. If the Imperial Guard was on the way, they were so completely outgunned that survival wasn't even an option.
"Don't worry. We'll think of something."
Garrison turned his attention back to the battle. He tossed a car into a mass of Triad who had been readying themselves to rush Adrienne and Jake's position.
The elder Kane called out before heading inside. "Betsy, Imperial Guard is on route."
"Go on," she yelled back. "We'll cover you for as long as you need." Throwing a flying star into the hamstring of a man fighting with Dugan. "But don't take too long."
Morgan had crept along and away from the others. It made her more vulnerable in a way but it also made it easier for her to get closer. One person didn't get noticed as easily as groups of people did, not even when your skin was a glaringly bright porcelain in the sun. She'd gotten near enough to see the remaining members of the Triad up close and personal. Then she opened fire, the shots sounding quickly in regularly spaced intervals. Some of them only needed one bullet, a couple took two, but a half dozen or so of them fell to the ground motionless before her clip was emptied. That, of course, meant she was screwed again as the people who were still standing opened fire on her and she took off running, trying to duck behind things for cover. Getting shot now would have been really inconvenient.
As much as Jake never, ever would have admitted it, the last car Garrison had thrown had caught the Triads off guard badly enough that they weren't able to regroup. Not that he was going to stop shooting them, mind. He emptied what was left of his clip in the direction of the last few goons that looked like they might still want to cause trouble, then ducked down behind the car again. "You know, we might not have to run away this time," he said to Adrienne.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Adrienne asked, taking careful aim and shooting in the pattern she'd watched herself use with her powers. Two of her four targets went down, just like the reading had shown- she considered that a victory, until one of the ones she hadn't hit started to return fire. "That we don't have to flee, we can stay here and keep getting shot at?" She only had two shots left, by her count, so she leveled her breathing and tried to pretend she was on the shooting range with Bishop, then rose from behind the car and hit both of her remaining targets. "Remind me to send Bishop a case of Makers," she grinned at Jake, pleased with herself despite her misgivings about their situation.
The retreating Triads were still trading shots, but their escape was full fledged. Garrison sagged for a moment against one of the cars near the house, tasting the coppery aftereffects of the fight in his mouth. Dugan came over, holstering his weapon.
"That was pretty impressive, tossing cars and shit. I was wrong about Betsy's team. You guys would be at least as hard to take down as her own STRIKE team." They both grinned at the backhanded compliment, and Kane was about to retort when fire tore at the vehicle around them. Garrison barely got them clear as the car exploded.
He looked up in time to watch the flying figures touch down in front of the house. The Imperial Guard had arrived.
***
The commotion outside picked up again and Farouk shook his head. "It's time like these I rather miss Esteban." He murmured softly.
Christian snorted as he swapped out the magazines in the snub-nozed German machine pistol he managed to pick up somewhere. "I am hurt. You don't trust me to keep your posterior in one piece?"
"Never have, never will." Amahl informed him kindly and sat down next to the slick-looking man cowering in the corner of the house. "So, the now-infamous Lhendup Rimpoche Lhatsun. We finally meet."
The diplomat looked (and was) rather young for his position. But advantages of sharing the right genes conferred certain privileges. Although Amahl was fairly certain that distant kinship would not prevent D. Ken from cutting his wayward cousin off at the knees. Possibly quite literally.
"Wh--who are you?"
Farouk chuckled, ignoring the battle outside, now fully in his element. "Those gambling debts do have the tendency to accumulate, don't they young man? And, let me guess, your honorable father has finally decided that you were a rather poor investment? Sent you off to stand or fall on his own?"
Lhatsun flared, momentarily forgetting to be terrified, "That old fucking bastard! I don't need his crumbs, anyway!"
"Yes, yes." Amahl nodded solicitously. "It's evident to us all that you are a capable and resourceful man."
The wall buckled as something or someone was thrown against it with enough force to leave a slight imprint. Lhatsun swallowed dryly, his Adam's apple working visibly under the skin.
"Help me. Please! I know things!"
"Indeed you do, my boy. Indeed you do." Amahl smiled, an incongruously avuncular impression.
"And I think it's time you shared them with me."
"Who are you? I need protection! He'll kill me. He'll do anything to get me!"
"I am Amahl Farouk." The old Arab's smile slid off his face leaving something cold and implacable in its place. "And I am the only thing that can help you."
The diplomat paled, his dusky skin taking on a sickly-bluish hue and he scrambled back suddenly, almost shrieking when he found his retreat blocked by the wall. Behind Amahl there was a soft snort, a click as the hammer was pulled back and then Farouk felt without turning the elder Kane leaving. Christian, after all, would know there was only one outcome, only one realistic end to the stand-off.
Amahl could hardly blame him for declining to witness it and instead leaving for the relative cleanliness of the fight with the Guard. Farouk's agate-like eyes focused unblinkingly on the Indian and the latter broke, the words coming out in a sudden, unending torrent.
It was amazing how much Lhatsun, for all of his fatuousness managed to learn about the plans of the would-be ruler of Asia. And yet, Farouk could feel the frustration welling up at the back of his mind. Everything the little man in front of his was saying was predictable - and predicted, often by Amahl himself.
Neramani's plans for Russo-Indian pipeline, an action that could only make sense if India was planning to annex natural gas and oil resources from Eastern Pakistan, and the continuing maneuvers against China which would see his native Sikkim state as the front line for any violent response from the nation. Lhatsun even managed to get the wind of the long-term plans for annexation of Pakistan and the discrete funding by New Delhi of the mujahadeen plaguing the UN forces there, and steps taken to neutralize any Western attempt to challenge them. But there was no proof but for the boy's word.
"... and then the American came and my father heard about it. About him warning them that you were coming to meet me. So I ran."
Farouk's head swiveled like a tracking battle-turret. "Tell me about the American."
***
It wasn't the whole Guard, but the power was considerable. Dacoit looked at the scene with distaste. It seemed he could attempt any mission without running into a group of American mutants. Normally, he'd have called for a surrender, or just destroyed the house and everyone in it, but his orders from the Prime Minister were to take Lhatsun and Farouk back to India alive. That didn't apply to this obstacle. Only four of them were on this mission, Oracle, Starbolt and Manta, focused on flyers to increase their mobility. After all, they were in Madripoor illegally.
He motioned his men forward, only to stagger as the flaming chassis of a car slammed into him, and was followed up by a kick to his sternum like an oncoming truck. Kane hadn't hesitated, knowing that they needed to buy some time, and the only way that could happen was to keep the more powerful Imperial Guard off balance. He dodged a haymaker and slammed a vicious knee into Dacoit’s groin, but the man only grunted and tossed him aside, cracking the brickwork of the wall as he hit it. Dacoit was stronger, Dominion was faster, but only one of them was virtually invulnerable.
There was only one way it could end.
Her right hand ignited the minute The Imperial Guard had shown themselves. A blazing amethyst sword appeared and Betsy had made sure not one would remember why they were here when she would be done with them. Nothing of this mission had been completely straightforward. Watching the rest of her team fight off their aggressors, Betsy regretted Jake and Adrienne's part in this but it was too late to lament over something now out of her control. She would fight, she would maim but if anyone came near her team, she'd kill. It was that simple. "Oh, don't run. That takes the fun out of this."
Perhaps, she was too focused on the latter as she'd missed the woman coming up behind her.
The glowing one had her eyes narrowed on Betsy's back. Morgan wasn't actually sure what she did other than glow but she wasn't willing to risk it. After all, that was her boss. Unwilling to possibly end up with a ricochet effect if she shot the woman, she instead ran up closer to her and socked her in the jaw. Manta stumbled, surprised and took a moment to get her bearings. It was long enough for Morgan to put herself between Betsy and the woman to ensure the telepath only had so much to handle at once. It did not, however, give Morgan enough time to prepare for the blinding light that shot at her. It was her turn to stumble and Morgan's hand was on her gun. The one with the emptied clip. She went searching for the other before remembering she'd handed it to Adrienne. Fucking hell. The next best thing was the throwing knives on her belt.
Morgan blinked away with bursts of light in her vision as best she could, took aim and let the small knife fly. It went wide and over the woman's shoulder. Fuck. Morgan managed to get another knife thrown before the next blast of light hit her. The knife sliced open Manta's arm but Morgan was stumbling around again, disoriented and blinded. Then the fist came. It was a weak punch, honestly, but it connected. It also gave Morgan a frame of reference to punch back at. She swung and heard a crack as her first connected with something a bit squishy, probably a nose. A sound of pain and some shuffling and then a kick came out of nowhere to Morgan's shin. She went down hard, reached out and just barely missed the ankle of the retreating woman. Scrambling after her, Morgan's vision was coming back when she was hit with another beam of light. This time Morgan went down and stayed down, the sensory overload of the blast forcing unconsciousness upon her.
Hearing the scream behind her, Betsy turned. "Morgan!" Within moments, she was at the young woman's side, fighting off her attacker. The two women fought in a symphony of limbs, all colliding, both intent on harming the other while Morgan lay on the floor beside them.
Jake was never going to open his fucking mouth again. Except maybe to say "No, Betsy, I don't want an all-expenses paid trip to Madripoor, but thanks for thinking of me." Lately, it seemed like all he'd done was jinx things, with disastrous results--like the guy flying above them who'd just started throwing fire. Because that's just what the world needed--another Shiro.
It was time to run.
He scrambled to his feet and managed to take a few steps from the car when something hot hit him in the arm. He cut to his right, away from the house, only to come face to face--well, face-to-toes, really—with what he'd started to call the Bargain Bin Yoshida, hovering just in front of him. "Oh fu--"
The plasma bolt caught him square in the chest, sending him tumbling ass over teakettles back towards Adrienne.
The annoying fucker with the fire or plasma or whatever the fuck it was was flinging it everywhere. Adrienne watched Jake get hit by a stray shot and decided she had to move. Her gun seemed to be doing nothing against these guys and she was a sitting duck out here in the open. "I'm gonna make for the house," she hissed when a plasma bolt knocked Jake onto his ass and within earshot. "We need a defensible position. Don't die," she smiled as he made a motion like he was going to scurry under the nearest car. She made a dash for the house as a bolt whizzed past her head, causing her to stifle a girlish scream. She actually did cry out when there was suddenly a man blocking the doorway, causing her to skid and nearly crash into him as she tried to stop. "Shit." The leader of the circus troupe who was attacking them. Her gun came up in an instant, but the chamber clicked over harmlessly. Out of bullets. Just like in a bad movie or Saturday afternoon TV show. "Shit."
A hand clamped around her throat and hoisted her in the air. He didn't even put any effort into lifting her weight, ignoring any danger around him. Invulnerability had its advantages. Dacoit moved his hand side to side, getting a good look at the woman, to make sure she wasn't anyone he had orders to take alive. After all, what was an extra few seconds when he could crush her throat at will.
What he did not expect was the hammer like blow beneath his bicep directly into the nerve cluster that lay there. While impervious to harm, that did not mean his body didn't operate under similar rules, and as the nerves were hit, his fingers spasm open involuntarily, dropping Adrienne.
Kane flung an arm around the man's chest from behind and pivoting, using his momentum and the man's lack of balance against him, to slam him into the concrete with a hip throw. Dazed, Dacoit caught Kane in the jaw with a punch, but he wasn't able to leverage his strength into it. His attack left him open, and Garrison smashed down with a double fist, driving Dacoit’s head into the concrete and creating a crater under them.
"Get out of here!" Kane had time to yell to Adrienne, before Dacoit clamped his hand on Garrison's arm, and started to lever himself out of the hole. Kane drove forward, nutting the man on the bridge of the nose with his head; a trick first taught to him by Eugene, and then perfected by Logan. It reeled Dacoit back enough that Kane could bullrush him, drive him back from the others and maybe buy some time to get clear. He had no illusions. As soon as he made a mistake, Dacoit would kill him, and then have a free hand with the others.
Stunned from having the breath choked out of her and hitting her head when she'd been dropped, Adrienne recovered when Garrison yelled at her. "What about you?" she shouted back. She wasn't entirely convinced Garrison's mutation would protect him from this guy, and she didn't really want more images of him being ripped apart in her brain. Hastily, she reloaded her gun and started shooting at Dacoit. The psychometrist doubted her shots would hurt Dacoit, but thought maybe they would distract him long enough to help Garrison. She was distracted herself when a plasma shot singed her side, however, and caused her arm to jerk. "Oops." The shot she'd been firing when she'd been strafed had gone off course and hit Garrison somewhere in the region of the ass. But he could heal a gunshot no problem... couldn't he? Thinking maybe he wouldn't notice where the shot had come from, Adrienne decided it was time to flee and this time dashed into the house.
Kane hissed in pain from the impact of the bullet, and with the distraction, Dacoit landed a massive blow that flung him back like a rag doll. The Canadian smashed through the side of the house, scattering bricks and wood with the impact. He wavered slightly from where he had stopped, trying to reach his feet, and then collapsed.
Lowering the hands she'd flung up to shield her face as the side of the house imploded, Adrienne winced when she noticed Garrison as the cause of the damage. "Did you beat him? Did I help?" she asked hopefully. "Are you alright?" She went to his side when he collapsed.
"I think you shot me. In the ass." Kane muttered, trying to clear his head. Shame that his new nanoskin wasn't fast enough to turn bulletproof, as the pain began to spread down his leg and across his hips. He waved her away when she tried to get closer. "No! No, no, no, no! You stay there and don't try to help. I don't need any more injuries."
Kane reached up and grabbed the shattered wall, pulling himself awkwardly to his feet. Dacoit had failed to follow up on his attack, instead listening intently to his earpiece and waving his men back from combat. Why would he possibly be doing that? Kane's mind was still a little fuzzy, but he imagined it had to have something to do with Farouk and his father. He hissed in pain as he shifted, and pressed his hand over the wound. Fortunately, the muscle had taken the round, and it didn't feel deep. Still, it hurt like a mother and blood seeped out from under his hand.
"Just stay over there and don't point any firearms near me, alright?"
"I... alright." Adrienne moved into the doorway and took a few shots at the Guard. If he didn't want her help, fine. If he wanted to be an asshole and yell at her when she was only trying to help, and do the best she could in this fucking mess, fine. This wasn't her world, she didn't know what she was doing. And now she was being treated like a child. Well, that was just fucking fine. "See if I try to help you out next time, you asshole," she muttered under her breath. "Not that I'm ever going anywhere with you once this is over, since going away with you always involves me being fucking shot at. You can just die for all I fucking care, as long as I don't have to see it." Jamming another cartridge into the gun, Adrienne scowled and refused to look back at Kane as she kept aiming for the Guard to try and help the others. Why had he come to stop Dacoit from choking her to death anyway, since he obviously didn't care about her?
The car Jake had crawled under went up in a gout of flame—literally went up, in that it was flipped back off of him with enough concussive force to leave him stunned and gasping. He flipped onto his back, scrabbling away from--well, he really didn't know at this point, he just knew he wanted to get away. His vision cleared in time to see the
fiery mutant pause, eyes snapping to what Jake assumed was their leader.
***
"But you promised! They'll kill me!" Lhatsun's wail cut the air like a knife. Farouk's face didn't change as he dragged the younger man out of the door and into the street with the ease that belied his bookish appearance. He had just gotten off of the phone, and Lhatsun had listened to the conversation with growing horror.
There was a movement from one of the Guardsmen but the mutant froze as Dacoit gestured suddenly, sharply - his head cocked, and eyes curiously blank.
Christian appeared behind Farouk seemingly out of thin air. "You got through to Lilandra and made a deal?"
"YOU CAN'T!"
Amahl glanced back briefly and Lhatsun suddenly found that his vocal chords were suddenly not receptive to the nerve impulses from his brain.
"Did you?" Kane the Elder repeated softly.
"No, I am out here because I enjoy playing human shield." Amahl snarled back then sighed and raised his hand in mute apology. Kane didn't reply; it was a stupid question.
Lhatsun was crying now, silent sobbing, his eyes terrified into utter mindless panic as he watched Dacoit commune with Lilandra only his communicator.
Amahl simply waited, waving off questioning looks from the X-Men. D. Ken's sister seemed receptive to his offer from the start, unusually so. And by the look on the Guard's faces it seemed likely that she was living up to the bargain.
But he was still uncomfortable standing in the middle of the war zone. Depending on the discipline of the people who spent the last week chasing him down like an animal. One stray shot, easily blamed on an accident is all it would take.
Dacoit nodded finally, decisively and there was a distinct change in the atmosphere - as if a charge of electricity was just diffused.
The former pit fighter stared at Farouk with calm, panther-like patience. "Give us the worm."
Amahl smiled back, "But of course."
He pushed Lhatsun out toward the Guard, ignoring the mute plea in the boy's eyes, keeping his own on Dacoit. "We are done here?"
Or are you going to double-cross us now and we go back to shooting?
"We are done."
"That's it? Gunfight to the death in the streets of Madripoor and now it's done." Dugan said amazed, looking around at the sudden secession of hostilities as the Imperial Guard pulled back from the fight. Dacoit held on to the diplomat, his grip unbreakable, and all four of them prepared to leave.
Morgan came to slowly, sitting up from where she'd landed on the ground earlier in the fight. Her hand pressed to her head which was throbbing and screaming from having smacked against the concrete when she'd fallen. Her eyes opened to the momentarily blinding light of the day. And the four invaders had their man. "What the fuck?" She looked around but everyone was just letting them do it. "I miss something?"
"Gift horses," Jake muttered from where he was still sprawled on the ground next to the flaming, overturned car. "Mouths. Don't." It was possible that he wasn't quite making any sense anymore; he couldn't hear himself think over the ringing in his ears.
Adrienne emerged from the semi-intact house and made her way over to Morgan and Jake, dropping unelegantly onto the ground next to Jake. "I think we won?" she mumbled to Morgan, eying her friend carefully to check for injuries. Her own side was singed, there were already bruises on her neck and her head was ringing a little from being dropped on it but she was otherwise unharmed, not counting her pride anyway. "Can we flee now?"
Farouk demonstratively turned his back on the Indians and strode back toward the house without another word. He needed time to think. Confirmation of Reisz's betrayal hit him surprisingly hard, despite all of his suspicions. In the heat of the moment he even considered trying to sell Lilandra on the idea that Jake has been playing both sides against the middle. The temptation of siccing D. Ken on him was almost irresistible.
Almost.
But negotiations were tricky as it was and last thing Alamut needed was a deeper involvement of the Neramani’s in their business. No. For now he would be content with the fact that India no longer had a price on his head. He would deal with Jake Reisz himself. In time.