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xp_logs2011-02-28 07:39 pm
x-dominion.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2011-02-28 07:39 pm
X-Men Mission: The Grotesque and the Sublime: Calling Collect
Dugan makes contact with the mansion.
"Cool. Is this that Skype thing? My sister-in-law keeps saying I should try it, but if you've ever met her, you know that seeing her face while talking is enough to put you off your tacos, if you catch my drift." Garrison sighed and resisted the urge to cover his face with his hand as he sat beside Jean Grey in the operations room. Tim 'Dum-Dum' Dugan's face filled the large screen, via the link they'd arranged for him in Madripoor. Christian Kane had come through, quickly setting up a meeting with his friend on the island, and Garrison knew from experience that under his goofy demeanour and dim expression, Dugan was a highly competent and talented field operative, and exactly the kind of man they needed.
"Dugan, this is Phoenix. Phoenix meet Dum-Dum." Kane said sourly, and Dugan grimaced.
"Uh, Garrison, I thought we agreed ixnay on the, uh, Dum-Dum thing around the ladies?"
"Let me bypass the next ten uncomfortable minutes. Dugan, this is Phoenix and her wedding ring. I'm sure they're happy to met you."
"Ah, hell."
Jean grinned and waved at Dugan, making sure the hand she used had the shiny diamond on it. She laughed.
"Nice to meet you...Dum--Dum. I'll admit I'd love to hear to the story behind that nickname. Perhaps you can tell it when we're not so busy," she said, then glanced between Garrison and the screen.
"So what can we do for you, Mr. Dugan?"
If it was big enough to need the X-Men, it was pretty big.
"More what I can do for you. Kane, you're looking for Archie Corrigan, right?"
"That's right. He runs a company called... South Seas Airways? Does cargo runs, that kind of thing. Used to be military."
"And how. Archie's former USAF. Used to fly Special Forces missions all over the world. He's an Asian specialist, but he's been everywhere in his career. Why?"
"I need to talk to him."
"Whoa, before we get into that, you should know, this is not a good time to visit lovely Madripoor."
"When is it ever a good time to visit Madripoor?" Jean said. It was one of the most corrupt countries in the Asia-Pacific.
"What's going on?"
"Well, remember your street fight with the Imperial Guard? That touched off about a thousand different rumours about mutants being used by organized crime in town. Then that rumour turned into a mutant gang moving into take over LowTown. Which wouldn't be a big deal if someone hadn't caught some of the blurry footage on American news about your kids escapades, so now the story is that an American mutant gang is moving in and taking over, and their symbols are black leather. See kind of where I'm going with this?"
Jean rubbed her forehead. "Wonderful," she said. The suits worked well in a fight but were definitely identifiable if someone were so inclined to look for them, and apparently someone had.
"Thanks for the heads up. We'll play it carefully while we're there. Now, if you'd please indulge my friend, Mr. Dugan," she said.
"Yeah, I know Archie. He used to fly SpecOps for the US military; real black book operations. He did a little cross agency assist with SHIELD back in the day. After he retired, he set up down here as a kind of transport specialist. As you can imagine, there's a lot of different groups moving things through Madripoor, and not exactly the tightest regulations, if you catch my drift. Archie has a reputation; doesn't move drugs, human cargo, anything like that. And he can be trusted to deliver expensive cargos intact, and not cut a deal with the highest bidder. Down here, that makes him the closest thing you'll find to an honest broker."
"He's ex-military,,, looks like Marie was right. Tim, who's he affiliated with now?"
"Solo operator. Some of the merc groups, especially the Brits and the Americans down here keep an eye out for him. He's set himself up so that burning him means you piss off far more powerful people who use him from time to time, and like having a trusted, third party resource. Like I said, the guy does some smuggling. Hell, this place was built on contraband, but by and large, he's on the side of angels."
“Well then, he won’t be too broken up if we paid him a visit. Can you arrange for us to meet with him? We’d like to ask him a few questions,” Jean said. She smiled.
“And before you ask, yes, it’ll be discreet.” Neither party wanted to be flashing their unmentionables to the world.
“Alright, I’ll see what I can do. As soon as I hear back, I’ll let you guys know. Hey, Braddock isn’t still—“
“Dugan, seriously, flirt on your own time, eh?”
“Right, never mind. Uh- signing off or whatever. Uh, yeah.” Dugan said, reaching out and killing the connection. Kane shook his head and looked at Jean.
“For what it’s worth, Fury used to trust the guy. I don’t know why, but it just is.”
"Cool. Is this that Skype thing? My sister-in-law keeps saying I should try it, but if you've ever met her, you know that seeing her face while talking is enough to put you off your tacos, if you catch my drift." Garrison sighed and resisted the urge to cover his face with his hand as he sat beside Jean Grey in the operations room. Tim 'Dum-Dum' Dugan's face filled the large screen, via the link they'd arranged for him in Madripoor. Christian Kane had come through, quickly setting up a meeting with his friend on the island, and Garrison knew from experience that under his goofy demeanour and dim expression, Dugan was a highly competent and talented field operative, and exactly the kind of man they needed.
"Dugan, this is Phoenix. Phoenix meet Dum-Dum." Kane said sourly, and Dugan grimaced.
"Uh, Garrison, I thought we agreed ixnay on the, uh, Dum-Dum thing around the ladies?"
"Let me bypass the next ten uncomfortable minutes. Dugan, this is Phoenix and her wedding ring. I'm sure they're happy to met you."
"Ah, hell."
Jean grinned and waved at Dugan, making sure the hand she used had the shiny diamond on it. She laughed.
"Nice to meet you...Dum--Dum. I'll admit I'd love to hear to the story behind that nickname. Perhaps you can tell it when we're not so busy," she said, then glanced between Garrison and the screen.
"So what can we do for you, Mr. Dugan?"
If it was big enough to need the X-Men, it was pretty big.
"More what I can do for you. Kane, you're looking for Archie Corrigan, right?"
"That's right. He runs a company called... South Seas Airways? Does cargo runs, that kind of thing. Used to be military."
"And how. Archie's former USAF. Used to fly Special Forces missions all over the world. He's an Asian specialist, but he's been everywhere in his career. Why?"
"I need to talk to him."
"Whoa, before we get into that, you should know, this is not a good time to visit lovely Madripoor."
"When is it ever a good time to visit Madripoor?" Jean said. It was one of the most corrupt countries in the Asia-Pacific.
"What's going on?"
"Well, remember your street fight with the Imperial Guard? That touched off about a thousand different rumours about mutants being used by organized crime in town. Then that rumour turned into a mutant gang moving into take over LowTown. Which wouldn't be a big deal if someone hadn't caught some of the blurry footage on American news about your kids escapades, so now the story is that an American mutant gang is moving in and taking over, and their symbols are black leather. See kind of where I'm going with this?"
Jean rubbed her forehead. "Wonderful," she said. The suits worked well in a fight but were definitely identifiable if someone were so inclined to look for them, and apparently someone had.
"Thanks for the heads up. We'll play it carefully while we're there. Now, if you'd please indulge my friend, Mr. Dugan," she said.
"Yeah, I know Archie. He used to fly SpecOps for the US military; real black book operations. He did a little cross agency assist with SHIELD back in the day. After he retired, he set up down here as a kind of transport specialist. As you can imagine, there's a lot of different groups moving things through Madripoor, and not exactly the tightest regulations, if you catch my drift. Archie has a reputation; doesn't move drugs, human cargo, anything like that. And he can be trusted to deliver expensive cargos intact, and not cut a deal with the highest bidder. Down here, that makes him the closest thing you'll find to an honest broker."
"He's ex-military,,, looks like Marie was right. Tim, who's he affiliated with now?"
"Solo operator. Some of the merc groups, especially the Brits and the Americans down here keep an eye out for him. He's set himself up so that burning him means you piss off far more powerful people who use him from time to time, and like having a trusted, third party resource. Like I said, the guy does some smuggling. Hell, this place was built on contraband, but by and large, he's on the side of angels."
“Well then, he won’t be too broken up if we paid him a visit. Can you arrange for us to meet with him? We’d like to ask him a few questions,” Jean said. She smiled.
“And before you ask, yes, it’ll be discreet.” Neither party wanted to be flashing their unmentionables to the world.
“Alright, I’ll see what I can do. As soon as I hear back, I’ll let you guys know. Hey, Braddock isn’t still—“
“Dugan, seriously, flirt on your own time, eh?”
“Right, never mind. Uh- signing off or whatever. Uh, yeah.” Dugan said, reaching out and killing the connection. Kane shook his head and looked at Jean.
“For what it’s worth, Fury used to trust the guy. I don’t know why, but it just is.”