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xp_logs2011-03-01 06:39 pm
x-dominion.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2011-03-01 06:39 pm
X-Men Mission: The Grotesque and the Sublime: Madripoor, Oriental City
The X-Men arrive in Madripoor, and get the lay of the land from Dugan.
It was humid on the tarmac, a stunning contrast to the cold weather they'd left behind only hours ago at Westchester. The small airfield was only suited for personal planes, but the Blackbird's VTOL capabilities had allowed it to make a landing, and now was mostly hidden inside one of the two hangers. Dugan had arranged it, and had assured them that the owner of the field could be trusted to keep it secret for the few days they hoped to be here. After all, with the issues that they were supposed to be facing in Madripoor, keeping the existence of a top of the line stealth fighter secret could only help.
As the plane rolled to a halt, a middle aged man in a loud tropical shirt and jeans stepped forward, waiting for the exit to descend and the X-Men began to step off. He caught Garrison's hand in a grasp as he stepped off.
"Got to tell you something, Kane. This is one hell of a plane. I wish we had one of these dropping us in during Panama." He grinned.
"I'll ask nicely if we can give you a spin after all this is done. You got a secure place to talk?"
"Right behind you, back in the place. This is Madripoor, kid. You pay extra not to be overheard." Kane shrugged and led him back up the ramp, waving the other X-Men back.
"That's fair. Come on, guys." Dugan waited until they were all back in their seats and the landing step was raised back up before starting.
"Okay, I don't know how many of you have been to Madripoor before, but we have something of a situation here. The main city is split in two parts; Hightown, where the rich and powerful live and play, and Lowtown, where everyone else is, and is perpetually in the midst of a hundred or more criminal gangs trying to dominate. Normally, there's a bit of restraint involved, since the President has a tendency to send in the military to gun down everyone involved if things go overboard. But in this case, everyone's gone a little crazy. About six months ago, the rumour came to town that a new gang was moving in; mutants, using all kinds of power to take territory from the established players. There's been incidents that have been attributed to mutants, but beyond that, it's all rumours and innuendo." Dugan said, outlining the details in a surprisingly professional manner. "The problem is that everyone is hair trigger right now, and a handful of mutants flashing their powers in public is all this place needs to turn into a full blown gang war."
A frown thinned Paige's lips as she resecured her low ponytail. "Alright, so no cooking snacks over Angel, got it. But what about the more obvious of us? Are we likely to be seen as a threat for, well, existing at all, or only being flashy about it? I'm Paige by the way."
Yvette nodded, grateful it had been Paige who had brought it up. Between herself and Dr. Hank... "If we can keep the low profile, we might be all right?" she suggested hesitantly, not sure if it was her place to say anything as the newest X-Man.
"You should be. 'American mutants' brings up the idea of, well, you but in a spangly thong and a breastplate. Don't let me stop you if that's your personal preference." Tim said, smarming as naturally as breathing. "There's a number of Asian mutants in LowTown, so as long as you make an attempt to stay low, they shouldn't bother you. They'll be looking for fireballs and flying people in the sky, and not funny looking faces in the crowd. Now, I set up a meeting with your guy at the Princess Bar, Garrison. Any of you every been there?"
"No."
"Woo boy, then you're going somewhere that makes the Mustang Ranch look like Disneyland. It's used as a kind of neutral area for most of the gangs, which means inside is a safe zone, but outside isn't. 14K Triads are strongest in the area, but they don't have control. Archie is an old Madripoor hand. He'll be safe getting in and getting out. That doesn't necessarily apply to any of you."
"I'm just upset that you bring up Disneyland right after you warn us that I shouldn't wear a breastplate on the mission." He shrugged his shoulders. "But other than that I should be good." He scooted his chair in slightly. Being uncomfortable on missions always made him come up with the bad jokes. He was ready to divert the attention "What do you think Hank?"
Hank nodded, shifting the weight of his gear around his midsection as he took in the plethora of scents that filled the air here. "And here I was planning on debuting my new line of battle armor on this mission. Ah, well, I suppose I shall simply have to put it off for another mission. In all seriousness though, the politics of a mutant gang encroaching on their territory..." Hank winced, "I'm beginning to wish I had worked up some image inducers." He looked around at his teammates and gave them a confident smile, "However, I am certain that we shall be as safe as we will be on any other mission."
"Lemme tell you, Big Blue, this is a place that can go from bad to revolution inside of an hour. Just be careful." Dugan reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a data stick. "Here's what I've got on Corrigan. I can tell you that I've known Archie for a few years. He used to run covert ops missions and black bag jobs for the Pentagon in Asia. Dropped teams in, pulled them out; about as trustworthy a guy on the stick as you could hope for. When he retired from the Air Force, flying commuter traffic for Delta didn't appeal to him, so he set up here in Madripoor. He doesn't smuggle drugs and he doesn't smuggle slaves, which makes him close to a saint in these parts. He most does high security charters for the wealthy or high value goods. He's the guy they call when they want to ship forty million in diamonds into the US and have all of it turn up in one piece on the other side. The local mercs love him."
Angel blinked at the way Dugan casually said "forty million in diamonds" as if it were an every day occurrence. Than again, from the reports on Madripoor, maybe it was. And she had no desire to ask what the Mustang Ranch was. "This might be a stupid question," she said, thinking it through, "but, um, what's in it for this guy to meet with us? Especially considering that meeting with American mutants might be considered bad?"
"Like everyone in the Western hemisphere, he owes Kane's dad. Plus, and this is what I find interesting enough that someone needs to explain it to me, the second I mentioned the names David North and Logan to him, he automatically agreed to meet." Dugan said. "Anyway, he's willing to meet, but that doesn't mean he's willing to talk, you know?"
"I'm sure we'll find something to talk about," Jean said as she stood with the group.
"Sounds like if he wanted to stay out of it he would've done just that...stayed out of it. Agreeing to meet with a bunch of people that could potentially jeopardize his reputation with his meal ticket if found out seems like might have a few things to say. He may just need the right push. I don't think he'd be agreeing to meet with us to just talk about the weather. He's got to expect us to be asking him for answers."
"Like I said, Archie's a good guy. You can't work in Madripoor without working for criminals in one way or another, but he's as straight as you can get here. And those names meant something to him." Dum-Dum shrugged. "Anyway, at worst, it's still free drinks. Your dad said you'd be paying, right?"
"I swear, there are days that I think I should have remained estranged from him." Kane said as they got up, and with Jean's nod, began to move out.
It was humid on the tarmac, a stunning contrast to the cold weather they'd left behind only hours ago at Westchester. The small airfield was only suited for personal planes, but the Blackbird's VTOL capabilities had allowed it to make a landing, and now was mostly hidden inside one of the two hangers. Dugan had arranged it, and had assured them that the owner of the field could be trusted to keep it secret for the few days they hoped to be here. After all, with the issues that they were supposed to be facing in Madripoor, keeping the existence of a top of the line stealth fighter secret could only help.
As the plane rolled to a halt, a middle aged man in a loud tropical shirt and jeans stepped forward, waiting for the exit to descend and the X-Men began to step off. He caught Garrison's hand in a grasp as he stepped off.
"Got to tell you something, Kane. This is one hell of a plane. I wish we had one of these dropping us in during Panama." He grinned.
"I'll ask nicely if we can give you a spin after all this is done. You got a secure place to talk?"
"Right behind you, back in the place. This is Madripoor, kid. You pay extra not to be overheard." Kane shrugged and led him back up the ramp, waving the other X-Men back.
"That's fair. Come on, guys." Dugan waited until they were all back in their seats and the landing step was raised back up before starting.
"Okay, I don't know how many of you have been to Madripoor before, but we have something of a situation here. The main city is split in two parts; Hightown, where the rich and powerful live and play, and Lowtown, where everyone else is, and is perpetually in the midst of a hundred or more criminal gangs trying to dominate. Normally, there's a bit of restraint involved, since the President has a tendency to send in the military to gun down everyone involved if things go overboard. But in this case, everyone's gone a little crazy. About six months ago, the rumour came to town that a new gang was moving in; mutants, using all kinds of power to take territory from the established players. There's been incidents that have been attributed to mutants, but beyond that, it's all rumours and innuendo." Dugan said, outlining the details in a surprisingly professional manner. "The problem is that everyone is hair trigger right now, and a handful of mutants flashing their powers in public is all this place needs to turn into a full blown gang war."
A frown thinned Paige's lips as she resecured her low ponytail. "Alright, so no cooking snacks over Angel, got it. But what about the more obvious of us? Are we likely to be seen as a threat for, well, existing at all, or only being flashy about it? I'm Paige by the way."
Yvette nodded, grateful it had been Paige who had brought it up. Between herself and Dr. Hank... "If we can keep the low profile, we might be all right?" she suggested hesitantly, not sure if it was her place to say anything as the newest X-Man.
"You should be. 'American mutants' brings up the idea of, well, you but in a spangly thong and a breastplate. Don't let me stop you if that's your personal preference." Tim said, smarming as naturally as breathing. "There's a number of Asian mutants in LowTown, so as long as you make an attempt to stay low, they shouldn't bother you. They'll be looking for fireballs and flying people in the sky, and not funny looking faces in the crowd. Now, I set up a meeting with your guy at the Princess Bar, Garrison. Any of you every been there?"
"No."
"Woo boy, then you're going somewhere that makes the Mustang Ranch look like Disneyland. It's used as a kind of neutral area for most of the gangs, which means inside is a safe zone, but outside isn't. 14K Triads are strongest in the area, but they don't have control. Archie is an old Madripoor hand. He'll be safe getting in and getting out. That doesn't necessarily apply to any of you."
"I'm just upset that you bring up Disneyland right after you warn us that I shouldn't wear a breastplate on the mission." He shrugged his shoulders. "But other than that I should be good." He scooted his chair in slightly. Being uncomfortable on missions always made him come up with the bad jokes. He was ready to divert the attention "What do you think Hank?"
Hank nodded, shifting the weight of his gear around his midsection as he took in the plethora of scents that filled the air here. "And here I was planning on debuting my new line of battle armor on this mission. Ah, well, I suppose I shall simply have to put it off for another mission. In all seriousness though, the politics of a mutant gang encroaching on their territory..." Hank winced, "I'm beginning to wish I had worked up some image inducers." He looked around at his teammates and gave them a confident smile, "However, I am certain that we shall be as safe as we will be on any other mission."
"Lemme tell you, Big Blue, this is a place that can go from bad to revolution inside of an hour. Just be careful." Dugan reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a data stick. "Here's what I've got on Corrigan. I can tell you that I've known Archie for a few years. He used to run covert ops missions and black bag jobs for the Pentagon in Asia. Dropped teams in, pulled them out; about as trustworthy a guy on the stick as you could hope for. When he retired from the Air Force, flying commuter traffic for Delta didn't appeal to him, so he set up here in Madripoor. He doesn't smuggle drugs and he doesn't smuggle slaves, which makes him close to a saint in these parts. He most does high security charters for the wealthy or high value goods. He's the guy they call when they want to ship forty million in diamonds into the US and have all of it turn up in one piece on the other side. The local mercs love him."
Angel blinked at the way Dugan casually said "forty million in diamonds" as if it were an every day occurrence. Than again, from the reports on Madripoor, maybe it was. And she had no desire to ask what the Mustang Ranch was. "This might be a stupid question," she said, thinking it through, "but, um, what's in it for this guy to meet with us? Especially considering that meeting with American mutants might be considered bad?"
"Like everyone in the Western hemisphere, he owes Kane's dad. Plus, and this is what I find interesting enough that someone needs to explain it to me, the second I mentioned the names David North and Logan to him, he automatically agreed to meet." Dugan said. "Anyway, he's willing to meet, but that doesn't mean he's willing to talk, you know?"
"I'm sure we'll find something to talk about," Jean said as she stood with the group.
"Sounds like if he wanted to stay out of it he would've done just that...stayed out of it. Agreeing to meet with a bunch of people that could potentially jeopardize his reputation with his meal ticket if found out seems like might have a few things to say. He may just need the right push. I don't think he'd be agreeing to meet with us to just talk about the weather. He's got to expect us to be asking him for answers."
"Like I said, Archie's a good guy. You can't work in Madripoor without working for criminals in one way or another, but he's as straight as you can get here. And those names meant something to him." Dum-Dum shrugged. "Anyway, at worst, it's still free drinks. Your dad said you'd be paying, right?"
"I swear, there are days that I think I should have remained estranged from him." Kane said as they got up, and with Jean's nod, began to move out.