Ausente sin Culpa ni Presente sin Disculpa | Expediente

[x-barrier.livejournal.com]

Cecilia, Scott, Angel and Sooraya arrive in Honduras and go over their mission parameters.


It was an understatement to say Cecilia found the Blackbird unsettling. That was an understatement.

She wasn't opposed to air travel. But the whole time she sat on what was oh-so-obviously an adapted military aircraft, she couldn't help but wonder what she had gotten herself into by asking Scott for help.

And there was the other thing: That this was her first time on this plane since everything had gone to shit. As she looked around it, she couldn't help but think of some familiar faces. Faces that weren't good for her to have in her head at the moment.

Even now, as she drove a rental car into the city, she swore she saw Moira in the rear-view mirror. It was a strange feeling, and it was time to shake it off.

"Okay," she said, clearing her throat and breaking the silence of the ride. She reached for a bottle of water she'd tossed in the cupholder. "So. This is Tegucigalpa. Tegus." The light in front of them turned red, and Cecilia slowed the car to a halt. "Everyone clear on why we're here?"

Scott span around to face Cecilia and nodded at her. "Since this is your mission and you know the ground better than us, I figured you'd want to be the one who did the final briefing"

"Oh." Cecilia blinked. That was... huh. Unexpected.

Her eyes still on the road, she unscrewed the cap off the bottle and take a swig. "So. You know the basics. X-Corps helped fund a health clinic here in Tegucigalpa that treated mutants. I mean, it treated everyone, but it was the clinic for mutants." The light changed, and the van began to move, passing a crowded square where plenty of teenagers were hanging out. Her eyes drifted to her left, and she spotted of a young man sniffing glue from a bag. She frowned, then returned her attention to the road.

"I was hoping you guys could help me find out what happened to it," she said after a second. "Not gonna tell you how to do it - you guys all do this kind of thing more often than I. Just know that it could be anyone. Government, military, drug gangs, mutant haters. The police." She shrugged. "And people here don't love people asking questions, surprise, surprise. Might be able to use being a member of the press as a cover or something. So, you know. Be careful."

"And," she added after a beat, "don't drink the water."

Angel was looking out the window, taking in the streets. "Undercover work," she spoke up as her eyes fell on another group of kids, too far away for her to tell what they were doing. "I dig it. Probably shouldn't get too far apart from each other though." Especially considering two of them were young, seemingly unthreatening women. Which couldn't be further from the truth but it would probably still cause them some trouble.

"Do you have any local contacts we can start with, Cecilia? People who worked the clinic, used it or just supported it?" Sooraya asked, considering which might be the best route to go as she took in the surroundings. "Have they told you anything about what happened? Or hasn't there been any contact at all?"

"Yeah," Cecilia raised an eyebrow, casting a curious glance at Scott for a split-second. Was he really leaving all the mission prep to her? Had he not told them anything? That seemed uncharacteristic. "That's why we're here — a friend of mine reached out, or I wouldn't have even known."

A man on the motorcycle swerved in front of them, and the car jerked as Cecilia hit the brakes. She watched him weave in and out of traffic with what seemed like reckless abandon. "We're heading to meet her now," she said with a smile. "Carmen. She'll show you around and help you get your bearings, but she doesn't know the whole story either. And while she's excellent at patient care and general medical badassery, this kind of thing isn't in her wheelhouse. Or mine."

"'You.'" Scott echoed, raising an eyebrow. "You make it sound like you're not going down there with us," he pointed out.

"Do I?" Cecilia gave him a small, cryptic smile. The man on the motorcycle was now stopped at the side of the road, dismounting. He pulled a camera out of his shoulder bag. "I'll be around. But I have some people to check on, and I've got no doubt there's some medical care to be given. Much more useful doing that."

"You sure that is a good idea, going out alone? You don't fully know how things have changed since you were here last." Sooraya frowned at her friend worriedly, not liking the going out alone at all. "At least take a communicator with you."

"Yeah, isn't rule one usually 'don't split up'?" The words were light, but Angel's voice was serious. "I get that you think you're more useful doing the medical stuff but going off alone is usually Bad."

"Relax." The traffic was thicker now, and the car slowed. Cecilia took the opportunity to look away from the road, turning over her shoulder to flash a smile at the two women in the backseat. "I know where we are, and I know what I'm doing. Done it before, if you recall. I'll be fine."

She turned back around. "And of course, I'll take a communicator. But trust me. I've got this. It's you guys with the dangerous part of things."

Scott gave Cecilia a long look before shrugging and sighing. She was going to do what she wanted to no matter what he said, wasn't she? "The first sign of trouble, you call us," he told her, "and we'll be right over. I know you know the area better than us, but if someone ties you to the clinic then you're also the most visible target here."

"Yes, dad." Cecilia gave him a grin. She switched on the left turn signal. "I promise. Full communication, regular check-ins."

The briefing was over, and so Cecilia was silent again. As the car rolled on, their surroundings became a bit more urban, the spaces between buildings decreasing as they went. Minutes passed, before Cecilia pulled over in front of a concrete low-rise with green paint that had seen better days. Almost as soon as she put the car in park, they heard the unmistakeable shout of Carmen Dueñas from a window above them.

"Okay," Cecilia said, unbuckling her seatbelt and turning to look at the X-Men with a smile. "Look alive, people. We're here."