Operation: Apalachin - Log 2
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xp_logsNorth, Nat and Jubilee take Tombstone on but things don't go to plan.
Biker gangs weren't common in Harlem. Only three made their homes here, two exclusively black, and then oddity - Tombstone MC. The MC was small, only a few other chapters sprinkled through New York and New Jersey. But the gang operating out of Harlem was known for two things - the effectiveness of their muscle to the highest bidder and the freakish abilities of their albino leader, who was only ever referred to as Tombstone. The rumour was that he was a mutant, but the gang never bothered to confirm or deny it. They deflected the police with running an honest garage with a well deserved reputation for high end upgrades, and their lawyers had kept any major charges from their underworld dealings from sticking.
They were going to be Hammerhead's shock troops for the attack on the meeting, and they couldn't be allowed to make it there.
"This place is a little too legit for this to be a comfortable smash and decimate op as much as I wish we could." Natasha tapped at her earpiece then twisted a dial on the handheld machine to attempt to discern who was speaking. She gave it up for useless. Too much background noise and too much chatter going on at once. The human ear was a marvel for being able to siphon off individual conversations when they were actually occurring around you. "Shock and awe would only bring the cops down immediately on our heads and not the low key op we need this to be. Thoughts on other approaches?
“Pros and Cons time,” Jubilee noted, watching from their vantage point across the road from the garage. They had visibility without being seen in return, which had taken several days of quiet observation and a little dealing with an Air BnB of all things to make happen. “Lethal or non lethal? If this Tombstone guy is as strong as all the stories say, we might be better concentrating on taking him out hard and fast and then just knocking out the rest. Pro there is less time for the neighbors to call the cops and make this a thing. Con means we gotta get close enough to do it. We could just snipe the lot of them and then mop up what’s left.”
"Insufficient visibility for sniping any significant number of them unless we draw them out," North vetoed, his feet thrown up and crossed on the table with a tablet propped up against his lap. He frowned at the screenshot from their surveillance footage on the screen. "The mark does not habit any of the targetable areas for us to have any reliable window of time. Best if we precede infiltration with a sleeping agent to knock some of them out and minimize fuss, unless you have any brighter ideas?"
“Dude, I always have bright ideas, most of them just mean structural damage to nearby buildings. So which one of us gets to play infiltrator?”
Jubilee grinned at him and then turned back to the window she was watching from. Wouldn’t do to miss something through a moment of inattention.
“I mean, given it’s a bunch of testosterone poisoned meatheads, sending you would make sense.”
North 'hm-ed' an agreement, now swiping through the surveillance pictures of the garage. "We could buy you that motorcycle you have always wanted."
"I, for once, am not the perfect person for this mission and am all for someone else playing pretend and making their way inside," Natasha said as she took a look at the infrared radar screen they had pointed at the garage. Some of it was distorted from the heat of the garage and the various modes of transportation inside but there was clearly a large gathering occurring right now. "I'd love to do this from a distance. It'd be best for all our asses but I'm not sure we have the option. They've got the familiarity of home ground, defenses, and manpower right now."
“Hmm, knock them out would be best, at least most of them anyway. We could go gas canisters, maybe Natasha and I come in after to mop up the stragglers while you take on the mark. It’s an enclosed space, so gas makes the most sense.”
Jubilee continued to watch their marks, her fingers tapping gently on her leg as her mind worked out the possible scenarios.
“New bike does sound nice though.”
North gave her a look, amusement sparking faintly in his eyes despite the circumstances. "No better time than the present."
***
Slightly later…
Jubilee dialed in the settings on the small monitor she was using to track North’s progress. They’d moved from their vantage point to a spot close enough to go in once he’d deployed the gas canisters.
“Almost in position,” She said softly over the throat mic she was using. No telepathic help this time around, they had to rely on technology instead. “Report.”
"No movement on my end. Just the breeze and some birds." Natasha said in reply. She glanced around at the quiet street around them. At least whatever happened next wouldn't involve too many bystanders. They might even have some new wheels to drive out of there if the timing worked out. She took another quick glance at the infrared radar screen. "Movement's increasing a bit. Hope things haven't gone sideways."
"Ready in thirty seconds," North reported, his eyes an eerie milky-white as he approached the building from a blind spot. His fingers curled around the gas canisters in his coat pocket. "Let fly in thirty-five."
“Roger that, ready here,”
Jubilee had been edging her way quietly over the roofs nearby, and she dropped down into the shadows of an alley that ran parallel to the fence down one side.
It wasn’t a large compound around the garage, just a small area in front and to the sides that held parking and the detritus of a working garage. It left a certain amount of open space to navigate but urban sprawl had one benefit in that houses and other businesses had closed in on all sides.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough for them to work with.
Natasha made a pretense of checking the bus route map she'd snagged at a gas station they'd stopped at on the way here. While appearing to map her next destination, she made sure all the Widow's Bites were primed and ready to let rip in a discreet pouch attached to her belt. She also pulled a few poison spray bombs into an easier to reach pocket. If it came to it, she could smoke haze for a brief period and let them do what they needed to do. She wandered a bit closer to the side alley that led between the garage and the next nearest house.
Deftly plucking the safety off both cannisters with one hand, North pocketed the tabs as he practically strolled past the garage entrance and rolled the smoking cannisters right in. "Getting hazy in there," he remarked, moving undisturbed around the building to a narrow alleyway that had a nondescript and mostly unused side door.
Shouts from inside had started rising together with the smoke, the noise getting exponentially louder as a booted foot kicked in the door. "Side door is open," he called out to the scrambling occupants, cracking the knuckles on his gloved hands as a number of them took him up on his invitation.
Some were clearly already unsteady on their feet, courtesy of the sleeping gas, and the German got to work knocking them out and leaving them in an unsightly pile by the door.
Jubilee was quick on her feet and it was a matter of moments to burn a large enough hole in the fence with her powers, the smoke released by North defusing the colour and spreading it far enough that she wasn’t immediately spottable.
She’d donned a slim-line gas mask which lowered her peripheral vision but given her training, it wasn’t enough to be a true hinderance, especially not against bikers.
The first that came staggering out of the smoke she dropped with a quick and brutal kick, her heel slamming against the side of his head with a savage, meaty thwack sound.
His companion however was another matter, and she had to retreat back into the smoke as he charged her with a roar of rage.
"Going in," North reported shortly over the noise coming down her comm, donning a gas mask as he moved into the building and around piles of spare parts scattered haphazardly across the floor. His irises regaining their usual cornflower blue as he pulled two more cannisters from his coat. "Try to stay within sight of your exits. Update if any of the key targets get out."
The frequently used back entrance flew open accompanied by loud yelling to let the smoke out. Natasha had pulled a set of goggles and a respirator mask over her face as she charged toward the open doorway. Everyone inside was more focused toward driving out the oncoming threat. It made it easy for her to throw Widow's Bites into one corner then the next, downing several bodies with loud thumps. She darted to one side around a variety of rolling toolboxes and motorcycles in various stages of half built to throw a smoke bomb at another group attempting to organize. She ducked a swing from behind and swept a leg out backwards before springing forward and out of reach, immediately throwing a poison smoke bomb behind her. The throttled screech of pain was music to her ears as she moved behind other large machinery and deployed a sparking net of electricity to catch whoever was left.
They’d managed to take out almost all of the lower grade targets in the first five minutes of their entrance, a testament not only to their degree of training but also to their abilities to work as a unit.
Jubilee had never been one to count her chickens before they hatched though and so the sight of a large man dressed in what could only be called ‘dirt bag’ chic.
This had to be Tombstone, which meant they were gonna have to do some tag team work to bring him down.
“Nat, North, the big damn show just arrived,” she noted over her mic as she threw a barrage of sparks at his face, hopefully enough to blind him and give the others a chance to do some damage.
Natasha moved toward the sight of sparks with Widow's Bites at the ready. Immobilization was the goal and these ones had the biggest electrical charge they'd been able to whip up in the lab. She used her momentum to leap onto the conveniently placed armchair and then up onto Tombstone's shoulders, legs grappling around his neck while she pulled a garrote tight. The man roared and stumbled from side to side. She attempted to switch to one hand but instead ended up losing her grip and having to jump free, tossing the Widow's Bites at his back the electricity sizzling through the air.
"Bit tied up," came North's short reply, his microphone picking up the sounds of glass shattering and hissed curses from his opponent. He hurled the larger man over his shoulder, knocking his mask askew in the process and effectively handicapping his vision. A milky film developed over his irises, precognitive powers kicking in just in time to dodge the attacks coming at him from both sides. A clear vision flashed in his head, of more men emerging from a basement. "Get out."
“Fuck,” Jubilee swore, having heard North’s warning just as she took out the ground under Tombstone’s feet with some well aimed plasmoids. She nodded to Nat to wrap him up like a turkey. Given his powers, they didn’t have the time to truly knock him out. Next best was to simply make it a long fucking time for him to escape. “Tell me you’ve got an exit strategy.”
She’d left teammates before. Some cases retreat, refocus and return was as much a part of their training as everything else. It didn’t mean it didn’t sting, or was any easier then any other time she’d been forced to do it.
Natasha pulled an escrima stick from her boot and fended off several attempts from Tombstone to scramble back to his feet. A smack to a hand, a leg, followed by a hard knee to his back and another offload of electricity from another Bite. The brief moment of stillness allowed her to use her weight to keep him down on the ground. Natasha shot a concerned glance over to Jubilee as she pulled the zipties free from another pocket tucked into her vest then pulled them tight with quick efficiency around Tombstone. She also placed a few smaller Widow's Bites that were keyed to a button on her watch to deliver a shock on demand. "We're not going to be able to be in two places at once."
North was working his way around the perimeter, keeping a close watch for anyone who might threaten Nat as she secured Tombstone. But no amount or skill, even his powers in the chaos of the battle, could have anticipated turning the corner on a car and coming face to face with two hard looking men in bad suits, using it for coverage against the mutant assault. There was a momentary pause, as all three sets of eyes widened. The smallest one, right by North, moved first, catching him on the base of the skull with a lucky blow. North dropped like a rock.
"Should we do him?"
"Grab him and let's get the fuck out of here. The Boss will want to ask some questions." He said, leaving the fact that he wanted nothing to do with these mutants unspoken.
Biker gangs weren't common in Harlem. Only three made their homes here, two exclusively black, and then oddity - Tombstone MC. The MC was small, only a few other chapters sprinkled through New York and New Jersey. But the gang operating out of Harlem was known for two things - the effectiveness of their muscle to the highest bidder and the freakish abilities of their albino leader, who was only ever referred to as Tombstone. The rumour was that he was a mutant, but the gang never bothered to confirm or deny it. They deflected the police with running an honest garage with a well deserved reputation for high end upgrades, and their lawyers had kept any major charges from their underworld dealings from sticking.
They were going to be Hammerhead's shock troops for the attack on the meeting, and they couldn't be allowed to make it there.
"This place is a little too legit for this to be a comfortable smash and decimate op as much as I wish we could." Natasha tapped at her earpiece then twisted a dial on the handheld machine to attempt to discern who was speaking. She gave it up for useless. Too much background noise and too much chatter going on at once. The human ear was a marvel for being able to siphon off individual conversations when they were actually occurring around you. "Shock and awe would only bring the cops down immediately on our heads and not the low key op we need this to be. Thoughts on other approaches?
“Pros and Cons time,” Jubilee noted, watching from their vantage point across the road from the garage. They had visibility without being seen in return, which had taken several days of quiet observation and a little dealing with an Air BnB of all things to make happen. “Lethal or non lethal? If this Tombstone guy is as strong as all the stories say, we might be better concentrating on taking him out hard and fast and then just knocking out the rest. Pro there is less time for the neighbors to call the cops and make this a thing. Con means we gotta get close enough to do it. We could just snipe the lot of them and then mop up what’s left.”
"Insufficient visibility for sniping any significant number of them unless we draw them out," North vetoed, his feet thrown up and crossed on the table with a tablet propped up against his lap. He frowned at the screenshot from their surveillance footage on the screen. "The mark does not habit any of the targetable areas for us to have any reliable window of time. Best if we precede infiltration with a sleeping agent to knock some of them out and minimize fuss, unless you have any brighter ideas?"
“Dude, I always have bright ideas, most of them just mean structural damage to nearby buildings. So which one of us gets to play infiltrator?”
Jubilee grinned at him and then turned back to the window she was watching from. Wouldn’t do to miss something through a moment of inattention.
“I mean, given it’s a bunch of testosterone poisoned meatheads, sending you would make sense.”
North 'hm-ed' an agreement, now swiping through the surveillance pictures of the garage. "We could buy you that motorcycle you have always wanted."
"I, for once, am not the perfect person for this mission and am all for someone else playing pretend and making their way inside," Natasha said as she took a look at the infrared radar screen they had pointed at the garage. Some of it was distorted from the heat of the garage and the various modes of transportation inside but there was clearly a large gathering occurring right now. "I'd love to do this from a distance. It'd be best for all our asses but I'm not sure we have the option. They've got the familiarity of home ground, defenses, and manpower right now."
“Hmm, knock them out would be best, at least most of them anyway. We could go gas canisters, maybe Natasha and I come in after to mop up the stragglers while you take on the mark. It’s an enclosed space, so gas makes the most sense.”
Jubilee continued to watch their marks, her fingers tapping gently on her leg as her mind worked out the possible scenarios.
“New bike does sound nice though.”
North gave her a look, amusement sparking faintly in his eyes despite the circumstances. "No better time than the present."
***
Slightly later…
Jubilee dialed in the settings on the small monitor she was using to track North’s progress. They’d moved from their vantage point to a spot close enough to go in once he’d deployed the gas canisters.
“Almost in position,” She said softly over the throat mic she was using. No telepathic help this time around, they had to rely on technology instead. “Report.”
"No movement on my end. Just the breeze and some birds." Natasha said in reply. She glanced around at the quiet street around them. At least whatever happened next wouldn't involve too many bystanders. They might even have some new wheels to drive out of there if the timing worked out. She took another quick glance at the infrared radar screen. "Movement's increasing a bit. Hope things haven't gone sideways."
"Ready in thirty seconds," North reported, his eyes an eerie milky-white as he approached the building from a blind spot. His fingers curled around the gas canisters in his coat pocket. "Let fly in thirty-five."
“Roger that, ready here,”
Jubilee had been edging her way quietly over the roofs nearby, and she dropped down into the shadows of an alley that ran parallel to the fence down one side.
It wasn’t a large compound around the garage, just a small area in front and to the sides that held parking and the detritus of a working garage. It left a certain amount of open space to navigate but urban sprawl had one benefit in that houses and other businesses had closed in on all sides.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough for them to work with.
Natasha made a pretense of checking the bus route map she'd snagged at a gas station they'd stopped at on the way here. While appearing to map her next destination, she made sure all the Widow's Bites were primed and ready to let rip in a discreet pouch attached to her belt. She also pulled a few poison spray bombs into an easier to reach pocket. If it came to it, she could smoke haze for a brief period and let them do what they needed to do. She wandered a bit closer to the side alley that led between the garage and the next nearest house.
Deftly plucking the safety off both cannisters with one hand, North pocketed the tabs as he practically strolled past the garage entrance and rolled the smoking cannisters right in. "Getting hazy in there," he remarked, moving undisturbed around the building to a narrow alleyway that had a nondescript and mostly unused side door.
Shouts from inside had started rising together with the smoke, the noise getting exponentially louder as a booted foot kicked in the door. "Side door is open," he called out to the scrambling occupants, cracking the knuckles on his gloved hands as a number of them took him up on his invitation.
Some were clearly already unsteady on their feet, courtesy of the sleeping gas, and the German got to work knocking them out and leaving them in an unsightly pile by the door.
Jubilee was quick on her feet and it was a matter of moments to burn a large enough hole in the fence with her powers, the smoke released by North defusing the colour and spreading it far enough that she wasn’t immediately spottable.
She’d donned a slim-line gas mask which lowered her peripheral vision but given her training, it wasn’t enough to be a true hinderance, especially not against bikers.
The first that came staggering out of the smoke she dropped with a quick and brutal kick, her heel slamming against the side of his head with a savage, meaty thwack sound.
His companion however was another matter, and she had to retreat back into the smoke as he charged her with a roar of rage.
"Going in," North reported shortly over the noise coming down her comm, donning a gas mask as he moved into the building and around piles of spare parts scattered haphazardly across the floor. His irises regaining their usual cornflower blue as he pulled two more cannisters from his coat. "Try to stay within sight of your exits. Update if any of the key targets get out."
The frequently used back entrance flew open accompanied by loud yelling to let the smoke out. Natasha had pulled a set of goggles and a respirator mask over her face as she charged toward the open doorway. Everyone inside was more focused toward driving out the oncoming threat. It made it easy for her to throw Widow's Bites into one corner then the next, downing several bodies with loud thumps. She darted to one side around a variety of rolling toolboxes and motorcycles in various stages of half built to throw a smoke bomb at another group attempting to organize. She ducked a swing from behind and swept a leg out backwards before springing forward and out of reach, immediately throwing a poison smoke bomb behind her. The throttled screech of pain was music to her ears as she moved behind other large machinery and deployed a sparking net of electricity to catch whoever was left.
They’d managed to take out almost all of the lower grade targets in the first five minutes of their entrance, a testament not only to their degree of training but also to their abilities to work as a unit.
Jubilee had never been one to count her chickens before they hatched though and so the sight of a large man dressed in what could only be called ‘dirt bag’ chic.
This had to be Tombstone, which meant they were gonna have to do some tag team work to bring him down.
“Nat, North, the big damn show just arrived,” she noted over her mic as she threw a barrage of sparks at his face, hopefully enough to blind him and give the others a chance to do some damage.
Natasha moved toward the sight of sparks with Widow's Bites at the ready. Immobilization was the goal and these ones had the biggest electrical charge they'd been able to whip up in the lab. She used her momentum to leap onto the conveniently placed armchair and then up onto Tombstone's shoulders, legs grappling around his neck while she pulled a garrote tight. The man roared and stumbled from side to side. She attempted to switch to one hand but instead ended up losing her grip and having to jump free, tossing the Widow's Bites at his back the electricity sizzling through the air.
"Bit tied up," came North's short reply, his microphone picking up the sounds of glass shattering and hissed curses from his opponent. He hurled the larger man over his shoulder, knocking his mask askew in the process and effectively handicapping his vision. A milky film developed over his irises, precognitive powers kicking in just in time to dodge the attacks coming at him from both sides. A clear vision flashed in his head, of more men emerging from a basement. "Get out."
“Fuck,” Jubilee swore, having heard North’s warning just as she took out the ground under Tombstone’s feet with some well aimed plasmoids. She nodded to Nat to wrap him up like a turkey. Given his powers, they didn’t have the time to truly knock him out. Next best was to simply make it a long fucking time for him to escape. “Tell me you’ve got an exit strategy.”
She’d left teammates before. Some cases retreat, refocus and return was as much a part of their training as everything else. It didn’t mean it didn’t sting, or was any easier then any other time she’d been forced to do it.
Natasha pulled an escrima stick from her boot and fended off several attempts from Tombstone to scramble back to his feet. A smack to a hand, a leg, followed by a hard knee to his back and another offload of electricity from another Bite. The brief moment of stillness allowed her to use her weight to keep him down on the ground. Natasha shot a concerned glance over to Jubilee as she pulled the zipties free from another pocket tucked into her vest then pulled them tight with quick efficiency around Tombstone. She also placed a few smaller Widow's Bites that were keyed to a button on her watch to deliver a shock on demand. "We're not going to be able to be in two places at once."
North was working his way around the perimeter, keeping a close watch for anyone who might threaten Nat as she secured Tombstone. But no amount or skill, even his powers in the chaos of the battle, could have anticipated turning the corner on a car and coming face to face with two hard looking men in bad suits, using it for coverage against the mutant assault. There was a momentary pause, as all three sets of eyes widened. The smallest one, right by North, moved first, catching him on the base of the skull with a lucky blow. North dropped like a rock.
"Should we do him?"
"Grab him and let's get the fuck out of here. The Boss will want to ask some questions." He said, leaving the fact that he wanted nothing to do with these mutants unspoken.
