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Post by Jordanna on Mar 2, 2008 22:43:23 GMT -5
Less than two days after the last meeting at Our Lady of Refuge, Proteus fulfilled his word, and called Daws at her office. His message was brief and cryptic, suggesting that she arrange another meeting at the church--and that only the more important members of the resistance movement should be invited.
Accordingly, that evening, a much smaller group began to gather in the basement meeting-room. Sid, Alex, Miriam, and Henry were the first to arrive; then Major Vance appeared, accompanied by Nate and Handy.
"Elite members only, eh?" Vance murmured, as he shook hands briefly with Father Steele. "Sounds like we're in for an interesting evening."
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Post by skybright on Mar 2, 2008 22:54:48 GMT -5
Father Rick nodded, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. "Interesting's the word for it, Boyo. I'll be first to admit it makes me a bit nervous -- whatever it is Tiernan's up to, it must not be run-of-the-mill."
"Is anything ever?" Daws' voice broke in from the stairway as she descended into the basement and joined the group.
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 2, 2008 23:00:11 GMT -5
"Whatever it is, my insiders haven't got wind of it," Vance noted with a scowl. "And I mean not so much as a whisper that Tiernan's even getting ready for an operation. Usually there's at least some sign of personnel being moved around, that sort of thing--but not here."
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Post by skybright on Mar 2, 2008 23:06:16 GMT -5
Daws frowned and pushed her fedora back. "That could mean anything from Tiernan being extra-sneaky so we don't catch word, to something happening elsewhere that he's overseeing . . . or anything in between. I'm definitely not sure I like that."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 2, 2008 23:13:21 GMT -5
Vance shook his head. "I wouldn't mind knowing how he's keeping it that far on the down-low. The government could only wish it was as good at keeping secrets."
"Are you sure about that?"
It was Proteus' voice. The shapeshifter appeared on the staircase, looking particularly grave in the dim shafts of light that fell there. He swept a glance over the group, then came down the steps and joined their small circle.
"I found out what you wanted to know," he said flatly. "But this time, it's something even bigger than Tiernan... and you're not going to like it."
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Post by skybright on Mar 2, 2008 23:18:04 GMT -5
Daws sighed. "Here I was worried our lives were getting dull." She shrugged and regarded Proteus with foreboding. "Well . . . you may as well let us hear it."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 2, 2008 23:27:47 GMT -5
Proteus frowned, sitting down on one of the room's creaking metal chairs. "I'm not sure where to begin telling you."
He was silent for a long moment, collecting his thoughts. Then he stirred restlessly, straightened, and spoke.
"Let's start by saying that not every mutant soldier the government has found out about got off as easily as Major Vance here."
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Post by skybright on Mar 2, 2008 23:41:12 GMT -5
Father Rick scowled. "There's nasty stories about that goin' back at least as far as when I was in Da Nang." He said. "Rumors of guys getting killed . . . and some rumors of worse."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 2, 2008 23:52:19 GMT -5
"Worse," Proteus murmured faintly. "...You might say that."
Vance clenched his fists. "Come out and say it, Proteus."
The shapeshifter spread his hands.
"Tiernan has traced a... a pseudo-government project, at least. A scientific effort to process--and enhance--mutant soldiers for combat. And he intends to do something about it."
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Post by skybright on Mar 3, 2008 0:03:54 GMT -5
Daws drew in a shocked breath through her teeth, unsheathing her claws in a near-unconscious action. "Geeze . . . y'hear stories, but . . ." She shook her head, scowling. "So what's Tiernan planning?"
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 3, 2008 0:14:03 GMT -5
Proteus sighed heavily. "Apparently the 'subjects' of this project are so tightly guarded, even the different teams of scientists only know about the one mutant they have to work with. Even Tiernan has only been able to locate one--and that's taken him years. The man is at a secret lab, code named Mount Bliss."
He paused, glancing around at the group.
"And what Tiernan plans to do, very simply, is to take that mutant out of there."
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Post by skybright on Mar 3, 2008 0:18:45 GMT -5
"Which means a mutant who's no longer a lab rat." Father Rick frowned deeply, examining the floor. "I have to admit it to you all . . . from where I'm standing, I'm not so sure that's a bad thing."
Daws sighed and shook her head. "Maybe not . . . but some kind of super-soldier on Tiernan's side? That, Padre, is a bad thing."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 3, 2008 0:35:43 GMT -5
Proteus glanced sharply at Daws. "And that, Miss Dawson, is exactly the point. Tiernan has no plan of letting that man loose once he's got him."
Jerod and Nathan Vance had listened in horrified silence. In the last few moments, their abiding faith in what they once served as soldiers had suffered a brutal betrayal. Finally the Major clenched his fists on his knees.
"Is there any I.D. on the--subject?" he asked, in an uncharacteristically faint voice.
"Yes." Proteus frowned. "Your telepath heard it right. The name is Colonel Martin Ashley."
Vance lurched to his feet as if he had been shot, his face turning pale. "What--that's impossible!"
"You know him?" a startled Sid asked.
"I told you my commanding officer was an Ashley--that Ashley." Vance shook his head at Proteus. "There's got to be a mistake. Colonel Ashley wasn't a mutant."
His expression hard, Nate lightly touched his father's arm. "You didn't think I was a mutant when I got here, Dad... and it's been a long few years since you've seen him."
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Post by skybright on Mar 3, 2008 0:45:00 GMT -5
Daws shifted to her feet and began pacing restlessly. "Look, regardless of who he is . . . I'm not okay with the idea of leaving anybody to be some kind of sick science experiment. Not the Government's, and not Tiernan's either."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 3, 2008 0:48:21 GMT -5
Sid glanced around at the others, then shook his head, and spoke for them all.
"Nobody in this room is, Daws. The question's just what we're gonna do about it."
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Post by skybright on Mar 3, 2008 0:55:34 GMT -5
Father Rick shook his head gravely. "I'll tell you this now -- this is bigger than anything we've tried before. It makes the Murfeeston Bridge look like a ladies' tea."
"Yeah." Daws flexed her claws. "And if we screw it up . . . we won't just have Tiernan breathing down our necks."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 3, 2008 1:07:20 GMT -5
Henry gave Proteus a questioning look. "Why did you choose to tell us this? Do you actually believe we can do something about this without--at least some kind of losses?"
"No." Proteus' voice was quiet, and very steady. "But if Tiernan does this without any interference, no one in that lab will be left alive. If you people try to do something about it..." He shrugged, almost futilely. "At least there's a chance you'll try to save more lives than just Ashley's."
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Post by skybright on Mar 3, 2008 1:12:04 GMT -5
Daws glanced around at the faces of her friends. "All right, then." She said gravely. "It's risky and huge and it may be impossible . . . but we have to stop this. We have to at least try."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 3, 2008 23:15:11 GMT -5
"My people have to try," Vance responded. "Daws, you and your civilians wouldn't have a prayer in this--"
Henry cleared his throat sharply. "If I might interject: what exactly are we talking about doing here? A full-scale assault on a government facility?"
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Post by skybright on Mar 4, 2008 0:23:03 GMT -5
Daws frowned. "We managed it with the Gray Lab . . ."
"Don't be foolish." Father Rick interrupted brusquely. "Tiernan was careless there, and we got lucky. A place like this Mount Bliss is a different thing entirely, Daws, and you know it."
He frowned and turned to Proteus. "Just how much can you tell us about this place?"
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