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Post by Jordanna on May 29, 2006 21:57:45 GMT -5
At three o'clock on Tuesday morning, the Hop-Mart near the Murfeeston Bridge was closed, its neon kangaroo sign standing darkened beside the road.
The parking lot, however, was humming with activity.
Arms folded, Jerod Vance watched as a dozen members of his personal mutant posse--a few of them clothed in police uniforms--unloaded their weapons from a pair of dark vans half-hidden by overgrown shrubs. Many were ex-military; a few were hardened criminals. All had reasons of their own to hate Nicholas Tiernan.
"Don't get too trigger-happy," Vance reminded his motley troops. "Remember, we're gonna have amateurs along for the ride. If there's trouble, do what you can to watch their backs--but don't coddle 'em. They're here to learn."
He turned and walked over to a small truck with the name of a fictitious moving company emblazoned on the side. A mutant with violet eyes and an assortment of delicate, fin-like protrusions climbed out of the cab.
"You ready, Flash?" Vance asked laconically.
Flash nodded. "Just be on time with the signal, and I'll be out of here in..." he chuckled. "In a flash."
"You got it." Vance pumped Flash's hand, aware that the driver of the explosives-packed truck had one of the most dangerous roles in the entire operation. Then he turned to scan the highway once again, watching for the arrival of their "amateur" partners in crime.
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Post by skybright on May 29, 2006 22:06:47 GMT -5
Regina Dawson had called the Patil twins and let them know how the Grenadier had complicated matters, but Veeru had still insisted on coming along. He'd unearthed the ancient British Army-issue rifle his father had sent with him to the States years ago, cleaned and loaded the weapon, and headed out into the night with the gun hidden under a long coat.
Drawing up to the subway station where he'd agreed to meet Daws and her new 'assistant', Veeru leaned casually against a broken streetlight and waited.
Within a few minutes Daws emerged from the underground station, a lanky red-headed youth in tow. Daws had shed her customary trenchcoat in favor of a dark turtleneck and a loose, dark windbreaker; the teenager following her was similarly clad.
Daws grinned and stepped forward to clasp Veeru's arm. " 'Lo, V. Glad you made it." She gestured at the teenager.
"V, I'd like you to know Joey Falco -- he's workin' with Grimalkin now. Joey, this is Veeru Patil -- an old friend."
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Post by Jordanna on May 29, 2006 22:14:13 GMT -5
Joey grinned shyly at Daws' friend and murmured, "Hi."
He was nervous about the night's impending action--nervous enough to be unsure whether he really wanted any part of it in the first place. Things had been so simple a few days ago, when he was nothing but a deliberately ignorant, well-paid errand boy.
Now here he was, preparing to help destroy the property of the man from whom his paycheck still came.
"What do you want me to do on this job, Daws?" he asked.
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Post by skybright on May 29, 2006 22:21:11 GMT -5
"Well," Daws said as the trio headed for the meeting spot, "If things go the way Vance is planning, we won't have anythin' to do but watch the night's events. If they don't -- and this goes for both of you," She glanced significantly at Veeru, "Then just stick close next to me and do as I say. Which might involve either headin' for home posthaste, or . . ." She shrugged, "Or usin' the firearms we brought with us."
"I am ready for whatever comes, D." Veeru gestured to the rifle concealed beneath his coat, "My father taught me how to use this, after a --" He broke off and gestured in alarm at the sight of a group that included what could only be police uniforms.
Daws, with her superior night vision, just shook her head. "Don't worry," She murmured as they drew nearer to the group of people, "I think that's Sid, Alex and the others."
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Post by Jordanna on May 29, 2006 22:32:36 GMT -5
Sid waved and sauntered forward as Daws, Joey, and Veeru approached the mutant staging area.
"Evenin', Daws. We've got Foxy an' Miriam an' Henry in uniform. Grace is gonna hang back with you an' the reinforcements, if ya don't mind."
He then turned an inquisitive eye on Veeru. "How d'ya do."
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Post by skybright on May 29, 2006 22:39:03 GMT -5
Daws gestured at Veeru. "Sid Rosenstein, Veeru Patil -- an old friend of mine."
"Good evening." Veeru nodded and extended his hand. "You are the one Daws told us about -- the owner of the Paragon Club?"
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Post by Jordanna on May 29, 2006 22:46:53 GMT -5
"That's me." Sid pumped Veeru's hand firmly. "I'm no mutant, but I can do what I do, an' I got my heart in this fight as much as anybody. C'mon and meet the others."
Sid ushered Daws and her companions over to where Alex, Miriam, Henry, and Grace were standing in a group--all but the lattermost wearing police uniforms. Daws introduced Veeru, and as greetings were being exchanged, Vance sauntered up.
"Hello, detective," he drawled to Daws. "Where's the Padre tonight? I thought he was coming with."
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Post by skybright on May 29, 2006 22:54:57 GMT -5
Daws frowned slightly. "Yeah, he oughtta be here pretty quick -- with the rest of our 'volunteers' in tow. Actually, he should've shown up by now."
As if on cue, Father Rick appeared at the edge of the parking lot, several members of the resistance following behind him. He caught sight of Daws and the others and moved to join them.
"Well, here we are." The priest nodded in greeting and gestured at the knot of mutants standing behind him. "Just tell us where to go, Boyo, and we'll be ready for what comes."
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Post by Jordanna on May 29, 2006 23:09:55 GMT -5
"You can stand ready with me, if you want," Vance replied. "There's a pretty good covering of brush on this bank of the river, right at the end of the bridge. That's where I'll be waiting to pitch my fastball."
He jerked a thumb back over his shoulder, toward the truck and its lethal cargo. "There's Flash, our driver. Handy's going to fire a flare for his signal to get his hide outta there. The instant he appears beside me, I blow the truck. Simple." He shrugged. "Like I said, the only hitch is if Tiernan's extra guards lag behind the arms truck. If the driver of the first truck gets antsy, I may have to blow it before Tiernan's full complement of goons even shows up on the scene. If that happens, we might be able to disappear before they come along, but if not..." Vance let the scenario speak for itself.
"Anyway, that's a whole lot of 'ifs'. With any luck, we'll all be home in bed a long time before the crack of dawn."
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Post by skybright on May 29, 2006 23:19:54 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "Sounds good."
Padre turned to the group of mutants behind him. "All right, you lot, you heard the man." His demeanor spoke more of the former Marine sergeant than it did of the neighborhood priest. "Stay close, and stay ready. And Ana," He frowned sternly at the white-haired woman, "Stay hidden until further orders."
He turned back to Vance and the others. "All right then. Let's work some mischief."
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Post by Jordanna on May 29, 2006 23:33:33 GMT -5
"We'll take the far side of the bridge," Sid announced, speaking for himself and his three companions. "That's the direction the truck's supposed to come from, right?"
"Yeah," Vance affirmed. "Don't try to be smart, Enforcer. Just keep outta sight until Tiernan's trucks blow through, then move in to keep any civilians off the bridge. Got it?"
"That's the plan," Sid replied noncommittally. "But you better believe that if we havta improvise, we will."
Vance didn't look impressed by that assertion, but he refrained from comment on it. "A few of my boys are going across to take up position over there, so you can go with 'em. Padre, you and some of your other friends can join 'em if you want. The rest of my people will keep this end closed off."
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Post by skybright on May 29, 2006 23:38:03 GMT -5
Padre nodded. "Good luck to you, Boyo." He gestured over his shoulder. "All right, you folks, keep up!"
As he and the small knot of mutants behind him receded, Daws turned to Vance. "Guess my boys and I will stick with you."
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Post by Jordanna on May 29, 2006 23:48:29 GMT -5
"That suits me fine," Vance replied. Then he glanced skeptically at Joey. "You better stay where I can see you at all times, kid, or it won't be pretty when I find you."
Joey winced and edged a step closer to Daws.
"Time?" Vance asked, seemingly into the night air.
His lieutenant Handy McCarty had been silently lurking nearby, and now spoke up, glancing at the wristwatch on his lower left hand. "Ten to four."
"We've calculated the trucks oughta be along at about five-after," Vance mused. "We probably got a few minutes yet."
He leaned back on the fender of one of the vans, glancing at Daws as he spread his hands. "So whataya think, detective? Has my orchestration of all this clockwork scored me any points with the redoubtable Regina Dawson?"
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Post by skybright on May 29, 2006 23:56:04 GMT -5
Daws chuckled and ran a hand through her dark hair. "You got style, Vance, and you know how to plan a shindig." She leaned back against the van herself, "Now if we could just work on your people skills an' your concept of 'public property', you might turn out to be a right guy."
She half-shrugged and added " 'Course, maybe I should reserve judgement until we pull this little lightshow off."
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Post by Jordanna on May 30, 2006 0:05:09 GMT -5
"You've got a point there," Vance murmured. " 'Course, it hasn't been too easy for me to reserve judgment about that scout troop of yours, either. One way or another, my people have had to fight for a living, and that's a kind of experience those civilians haven't had. No matter how much grief Tiernan's put 'em through recently, they've pretty much been used to having plain old workaday lives--and that's kind of a tough habit to break."
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Post by skybright on May 30, 2006 0:10:25 GMT -5
Daws tilted her head thoughtfully. "You'd be surprised how much fight there is in an ordinary work-a-day person, Major -- if you shove them around the wrong way."
She shrugged and added "Besides, just livin' life as a mutant is its own kinda fight -- but then, you know that as well as I do."
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Post by Jordanna on May 30, 2006 21:06:30 GMT -5
"Amen to that, detective," Vance murmured, and somewhat ruefully glanced at his watch.
"Alright, let's get into position."
Vance led the mutants to the end of the bridge, a stone's throw away from the convenience store. A sizable group mostly made up of Tiernan's ranks disappeared into the brush on the far side of the road, to wait there as reinforcements if needed. Those in police uniform had carried over wooden barricades, which they proceeded to set up in the middle of the road. Vance himself guided Daws, Joey, Grace, Handy, and a small number of others down the nearer side of the bank, which commanded a clear view of the bridge's entire span.
The explosives-packed truck had followed slowly behind them, its headlights out. Flash waved his hand in a grim salute as he rolled by, then made his way out to the middle of the bridge, where he stopped the truck. He climbed out, set up a few road flares, and raised the hood, to give the impression of an ordinary breakdown.
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Post by skybright on May 30, 2006 21:24:35 GMT -5
Daws watched with keen interest as their truck took up its position, and checked to make sure her pistol was loose in its holster. To her right, Veeru stood holding his rifle somewhat uneasily; Joey was doing his best not to fidget at Daws' left.
Oh, Boss, if we ever needed some help, tonight'd be it. She glanced heavenward.
Veeru shifted suddenly and touched her arm. Daws followed his gaze to the far side of the bridge, where a large, unmarked truck was just rolling into view.
Daws took a deep breath. "Here it comes."
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Post by Jordanna on May 30, 2006 21:49:16 GMT -5
On the far end of the bridge, Sid, Padre, and their team lurked in the cover of trees and brush, watching the unmarked truck roll past. The vehicle had extra armor, Sid noted uneasily, and he guessed the shadowy figure in the passenger seat was an armed guard. There was no telling how many more might be inside.
Hope these guys have said their prayers, he thought, with a mix of sadness and grim resolve.
There was no second truck in sight, and Sid wasn't sure whether to be worried or not. Perhaps Vance was wrong. Perhaps there was no extra guard, or perhaps the shipment wasn't guns at all.
Once the truck was safely past, Sid turned to Alex, Miriam, Henry, and the other faux police officers. "Okay, let's pull out those barricades before any idiot comes along."
As the group of mutants worked to block the road, Tiernan's truck rolled on. When its headlights fell on the seemingly broken-down moving truck in the middle of the bridge, it finally ground to a halt.
There was a pause. The driver shouted something out the window to Flash--who was delving under the hood in a rather clueless manner--then stepped out and approached him.
At the other end of the bridge, Vance turned to Handy. "Now."
Handy's finger was already on the trigger of the flare gun. He raised it and fired, sending a brilliant red flare rocketing up into the sky.
In an instant, Flash was gone from the bridge and standing beside Vance.
The Grenadier had already gathered his strength and begun to generate a kinetic grenade. Almost the moment Flash appeared beside him, he let the grapefruit-sized orb of energy fly, on a straight course toward their explosive truck.
The grenade struck home, and the vehicle blossomed into a blinding conflagration that lit up the sky and engulfed Tiernan's truck--along with everyone and everything around it. The bridge did not collapse, but it shuddered and visibly sagged, adding a chorus of tortured-metal sounds to the explosions.
But something was wrong... the secondary explosion of Tiernan's truck was not nearly as large as a rolling arsenal's should have been.
Vance snarled a curse. "That was the guard truck!"
Sid and his companions watched the explosions on the bridge, each struggling silently with his or her own emotions. Whatever else Jerod Vance may have just accomplished, they all knew he had taken at least two lives.
The hair at the back of Sid's neck rose as he heard, above the sound of roaring flames on the bridge, the rumble of a vehicle from the other direction. He turned swiftly to see headlights coming around the bend in the road, and recognized that the unmarked truck was almost identical to the first one.
Inwardly, Sid cursed. Outwardly, he simply raised his voice and declared, "Looks like Tiernan's escort goons are here."
He had no way of knowing that the truck coming toward them was the actual target, packed with automatic weapons... and several more mutant guards.
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Post by skybright on May 31, 2006 0:43:07 GMT -5
Ana Cordoba stepped forward, tiny arcs of blue electric current dancing between her fingers; but a wide hand caught her firmly by the shoulder.
"I meant what I said, Ana," The priest barked softly, "You can't follow orders, you can bloody well fall back and leave the work to someone who can."
The young woman, abashed, melted back into the knot of people to the Padre's rear.
Padre surveyed the mutants behind him with his rear eyes. "That goes for the lot of you. Nobody moves until I give the order -- we're not turnin' this into a fight unless we've got no other choice."
The priest's voice had taken on a hard edge he usually reserved for especially fervent homilies -- or battlefields. He surveyed the ragtag "troops" behind him and added gruffly "All the same, be ready. Take the safeties off those weapons."
He strode up to join Sid and peered through the darkness towards the newly-arrived truck -- the driver of which was hanging out of the cab window, gaping at the flaming bridge. "Well, friend," He muttered to the ex-enforcer, "If you've any kind of luck, now's the time to call on it."
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