Asylum *HF* Chapter 2
By collaborative
The phone ringing on his desk was a welcome distraction from the damned paperwork. The voice on the other end, however, was quite irritating and made him wish to get back to the papers. Or better yet, to give up for the day.
"Is this...Hawkeye?" The man's voice was filled with disdain as he uttered the name. He sounded to be a very "proper" man and that was just not a very "proper" name.
"Yes...it is," Hawkeye answered mockingly. Hey, if the guy was gonna start with an attitude, wasn't it his job to end with it? He could hear the man sniff at the remark and almost found himself laughing at the image it conjured up.
"Indeed." The man paused. "This is Henderson from the White House." That made Hawkeye sit up. He was actually quite curious to find out how the group was doing in D.C.
"Yes Mr. Henderson, what can I do for you?" he asked, his voice quite civil.
"Sir, I am calling to inquire about the reason your delegation did not arrive for their meeting today. The president is a very busy man and..." That was as far as he got.
"What the fuck do you mean they didn't 'arrive'?!" he seethed into the receiver. The language caught "MR. Proper" off guard.
"I...uhm..." he sputtered.
"These aren't just some punk kids you're dealing with. They know their fucking responsibilities."
"They aren't here though!" the man blurted.
"Other than this, have you made any other attempts at locating them?!" he growled.
"We...uhm...called their hotel. They weren't there this morning."
"Well that's just fucking beautiful!" he fumed to himself. "When I have located my team, I will be back in touch!" The other man could say nothing else since Hawkeye terminated the conversation right there. This not only looked bad in regards to relations with the U.S. Government, it also meant something bad had happened.
Immediately, he put in a call to the security control room. "I need a status check and location of the GCU's for the D.C. team." He waited impatiently as the computer technician pulled up the data.
"All five units are switched to vibrate, and all five are located in...Arlington Cemetery. They appear to be stationary."
"I want a map with the exact location marked in my office in five minutes." He cut the connection and began reviewing his options. They were going to go out there regardless, but he didn't want to wait that long to know something.
Hawkeye put in a call to the Black Court, since they were the closest. His secretary answered. "This is Hawkeye. I need to speak with Darkwolf on a matter of an emergency." She quickly complied and moments later, the Black King was on the line.
"What can I do for you Hawkeye?" he asked slightly concerned.
"I've lost five of my people in the D.C. area. I have a lock on their GCU's and was wondering if you could take a couple of people and see what you can find."
"No problem. What do you have for the location?"
At that moment, a member of the security team walked into Hawkeye's office, bearing a large map, which he laid out for the king. He left quickly when he received an approving nod. "The units are showing up in Arlington Cemetery." Hawkeye gave him the exact coordinates.
"Ok. Who am I lookin' for?"
"Loki, Mystikal, Blackfire, Rage, and Siren."
"Alright, I'll give you a call back when we know something."
They hung up. Now there was only one thing left to do. He turned on the intercom. "Alright people, we've got an emergency meeting in ten minutes." That was all that needed to be broadcasted. They'd know what was going on soon enough.
_ _ _ _ _
Darkwolf hung up the phone with a sigh.
"Hey Abby?" he called into the next office.
"Hmm?"
"Let's take a trip to a cemetery."
There was a pause. "Ummm....no thank you. It's just not my style," she answered with a laugh.
"Sorry, but we gotta go anyway."
The Black Queen peeked her head through the door. "What you got in mind?"
"We've gotta go to Arlington."
"Why...you wanna go sightseeing?"
"I wish. The Grey Court just called and they have five of their people missing. The only fix they can get are on their GCU's which are there."
"Who's missing?"
"Loki, Rage, Blackfire, Siren, and Mystikal."
"Mystikal again?! What is the deal? Can she not stay out of trouble?!"
He gave her a sympathetic grin. "I don't know, but she can't be that bad. I mean Hawkeye and Daemon haven't killed her yet. So she must be worth it," he said with a laugh.
"I hope so. Well, guess we should get going," she said with a sigh.
"Grab Mo. I figure the three of us can do this without attracting to much attention."
"Will do." She hurried off to find the girl. The faster they got going, the better.
_ _ _ _
Everyone had hurried to the conference room at the announcement. Hawkeye was pleased that he had them all within five minutes.
"Alright people, there has been an incident in D.C. with the team we sent there." Everyone was very quiet and still. "At this time all we know is that they didn't make their meeting at the White House. They were also not at their hotel this morning."
"Where are their GCU's?" MG asked.
"Those are in Arlington Cemetery. I have the Black Court investigating that right now. We're not going to wait for their findings though." He looked at Daemon. "I'm taking a small team to Washington with me. Jean, Daemon, and Bobbi. You three are coming with me. The rest of you are to be ready if we need backup. I want preparations to be made for a quick departure. Scrib, that's your job."
"Who's going to be left in charge if we all have to mobilize?" Daemon asked.
"I'll deal with that when and if that happens. Right now, we need to find out what's going on." He looked at everyone around the table. The group seemed much smaller with five empty seats. Somehow he knows this is gonna get quite serious. Well, time to go to work. "Alright people, you understand what needs to be done, so lets get to it."
_ _ _ _
It hadn't taken them long to get to Arlington. It had taken even less to find the GCU's, which looked to have been purposefully removed. They were all tossed behind a tree not far from the path. Monet began to search the area concentrically from that point, being as discrete as possible considering the added security that the recent terrorists attacks had elicited. Rogue gathered the GCU's and put them in her oversized purse. No need to let them draw attention and cause a panic from once scared individual thinking they were bombs.
Darkwolf was keeping an eye on security, as was Rogue. They were also staying out of Mo's way. One of the guards took an interest in her activity and approached her cautiously. DW and Rogue moved away so they wouldn't be seen as a group and attract more attention.
"Miss, is there something you are looking for?" Monet looked up and smiled at the man.
"Yes, I seem to have lost a ring. I know I had it on a moment ago and now it's gone." She acted frustrated, and he seemed to buy it. After he helped her a few minutes with the search, she bent down and picked something up that had caught her eyes.
"Did you find it?" The guard asked good-naturedly.
"No. Just someone's trash. Some people have no respect." The guard nodded his agreement. "I can't find it. It wasn't expensive, but that's not the point." She thanked him and walked off. Soon she was back in the company of DW and Rogue.
"Well?" they asked simultaneously.
"They didn't see it coming. There are no signs of struggle." She held up what she had found. It was a small feathery looking object.
"What is that?" Rogue asked as she took the piece and turned it over in her hand.
"It looks like the back end of a tranquilizer dart. Probably broke off whoever it hit, fell."
"That would explain the lack of struggle," Darkwolf commented. Now he was worried that this might be a danger to all the courts. "Some one ambushed them. But how? Mystikal is supposed to be a very capable telepath."
"If someone came in with psi-dampeners, she would have to see them physically. This had to happen at night. Any other time would draw attention. Theirs and the guards," Monet explained.
"But what would they be doing in here at night, and why wouldn't security have seen them?" Darkwolf inquired.
"I don't know why, but with her telepathy, she could have done anything to make the guards not see her...or them."
"That means whoever hit them were professionals. They had to make it in on their own," Rogue mused. "Either way, it's not good. Time to tell Hawkeye the news."
_ _ _ _ _
When Hawkeye received the call back from Darkwolf, they were already in the air. He was pissed that his team hadn't been found, as was evident by the stream of cursing. The fact that they had been ambushed set him on edge. Someone within the Citadel was a traitor, or someone in the White House was. Few people knew of the team's trip to Washington. Someone would have to have enough prior knowledge to organize such a hit. Whoever the bastard was, he'd kill them when he found them. He made a mental note to have Scrib start looking into that.
Originally, they were going to go straight to Washington, but as Darkwolf pointed out, the odds that they would be allowed to land at any of the airports were slim to none. That said, he suggested they route to the Black Mansion. That was fine by Hawkeye. He didn't want to draw any attention, just yet. That settled, he hung up and filled in everyone else. Daemon's reaction matched his own. MG was pissed, though she let the men go on ranting. She would silently fume until she found the bastards responsible, then she'd explode. Bobbi was quite worried. She would set to trying to locate them as soon as they landed.
With everyone now in their reveries concerning the events before them, the flight to New York was only going to give them time to feed the fires of their anger. Heaven help whoever got burned once they were loose.
_ _ _ _ _ _