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#6
JUL 09 |
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“Deadly Deals” Part Six
Previously: Mikhail and Alex have arrived at the rendezvous point with Savante, but Alex has to cut short some internal drama before addressing the matter at hand. Adel is informed by his assistance that someone is attempting to buy neogenic equipment for unknown purposes. Meanwhile Selene has struck an uneasy deal with the Dark Beast to split the Phalanx specimens between them. And Abyss is still missing…
Havok stepped out of one side of the limo and Mikhail came from the other. The two met at the back of the vehicle and walked to where black market dealer, Savante Adel, was waiting for them. At his side was a young, beautiful Moroccan woman full of sass and life. Her glowing posture seemed odd against the backdrop of a cold Russian night. Alex wasn’t sure how or why a girl like her was involved in a world like Adel’s and he was positive he didn’t want to know. Her youthful face belayed an innocence that Havok didn’t want to imagine extinguished. In his life he had paid witness to the innocence of many being crushed to nothing.
Despite himself, he remembered when he first met Lorna. She had been as wide-eyed about the world as he was and that common connection had drawn them together. Maybe it was the loss of their innocence that had pushed them apart. Then there was Scotty. He had left his son in a broken world with very few heroes left to defend it. Alex hated to think what obstacles Scotty had to face. His son deserved to have a normal life, but being a mutant wasn’t going to allow that. In a world of hate and prejudice, innocence became a liability.
There was nothing innocent about where he was at now. The asphalt was stained with the blood of corruption and the breaths of those who had sinned were heating the icy air. Black shadows hung around all who were involved in today’s proceedings; the shadows kept the light from judging their affairs. Havok didn’t like the tightness of the environment; it wasn’t good for a fight and it certainly wasn’t advantageous for his powers. They weren’t looking to draw the attention of the Russian government, but Havok was prepared to fight if necessary. He just wished it wouldn’t have to involve so much property damage.
Mikhail and Alex stepped in front of Adel and Rasputin held out his hand for it to be shaken by the Ethiopian. With a smile full of corrupt teeth, Adel said, “It is good to see you in the flesh Rasputin. Internet conferences don’t quite have the personal touch I like to take with my clients.”
Havok hated that smile. It reminded him of a better man he knew a long time ago. He did his best to not let it show. Adel looked Alex straight in the eye and asked, “One of your bodyguards?”
“Yes and no. He’s a friend. Wanted to make sure I walked away from this in one piece,” Mikhail said.
Adel laughed and his belly shook. ”I have no intentions of that sort Mikhail. I am businessman.”
“I believe he was referring to me,” Dark Beast said as he walked out of darkness to the east with Agent X to one side and Selene to the other. ”Me and him have a bit of a history.”
Adel’s expression turned stern. ”Well, I am a man of business and I don’t want any bloodshed mixed into my business dealings. Is that clear?”
Mikhail folded his arms across his chest and glared at McCoy. ”Crystal.”
Giving a large, toothy grin McCoy said, “Of course, Savante. I am only after what I came here to bid for.”
“As am I,” Selene said, not wanting to be forgotten.
Savante nodded in the direction of the immortal. ”Madame Selene, I am glad to see you could make it. Your company is always a pleasure.”
Selene faked an embarrassed laugh. ”You do me too much homage. Please, go on.”
Savante’s ego had just been properly stroked. ”My Lady, I would do much more than simply flatter you.”
Havok’s stomach turned at the flirting between the two. Alex wondered just how far Selene might be able to get with her good looks if the rest of them weren’t around. She would probably clean Adel dry of any and all merchandise. Selene was a woman well aware of the power of her femininity; she exploited it at every moment and usually to a man’s regret. Thousands of years of practice were under her belt when it came to wooing men. Unless you knew her true nature, she wasn’t often denied.
Mikhail intended to save Adel that regret. ”She is not your type, Adel, not unless you like for the life to literally be sucked out of you. That is where she gets her kicks, comrade.”
Selene turned a pair of hateful eyes on the Russian. ”You speak out of turn, Mikhail. You would be wise to not do so again.”
“Ladies, ladies! Can we just get this on already? I’m on a tight schedule,” Dark Beast said.
Adel looked back to his assistant and nodded. Turning back to his potential buyers, he sat his two canisters on the asphalt and said, “We will begin opening bids starting off at ten million.”
“I’ll double it,” Mikhail said. ”Twenty million.”
Selene gave a cool bid. ”Twenty-five million.”
Dark Beast shook his head. ”Chump change. Fifty million.”
Havok watched as glee exploded upon Adel’s face. He was like an old man having three beautiful women fight over him. If he got too much more excited they were going to have to take him to the hospital. Alex had never gotten used to large amounts of money being thrown around, as he had never had a lot of money having spent his life as a part of one organization or another. Seeing fifty million on paper was one thing, but to see it offered up like it was a Wal-Mart transaction baffled him. Still, it wasn’t like the item wasn’t important. The Phalanx had been a threat that nearly destroyed the planet. Having a couple at your disposal would make you a very dangerous person.
With absolute conviction, Mikhail said, “Fifty-five million.”
“Are you sure this is a man you want to be dealing with?” Dark Beast asked. “He brings X-Men to see you face to face. I don’t think he can be trusted.”
Adel’s eyes went wide and he looked at Rasputin with rage. ”He’s an X-Man?!”
Alex spoke for the first time. ”A former X-Man. I care no more for them now than I did when I worked with Dark Beast.”
The Dark Beast licked his lips. ”You know you loved every minute of it.”
The time had Havok had spent with McCoy had been a necessary evil. He had thought that the only way to take down a fiend like the Dark Beast was to destroy him from within. So he had allied himself with the man in the hopes of annihilating him. The attempt had failed, but Havok had taken a valuable lesson from it. He had learned just how far he was willing to go in the pursuit of something he was felt was right. X-Force was such a thing for him. He would go as far and deep as he needed to go to make this team succeed. Xavier’s new hope deserved to be protected at all costs and he wasn’t going to let the machinations of men like Dark Beast to have the last word. Xavier’s way deserved to be given time to work and grow. As long as there were people like Selene around who were frozen in their ways then progress would never be achieved. X-Force was to be the line in the sand for people unwilling to change.
Adel was unwilling to turn from his anger. ”You actually brought an X-Man here? I cannot believe you, Rasputin. I knew your brother was one, but I thought you rolled with a different crew.”
“I do,” Mikhail said, “and you heard him. Former X-Man. He works for me now.”
Dark Beast wiped his nose with the back of his hand and laughed. “We’ll see how long that goes. Trust me, I know.”
Adel was completely flustered. ”I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m not going to be a part of it. The deal’s off! I’m taking my merchandise with me.”
Agent X in a split second let loose his gun and shot Adel’s assistant in the shoulder. The woman was flung back into their vehicle and Adel found Agent X’s barrel staring right at him. Lacking no confidence, Agent X said, “This deal was over before it even started.”
“Oh, I’ve been waiting for this,” Havok said as he unleashed a blast directly at Dark Beast. It hit McCoy square in his chest and sent him flying into a rusty dumpster. ”Team now!”
Blind Faith and Pipeline rolled out of the limo shooting energy weapons at Selene, who quickly threw up a telekinetic shield to defend herself. Madrox came out of the limo last and immediately split himself into eight dupes. Seven of the dupes pulled out old fashioned magnums and unloaded the bullets the direction of Agent X.
“Good ol’ metal slugs,” Agent X said as he fired off a series of shots from his long-barreled golden gun. The bullets he let go sought out the bullets attacking them like heat-seeking missiles. His bullets collided with the dupes’ and sent them all crashing to the ground without landing a scratch on Agent X. He winked in the direction of his attackers. ”Nice try boys, but I’m packing.”
“Bet you never heard a woman tell you that,” the eighth dupe said as he tackled Agent X from the side and drove a Bowie knife into the side of the mutant’s neck.
Savante watched the exploding violence in shocked awe. Mikhail quickly came to his side and enveloped them in an energy field. ”And you thought I was the untrustworthy one.”
“Obviously, I was mistaken,” Adel said with a gulp. ”This is madness.”
“This is the life we lead I’m afraid,” Mikhail sighed. ”Let’s get your assistant out of here. I can teleport you two far away from here, but I’ll need the canisters to stay behind.”
“What?” Adel said gripping the Phalanx even harder. ”You would try to swindle me.”
Mikhail’s face was stone. ”Or would you prefer you leave with those two?”
Adel shoved the canisters into Rasputin’s chest. ”Fine! Get me out of here! But don’t think I won’t forget this: I have friends, Rasputin.”
“As do I,” Mikhail said. ”Now let’s try and help yours.”
Havok turned his attention from Dark Beast and began to lay his cosmic radiation on Selene’s telekinetic field. Pouring the power on, sweat began to trickle down Havok’s brow and descended to his chin. Alex wasn’t firing a burst with a large spread, but instead a more focused, more intense beam. It was the cosmic difference between a garden hose and a fire hose. He knew that it might not be enough to make Selene crack, but it would be enough to catch her attention.
“You are indeed a Summers,” Selene said as she fought back against the power of Havok. ”Tell Rachel hello for me when you get a chance.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?” Havok asked through gritted teeth. Keeping up a concentrated burst this long would take its toll. ”Afraid she’ll hand you your dentures again?”
Selene’s eyes went wide with shock. Even after thousands of years, Selene was at her core still a woman and a woman’s age was never food for mockery. ”You would call me old? You know nothing of old, cretin! Let the oldest shadows wrap around you and grind you to dust!”
Black vines ripped up from the ground and wrapped around Alex’s ankles. Havok had nothing to grip on to as he was thrust upwards. He soon had company as Blind Faith, Pipeline, the Madrox Dupes, Agent X and Dark Beast were all enveloped in the black tendrils that Selene had summoned forth. Dark Beast laughed as he hung upside down.
“What a predicament to be in. Well, I guess it’s my good fortune that, unlike other women, she didn’t try to hang me by a more sensitive pair of body parts.”
Havok snarled at the laughing McCoy. ”Do you have a comment for everything?”
“Aww, it’s just like old times,” Dark Beast said. ”You and me just hanging out. Doesn’t it make you feel young?”
Selene rose up through the air and laughed in Havok’s face. ”It never changes. Men never learn to say the right thing.”
Havok reached up with his free hand and wrapped it around Selene’s throat. He began to pour cosmic energy into her body with everything he could muster. For while he didn’t claim to understand women, he did know a good deal about arrogance; he had faced down his fair share of arrogant people and they all had one thing in common. When they get to the point they think they’ve succeeded they leave holes of opportunity that you can dig yourself into and make their graves with.
“Should have never dropped your shield,” Havok grunted as Selene’s body shook violently and her skin burned.
The tendrils holding him and the others began to dissipate and Havok let Selene’s body drop hard onto the asphalt. Dark Beast and Agent X landed with thuds as well. Mikhail had saved the members of X-Force from rough landing by teleporting them beside him. He helped Havok to his feet and said, “I obtained the Phalanx from Adel. My driver has been listening to radio signals and it won’t be long before the Winter Guard shows up.”
“Then I guess we don’t have any more business here,” Havok said.
Mikhail nodded and they all were teleported away leaving Dark Beast and Agent X with a badly injured Selene. A singed Dark Beast lumbered over to Selene and waved a finger over the immortal mutant. ”Tsk tsk, Selene. You were acting naughty.”
Agent X twirled his gun between his fingers. ”Should I give her one?”
“No,” Dark Beast said. His voice had taken on a suddenly serious tone. ”We’ll tango with her another day.”
As the two walked away from the burnt Selene, Agent X said, “You know she’s going to kill us for not getting the Phalanx.”
“I’m well aware, but I don’t think we came out of this entirely empty handed,” Dark Beast said.
Agent X’s attention peaked up. ”How is that?”
“If there is one man I know its Alex Summers. He’s up to something and she’ll want to know what it is.”
Emma Frost rubbed her hands across her face through the computer console. ”Fighting out in the open? You were cutting it close, Havok.”
Havok was standing at perfect attention in front of Emma. He didn’t feel that she necessarily deserved that level of respect, but he wanted to portray to the rest of his team what it meant to respect leadership. Actions being able to speak louder than words being his rationale for that.
“We’re going to constantly run into risks like that, Emma. If we’re to be thought of as a paramilitary unit then you must understand that military plans never go according to plan. We did achieve our objective and that is what’s important.”
Emma nodded. She didn’t like it, but she understood it. ”You keep those Phalanx locked tighter than Cyclops’ behind. And I want to know how Adel even got his hands on the things in the first place. Pitiful little third worlders don’t need to be playing with first class toys.”
“We’ll take care of that, but we have a more pressing matter,” Havok said. ”Our teammate is missing and I have a strong feeling who has him.”
Emma groaned. ”That woman has no concept of what it means to let go.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll teach her,” Havok said. ”No one comes after my team.”
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To Be Continued...
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