The River House, London, United Kingdom - 22:30PM
The man dressed in the fatigues of the British Armed forces stepped out of the helicopter and into the heavy rain beating down onto the helipad. Walking up to the two men sheltering under an umbrella at the edge of the structure, he looked over his shoulder to see the helicopter take off, leaving him exposed on the pad.
“Max, so good to see you back from Kuwait.” One of the men, an elderly fellow with a moustache and silver hair dressed in a business suit, announced, as Max stood to attention and shot a quick salute to the pair of men. “I’m afraid the debrief will have to wait my lad, we have trouble in the Union.”
“Another mission Sir Clive?” Max asked, as the second man took a deep breath. “You can fill me in the helicopter on the way to the hot spot.”
“That’s the problem Mr Zaran, the ‘hot spot’ is going to be on British Soil, Liverpool to be exact.” Sir Clive announced. “Director Jaspers is in command of the op, I’m just here to drop off a fresh pair of clothes and a clean knife for you.” He added, as he passed a holdall to Max. “Well good luck Jim, you’ll need it.” He added, as he popped back inside of the building, taking the umbrella with him.
“Sir, if you could fill me in.” Max asked as he opened the holdall and removed a sai and a combat dagger, before slipping them onto his belt. “What’s the danger and how are we countering it?”
“Our telepaths picked up some cerebral traffic last night, a pair of IRA extremists are planning an attack.” Director Jaspers announced as he brought out a pair of files, before looking up at the storm. “Well the weather isn’t letting up so I guess we’re doing this inside.” He sighed, before heading into the bowls of the building with Max hot on his heels. “Their names are Sean Cassidy AKA the Banshee and Molly Fitzgerald AKA Lady Shamrock, their sort of an Irish Bonnie and Clyde if Bonnie and Clyde could level a building with a single scream and run through a hail of bullets without being hit.”
“Sounds like a nasty lot.” Max replied as they descended a flight of stairs towards a door marked MI6. “Not to sound pessimistic but that’s a little out of my wheelhouse sir.”
“I noticed.” Director Jaspers replied as he unlocked a door marked MI6 open to reveal four people sitting around a conference table looking very bored. “That’s why Sir Clive and I found this sorry lot and brought them in to lend a helping hand.”
“Yeah or talon.” Max mumbled as he took in the massive reptilian monster slumped in the corner of the room, his head resting on the table. “And I’m not talking about the bloody lizard, you brought her here!” He hissed, as he pointed at an Asian woman dressed in a green silk blouse and leather trousers.
“Yeah it’s nice to see you too Max.” The woman replied sarcastically, as Max took a seat next to a bald man with wired running down his left arm. “If I’m a reptile you’re a rat for what you did.”
“I never called you a reptile love, that would be unkind to all manner of slithering things.” Max answered.
“If you two have quite finished with the infantile squawking I believe that the Director has something to tell us.” A second woman, this one pale, dressed in a black evening gown that contrasted with her long blonde hair but not the bat like wings running down her arms hissed.
“Sorry my Ladyship, you know what it’s like with ex-girlfriends.” Max grumbled.
“No, I love my husband, even though he’s no longer the man he was, what with the effect of our new diet.” The blonde woman answered before flashing a hint of a fang. “Still the synthetic blood MI6 has created has done wonders for restoring the reputation of the family name, especially with this new generation of fans and their misguided beliefs about my kind.”
“Ahem, Ladies, Gentlemen, we still have the threat of this attack to deal with.” Director Jaspers announced. “While we believe that there are just two combatants involved, these two are not above using explosives to target high areas of civilian traffic. As such we’ll need all five of you to be on the lookout when you’re in the field. Mister Sneed, you and your Shockwave armour are in charge of disarming any explosives that have been planted.”
“One day you’ll ask me to do something else Director.” Sneed sighed as he ran his hands along the wires on his hand.
“Not today son, and not tomorrow either I’m afraid.” Jaspers replied as he took in the rest of the agents. “The rest of you will be split into two teams; Lotus you and Spyne will target Cassidy, Lady Cromwell and Lord Zaran will neutralize Fitzgerald. Now I can’t stress this enough people, don’t let them meet up, the combination of powers will make them unpredictable.”
“Any kind of local support for either side?” Sneed asked, as Spyne shifted his head slightly and licked his left eye with a long barbed tongue.
“None for them, local coppers for you.” Jaspers told him, as he placed the envelope containing the profiles of Cassidy and Fitzgerald down on the table. “I’m not going to lie lads, people are going to die on this one, we’ve told the mayor, COBRA and the wanker in Number 10 but we simply can’t evacuate everyone from a city that size. We’ve started emptying the hospitals, moved the field trips of all the schools to tomorrow not to mention installed easy to activate refuge points but I’ve got the feeling that when those two hit the Mersey lives are going to be lost. I know that you will all try your bloody hardest to keep the numbers down, but be warned we’re getting flack for this one when the terrorists are caught and the dust has settled.”
“What about bringing in some agents from the Humanitarian, Intelligence, Dynamic Reconnaissance Agency to aid in evacuation?” Lotus asked as she stared into the dead eyes of Sean Cassidy’s profile picture.
“Commander Strucker and HYDRA are engaged in their own campaign over the pond so we can’t expect any help from them save for good wishes and crossed fingers.” Director Jaspers sighed. “It’s up to you guys…” He paused before shaking his head at the sheer madness of the situation he’d found himself in, “…it’s up to Excalibur.”
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