DANGEROUS GAMES

Part I: Passing Go

By Dino Pollard

“Okay…” began Fury. “Someone wanna tell me what the hell happened here?”

“Monet and I came down to check on Storm,” said Hank. “When we got here though… she was gone.”

“How’d this happen, Nick?” asked Logan.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” replied Fury. “No one could’ve gotten in and out without being detected.”

“Don’t think I like what yer insinuating…”

“Looks pretty obvious, Logan,” said Fury. “Your little weather witch hopped on her broom and flew away.”

“I don’t think so,” said Logan. “Somethin’s not right here…”

“Look at the facts, this-”

Nick stopped in midsentence and reached for his ringing cell phone. He activated it and placed it to his ear.

“Fury,” he announced. “What’s up, Dugan?”

Fury’s face was overcome with a look of shock at the news Dugan had just given him.

“No…” he said. “That… that can’t be right… Okay… alright… have the details printed up and on my desk. I’m leaving right now.”

He turned off the phone and looked up at Logan, Hank, and Monet.

“What was that all about?” asked Logan.

“Y’know Gabe Jones?” asked Fury.

“Sure,” replied Logan. “He’s one of SHIELD’s top agents.”

“No,” said Fury. Logan raised a questioning eyebrow. “He was one of SHIELD’s top agents.”

“What do you mean was?” asked Hank.

“He’s dead,” replied Fury.

No reply came in response to Fury’s revelation. Although Hank and Monet had no knowledge of Gabe Jones, they knew when silence was necessary. This is one of those times.

“How’d this happen?” asked Logan. “Gabe was always real good at covering his own back.”

“Ever hear of the Clan Yashida?” asked Fury. Logan thought for a few moments, searching his mind for any information related to that name. After a few seconds, he finally answered.

“Name sounds familiar…”

“They’re an Asian crime syndicate,” said Fury. “Think the Sopranos but Japanese and with swords.”

“What’d Gabe have to do with them?” asked Logan.

“Come with me back to headquarters,” replied Fury. “I’ll tell you all the details there. Plus, there’s some stuff we need to go over.”

“Just gimme a minute, Nick,” said Logan. “I’ll meet you outside.”

Fury nodded and exited the room. Logan turned to face Hank and Monet, who still stood in silence. They were taking in everything that had been said in the conversation, trying to piece things together. Neither of them was very experienced in this area. Between the two of them, they were probably smarter than the rest of the team combined. However, the workings of an international espionage agency were lost on them.

“I gotta go take care of some things,” said Logan. “Chuck’s still out of it, though, an’ I’m not sure how long he’s gonna be that way. Tell the others about Storm, an’ tell them that Fury thinks she left, but we’re not positive on that. If something comes up, you wait for an order from either me or Fury before you do anything, understood?”

“Yeah,” said Monet.

“One more thing, keep an eye on the new guys.”

He rapped his fist lightly on the door several times. It had been awhile since he had done this, he hadn’t talked to Maggie in weeks. After the incident with his family and then the attack by the Brotherhood, he just wasn’t able to find the time to pick up a phone and give her a call. Although now he knows he probably should have.

The door opened, and a girl with long, brown hair stood in the frame. She smiled once she saw who the visitor was.

“Scott!” she exclaimed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Where’ve you been, stranger?”

“Just… a lot of stuff going on lately, Jen,” replied Scott. “Is Maggie around?”

“I think she’s at the union,” said Jen.

“Okay, I’ll go check there.”

He turned to leave and Jen grabbed his arm.

“Word of advice, Slim,” she said. “You haven’t been seen or heard from in weeks. Right now you’re not exactly on her good side if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah… I know…”

“But just remember, if she hits you, you can come to me for legal assistance.”

“You’ve only just decided to major in law!”

“Hey, I’m telling ya buddy, you’ll be seeing the name Jennifer Walters in the papers one day.”

“I’ll remember to check that out,” said Scott. “Any… um… other advice you can give me?”

“Roses,” replied Jen. “And lots of them.”

“You hear that, sir?”

“How’s it coming?” asked Henry Peter Gyrich.

“So far so good.”

“What are the subject’s memories like?”

“Not an issue.”

“Good, that’s just what I wanted to hear.”

“I could put in a failsafe if you’d like. Just for extra security.”

“Do it. I don’t want to take any chances with this.”

“Good to hear, sir.”

“Gyrich!”

Gyrich turned to the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was Shiner, the former commander of the now-defunct M-Squad.

“What the hell is going on here?” asked Shiner. “What’s this I hear about you pulling funding from the M-Squad?”

“Sounds like you heard right, Shiner,” replied Gyrich. “You and your boys are through.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” asked Shiner.

“I’m the head of the NSA,” replied Gyrich. “And I don’t think that, I know it. The fact of the matter is that you were designed to take out the X-Men and other rogue mutants. You failed. Now, I’m turning that task over to Dr. Lang here.”

“So that’s it?” asked Shiner. “After all these months of service, and we’re sent away with nothing more than a ‘thanks for all the help, now get out’?”

“That’s not true at all,” replied Gyrich.

“What do you mean?”

“I never said thanks, just get out.”

“So, you’ve returned to us.”

“Not by choice.”

“A return is a return, Remy. You know that just as well as we do.”

“I’m just here for her,” replied Gambit. “Y’know I wouldn’t come here unless it was necessary.”

“I understand. Believe me, I do. But y’gotta admit, wit’ all de contacts you’ve made over th’ years, a body would think you’d have someplace better to take your protegé.”

“She more than a protegé, mon ami.”

“Less have a look-see, den.”

The dark-skinned man ran his hands across the face of Ororo Munroe. He pushed her long, white hair away from her face and opened each of her eyelids to look at the pupils beneath. Her coma-like state frightened Gambit beyond description. He wished he was there to help her when she needed him most.

“Can y’ help her?”

“De Guild can do anyt’in.”

“Can you help her?” asked Gambit once more. “Meanin’ you personally.”

“Non…” replied the man. “I may be powerful, but not dat powerful. Least not yet.”

“Dammit Gris Gris!” exclaimed Gambit. “Then who?!”

“Who else?” asked Gris Gris. “De Patriarch. He de one who can help her. De only one.”

“Y’know I don’ like askin’ him for favors.”

“Yer gon’ have to, Remy. ‘Less you want silvertop t’ stay in dis coma.”

“Where is he?” asked Gambit.

“Where he always be,” replied Gris Gris.

“How do you say, ‘I’m sorry’ in forty different languages?”

Maggie gave him a look that made Scott wonder if lasers were going to shoot out of her eyes and burn a hole right through the center of his forehead. She brushed a lock of blonde hair from her face and then looked away from him.

“C’mon Maggie… I know I haven’t been around lately, but I can explain.”

“Better be a whole lot of explaining….” muttered Maggie.

“It is,” replied Scott. “Trust me, it is. I’m really sorry about all this.”

“You should be sorry. I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”

“I was busy.”

“Too busy to pick up the damn phone?”

“Look… I know I was wrong…” said Scott. “And I want to make it up to you.”

He reached down behind the back of her chair where he had placed the dozen roses he had just bought for her. He lifted it up to the front of her face and handed it to her.

“Starting now.”

She looked at the flowers and Scott saw through her facial expressions that her shell was beginning to soften. He smiled at this and thought to himself, this is salvagable. They could easily work through something like this.

“You’re forgiven…” she muttered. “But! Only on one condition!”

“What’s that?” asked Scott.

“You tell me everything.”

“Everything?”

“Everything. No more secrets, Scott.”

A deep sigh escaped Scott’s mouth. He knew he might end up regretting this later, but it needed to be done. He cared too much about this girl to just blow it away because of some stupid secret. Logan be damned, she had a right to know what he was doing and why he hadn’t seen or spoken to her in weeks.

“Okay…” he said. “But let’s go somewhere private.”

Scott took her by the hand and led her out of the union. They needed a place they could be alone, somewhere they could talk without worry of other people eavesdropping. He led her down a flight of stairs, into the basement. He fumbled around in the dark until he found a light switch and flipped it on.

“Spill.”

“Okay… the truth is, I haven’t called you lately because… well, remember I told you I sort of have a job?”

“Yeah…” said Maggie.

“And remember how I always changed the subject whenever you asked me about it?”

Maggie slowly nodded, unsure of where he was going with this.

“Well, the truth is that my job… it keeps me pretty busy.”

Maggie sighed.

“If you’re gonna say you couldn’t call because of work, I am gonna…”

“No, it’s not just that,” said Scott. “Well… y’know all about that Magneto guy who attacked Times Square, and then there were those two guys at the nightclub, and the recent attacks by the Brotherhood. Right?”

Maggie nodded once more.

“Well… y’see the thing is… I-I-”

“You what?” asked Maggie.

“I’m a mutant.”

“You’re Professor Xavier, aren’t you?”

The bald man seated in the wheelchair gave no response, just maintained his vacant stare. Kurt Darkholme sighed deeply, trying to think of how he could get the man to speak. He ran his hand across his short hair and considered his options.

“My name is Kurt Darkholme,” he said. “Mystique is… was… my mother. I just thought I should let you know that I am very grateful that you have allowed my sister and I to remain in your home among your students. Even though you haven’t really approved of it yet, from what Jean has told me, you will be very accepting to us. All I ask is for a chance to prove myself.”

Xavier slowly raised his head upwards. Nightcrawler perked up at this movement. Would the Professor actually speak to him? Had he done it? Had he brought Xavier back?

Xavier’s head stayed up slightly, and then he dropped it once more. Kurt frowned. What more could he do? If Xavier had no desire to speak, or no ability to speak, then how did Nightcrawler expect to communicate with him? How could he thank the man for what he did? Then, he thought of an idea. It may not work, but if Charles could indeed hear everything around him, it would be worth a shot.

“I should let you know that what my mother did was wrong. I’ve known it for awhile, but she’s my mother. How could I possibly abandon her? Like I said, Jean has told me about you. And from what I’ve heard, you are a very tolerant and patient man, not to mention rational. You don’t condone the use of lethal force, and I know that you wouldn’t have killed my mother unless it was absolutely necessary.”

“Kind of comforting, isn’t it?”

Nightcrawler spun around and instantly shifted into a battle stance. He was prepared for any intruder who would dare attempt to sneak up on him.

“Relax Kurt, it’s only me,” said Jean.

“Sorry,” said Kurt. “Force of habit.”

“It’s kind of nice, isn’t it?” asked Jean. “Being able to talk to someone without fear of what they might say or what they might think as a result. How they might judge you.”

“You know him well, then?”

“Probably better than I know myself sometimes,” said Jean.

“I wish he would talk,” said Kurt. “I want to know what happened here.”

“You’ll get your chance, Kurt,” said Jean. “Trust me.”

The eyes of the Japanese crime lord sent a chill down Logan’s spine. They perfectly displayed the man’s sinister motives and his violent tendencies. He was a killer. One whom would stop at nothing to get whatever it was he desired.

“Shingen Yashida,” explained Fury. “Head of the Clan Yashida, one of the most influential and powerful crime syndicates in the far East. Seems Yashida has grown tired of the Orient and he’s setting up shop in America, now.”

Fury tossed another photograph on top of the one of Yashida. This one was of a young black man, fairly well-built.

“Gabe Jones,” continued Fury. “One of our top agents. He was recently assigned to spy on Yashida and, if necessary, take him out. Somehow, Yashida found out that he was working for SHIELD and had him killed.”

“Why?” asked Logan.

“If you were the head of an international crime syndicate, what would you do to a spy?” asked Fury.

“No, I mean why is SHIELD messin’ around with th’ Clan Yashida?” asked Logan. “Shouldn’t that be the FBI’s jurisdiction?”

“Two reasons,” replied Fury. “One, SHIELD is an international organization, and Yashida is an international crime lord. And two, we have reason to believe that he may be connected with terrorist activities.”

“So whaddaya need me for?”

“You spent some time in the Orient, right?” asked Fury. Logan nodded. “Still remember everythin’ you learned there?”

“I worked as a hitman for the Yakuza,” replied Logan. “You don’t forget stuff like that no matter how hard you wanna try.”

“Then I’ve got a new mission for you,” said Fury. “Infiltrate the Clan Yashida and take out Shingen once and for all.”

“What about the X-Men?”

“The X-Men can wait until another mutant terrorist pops up,” replied Fury. “If the situation comes up, I’ll assume field command.”

Logan looked down at the photo of Shingen. He rubbed his chin for a few moments in thought. After a few seconds, he stood up and looked at Fury.

“When do I start?”

Kitty turned away from her computer and grabbed the remote for the television. She flipped to CNN out of sheer curiosity.

{{ Stock prices are dropping fast, and companies have found that their accounts are being drained extremely quickly. All over the world, money is flowing out of companies like water in what has been dubbed the largest computer crime wave of all time. The culprit has identified himself as Arcade, a known computer felon whom the FBI have been tracking for some time. }}

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

“Oh God…”