DEALS WITH THE DEVIL

Part I

By Brent Lambert

Karl Mason had been working with Sebastian Shaw for nearly three years and every day he wished he had just stayed with Pizza Hut. The money was good, but when you worked for Shaw you barely had the opportunity to spend it. Just out and out quitting wasn’t an option. When someone did quit, Shaw went out of his way to make sure they never got another well-paying job. Mason couldn’t afford that. He was now raising three kids. Three kids who were bursting out of clothes and shoes faster than two horny rabbits made babies. The wrath of Sebastian Shaw just wasn’t something a regular Joe like him could afford to have hanging over him.

It was a rather depressing fate that was drowned out by liquor every Wednesday and Friday at the nearest pub he could find. The pattern was a regular one, but Karl never thought anyone would be observing it. Why would anyone ever find it necessary to tail him?

Bishop removed his binoculars and tapped the communication device in his ear. “He’s in, Bedlam. Remember don’t talk or look at him until he’s good and drunk.”

The response was received quickly. “I know the plan Bishop. We went over it a million times before breakfast.”

Bishop growled under his breath and said, “Don’t get smart. We’ve been on this op for two weeks. This could very well be the break we need.”

He had never been a great admirer of Cain Marko, but it was his own inattentiveness, along with others, that had caused him to be kidnapped. Bishop had seen the handiwork of Ahab firsthand when the Hellfire Club was holding him captive. Even Marko didn’t deserve that, but there was one thought that filled Bishop with dread. What if his treatment by Ahab turned back all the progress Cain had made over the months? The murderous Juggernaut could return and X-Corps would only have themselves to blame for it.

Trying to find Juggernaut had proven to be a longer task than Bishop had hoped. The only direct source on Juggernaut’s location would be the Hellfire Club. Getting any information out of them would be next to impossible. Bishop didn’t want open conflict…yet. So he had all of his team probing various employees of Shaw Industries to find any links that could lead them to Marko without a great deal of bloodshed. They had started off with Shaw’s receptionist in Singapore and worked their way from there.

Bedlam and Bishop were in Chicago tailing Mason. Omega and Meltdown had been assigned to tail another member of Shaw’s security in London. Mimic and Maverick were tracking a military attaché assigned to Shinobi Shaw in Uganda. They had to cover as much ground as possible if Cain was to be found quickly.

“Sorry to interrupt Bishop, but I wanted to know how the search was going.”

Wisdom had a bad habit of popping up out of nowhere. Bishop had gotten use to it. “We’re making progress, Wisdom. I am trying to keep this operation low key as possible.”

“Low key huh? Well, I said not to agitate the Hellfire Club. That didn’t mean bore them to death. Besides I doubt Cain would appreciate your speed.”

Wisdom was beginning to try Bishop’s patience and he was interrupting his operation. A man of Bishop’s precision hated nothing more than to have his sense of order disrupted. His XSE commander, Hecate, never pulled any of the stunts that Wisdom had. “You gave me this mission Wisdom. Let me handle it.”

“Need I remind you that we not only have Black Womb to deal with but now Sinister and a small army of Neo hiding out somewhere? Our problems are building while you tiptoe with this mission!”

Bishop had to fight to keep his reply from being laced with anger. “Do you want to add an even more pissed off Sebastian Shaw to that list? Because that is exactly what will happen if I go into this gung-ho.”

“I’ve let you play this your way for two weeks now. I expected you to work faster than you presently are. If I don’t see results soon, I’ll turn this op over to Cable!”

No rebuke was given from Bishop. He already knew that Wisdom had disconnected them. The bastard said all he needed to. Before he had sufficient time to cool off from the insult, Bedlam buzzed in. “Our target seems incoherent at the moment. Do I approach?”

“Move in, but don’t probe him yet. Do as we practiced,” Bishop said. Bedlam had an easygoing demeanor that made him far more approachable than Bishop. The future refugee’s body build was imposing enough and his M tattoo was sure to draw unwanted questions. Frankly, Jesse fit in. Bishop at his core was too different for this era.

Meltdown bit into her hotdog as her target strolled into a nearby café. She never made eye contact with the woman and she didn’t have to. Her partner, Quentin Quire, was potentially the world’s single most powerful telepath. Through the eyes of Quire, Tabitha saw her target, Alma Luke, positioned across the street from the café. Being partnered with Quentin made her job so easy it barely felt like a recon mission.

<You get what you need from her?> Tabitha asked through her telepathic link with Kid Omega.

<Yep. Too easy. Now you can leave our little calling card.>

Tabitha saw Quentin smile widely and she nodded to him in acknowledgement of what he wanted to happen. Doing what she was about to do was going against orders, but Meltdown had never been a fan of those anyway. Scoffing down the last bit of her bun she slowly walked into the café.

She didn’t fit in with the setting at all. Everyone in there was wearing warm colors and casual “wake up in the morning” clothing. Tabitha was wearing a pair of neon pink shades, a light purple spaghetti strap, and a short white skirt. So she received a strange glance from everyone in the facility upon entering.

<We don’t stand out too much now do we?> Quentin teased.

<Shut up! I can handle this.>

Clearing her throat a bit Meltdown said, “Anyone in here know Alma Luke?”

A middle-aged, robust Arabian woman with a buzz cut stood up and said, “Who wants to know?”

Tabitha smiled. “We’ve been watching you Alma. I know you come here every Tuesday and Thursday to get a caramel frappucino. You stay here until about noon and head home to go take your dog for a walk. By the way, Selma is a sucky-ass name for a dog.”

The woman looked completely stunned. “Who are you? What-”

Holding up a hand for silence Tabitha added. “Just tell your boss we’re watching him too.”

With that warning Meltdown turned away from the Shaw Industries’ security agent and walked out of the door.

<Nice. Knew I could depend on you to deliver the attitude.>

<I’m just going to pretend you didn’t even say that. Never doubt the ‘tude of Tabitha Smith!>

<I won’t now.>

Time was fluid for X-Man. He had been imprisoned for so long he honestly didn’t know if weeks, months, or years had passed. Time blurred like the colors of a wet painting. The hope of rescue had long since vanished from Nate’s mind. The last time any of his allies had seen him he was driven with madness and fighting alongside Madylene Pryor. They had probably thought him a lost cause and Nate couldn’t say he blamed them.

His imprisonment made him completely exposed. He had been stripped of all clothing and was being held by large magnetic spheres that wrapped around his hands and feet. The spheres were stuck to flat metal plates that were attached to the wall. Black Womb didn’t even have the decency to cover his genitals. Not like it mattered. None of these people viewed him in any kind of sexual manner. He was a bacterium in a petri dish as far as they were concerned.

X-Man stirred from his drugged state as he heard the clicking of high heels from afar. Looking up he saw a thin, ebony haired, Caucasian woman approaching him with a large syringe in her hand. She didn’t look like the typical staff around the facility as she wasn’t wearing a lab coat, but a body-hugging gray dress. He didn’t have time to ask any questions before he was promptly shot in the shoulder by the syringe.

“Don’t talk just yet darling. I need you together,” the woman said as she pumped the green liquid into Nate’s body.

She stepped back away from X-Man and allowed the drug to take its effect. X-Man was no longer in his drugged stupor and yelled. “What the hell did you do that for?”

The woman’s thin lips parted into a smile. “I like intelligent company and with all the drugs that have been keeping you sedated you were hardly that.”

Feeling an unusual dryness in his mouth, Nate stretched it open and circled his tongue around his mouth. Finally he said, “So who are you?”

“I am the new person in charge of your captivity. Denise Mueller.”

Nate laughed. “You’re lucky you don’t look anything like your mother.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call her my mother. Just another one of her genetic concoctions. You don’t have to hide how you feel Nate. I can feel the hatred coming from you. One of my abilities is empathy.”

Denise was trying to make him comfortable and X-Man wasn’t about to make that task easy for her. Especially considering the position he was caught in. “How long do you plan on keeping me here?”

Mueller’s stare turned cold as ice. “As long as is necessary.”

Mimic was flying above a black limo that was struggling to make its way down a dirt road. The vehicle was surrounded on all sides by motorcycles and their drivers were packing enough heat to make SWAT look lightly packed. Calvin was keeping his distance from the grouping and was using his telepathy to keep anyone from deciding to take a glance up. Tapping his ear and activating his communication device Calvin said, “How long do I have to follow these creeps?”

“As long as is necessary.”

“And just where might you be at, oh fearless leader?”

“Bout two miles ahead of you. Trying to stay far enough ahead to not be noticed, but close enough so if trouble goes down I can help you.”

“Maverick, if anything goes down, I think I’m plenty capable of handling myself. Powers of the five original X-Men anyone?”

“Doesn’t matter. Bishop paired me with you because you’re my operative in Australia. I’m supposed to look out for you.”

“And you do a good job of it, North, but just learn to trust me. You’re risking trouble by staying so close within potential sight range. Uganda isn’t exactly known for it’s wide expanses of woods.”

“Just keep tailing them, Calvin. Marko is depending on us.”

Never thought I would be on a rescue op for the Juggernaut. Boy how times change, Calvin thought to himself.

Suddenly without warning, a voice cut in on his communication device. “If the two of you wanted to know where I’m going all you had to do was ask.”

SHIT! Shit, shit, shit, Mimic thought frantically as he debated on whether to respond or not.

Maverick beat him to the punch. “Shinobi Shaw. You’re more clever than I thought.”

“Don’t give me too much credit. I just knew to look for you after my father gave me a warning. Seems a couple of your operatives spooked a member of my father’s security staff. He’s promptly informed all of us Hellfire members to be alert.”

“So you know we’re watching you. Maybe we should just take you out now,” Maverick said. Mimic relished the thought of being able to bombard Shaw’s limo with optic blasts.

“Alaska.”

Mimic finally chimed in. “Huh?”

“You’re looking for your little friend. He’s in Alaska.”

“And why should we believe you?” Maverick asked.

“Because I distrust Ahab and I know he’ll turn on my father one day. Might as well make his demise sooner rather than later.”

The night did not disguise Stryfe well as he moved down the alleyway of Prague. It was here that he was told to meet with the man he was sure would help him find his brothers through any means necessary. This man would consider his beloved siblings priceless art. If you could really call him a man.

As he neared the end of the hall a beautiful woman cloaked in pure white stepped forward and said sharply, “You’re late.”

“My apologies,” Stryfe said with a bow. “Your master’s messages weren’t exactly clear.”

“He’s still re-adapting himself to this world. Hence, why he has sent me instead of making a personal audience. You may call me Perfection.”

“An honor to meet you. I hope we have pleasant relations in the future.”

Perfection showed no facial expression. “The master favors you. So shall I. Come with me and we shall see how far you are willing to go for the sake of your brothers.”

“Nice job would be a sufficient compliment you know,” Jesse said as he hopped aboard his motorcycle.

Bishop slid his helmet on and said, “You accomplished the mission. That’s all. This is a thankless job so I suggest you get used to that fact.”

Bedlam deleted Bishop’s response in his mind and changed the subject. “So why are we up and leaving so fast? Thought we had a couple of more sources to tap.”

Bishop was brief with his answer. “No need to. Juggernaut is in Alaska. Now no more questions. Just follow me.”

Under his breath Jesse said, “Meltdown is in so much shit next time I see her.”

It had been Tabitha who had convinced Jesse to partner up with Bishop. Bedlam had figured that it would be cool to work with one of the X-Men’s best. The experience thus far had proven less than expected. Bishop was making him do all the groundwork and barking orders the entire time. Listening to him made Bedlam wonder if he had signed up for boot camp instead of a recon and rescue operation.

Now, he was having to follow him through the traffic of Chicago and damn near was going eighty miles per hour just to keep pace with him. The man was driving like he was the only one on the road despite the cacophony of horns and cuss words being directed his way. Either Bishop had watched too much Matrix Reloaded or he was getting a kick at pissing those folks off. Bedlam had decided which it was yet.

Yep. Official chomping out for Meltdown, Jesse thought.

Wisdom was at his desk late as usual. He was going through all the information that Fantomex and the others had retrieved from the Black Womb base. The amount of projects that the organization had going on was simply staggering. Though out of that information Peter was only able to discern the locations of three of Stryfe’s brothers. He was positive there was no more encrypted information as he had Shatterstar go through it just to be sure. It was a depressing thought.

We can’t let these buggers fall into Sinister’s hands or we’ll be having a King Kong-sized mess to handle.

When Bishop and his team returned from their mission he was going to have to send out teams to retrieve Stryfe’s siblings. He knew that doing that would put him directly at odds with Sinister and they had hoped to avoid his direct attention. The idea of Sinister having his hands on a small army of super psis was too terrifying to not try and prevent, even if it meant exposing themselves to the geneticist.

Just when Peter was about to close his laptop there was ding indicating he had a new e-mail. With the click of the mouse he saw something that made him tighten up with anger.

SENDER: Sebastian Shaw
SUBJECT: Some Information You May Find…

NEXT: Bishop and his team are in for a fight when they go to Alaska while Wisdom contemplates the authenticity of Shaw’s information.