West Pacific Supers: Rising Tide (38 page)

Seawolf nodded. She
had met her fair share of mutants that she would never honestly consider going
out with. Cicada Man, for instance - great guy, but…“Strong odors could be
difficult,” she admitted. “I have a very good sense of smell. And a giant cockroach,
well…” her voice trailed off. She felt petty.

“It’s okay,” said
Carol reassuringly. “Insect mutants have a hard time, but it’s not your
responsibility to date them. We’re here to take care of
you
today, okay?” She
smiled broadly and Seawolf nodded. She couldn’t help glancing at the clock on
the wall. She had never imagined that this would take so long.

“Don’t worry - we’re
almost done,” Carol reassured her. “What about employment status and
educational level? Would you be able to develop an emotional attachment to
someone who was corporate, government, military, a super team member - or even
unemployed?”

“I’m not shopping
for a business partner,” retorted Seawolf. “I could care less what he does.”

“Great,” said Carol.
“Last thing: Are you willing to leave West Pacific? And if not, how do you feel
about a long-distance relationship? “

Seawolf considered
this. Leave West Pacific, the team, her lighthouse? “I don’t want to move,” she
finally said. “I suppose a long-distance relationship would be acceptable in
the beginning, but if it became serious, he would have to move here.”

“Alright then!” said
Carol, typing a bit more than seemed strictly necessary to record what she’d
just said. “Well, we’re currently putting together a West Pacific group and I
think that within a couple weeks we’ll be ready to go. We usually do two types
of events: daytime speed dating and evening socials. Most likely, I’ll be
contacting you first about one of the speed dating sessions to see if you’re
interested in joining in. Have you ever done anything like that before?”

Seawolf shook her
head, feeling slightly sick to her stomach.

“It’s very low
pressure, just a group of guys and girls who have all been preselected by MDS.
Everyone gets a chance to spend a little time with everyone else, one on one,
to see if there is a connection. There will be facilitators there to keep
everything moving and if you like someone, you can let the facilitators know
afterwards when they call you. Then if the same person has expressed an
interest in you, the facilitators will help you set up a date. Simple, right?”

Seawolf nodded; her
mouth had gone dry.

“And don’t worry if
you don’t meet the right person the first time,” said Carol cheerfully. “I went
to five or six sessions before I met Alicia. Some people have better luck at
the socials. They’re a lot of fun, even once you’ve started dating someone.
It’s a great, supportive environment to bring a date for a little food,
dancing, and just hanging out. Well, it’s been great to meet you! Here’s my card;
give me a call as soon as you’re ready to proceed, okay?”

Seawolf took the
card and shook Carol’s hand again in a daze, wondering what in the hell she had
just gotten herself into.

She had
barely closed the MDS office door behind her when she heard someone say
“Seawolf?” The man’s voice sounded incredulous and sickeningly familiar. She
briefly considered pretending she hadn’t heard him and ducking back into the
office, but that would be cowardly.
Maybe
it wasn’t him…
She turned. It was.

“Paul, this is a surprise,”
she said. He looked as surprised as she felt and about as awkward. He was
wearing a dark blue dress uniform with a blue tie that seemed to be tied too
tight, for his face was more pink than usual. He had done something different
with his hair - combed it over, perhaps - and it didn’t suit him.

“Wow, look at you,”
he said, staring at her - in admiration or horror she couldn’t tell.

It was true; she was
in no position to judge appearances. It hadn’t seemed appropriate to wear a
wetsuit to the MDS office, and she’d gone through a dozen outfits before
settling on this one: a flowered blue dress, peach-colored shawl, and her
specially made shoes that bore an unfortunate resemblance to combat boots.

“Imagine running
into you here,” he said, giving a questioning look at the door that she had
just exited. Thank God the office was marked only by a sign reading “MDS”.

“What are you doing
here?” she asked him blankly, though he clearly was wondering the same thing
about her.

“Homeland security
conference,” he said, adjusting his tie and only succeeding in making it
tighter. She wondered if she would be required to resuscitate him if he passed
out. “Off-shore threats, that sort of thing. I was presenting on the Coast
Guard response to the
Avalon
One
situation. What about you?”

She paused for a
moment, looking around as if the answer to his question would magically appear
on the wall. She could lie and tell him she was here on team business, but if
that were the case, she would be in costume. Plus he probably knew she was on
Injured Reserve, so he wouldn’t believe her anyway, and if he did and then
mentioned it to Starfish, she’d get
hell
from
Sterling. But there was no way she could tell him the real reason.

“I have to go,” she
said abruptly. ‘I’m late.”

“Oh, okay,” he said,
his face falling. “Well, good to see you!”

She nodded curtly
and stalked off down the hall, very aware that he had turned to watch her go.
She felt incredibly self-conscious.
I
wonder if this is what it’s like to be checked out
, she thought
suddenly and flushed.

11:19 p.m.,
Wednesday, June 26th, 2013

Melville
Street

West
Pacific, CA

Cosmic
Kid, Camille, and Starfish were in the back of one of the team vans, being driven
out to meet with the WPPD who they were going to support in a raid against the
Infinite Circle.

“So, everyone ready
for action?” asked Cosmic Kid amiably. He was feeling good. They were only
supposed to be supporting the WPPD, which had actual tactical command for the
mission, but he was still field leader, even if the title had a lot of
asterisks next to it.

“I suppose, though I
would feel a lot more ready if I knew what it was we were doing tonight,”
complained Starfish.

“We’ll get the full
details once we arrive at the rendezvous,” said Cosmic Kid who realized that
Starfish was annoyed that he hadn’t been told about the mission in advance.

“But you already
have the details,” countered Starfish. “It would be more effective for you to
debrief us now while we’re in transit.”

Cosmic Kid had been
briefed an hour ago, but Dr. Sterling had given him strict instructions that he
wasn’t supposed to tell anyone anything until they met up with the WPPD.
Apparently, she was concerned that the mole on the team could be among the
operations, communications, or driving staff; given her paranoia, it was a
wonder that she had even gone along with Blue Star in making him field leader.

“You see how it is,
Camille,” said Starfish. “They don’t trust us.”

Camille frowned. It
was her first mission since the publicity fiasco and she seemed distracted.
Cosmic Kid hoped that she would get her head in the game before actual combat
took place. “Caution is a good thing, but keeping field agents in the dark is
not,” she finally said. “If Sterling doesn’t trust us enough to debrief us
properly, then she shouldn’t be sending us on the mission in the first place.”

Cosmic Kid reminded
himself that he really needed to make a positive connection with Starfish
tonight to compensate for the disastrous patrol last week. He could tell that
both Camille and Starfish were unhappy – probably not just with him, but with
the whole team. “It’s not a West Pacific Supers operation per se,” he told
them. “We’re just supporting the WPPD.”

“Well, that makes
more sense,” said Starfish. “I didn’t think that you could have already
ingratiated yourself with Annie enough to be given actual field command. Though
I suppose if she can make Camille acting team leader for two weeks, anything is
possible.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean?” snapped Camille.

“Nothing at all,”
said Starfish innocently. “After all, you led us to fame and glory out at
Avalon One
.”

Cosmic Kid shook his
head; this wasn’t going well. He hadn’t expected either Starfish or Camille to
be happy under his command, but he hadn’t expected insubordination either.

“Are we sure that
the WPPD is in the clear?” asked Camille, clearly making an effort to ignore
Starfish’s barb. “Wasn’t there some concern that there might be an Infinite
Circle connection from their angle?”

“No doubt Annie has
given them false information as well and she’s going to spring something
entirely different on all of us when we meet up,” said Starfish. “Wasn’t the
Grand Colonial mission supposed to be a fire-rescue training operation? Perhaps
tonight we all think we’re doing a joint operation against the Infinite Circle,
but actually we’re all going to go to a karaoke bar and have a sing-off.”

“There is an actual
mission,” said Cosmic Kid, feeling frustrated.

“Oh, it makes me feel
so much better to be able to take your word for it,” said Starfish derisively.
“I suppose the new team hierarchy is information-based. Take White Knight’s
secret identity, for instance. I was completely out of the loop on that one.
Though I suppose you must have known, Camille. Sterling must have told you when
she made you acting team leader, right?”

“No, she didn’t,”
Camille said shortly.

“Ooh, that has to
hurt,” said Starfish.

“Listen,” said
Cosmic Kid, “I don’t think that we should be…”

“What?” broke in
Starfish. “Socializing? If we had mission details to discuss, we could do that,
but since you’re being such a good boy and not talking, the rest of us peons
are stuck with idle gossip. Don’t feel badly, Camille. Sterling doesn’t tell
anyone anything – and that includes our esteemed team leader Blue Star. If you
ask me, she hasn’t fully recovered from Mr.
Awesome’s
untimely demise.”

Cosmic Kid realized
the conversation was spinning out of control. “Speaking of Mr. Awesome,” he
said, “any news on the Boardwalk explosion investigation?”

“You’d probably know
better than we would,” snorted Starfish. “We’re not in Annie’s special friends
club.”

“I’m not in any
special club,” said Cosmic Kid testily. He realized that Starfish was probably
upset that the team had made no progress on bringing in those responsible for
nearly killing him. Fortunately tonight they were going to do exactly that, so
if they could just make it to the rendezvous and get debriefed, Starfish would
be in a better mood.

“I’m sure Blue Star is
conducting an investigation,” said Camille.

“Not likely,” said
Starfish. “He’s too busy finding a steady girlfriend. Dr. Sterling is probably
leading the investigation herself and not telling anyone. She’s too smart for
her own good. I should be heading up the Boardwalk investigation.”

“You would make it
personal,” said Cosmic Kid.

“Better personal
than not happening,” said Starfish.

“I’m sure Dr.
Sterling is conducting a determined investigation.” Cosmic Kid was a little
surprised to find himself as Dr. Sterling’s defender.

“But if she isn’t
using the team for the investigation who is she using, the WPPD?” asked
Camille.

“Most likely White
Knight and her dear vigilante friends,” said Starfish. “I believe Dr. Sterling
moonlights by providing assistance to some of our local vigilantes and I
imagine that Gabrielle is the contact person.”

“That’s a dangerous
game,” said Camille suddenly. “I mean, I’m all for vigilantes, but involving
them that closely in team business is, well, risky.”

“Such is the hubris
of genius,” said Starfish. “I have two doctorates and can usually claim to be
the brain of the team, though when it comes to technology, Dr. Sterling
probably surpasses even my abilities. She designs tech for both Daedalus
Consulting and West Pacific Labs. She studied at C.I.T. and Stanford and has
been with the team longer than even you, Camille. That sort of record can make
one overly self-confident.”

“She’s very
private,” mused Camille. “But she’s the one person who really grasps Dr.
Hodges’ vision for the team.”

“Very true,” agreed
Starfish. “She’s like a daughter to him, or perhaps she actually is his
daughter; from what I’ve been able to find out, Dr. Hodges and her mother were
very
good friends. All of
which should make Annie above suspicion – but that’s suspicious in itself,
isn’t it?”

“You can’t suspect
Dr. Sterling was involved in the Boardwalk attack?” asked Cosmic Kid
incredulously.

Camille laughed.
“That’s ridiculous. She might be ambitious, but she’s no traitor. She and Mr.
Awesome were close personal friends. I can’t believe though that she’s Dr.
Hodges illegitimate love child, if that’s what you’re implying – that’s even
more ridiculous than suggesting she’s some sort of supervillain.”

“Still,” said
Starfish, “she is one of the few with the brains to pull off an attack of such
simplistic brilliance. Whoever was behind it had a thorough grasp of
super-security, as well as a flair for the dramatic.”

“Yeah, you’re
probably right,” said Camille. “But who then? If Dr. Sterling would coordinate
more with the team, we’d probably have a much better idea.”

“Waiting for Annie
to share information is like waiting for Dr. Hodges to finally retire,” scoffed
Starfish.

“Maybe it was new
tech,” suggested Camille. “Some state-of-the-art undetectable bomb with none of
the team staff involved.”

The van was slowing
down, which meant it was nearly show time. “Alright guys, enough conspiracy
talk for today,” said Cosmic Kid, trying to sound upbeat. “Let’s do what we can
to help WPPD nab some bad guys.”

The
three of them exited the team van and were greeted by a short Asian-American
woman in a WPPD uniform. “Starfish, good to see you, who are the new guys?”
asked Commissioner Ling, the head of the WPPD.

“Commissioner Ling,
this is Camille, formerly Nova Woman, and this is Cosmic Kid who is our field
leader for the operation,” said Starfish with a bemused look.

“Teen Ultimate,
right?” asked Commissioner Ling, who betrayed a worried look.

“No, West Pacific Supers,”
said Cosmic Kid.

“What’s the
situation, Commissioner?” asked Camille. Cosmic Kid was thankful for the assist
to change the topic of conversation to business.

“We’ve learned from
a reliable source that Drake Holm, a known supercriminal with ties to the
Infinite Circle is holed up in Crescent Academy along with some other Circle
operatives and no doubt contraband. Drake Holm is a mutant with the ability to
see through walls and we’ve connected him to the Boardwalk attack,” said the
Commissioner.

“How did you connect
him to the attack?” asked Starfish impatiently.

“A few things here
and a few things there,” said Commissioner Ling dismissively. It was clear that
she was going to be as tight-lipped as Dr. Sterling.

“So Crescent Academy
is a school?” asked Cosmic Kid.

The Commissioner
nodded. “A private school that closed down decades ago. It was converted into a
hotel, but it went out of business a few years back.”

“What sort of
opposition are we looking at?” asked Camille.

“We have concerns
that Drake is leading a team of mutant enforcers. Which is why we’ve brought
you in.”

“That’s what we’re
here for. What do we know about these mutants?” Cosmic Kid had actually been
hoping the mission was just going to involve mundane criminals.

“One is Chinese,
uses a sword, and has a penchant for decapitations. The other is green and
mean, quite strong and reportedly quite violent,” said the Commissioner. “We
also project ten to twenty armed gunmen on the premises; we need Drake alive
for questioning.” She showed a picture of a sickly looking man in his 40s with
pale green eyes.

“Are we sure he’s
here?” asked Cosmic Kid.

“Yes,” said the
Commissioner. “We’ve had the place under long-range surveillance for the last
week. Drake and his team arrived here about an hour ago along with several
trucks that we suspect have delivered illegal contraband.”

“So let me guess the
plan,” said Cosmic Kid. “We go in first as you surround the place. We move to
secure Drake and if we encounter Sword, Green, or anyone with guns – we neutralize
them to allow your people to enter safely.”

“Actually, I was
thinking of embedding you all with our tactical teams,” said the Commissioner.

“No, let us go in
first. We haven’t trained with your people enough to work with them effectively
and we should be able to handle this. You just make sure no one escapes and
provide support if we need it.”

“We have a
deployment plan already prepared,” said Commissioner Ling.

“Let me see it,”
said Cosmic Kid. Commissioner Ling was quiet for a moment and then nodded and
led the way back to the nearby command vehicle.

“Cosmic, the
Infinite Circle is a major international outfit – this isn’t like local thugs
and dealers,” said Starfish. “Let’s take some time, go over the Commissioner’s
plan, and then support the tactical teams properly.”

“Camille,
prognosis?” asked Cosmic Kid as they followed the Commissioner.

“I’ll have to see
the plan, but 20 armed men and three supers is pretty serious, especially as
they probably have the place pretty secure and will see us coming. I can get
surprise, but that would leave me up front without any support until the two of
you catch up.”

The three of them
entered the command vehicle and Commissioner Ling brought up a holographic map
of Crescent Academy. It had a fairly sprawling campus and even with 20 people
it wouldn’t be that well defended, but the defenders always had the advantage -
unless it was a siege, then it was the attacker’s advantage. However, sieges
weren’t effective in this day and age for publicity and tactical reasons.

“Our plan is
basically to cordon off the area and then move into the campus from the main
entrance on Twain Street with a secondary group moving in from the north
parking lot,” said Commissioner Ling. “If they run in the direction of 32nd
Street we have people waiting outside to apprehend them. Your people will be
deployed to support those three groups, Twain, Parking Lot, and 32nd Street.”