Mission Briefing

Posted on Wed Jul 26th, 2023 @ 1:35pm by Duke Drake & Rebecca McMillen

872 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Catching the Crooks
Location: Roof of City Hall
Timeline: October 1, 1992 7:00 PM

Doctor Duke Drake parked the small car in an alley a few blocks away from City Hall. The cleanup from the riots a few weeks earlier had been completed, but the traces of the mental scars of the event were still raw. The Mayor had asked to meet the mutant that lead the rescue efforts to save him, so Doc used a payphone to coordinate the meet-up in case the call was traced. he pulled his hood over his face completing the Black and Blue costume of Double D, the Doctor of Disintegration. He teleported to the roof top of a building overlooking the alley he parked in before teleporting closer to city hall. Using his binoculars he scanned the roof tops of nearby buildings and of the city hall rooftop. As cautiously as possible he teleported to City Hall praying with every 'bamf' that he was not moving closer to a trap or worse his own demise.

Mayor Kline was not a fit man. He was heavy set, with a figure that required constant maintenance as he'd often joke. He still wore a nice button shirt since he was a professional, but he was sweating and breathing heavy. It wasn't the heat, since it was cool at night. No, his sweat was the result of his nerves. His heavy breathing was the result of him running up the stairs to the roof.

The final bamf that brought the Doc to the roof gave the Mayor a jump. He recovered, and took a breath. "First off... I want to say, thank you. I appreciate you and your people being there today. I don't know what those hooligans wanted, but thank you for stopping them." he figured he'd start with the carrot before potentially handing him the stick.

"You're welcome Sir," doc replied. He had decided to keep his answers short and not give away his real reason for showing up to the riots in his costume with the other teachers.

"I heard your statement on the radio asking me to call so we could meet. What's on your mind? Is it guilt for selling us mutants out with the mutant registration act?" Doc asked and instantly regretted it. The last thing he wanted was to get on the mayor's bad side.

Kline made a face, "Walk a mile in my shoes, or whatever it is you do. Not ever decision we make is easy. You think being a mutant is hard, try being a politician." he retorted, and probably regretted it as well. Give and take, tit for tat. Now they were even in wrong footings at least. "No, no I wanted to give my appreciation to you and ... yours. You saved my life, when you really didn't have to. Though I don't know about whoever is next behind my desk."

There was a hesitation before the mayor handed over a manilla folder. "Here. This hasn't been cleared for the press yet. Half the story is out there, the rest is here. They're your kind of people, your kind of problem. Getting them off the streets will get mutants out of the news for a few weeks, maybe. Might help cool things down." the Mayor offered. "And I think what's best for all parties is at least two weeks where the most interesting thing on the news is sports and weather."

"I agree," Doc said as he accepted the manilla envelope, before glancing at it. The contents appeared to be photocopies of police reports and stills from security cameras that were too blurry to identify. "I'm not gonna make any promises, we aren't detectives but I will see if we can assist your boys in blue."

Doc tucked the folder under his arm and looked at the mayor," Is there anything else you want? We saved your life because it was the right thing to do, not because we agree with your politics, Sir."

"I appreciate that. Look, I really do. Politics is an ugly business, son. Don't touch it." he shook his head, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief. "There's a few out there that make me look tame, so I'll do what I can to stay in office, to play nice. Not going to turn this into a campaign speech. No 'Vote for Me' tonight."

"I get it, though. No promises. No contact. The whole 'this never happened' bullshit. I'm not good at this, but it's not like I can tell my secretary to pencil you in for a secret meeting. So, if you need to get in touch with me, do it on the quiet. Or, I dunno, ummm... leave a folder or a note here, in this junction box." he motioned to an electrical box on the wall. "Damn thing doesn't work, and we can't afford to fix it. So might as well use it."

"Understood Sir," Doc said, "If there are new leads you have just mention the phrase 'Pandora's Box' and I will know to meet you again here that evening. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Without waiting for a response and clutching the folder of information Doc dematerialized from the top of city hall, reappearing almost instantly a block away.



#The End

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