by Prometheus
Dan sat on the hood of the black HUM-V with his shirt off, his expression cold and serious, Velo wrapped his left arm with white bandages.
"Oh, stop sulking." Jackie said, lying on the rising embankment, watching the clouds roll above. Dark streaks sat under her eyes from where her nose had been fractured; whole again, thanks to the armors repairs.
"I'm not sulking...." Danny replied with an even tone.
"Pissed about your shirt, huh?" Drake asked nodding towards the shredded pile, crumpled in his lap.
"It is neither the shirt nor the wounds that should concern him." Edulcore's clear, deep voice spoke up, standing behind Marshall and Jackie. "That...woman...was watching us for a reason."
Danny looked back and forth at the group with the same expression.
"First of all, stop talking about me like I'm not even here. Okay? Second, fuck my injuries. They'll heal fast. Third, yes Drake, I am pissed about my shirt. And, fourth, Ed's right. I'm not concerned about either." he droned out with a sharp dryness. "I was actually wondering where Tobias is.....he should be finished with his jog by now...."
"Maybe he's back at the factory...." Velo commented, still tightening the wrap around a slight fracture incurred from the conflict.
"No. He agreed to scour the rubble, today, for any personal effects that could be salvaged...."
"Maybe he's just running late...." Drake remarked.
"Is that a joke?" Dan retorted.
"How do you know he hasn't already been here and finished?" Velo interjected with a small smile.
"Christopher's absence should NOT be a factor of concern right now." Raptor insisted. "We are being watched. We must investigate whether this was a random incident or whether it's a precursor to something more!"
"Oh calm the fuck down, feathers..." Jackie began, running her fingers mindlessly along the smooth, round edge of her naval-ring, "....we kicked her ass once. We can do it again."
"This is no time to get over-confident, Ameristar--"
"And it's no time to get paranoid, either, Raptor!" she shot back rising up on her elbows.
"...here we go..." Dan sighed.
"Paranoia and preparation are two different things!" Raptor retorted quickly.
"Not when it's all balled up in that 'world-of-crazy' you call a brain!"
A small, electronic ringing erupted from Velo's waist-pouch, Jackie and Euro never pausing with their heated debate. Yanking out his black cell phone, Velo stared at it with a confused expression.
Marv Velo was the man that did not exist. He could count on one hand the amount of people on the planet Earth that even knew his name. In that, only one person knew his private cell number.
And, since that person was currently taking a vacation at Camp David, Velo's confusion was understandable as he read Unknown Caller on the screen. Clamping his hand over his left ear, he raised the phone to his head....
"Yes?"
"Velo, old boy! How are things?" The voice was a pleasant British, tinged with a hint of aristocratic pomposity.
Marv Velo had worked intelligence for the CIA, FBI, and Interpol. For twenty years, he had profiled the most disturbed minds, calculated post-Cold War terrorist movements along NATO borders, and logged twelve-thousand hours of field work. And during that career, one name would always come up. One name that had remained at the top of Interpol's list. One name that was mumbled and gossiped over in the hallways between agents with curted awe. One name that was wanted in six countries for charges ranging across burglary, grand theft, smuggling, trespassing on government property, and possession of illegal firearms. One name, whose capture was synonymous with the word 'promotion' among the Intel community. One name that was synonymous with the word 'legend' among mercenaries.
One name.
"....Montag...." Velo droned out in a cold, flat tone. "How did you get this number?"
Grissom's hair blew haphazardly with the wind, he and Tayden streaking down the main expressway in a 2003 red BMW convertible. His right hand gripping the leather-clad wheel casually, he rested on his left arm, a phone clutched against his ear.
"Come, come, Velo...." he half-yelled over the turbulence with a calm, even smile, "....no reason to stand on ceremony reserved for commoners. You and I are old horses in this game. Must the question truly be asked?"
Velo took a deep breath of irritation. The Sandcrawler. The one person in his long, and varied career that 'got away'. Until now. Nowadays, the world played a joke in its normal ironic humor. Now, when he was so close.....so easy to apprehend.....Marv Velo and Grissom Montag were on the same side.
"I don't have time for your games, Montag...."
It drove him crazy.
"Oh, sorry. Afraid you'll lose again?"
Montag never stopped loving it.
Velo was momentarily quiet. One could almost say....seething.
"What do you want?" he finally asked very slowly, and very quietly.
"A brunette...five-feet-nine....well-built, and a Martini so dry I'd die of thirst...." the smooth voice replied. "But, given the absence of both, I simply must tell you about our day---"
"Listen, Montag, I'm busy right now." he began, talking over the man. "We've encountered a trespass---"
"Let me guess...someone watching you?" the voice interjected.
Velo was silent for a moment.
"How did you know that?"
"Tayden and I had a run-in of similar proportions..."
"Was there a conflict?"
"Well, no. More of a confusing conversation...."
"Where are you?"
"Taking the Del Mar exit as we speak..."
"Meet us at the old site...." he replied. "....I'll contact everyone else..."
"Ah....the game's afoot, eh?" Grissom grinned with a slight exuberance.
"One question, Montag...."
"Yes?"
"Why did you call me on my secure line?" he asked evenly.
"Simple, my dear boy. It's the one line I know that you wouldn't let your government superiors 'bug'....."
"Then, why call me at all? Why not Dan?"
Grissom cocked a single eyebrow.
"Hell.....where's tha' fun in that?" he said quickly, immediately hanging-up on Velo.
Slipping the phone back into his vest pocket, he glanced over at Tayden.
Secure in the passenger seat, the ex-angel sat upright like a small child, jerking his head back and forth, finding new points of interest by the minute.
"Yur' quiet...." Grissom said, staring ahead.
"So is the island." he replied, fascinated, for no apparent reason, by the highway's metal guard barrier.
"I guess...." Montag shrugged.
The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes.
"Sounded like some of the others bumped into something similar to our 'friendly gent'.....at least from Velo's tone....." Grissom mentioned.
Tayden nodded. The two were quiet again.
"....interspatial slip-curve....." Tayden finally thought aloud.
Grissom glanced at him, then back again.
"Whot'?"
Tayden casually turned his head, his eyes soft and calm.
"The....portal... our friendly man called up...." he explained. "Looked like it was an interspatial slip-curve, riding the third-dimensional Z-axis....."
".....sorry?" he shrugged.
"Me too!" Tayden nodded with wide eyes. "I wish I could do that......what a brilliant and efficient use of spatial dimensions....."
"Yes....well......obviously..."
"I mean, to bend a wormhole open like that at will....." Tayden continued. "....that's impressive even on a heavenly scale...."
"So are the amount of women ah've slept with, but you dun't hear me braggin' none....." Grissom sighed, changing lanes. ".....whot's your point?"
Tayden stared at him briefly.
"Something big is going on.......something very big. We may be in trouble."
"Ahhh....we've been in trouble before, Tayden. What you worried over?" he asked with a big smile, slapping the angel on the shoulder. Tayden merely stared at him a minute more, then turned his eyes back onto the road, marveling at a flock of birds.
Grissom stared straight ahead. The smile began to slowly fade, bit by bit, as a worried expression crossed his face. Briefly glancing over at Tayden, he slipped the phone out again, pressing a speed-dial button. He clutched the phone to his head, turning away from Tayden a bit.
A number of chirps could be heard, as satellite link-up was established, and security protocols set tracing blocks.
"Good morning, Mr. Montag." the female voice was precise and business-like.
"Good afternoon, Tegan.....I require information..."
"Yes sir?"
"I know this will sound a bit daft, but see if you can track down any occurrences of glowing-blue portals appearing out of thin air, would you?" he spoke, muffling his voice.
"Sir, is this like the time you wanted me to investigate the existence of 'wood', possibly sighted in your pants?"
"Nooo..." he whined. "That was a joke, Tegan...."
"And, it isn't quite similar to when you requested all information on one 'Snapdragon T. McMuffinbottom', also, surprisingly, sighted in your pants?"
"I was drunk that night...."
"I see. Yes, well then, I suppose I shall begin my very long, and detailed search on everything and anything to do with 'glowing portals'...."
"Blue...blue portals..."
"Of course. I shall disregard all other instances of colored glowing portals....except blue..."
"Oh, stop being a bitch, Tegan...."
"That, sir, is quite impossible."
The line went dead, Montag grimacing.
He barely had time to think, when he suddenly slammed on the brakes.
The car skidded a few feet to a smooth stop, Tayden's eyes wide. Montag immediately threw it into reverse, racing backwards a couple of feet. He brought the car to a stop again, Grimm standing right beside the passenger door.
Tayden's hair, as wild as his eyes from the sudden movements, looked up at the imposing figure.
"Hello, Death...."
**********
Phil pushed up the doors to the factory's old delivery garage, the metal rolling along the track with a rusted, creaking sound. The open doors revealed the growling hum of a black convertible '69 Jaguar. One of many sports cars and motorcycles lining the facility.
His eyes narrowed, rubbing his temples lightly, as a small headache creased the back of his head.
"...we're on our way..." Mick said to the phone, as he galloped down the steps into the garage. Clicking it off with a chirp, he tossed it to Phil.
"What's going on?" Phil asked sliding into the driver's seat.
"Can't you read my mind?" Mick replied, climbing into the passenger seat, throwing a pile of crumpled black leather into the backseat.
"No thanks. I don't enjoy gay porn..." he quipped with a slight smile.
"That's not what Bell says...." Mick replied.
Phil laughed as they pulled out of the garage. He brought the car to a halt just outside, jumping out to close the large doors.
Dirk Bell immediately walked up out of nowhere, climbing directly into the driver's seat, closing the door.
"Hey!" Phil yelled running back to the car.
"Where we going?" Dirk asked Mick.
"I'm driving, Bell!" Phil yelled, standing directly beside the drivers door.
"We're meeting up with Velo and the gang at the old site.....some shit's happening...I don't know..." Mick casually explained.
"Tell me about it." Dirk nodded.
"Bell! Out! Now!" Phil yelled.
He threw the car into gear, stepping on the gas, Phil instantly diving over into the convertible's backseat. They raced down the curved asphalt driveway. Phil slowly leaned up into a sitting position in the backseat.
"You're a bastard, Bell." he murmured with a glare.
"So the rumor goes, Roxanne..."
As they neared the exit onto the main public two lane, Bell brought the car to an almost screeching halt as a red BMW convertible shot by, horn blaring.
Bell's eyes narrowed. Then, slammed onto the gas, the Jag burning rubber onto the main highway. Gaining velocity, the Jag met up, side-by-side with the BMW. There, in the driver's seat, Grissom Montag gave them a smile and a 'shooting' gesture. Tayden, however, bounded up and down in his seat like a child, waving excitedly. Grimm, his massive frame propped in the backseat, merely stared at them.
"I think you'd better let me drive, Bell...." Phil announced again, noticing how Dirk and Grissom had locked eyes, both beginning to increase speed simultaneously.
Both daring the other....
"Hey, I'll drive if you want..." Mick offered innocently, not noticing the rivalry.
"Forget it, god-boy....." Dirk replied, eyes still locked with Grissom. "One wrong word, and we'd take a left turn over the fucking rainbow...."
In the other car...
"Grissom?"
"Yes, Tayden?"
"Would this be the appropriate time for the seat belt?"
"Yes, Tayden..."
Both cars immediately roared with grinding gears and screaming tires, as the two took off into a race....