City of Fallen Angels || Hawkeye II, Agent Hummingbird, Beast & Iceman
Agent Hummingbird was sat at the back of the Quinjet, two tablets splayed out in front of her. One tablet had files on the group they were taking down open on it, another was running a satellite search and tracking their whereabouts, and one had a map of the city with all major facts on, and the last was the one Grace was putting the worthy information on to. Her attention was caught by the Young Avengerâs voice â Kate â Grace reminded herself. She listened silently, focusing on her and what she had to say. âThe satellite scan is running right now â a few hours ago several S.H.I.E.L.D agents located the truck and placed a tracking device on it. They did not apprehend the men as it would have been a great risk to the childrenâs safety.â Grace said, rising from her seat, folding her hands in front of her. Blue eyes slid back to the tablets, giving a small roll of her eyes at the unfinished scan. They needed new software â faster software. If she had the means, she would do that herself. Grace made a mental note to improve it once they returned from the mission. âIt is crucial that no harm comes to the children involved, and from what we know about the men trafficking the kids, Hawkeye is right â they will not hesitate to try and kill us or the children.â
âAngeles is divided up into thirty three barangays, but of course we are looking at its entertainment districts, Balibago and MalabaĂąas. Balibago is the largest barangay in Angeles, and when most brothels are located. Most of these brothels are running out of bars and hotels,â The agent glanced down at the satellite scan, a red light flashing up on it. She set down the first tablet and picked up the satellite scan, going to share it with the other members of the team. The truck was bumbling up the La Union Expressway fiercely, toward the Bablibago barangay. âIf you look at the tablets in front of you, you will see the satellite scan, the red light represents them â the green represents us.â
The hacker paused, running her tongue over her dry lips before pressing her lips firmly together. This mission was bound to be dangerous, but they could pull it off â it was just a question of pulling it off with no collateral damage. âThe city will be busy, thereâs no doubt about that. We need to be careful and effective in our plan and how we execute it.â Grace said, glancing at each member separately. âIt would be best to go against them as a team â take the traffickers out before getting the children returned to their homes. We could either do that, or we could split up: two of us distract the traffickers whilst the other two get the children before making an arrest.â Feeling like sheâd been talking at them for too long, Grace lifted her eyebrows, placing the tablet down on the small table once again. âAnyone else got any ideas?â
Bobby stared down at the tablet in his hands, glancing over the information file for the mission. Heâd read it all already.. it seemed pretty straight forward, but even the easiest missions on the outside can get the messiest â he knew that first-hand. While it seemed like it shouldnât take too long to plan out and execute, things changed. Not to mention, they were given the bare minimum of the information, something that â shit, what was her name? Kate! â Kate had pointed out. S.H.I.E.L.D hadnât put together the greatest of files for them to look over.. something Bobby was realizing more and more as he flipped through the tabs and poked around on the tablet. They knew about Angeles, they knew the back-story, and they had a map. Whooptie-freakinâ-doo. But Kate and â shit, the blonde one is⌠Grace? â seemed to have some plans thought out already, which was a good sign.
That was another thing that was tripping Bobby out a little. Heâd never worked with these girls. He knew they had to be good, considering one was a part of the Young Avengers and the other was a full on member of S.H.I.E.L.D.. but that didnât mean he knew them. He didnât know how they worked, and they probably didnât totally get how Iceman did his thing either. But he tried not to stress about it.. because it would totally work out.
It usually got him into trouble.. but Bobby was pretty bad at following direct plans. Plans changed, and they rarely worked out exactly as hoped.. But considering the rest of his team was already working something out, heâd pitch in â but heâd be ready for things to get messy.
âWeâve got to be careful of the kids,â he said, squinting down at the file. âIf theyâre all tranquilized, they canât really do as we say. And there are.. what, like forty of them? I think our best bet would be making sure the assholes who took them are taken care of before we actually get them out of there. Maybe one of us can swing back and check on them? But I definitely donât think we want to wait until things are secure before transporting them.â He paused and pointed down at the file. âAnd it says âlethal force is authorizedâ, but letâs try not to kill these guys. Iâd rather these bastards make it through so we can see about getting names. If this is such a big thing, thereâs gotta be more of this happening.. right?â
He looked up at the other girls and shrugged, tossing the file onto the seat next to him. âJust a thought though. I do wanna see these sons of bitches given what they deserve. How sneaky do you think we can pull off? Cause youâre right. They donât give a shit about these kids. Theyâll hurt them.â Bobby shifted in his seat, trying not to appear uncomfortable. This was his first real mission since the injury. Heâd be lying if he said he wasnât buzzing with nerves.
Hank sat in the pilotâs chair listening to the conversation behind him, while still concentrating as much as possible on flying. He had read the reports before they had left and committed their contents to memory. His thick, dark blue brows furrowed as he thought about the children that were being taken advantage of and trafficked. It disgusted Beast to his core. This was the reason why he volunteered to go on this mission. That and he felt he should keep an eye on Bobby. It had been a while since his young friend had been out in the field and wanted to provide as much support as possible.Â
Agent Hummingbirdâs plan seemed sound. Teams of two for each task would make both go faster. He had not worked with either Grace or this new Hawkeye before, but trusted that if they were chosen for this mission, they were capable and deserving of his confidence. However, he knew Iceman well enough to know how little the young man believed in plans. The other hero brought up a good topic for discussion. Hank was also pleased to hear him admonish the idea of using lethal force and smiled softly. Hearing the concern and nervousness in his fellow mutantâs voice, Henry wished that he could comfort Bobby at that moment. All he could offer right then was a sympathetic glance back, for what all the good that did.Â
"I believe the key is to intercept these traffickers before they reach their destination and have the potential to garner reinforcements," Hank finally spoke. "I concur that it is necessary that we incapacitate the kidnappers so that they can in no way harm their victims. Robert brings up a fair point regarding the children. In the plausibility that they are sedated, it will prove difficult to convey them all convey to a secure space. And provided they have not been sedated, we must ensure that they all remain calm. I- I believe we can all agree that the children take priority."
A sudden spasm shot up Beastâs furry blue arm. He did his best to control it and keep the Quinjet steady. The mutant grit his teeth and breathed in and out evenly through his nose. As smoothly as possible, he put on autopilot and grabbed his arm to stop the muscles twitching. I do hope no one noticed that Hank thought to himself. It will not do to have them thinking I am unfit for this mission. Dr. McCoy swallowed and continued to speak once again. âUltimately, I find Agent Hummingbirdâs idea to be a good one. Two of us can apprehend the kidnapper while the other two guarantee the safety of the victims.â
Kate nodded in agreement, still feeling a little out of place in the Quinjet. Her missions with Clint never quite had the same degree of tension or expectation, and the Young Avengers had never been quite so-...serious. Nor had they ever involved so many civilians, so many children. She shifted nervously in her seat, idly rubbing a finger up and down her bow, watching the blinking lights inch across her screen as she considered their options.Â
She couldn't get too close to the kidnappers or the children, that much she was certain of. She saw the sense in Iceman's â Bobby's? â words, but while she understood the value the truckers held in terms of intelligence, she couldn't guarantee she'd be able to hold back if she got too close. She'd learnt early the damage an emotionally compromised team member could cause, and the subject of this particular mission hit a little too close to home.
She glanced around at her teammates, Agent Hummingbird, Iceman, Beast. It was an odd sort of team, she supposed, but effective. They'd do fine without her up close with them. "Well then, I'm really not big on kids, so I volunteer for the ass-kicking section of today. If I can be dropped off a little further in front, you can count on your resident Legolas to have your backs," she said, gesturing to the bow lying across her legs. She did the most damage from afar, anyway.
She paused for a moment, glancing over the figures sitting around her, before resting her gaze on the blue form in the pilot's seat. "Agent Birdy, Iceman, I think it'd be best if you guys took care of the children. I mean, Beast, my man, no offence or anything, but they could get a little freaked out by your-...blueness. It'd give the kidnappers a nice surprise, too." It occurred to her a few moments later that it perhaps hadn't been the most sensitive thing to say, but she supposed there really wasn't a nicer way to word it. "Any objections?"
