#but fucking fuck IT WAS FULLY BLOWN CHILD TRAFFICKING

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

Learning about Canada while growing up in white leftist circles in America is Wild because it gets framed as this promised land of free healthcare and reasonable politicians, you've got people making jokes about evacuating to Canada when trump was elected and the handmaid's tale portraying it as this almighty place of refuge...

...then you start learning about the meaning behind Orange Shirt Day and the Sixties Scoop and residential school denialism and MAID and I will never, ever say that the us is above any of that and worse, but how the hell did Canada get the reputation of being better?

#rambling sorry #just learning about the sixties scoop and it makes me want to throw up #don't know the extent in america because most of what I found was from canada #but fucking fuck IT WAS FULLY BLOWN CHILD TRAFFICKING #coming on the heels of residential schools #just give the kid to any random piece of shit as long they're white...this is absolutely disgusting #and that's on top of MAID and all the bad ways Canada's free healthcare can go #I don't know if residential school denialism is a thing in America but Canada apparently has a problem with #these wastes of space denying mass child abduction/torture/murder so good to fucking know #canada #canadian history #sixties scoop #residential schools #tw child theft #child theft #kidnapping mention #racism #colonization #colonialism #indigenous history #disability #ableism #anti colonialism #anyway I'm sorry to my Canada followers it's not your fault your country was/is a shit show #and it makes no sense because they ADMIT IT!!! A lot!!! #and people still thinking they're better! #trafficking mention

[serenzippity]

The Scales

Words: 3658 Member/Pairing: Monsta X, Got7, Exo Genre: Alternative Universe, inspired by 6 Underground Warning(s): Language, mentions of drug use, mentions of human trafficking, mentions of death/killing, mentions of violence, implied smut

Chapter One - Sunrise

Specter Underground

Seoul, South Korea May 19th, 2019

Jae’s POV

“Are you ready Jae-baby?”

It was hard to not roll my eyes at the annoying nickname, but I kept my feelings in for the sake of our audience. One and I stood before the semi-circle of chairs, but this time I.M was anxiously perched in my former seat. The younger boy stared at the projector screen behind us in earnest, the disturbed look on his face permanently etched on his features from when we showed him our targets. The opposite wall in the expansive room seemed to put him on edge, but that was part of the job. He seemed to take the declarations from Lux and I a lot better than we were expecting.

“There will be four missions in total,” I said, ignoring One and beginning the briefing. “They will require all our strengths, meaning Seven you’ll often be on lookout and Lux you’ll be on medical standby.” The two of them nodded in agreement, Seven giving me a subtle wink before I turned to the man next to me. “One, would you like to start with the first mission?”

It was rare when One got truly serious, but he was all proud shoulders and authority as he addressed the room. “Mission Alpha will be a ground game. Lux, Jae, and Seven will remain here on coms. I.M, Kai, Wonho, and I will all infiltrate JYP Enterprise for an intel extraction.” I.M looked wide-eyed and scared when One said his name, but he didn’t say anything about his obvious internal fear. “We will be utilizing disguises and trackers, so make sure you get those worked out with Lux before we ship out.”

“Sweet,” Kai whispered to Seven, fist-bumping the sniper with an excited smirk on his face.

“I.M and I will go in as cleaning crew where we will be stationed on the lower, underground levels.” Clicking the remote, the screen lit up with an outline of the overall layout of the building. Special emphasis was placed on the hidden underground floors where I knew the JYPE secrets were kept. “He and I will extract the data we need from their mainframe on the fourth level. I’ve already begun working on the bug that will transmit all the JYPE data to our handy-dandy computer here.” One was pleased as he explained the mission, acting like a professional but the light behind his eyes reminded me of a kid in a candy store as he pointed to the fourth-floor diagram.

“Kai and Wonho will go in as security guards. Kai will act as a lookout in the lobby of the building while Wonho will remain in the security room. You,” One said gesturing to the man-made out of pure muscle, “will give coms full access to their camera system. We need to remain invisible for this to work.” Wonho nodded, not saying anything but he also began to shift with excitement. “Once we have access to their mainframe Jae-baby, Wonho, Seven and I will sort through the files to find what we need.”

“And what exactly will you be looking for?” Lux asked watching the screen behind us intently. One looked at me with a raised brow and gestured for me to answer with an unnecessary flourish of his hands.

Rolling my eyes, I clicked my respective remote to change the screen to a map of three different docks. “JYPE owns docks in three different ports; one in Busan, one in Pyeongtaek, and two in Icheon. We are looking for shipping information for all three docks, particularly dates where there is a blackout on the dock manifests.” Clicking the remote again, a close up shot of the Icheon dock took over the screen. “The Boss uses JYPE docks to bring in his shipments, so he will more than likely use the ones in Icheon to smuggle in his goods.”

“The Boss,” One said, turning his attention to I.M when the younger man began to raise his hand in question, “also known as Suho, is the leader of a Korean mafia syndicate known as Exo. He is financed by a scary, shadowy power figure.” He clicked his remote and a grainy, unclear image of the man in question popped up. “He is elusive, usually surrounded by bodyguards and his gang members. He is the worst of the worst and he trafficks anything under the sun, including little cuties like you.” I.M’s eyes went wide as Jackson stared him down. 

“He murders, steals, and is one of our primary targets,” I said nonchalantly, continuing on as if I was telling the team what time it was. “It is likely that Suho will use the docks in Icheon to bring in his shipments. So, once we extract the data from JYPE we will look for any indication of when and where they will come in, as well as what they are so we have the necessary precautions on stand by.”

“Mission Alpha is a get in and get out type of plan,” One said, addressing the three men who will be joining him. “We get in, plant the bug, and get the hell out of dodge. All we need is information, no injuries or casualties.” I.M got paler at the mention of casualties.

“Standard rules apply?” Kai asked.

One nodded his head and began to click away to begin the brief on the next mission, but before he could begin speaking I.M’s small voice broke the silence. “What are the standard rules?”

Lux, in all her motherly glory, shifted in her seat and turned to him. She gave him a sad smile that looked out of place her pretty face, as a gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder. She opened her mouth to begin speaking but was swiftly cut off by Kai.

“The rules are that if you get left behind, you stay behind.” He fixed the younger man with a hard gaze, but it fell immediately when Lux sharply turned around to give him a dark glare. Her hand never left I.M’s shoulder, but her body was radiating anger that was fixated on Kai. It was amusing to watch the usually fearless spy cower especially considering Lux wasn’t very imposing.

I.M started to visibly shake at that point, all of the color that was left in his cheeks was now fully drained. One, in all his child-like wonder, began to speak again, ignoring the frightened young man sitting in front of him.

“Once we have all the information we need, we will be quietly taking out the recruiters.” He clicked his remote to flip through the slides, coming to rest upon two pictures of very attractive models. “Jae-baby this is your mission so I’ll let you take the reins.”

I snapped my fingers in Kai’s general direction to pull him out from under Lux’s angry stare. The spy came to quickly, but his eyes still kept darting to the woman next to him. “Mission Beta is a standard infiltrate to remove targets.” The lingo went over almost everyone’s head except for Kai. He understood immediately what I said, nodding in understanding—it was a ‘get in, kill them, and get out undetected’ kind of mission.

“Our targets are Chae Hyungwon and Jacqueline Mendoza, also known as Jace Maddox,” I said gesturing to the beautiful people on the screen. Hyungwon was a model with ethereal features that were framed by luscious silver hair. Jace was a beautiful Hispanic woman with glowing skin and dark eyes that could pierce a soul. The glamour shots on the screen hid their dark-sides well. “They are both the primary recruiters for The Boss’s human trafficking business. They bring in the girls and get a cut when Suho sells them.” Flipping to the next slide there were two more pictures of the targets, but these showed paparazzi photos of them out on the town, both looking carefree. “Suho doesn’t protect them as heavily as his other lackeys, possibly because he sees them as disposable. They are rarely seen with any member of the syndicate and show no direct contacts besides their meetings with The Smuggler.”

“So, this should be easy?” Kai asked, leaning forward and staring at the pictures attentively. I could see his brain working at a million miles a minute, already forming a plan. His fast mind was what made him one of the best spies in the game.

“More or less,” I confirmed, giving him a smirk that spoke miles to anyone used to this lifestyle, “This should be like any other mission for us.”

“What is the color?” He asked, gnawing on his lip and suddenly looking slightly tense.

This spy lingo also seemed to go over everyone’s heads except for Seven who leaned forwards to mirror Kai. However, instead of looking at the images he was looking at me with a question behind his normally stoic façade. I made quick eye contact before turning to look at the two blown-up images of Hyungwon and Jace. “Red,” I breathed out, making sure I didn’t look at Seven as I said it.

In our world—the world of lies and deceit—Kai and I lived by a color-code. Our missions were defined by them. The colors indicated how far we were to go to complete the task. Green usually meant that there were tamer ways to get what we wanted. These missions usually were easier and required us to be inconspicuous. Yellow was where we had to infiltrate and if there were roadblocks in our way, we could use more unconventional means. These were a large portion of our prior work. However, red missions required us to complete the mission by any means necessary. This meant we could kill, cheat, and fuck until we are called back with success. Knowing the reputation of our two targets we would have to resort to our special training. It wasn’t something I was fond of, but it came with the territory.

I kept my eyes trained on the two pictures of the target because I didn’t want to see Kai or Seven’s reactions, but I could feel the eyes of the sniper burning a hole at the base of my neck. For a second I almost felt guilty. Since coming to Specter my humanity began to resurface, and it was a bitch to deal with at times. 

“Moving on,” I hissed, pulling myself out of that headspace and clicking my remote to show a scan of an invitation. “Kai, Wonho, and I will be attending the annual Humanité Gala. Hyungwon and Jace are already on the guest list.”

“The irony,” One giggled.

“Kai and I will be going as dates. You will be posing as an up-and-coming businessman, while I will be his flavor of the month.” One and Wonho snickered at this but were shut up by Lux’s quick and harsh shush. “Wonho you will be our bodyguard and eyes on the ground.”

“Typical,” the muscular man murmured, which cracked a small smile on I.M’s face.

“Seven, you will be our eye in the sky during the Gala up behind the stage in the rafters,” I said, finally looking to the man on the edge of the semi-circle. He didn’t say anything but gave me a quick nod in acknowledgment. “Lux and One will be on coms while I.M will be our chauffeur to and from the venue.”

I.M perked up at his name, and One gave him a wink at his overt interest. “Don’t worry kid, I’ll let you choose which car you get to drive.” This seemed to excite the young daredevil and I couldn’t help my small smile.

“Kai and I will take out our targets in the venue by taking them back to their hotel rooms. After they are disposed, Kai and I will scale up to the roof where Seven and Wonho will rendezvous with us.” I clicked through to show various diagrams of the building, including where we would meet with the aforementioned sniper and jarhead. “From there we will make our way to the adjacent building, down their service entrance, and meet I.M on the ground. From that point on its extraction until we meet back here at headquarters.”

“A-and what happens in the hotel rooms?” Lux asked quietly, looking uncomfortable and anxious as she curled up in her seat.

I had to stop and clear my mind to answer her. I was planning on discussing that with Kai privately, but now that the question was out in the open I didn’t feel like I could deflect especially with Wonho, I.M, and One looking at me intently. Coughing awkwardly I looked at Lux and Kai, once more refusing to look at the sniper to my left. “I will take Hyungwon and Kai will take Jace. We will both work the targets to ensure they take us to their respective hotel rooms. From there..” I had to stop for a moment and push myself back into my deadly-spy persona. That version of me wouldn’t feel embarrassed talking about this. “Kai and I will subdue them. Hyungwon is notorious for what he puts up his nose, so I will make it look like they overdosed.”

Everyone kept staring at me with some semblance of shocked expressions. One’s eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline. He had no input on the details of this mission, so this was his first time hearing my plan. Wonho looked impressed, I.M looked almost nauseous, Lux looked angry, and Kai looked pained. I still couldn’t make myself look at Seven.

Clearing my throat and tossing my hair over my shoulder, I clicked the remote to the next slide. “Moving on,” I said, quickly ending the tension building. “Operation Gamma is the next phase of all this.”

One stayed silent during my whole spiel, but I let him take over this one because this was his brain-child and the culmination of everything we had been working towards. “This is the mission that requires all of us. It’s what we are here to do,” he said, clicking to another diagram of the JYPE ports. “This is the mission where we intercept the shipment and take out Suho’s Smuggler.”

One clicked to show a grainy picture of a young man with black hair. He looked like he had multiple piercings on his face and ears, but the quality was poor. However, his creepy smile still showed free and clear through the noise. “This is Byun Baekhyun and he is Suho’s right hand. Killing him will draw Suho out and will give us an opportunity to strike. With Baekhyun dead, Suho will retreat to his generals and call a meeting at his home in Busan.” One showed an aerial image of a compound, but before any of us could question it he continued on. “Jae, Kai, Wonho, and I will all be on the ground, hidden and ready to strike should we need to. I.M and Lux will be on coms and Seven will be our eye in the sky. Should you see an opportunity to take a shot, take it. I don’t care where the bullet comes from as long as he drops dead.”

“Standard rules?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes,” One nodded. “From there we will rendezvous back here, but we can’t create finite plans until we complete Mission Alpha.”

“That’s very vague and not stressful at all,” Seven growled, looking at his brother with clear annoyance.

One simply shrugged and pouted at his elder, “What can you do?”

“After we complete Gamma it’s a free-for-all,” I said, interrupting the two siblings. “Mission Spring Cleaning is where we separate to take out the rest of the syndicate.” Clicking over, I stopped at a page that had four images on it, with Suho sitting in the upper corner. Two of the images had grainy pictures of other targets, but one of them was simply a black and white silhouette. “One will undergo a solo mission to find and take out Suho. Don’t ask him about his plans he won’t tell,” I told them exasperatedly, looking at One’s gleeful face with an eye roll.

“Yup,” One chirped with a pleased smile. “Jae-baby here will be going after Suho’s financier, who shall be kept anonymous until her mission is done.” Everyone looked confused at this, but One continued before any questions could be asked. He exceptionally was good at cutting people off. “Wonho will be taking out Suho’s rabid-dog, affectionately name Psychopath,” he said pointing to an image of a blonde-haired man. “And the final target, Suho’s mad-doctor Yara Valaskova, is up for grabs for whoever wants to blow her brains out.” One said it so casually, and I thought I.M was about to throw up. “But we can cross that bridge when it comes to it.”

“Any questions,” I asked, facing the room and opening up the floor. No one moved, which wasn’t a shock considering how desensitized all of us, except for I.M, were to death and killing at this point. The young man in question still looked off-put, but he slowly raised a shaky hand into the hair. “I.M?” I said in acknowledgment.

“When do we start?” His question came out softly and it was definitely not what I was expecting. Based on the look on his face I was expecting a more fearful plead, but he surprised me and I couldn’t help the wide smile that broke over my face. 

I liked this kid. 

One just giggled at his question and began to rock back and forth like an idiot. He looked like a child who got a cookie out of the cookie jar after being told no—so mischievous and mocking all at once. His smile was so big that it touched his eyes, and I could immediately tell that we were in for some of his obnoxious theatrics.

“We start when you die my little spider monkey,” One giggled, causing I.M to almost fall out of his chair in fear.

Rolling my eyes, I took this as my cue to leave and end the meeting. “Go get some sleep everyone,” I sighed, stepping away from the projector screen and away from One and Wonho as they hauled I.M to his feet and dragged him to One’s office. Lux quickly stood up and left, no doubt going to her lab. Kai watched her go with a sad look in his eyes but remained seated. When she was gone he stared at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world. I observed him with pity from beyond the semi-circle, but I was quickly distracted by the feeling of two large hands on my hips.

“Red huh?” the dark voice whispered in my ear, sending goosebumps up and down my spine at the deep tone that was laced with lust. Teeth latched onto the sensitive skin where my neck met my jaw and I could feel myself melt into the familiar body behind me.

“You promised you would stop getting jealous,” I said, muffling a whine as Seven grazed my throat with sharp nips and wet kisses.

He placed a particularly hard bite on the juncture of my throat which had me grasping the hands on my hips like an anchor. He brought me flush against him and I could feel his growing hardness behind me as he took control and ground my hips into his. “You like me jealous,” He whispered harshly into my ear before dragging me away from the common room and the sad male spy.

At first it was awkward moaning out a number as I came over and over again against Seven’s tongue, fingers, and dick. I didn’t know the real name of my lover and that kept me at bay for a little while. However, in the year since I joined Specter, he became my favorite pastime. Soon, knowing his real name became insignificant so long as I could walk away from his bed deliciously sore and spent.

Seven is a killer and he’s one of the best. He did two tours with the Marines and he came back with a Iot of cash, a name for himself, and a lot of medals. But somewhere in those deserts he lost his soul. He’s always trying to fuck the war out of himself while fucking me. 

I have orgasms and he has war-gasms. 

It works out for us both in the end. When I am shaking I forget about dark, brown eyes and my urge to take revenge. I forget about stuffing white powder up my nose or plunging a knife into tender flesh. I forget about the screams of help that I ignored for a warm body and beautiful lies.

He pulled me down a dark hallway and into one of the various bedrooms in the compound. This one was unoccupied, but for the night it would be our escape. We were a mess of tongues, limbs, and moans as we fell on the bed together. In the darkness I couldn’t see a damn thing, but Seven was as clear as a sunny day. Clothes were ripped off and hands were wandering and grabbing at heated skin. My pants were lost somewhere in the room and I was pushed onto my back with the tattered remains of my t-shirt lying around me. Seven was as equally torn to shreds as we became one with choked gasps. I could feel the energy vibrating off of him—waves of lust, jealousy, and anger wrapped me around him as I saw stars behind my eyes.

At this very moment I wanted to forget everything that wasn’t Seven and the way he danced across my flesh. Everything, except for him, was insignificant for a few hours. Once the sun rose we would go back to our anointed roles and personas, but for tonight we were just two lost souls who needed something to keep us from floating away.

Song: Revolution - The Score

It’s been a minute y’all. On that note, I have a lot of time to read and write at the moment, so I finally finished this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it, especially considering it’s been a while since I posted anything. 

#the scales #monsta x fanfic #got7 fanfic #exo fanfic #got7 smut #Monsta X smut #exo smut #monsta x angst #got7 angst #exo angst #Jackson wang #jackson #kim jongin #kai #lee hoseok #wonho #im changkyun #i.m #mark tuan #mark

[gingerhulkwrite]

That boy.

I can do this. I can do it; I will do it.  He tells himself this, everyday it seems, to just get him through menial tasks. But this--this big mission--this feels out of his depth. He'd almost shied away from agreeing when Shanta had asked him to join the X-Squad on an overseas tracking mission. Brazil--really far from home. His father had encouraged it, and Sam and Alexia had urged him to go.  They all thought he could do it. For them, he--

"You barely look awake." "M'good t'go, chere." "--Your entire output is nicotine. You've been smoking?" "Oops...I always fo'get ya can sense those thin's."

That was almost the last time he'd see her smile, because moments later, they landed, flat in the middle of a makeshift landing pad in forest area, the noise of the city still audible from the distance they remained at. Jackson dropped from the helicopter first, followed closely by Owl--and then Shanta, who lingered a moment to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. It was a simple enough mission, according to Remy. There was some organ trafficking possibly happening, the usual thing the X-Squad dealt with--and they'd been called in now that a mutant child's organs had come up in various hospitals, resulting in more deaths as the donated tissue clashed with the entirely human transplant patients. Seven people had died. Shanta had told them in a grim voice, 'Boys, no more people are dying from this.' and Oliver and Jackson's faces mirrored her determination, if not her seriousness. 

They spread out, worked in silence, and Carter had never felt so left out even when included before. They all worked as though they shared a mental link, with no need for conversation, while he seemed to just...drift, verging on asking questions and instead contenting himself with waiting for answers. Oh well, I can't mess things up if I don't actually DO anything...The others searched, followed the trail the local secret authorities had left them to follow, and he trailed behind. Scattered a small distance from each other, searching for their informant as well as each other.  ...and it's there, that he spots something. They've seen the same person almost five times over. He's sure of it. Jackson's description of the same man on his end of the perimeter matches Oliver's, matches Shanta's--and Carter's passed this man nearly twice now. He's speaking to a child, and he looks harmless. Tall, not wearing anything the locals aren't--nothing overlarge, like its concealing anything...but he's not sure he likes the look of the man. The man looks up, catches his eye...and knowing he's been spotted, Carter tries his best to not react. Just tips his head, smiles politely, and averts his attention then as though he were just another passerby.

"I think I've--" He's about to mention it to the others, when...the man approaches him, eyes lit up with recognition. Fuck. That couldn't be a good thing. "...can I help ya?" Saying nothing, the man nods, a smile on his lips. Carter is on high alert now. "What wit'?" "Follow." He rasps, and points at the child, who...looks a little dizzy for whatever reason. That gets Carter to snap to attention, desperately hoping the others can hear this over their comm lines. Silence on the other ends make him nervous, but his face shows none of it. "Ah, no can do, mon ami. M'waitin' fo'--hey!--" The while the man thinks he has attention distracted, an almost duplicate of him grabs the child's hand, towing them away. Slowly, Not speaking, and the kid isn't resisting at all. That ain't right. Carter goes to move past the man, but his smile has turned more frozen, and a sharp jab in his side...

Everything goes black.

...when the fog clears, he's not sure where he is. Not sure who he's looking at, or what his limbs are even doing because he can't feel them. All that's clear is that his head hurts, and his lungs burn. Fuck fuck fuck.  "Wasn't quite expecting to run into you, boy."  "Hnnf--" "--If I'm honest, ah thought you were nothing but a myth." "Wh--augh--" Now he's aware his hands are tied behind his back, and his feet are clamped down by something--it's cutting through his uniform, into his skin, with jagged metal teeth. A metal trap? God, it hurts--where am I? Where are the others-- Panic makes his eyes widen, the light burning his eyes and making him wince audibly. Whoever is lurking ahead of him lets out a quiet chuckle. "Turn the lights down, boy can't handle the brightness. Wouldn't wanna  make our esteemed guest feel unwelcome now. That'd be rude." "Who--" "I've heard so much about you, I feel like we're buddies already, see. You ruined a ring of mine way out back in--ahh, you remember, surely." "I don' know who you are--" Carter hisses out, squeezing his eyes shut against the still blinding light. "Don't know me? For shame, I thought you might've caught my name from the girls you bust out." Still nothing, absolutely nothing. He had no idea who this man was, or who he thought Carter was. Shaking his head, the man continued. "Very well, then. Most people know me as Paulo d'Arcine--but you can call me Bulldog,"  There is a short laugh that makes it clear there are more than just two people in the room, and the pressure cutting into his leg is released, making him gasp. More laughter. "Sorry to have sunk my teeth into your leg, there. I was expecting you to have blown out of here sooner...Gambit." ...He thinks I'm my papa? Oh, hell-- "Y-you caught me on a bad day, 'den." "Hmn, it appears so. Rumors did say you had...strange eyes. Haven't been able to get you to open 'em yet." That made him clamp his eyes shut tighter. He was aware his father had...sensitive eyes. Looking at a light this bright would've had Remy on his knees, and it was bothering Carter quite a bit. He was tempted to just bust himself out right that second, but... "Well, Gambit. Got nothing to say about the way you had me and my men chased out of Sicily? Nothing at all?" "Ain't got nothin' t'say 'cause I don'--" through gritted teeth, he spat out the next sentence. "Owe no explanations t'a man sendin' another out t'do his dirty work. Couldn' come after me ya'self, couldja?" "No, no, you're right--" Bulldog, an old, old man who looked more like a headmaster of some school than any mob boss, made his way forward from where he'd been sitting. "You don't. But I'd still like one, since you cost me over forty thousand euros in organs. And for one so young to have...caught out someone like me, who's been in the business since before the thought of you even existed...my, I can't help but wonder how you did." Carter says nothing, eyes still closed, heart pounding in fear. Now dis' is a thing daddy never talked 'bout at all. 

"Not going to tell me?" "If I toldja my tricks, you'd lose interest in me." "Boy knows how to argue," the older man chuckled, and footsteps signaled someone coming forward. "I heard you were a firm advocate of the 'an eye for an eye' approach to getting even. That true?" No answer. Just loud, loud pounding sounds as his blood thundered in his brain. Fear of what this man would do. And a desperate plea that somewhere, the X-Squad were on their way. "You cost me a fortune in those damn organs, and it's only fair we take back what is our's." "Y-you touch me an' I'll blow ya heads off." "Here's the thing, Gambit...you've not noticed the hand in your chest  yet, have you?"

His eyes don't open fully, just a tiny crack, chin held down--to glance downward at his chest. And he wants to scream. He wants to scream but it gets caught in his throat. There's another man, spindly, tired, so pale he almost looks translucent...and it's his hand that is idly passing through Carter's chest like a shadow. Like a ghost's arm. Like Kitty Pryde's ability; he can't feel it, but it's there--and any moment, he could-- Something solidifies, and clamps down a little on a muscle pounding like a jackhammer in his chest, just for a second, and the pain is absolutely unbearable. The noise that leaves Carter echoes around the walls of the seemingly underground vault, and makes the two men laugh. The phantom like man withdraws his hand, gliding through skin and muscle like a shadow once again. His hand was bloodied, and he nodded at Bulldog. 

"Good, strong heart in him. Seems healthy enough. We should get a good price, sell 'em to his enemies." "And he has plenty of those, doesn't he." "Y-you don' know who--you're messin' wit'." "No, we don't. We thought you were tougher, really. Maybe all this talk about you having a girl is true...softened up the great Gambit some, eh?" "Lemme go an' I promise t'be forgivin' about 'dis."  "Hmnn...no. No, time is money, and it's very opportune we've run into you. You'll make us very rich indeed." "There are people comin', an' they will annihilate you."  "So I've been told. What do you say, Klonos?" "Oh he got a team, boss. There's three more of 'em. Two gents...and a lady." It's him--that voice--he's the guy who knocked me out. A small part of his brain registered the fact that his suspicions had been correct. They had seen that man...all at once, multiple versions, all in different places. Mutant. He had to be. These are the guys running the organ trafficking ring. They have t'be. How'd they know where WE'D be though?

"A lady, huh? Oh, my my my. So I was right about you having gone weak for someone. Pity. We'll take care of them, too." "They come lookin' for him, and they're walking right into a trap." "It'll earn us more than a fortune, boss. More than a fortune." You lay a hand on any of 'em an' I'll give ya hell myself. 

His ear piece crackled. A noise, quiet enough it couldn't be detected, though clear enough that he heard...just a voice. It was Oliver. "Hang tight, LeBeau. We're on our way."  On the ground, he saw the microphone chip, presumably knocked off while he was moved into the vault. No wonder they hadn't heard any of the conversation...until the screaming. Hurry. He begged, internally, For the love of God, be careful.  Until then...maybe he could get them to talk. Move further away from him, closer to the microchip. As long as they thought he was his father, they wouldn't kill him instantly. Hopefully. 

"You've gone quiet, Gambit. Doesn't suit you. I heard you could charm the knickers off a nun, talk a mob down...that sort of thing. Nothing to say? We are about to disembowel you." "Only do that when m'losing a game." "...How could I forget! I heard you were a dab hand with cards. Why don't we...ahh, make your last few hours a bit more enjoyable. Hmn?" Can't blow up the building. Papa said they kept th' kids in here. Can't escape 'cause they'd either come after me or pick up an' leave wit'out a trace. Can't let 'em get away. Gotta bring 'em down. S'whatPapawoulddoIneedtostayhereohgodohgod--

"M'always up fo' a game, if tha's what ya mean." "Good to hear it, but...don't count on this being a game you'll win." A stack of battered cards, thrown from Klono's gloved hands and passed along a suddenly appearing and vanishing string of perfect clones of himself, found their way into Bulldog's hands. "Tell me, Klonos...who did you say he was with?" This man must've had multiple clones out there, watching them all. If these men were in with the Trojans--they were screwed. They'd know the X-Squad's weaknesses.  "Two fellas, like I said. One of 'em looked like he'd been hit with lightenin'..." Bulldog threw down one of the cards. The jack of spades. "T'other one looked lost as hell. Waitin' for orders...he avoided the copies better than this 'un and the other boy, though..." Another card; the ace of diamonds. "And the female?" "Looked like the ringleader. Had the gents wrapped around her pinky finger, she did. One clone tried to jab her with somethin' and electro-boy shot it down. It bein' the clone." One more card--the queen of hearts.

"You have interesting friends, Gambit." "They'll tear ya t'shreds." "They can try.In the mean time, why don't we try tearing you to shreds first, him? That first card was a jack of spades. If we were betting on your organs, I'd say...that's a kidney. Wouldn't you agree, gentlemen?" The shadow man and Klonos nodded, and both stepped forward, but an almighty BOOM outside sent them both reeling back, and Bulldog jumped up from his seat, the cards scattering.

The lights blew up in a burst of electricity, and the wall furthest to their left blew apart, exposing what Carter now realized was an underground vault to the light outside. It was natural. Less blinding than the light from before. He could open his eyes now, and found it didn't hurt.  "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," says Jack's voice. "Funny y'should say 'dat." "You okay, man?" Owl yells, over the noise of the other walls he's breaking down. "Peachy. Jus' peachy." "...Prince Charming to the rescue?" She sounds furious. Glad that glare ain't pointin' at me.  "Anytime soon would be good, chere." "Sorry, sorry--"

The second he's free, he finds he's struggling to stand, the effect of the drug still heavy on his feet, one leg bleeding profusely from the steel trap that had almost bitten through it. Nearly slumping over, he finds Jackson is suddenly at his side to hold him up, gesturing at Shanta. "SHIELD's operatives got most of the kids out. Carter, you found 'em. The place the authorities gave us a line to was fake. How'd you find these guys?" Klonos makes a strangled hissing noise as a large chunk of the wall collapses on his legs--before he has a chance to make any clones. Bulldog's feet suddenly aren't working--he seems paralyzed. The only one who seems to be getting away--

"TH-THE SHADOW GUY--SHAN!"

His eyes fly open, and now, now Bulldog can see--it's not Gambit. It can't be. He doesn't have the red-and-black eyes. But the warning comes almost too late for the shadow-man as he tries lunging at Shanta, one hand aiming to tear through her abdomen. Eyes lit up red like fire and red sparks flickering through his gloves, he can't quite hold back the explosion waiting to happen when he snaps his fingers. It hits before the wisp of a man can get to his shadow-form. Catches him off guard, and bursts his arm, blood flying and splattering on the ground as he hits the floor...clutching his now stump of an arm and wailing.

Shanta looks at Jack. Jack looks at Shanta. Both of them look at Carter, who's eyes are still blazing and his face still twisted into a scowl.  "He tears out their--he tears those kids apart. Ain't lettin' him make use of 'dem hands no more. Not on my watch--leggo a'me, Price, I wanna go--" "You...just exploded a guy's hand--he...what now?" "Ya heard me. Lemme go--" Another snap of his fingers, another explosion, more blood splattering and an even louder, piercing scream.  "--LeBeau, calm down." Jack sounds perturbed. Grossed out, even, by the scene before them. Bulldog is watching on silently, eyes widened in terror. He's next. He knows he is. It's just Jack and Carter in the blown apart vault now, Shanta and Owl having raced off after Klonos' remaining forms--tearing them down before they can escape. "These--these two are responsible for killin' god knows how many kids. Phantom man back 'dere tore 'em to pieces and he sold the parts like junk metal! He don' deserve to go on livin'--" "Carter--do it, and you're a murderer. Dude, calm down, please, you're gonna blow something up you're all unstable--" And it's a damn bad sign when Jackson Price is telling you that you're going too far.  "LETTIN' 'EM LIVE IS--" "LeBeau. Stop. They're--" "THEY'RE WHAT, PRICE, WHAT." "The kids. They're watching. Get a hold of yourself, man."

He looks up, and sure enough...there are children huddled behind Oliver. They look terrified of him. Many of them bearing scars, wearing bandages across their faces--god, he just wants to throw up at the sight, knowing what's been done to them. He waits until Oliver too, looking deeply concerned at the sight of the shadow man bleeding out on the floor, ushers the children out of the gaping hole in the walls and into the tunnels outside. Shanta emerges behind them, carrying two unconscious clones over her shoulders, looking as bloodied as Oliver. She casts the boys a quick look, but rushes on after Owl to calm the children as they board rescue cars, SHIELD agents and local officals loitering outside, waiting to take in the culprits.

"...Y-you..." Bulldog finds his voice at last, and every syllable he speaks is shaking with fear and hate. "You'll pay for this." "I ain't scared o' you." Carter snaps back, voice close to a snarl. "Why would you be," the old man's voice drops, a deadly whisper. "You've got demon's eyes and hellfire in your blood." "An' don't you fo'get it."

Something is wrong in what Bulldog says; there is a threat hidden in those words, and confirmed by his saying 'you'll pay'--but how? And what. Jack, warily eyeing Carter for a further outburst, begins to lead him away.

"I warned you, you're playing a game you won't win, and won't be able to talk your way out of."

Later. Much, much later, at the hospital--his leg is bound, feels heavy, and his chest still burns for reasons he doesn't understand. They're still in Brazil, being offered free treatment for their injuries as thanks for the lives they'd saved and the criminals they'd brought down. He just wants to go home--and he can't speak Portuguese; every conversation around him is going in one ear and out the other. Grumpy, in pain--and having been avoided since his slight temper tantrum with the shadow man, he's ready to just get off the stupid hospital bed and leave for the jet himself... "Knock knock." "...Huh--" His eyes fall on her, and his chest tightens in a funny way, too. "Hi." "H-hi." "Jackie said...he said you permanently decommissioned the ghoul-guy." "Ghoul guy?" "Couldn't think of a better name for him."

She sits down on the edge of his bed, looking at him both apologetically and--is that...she looks kinda proud. He hesitates, then sits up so he can look at her right. "I lost m'temper back there. Shouldn' have. M'sorry." "...Don't be. We...we do this all the time. We see psychos like that and we have to live with the fact that sometimes we're not the ones to bring 'em down. The law's gotta do that. Else we'd be murderers. It's...okay to lose your temper over it. Rational even." "Shan..." "You didn't kill the guy. He deserved it, but you didn't. That's not just being the bigger man, it's...you did the right thing. And without you? We wouldn't have saved all those kids. You--did good, LeBeau." "Been meanin' t'ask ya. How'd you...find me?" "Jackson heard you saying something on your end of the line, he was closest to you at the time, went to investigate...couldn't track you by the signals in your ear piece...and called us in. Locals said they'd seen a guy like you--a drunk apparently--walk off in some direction." "Don' explain how ya found me, chere." Her smile grows wider, though her eyes narrow. Oh no, he knows that look. "I'm in trouble now, aren' I." "It was the drugs. The drug you were injected with clashed with the nicotine in your system. Left a really gross chemical trail. Strong enough I could follow it until Jackson started picking up on the signal from your ear piece and Owl could tell there was underground activity. You...you sorta...saved the whole mission, you know." "Didn' do it on purpose." He grumbled, leaning heavily on the pillows. "But you did it all the same. I'm..." She fumbles for words. "I'm really glad you came with us." That made him raise his eyebrows a little, a small smile threatening to break through. "Thought you were gonna yell at me fo' the smokin' thing but...I appear t'be wrong 'bout 'dat." "Hmn. You're not off the hook yet, but...that bad addiction saved your life, I think."

It's a bold move, sure, but his hand slips tentatively closer to her's... "...Wouldn' be the firs' time a 'bad addiction' saved me, Shanta." "What--oh. Ohh." "Heh." He's leaning in, she's leaning in--Jackson and Oliver are peeking in through the door and gawking like prepubescent lemurs.  "AHEM." Coughs Jack. "Can't catch a break, can ya?" Oliver smirks. "We could still--just so you two would have to watch now." "HEY, HEY BREAK IT UP. MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS BETWEEN YOU." "I was so...close."

A nurse makes them quiet down, Shanta grabbing both boys in a headlock and dragging them out, with the promise of 'sedating them for the whole flight home'--and for a moment, Carter looks peaceful.

She was right. It...hadn't been a disaster. Kids got saved, they got the bad guys--he felt like the hero. It's not until he's gathering his things that he remembers something important. All good heroes have villains. 

In the pocket of his leather jacket--is something that hadn't been there before. He could barely remember who had been in the hospital room to put it there, because he's damn sure no-one else would get the relevance of this one item.

A playing card. The queen of hearts. 

--a bullet hole through her head.

"N-no--"

#Daisywrites #Ocs #Czyvngrs #Carter x Shanta #Xsquad #Tmblrvngrs