Intelligence

Posted on Wed Nov 15th, 2023 @ 11:17am by Iris Walker & Charles Xavier

928 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 3: X-Tra Ecclesiam
Location: Salem Center
Timeline: August 15th, 1990

It was a task Iris had dreaded for a long time, but one that could not be put off any longer. And no, it was not the dentist appointment she had just come from. She didn’t mind the dentist, especially if it was just X-rays and a cleaning. No, the dentist was fine.

It was the phone call afterwards she had dreaded.

But here she was, at a payphone with plenty of quarters, staring at the receiver in its cradle. This was so stupid. But, she had to do it or there would be consequences. Hopefully this would repay her debt and she could get on with her life.

Somehow she doubted that.

With a sigh, she lifted the receiver, inserted her quarters and dialed the number she produced from the pocket of her jeans.

The switchboard clicked a few times as the line was transferred several times. Soon a woman's voice came on the line.

"Say it." No greeting. No introduction. No names. Just a tease demand for the passcode.

“Penny for your thoughts,” replied Iris.

"Understood. Stand by."

More beeps and clicks as the switchboard transferred her call.

"Confirm operative codename and project codename," said another woman's voice, this one distinctly baritone and commanding.

“Codename: Hoodwink,” replied Iris. “Project Strawberry.”

"Accepted. Stand by."

Another click and now there was hold music. After a full minute, a final click brought a room full of voices.

"Hoodwink, you're on with POTUS, COS, NSCD, CMAC, and MRD SAC." The acronyms signified the President of the United States, White House Chief of Staff, National Security Director, Council on Mutant Relations Chairman, and a Special Agent in Charge from the Mutant Response Division. A bureaucratic royal flush. "Tell us what you know."

“What I know is Xavier is a good man,” she said. “He gives a home to those who need it and tries to help people in trouble. He and his X-men have saved several lives in just the short time I’ve been with them. They don’t have any control over the group known as The Brotherhood of Mutants, but I gather there’s some history between their leader and Professor Xavier. I can’t quite tell how much, but I think they were pretty good friends.”

The line seemingly went dead for a moment while the phone was muted on the other end. After a few seconds, the president's voice came on. "Uh, yeah, our previous intelligence can corroborate that. What we need to know is if Xavier participated or colluded in any way with what happened in Baltimore."

“Xavier was out of the country at the time,” she answered. “Some of the X-Men attempted to retrieve the mutant from custody and get him to safety, but The Brotherhood decided that was a good time to attack the protestors.”

A nasally masculine voice came on. "Point of clarification. Are you confirming the presence of the X-Men on site during the attack?"

“There weren’t anywhere near enough of them to stop the Brotherhood, if that’s what you’re asking,” she replied, unwilling to give a flat affirmative to that question. “Sadly, The Brotherhood is attractive to a lot of mutants right now. They offer vengeance. Xavier offers only peace.”

"The mutant underground is growing by leaps and bounds," said a woman with a quiet but authoritative voice. "What is Xavier planning next?"

“That I don’t know,” replied Iris. “I get the feeling that he doesn’t actually want to do anything, but if they force his hand… well, he’s pretty quiet. It’s always the quiet ones who have the sharpest teeth.”

The president came back on the line. "Listen, honey, I signed off on your plea deal myself. But you got to help me if I'm going to keep helping you. Charles Xavier is the foremost mutant advocate in this country. We need to stay ahead of the curve if we're going to keep people safe. If not, then there are other people in this room with... countermeasures. Now if you know anything about what Xavier is planning and fail to inform us, then those countermeasures may come into play. I don't want that to happen. Are you sure you don't know anything?"

“I promise I don’t,” she swore, a pleading tone in her voice. “But I’ll try to find out. Just don’t.. do anything!”

"That's not a threat now, honey," the president said. "Those are just the cards as they're on the table."

The other woman's voice from before came back. "Should you learn anything, you call it in as soon as possible. If this method is becoming untenable, we will have a sat-phone dropped at your location."

“I’d rather not risk it being found,” she replied. “This works f-“

“Please deposit 75 cents for an additional four minutes,” rang a voice in her ear.

Quickly, Iris fished three quarters out of her pocket and put them in the phone. “Although I may have to invest in a calling card,” she added.

"One is being issued as we speak and will be delivered to you in the form of a follow-up dental contact. Next phone meeting is at the regular time but do contact us if you discover anything before then."

The line clicked without a goodbye.

Iris blinked, then glared at the phone. “Nice talking to you, too,” she muttered to herself. With that, she hung up the receiver and returned to her car. Time to go back to the mansion.

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