Who: Mystique, Banshee, Cable, Warpath, Colossus, Magik, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Magneto, Charles, What: Rescuing the girls from the Russian Mafia brothel When: Friday night, 2100 hours Where: The city Warnings: violence, death, implied torture. Language.
They'd finally managed to get a lock on one of the girls. Katya's information, her detailing of their abilities and powers, had made the biggest difference. They'd been able to watch for just such a power, and when it showed up, Charles had managed to pinpoint the location. Now they had a place, they were moving on it. It was a small team, but Mystique didn't want to lead a bunch of kids who were still figuring out their powers. Worse, she didn't want to have to worry about people hesitating. She wanted people at her back that knew their business, and knew how to kill when the moment came. People who weren't squeamish. But most importantly, people who wouldn't have a crisis of conscience over the blood they would be inevitably spilling. The only one she wasn't sure of was the large Russian boy, but she hoped she wouldn't have to see him pull a trigger. She wouldn't even be taking him, but Cable and Warpath didn't speak Russian, and neither she nor Banshee were native speakers. If they needed to talk to some of the girls, having someone else who spoke Russian clearly would be a bonus.
The team had been assembled in the war room and briefed on what had been found. The sound of knuckles cracking had been audible over the last minute final checks of gear, the cleaning of guns and the loading of ammo. She'd had a concerned moment wondering if Magneto was going to insist on coming with them, and he'd looked poised to protest her decision to leave him out, but Charles had, amazingly, prevailed on his old friend. He'd be there, but not inside, monitoring the situation from the vans they were taking as transportation. Pietro would be driving the other, insisting on being close by in case they found Wanda.
She laid out the maps of the building as best as Katya had been able to remember them and sighed. Too many blanks. She hated going in almost blind. It wouldn't be the first time she had, and it wouldn't be the last, but it never got easier.
Looking around and making eye contact with the others, she nodded once to see they were all ready.
"Cable, Warpath, Piotr, you're team one, and you ride with Pietro. Banshee, you and me ride with Magneto. Charles, you're our lookout in that machine of yours. Lock and Load, Gentlemen. We'll rendezvous at the corner of Pine and Neil. Any man there is a legal target. Remember, gentlemen, freedom isn't free."