2013.10.14 - It Was Always Dangerous

Back in New York, at least briefly. Jocelyn had some interviews to conduct, and the tall woman also had business to discuss with Shift. And with some of the other X-Men (particularly Jean), but first things first. Jocelyn had contacted Shift and let him know she needed to speak with him.

That was how the woman found herself walking into the Ghana Consulate General in Brooklyn. Her formal clothing, a nice black women's business suit, came in handy for such a visit. She had provided whoever was at the desk with the necessary information, which mainly included whatever name Shift had given her for this purpose, and was led to one of the few private rooms to await Shift's arrival.

The teen doesn't seem particularly nervous, and in some ways this conversation might be better suited at the manor, but perhaps Shift didn't want the others to know he was around. She wasn't sure, but that would make sense. She hadn't yet contacted the Allies, after all, and let them know she was back in town, albeit briefly.

It's been a very long time since Kwabena Odame has been on his own soil in any sort of legal capacity. While the Ghana Consulate General is a far cry from the extravagance of her sister embassy in Washington, once inside, the building is a storied example of Ghanaian culture nonetheless.

Most of the people inside this busy place are, understandably, Ghanaian citizens. Many have dual citizenship as Americans. However, as a whole, most of them are dressed in smart business suits or traditional African attire.

Kwabena is one of the latter, the traditional dress something most of his friends have never seen him wear. It may come as a surprise to see him in the flowing, brightly colored pants and dress, complete with a tall hat atop his head. Regardless, he had reasons to be dressing traditionally today, reasons that would certainly come up in his meeting with Jocelyn.

Upon entering the private room, Kwabena simply can't help but carry a knowing grin on his face. In spite of the weight behind his decision to be here, of all places, he can't help but anticipate Jocelyn's reaction at seeing him dressed so traditionally. "Good aftahnoon, Doctah Jones. I am pleased you could find de time to visit me."

Once the door has closed behind him, however, Kwabena drops the pretense and smirks even wider. "Did you like dat?" he asks, remarking on his own little joke. "Doctah Jones?"

There's a small smile from Jocelyn at Kwabena's little joke. She can't say she's surprised to see him in traditional clothing, though. He was on his soil, and if he was meeting her here, then he must have business here. Jocelyn knew enough to respect the customs of another people, but not to try and imitate them. That usually got you in a fair bit of cultural trouble at best, she had found.

"Very nice, very nice," Jocelyn agrees. She actually didn't fully get the joke - her cultural references were not nearly as complete as Kwabena might suspect. It came from growing up dirt poor and not being able to embrace as much media as her peers.

"I trust the business you came to do has been taken care of," Jocelyn adds as she finds herself somewhere to sit. "May we speak freely here?" Jocelyn asks, her sight scanning the area for bugs, electronic surveilance, and other such things that would indicate they were either being watched or recorded.

If Kwabena noticed that little oversight, he doesn't acknowledge it. He does, however, make one little remark. "Remind me to make you watch 'Indiana Jones' some time. Pahhaps Doug can find a way to modify a television so dat you can enjoy it without all of de... you know." Raising a hand, he waggles it in front of his eyes, indicating the odd way in which she sees energy.

Taking a seat himself, Kwabena reaches to remove the hat, revealing that he's still as bald as ever. Setting the hat down, he wrestles his fingers together and leans forward, fixing Jocelyn with an inquisitive look. "Taken care of?" he echoes. "No. In process of being taken care of? Yes."

Knowing that it will demand some explanation, Kwabena leans back just so, adopting a more casual presence. "No bugs," he guarantees. After all, she would have noticed their energy signatures if they were there. "On some of de rooms, yes, but considah dis place kind of like de security you have when you are undah arrest and consulting with your lawyer." Rather than explain just what, exactly, he is doing in the Ghana Consulate, however, he gestures toward Jocelyn in concession. "Speak away, Detroit."

"Well, things in Genosha are going well. You may have heard of the little bit of political unrest that is going on in Bastion and Solitude. It won't be enough to unset Magneto, but it should be enough to cast some doubt on his leadership capabilities among possible voters". It wasn't their mission to unseat Magneto from his place in Genosha, but rather to keep him from taking over the entire island unopposed.

"In my current position, a mutant geneticist on Magneto's payroll was placed in the hospital. He had a biolab that he proudly showed me when he first moved in. Grew it himself, I suspect. Anyway, I thought that knowing just what genetic experiments were going on would be a good thing. Rachel and I infiltrated the mind of his lab as a result," Jocelyn tells Shift. A dangerous move, to be sure, but one that had value.

"There was...a lot of information in there. Rachel effectively downloaded the lab's memories into our minds. I'm still sifting through all of it," she explains to Shift.

"From what I've dug up so far, it appears there are some attempts at mutant cloning in there, as well as something called Project Armageddon. It takes precedence over Projects Extinction and Hive Mind, which both sound, according to Doctor Milton, to be plausible, based on the databank".

There is a pause. "There was a quotation in there as well that might indicate he intends on turning everyone in the world into mutants". There is a pause as Jocelyn appears to be trying to dig out the quotation from her memory.

"He is, but He's been asleep far too long. Imagine the pool of candidates to choose from for my Marauders when the entire world has evolved. You could be a general with an army unlike anything the universe has seen before. It will be His end."

Jocelyn pauses and takes a breath, getting herself a sip of water as she lets Shift digest all that.

Maybe then she'd tell him about how they were almost busted. Almost.

Settling back to listen, Kwabena is struck by Jocelyn's professionalism. There is a moment where he almost stops believing that she is still a teenager.

Biolab. Grew it himself. Try as he might to be the leader that Jean wants him to be, he still has a very hard time digesting these odd things. It was hard enough for him to swallow the concept of time travel. Talking about a lab with a mind of its own?

Well. Disbelief registers on Kwabena's face, and he's not ashamed to let it be seen. Still, he's fully convinced that Jocelyn and Rachel are safely ensconced in the 'not insane' category, so he lets it ride and takes her at her word.

"Jesus," he can't help but interject. "You're talking like you and Rachel are some kind of comptah program." There is respect in the disbelief, of course. After all, he knows just how difficult it is to sort through jumbled memories.

Magneto? Spying on the Brotherhood? Yeah. We won't go down that road ever again.

When Jocelyn is finished, there comes a long and uncomfortable silence. It lingers on for five seconds at least, and is only interrupted when the African reaches for the pitcher of water and pours himself a glass.

"So. What you ah telling me is... dere is a mutant geneticist named Doctah Milton on Magneto's payroll. He has a living laboratory with a mind of its own, and he is using dis laboratory to prepare mattah's of an extreme nature. " Leaning back, Kwabena's concerns over the potential wildness of Jocelyn's claims have faded in lieu of an acceptance of the story, and the very real implications that come with it.

"He may have any numbah of goals, but one of dem clearly seems to be de extinction of humans. It would make sense for him to be on Erik's payroll."

"It felt like it at times," Jocelyn says. "Milton is certainly worried about Him with a capital H, though who that is, I am not sure. He's taken on certain patients from the hospital who are particularly strong or unique mutants. Probably for his genetic experiments," Jocelyn explains. "The lab, it is like it is watching the events inside of it. Sort of like we were seeing out of it's eyes". Jocelyn shrugs a little at that, taking another sip of the water.

"Milton is a teleporter, from what I have observed. Also a geneticist. And, as we discovered, a telepath. The lab sent out a signal that neither of us could quite stop". There's a frown at that. "We were able to cover our tracks. Rachel and I, between us, scrubbed the lab's mind of any signature that would identify us, but he teleported in. Along with another six members. I suspect they may be these 'Marauders' that he spoke of in the memories. His own team or something," Jocelyn offers.

"Rachel and I were able to escape through a hidden passageway I had installed in my office in case of fire or other such emergency". In other words, Jocelyn knew she might need to GTFO at any point. "He tried to scan us down, but I found I was able to 'bubble' him with my power so he couldn't find us". Pause. "I somehow doubt he appreciated that much," Jocelyn admits.

It's all valuable information, if not a bit difficult to swallow. The Genosha operation was always dangerous, but now, the danger has a new face. A presence that has encountered them.

The ante was just raised.

Kwabena is quickly discovering just how difficult it is to be in command. It's a level of tension and responsibility that he's still unfamiliar with, and is proving to be a difficult testing ground for him personally. Concern is visibly etched across his brow, concern that exists for Jocelyn and Rachel specifically, along with the others who are involved.

After taking another sip of his water, Kwabena sets the glass down, discarded for now. "Him with a capital H," he repeats. "So, we're dealing with a fanatic. Not unlike Erik. Makes sense peopah like him would flock togedah." There is a pause as he wrestles with everything, bouncing a number of game plans around inside his mind.

"De resistance cells are self sufficient at dis point. If it becomes necessary to arm dem, we will." Once again he leans forward. "Now, we must remembah dat de heart and soul of dis opahration is to ensure dat de elections are fair, unaffected by Magneto's allies. What is it de Americans say, no gerrymandahring?" There's a little smirk, for the term always sounded funny to him.

"Dat being said... any intelligence we can gathah will be helpful, in a much broader sense. We may not be able to use de information in any political sense, dough I see no reason not to let it slip into my SHIELD contact's hands." Another smirk at that, short lived but pointed. "We can use de information for tactical purposes, if de situation escalates into any sort of conflict. We can expect Doctah Milton to be hunting down whomeval was responsible. I don't want eidah of you to make any advances now. Guard yourselves, try to keep him away, but if he does come close? If he finds you?" A flash of aggression flashes across his face. "Dig out whatevah de hell you can about dis Deity he's referencing."

"He never saw either of us. He won't have any reference for Rachel's telepathy, and I think she's a stronger telepath then him, so I think she will be safe from any of his snooping," Jocelyn says. She'd gotten a good idea of the power levels of the two of them, and she'd pick Rachel over Milton any day of the week. "I'm aware we can't use it in a political sense, but it is useful information to have. If they are planning something of this nature, then I'd rather not be caught flatfooted. My gut is telling me this guy, at a minimum, wants to forcefully evolve the human race, and I can only imagine what sort of chaos that would cause".

And Jocelyn didn't really want to think about it too hard.

The tension on Shift's face is noted by Jocelyn, and she gives the man an easy smile. "Listen. This was my call, Shift, to look into this. I had been functionally in charge on the ground for about a month. It put us in a bit more danger, but Rachel and I knew the risks going in, and decided it was worth it". Jocelyn takes another sip of her water. "I'd hoped we might learn something we could use against Magneto, and instead stumbled upon something that might be far worse. I do worry that if there is a place Milton can just happily work away with thousands of mutants to experiment from, however, that he and Magneto might not need votes to impose their will. I was planning on reporting in to Doctor Grey while I am in town. I think they may need to know this information back home," Jocelyn tells Shift. It might turn into another operation altogether, seperate from keeping the vote fair.

"I do hope, at the very least, I'm allowed to vote for Prelude," Jocelyn adds with a grin to Shift.

"Plenty of chaos," Kwabena agrees.

The assurances do set him at ease, at least outwardly. Visibly, he looks more relaxed, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. This is just going to have to be something he deals with, personally.

"Well, we'd bettah keep our eyes on him. I've already got a meeting scheduled with Jean. I'll bring it to her attention." A wry smirk appears on his face. "I imagine she's going to want to hold one of dose telepathic Skype calls again."

Under his breath, Kwabena murmurs, "Wish I had some few earplugs to tone down Nate's volume."

The severity is never lost on him, of course. It's just his style, making little remarks and sarcastic quippage here and there. Soon enough, he's leveling his gaze upon Jocelyn again. "We'll have Jean decide what to do with Doctah Milton and his little lab. She may decide to send in more hands."

Of that, Jocelyn had no doubt. But she figured it would at least let him know that she did take responsibility for the actions, too. "Ugh. I hate those calls, if only because I have to let my defenses down at that distance," Jocelyn offers. She never liked telepaths in her head for too long, though she'd grown to trust Rachel well enough. She just didn't know Jean as well, so it was slightly more nerve-wracking. Plus Jean was high up in the chain and thus a little more intimidating.

There's a small smile at the comment about Nate. "Try looking at him through my eyes sometime. Like looking into the damn sun," Jocelyn adds with a small grin.

A nod is given about Jean and the decision making. "I'll still give her my direct report on it as well. I need to get moving though. Appointments and such to keep," Jocelyn tells Shift with a smile. "Stay safe, Kwabena".