2013.09.27 - Checking In

There are many times where being an X-Man is nowhere near as glorious as it sounds.

There are hostels all over New York City, and many of them are less than savory places. This one in particular is in a shady spot of Brooklyn, not far from a very specific address linked to a very specific problem. That problem is 1522 Gulick Alley, and from Kwabena's rented room, he's got a line of sight view to the place.

The room itself holds an uncomfortable cot, a single lamp, and a table. No radio, no television. The only entertainment Kwabena has with him? His smart phone and a few boxes of half-eaten Chinese carryout, two empty bottles of beer, and a half-smoked pack of cigarettes.

No, it really wasn't always that glorious at times. Jocelyn was back in Hammer Bay, and she was at the poor house. Sure, she could be at the hospital, and in truth she would be over there soon for the grand opening. Or she could be in her swanky apartment Magneto set up for her. However, she knew that there was information Shift would need to know, and so she'd decided to make her way to the house and try a secure call to Kwabena. Just in case things went south, others needed to have the information she had.

So the tall girl had gotten herself something to drink, kicked up her feet, and made the ultra-paranoid phone call to Shift. If he answered or not would depend on what was going on over in his neck of the woods, of course, but she figured it was worth a try. The paranoid system wouldn't let the phones log the call either way, Jocelyn figured, so it was reasonably safe.

When Kwabena's smart phone begins to chirp at him in an unfamiliar way, he looks over at it with a peculiar expression. He discards a box of pork fried rice and snuffs out a cigarette in the stained floor before snatching the phone into his hand, eyeing it with a frown. The message is displayed in a fractal code that he is not familiar with, and he comes very close to ripping the phone's battery free and smashing the whole device under his boot.

However, there's something that seems familiar, perhaps even friendly, about the strange images appearing on his phone. Call it a gut feeling, perhaps a twist of fate, but he chooses instead to touch the fractal codes with his fingers, which brings the call to life.

On Jocelyn's phone, a digitally cartoonish representation of Shift's face appears, his voice stuttered and glitched as a result of the impossibly heavy encrypting Cypher has placed on the software.

"He-he-he-hello? Hello? Who is d-d-d-d-dis?"

It helps to have a phone already equipped with heavy encrypting, so Jocelyn is somewhat used to it. Jocelyn shakes her head, a little bit amused by it, and speaks into the phone.

"Channel. And try turning some extra apps off. It'll help the reception," Jocelyn adds. "I take it Cypher hasn't reached out to you and walked you through the encrypted lines yet," the woman adds. She'll give Shift a few minutes to adjust things, and perhaps get adjusted to the fact he has communication with her now. "He got this up the day after you left. So far, my analysis shows it not being intercepted," Jocelyn tells Shift, just as a way of reassurance. Being able to watch network and cell phone signals as energy gave her a slight advantage in that area.

"On-on-on-one second." If Kwabena is surprised to hear Channel on the other end, the encryption conceals it. Regardless, he goes through the rigamarole of shutting down his extra apps, which does in fact clear the reception.

"He hasn't," he says at last. "Den again? I left my Gen phone with you, so, he probably is not aware dat I am back in de states. Low profile and all dat." Beat. "I bet you've got something important to tell me, dis can't be just a friendly call."

That being said? Kwabena reaches for another cigarette.

"Reasonably so. Figured I'd use this one because it seems a touch more secure, though both would work. Anyway, I don't know if you knew about this, but Magneto seems to have some guy doing genetic experiments on his payroll. He had him given a significant hunk of lab space in the hospital. You know anything about this guy? A 'Doctor Milton' is the name he gave me. Has some teleportation powers. Also, he apparently has a 'living lab' that helps him in his research into mutant genetics".

Yes, Jocelyn has Mr. Sinister hanging out in her hospital. She wasn't sure if Kwabena knew the guy or not. But she couldn't think of anyone else to ask.

Well, if there was anyone that could be trusted with radio security, it's Channel. She had a good point there, after all. If the signal was compromised, she ought to be able to see it. Kwabena still can't fathom exactly how that works, but such is life in the world of the X-Gene.

The moment Channel brings up Magneto, however, all concern is set aside. Shift leans forward, staring at the phone with an intensely attentive expression. "Doctah Milton?" he asks, and shakes his head. "Doesn't ring a bell." He speaks the next few phrases as if he were writing down notes. "Teleportation... living lab... mutant genetics... on Big M's payroll. Got it."

Shift takes a moment to light the cigarette, then leans back against the frame of the window in which he sits, looking out over the fire escape just beyond the threshold. "Well, since I'm here, I'll see what I can dig up on him. If I do find some few leads, I may send Red back to you, so you aren't out dere all on your lonesome."

Speaking of, there is a brief pause before Shift asks with some concern, "Are de kids behaving?"

"Don't dig too much if it looks ugly. I suspect his name is a cover, so I don't know if you'll find much on him," Jocelyn tells Shift. "I've got a pretty good vantage point on him right now, so I should have something useful. If nothing else, I'll have some records," Jocelyn adds. She didn't like it much, but she'd have it. "It's possible that Rachel might be able to tap into this guy's lab, too. If it's alive, it has to have a memory, right?"

"Hope is keeping a pretty low profile. She and Nate checked out Prelude. Reluctant to throw her hat into the ring, it sounds like, but she's the best bet. The other guy has all sorts of criminal backing that will blow up a million different ways". Jocelyn didn't think backing him was a sound plan.

"I haven't seen Nate in some time, to be honest. But Nate's able to go back and forth at will, so he very well might be closer to you than to me right now," she points out.

"I think Magneto's lead is slipping a bit. Some outcry against his regime cropped up in Bastion, and he spent some time speechifying about it and threatening those who are seditionists with imprisonment in the labor camps. Also, think the word is getting out in Hammer Bay that he might not be the best choice. If Prelude steps up, I think it might just work".

There's a pause on Jocelyn's end. "How're things going on your end?"

While Jocelyn's warning is appreciated and will be taken, a smirk manages to find its way to Shift's face and a coy humor to his words. "Really? You know me, Channel. I'll have one of my minions do de digging."

Now, when she recommends that Rachel be used, all hints of humor fade from his tone. Rachel. She'd been on his mind too much lately. In his judgment, it hadn't put the operation at risk, but he was coming close to pulling her out of this little favor and sending her back to Genosha to bolster Jocelyn's efforts. While he appreciates her offer of help, he's used to working alone, and doesn't want to further expose her to his ugly history. The whole concept of working as a team is really a struggle with this issue.

He doesn't speak of it, not yet, but there is a prolonged silence after Jocelyn makes that recommendation. "If his lab is... alive?" Again, difficult to comprehend such things, but he was learning to have an open mind, especially when the subject matter sounded preposterous. "It could have defenses. We don't want scrambled eggs in her brain. But, I'll mention it to her. Let it be her call."

It's good that Hope is keeping a low profile, Kwabena thinks. He considered her a loose cannon, and if he'd had his way, she'd be in restraints at the Xavier Institute in order to keep a seventeen-year old from doing something brash. The report on Magneto's slipping in public support seems to match up with what he's captured over the internet feeds as well. "Pahhaps we're actually making progress," he says with hope. "God, I hope so. We're meddling, and putting more dan some few peopah at risk. Maybe we can have our cells light a fire undah Prelude's ass, but we have to wait for her to make some suggestion dat she's willing to run for office."

There is a long pause when she asks him how things are going in the states. "We're being cautious," he answers slowly. "Casing de joint. No unusual activity. De only option is to spring de trap... see what happens."

Judging by the sound of Kwabena's tone, he doesn't like that option. Not one bit.

"I've got no way to really tell what sorts of defenses it has unless it's probed. I could try, but I don't know if I want to risk exposure right now. Perhaps it is best to just keep an eye on the situation," Jocelyn says as she considers Kwabena's words. The pause that Kwabena has makes her think a little bit before she speaks. "If she wants to come back here, that is alright. But if she would rather stay and help you, that is fine. I've got things running smoothly over here right now, and if she's able to help you finish this sooner, then that seems like the best use of resources".

Call it a hunch.

"I'm not exactly sure what Hope and Nate told Prelude. She can apparently sense when someone is lying to her. But the first step is to let her decide that she's going to run. Then we do what we need to do".

There's another pause. "Keep your ears open for news out of Solitude, by the way. I've got a sense something is going to happen with that city soon". Yes, Jocelyn had a plan. She wasn't going to speak the full details over the phone, though.

"You need back-up? I can hook you up with some if you need it. Back-up that won't get traced back to the X's," she adds. Just in case he wanted this to stay quiet from the rest of the X-Men, given they didn't even know he was in town.

In other words, it should be Rachel's call, not his. Channel's learned a few things about leadership that Shift hasn't, and it shows. "Yeah."

There is another pause as he considers his own position. What would any of the others think if he forced her out of helping him? What kind of leader would that make him? He knows the answer, regardless of how long he may end up dwelling on it.

"Her call," he ends up agreeing, though it's with no shortage of hesitation. "We'll have to hope dat Nate and Hope were able to light dat fire, den. I have faith in dem."

That little tidbit of information about Solitude? Filed away with no shortage of intrigue.

"I got backup," he assures her. "Gambit's willing to throw his hat in, even dough he doesn't like telepaths."

"Don't know much about Gambit except that he's a smooth talker and southern, from the way he speaks. If you'll vouch for him though, good enough by me," Jocelyn says. Simple enough for her. She didn't know the guy well enough to have an opinion on him, but if Shift was okay with it, then that was fine.

Jocelyn doesn't really comment on the bit about it being Rachel's call. It'd been agreed to, and that was that. "With luck they did. If it takes too long, I'll swing by and have a chat with her. In disguise, of course, but I'm sure that if she doesn't commit soon, I can try and convince her that a decision is necessary either way, if only so that any other candidates can step up". Though Jocelyn wasn't quite sure who that would be yet, but that was a bridge she'd rather not cross.

"Not too much else to report. My powers are still working fine, despite the wicked headaches I've been getting that remind me of when my power first manifested. No explosions or anything of that nature". She's making some light of the fact, of course, but she was hoping that her abilities would continue to behave.

"Cajun," confirms Shift. "We're on good terms, dough, even if I insult his moddah from time to time." That ought to be enough to satisfy Channel's concerns.

"A contingency," he quips, regarding Prelude. "But a good one. Nice to know we aren't out of tricks dere."

"I wondah if being in such close proximity to Magneto is causing it?" he asks. "Electromagnetic manipulation can play havoc on radio waves. I mean, sunspots and solar flares, you know? If it gets too much, we can rotate you out once we return. Give you some time in de states, or even Europe. Europe's nice, you know. Might even bag yourself a Frenchman."

The connection is suddenly interrupted on both ends with a red warning, followed by a countdown. One of Cypher's contingencies, for sure, but it seems they are close to being disconnected.

"Da hell?" remarks Shift, before commenting, "Looks like we're out of quartah's here. I'll call you when dis mess is all bottled up here."

"Possible, but I don't know if it's likely. We'll see, either way". Jocelyn laughs at the comment about the Frenchman. "Never been to Europe," she offers easily. And that's when Cypher's contingencies kick in. "Yeah. Signal issues. Probably something electronic and fancy. Good luck!"

As the phone line disconnects, Jocelyn looks around the house before she slips the phone away. "Suppose I've got myself an official opening to get moving on". And the young X-Man stands, making her way out of the house and back to Bastion.