Chapter 58 - Thimblerig?

September 6th, 2017

12.55 pm, Naval Air Station Key West

Suddenly, the two black body bags sit up.

3 minutes prior. Beds are overturned. Lights are flickering. Water pools are spread in patches on the floor. There are 6 black soggy body bags in a room scorched beyond belief. Observing this chaos are 4 US Marines who are watching an elderly man with brown skin in a doctor's coat bent over a body bag, he's using his latex gloved hands to tuck away a burnt disfigured head.

"So those bastards planted explosives here too." A Marine says while fanning away the air.

"Good thing the sprinklers worked." Another Marine says as he notes the water pools.

"They killed themselves and my patients." Dr. Kabeer Wong says as he zips up the final body bag while shaking his head, "My best guess is their explosives triggered the oxygen tanks."

"I only count 6 bags, doc." A Marine says, then asks, "How many people were there?"

"Well, I was treating six patients when six assailants attacked. My bodyguard hid me in another room when suddenly it felt like a bomb exploded. I got here to find all the bodies mingled and scattered all over the room." Dr. Wong says while standing up, "I could only gather enough to fill 6 bags. I would not recommend anyone with a weak stomach to check the other bodies."

The Marines are instantly queasy as they smell the room that now resembles a horror house.

"The doctor was kind enough to bag the bodies up to be transported for proper disposal." Colonel Miranda Sheppard says, as she directs the marines to 2 bags, "Get moving, Marines."

"Yes, ma'am." The four Marines salute then hurriedly pair up beside 2 body bags.

Standing beside Dr. Wong is a man in black scrubs many Marines had seen dashing across the base earlier. Apparently he is a CIA asset but still doesn't bother to introduce himself.

"Do help them move the corpses to transport." Dr. Wong says, "I will be right up with the rest."

The man nods then moves unemotively to the door as he removes his own latex gloves, discarding it randomly. Colonel Sheppard follows behind him.

Outside the room are two gurneys. Each pair of Marines transfers their bag onto a gurney then wheels it to the elevator. Colonel Sheppard pushes the elevator button. Soon, the elevator doors open and the two gurneys are pushed in. The man in black scrubs goes in. The elevator is now too full for anyone or anything else to fit in.

"You two take the stairs." Colonel Sheppard says, "The rest of us will stand by in the room."

"Yes, ma'am." The 2 Marines salute and head back in the direction they came.

The man in black scrubs nods at Colonel Sheppard as he pushes a button, closing the doors.

"Clear." The man in black scrubs says.

Suddenly, the two black body bags sit up as the man in black scrubs turns to face them.

Jump back to before the call to the President. Team Six had listened to Fire's reasoning for going into a new battle. They had a decision to make. Here's what transpired at 11.25 am.

"I'm in, Old Man." Wave said as she played with a pair of water balls in her right hand.

"I am always up to whack some hooligans." Spectrum said, punching his left fist into his palm.

"We won't have peace of mind otherwise with the powers we now have." Aviator said with a nod.

"You know you've always got me, Chief." Quake said with a huge grin.

"You guys are my family so I am in." Kaori asked, "But what about the kids?"

"I will look after them, you have my word." Dr. Wong said, stepping up to the challenge.

"So, we are in agreement?" Fire asked the room, everyone nodded except for General George Beggingson and CIA Director Nick Jones, who merely served as spectators.

That was how a consensus was reached on what was to be done next. The exact how had yet to be sorted out but Fire had a daring proposition with sound logic. Fake deaths. The team assented, and even the President agreed. Now we see the exact how play out at 12.40 pm.

"Are we ready?" Fire asked as he returned to the room wearing black scrubs.

"I am done." Dr. Wong said, "I have collected all the samples medically necessary."

Dr. Wong and the rest of Team Six are back in the room where it happened. The place where most of Team Six awakened their powers and Skull Reich's elite operatives met their disastrous end as a direct result. Six bodies, wrapped in bloodied flakes of ice, are lined up on the floor of the chaotic room. Some bombs and grenades as well as 6 oxygen tanks were also lined out.

"6 black body bags hiding 5 uniforms are on their way." General Beggingson said, then asked as he walked back in, "To confirm, you also want 2 gurneys delivered in about 10 minutes?"

"By Colonel Sheppard." Fire said, "She should also bring the 4 Marines guarding the stairs."

"The plan sounds incredulous yet completely feasible." Dr. Wong said with a nod.

"How are you going to make my Marines believe that 6 bodies are all that remain in this room?" General Begginson asked.

"Scorch the entire room." Fire said as he lifted his right hand and ignited it.

"A show of deception, George." Spectrum said, "We will use their imaginations against them."

"But why deceive my Marines?" General Beggingson asked.

"Like a game of chinese whispers." Aviator AKA Shawn said, "The rumor mill needs a source."

"The old army game of three cups and a pea." Quake said, "Except with two peas."

"Kaori and I will be the two peas." Wave said, "You better be ready for us, honey. I don't want to stay dead in that body bag for too long."

"Wouldn't dream of it, babe." Quake said, pulling in Wave for a quick kiss.

"Meeting set for 2.30 pm with Dr. Worth." Director Jones said as he returned to the room with the metal briefcase in tow that he hadn't left out of his sight for the last 3 hours, "I've booked all of the AirBNBs. Crematorium is standing by. Road heading west is good. As for the cars..."

"Shawn and I will support you in procuring the vehicles." Spectrum said.

"And the other bodies?" Fire asked.

"Already bagged and loaded up for transport." Director Jones said, "It'll be part of the convoy."

"This is... crazy." General Beggingson said with a head shake.

"No, brother." Quake said, as he gave General Beggingson a thumbs up, "This is Team Six."

"You also want me to order Colonel Sheppard to accept the 5 new faces in uniform as Marines?" General Beggingson asked, "And she is to order all of you to guard Director Jones after the transport is done while Simon will drive the other van back to base?"

"Affirmative." Fire said with a nod.

"Alright…" General Beggingson said scratching his head, then asked, "What about the ashes?"

"Observe." Quake said as he placed his hand on the floor. He then pulled up a pile of dirt which shaped into a vase. An urn. He quickly repeated the process 5 more times, creating 6 urns.

"Woah." General Beggingson said, then asked, "Uncle Aidan, are you sure you can absorb the heat from all of the explosives?"

"I'm confident." Fire AKA Aidan said.

"I could also probably create a firepit." Quake said, as he scratched his chin.

"Actually, I have a simpler approach." Spectrum said. He stretched out his hands in front of the corpses. Soon, barriers of bright light formed into a box around the corpses.

"Excellent." Fire said after testing the solidity of the light barrier, "I will keep two out for the plan."

Spectrum nodded as a space to pull out the bodies opened up. Fire pulled out two corpses and set them aside. Then, Fire stepped into the boxed space and Spectrum sealed it up.

"I will go retrieve the body bags." General Beggingson said as he left the room.

"You would need temperatures in excess of 1500 degrees fahrenheit to efficiently burn these cadavers." Dr. Wong said as he examined the scene, "So do aim for yellow to white flames."

"And I'll keep everyone cool." Wave said as she summoned water to surround the box of light.

Kaori, Director Jones, Quake, Aviator, and Dr. Wong all stepped back and shielded their eyes. After a final safety check, Fire took a deep breath then ignited the flames from his hands. A stream of red fury poured out of Fire's hands. The stream shifted to yellow with a roar.

"I am not sure how long I can hold this." Spectrum said through gritted teeth.

A series of mini explosions went off but were all contained by Fire. The flames finally died down a moment later, revealing nothing but ash remaining were the 4 corpses once laid. To think, only a few hours ago, Fire was under similar conditions. Karma. Spectrum removes the light barrier and Wave disperses the water revealing Fire. This time, Fire managed to keep the flames away from his clothes but the stench of burned flesh still stuck to him.

"What is that smell?" General Beggingson asked as he returned to the room holding bags.

"Success." Quake said as he took the bags and distributed the uniforms, including black boots.

Spectrum collected and deposited the ash into the aforementioned urns. Quake, Aviator, Wave, and Kaori had worn the uniforms over their clothes. All the while, Fire had been burning the last two corpses with red flames, until they were charred black beyond all recognition. Spectrum then also put on a uniform while Aviator dispersed the air, preventing the odor of burned flesh from sticking to anyone. After which, Spectrum touched Aviator, fading both of them invisible.

"Too bad you can only manage one person and can't do invisibility while phasing through objects." Aviator said.

"Mate, I have only had 3 hours to get used to my abilities." Spectrum said, "You are welcome."

"Alright, I'll head up then." Director Jones said as he left the room, followed by the invisible pair.

Quake moved away objects with his newfound gravity telekinesis, all to make it look chaotic.

"Show time." Fire said as everyone else left the room.

Fire proceeded to surge flames from his hands yet again. But this time, the flames were red and spread out controllably. Soon, the room is scorched. Lights flashed in a mess. A picture of a blast site has now been painted. Quake, Dr. Wong, Kaori, and Wave returned to the room. Dr. Wong handed Fire a pair of latex gloves which he quickly put on. Wave summoned water pools.

Fire then moves the two charred corpses into two body bags while Quake fills one body bag with soil and the other with urns. Kaori and Wave are zipped up by Dr. Wong in the final two bags which are positioned by the door. Quake lines up the bags with his powers. Moments later, the sound of footsteps echoed as Dr. Wong took position over the body bags with the cadavers.

Back to the present, 12.55 pm…

"That was stuffy." Wave says as Fire undoes the zip around her bag.

"At least it didn't stink." Kaori says as she is also freed from the body bag.

The two ladies are wearing standard US Marine Combat Utility Uniforms with phony name tags.

"15 seconds, this way ladies." Quake says from above, as the roof of the elevator slides open.

"Good thing this elevator doesn't have cameras." Wave says as Quake pulls her up.

The Quake pulls up Kaori next. Quake levitates two mounds of dirt into the empty black body bags. Wave splashes the dirt with some water. Then the ceiling slides shut, leaving Fire alone. He rezips the black body bags and dusts off loose dirt. He resumes his unemotive stance.

3 seconds later, the elevator stops then opens onto a well lit hallway. Fire pushes one gurney out, then pulls the other out too. 20 seconds later, the two marines who had taken the stairs appear. Fire pushes one gurney followed by a marine who is pushing the other gurney. They navigate from the partially crowded hallway to a quieter one with a door in the distance. The free marine moves up to open the door ahead of the group's arrival. A row of 2 white vans and a Humvee await the group. The doors of one of the vans are open, revealing empty space.

"Marines." Director Jones says as he steps out of the Humvee, "Just chuck them into that van."

The Marines look at Director Jones, who is holding a silver metal briefcase, in doubt.

"True the bodies of the good and bad are all mixed." Director Jones says, "But, the good were only a bunch of special contractors and now they are dead so no need to do them any favors."

The Marines nod yet they still move the body bags and lay them inside the van with grace. While the good and bad couldn't be differentiated, the good were still some kind of American soldiers. They deserve dignity in death.

"Thank you, Marines." Director Jones says as the Marines head back inside with the gurneys.

As soon as the doors close, Director Jones looks at Fire and whispers, "The things I do for you."

Fire shrugs. The doors open again and out walks Kaori, Wave, and Quake who all salute.

"Here as your escorts, sir." Quake says loudly.

"At ease, Marines." Director Jones says loudly, "Your presence puts my mind at ease."

7 minutes later. The empty van is fully loaded. Dr. Wong has rejoined the group without his latex gloves. The real marines have been dismissed by Colonel Sheppard.

"I will take the doctor and his bodyguard with me." Director Jones says, then pointing at Quake and Kaori says, "These two marines can ride with me."

"Alright." Colonel Sheppard says, then points at Wave, "You ride in the other van."

"And you are riding with me." Colonel Sheppard says, pointing at Aviator.

Those in Marine uniforms all salute then go to their assigned positions. Soon, the convoy is on the move with Director Jones' Humvee in the lead, Colonel Sheppard's van in the middle, and Spectrum's van tailing. It is an 8 minute silent drive to the hospital, which is on another island west of the base. The crematorium, which is the destination, is located close to the hospital.

The group arrives at the crematorium. A man awaits them at the driveway with 2 gurneys. Director Jones identifies himself to the man who verifies himself as crematorium director.

"Your request for a mass cremation is highly unusual." The crematorium director says.

"National Security." Director Jones simply says.

"You are the paying customer." The crematorium director says.

"Thank you." Director Jones says, "Colonel, if you please."

"Load 'em up, Marines." Colonel Sheppard orders, signalling the labor of transferring the 11 black unidentifiable body bags from both vans into the crematorium. Inside, team six swaps the soil for the stored ashes using sleight of hand. The crematorium director is none the wiser.

15 Minutes later, everyone is out. A car with an Uber sign sits out on the road to the driveway.

"My residence is nearby." Director Jones says, "Doctor, that Uber is for you and your guard."

"Thank you, Director." Dr. Wong says, "It's been a long morning."

"Indeed." Director Jones says, holding the metal briefcase, then asks Colonel Sheppard, "Did General Beggingson give anymore orders?"

"Yes. General Beggingson ordered these four Marines to guard you until your support arrives." Colonel Sheppard says as she points out Quake, Aviator, Kaori, and Wave.

"Excellent." Director Jones says, "Thank General Beggingson for me."

"Will do." Colonel Sheppard says, "Marines, move out."

"Yes, ma'am." Spectrum, Quake, Aviator, Kaori, and Wave say with a salute.

Spectrum drives one white van away while Colonel Sheppard follows in the other white van. Fire and Dr. Wong takes the Uber. While Quake drives the Humvee with Director Jones, Aviator, Kaori, and Wave. The crowd disperses.