06-06-06

Summer break, not only for Mick, Sam, and Patten but Jerren and Davis would be back for a little while too. Sure the date seemed to be unlucky June 6, 2006, with the Devils number 666 and all. Now that they were all set to be seniors, there were two things on Mick's mind; graduation and proposing to Sam. He fully intended to go into senior year with the ring on her finger. Patten was happy for him, even if he teased them, Jerren was worried they were a little young, Davis told Mick he was being stupid and hadn't met enough girls yet, but he was ok with Sam. 

Two things were going to have to change though; One, Mick needed to ask permission to marry Sam. Two Mick had to talk to Mr. Lane about Sam's involvement with SHIELD. Mick and Mr. Lane had an interesting dynamic, he wasn't scared of him per-say, but it was more of a respected laying low type relationship. It was much better than the relationship with his own father, but that was probably because Mr. Lane didn't know of Mick's real job either. Following Patten's lead, Mick convinced Mr. Lane that he was a junior cadet with the police force. It explained all of the training Mick did, and the random bruises Mick wore from time to time. Now it was time to come clean, you could really lie to your father-in-law forever, could you? 

Mick climbed off his bike, Mr. Lane sitting on his porch, per usual. Mick put his backpack in his saddlebag in case it started raining while they were talking, since you never could predict these things in the southern summer afternoons. 

"Rough day?" Mr. Lane asked as he motioned for Mick to sit. 

"My body hurts," Mick slumped back in the chair. He did need this talk to last a little while to recoup some energy to take Sam out to the Safe House where they'd be crashing for a few days with the rest of the team, Agent Carter included. 

"Sure you're in the condition to be driving?" Mick nodded as Mr. Lane eyed him curiously. 

"I'm good," Mick smiled. "Nothing an energy drink can't fix." 

"Those things are bad for your heart," Mr. Lane barked. "What's in the box?" Mr. Lane pointed at Mick's pocket, which Mick grimaced. "You're both too young for all of that." 

"You say that," Mick started as Mr. Lane's eyes narrowed. 

"You're both too young." 

"I love her," Mick said, finally unafraid of the man sitting next to him. 

"Do you now? Enough to lay your life down for her?" 

"Any chance I have," Mick said confidently. 

"Enough to give up your career?" Mick swallowed, unsure of what he meant by that. "Yeah, sometimes that's something you have to do to protect the ones you love." 

"I'd give it up if I had to," Mick said slightly shaken. 

"Then quit the Outcast. End that little team of yours and stop putting my daughters life on the line," Mick stared at Mr. Lane in shock and awe. How did he know about that? How long had he known about that? 

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice when Samantha's powers stopped flaring up suddenly? She's had issues with those ever since she got sick as a baby. The Recluse saved her life, then this boy shows up and starts spending all this time with her. I'm no fool boy, I know officers, they don't get bruised the way you do. I also hear the rumors of the ice and webs as calling cards of the heroes that saved people. I only know one person who can do that, and one person she hangs out with all the time." 

"What makes you think it's me and not Patten?" Mick asked. 

"That confidence you carry. You believe you can protect her from everything because of your powers," Mr. Lane stated bluntly. "If you really love my daughter, and you really want to protect her, you keep her out of harm. Stop putting her in it. You fancy yourself a hero, but your just a kid. That won't stop me from bringing all of hell against you if something happened to my daughter." 

"I'll protect her with my life, I swear," Mick stated. 

"She loves you, so don't screw it up," Mr. Lane sipped his coffee as Mick shook his head. 

"I guess now would be a good time to tell you I'm not really planning to be a cop but I am sorta a secret agent that works for a secret government agency?" Mick asked timidly as Mr. Lane shook his head.

"You just better take care of my little girl, that's all I can say for you," Mr. Lane stated. 

It was a short ride over to the Hale's where Mick and Sam jumped into Patten's car. The looming rain meant no motorcycle, but that would be fine. He could drive Patten's car if they needed to go anywhere special. Halfway there Mick's SHIELD phone started ringing, which surprised him. He'd be seeing Sharon shortly, so what could've come up? 

"Bellouve, I've been trying to reach you for days!" it was Coulson's voice on the other end. The deep concern in his done bothered Mick gravely. "There's been a breakout from SuperMax. We'll go over the details as soon as I arrive at the Safe House. Please tell me you and your team are almost there." 

"We are," Mick said solemnly. 

"Good, lay low. We'll work out how to fix all of this once we're all together." The lines disconnected as Mick's heart began to race. This wasn't supposed to be like this. This was supposed to be a great reunion, time to enjoy with his friends. How could this have gone so awry? 

"Babe, what's the matter?" Sam asked seeing Mick going pale. 

"Everything," Mick muttered in disbelief. He knew who was in SuperMax, and a break out could mean a lot of things. Dread filled him. The idea that Grant Reigns could be coming for him again, but this time having access to Jake Carson who knew who his name and where he lived. His mind began to spiral out of control, suddenly that promise of keeping Sam safe just got a lot harder. 

"It's going to be okay, we're all here with you. We're a team, right?" Sam's words cut Mick to the core. How in the word was he going to keep her out of this fight when she was such an integral part of his team? How could he have been so careless to let this happen? 

Everything was much worse that Mick feared, as the details from the breakout became more clear. Jake, Reigns, and Solar were all working together. Three people who had a vendetta against him. The details from the breakout described a rogue guard shutting down security before committing suicide, which made Mick wonder if Jake still had his powers, or if perhaps they were growing stronger unlike the other victims of the Coven's dark book. 

"Hey, don't look so glum, if you could take these guys down on your own, we can take them down as a team!" Davis cheered as Mick wished he felt nearly as confident. 

"Why don't you take a minute," Pat suggested. "Sam maybe you can calm him down?" 

"We don't need them playing seven minutes in heaven," Davis started as Patten punched him in the gut, cutting off his obnoxiousness. 

"Go, unwind a bit, maybe get some things off your chest," Patten suggested as Mick nodded. Maybe he was right, it was now or never. If they were coming, there was a chance Mick could easily die. 

Mick followed Sam into a small room, then threw himself on the bed, pulling his bangs back out of his face, wanting to break down and cry. "You're really worried about this?" 

"I know I've gotten stronger, but what if they have too?" Mick's voice trembled. "I don't know if I could forgive myself if anything happened to any of you guys, especially you." 

"Mick, nothing is going to happen to me," Sam sat beside him, placing her hand on his face affectionately. 

"Reigns almost killed me last time I fought him, Jake did too," Mick felt the tears falling. "I-" 

Sam kissed him before he could finish his sentence. It didn't stop the tears, but it calmed the anxiety, at least for the moment. He pulled the small box from his pocket, without drawing Sam's attention, then slid off the bed. He knelt down before her, only to be met with a beaming smile. "Will you-" 

"Yes!" She jumped into his arms. 

"You didn't let me finish!" Mick laughed as Sam kept repeating yes and cheering. She took the ring from his hands, sliding it on her finger gazing at it affectionately. 

There was a knock on the door, which ended the kissing. "Hey, uh, Mick. You might want to see this," Jerren called from the other side of the door. Mick walked out of the room, the TV in the parlor was showing a live news report of what seemed to be a terrorist attack. 

"Recluse, I'm sure this will get to you. We have a score to settle. If anyone else tries to get in my way, you'll regret it," the camera then panned over to show Arachnid biting into a civilian, while Solar launched a fireball into a car causing it to explode. "See you real soon old buddy. Real soon." The feed turned to static, then it shifted over to a terrified news anchor. 

More dread filled his heart, he pulled away from Sam, walking back into the small room to grab his bag. "I have to go stop them. They're going to hurt more people." 

"You're not doing that on your own," Sam barked. "We're a team. We do this together." 

"You saw what they just did to those innocent people?" Mick turned to her and yelled. "I'm not about to let that happen to you! None of you! They want me! I'll face them. I'll end it." 

"This is bigger than just you Bellouve," Coulson interjected. "They've crossed several lines. SHIELD is going to get involved no matter what." 

"No!" Mick yelled, only for Sharon to step in and attempt to restrain him. The two grappled for a few moments, going back and forth on who would emerge victorious, until Mick had enough and used his webs to catch her foot. "Try and stop me if you want. Send every agent after me, I don't care. I will not let any of you die for me. This is my fight, and I will end it." Mick slammed the door as hard as he could, the door splintering into the frame itself. Several agents were already outside with guns pointed at him, he may be good, but not that good. Not yet at least. 

After a good bit of lecturing, not only from Coulson but from all of his friends, and his fiancée, He accepted he didn't have a choice in the matter. SHIELD was involved. He changed into his black full body suit, light weight, yet slightly armored. It had his emblem across the chest in a dark grey material. His boots were more like combat boots, the gloves now felt a little weighted almost as if there was some padding on his knuckles. Small ovals around the wrist to give room for his webbing. There was silvery web designs that sprawled from the SHIELD logo on the shoulder shoulder down the forearm, a matching design on the knee down to the boot. His face mask was no longer a full face mask, but customized goggles that resembled a silver spider to match his emblem that covered most of his face. He was grateful to have two of the retractable escrima sticks Jerren had been working on holstered on his sides. 

Sam came out of her room in something similar; a black body suit with a blue crystal snowflake emblem on her chest. Each shoulder bore a blue SHIELD logo, and she also had combat boots. Her mask was much more standardized, but blue to match her outfit. Jerren, Davis, and Patten each had a black SHIELD body suit as well, each armed with a taser and a retractable baton. 

"What do you think? Sam asked as she spun around, clearly impressed by SHIELD's handiwork. 

"It's very form fitting, that's for sure," Mick noticed as Davis nodded. "What's up with these goggles? They're really fuzzy." 

"You have to turn them on," Jerren walked over, activating both Mick and Sam's. "They're running on a prototype UI, should be able to get you some basic SAT feed intel, like target ID. You can also toggle between IR, UV, and standard view. Mostly the feed helps us see what you're seeing, but the connection can be a crapshoot. It runs off GMS so it should be connected anywhere." 

"It'll get the job done," Mick wasn't about to admit he was impressed. He was still quite bitter that he couldn't leave a few hours ago.

"We have a location on Carson, Reigns, and King," Sharon came in with a somber look on her face. "They have hostages." 

"What?" Mick barked as he followed her into the make shift briefing room, that used to be the dining room. 

Across several small screens were several satellite images of Jake, Arachnid, and Solar pacing around some stage. Near them were five large pillars with what looked like people tied to them. It wasn't until a news feed was picked up that Mick really began to spiral out of control. 

"It's believed the Bellouve family is being held hostage in return for the vigilante known as Recluse. Every attempt to gather any information has led to attacks on both officers and military personnel. The area around the Baton Rouge Fair grounds has been completely roped off as the three terrorist are considered extremely dangerous. We will continue to give you every bit of information we can as we get it." 

"Are you still going to stop me?" Mick turned to Coulson. "That's my family he has out there. He knows who I am, and now he's going to torture them until I give him what he wants!" 

"Mick, don't play into this. That's exactly what he wants you to do," Coulson stated. 

Before Coulson finished talking, the news feed picked up again, now the camera was close on Jake. He was smiling grimly, smoke billowing from behind him. "Oh little Recluse, I sure hope you're listening now. If I wasn't clear before, maybe it's clear now. I want you here, you alone. No friends, none of those annoying Special OP's people, just you." The camera panned around, now four people on the pillars were visible. James, Lina, Andi, and Alice Bellouve. "Don't keep me waiting. My patience is wearing thin. Once I press this button, the whole family goes up in smoke, just like that reporters helicopter who wouldn't mind their own business." 

Mick wasn't sure how, or even when he grabbed them, but he had the keys to one of SHIELD's cars. This time no one was there to stop him on the way out the door.