Part Thirteen

What should have been a cleanup instead had the UN troops fighting a two-front battle. The only thing keeping the small UN force from quick defeat was that the other two groups were also fighting each other. Major Lee made the decision to have all his forces withdraw to the barracks. Where they were away from the focus of the firefight. The former hostages were very glad to set them.

While the other rescuers secured the position, which was easily defendable, Vic found Michelle. The two had a very passionate and thankful reunion. They scarcely noticed the explosions in the distance. When he finally felt he could interrupt, Major Lee had good news.

"I was able to persuade the person in charge of the fleet surrounding the island to have his forces take a more active role. There's several landing parties on the way from the ships forming the cordon. There's also aircraft from a US carrier softening up the mercenaries and whoever that other group is. Once the reinforcements are ashore the carrier planes will also provide close air support for us and the landing parties. We'll soon have both groups contained and in chains."

"Good news," said Vic, though she didn't let go of Michelle. Who definitely did not let go of her.

"We also have reports that there are several agents of both groups among our personnel, most of them low-ranking support staff. Those individuals have either run for it or turned themselves in. Interestingly, some were working for both groups! Apparently the second group is drug smugglers, who were here to make some sort of pickup. Only the seller never showed. The word I have is that their submarine was driven off by ships from the cordon.

"We only have a few of the traitors so far - which includes Private Orson Brown, thanks to Vic - but there's no place those who ran can go."

* * *

The actual cleanup took time to begin, but once it started all opposition fell apart. By the end of the day both the mercenaries and the smugglers had surrendered to the UN and their allies. There were a few holdouts from both groups who instead tried to escape, but even people swimming were spotted and captured. Given how far the mainland was and how strong the currents, most of these exhausted men were glad to be picked up. Only a few individuals were still missing, having gone to ground somewhere on the island. Or perhaps under it.

"During their interrogation the mercenaries continued to be defiant," said Major Lee, looking and sounding tired, early the next day, as he and Lieutenant Spivak told Vic and Michelle what they had learned. "They told us, independently and repeatedly, that their bosses knew what we were really doing here, and therefore it didn't matter that we had captured them. That the scandal would soon break, regardless."

"So they aren't just hirelings," said Vic, "but believers. Well, some of them."

"What do they think you are 'really' doing here?" said Michelle.

"That took longer to winkle out of them," said Lieutenant Spivak. "Though we eventually pieced together that they think we - T.O.W.E.R. or the UN or some super-allied subgroup of one or both - are working on methods to replace national leaders with doubles sympathetic to supers."

"That... almost makes sense," said Vic, with a grimace. "If you're paranoid enough to think that anyone who is pro-super is either a covert super or a dupe."

"Ironically, both groups of intruders discovered hidden research laboratories we actually didn't know about, some of them obviously meant for mad science," said Lee. "The fact that the mercenaries found those in just a few days and we didn't in months makes me wonder if they had a source of inside information. Especially since we know that a few of our people were supplying them with information."

"There's a big difference, though," said Vic, thoughtfully, "between providing schedules and putting poison in the veggies, and knowing about hidden mad science labs. Especially what's in them. Which is what?"

"We're doing an inventory now."

* * *

UN brass who had been waiting on the cordon ships were already ashore, and conducting an investigation. There had been multiple arrests from among the UN troops assigned to the island. Vic, Michelle and many others were interrogated. Vic garnered a few pieces of information from the process. The first was confirmation of subterranean laboratories and medical facilities. These had long been suspected by the UN but unverified, thanks to collapsed tunnels. Somehow, both the mercenaries and smugglers had found ways in which the UN had missed.

The underground laboratory - actually, several discrete laboratories - would require weeks or even months of careful examination. However, several facts could be discerned just from the quick examination Dr. Rampler and her team made.

Knowing that those on the island were eager for an explanation for what they had so recently been through, the UN brass held a group meeting. There, the results of their initial inquiry were presented. This was done in the same sports center main hall where Vic gave her lessons.

"According to the records we found," said Dr. Rampler, one of the first speakers, addressing the group from a podium on a portable stage which had been moved in for the presenters, "the primary purpose of the clandestine research performed here was initially to improve the health and extend the life of Mobutu. Later, as things went against him, the emphasis was changed to provide him with a perfect disguise. However, there just wasn't enough time to do this to his satisfaction."

"So that was him who died in Morocco?" said the Commander.

"Well, yes," said the doctor, nodding. "Almost certainly."

"That's a relief," said Major Lee.

"It looks like early on they tried for mind switching but found that doesn't actually work," said Dr. Rampler. "As everyone before them had found out. They decided to try for a brain transplant, but the only histocompatible 'subject' they had for their primary patient was female. Mobutu refused to be a woman."

"Mind switching," said Vic, sourly. "Which has never worked even through mad science. Oh, you occasionally have soul switching or possession occur through magic, and this is sometimes mistakenly called mind switching, but it's not. There's also total psionic domination, but that's just remote control."

"Exactly," said Dr. Rampler.

"What about those brain transplants?" said Major Lee.

"Well, from what I understand - and keep in mi... uh, remember that I'm not an expert in this field - if you don't want to have to take immune system suppressors for the rest of your life you have to either grow a custom-designed body in a vat or find a victim who is already completely histocompatible. Then, after the transplant, there's a period of weeks to months of recovery. None of this is new - there have been successful brain transplants, going back decades - but most attempts failed. So there's huge room for improvement. Hence all the research here. Which simply didn't have time to accomplish much."

"That's also a relief," said Commander Walters. "At least we won't have to wonder if everyone here is who they seem to be."

"The lab working on brain transplants was apparently shut down, in a controlled fashion, some time shortly before the turn of the century," said Dr. Rampler. "There appears to have been considerable looting since then - mostly of the narcotics they had there - but no other activity."

"What about the poisoning?" said Major Lee. "That was a dangerous action which seems at odds with the mercenaries' other behavior towards us. They seemed to want to avoid unnecessary casualties."

"We think that was the idea of the person who actually applied the rat poison," said Dr. Rampler. "He simply promised the mercs that - for a fee - he could disable most of the UN troops on the island in a way which would resemble a disease outbreak. They were frustrated, and jumped at the offer without asking questions."

"I don't understand why they thought making most of us sick would keep the rest of us from looking for Michelle and the other hostages," muttered Vic.

"Even some of the less sick were eager to find them," said Spivak, speaking from personal experience.

"Yes, and then they - the mercenaries - seemed surprised when we fought back," said Lee.

"You see this over and over again," said Commander Walters, in a self-assured manner. "Someone is convinced that their opponent is mentally and/or morally inferior, or just lacking in resolve or discipline, and therefore will be easily intimidated. So they do something which they expect will break their opposition. Then they are surprised when the effort not only has the opposite effect, but draws serious attention to them for the first time."

"Sounds like ego," said Vic, tiredly. "Something not limited to masterminds and mads."

"Well, I'm just glad the goons they sent to kill the hostages were overconfident," said Michelle, trying to sound bold but coming off more subdued than she intended.

"She was incredible!" said Corporal Sławków, quickly speaking up from near the back of the hall. "She took out two armed mercenaries like it was nothing!"

"It was not that easy," muttered Michelle. "I was helped by the facts that they were distracted, in a hurry, and expecting no resistance."

"Nevertheless," said Major Lee, patting her on the shoulder, "you acted correctly when you needed to and likely saved a lot of lives."

* * *

"Our funding operation on Roosevelt Island has failed," said the woman, to the gathering of the executive council of the covert "You're Arrested!" group. She grimaced. "By supers, of course. Which just proves that the UN is complicit in their plans for world domination."

"Which means several of our more expensive plans will have to be put on hold," said one of the members of the executive council.

"Or attempt to intimidate the special congressional investigative committee has also backfired," said the woman, tiredly outraged. "In fact, they have advanced their timetable and widened the scope of their investigation! These people do not know how to interpret the messages we are sending!"

"Perhaps we need to be more clear," said another member of the council, his tone sinister.

"I am open to suggestions," said the woman.

* * *

"I will be so glad to get back home," said Michelle, once she and Vic were back in their suite and had finished celebrating her rescue.

"Remember, we still have four days here before we can head back!" said Vic, playfully, as she hugged her sweaty wife. "That's eight more clinics."

"Surely they aren't going to require you to teach after all that's happened!"

"Oh, yeah. If anything, this just shows how much the training I'm giving them is needed. If nothing else, I seem to have impressed them with that grenade trick. Now, c'mon. Let's get a shower."

"Together?" said Michelle, suggestively, a she ran a finger along her wife's collarbone.

"Might as well save water."