Fatal Attractions [Charles Xavier | Book One]

Chapter 16: The Embargo Line

        Two fleets of battleships awaited orders parallel to one another other, both sides remaining completely perpendicular to the embargo line. One side remained the American fleet, the other the Russians. They remained, for the time being, at a stalemate where they guarded in their own waters.

        A Russian cargo ship known as the "Aral Sea" was headed forward, however, with no intention of stopping.  If it were to cross the embargo line, World War III would officially begin. 

        American cannons aimed at the cargo ship from the opposite side of the line. It was a matter of minutes.

        Inside of the Blackbird plane, Hank was piloting while Moira kept an eye on the monitor for the ships below. Everyone else remained strapped into their seats, secured. Kat sat with Charles in between herself and Raven.  It seemed her stomach didn't agree with the flying, but then again she had never been in any plane before. The jet was far too fast—even if she did trust Hank with his flying skills.  

        "Looks pretty messy out there," Hank remarked. As if that could make Kat feel any better about their current situation.

        It seemed as though there was nothing to be done, but Charles thought quickly.  He raised two fingers to his temple and closed his eyes, only to reopen them a few moments later. "Crew of the Aral Sea are all dead," he informed them.  "Shaw's been there."  And by Shaw, he meant one of Shaw's people. Azazel.

        "He's still here!" Erik insisted to Charles.  "Somewhere."

        "He set the ship on course for the embargo line."

        "If that ship crosses the line," Moira called back from the front of the plane, "our boys are gonna blow it up. And the war begins."

        Charles straightened up where he sat. "Unless they're not our boys."

        Kat shifted in her seat.  Hesitantly, she raised her fingers to her temple to peek down at what was happening.  The Americans were getting ready to fire, while the Russians were trying to signal the Aral Sea to stop.  Of course, that wasn't getting them anywhere.

        Without warning, one of the Russian ships fired a missile towards the Aral Sea.  As it passed over the ships, it headed directly towards their plane.  

        "Hank!" Kat called, but Hank was already on it.  He immediately began to steer out of its path, turning the plane over as they spun.

        "Hold on!" Charles shouted, his arms going out to both Kat and Raven as if to protect them as they spun.  Kat thought she might vomit with the motion, but she managed to keep herself as calm as possible. She held her breath as they spun, her ears flatting against her head and her tail curling around her waist.  Her eyes closed until the plane maintained it's normal balance. Then she breathed out again.

        "A little warning next time, Professor?" Hank asked, just as serious as he was teasing. 

        "Sorry about that. You alright?" Charles asked everyone. Kat only nodded, her eyes still closed.  

        "Fine," she breathed, opening her eyes as she lost her tense posture. Her ears came back up and twitched, and she breathed again.

        "That was inspired, Charles," Moira complimented, flipping more switches at her station. 

        "Thank you very much, but I still can't locate Shaw."

        "He's down there," Erik insisted. "We need to find him now!"