Who Watches the Watchmen?

[Jo Holloway]

Jo was finding it hard to concentrate on anything but the hard lump in her stomach as time stretched on, and the ride in the Humvee didn't do anything to calm her down. The military vehicle was rough and bumpy, and the noise of the engine made it difficult to hear oneself think.

Subsequently there was nothing but silence in the vehicle during the short ride to the base, in contrast to the jovial conversation from the roadside.

[Barbara Nolan]

Barbara smiled brightly at the young Marines; most were her age or younger and she was determined to make being a pretty little blonde work in her favor. Jo, on the other hand, looked like she was about to throw up.

The Humvee rumbled up to a gate in the fencing, and was waved through. They parked shortly after that, the girls' destination a dull cinder block building painted tan with a boring roofline. Once inside, however, Barbara was relieved to discover it had air conditioning. She took Jo's arm reassuringly, and the two girls were escorted to a small room that held a table and a few chairs. They were seated together on one side, and left alone.

"Okay, well, I'll admit, this doesn't look good..." Barbara examined the room in the infrared wavelength, and found that the thick walls were great for masking what might be on the other side of them. There wasn't even a two way mirror to play with.

Jo just put her face in her hands and then rested her elbows on the table.

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

A black Humvee ground to a halt next to the tan Marine vehicles and disgorged a pair of soldiers who were decidedly not part of the conventional armed forces, judging from their black uniforms and unusual chevron crests. One of them opened the passenger-side door, and out stepped a woman in a charcoal gray duty uniform with the oak leaf pins of an Army major on her collar. It rode stiffly, even by Major Keller's standards, as she crossed to the guard hut's entrance.

The marines inside broke off their conversation and saluted as she entered, but she noticed their eyes dipping to the unfamiliar jacket she wore. In many ways she was the public face of Vanguard, but this was the first time she'd exchanged her Army dress blues for Vanguard gray, something that hadn't even existed until a month ago. Even though she'd been folded into General Vasher's organization years ago, the Army uniform had carried a sense of continuity, of familiar authority. Everyone knew what it stood for, and it lent her Vanguard duties a certain legitimacy. But Vanguard was a mystery, and now she was charged with solidifying its authority. It wasn't just the uniform that rode stiffly.

"You have the intruders detained?"

"Yes, ma'am," the marine sergeant replied, and he plucked a folder off a cluttered desk and handed it to her. "Two women, both have California licenses. Ms. Josephine Holloway is a registered mutant. Probability manipulation, TL of one. Works as a forensic investigator for the LAPD."

"I'm familiar with Ms. Holloway," Kenzie replied. "What do we know about the other one?"

"Ms. Barbara Nolan, says she's Ms. Holloway's cousin. Librarian from Santa Clara. Not so much as a parking ticket on either one of them." He paused as Kenzie shuffled through the meager documents and pulled out two California driver's licenses. "Mind if I ask what we're dealing with, ma'am?"

"Suspicions, mainly," she replied. "You've examined their cameras?"

"Wilderness pictures, mainly. And what looks like some... party pictures on Ms. Nolan's phone. Nothing of the base."

"Are the wilderness pictures from this area?" Kenzie asked.

"No, ma'am. Mostly mountains and forest."

Hardly a smoking gun. But the entire situation reeked of espionage. Two women with a high-powered camera had arranged themselves on a ridge with a prime vantage into the military installation where Vanguard was staging a hardware demonstration for several military VIPs. A demonstration that, against Major Keller's better judgment, had been moved to a less secure location at the insistence of one of their distinguished guests. If it wasn't planned, then it was one hell of a coincidence, which was potentially just as damning in this case.

She dropped Jo's license back into the file and tucked it under her arm. "I'm ready to see them now."

---

In the silence of the holding room, the rattle of the doorknob may as well have been a gunshot. Two Vanguard troopers entered and stood against the back wall, followed by Major Keller, who shut the door behind her. Then she slipped into the chair sitting across the table from the two detainees.

"Good afternoon," she said, folding her gloved hands on top of the file on the edge of the table. "I'm Major Mackenzie Keller with Vanguard Operations. I'd like to ask you both a few questions about your activities earlier today. Can you tell me what you were doing on Mission Ridge this morning?"

[Jo Holloway]

Jo had straightened up when the door opened, and was working hard at keeping her anxiety at with some measured breathing. "Just having picnic. My cousin wanted to see the park, and we stopped to take some pictures and eat something before driving further in. I'm sorry if we parked illegally, I really thought it would be okay in the turnout, and please don't break my camera it was really expensive."

She took a deep breath and then pressed her lips together to stop herself from babbling more.

[Barbara Nolan]

Barbara looked at her cousin who seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating and added, "Yeah." She looked at the woman in the unfamiliar uniform, trying to fix it in her memory for googling later. "We just ate some granola bars and had some water. I think the cooler stuff is further in the park, right?"

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know," Major Keller replied. She flipped the folder open and leafed through a few pages of printed material. "I see you passed through the checkpoint on Rainbow Canyon Road at 10:26 this morning. Did you receive any instructions at that time about which areas are off-limits to civilians?"

[Barbara Nolan]

"No, no one said anything." Barbara looked at Jo again, who shook her head in agreement but kept her mouth shut. "I guess I figured since we weren't going to the Twentynine Palms base then there wasn't anything to worry about?"

She grimaced, "Guess that wasn't right."

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

Kenzie offered no response either way. "Have you taken any photographs, or made any audio or video recordings during your time in the park today?"

[Jo Holloway]

Oh crap. "I took a few, I think. They'd be on my camera." Or on the SD card in my pocket, stop it stop thinking it they don't know you switched - just stop! "I-I mean, I was going to after we were done eating and then we saw the soldiers by my car."

Jo pressed a cool hand to her warm face and added, "I'm really sorry, I'm just really nervous. Because of the situation. Not because we did anything - we didn't do anything. I work in a lab for the LAPD," she added randomly, closing her eyes lightly and taking a slow breath.

[Barbara Nolan]

Jo was about to completely melt down. She'd probably end up curled on the floor in the fetal position, mumbling about crochet stitches in five minutes at this rate. Barbara butted in, trying to derail the inevitable anxiety attack. "Can you get her a glass of water? Someone? She really does spend a lot of time in air conditioning, the stress and heat is probably melting her head. No offense, cuz, but you're babbling."

She patted her arm comfortingly, and Jo flushed bright red with embarrassment. Barbara looked at Major Keller. "I think I took a few pictures of the trees with my iPhone that was taken from me, you're welcome to check it as I'm sure you already have."

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

Kenzie looked back at one of the troopers and nodded, and he disappeared out the door. Major Keller then returned her attention to Barbara.

"If you were planning on coming this far north, you should have been warned against straying near the landing field," she said. "Especially with a camera. It's a restricted area, and there are signs to that effect posted at regular intervals on the accessway where you parked your vehicle. The two of you were spotted on a ridge overlooking the facility. You were trespassing on government property."

[Barbara Nolan]

Barbara chewed her bottom lip a little. "Um, it was really an accident. This is all some sort of hilarious misunderstanding." Oh God we are so screwed.

Looked like it was time for them to be dragged off to some hole for the rest of their lives. Rendition time! "Is it like, a fine or something?" She had her hands clasped together in her lap, and they were starting to feel a bit clammy from sweat.

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

"I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that," Kenzie replied.

The door swung open again, and the Vanguard trooper returned with a styrofoam cup of water. He set it on the table in front of Jo, who was quietly shaking in her seat.

"Knowingly or not, the two of you placed yourself in a position to photograph a secure military installation. Now, I may believe you when you say that your intentions were innocent. Unfortunately, for the sake of national security, we have to consider the possibility that your actions were influenced by a third party. Possibly even without your knowledge."

She began pulling at the fingers of one of her gloves. "It may interest you to know that I am a mutant myself. Much like Ms. Holloway."

[Jo Holloway]

Jo felt mesmerized watching the Major remove her glove, the anxiety fluttering in her chest finally settling down into the pit of her stomach. She swallowed a sip of water and set the cup down. "Like me because you're a mutant, or like me because our abilities are similar?"

She smiled, hopefully. A luck ability shouldn't hurt too much, even if they were going to end up sequestered in Timbuktu for the rest of their lives. Or maybe her ability could counteract Major Keller's... No, no, that was probably a felony, using a mutant ability on a military officer, and that would be bad.

Worse than Timbuktu bad, or just bad? Well, if it didn't work, that is. And if it did...

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

"The former," Kenzie replied. Her gloves landed on the tabletop with a leathery slap.

"In fact, I have the ability to scan memories. Replay them. Experience them. At times I can even enhance their clarity, help people to remember things they've forgotten. Or failed to notice the first time around."

The major laid her hands on the table, palms down. "I have no intention of forcing my way into your memories. To do so would be a clear violation of your privacy. However, if you are willing to let me see the events of your trip to Twenty-Nine Palms, I can expedite your situation tremendously. You can walk out of here in fifteen minutes, and all of this will go away."

[Barbara Nolan]

Barbara tried to keep her tone light. "...And if we don't let you?" She smiled tightly.

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

"You'll be subject to due process for trespassing on restricted government property," Kenzie said. "I'm not trying to blackmail you, Miss Nolan. I'm trying to give you a way out. I thought your cousin might appreciate that, given her position with the LAPD."

She smiled slimly at Jo. "You'll know exactly what I'm doing and where I'm going. I won't dig into anything you don't want me to see."

[Jo Holloway]

"Right, well, that makes sense." Jo shrugged, trying to convey confidence while she felt no such thing. "I'll go first. It'll be fine."

"If you say so," Barbara said. "How do we know there aren't any...side effects to being mind raped? Sorry, having our memories scanned." She looked completely uncomfortable, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Babs!" Jo looked at her askance, and then at the major. "Sorry about that. I'm sure you're very careful with your ability if the ...Army," she couldn't help but give the unusual uniform a glance, "allows you to use it."

After a moment more of hesitation, Jo held out her bare hand toward Major Keller, taking a deep breath and feeling the holding in a large sneeze sensation as she activated her ability as the other woman made contact with her skin.

[Barbara Nolan]

The wind whipped in her short hair as they drove through the desert. The sun was getting low in the sky but there were a few hours of daylight left, Barbara judged. She turned to her cousin, grinning. "This was a great trip. I told you we'd see some great..." She paused, her brain cycling through memories. Something didn't seem right. "...Great scenery."

Barbara smiled uncertainly, brushing her hand through her hair. "Yeah. A good day."

[Jo Holloway]

She felt like throwing up, but she couldn't figure out why. "Yeah, a lot of scrub brush and weird trees. Hope you got some good pictures."

Her cousin was looking at the back of the camera, flipping through a bunch of nature shots on the preview screen. "Mmmhmm."

Jo looked over at her, and then back to the road. "Did we get ice cream?"

"You know we did."

"Right." Jo accelerated a bit, and sighed. "I'm sorry, I feel sort of out of it."