Disclaimer: You know someone really should put this thing to music, then maybe it would be a bit of fun. Well you know the drill, all the characters here [bar Eddie who is mine] belong to Marvel. I just sneak in late at night and borrow them for my own, non-profit making, fun.

Pete Wisdom cursed silently to himself as he sneaked into the Moonlight Flit's hanger bay. He couldn't believe how stupid and downright amateurish his reaction to this whole mess had been. Now that his carelessness had resulted in nearly half the research station being blown to kingdom come. And if that wasn't bad enough the great tin Russian had nearly been killed. Luckily Colossus had been quick enough to shift to his armoured form but he still took the full force of the explosion and even his organic metal hide couldn't protect him completely.

He entered the cockpit and looked around in confusion. He hadn't the foggiest how to fly this thing, but he assumed it had an autopilot he could engage.

Before he could even start searching there was a loud 'BAMF' and the foul smell of brimstone filled the small cockpit.

"Are you planning to leave us, Herr Wisdom?"

"Wagner, why couldn't you use the bloody door?" Pete said, trying not to breathe in. "And, yes, I am going somewhere. So, if you'll kindly vacate the vehicle, I'll be on my way." Pete turned away from Kurt and seated himself at the controls.

"You're not going anywhere until you explain to me why my team is lying in the infirmary after a bomb exploded in my home," Kurt all but snarled at Pete, "And why another member of my team is missing? I am getting sick of having this same conversation with you."

"Look, Wagner, yes, a bloody bomb's gone off and, yes, some people ended up in the infirmary as a result but at least they're alive. If I don't leave now Kitty might not be so lucky."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kurt said, leaning over and hitting various buttons. A few lights sprang to life and began to flash.

Pete grabbed Kurt's hand. "No, Wagner. I've already tried the 'I'm a good team player route'. It didn't work. I should have done it this way from the start. I work alone."

"Ja, maybe you do -- but we do not." Kurt pushed Pete from the pilot's seat and finished his pre-flight check. "So, what is our destination?"

Pete let out a small sigh before taking the co-pilot's seat. "London."

A few minutes later they were airborne and heading south. Kurt put the Flit on autopilot and turned to Pete. "Now, Herr Wisdom, our ETA is 58 minutes. That provides a comfortable time window for you to explain."

Pete pulled the pendant Meggan had given him from his pocket and tossed it to Kurt.

"That, Herr Wagner, is the insignia of Claidhmh, a terrorist group that up until a few hours ago I thought no longer existed or quite frankly never believed existed in the first place."

"I've never heard of them," Kurt said, handing back the pendant.

"Not surprising. They're probably the most paranoid organisation in the world. When I was with MI-6 we were made to read up on every known terrorist organisation including the Claidhmh, but I've never actually had the pleasure of meeting a member of the group. I don't know too much about them but I do know this, they don't take prisoners. So if they have Kitty then she is in very real danger."

Just over an hour later Pete and Kurt entered what appeared to Kurt to be an ordinary office building. Pete walked determinedly through the main lobby and Kurt, now posing as Errol Flynn thanks to his image inducer, followed quickly behind him. They took the elevator to the second-to-last floor and stepped out into a small room. There were two doors on either side and a reception desk positioned between them.

Pete approached the desk and spoke to the receptionist. "I need to speak with Eddie."

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

"Are you bloody deaf or just stupid? I said I need to speak with Eddie." He said each word slowly.

"Sir, I'm afraid there's no one here by that name. Now I must ask you to leave."

"No one by that name? She's your bloody boss, you bird-brained twit."

"Miss Averil? Sir, unless you have an appointment, and I'm pretty sure you don't, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Pete was on the verge of totally losing control when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Why is Errol Flynn standing outside my office?" Edina Averil stood in the doorway, dressed as always in her casual jeans/v-neck ensemble and wearing a very amused look on her face, obviously enjoying the floorshow.

"Eddie, thank god," Pete muttered, grinning smugly at the receptionist, "Look, I need some information..."

Eddie rolled her eyes. "Gee Eddie, how are you? Oh, I'm fine, Pete, thanks for asking."

"What? Oh, hi... Look, I don't have time for this."

Kurt, who had been watching the whole exchange quietly at one side, suddenly spoke up. "I apologise -- Miss Averil is it? -- for our untimely intrusion but..."

Pete interrupted him. "Eddie, Wagner. Wagner, Eddie. There, intros done. Happy?"

Kurt extended his hand and, after a brief hesitation, Eddie held out hers. "Kurt Wagner at your service, fraulein." Kurt announced, as he bowed and kissed Eddie's hand lightly.

"Danke, Herr Wagner. I hope you'll excuse my rudeness but I'm afraid members of the Intel community are not known for their manners." She turned to smirk at Pete, "but I'm sure you've already discovered that."

"Ha, ha, very funny?" Pete snapped. "Now, can you please listen to me?"

"Yeah, sure. Come into my office." Eddie walked up to the large oak doors and pushed them open. She gestured for the others to follow. She seated herself behind the large desk, which dominated most of the room. A computer sat on top of the desk as well as some assorted files. A large window, showing the London skyline, provided the backdrop.

Pete and Kurt followed but, as they passed through the doorway, there was a series of flashes and Errol Flynn disappeared to be replaced by a very stunned Kurt Wagner.

"It's ok, Herr Wagner. An electronic damping field, among other things protects this entire room. Since I assumed the role of director of 'B' division the ministry seems to think some parties may want to kill me."

"Like they didn't want to before," Pete muttered.

Eddie ignored him and continued to address Kurt. "Don't worry about your image thingy. It'll work perfectly as soon as you exit this room."

Reassured, Kurt finally moved from the doorway. He took one of the seats opposite the desk. Pete took the other.

Eddie snapped her fingers and the timid receptionist appeared and shut the door. Eddie waited until the door was fully closed before speaking. "Now that we've got the chitchat out of the way," she leaned forward and looked directly at Pete, "why don't you tell me what the fuck is going?"

"Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing."

Eddie sat back in the chair. "Not too long ago I received a very odd phone call from Jardine. He said he needed my help but couldn't discuss it over the phone. So I arranged to meet him in the Crown. Half an hour before we'd arranged to meet I received yet another odd call, again from Jardine, who told me he'd solved his problem and no longer needed my help. Then he tells me he's going on vacation, right there and then."

Eddie noted the looks Pete and Kurt exchanged before continuing. "I'm curious, so I had all Jardine's phone records traced." She reached into a drawer in the desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. She turned it to face Pete so he could see the numbers she highlighted. "He made a number of calls to that research centre of yours before calling me. Then you and blue boy turn up and I take it you're here to let me in on the joke."

"You checked Jardine's phone records? I can't believe you did that." Pete said, grabbing the phone records from her hand.

"Oh, please. When I was dating that Russian diplomat you and Doyle had me stalked."

"Trysta's loose, Eddie."

A moment of silence passed. "Definitely not the answer I was looking for," Eddie commented, shifting in her chair slightly. "Please tell me you know where she is. I'm really not in the mood for cleaning up a pile of dead bodies today."

"We know she's in London, or at least was."

"In London," Eddie said flatly. "That's a great help. Thank you very much."

"Well, if you liked that you're gonna love this." Pete tossed her the pendant.

"The Claidhmh," Eddie muttered, turning the pendant over in her fingers. "This related to El Psycho's escape?"

"Nope, completely unrelated incident. At least I bloody hope so."

"What'd they do?"

"They destroyed a rather large portion of the research station and kidnapped a member of our team," Kurt answered.

"We were hoping you could help us get in contact with them," Pete added.

"I'm not sure if I have much on them, they're more of a myth and most of what I'd have is probably just folklore." As she spoke she turned to face the computer. She quickly typed in a few codes and a wealth of information began to scroll past the screen. "Hmmm, not much to go on... wait a sec, this looks promising. One Gary Brunside was released from the Maze, just over a month ago. He was rumoured to be a member of The Claidhmh but they could never tie him to the organisation. I have an address."

"Give it to me. We'll go check it out."

"It's in Ireland."

"So?"

"So?! We still have that other small problem."

"Yeah, well, we have to prioritise. Trysta may be insane but she's not rash. If she hasn't struck by now she must be waiting for something."

"Oh, well, that's just peachy. Let's just sit here on our ass and wait for her to kill us."

"I didn't mean for you to sit on your ass while we're gone. Scout around some of Trysta's former 'friends'. See if they know anything. Hell, you're the director here, I shouldn't have to tell you this." While he talked, Pete stood and began making his way to the door. Kurt followed suit. As he opened the door Pete motioned for Kurt to go ahead of him. He turned back to Eddie, who hadn't moved from her seat. "But do it on the hush. We think someone either in the government or within the department may be helping her. You're not too popular with the hierarchy and I doubt they'll give you a warning like they did Jardine."

"I'll be careful. But, Pete -- if I find Trysta I will kill her. You know that."

"Yeah, I know." With that he turned and left.