Marvel Omega :: Domino

#1 · AUGUST 1999


DOMINO	NICK FURY	G.W. BRIDGE

"DOUBLE THE PAIN"
Part I: Banks and Bombs
August 1999
by Megan Curtis

Domino sighed as she listened to the message on her voice mail. "Dom," said a familiar voice, "It's G.W. Give me a call. This is strictly off the record..."

She rolled her eyes as she started dialling. Was it ever on the record?

"S.H.I.E.L.D., Washington D.C. department," said a male voice, "may I help you?"

"Yes, can I speak with Commander Bridge please?"

"One moment, please..."

Domino leaned back against the payphone doors. It was a windy Sunday morning in San Francisco. Most of the usual early morning runners were at home, staying out of the elements. She had walked from X-Force headquarters at sunrise to check her emergency voicemail from a payphone. Lucky for her it was still early enough that the weirdo's weren't out. She didn't feel like fighting for her turn to use the phone this morning.

"This is Bridge," a deep male voice answered.

"Hey, G.W., can you tell me why I'm up this early without my morning cup of Java, calling you?"

G.W. Bridge leaned back in his leatherback chair and grinned. "Domino! What a pleasure to hear your voice! How are things? Where are you? It's eleven o'clock here..."

Domino grinned as she recognized the familiar prying into her whereabouts, "Well it isn't eleven here! Now what's so important that you called my emergency line? It better not be to reminisce - I know you a little better than that! Don't tell me I have to break another undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. officer out? I had a lot of fun doing that last time..." Unconsciously, she rubbed the scar on the back of her neck. She'd let her hair grow out, and it almost covered the scar now. Almost, but not quite...

"No, nothing like that. Listen, I need to know where you are. It's important."

She shook her head to herself, "G.W., I can't tell you. And before you start spouting off, it's not only my life that I'm risking, it's all of X-Force's lives too. If that's all you wanted, then I'm hanging up now!"

"No! Dom! Hey, don't hang up!" G.W. sighed. "Look, Gotham Bank was robbed in New York."

"Since when does S.H.I.E.L.D. handle bank robberies?"

"Was it you Dom?"

She could hear the desperation in his voice and answered in pure honesty, "What are you talking about? No, it wasn't me! Why would you even ask?"

"I've watched the bank security tape, and it looks like you. Physical type, hair, face tattoo. Even the moves are yours. You aren't lying to your old pal G.W., just to get some cash are you?"

"I wouldn't do that George." Her voice softened as she used his full first name. "Besides," she added, sounding lighter, "I'd go to Vegas if I needed funds. It's not very far from here. Satisfied?"

"Yeah, I am. Take care of yourself, and that brat pack. Have you heard from the old gang since Grizzly's, um, well, you know..."

"Since Grizzly died? C'mon, you can say it... It's a little hard to believe, but you can say it. I haven't heard from anyone since Cable and I ran into Garrison and Vanessa a couple of months ago. I haven't heard from Hammer in a while though. How about you?"

"Oh, Cable and I ran into each other awhile back, but that's been it." There was a small pause as both searched for something to say. "I guess I'd better get back to work. Take care of yourself."

"I will. Oh, and Bridge?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep me posted. If you find out any info or if this chick hits another bank, tell me."

"Sure Dom, anything. Bye."

She hung up the phone thoughtfully. So someone was running around New York City with her face robbing banks? It seemed a little far-fetched.

She checked her watch. A two-minute phone call conversation. Plenty of time to have tracked her, but there were no black vans parked on the street. No official looking men wearing sunglasses. Maybe G.W. was telling the truth, or maybe he just needed to hear a friendly voice?

Domino smiled to herself. She missed the days of the Six Pack - the adventure and camaraderie. Maybe she'd swing by Washington D.C. and see if G.W. wanted to go out drinking. She hadn't even tried to drink anyone under the table since Operation: Zero Tolerance. It might be fun to try it again on an old friend.

With that in mind she had a skip in her step on the way back to the warehouse. She deserved a vacation, after all.

G.W. hung up his phone slowly. If Domino was near Vegas, then she was probably on the West Coast, which meant there was no way it could have been her in New York. So why did he doubt her story? After all, he only had Domino's word that she wasn't in New York.

He shook his head to himself, who was he to doubt Domino's word? He had trusted her on countless occasions - this wasn't any different. Besides, now that he was back to the rank of Commander, he had a pile of paperwork to do. He couldn't worry about some small bank robbery in New York, when he needed to worry about terrorist bombings in Washington.

He pulled out another manila envelope filled with all the information on attempted bombings in Washington. It only covered a five-month period, and was full to the breaking point. As he began to flip through the information, his mind began to wander.

It had been good to talk to Domino again - he had missed her. That thought shocked him upright. He shook himself to get rid of the unwanted feeling. Well, of course he had missed Domino! She was an old friend, and they'd had a lot of fun together in their younger days. She was vibrant and loved life and living it. Of course he missed her. It didn't mean that he had any feelings for her.

He began making notes as he flipped through faxes and police reports. Besides, she had always been attached to Cable. Cable had eyes only for Domino, and Dom had eyes only for Cable. It was something that all of Six Pack had been aware of back in those days.

Each of the five men had developed separate relationships with Domino. Hammer had tried to win her over with his charm, but she had quickly showed little romantic interest. She and Grizzly had been great friends, with the big goliath trying to protect her from harm if the situation got too tense. Kane had adopted a shy acceptance, and maybe even a crush on her when he was younger, but she had returned his feelings with an almost maternal attitude - always making sure that the other guys didn't pick on Kane too much. At least, not until she'd had a turn at the jokes.

Cable and Dom had almost seemed like the same person. They knew what the other one was thinking, knew how to anticipate each other's reaction. They just knew!

'And what of your own relation with Domino?' he thought to himself. They had spent many late nights discussing music, literature, and politics, but usually Cable had been with them. Was there any point when it had just been Domino alone with him? G.W. couldn't remember any clearly.

There had been that night when Cable had been shot in Venezuela, and Domino had been sick with worry. They had drowned bottles of tequila like nobody's business, but what had happened after that? All G.W. could remember was waking up in his own bed with a hangover the size of the Hoover Dam and Cable fully recovered and ready to get back to the States for another job. So what had happened?

G.W. shook himself back to reality. "Quit worrying about it and concentrate!" he mumbled to himself.

He had just scribbled another page of notes when a nervous and highly agitated S.H.I.E.L.D. intern knocked on his office door.

"M-m-mister B-b-br-Bridge? Mister Bridge!"

"That's Commander Bridge to you, son. What can I do for you?"

"I-It's Colonel Fury sir! H-h-he want's t-to see you, in his office, right away!" The intern sighed, relieved to be rid of his message. He did a sloppy salute, turned, and sprinted from the room.

Bridge sighed and got up from his desk. He straightened his uniform and marched to his superior's office.

Nick Fury had been visiting the D.C. offices, taking a break from the excitement of the helicarrier. For the duration of his visit, he was given one of the nicest offices in the building.

G.W. knocked twice and swung open the door to see Colonel Nick Fury smoking his usual cigar and flipping through an American Hunter magazine.

"Oh, I need one of those..." he was muttering to himself before he looked up at Bridge. "G.W.! Didn't hear you come in! Take a look at the rack on that elk!"

He threw the magazine to the edge of the desk and pointed at a picture of a large, dead mule deer. Fury took a deep breath of satisfaction. "Damn! I need to take a vacation! Go and hunt deer and elk to my heart's content! Maybe even some bear! Yeah... bear..." Fury began muttering to himself, and Bridge felt the need to interrupt.

"Excuse me Nick, is there something you wanted to see me about?"

Fury seemed a little shocked to see Bridge still in the room. "Oh, right... I almost forgot!" He grew serious again, then began fishing through stacks of magazines and files on his desk until he found the piece of paper he was looking for. He pushed a button on his phone.

"Marge, did they ever find that tape?"

A woman's voice was heard through the intercom, "Yes sir, I'll send it right in."

"Thanks Hon!"

A smile played on the Director's face, but then grew serious as he turned back to Bridge. "A bomb was found in the U.N. building early this morning. They found it before it could go off, but it was close. Five more minutes and it would've detonated."

Bridge notably reacted with a start and stared at the Director. "What?! You can't be serious, Fury!"

"Unfortunately, I am..."

Marjorie, the secretary came in at that moment. She was a young woman, about twenty-five with blond hair and a swing in her walk. "Here you go, Colonel." She tried to make her voice sound breathless as she set the tape on Fury's desk. She sent a flirtatious wink at G.W. who tried to hide his disgust at the unprofessionalism. "Is there anything else I can do for you Colonel Fury?"

"Huh?" Nick looked up at her, noticing her for the first time. "Uh, no thank you Marge. Why don't you skedaddle out of here and leave the Commander and I in peace for awhile. Thanks darlin'!"

With a final wink, Marjorie left the office and left the men in piece. "Great secretary, huh?" Fury stated, as he began turning on the television and video player.

"Nick?" Fury turned to look over his shoulder. "Oh, right. Sorry G.W., I know how you feel about office romance. Don't worry, you don't need to file any complaints, she's merely for decoration. Now, about this bombing..."

He hit 'play' on the recorder and the video started. "Now let me warn you G.W., this is a tourists' video. Some guy from Idaho. He and his family were taking a tour this morning. We believe they may have gotten some footage of our assailant or assailants. Look! Right there!"

The 'right there' in question was a person wearing a long, tan, trench coat and a wide brimmed hat in the background of the video. They were looking over their shoulder while standing next to a potted plant. After a few moments, they walked out the doors and onto the street.

"The bomb was found in that plant pot! It's got to be the bomber! I'll have the lab boys enlarge the image and see if we can get a clearer picture."

"How did the bomb get past the security sensors? And why didn't the security camera get any shots?"

"The bomb wasn't made of metal." Nick shrugged, "and they were running diagnostics of the camera system. That person must've snuck in off-camera. The bomb was found by one of the secretaries, trying to dump her cigarette ash in the pot."

G.W. and Nick only had to wait another ten minutes before a man in a white lab coat came streaking into their office.

"Sirs, we've got pictures! It's a woman and she's already in our database, her names..."

"Domino!" G.W. whispered, as he looked at the picture. He took a deep breath as he stared at the pictures. It wasn't a close-up shot, and her face was partially covered, but it was her alright. Damn! She'd lied to him this morning! How could she!

G.W. was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice when the lab boy left, or that Fury was staring at him intently. "How long has she been a wanted felon G.W.? How many times have you let her and Cable escape? Now she's trying to blow up the U.N. building!"

Fury started pacing back and forth. "I want her brought in! Do you understand me?! I want you to find her!"

G.W. seemed to regain his voice, "Sir, I can't bring in Domino! How long did it take to bring in Cable? And then he escaped! Capturing those two is nearly impossible, you should know that!"

"I DO know that!" Fury yelled, so loudly in fact that a painting near the door fell off the wall and crashed to the floor.

Fury seemed to gain control of himself as he lowered his voice. "If it only involved the United States, I would understand your reluctance to find her, but this involves all the foreign diplomats. It's not just our ambassadors, it's England and China and Russia and Germany and all the other world powers! I need results, Bridge, and I need them now, or else I might have to take action of my own. Understand?"

G.W. Bridge was not a man to be threatened. "Just what are you implying, Fury?"

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. grinned. It was an ugly, harsh grin. "Your boys might be nicer to her if you brought her in. I can't say the same for my guys." Fury grabbed the envelope with Domino's pictures from the top of his desk. "This case is yours. Find Domino, and I can promise you a nice vacation." He leaned back and smiled. "You can even use Marjorie. She's a wonderful secretary."

Bridge kept a tight rein on his temper as he picked up the file. "I have a secretary, thank you!" he said through clenched teeth. With that said, he turned and walked from the office before he did some yelling of his own.

He marched back to his own office, hitting the wall with his manila file again and again as he walked past. His current secretary, Max, stared up at him in fear.

"Uh, sir, is there a problem?"

"No, Max. I need you to get all the information on recent activities from the mutant outlaw group X-Force. If you do that, there'll be no problem!"

Max seemed a little hesitant, "Uh sir, how recent is 'recent'?"

"I want everything in the last year."

Max groaned inwardly. So much for his lunch break, and he was going to ask one of the other secretaries to accompany him. "Yes sir. Right away!"

G.W. walked into his office, but then backed out. "Actually Max, why don't you take a long lunch instead? You can start this work when you get back. Ask Marjorie to go with you - I want her gone from her desk for the next two hours, understand?"

Max didn't understand, but he knew better than to question orders. "Um, yes sir. Thank you!"

With a wave, Bridge was back in his office pacing. Let's see how Fury does without his secretary for the next few hours. It was a small revenge, but revenge nonetheless. It was more of a practical joke than anything else.

Bridge sat down in his chair and reclined back with his feet on his desk to think. A female who looked like Domino had robbed Gotham Bank in New York. The U.N. had had an attempted bombing, luckily someone had found the bomb and it had been disarmed. A tourist video revealed a female planting a bomb, and she looked like Domino. It all added up - videotapes didn't lie. So why did he have that familiar ache in his stomach?

Domino wouldn't lie to him would she? He sighed as he picked up the phone. He needed to talk to Domino face to face - that was the only way to see if she was lying.

"Dom, it's Bridge. I've got more information. Call me, you've got the number. Um, I think we need to discuss it in person..."

NEXT: Two Dominos?! As if one wasn't enough! Dom agrees to meet with G.W., but what happens when they try to have a normal lunch, at McDonalds?!