"are we there yet?"
Yes. Yes you are.
Quicker than some might have expected, the fine city of San Francisco springs up around them. The air is noticeably cooler and the buildings are noticeably nicer than in Sacramento or Vegas, but that was of no importance to our... heroes?
The FBI had arranged to meet whatever menagerie of superhuman mercenaries showed up first at a coffee shop near UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, where a disguised Knox was supposedly receiving treatment for gunshot wound complications. However, the issue immediately became apparent: an inordinate number of SFPD police cars and armored SWAT vehicles surrounded the buildings and were closing off streets. A number of news crews were also there, and as you crawled by the redirected traffic, you could make out one anchorwoman's sound bite:
"...as the hostage situation enters its third hour, people inside can still be seen moving, despite police warnings..."
You managed to find some parking near the cafe and entered. The place was dark except for a few table lights and the glow of several computers, and its coffee bar was operating with a skeleton staff. The shop had obviously been commandeered by the FBI as a staging area moments before closing. Agent McGrath and several other agents from the Sacramento meeting were there, along with a stripe-suited man they hadn't seen before, all looming over a laptop.
"Again, I don't think you understand," McGrath growled into the microphone. "What you are doing here is not just wrong, but it is
fucking illegal."
"And again, I don't think you understand," came a voice from the other line in a snide tone, "we don't care. As long as 'Carter', or whatever this kid is going by now, is alive and not dead or thoroughly incapacitated, he poses a direct threat to our PD and to our city."
"He wouldn't be nearly as much of a threat if you would just let us do our damn jobs and get over your insane blue-blood revenge quest."
"You can bitch all you want," the voice replied smugly. "The fact is, if our lawyers can't block whatever Super Act bullshit you pull to try and punish us, our bloated police fund can take it. We're doing this whether you want us to or not, and we better hear a god damn 'thank you' once we're done."
The phone clicked, and McGrath gave a long sigh. "Unbelievable. So this is what this god forsaken country has come to..." He looked up at the superhuman squad and gave a sad smile.
"I never thought I would say this, but thank God you all are here. Please, take a seat. We got a lot to cover and not a lot of time to cover it."
After getting some excellent coffees, McGrath started his briefing.
"So, we've got good news, bad news, and ugly news. The good news is that we've managed to find Knox and identify his kidnappers."
Mugshots of two women and a man appeared on the screen they were all viewing.
"Derek Ortiz, Sandra Gottfried, and Keisha Evans. All terrorists, wanted on numerous charges from petty theft to bombing government buildings and conspiracy to commit treason. Classic domestic rebels, intent on nothing but overthrow and destruction. Ms. Evans is also a superhuman, capable of shapeshifting into a dragon. Yes, that's right, a dragon, complete with leathery wings, bullet-resistant scales, and fiery breath. You can read their dossiers in front of you if you want. Knox apparently had his hair dyed black, and is going under the name of Keisha's long missing son Carter Evans to avoid suspicion. We also know that Knox is alive and, aside from his recent emergency hospitalization, well. Well enough to be taken into stronger police custody, in fact."
McGrath coughed. "The bad news is that Andrew, now Carter, is apparently now with them of his own accord. We have a source on the inside that has been feeding us this information, and it says that the explosion at the hospital was the result of a brief fight between Keisha and Andrew following a misunderstanding, but after escaping the hospital and having a chat, these terrorists have won him over to their side, at least for now. This could prove to make extracting Andrew and returning him to normal society more difficult. Luckily, we anticipated this, and we asked our CIA liaison to come prepared."
The man in the striped suit smiled and nodded, exceedingly uncomfortable.
"Uh, h-hi. T-that's me, Agent Jenkins, CIA. I- I'll be helping you with your g-gear as soon as the, uh, the briefing is done."
McGrath nodded and pursed his lips. "Thank you, Jenkins. And now, on to the ugly news. It seems as though the San Francisco Police Department has gone rouge against the US government. As soon as the local cops figured out that the infamous cop-killer Andrew Knox was in their city, they immediately settled on an illegal 'KOS', or 'kill-on-sight' order on him and his kidnappers. However, Andrew and his compatriots managed to get disguised and into the hospital for treatment before the police could manage to pump them all full of lead, and they can't just stroll into a children's hospital and start a bullet festival without far too many civilians asking questions and filing lawsuits. As such, they've fabricated a hostage situation in order to have an excuse to launch a police raid, where 'Carter' is planned to become 'a tragic casualty of the gun battle between the brave police force and the evil hostage-takers'. Of course, we tried to intervene and take over the situation ourselves, but at the last minute the SFPD chief broke out some obscure state and city laws that allow them to block or ignore federal authority in certain situations, which is exactly what they've done. We would likely win this in court and get the blocks removed, but we don't have the time to get a judge involved. That would take days, and the SFPD are doing their raid
tonight, and soon. We need you to go in there before they do, get Knox alive, and apprehend the terrorists, all while keeping the SFPD at bay and out of our hair. If you succeed, you will be rewarded. Of course, if you fail and get killed or arrested, we'll deny any and all involvement and you will be completely on your own, so don't let that happen."
He nodded to Jenkins. "Before we show you the equipment you are going to be using during your mission, are there any questions?"
