Team Omega by Christopher G. Nuttall Read Free Book Online Page A

floor.  “If we’d had time to wait, we could probably have scoped out the building better before we moved.”
     
    “Says the guy who didn't have to charge through the doors,” Basil said.  “We don’t always have the luxury of time.”
     
    The Sergeant glared at them both and then addressed the room at large.  “Downtime is coming to an end in three days,” he said.  “By then, we need to sharpen up our game and make sure that Jackson here is fully integrated into the team.  Tomorrow, we will return to the shooting house and make damn sure we do better.  Next time, it could be real.”
     
    He stood up.  “You all know what is at stake.  We cannot afford to fuck up in public.  Those of you who bothered to check the background of the simulation would have noted that the media were there, covering the crisis.  One single misstep on camera, and the shit would really hit the fan.
     
    “Johnny, Thomas, I want a word with you two about the proper way to secure hostages,” he concluded.  “Everyone else—assemble at 1700 for briefing; until then, you’re on your own.  Except you, Jackson.  You have an appointment with the legal team.”
     
    Jackson stared at him.  “We have a legal team?”
     
    “Fiends in human form,” Basil assured him.  “Try not to annoy them or they will eat your soul.”
     
    ***
    Professor Brian Hayworth wasn't military; indeed, Jackson was fairly sure that he hadn't seen a less-likely military officer in his entire career.  He was short, with a long beard and a vaguely pink shirt that would have aroused suspicions of homosexuality if worn by a career military officer.  But he knew his stuff and, after insisting that Jackson take a cup of coffee and a piece of cake from Britain, he started to outline the legal basis behind Team Omega.
     
    “Superhumans fall into two basic physical categories,” he said.  “One category can pass for human, the other—the mutated humans—are largely incapable of existing within normal society as they are the objects of fear and hatred.  They remind us that we might not have been so lucky in our lives and bodies; it doesn't help that any number of religious denominations have decided that mutants are the spawn of the devil.  Most of them turn to crime or terrorism because it is their only way of getting back at a society that hates them.”
     
    He shrugged.  “However, the really dangerous problems can come from those who pass for human,” he continued.  “Some of them have become superheroes; others try to avoid registration or just choose to live their lives as normally as possible.  It really doesn't help that many of the public superheroes have agreements with the big corporations.  They have legal support they can call upon if they get into trouble with the law.”
     
    “Wonderful,” Jackson said, sarcastically.
     
    Hayworth nodded and continued.  “The principle legal tool in our arsenal is SARA—the Superhuman Activity Regulatory Act.  Under SARA, any superhuman who seeks to live a public life must be registered and undergo some degree of training before being effectively deputized into national service.  Those who choose to live normal lives do not have to register, but there are those who refuse to register for one reason or another while still using their powers publicly and they have to be hunted down.  SARA also covers the deliberate creation of superhumans, although it isn't always easy to tell if a superhuman developed naturally or was created by an injection of mutagenic DNA, surgical enhancement or something along those lines.”
     
    Jackson remembered the Sergeant and held up his hand.  “What happens if the superhuman is created against his will?”
     
    “It rarely happens,” the Professor said.  “When it does, the superhuman is generally invited to register—or live a normal life.  If he or she did seek enhancement, they could be charged under SARA and jailed