”Please, Mr Harvey, make yourself comfortable,” Natalie gestured to a conference table in one of the upper rooms in the Haven HQ. She’d spread out the details of the case on the table, and she was seated in her favourite position - centre seat with her back straight.

To her left was a man named Michael Hunter, aka ‘The Ranger’. To the public, he was just a private security contractor, nothing more. To the I.E., he was a valuable asset for when things went sideways. That wasn’t to say that things went sideways often, but in the off chance that they did, he was a good person to keep around.

That day held the strong possibility of going sideways. The meeting was set up like it would be a civil one, but they were all aware of the fact that it could turn sour at any minute. The man, James Harvey, was a known mutant advocate, but he was also an outspoken anti-Haven spokesperson. At first, he was actually an employee at Haven, but he was fired for his violent tendencies.

It hadn't taken Natalie long to form a lawsuit. Almost immediately, she found a clause in a form that James had signed that told him that he was not allowed to slander Haven while working there or within six months of working there. Technically, he would more likely be sued for money rather than anything else, so it wasn't particularly worth it, but she wanted to get him into that room where she hoped to scare him a little.

Unfortunately, that was where his violent side came to be a bit of an issue.

James strode forward and extended his hand calmly, making no signal that he was at all perturbed by the situation. Natalie shook it firmly and then continued on as he sat down. ”I’m Natalie Ross, Haven’s lawyer. I assume that you’re aware of why you’re here?”

“Yes, I’m aware,” James admitted icily. He clearly wasn’t as calm and composed as he had first made himself out to be. “Who’s this guy, though?”

Natalie turned to give a courtesy glance toward Michael. ”This is Mr Michael Hunter. He’ll be joining this meeting for security purposes. That’s all I’m at liberty to say.”

She sat forward in her chair and clasped her hands together over the papers in front of her. ”Now, Mr Harvey. You have some explaining to do.”

The call had come down that the Ranger’s services would be required. Not as the owner of the company contracted to provide security to Haven. This call had come from one of the Inner Echelon, Natalie Ross. When it came in the Ranger dropped everything else he was doing.

He would be joining Natalie in a meeting with a former Haven employee who had been making waves with his anti-Haven views. As it turned out this man had a tendency for violence, it was what had led to his termination. The Ranger was there to address any less than civilized behavior the man exhibited. Natalie would use her words and if those failed the Ranger would use his fists. That’s teamwork.

The Ranger arrived at the meeting wearing a nice dark suit with a pair of nice black cherry cowboy boots. He was a classy operator, not some common thug. He left the hat behind, while it looked good with the rest of what he had it was a little over the top for this meeting.

Of course being himself, he was armed. A SIG P226 tucked away under his clothes in a holsterless appendix carry. He did not intend to use any firearms inside of Haven if he could avoid it, but it was better to have and not need than to need and not have.

When James Harvey arrived the Ranger was already seated in the conference room to the left of Natalie. Natalie told Mr. Harvey to make himself comfortable. The Ranger sized up the man, he didn’t look like the Ranger would have any difficulties dealing with him. Though looks can be deceiving, especially when you factor population density of mutants that the building housed. The Ranger had not received a brief on if James Harvey had a power, but he operated under the assumption that the man did.

Natalie introduced herself and asked if Mr. Harvey knew why he was there. His response was the affirmative and betraying of his feelings. He had seemed collected when he arrived, now that he spoke it was clear a storm was brewing below the surface.

At the questioning of who the Ranger was, Natalie introduced him as well. He nodded to Mr. Harvey but remained silent. He sat less rigidly than Natalie. He wanted give the impression of causal strength. Let Mr. Harvey know that he felt him a manageable threat.

From there the meeting began. Natalie informed Mr. Harvey that he had some explaining to do.

As the Ranger understood it he had been slandering Haven. Normally slander alone was grounds for a suit but as a public entity Haven was only protected from malicious slander the offender knew was false. The same protection tabloids have when they write nonsense about celebrities. In this instance though Haven had covered their bases and as a condition of his employment contract he could not say what he was saying while working for Haven or for six months following termination. And it looked like the penalty for breaching was hefty.

The point of the suit of course was not to milk Mr. Harvey financially. The point was to get him into this room, with them, today. Waive the dollar amount in his face and see if the threat to his pocketbook shuts him up. If not they could always get more aggressive. The Ranger ran security, but he operated under the philosophy that offense is the best defense.

Mr. Harvey might ‘fall down some stairs’ on the way out today.

“I don’t think I do.” Said Mr. Harvey. “It isn’t slander if I can back up my claims. I’ve got dirt, I’ve been nice about it. Take me to court and it’ll all come out.” He punctuated this with jab of his finger onto the desk. Mr. Harvey was going to try and threaten his way through this.

The Ranger leaned forward in his chair, setting his elbows on the table. While he did not take kindly to Mr. Harvey threatening Haven, it was still Natalie’s ballgame. Until Mr. Harvey made an overtly aggressive move or Natalie indicated for him to act he would just observe.

>>“I don’t think I do. It isn’t slander if I can back up my claims. I’ve got dirt, I’ve been nice about it. Take me to court and it’ll all come out.”

Exactly the response that Natalie had been expecting. They knew that he had dirt, that much was obvious. That was fine, though; he wasn’t the only one who could do a little digging.

She abandoned her rigid position in favour of a more relaxed one, leaning back in her seat and resting her hand on a file, her pen dangling lazily. She stayed that way for a good minute, her eyes locked with Harvey’s. She intended to make him sweat for a while.

While his impassive face didn’t give any indication of discomfort, his body language certainly did. His fingers toyed with the edge of his sleeve, and he swallowed three times over the course of a few short minutes. Finally, he was the one to break the silence. “Do you have anything to say to that?” He asked, bending forward over the table slightly. He had his hands rested on the table, almost mirroring Michael’s.

Natalie stayed still for another minute. She was in no rush to reveal her hand, but it seemed that Harvey was anxious to see it, which meant that she still had the upper hand. Finally, she tented her hand on the top of the file in front of her and slid it forward to the man in front of her. For the sake of the two people around her who were not privy to the case details that she was, she elaborated on the legal jargon inside.

”I think you’ll find that you’re not the only one with dirt, Mr Harvey,” Natalie quirked an eyebrow. She’d hired a private investigator to find some information about the man, and she’d more than delivered. The folder was filled with shady business transactions and compromising pictures. ”So, if you can see, we’re not the only ones with dirt. I would think twice about opening your mouth about Haven again unless you want all this released.”

They were there under the guise of a lawsuit, which could still happen if need be, but Natalie preferred to settle things the old fashioned way. Through secrets and lies.

James Harvey’s face twisted violently.

It was clear Natalie had been ready for Mr. Harvey’s reaction. She took a more relaxed posture and let the silence following his threat work at him. And clearly it worked as he broke and spoke again and shifted his position. He was now leaning slightly over the table, a more adversarial posture but still not so far as to appear aggressive. It was oddly similar to Michael’s own posture.

Natalie let Mr. Harvey stew another minute before finally pushing a file to him and explaining what it said. It seemed that she had anticipated Mr. Harvey having dirt and had dug up a bunch of her own on him.

This clearly bugged Mr. Harvey. So much that he couldn’t control himself. His face twisted violently and his hands had clenched into white knuckled fists.

At this the Ranger sat up straight and locked eyes with Mr. Harvey. While not tall, the Ranger was still a large person. His posture before had masked some of, now his posture better displayed his ability crush things barehanded.

Mr. Harvey looked away from the Ranger and opened his hands. He had second thoughts about trying to fight. He hadn’t given up on the idea, he felt he still had an ace in the hole if it came to a fight, but he would make one last attempt with the lawyer. He thought of the Ranger as just some hired muscle Natalie had brought around to intimidate Mr. Harvey.

“I’ll just go to a Federal prosecutor. Tell them what I have on Haven in exchange for immunity. I would be an important enough witness they’d do it too. Sure it would hurt my business but I would recover. You can’t blackmail me.”

He almost spat the words he was so mad. While what he said was possible, it would require him making it to the someone from the Justice Department. The Ranger could easily ensure he never made it.

>>“I’ll just go to a Federal prosecutor. Tell them what I have on Haven in exchange for immunity. I would be an important enough witness they’d do it too. Sure it would hurt my business but I would recover. You can’t blackmail me.”

The slightest bit of spit landed on Natalie's face. She blinked slowly, forcing her eyes all the way shut so she could feel her eyelashes on her cheeks as she wiped away the drop of liquid with manicured hand. If there was one thing that annoyed her, it was someone that couldn't keep their cool.

"Mister Harvey," Natalie gave him a tight smile as she continued, "I really think you'll want to reconsider that. You may gain immunity, you may bring a few things to light, but I can guarantee you that you will not win this case."

Always wanting the upper hand, Natalie waited a while before elaborating. While she chose to stop talking for a while, James continued. 

"You're awfully smug, aren't you? Thinking highly of yourself? I have enough to win. I have evidence."

Natalie simply smirked at him. Pot, meet kettle. He was calling them out for thinking highly of themselves, but he clearly didn't know what could happen to him if he continued on his path. Sure, he had stuff that would not be good for the public to know about Haven, but they had safety precautions for that kind of situation, and if worst came to worst, they could cover it up or spin it around. Besides, their meeting with Harvey in that conference room was just one with the hopes of a peaceful resolution. If it couldn't be achieved, then, well, that was why she had brought Michael Hunter.

"You will not win this case," Natalie warned once again in a hushed tone, "I will personally make sure of that fact. And, if you continue, I will also make sure that you never ever recover from this endeavour. Personally or financially."

Mr. Harvey had worked himself up so much that he managed to spit on Natalie’s face. To Natalie’s credit she didn’t immediately throttle the man. Instead she took a moment before wiping the spittle off and carrying on calmly.

Calm like a shark circling its prey.

Still not picking up on the futility of his attempts, Mr. Harvey kept going. Calling Natalie smug, saying he had evidence. Natalie again responded, her tone in stark contrast to Mr. Harvey’s. All the while the Ranger sat and observed Mr. Harvey.

His body language had become more and more aggressive as the meeting had carried on. It was clear now he was approaching his breaking point. From what the Ranger had been told, Mr. Harvey had a tendency to turn violent when he snapped. The Ranger eyed the distance across the table between him and Mr. Harvey.

Unless Natalie said otherwise he would let Mr. Harvey be the first to strike. He would not let Mr. Harvey successfully strike Natalie.

Mr. Harvey slammed his fist on the table. “You think you guys think you can get your way because you are some fancy lawyer! You think you can intimidate me with some meat-head in a suit” He pointed to the Ranger. “Someone needs to show the world what you guys are really like! And if I can’t do it that way…” Mr. Harvey rose to his feet.

The Ranger was on his meet a moment after Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey had reached out an arm towards Natalie, the Ranger caught it by the wrist and slammed it to the table, bending Mr. Harvey forward in the process. ”Hands t’ y’rself, Mr. Harvey.” Mr. Harvey tried to pull his wrist free but the Ranger had a vise-like grip on it.

“Fine!” Mr. Harvey thundered. “Just let go of me!”

The Ranger released Mr. Harvey but stood his posture giving the impression he was ready to throw Mr. Harvey out the window if he needed to.

Every so often, Natalie let herself smile while working a case. Just a small one; hardly noticeable as it pulled at the corners of her mouth. This was one of those rare occasions. In truth, she wanted Harvey to lose it. It made things more interesting for her if he lost his cool and they could operate with her standing on a higher ground.

Plus, it gave Michael something to do other than sitting next to her silently.

Despite his track record, standing near a ready-to-explode Harvey did not scare her in the slightest. She knew that Michael wouldn't let him near her (she had seen his track record. And his arms), and if it came to the worst case scenario, she could make some kind of illusion. She wasn't sure what it would be, but she was pretty good at thinking on her feet.

"Settle down, boys," Natalie instructed, trying to keep herself from looking too smug. "If we get violent, I'm going to have to draw up even more paperwork," she tutted her tongue, "we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Mr. Harvey let out an aggravated breath and muttered something under his breath, but sat back down. He did not look impressed at all. 

"Good. Now, let's talk dropping the-"

The next thing she knew, Mr. Harvey had launched himself across the meeting table, aiming a hand at her neck.

The meeting could have gone well after the first physical altercation with Mr. Harvey. It could have if Natalie hadn’t decided to poke the bear. She was playing Mr. Harvey like a fiddle. With the Ranger there she could poke and prod and drive him to violence. From there Haven would hold all the cards.

Mr. Harvey sat and so the Ranger sat. He’d just shown he could react fast enough to stop Mr. Harvey. Yet when Natalie spoke again it must have been to much for Mr. Harvey. He was flying across the table going for Natalie’s throat.

People talk about flipping tables. A card table, a beer pong table, or some other light table. The Ranger threw his hands under the heavy conference table and launched it up. It was a good thing Natalie liked to maintain good posture, the table could just sail in front of her as it rolled over and the Ranger followed through behind it. He drove the table into the wall, Mr. Harvey being crushed between them.

It turned out Mr. Harvey was strong himself. A moment after the Ranger stepped back from the table it came flying back at him. Mr. Harvey looked like the missing link as he continued his shift to a gorilla.

The Ranger’s power ramped up and he redirected the table into the wall. It sank a foot in on impact.

The distraction caused by the table gave Gorilla Harvey a chance to head for Natalie. The Ranger threw a chair at him. It was knocked aside but it gave the Ranger a chance to get in his face and after grabbing the back of Gorilla Harvey’s head, drive it into his knee.

Gorilla Harvey staggered back and the Ranger moved between him and Natalie.

”Get on the ground before I put you under it!”

Natalie stayed completely still as she waited for her fate to be sealed. The hand was lunging for her throat, aimed right at her trachea. She could almost feel it be forced closed on her, the bones giving under the pressure.

Of course, a small part of her knew rationally that it would never happen. That was, after all, why she'd brought Michael. As long as he was there, she had nothing to fear; she would leave unharmed. The meeting would go as planned.

That did not, however, stop her heart from stopping in her chest. Nor did it stop her from freezing in place as the table flipped up in front of her. She'd seen tables flip before, but not like that. The conference table was made with thick material and probably weighed several hundred pounds. The Ranger had lifted it like he was flipping a piece of cardboard.

While the commotion was going on around her, Natalie stayed glued to her seat, her posture and expression unchanged. To anyone who happened to be looking into the scene, she would appear to be either having trouble processing or having some sort of stroke. Neither was the case; she was just terrified and not about to get involved.

Harvey was being pressed into the wall by Hunter, who seemed to be having no trouble holding up the table like a teacup. Mutations were truly amazing at times.

Then, they would go and surprise a woman with something the ability to shift into a gorilla. Natalie stood from her chair and blinked as the beast charged at her with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. For she stayed where she was, holding her newfound ground. Again, she knew that she would be able to count on The Ranger to ensure that she made it out of that conference room alive. God, did she ever hate having to rely on someone for that, though.

The thrown chair and head driven into his knee were exactly the distractions that Natalie needed to be able to formulate some sort of plan on her own. She missed being able to fight from behind her case files, but she wasn't completely useless. She still had her powers.

While both men had their hands full, Natalie focused on the room around her. For Ranger, nothing would happen, but for Harvey, the room would disappear, and the walls would begin to close in. Claustrophobia; she'd heard it through the grapevine. 

She just hoped that it would give Ranger an extra boost in the fight, not that he needed it.

Gorilla Harvey did not get on the ground. It was unfortunate then for him that the Ranger was a man of his word. He moved forward and threw a punch at Gorilla Harvey. Gorilla Harvey caught it, but the slid in close and hooked his free arm between Gorilla Harvey's legs and lifted him off the ground and drove him into the ground. The floor shook. He would have to restrain himself or the floor would belong in the same church as the wall. Both of them holy.

Once on the ground Gorilla Harvey's eyes were wide, he was looking around him at the walls in a panic. This wide eyed search did not prevent him from catching the Ranger's next two strikes. Both arms caught the Ranger headbutted Gorilla Harvey and then kneed him in the crotch. Gorilla Harvey did not let go despite a pained and panicked look on his face.

The Ranger pulled one arm back, fighting against Gorilla Harvey until after splitting his suit jacket his power had given him enough strength to break free. He swung, Gorilla Harvey moved his head out of the way, the Ranger left a dent in the floor and his hand bloody. His muscles could give him the strength, but his skin was still skin.

And his bones were still bones. Built up from a decade of punching things, but it still hurt in his bones. That's what grunt candy was for though.

Instead of bringing his hand back for another strike, he drove it sideways into the gorilla neck next to it. Brachial stun. Reset the computer. Or at least it should have been. Gorilla Harvey was clearly disoriented by it, but he kept on fighting.

The Ranger freed his other arm and rolled off Gorilla Harvey who seemed to be panic fighting. It made it incredibly easy to evade his arms and legs. The Ranger knew he was intimidating psychically, but he expected Mr. Harvey to be more mad than afraid.

Looking like a move right out of wrestling, the Ranger stood up, held up his elbow, jumped, and came down elbow first on Gorilla Harvey's abdomen. Gorilla Harvey expelled all the air from his lungs. The Ranger used the moment to roll the panicked Gorilla Harvey over and pull both his arms back putting an incredible strain on the gorilla-man's shoulders. Without a doubt it felt like the Ranger was pulling them from their sockets.

"This could've gone peacefully Mr. Harvey." he wrenched hard on the arms and Mr. Harvey let out a scream of pain. "Y' chose this course."

The Ranger looked to Natalie. What happened next was her call.

As the fight went on, Natalie began to settle. As terrifying as it had been for her to have to sit through the ordeal, things were looking up. No longer did she feel like she or anyone else might be in danger; instead, she was focusing on watching the Ranger.

She’d stepped away from the main area of the fight, circling the room like a referee around a wrestling ring. That’s what it was, really, but the fight was not something that was happening for the right to hold a trophy or a belt. It was happening because there was far too much testosterone flowing through the veins of one Mister James Harvey.

Blow after blow, Ranger never seemed to have a problem coming out on top. Natalie supposed that was what happened when you hired the best. For all of Devon’s mistakes letting in Noel, she was glad that he had the sense to pin Michael down. Even if he was just technically a contractor.

>>"This could've gone peacefully Mr. Harvey. Y' chose this course."

Natalie pursed her lips. What happened next was up to her; she was running the show in that room. She ignored each cry of pain that the gorilla let out as her mind whirled. She was making a decision, but she wasn’t about to make it lightly.

The gorilla had just attacked them and they had caught it on camera. If they used the footage right, then they could completely destroy his life, or even send him to jail. There were plenty of possibilities.

Still, for all of Natalie’s faults, she was not merciless. She did understand that Harvey was a man pushed to the edge, caught in a trap by his own actions. He’d lost it, but he was still a person. However much like a gorilla he happened to look at that moment. Plus, things had gone down exactly as she’d wanted them to, so he deserved a little bit of a reward for playing his part.

”Shift back,” Natalie instructed. Harvey relented and did so, sinking several feet as he lost some of his enormous size. He clearly understood the situation that he was in. There was no way for him to get out of it.

She nodded once, noting the fact that his arms were less twisted since he’d lost some of his height. She then nodded to Michael, silently instructing him to hold him tighter. Stepping closer, she bent her knees so that she was at eye level with the man-who-was-a-gorilla. ”Now. We have all that on tape. I’d like you to take a minute to think about how you want this to play out, or else my friend and I here will have to start discussing how we want it to be released.”

Natalie instructed Gorilla Harvey to return to his human form. The Ranger applied some pain to incentivize his compliance. He shrank back down to his human self and this gave a little more slack as the bunk on the arms reduced. Following a cue from Natalie, Ranger tightened his hold on the now human Mr. Harvey.

One of the inner echelon members was leaning in closer to a man with serious anger issues that had made repeated attempts to harm her. The Ranger would insure he couldn’t.

And then it was blackmail time.

Haven would have the footage of Gorilla Harvey attacking Natalie and it would not play well with a jury. The footage would also taint any attempt to present dirt on Haven. Either way this went Haven was in a stronger position. The Ranger was impressed. Blackmail wasn’t something he normally used, but he couldn’t argue with the efficacy of it. He didn’t disagree with using it, he just normally was more direct. Breaking a jaw could often have the same effect, both kept someone from talking.

Mr. Harvey met Natalie’s eyes for a moment. It was clear he was fuming. Eventually he hung his head and the tension he held throughout his body relaxed. He was acquiescing. “You win. You always win. I should never have come here.” He looked back to Natalie and said, “I’ll stop talking about Haven.”

A little pressure on his shoulders from the Ranger and Mr. Harvey continued through a groan of pain, “I’ll recant what I’ve already said!”

The Ranger let off the pressure just enough to stop the pained noises. He waited on Natalie. They had what they came for, the Ranger could pass off Mr. Harvey to one of his men to escort from the premises and then he would be done and could return to his normal duties… After he bandaged his hand that was.

They'd won. Of course they'd won; who had expected anything different? It was almost too easy with two mutants that powerful on the same side. Any of her previous thoughts of fear or anxiety had long since been replaced by the Really, it was stupid that Harvey had even entertained the thought of beating them.

"Excellent," Natalie nodded and stood up, straightening out the skirt of her dress. The situation was handled, so there was no reason to prolong it anymore. He'd done what he was supposed to do, so they had no more business. "Alright, I think you've taken enough blows for tonight. We'll get the regular security team to take you out."

She motioned toward the door, making eye contact with the two men that had been instructed not to enter until told, under any circumstances. They entered and took Harvey from Ranger, freeing him up to take a look at his hand.

Natalie let out a deep breath and turned to face the destruction that had been the meeting room just a few minutes prior. "You did well, with all of that going on," she motioned toward the door. "Come on. Let's get your hand sorted."

Their business concluded Natalie rose and waved in the security stationed outside the room. They were told not to enter until unless Natalie or Ranger told them to. They knew Ranger could handle anything short of a nuclear blast going on in the room and it wasn’t like they could help then anyway. They dutifully obeyed and stayed outside until Natalie had gestured for them to come in.

Ranger handed off his once again human burden to them. He watched Mr. Harvey as he was escorted out of the room.

It was a shame Haven would have to pay to fix the wall Ranger had harpooned with a table. Probably cheaper in the long run than if it had gone through the windows or hit Natalie. He looked to Natalie when she spoke. He nodded to her. ”It’s what I’m here f’r, Ma’am.”

The Ranger looked at his hand, it was still bleeding. Not badly, but enough that he needed to avoid touching things lest he leave a bloody print. ”Good plan.” He led the way out of the conference room.

Rangers lead the way.

In preparation for accepting the contract with Haven the Ranger had memorized the blueprints to the building. Since he began working for Haven, both officially and unofficially, he had walked the halls of the building hundreds of times to familiarize himself where everything was in person. Get a real sense of the scale of the building you can’t get from paper. He could walk to the nearest first aid station blindfolded.

As they walked he asked, ”Was there somethin’ else y’ needed?” There was no need for Natalie to accompany him to wrap his hand. He guessed she had more business to discuss with him.

The two of them walked down the hallway toward one of the many first aid stations that were in the building. They weren’t clearly marked, since it would be strange for a building that should have no other use than for community and charity work, but as a member of the I.E., it was Natalie’s responsibility to know the layout of the building well enough to navigate it in scenarios like that one. She knew where she was going, and it seemed that the Ranger did too.

Natalie, as always, stayed rather detached, preferring to walk one step ahead of him with her arms at her sides. She may have just watched him beat up a gorilla, but she had no qualms about walking in front of him.

>>”Was there somethin’ else y’ needed?”

She’d stayed silent until he’d asked, having intended to wait until they were out of earshot of any potential third-party members. With a quick glance around, she made the executive decision that they were likely safe talking in hushed tones.

”Devon has requested that we create a training simulation for new Haven recruits,” Natalie explained. ”I’ll be creating illusions, and you’ll be handling the physical aspects. I expect that you’re equipped to do that.” The display in the conference room had been proof enough. Devon hadn’t exaggerated his skill at all, and he'd been useful in a pinch. 

They’d reached one of the first aid stations, so Natalie opened the door for him before continuing. ”I have a busy schedule, so I’m going to be setting the dates and times. I assume that your-” she looked at the wall with a look of projected disdain as she thought of one of the women she liked least in the world ”-ankle biter will be alright if I steal you for a few hours every now and then.”

Really, she didn’t know what he saw in Noel. Sure, he didn’t seem like he had a whole lot going on upstairs, but anyone could do better than her.