Free Team Omega by Christopher G. Nuttall Page A

in exchange for a reduction in his sentence, had quite a story to tell.
     
    “He claimed that the network operated out of Columbia, the drug capital of Latin America, and brought nothing but the finest grades of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, scopolamine and ultimate up into the United States.  I understand that ultimate is of particular concern to you.”
     
    “Yes,” Lane said, shortly.
     
    Coombs hesitated, and then returned to the briefing.  “When pressed about the destination of the drug pipeline, Carlos was reluctant to talk, but finally admitted the truth.  The drug pipeline leads straight to the Young Stars Foundation—and the Young Stars themselves.  We probed the links in the chain Carlos claimed to be linked to and discovered enough circumstantial evidence to support his claim.  Just how far it reaches, unfortunately, is debatable; my Director requested support from the SDI before we moved any further and General Kratman pointed him to Mr. Harrison.”
     
    “Thank you,” Lane said.  “We will discuss the plan for a joint operation later, once my team is fully-briefed and ready for deployment.”
     
    Coombs nodded and headed out the door.  The Sergeant checked that it was sealed before returning to his seat, while Lane nodded to Professor Blunt, who stood up and took the stand.
     
    “Some of you know this already, but it never hurts to go over the material again,” he said, flatly.  Jackson, who knew very little about the Young Stars, started taking notes again.  “There are only five super team organisations in the world that recruit from teenagers and even children, as there are no shortage of concerns about the ability of children to handle combat situations, even with their...remarkable power levels.  Such teams have always been closely supervised, and two of them have even operated as training camps for later SDI operatives.  However, the Young Stars have largely evaded government control and supervision.”
     
    His gaze swept the room.  “According to their website, the Young Stars were founded to provide a home and a purpose for homeless kids with superhuman powers,” he continued.  “In reality, the situation is quite different.  The Young Stars were formed around a handful of teenagers, including the son of one of the richest men in the United States.  As a charitable foundation, they are largely spared the onus of paying taxes and are permitted to make large donations to charitable causes, often without any oversight at all.  They are tolerated largely because they are registered superhumans and because they don’t really engage in actual crime-fighting or other superhuman activities.  On the face of it, they are glorified celebrities, people famous for who they are rather than what they do.”
     
    “Kind of like Paris Hilton,” Ron muttered.  “Do they make porno movies too?”
     
    “Probably,” Jackson muttered back.
     
    “Pay attention,” Professor Blunt snapped.  He’d been an operative and wasn't about to be scared by them.  “The Young Stars have a core membership of six superhumans and about a dozen allies who are not technically members, but do associate with the core group.  Some of them have independent careers of their own that don’t really bring in the cash, so they make appearances with the Young Stars from time to time that serve as a fucking licence to print money.  Bear that in mind at all times.  Each of the Young Stars is a millionaire at the very least, even though most of their money goes into charitable causes.  It’s difficult to trace where the money goes, but I have a suspicion that a large amount goes into campaign donations for various Senators and Congressmen.  Anyone proposing a bill to ban young super teams from operating has had it shot down before it ever reached the floor.
     
    He picked up a remote and activated the PowerPoint projector.  “Their leader is Youngster himself, the kid of the rich man who created the