The Agency (Closed, Started)

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DarkRawen

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[HEADING=1]The Agency; The Super Secret Spy RP[/HEADING]


October, 201X, London

"The Agency", 5:20 P.M.


A Week From Mission Five Stars

Among the tall and impressive buildings of London lay a smaller and much less impressive building. Appearing to be nothing but a simple call centre with the purpose of being both cheap and simple, giving people the information they need with a simple phone-call, it wasn't anything to take note of. For most, it was a normal work-place, they would come in, take phone-calls, look up information and numbers, then return home to their families. However the elevator went down for certain people, leading them to a door with nothing but a camera, a key-card lock, and an eye-scanner.

The Agency was hidden under this building, and its windowless rooms were well lit and often white in colour, giving them a sterile and clean look. Scattered around were computers, files and chairs, organized, but plentiful. One of the rooms, a large room with a round table and around 20 chairs, were currently in use by not even half that number. They had been called there not long ago by the man often referred to as "The Boss" or "Maestro". The man appeared to be in his late fifties, and had almost completely white hair and a preference for old fashioned suits.

Making sure that everyone was there, he started speaking in an authoritative voice.

"You all should know why you are here. A few days ago you were individually given a short document describing this mission."

The few details he had given sprung to mind as he spoke, a famous luxury hotel in the wealthier parts of London. The client wanted information that the hotel was supposed to have, as well as that from several important people. The day they were to strike would be a conference, Saturday a week from this day. No names or locations had been included in the document in order to prevent any possible leaks.

"I do believe that you understand just what you are to do. Get inside, get the information, and leave, without leaving a trail for anyone to follow. This document contains the information we have on it. We also have a man on the inside, Simon Jones, who cannot be here in person, but will speaking from his current place of residence."

He placed a more satisfying folder of documents in the middle of them, and checked his watch, turning on the screen in the room. The screen was dark at first, then Simon appeared on the screen, looking as if he was wondering if it worked, then smiling.

"Oh, hello, I was wondering if this old thing was going to work."

"Jones here is going to fill you in on what he knows."

"I will? Right, I was supposed to--- give me a moment."

He left the picture for a moment, and appeared again, holding a folder on his own.

"As soon as you're ready then."

The Boss nodded and went towards the door.

"I assume there are no questions. You are not allowed to leave until you have a plan."

Then he left the room leaving them to it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simon Jones, [Location Unknown]

Simon examined the group in the room through the camera. He knew pretty much everyone in the Agency, so they weren't strangers. Not that such a thing would matter to him. He smiled again as the Boss left the room, and started looking through the folder.

"Anyways, I bet you're dying to know just where the target is, right?! It's the Pink Diamond Hotel, the hotel in this picture!"

he showed a picture of it, a large white hotel in the middle of London known for its size and high quality service. Simon hadn't been sure how to approach it at first, but it had soon proven to be quite the nice job, even working as a guard was very different from working as a guard somewhere else. Working there for one and a half month had seemed like a lot less time.

"The client provided the Agency with information pointing towards illegal activities including trading, smuggling and blackmail. Of course, that's not the reason that's our target. We're not the police, after all! What the client wants is information that the hotel have. There's a list here, but---"

He noticed the documents that the Boss had left behind.

Well, that makes things easier for me.

"Oh, nevermind, you can read that yourself, it's basically a more detailed list of just what they want. Getting more, of course, would probably provide us with a bonus, and what kind of secret agents would ignore the chance to get a bonus?!"

Simon chuckled, and looked further through his own folder. There was a lot of information there that was either irrelevant or just plainly uninteresting. Besides, they'd read the document on their own. He picked out the more important things from the documents.

"Let's see... there's also the conference, but that kind of thing is obvious. Politicians have conferences all the time, and the client believes some of the politicians is using the stay at the hotel as an opportunity to do business of sorts with the hotel without seeming suspicious. I do not, sadly, have the knowledge of where they would stay, I haven't had an opportunity to look through their databases. As for what I have uncovered..."

Hm, what had he even uncovered? Oh, right. Simon put the folder down.

"Firstly, the layout of the hotel is odd. It feels like it should be larger on the inside, but the number of rooms feel odd to me. There's a bunch of rooms I'm not allowed to access either. I suspect there's hidden rooms, but I have no information about whether or not this is true... I also did not manage to get ahold of a blueprint or a map of the hotel, there's is nothing of the sorts here. I even tried to say that I get really quickly disoriented!"

He tilted his head, and shrugged.

"Didn't work, though. There has to exist blueprints somewhere, the government should have access to them... On the other hand, I've managed to infiltrate the guards completely! I even mentioned, casually, that I might have a friend whose interested in working here, and they said that there's a spot open among the cleaning staff! If we're going to access individual rooms, that could be really useful!"

Barely waiting for their reactions, he continued.

"Oh, almost forgot, the food here is really good! There's a chef that makes food for the staff alone! If it's needed, I can slip something into it before the conference, sleeping pills or something, would probably loosen up the security around here, make it easier to move around and such!"

He grinned, eagerly. "So? What do you think? Do you want me to do that?"
 

Quintley

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Purnima gave an exasperated sigh, and massaged her forehead. It had been a long day - she'd been reading through the mission dossier for several hours straight - and it looked like they wouldn't be leaving any time soon. She brandished a pen at Simon in a vaguely accusatory manner.

"No, Mr Jones. We are not going to drug the staff. We have some particularly important politicians attending this conference - they will expect a certain level of security. If half of the guards are asleep or mysteriously absent, people will notice, and when they notice, they will become concerned."

She had worked with Simon Jones before, on occasion. He was a competent agent, without a doubt, but Purnima did not care for his somewhat overconfident approach. Hoping he had gotten her point, she continued.

"I think that further infiltration is a more appropriate tactic. How much do we know about the attendees at this conference? Would it be possible to access the guest list and, perhaps, add one of our own? Somebody to mingle with the targets and give other agents time to investigate the rest of the hotel relatively unchallenged?"

Purnima clasped her hands, and looked inquiringly round the room.
 

IFS

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"I think that further infiltration is a more appropriate tactic. How much do we know about the attendees at this conference? Would it be possible to access the guest list and, perhaps, add one of our own? Somebody to mingle with the targets and give other agents time to investigate the rest of the hotel relatively unchallenged?"

Ben smiled listening patiently through the explanations and the brief call with Simon, occasionally checking his suit for wrinkles throughout. He thought for a few moments after the call ended, doing a quick headcount of everyone present, and making note of what skills he knew they had. A plan formed swiftly in his mind, and his smile only increased as Purnima spoke.

"An excellent point Ms. Sarin," he said "In fact I think I have just the plan to follow along that line of thought."

-Group enters the hotel under pretense of having booked a room, Ben and Varvara handle the talking here, and try to get as far as they can among other guests.

-Simon sets off a distraction to allow Renart and Y.T. to sneak into the hotels records and start hacking/investigating them

-While they break into the servers Richard sneaks around the building, trying to find the hidden rooms and uncover what secrets he can

-Purnima handles communications for the OP, keeping an eye on everyone in case things go wrong

-Lars helps maintain distraction by bullying the people sent to handle the first one, as well as being on call to act as backup in case we need to fight our way out.

Ben smirked and sat back down as he finished explaining, expecting them to be awed with his brilliance. If the plan has any one flaw its that it doesn't feature myself prominently enough. He thought, but then that couldn't be helped his skills weren't always perfectly suited to the task at hand.
 

Mestizaje

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Y.T. was half listening to the men talk, missing parts here and there as she thought about other things instead. Mainly she thought back to her last time off the grid, regretting she'd begun to run out of cash and have to take a job again. She briefly looked through the documents, with her driver gloves clad hands, not reading too much of it, then closed it again.

"A hotel? Seems too easy." Y.T. said, ran a hand through her long disheveled hair, and then put a cigarette in her mouth. She listened to Purnima talk while she rummaged through her own pockets for her lighter. "Assuming they've got this guest list stored electronically it shouldn't be any problems for me to do that. I might be able to find the missing blueprints too."

Y.T. found the lighter in her back-pocket, and lit the cigarette, forgetting that she was no longer outside or close to ventilation 24/7. The lighter was covered in what seemed to be oil or gasoline. She cleaned her gloves off on her white shirt, which already had more of those stains. On the front of the shirt "I (heart) Paris" was written in bold letters, with a red heart.

She clearly hadn't adjusted herself to society or being around others yet again, but then she'd arrived this morning in the city, having driven for hours and barely slept. She nodded in regards to what Ben said, as she'd already expected her task to be what he seemed to suggest as well.
 

Lotus_Gait

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As the planning began, Lars listened with half an ear, slowly scanning the faces of his colleagues. He knew them all in one capacity or another, Purnima most of all as she'd provided intel support to him on countless occasions. The man on the screen, however, was more of a mystery.

Lars tended to know at least a few bits about each person at the agency but all he knew of Simon was that he was an expert infiltrator. The Russian, Varvara was also an enigma. Lars thought her stunningly beautiful. Distractingly beautiful. But that was the point.

Blinking away his thoughts, Lars concentrated on Ben's plan. Everything seemed ok except for the initial entering of the hotel. "Are you insane?" He said gruffly to Ben. "You fink they'd let me into a joint like that? With this?" He tapped a ragged fingernail on his fake eye. "All those high profile targets. Aside from the fact that someone is likely to recognise The Butcher of South London?" He snorted softly in amusement.

"I guess we could try and bluff through if they suspect but in a place like that I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb. Especially if I open my mouth." He paused, as if considering something. "And we all know that's likely to fucking happen." Lars hesitated again, fingers stroking his moustache. He made strained groaning sounds, evidence that he was thinking of a plan. Suddenly, he clicked his fingers and leaned forward exitedly. "I've got it!"

-The group enters the hotel - without Lars - under pretense of having booked a room, Ben and Varvara handle the talking here, and try to get as far as they can among other guests.

-Lars enters the hotel loudly and aggressively (but not violently) trying to draw as much security attention to him as possible, hopefully allowing the others to move more freely.

-Simon sticks with Renart and Y.T., creating further distraction - if needed - to sneak into the hotels records and start hacking/investigating them.

-While they break into the servers Richard sneaks around the building, trying to find the hidden rooms and uncover what secrets he can.

-Purnima handles communications for the OP, keeping an eye on everyone in case things go wrong.

"It's only a small change, but the key here is that I'm totally separate from you guys. If they know I'm part of your group then any noise I make could spread suspicion over the whole party. I just gotta make 'em fink I'm crazy." Lars sat back, grinning maniacally.
 

Terratina.

RIP Escapist RP Board
May 24, 2012
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Varvara rolled her eyes, specifically at Ben and Simon. There was more to espionage to simply flashing some gadgets and honeyed words. Not like the James Bond wannabes would know. The woman absent-mindedly looked through the documents they had been given. Why the others hadn't escaped her, maybe they assumed that the mission was as simple as it seemed?

'First rule of espionage: never assume anything. Always question.' She reminded herself.

With Y.T. lighting up, Varvara was almost tempted to so herself. The image of yellowing teeth only stopped her from doing so. Back then, when she did smoke, there was always the matter of paying the dentist to whiten her teeth. But surely enough, she managed to crawl out of the dirty habit. Though, that didn't stop her from eyeing the smoker.

Varvara then turned to the centre of the group, "I have no objections. Glad to see that Ben actually thought with his brain this time."
 

Tortilla the Hun

Decidedly on the Fence
May 7, 2011
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Reclined in his seat with his legs crossed, Renart quietly watched and listened as the others plotted. He was interested to see just how his colleagues worked, their thought processes and compatibility, as well as whether or not he could see himself remaining within the agency for the long term. Of course, it was much to early to make that decision, but he knew just how important first impression could be. Not that he hadn't had a chance to speak with the other agents, albeit briefly, but here he had opportunity to watch the machine at work. Determine if all the little cogs fell into place, or at least a place comfortable enough for him.

The documents before Renart were soon being carefully analyzed by the man, the collected intelligence processed silently as he uncrossed his legs and changed into an upright position. For the moment, he was content with listening--letting the machine work. He'd speak out of necessity or if he was asked, but he had nothing to add for the time being.
 

The Harkinator

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Jun 2, 2010
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"Do we have any idea of the amount and possible location of these hidden rooms? Or an indication of how to spot them? Otherwise I'm just going to be wandering around a hotel for a bit acting suspiciously." Richard spoke up after Ben and Lars had been busy planning. Some members of the group chipped in with their contributions, Y.T. was busy with a cigarette.

Richard looked over the documents for the mission, the part he was most interested in was the hidden rooms, who knows what might be concealed behind their doors and walls? "If we can get the blueprints, and combine that with inside knowledge of suspicious parts of the hotel that would make my job much easier. Just saying."
 

Quintley

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The tech girl, Y.T., was smoking. Purnima snapped at her "Do you mind?" These underground conference rooms were bad enough without smoke in the air. Plus, Purnima didn't want to think what the Boss would say if they had to stop the meeting because some idiot set of the fire alarms.

Purnima was fairly satisfied with Ben's plan, and Lars' amendments. She was rather sceptical about giving 'the Butcher' free reign to cause a distraction, but he had himself specified "not violently", so that was something.

She nodded along to Richard's suggestion about finding blueprints. "Even if we cannot find a complete floorplan of the building, there must at least be some simple maps around the hotel. I don't believe that guests at the Pink Diamond are simply expected to wander around the place with no direction."

After flicking through the documents again, she turned to Simon. "From your position as a guard, would it be possible for you to bug the security team? Put tracers on their uniform, perhaps? I'd be more of a help if I could see the patrols and tell you where the guards are."
 

DarkRawen

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Apr 20, 2010
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"No, Mr Jones. We are not going to drug the staff. We have some particularly important politicians attending this conference - they will expect a certain level of security. If half of the guards are asleep or mysteriously absent, people will notice, and when they notice, they will become concerned."

"Ah, shame, I think it'd be fun,"

Simon replied, though it became rather obvious that no one else thought such a thing was a good idea, not moving to defend it, nor including it when speaking of their plans. He listened to Ben talk about his plan, still smiling, but when Lars started speaking, especially about Simon's role in it, his smile faded, and he tilted his head.

"I don't know about that,"

He muttered, and sighed. While he'd rather not be rude about it, the idea of him sneaking around with others of the group was odd.

"I am currently undercover. I'd prefer to spend the rest of my time during my stay in that role, and, if someone started trouble, me being a guard, sneaking around somewhere else, would seem awfully suspicious. Besides, could you really create enough of a distraction on your own? It is a very large hotel... Oh, I know! How about I--- hm, but I didn't bring my FBI badge---"

He trailed off, and listened to Richard speak as he did.

"If we can get the blueprints, and combine that with inside knowledge of suspicious parts of the hotel that would make my job much easier. Just saying."

"Right! We'd better get those blueprints beforehand, yeah?!"

"Even if we cannot find a complete floorplan of the building, there must at least be some simple maps around the hotel. I don't believe that guests at the Pink Diamond are simply expected to wander around the place with no direction."

"Actually, they're given simple directions to their rooms on their keys,"

Simon explained, addressing Purnima.

"Their card-keys, or is it key-cards--- well, anyways, as I said, I had no way of getting a map myself, and the maps on those cards are just instructions on what floor and side of the building! So a blueprint would be best!"

"From your position as a guard, would it be possible for you to bug the security team? Put tracers on their uniform, perhaps? I'd be more of a help if I could see the patrols and tell you where the guards are."

"I could... some of them... But there's a whole lot of guards, and I don't know who will be on duty that night! I can give you some details on their schedules, but that won't matter if someone is making a distraction! Anyways, I think I know of a good plan, just give me a moment---"

Some more thinking, then he grinned.

"So, my plan is a bit more complicated, but I'm sure it'll be easy to understand!"

- Before the mission night, Y.T. Obtains the blueprints from the government data-base!

- If anyone is interested in gaining access more easily, Simon can introduce them to the manager and make getting that one job easier.

- Simon uses his inside role as a way of subtly planting bombs that'll go off during different times of the mission! He'll of course inform the others of where these are planted.

- The group enters the hotel - without Lars and the guys undercover - under pretense of having booked a room, Ben and Varvara handle the talking here, and try to get as far as they can among other guests! The two of them will have the role of looking through some of the hotel rooms of the politicians, using their powers of persuasion to get access!

- Lars enters the hotel loudly and aggressively (but not violently) trying to draw as much security attention to him as possible, hopefully allowing the others to move more freely! In addition, Simon, doing his job as a security guard, will make sure Lars' distraction doesn't go wrong in any way - Shame he forgot his badge, else he could have made it really interesting- and in order to seem less suspicious when the bombs go off!

- Renart and Y.T. sneak into the hotels records and start hacking/investigating them!(Unless Renart would rather infiltrate early on with that one job.)

-While they break into the servers Richard sneaks around the building, trying to find the hidden rooms and uncover what secrets he can, with the aid of Purnima!

-Purnima handles communications for the OP, keeping an eye on everyone in case things go wrong, and handling the earlier obtained blueprints!

"So... I think that's a good plan!"

He said, the sound of his voice made it clear that he really thought so, regardless of what others might think. With a grin, he let the others speak, hoping that they shared his opinion.

"I mean, it's a bit overly complicated, I suppose, but we're secret agents, our middle names are complicated!"

he chuckled, seeming to not be thinking a lot. However, Simon did his own kind of consideration, examining everyone else, knowing some of their habits -or supposed habits- and keeping an eye on those, for the purpose of getting to know those he didn't know that well better. Habits told you a lot, and even if they were forced habits, there was still things to learn.

We do need to make sure we've covered everything, would be bad to not have all the information requested. My plan should make sure of that everything is considered, though!




---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Document:
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The Document, for those who read it, contained a list of the information the client wanted, all seeming to be blackmail material on both the hotel, the politicians that would be there, as well as more international targets. The politicians, while none of them were high-profile ones, were certainly known in the media and society, some despite being from smaller countries like Denmark and Switzerland. The conference, in more details, was an official conference being held by a British politician, on the topics of international trade and relations. The choice of invited politicians were, as noted by the client, strange and suspicious.

Apart from that, the details in the document were mostly supporting these facts, even proof of some of the clients claims. One picture in particular, of the hotel manager talking with a suspicious man in a dark coat, made it seem like the client had been keeping an eye on the hotel, perhaps even uncovered most of the information provided with their own life at risk.
 

IFS

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"It's only a small change, but the key here is that I'm totally separate from you guys. If they know I'm part of your group then any noise I make could spread suspicion over the whole party. I just gotta make 'em fink I'm crazy."

Ben considered this "I don't mind you being separate from the group, but I do think Simon's distraction should be first, as it will be larger scale and thus provide more cover for the initial move," he said.

"I have no objections. Glad to see that Ben actually thought with his brain this time."

Ben smirked and turned to face her "My dear its perfectly alright to admit you're impressed," he said perhaps a bit too smugly "I am a man of many talents after all."

"I mean, it's a bit overly complicated, I suppose, but we're secret agents, our middle names are complicated!"

Ben frowned "I would prefer to avoid anything more than smoke bombs, the regular sort are too messy," he said "Though it would help if Y.T. could find something before we begin the op, I find myself doubtful the real blueprints are online."

He glanced around the room, and smiled slyly "That said it seems we have enough plans on the table, I say its about time we put it to a vote, though I suspect I already know which one we're going with."

-Y.T. gets whatever information she can before the op.

-Group enters the hotel under pretense of having booked a room, Ben and Varvara handle the talking here, and try to get as far as they can among other guests.

-Simon sets off a distraction to allow Renart and Y.T. to sneak into the hotels records and start hacking/investigating them

-While they break into the servers Richard sneaks around the building, trying to find the hidden rooms and uncover what secrets he can

-Purnima handles communications for the OP, keeping an eye on everyone in case things go wrong

-Lars (who has entered separate from the rest of the group) helps maintain distraction by bullying the people sent to handle the first one, as well as being on call to act as backup in case we need to fight our way out.
 

The Harkinator

Did something happen?
Jun 2, 2010
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"It's a good plan, of course they say no plan survives contact with the enemy but they also say if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." said Richard (the others may not know this, but he had last seen that one on a kitten picture on the internet), mulling over the details. His own part in the operation was very vague, but they didn't know enough to be more detailed. Acquiring the blueprints and studying the building would give him more direction.

"I think my part in this plan is a bit unclear. We need to get those blueprints otherwise I'm going to end up wandering around looking suspicious. So," said Richard, rubbing his hands together and grinning, "When do we get the blueprints?"
 

Mestizaje

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Y.T. put the cigarette out against the table, leaving a black mark, when Purnima seemed to have a problem with it. "Of course not." She said, then listened to them talk again. They were more interested in talking about the plan than putting any of them into action, though her role in it remained the same.

"Even if the blueprints aren't "online" in your opinion, the hotel might have some sort of database or server connected to the internet on a private network. There may also be a password protected network accessible through wi-fi, meaning I would just have to drive up to the building and park outside to pick any such signals up. Also, for a number of reasons the blueprints may be accessible through government linked websites, such as plumbing or just a general construction permit. This is a hotel, not a high profile target exactly." Y.T. said, brushed her hair out of her face and leaned back. "If anyone could just get the information anywhere online that I can get, then I'd be somewhere else. Preferable still on vacation."

Force of habit made her reach for her cigarrette again, but she stopped herself and sighed instead, tired of waiting.
 

Quintley

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Purnima tapped on the table to get the room's attention. "We do need more information on the hotel layout. Directions on a key card aren't going to cut it. I would suggest that a few of us head over to the hotel to try and gather some more information."

She looked pointedly around the room. Y.T. in particular was looking impatient. Purnima addressed her. "Perhaps you could drive over and see if you can get anything useful out of the wi-fi network. And maybe Mr Jones can make a few sketches while on duty?" And try not to blow anything up, she added silently. "Perhaps our 'guests' could check in a few days early, as well. It would be worth getting familiar with the place before the conference."

Gesturing to the papers in front of her, she added: "The rest of us can stay here and work on the plan. There are some rough corners I would like to correct."
 

Lotus_Gait

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Jan 3, 2014
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Lars eyed Y.T.'s cigarette wistfully before pulling out a tobacco pouch and slowly starting to roll. Once he'd finished, he slipped the end of the roll-up between his lips and left it dangling there, unlit. He nodded at Purnima's insistence for gathering information of the hotel's true layout.

"A shake-down," he said casually. Realising, the rest of the group might need more of an explanation, Lars sighed and continued. "The hotel manager'll know how to get the blueprints. Where to find 'em on the database and whatnot. Hell," he snatched the roll-up out of his mouth, "some of the regular workers should know too. Maybe even a maintenance guy would know the real layout."

Lars gestured towards Simon's face on the screen. "Any chance of being able to shake down a janitor or somethin'?"
 

Tortilla the Hun

Decidedly on the Fence
May 7, 2011
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"Any chance of being able to shake down a janitor or somethin'?"

 "I think this where I can be of use," Renart began, breaking his silence. "As Mister Jones pointed out, there's a opening in their cleaning department. I don't think it will be difficult for me to get inside. It shouldn't take long, provided they are desperate to get that position filled, and provided I get to work on it very soon. Once in, it shouldn't be a problem to get a hold of the physical blueprints, should finding a digital blueprint prove to be ineffective. Though, as Miss Tan has pointed out, it really shouldn't be. It isn't as if we're trying to break into Parliament, after all. However, it isn't unlikely they'll bolster their security given the occasion. Regardless, putting that opportunity Mister Jones presented to to use could certainly prove to be fruitful. At least, that's my suggestion. Otherwise, I'm at a loss as to what else I could be doing in the meantime."
 

Terratina.

RIP Escapist RP Board
May 24, 2012
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"I am a man of many talents after all."

Finished with reading them, Varvara slid the documents away and replied, "You can talk about you 'talents' all you want, Mr. Crown. However, the truth of the matter is: in espionage, legwork is everything."

Was the hundredth time she had reminded him of that, or was it the millionth?

Regardless, the plan was coming together. The only real worry here was a certain Mr. Jones and his... enthusiasm. Maybe he should join Ben in the little playpen of people playing at spies?

Anyway, back to business.

"Perhaps our 'guests' could check in a few days early, as well. It would be worth getting familiar with the place before the conference."

"I assume you have our covers ready, then?" Varvara asked.
 

DarkRawen

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Apr 20, 2010
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"I would prefer to avoid anything more than smoke bombs, the regular sort are too messy,"

Simon tilted his head again, confused.

"So. You don't want me to drug the staff, nor use bombs? I'm sorry, Ben, this is certainly not an attempt at being rude, but do you honestly think smoke-bombs is going to scare anyone?! There are cameras in every room, true, I have noted their blind-spots, but a smoke bomb really isn't going to do much. Besides,"

He opened part of a sleeve and pulled out a small, thin device that looked almost like an old-fashioned MP3 player.

"I only have this kind of bombs on me. Trust me, though, I'm a professional, I know just where to place these without making a huge mess!"

"Perhaps you could drive over and see if you can get anything useful out of the wi-fi network. And maybe Mr Jones can make a few sketches while on duty?"

"Call me Simon! And, hm, sketches? I suppose I could, though I don't know where I could do that without seeming suspicious! I mean, planting a bomb takes a second, drawing a map takes a little longer! Especially if you want it to look right, which I'll be assuming you'd want. I mean, I could probably draw something right now from memory, but I have no knowledge of the upper parts of the building, nor the presumably hidden ones."

He started scribbling on the back of the folder, listening as the others spoke, but clearly making an effort.

"Any chance of being able to shake down a janitor or somethin'?"

Simon wasn't sure how to reply to that. He did, however, raise an eyebrow, and look up.

"Well, I..."

He trailed off, puzzled. Was Lars unaware of how suspicious that would look? Or was he the only one who cared about his role as an undercover agent?

I suppose it's only natural. Still, I'd like to avoid blowing my cover if I can.

Simon never did feel comfortable with the thought of revealing an identity, after all. With nothing to say about it, he lowered his head again, and kept drawing.

"As Mister Jones pointed out, there's a opening in their cleaning department. I don't think it will be difficult for me to get inside. It shouldn't take long, provided they are desperate to get that position filled, and provided I get to work on it very soon. Once in, it shouldn't be a problem to get a hold of the physical blueprints, should finding a digital blueprint prove to be ineffective. Though, as Miss Tan has pointed out, it really shouldn't be. It isn't as if we're trying to break into Parliament, after all. However, it isn't unlikely they'll bolster their security given the occasion. Regardless, putting that opportunity Mister Jones presented to to use could certainly prove to be fruitful. At least, that's my suggestion. Otherwise, I'm at a loss as to what else I could be doing in the meantime."

"I was hoping someone would mention that,"

Simon grinned, eyes kept on the folder. While he'd normally correct the other for using his surname, he wasn't going to argue on that now.

"As I've already mentioned, I don't know the upper floors. The guests wouldn't be very happy if I marched up there with a stun-gun and a uniform, after all! Oh, which reminds me, while the guards don't carry guns, there is going to be a couple of police-officers there for extra safety. Why such a shady hotel would ask the police to come, even for something like this, is beyond me, but there you go! It's not the norm, we are in UK after all, but they could have permission to carry guns because there's international politicians there. Wouldn't want to cause an international incident, after all!"

He finished what he was drawing. Simon held the folder up against the camera. While it was somewhat hard to see, it was a set of two floor-plans, rooms outlined, and named, and doors marked on some of them. It was a decent one, lines were straight and text was easy to read, though not held up to the camera like this.

"This is just from my memory, so I wouldn't trust it completely, but as you can see, the floors have a bit of different shapes here and there. For instance, there's a room close to the staff-room that's used for laundry, yet it is a lot smaller than the room underneath it, if I'm remembering correctly."

He let them take it in, then took the unfinished map down.

"That's what I can do about that, I think. Even if I did wander around, I wouldn't be able to estimate better than this, I believe. So I too think Renart should go undercover!"

"I assume you have our covers ready, then?"

Simon looked at her, curiously.

"I'm surprised you don't already have a cover ready, Varvara! I mean, if you don't keep at least half a dozen new identities in your back-pocket, how do you expect to survive as a spy?! I even have some that the Agency doesn't know about!"

He laughed, innocently, as if it was a joke. It wasn't, of course not, but they didn't need to know that.

"More importantly, I'm sure you'll manage to come up with something before you head out, you've got a couple of days before it'd be needed either way."
 

Terratina.

RIP Escapist RP Board
May 24, 2012
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"I'm surprised you don't already have a cover ready, Varvara! I mean, if you don't keep at least half a dozen new identities in your back-pocket, how do you expect to survive as a spy?! I even have some that the Agency doesn't know about!"

'Stop assuming so much, boy.' Thought Varvara.

That reply just showed complete and utter ignorance - which was a good sign. She didn't want or need anyone but herself knowing about her cover identities. The process of creating one was rather like gardening; firstly care is taken to grow a life and then swift shears cut it down when needed. It was probably her favorite part of espionage.

The female agent replied idly, "Shame. I thought a bright mind like yours would have come up with something rather interesting to play as. However, that is but a small disappointment. I guess I'll have to play the 'escort' again."

She sighed, Ben would probably lap up having the part of a small-time politician or business leader and - worst case scenario - she would be assigned to holding his arm and looking pretty.
 

IFS

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Mar 5, 2012
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"The rest of us can stay here and work on the plan. There are some rough corners I would like to correct."

Ben sat back and listened as the others discussed, though he felt the need to respond to this point.

"Well of course its merely an initial draft," he said "We have plenty of time to iron out the specifics before we begin the operation."

"You can talk about you 'talents' all you want, Mr. Crown. However, the truth of the matter is: in espionage, legwork is everything."

"And I of course am fully intent on backing up my words in the field my dear," Ben replied, unshaken by the attempt at criticism "As are you I'm sure."

"I only have this kind of bombs on me. Trust me, though, I'm a professional, I know just where to place these without making a huge mess!"

"You'd be amazed at how people react to fire alarms going off," Ben replied dryly "Make do with what you have I suppose, but I'd prefer the fire department be called in to handle it rather than the police or a bomb squad."

He considered saying more, but then Varvara engaged Simon on the point of their covers, he felt himself smirk even more as the discussion went on. It seemed Varvara wasn't as prepared as he hoped, it didn't matter much though he had a number of covers lying around he could use.

"Shame. I thought a bright mind like yours would have come up with something rather interesting to play as. However, that is but a small disappointment. I guess I'll have to play the 'escort' again."

"I've got a few covers in store that should work just fine," he said "I think the best one for this would be my old corporate executive identity, I'm sure you won't mind playing the part of my wife or lover Ms. Zolnerowich."