After heading back to her room for the evening, Lilly flopped onto the bed, reveling in it's wonderful softness for a time before eventually undressing and settling in to sleep. Today had been fun, both from being able to explore the city and from being able to spend more time with James. For some reason, as she drifted off, she couldn't help but think that simply going to sleep like this was a bit of a waste,... but also wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to happen. Oh well.
***
The next morning, when James woke the group for a meeting, Lilly spent most of the time fretting about what was going on. Weren't they on vacation? What did the Intelligence Agency want with them on their day off? As the group split off into pairs and trios to make their way to the tavern, Lilly stood silently and waited for James to finish up.
"Just let me know when you're ready to leave..."***
"Um,... I think this is the place." Lilly looked up from the city map she was holding, to the rundown and weathered tavern in front of her. Clearly building had seen better days. Its wood showed clear signs of age, having weathered countless winters, and the roof was missing a few shingles. The interior wasn't much better, being dimly lit and smelling distinctly of smoke. Most of the squad was already here, but it was easy to pick out the man they were supposed to meet. The only other person in the bar was a blonde haired man in his mid 30s, who was currently nursing a glass of whiskey despite how early it was in the day. As Lilly approached him, the man turned towards the group and smiled.
"Excuse me, sir, are you Mr. Dahl?" "That I am! I assume you're here for the shareholders meeting?" Shareholder's meeting? What on earth? It took a moment, but eventually Lilly clued in to what he was trying to do.
"Yes." "Excellent. I've had the barkeep set aside a room in the back for us to discuss our business, though I am expecting a few others to show up. I'm sure anyone else who was invited can join us there." Christian emphasised the last part of his sentence, signaling (in no uncertain terms) for the rest of the group to follow him, Lilly and James as they made their way to another room.
The so-called meeting room turned out to be little more than a cleared out storage room with a table in the center of it. As the squad entered, Christian Dahl gestured for them to surround the table as he laid out a map of Randgriz's surrounding lands out onto the table. Once the door was shut, he began his little spiel.
"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, and thank you for 'volunteering' to assist the Intelligence Agency in this vital mission. Before we begin, you have to know that what we discuss in this room cannot be told to anyone, nor can the activities you participate in on our behalf be disclosed without a direct order from Lord Barst. If you break these rules, rest assured, the Intelligence Agency has no qualms with having troublemakers mysteriously disappear. Now!" He clapped his hands together for emphasis.
"I don't anticipate this squad causing many problems for us, so let's get down to business." He slid a report onto the table for anyone interested to read, detailing his spying operation.
"Over the past two weeks, city sentries, particularly those around the palace, have been reporting strange behavior - 'civilians' snooping where they shouldn't, record rooms that should have been locked having been rummaged through, guards being followed on their patrols, and other espionage related crap. Needless to say, this doesn't sit well with the Intelligence Agency." Producing another set of papers from the bag he had stashed in the corner of the room, he slid a set of photos onto the table. Each of them contained a single person, usually taken from an odd angle to avoid suspicion.
"During my time in the city, I've managed to confirm that these six are part of a spy ring. Obviously we can't let them continue, but you'll notice from the photos that one of them has managed to work his way into the palace guard." Christian began to pace back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
"We can't bring the soldiers stationed in Randgriz into this, so that's where you come in. You're going to help me by being the muscle for the Intelligence service. I've determined that the group is going to meet this afternoon in a house outside the town. You're going to be the ones to raid it. We want to capture the spies if we can, but more importantly, we want their documents. Does anyone have any questions?""Yeah, how are we supposed to do that? We don't have any guns or uniforms." This time, it was Evan's turn to address the man. He had wandered in later than the rest of the group on account of being delayed by
someone tripping repeatedly.
"I'm glad you asked, Mr. Carne." Christian nodded to the man and for a brief second, Evan looked surprised. The fact that the man already knew his last name without being introduced was something he found a little disquieting. He probably had memorized the squad roster before meeting them... "
The intelligence agency has seen fit to provide me with a substantial budget for aquiring anything my support might need - that includes food, shelter, transportation, uniforms, and metal sticks that make 'boom' noises. They've all been secured at a dead drop halfway to the meeting house. When we mobilize, we'll make a stop there, get changed and equipped, and then make our move on their little hide out." Gesturing back to the rest of the group, Christian invited more inqueries.
"If you have any other questions, please ask away. Otherwise, make ready and prepare to move out. We'll meet outside the hotel in one hour."