| "Past Catching" | ||
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SIA Safehouse 1, 1600 Hours Jaime followed Rebecca and Gray into the large conference room that rivalled some of Section's finest. A large table, plenty of cushy seats, computers flanking the wall, and a large vidscreen that was lowered from the ceiling at the head of the table. As Gray moved to the vidscreen, Jaime took a seat at the side opposite the door, so he could see everyone that came in. It wasn't long before operatives started filtering in, either singly or in pairs. He watched them as they took their seats, a few of them giving him a curious look to which he didn't respond. He frowned slightly as he saw Safara walk into the briefing room and take the seat furthest from him. As he focussed on the next operative to enter, his heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be...could it? She was dead; at least that's what his investigations into her disappearance had revealed. His mind whirled as he thought of all the nights he had spent thinking, hoping she was alive and well, and happy. Then she caught his gaze. It was all he could do to control his expression; this was no place for unseemly fits of emotion. He kept his eyes locked on hers as she passed him, heading for her seat near Saf. He watched her as she spoke to the head honchos and retook her seat, remembering the sway of those hips, the way she moved when she wasn't quite 100% sure of herself...like now. The briefing started. Jaime listened to the introductions, noticing the dark haired new operative with the sketchpad but not really paying much attention. He listened carefully to the background information given out by Simon, the resident brain. 58 dead; not a good thing. Especially when dealing with the US, that kind of casualty rate means someone ends up taking a trip downriver without the luxury of flotation devices. His heart skipped another beat as Paige took the stand and began talking. It had been so long since he had heard her voice. She was so businesslike at the moment; it was kinda cute really. How she looked so serious about everything but he could see the desire within her to just poke her tongue out at the people in the room and make a scene. The focus went back to Simon. Jaime casually caught the funky little gadget he was tossed and glanced it over. "These can be tossed pretty far. You just have to activate it," He depressed a few buttons on the one in his hands, "and toss it. Easy as that. No lights, no sounds, virtually undetectable. Three of them combined can pick up 90% of any given area providing us with a thermal reading of anything that's warmer than a given fixed temperature. The best bet will be to lay them about 30 yards from the Dacha at these points," he directed their attention to the papers and vidscreen, "west, northeast and southeast. Once we get some readings we'll adjust our ingress. The egress, barring any unusual circumstances, will remain on west. Jaime, we've picked out a nice little tree on a hill for you to work off of. It will give you maximum view of the building and pretty much all of egress." Jaime nodded. Good, he was in his element. He hoped the weather wasn't too wet, there's nothing worse than lying in mud with a rifle in your hands waiting to pop some bad guy a new nostril. Well, perhaps that time in Norway, when it was snowing a blizzard, but apart from that, rain was the worst. That was pretty much it for the briefing. 45 minutes to get ready...a luxury compared Section, they usually gave about 10 minutes to gear up before heading out. He watched Paige as she talked to the new girl, remembering her name was Bella from the introduction. His heart skipped yet another beat � he hoped it quit it soon, else he may not make it through the first couple of days around her � as she said his name and beckoned him over. He tried to keep a cool air about him as he rose from the chair and moved over to the small clump of females gathered like a high school reunion. "Pimping out your services?" Paige asked with a sly grin. Nothing had changed, she was the same as ever. He shrugged, getting almost comfortable being around her again, although it still didn't seem quite real. "Some of them." Paige winked at him, "We'll have to discuss those details privately." Jaime didn't answer, couldn't answer. He was too...shocked not really the right word. "But for now, this is Jordan." Jaime nodded and mouthed a greeting to Jordan and to Bella, thinking that he recognised her from Section but pretty sure they had not come into contact before now. "We can chat and play catch up on the ride over, if you guys will follow me I'll show you to our lovely and spacious ready rooms." Jaime and the others followed Paige out of the briefing room, joined by Saf and Simon they headed out to the armory. Return |
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