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xp_logs Backdated to the 22nd. Marie and Christian continue their search for clues, following their identified target.
Byron Calley was a fairly good-looking man. His fair hair was streaked prematurely with grey, but his face was youthful and he moved easily through the streets of Marseille with the familiarity of long residence. You could have almost picked his outfit out of a costuming department looking to clothe a mid-thirties academic, and he smiled pleasantly at those he passed, even holding open the cafe door for the old lady and her dog to leave. Of all the conclusions that you could have drawn from his actions and appearance, hardened mutant terrorist was not one of them.
He stepped into the cafe and ordered, taking a seat near the bar, away from the occasional gust of cold air that darted in treacherously from the door as it opened. Christian hadn't told Marie precisely where he would be; an old precaution with inexperienced operatives, he explained. If something went wrong, a new operative tended to physically look towards their surveillance team, a mistake that often revealed additional personnel and put them in danger.
However, his voice was in her ear, through a tiny earbud nestled deep down, fleshcoloured and all but invisible behind her hair. "It looks like our target has decided on breakfast. How's yours?" Kane said affably.
"A little difficult to swallow," Marie said softly as she dabbed her mouth with a napkin to hide the movement of her lips. "But nice to see Mr. Calley keeping his routine of coming here every morning."
"Indeed." Kane muttered over the comm, scanning the street. They'd watched the cafe over and over, both covertly and with Marie inside, getting a feel for the regulars. That would be the tip off, if Calley had some kind of interaction with someone new. Byron always ate quickly, so it wouldn't be a long wait.
It was almost as though Christian's thoughts had triggered an action, as instead of ordering his usualy assortment of cheese and bread, Byron ordered eggs. Perhaps he just wanted something new, but after trailing various sources with Christian and watching him in action, she realized that nothing was ever as simple as it seemed. As a waitress came by, Marie ordered a cup of coffee and some fruit, scanning the room for anything else out of the ordinary.
As Calley dug into the meal, a man walked into the cafe and to the counter. He only briefly looked around before waving over the man and speaking to him in French. The dialogue didn't mean anything to Marie's limited French, and Kane was too far to hear anything, but the man at the counter shook his head and pointed to a row of cigarette packages. The man shrugged and gave a brief wave before walking out to the corner bus stop. Christian watched the movements closely.
"Something is happening, Marie. Follow Calley as he moves. I'll follow this one. Let me know what he does between here and his destination."
Marie didn't verbalize a response, finishing her meal and waiting for Calley to do the same. As he finallly walked out, she reached inside her bag to throw a few Euros on the table to cover the cost of her meal. Covertly watching him through the large glass window, she let Calley get a few paces ahead then began following him.
He walked along the streets towards the university, not hurrying at all. Once he stopped to check a headline at a newsstand, but didn't buy anything, or even take his hands from his pockets. Instead, he turned and continued to amble at a relaxed pace. It was uneventful, boring; just simply a guy on his way to work and in no hurry.
He did check behind himself once and a while, and Marie could see him check his reflection in windows; a trick that Christian had taught her to use large reflective surfaces like shop windows to check surreptiously for people following you. Finally, Byron stopped at a park bench, and reached down to tie his shoe.
Marie had made sure to keep a steady pace while following Byron - Christian had taught her that changing pace with the person you were following was one of the easiest giveaways. Between Calley stopping and his slow amble, she was only a few steps behind him as he bent to tie his shoe, so she continued to walk past him. Utilizing the same trick of subtle glances at reflections, there was no reason she couldn't track him while in front of him.
Calley finished his shoe tying, straying for a second longer, and then got up from the bench and headed for the bus stop. Obviously he'd decided to not walk the rest of the way, and catch the public transport instead.
"I've lost the other man." Christian growled through her earpiece. "Damn French taxis. What's Calley doing?" Ten years ago, Christian would have had a dozen men working on an operation like this, and his lack of resources was a frustration.
"He's getting on a bus," Marie said, the smallest amount of frustration leaking into her tone. "And Ah'm trailing him from ahead," she added, then brightened. "But there's a bus stop right ahead of me, so Ah'm gonna try and follow him that way. "
"Why would he walk this far and get on the bus? What else has he done?"
"Looked at some magazines and..." Marie shook her head, realizing she'd missed something. "Tied his shoe. That was a sign to someone wasn't it?"
"No, the cigarettes and the meal where a sign. Did he tie it at a park bench? If he did, go back there. Reach down as if you're tying your shoes and feel underneath it. Let me know if you find anything odd."
It took Marie a moment to find a place which she thought was appropriate to turn around. When she made her way back to the bench, she bent down to tie her shoe and discreetly felt under the bend. "There's a metal plate that's been screwed under the bench. Should I watch to see who come gets it or take a peak at it?"
"Memories of the Cold War, Marie. That plate is there for someone to use as a dead drop. You've seen those magnetic key holders? Just a tiny case with a magnet on one side. You put the information in it, attached it discretely the to plate, and then your contact picks it up once they get the signal it's ready, like say a man coming into order a brand of cigarettes that your favourite cafe doesn't carry." Marie couldn't see Kane's wolfish smile.
"It means that Calley is no longer just a suspect. We have our Brotherhood target confirmed."
"Then Ah guess the lessons are done for the day. Now we need to figure out how to get him to tell us what we need to know," Marie said as she rose to her feet, one hand clenched at her side.
Byron Calley was a fairly good-looking man. His fair hair was streaked prematurely with grey, but his face was youthful and he moved easily through the streets of Marseille with the familiarity of long residence. You could have almost picked his outfit out of a costuming department looking to clothe a mid-thirties academic, and he smiled pleasantly at those he passed, even holding open the cafe door for the old lady and her dog to leave. Of all the conclusions that you could have drawn from his actions and appearance, hardened mutant terrorist was not one of them.
He stepped into the cafe and ordered, taking a seat near the bar, away from the occasional gust of cold air that darted in treacherously from the door as it opened. Christian hadn't told Marie precisely where he would be; an old precaution with inexperienced operatives, he explained. If something went wrong, a new operative tended to physically look towards their surveillance team, a mistake that often revealed additional personnel and put them in danger.
However, his voice was in her ear, through a tiny earbud nestled deep down, fleshcoloured and all but invisible behind her hair. "It looks like our target has decided on breakfast. How's yours?" Kane said affably.
"A little difficult to swallow," Marie said softly as she dabbed her mouth with a napkin to hide the movement of her lips. "But nice to see Mr. Calley keeping his routine of coming here every morning."
"Indeed." Kane muttered over the comm, scanning the street. They'd watched the cafe over and over, both covertly and with Marie inside, getting a feel for the regulars. That would be the tip off, if Calley had some kind of interaction with someone new. Byron always ate quickly, so it wouldn't be a long wait.
It was almost as though Christian's thoughts had triggered an action, as instead of ordering his usualy assortment of cheese and bread, Byron ordered eggs. Perhaps he just wanted something new, but after trailing various sources with Christian and watching him in action, she realized that nothing was ever as simple as it seemed. As a waitress came by, Marie ordered a cup of coffee and some fruit, scanning the room for anything else out of the ordinary.
As Calley dug into the meal, a man walked into the cafe and to the counter. He only briefly looked around before waving over the man and speaking to him in French. The dialogue didn't mean anything to Marie's limited French, and Kane was too far to hear anything, but the man at the counter shook his head and pointed to a row of cigarette packages. The man shrugged and gave a brief wave before walking out to the corner bus stop. Christian watched the movements closely.
"Something is happening, Marie. Follow Calley as he moves. I'll follow this one. Let me know what he does between here and his destination."
Marie didn't verbalize a response, finishing her meal and waiting for Calley to do the same. As he finallly walked out, she reached inside her bag to throw a few Euros on the table to cover the cost of her meal. Covertly watching him through the large glass window, she let Calley get a few paces ahead then began following him.
He walked along the streets towards the university, not hurrying at all. Once he stopped to check a headline at a newsstand, but didn't buy anything, or even take his hands from his pockets. Instead, he turned and continued to amble at a relaxed pace. It was uneventful, boring; just simply a guy on his way to work and in no hurry.
He did check behind himself once and a while, and Marie could see him check his reflection in windows; a trick that Christian had taught her to use large reflective surfaces like shop windows to check surreptiously for people following you. Finally, Byron stopped at a park bench, and reached down to tie his shoe.
Marie had made sure to keep a steady pace while following Byron - Christian had taught her that changing pace with the person you were following was one of the easiest giveaways. Between Calley stopping and his slow amble, she was only a few steps behind him as he bent to tie his shoe, so she continued to walk past him. Utilizing the same trick of subtle glances at reflections, there was no reason she couldn't track him while in front of him.
Calley finished his shoe tying, straying for a second longer, and then got up from the bench and headed for the bus stop. Obviously he'd decided to not walk the rest of the way, and catch the public transport instead.
"I've lost the other man." Christian growled through her earpiece. "Damn French taxis. What's Calley doing?" Ten years ago, Christian would have had a dozen men working on an operation like this, and his lack of resources was a frustration.
"He's getting on a bus," Marie said, the smallest amount of frustration leaking into her tone. "And Ah'm trailing him from ahead," she added, then brightened. "But there's a bus stop right ahead of me, so Ah'm gonna try and follow him that way. "
"Why would he walk this far and get on the bus? What else has he done?"
"Looked at some magazines and..." Marie shook her head, realizing she'd missed something. "Tied his shoe. That was a sign to someone wasn't it?"
"No, the cigarettes and the meal where a sign. Did he tie it at a park bench? If he did, go back there. Reach down as if you're tying your shoes and feel underneath it. Let me know if you find anything odd."
It took Marie a moment to find a place which she thought was appropriate to turn around. When she made her way back to the bench, she bent down to tie her shoe and discreetly felt under the bend. "There's a metal plate that's been screwed under the bench. Should I watch to see who come gets it or take a peak at it?"
"Memories of the Cold War, Marie. That plate is there for someone to use as a dead drop. You've seen those magnetic key holders? Just a tiny case with a magnet on one side. You put the information in it, attached it discretely the to plate, and then your contact picks it up once they get the signal it's ready, like say a man coming into order a brand of cigarettes that your favourite cafe doesn't carry." Marie couldn't see Kane's wolfish smile.
"It means that Calley is no longer just a suspect. We have our Brotherhood target confirmed."
"Then Ah guess the lessons are done for the day. Now we need to figure out how to get him to tell us what we need to know," Marie said as she rose to her feet, one hand clenched at her side.
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