Operation: Mutant of the Seas - Log 5

[xp-changeling.livejournal.com]

Felicia and Gabriel spends too much time in the midst of marketing materials



To be honest, everyone secretly was hoping that it was a Disney cruise; some kind of secret underworld connection that explained the true nature of the Mouse to the world. Yes, spies get bored too. Especially when shifting through hundreds of brochures, promotional information and advertising garbage that cruise lines seem to put out constantly, trying to narrow down their potential target.

"Oh, gross." Gabriel grabbed a glossy pamphlet from the mountain of paper in front of him. "Fi." He opened the folds and wrinkled his nose. "You can go on a cruise with Kid Rock." He flipped the brochure over, showing her the pictures of hordes of half-naked white people. "Pass." He crumpled the promo in his hands and tossed it over his shoulder.

Felicia watched the arc of the ball of paper with wide, horrified eyes. "Well, at least we know what our next mission is," she replied as it landed. "I'm not normally into do gooding, but sinking that ship, I'd make an exception. What about a nerd cruise, movies tell me they make money and often eventually go insane."

Gabriel snorted. "Maybe. I don't know if any go where we need them to go." He picked up a brochure for a cougar cruise, his eyebrows raising. "I don't get any of this. A bunch of people on a boat for a week, surrounded by water on all sides, nowhere to go?" He flipped the thing over, a picture of a Mrs. Robinson type and a man his age staring him in the face. "Oh." His face fell. "That kind of cougar. Damn."

"Cruises are just showing everyone how much money you have while drinking everything in sight and sleeping with strangers. At least," she added, looking up at him from where she was leaning over the desk. "In my experience. And you were right, nope on the geeks at sea idea. How many of these are there? Let's narrow this down or we're going to be here until Christmas. How about... newer lines, last five years, with a screening process?"

"Yeah," Gabriel nodded, his face still a little wrinkled from his disapproval of cruises as a vacation. "Sure." He sensed her looking at him a little expectantly, and he sighed.

"Okay," he said, begrudgingly. "Fine." He picked up a stack of pamphlets. "Give me a few." Gabriel stayed static, except for his hands, which became a blur. The stack of paper became a whirlwind, the mound sorting into neat piles. To his right, the garbage can filled up an alarming rate.

And then, everything was still. "There," he said, a little triumphantly, handing her a pack of brochures. "More reading than I've done since high school, probably. Google these."

"You're beautiful and my favourite," she proclaimed, taking the offered brochures with one hand while opening her laptop with the other. Long painted black nails tapped out a search, and she scrolled through, already opening another tab as the first one loaded. "I can't make this super speed, though, so you may want to get coffee."

"Good call." Gabriel yawned, as if on cue. He watched her typing, then turned to grab the mug from his desk. "There's one in the top half of the stack that seemed kind of weird." He pivoted, now facing her again. "Maybe the fifth or sixth? Made a point about how exclusive it was. Not a big cruise line either. Duchess or Contessa or Princess Seahorse or something fancy-sounding."

"Princess Seahorse." Felicia paused her reading to look up at him, trying very hard not to laugh. "I'll keep an eye out for it." She watched him walk away in search of coffee, staring at the empty wall as he turned the corner into the break room, distracted. A blink broke the spell; Felicia fanned out the brochures and slid forward one around the top half of the stack with her index finger.

Emperor of the Sea.