xp_logs | Training Day: Genoa

In their final destination, Kevin and Gabe get made.

"People are entirely too dismissive of Genoa. Especially the wine." Kevin said as he took a sip from his glass. They were sitting on a sunny patio, sharing a bottle from a winery that Gabe had never heard of, but the waiter looked impressed when receiving the order. "The altitude helps mellow the undertones of the red... fuller body, none of the aggressive plumminess of the Southern grapes."

The restaurant was casual. In New York, it would have been a coffee shop. In Italy, it was a small wine bar with some notably excellent appetizers. Like so many times during this trip, they were waiting for the appearance of a former asset to set them up for Gabe's new network.

"You know, I'm a former beverage professional, and I'm still not convinced that wine's not a scam." Gabriel flicked ash off his cigarette. "Which isn't to say that I'm not enjoying this." Because, of course, he was. There was something about Italy that Gabriel enjoyed, likely the same attitudes and energy that encouraged the aperitivo.

He traded his smoke for a slice of sausage, then glanced at Kevin. "Remind me what we're looking for?"

"Adriano Pavone. Under-appreciated IT security specialist, works in the financial sector mostly. He's unpaid because, well, he thinks he's a lot more talented than he is. He's good for tracking low level accounts and the odd bit of insider hacking when needed." He seemed engrossed by his phone, a tactic that had all but replaced the casual newspaper as a cover over the last few years. "If he shows up and orders something to eat, he's back onboard. This isn't one of his usual places but it's close enough to his work not to look out of place. After that, we're on our way back home."

Gabriel nodded, trying not to let his disappointment show at this being their last stop. The trip had been successful professionally, but it had also expanded his horizons personally, and though he'd never admit it aloud, it was nice to get a chance to hang out with Kevin outside the constant chaos of the mansion and their spy shack. "Insider hacking?" He said after a second, his eyebrow raised. "Seems like a good source to have inside the banks."

"Even when they aren't particularly good at their jobs..." Kevin let the last word trail out as he looked around, a slight frown appearing for a brief second before disappearing again. "Do me a favour? Tell me if there's a car parked any where in eyeshot behind me with dark windows?"

"Sure." Gabriel picked his cigarette back up, then shifted slightly so he could scan their surroundings. "Dark, like suspiciously dark? I don't—" His eyes landed on a dark grey sedan. "Oh, yeah, kinda." He tried to look casual as he returned his gaze to Kevin. "Why?"

"We've been made." Kevin expression didn't change in the slightest, still seemingly like a tourist enjoying his wine. "There's one at the bar and two across the street. Looks Pavone has new employers. Do me a favour and see if you can find us a big hotel nearby on your phone? The more corporate and chain-like, the better." He pulled out a couple of bills and slid them under the bottle of his glass. One of his first rules; even if you have to run, always try and cover the check. Waiters are notoriously good remembering the details of anyone who skips out on a bill.

Gabriel nodded, then retrieved his phone from his pocket and began swiping and tapping. For someone who could literally disappear from the scene in seconds, he was surprised how nervous he found himself. Even though he'd been in arguably more dangerous situations, there was something about seeing Kevin rattled — well, not rattled, really, but something approaching it — that had a weird effect on him.

"Found a Marriott." He didn't bother to look up from his phone, because people didn't do that, and he was trying to act ordinary.

"Good. Get up just like normal. Don't look around. They'll follow us." Kevin adjusted his jacket as he got up, just giving a cursory look around before motioning Gabe to lead on to the hotel.

Gabriel just nodded. The act of acting normal made it impossible to be normal, and he felt like he was overthinking exactly where he put his gaze and how he carried himself. But he managed to leave the bar with what he assumed was close to normal behavior. "This way," he said, heading down the street after briefly consulting his phone. It was all he could do to keep his powers under check and not just speed off.

"So," he said in attempt to sound breezy after a few seconds. "This happen a lot?"

"Not if you do the job right. But even the best contacts get burned from time to time." Kevin was walking with purpose; not fast but deliberate and focused. "Suits are too expensive for police or AISI. That's good for us. Means they think we're competition as opposed to a national security threat."

As they turned the corner, the Marriott appeared, a bland seven story building that was only remarkable in how plain it was compared to the palazzo surrounding it. Kevin used the reflections in the windows they passed to keep an eye behind them. Four men had spread out, taking less direct routes but clearly focused on them.

"Comforting." Gabriel did not think this was the time to admit he didn't know what AISI was. "Isn't competition more dangerous, though? I mean, cops have to answer to somebody, in theory." He thought he could feel their eyes watching him as they walked, and it wasn't a feeling he liked.

At least they were closing in on corporate hospitality. "I didn't make the reservation under my name," Gabriel said. "It seemed prudent. Just in case."

"We're not going to need it. And it is always better to deal with private entities. They have, at best, a tenth of the scope and manpower, and... well, in this field, your legal rights disappear the second you're identified as a spook and their parent agency shows up." Kevin went through the doors of the hotel but turned left at the check-in desk. "Go through the banquet rooms and into the kitchen. Hotel kitchen and maintenance areas are warrens. See if you can grab a work jacket or branded hat or something and ditch your current jacket. Make your way out one of the service exits and head for the airport."

"Got it." Gabriel nodded. He should have known at some point he'd be expected to play the help. Even though he suspected it was the most prudent way to blend, it still irked him a bit. "And you're going to... what, exactly?"

"Draw them in the opposite direction and switch faces. I'll meet you at the airport in an hour." Kevin said, leaving him near the banquet rooms and headed for the bar area as the first men came through the door.

It was a rather unceremonious departure, but Gabriel understood, and he assumed they'd debrief on the plane.

So he strode as nonchalantly as possible into the banquet rooms, grateful to find as he entered that he hadn't inadvertently interrupted something. Though it wasn't the most discreet move, and he sensed Kevin wouldn't have approved, Gabriel turned to his powers as he zoomed toward the kitchen, figuring it'd have the effect of making him effectively disappear if Kevin's diversion hadn't worked and he had been followed.

The unintended consequence was that his sudden appearance in the kitchen was greeted with some stares. He hated that he hadn't accounted for that. But Gabriel just shrugged, figuring the best defense was to look normal, and strode past the army of busy kitchen workers, grabbing a work jacket off a nearby table.

Now he just needed to find an exit.

Meanwhile, Kevin had made sure three of them saw him duck into the bar. As they followed, a fat balding blond American crashed into one, splashing his glass on him and clumsily wiping it off before being shoved aside. One stayed on Gabriel's possible exit, moving well behind him to the kitchen.

Gabriel changed his jacket in a flash, because it was an option that was available to him. Unsure where else to put his suit jacket, he tossed it in the walk-in freezer so at least it'd be out of the way if he had been followed.

Which, as it became clear when a man in a suit entered the kitchen just as Gabriel exited, he had been. The young spy muttered a Spanish curse as he arbitrarily picked a direction and started walking, hoping he was heading in the right direction and that he had gone unnoticed.

***

"Gabe." Kevin handed over the luggage that Gabe had thought lost, checked into the front desk of their hotel that morning at Kevin's insistence. He'd shown up only a few minutes before the deadline he'd set at the airport. "I'd hate for you to lose all your souvenirs."

"What the—" Gabriel couldn't even try to be cool and hide his surprise. His initial shock turned into a smile, and he shook his head. "I was getting ready to board the plane without you, honestly."

"Good. That means you've been listening to me." Kevin said, taking the ticket Gabe offered. "There was no surveillance on our hotel. Means they didn't know who was showing up for the meet. I lifted a phone and passport from one of our pursuers. Phone's in a shielded bag until Doug can dig into it. Passport is a decent forgery, not government printing. I'm almost sure this is organized crime. Some East European mob, probably washing money through a bank that employs Pavone."

"Oh good. The Russian mafia. Or is it not the mafia if it isn't Italian?" Gabriel sighed. "Guess it doesn't matter much. Do I need to worry that some capo from Warsaw is following my every move? I can't change my face the way you do."

"I'll tell you a little fact about organized crime. It isn't that organized." Kevin shook his head. "It's less likely you'll run into any of these guys in the future as it would be to stumble into someone you pickpocketed half a decade ago in Midtown. Unless there's something on that phone that concerns us, this is likely the end of things. But, you're going to do this run on your own next time, so feel free to stay a little paranoid when you do."

"Really?" Gabriel furrowed his brow. "Alone? You sure that trust isn't misplaced? Even with you, we got tailed, and I'm not sure I would have figured out how to get out of that situation without the kind of zoom-zoom that attracts a lot of attention."

"And now you know how. At least one way." He paused on the way to security, shuffling his documents together. "There's still a lot you need to learn, but you've got the right instincts and I trust you'll make good decisions. This run is how we'll start building more skills, adding to your experience, until you're ready for the next step. You did good, kid, whether you're willing to believe that or not."

It was strange how Gabriel could be so confident in every aspect of his life (and cocksure in many of them), and yet something about being tailed by a bunch of strangers had so utterly rattled him. But every time he'd been followed, some stupid shenanigan had followed, and he chalked the nerves up to that. "I'll choose to believe it," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "But thanks. Appreciate the vote of confidence."

"Look, Gabe... this might be the safest version of this kind of assignment I can find, but it still has dangers. You will be putting your life on the line doing it." Kevin said, uncharacteristically serious. "There's no bullshit here. I wouldn't put you on it if I wasn't completed convinced that you can handle it. I trust you, son. It might get you killed, but it won't be because you weren't ready for it. And now, I need hours of drinks, some sleep and if really lucky, an attractive flight attendant I can convince I'm a European billionaire ready for a mile-high quickie."