MotCE - To the Lakes

Alexander waits in the lobby of union station, his contact is supposed to meet him in less than twenty seconds...

"Dobriy den', worried I would not arrive?"

The old man stands in cringy tourist shorts with an equally embarrassingly large camera about his neck.

"Bear you are looking even better than your profile photo. Here are the details..."

He hands Alexander small USB.

"...enjoy! Wait until you are on the train to read them"

He walks off and as he does he tips his hat to another younger taller man, though one who seems to one up him in the cheesy tourist stakes having come from Disneyland recently. This Goofy t-shirt wearer crosses the lobby and strikes up conversation with a young woman.

"Heta, this is the new friend we've picked out for you..."

She's shown a photograph of an attractive looking man in his forties, curly dark hair, sky blue eyes, strong hands and a suit that suggests wealth to match the looks.

"...yeah don't get too excited, the name is Stephan Fawkes head of development at Clarkson biotech, we have reason to believe he's carrying an early prototype of something nasty. Not that he intends to use it, but we need to know what it is. He probably won't be leaving his cabin much, so I suggest you make friends with the officer guarding the door.

Oh and..."

He hands her a credit card.

"...not to much alright"

Sean's superiors had left him all the details he needed. Sophia Abrigo, a minor attaché to the Spanish government was on the train and he was to make sure she made it to the other end alive. Who was a threat to her or why they never chose to tell him. Sometimes he suspected they didn't know.

Eli however had much more detail, he didn't work for a mere government after all. No, HAMMER was an organisation above any such national concerns. He knew there would be an attempt on the life of Sasuke Kobayashi. Not that Eli had to protect him. He just had to capture the assassin who would perform the kill, the dreaded Bloodroot. After or before they made the kill didn't matter.

Meryl stands at the ticket desk.

"Miss, your tickets miss, hello?"

Meryl is a bit dazed, there's something familiar about Eli, Sean, Heta and Alexander. The first people she might have recognised since she woke up.

"Miss? Miss?" Otto and Alexander wait behind Meryl hoping she takes her tickets quick enough. The two quickly recognise the martial training in the other, the subtle motions. Two people with such training boarding the same train. Coincidence? Unlikely, but each know they're here on nothing more than a simple holiday. Right?

Behind them the great detective Jacques Lefebvre stands. His guise as a simple librarian has no doubt prevented anyone from knowing who he is. The assassin Bloodroot, the possible attempt on Miss Abrigo's life, the executive Stephen Fawkes, the fact that something juicy is on Alexander's juicy, that the women in front of him recently woke up from a coma and is connected to all of this in some way. He knows all of this. How could he not, a little bit of judicious hacking of communications on his way here might have given him the edge, but he no doubt would have deduced it anyway.

And finally lugging her case into the lobby is Aurora. The taxi driver helps her with the second case and drops it in the lobby for her.

A nice simple relaxing holiday. She hoped for music, wine and love, but fate had something different in store for her....