[Complete and total AU using VD/GG characters. I'll type up a list of spy jargon in a day or so. I do like that authentic touch! Also, I'm open to character usage requests in your reviews! Goal is to use as many as possible]

West Berlin. Mid-November, 1975.

The hotel was nice, but nondescript. Almost to the point of being nothing more than space-filler. The rooms were modern and comfy, the guests and tourists liked it because of the Grand staircase

One of the more nondescript rooms in the nondescript hotel was filled with low-pitched snoring and the sounds of decently curly/lengthy hair rustling against a pillow. The callous ringing of the nightstand phone made his eyes shoot open.

"H-hello?" He yawned, in total darkness because of the pulled-shut curtains.

"You have a package outside." The icy female voice said.

"Uh-huh," Dan mumbled, haphazardly rising from the bed. He set the phone down and fetched the thick brown envelope from outside his door. He plucked the phone back up. "And?"

"You have three hours to skim and dive." The voice said, followed by the click of hanging up. Dan knew that to mean he had a decent window to read the contents and properly research them. It was probably yet another dull but somehow critically important surveillance mission. Ah, to be a Lamplighter and Pavement Artist he told himself.

He slid the envelope open and carefully removed the contents. He was nothing if not prudent. The first page seemed almost out of place. In plain font it stated that, "You will be required to wear your Naval Dress Blues and Khakis as often as possible."

Dan groaned. He had enjoyed his time in the Office of Naval Intelligence, but he was CIA now. That, and he still wasn't comfortable being called Lieutenant Humphrey. At least he looked good in the uniform. He guessed that whomever he was shadowing wouldn't be on the lookout for Naval Officers. Besides, his target would have to be very observant if he was going to pick one of the many, many Armed Forces Officers who lived and worked in West Berlin.

Gently shuffling through the papers around his bed, Dan arranged them numerically. He was nothing if not a stickler for protocol. He grabbed a sheet of blank paper and took notes as his eyes blinked across the laid-out sheets.

Files missing from Embassy in London.

Files sensitive in nature. Classified Top Secret to F.Y.E.O.

US Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Mason Lockwood is top suspect. Last seen bordering train in Paris. Agency suspects a possible defection to Soviet authorities in East Berlin.

Retrieving of files is top priority.

Dan bit at his bottom lip. This was big. Of course, every assignment that was handed down to him was decently big, but not an off the reservation DSS agent with State Secrets big. He rubbed his chin as he continued to scan the papers. Even for the usual Agency assignment, it was sparsely detailed. It was less like an task and more of a scavenger hunt list.

Replacing the files in the folder, which he tucked under the mattress [Day One of ONI training: No one ever really checks underneath the bed.] He sighed his way into the shower, shaved and brushed his teeth. He grumbled under his breath as he pulled his 'old' Navy uniform from his closet. He had nothing against the Navy, it actually had a special place in his heart, Dan just didn't like how the uniform made him look like an airline pilot.

The white dress shirt with the shoulder marks, reminding him he was still a Lieutenant, looked so bland with the necktie that was required to be tied in the a four-in-hand knot. He was at least happy that he wasn't required to cut his hair. Something about being in his line of work kept people from telling him such things.

He not so humorously struggled with the double-breasted jacket. Buttons were still a little annoying to him. However, he did like the peaked cap. He felt it made him look distinguished.

Shrugging into his Officer's overcoat, which mean more double-breasted buttons, he was out the door and thinking of where he could even start with an assignment like this. It made the most sense that this Mason fellow would probably be looking for help on the Western side of the fence so he could get onto the Eastern side. Dan rolled his neck, well aware that this meant he would get to spend a very chilly morning going through his various contacts and other unseemly figures.

He flagged down a cab and was on a quick ride to a particular café that seemed to exist for people in his profession. When he got there, he offered to pay, but knew that no cabbie would charge him. The uniform did have its perks.

Once inside, he used the tragically cliché yet fun to say line of "Guten morgen, how are the fritters today?" It was spy-speak. He knew to ask the question, then to sit at a certain table and wait for whatever representative of whatever intelligence agency would brief. Knowing his luck, he'd be stuck with some Bundesnachrichtendienst prick. He just didn't trust Germans. They were too efficient for his taste.

He was tickled pink when a woman sat down across from him. She was decently dark haired and entirely pleasant to look at.

"Nice uniform, Ensign." The lady said.

"Lieutenant," Dan corrected. "I thought I was retired."

"Oh, all you Cousins are such bores," She said. "I'm Rose. From the Circus."

"Central Intelligence." He added, nodding politely. He always liked interacting with MI6. They were snippy and brooding. Always a good combination. "I'm here for some help."

"And I thought you were here for fashion tips. Leather jackets are in this winter." Rose quipped.

"Some very important files took a walk from our Embassy in London. Both 6 and The Competition must be really embarrassed you couldn't catch them in your own backyard." Dan smiled.

"Not any more embarrassed than you all are for having one of your own do the stealing," Rose smiled back. "What do you know?"

"Very little. Not even a name," Dan lied, per his orders and training. "This is my first stop."

"I've only been here three months, all the good sources belong to one of my BND friends."

"Who?"

"What can you give me?" Rose asked, gamely sticking up for The Queen and Her Realm. She was a proud member of Her Majesty's Secret Service.

"An assurance that we won't tell you that one of our midlevel embassy Guard Dogs was able to slip past all your home agents." Dan said, giving a hint of that crooked little smile he knew women liked for some reason. Rose, knowing it was a good deal and impressed by the young man's charm, quickly caved.

"Pack your bags, Lieutenant Humphrey," Rose said, showing she remembered a little from the file MI6 had on him. "My BND guy is in Vienna. Go to the Hotel Imperial and ask for Klaus."

"Yes, Ma'am," Dan said, donning his peaked cap as he rose from the table. He snapped off a quick salute to the oddly helpful Rose. His eyes were on her as he left. Her eyes were on the longhaired fellow in the designer jacket that followed Dan out of the bar.