Monday, 17th

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Bryce walked in to the CIA building as if it were just a typical Monday. This was not however a typical Monday.

A concerned voice to his right yelled, "Bryce!?! What the hell happened yesterday? Is everything ok?"

He stopped and turned slightly to face Sarah. She stood outside the control center door.

"Yeah, it's.... complicated", he shrugged and continued on his path.

This morning his path led him directly to his boss's office. The tone that Director Graham used when he had said that he needed to speak to him in person meant his wait would be short, and that the topic was urgent.

"Have you been able to gain any additional information about this rogue group?"

"Not much sir. Fulcrum is going to have me steal computer data from some kind of commercial looking facility. My new handler won't provide me with too many details. He won't brief me any further until the last possible minute."

"Agent Larkin, do you have any idea what kind of data they're interested in, or where they plan to steal it from?"

"No sir, I don't. The Fulcrum agents took my cell and knew about the GPS in my watch. I didn't recognize the area. All I know about the computer is that I will need to use this."

Bryce carefully removed the attachment from his pocket. The reaction that came from Graham provided Bryce with the gravity of the situation.

"There are less than a dozen various types of computer systems where that would be useful. For them to extract data from any of these would be absolutely detrimental to United States' Intelligence."

Graham paused to consider his options. "Don't let anyone else see that attachment. I want you to continue on; prevent the data from falling into Fulcrum's hands at all costs."

"Sir, the group leader, Tommy, doesn't trust me yet. He will have another team watching my every move. If the situation deteriorates, I may need to send it through an intermediate courier."

Graham's tone took a serious turn. "What did you have in mind?"

"I have a contact outside the CIA that I can trust. He's a civilian and he won't be part of Fulcrum. I can count on him to hold the data until I pick it up."

The Director didn't like what he was hearing. He gave himself a few moments to come up with a counter-argument. Those moments came and went without his objection.

"Okay," he said reluctantly, "but I want intel on this civilian first."

Bryce nodded in agreement before leaving.

"A civilian..." Graham shook his head.

If things went bad, there would be too many eggs in an untrained basket that he knew nothing about.

He needed a real 'Plan B'. One with qualified CIA agents he could trust.

The Director turned his chair and began looking for available personnel.

---------------

Charlene took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It felt good to have a break.

She wondered how long she would have for her holiday. That last mission was the longest one she had been assigned to. Over three months it had taken her across Europe and eventually to the US.

Her time on the beach today had so far been every bit as therapeutic as she had hoped. There was something peaceful about the sound of the waves and the gentle breeze that came with them. She wished for at least a few weeks like this.

That seemed fair: a few weeks of fun and sun on the beach before going back to her usual type of missions. Since she had been given her gun and became a full agent, her missions were still computer related but they now took place out in the field. Sneak in, gain access to whatever system was necessary, do what was required, and get out.

If the research lab had just reported the theft instead of covering it up, she wouldn't have had to break in and get the surveillance footage. What had the lab managers been hoping for? Stealing a chemical compound like that had been a major security breach. With that thief now in custody, she wondered if she would be getting another promotion.

Charlene began dreaming about her future missions before stopping herself. She smiled.

Here and now her most important mission was to get a tan. Enough of a tan to avoid sticking out in LA, but not enough to stick out wherever her next assignment might take her. Maybe just enough of a tan to make friends jealous - if she had ever found the time to have any friends to make jealous.

Charlene began to notice that her rookie experience in the sun had an unintended effect - she had become a bit parched. She wondered what an appropriate drink would be to enjoy in an environment like this. Perhaps something with mango, or better yet pineapple?

Her phone rang. She paused for a moment as she glanced at the number. Charlene turned to look at the waves again. She estimated that she was likely within throwing distance. She sighed softly and decided she needed to take the call anyway.

"Yes sir?" was all her thirsty and disappointed voice could convey.

Director Graham cut to the chase, "We have an immediate matter of national security. I'm assigning you a new mission as of this moment. Since there isn't sufficient time, you will need to maintain your current cover identity. Your assignment will require going undercover at an electronics store; they will be expecting you later today. You will be holding there for an information exchange, possibly involving unaware civilians. It is imperative that you blend into the background and not draw attention to yourself or the exchange. Further mission briefing information and additional documents are being sent to your hotel room. Is this clear?"

"Yes sir. Will this mission be requiring a partner or team?"

"No. This is to be a short term solo mission. A simple information exchange. Get the information, keep it in our hands, and move on - no team or partner required."

"Understood sir," she said before the call ended.

Charlene felt her smile reappear across her face. Short term assignments were usually simple enough, there wouldn't be any mistake-prone partners to complicate things, and there should be plenty of free time for her to return here to work on that tan after all.

---------------

Charlene stood outside of a large electronics store. It was nothing like her relaxing beach. In large yellow lettering were the words 'Buy More'. The dossier left at her hotel room had provided little information on this environment. She felt her background as a hacker naturally would have led her to be a Nerd Herd employee, but she understood that as a sales associate she would be able to remain inside the store for the exchange.

The first challenge to sell her cover would be knowing what she might be selling. The time she had spent on missions meant she was out of touch when it came to consumer electronics, video games, or what was hot and what wasn't. She attempted to compensate for her lack of preparedness by searching the web. Thanks to Google and YouTube she at least now knew how to demonstrate the use of a Wii, and how to play Guitar Hero. She hoped that it would be enough for a good first impression.

Looking around on this late Monday evening, the store seemed rather vacant. The employees that were present mostly reclined watching TV, were playing video games, or were wandering aimlessly as the few available customers remained largely ignored. The most animated sales associate was strapped into a racing seat of some sort, with a firm grasp on the steering wheel in front of him. From where she was standing the sounds coming from the seat's speakers were drowning out the taunts she guessed he was giving his on-screen opponents. Beyond him she noticed the closest thing resembling an office that she had seen so far.

As Charlene entered, she spied a large man looking down at his desk, nearly in tears.

"Last bite of danish for the day" he said shaking his head before ceremoniously eating the remainder of his precious treat. The placard on his desk read "Big Mike". She respectfully waited before she knocked on the door frame.

Big Mike awoke from his trance. "You Charlene?" he asked looking up at her.

As she nodded, he began ruffling through a stack of papers, before pulling out a folder.

Opening it up, he read over her fabricated transfer papers.

"St--- Str--- Strz---" Big Mike was stammering, trying to pronounce her last name.

"Strzechowski. It's Polish", she said in her best American accent.

Big Mike continued to look flustered. If he had this much trouble over her cover name, he would certainly butcher her real name. She wondered if this was the kind of thing that people here were sued over.

"Charlene is okay", she assured him with a comforting smile.

Her new boss sighed heavily and looked relieved.

"Charlene, you come highly recommended from the Echo Park Buy More. You sure you want this job?"

She nodded, trying to get a peek at what her cover achievements had been.

He motioned to her to follow as he got up and walked out into the store. "Okay. Let me give you a piece of advice to make it bearable - do what I do - keep as far away from these jokers as you can!"

Her eyes widened. Big Mike's reaction caused a moment of worry to settle in. She wondered how much, if anything, was missing from her dossier.

"GRIMES!" he yelled abruptly, causing Charlene to jump.

The short bearded employee playing the racing game tried to get up. The seat he was strapped into yanked him back down.

"Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark," he muttered unlocking his seatbelt.

"NEW BUY MORE TRANSFER EMPLOYEE - GIVE HER THE TOUR" Big Mike shouted while pointing at Charlene.

The employee stood and saluted: "Yes sir! Aye sir! Right away sir". With that, Big Mike returned to his office.

"Hi. Welcome to the Buy More. I'm Morgan by the way."

"Charlene," she replied.

"Okay, well Charlene, uh, it looks like you're here to sell some Buy More merchandise."

Morgan looked at his watch before beginning his stationary tour, "Video games are over there... DVDs and music there... the returns desk or 'The Hole' as I like to call it - which you want to avoid by the way - is over there... TVs are on the wall, aaaaaaaannnnnnndddddd the break room is down the hall that way."

"Sorry for the short version," he continued while taking a few steps towards the front exit, "but I only have a few more minutes to go on my shift before I go to my best friend Chuck's tonight, so..."

Morgan stopped himself before resuming with an apologetic tone, "It's no big deal; all the isles are marked and you just have to pretend like you're working while actually avoiding any real work. Anyhoo, welcome to the Buy More!"

Even after this 'tour', she still didn't feel like she knew what to expect from this place. If the other employees here functioned with Morgan's kind of work ethic, it would be more challenging for her to blend in. Charlene had always considered herself to be a workaholic. The only time she wasn't was when her 'work' was to enjoy her time off.

She hoped this assignment would be as brief as Graham had implied. It was hard to imagine that she would have to spend entire days trying to appear to the rest as if she wasn't working. "Must not stand out," she attempted to remind herself.

In the process of accepting her new assignment, she had completely forgotten about that drink she had been planning on enjoying. Her dry throat demanded that she settle for something less desirable.

On her way to the break room, the first thing she noticed were the many corporate 'inspirational' posters hanging everywhere. With amusing concepts like 'Buy More dollars', she seriously doubted that any of their attempts to program their employees could possibly have any effect.

Charlene struck that last thought - in the corner of the break room was a lone employee who by all appearances might be susceptible. He was dressed in Nerd Herd attire and looked different than his coworkers. He sat emotionless playing a 'vintage' handheld video game that could have very well been straight from the 1980's. Neither her presence in the room nor her hand waving seemed to have any effect on him. She began to realize just how unusual this place could be.

The large vending machine labelled "Cold Drinks" beckoned. Putting the money into the machine, she pushed the button for some lemon flavored iced tea. Nothing happened.

She pushed the iced tea button again. Still nothing.

The vending machine was clearly plugged in and turned on, but being stubborn. None of the other drink selections nor the money return button were functioning either.

"It's a Nutrimatic machine," a dull voice from behind her informed.

Charlene spun around. From here she could better read his Nerd Herd name tag: Jeff. Jeff's eyes remained fixed on his game.

"You don't want it anyway," he deadpanned, "it doesn't taste entirely like tea. And their complaints division never returns my calls."

"Thanks!" She felt her friendly smile was being largely ignored.

Charlene attempted to speculate the type of training Jeff would have gone through to gain that level of peripheral awareness. Surely he hadn't been an agent at some point?

An even more terrifying realization interrupted her train of thought: after 15 minutes of what she had just witnessed at this store, who or what would she encounter tomorrow during her first full day?

Perhaps she would need something stronger than just lemon flavored iced tea.