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C2: A mission briefing.
Friday June 12, 2009. Banoi Island 11:45 a.m.
It was a little before noon when a black Mercedes pulled into the indoor parking garage on the lower level of the Royal Palms hotel reserved for hotel guests only. The car's windows were darkly tinted to obscure the view of the driver, but not enough as to invite unwanted attention from the island's law enforcement.
It was quiet in the garage except for a few people, who were just mulling around or collecting their luggage from their vehicles before making their way out into the heat. It was a big difference from the refreshing coolness of the parking area.
The driver of the Mercedes laid back against his chair as he pulled into one of the many parking spaces available to him and shut off the engine. He sighed heavily, exhaling out his nostrils, as he ran his hand through his slightly messing, dirty blonde locks. His bowl hairstyle had grown out considerably and he made a mental note to get a haircut once he got back to the states. He put on a pair of blue tinted shades just as the familiar beep of his PDA alerted him to an oncoming call. He fished the communicator out of the pocket of his jeans and touched the screen activating the camera function.
"Good morning, Agent Kennedy." Came the slightly impassive, female voice on the other end.
"Ingrid, I thought we were on first name basis?"
The woman on screen rolled her eyes behind her wire-framed glasses. "Not while you are on the job, we're not."
"You're breaking my heart." He said, giving her one of his most charming smiles.
Ingrid cleared her throat her cheeks feeling warm despite the fact that she was sitting in a well air-conditioned office. "Focus Leon!" She warned. "Have you reached the destination?"
He was laughing inside. Hunnigan; the queen of changing the subject. At least he was able to make her blush, and he wasn't going to let her live that down ever.
"Yeah, got here just a little while ago."
"Good. Look in the glove compartment; the files you will need are in there."
Leon unbuckled his seatbelt, reached over in to the passenger side and opened the compartment. Inside was a single, manila envelope. He took it and placed it on his lap before closing the compartment door.
"You will have to go undercover for this one."
He raised a brow. "Undercover? That's a first."
She shrugged her shoulders and used a carefully manicures finger to push her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "There is a first time for everything." Was her reply and Leon silently agreed.
"You will be going under the identity of Kevin Smith. Use that name at check-in. The envelope contains an official photo ID and passport along with the mission's briefing. Once you get into your hotel room and have read over the documents-"
"Destroy them." He finished for her and she nodded.
He opened the envelope and immediately replaces his own ID and passport book with the ones provided for him.
"Now, lets go over your alias' background. Your name is Kevin Smith. You are a bachelor from New York and you are on a company paid, weekend getaway."
"Oh, the irony." He chuckled, shaking his head.
Of course he was ignored. Although she did find his currant situation quite humorous, this was business and there was a time and place for everything.
"Hey, listen." he said suddenly, interrupting her train of thought. "There were some buses parked out front filled to the brim with frat kids. Do you know anything about that?"
"No, but if it's bothering you I can look into it." She said glancing off screen for a moment.
"Yeah; actually. If things get out of hand I would like to lessen the amount of possible casualties."
"Roger that. Good luck Leon," She said, ending the transmission.
"Hopefully I won't need it," he said laying his head against the tan color leather headrest.
He reached down and pressed a button located under the dashboard releasing the lock on the trunk of the car. He stepped out of the car, and tucked the envelope under his arm as he made his way around the back. Pulling the hood up he located and grabbed a solid black briefcase and a duffle bag containing a change of clothes. He cracked the suitcase open and slipped the envelop inside before turning to leave, but he didn't walk away till he heard the familiar clunk of all the locks activating simultaneously. He made his way over to the elevator that would lead him to main lobby. He pushed the button and took a moment to look over his appearance reflected in the polished chrome doors of the elevator. Flicking his wrist he glanced down at his watch and cursed under his breath. He was running late.
"Elevators, still unreliable." He said, giving up his wait for the elevator and deciding to take the stairs instead. He took them two at a time, thankful that no one else was around to witness, and made his way into a large hallway. There were plenty of windows letting in natural sunlight and gave the place a very inviting atmosphere. As he made his way down the hall a little girl with short spiky blonde hair shot past him, only stopping when she got to the elevator she she could jab away at the button. She stomped her foot in frustration when she got no results.
Leon chuckled, shaking his head at the youth's actions, but in that moment he failed to notice the young woman who was approaching him from just around the corner. When he did look up it was much too late. She crashed into him and stumbled backward. He reached out a hand to stop her fall but missed and could only watch helplessly as tripped over the two suitcases she was dragging behind her.
He cursed under his breath and sat his briefcase against the wall. He knelt besides her, placing a hand on the small of her back and gently lifted her into a sitting position.
"Hey! Are you ok?" He asked her. He couldn't help but be genuinely concerned for her well being. She was a woman after all.
"Um...yeah. I'm ok. Sorry about that," came her reply. She raised a hand to brush the fiery locks away from her face and eyes.
She was a pretty little thing of average height and athletic built. Her bright green eyes shied away from his gaze behind delicate lashes. She had long legs, pale skin and large breasts, which he convinced himself that he had taken notice from a medical standpoint, though they were modestly hidden beneath her brightly colored hoody. Her hair was cut short in a tomboyish style, but still managed to hang in her face, of which was dotted with freckles.
When their eyes met again, he felt awkward and a little embarrassed for staring. Just her luck, she had bumped into an old pervert, he though as he retrieved he sunglasses off the floor and helped her stand. They stood there for another awkward moment in silence, neither of them knowing exactly what to do before he remembered that he was late and had yet to check in. He looked her over again, checking for injuries, and when he was sure that she was alright, he grabbed his briefcase, ruffled her hair and headed off in the direction of the reception.
The lobby was packed with people. The majority being college students. Some where checking in while others were just hanging around. He made his way past them and the woman at the desk looked up as he approached.
"Good afternoon sir, and welcome to Royal Palms Resort. My name is Xian Mei. Will you be checking in?"
He removed his glasses, hanging them on his shirt, and leaned against the desk. He balancing his weight on one elbow.
"Yes, my name is Kevin Smith," he said presenting his ID to the woman, who looked to be in her late twenties. She was of Asian decent and looked very attractive in her red and white work uniform. He had a thing for women in uniform, and he showed it with the charming smile he gave her, but it went unnoticed as she turned to him up in the computer monitor.
"Alright Mr. Smith," she said with a slight accent. "It would seem you have a reservation with us. "I'll just go ahead and...there! You are all set." She reached under the desk and handed him a plastic key-card with the Royal Palms logo on it. "You are on the fourth floor in room 4H."
Leon nodded, took the card from her, and placed in his back pocket. "Thanks- Um, about these kids?"
"Students from the Michigan University of Technology. The right-wing of the building has been reserved for their stay, as to not disturb our other guest.
"Great, thanks a bunch," he said as he turned to leave.
"You're welcome and please enjoy your stay at Royal Palms." He heard her say from over his shoulder.
Leon stood in front of his room exactly five minutes after his appointment with reception. He was a bit worn out from all the traveling and was greatly craving a glass of his favorite alcoholic beverage. He would have to call room service later and see if they could spare a bottle. He swiped his card and opened the door to a cozy suite, equipped with a kitchenette, a small bathroom, a large four poster bed, and a small desk made of polished wood near the open balcony that overlooked the beach.
"Nice," he thought out loud.
He quickly located the "Do Not Disturb" sigh and hung it on the doorknob, before closing and locking the door. He tossed his duffle bag on to the bed as he made his way over to the desk, stopping briefly at the mini fridge for a bottle of water. Placing the briefcase on the table he took a nice, long swig from the bottle, it's contents cooling his throat. Some of it escaped the corner of his mouth and trickled down jawline and along his neck. He took a seat at the desk and flipped the case open. Inside was the envelope from earlier as well as his beloved Silver Ghost encased in hard foam. Next to it was his combat knife, two extra magazines and simple first aid.
He removed the nine-millimeter from its resting place, taped the butt of the gun against his open palm and pointed it against the wall. The laser pointer came to life. The red dot bobbed slightly on the wall in time with his breathing. Safety was still on of course; he hadn't lost his mind just yet. When he was finished reacquainting himself he put it down on the desk. He then reached for the files within the envelope and flipped through them. He counted five pages. Two of which contained images of a strange yet beautiful red flower.
He sat the files on the desk, leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't normally pray but he hoped to God that this would all just be a false lead, that everything would be alright and he could go home, but with his luck things would be the total apposite. It always was, and he had a sinking feeling in his gut that something bad was about to happen.
He sighed; "Damn I need a drink."
LN: Well, what do you think? Was Leon convincing? Is there anything i need to change? Please let me know I would love to hear from you all. As always Read and Review!