SECRET 4
June 17th ,8am: The Watchtower
"Briefing Room!" the familiar shout echoed across the offices, followed shortly by the equally familiar footsteps as the rest of the team assembled.
"So, what's the plan, Bossbat?" Wally's grin proving the last word was only searching for a reaction. Said reaction was as expected, a brief glare from Bruce.
"You're going in as an intern, which means you can look around most of the building and be hanging around the main lobby for the suspect's arrival."
Wally nodded and scanned through the fake I.D info J'onn handed to him.
"As is often the case, J'onn will be coordinating from here. John and Shay will be in a surveillance van around the corner, Diana on one of the benches opposite the building. Myself and Kal will be around at the back service entrance in case the suspect decides the front is too conspicuous, regardless of which option is chosen the vehicle will have to pass Diana due to the one-way system so we will know when it arrives."
"So I have to go in and, actually work! Hang on a minute, that means I'll be doing two jobs at once, do I get paid for both?" A look from every member of the team gave his answer.
"Well that sucks..."
Diana spoke up, "So the main purpose of this mission is to apprehend the suspect and any weapon they may be carrying, as all we know for sure is that there is a bomb plot going on and we have to stop it."
"Yes, if we stop this we'll find out weather it's a stand-alone or not." Bruce's expression became thoughtful. "Which is what we need to know now in case of simultaneous detonation."
"I'll go ask Beardy and Stupid from Tower Bridge, we've still got them in the holding cells and with the charge of terrorism against them I'm sure they'll be happy to cooperate." Shayera stood and left, with John getting up and jogging after her.
"That charge means they need to be in one piece for the trial." He called to her retreating back.
"I will search the records for a sky-blue BMW, but it probably won't provide much, if any, information." J'onn also got out of his seat and left the briefing room.
"I'm gonna go see if I actually have a shirt that hasn't got bullet marks or smoke on it..." Wally nervously left the room, seeing if his excuse to go home until the mission worked. Nobody stopped him.
"I'm going to check the backgrounds of all the suspects we've got, seeing if there's any ties to criminals or organizations." Kal strode out, leaving just Bruce and Diana.
"I'll see if there's anything suspicious flagged up anywhere else as a sign of cooperative attacks." Bruce was about to turn and leave when Diana stopped him.
"I know it seems a bit off-subject, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out together sometime, you still owe me a dance you know."
He did. He could never forget that mission when the group had uncovered a plot to kill Queen Audrey of Kasnia when the monarch had visited London for trade discussions. Bruce and Diana had gone undercover as guests at the convention held in honour of her visit, their cover I.D's of his as a businessman and hers as an award-winning charity worker had listed them as engaged. He still hadn't gotten Kal for that. But he might not, simply because the two ended up dancing, and, it was amazing. But it couldn't go any further. They were in a dangerous line of work, the chances of getting killed were quite high and he didn't want to upset her with his death. 'Or the other way round.' A small part of his brain whispered. Bringing his focus back to the beautiful woman in front him, he made up his reply on the spot, luckily he was very good at lying.
"Sorry, princess, I've got business talks for the rest of the month." He quickly left the room before she could reply, though a part of him was doubtful that would stop her.
June 18th 2:55am: Luthorcorp European HQ
"Well, we've got nothing from any other research so all we've got is some pompous idiot arriving in a perfectly engineered German business saloon. Who volunteered to tell the boss?" Wally's voice floated through the wires they were all wearing.
"Since when did we tell the boss, except when we need something." Shayera's light-hearted reply was actually pretty accurate, they had the most autonomy out of all of M.I.5, kind of useful considering their often... unusual methods.
"I see a sky blue BMW, it's heading to the back entrance." Diana's sentence immediately flipped the team into business mode.
"We've got visual, intercepting now." Bruce's confirmation came back as he put the Range Rover into gear and moved forward to block the Beemer just as it pulled off the road.
"Wait, there's another, heading to the front entrance. I'm going to enter the lobby in case Wally needs assistance, we can check for any more trouble via surveillance cameras." Diana briskly strode across the street and pushed open the glass door just before the saloon pulled in to one of the parking spaces in front of the skyscraper.
"I have the CCTV images, there is another car of the same model at the junction." J'onn's tone held no emotion but the words still carried bad vibes.
"I've got visual, it's sky blue, seems to be heading for the side entrance, me and John will follow and observe, intercepting if necessary." Shayera was already climbing out of the van as she finished her sentence.
Bruce and Kal climbed out of the SUV as the driver of the Beemer did the same. She was tall with long black hair, and what would be considered quite beautiful, but there was something sinister about her smile.
"Can I help you gentlemen?" She drew herself to her full height, but still had to look up at the two.
"Metropolitan Police, we're cracking down on stolen vehicles and just need to see your paperwork, madam." Kal took the lead using the cover story they'd created.
"Just one second it's in the car." The woman leaned into the vehicle and pulled out a sleek black folder, flipping through and removing a several pages, she handed them to Kal.
"This is the car's paperwork, it's a company car, hence the bad choice of colour." The obviously fake smile stayed in place throughout, even though she seemed slightly unnerved by Bruce's still silence.
"In that case I'll need to see a proof of identity from you," Kal replied flipping through the paperwork. Legion Demolitions Ltd. He would need to check that out later.
There was a slight hesitation from the woman, and the smile wavered for a second, but easily long enough for the two agents to pick up on it. She flipped through the folder again and pulled out a passport. Again, she handed them to Kal. The name on the passport was Carol Ferris, and as Bruce took a few steps away and pulled out his phone Kal knew J'onn was now checking. But all the paperwork he had seemed in order, so he couldn't see a problem. That was, until Bruce shot him a look that said otherwise, he excused himself and walked over to where the billionaire was stood.
"J'onn says though she owns and runs her own company, Ferris Aircraft, she works for Star Sapphire Jewellery." He didn't need to actually voice the question 'So why is she driving a Legion Demolitions company car?'
"We'll just have to ask her." Kal sighed and walked back to where the woman was standing. Fake smile still plastered on her face.
"Miss Ferris there seems to be a problem, we understand that you run your own company..." He paused giving her a chance to react.
"That is correct." She gave no further information, meaning she probably had something to hide.
"But you also work for Star Sapphire Jewellery?" he turned the statement into a question.
"The aircraft business is a bit slow with the current economic downturn and I've found common interests with the other employees of the company." was the simple reply.
"So why are you driving a Legion Demolitions company car?" That was the question. It seemed she knew that as well as the smile dropped for a good few seconds, before it came back accompanied by gritted teeth and almost a glare.
"Ferris Aircraft and Legion Demolitions are in discussions about trade deals, I was leant the car as a sign of goodwill. Is that all?" Both agents knew it wasn't, even as Kal handed back the paperwork and Bruce moved the Range Rover out of the way. Once she was gone, Bruce just glared at the dashboard and muttered just loud enough for Kal to hear.
"It looks like we might have another suspect."
Lobby
Diana walked into the lobby and sat down in the waiting area at the front, picking up a magazine but actually keeping an eye on the man who'd gotten out of the blue BMW at the front, he walked past reception and used an access card to bypass the barriers. There wouldn't have been anything unusual about this, it was how most of the employees got in, but he was clearly not an employee, the clothes, bag and walk all suggested otherwise, with the looks the actual employees gave him sealing the deal. Diana kept an eye on the man as Wally made his way through the barriers and said something. The suspect was of an average height but lanky for it, he had pale skin and hair; it made for quite an off-putting appearance. He glared at Wally and tried to sidestep him. The agent took a step back in front and tried his best to look like a scared intern.
"I'm sorry sir, but we're trialling a new security system, you'll have to check in at the employee desk, it's round to the left of the building." He scratched the back of his head and looked down at his shoes. The man made a sound that was almost like a hiss, and glared at him, reptilian eyes made Wally just a little creeped out. The redhead subtly glanced at where Diana was, she'd moved, sticking to the improvised plan. Good thing J'onn could hear every word he said, or they'd be in a bit of bother by now.
"Lead the way." a smooth yet raspy voice brought his focus back to the man in front of him. Wally quickly turned and walked towards the desk where he knew Diana would be waiting, having flashed her I.D to clear the area of actual employees. As they approached the desk he gestured to the black haired woman now sat there.
"You'll have to check in with her then we'll get you on your way, sorry for the inconvenience!" As soon as the words had fallen out of his mouth he retreated to where he was supposed to be working.
Diana looked up as the man approached and applied a well-practiced fake smile.
"Hello sir, I just need some I.D, car registration papers, and a signature and you can carry on as normal, thank you for your cooperation and again Luthorcorp apologizes for the inconvenience."
The man hissed again but handed over a passport and car paperwork, Diana took it and handed back a visitor book she'd found after some quick searching.
"Sign here please." Whilst the suspect was distracted she quickly noted down the basics of the passport and car details, they could retrieve the full files later. She noted with interest that his name was Corcoran Head, unusual enough to be found easily. Finished quickly, she handed back the passport and opened the gate to the main part of the building.
"Thank you sir, and we hope you enjoy your visit to Luthorcorp."
Now it was time for her to get out of here with the information she'd found.
Side Entrance
"Excuse me, sir Metropolitan Police, we're investigating a spate of thefts and as such are checking the I.D's of people entering certain buildings that have been hit repeatedly." John quickly grabbed the man's attention before he entered the building.
"So you need to see some identification?" The man's voice was smooth and polished, but held an undertone of something related to contempt, as if he were above these people. He was of average height and very skinny, and clearly in his late 40's with grey hair, strangely grey skin, and a pinched face. Yet his eyes still held something sinister and shadowy below the surface.
"That is correct, sir. Things such as a driving licence or passport would be perfect. And preferably information on the car so we can rule it out of the investigation." John maintained a professional air. Not giving away anything to the suspect. The aforementioned suspect reached into the briefcase he was carrying and retrieved a passport and a few sheets of paper, which Shayera promptly took from him and noted down the details, handing them back after only a few seconds.
"The car is a company car I see?" Shayera asked the suspect
"Yes, it's my son's, I'm borrowing it for the day." The man had a legitimate-sounding reason.
"Thank you for your cooperation, sir and we hope you have a nice day." The closing sentence from Shayera accompanied by a fake smile and all three of them were on their way.
"Time to get back to the Watchtower and see what we've got."
Watchtower: 3:30pm
The team had all arrived back around the same time, and had immediately assembled in the briefing room. Well, not immediately, everyone had gone to the small kitchen to grab a cup of tea and a snack. Or in Wally's case a large BLT followed by a pack of six doughnuts. It was hard to believe how much he ate and still stayed so skinny!
"So now we have 3 more suspects. Carol Ferris, Corcoran Head and Richard Swift." Bruce started the meeting and explained about Ferris, bringing up her passport information on the large screen at one end of the room.
"She's 5' 7" is 32 years old and owns her own company, Ferris Aircraft, which is doing very well even in the economic downturn. So it's hard to explain why she works for Star Sapphire Jewellery as well." He watched as the faces of those who hadn't been present for the initial meeting all turned to some version of intrigue or thoughtfulness at this strange behaviour.
"She says it's because she has common interests with her fellow employees, but it's a very flimsy reason. What makes her even more suspicious is that the car she was driving, was a company car, from Legion Demolitions. She insists that her company and Legion are in trade talks and the car was merely a sign of goodwill. But the fact it's the same as the others says something is up." Everyone took a second to process this information, before Diana took the laptop linked to the screen and brought up more information.
"This is Corcoran Head. He's 36 years old and is 6' 2" He's an ex-circus contortionist and has been involved with several high level thefts and theft attempts. The car he was driving was a sky-blue BMW M5, which we have confirmed is a Legion Demolitions company car. We didn't risk asking why he had it, he seemed reluctant enough to give away the information we got.
With that Diana passed the laptop to Shayera who brought up the file of the third and final new suspect.
"This is Richard Swift, he's 6' 2" and 46 years old. He is an aristocrat with no criminal record but a strange, sinister reputation. He keeps himself to himself and is unpopular amongst everyone who has ever met him. This includes the many businessmen who he has dealt with, but he is said to have some standards." At this point John took over.
"He said the car was borrowed from his son, only problem with that? No son. Not even in a relationship."
"So all three are suspicious, but we don't have valid reason to bring them in for questioning. Not to mention we're still missing something massive here, one bomb placed by thugs, to an oblivious security guard and suddenly we've got three far more sinister suspects. Anyone else think the Tower Bridge bomb was just a small part of a big plot?" Wally summed up.
"Something interesting though," Kal looked up from the laptop he'd been using throughout the meeting, "Legion Demolitions is a subsidiary of..."
"Luthorcorp." the rest of the team finished at the same time.
