Promptly at 2 am the next morning, Jane came in to wake up Mayumi. When she wasn't there, she went to Julies' room, and finally Shiris'. All three were sprawled on the bed, fast asleep. And form the looks of it, going to be really hard to wake up.
"Come on, rise and shine!" She said, turning on the light.
"Oohhh…" Julie groaned, and rolled over and went back to sleep.
"The light…too bright…" Mayumi muttered, pulling the covers up and over her face.
"I hate that saying…" Shiris mumbled, already under the covers.
"If someone walked in here right now, they would be appalled to find out that you three were the top spies." Jane said in a singsong voice.
"They could kiss my ass!" Julie cried, throwing back the covers. The other two followed right behind her. When it came to reputation, they were very touchy. It had taken years of hard work to get to where they were now.
"That's better. Now, get dressed and meet me in the basement."
Blinking and stumbling, Mayumi and Julie went back to their own rooms.
20 minutes later, they were all assembled in front of a table with lots of strange things on it.
"So these are our tools?" Shiris asked, a little more awake, and a good deal more awake than the other two.
"Yep! Here, let me show ya what I've got fer ya here," the man next to them said. His name was David, and he was in charge of the weapons department.
"Here's your walkie-talkie thingies," he held up a pea sized clear ball.
"Ya fit 'em in yer ears and talk normally. The other two will be able ta hear ya clear as the sun, and you'll be able ta hear them as well. Next," he picked up a watch. "is the HRD watch, which stands for heat-radiation-detonator watch. It's got three settings, one fer heat signatures, one fer detecting radiation, and one fer detonating the accompanying bombs," he held up a small oval with a red button in the middle.
"They sound cool," Mayumi said.
"I like the walkies," Julie said, picking it up.
"What about weapons?" Mayumi asked.
"We gat fer ya a classic PP7, a laser targeting ( ), and the bombs."
"Sounds good," Shiris said, picking up the laser targeting gun and pointing it at the opposite wall.
"Very good," she muttered, putting it down.
David rubbed his hands together. " And here's the coolest part," he said excitedly, picking up a clear plastic square about a centimeter in size.
"This is the newest development, called a Hound. It's a tracker that sticks to the trackee, and is invisible and irremovable until ya press a button, so they've got no idea its there even if they are looking for it!"
"Awesome!" Julie exclaimed, "That'll make everything so much easier!"
"Yea, definitely! What do we track it with?" Shiris asked
"This," David held up a small make up mirror, but when he opened it, one side was a mirror, the other a green screen.
"Very cool!" Mayumi agreed.
"Is everything all set?" Jane asked, walking into the room.
"Yep! Just finished up!" David said with a smile. At 6 foot 2, blonde haired, and blue eyes, he was a hunk. And he was in love with Jane. At age 33, he was three years older than her.
"Thanks, David," she said sincerely, resting her hand on his arm for a moment. He smiled even wider, and the girls giggled. They had learned long ago about this relationship, although Jane claimed nothing was going on.
Looking sternly at them, but with a hint of a smile, Jane ushered them out of the room and up to the hanger.
"Sean will fly to the hotel, okay?"
"Yep!"
"Sure!"
"Great!"
Sean, a little taller than Shiris' five foot 10, had black hair and blue eyes. He was married to one of the other employees at the base, unfortunately. All the girls had a crush on him.
"Hey Sean!" Julie exclaimed as he walked in.
"Hey ladies! Are you all set?"
They nodded.
"Okay, ill get her started up!" He stepped into the plane.
"Okay girls, your bags are loaded, and all your weapons. Itineraries are in your secret compartment in the bags, and money is-"
"In the front pocket, be sure to hide it when you get there," Julie finished with a smile.
Jane smiled and sighed. " Guess I've said that enough. But still, be careful, and ill talk to you."
"Okay, bye Jane!" Shiris said, hugging her.
The other two followed suit, waved, and got onto the plane.
The fear that always came to Jane when her girls were going on a mission reared its head. "Watch over them, please," she prayed to no one in particular.
Meanwhile, on the plane, the girls were getting into a heated game of 20 questions with Sean.
"Is it in here?"
"Can it fly?"
"Have I seen it?"
"yep, nope, and yep!" Julie said gleefully. Just two more questions, and—
"A steering wheel!" Mayumi shouted.
"Nooooo!!!!!!" Julie wailed.
"Ha! Gotcha!"
"Hey, I'm gonna sit this one out," Shiris said. She had a good book that she wanted to read, and went to the baggage area of the plane to get it. When she came back, she found the sitting area in shambles.
"Guys, are you building a fort in here?"
"Nope! We're rearranging the furniture! It needs a new look!" Julie corrected her, easily pushing the couch over.
Shaking her head, Shiris went to the cockpit.
"Hey," Sean greeted her as she walked in.
"Hey, do you mind if I sit up here and read? They're rearranging the furniture out there." She smiled helplessly. Giving her a knowing smile, he nodded.
"Sure!"
"Thanks," she said gratefully, and sat down in the co pilot's seat.
"Watcha reading?" He asked curiously.
"The Myth of Elven Forest," Shiris read the title. "It's really good so far."
"Sounds good."
Shiris settled back and started to fall into the wonders and secrets of the Elven Forest. Sean glanced at her.
/jeez, these kids are so young for this! Only 17, and charged with the fate of the country. I would not like to be them. How do they cope with it?/ he shook his head. All three seemed to adapt very well, and complemented each other. As a team, they were unbeatable. Mayumi was all about the mission. She would finish it to the last, no matter what. Julie was just wild. She always had a smile on, no matter what was happening. And Shiris was the glue. The other two were far apart personality wise, but Shiris was right in the middle. She could be wild or deadly serious. Oftentimes, she had to make the decisions.
"Are you nervous?" He asked her.
She glanced up, startled. She had never heard him this serious before.
"Yea, a little, " she admitted. " but I'm always nervous, so it isn't a big deal. Once I get started, its fine."
"How do you do change yourself into so many different people? I mean, you seem to be able to take on any disguise."
She laughed. " Well, its not that hard. I just have a god imagination, I guess. That, and I know how to trip people up in a conversation. They don't know how much they told me at the end."
" I see. Well, you three do an excellent job."
"Thanks," she said, a little curious. He had never said that before.
Two hours later, Sean looked over and saw Shiris fast asleep, book finished. Looking behind him, he saw the sitting area completely rearranged and two forms asleep on the floor.
He chuckled.