Chapter Three – Plan of Action

Arthur's eyes scanned down the list of "clues" written in Joan's elegant handwriting. When he was done he looked up at her seriously over his glasses.

"This is good."

A satisfied smile danced across her face as she twirled her pen loosely in her hand.

"Thank you."

"And here I thought you weren't that interested."

"I was the one that heard the conversation you know."

The six item list had been completely based off what the two children had decided they would be looking for. It hadn't been very challenging to take the vague watch points and turn them into something more specific that could actually be done. The only concept Joan had left out completely was their belief that she and Arthur carried a gun. Not only was it incorrect, she didn't want to go walking around with one, real or fake. That would be asking for trouble, both for herself and for the children. There were definitely far better ways to convince the kids they were spies.

Arthur pointed to the fourth point: hidden cache in yard.

"What are we going to hide?"

"I haven't quite figured that out, but I was thinking. Do we even need to actually hide something? As long as they think that's what we're doing we should be fine."

"And if they come over to look?"

"They're not going to break into our yard, Arthur," Joan told him in exasperation.

"They're willing to risk spying on people they think are dangerous spies."

"They're still not going to break into the yard, but if different reasoning will make you happier, they still wouldn't need to find anything. If we are hiding something we would be hiding it well."

"That hardly counts as a clue then."

Joan seriously wanted to hit him. For this being his idea she was doing most of the work so far. Being forced into extra work was the biggest reason she hadn't wanted to be involved in Arthur's plan. She might have agreed to do it, but that didn't mean she planned on doing all of the work.

"You're the DCS. You decide. Direct this clandestine operation of yours."

"We hide a box near the fence so they might actually be able to get it."

"Under the bushes?"

"And buried."

She turned away from him and added it to the list, though not before she clarified the situation a bit.

"Your idea, you're the one that's going to crawl under the bushes to do it."

Unfortunately Arthur had no way to argue that demand. He had been the one to come up with the idea after all so it was only right for him to complete the job as well.

"I look forward to getting covered in dirt and leaves for the benefit of this operation."

"And spider webs," Joan added with a smirk. "I'm sure there will be some in there."

He flinched, which only made Joan's eyes sparkle in amusement and victory.

"What are we going to put in it?"

"Coded messages?"

"Fake IDs," he countered.

"You're really going to waste money on fake fake IDs? It's not like we can risk real fake IDs getting out."

"I'll make them. They don't have to pass international inspection; just a ten year old's inspection"

"If you want to have fun with that, be my guest," she snorted. "I'll see what Auggie can come up with for these "cool gadgets" they think we have. It shouldn't be too hard for him, and he might actually enjoy it."

Of course she would have to tell him why she wanted the toys, but that would be easy enough. The truth alone would probably convince him to do it for the mere fact that he could enjoy himself picturing Arthur trying to fool a pair of children. While the device wouldn't actually need to work, it had to look cool and come across as a spy tool. Auggie might have something that could transform into another shape. As long as it looked technological it would convince the kids.

Joan tapped her pen lightly on the table as she tried to come up with other options. They were good with what they had, and it wasn't like Arthur was providing anything else to add to the list, but she always wanted to be prepared even if it did mean she had to do extra work. This may not be a real mission, but she still felt the need to make sure everything was in place.

"What about an overheard phone conversation?" Joan offered.

"Giving mission details?"

"With codenames. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, and all of that."

"Very James Bond of you, Joan."

"That would be the point, wouldn't it?"

"I love the way your mind works," Arthur returned before leaning down to kiss her.

"Mm. It's good to know that every once in a while you love me for more than my body."

Arthur knew full well that Joan didn't believe he'd married her simply because of how beautiful she was. That may have been a contributing factor, but it definitely wasn't the largest reason.

"You do have a very nice body."

Joan swatted at him but was grinning anyway.

"We're going to need to leave the curtains open you know. Both if we want them to be able to see us and if we want to know when they're watching," she told her husband.

"Easy enough. We'll just have to remember they're open."

"I am not leaving them open all night. They don't need to see that much."

"We're going to be doing things you don't want them to see down here, hm?"

"If you behave yourself."

Arthur leaned over her and draped his arm around her waist.

"Does this count as behaving?" he asked between nips and kisses to her neck.

"Mm. I haven't decided yet."

"Maybe you should."

Joan tipped her head to the side to give him more access to her neck and relished his attention for a little while. It felt wonderful, and she was really tempted to let him continue on. When he planted a kiss under her jaw she gave in.

"We can always continue planning later."

"Later is good," Arthur agreed.

He slid the pen from her fingers, tossed it onto the desk, and pulled her to her feet. The rest of the day was definitely going to be enjoyable.