Gem HQ, Milton Keynes
As Anna made her way down the shaft, memories filled her head. Things she hadn't thought of in decades came back fresh and powerful.
London, August 1974
It was five in the morning. Anna knocked on the door of Sean's hotel room. Though still feeling the after effects of the previous night, she was eager to get working on the new operation.
After the ballet, Anna had been too keyed up to return straightaway to the hotel. She wanted the wondrous night to last as long as possible. Sean had indulged her wandering in and out of the stores and cafes that lay in the Covent Garden district. They had dined at the White Lion pub and danced at a nightclub. It was certainly a night to remember.
She had gone to sleep giddy with joy but awakening was heralded by a slight headache. A dose of aspirin and hot tea cleared her head in a snap. The night was over. The first day of her newest and most critical mission had begun.
Not hearing any response from within the room, Anna knocked again. "Sean? It's Anna."
The door opened. Dressed in a white robe, Sean looked the worse for wear. His eyes were bloodshot. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were red as beets. "Do you know what time it is?"
"You said last night we had an early start," said Anna.
"By early, I was referring to the nine o'clock express," said Sean. He stepped aside and let her in.
"Oh, sorry," said Anna.
Sean snorted. "You're not sorry one bit."
"You should have told me our exact itinerary," chided Anna. "Shall I order you an aspirin and coffee?"
"Yes." Sean winced at Anna's cheerfulness. "The resilience of youth. I forget how young you are."
Anna glanced at the rumpled bed before sitting on the edge closest to the phone. "You forgot last night, too."
"Last night is a bit of a blur. I know I drank more than usual. Did I do or say something … inappropriate?"
Anna did her best to keep her face composed. "Yes, you did."
"I woke up alone so how bad could I have been?"
"By your standards, I'd say very tame."
"What did I do? Spit it out. We might as well be brutally honest with each other," said Sean.
"You'd never done that with me before. It was a … a strange experience," said Anna with her eyes hooded. "I suppose I found it flattering."
Sean's voice had a warning edge, "It's too early to play games with me."
"You flirted with me. Things got more … suggestive as the night wore on," said Anna looking Sean straight in the eye. "You can't help flirting can you?"
"Reflex," replied Sean.
"You future wife won't like it."
"Then she's not the wife for me," said Sean. "I did stop at words, right?"
Anna nodded. "But very persistent words they were."
"The combination of a night on the town, alcohol and a beautiful woman on my arm is my weak spot," said Sean. "I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, Anna."
"I didn't expect that from you. That's all."
"I'll add that to the training," said Sean.
"Add what?" asked Anna.
"The ability to flirt back. It can be a weapon and a shield in the right hands," said Sean. "You've led a … a sheltered life so far. That's not a bad thing but it can be inconvenient in our line of work."
Anna picked up on the word choice - sheltered. She avoided Sean's eyes by picking up the handset. "I can't help how I was brought up can I? How I … feel?"
Sean took a deep breath. "That's why this upcoming training is so crucial." His voice became rough. "I know that I am and will be asking a lot of you in the next months maybe a year. I promise you two things. I won't leave you behind no matter the outcome. I won't ask you to do something completely against your nature or values without your full consent."
Anna's hands lingered around the circular dial of the telephone. "I know my … responsibilities as an agent. The operation comes first. I can't make any of this personal."
"But it is. You're doing this for Gabriel. Not for me or the Bureau. Personal motivation can be a double-edged sword. I've learned that from experience," said Sean. "It can make you self-righteous and reckless. You can't be either."
"I won't be," said Anna earnestly.
"You have to be controlled while giving the appearance of spontaneity and living in the moment. Every word that comes out of your mouth has to be just the right word. Every move you make has to be without guile or agenda. You have to be flawless," said Sean. "My job is to turn you into a weapon. I've never had to do this with anyone besides myself. I'll make mistakes and you'll pay for them. I'm sorry."
"Was last night to make up for your future mistakes? I took it as a gift."
"Last night was for Anna and a little bit for me. I enjoyed seeing you so happy. You have a way of lighting up. I can see everything you're feeling on your face and in your eyes. To be honest, I couldn't take my eyes off you." Sean took a few steps towards Anna and invaded her personal space. "Once we're on that train, young Anna disappears. I want you to tuck her inside you. Somewhere deep and safe along with her hopes and dreams. I want you to forget she exists until the mission is over. Can you do that?"
"I will," said Anna solemnly.
"You'll be a blank slate that I'll be throwing a lot of knowledge into. Your training at the academy was specialized for a reason. I wanted to see how far you'd stretch. How resilient you could be on your own. How you handled unexpected obstacles. How you handled pressure. You passed with flying colors."
"I did my best."
Sean shook his head. "No, not yet but you will and so will I. We both have to be as near perfect as possible." He moved away and walked towards the bathroom. "Order breakfast for two. I won't take long. And change your dress before we leave. Dress conservatively. Very. Use some make up. Make yourself older."
Anna began to dial room service. She muttered to herself. "You wanted excitement and adventure, girl. Uncharted territory here I come."
London Euston Station
Anna followed Sean down the long train terminal. She had done as he had instructed with her dress and make up. To the casual passerby, she and Sean seemed close in age. He hovered around her putting a proprietary hand on her arm or elbow seeming very much like a watchful spouse. Only their lack of wedding rings belied their actions and appearance.
Sean hadn't mentioned exactly where they were headed. Her eyes scanned every sign and symbol trying to divine clues to their destination. He showed their tickets to a conductor standing outside a railway carriage.
"Is this the correct train?" asked Sean.
The conductor nodded. "It is, sir, madam. About an hour to Bletchley station."
Sean thanked the conductor and helped Anna up the stairs into fairly crowded car. Seats were arranged parallel to the windows on either side with passengers facing each other. Sean found two adjacent unoccupied seats at one end.
"Bletchley as in Bletchley Park? That's where we're going?" asked Anna in a low voice.
"It would be ironic but no," replied Sean. He unfolded a newspaper and positioned it as to partially hide the two of them. "Bletchley is within the city where we're going - Milton Keynes."
"Would we have time for a tour of the park? It's a museum now."
"Ballet and Bletchley Park instead of shopping and fashion. You are unlike any woman I know."
"I like those, too," insisted Anna. "I can be as girlie as any other girl when I want to be. It's just that in the grand scheme of things how important are clothes?"
Sean put his paper down. He reached into his pocket and extracted a magazine. "Clothes like flirting have to become a part of your arsenal." He handed the magazine to Anna.
Anna studied the cover featuring the exotic socialite and rock star wife Bianca Jagger. "March 1974? Nothing more recent?"
"I grabbed it at the hotel lobby." He jabbed a finger at the cover. "That is one striking woman. Caught my attention immediately."
There was something in the twinkle in Sean's eyes that made Anna think that his choice of the magazine wasn't as random as he had made it sound. "You don't mean that I should-"
"Why not?"
Anna turned in her seat and nearly hissed, "For starters, I'm hardly as … as memorable."
Sean opened his paper again. "You have to be."
"I can't. It's impossible," protested Anna.
"What happened to yes, Sean, I'll do whatever you say," said Sean.
"If I could do this, I would. But there is no … no …" spluttered Anna. "Look at her. She's unforgettable."
"Exactly."
"You could drop her any place on the planet at any time and she would turn heads and-"
"And hold her own," finished Sean. "Like you will."
"She's timeless. I'm definitely not."
"Then study her and find out how she does it," advised Sean. "We haven't left the station yet and it's an hour to Milton Keynes. Plenty of time."
"You've got to be kidding?"
"What did I say would happen once we were on the train? What did I read in your progress reports that said you were a fast study?"
Anna sent a glare towards her superior that would have cleaved lesser men into two on the spot. She flipped through the magazine until she got to the article on the cover girl. It was short text-wise but there were many accompanying pictures. Twice she read the text gushing about what made the woman a style icon. The pictures she studied with more care trying to decipher what made the woman stand out in picture after picture.
So engrossed was she that she pitched over when the train lurched forward. Sean steadied her with a hand.
"Less than an hour," said Sean. "Looks like there's another workers strike coming."
"Shut up," hissed Anna.
Sean's lips twisted into a little smile he tried to hide. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Anna's expression was one of intense concentration. He flipped to the next page of his paper. As the minutes ticked by, Sean listened with amusement at Anna's whispered commentary to herself.
"She looks straight at you."
"I want a pair of shoes like those. Love the straps."
"She stands close to her husband but isn't all over him. I like that."
"It's not the clothes exactly. She wears them not the other way around."
Twenty minutes later, Anna whispered urgently, "Cover me up a little will you?"
Sean spread out the paper and shifted slightly so as to hide Anna a bit. He watched with curiosity then growing admiration at the transformation happening before his eyes.
Anna unbuttoned the top three buttons of her plain gray shirtdress. It was a button shy of scandalous. She opened her purse and took out a white and red scarf. She tied it around her neck in such a way as to simultaneously hide her cleavage and draw attention to it. She swiveled in her seat and adjusted her belt. As she did so Sean spied her hemline going up to just above the knee. She crossed her legs.
"No help for the shoes," murmured Anna. She loosened her hair bun and ran her fingers through her hair. From her purse, she took out a short string of pearls. With some sleight of hand that Sean could not fathom, she used the pearls to tie her hair in a loose style that exposed most of her face. In fact, with her hair pulled only slightly back, it accentuated the angles of her face and brought her eyes into greater relief.
"Now for make up." Her eyebrows were made to seem more arch by her eyebrow pencil. A fresh coat of lipstick in a brighter shade came next. Her powder puff buffed out any shiny spots on her face. She studied her efforts in her compact mirror. "Have to make do with what I've got, haven't I? I'm done."
"You are something else." Sean folded his paper into a single long page. "I'm very impressed."
Anna cleared her throat and lifted her chin a touch higher than normal and said in a clipped manner clearly enunciating every word. "You ought to be." She looked at her plain but comfortable shoes. "I'm going to need new clothes and lots of shoes."
"I've created a monster."
"Pygmalion, surely. Not the other."
"We'll see."
Anna looked at Sean and asked, "What's next, professor?"
Sean recognized the passing scenery. "We're nearly there. We're meeting a man named Jonathan Masters. He's sharp and observant." He leaned closer to Anna. "Make him believe you're who you seem to be - unforgettable, confident, timeless."
"Another test?"
"What else?" said Sean. "Jonathan is a good man to know. He's loyal and steady. You'll have to put on a show for him until-"
"Until it's not a show any more," finished Anna.
"Can do?" asked Sean. "Nothing like being thrown into the deep end of the pool."
Anna frowned. "I can't swim."
"No?"
Anna shook her head. "Not even a dog paddle."
"How could you … you …" spluttered Sean. "Never mind. I'll have to keep you away from water assignments."
"Sorry, Sean. I should have mentioned it."
Sean's eyes narrowed. "Young Anna would apologize. You're Anna Devane. You don't slip up. Try again."
Anna's eyes flashed with irritation at the rebuke. "Swimming? I prefer being on yachts." She looked at the passing scenery. "Tell me, did you really get that magazine as we left this morning, darling?"
"I did get it in the morning … when I arrived two days ago," said Sean.
Anna's eyes widened, "Do you plan everything?"
Sean folded his paper and pocketed it. "I don't like surprises. But I do like being underestimated. It's an advantage in any game."
"I'll remember that," said Anna.
"Creating an advantage isn't difficult if you think things through from beginning to end. Anticipate the unexpected. Imagine the worse. Prepare for them. Do it often enough and it becomes second nature."
"Sounds too easy."
"Think of it like a game except you make the rules." Sean stood up and extended a hand to Anna. "Our stop is next. Shall we, dear?"
Anna stood up a colorful and confident sophisticate. A far cry from the drab if mature woman who had boarded.
She said saucily, "I'm ready for anything."
Sean smiled back. "A little more tweaking and you'll be … perfect."
The train entered the rail yard of Bletchley station. It began to slow as the terminal loomed.
Sean looked at his watch. It was five minutes past ten in the morning. It was the point of no return for Operation Brimstone and the beginning of Project Minerva.
Under his breath audible only to himself, he said, "Tally ho. Let the Game begin."