Location: Alton

Agents: Novum, Congelata, Ignis, Vestimenta, Furvus

Section: Eight

The plane landed in a small private airport. Vestimenta and Conge had been working for a sold half-hour previous on packing up the plane, taking out everything they deemed they needed and locking the cabinets with everything that wasn't. Novum sat next to the pile of closed silver, hardshell briefcases, which ranged in size from one the size of a book to one that was probably large enough to sleep in.

The group gathered around the table and Vestimenta dumped bluetooths onto the table. "Everyone take one." His words were short and to the point. Novum took one and fitted it on her ear, watching Vestimenta as he pulled out new wallets. He gave them out, one each, and the group slipped them into their pockets without even checking.

Novum looked at her new i.d. quickly before shoving it away as well, standing with the group. "We are taking a couple cars, if everyone can help load up. Novum, Ignis, Conge, you're taking the KX12, and Furvus and I will be in the van. Load up!"

They jumped into action. First they grabbed all the silver briefcases and put them in the van, stacking them around shelves and chairs already there. Clearly someone had set the van up just to carry the cases. Next they grabbed all luggage and sorted it with the cars, then got a few soft shell briefcases and set them away; all in all, they were there probably a good hour packing everything up.

At the end, Vestimenta huddled them in. "Here's what's going to happen. Furvus and I will leave with the van and go to our hotel, unload and set everything up. Conge and Ignis you're watching Novum." She bristled indignately at that. "You three need to check in to the hotel with the conference and get set in your rooms. I would say check out the hotel, scan for the usual and begin to familiarize faces. We're here for an undefined amount of time, so we need to start a base on who's who. The packets I am about to hand out have all the information you need on what you're doing. They give you information on the conference and what your roles are in it. You have the rest of today and all of tomorrow to familiarize yourselves."

Novum nodded. "At any point will the three of us separate?"

Four pairs of eyes looked to her face. "Well, yes," replied Conge, "most likely. We'll need to cover as much area as we can. But we'll set up cameras and Bluetooth and we won't lose complete contact with anyone, of course. You're not alone."

"Alright," she nodded. "And we're only getting as much information on all these people as we can?"

"Yes. Okay everyone, in your cars and lets go." They broke. Novum was first to her car and she slid in the back, popping sunglasses on. It was going to be a long ride.

~( * ) | ( * )~

Novum's first thought was that the hotel was huge. It spanned at least two blocks wide and arched so high into the sky it appeared to lean forward like it would topple. They parked the car right in front of the entrance and three bellhops came running out, opening the trunk and removing luggage.

The three exited the car, passing the keys over to the patient valet as they picked up their 'personal' bags and followed the bellhops inside. The lobby was lavish, polished floors and granite countertops, and signs were up everywhere advertising the convention. Novum followed Conge and Ignis to the front desk, where the two procceded to check in. Novum subtly clicked her tiny camera recorder on and put her back to reception, sweeping the lobby as if to admire the view. Facial recognition began to scan and pull up lists of everyone.

"Ready?" Ignis looped an arm around her shoulder as he gently tugged her to the elevators.

"Sure," she laughed a little, leaning in. The two of them followed Conge who held the elevator, before pressing the top floor.

Conge gave them both a small smile. "You two look cute. We have a top floor room, a three bedroom suite with a kitchen and one bathroom. The luggage should be following us up, if you want to unpack."

Novum blushed but didn't move Ignis' arms. Appearances sake, of course. They finished the ride in silence before stepping into another brightly lit, lavish hallway. The bellhops were just leaving the room so they left the door open, letting the three slip into their room before shutting the door.

"Call the bedroom with the view!" laughed Novum, darting past her teammates before she opened the farthest door and jumped onto her bed. Vaguely she heard them opening doors and picking their rooms, chatting in the background of her Bluetooth.

"Novum, come unpack." Conge appeared at her door and dumped her luggage unceremoniously, sticking her tongue out and disappearing again.

"Also, once you're done we're all going to go out for some dinner in the hotel restaurant to start to watch people. Novum and I are going to get the computers set up and sync with Vestimenta and Furvus. Try not to take too long." And then he disappeared from the door too.

Novum rolled over before sitting up, setting herself on the edge of her bed to unload her suitcase, now that they were in the room. She pulled out a few business suits and nice pants, hanging them up in the closet before stacking her shoes underneath. They had enough clothes to last a while, but if they needed more they had money budgeted aside for shopping. Soon enough she had set up all her toiletries as well, including preparing the hair dye for that evening after she showered.

"Dinner?" Novum opened her door and appeared in the lavish living ro—well, it had been a living room, once upon a time. Now it was covered in gear and computers. Three giant glass screens were covering the faux fireplace and tv, running data back and forth as they set up a secure network and connections. There were at least four keyboards and a giant file stacker had been set up on the side, paperwork already covering every square inch.

"In just a moment." Murmured Ignis, from his spot behind the couch. He was setting up a large power cable, plugging it into the wall while Conge plugged in a lot more electronics. "You haven't seen this set up before, obviously, because you didn't go through initiation. That's okay, Conge and I can go through it all with you at some point. But this is standard setup for missions. It's really simple once you understand."

"I suppose so," but she closed her mouth after that. It seemed like a lot of technical stuff and she wasn't very technical. Fighting, she could do easily with no worries. Tech, well, let's just say there had been some pretty bad experiences.

Conge moved over to the file stacker and pulled out an envelope, handing it over to Novum. "This is a more detailed personel file for you. In there it states your company, who you are, your job, your abilities, your applications and hobbies, and all the other necessary things. It's also programmed into all electronic devices which you can activate from your personal id and entrance code – more on that later. For now, just read it over and memorize your name, age, company, and job. Oh, and how you got here, why you're here, things like that. The convention lasts two weeks, so you'll have ample time to get into your role and really pull it off. It's also okay to be confused; we're all supposed to be deck jockies that got nominated for this out of the blue and we haven't been to something like this before. It's a good cover." Conge continued to walk and talk, motioning for Novum to follow her. "Now you'll need your ID on you as well as your new phone, which Ignis is setting up. As long as you keep your Bluetooth in we're all set up. We won't make you wear the contacts yet because those require an explaination as well."

She began picking up items here and there, stuffing them all into a large purse Novum hadn't even realized was sitting next to them. Ignis soon stood and handed Novum her new phone and ID, before ushering the women to the door.

"Come on already Conge, I'm sure Novum will be fine. There's a reason she was allowed to skip the rest of initiation, right?" Novum laughed and nodded, moving ahead of the two to press the elevator button. They quickly caught up and the three rode down in silence.

"Let's eat in the hotel restaurant," offered Conge, pulling on Novum's arm and leading her down a hallway. Ignis followed after the two, his eyes scanning the room back and forth.

"Mm, I wonder if they have pasta," laughed Novum, linking arms with Conge. The two chuckled and made it to the door, just in time to be cut off by a large group of people.

Really...familiar...people. 

A/N: 1549 words