Missions of the Retrieval Team - A Spin of the Kilt

[davedove]

Scene 3

Security Suite, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

“How is that possible?” Jamie asked. “I thought that Ivana had been captured by the I.C.E. and rehabilitated.”

“That was my understanding as well,” I said. “Is that being verified?” I asked Ms. Swan.

“Ms. Starling is contacting Ms. Partridge at the I.C.E. as we speak.”

At that moment, Ms. Starling walked into the office.

“I just finished speaking with Ms. Partridge,” she said. “According to her, Ivana Rulital has been rehabilitated and is living a normal life in England. The I.C.E. has agents monitoring Ivana regularly and she has shown no signs of reverting to her previous behavior. Ms. Partridge told me they would bring Ivana back in for tests.”

“If Ivana is being watched, how is it that she was at that business meeting yesterday?” Jamie asked.

“Unknown,” said Ms. Starling. “According to Ms. Partridge, Ivana was tending her shop all day yesterday.”

“We need to get to the bottom of this,” said Jamie. “If Ivana is loose we need to do something about it.”

“Indeed we do Jamie,” I said. “Let my team get to work on this and we’ll try to come up with some answers. In the meantime, you had better alert the rest of the Moderators. When we have something, we will call a briefing.”

“Very well, get to work and see what you can find. I’ll go talk with the others.”

Jamie walked from the room; I turned to Ms. Starling.

“Where’s the rest of the team?” I asked her.

“Hawk and Raven are outside,” she answered. “They’re cataloguing all possible entrances into the Great Hall. Falcon took Thrush and Stork into town to do some shopping. Crane and Pombo are still in South America doing work for the Foundation.”

“Okay, I’ll get in touch with the ones that went to town to call them back.”

I turned to Dee, who had stayed with us.

“Dee, would you help us round up my associates outside?”

“Sure,” he responded. “I believe I saw them trying to climb up the back wall, looking for a way in. I’ll go get them.”

“Thanks,” I said to him as he left the room.

[davedove]

Scene 4

Media Room, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

I had called a meeting of the League of Moderators in order to present the information my team had assembled. As most of them were away on business of one sort or another, only Jamie and Bradley were present. A video screen showed the image of Ms. Partridge, who was on site at the M.H.I.C.E.

Ms. Starling was presenting our findings.

“As you all know,” she started, “some time back, the operatives at M.H.I.C.E. apprehended Ivana Rulital and her associate, Evan Moore Naste. According to Ms. Partridge, both of these individuals have undergone intensive rehabilitation and are now leading productive lives in the Dorset area. The I.C.E. continues to monitor them in case of any relapses.”

“However,” she continued, “just yesterday, Ivana Rulital was seen at a business meeting. Obviously, she could not be in two places at once, so we began to investigate. I contacted Ms. Partridge and she agreed to bring in Ivana to question her.”

“What did you find out, Ms. Partridge?” Jamie asked.

“Well,” Ms. Partridge answered from the screen, “the I.C.E.’s rehabilitation techniques normally result in correcting imbalances in the chemical makeup of the subject’s brain, thereby causing the subject to revert to a previous, non-deviant personality. In Ivana’s case, this meant that she reverted to a new age naturalist. She now wears only organic, cruelty-free clothing and runs a restaurant selling organic, vegan cuisine, along with natural remedies, crystals, and other similar items.”

“But if that’s the case,” asked Bradley, “how is it that she was at that business meeting?”

“We’re coming to that,” Ms. Starling continued. “As a result of her rehabilitation, the woman that had been known as Ivana Rulital began calling herself Rainbow Golden Stardust. On a hunch, we decided to research that name. Ms. Swan was able to find a picture of this person.”

Ms. Swan used her laptop to bring a picture up on the screen in front of us. It was clearly a picture of Ivana Rulital.

“This, of course, is a picture of the woman we all know as Ivana Rulital. Ms. Swan?”

Ms. Swan brought a picture of another woman up to the right of the first one.

“And this,” she said, “is a picture of the woman known as Rainbow Golden Stardust.”

“They could be sisters!” exclaimed Jamie.

“Exactly,” Ms. Starling agreed. “The two women are the same height, body frame, facial bone structure, and even eye color. All she would have to do is change her hair color to be easily mistaken for Ivana.”

“But,” she continued, “superficial similarities would not fool anyone who performed a close examination. Ms. Swan did some further research and discovered the name Rainbow Golden Stardust in the files of a Doctor Jaime Q. A. Newface. Dr. Newface is a surgeon, specializing in cosmetic surgery.”

“So you think he did surgery on this woman to make her look like Ivana?” asked Bradley.

“Yes, but there is more. I asked Ms. Swan to find out everything she could about this doctor. She had to hack into his files, but some very interesting things have been discovered. First of all, he is under retainer to Globo-Fashion and has performed several operations for them; usually minor cosmetic surgeries like face-lifts, tummy-tucks, and the like. That in and of itself is not so unusual for a company that focuses on appearance.”

“However,” she continued, “Dr. Newface also performed surgery on five women in a short time frame. Rainbow Golden Stardust was one of them. As for the others, Ms. Swan?”

Ms. Swan brought up four more pictures on the screen. Each of them bore a striking resemblance to Ivana Rulital.

[Tartan Shortbread Jock]

Wow League of Moderators, everyone warned me something funny was going on here.
I just did not see the signs. I thought it was all normal around here.
This is better than Flash Gordon.

[Colonel MacNeal]

Love the names!

Yes, reminds me of a Hall & Oates song!

[Arlen]

Dave, I am loving this already. I can't wait to read more!

[davedove]

Scene 5

Media Room, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

“So you’re implying that there are four more Ivana duplicates out there?” asked Jamie.

“That’s the most likely conclusion,” answered Ms. Starling.

“So how will we know which is the real Ivana?” Bradley asked.

“We can’t tell from just appearance,” said Ms. Starling. “However, each of these women is still an individual. Each person’s appearance has been changed, but not their true identity. There are biological markers that can identify the truth.”

“I want to add,” said Ms. Partridge from the screen, “that the change goes beyond the physical. The woman under our watch fully believed she was Ivana Rulital until we administered the rehabilitation treatment. In her case, the treatment did not correct the sociopathic tendencies, but instead caused her to revert to her true identity and personality.”

“So she was brainwashed?” I asked.

“Basically,” answered Ms. Starling, “but we already know that Globo-Fashion has access to behaviour modifying drugs and techniques.”

“Can we just give these women the Hypnotin antidote we developed?” asked Jaime.

“Perhaps, if that is what caused the change. We don’t really know.”

“If Rainbow had not already been subjected to our rehabilitation technique,” Ms. Partidge responded, “we would be able to test that hypothesis. But it’s too late for that now.”

“So,” said Jamie, “what everyone is saying is that not only is Ivana Rulital not in custody, there are also four other women out there who look, act, and actually believe they are Ivana Rulital.”

“Exactly,” answered Ms. Starling.

“But how will we ever track them all down?” Jamie asked. “It was next to impossible to find just one of them.”

“For one thing,” Ms. Starling answered, “we know where to find Dr. Newface.”

[davedove]

Scene 6

Media Room, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

“You think Newface can lead us to Ivana and her duplicates?” Jamie asked.

“It’s uncertain,” answered Ms. Starling, “but it’s the best lead we have right now.”

“Okay,” I asked, “where can we find the Doctor?”

“Ms. Swan?” said Ms. Starling.

Ms. Swan picked up the briefing. “I have researched the Doctor’s financial records. It seems he often takes trips to Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, and the like.”

“Then he’s a gambler?” I asked.

“Exactly, and I have also found multiple charges to his credit at different casinos, but very few bank deposits afterwards. It seems that although the man likes to gamble, he’s not very lucky.”

“Also,” she continued, “I have discovered that after he received large payments from Globo-Fashion, he soon thereafter took one of his trips and lost all the money he was paid. This pattern repeats itself every time he receives a large chunk of money.”

“So, even though he has no luck,” I said, “he continues to gamble. The man is an addict.”

“So how does that help us?” asked Bradley.

“Just last week,” said Ms. Swan, “Dr. Newface received a large deposit from Globo-Fashion. I checked his credit cards and found that he has planned a trip to Monte Carlo.”

“He’s going to gamble,” said Jamie.

“Yes,” continued Ms. Swan, “but not just run of the mill gambling. Dr. Newface has secured a place in a high stakes game at The Monte Carlo Casino.”

“Can you get us a place?” I asked.

“I already did,” she smiled. “Mr. Alexander Dove, real estate financier, has paid the buy-in and has a place at the table.”

I smiled back at her. “Very good,” I said. “Ladies, pack your clothes; we’re going to Monaco.”

[davedove]

Scene 7

A private jet en route to Europe

“You want how much!” Jamie practically yelled from the video screen.

We had set up a videoconference from our jet while we were flying to Monaco. Jamie was still back at the Great Hall.

“Two hundred thousand euros,” I answered. “Or approximately two hundred seventy-five, or two hundred eighty thousand dollars, depending on the exact exchange rate.”

“And you want it for what?”

“I need the funds to play in the game with Newface. This is not your regular game for mom and pop tourists. The players in this game will be throwing around thousands of dollars. I have to be able to operate in the same environment.”

“And why should the League provide this for you?”

“Because I don’t have that amount of liquid assets on hand. You know that my fees all go to keeping my operations running. Anything extra goes straight to the Foundation and I can’t access that. On the other hand, the League can produce the funds, although it is a large piece of your operating budget.”

“But you’re taking the money to gamble!”

“Jamie, as I said earlier, you will get the money back, I guarantee it.”

“How? How can you guarantee it? You’re gambling.”

“Let me just say, I have my ways,” was all I told him.

Jamie just stared at me from the screen as he thought about my request. Finally, I saw him turn to his computer keyboard and type.

He finished and turned back to us. “Very well,” he said. “Although I don’t like it, I have made the transfer. Just remember, you have guaranteed its return. I am holding you personally responsible for the League’s funds.”

“Understood, Jamie.” I turned to Ms. Swan. “Is it ready?”

Ms. Swan typed on her laptop and examined the screen. “Yes,” she said, “two hundred thousand euros has been placed in the Swiss account of Alexander Dove.”

I turned back to the screen. “Thank you, Jamie, without this I couldn’t pull off the mission.”

“Yeah, well, be careful.”

The video screen went black and I turned back to my team. “Ms. Thrush,” I said, “as soon as we land and clear customs, you will separate from us and make your own way to the casino’s hotel. You understand your assignment?”

“Wait for Newface to make his appearance and befriend him; in other words, make him interested in me so that he doesn’t notice he’s losing all his money,” she replied with a smile. “You know, it’s not really a job unless there’s effort involved.”

“Right,” I said, chuckling a little. “Just do your part.”

I turned to Ms. Starling. “Starling, you will again assume the role of Alexander Dove’s personal assistant and traveling companion. Falcon will again serve as our driver.”

“Swan, Raven,” I continued, “Your job is to maintain surveillance on Dr. Newface. Monitor his location and communications.”

“Hawk, Stork,” I concluded, “You are our reserves. Work the casino as if you were tourists, but stay ready in case we need you.”

Everyone nodded, acknowledging the assignments.

“And finally,” I said with a smile, “you’ll be in Monte Carlo. Act like you’re enjoying yourselves.”

[davedove]

Scene 8

Hotel Lobby, Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo

My team had separated upon clearing customs. Ms. Thrush took her own taxi to maintain her cover as a socialite enjoying Monaco.

Ms. Hawk and Ms. Stork took advantage of the hotel transfer bus in keeping with their cover as two friends on holiday.

The others would travel with me as Alexander Dove’s personal staff. Ms. Starling was my personal assistant; Ms. Falcon was my driver; Ms. Swan and Ms. Raven were other assistants who monitored my daily business.

As our private car pulled up to the Hotel de Paris, the staff greeted us. As one of their staff opened my door, another man greeted me.

“Monsieur Dove,” he said offering his hand to me. “I am the hotel manager, Philippe Fiable. Let me welcome you to Monaco and to the Hotel de Paris.”

“Thank you, Philippe, it’s been a long flight from the States and we would like to relax for a bit if we could.”

“Of course, your suite is ready. If you would please follow me to the desk, all we need is your signature and we will show you to your suite.”

Philippe gestured to the bellboys, who quickly loaded our luggage onto their carts. He led us to the desk in the lobby.

“Margarite,” he said to the clerk there. “This is Monsieur Dove and his staff. You have his paperwork.”

“Yes, of course,” she answered. “Welcome to Monaco, Monsieur Dove, ladies.” She placed a form on the desk and handed me a pen. “Monsieur Dove, if you would please sign here and here,” she said pointing to the lines on the form.

I signed in as Alexander Dove and handed her back the pen. “Merci, and would you like to keep the reservation on the same credit card?” she asked.

“Yes, that will be fine, Margarite,” I answered, being sure to pronounce her name correctly and giving her my best charming smile.

She blushed slightly and handed the forms back to me. “Thank you, Monsieur, that is all I need. If there is anything you need, please let me know.”

I took the papers from her and handed them to Ms. Starling, who quickly placed them in her briefcase.

I turned back to Margarite. “Margarite,” I said pleasantly, “This is Ms. Starling, my personal assistant. If you need me for anything, you may contact her.”

Margarite nodded to Ms. Starling. “Ms. Starling,” she said professionally.

“Please,” said Ms. Starling, extending her hand to Margarite, “It’s Priscilla.”

“Thank you, Margarite,” said Philippe. “Monsieur Dove, if you would follow me, I will personally escort you to your suite.”

[Livingston]

Now that's the way to travel. Can't wait for this story to start unfulding.