23.08.2020 0755 CEST, Antwerp, Belgium

Most European cities early on a Sunday morning are very quiet. The only people who were around at this time of morning were the street cleaners dealing with the detritus of the previous night and early-morning churchgoers.

Lindgren's offices were located in the Eilandje area of Antwerp, located in a large white office building next to a marina shared with a string of other companies, ranging from the normal to the slightly dodgy to a company that allowed you to walk other people's dogs.

It was currently mostly empty and as the team arrived in the underground car park, all they could hear from above was the stereo of some maintenance staff.

Karl arrived first, a minute or two in front of the next person. A notepad could be seen sticking out of the cargo pocket on his grey trousers and his fingers idly fiddled with a pen. Swiping his company access card he entered the offices from the car park, started the coffee brewing and claimed his seat in the meeting room.
Somehow he wasn't surprised to see Sam had beaten everyone there, even though the cleaners were still working at this early hour. Her face showed the tell-tale signs of too little sleep, and the ream of paperwork on the table in front of her chair told the story of why.

Jack was next to arrive. Seemingly summoned by the smell of strong coffee he materialized quietly in the meeting room after passing quickly through the parking garage.

Setting his laptop up on the table he hung his ballcap on the corner of the monitor and greeted Karl and Sam.

"Mornin'"

Michael arrived at the office looking rather well.   Practicing what he preached to his soldiers, some water, Motrin and a short morning run had him feeling no after effects of their aborted evening.

He set a box of pastries on the conference table and poured himself a cup of Karl's strong coffee.

"8 years in uniform and I still fucking hate mornings," Eric said as he staggered stiff legged into the meeting room. "I swear I'm going to get a night job at some point."

He snagged a pastry before slumping into his seat. Ignoring the coffee he popped the tab on his favorite brand of cold carbonated caffeine Dr. Pepper. His shirt and pants were both wrinkled while cheap rose colored sunglasses sat in his breast pocket. Looked more like an office worker with a hangover than a decorated Intelligence Officer.

"Yegot that right Eric!" Patrick spoke out softly. He picked up a cup and filled it full and added the contents of a blue sweetener pack.
“ I’ve been working nights most of my life since High school, hell I worked a night job then.” He laughed.
He looked around the room and spotted the pasteries and moved towards them
“Target in visual “he muttered.

Karl looked at the clock on the wall, quietly ticking away the minutes.
"Oh eight twenty five," he muttered.
"Anyone seen Pfeiffer?"

"Doesn't look like he's coming," Sam said with a slight look of annoyance.
"Lets get started shall we?"

"I'm only going to give you a basic set of orders and leave you to flesh out the rest yourselves. This isn't the mission we had planned for you, but circumstances have dropped this one in our laps overnight."

"Situation"
"A metal sculpture by the renowned late Danish artist Veronika Grønnegaard has been stolen from the Tate Modern in London. The owners in Copenhagen would very much like it back.
The Metropolitan Police has discovered that the statue, which weighs about 20kg, is going to be smuggled out of the UK via the Trans Europe Express service leaving from London heading for Venice and a private collector."

With a deft flick she turned on the projector.



"We have not yet been able to obtain plans of the train, however we do know it is a sleeper service operated in a TGV-style 20-car train, operating at a speed of 186mph or 300kmh. The layout is as follows:

Locomotive - electric
Crew Quarters and Storage
4x Standard Sleeper
Restaurant Car
2x First Class Sleeper
Lounge and Bar
Conference carriage akin to the Thaly service
2x First Class Sleeper
Restaurant Car
4 x Standard Sleeper
Luggage Coach
Locomotive

"Enemy/Friendly Forces"
"The item is likely to be escorted by an unknown, but likely small number of probably armed people. It is unlikely this will be more than two in immediate proximity to the item, however there may be others aboard the train."
"Enemy weapons are expected to be limited to pistols and other small, concealable weapons."
"It is unknown where the target item or it's escorts will be located besides somewhere on the train."

"Neutral Forces"
"Almost all the passengers on the train are likely to be uninvolved and need to remain that way if at all possible."
"The porters and other crew are known to be well trained in armed and unarmed forms of combat and it is believed at least some are equipped with Browning 9 millimetres and kevlar vests."

"Mission"
"To find, retrieve and deliver the sculpture without comebacks."
"I say again, to find, retrieve and deliver the sculpture without comebacks."

"Execution"
"You will travel to London and board the train there to begin your search. Method of travel to the embarkation point is to be decided up by the team."
"As mentioned, embarkation commences at 1830 hours tomorrow and the train leaves the platform at 1930 hours. It is scheduled to reach its destination at 1020 hours the following day."
"The train will be departing from St Pancras' international platform in London at 1930 British Summer Time tomorrow evening. Boarding will commence at 1830 hours."
"The train will travel through the night, stopping first at Ashford, then crossing the channel to Lille, Marne-la-Vallée, Lyon for a brief halt to top up water tanks and take on supplies, Turin, Milan, Verona, and arriving in Venice just under 15 hours later at 1020 hours local time."
"Weapons, if any, are to be kept concealed and used only as a last resort."
"Avoid combat if at all possible. In the event of one of you being discovered by the opposition, the others are to maintain cover unless there is a high probability of immediate successful conclusion of the mission."

"You are to try and blend in with the other travellers so it is suggested only civilian equipment and clothing be carried unless properly concealed."
"Special equipment will depend on how you intend to carry out the search."
"Weapons and ammunition are to be kept to a minimum to avoid detection. Remember there will be several border crossings during the course of the journey and customs and security searches may occur."
"For this mission, Braende has overall command due to his previous rank and seniority. Woods is second in command."

"Now I must stress that this must be done quietly and without attracting the attention of the authorities. If there is "trouble" and any of you are identified or taken into custody, Lindgren will not be able to assist you and will deny any involvement."

"Now I suggest you spend the available time obtaining information on the layout of the train, deciding on how you should search it, gathering equipment, organising transport and anything else you can think of. The time is now oh eight fifty. You don't have long."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:08, Wed 18 Nov 2015.

Karl had been furiously scribbling in his notepad as the briefing went on, pausing in surprise at his appointment as commander. He'd thought somebody else would get that headache.

"Woods, Random, I think this is more your area isn't it? How should we do this?"

"Already doin' it boss."

Jack had started from the moment the target train had been named.

First he downloaded all of the companies public info and add copy.

Second he searched the manufacturer of the engines and the individual cars. Here he intended to recover schematics legally or otherwise.

Third he ran a search of people who have posted pics of traveling on the trains on social media and began to build a picture of what the train looked like when it was occupied. Particularly useful photos he shared to the team members smart phones.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:33, Sat 24 Oct 2015.

"Is it possible to get the passenger manifest?  Maybe we can cross reference names for criminal records or associations.  At least rule out possible players and thin out the crowd.", Palmer suggested.

"Good idea. May as well try to get the personnel files as well. Probably be able to match up passengers with where they will be berthed on the train as well."

That will be fourth.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Sat 24 Oct 2015.

In reply to Jack Random (msg # 12):

Chewing " Ye might want ta do a check on those porters and so on ye know like they may have some ties to a bad boy brother or what ever or maybe a missing mommy or, well they get ta have weapons and will not be checked so close."

Patrick swallowed and looked around.
" If I was wanten to grab something off this train I would get me one of them on my side some how...just sayen."

At that point, another woman entered the room, dressed in a tan jacket and trousers, with a white T-shirt on underneath.

Other woman

Everyone recognised her as Melissa Messervy, who combined a posh English accent with being a rail enthusiast... and objected to being called a 'trainspotter'. She was a traction basher, thank you.

"I've actually been in this train before - Class 814 unit, multi-voltage; can even run third-rail for the old BR Southern Region", Melissa replied, "There's a total of 100 beds on board for passengers, but we can probably rule out anyone travelling with a child. What might be worth checking are married couples - of whatever combination - as this will likely be a two-person job".

She took an empty chair.

"The compartment are covered hotel room style locks, activated by your ticket - they're probably easy to hack. Or you can nick a master key".
This message was last edited by the player at 10:07, Sun 01 May 2016.

Jack tipped his cap to the newcomer.

"I'll separate people traveling with children but I'm not dropping them until we at least look at them. Don't want to get burned by some clever monkey working with a midget."

"Take a look at these pics and see if they jive with what you saw."

OOC: Have we got a monitor in the meeting room that Jack can commandeer and use to show everyone the information he is gathering?

"You're quiet Woods. We need your input too."

"Better book our own seats as soon as possible, get them all in the same cabin or adjoining if possible."
"What about transport to London. Weapons and other equipment. Anyone got ideas about that?"
"Communications too, both with each other and back to here. Need to arrange transport from the train back home too, or perhaps to the client in Copenhagen?"
"How about a cover story? Can't tell people we're mercenary's looking to steal back stolen art..."

Jack commandeers the projector and uses it to show everyone the information he is gathering.

"I was thinking," Eric replied to Braende as he leaned forward in his seat. "To my way of thinking they will almost certainly have either a private car where they can keep it separated or they will be in the car closest to the luggage car. The second one is risky. If I were transporting it I would want it where I could keep an eye on it and not leave it up to chance that a security sweep might randomly inspect it without my supervision. Easier to talk your way out of that - or silence a potential informant quick enough to disappear with the item and use a secondary mode of transport."

He took a breath and said, "What that means to me is that they will most likely be passing a couple renting out a private car. Probably one in the car while another keeps watch from outside in a public area of the train. If they armed it will be easily concealed weapons or they will have bribed the appropriate security personnel along the way. I would do both."

"As for us," the stocky man continued looking around the table. "I would most certainly break us up. Five men all embarking at the same time with the same destination and in the same car will attract attention. They will be watching the manifest just like us. So we need to break up. Communication through the train can be accomplished by cell. Texting is quiet, circumspect, and god damn everybody does it all the damn time. The goal is to look like civilians. Everything needs to follow that if we don't want to arouse suspicion."

"Melissa," he started looking over at the Brit. "You know more about these train services than I do. How likely are we to encounter security checks and how thorough are they?"

"By "car" I assume you mean cabin?"
"I'm not happy about breaking up, so what if we were to pose as five men on a business trip, or perhaps on our way to do some rock climbing or scuba diving in Italy? We could hide weapons and other gear amongst the equipment that way and it wouldn't look at all suspicious for us to be travelling as a group and be regularly talking to each other. A lot of heavy equipment would also explain why we're not flying."
Excess baggage fees were pure murder, especially if security spotted the half dozen weapons each one of them usually carried in their luggage.

"Yes. Car's the American term," Eric answered Karl. "And even with that kind of cover story I would oppose the idea. If this were me watching I would definitely note the presence of a group of 5 men. Especially ones carrying a lot of heavy duty luggage."

"But," he said shifting back in his seat. "The biggest part of my opposition to that comes from the problem of surveillance. If we go in as one group we have to break apart from that central location and move through the rest of the train. It's big and noticeable. The kind of thing that paranoid art thieves are watching for. If we go in in smaller groups we can be seated in all the public cars without drawing attention to ourselves. Allows us to rule out the public areas before moving on to the private ones. Systematic, easy, and unremarkable to observers."

"I agree with that completely. Ones and twos at most and every group should have a different destination."

"We're already up against it with you and Pat looking like Central Casting's idea of a Stone Cold Ex-Military Killers."

Jack looked thoughtful.

"Now there's an idea. Suppose we put you guys on the train as exactly that. Hard ass military contractors pulling security on a high value shipment."

"Except it isn't a high value item at all it's an empty crate large enough to contain our 20 kilo sculpture. You guys get to make sure noone touches it because that's your job after all."

"We finesse this right and we may be able to get them to let you on the train armed and with clearance to enter the cargo area. Hell we've already got the credentials. You guys wouldn't even need cover identities necessarily."

"Eric and I can go in separately and concentrate on the passenger areas."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Wed 28 Oct 2015.

"We need at least one private cabin I think."
There were many things they wouldn't be able to do without a bit of privacy, not without risk anyway. Just preparing equipment could draw unwanted attention and questions.
"What if we're not the only ones looking for the package? What if the competition thinks we have it? No, not worth it."
While Jack's suggestion had some merit, the risks appeared to be too great in Karls mind.
"Another consideration is that all of you are American or Canadian. You're all obviously foreign, at least you are the moment you open your mouth. What cover do you suggest?"
"Might be best if I book in separately to the rest of you?"
He still liked his tourist idea as the cover, but wanted to hear everyone's ideas.

"who's to say that we all have to board the train at the same time?  We can put a recon element on at the home station and then trickle on over the next  couple of stops.  We look like people going to and from different places and not knowing each other." ,  Michael said.

"I think you may be overlooking the most important aspects. How will you search for the item?"
"Don't forget that the train is travelling overnight and all berths are sleepers. Each cabin is likely to be occupied and closed for about half the journey."

"We're rejecting that idea with no discussion? Based on assumptions that we have no intel to back up?"

"Hell if someone comes sniffing around our crate they just became a resource. We either just spotted our targets or smoked out our competition and turned them into an asset that will help us find the target."

"How is that not worth it?"




"As for the search my first idea is to use an MRI. We're searching for a 20kilo chunk of iron on a mostly aluminum train."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Wed 28 Oct 2015.

"I should also be able to access their security cameras and maybe even some of the smartphones onboard."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:56, Wed 28 Oct 2015.

In reply to Jack Random (msg # 26):

"Well I am going to weigh in on the side of a berth err cabin for a lot a reasons." He looked around for comment.
"Also I like the idea of either two or three man action teams armed similarly." Patrick sat down and went on
"We need to search, locate then take possession of the item. I think that means the top priority is communication. We locate, that means we have found the bad guys as well, we take possession that means we neutralize said op forces."
Locate and take do not mean one right after the other in time, my hunch is, it very well might happen that way but not for sure."
He looked around once more.
"I think we need to be concerned with how we take possession, I vote for quiet and that means a Taser or such and do we hasten the departure of the bad guys after they are down?"
“We move a forty-five pound item plus it's packaging to our cabin or do we secure it and defend the location until the shit hits the fan?”
He stopped at that and waited for the yelling.

In reply to Jack Random (msg # 25):

"Is it iron though? Hubcaps, which is what this thing seems to be made of, are most commonly plastic these days."

"Anyone "guarding" our crate would be automatically blown. We should try and keep unnoticed for as long as possible I think, and ideally we'd recover the item without anyone even knowing until we were gone. If any of us are detected, we could be traced back to Lindgren which would probably be a bad thing?" he looked at Sam for confirmation.

"How would you tap in? I doubt it could be done wirelessly so you'd either need to hook directly into the trains cabling, or somehow get access to where it's all monitored? Are we even sure there's cameras where we'd need them?"
Privacy concerns may have prevented any cameras being installed into the cabins, so only the public spaces were likely to be covered Karl thought.

"As I said before, I agree with sticking together as much as possible, but breaking up into two teams is definitely worth doing. If it comes to it, who've we got able to quietly deal with locks?"
Karl could open anything, anywhere, anytime, but not without a very loud and obvious bang. Random was known to have certain useful skills also, but other than that Karl wasn't too sure of their capabilities.

"What if we simply locate the item while on the train, then carry out the actual recovery once it's taken off? It's possible the opposition will have a team waiting for them so it's risky, but we may be less restricted in how we go about it too."

"Anyone know why we've been called in and not the police? Aren't they supposed to deal with this sort of thing?"

"Looks like sheet metal to me. Don't mean for the magscan to be our only method just a potentially useful one."



"Not blown, Seen. Played right it would actually act as a double blind and reduce suspicion on that team while allowing the rest of us to watch anyone surveilling  them. Delta and SAD have both used similar camouflage to get shooter's near targets. I honestly think it's our best bet for you and Pat but if your not comfortable with it."

"A reporter and photographer for a travel magazine or blog would be another good idea. Pretty sure I could pull that one off."



"Some of that depends on the results of what I am doing right now."

He taps his laptop.

"I think there is a good chance they are transmitting to a site off the train and I can just pick up their signal. Push come to shove I will connect wire to wire and take over their system. As I said unprotected cell phones may provide some visuals on area that aren't covered by cameras."

"Again though this is not an "eggs in one basket" proposition. We will use as many sources of intel as we can create and put a picture together from all of them until we see what we need.



"Absolutely no way we can keep a squad of shooters off the radar. No offense but you guys are too good at this stuff to turn it off and the fact that you instinctively space and turn yourselves to cover each other is going creep people out even if they don't know why your doing it. Bust it down to ones and twos and noone will notice."

"As for locks, I can't guarantee there isn't a lock or security system I can't beat but I can tell you I haven't encountered it yet and I broke into Dick Marcinko's office once to return a pair of underwear he left in the Pentagon. With the gunslinger cred some of you have I can only assume that's my infiltration skills are why I'm on the team."




"Certainly a viable option but that puts us potentially in a scuffle with a well armed team while we have only what we were able to sneak on the train. Given my druthers I'd want to have the item in our possession and miss that party all together."



"Curious about that myself."

Melissa was making notes on a paper pad as the discussion was continuing. With a convenient lull in the conversation, she now chose to speak.

"Regarding security, it's your standard airport kind before boarding the train... security arches and bag scans. If you want to get any weapons on board, you'd better know someone who can slip them on via another method... anyone know anyone? As for cameras, in all the public areas"

She pulled out a PDA and after a few seconds held up a copy of the timetable of the train.

"Splitting up is a good idea... that includes the arrival in the UK and making our way to St. Pancras... There are three stops before we hit the Channel Tunnel including that, so that's an obvious three way split there as I'm coming with you".

She paused and thought for a second.

"As for private cabins, all of the 100 on board are single occupancy, but you generally get pairs linked together by connecting doors for families... or couples. Sinks in standard class with toilets at each other and en-suite facilities for those in first class. These are all fairly cosy. You ever seen the Bond film From Russia With Love? Well, let's hope there's not a Red Grant on the train".

She got up and walked over to the screen, then took a look at some of the social media pictures.

"As for getting off, we either get off at the next station... or find a way to activate the emergency brakes... then open the door somehow".

"If we can find a way to do that, it opens up a lot of options. We can plot some  pickup points on the GPS and exfil on our terms." Michael added.

"My best position would be operating by myself or with one other person who can pass as someone without military training. That way I can move, observe, and low key interrogate people as need be," Eric said mulling over the options.

"Well...", Melissa said, "I don't have any military training".

She had worked for SIS, but that hadn't exactly involved shooting people, more desk work.

"I can set up press credentials for you and Eric. Give you an excuse to ask questions and take pictures."

"You mean you can try?"
Just having skills didn't always equal success.

"No ma'am I will succeed. Jedi's don't try."

Hell the whole mission could fail but nobody likes a nay sayer.


OOC: Happy to roll dice anytime. So far we are just discussing intentions afaik.

"I don't actually need one. I have a standing cover as a freelance railway journalist. Trust me, I know my CIGs from my VEPs and my Sprinters from my Pacers".

"That saves time. Eric will be your photographer then?"

"Ok that's got cover for Mel and Woods sorted. What about the rest of you?"
"I do rather like the idea of adventure tourists. Everyone's either parachute or climbing qualified so base jumpers?"
"Climbing equipment has a fair bit of metal in it doesn't it? Should hide any weapons from scanners fairly well?"

"I generally prefer photography or medical gear so that it can't be x-rayed either but I bet that would work just as well."

In reply to Michael Palmer (msg # 23):

"Sorry Palmer, I forgot I hadn't responded to you."
"Thought of that idea myself, but there's only a handful of stops along the whole journey. Perhaps we could have one team board at London, and the rest at Ashford?"
Leaving it any later ran the risk of not having enough time to find the item.

"Overall I don't think there's too much risk of too many people seeing us since it's a sleeper service and most should be in their bunks for the majority of the journey. That though gives us another problem. How do we search each cabin while it's occupied?"
"Getting one or more of the train staff to help could work, but how do we do that? Can we bribe them?"

"Can we get any information on how big the item is and if it can be broken down into components without damage? No point looking in places it can't actually fit."

"Wonder how tight there internal security is? It's possible we could get one of us, and by that I mean me, on board as a porter. We may not have time to set that up.."



"..and I still think getting two of our guys on as security for our own package is the best way to gain access to the cargo areas and the best way to get the object off the train."


He chuckles out of the blue.


"Think we could stink bomb the trains ac system and run everyone out of their berths? We could pop on gasmasks and search the whole place under cover of the smoke."

"No, even if one could get hired on, there's still the matter of training and rostering. Yes, the roster might be altered, but the staff probably already know each other fairly well and anyone new would attract a lot of questions."
"As for the air con, I think each carriage would have an independent unit. Might work for one, but the rest of the train would be unaffected."

"Tech solutions for searching the sleepers that come to mind are Mag Scanner, Portable Ultrasound, and Portable X-Ray machine."

"All of those are available in wireless models. One of you guys can carry the handheld unit and I can view what your scanning on my laptop while the body of the machine is in storage in the cargo area. Would require some stealth for the guy running the hand held unit not to get caught but the doors and walls on trains tend to be pretty thin."

"Ok, who can get a couple of those units by the end of the day?"

"I've got a couple of guys I could call but..."

Pausing Jack pointed at the Medic.

"...there's a good chance Michael knows someone better for medical gear."

"That dovetails with Sam's suggestion and mine too. Two guys from Doctors Without Borders moving medical gear. The scanning gear can camouflage our weapons stash and any other gear we need within reason."

He pointedly looks to the accountant in the room.

"Either way we'll need money."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:10, Thu 05 Nov 2015.

Allington looked pointedly back at him.

"Let me know how much you're going to need and I'll get the cash out or transfer it to your account as need be".

She closed the presentation on the laptop and brought up the Trans Europe Express website.

"Right, people", she said, "I'm going to order the tickets for collection from the various desks. Please let me know what name you'll be using and your starting station".

"God I love the private sector."

In reply to Jack Random (msg # 46):

"I know a guy that might be able to help out.  Let me make a phone call.  I can't make any guarantees.", replied Palmer.

[Private to GM: I have a foreign medical contact.  Is it possible that they can help??]

"Give him a call", Melissa replied, "Although of course be discreet".

She thought of something.

"You may be able to bribe the porters to look the other way on certain issues; I managed to bribe them myself on my last trip to let me and Hubby stay in our cabin for another hour at St. Pancras. Well, we were hungover".

"Set me up as Ryan Rogers. It's as good a name as any," Eric said after finishing off his pop and donut. "Melissa and I should get on first. Gives us the most time to scout out the passengers and hopefully we can have some people ruled out before the rest of you get on the train."

"I've also got a friend I can call that might be able to help us out. He's a customs agent and most of that job is figuring how people are smuggling goods & how to catch them at it. Seems like a good person to talk to as this is not my speciality," he continued stretching his neck and eliciting a satisfying crack from it.

"We should probably have a few thousand euros on us for bribes. Never know when some coinage will solve an unforeseen problem."
"Should also all board at London so we've got the maximum time to search, or at least be in place in case somebody needs backup."

"Now, as for weapons, non-lethal options like tasers should be our first choice, but we have to assume shit will hit the fan. I suggest Glock's and MP7A1s as they have minimal metal parts and can be stripped down and concealed fairly easily."
"Anyone got any other options?"

"We can conceal weapons in the containers we store the medical gear in. The metal in the machines will block mag scanners and they won't be able to x-ray it because of the contents."

"Don't want it to be our only avenue but it's a good Plan A."


"Also if you aren't going to consider my suggestion of putting you on board as security contractors then you need to decide on a cover for you and Pat."

In reply to Karl Braende (msg # 53):

"If we actually bring firearms, it would be prudent to use suppressors and sub-sonic ammo.  A gunshot on the train will sound like thunder and will set off panic.  Not to mention the response from security."

"They have their own security - it's called the porters. Also, if things get too shooty, we're either going to have SAS, GIGN or the Italian version all over the train like a cheap suit", Melissa replied, "It might be an idea to bring polymer blades as an option".

She took another look at the site.

"Quick note; the train has WiFi and you can get a mobile signal in the Channel Tunnel itself, but there are some places where the signal might be patchy. Bear in mind that phone geolocation doesn't tend to work at 300 klicks an hour".

In reply to Jack Random (msg # 54):

"Adventure tourists, like I said. Plenty of metal in climbing gear to hide stuff in."

In reply to Michael Palmer (msg # 55):

"Suppressors goes without saying." Both weapons he'd suggested, the Glock 17C and  MP7A1 readily took suppressors - he'd barely even seen one in his career without one fitted.
"And tasers of course. Tranq darts or patches could be useful if there's anything like that in the armoury?"

"Those knives you mentioned Melissa too. Not really my thing, but they're quiet."

"Everyone should carry a phone and charger. Memorise the phone number for the office here, don't put it in the phone. Earpiece radios too for comms between us. Only use the phones if the radio is too obvious."

"Book berths near the middle of the train, spread over two, maybe three compartments with nobody besides us in each one. Buy extra seats if needed to maintain privacy."

"Berths are all single occupancy with interconnecting doors between pairs; but that works", Melissa replied.

"No accommodation for families? That's surprising."

In reply to Karl Braende (msg # 59):

"Well, you'd take three or four berths in that case. Then again, I can tell you it is the sort of train for creating them, if you know what I mean".

"Is that so?" he asked with half a cheeky smile and a raised eyebrow.

In reply to Karl Braende (msg # 61):


 Patrick looked the American tourist, or at least the stereotype of one right down to the portable mini bar and two bottles of bourbon, of course the fact that the ‘bar” had all metal utensils including a cork screw and Ice pick was just a coincidence.

 He did feel a bit “at sea” as this was his first time operating under what he felt was a citizen type operation instead of the traditional all military style, here we are and their they are and your target is and your withdraw route is and well what the hell this ain’t that was his last thought on the subject.

 Follow the lead and ask no questions is the secondary motto of all good GIs.

St Pancras International Station, London

Monday 24.08.2020, 1800 British Summer Time

Melissa had used the journey with Eric to give him a crash course in British trains for his undercover assignment. The coverage had been detailed in scope, going from Brunel through to Grouping to nationalisation to the current franchise system, with more than a few of her personal opinions creeping in along the way. After this, his head was full of strange expressions - terms like Pacers, Thumpers, Sprinters and Meridians...

They’d arrived at St. Pancras International at 1600 local time, which allowed them a couple of hours to look around and take photos to establish their covers.
The station is considered one of the best looking in the world after its massive refurbishment and extension in the 2000s to accommodate Eurostar services, the Victorian-era Barlow train shed covering a highly modern facility on three levels that contained a large number of shops, restaurants etc.. Not counting the eight platforms of the adjacent King’s Cross St. Pancras underground station, there were fifteen platforms for trains. A and B in the lower level hosted cross-London Thameslink services running from Cambridge, Bedford and Peterborough to Brighton, Sevenoaks and Mitcham. On the upper level, Platforms 1-4 covered domestic services to Nottingham, Sheffield and points north, including an example of the iconic High Speed Train, a 1970s British Rail design now at the twilight of its career, which Melissa was very happy to see.

11-13 covered high speed domestic services along the High Speed 1 line out to Kent using 140mph Javelin multiple units, which left Platforms 5-10 for the international services.

It had been agreed that the team would split into three and board separately.  The check-in area was on the ground floor, with a series of machines labelled with the TEE logo to convert the online tickets into plastic ones for the security gates and of course to serve as room keys.

Once through, they would have to go through the X-ray machines and personal scanners before going on to two sets of passport controls – one for exiting the UK and another for entering France. The Schengen Agreement, badly weakened in recent years, was sort of still in place; there was a roughly 20% chance of a passport check on arrival in Venice.

Of course, passport checks were one of their lesser problems – they still had to find the statue and get it off the train somehow.

Before leaving for London, Karl visited the armoury and drew several sets each of sap gloves (lead weights sewn into the knuckles), polymer knives, Glock 17C's and MP-7A1's (both with silencers), and several hundred rounds of ammo. Others might have different weapon preferences, but he'd make damn sure everyone would be armed with something.
He also added to the pile a spray can of CS gas for himself, a few tasers, and climbing and scuba gear before heading out with an air tank to see a man he knew about having it modified. [Private to GM: Civil engineer, foreign. Mods as per character sheet.]

Jack spent most of his time working on the crate he and Michael would be shipping. He made sure the wireless transmitters were clear, stowed the weapons inside, and then sealed the box. He finished it off by locking the top down with zip tie restraints.

He would briefly go over how to aim the sensing devices that Karl and Patrick would be carrying.

Once Michael was ready to travel they would load up and head for England.

Karl pushed his baggage trolley laden with climbing and scuba gear up to the security checkpoint, quietly confident his concealment measure would work. His bags sported various stickers from sporting chains, firearms manufacturers and extreme sports events - anything to help explain away the likely detection of gunpowder by the sniffers. They'd got him from Belgium so they must have been fairly effective.
[Language unknown: "Eeth tioforand m est vor?"] he asked in his native language, offering up a passport with nearly as many stamps as countries on the planet.
[Private to Patrick Donnelly: I think Karl's supposed to be teamed up with you. :s]

Jack and Michael hauled the crate of supplies after them on a trolley, a rucksack on Michaels back. Jack however was travelling in little more than the clothes he was standing up in plus a laptop carry bag slung over one shoulder.

They could see Karl and Patrick at the security station, but there was no sign yet of Melissa and her partner, Victor. Numerous security guards were wandering about the station casually keeping an eye on the throng of passengers and well wishers.

In reply to Assistant (msg # 67):

Patrick tagged along with Karl pulling his large bag with another slung over his shoulder and the Portable bar in his hand. He carried no items that could or would be a problem ..well except for a very nice folding Gerber knife , but even it was only a three inch blade and then the ice pick in the bar set. What he did have was a ton of other stuff all very American and all not so very well packaged and he stepped to the front of the line ahead of Karl with his “typical” American loud vice.
"Say How long is this gonna take we got to get on the bus gents, hey what do ye mean ye got to check everything?”

As Jack rolled the trolley toward the baggage check in he smiled at Patrick in the near distance "pretending" to be a loud obnoxious American.

Stopping the crate at the back of the line he sat on it and took out his smart phone.

Melissa

Melissa had finished geeking out over the BR Class 43 and was now checking in. Her jacket had been stuffed loosely into the top of her rucksack and she was now clad in a grey sleeveless top with black culottes. Already one builder had wolf-whistled her, something she wasn't too sure how she felt about.

She went into a separate line with Victor, trying not to draw too much attention.

The security and passport checks went quickly, without any problems - they were through in fifteen minutes.

[Private to Karl Braende: The officer doesn't understand your Norwegian.]

Melissa made her way up to Platform 7, where the TEE high speed sleeper service was being prepared for departure. The dark blue train was always an attractive feature and she double checked the location of her first class cabin... ah yes, D3.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:08, Sun 01 May 2016.

In reply to Patrick Donnelly (msg # 68):

"Great, a yank" the guard muttered barely audibly.
"You don't know what your mate just said do you?"

In reply to Security guard (msg # 71):

Patrick really did not know what the hell he had said so it was not too difficult to respond.

“ Nah, he’s going on all the time and most of it under his breath. Hell if he want’s ta let me know somthin or tell me something he sure as hell can tell me in American!”
He slid the bags forward and looked at the guard with what he thought was his best smile.
“ Now could ye just let me aboard with my stuff and I won’t have to repack, you know I ain’t got no bombs or nuten.”
Getting the response he expected he started to unshoulder his other bag and losing the smile
“Damn ye don got to be a Palace guard about this

Roll 1D20 against your Persuasion Asset then.
[Private to GM: Since he drew attention to himself...
Lets make it Easy shall we? 4x asset which in his case is 4 (4x asset of 4 = target 16).]

The guard absently indicated to Patrick and Karl to put their luggage on the conveyor belt to go through the xray machine, already talking to another traveller and barely paying any further attention. With the pair past the checkpoint, they were free to make their way down the platform and board the train.

Soon it was Jack and Michael's turn to try sneaking their contraband through.

As Jack and Michael prepared to go through, there was a sharp kerfuffle behind them. Six men and women in British transport police uniforms, along with one German Shepherd dog, were moving at a fast walking pace towards security. Two of them were carrying Glock pistols.

On the platform itself, Melissa saw a large sports bag had been thrown onto the tracks next to Platform 10...
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:12, Tue 15 Dec 2015.

Jack stood up, pocketed his phone, and began pushing the cart with their crate toward the counter. He made no effort to keep from looking at the cops as they approached but mostly focused on the job at hand.

"That was fun," Karl commented to Patrick as they moved down the platform.
"Hope all the checks are like that, or we could get in trouble."
The small arsenal of three SMGs, four pistols, tasers, and nearly a thousand rounds of small arms ammo, not to mention the CS gas, weighted gloves and selection of knives all hidden away in the air tanks and amongst the climbing gear would surely end up with a significant prison sentence if discovered.
"Oh pokker!" he exclaimed quietly, after looking back to the security checkpoint.
"Either we're done for, or Jack and Michael are knullet."

Michael stood in line behind Jack, waiting for their turn to go through security.  He  watched Patrick's shenanigans and just shook his head.

"Wanker", he said to nobody in particular.

He slipped the his battered black daypack from his shoulder and laid on the counter as directed by the guard.

At that point, the German Shepherd started barking loudly and pointing in their general direction.

Behind them, a young woman was looking rather nervous as well.

Michael turned to take a look the barking dog.  Such a thing as unusual in this situation.   It would be good to know if it was barking at him.

Jack continued to watch the police as the dog started barking. It would have been unusual to do anything else with such a spectacle taking place close by.

In reply to Karl Braende (msg # 77):

“HELL, well it’s either over or it is something else, let’s get our gear into our unit and start getting on with it like it is someone or something having nothing to do with us”
Here he stepped up onto the train and looked at Karl.
“That Ok with you Pard?”

"Lets get on with it. The others can take care of themselves."
He motioned Patrick to board and he'd pass the gear over to him. With the tanks and several duffel bags stuffed with other gear it was going to take a bit of effort to get it aboard and stowed.
Once in their cabin he intended to ready the equipment needed for the search - weaponry could remain hidden for now, except for a knife, his weighted gloves and CS cylinder.

It turned out the sniffer dog was in fact sniffing some cocaine that someone was smuggling out of the country... and that particular traveller was pulled over to one side, searched and arrested.

The other officers went over to the abandoned bag on the track... which was full of dirty clothing. Someone was trying to create a security incident.

The cabins were fairly small; a bed, a table and a sink; with first class having an en-suite toilet in each cabin; however, there were no showers on the train itself. Each pair of cabins had an interconnecting door, which had to be unlocked from both sides.

A screen (easily covered over) could be found in each cabin showing their current location and speed; currently St. Pancras at a standstill.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:52, Sun 03 Jan 2016.

"Cocaine is a hell of a drug", quoted Jack as he watched the arrest go down.

He shook his head at Michael and turned back to the employee at the counter smiling as he waited for clearance to finish loading.

Michael shrugged.  "Must be using her own product."

"You set up here," Karl directed Patrick, a thought suddenly striking him.
"I'm going to hang around on the platform and see if I can't spot somebody bringing the package aboard."

In reply to Karl Braende (msg # 87):

Patrick Looks at Karl and starts to say one thing then changes his mind, the transformation is written all over his face.
"copy that Mine kaptein, then mutters more to himself then any one , I keep getting reminded why they call us GRUNTS."
He looks up to see Braende taking his leave and thinks , ah hell it is a smart move.

Patrick didn't really need to set up much - it was more just stowing the luggage and ensure the vital items were easily accessible. The whole task wouldn't take more than a couple of minutes.

As Karl looked on the platform, he saw a young woman lifting up an expensive suitcase onto Coach T, one of the standard class sleeper carriages... and she looked, as the English put it, fit.



<a href="http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2013/11/05/previews/Chloe%20Bennet-IHA-020032.jpg">Young woman</a>

Clad in a tight black corset-style top and tight black trousers, she was putting several of the porters off their work.

Accompanying her was another man with beard, wearing a grey suit, his jacket removed and draped over his suitcase.

<a href="http://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/pilou-asbaek.jpg">Man with beard</a>
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:05, Sun 01 May 2016.

Using the camera in his phone Karl took a few photos of the platform and passengers like any good tourist. Of course he was careful to both include people of interest and not draw attention to his activities.
Later he'd point out the faces he thought could do with following up on.

In reply to Karl Braende (msg # 91):

Patrick unpacked and sorted the gear. He wondered if any of it was traceable if they had to leave it.
Opening the special tanks was no problem, if you knew how and almost impassable if you did not.
Putting the stun gun in a special made holster to his left side Patrick flinched a bit, the damn yellow color of the plastic was a dead giveaway that it was meant to be seen and carry a message look at me I can hurt you.
 He held it a bit and checked the load considering if it was worth the risk to carry it then slid it into the holster and sighed muttering “ it gives me an edge and I may not have ta kill some poor sod with the pick or a blade”.

Monday 24.08.2020, 1940 British Summer Time

The train departed on time from St. Pancras and quickly entered the long tunnel under East London, only emerging to go at speed through Stratford International past a service to Calais on Platform 4 and the unoccupied platform 3.

They re-emerged near Dagenham Dock, running at 225 km/h through the outskirts of East London, which turned from factories to a preserved marshland as they approached the tunnel under the Thames towards Ebbsfleet, the QE2 road bridge visible in front of them, carrying traffic north to south across the Thames (the other way went through a tunnel) for a small toll fee.

It was up to the party as to how and where they started their search for the statue.

Coach K, the Lounge/Bar

After stashing the crate in baggage Jack dropped into a seat, popped in his earbuds, and appeared to disappear into his laptop.

While playing a video game he ran through the startup for all three scanning systems to make sure he could receive the data from the gear Patrick and Karl were carrying.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:30, Sat 30 Jan 2016.

With everyone travelling in adjoining compartments, comms between Jacks laptop and the equipment was simple. Once they headed out into the rest of the train however, who knew what would happen...
"I saw a few interesting people back on the platform that might be worth checking out," he informed the other five while they were still gathered together in the compartments. He went on to relay everything he'd seen and showed the photos he'd taken on his phone.
"Three or four of us should "stretch our legs" at each station and see if we can't spot any more likely couriers boarding."
"Anyone seen anything else we should follow up on before we start knocking down doors at random?"

Coach J, Compartments 3 and 4

"We don't have long at each station; maybe five minutes or so tops", Melissa said, "Perhaps it might be a good idea for one of us to check out the restaurant and lounge cars to see if we can spot any opposition there".
This message was last edited by the player at 16:17, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Coach J, corridor

Outside the combined compartments, they heard some animated conversation.

"Mr. Koskos", a British accented voice said, "Please calm down. I am sorry that your light is not working, but there is nothing I can do about that, understand?"

"You can fix it or place me in other cabin", said a drunken Greek voice.

"Unfortunately the train is fully booked, so I cannot turf anyone out. There will be a cabin free when we get to Turin, but not before".

Coach K, the Lounge/Bar


Jack sent a group text including Karl and Patrick.

#"Can you give me a test scan before you start sweeping the train?"#
This message was last edited by the player at 05:30, Sat 30 Jan 2016.

In reply to Jacqueline Baxter (msg # 97):

"Could be a way into one of the compartments? Who knows enough to fix a faulty light?" he asked those still in the three combined compartments.

In reply to Jack Random (msg # 98):

Not bothering to respond via text, Karl waved his metal detector over the scuba tank three times. He knew Jack would be looking for the signal and message only if their was a problem.

In reply to Jack Random (msg # 98):

Patrick watched Karl and sent a text to Jack.

" that was Karl if you did not already know. I'm next."

He hit the on tab and waved his detector from across the room. sent another text.

" that was from maybe six feet er two meters."

As Jack was waiting for a reply to his text, a woman walked up to the table next to him and slid into the slot.

"Good evening", she said with a distinctly foreign accent that Jack couldn't really place.

<a href="http://www.vier.be/sites/default/files/styles/vier_user_highlight/public/persoon/ruah2.jpg?itok=PUkbHqQJ">Foreign woman</a>

She was a very attractive brunette with light brown skin that Jack sort of recognised from somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. She was wearing a pink and white check blouse and blue jeans, a red handbag on one shoulder, which she placed on the table.

"Mind if I sit here?" she continued.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:09, Sun 01 May 2016.

"Evenin' maam.", Jack, smiling, made no effort to hide his American accent instead injecting all the North Carolina he could into the greeting.

"I reckon your as welcome there as anyone. Don't recognize the accent. Are you local?"

"Nah, I'm not local", the woman replied, "Tourist, well, working one at any rate. I've just finished off a video shoot in London for this YouTube channel I run. I don't know if you've heard of Maria's Place?"

Jack had vaguely heard of it; a fashion channel with over a million subscribers.

"Yeah? Wow, your pretty popular. My sister loves that channel."

Jack took his sunglasses off simultaneously adjusting his laptop so that the front side camera was pointed at her face.

"So you're Maria then?"

CIA life makes a guy paranoid. He ran a search of her photo.

In reply to Karl Braende (msg # 99):

"Well, I've replaced bulbs on BR Mark 1s before now", Melissa said, "Although I'm not sure the same techniques apply to the bulbs here and I don't exactly look like a maintenance person dressed like this".

"Oh, I know that, but how do you think that passenger would feel if somebody offered to take a look at it out of the goodness of their heart?"

In reply to Jack Random (msg # 104):

A search of Maria Santiago's photo revealed a woman with a love of beaches, bikinis and bungee jumping. There was more than one reason for those million subscribers, that was for sure.