2011 06 19: Preliminary Findings

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Mission report found.

Mission Name: Preliminary Findings
Date of Mission: June 19, 2011
Locale: Amanda's Office - Division HQ

Jessica reports back some findings on a task assigned to her by Amanda.


amanda crewe

At first glance, the room appears empty, although guards usher Crewe inside at her designated appointment time. From somewhere unseen, classical music plays softly, only adding to the demure and civilized effect of Amanda's office. After a moment, the woman herself steps out from behind a room divider, used to give some privacy when her charges are trying on various outfits. Amanda holds one such gown aloft, running her fingers lightly over the fabric to smooth out any creases, as she carefully walks it to the clothing rack and hangs it back up.

The effect is pretty unsettling, especially given that the appointment was scheduled in as much haste as was humanly possible. Jessica hasn't even had a chance to change out of the same ratty jeans, sneaks, and army jacket that she had on while out on the streets earlier. The gun that she'd been secreting under said jacket has, of course, been stripped away, and the only thing she'd brought to the meeting is the recollection of what she observed from the target earlier in the day.

Amanda is not a woman to be rushed however. The gown is set lightly upon the rack and the hangers straightened before she turns to face her newest visitor, offering a calm and polite smile. "Jessica. Please, come in," she invites in a smooth tone, gesturing towards the seating area with the sweep of an open palm. Her hands are brought together and clasped lightly in front of her while she waits for the operative to sit first.

Crewe nods just once, and finally leaves the guards to make for the seating area, chairs on one side, couch on the other. Decision time, and she takes a seat at one end of the couch, figuring that the opposing chair will make for easier conversation. She's still not said a word, waiting for the questions to be passed to her first before giving the answers.

Once Crewe has made her decision, Amanda moves towards the seating area as well, moving purposefully without rushing. Before sitting, she takes a moment to pour them each a tall glass of water from a convenient pewter pitcher. She must refill it frequently, for the water is still quite cold. Sliding Crewe's glass across the coffee table, Amanda then settles into the armchair, resting her weight lightly upon one elbow. "Now, I understand you had some information regarding your current mission?" she asks with a slight twitch of her eyebrows, watching Crewe with an unwavering stare.

Once more, Crewe nods, and reaches for the glass of water. After taking a long draw from the glass, and steeling herself a bit, she starts to answer. "The ah…the senator's daughter. The one you want me to bring in? I spotted her today, at the movies. Followed her in and all, then followed her out. There are some thing I thought you'd want to know straight away, like…strange bruises? Vivid dreams of her breaking and entering, fighting guys. And that's not all." Jessica fidgets a little as she sits, not entirely comfortable with the languid gaze of one of the higher-ups focused right on her. She only looks up and then away, never really staring at Amanda either.

Amanda's face remains a mask of perfect civility. Crossing one leg over the other, she sits back now in her chair, considering this news and then offering a pleased smile. "That was faster than we could have hoped for. You were right to trust your instincts." She brings a hand up, making a sweeping gesture towards Crewe again. "But please, go on. What else have you discovered?"

"She was hanging with this geeky guy, and it was pretty obvious he really had the hots for her. They seemed to be stuck in the friends zone though. I didn't get a good look at the bruises, but they were on her forearms. She talked about her dreams being of breaking and entering to steal something, I think? And she said that when she fights in her dreams, she always wins. She was also asking me - a total stranger - if I knew anyone who could offer her psychiatric help, you know? For free? I gave her the number to my burner, and she took it. But I don't know if she'll remember it. She took a weird phone call and then…got in a car that wasn't her private car," Crewe rambles off, rapid fire.

Amanda still shows little to no expression other than that of listening intently with a polite smile fixed on her face. "The young man is likely irrelevant, but he may prove a useful tool. Don't be afraid to use these sorts of resources when they're presented to you," she advises, leaning forward to pick up her own glass and take a sip while she listens further, still showing no signs of finding any of this bizarre. "Did you get a good look at the vehicle?"

"Black. Sedan. Tinted windows. It looked about as government issue as they come. It pulled up, and off she went, leaving her own car and her own private driver just standing there. I guess the given excuse is that it's something of her father's, but it looked seriously Men in Black. Shady. She didn't even say good-bye, which was odd, given that just moments before she was talking cheerily. After that, I lost her." Leaning back on the couch, Crewe pats around in her pockets, looking for something. "Here. I tried to get the plate number down, but I had to fumble around in my pockets too much before I could write. It was a New York plate though." What she hands over is a crumpled receipt with some numbers and letters hastily scribbled on the back.

Amanda once again leans forward, setting down her glass and then reaching across to take the scrap of paper, looking down at it with a cool expression. "Our next session, we'll work on some memory techniques," she muses aloud. "An agent in the field does not always have the luxury of a piece of paper and time to write things down, as you've discovered," she points out with a smile that still doesn't entirely take the edge out of things. "I'd like for you to clone her cell phone. You can see Birkhoff for the equipment and any instruction you need on that."

That sends Crewe to a bit of a pale expression. "Alright, I'll put in for a meeting or whatever down with him. I can't say if it was her regular, normal cell phone, or if it was a burner like we use and toss. Actually, I should go back to the tabloid snaps of her and see if any of them have her using her phone. If it is," Crewe starts to muse. "I guess if it's the same phone, we could pull her cell records first and see if anything shows. I doubt it will, but it's one avenue right now."

"Even if these odd phone calls are coming in through another phone, her own may provide us with some important information," Amanda replies simply, noticing but not easing off the point even if Crewe has paled at the idea. "See Operations about pulling whatever records you feel are necessary. Should they have any problem with that, tell them they can speak to me," she goes on, offering a dangerous smile with that last comment. Few people have enough problems that they feel the need to speak with Amanda.

"Alright, I understand. And I'll keep my ear to the ground to see where and when she resurfaces. Maybe it will be tomorrow, maybe it will be next week, but I'm thinking it will be after another bad dream." At least Crewe seems to have picked up on the idea that the girl could have been triggered by the call and spirited away to take care of her own assignment. As for the tech crews, she adds on with a nod, "I'll make sure they know this is all coming straight from you, of course."

"Splendid," Amanda replies, smoothing the skirt of her dress down over her knee as she sits back in her chair and regards Crewe for another long moment. "You've done well so far, Jessica. Stay close to her as much as you can without pushing her too hard. And remember to keep certain, mm, quirks in check," she adds in a gentle reminder. "Is there anything else you wished to share?" She doesn't specify whether the offer extends to the mission or to Crewe's own personal issues.

"I uh…more training. Tech. Hand-to-hand. Stuff like that. I don't care if it's with the recruits again." She sets her jaw when she replies to Amanda, and nods once. "I just need to work on those. But I was also thinking of learning something else. Do you know anyone who's practiced in the techniques of poisons? Chemical compounds to achieve one or more effects?" Now Crewe seems to be rolling a bit, grinning just a little at the corner of her mouth.

Amanda doesn't answer immediately, instead considering Crewe and then nodding. "Yes, perhaps it is best for you to keep busy. I'll speak with the instructors about providing some time for you. And you are, of course, welcome to find your own sparring partners on the mats. Just try not to injure any of our recruits too badly," she says with a calm smile. "I do, in fact, know several. Let me check with medical if any have some time to spare for lessons."

"Time…time. I've got nothing but, I think." It's Crewe's sardonic way of making mention to her life before being recruited, and also the fact that she's been kept close to the bosses when giving missions. She's around HQ a lot, having no other place to go, except maybe to a sparse little apartment out in the city. "Okay, that's…great. I'd appreciate learning more about those things," she says with a full-on grin now, having displayed a penchant for learning about the instruments to orchestrate death.

"Of course. I'm glad you're thinking of productive ways to keep yourself occupied," Amanda replies, seeing absolutely no harm in encouraging Crewe's love of killing. "And it certainly won't hurt to learn some of the more subtle arts." She offers another smile with that, nodding only once. "Now, unless there was anything else, you're free to go, Jessica."

"Okay, of course. Nothing else," she says. Standing, she feels the urge to try and straighten her jacket and smooth out her jeans, both of which are basically impossible since they're ratty. That being the end of the conversation, she returns to the guards there at the door, and waits to be lead back out into the hall.


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