"I prefer militant persuasion." Brian says, grinning rather good naturedly.

"I think we can handle finesse, but what exactly is our mission profile? Disrupt their operations, cut off their head, or gut the group top to bottom?"

Ayumi pouts. "Come on, Brian, don't get my hopes up like that."

Carla looks thoughtfully for a second, and begins speaking with uncharacteristic fluency and depth.

"Okay, let's think about what's worked in the past for us. You guys had some success in Vegas. I helped take out a soon-to-be-replaced drug lord in Colombia. Ayumi, you've chopped through swarms of yaks and triads."

She slaps her hand on the map over North Berwick.

"We need human intelligence, first of all. The scotsman helps a lot. I could start working at the red rooster or someplace near McLaren's shop, keeping a steady eye on 'em and staying out of notice. Maybe Jess runs her game on McLaren, and we let the pot simmer for a little while. We bug and tap everything we can. See if we can requisition a snoop or something. Then, when we think we know where catesby is, we catch her in her car, preferably having bugged it or wired it to blow beforehand. After that, it's just a matter of hamstringing their organization while they're in dissarray. If we find out they have something big in the works going down soon, we throw subtlety to the wind and start ambushing them whenever we can."

She leans back, folding her arms.

"That's my take, at least."

Jess nods.

"As you're probably aware, I've been building a cover identity. The problem is, Jessica Spiner, International Jetset Girl of Mystery, can't walk into a pub and down a lager with these guys. We'd need some sort of...hey, wait a second."

Jess seems to think for a few moments.

"Samantha. She'd have a good reason to know McLaren and have need for his wares. If we could be sure that McLaren doesn't know her face, we could request a voice profile from the Agency, and I could probably pass myself off as her - he should have heard of her, but I don't think it likely that they've ever met. If they've had a conversation on telephone, that would be even better. I've spent an evening with her, I could probably play her somewhat convincingly. I go knocking on his door, telling him that there's a problem within my organisation that I need busted out discreetly. We set them up and bust his strike group. I make my escape. By then, my cover will be blown to hell, and he'll be furious - at Jessica Spiner, that girl who's out to make a few enemies just for spite. We seed a few rumors about my whereabouts, preferably at some cozy location far away from civilisation. The way I see him, he'll fall for the usual routine and come himself to gloat at my defeat. That's when he walks into our second ambush, of course. By the same token, we might get Catesby; I wouldn't count on it, but it would at least severely weaken her power base."

She looks around.

"Does it sound crazy enough to work ?"

Carla raises an eyebrow "Wait, tell me more about samantha. How would she be able to initiate contact with McLaren?"

"Oh, sorry. Samantha - as we found out AFTERWARDS, of course - was the head behind the whole Vegas fiasco. At that time, we thought she was just a pretty face, but thanks to a Russian contact, we learned that she was our actual opponent - after she was out of reach, of course. The thing is, I even saved her from being kidnapped. So, you see, the bitch owes me a favor."

Jess looks at Carla.

"Sam wouldn't need an excuse to find McLaren. After all, she's been quite capable of sending a few heavily armed threats our way, so her knowing someone who knows McLaren makes sense. With that in mind, I don't think a phonecall would be too odd."

"That sounds like a good idea. Also, we should probably stake a few areas out in the next few days. Maybe mount a few video cameras, or put Brian up there--you have an eye for detail. Order of the day for most of us would be concealed carry, except for a sniper rifle, and maybe a LAW or two.

"I've got both. I figured this would come down to an ambush somewhere. A basic video bug, or myself, a good hiding place and a rifle, and we can survey the organization a bit. I'd prefer we not send agents in blind, especially into a place like this. Lay low for a few day...call of MI5..."

Ian scratches his chin, tugging on his turtleneck sweater as a cold draft rushes in from a crack in the kitchen window sill.

"While we wait for your equipment, I think it's best to have a look at the clientele patronizing the Red Rooster. I'll ring up Charlie and have him meet you at the pub tonight. If they show, try to get a picture of them...maybe one of you ladies could show them a good time. I'm not suggesting anything other than a having a few drinks, maybe a night-cap back at their flat. At this point, any new information we can retrieve will help."

The day passes with Ian making the arrangements for both the mission gear, vehicle, and the rendevous with Charlie at the Red Rooster that night.

A courier from Five arrives late in the afternoon with the Team's assumed identities/passports/credentials.

(see the OOC thread).

Jess looks over her gear, then at the file the Agency has provided on Samantha - which is, shall we say, a tad LIGHT on any relevant information. Non-plussed, she takes out her phone and hits a speed-dial.

"Ayumi, Carla, here's something you might want to take note of - the Agency is not God. Alternate Sources of Information are always useful."

The cell phone's display shows GEN KOSKOV.

Carla adjusts her outfit, a sort of "poor but stylish college student" look that Jessica helped her with.

"A friend of yours?"

"In Kasachstan, you have no friends. Only people who shoot at you, and people who shoot with you. He was one of the latter, and he's the one who told us Samantha Illingworth was the real baddie, so I think he'll be helpful."

Ian stops his persistant typing and focuses his attention on Jess.

"You know General Koskov??? Your file mentioned a run-in with him, but I was not aware you knew Koskov on a first-hand basis."

Brain grins slightly at the archetypal "by the book" nature of MI5.

"There are...alot of things...that don't find their way into our files Ian. Tends to upset the powers that be."

"This seems to be the bad penny unit, after all. We all have our share of surprises."

Carla adjusts her outfit, and throws her scarf around her neck.

"Does this make me look fat?"

"No, but this shirt might do the trick."

Ayumi is having trouble with the T-shirts she'd been issued, and the fact that they all came in extra-large. She begins tucking the end into her jeans.

"Ill-fitting clothes. They should include your measurements in your file, while we're on the subject of dossiers."

"I'm sure they did include them. It's not the first time my gear has been goofed, though, and not the worst. You should've seen me that time when command sent me .45 ammo for my .40's."

"While we discuss fashion..." Brian stands, packing various sets of useful clothing...street cloths, black sniper's fatigues and a ghillie suit, along with his "issued" Game Warden uniform into his duffel bag.

"Artis, any chance you could get me and the baby," he says, grinning at his brand spanking new, custom-crafted rifle "within say, five blocks of this pub? I'd like to scope out the terrain, see if I can set up a nice observation post incase of well...how things usually turn out with us."