Tanya Adams

Lucy walks down those steps as silently as possible, then when she approaches the open door, she taps on it in a two-one-two pattern before pushing it open far enough to see inside.

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Mary Anne hangs back and slightly to the right of Lucy.

She keeps her hands well away from her guns (in the interest of friendliness) but she's ready to get to any of her knives, in case things get less than friendly.

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A middle-aged, gray-haired woman is standing in the middle of the basement room. "Come in." She speaks in german. "Hands where I can see, drop your packs by the door."

There are two others, a younger woman and a man, flanking the door, each one holding a submachinegun. "No quick moves. We were expecting one, not two."

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Lucy does as she is told, smoothly removing her pack and setting it down. Now it does clink a bit.

She steps out into the open with her hands clear of her weapons. "Small change of plans. Too much for one person." Her German is better than her Russian especially after a quick brushup, but her accent is quite noticeable.

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Mary Anne adds her own bag and her rifle to the pile.

She's keeping her mouth shut for now, just taking the measure of the room.

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The woman narrows eyes a bit. "And neither of you are who we were expecting. But you know the codes and you did not bring an ambush party tailing you. Care to enlighten us?"

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"The one you were expecting got captured." No use evading at this point. "We're here to get her back, and destroy whatever information they may have there."

They may or may not care for an individual soldier, but surely it would be good all around to disrupt or destroy that filthy place in the bargain.

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Mary Anne chimes in with, "Any help you could give us--on either front--would be appreciated."

But we're doing this, with or without you hangs unsaid.

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"Two people, to Kryvosk Island, to rescue one operative? You know she is five days late in checking in? It means they have her for five days already, in two she will be a good robot spitting soviet propaganda, or dead. If they did not break her already." The older woman frowns. "You know they have a swarm of boats guarding the island, right?"

She grumbles, gensturing to the two guards, who lower their guns. "Shift change will be in the morning of the 7th day. Processed prisoners are sent to recovery center to finish reeducation and reprogramming. Those who are not broken down are executed by the end of the day."

"If you are going to do it, best bet is to sneak in during the previous night and wait for the sending-out of the general personnel going on leave. But then you have to find a way to get out."

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Five days already. Hell. It sounds worse and worse.

Lucy relaxes minimally when the guns are lowered. "We have a few tricks between the two of us. If we can get in, we can find a way out, and I thank you for the information."

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Mary Anne just smiles her thanks.

If it's a little thin, well, she's got a few other things on mind just now than making sure these people have a favorable impression of her.

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"Any of you two have experience with scuba diving?" She does not want for the answer. "More and more submarines have been moved south, preparing for the invasion of greece, to try and keep the british fleet from helping there."

"The other option is to stow away in the ferry."

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Lucy shakes her head. "Tunnels yes, water no, not even a snorkel since I was a kid." She looks over at Mary Ann. "Unless you want to try the water route, I'd just as soon take the ferry."

And they will take the ferry if necessary.

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"I swim alright, but never so much as looked at a scuba tank," she says.

"Which leaves us with the ferry."

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"We have a plan for a contingency. If we ever had to move things in. To exit, well... either of you can fly an attack chopper?" The older woman sighs. "At least if you two make a mess, we will have time to hit some targets here."

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Now Lucy grins. "I can pilot almost anything with rotors. If someone's got the guns, I can point them at something worth shooting at."

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"And I don't mind leaning out of the chopper and shooting the shit out of things," Mary Anne adds.

"Sounds like we're golden."

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"Good." The woman nods. "Be sure to make a mess: it will give us time to do our own messes here. We have two days to wait, Ingrid will show you where you can stay." The older woman gestures to the younger one with the submachinegun.

"I would also like to know how you got here carrying those packs, but my gut tells me I should not ask."

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"Thanks very much."

Their route here? Yes, best not to ask, yes. Surprisingly, Lucy even manages not to make the obligatory 'very carefully' joke. She gathers her things, getting ready to follow Ingrid. If she gets a little time there are some modifications she wants to make to the pinch device.

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"Thank you," Mary Anne echoes, collecting her own gear.

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Ingrid leads them out and along the dark back alleys, quickly and silently. The young woman has a cold, resolute expression, the face of someone who saw the worse a war has to offer.

They need to duck and hide to avoid soviet patrols, even paying attntion to the wind to not be revealed by guard dogs, but eventually they reach a three-story building and are guided to the top floor.

A small, clean and spartan apartment. "Here."

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Lucy, who had been half expecting a hidey-hole behind a wall, is pleasantly surprised. "Thanks, this is great. Will there be others here?"

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Mary Anne murmurs her own thanks and takes a seat on the edge of a bed, setting her bag between her feet while she checks over her rifle.

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Ingrid shakes head, leaning to the door. "No. There is food in the fridge and pantry, and the water works. Turn off the lights if you want to look out the windows." Obviously, she is there to also answer any other questions.

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