“Don’t worry Katrina,” said Hunter with a smile, “So long as you don’t imagine something that could be mistaken for real you won’t cause any serious harm.” Turning back to Paragon he could read the suspicion on her face. She was wondering why Katrina was here. He would be able to better explain it when they where alone, but for now he needed to get them moving, they needed to get settled into their new apartment today.

On que Nigel Banks strolled into the room, also dressed casually. “Nigel, glad you could make it,” Hunter said, greeting his chief lieutenant with a smile. Nigel handed Hunter several documents. Passing one to Paragon he began to explain how their cover would work.

“For this mission I will be going by the alias James King. Iris, you will be Katie Doe. Nigel here will be my brother, George King. Katrina, you will be George’s daughter, Jenny King. Our story is this, I am a salesman from out of state. My brother George, a big contractor in New York, has secured me and my girlfriend Katie an apartment, which we are moving into today.”

“Having already spoken to the Church of Humanity we’ll begin our infiltration this Sunday, when we formally join the Church. That gives us two days to get settled into our new apartment. It’s been arranged for us both to be on the payroll of peripheral companies I own, but without an actual need to go and work there. Instead we can use the time that we would otherwise spend working honing our skills for the challenge ahead.”

He paused and waited for Paragon’s reaction. It suddenly occurred to him that he had neglected to mention to Katrina that he and Paragon would be playing the part of boyfriend and girlfriend. He wondered how she would react to that, as well as having Nigel as her pretend father.

“There are animals that aren't allowed in Virginia? That's weird, what kind?” Mutant cats perhaps? “And it is pretty in the fall, I go horse back riding in the hills and there are all sorts of colors.”

She wondered what Hunter meant by his statement, “So long as you don’t imagine something that could be mistaken for real you won’t cause any serious harm.” Aren't all illusions able to be mistaken for something real? Am I only supposed to do unrealistic things? That doesn't make sense. Katrina didn't ask what he meant, he had already moved on, and it didn't seem that important.

A new, (insert description here, apparently he isn't black like I used to think he was, since he has to pose as my father), man walked into the room and handed Hunter some documents, as if on cue. Then he stood quietly at attention as Hunter debriefed them on their mission.

Hunter was taking this very seriously. The resistance was serious, but he obviously hadn't played pretend in long time. First of all, those names had to go. Jenny King was fine but the other names would have to go. Honestly, Doe? “Umm, Hunter? Aren't those names kind of... old fashioned? They sound like they were ruling England two hundred years ago and having bibles named after them. And Doe is too generic, don't they use “Jane Doe” when their talking about unidentified corpses? How about you can be Darren King, and your brother can be Milo. Jenny is fine for me, but Iris should be Katie Christiansen, or something like that instead.”

She gave them a moment to digest that., then added, “and if you're going to be a salesmen from out of state, what state are you from? You'll have to figure that out so you can work on your accent. Brothers at least should have the same accent.” She glanced at Nigel/ George/ Milo. He wasn't acting very brotherly, what with his standing at attention while Hunter gave orders. They'd have to work on that, too.

She thought about the whole Hunter pretending to be Iris' boyfriend. It made the most sense for their story, since they looked the same age. It would be okay as long as they didn't do anything gross. “Umm, if you are going to be boyfriend and girlfriend, then you can hold hands, but snogging isn't allowed. That would be...wrong.” Katrina just wanted to make sure on that point. Pretending to date your daughter was okay, snogging her wasn't.

"Quaker parrots," Iris answered Katrina with a smile. "Little gray and green birds that are very smart and sweet, but also very hardy in the wild, and multiply very quickly, like rabbits."

Iris accepted the documents from Nigel, but didn't look at them just yet. She listened to Hunter's story, her expression blank.

James, George and Jenny. Ooookay..... Iris could deal with that. But 'Katie Doe'?

.... .... ....

Iris glanced at the file. Maybe this was actually an audition for Cold Case Files or CSI.....

“Umm, Hunter? Aren't those names kind of... old fashioned? They sound like they were ruling England two hundred years ago and having bibles named after them. And Doe is too generic, don't they use “Jane Doe” when their talking about unidentified corpses?" Iris coughed to cover a laugh. Had she said that aloud, it would have come across as sarcastic or rebellious. But somehow Katrina said it without any hint of sarcasm. "How about you can be Darren King, and your brother can be Milo. Jenny is fine for me, but Iris should be Katie Christiansen, or something like that instead.”

"Thank you Katrina. I like that much better." Iris winked.

"And if you're going to be a salesmen from out of state, what state are you from? You'll have to figure that out so you can work on your accent. Brothers at least should have the same accent.” Iris bit her lip.

"Sounds right to me." She watched Hunter's face to see how he was taking the suggestions. She also made a mental note to see if Katrina wanted to go shopping or something of the like. To see a twelve-or-thirteen-year-old picking holes in Hunter's carefully thought out plan was hilarious, and deserved to be rewarded.

“Umm, if you are going to be boyfriend and girlfriend, then you can hold hands, but snogging isn't allowed. That would be..wrong.”

Iris visibly shuddered. "No worries there," she assured Katrina, at the same time pegging Hunter with a glare. Even the 'holding hands' part was wrong, as far as she was concerned. She still had no idea how they were possibly going to pull this off. Maybe she could convince Katrina to stand between them in public....

Hunter listened to Katrina’s objections to the names. Honestly, he’d simply picked the names at random. Perhaps he was showing his age in the choices. “You’re point about the names is a fair one, Nigel, make sure the paperwork is change to be Darren King, Milo King and Katie Christiansen.”

“As for the accent,” said Hunter with a smile, “We have that one covered don’t we Milo.” The last part of the sentence was said in a Wyoming style accent.

“Sure do,” Nigel answered, flashing a smile while coming over and clapping Hunter on the back. His accent was a little softer, with some New York mixed in. “But with New York being the United States mixing pot I don’t think we’ll be too out of place with it huh bro?”

“Not at all,” said Hunter, still keeping up his accent, “And defiantly no worries for that last part. We’ll steer clear of public displays of affection, don’t you worry. Now, if we’re all ready let’s go and see our new apartment.”

Hunter's accent sounded a little weird after she had gotten used to the regular one, but it was pretty convincing, definitely not east coast, definitely out of state. It was also a little unsettling to see one of Hunter's employees do something other that stand at attention when he was around. It made Nigel/ Milo seem more human and more brotherly. That taken care of, she was ready to start playing her own part.

"Papa?" she asked Nigel, "are we staying at Uncle Darren and Katie's apartment until they join the church on Sunday or are we coming home after we help them move in today?" Katrina didn't need to change her accent, because she was already an east coast girl.

“You’re point about the names is a fair one, Nigel, make sure the paperwork is change to be Darren King, Milo King and Katie Christiansen.”

Well, that was a relief. The trick was going to be remembering who was who. Jenny would be no problem, since Iris had just met Katrina; a few times calling her Jenny, and she'd have it in mind. And she might even forget Katrina was her real name after this was over. She hoped the girl wouldn't mind too much if that happened. Milo would be easy for the same reason, as she'd never met Nigel before.

<"Katie, Katie, Katie. Remember to respond to Katie. Or maybe Katrina....."> She'd ask Katrina if she could borrow her name for awhile, to help her remember. That, plus she was sure that, before this job was over, at some point she would be as mad as a hurricane.....

But Darren.... Darren.... <"Hmm..."> .... Okay, there was an older gentlemen that was always bringing in ravens that flew into his window for treatment at the Ranch, named Derrick. And he was old, in his eighties. Not as old as Hunter, though he looked it, but still, old.

<"Old man, old man.... Darren, Derrick...."> It was close, and she'd have to think of it before saying it. Might be tricky, but workable. She hope she didn't slip up when it was really important.....

“As for the accent, we have that one covered don’t we Milo.”

“Sure do. But with New York being the United States mixing pot I don’t think we’ll be too out of place with it huh bro?”

“Not at all.”

Iris stared at the men, a somewhat unreadable look on her face. Their accent, Hunter's especially, was very close to her own. It was deeper, since she was from further south on the mountain range, in Colorado, but still familiar. And why not? She'd heard, and developed it herself from.... childhood.... For a split-second she felt both homesick and comfortable at the same time. It was.... disturbing....

She was off-balance enough that she didn't even make a smart comment about 'non-public displays of affection' being wrong as well.

"Papa? Are we staying at Uncle Darren and Katie's apartment until they join the church on Sunday or are we coming home after we help them move in today?"

Katrina's question brought Iris back in kilter. So, that left her as the only one not in character. She scrubbed her face with a deep, 'I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this' sigh, and stood up. Once hand picked up the cat carrier, while the other held out towards Katrina.

"Well, Jenny, shall we see what the new place looks like? Then maybe Uncle Darren will give us one of his credit cards to go shopping with later."

She smiled winningly at Hunter. A smile that clearly said, "I'll do this, but you will pay for it. One way or another."

“We’ll see,” said Hunter with a smile, still keeping up the accent, “Now come on, we best get going.” He led the little group out of the infirmary and towards the vehicle bay. Nigel moved next to Katrina and offered his hand with a smile. Hunter had decided against offering Paragon his hand, feeling that was a subject to be broached at a late date.

In the vehicle bay Hunter lead Paragon to one car while Nigel led Katrina to another. The journey to their new apartment would be a good chance for Paragon to get stuff off her chest as well as allowing Katrina to get acquainted with her new “father”.

(OOC: Continued in On the Road)