December 6th, 7AM. Constanta Harbor.

The ride in from Bucharest had been a long one. Lenna had risen early, and left in the vehicle she'd secured. It had been easy enough acquiring the moving van. A little cash and a couple of lies was all it took. If required, Slate could reimburse her later. It didn't really matter, in the long run. With a thermos of coffee at her side, Lenna had donned the cap of a truck driver and made her way down the A2 highway. What mattered today was picking up her package.

The wheels of the van rolled into place in the parking spot, and Lenna got out. She glanced towards the other ships in the harbor. In the cold of the early morning, her breath was a white mist in front of her face. Lenna's eyes fell on the ship Meld was scheduled to be transferred from. She waited one moment, then strode forwards to talk to one of the workers at the harbor. He wore a green vest, and a blue cap over thinning brown hair. The ship was already unloading its cargo. Lenna explained to him in simple language what she was here for, and that she'd need a fork lift to move it, and gave him a winning smile. He moved to her aid, quick as a cricket.

A few minutes later, a forklift rolled across the concrete, and moved to transfer the appropriate Meld-laden crate from docks to the back of her van. The crate wobbled slightly as it rose on the lift, then moved from its starting point, into the vehicle.

Lenna thanked him, and pressed a light tip into the man's hands. He nodded his appreciation, then vanished onto other work. Lenna returned her focus to the back of the vehicle. She rolled up the ramp, and closed the back gate. Walking wide around the side of the vehicle Meld had been loaded into, Lenna entered the driver's side, and lifted a communicator. Her voice crackled to life in the back of the van.

"Hey, Meld. You okay back there?" She asked in English. "Knock twice if you are." She should be, Lenna smirked to herself. She'd arranged the contents of the back of the van so that other boxes spaced the distance between Meld's location and her seat exactly 7 feet apart. She hadn't left any space for the harbor workers to screw things up. Lenna had done her part to make sure Meld was as comfortable as could be mutantly possible in near proximitey to an Adapted, while locked away in the cramped contents of a crate.

God, I'm good. She grinned.

Now, all that was left was waiting to hear that telltale double knock backed response. She certainly hoped everything had gone as planned. If it had, Meld would be in the crate, alongside the guns Lenna had ordered.

Fingers crossed.

Traveling in a crate was NOT comfortable. Not that she had expected being trapped in a crate two days would be comfortable but the reality was so much worse than the expectation. She had enough room to move around a little, enough clothing to keep her warm and enough food to keep her sustained, but beyond that it was miserable. It was dark, she had nothing to do and while she could move, she couldn't move enough to get comfortable no matter how she positioned herself.

"Hey, Meld. You okay back there? Knock twice if you are."

Meld almost yelled out a sarcastic comment that would have been entirely unbecoming of her but by some miracle managed to resist the urge. All of her muscles were cramped from being forced into one position for more than 48 hours, the food was barely tolerable and she was bored out of her mind. Forced inactivity, especially in such conditions, was not something that she dealt well with. But, instead of yelling out something obscene, she settled for knocking twice on the side of the crate. Once she got out there would be yelling. Maybe. Damn having to be polite to her employers anyway.

Meld could barely contain her impatience as she waited for someone to open the crate and let her out into the real world. In addition to all of the other myriad of problems involved in being transported in a crate, breathing recycled air was far from pleasant. Really, there wasn't anything pleasant involved in traveling in such a manner and she vowed that this would be the first and last time she ever agreed to travel in a crate, no matter how much money she was being paid to do so. But at least she knew she was being paid well for this. That did count for something.

Two knocks. That was good. Lenna's grip on the intercom loosened. One worry off her list. She brought the communicator to her mouth again with a smug smile. "Feel free to break out of that crate whenever. I'm taking us straight to base after this. There's a cooler of food nearby, once you're out. Can't miss it. It's white, with a blue lid. And there's a walkie talkie, too. In case you wanted to talk..." The communicator dropped down for a moment as Lenna savored the moment. It wasn't every day she could be this kind, yet this cruel. Her grip snapped back onto the communicator. She spoke into it. "I'm starting the van now. Remember to keep at least an inch away from the red line of tape I set down on the floor. That's the extent of my aura. Aside from that," The key turned. The engine started up.

Lenna pulled forward, and away from the harbor. "Just chill. We'll be in Bucharest in a couple hours."

The cooler contained a beer, a can of cola, a bottle of water, and some sandwiches wrapped in plastic. She hadn't been sure what Meld cared for, so she'd given a decent selection. Out of the three sandwiches, one was tuna, one was ham and cheese, and one was turkey with tomato and lettuce. There was also a small package of sandwich cookies. The kind with cream filling? Yeah. Lenna hadn't felt like a soccer mom, packing all the goodies for Meld up, no.

She didn't even know what a soccer mom was.

So Lenna wanted Meld to break out of the crate. Well, she could certainly agree with that, if nothing else it would give her the opportunity to get out some much contained agression. And make no mistake, 2 days of forced captivity lead to some very pent up agression. Without even bothering to reply Meld forced a bladed hand through the side of her crate, causing it to splinter. A moment later and her second hand was through the crate, causing splinters of wood to cut into her very much flesh and blood arm above her hand. After that it was a simple matter of using her blades in definitive manner, repeatedly slamming them into the crate until the entire side splintered before them. Finally free Meld stretched and grinned her satisfaction. Or at least, stretched as high as the roof of the truck would allow her to, which was better than she had while trapped in the crate.

It really was amazing how even a few minutes of agressive activity could go so far towards reducing any feelings of aggressive and violent feelings towards her employer. By the time Meld had freed herself she felt only a little murderous towards Lenna who had trapped her there. But that was more than acceptable considering the present circumstances, right?

Before saying a word Meld took in her surroundings and went right to the area where the food was located, first opening a bottle of water and taking a large refreshing drink and then taking a bite out of one of the sandwiches. By the time she had finished her first sandwich slice she was feeling almost pleasant again. All in the course of duty. "So, when do we get down to business?" Meld finally asked, always the professional.

>>"So, when do we get down to business?

"I can brief you right now," Lenna replied. The van slid into line behind another vehicle as she spoke. Lenna glanced towards the signs, hoping she was going fast enough. "The plan is to return to Bucharest. From there, I've got an infiltration mission for you. You're going to play an integral part in helping us find a certain location. I'll give you more details, once we're back at base."

Lenna paused for a second, then brought the communicator back up. "What's the status of the package I had Ivan deliver with you? My guns and ammunition all in good condition?"

((OOC: In my next post, I could time-skip us to the arrival. There isn't much else to discuss in-van.))

Meld nodded as her directions were given her. They were still vague but at least it was more than she had known a moment before and she had confidence that she wouldn't be forced to go in blind. Even with what little she knew things were beginning to sound very interesting. It should be a challenge and there were few things she liked more than a good challange. Except, perhaps, for a challenge that ended in the overall betterment of the mutant cause.

"Your supplies are all here safe and sound," Meld answered. She wondered what the arsenal might be for but decided that if she was meant to know she would be told eventually and no amount of questioning would hasten the telling. If she wasn't meant to know then likewise her questions weren't likely to change matters.

Meld settled herself for a long van ride to go.

(OOC: Sounds good to me)

>>"Your supplies are all here safe and sound," Meld answered.

Lenna smiled. Good. Now that that had been clarified, everyone could rest easy for a while. Or drive down a highway for the next several hours... whichever.

~*Several hours later...*~

Lenna had thought ahead to arrange her return with the Underground. Still, they were real sticklers for secrecy, so... Lenna rolled the van into a pre-determined parking spot once she got into Bucharest, and stopped. She slid into the passenger side, and honked once.

A minute later, a member of the Underground approached the vehicle. Lenna tied the blindfold over her eyes, and gestured towards the keys.

"All yours...."

Stone glowered at her impassively, and got into the driver's seat. He shifted the car into 'drive', and took them to the secret location. Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into a massive garage. He parked the van, and got out.

Lenna undid her blindfold, and walked around to the back to set Meld free.

"Here we are," She noted. "The Underground."

The ride to where ever it was exactly that they were going turned out to be relatively uneventful. Meld was tired from her long captivity in the crate and actually managed to get a little sleep during the trip. It was yet another skill that she had picked up during her more active time working for organized crime families. Sometimes sleep came at unpredictable moments and one needed to be able to catch an hour here or there whenever one was able to.

Meld awoke just as she felt the truck beginning to halt its movement. It slowed down, felt like it was pulling into somewhere and then finally stopped altogether. A minute later the door to the back of the truck was opened, allowing her to finally be free.

"Here we are. The Underground."

"Nice to finally be out of there," Meld said, stepping out and stretching cramped muscles. "So, what happens now?" She was careful not to get too close to Lenna, remembering both the warnings and what happened when she got within the woman's 5 ft radius.

"I brief you. This is the Underground. It's currently the central hub of mutant activity in Romania," Or something like that. "Today, we're working for them, and my friend Sebastian. Our goal is to break mutants out of the Romanian mutant registration camps. To set them free from Hell. But first," she held up one finger. "We need to find it. That's where you come in. With your permission, we'd like to conceal a tracking device on your person, in one of your metal limbs. Because they're metal, and an obvious part of your mutation, guards with metal detectors once think twice about that telltale 'buzz' of the machine. You'll be able to get the tracking device beyond the initial scan. Once there, we'll be able to use your signal to locate the camps. It's paramount to our operations that you get captured, to this end."

Lenna paused, and looked Meld in the eye. "I must warn you, for this mission you may encounter adapteds, and more than likely will be forced to wear a collar that shocks mutants whenever they utilize their mutation. What do you think your body's reaction to this collar will be?"

She hoped it wouldn't be too painful.

Finally Meld was getting some answers. She followed Lenna from a safe distance as she spoke. Meld had heard about the mutant registration camps before, how could she not of, though had thankfully managed to evade them at the time. Not that they were really prevalent within Canada, of course, but even so she felt that her natural inclination to avoid the law had served her well during those months. She could admit, if only to herself, that the idea of infiltrating such a camp was daunting but if that's what was necessary to succeed in her mission than that's exactly what she would do.

"I'm willing to take whatever risk is involved in infiltrating the camps. I cannot abide by mutants being treated like common criminals or worse and has been my life's work to make the lives of all mutants better. If that means being captures and crated away into the camps and exposed to adapteds and other hardships, then so be it. Its not like I can be physically hurt." She smiled in very dark humour, not that most would understand. She was, after all, someone who literally cut off her own limbs in order to enhance herself.

"I can't feel pain at all. Therefore the collars aren't going to hurt me. The other effects," and she had seen clips of those effects, the convulsions, "are likely to be effective. I think the collars will mostly remain dormant unless I try to do something blatantly unnaturel." Or so she was hoping anyway. Based upon the clips she had managed to find, it seemed a fairly safe bet. "My main concern are my eyes. My tail eye I can keep closed, but I may be required to put a patch on my electronic eye at night. Hard to say for certain until I'm actually wearing one of the collars." She had to restrain herself from making an involuntary shudder at the prospect.

>>"I'm willing to take whatever risk is involved in infiltrating the camps. I cannot abide by mutants being treated like common criminals or worse..."

Atta girl.

"I'm pleased to hear that," Lenna smiled at Meld's attitude, and the statement that she believed the collar wouldn't have much of an effect on her, outside of the usage of her abilities. "We can get you a patch for your eye, if you desire one." She commented. Lenna glanced back at Meld. She'd been leading her deeper into the underground's base as they walked. She opened her mouth to explain why. "Right now, I've got a group set up that can help you with your preparations for the infiltration. They'll explain what you need to know about the tracking device, how we're going to get you in... all the juicy stuff. And here's the room now..." She stopped in the hallway, outside a door. Lenna opened the door, and walked in.

She continued on into the room, all the way to the back wall, and sat down in a chair. The room held a round table within it, surrounded by 3 seated mutants. They all looked up as Lenna and Meld entered the room. One was a grayish man. When he spoke, his voice was rough, like gravel. Another had pale, slightly-yellow, skin, and a tattoo of three black triangles arranged to form a larger triangle, under his right eye. He had a shock of white hair, slicked back in a mohawk. The final mutant was a beautiful woman who looked around 25 years of age. Her hair was long and brown. She wore a black tank top and padded vest over her curvy frame. The only thing that seemed eerily mutant about her was the color of her lips. They were a dark shade of red.

The lips parted to greet Meld in English. "Hello."

Lenna jabbed a thumb at the trio. "They'll handle your prep from here."

((OOC: Off-camera prep work for you?) If so, your next post can wrap this thread up, and you can start your mission at any time.))

As Lenna continued explaining exactly what was required of her, Meld followed, taking care to remember as much as she could about the route they were taking just in case she didn't have such a guide in the future. Her sense of direction and ability to create mental maps were far from infallible, but years spent as an organized criminal had honed such skills to fairly impressive levels.

"An eye patch may be beneficial," Meld agreed. She hated the idea of having her vision so hampered but didn't see any way around it. She would test out her theory first, of course, to see if it would indeed be necessary, but better to have the patch just in case then to find out later that she really could use the patch. Better to have her vision hampered than to be on the ground convulsing due to inadvertant use of her powers.

"Hello." Meld nodded her head respectfully towards the three mutants and began preparations for the mission to come.