06-19-2018, 11:38 PM
Matéo Labat, Agent C-02 of the Laeralian Bureau of External Action, wanted urgently to know what was going on in Usera. Following the Coalition invasion he'd heard about through the state-run media, the Lauchenoirian junta had quickly begun locking down Buttercity. Police patrolled the streets, going house by house to check identification. Matéo had been lying low at the flophouse for over a week now, but as he saw the police cordons coming closer and closer by the day, he knew that it was time to go. He'd slipped out of his neighborhood last night with only his few possessions, his false ID card, and his gun, and was now wandering the streets of Buttercity, desperately searching for a place to stay or a way out. He'd had a nasty scare when, trying to check up on one of the dead drops from which he received orders, he noticed a man with the distinctive build and posture of a soldier, apparently reading a newspaper with the bulge of a gun under his coat. The Lauchenoirians must have found out about that one. Matéo had first thought of going to the Laeralian Embassy, but he'd heard that it was under tight surveillance by junta troops. A fragile cover, no place to stay, police patrolling the streets... Matéo was in they type of situation they'd warned him about during his training. He sat down on a park bench and tried to remember what, exactly, they'd told him about situations like that. Don't let yourself get caught in a trap, that was certainly one thing. He had to get out of the city. But how? And where would he go next? That question was easy enough to answer. Daniel and Leonie had both gone to Usera; he could meet them, and hopefully other rebels, there. The government had suspended transportation to Usera, citing the danger of the "terrorists and foreign agitators" active there, but the trains and buses to Yerville were still operative. Hmm...
About an hour later, Matéo, dressed in casual travelling clothes and carrying a suitcase he'd bought, now weighed down with his meager possessions and various rocks he'd found, bought a ticket at the train station for a train to Yerville leaving in a few hours' time. He sat down in the passenger waiting area and looked around for a likely-looking person. An hour and a half later, he spied a businessman typing furiously on a laptop, who bore some physical resemblance to him, sitting in the same waiting area, meaning that they'd both be boarding the same train. Excellent. He waited for the next two hours, catching a short nap, and keeping an eye on the man. When their train was called, the man stood up, and Matéo followed close behind him. Passenger boarding the train were being checked by both civilian railroad employees, who checked tickets, and armed soldiers, checking identification. As the crowd of passengers approached the checkpoint, they pushed together in the narrow hallway, with Matéo staying as close as he could to the businessman. In the crowd and noise, it was easy enough to steal the man's card from his coat pocket, and Matéo left the card in its place. He quickly flashed the card he'd stolen to the soldier, who nodded him through. Matéo walked past and boarded the train to Usera. Hopefully he'd find some use for himself there.
About an hour later, Matéo, dressed in casual travelling clothes and carrying a suitcase he'd bought, now weighed down with his meager possessions and various rocks he'd found, bought a ticket at the train station for a train to Yerville leaving in a few hours' time. He sat down in the passenger waiting area and looked around for a likely-looking person. An hour and a half later, he spied a businessman typing furiously on a laptop, who bore some physical resemblance to him, sitting in the same waiting area, meaning that they'd both be boarding the same train. Excellent. He waited for the next two hours, catching a short nap, and keeping an eye on the man. When their train was called, the man stood up, and Matéo followed close behind him. Passenger boarding the train were being checked by both civilian railroad employees, who checked tickets, and armed soldiers, checking identification. As the crowd of passengers approached the checkpoint, they pushed together in the narrow hallway, with Matéo staying as close as he could to the businessman. In the crowd and noise, it was easy enough to steal the man's card from his coat pocket, and Matéo left the card in its place. He quickly flashed the card he'd stolen to the soldier, who nodded him through. Matéo walked past and boarded the train to Usera. Hopefully he'd find some use for himself there.