Operation Reconnaissance

01101 Risk and Return

It was nearly morning when the beaten up cab drove grumbling into the outskirts of the forests eastward of Karavine Institute.

During the drive, not once did the driver turn around to look at the extra companion the two spies had brought back. She didn't need to; she had known the child beforehand. It was a simple encounter, a simple passing of the streets during her time in France.

The child was an innocent victim that suffered from a riot. The fencer had rescued the boy and left him in the hospital he was just taken out of, and had been nice enough to pay the fee for patching up the boy's severed leg and obtain a cheap supporter.

The ten-year-old never had a brother, much less any family, for they were all lost during the war. The French scientist had taken his chances, assuming that there was a child in the hospitals. He found a convenient cover, which just so happened to be the young boy.

Rosalind was lucky enough to arrive just in time to rescue the two spies and the child from the pursuing French government. She had previously left a note in her office, knowing that Alexa and Tristan would've been ordered there to retrieve information. There, she further facilitated everything to the two spies.

From her speculations, which proved to be veracious, she had deduced that it was impossible for the French scientist to have slipped from the government's grasp that easily, for he did not have the protection or permission of the government. So, the scientist must've been working for the French government the whole time, pretending to defect to England as a mousetrap for the country's spies.

That was about as much reason Alexa and Tristan needed to know to accept that the French scientist had to be executed, which she stated as the last sentence in the hastily scribbled note. As of now, she could only trust that they had done her request.

There was another thing, however, that the fencer had noticed. The French scientist had felt guilty enough to reveal the offer that the French government had offered him. He had shown her a note during the interrogations conducted by her own will. Rosalind had memorized the note's contents and reported it to her superiors, but had also told the man to keep the note to himself.

As the fencer pulled the car to a stop, the contents resurfaced in her mind yet again. It wasn't easily forgotten.

"Et tu?" The fencer muttered.

The message was meant for her, she was sure; an ominous message given by the French government to question loyalty. Even with the whole organization of England's top spies behind her back, Rosalind knew for a fact that somehow the French government would still track her down.

The wanton spy jumped out of the static car, followed by the younger boy on the meticulous girl's back. Rosalind stood, running her hand across the muddy exterior of the old cab. She looked back at the other three, who were patiently waiting for her, finally making herself visible to the young boy, who seemed to choke on a gasp.

"Go on ahead. I've got to do some maintenance. It's safe to assume those two have returned," said the fencer, "And Roland?" Rosalind paused, checking if the young boy was listening, then continued. "I'll get another supporter for you. A much better one this time."

Jocelyn nodded. "Will do. Be safe, now," she replied.

The fencer nodded, mirroring the meticulous girl. She watched as the three left, disappearing into the forest. Then, Rosalind climbed back into her car, starting up once again, ignoring its creaking whines as she drove off towards Central's headquarters.

---

It seemed to the two spies that they were purposely being avoided by the other three of their group and the rest of Central. In truth, they weren't hiding it. Lancelot and Jocelyn had requested to switch to another class, while Rosalind just wasn't coming to most of the classes anymore after she randomly registered a "distant relative" named Roland. No one questioned it, however, for it was the norm for someone to appear and disappear in the middle of the school year due to family problems.

Though, Alexa and Tristan both knew very well that it was anything but family problems. The former had even caught the missing fencer in the hallways once or twice at midnight, and all that she could pry out of the fencer was that she was doing missions with only Lancelot and Jocelyn. When asked why the fencer simply avoided it and wiggled her way out of the questioning.

This went on for two weeks in total until they suddenly and finally received an order from Central. The scale of the operation shocked all.

They were to assassinate the king of France.

Central refused to meet up with any of the spies. In the span of two weeks, so much happened behind the two spies' back that they began to get suspicious.

They weren't suspicious of their friends. Instead, the two were suspicious of Central itself. Rosalind, Lancelot, and Jocelyn would never fake or ignore orders. They've always followed the ones made by their Generals only. It wasn't clear, even to the three, why they had to destroy the French government by assassination its king.

Central, in the midst of conflict, had resorted completely to total anarchy.