InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "An uncredited guest appearance"

April Kepner (april_kepner) wrote in omega_reality,
@ 2012-10-25 19:26:00

Entry tags:

*complete, 2012 10, character: april kepner, character: emily prentiss, character: sam hanna

RP: April, Sam, Emily
Who:April, Sam, Emily
Where:Team Center
When: October 25
Summary: April hands in her report

She'd barely known what Dim Sum was when she started this assignment, but now she knew both what it was and possibly every place you could eat it in Brooklyn. She also knew a lot more about various car-services than she'd known before. She was however, finally finished with her report.

It hadn't been easy, especially considering who had chosen to accompany them. Four assets, two people with no guns and she and Nate who had less training than the others made for a lot of times spent working on the teams and placement in cars, but she had done her best and hoped she hadn't made too many mistakes.

She approached Sam and Emily after morning training. "My assignment," she said as she handed them her report. "It's the only copy, there are no traces of it elsewhere," she said. "The biggest difficulty is the teams, but also the restaurant itself. It's big and open and crowded. Street on one side, parking lot on the others." She paused. "I hope you'll find the report satisfactory."

Location: East Harbor Seafood Palace
Address: 714 65th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11220
Distance: 2 miles
Traveling Time: 10-15 minutes with car service, 30-40 minutes with public transportation depending on traffic and routes chosen

Departure from base: 10:00
Departure from restaurant: 13:00

Mode of transportation: Car Service or Bus/train
Alternative 1: Car service: 4 cars needed, ordered just beforehand (different avenues up- 7th, 3rd, 4th, I-278)
Alternative 2: Bus B70 to 8th Av/65 st
Alternative 3: Bus B63 to 5th Av/66st
Alternative 4: Bus B70 to Bay Ridge – R-train to 59th st – N-train to 8th Av

Going: April, Eliot, Nate, Sean, Troy, Tim, Alexis, Eric, Claudia, Brian, John, Nell, Derek

Left at home: Vance (said to tell you to ask him), Elaine (She'll be with Bud or Margaret)

If in cars (first name responsible if things go badly):
• Car 1: TIM, Eric, Nate
• Car 2: TROY, Nell, Eliot,
• Car 3: ALEXIS, Brian, Claudia, Sean
• Car 4: DEREK, John, April

If public transportation (one per route):
• Team 1: ALEXIS, Tim, Eric, Nate
• Team 2: TROY, Nell, Eliot, April
• Team 3: DEREK, Sean, Brian and John, Claudia

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sam_hanna
2012-10-25 10:05 pm UTC (link)

Sam looked at the paper, long enough to know to take in the details, and then passed it to Emily. There were things that he hadn't asked Alexis, because it didn't matter, but others that would be more important here and maybe people would see how each mission was unique and he couldn't cover all the possibilities.

"A few things come to mind. One, when you search for this, where did you search for the other restaurant?" Sam asked. "Two, why not see if they let you squeeze a fifth person, maybe someone like Nell or Alexis who are tiny and save a car?" Those were things he wanted her to consider for the future, but his biggest concern where the teams.

"This is a private outing, right? How many do you think will come with you if you start splitting up couples? And why put Alexis as team leader over Riggins who has more experience? But really, why these teams? You're putting an eighteen year old in charge of a close to fifty year old man, which fine, I can even see with some people, but Riggins does have more experience. You're splitting Troy and Sean and I can see that going over so well. And why would you split the group? I can see having groups in case of an attack so you can move quickly, but splitting them before hand? You're never going to get anyone to go anywhere, especially the people with the skills, because they won't come to watch your back. They'll go on their own without having to worry about any of this."

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april_kepner
2012-10-27 03:29 pm UTC (link)

April didn't mind the questions, this was a way of seeing is she could get it right, and of helping her learn if she got it wrong. In this case she also had answers to all questions.

"Chance Cuisine on 223 Smith St, Pacifana on 813 55th St, Hottest 86 on 2172 86th St and Dumpling Café on 861 Grand St," she answered. "I also looked at a few restaurants which served a normal brunch as well," she answered. She'd stopped doing that after answering Alexis. "I looked at a few on Manhattan as well but focused most of the search on the Brooklyn area since that's what anyone reading would believe we were most likely to go to anyway."

"I didn't call the car service yet since I didn't want to alert anyone to the possible use of it, but would call them right before leaving so not to alert anyone of us using them. Of course I could have called and asked them that, that was a mistake on my part." It would have been easier to do this with three cars than four. It was one of the things she'd wished for yesterday when she'd done this.

"To answer the first part first, it was because if I didn't split up couples I'd have John and Brian in one car, and they're both high targets and you clearly said not to have two high targets together," April answered. "If you go with the entire group you'd have three high targets together."

"My first draft was a lot different, it had all couples together, but it wouldn't be following your instructions," she explained, while at the same time taking out a pen and paper and writing down her original plan. Once she was done, she handed it over to Sam. "This was my first draft."

Car 1: Eric, Alexis, Tim, Claudia
Car 2: Nell, Troy, Sean
Car 3: Eliot, April, Nate
Car 4: Brian, John, Derek

"It does put Brian and John in the same car, but it also keeps all couples together and give constellations which will always protect each other. This would have been my personal choice, but as it didn't follow the regulations you set for us to complete the task I decided not to use it. Even though you said to use common sense I didn’t want to start off with breaking regulations. That was also my reasoning for breaking off Sean from Troy in the last one, with two high targets in that group I wanted an extra gun in that team.”

"As for why Alexis and not Tim, I factored in that he worked a lot with Eliot at the ranch, which would have given him less training than Alexis for several months."

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sam_hanna
2012-10-27 04:13 pm UTC (link)

"All restaurants in Brooklyn, making it easier for them to focus their search." He smiled. "No we wouldn't. Chinatown in Manhattan is the big attraction. Jing Fong is so famous that everyone who grew up in the city has gone there. In fact, that's the place to be. In fact, you have a few in Queens like East Ocean Palace which are just as famous. If you did a search of Dim Sum in New York, those are the places you find, those are the places you search. You make it as varied as possible. As far as possible. Looking at two restaurants or two stores in the same area doesn't make their life more difficult. It just wastes your time."

He nodded. "Good calls on the cars, but no you can ask the same morning. You did the right thing."

He looked at the names in the list and made more sense from a social event, but that wasn't his concern. "I wasn't thinking about the cars, because honestly if you can fit in three cars, then this is moot and if you have time to wait for a car service ride back home, then again, nothing wrong is going on." He pointed at the names in the public transportation. "You still have Brian and John and you split Troy and Sean. Do you seriously think that they would listen? Also you have listed one team per route, but how do you decide? Who's got point in case of an emergency? Who's the 2IC? People shoot at you, you can't sit around and decide who goes where. You need someone that starts giving orders and quickly. Also buses are slow, come every 20 minutes and give you no cover while putting a lot of people in danger. There are two train stastions and Brooklyn is on a grid. Teams can hide in the crowd and walk to the stations, better than standing around waiting for a bus. You figure out where the train stations are, you show people maps with streets and stations and then the team leader gets his group there. In fact, even people who are split up can get there." He turned his head to look at her. "So how would you change the groups for an escape and who's in charge?"

Sam nodded as she explained about Alexis and Tim. "Okay, I'll buy that." He felt Tim was a little more ready to take command, but Alexis did have more training. Then again, they'd see Saturday if they could rely on Alexis.

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april_kepner
2012-10-27 04:48 pm UTC (link)

April nodded an took note of what he said. She hated making mistakes and she wouldn't make the same one twice if she could help it. Which was the reason why she broke up into a smile when he said that she'd done the right ting with the cars. As much as she hated getting things wrong, she loved getting things right.

"My thought was quite simple, team one take route one, team two take route two and so on. The first name would be the one to take point and direct the team in case of an emergency, the second name would be the 2IC." She could see his points though, and see how much easier it would have been to work with. She looked at the teams. "With three teams it's impossible to get them all in one group," she said. "But maybe this would be better." She wrote up a few changes and handed him a slip of paper

• Team 1: ALEXIS, Tim, Eric, Eliot, April
• Team 2: TROY, Nell, Sean, Claudia
• Team 3: DEREK, John, Brian, Nate

"Another alternative would be to make two bigger teams instead, but I feared that two teams would be too big."

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sam_hanna
2012-10-27 05:04 pm UTC (link)

"Slow down, you're mixing things. Let's start with the teams. Now youre changing everything when there's no reason. You keep team one they way it is. You switch Derek with Troy and you're done. In fact, you can even switch Ford with Claudia to give that team more fire power. So you have Team 1: ALEXIS,Tim, Eric, Claudia. Team 2: DEREK, Nell, Eliot, and you. Team 3: TROY, Sean, Brian and John, Nate." That was the easy one.

"Now, even with team leaders you do need someone in charge. Usually your op, you're point, but if there is an emergency, then you want someone who can thing of other things like where do you hide, what do you do to get in touch with the group? Where do you go after you get on the train? Running doesn't help if you don't know what you're doing. You need somene in charge that dictates play. You haven't listed anyone," he pointed out. "That still doesn't deal with the fact that all escape routes require you to stand and wait for a bus while people shoot at you."

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april_kepner
2012-10-27 05:25 pm UTC (link)

April looked at him, then at the people. "Derek," she said. "He has the experience, and the know-how. If there was an emergency, he'd be the best to take point. He's also someone who everyone would listen to." Possibly with the exception of Nate and Eliot, but Eliot listened to her and Nate listened to Eliot, at least when it came to security.

"Now if someone is shooting at us, it's very likely the government. If that's the case, none of these routes work because then we can't return here anyway. Blending in on the subway and taking the first best train out would be better."

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sam_hanna
2012-10-27 05:31 pm UTC (link)

"Derek is a good choice and yes, people listen to him." He was new, but anyone with eyes could see that he was a soldier. Sam didn't know the full story, but knew enough from John to go with Reese as lead.

Sam looked at Prentiss for a moment, then back at April. "Why would you think we have teams and alternate routes? In case someone steals your wallet? They are always because it's the government. You're panning in case an attack occurs. That's why the teams, the lead, the contingencies. What if there's an attack both against you or the people at the base? That's what you're preparing for, April I thought that'd be obvious by now. You look for transportation near where you are to disappear."

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april_kepner
2012-10-27 06:15 pm UTC (link)

"I know that, that's what I meant. The routes can be alternate for getting there and getting home but if we're fleeing those routes won't be once we're using because we're not going back to base."

"Our best bet is either to use the trains to get to Manhattan and from there to Jersey, or to steal cars. Not the most moral choice, but the most flexible one and there is a parking lot behind the restaurant. If there is an attack, our best bet is to go out the back, steals cars and drive to Jersey."

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emily_prentiss
2012-10-27 06:31 pm UTC (link)

"I think, perhaps, there's still a misunderstanding here," Emily interjected. She had a feeling Sam was going to get frustrated frustrated soon and that would only put April more on the defensive, which wouldn't help. "You have a primary route and alternates listed, but they're not viable in case of an attack. So, I think what Sam is trying to get at is why do you have alternates listed? In what circumstances would you use them if not as a means of escape in an emergency?

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april_kepner
2012-10-27 06:57 pm UTC (link)

April looked at her. "Because the instructions said to use alternate routes both for there and home," April answered. She'd gone through great trouble making sure she'd done what Sam had told them to do. Never put two high targets together; use alternate routes for the various teams, as well as alternatives for the alternate routes. "The why, I assume it's to make it harder for the government to follow us or predict where we're going or to give us alternatives if we feel that a specific route is unsafe for any other reason."

She frowned. "I can see that I should have added alternatives for getting out in case of an attack, but at the same time I couldn't put the route to the house in Jersey or make reference to the house in a written report. Even with this being the only copy of that report, the consequences of it ending up in the wrong hands would be dire."

"So what is the correct way of doing it? Should I not do the alternative routes for getting there and home but just do the alternative routes for getting out of Brooklyn in case of an attack, still not referencing the house in Jersey of course, or should I do both? How detailed am I expected to be? Would it have been enough if I would have put - in case of emergency steal a car from the parking lot or run to the train station on 8th avenue and take first train out, or should I put down the driving route? Should I have a timetable for the trains in the information and where the trains are going?"

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sam_hanna
2012-10-27 07:11 pm UTC (link)

"No, I didn't. I said that you needed alternative routes. I never specified for what, because I assumed that people by now would know what they are for," Sam answered. "April, if they don't want to kill you, they aren't following you. If they want to kill you, then you aren't coming back. Never in my mind, did I think that a route is unsafe for any other reason. If you aren't able to take out any criminal, no matter how well armed, at this point, then I've screwed up with training. Other than a trained group of soldiers, there's no gang, no organized crime unit, no terrorist that you shouldn't be able to take down."

Sam looked at her. "Then what's the point of having alternative routes to the safehouse if other people don't know them. It's your job to make sure that this doesn't get in someone's hands. The way you do it is by identifying train stations, lines, distance to the path. I think everyone by now should know how to steal a car or how to drive?" That reminded him to make sure that the new people knew how to get there. "You should know how often the trains run, how many lines there are at each stop. There might be a stop that's closer, but hiding and going a few extra blocks might bring you to a station with multiple lines. You're listing escape routes, but then the team leaders need to know how to get there. The person in charge might even give you a secondary location in case of a real emergency, so place where to regroup before going to the safehouse. That would override everything you've planned. That's why you do have someone in charge, someone who can read the situation and change the plans to reflect the situation at hand. You might have to go North, and backtrack because there's no direct way, especially now that the bridges are policed."

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april_kepner
2012-10-27 07:25 pm UTC (link)

"So when you said alternate routes, you were only talking about escape routes, not all routes and I misunderstood you?" she asked, when he went on she thought about the question.

"If this was something I've initiated, I'd let them know in person, I wouldn't put it down to paper. If it's not on paper it can't be read by anyone else," she said. It was one of the first things that Mike had told her when they moved into the same house, and something which had been stressed again and again.

She listened as he continued, nodding. "Okay, thank you."

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sam_hanna
2012-10-27 07:32 pm UTC (link)

"You assumed, I assumed. I'll make sure to clarify with others, in case this doesn't happen again." No matter how precise he was, he never covered all his bases. He was sure that things were clear this time.

Sam nodded. "You didn't have to put it on paper now. I know people seem to like it, but then I never asked for a written report," he pointed out. "But it's a good try, and now I'll disappoint you, because with this hurricane coming, I doubt we'll be going anywhere on Sunday. Still a good first try."

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