fandomtownies | Fourth Dimension Fine Arts and Antiques, Friday, 10/8

Ino wasn't even, like, sure if Professor Devereaux would even remember the offer she'd made eons ago, but it had occurred to Ino that given--current events--that offer might be one that was useful to look into.

She glanced around the gallery, a bit awkwardly: this wasn't her normal sort of place at all.

"Hello?"

"Hello," Sophie said, coming out of the back room, a small Greek statuette in each hand. She placed the on a dais near the wall, dusted off her hands, and smiled at Ino. "Ino. It's been a while. Welcome to my gallery."

Ino looked around with the vagueness of someone who is totally lost inside of a gallery. "Busy place?" she asked, toying with a bit of hair. "Hey."

Sophie flicked the switch on the base of the daises that would arm the security system for them, and gave Ino an amused glance as she straightened one of the paintings (http://img3.visualizeus.com/thumbs/09/08/01/beauty,illustration,light,painting,woods-784e0a98927bcedb9b553be3b1dc1690_m.jpg). "I take it you're not here to buy any decorations for your room at the dorms? Would you like some tea?"

She looked a bit sheepish.

"I'd like tea, sure. Sorry--I don't know if it, like... is weird that I'm here 'bout... not decorations?"

Maybe it was?

"Not at all," Sophie said easily, although she was very curious about Ino's presence today. The purpose, she could almost guess at; the only time they'd spoken before had been during Max's class, regarding subterfuge and impersonation. Though that had been some time ago. The timing, though, was interesting. Perhaps it was the first chance she'd had to stop by? Perhaps.

She poured Ino a cup of tea, and asked, "Sugar or milk with it? Or as it is?" She poured herself a cup and said lightly, "Although you do have me curious."

"As is, please." With the faintest of nose wrinkles. Tea wasn't meant to have things in it.

A beat.

A bit of a grin. "You don't think I stopped by just to say hi?"

Sophie took a sip of her own tea, smiling around the edge. "You didn't strike me as a young woman to fritter away time without purpose. And while I can believe that you might wish to socialize, I can't see you doing so here. You're not one much for art for art's sake, are you?"

"Not really," she admitted, then had to qualify that while studying her tea. "Though I do a fair bit of Ikebana--Japanese flower arrangements and that's an art too."

"I'm not as familiar with Asian arts as I am with European, but I've always admired the sense of order in the Japanese approach." As carefully as if this were a tea ceremony, Sophie placed her teacup back in its saucer. "Are you enjoying your classes this semester?"

Let her broach the subject; assumptions would do neither of them any good.

"They're not bad," she said easily. "I've got one about staging revolutions and another about unconventional tactics. They give a fair bit to think 'bout though, you know, not all courses can cover everything."

Which was, she lifted one shoulder in a bit of a shrug.

"Which is--actually why I'm here." Covering bases, shoring up weaknesses.

A slow nod. "You want to learn more. On the topic we discussed previously?" Sophie cocked her head slightly, studying Ino. "In general, or toward a particular goal?"

"On the topic we discussed previously and on any topic you feel is connected to said topic enough to warrant depth," she said, tucking her hair behind one ear. "And--both. Though I find myself... in over my head, in one case in particular, at the moment."

Sophie's expression turned grave, then thoughtful. "You realize that this takes a deal of work. It could be years before most of what I'd teach you could become instinctive. But I'd be happy to work on this with you, if you're determined to continue in the profession." She paused. "I wouldn't ask for payment, but I might ask for help, at some point later. I'm semi-retired now, but I do, on occasion, take on small, non-lethal jobs."

Ino nodded slowly.

"I can help," she said, with another, firmer, nod. Non-lethal, practice in being someone else... helping would help her. "And I'm determined. I don't want to do anything but what I'm already in as a profession."

Though the exact definition of that had--widened, a bit, lately.

"Then I propose we address your current difficulty first," Sophie said, picking up the teacup again, some of her masks falling away. The pleasantness was still there, but the focus was more obvious, the calculation of possibilities. "What can you tell me?"

An open question, so as not to pressure the girl; confidentiality was important.

Ino chewed on her lip for a long moment while she tried to sort through everything she had going on.

"It's a--potentially volatile situation," she said slowly, not quite sure that this was what the Professor wanted. "There are several different fractions all known to use lethal force and I am not allied with any of them. My backup consists of one person who, out of necessity, cannot be told everything I do."

She lowered her eyes for a moment, swirling her tea. "The lying issue is a problem for my back up and they are abysmal at pretending at anything."

She paused, wanting to see if there was anything that needed to be clarified there before saying what she'd done persona-wise already.

Sophie considered, taking another sip, holding the saucer carefully. "You need not only to remain unprovocative enough to complete your mission, without antagonizing either side, but you also need to accommodate the limited undercover skills of your partner. What is their specialty, that they've been included in this scenario? Magic, weapons, some other approach?"

"They're my cover," she said, "as they have an--connection to one of the groups. If anything happens, they're safe. It's me who is vulnerable, that's for certain."

A sip of her tea.

"This is a long term general information gathering situation at the moment, nothing more--complex," see, she was going to make a face there because it was quite complex enough thanks, "than that."

"Ahhhh," Sophie said, imagination engaged. "So. You need a cover, and a persona, that can take scrutiny, but remain unremarkable in and of itself. If you can accomplish that, you realize, it may allay the anxieties of your contact. The less they have to lie, the better, clearly. What do you have in place thus far? A name, I'm assuming, and a reason to be there. What else?"

Ino looked a bit embarrassed now.

"I used my real name," she admitted sheepishly. "So it's too late to change that."

So. Embarrassing.

"I'm--cover is that I'm the contact's trophy girlfriend. The very dim sort who likes to follow him around like, well, a puppy and gush over everything. Gets lost constantly, probably wouldn't be able to find her head if it weren't attached." Piiink. "Originally small town girl, hooked herself a nice man and who is just too ridiculous to survive on her own."

"Oh." Dear. Ahem. Sophie didn't smile, because Ino recognized her own mistake. The rest, she considered carefully, and kept her amusement at a very low level. "It is a good cover; young pretty girls are often overlooked, however... as you've discovered, it becomes difficult when your associate isn't as experienced." She tilted her head. "And there is the potential disadvantage of someone taking an interest in your 'silly girl' for the purposes of exploitation. It's rather awkward when you have to work around others' interest in that way... Hmmm." She tapped a finger against her lips. "Even silly, dim girls, have their own internal lives, though. Their own aspirations, shallow as they may seem. Does your contact mind the persona you've assumed? Would he have any requirements for it?" she asked, thinking aloud. "And this village you're supposedly from, has anyone heard of it? Is anyone likely to investigate the connection?"

"It's a small village," she said, starting from the end of the list of questions and working her way up. "But they might look into it, if I catch too much attention. One of the groups has--an interest there, my understanding is."

Yeah. She knew nothing about her 'village'.

"My contact isn't--totally thrilled, but it's 'cause they like me being me. They've been doin' really good so far at going with it to the best of their ability." Because Ino was stupidly loyal about Zack's limitations. "I..."

Mmmm tea. Hold for a second.

"I don't know," she said, subdued. "She ain't really got anything like that."

Sophie gave her a look of sympathy; it sounded as if her associate were a decent sort, and it was so difficult to ask them to play a part.

"Right, then. We'll start simple this week." She put her tea down. "The most important part of playing a part is knowing your lines, if you're onstage; knowing your character, if you're improvising. This girl, who is meant to be overlooked, will still be checked by normal security measures, it sounds like. So you need to know how she grew up, what her family was like there, why they are no longer there, and why they've allowed this girl to partner herself to your contact." She cocked her head. "Standard checks are things such as what school did you attend? What is the weather like there, most often? The basic layout of the city, even if you supposedly haven't been there in years. Research. And then inventing a childhood for her. A few happy memories, to pull out when asked. One or two embarrassing ones, nothing too intense."

Sophie considered. "And a hobby or two. Something harmless, typical of the kind of girl you're pretending to be-- but nothing you'll hate doing. A long-term persona must have things in common with you," she said seriously. "You can not resent the person you've become. It's too soon for you to take on a completely alien identity, I think. You're bright, you're motivated, you're energetic; find what you have in common with this girl, and put that into her as well."

That was a bit... intimidating, yes.

Ino's eyes got progressively wider as the Professor went on and on and on.

See, this was why Ino liked to spy on people with her thoughts. So much less hassle. But this was useful and, in this case, absolutely needed.

"And that's the simple stuff?" she echoed, setting her tea down and digging out one of her notebooks. A list. She needed to make a list. Right. Now.

Sophie sat back, again repressing a smile, and said, "It's the details that let you create a larger character. And we won't try to connect it to your own surveillance regime or goals yet, or approaches to reconciling your associate with this. I suggest you speak with him about this, and see what suggestions he has, though." She leaned forward, and tapped a finger on the cup. "You don't need to know it by heart, next week. That takes time. Simply have it prepared." She smiled slightly. "Is this what you were looking for?"

She was scribbling down everything the Professor had said--verbatim. Ino was feeling overwhelmed but her memory had been trained to deal with worse pressures than a long list and she stayed silent for a moment, hoping the Professor wouldn't mind.

She wasn't actually ignoring her after all...

Ino blinked up from her notebook. "This is exactly what I need," she said, with a faint smile. "It's just a bit of a shock to--hear how much I need."

"You're already in it, is the thing." Sophie sat back, considered, and said, "In my training, we started small. Not long-term assignments first, or large roles. Just making contact with someone; holding a personality for a day or two, at most. Interacting with known quantities, already knowing who they expected to see. You'd learn this more gradually, over a year or two, in the normal training. Your current role," she said soberly, "Is much more challenging than any first-time operative would usually be expected to attempt. I applaud your initiative. And I don't want you to be unprepared."

Strange, to realize that was one of the larger considerations here. Perhaps Sophie-the-teacher had sunk in more than skin deep for her, as well.

Ino chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully for a moment, then:

"What would you say realistically my odds of possible success are?"

Sophie frowned, assessing Ino, considering. "If you don't get overly ambitious," she said slowly, "by which I mean, keeping your persona simple, even if it is detailed-- and if you have an adequate plan for the walk-away if something goes wrong..." She considered. "I can't really judge without knowing more of the parties involved, but I think you can do this; maintain your cover long enough to become comfortable with it. Observe and report. You may not be able to get as much intelligence as you think you want," she cautioned Ino. "But the main goals are always to maintain your cover, and get out intact. Your other goals are not compromised simply because you didn't achieve them the first time. Do you have the patience for this?"

"I always have patience for the important things," she said levelly. Not wanting to sound like she was arrogant, or bragging or anything like that.

Just the fact that Ino did save her patience for what mattered to her. That was true.

Sophie sat back, satisfied. "Then I'm pleased to be able to help you in your endeavors. Why don't you stop by again next week, and we'll go over your preparations?" She smiled. "Although you're welcome to come by sooner, if something comes up before then."

"Next week," she repeated. "I'll be here."

Ino looked down at her notes again and hesitated before asking: "The hobbies? Do they all have to be something I already know? Or can--she be learning something new as well?"

"Why not? As long as it's not so complicated that it's distracting, it might add charm to your character. Especially if you don't want her to seem too competent." She smiled. "I look forward to your inventions, Ino."

Fourth Dimension Fine Arts and Antiques, Friday, 10/8

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