Infiltration

[Ailith Rayner]

Jude and Ailith arrived outside the hotel about three minutes early. The jouney here was mainly silent as they couldn't exactly run through the plan. They're were dressed smart casual and from looking at the crowd that was here it was the perfect choice. Most of the people here were from mid teens to very early twenties. It baffled Ailith that people so young could be filled with such hatred. Even when she saw her father shot she never hated the man half as much as these people hated Orchid Hill. Even in the Assassin's School they were never taught to hate.
"Suppose we better wander around and make friends. Should we split?" Ailith looked up at Jude. Normally she disliked looking up at people, but tonight she felt good, she felt like nothing could touch her. Feelings like that were bad to have and she knew she would have to get her head deflated big style or else she was going to make a mistake. And mistakes were not affordable right now. Also Jude was new and Ailith knew she could trust him. It was one of those feelings she couldn't explain but she knew enough about him and her instincts were usually pretty close to the truth.

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude could feel the miniture tape recorder wrapped around his thigh- and it was highly uncomfortable. All things considered, there were far more uncomfortable places it could've been, but still. Thank God for the baggy jeans. If he'd been wearing fitted jeans like Ailith was (not that he'd looked or anything...) he would've been ever so slightly obvious. In fact, there would probably be about 50 different guns trained on him at once.
"Suppose we better wander around and make friends. Should we split?"
It was such an obvious question, Jude was slightly astounded he hadn't thought of it himself.
Another reason to like Ailith.
"Are you going to snoop around during the meeting, or wait for a bit?" he asked her quietly; leaning down so that he could whisper in her ear.
It didn't look conspicuous in the slightest. People all over the place were having whispered, excited conversations. As long as Jude looked happy, he was fine.

[Ailith Rayner]

"That would be best if I did. You and your leg should be here to listen. I'll stay for some and then I reeeally need to pee. I've never been here before so how am I supposed to find the bog?" Ailith giggled at that last bit and used the squint to look around. Nobody was looking. There were no cameras (that she could see) and everyone looked completely engaged. Jude had smiled too and rolled his eyes to do the same thing as Ailith.
"Right I'm going for a drink and it was nice meeting you."
"OK, bye." Jude replied still smiling and in character.
Ailith strode to the long refreshments table and stood beside a teenage (approx. seventeen) girl on her own and poured a glass of some sort of non-alcoholic drink. She put the glass to her lips and tipped the glass but did not drink. She run her tongue along her lips testing the drink but really 'it's so good I would even waste my lipstick to get more of the flavour'. Ailith looked at the girl. She wasn't looking for someone, her head was angled downwards.
"Fair crowd, huh?" Ailith commented lightly.
"Yeah. Didn't think we would get this much actually. Sorry what's your name?" The 17 year old turned to face Ailith properly.
This was something that was discussed and the answer was ready in Ailith's mouth.
"Sorry! I'm Megan. Megan Dane." Ailith smiled. "And ...?"
"Jessica Barnes."
"Hi Jessica. So do..."
Several clicks from a fork off a glass rang through the reception.
"If you would now make your way to Confrence Room 1 the meeting will begin shortly!" Called a voice that Ailith couldn't quite see. People were moving slowly forward. And Ailith continued her chat with Jessica Barnes while desperately trying to see where they were going.
There Thought Ailith, even though she had spotted Jude she kept straining when finally, "Awh bugger it. No point in trying for me is there?" Ailith laughed.
"Awh," giggled Jessica, "I'd give you a boost if I was strong enough."
"Nah yer OK. I've got to face up to it sometime." Ailith laughed aloud. And groaned inside patronizing ....

[Jude Dorrian]

"Here alone?"
Jude caught sight of a pale, red-lipped girl stepping out of the crowd towards him. She was around 5"6, with long, deathly straight dark hair and black-painted fingernails. He smiled to himself, something to be easily interpreted as a friendly gesture. She smiled back, and took a step closer to him, leaning up to talk into his ear.
"So... here alone?"
Jude nodded, his Cardsdale villager accent thick. "Family couldn't make it," he said darkly.
She nodded sympathetically. "Right. I getcha. I'm here alone too. What's your name?"
"Andrew Robson," he smiled, giving her hand a quick shake. "What's your's?"
"October Defoe," she smiled politely. Jude sensed immediately it was a fake name. "Excited, Andrew?"
"Me?" he laughed easily. "I can't bloody wait!"
Before she could respond, there was a sudden loud clanging noise. A bell rang throughout the room, and it fell deadly silent. Jude risked a quick glance in Ailith's direction, and couldn't help but smile as she grumpily jumped up to look over peoples' heads.
A tall man jumped up onto a table, his arms held up high and wide in greeting.
"Welcome, children of Marius," he called, his voice clear and booming. "Exspectata ut a revolution!"
This was met by a sudden uproar of cheers. Jude nearly jumped, but caught himself in time to erupt into cheers with the rest of the crowds. October was beside herself, her porcelein palms already pink with clapping.
"That's Yaman!" she said excitedly to him. "He's the guy who got me into the revolution!"
Jude mimed amazement, clapping even harder.
"Tonight, my fellows," he continued boldly, taking a sweeping glance of the packed hall. "I shall be using the twilight code, for it is the easiest for most of you to understand- "
"I'm rusty," October muttered.
"- and this message is important. Now... The contest has come for brave to get thunder. You wish as well as I am. The frankincense have bloomed around in the following Urban Wasteland- and we happy to hurt the Hades were it sore."
Jude blanched. What the hell? Those Academics better be a heck of a lot smarter than him, because he was drawing a total blank. In fact, he was finding it hard not to burst out laughing. Everyone was completely serious.
"Our plums, however, were nearly flumped. A close zombie of mine is grey. Diamond was a wick senorita, and it did not lament the gemein Tiny tortured upon it by those insidious Spooks!"
"Here, here!"
"Bravo!"
There was an eruption of cheers and applause now. Jude found himself whistling with joy at the news- whatever the heck it was- and also had to put up with a rib-crushing hug from October.
Yaman raised his fist into the air and punched it once. "Will brave lie for this?"
"NEIN!"
There was a second punch. "Will brave let devils take us birth?"
"NEIN!"
A final punch. This guy sure knew how to hold a crowd. "Will brave fall to its feet, and let devils dance all over bravery?"
"NEIN!" Jude's throat was starting to ache.
Yaman raised his forefinger to his lips, and the crowd fell silent, their breath bated in eager anticipation. The sight made Jude sick to his stomach, and he thanked God that Andrew had no sense of morals about him.
Yaman's tone had changed; a move manipulated to cause sympathy. His confidence seemed to ebb away, and suddenly, he stood frightened, and upset. He was the mirror image of every person in this room, and the effect was inspiring. Several girls nearby burst into tears, for chrissake.
"Think of it familia- " he murmured, his voice choked, "it happy- all that it have won but of devils, and the zombime in Cardsdale it have been darned to..." His head snapped up and eyes hardened. "So, morn, at the beep of the tiger- IT FLIES!!"
He got down from the table to utterly tumultous applause. Suddenly, the crowd was rushing forward in its delight, calling and shouting their praise to Marius. Jude felt himself be pushed forward, terrified of the effect it would have on his tape recorder. Carefully weaving his way around, he felt October behind and grabbed her arm, thrusting her through the crowds. The result was they ended up right at the front, and October began screaming in her excitement, but this was drowned out by the shouts from behind her.
Jude felt his eyes trail automatically to the back of the crowds. This was the perfect chance for Ailith to escape and look around the place. Would she take it...?
Hell, yeah. He had the faintest feeling that she was- in a word- brilliant.

[Ailith Rayner]

When the meeting began Ailith crossed her legs at the hip and frowned. Jessica looked at her and raised an eyebrow as she began to rock backwards and forwards on her heels. She caught Ailith's eye.
"I hate my bladder sometimes." Explained Ailith in a half wince.
"Ah," Jessica grinned and bit her lip stopping her laughing. "If you need to go just go, I'll tell you what happens."
"Nah it's ok, I can wait it out."
At the ring of a bell the speech began. It was the most ludicrous thing Ailith had ever heard at a meeting. She'd heard some pretty weird codes in her time but this topped them all. And then the German reply, oh man was she using her drama skills or what!? But she kept her laughter deep inside. She looked around the room and spotted over the heads and shoulders a door off to the right and as the crowd rushed forward at "IT FLIES!" Megan could control her bladder no longer. Hey, when a girl's gotta go a girl's gotta go.
"OK I really need to go here tell me what happens!" Ailith called to Jessica, who was already rushing forward screaming her head off.
"Sure!" Came the vague reply. Ailith smiled. That girl couldn't care less if Megan knew or not!
Ailith walked out of the main door tight legged and rushed along the corridor behind two security guards who turned slightly then turned back to their duty which, let's face it, can't be fun.
No one else in the corridor, good start no noise in the corridor, even better and a door next to the one she had just exited on her left. She was shielded from the guards by the corner of the corridor and she pressed her ear to the door for half a minute before entering quietly and meekly. She poked her head through the door while still listening to the outside corridor. The room wa the same as the previous one however there was a table that filled the whole floor instead of a panel table against the far wall. On the opposite side of the table there were two piles of notes. Ailith looked around. If someone came in now there was no where for her to hide except to exit through to the room next door where there would be 500 people to either get in the way of the security guards or, more likely, help them to trap Ailith and her chances of escape would be impossible. Bugger
It was worth it though and she knew that if she came away with the stuff it would be immensly helpful to the Academics and they would find out what all that crap was at the meeting. Ailith quickly but silently crossed the floor and reached the piles of papers. She had rifled through the first pile and was half way through the second pile when thudding footsteps echoes through the corridor outside. Bugger! Too good to be true.
Ailith took the notes from the second page down to the fourth in each pile and rammed them ... oh to heck, down the back of her knickers. She made it halfway to the door when it was flung open and the two burly security guards stomped towards her as she crossed her legs again.
"Sorry can you tell me where the bathroom is?"
"Nice try." Repiled one guard taking her arm.
"What?" Ailith looked outraged.
"Saw you leave and pass the big sign sayin' the loos where the oth..."
"Shut up man! Don't talk to her." The othe rgurad took Ailith's arm.
"I did not come all this way to miss this!"
"Well ye' are."
"Dude! Shut up!"
"I need to see this! I don't know what you think I'm doing, but if you don't let me pee so help me I will be on to your boss so fast it'll totally creep you out and they are gonna know all about this!"
The guards had blocked her. d**n! Their boss is good.

[Jude Dorrian]

A couple of hours had passed now, and Yaman and a few of his comrades had made a few more nonsensical speeches. Jude had watched them as avidly as he could; mentally committing their looks to memory. It struck him a little late that they were probably all just wearing disguises, and that no matter what information he carried back to Kira, it would inevitably change. Still... it was always useful to know what the Cardsdale Revolution Leaders looked like in their disguises.
"Hey, Andrew- you coming?"
Jude jumped. October grinned at him. "You heard him! We're going to run over battle plans now."
Actually, what Jude had heard was 'going to splat over Mario strategy', but whatever. Battle plans? Interesting. She was just a confirmation of things he already suspected. October understood this code, and from what she'd been babbling about, there was going to be a battle. Soon.
How soon? A week. Probably; Cardsdale was hardly prepared for any sooner. But even a week was pushing it. A month would be far more like it.
Jude followed October through into another room, but it wasn't overly exciting. Basically, all Jude could see were these big burly guys handing out leaflets. Picking one off the ground, he opened it, and frowned.
Symbols. Bloody symbols!
"Andrew, look at this..." frowned October, coming over and pointing with one of her long sharp nails. "They're putting a lot of us on the front line. Look! I'm there; why would they do that...?"
Jude felt the muscles around his mouth tauten. Bait. That's what they were. They were the bloody bait- the force that would weaken the school before the enemy launched the full strength of their attack.
"Andrew...?"
"You trust Marius, right?"
October looked a little flushed. "I- of course- "
"Then why are you questioning his commands?" Andrew's eyes were hard.
October seemed to slump slightly. "I didn't mean anything by it. It's just... it seems so tough on a lot of us. I've never been to battle before!"
"He must believe in you then," Andrew smiled, but even Jude could not make the smile quite reach his eyes.
October's cheeks flushed pink again, but this time with pleasure. Suddenly, there was a ringing of a bell and Jude turned to see Yaman on stage once more.
"A few final points for tiger," he called. "Firstly, the grey plait..."

* * *

Where was Ailith?
Yet another hour, and October's mobile number later, Jude was the last of a few stragglers that remained at the meeting. Of course, the guards didn't know he was a straggler. Jude had had the sense to turn invisible. There was no point in taking any unnecessary risks, after all. What was it that his sister always said to him?
"Don't be thick, Jude."
Solid advice, that.
Crossing the hall as silently as he could (he should've been a bloody ballet dancer, he spent that much time on his toes!) Jude moved swiftly, staring around for the flash of dark brown curls he knew concealed Ailith's long, blonde hair. To him, every footfall sounded like the clanging of a massive drum, but he knew this wasn't the case. One of Jude's powers was enhanced senses- it was one of the reasons he couldn't stick listening to loud music, or the spattering of rain on the windows. And bright lights just about killed him; Jude and electrical devices didn't tend to go well together-
"Yes, we've found one of them. An Orchid student, from the looks of it- "
Jude froze, his heart leaping at the sound of the whispered conversation from behind the metal doors. Sprinting across the hall with a fast, silent agility, he stood poised at the door, his ear pressed up against it.
Two men were talking; large and gruff by the sound of it, and answered smoothly by a soft, deadly smooth woman's voice.
"Really?" she said, quietly enough, though it felt like she was shouting down Jude's earhole. He rubbed it agitatedly. It was just nerves.
Keep it together.
"Yeah, we got her locked up downstairs in the cellar. Whatcha' want us to do?"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll find some use for the little Orchid Spy," she replied silkily, and Jude heard the scraping of a chair. "And if not, you two can have all the fun with her you want..."
Jude felt a hot rush of spicy anger at that, but quickly suppressed it. He could take any of his feelings out on a pillow back at Orchid. For now, he had to keep himself detatched.
"Got any names?"
"Says it's Megan- don't believe it for a sec."
"She was snooping about she was."
"And have you checked her? To see if she's found anything?"
There was a dull, dumb silence.
"She didn't 'ave time to look."
"Yeah, we got her straight away- "
"We're taking no chances," said the woman icily, her high-heeled shoes clopping across the room. "Marius does not underestimate the school- neither should you."
"Righto, boss..."
"Whatever you say, misis..."
Quickly, pressed his hands against the metal door, and felt the solid become liquid beneath his fingertips. Waiting for a few more seconds to hear the woman and her comrades leave, Jude let himself pass through the metal as though it was a sheet of water. Arriving inside the room, he saw with a rush of glee that it too was made of metal.
This was going to be fun...

[Ailith Rayner]

Megan fought the whole way to the cellar until the forced her to the back wall and cuffed her to a pipe.
"I have had enough! This is ridiculous! Take these things off me right now!"
"Oh shut up! We know!" The first guard was getting frustrated. Ailith couldn't help beam inside. She may be in a tight spot or her enemy may think she's in a tight spot but she was d**n well going to make sure they were a lot more pissed off than she was. And to tell the truth she wasn't all that pissed off. Until the next sentence came.
"Can't we just dope her now?"
Oh fluff.
"Do what?!" Megan squeaked confusedly.
" Hell yeah, she's gettin' really annoyin'." The second guard was less visably irritated but irritated all the same. The first guard reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a syringe.
"Oh please no! Please don't, I beg you!" Megan changed her tone immediately.
"Yeah now ye' become all 'O' Great One I am your humble servant'."
"Just do it."
Now Ailith had to superthink. She could break out now and risk Jude being left here on his own or she could take the dope and a)wait till it wears off and hope that she had some time left, or b) half break out now, take the dope and wait til one or both leaves. The problem was giving Jude time. And also the concentration of the contents in that little syringe. She'd have to take it.
Megan struggled away from the approaching man but it was no use. She coruched and put her head between her arms in a typical self-protection pose, when the footsteps stopped a rough hand grabbed Megan/Ailith's hair (thanks to a certain type of superglue it didn't come off) and jabbed the syringe into her neck.
"AH!" Megan squealed before the drug kicked in (sort of), when she flopped to the floor on her bum and looked at the floor for a while. Then she looked at the ceiling for another while and then, absent mindedly at the guards watching her.
"I think she's good and under."
"Huh?" Megan's dropped her mouth.
"Yep she's under. Right let's go and get the boss." Said the first guard.
"Wait till the meetings over." Replied No.2.
"How will we know when that happens? And what about the doors?"
"I'll look after those for you." Megan piped up. Ailith could feel it now. The drug was taking it's time to run through her body as she had perfectly controlled her heart rate so as to lessen the speed at which she would be doped up.
"You can't even stand ye' silly cow."
"I can!" Megan pouted.
"Try."
Megan braced herself to stand.
"We don't have time. Right you go cover the doors and I'll tell you when it's over."
No.2 pulled the door open to let his partner through.
"Fine but I get to tell her ab..." The door slammed shut.

OK, escape, escape, es... hello my ventalation friend. Ailith pulled her cuffs off, melted them down and placed the thin lump in her pocket. She stood slowly and walked to the vent where she unscrewed the bolts leaving them undamaged, and climbed through. It was tiny. She pushed at the metal around her so that it was at a comfortable height for her to sit and she sealed the vent shaft behind her just as it was before she entered. She crawled along pushing the metal outwards continuously. It was slow work and eventually all the activity worked up her heart rate so that she was totally away with it. Ailith felt her limbs heavy and now had no idea why she was doing what she was but she kept going until she spotted something new. Another vent. Confused as to why but she stopped and lay down looking through the vent into the metal room below. She hadn't got a notion why she wasn't doing anything, all she knew was that here was a good place to stop and here she would stay until she remembered why she was waiting. Which, something at the back of her mind told her, was going to be a while.

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude stopped suddenly, his heartrate building. He could hear something- someone. There was a small movement above him- so slight you would barely have noticed it, but still there. The sound of his own blood beginning to pump with adrenaline filled his own ears, and he cursed his hyper-active senses. The only thing more annoying than this could be telepathy. The very idea of everyones' unwelcome thoughts drifting into his head all the time made him cringe.
There were some things no-one was meant to know.
His eyes drifted upwards towards the ceiling, and he caught sight of a ventilation shaft. They were all scattered throughout the building- but he'd never even considered them as a method of transport. Was security better than he thought? Did they have look-outs posted throughout the entire net-work of venting? The thought creeped him out a bit. So the walls really did have eyes and ears.
Looking up slightly recklessly, he braced himself for a fight. These people weren't idiots, and he hadn't exactly tried to keep quiet. They would've seen the metal metal. They knew he was hear.
Letting down his invisibility, Jude seemed to appear out of thin air; his fist moving down to his dagger automatically.
"Alright then!" he called out boldly. "Let's not keep- "
There was a loud thunk and a surprisingly light finger fell from the ceiling and landed sprawled on top of him. They both dropped to the ground entangled, but before Jude could even raise his blade, he saw to his astonishment that Ailith was grinning blearily at him.
"Um, hi?"

[Ailith Rayner]

"Hey Jude! Ha ha!" Ailith giggled and Jude winced at Ailith's loudness and sushed her. Ailith put a finger to her lips imitating Jude "I'm sooo doped right now! Ha ha!" she wispered behind her finger.
He frowned at her. "You're... doped...? What did they do to you?"
"Awh! You're so sweet! You're all concerned for me!" Ailith leaned over Jude and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Well see, what happened was," Ailith was headed for a full rant and was about to to use her hands to aid her story.
Jude saw this coming, took her arms and interrupted softly, "Shhh, we have to go now, Ailith."
"Oh yeah, we have to go back to erm... erm... what's it? Don't we?" She wispered.
"Yes, school. For our mission. I'm going to help you up, okay?"
"Awh Jude, you're such a gentleman. What would I do with out you?" Ailith looked at him but Jude seemed to be very intent on getting up.
Jude pushed himself up backwards and took Ailith's arms very gently again. She leant on him completely for the first moment. But halfway to finding her feet she strained up and kissed Jude on the cheek again and beamed at him.

[Jude Dorrian]

She just kissed me...
Nothing could quite capture the full impact of Jude's shock the second her soft lips brushed his skin. Unexpected was one way of putting it- more so than that, it unleashed a hell of a lot of emotions Jude had no idea he even had. Ailith of course didn't even seem to notice, she just sat there, babbling on excitedly about something...
She was doped... so was that why...?
The only reason- ?
Don't go there.
Her arms were moving. He reached out automatically and caught them. "Shhh, we have to go now, Ailith." The quietness of his voice surprised him. He hadn't expected it to be so steady.
Her green eyes gazed up at him like bright coins. "Oh yeah, we have to go back to erm... erm... what's it? Don't we?"
"Yes, school. For our mission. I'm going to help you up, okay?"
"Awh Jude, you're such a gentleman. What would I do with out you?"
Jude tried to ignore her, but it was sort of hard. He took her arms carefully, the close contact leaving his cheeks burning where it wouldn't have bothered him just a minute before. Gently, warily, he hoisted her off the ground. Ailith relaxed against him, and again the contact completely disorientated him. Halfway off the ground, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek once more.
That smile darn near killed him.
Pushing any of the unbidden thoughts that'd been unleashed from their cage backwards, Jude let himself turn invisible again, his own power surging through to her. She too disappeared, invisible to the naked eye, but still there. He could still feel her, for chrissake. His arm was friggin' around her waist. They passed through the metal and onwards without much event, and the journey back up the path to the school was strangely peaceful.
Suddenly, Jude swore.
"My tape's broken." Ailith must've smashed the thing when she dropped from the ceiling.
Hell, he could literally use the whole, "Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?" thing...
Not that he would want to!

[Ailith Rayner]

Halfway to the school Ailith regained 'proper consciousness' and sort of wished she hadn't. It had been several hours since she had been dosed but the effects where like what she imagined a hangover to feel like. Her head felt ... tight? It was quite painful but it would clear as her system got rid of it slowly but surely. Another thing was happening slowly but surely. A much less wanted thing. Realisation. Oh God. I kissed Jude. Oh ...fluff. I kissed him. She hazarded a glance in his direction of course she couldn't see him. Come on, keep up brain.

A foul word came from the thin air beside Ailith, "My tape's broken."
"Oh no, was that me?" Ailith winced feeling weird talking to someone she couldn't see.
"Well ... yeah."
Ailith shut her eyes, "I'm sorry," Another light went on in Ailith's head. "Wait! Stop!"
Jude stopped abruptly and held on to Ailith a little tighter.
"Hang on, let go."
"You sure you're okay to walk on your own?" Came Jude's soft concerned tones.
That was why she'd kissed him. Can't believe I did that. But ... I'm not sorry.
"Yeah I'm alright. Could you er... become visable for me again?"
Jude faded into veiw again.
"OK, don't say anything right?"
Jude nodded and Ailith reached down the back of her trousers and looked determindedly away from Jude. She pulled out the notes and looked at them.
"Does that make up for anything?" She wrinkled her nose at him as if to say, it's not much but it's the best I can do.

[Jude Dorrian]

The second Ailith's hands moved to her trousers, Jude looked determinedly at the ground. He much preferred it when she was invisible. At least then he could've pretended she wasn't there. Now he was faced with a gut-wrenching determination to look at her, and he couldn't let himself do it.
He couldn't look at her at all- especially not those sweet, pink lips-
Stop it.
Why had she done that? Why had she kissed him? It must've been the dope- it must've been- but why react in that way, of all ways?
"Does that make up for anything?" She wrinkled her nose at him, in a weirdly cute way, and he felt his face burn. Thank god for the dark night cover.
Jude was thankful for his enhanced sight as he skim-read the paper she gave him. Suddenly, his face lit up. This was- this was incredible-
"Ailith," he said excitedly. "This is it! This is the very speech Yaman made!"
Funnily enough, he found himself privately grateful Ailith wouldn't be able to hear the tape. The whole thing with October and her mobile number wasn't something he particularly relished the idea of her hearing.