Posted by Civilian Eryn Romanov (Colonial Intelligence Agent) in Restaurant - Try The Borscht, Ignore The Espionage (Tag Karlson)

Posted by Civilian Joseph Karlson (Police Commissioner) in Restaurant - Try The Borscht, Ignore The Espionage (Tag Karlson)

Posted by Civilian Kodek Vonn (Colonial Intelligence Agent) in Restaurant - Try The Borscht, Ignore The Espionage (Tag Karlson)
The first message was odd. It came to Commisioner’s Karlson’s personal communication and, when opened, seemed to be an odd assortment of numbers and characters in multiple languages. It made no sense.

Until the second message arrived a few moments later. That message was heavily encrypted, but the first message melded with it and it became clear.

“Commissioner,

Please excuse the short notice; but I have a need to speak with you, privately, on a matter of great importance to you, the Colonial Government, and the colony as a whole. I do not know who else to go to with this information, but I assure you it’s importance cannot be overstated. Please meet me tomorrow at the Russian Tea Room at 8 pm. I’m sure you are aware of the place. I will have a private room at the back. Please come alone. Again, the matter is most sensitive. Thank you, Commisioner. Your dedication to the colony is a testament to your department.”

The message was unsigned and no reply was possible.

The restaurant was known… to most of the officers and detectives that worked with Oed Police Organized Crime division. The Russian Tea Room was a sanctuary of sorts for high-end fences, information brokers, and the creme de la creme of criminal operators. It was not the only Russian Tea Room, far from it. But anywhere there was a market high-brow enough, you would find one. The fact that the head of the Oed Police was being asked to actually come in to the place led credibility to the anonymous request… and its sender.

Unknown Patron

A raised eyebrow was Josephs’s first response to the message, he’d been a part of clandestine operations before, both with Starfleet Intelligence and other similar agencies throughout the Alpha Quadrant. “Jessie, I’ll be taking an early lunch” He said over the intercom to one of his secretaries. This would require some planning, so of course, he went to the best spymaster on the planet, his big brother.

The next day he arrived at the restaurant on time, his instincts as a military Officer was to arrive half an hour before the time but Jóhann had dissuaded him of the idea “You’ll be alone, no backup, and no active communicators, at least that they’ll know about. I’ll prepare countermeasures, it’ll have to be from my personal forces, can’t use Police resources because that’s too traceable, I won’t send anyone in the restaurant itself so you can actually come alone. It’ll take my teams four minutes to provide backup on location as if anything goes wrong we’ll engage transporter inhibitors around the entire area” Joseph smiled at the memory, his brother found tradecraft to be incredibly entertaining, keeping his own private intelligence network as a hobby. It didn’t really matter, he wasn’t overly concerned with the meeting.

He had on his person his personal sidearm in a shoulder holster on his left side, a singular flash grenade in his jacket pocket, and a knife attached to his belt. His bespoke suit was handmade by his personal tailor (His brother) Who designed it to be capable of taking at least one close-range phaser hit, not much use against a phaser set to vaporize but then of course that was always a risk. He had his standard dark wood cane that gave the recognizable click as he entered the restaurant with a nonchalant smile on his face. He walked through the entrance giving the servers a smile and a nod as he walked directly towards the private room.

Commissioner Karlson

An ornate white wood door gilded in bronze tones swung open to a small, lush room. The thick pile carpet extended from the main dinning room into this smaller side one. The white oak paneling and mosaics of the main dinning room were replaced with rich warm cherry wood paneling that was highly polished. The light of the crystal chandelier reflected off that high polish giving the room the feel of a warm lodge with a glowing fire. A large stone fireplace and mantle took up the entire length of the back wall of the room, topped by an elegant but simple gilded mirror (which took up the rest of the wall). An ebony wood table surrounded by captain’s chairs, covered in royal blue velvet filled the center of the space. A tea cart abutted the table, offering a wide range of loose tea choices and a bone china tea set. Three PaDDs and three menus sat on the table.

When the door opened the room’s single occupant stood from her chair, palms open and out. She stood at 5‘6” with startling green eyes and white blonde hair in a long spiky pixie cut. She wore knee high black leather boots, cargo pants, and a loose burgundy blouse. A medium canvas utility jacket hung across the back of the chair. Her eyes scanned over him and left the distinct impression she didn’t miss a trick or a detail. She spoke with a hint of a soft Russian accent. “Commissioner Karlson. Velcome, I am pleased you could join us. My name is Eryn Romanov.” She made a slight bow and then waved to a seat at the table. “My associate vill be here momentarily. Tea? I find zhe raspberry zinger quite refreshing.”

Eryn Romanov

“Her associate is here.” said a voice from the service doorway to the kitchen. A Bajoran man walked in and nodded to the Police Commisioner. “Thank you for coming, sir. We appreciate it.” The was a shimmer and the hologram covering the figure shut off and instead of a Bajoran, there stood a Breen in full armor. The voice shifted to a synthesized speech and the helmet said “I sent the message, Commisioner. And we apologize for the subterfuge. I am Kodek Vonn, Colonial Intelligence Agency. Ms. Romanov as well. I believe you know our boss, Mr. James.”

Vonn, CIA