"Back to the Beginning"
	13th June 2008 19.00hrs They boarded the plane, and despite his concerns he noted that Will had not met anyone, nor had anyone made contact with him; but Sean was left wondering if Will was waiting for a someone or something to happen. The plane lifted off smoothly and was no sooner in the air than the stewards were serving drinks and an evening meal. Standard airline fare, it was tasteless and overcooked, he ate the salad and bread and left the rest on the tray. The drinks however, were free throughout the flight and despite his intentions to cry off the booze, he sank a couple of doubles. The eight-hour flight seemed longer, flying north before heading eastwards. But the winds were favourable and didn't put them behind schedule; they were due to land at 03.00hrs or 22.00hrs local time. Before they landed, the stewards handed out the immigration cards, despite the lack of sleep, and the cramped conditions of travel he managed to remember to fill it out in his false id details and all too soon the plane was taxiing to the stands. Newark Airport - New York, 22.05hrs (Local time) He wasn't in any hurry to get off the plane, the baggage claim would be busy and he didn't want to be first in the customs queue, never stand out by being first, customs would be more alert, always get in the middle of a busy queue and keep a low profile. His and Will's cases arrived early on the carousel and by the time they left the hall with their hand luggage and suitcases, the queue for customs stretched a fair way and he picked one of the busy queues. Moving forward slowly, he eventually reached the front and handed over his passport and immigration card. "State the purpose of your visit Sir." The blonde customs agent scanned the passport barcode, "and how long are you visiting our country?" "I am vacationing and expect to be here for a couple of weeks." He stated his plans clearly, their tickets were open ended, but he expected to move on, perhaps Canada he mused though his heart was pulling him to a closer location. She frowned as she looked at her screen, and then asked him to confirm his details. "Sean Robert McPherson." His tones were low, ensuring Will hadn't overheard him. As he spoke, he saw a couple of customs men heading towards his queue, and realised that something had gone wrong, `damn. I don't think Rene's ID is passing muster, and this is where I get thrown out.' "Sir, will you step this way," one of the men had picked up his paperwork and the other was hovering at his elbow. He had no choice but to follow meekly, though he turned back to Will and apologised, "Will, it's just a mix-up, I won't be long." Will simply nodded and handed his paperwork to the officer. He was taken down a narrow corridor and shown into a small room, which was empty except for two chairs and a table. One of the security men said quietly, "Please take a seat Sir. Someone will be with you shortly." Sean nodded, not saying anything, not quite knowing how to start explaining having a false ID and trying to enter the country illegally as a result. The clock on the wall seemed to go slowly, it was now 23.50hrs and he had been here for nearly two hours without even an offer of any refreshments. He rested his head on his arms and catnapped, there was no point in getting angry it would resolve nothing and anyway he was at fault, trying to get in using a false passport. He could only hope that Will had managed to get the connecting flight onwards. 14th June 2008 01.15hrs The door opened and Sean woke instantly, casting a bleary gaze on the figure entering. A suit. The man placed a stack of papers on the desk, along with a cup of coffee and took the other seat, before he turned his gaze on him, "Sean. Nice to meet you at last." Sean's mouth dropped open in shock, he had spoken to him over the telephone and recognised the voice immediately. He hadn't spoken to him face to face, but the man sitting opposite him was Gray Wellman, 2IC of the SIA. He recovered quickly, wondering just why Gray was here, and hoping for a valid explanation. "We had a job tracking you down, you proved quite elusive." Gray's voice was amused, "I have been authorised to offer you a position with the organisation." Sean nodded, "and if I choose not to?" "Then you are free to continue with your planned holiday." Gray responded calmly, "though we would prefer that you give it some thought before you make your final decision." `God he was a cool customer,' Sean looked at him directly, "Can I ask questions?" Gray smiled, "If I can answer them I will, but you understand that some things may be listed." Sean nodded briefly, listed meant the same in any spook talk, restricted. "What would the position be? And where would it be based?," he had tried to hide his interest, but seeing the answering glint in Gray's eyes knew he had failed. "As an agent, out in the field. Possibly as team leader if you perform well in the training programme as your background indicates. The base of operations is NY, though we operate in a global field." Gray's words were the clincher, to do the job he was born to do, not desk duties; it was as perfect as he could have hoped for. He took a few minutes, but he already had made up his mind, "I am interested, but just how am I going to explain to my travelling companion?" It was as he finished speaking the door opened, and Will walked in a slightly shame faced expression on his face. He realised then, Will had been involved all along, Sean stood up, "You bastard, you set me up," he said, but his words weren't angry, it was as though it had been foreordained, he couldn't blame Will for his part in the events leading up to this. Will shrugged, "They made me an offer I couldn't refuse, find you, bring you to NY and hear the offer." He held out a hand, "No hard feelings?" Sean took his hand and shook it, "No. I was drifting anyway. I quit London because I wasn't a desk jockey. I am good out in the field, it's where I want to be. But how are you involved?" He had no qualms about mentioning London; if Will was involved with the SIA then the chances were that he already knew Sean's background as well. Before Will answered he looked at Gray, who nodded, "I had a similar offer, I want to join them anyway but if you are joining them as well it would be like old times as well as sounding interesting." Sean nodded, "I already accepted, so I guess we are in this together," he turned to Gray, "What happens now?" Gray drank the coffee and closed up his paperwork, "Transport has been arranged, please follow me." He led the way out of the room; outside the door was his suitcase. Obviously rescued from customs security, it appeared intact, Gray gave it a casual glance before walking past it, "Leave it, you won't need it at the moment, but it will be returned to you after the training phase is complete." Sean followed as Gray walked briskly down a series of corridors and down some stairs to a waiting car. Gray opened the rear door and motioned to Sean and Will to get in, then got in the front next to the driver. The ride was smooth, despite his lack of sleep, he was excited, this is what he had been looking for; action. 02.25hrs The car drew up outside a brown brick built building, in a town called Sewaren NJ, Gray got out, the others following on behind. The building was dark and silent; Sean thought it was empty, though Gray opened the doors with a key and led them upstairs to the second floor, opening a door titled C-Moore Associates. Inside was a hive of activity, fronting as a computer consultancy; Gray explained this was the second safe house belonging to the organisation they were joining. He showed them to a small room with a number of tables and chairs in it and gave them a written psych test to do. Gray brooded at the front while they completed the questionnaire without complaint, presumably the lack of refreshments and tiredness was also part of the test. When they had finished, Gray collected the papers and left the room. "Is that it?" Will asked. Sean shook his head, "No I don't think so, he mentioned programmes, I think this is just the first phase and more is coming." He would have said more, but the door opened and Gray entered accompanied by a woman, wheeling a tray in with sandwiches and coffee on it. "Help yourself, I'm afraid it will be a while before you will be leaving, but make yourselves comfortable as you can. I'm afraid that you caught us rather unawares despite Mr Sharpe's message we didn't want to believe you would actually accept our offer." Gray sounded rather apologetic. The coffee was good and strong, the sandwiches fresh and full of flavour. Between him and Will, they polished off the lot in no time at all. Sean glanced down at his watch, it was now 04.25hrs the first light of dawn would be touching golden fingers on the dark sky. He looked over at Will, but he was lying flat out on the floor, his head on his hand luggage. Will had the right idea, grab some rest while he could, minutes later he was stretched out on the floor, and within seconds he slept as well. Return