10445/Shanghai Mix

Shanghai Mix
Date of Scene:	15 December 2019
Location:	Seoul, South Korea / Shanghai, China
Synopsis:	Indy and his Girl Friday land in China.
Cast of Characters:	Indiana Jones, Silk

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Indiana Jones has posed:
There had been a layover at Camp Humphreys. After they landed, they had to wait until the appropriate funds could be wired to them to pay for the cost of the plane into Shanghai. Indy had suggested they sleep until 7 AM, and be ready to leave by 8 AM.
At 7 AM, Indy was already awake, having been jostled awake by a very mouthy raven. He had dressed, then headed to the mess hall. He was decided on whether to have scrambled, scrambled, or scrambled with cheddar cheese on top when Cindy's alarm went off at 7 AM.

Silk has posed:
Cindy is instantly awake. She hops out of bed, immediately panicked at Indy's absence. She is changed, with hair brushed smooth, and out the door in less than three minutes. The mess hall is her first stop in looking for Indy. She's wearing black fatigue type pants and boots, with a red fleece pullover hoodie. When she steps into the room, she has two thoughts:

Indy HAS to be here.

and

"Ooh, bacon."

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy is indeed here. He is in line with six U.S. Marines, getting scrambled eggs scooped onto a plate. And yes, there is bacon. It's a little stiff, and slightly greasy due to the fact of how much is cooked at a time, but it does smell very good. And Indy is getting shredded cheese sprinkled over his eggs, so there's that.

Silk has posed:
Cindy, having finally eased her anxiety at having lost Indy, gets in line for food. "More, please. No...a little more. And some sausage. And bacon." And once her plate is piled unabashedly with food, she's looking for Indy again. And hot sauce. Surely they have hot sauce here, right?

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy has moved to a table by that time, a tall glass of juice, a mug of hot coffee, and a plate piled high with food. He is watching her order after sitting down, smiling wryly. He points to a handmade sign at the end of the line, one that says, "TAKE WHAT YOU WANT! EAT WHAT YOU TAKE!" Apparently they frown on wasting food here.

Silk has posed:
Cindy grins sheepishly as she seats herself with Indy, and takes a drink from a big glass of milk and sets it beside her plate. "Mornin'! What...uh...happened to your fowl-mouthed friend?" she asks as she shovels a big bite of cheesy eggs into her mouth.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy smiles sardonically. "He had to fly. Eat up...we have a long day ahead of us."
He starts eating, but pauses every few bites to talk. "We're taking a flight to Shanghai. I know someone there who can get us through Customs. After that, there's be a Land Rover waiting for us. It's a little beat up, but there'll be paperwork in the vehicle to get us through PRC checkpoints."

Silk has posed:
Nodding enthusiastically as she eats, Cindy pauses for just a moment, her brow furrowed. "You don't think it's gonna arouse suspicion when we leave, do you? I mean, I doubt it's just every day that people like us head out of there to parts unknown like that."

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy grins. "Cindy, I am a representative of my institution of learning, and am part of a U.S./China agreement focused on returning Chinese relics to the PRC, but in order to do that, I will need to survey various sites to affirm that the PRC is equipped to handle such relics. You are my assistant, part of the project and as such have certain rights." He takes another bite of egg.

Silk has posed:
Cindy pauses, chewing a mouthful of eggs and bacon, and looks sidelong at Indy, until she swallows. A quirky smile plays at her lips, and she nods. "Of course I am. Of /course/ I do." She shakes her head. "You really do think of everything. But I guess you would, wouldn't you?"

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy sighs. "Cindy, good judgment comes from experience...which usually comes from BAD judgment. Let's just be honest and note that I have made ALL the mistakes and elect not to repeat them."
Another bite, chasing it with coffee.
"The bad news is, an in-depth assessment of the documents beyond simple scans will be valid only for the next 48 hours...in which case the system will update, and the next scan will reveal them to be as valid as the Piltdown Man. So, we have to work fast."

Silk has posed:
"We can work fast. I'm super fast. And you know everything. We can do this. I'm not worried," she replies. I have this...well, this sense. That tells me when something is wrong. When there's danger. And if you're with me, it'll extend to you, too. If they're onto either of us, I'll know it the second they do." Another bite. She eats as if she hasn't eaten in days. But in all honesty, the past 24 hours has been more strenuous than she's seen in ages.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy's eyebrows rise slightly. "That sounds like a pretty damned useful ability to have." He looks to his plate. "Eat faster. We need to get the plane loaded and be out of here as fast as we can."

Silk has posed:
Nobody has to twist Cindy's arm to make her eat. She might as well be in a fast-forwarded video. And, in no time, she is done. She cleans her plate, and then drains her glass of milk, before wiping her mouth with a napkin and putting down her fork. "Done! Ready? She glances at his plate to check his breakfastorial progress.

Indiana Jones has posed:
He had had a head start, so he was done before her, but only by a few seconds. And he'd had much less on his plate.
"All right, then. Let's grab our gear and get to the plane."

The plane was an old Cessna 172, a single prop plane with their pilot, Len Ha, waiting with cigarette in hand. He smiled, revealing a few missing teeth, as Indy and Cindy approached the plane. "Hai, Dr. Jones. You got Girl Friday with you, yes?"

Silk has posed:
"I'm Girl Friday!" Cindy smiles, tilting her head and looking up at Indy. "I'm here to help with whatever I can. Whatever Dr. Jones needs," she says with a nod to Indy. She is pulling her luggage along with her like a set of obedient pets.

Indiana Jones has posed:
"Len, start the preflight. We'll load up." Indy opens the hatch, and begins loading their gear. "How's the weather?"
Len grins. "RAINING. But do not worry, we will be flying the right flight plan, and we have no trouble with PRC." He winks to Cindy, then opens the side door to the pilot's seat and pulls out a tablet.
"Rough weather ahead, Cindy." Indy grabs her bags and sticks them in the cargo area before closing and locking the hatch. "Shall we go?"

Silk has posed:
"Yeah!" Cindy bounces over to toward the steps, and looks back at Indy with an excited smile. "This is fantastic! I can't wait! You comin'?" She climbs into the plane, looking around curiously. And resisting the urge to touch anything.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy shakes his head in amused wonder as he gets in, buckling up and looking at the back of Len's head, with Cindy in the pilot seat.

Shanghai is a rough trip. Turbulence, lightning, thunder that seems to rattle the small plane, the works. But Len, snaggletoothed as he may be, knows his stuff, and he lands the plane on a small airstrip outside of Shanghai.
A bored battleaxe of a Chinese officer is waiting at the hangar as the plane rolls up. She has a small pouch, which she unzips as Indy and Cindy get off the plane. "Cindy, the Rover's on the other side of the hangar. Give me your passport."

Silk has posed:
"You got it," Cindy replies, opening her crossbody satchel and pulling out the little book. "DON'T lose it. I don't wanna be Chinese forever, alone. I'm trusting you with my forever here, Indy." She smiles. She's never trusted anyone with her forever before.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy gives her a quick nod, then walks over to the officer, who takes an inkpad and a stamp. Indy gives her a this packet of bills, and she puts it in her pocket before stamping both Cindy's passport book, then Indiana's. She nods, the stone face never changing.
Indy checks the cargo hatch for anything left behind before he heads towards the rear of the hangar, hoping the vehicle was there.
*Here we go again,* he thinks.

Silk has posed:
Cindy is subconsciously bouncing along beside Indy. She has heard so much about his adventures, that she can't wait to get started on a new one of their own. "You know we're gonna be just fine, right?" she asks, brushing against his hand with her own. "I can sense a little trepidation. But I am not gonna let anything happen to you," she says more softly.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy leans over to open the glove compartment, finding the small envelope and opening it to reveal the neatly-folded papers. He looks through them, then hands a set to Cindy. "Hang on to these," he says, then gives her passport back to her, newly-stamped. So much for the line at Customs.
He reaches into the glove compartment again and pulls out a map. "Okay...we have to go to Shannxi Province." He makes an X, then hands the map to Cindy. "I'll need you to navigate, while I drive."

Silk has posed:
"Oh, sure thing!" She looks at the map and nods, committing it to memory to keep her from having to refer back to it later. "Mhmm....mhmm. Okay. Got it." She nods and folds the map and puts it away in the glove compartment. Finally, a job she feels completely suited for. "Have you ever been here before? I mean, in this area?" she asks.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy shakes his head. "Not for a good 15 years. I've tangled with a few serious types here. There's a lot going on, just under the surface."
The vehicle rolls out of the small airport, heading towards the interior of the nation...and whatever lies in wait for them.