I N T R I G U E

a person of intrigue, and secrecy well calculated to prosecute such measures as you shall think conducive to give Success to your generous exertions.

[biscemi]

2.05 // Sealed Fate

[masterofconcealment-blog]

Talth walked carefully across Sackett's desk, taking care to keep his tail clear of the ink and papers. The lizard peered curiously at the scratches on the parchment and leaflets. While he spoke clearly to Caleb, he stubbornly was choosing to send only feelings of curiosity and questions towards the spy-leader.

Sackett’s attention left the page he was working on and his gaze met Talth’s.

“Interested on being an agent, too?” An amused smile came across the spymaster’s thin lips. An intelligent lizard is one thing the British certainly do not have. And, what a point of pride it would be if Talth could be trained.

“Very well. We’ll start with the cipher. It would be useful for you to know the code names and phrases.”

He rummaged underneath the ocean of papers until he came across the master copy of the codebook. Nathaniel opened to a page and placed it in front of the dragonet.

“Your Mr. Brewster is here, 725. Washington, 711. Our lady in Setauket, 355.”

@cavalrylad

[masterofconcealment-blog]

cavalrylad:

The dragonet hummed, crouching on the edge of the desk like a miniature gargoyle. He snaked his head around and watched as papers were unearthed and drug out. The scratches still meant absolutely nothing to him, but numbers and names he could memorize. 

Why they needed special codes was still beyond the comprehension of the little blue lizard, he did things because they were important to Caleb and he was asked to do them. Or, sometimes, he took initiative, not often as his species didn’t often think of the past or the future. He was learning. Talth dutifully repeated back to Sackett, Caleb seven-two-five. General seven-one-one. He paused and questioned about the Lady. Who was the lady? Caleb didn’t call someone such a complicated name.

Sackett caught the quizzical look. Talth’s confusion only endearing himself to the spymaster. “Ah, perchance you have not met Anna Strong yet? She is our 355.”

Fingers quickly flipped the page showing Talth the names on the other side. “These are the key players in our theater of war. The decisions and choices they make affect the lives of thousands. Our next move might hinge on what one of them chooses to do.”

Talth glowed a dark blue by the light of the single candle. His wings were folded against his side as he sat on his powerful haunches. Nathaniel’s mouth pursed in thought. His eyes studying the little lizard.

“Can you carry things?”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

Talth walked carefully across Sackett's desk, taking care to keep his tail clear of the ink and papers. The lizard peered curiously at the scratches on the parchment and leaflets. While he spoke clearly to Caleb, he stubbornly was choosing to send only feelings of curiosity and questions towards the spy-leader.

Sackett’s attention left the page he was working on and his gaze met Talth’s.

“Interested on being an agent, too?” An amused smile came across the spymaster’s thin lips. An intelligent lizard is one thing the British certainly do not have. And, what a point of pride it would be if Talth could be trained.

“Very well. We’ll start with the cipher. It would be useful for you to know the code names and phrases.”

He rummaged underneath the ocean of papers until he came across the master copy of the codebook. Nathaniel opened to a page and placed it in front of the dragonet.

“Your Mr. Brewster is here, 725. Washington, 711. Our lady in Setauket, 355.”

@cavalrylad

[annastrxng]

A weary but grateful smile slowly extended across her pale-rose shaded lips at his remark. Anna, though she was greatly stubborn, headstrong, and at times far too bold with the tongue, had truly meant no offense by moving his things. And she was most glad any insult she may have rendered was forgiven. For who, in their right mind, would wish to be at odds with a ghost… especially one so skilled in the arts of intrigue? 

“T…To t…teach me….” she repeats, astounded that someone had seen value in what she had done and had chosen her. A flush appeared in her face for not many had considered her a choice for anything in the past few weeks. Especially, after she had left Setauket a disgraced and fallen woman.  “T…thank you, Mr. Sackett… I shall do my best to consider every bit of wisdom with which you impart,” Anna eagerly promised.

“Aye. You needn’t tell me twice about His Excellency. Would you believe he refused to give me the time of day now that I be in his camp, when he could not get enough information from me when 722 was in prison?” She remarked softly, shaking her head in disdain.  She was, however, most pleased to find a kindred spirit in Mr. Sackett. “Y….you think I….. I be able to become a spymaster?” She repeats in amazement. Her widened maple-syrup and honey colored hues fixate upon the apparition for a moment before sheepishly lowering to study her skirts. Her fingers gently slipped across the fabric as she considered everything she was hearing. “Aye. Yes…. of course. I wish to be a spymaster. I should want nothing more. B….but where d…do I begin?” She questioned, emphatically. Her eyes flitter back up towards the willing mentor. 

[masterofconcealment-blog]

“Yes, I would find it astonishingly easy to believe that.” Amusement was lacking in his words. Sackett had been cringing after hearing of Culper’s imprisonment, and had been worried it meant the end of their clandestine experiment. But 722 was clever- certainly more so than he appeared- and he had been released. Nathaniel had not forgiven Caleb for the theft and loss of his Turtle.

“Ah...how many languages do you know, Mrs. Strong? What was the extent of your education?”

[annastrxng]

Maple-Syrup hues fixated upon the item in question and she tips her head of brunette hair to the side. Taking a few steps forward to get a better look at it, she found herself chewing her lower lip in deep thought.  

“I be… be most uncertain, sir. It….it looks like … nothing I’ve ever seen before,” she confessed after a long pause. “Wh….what is it?” She inquired, her brows temporarily furrowing in confusion. Her eyes twinkled with curiousity as she peered into the man’s eyes.

Shaking fingers extended towards the wooden fame as her eye shifted between her mentor and the item. 

@masterofconcealment

[masterofconcealment-blog]

“This is Jefferson’s copying desk. With it you can write a letter and have an exact copy of the letter by moving just one of the quills. Or...”

At this he gave a most curious grin. But it was the memories of seeing Ben formulate a plan to catch General Lee. Even if he disagreed with it, the situation revealed the major’s abilities.

“...to forge a letter already written.”

[cavalrylad]

He stifled a sigh. Again. This had to be the third or fourth time which he was instructed to complete this one basic task. The first sample batch of what Sackett was calling “sympathetic ink” had been delivered and here he was supposed to be writing an entire essay using the stuff. So far the letters were running into each other or the letter written in plain ink, which made a terrible mess when developed. Ben collected a fresh sheet, very much feeling like he was back in school. “We won’t have any to deliver to Culper at this rate.”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

“Then you had best learn to do it properly. And soon.”

Nathaniel pushed his slipping glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. His wide eyes stared at his young student before exhaling in exasperation. 

“Make a line in your mind upon the page. Focus and retain its position on the bottom of the space where you will be writing. If you keep the bottom of your letters from encroaching on it, then they won’t run together. The key is proper spacing of the false sentences and the sympathetic ones.”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

@annastrxng wanted a starter.

Thick fingers rested on the wood frame of the contraption. An excitement gleamed in Nathaniel’s green eyes. The ghostly body thrummed with anticipation for this lesson.

“I would like to know your thoughts as to the purpose of THIS item.”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

@cavalrylad wanted a starter.

"No Major Tallmadge,” came Nathaniel’s exasperated sigh. “Start again.”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

Like this for a starter!

[masterofconcealment-blog]

Continued from here: x

@annastrxng

“He be doing a lot of that these days,” the brunette softly pointed out, her head of brown hair shaking from side to side sadly. “Y….y….your Na….Nathaniel Sackett? B….but….” the young woman sputtered. She swallowed a nervous lump rising in her throat. He was dead…. this had been his home. It takes a few moments for the news to truly sink in. She was talking to a dead man and not just any dead man, but the one who lived in the place she was currently residing.

Her eyes followed him sheepishly as he moved towards the desk. “I…. I tried to a…arrange a ….few things. I… I be sorry…. if I have made a mess of things.” Anna sputtered nervously, as he shuffled through the papers that she had tried to make odds or ends out of.

“Well, it be an honor to meet you… at… at last…” Anna returned softly. “Y…you know about me and….and what I be doing the past few months?” She quizzes, the astonishment written clearly within her maple-syrup and honey colored hues.

“Think nothing of it, my dear. You didn’t know.” Leaving his re-acquaintance, he looked up at her. A barest hint of smile on his pale, thin lips. She knew very well who he was, and yet she didn’t question his presence or show any fear. Anna STRONG, indeed.

“Which is why I have decided to reveal myself to you. I’m going to teach you. You have the aptitude, and with your knowledge of Setauket and all of our players, you’re the obvious choice.”

He cocked his head, eyes peering down through his dark rimmed glasses. “His Excellency thinks that women should not be involved. I disagree. Some of my best agents are female. So overlooked by many...

“Do you wish to be a spymaster, Mrs. Strong?”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

Anna spun around the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. "Wh....who be there?" She question uneasily. "Show yourself..." the brunette uneasily demanded. She moves towards the open door of the wooden wagon she now called home.

Nathaniel had been watching the woman carefully since her arrival. Her dark eyes poured over each paper, delicate fingers inspecting the unusual contraptions that were tucked into the corners and covered the surfaces. Dull, red spots blotched the legs of his chair; the woven rug had been removed after the incident. To leave it would have been too gruesome a reminder.

He appeared to her, head inclined in a bow. Straightening, a finger slid the glasses back into position on his nose. 

“Mrs. Strong.”

[annastrxng]

Anna startled at the sudden answer and the use of her name by the stranger. “Aye? That be me.” She confirms, with a courteous nod of her head in return. 

Her trembling slender fingers brushed down her skirts nervously.  “H…how may I …. I help you, Sir?” Comes her next inquiry.  Her brown eyes sweep over him curiously. 

@masterofconcealment

[masterofconcealment-blog]

“Ah, I see Major Tallmadge neglected to inform you.” His pursed lips quickly formed into a polite smile. “Nathaniel Sackett, or the late Nathaniel Sackett, as it were.”

One corner of his mouth quirked upwards at his own joke. Footsteps were silent as he strode towards his former desk; there was no mark in the soft dirt where his shoes would have made an impression. Nathaniel shuffled through the papers (they had been put in some semblance of order- though not the RIGHT order). Gamble had taken many of great importance, but nothing that had revealed the names of the agents. Thank God.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Strong. Our Lady in Setauket.”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

You didn't recognise Samuel as being my brother? We're nearly identical. ~cavalrylad

“Sometimes I fear you will never understand the subtleties of spycraft, Major. What I say does not always reveal what I know. One must try to be a little enigmatic in our business, yes?”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

"Ben sent me to here ... to be trained by you, sir," Samuel softly stated. ~unyieldingvalxr

Nathaniel gave the young man a quick glance. Pride was contained within those young, eager eyes. Too eager, too reckless. 

“Did Major Tallmadge say what for, young man?”

[unyieldingvalxr]

“For…” he cast a glance over both of his shoulders to ensure that this conversation would remain private, between the two of them. There is a moment of hesitation before he lets the words cross over his lips. “He says that you can train me in the at the arts of concealment and intrigue,” the young Captain remarks. He rocks slightly on his heels, worried that perhaps, he wouldn’t be cut out for the lessons he was pursuing. For this line of work would require the use of dishonesty, which, Samuel is most unaccustomed to. 

@masterofconcealment

[masterofconcealment-blog]

The spymaster returned to his work, briefly ignoring Samuel’s presence. His mind mused upon the idea. Tallmadge was his protege and well suited to the business. Knowing full well the minutiae of it, he still recommended this man. Without glancing up, he spoke.

“Name and rank.”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

Anna spun around the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. "Wh....who be there?" She question uneasily. "Show yourself..." the brunette uneasily demanded. She moves towards the open door of the wooden wagon she now called home.

Nathaniel had been watching the woman carefully since her arrival. Her dark eyes poured over each paper, delicate fingers inspecting the unusual contraptions that were tucked into the corners and covered the surfaces. Dull, red spots blotched the legs of his chair; the woven rug had been removed after the incident. To leave it would have been too gruesome a reminder.

He appeared to her, head inclined in a bow. Straightening, a finger slid the glasses back into position on his nose. 

“Mrs. Strong.”

[jackstripes]

“I will, however, remark, that for the few days of intimate intercourse I had with him, which was from the time of his being brought brought back to our head-quarters to the day of his execution, I became so deeply attached to Major Andre, that I can remember no instance where my affections were so fully absorbed in any man. When I saw him swinging under the gibbet, it seemed for a time as if I could not support it. All the spectators seemed to be overwhelmed by the affecting spectacle, and many were suffused in tears. There did not appear to be one hardened or indifferent spectator in all the multitude.” - Pages 38-39 of Benjamin Tallmadge’s memoir.

[masterofconcealment-blog]

"Ben sent me to here ... to be trained by you, sir," Samuel softly stated. ~unyieldingvalxr

Nathaniel gave the young man a quick glance. Pride was contained within those young, eager eyes. Too eager, too reckless. 

“Did Major Tallmadge say what for, young man?”

[masterofconcealment-blog]

“If it wasn’t for you we’d all be dead.” ~cavalrylad

“Yes, well, occasionally Major, I can do more than just assign you spycraft work”

Sackett turned to meet Ben’s glance with a small smirk of his own. He had become hardened to the loss of agents; accepting long ago it was inevitable. Every attempt to keep them alive was still made. Improvements were constantly developing to keep them ahead of the British, and to protect the agents.

“You, and admittedly Brewster, are very useful. It would be a terrible loss in the event of your death.”

@cavalrylad