"And looking inconspicuous"

"Exactly" Alice indicated her legs "I’m just trying to fit in"

"Whatever Al"

**********************************************************************************************************************

Clutching her newly made ID card in her hand, Bette followed Tina confidently through the security gates at the Government Department. She smiled at the guard, secretly wishing that she was allowed to carry her gun with her into the building. However, she at least felt that there was less likely to be an attack on Tina in such a heavily guarded facility.

"And this is my office" Tina pushed open a door to reveal a room with three desks and an awful lot of paperwork, which Bette could only assume was organised chaos.

"Hi" a dark haired woman with a European accent that Bette couldn’t quite place looked up from one of the desks.

"Marina, this is Bette Tyler. She’s my opposite from Washington and is considering a transfer up here, and wanted to see how we work"

"Sort of like try before you buy" Marina suggested.

"Something like that" for some reason Bette was unnerved by this woman. She seemed to consider herself as intellectually superior to everyone else, even though the sign on her desk indicated that she was in fact in the most junior of the three positions that occupied the office.

"Bette, this is Marina Ferrer. She’s fairly new to the department, but I expect great things of her"

"A pleasure to meet you" Bette managed to smile and offer her hand.

"The pleasures all mine" Marina took her hand gracefully.

At that moment a tall, slim dark haired woman breezed into the office talking in a somewhat raised voice into her cell phone.

"And I’m telling you that that’s not how I work. Have the report on my desk by Thursday, no excuses" her English accent rang through the office as she hung up the phone.

"And this is my boss, Helena Peabody"

So this is Peggy’s daughter, thought Bette to herself. I can see the similarities already.

"Hi" Bette offered her hand again.

"Sorry, you are?"

"This is Bette Tyler, from Washington. I believe you got the memo?" Tina asked.

"Oh yes, well, make yourself at home. If you can find any room"

"Thanks"

"I guess it would be easiest if Bette were just to follow me around to see how things work round here?" Tina suggested.