Cover operations for Infinity's Penetration Service

[Mgellis]

A question...

I've generally assumed that when Infinity's Penetration Service sets up on a timeline for long term observation, a base of operations, etc., that one of the standard ruses is an import-export firm. This gives them an excuse to have offices, warehouses, travel around the world (ostensibly to look into new potential goods they could buy and/or sell), etc.

Does this make sense? I figured that having an excuse to move people, crated goods, and money seems like a good thing to be able to do if you're a Penetration team. You want to have an excuse to be flexible but not draw attention to yourself. But are their hidden problems I had not anticipated?

Inspectors of one kind or another might stop by once in a while, but as long as their books don't look suspicious, they probably won't have many people snooping around. (The one exception might be if someone thought they were involved in drug smuggling or human trafficking.)

Here's another question...

What other ruses might they use? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of any particular kind of cover?

I understand the CIA actually ran a small airline as one of its cover operations. Again, this lets it move people and goods all around the world fairly easily. Would this work for Infinity (assuming a TL6+ world)?

Mark