"Oh, look, the three of them are all together," Macnair said, looking at Lucius with a twisted grin on his face. "It looks like the Blood-Traitors are finally starting to get smart."
"But not smart enough," Lucius smirked back. "It's nothing we cannot handle."
"So, when do we attack?" Macnair asked.
"Patience, Macnair. Don't you see all the other wizards and witches? We don't want them getting in the way. For now, we shall just follow our targets."
Macnair just nodded his head and did not say anything further. He walked by Lucius's side in silence under the protection of their masks, the Disillusionment Charm, and the Muffliato Charm (thank you very much for that little invention, Severus) as they stalked their targets through Diagon Alley. It was almost nighttime, but there were still several people out and about.
Lucius didn't like any of the other Death Eaters, except for perhaps Severus (as he was one of the few Death Eaters that could match Lucius in both intelligence and cunningness), but he had no problem with tolerating Macnair. True, the other man was rather bloodthirsty, but he had always obeyed Lucius.
And Macnair had always believed that as long as he was with Lucius, the mission would be a success. Lucius was not known to fail often. And he was especially known for never making the same mistake twice.
Macnair really was a simple fellow. But he did have his uses. And he had no problem with jumping into the heat of battle without any hesitation.
The two Death Eaters continued to follow their three targets, all of them Muggle sympathizers. Blood-Traitors, in other words. Blood-Traitors that the Dark Lord had ordered them to make an example of.
"Are you they ever going to be alone?" Macnair hissed impatiently. He had never been one to like waiting. Too much like Bellatrix in that regard.
Lucius gave Macnair a sharp glare.
To Macnair's credit, he gave Lucius an apologetic look.
Bellatrix would have ended up giving them away, even with the benefit of having both the Disillusionment and the Muffliato Charms cast upon them. She had never liked being told what to do, especially by Lucius.
Macnair, however, knew his place; and he accepted Lucius as the leader of their mission. So, not completely like Bellatrix. That was good, very good. It made things a lot easier for Lucius.
Lucius and Macnair continued to follow the three Blood-Traitors through Diagon Alley, but the three never traveled far from others. They were getting smarter.
But it was just a minor annoyance. It was nothing that Lucius couldn't deal with.
The three targets stopped to talk with some other wizards and witches. From their gestures and the smiles on their faces, it was apparent that these wizards and witches were friends. It was also apparent that they would be talking for at least a few minutes.
Lucius motioned for Macnair to stop walking, which the other wizard did immediately. He looked at Lucius, waiting for the blond-haired wizard to speak.
"Macnair, I need you to be a distraction," Lucius said simply.
"What do you mean, Lucius? What do you want me to do?"
Macnair got into position. Then, still under the protection of both the Disillusionment and the Muffliato Charms, Macnair began to cast spells into the crowd. He didn't care who he hit. He didn't care who he hurt. His main purpose was to keep everyone's attention focused on him, so that Lucius could do his part.
Naturally, everyone was frightened. They couldn't even see who it was that was casting spells at them.
The Disillusionment Charm, however, did not hide the beams of light that shot out of Macnair's wand.
One of the wizards in the crowd finally had the sense and the presence of mind to notice the direction in which the beams of light were coming from. The wizard pointed his wand in that direction.
The Disillusionment Charm surrounding Macnair was broken. He could now be clearly seen. But Lucius had told him to be prepared for this. Macnair didn't lose a beat, not even for a moment. Besides, his mask was still firmly in place. No one knew it was him.
If it was possible, the people became even more frightened when they saw that it was a Death Eater who had been attacking them.
Among all this chaos, Lucius (still under the Disillusionment Charm, he had decided to drop the Muffliato Charm as it was no longer needed with all the noise going on around him) grabbed one of the targets, a young witch, and began to drag her away from the other two Blood-Traitors.
The witch cried out in fright. The other two targets (an older wizard and witch) turned and noticed that their companion was being dragged off by some invisible force. They immediately took off after her.
Several other wizards and witches were also about ready to give chase, but Lucius had told Macnair to be prepared for this. Macnair Apparated to the spot where Lucius had grabbed the witch, so that no one would be able to get pass him and interrupt Lucius.
Lucius held the witch's arms tightly to her sides so that she couldn't reach for her wand as he continued to drag her.
"Let me go," she whimpered. "Please, let me go."
It was almost funny how so many of them asked for mercy. Where had his mercy been when he had needed it?
Lucius caught sight of the other two Blood-Traitors. He dropped the Disillusionment Charm. It no longer served any purpose. They clearly knew without having to see him that he was behind their little friend. Besides, his identity was still concealed behind his mask.
Lucius didn't bother with saying anything. He just acted. A beam of green light shot out of his wand. The young witch fell dead to the ground.
The other two Blood-Traitors roared in both grief and anger. They raised up their wands.
But before any of their spells could hit him, Lucius had already cast a Shield Charm around him. Their spells bounced off his shield and rebounded back towards them. The wizard and the witch, however, managed to dodge their returned spells.
Then, Lucius caught sight of Macnair. He was coming from behind the two Blood-Traitors.
This was good. Lucius had been prepared to take on the two targets on his own if Macnair had not been able to make it to his aid.
But since Macnair was here, things would only be easier.
Macnair didn't waste any time. A beam of green light shot out of his wand and hit the witch right on her back. She fell dead to the ground.
This was good as well. Lucius knew from all his observations of the targets that the witch was a better dueler than the wizard. Macnair really did know how to listen. Unlike Bellatrix.
The wizard was caught by surprise by his companion's death. He turned his head to look behind him. Big mistake. For that brief moment, he forget all about Lucius.
Another beam of green light shot out of Lucius's wand. The wizard fell dead to the ground.
All three deaths had happened in less than a minute.
"They were no challenge at all," Macnair remarked, looking disappointed. He had always loved a good fight.
"Maybe next time the Dark Lord will give you some Aurors or even some Phoenix members as targets," Lucius responded.
"I hope so," Macnair mumbled.
"Until then, though," Lucius, "our job is done. We need to go report to the Dark Lord."
Two pops later (with Lucius's pop being a lot quieter than Macnair's), the two Death Eaters were gone.