The Mission From Hell
Chapter 1
"The Assignment"
By: Deep Shadows and EckoStalker
Disclaimer: We own nothing that JK Rowling has created… We own Alexis, Artimis, and the rest of the Manor occupants along with the plot and the aforementioned Manor Dela Loyalty…
Author's Notes: This is the first chapter of ten for this story. This is one of our babies, a little idea that grew and grew. This originally started with a random scene of Severus making omelets. Then being the plot lovers that we are, we asked 'why?'. And this is what happened…. Enjoy and please Read and Review, because Reviews make us smile, and a smiling Deep Shadows and EckoStalker is a lot better than sad depressed DS and ES….
Severus stood in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a loose black tee shirt, cursing the powers that be as he made breakfast on the small stove.
"Severus, come on, I'm starving!" Alexis whined at him and he cringed, thinking of how he had woken up to that whining complaining person.
"Hold your bloody horses. What kind of woman can't cook, gods only know?" He replied, turning to glare at her as she sat at the small table, sighing and in her own pajamas.
"Why is it taking soooo long? I'm wasting away." She groaned at him and he shook his head, sighing as he cooked the bacon.
"It takes more than a mere second to make bacon omelets, Whyte, and you should be glad I am making them for you at all and not letting you starve. Why don't you make some toast or something?" He hissed at her as the grease popped up at him.
"Toast?" Her annoying voice was heard and he sighed again.
"Yes, toast, I do trust you know how to use a toaster." He snarled as he took the bacon out of the pan, preparing to make omelets. He heard Alexis hastily get out of her chair and he watched as she began to make toast. Severus Snape groaned to himself as he grumbled.
"How in the world did I get stuck with this mission?..." He asked himself, and then after a bit of thought he glared at the wall behind the stove and snarled.
"Oh wait, I remember..."
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Severus was stalking toward the lounge, wondering what in the bloody hell Aaron had to tell him that was so bloody important to ruin his mid-afternoon afternoon nap. He grumbled as he approached the doors, cursing them in his mind. Severus walked in to see Alexis sitting in her chair, reclining as Aaron and Draco paced back and forth. Aaron looked at him and sighed.
"Good, your here. Sit, sit, this is important." He gestured Severus to the couch and he sat down, not feeling like arguing yet, seeing as he was still groggy. Alexis looked at him indifferently, turning her attention to the men before her.
"Okay, before we give you this mission, I want you to know that we did not come up with this and that this was passed down and we couldn't argue it, trust us, we tried." Aaron began and Severus's interest was peeked as he listened to them.
"I don't like the sounds of this." Alexis moaned and Draco hushed her.
"You two have an assignment. You are to go undercover as covert agents in America. You will be investigating the smuggling of Class A Non-Tradable goods, mostly dangerous animal eggs and offspring, out of America and into our borders. Alexis, you were assigned to this mission for your expertise in Magical Creatures and your ability to adapt to unusual circumstances. Severus you were chosen for the aforementioned item and your potion's expertise, for some of these eggs are being smuggled for use in the black market of Potions making and it is assumed that you know how to detect such individuals. Here are your briefing papers." Aaron rambled off quickly and Severus was handed a pack of papers, quite a few of them passports and identification papers. Alexis rolled her eyes and looked at Severus, shaking her head and he shook his head as well.
"God, Aaron, you made it sound like you were sending us to Antarctica to survive off the wild or something. You are too dramatic." Alexis hissed and Draco looked at Aaron shaking his head in dismayal. Severus took it, as meaning there was more to this than meets the eyes.
"Alexis, there's more. You are going as Muggles, as a Muggle couple... As in Severus, or Harry as his papers say, is your boyfriend. And Alexis, or Lindsey, is your girlfriend, Severus. You have to act like you are a British Muggle couple looking to move to America." Aaron stated and Severus shook his head, trying to process the information. Obviously Alexis got it before him.
"WHAT! You have got to be KIDDING ME! HIM? You want me to act I am his what!" Alexis hollered and Severus shook his head, getting what was going on.
"You are saying that Ministry is sending us in as a couple of magicless lovesick fools?" Severus asked loudly and Aaron looked at him with shock.
"Sadly Severus, that is exactly what the Ministry is sending you as. I don't like it almost as much as you don't. I tried to fight it, but my superiors handed this down with a 'deal with it' attitude." Aaron stated with a growl, looking at Draco, who nodded as well, looking dismayed.
"That's it. I'm turning in my badge, I quit. Right here, right now. I quit. I, Alexis Catherine Whyte-Weasley do hereby give up my position as an Auror." Alexis yelled, crossing her arms as she reclined in her chair. Aaron turned from Severus to Alexis, a look of shock on his face.
"Alexis, you can't quit. You are one of the best Aurors in the world. We need you to do this job. It's for the betterment of everything. Please, this is crucial to breaking the ring we have been working at for years." Aaron began and Alexis glared at him.
"If it's so important, why don't you do it? Nope, not going, not with him..." Alexis simmered, glaring at the two men in front of her. Severus shared the same sentiments on the matter; he didn't think he would be able to last for however long this mission was going to be, acting as if he were emotionally attached to Whyte.
"Come on Alexis, won't it be good to see that bastard who sent those fools after you at Cornwall behind bars at Azkaban, getting the justice he deserves?" Draco baited and Alexis looked at him with contemplation.
"Yeah, but why Severus? And why this way? And for how long?" Alexis whined and Severus watched the two men draw back as if expecting a blow.
"We told you why Severus was chosen... As for why this way, perhaps they think it is more believable and they obviously did not know the two of you or your hatred for each othe-" Draco was cut off.
"Dislike... We've never actually progressed to hate, though this mission might change that." Severus corrected, knowing that he would most likely kill her before the week was out.
"Ok, your dislike for one another, and the mission is set to be in activity for one month unless circumstances call for it to be longer." Draco continued, looking Aaron who nodded.
"So Alexis, do you accept your mission, or what?" Aaron asked and Alexis crossed her arms, shaking her head in the 'why-am-I-agreeing' fashion.
"Severus?" Draco asked and Severus sighed, looking at his feet.
"I guess I have no choice." He stated, rolling his eyes as he looked over his papers, not looking at Alexis or the two men in the room.
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Severus wished he would have thrown a fit now as he stood there cooking for the wand less wonder Alexis, who couldn't even manage to cook an egg for herself. The day before this had been hell, so her whining was a bit more tolerable. He had been pushed on a plane, scared out of his wits by take-off and landing, had to figure out how to find their apartment, because Alexis is 'directionally challenged' and had to sleep in the same room as Alexis, on the same bed. On top of that, it was snowing, in the lower twenties and the damn heater wasn't working. Luckily the stove being used made the one-bedroom/one bathroom apartment warmer, but Severus would prefer the cold to Alexis's whining. He placed her plate in front of her and waited to find out what was on their agenda for today. He knew they were meeting the targets today, but other than that he hadn't read the rest of his briefs yet, being so exhausted the night before that he just collapsed in the bed next to his bane without complaint.
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Alexis grumbled to herself as she pushed herself out of her chair, retrieving the toaster, shaking her head at this whole predicament in general. "I can't believe I'm here in America, with Severus, in the same house, in my pajamas... with Severus... how in the world did I get into this damn mess... oh wait, duh..." She thought back with a glare at her toast.
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Alexis lounged in her green, La-Z-boy recliner, sighing with boredom as she watched Draco and Aaron pace in front of her. How many bloody naps does this guy take in one day? Then he takes forever getting here... its not like I have stuff to do besides wait on Severus, no, none at all...
Alexis thought darkly to herself, resting her chin on her hand and yawning, seeing Severus finally stalk into the room with his usual 'I-hate-the-world' attitude. Aaron, stopping his nerve wracking pacing, looked up and sighed with relief.
"Good, your here. Sit, sit, this is important." He told him, and Severus looked to her curiously. Alexis pointedly ignored him, not really happy about his apparent need to be there, but accepting it in light of this interesting meeting called by the Head Auror. She looked to Aaron expectantly, hoping to get this over with quick, she had places to go, people to annoy, and so on and so forth.
"Okay, before we give you this mission, I want you to know that we did not come up with this and that this was passed down and we couldn't argue it, trust us, we tried." Aaron spoke, and Alexis immediately got a bad feeling about this whole thing. He didn't specify as a mission for either Severus or me... he just said it to us in general... that's always bad... Alexis thought, voicing her thoughts in a groan. "I don't like the sounds of this."
Draco shushed her as Aaron added on. "You two have an assignment. You are to go undercover as covert agents in America. You will be investigating the smuggling of Class A Non-Tradable goods, mostly dangerous animal eggs and offspring, out of America and into our borders. Alexis, you were assigned to this mission for your expertise in Magical Creatures and your ability to adapt to unusual circumstances. Severus you were chosen for the aforementioned item and your potion's expertise, for some of these eggs are being smuggled for use in the black market of Potions making and it is assumed that you know how to detect such individuals. Here are your briefing papers." He spoke in a quick, nervous tone, but Alexis sighed with relief, rolling her eyes at her boss's dramatics.
There was at least something she knew about the content of this mission, and yeah, Severus was in on it, but it wasn't like they had to be nice to each other. They just had to put what they knew together, and that was it. Right?
Glaring at Aaron for making her nervous, she hissed at him. "God, Aaron, you made it sound like you were sending us to Antarctica to survive of the wild or something. You are too dramatic."
When they didn't answer but stood in silence, Alexis took it as a sign that something bad was about to happen.
"Alexis, there's more. You are going as Muggles, as a Muggle couple... As in Severus, or Harry as his papers say, is your boyfriend. And Alexis, or Lindsey, is your girlfriend, Severus. You have to act like you are a British Muggle couple looking to move to America." Aaron stated quietly, and Alexis gawked at him in the utmost shock as she sat bolt upright in her chair. This was beyond bad, this was downright abhorrent.
"WHAT! You have got to be KIDDING ME! HIM? You want me to act I am his what!" She screeched at him, and Severus finally seemed to register the statement and, being the slow one as it were, had to confirm it in simpler terms for himself.
"You are saying that Ministry is sending us in as a couple of magicless lovesick fools?"
Aaron gazed back at him as Alexis listened to them in opened-mouthed surprise.
"Sadly Severus, that is exactly what the Ministry is sending you as. I don't like it almost as much as you don't. I tried to fight it, but my superiors handed this down with a 'deal with it' attitude."
Alexis was not about to agree to this as easily. This was asking a bit much of her. What, did they want her to kill Severus?
She crossed her arms angrily, speaking with finality and with as much conviction as possible as she leaned back in her chair. "That's it. I'm turning in my badge, I quit. Right here, right now. I quit. I, Alexis Catherine Whyte-Weasley do hereby give up my position as an Auror."
She snickered internally at the look of shock on Aaron's features as he quickly tried to reason with her. "Alexis, you can't quit. You are one of the best Aurors in the world. We need you to do this job. It's for the betterment of everything. Please, this is crucial to breaking the ring we have been working at for years."
Damn, he's got a point there... but... as a couple? With Severus! What sick mind thought this up!
Alexis thought desperately, hoping to somehow find a way out of this as she whined, still glaring at the two men, completely ignoring Severus as long as she could. "If it's so important, why don't you do it? Nope, not going, not with him..."
"Come on Alexis, won't it be good to see that bastard who sent those fools after you at Cornwall behind bars at Azkaban, getting the justice he deserves?" Draco reasoned, picking at Alexis's mind. Damn him, he's got to bring that into the mix...
"Yeah, but why Severus? And why this way? And for how long?" Alexis continued to argue with growing anger. Was the ministry that ignorant to the fact that Severus and her did not get along? And did they honestly think putting them together in a mission like this would accomplish anything except the deaths of them both?
"We told you why Severus was chosen... As for why this way, perhaps they think it is more believable and they obviously did not know the two of you or your hatred for each othe-" Draco was cut off in his rambled excuse as Severus corrected him.
"Dislike... We've never actually progressed to hate, though this mission might change that."
You know, I actually agree with Severus on that one...
"Ok, your dislike for one another, and the mission is set to be in activity for one month unless circumstances call for it to be longer." Draco continued warily, looking Aaron who nodded.
"So Alexis, do you accept your mission, or what?" Aaron asked her, and Alexis fought with herself vainly for a moment. This was her job, and she loved her job... and nothing could get in the way of that. With an angry sigh of resignation, she refrained from arguing, crossing her arms and shaking her head, wondering to herself. I can't believe I'm agreeing to this... I must me out of my mind...
"Severus?" Draco asked, and Alexis looked at him discreetly, wondering if he would actually go along with it. If not, she would be paired up with someone else!
"I guess I have no choice."
Well, that plane just crashed and burned...
Hehehehe... planes... I remember that one... Alexis snickered to herself, smiling at the memory as she buttered the rest of the toast. It was worth it to shove Severus on the plane to get to Boston, to laugh at his great discomfort and nervousness. Though, he was worse than a five year old with his continual whining and sniveling about how metal was not meant to fly. It even got to the point that she actually had to drug him.
She shook her head, plopping back into her seat at the small table and setting the plate of toast down in front of her, sighing once again at Severus's slowness. He finally managed to finish the omelettes, setting a plate in front of her and collapsing into a chair across from her, wearily picking up a fork and starting in on his meal.
Alexis didn't question on anything for a few minutes as she focused on filling her grumbling stomach, shivering slightly and wishing that the damn heater had worked.
As Severus poured himself another cup of steaming coffee, he grumbled to her resignedly. "So Lindsey, what's on the agenda for today?"
He smirked slightly as Alexis narrowed her eyes at his mocking tone. What kind of name is Lindsey anyways? It's annoying...
She smirked back as she replied. "I don't know Harry, nothing really planned until tonight."
Severus stared at her blankly for a moment, then asked with confusion. "Tonight?"
Alexis sighed and slapped her forehead, shaking her head. My god, what planet is this guy from again?
She looked up at him and spoke through gritted teeth. "Yeah, tonight. Our little excursion to the harbor, like we had planned?"
She stared hard at him, and his eyes widened in remembrance. "Oh, tonight. Yes. Okay. So then what do we do until then?"
"How do you survive every day? Or do those naps take up most of your time? I don't know... this was all we had in the refrigerator, I guess we could go shopping or something." Alexis told him snappily, shrugging her shoulders. She hadn't really expected to be planning their entire days for the next month. Month... damn... a month never seemed so long in my life... Alexis grumbled mentally and Severus shrugged as he sipped his coffee and replied, ignoring her snappy comment.
"I suppose we could do that. Though I'll be damned if I have to get on one of those 'subway' contraptions you were telling me about." He grumbled darkly, shaking his head.
Alexis rolled her eyes as she replied. "No, the nearest store is only a block away. We'll walk, cause I don't trust you to drive just yet. Last night I was too damn tired to care, but thinking back on it now, you almost wrecked us like, ten times. Red means stop Severus. Just remember that next time."
Severus glared indignantly as he snapped back. "I know that Whyte. It's not my fault those damn lights change so bloody quick..."
"Sure Severus..." Alexis mused, shaking her head and finishing up her omelet. She then hollered before he had a clue to what she was thinking. "I call shower first!"
She jumped up from her chair to sprint to the bathroom first, but she was yanked backwards as an arm latched onto hers. She looked up with a scowl as Severus growled, now up and beside her. "No. I cooked, so you do the dishes. And that being the case, I'll take a shower first."
He put his hands on her shoulders and steered her to the sink, then turned and walked back to the one bedroom/bathroom they shared. Alexis glared after him, whining. "Yeah, just so you can use up all the hot water! Jerk... should've got a place with a damn dishwasher... But no, the ministry couldn't afford to send us to a place with working heater and a dishwasher... damn cheapskates..." Alexis continued to grumble to herself as she fetched the rest of the dishes to wash.
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Severus snorted at Alexis's grumbling as he grabbed some clothes and headed to their bathroom. He stripped quickly, it being extremely cold and he hopped into the hot water of the shower. He relaxed in the warmth it being a great comfort and he made a mental note to not take up all the hot water, because it was damn cold and even he wasn't that cruel. He washed quickly and got out, dressing faster than he could ever remember dressing without magic. He donned a pair of blue jeans, a black tee shirt and a dark green sweater,
"Damn, why is this country so damn cold..." He hissed as he walked back out to the kitchen. He found Alexis staring into a cup of coffee, her eyes glazed over a bit.
"Lindsey. Shower. There's still warm water..." He told her and she got up quickly heading toward the bathroom. He poured himself yet another cup of coffee, taking the last bit and he downed it adoringly. After about fifteen minutes Alexis walked out of the bedroom, yawning a bit.
"Thank you so much for saving me water." She told him and he nodded as he downed the last bit of his coffee. Alexis finished her own cup off coffee, which by now had gotten cool and stretched her hands above her head.
"Okay, lets get going." Alexis told him and he rolled his eyes, donning gloves and a scarf. He was bloody cold. Alexis locked the door behind them and he followed her, hoping she did know exactly where they were going. After trudging through the snow and cold weather they came to a store and they entered hastily. To his relief, it was warm inside and Alexis went and got a basket on wheels.
"Okay. The rule is I get to push the cart." Alexis told him and he shook his head at her, following her as she navigated the store for half an hour, occasionally asking him if he knew how to cook something or if something was meat. When they passed the liquor area Severus got himself a bottle of wine, knowing it wasn't the best, but it would calm his nerves. Alexis finished her shopping, Severus not paying much mind to what she was getting, enjoying the warm store and the thought of a nice glass of wine when they got back kept him content. They got to the register and Severus looked at the Muggle money in his hand. Now in England, he could understand their monies, but American money looked like pieces of paper with old men on it. He looked at Alexis and took her hand, shoving the money into it.
"Here, you take it, I don't understand American money Lindsey." Severus told her, almost calling Alexis by her real name. She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, paying for the items and pocketing the rest of the money. They left the store and Severus ended up carrying, what he assumed, was twenty bags of junk food. This would have been not as bad as a problem if it had not started snowing again. Sighing as he followed Alexis, he trudged on, noticing she didn't have as many bags as him. They reached the apartment and he left the grocery putting up to Alexis as he looked at the thing she called a heater. He wondered why they didn't have a fireplace, which would make things much simpler. Then again, from what Severus knew of muggles, nothing was ever simple for them. He spent the rest of the afternoon trying to fix that blasted heater, and even with Alexis's help, it was to no avail.
Look for the next chapter next Thursday… It gets more interesting as it goes… We all know we want to see Severus Snape dressed in black acting like a ninja…
And Alexis too of course…