"I'm afraid you'll have to check your gun here at the gate, Agent." I sighed and lifted the snap to release my gun from the holster. Checking the safety, I laid the gun on the counter and signed the slip with the officer at the cage. I followed the blue painted lines on the floor. Coming upon the metal detector, I slid my badge out of my pocket with my phone. I checked the time as I sat it in a plastic bin, 5:08 a.m. Next came my dog tags over my head and the gun's holster off my belt.
"Arms out please." I complied. I eyed the x-ray machine as they slide my possessions through. I didn't even bother to listen to the officer as he wanded me. I was too busy feeling uneasy, being without my gun was one thing but taking away my holster and they might as well have left me naked in public. It wasn't so much worry over them finding the charm that hid my wand next to my extra clip, but just the general anxiety of being without it. I sighed in relief when it was all handed back to me, before smiling and nodding politely. Schedule was tight and we had a portkey to catch in the next several hours.
I read the dossiers this morning over coffee, three men "confirmed" Death Eaters. "Innocent until proven guilty" wasn't going to be considered much for these men, I understood and hated it. All three were to be extradited by the U.S. back to England for trial. So, as an agent of the FBM (Federal Bureau of Magic), I was charged with their transport. Our magical division is a small and covert part of MACUSA. We reside in a basement level and often require posing as both the FBI and Homeland Security. Homeland dealt with accidents and secret keeping while FBM dealt with the bad guys. Lately, it was a lot of Death Eaters, fleeing Europe and thus their punishments.
I waited by the gates to be buzzed in. Once inside I heard some leering, but nothing the officers couldn't handle. I was focused, coming towards me, surrounded by guards were three men in bright orange jumpsuits. Their prisoner number ID was sewn into their suits with a capital "W" at the end of the numbers to indicate wizard/witch. Common practice in our penal system. We stripped them of their wands upon arrest and housed them with No-Maj prisoners. Crime was crime, didn't matter what. The guard waiting with me at the inner gate exchanged their ankle and wrist cuffs for heavy duty blue zip-ties before reading their names off to the warden who'd come with them.
"Gregory Crawford, 47662W." I reached forward for his jumpsuit, raising the left sleeve, no dark mark.
"Howell Wilkes Jr., 65430W." I repeated the task, he did have the dark mark.
"Afton Fuller, 45822W." He too had the dark mark.
The warden looked at me hesitantly. Before nodding to the guards to continue their escort out. He then turned to me, "Now Crawford shouldn't give you too much trouble. But, I feel I should warn you. Wilkes is gonna be a handful, he's got quite a mouth on him. And Fuller hasn't spoken a word since his arrest. Now, I understand you'll be flying out in several hours?"
"Yes, that's correct." Total lie, but what he doesn't know...
"Right, well, good luck and safe flight. I have their psyche evaluations right here as well." He handed me a yellow accordion folder. I nodded my thanks.
Following the blue lines backwards out of the prison was easy, no x-ray to leave and such. From the front cage I could see the black SUV where the men were going to be seated and waiting. I stopped at the cage before slipping the pick-up tag to the officer. He was only in the gun locker for a moment before returning my FBM issued handgun.
Outside was a bit awful. It was too hot in New York this early in the morning, but I knew it'd be raining at home in Kentucky. I slid into the Driver's seat. One of the prison guards shut the passenger door and gave the hood a good knock and I started the car. Glancing in the rearview I saw the second SUV following us out of town toward the port key location. And I caught the eyes of my company, Wilkes.
"Finally busting us out of that shite hole. Much obliged." I give a sigh to that.
"Busting you out? Honey, you're not going anywhere better. You do know what extradite means don't you?"
"Course I know." He gave me a much yellowed grin. "Just happy to be out of that muggle hell hole."
"Stuff it, Wilkes!" Much gruffer and raspier from disuse came Fuller's response.
"Ahhhhh, it speaks. Nice of you to join us." Wilkes taunted.
From the passenger seat Crawford kept his zip tied hands in his lap and leaned his head on the glass. I heard him sigh. I hit my right blinker and looked left to check before turning. I didn't pick speed back up until I caught sight of the SUV behind me make the turn as well. The drive took another 45 minutes into the country outside of New York City. Wilkes kept up a fairly steady stream of nonsense, but Fuller never did speak again. I'd asked them about their families, if they even had any. Crawford was pleasant enough, he'd been married. He never did say whether she was alive or not and it didn't seem my business to ask. Wilkes was single and wasn't planning on letting me forget that fact anytime soon.
We pulled to the side of the road in the bottom of a small valley. The SUV followed and out stepped my department head, Supervisory Special Agent Song Kim. An admirable agent of 57 years of age, he had been the one to recruit me just two years previous. He wore a grey suit like a businessman but I knew somewhere in his sleeves was a short, dark wand carved more than 2000 years before by his ancestors. He kept his hair cut short and he was waiting for me, "Maverick!"
I looked up, expectant. "Yes?"
"Time to go. We have exactly 4 minutes before lift-off." I nodded and two more agents opened the car doors for my escorts.
Kim led the group down a hill and past a cluster of trees. Forward in a small clearing was the port key, an old dirty and broken umbrella. Crawford, Wilkes, and Fuller were led forward towards it. Kim held me back a moment.
"You'll get dropped in an alley nearest Kings Cross Station. Two or three blocks over will bring you to an old phone booth. That will be your entrance. The minister informed me that someone would be waiting to escort you to the Auror's Office. Then it'll be on to the Wizengamot for those three."
"I understand."
"Just be careful, Maverick."
I smiled.
"Ready when you are, Agent Kendall." I followed down and grabbed hold of the umbrella handle. It wasn't two or three seconds later that we were spinning through the air and smacking down hard in an alley. The men around me groaned out. I tossed the forgotten umbrella to the side near a dumpster, wasn't much use to us now. Fuller was up first then Crawford. Wilkes was a damn baby, rolling around moaning like he was going through child birth. I pulled Fuller and Crawford to the side. I had to hike up my jeans by the belt before I could heave Wilkes to his feet.
"Stop your bitching and get to your feet. We have an appointment to keep."
I motioned the three in front of me where I could keep an eye on them. Shockingly the looks I received for wandering the streets of Great Britain with men in orange jumpsuits, were tame. No-Maj are much more astute to our existence than we often give them credit for. They knew something was going on long before Voldemort returned to power. They could feel the trouble brewing, same as the rest of us, we just had a name and a face to put towards that trouble.
Getting to the phone booth was easy, squeezing the four of us in was another matter entirely. I wasn't willing to turn my backs to them, but reaching across the three of them to type the number and hang up was difficult. I managed somehow and felt the box lurch as it descended into the ground. The ride felt like forever with the four of us pressed uncomfortably against the glass.
Agent Kim wasn't kidding when he said someone would be there to meet me. A good twenty members of the press were there, including the Daily Prophet. I don't think I was the person they were waiting for, though they'd take any scandal when they could get it. I clenched my teeth and pushed the three men out of the box in front of me. We four certainly stood out from the press all in robes and the suited individuals rushing through the Ministry lobby.
"QUIET!" The booming voice broke through the din and all went silent. Much of the press parted to allow a tall black man in purple robes through. I assumed he was the minister sent liaison.
He stuck his hand out, "Kingsley Shacklebolt, nice to meet you."
"Special Agent Kendall, sir. You must be the liaison the Minister sent to escort us." He laughed a booming laugh and gripped his belly, still holding tightly to my much smaller hand.
"I guess I am. Minister Shacklebolt," He reintroduced, "Old habbits die hard I suppose. I was head Auror, when these three went up on our radar. I wanted to personally see many of these individuals through to their trials."
He led the four of us away, several aurors stepping up behind us to watch Crawford, Fuller, and Wilkes. Wilkes seemed to finally grasp the gravity and for now kept silent. The people in the lobby seemed to part for our passage and eventually we were ushered into an enormous elevator.
"Agent Kim assured me you were his best. He did mention the incident from earlier this year and I wanted to issue my condolences. It seems every side you look from, someone somewhere is mourning same as the rest of us." He glanced sideways, eyeing me.
"Well, thank you." I nodded, hating this focused attention.
The movement of the elevator was enough to make someone sick. In fact Wilkes was looking a bit queasy himself. Finally it lurched to a stop with a small chime and the announcement, "Level 2: Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
Here goes nothing.
It was funny, leaving the elevator at the side of the Minister right into a bullpen much like my own at the FBM. Conversations stalled just the same and started back up almost instantly. Wilkes gawked next to me, I smacked his arm. "Eyes on the floor please."
These three weren't out of my custody yet and I wasn't just going to let them break protocol. The minister eyed me oddly but nodded for me to go first and I nudged the three out ahead of me single file. This would their first of many walks of shame, I felt bad for a minute until pain gripped my chest. It was the minister's turn to keep up the steady stream of conversation now.
Falling in next to me as we marched through the bullpen, "Now this is the Improper Use of Magic Offices, mostly age related accidents. Up ahead on the right are our Auror Offices."
The Auror offices were much more magical. Not nearly as No-Maj looking as the Improper Use of Magic division. There was a second level up a short set of stairs that led to important looking offices, but below everything was set up in a "U". Desks were arranged in two levels, one a step down into the floor. I felt like I was walking into mission control at a spy agency. It was here that we stopped, not one person looking up at us.
"Ahh Minister, how the hell are you?" A man from the important offices called out. He wore dress robes and glasses. Older gentleman, maybe his 50s, but smart looking all the same. With him came three people, people I'd see numerous times in even our papers: The Golden Trio.
"Good...good. I have some individuals who need processing for their hearings." He chuckled and held his hand out to lead me forward.
Coming down the stairs I shook his hand firmly before being introduced, "Agent Kendall, this is the new Head of the Auror Division, Wilfred Sparks. And this is Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Miss Hermione Granger. "
I nodded to them all in greeting, "It's nice to meet you. So, what does this processing entail?"
"To the point, I like that." Mr. Sparks smiled easily.
"Well I'll leave you here to deal with the paperwork. I do need to keep going and get to the court rooms before the hearings begin." Shacklebolt patted my shoulder and turned in a flurry of purple to continue through the offices.
Mr. Sparks called forward several other people who brought tracking wristbands for my prisoners, slapping them on efficiently. I stood to the side, trying not to be in the way. The Golden Trio stood with Sparks, looking suspiciously at me. They looked well dressed for court. They must be testifying.
"Will you three be in court today?" Small talk couldn't hurt, right?
"Yeah, for something like the fourth bloody day in a row." Ron scowled. Hermione hit his arm, before smiling politely.
"Now these tracking devices will be just until they can be transferred to cells and remanded. The transfer of custody will occur officially in the hearing, so they're still your responsibility until then. Should you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you." I smiled.
"We can show you where the court rooms are if you'd like?" This was Hermione, she seemed polite enough.
"Thank you." I was sincere, Lord knows I wasn't finding the place on my own.
"Are you an Auror?" Hermione asked as we started off past the Auror Department.
"Sort of. I mean technically that's correct but we are just considered federal agents."
"Is it true you don't have a Ministry of Magic in America?"
"Sort of. Our divisions are kind of hidden within the government we already have. I work for the Federal Bureau of Magic which is a very small part of MACUSA."
"So, does the United States have a school of magic?" She should've just handed me a list of discussion topics.
"Yes. Ilvermorny."
"That's just fascinating!" she gushed.
We had passed the Wizengamots Offices which were mostly empty for the trials. And stopped at a small door to the side of a much larger door. The small door led into the audience seats in a coliseum style room. The middle of the room a very old and intense looking chair all alone. The Wizengamot members sat directly in front of it with press and spectators scattered on either side. The press went mad at seeing the Golden Trio and I took Wilkes, Fuller, and Crawford further into open seats, leaving those three to deal with their adoring fans.
I sat them three in front of me and myself right behind. Now the looks we received weren't so tame. These people knew what the jumpsuit meant. I nervously flicked the snap on my gun back and forth. Today's trials were going to be exhausting.