The room was dark. Very dark. The only light seemed to be a small flickering candle in the corner of the room, although it cast more shadows than light. The rain outside lashed against the windows, proving that the room had a window, even if it was invisible in the darkness, and the wind howled under the door. It was the perfect night for sitting huddled up in a cosy room, warming your feet by the fire. This wasn't a cosy room, and there wasn't a fire.
The cloaked figure slid surreptitiously into the room. Their entry may have gone completely unnoticed, had it not been for the brief shaft of light that tried to poke it's way into the darkness, only to be snuffed out by the thud of the heavy wooden door closing once again. The silence in the room was palpable.
There was a faint rustling from the corner and a second hooded figure leaned forward in a chair.
"Have we recovered the ... items?"
The voice was deep, rich, sensuous, and unmistakably feminine. The standing figure bowed slightly.
"Er. We ran into a few minor technical problems."
This second voice was male and gruff.
"In what way?"
There was a light shuffling of the feet, as though he had information to deliver that he knew would not be well received.
"It would seem that some of our activities have attracted the attention of the Ministry. Our operatives barely made it away cleanly."
"So what do we have?"
"Nothing." Suddenly, he could see two small glowing purple orbs in the darkness, right where her eyes should be. He shivered involuntarily. "He hurriedly added. "But the good news is, there was only one there. The second was not genuine. It must still be in Russia."
"And the genuine one?"
"It was taken by the Ministry."
"Hmm, well it is of no use to them without the other and the key. And we have the key."
"We do?"
There was a momentary flicker of light. He leaned closer and could just make out what appeared to be a light colored straight walking stick, with an ornate golden top. He could also make out what appeared to be a prone figure on the floor, with the head at a really strange angle to the torso. He concentrated on the stick.
"Yes, we do. But it is of no use without those items. Well, if one is in Russia, we should be able to track it down. I have contacts there. I'm sure we can put them to use finding it, if the money is right. Always money with these Muggles." There was a tone to the voice that turned the air in the room colder. "And the Ministries item?"
"They're delivering it to a place of safety."
The female voice chuckled. "Ah, yes. A place of safety. Well we can guess where that might be. So, we just need to retrieve that item before the Ministry find the other one."
"Are you sure it's wise to press on so quickly with this scheme? Maybe we should wait until things have calmed down."
"You're doubting me?" There was genuine incredulity in her voice.
"No. No. Not at all. It's just ... well ... it could be ... tricky."
She laughed. "Relax. What could possibly go wrong?"