"Danger? Danger's my middle name, sweetheart; you're going to have to be more specific than that."
The click of glass against glass was a comforting noise, dulled under the roar of the loud conversations and of music playing through speakers littered throughout the bar. Lights were dim in the musky tavern, but that only seemed to add to the mystery and excitement of the place. It was fairly late at night- almost one AM- but it was just as popular and busy as it would be at nine or ten.
The atmosphere was thick with tension. No one knew who or what they were waiting for, but an undeniable dread hung in the air, threatening to choke anyone who dared mention the uncomfortable presence.
Two men were conversing quietly in the corner, a loud group of college students- who couldn't possibly be legal, but then again this place was in a fairly shady area and money was money- , six men and women were crowded around a table playing a desperate game of 'all or nothing' poker, and a lone man was conversing quietly with the bartender.
"Lorcan Scamander you are under arrest!" all eyes turned towards the door where a tall black haired man stood, pointing a gun in the direction of the bartender and the man speaking to him. There was a sudden silence at the man's declaration, and you could have heard a pin dropping from the quiet. Then, the sound of laughing came from the accused man.
The bartender had long backed away at the sight of the gun, leaving the man talking to him to face the accusation alone. But he didn't see afraid.
No.
He had the nerve to laugh fearlessly in the face of someone and something that could kill him with a click of a trigger.
The police officer's jaw clenched as he barked out, "I said- surrender! Put your hands up! You're under arrest for-"
Lorcan Scamander finally stopped laughing and clapped his hands together, the noise echoing in the silent room as he stared lazily at the red-faced officer. "Oh? You're here to arrest me?" the blue eyed man raised an eyebrow. "And who might you be?"
"Officer Albus Potter, Scamander, and I'm the one sending you to jail." Albus moved closer to Lorcan, but his gun's aim never left the other's heart.
The blond haired man smirked. "Are you really?"
"I am."
"That was a theoretical question, Potter. If you don't know what theoretical means, take your time to figure it out. I don't mind."
Albus scowled, his green eyes flashing in the dim lighting. "Just put your damn hands up in the air before I shoot you. I've got backups surrounding this place from all sides. You can't escape even if you wanted to, Scamander. Now surrender!"
Lorcan's light blue eyes lightened when he heard that he was surrounded, making Albus shift slightly in his stance. Never before had anyone ever look excited when told that they had literally no chance of escaping whatsoever. "Are you really that stupid?" Lorcan sounded amused.
The blond took a step forward- immediately drawing Albus's attention back to the smirking man and stopped focusing on his words.
"I sa-"
A loud boom came from outside of the bar, and screams were heard in the dark summer night. Pain filled yells came from the survivors of the blast, but it grabbed everyone's attention and Albus lowered his gun in the excitement, that none of them noticed that Lorcan had slipped away behind the bar and out the back entrance.
Just like he had suspected, there was no one there. All the police officers that Officer Potter had placed there had run towards the large 'BANG!'- deserting their posts.
Lorcan shook his head.
Amateurs.
This wasn't as much fun anymore, if all the policesent out were a bunch of idiotic pricks, like Officer Potter, who were more ego than talent on the field.
The wanted criminal shook his head and headed out towards the back of the bar; where on the small dirt road sat a sleek black car. Lorcan's boots were silent as he left the side alleyway and pulled open the door to the car. He quickly ordered the driver to, "Step on it."
As they passed the wreckage sight- neighbors had gathered, the sound of the fire department and back up with the police force echoing not far down the road, and mangled corpses of the poor police officers, were all that they could take in in the brief moments they passed by unnoticed.
"I'm glad to see that you had no problem placing the bomb." Lorcan commented offhandedly to the man sitting across from him, sounding as if he were talking about something as simple as the weather.
The man, who looked identical to Lorcan, snorted and crossed his legs. "Please, it was far too easy. The police are getting worse with each group they send out."
"That's because we're killing all the good ones," Lorcan pointed out to his brother.
Lysander Scamander took a moment to think about it, before nodding. "Ah, you're right about that, for once."
"For once?"
"Well, yeah. You're not so smart otherwise, Lor." Lysander's mouth twitched up into a small smile. Lorcan looked offended as he leaned across and playfully punched his twin's arm. "You're a real prick, you know that, right?"
"I have been told that once or twice." Lysander admitted.
Lorcan rolled his eyes and changed the topic. "Did you get the information from the shoemaker?"
"I did- here's the file. It took a little bit more… persuasion to make him give it to me, but the man has his life and that's all that matters to him."
The older twin nodded and took the offered file, flipping through the contents and smirking as he arrived on the page he wanted. "Excellent."
"And you? Did you get what you needed?"
"Besides a good drink? The bartender knew who we were talking about and gave me the address, but wouldn't say anything else about 'em." Lorcan sighed. "Should have just killed him then and there, for if he tells the police then we would have a problem."
"But it wouldn't make sense to the police, the code, wouldn't it?"
Lorcan looked at his twin with smiling eyes and nodded. "Good point. Now, let's see that code and try to crack it…"
The Underground leader took out the piece of paper that he had found buried in the middle of the file and showed it to his brother.
'H-L-G-U-O-L-S-R-W-I-G-G-L-N-O-E
15145615211819924
pgatk kgqrl gxzi
. - . . - - - - . - . . - - - - .'
"…Are they seriously testing our intelligence?" Lysander asked, horrified at how easy the code was to crack.
He took out a pen from his pocket and wrote out all the letters in the first line.
'H L G U
O L S R
W I G G
L N O E'
'HOWLLINGS GOURGE'
"Howllings Gourge…?" Lorcan asked, rubbing his chin. "Isn't that the two rich families who merged their companies into one a few years ago?"
"I believe it is."
"Figure out the next one," Lorcan demanded.
Lysander sighed and rolled his eyes, but complied.
'15145615211819924'
"Each number coincides with a letter of the alphabet, so that means that it's…"
'One-four-six two one nine-seven'
"Numbers that spell out numbers. Why am I not surprised."
"Shush, the next one."
'pgatk kgqrl gxzi'
"Every letter is the opposite of the original. So it means…"
'HEAD SOUTH'
"Head south?" Lorcan rubbed his chin. "What does that mean?"
"I dunno… Head south?" Lysander said sarcastically, avoiding the oncoming hand that was about to hit him. "Oi! I was just offering input!"
"Your words were unnecessary. Next line."
'. - . . - - - - . - . . - - - - .'
"Well, that's obvious. That's Morse code for 'LONDON'."
"So we have Howllings and Gourge, One-four-six two one nine seven, head south, London." Lorcan wrote all of them down on the paper and stared at them, frowning.
"But how do they connect with one another?" Lysander asked, leaning closer to look at the words.
"I have no idea. Looks like we're going to have to call the Boss in to take a look."
The two criminal agents settled into their chairs and reorganized the file.
No use trying to figure it out while they were still missing the rest of the puzzle pieces.
Besides, the break was a relaxing change, for once, and something Lysander and Lorcan Scamander rarely got.
"…So, how's work been?"
Lorcan smacked a hand to his forehead and muttered, "Idiot, we have the exact same job. We literally spend only twenty minutes apart from each other during the day."
"Hehehehe, forgot about that…"
The blond haired man sighed once more.
For the Quidditch League using the prompts: Choke, Take your time, change. (Canbaddles)
For the Written in Stone Challenge/Competition using the prompt:
Hematite
Hematite ties emotional energies to spiritual and physical ones. This gives it several abilities. It connects us to our bodies and to the earth, making us feel safe and secure. It binds us to ourselves, instilling courage and endurance. Less commonly, but more interestingly, it also grounds the soul to the body during astral project and remote viewing. It helps you find your way home. It's associated with Aquarius and Aries, the throat chakra, and the number 9.
For the Quotes Challenge using the prompts:
1."You're a real prick, you know that, right?"
"I have been told that once or twice."
For the Doctor Who Category Competition using the prompt:
Mystery Doctor
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I don't own Harry Potter whatsoever so please don't sue me.