Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling
Chapter 7—The Patrol
The idea of being totally prepared for whatever was going to happen did not make him edgy or think the worst; it made it seem more grown up. Five years ago, he would have jumped into battle or anything dangerous for that matter without being prepared for the consequences. Of course, five years ago, Charlie hadn't accumulated the wealth that he had now, either. Nor had he accumulated the number of friends or responsibilities. He smiled to himself. Molly Weasley's baby boy had finally grown up.
Charlie drifted off to sleep into a dreamless calm. A light woke him up and he realized the morning sun was peering through the drawn curtains. Jessica was gone, but the bathroom light was on. Charlie stretched and jumped up. He dressed quickly and went into the kitchen. Jessica had already made coffee, bless her.
It was getting late and Charlie had to go. He called to her when he heard the bathroom door open. Jessica walked into the kitchen; her wet hair wrapped in a towel.
"I have to go now," he said kissing her.
"I know," she said quietly. "Hurry back. And, please, be careful."
He grinned. "You know it." He grabbed her and kissed her again. "It daylight, so I have to—"
She understood. He had to disapparate inside the apartment to avoid the possibility of being seen. He walked back into the bedroom. Jessica heard a loud crack, and he was gone.
Charlie apparated back at Travis's back door. As usual Travis was in the kitchen cooking for everyone. Someone Charlie didn't know was seated at the breakfast bar, talking animatedly to Travis. Travis was laughing. When Charlie walked in, the young man looked up at Charlie and blushed. Travis turned around and looked at Charlie. He smiled broadly.
"There you are. Did you see your girlfriend? Are you hungry?" He said cheerfully.
Charlie nodded. He looked at the young man, who seemed to know him.
"Oh, how rude of me," Travis said. "Charlie, this is my friend, Curtis. Curtis, this is Charlie Weasley." Charlie shook his hand.
"Curtis is one of our newest recruits. He's an assistant healer." Travis explained.
"Nice to meet you," Charlie said. "Has Ricardo been down yet?" he asked as Travis scooped out a portion of eggs and chorizo for Charlie. Travis pointed to a tortilla warmer and Charlie got out two flour tortillas. He sat next to Curtis to eat.
Travis nodded. "Last time I saw him, he was talking to Gertrudis. Ah, speaking of the devil," he said enthusiastically, as Ricardo walked through the door into the kitchen.
. "Amigo!" Boo said.
Charlie put the burrito he'd just made back in his plate and shook hands with Ricardo. Travis handed Boo a plate and he sat on the other side of Curtis.
"Best night's sleep I've had in a long time," said Ricardo. "I appreciate your hospitality. I don't know how you can accommodate so many people."
"Thank you," Travis said, beaming.
"Are there any more briefings this morning before we head out?" Charlie asked.
"No, after we get back to the desert and can better assess our situation, we're going to have periodic updates. Travis and I were working over the details last night."
Charlie nodded as he chewed his breakfast. When he was finished he magicked his plate and coffee cup into the dishwasher. He looked at the time and said, "I need to say good-bye to Joanna. I told her I'd see her before we left."
"You're ready to go today?" asked Ricardo. "We can stay another day, if you need to."
Charlie shook his head. "No, we can see Mike and the rest on the way out. I doubt that management wants to see us right now. Mike's probably working today. That'll be the best place to see him."
"Sure," Ricardo said. "I'm ready when you are."
The final farewell to Joanna was more tearful than Charlie was prepared for. She tried to be upbeat, but Charlie could see she was very upset. He promised he'd write (something they both knew was a lie). He kissed her and Kayleigh good-bye. He didn't tell her about the arrangements he'd made with Gringott's Bank of America; he figured that would just upset her more.
Charlie was right. Mike, Jack, & Pete were working when they flew into the preserve. Charlie had never made a secret out of his commitment to fighting dark magic, but he wasn't exactly sure how much he should tell his friends. Mike already knew that he was leaving because Jessica called Lindsey, his wife, right after Charlie left that morning.
"Magic has nothing on a couple of females," Mike remarked. Charlie agreed.
"Lindsey expects me to find out where you're going so she can tell Jessica. I won't say a word," Mike said as they said their good-byes.
"I appreciate that," he said. "I'll talk to you when I can."
"Be careful." Mike said, shaking his hand.
Ricardo and Charlie flew back to the main camp site where the main army was camped. They met with all the officers and discussed what they had learned from Travis and the Department of Magic. The Society was working with the Auror Division. They would act as a second front in case Ares moved into the cities. They had a good strategy beginning with education and more recruitment. Now that the Department of Magic finally acknowledged the possibility of dark wizards' infiltration into an otherwise ignorant wizard population, measures were being stepped up to ensure that more wizards became educated.
Ares had not made a move to fight the growing army in the desert, but Charlie knew it was only a matter of time. He believed that Ares would attack because he thought destroying the desert army would eliminate the threat and all of North America would be vulnerable to an all-out assault. Now that Ares had the demon army, he thought he was invincible. He was waiting for the right time to attack, and from the intelligence reports, they were sure the assault was imminent. If el Ejército de la Justa could cut off the armies before they converged, then they believed Ares's army could be defeated.
Ricardo was still trying to convince Charlie to lead all the troops, but he finally talked him into leading a scouting platoon. The leader, Jesus Manuel Espinoza, was more than glad to hand over the reins of power. Jesus was a good officer, but he admitted that he had no real experience.
After the briefing, Jesus took Charlie to meet his men. One squad was getting ready to go on patrol and Charlie volunteered to go with them. There had received intelligence that a small group of wizard soldiers were going to raid a small village to get food, and this squad was going to try to cut them off.
"The last time Ares showed himself, he had recruited three vampires," Charlie explained to his men. "I don't know if he has any more, but they are pretty good fighters and can recruit very well. They are pretty hard to disarm, but I've had a lot of luck with the Sectumsempraspell." He demonstrated the spell. "It's a good idea to hit them with the spell a least three times to make sure they bleed out quickly. It also works quite well on non-vampires. It creates large slashes on the body. Kind of messy, but effective."
Charlie led the squad to the edge of the village that was supposed to be the target. He instructed the men to position themselves on the edge. Intelligence had reported a small band coming this way. They waited and before long, the point man spotted movement. The invading army had cloaked themselves in a disillusioning charm, but it wasn't that good. Any movement could be detected, although they could tell how many soldiers there were. Charlie told them to aim a spell at the front of the movement to disarm the disillusioning charm. He had six men aim and fire the spell at once, which they did, rendering the spell ineffective. After that, it was easy to pick off the soldiers before they realized they had been hit. There wasn't much of a battle; none of Charlie's men were hit, but there were several causalities on the other side. The battle lasted less than an hour. No one in the village was aware anything was going on.
As soon as Ares's men retreated, leaving their wounded behind them, Charlie's men wanted to follow them, but Charlie told them it would be better to stay there in case they came back. After a half hour, once again the casualties burst into flames. "Now," he said. "It's okay to leave."
The squad returned to the base camp. The adrenaline was still high. This was their first assault, and they had been successful. The men became more confident and optimistic. Charlie warned them that it was only the first battle; there was still a lot more dangers ahead.
"Tomorrow," he said. "We'll begin training. Stay alert. They might decide to attack us on our own ground. Good job, men. I'm proud of you."
Charlie returned to the main tent where Ricardo and the other leaders were waiting for him.
"Good news," he said. "One down, a thousand to go."
