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Tales of 'The Power of Love'
Urban Maxis - Part 3
"Hey Macson, you ever figure out what those two thieves were about?" Maxis called when he saw the man in question scurry past his door with files in his hands.
McMacson peaked around the door, the rest of his body hidden. "They're still staying quiet, but they're probably war orphans or the like, I'd guess. That'd be the only way to explain their unkempt appearance and thin figures. Should probably explain how they were so sneaky too, if they were from a rough background."
That resonated within Maxis, for most of his family was in a war-torn country the likes of which would have these two youths in the majority of people their own ages. It was an unpleasant thought, one that ensured he'd be drinking when he got off of work this evening. Merlin, he may very well end up at McMacson's home if the man would have him.
Any night spent alone and in your thoughts, especially one's as troubled as his, would never be a good night.
"Is there anything else that needs doing?" Maxis asked, shaking his head and hoping to keep busy until the day was over. "We've gotten a couple of assignments in the last month or so, figured we'd have a third one by now if they're being so picky."
"I still can't believe they requested me as the Head Auror and you as one of the Senior Auror's to come down and personally see to the problem. It must pay to have friends in high places, huh?" McMacson asked with a chuckle as he finally entered Maxis' office, grabbing a chair and kicking up his feet on the other one.
Maxis narrowed his eyes at his friend and chewed on a toothpick — those little wooden problem-solvers were better than gum, the firmness made them all the more stress-relieving. "Get your muddy boots off my office chair you great big slug. You'd know too, especially with how many friends you have in those high places."
McMacson laughed and whipped out his wand, firing off a cleaning spell at his feet. When that was done and he'd done the same to the chair, he yawned. It lasted for a few seconds, the coffee-ridden breath of his making it over to Maxis before McMacson finally spoke.
"I guarantee you'll be just as happy about my connections as I am once the pair of us are in some nice and cozy assignment. Who knows, maybe it'll only be another year or two before I'm the Director of Law Enforcement, yeah?" McMacson leaned across Maxis' desk so that he could pat the man on the leather-duster covered shoulder. "You'll be my Deputy, like those Muggle films you like to watch of the American Wild West. Actually, speaking of that, where are your baseball cards? I was hoping you'd let me borrow one."
"What for? You don't know a lick about baseball," Maxis accused.
"You're exactly right, but one of my nephews really loves that and the other Yankee sport. What's it called… the one with giant pads, weird leather-made helmets and a pigskin oval-shap—" McMacson was interrupted by Maxis.
"Football, the Americans call it Football. That was painful, Macson, you're lucky I don't toss you out of my office after having to hear that," Maxis rubbed at his temples, the worn leather-duster of his filling his nose with its usual comforting smell. "Is there anything we can do? I'm getting real tired of sitting in this room doing nothing but paperwork."
"There's always something that needs doing. I could probably pluck an assignment out of this folder before I hand it off for dispensing if you'd like," McMacson said, waving said folder in the air as he smiled triumphantly at the other man.
Maxis eyed the item with a certain level of workaholic greed and zeal. He desperately wanted something, anything to do that went beyond sitting in a chair for nearly the entire day. It paid better, sure, and he didn't need to put himself at risk, but he missed the field. Those moments in action, where anything could happen, they were the best times of his life — it helped he could blow the occasional person, building or anything up too, but that was just an added benefit of his job.
Those typically came with a lot more paperwork than a well-placed tracking charm did too. At least those weren't troublesome and didn't come with any more administrative duties than a typical arrest did.
"Go on then, pull one out. It beats sitting here in this damned office in this damned chair where I was placed by a 'friend'," Maxis finally said, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair like the typical Muggle detective did in those old films he enjoyed so much.
"Let's see, let's see," McMacson said as he licked his fingertips and opened the folder, going through one report after another. "Petty theft… boring, four different ones about violence in Knockturne Alley…. equally as boring. Oh, that one seems fu- wait, it's in Knockturne too, which means that'll be very easy to solve," the young man sighed and ran a hand through his annoyingly well-kept hair. "None of these seems very… very… never mind. I've found one that you'll enjoy, just don't blow the man up, yeah?"
Maxis grunted and extended a hand so that he could receive the report. McMacson withheld it and spoke again.
"I'll hear you say that you'll not blow the man up before I give this to you. It'll be personal, but I think that's good for you after dealing with those two thieves," McMacson waited, the report held carefully in his right hand as the time ticked by for Maxis to answer.
Grindelwald, Maxis thought, This assignment is related to Grindelwald. I want it.
"I won't blow the man up or do anything else that'll get either of us in trouble," Maxis said finally, in a firm tone of voice. "You have my word, and you know I don't break it. I'm not like the usual Ministry worker in that regard — you Brits have too many snakes. It makes working here harder than it was in Eastern Poland on the Soviet border. At least when I was there with my family we knew what to expect."
"Weren't you young?" McMacson asked with a laugh as he handed over the document and sat back in the chair, waiting for Maxis to read from it.
Maxis did just that, and very quickly too.
'Hello Auror Department,
We at the front end have been given a report involving Diagon Alley, one of her side alleys specifically, and one male wizard in his one-hundred-twenties to one-hundred-forties. This wizard was reported to be firing off spells indiscriminately towards any and all who walked by his shop. The only ones not targeted were both of Pureblood status, and even then, some of the more 'light' side ones were fired at just like a majority of other Diagon visitors.
His description other then his age is a rather tall, gangly man with sparse facial hair and a nearly bald head. Regarding his voice and mannerisms, he seems to be from Liverpool or the surrounding area. Time is of the essence with this one, and as always, please speak with your assigned Senior Auror for additional information before taking this task
Otto Graham, Clerk'
"How exactly does this man fit in with Grindelwald's cause?" Maxis asked, confused as he slid the document back over to McMacson.
"He's a Grindelwald supporter, a known one at that. I've already taken a look at his file and saw as much… he's rather spritely too, so I don't expect he'll go down without a fight — at the very least a chase," McMacson stood up and stretched. "We going along then, or are you going to spend another day in that chair of yours?"
That was all Maxis needed before he practically jumped out of his seat, grabbed his trusty, lucky baseball card and headed towards the door that led out of his office. He was very ready to be out of the Ministry and back on the streets even if it only lasted an hour or so.
"No polyjuice or other special, weird, stupid plan of yours this time?" Maxis asked with a huff as the two wandered around Diagon Alley, heading towards the spot the man was usually reported to be in; neither of them thought he was currently present on account of the lack of screaming or worried people running past them.
"We don't really need anything like that this time around, unfortunately," McMacson said with a shrug before smiling at a passing witch. "I'm sure as soon as we see him, the spells will start flying and we'll have another assignment finished in no time. If that isn't the case and he has an army of Grindelwald followers alongside him, well, we'll have a late-night filling up the cells, won't we?"
Maxis cracked a smile at that. "We would… I hope that's the case too, I know you'd let me get away with a bombarda or two."
"I'd probably have to," Macson said before halting abruptly and motioning towards an alleyway. "That'll be us, I hope you're ready, this could be a pretty long stakeout."
Just as Maxis was about to respond, they heard a commotion. It sounded like a scream that immediately ended itself and upon hearing that, both men took off in a sprint to find the source of the noise. Whoever was in distress had either been stunned, ran off abruptly, or worse. They wouldn't allow that to go on for a moment longer than it already had.
Sure enough, when they went around the last bend, they saw a man that fit the description standing over an unconscious woman. She looked as if she came from Knockturne, the dark clothing and rougher appearance saying as much, but she was a citizen of Magical Britain regardless of her dealings, even if they were criminal.
"Put the wand down," Maxis said, his own levelled at the old man while McMacson slowly approached, his own wand already drawn.
"This be my alley, you rotten children," The old man spat. "I'll n'have anymo—"
Maxis stunned him, it was that easy.
"Didn't want to hear what else he had to say?" McMacson called over his shoulder as he jogged over to the woman, bringing her back to consciousness a moment after.
"We'll hear it all at the Ministry… call a Junior Auror, won't you? We could probably fit in lunch now that this is done, we already said we'd probably be gone for an hour, may as well make the most use of it after a disappointing assignment like this one," Maxis said with a huff as McMacson brought the woman up to a seated position.
He was just a looney old man, one that had no business supporting Grindelwald. How many of his followers are just like this old codger?
Maxis shook his head as he walked with McMacson towards lunch, leaving Junior Aurors in control of the already dealt with scene.
"Oh, found out about those two kids we caught," Macson said after he took a guzzle from his milkshake.
"And?" Maxis asked before going in for a bite of his burger.
"I was right, war orphans that come from the continent — you might take an interest in them too, they escaped out of Poland. The Romanian Bridgehead, I think they said. Not many escaped alongside them and once they ended up here thanks to the Romanian Government, there weren't really any resources available for them," McMacson shook his head and sighed. "There's only so much we can do, huh?"
Maxis nodded a few times before swallowing and speaking. "Yeah. There's only so much we can do… they won't be put anywhere for some petty theft, right?"
"I'll see what I can do. I wouldn't feel any better about it than you would, it's just finding them a home, a good home. If I can do that, it would solve a lot of issues," McMacson said, eyeing Maxis up with a small smirk on his face.
I know that look…