Chapter 14: Director
Draco spent the next two days in his room, if you could call it that. There was one small window with frayed cloth draped over it. In the corner of the small room sat a cot with one pillow and a sheet. The floor boards squeaked when he walked on them, which didn't bother him that much because for the most part Draco never left his bed except to go to the small unlit bathroom. Faye always brought a small plate of food to him because he refused to eat with her and her brother.
The routine of staring into obscurity and glaring at Faye when she entered continued until one day when Draco finally recovered enough to be bored with his surroundings. He slowly got off the cot and walked to the door with no handle. He pulled it open and walked into the now familiar hallway that was crowded with papers and old junk that neither of the house's occupants never bothered to clean up. He walked by Luka's workshop where he could see the man busily working on his broom. He watched with mild interest as Luka carefully carved charm after charm into the handle. Then he moved on.
Draco wandered aimlessly about the house and eventually ended up in a bathroom. This one had a strange contraption that was shielded by a curtain. After moving the curtain aside, he saw what looked like a small enclosed mini room with nothing but a hose like structure high on the wall and two knobs, marked with two glass fixtures; one blue and one red. Draco walked inside of the small room, and examined the two knobs. The blue one looked much more inviting then the red one, so he turned it to the left.
Nothing happened.
At first, Draco thought it was stuck, so he twisted it harder.
Still, nothing happened.
So eventually, Draco thought that he would try to turn it the other way, to the right. He turned it, now realizing how stupid he was to not think of this before now, seeing as the knob was even harder to turn. But eventually, he turned it all the way to the left in one quick motion and got the surprise of a lifetime.
Torrents of ice cold water splashed his face. He tried to scream, but water got in his mouth and up his nose. He quickly jumped out of the contraption that he now thought was another stupid prank by Faye, who must think that she hadn't tortured him enough with her crappy cooking. The baggy robes that Luka let him borrow were now soaked through as he stormed out of the bathroom. 'Stupid Muggle torture device!' He thought to himself as he marched back to his room. He grabbed a random piece of paper and scribbled a note that said "Beware: Water Torture Device" and posted it on the wall of the bathroom with tape. Then he slammed his door shut and sulked in bed.
Christmas came slowly, and for once, Draco didn't care. He wasn't going to get his usual mound of presents from his friends and family anyway. He scoffed at the thought that they were probably glad that he was kidnapped; then they could return his gifts and get their money back for something that they wanted. That's what he would have done anyway. There's no sense in keeping a gift waiting for someone who's either kidnapped or. . .
His thoughts were interrupted by Faye bringing his meal of mediocre manufactured Muggle breakfast pastries and a glass of milk. However, she was not alone. Luka was behind her holding a shoddily wrapped gift. He set the gift on Draco's bed after giving a nod hello. Draco gave his usual glare at Faye before noticing that she looked rather downcast. He then realized that she had a file folder in her hand as well.
"Here," she said, "These are the results of the. . .incident at your house a few days ago. When you're done, I'd like to discuss them with you." She left immediatly. Not once did she look into his eyes.
While mindlessly munching on his breakfast, Draco carefully opened the envelope. Inside were about four pages of information. The Title page said:
Requiem Extermination Attack #53228
Operation: Virgo
Squad: Black
Captain: Faye Thompson aka "Black Rose"
He scanned through the files, seeing many names that he knew and a short description of how they died.Avery was fried to death, Crabbe was burned to death, Goyle was somehow drowned, Macnair was decapitated ('How fitting' thought Draco bitterly), and the list went on and on. 'Everyone was killed at the party' Draco thought sadly. He scanned down until he was at the bottom of the last page, which read:
PRIME TARGETS: The Malfoy Family
Malfoy, Lucius: Death by respiration failure and lack of oxygen to brain cells
Malfoy, Draco: Taken into protective custody by Captain Thompson
Malfoy, Narcissa: Held captive until further notice
Draco rubbed his eyes in disbelief. His mother was still alive! But why? What use was she to Requiem?
"I take it you've read it all?" said Faye from the doorway. Her face was serious, and she still did not look at him directly.
"Why is my mother being held captive?" Draco growled.
Faye sighed. "She's being held as collateral. If you don't follow Director Sonata's orders, she will die, as will you."
"AND WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? WHY DID YOU SAVE ME? JUST TO BRING ME HERE TO TORTURE ME TO DEATH?" Draco yelled as he jumped up from his bed.
"Please, Draco, it's not my intention to hurt you or-"
"BULL SHIT! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT YOU'LL LEAVE HER ALONE? YOU AND YOUR WHACK JOB LEADER COULD EASILY-"
Draco found himself being pinned to the wall of his room by the neck by his former friend. "Listen, Draco, and listen well," she muttered angrily, "You don't have to like me, trust me, or even respect me, but you WILL NOT speak about Director Sonata or Requiem like that, do you understand?" Draco just made faint choking sounds and stared at his captor defiantly. "I said DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" she roared. Draco nodded his head as best as he could and she let him go. He fell to the floor, gasping for air. "Good," she said as she turned her back from him, "Now finish your breakfast. Your milk's getting warm."
Faye collapsed at the dining room table with her head in her hands. Luka walked up behind her and held onto her shoulder tightly. "What am I supposed to do? That damn kid is making this so difficult. I really don't want to hurt him. This is just business." Luka gave her a sympathetic look, but said nothing. "Why am I being so sentimental! I knew that this was going to happen, even when I met him on the train. I tried so hard to distance myself from him, but. . .stupid kid grew on me, I guess. . ." Luka nodded and left her alone. He could hear her faintly sobbing into the old wooden table.
Draco was laying face down on his bed when Luka walked in. "And what do you want!" Draco snapped. Luka sat down next to the bed and stared strait into Draco's eyes. His eyes were sad with dark bags underneith them.
"You're making her sad, you know," he said in a deep crackling voice. Draco could hear his wheezing breath caused by years of smoking marijuana. It was hard to believe that he was only six years older than his sister.
"Yeah, and so what! She deserves it," he said back.
"She didn't mean to hurt you. It's her job to kill . . ." he said forlornly.
Draco stared at him silently. He knew that, but if she was truly his friend, then she should have known how this would affect him. She should have called her stupid boss and told him that she was out, or that the other people with her could take over. Then he wouldn't have to blame her for anything.
No, that was stupid. If this organization of hers was anything like the Death Eaters, then she would have still been tortured or killed for her cowardice. But still. . .
"If you truly value your mother's life, then you will go with her," stated Luka.
"Well I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Draco said scornfully. He stared at the sad man, and almost saw a glint of empathy in his eyes.
"Fine. I'll go with you," Draco said.
"Good. I'm glad to see that you've come to your senses. But whatever you do, don't tell anyone about Luka, okay?" said Faye.
"Why?"
"Its. . .best that you not know. Now get ready. I have to drop a few things by headquarters anyway."
Draco wore some robes that Faye left out for him. As Faye walked by the bathroom, she noticed a small paper sign. For the first time in five days, she laughed.
"What's so funny?" Draco asked.
"Nothing. But thank you for reminding me to get the hot water in the shower fixed."
Draco looked at her quizically as she dragged him out the door. He followed her around the familiar twisting and turning streets. She drew the strange symbol on the wall and walked through into the Muggle world. Draco was about to question the logic of wearing wizarding clothing on a Muggle street packed with people, but then he noticed the strange looking man playing a guitar and a harmonica while singing and shut his mouth.
Faye took him to another ally off of the main road with strange colorful writing in large illegible lettering on the wall. Faye drew another strange symbol on the wall and it opened up. A long yellow cobblestone road led through a gate with two guards standing next to it. Both guards were dressed in a black robe with a small green armband with the image of a tortoise on it. They wore rectangular badges with the names "Bicks" and "Wedge" on them. They also wore tall hats that reminded Draco of Muggle police long ago. They had their wands strapped to their belts and ready to draw.
"Stop! Who are you, and what business do you have here!" said Bicks.
Wedge sighed, "Don't mind him, Captain. He's new. Go ahead, but I'm afraid you'll have to get a pass for your human friend here."
"Hey what! A human! What business do YOU have here! Where are you from? What did you do to get the attention of the higher-ups? Do you have any tips?" Bicks drew closer to Draco, who was looking progressively more uncomfortable. 'This must be how Granger feels when she goes over to Weasley's house.' he thought.
"Cut it out, Officer. I already have clearence to bring him in to headquarters, so he doesn't have to answer you," Faye scolded.
"Uhh. . .apologies ma'am! I was just curious, ma'am!" Biggs quickly snapped to attention while Wedge shook his head sadly,
"Go on through, Captain. I'll handle things here." he said. Faye smiled and grabbed Draco by the arm as she led him through the gate.
"Stay close, Draco. There are a few Kabora here with a less than enthusiastic view of humans."
The road branched off into several directions. Draco could see some younger Kabora walking with books in arms and talking animatedly to their peers. Some stopped to stare at him, but Faye dragged him onward to a large brick building that was several stories high. Inside was a rediculously clean reception area with numerous chairs lining the room. A girl in pigtails sat at the reception table.
"How may I help you?" she asked
"I'm here to see the Director," Faye stated.
"Sure, he's in his office," she said.
Faye took Draco to an elevator, much like the ones in the Ministry of Magic. She pushed a button and they rose to the top floor. Draco felt his ears pop due to the change in pressure. The door opened once they reached the fifteenth floor and Faye led him down a long corridor with a black and white checkered floor with walls lined with various plants and pictures of prominant looking men, all of which glared down at Draco with fierce looks of loathing. Draco stared indignantly at the pictures as he faithfully followed behind Faye. At last, they came to a large ornate wooden door. Faye hesitated before opening the door and stared blankly at Draco.
"This is where I leave you, Draco. I have other business to attend to. I don't know if I'll ever see you again, but please remember to mind your manners while speaking to the Director. He may be a bit lax with formalities, but there are many people here who demand respect for their leaders and won't tolerate any impudence, especially not from a human such as yourself. Also, I-- what are you doing?" she stopped her goodbye speech because Draco was staring thoughtfully at the floor, and occasionally glanced up at her.
"I was trying to figure out if that long string of words made a run-on sentence, but I guess they didn't," he said slyly. Faye's eyes widened briefly in annoyance, but she quickly calmed down.
"Fine. Just go in there and talk to him. But don't blame me if you get your head blown off by one of the senior officers when you aren't looking," she said before turning and marching out of the door that they just came out of.
Draco snickered silently to himself. He knew that she would miss him more than he would miss her. He turned the brass handle on the door and walked inside.
The office didn't look as spectacular as Draco had imagined. In fact, he could only sum it up with one word: efficient. Everything seemed to be in the right place, from the placement of the comfortable black leather chairs, to the arrangement of the various (and somewhat predictable) office utensils on the metal desk. The room itself was small enough to allow quick movement without messing everything up, but large enough to not be cramped. It reminded Draco more of an executive's office than a CEO's.
The most out-of-place thing in the room was the young man sitting at the desk. He was scribbling something with a quill on some parchment with a bored look on his face. His eyes were mismatched-one green and one blue-which seemed familiar to Draco for some reason. His raven colored hair fell lazily onto his face, and occasionally the he would take the initiative to swat some strands away.
When he finally looked up and saw Draco, he slowly rose from his chair and walked over to him with a friendly smile on his face. "Ah, so we meet again, Mr. Malfoy. My name is Maxamillian Sonata, but please, just Maxx is fine," he said cordially while extending his hand. Draco shook hands with him and suddenly remembered where he saw him before.
"Did you visit Hogwarts sometime, Directo- I mean, Maxx?" Draco asked.
Maxx beamed and said, "Oh, so you were awake, were you? Your wounds were terrible; I must say, that Faye doesn't pull punches that often, but even when she wasn't really trying, she did a number on you, eh?" He laughed as if it were a fond old memory, "But seriously, though. Not even Faye thought you would go as far as using that curse. I don't even think the Navi themselves could predict that move!"
"Um, Navi, sir?"
"Hmm?" Maxx looked at him questionably, "Oh, I guess Faye really hasn't told you anything. Navi is actually an acronym- the N.A.V.I. It stands for Navigational, Audio, and Video Intelligence. Basically, they have the abilities to douse the area and analyze data collected from the soldiers or assassins or whoever their working for at the time. I guess you can compare them to human Seers, although most of them get rather ticked if you do. Each member of our organization who works in the field is assigned a Navi. Faye's is actually someone you know. Her name is Charice, but she often goes by the codename of Bunifa."
"Wait, so that human girl works here! But why would she be working for a Kaborean Company?" Draco asked.
"Well, she didn't originally. As you may have noticed, the Muggle city of Atlanta actually has a duplicate city inside of her. This city is the Kaborean city of X'eha Q'ed."
"Che-hah Ked?" Draco stumbled over the difficult pronunciation.
Maxx laughed softly. "Close enough. Anyway, you might be wondering how we can hide an entire city in the middle of another Muggle infested city without being caught. Actually, it's quite ingenious if I do say so myself. We divided the city into numerous sections and camouflaged each section from the public. Cloaking many different sections is much easier than cloaking an entire city, you see. We hid the entrances in places that most Muggles or wizards would never go to or touch, such as alleys. To be extra safe, we carved intricate seals on these entrances that only Kabora know. No doubt you saw Faye drawing some crazy geometric doodle on your way here, right?"
Draco nodded. "But what does this have to do with Bunifa?"
"Hang on, I'm getting there! Well anyway, it turns out Charice isn't your average witch. She was on to us, but of course we were too cocky at the time to care. It turns out that she managed to 'hack' one of our seals using a spell she developed herself. Since then, we've had to hold her here. She got assigned to be Faye's Navi, and the rest is history."
By now, Draco was already sitting down in one of the chairs with Maxx in the chair next to him. Requiem's director talked vividly as if he and Draco were old friends. Draco started to understand what Faye meant by "lax with formalities."
"But if that's so, then why isn't Bunifa here?" he asked.
"Ah, yes. That brings me to why we brought you here in the first place. Faye's squad actually had two missions. The first was to, of course, kill as many Death Eaters as possible in the alloted time that they were given. The second was to safely escort a Mr. Harry Potter to our facility for training."
"Potter!" Draco exclaimed.
"Yes, Potter. Faye and the rest of the squad carried out their first mission with flying colors, as you know already. There was only one problem, Draco. Do you know what that is?" Draco shook his head. Maxx suddenly became very pensive; he bent his head down and closed his eyes, as if he was in prayer.
"Faye became too attached to you to kill you. That's why she put off the assassination attempts for so long. Eventually, I had to send her a letter reminding her why she was over there in the first place, and to remind her that she didn't have much time left. She would either make her move soon, or I would have to send in some other troops, and have her. . .reprimanded for her failure. She sent back a reply explaining how valuable you were to me and my company. The main reason was because she knew that you and Mr. Potter were intense rivals. She deduced that if we could train you, then you would supply some . . .motivation for our guest."
"So in other words, I'm supposed to be taught all this crap for killing people that I've been told all my life that I'd be working with, just to sit back and flaunt it at stupid Potter?" Draco growled, "You're holding my mother captive for this?"
Maxx smiled deviously, "You didn't let me finish. I have also been informed that your inner powers have been awakened, Draco- the magical ability that sleeps within all humans and humanoids alike. This would be the first time in ages that we would be able to study such a human, and I don't think that our R&D branch would like to miss such an opportunity to learn more about the similarities between humans and ourselves. And at such an opportune time, too! Right before the second great war that decides the fate of humanity starts. . .!"
"Oh, great! So now I'm supposed to be some guinea pig now too!" Draco shouted as he jumped out of his chair.
Maxx chuckled quietly. "I guess so, that is, if you ever want to see your mother again. But don't worry, there are some up sides, too." he said calmly.
"Oh, really? Like what!"
"I'll gladly let you use your new powers, as well as work off your frustration, on Mr. Potter; as long as you don't kill him, of course. Dumbledore would never forgive me."
Draco paused for a moment. The chance to mess with Potter and not worry about being caught? He grinned at the thought.
"So then, Maxx, when do I start?"