Disclaimer: I don't own the HP universe. Hell, I don't even own my own copy of the books!
Deceit
Pubs and Parks
Matthew Trimmer settled himself in the booth across from his partner and eyed the already empty shot-glasses strewn about the table warily.
"Pissed already?" he asked dryly.
"No reason not to be," Thomas replied from over the rim of the tankard he was nursing.
"No reason, eh? We have an arrest to make in a couple hours. But, who needs to be sober when dealing with a dangerous and very drunk Death Eater, anyway?"
"Don't patronize me, Trimmer."
"Don't call me Trimmer, Mallett."
"Piss off."
"Can't. I'm stuck with you until this 'suspension' is lifted. In the meantime, maybe we should work on being civil to each other at the least. A truce, if you will," Matthew offered almost hopefully. He knew they could never exactly be friends again, but this animosity between them was ridiculous, not to mention getting in the way of their work.
Thomas mulled over the offer for a few minutes, sipping at his Butterbeer for no reason other than he'd been distracted enough to order the sickeningly sweet and utterly weak concoction, before muttering a hesitant acceptance. Matthew smiled at him over the table in that friendly-but-condescending way of his and pulled the tankard from his hands, replacing it with a small vial of Sober-Me-Up potion. Dull name, but potent elixir.
"We still have a couple of hours yet. You couldn't let me enjoy myself for just a little while longer?" Thomas grumbled, pulling a face at the acrid taste and molasses-like consistency of the potion as he tried to down it like a shot; throw it back quickly and avoid letting it touch your tongue. Funny, only moments before he'd done so several times with ease. Now, though, it was all he could do to not turn positively green. 'Hhmmm... Maybe I should've eaten earlier...'
"'Fraid not, mate." Matthew answered good-naturedly. "We have things to discuss, and I want you good and sober. Trust me- you don't want to be forgetting anything come morning."
"And just what is it we'll be discussing, partner?"
"A way to tie up loose ends. If we guarantee that we can bring in Lucius bloody Malfoy himself, I'm sure our 'Clean-Up' duties will be over." Matthew leaned in close, whispering conspiratorially despite the half-dozen empty tables and booths around them.
"Yes- that much is obvious. If that's all, you could've left me drunk and asleep in the alley and I wouldn't have missed a thing." Thomas sneered irritatedly.
"Of course it's not all, you imbecile!" Matthew hissed impatiently. "I was thinking- what if we killed two birds with one stone?"
"Depends. Is this idea of yours any better than that trite cliché?"
"Much. Let me put it this way- if all goes well, our only real difficulty will be parting with a bit of money tonight." Thomas hesitated a mere thirty seconds at most, then gave in and leaned forward on his elbows curiously.
"Alright. I'm listening."
.o.
Kitty sidled up to the bar and took her seat once more.
"Get lost, did you?" Kevin shouted over the din.
"Sorry 'bout the wait. Long line in the Ladies Room. Where were we?" she lied smoothly, falling right back into character. The accent and mature poise came easily enough for someone so young, It also helped that her resolve knew no bounds; she wanted nothing more than to show this man precisely what she thought of him, but knew it was to her benefit to follow the plan to the very end. If she had to do the dirty work for a couple of dishonest Unspeakables, then so be it.
"I asked for a Butterbeer."
"That stuff's disgusting. I ordered you a real drink."
"You can have it. I don't drink that stuff. At least, not on a night like tonight."
"What's tonight?"
"I'm meeting those two blokes I was telling you about. The ones supplying false information to Dumbledore..." Kitty trailed off, popping a peanut into her mouth and hoping this one would be just as gullible as the others.
"Oh really?"
"'Mhmm. I was surprised- we usually don't meet in person. But they said they had something 'useful' for me, whatever that means." she shrugged. Kevin chewed his lip, frowning in thought.
"Why don't I meet them tonight, then?" he asked. Apparently, he was just as gullible.
.o.
Abram leaned back against the counter wearily as he wiped glasses, mugs, and tall metal tankards dry. More were being magically scrubbed clean behind him, floating over to the a rack by his left hand to be dried off and served, but as he glanced over the near empty room, he canceled the spell and left the rest for the next day. Many an employee found it puzzling why their boss would choose to do the wash by hand, but when they'd work up the nerve to ask such a silly question, they were answered with a simple smile and, sometimes, a playful wink. Abram couldn't explain how it made him feel like he was doing a little something for his customers; Ensuring that every glass was clean, dry, and crystal clear. Though he didn't care much for sticking his hands in a sink full of sudsy water, it wasn't as though the experience were intolerable. It was just another one of his little quirks.
"You sure you want to close up, Bram? It'll be a late night, and you're lookin' a bit knackered." Samuel asked, startling Abram out of his thoughts.
"Of course, Sammy. Head on home. Elizsabeth'll be waiting by now. We don't want that, now do we?" Abram said conspiratorially, winking at his young colleague. Samuel chuckled and threw his rag into the hamper at the far end of the bar next to the storage closet, strolling around the bar and calling back over his shoulder,
"Too right, Bram! Scary temper, that one. G'night!"
"Good night!" Bram called out quickly, and the front door softly clicked shut. There were only another five patrons left, and nothing to do but wait for them to leave and lock the doors at midnight, so Bram settled himself on the stool he kept behind the bar for such slow times and observed his customers.
Two old men sat in a booth in the corner of the pub in faded, patched robes sipping Whiskeys and poring over an old photo album. Their faces were flushed from the alcohol and had a wistfully reminiscent look about them, glowing with laughter at some story or anecdote.
A slim young woman, most likely in her early thirties, sat at a table in the middle of the room with an open folder in front of her, parchments spread out everywhere. The poor thing looked stressed fit to cry as she dropped her head into her hands, fingers raking agitatedly through her short blonde hair. As Bram watched, she heaved a great sigh and shoved her chair back, throwing the parchments back into the folder roughly and slipping it into a tightly packed handbag before storming out onto the street.
Lastly, sitting at the bar holding drinks and talking animatedly, were a young Irish girl and her slightly older English counterpart, whose names Abram remembered to be Kaela and Kevin. Kevin was doing most of the talking, downing shot after shot of Firewhiskey while Kaela listened with rapt attention. The pair had always seemed odd to the old barkeeper; the girl seemed old enough to date that bloke, but there was something very... business like, about the way she handled herself around him. Abram supposed it was a good thing the two didn't look to be a couple, having heard some nasty rumors about Kevin Henricksen, but it still made him slightly edgy to see such a nice looking young thing like her in that kind of company- meeting at pubs late at night, no less.
Eventually, the two old friends paid their bill and left, staggering slightly, smiling all the way out the door. There were still twenty minutes left until closing time, and the two remaining patrons were indeed showing the late hour; Kevin was thoroughly pissed by now, talking loudly and waving his arms dramatically, words slurring together ridiculously. Poor Kaela was quite the opposite, sipping at a bottle of Butterbeer that must, by now, be long warm, and gazing off into space, too bored to listen to her companion. Abram chuckled inwardly and waited for the clock to strike midnight.
.o.
Kitty sipped at her now warm butterbeer, her attention focused on the clock above the bar as Kevin continued to babble drunkenly, his words slurring together so badly she wouldn't have understood him if she wanted to. Eleven forty-three. Seven more minutes to stall before they could start out for the meeting place and she'd be rid of the disgusting animal for good. Click. Strike that- six minutes to stall.
Kitty sighed heavily and pushed away the half full bottle. The bartender, Abram, limped over slowly to collect the empty glasses and tankards, wiping off spilt drinks from the bar top with a damp rag. Click. Five minutes.
"Your date not very interesting?" he leaned over and whispered with a friendly smile.
"He's not my date, just an... associate, of sorts," she whispered back, then grinned ironically, "but no- he's not very interesting. I've never met a guy that made watching the clock almost fun." Click.
"You seemed pretty interested earlier."
"That was business. If I had ignored him then, I may have missed something important and I'd have been in BIG trouble come tomorrow." Click. 'It's not a total lie;' Kitty mused, 'Come midnight, technically it will be tomorrow'.
"You only have three more minutes to be bored out of your mind, if that makes you feel any better." Abram offered, straightening and picking up as many glasses as his old hands could. Kevin finally noticed their whispered conversation and leaned over to listen, slightly suspicious.
"You have no idea. However, I think we'll get going now. It can't hurt to be a couple minutes early, right? Let's go, Kevin." The Death Eater grunted in response, looking mournfully over at the bottle of Firewhiskey behind the counter and heaving himself up off the barstool, swaying slightly on the spot. Kitty rolled her eyes and led the way over to the door after settling the hefty tab, glad she hadn't had to wait until they were kicked out to leave. Those last three minutes might have meant the difference between dangerously annoyed and complete mental breakdown.
"Have a good night." Bram called after them, adding silently to himself, "Be careful in the company you keep." and set about closing up for the night.
.o.
Thomas paused to light up a cigarrette with shaking fingers, then resumed his impatient pacing. The warm spring air had given way to a cool, brisk breeze and as the two had sat in the pub planning, England became shrouded in a cold spring night once again.
"Calm yourself Thomas. It's not midnight yet. Don't get your knickers in a twist; She'll show." Matthew asserted irritably, absolutely fed up with his partner's short temper and lack of patience.
"Damn right, I'll show..." A young woman's voice called out from beneath the shadow of a large tree about 15 meters to their left, a soft Irish lilt lightly accenting her words, "... though I'll admit it would've been funny to see you try to act superior as always with your knickers twisted, Mr. Light." Thomas sneered at her approaching form with a distaste as obvious as the sky is blue, compulsively flicking his lighter open and closed.
"Were you followed?" Mr. Dark asked.
"Only by a friend of mine. The one I told you about- he asked if he could meet you tonight and get it done with. He should be coming along here any minute now. Said he had some business to do behind one of the trees over there." Kitty gestured over to the tree-line across the park, "I honestly don't know how you men can just go behind a tree like that. It's unhygienic at best."
"I's convenient." Kevin called out, staggering through the grass over to the small assembly.
"You brought him here drunk?" Mr. Dark hissed in Kitty's ear.
"You're the one that upped the timetable. How else did you think I'd get all this in one night?" she whispered testily, pulling out a tiny scroll of parchment that had been hidden in her purse all night. Turning his back to the others, Mr. Dark pulled out his wand and whispered 'Finite Incantatem', returning the parchment to its original size, marveling at the length of it.
"Good work. Do you use a Quick Quotes Quill for these things?" he whispered from the side of his mouth loud enough for only Kitty to hear.
"My own version, yes."
"I'm impressed. This is plenty. Let's get it over with." Facing them once again, scroll and wand hidden away in his robes, Mr. Dark and Mr. Light began what could only be called an interrogation of Kevin. They asked of his association with other Death Eaters; With Voldemort before his fall; If the Death Eaters still met regularly; If so, why... The question-and-answer seemed to go on for hours, and Kitty was downright cold in her old robes and worn out sneakers. Hoping to at least insulate her face a little better against the cold breeze, she pulled out the elastic holding her long, honey colored mane up in a sophisticated bun and let the wavy layers flow over her shoulders and around her face. Much as she hated to admit it, the two were rather convincing. Drunk as Henricksen was, they still made their best efforts to appear unsuspicious.
"Well, mister..."
"Call me Kevin."
"Well, Kevin- you've actually proved pretty useful. Who would've guessed, eh Kitty?" Kevin opened his mouth to protest, but stopped short and whirled around on the young girl he'd thought he knew.
"Kitty? What does this bloke mean, Kaela?" he half yelled. Kitty just smiled back at him sweetly, twirling her hair around the finger of one hand while discreetly slipping her wand down to the other.
"You didn't honestly think I'd use my real name, did you, love?" She asked, dropping the fake accent. Kevin stood stock still, fury and incredulity intermittently crossing over his face. Fury won and he lunged at Kitty, screaming "Traitor!", wand drawn and aimed at her heart. 'Should've taken that away, first...' Mr. Dark and Mr. Light were ready for the attack, stepping forward and easily pulling the drunken man back.
"Bloody American bitch!" he roared, struggling against the arms around his upper body. "I bet these two are just as sneaky as you, aren't they?"
"Not nearly so- that's why she delivered you to us and not the other way 'round." Mr. Dark smirked, incensing the Death Eater further. Time seemed to speed up to twice it's usual clip- a sudden eruption of movement sent arms and legs flailing, black robes and cloaks swirling up to mask the three men behind a shadow of cloth. Kitty jumped back a bit in surprise, wand in hand faster than you could blink. But not fast enough.
There was a dull thud from somewhere in the middle of the strange huddle, and Kevin burst out, tackling Kitty to the cold hard ground. She let out a small gasp of pain when she felt her left shoulder dislocate as it hit at an odd angle, struggling to keep her wand in hand, but Kevin promptly relieved her of it before she could aim it at him. He dragged her up to a semi-standing position, one arm tight around her neck the whole way up, effectively cutting off her air supply. She thrashed about in his grip, elbowing him under the chin hard enough for his neck to crack as his head was thrown back. The distraction was enough for Mr. Dark to get a good aim on the Death Eater and stun him before he could do any more damage.
Kitty couldn't quite disentangle herself fast enough and was pulled down with the unconscious man's weight, pinned under half his body. She looked over to the two Unspeakables for help, watching as Mr. Light finally stood up with a grunt, rubbing the side of his head where it had struck the earth. Mr. Dark took his time striding over, kicking Kevin off the young girl and binding him with a quick incantation.
"Pleasure doing business with you." he remarked with a wry face as he bent down to grab his token's arm, and the two quickly disapparated with a 'POP'. Mr. Light reached into his robes and drew outadeceptively small midnight-blue velvet pouch containingnearly three hundredgalleons, throwingit down next to Kitty's head.
"We'll contact you about Malfoy. Until then, you don't exist. Understood?" he scowled, disappearing just as quickly as his partner had.
"After tonight, my fee's become a BIT higher." Kitty muttered angrily to herself, green eyes burning with outrage and exasperation.
!AUTHOR'S NOTES, MISCELLANEOUS, AND THIS BIG, FUN BORDER!
Well, that was the first chapter. It took me long enough to write it, but it's no where near as long as I thought it would be... (Scratches head) Ah well. Hope you all enjoyed! Remember, this WILL include many of the main characters from the books, it'll just take a while to get to that point. Good things come to those who are patient! Oh, and in case you were wondering, Kitty's 'alias' is pronounced Kay-la. Thanks to the reviewers! (Boy was this chapter a long time coming...)
Ah yes, one more thing- I will be starting a contest of sorts in the next chapter. In the spirit of TiniTinuviel's song title contest, I will add a few lyrics of one song that matches the chapter at the end, and the first to review and guess correctly the song and artist will be become a character. (I have a few empty places to fill, and thought this could be fun). Hope you don't mind, Tini.