Gabriel and I stood in the elevator in complete silence as we waited for it to descend to the floor where the Department of Magical Law Enforcement resided. He had accepted the job from Minister Scrimgeour after a few moments of discussion. I had remained silent the entire time; mostly because I was surprise that Scrimgeour didn't ask me to leave, but also because I was honestly surprised that he was asking Gabriel. I didn't want Gabriel to take the job, so naturally, I was upset when he said without hesitation, "Absolutely, I would be honored to fill the position."
He could tell I was angry, which is why we rode the elevator in silence.
"Cadence," he said my name with sternness that suggested he was prepared for me to verbally attack him. "I know you're upset, but this is was an easy decision."
"You betrayed Voldemort," I hissed in a low, frustrated whisper. "You are married to me. You are already at high risk because of those two facts, now you want to stand up in front of the entire wizarding world and give Voldemort an easy target? You're wrong, Gabriel. I'm not mad. I shot straight pass mad to pissed off as soon as you accepted his offer."
"This is an honor," Gabriel said turning to me. His voice was deep and aggressive. He leaned forward and pushed the emergency stop button on the lift violently causing it to jerk to a halt. I crossed my arms over my chest defensively and glared at him as he turned his brown eyes to me. "I never thought it would be possible for me to be an Auror, let alone the Head of the department. This is a good way to fight against your father—"
"It's a bullshit way to fight against my father," I interrupted. "It requires you to follow and enforce policies and takes you out of the field! You're one of the most important assets to the Ministry and the Order when you're in the field. You're not going to do anyone any good sitting in a stuffy office pushing papers."
"I don't think the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement spends a lot of time pushing papers."
I stepped forward, too angry to discuss the matter with him any further, and pushed the release so that the lift would continue to move. I didn't say a word as I stared at the numbers over the lift door that lit up individually as we descended towards the Magical Law Enforcement Department floor.
"Who are you assigning as my liaison?" I asked.
"I will have someone for you by the end of the day," Gabriel responded. "You heard Scrimgeour say that I had to be set up for the position."
"Yea," I growled as the lift chimed and the doors opened. Gabriel stepped out of the lift into the corridor and turned to look back at me. He threw his hand out to stop the doors from closing.
"Aren't you coming?"
I raised my eyebrows at him. "I don't have an office here."
"Get out of the damned lift, Cadence," Gabriel snapped. "You're coming to my office. We're not done discussing this."
"You don't get to use your work office to discuss personal issues, Gabriel. Trust me this is a personal issue!"
"Get out of the lift you intolerable, insubordinate woman!"
"I'm supposed to go to Diagon Alley, bastard," I snapped back shoving his hands off the door. He stepped forward, placing his foot against the door so it opened completely and chimed instead of closing. I grumbled and crossed my arms over my chest again.
"Molly didn't send a letter this morning," Gabriel replied smartly. "You don't know when they're going to Diagon Alley yet."
"I hate you," I muttered with frustration.
"Get out of the lift and come with me to my office."
"No," I said stubbornly. "I will not. We will discuss this when you get home this evening."
"Get out of the lift, Cadence."
I looked up in surprise because it was not Gabriel's voice that was giving the direction. Benjamin Snow stood behind Gabriel staring straight at me with his crystal blue eyes on fire.
"What is it?" I asked instantly, stepping forward. "Is it Carrigan?"
Benjamin frowned. "No, will you come with me to my cubicle? I have a theory regarding Scotts."
"Thomas Scotts?" Gabriel said as he looked at Benjamin. "Why are you investigating that case? You're not on it."
Benjamin ignored Gabriel and kept his eyes on me. "I have a theory that he is not responsible for the kidnappings like the Ministry thought he was."
"What does that have to do with Carrigan?" I asked as we moved down the corridor towards the giant oak doors that lead into the wing of the Ministry that was housed by the Auror department.
"First of all," Benjamin said quickly with some excitement. "Why did you think Scotts was connected to Carrigan's kidnapping? You know who took her."
"I thought perhaps Carrigan would be placed in his charge," I shrugged. "Frankly, I don't know what to think about anything."
"What she is admitting, Benjamin," Gabriel interrupted. "Is that she is flying around the country half-cocked and killing anything that is getting in her way."
I glared up at him as we marched past a few empty cubicles. "Why don't you say that louder next time, so more people in the office can hear you?"
"It's my office and my people, so maybe I will!"
"What?" Benjamin looked bewildered.
"I've been named Head of the department," Gabriel said quietly.
"Congratulations," Benjamin said with a smile.
"Don't congratulate him," I insisted. "He's been an idiot about it—"
"Enough."
I looked at Gabriel sharply and stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes with a loud sigh and looked back at Benjamin.
"Continue about Scotts."
"Right," Benjamin said quickly as he turned a corner and lead us into his cubicle. "I don't think he is responsible for those kidnappings. What made you think it was him anyways?"
"Physical evidence and eye witness accounts made us think it was him," Gabriel said matter-of-factly. "But you're right, we have no way of knowing for sure because the girls were never found."
"I was hoping that he would be able to help me find out where Carrigan was being held," I said softly, interrupting them. "I was hoping that since he was probably responsible for hiding ten teenage girls around the country that he would be able to tell me where Voldemort may be hiding my daughter. And, since he was a Death Eater, I thought that he was kidnapping teenage girls on orders from my father."
"As a means of blackmail?" Benjamin questioned.
"Yes."
Benjamin looked uncomfortable and fell silent.
"But why don't you think it was him?" Gabriel urged.
"Because, another girl was kidnapped last night," Benjamin said turning to a map that was hanging on the wall of his cubicle. "Here," he pointed to a yellow pin that was stuck in the map just south of where the Ministry was located in London.
"Where is the case file?" Gabriel asked.
Benjamin turned and picked up the blue folder from his desk. He handed it to Gabriel who opened it once it was in his hand.
"Just because another girl was kidnapped doesn't mean Scotts wasn't responsible for the other ten girls that went missing," I said.
"If you're following the theory that those ten girls were taken for blackmail, where does that place Carrigan? Obviously she wasn't taken for blackmail," Benjamin continued quickly. "These blue pins show the ten girls that were supposedly taken by Scotts. This pin, here on the Ministry," he pointed at a purple pin on the map of London. "Shows where Carrigan was taken."
"Carrigan is a separate case," Gabriel said looking up from the file as I leaned forward to look at the map of London more closely. The total of twelve pins looked to be completely random; scattered across the city at multiple and different locations.
"I don't think so," Benjamin said quickly.
"What?" I questioned confused. All of the facts weren't lining up for me. Benjamin had completely lost me.
"The first girl taken," Benjamin said as he pulled out his wand and tapped the very tip of one of the pins. It glowed as if it were a candle wick he had lit with a burning match. "Bernadette Brotherson, was taken before Carrigan at the beginning of May. She is ten years old. The second girl, Donna Peters is eleven," he touched another pin, lighting it up with his wand. "Third girl, taken a week before Carrigan disappeared is Mary Holland, who is twelve. Two days before we follow Harry to the Ministry, Holly Summers is kidnapped, she is thirteen. Carrigan is taken, she is fourteen. A week and a half after Voldemort returns publicly, the sixth girl is taken, Jamie Morri, who is fifteen. Then, the seventh girl, Jenna Hall, sixteen, is taken four days later." Benjamin stopped and looked up at us. "Do you see the pattern?"
"The girl who was taken last night, how old is she?" I asked quietly.
Gabriel looked down at the file. "Twenty two," he replied.
"And the other girls fit the pattern? They were all taken in order of ascending age?"
Benjamin nodded his head. "I don't think Scotts was responsible for all of the kidnappings, if he was he was acting under orders from Voldemort. Carrigan is a part of this string of cases. These girls weren't taken for blackmail—you haven't received any ransom demands and it's been months. I know how you both feel about coincidences. This is not a coincidence."
Gabriel and I looked at each other as silence fell in the cubicle. He closed the file and handed it back to Benjamin, who placed it on the desk.
"What do you do next?" Gabriel asked him.
Benjamin frowned and looked back at the map of London. "We only know that he'll take a twenty three year old next, that's too many witches to track down. Does the Ministry even keep records like that?"
"You're thinking too big, Benjamin," I said quietly with a shake of my head. "Think smaller first. Don't think about what he'll do next, you don't know what he's trying to do now. Focus on that first."
Gabriel smiled. "I'll leave you two to work this out. Cadence, I'll need to see you in my office before you leave for the day."
"Will you actually have an office by the time I leave today?" I asked with a snotty tone.
"Yes," Gabriel replied with a roll of his eyes. He gave me a smile and pinched my cheek playfully before exiting the cubicle.
"We're not done talking about this!" I shouted after him as I stepped into the aisle outside the cubicle. He ignored me and continued to walk towards the other side of the department where his office would be located once it was ready for him.
I pivoted into the cubicle with an annoyed grumble.
"Why is it so bad that's he's the new department head?" Benjamin asked as he took a seat as his desk.
"Because Gabriel is too good to be benched, and that what is being done to him," I said quickly. "He is a strong asset in the field—"
"—kicking ass and taking names," Benjamin nodded with some cheek. I pinched his shoulder viciously which caused him to laugh and slap my hand away.
"My point is that he won't be available to help us with the Order. He'll be too busy with paper work, agenda's and overseeing every case in the department. Not to mention," I lowered my voice quickly. "that the Order of the Phoenix is a secret organization that the Ministry considers to be illegal and against them and the countries' interests."
"You really don't think that he won't be good at this job?"
"Oh no," I said with a shake of my head. "He's fantastic for it, but he's better as an Auror."
Benjamin nodded his head slowly. His piercing blue eyes stared at me with curiosity. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, which made me uneasy. Benjamin Snow had the uncanny ability to make you feel uncomfortable, similar to the way that my niece, Haiden (or Divinity if you prefer), could. He turned back to his desk. "So, we need to figure out why Voldemort needs these girls?"
"Yes," I nodded appreciating the change of topic. "I would start with Dark Magic books. See what sort of rituals, spells and charms require twelve women in ascending age."
"It's a pretty specific requirement, it shouldn't be hard to find something," Benjamin said with a nod of enthusiasm.
"Or it could be very hard to find," I said matter-of-factly. "I will see you later tonight."
Benjamin gave me a nod and smile. "Thanks for the help."
I shook my head as I stood at the entrance of the cubicle. "It was all you, Benjamin. Thank you."
I turned on my heel, walked out of the cubicle and down the aisles towards the opposite side of the department. For a few moments, I considered not going to see Gabriel in his new, over-sized office. Then, as I was about to reach the secretary's desk outside of the office doors, I pivoted and headed towards the lifts. I couldn't help but smile as I pushed the button and waited for the lift to arrive. The act of insubordination was an adrenaline rush.
