It was close to dawn and Paige and Ripley are in their positions a block away from the Campus. Paige stays hidden on top of a two-story building across the street from where Ripley wants to engage with the target on a sidewalk in front of a closed shop.
Paige puts her hood up as the sun rays poke out from the horizon. she sees the man in the green cloak walking towards Ripley.
"Show time Rip." Paige informs him through the earpiece.
Paige sees Ripley stand up straight as the man approaches him. Ripley stops him and starts talking with him.
The man suddenly bolts, running down the street the way he came from, away from Ripley. Paige springs to her feet and starts running across the roof top, jumping a short distance to the next one, following him from the high ground.
"Shit." Ripley says as he runs to chase after him.
"Try and keep up with him, I'm going to try and cut him off." Paige replies as she hops onto another smaller roof.
She spots a ladder on the roof she is on to the alleyway down below. She hops on the ladder and slides down it, jumping down when there are only couple of rungs left. She ends up directly in front of the man in the green cloak running away from Ripley.
"Wait! We just want to talk to you!" Ripley says as he comes up from behind him.
They have him pinned in the alleyway, with no where to go. She notices he has a smirk on his face. He quickly tosses a small glass bottle on the floor and a giant force of wind escapes, causing a whirlwind. Paige must shield her face as dirt and debris whip around, making it impossible to see anything. The wind finally dies down and Paige and Ripley are the only ones left in the alleyway, the man in the green cloak long gone.
"God Damnit." Ripley says angrily as he kicks a steel trashcan next to him.
He lifts his foot after kicking the trashcan as it impacts his toe harder than expected. He growls in frustration as he hops around on one foot, waiting for the pain to subside.
"Very…" Paige starts to say but is interrupted by Ripley.
"I swear Paige if you call this guy interesting one more time…" Ripley threatens.
"Unfortunate." Paige says with a raised eyebrow, finishing her thought.
"Why are you not pissed off right now?" Ripley snaps at her.
"Anger is an emotion best kept for when it's really needed." Paige replies quietly, trying to calm Ripley.
"What do you mean when needed Paige? We just lost our target. HE IS LITERALLY IN THE WIND RIGHT NOW." Ripley yells, his frustration growing. "We have nothing to go on, we are back to square one."
"Yeah, it sucks. But I'm not going to waste my energy being mad at something out of my control." Paige replies.
Ripley finally manages to put his foot back down after the pain subsides.
"I can't right now Paige. I'm sorry. I just need to be alone." Ripley says to her as he turns to walk back towards the street.
"I'll be at the base." Paige replies as he continues to walk away from her in a huff.
"So, what now Captain Asher?" Otakemaru asks her as Ripley disappears out of site.
Paige lets out a long sigh.
"We start further from the beginning. He may flee to another area of the Czech Republic or even go further out." Paige replies to him in her head as she starts her walk back to base.
"Very unfortunate indeed."
Paige waits until nightfall for Ripley to return, increased worry building in her that he has not shown up. She decides to leave the base to go out and search for him.
"Ripley, do you copy?" Paige asks through her earpiece once she enters the town of Zlin.
She receives no reply from him.
"If you were mad and upset, where would you go?" Otakemaru asks her.
Paige walks through the red brick wall without replying to him, entering through the tunnel access to the hidden wizard town. She immediately heads towards the pub they went to before on their first night in town.
She enters the crowded pub full of people now on days off from their jobs and starting their weekend.
She spots Ripley in the corner at a table by himself, a drink in hand. She makes her way through the crowdto his table and sits down.
"You found me pretty quickly, should have had you take over that target." Ripley mutters as Paige grabs his drink away from him.
"Jack, stop. You lose some targets, it's inevitable."
"How many targets have you lost Captain Asher?" Ripley asks her in a sparky tone.
Paige takes a sip of his strong drink.
"You done?" She asks him as she sets the glass back on the table.
"No, I want to drink more." He replies as he tries to grab the glass from Paige.
Paige snatches it from the table before he could grab it. She downs the whole glass to save his liver from taking more of a beating.
"I think you've had enough. We should get back." Paige says as she sets the empty glass on the table.
"What happened to fun Paige? The fuck the world Paige? Huh? Cause if she were here, she would drink with me." Ripley slurs as he slams his fist on the table.
"Is that what you want to do Jacky boy? All right then." Paige says as she stands up from the table.
He looks at her with a dumbfound expression on his face as she goes to the bar and orders two more rounds. She brings the drinks back to the table and sets one of the in front of him.
"Should we toast to something?" Paige smirks as she holds up her glass.
"Fuck you." Ripley says playfully as he grabs the glass in front of him and downs all the liquid.
"Fuck you as well." Paige replies as she also drinks everything in her glass.
They drink together for hours, never mingling with anyone else, just lost in their own little world in the corner of the pub. It was close to one in the morning when Paige decides to call it a night and inform Ripley that it is time to go. Ripley tries to stand up from the table, but he falls backwards onto the ground. They both laugh as Paige helps him up off the ground as nearby people watch them make assess of themselves.
Paige wraps his arm over her shoulder to help him walk out of the bar, her being less drunk than him and able to at least coordinate herself. The frosty night air feels good on Paige's flushed cheeks as they step outside.
"I'm sorry I lost – hick- the guy Paige." Ripley says as they make their way through the quiet town.
"You have nothing to apologize for, unless you told him to run." Paige replies with a smirk.
"All I said was 'Are you Dan Draider?' and he just runs!" Ripley says as he wobbles on his legs from his exaggerated drunk hand movements while he talks.
Paige tries to get her drunk mind to work. Why would Dumbledore send them for a man who would run at the mention of his name?
Paige drags Ripley through the red brick tunnel as he suddenly starts counting the bricks.
"Paige. I was counting." Ripley whines as she drags him further away from tunnel, the red brick shifting into a brick wall behind them.
"You can count them in the morning when there's more light." Paige says as they start threw the town of Zlin to their base.
"THAT'S SUCH A GOOD IDEA." Ripley yells in his drunken stupor. "You're always so smart Paigey."
Paige shushes him, trying to keep him quiet as they walk down a residential street in the middle of the night.
"Sorry, that was really loud." Ripley giggles. "You're eyes sparkle all pretty like in the moon light. You know that?"
"Shut up." Paige says with a smirk, amused by his drunken thoughts spewing out of his mouth.
"No, like really. I know I like guys, but I can find women attractive and you're pretty." He giggles more as she half drags, half carries him down the street.
"Thanks. I know I'm straight and you're gay, but I think you're pretty too." Paige replies with a chuckle.
"I miss you as a blonde though." Ripley admits with a pout.
"Oh? You never said anything." Paige replies.
"Yeah, I thought I would wait to see if you would snap to your senses by yourself." Ripley explains as he turns his head away from Paige to blech.
"Disgusting." Paige comments.
"I know. That's why I wish you would be blonde again."
"I was talking about you burping but thank you for letting your true feelings out during this pleasant nighttime stroll."
"I'm really sorry I lost the guy Paige. I was really trying to get you back so you could see him." Ripley says, changing the subject as his drunk mind spews out whatever he is thinking.
"It's not your fau…" Paige starts to say before Ripley talks over her.
"Shhhhh. Yes, it is my fault. I should have just let you manage everything. You are so good Paige. You do everything so flawlessly and sometimes it makes me jealous of you."
"Ripley. I would have done the exact same thing you did. It wasn't your fault." Paige replies, determined to get him to change his mindset. "And I am far from flawless, I couldn't even manage a fart in a bottle he threw at us."
"I haven't seen anyone use one of those in years." Ripley comments.
"There's a man following you guys." Otakemaru whispers to Paige inside her head.
Paige quickly glimpses behind them and sees a large man wearing a long black winter jacket with a fur lined hood up over his head. She notices the shiny object in his hand and assumes it is a weapon.
Paige picks up her pace, dragging Ripley with her as he struggles to keep up with her. She needs to get somewhere private, with no eyes watching her do magic in the middle of a no-maj town.
"You're going to fast, slow down." Ripley whines as she continues her quick pace down the street, her mind slowly sobering up.
"We need to move Rip." Paige says seriously as they round the corner at the end of the street, hitting another residential area.
"Why are you in such a hurry Paige?" He asks as he rips his arm from her grip.
Paige turns around to grab him again, seeing that the man was closer behind them now.
"Jack, I know you're very drunk right now, but I'm going to need you to run." Paige informs him as the man stops, their eyes locked on each other.
"Why? What's going on?" Ripley asks in his oblivious state, turning around to see what she was looking at.
"There are more." Otakemaru says to Paige.
Paige turns around as she hears two sets of footsteps approaching them. Two more men dressed in the exact same jacket approaches them from behind.
"What the fuck?" Ripley asks as all the men lunge forward towards Paige and Ripley at the same time.
Paige feels an arm wrap around her neck and her body held against one of them as they lock her in a choke hold. She tries to break free from him as the other two men approach Ripley. He tries to throw a punch at one of them but misses – his drunk reflexes working against him. One of them punches him in the face, then punches him in the gut.
"Jack!" Paige cries out as one of them stabs the knife he had in his hands in to Ripley's gut.
The man tightens his grip around Paige as she struggles to break free. She slips her wand from her sleeve and aims it behind her, shooting a stupefy spell at him. She feels his grip loosen completely as he falls to the ground behind her. The man points his knife at her now, leaving Ripley to hold his stomach and fall to his knees.
She points her wand at the man with the knife and shoots him with another stupefy spell, knocking him to the ground unconscious. Before Paige could react to the other one, he jumps on top of her, knocking her wand out of her hand. He sits on top of her chest and punches her square in the nose, breaking it. He then wraps his hands around her neck, pinning her to the ground. He tightens his grip around her neck, choking her hard and not allowing air to get into her lungs. She tries to reach her wand, but it was to far away from her to reach. She tries to claw at his face with her fingernails, but he moves his head back slightly out of her reach as well. She feebly tries to claw at his arms and hands as she starts to fall unconscious from the lack of oxygen. She could feel Otakemaru's power slowly rising inside her when suddenly she sees a flash of green and the mans body stumps on top of her. Paige inhales deeply, sucking in the chilly night air, trying to give her body the oxygen it was craving. She grunts as she pushes the man off and onto the ground next to her. She sits up and sees Ripley with his wand pointed at her and the now dead man, his eyes glazing over and slowly shutting as blood still pours from his stab wound.
"Jack." Paige says in a raspy voice, her throat shooting more pain every time she tries to talk.
Paige gets up, grabs her wand, and stumbles over to him. She moves his hand to his stab wound and rips part of her cloak. She moves his hand away from the bleeding wound. He screams loudly as she shoves the material inside the hole, trying to control the bleeding. She uses her wand to help lift him up delicately then wrap his arm around her shoulder to use her as a crutch to continue walking.
"Paige. Are you okay?" Ripley asks weakly as she walks as fast as she can while dragging a solid 190lb muscular man back to the radio station.
Paige gently touches her throat to show that she could not talk.
They manage to get back to the radio station unseen. She illuminates her wand and holds it in her mouth as she needs both hands to help Ripley lay down on their bed on the floor. She turns to her bag leaning against the wall, searching for her first aid kit.
"Why did those guys attack us?" Ripley asks as sweat starts form on his forehead.
Paige shrugs her shoulders, then starts throwing items out of her bag aggressively, frustration growing that she cannot find her kit.
"Paige, relax. I'm sure it looks worse than it actually is." Ripley says as he weakly grabs her arm.
Paige takes a deep breath to calm herself down and steady her trembling hands. She looks over at Ripley who was looking at her though his half-dazed eyes. He his skin looks pale and grey.
"I know if you could speak right now, you would make a stupid joke. So, thank you for trying to cheer me up." Ripley says with a faint smirk, trying to comfort her.
Paige gently runs the back of her fingers against his cheek before going back to her bag, resuming to look for her first aid kit. She finally finds it near the bottom and swiftly removes a white hard case from her bag.
She opens the case to reveal rows and rows of small vials filled with different potions. She grabs two of the vials, one green and one blue and set the kit down next to her before turning to Ripley's side. She unscrews the cap from a blue vial and hands it to him. She takes the other vial with the lid still on it and shows him that she wants him to drink it.
"Drink this?" He asks her, confirming she wants him to drink it.
Paige nods her head. Ripley swigs the vial in one gulp and recoils from the taste.
"Yep, that's disgusting." Ripley replies as he hands her the empty vial.
Paige then hands him the green vial in her hand. She holds up her hand to stop him from unscrewing the cap from the top. She points at her watch then holds up three fingers.
"Drink it in three minutes?" Ripley asks.
Paige nods again. She stands up and walks to the kitchenette part of the room and starts frantically opening drawers looking for something to clean up his wound. She finds a drawer with a stack of clean and folded dishtowels. She grabs them all and brings them back to Ripley.
She then digs in her bag for her water bottle and places that next to the stack of towels on the floor.
Paige takes the wand out of her mouth and drags it gently down Ripley's shirt, cutting the material off him. She cuts the sleeves off, completely exposing his whole torso. She looks down at the wade of black material shoved in his stab wound.
She digs back into her kit, frantically trying to find another potion. She pulls a vial with a clear potion inside out of her kit and puts her wand back in her mouth. She looks at Ripley with sympathy, knowing this is going to hurt like hell.
"I'm ready." He says, knowing what she is going to do.
He winces in pain as she pulls the material out of his stab wound, blood now pouring freely from it. She pops the lid on the vial with her thumb and carefully pours the liquid inside the wound. Ripley's body tenses and he screams out in pain as the liquid hits the inside of his gut. She dumps the rest inside the wound then quickly grabs a clean towel and places it over the hole. Ripley writhes in pain as the potion starts to reconstruct and heal his internal organs. She looks at her watch and grabs the green vial still in his clenched fist. She moves his hand over the towel to hold pressure on his wound as she helps sit him up. She unscrews the lid on top of the vial and presses it to his lips. He slowly sips it until there was none left. She can feel his body relax slightly as his pain decreases. She gently lays him back down on the floor and moves back to his side to check on the wound. She removes his hand and slowly lifts the blood-soaked towel from his abdomen. She sees the wound now completely sealed shut with scar tissue the only thing left remaining.
She dumps water onto another clean towel and starts to lightly dab the sweat and blood from Ripley's face.
"If I ever tell you to shut up again, please remind me of this moment where I would give anything to hear your voice right now." Ripley says quietly as he trembles from the shock and adrenaline.
Paige smiles as she wipes the last bit of sweat from his forehead, thankful the color in his face was slowly starting to return to a fleshy color. Ripley closes his eyes, exhausted from the attack and the drunken-ness.
Paige leans up against the wall beside his head and watches him sleep. He puts his arm over her lap, trying to stay close to her for comfort.
She thinks of the event and how odd everything was about their interaction. The men said nothing, just attacked without a single word.
She gently places her fingers on her throat, feeling how sore it is to touch.
"That was a narrow escape. Do you think that Dan Draider guy sent them?" Otakemaru asks her.
Paige looks down at Ripley sleeping.
"I'm unsure." Paige replies to him.
"I was about to burn that guy before Ripley killed him." Otakemaru admits.
"I felt that. I was trying to hold off as long as I could."
"You still don't trust him fully?"
"It's not about trust, it's about need to know. He doesn't need to know right now."
"There's no rush to reveal anything. If it happens, it happens."
"Agreed."
"That guy broke your nose, you should fix yourself up."
"I'm going to leave it for the morning." Paige says as she slowly closes her eyes.
"Um, why?"
"Because it's been nice to feel something different than this numbness that seems to have made a home inside me."
Otakemaru decides not to argue with her right now, instead letting her rest after the big ordeal.
Paige does not wake until around noon the next day with a slight headache, a dry mouth and her throat killing her. She looks down at Ripley who is still soundly sleeping with a soft snore. She carefully removes his arm from her lap and moves away from him. She stands and shuffles her feet towards the door and out to the hallway. She stumbles down the corridor to the bathroom at the end of the hall and walks in front of the dust covered mirror on the wall above a sink. She wipes a patch of dust off the mirror to see her reflection.
She cringes as she sees her two black eyes, dried blood around her nose and handprints bruises on her neck. She points her wand at her nose to fix it. She lets out a small whimper as she cracks in back into place. Paige checks her butterfly pendant around her neck for damages and sees that it's thankfully intact.
"You look like shit." Otakemaru comments.
Paige ignores him and turns the tap on the sink. It groans, but no water comes out. Paige lets out a long sigh and heads back to the room. She grabs one of the clean towels left over from last night and her water bottle and sits down in a chair around the table they have been using for notes.
She takes a long drink from her water bottle before she soaks the towel in the water and gently starts dabbing it under and around her nose, cleaning up the dried blood then wiping Ripley's blood off her hands from last night. Ripley stirs on the floor as she sets her water bottle down on the table.
"What? What happened? What time is it?" Ripley asks her as he slowly sits up from the floor. "Why don't I have a shirt on?"
Paige tries to speak, but her throat still hurt too much to talk. She makes the motion of stabbing herself in the gut with an imaginary knife, trying to get Ripley to remember the events of last night. She crosses her arms and waits for his memory to jog. He squints at her in a foggy confusion, then suddenly opens his eyes wide and looks down at his stomach. He touches the faint scar left behind.
"Are you okay?" Ripley asks her as he struggles to stand up.
Paige gives him a faint smile and a thumbs up.
"I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have had all those drinks last night." Ripley says quietly as he sits in the chair next to Paige.
Paige nods in agreement with a smirk on her face.
"Why didn't you stop me from drinking so much?" Ripley asks her.
She rolls her eyes and slides a piece of parchment paper with notes on it towards her. She flips the paper over to use the blank side and grabs a quill they left earlier from the table and writes on the paper for him.
"I am not your mother."
"Yeah, you're kinder."
"Regardless. I am glad you didn't die on me last night. I don't have time to find a replacement Lieutenant."
"I'm glad you think so fondly of me, Paige." Ripley says with a chuckle.
"What do you think we should do now?"
"I'm leaving that up to you Captain." Ripley replies after reading her note.
"We need to get out of this area. We killed a no-maj last night and we are over her illegally."
"Any ideas on where to go?"
Paige ponders for a moment before writing her answer.
"I want to follow up on the Factory."
"Lead the way Captain Asher."
Paige and Ripley pack their belongings and remove their charms from the radio station before leaving it behind. Paige grabs hold of Ripley's arm and they disparate to Trinec.
Paige leans against the train car door with the sun now setting. The days now getting colder and the nights dropping to freezing temperatures. She curls up into a tighter ball, hugging herself tightly. Her thoughts constantly wanderings to Severus and missing him so much she could cry. It has been months since she has last seen him, and the pain cuts her deeper every day she is apart from him.
Paige's thoughts are suddenly interrupted by Ripley jumping into the train car with bags of supplies he went to get.
"I got some food, got some water and I got some special things for you." Ripley says as he starts pulling items out of the bag.
He hands her a small tub of vanilla ice cream along with a plastic spoon.
"I hear sugar also makes you happy." Ripley says as she takes the ice cream from him. "And might also help with the throat.
She rips the top off the ice cream, wanting something cold in her throat to help sooth it. She closes her eyes in relief as the cold ice cream slides down her bruised and aching neck.
"I also got you some make up to help cover your injuries, so you don't scare the crap out of anyone." Ripley says as he places cover up in front of her.
Paige glares at him, but then realizes that he is right and takes the make-up from the ground.
"And…" Ripley says as he pulls a thermos out of the bag. "Coffee! Your favorite."
Paige puts the ice cream down and reaches for the thermos excitedly, craving caffeine all day long.
"I got you one more thing too." Ripley says as he reaches back in the bag.
He pulls out a wade of black material, the scent of Severus hits her as she drops the thermos to the ground.
"I went back to headquarters, and it was waiting for you there. I feel terrible for being so incompetent in that situation and putting you in harms way that I felt like you needed something of comfort." He replies as she slowly grabs the cloak from him.
She wraps in around herself in his cloak the warmth of it heating her cold body and she instantly breaks. She hides her face in it as she tries to let her sobs escape her aching throat.
She can feel Ripley's arms wrap around her and just holds her as she continues to weep.
"If you know that if they guy back in Zlin was Dan Draider, then what are we doing back here?" Otakemaru asks Paige as she stakes out of the Factory in the early morning light before the workers were to arrive.
"Do we know for sure that was Mr. Draider?" Paige asks him in her head.
"Fair point."
"There's something here. It's right in front of my face and I can't see it."
"I think you might be stretching a little bit, but let's roll with it."
Paige notices workers starting to approach the factory.
"I want to break in tonight, Rip." Paige says in a raspy voice, her throat feeling a little better since last night.
"We might as well, we meet with the team tomorrow at dawn." Ripley replies.
"Not going to see Vincent today?" Otakemaru asks her.
"If we find nothing tonight, I will follow him tomorrow." Paige replies.
She lets out a long sigh.
"What am I missing?" Paige thinks to herself.
They wait until past midnight before making their move. They spot the light of the security guard on the upper levels, so they take the opening and head to a side entrance on the eastern side of the building.
Paige kneels in front of the door with her wand and a long piece of metal. She sticks the metal inside the lock and starts twists it with her wand, listening for a click.
"Damnit, I always have troubles with these types of locks." Paige grumbles as she tries to spin the metal again.
"I told you to practice them more." Ripley whispers as he watches behind her.
"I thought I wouldn't have to when I have you around." Paige says as she stands up. "Can you please do it?"
"Oh wow, something Paige Asher can't do." Ripley smirks as he switches positions with her.
"Yeah, I tried telling you I wasn't perfect and again you don't listen to me." Paige whispers back to him as she pulls the hood up on her cloak.
He unlocks it quickly and stands back up, holding the door open for her.
"After you Captain." He says quietly.
Paige enters the factory first with Ripley close behind her. He shuts the door, cloaking them in the darkness. Paige waves her wand in front of her face giving her night vision to be able to see inside the factory.
"Let's find the office. I want to snoop at their files." Paige whispers as they start searching the building for the office.
They sneak around the factory searching for the office. They press themselves against the wall to avoid the beam of light coming from the security guard's flashlight coming from the upstairs catwalk. They manage to find the office on the bottom floor at the south end of the factory. Paige watches Ripley's back as he cracks the lock on the door to the office.
"Hurry, I think the guard is coming." Paige whispers to Ripley.
The door pops open and they swiftly enter the room. Ripley slowly and quietly closes the door to the office just as jangle of keys and footsteps pass the door. They wait a moment before moving to the filing cabinets lined against the wall to the left of the door. Ripley closes the blinds in the office and lights his wand to give them better light. Paige also lights her wand and places it on top of the filing cabinet. They remove their night vision.
Paige slowly and quietly opens the top filing cabinet door and starts flipping through the file folders in the drawer.
"I wonder why the guard does random patrols." Ripley comments as Paige continues to flip though the files.
"Just makes him unpredictable that's all." Paige replies as she closes the first drawer and opens the second.
"Very different routine from the other guy we were following. Like exact opposites. That guy was predicable as hell." Ripley says.
"Yes, they are both very interesting." Paige comments as she pulls out a file and flips through the pages inside.
"Why does a security guard take patrolling a factory so seriously?" Ripley asks. "It would take forever to load all this steel to rob it."
"Maybe it's more for alarm monitoring."
"Then he would be sitting at a desk staring at an alarm system."
"I don't know then Rip. You tell me why he takes his job so seriously."
"There isn't a reason to, that's the thing. Unless he just really loves his job and this factory."
"It still doesn't make sense." Paige replies.
"Can you imagine if the other guy we were following had pattern like this? It would have been a nightmare. It would make him almost impossible to track." Ripley says as he takes another peak out of the blinds to check for the security guard.
"What did you say?" Paige asks as she stops to think about what he just said.
"It would be near impossible to track his route."
"Impossible." Paige says as she frantically looks though the filing cabinet looking for a certain file.
"What?" Ripley asks as he looks out the blinds to keep watch.
Paige finds a folder marked "Security" and pulls it from the filing cabinet. She opens the file with shaking hands and drops it back into the drawer when she sees the employee file for a Han Raider with a picture of the man they were looking for before.
"Ripley. It's him." Paige says in awe.
"What are you talking about?" Ripley asks her as he approaches the filing cabinet.
"The man from Zlin. He goes here at night to work security." Paige replies.
He grabs the file from the drawer and looks at it closely.
"No fucking way."
Suddenly the door bursts open as the security guard enters with his wand drawn on them.
"Expelliarmus" The man says as Ripley's wand flies out of his hand into the other man's hand.
The man notices Paige's illuminated wand on top of the filing cabinet and points his wand at it.
"Accio." He says as her wand flies into the same hand as Ripley's.
"There is no need for any of this." Ripley says as he puts his hands up. "We just want to have a chat with you."
"Oh yes, I'm sure you do. Who sent you? MACUSA? MIA?" The man asks stepping closing to them.
"We were sent by Dumbledore. We need recruits to fight in a war that is coming." Paige explains as she puts her hands up as well.
"Show me your face girl." The man demands as he points his wand at Paige.
Paige glances at Ripley before complying and removing her hood. He looks at her with confusion then terror as he steps back from them while barely managing to hold his own wand in front of him.
"Ripley, I put on that cover up right." Paige asks Ripley.
"Yes." He replies, his eyes locked on the man in front of them.
"Is there a spider? Or something on my face?" Paige asks him, confused on why the man is acting odd.
Ripley quickly glances at Paige before looking back at the man.
"Not that I can see Captain." Ripley replies.
"So, you are MACUSA!" The man says, finally breaking out of his trance and standing with his wand more confidently.
"We were. Not any longer." Paige replies.
"Are you a ghost?" The man asks Paige, his head tilting slightly.
"That's a weird fucking question." Paige mutters. "Rip, am I a ghost?"
Ripley lightly punches her, hitting her solid arm.
"I don't believe so Captain." Ripley replies.
"Thank God, this guy had me concerned for a moment." Paige replies with a chuckle.
"I also knew a man who liked to joke during serious moments. Things didn't end up to well for him." The man growls, his wand still pointing at them.
"Please tell me it was you, because I could really use a life lesson right now." Paige replies with a smirk.
"Captain, cool it on the jokes." Ripley says seriously, knowing that this man is at the end of his funny limit.
The man flicks his wand at Ripley, sending him into a chair to his left. Bonds tie him down in the chair as Ripley tries to stand back up.
"Okay, I'm not here to kink shame anyone, but that's a little excessive." Paige comments, unable to stop her awkward jokes.
The man swiftly approaches Paige, his wand pointing at her. He moves inches away from her face as she stares deeply into his purple eyes.
"Your jokes are going to get you in serious trouble one day… Captain." He whispers to her aggressively.
"Is that day today?" Paige asks.
"How are you so cocky when I have the upper hand?" He asks her, still staying inches away from her face, his wand now digging into her cheek.
"You seem like a nice guy. I'm sure once the dust settles a little we can sit down and have a nice chat."
"What is your name Captain?" He asks her.
"Paige…" She replies honestly.
"And your last name?"
"Am I on trial here or something?" Paige asks him.
"Paige, just tell him for the love of god stop pushing your luck." Ripley says in an exacerbated tone.
"Asher." Paige replies seriously, taking Ripley's advice.
The man backs away from her in shock. Paige looks over at Ripley who looks equally confused.
"I'm sorry if I know you from somewhere. Because if it was Vegas…boy I don't remember a whole lot on that mission." Paige comments, filling the room with something other than silence.
The man sits down in another chair nearby and starts chuckling to himself.
"Okay, I'm definitely getting murdered." Paige comments.
"Who are your parents?" He asks as he suddenly stops his chuckling.
"Why?" Paige asks.
"TELL ME WHO YOUR PARENTS ARE!" He yells at her as he stands up from the chair, his wand once again pointing at her.
"Clara and Ryan Asher." Paige blurts out, trying to keep the man's temper from fully blowing.
"Impossible." He says as he slowly approaches her again.
"What is?" Paige asks, her curiosity peaking.
"You don't know who I am?" He asks her.
"Depends. Are you Dan Draider?"
"I am."
"Then I have no clue who you are, besides your name and that you're ex-MACUSA."
He slowly places his hands on Paige's face, a warm smile spreads across his face.
"I was put on the same team as your father, eventually proving myself to him and became his second in command for years." Dan replies. "Your mother joined the team shortly after I did and those two hit it off right away."
Paige could think of no words to fill the silence.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Captain Asher." Dan says as he steps back from Paige to get a better look at her.
He chuckles to himself again.
"I never thought I would utter those words again in my life." Dan adds.
"Rip, I am unsure of how to process this right now." Paige admits as she lets his words sink in.
"Take your time Captain, I think he's on our side now." Ripley replies with a smirk.
"I'm guessing no one ever told you who I was." Dan assumes.
"Everything was sealed. They only told me the name of the double agent as a 'Hey, avoid this guy if you ever bump into him'" Paige says, leaning against the filing cabinet to steady her now numb legs.
"If you were on their team, why are you considered AWOL?" Ripley asked, still bound to the chair.
"I knew the terrorists would want revenge for taking down their operation. I tried to tell the Senate that we needed to go into hiding and they disagreed. Saying that many of them were behind bars and that the risk was minimal. I fled, at the advice of your father Paige, and I stupidly took it and left the Country. Leaving him behind to fend for himself." Dan replies somberly.
"Paige knows all about the incompetence of the Senate." Ripley remarks.
"I assumed, since you said you are ex-MACUSA."
"Does this mean you will fight?" Paige asks him.
"I would be dishonoring your parent's memory if I didn't offer my services to their child." Dan replies with a smile.
"Excellent. Good to hear." Paige replies, trying to keep her emotions down.
"Can you let me out of this chair now please?" Ripley asks as he tires to wiggle out of the bonds holding him down.
"Sorry." Dan says as he points his wand at the chair, releasing Ripley from it.
"We need to wait until dawn before we rendezvous with the rest of the team then we can head back to England." Ripley says as Dan hands them back their wands.
"I'm ready to leave whenever." Dan replies.
"Would you mind scouting the rendezvous area before dawn Lieutenant Ripley while I have a chat with Mr. Draider here?" Paige asks Ripley, wanting to talk to Dan in private.
"Yes Captain." Ripley replies, taking the hint. "You know where you can find me."
"Thank you." Paige replies, her eyes now back on Dan.
Ripley gives her a smirk before exiting the room.
"So, you never knew about me either?" Paige asks him once they were alone.
"No. Your parents and I couldn't' contact each other in fear the letters would be traced by people hunting us. I went about two years without contact from them." He replies.
"You see my dilemma in fully trusting you, since I didn't actually get to know my parents before they were murdered, I suppose I am just going to have to take your word for it and trust Dumbledore's judgement." Paige comments, still a little weary of the man.
"I understand." He replies. "I do have a question for you though."
"What it is?"
"How did you find me?"
"We had a lead you might be in this area, then I thought about what I would do. Lieutenant Ripley got a solid lead in Zlin at the coffee shop. The rest sort of fell into place."
"Your father used to have quiet the intuition, he called it dumb luck."
"And my mother?" Paige asks curiously.
"Your mother was the calm in the group. Even in the most dangerous and stressful situations she was always calm." Dan replies, fondly remembering memories of his days with her parents. "You are a splitting image of her, that's why I was scared I was being haunted from beyond the grave."
"Good to know." Paige replies as she looks down at her feet, trying to simmer the rising emotions rising inside her.
"So, tell me more about this war. I've only heard rumors in the wind about it." Dan asks her.
They stayed in the Factory until it was dawn with Paige filling him in about the series of events that led up to the Dark Lord's return. Dan follows her out of the building into the chilly morning air to head for the rendezvous point. He turns around and takes one last look at the Factory before grabbing Paige's arm and apparating out of Trinec.
They reappear in a forest near the river, close to the meeting spot. As the approach the place Paige can see Bobcat and Ripley standing there waiting for them.
"Lieutenant Ripley just told me the good news Captain." Bobcat says to them as they approach.
"Dan Draider, this is Bobcat." Paige says, introducing them to each other. "He's also on our team."
"Pleasure to meet you sir, glad you decided to join us." Bobcat replies as he shakes Dan's hand.
"Pleasure it mine sir Bobcat." Dan replies with a smirk.
"Any word from Hernandez?" Paige asks Ripley.
Ripley shakes his head. Paige checks her watch.
"He's just running late. He'll be here." Paige adds as she looks around the area.
"Can I have a word with you in private for a moment Captain." Ripley asks Paige.
"Of course." Paige replies as she walks off to the side with Ripley to talk in private.
"I'm afraid something happened to him. What if he doesn't show up?" Ripley asks her as panic rises in his voice.
"He will be here Jack. Have faith in him." Paige replies with a hopeful smile.
"I can't help but think of all the things I want to say to him but can't. What if I never get a chance to tell him Paige?"
"You will." Paige replies as she spots Hernandez approaching them from behind Ripley.
"How can you be so confident Paige? Maybe I fucked things up so badly he went back to the States, or worst-case scenario he's out there dead somewhere" Ripley replies as he runs his fingers through his hair in frustration and worry.
"Maybe it's not always worst-case scenario and he's right behind you." Paige says to him with a smirk.
"What?" Ripley asks as he quickly turns around.
Hernandez stops in his tracks as him and Ripley make eye contact.
"Juan…" Ripley whispers as he runs towards him.
"Jack." Hernandez replies, a faint smile on his face.
Ripley kisses him.
"Okay… I think we should give them a minute alone while we head back to headquarters." Paige says to Bobcat and Dan.
"Your bag is by mine Captain." Ripley says as he breaks away from Juan's lips for a moment before pushing them back into him.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Glad to see you, Juan." Paige says as she walks to her bag next to Ripley's.
Hernandez gives her a thumbs up, refusing to break away from Ripley.
Paige, Dan, and Bobcat apparate back to number five Grimmald Place, leaving Ripley and Hernandez to their warm welcome for each other.
"This is headquarters for the Order." Paige informs Dan as they ascend the stairs together to the front door.
"Cozy." Dan replies.
"Sirius Black is the owner; he should be inside. He's sort of a wanted criminal and can't leave the house." Paige adds with a smirk.
"And he is a friend of yours?" Dan asks her.
"Yeah, he's good." Paige replies.
"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine then." Dan says with a smile.
"Let's see if anyone is around to get you introduced, then I need to inform Dumbledore we found you." Paige replies as she opens the front door for him and stands aside so he could enter first.
Paige is about to follow them inside the house when she hears a faint crack behind her. She smirks to herself, knowing it was just Hernandez and Ripley coming back to headquarters. She stops when she hears the voice.
"Hey Stranger." Severus says from behind her.
