Chapter 19: Head in the Noose
All the team was gathered together when Alice came out. They had decided that black was the colour scheme she was to be dressed in. It was cliched, but cliche was often based on fact and to infiltrate the darkness, Alice had to blend in. She wore a dress, lace up boots and a loose clock, that did up over her chest with a simple, silver brooch. She spun around, as if modeling at a fashion show.
"How do I look?" she asked.
Frank's eyes glanced over his wife and he scowled.
"Actually really hot," he said, resuming his deadpan stare.
Alice sighed and went over to him, massaging his shoulders with her fingers.
"Could someone tell my husband that all this worrying isn't good for his blood pressure?" she said jokingly.
Amelia managed a small smile but no one, not even Fabian, was in the mood for a joke. It was time to get started. Amelia sat them all down and made them run through the plan again and again, just so she could be satisfied.
"We need to expect everything," she said.
"And if something unexpected happens?" Fabian asked.
"If it can be easily overcome, do so," Amelia said, "If not, then get the hell out."
Once she was satisfied that everyone could repeat the plan down to the last full stop, Amelia began equipping Alice with the last minute touches to her costume. She handed her a pair of diamond earrings.
"Cheers, Amelia," Alice said, putting them in, "but my birthday's not for months."
"They're not ordinary earrings," Dolores explained, "Based on Muggle security cameras, the earrings send a picture of whatever you're seeing to us. We have this little screen, which means we can watch what you're doing and, because it works on both magic and batteries, the chances of an enchantment completely disabling it are very slim."
"It's good to know my taxpayer money is funding useful things like this," Fabian said sarcastically.
"This could make all the difference," Amelia exclaimed, whacking him in the stomach, "Stop being such a cynic."
"Hey," Fabian cried out, wincing slightly, "do I begrudge you your coping methods?"
"Whatever," Amelia muttered, "Just keep your opinions to yourself."
Later that day, as the sun began to dip in the sky, and the Hangman opened for happy hour, was when the operation officially began. Alice approached the bar alone, but her every move was observed by Auror Unit B who had situated themselves in Bartholomew's Buckets and Bristles, a few blocks away in Diagon Alley. Hestia had kindly lent them the back store room and Amelia sat on an over turned bucket, surrounded by Frank, Gideon and Fabian, a tiny screen on her lap. She could see the same dark streets that she knew Alice was actually experiencing. It was warm inside the store room, but Amelia could almost feel the chill on the streets.
Alice pushed open the door to the Hangman's Noose. It was brightly lit inside, with candles floating about between patrons. A low chatter filled the room, with people of all different shapes and sizes sitting at the tables. Alice pulled up a chair and sat at the bar.
"Whiskey, neat," she said in a quiet voice.
As the barman poured her drink, Alice looked around. The image that Amelia was watching stopped on the face of a woman and the watchers gasped.
"Shit," Amelia whispered.
Rowan was talking to one of the men in the back corner, a big smile on her face. She let out a laugh and threw her head back, but, as she did so, her eyes rested on Alice. Amelia felt her heart beating in her chest, every second causing her to panic even more. Rowan was not something Amelia had dealt with. For some reason, Amelia had hoped that the girl would leave town, go into hiding, in the very least stop working. But Rowan was still here, still trapped; she was yet to get out. Amelia felt Fabian's hand gripping her shoulder as the waited to see what would happen. Rowan stared for a second and then, with what Amelia perceived to be a wink, she turned back to her customers. The whole supply closet let out a sigh of relief. For now, they were still okay.
Alice went back to her drink. She stayed in the bar until later that evening and then she left. The process was repeated over the next few days, with Alice entering into the Hangman and sitting at the bar. This was part of the plan, to establish her presence as normal. It was a use of time, but it was a necessary one. The second day she was in there, Darius Finch came in. She gave him a small smile, which he returned, but she didn't say anything. This continued until the fifth day, when he approached her. This was what those still in the supply closet were waiting for.
"You've been in a lot recently," Darius said, sliding up beside Alice, "You new?"
"Yeah," Alice replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears, so as to give the camera earrings a better view.
"What's your name?" Darius asked.
"Amelia," Alice said without even missing a beat.
Amelia swore.
"That little so and so," she said through gritted teeth, "I thought we were going with Jane."
Fabian was laughing, so his partner elbowed him in the ribs.
"Not funny, Fabian," Amelia said, "We're supposed to be sticking to a plan."
"You drink whisky, right?" Darius was saying to Alice.
She nodded.
"Let me get you one," he said, "it's on the house."
"Can you do that?" she asked.
He shrugged.
"It's my bar," he said with a smile.
From the corner of her eye, Amelia saw Frank clench his fists.
"Cool it," she whispered, "It's just a job."
Darius and Alice were, at this point, chatting like old friends.
"Why do you keep coming in here alone?" Darius asked, "Pretty girl, like you, surely you've got somebody to drink with?"
"You offering?" Alice said in a husky voice.
Darius laughed, "you accepting?"
"Actually," Alice said, "I hear that you can help me with something. There's something that I'd like to get in to."
Darius raised an eyebrow and moved a little closer.
"I didn't peg you for that kind of girl," he said, placing his hand on her leg, "but everyone's got their reasons."
Alice laughed, slightly coldly.
"No," she said, moving his hand off her, "I didn't mean that. This is less of an job interview and more of a, how should I say this, coming together of shared ideals."
Darius seemed to understand.
"Right," he nodded, getting to his feet, "I apologize. If you'd like to follow me, we can discuss this in private."
They moved up away from the bar and headed upstairs. In the corner of the screen, Amelia could see Rowan, once again at the bar, freeze and watch Alice follow the man.
"God, that Finch is a smooth talker," she said.
"Talking is all he'd better do," Frank said darkly.
Alice and Darius went into a room, light wood walls and a fireplace, where the wizard shut the door and offered his guest a seat. Alice sat down on a red leather sofa and listened intently.
"How did you hear about this?" Darius asked.
His tone was still friendly, but Amelia detected more alertness than before.
"A man called Matt Demming mentioned it to me in passing," Alice said calmly, "He said you knew something about it."
Amelia had been worried that this would've caused problems, but Darius seemed less concerned that Demming had mentioned anything and more interested in the fact that Alice had spent time with him.
"You know him well then?" Darius said.
"Not really," Alice shook her head, "Like I said, we met in passing."
This seemed to pacify Darius, who moved over to a desk that sat at the end of the room.
"As it happens," he said, "I can help you."
He took out a napkin and, with his wand in his hand, burned out the three dots of the triangle.
"What's this?" Alice asked in pretend surprise as she was handed it.
"It's a clue," Darius said, sitting next to her on the sofa, "a riddle really. Solve it and you've made the first step to recruitment."
Amelia fist pumped the air; they had been right.
"You're lucky you came to me," Darius continued, sliding closer to Alice, "time is almost up."
"Good," Alice breathed, "I like a deadline."
"Well you've got till midnight tomorrow," Darius warned, "so I'd starting looking through old newspapers if I was you. I'm helping you because I like you, Amelia, I'd like to see you around."
This was too much for Frank.
"I'm gonna kill him," he mumbled, "I'm gonna kill him and then kill myself so I can kill him again in the afterlife."
"Calm down," Gideon said in his no-nonsense voice, "We need him alive."
"One more thing," Darius said, "before we move on to other subjects of conversation. You have to make the Vow."
"Vow?" Alice said, a hint of apprehension in her voice.
"Unbreakable," Darius explained, "Just promising not to tell authorities, that sort of thing. Entirely procedural of course."
"Of course," Alice replied.
She stood up. Amelia swore again. This was not good.
"We've got to get her out," Frank said in a panicked tone.
"Agreed," Amelia said quickly, putting the screen to one side and standing up.
"Wait!" Gideon said, picking up the screen and holding it so everyone could see.
A man had rushed into the room, flinging the door open in a frenzy.
"What the hell?" Darius roared.
"Sorry," the man stuttered, "but there's trouble downstairs. A customer says he's paid, but his girl says he hasn't. Your cash guy confirms it; no money received. Now they're having a real bust up, tables, glasses broken. It's a war zone down there, Boss."
Darius cursed and followed the man out.
"Which girl?" Amelia heard him say.
"Row-" was as far as the man got before the door closed on them. Alice let out a gigantic sigh, as did her husband.
"Get out of there, Alice," he whispered.
As if she could hear him, Alice broke out into a tiptoed run, pushing the door open quietly. With the fight going on, she managed to slip out unseen, leaving the Hangman's Noose and sprinting down the street, heading for Diagon Alley. The team rushed out of the supply closet into the shop, giving Hestia a surprise as they all clattered out. A few minutes later, Alice had burst through the door and gone straight into Franks arms. They stood there together, breathing heavily.
"I thought I was a goner," Alice admitted.
"Our fault," Gideon said, "We should've foreseen something like that."
"It's just bloody good luck that fight started when it did," Fabian exclaimed.
They all agreed, except for Amelia who remained silent.
"Well, we got what we wanted!" Frank exclaimed, in a much better mood now that his beloved had returned alive, "Let's get back to the office and figure out how to nail this bastard."
As they all went to go, Fabian pulled Amelia back.
"What is it?" Amelia asked.
Fabian frowned at her tone.
"You weren't convinced, Bones," he said, "I could see it."
Amelia glanced at the others, who had already left the shop. She watched as they Disapperated and then led Fabian outside.
"That wasn't luck," she said in a harsh whisper, "Didn't you hear the man? "Which girl?" It was Rowan, Fabian. She started the fight. She knew something was up from the moment Alice went into that bar on the first day."
"She saved Alice's life," Fabian said, admiration obvious in his voice.
"At what cost though?" Amelia hissed, "She was in deep water before she met us, but we've basically taken away her life-raft. I'm worried about her, Fabian; if anything happens I won't forgive myself."
"She's not your charge, Amelia," Fabian said, grabbing the witch by the shoulders and looking her square in the eyes, "no more than anyone else. Rowan came into this voluntarily, she made the decision to help us and that is not your fault."
"But what was she volunteering for?" Amelia cried, her voice a little croaky, "She couldn't possibly have known."
"Nobody knows what's going to happen when they deal with Aurors," Fabian said, "That's the downside of being us. But the upside is that we have tools to help when we can. If Rowan is in trouble, she'll send for us; she's a smart girl. Until then, you can't spend everyday worrying about everyone!"
They stood in angry silence for little while, before Fabian took her hand.
"We have to go back," he said, "If you'd rather go home, no one would blame you. It's been a tough year."
Amelia shook her head.
"It's been a tough year for everyone. Let's go."