Chapter Nine: I Heard a Stranger Call My Name
The good news? Lance was alive or at least he had been when he was pulled from the Impala by the mystery witch.
The bad news? They had no idea who the witch was or where she'd taken the teenager afterwards.
The even worse news? Glynnis was hardly the type to inspire much confidence, so Roy and Giles were left spinning their wheels as they tried to solve a missing persons case in the middle of a manslaughter investigation.
Giles tracked down all the wizards known to live in that particular area and they went down the list, using what few details Glynnis had been able to give them to mark names off the list. In the end, they were left with three names, which they'd have to investigate themselves, since no one except them believed that Lance was still alive. Even so, the two men were determined to get it done and find the young man, dead or alive.
Then Sergeant Gamboli called the pair into his office, expression grave. "Sir?" Roy questioned, feeling uneasy with his Sarge's serious mien.
"We just got a tip in that an airliner leaving for Britain today is going to be carrying a load of smuggled weapons." The Sergeant pinned his two rather oddball cops with a stern look. "I need you two to supervise the uniforms as they check every last millimeter of that aircraft."
Roy's confusion was clear. "If it's going overseas, isn't that plane under International Jurisdiction?"
A nod of agreement. "Very good, Detective Lane," Gamboli acknowledged. "Request comes from our counterparts at the Customs Office…they aren't equipped to check the entire airplane before the bigwigs start throwing tantrums over the plane getting delayed. We're to provide extra manpower and fresh sets of eyes…that'll be you two."
Neither man was altogether pleased with the assignment, particularly when they were trying to find a missing sixteen-year-old, but they couldn't exactly say that, so both men acknowledged their orders and headed out to their desks.
"Can one of us handle this?" Giles asked softly, his implication clear. If one of them could handle the aircraft, the other could keep looking for Lance.
Roy sighed, shaking his head. "Sergeant Gamboli would kill both of us; I'm still on thin ice after Watson, even with my brother's and your division's help afterwards." Regret shone. "Sorry partner, but we're stuck."
Giles' shoulders slumped, but he nodded. "Understood," he murmured.
Roy was even more annoyed when it turned out that the Federal Customs Department had only wanted uniforms and two Guns 'n' Gangs sized distractions for the delayed passengers. He and Giles ended up on placation duty…keeping the increasingly anxious and angry passengers calm. The irritation level of the room that the Customs Department had offered up for the passengers to use rose rapidly, leaving Roy wishing he could wash his hands of the entire affair and walk away, but his Sarge would skin him alive if he did that.
A businessman accosted Roy as he leaned against the wall, idly calculating how much longer this was going to take as well as the odds of finding a kid no one else believed was alive. "Is this going to be much longer?" the businessman demanded sharply. "I have an important meeting in London that I'm going to be late for."
Roy arched a brow at the angry man. "Sir, I'm not at liberty to say how much longer it will take to finish checking your aircraft."
The businessman harrumphed. "Well, when can I contact my office? I need to let them know I'm going to be late."
"I can relay your request, sir, but the Customs Department is very busy checking the aircraft at the moment. No communication devices can be used in this area, but once the aircraft is fully checked out and ready to go, I'm sure you'll have an opportunity to contact whomever you need to." Roy gave the businessman his best vapid, 'I'm just doing my job' smile.
The unhappy man stalked away and Roy bit back a snicker at a few of the words drifting back to him. Well, if he had to be annoyed and inconvenienced, he might as well spread the joy, such as it was. With an internal sigh, Roy decided to make a quick roam of the crowd, see if there were any obvious troublemakers who were getting twitchy over the risk to their 'product'.
Lance frowned, unhappy that Mummy woman was insisting on carrying him like a baby. The big machines with wings made him laugh inside, how could they fly, when they couldn't twist and flitter through the air like he could? Maybe the big round things under the wings made them fly? They did make a really loud sound, one that he could hear, even from inside. That would be good if those round things could make the stiff, straight wings fly so everyone could fly; it was fun to fly, but not as fun as baby sister and Mommy and Daddy.
Mummy woman's smile was fake, very fake – he could tell, but it seemed no one else could; they'd been permitted through all the places where there were Muggle Aurors…couldn't they see that he didn't belong with mean Mummy woman?
Mummy woman would show them pieces of blank paper, with a soft whisper of magic behind her voice and they would nod, as if she'd shown them something real and wave Mummy woman through. Since Mummy woman never let him down, he was taken through too. He would have screamed, but Mummy woman had threatened to make him drink the icky stuff that made him itch and his magic flop.
Lance was beginning to think he'd have to take the chance and scream anyway, when a voice came out of the ceiling and made all the people go to a small room. He tried to squirm away once Mummy woman stopped, but she held him even tighter, her eyes afraid. He wasn't afraid, he knew the Lion was helping him…now if only she would put him down!
"Down?" he asked, trying to be nice. If she thought he was behaving, maybe she would let him down?
"No, baby," she whispered. "There's so many people here, Daniel. I don't want to lose you, my angel."
"Down?" he asked again, pretending he hadn't heard her. "Want to walk," he pleaded.
"Soon, Daniel," she promised, "Soon, we'll be home and you can walk all you want to, Mummy promises."
"Want to walk now," he retorted, mimicking his baby sister at her most insistent. If he could only get down, he could find her, he just knew it.
"Shhh, Daniel, shhh," she hushed him. "Be patient love."
Then his magic surged and he turned in Mummy woman's arms to see someone his magic recognized. Lance frowned; it wasn't Daddy, so how did his magic know the tall man? A whisper reached his ears, giving him the man's name. And he knew, without his magic saying anything else, that it was time to be as loud as he could be. It was his turn to reach out; the Lion had set everything else in place, everything but him.
So the little boy gathered up all the air he could and yelled, as loudly as possible, "Roy!"
The yell had Roy jerking around in a instant, his eyes landing on the woman and the squirming, struggling boy in her arms. "Roy!" the boy yelled again, his struggles turning wild as the woman tried to cover his mouth.
The detective strode over, instincts jangling at the fear in the woman's eyes as he approached. "Is something wrong here?" he inquired, outwardly polite; inwardly, he weighed the woman's expression and the way she was now holding the child in her arms. She was using her size and leverage to squeeze the boy so tight he couldn't yell anymore and couldn't squirm without risking being half strangled.
"I'm dreadfully sorry, officer," the woman simpered, "Daniel isn't usually so unruly. Nothing's wrong, I promise." She batted her eyes a little, but Roy ignored the attempt to flirt.
Turning his attention to the child, Roy bit back a gasp at the brilliant sapphire eyes that gazed back; the boy looked like a miniature version of Lance. "So what's your name, sport?" he asked, winking as he added, "Seeing as you already know my name."
"This is Daniel," the woman replied for the boy, one hand covering the child's mouth before he could respond. Gray and blue eyes narrowed at this; the boy very unhappy and Roy becoming even more suspicious. "I'll make sure Daniel knows not to bother you again, sir," the woman promised, flashing a glare at the boy. "I do believe it's about time for your medicine, isn't it, Daniel?"
Roy put the 'medicine' issue aside for the moment, as he shifted to the woman and snapped, "I believe I asked your son what his name is, not you, and he can't answer me with a hand over his mouth. Now, I'd like an answer…from him." The Guns 'n' Gangs officer crossed his arms, giving the woman a warning glare, one that was echoed by the nearby passengers, who were also getting more than a bit suspicious over the woman's behavior towards her son.
With a great show of reluctance, the woman pulled her hand away from the boy's mouth. "Now, go on Daniel," she coached sweetly, "Tell the nice officer your name and make Mummy proud of you." Her voice dropped into what Roy labeled 'threat' as she finished.
The boy hissed at her, so low that only Roy and the woman heard him. Then he looked at Roy. "My name Lance," he introduced himself. "Not Daniel." He paused to stick his tongue out at the furious, paling woman. "I have baby sister, but she not here and Mummy woman keeps saying I don't have baby sister and I want to go home now, Roy."
Roy's hand dropped to his sidearm, his eyes going so hard that even his brother would have taken a step back at the look in them. "You need to put the boy down now, ma'am," he ordered, voice cold. Around the woman, the other passengers were beginning to look outraged, fully on Roy's side in this conflict.
He saw it out of the corner of his eye, the tip of her wand, right before she murmured, "Confundo (4)." Roy had a sense of the spell radiating outwards, right before it hit him. He felt a surge of something and shuddered as it hit. "I'm sure that's not necessary, officer," the woman remarked, her voice level and so reasonable that Roy couldn't help but agree with her and he took his hand from his sidearm; the passengers around them were nodding along with the woman…nothing wrong here, nothing to be concerned over…just a child and his mother…he should just walk away…forget what he'd seen…
Then a flash of violet pulsed from a bracelet that Alanna Calvin had given him for his birthday – an engraved runic bracelet that she'd made herself, carved as a both a gift and as her final project for her Ancient Runes class. A protection bracelet, designed to be used by a techie, in the tech world…only the bracelet's owner could see its magic work, could see the warning light, and feel the subtle vibration of the bracelet turning back any attacking magic.
Roy shook his head, feeling the fuzziness and confusion fade as rage took over at the hopeless despair in the boy's…in Lance's eyes. He forced himself to keep his hand off his sidearm; pulling it here and now would be counterproductive, but he did drop his left hand down to his magical phone to trigger an alert. Then, much as he hated it, he stepped away from the pair, though his eyes stayed on them, narrow and angry.
The woman beamed after him, believing her spell had worked, and pulled a bottle from her carry-on bag. "Now, Daniel," she scolded the boy, "That was a very naughty thing you did, very naughty indeed and Mummy will have to punish you for that." Roy stiffened, praying that Giles would show up fast or he'd have to do this alone, regardless of the fact that she had magic and he didn't. "Mummy warned you, Daniel, and you didn't listen, did you?"
"No," Lance pleaded, trying to squirm away again. "Just want to go home…lemme go."
"Roy?" Giles, right at his back…thank God.
Without taking his eyes off the woman and the boy, Roy growled, "The kid in her arms, she called him one name and he used a different one; when I told her to put him down, she used magic on me and all the other passengers." Onasi hissed angrily. "Giles…he said his name was Lance and he looks like Lance…well, sort of."
"Like Lance would have looked at that age," his partner muttered back, his own attention on the woman, his shoulders bunching as he tensed for action. Roy nodded. "Could be a De-Aging Potion then, but what's she trying to do now?"
"Don't know, but he's fighting like the dickens to get away," the detective observed. "See how no one else is even looking?"
"Yeah, I do," Giles acknowledged. "Stay here, Roy; that bracelet of yours isn't meant to handle more than one spell at a time."
So saying, Giles moved around his partner and descended on the woman, his eyes flashing in barely contained rage; rage that Roy shared. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me," he ordered, not bothering to hide his opinion: contempt and disgust for her and her actions. When the woman made to argue, Giles growled, his voice dropping down an octave in his anger. "Now."
The other passengers looked on disapprovingly, but none of them was about to interfere with the angry cop in their midst…they might miss their flight if they did that. So it was that the woman and her 'son' were taken into custody without so much as a peep from the passengers watching.
As soon as all four were in the interview room, the woman screeched, "You have no right to do this to me; don't you know who I am?"
"Do I look like I care?" Giles demanded roughly. "Especially after you used magic on my partner. Now put the boy down, before I do it for you."
Roy smirked from his own position, light gray eyes dancing with glee at the woman's expression. "Nice try, by the way," he drawled. "It's just too bad for you that it didn't work."
Her expression turned astonished. "A Muggle resisted my spell?" she demanded, right before she blanched as her own words registered. Attacking Muggles with magic was illegal, after all. Wide, fearful eyes swept to a seething Giles, then she drew herself up haughtily. "I am Helen Smith of the House of Smith; you have no right to hold me and even less right to demand that I release my son into you and your Muggle's care." A sneer appeared on her face as she spoke and her right hand twitched, just a little. In her arms, the boy tried to struggle, but she was still holding him too tightly for him to fight her much.
Rage shone in Giles' eyes. "I don't care who you are or who you claim this boy is…put him down now."
But as he reached down for his wand, her right hand flicked and her wand dropped into it, aiming almost at once at Giles. "Stay back," she screeched, "You cannot have my son!"
"Lemme go!" Lance yelled, twisting and fighting now that Smith was being forced to hold onto him with just one arm. "Want to go home! Want baby sister!" Gold flared around the child, leaving the two men in absolutely no doubt as to who he was. "Wrong! World is wrong, make it right!"
But Giles, now at wand-point, could do nothing to help. Roy, similarly, couldn't pull his gun with Lance in the way. "He's not your son," Roy spat, trying to get Smith to move the wand off Giles and onto him. "And you have no right to keep him away from his family." If he could get her to take her wand off Giles for just one second…
Smith sneered. "They let him go out in that Muggle deathtrap; they lost their right to my son. I won't let you take my son from me again…I won't let your kind rip my family apart again." Her eyes were wild, but she kept her wand on Giles.
Gold intensified, starting to glow brightly enough that Roy squinted, wondering what Lance was up to. "No hurt Roy and Giles!" the boy yelled, gaining wide eyes from both men. "Lemme go! I want to go home! Want world to be right again!"
"Hush, Daniel; Mummy will protect you, darling. Mummy won't let the Muggles and Aurors hurt you." Smith's wand firmed, a spell glowing at its tip and Roy braced himself, wondering how the heck he was going to save the kid once Giles was down.
"Ma'am, put the wand down now," Giles ordered, somehow calm despite his situation.
"No hurt my family!" Lance howled, glowing even brighter as his magic flared, very close to being totally out of control. He fought, but still couldn't get free. "No let you! No make world wronger!"
Roy saw the instant the woman finally tipped over the side into insanity; her wild eyes took on a crazed glint and the wand's glow turned a vivid blue. "No, no, no," she screeched, looking desperate and trapped. "Redu…"
The shout of denial building up was cut off as gold blazed, roaring like a lion, and Lance blurred. A gryphon cub yowled challenge and slashed at the restraining arm around his torso, breaking Smith's concentration. She yelped and let go, but the cub wasn't satisfied with that. Little wings bore the small animal aloft and he swiped at her wand arm, drawing blood and making her drop her wand. Giles dove at the woman, wrestling her down and getting her hands behind her back as the gryphon cub flew awkwardly to Roy, landing on his shoulders and purring as he curled up on the back of the detective's neck, talons hooking into his jacket.
Roy would have liked to focus on the kid, but he had to back his partner up and fast; his sidearm cleared its holster and Lane moved up beside his partner, aiming his weapon at the witch as Onasi yanked first one arm, then the other behind Smith's back. She howled insults, struggling to get free as Giles got the cuffs on.
"No, no, no!" she wailed, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Daniel, come back to Mummy…Mummy will keep you safe, Mummy will protect you."
A scornful squerr-rrrr was her only reply from the gryphon cub on Roy's neck; a feathered tail lashed against the side of his head as the gryphon growled. The detective bit out his own reply. "He's not your son, lady, and his name's not Daniel." Of his partner, he asked, "You got her?"
"Yeah," Giles confirmed, his eyes angry. "I got her. At this point, she's on the hook for kidnapping and attempting to murder an Auror…and that's just for starters. Get the kid out of here, Roy, and call Parker."
"You need backup," Roy protested, though he holstered his sidearm again, feeling useless…his partner had almost been murdered and he hadn't been able to do anything.
Giles looked up at the other man and the gryphon cub perched on his shoulders and neck; the gryphon was beginning to groom himself, looking pleased with the turn of events. "Roy, she's cuffed, I'm okay, and we need Parker here ASAP." When Roy looked about to protest, Giles shook his head firmly. "Roy…the memorial service is tomorrow…they've suffered long enough…now: Go. Call. Parker."
"Give him back!" Smith screeched, her eyes feral and desperate. "You can't take my son away again, you can't. He's mine, he's my son; those Muggles have no right to him, they can't have him, I won't let you!"
She tried to lurch up, but Giles yanked her down again. "He's not yours," the Auror snapped angrily. "He's not your son…he never was and he has a family." He looked back up at his partner. "Roy, for the love of Merlin, get him out of here and go call Parker."
Roy bit his lip, but didn't protest any further. Instead, he headed out of the room and, once outside, gingerly, carefully, worked the cub's talons free from his jacket and coaxed the little animal off his neck and into his arms. The gryphon nestled into his grip, churr-ing contentedly as he shifted to be against the detective's chest, his little head right above the lean man's heart.
"Easy, little guy," Roy murmured. "I got ya…and you're going home, I promise."
Sapphire eagle eyes looked upwards, a rumbling, cat-like purr making its way out of the tiny creature.
Roy blew out his breath, swallowing hard at the oh-so-young gaze of the baby gryphon. "Your uncle's gonna flip," he muttered, right before he went to call his brother.
[4] Latin for 'to confuse'
