The Pretender

Chapter 5

Break wished his eye socket would stop aching so he could get more than a few hours of sleep. It would certainly improve his temper and make the pause on the back stairwell to smoke a comforting cigarette not as necessary. Then he might be on time for work too.

Then again, if anyone noticed that they would surely faint away with shock, Xerxes Break on time for something.

He stubbed his cigarette out on the wall and dumped the butt into his pocket. It was time to go to his desk and pretend like he was filling out his paperwork. Who knew how long he was going to get away with coming in on his medical leave and all but twiddling his thumbs. Before long the sympathy for what he had gone through would be gone and he'd be expected to do his job again. That would be a shame; he really didn't feel like doing productive things and a case would take him away from the little project he'd been planning.

Lunettes needed a friend, he had decided. If he had to be partnered with that Nightray than there should be at least be another friendly face in the office. Besides, there was something about Lunettes that niggled at him, something that was just a bit… off. Not in a bad way, or he would be doing more than just passively watching him but all the same, he did bear watching.

In the office there was a flurry of movement, people bustled between the cubicles, gathering into small groups, talking in low voices for a moment and then dispersing. Apparently something had happened. Internally Break winced. Among Aurors that usually meant someone, or several someones, were dead.

He hoped it wasn't someone he knew.

There was a surprise waiting for him at his desk, or, rather, sitting on the edge of his desk. Lunettes glanced up at his approach and gave him a tentative smile. "You're late." he said, but not in an accusing tone.

"I usually am." Break replied easily. "Well, this is a surprise; I thought you were vexed with me."

"I thought about things." Lunettes said. "Overnight, I mean. I overreacted. Sorry." he offered the last bit tentatively. That made Break blink in surprise but Lunettes wasn't done surprising him. He picked up the plastic box next to him and offered to him. "I made too much lunch this morning for Vince and I to eat. Since you took me to tea yesterday I thought I'd pay you back."

He took the box, rather touched. "Thank you." Between the late morning and some nausea brought on by pain he hadn't eaten anything that day. The smell of food was already making his stomach growl.

Without further ado he plopped into his chair, dug a fork out of his desk, and popped the lid off the food. It was something vegetably and chickeny over rice and he had a forkful halfway to his mouth before something in what Lunettes said sunk in. He lowered the forkful back into the box. "You cook for your partner?" he asked, working to make his tone just curious; if that implied what he thought it did…

"Yes." Lunettes said with a shrug. "It makes sense. Vince isn't a very good cook."

"You live with your partner?" Break asked very carefully. He was worried the rage he felt leaked through when Lunettes frowned at him. "I thought you didn't like him much."

"I…" Lunettes paused and shrugged. "The lease on my apartment was almost up and he was looking for a roommate. It just sort of worked out that way."

The thought of Lunettes living with that rat was rather sickening. There was partnership and then there was… this. This was wrong and he didn't like it one bit because it made him think of how Lunettes flinched every time Nightray touched him. He would have told the man that he needed to find a new partner right there and then but he knew he would probably get a similar reaction to the one he had gotten when he'd suggested Nightray pushed him so he held his tongue.

Since it was still in his hand he took a bite of the food Lunettes had made and his eyebrows went up. "This is good."

"Of course it is." Lunettes said easily, he smiled a smile that had a touch of pride in it. "I made it."

"You like cooking?"

"I do. It's… comforting. Like doing paperwork it comforting."

The look Break angled him was skeptical. "I'll have to take your word for that last one."

"That's right, you hate paperwork." Lunettes said. "Are you ever going to finish that report?"

"Nope." Break answered, which was completely honest. He had no intention of ever finishing that report if he could help it.

Lunettes scowled at him and looked like he was going to give him a lecture when the red headed and extremely senior Auror Rufus Barma walked back the desk. "Lunettes, my office." He snapped. "Paperwork."

That made Lunettes hastily slide off the desk. "Leave the box on my desk when you're done with it?"

"Of course." Break said and gave him a lazy wave with him fork as Lunettes hurried off after Barma.

"What do you think you're doing Lunettes?"

"I'm working a new angle, sir."

"By hanging around that Break maverick?"

"Nothing I've done has gotten us what we need. I think this will work. In fact, I'm sure it will get results."

"Be careful Lunettes, you're taking too many risks already."

"It's alright, sir. I have this under control."

After Lunettes left Break chewed his lunch thoughtfully mulling over what he'd just seem. It was true Barma had a reputation for being arrogant but most would have protested being ordered about like Barma had just done to Lunettes. But Lunettes hadn't even complained, though he probably had quite a bit of work to back at his own desk. Why help Barma when he was so damn rude?

He set the now empty box on his desk and settled his chin on his fist to think. If he treated this like a case he'd been given the first logical step was to do research, to see what that that turned up to work with. There were records on every Auror here, where they came from, where they trained, and who they had worked with. It was true they were confidential, but a high ranking Auror would have access. If he couldn't manage to niggle his way into those records he wasn't Xerxes Break.

The route he took to the records room wasn't direct, he talked with Oscar for a bit, got some coffee, drifted around the office looking harmless, and whisked into the records room when no one was looking. He charmed the door locked behind him and went to the filing cabinets that walled the entire room. Tapping one of them at random he said, "Auror personal files."

The spell on the cabinets lit up, if he didn't put in a senior Auror's code in thirty seconds it would shriek his presence to the entire office. With a malicious smile he spoke in Barma's code. He wouldn't know it but Barma was sometimes careless about leaving the records room door open when he went to find files and he'd overheard it a year or so ago.

When he spoke the words the alarm spell faded and one of the drawers popped open. He rifled through it until he found the folder that had Lunettes' name on it and took it out. Skimming the file he found that Lunettes had been telling the truth, this said that he had done his training in Ireland. But there was something about this file that was bothering him, even though he couldn't put his finger on it. He tapped the cabinets again. "I want transfer papers, any that show a transfer from the Irish Ministry to this one."

A different drawer opened and two scrolls floated out, each labeled with a name. Catching both Break threw the other back into the drawer after seeing it didn't have the right name on it. Looking at the label on the other one he realized what it was that had bothered him. Lunettes' name was spelled Lunetes on both.

He frowned. Official documents were checked and rechecked for errors, and it was quite likely that Lunettes had done these himself, being as he did so much of the office's paperwork. Why would he spell his own name wrong not only once but twice?

Maybe he was going to have to dig even deeper to turn up the answer. Quietly he replaced the files and slipped back out of the records room.

So who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

(The Pretender)

TBC