Chapter 4

After the meeting with Sir Albert, SGT Jamieson led David to a series of meetings that amounted to his orientation. They went to the next floor down and the first stop was an office with a name plate that read "J Smith", but underneath the name plate was a piece of masking tape with the number 008 written on it with a marking pen. Behind the door sat a very average looking man, in shirt and tie with short brown hair, sitting behind a desk that was best described as organised confusion, multiple stacks of folders, but stacked neatly, an assorted jar of pens and markers and a computer set up on the right-hand side of the desk.

"Here you are sir, this is Mr Smith, our resident intel guru." SGT Jamieson grinned at Smith as he spoke. "He will guide you through the ins and outs of the place. I will be back in a couple of hours." With that, Jamieson left David at the door and returned to the lift at the end of the corridor.

"Come in and take a seat Captain." Smith gestured to the seat on the opposite side of the desk as he turned to the stack of folders and plucked off the top one. Once David was seated, Smith handed him the folder. David opened it up and found a zip lock bag stapled to the inside of the folder, in it was what looked like a set of house keys and a set of car keys.

"You'll need to sign for those, It's the keys to your accommodations while you are with us and a car you can use to commute around London."

David was surprised to say the least. This sort of thing usually took a week to get sorted, he only accepted Sir Albert's offer 10 minutes ago. Smith seemed to read his mind.

"We did our homework on you Captain," he smiled "If we didn't think you would take the job, well you wouldn't be here."

"David looked up at Smith. "MI-5?"

"MI-6."

"That explains the 008 on your door." David said with a grin.

Smith just shook his head "After 6 months of ripping those tapes off, I gave up and accepted my fate."

David simply smiled and nodded, Smith smiled for a split second, but then the smile faded away and he leaned across his desk.

"We have a bit to get through today, Captain, so I'll just dive straight in. I do not need to explain to you the importance of security…"

David couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "I'm sorry sir, but honestly, who would believe me?"

Smith sat back and considered David for a moment, "You'd be surprised Captain. You see, while it is true that not even the most paranoid of conspiracy theorists could come up with something like MoDAM on their best day, that's not to say you may not inadvertently spill the beans to some stranger that happens to be a wizard."

David sat back and blinked. He honestly hadn't thought about that. But he didn't chide himself too much, this is a brand-new world he had just jumped into, and he recognised he had a lot to learn.

Smith, for his part, just leaned forward again and explained.

"Captain, what you need to understand is that at the moment, we are in another cold war, only this time "the enemy" is in our own back yard and they look and sound no different to you or me."

"It's not like World War 2, when the enemy wears a different uniform, or speaks a different language. And it's not like Northern Ireland where the people you are chasing speak with a distinct accent."

David shot Smith an almost accusatory look. "Are we to look at wizards like terrorists?"

"Yes and No." Smith explained. "This Rogue group, these Death Eaters, Sir Albert mentioned to you certainly fit the bill. They strike soft targets, fear and intimidation were their primary weapons and they hid in plain sight."

"The rest of the witching and wizarding community are decent enough for the most part, though they tend to keep to their own and rarely mix with us mere mortals."

David grimaced, "Us muggles you mean." The scorn in David's voice was unmissable.

Smith raised his eyebrows and agreed with David non-verbally.

"Charming word, isn't it? Seems the concept of political correctness hasn't reached the wizarding world yet."

David was starting to see a pattern emerging the more people he spoke to. While if you asked anyone within these walls why they were here, they would provide an answer that included words like 'duty' or 'adventure' or even 'fun'. But simmering underneath, David sensed there was a desire to put these witches and wizards in their place as it were. Not unlike the desire one has to teach a school bully humility or watch an especially arrogant member of the House of Lords fall from grace.

"Getting back to the topic at hand," Smith went on, "Witches and Wizards that spend most of their time with their own, tend to have a fairly eclectic dress sense that actually makes them easy to spot. When you ever see someone dressed like a hippie or a throw back to the Victorian age, chances are you are looking at a witch or a wizard."

David nodded, "Noted, is that true for all of them?"

"No, and here is where it gets tricky. Certain witches and wizards are born to non-magical parents."

"They would be the ones they call Mud-Bloods?" David interjected.

"Exactly. Well, they are our biggest threat. Most witches and wizards that have spent their lives in their own world are like a fish out of water when they are amongst us. Easy to spot, but the ones born in our world can move between the two, blend in. Most are no threat, but if you were to say anything about MoDAM to them, they more than anyone else, would recognise what we are and the potential threat to the wizarding world we represent."

David sat back to mull over the implications of what he just heard. Security and secrecy came with the uniform, but this was next level. David was grateful that Smith took the time to put it into context.

"Is there anything else?" David asked.

Smith shook his head. "No, at least nothing that isn't in the briefing packet I just handed you. Just wanted you to be clear that despite how ludicrous this might all sound to the average bloke, it's really anything but. If the Ministry of Magic ever cottoned on to this place, they would try everything from political pressure to direct action to shut us down."

David nodded in silence. Just quietly though, he began to get a sense of the gravity of his new career path. "Direct Action?" he wondered, what would that look like? Would they use lethal force? It felt to David that he had just been recruited into a clandestine war that was going on under his nose.

It was at this point that Smith rose from his seat, signalling the end of the meeting. David followed him out the door and into another office where David was asked to fill out all the paperwork that comes hand in hand with Government employment.

New ID; sign and date. That apartment and car; sign and date. Non-disclosure agreements, read, sign and date, it seemed endless. Half an hour later with writer's cramp and what felt like the start of a migraine, David was sitting on a bench waiting for Jamieson to return and lead him to his fate.

CHAPTER 5.

As David sat waiting for Jamieson, he took the time to peruse the briefing packet that Smith had handed to him. He was glad of the solitude, it gave him time to wrap his head around this new situation. He skimmed through the documents, jotting little notes in the margins as he went.

It appears that he would be assigned to MoDAM's R&D division, no surprise there, under the direction of a Professor Burgess, previously of Oxford. David had heard of Burgess, something of a Physics savant, which made sense and partly at least explained why the needed someone like David, an Engineer with expertise in EMP. David jotted down in the margin; 'Magic = Energy? Therefore: frequency?' Ideas and plans and 'What abouts?' starting to churn in his mind.

Next, David turned to a document outlining a timeline of MoDAM's activities since it's formation. Not much had happened in the first couple of years as they had no idea where to start. Seems all they had to go on was what meagre information the Ministry of Magic was willing to share and conjecture. Then Edward Longbottom joined in 1984 and things leaped ahead. They learned about Diagon Alley, a shopping district in the city itself. Seems MI-6 has sent several teams in there over the years on fact finding missions.

David read about the wizarding school in Scotland and the train that leaves from London every year loaded with students from all over the UK. David read about the existence of Dragons, Unicorns, Centaurs, Trolls, Faeries and… "Gaaaaaahhhhh!" David slammed the report shut just as Jamieson stepped off the elevator.

Jamieson just grinned at him like the Cheshire cat. "I'm still reading through my packet sir and I've been here 12 months if it makes you feel any better. My advice sir, look it up if you need to know something but don't study it like you are going to be examined on it. Honestly, most of that stuff will just do your head in."

"Good advice Sergeant." David stood up, "Where next on this Magical Mystery Tour?"

"I do like a Rupert with a sense of humour, you are going to need it sir. I am here to take you down to where you will be working in R&D."

David went with Jamieson back into the elevator and they descended to the bottom floor, Basement level 6. This time, instead of offices and cubicles, David found himself standing in a cavernous space that was sectioned into different areas. To his left was the research area of the R&D space, computers and scientific equipment galore, all serviced by people in either civilian or military clothing. On the right, was more of a training ground. Here the occupants were mainly military and David guessed, correctly as it turned out, were the rest of the SAS troopers. There was the usual things you would find, a short obstacle course, an armoury cage up against the far wall, next to an ordinance cage filled with the usual mix of equipment found in a Quartermaster's store. The thing that stood out was on the opposite side of the space were three cricket cages with what looked like baseball pitching machines set up on one end.

It was at this point that two men approached David and Jamieson. One Military, one civilian. Jamieson made the introductions.

"Captain David Manteit, this is Captain Lee Bainbridge, SAS and Professor Thomas Burgess, who you will be working with sir."

They shook hands all round and walked to the centre of the space.

"How are you coping David?" Burgess began.

David simply exhaled and relaxed his posture slightly. He couldn't explain it but he felt comfortable in this space, surrounded as he was by science and soldiers.

"It's a lot to take in Professor…"
"Indeed," Burgess smiled, "But please call me Tom, we find the work goes smoother if we for-go the formalities."

David smiled and bowed his head, finding himself relaxing even more. David then turned to Lee.

"So you boys are the sharp end?"

"Eventually, when we figure out how we can be effective against witches and wizards."

David gave him a quizzical look. "Not to be blunt, but they're not bulletproof are they?"

Lee offered David a seat at a round table and they all took their seats.

"Not in the traditional sense. Seems these buggers can simply either turn themselves into smoke or disappear all together, bullets basically pass through them."

Burgess took up the conversation. "You see David, our research here is centred around two goals. First is to find a means to protect us from magical spells and the like long enough to allow us to achieve the second goal."

David nodded his head and smiled "If I may, would that be to nullify magic altogether, so they can't use it at all?"

Jamieson grinned. "Shut their magic down to level the playing field."

Lee finished the thought. "Without their magic, they are no different to anyone else, which means we can deal with them more… traditionally."

If David had any lingering doubts about whether or not he would fit in here or not find it a challenge, they were now completely dispelled. Now, he was keen to get cracking.

"So can I ask where you are at now?"

In response, Burgess stood up and fetched a trolley, on top of which stood a TV and VHS player. He selected a tape and inserted it into the video machine before sitting back down and pressing 'Play' on the remote. The screen of the TV flickered to life and showed Edward standing in the middle of the training area, surrounded by what looked like department store mannequins. Then, seemingly without warning, David watched Edward produce his wand who then obliterated the mannequins around him. The whole show took mere seconds, but it was an effective demonstration of what MoDAM was up against.

Burgess then turned to David. "So tell me David, what did you see?"

David asked to watch the video again. When it finished, he turned to the group.

"It looks like his wand is producing packets of visible energy, but it's very powerful if they can shatter those mannequins."

"That spell is only supposed to knock you off your feet, there are more powerful ones than what Edward just did." Lee stated gravely.

David took this piece of information in, "But, we can see them, which suggests that you can simply duck them? Like dodging a cricket ball."

It was then David understood the baseball pitching machines at the other end of the training space. The SAS troopers were using them as an allegory for magical blasts as part of their training."

"Yes, but dodging and ducking doesn't solve our problem and you have to be damned quick." Jamieson said, "Not to mention, won't work for long against multiple attackers."

"Hence the need for your men to be able to remain standing and conscious after getting hit with one." David said while looking at Lee and Jamieson, who simply nodded.

David then turned to Burgess. "Have you tried to measure these "spells" in any way?"

Burgess smiled at David. "Indeed, as you have stated, they are packets of energy, each seem to operate at different electro-magnetic frequencies."

David then locked eyes with Burgess. "The double-slit experiment?"

Burgess seemed to beam with delight. "We were thinking the same thing, hence EMP…"
"Hence why I am here."

For their part, Lee and Jamieson looked like a pair of 7th graders that just stumbled into a University Physics lecture. Lee spoke up, "Chaps, not all of us speak boffin."

David turned to the SAS troopers "It's quantum physics." The two troopers groaned, but David pressed on. "Basically we are still learning about this, but energy exists as both particles and energy. Energy travels at different frequencies, like infra-red, microwaves, UV and so on."

Lee and Jamieson simply nodded, David for his part wondered if they were really following or just being polite. He pressed on, trying a different approach.

"You know how your comms can travel at different frequencies, VHF, UHF and so on? And you both know how comms can be jammed?"

Realization began to dawn on them.

"So if you mess up the frequency of the magic, you jam it?" Jamieson exclaimed.

David felt the satisfaction a teacher must feel when a student finally grasped a concept.

"Exactly!"

Burgess then stood up. "David my boy, I think you will fit in here perfectly, ready to get to work?"

Chapter 6.

May 1996, 4 months later.

David often wondered why MoDAM had provided him with an apartment, it felt like he was hardly there. More than once over the last few months he had spent days on end on the 6th Basement floor of Westminster working on one project or another. Days of testing and tweaking. Days of refinement and recalculating.

But after all that work, they were on the verge of the final achievement of both their goals.

The R&D facility was a flurry of activity. The Engineers and Scientists were in the process of packing essential equipment into boxes for transport. The SAS, now joined by a contingent from the SBS, doubling their number, were busy either packing their own equipment or training with the new devices that they were about to test.

Burgess had emailed the final report to Sir Albert a week ago. It contained all their in lab test results along with the request to take the equipment out to the field for a final shake down. Permission was not slow in coming and everyone was both nervous and excited about taking this next crucial step.

David and Burgess were busy going over the final check-list before sending out their gear when the phone rang. It was Lee that picked it up.

"Bainbridge. Yes sir. Yes sir. Of course Sir Albert, we will be there shortly."

Bainbridge put the phone back on it's cradle and looked up. "Sergeant Jamieson, the boss wants us and Corporal Tanner in his office." The two NCO's looked at each other and shrugged before following their officer to the elevator. Not 15 minutes later, the phone buzzed again, this time David answered.

"Manteit?"

"David?" It was Hannah, Sir Albert's assistant "Sir Albert wants you and Professor Burgess in his office right away."

"On our way." David said looking at Burgess and signalling that it was the two of them being summoned.

"What's going on?" Burgess asked as they walked to the elevator. "First the SAS, now us?"

"Maybe Sir Albert wants to toast to a successful test?" David quipped.

"Lord knows I could do with a snort of brandy right now but I doubt it."

David and Burgess remained silent as they rode the elevator up to Sir Albert's office. When they stepped into the corridor, they could see Bainbridge, Tanner and Jamieson gathered around one of the crates of test equipment that had already left the R&D floor. Hannah stood at the door, waiting to usher David and Burgess on.

"What's going on Hann?" David asked as they approached.

"There's been a development." She said as she opened the door and showed them into Sir Albert's office.

As Hannah closed the door behind them, the Physicist and the Engineer stopped dead in their tracks. Sir Albert sat perched on the edge of his desk, with him was Edward Longbottom and another man. The stranger was dressed in a long grey cloak with a colourful trim. He wore a small cap on his head, but his most striking feature was his long grey beard. He stood serenely with his hands clasped in front of him. He turned to face David and Burgess and smiled the most disarming smile in attempt to put the two men at ease.

It didn't work.

Sir Albert looked up. "Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Albus Dumbledore."