And So It Begins

Lee had arrived before any of the others. The estate was mammoth. The weather was bitterly cold, and the high altitude made the winter air seem even thinner.  There was more than enough room here to hold many survival camps without any of them seeing each other.

He was in the main house yet this morning.  He had no hurry to rush out into the bitter cold.  He sat in the dining hall of the massive large log mansion with its décor of southwest American art and antiques, choosing to linger over his coffee after allowing himself a very hearty American cowboy style breakfast.  He never had any complaints about the food here or the accommodations.  He doubted that would change even in the inhumane wintery conditions that were so common to the wilderness mountain location of the estate.

The main house had grown and morphed in the last few years into what was closer now to a large, luxury hotel lodge.  The estate was designed to be entirely self sustaining, and was hidden from all but the highest levels of security protections. In addition, there were stables, barns, guest cottages, an office building with a commissary for guests to get all manner of things they might need, fields and crops, a greenhouse, a spa with a well equipped infirmary and potions lab, a heating system, and a water supply system. Those who lived and worked here could do so indefinitely and never need to leave the estate.

He had dressed warmly so that he was ready for this.  He had layers of thermal clothing, heavy hiking books, and his coat and gloves were rated for subzero conditions.  Those invited to participate in the training exercise were allowed to dress for the weather and to bring their wand. They were permitted only one magical item--if they could justify that it would normally be on their person on a regular basis.  He had standard issue Swiss Army knives for each of them.   But that was all.  

This was geared to test them to their limits of their stamina, their physical condition, and their ingenuity.  It was geared to see if they could, in the bleakest of conditions, survive.

He figured they would be arriving any time now.

Michael had dared to sleep in this morning. He and the ones who came with him had arrived late last night. They'd had a late steak dinner--there was nothing like an American steak, in Michael's opinion. Then they'd had several glasses of Firewhiskey in front of the mammoth fireplace, watching the snowstorm that had come last night, dumping several more inches on the ground.  

In fact, most of them had had a wee bit too much firewhiskey, and that's why they'd slept it.  It had felt a bit like a splurge.  Someone had called it a last supper, and that had propelled yet another bottle to be opened.

But Michael was up now.  Sober, showered, dressed for cold that would surely feel like Antarctic temperatures.  He had had breakfast and tea sent up to his room while he dressed.  

He went across the hall to and knocked on the other room door.  It opened silently, magically.  He had wanted to be sure that those coming with him were up as well.  

"You ready for this?"  Michael asked. The man in the room was dressed in clothing for extreme cold.  He was ready.  Michael knew this was not something his friend wanted to do.  It was unavoidable, though.  "Alright," Michael said. "I'll leave you alone."

He went downstairs, poured himself a proper cup of Earl Grey and took a seat with Lee Shepherd.

"Hell, steak for breakfast? I should have had what you had," Michael laughed.

"When in America, Tremaine,..." Lee grinned, letting his voice trail off.

Brian had been up early, actually. He had gone to the gym and worked out. He wanted to be loosened up and ready for the day's events. He had returned to his room, had a high protein breakfast, and had showered, shaved and dressed.

He had some concerns about the guests that were coming. He wasn't sure if they were ready or able to stand up to the physical challenges they were about to face. As the trainer for the officers that were coming, he knew their limitations. They hadn't been pushed to this extreme. Nor had they been faced with working with each other or with strangers--members of the community who brought valuable knowledge to the proverbial table. He felt they would all deal well with the magical tasks, but the other tests? He just wasn't so confident.

He closed the door on his room and went downstairs and found Lee and Michael.

"They'll do fine," Lee said, seeing Brian's concern as being a bit transparent to him. "Have some coffee. She's converted you to French Roast, hasn't she?"

"I'm afraid so," Brian said, bringing a cup of coffee to the table and joining them. "I drink it more than tea now. Sad, isn't it?"

Angus was normally the first up in the Quinn household, but today, he had awakened, looked out at the deepening snows on the estate and groaned. He had pulled up the covers and allowed himself to doze awhile longer in warmth while he had the chance.

When he finally got up, he had room service deliver a healthy breakfast. It seemed like an appropriate penance for the firewhiskey last night. He had spoiled himself with breakfast in bed.

This felt like luxury. Back in England, he'd have been up at 4, making breakfast for the 30 or so people who lived at the Quinn estate, between family and staff. Not having to cook at all was decadence.

He finally got up, got ready, and went downstairs to join the others.

Marcus ported in and found himself standing on the wide front porch of the log lodge. He shivered and looked around him, adjusting the duffle on his shoulder.

"Lord," he sighed. "Looks like Russia.  Winter training.  I'd have chosen Montecarlo."  He opened the door of the lodge and went inside, stamping the snow off his feet. At least, for now, there was heat in her.  He'd agreed to be a guest to this training why again?

He took a moment to get his bearings and saw some of the others gathering over tea and coffee in the dining hall.  He was tempted to join them but that wasn't where his task was to start.

Lee Shepherd caught his eye, noticing Belby had arrived.  Lee nodded slightly at him, and Belby turned immediately to work, going upstairs.

Luke had only gone to this winter training camp to get to know his department. He wanted to learn more about who are his co-workers, who is friend or foe. He had a lot to learn. He was new to job but not new to the job. He had been working as law enforcement for years. He supposed it would be a good way to earn respect. He knew not many people would have heard about his career in Australia. Which is partially good, he wasn’t known for fallowing the rules or being kind to the captives. He still got his job done and at the end of the day got what he needed to finish the job.
The first thing he noticed was the cold. He wasn’t used to cold air. He, of course, had been all over the world chasing after people but not very often. They only did that to him when they had been short staffed. He noticed things more about temperature and air pressure. He had noticed everything about the climate and weather before he noticed more about the materialistic surroundings.
The estate is huge. It was older then what he was used to. In Australia he was used to modern estates or mid-century homes not really estates that are more than fifty years old. Since he had moved to England he had realized what old homes really were. His kids had been afraid to go in the new house when they first moved in afraid they would break something. This house made him feel that way.
He had a feeling he was already running late. His life was hectic at the moment. He had his youngest son was upset about moving and had been acting out, more or less his accidently magic was horrendous. Exploding glass, lights blowing up, and floating objects with muggles nearby. His older son was finishing up the year back in Australia. They had always home schooled their youngest but next year he was going to Hogwarts because his wife had other things she wanted to focus on.
He decided that going to this was a good place to show everyone he isn't just the new guy. He was experienced.

Jack was excited to battle the elements. This did not seem like a training day for her – this seemed like it would be straight up fun. She had spent a lot of her life exploring and adventuring and being cooped up in a house where her only adventures were tracking down crayons and squashing spiders had begun to wear down on her. Domestic life was a challenge Jack was not certain she was suited for. But running around in the snow with nothing but a wand and some matches – well, yes Jack was absolutely certain that it was a challenge she could handle.

She had dressed well, donning the sort of clothes she would wear for a winter Quidditch match. Over that, she had pulled on a sweatshirt and a Gryffidnor beanie. Her usual works boots tied everything together. She was ready to move. She walked into the main room, pulling off her full fingered gloves and putting them in her pocket, replacing them with fingerless gloves for the time being. She would done the others soon enough she was sure. “Who’s ready to party?”


Claire wasn’t sure why she thought this would be a good idea. Okay, she did know why. She had made an extensive list of pros and cons as to why this training session would be beneficial. But inner, hidden Lazy Claire, enabled by junk food and Elsie Norton, would rather curl up on her sofa with a blanket and some peanut butter and watch bad reality television. That sounded infinitely better than spending time in the freezing cold with nothing but a wand to defend herself.

It was going to be a long training session.

She entered, finding she was only one of two females, and she was not yet sure Jack Dyllan counted. Claire herself was decked out in winter gear in preparation, her hair carefully braided and held in place by a snug cap. She quietly took her place amongst the small crowd of near-strangers, ready to get to work.

Jack walked down from a spare room that he'd found that night when he arrived after making sure jess and the others were safe. He puleld on a jumper and walked down seing the others he nodded " morning" he said and headed to the kitchen for food. Once he had it he returned and sat down seeing all who were already there he knew winter tranning as he'd done Roberts servaival course the year before so knew what ever was instore would be hard going. He was prepared , sturdy boots warm jumpers and jacket and a seervival kit that hed managed to get togther.

Steven woke and dressed and headed down seeing Jack already there and the others he simply nodded to Marcus and Michael then continued threw he wore a shirt and casual trousers he was not bothered about the trainning one bit though he had seen Jack rushing about gathering things before they left and he had just chuckled. Gathering his breakfast of a hot cup of tea he sat down facing Marcus he saw two other he ahd only seen once before and looed over.

"Jaquellene, Luke, Its good to see you both again." he said and rasied his mug only to take a sip before he continued " its been a while." he added.

Luke felt out of place. He was the new guy. It made him laugh. He felt like the new comer kid he had been back in the day it had been so long since he had been that kid. He still remembered his first training day. Nearly blasted off his foot by putting his wand in his jean pocket. He got a lot of unpleasant nicknames because of that until he got on the field. He gained respect fast. He tried not to think about his career. He had done some really awful stuff to people, all in name of the Australian Government.

He wasn’t sure if he could feel flattered or not that his name was already was already known. He was sure there was talk of his transfer. It’s probably not every day a transfer employee came from the Australia. He just had to keep his cool. He was used to doing jobs like this but his never had to do one so deep and long-term. He knew he could do it but how was he supposed to pull all of this off. He was sure he was starting to sweat.

“Have we met before?” asked Luke “pardon my memory I’ve met a lot of people in last weeks let alone years.” He was pretty sure he hadn’t met anyone here before. But after the amount of head injuries he had over the years it was possible his memory wasn’t as good as it used to be.