Out of the Ordinary

Angus listened to her as he poured three coffees. He handed her one, left one for Lee, and took one for himself.

"Under the circumstances," Angus said, "you might honestly be where you should be right now. The man who owns this flat is, I'm sure, in position to help you. I don't know what you do or don't know about politics in the wizarding world, but this flat belongs to Lee Shepherd, the leader of the wizarding community in America. And that means that any American with magical abilities falls under his jurisdiction in some form or another. So far as I understand."

"Sounds like you brought a guest," Lee said, coming down the hallway, fastening a cufflink into his shirtsleeve. He saw Angus and the woman. "Oh, hello. Lee Shepherd. Tell me, Angus, does she exist, or do I not know she's here?"

"I'm not quite sure. She might need you to know she's here," Angus said. "American politics aren't my forte."

"I don't think they're the forte of Americans either," Lee said dryly. Angus handed him the cup of tea that he'd poured for him. "What's the situation?"

"Well, it started out as James," Angus said.

"Of course it did. When hasn't it been James?"

"No, you don't understand. He's taken her. Somehow he's got her, and I was tailing him trying to get her back. Our time is running out fast. She's overdue, and...." Angus said, frustrated.

"Her who?" Lee began. Then he stopped short. His face fell a bit ashen. "No," he said. "I don't think I want to hear this, do I?" He paused. "You're serious, aren't you? When?"

"Yesterday morning, before daylight," Angus said.

"God," Lee sighed heavily. "What a buggered up mess. One moment, before we go any further. Your friend here." He looked at the woman. "Are you civilian?"

"She's wizard, but she's NSA. Liana Rommily, meet Lee Shepherd," Angus said.

"NSA?" Lee mused. "Interesting. And potentially very useful. Ms. Rommily, you just were thrown into an international security problem. Not how you intended to start your day, I'm sure. I might be in need of your help, and, if things went the way it usually goes when James is involved, you might need my help if you don't want whatever you're dealing with blown all to hell."

Liana took the offered coffee mug, sipping from it as her fingers wrapped around the base. While she was grateful for the assistance, as well as a place to hide (considering she certainly couldn’t go back to her flat; James would potentially return, and then things would get even worse), she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she had gotten herself into. She nodded in greeting when Lee walked in, nearly opening her mouth to explain the situation herself, but then the men began again and she didn’t want to get in their way. She had grown used to keeping quiet over her time in that bizarre shop of hers, and she certainly didn’t want to offend those keeping her safe.

She couldn’t quite catch the gist of what they were saying, except that someone – clearly someone important – was off the radar and needed to be found. It certainly wasn’t her first time to be searching for someone, but she half hoped they didn’t bring her into it.

Actually, she wasn’t sure she would mind that much. Boredom didn’t suit her, and neither did getting caught by her superiors.

“There’s really something you two need to know,” Liana began slowly, unsure how to breach the subject properly. “If you expect me to actually know how to do much more than summon things, I’ll disappoint you. I haven’t had any training since my parents died and the NSA took me in. They’ll be furious if they find out I’ve done anything – and I don’t doubt that they will find out.” Shaking her head, she frowned into her coffee cup. “Frankly, I didn’t even trust myself to get here with my own wand; Angus had to apparate instead. I’m more than willing to help – being stuck in my flat after what happened in New York has certainly made me miss the action.”

Deciding that covering identities really couldn’t be done anymore, she reluctantly added, “About a year and a half ago, before my identity was compromised, I was the highest-ranked handler they had. Now, though, I’m stuck doing nothing. I’d be glad to help, but I’m not sure how much I could do for you.”

She had always been far too straightforward for her own good; at least this time she might be able to do some good in her attempts to do so.