I'll Get Right On That

"Good call. Its a good starting place. Well, there are two main lines that run north to Birmingham--Euston Station or Marylbone.  Depends on how much time you want to spend on the train itself. It has to cover the same distance.  We're closer to Euston, but the train trip is longer.  Marylbone is farther away, but the trip to Birmingham is shorter. And, I don't have a portkey to either one.  At this time of night, we might make better time on the Night Bus, but I'm open to suggestions.


"Oh, and just a thought? If we're gone for a couple days, do you two need a moment to pack a few things? I'm good with us getting what you need on the fly. Long story short, the mission itself can foot the expenses, and I'm happy to make that happen."  Brian always carried a muggle credit card on missions that was tied to one of Robert's accounts. The card was set up especially to cover mission expenses.

Jack glanced at Kip, but he was already saying, "Night Bus. Rent it out for the entire excursion. That way, if we are sent on a wild goose chase, it can be a little more organized. And it'll provide a quick and safe getaway with the kids, too." It made the most sense to Jack that way as well, since they couldn't be certain they knew where they were going. It would help them with doing some snooping and investigative work, which was going to be essential for this mission.

Jack didn't consult with Kip on the next point, jumping right to, "No, we're ready." If he wasn't he could deal with it. But she felt him nod next to her, looking like he just wanted to begin. She felt her affection for her brother rise. "Let's just get going. Who needs showers?" She managed a cheeky smile.

((Wanna just jump to them watching some guy sneak another kid into a building or something, then busting in?))

(yeah, that works.)


He hadn't actually thought about that. He had been thinking about simply taking a bus to the train.  But the night bus worked. His one reservation about the night bus was that it gave him a couple hours to sleep. But--he didn't dare resort to that. Two hours would only make him feel more tired. He was better to stay up. He paid the bus driver extra to be at their disposal until they were finished.

He took a large paper cup of the Leaky's coffee along and drank it on the trip, reading the dossiers and trying to put the details to memory.  When they got near the New Street station in Birmingham, Brian got off, deciding to walk a block or so to get the lay of the neighborhood and to see where he, if he were kidnapping kids would or would not want to go.  

New Street Station was enormous. Lots of places to be seen, or to hide. What he didn't know was whether the kids were here or whether they'd transferred to another train and gone on north to Scotland.


He started checking with ticket sales, try to see if anyone had seen the kids or remembered selling tickets for that many kids, matching those descriptions. He had taken a photo that looked much, much too much like Abbey and left the rest with Jack and Kip.  


He needed the kid to remind him of his own. He didn't have law enforcement credentials to pry information from the station works with. What he did have was his own exhaustion and his deep love for his own children, and the fear he always carried--especially with the targets that his wife and children always seemed to be. He had learned a few things from Robert, and one of those was to use what he had.  What he was aware of was how raw his emotions would be if this indeed had been his child. Not having worked closely with Jack or Kip either one before, he had to depend that they would not think he had flipped his lid entirely if he used that raw desperation to get a lead.


He interviewed probably five or six ticket sellers and was honestly starting to get a little frazzled and feeling a loss of patience when a man who had salt and pepper hair, wirerimmed glasses, and an attempt at a rugged stubble hailed him at his ticket booth, two sellers down.


Brian went there and showed his photo. "Please," he said, knowng he had to be desperate now. "Please, somebody's got my little girl.  Please..." He showed him the photo. "Have you seen her? Anything at all..."

"Yeah. Yeah, I saw her. They weren't on a school trip?"


"When? How long ago? Where'd they go?


"Bought tickets for the lot of them, tickets to Glasgow.  The little girl, she was crying.  She looked like it was way past her bedtime.  The blokes that were with her, well, I thought it was some sort of theater group."


"Why?" He frowned.


"They weren't right, they weren't. Dressed all in Halloween costumes. Capes and masks, some of 'em dressed up like animals,..."


"How many were there?"


"Oh," he said, "I know I sold 'em a group ticket package. They were chaparoned well, I can say that. There was one adult for every kid and a couple more adults besides."


"How long ago? I have to..."


"Son, they'll be back.  They've got a layover.  Their train leaves from platform 17 in a little less than an hour.  You might catch them. Should I call the police for you?"


"No," Brian said. "No, I think can handle it.  Thank you.  Thank you so much!" He turned and caught a glimpse of Kip.  He pointed upwards at the sign pointing down the concourse towards platforms 15-20.  He flashed Kip seven fingers, figuring Kip could probably deduce that if the platforms were 15 and up, if he showed him a seven, he'd certainly figure out Platform 17.

He headed that way himself, trying to keep his eyes open.

The three of them all splintered off, Jack distributing modified Potter's Army coins in case they had trouble contacting each other. Kip and Jack had split up the stack of pictures and were asking around - Jack was focusing on the men who looked like conductors, and Kip focused on the guards, all playing their parts. Jack couldn't act like a parent, for it hurt too much. She cycled through the pictures, saying a class from her school had been kidnapped. Kip claimed they were all children from his neighbor. So far, they were getting lots of head shakes and condolences.

Jack was doing her best to stay objective, as it would keep her working hard, and prevent her from  doing anything to compromise their work. Once she was in the thick of the battle, that's when she would allow her passions to help carry her, help her work hard for the sake of the people who needed her so desperately.

She felt the coin burn and she hurried back towards the last place she had seen Kip. She hurried to catch up to her halfbrother, who said, "Platform seventeen. Brian found out."

Jack shook her head. "Let's get them."

Brian headed for the platform, finding he was trying to scan every person he saw. That was always such a frustrating thing. Well, if they were bold enough to be wearing cloaks and masks, they should be easy enough to spot, shouldn't they? Or a group with kids.


He found the platform easily enough.  Some of the morning commuters were starting to show up, making it a bit more cluttered. He was really wishing for some sort of charm to have eyes all over his head.  But--what he did have was a father's hearing.


And it picked up a very soft sound, one that registered to him at first in his ears as "Abbey." The sound of a little Mary Jane scuffing on concrete.  He spun, his heart starting to race, expecting to see some madman holding Abbey's little hand.  


All he saw was the hem of a little pink taffeta dress disappearing behind a pillar.  He couldn't tell that it wasn't Abbey. He hadn't seen a face.  But pink--Abbey would have chosen pink for certain.  The fatigue pounded against him, and he wanted to keep his head.  He didn't want to blow this now. This wasn't Abbey, but this child was just as important. He looked up and saw the sign for the ladies' room right above where the little dress had just disappeared. Perhaps it was nothing. But perhaps it wasn't. 


He caught a glimpse of Jack and pointed in the direction of what he'd just seen. He started to run.

They walked quickly, keeping an even distance from Brian. Jack tucked her arm into Kip's to look less like a woman on a mission, trying to look casual. It wouldn't do to blow their cover and tip off the bastards before she or Kip or Brian could grab the kids. She was not going to risk the kids just because she was eager to punish the men who had done this horrible thing.

Jack watched as Brian headed for the train. Jack's eyes pinpointed the closing doors of the compartment that must have belonged to the kidnappers and their stowaways. Jack looked to Kip, who knew exactly what she was going for. They split and hurried for the compartments on either side of the compartment they were after.

Kip burst into the one that would be closer to the back of the train. He had his wand held aloft, ready to attack. He glanced at the window and saw Brian. He held up a hand and gestured, informing Brian that they had the compartment surrounded. He glanced about, spotting luggage scattered throughout the empty compartment. It was their supplies - and plenty of them.

"There's kids in there."

Kip spun around to see a girl rising from behind a stack of suitcases. Her Russian accent was unmistakable, but her face was not among those in the files.

"What are you doing here?" Kip found himself, for once, completely confused and incapable of finding a solution. The girl was older than the children in the files, and very evidently not of the United Kingdom. Her short, cropped hair was a bit ragged, as though she was not in the best of care. But there weren't the signs of a kidnapping victim. No dirty tear tracks down plump cheeks. No ripped clothing. No bruises or scratches. In fact, she seemed calm.

"Who are you?" Kip said, a little more gently, holding a fist up to tell Brian to hold. He reached into his pocket and squeezed the Potter's Army coin, hoping it would stop his halfsister.

The girl blinked, glancing towards the compartment door. "I followed. All the way, I followed. They took Ivan. And Isabella. I saw them, and I think they would have tried for me, but I wasn't in my room-" She suddenly stopped, clamping her jaw shut. "Wasting time." She shook her head, closing her eyes tightly before opening them. "There's eleven men. Magical, as you probably know-" she jutted her chin at his wand. "I'll wait, and get ready to grab and hide children sent this way." She glanced around, picking up an abandoned cane. "I can protect myself." She stepped towards the compartment door and hid behind a large sack, cane at the ready.

Kip was shocked but felt it was time to act. He reached into his pocket and spun the dials on the coin, telling his companions it was time.

Jack had waited, antsy with anticipation, when the coin burned in her pocket. She glanced out the window to see Brian holding as well in preparation. Her wand was held aloft and her feet lifted up and down in preparation, flexing with readiness to take down the men inside.

The burn in her pocket was like a starter's pistol. She kicked the door in immediately taking steps inside and managing to stun one man and disarm another. There were shrieks of children, but the others had already stepped in. She could hear Kip's calm rumbling voice call out, "Duck!" as he aimed his wand at the first man he saw, who released the hand of a little girl and fell.

((some slight godmodes here))

He felt the burn of the coin in his pocket.  He turned for a second to see Jack and Kip on the train.  Good. He'd be with them in a moment.  As soon as he got Little Miss Pink Taffeta. He spun around the corner and saw the telltale long dark cloak and a hand holding onto the child.  He yanked back on the cloak, and the figure spun.  It was a blond haired woman wearing a death eater mask. The eyes were a magnetizing shade of blue that threatened to pierce right through him.  She leveled her wand to fire but Brian's wand was already at the ready. He fired a stunning spell, snatched the child who was too frightened to make a sound. Picking up the child, he apparated with her onto the train.


He found himself standing in the passageway. He looked around. It seemed like there were kids everywhere.  This was gonna be like herding cats. He pressed the child to the back of his leg,  hoping she'd be like his kids and just sorta stick there.  

Wand fire started coming from every direction, it seemed. From the compartments, from behind him and in front of him in the passageway. He had the distinct thought that he probably was going to get his ass kicked. 


Someone yanked hard on the child pasted to his leg.  He turned his head to see the hand was the hand of another, older child, pulling the toddler out of the passageway and into a compartment behind some trunks. Okay. Problem solved for the moment.

He was about to turn back to the corridor just as a blast of wandfire hit him in the shoulder. Blood splattered everywhere. His blood.  Oddly, he didn't feel much. Not yet. What he did feel was adrenalin. Adrenalin and anger.  


He got off a couple of good shots, zinging the person who'd fired at him before a boot came up, kicked the wand out of Brian's hand, sending the wand flying. No wand, fine. He could still brawl.

"Okay," he told one of his opponents, "You wanna play? Let's play."

Kip's eyes were simultaneously darting about to locate the children while also finding those who were a threat to the kid's lives. One arm moved carefully, with precision, slicing and whipping through the air to take men and women down. Obviously, this was as important to them as it was to him because they dodged and darted and rose with a speed that he would not have accredited to petty criminals. They had been doing this for awhile. And bringing them in would mean that, not only were these kids free, but that these occurrences would be lessened ever so slightly.

A child stood up and let out a plaintive wail as a man barreled towards Kip. The man did not see Kip and he found himself in a bad position. If he used magic to move the child, the man would be free to take him out. Try to take the man out now, however, and he would fall on the child.

He raised his wand, not sure what incantation would come to his lips, when suddenly, a figure danced into his sight. The small girl from the other compartment spun towards the little boy, pulled him into her, and wheeled away. Kip saw it in slow motion, staring at the little girl's hair as it whipped through the air.

"STUPEFY."

The man's knees buckled and he fell right where the child had been. Kip turned, looking for the little girl who was proving helpful, but could not find her.

Jack was getting her frustration out by using her fists. A fist on this jaw, a kick on that calf. She moved quickly, violently. She focused on one person, while throwing secondary throws to anyone nearby while her target reeled from the punch. She wasn't doing much in the form of communicating with the kids, as she knew she would get invested. If a kid stepped near her, she tugged it out of the way and continued fighting.

She had to think of the mission. And that meant a cold heart.

Brian could hear the sound of wands whipping through the air, firing. The crack and sizzle was distinctive. As long as he heard the firing continue, he figured Kip was holding his own at least. He could also hear some very aggressive brawling. By the sounds of it, Jack wasn't having an overabundance of trouble either.


He was doing his best to hold his own, and he really did have an edge on the guy tossing punches at him. And then a fist flew at him from another direction and clocked him. It threw him off balance, and as he was regaining his footing, there was a loud sound and a mechanical lurching that threw them all to the floor. The train. It was starting to move.


The rising sound of panicking, screaming children was something he couldn't ignore. They were terrified, thinking they were going to never see their families again.  Brian firmly believed that the three of them could do this, but three against 11 or 12? That was going to take a couple minutes. He took a split second glance around and was relieved to not see any kid in sight. They knew how to hide. Good.


A couple more thugs entered the passenger car unaware, discussing what they were going to do with the big payoff money they expected to get. They saw the fighting just as Brian heard them stopping the conversation.  The talk of payoff money for children made Brian's blood boil.  


And he made a snap decision. Playtime was over.  He was done playing fair. This was going to stop, fair or not so much.

Jack had managed to incapacitate a few of the kidnappers, and had thrown them out of the way so she could get to the others. She used the momentum of the jolting train to clothesline another attacker, watching with some level of satisfaction as they fell to the ground. It was so interesting to her how, one moment ago, there was silence, and now there was a fierce battle between two groups of stranger. She would have felt worse about it, if it wasn't for statements like-

"Just grab a few of 'em and go. He's waiting with our gold."

She actually felt that man's teeth sink into her knuckles as she slammed her fist into his face. Blood sprouted from her hand and she shook it off, shoving the man over - but he had already lost consciousness.

There was a loud POP as someone apparated. "No way," Jack snarled. She looked to Kip, calling, "Don't let them leave!" They lost another as Jack and Kip managed to shoot ropes out three attackers. It was time to bring this thing home.