The Cat & The Mouse

"Theres been a report about some chick causing a ruckus around the neighbourhood, threatening people to give back stolen things. I need you to go there and check it out,"

Daniel sighed, accepting the case and looked into the folder given to him by his supervisor. He was hardly finished with his other cases and it seemed like his work seemed to pile on each day as it come. After skimming through all the notes, he quickly summarised what's been going on the last few days. It seemed like somebody, no one knows her name was going around (mostly Knockturn Alley) threatening people who have stolen or looking for missing things for people. He rubbed his well-trimmed beard, sighing again as he closed the folder and put it on the table beside him alongside with the rest of his work. His table was a mess, he hadn't enough time to organised things and anyone who knew Daniel by the back of the book knew he hated being disorganised, he hated it with a passion. There was paperwork everywhere and half his table was filled with empty mug, one of it was filled to the brim with cigarette. It looked as if his table had been hit with a giant bomb but, now wasn't the time to worry about that. Without further ado, he picked up his cigarette and lighter and headed out the door to investigate more into the case

Daniel wasn't a fan of Knockturn Alley, never was and never will be. The place gave him the creeps, he would try to avoid it as much as possible, unfortunately in some cases, his job requires him to go down the dark and creepy alley. "Why do they have to hold up in one place," he thought, walking slowly into the alley. Even just being here made him feel like something was crawling onto him, giving him goosebumps. Nevertheless, he powered through refusing to let any of these dark followers and criminals see he was scared. Come to think about it, he actually preferred that they stay in one place, it would be a nightmare if they were everywhere but then again, even here they were out of control.  He searched the place throughly from top to bottom, he even asked people and to his surprise a lot of people knew who she was. The only downside was no one knew where she was. "Of course they don't," he said, slapping himself silly on the forehead. "Don't be silly Daniel, it's not going to be that easy,[/b]" he sighed and decided to give up for the night. He stopped by the wall, pulled out his cigarette and took a long pull before letting out a cloud of smoke. Where could she be....

"Just hand it over, Marcus. You know I'd have no problems turning you in."

It would be an understatement to say that Audriana Swan was unafraid of the man standing before her. She had bested him many a time. Not as many as she had Robin Ivanov, perhaps, but bloody close. Marcus was one of the many Death Eaters she had faced over the years, and he would not be the last.

A dark glower crossed Marcus's face but he hesitated only slightly before reaching into his robes and pulling out the locket he had swiped from her latest client. He extended his arm reluctantly, and winced as Audriana lifted her wand to direct it at the juncture beneath his chin. She hardly had time to play games, and wouldn't go about risking her life over money she didn't need.

Indeed, she did her job because it was a thrill, and because she loved the fact that she had never lost. She always returned the stolen item to her clients, even if they didn't know who had stolen it. Her massive bank of random information and facts led her to the cozy balance between knowing just enough to get the job done, and not being so overly obsessed with her chosen career that she ignored her fiancé. Other than Gavin, though, she didn't have anyone else to quite concern herself.

Tearing the locket from Marcus's grip, Audriana let him worry for a breath before she stepped away. Her wand didn't lower until she had put a good several feet between them. He frowned at her, but Audriana just offered a wry smile.

"Go on, Marcus. We both know I've done much worse to you. You don't want to experience those things again, do you? Remember the time with the "missing" body parts? I certainly haven't forgotten the charm."

"Whatever." He grumbled, following it up with telling her exactly where she should put the locket in question.

A smirk lit her face, eyes rolling to the sky before she let out a quiet laugh. "Sure. I'll consider that. Run along, now."

Marcus shot her a dirty look before turning and storming down the alleyway, robes billowing behind him as he fumed. Smiling to herself, Audriana lifted the hood of her usual cloak, reveling in the fact that - even years later - it gave her the rush that came with a little bit of secrecy. Tucking the locket into her innermost pocket of her robes, she left the alleyway with a bit of a spring in her step, heading for the nearest floo she knew of in Knockturn Alley.

(OOC: in Aud's timeline, this is a few months back, but the exact date is way iffy for her plotting. So she's not married in this one, or pregnant like her spoiler says. That's for me and Emily to reference.)

Daniel had a mad headache all day and it was driving him up the wall, no matter what he did, he even took tablets and drank water. The pain would not go away, making it hard for him to focus on paperwork. Come to think of it, he was grateful for the case he was handed today as it required him actually getting off his fat, lazy arse and stretching his legs a bit.

He blew a cloud of smoke through his nostril and took a deep breath, savouring the fresh air, well, it was polluted now (he was smoking for christ sake!). Being holed up in his office all day made him realised how much he appreciate the clean, cold and fresh air that he was so gladly breathing in right now.

Quickly, he pulled out his pocket watch, it was pretty much out dated or he should say 'out of fashion' by now but the stupid watch had a sentimental value to him. Once upon a time it had been his mothers, she was sit by the table after dinner, constantly rewinding the piece of crap over and over again. She never seemed to be able to put it down. Beside it was more efficient than a regular watch and lasted long than those androids or iphone that everyone had. He had one too, that he carries around with him everyday but he hardly uses it. The only time he used it was for phone calls and he barely uses that too, no one to call or text either.

He saw that it was half past eight, in another half an hour his shift would be over and he would be able to return home after a long days work. However, his shift was long before over yet, it was no excuse to slack off now and with that in mind, he decided to dwell into this case some more maybe he had some more luck this time after a cigarette although, he highly doubted it.

He squished the butt of his cigarette on the wall behind him and with little care for his environment he tossed it on the floor. "Oof!" he grunted. He had to take a step forward to prevent him from colliding to the ground when somebody deliberately crashed into him. "Oi.. Watch it!" he said, looking around at the culprit. "Piss off Auror," said the dark hair man, without looking at him but, before he could respond with an insult the man was out of ear shot. "I wonder what his problem is?" he thought watching the fuming man storming down the alley, completely dumbfounded with what happened. Had he been mad about the fact he was an Auror and was hanging around Knockturn Alley or simply because he was having a bad day. He shrugged his shoulders, too tired care about it at all. He turned around on his heel and continued on with his mission.

As he strolled down the darkened alley, thoughts began running through his head. Who was this chick, why was she going around taking back stolen good and finding missing things, what was she hoping to achieve, so many unanswered question but no answers. He checked his wand again and saw that it was eight forty eight. He made mental note to get out of here before it got too dark, it was usually by this time of night was where all the dark and evil things were more active.

All in all, Audriana’s day seemed to be coming to a lovely close as she moved down the alleyway and towards the building that housed the floo, which could return her home safely. As she walked, however, a figure came through the shadows of dusk and towards her. Slowing down, she pulled her cloak more closely around her, shielding the locket regardless of its hidden location within her pockets.

Whoever this man was, he seemed to have had a bit of a rough day – but Audriana was only supposing. He reminded her of Gavin to some extent after a long day on whichever job he had been assigned to that day. The sun continued to fade as she approached him, turning her head to look at him as she passed. The light of the lamp at the end of the alley – intended to light the street – ended up lighting her cheeks instead, offering a view of her face that was undoubtedly more than she had wished to give away.

Whipping her head around to look where she was going once more, Audriana froze next to the man, hands tightening on her cloak fabric as she turned and pushed a shoulder forward as if it would somehow shield her. It was a typical protective move of hers, and one that was a bit of a tell if anyone had heard of her. The two men standing at the end of the alley watched her, catching the motion, before starting towards her at a walk that was too brisk to be casual. Marcus had found a friend, and she was in a bloody mess now.

“Merlin,” she hissed, backing up and reaching for her wand once more, drawing it and directing at the two men as they neared. She could only hope that the man she had passed had kept walking when she halted; she was used to dealing with these types, but not everyone was. It was her fault that they were coming into the alley, besides. She would feel far too bad if that stranger got caught up in things he wasn’t prepared for, whoever he was.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Marcus.” She warned loudly, voice strong and assertive. Pushing the cloak backwards and onto her shoulders so she could better see the men before her, Audriana just wished they had returned earlier – when she wasn’t fighting shadows and clouds covering the moon while trying to fight off two Death Eaters.

After spending some time searching the alley. Daniel decided to give up for the night after finally accepting that he was getting no where and couldn't find his target. He figured, he had enough information he needed, to solve this crime or whatever it is. Determined not to prolonged his stay in Knockturn Alley, he made his way to the office and sign off for the day. A much needed sleep was in order. Usually, he would do an all-nighter in an attempt to solve a crime, but since he hated this place with a burning passion. He refused to overstay his welcome. Who knew what kind of terrible danger this alley could bring him.

Walking down the alley, he came across a youthful girl, accidentally bumping into her. It was quite dark here, in the alley, and even with the sun in the horizon shining upon her face; Daniel was far too tired to take notice of her. He apologised. "Sorry," he chuckled nervously, side stepping out of her way and scampered off again.

Just when he was about to turn a corner, he heard a loud female voice from behind him causing him to freeze in his spot. He looked back, squinting his eyes, making out what he could behind all the darkness. It seemed that it was the same girl that he had seen earlier and she was talking to somebody else. Something had felt amiss, despite the darkness, Daniel could tell something was wrong. He didn't know if it was the tone of her voice or something she said, a name perhaps, by the name of Marcus if he heard correctly.

He needed a closer look, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. She was lucky he was still on duty for the next ten minute, otherwise it would of been a whole other story. Placing one foot after another, threading carefully, his footing was light as he slowly paced forward until the girl was now in his sight. Not wanting to get into trouble, he hid behind a corner, watching the girl and the two men attentively with his hand behind his back, gripping his wand tightly to prepare himself for whatever trouble that might befall him. One could never be too careful in this dreaded alleyway and it helped having somebody watching your back, in this case would be him.